I try not to whine... much.

O blessed distractions

2012-01-30T10:41:00.000+05:00

Stupid poem. Bear with me.
------------------------------------------------------------------

O blessed distractions

You're just around the corner

My heart awaits you

Eagerly

O burdensome responsibilities

You're about to crash down

Enveloping me in a cocoon

Lovingly

O bland chores and duties

You're waiting for me

Each and every single day

Untiringly

O Khalahood-duties

You tackle me, overwhelm me

Every week, more than once

Welcome!

O even and odd jobs

You consume me with your demands

Every day, every moment

Gladly!

My heart awaits you all

Craves you all

So that you'd embrace

And envelope

Prevent me from thinking

Prevent me from hurting

My heart awaits you all

For you're its sellotape.

x -------------------- x

Image source

The Way to ♥ Venerate RasoolAllah (sallAllahu alyhi wasallam) ♥

2012-01-28T21:09:00.000+05:00

Venerate: {meaning: to admire, adore, apotheosize, appreciate, be in awe of, cherish, esteem, exalt, hallow, hold in awe, honor, idolize, look up to, love, put on a pedestal, regard, respect, think highly of, treasure, value him} •► is to OBEY him, do as he commanded and avoid that which he forbade, and to love him; he is not to be venerated through innovations, myths and sins. Celebrating his birthday is of this blameworthy type because it is a SIN. The people who venerated the Prophet (sallAllahu alyhi wasallam) the most were the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them), as ‘Urwah ibn Mas’ood (radi Allahu 'anhu) said to the Quraysh:

♥ “O people, by Allaah I have visited kings. I went to Caesar, Chosroes and the Negus, but by Allaah I never saw a king whose companions venerated him as much as the companions of Muhammad venerated Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). By Allaah, whenever he spat it never fell on the ground, it fell into into the hand of one his companions, then they wiped their faces and skins with it. If he instructed them to do something, they would hasten to do as he commanded. When he did wudoo’, they would almost fight over his water. When he spoke they would lower their voices in his presence; and they did not stare at him out of respect for him.” ♥

(al-Bukhaari, 3/178, no. 2731, 2732; al-Fath, 5/388).

Yet despite this level of veneration, they never took the day of his birth as an ‘Eid (festival). If that had been prescribed in Islam they would not have neglected to do that.

THINK ABOUT IT! WHO ARE YOU FOLLOWING?

Image source: iLoveAllaah.com Facebook page

Amazing beyond amazing :):)! Sarah Chaudhry A Daa'ai!

2012-01-27T23:58:00.005+05:00

Subhan'Allah! A mentally challenged haafidh

2012-01-27T22:39:00.001+05:00

I couldn't believe it! But it's true. Masha Allah multiplied by a gazillion!

LiveDeen Lectureshop - A Review :)

2012-01-24T23:23:00.000+05:00

Assalamualaikum

I finally had the opportunity to attend the LiveDeen event here in Karachi. It was a lecture + workshop = lectureshop titled 'Faith - The Next Level' held at the Imperial, Clifton in Karachi on Jan 22nd, 2012. Three speakers were to present three topics related to the theme, and they had flown over to Karachi all the way from the UK. They were:

1. Brother Adnan Rashid
2. Shaikh Abu Abdissalaam
3. Brother Kamran Kiyani

And the lectureshop was to be conducted from 10.30 am to 4.15 pm. I reached there by 10.15 am, and was greeted with a pleasant surprise. Volunteers sitting on the front desk were filling out registration forms and the one I went to, turned out to be a junior from my A'Level days :). Brought back some memories!

The event started at 10.30 with the recitation of the Holy Quran by one of my acquaintances again, Abdullah Ali. Masha Allah, beautiful qirat. Then the first lecture began. The first speaker (Brother Adnan Rashid) was speaking on 'Where are the Salahuddin Ayubis of today?'. Interesting topic no? I was quite intrigued. The talk began with an introduction of Tipu Sultan! Br. Adnan explained that he's talking about Tipu Sultan (kinda more familiar to us subcontinental-history-knowing folks!) because this man had lots of similarities with Salahuddin Ayubi. And for that, he quoted some verses of Allama Iqbal regarding Tipu Sultan. In his British-accented Urdu, he was quoting Iqbal! And we were staring at him quite dumbly. At least I was (and people in my vicinity were). Something to be ashamed about!

The most important point that was highlighted throughout his speech was that Salahuddin Ayubi and Tipu Sultan, both could have chosen to live (literally) like kings. They could have all they wanted: wealth at their disposal, luxuries, good food, etc. Why then, did they choose to live in constant battle, and constant hardship? What made them die and not leave behind huge bank accounts? What made them do things that made them physically exhausted, away from their families for months at end... what drove them? The answer lay in their principles. They knew their responsibilities as kings, and they knew the suffering of the Ummah. They knew that they were in a position where they could make a difference to respective pathetic state of the Muslims at their times and their locations. So they didn't care about the luxuries they could indulge their whole lives in, they just cared about their duty towards Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala and their duty towards Islam.

Message for us: We all know that the Ummah is in crisis today. Be it economic, social, political, moral, you name it, we're in it. We're all Muslims, and we all have amazing lives. By amazing I mean we (or whoever is reading this anyway) are educated, don't worry about the next day's meal, don't worry about whether we have a place to sleep at night, etc. We all are fairly average/above average individuals. What is stopping us from putting in our bit of effort towards the betterment of Muslims in the country/world today? What makes us indulge in the self-involved lifestyle that we indulge in today? What makes us so involved in stuff like trying out different cuisines, entertainment avenues, complain about them etc? Why don't we take some action?

So this was the wake up call of a speech, presented by Br. Adnan Rashid.

The second speaker was Abu Abdissalam. His topic was on 'The Battle Between Hearts and Minds'. The topic was pretty interesting in the sense that he really talked about personal stuff which we could all relate to. He started by telling his story; how he was a rebellious kid being raised in the UK, who just knew he was a Muslim (by birth) but had no association with Allah SWT. Then, one day he saw a pamphlet on the floor which was titled 'Do you know this book?'. He picked it up. It was a booklet that explained the Quranic references to science. And one of the aspects was that the universe is expanding. When he attended his Physics class, his professor was (coincidentally) explaining that science has discovered that the universe is expanding. So he asked the professor how long science has known this fact. The prof answered '40 years'. He was flabbergasted. The Holy Quran had revealed the fact 1400 years ago. This marked the change in him, and the quest to know more and more 'about the book'. This was the turning point in his life. And his whole talk was on how you have to be convinced from your brain and heart, that this is the way of life to follow. Until and unless you're convinced, you're always going to remain a 'born and bred Muslim' and nothing much beyond that.

Message for us 'born Muslims': Have we taken the time to research Islam to the extent that our hearts and minds are totally convinced that Islam should be part of each and every thing we do in life? It should be there in our academics, our social interactions, our patterns and schedules etc etc.

The third speaker, Mr. Kamran Kiyani was a management trainer/expert. His research was focused on deriving leadership and management principles from Islam and the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam).

His talk was very interactive. The first thing he did was, that he woke us all up (we had just had lunch - excuse us). He started off like this, "When you want to answer 'yes', please stand up. So my first question is, Have you had lunch?"

Majority of the room scrambled to its feet.

Second question "Who hasn't had lunch". Some volunteers stood up of course.

And it went on. The fun (and very inspiring) part was that he narrated specific incidents from the time of the Holy Prophet and asked us to form pairs and discuss which leadership principle is derived from each incident. We had 15 seconds to discuss and then come up with the answer. So it went like this:

Incident 1: The Holy Prophet carried bricks himself to build the Masjid-e-Nabwi in Medina.
Answer: Leadership principle is 'leading by example'.

Incident 2: The Holy Prophet signed the Treaty of Hudaibiyah even though in the short term, Muslims were humiliated.
Answer: The leader has long-term vision.

Incident 3: The Holy Prophet did not say anything to the bedouin who came to the Masjid-e-Nabwi and started relieving himself.
Answer: The leader doesn't get emotional. He guides people kindly.

Etc :).

This is how it went. Only too soon, the talks ended. Finally, there was a panel Q/A session where the three speakers were called onstage and they were asked questions which had been written down during the course of the lectures, and passed onto the moderator. Questions were pretty relevant and interesting. Unfortunately, my question was never answered. We ran out of time.

Some interesting questions were:

1. Everybody can't be Salahuddin Ayubi. There has got to be other practical stuff that people can do.
Ans (given by Br. Adnan Rashid): Yes, everybody can't be Salahuddin Ayubi, but the talk was intended to make you think that now that you have faith, there is a 'next level' which basically means 'action'. You can't just sit there and declare you're a Muslim. You have got to take some action. And action is taken according to circumstances, and skills. Different people have different skills and they can take various actions accordingly. Everybody is a leader in some aspect. They should identify their leadership positions and then try to educate the followers. Some examples are:

If somebody is a good writer, they should use this skill in spreading the knowledge of deen. It doesn't have to the primary thing you should do. It can be secondary. But at least, it should be there.

If somebody is a mom with 3 kids, she is in a position of authority over those kids. She should try her best to educate/nurture them on the straight path.

If somebody is the head of an organization, or a project leader - he/she can try to make the people whom he/she influences follow the right path.

If somebody is a techie, why not use technology to further the cause of deen?

There are hundreds of ways you can help out. Why limit yourself?

Other questions were interesting too. I guess this post has gone on long enough :). I've been meaning to write about my amazing experience for ages. The conference proved to be a turning point in my life at least. Jazakallah Khairan to the speakers, the organizers, volunteers, and the people who forwarded the invitations so that it reached me :):).

May Allah Guide us all, Ameen!

Why Do People Have to Leave Each Other? Part I

2012-01-24T11:31:00.000+05:00

A must read. The article is written by Yasmin Mogahed.
------------------------
| Part II

When I was 17 years old, I had a dream. I dreamt that I was sitting inside a masjid and a little girl walked up to ask me a question. She asked me: “Why do people have to leave each other?” The question was a personal one, but it seemed clear to me why the question was chosen for me.

I was one to get attached.

Ever since I was a child, this temperament was clear. While other children in preschool could easily recover once their parents left, I could not. My tears, once set in motion, did not stop easily. As I grew up, I learned to become attached to everything around me. From the time I was in first grade, I needed a best friend. As I got older, any fall-out with a friend shattered me. I couldn’t let go of anything. People, places, events, photographs, moments—even outcomes became objects of strong attachment. If things didn’t work out the way I wanted or imagined they should, I was devastated. And disappointment for me wasn’t an ordinary emotion. It was catastrophic. Once let down, I never fully recovered. I could never forget, and the break never mended. Like a glass vase that you place on the edge of a table, once broken, the pieces never quite fit again.

But the problem wasn’t with the vase. Or even that the vases kept breaking. The problem was that I kept putting them on the edge of tables. Through my attachments, I was dependent on my relationships to fulfill my needs. I allowed those relationships to define my happiness or my sadness, my fulfillment or my emptiness, my security, and even my self-worth. And so, like the vase placed where it will inevitably fall, through those dependencies I set myself up for disappointment. I set myself up to be broken. And that’s exactly what I found: one disappointment, one break after another.

But the people who broke me were not to blame any more than gravity can be blamed for breaking the vase. We can’t blame the laws of physics when a twig snaps because we leaned on it for support. The twig was never created to carry us.

Our weight was only meant to be carried by God. We are told in the Quran: “…whoever rejects evil and believes in God hath grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks. And God hears and knows all things.” (Qur’an 2: 256)

There is a crucial lesson in this verse: that there is only one handhold that never breaks. There is only one place where we can lay our dependencies. There is only one relationship that should define our self-worth and only one source from which to seek our ultimate happiness, fulfillment, and security. That place is God.
But this world is all about seeking those things everywhere else. Some of us seek it in our careers, some seek it in wealth, some in status. Some, like me, seek it in our relationships. In her book, Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert describes her own quest for happiness. She describes moving in and out of relationships, and even traveling the globe in search of this fulfillment. She seeks that fulfillment—unsuccessfully—in her relationships, in meditation, even in food.

And that’s exactly where I spent much of my own life: seeking a way to fill my inner void. So it was no wonder that the little girl in my dream asked me this question. It was a question about loss, about disappointment. It was a question about being let down. A question about seeking something and coming back empty handed. It was about what happens when you try to dig in concrete with your bare hands: not only do you come back with nothing—you break your fingers in the process. And I learned this not by reading it, not by hearing it from a wise sage. I learned it by trying it again, and again, and again.
And so, the little girl’s question was essentially my own question…being asked to myself.

Ultimately, the question was about the nature of the dunya as a place of fleeting moments and temporary attachments. As a place where people are with you today, and leave or die tomorrow. But this reality hurts our very being because it goes against our nature. We, as humans, are made to seek, love, and strive for what is perfect and what is permanent. We are made to seek what’s eternal. We seek this because we were not made for this life. Our first and true home was Paradise: a land that is both perfect and eternal. So the yearning for that type of life is a part of our being. The problem is that we try to find that here. And so we create ageless creams and cosmetic surgery in a desperate attempt to hold on—in an attempt to mold this world into what it is not, and will never be.

And that’s why if we live in dunya with our hearts, it breaks us. That’s why this dunya hurts. It is because the definition of dunya, as something temporary and imperfect, goes against everything we are made to yearn for. Allah put a yearning in us that can only be fulfilled by what is eternal and perfect. By trying to find fulfillment in what is fleeting, we are running after a hologram…a mirage. We are digging into concrete with our bare hands. Seeking to turn what is by its very nature temporary into something eternal is like trying to extract from fire, water. You just get burned. Only when we stop putting our hopes in dunya, only when we stop trying to make the dunya into what it is not—and was never meant to be (jannah)—will this life finally stop breaking our hearts.

We must also realize that nothing happens without a purpose. Nothing. Not even broken hearts. Not even pain. That broken heart and that pain are lessons and signs for us. They are warnings that something is wrong. They are warnings that we need to make a change. Just like the pain of being burned is what warns us to remove our hand from the fire, emotional pain warns us that we need to make an internal change. That we need to detach. Pain is a form of forced detachment. Like the loved one who hurts you again and again and again, the more dunya hurts us, the more we inevitably detach from it. The more we inevitably stop loving it.
And pain is a pointer to our attachments. That which makes us cry, that which causes us most pain is where our false attachments lie. And it is those things which we are attached to as we should only be attached to Allah which become barriers on our path to God. But the pain itself is what makes the false attachment evident. The pain creates a condition in our life that we seek to change, and if there is anything about our condition that we don’t like, there is a divine formula to change it. God says: “Verily never will God change the condition of a people until they change what is within themselves.” (Qur’an, 13:11)

After years of falling into the same pattern of disappointments and heartbreak, I finally began to realize something profound. I had always thought that love of dunya meant being attached to material things. And I was not attached to material things. I was attached to people. I was attached to moments. I was attached to emotions. So I thought that the love of dunya just did not apply to me. What I didn’t realize was that people, moments, emotions are all a part of dunya. What I didn’t realize is that all the pain I had experienced in life was due to one thing, and one thing only: love of dunya.

As soon as I began to have that realization, a veil was lifted from my eyes. I started to see what my problem was. I was expecting this life to be what it is not, and was never meant to be: perfect. And being the idealist that I am, I was struggling with every cell in my body to make it so. It had to be perfect. And I would not stop until it was. I gave my blood, sweat, and tears to this endeavor: making the dunya into jannah. This meant expecting people around me to be perfect. Expecting my relationships to be perfect. Expecting so much from those around me and from this life. Expectations. Expectations. Expectations. And if there is one recipe for unhappiness it is that: expectations. But herein lay my fatal mistake. My mistake was not in having expectations; as humans, we should never lose hope. The problem was in *where* I was placing those expectations and that hope. At the end of the day, my hope and expectations were not being placed in God. My hope and expectations were in people, relationships, means. Ultimately, my hope was in this dunya rather than Allah.

And so I came to realize a very deep Truth. An ayah began to cross my mind. It was an ayah I had heard before, but for the first time I realized that it was actually describing me: “Those who rest not their hope on their meeting with Us, but are pleased and satisfied with the life of the present, and those who heed not Our Signs.” (Qur’an, 10:7)

By thinking that I can have everything here, my hope was not in my meeting with God. My hope was in dunya. But what does it mean to place your hope in dunya? How can this be avoided? It means when you have friends, don’t expect your friends to fill your emptiness. When you get married, don’t expect your spouse to fulfill your every need. When you’re an activist, don’t put your hope in the results. When you’re in trouble don’t depend on yourself. Don’t depend on people. Depend on God.

Seek the help of people—but realize that it is not the people (or even your own self) that can save you. Only Allah can do these things. The people are only tools, a means used by God. But they are not the source of help, aid, or salvation of any kind. Only God is. The people cannot even create the wing of a fly (22:73). And so, even while you interact with people externally, turn your heart towards God. Face Him alone, as Prophet Ibrahim (as) said so beautifully: “For me, I have set my face, firmly and truly, towards Him Who created the heavens and the earth, and never shall I give partners to Allah.” (Qur’an, 6:79)

But how does Prophet Ibrahim (as) describe his journey to that point? He studies the moon, the sun and the stars and realizes that they are not perfect. They set.

They let us down.

So Prophet Ibrahim (as) was thereby led to face Allah alone. Like him, we need to put our full hope, trust, and dependency on God. And God alone. And if we do that, we will learn what it means to finally find peace and stability of heart. Only then will the roller coaster that once defined our lives finally come to an end. That is because if our inner state is dependent on something that is by definition inconstant, that inner state will also be inconstant. If our inner state is dependent on something changing and temporary, that inner state will be in a constant state of instability, agitation, and unrest. This means that one moment we’re happy, but as soon as that which our happiness depended upon changes, our happiness also changes. And we become sad. We remain always swinging from one extreme to another and not realizing why.

We experience this emotional roller coaster because we can never find stability and lasting peace until our attachment and dependency is on what is stable and lasting. How can we hope to find constancy if what we hold on to is inconstant and perishing? In the statement of Abu Bakr is a deep illustration of this truth. After the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ died, the people went into shock and could not handle the news. But although no one loved the Prophet ﷺ like Abu Bakr, Abu Bakr understood well the only place where one’s dependency should lie. He said: “If you worshipped Muhammad, know that Muhammad is dead. But if you worshipped Allah, know that Allah never dies.”

To attain that state, don’t let your source of fulfillment be anything other than your relationship with God. Don’t let your definition of success, failure, or self-worth be anything other than your position with Him (Qur’an, 49:13). And if you do this, you become unbreakable, because your handhold is unbreakable. You become unconquerable, because your supporter can never be conquered. And you will never become empty, because your source of fulfillment is unending and never diminishes.

Looking back at the dream I had when I was 17, I wonder if that little girl was me. I wonder this because the answer I gave her was a lesson I would need to spend the next painful years of my life learning. My answer to her question of why people have to leave each other was: “because this life isn’t perfect; for if it was, what would the next be called?”

Mind Explosion!

2012-01-23T09:33:00.003+05:00

And do not walk upon the earth exultantly. Indeed, you will never tear the earth [apart], and you will never reach the mountains in height.(Quran 17:37)

Ya Rabb….

2012-01-20T23:48:00.003+05:00

Ya Rabb…..

By Asma bint Shameem

I hope for your Mercy, Ya Rabb, while the whole world is asleep
I knock on Your door with heart so humble, my eyes thus weep

Hands raised high…..head bowed so low….. before You I kneel
I open my heart to you, I bewail my sorrows…..all what I feel

O, Knower of my troubles, Knower of my woes and fears
In great distress and grief I cry…..I let flow my tears

O Dispeller of my anguish, O Reliever of my pain
You are the One I turn to….. to You only, I complain

With emotions so raging, and soul so aching, my heart cries
I am hoping, Ya Rabbi, my prayers will pierce the highest skies

Its indeed Your Infinite Bounty, Your Mercy that sustains all
And indeed Your Forgiveness that restores those who fall

Only to You I stretch forth my hands, begging you… I plea
If you won’t turn to me, where else can this wretched soul flee

You alone can allay my pain, only You can relieve my distress
You are ar-Rahmaan, ar-Raheem, take me out of this mess

Send Mercy on me…. Suffering and agony is hard to bear
Forgive me my sins and all the disobedience that I did dare

Rescue me from this, Ya Rabbi, You are the Redeemer
Save me from such tribulations…..You are my Savior

Grant me patience to bear, in these times of trials and tribulance
Let me be thankful to You….give me persistence and endurance

For I know, the Prophet said, “In times of trouble, if I bear patiently
……You will forgive me my mistakes and reward me certainly”

So guide me always…..keep me strong and steadfast on this Deen
Don’t let me go astray, even in most difficult times one’s ever seen

You are my Wakeel…..to You I turn over all my affairs
All my hopes and wishes, Ya Maula….I entrust to Your Care

You are my refuge, You are my comfort… You are the Only One
Indeed to you I belong and to You, surely, is my return

Random and Disjointed

2012-01-16T15:38:00.000+05:00

Just some stuff floating in my brain:

1. If I don't think about it too long and too hard, it probably wouldn't affect much.

2. Life's twists and turns are only going to end when you leave the world.

3. Intelligence isn't that you achieve amazing grades throughout your life. It's actually doing your best to gain the best in the Hereafter.

4. The greatest peace of the mind and heart is attained when you're closest to your Creator, Allah the Almighty.

5. Badminton isn't as easy as it looks. Nothing is.

6. We underestimate a lot of things, but the most important thing which everybody underestimates is the Holy Quran.

7. Life will never hand you lemons to make lemonade. You gotta find the lemons too.

8. It's not that great a deal if one has never made shaami kebab in their lives.

9. Leaving the country is what most people want. There should be some attraction to it.

10. It's entirely possible for the heart to feel like it's overfull, and can't take in more feelings and emotions.

11. Meeting new people in life is normal. It's part of life. It's not supposed to be scary.

12. Appreciation is inherent in human beings. We crave it.

13. If one 'rises above' material needs, then it is entirely possible to have a very peaceful life.

14. People will never have time for you. Only those will, who really really care.

15. Blogging (for a blogger) can become a distant part of a past life. It's normal.

16. If one laughs too hard, there can be an inherent danger to break out crying.

17. When the greed for power is the only 'kick', then the leader will let even his close aides fall - and watch calmly - anything for his own power to remain intact.

18. When you're different enough, you may be deemed 'crazy'.

19. Being 'horizontal' is never ever the same as being 'vertical' in life.

Image source

On a high note :)

2012-01-12T01:40:00.000+05:00

Assalamualaikum

The previous days were pretty low, in terms of many things. Alhamdulillah, today proved amazing (again, in terms of many things).

The main thing? :)..

I stood second in my MS.. Allah ka laakhh shukkar! I cannot be grateful enough to Allah SWT for the achievement because since I had shifted departments, I was a complete loser in the beginning. Not quite knowing anything really, I had to bear quite a few embarrassments (say, "Who has never done Finite State Machines before?") :).

But now, I think the disappointments were worth it. Every hour spent studying up the stuff was worth it. Alhamdulillah multiplied by a gazillion.

PS: Insan kisi haal pe khush nahi .. :p. I do so wish the difference between the first and second position was not just 0.1 (GPA).. sigh. But *hurriedly*, I am grateful for the honor, anyway. :)

Image source

Disappointed and Disillusioned: Are we really this stupid and heartless?

2012-01-09T23:03:00.002+05:00

Assalamualaikum. Maybe I shouldn't have expected any better from them. But the following set of news items officially confirm that no politician is to be trusted for the 'Welfare' of this country (forget the 'Islamic' part). If the only reason left on the planet to support PTI in elections next year is that it's 'the next cool thing' to support Imran Khan, then we certainly don't need this 'cool factor'. Because it's not going to do anything except land the country and its people in more 'hot water' than ever before.

Take a look at these.
---------------------------------------------------------
Musharraf in favour of recognising Israel
Monday, January 9th, 2012

The former President of Pakistan Gen. (retd) Pervez Musharraf has recently given a statement in which he expressed his view that the Jewish country Israel should be recognized by Pakistan.

The former President of Pakistan was speaking in an interview with an Israeli newspaper, Haaretz while sharing his views on the relationship between Pakistan and Israel. The retired General was of the opinion that good relations between the two nations would serve to strengthen both countries strategically and otherwise as well. The former President of Pakistan stressed that both the nations can find many common grounds on which diplomatic relations can be initiated and built up.

Musharraf pointed out that the basis of the creation of both the countries was ideological.

Musharraf pointed out that it was him who took it upon himself and felt it was necessary that the two countries develop ties and in this regard, got the former Pakistani minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri to have a meeting with the foreign minister of Israel, Silvan Shalom.

------------------------------------------------
It's a point to be noted that Israel is responsible for these: Take a look!

12 year old Sami Fathi Abu Jazar shot to death by Israelisoldiers in Rafah, 2000

Palestinian boy shot in the head by Israeli soldiers,October, 2000

As his father attempts to shield him, Israelis shootat 12 year old Mohammed Al Doura. He was killed shortly after this photowas taken.

Boy burned by white-phosphorus in 2007 Israeli Gaza massacre {Artintifada}

A protester screams as an Israeli soldier aims his gun at her during a demonstration against the construction of Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin, near Ramallah, on Sept. 2, 2005. The Israeli Army clashed with Palestinian and foreign protesters demonstrating against the confiscation of some of Bilin's land to build the controversial wall that separates Israel from the West Bank.

Israeli soldiers shot this eight-year-old Palestinian girl,Sabreen Abu Sneineh, in the head, in Hebron, Aug. 12, 2001

-------------------------------------------------------
These pictures can make the hardest of hearts weep. Weep with misery, despair, helplessness and then, we have a leader who is openly declaring his recognition of the state which is openly responsible for the murders cited above..?

Can any human being support this action? Will recognizing Israel stop the atrocities, the murders?

And speaking of murder, do not forget one of the most merciless massacres which happened in Musharraf's time. Lal Masjid. There isn't even a pictoral record of the massacre that happened, and how the victims were burned beyond recognition and secretly buried, and their relatives could do nothing but cry and weep. Why wouldn't a massacre-supporting man support a massacre supporting country?

Image source

Pakistani Foreign Minister Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri (left) meets with his Israeli counterpart, Silvan Shalom, in Turkey. Associated Press photo by Murad Sezer

Now take a look at the second piece of news:
------------------------------------------------
Shah Mahmood Qureshi says PTI yet to decide on possible coalition with Pervez Musharraf
The vice-chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Shah Mahmood Qureshi has caused uproar within the party supporters after stating that the decision regarding any future conciliation with the former president of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf will be taken after taking circumstances into account.

------------------------------------------------
Third piece of news:

Parvez Musharraf rates Imran Khan as the best politician of the current lot

Former Pakistan President Parvez Musharraf has admitted that Imran Khan is the best politician in the country amongst the current lot. He shared these views while giving an exclusive interview to NDTV on Thursday, November 17, 2011.

Musharraf had no doubts over the honesty of Imran and said, “He means what he says. Maybe, although at times, one sees some variations in statements but, however, I think he means well. He is a patriotic man. So, since he has not been tested, he is, out of the lot, the best of the lot to be given a chance.”

-------------------------------------------------
Another beauty:

Election alliance expected between Imran Khan and Pervez Musharraf
Political parties are adjusting their positions in line with the prevailing scenario, and it seems like some significant political developments could be witnessed before the upcoming general elections.

Reports suggest that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman, Imran Khan, and All Pakistan Muslim League chief, Gen (Retd) Pervez Musharraf, are expected to join hands in order to win maximum number of seats in National Assembly and emerge as one of the major political force in the country.

Imran is on the visit of United States to attend his Party’s procession. According to sources, Musharraf and the PTI chief are busy in forging a political alliance through their mutual friends in U.S.

------------------------------------------------
Whose game are we, the gullible public playing? And whose stealthy hands are pulling the strings and we're content with being the puppets? Wherever the string is pulled, our opinions, thoughts and wants follow suit. It's disgusting to even think about, let alone support.

PTI supporters.. now is your real test.

And PTI itself, there really doesn't seem to be much "Islamic" to your "Islamic Welfare State". I believe it's just there to appease the religious masses, and maybe to garner some support from them. But in reality, neither your manifesto, nor your actions (and your potential actions) support this phrase in any form.

People, do think about it.

Of neighborly rights and Surah Kahf

2012-01-06T01:48:00.000+05:00

As I am forced to listen to another distasteful song (among many now!), I can't help thinking about how Islam makes us perfect in even this teensy (apparently) matter: Taking care of neighbors.

And one of the basic rights of neighbors is to let them live in peace and not bug them with pointless music and utterly blood-boiling yells and screams. Considering it's the shab-e-jummah, it really is sad that a group of folks are spending it cheering to some crude music, and that too for hours and hours. I prayed Isha prayers while the songs were going on. And I don't have the power to march up to the community center and tell them to shut it.

Anyway, to make this post a little worthy of being shared, do remember that reading Surah Kahf on Jummah day (Thursday after maghrib, to Friday maghrib time) is highly recommended and a nice means of earning sawaab.

Some supporting Ahadith for this:
The hadith related by Hakim and Bayhaqi, from Abu Sa`id (Allah be pleased with him), “Whoever recites Surat al-Kahf on Friday, light shall shine forth for him between the two Fridays”. [Ibn Hajar, Talkhis al-Habir]

Hazrat Abu Darda radiyallahu anhu reported Allah’s Messenger sallallahu alaihe wasallam saying, “If anyone memorises ten verses from the beginning of Surah Kahf, he will be protected from the Dajjal (Anti-Christ).” (Muslim)

Hazrat Abu Darda radiyallahu anhu reported Allah’s Messenger sallallahu alaihe wasallam saying, “Anyone who reads the first three verses of Surah Kahf, he will be protected from the trial of the Dajjal (Anti-Christ).” (Tirmizi)
Source: Haq Islam

At least somebody said something :)

2012-01-02T10:25:00.000+05:00

And I quote:

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood: Fate of Israel peace treaty may be decided in referendum

Referring to the issue of recognizing Israel, al-Bayoumi said that the Muslim Brotherhood was not required to recognize Egypt's neighbor to the north, saying that Israel was an "occupying entity and we will not allow anyone of our members to meet with an Israeli."

"I won't allow myself to meet with a criminal and there's no chance that we'll cooperate with Israel," the Egyptian official said.

-----
You can read the complete article at: Haaretz.com

I still have hope in Egypt. It's a nation that's not bothered by the divisions we are foolishly involved with. All Egyptians are Egyptians. They may be divided politically, but not really on religion-basis. There is no Barelvi Egyptian, or Deobandi Egyptian, etc etc. Another cool thing is: they're mostly literate. So they make educated decisions and revolt against corrupt leaders with a clear goal in mind. Nothing is 'aeween mein' ..

I hope the Brotherhood remains true to its word and gets Egypt out of the problems (and the secular army's stronghold) it's currently involved in. Ameen!

A Time for Resolutions?

2011-12-31T21:54:00.000+05:00

Resolutions can (and should) be made all the time. Helps keep one focused. But for some strange reason, the end of a year - and the beginning of the next, sparks a new zest for making a 'fresh start', 'undo' some of the wrongs, and make a list or a plan to put things right. I found an inspiring list of things in this article. It's a slideshow titled '8 Tips To Revive Your Religious Life In The New Year'. The first slide was the most inspiring one and I quote:
-----------------------------------------
12. Do something really nice -- that no one knows about.
11. Spend more money on other people than I spend on my self. Love my neighbor as I love myself. And love myself as I love my neighbor.
10. Laugh often... especially at advertisements that try to convince me that I must buy more stuff in order to be happy.
9. Learn a new life skill - like carpentry, pottery, or canning vegetables. Teach someone else I life skill I know how to do.
8. Love a few people well, remembering that what is important is not how much we do but how much love we put into doing it.
7. Write a letter to someone I need to say thank you to. Write another letter to someone I need to ask to forgive me.
6. Track down a critic or someone I disagree with and take them to lunch. Listen to them.
5. Compliment someone I have a hard time complimenting... and mean it.
4. Choose life. Do something regularly to interrupt the patterns of injustice - do something to end violence, bullying, war, capital punishment and other mean and ugly things.
3. Pause before every crisis and ask "will this matter in 5 years?"
2. Get outside often and marvel at things like fireflies and shooting stars. And regularly get my hands into the garden... so when I type on the computer I can see dirt under my fingernails.
1. Believe in miracles. And live in a way that might necessitate one.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
This year was important in so many ways. My life as a 'student' finally came to an end. The next phase (if any) hasn't materialized yet, nor does it seem to. My family became extremely kind, gentle and flexible this year. Alhamdulillah, the increase in knowledge this year for me, far outdid the previous years. Again, close friends and family came into play a lot. There is a long way to go, still.

I have hope for the next year. Insha Allah.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Externally:

Pakistan's fate showed no signs of being good for the public. The same murders, target killings, family violence, acid burnings, rape/molestation, and other forms of abuse ruled the year. 2011 did not bring any hope that this would change for the better. The government remains impassive, silent, yielding (towards the outsiders), and hard-hearted towards their public, the army remains divided.. between the thinkers, and the leaders, corruption remains rampant at every level of society and the news consistently shows death, unrest, destruction and corruption. It seems every ounce of happiness has been sucked out from the general public opinion.

The one thing people could cling to, as 'the last hope alive' was the Imran Khan series that began in 2011. The youth, left and right, were found saying ONE thing, 'He's the person whom we believe can bring about SOME change in this chaos.'

What makes them believe that? I think the answer lies in the general helplessness society feels at the hand of so much injustice happening in the country/abroad. There seems to be no other way out. The victory of the World Cup '92 is still fresh in the minds of the people who want to see the same Pakistan as a world champion on the social/economic/political front. Many speculate that this is the way forward, the way to progress and the way to something better than... the present.

Let's see what 2012 brings.

May Allah Enable us to understand what our problems are, and seek out the correct solutions. May He Enable us to learn beyond what the education of this country is offering us, to strive in the path of learning about His Deen, to strive to impart that knowledge, and to balance the striving for the dunya, with the struggle for the aakhirah. Ameen, Ya Rabb Al-Aalameen.

Tag and Track!

2011-12-30T00:53:00.001+05:00

Healthy Food according to Sunnah

2011-12-26T16:14:00.002+05:00

Little achievements :)

2011-12-23T01:57:00.002+05:00

I know anybody with a decent research track record will laugh if they see something like this. But hey, I'm not them, so I can be me, and declare very gleefully...

That my abstract got accepted in a conference !! My very first conference!

Animation source

And it's an international one.. :D. In USA to be precise. But err, I can't go. So the second/third author has to be the presenter.

But that's not the point.

The point is that a publication came out of the thesis! And it matters. Like, the conference is an important one. Alhamdulillah.

Though it would have been so much fun to go for a week to the US *lost in the fantasy*

Lesson: Anybody out there who thinks his/her circumstances won't permit him/her to have achievements - just wait, and persevere. Things do fall through, even through the worst of times. Only hard work, consistency, belief and tawakkal in Allah (SWT) is important. And of course, the daily reminders like salah and Quran pulls through the most stressful times.

I hope and pray this paper turns out to be a good one (have to write it now), and the presenters do a good job with it.. :). Insha Allah.

Worthwhile share of the day:

Narrated Abu Huraira, Allah's Messenger (sallAllahu ályhi wasallam) said,•► "The reward of the prayer offered by a person in congregation is twenty five times greater than that of the prayer offered in one's house or in the market (alone). And this is because if he performs ablution and does it perfectly and then proceeds to the mosque with the sole intention of praying, then for every step he takes towards the mosque, he is upgraded one degree in reward and his one sin is taken off (crossed out) from his accounts (of deeds). When he offers his prayer, the angels keep on asking Allah's Blessings and Allah's forgiveness for him as long as he is (staying) at his Musalla. They say, 'O Allah! Bestow Your blessings upon him, be Merciful and kind to him.' And one is regarded in prayer as long as one is waiting for the prayer."

[Bukhari :: Book 1 :: Volume 11 :: Hadith 620]

Of endings and new beginnings :)

2011-12-21T01:44:00.000+05:00

Assalamualaikummmmmmmmmm :D:D

Wa Rahmatullahi wa barakatuhuuuuuuu!

May loads of sunshine, barakaat, and joy be your way (whoever reads this) :D. I'm in the mood to freely give out all the good dua'as possible in the worldddd. Sorry for the annoying multiple last word occurrences. I just feel too good to curb the annoying habittttt :P

So how are y'all!

I'm finally, truly madly deeply (yeah right), absolutely, completely, utterly, butterly, jam-ily, FREEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!

Image source

This feeling had been missing for the past 2.5 years.. :). Now, that huge MS has finally ended. I'm soooo glad! Alhamdulillah, multiplied by a gazillion!

You know, when I was coming out of the university today, I couldn't think of how to express my gratefulness to Allah SWT, and a simple 'Thank you so much Allah Ta'ala' seemed so inadequate. So I used some gray cells and came up with a kinda free verse thanks, which I gave to Him. And I will tell that in the end... :P. Why? Because I need to tell the story first. After all, you should know the reason for the thanks, before the thanks right?

So did I tell you I feel like this:

Image source

I have extra energy right now, I think. Even though I am completely drained. Lemme start the story now.

I had to reach university at 10am. Reached by 9.15. Was sent to the Lab to set things up. Gave in my USB, the nice man switched on the projector. I checked my slides. All was well. Ready to begin. Now, just had to wait till 10am. Started reading my thesis. Glanced anxiously at the clock at intervals. Stomach felt weird. Hands were cold. The clock struck 10am.

......

And then it struck 10.05am...

.....

And then it struck 10.10am...

:D:D. No sign of any supervisor or the external examiner.. :D:D.

I would glance repeatedly at the clock a lil more disbelievingly every time. But nothing happened. At last, at 10.30am, my supervisor enters the scene. He walked over to me, asked me some cursory questions and sat down.

....

The clock struck 10.45am...

..... then 10.55am. A small headache had begun to start at the base of my head by this time. At that point, I wasn't even nervous. Just wanted to START THE THING!!

At 11am, the examiner walked in. He's a busy fellow. Looked like he was in a real hurry. Vibe # 1: Don't make the presentation long.

And I had made such careful notes :(.

Anyway, after some introductions, I was instructed to begin my presentation. I started off. And promptly decluttered my brain with all the careful notes PER SLIDE I had made :(. And there were 78 slides :$. Because this wasn't any setting to 'explain and analyze' .. it was the setting for 'going through quickly in the minimum time, explaining the maximum things'.

Allah ka lakh shukkar, that I was able to do it. And I remember speaking, and then thinking 'what did I just say? Did I prepare it? No! It just came out of my mouth!' ... and it went on.. for about 30 minutes. In the middle, I was stopped several times :S. And asked what not what not. Alhamdulillah (multiplied by a gazillion) that I was able to answer. Except one question, but that had been beyond the scope of the thesis.

In the end, I was sent out, while the examiners made the decision. Before being sent out, the examiner said the kind words of "If you put in a little bit more work in it, your six credit hour thesis would be worth an entire MS by research degree, which this university used to offer. So the six months of work represents that two year degree work. Oh joy! :)

I stood outside, trying not to smile too much. Ten minutes later, the examiner strolled outside with a cell phone against his ear, talking and laughing. And strolled away.. :S..

Then, my supervisor walked out, and he said the nice words :):):) "Congratulations. You've become a Master's grad'.. Oh joy again :). I thanked him, and asked him what he thought of my presentation. He said it was made so simple that anybody could perceive exactly what you did and how you did it. It was really v.good. Alhamdulillah multiplied by another gazillion. I still have thesis mistakes to correct. But other than that, I'm good. :):)

I nearly skipped down the stairs, to the parking lot. Had a pile of theses in my arms, and the laptop bag, and a purse! Loaded, and in those uncomfy sandals.. [man! they suck!], I was jiggy-hearted enough to not be that uncomfy. Now, when you exit the department, there is a ramp (no stairs). As I proceeded to walk down the ramp, my heart still singing and smiles still straining to appear! ... suddenly....

:$:$:$:$..

my sandals just slipped.. and before I knew it... I had no feet!!! Gravity said 'Hellooooo' ... and down I went..!

Image source

If somebody had freeze-framed the moment, the above picture is what I would have looked like. *doubled over with laughter*

:D.

Image source

My first thought was (since I was capable of thinking this, Alhamdulillah I wasn't hurt - only my pride was!), "Did anybody see this?". There weren't any people in my immediate vicinity. I was so glad. Only for a millisecond. I heard a loud burst of laughter, from way out in the corridor. Apparently, some men were standing over there, and had witnessed the abaya clad lady walking down the ramp and falling so spectacularly along with her fat theses, laptop bag and purse! *doubled over with laughter again* :D:D.

So my bubble well and truly burst now, I walked away, looking DOWN and nowhere else.

Picked up Chotpo and we went to the Book Expo (today was the last day). It was lovely :) [even though my feet were killing me, because of those stupid sandals!!!]. I bought a few books and so did Chotpo. We drove back home - namaz, lunch, exhausted nap... but since Asr time occurs very soon now.. was up! Then bhanju was here, and had amazing fun with the lil kiddo.

It was a proper celebration :):).

Btw, baanju can now do this *nehaal and proud khalaa-ish smile*...

Me: Aaaaiiikkkkk
Bhanju: Doooooo
Me: Teeeeeeen
Bhanju: Chaaaaa
Me: Paaanchhhhhhh
Bhanju: Cheyyyy
Me: Saaathhhhh
Bhanju: Saaa [wrong answer!]
Me: Aaath!!
Him: Nauuuuuuu

*lote pote with laughter*

So long folks! Have a wonderful life! Do what you want to do and spend your time wisely!! Every moment is important, and will be accounted for.

And yeah, I had to put down the little free verse of gratefulness to Allah SWT for His Infinite Mercy and Help for this thesis work, which was done with so many challenges and commitments etc.

I thank you a number of times, oh Allah
The number of grains of sand
The number of drops of rain
The number of leaves in all the trees
The number of clouds in the sky
I thank you, equivalent to
The width of the sky..
I surely thank you.

So long! :)

PS: Have an article deadline tomorrow :).. IA
PPS: There is a workshop in January, where three scholars are coming over from abroad. One from Bayyinah Institute!!
PPPS: Wish I could do this :p....

Image source

Goofy!

2011-12-20T01:19:00.000+05:00

Assalamualaikum

This post is to be recorded as the night before my thesis defense presentation and viva. Am I scared? *goofy grin*.

Am I worried? *another goofy grin*.

That's like asking 'Am I a human?' :)

The day was spent in a pretty normal fashion. The morning was beautiful. Staying up after Fajr has so many benefits I can't tell you. *another goofy grin*.

A strange incident happened today. *forgets about the goofy grin*.

The bell rang. Mum was out, so I was home alone, but with maasi. So me and maasi were chatting [we do that a lot]. The bell rang. I got up, and said 'kaauunnn? (whose there?)' on the intercom.
Man: Letter lay lain, please baher aayiyay. [Take your letter. Please come outside].

Now, I should have been alert on the second part of his sentence (because no postman ever says 'please come outside'), but I sauntered off. Went to the door. Opened it. :S

A large man was standing there, he gave me this newsletter and fished out an ID from his pocket, conveniently doing all that in the gap between the door and the outside pavement, so that effectively, I was unable to slam the door on his face [because his hand and the newsletter would be in the way]. So startled was I that I could (for a few miliseconds) unable to comprehend what was in my hand. And he started babbling off! That he represents an organization which works with crippled children. And he wants me to see his ID, and the newsletter. And he shoved this register at me, and told me to write down my Dad's name. I (oh why am I this stupid?) wrote down my Dad's first name (thank God I had the sense not to put down the full name), and he told me to write 'sadqah' next, and in the third column, there were prices.

Uff, I came to my senses, then and told him that I can't pay him any money without my Dad's permission. Was he going to listen? I was petrified (I'm somebody who can be easily intimidated with a loud voice, and a big bod surface area). But I kept repeating (in a more scared voice than ever) that I still can't pay him like that and I'd just consult his website and pay online.

After insisting that one doesn't need to ask permission before praying salah, do we, and all sorts of babble, he finally said, okay ma'am. And turned away. I slammed the door shut and ran back into the house (heart pounding) and told my maasi everything.

Only to be scolded by her soundly for being stupid enough to open the door without peeking who it was first!!

:(

What a lovely thing it is to be gifted with a brain which can discern at once who is to be trusted and who shouldn't.

Anyway, the rest of the day passed by in a haze. Apart from the scary incident, no amount of reprimands and scoldings could destroy today :D.

*another goofy grin*

I wonder if everybody acts this goofy when they're about to have their freedom the next day..?

:D

Image source

Hilarious

2011-12-17T08:38:00.001+05:00

Assalamualaikum!

What a lovely cold morning. The walk was shivery (at first), and soon got pleasant. It's amazing to walk outside at this point in time (I mean after Fajr) - when the sun hasn't risen up, the moon is clearly visible, cut in half as if somebody used scissors on it, all the birds on the planet chirping away, and since it's Saturday, no annoying honking horns of school buses.

Awesome, I tell you :). Masha Allah.

Well, the post is titled 'Hilarious' because I just happened to see some search terms or keywords, which bring people to this blog. Lol. Have a look.

Love crazy night quotes

:D:D:D. Has to be a joke, right? But it isn't :D

why is the thesis defense so frustrating?

Sounds like somebody is in the exact same boat as me :D. Boy is it good to find suffering brethren or what :p

continental biscuits head office pakistan

ROFL.

not happy face

No surprise.. *grinning*. This is a sad blog.

drooping cartoons

No surprise again!

weirdest earrings

:). Wonder how that leads to the blog. But it does!

funny chota don pictures

What in heavens is a chota don? :D ..man, the things people come up with!

person punching someone

Sounds like somebody was angry :P

what am I doing here?

What are you indeed .. :D

thak thak comics

What in the world...

idiot stamped on head

:D:D. No wonder this leads straight to my blog. :D:D

pathani baigan

Pathani brinjals? Is that a dish? :D

little baby smiling with pakistani bridal dress

ROFL again. Why would a baby smile with a bridal dress? :D

You know, if you have a blog, and you feel down and need some cheering up, there is nothing better than checking out the keywords that lead people to your blog.. :D

So long!

Image source

From Facebook to God’s Book

2011-12-15T23:17:00.000+05:00

From Facebook to God’s Book
Written by: Maryam Amir-Ebrahimi

Many of us have an addictive relationship with Facebook. We check our accounts compulsively, multiple times a day. It is sometimes the last thing many of us do before we sleep and the first thing we do when we wake up; time flies when we’re on it, and it is obsessive.

Yet how many of us have an addictive relationship—have any relationship—with the Qur’an? This is the Book that transformed alcoholic, oppressive, baby-girl-burying people into callers for justice, defenders of the oppressed, soft-hearted, humble worshippers of the Lord of All the Worlds. If what is contained in this Book brought eternal peace to the hearts and freedom to the souls who were chained to the whims of their own desires, it undoubtedly can emancipate us from our own problems, heartaches and stresses. However, its ability to powerfully impact us may go a lifetime unrealized if we continue to decide that other relationships are more important.

Some of us want to establish a relationship with the Qur’an, but may find it… boring, difficult to understand, or simply not fast enough. We’re used to status updates, pictures and vivid virtual conversations. We prefer fun captions and vivacious images. We prefer real people, an interchange of words and tangible friendships—or at least, Facebook friendships. A lot of us don’t even really know the people we add as friends.

In reality, what we prefer is what the Qur`an already offers and more; it’s just up to us to experience the paradigm shift, with God’s help. Here are a few ways we can tangibly work to establish our relationships with the Qur’an and in doing so, elevate ourselves in this life and in the Next, by the will of God.

From Facebook to God’s Book
What is it about Facebook or other forms of social or popular media that makes you come back, over and over, sometimes multiple times a day—at a minimum? Is it the novelty of reading ever-changing statuses or finding new pictures? Is it feeling appreciated when others comment on your posts? Is it the fun of having instantaneous connections? Is it just boredom? Whatever it is, identify why you keep going back. Then, tweak your reasons for that connection and apply it to the Qur’an.

When you read stories about Noah, Moses, Jesus, Mary, Lot—when you read about their struggles or the people who they called to the worship of God, recognize those as the Qur’an’s updates. The conversations that God quotes in the Qur’an, the arguments of the people to their Messengers, those are all comments to posts in the Qur’an’s feed.

Mary `alayha assalaam (peace be upon her) says something, then God Almighty responds. Jesus `alayhi assalaam (peace be upon him) tells his disciples something and they all start tweeting him back. Moses (as) posts on Pharaoh’s wall, Pharaoh responds with his henchman and is finally completely deleted from Facebook—and the world—in its entirety. God’s Book is more intense, exciting and novel than anything on Facebook. We just need to add it and tag it as our Best Friend.

Sometimes we find Facebook addicting because of our ability to interact with our friends. So let’s find the Qur`an addicting because of our ability to interact with God. When reading God’s Book and you want to like something, say alhamdulilah (all praise is to God)! You’ll get rewards and be increased in what’s good (Qur`an 14:7). When you personally want to respond to a status, put up your hands and make du`a’ (supplication)! Instead of aimlessly commenting, you’ll be strengthening your connection with the One Who can hook it up for you, Who can hear you and will answer you! When you read the descriptions of Paradise and Hell, know that Allah Most High is uploading images for you to focus on and be impacted by; when you’re captivated or horrified by the image, comment through your actions! Do the actions which will include you amongst the chillers in Paradise and keep you from being in the excruciating fire. That type of commenting will bring everlasting results in this life and the Next and, God willing, Allah subahanahu wa ta`ala (exalted is He) will tag you as His homies in this life and the Hereafter.

Make the Qur`an Our Best Friend
Oftentimes, when we’re sad or lonely, when we’re bursting with joy or excitement, when we’re apathetic or just need some down time, we post it. We let everyone know how we’re feeling, what we’re thinking, something that went down in our day or what we wished didn’t go down. We often treat Facebook as a best friend; checking it and reconnecting frequently. Here’s our opportunity to start shifting that connection; let’s start calling Allah’s Book our BEST FRIEND. With ourselves, let’s start using the term, “Best Friend,” for the Qur’an.

If you have a human best friend, think about the way you run to answer their call when you know they’re about to tell you the outcome of a life-changing decision. Think about the way you laugh when you’re chilling together at the beach or having a conversation over dinner. Think about the way that you dial their number before anyone else’s, knowing almost with certainty that they will pick up the phone and be there for your comfort.

Now, apply that same understanding of your best friend relationship to the Qur’an. If you take the Qur’an as your Best Friend, you’ll run to it when you see it near, knowing it’s calling you, ready to listen to whatever it wants to share for your own benefit, guidance and happiness. When you’re distraught, feeling lonely or at loss, you’ll go to your Best Friend, hold it to your heart, open it and begin reading it, reciting from it, reveling in its mind-blowing empathy, its heart-warming sympathy, it’s perfection of wisdom which relates directly to your situations. When you’re excited beyond measure; ready to jump through the roof because you finally got into that school, got that job, regained your health, going to get married to your dream person or had the blessing of your child, you’re going to pick it up and shed tears of joy or words of elation with it, knowing that in reality, you’re going back to the One Who gave you all that you’re excited about in the first place.
Making the Qur’an your best friend begins with a paradigm shift; this is not simply a Holy Book; it’s the pinnacle of your life, it’s your first supporter, your constant companion, your guide, the keeper of your secrets—it’s your Best Friend.

Building Our Relationship
Having taken the Qur’an as a best friend, we must also make a commitment to building our relationship with it. Best friends don’t happen overnight; we become continuously attached to the person we’ve already connected with because of our consistent ability to reconnect and re-align. So too, with the Qur’an. The Qur’an is always there, waiting to be your closest homie! Why? Because when we establish a relationship with the Qur’an, we are, in reality, establishing a relationship with the One Who created us and knows us best. He tells us, “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,” (Hadith Qudsi, Bukhari). When we think about God, when we make an effort to draw nearer to Him, He comes to us with speed. Therefore, let us run to Him through our relationship with the Qur’an!

Set a certain amount of Qur’an that we must read, regardless of the circumstances, every day. Make sure this amount is in a language that we understand. If we can read Arabic and understand some of it, then read the Arabic but also read a translation. Allah (swt) revealed the Qur’an in the language of the Arabs for them to understand it so that they can live by and be transformed by it. Thus, read it in a language that will impact your life, and do it daily. From 20 pages to only 1 verse, do whatever amount you can do consistently and stick with it because the Prophet ﷺ (peace be upon him) taught us that the best actions are those that are small, but consistent (Bukhari). Reading the Qur’an daily, year-round, is better than reading a ton only in Ramadan and then disregarding it. How can a relationship flourish to its fullest if it is only maintained once a year?

Facebook can be a great networking tool, but if used obsessively, we can become addicted to a media which often brings minute tangible benefits to our lives. Allah’s Book is an incredible networking tool which will connect us to the Creator of the Universe, the One through Whom we can gain tangible benefit in this life and the eternal hereafter. Let’s go to Allah’s Book—to our Best Friend—to the Qur`an—because the best “like” is when Allah (swt) likes your life.

“… Allah is pleased with them, and they are pleased with Him – those are the party of Allah . Unquestionably, the party of Allah – they are the successful.” (Qur`an 58:22)

Source: SuhaibWebb.com

Huge Cheer-me-up :D

2011-12-15T20:59:00.002+05:00

Dreamin' with eyes a-gleamin'

2011-12-15T10:37:00.002+05:00

Much as I would like this month to end (or at least the 20th to arrive), there are things that would start right after this thesis ends.... which I am kinda sad about.

1. Who likes shopping?
:) [rhetorical question eh]. Okay I like shopping. But for others. And this time, it ain't gonna be for others. Can't even avoid it.

2. Who likes to miss the Book Expo because of the delayed thesis defense?

I hate missing it, and am getting all these glarey-looks from folks who wanted me to drive them to the place and drown in books, but hey, not my fault my viva got delayed.

3. Who likes to celebrate new year knowing that when the year ends, you're no longer at the place you lived all your life?
Not that I'm very sad about this one. But then again, leaving a pretty sheltered life is not easy.

4. Who likes to give up the PhD dream?
Well, not that I'm very inclined towards it at the moment (sick of the thesis and all), but it's still sad to let heavily nurtured dreams go.

....

Much as I would like this month to end (or at least the 20th to arrive), there are things that would start right after this thesis ends.... which I am happy about!

1. Who doesn't like to travel?

:D. Love it. And the kind of mundane life I have right now, love it even more!

2. Who doesn't like to get some nice attention from folks?
Being a younger sibling and having a brilliant older sibling :p, I've never really felt that I've gotten some exclusive attention. Usually it's all about everything-on-the-planet-except-Uni-idiotoony. So this time, *rubs hands with glee*, I'm gonna enjoy this.

3. Who doesn't like making new friends?
Not that I'm super confident, but its intriguing to meet new people, live among them, see their habits, compare them to yours, smile at the differences and sigh with relief at the similarities.

4. Who doesn't like to have some free time?
Finally! I can sit back, and relax. And there is no more worry about lessons, deadlines, homeworks, assignments, job hunts, tests, exams, theses, literature reviews.... the time after 20th Dec is absolutely absolutely completely totally irrevocably...*stops herself*...

I mean, I'm free.

5. Who doesn't like to make the following amazing list? :D

I'm going to:

Listen to all Bayyinah podcasts
Take part in this intriguing gesture recognition challenge on kaggle!
Do any (or all) of these: Natural Language Processing, Probabilistic Graphical Models, Technology Entrepreneurship, Machine Learning, Information Theory, Game Theory, and many more! All online free interactive courses - to be taken from the leisure of your bedroom! :D
Sleep and set a good routine in life :p
Start a 'healthier lifestyle routine' :s
Try listening to any lecture or read any book regarding one particular confusion of mine: What's the correct way of 'making a difference' to the Ummah's problems today! [this one is actually the first one].
Etc!

Man, I almost feel as if the time of freedom has already come. Although it's er.. a full 5-6 days away. Sigh.

So long folks. Advice of the day:

Image source

So interesting and innovative :)

2011-12-15T01:07:00.000+05:00

I love the enthusiasm, the ability to think SIMPLE and SMALL. It just takes a simple thought beyond the box, to turn into something worthwhile. We use CAPTCHAS every day. Who would have thought we're all part of a huge project of digitizing books?

:) .. 10 seconds of annoyance are actually productive. Enjoy the hilarious yet informative talk.

A different kind of love story

2011-12-13T19:30:00.000+05:00

By: Faraz Omar

The exceptional characteristics some people display are quite dumbfounding really, particularly when you put yourself in their shoes. This story published in today's Saudi Gazette is one such.
Unfortunately, the Gazette didn't publish it online, but one can find it in the Feb. 18 print edition on Page 3. Let me type the story up for you:

JEDDAH -- The love between an Islamic preacher with special needs and a Holy Qur'an teacher has turned into marriage.

The touching story began when Abdullah Banimah, who is completely paralyzed appeared on a satellite television program talking about spreading the message of Islam in several countries in the world.

When his future wife saw the program she immediately told her father about her desire to marry him because she admired him for courageously facing up to his disability and for dedicating his life to Islamic preaching.

Their dream turned true Tuesday when their friends queued along the road leading to the Al-Salam Wedding Hall in Jeddah to wish the couple a happy married life.

Abdullah had almost drowned in a swimming pool at a sports club in Jeddah. He had remained underwater for 15 minutes. This caused a great deal of damage to his brain which resulted in his paralysis.

The incident made him change his life completely by dedicating it to Islamic work.
Dhaiffallah bin Saad Al-Ghamadi, the bride's father, said: "My daughter, who works as teacher for one of the Holy Qur'an memorization schools in Jeddah, chose Abdullah on her own. After insisting she wanted to get married to him, I bowed to her will."

Dhaifallah said the reason for marrying Abdullah is for them to work hand-in-hand in the way of Allah.

Omar Banamh, the groom's father, said: "I have nothing to say but to pray to Allah to crown this marriage by blessing them with pious offspring."

He said he hoped Abdullah will see his children grow up with no disability.

Abdullah was ecstatic about his marriage.

"In the beginning I could not believe this was her desire. She really surprised me. I will never ever forget her noble stand and insistence on accepting me as her husband. I pray to Allah day and night to enable me to make her happy for the rest of my life."

He said he will never forget, for the rest of his days, the many people who had gathered to wish him a happy marriage."

Whew! What a story. Number of points there.

1. There do exist such people Masha Allah. The daughter, her father, her family should all be praised. Imagine yourself in that situation. Would you do that? Or would you allow your daughter to marry a crippled man? What about the extended family? She belongs to Al-Ghamdi family, which means she comes from the so-called "high society". How difficult would it be for people to disregard social honor and societal pressure?.
This is why these people are special, masha Allah. May Allah increase their guidance and bless them with good in this life and the hereafter. These are the role models of a society. They deserve coverage in the media. People need good examples.

2. Look at the zeal they have for Islam. Look at how this man's life changed after a tragedy. So the tragedy was the beginning really. A beginning of a journey insha Allah to achieve the eternal.

3. Despite all difficulties, if Allah wants to bless someone with something, it will come to you. Who would have thought a paralyzed man would get married in the first place? He not only got married, but got a wife who is Insha Allah better than many women.

4. Look at the noble way in which the woman approached the issue of marriage. She fell in love -- a genuine liking for the man and wanted to marry him. She spoke to her father and her father approached the man's family. This is so noble. It's the pure path Islam has facilitated for men and women -- marriage. At stark contrast is the lewd path, where men or women express their feelings to each other and fall into Haraam and illicit relationships. A slippery slope that pulls people down the pit of lust. There's no love, purity or chastity -- there's only pain, selfishness and desires that turn human beings into animals.

Source: iLoveAllah.com Blog

Frustrated? You Bet!

2011-12-13T02:12:00.001+05:00

Assalamualaikum

I keep vowing to myself not to put out a whiny post, and I fail consistently. Sigh. That was a whine too!

I got the thesis in book form today. It looks so cool, Masha Allah. Feels amazing to see your blood, sweat, tears (err, exaggeration?) in a black shiny bound version. I can't stop looking at it. When nobody is around of course ;).

So what happened today to get my frustration level UP by about a million notches? The thesis defense. The defense that wouldn't DIE. It has been postponed! Till the 20th ! Of December! 2011.

Image source

I'm so frustrated at this postponement that it's hard to even enjoy the next few days. Not that it's going to be much enjoyment. My AI final is just around the corner. The coming weekend actually. I so hope I don't mess up. Somebody asked me today 'So what's the benefit you're getting by doing well on this class?"

Me *huffily* : None. But I'm doing this for learning. Not everything has to be converted into cash :@.

I guess my grr demeanor knows no bounds. Thankfully, in the evening today, bhanju wanju was here, up to his tricks.. :). So I could at least smile. His vocabulary has some rich words added to it:

1. YaaaaAAAA [yaaaaaar]
2. Aaadeez [hardees.. sigh]
3. pizsha [pizza... double sigh]
4. Aanta Jorgzshia
5. Aaan-teeee [Aunty upstairs]
6. Up - down. :D

Hilarious. One can go on and on listening to his babble.

But my thesis defense !! Shaitaan kee aanth [devil's intestine - a phrase used when something is just never ending].

I'm now latkofied till the 20th. Love my life.
-------------------------------------------------
One worthwhile share of the day:

Aisha reported (رضي الله عنها): One night I missed the Messenger of Allah from bed, and when I looked for him my hand touched his feet while he was in prostration. They were raised and he (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was saying, “O Allah, I seek refuge in Your pleasure from Your anger and in Your forgiveness from Your punishment, and I seek refuge in You from You. I cannot fully praise You. You are as you have praised Yourself.”

[Sahih Muslim, Book 4, Number 0986]

عَنْ عَائِشَةَ، قَالَتْ فَقَدْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم لَيْلَةً مِنَ الْفِرَاشِ فَالْتَمَسْتُهُ فَوَقَعَتْ يَدِي عَلَى بَطْنِ قَدَمَيْهِ وَهُوَ فِي الْمَسْجِدِ وَهُمَا مَنْصُوبَتَانِ وَهُوَ يَقُولُ اللَّهُمَّ أَعُوذُ بِرِضَاكَ مِنْ سَخَطِكَ وَبِمُعَافَاتِكَ مِنْ عُقُوبَتِكَ وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْكَ لاَ أُحْصِي ثَنَاءً عَلَيْكَ أَنْتَ كَمَا أَثْنَيْتَ عَلَى نَفْسِكَ

Source: Daily Hadith Online

The Day That Went By

2011-12-08T23:58:00.001+05:00

Assalamualaikum

*sitting hunched up*

What an unforgettable day this has been (even though I wish I could forget it) :(. It actually started at 4am, because that's the time till I was awake (like, I slept at 4ish) tossing and turning trying in vain to just ... sleep.

Image source

After fajr, had only an hour to sleep, and had to get up because the thesis had to be given for printing today. Sigh. almost unable to open my eyes, I trudged off with Chotpo to her institute's library, where this really nice man took my thesis and started the printing process. Colored prints were being printed on a separate printer. Man, it took a looong time. Then, had to get some forms and stuff for a friend of Chotpo's. After coming out of the university, and circling around to go to the proper gate, we were appalled to see the hugeee lines. Sigh again.

Went back in. Then went to collect one printout of the thesis to be given to my external examiner. That done, went out of university and went to my supervisor. Handed in the copy. Sat for around 10 minutes during which my phone loudly rang :$:$. Embarrassed, I ended the call. Lol. A message came in almost immediately, "Bhanju wants to talk to you" :D. Sent back an irate "I'm in a meeting!" and resumed the meeting. Lol, it was over in the next 3 minutes. Went out, and drove to Sis the Priss. Had a lovely welcome by bhanju wanju, and then loaded him and his samaan in the car, and me and Sis went home.

At home, it wasn't long before it resembled as if a tornado had struck the city. My mind felt like a tornado too. Just wanted to lie down somewhere, anywhere and sleep!

Image source

Anyway, finally bhanju was coaxed to sleep by his ever patient mommy.. [seriously sis the priss, HOW do you DO it!]... I was (I think) annoyed all day! It takes patience man! And unfortunately, khalas aren't blessed with the special patience hormones which all mommies are blessed with. :)

Finally, lay down to sleep at around quarter to 4[pm]. A friend called after a loooong time. Lol. All sleep gone, I chatted away and lost track of all time. The next thing I knew it was nearly 5pm. Got up, prayed. And endured Sis the Priss's incredulous stare :D.

Had a lil bit of sleep, before bhanju sahib thought its a great idea to roll himself on his 'aala' and head bumped my nose :(. SO bad was the pain, that my glow-ey feelings all vanished in a second. Man, I think I need to control my temper. :(

Image source

After maghrib, we made some plans to go out in the 'caa' so that bhanju would at least calm down. Tired though I was, I still thought it's better to be out in open air, in some peace and quiet and then come back after a few hours of solid 'awaara gardi'. Plus, the CNG was to be 'load-shedded' for a day, and it was supposed to close at 11pm today. Since I have to make another darn trip to the university tomorrow iA - for thesis binding and other admin issues [scowl], a CNG refill was needed.

Triple sigh. The line at CNG was sooo long, and we got into the wrong line (there was a misleading line .. which was essentially cutting the main line), but we were too far in to worm out of it, and hence were stuck there. I think we stood there for 40 minutes, before the CNG tank was filled for our car. Bhanju entertained the next cars' drivers and passengers by calling the older men 'nanaaaa', 'daadaaaa' and the younger men, 'maamoooo'

:D. Lol.

Since TB had to get something attested by Chotpo, and she had forgotten the stamp at the university, I drove her and everybody else including the wrestling bhanju to the university. I had thought the drive would be nice. Sigh.. (how many times have I sighed today?). It was a mass of tangled limbs [okay im exaggerating but you know what happens when kids are all over you - only this time, it's just one lil kid]. I had to constantly bear somebody turning on the wipers - yelling in the ears, and punching the rear view mirror.

HOW do they strap the kids in car seats? How??? It's beyond me. I can't imagine bhanju in a car seat. The seat would fall.

Anyway, came back. Had a nice dinner. Got it from Bovichic. It was another trial to be standing at Bovichic waiting for the order with bhanju running after 'maao' (cats) and the main road not far off. He wanted to put the 'shaww' (straw) in the ketchup bottle .. :D. Mannnnnnnn.

HOW do they raise 5 kids? [even 3?]

:S

Image source

PS: Have I told you the latest Bhanju event? Happened a few days back. Well, he had the TV fall on him. Alhamdulillah, he wasn't hurt. But it fell on his leg. He was trying to climb up the TV.. :S... The X-Ray came today - all okay Alhamdulillah. But he's walking on his toes :D. [YET he's doing all the harkatain described above]..

SIGH.

PS: Dear Bhanju. Don't be upset reading about this day when you're 20 {lol}. Cuz it happens. And hey, you didn't have to face ME when I was 2. I'm sure it would have been just as hectic. [not really though :p]. Your ever loving... Aala.

After-Fajr Blogging

2011-12-07T08:00:00.000+05:00

Assalamualaikum

And I hope the title can soon turn into 'After-fajr walking' .. Insha Allah. Just. Let. The. Thesis. END!

Somehow, 12th just doesn't seem to be arriving. And the worst bit? I think it might just get delayed again! Why, you may ask? [or even if you don't]. Because of the two-day holiday we just had (9th and 10th Muharram) which effectively meant that I wasn't able to give the thesis for printing on Monday. And there is a range of possible time durations that thesis printing and binding will take.

God, I just want this to be over. So bad, that it hurts sometimes :D.

Since I can't bear to even look at the thesis anymore, I asked Chotpo to proofread it .. :). Good decision it turned out to be. She caught so many minor mistakes, grammatical idiocies, and weirdo expressions that it was embarrassing. And her final comment was, "Your thesis was interesting. But remember, when you write a paper, you have to write in the language of a research paper. Not like everyday conversation."

Sigh. My thesis is like everyday conversation. :s.

Last evening, we heard our dear President flew off to Dubai. For 'routine checkup'. You know what will be the test of a real leader of this country? When he prefers to have checkups in his own country, instead of others. Life-threatening surgeries are obviously excluded from this statement. This is will be the litmus test for any new leader of Pakistan.

Speaking of new leaders, the December 25th PTI jalsa is looming up. Mum is convinced there's going to be troublemaking in there - by the beloved people of Karachi. Sigh. Wish I could go there, you know. But I'm rather turned off by the 'musical' aspect to it.

This post has been enough of a ramble. Something worthwhile, and I'll sign off.

Narrated Anas ibn Mālik (رضي الله عنه): The Prophet of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said, “By Him in whose Hand is my soul, a servant does not believe until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself of goodness.”
[Musnad Ahmad, Number 12671, Narrations of Anas ibn Malik (مُسْنَدُ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ)]

عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، أَنَّ نَبِيَّ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ لَا يُؤْمِنُ عَبْدٌ حَتَّى يُحِبَّ لِأَخِيهِ مَا يُحِبُّ لِنَفْسِهِ مِنْ الْخَيْرِ

:)

I should remember this, the next time a Dairy Milk fruit and nuts is in front of me, and my maasi's sitting nearby. :s. May Allah Guide us all. Ameen!

Image source

This Scared the Bejeebies Out of Me

2011-12-04T21:17:00.003+05:00

*somberly*
I just hope we realize this before it's too late :(.

I'm bored...

2011-12-02T19:08:00.002+05:00

Rant alert
-----------

I'm bored of sitting in the same chair, resting my arms on the same table cover, staring at the same laptop screen, with the same view in front of me, and the same tap tap sound of typing filling the silence of the room.

I'm bored of feeling the same tension, waiting for the same day, not knowing what's going to happen, and how it's going to happen, being nervous about that day, and generally, thinking about nothing else.

I'm bored of the same tea, that keeps me awake at night - so that I can work.

I'm bored of being awake at 4.15am, knowing everybody is sound asleep in the house, enjoying a peace which I do not know yet.

I'm bored of trying to sleep and failing - even at 4 am - and then playing Bubble Blaster on my cell phone.

I'm bored of banishing the bhanja from visiting, and not having him over for three days straight even, and having nothing to look forward to, at the end of another boring day.

I'm bored of cooking - the same act of boiling water, putting in rice, adding salt, and then waiting, and waiting and waiting.

I'm bored of being in the same corner of my room, and not visiting other parts of the house.

I'm bored of reading the same text, and not looking at any other story books, for quite some time now.

I'm bored of not visiting any friend, any relative, anybody. And just. Staying. Home.

I'm bored of not playing sports - not walking, and not running, and not cycling.

I'm bored of being stuck indoors. In the same corner.

I'm bored (read depressed) by the news that fills the television, the hurt pride of our nation, the wounded looks of the young who so believe in the military, the haughty looks of those utterly unperturbed by the most heinous of crimes, the placating slavish looks of those who try to pacify us, the quietly gloating face of a certain non-desi, who has been acting like the next Julian Assange, the squibbles, the squabbles, the screeches, the squawks - in press conferences, and in talk shows - the barely suppressed excitement in news anchors voices when they narrate a grief-ridden tragedy, the blatant lies that is told to the public... and I can go on here.

I'm bored by the same vision - the same dream and the same ambitions.

I'm bored by the timetables that never materialize, the lists that never get done, the plans that never get beyond my brain.

I'm bored with my Twitter timeline even - every news being the same. There ain't no difference.

Image source

-----------------------------

Just to share something worthwhile of the day, although I have written quite stupid stuff above..

"...And whosoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him, He will make a way for him to get out [of every difficulty].
(Quran: 65:2)

The Sacred Month of Muharram

2011-12-02T18:22:00.000+05:00

Abu Hurairah (Radia Allaahu ‘anhu) narrated that Allah’s Messenger (Salla Allaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said,

“The Best month for observing fasting next after Ramadan is the month of Allah, the Muharram, and the best Salaat next after the prescribed Salaat is Salaat at night (Tahajjud prayers).” [Muslim]

Muharram is one of the Sacred Months. This Hadith points out that fasting in the month of Muharram is better than any other month of the year after Ramadan.

The Most stressed days for fasting is ‘Ashoura (the 10th of Muharram).

He (Salla Allaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) was asked about observing fast on the tenth day of Muharram, and he replied,

“It is an expiation for the sins of the preceding year.” [Muslim]

And He (Salla Allaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said:

“If I remain alive till the next year, I shall also observe fast on the ninth of Muharram.” [Muslim]

Why is it recommended to fast on this day?

It is the day on which Allah granted Prophet Musa (‘Alayhissallaam) emancipation from Pharoah and so they (the Jews) observed Sawm (Fasting) in token of their joy. On this, he (Salla Allaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said that Muslims have greater right to observe Sawm than the Jews , consequently, he (Salla Allaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) also observed Sawm on the 10th of Muharram. Then he said that if he lived the following year, he would observe Sawm on the 9th of Muharram also, so that muslims would be different from the Jews.

Many scholars are of opinion that the fasting of ‘Ashoura was obligatory in the beginning then it was abrogated by the fasting of Ramadan.

NOTE:

When the Prophet (Salla Allaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said that the best month for fasting next after Ramadan is the month of Muharram. It is does not indicate that fasting the whole month, but fasting in this month.

The Prophet (Salla Allaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) used to fast Sha’baan more than Muharram because fasting Sha’baan is considered a restricted voluntary fast while fasting Muharram is considered unrestricted voluntary fast, and the restricted is better than the unrestricted. Fasting Sha’baan is like a ‘Ratibah’ for the month of Ramadan. Similarly, Fasting the day of ‘Arafah is better than fasting Muharram because it is restricted to fasting the day of ‘Arafah. With regards to the prayers, the ‘Ratibah’ prayer is better than the unrestricted Tahajjud prayer, because the Ratibah is joined (follows) the obligatory prayer.

Also the Dhikr; the one said after the prayer is better than the one said at other times.

Source: Enlightenment into Islam Center - Kuwait

So Inspiring :)

2011-12-02T02:20:00.000+05:00

Assalamualaikum

In the course of doing work for my thesis defense and the AI homework (this week's homework was a nightmare), I often find myself deviating from the 'boredom' and moving on to some interesting things in life.

And try not to think about the fact that I have made just 10 introductory slides for my thesis defense, and I'm relaxed now because it'll be held on the 12th, and not the 10th :S. May Allah Help me. Ameen.

Okay, the following two videos are just 5-6 minutes in duration. I strongly recommend them. They are a pretty good reminder of what's happening to our younger generation (and ours too) today. It's essential to realize that we ARE suffering from a crisis of faith, and what we need to do as the most important thing when dealing with our small children, small siblings, cousins or anybody under our influence.

Happy viewing.

Coping Mechanism

2011-11-27T17:09:00.000+05:00

There was this time in my life when Chotpo went away. For training related to her job. To a place more than 8k miles away. I had to accept it, somehow. And remain happy in front of her, so as not to depress her further. The only coping mechanism I could come up with involved avoiding her completely. I talked the minimum I could, tried to only answer relevant bits of email - not open up much, when she called, I would be talking the least. She did wonder why. No doubt she was quite disappointed. But that was the only coping mechanism I knew.

I have seeeeeerious attachment issues. Sometimes, I'm convinced I need therapy for this.

The week was hectic, but came to a depressing end. It is said that one shouldn't expect things from people - and expect outcomes/appreciation only and only from Allah SWT.

It's so easier said than done.*blinks hard for the umpteenth time today*

The only soul on the planet who can distract me completely from my troubles, is bhanju. I keep wanting him over, and playing with him. Till I can't think. Till I don't have to wonder, and hope, and feel the ever-ready lump in my throat.

I can only pray this time passes soon, in my life. And I forget the stuff that's been happening. And that people of the world find in their hearts flexibility, and gunjaaish for other's opinions and values.

It's just one of those days when it's so hard to smile. The following makes it worse:

Yesterday's NATO's (some sources claim it was US) helicopter attack on our checkpost martyred 28 people including a major and captain. Life has so little value for our 'friends' and people whom we are a 'close ally' of. It is said in the Quran:

Al-Imran (The Family of Imran)

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ لاَ تَتَّخِذُواْ بِطَانَةً مِّن دُونِكُمْ لاَ يَأْلُونَكُمْ خَبَالاً وَدُّواْ مَا عَنِتُّمْ قَدْ بَدَتِ الْبَغْضَاء مِنْ أَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَمَا تُخْفِي صُدُورُهُمْ أَكْبَرُ قَدْ بَيَّنَّا لَكُمُ الآيَاتِ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ (3:118)

3:118 (Asad) "O YOU who have attained to faith! Do not take for your bosom-friends people who are not of your kind. ^[87] They spare no effort to corrupt you; they would love to see you in distress. ^[88] Vehement hatred has already come into the open from out of their mouths, but what their hearts conceal is yet worse. We have indeed made the signs [thereof] clear unto you, if you would but use your reason."

If only we used reason...

Just a jumble of my thoughts

2011-11-26T03:17:00.000+05:00

Assalamualaikum

Today was one eventful day. Last night, I finally managed to send the thesis - all completed - to my supervisor. It was exhilarating. Not that I am impressed with it or anything - I think it can improve a LOT - but it's still amazing to finally have written it off. The final hours of formatting are ones which I'm not likely to forget any time soon. It's really hard to manually format the references. There can be automated ways, but I thought "Fifty references ? Easy peasy!"

Ha. I had a bad bad bad time trying to keep track of the [1]s and the [2]s :(. Anyway, the deed is done. I only now have to wait for the critical assessment and then I'd at least know what's the first impression of my supervisor, upon reading it. I sincerely hope and pray that it turns out fine, and the defense of thesis goes smoothly too. Have to start making the presentation ! It's bound to take a lot of time, since I have to include advanced animation/video embedding stuff in Powerpoint, and I have no idea really (without any prior experience in this) how to make an excellent eye-catching presentation. Was just looking at some tutorials and I find them time-consuming to read. So turned to blogging.. :p

Image source

---------------------------------------------------------------------
So the day started with me waking up to calls of 'Aala' , 'Aala' in the house. Bhanju was finally here (having been banned from the house for the past 10 or so days because of my thesis deadline). :). Man, was he excited to be at 'nana's place' .. :D. He couldn't contain himself [as if he normally can :P].

So the whole day was spent running after him, trying to save the household items from perishing, sympathizing with Sis the Priss for having a hyper-super-sonic-active kiddo and also taking bhanju 'baa' (outside) in the 'caa' (car), to see 'cow' (goat actually) :). We've tried everything to convince him that this is a GOAT, not a COW.. yet, when we ask him what's the noise that a cow makes? He lets out a very convincing 'baa aa aa' [sigh]. Maybe he'll grow out of it.

Watching 'When you're happy and you know it' on YouTube

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Something has been nagging me at the back of my brain, and I have yet to figure out what's wrong. It's hard to be angry/heart-achy without ANY reason. Yeah, I know. Doesn't make sense. That's the way a female brain works I guess.

Hilarious image :D - this:

Image source

----------------------------------------------------------------------
We won the T20 match today against SriLanka :):):). What an awesome beyond awesome innings by Misbah and Shahid Afridi. Though I'm not into cricket, we switched on the TV at just the right moment because 17 runs were needed at 11 balls.. :D .. and Afiridi hit two sixes right in front of our astonished and amazed eyes. :D. Unluckily, our loadshedding happened at that time. So couldn't watch Misbah taking it all the way to the end. Nice win Alhamdulillah! :) [wish Misbah had the guts to play like this in the World Cup semi final against India...:(...]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
I had heard of Hardees a lot (from friends in Lahore). Now, it opened in Karachi - and pretty near our place. I couldn't understand the hype because whenever we passed by that eatery, there would be lines of people outside the place! Why in the world??

Anyway we went there today. I'm celebrating the end of thesis writing. Plus the days of my strict diet are looming ahead *gloomily*.. so this was a good chance of having something nice, and we went to Hardees. We didn't have to stand in line, Allah ka shukkar because we had gone a bit early. So we ordered takeaway, and then waited for the order to arrive. I was on running-after-bhanju-duty. We went upstairs to the play area.. and lol, had quite a bit of fun. Crawling into tunnels, and hoisting bhanju up to the slides was cool. The only problem is, I just can't stand music. And there, the song playing was one of the older ones which we used to absolutely love in our teens when we were crazy about music. And that song evoked a lot of memories - not very good ones. Plus, as I said, music is unbearable for me these days.. so I was quite keen to get away as quickly as possible. I wonder if this is a problem.

Why can't I stand it?

Anyway, the point where I really felt bad was when we had a slight hunch that this is an American fast food chain. I had been told it's Middle Eastern. So we had gone. Now the thing is that we all avoid US fast food outlets for a few valid (for us) reasons:

1. We have plenty of alternatives. Literally, if there is one thing Pakistan does NOT lack - it's fast food outlets.
2. We read/heard from credible sources that Pizza Hut (at least) provides supplies to NATO. The same NATO which is fighting in Afghanistan where a large number of civilians have been killed.

So we have concluded that we don't need to add to their income - in the least. Hence, we don't eat there.

When we came back, I did a search on the internet and found out that Hardees is indeed a US chain. Sigh. Double depression.

Lesson for the future: Google new non-local fast food outlets before going there!

Image source

--------------------------------------------------
This is becoming a huge rant. I'd better sign off. Something worthwhile here:

Narrated Abu Umamah (): The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “I guarantee a house on the outskirts of Paradise for he who leaves arguing even if he is right; and a house in the middle of Paradise for he who leaves lying even when joking; and a house in the highest part of Paradise for he who makes his character excellent.”

[Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 40, Number 4800]

عَنْ أَبِي أُمَامَةَ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم‏ أَنَا زَعِيمٌ بِبَيْتٍ فِي رَبَضِ الْجَنَّةِ لِمَنْ تَرَكَ الْمِرَاءَ وَإِنْ كَانَ مُحِقًّا وَبِبَيْتٍ فِي وَسَطِ الْجَنَّةِ لِمَنْ تَرَكَ الْكَذِبَ وَإِنْ كَانَ مَازِحًا وَبِبَيْتٍ فِي أَعْلَى الْجَنَّةِ لِمَنْ حَسَّنَ خُلُقَهُ

Source: Daily Hadith Online

Life. Sucks. Bad.

2011-11-24T04:26:00.000+05:00

I droop
And I write
What's wrong?
What's right?
Who knows.

I sigh
And I stare
What's just?
What's fair?
Who cares.

Night's long
And I type
What's that?
Any end in sight?
Not there...

Thesis's ending
And I hope
It's over
I'll go over
And crash..

Copyright Uni_Sick&Tired_oony2011

Life. Sucks. Bad.

Image source

To Publish Or Not to Publish

2011-11-22T03:48:00.000+05:00

A researcher's biggest dream is to have published their papers in reputed journals, conference proceedings, etc. To attain that dream, they work day and night in order to come up with ideas to enhance and improve existing ones - all to get their research publish-able.

When I started my thesis, my supervisor told me, "At the end of it, you have to get at least two publications out of it."

At the time, I was a little overwhelmed. Two out of one project? Turns out, people (smart ones) can get four or five (or more) out of one project. The key is to publish in reputed journals and conferences. The larger the journal's impact factor, the greater the impact of the publication.

Now, the scene was that a conference came up. It was a cool opportunity. I (to date) have no publication in my name. So of course I decided to try my luck. I wrote the paper like crazy one night (stayed up till God Knows when :S), and completed it. The first draft was then sent off to the supervisor - what satisfaction lays in writing something like crazy and then emailing it off. It's like a burden off your mailbox :p. That done, I got a favorable reply from him the next day. [Man, why don't I come to the point?]. He asked me to include the name of my unofficial supervisor too. Oops. Had completely forgotten. Hurriedly included her name and emailed her the paper too.

She replied with, "Please remove my name from the paper. I don't want to be associated with this conference."

I was astonished. Don't want to publish somewhere? Don't want to? People have that kind of a choice? :D
Anyway, I asked her that if she doesn't mind, could she please tell me her reason? She replied that this conference is jointly collaborated with the country which has till now, not apologized for its permission to publish the cartoons of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallalla hu alaihi wasallam).

I was even more astonished.
1) I had no idea this conference was jointly collaborated with that country.
2) I had no idea she would care about this.

I mean, you expect a certain type of people to have this kind of a thinking! Lesson number one: NEVER judge people by their outlook. You never know what goes on in their minds and what values they hold.

This moment was a little ponderous for me.

Image source

I mean. Here I am. No publications whatsoever. Beggars aren't supposed to be choosers, right. Eh. But one thought couldn't get past me. What if I am asked about this action on the Day of Judgement? It may seem like the pettiest, smallest, teensiest matter ever. But if you consider the ayahs of Surah Zilzaal :

[Zilzal 99:7] So whoever does a good deed equal to the weight of the minutest particle, will see it.

[Zilzal 99:8] And whoever does an evil deed equal to the weight of the minutest particle, will see it.

and that was the decision maker for me, at least. Nervously, I emailed my supervisor and explained to him why targeting this conference was not a good idea. And surprise ! He emailed back immediately (even though he had been the most enthusiastic about this conference), and said

"You are right. We will indeed try another conference."

:D:D

Image source

Ain't I happy?

Btw, this another journal accepted my paper. Before I could even jump properly for joy, I had to sit back down. They were charging $300 for it. AND... there is no impact factor.

Bummer. :S

So I remain, publication-less for now. *sigh of er, ... satisfaction*

So long!

Dear Heart

2011-11-19T21:40:00.000+05:00

Welcome to the Dunya (World) where you can’t be with everyone you love, you can’t have everything you want & everything is temporary here. But be patient & strive for the Akhirah, where you can have anything that you desire & you can be with whoever you love & the best part is, everything is forever! ♥

Source: iLoveAllah.com

Excellent Article - Why Millennial Women Are Burning Out At Work By 30

2011-11-19T02:26:00.000+05:00

Something all crazy-for-the-corporate-ladder women should look at. It's high time we define our goals, and analyze whether something we so crave, is really going to bring us satisfaction, or it will simply serve as a signpost, pointing us to bigger and better 'prospects'.

Do we really want to spend our entire lives in this pursuit? That's the big question. I am still looking for answers. But this article provides a great insight into the mindset of nearly all college-going (and beyond) women today. A highly recommended read.
-----------------------------------------
Why Millennial Women Are Burning Out At Work By 30

Young professional women may not relate to the financial struggles their Millennial peers are protesting against during the Occupy New York movement. After all, these ambitious go-getters are working as doctors, lawyers, engineers, and advertising executives, blessed with great salaries, health benefits, and paid vacation.
But these women understand the protestors’ frustration and unhappiness over the fact that their lives aren’t supposed to turn out this way. This is why a growing number of young professional women who seem to “have it all” are burning out at work before they reach 30.

These early career flameouts are reflected through the corporate ladder. Today, 53% of corporate entry-level jobs are held by women, a percentage that drops to 37% for mid-management roles and 26% for vice presidents and senior managers, according to McKinsey research. Men are twice as likely as women to advance at each career transition stage. One rationale is that men are more likely than women to do things that help their personal wellbeing at work, thus negating burnout, according to the Captivate Network. Men are 25% more likely to take breaks throughout the day for personal activities, 7% more likely to take a walk, 5% more likely to go out to lunch, and 35% more likely to take breaks “just to relax.”

It seems relaxation is something Millennial women have never experienced. One reason that women are burning out early in their careers is that they have simply reached their breaking point after spending their childhoods developing well-rounded resumes. “These women worked like crazy in school, and in college, and then they get into the workforce and they are exhausted,” says Melanie Shreffler of the youth marketing blog Ypulse.
Many also didn’t think of their lives beyond landing the initial first job. “They need to learn life is a marathon, not a sprint,” says Kelly Cutrone, president of People’s Revolution PR and author of “If You Have to Cry, Go Outside: And Other Things Your Mother Never Told You.” Ypulse’s Shreffler adds, “They expected things to be better now that they’ve arrived and made it. But instead they are starting over on the bottom rung and still striving. You can’t see the end of the tunnel because they are so many twists and turns. It’s impossible to see what life will be like in 20 years these days. It’s hard to look just 3-4 years in the future. They don’t know what they are striving for, which makes it really hard to move forward.”

Even those who did plot out their lives past the initial first career have unrealistic expectations about full-time employment. It’s not as if these women expected their jobs to be parties and good times, but many underestimated the actual day-to-day drudgery. “College is nothing more than a baby-sitting service. These students are totally unprepared for the real world. The reality for women who want to work in PR is that they are going to be working with 24 catty [women] who will backstab and compete with them. No one will say thank you. You will eat lunch at 5 p.m. It sucks and it’s hard work,” says Cutrone.

All of this unhappiness has left young women struggling over their next move. Simply quitting or changing careers isn’t an option because the education for their professional jobs has burdened them with substantial student debt. Also, while earlier generations may have opted out of the workforce through marriage or motherhood, these paths aren’t viable for these self-sufficient women, who either are still single or unwilling to be fully supported by men.

Instead, Millennial women are tapping into their Type-A personalities to combat this fatigue. “It’s important to analyze what is causing the dissatisfaction,” says Purdue University’s Teri Thompson. “The old adage, ‘Out of the frying pan and into the kettle’ is filled with wisdom: often we leave a job because of unhappiness and in our zeal to get away, we fall right back into the same traps, the same situations.” Therefore, these women are requesting more flexible schedules or seeking different work responsibilities. Many are turning to therapists and prescription medicines, as well as explore alternative remedies, including acupuncture, yoga, and even psychics.

Ultimately these women are going through the difficult realization that they may have to redefine their goals and come up with different measures of success in order to thrive in the corporate world, says Thompson. “It often takes many years to really understand one’s strengths and where one finds happiness. In a sense, I do think it’s unrealistic to assume a long sought-after job can bring one such happiness that one’s searching is done. We’re all a work in progress; new inputs—from new friends to new places visited—mean we’re constantly changing in our thoughts of what’s desired, what’s possible, what’s fun, what we want to do.”

Source: Forbes

True Friends

2011-11-14T20:59:00.000+05:00

Rarely does a friend turn out to be a 'true' friend. There may be many different interpretations of the word 'true', but a/c to my observations, a true friend has the following characteristics:

1. They know exactly how you hide pain when you flash a bright-as-heck smile.
2. They can tell through your written words that something is not quite right.
3. They are loyal.
4. They are not too 3) - so that they'd start defending you even when you're in the wrong.
5. They love to tease you - and watch your irritation with amusement.
6. They'd leave their most hectic deadlines, to hear what you have to say.
7. When you get crazy ideas, they listen. Actually seriously.
8. They discuss the silliest things with you - like Pakistani dramas :D and cheer you up.
9. They have adorable kids who call you 'Aala' in the cutest way possible :D
10. They eat whatever you cook and criticize you so honestly that you don't even mind.
11. They don't think your ambitions are crazy, and totally believe in you.
12. They send you an instant emails when they read your sad blog posts :)

More Friends | Forward this Graphic

And I blink... and I blink... and I blink...

2011-11-13T02:45:00.000+05:00

Some random images to depict the setting right now. Don't feel like writing.

Image source

Maybe I should...

Image source

Long time no whine

2011-11-10T00:54:00.000+05:00

Assalamualaikum

The kind of day this has been, the following pictures cheered me up immensely..

Bhanju with the bakra (fondly called 'cow' - er, actually, every four-legged animal is called 'cow') :P

What a cutie, Masha Allah. Life is generally good, specifically sucky these days. I feel like something is pressing hard on top of my head, heart and sometimes, even ears [when I'm transcribing lectures at lightening speeds]. I don't think I've ever been in this kind of pressure in my life.

Who knew writing a thesis would be this difficult? *pounding head right now*.. And in case you're wondering why I'm sitting online with a pounding head.. well, it pounds more when I try to be horizontal. So better vertical.

So long folks.

Image source

Of predictions...

2011-10-31T23:40:00.002+05:00

I had predicted in July that by December, everything happening now will seem like an unreal dream. Boy, was I right.

My teacher had predicted after hearing my GRE score: Beta, you can get into any school of your choice. Boy, was he wrong.

Nobody knows
What lies ahead
One plans and hopes
But instead...

There might be pits
And falls here and there
Turns and twists
Despite the heavy care

Stare as we might
Watching events unfold
No difference can it make
We have to let things go

Try as we might
To change what we deem
Is not right - but
We have to let things be

We have to let things be.

Copyright Uni_Thoughtfully_Sadoony 2011

Image source

EXCLUSIVE IDF INTERVIEW - Israeli Soldiers Told To 'Cleanse' Gaza

2011-10-29T23:37:00.001+05:00

A video that shows the gross violations against humanity, carried out by Israel, in the Gaza war of Dec 2008 to Jan 2009 - as revealed by the IDF soldiers themselves.

Some info about the offensive:

Gaza Cast Lead Massacre
Gaza massacres (27 December 2008 – 18 January 2009)

More than 1,400 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip were killed during 22 days of Israeli shelling from sea, air and land. Palestinians in Gaza had nowhere to flee from Israel’s onslaught as the border has been closed for two years, with disastrous consequences for the 1.5 million in habitants of Gaza — the majority of them children and refugees.

------------------

------------------

SIST 2011: Nouman Ali Khan's Message to Pakistan's Youth

2011-10-28T20:42:00.000+05:00

An excellent talk by Nouman Ali Khan, to the youth in general, not just for the youth in Pakistan. I so hope we realize our responsibilities, our teenagers realize that life is not just about 'living it up' and 'living for the day' .. our parents get the insight and wisdom to teach their kids the true message of Islam, and we never feel ashamed/embarrassed of our deen, no matter what people do or say about it.

Really really inspiring, Alhamdulillah. DO watch.

Making the Most of The Blessed Days of Dhul-Hijjah

2011-10-28T15:17:00.000+05:00

Allah’s sacred month of Dhu’l-Hijjah is upon us. It is a blessed and important month and one of the four sacred months in which the sin is more serious and good deeds bring a greater reward.

Here’s a brief guide to help you to prepare for the best days of the year.

1. Read the Qur’an:
Plan to complete the recitation of the Qur’an within these 10 days. If you read three juz a day, it can be accomplished. It is not difficult. Ask Allah to make it easy for you.

2. Increase in Nawafil Prayers:
You can increase in Nawafil prayers by praying:

a] Salât Dhuha: Also known as al-Awwâbeen, may be offered as 2, 4, 6 or 8 rak’ât, prayed after the sun has risen and before the time for Dhuhr approaches. [Muslim, 1238]

b] 4 rak’ât before ‘Asr – The Prophet [sall-Allâhu ‘alayhi wa sallam] said: “May Allâh have mercy on those who pray four rak’ât before ‘Asr prayer.” [At-Tirmidhî, 395 – classed as hasan by al-Albânî in Sahîh al-Jâmi 3493]

c] Tahhiyatul masjid: Greet the masjid with two rak’ât: “If any one of you enters a mosque, he should pray two rak’ât before sitting.” [Al-Bukhârî & Muslim]

d] Al Sunnan Al Rawatib: The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihe wassallam said, “A house will be built in Heaven for one who prays 12 Rak'aat in a day and evening as follows: 4 Rak'aat before and 2 after the Dhuhr Prayer, 2 after the Maghrib Prayer, 2 after the ‘Ishaa’ Prayer and 2 before the Fajr Prayer." Narrated by at-Tirmizi under No. 380.

e] Qiyâm al-Layl: With this prayer, we hope that Allâh will illuminate our graves; will bestow nûr on our faces; will cancel our bad deeds, bi-idhnillâh. Pray at least 2 rak’ât. If you are able to follow the Sunnah, then pray all 11 rak’ât [including witr].

3. Makes lots of Dhikr:

Do a lot of dhikr, especially in these days. “There are no days greater in the sight of Allâh…” [Ahmad, 7/224 ]
So what did the Prophet [sall-Allâhu ‘alayhi wa sallam] tell us to do in these days? That, we need to make the dhikr of tahlîl, tahmîd & takbîr. [Tahlîl [“Lâ ilâha ill-Allâh”], Tahmîd [“Alhamdulillâh”] and Takbîr ["Allâhu Akbâr"]. Ahmad, 7/224

As soon as the announcement of Dhul-Hijjah is made, start your dhikr:
“Allâhu Akbâr, Allâhu Akbâr, lâ ilâha ill-Allâh, Wallâhu Akbâr. Walilâhilhamd.”

For women, when you are in your homes, raise your voices. You will remind your children, husbands, brothers, etc. Make it like a habit so that you will find yourself doing dhikr automatically. While walking, reclining, working, eating, just keep doing dhikr.
Send a lot of blessings and salâm upon the Prophet sallallahu alaihe wassallam consistently.

4. Istighfâr:
Is it possible to gain 1.5 billion hasanât in one minute? How many Muslim’s are there today? 1.5 billion? By making istighfâr [seeking forgiveness] for all Muslim’s, you can gain 1.5 billion hasanat. The Prophet sallallahu alaihe wassallam is reported to have said that when a person seeks forgiveness for all believers, Allâh will write for him a hasanât for every one of those believers. [Classed as hasan by al Albânî ]

Just say ‘Astaghfirullâh’ for yourself and for all the believers, from your heart. Allâh [subhâna wa ta’âlâ] is forgiving & generous.
Indeed, rahamât are falling down like rain. So try to be under those rahamât. Keep saying ‘astaghfirullâh’, ‘astaghfirullâh’, astaghfirullâh’, keep insisting on it till Allâh forgives you. Start from the beginning of Dhul-Hijjah.

5. Fasting:
Fast as much as you can during these blessed days. If you can fast all of these days, then do so. The Prophet sallallahu alaihe wassallam said, “There is no deed more precious in the sight of Allâh, or greater in reward, than a good deed done during the ten days of Dhul-Hijjah.” Allâh loves the good deeds in these days. Allâh loves siyâm. Put these two beloved things together. You are the doer of the things Allâh loves. He [subhâna wa ta’âlâ] will Love you, bi-idhnillâh.

Regarding fasting on the day of ‘Arâfah, the Prophet [sall-Allâhu ‘alayhi wa sallam] said: “Fasting the day of ‘Arafâh, I hope, will expiate the sins of the year before it and the year to come…” [Muslim, 1976]. So how does this happen? Does this mean that we can fast on that day and for the rest of the year we can do whatever we want of bad deeds? No! It implies that Allâh [subhâna wa ta’âlâ] will help us to abstain from sins. And, if you commit a sin by mistake, He [subhâna wa ta’âlâ] will cancel it due to His promise.

6. Charity: Spending for the sake of Allâh!
Only Allâh knows how many trials & calamities have been pushed away from us, our family and loved ones as a result of our sadaqâh. Allâh knows how many times relief and ease has come to us due to the sadaqâh we gave. Therefore, give in the way of Allâh, as much as you can. Don’t leave any raised hands return empty. Show Allâh that you love Him by spending from that which you love. Show Allâh [subhâna wa ta’âlâ] that all these things mean nothing besides gaining His ridha [pleasure].

Don’t look and remind yourself of what you have already spent in the past. If Allâh wills, He [subhâna wa ta’âlâ] has accepted and written it for you. Now, think of how you can outdo that sadaqâh during these days. Spend from what you love and Allâh will love you.

7. Preserve the Ties of Kinship:
Preserve the ties of kinship for: “No one who severs the ties of kinship will enter Paradise.” [Sahîh Muslim]
If it is difficult for you to call or meet every relative, then send them a message. But write with your heart and with the right intention.

8. Make the du’â:
“O Allâh, help me to remember You, to give You thanks, and to perform Your worship in the best manner.” [Sahîh Abû Dâwûd, 1/284]

These were just a few of the wonderful things we can do during these best days of Dhul-Hijjah. Therefore, if we want Allâh’s help with these deeds and our schedule for them, we need to do a lot of tawbah. The Salaf as-Sâlih used to say that they would feel prevented from qiyâm al-layl due to their sins. They knew that when they want to do ‘ibâdah and they are unable to do it, it is due sins. So, what do we need to do? A lot of istighfâr with tawbah, real Tawbah! Ask Allâh for help.

Remember that in these special days and nights, Allâh is sending His special mercy. Do you think that this special mercy will reach everybody? Do you think that it will reach the one who is in front of the TV watching a movie? Or listening to music? Or do you think it will reach the one who is making sujûd, rukû’, tilâwah, making istighfâr, etc.?

We have to show Allâh that we want this special mercy. We need to make ourselves eligible for it.

Wishing you the best
Zakia Usmani
http://www.facebook.com/zakiaaftabusmani

[inspired by a lecture by Shaykh Muhammad Hassan Yaqub from http://islamgreatreligion.wordpress.com].

This message was sent from:
Believer's Path | Duckfield Crescent | Ajax, ON L1Z 2C8, Canada

If you're not careful...

2011-10-27T20:58:00.002+05:00

First Ten Days of Dhul-Hijjah by Sheikh Yasir Qadhi.

2011-10-26T22:51:00.004+05:00

No parent should have to bury their child

2011-10-26T16:39:00.000+05:00

A horrifying account (among many) of how a father bore his son's death in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba - alleged suicide. There are many stories like these. One can't help feeling despair and extreme sadness at these accounts. And those who still defend the imperialism - well, they have to have no hearts, maybe.

----------------------------------------------
“No parent should have to bury their child.” That was the first thought that crossed my mind when I met Talal al-Zaharani - father of one of the young men who died in Guantanamo in 2006 - last week in Oslo at the screening of the film Death in Guantanamo by Norwegian filmmaker Erling Borgen.

I first spoke to Talal in 2006 after it was reported that his son Yasser, just 17-years old when he was taken into US custody in Afghanistan and then onto to Guantanamo, had allegedly committed suicide along with two other prisoners. In response to my words of condolence I still remember Talal’s reply:

“May Allah reward you with the best for your words of kindness my dear brother, but I am not unhappy nor do I need condolences. My son and his companions were the victims of abuse and they died for their beliefs. Therefore they are martyrs and are in Paradise in sha Allah.”

How does one respond to these words, I thought?

Until meeting him I didn’t know the details of what Talal, as a father, had had to endure upon the return of his son’s body from Guantanamo.

Talal al-Zahrani is a kindly, pious and warm individual from the city of Madinah who spent the best part of the last three decades as a colonel in the Saudi police force, responsible for regions including the holy city of Makkah. When we met him, in the typical tradition of Arabian hospitality he brought bags of gifts for us all: Britons, Americans, Norwegians, Sudanese – Muslims and non-Muslims. He is not a vengeful man, quite the opposite in fact, but he does want justice for what America did to his son and he holds former US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld personally responsible. To that end he has issued legal proceeding in the US courts against Rumsfeld for the false imprisonment, torture and death of his son.

Meeting Talal would have been enough of a reason to attend the film-screening but those present included notable human rights figures like Michael Ratner, President of the US Center for Constitutional Rights who spoke about representing Guantanamo prisoners at a time when hardly anyone would dare do so; Professor Mark Denbaux director of the Seton Hall Law School Center for Policy and Research who has been conducting vital research that has produced a counter-narrative to the official standard US version regarding US allegations against Guantanamo prisoners; Sami al-Hajj who spoke about his work post-release pertaining to the plight of the released prisoners in the Middle East and his role as head of Al Jazeera’s human rights branch and Walid Hajj, survivor of the Qala-i-Jangi massacre whose book in Arabic and series of ten hour-long interviews on Al-Jazeera describe the ordeal in vivid detail and made Walid into a household name in the Arabic-speaking world. Both he and Sami related the story of what they knew about Yasser al-Zahrani.

Like many Muslims from around the world Yasser had gone to help victims of the war in Afghanistan during the winter of 2001 before the US-led invasion. Shortly after that he ended up with a group of over 600 men who were handed over to the infamous Afghan warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum. Yasser’s worst ordeal however, was not in Guantanamo per se. Alongside US citizens Yasir Hamdi and John Walker Lindh Yasser al-Zaharani, aged sixteen at the time, and only 83 others, miraculously survived the notorious slaughter of over 500 unarmed prisoners, including many whose hands had been tied behind their backs, at the hands of American, British and Afghan Northern Alliance forces at Qala-i-Jangi in December 2001.

By the time Yasser got to Guantanamo’s Camp X-ray he’d already endured shrapnel and bullet wounds, starvation, torture, attempted electrocution, drowning and being set on fire.

Despite all he’d gone through, from Guantanamo he wrote his family praising God and telling them that he was well and in good spirits in order, his father said, that they do not worry too much. That is why Talal describes his son in the film as a ‘batal’ (hero).

The film is interspersed with gripping eye-witness testimony from former Sudanese prisoners Walid Hajj and Sami al-Hajj; Omar Deghayes and legal representatives of Guantanamo prisoners.

Despite the official version of US that on June 10, 2006 Yasser al-Zahrani (Saudi Arabia), Mani al-Utaybi (Saudi Arabia) and Ali Abdullah Ahmed (Yemen) committed suicide as an act of “asymmetric warfare” waged against the USA and a "good PR move" it is testimony from soldiers present on the night of the deaths that is most disturbing – and damning for US authorities. Scott Horton who wrote for Harpers Magazine presents evidence in the film that cites Army Staff Sergeant Joseph Hickman’s testimony of what happened that night. Without going into detail of the case, that is available on the magazine website, the most resonant words for me came from this highly decorated US soldier of more than 17 years in service: “There were no suicides in Guantanamo that night.”

The films also shows an interview with a senior Swiss forensic pathologist who carried out an autopsy on Ali Abdullah Ahmed which throws doubt on the US version of events after experiencing the lack of cooperation from US authorities in helping to answer some key questions, such why pieces of Yasser's upper airways, including the larynx – key elements in an autopsy on a hanging victim – were all missing.

However, it was the father’s calm and lucid yet heartbreakingly sad testimony about how he saw his son for the last time that finally broke the dam. In describing his son’s battered and bruised body, with body parts visibly missing each person in the theatre audience, surely, could not help but feel this man’s loss. And, although Saudi Arabia is a key ally of the US in the war on terror - albeit with its own idiosyncrasies - it is clear from the video footage of the funeral prayer of the men that the thousands in attendance with their chants of “Allahu Akbar” will never forget what Guantanamo did to their sons.

At the end of the film there was pin-drop silence in the theatre followed by a rapturous standing ovation for the filmmakers, the former prisoners and Talal - the man around whom the film is centred. People came up to us, Talal in particular, visibly moved and openly crying. In all honesty I was almost unable to control my own emotions too knowing what this man seated next to me had endured.

Since the 2006 deaths there have been two more reported ‘suicides’ in Guantanamo that no one other than US officials believes. In total there have been nine deaths there, each of the causes of death determined by US military officials with no independent verification. Each death, each individual is a life that needs to be accounted for properly. Death in Guantanamo is a documentary film which tells more than the story of Guantanamo. It accounts for one of those lives.

Although this is a story from Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Cuba – places that many ordinary westerners know very little and care even less about what will touch most people though is the fact that this father will never see this son again in this life but his fight for justice and truth will continue despite the odds stacked against him. And that’s what makes the film so memorable.

Source: Cageprisoners

Dinner :D:D

2011-10-25T23:48:00.000+05:00

Itni mirchi hogayee keh buss nahi :(:(

Image Copyright Uni_Thought_She_Was_Such_A_Good_Cookoony 2011

Amount of mirchi is directly proportional to the amount of scolding. Sigh.

So long!

I miss

2011-10-24T13:10:00.000+05:00

I miss 2008. And 2009.

I still had dreams, and lofty aspirations.

Muslims weren't this degraded throughout the world

Muslim leaders weren't this degraded throughout the world.

Our country hadn't been this looted from within the leadership.

There were still parks around the city. Illegal plots hadn't spread to this extent, covering up the ground that longed for fresh grass and children's running feet.

My friends hadn't gotten this busy.

We had just graduated, so the craze for interviews and career fairs was still hot. I wasn't this disillusioned.

I wasn't this afraid of death and answering Allah for my deeds.

Currency hadn't fallen to this extent.

I still believed I could avoid a postgrad in this country. If I work hard enough.

I still believed I could be.. something. In life.

-----------------------------------------------------
I so wish there were some formula that could transform a human to be functionally independent of all other humans/beings. Except Allah.

So long!

Hilarious way of making a point :D:D

2011-10-20T21:08:00.000+05:00

Goes without saying that intellectual debates about the Holy Book are bound to produce no tangible results if the speaker isn't aware of the Book, can't pronounce the words, etc.

Excellent message, delivered in a really funny way :D

A Forward Email :D:D

2011-10-20T01:15:00.001+05:00

Which made me go...

Image source

What an apt image.. :D. *marvels at it for a while*

----------------------------------------------------
BREAKING NEWS!!

Pakistani researchers have discovered the heaviest element yet known to science. The new element, so far only discovered and found in Pakistan , has been named Zardarium (Symbol = Zm). It has one Presitron, 1 Priministron, 77 Ministrons, 98 deputy Ministrons, 298 National Assemblions, and 100 Senatrons, giving it an atomic mass of 575.

These 575 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called pillocks. Since Zardarium has no electrons, it is inert, impotent and ineffective. However, it can be detected because it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. A tiny amount of Zardarium can cause a reaction, that would normally take less than a second, to take from 4 days to 4 years to complete, depending upon the kick-back percentage that Zardarium can get. It is neither radioactive nor active and is largely inert except for its psychopathic attraction for corrupt morons, Ministrons, Assemblions and Senatrons. In this respect, another two important inert iso-dopes, Nawazium (Symbol = Nm) and Shahbazium (Symbol = Sm) play a vital role as catalysts by their moronic ineptitude.

Zardarium has a normal half-life of 2 to 5 years. It does not decay, but instead, the whole country undergoes a re-organisational decay in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places. The most important chemical quality of Zardarium is its magnetic properties for gold, Dollars, and corrupt morons. In fact, Zardarium 's mass will actually increase over time, since each reorganisation will cause more morons to become Ministrons and forming iso-dopes as a by-product. This characteristic of moron promotion leads some scientists to believe that Zardarium is formed whenever morons reach a critical concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as a critical morass. When catalysed with money, Zardarium becomes Presidentium (symbol = Pz), an element that radiates just as much energy as Zardarium, since it has half as many pillocks but twice as many morons. Pakistan ka ALLAH Hafiz
---------------------------------------------------------
*lote pote with laughter*

Amazing story :)

2011-10-19T23:42:00.003+05:00

5 minutes, 52 seconds.. :) Anybody can do that..

This story is beautiful. May Allah Make us this conscious of Him and this passionate about convincing our loved ones to do right and leave the wrong. Ameen.

Little high little low!

2011-10-18T22:51:00.000+05:00

Assalamualaikum

The title merely reflects a rather cute memory of Stewart Little (the movie) :)

Today was a cool day! Basically, I signed up for this online class (Stanford - Artificial Intelligence = awesome), and was wondering how things would get done with the thesis and all .. It was tough to take the whole lectures and answer in-class quizzes (and er, not score well in them :S).. but the final homework's grades just came out today. And I didn't do badly at all.

In fact, I was so elated with my precious 89%, that I let out an exclamation, and Chotpo who had gone to sleep nearby woke up in alarm (and er, a scowl)..

And when I went to the forums to check out how others have done.. so..*trying not to laugh now*... my whole bubble just went..

Image source

Lol. People had a 100% easily. But the thing is what do you expect from a class of over 140k students :D. And as Chotpo (how loyal of her MA) said, "You can't expect to see scores below 80% anyway, because people will be too ashamed to post 'em." Hee hee.

Anyway, the class is awesome. We've just started Bayes Networks, and the instructor (no other than Sebastian Thrun!) has said that this is the building block of nearly every AI-based system and Computer Vision application. The applications which he counted off included ... Kalman Filters, Hidden Markov Models, and the stuff which I normally stare at .. at research papers and wonder what this greek is all about.

:S. But probability is tough! And I'm taking further lectures from Khan Academy. It's so awesome. Wouldn't it be cool to have a Uni-Academy too? *lost in fantasies*. I could teach people, the basics of er... something. Man, I should have done these basic things before.. well, now!

But anyway, at least I'm learning now. **determined not to get into the not-having-done-these-earlier-in-life syndrome** ...

Hope you people are having an academically fulfilling time too! (and er, can't wait for December! When I don't have to sur-marofye on this ... *refuses to call this an MS project*.. stuff that I am doing!). But anyway... :P

Image source

So long!

PS: Finally learned Surah Baqarah :D:D:D. **trying to sit still and get back to work**... But erm, obviously, have to revise lots.

PS: Oh yeah, just remembered. Have to post something worthwhile in every post Insha Allah. So today, read this hadith,

The Prophet sallAllaahu `alayhi wa sallam also said:►"The best of you is he who learns the Qur'aan and teaches it." [al-Bukhaaree in his Saheeh (9/66).]

And I thought to myself. We have so many standards for success in this life. And so many criteria for being the 'best' at something - be it looks, wealth, property, skills, jobs, careers etc etc. And this one hadith clearly highlights who is the BEST in Allah's books.. and that's the person who has learned the Quran (as in, studied it extensively) and teaches it to others.

May Allah Enable us to learn and study the Quran (be it a little every day), and Enable us to pass on the lessons learned (be it a little every day), and try to achieve the 'best' status in that regard too. Ameen

Ashamed..

2011-10-17T00:50:00.003+05:00

Being in a lousy mood all day, this video made me ashamed to the core. This goes out for me first (as usual :)..).. but I hope the viewers take a lesson from this too.

May Allah Make us of the highest level in Jannah, Ameen.

Lessons of the day!

2011-10-16T03:53:00.000+05:00

Assalamualaikum

Today was a kind of day, that begs to be forgotten. The good part is, that I went to the Quran class :). And the bad part is, that the teacher seemed disappointed with the lack of consistent attendance :(..

*sees pointed fingers towards her*.. she also mentioned something on the lines of that this is just once a week. There is no excuse for leaving it.
Embarrassing.

One useful info I learned from today's lesson, which I want to share is the connection between some verses of Surah Baqarah.

----------------------------------

99. And indeed We have sent down to you manifest Ayat (these Verses of the Qur'an which inform in detail about the news of the Jews and their secret intentions, etc.), and none disbelieve in them but Fasiqun (those who rebel against Allah's Command).

100. Is it not (the case) that every time they make a covenant, some party among them throw it aside? Nay! the truth is most of them believe not.

101. And when there came to them a Messenger from Allah (i.e. Muhammad Peace be upon him ) confirming what was with them, a party of those who were given the Scripture threw away the Book of Allah behind their backs as if they did not know!

102. They followed what the Shayatin (devils) gave out (falsely of the magic) in the lifetime of Sulaiman (Solomon). Sulaiman did not disbelieve, but the Shayatin (devils) disbelieved, teaching men magic and such things that came down at Babylon to the two angels, Harut and Marut, but neither of these two (angels) taught anyone (such things) till they had said, "We are only for trial, so disbelieve not (by learning this magic from us)." And from these (angels) people learn that by which they cause separation between man and his wife, but they could not thus harm anyone except by Allah's Leave. And they learn that which harms them and profits them not. And indeed they knew that the buyers of it (magic) would have no share in the Hereafter. And how bad indeed was that for which they sold their ownselves, if they but knew.

----------------
Whenever I read these, I always wondered, how come Hazrat Sulaiman's time and magic is being mentioned here.. apparently it seems to be out of the blue. The fact is that the verses above verse 102, LEAD to this verse. How?

The above verses talk about the Jews. But since I am me, the lesson is for ME. (That's the first principle).

Secondly, whoever rejects the covenant made with Allah (we have made one too), and throws the Book (Quran in our case) on the back burner, then the ultimate path to follow would be of one's own whims and desires - of shortcuts and talismans, and THIS leads to magic..

The magic that was practiced at the time of Sulaiman AS, when the people there started following the devils and their practices. Today, in this day and age, in the age of advanced technology and all the education in the world, we're still very much there. We too, believe in shortcuts and devise ways and means to get to our worldly goals. If those means coincide with Allah's Wishes, well and good. If they don't... then so be it.

This is the attitude that needs to change. And this can only be changed when the Holy Quran takes the central role in our lives, not to be brought down from the topmost shelf on occasions (like funerals, or doing a wazeefa), but to be made a part of daily life, daily routine.

May Allah Enable me to follow this and then to everybody else as well. Ameen.

I didn't get it...

2011-10-14T20:36:00.000+05:00

Assalamualaikum

Looks like my achievements graph is on a downward plunge. Only, the bottom is too far away. So hoping for a bounce-back soon is not realistic. I thought I won't care much. And if this attempt doesn't come to fruition, I won't mind. After all, nothing is in my hands, right. And I chose to give the interview in the way I did. Nobody forced me. So I should be all chin-up, shoulders back, smile ON, and go forward in life.

But the reality is, that being rejected, isn't an easy pill to swallow. Especially, when there are so many colleagues around .. who got the same achievement, and about whom you're sure that your mental levels stand in line. But maybe, it's not all about mental levels. Maybe it's all about interview-skill levels.

I have always sucked at interviews. This time, I am even more superbly sure that I do. And that means, freelancing is very probably all there is for me out there. I can't bear the pitying glances, and the fact that Dad's going to be so disappointed (no surprises where I'm concerned, to be honest). I already know two people who are greatly pitying me and not saying much on these lines, right this instant.

So long folks. Just remember, don't set your hearts on things you're not great at. And make yourself flexible enough, so that things you've set your heart on don't materialize, you're strong enough not to break down then and there, and forge ahead.

Lol, look whose talking.

*wipes face impatiently*

Weird!

2011-10-12T21:34:00.002+05:00

I'm a left-brained person?
No way!

Right Brain/ Left Brain Quiz
The higher of these two numbers below indicates which side of your brain has dominance in your life. Realising your right brain/left brain tendancy will help you interact with and to understand others.
Left Brain Dominance:	(12)
Right Brain Dominance:	(9)
Right Brain/ Left Brain Quiz

Did another one just to make sure.

Thank you for taking the Creativity Test. The results show your brain dominance as being:

Left Brain	Right Brain
59%	41%

You are more left-brained than right-brained. Your left brain controls the right side of your body. In addition to being known as left-brained, you are also known as a critical thinker who uses logic and sense to collect information. You are able to retain this information through the use of numbers, words, and symbols. You usually only see parts of the "whole" picture, but this is what guides you step-by-step in a logical manner to your conclusion. Concise words, numerical and written formulas and technological systems are often forms of expression for you. Some occupations usually held by a left-brained person include a lab scientist, banker, judge, lawyer, mathematician, librarian, and skating judge.

Your complete evaluation follows below:

Your left brain/right brain percentage was calculated by combining the individual scores of each half's sub-categories. They are as follows:

Your Left Brain Percentages

60%	Verbal (Your most dominant characteristic)
59%	Symbolic
43%	Linear
34%	Logical
27%	Reality-based
14%	Sequential (Your least dominant characteristic)

Your Right Brain Percentages

50%	Nonverbal (Your most dominant characteristic)
39%	Random
29%	Intuitive
24%	Fantasy-oriented
10%	Concrete
0%	Holistic (Your least dominant characteristic)

Wish I Could Stop Thinking

2011-10-10T16:32:00.000+05:00

Assalamualaikum

I've stopped writing poetry. I don't really know what was the turning point - but I really have stopped. And stopped feeling the urge to let out the words in verses too. I miss the feeling. I miss the feeling of having words in my head.

Since missing it won't bring it back, I'll force myself to write one:

So here goes.

In the dewy mist of wintery dawn
She stands there, all forlorn
Looking for something to make it right
Something, anything - any bright light

During the scorching summer days
Her parched imagination seeks some rays
Of creativity, of work more than just play
Something, anything - any small way

As the sun sets behind the golden hill
Her hungry eyes, so empty, so still
Seeks the twilight, takes its fill
Something, anything - any strong pill

When the moon shows its glorious face
She stares at it, soaking up the rays
Wishing so hard, she had the pace
Something, anything - in this case

As darkness falls, she feels the pain
Fears and tepidations ebbs and wanes
She hopes it's soon she wouldn't feign
Something, anything - ever again

Copyright Uni_Overidiotic-oony 2011

It goes without saying that I had another bad meeting with my supervisor. He's really happy with my work.

Aren't the above two sentences contradictory? Lol.

I wish I were happy with my work.

Image source

I do try not to whine much :P

2011-10-04T01:50:00.000+05:00

Assalamualaikum

One of the ways people cope with hard situations is to joke about it. Since I'm no great joker, this post might just seem plain weird.

Today was one low day of my life. I had not been in to meet my supervisor for the past two weeks. One because he was busy. Second because I was staying at the hospital. The past few days I had worked like mad to try and gather stuff to show him. And I thought it's pretty good going.. I mean, hello! It ain't easy to write an Introduction (whole chapter), and 4-5 pages worth of Literature review (2nd chapter) in a few days !!

BUT...

What do you think should have happened?

He looked through the stuff, and said the following things:

1. Beta, you need to (now) give 15 hours per day
2. The difference between you and me is that i worked 12 hours in university, and you stay at home and work from there.
3. You need to get rid of any and every distract-er
4. You need to increase productivity

Etc.

Man, did my heart sink or what.

**suddenly remembers that she was supposed to be humorous about it**

Oh forget it. Right now I already feel miserable because a friend of mine happens to be a sad soul, and I wish I could help.

So long... *quite mournfully*

To get something (at least something!) out of this post, let me share something worthy of sharing:
--------------------------------------------
[Hadith]Allah's Messenger, sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam, said, "Be
honest, for verily honesty leads to righteousness, and
righteousness leads to paradise."

[Lessons from this Hadith]
Live your life in a way that if someone was to open the door on
you at any moment, you would have nothing to hide. This is true
success. Think of something that you may be ashamed people will
find out about, and take some action right now to stop doing
it.

With best wishes to see you succeed at the highest level!
- Muhammad Alshareef
--------------------------------------------------
May Allah Make me 100% honest, [and then others] :(. Ameen.

I wish I knew

2011-10-01T17:11:00.001+05:00

Random emotions of the day [in pictures]

Image source

Random snippets of conversations today:

AJ: Why are you scolding me?
Me: I'm not scolding you!
AJ: Yes you are!
Me: *loud sigh*

AJ: Please do this this that that
Me: *louder sigh*
AJ: How come you're behaving like this?
Me: What was it that you wanted? **dangerously polite voice**

TIINTB: There's something in your tone... not normal.
Me: Is it?
TIINTB: Yeah, I have vibes
Me: Oh..

AJ: Wake up! What's wrong with you
Me: *hardly able to open eyes*
AJ: It's 12!!!!!
Me: Oh my God..

TIINTB: How come you were talking so differently?
AJ: What's wrong with you!!!

x---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------x

2011-10-01T02:04:00.000+05:00

Source: Daily Express News Story

Ibrahim Zaza: The Gaza Boy Newspapers Omitted

2011-09-30T15:40:00.000+05:00

A beyond painful account of how two boys were targeted by Israeli drone while they played outside their house. One of them is no more in this world..

And hardly anybody cares. A story that rips the heart - and yet, nobody can do anything about them.. [except make dua'a for the Palestinian civilians]

-----------------------------------------------
by Ramzy Baroud on Foreign Policy Journal
September 29, 2011

“Both of Ibrahim’s arms were cut off. He had a hole in his lung. Parts of his legs were missing. His kidney was in a bad condition…we need people to stand with us.” These were the words of an exhausted man as he described the condition of his dying son in an interview with The Real News, an alternative news source.

Ibrahim Zaza was merely a 12-year-old boy. He and his cousin Mohammed, 14, were hit by an Israeli missile in Gaza, fired from an unmanned drone as they played in front of their house.

The story started on August 18. The next day, the British Telegraph reported: “Israel launches fightback after militant attack on Egypt border.” The whitewashing of the recent Israeli strikes at besieged Gaza leaves one wondering if all reporters used Israeli army talking points as they conveyed the story. Palestinians were punished for an attack at Israelis that reportedly accrued near the Israeli border with Egypt. There is no evidence linking Gaza to the attack, and Egyptian authorities are now disputing the Israeli account altogether.

“At least six Palestinians were killed in the first wave of bombing. Israel said they were members, including the leader, of the militant group known as the Popular Resistance Committees it accused of responsibility for the attacks,” wrote Phoebe Greenwood and Richard Spencer (The Telegraph, August 19).

The Popular Resistance Committees had dissociated themselves from the attack, as had Hamas and all Palestinian factions. But that was hardly enough to spare the lives of innocent men and women in Gaza, already reeling under untold hardship. Among the dead in the first wave of attacks that targeted ‘militants’ were two children, one aged three and the other 13.

In the media, Palestinian casualties only matter when they amount to a sizable number. Even then, they are placed within a context that deprives the victims of any sympathy, or worse, blames Palestinian militants for indirect responsibility (pushing Israel to resort to violence to defend its security). In fact, the term ‘Palestinian security’ is almost nonexistent, although thousands of Gazans have been killed in the last three years alone.

Even the news of Palestinian children killed in the August strikes was reported with a sense of vagueness and doubt. News networks downplayed the fact that the majority of Palestinian victims were civilians. The Telegraph reported that: “Hamas, which runs Gaza, said that two children were also killed in the air raids…” Quoting Hamas, not human rights groups or hospital sources, is hardly shocking when the reporter is based in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem.

Neither was it shocking when the boy, Ibrahim Zaza, died. His heart was the only organ that had continued to function for nearly thirty days after the drone attack. The father, who was allowed to accompany Ibrahim and Mohammed to an Israeli hospital, was then prevented from leaving the hospital for he constituted a security threat. He kept circulating around his son’s frail body, hoping and praying. He appealed to people to stand by his family, stressing his lack of means to buy a wheelchair, which he thought Ibrahim would need once he woke up again.

There is no need for a wheelchair now. And Mohammed’s unyielding pain continues. His legs are bare with no skin. His belly area is completely exposed. His screams are haunting.

Ibrahim’s death seemed to compel little, if any, media coverage. There were no New York Times features, no Time magazine pictorials of the weeping mother and the devastated community. Ibrahim’s existence in this world was short. His death was mostly uneventful outside the small circle of those who dearly loved him.

There will be no debates on Israel’s use of airstrikes that kill civilians, and no urgent UN meetings over the incessant killings caused by Israeli drones, which in themselves constitute a highly profitable industry. Clients who have doubts about the effectiveness of the Elbit Systems Hermes 900 UAV, for example, need only view Israeli Air Force videos of the drone gently gliding over Gaza. According to sUAS News, it “can reach a higher altitude of 30,000 feet…(and) can be quickly and easily converted for the operator’s needs, without the need to adjust the operating infrastructure for every mission” (June 6, 2011).

Israel has been testing its drones on Palestinians for years. In Gaza, these vultures can be observed with the naked eye. Whenever the glider draws near, people scramble for cover. But it took a WikiLeaks report to verify Israel’s use of drones for the purpose of killing. According to a recently leaked document, Israeli army Advocate-General Maj. Gen. Avichai Mandelblit had, in February 2010, informed previous US Ambassador to Israel, James Cunningham, of Israel’s use of weaponized unmanned aircrafts to kill suspected militants.

In The Real News video report, Lia Tarachansky spoke to Lt. Col. Avital Leibowitz, a spokesperson for the IDF, to try and understand why Ibrahim and his cousin were targeted.

Lia Tarachansky: “There was only one missile shot, according to witnesses, and it was at two children, one 12 and one 14, sitting outside of their house.”

Avital Leibowitz: “The logic is that when someone is trying to launch a rocket at you, then the logic is – we better target that person before he targets us.”

The one photo I could retrieve of Ibrahim Zaza showed him posing shyly for the camera, his hair brushed forward. My heart breaks now as I think of him, and all the other victims of Israel’s “logic”.

Ramzy Baroud is an internationally-syndicated columnist and the editor of PalestineChronicle.com. His latest book is "My Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza's Untold Story" (Pluto Press, London), now available on Amazon.com. Read more articles by Ramzy Baroud.

http://www.ramzybaroud.net

Why Your Heart Should Be Attached to The Mosque?

2011-09-30T00:36:00.001+05:00

“There are seven whom Allâh will shade in His shade on the day on which there is no shade except His shade;

a just imam, a youth who grows up worshipping Allâh, a man whose heart is attached to the mosque when he leaves it until he returns to it, two who love each other for the sake of Allâh and part on that, a man who remembers Allâh when he is alone and his eyes overflow with tears, a man who refuses the approaches of a noble, beautiful woman, saying ‘I fear Allâh,’ and a man who gives charity and conceals it so that his left hand does not know what his right hand gives.”
[Reported by Al-Bukhaaree and Muslim. The text is that of Al-Bukhaaree: Saheeh Al-Bukhaaree, V.1, Hadeeth #629.]

Is your heart attached to the mosque?

What do you think about when you see your local mosque?

What about when you see photos of mosques around the world? How do you feel? Are you reminded of beautiful architecture, towering minarets, and the melodic sound of the call to prayer? Do you imagine lines of the faithful believers praying in comfortable companionship? Can you hear the sounds of silence?

The mosque is all of those things, and feeling a special attachment should be easy. It is a place of serenity occupied not only by people but also by angels. The architecture ranges from Islamic classical to new state of the art designs. Inside the mosque you might find columns, spiral staircases, plush carpets and Arabic calligraphy. Outside there are domes and minarets, drinking fountains and shoe racks. Mosques are as different as Muslims, they come in all shapes and sizes however in one way they are all exactly the same; a place in which Muslims worship Allâh.

About the Mosque

Muslim men are expected, under normal circumstances, to pray the five obligatory prayers in a mosque, and although women are also permitted to do this, it is not obligatory upon them. It is in quiet, tranquil mosques that Muslims fulfill the right of Allâh to be worshipped, but they can also gather rewards and good deeds for the hereafter. Praying in the mosque and being attached to the mosque is a very pious and rewardable action.

Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, continually reminded his followers that Allâh loves and rewards those who find repose and comfort in the mosques: “When a person goes to the mosques for prayer and the remembrance of Allâh, Allâh, the Most High, greets him joyfully, just as the family of one who is absent greets him with joy when he returns to them.” [Reported by Ibn Abee Shaybah, Ibn Maajah, Ibn Khuzaimah and others and it is found in Saheehit-Targheeb (no. 315)] “The mosque is the house of every pious person, and Allâh has granted comfort and mercy for everyone for whom the mosque is his house, and that they will easily traverse the bridge to Allâh’s Paradise.” [Reported by at-Tabaraanee in al-Kabeer and al-Awsat and al-Bazzaar who declared it hasan, and it occurs in Saheehut-Targheeb (no. 328)]

“There are six places in which a person is guaranteed the safekeeping of Allâh, the Most High, as long as he is in one of them. In a congregational mosque, with a sick person, at a funeral, in his house, with a just ruler whom he supports and treats with respect, or at a place where people are fighting jihad.” [Declared hasan by Shaykh al-Albaanee in Saheehut-Targheeb (no. 326) and is reported by at-Tabaraanee and al-Bazzaar.]

“The comforting feeling that comes from pleasing Allâh, and even more rewards, can be obtained by cleaning or building mosques. Aisha, the beloved wife of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said that her husband often reminded the people that Allâh commanded that mosques be built among the houses and that they be kept clean and perfumed.” [Sunan Abu Dawood, Hadith no. 455]
“Whoever builds a mosque seeking the pleasure of Allâh, Allâh builds a similar one for him in paradise.” “Whoever builds for the Mighty and Majestic Allâh a mosque, even if it be very small, Allâh builds for him a house in paradise.” [Bukhari & Muslim: #450; #553]

“Once, while they were building a mosque, a companion of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, noticed him carrying a heavy piece of mortar. He offered to carry it but Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, reminded him that there was no better living then in Paradise and suggested he carry his own piece of mortar for this noble cause.”

Angels & Blessings

Comfort, peace, tranquility, good companionship, angels and rewards can all be found in mosques and they are also among the best places on earth.

In the traditions of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, we can find the story of a woman who cleaned and picked up rubbish in the mosque. Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, did not learn of her death until he did not notice her, so he inquired about her. He said to his companions, “If one of you dies inform me!” He then prayed the funeral prayer for her and said, “I saw her in Paradise! She was rewarded for cleaning the mosque.”

Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, also reminded his followers that “After the believer dies, he is followed by some of his work and good deeds including knowledge that he taught and spread, leaving a pious child (who would supplicate Allâh for his father or mother), a Qur’an book he bequeathed, a mosque he built, a house he built for the wayfarer, a river he caused to flow, or charity extracted from his wealth during his life while in good health.”

Comfort, peace, tranquility, good companionship, angels and rewards can all be found in mosques and they are also among the best places on earth. Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said: the most beloved places to Allâh are the mosques, and the most hated places are the markets. [Sahih Muslim]
Mosques are special places filled with blessings and rewards, however, Allâh has conferred a special blessing upon the nation of Muslims, the whole earth has been declared a mosque, so when the time for prayer comes and a believer is unable to pray in congregation in a building he may pray wherever he may be.

The companion Abu Dharr, may Allah be pleases with him, asked Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, “What was the first mosque on the earth?”

He answered: “The Masjid Al-Haram [in Makkah].”
Abu Dharr then asked: “Which is the next oldest mosque?”
The Prophet said: “The Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
Abu Dharr asked: “How much time was there between building the two mosques?”
The Prophet replied: “Forty years.” Then he said, “Wherever you may be at the time of prayer you may pray, for it (the earth) is all a place for prayer.”
[Bukhari: Book 4 Volume 55 Hadith 585]

By Aisha Stacey

Muslim Writer

Source: The Religion of Islam - islamreligion.com

Exclusive: TIME Meets Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan

2011-09-27T23:12:00.002+05:00

Posted by Ishaan Tharoor Monday, September 26, 2011 at 7:53 pm

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in New York City on Sept.

20, 2011 (Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP)

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is the international statesman of the moment. Greeted as a rock star in Egypt and other countries transformed by the Arab Spring, the Turkish Premier looms like a colossus over the Middle East. In recent weeks, he has been one of the most vocal world leaders to back the Palestinian statehood bid at the United Nations. Popular at home, Erdogan has been in his position since 2003, and was recently re-elected to a new term. All the while, both Turkey's economy and geopolitical footprint have been growing noticeably. Erdogan sat down with TIME's Jim Frederick, Bobby Ghosh, Tony Karon, Matt McAllester and Ishaan Tharoor on the sidelines of U.N. meetings in New York City. The following are excerpts from the conversation, touching upon Turkey's deteriorating relationship with Israel, the failures of the Mideast peace process, Erdogan's support for the Arab Spring and frustrations with the U.N., and whether anybody in Ankara still cares about joining the E.U.

TIME: You've been outspoken in support of the Palestinian cause and statehood. There are people that say all the drama at the U.N. has not helped the peace process. How do you think it has gone?

Erdogan: First and foremost, what is required is for the U.N. Security Council to say “yes” to the legitimate demands of the people in Palestine. If anything else should be discussed at this moment, it should be between two states. And there's another fact we need to consider, primarily the borders of 1967. Israel first seems to have accepted going back to the borders of 1967, but somehow seemed to have got distanced from this ideal. They need to get closer back to it. Palestine is in a form of a maze, right now.
Through TIME, I'd like to make a call out to humanity: [the Palestinians] are there to exist. They are not there to be condemned to struggle in an open-air penitentiary. Israel's cruelty in that regard cannot be continued any longer. And, of course, the legitimate demands for Palestine to be a recognized state should be catered to, and considered both in the U.N. Security Council and General Assembly. Those who approach these demands negatively will never be able to settle their accounts with history.

Four, five years ago, it seemed that relations between Turkey and Israel were very close and could change the dynamic of the whole region. Now ties appear to be irrevocably broken.

Our mutual relations with Israel would have been reinforced even further only if Israel hadn't victimized the positive relations of two countries with [its 2010 raid] on the Mavi Marmara, which was navigating in international waters. The flotillas in question were bearing nothing but humanitarian aid, including toys, food and other sorts of materials. They were holding over 450 citizens from 32 countries. One of the casualties is an American citizen of Turkish descent. And right now the Israeli Prime Minister still alleges that the flotillas were actually loaded with weapons. Had they possessed the weapons that were alleged, why didn't they fire back? There are reports issued by both the U.N. Security Council and U.N. agencies in Geneva about this incident and you never see the slightest trace that the flotillas were carrying guns. The Israeli government is not being honest at all. Right now, as long as they refuse to apologize for the nine people of Turkish descent who lost their lives on the flotilla, so as long as they refuse to pay compensation to the families, and of course as long as the embargo on Gaza has not been lifted, the relations between the two countries will never become normalized.

You and President Sarkozy both made the point at the U.N. General Assembly that the approach the U.S. had taken to the peace process had failed. What would you do differently to make the peace process work?

Here's your headline: you need to take a sincerity test before you even think of accomplishing this: [Ask yourselves the question], do we really want to resolve this issue or not? Unfortunately, I do not even see the traces of this within the Quartet. Because if the Quartet was so willing to resolve this issue, they would have imposed certain issues on Israel today. Until today, the U.N. Security Council has issued more than 89 resolutions on prospective sanctions related to Israel, but they've never been executed. And furthermore, there were about 200 resolutions issued by the General Assembly and neither have those been complied with.

One might wonder why no sanctions have been imposed on Israel. When it's Iran in question, you impose sanctions. Similarly with Sudan. What happens with Israel then? Had these sanctions been imposed in this day and age, the Palestine-Israel conflict would have been resolved a long time ago. That's why I'd like all the parties involved to be sincere and stand behind those resolutions. And that is actually also where a need for reform is needed in the U.N. What's the deal with these permanent seat holding members in the Security Council? They should be eliminated. The entire world is literally a slave to the decisions of these five permanent seat holders.

You had a successful trip across the countries of the Arab Spring and many of the people who have removed dictators there seem to look to the Turkish model of democracy. Does your help then become subject to the same types of criticism that the U.S. faces when talking about democratic change around the world?

Unlike others, I didn't just go there to see a few people on the streets. I intentionally wanted to talk to the candidate presidents, the new political parties there, and I had the opportunity to get together with lots of people in order to grasp the situation. At my meetings, I said, all right, Turkey is a model of democracy, a secular state, a social state with the rule of law upheld. We are not intentionally trying to export a regime — we couldn't care less. But if they want our help, we'll provide any assistance they need. But we do not have a mentality of exporting our system.

One country that doesn't seem to be inclined to follow the Turkish model is Syria. Like with Israel, you worked very hard trying to develop your relationship with President Bashar Assad. Now it appears that relationship is also broken. Is there any kind of prospect for peace in Syria that keeps Assad in power. Or does he have to go?
I am a person who is inclined to define relations between individuals based on principles. It is impossible to preserve my friendship with people who are allegedly leaders when they are attacking their own people, shooting at them, using tanks and other forms of heavy weaponry. Even when we had warm contacts with some of Syria's leading figures, we could see that they had no intention of replicating our democracy model. We've always voiced our recommendations; they never actually listened to them. In our previous correspondences, he has told me has liberated most of the political offenders. Assad told me “we only have about 83 political offenders in prison.” But actually there are thousands and thousands. Those individuals have never been involved in violent attacks or uprisings. They've been unfortunately incarcerated based on their faith or their expressions. And you are probably aware of the fact that we have about 7000 guests [refugees] fleeing the Syrian regime hosted in the province of Hatay.

But you didn't answer our question. Is there a future for Assad in Syria?
In order for me to be able to comment on this, I need to first visit the camps in Hatay where the refugees are being kept. But in terms of aspirations and hopes, I have previously stated that I am not very optimistic.

Regarding Turkish relations with the U.S., has there be any change over the last few years, particularly with the new administration?

In the last nine years, relations between the U.S. and Turkey have never recessed, never gone back, but they have not improved as much as we'd like. The relationship especially between Obama and us has always been very positive. Whenever we speak to each other, we talk about negotiations of certain processes whether in the region or more globally — we always talk about matters quite frankly. But of course what we want to see is relations getting reinforced at the upmost extent possible, particularly in the realms of the economy and commerce. Because Turkey has great potential to take advantage of. We're really willing to see more and more U.S. entrepreneurs conducting investments in Turkey. I'm optimistic for the future. I should tell you honestly, there are no tensions between us.

What about over Israel?
There might be different points of view. We agree to disagree on certain issues. But these disagreements are not reasons for disconnecting relations. Turkey is a sovereign state, just like the U.S. We might go to different directions, in terms of our impressions and ideas, but we'll always remain friends.

As Turkey's role in the Middle East has grown, has it given up on its earlier ambition of joining the E.U.? Is integration into Europe now a closed chapter?
When [former French President Jacques] Chirac or [former German Chancellor Gerhard] Schroder were there, Turkey would be involved in all of the European leaders' summits. But when [current Chancellor Angela] Merkel or [French President Nicolas] Sarkozy took over their offices, the ambience changed dramatically. Despite their attitudes, we were determined to continue this path toward E.U. membership. But unfortunately the trust among my people in E.U. membership started to shake and turn. We're still determined, because no leader in the E.U. will be there forever. They'll be replaced one day. We might be replaced one day. But Turkey is getting stronger as time goes by, and the situation of many European states is quite obvious.

Ishaan Tharoor is a writer-reporter for TIME and editor of Global Spin.

Tonight..

2011-09-27T01:50:00.003+05:00

Is (Insha Allah multiplied by thousand) my last night in the hospital. I hadn't imagined that this day would come so soon - it looked endless back on Wednesday :).. But Alhamdulillah, the glad day (of departure from this place) is tomorrow. We are going back home... where there is no big screen LCD TV, no AC (continuous), loadshedding (4 times a day), bedroom fridge, dinner/lunch/breakfast trays, no room service.. ETC.

And we can't be happier about it :)

This happiness stems from a general relief that everything is a-okay and a profound gratefulness to the Creator and Sustainer, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala... for so many things, but particularly:

1. The surgery went well
2. There were no anaesthesia complications
3. The patient woke up and still saw herself on the planet, when she opened her eyes [:D]..
4. The attendant was lousy, but still managed to make the patient satisfied (almost)
5. The doctors pronounced the post-op situation to be a-okay and will get the patient dc [discharged] from hospital tomorrow.
6. That the patient is now getting up, walking about, on her own :)

And so many other things, Alhamdulillah.

With the relief, comes a heavy burden though... a burden whose roots lies in the shortcomings in a human, that emerge during the toughest times. Shortcomings like shortness of temper, lousy mood, crankiness, emotional upheavals, tears and tantrums, fuzool kee arguments and what not. Today me and the patient were literally yowling at each other. May Allah Forgive me :(:(

The whole point is, that the guilt weighs heavy on the heart, but there is no end to the extent of kindness and patience shown by people (especially family and close friends) to the attendant especially. There has been abundant idiocies during this week, quite a few arguments, and not to mention a lot of panic attacks on my part :(.. Why, you may ask?

1. Thesis submission deadline is in a month or so IA - have partially written the first chapter
2. One module (whole and the most tough) hasn't been implemented yet, not much reading done either about it... no idea what's going to happen.
3. One previous module which was working, suddenly has stopped working and I still haven't figured out why and how!
4. The whole past week was spent doing nothing, but sitting around, worrying, and having negative thoughts. Whenever I sat to work, nothing much happened.

Problem: My heart isn't in my work - and my brain keeps screaming at it to shut it and just WORK...

Wish it were this easy.
The negative spiral I found myself in the past few days, just blew out of control, despite my fierce attempts to contain it - sanity vs urge to burst out ... the problem with bursting out is that you announce to the world that you're stupid (pehlay, only you know it), and secondly - you hurt people, something you never intended to do.

So long folks.

Image source

Title? Can't Think Of One

2011-09-25T01:59:00.001+05:00

Assalamualaikum !

Convo of the day:

Me: *sigh*, I feel like I've done nothing. Sitting around in the room - food being sent to me and all... what a life. *sigh again*
She: *quietly*.. you feel that you've done nothing?
Me: Course.
She: You're wrong. You have done a LOT. Done this this, that that..etc
Me: So??
She: SO??
Me: Yeah! So? Remember when I was an infant?
She: *stared in amazement*...
Me: And when electricity went out at night? (with no UPS), didn't you fan me.. for loooong times??
She: *no answer*
Me: So I've done nothing..

:D:D --end of convo

So these days I have no idea of dates, times and days of the week. Everything is one big cycle - with mini-cycles within it. I try not to glance at the clock to much as well. Although have to keep track of Flagyl and Falgan's timings!

With 3 hours of sleep in the past 24 hours (again!), life seems hazy.. and I feel like one big tablet of..

Image source

You know, I seriously think I should have gone in nursing.. :S.. *wistfully*. I would have LOVED to 'do rounds', interact with so many different patients, cheer them up in their dormicum-induced-and-flagyl-induced gloom, and well, it would just have been plain fun (and work!).

Too late .. :(

Hotel Rooms vs Hospital Rooms

2011-09-23T03:01:00.000+05:00

The kind of day today was, the only thing my beyond exhausted brain can come up with at the moment is a comparison b/w hotel rooms and hospital rooms.

Yeah, the exhausted brain can sleep no? Sigh. I wish. Yeah so hospital rooms vs hotel ones.

Similarities :

1. Nice views. The room I was in yesternight had the most amazing view of .. er, clouds. I could lie in bed and stare up for ages. And er, if I looked down, it was kutchi abaadis.. :(. Made me feel worse about being in a hotel-room-like-hospital-room.

2. Attached baths with soaps and towels provided by ... hotels/hospitals.

3. Flat screen TVs in the rooms.

4. ACs, cool furniture..

5. Room service!

6. There is an arrow showing qiblah direction.. :)

Differences now

1. Hotel: People knock before entering, and wait after a knock!
Hospital: People enter without knocking, and if the door is locked, they knock louder.

2. Hotel: people enter and they usually serve you something
Hospital: People enter usually to prick you with yet another needle, change the drip, or take BP

3. Hotel: If some guest comes to visit to your room, they sit and talk and laugh
Hospital: Visitors come, and talk in hushed tones, all the time glancing at the knocked-out-with-heavy-drugs person on the bed with anxiety...You automatically whisper.

4. Hotel: The bed never has steps to climb up on it...the bed also never has a lever thing which can be turned to shift the bed up/down...

5. Hotel room: You normally wouldn't feel like crying in one.

6. Hotel Room: You normally wouldn't be missing the person lying not 5 feet away from you...[er, maybe in the movies]

I think I'm done. I slept for only 2 hours last night. And took a 30-min snooze in the afternoon today. No sleep... Got to sleep..

**speaking nonsense now**...

**gets away fast**...

Dua'as needed!

Of Hospitals And Stuff :(

2011-09-21T21:27:00.002+05:00

Assalamualaikum

I always thought I was a brave-hearted woman of the world.

Ha.

I am sitting on an attendant's bed right now, with the patient's bed right in front of me. We happen to be in a private room, and supposedly with all the amenities of life.

Isn't sukoon-e-qalb an amenity of life?

Apparently, an attached bath, a TV, fridge, toothbrush and toothpaste and water bottle count towards the amenities of life. Sigh.

I'm heck scared. And there is no respite till at least a week from now on. Both my parents are doctors. Both my phuppos are doctors. When we sit around the dining table, conversation easily fluctuates between the dirty game of politics and the (even dirtier) mention of 'cases' and their 'complications' .. not to mention how to 'resolve them' techniques.

I'm well familiar with words such as cannula, IV lines, anaesthesia, GA, local, etc etc. Doesn't mean I'm all comfortable when its being discussed over somebody who is so dear to me.

**sick with worry**

Please all - say Ameen to:

Let the patient get well sooner than ever, let there be no side-effects of any medicine, let the anaesthesia portion go well and smooth, and let the recovery process be steady and without any major hitches.

Ameeeeeeeeeeeeeen.

Image source

A Deed So Special, Yet So Easy!

2011-09-20T19:25:00.003+05:00

Would you like to know of a deed.....

that will take you away from Hellfire a distance of seventy years? And every single time you do it, it takes you away another seventy years!

.....A deed that will act as a shield for you from Hell Fire and be an intercessor for you on the Day of Resurrection?!

.....A deed that is so beloved to Allaah that He said: "It is for Me and I will reward him for it (beyond measure).” (Bukhari – Hadith Qudsi)

Subhaan Allaah! What a wonderful deed that would surely be!

That deed, dear brother/sister is....fasting.

Our beloved Prophet (sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said: “No servant fasts a day for the sake of Allah except that Allah removes the hellfire seventy years away from his face.” (Muslim)

And he (sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) also said: “The fast and the Qur'aan are two intercessors for the servant of Allah on the Day of Resurrection. The fast will say: ‘O Lord, I prevented him from his food and desires during the day. Let me intercede for him.’ The Qur'aan will say: ‘I prevented him from sleeping at night. Let me intercede for him.’ And their intercession will be accepted.” (Ahmad-saheeh)

But, mind you, I am not talking about fasting in the month of Ramadhaan. Obviously that fasting is fard on us and we really don't have much choice in that matter.

What I am talking about is the 'nafl' fast....the fast that is purely voluntary....... not because you have to fast. But because you want to fast......because you love to fast....for the sake of Allaah...just to please Him.

And if you do that, sincerely, for His sake, this nafl fasting will bring you closer to Allaah and earn his Great Pleasure and Love. It will also be a means to purify your soul and strive against your desires, while earning immense reward from Allaah, Subhaanahu wa Ta'ala.

Allaah says: “My slave does not draw near to Me with anything more beloved to Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him, and My slave continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I will love him, When I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, he seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it.” (al-Bukhaari-Hadeeth Qudsi).

Subhaan Allaah! Imagine....Allaah loving you.....yes, you! What more could a person ask for?!!!

That's for the Dunya. And what about the Aakhirah? This fasting will take you to Jannah, the Ultimate Goal, the Supreme Success.

Abu Umamah said: “I came to the Messenger of Allah (sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) and said: ‘Order me to do a deed that will allow me to enter Paradise.’ He said: ‘Stick to fasting, as there is no equivalent to it.‘ Then I came to him again and he said: ‘Stick to fasting.”‘ (an-Nasa’ee--saheeh)

The Prophet (sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) used to love to fast, especially on Mondays and Thursdays. When asked why he does that, he (sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said:

“Those are two days on which people’s deeds are shown to the Lord of the Worlds, and I want my deeds to be shown to Him when I am fasting.” (al-Nasaa’i, Ibn Maajah, Ahmad-- saheeh by al-Albaani)

Wouldn't you like your deeds to be shown to Allaah while you are fasting?

And if you find it difficult to fast every Monday and Thursday, then try and fast at least three days out of every month. It is recommended to fast on the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth (Ayyam al-Beed) of every Lunar month. However, if it is difficult, then fast any three days in the entire month. And that means any three days out of thirty. Now that's not too hard....is it?!!

The Prophet (sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said: “Fasting three days of each month is fasting for a lifetime, and ayaam al-beed are the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth.” (al-Nasaa’i-- saheeh by al-Albaani)

Someone asked Aaisha (RA) :"Did the Messenger of Allaah (sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) fast three days of every month?” She said, “Yes.” They asked: “Which days of the month did he fast?” She said, “He did not mind which days of the month he would fast.” (Muslim)

And if you think about it, it's really not that hard at all. With a little patience and the hope of earning reward, one can easily get used to fasting. Alhamdulillaah we fasted a whole month in Ramadhaan. And we proved to ourselves during this month, that we can do everything, from going to work, to working in the kitchen, studying, driving, thinking, cooking, cleaning, in fact, doing all our duties and chores extremely effectively even while fasting. And if we can do all that while fasting for an entire month, what's a couple of days in a week or three days in a month?

Amir ibn Abdullah was once asked, "How can you tolerate being awake all night, and thirsty in the intense heat of the day?" He replied, "Is it anything more than postponing the food of the day to nighttime, and the sleep of the night to daytime? This is not a big matter."

Al-Fudayl ibn ‘Ayaad said: “If you cannot pray qiyaam al-layl, or fast during the day, know that you are indeed deprived and restricted, chained by your sins.”

It is also Sunnah to fast the day of ‘Aashoora’ (tenth of Muharram), the day of ‘Arafaah, (ninth of Dhu’l-Hijjah), the six days of Shawwaal, most of the months of Muharram and Sha'baan, along with general voluntary fasting.

So do as the Prophet (sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) advised us and make the most of your time, young age and good health before it is gone:

“Make the most of five things before five (other things happen): your life before you die, your good health before you become sick; your free time before you become busy; your youth before you grow old; and your wealth before you become poor.” (saheeh by al-Albaani)

“And march forth in the way (which leads to) forgiveness from your Lord, and for Paradise as wide as the heavens and the earth, prepared for Al-Muttaqoon (the pious)” [Aal ‘Imraan 3:133]

Wassalam,
Al Huda Institute, Canada

_________________________________________________________________

For More Info: www.alhudainstitute.ca, www.alhudapk.com, www.farhathashmi.com

Islam can exist with democracy, says Erdogan

2011-09-16T10:29:00.001+05:00

TUNIS: Tunisia’s new political order will show that Islam and democracy can co-exist just as they have in Turkey, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday.

Erdogan, in Tunis on the second stop of a North African tour aimed at asserting Ankara’s growing regional influence, said secularism should guarantee that people of all beliefs, as well as atheists, were treated fairly.

He said there was nothing to stop a Muslim from governing a secular state.

Tunisia plans to hold elections on Oct 23 to select an assembly to rewrite the constitution, nine months after the revolt that swept away President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and sparked uprisings around the Arab world.

Islamist party Ennahda, banned for two decades under Ben Ali, is expected to poll strongly, unnerving Tunisian secularists. Erdogan said the country should have nothing to fear from the influence of Islam in politics.

“The most important thing of all, and Tunisia will prove this, (is that) Islam and democracy can exist side by side,” he told a joint news conference with counterpart Beji Caid Sebsi.

“Turkey, as a country which is 99 per cent Muslim, does this comfortably, we do not have any difficulty. There is no need to hinder this by putting forward different approaches. In the broadest sense, consultation will put forward the will of the people,” he said.

More than 90 political parties have sprung up in Tunisia since Ben Ali’s fall. Ennahda is seen with around 20 percent in the polls.

“Tunisia and Turkey confirm that there is no contradiction between Islam and democracy,” Sebsi, a secularist, said.

AL QAEDA THREAT: Erdogan has been holding up Turkey’s blend of Islam and democracy as a model for the movements which have toppled entrenched Arab autocrats in Tunis, Cairo and Tripoli.

“On the subject of secularism, this is not a secularism in the Anglo-Saxon or western sense. A person is not secular, the state is secular,” Erdogan said.

“A Muslim can govern a secular state in a successful way.”

Sebsi said they had discussed the relation between religion and the state as well as ways to fight security threats in a turbulent region — with a reference to Al Qaeda.

Tunisian officials have warned that Al Qaeda could be exploiting the Libyan conflict to acquire weapons and smuggle them into other countries. Tunisia arrested several men with suspected links to the group’s North African branch near the border earlier this year. After Erdogan received a rapturous welcome in Cairo this week, hundreds of Tunisians turned out to greet the Turkish premier at Tunis airport late on Wednesday, clutching portraits of him and hoisting banners reading “Welcome Erdogan!”

Ennahda leader Rachid Ghannouchi joined the crowds, praising Erdogan as someone who had “worked hard for Islam”.

Ennahda, a moderate Islamist movement which has close ties with Erdogan’s AK Party, has said Turkey’s political model is something it aspires to—Reuters

Source: Daily Dawn
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Several questions arose in my exhausted brain after reading this. I've got the worst toddler-hangover (if there is such a thing) in the history of hangovers! And it didn't help when I read this piece too, take a look:

Arabs to avoid targeting Israel at UN atom meeting
VIENNA: Arab states will refrain from targeting Israel over its assumed nuclear arsenal at a global meeting of UN atomic agency member countries next week, diplomats said on Thursday, an unexpected gesture of restraint sure to be welcomed by the West. [Source: Daily Dawn]

Unexpected gesture of restraint?? More like predictably disgusting gesture of spinelessness!I feel like punching something. Bad.

Anyway, this Islam with democracy question. It's been on my mind a lot, and reading this only cropped further questions in my mind. There are quite a few people now who say that Erdogan's version of political Islam doesn't really simulate the political Islam which had been introduced in Medina, and brought forward till the Ottomans. The political system that PM Erdogan has implemented in Turkey is a western system, only that he's trying to make it wear Islam's clothing.

Having said that, there is a vast majority of people who think that Erdogan has brought a revolutionary change in Turkey, because this was the center of the destruction of the Ottoman Empire, and converted into a completely secular state. Once the Ottoman Empire was lost, nothing could be done to bring back Turkey to practice Islam for its citizens. Except what Erdogan has done now. Based on the foundation laid by Arbakan.

[Did anybody know Arbakan was an engineer ? *grin*]

Khair. The question is: Which of the two points of view are true? If Turkey was afraid of even calling people to salah (giving adhan), at one time, is it not a big change what Turkey is, right now? If Ataturk had followed a completely secular model, then is it not a change that the Turkish rulers are the only ones now, openly challenging Israel?

On the other hand, what in the world does Erdogan mean when he says, 'A person is not secular, the state is secular'.

?

My quest for answers continues :(.

So long folks.

Image source

Memories :)

2011-09-13T23:22:00.000+05:00

It's a well known fact that sights, sounds, smells, anything really (even a whiff of a certain perfume) has the ability to trigger one's neurons and retrieve a portion of memory that you may have thought you remembered.

But the human brain (and heart!) are both amazing things. Layers upon layers of complexities, we are only just beginning to grasp now. Here are some nasheeds which bring a smile on the face, a lil jig of the heart, a lil sniff of nostalgia, a certain train of thought, a handful of close friends' gatherings, some lunches, a trip which can never be forgotten, unforgettable car rides, including GoKart, sea view and hawksbay, sand and its muddiness, gravel and its hardness, and sights and sounds associated closely with all of them, and more.

Uff, I'm in love with the video.. :$. And by the way: here is a note from Zain Bhika Studio which I'm thinking is useful to post here :P..Just to re-confirm once again, "First We Need The Love" contains no musical instruments, not even drums. All sounds that you hear are generated using voice and vocal beats, all done live in studio. The song has over 100 tracks of vocals combined to give it this unique sound. We really hope this clears things up. Sincerely, Zain Bhikha Studios

This last one is the one whose lyrics I am posting below. I think this is what we women should aim for, should keep as the yardstick - it's one HUGE yardstick, but maybe we can be a fraction of this .. in the future, Insha Allah. Contemplate :) - the first time I heard it, my eyes couldn't remain dry.

Lyrics:

He stepped inside his home, and He was overwhelmed with fear
An angel came with words from God, things were still unclear
Saying read - read, but he could not read,
Amazing words he heard
A trembling deep inside his heart, confused by what had occurred

And there was only one who could comfort him
And help him see the light
To ease his fears, to reassureIt was Khadijah, his wife...
He said Zamilooni, Zamilooni, Dathirooni, Dathirooni,
A mighty task has come before me...I need you here with me...by my side...

She was a woman of nobility, successful in all her trade
Many wealthy men had asked for her, she had turned them all away
But when she saw Muhammad, a shining moon, may peace be on his soul
He was a light for her -- so right for her -- her life will now be whole

But she had never seen him so distressed, as he was there that day
She would comfort him, and hold him tight, and chase his doubts away
He said Zamilooni, Zamilooni,Dathirooni, Dathirooni,A mighty task has come before me...I need you here with me...by my side...

We look for stories of love,in places dark and cold
When we have a guiding light,for the whole world to behold
But were so selfish in our ways,and to the ones we hold so close
Our own pleasure and happinessis what we value most

But she sacrificed all her wealthand everything she had
and he honoured her and gave her faith,when the times were bad, when times were bad

Now years have passed, times had changed, since Khadijah breathed her last.
and the message of the one true Godwas spreading far and vast
But then he came across some jewellery,that Khadijah once had worn
His eyes began to swell with tears, his heart again began to mourn
Cause she was there for him, when times were rough, and his enemies were cruel
Was the first Believer, so keen and eager, to comfort Al-Rasool
when He said: Zamilooni, ZamilooniDathirooni, DathirooniA mighty task has come before me...I need you here with me...by my side...

Brought to you by Halal Dawa Records-provisions for the seekers. [Trying to fulfill your halal nasheed, lecture and childrens education needs]

Silliness in the Rain

2011-09-13T08:56:00.000+05:00

A poem i wrote last night...when the rain was lashing down in fury, lightening kept on illuminating my dark room, and I unsuccessfully tried to sleep :S

As the skies cry with me

Torrential tears

No storm no wind can ease

My inherent fears

The rain lashes my conscience

Hard and painfully

The lightening flashes and i try

Not to see, too deeply

Thunder booms, a crashing sound

Did something break?

Was it something mend-able, or

Was it just fake?

We brave the storm but hard it is

To brave the internal one

The heart cries, its tears unknown

Nowhere, is the sun

The city is drowning, sindh is in trouble

Is anybody listening

Or they're too busy singing songs and speeches

Thunderous slander, booming

Let them sing their merry songs, let them dance away

As we drown in our miserable mess, let them turn away

And when election comes, put your soul-less thumb

And vote for them anyway

The poem turned political, the rain just stopped

Is it finally over?

The swishing sound of drain-water continues

The rainy, tearful remnants still hover..

Disappointment of the Day...

2011-09-12T22:14:00.000+05:00

Assalamualaikum

I feel like writing in points. No, I shouldn't... **tells herself firmly**

Somehow, I'm disconnected from writing. Although I shouldn't be. I should be so INTO writing that I somehow should complete writing my thesis in about..

TWO MONTHS FROM NOW.

Image source

Thesis. A whole BOOK. What have I been doing up till now ?

Not to mention, in the meeting today, the supervisor (henceforth called SS), asked me to hunt around for conferences. Now, why would I have been disappointed at that. I should jump at any conference opportunity. The convo went like this:

SS: You interested in conferences?
Me: Yes!
SS: International ones!?
Me: Of course, why not? But er, if they accept..
SS: You can go out of the country?
Me: *surprised*, why not, Sir?
SS: Because the university has no funding for MS students. Only for the faculty, and the PhD students.
Me:....

Image source

SS: **after a prolonged silence, in which he kind of understood that I'm not able to dole out 1-1.5lakh rupees for a conference on my own** ... But you can go to a local one
Me: Any would do, really. When one is at coordinate (0,0), even (0.01, 0.01) is a start. [thought that last bit to myself, didn't say it]
SS: Well, here is one. Here you can get published. [and he showed me the conference page of a local one]
Me: Oh, will I get published here?
SS: 90% chances, that you will.
Me: *skeptically*, really? But.. how can you be so sure?
SS: Well, you see, conferences are a business - right?
Me: Err, yeah?
SS: Of course! You accept as many papers as possible, hold a conference, get your cost of hosting covered by the registered presenters! After all, you have to invite the keynote speakers, give them air travel, accommodations, give everybody gifts... how would you cover all this cost?
Me: *silent*.. Okay.
SS: So basically, reviewers who know each other, won't really refuse the paper. It's a business and friendship thing. Works everywhere.
Me: Sure.

So much for 'original research, contributing to the field and to science, and to human-kind' ..

I'm so disappointed today. It's like, academics is staring back at me with a smirk and saying, 'Aur ghusso iss tableau mein.. samjh nahi aya ab tak that it's all a game?'

Image source

A Message To The ''Facebook Sheikhs''

2011-09-11T22:08:00.002+05:00

Problems in the Brain

2011-09-09T03:32:00.001+05:00

Assalamualaikum

Warning: Insensibility Alert. Ramble Alert.

The day dawned cloudy. Clouds generally rock. Today, they were just depressing. Yesterday and today morning were dedicated to chotu. Since he has now taken to just hitting anything within sight, my mood wasn't better by today morning. In fact, I had been so sick of all the punching, kicking, pinching, knee-first-jump-on-tummy... that it was a lot difficult to control my temper. Er, I know you can't blame the kid.. but at least you can get angry and feel miserable.

That's what I did.

Bad move.

The morning started at 8.15. Hoping against hope that Bhanju wouldn't wake up, I crept to the laptop. This 8-10am time slot is one which I look forward to - the entire day. Who wants to miss such a great time? Five minutes after I sat down, the kid woke up... and I heard, 'aalaaa?' ... Oh man, oh man. I looked around in despair and there he was, in his T-shirt and diapers.. [what a night suit :P] and he jumped down fast from the bed.. hurried towards me, held out his arms and said 'po-po? booo' .. [chotpo plays with him with balloons actually]...

Sighing audibly, I picked him up and resumed my work.. Hardly a second later, I had let out a cry of surprise. The whole backside of the shirt was WET!! Yuckieeeee.. :P

Got up .. glared at the blissfully asleep Mommy, and tried to wake her up. She informed me that I can easily change a diaper, gave me instructions to take out some clothes and change the amused toddler. Sighing again, i set to work. After that, sat down in front of the laptop again. Hardly a few minutes later, the kid was running around, creating a general mayhem, and then opened the door (yeah he can manage that..:(..), and calmly ran out.

Got up AGAIN, and ran after him. Looked hopefully at his nani, whether she would see to him, glared at the sleeping mommy again and found out that the nani was nearly dozing off! :(:(.. So there was no hope. Only too soon, Dad woke up and asked for breakfast.. and took the kid for a while. But I had gotten up to make breakfast. Chotu had set up a chant of 'andaa' .. 'andaaa'... so I made 'andaaa' (egg)..

And he never ate it!! :@

**my typing is a lil more desperate right now**

Cursing everything under the sun, I sat back down .. and tried to continue working. Ha!! Dad was so overwhelmed after trying to feed the kiddo, that he called me to take him, while he eats. Sighing again, I took him and tried to amuse him. Then, a lil while later, Dad finished breakfast and sis the priss finally woke up.. Took him for breakfast. It turned out that he didn't eat the 'andaa' cuz the 'andaa' had been fried wrong.. :(. He eats half-fry, the lil nawaab.

Then asked sis the priss for a favor, which wasn't granted. Fuming, I went back to the laptop and tried to calm myself down. Failed.

Later, I just got up and stormed off. No use trying to please everybody. It doesn't work.

We had a cool breakfast of halwa puuri (sis the priss made halwa and I made puris), and then we sat down, and tried to calm ourselves down, but it was hard. Cuz chotu potu was in the high chair .. uff.. making a MESS out of the puuris or bread which was given to him. I don't know, are all kids like this? Sis the priss says all toddler boys are like that.

*wearily*. It was a hard hard morning.

Then, had to cook in a huge hurry, since one of my friends (who lives in the UK), leaves tomorrow morning .. and we had planned a get together, so it had to be done in a hurry today only....so scowling throughout the cooking session, I was feeling like ditching the get together ! :@ [who wants to be social when one feels like a moronic turnip] ..but then realized that F leaves tomm.. so I wont be seeing her for a long time!

We went to a mall and had all five of us had a wonderful time. Ate chinese.. and had juices.. :) and then went into the gaming section. Had a superb time there. Forgot completely about my lousy morning and mood... I can shoot pretty okay, you know! SA was awesome in shooting :D. MA.

Then went on to air hockey (? is that the name of that game?).. I was playing it for the first time, and man, did we have fun or WHAT .. :D. My team won by a larrgee margin the first time .. [:P to SA].. and then, er, second time, I was moronic.. ;). Lost by a small margin.. [another :P to SA]..

:P

Sigh. It was a great amazing evening.

Came back.. fell asleep :(. Woke up. Have a nasty headache right now... And i know sleep wouldn't come easy. Problems in the brain have the tendency to land you into the fuzoolest of spirals, and once you get into the spiral, the only way forward is DOWN. I myself am in a spiral - wondering when will I hit rock bottom, and then probably, the way forward will become UP.

Or most hopefully: OUT and back to normality. If I even remember what normality is.. :S... [Was it a Gaussian thingie? .. *surely crazy right now*]

Burdened hearts aren't easy to deal with. You can pray and hope things become better, but problems in the brain prevent solutions to be implemented to heal the burdened heart.. and matters usually become worse.

May Allah Help us all. Ameen.

Image source

Romance in Islam - Lecture Invite!

2011-09-09T01:51:00.000+05:00

Married? Make your relationship even better!Still single? Learn how to make your future relationship outstanding!

Speaker:

Sheikh Abdul Raheem Green (Live from UK)

Lectureshop facilitators:

Kamran Kiyani - Professional Trainer and Facilitator at PAC GEM International

Kashif Naseem - Dae'ee and Co trainer

Date: September 25th, Sunday

Timings: 12:00-5:30pm

Venue: Crystal Ballroom, Marriot Hotel, Karachi

For Registrations:

www.livedeen.com

info@livedeen.com

Nouman Idrees Sheikh 03008637735

Kashif Naseem 03212536990

Tickets Rs2,000 per person (including lunch)

SPECIAL OFFER: Buy 4 tickets and get 50% discount on the fifth one!

Rain in Karachi

2011-09-07T01:50:00.001+05:00

Assalamualaikum

At last. It happened. The rivers of sweat and more sweat finally paved way for er, rivers of rain-water. :$. For all those who live in rainy or 1st world regions, please stop smirking. This is kind of embarrassing. We Karachites love rain, yet, not 5 minutes pass, that we start cursing it :S

The same happened today. For the past few days, we had been scorching in the intense beyond intense heat. It became normal to be sweaty all the time. It became normal to breath in 'hot air'.. It was terrible. And this is coming from a non-working person who was mostly in the home. *huge sigh*.

So anyway :). The rain was awesome today. We went out to pick up a few gifts and it was drizzling. I hurriedly picked up an umbrella (aeween mai) when I went out. The cool bit is that the rain kept on increasing, much to my glee and much to mum's worry :P. The spattering sound on the car's roof is one of the best sounds in the world. When we were moving towards the shopping center (which is like 30 mins drive from our place), the clouds were BLACK - literally. And very ominous.

The excitement growing, I sat back to enjoy the ride :). When we finally reached the shopping place, we missed the shop and began a looong wayyy to the 'cut' to double back and come to the right place. As mum complained later, we could have simply stopped the car, gotten out and crossed the road.. at least we wouldn't have been caught in this....

:D

Or this...

We haven't had much experience in dealing with this kind of rain pouring on our heads. As I stepped out of the car with mum, the downpour felt like somebody has emptied (and is keeping on emptying) a bucket of cold water straight on our heads. Trying to shield Mum more with the umbrella (have you noticed that the first instinct is to protect one's own self with an umbrella in a downpour? :$), I splashed over to the footpath. Mum hurried along, scolding all the way :D:D..

Sorry, but it was hilarious. Everybody watched us with amusement, because everyyybody (nearly) had gotten in a shade and were 'watching the downpour, with eyes glazed over' [please don't smirk you rainy region dwellers].

Finally, we reached the shop, and left wet patches on their clean floor :D.. Lol. We looked like soaked hens. Then, me hurried to the english books section, and mum hurried along, trying to find good urdu ones.

I got some for myself too :$. But hey, its a good bargain... and **suddenly makes a resolve**.. will Insha Allah post interesting bits from those books as I read along.. IA!

Anyway, our purchases made, we stepped out, relieved that now the downpour had converted into a steady trickle (like when the shower is slowly running) .. and walked to the car. Uffff.. I couldn't believe the scene which greeted my eyes. The road, which had been decently wet...had turned into a river!!

Mum said 'What's so surprising about that? This is Karachi!' ... :(:(

Khair, we left that place slowly... but shukkar Allah ka we didn't get stuck in jam.. any jam in fact. Probably because it was still early (around 4.30ish, 5ish time).. There have been people today who have gotten stuck BIG TIME in the traffic jams - and returned home in 4-5 hours :(.

Then went to pick up Chotpo.. :). **suddenly exhausted of writing**.. I dunno why I've turned into a 'writing-chore' now... why has writing become such a chore.. :$.

So long!

Take care all!

Finally, just to make you smile.. :) .. the following picture was forwarded by Dad.. as a reminder that bhanju wanju was once upon a time, THIS SMALL!!!!

Everybody say Masha Allah Masha Allah Masha Allah :D ... *nehaal 'aalaa'*

Conquering the Nafs: Making Habits

2011-08-25T23:55:00.000+05:00

Posted on MuslimMatters.org
By Hira Amin

Memorising Qurʾān, tahajjud, praying fajr, extra dhikr and nafl prayer all sound like familiar goals which race through our minds during īmān-boosting lectures, courses and blessed times such as Ramaḍān, Dhul-Ḥijjah and the like. We can feel the zeal and the passion oozing and the buzz of “this is it”. This is the day I will finally move forward and regularly memorise a portion of the Qurʾān a day. This is the day I will consistently wake up and pray fajr. This is the day I will consistently add dhikr after each prayer and in the morning and evening. This is IT!

Yet, as the sun sets so does our enthusiasm and as the time approaches to do the deed, excuses to postpone begin to emerge. I’ll start from tomorrow. I did not have a good night’s rest, tomorrow I will sleep extra early and then be fresh. I haven’t got the right book or I don’t want to get out of bed and wake the rest of the family! The time passes and frustration settles in.

The cycle continues and sometimes we get a few wins; some days we do the extra good deed but then revert back to our “normal cycle”. We have the passion, the zeal, the desire; we experience the spiritual high yet we cannot continuously follow through. What is the missing ingredient? What is the missing piece of the puzzle?

Here are some answers from the Qurʾān and hadith-

“The (human) soul is certainly prone to evil” [12: 53]

“The love of desires and pleasures (sexuality, offspring and money) have been beautified in human’s eyes”[3:14]

And “And indeed We have created man, and We know what his ownself whispers to him. And We are nearer to him than his jugular vein (by Our Knowledge).” [50:16]

The Prophet (s) said: “There is none among you in whom there is not a devil” They said: “Even in you, O Messenger of Allah?!” He said: “Even in me, but God helped me to overcome him and he has submitted to me, so he doesn’t order anything except good” [Muslim]

Our nafs is not inclined to do acts of worship but rather it is up to us to master our nafs, take charge and force it to submit. Passion and enthusiasm alone will not get results. We must go through a process of pain and sacrifice. We must swallow the bitter pill, get out of bed in the cold winter mornings or the lazy hot summer days, force ourselves to open the Qurʾān and read, force ourselves to remain on the prayer mat and make dua until the soul submits and it becomes a habit. And when our souls submit, we then begin to reap the rewards in this life and we taste the sweetness of ibādah (worship). We feel the serenity in our hearts.

Ibn Taymiyyah said: “There are two paradises; one in this earth and one in the next- whoever does not taste it in the life, wont taste it in the next”

Here Ibn Taymiyyah is speaking about the sweetness of ibādah: the closeness of being with your Rabb and the yearning to be even closer to Him. Once we achieve this, then the act becomes normal just like wearing ḥijāb or keeping the beard. After some time it then becomes a necessity like food and drink.
But this process must start with swallowing that bitter pill until you get accustomed to the taste. This is why Ṣabr (patience) is of three types:

The first being patience with performing good deeds. Performing good deeds requires patience, as it is a struggle against your nafs.
The second being patience is abstaining from prohibitions as the nafs is inclined towards them.
The third kind is being patience with the qadr of Allah. Establishing good acts and abstaining from sins requires patience, perseverance and struggle; desire is not enough.

Sufyan al-Thawri said: “I never dealt with anything stronger against me than my own nafs; it was one time with me, and one time against me”

Yahya ibn Mu`adh al-Razi said: “Fight against your ego with the four swords of training: eat little, sleep little, speak little, and be patient when people harm you… Then the ego will walk the paths of obedience, like a fleeing horseman in the field of battle.”

Our mindset needs to change from “This is it, I am going to dramatically become super-muslim” to “I will struggle and strive and do whatever it takes to make this a habit”. We must accept the fact that it will be difficult and all great successes come from hard work and sweat over time. Expecting dramatic results overnight is similar to the student who starts studying 24 hrs before their exam and expects top marks or the person who stops eating for a few days and expects inches to disappear off their waist.

In order to overcome your nafs you must FORCE YOUR SELF and go through a process of pain and sacrifice in the beginning. Once the routine is established then practice Ṣabr to remain steadfast.

So this Ramaḍān take advantage of the fact that the shayāṭīn are chained and it is easier on your nafs to do good deeds by taking the first step and start developing long-term habits. As the famous saying goes, “Bad habits are easy to develop but hard to live with. Good habits are hard to develop but easy to live with.”

“Those who preferred the life of this world their home will be the Hell-fire. But as for those who feared to stand before their Lord and restrained their souls from lower desires, their home will be the garden.” (79:40-41).

Boht Aa'ala

2011-08-25T01:55:00.003+05:00

Assalamualaikum

The situation in Karachi is only slightly better. The politicians have talked their mouths off, somewhere a supreme court has taken 'notice' of the situation, and people have been analyzing to the bone... issues which do not need so much analyzing.

You only circumvent something a lot, when you don't want to cut a direct path and deal with it squarely.

Like this post. :P

It's not really about politics. Why depress myself (and the readers) further. This post is designed to cheer me (and any sad soul out there) UP. It's a follow-up to the Khala-hood Chronicles which I have talked about earlier.

By the way, **amazed**... the 'earlier' is actually one year back! August 2010! .. Does time fly or what?!

Khair. So the milestones in my lil bhanju wanju's life over the past one year.

Vocab
In terms of vocab, he has not shown a GREAT progress. It's still in the making. At nearly two years of age, he's not able to say full sentences yet. Uh, grammatically 'Aaalaa, uthoooo!!' ..(Khala, get uppp!) is a full sentence. But you know what I mean.

But otherwise, the words he's been uttering (no not oxford dictionary words, bhanju dictionary words) are just sooo adorable. I can actually list some down!

Anna = milk
Mamma, Didda (calls his Dad this :D), Daaa (calls his Dadi this)
Nana (in love with this one word!)
Nano (calls his nani this - previously, this was 'naa')
Aalaa (That's lil old me. Destined to not receive the 'khe'any time soon :P)
Maa-mou (calls our male cousins this :D)
Po-po (calls chotpo this :D)
Chotuu (calls himself this) :D
Bay-bay (reserved for any child less than 4 years of age whom he spots on the streets, malls, etc)
Unc (short for Uncle of course :D)
Apa (calls our bari phuppo - Apa - this :))

Anda (egg), Danda (stick), An-an (pineapple) :D
Cor-Cor (popcorn)
Aalu (potato) :D .. this is the cutest one!
Mum (water) :)

Dodo (any dumb person) :D:D:D
Dono (both)
Aaaat (hath = hand)
Payy (pair = foot)

Uthooo (get up!)
Hattooo (move!)
Eeez (Allah Hafeeez) :D

Moving on to his ..

Harkatain
In terms of action.. the dude has probably made progress in leaps and bounds...

WITH a lot of leaps and bounds!

And a truckload of falls, scrapes, wounds, stitches, swellings and ... a chipped tooth!!

We watch him in semi-fear, wondering what calamity will befall next. Only today, he stood on the bed's stand and balanced himself precariously. When mum yelled at him to come back down, he shrieked with delighted laughter, and swung himself away (looking and feeling more 'on the edge' and loving our fear). Oh well, his feet ended up in mid-air and down he went. Before we could even draw the next breath, there was a loud crash... both his feet were up and his head had squashed down on the ground. Since it was a slow fall, he wasn't BADLY injured. But the next 15 minutes did involve an ice-cube, and a LOT of wailing and screaming.

Sigh.

If he wants to grab our chairs (on which we're sitting mind you - why else would he want to sit on them himself), he would go and calmly pick a glass bottle (medicine bottle). When we would yell and rush to him, he would hand it calmly back to us. While we would be busy taking a relieved breath and putting it back on the medicine cabinet, the lil dude has already rushed to our chair and sat himself upon it. When we return to the 'taken' kursi, he would grin cheekily and say,

'Hatooo?' (moove?)

:D

The lil muscle man can do perfect treadmilling with me ... (him in front, me at the back... *grinning*..what a pair we look).. and can hang from the handles of treadmills like a gymnast. His laughter knows no bounds when he does a somersault on the bed.. and his running is now faster than our brisk walk :P

Today, I pretended to be 'naraaz'.. I said 'aala naraaz' and executed a perfect sniffle ... :P. What happened next? He gave a loud sniff, scrunching up his face... :D:D:D

We couldn't stop laughing for a full minute... :D:D:D:D

What a lil no-brainer-imitater :D

I guess I can go on for a long time here...Time to put a full stop!

*cheered up to a large extent* :).. kids rock MA.

Take care all. Make good use of the last few nights of Ramadan (and chaand raat too - as it holds great reward if we pray on that night as well).

Allah Hafiz!

Image source

Beyond amazing reminder

2011-08-22T16:49:00.001+05:00

Assalamualaikum

I came across this video lecture some time back, and unfortunately for me, when I see 50 minutes (of video duration), that's the moment when I slump in my seat, and wonder HOW in the world am I going to sit through fifty whole minutes!

Sad, I know. Need to improve, I know.

But this video kept coming back to me [possibly because I really want to improve my salaah and the title of this video suggested that I could make use of this reminder]... so finally, yesterday 21st night [first odd night of Ramadan], I loaded it up and started watching.

I had expected this one to be all about the literary aspect of salaah, of what we say and dua'as etc. It was not.

As I watched further, transfixed, there were several times I felt tears start in my eyes. Have you ever experienced tears in your eyes due to something you read/hear about in Seerah? (The life of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) ? I had never experienced it before. Simply, because I had never thought so much on the seerah! And now, the lecturer was giving an exact description of the PAIN the Prophet went through at the time when his first wife, Hazrat Khadijah RA, passed away and then 3-6 months later, his Uncle Abu Taalib passed away... how he felt at those moments.

And most importantly, what helped him tackle these tragedies, and continue working on his mission from the next morning..

It was salaah. The outlet Allah SWT Provided to his prophet, as a gift at the time of Mairaaj and these 5 times prayers were designed to provide solace to the heart.

Does our salaah provide any solace to our hearts? That's the big huge question we need to ask ourselves, and THEN we might begin to understand, the importance Salaah holds in our lives.

Maybe then we will begin to GIVE it that importance, which it truly deserves.. and not treat it as a ritualistic chore that needs to be done at a specific time ... just cuz we have to.

Do invest 50 minutes of your time and listen for yourself. May Allah Reward Abdul Nasir Jangda for giving us this reminder, in so beautiful a manner. And may Allah Grant us the insight to work on our salaah and Enable the salaah to be a source of serenity, patience, tolerance and peace for us all. Ameen.

Surah Kahaf on Fridays!

2011-08-19T20:06:00.001+05:00

Taken from Islam QA

Q: According to the Sunna, when is the correct time to recite surat Al Kahf on Friday? Should be recited after Fajr and before Jumaa Prayer or anytime on Friday?

A: Praise be to Allaah.

There are saheeh ahaadeeth from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) concerning the virtues of reciting Soorat al-Kahf during the day or night of Jumu’ah (Friday). These include:

(a) From Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri, who said: “Whoever reads Soorat al-Kahf on the night of Jumu’ah, will have a light that will stretch between him and the Ancient House (the Ka’bah).”

(Narrated by al-Daarimi, 3407. This hadeeth was classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami, 6471)

(b) “Whoever reads Soorat al-Kahf on the day of Jumu’ah, will have a light that will shine from him from one Friday to the next.”

(Narrated by al-Haakim, 2/399; al-Bayhaqi, 3/249. Ibn Hajar said in Takhreej al-Adhkaar that this is a hasan hadeeth, and he said, this is the strongest report that has been narrated concerning reading Soorat al-Kahf. See: Fayd al-Qadeer, 6/198. It was classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’, 6470)

(c) It was narrated that Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘Whoever reads Soorat al-Kahf on the day of Jumu’ah, a light will shine for him from beneath his feet to the clouds of the sky, which will shine for him on the Day of Resurrection, and he will be forgiven (his sins) between the two Fridays.’”

Al-Mundhiri said, this was narrated by Abu Bakr ibn Mardawayh in his Tafseer, with an isnaad with which there was nothing wrong. (al-Targheeb wa’l-Tarheeb, 1/298)

The soorah may be read during the night or the day of Jumu’ah. The night of Jumu’ah starts from sunset on Thursday, and the day of Jumu’ah ends at sunset. Therefore the time for reading this soorah extends from sunset on Thursday to sunset on Friday.

Al-Mannaawi said:

Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar said in his Amaali: “In some reports it says ‘the day of Jumu’ah’ and in some reports it says ‘the night of Jumu’ah’. They may be reconciled by saying that what is meant is the day which includes the night and vice versa.” (Fayd al-Qadeer, 6/199). Al-Mannaawi also said:

“It is recommended to read it during the day or night of Jumu’ah, as al-Shaafa'i (may Allaah have mercy on him) stated.” (Fayd al-Qadeer, 6/198)

Fortune Knowing And Islaam

2011-08-19T20:01:00.000+05:00

Aqeedah at Tawheed – Fortune Knowing And Islaam – Part 6

Astrology, horoscopes, superstition and fortune-telling are all actions of jaahiliyyah (ignorance) which Islam came to show as false and to explain that they are shirk, because they involve depending on something other than Allaah and believing that benefit and harm come from something other than Him, and believing the words of fortune-tellers and soothsayers who falsely claim to have knowledge of the unseen in order to cheat people of their beliefs and also their money.

The evidence (daleel) for that is the hadeeth narrated by Abu Dawood in his Sunan with a saheeh isnaad from Ibn 'Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him), that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever learns anything of astrology has learned a branch of witchcraft (al-sihr)"

And al-Bazzaar narrated with a jayyid isnaad from 'Imraan ibn Husayn that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "He is not one of us who practises augury or has it done for him, who tells fortunes or has his fortune told, or who practises witchcraft or has that done for him."

Whoever claims to know some matter of the unseen either is a fortune-teller or is acting like a fortune-teller in some sense, because Allaah is the only One Who has knowledge of the unseen.

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning); 'Say: "None in the heavens and the earth knows the Ghayb (Unseen) except Allaah"' [al-Naml 27:65]

Whatever the case, it is not permissible to go to these people and to ask them or believe them, no matter how righteous they may appear to be, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever goes to a fortune-teller and asks him about something, his prayers will not accepted for forty days." Narrated by Muslim (2230).

And he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever ... goes to a fortune-teller and believes what he says, has disbelieved in that which Allaah revealed to Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)." [Narrated by Ahmad (9779), Abu Dawood (3904), al-Tirmidhi (135) and Ibn Maajah (936); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Ibn Maajah.]

There is no contradiction between the above two hadeeth. What is meant by the hadeeth: "Whoever goes to a soothsayer and believes what he says has disbelieved in that which was revealed to Muhammad" is that the one who asks a soothsayer a question, believing that he tells the truth and that he knows the unseen, has committed an act of kufr, because he has gone against the Qur'aan in which Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): "Say: "None in the heavens and the earth knows the Ghaib (Unseen) except Allaah" [al-Naml 27:65].

As for the second hadeeth, "Whoever goes to a fortune teller and asks him about something his prayers will not be accepted for forty days", which was narrated by Muslim, it does not contain the words "and believes him".

Thus we learn that if a person goes to a fortune teller and asks him anything, his prayer will not be accepted for forty days, and if he believes him, then he has committed an act of kufr.
Thus make these two things very clear

1. The one who goes to any source of fortuneteller for the purpose of knowing ghaib (unseen) be it through horoscope, tarot card, soothsayers, psychic saints, witchcrafts, wiccan practisers, palm readers, geomancers, etc, etc.. and asks him things without believing in what he says. This is haraam, and the punishment of the one who does that is that his prayers are not accepted for forty days, as it is narrated in Saheeh Muslim (2230), that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever goes to a fortuneteller and asks him about something, his prayer will not be accepted for forty days."

2. When a person goes to a fortuneteller and asks him about something and believes what he says. This is disbelief in Allaah (kufr), because he is believing the fortuneteller's claim to have knowledge of the unseen, and believing a human's being claim to have knowledge of the unseen constitutes disbelief in the verse in which Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): "Say: None in the heavens and the earth knows the Ghayb (Unseen) except Allaah" [al-Naml 27:65].

Hence it says in the saheeh hadeeth: "Whoever goes to a fortuneteller and believes what he says has disbelieved in that which was revealed to Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)."

A sincere advice to all brothers and sisters to hasten to repent to Allaah if you thought well of these charlatans at any time or if you joined them in their falsehood, even if that was on the basis that it was a game. Part of making your repentance complete is that you should advise those of your brothers who you know are engaging in this matter of the Islamic ruling on it and the danger it poses to their religious commitment and faith. We ask Allaah to make us and you steadfast in faith and to protect us from the evil of fitnah, both apparent and hidden.

This is taken from the book "Aqeedah at Tawheed" by Shaikh Saaleh Al Fawzaan

Image source

Sugar and Spice, and everything... nice?

2011-08-16T00:41:00.000+05:00

What I have experienced is, that with sugar and spice, things are NOT always nice. However sweet the sugar is, and however spicy the spice is.

That's why moderation is the key to a er, sweet and sour chicken recipe... **trails off lamely**

What silliness am I writing? :-(

Life kinda sucks these days. Today too, even though it was better than most days, the frustrating thing that happened today was that I had a meeting with my supervisor. I had prepared a lot. I had gotten up at 8.15am ! (which for me, is a huge thing these days). Oh well, when I reached there, there was a nasty surprise waiting for me. Locked office!

I asked around and then was informed that there was a faculty meeting going on, which would last till 1.30 pm. So much for the thesis meeting. I texted my supervisor but no reply. I drove back home.

Later, he did message and apologized a lot (a LOT) for forgetting to inform me about the meeting. I guess I shouldn't feel too bad. After all, my supervision isn't that hugely important as other hugely important matters of the university. And his phone was out of charge as well ... so yeah, I guess I should just forgive and forget. Forgive I did.. :).. but the latter part is the harder one.

May Allah Forgive me, Ameen.

I wish I could just figure out, what in heavens is so wrong with my life.

1. I am not dying of hunger in Somalia
2. I am not one of those affected by target killings in Karachi
3. I am not affiliated with any sucky political party
4. I am safe and sound in my home, among my family
5. Who love me and care for me
6. I have friends
7. I have the mind to work on my thesis and this side project I have taken up (hey, i never talked about it before!)
8. I have tooooo many books to read
9. I have got to apply to a university of my choice by December, and I haven't even taken a start in that direction.
10. The document I had been working on for today's meeting with supervisor, was viewed by him over email and the comment was 'This is really good!' ...

I so wish I could figure out what my problem is.

I can pinpoint a few things. Maybe.

1. Maybe it's the 'last-time-ness' of everything... Mum keeps saying 'Uni won't be with us next Ramadan'... Chotpo too..
2. Haven't been attending as many taraweehs as I should in the masjid... even though the masjid won't be seen again (from the inside) by me, after this Ramadan.
3. I look around the house, and everything seems to be waving at me ... goodbye.
4. I can't hold back my tears at point number 3, and I continuously have to pretend to be having the flu.
5. There are other reasons too, besides point number 3 which I don't dare admit, and can't even explain to my own self, let alone others.
6. I'm in a conflict with myself.

Dreams, ambitions, heart, logic, or common sense?

So many choices. So few answers. The more and sugar and spice, the more everything seems messed up.

I can only ask Allah (SWT) for Help. Ameen.

PS: Sorry for the whine when so many are so worse off. I wish I could be more grateful...

Image source

A Little Worse Everyday..

2011-08-14T13:00:00.000+05:00

Assalamualaikum

We may try our best to ignore how far we have fallen, and 'celebrate' today as 'Independence' Day. We can turn the other way and see some positivity in the nation. But the simple fact is, we HAVE fallen, and we HAVE little positivity left.

What with the politicians falling lower than low, releasing a confirmed murderer who slaughtered two Pakistanis and was an indirect cause of killing 2 more, sitting quietly when a judge handed out an 86 year sentence to this nation's (one of the) brightest stars, easily giving 'bayaans' that would spark riots, destruction and loss of lives, taking back the 'bayaans' and giving new ones to do the same, passing an ordinance designed to cause further riots, taking back the ordinance sparking another riot and a strike call just one day before 14th August - which by the way, resulted in 10 people dying... doing all these things JUST so they can stay in power...

And ruin the country more.

Ruin our self-esteem more. Destroy our self-confidence more. Increase our shame even more. Shame us in the world more. As we strive harder and harder to 'do more'. And in return, get drone attacks which so far, have killed around 2,292 people so far in this country (reported here). This figure includes 160 children, by the way. This year alone, according to the Conflict Monitoring Center's latest report, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has killed at least 443 people in Pakistan in 51 drone attacks.We're getting to see more and more of our civilians/children die in this senseless, senseless way. Our leaders sit, silently, enjoying their positions of power, and the perks it can bring...

I find little reason to celebrate today.

Image source

AFT

2011-08-11T23:33:00.002+05:00

Assalamualaikum

I'm somebody classified under a category of over-worried idiots. One of those categories is termed AFT - Anxious Flight Tracker.

This essentially means, that if somebody (a close one to me) is going farrr (aeroplany far) away, I tend to keep an eye on the flight status. And eagle eye. A worried eye. A hugely anxious eye.

Statuses. Airports. International trajectories are watched anxiously by my eager eyes. I sometimes think it's abnormal. But ... :(. I just can't help it!

I remember when my Chotpo was flying to the US, she had a bunch of airports to go through, and I remember being extremely anxious for those torturous 24 hours.

The past 24 hours have been even more of a torture. Think about this one. A PIA flight was supposed to land at a local destination in the country at 4.30 in the morning today. The weather in my city had been all rainy, cloudy.. etc. First ever time when i wished it were HOT and NOT cloudy! :S.

But it was. And the PIA update showed 'In-flight' ...30 minutes after it was supposed to show 'Landed' .. ! My panic knew no bound. Shukkar Alhamdulillah, I got the confirmation from the traveler only, that the plane had safely landed. Phew!

Right now, 1/4th of my brain is busy typing this blogpost. The other 75% is anxiously re-loading this page on my cell phone which shows a trajectory of a lil plane which is ..er, *checks again*.. 63 miles to the airport !!.. Uff, jaldi say guzrain yeh erm.. 10 mins? [In a plane that goes 500 miles an hour, 63 miles should be a matter of minutes, right?]..

In these situations, when a plane lands, my heart kind of lands in its right place. Otherwise, it's somewhere in the pit of the stomach I think!

Stupid habit, but un-help-able sometimes.

Hope your Ramadan is going a leetle less doleful than here. *very glum*. Even the weather is drizzly and all er, sad. [on normal days, I would be jumping up and down in this weather].

So long!

PS: *fervently hopes her Sis the Priss wouldn't read this*.. she already thinks I'm a nutcase to worry this much.

Image source

7976

2011-08-10T01:05:00.001+05:00

Assalamualaikum

My insides are a bunch of raging stormy seas right now. Possibly because of my feverish, bad-throated state. Possibly because of yet another round of verbal boxing match. There have been quite a few now, and I am sincerely teetering close to the line we carefully draw during Ramadan - the line within which we stay soft and polite to people and if somebody else crosses the line, we're supposed to say 'I'm fasting' .. 'I'm fasting'.

I feel dangerously close to that line.

This post is dangerously close to being 'nonsensical'..

And I am dangerously close to tears. Not that this is something new to me. Especially these days.

Did I mention I got a new phone? *smiles for the first time in this post*. My previous one took it's last breath when some waves washed over it. I was sentimentally attached to it waisay. Chotpo had gifted it to me. And now it really had died. Irreversibly died. So I finally got a new one. It's superb :) .. Allah ka shukar. And the best part? My kind lovely neighbors have WiFi :D. You get the rest.

My right hand feels different from the left. I stare at my fingers... they're just five in number. *blinks back tears*

Anyway, the title of this post is the number of miles that's going to be between me and my bff from tomorrow. Lovely, eh?

Life is juuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuust dandy.

Image source