So what did Hussein teach you?

Please visit the above link to know more about Hussein as published in the local newspaper -

Finally I visited our young Iraqi guest on Tuesday. How do you think Hussein greeted me? Hussein, who has lost one eye, his left hand and the remaining damaged eye awaits surgery!! Obviously Assalaam alaikum. But besides that, his response of "Good, Thankyou!!" filled me with amazement and removed any doubt that all this boy needed was encouragement. He carries a sense of positiveness with him, that of hope, and belief that things will be better. He had the eagerness of any 10-year old, enjoying the life that he had, rather than brood over what he had lost.

According to CAIR-AZ, the eye-doctor will perform a cornea transplant. But along with the transplant comes the risk of rejection by the body, and the need for subsequent check-ups. Also the success of his transplant depends on Allah alone. Hussein is also currently limited by his US-Visa that expires before post-transplant-treament can finish. So please make duaa for him.

More updates in upcoming posts.

malgudi days

http://www.indiaplaza.com/dvd/pd.aspx?sku=314044&c=0

 

for anyone about the simplicity of life and simple humor. The soundtrack is haunting.

 

I grew up with this serial on the national TV.

evenings paisa vasool

Monday - After 8 pm Kyrene Lanes has games for 50c and shoe rental for $1.00
Tuesday - 6-11 pm Baskin Robbins $1 per scoop
Wednesday -
Thursday -
Friday - halaqa time at two masjids now, icc tempe and iccp

Ijtema

BTW, Ijtema in ACA starting today till Sunday.

Dont know who the speakers are, but want to do this thing in my life, just for the know-how,(and for purifying the heart)

Tis the season of ...

... the cold and flu. Looks like a passing phenomenon as 3 from my office, A-bhai's family all had it sometime this week.

Better part - bedside service all day!!!

aashcharya chakit?

pleasing friends

how do you please your friends who work at Qualcomm and Nokia simultaneously - You buy a 6256i phone that works on CDMA!!!

The cooler part is that verizon did not want this phone on the market. It is not available in the verizon stores and beats the best of their current phones (the motorola e815). Guess why???? Simple reason it has more functionality than what verizon wants its customers to have. More Bluetooth features that dont require you to pay for sending your own photo to yourself. standard memory interface + SIM facility!!!!

It is a little boxy and does not have that night light facility (that nokia doesnot listen to). More when I explore it more.

Ok I have friends in Motorola as well, but they will just have to wait. This one was free. Anyone upgrading their phone on vzw, you can also get a bluetooth handset free. Sone pe suhaaga!!.

New Frontier

The main reason I stay away from TV is because I will see what I want to see and not what they want me to see.
Hence I like the internet where I can reach out for myself to the news that interest me, to the sports that interest me and to blogs such as these. So what bothers me ->>>> Reaching a site that stuffs music unknowingly down you. You cannot control the music that is being played if you have inadvertently left your volume up. Imagine coming back from a meeting where you needed the volume on your computer and the next moment when you happen to browse the internet, everyone is staring back at you. You all probably may already know about such sites - for example the msn.com site!!!!

So this posting is about your freedom on the internet being redifined by the people who control the fiber. First Tempe does not allow competition in this market (so Cox and Verizon both Suck). Next the ISPs are developing a two tiered internet. One for the sites that they want you to visit that will have high speed connections and one for the sites that you want to visit on your own that will be "little" slower. :). Surprisingly this is the new business model for companies like SBC/BellSouth (the owners of verizon) to compensate for their loss in revenue from traditional markets such as land-line telephones. This also supports their claim for video-on-demand and the premium it necessitates. And the most surprising part is that they are developing the technology and simultaneously lobbying the congress as a much-needed necessity!!!!

So now one more freedom is being slowly taken away from you. LIVE FREE OR...

An axe on his head

Book Review: The Pious Caliphs:
All comments and poetry aside, finshed "the pious caliphs" today. A little over 200 pages but was all new info for me. MIx has already requested for the book, so anyone else has to wait.
Good points about the book is that the author has given sufficient details about each of the 4 caliphs and events during his time. The villians in history have been pointed out. the succession and method of succession ahs been mentioned as well. It was really new to me that Aisha (RA) did not accept Ali's (RA) caliphate at the start until the battle between their armies.
Frankly I cannot comment about any of these caliphs since they have already reserved their places in that castle up there. But looking back at Uthman's (RA) rule, you somehow feel that we must not be lax with muslims but be strict in matters that can cause shirk. Uthman (RA) knew best about his times, but a general uprising that was coming about should have been exposed if muslim blood was not be shed.
Something that i did not understand is that one paragraph about the roots of tasawwuf and sufism being connected to Ali (RA) and hence to the Prophet (SAWS). Also missing was that commentary in which Abu Bakr (RA), while on his deathbed as the caliph, requested Aisha (RA) in terms of a Prophet's friend rather than her father or the caliph, to request her of the grave beside the Prophet (SAWS).

and the axe - it signifies the gruesome martyrdom of Uthman (RA). Even at the age of 82, the assassins did not have the least bit of sympathy.

gloom time

RS is out in May; C n D leave in Feb;

Reverse brain drain some may say; Loss of friends and more long distance calls is what I say.

To all who not, C and D are my jigri's from colony. more like langotiya yaar. RS was my roomie at VT.

The power struggle

Does having two sons result in an eventual split?

We saw it with the ambanis and now with the sena.Ok raj wasnot the direct progeny but he was as close as one. I remember reading an article once how godrej, tata, bajaj, hero-honda etc had only one successor. Interesting hum do hamaare do, but not two sons. So you should have one son and more than one daughter!!

Hehe. Raise two daughters =paradise; but again raise two sons and nothing is assured!!

Unanimous

T2 and T1 have a unanimous decision that Muslims from India are more suitable to adapt to USA since they were a minority in India as they are a minority in the USA, While all others are grappling with the opposite situation of being a majority accross there.

Thodi si to lift kara dey

In the midst of a group lunch YK asks me if I enjoy my job. I could not say Subhanalllah as i would normally do, and "good question" would only raise eyebrows around me. Plus it wasnt the best of days. And then YK says " i have yet to meet a person who enjoys his job".

Then one person adds overworked and underpaid in that person's job description. hmmm thats interesting. so add all this bhel puri to come up with this blog.

FRankly I scored only 3 points behind my boss in this workaholic test (see picture). And it was yesterday and things havent changed much since. In no way am i a slacker, but it also does not answer those questions above. do i love my job? First and foremost alhumduliilah for my job. Next I do my job to gain a sense of satisfaction for myself. I am working hard to lower that score. but in the meanwhile i need to complete what is in my plate. I dont always like celery unless it is with chick wings. So sometimes there are chick wings on my plate and i enjoy it and sometimes there are none and then I dont. but that celery finds my stomach eventually.............i think......gross

and how much ever i work i wont be able to afford a ferrari spyder unless that power ball is really powerful. so does that make me underpaid? one way yes if that is how you measure your salary. the other would be the experience and market condns that define your job. freshie out of college and expecting a 7 figure salary does not sound right. (unless if bill gates completes his education now). Life is unfair and will always be. If you cant beat it enjoy it. and obvi make that extra Dua late at night and before fajr :)

dunce

Guys dont be a dunce like me and dont leave your email addresses with the "@" just anywhere on your blog.
I will be good.
I will be good.

scary movie 5

It happened in France and then was repeated in Australia. Everyone put a bad name to the Indians when it happened over there and suddenly India was like this big villian. But to share the gravity of the situation, it is very scary to know that we are all sitting on a spark - a spark that is sufficient to destroy all the bridges that we aim to build.

Even scarier after seeing france and aussie is what if it happens in USA. All of us want to live a peaceful life where ladaai-jhagdaa is just something that we pester our sisters with (or sometimes bros), but a spark at the wrong time may just ignite passions that we dont want to stir. We dont want the police arresting on racial grounds and neither do we want text messages that incite violence. i always look after my neighbour's children in the case of some mishap but all the good deeds at that time are just wiped away. We do have poor neighborhoods and the riots of LA are known. We dont want any of that anytime.

But what we are seeing on TV is scary and real - more real than any of the artificial reality shows. The media has got to me this time, i must say. I sound paranoid. Maybe I am. Maybe i should watch some more disney to cheer up. maybe I should just be more active socially.

All said and done I dont see why peace cannot also be an option. I want a ribbon bumper sticker in green that says PEACE.

Family are ...

... those that know you can scare anyone with your singing but yet appreciate your azaan !!!

Speaking of family, cousin from another country should be visiting. Lets see that makes citizens from 3 countries in the same house !!!!

aajnaahb

All you people out there who pray Jumuah at Masjid Omar, should thank and remember my bhaanjaa in duaas for the cleaning/vacuuming. It includes the ladies side as well.

Eating Achaar with a Fork

While walking down my corridor, I passed a lady wearing high heels. Now why do women wear high heels? Whats the purpose of straining your footbridge? For a few inches more!! I am not an MCP (for most) but this is something I have seen among all women (hijabi and non-hijabi)

I wear shoes that help me walk and run. They have these special bridges that supposedly support such activities. The most logical reason I thought to solve this problem would be try out these high heels. I believe that at this point many people will be suspecting me.... But yet there I was trying to stand on a 1.5 inch heeled sandal, and keep both feet on them all the while trying to maintain my balance and thinking about the eternal answer for the purpose of these sandals!!! My feet were huger that them so I was getting a grip on the ground but those high heels had displaced my centre of gravity and I had to spread my arms out. Next I started getting my arms to stand normally but the entire feeling of being elevated was strange. Gasp i just think this is one of those feminine things which they senselessly invented and surely dont know why they do it themselves.

EyePopper

 

long long day

VT is losing booohooohoooo waah sob sob wail weep weep.

Could not get new tires since they were out of stock.

Had a walk in the tempe festival and played basketball with my sis and Broil at icc,tempe. my sis still is better than me at basketball . more weep weep.

Subhanallah. subhanallah. subhanallah.

I miss this bro

hait is leaving town for jordan and trying his hand at a job there. For all who dont know hait, and have been for qiyaam at the icc tempe, then you had suhur because of this brother's work in the night in the kitchen. He also helped out in the daily iftar. Mashallah a very amusing brother who kept things light-hearted even in the thick of things. May Allah help him always along this journey of ours and shine His guiding light on him at all times.

P.S. I hope he does not trouble the air-hostesses on the way back. oh wait it is Royal Jordan.

Desi Wedding Season 2005

VD and Ebu - sometime around Nov 14

Kunal and Ami - Dec 15

BD and MKK http://bhairaviandmahesh.weddingwindow.com - Dec 25

SGh and not known - Dec 23

SD and unknown - unknown

 

To all the new couples Congratulations and Have a Happy Married Life.

Ib is MIx

Ib started protesting that I have called him Ib so instead I prefer to now call him MIx.

learning a new verse

It fills my heart with a sense of pride and pleasure. This is not my old politician/principal speaking on Independence day. This is actually my feeling when I finish learning a new surah from the Quran and am able to read it in Namaz. Personally being able to read it correctly in Salaat holds much more to me. I sort of feel that some more knowledge has seeped into my hard-head and there is still some hope for me in being able to enter that castle up there.

This also goes towards those readers who have all the time to browse the net to research about everything in sufficient depth to write a thesis but still refrain from taking the time out to learn some Quran.

... I see dead people!!

So the title is just about asking you about we fear when we blog or even read blogs. How nay of us were scared when we saw a counter on the blog ?
How many of us dont think that the blog has some logging facility? What about all the sites that we visit today?
How many of us think about this and stop blogging? Oooh this guy will learn that this girl is visiting.?? oohh ooooh !!! oooh what I say? Aint make no sense to me.

What if some site offered you a log of all visitors ? Does it say anything about the visit? Maybe it was just a side stop to something else. maybe it was just that they share a partial similar interest.

Mile sur mera tumhaara

Ok I have not succeeded in finding the original video as yet, but actually saw the MIT version. Watch it, the original tune is there and so you will atleast have the audio. Cmon google is not good enuf i say.

btw google analytics is da bomb. its amazing.

Yippee Doo dittedi daah

Sis+Bro-i-L+Bhanjaa are moving to Phx next week. Long term plan they say. Lets see how it goes. Alhamdulillah. So goodbye to the MAS conference about family values and time to implement whatever family values we already have. Still I am driving to LA next week to get part of their luggage back in a van. Anyone want to drive along is welcome, but I can take only one. Rest can ride with my sis+BroIL on Saturday.

So please dont cancel me out as a family guy. Part of the agreement is that I am allowed my own free time, I get to work as long as I want and I can get out of the house at weird times and also get to do whatever I want with my computer. The other part of the agreement is that I have to be strict with bhanjaa dear, get a social aspect into him and also to teach him (islamic storytelling and so on). Now these are prelim demands and they may change but for most part the Friday evening is mine to do, go, eat anything.

But on the whole, when you are away from family for so long, you really appreciate the idea of having someone closeby. Friends will always be there, but there are only so many people that have been there since birth with you. Its been years since I have had a decent quarrel with my sis ;).

Nokia 770

Any kind soul out there who is feeling generous ?? Please

 

http://www.nokiausa.com/770/1,7841,feat:1,00.html

 

Will add this to my wishlist soon.

---

Yahoo! FareChase - Search multiple travel sites in one click.

e-governance example

http://www.theregister.com/2005/11/14/masood_khan_wsis/

camelback

Once there was Out-Of-Shape (OOS) and Terribly-Out-Of-Shape(TOOS). Prior to their hike they assumed each of these roles rather randomly. Each one of them had a healthy dose of peanuts before starting on the hike up Camelback - 1200 ft over 1.2 miles. What you now get is an explosive mixture more explosive that eating 10 cans of garbanzo beans and chilli!!!

The early morning breeze on the Saturday morning was one of the most refreshing. Even at 7:11 am, the parking lot is full. OOS and TOOS start climbing with minimal stretching. 50m into the hike they stop to stretch- till this time TOOS is already getting stiff over his left foot bridge. TOOS is also without his regular knee straps. OOS is quite comfortable in his sweatshirt with hands tucked in his pockets. The hike starts and by the 1/4 mark TOOS is panting whereas OOS is still snuggling in his pockets. Not a drop of sweat on OOS' face. Passerby's dont give TOOS a chance of making it up.

Around the 1/2 mile mark TOOS and OOS exchange roles. The peanuts are now showing their effects and the feeeling of altitude and nausea are creating molten magma & lava that is about to burst. The new TOOS is looking over the mountain and backs earlier idea of completing camelback one day. TOOS looks at passerbys and is left astounded by 8 year olds jumping across and 80 year olds on their way back. OOS is encouraging TOOS to just make it to the cactus up there. TOOS decides to give it one more try. Around the one mile mark OOS classification is removed and now there are two TOOSes. Luckily the last 0.2 miles get over soon.

The view from the top even better than last time. Photos when OT is kind enough to share them.

The way down there was neither TOOS or OOS just two muslims walking down and one jew who needed metaphors. What if a mexican came back to reclaim his land that america robbed from him 200 years ago. Injustice is injustice, is all i say. Anyway once he knew OT's origins, I was left trailing behind them. Great.

Great breakfast of french toast and jam. Stiff as a log with a whole saturday in front of me and an over-energetic nephew waiting at home :). Oooh yeah !!!! no picnic for me.

Heart moving video of Fallujah atrocity

Chemical Weapons of USA

Video - not for the weak hearted ......
http://www.rainews24.rai.it/ran24/inchiesta/body.asp

Inne Lillahe wa inna ilaye hai rajeoon. May Allah bring justice to all have been wrongly killed due to lies of others.

Eviction time

So another three months and then I have to either leave my place or buy it from the mgmt. They are embarking on a grand plan to turn apartments into condominiums. Feel bad especially since it is so very close to Masjid Omar and yet easy on the pockets. Strange but it is time to think about moving again. 5 addresses in 3 years. Life is really temporary.

Injustice in the name of Ajr

Is it time for us in Phx to hire a contractor that sets up the prayer area for eid and then cleans up after we finish. He should take care of the parking, prayer area setup, speakers etc etc. Just the imagine the dawah the entire community will be doing to these Maccu (you think americans are going to be involved in the setup hahaha). We can stand with the money boxes, because hey, we would be crossing the line of no return if are not able to that!!!

Seriously but when i look at it, the community positively ridicules any dedication. I know that those beamers, infis, mercs, jags and hummers are never ever going to waste time in this. But still why should we have only one mosque volunteer when this was a "phoenix" event. i may as well do that for one mosque!! Yes ultimately there are only a handful that can give the completing touch. but expecting A to Z from these handful is injustice. Oh what about ajr for the sa....., Yes inshallah I seek to gain some ajr by contacting my kith and kin on this joyous occasion. Isnt that important too? I think i am not the only one who needs it. And isnt this the best time to use my cellphone and bluetooth handset? batein kuch aur nigahein kahi aur!!

So moral of the story: For next Eid
[1] Get those finest of dresses that you can afford. Wear a turban or hat or fur cap. Only be very very careful of the niyat.
[2] In your same car, get your friends who have a meeting or a class or a family member with you. Isnt carpooling fun!!
[3] Arrive on time taking care of the traffic conditions because the Salaat is important.
[4] chat among your friends who have come along with you at the Eid site if it is not ready. Offer to put a few chairs and if you really want to do something join the welcome committee. Joining the pre-event mgmt committee is better but at this time you are too late.
[5] Concentrate on the salaat and khutba.
[6] Wish all the people you know. Take photos so that your relatives are informed and your blog/site looks more colorful.
[7] Use the ramadas that come along with the site. Sit there and chat. You dont want to waste any money invested for this event. If all are occupied proceed to the parking lot. Repeat step 6.
[8] If you are still on the site, offer to put back any chairs that you may have set up in [4]. Say a few encouraging words to the handful of gullible victims aka volunteers, so that they complete all other tasks.
[9] your friend/family member should have started pestering you by now. Else it is your responsibility to pester them.
[10] Leave for the Castle's & Coasters to be among the first 20/50 family. Hey dont I deserve this on my Eid !!

Am i missing something?

Rash driving

Ib pointed out a few good pointers in my driving style. Also having slept for only 3 hours my driving was utterly disappointing. So Jak Ib for keeping an eye out for me and I cannot wait for your Honda Civic. :)

Eid Mubarak

JAK to those kind friends who always bring the smile on my face and fill in all the vacant spots in my life. Thanks to Mr and Mrs Sh, Ib, ST, SS, MZ, AL, Hic, DRAS, BH, BaS, FSH for the all the fun time we could have on Eid. may Allah help us all and keep us in the company of good friends.

Its strange how you get this energy to do all the things you want to do on eid. its strange that howeveer much i try i always ultimately give priority to spending some good time with friends at lunch/dinner/family visits etc etc but have never gone out on some outing on eid. The state fair was there, phx suns were playing and so on but no, yours truly instead was bantering away to glory over food!!!

t 1 ko gussa kyon aata hai

As if to support some distorted feminist movement, these three women occupy all the three lanes of the road each going at lower than the speed limit and not allowing any passerbys. they form a barrier that no one can cross!!!! i know that there are no good drivers on the road, but this is absolutely disgustingly frustating. May Allah give me patience with these drivers.

have you felt this way

While driving back from work, after Asr to Maghrib, on the last day of Ramazaan (potentially), do you hasten to do dhikr with a sense of urgency - urgency that you dont want ramazaan to pass away, that this may be your last ramazaan and hence you want to max it out. Only wish we had this feeling each time we got up for prayer...

Mera Pyaara Penguin

AS is now DRAS

so we have a new doktore in our midst. Takbir Allahuakbar. He is an inspirational arab dude with an excellent voice in namaz. Mashallah. Hats off, down on my knees or whatever it is that denotes respect -you have that from me. Unfortunately he is also leaving us soon, :(. Wishing you all the best !!! (boo hoo hoo)

Cool Video

Friday and Monday

Now that's donating till it hurts

This one sister had pledged an amount for an upcoming masjid. Since then she was laid off from her job, and instead she wants to auction off her jewelry to pay for her pledge. Takbir Allahuakbar. May Allah (SWT) help you in this time, and also help you in spreading the strong imaan that you possess. May Allah help us all in completing this masjid and making it a source for Sadqa-e-jariah. Ameen.

Google-Yahoo-MSN

Being the Anti-MSN that I am, I was seriously impressed with msn spaces. But being a google fan, I stuck with blogger. Now Yahoo has come out with yahoo 360 and i am feeling really mediocre. Yahoo was my second email account created and has stuck on me for nearly 8 years now.

Just hope google can bring it all together. please.

Bloom time

Went to Walmart searching for some good toys for Eid gifts. returned empty handed.
Wandered into the crafts section to pick some corrugated paper. returned empty handed.
Wandered into the Garden section to pick up some annuals. Returned with a red rose plant reminiscent of the two that i had back home. Now only for a white and yellow one!!!.

As we go on, we still remember, all the times we had (together) in our balcony garden. My grandmom had actually got a rose stem from Ajmer and planted it at our home. that was 20 years ago and this plant still catches the eyes of many a passerby. So it reminded me of the small joys i have had trimming/maintaining the plants on my balcony, and how my green fingers have developed. I still dont understand how grass is planted. and more often I dont understand why i had to buy a rose plant in america, when all you need is a stem from your neighbor.

Will keep you posted as new buds bloom into flowers..

AAA: the service will be available in 90-120mins
Helper 1:Just a jump, here you are, you are ready to go.
T 1: power, gear, lights, whooops... the steering wheel wont turn....brakes screech.
Helper 2:Simple wasn't it.
T 1: power on....power on.........now why did the power go away.
AAA: Oh nothing special, u just need a jump.
T 1: lets stick to the right lane..easy easy..the car is moving....
T 1: T 1 OOP from 12 pm.
AAA: the service will be available in 60-90 mins.
AAA: Seems an alternator problem.
T.Toyota: (mechanic slang) Yam teyying you its a starter probrem. come back tomorrow.
T 1: duh, huh
T.Toyota: (kind voice) you need a new battry. Get ready to shell out some money.

PS: Baskin robbins has $1 scoops Tuesday 6-10pm.

Islam - India -UNSC

Saeed Naqvi's article has brought lots of questions out in the open. Israel,Iran,India and so on. Quite critical about India voting against Iran and quite appealing for an Indo-Israel relationship.

http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=80869

life is so unpredictable

Met my junior from MIT today. so now we have three gens 2000,2001,2002 batch mates in the same bldg. Good to catch up with the old times but with that came an unexpected news. PR graduated from UMBC, got a job in Amazon and then went home (pune, india) to visit his family. While exercising, there was an accident where a fixture came out and PR was hurt and went into a coma for 4 days. two bones in his spinal cord are now fractured and near zero obility of his arms and feet. His windpipe is only 2 mm wide as compared to 7 mm for us. Physical therapy has begun and doctors are hopeful that he will regain the ability to control himself. This is from a friend whom i had last seen in a sky-diving photo. My duas go for him, and hope that things are made easier for him and his family.

Life is too short guys. If nothing else I just hope that you realise this point and stay up in these last 10 days for atleast one hour more to ask Allah Subhanahu Wa-Taala to forgive you (while you can), to keep you under His protection at all times, and to be thankful for each breath that he has awarded you.

shloka part2 - reminds me oh Surah Rahman

In the beginning was the Divinity in his splendour,
manifested as the sole Lord of land, skies, water, space and that beneath
and he upheld the earth and the heavens.
Who is the Deity we shall worship with our offerings?

It is he who bestows soul-fource and vigour, whose guidence all men invoke,
the Devas invoke whose shadow is immortal life-and death.
Who is the Deity we shall worship with our offerings?

It is he who by his greatness became the one King of the breathing and the
seeing,
who is the Lord of man and bird and beast.
Who is the Deity we shall worship with our offerings?

It is the through whose glory the snow-clad mountains rose,
and the ocean spread with the rivery, they say.
His arms are the quarters of the sky.
Who is the Deity we shall worship with our offerings?

It is he through whom the heaven is strong and the earth firm,
who has steadied the light and the sky's vault,
and measured out the sphere of clouds in the mid-region.
Who is the Deity we shall worship with our offerings?

It is he to whom heaven and earth, placed in the light by his grace, look up,
radiant with the mind while over them the sum, rising, brightly shines.
Who is the Deity we shall worship our offerings?

When the mighty waters came, carrying the universal germ, producing the flame
of life,
then dwelt there in harmony the One Spirit of the Devas.
Who is the Diety we shall worship with our offerings?

It is he who in his might surveyed the waters, conferring skill and creating
worhip-he,
the God of Gods, the One and only One.
Who is the Deity we shall worship with our offerings?

Father of the world - may he not destoy us who with Truth as his Law made the
heavens and produced waters,
vast and beautiful
Who is the Diety we shall worship with our offerings?

Lord of creation ! no one other than thee pervades all these that have come
into being.
May that be ours, for which our prayers rise, may we be masters of many
treasures!

Wow Photos

Could Not help but laugh at this one!!

Senti value

To all those who can relate to it.
Ek anek video
Bharat Ek Khoj Audio
Mile Sur Mera Tumhaara
More lingo

To all those who cannot relate to it, these were some of the nation building work, that we have grown up with. There are lots of things that we can relate to.

Bharat Ek Khoj has a mesmerizing Shloka. At first glance, you will be taken aback and may condemn it as Shirk-no jokes I did that. But when you read the translation, it is one of those inter-faith thingies that will strengthen your imaan. Ok there are a couple of lines that do not differentiate between the creator and His creation, but overlook those if you can. I shall psot the lyrics soon so check back then.

I am still searching for the Mile Sur video.......

Great Blogs

Came across this Danish Bro Blog that has great links. Check it out when you have "free" time.

Meebo

all IM afficionados try www.meebo.com. You can add me from my yahoo ID.

Khutbah.com | In Search of Sincerity

Click the link below to read:
http://www.khutbah.com/index.php?type=5&id=647&language=8&il=8

This e-mail was sent by Khutbah.com, a service of AlMaghrib Institute.
Learn more about AlMaghrib Institute at www.AlMaghrib.org

Smile

behind every smile is an imaan that tells you to do so
behind every hidden smile is a hayaa that indicates what you are deep within
behind every sincere smile is a self-contentment that it was worth it
behind every beautiful smile is a person that knows it matters to you

behind every endorsed smile are parents that wish the best for you
behind every snickering smile are friends that positively criticize you
behind every teary eyed smile is a young one who looks up to you
behind every comforting smile is hope that they all believe in you

Joke: invading countries

For all my american friends ... heheh ... desis united would love to see you.

blondes make nepal as sri-lanka!!!! how dumb could we be...

http://www.wimp.com/invading/


 

Ramzaan resolutions

[1] Get to Fajr a few minutes before Iqamah, rather than at the precise time (breaking habit)
[2] Experience other masjids too - Unity of the Ummah they say. Also fill the masjids that dont fill up as much (greater ajr). Get the fact in-grained that everyone is a muslim rather than putting any particular masjid down.
[3] Ask for forgiveness - repetition - had a calming effect last time
[4] there was a 4th one but dont know what it was...

Reason for putting it public, I want you to help me!!

Whats yours?????

Nafs

For each of the first three nights, I recall hearing that the big shaytaan is chained up and what remins is the "nafs" of a person. Wow, now in the last 3 days, whenever an insinuating thought hits my head, i was always wondering "My nafs needs improvement". Then came the question - What is Nafs ? yday at MCM the person speaking introduced me to three new words i.e. the 3 kinds of nafs and in short i remembered them as nafs-l, nafs-m, nafs-n. Read the following article about their explanation:

There are two kinds of people, one are those whose Nafs have overcome them and led them to ruin because they yielded to them and obeyed their impulses. The other kinds are those who have overcome their Nafs and made them obey their commands.

Nafs (pl. Anfus or Nufus) lexically means soul, the psyche, the ego, self, life, person, heart or mind. (Mu'jam, Kassis)

Although some scholars have classified the Nafs up to 7 stages, there is agreement among Ulama' that in the Qur'an, Allah (s.w.t.) has described at least 3 main types of the Nafs. And these are in rank from the worse to better: Nafs al-Ammara Bissu' (the Nafs that urges evil), Nafs al-Lawwama (the Nafs that Blames) and Nafs al-Mutma`inna (the Nafs at Peace).

(Chapter 12 v. 53 in the Tafsir of al-Tabari: Jami' al-Bayan fi Tafsir al-Qur'an, 30 vols., Bulaq 1323 & also in Imam Baghawi's Tafsir: Lubab al-Ta'wil fi Ma'alam at-Tanzil, 8 vols. Cairo, 1308)

A summary of these states of the Nafs are given by Imam Tabari in his Tafsir of Surah Yusuf verse 53:

1. Nafs al-Ammara Bissu' (The Soul which Commands):
This is the Nafs that brings punishment itself. By its very nature it directs its owner towards every wrong action. No one can get rid of its evil without the help from Allah. As Allah refers to this Nafs in the story of the wife of al-Aziz (Zulaikha) and Prophet Yusuf (s):
"The (human) soul is certainly prone to evil" (12:53).

Allah also says:

"And had it not been for the grace of Allah and His Mercy on you, not one of you would ever have been pure; but Allah purifies whomever He wishes, and Allah is Hearing, Knowing." (24:21)

This Nafs resides in the world of the senses and is dominated by earthly desires (Shahwat) and passions….

Evil lies hidden in the Nafs and it is this that leads it on to do wrong. If Allah were to leave the servant alone with his self, the servant would be destroyed between its evil and the evil that it craves; but if Allah grants him success and help, then he will survive. We seek refuge in Allah the Almighty, both from the evil in ourselves and from the evil of our actions.

2. Nafs al-Lawwama (the Soul that Blames):
Allah refers to this Nafs,

"And I do call to witness the Nafs that blames" (75:2).

This Nafs is conscious of its own imperfections.

Hasan al-Basri said, "You always see the believer blaming himself and saying things like 'Did I want this? Why did I do that? Was this better than that?"….

3. Nafs al-Mutma`inna (the Soul at Peace):
Allah refers to this Nafs,

"O Self, in complete rest and satisfaction!" (89:27).

This Nafs is tranquil as it rests on the certitude of Allah.

Ibn Abbas (r) said, "It is the tranquil and believing soul".

Al-Qatadah (r) said, "It is the soul of the believer, made calm by what Allah has promised. Its owner is at rest and content with his knowledge of Allah's Names and Attributes, and with what He has said about Himself and His Messenger , and with what He has said about what awaits the soul after death: about the departure of the soul, the life in the Barzakh, and the events of the Day of Qiyamah which will follow. So much so that a believer such as this can almost see them with his own eyes. So he submits to the will of Allah and surrenders to Him contentedly, never dissatisfied or complaining, and with his faith never wavering. He does not rejoice at his gains, nor do his afflictions make him despair - for he knows that they were decreed long before they happened to him, even before he was created…."….

(Al-Tabari: Jami' al-Bayan fi Tafsir al-Qur'an, vol. 13, Bulaq 1323)

Imam Baghawi says,

"The Nafs al-Mutma`inna has an angel to help it, who assists and guides it. The angel casts good into the Nafs so that it desires what is good and is aware of the excellence of good actions. The angel also keeps the self away from wrong action and shows it the ugliness of bad deeds. All in all, whatever is for Allah and by him, always comes from the Soul which is at Peace.

The Nafs al-Ammara Bissu' has Shaytan as its ally. He promises it great rewards and gains, but casts falsehood into it. He invites it and entices the soul to do evil. He leads it on with hope after hope and presents falsehood to the soul in a form that it will accept and admire."

Ibn al-Qayyim also mentioned the states of Nafs:

"The Nafs is a single entity, although its state may change: from the Nafs al-Ammara, to the Nafs al-Lawwama, to the Nafs al-Mutma`inna, which is the final aim of perfection….

It has been said that the Nafs al-Lawwama is the one, which cannot rest in any one state. It often changes, remembers and forgets, submits and evades, loves and hates, rejoices and become sad, accepts and rejects, obeys and rebels.

Nafs al-Lawwama is also the Nafs of the believer….It has also been mentioned that the Nafs blames itself on the Day of Qiyamah - for every one blames himself for his actions, either his bad deeds, if he was one who had many wrong actions, or for his shortcomings, if he was one who did good deeds. All of this is accurate.

(Madarij as-Salikin fi Manazili Iyyaka Na'budu wa Iyyaka Nasta'in, vol. 1 pg. 308)

Sa'id Hawwa says regarding these Nafs:

"Depending upon its condition, the Nafs exist in multidimensional. When the Nafs is tranquil because of obeying Allah, and the soul opposes its desires, this soul is known as Nafs al-Mutma`inna. Regarding this, Allah has spoken about it in the Qur'an (89:27-28). But if the soul does not attain peace with itself, rather being exposed to desires, then such soul is known as the Nafs al-Lawwama because this soul reproaches its owner due to the owner's carelessness in fulfilling out Allah's wishes - Qur'an (75:2). More so, if the soul submits to lusts and allows itself to be seduced by Shaytan, such a soul is known as Nafs al-Ammara Bissu'. Allah tells the story about the wife of al-Aziz (Zulaikha) in Qur'an (12:53).

(Tarbiyatun nar Ruhiyah, pg. 32, Cairo: Dar al- Salam, 1408)

There is a famous Arabic saying:

"O soul..Watch out! Help me with your striving,
in the darkness of the nights;
so that on the Day of Qiyamah,
you will win a good life on those heights."

May this be of benefit.

And the last of our prayers,

"Glory to your Lord, the Lord of Honour & Power! He is better from what they ascribe to Him! Peace be upon the Messengers! Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds." (37:180-182)

Muhammad 'Afifi al-'Akiti

Belfast, 4 May 1997.


Additional Reading
http://www.sunnahonline.com/ilm/purification/0049.htm

IgNobel awards

http://www.improbable.com/ig/ig-pastwinners.html#ig2005

An Excerpt: - ------
LITERATURE: The Internet entrepreneurs of Nigeria, for creating and then using e-mail to distribute a bold series of short stories, thus introducing millions of readers to a cast of rich characters -- General Sani Abacha, Mrs. Mariam Sanni Abacha, Barrister Jon A Mbeki Esq., and others -- each of whom requires just a small amount of expense money so as to obtain access to the great wealth to which they are entitled and which they would like to share with the kind person who assists them.

roltf

Star War fans unite

Someone please give this as a gift to me.... :)

Nobel Peace Prize

The best news I heard on a Friday morning - IAEA and
Mohd ElBaradai wins the Nobel Peace Prize.
Subhanallah, deja vu or whatever you may say, but
while writing the previous post on Nobel Winners I had
wondered aloud that this man is the forerunner for the
peace prize.

I had wanted Hans Blix and Mohd ElBaradai to be the
joint winners

__________________________________
Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005
http://mail.yahoo.com

Flock time

Supposedly a new browser is on the verge - Flock. This could be the 5th browser for me. Avant Browser is my current one, but i have sort of grown over it.

For all those who have memory>=512 MB, try konfabulator.

Nobel prizes come in this week -stay tuned to this news.

Day one Ramadan - have to write about the first sajdah i did in taraweeh and what struck my head. surely on the weekend.

utter bakwaaas

guess which site needs such ads...... to promote nonsense in the name of Islam.

ww40

major higlight was the award i got from the upper management for getting a piece of hardware verified. it justified the concept of the DEs and that was impressive.

next we had our quarterly where i played a totally new game in my life called kickball. basically take a dodge ball, the baseball diamond, and play baseball till you are bored or the burgers are ready - whichever comes first. and then they complain how boring cricket is.......

saw serendipity and it is climbing the charts of the best romantic movie ever seen. why cant they make such movies in lareger number. reminded me of that statement in one of the profiles - if god brings you to it, He will bring you through it. (for those who know about this one, this is not a perfect world but "threw" and "through" are different)

india bistro is a new restaurant on forest and univ. gani happens to be a muslim from chennai and has a buffet all the time. chicken is halal and beef is not - for all those who are tread this path. no comments on this topic please, we have more to worry about and discuss. believe me you. all those who wish to join on our mindless blabber can join us here on friday evening.

scout master lost his temper and finally said a "no" for the first time. the mark of any great person is the ability to say "no" - rule no 1 in many self-help books. verified from the monk who sold his ferarri. if you can do that you realise very well that it is not necessary for you to be present in each and every decision/process/activity.

The first Muslim day was a great beginner. seriously people that audience was missing but i think this is what we expect on the first time. remember the international street fair 10 years ago and the one I was part of in 2003. but the bad part i did not get to listen to any of the lecturers. and since no one i know can give me a presay of what happened.....gloom gloom

upcoming for next week is the resolutions for ramadaan. tell me yours in the meantime.

saudi aramco world may/june 2005

page 3 last sentence: by the end of the evening, I felt torn between the freedoms I have in the United States and the feelings of companionship and love, the sense that life is all within one big family, that I had today in my homeland.

photo - deccan queen - the train i have travelled the most. really recommend the cheesetoast in their pantry wagon amidst the lush green khandala ghats

set theory

The NETI and AOTI sets now have an ever increasing intersection set, so much so that it may soon be possible to overlap completely. I am betting that this announcement will take place towards the end of the year. That also leaves the STAW team with a lower percentage of the NETI influence and its only a matter of time before a constancy will be reached, and it will remain there till end of time. Must say AOTI has been pretty fast.

oldie photos

my middle school - 135 years old - and going strong - vincenti dabitur


my high school.


my fifth grade class and the prize we had won then.

depression

i am such a depressed soul .... sigh. cannot write about this week sorry. too many things are occupying my mind today.

ab kya

bahut waqt se hindi me likhne ka awsar nahi mila. To socha ki yeh post hindi ke naam. aapa, bhai aur bhanjaa ne poora pichla hafta le liya. afsos ki OT ke saath apne iftaari nahi nibha saka. lekin khair. abhi abaab ammi ne bhi pune mein ek aur ghar dekh liya hai. inshallah unka sapna poora ho jaye. kitni ajeeb baat hai ki bachon ke sapne poore karte karte zindagi nikal jaati hai, lekin bachon ne bhi apne maa-baap ke khwaishon ko nahin bhoolna chahiye. abba ammi ne ek aur rishta dekha. maloom nahi unhone kya socha hai.

jaan booch kar MAS day trip ke liye mein nahi gaya. uske jagah par hum desert breeze par barbeque karne nikal gaye. chotte ko to mazaa aaya hi lekin lagta hai ki khargosh ke gosht se uska pate kharaab ho gaya tha.

shaadi ke baare mein aur sochne ka waqt mila tha. yahaan par bhi kitni ladkiyan hai, shaadi ke layaak. lekin kya yeh khaylee ek bahaar ki tasweer hai. unke dilon mein jhaakna itna aasaan nahi. meri yaadash itni zabardast nahi hai, lekin jo yaadein hai woh apne saathi hoten hai. agar unke baare mein aapas mein baat cheet nahi ki ja sakti hai to phir waise jeevan sathi ka kya phayda. meinay bhi kaafi mushkilon ko paar karkiya hai. lekin agar mere saath wala woh nahi samajh sake to phir ek doosra roop/mask humein chadaana padega. humare abba ammi ne humein trinamool/zameen aur waqt ke mayne mein kaafi tilawat di hai. ab unko bas aise thukraya to nahi jaata. batman ne jo rachel ko jawaab diya woh bahut dil par laga "It's not who you are underneath that matters. It's what you do that defines you". Matlab humein apne muskilon ko aise hi choor kar dena chahiye?

kaafi baar sochta hoon ki.. kaash, kaash.... nahi yeh kabhi aur ke liye. aap ko yeh sawaal mujhe pesh karna padega.

my bhanjaa wants it all

AWK (not the linux one) my bhanjaa was quite happy to run around, visit the masjid, see the other little children studying there and praying, climb up A mountain unassisted, grind my tennis racket on the courts, run in the desert breeze park and have a fun time on the whole. So much so that he has taken my 'rainbow' glass, alarm clock with him and actually created a tantrum since mamoo was not coming along. GEE :) :) :). he wanted to take my house along with him if he could. guess atleast one more person can tolerate me.

ww37

On the whole, quite unproductive. Actually i get a call suddenly from a 91 code and it beats me. There is my dad at the other end and he is trying his new cellphone to call my sis and me. It turns out that one of my cousins had visited my parents and brainwashed them about daari and elimination. As expected i must say.

Till now there has been only 2 supporters for keeping the small daari that i keep. So my parents all hyper about why daari is not a necessity before marriage and there is time after it as well, how daari goes against the indian mentality and etc etc. So the ultimate dilemma - if I keep a daari, Indian muslim girls cancel me out, and since yaadi yaadi yaah blah. Muahahaa, So I guess I should start looking in outer space. One thing for sure, I need to talk to that cousin soon.

Sometimes then it feels that an arranged marriage is more conditions and less personality. Subhanallah. And speaking of daari, you take one walk outside and you can see it for yourself. How brave are the hijabis who can face the crowd wearing something that is prescribed and not something that is the norm. salute-smiley.

Comic of the week is shown. Current book - the five caliphs.

learning from amrus

ok at the cub scout meeting, Alhamdulillah we have a new desi volunteer. As I introduced him to the pack, a Tiger blurts out " So are you a born Muslim?". So I guessed that his parents might have told him that he is superior since he was a born muslim.

Also why do these kids have to comment on everything? it beats me!!! Can they not hold everything for one hour? How are you to discipline them if they will not listen?

Randommness Unlimited

Candians say EH too often. What about aahs (those pregnant pauses)? any guesses or is this just some global phenomenon?

What about starting a Toastmaster at the Masjid? Dues are exhorbitant ($54 for year).

Anyone seen the movie Walk On Water? Its in hollywood right now though not on MVP. MUST SEE AS IT HAS DOME OF THE ROCK ON ITS COVER.

Have you observed that some forwards that you had received from one friend a year ago, traverse on more than one route and then arrive from another friend.

Why do small avoidable mistakes in life still create regret today?

Why do we establish imaginary levels of imaan for anyone, unless actually we have talked to them? "Presumed high imaan, until proven not!!!"

Why is life so difficult?

WW36

First and formeost WW36 != world war but WW36==work week 36.

To say the least it was a tough one at work and a peaceful one at home. The work part is giving me the creeps while i write over here. I have been battling some incomplete instructions and trying my best to understand why testcards work at one place and do not at another. Please make special special dua for me!!!

On the home front-> I think i made the day for an 8th grader. I dont know how she looks like and just know her name. She had wanted to thank me, but I was already out of the masjid by then. Actually her essay had actually gone like "I want to make masgids at all places and .... when I grow up I will donate all my money to masgids." Yeah it reminded me of the time when I wanted to find the cure to cancer and ended up becoming an engineer (of sorts)!! Alhumdulillah!! Subhanallah!!.

The hunt is on as usual and am trying to come with terms to reality. I did post smthng earlier about not lowering your standards Islamically, but more often than not I am trending to that. Either I start hunting with a magnifying glass for that elusive one or just give up and accept my desiness, and how I am confined to my fate. (Brings up vision of those ads on indian tv that dealt with bhaagya).

And please check out my coloring of the Chilli at the Chilis restaurant at Mill and Univ. Check for name=verychilli. hehehe

Bush has been vowing so much these days. He is not a just ruler and now will he have the ability to fulfill all these vows that he makes for publicity?

Had a great time out with OT. Virginia Tech won its opener and it was all because of our collective cheering in that Scottsdale restaurant/bar. Great to meet up with Fellow hokies and also to fly the VT flag in the ASU neighborhood.

It looks like we need to give an introduction to cub scouts to all parents that leave their children there, under the false presumption that it is a discipline boot camp, a reading club, a babysitter program, or a temporary hideout on a Saturday afternoon!!!!!

Happy Birthday to me !!!!

blog change status

One noble soul requested that I start posting a photo each time. My photo ---- !!!!! I did not want to start a horror or comic strip!!!!! Instead you may find some of my collectibles from over the years.

UPDATE CAMERA IS KAPUT TIME TO SAVE FOR ONE

dilemma

So as I was walking back I tried to analyze the confusion that was arising within me. I have not been long enough in my recent visits to Des to experience about Islamic revival if any. I have spent more time here involved with Islam than I ever was in Des. Then I started thinking backward to the point when the first muslims arrived here. there were no second generation muslims that time and competition was among themselves. Now when I look around I see a couple of first gens and hajaar gen 2s. And then I try to fit myself into one of these two groups. I am neither as old as the gen 1s and also dont walk the talk of gen2s. If i was a gen1 then you can see their fixed racial distinctions - an arab for an arab a desi for a desi. Then i look at gen2s - all that talk of leaving race behind appears crap - really a big ideology of waste talk. shake some salt and pepper here and there to create a mix breed, that gets lost in the yolk and the white. So where do I lie still goes unanswered........... Should i pave my way as a gen1/gen2/mix/[pure].

Next I thought of approaching the problem in a different way - I started comparing des ki dharti with videsh. and seriously whenever you talk about it boils down to a loss ov values on both sides. in the discussion never does parents arise. but deep down they tilt the balance for desh. my other friends dont have a problem returning back. I am a minority there and am a minority here. (yeah muslim nations not accepting muslims is a big paradox that I have to live with). Then to accomodate the imbalance towards desh, we try to add a variable on both sides called as Islam. Why a variable and not a constant? Thinking about it, islam in india & USA is not about Tableeghs running the place, and not about 'knowledgeable' sheikhs being present in every masjid in usa. so ultimately what you add on both sides is a variable and not constant. So the question still remains ................ swades, vides

Lastly you try to solve a problem for one person and there is another problem that is twisted a little and sent back to you. I confused (interpret helped) RN of decison making based on an expectation list. but then I went back to the one I created and the first question that would come would be: How do you compare her from there and her from here?

So whichever way you think at it, you are dancing to predecided tunes aka fate. you dont how the tune ends.......

why so tough

Is life moving? is it going forward or going backward? Coming back from the masjid, i was thinking about the one big question that NV answered way back - From here or from there? It is such a big jump, and requires some big decisions. There is so much here and so much there. M and D are there, DD is there and however far I run I will always be a desi at heart. Still when I joke I use hindi. I think in English though. I wanted to be a beacon of hope and a role model for the younger generations back home, and still there are so many faces here that also look up to me (I assume a lot here). D wanted me to go there and emulate RaM's model, but still they are scared of RaM's model and his decision to move away once and for all. You look back at the tough times that we went through as a family and how we stuck on with Allah and hope, I with determination and Ps with patience. Each time I boarded the plane the same questions would ring - will they join me, will I join them? At these trough points you look up in whose hands we are clay puppets, and hope that he moves us into something better.

Frankly I read the above paragraph and notice gibberish. So just posting this to get me started.

the umpteeenth return to bloggin

So now things are becoming more serious. Formally given up on AS now in the process of evaluating RY. Had a lot of soul thinking sessions, twhile walking up and down from the masjid. The number of decisions to be made dont end. The concurrency is not up and working as yet and thats driving me crazy. There is no progress on the other front and thats hitting me hard, and bungling up my thought process. Thats why you have calvin expecting aliens but none are to be seen.

Something somewhere still is troubling me. Dont know why, dont know why.

Back to Randomness

captain jack sparrow: if you are waiting for an opportune moment then that was it.

what is the use of collecting emails when you will not be coming back to it. 2 GB corresponds to 6-7 years of email that is ever worthy of storing. And after 1 year u do not go back to the last year's email. then why the storage?

We are like a collection magnate, that sits collecting photographs. Collecting photos is the same.

If you want to appreciate your cooking then, dont eat until dinner, when you are really hungry.

Earned my first ribbon for the best speech last week. Finally after three attempts, I have a ribbon to show. Guess i need to be an effective evaluator and win a few more ribbons here and there :)

Mea culpa mea copy a thoughtful article

The Young, Single, and the Restless
AssalamuAlaikum,

I am pleased to announce on this blessed Jumaah of DhulHijjah that I am officially engaged and will be uttering my final syllables of marriage acceptance in early Safar InshaAllah. I thank all of you who have tolerated me and who have continued to keep me in your generous duas despite my undeservedness of them.

Now that that is formally announced, enough formalities.

I, like many Muslims (and humans in general), looooooooovvvveee talking about stuff I don’t know with 100% certainty and that I haven’t experienced in all their dimensions. I mean c’mon, really, I am neither an expert on ‘Human Understanding’ nor one on Despair. As best I know, I have yet to be declared the authority on weddings at Wayne Manor. As nice as human words may sound, there is ALWAYS room for error and inaccuracy.

That is why
*today*
amidst my rambling/conjecturing about things I only know a ‘little’ about, I will talk about something that Mu’imins believe and know of not only through the light of Scripture, but also from all of their heart and experience as well. Something that we all know, but often forget with the jump of a heartbeat.
And that, dear brothers and sisters, is the beauty and mercy of tawakkul.
We don’t deserve it my Hidayans, we just don’t deserve it…

I have been receiving proposals from the age of 14 (though my family and I weren’t actively considering them till 19) and I am going to share with you what I have learned from those years of routine and tiring considerations (aside from how to appear politely interested by nodding my head and raising my eyebrows at the right junctures in the conversation). My message to all the unmarried folk (myself included since technically I am not married) who are in the consideration process:


"And keep your soul content with those who call on their Lord morning and evening, seeking His Face; and let not your eyes pass beyond them, seeking the pomp and glitter of this life; nor obey any whose heart We have permitted to neglect the remembrance of Us, one who follows his own desires, whose case has gone beyond all bounds." (Surah Kahf : 28)


Look. We are all Hidayans here. We all have similar marriage standards. I know you are all looking for that person who will help you improve in your deen InshaAllah. Someone whose presence and practice will inspire taqwa and reflection in you. I know that you will give that the most priority when considering prospects InshaAllah. I know how it is. I know how at one point you just get ‘tired’ of waiting. You get ‘tired’ of being the last single man standing in your group of friends. You get ‘tired’ of having aunties, uncles, cousins, and friends ask you when you plan to get married. ‘Tired’ of considering one barely-motivated proposal—that wants to dig its claws into you and pull you ever closer to the Duniya—after another…

…Unfortunately, it is at this point that most people lower their marriage standards. They figure “ok, the root problem behind my having trouble finding the ‘mashaAllah’ spouse that I desire isn’t that those kinds of people are rare these days (…as they have always been...like the gems that they are) or that my duniya standards are too high (Tyra Banks still isn’t Muslim? Damn. Its ok, I’ll wait.). The problem is that I am asking for too much by desiring to marry someone who is on top of his or her deen. One shouldn’t expect so much from a prospect. I am not perfect either.”

Alarm bells should have gone off in your head when you read that.

Please brothers and sisters, please please, for the sake of the future of this Ummah, please don’t EVER EVER lower your Islamic standards. Please, really, I beg of you. The reasons for why I say this should come intuitively to most of you, but for the brothers and sisters who would like to know why we shouldn’t lower our Islamic standards (uhh duuuhhh) its cuz you don’t want to be held responsible on the Day of Judgment for ‘knowingly’ choosing a spouse who you felt would not be able to provide an Islamic environment for you or your children. Notice that I said ‘knowingly’. What is important here is your intention and effort. Then if, after you have tried your best, Allah (Glorious and Exalted) wishes to try you, then those are your cards. Play them wisely with sabr without neglecting your shukr. But to go back to the issue of choosing wisely, imagine standing before the Highest of Courts on that Final Hour and being told that the reason your children and grandchildren are going to hell is because they never received the Islamic environment/training from their parents that was their right. And the reason that didn’t happen is because you lowered your standards and just married the prettiest thing that was willing to marry you.

“Oh habeebti, I love you because you are the most beautiful girl that was willing to marry me and make her body available to me after marriage. I couldn’t have gotten better than you.”

“Oh habeebi, you are dear to me because you were the most well paid of the guys that wanted to marry me and pay my bills. I couldn’t have gotten better than you.”

Also, we have gone over the marriage supply-demand theory repeatedly on this site. Now I am not an economist, but it seems to be a pretty cut and dry concept. The supply will correspond to the demand. The more people demand a certain kind of religious individual, the more society will become accepting of that kind of person and will try to produce it with its resources. It’s GOOD to want what is good. Not only are you allowed to want it, but you are encouraged to in our deen. It helps society at large. And don’t worry, because the supply corresponds to the demand, this means that if you demand it then the odds are that there is someone allotted for you that will supply your demand. In marriage, as in other things, supply and demand seem to have a positive correlation with one another. One goes up, the other goes up. One goes down, the other goes down.


Abu al-'Abbas 'Abdullah bin 'Abbas reported: I was behind the Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam) when he said, "O young man, I will teach you some words (of wisdom). Keep Allah in mind, He will preserve you. Keep Allah in mind, you will find Him in front of you. If you (have need to) ask, ask of Allah. And if you must seek help, seek help from Allah.¹ Know that even if the (whole) community is united to (do something to) benefit you in any matter, they would not benefit you in ought save what Allah has written for you, and even if they were united to harm you in any matter they would not harm you in ought save what Allah has already written for you. The pens had been lifted and the pages were dry." (Tirmidhi and Musnan Ahmad)


And please, do you all really buy the “I am not the best Muslim so I shouldn’t try to marry someone better than me” excuse? Who do you want to marry? Someone who is worse than you so that the two of you can watch your Iman and Islam erode in each other’s company?! Seriously, we are SUPPOSED to try to marry someone who is better than us and whom we can learn a thing or two from. The reasoning could be something like this (Don’t mix up the steps. This is one of many threads of reasoning that may be applicable):

1. I need to marry someone more practicing than me for the sake of my religion.

2. Hmm…but the kind of spouse I want probably wouldn’t be interested in a loser like me. What kind of person would he/she want?

3. Wow. Now that I think about it, when I compare my expectations of what a good Muslim should be to what I myself am, I fall disgustingly short. I AM a dirtbag! This is gross.

4. Ya Allah, forgive me for being this disgustingly heedless of Your Pleasure and Command and bring me out of my jahilliyah. Help me become that which You are pleased with. InshaAllah and Amin.

5. Oh wait…but Allah wants ikhlaas (sincerity) from me and a pure intention. I have to want to be good for His sake alone. He deserves my intentions more than anyone else does. Forget marriage. I have bigger problems to work on. …Like myself.

6. Must work on my relationship with Him. Must build ikhlaas. Must work on my relationship with Him. Must build ikhlaas. Must work on my relationship with Him. Must build ikhlaas. Must work on my relationship with Him. Must build ikhlaas. Must work on my relationship with Him.

7. Huh? That religious person just proposed to me. What in the hell do they see in me? Oh well, Allah knows what is best for my deen and duniya. Let me do istikhaarah and see what happens.
OR
Perhaps I should get married for His sake so that I can fulfill the Sunnah of the beloved Rasool (May Allah bless him and give him peace) and benefit my deen. He/she is known to be of good character/deen. Let me do an istikhaarah and see if it is willed for me to move forward with this.

8. Look at that, its positive. (If negative, don’t continue to 9. Go back two steps.)

9. “I will. I will. I will.”

10. I never deserved someone as amazing as this. Thank you Allah for delivering him/her to me and for taking care of me.

The key words in that last sentence are…
TAKING…
CARE…
OF…
ME…

That’s right. YOU have someone taking care of you and all the minute itty-bitty factors in your life that you, with your big ole head and ego, don’t even recognize to exist. There is someone there monitoring every organelle that lies within your body. Someone who is making sure everything in your environment is perfect to sustain life. Someone who is making sure people don’t hate you. Someone who is making sure that life doesn’t crush you. Someone who is shielding you from the harshness of this Duniya, from the tragedies and blows that try people. Someone who’s Mercy is protecting you from the trials that you cannot bear. You just need to hold on to your faith, fulfill your obligations, and work towards the khair and, InshaAllah, He will provide you with what is Best for you in EVERY way.


And (moreover) He hath put affection between their hearts: not if thou hadst spent all that is in the earth, couldst thou have produced that affection, but God hath done it: for He is Exalted in might, Wise. (Quran: 8:63)

The Prophet Muhammad (upon him be blessings and peace) said,
“The hearts are in the fingers of the Merciful One, He turns them as He wishes.” (Muslim and Ahmad)


Have tawakkul that you will be taken care of by the One in Whose Hands all lies. You will seriously see all the pieces coming together when the time comes. All the forces in the universe will converge to give you that wonderful spouse who both you and your family are happy with. Yes, you read correctly, whom your FAMILY is happy with as well. Believe me, miracles happen and hearts are in the Hands of Allah, Glorious and Exalted. No one can dislike the person He chooses for you if He decides for them to like him. You don’t HAVE to marry someone against your parents' will in order to get the type of person you want. Just have tawakkul and show your parents the kindness that Allah and His Rasool COMMAND you to show them. Take care of their rights over you. You will see. You will be well taken care of by Allah. People who marry against their parents wishes have no idea what happiness one experiences when one sees one's family happy and excited about a person who also meets one's own preferences. You can’t help but be happy when you see your loved ones beaming with smiles. You CAN HAVE that. Really, you CAN.


“Ya Muqallib al-Quloob, thabbit quloobanaa ‘alaa deenik"
"O Controller of the hearts, make our hearts steadfast upon Your religion"


Make dua to be increased and strengthened in your deen and 'work' towards this end. Then ask with sincerity of intention for someone with deen and you will find that He will provide you with someone that has deen along with EVERYTHING else that is to be desired in a spouse. You will never see it coming. It will just hit you one day and you will fall to the ground in sujood and weep out of realization of your not having deserved His generosity and Loving Care. We don’t deserve a single moment of happiness; we are not worthy of it. Beyond the debt and responsibilities of slave hood that come with existence, the fact that he orchestrates all the factors and forces in the universe so that you can have a moment of happiness is enough to leave us forever in debt to Him. That’s just for ‘one’ moment of happiness…and He gives us so many. It’s amazing! Not one of us actually deserves the happiness He gives us. And it makes me feel relieved that we are all taken care of despite our undeservedness of His Care. So AMAZING is His Mercy and Kindness upon His creation. Alhamdulillah wa SubhanAllah.
THAT is why we call upon Him using His phenomenal qualities and not our own works.
We suck.
It’s that simple.
We suck.
So all we can say to Him is “Ya Rabb, I have nothing to place before You save my own helplessness. There is nothing that I own or that I have produced. I call upon You, asking You for madad and guidance, based on what YOU ARE. Based on Your Nature. YOU are the Merciful and Most Forgiving. So take care of me, my Rabb, based on these qualities for I have nowhere else to turn and no one else to ask. You did not create another caretaker and You are my only hope for nourishment.”

We truly have a Beautiful Creator whose qualities, if reflected upon, leave one helplessly in love with His entity. How can one NOT love Someone who takes this much concern in the well-being and happiness of his undeserving rebellious useless slaves? How can one not want to please such an entity?


On the authority of Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Allah the Almighty said: I am as My servant thinks I am. I am with him when he makes mention of Me. If he makes mention of Me to himself, I make mention of him to Myself; and if he makes mention of Me in an assembly, I make mention of him in an assembly better than it. And if he draws near to Me an arm's length, I draw near to him a fathom's length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed."
(Buhkari, Muslim, at-Tirmidhi and Ibn-Majah).

[Another possible rendering of the Arabic is: "I am as My servant expects Me to be". The meaning is that forgiveness and acceptance of repentance by the Almighty is subject to His servant truly believing that He is forgiving and merciful. However, not to accompany such belief with right action would be to mock the Almighty.]


La hawla wa la qoowata illah billah.

Never ever lose tawakkul. He is to us as we think Him to be. Have good opinion of Him and you will find yourself taken care of better than you could have ever imagined or taken care of yourself InshaAllah. NO ONE deserves your good opinion more than He does. NO ONE deserves your benefit of the doubt more than He does. Submit your trust to Him and you will find blessings coming from the ghaib that you could have never foreseen. We really need to believe with every last bit of our soul that He can take care of us far better than we can take care of ourselves. We need to put down all this baggage and learn how to surrender our trust. That is often the last and hardest things to surrender. But its taste is also the sweetest.

Let us die with that taste in our mouth.
InshaAllah and Amin.


“And whosoever keeps his duty to Allah, Allah will appoint a way out for him, and will provide for him from (a quarter) whence he has no expectation.
And whosoever puts his trust in Allah, He will suffice him.
Lo! Allah brings His command to pass. Allah has set a measure for all things.”
(Qur’an 65:2)



Your sister who prays she is not punished for her audacity to write such a piece when those more qualified to speak are present,

J

WasalaamuAlaikum.




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* 'Umar [ibn al-Khattab] (may Allah be well pleased with him) used to quote these two verses [of Arabic poetry] as an instructive example:
Go easy on yourself, for the outcome of all affairs is determined by God's decree.
If something is meant to go elsewhere, it will never come your way, but if it is yours by destiny, from you it cannot flee.

* "And God doth advance in guidance those who seek guidance: and the things that endure, Good Deeds, are best in the sight of thy Lord, as rewards, and best in respect of (their) eventual return." (Surah Maryam, 76)

* “The strong believer is better and more beloved to Allah than the weak believer, though there is good in both. Be avid for that which benefits you. Rely on Allah and do not deem yourself incapable…” [Muslim, Ibn Majah, and Ahmad]
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Islam Fosters Tolerance, Peace: Ex-Taliban Hostage

Islam Fosters Tolerance, Peace: Ex-Taliban Hostage


"The whole experience had taught me a very valuable lesson, and
that is not to believe propaganda that powerful people in powerful
places want us to believe," said Ridleyf


CAIRO, December 5 (IslamOnline.net) - Yvonne Ridley, the British
journalist who made international headlines three years ago after her
dramatic capture and release by the ousted Taliban regime in Afghanistan,
believes her life completely changed to the better, thanks to Islam.

What started out as a purely research about Islam following her release
turned into a soul-searching trip that culminated with the firm
conviction that Islam is not about oppression or violence, but rather peace,
tolerance and understanding, she recently told Malaysia's
English-language The Star newspaper.

Embracing Islam in August 2003, the Sunday Express journalist admitted
that she used to "work hard and play hard" and was a "prolific
drinker", but found herself now healthier, happier, and more content.

"And my girlfriends can see this, and they ask: 'What is this that has
changed your life so much?' And I say it's Islam. And they say: 'No,
really, what is it?'"

Ridley was in Malaysia last week to raise funds for the UK-based
Islamic social service organization Al-Khaaem.

"The whole experience had taught me a very valuable lesson, and that is
not to believe propaganda that powerful people in powerful places want
us to believe."

On Sept 28, 2001, Ridley, then 43, was trying to cross illegally into
Afghanistan from Pakistan.

She was held captive by the Taliban. She was eventually released in
October and went on to write about her unique experiences in a book
entitled "In The Hands of the Taliban."

In the book, she spoke about how she was treated with great respect and
courtesy by Taliban members, who used to call her "guest" and "sister."

Thank God It Was Taliban

Ridley told the Star that she really thanked God that here captors were
the Taliban and not the Americans.

"When I look back at my experience now, and I see the shocking images
of Guantanamo Bay , and the horrendous images and stories emerging from
the Abu Ghraib prison , I thank Allah I was captured by the most evil
and brutal regime in the world and not by the Americans."

Ridley, as an anti-war activist at the time, recalled how the US
intelligence sent a dossier to Taliban alleging that she was a spy to silence
her anti-war movement.

"Had I been shot or executed, this would have helped justify the
bombing of Afghanistan. It would have further demonized the Taliban. I was
told by one intelligence officer: 'Don't take this personally. It wasn't
against you,'" she said laughingly.

In an interview with IslamOnline.net before accepting Islam, Ridley
said that the wonderful thing about Islam was that "you have a direct
link with God. You don't need a conduit or a middle person. Peace and love
to all."

Ridley has become a fervent anti-war campaigner since her release.

She has supported the Stop the War Coalition and traveled around the
world addressing anti-war gatherings.

She is a founding member of Women in Journalism and the patron of
British organisation Stop Political Terror, which looks into the welfare of
Muslims in Britain, especially those being held in the notorious
Belmarsh and Woodhill prisons.

Ridley still writes for the Sunday Express and also for Muslims Weekly
in New York.

She is currently involved with the Islam Channel, a satellite broadcast
that started about a year ago in Britain.

Hijab in Parliament

An active member of the nascent Respect political party in Britain,
Ridley hopes to be the first female Muslim politician wearing a hijab in
the parliament.

"I stood as a candidate in the European elections and we got a quarter
of a million votes nationally," she told the paper.

She continued: "It didn't translate into a seat but we are going to be
fielding candidates in the general elections which may be held in May
next year.

"What is particularly significant is if I am successful, I would become
the first female Muslim politician to sit in Westminster and probably
the first woman wearing a hijab to sit in the houses of parliament."

But Ridley knows that there is still a long way to go, though
encouraged by the support of many Britons, who believe that Prime Minister Tony
Blair has let them down.

"There is a ground swell of support from people who feel as though they
no longer have a voice in the party headed by a British prime minister
who appears to prefer to take his orders from Washington rather than
from the people who elected him."

Another poem by someone else. Thanks to the Pali lady for sharing it :)

Love a Palestinian Woman!
=========================

When you love a Palestinian woman,
the essence of resistance seeps into your existence;
you comprehend the meaning of persistence.

In her eyes you may see residues of a tear,
but never a sign of fear.

When you love a Palestinian woman,
your heart is tuned to the beat of a heart that can never forget.
You travel far; you walk the narrow streets of Jerusalem, in the footsteps of Jesus, carrying his cross, cleaning his wounds, wiping his sweat.

When you love a Palestinian woman,
you love every wave that kisses the shores of her land,
every olive tree in Galilee,
every particle of salt in the Dead Sea.

When you love a Palestinian woman,
you love a smile mysteriously mixed with pain unknown to others;
and a laugh that was choked when the land was separated from its faithful lovers.

When you love a Palestinian woman,
you love a spirit that inherited the will to stand,
and eyes that terrify guards at check-points, in a way no man can.


How can any man love
but a Palestinian woman?

Dr. Walid Bishawi
Senior Advisor
Center for Islamic and Arabic Studies
San Diego State University

A nice poem by someone else :)

Baby, it's all good! - A modern hijab poem
By: Zehra

Author: Mafeesh

What do you see when you look at me
Do you see someone limited, or someone free
All some people can do is just look and stare
Simply because they can't see my hair
Others think I am controlled and uneducated
They think that I am limited and un-liberated
They are so thankful that they are not me
Because they would like to remain 'free'

Well free isn't exactly the word I would've used
Describing women who are cheated on and abused
They think that I do not have opinions or voice
They think that being hooded isn't my choice
They think that the hood makes me look caged
That my husband or dad are totally outraged
All they can do is look at me in fear
And in my eye there is a tear

Not because I have been stared at or made fun of
But because people are ignoring the One up above
On the day of judgment they will be the fools
Because they were too ashamed to play by their own rules
Maybe the guys won't think I am a cutie
But at least I am filled with more inner beauty
See I have declined from being a guy's toy
Because I won't let myself be controlled by a boy

Real men are able to appreciate my mind
And aren't busy looking at my behind
Hooded girls are the ones really helping the Muslim cause
The role that we play definitely deserves applause
I will be recognized because I am smart and bright
And because some people are inspired by my sight
The smart ones are attracted by my tranquility
In the back of their mind they wish they were me

We have the strength to do what we think is right
Even if it means putting up a life long fight
You see we are not controlled by a mini skirt and tight shirt
We are given only respect, and never treated like dirt
So you see, we are the ones that are free and liberated
We are not the ones that are sexually terrorized and violated
We are the ones that are free and pure
We're free of STD's that have no cure

So when people ask you how you feel about the hood
Just sum it up by saying, 'Baby its all good'

Passing Thoughts

Recently I tried contacting a few friends with whom i had not spoken for quite some time. I did not get them over the weekend again, and that got me thinking about this life of ours. We meet so many people, and have many on our messenger lists, yet occasionally there is a sense of emptiness for not having done our duty to check up with them. There were times when a small hiccup in their voice would tell you if they are smiling or in distress, and there are others when you are in the oblivioun about their life. Friend circles keep changing, and you try your best to maintain the old ones. Finally you decide to stick to a few close ones. but u still crave for knowing and talking to the other people. Soon we start searching for an occasion to call them, and when we miss the chance then we postpone it for the next occasion. Never does it come to mind that everyday is an occasion, and the person at the other end is as eager to talk to you. If the person is unavailable, we never assume that he is tied up with some urgent matter at school/work/family but may classify him to be judgemental. Life is so short, and so rapidly moving by. Everyday we recount our memories, and then take a deep breath and accept them to be our past. We leave behind a part of ourselves expecting to make it up in the future. This is life; a wheel that keeps rolling over different paths, collecting the mud of some and staying indifferent to the asphalt. Some of the earth comes with it to the final destination but most of it is a just a path traversed and forgotten.

Baiz, Arun and memory lane

So finally went to Baiz. And Frankly came to know what mediterranean cousine is all about. This store/restaurant gets a 5/5 for
[1] food
[2] arabic stuff
[3] meat
[4] pita bread (3 for $1 !!!!!!!!!!)
and 3/5 for saying that they have indian food.
But beat a hamburger at $1.99 and Superb, mouthsmacking Shawarma.

AK got in touch again today, and showed his lighter side to me. I have known him for roughly 14 years till date and today he talked about things we normally dont touch upon. We had a memory contest to recall those years in 4th grade and he surprised me with some unique observations. Even i had forgotten the color of my tiffin-bag but he remembered. JD has also got engaged and AK's parents did not object to his choice either. Both of them plan to marry in mid-2005. ASK is currently missing.

AS is quite quiet for now. AS had become hyper and insightful and communicative around the start of Dec, but since mid-Dec has been extremely extremely quiet. Dont whats bothering AS.

"Roger and I" is boring, so is Drumline. Avoid them.

A beautiful mind - Some beautiful words

Nash: Thank you. I've always believed in numbers and the equations and logics that lead to reason.

But after a lifetime of such pursuits, I ask, "What truly is logic? Who decides reason?"

My quest has taken me through the physical, the metaphysical, the delusional -- and back.

And I have made the most important discovery of my career, the most important discovery of my life: It is only in the mysterious equations of love that any logic or reasons can be found.

I'm only here tonight because of you.

You are the reason I am. You are all my reasons.

Thank you.