Review: Kid Content of IslamWeb.net

Islamweb.net is a Web site that has a considerable amount of Islamic resources, e.g. Quran audio with English translation, which LivingHalal has used in its videos.

May Allah reward them and help them to improve.

Below is a review that we received from a brother about the Kids corner of Islamweb.

Well, you are often collecting reviews and opinions on things. You now have your first review of "kids corner" on Islamweb.

Something funny just happened.

I was looking through Islamweb and found "kids corner". Excited that I can show it to Haniyah, I clicked through and started going through one of the illustrated stories. First, I was a bit disappointed that everything looked arcane, and I was sure Haniyah will find it "scary." Why is Islamic = Medieval?

Anyway, I continued. The name of the story was "who is the owner of the jar" (I was thinking it would be about a cookie jar but it wasn't!). Anyway... i clicked through the story which was about two men who couldn't decide as to who is the owner of the jar full of gold that one man finds buried in a land he bought. Neither wants to claim the gold. One says he sold the land with whatever was in it so the jar is not his. The other says he bought the land not the gold so the jar is not his. They go to the judge. And the judge says... check this out... "do you have children?" Conveniently, one has a son and the other has a daughter. So the judge tells them to marry their children so that both can share the gold... and they both are happy!

I mean... what the heck is that! What is going on here? Marry your children so that you can split the gold? What's the point, what's the message for the children or the adults for that matter...? Now... I don't know if the story is taken from a narration or someone just made it up (later seems to be the case) but whatever its genesis might be, it certainly doesn't belong to "kids corner" (or any corner for that matter).

By the way, I checked out one Nasheed as well (Galla Allah is the title). It's so poor even I can't figure out what the message is for half of it. I don't know how much it costed to create this site but it really is disappointing...

I once searched for and found some "Islamic cartoons" they were so scary that i didn't even ask Haniyah to watch them after five minutes. can't Muslims create something that is relevant to what kids experience these days? we live in LA and never see stars but even then twinkle twinkle seems more relevant for my daughter.

Halal Fun: White Moutain Camping

Tags: Halal, fun, family, lifestyle, camping, hiking, grilling, BBQ, waterfall, white moutain, new hampshier, park, islam, muslim, chidren

Halal Fun: Book Festival

Tags: Halal Fun: Book Festival, Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, UCLA, halal lifestyle, life, family, parenting, children, kids, reading, visiting, livinghalal, ummah, healthy lifestyle, fun, rewarding, dream

Halal Fun: Aquarium of the Pacific

Tags: muslim, islam, fun, Aquarium of the Pacific, family, life, children, kids, livinghalal, ummah, audio, films, halal, activities

"Islamic-style" Swimsuit

'I felt more welcome in the Bible belt'

Manal Omar had used her five-piece 'Islamic-style' swimsuit for years - in Rio, Washington and Kuala Lumpur - and it had never brought her more than a curious glance. Then she went for a dip in Oxford ...

One Sunday last month I went for my afternoon swim at my local David Lloyd's fitness club wearing the Islamic-style swimsuit I have been wearing for years. The swimsuit has recently been celebrated by media outlets from Newsweek to National Geographic as an innovative way for Muslim women to become more active. As an American-Muslim woman, I have always been determined to be active without compromising my faith. I have been swimming in capital cities across the world from Rio de Janeiro to Washington DC to Kuala Lumpur, and now London. Although I get curious stares, I have never had any awkward moments when I head out for a swim.

Guardian Article

Is This Halal Restaurant?

A: Is this Halal restaurant?

B: Do you mean no-pork halal, because-a-waiter-said-its-halal halal, the-joint-has-a-halal-sign halal, the-owner-is-a-muslim halal, sometimes-zabihah-other-times-not-so halal, all-muslims-are-eating-there halal, or certified-halal-with-outdated-certificate halal?

Tag: Halal standard, certification, Muslims standards, Zabiha

When a Gujju Loves a Hydro

Assalam alaikum,

Hey... What is this Chinka [Asian in Indian subcontinent lingo] doing up here? For God sake, it’s marriage between a Gujju and a Hydro [The groom is from Gujarat and the bride is from Hyderabad].

Well calm down. You will know in a moment.

In the meantime, just treat me as your daisi bhai [Your fellow countryman].

Inna alhamda lillah... [Khutbah Al-Hajjah, the speech opening by the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Prayers Be Upon Him)]

I've been practicing for tonight for quite some time.
Not my speech, but practicing how to eat Indian spicy food!
Because tonight India rules, not just in food, but Naheed [The groom] proved tonight that India is the economics superpower. India is pushing the US economy by giving business to Knott's berry farm [The event venue]. And India is providing job to China.

And you know who are the happiest for achieving this global status, not Indians, but the Bangladeshis. Yeah the Bangladeshis. Because finally, they get to tell their Paki fellows, "Pai-kka, tough luck." [You’ve lost to India again].

So, why I'm saying all these non sense... Because Naheed rejected all these racial slurs by exemplifying the Islamic brotherhood in his life. While at USC, he broght all subcontinent under one roof, not only that, but he invited an outsider like me to be part of this ummah.

He showed all of us that it doesn't matter what our skin color, language, or tolerance for spicy food is.... but what really matters is the Taqwa, the righteousness.

And for that, I ask Allah to reward him tremendously. Ameen.

Ok, let's get back to marriage.

So, why suddenly Naheed decided to get married? I mean nothing much changed that can trigger this decision. Except that Nokia is moving him to the bay area. I think that triggered him to… finally… to come out. Yes, to come out from the closet and admit to the world how much he loves Hyderabadis.

His first roommate at USC was Hyderabadi. I think his cellmate is Hyderabadi too... Oh, cellmate means cell phone mate. And now he figured out that he cannot live without a Hyderabadi in his life.

Yaar, the paki bro in the back. Are you with me or still debating whether India rules or not?
Listen, you and i may disagree on that. But we all agree tonight that ---sister Juwaria [The bride] --- rules from now on. As for our brother naheed. From all of us, "Miya [Mr.], the game is over."

Thank you.

Special thanks to subcontinent consultants: Muhammad Aman, Sajidurahman, and Muhammad Ansar.

And if I offended anyone that’s not my intention. I sincerely apologize. May allah forgive me.

Wassalam Alaikum


About the Speaker: Tuhfa Sino is a Muslim bro, born to a Chinese family, living in an Arab country, surrounded by Desi people. Tuhfa gives Jummah Khutbah in Tinsel Town and studies at a Halaqa in Hollywood. You can listen to his shows TuhfaMoment or Single & Cooking at LivingHalal.com.

YouTube Link

Halal Jokes: Marriage Search

From time to time we post some real world jokes... Our jokes, in-sha-Allah, will be halal (no lies or mockings because the prophet (SAW) forbade them even while joking).

Here is one about marriage search.

A: How is your Internet marriage search going?

B: Don't really know if these freaking sites really work or not.

A: Maybe you should widen your search criteria.

B: Mann I have already done it. Imagine now I am looking into all the desi* community and not only BD community... that itself makes me open to more than 1+ billion population...do u want more wider ;-)

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Translation:
* Desi or Deshi refers to Indian subcontinent people.
* BD = A subcontinent country ;)