"It's the most fun ride in the whole park!"
"I'm still not going."
"Come on, Jameela. You're ruining all of my fun. We came here to have fun, right?"
I stared around at the huge amusement park. Colorful rides were spinning and racing and twisting. People walked by licking ice cream cones and slurping sodas. I saw a group of little kids trying to shoot a basketball into the hoop to get a prize. Hana tugged on my wrist.
"Let's go, Jameela! I assure you, it's going to be fun!"
Then I looked up at the Iron Monster, the coolest ride in Pride Park. But to me, it was the scariest. It was made of navy-blue iron.
The Iron Monster went high up in the air. Very high. I thought it would touch the clouds.
That was my first fear- heights.
I saw a car on the coaster racing down a slope. Some of the riders were screaming, some of them were laughing. The car was going down the tracks at incredible speeds.
That was my second fear- speed.
And my third fear was the shape of the tracks. Sometimes the cars went upside down, and they tilted left and right. They spun around and around until I thought the rider's heads would burst from dizziness.
Immersed in my thoughts, Hana had pulled me to the waiting line. It was getting longer and longer as fans wanted to ride the park's most popular ride again and again.
"Hana, what are you doing? You'll regret this after I fall off and die!" I said worriedly.
"Oh my, Jameela! You're annoying me SO much! Insha-allah, Allah will keep you safe, okay? Look, it's almost our turn!" Hana said excitedly.
"I just ate lunch," I reminded her. "There's a big chance I'll throw up."
"You just ate lunch?" Hana sneered. "We ate lunch an hour ago!"
"Oh yeah" I said, trying to think of another excuse. "What about that popsicle?"
"Come on, Jameela. A popsicle won't do anything," Hana said coolly.
"Uh, I need to go to the bathroom" I said, hoping this excuse would stop me from getting onto this freaky ride.
I was too late. Hana had already showed the overseer our tickets, and we were soon finding seats onto a rollercoaster car.
"Oh no!" I wailed, my forehead getting sweaty. I buckled the seatbelt and held tightly onto the seat. My teeth were chattering so loud I thought the whole world would hear.
Hana leaned back in the seat, relaxed. "It's going to be all right, Jameela. Stay calm."
The boxcar was making its way up the "hill". My stomach lurched violently, even though the car was going very slow. I choked the seat handles and whispered surah Fatihah 5 times. I clenched my eyes shut. Then the boxcar stopped.
Oh no! We're stuck! was the first thing that came into my mind. I slowly opened my eyes. Just once glance at the world around me and I tightly shut them again, my heart beating a million times a second. I was on the highest point of the roller coaster, above everything else in the amusement park.
Again, I prayed to Allah to keep me safe. Hana saw me whispering and said, "Insha-allah, you'll be fine!"
The car suddenly jerked forward and we were speeding down the slope at 65 miles per hour! My stomach jumped into my throat and my heart beat faster than ever.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" was the only thing that came out of my terrified mouth. We got close to the ground, then started going up again, slowly. I stopped screaming.
Then I saw the path ahead. We were going to turn upside down! I clenched my eyes shut and tightened my hands around the seat handles. Then I felt myself becoming weightless. It felt so good. I opened my eyes.
The ground was above me and the sky was below me. Again, I screamed, louder this time. The coaster turned right side up, and we spun downward as if we were in a tornado.
Hana was laughing. "Wheeee!" she yelled, her hands up in the air. How could she do that? I was too horrified to even get my hands off the handles.
The ride came to an end. I was breathing hard, and my heart was beating as fast as a sprinter's footsteps. I stumbled out of the car with Hana behind me.
I quickly ran to the nearest bench to support myself. Hana sat down next to me.
"So, how was it?" Hana asked.
I realized I did have a lot of fun. The fun of it was that I was scared. And nothing happened to me! No vomiting, and no dying! I was totally safe!
"Thank you, Allah" I said in my head before turning to Hana.
"I had a lot of fun!" I said with excitement.
"Told you!" Hana laughed. "Now let's go buy some milkshakes and French fries."
"Good idea. Let's go" I said as my best friends and I walked towards the Food Court.

What is halal? Foods that you can eat, right? Not quite. There's more to halal than you think...

Lets start with the Quran, the Holy Book, the guide to leading our lives. In Surah Al-Baqarah, #2, in verse 173, it says:

He has forbidden you only what dies of itself, and the blood, and the flesh of swine, and that over which any other than Allah has been invoked. But whoever is constrained, without being disobedient nor exceeding the limit, no sin be upon him then. Allah is certainly most Forgiving, most Rewarding. (2:173)

So only in one verse, Allah tells of 3 things that we cannot eat. They are:

- Animals that die by itself
- The blood and flesh of swine (pigs)
- Animals over which any other than Allah had been invoked (If the person who slaughters the animal does not say "bismillah")

There are a few other things that we cannot eat:

-any product containing alcohol
-meat of a meat-eating animal
-gelatin from a pig

And that is 6 things we cannot eat. 6 is a pretty small number compared to what we can eat, such as:

-grains and cereals (breads, rice, pasta, breakfast cereal, crackers, etc.)
-vegetables (corn, tomatoes, potatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, lentils, spinach, peas, onions, carrots, etc.)
-fruits (apples, bananas, lemons, oranges, strawberries, watermelons, limes, pears, etc.)
-dairy (milk, cheese, butter, yogurt, ice cream, etc.)
-zabiha meats and gelatins (beef, chicken, turkey, eggs, fish, goats, ducks, zabiha marshmallows, etc.)
-sweets! (chocolate, cookies, cakes, brownies, candy, deserts, etc.)
-drinks (water, sodas, fruit juice, tea, coffee, cola, etc.)

Right there I named 50 different types of food you can eat. That's almost 8 times as much foods as you cannot eat! Of course, there are many more foods that you can eat.

But why is it a problem here in the USA and Canada? Well, most things served in restaurants and school lunches contain meats, which probably have not had "bismillah" said when they were slaughtered. The only meat we can eat that we aren't sure of the "bismillah" is seafood.
Growing up in America, we see stores like McDonald's, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Applebee's, and more. Unless it specifically mentions that the meat is halal, we Muslims cannot eat meat at those places. Yes, french fries and cheese pizza are perfectly fine, but stay away from hamburgers and pepperoni pizza.
Halal isn't only the things you can eat, but it is the things that you can do in life. For example, something halal to do is give money to the poor.
Masha-allah, since you've learned about halal foods, let's play a game. There will be a few situations that you might find yourself in, and you have to make the correct choice.

1. Your public-school lunch is serving chicken alfredo pasta. What should you do that day?
a) Eat the pasta
b) Bring lunch from home

2. At an Eid party, they are serving rice with beef. Can you eat it?
a) yes
b) no

3. At the local grocery store, you have two options, take the cheese or take the tomatoes. Which ones can you take?
a) cheese
b) tomatoes
c) both!

Good job taking the quiz. Here are the answers:
#1: b You don't know who slaughtered the chicken!
#2: a Take note that it is an EID party, so most people there will be Muslim, so the meat is zabiha.
#3: c Cheese and tomatoes are both things you can eat

Masha-allah, now you know about the true meaning of halal, you'll be smarter in the future about Islam and what you eat. Remember: You are what you eat!

I have two little brothers that annoy me so much! They will not stop bugging me. In whatever I do, they are there to pester me. I cannot get anything done these days. I have talked to my parents, but they aren't doing anything about it. How can I get my brothers to stop bothering me? -Bothered by Brothers
Dear Bothered by Brothers,
This is a very tough situation. MAG suggests to communicate with your parents again. And this doesn't mean at the dinner table. To show that you are more mature, you are not tattling, and that your brothers are seriously causing you trouble, write your parents a letter. Write in your neatest handwriting, or even better, type on the computer in a clean, professional-looking font, such as Times New Roman. Insha-allah, they will do something about it. Make one for your mom and one for your dad. Also, read this article about bothering brothers from the June 2006 issue.

If you need instant advice, send an email to muslimag@gmail.com, and make the subject Ask MAG.

I love this picture of new pear blossoms. They smell so sweet! The blue sky makes an interesting background. This photo was taken with a Canon Powershot G7.

"You should come do this with us. It will be fun!"
"I'll give you 10 dollars if you do it."
"We'll do it with you. We promise!"

If you have heard each of these lines at least once, you should know that you are experiencing peer pressure. If it is coming from only one person, you should know that the person doesn't care about what you think.

Speak up. If you don't feel comfortable doing it, just say that you can't! Especially if it is something REALLY bad. Peer pressure is something you can change.

There are different types of peer pressure. One is a pressure that you should follow.
"You really need to study. If you don't you'll fail your test! You should come and do homework with us."

Another is one that is mostly harmless.
"Come on, let's collect quartz stones. All of us are doing it!"

The third one is the most dangerous. It can be destructive and harmful.
"Let's write our names with spray paint on the school building."
"We should steal her brand-new watch."
"Let's sneak out of our houses and see what happens."

If you think those three things are cool to do, you are totally wrong. You could get a little scared if the person saying it is really mean or popular. You may feel that if you don't do it, you could get bullied, hurt, or ruin your social life.

But when something serious happens, like you get caught by the police or an adult, you are more scared then you would ever be if you became unpopular.

There are five things to do while overcoming peer pressure:

1) Say no
2) Make an excuse/use humor
3) Ignore them
4) Walk away
5) Tell an adult if it is seriously dangerous

For example, if someone tells you to go steal candy, these should be your lines:

1) "No!"
2) "I have a lot of homework"/""I'm not a chicken. I have money to buy it."
3) Stop talking to them, pretend you aren't listening
4) Walk away from them
5) Go tell an adult. Surely the adult will stop them!

See? In these five steps, you can become more confident around people that are more popular, meaner, or stronger than you. You have the power! Remember that Allah is with you.