RAMADAN As I look searchingly into the sky
I look for a sign from Allah the most high
People think I'm crazy sitting in this cold
But I quest for something more precious than gold
For mankind this sign represents something great
but for the rejected one, it fills him with hate
Suddenly out of the darkness the moon does appear
the whole world rejoices 'Ramadan is here'
During Ramadan the shaytan is in chains
and Allah's mercy for a month reigns
The doors of heaven are open wide
begging for mankind to enter and abide
So often in Hadith we are reminded and told
that rewards are multiplied by many a fold
In this month do good deeds and read Quran
spend your time wisely and learn Islam
After all these years I have made up my mind
the right path and salvation I wish to find
To Allah's will I will surrender at last,
enshallah, Allah will forgive my past
Forgive-all those sins too good it sounds
but Allah's mercy knows no bounds
With sins stacked like mountains so high
will be forgiven within a blink of an eye
This Ramadan my heart and soul are alive
ready to change and ready to strive,
No more will the shaytan hold me back
in the worship of my Lord nothing will lack
Together lets make the decision to change
our priorities in this life lets re-arrange
This life on Earth is short and fast
but the life in the hereafter will forever last
Ironically this life for us holds much value
when the next life is the one thats true
To make effort on Dunya we never tire
but will it take us to paradise or hell fire?
This month will give a fresh perspective
on the way we ought to and the way we live
With Zikr and prayer lets increase our Iman
Join me and together lets celebrate Ramadan
With Ramadan here the changes begin,
Firstly walking away from a life of sin
The shackles of sin I have worn so long
Now caste away to the righteous I belong
The seeker finds and mercy does shower
On lail-a-tul Qadr - the night of Power
The Quran came down on this blessed night
A guidance for mankind an illuminating light
From the depth of your Soul please pray
as Duas are accepted and sins wiped away
Ask with a clean heart is all Allah requires
and ask for whatever good the soul desires
Listen to the Quran every night in Tarawih
Ah.. Allah's words what spiritual ecstasy
It cools your heart and calms your soul
So with crystal clear vision perceive your goal
For this goodness to last there is a price
For the Deen of truth you need sacrifice
To toss aside Dunya you hold so dear
Nothing but Allah will you ever fear.
Tossing and turning through every night
the demon called Dunya you need to fight
the demon called nafs you need to tame
because struggling to surrender is your ultimate aim
Etikaf is a another gift that Allah sent
The Last ten days in His path spent
in the Mosque in the presence of your Lord
doing Zikr, Talawat or Salah at your own accord
These days to Allah you must also dedicate
then disbelief and ignorance your will hate
The Quran and Sunnah will be your guide
Only then faith in your heart will reside.
Beginning this Ramadan lets make amends
Study and practice until our life ends
Everything but our deeds we leave behind
this is the truth to which we were blind
Our cars, wealth and house on earth will stay
our actions are the companions on that day
when your breath expires so does hope
so hold on firmly to Allah's rope
There is great wisdom in this rhyme
Its dedicated to me before its my time
for these changes my soul does yearn
this Ramadan Inshallah its my turn
Zahid bin Ghulam
Shevchenko, living legend, launches the gaping goal seeking missile
A giant of a man
An attack as such would get you arrested for Grevious Bodily Harm
RAMADAN 
Writer:Emdad Rahman, London
The game was a whitewash of the highest order and we were well on the way to an impressive win, knocking six in with no reply. The highlight of the game was reserved for the end of the game. A 50-50 ball, feet up in the air, my back arched, I executed a poetic slide tackle. Visions of Baresi in the Rose bowl were rudely interrupted as a disgraceful miss ended up with me perched in Lawro's lap, a split second after delivering an aluminium tipped toe poke to his dangly bits. 
It was not on the scale of Wayne Rooney's tomato squashing antics against Ricardo Carvalho but John Scales and Paul Konchesky who were offering coaching on the sidelines were splitting their sides with streams of guffaws. In the interests of fair play I joined the ranks of Antonio Rattin by being sent off seconds before the final whistle.To complete my introduction to the hall of shame of shame I spotted Ade 'the hitman' (Akinbadbuy) Akinbiyi giving me a scary look. 'I've made it' I thought as we trudged off triumphantly.
Congratulations to Everton for winning the Champions League final
The Leader of the New Labour Council (Denise Jones) has had the audacity to invite RESPECT councillors to attend a ‘farewell and good wishes’ event for departing Chief Executive Christine Gilbert. 
They used to call me Jackanory when I was younger. I'm proud to say here's my piece on the Five Live website. It needs editing so I've corrected and sent it in again. Feedback appreciated...
Amongst those recognised was Syed Ahmed Age 14 who achieved level 9 in his SATS, Humain Rashid Age 14 and Jilu Rashid Age 13 for their voluntary work with the club. In the Senior Team Jahed Khan (Zola) received the goal of the season and top goal scorers award with Forhan Uddin receiving Managers Player of the Year Award and Foyzul Hoque receiving the Players Player of the Year Award. Also an award was given to founding members and long-term supporters of the club for services to Stepney FC; Akik Uddin, Runu Miah, Sunur Uddin and Abdul Boshir. 
World Champion in waiting. A soft spoken gent and a gentle giant. (That's Danny, not Jay by the way...)
Wednesday 6th September 2006, 5.30pm onwards 
Briefing on Channel 4 “Getting God” Programmes> 
Rabina Khan self published her novel first “Rainbow Hands” which based on her experiences as a community worker in East London's Isle of Dogs, during a time when a racist right wing candidate was elected as a councillor in September 2003. The novel was published through “Authorsonline” and was available to order through the internet and local bookstores in London. 
Bangladeshis have always been a colony of betelnut addicts. ‘My’ extensive and ‘paranormal’ research studies show that betelnut sessions help the secretion of our brains opiates, drugging us often to the point of excitement or euphoria.Our obsession with individuality and individual freedom, accompanied by loneliness, is nothing but a major source of stress – related brain opiates.
The dear in question, who speaks little English is frogmarched to the A&E, where with the aid of an interpreter the furious chachi spits blood (get it), brimstones and venom all at once. She then quietly explains that she was in fact chewing betelnut supari and not suffering bleeding gums. I could almost hear the laughter from Sylhet. A classic but absolutely hilarious moment from Bangladeshi melodrama. Betelnuts from the Areca tree are also known as ‘palm nuts’. The scientific name for the tree is ‘Areca Catechu’ and resembles a thin coconut palm tree. These hard nuts are chewed causally like chewing gum by Deshis and are a permanent feature of culture. Those foreign to Deshi culture do not always comprehend why the people chew it, let alone in combination with other additives. Chewing betelnut is an inherent feature of Deshi social gatherings or fellowship, which imbues the spirit of family goodwill to strangers. When I visited Bangladesh I noticed that the girls dressed in beautiful coloured tunics and the older women of the village kept smiling at me, their teeth blackened with betelnut juice. I noticed that for the seasoned chewer, the chewing tobacco brand ‘Baba Zarda’ is mixed with the nut and leaf. For the brave at heart, Chuna or lime powder is also incorporated into the chewing experience. Lime is an Alkaline white powder residue, which results from cooking coral overran intense bonfire for several days.
During my brief sojourn my requests for the old dears of the village to mix West Indian Tabasco sauce as a condiment for their betelnut savouries, surprisingly always fell on deaf ears. Betelnut is frequently chewed with the betel leaf, a fresh green peppery tasting condiment. The leaf is known as ‘Pan’. Betelnut is chewed and harvested by millions of people from Bangladesh, India, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Philippines and American Samoa. The trees are found growing in moist ground and produce prodigious clusters of green fleshy nuts, which then mature into yellow then brown hard nuts.
