They both have a wife and daughter at home, not doing Itikhaaf. I can guarantee you that one of those daughters is not going to be much help. She’s not yet 3! :)

Thankfully the masjid has a working fridge and stove. The oven hasn’t been used in ages so they won’t use that. We’ll leave one five-gallon container of water with them and they’ll get the toaster oven. I told mom we can stock the freezer with a bag of fries and frozen fish sticks. We will partly bake some little beef pies that mom made and they can finish them up in the oven. And when we cook dinner we will carry it down for them. But since they will keep a car, maybe they can also come pick it up. I told them they can also expect KFC and Pizza and other food I feel like going and buying. After all, we might not be doing Itikhaaf but we will also have/want to spend the nights in extra devotion. My sister-in-law will make sure they’re stocked with snacks. Maybe we’ll move some of the niece’s into the masjid. I haven’t had chinese food in ages. Since my brother has been home I’ve not made pizza.

Empty house. Woohoo. My sister-in-law might spend some time by her mother. I tried to convince my mom she should do it too. Women don’t do it in the masjid. They kinda sequester themselves in part of the house, I think. Imagine…whole house too myself! Woohoo! Unfortunately no.

Now, you might be wondering what is the point of Itikhaaf.

When the prophet was 40 years old, he was spending a night in Ramadhan in the Cave Hira in prayer and devotion. The Angel Jibra’il came to him for the first time then. He received his first revelation. It was the first five verses of Suratul Alaq (Chapter 96 The Clot):

Read in the Name of your Lord, who has created,
Has created man from a clot
Read! And your Lord is Most Generous
Who has taught (the writing) by the pen
Has taught man that which he knew not.

This night is called The Night of Power. Worshipping Allah in that night is better than worshipping Him in a thousand months. So if you catch that night in prayer and devotion you will be…well very blessed.

The problem is nobody knows when the night is. The prophet was made to forget the actual date. Some people say it is the 27th. Some say it is in the last 10 nights. The strongest proofs and the general consensus is that it is in the odd nights of the last 10.

Some people don’t go so far. They just say it is in Ramadhan!

And that is the point of Itikhaaf.
You spend the nights of the last 10 in prayer and devtion, in search of the Night of Power. If you spend all those 10 nights praying (yes you can rest if you need to), you will obviously catch it.

What this really means is we’re coming down to the end!

My brother and father will “sequester” themselves in the masjid sometime Tuesday during the day. This will be the 20th fast and so they will be in the masjid before the start of the 21st day (that is Tuesday sunset!). until the end of Ramadhan (Ramadan will end at sunset before the day we go to the masjid for Eid prayers). Most likely Eid prayers will be Friday 10th and so it will actually be 9 nights?

Why did work have to start back now?
*sigh*

Today is the 18th fast.
I’m getting extremely tired and sleepy now.

I think I mentioned Itikhaaf or the Night of Power briefly in some previous posts here and here.

We made beef pies, froze some, baked some, sent some to the masjid and kept some.
We’ll send some of the beef pies with my brother and father for Itikhaaf next week.
I guess…more on that later? :)

We have two Iftar and dinners this weekend. Yay! And one on Tuesday (Emanciaption Day), otherwise known as the start of Itikhaaf.

I haven’t been sleeping much unfortunately.

I woke up for Suhur with a cramp in an upper calf (?). That was new.

And why am I so tired?

I STARTED BACK WORK!

Monday was a nice easy drive.
Wednesday, since the parents were going up that side I didn’t bother drive myself (NOTE: not driving, sitting in the back, aids car sickness). There was traffic for some unknown reason and it took about 1hr 30min to reach (it is usually just over an hour).

Today there was traffic. It just took over 2 hours! They say traffic was backed up all the way to Gasparillo.
Unfortunately we knew why.
There was a 3-person 3-car fatality and others taken to hospital. I don’t know if any more died. My heart goes out to them :(

And tomorrow?
Well as I was coming home today, I heard that a portion of the northbound highway collapsed so single-lane traffic and big jam. I wonder how far and if I will get stuck.
(Mom says don’t go to work!)
I’ve already been leaving early because of Ramadan.

Anywayz, I do have pictures to post but I’m beat. I fell asleep after breaking my fast for like 3+ hours and only just ate dinner and seriously contemplated skipping. I’m off to shower and pray Tarawih (and everything else) all by myself. On a chair!

All the best on the roads. Be careful!

It occurs to me the workshop is on September 2nd and 3rd.
Bear in mind, so you don’t attribute anything to sour grapes, I have no expectation of being invited.

But, that’s during Ramadhan. You know fasting?
But I guess muslims only account for about 6% (or something like that) of the population.
And of that, who knows how many fast, right?
So, maybe muslims not really invited.
Maybe after all, we’ve not really contributed to what’s made Trinbagonian food so unique…so good.
So fasting muslims don’t need to be invited to the workshop at all!

And then the first Sunday lunch is on September 12th.
Well, let me tell you, Eid-ul-Fitr is most likely September 10th or maybe the 11th.
Will I really be able to convince my tired parents and other muslim family to drive up to Toco the next day?

Well, Chennette might be here for that weekend.

ETA: This link has two links to T&T websites, neither of which work.
What a release.

Unfortunately, I’m not all that confident. Maybe it’s this little inferiority feeling…

A couple days ago I screwed up my courage and read for mom who was like, what? you’re not reading that bad.
Then I read for my brother.

I’m told I get more blessings struggling than those who are very fluent.

I always hope to carry on the quantity of reading I do in Ramadan out of Ramadan.

Software plug: On that subject, I use Zekr. It’s Open source Qur’an software.
The best thing about it is it works on Windows, Mac OSX and Linux (well I hope all Linux). It can display the Arabic with the transliteration with the translation, or alone. And you can add recitations (or use the online ones) and play each verse one at a time so you can read along with the recitation. I made sure all my family have it.

I must add that the audio doesn’t work on Linux PPC. I think it needs Java… But it still works nicely as a Qur’an.

Okay, I still use my hard copy qur’an because the script is *nice* and big, but I really need to get one of those colour-coded tajweed Qur’ans…it would help a lot more when I don’t have my computer.

I think we are onto our 10th fast…and
THERE IS AN IFTAR IN THE MASJID TONIGHT
Yay!
Pictures? :)

Now my brother is home for this Ramadan and as you know Chennette is in Guyana with our other sister so…there are enough people in Guyana to make the things we like too.

Chennette craves macaroni pie…posts pictures of macaroni pie. Well yesterday mom baked lamb in bbq sauce and I made macaroni pie. I also made a macaroni pie with beef that went into the freezer, a meal to be baked for another day.

She made googni (boil and fry blackeye with onions and whatever else) and next day mom makes it.

We make aloo pie and channa and cucumber chutney she says hmm maybe I want that instead of pizza.

And I think, hmm, how long has my brother been home and I haven’t made any pizza?

Last night, she chirps that

you can’t make style on us @empresslilandra WE making Aloo Pies tomorrow for #iftar! http://bit.ly/aOpPiU #Ramadan #Caribbeancooks

What else is in the lineup?

So, I guess, in a way, we are celebrating Ramadan together.

:-)

Hmm…I wonder if she’ll feel for non-stuffed but fried beef kibbe with tahini?

Fried Kibbe, originally uploaded by Lilandra.

It looks kinda like felafel, doesn’t it? :)

Well, I missed a day of posting, so now we’ve had 9 Tarawih and I started my 9th fast.

Hey, a week of Tarawih prayers are done!
And Alhamdulillah I managed to make it to the masjid every night for it, although I think I was falling asleep last night.

Water has finally come last night and hopefully it stays to fill up our tanks.

We got sahina to break fast from our neighbours but otherwise, yesterday was a day of leftovers.

I really want Chennette’s pizza, googni.
I also might have to make Golden Wheat Carrot Cake and for some reason am considering trying homemade pastrami (because where would I get halaal pastrami in Trinidad?)

So after Tarawih, it settled. We moved the old fridge out into the porch. We moved the new fridge into position and plugged it on and I wiped the insides with hot water. Filled the ice trays and went to sleep.

(okay a bit more involved than that. We had to take out the doors from the old fridge, so empty the doors, twist around back door, fiddle with new fridge feet…let people run around and not fall asleep after).

Happily when we woke up for suhur, the ice was frozen.
Of course the old fridge said the temperature was 38F after months when it couldn’t go below 45F and I think recommended is 40F at most. Our electronics are infamous for being jealous.

Hopefully someone will buy it even knowing it needs some work. I can’t deal with two fridges again!

And for iftar yesterday…
Well mom (with my help) made aloo pies, curry channa with cucumber chutney while we waited for the fridge to arrive. That was dinner for me too. And iftar.

Aloo Pie, Channa and Cucumber Chutney, originally uploaded by Lilandra.

Hmmm…

Well, I’m tired and have many pictures to go through but I will post a link to Chennette’s recipe with picture. I need to sleep so I can do more stuff tomorrow…:)

Today: 6th Ramadan.
Last night: 6th Tarawih
This morning: 6th Suhur

We’ve almost done a week of fasting. Wow time flies!

Oh mom made pholourie from a pack.
Instant pholourie, just add water.
(And fry…we need a long handle spoon…)
Yes, we take short cuts too, especially during Ramadan :)

But in case you want to know how to make your own, you can check out Trinigourmet’s website :) (I only found out earlier today she’s a saveur site we love…!)
Neither Chennette nor I seems to have posted a recipe.

I’m trying to read Qur’an every day and managing…
But I’m really Slooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow.

Today is the 5th of Ramadan. Last night we prayed the 5th Tarawih. This morning, we had our 5th Suhur and we are currently keeping the 5th fast.

So, to makeup for this…*sob* *sob*

Dad passed, saw cassava, couldn’t resist, bought loads, mom cooked it, sent half to the masjid…and tada!

Today is the 4th of Ramadan. Last night we prayed the 4th Tarawih. This morning, we had our 4th Suhur and we are currently keeping the 4th fast.

One of my childhood friends is visiting her family from abroad. She wants her children to grow up how we did, playing on the road, between the houses and in the masjid during Ramadan. She remembers the big gang of us, all walking to the masjid and back…the race to finish the Tarawih prayers in a half hour when the younger boys lead (ahem! We start Isha (night prayer) at 7:50pm so Tarawih at around 8:00pm and my brother finishes at…9:20pm…so at least one young boy grow up).

I miss those days too. The communal iftars (breaking of the fast) and dinners. (I guess this is a real subject for another post…in my grandfather’s lifetime, after and now).

Now we don’t have that much people and young people coming so really it’s just the brothers and maybe a couple sisters who go for Maghrib (sunset prayer). At sunset, one breaks the fast and then prays Maghrib. (I am told, if you are Shia, you break the fast when it’s completely dark…maybe half-hour after Maghrib prayer. We break when the sun starts setting, the colours start changing).

My mom and I don’t go to the masjid for Iftar and Maghrib. We don’t have the energy.

So at the masjid, it’s just a little iftar with whatever people bring, be it just dates, water, soft drink or whatnot (my brother carried a danish ring yesterday…special grocery trip…yes we love Entenmann’s, we saw it, we bought it, he decided to go the next day to buy another to carry to the masjid…how often do you see Entenmann’s in Trinidad at a reasonable price?).

Then after they pray Maghrib, they all trek back home to eat and then we return for Isha and Tarawih. Maghrib time is about 6:26pm and by the end of Ramadan it will be about 6:11pm. We try not to overeat between Maghrib and Isha because then we will be rather sleepy and sluggish and it will be harder to make it through the Tarawih prayers. Ha! I mightn’t even make it to the masjid. And we’re washing all the wares *after* Tarawih. Note, this is my family. Who knows what other people do.

But my brother and his family got invited to an Iftar in a neighbouring masjid. Maybe I can give my sister-in-law mom’s point-and-shoot camera to take some pictures of the food…hehehe. Also, I heard tell of someone wanting to have an Iftar in our masjid…so there’s hope. EXCITEMENT! I still hate washing dishes.

Oh, you’re wondering what we do for dinner. Well it depends. Friday and Saturday there is neighbourhood barbeque on sale so yesterday, we bought four boxes and had them not boxed, but each food separate…I think there is still quite a lot left. Thursday mom cooked fry aloo and bodi (separate) in the morning and when we went grocery (the first time we bought the Entenmann’s) we bought panini bread (?) which looked like sada so we could save on the cooking. So tonight, we will probably have leftovers..:-)

Today is the 3rd of Ramadan. Last night we prayed the 3rd Tarawih. This morning, we had our 3rd Suhur and we are currently keeping the 3rd fast.

I am trying to make all the Tarawih prayers (the special extra night prayer) this month.
Last year, I did most of it at home (I’d like to say 20 out of the 29). This year I will try to go to the masjid and benefit from the experience of my brother’s recitation as he leads us.

Our masjid does 8 rakat (each prayer or salah consists of a number of rakah/repetitions). Some others do 20. You might think well we only do 8 so we finish quickly. This is not so, he recites longer passages from the Qur’an. And it is beautiful even if I do not understand it all.

As to the fridge, mom finally had enough. Two years ago when we were leaving for Hajj, our fridge was in its sometime-ish mode and we weren’t even sure it was working. We left it plugged on with water bottles inside and went and hoped for the best. Since we’d gone through a few months with it being on-again off-again, it was easy to clear it out. It’s been like that since and finally mom fed up enough.

And since we all hate the side-by-side fridge and don’t want to worry about tricky circuit boards, we got an ordinary/traditional top-freezer model. FINALLY I WILL BE ABLE TO FIT DECENT TRAYS IN THE FRIDGE!

Woohooo.

Today is the 2nd of Ramadan. Last night we prayed the 2nd Tarawih. And this morning we had our 2nd Suhur (morning meal) to start our 2nd fast.

We shall start fasting tomorrow and the first Tarawih (special night prayer during Ramadan) will be tonight.

So it’s Ramadan and now … countdown until Eid?

We have a whiteboard in our house. A month ago I wrote up three categories, snacks, sweets and food and filled in one bit. My sister-in-law filled in one thing and off we went.

Sadly no food appeared on the list…until my mom added kibbe :)

Still no other food options…

Ah, well, I wonder what we’ll make.

And, yes Ramadan is more than food at the end of the month and food at sunset but for now the frivolous (even though I hope to have a very devout Ramadan and make it to the masjid every night for Tarawih!)

Laterz :)

We made good stuff and she took pictures with my camera which hasn’t been cleared in…um more than 7 weeks?

I’m really beat these days because…guess what?
I’m working!
Finally a paycheque (hmm I thought they said I would get paid yesterday but haven’t seen it yet)!
And I’m oh so tired.

Well, I felt very sous-chef…very did not do much (as Monday to Thursday straight very tired…well all I want is sleep and I’m too tired to sleep.

Regardless…I made a nice custard ice-cream this past weekend and it went really well with the tart apple crumble.

Maybe I’ll take some pictures of some mountains…maybe I’ll get the Eid-ul-Fitr pictures off my camera…that’d be a start, right?

Many years ago (when my parents first made Hajj), the Saudi embassy used to send emissaries to process passports and visas for the pilgrims going to Saudi Arabia for Hajj.

For various political reasons (so went the talk), they stopped coming. So the embassy in Caracas, Venezuela was assigned to the Caribbean. So pilgrims or the hajj leaders went there to get visas. Students go there too. Yes, our hajj visas were issued in Caracas last year too.

Well, the word was that they were coming again to Trinidad this year, and we were very happy because that Caracas trip is *stressful*.

On the news tonight, it was reported that a Saudi diplomat came in on Sunday to issue visas. On Monday the police came to his hotel room to interrogate and intimidate and search his room at the Hyatt. I think they said for guns…or whatever.

Why?

He travelled on a diplomatic passport and was met by representatives of the ministry of foreign affairs.

It’s outrageous.

Although I heard visas were issued this year, do you think they’ll ever come back to issue them?

They’ve already set small quotas for pilgrims coming…maybe they’ll stop us coming after all.

I am so ashamed but surprised?

If you know more, tell me. Right now, I’m watching IBN.

Well, I’ve never even made puffs before.

I burnt 1/4.

Furthermore, next time, we only make one of the recipe, maybe twice…five? you got to be kidding me.

On a happy note, mom’s layered chicken biryani tasted great. Usually chicken biryani is…well…you know so-so…okay…but can’t compete with lamb, goat or maybe even beef…
This chicken biryani tasted just as good so yay!

And as to the rest of the menu, we’re going by my cousin/aunt etc probably with our hands swinging because the non-burned gougères are going to the masjid…

Why didn’t I just bake a cake??
*sniffle*
Would’ve been less stress and less wares too.
Why oh why.
I guess it wouldn’t be ‘Id if I didn’t overdo it in some small way.

And, on that note,

‘Id Mubarak!!!!!!

26 out of 29 … way better than last year!

When a villager volunteered to come help, I enthusiastically said yes (because I know, as much as mom always says yes we’ll make rasgullah this year…it’ll never happen…it’s been delayed once again…) This meant mom wouldn’t feel obligated to make some of them and then she can make one fry thing and I can make one sweet thing.

But of course, things being as they are, mom was too tired for us to have them over.

But they made it at home anyway and brought it to us. Yay!

I am very grateful.

Granted, it’s not my mother’s recipe but who cares. We have Eid sweets!!!

They brought us kurma, gulab jamoon and coconut barfi.
Mom may or may not make accra on ‘Id day. I told her we’re bound to get at least one taste of something fried at the masjid so she doesn’t have to. She can make it the next day or during the week. Or I could try?
I’m going to make gougères (like 4 or 5 times the recipe and carry some to othe masjid).

I had dreams of making mamoul (date stuffed pastries) or a date cake or almond crescent biscuits and even a nice semi-frozen lime chiffon pie. I will make these things…just later…(like when we make rasgullah…you know).

For food, we’re making kibbe and chicken biryani and purple and white coleslaw.

I wonder if I should bother try to convince mom to just let me make lasagne instead of kibbe because you know who makes the kibbe and the biryani. At least I can make the lasagne ALL BY MYSELF!

What else would I like?

Accra.

And my sisters have many menus planned for different guests. One is stew chicken, fry rice, macaroni pie, potato salad…and for some reason I feel like drooling.

And who knows *when* ‘Id is. Sunday or Monday? Monday is the public holiday…if Sunday is ‘Id we will make accra on Monday. If Monday is ‘Id when will we make the chicken biryani? Saturday or Sunday? We like to make it the day before so we have something special to eat that last day. Maybe I can make the lasagne on Saturday?

*sigh*

Well, at least I have something to wear…I didn’t go crazy shopping during Hajj but I did get some stuff.

PS I have this dream of making blueberry pancakes on Eid morning before we go to the masjid. What time would I have to wake up for that???!!

But unfortunately, due to all the stress and worries, our heads were in a turmoil and I was worried that I would never be in the right frame of mind to make an accepted Hajj. But then, who can say what the right frame of mind is?

I didn’t want anything to spoil my Hajj, but there I was, haven’t even left Trinidad and Tobago yet, worried that my hajj might be spoiled by all the thoughts going on in my head. I was worried about why it took us so long to get visas. Who screwed up? Did anybody screw up? What about the other group that didn’t get visas? I was trying not to be annoyed with what I heard. I was trying to be *calm* and when upset make dua or pray..

In the years leading up to our trying to make Hajj (2006 when Chennette got sick, 2007 when our other siblings had babies), I never thought it would happen. I never thought I was ready for Hajj. I didn’t think I was worthy. I still didn’t think I was the perfect candidate but then…in our religion there are five pillars:

1. Tawhid – belief in one God and submission to him
2. Salaah – perform the 5 daily salawat
4. Zakaah – give the annual charity, one-fortieth of the money you’ve had for a whole year
5. Saum – fasting in the month of Ramadhan
7. Hajj – make the pilglrimage to Makkah, if you can afford it

And, I could afford it. Barely I guess ;-)
When I quit my job I made sure I had that money put aside (even though it seemed like a pipe dream) and didn’t touch it for anything.

And Alhamdulillah (All praise is due to Allah), I was finally making Hajj. My stomach shouldn’t've been in knots because of travel arrangements…yes it should’ve been in knots because of the great spritual/religious journey I was embarking on. I wanted it to change me for the better. I wanted to be a better person and a better muslim. And I was going to pray hard to change into that person.

Mostly, I wanted an accepted hajj. I know I’ve not been the best Muslim I can be and I know there have been lapses and I wanted forgiveness. Hajj gives you the opportunity for a clean slate (if accepted). But even if not accepted, I still decided it would be my turning point. There were many things I wanted (not just material!!!) and I also had to make up my mind to not be disappointed with whatever I received.

During all the worries about our visas and other groups not making it mom would announce at random, “It’s Allah’s house. When He’s ready for you to come, you will come.” Remember, Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) was ready for her to come twice before. And so with dad. Chennette and I were embarking on our first hajj. The obligatory one. And no matter what people tell you about it, you know you’ll never be ready.

And on a side-note, I was very concerned about these infamous stooping toilets or sunnah toilets.

EEK!

Especially considering certain surprises.

But don’t worry, I will have a post dedicated to that *luxury*.

Originally posted here and comments enabled here too.

The preceding week was very stressful as there was still some doubt that our first group (we had been split into two as we were such a large group) would be able to make hajj. They left Trinidad on the Tuesday before us and since then had missed so many flights and there was some talk of having to pay change of date fees and rebooking fees.

Furthermore, during that week we didn’t hear much from the first group directly. There were many rumours floating around that they were “locked up” and “starving”. They left Trinidad without their passports as the visas had not been issued yet and were supposed to collect them Tuesday morning at Caracas with the visas (the Saudi Embassy is in Caracas) and then continue on with their connecting flights. Caribbean Airlines said they would take people with some sort of photo ID and Trinidad and Tobago immigration said if Caribbean Airlines would board our group then they have no problem letting them leave. I assumed Venezuela was okay with 40-odd passengers being in transit waiting for their passports.

Well our whole group didn’t get visas until Thursday and ours arrived in Trinidad on Friday. So the first group had not left before us as was the plan. But they weren’t locked up. They were staying in a hotel outside of the airport. This was rather stressful. A couple from our jamaat were part of the first group.

During that week we got many calls from many people saying, yes we got it!, yes we got it! (and we would wonder but didn’t you say we got it yesterday?). It got to the point I didn’t want to answer the phone anymore. One Hajj leader, a friend of dad, sent a message with his wife for us to not leave Trinidad without our passport and visa! Don’t!

In that week, we also heard that one group didn not get through at all. Can you imagine a group of 50 paid their money for everything and then their visas are refused?

You must be really careful in picking a group. People may not talk but somehow you should find out for sure whether your group leader is licensed or not. If you can’t find out, sometimes the students in Saudi Arabia might be able to find out for you…I don’t know how…they might be better able to listen to what people are saying. Also, you have to get previous hujaaj to tell you honestly about their experience. And just because it was good one year doesn’t mean the next year it will be so.

So, Sunday morning, we left. We had confirmed bookings. We had visas. The only thing that could stop us was immigration at any point. There was enough layover time at each stop (or so we thought anyway). We were just worried about our fellow hujaaj in the previous group. The hajj terminal in Jeddah closes on Tuesday midnight and our group was scheduled to arrive Monday. If you’re not in by Tueday midnight you’ve missed it. They won’t let you in to make hajj. We didn’t know what their flights were anymore. We heard they would take the same flight with us out of Caracas to Frankfurt and when we went on to Jeddah from there, they would go through Amman and arrive the day after us. Cutting it very closely, yes?

Leaving Piarco (Trinidad) was hard. Our neighbours carried the four of us up. And we were the first to check-in I thought. We were starting to wonder if we were *late* (was it even 4 am??) It’s sad when the whole family is going because there is nobody to wave you goodbye. But then, isn’t it sadder when you’re leaving someone behind because then you *are* waving someone goodbye? Either way ti felt strange.

Thankfully in the throngs that came to see off the last hajj group, friends and family did appear. One group came with samosas and such (pre-arranged) so we’d have some extra food/snacks for the trip. Relatives of the people from the first group came to see us off too, and talked dad’s ear off. Dad was even able to thank one of the persons responsible for our group actually getting our visas.

With all this stress, I decided not to take gravol (much needed medicine for flying…but it puts you to sleep). We would arrive in Caracas around 11 and not leave until 5pm…and I didn’t think it would be wise to be asleep and groggy throughout that stay. The stories we’ve heard!

Originally posted here and comments form open here too.

One of them, about two to three hours into the drive, had BISWAS written on the side, in capital letters! Unfortunately I have no photographic evidence (we were in a bus)!

If you’re interested, check wikipedia or Amazon.com.

I know, I know, some of you Arabs/Arabic speakers (hmm do any read here?) will come and tell me what the actual significance of the phrase BISWAS is but for now…I prefer to imagine!