Spread the Word:

Tyson: Public Service Announcement Record

I'll eventually begin blogging here again, insha'Allah. Our move to Kuwait is pending...so I would expect this to become my primary means to communicate with all the wonderful people of e-town and tha t.dot etc (note the italics).

in the meantime, i'm pursuing more focused efforts here -
farooq.wordpress.com

"if you're a playa, stay a playa, just halalify your game" - Dr. Abdal Hakim Jackson

Little Mosque Episode 2...await the uproar...

new track by Amir Sulaiman -- "How Beautiful" -- www.myspace.com/amirsulaiman

www.bdtour.ca

(above: MM business cards made in *literally* 15 minutes, and printed in another 10...yeah, i know...i'm always last minute)

Greetings all,

in case you were wondering: in the past two weeks, i've written 9 essays, accumulating 20,000 words, for which i've had to research through 5 books and 18 journal articles...oh, and throw in 2 final exams and a spur of the moment cross-country flight and….there you have it! the last 14 days of my life, in only ~40 words!...ah, the wonder of words.

anyway, i'm off to Chicago in 4 hours, officially hitting up ISNA as "Attending Media"-- 'press badges galore!' as brother taka would say--let's all pray that when they said that they’re putting "The Muslim Minute" on the official list of attending media, they actually meant it.

stay tuned for pictures, videos and daily posts from what is North America's largest muslim gathering...est. attendance: 50,000...dua :|

Backstory: What it means to be Muslim

Alliance of Concerned Jewish Canadians

ACJC2006@yahoo.ca
ACJC2006-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ACJC2006
News List: JUNITY-CANADA-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The current crisis in Israel, Lebanon and the Occupied Palestinian Territories

August 11, 2006

As Jewish Canadians, it is with deep regret that we feel bound to protest Israel’s horrifying military offensive in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon, and the Canadian government's support for it.

We cannot accept Israel’s justifications for the death and devastation it has wrought in the past weeks, not to mention the hatred it is sowing. The capture of soldiers does not justify, in law or morality, such a wildly disproportionate response. The presence of masses of weapons on both sides of the border, frightening as it is, cannot justify pre-emptive attacks by either side. On the contrary, the situation cries out for dialogue and diplomacy.

We are convinced that there are peaceful solutions to these conflicts based on mutual respect for self-determination and international law. Sadly, it is our view that Israel is more author than victim of the unfolding tragedy, through the intransigence it has often shown in negotiations over legitimate grievances, through the demonization of its adversaries, and through its repeated reliance upon the illusory promise of safety through military superiority. The claim that there is no negotiating partner is discredited by proposals for negotiations from both Hamas and Hezbollah. Israel's security is not served by refusal to negotiate; rather the contrary.

A heavy responsibility also lies with the governments that underwrite and encourage reckless actions, primarily the United States, which seems to regard Israel as a tool in its war against the Middle East for its resources, and now, appallingly, Canada as well. As Canadians and as Jews we are doubly worried about the implications of this in the kind of world we live in. We call on the our government to insist that collective punishment is a crime, and to work within all available international arenas to ensure that no one in this conflict flouts international law with impunity.

It is simply inexcusable to allow the fighting to continue any longer. We call on the Canadian Government to demand an immediate UN-supervised cease-fire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon and Gaza, negotiations to bring about a prisoner exchange, and the immediate restoration of aid and relief to the Palestinian people.

(Contact and tax-deductible donations may be made to La Galerie Fôkus, 68 Est, av. Duluth, Montréal (Québec) H2W 1G8 tel.: (514) 284.66.42 )

[Abdul Sattar Edhi] [in Lebanon]

JEDDAH, 9 August 2006 — As people streamed out of Lebanon fleeing Israeli aggression, Pakistani philanthropist and humanitarian Abdul Sattar Edhi did exactly the opposite, getting to Beirut from Karachi as fast as he could.

“I knew I would have to be in Lebanon,” Edhi told Arab News during an interview from the Lebanese capital. “I just can’t sit back and watch humanity suffer. I am not made that way. I have been engaged in this kind of social work for the last six decades. I am 82 now. Allah has always helped me.”

Zaytuna Podcast Episode 2

"We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another."
- Jonathan Swift

Getting Real Answers, to Real Questions (for once)

So, you are young, Muslim and living in modern Britain/North America. This probably means you are full of questions about life, politics, spirituality, etiquettes and prayers. And what about those to do with jihad, sex, integration and identity? Stem cells? Education?

You want answers but not from weird internet sites or dodgy 'imams'. What you want is the real thing: answers from a credible and authoritative source deeply immersed in the traditions of the faith but engaged with the contemporary.

Well then here is a rare opportunity to have your most confusing, most difficult and most worrying questions answered by one of the Muslim world's leading jurist.

Shaykh Abdullah Bin Bayyah, may God protect him, has offered to take on any questions and provide clear, compelling guidance on issues affecting young Muslims living in Britain today.

What should jihad mean for us? What is the Islamic understanding of citizenship? Are we allowed to join the army and police forces? Can women hold positions of leadership? What should be our guidelines when participating in public life? Is violence and terrorism allowed in Islam? And what about suicide bombing?

We are presently compiling questions to ask the Shaykh. If you have any burning matter please send it to us and we will forward it. We cannot guarantee that all questions will be covered but we will do our very best to get as many as we can answered.

The result would be the publication of the answers before Eid ul Fitr 2006.

Questions can be anonymous so feel free to be frank and open.

Click here to submit yours: http://www.radicalmiddleway.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=103&Itemid=54

A letter from Chomsky and others on the recent events in the Middle East (July 19, 2006):

The latest chapter of the conflict between Israel and Palestine began when Israeli forces abducted two civilians, a doctor and his brother, from Gaza. An incident scarcely reported anywhere, except in the Turkish press. The following day the Palestinians took an Israeli soldier prisoner - and proposed a negotiated exchange against prisoners taken by the Israelis - there are approximately 10,000 in Israeli jails.

That this "kidnapping" was considered an outrage, whereas the illegal military occupation of the West Bank and the systematic appropriation of its natural resources - most particularly that of water - by the Israeli Defence (!) Forces is considered a regrettable but realistic fact of life, is typical of the double standards repeatedly employed by the West in face of what has befallen the Palestinians, on the land allotted to them by international agreements, during the last seventy years.

Today outrage follows outrage; makeshift missiles cross sophisticated ones. The latter usually find their target situated where the disinherited and crowded poor live, waiting for what was once called Justice. Both categories of missile rip bodies apart horribly - who but field commanders can forget this for a moment?

Each provocation and counter-provocation is contested and preached over. But the subsequent arguments, accusations and vows, all serve as a distraction in order to divert world attention from a long-term military, economic and geographic practice whose political aim is nothing less than the liquidation of the Palestinian nation.

This has to be said loud and clear for the practice, only half declared and often covert, is advancing fast these days, and, in our opinion, it must be unceasingly and eternally recognised for what it is and resisted.


Tariq Ali
John Berger
Noam Chomsky
Eduardo Galeano
Naomi Klein
Harold Pinter
Arundhati Roy
Jose Saramago
Giuliana Sgrena
Howard Zinn

A ray of hope in these dark times: Dana Olmert, the daughter of Ehud Olmert, protests against Israeli war crimes. See Zaman Daily, Ynet News, WorldNetDaily.

Fareena Alam

Wed.19.07.2006

[deenport.com]

PETITION: Save the Lebanese Civilians

RALLY: for the Immediate Evacuation of Canadian Citizens from Lebanon & Entreating for Condemnation of Israeli Aggression by the Canadian Government
Wednesday July 19th
12:00PM (Noon)
Legislature Building
~~~
Forget your reiterated questioning of lower-level bureaucratic demonstration for once. Do something, regardless of how small you deem it; in the words of Sidi Sharafe:

"Although this is a 'rally for our citizens' inshaAllah it will still have benefits in terms of letting the Canadian Government know this issue in the Middle East is important to Canadians. And it may also be used to pressure the government to demand a stop of aggression.

Although you and I know that *IF* we manage to get the Canadian Government to change its stance (which seems unlikely since we have a puppet prime minister) most-likely this will have *no effect* on the "Israeli" government (just like the repeated UN Resolutions that resolve nothing.) Nevertheless, at least we'll have something to say to Allah on the Day of Judgement when we're asked about what we did...the same applies for letters, phone-calls and petitions that fall on deaf ears...at least we did something.

When Imam Ahamd ibn Hanbal was in prison, and Friday would come...he would get himself ready (i.e. for Jumuah) then walk to the door of his prison cell and the guard would tell him to go back; then he would say, "Oh Allah, bear witness that I tried to go to Jumuah but this prison guard did not let me.""

300 UK Jews buy an entire page in The Times (UK) to ask: What is Israel Doing?

Fareena Alam

Mon.10.07.2006
[www.deenport.com]
~
reference: five years ago, an ad taking up an entire page of the Edmonton Journal required $25,000. $25,000 to book a page of a relatively small market, local publication...five years ago.

this...is The Times.

The new VisualDhikr website is to be seen.

"wa ma tawfiqi illa billah"
("there is no success, except by Allah")

When Mountains Meet - Mufti Taqi Usmani Visits Shaykh Nuh Keller

TheStar: A Jew and a Muslim douse Dutch fires
"AMSTERDAM—If Christians are lobbing rhetorical bombs at Muslims, who better to tamp down tensions than a soft-spoken Jewish intellectual? Job Cohen has done so as mayor of this city of 800,000, 1 in 8 of whom is a Muslim."

MSNBC: Islam and Europe

Amir Sulaiman Responds to Mobb Deep, 50 Cent

Amir smacks the teeth outa baatil with his battle-styled reply…Amir’s message below

Amir performing at MSA UofA's Islam Awareness Week, March 2006

“In the Name of the One
This is song is a remix in response to the Mobb Deep original song "Pearly Gates" on their current G-Unit album "Blood Money". In Prodigy's verse he's rapping about beefing with God and Jesus (may peace be upon him) talking about he's gonna beat Jesus (as) down when he sees him. I felt obligated to respond concerning the honor of the Son of Man, the Spirit of God and to debase Prodigy's baffling ignorance and wickedness. Listen to it and if you feel so compelled share it with everyone you know. peace and manifest liberation”
– Amir Sulaiman; June 5, 2006

Downloads (up for 7 days)
Original: "Pearly Gates" Mobb Deep feat. 50 Cent & lyrics

Response: "Pearly Gates" Amir Sulaiman

Frontline 2003: Chasing the Sleeper Cell
"They met bin Laden, trained in his camps. But were these six U.S. citizens an Al Qaeda terrorist cell ready to strike?"

The Case of the Toronto 17

Has Racism Invaded Canada?

By ROBERT FISK

http://www.counterpunch.org/fisk06122006.html

This has been a good week to be in Canada--or an awful week, depending on your point of view--to understand just how irretrievably biased and potentially racist the Canadian press has become. For, after the arrest of 17 Canadian Muslims on "terrorism" charges, the Toronto Globe and Mail and, to a slightly lesser extent, the National Post, have indulged in an orgy of finger-pointing that must reduce the chances of any fair trial and, at the same time, sow fear in the hearts of the country's more than 700,000 Muslims. In fact, if I were a Canadian Muslim right now, I'd already be checking the airline timetables for a flight out of town. Or is that the purpose of this press campaign?

First, the charges. Even a lawyer for one of the accused has talked of a plot to storm the Parliament in Ottawa, hold MPs hostage and chop off the head of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Without challenging the "facts" or casting any doubt on their sources--primarily the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or Canada's leak-dripping Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) -- reporters have told their readers that the 17 were variously planning to blow up Parliament, CSIS's headquarters, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and sundry other targets. Every veiled and chadored Muslim woman relative of the accused has been photographed and their pictures printed, often on front pages. "Home-grown terrorists" has become theme of the month--even though the "terrorists" have yet to stand trial.

They were in receipt of "fertilizers", we were told, which could be turned into explosives. When it emerged that Canadian police officers had already switched the "fertilizers" for a less harmful substance, nobody followed up the implications of this apparent "sting". A Buffalo radio station down in the US even announced that the accused had actually received "explosives". Bingo: Guilty before trial.

Of course, the Muslim-bashers have laced this nonsense with the usual pious concern for the rights of the accused. "Before I go on, one disclaimer," purred the Globe and Mail's Margaret Wente. "Nothing has been proved and nobody should rush to judgment." Which, needless to say, Wente then went on to do in the same paragraph. "The exposure of our very own home-grown terrorists, if that's what the men aspired to be, was both predictably shocking and shockingly predictable." And just in case we missed the point of this hypocrisy, Wente ended her column by announcing that "Canada is not exempt from home-grown terrorism". Angry young men are the tinderbox and Islamism is the match.

The country will probably have better luck than most at "putting out the fire", she adds. But who, I wonder, is really lighting the match? For a very unpleasant--albeit initially innocuous--phrase has now found its way into the papers. The accused 17--and, indeed their families and sometimes the country's entire Muslim community--are now referred to as "Canadian-born". Well, yes, they are Canadian-born. But there's a subtle difference between this and being described as a "Canadian"--as other citizens of this vast country are in every other context. And the implications are obvious; there are now two types of Canadian citizen: The Canadian-born variety (Muslims) and Canadians (the rest).

If this seems finicky, try the following sentence from the Globe and Mail's front page on Tuesday, supposedly an eyewitness account of the police arrest operation: "Parked directly outside his ... office was a large, gray, cube-shaped truck and, on the ground nearby, he recognized one of the two brown-skinned young men who had taken possession of the next door rented unit..." Come again? Brown-skinned? What in God's name is this outrageous piece of racism doing on the front page of a major Canadian daily? What is "brown-skinned" supposed to mean--if it is not just a revolting attempt to isolate Muslims as the "other" in Canada's highly multicultural society? I notice, for example, that when the paper obsequiously refers to Toronto's police chief and his reportedly brilliant cops, he is not referred to as "white-skinned" (which he most assuredly is). Amid this swamp, Canada's journalists are managing to soften the realities of their country's new military involvement in Afghanistan.

More than 2,000 troops are deployed around Kandahar in active military operations against Taleban insurgents. They are taking the place of US troops, who will be transferred to fight even more Muslims insurgents in Iraq.

Canada is thus now involved in the Afghan war--those who doubt this should note the country has already shelled out $1.8bn in "defense spending" in Afghanistan and only $500m in "additional expenditures", including humanitarian assistance and democratic renewal (sic)--and, by extension, in Iraq. In other words, Canada has gone to war in the Middle East.

None of this, according to the Canadian foreign minister, could be the cause of Muslim anger at home, although Jack Hooper--the CSIS chief who has a lot to learn about the Middle East but talks far too much--said a few days ago that "we had a high threat profile (in Canada) before Afghanistan. In any event, the presence of Canadians and Canadian forces there has elevated that threat somewhat." I read all this on a flight from Calgary to Ottawa this week, sitting just a row behind Tim Goddard, his wife Sally and daughter Victoria, who were chatting gently and smiling bravely to the crew and fellow passengers. In the cargo hold of our aircraft lay the coffin of Goddard's other daughter, Nichola, the first Canadian woman soldier to be killed in action in Afghanistan.

The next day, he scattered sand on Nichola's coffin at Canada's national military cemetery. A heartrending photograph of him appeared in the Post--but buried away on Page 6. And on the front page? A picture of British policemen standing outside the Bradford home of a Muslim "who may have links to Canada".

Allegedly, of course.

Robert Fisk is a reporter for The Independent and author of Pity the Nation. He is also a contributor to CounterPunch's collection, The Politics of Anti-Semitism. Fisk's new book is The Conquest of the Middle East.

Nine months ago, during the once-activ- days-of this-blog, I shared a prophetic tradition that raised a few eyebrows. Comments of concerned enquiry were noted, and so I subsequently deleted the post and posed the question to Faraz Rabbani of Sunnipath.com. It took nine months to receive an answer—indicative of the volume of questions they receive daily. It's funny because I can recall 4 years ago, when Sunnipath.com was simply the "Hanafi" Q&A Yahoo mailing list...back then, my questions would be answered within a day or two...it's good to see how the list has developed into what it is today, alhamdulillah.

The Question/Answer:

Please explain the following hadith:

Narrated 'Ali (ra):
I heard the Prophet saying, "In the last days (of the world) there will appear young people with foolish thoughts and ideas. They will give good talks, but they will go out of Islam as an arrow goes out of its game, their faith will not exceed their throats. So, wherever you find them, kill them, for there will be a reward for their killers on the Day of Resurrection." (Bukhari: 6-61:577)

Who, exactly, was the Prophet (SAW) referring to in this tradition? How should Islamic workers/activists understand this hadith in relation to the da'wah? What is the hukm on the last sentence of the hadith?

Answer:

In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful and Compassionate

This hadith has been related by both Bukhari and Muslim in their compilations of rigorously authenticated hadiths. Imam Nawawi explains in his commentary on Sahih Muslim that the people being referred to in the hadith are seemingly pious Muslims who rebel against the rightful ruler of the Muslims by taking up arms against him. The most prominent historical example was the Khawarij, an early Muslim sect that declared major companions and their rightful supporters to have left Islam, and used this as a justification to take up armed struggle against them. The hadith is a true prophecy with respect to the Khawarij, and, as explained by Imam Nawawi, applies to other similar groups of Muslims who oppose the mainstream Muslims and take up arms against them. The instruction in the hadith to kill such people is an instruction to Muslim rulers to gather an army to forcibly quell such rebellions.

This is how classical scholars have understood the above hadith. This hadith does not in any way justify individual Muslims' causing civil discord by taking the law into their own hands and go about spilling blood, nor does it justify the terrible acts of violence and terror that are committed in the name of Islam by the ignorant.

And Allah knows best.

“Ideology is the wallpaper that covers the cracks of logic”
- Dr. Sulayman Nyang

10 Steps You Can Take To Guarantee Failure

lol (in case you're wondering, the product is actually on the market)

once star of pakistani-pop monster "vital signs" (dil dil pakistan), junaid jamshed in an urdu naat video--the words of which were written by mufti taqi usmani.
{here}
the world is an often pleasantly strange place :-)

my next computer might just end up being a mac.
lol.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4880022.stm

the perfect remedy for homesickness?
go home.
May 19th - 23rd: T.O. insha'Allah :-)
and with family (wife and all :D)

ah, and it turns out that i'm flying 1st class...don't ask.

" Mr. APPLEBY: When there's a law that's so extreme that it conflicts with the mission of the Church or God's law, there are certain times where it's appropriate to say, "If this law passes, we're going to defy it because there's a higher authority that we adhere to.""
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week931/newsfeature.html#

It's interesting that such comments don't cause the uproar ignited when a Muslim expresses similar sentiments. I'm not an advocate of anarchy or outright opposition to the law of the land...but the dynamics of these things make me wonder.

Religion in Rwanda

this is beautiful...i must go here.=
http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/weekinreview/20060219_YARDLEY_FEATURE/blocker.html
insha'Allah :|

7 courses this semester...should be fun :-)

EDIT 202: Education - Instructional Technology
HIST 110: The Pre-Modern World
RELIG 322: Contemporary Islamic Movements
ENGL 221: Reading Politics: Ideology & Class
ENGL 315: Indian Writings in English
EDU 250: The Profession of Teaching
EDUC 301: Educational Issues and Social Change I: Historical Social Perspectives

^_^ *everybody make dua'...*

i am engaged :-) alhamdulillah
*surprise!!!*

ha. na'am. so now you all know why my posts have been so seldom for the past five months (to the date).
"life is hard"
- one of zachthecat's relatives

i've been away from school for too long and have forgotten how to write. hm. this should be fun:

so as of this past wed. i officially became the fiancé of salwa elladen. :-) you know, if i really wanted ya'll to experience the emotion within(what many say the purpose of blogging should be), i'd just fill this post with ":-)"s and ":D"s...but i thought a post exclusively filled with MSN emoticons would be exceedingly tacky...:-)

ah yes. at a loss for words :-)...erm...

:-) :D :-) :D :-) :D :-) :D :-) :D :-) :D :-) :D :-) :D :-) :D :-) :D :-) :D :-) :D :-) :D :-) :D :-) :D :-) :D :-) :D :-) :D:-) :D :-) :D :-) :D :-) :D :-) :D :-) :D:-) :D :-) :D :-) :D :-) :D :-) :D :-) :D

and zachthecat is engaged too!

"it's the most wonderful time of the year...da dum da dum"

that's all for now folks...excuse me as i now resume my float on cloud...infinity :-)

for a more beneficial read on this whole engagement deal…go {here}

The Bushra

"Remember your contemporaries who have passed…and were of your age."
- al-Ghazali

A time of loss is one that brings with it two contrary, yet simultaneous sentiments—sorrow and merriment. Sorrow for the loss of a beloved; merriment for the promising advancement of providence. The loss of one universally dear to the heart is exceptionally arduous—it's difficult to acclimatize to the impending permanent departure of one of your closest companions.
*sigh*

I jest :-)

…I could babble for ages…so I'll get right to it, insha'Allah :-)

It is with great honor and privilege that I announce:

The engagement of
Saman Atiq & Zacharia Al-Khatib

May Allah (swt) shower his mercy upon Zacharia and Saman…and may he make this marriage-to-be one filled with barakah and noor for the entire community and Ummah at large. Ameen.

Wasalam,
Farooq :-)

P.S. The next time you see our beloved Zacharia...after you congratulate him, make sure you wave him goodbye--it may be the last time you ever see him :-)

exams..."the bliss"
*sigh*

"hard work, sweat and blood stains/i did it for chump change/i didn't really complain, cause it was a love game/that's when i was kid but/now i know this fact/that love is gonna get you evicted from where you live at"
- "sleepwalking"-- onebelo

something fitting:

Procrastinator's Creed

* 1. I believe that if anything is worth doing, it would have been done already.
* 2. I shall never move quickly, except to avoid more work or find excuses.
* 3. I will never rush into a job without a lifetime of consideration.
* 4. I shall meet all of my deadlines directly in proportion to the amount of bodily injury I could expect to receive from missing them.
* 5. I firmly believe that tomorrow holds the possibility for new technologies, astounding discoveries, and a reprieve from my obligations.
* 6. I truly believe that all deadlines are unreasonable regardless of the amount of time given.
* 7. I shall never forget that the probability of a miracle, though infinitesmally small, is not exactly zero.
* 8. If at first I don't succeed, there is always next year.
* 9. I shall always decide not to decide, unless of course I decide to change my mind.
* 10. I shall always begin, start, initiate, take the first step, and/or write the first word, when I get around to it.
* 11. I obey the law of inverse excuses which demands that the greater the task to be done, the more insignificant the work that must be done prior to beginning the greater task.
* 12. I know that the work cycle is not plan/start/finish, but is wait/plan/plan.
* 13. I will never put off until tomorrow, what I can forget about forever.
* 14. I will become a member of the ancient Order of Two-Headed Turtles (the Procrastinator's Society) if they ever get it organized.

so ubiquitous have blogs become, they've nearly lost all value to me.

0-7.

can we get one?

please...
one...
just one...
at least...

yaa Allah :|

court. {hamed.com} via {taka}...

http://wms.dr.dk/storage/Ung/Boogie/ligadk/lookintomyeyes_outlandish.wmv

mondarymidterm.
tuesdayresearchessay.
wednesdaymidterm.

^_^ in the words of brother basit, "the bliss..."

Skinnamarinkydinkydink.
Skinnamarinkydoo.

tonight is the 27th.

dua for me. everyone. please.

another {power ranking}...another last place finish for the raps. mr. stein of the p.rankings likes to rub salt in open wounds:
"Raps' outlook isn't that bleak. Most staffers agree that they'd rank as high as second if we did power rankings for the Israeli league."

*sigh*

and {scott} speaks the truth:
"If Chris Bosh turns out to be Joe Smith 2.0 I think I'll sink into a six-month depression, gain 50 pounds and then move to Nunavut. I won't be able to deal."

if come april, the raptors are in the playoffs...i will hold party @ homestyle...you all are invited.

less than a week left? :S
i don't know what's going on. :|

and i've made up my mind-- 7/10...

and i sleep too much.

maybe a 7.5.

i officially up my rating of sami yusuf's "my ummah" to a 7/10...

the people at {awakening} saw it fit that i take a hiatus from my "no music/nasheed" rule in ramadan...got my hands my pre-release date order of sami yusuf’s album “my ummah”…here are my initial thoughts:

- sami's previous album, "mu'allim" was great because of it's unique variety…he took from both arab nasheed and urdu qawali/naat (saabir brothers)…etc…a nice mix in variety… 'tis not a surprise given sami's educational background (royal academy of music)...i enjoyed listening to "mu'allim" because of...everything? ya'nee...the catchy and meaningful lyrics, the "music,"...
there are remnants of such in "my ummah"...but there's just wayyyyyyyy too much pop arab hooks on tracks...if you like arab music...then you'll like this album...
don't get me wrong--arab music is okay...sometimes...but i'd like that it stay that way: arab...arab music just doesn’t go well with english vocals...lol...and i mean authentically english vocals...sami yusuf is one of the few british singers who has a *dinstinctive* british accent in his vocals...the LP is so flooded with arab popish music that i have difficulty seeing beyond it...
but you know...Sony BMG purchased rights to all but one of the tracks on the album...there must be something in the tracks, no?
mmm...well…....
*sigh*...just as i was about to begin saying something good, one of the tracks with a blatantly arab pop beginning began playing...i feel like pulling out my non-existent hair :@

mmm...but na'am:
--the track album-titled single "my ummah" is good...very good...not much more to say…it’s just very good :-)
--"hasbi rabbi" is my favorite track...aside from (*sigh*) arb.pop that plagues the first 10 seconds of the track...the afghan folklore melody combined with arabic/turkish lyrics is a nice mix...an upbeat track
--"try not to cry" featuring Outlandish...a close second as my favorite track...mmm...i think it's a tie...mmm…probably my favorite?...anyvhay…
the track is the only one to which sony BMG doesn't have the rights to. nice steady r&b beat...sami/issam/waqas are able to flow from one another in an ever-so-succinct manner...then there is, of course, my general beef with outlandish: lenny. does he not know english? really...why can't the man just rap in ENGLISH :@. you know, the first time i heard a couple outlandish tracks i thought it was unique/artistic/different/ to have a spanish verses embedded in a predominantly a english track...that soon changed as i quickly realized that fooliani *only* raps in spanish *sigh*...flippin’ annoying.
but the track is a good one....

" ‘Ayn Jalut where David slew Goliath
This very same place that we be at
Passing through the sands of times
This land’s been the victim of countless crimes
From Crusaders and Mongols
to the present aggression
Then the Franks, now even a crueller oppression
If these walls could speak,
imagine what would they say

For me in this path that I walk on
there's only one way
Bullets may kill, bones may break
Still I throw stones like David before me and I say..." [try not to cry..feat. outlandish]

--the rest of the tracks have wack melodies :-) i'm sorry...i'm having difficulty getting over the fact that the album sounds like sami has the same producer as nancy agram and amr diab :-(
he should bring anas canon on board--a producing genius.

still…i'm goning to enjoy the album for the next little bit...because i know that i'll stop soon..just like with "mu'allim"...an album that i enjoyed initially and no longer did when every-flippin-single-muslim event/wedding/dawat/haflah/baby shower/car ride/computer/mp3 player/conference/slideshow/alkaljdsfkjaldfkjldskfjkdfjkdjflakjdflsjdl played it...i don't think there's ever been a more overplayed album...ever *sigh*

i expect "my ummah" to follow suit.

ahh...i should mention that i'm rather please akhi sami decided to take the rukhsah (re: musical instruments)...i've got the "music edition" of the album. someone should buy the "percussion edition" and lend me it :-)

perhaps i'll write up a more sensible review later...?
my overall rating: 6.75/10 (i want to give it a 7…but can’t justify it)

mmm…i’ve now also got my hands on native deen’s {the deen you know}…this is gonna be a long hiatus :S

THE SHIP SUNK IN LOVE

Mevlana Rumi

Should Love's heart rejoice unless I burn?
For my heart is Love's dwelling.
If You will burn Your house, burn it, Love!
Who will say, 'It's not allowed'?
Burn this house thoroughly!
The lover's house improves with fire.
From now on I will make burning my aim,
From now on I will make burning my aim,
for I am like the candle: burning only makes me brighter.
Abandon sleep tonight; traverse fro one night
the region of the sleepless.
Look upon these lovers who have become distraught
and like moths have died in union with the One Beloved.
Look upon this ship of God's creatures
and see how it is sunk in Love.

Mathnawi VI, 617-623
The Rumi Collection, Edited by Kabir Helminski

whoa:

Ghofrane Benghanem, 19, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

http://www.glamour.com/features/pollsandcontests/050912top10collegewomen

i've always liked bill:

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20051012/bill_nye_051012/20051012/

it's too bad i never read a book (out of interest) until i was in grade...11.
things would be easier.

and our automated lota has stopped working.
life is complicated, no?

after my days of continuous sectarian bashing back in early high school, i now shy away from engaging in even "meaningful" discussion regarding groups/sects/methodologies/etc...but this article is a good read (and just so you know...although it's virtually impossible for anyone to read anything with an "objective eye," i do my best to judge islamic articles on the content at hand and leave aside my traditonalist/maliki/ash'ari tendencies :-))

Kalam and Islam

Most of us have met dedicated and otherwise intelligent Muslims who have made themselves “‘aqida police” to confront the rest of us with their issues in tenets of faith. We are told that this group, or that group, or most Muslims, or we ourselves are kafirs or “non-Muslims” on grounds that are less than familiar, but found in some manual of Islamic creed. Before going to hell on a trick question, or sending someone else there, many Muslims today would do well to cast a glance at the history of traditional Islamic theology (kalam), and the real creedal reasons that make one a Muslim or non-Muslim. Nuh Keller examines them in the following address given at the Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought in Amman, Jordan

http://www.islamicamagazine.com/ViewCompleteArticle.aspx?ArticleCd=112

i'm addicted...to sleep :S

front page--city

http://www.canada.com/edmonton/edmontonjournal/news/cityplus/story.html?id=d9932d83-4d00-4e9e-9a09-9d5aa519f459

just got home.

near midnight:
i: akhi, i don't think the box spring is gonna fit.
zacharia: shuaib, do you have any rope we can use to tie it to the top of the truck?
shuaib: *shrug*
rob (shuaib's roomate): um, i don't think we...mmm...well i have twine?

and so i drove an SUV full of stuff with a box spring mattress on top tied with twine...from HUB to heritage...and zacharia and shuaib both sitting in the front seat...at 12am...without my license. :S

and now i go to sleep.

wasalam.

A few weeks before his college entrance exams, Reda, a young man who lives in the south of France, finds himself forced to drive his father to Mecca.

From the start, the journey is difficult. Reda and his father have nothing in common. Conversation is reduced to the strict minimum. Reda wants to experience the trip in his own way but his father demands respect for himself and expects his son to understand the meaning of his pilgrimage.

As they drive through different countries and meet various people, Reda and his father observe each other warily. How can they create a relationship when communication is impossible? From the south of France, through Italy, Serbia, Turkey, Syria, Jordan to Saudi Arabia, their journey is 3,000 miles long.

http://www.legrandvoyage.co.uk

my linguistics prof is going through the midterm answer key...i'm lost...i've literally forgotten 90% of last week's midterm material.

such is the result of non-cumulative exams and horrendous study habits on my part...i need to get outta of my habit of cramming...and i need to attend *all*of my classes *all* the time.
i've improved exponentially relative to last year...but still.

--
did i mention the barkah of ramadan?

Allahuakbar.

a typical example of my conversations with zachthecat:

i: akhi, i suggest you sleep on it. often, things become apparent in one's sleep. the dream world, although ephemeral, can shed lights on the consciously obscure.

thecat: *long pause*...are you JOKING?!!!?!

...later...

thecat: dude, you've been reading wayyy too much rumi. you're a bad influence.