Narrated Abu Huraira:
A Bedouin came to the Prophet and said, "Tell me of such a deed as will make me enter Paradise, if I do it." The Prophet said, "Worship Allah and do not associate any partners with him." ... (to be continued)
Ta'budu Allaha wa laa tushriku bihi shai'aa.
Worship Allah and do not associate partners with him. This was the first thing that the Prophet SAW mentioned as his recipe for Jannah. The first part of this step is, worship Allah, acknowledge Allah as your lord, and the second part is to not associate any partners with him. The Prophet is basically telling us to not commit shirk.
Now all of us know what shirk is. And we feel that we know it so well that it gets to a point where we feel it is elementary for us to talk about shirk, right? 'This is baby stuff, tell me something that I don't know', right? However, we have to be careful, because there is a tradition of the Prophet SAW that is extremely powerful in conveying a certain message, and it goes something like this:
On the Day of Judgement, the first to be brought forward to Allah will be the one who died as a martyr, and Allah will make known to him His favors and the man will recognize, and then Allah will ask , 'What did you do about this?' And the man will reply that he fought for the sake of Allah until he died a martyr, and Allah will say, No, you have lied, but you fought so that the people would say look at this man, he was so brave, he fought and died in the path of Allah, and you got what you wanted. So he will be dragged on his face and thrown into the Fire.
And then he will be brought who had memorized and recited the Qur'an, and Allah will ask him what he did about the favours that he granted him, and the man will say that he learned the Qur'an and recited it for Allah's sake and he seeked and gained knowledge and taught it for Allah's sake, and Allah will say, No, you have lied. But you learned and recited the Qur'an so the people would say that this person is a Qari'! And you gained knowledge and taught it so people would say that this person is an Aalim! And you got what you wanted in the Dunya. And so this person will be dragged on his face and thrown into the Fire.
And then he will be brought who never had an oppurtunity pass him by without him giving his wealth for the cause of Allah, and Allah will ask him what he did with His favors he bestowed upon him, and he will say that he donated and gave generously in the path of Allah, and he will be told, No, you have lied. Instead you gave that money so that people would say that this person is so generous! And you got what you wanted in the Dunya. There will be nothing left for him in the Akhirah. And he will be dragged on his face and thrown into the Fire.
This is the reality of Shirk, because this is what the Prophet SAW feared for his Ummah more than the Dajjal. It is the hidden shirk, which is none other than Riyaa', or showing off. And this is an issue for all of us, whether we be the layman or the greatest scholar, it is equally incumbant on all of us to correct and constantly strive to perfect our intentions. And the scholars say that this is the hardest thing for a believer to control! And all of us will know this to be true by experience!
So when we read or hear an Ayah that says Worship Allah alone, or a tradition such as this, where the Prophet SAW says Worship Allah and do not associate any partners with him, we've got to pay attention! Take heed! This isn't a point we can just skip because we're not in our houses worshipping idols, but this is such a crucial matter that it can turn the greatest of deeds, the martyr! The Hafidh! The one who gives his wealth for Allah! This minor shirk of showing off can turn these things into absolutely nothing!
Summer camp started over here, and I've been working with the kids as a counselor/teacher and what not, and our theme for this week is Niyyah or Intentions. Today the Imam took over Islamic Studies and talked about intentions and how we should make sure our intentions are pure. And so a kid raised his hand and made a comment where he said that this is so easy to talk about, but so hard to do. This kid said out loud what we all know and feel in our hearts. Easier said than done.
And so the Sheikh replied, that THIS is the struggle, for us to constantly renew our intentions, constantly ask WHY it is we are doing what we are doing, struggle with the whispers and plots of Shaytan to turn our deeds into wasted energy and wasted breath, and IF one day, some day, you are able to do this, to purify your intentions in whatever you do, know that you will be going to sleep that night as one who will enter Paradise, because you have purified yourself from the inside out.
Ya Allah, help us in our battle against ourselves and the whispers of Shaytan and help us purify our intentions and make everything for Your safe alone, Aameen.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Monday, June 18, 2007
Ata A'rabi...
Al-Bukhari, Volume 2, Book 23, Number 480:
Narrated Abu Huraira:A Bedouin came to the Prophet and said, "Tell me of such a deed as will make me enter Paradise, if I do it." ... (to be continued)
The bedouins of Arabia were known for their simplistic and often rough or frank approach to issues and questions, as was a reflection of their rough and humble lifestyles. However, this question that he asked, a bedouin from the desert, was almost the exact same question another man asked the Prophet SAW also. This man was known as A'lamul Halal wal Haraam, the most knowledgeable about what was Halal and what was Haram, Muadh Ibn Jabal, the scholar of Islam, HE asks the Prophet SAW this exact same question on one occasion:
"O Messenger of Allah, tell me of a deed which will take me into Paradise and will keep me away from the Hell-fire."
And what did the Prophet SAW say about his question? He said that you have asked me about a GREAT MATTER. Sa'altu 'an 'adheem!
What does this show us, that the bedouin and the simple man and the scholar of Islam Muadh Ibn Jabal are asking the SAME QUESTION, that this is what is important! A lot of times we miss the point of our existence and what we are working for. Bust out a question and answer session and you'll get every question in the world but something like this! And this is an issue and a question for everybody! Not just the laypeople and not just the scholars but everyone!
So from this tradition of the Prophet SAW we can immediately learn one thing, and that is, 'What do we ask?' What is the value and the point of what we are asking, and is it benefiting us in the long run or is it just trivia and facts that we can throw down on people when we want to sound smart?
Another point to be made from this tradition is a question that stems from the first, and that is, 'Who do we ask from?' Many times people will have questions, but they just don't know who to go to? Allah SWT mentions in the Qur'an that we should ask the people of knowledge when we do not know. So we go to the scholars. That is who we ask. But then who is a scholar. And so it comes down to who is an Aalim...is it the person sitting in an interview on Fox News or Oprah, or the person with the beard who wears a thobe and kufi?
One time a person asked this same question to Sheikh Saleh Ibn Abdul Aziz, and he responded in two words. He said: Al-Aalimu NAAQIL. He said the person you should go to, the true scholar is the NAAQIL. Now what is that? The root of this word naqala means to transmit something, and even in urdu, it is said that if a person is doing naql of somebody else, they are copying them. What the Sheikh was giving this person was a criteria to judge who was a scholar and who wasn't, and this was not based on their reputation, what school they went to or their appearance, but it was in the way they actually answered the question. Were they doing Naql of somebody else, somebody before them? Were they doing Naql of the chain of transmission of all knowledge, namely that : Allah SWT says in His Book this, the Prophet SAW has said this, his companions they said this, the Tabi'een said this and those after them said this, the great Imams said this and the scholars of the past said this, the scholars of today say this, and finally, my understanding from this...is this.
Al-Deenun Naseeha
Assalaamu alaikum
Tameem ad-Daaree RA narrates:
“The Prophet SAW said, (three times) “The Religion is naseehah.” We said, “To whom?” He said, “To Allaah, His Book, His Messenger, and to the leaders of the Muslims and the general people.” Related by Muslim (no. 55)
The Prophet SAW mentioned these five categories that we should have this Naseeha towards. Allah, His Book, His messenger, the leaders of the Muslims, and the common folk. The first three were discussed already, so now the fourth category is the leaders of the Muslims. How can we perform this Naseeha towards the leaders of the Muslims? First of all, the leader doesn't necessarily have to be the Khalifa, but it can be anyone in authority over a group of Muslims, whether that be council members of a community, or the Imam of the masjid. These people are considered the leaders of the community, and we must do this Naseeha towards them.
3 things were mentioned in this Naseeha. The first was that we make Duah for our leaders. It seems like every time something goes wrong in a community, we all like to point our fingers to the authority, right? And not only do we point, but we begin to talk and criticize. The leaders did this, and the leaders did that. Why don't we ever think to follow the tradition of Rasoolullah SAW and firstly and primarily make duah for our leaders? That Allah guide them and us to the correct way and correct their mistakes as well as ours and reward them for their continuous efforts.
The second was that we ADVISE them, and when we advise them, we do so in the best of manners. That doesn't mean in front of the entire Jama'ah with hundreds listening, or during the Jumuah khutbah! It means to advise them under circumstances that would actually allow them to listen and take into consideration what you are offering to them.
The third was that we OBEY them. This means that the final decision is in the Amir's hands. We can advise them, but the decision is theirs. How can we expect to choose an Imam and make him in charge, and then all of sudden come Ramadan time, his authority has been revoked? This is just an example. If there is an issue with a person's methodology, let it be an issue from the very beginning right? We can't say that this person is our Imam, we listen and we obey, but then when a decision has been made that is contrary to our interests or preference, then this person is no longer in charge? This is part of the Naseeha that we must have towards our leaders, that we obey them when they make a decision. We see this in Masajid a lot today, that the people do not fulfill this Naseeha towards their leaders, whether it be the general people towards the council, or the council towards Imam, or whatever. And this leads to nothing else but division.
Ummul Mu'mineen Aisha RA said that she had never seen the Ummah of Muhammad SAW ABANDON a verse of the Qur'an the way they abandoned the verse, "And if two groups of believers quarrel or argue or fight amongst each other, then RECTIFY the matters and do ISLAH between them."
Rectify. Not choose sides and add to the problem. Remember that Allah mentions both parties are BELIEVERS, even though they are fighting each other, which is why we need to work to settle the differences in the best of manners.
Imam Abu Ja'far Al-Tahawy was a famous Imam who wrote a manual on Aqeedah and the belief of the Ahlul-Sunnah which is still used universally till this day. In it he wrote 105 points of belief, and in point 102 he says:
وَنَرَى الجَمَاعَةَ حَقًّا وَصَوَاباً، والفُرْقَةَ زَيْغاً وَعَذَاباً
And We understand and believe that the JAMA'AH, or the congregation and majority is the TRUTH and that which is CORRECT. And disunity is a DEVIATION and a PUNISHMENT from Allah in this life.
-----------------------------------------
May Allah forgive me for anything that i have said or paraphrased incorrectly. This is the first installment of many to come iA excerpts from the hadith halaqah's given after Maghrib prayer at our Masjid. As you might of noticed, these points were only for one part of the hadith, and that's because this was the only one i was able to catch for this specific hadith. iA, the ones to come will be more complete.
Hopefully this will benefit you and I both...wasalaam
Tameem ad-Daaree RA narrates:
“The Prophet SAW said, (three times) “The Religion is naseehah.” We said, “To whom?” He said, “To Allaah, His Book, His Messenger, and to the leaders of the Muslims and the general people.” Related by Muslim (no. 55)
The Prophet SAW mentioned these five categories that we should have this Naseeha towards. Allah, His Book, His messenger, the leaders of the Muslims, and the common folk. The first three were discussed already, so now the fourth category is the leaders of the Muslims. How can we perform this Naseeha towards the leaders of the Muslims? First of all, the leader doesn't necessarily have to be the Khalifa, but it can be anyone in authority over a group of Muslims, whether that be council members of a community, or the Imam of the masjid. These people are considered the leaders of the community, and we must do this Naseeha towards them.
3 things were mentioned in this Naseeha. The first was that we make Duah for our leaders. It seems like every time something goes wrong in a community, we all like to point our fingers to the authority, right? And not only do we point, but we begin to talk and criticize. The leaders did this, and the leaders did that. Why don't we ever think to follow the tradition of Rasoolullah SAW and firstly and primarily make duah for our leaders? That Allah guide them and us to the correct way and correct their mistakes as well as ours and reward them for their continuous efforts.
The second was that we ADVISE them, and when we advise them, we do so in the best of manners. That doesn't mean in front of the entire Jama'ah with hundreds listening, or during the Jumuah khutbah! It means to advise them under circumstances that would actually allow them to listen and take into consideration what you are offering to them.
The third was that we OBEY them. This means that the final decision is in the Amir's hands. We can advise them, but the decision is theirs. How can we expect to choose an Imam and make him in charge, and then all of sudden come Ramadan time, his authority has been revoked? This is just an example. If there is an issue with a person's methodology, let it be an issue from the very beginning right? We can't say that this person is our Imam, we listen and we obey, but then when a decision has been made that is contrary to our interests or preference, then this person is no longer in charge? This is part of the Naseeha that we must have towards our leaders, that we obey them when they make a decision. We see this in Masajid a lot today, that the people do not fulfill this Naseeha towards their leaders, whether it be the general people towards the council, or the council towards Imam, or whatever. And this leads to nothing else but division.
Ummul Mu'mineen Aisha RA said that she had never seen the Ummah of Muhammad SAW ABANDON a verse of the Qur'an the way they abandoned the verse, "And if two groups of believers quarrel or argue or fight amongst each other, then RECTIFY the matters and do ISLAH between them."
Rectify. Not choose sides and add to the problem. Remember that Allah mentions both parties are BELIEVERS, even though they are fighting each other, which is why we need to work to settle the differences in the best of manners.
Imam Abu Ja'far Al-Tahawy was a famous Imam who wrote a manual on Aqeedah and the belief of the Ahlul-Sunnah which is still used universally till this day. In it he wrote 105 points of belief, and in point 102 he says:
وَنَرَى الجَمَاعَةَ حَقًّا وَصَوَاباً، والفُرْقَةَ زَيْغاً وَعَذَاباً
And We understand and believe that the JAMA'AH, or the congregation and majority is the TRUTH and that which is CORRECT. And disunity is a DEVIATION and a PUNISHMENT from Allah in this life.
-----------------------------------------
May Allah forgive me for anything that i have said or paraphrased incorrectly. This is the first installment of many to come iA excerpts from the hadith halaqah's given after Maghrib prayer at our Masjid. As you might of noticed, these points were only for one part of the hadith, and that's because this was the only one i was able to catch for this specific hadith. iA, the ones to come will be more complete.
Hopefully this will benefit you and I both...wasalaam
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Ahmer Hussain
Assalaamu Alaikum
It wasn't a suicide. Alhamdulillah!
Here is the note posted by Iboo on facebook:
Assalaamu alaykum bros and sisters,
I just wanted to convey to you all the latest about
the cause of death of Ahmer Hussain who was presumed
to commit suicide last week.
According to the medical report it has been confirmed
that Ahmer did NOT die of any self inflicted hanging
and/or any other form of suicide. The initial report
of suicide being the cause of death was relayed to the
community through the family of Ahmer, and this cause
of death was presumed because they found him in the
basement with cord slightly around his neck, and he
was apparently suffocating. The father then
administered CPR and he passed away after that.
The report now says that there was no sign of any
trauma on his neck (ruling out any type of hanging)
and there was no other evidence of self inflicted
harm. Therefore, they are looking at the possibility
that he passed away due to his severe asthma, some
sort of allergies, or some other cause which caused
him to suffocate.
I am sending this email because I feel that this is
great news, and must be conveyed to everyone who may
feel that Ahmer committed suicide. This is a great
relief to his grieving family and friends as well as
the community in general which is still recovering
from this tragedy. Let me know if there is anything
that remains unclear, though you gotta realize, I am
just as shocked (and happy) as you all are.
May ALlah swt admit Ahmer into Paradise, fill his
grave with light, ease the difficulties that his
parents and family are going through, and make us all
among those whom He loves...ameen.
PS: I am not just sending out a report or a theory of cause of death, but brother Junaid Hassan who is working on an article for the Muslim Link has done extensive research with the family of Ahmer who has been affirmed of this through the EMS services and the Medical Examiners. Imam Mahmoud will be addressing this (presumably) in his Khutbah this week, the postvention part 2 at Dar al Taqwa will address this issue, as well as the muslim link article to be published in the next issue of the paper (not the one coming out this week, but in 2 weeks).
Iboo
It wasn't a suicide. Alhamdulillah!
Here is the note posted by Iboo on facebook:
Assalaamu alaykum bros and sisters,
I just wanted to convey to you all the latest about
the cause of death of Ahmer Hussain who was presumed
to commit suicide last week.
According to the medical report it has been confirmed
that Ahmer did NOT die of any self inflicted hanging
and/or any other form of suicide. The initial report
of suicide being the cause of death was relayed to the
community through the family of Ahmer, and this cause
of death was presumed because they found him in the
basement with cord slightly around his neck, and he
was apparently suffocating. The father then
administered CPR and he passed away after that.
The report now says that there was no sign of any
trauma on his neck (ruling out any type of hanging)
and there was no other evidence of self inflicted
harm. Therefore, they are looking at the possibility
that he passed away due to his severe asthma, some
sort of allergies, or some other cause which caused
him to suffocate.
I am sending this email because I feel that this is
great news, and must be conveyed to everyone who may
feel that Ahmer committed suicide. This is a great
relief to his grieving family and friends as well as
the community in general which is still recovering
from this tragedy. Let me know if there is anything
that remains unclear, though you gotta realize, I am
just as shocked (and happy) as you all are.
May ALlah swt admit Ahmer into Paradise, fill his
grave with light, ease the difficulties that his
parents and family are going through, and make us all
among those whom He loves...ameen.
PS: I am not just sending out a report or a theory of cause of death, but brother Junaid Hassan who is working on an article for the Muslim Link has done extensive research with the family of Ahmer who has been affirmed of this through the EMS services and the Medical Examiners. Imam Mahmoud will be addressing this (presumably) in his Khutbah this week, the postvention part 2 at Dar al Taqwa will address this issue, as well as the muslim link article to be published in the next issue of the paper (not the one coming out this week, but in 2 weeks).
Iboo
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Unfinished bidness
Assalaamu Alaikum
So I felt like reminiscing and went into my email account and started digging up old emails I sent myself or just reading up on funny/pointless conversations I've had with old friends. One of the emails I came across was one that I sent myself - btw, I only email myself to store documents with attachments or something, not to have conversations... - that contained a little rap that I was working on with my boy. The idea was that it was going to be a kind of duet, where he raps a bar, and I continue or finish it or add my own. "Shootouts"-esque, if you feel me. Just something we wanted to try. It wasn't intended to be lyrically astounding, but more "made by its performance". So I can't really say it was a failed attempt because we never got around to finishing it or even fixing it up to flow, let alone actually performing it. All I saved was the raw AIM version where we did it and sent it to myself. And here it is:
Our ummahs bleeding to death, we will never be whole//
we're walking around aimless no point no goal
We’re digging a hole// ;
cause death is all I see when I look deep in our souls
You wouldn't say that if seen what I’ve seen//
gone around the world been where I’ve been//
how could you say to take everyday as it comes//
when all kids have seen is famine and bombs//
By singing songs and holding arms?//
nah akh we gotta stay strong//
cause its us against the world
Yea right//money is a bounty already ordained before time//
so u need to shove this type of mentality out of your mind//
the Prophet alaihis salaam feared wealth more than poverty//
wealth isn't what gave the muslims their sovereignty
Now that trap is evil//
these people were still people and made an ample example//
footsteps to follow and a blueprint as a sample
But without soul in our game
Our words are just hollow//
So I felt like reminiscing and went into my email account and started digging up old emails I sent myself or just reading up on funny/pointless conversations I've had with old friends. One of the emails I came across was one that I sent myself - btw, I only email myself to store documents with attachments or something, not to have conversations... - that contained a little rap that I was working on with my boy. The idea was that it was going to be a kind of duet, where he raps a bar, and I continue or finish it or add my own. "Shootouts"-esque, if you feel me. Just something we wanted to try. It wasn't intended to be lyrically astounding, but more "made by its performance". So I can't really say it was a failed attempt because we never got around to finishing it or even fixing it up to flow, let alone actually performing it. All I saved was the raw AIM version where we did it and sent it to myself. And here it is:
Our ummahs bleeding to death, we will never be whole//
we're walking around aimless no point no goal
Akhi, with talk like that you just killing your soul//,
stabbing your own feet,
stabbing your own feet,
We’re digging a hole// ;
cause death is all I see when I look deep in our souls
Gotta get that despair under control, cuz you really don't know//
what's gonna happen tomorrow, just gotta go with the flow//
what's gonna happen tomorrow, just gotta go with the flow//
You wouldn't say that if seen what I’ve seen//
gone around the world been where I’ve been//
how could you say to take everyday as it comes//
when all kids have seen is famine and bombs//
I know what you saying, but you gotta remain calm//
By singing songs and holding arms?//
nah akh we gotta stay strong//
cause its us against the world
That mentalities wrong,//
money is what lets these people sleep well at night,//
we gotta start making millions, and then use it for right
money is what lets these people sleep well at night,//
we gotta start making millions, and then use it for right
Yea right//money is a bounty already ordained before time//
so u need to shove this type of mentality out of your mind//
the Prophet alaihis salaam feared wealth more than poverty//
wealth isn't what gave the muslims their sovereignty
That’s true but remember that those were the best of people//
a nation the likes of us could never be equal//
let alone start a sequel//
a nation the likes of us could never be equal//
let alone start a sequel//
Now that trap is evil//
these people were still people and made an ample example//
footsteps to follow and a blueprint as a sample
Yeah, but its just a great sorrow how we wait for tomorrow to follow,//
But without soul in our game
Or heat in our flame
Our words are just hollow//
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Revisions
Assalaamu Alaikum
Pffffft, thanks for letting me know that the recitation that I posted for Qari Salah Al Hashem just a couple posts ago was linking to the same recitation of Qari Tawfeeq Al Suwaaigh. NOT... *chirp chirp*
vatewer.
Anyways, that's fixed now.
Pffffft, thanks for letting me know that the recitation that I posted for Qari Salah Al Hashem just a couple posts ago was linking to the same recitation of Qari Tawfeeq Al Suwaaigh. NOT... *chirp chirp*
vatewer.
Anyways, that's fixed now.
Friday, April 27, 2007
It's a cycle.
Assalaamu Alaikum
I need to come out of this slump. I'm always waiting for something, and it never comes. I need to pack my bags and start on this journey. This life is temporary. But if I could just have that one staple, wouldn't it become so much easier? Or would I just find another excuse to remain the way I am?
I need to come out of this slump. I'm always waiting for something, and it never comes. I need to pack my bags and start on this journey. This life is temporary. But if I could just have that one staple, wouldn't it become so much easier? Or would I just find another excuse to remain the way I am?
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Dose of Qur'an
Qari Salah Al-Hashem
Got introduced to this guy from RE's blog. Good stuff.
Also, I'm supposed to find a recitation for my boy from http://www.szaharna.blogspot.com of the recitation style dominant in the sub-continent known as Pani Patt.
I know someone with a recording of it on his computer, but I haven't seen him this week at school (it probably has something to do with me not being there too often)...but if anybody knows what kind of recitation I'm talking about and knows of any recordings online, hook it up.
Got introduced to this guy from RE's blog. Good stuff.
Also, I'm supposed to find a recitation for my boy from http://www.szaharna.blogspot.com of the recitation style dominant in the sub-continent known as Pani Patt.
I know someone with a recording of it on his computer, but I haven't seen him this week at school (it probably has something to do with me not being there too often)...but if anybody knows what kind of recitation I'm talking about and knows of any recordings online, hook it up.
Around the world...
Assalaamu Alaikum
My boy just came back from vacation. That's something I really want badly right now too, a vacation. And that doesn't mean like a couple days off from school, because I skip classes whenever I want, and on a good week, I can manage to go to school on only 2 days, that is Wednesday and Thursday and not miss a beat. (Actually, I probably miss a lot of beats, but whatever...)
Anyways, he went back home, I don't know if that is Jordan or Palestine (haha I'm JOKING dude....sike...sike sike...) and also got to perform Umrah, may Allah accept from him all of his good deeds, ameen. He came back the other day and we got to chill for a bit, and he told us stories and his experiences etc, this kinda got me to think back also about my time out there and reminisce. So inshaAllah, if I can muster up enough energy or motivation, my next few posts might be telling a random story from Hajj or something else from the trip.
However, the point of this post is a little different. And the point of this post is about something we've heard countless times and lately I've seen a couple facebook groups emerge. But this time, I'm not hearing it from people who've heard from people, who've heard from people, or from sensationalist Muslims, or at the annual family dinner where everyone sits into the late night with tea and talks about politics and conspiracy theories. This time, I'm hearing it from a friend I know personally who's just been there and saw this stuff with his own eyes, and that is that, PEOPLE ARE DYING IN PALESTINE EVERY DAY.
I've heard that before. And I guess I kinda got desensitized to it for some reason, maybe cuz hey, there's about 364 murders a year in Baltimore last I heard, that's pretty much one every day with a day off for Christmas. Or maybe I just hadn't really HEARD it from a personal source...
But no, just in Nablis, in the little neighborhood that my friend stayed in, he told us that every single day, after Isha, the occupation would roll in and all night long, there would be gunshots and explosions less than a block away. The kids would be up on roofs reporting to their parents what was going on, "Oh, they're at so-and-so's house now!" "Oh, they just destroyed this-person's house!" and every single day, school was cancelled, and every single day, people were killed, and this is just in their neighborhood. And he said that the people there were used to it. Find out the neighbors were killed. Oh, they were cool peoples. Go on with your day, etc.
And what's crazy is that I hadn't heard a thing about Palestine on the news in a while. Did any of you?
My boy just came back from vacation. That's something I really want badly right now too, a vacation. And that doesn't mean like a couple days off from school, because I skip classes whenever I want, and on a good week, I can manage to go to school on only 2 days, that is Wednesday and Thursday and not miss a beat. (Actually, I probably miss a lot of beats, but whatever...)
Anyways, he went back home, I don't know if that is Jordan or Palestine (haha I'm JOKING dude....sike...sike sike...) and also got to perform Umrah, may Allah accept from him all of his good deeds, ameen. He came back the other day and we got to chill for a bit, and he told us stories and his experiences etc, this kinda got me to think back also about my time out there and reminisce. So inshaAllah, if I can muster up enough energy or motivation, my next few posts might be telling a random story from Hajj or something else from the trip.
However, the point of this post is a little different. And the point of this post is about something we've heard countless times and lately I've seen a couple facebook groups emerge. But this time, I'm not hearing it from people who've heard from people, who've heard from people, or from sensationalist Muslims, or at the annual family dinner where everyone sits into the late night with tea and talks about politics and conspiracy theories. This time, I'm hearing it from a friend I know personally who's just been there and saw this stuff with his own eyes, and that is that, PEOPLE ARE DYING IN PALESTINE EVERY DAY.
I've heard that before. And I guess I kinda got desensitized to it for some reason, maybe cuz hey, there's about 364 murders a year in Baltimore last I heard, that's pretty much one every day with a day off for Christmas. Or maybe I just hadn't really HEARD it from a personal source...
But no, just in Nablis, in the little neighborhood that my friend stayed in, he told us that every single day, after Isha, the occupation would roll in and all night long, there would be gunshots and explosions less than a block away. The kids would be up on roofs reporting to their parents what was going on, "Oh, they're at so-and-so's house now!" "Oh, they just destroyed this-person's house!" and every single day, school was cancelled, and every single day, people were killed, and this is just in their neighborhood. And he said that the people there were used to it. Find out the neighbors were killed. Oh, they were cool peoples. Go on with your day, etc.
And what's crazy is that I hadn't heard a thing about Palestine on the news in a while. Did any of you?
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
the quest baby
Salaamu Alaikum
Recently, I joined a facebook group called 'Greatest Quranic Recitations' and I have to say that it was probably the only group I've joined that actually benefited me somehow. And that is by leading me to some great Qurraa' that I had never heard before.
Insha Allah, I wanna share a couple of them, though I'm thinking that I should post them one by one in seperate posts and at different times so that it's not overkill and none are overlooked. Nahmean?
First round: Qari Tawfeeq bin Sa'eed Al-Suwaaigh
Recently, I joined a facebook group called 'Greatest Quranic Recitations' and I have to say that it was probably the only group I've joined that actually benefited me somehow. And that is by leading me to some great Qurraa' that I had never heard before.
Insha Allah, I wanna share a couple of them, though I'm thinking that I should post them one by one in seperate posts and at different times so that it's not overkill and none are overlooked. Nahmean?
First round: Qari Tawfeeq bin Sa'eed Al-Suwaaigh
Saturday, April 14, 2007
awwwesome swagger
salaamu alaikum
ultimate swagger? nothing close to that. game's got a long way to go. gotta be able to do things at will. but it's growing. should i check it? or let it be proportional to it's supposed requisite: skill, and make sure it stays on the court? is it necessary?
interesting what a haircut and new mindset for the game can do.
PS: i'll be put in my place soon. probably tuesday. haha.
ultimate swagger? nothing close to that. game's got a long way to go. gotta be able to do things at will. but it's growing. should i check it? or let it be proportional to it's supposed requisite: skill, and make sure it stays on the court? is it necessary?
interesting what a haircut and new mindset for the game can do.
PS: i'll be put in my place soon. probably tuesday. haha.
Monday, April 09, 2007
MIST 07'
Salaamu alaikum
What's it been now, a little more than a week after MIST 07 weekend? I intended on making this post earlier, but I couldn't really get around to it. This past week was super busy, and reason goes back to spring break, which I'll take a quick second to rant about. Spring break is stupid. I came into this semester strong, like every one and their mama's do also, with the firm intention of staying consistent and up to speed with my classes/assignments until the end. For me, that attitude usually lasts a couple days. But this time, I was ACTUALLY staying consistent with what I was doing...until spring break comes along. It destroyed all my desire to go back to school. I came back from spring break with a week of school before MIST weekend, and literally skipped more than half of my classes, still stuck in spring break mode. So that is probably why my last week was pretty crazy, cuz I had mad stuff to catch up on (back in school mode), foremost of which was a comp sci project that I spent 11+ straight hours on today, only to get an extension at the last moment, word to iboo...but anyways:
MIST is MIST. I competed in the tournament for two years. Last year, I couldn't compete, so instead I "volunteered", which was more like chilling on campus and being bored the whole weekend, and every couple hours, being sent on random assignments like moving art projects from one building to another (some projects are missing till this day)...but yeah, it wasn't the same. Competing, and volunteering? No way.
So this year, I brought a team. It wasn't for me, though during the competition I realized that it kinda made up for not being able to compete with at least having a team that was competing. Among the reasons was to get my community, ISB, involved in other activites besides its own. Its like they live and operate in a bubble, and a lot of the times, the lack of representation from one of the largest communities in MD at certain events or fundraisers is embarrassing to say the least.
But still, that wasn't the main reason I brought a team. But before I go into that, I'm going to mention my biggest challenge as a coach in the tournament and the weeks that led up to it. It was being patient.
I had a sick team. I picked guys that I knew had potential. But I see most of these kids every day at the masjid. I play ball with them, talk trash, get some back, etc. They consider me their peer, and I'm only like a year or two older than most of them, so I had to deal with them a certain way. I couldn't exactly scold them for not doing what they were supposed to be doing, or not coming to a meeting, or coming to me with a week left before the tournament with some completely garbage, effortless, project/piece that OBVIOUSLY wasn't even done by them, and I'd have to ask them if they were retarded and tell them they needed to go back and actually do something. There was one day where I was almost regretting trying to put a team together and just praying that they didn't embarrass themselves at the tournament. Frustration and Patience.
It was even worse once the weekend started. My license is still suspended, and it was suspended during the weekend too. You can only get so frustrated when you have control of the situation, but when you have no control over it, you've gotta leave everything in Allah's hands. I had to set up rides for 10 kids, make sure they were at the masjid for the rides, figure out how they were supposed to get the project they left back at home or the last minute supplies they needed in time, or how to fit them in the cars and make sure everybody had a ride and space and later how everybody was going to get home when I didn't have a car I could drive or a ride to get home myself. And then if the ride that was supposed to be there had an emergency and had to leave in the middle of the tourney, and I was responsible for getting all these kids back home safe, it was definitely a struggle.
I literally found myself talking to myself saying, "Alright Hammad, it's easy to be patient when nothings happening. Be patient now man, be patient."
And that was my theme for the weekend. Now I know how Iboo must of felt coaching us. I seriously needed to consciously make an effort to reply to the guys when I was being bombarded by questions left and right, the same questions, multiple times, one guy after the next, as if I didn't just answer the same question 50 times to every single other person on the team! Seriously, I was just repeating in my head, "Be patient ninja..." over and over and over. I told the guys that their theme for the weekend was HUMILITY (this had to do with us being the powerhouse basketball team that nobody could see :D), but mine was PATIENCE.
aH, it was good stuff.
And we did win basketball. First place? Yup. We played my former team, Taqwa, in the finals. And there couldn't have been a better possible championship game than the one that took place outside in the freezing cold at 3AM sunday morning in college park, Taqwa vs. Al-Rahmah. They recorded that joint in HD, and trust me, its a classic, and I can't wait to get my hands on a copy. It's funny because that's what guys at Al-Rahmah wanted the most, to play Taqwa in the finals and beat them. They had some type of rivalry going even before the tournament. They didn't know who half the people on Taqwa were, but they just knew that they had to beat the defending champs, and that's what they would talk about at least once every meeting when Basketball came up. "Taqwa thinks they're so nice". "I just wanna smash Taqwa in bball." etc. I would just laugh, cuz I knew what was going to happen by the end of the tournament. Taqwa and Al-Rahmah would be like this "ll".
And that's the main reason I wanted to bring a team, and this is what I told the guys at the end after the awards ceremony. I didn't bring them so that they could win an award in art, or poetry, or study some packets and gain knowledge on Qur'an, Seerah, Prophets, or CAIR, or even to win first place in basketball, because not everyone won something. Not everyone on our team got an award or a trophy. But what they all got, and I knew this to be true because I heard it from their own mouths, was that they got to spend a weekend with all these other Muslims from so many different areas and communities, and got to meet people they would have never even known were it not for MIST. And I reminded them that they told me themselves that they met all these cool new people, and that was the point. The building of brotherhood and ties between our community and its youth and other communities and their youth. These guys weren't too fond of Taqwa walking into the tournament, but by the end, at the award ceremony, they had one big joint Al-Rahmah/Taqwa table.
alHamdulillahi Rabbil Alameen.
And finally, the team smashed in the competitions, with mad top 5 standings and MIST national qualifications. The only regrets they had were the regrets that everybody has and had, those who are graduating highschool wished they had another year since this was their first and only, and those who aren't wished they had put a liiiiiittle bit more effort into their work, and bumped up from 4th or 5th place to 2nd or 1st. But one thing everyone got from the weekend was inspiration.
What's it been now, a little more than a week after MIST 07 weekend? I intended on making this post earlier, but I couldn't really get around to it. This past week was super busy, and reason goes back to spring break, which I'll take a quick second to rant about. Spring break is stupid. I came into this semester strong, like every one and their mama's do also, with the firm intention of staying consistent and up to speed with my classes/assignments until the end. For me, that attitude usually lasts a couple days. But this time, I was ACTUALLY staying consistent with what I was doing...until spring break comes along. It destroyed all my desire to go back to school. I came back from spring break with a week of school before MIST weekend, and literally skipped more than half of my classes, still stuck in spring break mode. So that is probably why my last week was pretty crazy, cuz I had mad stuff to catch up on (back in school mode), foremost of which was a comp sci project that I spent 11+ straight hours on today, only to get an extension at the last moment, word to iboo...but anyways:
MIST is MIST. I competed in the tournament for two years. Last year, I couldn't compete, so instead I "volunteered", which was more like chilling on campus and being bored the whole weekend, and every couple hours, being sent on random assignments like moving art projects from one building to another (some projects are missing till this day)...but yeah, it wasn't the same. Competing, and volunteering? No way.
So this year, I brought a team. It wasn't for me, though during the competition I realized that it kinda made up for not being able to compete with at least having a team that was competing. Among the reasons was to get my community, ISB, involved in other activites besides its own. Its like they live and operate in a bubble, and a lot of the times, the lack of representation from one of the largest communities in MD at certain events or fundraisers is embarrassing to say the least.
But still, that wasn't the main reason I brought a team. But before I go into that, I'm going to mention my biggest challenge as a coach in the tournament and the weeks that led up to it. It was being patient.
I had a sick team. I picked guys that I knew had potential. But I see most of these kids every day at the masjid. I play ball with them, talk trash, get some back, etc. They consider me their peer, and I'm only like a year or two older than most of them, so I had to deal with them a certain way. I couldn't exactly scold them for not doing what they were supposed to be doing, or not coming to a meeting, or coming to me with a week left before the tournament with some completely garbage, effortless, project/piece that OBVIOUSLY wasn't even done by them, and I'd have to ask them if they were retarded and tell them they needed to go back and actually do something. There was one day where I was almost regretting trying to put a team together and just praying that they didn't embarrass themselves at the tournament. Frustration and Patience.
It was even worse once the weekend started. My license is still suspended, and it was suspended during the weekend too. You can only get so frustrated when you have control of the situation, but when you have no control over it, you've gotta leave everything in Allah's hands. I had to set up rides for 10 kids, make sure they were at the masjid for the rides, figure out how they were supposed to get the project they left back at home or the last minute supplies they needed in time, or how to fit them in the cars and make sure everybody had a ride and space and later how everybody was going to get home when I didn't have a car I could drive or a ride to get home myself. And then if the ride that was supposed to be there had an emergency and had to leave in the middle of the tourney, and I was responsible for getting all these kids back home safe, it was definitely a struggle.
I literally found myself talking to myself saying, "Alright Hammad, it's easy to be patient when nothings happening. Be patient now man, be patient."
And that was my theme for the weekend. Now I know how Iboo must of felt coaching us. I seriously needed to consciously make an effort to reply to the guys when I was being bombarded by questions left and right, the same questions, multiple times, one guy after the next, as if I didn't just answer the same question 50 times to every single other person on the team! Seriously, I was just repeating in my head, "Be patient ninja..." over and over and over. I told the guys that their theme for the weekend was HUMILITY (this had to do with us being the powerhouse basketball team that nobody could see :D), but mine was PATIENCE.
aH, it was good stuff.
And we did win basketball. First place? Yup. We played my former team, Taqwa, in the finals. And there couldn't have been a better possible championship game than the one that took place outside in the freezing cold at 3AM sunday morning in college park, Taqwa vs. Al-Rahmah. They recorded that joint in HD, and trust me, its a classic, and I can't wait to get my hands on a copy. It's funny because that's what guys at Al-Rahmah wanted the most, to play Taqwa in the finals and beat them. They had some type of rivalry going even before the tournament. They didn't know who half the people on Taqwa were, but they just knew that they had to beat the defending champs, and that's what they would talk about at least once every meeting when Basketball came up. "Taqwa thinks they're so nice". "I just wanna smash Taqwa in bball." etc. I would just laugh, cuz I knew what was going to happen by the end of the tournament. Taqwa and Al-Rahmah would be like this "ll".
And that's the main reason I wanted to bring a team, and this is what I told the guys at the end after the awards ceremony. I didn't bring them so that they could win an award in art, or poetry, or study some packets and gain knowledge on Qur'an, Seerah, Prophets, or CAIR, or even to win first place in basketball, because not everyone won something. Not everyone on our team got an award or a trophy. But what they all got, and I knew this to be true because I heard it from their own mouths, was that they got to spend a weekend with all these other Muslims from so many different areas and communities, and got to meet people they would have never even known were it not for MIST. And I reminded them that they told me themselves that they met all these cool new people, and that was the point. The building of brotherhood and ties between our community and its youth and other communities and their youth. These guys weren't too fond of Taqwa walking into the tournament, but by the end, at the award ceremony, they had one big joint Al-Rahmah/Taqwa table.
alHamdulillahi Rabbil Alameen.
And finally, the team smashed in the competitions, with mad top 5 standings and MIST national qualifications. The only regrets they had were the regrets that everybody has and had, those who are graduating highschool wished they had another year since this was their first and only, and those who aren't wished they had put a liiiiiittle bit more effort into their work, and bumped up from 4th or 5th place to 2nd or 1st. But one thing everyone got from the weekend was inspiration.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Thursday, February 22, 2007
wsup yall
Assalaamu alaikum
it's been a while since i posted here last. don't ask why because i couldn't give you a real good reason and i don't know myself. i don't really have a great update in store right now either, but let's not get hasty, right? baby steps...
old news:
i got through a pretty crazy fall semester (sick load + ramadan), which also happened to be my first at UMBC. transferring in from a community college, it was a pretty big change, mainly the difficulty in classes. let's just say i learned a couple things. but what is knowledge without implementation, right? ...hopefully we can answer that at the end of this semester, and it'll be a good answer.
new(er) news:
since i want to be a man of my word, i am bringing a MIST team from baltimore this year. cuz that is what i said i would do last year. so i'm doing it. there's a lot of things i can say about MIST, but i'll make it simple and say i learned a lot from being a part of it, whether it was the tournament itself, or the people i was around at the time. but either way, its a source of inspiration for many youth, and i think it's about time the kids from this area get something like that to draw from. so insha Allah, there shall be a team. and it will be called Al-Rahmah.
i just watched Pan's Labyrinth. it was sad. and weird.
smh.
thoughts:
maybe some other time. holler.
uno. dos. tres.
(sp?)
it's been a while since i posted here last. don't ask why because i couldn't give you a real good reason and i don't know myself. i don't really have a great update in store right now either, but let's not get hasty, right? baby steps...
old news:
i got through a pretty crazy fall semester (sick load + ramadan), which also happened to be my first at UMBC. transferring in from a community college, it was a pretty big change, mainly the difficulty in classes. let's just say i learned a couple things. but what is knowledge without implementation, right? ...hopefully we can answer that at the end of this semester, and it'll be a good answer.
new(er) news:
since i want to be a man of my word, i am bringing a MIST team from baltimore this year. cuz that is what i said i would do last year. so i'm doing it. there's a lot of things i can say about MIST, but i'll make it simple and say i learned a lot from being a part of it, whether it was the tournament itself, or the people i was around at the time. but either way, its a source of inspiration for many youth, and i think it's about time the kids from this area get something like that to draw from. so insha Allah, there shall be a team. and it will be called Al-Rahmah.
i just watched Pan's Labyrinth. it was sad. and weird.
smh.
thoughts:
maybe some other time. holler.
uno. dos. tres.
(sp?)
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