Friday, November 26, 2010

Tourism vs Headscarf

Staff working at Kuredhoo Island Resort have alleged that the resort five months ago issued a notice stating that it would not be renewing the contracts of female staff members wearing the headscarf, and had since dismissed at least one staff member over the matter.

A staff member currently working at the resort told Minivan News that a notice regarding the matter was issued by the resort five months ago.

“There was a female staff member who wore the headscarf who was asked to leave her job two months ago because the resort’s management refused to renew her employment contract [because] she wears a headscarf,” he claimed.

A second staff member Minivan News spoke to also claimed the resort had notified staff that it would not renew the contracts of staff wearing the headscarf.

The allegation first appeared on the Dhivehi Post news blog, which quoted a female staff member at the resort as saying that elderly women living on a nearby island, employed by the resort for cleaning jobs, were issued the same notice.

Human Resources Manager at Kuredhoo Khadeeja Adam said she did not wish to comment on the matter and referred Minivan News to the resort’s General Manager.

Kuredhoo’s General Manager Andrea Nestle also refused to comment on the matter, but said the allegations she had read in her translation of the Dhivehi Post report were incorrect. She referred Minivan News to the head of Champa Trade and Travels in Male’, Abdulla Saleem.

Saleem told Minivan News that the resort policy was established by the resort’s management team, and said he had nothing to do with the policy. ”The management team works very independently and we have no influence on them,” he said.

Secretary General of the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI), Mohamed ‘Sim’ Ibrahim, told Minivan News that the issue was a “very sensitive” one, “because some [guests] get a bit taken aback. Some are a bit worried about it because they associate the dress with fundamentalism and militant Islam.”

“We don’t want to encourage people to wear the full burqa when they are serving tourists at the front desk, the first line of contact with guests,” he said.“But we don’t have a problem with them working in the office, or in general. It’s up to the resort owner.”

He noted that the right to wear the headscarf was a fundamental right, but that it was also a legal right for a resort to designate its own uniform and dress code. minivannews

Monday, November 22, 2010

Your Mother


All praise is for Allah and peace and blessings be upon the Prophet Muhammed (peace and blessings be upon him) .

After Allah and his Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) , the most beloved and respected person to a Muslim should be his MOTHER! Allah has given the mother such status.

“ Paradise lies under the feet of mothers.”

Obedience and respect towards your mother is a very important duty in Islam and is similar to performing Salaah and keeping fast. To hurt your mother in any way is the second biggest sin and those who commit this evil sin will be harshly punished by Allah in the hereafter or maybe even in this world!

Your mother is not a Prophet, nor is she an angel; she’s just a human like you and I, so why has Allah ordered you to be obedient towards your mother and why does your mother have such a high status in Islam?

Allah loves and cares for us more than anybody else, and he especially loves those people who love and care for others. Similarly, he becomes very angry with those people who hurt other people in any way. Allah the All-Knowing, knows that in this world nobody is more loving and caring towards another person than the way that a mother is towards her child. Only Allah and his Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) love you more than your mother!

Only Allah knows what your mother does for you, He sees your mother feeling pain whilst she tries to give you whatever you want. He sees your mother’s love and kindness. Pleased by your mother’s actions, Allah has given her a very high status and many virtues and rewards.

Allah also sees that many of us are not thankful to our mothers. He sees many of us being disobedient towards them. Therefore, Allah has ordered us to be good towards our mothers; he has not advised us but ordered us; we have no choice; therefore we have to be good towards our mothers! To encourage us to do this, Allah Taa’la has promised paradise for those of us who are obedient towards our mothers. At the same time, Allah has threatened to severely punish those of us who do not listen to our mothers or hurt them in any way.

But what does your Mother do for you? She only cooks and cleans! So why do you need to be thankful to your Mother?

Apart from Allah, nobody knows what our Mother really does for us.

TEN REASONS FOR BEING THANKFUL TO YOUR MOTHER:

1. YOUR MOTHER CARRIED YOU IN HER STOMACH FOR 9 MONTHS BEARING PAIN UPON PAIN!

2. DURING THIS TIME, SHE COULD NOT EAT BECAUSE OF YOU! SHE COULD NOT SLEEP BECAUSE OF YOU!

3. WHEN YOU WERE A BABY; SHE SPENT EVERY MINUTE OF HER LIFE LOOKING AFTER YOU!

4. SHE ONLY SLEPT WHEN YOU SLEPT! SHE ONLY ATE AFTER YOU HAD EATEN!

5. SHE WAS PATIENT AND LOVED YOU EVEN WHEN YOU CRIED ALL NIGHT, AND WHEN YOU CRIED ALL DAY!

6. SHE TAUGHT YOU HOW TO WALK, HOW TO SPEAK, HOW TO EAT, SHE TAUGHT YOU HOW TO LIVE!

7. WHEN YOU FALL ILL, SHE LOOKS AFTER YOU!

8. SHE ALWAYS COOKS AND PREPARES FOOD FOR YOU!

9. SHE BUYS YOU WHATEVER YOU ASK FOR!

10. SHE WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU, NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO!

These are just a few things that our Mothers do for us; they do so much more of which we do not know about. However, one thing that your Mother does for you, that nobody else in the world does, is that she worries about you from the bottom of her Heart.

SO WHAT IS IT SHE WORRIES ABOUT?

SHE WORRIES ABOUT YOUR FOOD!

SHE WORRIES ABOUT YOUR CLOTHES!

SHE WORRIES ABOUT YOUR HEALTH!

SHE WORRIES ABOUT YOUR EDUCATION!

SHE WORRIES ABOUT YOUR FUTURE!

SHE WORRIES ABOUT YOUR WHOLE LIFE!

Allah has ordered us, in various places of the Holy Qur’an, to be good to our mothers. He has told us to look after them even more when they are old and weak. He has taught us to be gentle to our mothers and speak to them in a nice manner. He has also told us to supplicate to Him for our Mothers with this prayer,

RABBIR-HAMHUMA KAMA RABBAYANI SAGHEERAH.”

(MY LORD HAVE MERCY UPON MY PARENTS; THE WAY THEY HAD MERCY UPON ME WHEN I WAS YOUNG).

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has also ordered us to be good to our mothers. He has told us about the great rewards for that person who is good to his mother. He has described the mother as being a ‘door of paradise.’ He has also warned us of severe punishments for that person who is disobedient to his mother.

TEN EASY WAYS TO ENTER PARADISE

1. LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER

2. HELP YOUR MOTHER

3. SMILE AT YOUR MOTHER

4. BE THANKFUL TO YOUR MOTHER FOR WHATEVER SHE DOES FOR YOU

5. SPEND TIME WITH YOUR MOTHER

6. ALWAYS ASK YOUR MOTHER IF YOU CAN HELP HER WITH ANYTHING

7. BUY YOUR MOTHER GIFTS

8. BE GOOD TO YOUR MOTHER’S FAMILY AND FRIENDS

9. STUDY HARD AND LEAD A GOOD LIFE SO THAT YOUR MOTHER IS HAPPY

10. ALWAYS PRAY FOR YOUR MOTHER, ESPECIALLY AFTER EVERY SALAAH.

However hard we try, we can never repay our mothers for what they have done for us, but we can at least try, and also ask Allah to repay them for us. Our mothers are indeed a great blessing from Allah. We should appreciate and value this blessing as much as we can. Whilst our mothers are alive, we have a golden opportunity to guarantee ourselves paradise and also success in this world.

REMINDER: We will only truly realise the value of our mothers when they are no longer with us – when they have passed away, but then it will be too late!

- Inter-Islam-


Friday, November 19, 2010

The power of appreciation

When a study was made a few years ago on runaway wives, what do you think was discovered to be the main reason wives ran away? It was "lack of appreciation." And I'd bet that a similar study made of runaway husbands would come out the same way. We often take our spouses so much for granted that we never let them know we appreciate them.
A member of one of our classes told of a request made by his wife. She and a group of other women were involved in a self-improvement program. She asked her husband to help her by listing six things he believed she could do to help her become a better wife.
He reported to the class: "I was surprised by such a request. Frankly, it would have been easy for me to list six things I would like to change about her - my heavens, she could have listed a thousand things she would like to change about me - but I didn't. I said to her, 'Let me think about it and give you an answer in the morning.'
"The next morning I got up very early and called the florist and had them send six red roses to my wife with a note saying: 'I can't think of six things I would like to change about you. I love you the way you are.'
"When I arrived at home that evening, who do you think greeted me at the door: That's right. My wife! She was almost in tears. Needless to say, I was extremely glad I had not criticized her as she had requested.
"The following Sunday , after she had reported the results of her assignment, several women with whom she had been studying came up to me and said, 'That was the most considerate thing I have ever heard.' It was then I realized the power of appreciation."
- Dale Carnegie -

"And interact with your wives in a good manner for if you feel dislike for them, it may well be that you dislike something in which Allah places much good." [Noble Quran 4:19]

"The best off you is the best of you toward his family (i.e., wife) and I am the best of you toward my family." At-Tirmidhi & others (sahih)

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Affection Between the Spouses is one of Allah's Signs


The affection which Allah has created in the hearts of the two spouses is one of His great signs for the people of understanding. Such people can look at this aspect of Allah's creation and be reminded of the greatness of Allah's work and power and the magnificent mercy Allah has placed in His creation. Please refer to Surah Ar-Rum:

"And among His signs are that He created for you from your selves mates that you may attain calm unto them and He placed between you affection and compassion. Surely in that are signs for a people who reflect." [Noble Quran 30:21]

"He is the one who created you from a single soul and made from it its mate that he may attain calm unto her." [Noble Quran 7:189]

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"The best off you is the best of you toward his family (i.e., wife) and I am the best of you toward my family." At-Tirmidhi & others (sahih)

Monday, November 15, 2010

عيد مبارك‎ "may you enjoy a blessed festival"


Well, I want to wish each and everyone of you the best Eid ever, may you spend it with your family and loved ones.

Eid Mubarak - "may you enjoy a blessed festival"