salaamu alaikum
i think there was a topic on islamica about where you see yourself in 10 years. i dunno, but my initial response was: prolly be dead. i dunno, is it just me, or does anybody else get the feeling that theyre gonna die real young? i do. the other day i was so tired when i was driving, i almost got into a nasty car accident, but alhamdulillah Allah saved me, and my car. but after that i was thinking, you know, that coulda been IT. and i wudda died in Ramadan. how many close calls have i had? im thinking about it, and im like, every day, im dodging bullets. we all are. its so easy to die.
i was planning on going for Hajj this year, thinking hey, if i have the money, let me do it, fulfill my obligation, and be ready to "die". but now im not going, cuz i asked the shaykh about students who wanted to go to hajj (in the aalim program) and he was like nah, theyll miss too much. ALTHOUGH, now that i think about it, since i HAVE already somewhat studied Nahw and Sarf (sure its garbage but hey i did take the course) i might be allowed to kinda miss a lil bit since im "ahead" right? at least this first year. im starting late anyways tho. its starting after ramadan, and im not gonna come in until my semesters over. i dunno.
im gonna start rambling now.
past few weeks ive been thinkin bout this stuff a lot, dunno why tho. but the whole notion of living this life as a traveler seems so hard in todays society, where you're grounded to this dunya by so many things. all these shiny things we have, fancy homes and clothes and cars, just tie us down. it seems almost impossible to truly "live this life as a traveler".
but im beginning to think, sure its got to do with material things, but also nonmaterial things, like attitudes. sometimes we take things so seriously. little dents in our egoes or emotions, and we get hurt so bad. is it really gonna kill us? even if it does, it doesn't matter, we're just travelers. people get caught up in dramas to such an extent that it affects their health and its all they think or talk about. dude you're a traveler.
now that might sound like im holding an opinion that you shouldnt get attached to people in this life, and that feelings dont matter because in the end, everybodys gonna hurt you and you will only be truly happy in the afterlife, inshaAllah. the latter part may be true, but i dont doubt things like sincerity, brother/sisterhood (such a powerful thing), piety, being TRUE and REAL and all that good green stuff. im tellin you, that stuff is real. its not imaginary. and just because we one day come into contact with the "real world" where things are ugly and gritty, we forget all these things and say "i have never experienced any good."
middle path.
sure we're all gonna die. the Prophet SAW knew that better than anyone, and yet the amount of love and genuine compassion he showed towards mankind in general was nothing short of amazing. why spend hours upon hours of qiyam at night time until his heels would bleed, begging Allah to help and save this Ummah - THIS UMMAH, that means every single one of us, you and I - why would anybody do that if "lifes a [bleep] and then you die"?
...[more if it comes to me]
Friday, October 21, 2005
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
comedian
salaamu alaikum
so yesterday after coming back from the district court and receiving my penalty/fine/wutever, i went through a depression that lasted a few hours while i slept, went to school for class, but decided not to go and just sat on the computer for 2 hours bored as crap in K building. alhamdulillah tho, iftar time rolled thru, i came back to the masjid and played playground football with the hafidh school kids, and realizing that i hadn't reviewed for the day, ate iftar, took a shower, and crammed in the juz at the last second. then after taraweeh, i went to the gym and lost in a game of basketball (now wait and calm down, because obviously, ShakirSahab doesn't lose games of basketball, so one must understand the underlying notions that ShakirSahab actually let whoever he was playing win, and then everything fits in place again.)
but anyways, now that im not as blown as before, ill relate how it went. first of all, i should be a comedian, because i had the entire court room laughing (with me >_>) and im pretty sure i made the judge's - who was a pretty ok lady (dont wanna say "nice" cuz she did give me that point at the end) - day. im serious, she shoulda dropped the thing just for being funny.
so i go up and start talking. i had written something down the night before, but when i went up there, any coherency i had on paper was lost.
i was like look, i know i shouldn't have been speeding, but i was on 29, and it was completely empty, im driving my dad's car, and i was late for a class, so i didn't notice how fast i was going. she asks me:
* * *
you have a class at 9:00PM?
yea, and class at my local community center.
at 9:00??? what kind of class is this?
an arabic class.
oh really? when does it end though?
around 11.
oh ok (satisfied)
* * *
so then im like, see the thing is I NEVER SPEED, i just get caught at the worst times. everybody starts laughing. so does the judge. im thinking 'good'. so then im like LOOK, i KNOW that 29 is the LAST place i wanna speed, cuz thats where the cops camp out, i KNOW THAT, so i dont even think bout going over the speed limit on that highway, especially when its empty, its just that that day, i was late for a class and i was just trying to make it on time.
meanwhile theyre all having a pretty good laugh, and shes like, "oh so you never speed but you get caught at the worst times?" im like yea. at this point im thinking, man i gotta use everything i got. so i pull the "i was going with the flow of traffic" card, and everybody is laughing at my great excuses. im like whatever, no use stopping now. so then i tell her how my 18 months are gonna be over in 2 months, and she just simply says, "not any more". i was like barrrrrrrrrr. bastard lady.
so as a final resort, before she can issue a sentencing i pick up the citation and im like, YO, (i actually did say YO in the court room by accident while i was explaining how i never speed and am such a good driver) my name is MISSPELLED on the citation, so TECHNICALLY, i dont even know who this guy is!!!
shes like, oh really, how do you spell ur name. i tell her, she writes it down somewhere, and says, they got ur last name right right? "yes". its all good then.
then she asks bout my previous ticket, and im like i got none. and shes like yea you do. and i go i was not guilty for that. and shes like yea you were. i go no i wasnt. and she goes did you pay a fine? i say yes. and she says that if you paid, then you were found guilty, but were on probation.
and then she says so youre on your provisionals? yes.
you're under 18????? yes.
so you know your parents were supposed to be notified about this? yes.
do they know? yea.
where are they? uhh, at home?
so they know about the ticket? yeaa (wth does she want?)
what did they say? to come here
(audience laughs)
SMH, what the hell do my parents have to do with anything. anyways, that was it. in the end, she said shed bring the speed down to 64 and that makes it one point, and that i should be careful. i stepped away from the podium thing and half expected applause and was thinking about bowing, but i decided not to...
instead i walked into the middle of the room and yelled, "[bleep] THE POLICE NIGGGAAAA!!@!!!" then stole their donuts and ran away.
EDIT: i just posted this on islamica, lets see if i get rep points.....
so yesterday after coming back from the district court and receiving my penalty/fine/wutever, i went through a depression that lasted a few hours while i slept, went to school for class, but decided not to go and just sat on the computer for 2 hours bored as crap in K building. alhamdulillah tho, iftar time rolled thru, i came back to the masjid and played playground football with the hafidh school kids, and realizing that i hadn't reviewed for the day, ate iftar, took a shower, and crammed in the juz at the last second. then after taraweeh, i went to the gym and lost in a game of basketball (now wait and calm down, because obviously, ShakirSahab doesn't lose games of basketball, so one must understand the underlying notions that ShakirSahab actually let whoever he was playing win, and then everything fits in place again.)
but anyways, now that im not as blown as before, ill relate how it went. first of all, i should be a comedian, because i had the entire court room laughing (with me >_>) and im pretty sure i made the judge's - who was a pretty ok lady (dont wanna say "nice" cuz she did give me that point at the end) - day. im serious, she shoulda dropped the thing just for being funny.
so i go up and start talking. i had written something down the night before, but when i went up there, any coherency i had on paper was lost.
i was like look, i know i shouldn't have been speeding, but i was on 29, and it was completely empty, im driving my dad's car, and i was late for a class, so i didn't notice how fast i was going. she asks me:
* * *
you have a class at 9:00PM?
yea, and class at my local community center.
at 9:00??? what kind of class is this?
an arabic class.
oh really? when does it end though?
around 11.
oh ok (satisfied)
* * *
so then im like, see the thing is I NEVER SPEED, i just get caught at the worst times. everybody starts laughing. so does the judge. im thinking 'good'. so then im like LOOK, i KNOW that 29 is the LAST place i wanna speed, cuz thats where the cops camp out, i KNOW THAT, so i dont even think bout going over the speed limit on that highway, especially when its empty, its just that that day, i was late for a class and i was just trying to make it on time.
meanwhile theyre all having a pretty good laugh, and shes like, "oh so you never speed but you get caught at the worst times?" im like yea. at this point im thinking, man i gotta use everything i got. so i pull the "i was going with the flow of traffic" card, and everybody is laughing at my great excuses. im like whatever, no use stopping now. so then i tell her how my 18 months are gonna be over in 2 months, and she just simply says, "not any more". i was like barrrrrrrrrr. bastard lady.
so as a final resort, before she can issue a sentencing i pick up the citation and im like, YO, (i actually did say YO in the court room by accident while i was explaining how i never speed and am such a good driver) my name is MISSPELLED on the citation, so TECHNICALLY, i dont even know who this guy is!!!
shes like, oh really, how do you spell ur name. i tell her, she writes it down somewhere, and says, they got ur last name right right? "yes". its all good then.
then she asks bout my previous ticket, and im like i got none. and shes like yea you do. and i go i was not guilty for that. and shes like yea you were. i go no i wasnt. and she goes did you pay a fine? i say yes. and she says that if you paid, then you were found guilty, but were on probation.
and then she says so youre on your provisionals? yes.
you're under 18????? yes.
so you know your parents were supposed to be notified about this? yes.
do they know? yea.
where are they? uhh, at home?
so they know about the ticket? yeaa (wth does she want?)
what did they say? to come here
(audience laughs)
SMH, what the hell do my parents have to do with anything. anyways, that was it. in the end, she said shed bring the speed down to 64 and that makes it one point, and that i should be careful. i stepped away from the podium thing and half expected applause and was thinking about bowing, but i decided not to...
instead i walked into the middle of the room and yelled, "[bleep] THE POLICE NIGGGAAAA!!@!!!" then stole their donuts and ran away.
EDIT: i just posted this on islamica, lets see if i get rep points.....
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
cuz i'm young and i'm black and my hats real low...
salaamu alaikum
man one of these days imma run from the police, just so i can provoke them to DO SOMETHING while theyre on the job and getting paid besides sitting and chilling in their fancy crown vics and clocking people for going 2 miles over the speed limit. bastards. no really, they dont do anything but sit on the side of the highway and give ppl tickets. go stop violence, stop the drug traffic, do something else besides exploiting other ppl's misfortunes. SMH
yes, i just got back from the court house after a near accident and death experience (another story) trying to fight my ticket. FIRST OF ALL, they had my name wrong on the citation. i tried that card but the judge lady was like, well ur last name is correct, so its all good. nice excuse eh, not my fault the officer can't spell my friggin name. technically i dunno who the hell HAMMOND HAI is...
to make a long story short, even though i had the entire court room laughing at my pretty elaborate excuse for speeding, she didnt drop it. instead she took it down to 1 point. SOOOO, that means that my 18 months are gonna start over again!!! bastards.
and soon i got the court thing for the old geezer lady thats sueing me after half a year. 10,000 dollars, mashaAllah. you old rich lady, what do you need all that money for!?!??!?!?!??!? to give to your son so he can go to a fancy private school!?!??! maybe im wrong and shes not rich. either way, shes exploiting me. i wouldnt have sued her. cuz shes old.
lemme go play some killer instinct to vent this frustration.
lets go fulgore.
man one of these days imma run from the police, just so i can provoke them to DO SOMETHING while theyre on the job and getting paid besides sitting and chilling in their fancy crown vics and clocking people for going 2 miles over the speed limit. bastards. no really, they dont do anything but sit on the side of the highway and give ppl tickets. go stop violence, stop the drug traffic, do something else besides exploiting other ppl's misfortunes. SMH
yes, i just got back from the court house after a near accident and death experience (another story) trying to fight my ticket. FIRST OF ALL, they had my name wrong on the citation. i tried that card but the judge lady was like, well ur last name is correct, so its all good. nice excuse eh, not my fault the officer can't spell my friggin name. technically i dunno who the hell HAMMOND HAI is...
to make a long story short, even though i had the entire court room laughing at my pretty elaborate excuse for speeding, she didnt drop it. instead she took it down to 1 point. SOOOO, that means that my 18 months are gonna start over again!!! bastards.
and soon i got the court thing for the old geezer lady thats sueing me after half a year. 10,000 dollars, mashaAllah. you old rich lady, what do you need all that money for!?!??!?!?!??!? to give to your son so he can go to a fancy private school!?!??! maybe im wrong and shes not rich. either way, shes exploiting me. i wouldnt have sued her. cuz shes old.
lemme go play some killer instinct to vent this frustration.
lets go fulgore.
Sunday, October 16, 2005
reminiscing on the past times
salaamu alaikum
ahh today i went and beat killer instinct and super street fighter 2 on Super Nintendo. i used to play those games like a fiend. i swear, me and my boy would ditch taraweeh to come and play video games for hours n hours. good times.
that was back when i had enough sleep that i could wake up at 7 AM automatically and watch sonic or ronin warriors or something. man im laggin on sleep, and its bad. cuz its not the "no sleep in 3 days" type of thing, its the "too little sleep over the course of about 2 weeks now", and i know its hittin me now cuz the other day, while driving, i got spots in my vision. it looked like how when rain hits the windshield, cept there was no rain or water, and it didnt happen on my windshield, just random spots in my vision and then they disappeared. 3 of em. pop pop pop, and then gone.
and today, during taraweeh, all of a sudden i couldn't feel my legs. my entire lower body became "detached" and i was having an outer body experience. im serious, i could feel my (upper) body still while it was reading quran (im still reading while this whole bizarre thing is happening) and it feels like "I" am spinning slowly in circles, away from my body, and outside of it. then the fan came around towards my body and blew air at me, and i almost stumbled. i was like whoa man, lemme hurry up and go into ruku so i can feel my legs again.
never happened to me before in my life man. and now imma go and do my homework for tomorrow.
ahh today i went and beat killer instinct and super street fighter 2 on Super Nintendo. i used to play those games like a fiend. i swear, me and my boy would ditch taraweeh to come and play video games for hours n hours. good times.
that was back when i had enough sleep that i could wake up at 7 AM automatically and watch sonic or ronin warriors or something. man im laggin on sleep, and its bad. cuz its not the "no sleep in 3 days" type of thing, its the "too little sleep over the course of about 2 weeks now", and i know its hittin me now cuz the other day, while driving, i got spots in my vision. it looked like how when rain hits the windshield, cept there was no rain or water, and it didnt happen on my windshield, just random spots in my vision and then they disappeared. 3 of em. pop pop pop, and then gone.
and today, during taraweeh, all of a sudden i couldn't feel my legs. my entire lower body became "detached" and i was having an outer body experience. im serious, i could feel my (upper) body still while it was reading quran (im still reading while this whole bizarre thing is happening) and it feels like "I" am spinning slowly in circles, away from my body, and outside of it. then the fan came around towards my body and blew air at me, and i almost stumbled. i was like whoa man, lemme hurry up and go into ruku so i can feel my legs again.
never happened to me before in my life man. and now imma go and do my homework for tomorrow.
Friday, October 14, 2005
salaamu alaikum
man im so screwed today. thanks to a certain classmate of mine, yesterday i got no sleep, "studying" for our philo discussion today. ya right. just killed brain cells trynna argue with him. and this morning? no suhoor. why? first 100 cars at the shell on 40 today got free gas. starting at 5AM, i was waiting in line for an hour. suhoor time is over, and i drive out of there with 20 bucks of free gas. was it worth it? i dunno
i just woke up from about 45 minutes of sleep, which is the worst, and i dunno if i should be operating machinery. oh well, time to go ahead and try.
man im so screwed today. thanks to a certain classmate of mine, yesterday i got no sleep, "studying" for our philo discussion today. ya right. just killed brain cells trynna argue with him. and this morning? no suhoor. why? first 100 cars at the shell on 40 today got free gas. starting at 5AM, i was waiting in line for an hour. suhoor time is over, and i drive out of there with 20 bucks of free gas. was it worth it? i dunno
i just woke up from about 45 minutes of sleep, which is the worst, and i dunno if i should be operating machinery. oh well, time to go ahead and try.
Sunday, October 09, 2005
salaamu alaikum
my plan failed. :-(
i read pretty slow today, hoping that the same uncles that were talkin to me yesterday bout going too fast would get tired of standing the whole time and ask me to speed up a lil bit. after 4 rakahs i heard them talking in the back, saying SOMEthing about the length of the rakahs, but then they just said that it was a good pace. something something something. we only finished like maybe 10 minutes later than usual too. i guess thats just how its gonna be now. its cool with me, the only thing that semi-not-even-really bothers me is that they got me.
yup, they got me.
my plan failed. :-(
i read pretty slow today, hoping that the same uncles that were talkin to me yesterday bout going too fast would get tired of standing the whole time and ask me to speed up a lil bit. after 4 rakahs i heard them talking in the back, saying SOMEthing about the length of the rakahs, but then they just said that it was a good pace. something something something. we only finished like maybe 10 minutes later than usual too. i guess thats just how its gonna be now. its cool with me, the only thing that semi-not-even-really bothers me is that they got me.
yup, they got me.
Saturday, October 08, 2005
salaamu alaikum
so today after Taraweeh, some dude kinda "went off" on me in a milder sense tho, about how i should slow down my recitation and how im reading too fast and stuff. first of all, i try to read as fast as i can WITH ALL the tajweed rules INTACT. second of all, what am I supposed to do? they only give me 12 raka'at, and i gotta read the wholeJUZ and a HALF in those 12. the first 8 they give to the students of their sunday school, and they read random short surahs from random places, and then when theyre done, then i get to lead the remaining 12.
honestly, i dont care. if they want me to read slower, ILL READ SLOWER. the ONLY reason i try to read fast is for THEIR sake, because the Raka's are ridiculously long even with the speed im reciting at. if they want me to read slower, they better be prepared for some reallllllllly long raka's. when i told them this, they were like you don't even have to read a juz and a half! just read a QUARTER!? its not fard to finish the quran! thats just desi mentality.
after that i stopped talking and just gave them the stoneface. -_-
i remember they told me that last year when they first met me. i was like yo, im finishing the quran. no its not cuz i think its fard. but because its a goal for ME. it superglues my quran back together.
on a sidenote: im on a ramadan high.
so today after Taraweeh, some dude kinda "went off" on me in a milder sense tho, about how i should slow down my recitation and how im reading too fast and stuff. first of all, i try to read as fast as i can WITH ALL the tajweed rules INTACT. second of all, what am I supposed to do? they only give me 12 raka'at, and i gotta read the wholeJUZ and a HALF in those 12. the first 8 they give to the students of their sunday school, and they read random short surahs from random places, and then when theyre done, then i get to lead the remaining 12.
honestly, i dont care. if they want me to read slower, ILL READ SLOWER. the ONLY reason i try to read fast is for THEIR sake, because the Raka's are ridiculously long even with the speed im reciting at. if they want me to read slower, they better be prepared for some reallllllllly long raka's. when i told them this, they were like you don't even have to read a juz and a half! just read a QUARTER!? its not fard to finish the quran! thats just desi mentality.
after that i stopped talking and just gave them the stoneface. -_-
i remember they told me that last year when they first met me. i was like yo, im finishing the quran. no its not cuz i think its fard. but because its a goal for ME. it superglues my quran back together.
on a sidenote: im on a ramadan high.
Friday, October 07, 2005
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
salaamu alaikum :D
ahh, always good and bad.
good news: i just got a whole rack of 50$ gas cards, so I won't have to worry bout paying for gas for a while.
bad news: the old lady involved in my accident from a while back finally decides she wants to sue me.
Ya Allah, please correct my affairs in the best of ways. Ameen.
ahh, always good and bad.
good news: i just got a whole rack of 50$ gas cards, so I won't have to worry bout paying for gas for a while.
bad news: the old lady involved in my accident from a while back finally decides she wants to sue me.
Ya Allah, please correct my affairs in the best of ways. Ameen.
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Salaamu Alaikum
posted this on Islamica just now:
Assalaamu Alaikum
Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem
Al Hamdu Lillahi Rabbil Aalameen.
Islamicans, I need your help in refining this argument. Basically the other day in my philosophy class, the professor was talking about how God is associated with certain attributes, such as All-Good, All-Powerful, All-Knowing. And he was like, even if you could prove the existence of some diety out there, how would you prove that he has such qualities? Thing is, he uses Christianity as an example of ridiculous claims a lot, and sometimes he'll talk about Judaism, and it looks like he actually knows some stuff about both. But he has not mentioned Islam yet, and I'm beginning to think that he hasn't studied or looked into Islam yet. Either way, I wanted to form an argument about the existance of God along with His attributes by using the Quran:
Before I start, I just wanna say that these are numbered cuz thats the order. Until I establish each one, I would not go to the next one, because it would circle back to an earlier point. I'm sure everybody knew that.
1. First thing I would establish is that the Prophet Muhammad SAW was an unlettered man, and maybe throw in a bit about his character. But really establishing that he was no philosopher or anything like that; he could neither read nor write. I wouldn't go past this issue until it was established and agreed upon, and for that I'd need outside historical sources. Where would I find those?
2. The Arabs lived in an isolated society. They were not advanced in their thinking, but were sinking into ignorance and vice. Again, outside historical proofs would be needed so these things can be established. Basically establish the scenario in which Islam popped off.
3. The Quran: How it has been unchanged for 1400 years. How the Prophet could not have written it. How his companions could not have got together and written it. How the Muslims in later times could not have slowly completed it, adding things here and there. How it is memorized and preserved.
4. Because it is unchanged and original, then discuss its miracles such as the prophecies that have came true. The scientific facts it provides that have only recently been discovered. The challenge that it has issued and which still remains today.
Thus, ESTABLISHING the legitimacy of the Quran, and proving it could NOT have been written by Men. Now here, I'm kinda confused as to how to make the leap from "Not Man Made" to "Divinely Revealed by God". The line of logic I was planning on using was like this:
Everything that can be proved true or false in the Quran, (such as the prophecies, scientific facts) have been proven true, and none have been proven false. So as for the things that cannot be scientifically TESTED, like God being Allah, Allah being One, His Attributes, it would be unfair/unethical/dishonest (dunno the correct word that I'm trying to use) to say that these parts are FALSE based on mere POSSIBILITY. Because if everything else in the book is true, why say these parts are false without proof? (Makes sense in my head.)
SO THUS:
5. Since the Quran is true, the Quran claims that there is a God, and that God is Allah, and Allah has such and such attributes.
I asked a brother bout this logic and if it was flawed, and he said yes it was. I'm not sure how exactly, so maybe somebody can explain. InshaAllah, I'm hoping you guys can help me with a few things.
1. The argument. Flaws. Help me refine it. Anything at all.
2. The Proofs. HOW do I ESTABLISH beyond argument that the Prophet SAW was unlettered. And the Arabs lived in such a society. And that the Quran has been unchanged. I can't use religious proofs like the Hadith for the Prophet's life. I would need outside sources. Same for the Arab lifestyle. What's good Islamica?
WHATS GOOD!?!?!??
Oh, and try and keep it simple for me, please. I'm really pretty stupid, so if you decide to go Russell status on me, I'm gonna hafto skip your post.
Jazaakumullahu Khairan.
posted this on Islamica just now:
Assalaamu Alaikum
Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem
Al Hamdu Lillahi Rabbil Aalameen.
Islamicans, I need your help in refining this argument. Basically the other day in my philosophy class, the professor was talking about how God is associated with certain attributes, such as All-Good, All-Powerful, All-Knowing. And he was like, even if you could prove the existence of some diety out there, how would you prove that he has such qualities? Thing is, he uses Christianity as an example of ridiculous claims a lot, and sometimes he'll talk about Judaism, and it looks like he actually knows some stuff about both. But he has not mentioned Islam yet, and I'm beginning to think that he hasn't studied or looked into Islam yet. Either way, I wanted to form an argument about the existance of God along with His attributes by using the Quran:
Before I start, I just wanna say that these are numbered cuz thats the order. Until I establish each one, I would not go to the next one, because it would circle back to an earlier point. I'm sure everybody knew that.
1. First thing I would establish is that the Prophet Muhammad SAW was an unlettered man, and maybe throw in a bit about his character. But really establishing that he was no philosopher or anything like that; he could neither read nor write. I wouldn't go past this issue until it was established and agreed upon, and for that I'd need outside historical sources. Where would I find those?
2. The Arabs lived in an isolated society. They were not advanced in their thinking, but were sinking into ignorance and vice. Again, outside historical proofs would be needed so these things can be established. Basically establish the scenario in which Islam popped off.
3. The Quran: How it has been unchanged for 1400 years. How the Prophet could not have written it. How his companions could not have got together and written it. How the Muslims in later times could not have slowly completed it, adding things here and there. How it is memorized and preserved.
4. Because it is unchanged and original, then discuss its miracles such as the prophecies that have came true. The scientific facts it provides that have only recently been discovered. The challenge that it has issued and which still remains today.
Thus, ESTABLISHING the legitimacy of the Quran, and proving it could NOT have been written by Men. Now here, I'm kinda confused as to how to make the leap from "Not Man Made" to "Divinely Revealed by God". The line of logic I was planning on using was like this:
Everything that can be proved true or false in the Quran, (such as the prophecies, scientific facts) have been proven true, and none have been proven false. So as for the things that cannot be scientifically TESTED, like God being Allah, Allah being One, His Attributes, it would be unfair/unethical/dishonest (dunno the correct word that I'm trying to use) to say that these parts are FALSE based on mere POSSIBILITY. Because if everything else in the book is true, why say these parts are false without proof? (Makes sense in my head.)
SO THUS:
5. Since the Quran is true, the Quran claims that there is a God, and that God is Allah, and Allah has such and such attributes.
I asked a brother bout this logic and if it was flawed, and he said yes it was. I'm not sure how exactly, so maybe somebody can explain. InshaAllah, I'm hoping you guys can help me with a few things.
1. The argument. Flaws. Help me refine it. Anything at all.
2. The Proofs. HOW do I ESTABLISH beyond argument that the Prophet SAW was unlettered. And the Arabs lived in such a society. And that the Quran has been unchanged. I can't use religious proofs like the Hadith for the Prophet's life. I would need outside sources. Same for the Arab lifestyle. What's good Islamica?
WHATS GOOD!?!?!??
Oh, and try and keep it simple for me, please. I'm really pretty stupid, so if you decide to go Russell status on me, I'm gonna hafto skip your post.
Jazaakumullahu Khairan.
Monday, October 03, 2005
salaamu alaikum
so since the maxima broke down on me (transmission died) we had it towed from the highway where it left us stranded to some gas station. after finding out how much a new tranny plus labor would cost, (starting from a G and going up) we decided we wouldn't bother with it, and its going to the junk yard. so im like, hell no im not donating the speakers to a junkyard so some random fiend can go and pick em for 10 bones. so me and a friend go to the gas station to take out the nice, Pioneer, aftermarket speakers (which i never really got to use cuz i never installed a tape deck OR CD player after the first one got stolen). so ive opened up the door panel before to fix the busted window motor, so i know where the door speakers are. i take those out easily. almost there.
the ones in the back however, i have absolutely no idea how to take out. you can see them if you open the trunk - thats where the wires all all hooked up - but theyre screwed in from the top. and when you go from inside to somehow remove the top, its like impossible. it just wasnt happening. so my friend has the ingenius idea to "take out the back windshield" so we have more room to work with. so he unscrews some random screws n stuff, and then starts peeling away at the rubber lining surrounding the glass. he takes a flathead and tries to prop the windshield up. meanwhile, im still trynna figure out how to remove the top without using an axe or something. all i hear is BOOOM, like somebody juss busted a cap into the windshield, and this big piece of glass falls on me and the place im workin. i jump back, look up and theres a huge hole in the glass, and the rest of it is just splintering and getting ready to shatter. you can see the lines snake thru the wholllle thing, and you can hear the tiny cackles and cracking.
woohoo. whats done is done. i was actually thinking about maybe selling the car for parts, like you know, get 100 or 200 bucks off the vehicle, but now i was juss like whatever, this thing is junk. oh and we were getting raped by mosquitos this whole time too, and since the doors were open, im pretty sure they found a whole lot of new places to live. anyways, so he busts out his phone that has a slick lil recording camera thing, and records us taking screwdrivers and just busting thru the rest of the glass, then we proceed to rip apart the top thats denying us access to the speakers, while shards of glass are falling all over us and our hands are getting lil tiny cuts everywhere.
in the end, we did remove the speakers safely. alhamdulillah. :D
so since the maxima broke down on me (transmission died) we had it towed from the highway where it left us stranded to some gas station. after finding out how much a new tranny plus labor would cost, (starting from a G and going up) we decided we wouldn't bother with it, and its going to the junk yard. so im like, hell no im not donating the speakers to a junkyard so some random fiend can go and pick em for 10 bones. so me and a friend go to the gas station to take out the nice, Pioneer, aftermarket speakers (which i never really got to use cuz i never installed a tape deck OR CD player after the first one got stolen). so ive opened up the door panel before to fix the busted window motor, so i know where the door speakers are. i take those out easily. almost there.
the ones in the back however, i have absolutely no idea how to take out. you can see them if you open the trunk - thats where the wires all all hooked up - but theyre screwed in from the top. and when you go from inside to somehow remove the top, its like impossible. it just wasnt happening. so my friend has the ingenius idea to "take out the back windshield" so we have more room to work with. so he unscrews some random screws n stuff, and then starts peeling away at the rubber lining surrounding the glass. he takes a flathead and tries to prop the windshield up. meanwhile, im still trynna figure out how to remove the top without using an axe or something. all i hear is BOOOM, like somebody juss busted a cap into the windshield, and this big piece of glass falls on me and the place im workin. i jump back, look up and theres a huge hole in the glass, and the rest of it is just splintering and getting ready to shatter. you can see the lines snake thru the wholllle thing, and you can hear the tiny cackles and cracking.
woohoo. whats done is done. i was actually thinking about maybe selling the car for parts, like you know, get 100 or 200 bucks off the vehicle, but now i was juss like whatever, this thing is junk. oh and we were getting raped by mosquitos this whole time too, and since the doors were open, im pretty sure they found a whole lot of new places to live. anyways, so he busts out his phone that has a slick lil recording camera thing, and records us taking screwdrivers and just busting thru the rest of the glass, then we proceed to rip apart the top thats denying us access to the speakers, while shards of glass are falling all over us and our hands are getting lil tiny cuts everywhere.
in the end, we did remove the speakers safely. alhamdulillah. :D
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
salaamu alaikum
"pocket qurans are cool but how do you manage to carry it around so taht it doesnt suffer any disrespect? loosely being thrown around, etC? isnt it kinda hard? ive been wanting to bring a quraan with me to school but its semi risky i feel. "
i used to have the same dilemma. how to carry it around without disrespecting it? i was always taught to not even hold the quran like any other book, and hold it up to my chest with my right hand, just for respect. for pocket qurans tho, its all gravy if you got the upper shirt pockets, as long as you dont go in the bathroom n stuff, but i dont always rock shirts with pockets up there. i usually dont actually. so for me, its a matter of necessity. i havent been reviewing lately, at all, and ramadan is less than a week away. i dont put the quran in my bookbag cuz that thing gets thrown around, put on the ground, etc. not in my back pocket cuz id sit on it. i do put it in my regular side pocket, and i try to take as much care of it as possible.
an extreme example is the super glorified, glitterified, shrined Qurans that adorn the top of people's shelves, but theyre never taken down. never read through even once. They just collect dust. i think thats the greatest disrespect. you see a student of quran's Mus'haf, and you can tell how many juz they know. Because half the pages will be in perfect shape, and then when it gets near the end, the pages are ripped, half coming out, SWOLLEN. because these pages are sifted through everyday, all the time. they are read, all the time. the Quran is not just the book, but the words.
WALLAHI, i'm not any more attached to the quran than anybody else. and of all people, I should be. but i'm not. during the time of the sahaba, if you would walk through the streets at nighttime, the houses would be radiating with the recitation of Quran, during tahajjud hours. like the buzzing of bees. i remember a brother gave a small talk on how the sahaba would review their quran. they would have a set amount they would read every NIGHT, and finish every week. this is only how they would review. recitation was their passtime, their hobby. Imam Shafii read the quran like six times in a day JUST to find an ayah that was proof for Qiyas. these people lived the quran. and today, we can barely read a few ayat besides what we read in prayer without feeling tired.
yea, so i kinda went off on a tangent. it wasnt aimed at anybody but me though. i gotta say this stuff sometimes so i can get affected too. but back to the topic, i need this pocket quran to review. i keep it in my pocket, and even though thats not the best place, its better than me not reading at all. especially during ramadan.
ramadan: here comes the challenges i was talking about earlier. i cant refuse challenges. basically, a brother came up to me last night at isha, and told me to finish taraweeh in annapolis early. like the 21st or something. then come back to ISB, and do a late session taraweeh for the cats who are gonna be staying in I'tikaaf. last year, this one brother did that. his taraweeh would be after the main taraweeh ended, starting at like 11:00 and ending around 1 or 2. but he read 5 juz the first night. 3 the second. etc. finished in 10 days.
yall are prolly like why? basically, even though it isnt required, people wanna hear the entire quran during Ramadan. but they also wanna go masjid hopping and hear different ppl. different masajid go at different paces. so if they leave one night to go to a different place, and they come back, they might miss a small portion, because the two jama'ahs might be at different places. so they just wanna finish the quran, so then they can go around and go to any taraweeh they want. something like that. cept this is not gonna be in the beginning, but at the end. so its more for the ppl of i'tikaaf.
but dude asked me to do that. finish in annapolis, then come to ISB and do these late night sessions and finish again in a few days for the brothers in i'tikaaf. they will listen to an entire quran. they wont be up at night gossiping like little girls (it happens). and itll be a form of tahajjud. and itll only help me as well. i was like hey
i'm game.
i gotta talk to my teacher about it today so he can talk to the annapolis ppl and tell them when im finishing n stuff. but about challenges, theyre fun. occasionally, i like pushing myself. (not in school tho, god forbid 0_0) its the priceless feeling of adrenaline as youre scrambling to make ends meet, get ready, be ready, and make it thru, and then relaxing afterwards. the best time of the day during ramadan is RIGHT after you finish witr. like yessss, i actually made it thru THIS juz! its all easy from here. then the next morning youre worried bout that night.
haha, funny how i started this off as a comment to the previous post and it turned into this. i got class in 20 mins. so imma end this off riiiiight here.
walaikum assalaam
EDIT: i just read thru this, and i realize how incoherent this whole thing was. s-m-h.
"pocket qurans are cool but how do you manage to carry it around so taht it doesnt suffer any disrespect? loosely being thrown around, etC? isnt it kinda hard? ive been wanting to bring a quraan with me to school but its semi risky i feel. "
i used to have the same dilemma. how to carry it around without disrespecting it? i was always taught to not even hold the quran like any other book, and hold it up to my chest with my right hand, just for respect. for pocket qurans tho, its all gravy if you got the upper shirt pockets, as long as you dont go in the bathroom n stuff, but i dont always rock shirts with pockets up there. i usually dont actually. so for me, its a matter of necessity. i havent been reviewing lately, at all, and ramadan is less than a week away. i dont put the quran in my bookbag cuz that thing gets thrown around, put on the ground, etc. not in my back pocket cuz id sit on it. i do put it in my regular side pocket, and i try to take as much care of it as possible.
an extreme example is the super glorified, glitterified, shrined Qurans that adorn the top of people's shelves, but theyre never taken down. never read through even once. They just collect dust. i think thats the greatest disrespect. you see a student of quran's Mus'haf, and you can tell how many juz they know. Because half the pages will be in perfect shape, and then when it gets near the end, the pages are ripped, half coming out, SWOLLEN. because these pages are sifted through everyday, all the time. they are read, all the time. the Quran is not just the book, but the words.
WALLAHI, i'm not any more attached to the quran than anybody else. and of all people, I should be. but i'm not. during the time of the sahaba, if you would walk through the streets at nighttime, the houses would be radiating with the recitation of Quran, during tahajjud hours. like the buzzing of bees. i remember a brother gave a small talk on how the sahaba would review their quran. they would have a set amount they would read every NIGHT, and finish every week. this is only how they would review. recitation was their passtime, their hobby. Imam Shafii read the quran like six times in a day JUST to find an ayah that was proof for Qiyas. these people lived the quran. and today, we can barely read a few ayat besides what we read in prayer without feeling tired.
yea, so i kinda went off on a tangent. it wasnt aimed at anybody but me though. i gotta say this stuff sometimes so i can get affected too. but back to the topic, i need this pocket quran to review. i keep it in my pocket, and even though thats not the best place, its better than me not reading at all. especially during ramadan.
ramadan: here comes the challenges i was talking about earlier. i cant refuse challenges. basically, a brother came up to me last night at isha, and told me to finish taraweeh in annapolis early. like the 21st or something. then come back to ISB, and do a late session taraweeh for the cats who are gonna be staying in I'tikaaf. last year, this one brother did that. his taraweeh would be after the main taraweeh ended, starting at like 11:00 and ending around 1 or 2. but he read 5 juz the first night. 3 the second. etc. finished in 10 days.
yall are prolly like why? basically, even though it isnt required, people wanna hear the entire quran during Ramadan. but they also wanna go masjid hopping and hear different ppl. different masajid go at different paces. so if they leave one night to go to a different place, and they come back, they might miss a small portion, because the two jama'ahs might be at different places. so they just wanna finish the quran, so then they can go around and go to any taraweeh they want. something like that. cept this is not gonna be in the beginning, but at the end. so its more for the ppl of i'tikaaf.
but dude asked me to do that. finish in annapolis, then come to ISB and do these late night sessions and finish again in a few days for the brothers in i'tikaaf. they will listen to an entire quran. they wont be up at night gossiping like little girls (it happens). and itll be a form of tahajjud. and itll only help me as well. i was like hey
i'm game.
i gotta talk to my teacher about it today so he can talk to the annapolis ppl and tell them when im finishing n stuff. but about challenges, theyre fun. occasionally, i like pushing myself. (not in school tho, god forbid 0_0) its the priceless feeling of adrenaline as youre scrambling to make ends meet, get ready, be ready, and make it thru, and then relaxing afterwards. the best time of the day during ramadan is RIGHT after you finish witr. like yessss, i actually made it thru THIS juz! its all easy from here. then the next morning youre worried bout that night.
haha, funny how i started this off as a comment to the previous post and it turned into this. i got class in 20 mins. so imma end this off riiiiight here.
walaikum assalaam
EDIT: i just read thru this, and i realize how incoherent this whole thing was. s-m-h.
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
salaamu alaikum
i was actually gonna come in here and post something real. about challenges that i got presented with today. but i dont feel it right now. it would only be half hearted. ive been staring at this screen for maybe half an hour already. completely lost my appetite for this.
i did get a pocket 15 liner (quran) today. but that wudda been part of the stuff i was going to talk about.
its whatever.
Astaghfirullah. Astaghfirullah. Astaghfirullah.
i was actually gonna come in here and post something real. about challenges that i got presented with today. but i dont feel it right now. it would only be half hearted. ive been staring at this screen for maybe half an hour already. completely lost my appetite for this.
i did get a pocket 15 liner (quran) today. but that wudda been part of the stuff i was going to talk about.
its whatever.
Astaghfirullah. Astaghfirullah. Astaghfirullah.
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
salaamu alaikum
ahh back from a full day of classes. today was interesting. walking out after my health class was done, some dudes sitting down with a bunch of his homies, sees me and hes like, "Yo's got the bin laden man, i want that!" im walkin past him and look at him like the bin laden? hes like yeah. im like grow it out and itll come son. itll come.
its the best tho when you find out that some of these ppl are muslim cuz when they see you, theyll stop and be like salaamu alaikum. and im like hey, mA. Walaikum assalaam.
greeting a fellow muslim is like a breath of fresh air.
"spread salaam amongst yourselves."
ahh back from a full day of classes. today was interesting. walking out after my health class was done, some dudes sitting down with a bunch of his homies, sees me and hes like, "Yo's got the bin laden man, i want that!" im walkin past him and look at him like the bin laden? hes like yeah. im like grow it out and itll come son. itll come.
its the best tho when you find out that some of these ppl are muslim cuz when they see you, theyll stop and be like salaamu alaikum. and im like hey, mA. Walaikum assalaam.
greeting a fellow muslim is like a breath of fresh air.
"spread salaam amongst yourselves."
Sunday, September 18, 2005
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
salaamu alaikum
eating sheermal with coco roos cereal milk and it tastes good. i had my first two tests in health and i think i did pretty good on both, alhamdulillah. and psychology is getting more interesting, and is really easy. philosophy is starting next monday, and ive heard from a number of people that my professor is really easy. its physics thats killing me. first test is tomorrow, thursday. and if i were to take it right now this instant, i would get a big fat 0. yousaf, if i find you at the masjid today, prepare for some chai and biscuits, cuz you're gonna help me out. if i still dont do well, this is the first class ive contemplated dropping for later. and i really might have to. dropping the class has been a very real option for me for another reason too. and thats the fact that im not rushing college anymore, like i had planned before. originally, my plan was to straight overload all my semesters and get an AA by the summer, and then continue on and finish college as soon as possible, maybe another year and a half (this plan had absolutely no motive behind it, really.... >_> )
but now, thats off. not because i lost the interest, or because it was a phase and it burned out and passed over, but because something came knocking at my door. before, students would travel across entire countries on foot or horseback, just to attain a single hadith or ask a question. today we have mountains of knowledge at our finger tips, and easy and quick accessibility to traditional schools overseas, but we don't reach out and take it. myself included. i went to a madrassa, but i didnt go overseas to become an aalim. ive been talked to so many times by so many people, everybody with a different opinion on what i should do. but all of them agree and see this one thing in me, and that is me not living up to my potential and settling for something so much less. and for me, its like, "if only these people knew how incapable and STUPID i really am, they wouldn't bother me."
to not get into a rant, lets just say ive wasted a couple of years, which goes back to the reason why i wanted to overload and finish up college in 2 some years. but now ive got an oppurtunity. ISB is starting a full time aalim program at Al-Rahmah, taught by qualified teachers, the same syllabus used in South Africa, with the certificate/degree and everything. it started off with the hifdh school, and now its this. how far away do i live from ISB? about 30 seconds if i walk BACKWARDS. if i decided to let this oppurtunity pass me by, i would not just be guilty of not reaching out and grabbing this blessing Allah is bestowing upon the community, but it would almost be as if i were running away from it. My teacher always taught me to make this duah: Ya Allah, accept me for Your deen.
can i handle it? im pumped already. cant wait for the semester to be over.
YA ALLAH, PLEASE MAKE ME AMONG THOSE WHOM YOU CHOOSE TO LEARN THIS DEEN AND IMPLEMENT IT IN THEIR EVERYDAY LIVES...
Ameen!
eating sheermal with coco roos cereal milk and it tastes good. i had my first two tests in health and i think i did pretty good on both, alhamdulillah. and psychology is getting more interesting, and is really easy. philosophy is starting next monday, and ive heard from a number of people that my professor is really easy. its physics thats killing me. first test is tomorrow, thursday. and if i were to take it right now this instant, i would get a big fat 0. yousaf, if i find you at the masjid today, prepare for some chai and biscuits, cuz you're gonna help me out. if i still dont do well, this is the first class ive contemplated dropping for later. and i really might have to. dropping the class has been a very real option for me for another reason too. and thats the fact that im not rushing college anymore, like i had planned before. originally, my plan was to straight overload all my semesters and get an AA by the summer, and then continue on and finish college as soon as possible, maybe another year and a half (this plan had absolutely no motive behind it, really.... >_> )
but now, thats off. not because i lost the interest, or because it was a phase and it burned out and passed over, but because something came knocking at my door. before, students would travel across entire countries on foot or horseback, just to attain a single hadith or ask a question. today we have mountains of knowledge at our finger tips, and easy and quick accessibility to traditional schools overseas, but we don't reach out and take it. myself included. i went to a madrassa, but i didnt go overseas to become an aalim. ive been talked to so many times by so many people, everybody with a different opinion on what i should do. but all of them agree and see this one thing in me, and that is me not living up to my potential and settling for something so much less. and for me, its like, "if only these people knew how incapable and STUPID i really am, they wouldn't bother me."
to not get into a rant, lets just say ive wasted a couple of years, which goes back to the reason why i wanted to overload and finish up college in 2 some years. but now ive got an oppurtunity. ISB is starting a full time aalim program at Al-Rahmah, taught by qualified teachers, the same syllabus used in South Africa, with the certificate/degree and everything. it started off with the hifdh school, and now its this. how far away do i live from ISB? about 30 seconds if i walk BACKWARDS. if i decided to let this oppurtunity pass me by, i would not just be guilty of not reaching out and grabbing this blessing Allah is bestowing upon the community, but it would almost be as if i were running away from it. My teacher always taught me to make this duah: Ya Allah, accept me for Your deen.
can i handle it? im pumped already. cant wait for the semester to be over.
YA ALLAH, PLEASE MAKE ME AMONG THOSE WHOM YOU CHOOSE TO LEARN THIS DEEN AND IMPLEMENT IT IN THEIR EVERYDAY LIVES...
Ameen!
Sunday, September 11, 2005
salaamu alaikum
im back home, watching the ravens vs. colts game. theyre losing, and its annoying. boller just got hurt, and wright is doing his thing, boutta get us a touchdown iA. anyways, im sore as i dunno what. went to the mas-camp and played a good game of football. i matched up against hasan, and we were basically schooling each other all game long. being sore is a good feeling tho, i think. because you know that you're muscles broke down, and they're going to rebuild stronger. so it hurts, but its a good pain.
i performed at the camp. and it went well. i wasnt sure i was gonna make it back on time. because on saturday, i was booked at ISB to recite for the fundraiser, and they had asked me like 4 months ago, so there was absolutely no way i could cancel, and if i was gonna cancel anything, it would have been going to the camp. so i left early, got to ISB on time. chilled, ate, prayed Maghrib, recited, and then dipped and went back to the camp. i got there just in time for the entertainment session, where hasan and them did our little skit from MIST 03. meanwhile, i was finishing up my poem. i got up there and performed, and it went good. i started, and all of sudden i had all this energy in my voice. i might have been going too fast, i dunno, but i definitely had the flow down. also, i went and edited the entry where I posted the poem and made it the version that I recited at the camp.
(NEWS: STOVER JUST MISSED HIS THIRD FIELD GOAL OF THE GAME. 16 YEAR VETERAN MY FOOT!)
=====================
(paraphrased from the after fajr/dhuhr (bad memory) khatirah)
Imam Ahmed ibn Hanbal was sitting in a gathering with his students and a man came up to him and complained that they were not getting any rain, and the drought was severely trying the people. Imam Ahmed said, "istaghfirillah", Seek forgiveness from Allah. The man left.
Another man came up, and compained how he was very poor. Imam Ahmed said, "istaghfirillah", Seek forgiveness from Allah. The man left.
Another man came up, and said that his wife was barren and could not have children. Imam Ahmed said, "istaghfirillah", Seek forgiveness from Allah. And the man left. One of the students in the gathering who was listening to all this got up and asked the Imam, all three of these people came up to you asking you different questions. And for each you said, Make istighfaar? Don't you have anything else?
And so Imam Ahmed recited these verses:
يُرْسِلِ السَّمَاء عَلَيْكُم مِّدْرَارًا
'He will send rain to you in abundance;
وَيُمْدِدْكُمْ بِأَمْوَالٍوَبَنِينَ وَيَجْعَل لَّكُمْ جَنَّاتٍ وَيَجْعَل لَّكُمْ أَنْهَارًا
'And give you increase in wealth and children, and bestow on you gardens and bestow on you rivers.' "
Simply by seeking forgiveness from Allah, something the Prophet SAW used to do at LEAST 100 times a day, Allah promises all this.
May Allah make us among those who keep their tongues wet with the rememberence of Him. Ameen.
im back home, watching the ravens vs. colts game. theyre losing, and its annoying. boller just got hurt, and wright is doing his thing, boutta get us a touchdown iA. anyways, im sore as i dunno what. went to the mas-camp and played a good game of football. i matched up against hasan, and we were basically schooling each other all game long. being sore is a good feeling tho, i think. because you know that you're muscles broke down, and they're going to rebuild stronger. so it hurts, but its a good pain.
i performed at the camp. and it went well. i wasnt sure i was gonna make it back on time. because on saturday, i was booked at ISB to recite for the fundraiser, and they had asked me like 4 months ago, so there was absolutely no way i could cancel, and if i was gonna cancel anything, it would have been going to the camp. so i left early, got to ISB on time. chilled, ate, prayed Maghrib, recited, and then dipped and went back to the camp. i got there just in time for the entertainment session, where hasan and them did our little skit from MIST 03. meanwhile, i was finishing up my poem. i got up there and performed, and it went good. i started, and all of sudden i had all this energy in my voice. i might have been going too fast, i dunno, but i definitely had the flow down. also, i went and edited the entry where I posted the poem and made it the version that I recited at the camp.
(NEWS: STOVER JUST MISSED HIS THIRD FIELD GOAL OF THE GAME. 16 YEAR VETERAN MY FOOT!)
=====================
(paraphrased from the after fajr/dhuhr (bad memory) khatirah)
Imam Ahmed ibn Hanbal was sitting in a gathering with his students and a man came up to him and complained that they were not getting any rain, and the drought was severely trying the people. Imam Ahmed said, "istaghfirillah", Seek forgiveness from Allah. The man left.
Another man came up, and compained how he was very poor. Imam Ahmed said, "istaghfirillah", Seek forgiveness from Allah. The man left.
Another man came up, and said that his wife was barren and could not have children. Imam Ahmed said, "istaghfirillah", Seek forgiveness from Allah. And the man left. One of the students in the gathering who was listening to all this got up and asked the Imam, all three of these people came up to you asking you different questions. And for each you said, Make istighfaar? Don't you have anything else?
And so Imam Ahmed recited these verses:
فَقُلْتُ اسْتَغْفِرُوا رَبَّكُمْ إِنَّهُ كَانَ غَفَّارًا
"I said (to them): 'Ask forgiveness from your Lord; Verily, He is Oft-Forgiving;يُرْسِلِ السَّمَاء عَلَيْكُم مِّدْرَارًا
'He will send rain to you in abundance;
وَيُمْدِدْكُمْ بِأَمْوَالٍوَبَنِينَ وَيَجْعَل لَّكُمْ جَنَّاتٍ وَيَجْعَل لَّكُمْ أَنْهَارًا
'And give you increase in wealth and children, and bestow on you gardens and bestow on you rivers.' "
Simply by seeking forgiveness from Allah, something the Prophet SAW used to do at LEAST 100 times a day, Allah promises all this.
May Allah make us among those who keep their tongues wet with the rememberence of Him. Ameen.
Thursday, September 08, 2005
salaamu alaikum
so much. but for now, im trying to finish up a poem that I have to perform tomorrow at the mas-camp. i dont know why i said yes to this, but now its late night, and I have yet to finish up my poem....and it seems to keep getting longer and longer, and it doesn't want to finish. or i dont know how to finish.
here it is so far:
the mind is a terrible thing to waste
but most wait and waste their time
in supposed liesure, while we find
that most minds, and these minds both
continue to wither and die
spiritually, if not at the intellectual level
hearts like metal, only brief envy
for hearts that bubble, at the briefest,
slightest mention of their Lord
just a thin sheer sheet of silk wrapped around steel
one verse, and they're already bored
and whats worse, than a hard heart
that curses its own roots
that yearn for these divine verses
but he pines to break loose
and he dies, trynna sever ties
that cannot be severed
bonds that cannot be broken
lineage that cannot be better
because in the end
we all came from the same person
we from the same place
the same hood
so then why is it, that when the hood's real low
the fitted cap fit, fit to the absolute lowest
and your eyes won't show
without you having to lean back real slow
and it might hurt you so
because my back might break my pride
when I lean down to prostrate to the Divine
and when I say salaams to my brother
why does it gotta be with the thug mug
and the sweeping eyes
or from afar, the gaze of Hasad, the icy stares
break ice with more ice, now its only icy care
only numbs the pain, and you have yet to realize
see me through real eyes
because I'm just you're brother
bonds of blood
just a different father and mother
but my arrogance, refusal to see my sins
suck it up, give in, and give greetings to kin
its not hard
just impossible for the same reason
that it seems not possible
to wake up for a single prayer on time
but pray late, no sleep, cuz we were stuck online
the night before
missed congregation Salaat
so for this we vaguely hate ourselves for,
but the effort is too great
so we grate and grind our teeth for the next time
and we eat, sleep, live, and forget our meaning for being,
our meeting with the Benevolent Being
the next morning we do the same
shed no tears but show a little shame
with a sham of a frown made possible
by the tear in my gown or the brown stain
on my jeans, while we look in the mirror
and shave and shape up my pretty little name
for some street fame
and i play this like a trivial video game
and I say I'm sincere?
I got heart right?
i just gotta do my share and my part right?
but i like it, why? because I get to fight
and I get to tell my brothers the wrong from the right
I grew up on a playground, so I can throw some fists
and speech is easy, i've taken classes for this
so with hands and words, i fight this evil
and with my hands and words, i abuse the people
no i fight the people
but do i fight myself?
now thats an odd thing
for that I can procrastinate and wait for the last possible date
as long as my chest got breath and my soul got flesh, I'm straight
so I can come back to myself
cuz thats an easy win
for now its these heathens
and theyre lack of fear
i got so many questions for 'em, it'd take a couple of years
for for now, heres one, for right now and right here
why is the applause always louder than the takbeers?
* * * * * * *
.... im in trouble man. tomorrow after fajr, inshaAllah.
so much. but for now, im trying to finish up a poem that I have to perform tomorrow at the mas-camp. i dont know why i said yes to this, but now its late night, and I have yet to finish up my poem....and it seems to keep getting longer and longer, and it doesn't want to finish. or i dont know how to finish.
here it is so far:
the mind is a terrible thing to waste
but most wait and waste their time
in supposed liesure, while we find
that most minds, and these minds both
continue to wither and die
spiritually, if not at the intellectual level
hearts like metal, only brief envy
for hearts that bubble, at the briefest,
slightest mention of their Lord
just a thin sheer sheet of silk wrapped around steel
one verse, and they're already bored
and whats worse, than a hard heart
that curses its own roots
that yearn for these divine verses
but he pines to break loose
and he dies, trynna sever ties
that cannot be severed
bonds that cannot be broken
lineage that cannot be better
because in the end
we all came from the same person
we from the same place
the same hood
so then why is it, that when the hood's real low
the fitted cap fit, fit to the absolute lowest
and your eyes won't show
without you having to lean back real slow
and it might hurt you so
because my back might break my pride
when I lean down to prostrate to the Divine
and when I say salaams to my brother
why does it gotta be with the thug mug
and the sweeping eyes
or from afar, the gaze of Hasad, the icy stares
break ice with more ice, now its only icy care
only numbs the pain, and you have yet to realize
see me through real eyes
because I'm just you're brother
bonds of blood
just a different father and mother
but my arrogance, refusal to see my sins
suck it up, give in, and give greetings to kin
its not hard
just impossible for the same reason
that it seems not possible
to wake up for a single prayer on time
but pray late, no sleep, cuz we were stuck online
the night before
missed congregation Salaat
so for this we vaguely hate ourselves for,
but the effort is too great
so we grate and grind our teeth for the next time
and we eat, sleep, live, and forget our meaning for being,
our meeting with the Benevolent Being
the next morning we do the same
shed no tears but show a little shame
with a sham of a frown made possible
by the tear in my gown or the brown stain
on my jeans, while we look in the mirror
and shave and shape up my pretty little name
for some street fame
and i play this like a trivial video game
and I say I'm sincere?
I got heart right?
i just gotta do my share and my part right?
but i like it, why? because I get to fight
and I get to tell my brothers the wrong from the right
I grew up on a playground, so I can throw some fists
and speech is easy, i've taken classes for this
so with hands and words, i fight this evil
and with my hands and words, i abuse the people
no i fight the people
but do i fight myself?
now thats an odd thing
for that I can procrastinate and wait for the last possible date
as long as my chest got breath and my soul got flesh, I'm straight
so I can come back to myself
cuz thats an easy win
for now its these heathens
and theyre lack of fear
i got so many questions for 'em, it'd take a couple of years
for for now, heres one, for right now and right here
why is the applause always louder than the takbeers?
* * * * * * *
.... im in trouble man. tomorrow after fajr, inshaAllah.
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