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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I don’t know about you, but sometimes I have a hard time watching football and superheros. Between all the spandex and fit bodies, there is just too much exposure on the screen. Spandex just isn’t the right material for men to wear.

But are superheros and football players the only culprits for men in immodest clothing? I don’t think so.

I’m not trying to hate, honestly, I’m not. It’s just that I see it all the time: a hijabi/jilbabi girl with her brother/spouse; while she’s making an effort to cover her body… he isn’t.

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It seems like in this day and age, once a month I hear a case about some Muslim falling off the deen, and being led off the straight path. It is increasingly disheartening with each case I come across. And it got me thinking, what is the deal?

I remember learning a few years back while listening to a lecture series by Sh. Yasir Qadhi (Kitaab at-Tawheed) that the Qur’an always refers to that which leads people astray with a plural word form–dhulumaat. And what he pointed out was this is basically telling people there is literally an ARMY waiting to lead us astray.

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