The beloved of Allah 
, Muhammad, may Allah ’s peace and blessings be upon him, said,
“Make things easy and do not make them hard, and cheer up people and do not repel them.”
Tonight I spoke to someone who was there just to make things easy for me. How wonderful this world would be if we were there just to make things easy and cheer up one another.
About strength… we may push our bodies to demonstrate talent and ability, but real strength is about how much we will push our souls to do the right thing; to do justice in all spheres of life.
Last night I received my red-stripe in taekwondo. It was tough. Achieving a black belt has been a dream of mine since my teens, but as I get closer to it, the whole endeavor gets more challenging. What’s challenging is not the training itself, but that the testing always comes with a test of my spirit, my intentions and my vision. After all of the pain and intensity, one wonders where she is going with it all, and whether her spirit can take her further still, and it can. And so, I have come to measure my success as a human being by the discipline, bravery and perserverance I apply to tae kwon do. One of my greatest wishes is to have many other people adopt this spirit too, so that they can sustain me when I get tired, and so that they can go that much more of the distance, God-willing :)
Here’s an awesome video-recording of the pattern I had to do at this stage:
Although tae kwon do means a lot to me in one respect, it is a culture in itself, and each movement, pattern and belt has its own meaning. Here are the meanings for you and for me, and may Allah SWT help me to live up to them, ameen.
White signifies a birth, or beginning, of a seed. A white belt student is a beginner searching for knowledge of the Art.
Yellow signifies the first beam of sunlight which shines upon the seed giving it new strength with the beginning of new life. A yellow belt student is given his/her first ray of knowledge, opening his mind, from an instructor.
Green signifies the growth of the seed as it sprouts from the earth reaching toward the sun and begins to grow into a plant. A green belt student learns to further develop and refine his/her techniques.
Blue signifies the blue sky as the plant continues to grow toward it. A blue belt student moves up higher in rank just as the plant grows taller. The light feeds the plant so it can continue to grow. The student is fed additional knowledge of the Art in order for his/her body and mind continue to grow and develop.
Red signifies the red-hot heat of the Sun as the plant continues growing toward it. A red belt student is higher in rank, he/she acquires more detailed knowledge and, just as the plant grows slowly toward the Sun, so the red belt student learns to be more cautious as his/her knowledge and physical abilities increase.
Black signifies the darkness beyond the Sun. A black belt seeks new knowledge of the Art. As he/she begins to teach others, he/she begins planting new seeds, his/her students, many of which will take root deep into the Art, blossom and grow through the ranks in a never-ending process of self-growth, knowledge, and enlightenment.
This movement is amazing. Its the so-called ‘teen modesty movement’ whereby teen women are trying to dress modestly in order to regain the respect and understanding they deserve. I guess we expected it. What amazes me about the movement is that is truly grassroots; its based on the history, the sentiments, the aims and priorities of women in North America. Sadly, and yet so wonderfully, we have no claim to it. We can’t simply say that they’re turning to Islam, but perhaps they’re finding islam in something completely natural.
 May Allah SWT guide them.
Check out these sites. When I first saw them I thought that someone had taken my Islam and my da’wah right out from under my nose. We have only to live up to them now.
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