Ever since it became an “option” in middle school, all the way through my collegiate years, cheating has made me sick to my stomach.  I *hate* cheating.  I think it is a sorry and pathetic habit to have and hide.  I’ve always felt it was better to fail with honor than pass by cheating

I have a few students, unfortunatley, that are cheating right under my nose and I can’t catch them so they keep slipping by.  Sometimes when I grade their papers I want to pull out my hair and start screaming because I’ll see all the wrong work and then the right answer amidst a mess of numbers.  The work is not leading to this correct answer, so I have to wonder HOW DID YOU GET IT??

This is coming from the same students that turn in their homework right on top of the “smart” friend’s homework and it looks almost IDENTICAL to their friend’s.  I mean line-for-line, mistake-for-mistake, the EXACT same!!

I’ve threatened to fail them, I’ve tried to emphasize the honor system, I’ve even tried the fear of God, but NOTHING is getting through to them.  Cheating is an addiction that is too hard to let go off.

Yuck, ickh, gross.  Cheating is a shame for all students!  Bleckh!

I always have hated cheating, and I always will.

The theme at the last MMYC Spring Conference was:  The Prophetic Legacy–the North Star in Our Troubled Waters.  Throughout the weekend, speakers kept mentioning various hadith relating back to why it was so important to take the Prophet (sallalahu alayhi wasalaam) as an example and guide in our lives.  And how now, more than ever, during this troubling time for our ummah, it is vital for us to increase our love for him.

One of the hadith that I think almost every single speaker mentioned was from Sahih Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 2, Number 13, narrated by Abu Huraira:

“Allah’s Apostle said, “By Him in Whose Hands my life is, none of you will have faith till he loves me more than his father and his children.”

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This past weekend I had the opportunity to head back to one of my most favorite places in my heart– the MMYC Spring Conference.

MMYC is the Michigan Muslim Youth Council and it was founded back in my hayday of ‘99.  I was a freshman in high school when all the Michigan area youth groups decided to come together and form one umbrella organization.  It’s purpose was to better connect the youth of all the distinct communities in Southeast Michigan.

MMYC started off by putting on day seminars and activities in different communities.  I guess the hope of MMYC was by sticking its name on a flier (as opposed to just the name of the host community) kids from all over Michigan would want to attend.  It didn’t make any sense to me, but it worked.  Muslim high schoolers would flock to MMYC events in hopes of seeing friendly faces from afar every now and then.

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Growing up I always thought that Winter was my favorite season of the year.  It somehow managed to feel cozy and warm despite all the cold weather outside.  Something about coats, boots, mittens, snow and blankets just made me feel happy, wrapped up and safe.

But as of recently, I think I’ve changed my mind.  I’ve been thinking about it the past few years, and I have just now officially decided that Spring is my favorite season of the year.

Why did I make this decision?  There are a multitude of reasons, some too personal to disclose, but some just lame enough to share :)  And those, my friend, are what you’re going to get.

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Yesterday I was eating lunch with my cousin and we got to talking about weddings and jewelry. We came to a problem that a lot of girls in our communities today are facing: to pay zakaat or not to pay zakaat, that is the question.

It seems like there is a lot confusion about whether or not jewelry that is not being used is part of wealth that needs to have zakaat paid on it. It is unclear what type of wealth it is categorized under: is unworn jewelry part of a regular collection that just isn’t worn often, or it is part of wealth that we hoard for its value?

I told my cousin I thought that if someone has a lot of jewelry, and she just doesn’t have any oppurtunities to wear it, and she does wear it as much as possible, I don’t think she has to pay zakaat on it. But my cousin thought that a lot girls are told by their parents or family members that well after you’re done wearing your jewelry, you should keep it around because it’s a good investment. So in this case, it is kept as a treasure.

Well then, I had a question: why do all these girls have so much jewelry in the first place?

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