Playful People

Time To Go Bye Byes!

noreply@blogger.com (Saffy-7) — Fri, 16 Dec 2005 18:18:00 +0000

Time is such an amazing thing – it seems to have the ability to slow down or speed up just when you least expect it to. Not only that – Allah swears by time! I mean, that must mean something really big but we just don’t realise it… yet.

But isn’t time just another creation of Allah? It’s just something He SWT made, rite? So is there actually a place out there where there is no time? I don’t mean like when you’ve got a 9am exam the next morning and you haven’t revised! I bet there are millions of places like that. I mean literally “NO TIME”!

But hold on… So what was there before there was time? Well, there was no “before” if there was no time? Waoh! Stop there – brain lock! Can’t even comprehend that far out.

I think I’ve learnt from experience, there is really no point trying to understand the “How’s” and the “Why’s” behind God. The only thing to contemplate over is whether He exists or not, that’s it yaar. The more you think about it, the more you realise how blatant the answer is. Even a beetle larva knows it.

Anyway, what’s the point of knowing about all the other mysteries if you don’t even know what’s going to happen to you after you die? Muslims are so blessed man – I need to be much more thankful big time.

And one way I’m going to be thankful is to improve my use of time. I want to increase my time in ibadah and improving myself. But also I realised something only very recently: University is the bestest time for dawah! Once you leave Uni, you’ll never be able to meet soooo many people all in one place. I love blogging and I really like all the people I’ve met through this blog. There are even a few people I think I would really love if I knew them in real life. But it’s taking up too much of my time. There are a couple of other reasons too. A friend of mine had a conversation with me that made me think about what I was doing and what I should be doing. I think it all depends on your situation – if you’re at Uni then surely meeting people in person is better, rite?

Anyway, that’s what I think – so for now, this blog is over! Goodbye all – make dua for me and who knows… I may pop up somewhere again some day… just when you’re least expecting it!

Saffy x x

Please could US Senator Harry Reid end with a Dua?

noreply@blogger.com (Saffy-7) — Mon, 12 Dec 2005 12:06:00 +0000

Ya Allah! Please guide my colleagues and I to the Deen of Islam... and destroy our George Bush... and bring our people onto the siraatul mustaqeem... Ameen.

Bangers and Mashed

noreply@blogger.com (Saffy-7) — Sun, 27 Nov 2005 20:46:00 +0000

Hi guys! Nope, I haven’t died – unfortunately for you know who – you know who you are! Saffy continues to rock so HAH – thanks to Allah of course. Hee.

Wow – feels like I haven’t seen you people in ages. I guess I just lost track of time. I’ve got way too much to be able to handle on my own but more just keeps coming – is it supposed to be that hard?

On top of that I’ve been doing something else that has distracted me from the internet… Dawah! Yey, I’ve actually been doing some dawah all by myself and I love it. I started doing it because I found out it’s fard but now I love it. I discussed with a sister last week until Fajr time about Islam’s view on nationalism! She didn’t agree with me in the end but at least I got bare reward, rite? Plus there’s another sister who’s really sharp and I can see how she changing like I changed and I love that too.

I hope my intention hasn’t changed – EEK! Please make dua for me, I’m only little. I just want everyone to understand what I’ve realised now. I mean the other day I met a bunch of dawah carriers at Uni and they wanted me to come with them for an hour to give towards God.

*HUH*

What does that mean even? They explained that when I’m studying at Uni, I do that for myself and everything else I do during the week is for myself so I should give one hour to God at least once a week! It really upset me that practising Muslims still think like that. I thought as a Muslim I was worshipping God whilst I’m studying and doing everything else! It’s that Secular stuff again – oooh it keeps coming back just to purposefully annoy me :( I’ll GET you Mr Evil Secular Man for mashing up my brothers’ and sisters’ thinking.

I know this is going to sound crazy (maybe even dodgy) but I think I’m starting to see Islam differently to most other people. There’s just a few sisters who think like I do and they can answer questions that even my Islamic Class Teacher can’t answer – when I ask my teacher questions I’m told to “have sabr” and that “Allah works in mysterious ways” (but said in Bengali – Allai zeta khoroin, mongolor lagi khoroin – who’s this mongol guy anyway and why is everything always done for him?). Anyway, why does it feel dodgy that these Uni sisters with no formal Islamic education feel they can answer all of my toughest questions? Does it feel dodgy coz they’re too young to be able to refute Scholars with years of experience and knowledge? Or maybe the Scholars that I have access to are the kind of ones that say stuff that the Government likes and all the good ones are in prison somewhere :(

Hmm… I don’t know… like I remember in Bangladesh I was watching some 15 year old boys playing football and they were truly amazing – much better than 15 year olds in London. So I asked my cousin bhaiya why the Bangladesh National Football Team is so lame. He told me that you can only get into the team in Bangladesh if you have an uncle or some other link in the Government. There was some major political corruption thing going down. So the National Team was not an accurate reflection of how good Bangladeshis really are at football. It must be the same for the cricket team coz they’re pretty lame too. That probably also explains why I’m never impressed with Miss Bangladesh in the Miss World competitions – actually that’s more likely coz none of the beautiful Muslim sisters would ever enter such a lame, degrading competition to begin with. Hey, inshallah if we ever get a Khilafah, maybe we could have a competition called Miss Taqwa 2006 ;) That’s why Allah made us competitive, rite?

Anyway, maybe that’s how it is with these sisters. Maybe they just seem so amazing only coz I’ve never met a real scholar before. I guess the only way I’ll find out is by discussing what I learn with as many people as possible and seeing what everyone has to say. Oh my gosh, I really hope none of them read this blog – that’ll be so embarrassing – nah, I don’t think they’ve got time for that – thank God! They’re always too busy busy, even to spend a little time with me…

I Got a Pot :(

noreply@blogger.com (Saffy-7) — Mon, 07 Nov 2005 21:33:00 +0000

I’m back! Yep, it’s meeeeeeee!

Eid Mubarak to all nice people out there!

I had a wonderful Eid this year – I got to meet so many cousins (if you remember one of my early posts I was saying I hadn’t seen most of my cousins in years).

Anyway, Eid has made me a wiser person coz this year I made the classic Eid mistake. Can you guess what it is?

No, I didn’t fast with shaytan on Eid (in Bangladesh they always celebrate Eid two days later – mashed)! I thought Islam was supposed to have answers for new situations - so how are we supposed to deal with this problem? Hmm... I really don't like thinking about this one - it makes me so sad that I'm not celebrating on the same day as my cousin in Bangladesh :(

*BIG SIGH*

Ok, guess again?

No, I didn’t forget to pay my Zakat-ul-Fitr until Eid day :P In Bangladesh that would be ok coz there’s plenty of starving peeps around but since I’m now in England, it’s all about paying the Zakat-ul-Fitr two weeks in advance so it can fly to starving people around the world. Yeah, I know most people don’t realise this but the whole point of this Zakat in particular is that no-one should go hungry on Eid. It drives me round the bend when Mr Imam Sahib says to put any Fitranah money into “box for Masjid extension”. Grr…

Like usual Dad came home shouting at Mr Imam Sahib. He was angry coz the Imam was Bengali but apparently he was not a good speaker. Abba thinks that the Pakistani Mosque Committee purposefully find wimpy Bengali Imams to make Bengali people look stupid. Dad thinks we should set up our own Bengali Mosque. I didn’t agree – What happened to One Ummah man? Anyway, I bet even if the entire Mosque Committee became Bengali they would still fight over which part of Bangladesh they’re from and which tribe they're from. I’ve seen them doing it Bangladesh. I think they need some serious mentality re-boot! Out with the old (nationalism and tribalism) and in with the new (bonded by Islam)!

Outside the Mosque some HT guys were giving out leaflets about a conference this Sunday in Euston about the anti-terror legislation and how we should deal with it. These guys need to take a break some time – someone should introduce them to the concept of KIT KAT! :) Some of the speakers are from Stop Political Terror and the rest are from HT. I think I’ll be going to it and see what they have to say inshallah.

Ok back to me! Any more guesses? Ok, I’ll tell you… I got a POT! Yep, that’s my classic Eid mistake: POT!

:(

It’s so horrible but I couldn’t help it – I always get a POT on every Eid. I didn’t eat any breakfast and then by the time all the men came back from the Mosque, I was starving so I ate everything. I had to taste everything coz there were so many nice things. Then we went to all of these different houses. Each house was hiding another delicious surprise. So I ate and ate until… I got POT. I can’t even hide it under my clothes. You can see it and it’s so big and round like I’ve hidden a massive bowl on top of my belly. But it’s not a bowl, it really is my belly and it looks like a pot.

It reminds me of those little damaged like, grey teddy bears you can get with the little bellies that stick out. That’s what I looked like... Amongst many other valuable lessons, I have learnt this Eid the consequences of not having a little bit of patience. I hope nobody else got POT and everyone had a good Eid. I really want everyone to have a better Eid next year. Ameen.

Beautiful Butterfly

noreply@blogger.com (Saffy-7) — Wed, 26 Oct 2005 17:40:00 +0000

I have decided that I need to go underground for a bit. So no more posts from me until... erm... after Eid I guess.

The idea is I want to get away from everything for a bit and see if I can soften my heart with the remembrance of Allah :)

You'd think it would be easy coz I'm only little but that's where you're wrong! I maybe little but I have a HUUUGGEE heart with lots of room for lots of people so it takes longer to soften up.

Please don't think I'm turning Secular and leaving the dawah and society worships. I still believe that studying, working, dawah, politics are just as much worship as salah, fasting, zakat and Hajj. I know that my beloved Prophet "PBUH" did nothing else but worship Allah but that included being a father, a husband and even a soldier (wow, you wouldn't think it with all this spiritual spiritual stuff going around).

I know all that - but I still want to find my corner and hide in it for a while away from everything and my justification is that my Prophet "PBUH" used to do it too in the last ten days of Ramadhan. So there :P

I think what has happened is that because some people have turned Islam into a ritualistic, individualistic religion where you just worry about perfecting yourself and only that, other people have just gone all out and decided that if you try to seclude yourself from society to better yourself than you're automatically Secular, or Sufi or some other silly label. Well, the difference with my decision is that it's only temporary and it's based on what our Messenger "PBUH" did. Once Ramadhan is over I'll come out of my ibadaa like a beautiful butterfly coming out of a caccoon inshAllah.

It's the only way I can properly repent for some of the stuff I did before I got some sense knocked into me. In case you miss me too much (and also so I don't feel like I've neglected the dawah) you can go read this post:

Enigma Behind the Freshers Stall

It's written by Babs-M who never ceases to amaze me with the clarity of his posts. Something that is usually missing from mine :(

Anyway, it's full of wholesome dawah goodness (erm... it's a bit x-rated as well so only read if you don't get easily offended). I'm not saying this style will work everytime but I truly believe good dawah is always about flexibility - I'm pretty flexible when it comes to Yoga but when it's dawah my tongue gets all twisty twisty.

Hopefully, I've wriggled myself into some of your hearts by now and if I have, all I ask is that you pray for me so I can sort myself out and that Allah helps me in that.

I'm off on my long journey now... Hugs and kisses for all o x o x o x

Iraqi Constitution - The Final Insult

noreply@blogger.com (Saffy-7) — Mon, 17 Oct 2005 19:22:00 +0000

It makes my blood boil watching my Iraqi brothers and sisters sticking their fingers in little pots of indelible ink and then voting either “YES” or “NO” (that’s the only two options) for the new (enslave Iraq) constitution. It’s just so embarrassing! They’re being treated like naughty little kids who are now being given a book of Do’s and Don’ts and then told to sign it to make them feel involved. It's so insulting!

That’s what my mum used to do. She’d get us all involved in making a “family decision” so that we’d all feel part of the decision but really she had already decided what was going to happen all along. The only difference is that we were like 10 years old!

I guess these Iraqi people don’t really have a choice in anything much these days. Grr… it makes me angry. Does anyone remember the Transformers? There was a kid called Daniel who is given this EXO-SUIT by one of the Autobots. It basically gives Daniel the ability to transform into a car and also has big powerful guns on his arms. That was sooo cool! I was a bit of a boy when I little, ok? Hey, I’ve dealt with it now so :P …no more wishing I was a man – I have overcome all of those issues… ahem, moving swiftly on.

Well, I imagined myself with an EXO-SUIT yesterday but MY one is much more powerful and has ultra-super defences and everything else. Plus it has pictures of all my favourite things on the outside (to give it my personal touch). Oh, yeah and it wears Hijab… HeeHee

Anyway, at the time I was imagining this I was waiting on the platform for a train. It was early morning and the platform was completely empty so I felt fine running around doing all these fantastic moves and imagining that I was finally setting things right in the world with my EXO-SUIT. I had to make all these explosion noises with my mouth to make it more real and then I turned around to see a sweet old man staring at me. He looked oh so confused and genuinely worried about me rather than himself. He just continued staring with his mouth open and head tilted to one side.

So I gave him one of my heart-melting smiles (they’re special ones that I reserve for special occasions) and then quickly sat down on the bench. Well, now I can’t do anything practical for the Muslims sitting on a bench, waiting for a train, so instead I made a little prayer. I prayed that the Iraqi people will very soon inshallah have their own constitution. I prayed that it would be put together by the Iraqi people. I prayed that it would be taken solely from the Quran and Sunnah and so naturally it would be full of justice (the kind of justice that even the sincerest non-Muslims simply can’t comprehend because it can only be appreciated when it is implemented in its entirety. I prayed that this constitution would be a beacon of light for all the oppressed people in the world. I prayed that this constitution would be an example for all the Muslim Governments in the world. I prayed that this constitution would be built upon mercy and compassion instead of brutality and corruption and so it would spread across the world by the will of the people just like the constitution my beloved Prophet "PBUH" wrote spread around the world.

*BIG SIGH*

And lastly I prayed that Allah gives me the chance to one day be a part of all this so that through this constitution I can touch the lives of, quite literally, billions of people. Ameen. Ameen. Ameen.

Saffy and xxxxxx sitting in a tree… K – I – S – S – I – N – G

noreply@blogger.com (Saffy-7) — Wed, 12 Oct 2005 17:35:00 +0000

The last few months have been proper confusing for me. It’s amazing but my likes and dislikes are changing right in front of my face! I mean there’s a difference between liking the idea of something and actually liking it itself. I’ve always liked the idea of praying but I never used to like doing it – but I’m starting to actually look forward to it! Aaaaaagggghhhhh! What’s happening – I’m turning into one of them MOSLEM type people!

But it’s soooo true. If your thinking is right, your feelings will follow. I think I’m in some transitional stage where my feelings are still way behind my thinking. Anyway, one BIG example of that are BOYS. I used to like mashed boys! The more mashed they were, the more I liked them (liked being with them but I never really liked them, I guess).

Anyway, now there’s this bro at Uni who I see in the canteen. He’s always talking to non-Muslims and even Muslims about Islam and I can hear him talking if I sit close enough. He’s really funny too and he’s so good at making the non-Muslims feel relaxed and laugh even at tense moments. Plus he doesn’t shy away from the controversial issues. I’ve heard him discussing about how you can know God exists, he talks about the four marriage thing and the different types of punishments and everything. But he has this way of making it all make sense only if all the Islamic rulings are put in their right context.

He's exactly what Tony Blair would describe as an extremist coz I’ve heard him talking about khilafah too. He was talking about how the khilafah has this amazing system to solve the poverty epidemic all around the world. I can’t remember how he explained it but I remember it made so much sense at the time. He’s like no other guy I’ve met before. He doesn’t look Islamic AT ALL but he sounds so knowledgeable and passionate about it – which makes up for it, I guess. Heehee.

I’m giggling now so I might as well say it – I like him! But I don’t know what to do about it. He’s probably noticed that I’m always sitting on the table near enough to him to hear him talking and it’s so embarrassing but I can’t find anyone else that can explain things like him. I’ve never seen him talking to a girl before. If I spoke to him would he say: “Astagfirullaaaaaaaaaaaah you mashed girl, get out of my face”.

And then he might think I just want to cause FITNA in his life, like the guy who does the speech at Jumma says. He always saying women are FITNA and even though I don’t know what that means exactly, I know from the tone of his voice, it’s definitely not a good thing. Hmm…

Oh well, I remain lonely and confused as ever before.

Magic Bubble - all around us

noreply@blogger.com (Saffy-7) — Fri, 07 Oct 2005 22:57:00 +0000

I feel like I’m caught in a bubble of magic. I always feel like that during Ramadan. It’s so true what my Prophet “PBUH” told me that fasting is like a shield. The entire atmosphere around Muslims has changed – it's not actually just a bubble around me, it's like everyone is caught up in it and is being so sweet and lovely.

*Big sigh*

It’s not going to last though... I heard a girl asking a Muslim brother if he was coming out tonight. I know it’s Friday night and I know what guys and gals get up to on Friday nights (I only started thinking about Islam recently – actually somebody knocked some sense into me and forced me to think and I love them for it) but I know he’s a Muslim so I gave him his 70 excuses and then blamed myself for thinking dodgy dodgy about other Muslims even during Ramadan (disgusting epidemic that's hit mankind).

Then the brother told the girl he can’t do none of that stuff anymore coz he was fasting now. Then he asked her if she would be free in the evening coz he doesn’t have to fast after sunset. My heart sank – I wish I knew him so I could say something – I didn’t even know what to say. I know exactly how he’s feeling as well coz he looked really uncomfortable about the whole affair. That’s how I felt about everything that I did that wasn’t allowed – I enjoyed it at the time but I felt secretly uncomfortable about it.

I don’t want him to go through all these silly dilemmas but he will. I feel like I wouldn’t mind fasting all year if it meant everyone would be such good Muslims all the time...

On a positive note, I have increased my worshipping YEY! – I’ve been reading Qur’an and been praying properly and remembering Allah nearly all the time. Well sort of anyway. What happens is I think of my sore tummy and I start thinking why is it sore? Coz you aint been feeding me, says my tummy. So I think why? So my tummy says coz Allah said NO. So I think about Allah for a bit... I hope that’s ok? It does say in the Qur’an that we fast to increase God-consciousness, rite? Well, that’s the way it works for me so :P

Yeah, that’s my tongue, deal with it :P

Anyway, there’s some other stuff wrong with my head that I need to get off my chest. I don’t just get that magical feeling when I’m praying, I get it when I’m talking about Islam. Like that floaty floaty feeling. I get it when I’m helping people and I get it when I’m nice and I get it nearly all the time – like I’m getting it now. Is that dodgy? Coz I know praying is special and I don’t want to do shirk and get the same feeling I get for praying for everything else coz that would mean praying is no longer special…

Or it could also be a good thing coz I’m doing all those other things for Allah too. So maybe I’m getting reward for having the magic feeling coz it means I’m already a God-conscious person. I like the second option better. My Prophet “PBUH” didn’t pray all day, he did so many other things like fighting, working, getting married and looking after his ummah. So if I do that and get that magical feeling, then it must be a good thing, rite? If I only get it when I pray, doesn’t that make me a secular person? I think it does. You can worship Allah whatever you do as long as you're thinking about how you are doing it for His pleasure. That's why I didn't feel bad putting a post up about dodgy Rulers even though it was Ramadan coz I did it as a worship.

Anyway, Allah is the one that guides people and I hope He “SWT” keeps guiding me. I can’t remember doing anything that would make me special enough for Allah to pick me to guide. I didn’t deserve it at all but now I’m trying to sort myself out every day. I’m so so grateful to Him for making me realise. I've done so much bad stuff all my life and I've never tried to be a good Muslim before. I didn't even ask Allah to help but He did. Why me all of a sudden out of all people? Oh my gosh, I’m crying now. I love Allah so much and I’m just so so grateful for everything and I don't know how to explain it so that everyone could understand :(

Omayra Reminds Me

noreply@blogger.com (Saffy-7) — Tue, 04 Oct 2005 23:46:00 +0000

Do ruling positions come with a disease which corrupts the heart and destroys the mind? Look at George Bush - I've personally met Americans that are smarter than him. So how is it that he's running the country? It doesn't make sense.

Or anybody see how Musharraf got into power? He wasn't elected - then why is he still there?

And did anybody else notice how Tony Blair's face changed over the years? I'm not talking metaphorical here. His face actually changed from looking quite sweet - to now looking a bit like a demon.

I can't think of one ruler in the world today that I would wholeheartedly give my obedience to. But it can't be a disease because my beloved Prophet "PBUH" became a ruler too. He ruled Medinah right? And he was really just. I'm not expecting a Ruler like the Prophet "PBUH" but at least someone who tries to be like him.

In 1985 a volcano erupted in Columbia and Omayra got stuck in a mudslide. The government knew the volcano was going to erupt but they did nothing. Since then nothing has changed. When the earthquake happened in Iran last year, I heard that a relatively small amount of money could have made the buildings resistance to earthquakes but the Government did nothing even though they knew the earthquake was coming. I hear the same story again and again. Hurricane Katrina is the latest example. I know the hurricane was from Allah but the response was a disgrace.

Allah "SWT" sends down His tests and I truely believe that most of the people are passing the test and ending up in jannah where they belong. I'm just thinking about what these Rulers are going to say when they get asked about what they did. If Allah doesn't help them, they're going to get so mashed.

I wouldn't help them - I hate them for what they've done. If they can't do the job, they should resign and let someone else do it - but they don't. That's why they all stink. This is Omayra three hours before she slowly died stuck in the mudslide in Columbia.

The reason why I put this post up is coz a few minutes ago I was feeling sorry for myself. Today is the first day of Ramadhan and I find fasting really difficult. I've been complaining about it - but now I feel like an idiot. It's going to so embarrasing on judgement day when everyone finds out what a fool I was.

When I looked into Omayra's eyes in the pic, it reminded me of all my brothers and sisters who are starving to death and feeling a hundred times more worse than me. I'm going to stop complaining about not being able eat for a few hours and ask Allah to forgive me for not having sabr. I get distracted so easily and I hate myself for it. I wish I was a robot that just did whatever Allah told me to and I didn't get distracted.

I didn't want to single Omayra out because she's the face of millions of people who have suffered in similar ways. I don't feel sorry for this sister of mine... I feel sorry for those responsible for her death!

Life's a chill...then u die and go to paradise

noreply@blogger.com (Saffy-7) — Tue, 04 Oct 2005 20:14:00 +0000

I read this post by "the traveller" on http://fromdarknessintolight.blogspot.com and I found I can really relate to it - not really the example but definitely the idea behind it. It's quite long - but definitely worth it in the end...

Well let me see... as a lot of people will be reading this i guess the most honourable thing i should do is share something you guys can benefit from. Well, I used to be Ur standard Paki boy. Brought up with parental restrictions which naturally conflicted with my understanding in life which was to enjoy it while it lasted. That is the understanding that is prevalent in society. Anyway, the result of this conflict was the overly arrogant extrovert. U know the type, the so called 'life of the party', the one driving the (dad's) beemer while others were learning how to drive. The 'joker' that undermines his mates to be no.1 in order to look good in front of the girls. I feel sick just thinking about it. I embraced that 'jay sean' lifestlye at an early stage, cos no way was i gona let my youth fade away without me enjoyin it... well, so i thought. I embraced that cos that was the only one i could fit into, and infact, at that time, the only one i wanted to fit into.

Who can blame me? Im Asian! I have to have some form of identity otherwise im just a face, and i couldn’t be having that. So when i embraced it, i embraced it to the max. But u know what? I never realised it back then in the midst of it all, but i was so depressed and miserable. But i was so blind to see it cos i was too busy running after that buzz, whether it being the cherps, the clubs, the chillage. It's only untill recently that i realised that i was trying to to solve my misery and unhappiness with these means of escapism.

This whole lifestyle, the clubs, the cherps, the southall broadway on Eid, the cars, the arrogance... it defined me as an individual. It gave me my sense of worth, of living, of happiness. only to be disillusioned by the whole buzz of it all. All i had was fun, not happiness. and I'm sure u know the feeling for all those that can relate to what I've been through. That whole build up of the day for the night's events. If something didn't go Ur way during the day, it didnt matter, 'cos Ur goin out tonight'. The whole preparation for when u hit the club. lol. it craks me up thinking about it... mate, Ur soo insecure! Girls; some advise, u know that guy whose got that pimpish persona... some news for u... he's the most insecure... anyway back to the story... so u get there, standing in the que, checking the girls, being really loud so that girl u fancy acknowledges that Ur there etc. u get in and that tune comes on, the one that gets u going. u get into that buzz where all those problems go away and u are at Ur utmost happy. then all of a sudden the thought comes into Ur head... this night is gona end. and u feel so mashed. it ends, u go home, lying in Ur bed thinking about the jokes u had. next morning the club remains a memory, and u anticipate the next time u go out, next time u get that short buzz. u do the same thing again the next week, then the next, then all of a sudden the novelty wears off. now the only thing that gets u goin isnt the club u looked forward to at the end of the week, but the thought of goin to uni, where u can have the taste of freedom, away from parents, where u can literally cane the fun! Newsflash! trust that the novelty will wear out on that too. then what do u do. run after that girl? run after that don car? run after the degree? run after the investment banking job? ur holiday? ur family, ur future, ur aspirations, ur hopes... all for wat? That short burst of pleasure with a lifetime of anguish and misery from running after these things! for Ur desires are what bring u happiness, right? well, u did say that Ur supposed to enjoy this life cos its too short? but say u do all this... run after Ur desires and live for Ur aspirations… what are u actually left with?... nothing! except memories of those pleasures, and the underlying thought that death is gettin closer and closer.

But it's cool tho, u can take all of it to Ur grave, the cars, the money, the girls, the 'buzz'... can u? nah i don't think so. so u tell me, do u think i was happy? or was i simply masquerading myself as a happy-go-lucky type character that was mistaking 'happiness' with that short burst of pleasure u get when u live for Ur desires?... infact don't ask me, ask urself...

How am i now though u ask? i've embraced islam. not the islam that u confine to the mosque, but the true islam that is here to remove those unnecessary problems and satisfies all my instincts. NOT the islam that might make u think that im rigid, or sad, or a loner n thinks it's haraam to have fun!. but the the one that liberates Ur mind n Ur heart. Mate, if i would express tranquillity to u in a word i would use the word ISLAM.

What does the future hold for me tho? I'll finish my Masters, get my job, marry my beautiful wife, drive my CLK, move to Dubai, chill to my death knowing all the time that i couldnt take these temporary pleasures to my grave... but then I'll go to Jannah and experience pleasure incomprehendible to Man's mind, where every second is better than the last (inshallah)... So u tell me, am I living life to the max now, or before? The real club is in Paradise....this life is about havin jokes waiting in the queue :) u should join me...

I'm Asked Why I Think

noreply@blogger.com (Saffy-7) — Fri, 30 Sep 2005 09:38:00 +0000

Aman made a comment on my last post on Hijab which I consider to be a piece of contemporary Art!

He said: “Doesn't all this thinking make your head hurt?”

I call it Art coz last week I was complaining about dat awful statue that went up in Trafalgar Square of a disabled (and for some reason naked) woman. These people are so confused man! Anyway, someone tells me that it’s Art coz Art is defined as anything that provokes an emotional reaction. Aman's comment provoked a very long reaction in me – mabruks bro, U is an official contemporary artist.

Hold on, so would that mean Bush is an artist instead of a mass murderer? Hmm...

Dats why defining words correctly can make ALL the difference: Insurgent/Mujahid, Radical Islamist/Practicing Muslim, To-may-to/To-maa-to…

It’s true, I do think a lot nowadays and it does hurt my head – sometimes I can actually feel my entire brain being squashed coz I’m thinking so much. I guess it’s coz my brain’s not used to it – the only things I'm used to thinking about is having fun, pleasing my parents and trying to get people to like me.

One of the things that got me thinking was a book about European History (I forget the name). One guy in there was talking about the problem of the black slaves rebelling against their masters and said: “the best way to enslave a people is by convincing them that they are not slaves”. Fool the slave into thinking he’s free and then get him to do what you want, out of his own free will. Classic! Don’t force someone to degrade themselves – make them think it’s a privilege. Don’t force women to walk around naked – make them think it’s liberation.

Very clever… NOT! Coz you end up in Jahannam if U not careful.

It's like the black slaves that worked in the fields and weren’t allowed to wear clothes – it was a way of taking away any honour or dignity that they had. Just think how you'd feel if you were forced to work naked – proper demeaning. It reminds me of what they did to our brothers in Abu Ghraib. They took photos of them naked just to humiliate them. Makes me sooo angry I feel like smashing something. It's one of those things, I guess. I remember even as a child I would feel shy if I had nothing on.

Clothes can really shape the way I feel – if I'm dressed cool, I feel cool. If I'm dressed spiritually, I feel that too. Or if I see someone dressed in a uniform I give 'em sum respect. When I look at slavery, colonialisation, subjugation, torture, etc. there’s always examples of demeaning people by forcibly exposing them. It’s a tried and tested formula.

But not with me… no-one forced me to wear the stupid clothes that I did. I dressed pretty much like a tart so that I would be accepted – so that I wouldn’t feel so insecure. I wanted guys to give me sum attention so I had to show something – it's not my fault coz if you covered up it meant you weren’t confident about your body. Actually, I wasn’t confident at all and exposing myself just made me feel even more insecure. Then coz I felt insecure I had to try harder to get attention. That means I would have to show a little more. It was a horrible cycle – and all the time I knew there was something wrong, it shouldn’t be like this, man. When I'm putting clothes on, I'm thinking what the boys will think. I feel disgusted now - like I was married to every guy in the street or something. Man, I woz mashed!

But I wasn’t forced into it – I did it out of my own free will. I had become the slave that European History Book was talking about. People think they’re doing what they want to do; it’s their life, their choices. That’s so naïve! Every choice, every decision I've made, I can see how it is affected by the atmosphere I'm in.

I don’t want to be a slave no more – not to any man anyway. I don’t want to be the subject of this tried and tested formula of degradation – first the blacks by force, then the Iraqis at gun point and now women in general by the new improved technique of brainwashing and pressure. Dats probably one of the first things that got me thinkin. How many other things am I doing coz I’ve been brainwashed into thinkin a certain way? I really don’t know – that’s why I question most everything nowadays.

Anyways, if that hasn’t convinced you to think even if it hurts, here's something that should definitely work: Ibn Abbas (ra) said "thinking is the light of Iman".

Mashallah, that’s beautiful.

Hijab is Fard? Why wasn't I told?

noreply@blogger.com (Saffy-7) — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 19:13:00 +0000

If Hijab is a Fard like Salah, then why is it that I knew Salah is Fard since I was seven years old but I hadn’t even heard the word Khimar let alone know it’s Fard until recently? What about jilbab? What’s a one of them then? Only heard about that the other day – and I’m told that’s Fard too.

Where are all these hidden Fards popping out from? Some mashed scholar must have misunderstood when he read about the veil and thought he’s supposed to veil the idea rather than the woman’s awra! Now everyone’s bare confused – as in bare and confused.

Like those sisters who told me Hijab is a CHOICE. Now they tell me they knew it was Fard all along but they were using “wisdom” in their words to stop the Hijab being banned in France. But that’s not good enough. No amount of wisdom turns FARD into CHOICE. The definition of Fard is that it is obliged. It’s really bad because at least if I knew something was Fard I would feel so much regret for not doing it and inshallah one day I may repent. But thinking it’s a choice, I’ll never repent, I’ll never feel regret and then I’ll have to burn for it in Jahannam! Thanks a lot, sisters :(

Ok, I must think of an excuse for them now coz otherwise I’ll feel guilty. I think they were maybe confusing free-will with choice.

Anyway, I’m going to look into this issue in depth – if something is Fard then I need to do it – I don’t care what any man says – the only ones I obey other than myself is my Creator and my Messenger “PBUH”.

What about those people who say Hijab is oppressive? How can anything that Allah “SWT” decides, be oppression? That’s like saying “I’m oppressed because I’ve only been given two eyes instead of four” or “I’m oppressed because I can’t fly”. That’s so silly! Nobody, not even Atheists, see Allah’s decisions as any form of oppression.

In my view, oppression is when another person forces you to do things to benefit themselves (e.g. what Sharon is doing in Palestine or Blair is doing in Iraq). Not once in my entire life have I felt pressured by anyone to put on Hijab. On the contrary, the only pressure sisters get since day one from friends, cousins, media, career and society in general is NOT to wear the Hijab. Every day we’re being pressured by men and women not to cover simply because they don’t agree with it. Excuse me, who asked your opinion… and do I need to ask you how to worship my Creator?

Or worse, men spend billions of dollars to watch porn – obviously, they would love for women to walk around naked – it’s just free eye candy for them. Especially since everyone knows Muslim women are blatently the most beautiful in the world.

So all those people who say Hijab is oppressive, they are the real oppressors! Using all their power and influence to put sooooo much pressure on sisters not to wear hijab. I know how difficult it is when it’s hard to even get a job if you’re covered. Hijab is one of the only things that so many sisters want to do but they feel anxious because of societal pressure. So don’t tell me Hijab is oppressive. It’s your forced Secular influence that is oppressive.

Extreme People Play Moderate Games

noreply@blogger.com (Saffy-7) — Thu, 22 Sep 2005 01:03:00 +0000

When’s the last time I proper chilled with my cousins? I don’t even remember! They’ve all become ghosts… It’s really sad because some of the best days of my childhood was definitely when my cousins came over.

Not only that, I thought Islam puts huge emphasis on family and meeting relations and chilling with them.

If it was sunny, we played badminton in the garden without a net in the middle. If there were enough of us, we’d all play cricket!

I didn’t like cricket. I liked it when it rained and we all had to trundle inside and pull out the board games. I absolutely loved and still love board games – especially if the company is good. It’s so much more personal than playing a sport or watching a movie. You can really get to know the people you’re playing with and enjoy their company.

But you know what they say? The things you learn as a child has a lasting effect on your mentality when you grow older. Every single idea, thought and value you’re exposed to shapes your thinking. I’ve seen it myself – people always refer back to their experiences when making decisions. So let’s see – maybe I can figure out what my cousins are doing even though I haven’t met them in ages based on the games they were best at. Hmm…

Hungry Hungry Hippos – Zoo Keeper

Draughts – Communist

Jenga – Civil Engineer

Chess – Politician

Operation Game – Doctor

Battleships – Navy

Risk – Ameer of Jihad

Monopoly – Capitalist

Hangman – Articulate executioner

DemoCrazy – Tony Blair

Cluedo – Detective

Those trains that go round and round on the same track – Convert to Hinduism

Solitaire – Loner

Scrabble – Writer (also risk of falling into Loner category)

Ok, so now I know what to look for… ;)

Hey, I can’t remember what my extremist cousin was good at. I remember she was soooo cool and used to tell us the scariest ghost stories about women with twisted feet. But as soon as it was time for Salah she ran to pray. That scared all the rest of us. It just wasn’t right for a 13 year old girl to pray so “fanatically”. That’s what we all thought anyway. I can’t believe I used to think my cousin was an extremist for praying Salah on time! Now I’ve become exactly like her – Eek!

That makes me think some people might think I’m an extremist. But then I sometimes think other people are extreme. It just didn’t make sense – anybody that has a set of standards will always see other people as extreme. That’s why my friend said we all need a standard that is universal! For Muslims, that’s obviously the Qur’an and Sunnah.

If that’s our standard then my cousin was definitely NOT an extremist! I was being extreme for not praying with her. It also means that all those people Tony Blair and the Media call extreme are not really extreme at all. It’s all about what your standard is. They obviously have a different standard to us since they don't believe in the Qur'an and Sunnah. DUH!
Cool – makes sense now, alhamdulillah I'm happy.

Right that’s it – I’m going to go on a campaign to visit all my cousins or at least call all the international ones before Allah “SWT” accounts me big time for being a sad loner! And I don’t care what they think of me, as long as Allah doesn’t think I’m a fanatic, it’s all good with me… Mwah! ;)

How Many Muslims Does It Take To Change A Light Bulb?

noreply@blogger.com (Saffy-7) — Mon, 19 Sep 2005 18:57:00 +0000

The light bulb in my bedroom exploded today and once again I found myself in darkness. Alhamdulillah, this time it wasn’t the darkness of Jahiliyya.

(I love using Arabic words in-between my sentences – makes you feel more Muslim anit?)

Anyway, whilst contemplating whether to change the light bulb or leave it till the morning cos I was so tired, I remembered half a joke and then made up the rest…

How many Salafis does it take to change a light bulb?
They don’t. Light bulbs are bid’a.

How many Jihadis does it take to change a light bulb?
They don’t. Just incite others to do it instead.

How many Tablighis does it take to change a light bulb?
They don’t. Make dua, Allah will change it.

How many Hizbis does it take to change a light bulb?
They don’t. Khilafah will solve it.

How many Ikwanis does it take to change a light bulb?
They don’t. Wait and you’ll get accustomed to the dark.

How many Qutubis does it take to change a light bulb?
An army of them.

How many MCBs does it take to change a light bulb?
They don’t. Let’s lobby the Government instead.

:)

I guess the list goes on… obviously it’s a joke and factually inaccurate – no disrespect to any of my brothers and sisters who are in any of the above groups, organisations, madhahib, etc, etc. I only meant it as a funny and I love you all.

Now I feel so guilty for even thinking it, I’m going to have to stick up for you guys and gals. I know some Muslims who really attack ALL of the above groups – simply because they’re groups – and inadvertently become a group themselves. I think that’s the worst kind of group. It’s called: “The Group that Slanders other Groups for Being Groups Without Realising We Have now Become a Group Ourselves”.

I personally don’t think groups are a problem at all. Remember at the time of the Prophet “PBUH” there used to be different tribes. He “PBUH” even addressed people by their tribe name always reminding them. So having tribes wasn’t a problem I guess, it was looking down on others for not being part of your tribe that was wrong. I think it’s called Tribalism.

There’s lots of things like that where issues can be confused if we’re not careful. For example check out this hadith:

Muslim reports from Ibn Mas`ud “RA” that the Prophet “PBUH” said: "No-one who has even an atom's-weight of pride in his heart will enter Paradise." A man asked him, "What if a man likes his clothes and shoes to look good?" (Meaning, is this counted as pride?) The Prophet “PBUH” said: "Allah (swt) is beautiful and loves beauty. Pride means denying the truth and looking down on other people." [Sahih Muslim, 2/89]

So it’s ok to look good as long you don’t have pride (I get to keep my labels – YIPPEE!) – whereas some people think you can’t be pious unless you’re dressed in rags.

Even non-Muslims have loadsa groups and it doesn't cause them any problems or disunity - actually they even see it as a good thing. It's what the person says that can cause problems. You have to look at what these groups say and not just ignore them because they’re from a group because then you become a member of the above mentioned group in bold – the worst one of all!

You can learn a lot from anybody if you’re just prepared to listen and be sincere. I’ve really learnt so much recently after ignoring the preconceptions I’ve built up over the years and taking each person and each argument as it comes without looking at the background of the person it’s coming from.

Hey, but that still leaves me in the dark and without a light bulb… Eek! It's scary in here :(

The Big Green Tree

noreply@blogger.com (Saffy-7) — Sat, 17 Sep 2005 18:36:00 +0000

On my way home from shopping today, I passed my Primary School.

I've never stopped and looked back since leaving and going to High School. But this time I stood for what seemed like hours staring at the playground and then at the building and then at the great big tree in the middle of the grass. It was a big evergreen.

I remember when we used to play "Kiss Chase". The boys chased the girls and if the girls got caught they had to give the boy a kiss. Subhanallah, we were only 12 years old. Even the Muslims girls used to play. Funnily enough, I don't remember any of the Muslim boys playing. There was this one Bengali boy and one Pakistani boy who used to sit and watch but never joined in.

Anyway, that was just one thought that went through my mind whilst staring at the big green tree through the black metal gate at the back of our school. So many other things I've done that nobody knows. Well, the friends that did know have probably forgotten them by now. Different people remember different things.

I learnt so much rubbish at the school - like evolution and every religion is a path to God. That's so stupid. If I said to my teacher I want to be a doctor what subject should I take at A-level? I can just imagine her saying: take any subject, Safoorah, they all lead to Medicine.

How could my parents have allowed me to be exposed to such rubbish? Why did Allah let me go to that stupid school where I learn all the things I shouldn't have learnt? I was just a child. And now all those things in my head that come back and haunt me when I want to practice the Deen.

I love Islam so much... But it's so easy to love Islam coz it's so beautiful. The hard thing for me is getting Islam to love me back...

Our Time: A Time of Change!

noreply@blogger.com (Saffy-7) — Fri, 16 Sep 2005 18:02:00 +0000

We live in a really interesting time... I can just feel something big is going to happen. Or maybe it's happening right now!

Anyone who hasn't got their head in the clouds will see parallels between our time (the last five years) and what happened during the renaissance, during the fall of the Berlin wall and way before too:
During the time of our mega beloved Prophet "PBUH".

Before that too!

At the time of Nuh "AS" and even during the time of Adam "AS".

I just feel it's that time of great big change again and ideas are flying around everywhere!

It's a confusing time where I think Muslims especially need to bear one thing in mind. I say especially Muslims because we know we're blatently right and everyone else is blatently wrong. It's not arrogance! That's like calling someone arrogant because they believe the sun is hot. Not my fault it's so obvious.

But if I feel this way - I bet ya millions of other Muslims feel the same way. That's exactly what makes us guys vulnerable. We need to remember that if the companions of the Prophet "PBUH" were not open-hearted and open to listening to other people's views then we wouldn't be Muslim today. It was the Quraish who didn't listen to their Messenger and that's why they got messed up.

But today because we've got such strong beliefs, we've become like the Quraish and think we know it all. But then at the same time, why do I always feel I'm right when it comes to Islam Vs non-Islam? (I can't think of a better term). I blame everyone else for having such weak arguments and not researching their beliefs properly or just saying silly things like "because it just is". I mean come on, what kind of argument is that?

With most discussions, it's all about convincing somebody else of an idea or point of view. But what I find more fascinating is when it's got nothing to do with convincing, simply because you didn't have a view on an issue to begin with. Instead someone points out to you something so simple and so obvious that you just haven't considered before. You never disagreed. It was never about agreeing or disagreeing - it's just something you've never considered... then you just think: Oh... wow! That's amazing. It happened to me today.

Does anyone get what I mean?

noreply@blogger.com (Saffy-7) — Wed, 14 Sep 2005 09:25:00 +0000

Thinking...

noreply@blogger.com (Saffy-7) — Wed, 14 Sep 2005 09:24:00 +0000

Just chillin'

ME

noreply@blogger.com (Saffy-7) — Wed, 14 Sep 2005 09:17:00 +0000

I've just started this - WATCH THIS SPACE!