HireMyMom is a site created by non-Muslims. So if you believe that there is a need for moms to stay at home, read on.

Assalaamu alaikum bro…

I know YOU aren’t a mom, but you know lots of families with stay-at-home moms. If you can just pass this information along, maybe it will help somebody. I got a part time work-from-home job as a healthcare recruiter (hiring nurses) from a job listing on this website: http://www.hiremymom.com/

HireMyMom is just a job board for moms who want to work from home, and all the jobs are posted by businesses who want to hire somebody to work from home. So it’s like Monster.com but much more specific.

Instead of posting their jobs online for everyone to see, HireMyMom emails them to you directly once you pay to subscribe. You pay them a fee because they screen out all the scam jobs and fake business schemes etc., so you can find a real job working from home. I’ve seen ads for lawyers, web designers, journalists, and all sorts of stuff.

It’s $29.95 for 3 months or $99 a year.

I hate to sound like a commercial. I promise I’m not on their advertising board. I just thought it was a good opportunity for legitimate work for women.

Jazak Allah khair!

Sister A.

Disclosure: After receiving the above note from our reader Sister A, LivingHalal has signed up for the affiliate program of HireMyMom, so if you click that link and sign up, you are ALSO helping us with some sales commission, may Allah reward you.

If you like the service of HireMyMom, you can sign up for affilate program or pass on this link http://www.1automationwiz.com/app/?Clk=2245778

Jazakum Allahu khaira

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This is an article about the “first” Halal Subway store in the US. It shows that if you try to seek/offer Halal, Allah will make it easy for you eventually.

Often, Muslim restaurant owners argue that selling Halal is too costly and that customers are not enough. They forgot that Allah is the provider. More importantly, they forgot that selling Haram makes their income Haram and subsequently blocks their Dua’s (supplications) even when they are in desperate need, as mentioned in the authentic hadith about a stranded traveler whose dua being rejected due to his Haram intakes and Haram clothing).

May Allah grant us Halal and save us from Haram (both food and income).

Nation’s Only Halal Subway Shop Big Success
By Suleman Din
Religion News Service

ISELIN, N.J. — There’s just one place in North America where an observant Muslim can follow Jared’s diet — the two-sandwich-a-day plan that helped Subway pitchman Jared Fogel lose 245 pounds.

The Subway restaurant that adheres to Islamic restrictions is off Route 27 here, and it is indiscernible from other Subways, except for a neon green sign in the window spelling out “Halal,” the Islamic equivalent of kosher.
In two years she has served halal food at her Subway, Ruhila Khan has built a following from all over the tri-state area. The success can be seen in the Sales Volume awards on the wall behind the register.

“I don’t have enough space to hang up all of them,” Khan said, smiling. “I did something for Allah, and he has blessed us.”

In a state with one of the largest Muslim populations in the country, restaurant owners and community members say it makes business sense for mainstream restaurants to cater to Muslims.

“It’s symbolic of our acceptance in the fabric that is America,” said Irfan Rydhan, founder of zabihah.com, a Web site that lists halal restaurants across the U.S. “Especially if you grew up here. Your home cuisine is American cuisine.”

Muslims consuming fast food is not a new concept; globalization has made U.S. brands available in Islamic countries. For instance, just outside Islam’s holiest mosque in Mecca, wealthy Saudi Arabians can munch on halal Whoppers or Kentucky Fried Chicken while watching pilgrims perform the Hajj.

But in the U.S., choices for Muslims have been limited to restaurants offering traditional ethnic fare, Rydhan said. Independent Muslim-run fast food joints started appearing in the 1990s in urban centers that have sizable Muslim populations, such as Jersey City.

Now, a younger, suburban Muslim consumer wants the same fast-food brands as other Americans, he said.

The breakthrough with American fast food restaurants has come from franchise owners like Khan and Ali Hashmi, who owns a nearby A&W Root Beer Restaurant that also serves Halal food. Both are Muslim immigrants who convinced their chains they could tap a fresh market.

Khan, who owns the Subway shop with her husband, Shahnawaz, said opening an American fast-food franchise that sold halal food was something she wanted to do since immigrating from Pakistan 15 years ago. When she went through training to open a Subway franchise, Khan said, she pushed for the chance.

What helped convince Subway, Khan said, was the restaurant’s location. Near the Garden State Parkway, the nearby “Little India” strip, Muslim butchers and ethnic restaurants, the sandwich shop gets much of its business from the South Asian Muslim community.

“We give our franchisees leniency, so they can use local options,” said Subway spokesman Kevin Kane. “They know what’s in their community.”

Subway also has numerous restaurants in Muslim countries, Kane said, adding that recently in Ohio, the first kosher Subway restaurant opened.

Halal dietary restrictions are very similar to kosher rules. Pork is forbidden and the slaughter of animals for meat is done under special guidelines, so the meat remains uncontaminated with blood. Halal rules are taken directly from the Quran.

Customers who come into Khan’s Subway restaurant can order from the standard menu. Or, they can choose from a small printout taped to the wall that lists the halal menu. The sandwiches are the same minus the Italian BMT (pepperoni, Genoa salami, and ham) but Khan keeps the halal meat in a separate fridge, and uses different utensils to handle it.

Just a year since opening, the nearby A&W has yet to rival Khan’s Subway. Most Muslim customers come on the weekend, said Mahmood Iqbal, who runs the store with Hashmi.

Without permission to openly advertise the halal option at their restaurant, Iqbal said they rely on word of mouth. The only indication halal is served is a laminated menu on the counter and on the cash register, there is a special yellow-and-red button labeled “Halal Chicken.”
“Many of our customers, they eat Indian food at home,” Iqbal said. “They come here because they want a change.”

Iqbal has faith business will pick up at the A&W, and keeps a green Islamic prayer mat behind the counter, for the devout customer to use in a pinch. “One guy wanted to do the evening prayer, so he went into the party room and prayed, while I made him his dinner,” Iqbal said.

While Khan and Hashmi drove the decision to serve halal locally, one American chain now offers halal at all its locations.

Outback Steakhouse began serving halal lamb, though Muslim customers have to make sure they don’t get their vegetables dressed with “seasoned butter,” which contains bacon in the seasoning, and avoid the cabernet sauce. The chain’s supplier of lamb meat is a New Zealand-based company that follows halal standards because of its large business in the Middle East.

There is no official count on the number of restaurants in America serving halal food, but Rydhan said he has seen an increase.

“I started in 1999 with 20 restaurants in the Bay Area,” he said. “Now on average, I’m getting 20 new additions to the list every day.”

Source: Beliefnet

Friendly Reminder: Even if it’s halal, calories still counts.

Keywords: Halal subway, striving for halal, halal substitutes, halal options, living halal, fear Allah, trust Allah

Alhamdulillah, Allah has blessed us with the best lifestyle. Since it’s the best, it comes with a price. So, sometimes it’s challenging to practice Halal lifestyle at work, whether it’s making sure your job related activities are Halal or simply practicing your duties towards Allah at work (Salah, Hijab, beard, Jumaah/Eid, etc.) But, in-sha-Allah, as you strive to live Halal, Allah will make it easy and Allah is the provider.

So here is a new Web site that serves seekers of Halal work. Check it out WorkHalal.com

I created the jinn and humankind only that they might worship Me. (56) I seek no livelihood from them, nor do I ask that they should feed Me. (57) Lo! Allah! He it is that giveth livelihood, the Lord of unbreakable might. (58) [Adh-Dhariyat Chapter 51]

Key words: Salat, Salah, Islam, Halal work, Riba, income, hijab, career, Muslim, living halal, halal living, job, discrimination, EEO

Question:

Salaam alaikum,

My father has spent a considerable time convincing me that it is important to get car insurance which has a high dollar amount protection for bodily injury. For example, you can get like 100k, 200k, 300k, 400k coverage for bodily injury when you buy insurance. This is the most important according to my dad, because right now my dad’s brother is in a law suit with some motorcyclist who was injured when my uncle’s wife crashed into him. This lawsuit is set to be pretty heavy financially on my uncle. My dad told me that if you are making a descent salary in life, people are very eager to sue you so they can drain you of money for years to come.

Therefore I began pondering is it appropriate to consider buying bare minimum insurance PLUS 200k-300k bodily injury? I am confused because it seems like a big risk even though insurance is not allowed [haram].

Answer:

Wa alaikum assalaam

Your father is right about the risk. We live in a system, where lawyers/insurance sell fear, and crooks and their lawyers embezzle hardworking people.

Insurance, however, is just a fake solution.

There are many similar stories like the one of your uncle’s wife. I know a corporate CPA who got involved in an accident and the other party was at fault. The CPA forgave her, but after several days that woman sued the CPA. The insurance company did pay after a lengthy process but it also cancelled the CPA’s insurance after the law suite.

So what would you do in that case? Spend even more on insurance?

Commercial insurance is just an illusion and not worth it (even from a pure business sense without talking about halal/haram). Say, if you buy a new car, lots of Muslims will tell you to buy fullcoverage, because your car is new. But chances are, even full insurance is useless, because when you scratch your car, it’s below the deductible. Again, that’s how insurance industry designs their policies to maximize their profits.

Commercial insurance is not set up to help consumers, but it’s there to make money. So, when you as a customer costs them a loss, they will try to get even by increasing your premiums or cancelling your policy.

As for the risks that they use to convince you to buy their service, there are endless risks out there, and if we keep thinking about them, we just go nuts.

Allah never said there are no risk in life. That’s why Islam is not just a set of codes of halal and haram. Islam tell us that gambling transactions (speculation) like insurance is haram, but on top of that, Islam tells us that Allah is the protector, Allah is in ultimate control, and that whoever leaves something for Allah, Allah will compensate him with better options.

So, my advice is not to argue with your father. He is not the first or the last who will tell you to get more insurance.

As Muslims, if you want a halal practical solution, donate that money (if you want) and pray for protection. Even if you get into troubles, (God forbid someone trying to embezzle you), all your mental and financial losses are compensated by Allah in this life or in the hereafter.

So, let’s show some faith in Allah, by doing halal and avoiding haram.

“And whosoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him, He will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty). (At-Talaq 65:2) And He will provide him from (sources) he never could imagine. And whosoever puts his trust in Allah, then He will suffice him. Verily, Allah will accomplish his purpose. Indeed Allah has set a measure for all things. (At-Talaq 65:3)”

Hope this answer helps and Allah knows best,

PS: Some states require liability insurance, if that’s the case, Muslims are buying it out of necessity (being forced).

Tags: insurance halal haram.

Malaysia plays host to Global Halal Forum

By Neil Merrett

08/05/2007- The World Halal Forum kicked off in Malaysia this week, as the country moves to become a global leader in production and distribution of the strictly defined certification.

Speaking during the event’s opening yesterday, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi stressed the country’s desire to further develop halal techniques not just domestically, but globally as well.

“The WHF together with its partner event the Malaysian International Halal Showcase (MIHAS) have been included in Malaysia’s 15 Year Industrial Master Plan as annual events to boost the development of the halal sector,” he said during his keynote speech.

The forum comes as a further sign of the opportunities, particularly in the food industry, for the country’s halal processors and producers. An increasing number of companies are producing halal goods to tap into the billion dollar global demand.

Halal is an Islamic term for permissible, which in food terms constitutes an approved slaughter and preparation for products such as meat, in a similar vein to kosher products.

During the two day event, 900 representatives from over 30 countries, ranging from key industry players to raw material suppliers will meet to discuss the biggest issues facing the industry, like the implementation of international standards.

Badawi also used the forum to announce the formation of the International Halal Integrity (IHI) Alliance, a non-profit, non-government organization designed to represent views of everyone involved in the industry.

The event is also expected to set the agenda for the halal industry over the coming year with a number of memorandums of understandings to be signed to further develop production techniques and certification.

These include developing an information and communication technology with Microsoft, as well as financial services, and human resource development with Thailand’s Chulalongkorn University.

With more than 1.8bn Muslims globally, the total size of global halal food and non-food (such as financial services, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics) industries is estimated at RM7.98 trillion (€1.5 trillion) with an expected growth rate of 10-20 per cent each year.

Though the global market for halal food has never been measured, industry estimates of its value range from $150bn (€110bn) to $500bn (€368bn).

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Source

Another Article

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‘I felt more welcome in the Bible belt’

Manal Omar had used her five-piece ‘Islamic-style’ swimsuit for years – in Rio, Washington and Kuala Lumpur – and it had never brought her more than a curious glance. Then she went for a dip in Oxford …

One Sunday last month I went for my afternoon swim at my local David Lloyd’s fitness club wearing the Islamic-style swimsuit I have been wearing for years. The swimsuit has recently been celebrated by media outlets from Newsweek to National Geographic as an innovative way for Muslim women to become more active. As an American-Muslim woman, I have always been determined to be active without compromising my faith. I have been swimming in capital cities across the world from Rio de Janeiro to Washington DC to Kuala Lumpur, and now London. Although I get curious stares, I have never had any awkward moments when I head out for a swim.

Guardian Article