Eid reflections and writing therapy

I haven't posted for a couple of weeks. But I did think about it every single day. Inshaa Allah I hope to try giving the blog some more time in the future and instead of just hurriedly jotting down posts about my Sunday class, I want to make it a little personal by letting you into my mind a bit. Lots of things bubbling up there and this is the perfect sounding board to pour those thoughts and ideas on to. Writing always helps the thought process by making things clearer. Putting them out there in black and white. You can pour out your heart and then look at those nuggets of your heart from all angles and decide which ones you want to pick and take forward with you in life, which ones you want to throw away, and which ones you want to keep dormant for a while and pick up later. It's therapeutic, this art of writing. I hope inshaa Allah to instill the habit of writing in all the kids in my Sunday class. That just gave me an idea of an activity for the older kids! See what I mean?! :)

I hope you all had a wonderful Eid with your loved ones. We had a fun filled but a super hectic Eid, this time. We had neighbours, friends, and family over and most importantly lots and lots of kids! By the time the last guest has left the house looks like a tornado hit it. SubhanAllah! No matter how much I sulk while cleaning up the gigantic mess, I know I wouldn't have it any other way. Eid just wouldn't be Eid if the kids didn't have a blast. I try my best to make Eid the party of the year for them! Inshaa Allah, may Allah give me the strength to continue this self-inflicted tradition year after year! :P

As I mentioned, we had neighbours and friends (Muslims and non-Muslims) as well, so I made both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. This is what my Eid menu looked like:

1. Jeera rice
2. Chicken Angarey
3. Mutton Koftas
4. Malai chicken kabab
5. Paneer chili fry
6. Bhindi fry
7. Tamatar Baingan
8. Dahi wada
9. Raita
10. Sheerkurma

Yes, yummy! And yes, my legs were killing me when I was done. :)

The Sunday after Eid we had a potluck party after the class. The kids were so excited about getting something yummy from home. It was lovely to see them all gather around and share a meal together. I hadn't taken down my Eid party decorations so that they get the feel of Eid and we played a few beautiful nasheeds, just loud enough so that the neighbours don't complain. :)

Preparing for Eid ul Adha!

Lots of excitement in the air during these wonderful 10 days of Dhul Hajj. In my Sunday class too we spoke about Eid ul Adha, the different names it is known by in our country (Bakri Eid, Qurbani Eid, Badi Eid), about doing ghusl on the morning of Eid, wearing new lovely clothes, going to the masjid or eidgah for Eid salaat, about the yummy food prepared on that day. I told them a fun and silly way of greeting everyone this Eid. Since the sheep has a lot of significance for us on Eid ul Adha, I told them to greet like a sheep! Eid Mubaaaarak! :)

I told them the story of Eid. Ibrahim alaihi salaam's great sacrifice and why the sheep is significant. The younger ones then did a sheep craft which they enjoyed a lot, as they bleated Eid Mubaaaarak to each other!

We began learning the meaning of the Surah Al Fatihah - ayah by ayah. We covered the first four ayat today and in shaa Allah hope to finish the rest next week.

Next week in shaa Allah the class will be shortened to an hour, since we will have a pot luck Eid party after that!

Until then, here's wishing all the Muslim's around the world EID MUBAAAAAARAK!!!