Mama-Grandmother

June 13th...5 years since my grandmother passed away. I needed to express and stress about how important she was in my life. I loved her like no other...but here we go:
And everyday it hurts to cry.
So much has happened in my life,
I’m not sure how hard to try.
Tears are falling constantly,
My heart hurts.
I feel your presence near.
I will hold you close in memory,
Till I drop my very last tear.
And although this pain is painful,
And I really don’t wanna let you go.
I’ll wait for death to take me mama,
So we can be together one day.

Until that day I’ll close my eyes,
and see your smiling face.
I’ll lock you up inside me heart,
Until we again embrace.

I miss you dearly Mama there’s nothing more to say

Bundle of thoughts...Islam and my life

Asalamu alaikum everybody! Before I start writing this post I would like to mention that in no way whatsoever am I trying to say i'm a perfect Muslim. I am far far from that...These are just some thoughtsAs I've started growing up I've starting going through a spiritual journey...a journey in which I will not be able to explain to you all to the fullest. My spiritual journey consists of who I am becoming and how i'm starting to feel closer to Allah (SWT).During the last couple of months i have faced hardships...hardships which have been kept within me how I learned to tackle it? one simple word with a meaning larger than the universe....ISLAM. 

To me Islam is the key to all these locked doors. During these last couple of months I have been looking more and more into Islam and found answers which no family member or friend has been able to give me. I'm not just talking about advice on what to do and whether it's right or wrong, I'm talking about something with a much deeper meaning. Islam and the Quran have softened my heart.Growing up in an Islamic household, I was brought up learning about my religion from a young age. My parents taught me how to pray and read Quran. They taught me the importance of prayer and the sunnah. They taught me right from wrong. But I was never really interested in deeply looking into these meanings..the meanings of these beautiful words of Allah written in the beautiful Arabic language until I started this journey.

The Quran to me personally is not only a guide to life but a heart softener. I started reading the Quran and exploring it more. When something good happens I have learnt to thank Allah and reading Quran seems to help me hold onto that happiness. When something bad happens..you know what still alhamdulilah you know why? because I've learnt gradually that Allah knows best. Then what? I go to read Quran for sabr (Patience).Patience in everything I do is needed. I'm a person who will give up as soon as a face a struggle so I panic whether in education or out of education. Controlling my anger has given me patience and only since I started asking Allah for guidence in prayers I feel as if my prayers have been answered. Never will I ever underestimate the power of Dua again. When it truly comes from the heart Allah will always answer your call no matter what. After all he is As-Sami (السميع) The Hearer of Alla and Al-Karim (الكريم) The Generous SO never miss out on what Islam has to offer. 

Rasulullah (SAW) said, “Shall I tell you who are the best among you? The best of you are those who when seen are a means of Allah being brought to mind.” Al-Tirmidhi

I know I slack but now I realise when I slack I have a feeling of regret and try to repent. Many people don't see the change in me but inshallah thats the next step. To clean up my actions. Subhanallah in the hadith above I have interpreted it as being seen as a Muslim...not only a Muslim, but a Mu'min.We all face daily struggles but those who are smart will seek help from Islam. The key to these closed doors. Islam is a way of life and without our prayers what do we expect to achieve? Sometimes I remind myself that I may be getting everything in this life but what is waiting for me in the life after death? For this reason I am trying to find who I am and clear my soul. 

Yesterday I saw a picture....A message was engraved on a grave stone it read:
"Ya waqif 3inda Qabri La teta3ajeb min amriBel emsa konto mithlek Wa ghaden takoono mithli"

This translates to:
"You who is standing beside my graveDon't be surprised with my situation Only yesterday I was like youAnd tomorrow you will be like me"

This made me think long and hard. I need to stop wasting so much time on pointless things and seek knowledge, repent to Allah and try and earn more good deeds.I have a bundle of thoughts in my head everything so mixed up but this is surely a sign that I am improving and I hope Allah makes all your journey's less difficult and may Allah guide us all to the right path. Ameen

"Do whatever you want" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2Eq3ztYjUI

Long time no post lol! ok so a couple of days ago I watched a very inspiring YouTube video called "Do whatever you want" By @AmeenOutspoken on twitter and it made me think about the future choices I made and how to get past it by changing my mentality. In my opinion many of us face daily problems which we don't know how to solve whether its minor or major, but one thing im personally facing at the moment is motivation or encouragement to do well in school and also to start thinking about future careers. You may be thinking what has that got to do with the post title but you will see.
My parents have very high expectations as do all other parents but i failed to see that i may not be able to reach them all so for the last two years I have been going along with it thinking its all going to be a dilly dally future until a couple of months ago when it hit me that I don't want to be a doctor like my parents and my whole family want me to be, I looked into my interests and realized that being a doctor is not for me but now i'm in a dilemma. What do I do? do I go on with studying towards being a doctor? should I tell my parents that is not the career I want to take on? Because as an individual I know that doing something that i don't want to do will never end well and I think that you should only take on a career that you will enjoy studying towards and putting a lot of time and effort towards so to me studying medicine isn't worth that.
After watching Ameen's video ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2Eq3ztYjUI ) I realized that I have to make these decisions because it's my future.
There are many reasons as to why it is important to change our mentality the main reason being that it is important for ourselves to progress and to get things done. Another reason is that is this the mentality we want the future generation to have? To me our current generation is not as up to scratch as the previous ones and I have realized that the levels of motivation (to do anything) has dropped from what I have been told.So it is important to change our mentality for the best for ourselves and for the future generations.
The point is do whatever you want to do whether it is for education,careers,religion, travelling or whatever it is your choice and yours only.Don't let people make these decisions for you because in the end you know yourself best and although people will be able to give you advice it may not always work.Also the environment you're in can make things harder to do but when you put your mind to something it is always possible. 
All these points were from the video and I totally agree with it so Jazakallahu khair to @AmeenOutspoken on twitter and check out his videos:
http://www.youtube.com/user/bezeftv

 

My best friend....she no longer exists in this world

Siham you were that girl who’s hair flaired in the wind while we ran down the dusty roads in Algeria…remember those ice creams that hisham rammed down our throats. Remember the swing we made on the roof top that we used to create stories and imaginative plays on….remember when we had an argument and you left me a 4 paged letter to say sorry….remember all the beach days we had and do you remember playing crazy chase with the boys in the woods?
I remember this all and much more..do you remember me? You left me and all your loved ones you left this ugly life for me to handle alone…we were bestfriends and we had our charm while racing down Ali’s farm.
Sometimes i break down knowing you were the only one who knew all about me my story my life my cells my heart…you were that ginger algerian girl who was my orange now I’m left with only the rotton fruit in the bowl.
I know that sometimes things are meant to be...but i really thought you were that sister to me. I can't get over the fact that you're gone.
And since i lost you I've realized that you were a precious gem nothing like an ugly stem your beauty shone brighter than as diamond....you had the personality that we all adored you had that heart so big that it touched the clouds. But where are you now when the clouds have become all grey remember the last time i saw you in May.
We used to walk like a pair if only we were closer i would go around and say hey my best friend is a poser.
You never left me alone not once not twice not even when i ate all the rice.
Listen forever i will represent the girl that you were never looked bad in faux fur you had that smile of the century don't mention me.
I gotta let it all out tell them all you had the winning pout because i know that no one will ever say "siham you aint getting your way"
I miss you siham…i hope you still remember.
Best friends forever.

This year i turned to Allah

Lately there have been a lot of stuff that have occurred in my life. Things that i have found difficult to cope with and things that have made me jump from joy. But one thing that has made things a lot more difficult is that i ignored my emotions thinking thats the way to go forward. The deaths of my loved ones have affected me greatly this year. Its always a struggle that i have had to cope with growing up but never did i realize that there are solutions...and one of the biggest ways that helped me cope has been Islam.
This year i turned to Allah for the strength and patience i needed and alhamdulilah i got that.

I realized that although i wasn't the person who would speak their heart out , i could to Allah. I asked for forgiveness and for patience, for knowledge and for good health and of course the right path.

I didn't just turn to Allah when i had problems, i thank him for every smile that appears on my face. I thank him for every drop of water i have used . I thank him for all the good and bad aspects of my life because everything happens for a reason And he is the all knowing.

We all need to stop and realize what a blessing our lives actually are and how blessed we are for the good health and easy access to everything we need.
We must not forget all the innocent people dying from hunger.
We must not forget all the innocent people dying from the struggles

As well as turning to Allah for ourselves turn to Allah for the sake of others and pray for the ummah

Please don't underestimate the beauty of the quran it truly softens your heart as it did to mine

May Allah increase us in knowledge and in Faith and strengthen the Muslim ummah of today.
Ameen

I can't be 100% me in todays society

Recently i've been hearing a lot of people saying "she needs to be herself and stop being fake" but i thought about it and think that there is no way someone can be the true person they are. Now i'm not suggesting that everyone is a fake , the point i am trying to get to is that each person has a limit of being themselves around others. For example younger people and teenagers can't be who they are around their friends because of the expectations an standards that are placed in our community...there are different stages of "cool" which leads to peer pressure , bullying and things as such. 

But i want to take it into more depth, what i'm trying to say is that you can be yourself around people but you will never express 100% you as you might want to please the people you are around. E.g: being fun and joyful but never expressing your feelings as that may ruin your reputation. This may not be the best example as it could be due to lack of confidence but then again lack of confidence comes from not being able to fit in and being scared of the criticism you could receive.

My main point for this is that after years of me saying to people "just be yourself" i've realized that its not that easy to express who you are. People may not agree with this but there is always 1 (or more) things that people are too scared or nervous to do/say/admitt/ way of acting in front of others. Personally around some people i don't talk about the side of me that is caring and only focus on having a good time...you might ask why? well this is because i know their personalities and it may bore them which may lead to other things such as rumours etc.

So please before telling someone to be themselves remember that there is a lot you don't know about that person and the difficulties they may face especially in our generation. I'm writing this from a teenagers point of view because i am a teenager and this is something that affects many but could also be said to others in other ways.


Thanks for reading, feel free to comment 
Twitter: @Hajerella
Tumblr: hijabionthestreet.tumblr.com

Dont judge a book by its cover

So lately I've been more involved in my school work than social networking and if you know me you would know i have a hint of love for fashion. I got told something that really mind boggled me today..I got told or rather some one said to me:
 "oh you dont seem like the sort of girl who would be smart,educational and into politics" At first I was a bit confused so i went on to ask:
 "why would you say that?" Now to be clear i wasn't angry or offended , I decided to take a look at what she said from a different view she replied:
"Well most girls who are into fashion tend to not enjoy school and flop in their education" I laughed at the comment and continued the conversation as if nothing was ever said.

When I got home I though about this and wondered do people really see people who are into fashion as dumb? I think this is the problem with people of course we all judge but is it really necessary for us to judge someone to that extent? can someone not be both smart and into fashion? In my opinion people have got to change their mentality and try to keep it up to date with this generation. To me it degrades people because there is this whole stereotype that clever people are nerdy and ugly and dumb people are into fashion and beautiful. 
My message for this short rant is dont mix looks with personality and achievements...if you dont know someone dont be too quick to judge as it can probably casue down fall to some peoples confidence.

Just my thoughts
@hajerella - twitter 

I have never really understood some people

WOW! I dont think i have posted new blog post in months ! im back :) anywayyy...
I have never really understood some people or maybe its just that i have a different way of thinking. How does one not have a personality of their own? I shouldn’t really question this but i feel sorry for people who have no brain of their own. You tend to have much more fun while being yourself. take me for example , in my opinion i have a lot more fun when i am comfortable with being myself . who doesn’t ? be proud of who you are HONESTLY there’s no shame :)

By the way follow me on tumblr to enter my mind boggling word. ( i love that word ) : http://algerianexpress.tumblr.com/

Be yourself when you blog

<p> I asked an amazing blogger what should i blog about ? She said blog about anything , just be you and people will love it. </p>
<p>I like blogging, but sometimes i have no idea on what to blog about. Writers block. i take inspiration from everything around me , i write up the post and it ends up being saved and not published . So i asked myself "what is your aim with this blog?" I came to a conclusion that is is for nothing other than me sharing my thoughts to the social world.
I don't think i will tweet about a particular subject , i hope the blog reflects who i am and shows me hoe I've changed over time.Also writing is something I enjoy by blogging i am doing what i enjoy most.
 
From now i will be me. That crazy ALgerian girl living in London ? Yeah that's me. That girl who is in deep love with the Arab culture ? Yes thats me . That girl that loves her religion more than anything ? Yeah that's me. That girl that loves being original , random and energetic ? Yeah that's me.

@za3targirl on twitter has inspired me to do this, just to tell you all what my aim is.

-ThatArabGirl
-beace x

Saying goodbye

4 days until i travel to Algeria . And its time to say goodbye to all my loved ones. I feel as if i'm leaving forever although I'm only going for a month. Tears start rolling down my cheeks for i wont be in Contact with them for a month. Tomorrow i will say goodbye to my bestfriend who is literally my sister. Not talking to her for a month will kill me and tomorrow will definitely be an emotional day for me. So this is dedicated to her. I love you like a sister , stay safe during the holidays <3 :D

Last week in england

The house is buzzing with excitement for in one week our whole family will go on a holiday to Algeria. Everyone's busy doing their last minute shopping and buying presents for our family there. 

Before I go I tend to say " ahh i wont miss England and is horrible weather" but once i get to Algeria i tend to miss home. The food is very different there , their lifestyle is very different. I enjoy my time there but i always end up missing London. I do enjoy being away from all the technology though, and life is much simpler there.

The beach , The sun , The family ... we all need a bit of that eh ;) 

In Algeria i will be visiting a city called Oran. Its in the north west of Algeria and is the closest point in Algeria to Spain.

update done. 

  -That Arab Girl 
   Beace out

A little bit about Ramadan

Its that time of year when all Muslims come together as one. As an Ummah. yes its Ramadan. i will starting with wishing you all Ramadan Kareem. Ramadan is more than just fasting .During this blessed month of Ramadan, Muslims all over the globe prevent themselves from food and drink and other physical needs such as music and smoking during the day until Maghreb (sunset). It is a time to purify our souls and get closer to Allah SWT. This holy month is more than just not eating and drinking. Zakat (charity ) is also highly encouraged during this month.

A bit about Ramadan :

-Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calender 

-Sawm (fasting) is the fourth pillar of Islam 

-The Quran was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) during this month.Lailet ul-Qadr (the night of power) was the night it was revealed on.

-We Muslims attempt to read the Quran and complete it.

-During Ramadan special evening prayers take place, during which long texts of the Quran are recited.It is called Taraweeh.

So...why do you only fast during Ramadan ?

We fast during Ramadan because it is the blessed month ordained by god. During this month Satan is locked away to prevent misleading and deceiving in the ear of the believers.This doesn't mean people will not be able to sin or commit bad deeds. it means that any sins are committed they are from the heart of the person and the devil cannot be blamed.

what good do you get out of it ?

Allah SWT has promised that the reward of good deeds and good actions that take place during this month will be multiplied greater than usual.This encourages Muslims to increase their worshiping and prayer. Also Ramadan brings the Muslim community closer together. We tend to support each other and encourage each other to do better. The atmosphere during this blessed month is amazing. 

Breaking the fast :

When breaking our fast, we say a dua (supplication):

Bismillah alrahman alraheem . Allahuma ini laka laka sumto, wa bika amanto, wa alaika tawakalto , wa ala rizkika aftart.

Translation :

In the name of Allah the beneficent the merciful .O Allah i fasted for you and i believe in you and i break my fast with your sustenance.

People tend to break their fast with a date as it is sunnah.

Taraweeh:

During Ramadan special evening prayers take place, during which long texts of the Quran are recited.It is called Taraweeh.The Arabic word "Taraweeh" comes from the word rest. Taraweeh prayer can be very long (an hour or so) . After every two sujoods we takes a brief rest. And this is where the name comes from. Taraweeh (rest prayer).

Why is your name That Arab Girl ?

Simple.Short and Sweet. I called it That Arab Girl because 1. im Arab 2.Im a girl and 3.because i wanted too. Maybe this can change at least a single persons view on who Arabs are ...we are not terrorists and should not be grouped as radical terrorists. maybe this will show people that we do think just like the rest of the world. we are human, therefore there should be equality between us and the western society. 

Free Palestine . Free Syria . Free The Oppressed. 

-That Arab Girl

  beace out.

Anyone can be A friend really...

Yeah not the sort of thing i would usually blog about but it is my blog  and my second memory i guess. there is Two girl who to be honest are more than a friends to me..more like a sisters ( @alia_magnoona , @curlyQxoxo ). they are one of those people who you can speak to every second of your life and not get bored. i can trust them with absolutely anything and everything. those are qualities of a good friends right ?

The thing is i met Alia and madicyn over twitter and this just shows that "anyone can be a friend really". In my  opinion you dont have to meet someone for them to become your friend.Because the definition of friend is someone who you look up to, someone you can trust and someone who makes tyou smile. They do that so whats stopping me from naming them friends ? nothing.

No matter how stupid some people think this may sound i know its true. 

-That Arab Girl

  beace out !

holiday rambles

HELLO !!
wow june is almost over ...time is flying ! but guess what that means ? schools almost over alhamdulilah been a long year but also went quiet fast. if you get what i mean ;) anyway im very ecstatic at the moment because im going to algeria ! WOOP ! I love going there and being away from everything just relaxing with no contact with anyone what so ever . just relaxing ! i guess the beach is probably my FAVE place to be but you know i wont complain about london seeing as i absolutely love it here ...even if the weather can be quiet intimidating . this leads us onto the next topic : SUN IN LONDON ! wow the last couple of days have been hot , no im not enjoying the sun because im simply to lazy to and because my life consists of twitter and blogging i might aswell make this an enjoyable one ..;)


To me Algeria is another home and although i only visit once a year i still consider it as a second home. For me its the only place i can get away from technology and actually enjoy myself without it . Big house,Big family and im pleased with that alhamdulilah.The only family i visit there are my dads..for the obvious reason that NONE of my father's family live in London so i love spending one whole summer with them, and at least the weather is amazing out there, always hot and breezy at night. wait how could i forget the green tea ? well Algerians are professionals at making it :)


yeah thats practically what i like most about it ....unless you count food in the holiday experiance which i dont think counts .....well maybe it does but thats on another post . so thats all from me


- That Arab Girl
   beace out x

a couple of things about me !

well i guess i want to look back at this blog as a memory , so here a few things about me and who i am now 

Well i am a Muslim and extremely proud to be as well ! Religion plays a big part in my life and I'm happy that way , I feel as if it guides me as to what i should be doing and how i should be viewing my life . British Algerian I am and I'm also very proud of  this . I live in a place like NO other , A place full of multi culture and i cant stand being away from it ... this place means the world to me i have grew up here and i thank god that i have NEVER experienced racism or discrimination against my race . London is my home and it provides me with everything i need towards my success in life ! 

But anyway lets get back on track ..i think I'm a creative person in terms of reading , writing . I have to say reading is a big part of my life to its improved my vocabulary greatly and has left me with very formal ways of writing . It also just relaxes me and just drags me into the book and away from the world ! peaceful moments :D  

You could also say that I'm into politics mostly the Israeli-Palestinian conflict . As a young child i was always brought up on the Arab viewing of this whole situation , i was brought up strictly boycotting Israel and I'm quiet happy to do that ! But quiet recently i wanted to discover more from both sides of the situation . Before i looked into all this i thought that all Jewish people were bad ... I was never taught this but from what i never knew i just viewed it this way ,Then i discovered Zionism and that explained a lot to me . That is when i realised that this wasn't all Israelis/Jews against Palestinians it was a Zionist- Palestinian conflict ! I however acknowledge that i have not got enough knowledge to talk about this whole debate as i  might have wrong facts . But what i do know is that I'm anti Zionist and that the killing of innocent people shouldn't go unnoticed ! 

Yeah so thats a little about me so till next time BEACE OUT ;)

summer time maybe not !

hey people :)
so its meant to be nearly summer right ? wrong in London the weather is atrocious at the moment . there's been storms and rain and its been freezing overall. to add to the miserable weather its exams season coming up which doesn't help ! so im going to do


 5 TOP TIPS ON HOW TO STUDY YOUNG MUSLIMA STYLE :
1. sleep well . i think its important to have at least 8 hours of sleep everyday especially when you are studying , although not many abide by this rule try to stick to it as much as possible because if you do end up staying all night revising , your going to wake up tired and you will be unable to remember a thing . 


2. have 3 meals a day and drink lots off water . your brain needs to be well stimulated other wise it will be tired and you will find it hard to concentrate and end up on a social networking site , as do i ( not a good habbit )


3. take regular 10 minute breaks , too much work will over load your brain and i dont think its an effective way of learning . BUT dont be naughty and take too many breaks or breaks that are too long !


4. dont be nervous . the more you think about it the more worried you will get which will effect you levels . stay calm . 


5. follow these tips and who knows maybe it will make studying easier for you :)


so thats it for today  i think my next post will deffo be the summer time jewelerry favorites  im just going to edit them and arrange them and what not !


so till next time :)  

Racial slur NEEDS to stop .

Hello readers hope you are all well , so today I'm going to be talking about something important that is going on in chicago America . The word "abeed" is being used as a racial slur against black people . Now what does the word "abeed" actually mean ? It means the slave of Allah .this word is used in the quran. The large Arab community are the people using this word as a racial slur . Are we all not the slaves of allah ? Why is it being used against black people this is basically to raise awareness and put an end to this so please next time Arabs in America Chicago want to use this word to describe Americans please think about how others feel I will post the link of the website where you can purchase special tops to raise awareness this needs to stop just like any other racism or bullying . I will post some links up at the bottom of this post This is the facebook page you can also purchuse the tops there : 



http://www.facebook.com/pages/We-are-all-abeed-عبيد-of-Allah/276647645735495?ref=ts