Bismillah, alhamdulillah.
Heard this lovely example on behavior last week at a Friday prayer sermon given in a mosque in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia:
A father left his son in his village and went off to work. The child went to some nearby caves to play. The cave was very dark and he was afraid there was someone inside,.
He shouted, 'Is anyone here?'
A voice replied, 'Is anyone here?'
The child asked surprised, 'What is your name?'
The voice replied, 'What is your name?'
The child was a bit annoyed at this answer and shouted, 'Tell me your name!'
The voice replied with same force, 'Tell me your name!'
The child then became angry and started to hurl abuse at the voice in the cave, the voice responded by hurling abuse back. The child left without entering the cave, angry that the voice inside had been so rude to him.
Later on his father came back and saw that there was something on his son's mind and asked him what was the matter, He told him about his experience in the cave. The father realised what had happened and took his son back to the cave and wished to teach him a lesson.
When they reached the cave the father shouted, 'Assalaamualaikum (peace be upon you)!'
The voice replied, 'Assalaamualaikum (peace be upon you)!'
The father continued, 'I hope you are well, and may God bless you.'
The voice replied in an equally considerate way, 'I hope you are well, and may God bless you.'
The father ended, 'God grant you a long life, goodbye.'
The voice replied, 'God grant you a long life, goodbye'.
The child was surprised. As they walked back he asked his father why the voice had been so rude with him but so polite with his father. His father replied, the way you behave with others affects the way they behave with you. You were angry and rude so the voice was angry and rude in return. I behaved well and that's why the voice was polite back to me.
The imam went on to give many examples of how actions eventually come back to a person both in this world and the next. Good rewared by good and vice versa.
Friday 17 April 2009
Friday 10 April 2009
Guide to Personal Pronouns
Introduction
Pronouns are nouns in Arabic, the term used for pronouns is ضمير sing. and ضمائر pl. Literally the word ضمير means conscience or inner most self. In Arabic they are جامد or fixed nouns and are used as a substitute for a noun. As they are nouns they possess the four properties of a noun contained in the acronym CDGP. In addition to these four they also possess two additional properties: person and attachment. Depending on a pronoun’s properties the form in which it is written and its position relative to a related word in a sentence changes.
Examples
· The pronoun I can be written as: أنا or ـتُ or ـيْ or إيا ي
Punctuation guide to prayer
Bismillah, alhamdulillah.
Life in Saudi Arabia is punctuated by prayer, so wrote some journalist talking about Saudi Arabia. This is very much less so compared to a decade ago but the analogy still holds very much true compared to other parts of the world.
Dwelling on the analogy the following comparisons came to mind when thinking about the various forms of punctuation. Non-muslims may not appreciate the different forms of prayer that exist in Islam, so here is a very brief punctuation guide to prayer:
Fullstops (.)
Muslims have to pray five obligatory prayers in a day. They must stop whatevere they are doing as part of their daily life's activites and perform the prayer, a bit like a fullstop. If they don't they will have committed a major sin. On the other hand performing the five obligatory prayers is a mjor source of reward and a defining character of Islam.
Commas (,)
Muslims can earn extra rewards by praying what are called sunnah prayers. These are akin to commas in punctuation. In othe words they do not have to be prayed but they ae meritorious and introduce a graceful pause in a person's life to allow them to reflect more deeply on the fleeting nature of this world and it's beguiling nature. These prayers bring a person closer to God and help patch defecits in missed prayers from the past.
Question marks (?)
When Muslims come to an important junction in their lives and need God's help in making a decision they have been taught a prayer in which they mention the two alternatives they are thining about and ask God for assistance in choosing the most appropriate and beneficial course of action. This prayer is called صلاة الاستخارة or the Prayer of Choosing. Benefit is not judged just on worldy benefit but is a combination of good in this world and hereafter.
Exclamation mark (!)
When in distress or in trouble it was the practice of the Prophet Muhammad (S) to turn to prayer seeking god's assiatance and help. There are some special prayers which also fit this category such as the prayer of fear when there is an eclipse of either the sun or moon. These natural events are potentn reminders to makind of the all powerful nature of God and are designed to remind ever forgetful man to turn back to god and think about his final destiny beyond the ephemeral nature of this world.
As all analogies are limited by the very nature of the analogy I must stop myself here for this is what has come naturally and easily to the mind. Perhaps it is a way of thinking about prayer that can explain the fullness and importance of prayer to a true believer. If the story of our life is being written daily by our own hands and actions, then for a believer it is puntuatedm shaped and aligned by a code that is the religion of Islam. The fortunate man is whose narrative is best, it has a beginning, a middle and a wonderful ending. To the Muslim the perfect ending is to die as a Muslim especially while performing a righteous act pleasing to God.
May God let the Muslims who are alive today die in a state of belief and let them punctuate their lives with the keys to paradise, prayer.
Life in Saudi Arabia is punctuated by prayer, so wrote some journalist talking about Saudi Arabia. This is very much less so compared to a decade ago but the analogy still holds very much true compared to other parts of the world.
Dwelling on the analogy the following comparisons came to mind when thinking about the various forms of punctuation. Non-muslims may not appreciate the different forms of prayer that exist in Islam, so here is a very brief punctuation guide to prayer:
Fullstops (.)
Muslims have to pray five obligatory prayers in a day. They must stop whatevere they are doing as part of their daily life's activites and perform the prayer, a bit like a fullstop. If they don't they will have committed a major sin. On the other hand performing the five obligatory prayers is a mjor source of reward and a defining character of Islam.
Commas (,)
Muslims can earn extra rewards by praying what are called sunnah prayers. These are akin to commas in punctuation. In othe words they do not have to be prayed but they ae meritorious and introduce a graceful pause in a person's life to allow them to reflect more deeply on the fleeting nature of this world and it's beguiling nature. These prayers bring a person closer to God and help patch defecits in missed prayers from the past.
Question marks (?)
When Muslims come to an important junction in their lives and need God's help in making a decision they have been taught a prayer in which they mention the two alternatives they are thining about and ask God for assistance in choosing the most appropriate and beneficial course of action. This prayer is called صلاة الاستخارة or the Prayer of Choosing. Benefit is not judged just on worldy benefit but is a combination of good in this world and hereafter.
Exclamation mark (!)
When in distress or in trouble it was the practice of the Prophet Muhammad (S) to turn to prayer seeking god's assiatance and help. There are some special prayers which also fit this category such as the prayer of fear when there is an eclipse of either the sun or moon. These natural events are potentn reminders to makind of the all powerful nature of God and are designed to remind ever forgetful man to turn back to god and think about his final destiny beyond the ephemeral nature of this world.
As all analogies are limited by the very nature of the analogy I must stop myself here for this is what has come naturally and easily to the mind. Perhaps it is a way of thinking about prayer that can explain the fullness and importance of prayer to a true believer. If the story of our life is being written daily by our own hands and actions, then for a believer it is puntuatedm shaped and aligned by a code that is the religion of Islam. The fortunate man is whose narrative is best, it has a beginning, a middle and a wonderful ending. To the Muslim the perfect ending is to die as a Muslim especially while performing a righteous act pleasing to God.
May God let the Muslims who are alive today die in a state of belief and let them punctuate their lives with the keys to paradise, prayer.
Saturday 28 March 2009
Saudi Arabia - Time versus money
Bismillah, alhamdulillah.
Many people ask how is life in Saudi Arabia and of curse there are as many answers as there are people. But one the observations that comes to mind having been here for a while now is that there is a barakah in money but not in time. The word barakah is an Arabic word which stands for blessing. Though headline salaries may not compare as well with Western countries the expenditure here is less. Hence the proverbial buck or riyal lasts longer, food is cheaper, costs are lower, hidden taxes are very low and so on.
The down side is that as the country lies on the high end of the spectrum of regulation and bureaucracy things take time. Work hours also tend to be longer than in the West and perhaps this also contributes to the lack of spending as people have less free time to roam around. by the time the weekend comes (if you are lucky enough to have one in your job) a lot of people spend time sleeping and catching up with missed sleep during the week. Hence things that take a few hours in the West can take many days especially in the beginning.
People across the spectrum in general tend to spend long hours catching up on sleep on the weekend. Their productive non-work lives tend to be consigned to dreams and there is a general soporific effect to the weekends. This is nicely captured in the followng quotation that I came across in an article on sleep on the BBC.
Many people ask how is life in Saudi Arabia and of curse there are as many answers as there are people. But one the observations that comes to mind having been here for a while now is that there is a barakah in money but not in time. The word barakah is an Arabic word which stands for blessing. Though headline salaries may not compare as well with Western countries the expenditure here is less. Hence the proverbial buck or riyal lasts longer, food is cheaper, costs are lower, hidden taxes are very low and so on.
The down side is that as the country lies on the high end of the spectrum of regulation and bureaucracy things take time. Work hours also tend to be longer than in the West and perhaps this also contributes to the lack of spending as people have less free time to roam around. by the time the weekend comes (if you are lucky enough to have one in your job) a lot of people spend time sleeping and catching up with missed sleep during the week. Hence things that take a few hours in the West can take many days especially in the beginning.
People across the spectrum in general tend to spend long hours catching up on sleep on the weekend. Their productive non-work lives tend to be consigned to dreams and there is a general soporific effect to the weekends. This is nicely captured in the followng quotation that I came across in an article on sleep on the BBC.
"You speculate on the luxury of wearing out a whole existence in bed, like an oyster in its shell, content with the sluggish ecstasy of inaction." Nathaniel Hawthorne
Friday 6 March 2009
Switch to Blogger
Bismillah, alhamdulillah.
I am having trouble with accessing Wordpress, not too sure why, but have switched to Blogger as a result. See you there insha Allah.
I used this useful service: http://wordpress2blogger.appspot.com/
I am having trouble with accessing Wordpress, not too sure why, but have switched to Blogger as a result. See you there insha Allah.
I used this useful service: http://wordpress2blogger.appspot.com/
Are you ready for your oldest day?
Bismillah, alhamdulillah.
I have switched from my Wordpress blog to Blogger, though I like Wordpress but there seems to be an access issue which I can't resolve. The Muslim equivalent of c'est la vie is 'alhamdulillah 'alaa kulli haal' (praise and thanks belong to God in every situation).
This is one is a brain teaser, but speaking with some younger people I reflected on how we always teach the young and emphasise education so that they are well equipped for a time in life when they are older. If you extrapolate this line of thought you naturally get to your oldest day, the moment you die.
How well prepared are we for that day and beyond?
I have switched from my Wordpress blog to Blogger, though I like Wordpress but there seems to be an access issue which I can't resolve. The Muslim equivalent of c'est la vie is 'alhamdulillah 'alaa kulli haal' (praise and thanks belong to God in every situation).
This is one is a brain teaser, but speaking with some younger people I reflected on how we always teach the young and emphasise education so that they are well equipped for a time in life when they are older. If you extrapolate this line of thought you naturally get to your oldest day, the moment you die.
How well prepared are we for that day and beyond?
Thursday 15 January 2009
Palestinian Prayer
Bismillah, alhamdulillah:
You roll out of your bed
To the smell of sweet bread,
While I wake to the stench
Of a blood dried bench
You dream of western grass
A summer ready to pass
While nightmares greet me
Ahead of me nothing but misery
You watch silenced by fear
On camera a fake tear
As bleating sheep we die
Sacrificed gentiles to butchers high
Your day ends with the sun setting
You return to your family laughing
As I stand at my families remains crying
Their charred odor their final calling
'Donate' your media mantra
Assuage your people's shallow anger
With your money abound
Your shrouds lower us to the ground
In your prayers your crowds are led
To pray for God to fight in your stead
Did not someone before say
You and Your God go and fight today?
What did you suckle - wet nurse or brute?
That she left you toothless and mute
Fear my prayer for oppressed am I
God change your heart or let you die
You roll out of your bed
To the smell of sweet bread,
While I wake to the stench
Of a blood dried bench
You dream of western grass
A summer ready to pass
While nightmares greet me
Ahead of me nothing but misery
You watch silenced by fear
On camera a fake tear
As bleating sheep we die
Sacrificed gentiles to butchers high
Your day ends with the sun setting
You return to your family laughing
As I stand at my families remains crying
Their charred odor their final calling
'Donate' your media mantra
Assuage your people's shallow anger
With your money abound
Your shrouds lower us to the ground
In your prayers your crowds are led
To pray for God to fight in your stead
Did not someone before say
You and Your God go and fight today?
What did you suckle - wet nurse or brute?
That she left you toothless and mute
Fear my prayer for oppressed am I
God change your heart or let you die
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