Egypt

Salaam,

Have arrived safe and well in the land of the Pharoes. Went to my accomodation, and to my suprise this was the location of the old Qortoba where i studied 2 years ago; they've converted this building into a set of flats and moved to a nearby bigger building. Alhamdulillah the flat is really nice though and im sharing it with a convert bro from the US and a local egyptian who works for Qortoba.

In for a bit of a shock though; basically i think all the people here are hard core Salafis...basically quite opposite to the environment at Qasid so should be an interesting few months ahead..

Also despite having slept for 3 hours overnight in Amman, when i landed in Cairo i got invited to a wedding of one of the Qortoba teachers for after Maghrib. Alhamdulilla it was pretty cool; my first proper arab wedding in the middle east i think. I think the women had more fun though; although they were in a seperate building you could see shadows jumping up and down, they were banging away their drums, singing loud and doing that YALALALALALALLALALAA thing that arab women do...

Salaam

Perfect -1

Salaam,

Yesterday was perfect..and today was less than perfect. Today the heavens decided to open and it poured down all day...thank God today is my last day here.

Went to the archeology museum in the morning which was very interesting and then was supposed to go to Dolmobache Palace (i think thats spelt correct) but it was closed...this was my second attempt as i had gone here on my second day and had got there too late and they weren't letting anyone in..ah well guess i'll never get to see it

Anyway my flight to Amman is in a few hours time and most likely (inshaAllah) the next entry from me will be from Cairo

Salaam

Perfect + 1

Salaam,

Today was more of a perfect day than yesterday-the weather was more perfect, the views were more perfect, the food was more perfect...just everything..

I went on another ferry trip - this time to "The Princes Islands" a set of 5 islands 25km from Istanbul. They were a world away from the hustle and bustle of Istanbul and pretty interesting in of themselves; each island only has around 5000 people, there are no cars on the islands - everyone rides a bike or takes a "taxi" in the form of horse drawn carriages, all the houses look like old french houses or those wooden houses you get in cowboy films (you know, the ones with those swinging doors...), the views are Amazing, all the islands are covered in pine like trees providing beautiful countryside style areas, each island had really nice beaches and so on...

I visited two of them and basically spent the day exploring them, relaxing and reading my book. I dont think i mentioned, but in Amman in the final days i visited this bizarre bookshop (they had metal detectors before you entered) and bought the book 1001 arabian nights (i heard Sheherazade is a bit of a legend...and i am in the arab world after all). The book shop was really good though and had wide selection of books about Muslims in the world today. I was torn between three; "Whatever happened to the Egyptians? An analysis of Egyptian society since 1950", "Muslim Feminism" and "1001 arabian nights"...i think you'll agree i made the correct decision in the end.

Anyway tomorrow is my last day in Istanbul and at 11:45pm i fly back to Amman for 12 hours and then my flight to Cairo is at 11:45am (it was cheaper doing this than a single to Istanbul then a single from here to Cairo...dont ask me why)

Salaam

Whoosh...! Whooosh....!

Salaam,

In a rush but went to see a performance by some whirling dirvishes today...was fantastic...!!

Also went on a ferry ride up the bosphorous and then to the top of a hill where there was a 13th century castle; views were amazing, weather was fantastic...it was a perfect day

Salaam

Computer people!

Salaam,

Why are there soooo many OAP japanese tourists in the world? Is that the official profession of all over 55 Japanese people...? Im pretty sure a good half of all my pictures somehow or other contain some japanese tourists in them - they go round in groups of 50 and its impossible to take a picture without one of them sneaking in...

Spent most of today on buses; went to NE Istanbul to visit the mosque and resting place of Ayub al-Ansari, the sahabi who was the flag bearer in the wars and also the one in whos house the Prophet stayed for 7 months i think when the Muslims migrated to Madina. Then went to the Fatih Mosque, resting place of the conqueror of Istanbul Fatih Sultan Mehmet. Then got on a Another bus and went over to the "new" city and walked around the industrial hub of Istnabul for a while.

The title! yes, computer literate people, i need help! Basically i've been taking a Lot of pictures and saving them on my memory stick. But i just checked now, and the photos i took on the 1st day are missing! When you right click on the memory stick icon and go to properties, it seems as if they are still there (it says 350mb used) but then when you open it, theres only the 2nd days pictures there (around 100mb). So in terms of memopry the first days pics seem to be there, but when you open the folder their not there..Where have they gone..???!

Salaam

Today

LOL

Thinkin about was i was gonna write on the way back to the hotel, got approached by Emro. Ever so friendly he was, asked about where i was from, how many days i was in istanbul for etc etc...and then "$100 for all night with ladies from russia, arab world, oriental, everything"...

Anyway what i said yesterday was spot on - spent the day at the Topkapi palace (although was too late for the Harem...!) and the Sulemani mosque. Mouthwatering.

Thinking about going to Konya (resting place of Rumi) on Tuesday but not too sure whether should go or not; 12 hours there 12 hours back by bus...advis/ce away...

Salaam

Hoş geldiniz

Salaam,

Just to let you all know that i've arrived safely in Turkey and overall the first day has gone well. It started off not too well though - my hotel were supposed to pick me up from the airport-but they didn't...so had to use the local tram service to get there.

Anyway the hotel is well located so got to see the Blue Mosque, Aya Sofia and Museum of Islamic Art today. Have been overwhelmed by the number of oustanding mosques in Istanbul though - i thought only the Blue mosque is constructed in the manner that it is, but iv visited at least three other mosques today which have been very neary that calibre.

Ok, i haven't slept in 2 days (flight was 4:30am..) so İyi geceler

Salaam

Last night...

Salaam,

My last proper night in Amman...Have still to pack for Turkey, done sooo many things over the last few days, yet so little time to write about them.

Need to leave for the airport in 45 mins...so have put some Sh Nuh notes to keep you guys busy for the next few days...

Salaam

Sheikh Nuh Notes IV

Salaam,

Whoever is submissive to Allah and has perfected this finds Allah with him at all times

Allah is not with those who is concerned about what others say and greedy for things not destined for him

Many projects can be seen as a failure for the ego but a victory for the soul. Constantly this battle between the ego and soul is going on within us therefore sometime an incident happens and it may seem bad but it is actually good for the soul in the long term

Whoever in an outward sense turns completely with conviction to Allah he will find him there inwardly for him

Famous Sufi (didn’t write down his name) -every night used to analyse all the things he said, all the things he did etc and try and eliminate all the useless things the next day. “Useless” – no Islamic benefit to this

Allah wont reward everyone with what they fully deserve in this world as this world cant hold/contain the rewards that are in store for us

If outwardly and inwardly you do acts with conviction but you don’t find the sweetness of the spiritual benefit or don’t “feel” better, don't despair for being accepted. The most accepted acts are often the things you don’t even notice as your intention is very pure here

No one can fully understand the generosity of Allah until they see what they will receive in the hereafter. Therefore shouldn’t “look down" on our ibadah if thinking “its not working” or “its not getting me anywhere.

Person with Zuhd; doesn't think about the rewards hen doing deeds as has realized Allah Is the greatest reward and he Is the most generous/giving so person confident he will get handsomely rewarded

If a rope is pulled back and forth over a boulder, eventually a groove will form over it. Blackstone – has groove on it just from people kissing it. Same thing with dhikr; don’t give up if you don't see yourself benefiting but remain consistent and iA small gradual changes will take place, which might not be evident straight away

When praying tahajudd, crying, praying in front of Allah, you're sitting in front of Allahs door. Sufi – even if rejected and not let in a thousand times, he comes back again and again

Allah doesn’t get “fed up" unless/until the slave gets “fed up”. We need to prove to Allah that we are a devout slave as that Is our true position

Some peoples works/ibadah “better” than others; not due to how it's done but as their trust and belief in Allah is greater

Whoever doesn’t have patience wont get what he seeks

High level of emaan – ability to see I everything the generosity of Allah e.g. when walking to the mosque the ability to take one step after another


Salaam

Sheikh Nuh Notes III

Salaam,

Ihya Ulumdin; Imam Ghazzali

Imaan and Ihsaan are related to eachother. Distinctiveness by way of them being inter related or synonymous.

Iman is havig conction in th heart and also having outard submission. Its ideal to have both but even partial submission is still submission> is someone touhing someone else with the tip of his finger he’s still touching them, this still termed touching even f its not with the whole bdy. Therefore even if not full submission, it still is termed submission

Importantto distinguish between a mu’min – one who has true convicton and faith and a muslim – one who has faith

Iman>Ihsan in rank

Iman>Person who has even iota of faith will one day end up in heaven. But when is a person considered a Muslim? How little s neeed for a person to be considered a muslim? Some say mere convcition in Allah and the Prphet. Ohers – Coviction in the heart and the tongue needed. 3rd group say previous but perso also needs to do the basic actions of Islam. Top degree – one who does all previous three>all agreed that person with all three will eventually o to paradise.

2nd degree> first 2 of the above exist and the 3rd exists partially (Islamic acts) – still a muslim but committing a big sin by not doing these acts

3rd degree> believes with convction,testifies with tongue bt no actions done – disagreement with what happens to this person

AbuTalib Makki (Famous Sufi scholar) : utward practice of Islam is key; without this ones Islam is not complete.

Imam Ghazali; No word is “repeated” in the Quran; each word,sentence,vowel etc has t sow distinct special meaning bearing inmind the contxt its in.

Salaam

Columbo

Salaam,

So on a cold Saturday, the time is 10:30pm and we stand there, four of us, shivering outside Sheikh Nuhs house, eagerly waiting for him come to out. We here the rattling of a gate, we all lean forward, could it be him...? No, it’s someone else and so we go back to our former state, some doing dhikr, some memorising words, some just standing there.


I’m outside Sheikh Nuhs house on this cold night so that I can take part in what is known locally as “The Walk” Basically every night at around 10pm Sh Nuh goes on a 20 min walk around the local area doing his nightly dhikr and therefore some of the more hardcore mureeds join him on this walk, so I decided to join this time to check out what their always on about.

Anyway, there we are, waiting, waiting, waiting...and then he comes out and starts off on his walk down the road and we all follow him. He walks ahead and we follow behind him, all of us with our misbahas reciting and repeating praises to Allah and his prophet.

So we walk down a street, then up another street, then down another one etc etc..untill we come back to the sheikhs house and then he turns round and everyone goes upto to his shake his hand and kiss it at the same time and I go up and do the same.

To be honest i didn’t personally feel much spiritual benefit by going on this walk – for me everyone was walking too quickly and so you couldn’t concentrate on what you were saying, and then you had to look out for cars when crossing he road etc so I didn’t feel it was very conducive to gaining a spiritual feeling. But I guess all the mureeds go on the walk as they feel just being around the Sheikh and by just being in his presence they get some kind of Baraka or feel more spiritual which is fair enough I suppose.


Anyway as a further part of my investigation (that sounds so dodgy and clinical – “investigation”) into the Shadili tarika I attended the Latifiya the other day. Basically as part of the Shadili tarika, every Tuesday after Maghrib mureeds sit in a circle and repeat “Ya Latif” , one of the 99 names of Allah which means along the lines of The Gentle, The Kind, The merciful, a 1000 times.

Alhamdulilah it was a pretty nice experience, with around 30-40 mureeds all in a light hum and in unison reciting this with Sh Nuh sitting in front leading the way. Then after the recitation we had a short lesson wrt teachings from a book by Imam Shadili until Esha.

Although rewarding, again I felt that the pace of I was a bit too quick (i'm a hard man to please..) – I don’t know, for me I suppose wrt to dhikr I like to go at a steady pace so that each word sinks in and means something rather than go at breakneck pace just to say that particular thing x times. At times it as going so quickly that i’m sure instead of saying “Ya Latif” I ended up saying something like “Ya Thalfeef”…lol. But anyway I think the whole concept of congregation dhikr is one which is very rewarding and something which isn’t done enough, in the west anyway so it was pretty good.

The only remaining thing, the main thing associated with the Shadili tarika, which I haven’t attended yet is their Hadra they do every Thursday and Saturday. This is the most “controversial” thing they do – from what i hear it involves standing around in a circle, bending back and forwards repeatedly (like going to and fro from the ruku position) and almost ending up jumping at some stages doing dhikr “from the chest”.. to be honest this sounds a bit OTT for me so I think im gonna give it a miss but I think by attending a lot of their lessons and events it Has opened up my eyes to the necessity of these things to fulfill ones spiritual aspect of Islam.

Who knows what will happen to me in the future…

Salaam

The End

Salaam,

Today was my last day at Qasid… :( We were supposed to go in at 10am to get our grammar results and to go over the exam, but I woke up late...anyway I made it for the 11am presentation session where the people who were leaving received their certificates and everyone said Au revoir (wait a minute, that’s French isn’t it..?) to the teachers and the other students who were leaving.

Now I have a few days to relax in Amman and then inshaAllah Friday night (or Saturday morning should I say since my flight is at 4:30am) I go on to Istanbul. A couple of the brothers have gone again to Wadi Rum to do two days of camel riding through the desert and then will go on to Aqaba to do some diving – although the camel riding seemed interesting I thought it would involve far too much effort and so gave it a miss but may well join them in Aqaba for the diving. I'm also planning to inshaAllah go to Jerash where there's supposed to be some really good Roman sights to see and also to the Dead sea…just 'cos I think it'll be a shame if I didn't see this pretty famous landmark since I'm in Jordan.

In other news we had Huuuge dinner party typy thing last night where all the Qasid students, teachers and local Shuyukh came to celebrate Sh Iq's finishing of Hifz and also I think it kind of became an end of Qasid party too. Alhamdulilla the food was fantastic…yes arab food was good!. I've never really been a fan of proper arab food (Shwerma is Not Arab) but yesterdays stuff was good (Mansaf and this dish called Bukhari…). And a few days ago this Egyptian bro invited all the departing bros for a meal to his house and again the food was amazing…but I think the food was Syrian here as his wife is originally from here so sorry egyptians. And the Deserts! Oh My God! The deserts. That’s one thing I have to give to the arabs, their deserts are pretty crazy

Ok, I'm waiting for some pictures of Qasid and the local area I took a while ago to load up but this computer is Soooo slow..so i'll put this text up and the pics will come later iA.

Salaam
Ps, Oh yeah, some good news - Im going to be famous! Lol…This bro commented on the blog asking if he can use one of my pictures from when I visited the Nabi Harun site for the cover picture of his book he's publishing soon…! How cool is that! Ok it aint All that but still…not as cool as a friend of mine who did economics with me at Cambridge who's been asked to write a book…

Salaam,

Thats that, the last exam is done. Didn't go too well though but thats life. Anyway got my results for the first exam and alhamdulilla did OK - got 60/80 so was more than happy with this.

Below are some pictures of the Roman theatre in downtown Amman. Its pretty much the only historic thing to see in Amman but the view from the top is amazing. Also the bizzarre thing is that although its bang in the middle of downtown Amman, when your inside it feels very eerily quiet and peaceful. The architecture of the place is pretty cool too - on the front (where the "stage" is) there's an "X" on the floor and if you stand on this and speak your voice echoes around the whole stadium but if you speak from anywhere else, your voice doesn't carry..also if you put your mouth against the first "seat" on the first row on the left hand side and speak, your voice carries round to the first seat of the first row on the right hand side (its tough to explain...)


Salaam
ps, the picture where it looks like im trying to hupnotise two local kids is not how it seems, but thought the picture looked quite funny
pps, the other picture is of "da boys" themselves - you wouldn't guess it but their 13 and 14 yrs old respectively..

Onwards...

Salaam,

One exam down (went OK), one to go.

Will put up some more pictures of various trips over the next few days iA.

In other news, have booked my flight for the 24th for a week in Turkey iA, and on the 31st to Egypt...

Salaam.

Gone So Quick

Salaam,

Well three months have whisked by and so we come to today, the last day of Qasids term. It was a day of mixed emotions; glad that its finished as i desperately need a break, concerned in that its gone so fast and what have i learnt? and sad that the particular people i had in my class, the other students who are leaving and the teachers i had would be no more.

But the work doesn't end. The end of term exams are on Saturday and the dreaded grammar exam is on Monday, and since we were covering new things right up untill today i have a LOT to revise and get through in the next couple of days.

Alhamdulillah it was a good day though - we bought presents for all the teachers, there was lots of cakes and other deserts everywhere in the lounge area and everyone was exchanging contact details with those who would be leaving.

Anyway, below are some pics from the Petra trip. Enjoy.

Salaam

The Monastery

Burial site of Nabi Harun

Views from the donkey ride

The Treasury

Sheikh Nuh Notes II

Salaam,


24/2/06 - from Iqad ul-Himma by Imam Ata’ullah Sikandari:

When you become one with Allah you stand at the shore of the ocean of allahs generosity and his greatness. You gain access to the waves, to the water to the drops of Allahs endless bounties

The most beneficial knowledge is the rulings in how to be a good servant. The highest knowledge is knowing and realizing the onesess and supreme nature of Allah

Its not possible to be a good servant without making sacrifices for Allah

Whoever lowers himself lower than what he really is deserves, eg someone owes him money but he waves this, whoever is a source of ease to someone else through helping them, being kind to them etc (eg wife with husband), whoever helps without expecting something back, this is the person who gets access to Allahs presence

Allah helps a servant who helps his brother

Allah says "Spend, o son of Adam! and then you will be spent upon"

Spending key as it treats the disease of miserliness. This can be gained by fulfilling the rights of others (debts), doing zakat and giving in sadaqat

All the universe is full of light with the darkness being a manifestation of the ego out of control - all the universe is full of darkness with the light being a manifestation of the presence of Allah

In every single vision, in every single phenomenon, we can find the oneness, greatness, power and ultimate magnimity of the divine, if we want to.

Tasawuff based in deference and conviction, fiqh based in investigation and proofs i.e. in some ways opposite. This is why dhikr and trust in Allah is key

Someone who leaves everything, attains everything i.e. Allah


27/2/06 - from "Mutual Reminding & Good Manners" by Imam Al-haddad:

Keeping good company of upmost importance - regardless of intention you will end up taking on board their characteristics. Usually if someone changes the way their behave, its to do with them changing the people they stay with. People you stay with affect your outlook on life right down to the finer idiosyncrasies. Why were the Sahaba the best of all people? Because they kept the company of the best person out of all mankind - the Prophet (PBUH)

Allah says its incumbent for Him to love the servants who love each other for His sake, who meet for His sake etc

One of the greatest things one can do is to enter happiness into the life of a mu'min - eg once a mureed came from across the world and when he happened to pass by his sheikh, due to his happiness he put his arm around him and took a photo. The sheikh could have reprimanded the mureed but didnt say anything as it had made the mureed so happy

Have mercy towards others. Be tough on yourself and easy on others

Two hungry wolves set free amongst a herd of sheep don't do as much damage as the one who has greed for materialistic things

Associating yourself with someone and following them are two different and distinct things
Sign that someone is with someone else for the sake of Allah is that they'll stay with them regardless, where as if someone has ulterior motives, when this motive goes, so do they

Character of a student of Tasawuff;
1) doesn't have suspicion of the sheikh whatever happens
2) returns to the view of the sheikh whether it pleases him or not
3) discloses his secrets to his sheikh - no "embarrassment"
4) doesn't pry and spy to find out everything about the sheikh
5) if mentor shows one of the "secrets" in confidence, this must stay confidential - "Hearts of the pious are the graves for secrets"
6) doesn't go round boasting about the sheikh and his relationship with him
7) if he wants to do something he hears about, he asks the sheikh for permission
8) has certain level of respect, awe and love for the sheikh - no "joking around"
9) doesn't keep the company of the sheikh to increase his ego
10) should not dispose of anything (eg property) with asking the sheikh first

If you find someone who meets all your needs then cast yourself upon him and follow him so that you can find yourself with Allah one day. Follow him in all aspects apart from the particulars due to him being a sheikh. Don't object to anything except if it contradicts with the 4 schools. If you have any negative thoughts, try to suppress them. The complete sheikh is one who benefits one with his advice, words, wisdom etc


Salaam

Don't Fight the Truth

"The men are causing havoc among local women who fall for their good looks and charms, the Strait Times and AP said"

You know it

Deja Vu

Salaam,

Wrt to my entries on Death and pictures, yesterday i realised the full extent of its truth. On Saturday i had read on the BBC website about an arson attack on a house in Birmingham and how a 6 yr old girls had died in the fire. As it was one of god knows how many articles i had read that day, it just sunk into the back as i thought compared to the countless dying in Iraq and around the world and the vast amount of atrocities, massacres, injustices going on around the world, it wasn't That bad. So i just went on with my day. Then that night i received a text from my friend saying that a friend from school who had moved to Birmingham a few yrs back had an arson attack on his house and that his 6 yr old sr had passed away...

SubhanAllah this incident made me realise again the extent of what i was saying - that with every incident there are people around the world who are going through the anguish and pain that one would go through if one was in that position yourself. That every article we reas about wrt things going on around the world, there are people who are having to live with that incident for the rest of their lives rather than just move on to the next thing with a click of the mouse.

What should our reaction to the above point be? That everytime we read about some atrocity going on, we become emotionally attached to that cause...? i don't think so as if this was done i think all of us would become emotional wrecks all trying to save the world. I think what needs to be done is for individuals to decide on an individual basis what they Can do - for some when they read about Palestine they run off to Palestine and want to help out, for others they'll help disperse info about whats going on to people they know, for others it might just be donating money to a Palestinian charity. but i think even if one takes a moment for the gravity of all these news items to sink in rather than for them to be emotionless, then this is at least a start.

In the face of all these things going on around the world, its very easy to often give up hope as theres Sooo much which needs to be done. But alhamdulillah their are miracles happening all around us which get overlooked so often. wrt the entry when an American soldier came to Amman to convert, a very similar thing happened yesterday. In the middle of the hadith class with the same sheikh, he received a call from a judge saying that he had a General from the US army in Baghdad who wanted to convert and could he send him over. So towards the end of the lesson the General arrived and after a 30min quick aqeedah lesson to ensure he knew what he was getting himself into, he testified that that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad (PBUH) is his messenger.


Alhamdulillah

Salaam

Wadi Rum and Petra

Salaam,

Alahmdulillah, there's been a few times so far on my trip that i've just stood in awe of a product of nature and my trip to Petra and Wadi Rum gave me another two examples.

Thursday after class, myself and three other students hired a car and drove the 4 hr journey to Wadi Rum, which the guidebook said was the number one site to visit in all of Jordan. Basically its a huge desert terrain at the southmost point of Jordan bordering Saudi Arabia and has some Amazing scenery.

The plan was to take the less scenic and appropriately named Desert Highway and get to Wadi Rum around 5pm and catch the sunset there and get shown around by one of the local beduoins. And then around 9pm take the 1hr drive to Petra and spend all Friday here.

However due to some problems on the way there (ie getting lost) we became 1 hr behind schedule and got to Wadi Rum after sunset...but we took the much more scenic Kings Highway down and alhamdulilla the views on the way there made up for it. When we got to Wadi Musa it was already dark, but anyway we were led out by the Bedouin guide on his 4x4 (the days of the camels have long gone) and went into the middle of the desert, built a camp fire, had tea, looked at the amazing scenery and lied under the stars for a few hours. Then onto Petra.

Petra is absolutely breathtaking - and probably most famous now for being the place where they filmed Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (you've all watched this...). Although the entrance fee is a whopping 20pounds, you walk for around 10 minutes through this little gap with cliff faces on both sides of you. The most amazing this is the colours of the rocks - this place would be a geologists/archeological heaven. All these random coloured stones - purple, green, orange, blue etc. So you've these multi-coloured cliff faces on both sides then at the end it just opens upto a huge space and you have the Treasury in front of you. Amazing.

After we got here, we decided that we wanted to go upto the top of Jabel Harun to visit the gravesite of the Prophet Harun (Aaron - Moses's brother) So we hired donkeys to for this SEVEN hour ride there and back. You might thinking donkeys, no problem, but no, BIG problem. The mountain was very steep so it was incredibly dangerous going up it but alh somehow we made it to the top after around 3 1/2 hours, and the views from the top, the highest point in Jordan i believe, were breath talking.

After this we took the donkeys to the second most famous site in Petra, The monastery which was again very difficult to get to (had to go up 1000 steps - on the donkeys), but very much worth the wait.

I've summarised a Lot in order to keep this entry short but alh the views and scenery on this trip were breath taking. One down side of it was the situation of the Bedouin people. Due to the huge number of tourists visiting these sites, they've pretty much lost all their old way of life and many of them speak English and other foreign languages better than Arabic (bedouins are famed for their level of Arabic and poetry). Even worse they've adopted all the negative aspects of the west (cigarettes, alcohol, music, clothes etc) so this was pretty sad to see but to be honest, expected.

My pictures will go up soon iA, but i've attached some i found from the net.

Salaam

People

Salaam,

People are interesting. The way they look, speak, act etc. Just thinking about how people look. If one's eyes are slightly stretched you look like someone from the east, if you are eyes are slightly more apart than normal (like that woman from the sprite advert) you look...weird, if you have no eyebrows you look odd etc etc. Little little things we take for granted, if ever so slightly altered has a huge impact.

I remember watching Match of the Day (its been 4months + since iv watched it...) and listening to the footballers speak when they gave their little interview after the match and everytime i heard one of them speak for the first time (eg Bekham with his girly voice) their voice never used to "match" how i thought they would speak wrt how they look. I think this was because you've seen them so often playing football and they're not speaking and you build some expectation of how you think they'll sound, and then when you hear them its completely different.

Also with how people look. Like before i came to Amman i'd heard of Sheikh Rabbani and read some of his stuff. Based on this i imagined him as some standard sheikh, big white beard, turban etc...but then to my surprise when i saw him, he was a young, smart looking non-stereotypical sheikh (he always reminds me of Bq with a beard...yes! Bq with a beard!)

You think i'm bonkers with the above? Ok a little experiment.

Someone sent me a link about this guy called Georges Perec, a french author/artist. I'll say some stuff about him, and then you imagine what he looks like, and then we'll compare?


Georges Perec was born in 1936 and was a novelist, filmmaker and essayist, and considered by many to be one of the most important post-WWII authors. Perec was born in a working class neighborhood in Paris, the only son of Polish Jews who had emigrated to France in the 1920s. He started writing reviews and essays for prominent literary publications, while studying history and sociology at the Sorbonne. Many of his novels and essays abound with experimental wordplay, lists and attempts at classification, and they are usually tinged with melancholy. Amongst his most famous works is a 200+ page novel without using ANY word which contains the letter "e" in it. Yes. Then he wrote another book ONLY using words which contains the letter "e" in them...and he also did lots of other random bizarre things.

So what do you think he looks like?

Click here to find out...

Salaam
Ps, bizzarre post i know. Anyway wrt me, will iA be going to Petra and Wadi Rum tomorrow and am planning a trip to Turkey for the end of term. Still not sure what to wrt Egypt Vs Jordan...

Circle of Life

Salaam,

Life is amazing - i heard that around the time the two people mentioned in the entry below passed away, two of my school friends both had their first born children (two healthy boys)

Alhamdulilah

Salaam

Decision Time

Salaam,

People, i need your advice ASAP.

As those who know me well, know that im not good at making decisions. But i need to make a decision asap! I need to decide whether to stay here for the next term or got to Egypt (most likely the qortoba institute)

Pros for Qasid:
1) Very good teaching (esp grammar)
2) Very nice living conditions and general area is very nice and peaceful, unlike Cairo..
3) Have "settled" in
4) Being able to carry on going to Sh Nuh talks, other random classes eg hanafi fiqh etc

Cons for Qasid:
1) Very Very Very expensive tuition and living costs (x3 Cairo)
2) Very expensive
3) Has got boring already - not too much to be seen round here

Pros for Cairo:
1) Very very cheap - tutiton and general costs
2) Very "live" city
3) If i go here, then i'll save enough money to go to Tunisia/Morrocco and maybe Spain. If i stay in Amman, i cant as money will run out
4) More of an adventure than just staying in Amman for a solid block of 6 months

Cons for Cairo:
1) Dirty, noisy, smelly...not very conducive for studying
2) Dont know anyone there
3) The constant haggling for prices of things and general bureaucracy
4) Study will be very "skills" rather than grammar

So what to do? what to do?? HELP!!!

Salaam

Nasheed on Death

Last Breath
by Ahmed Bukhatir


From those around I hear a Cry,
A muffled sob, a Hopeless sigh,
I hear their footsteps leaving slow,
And then I know my soul must Fly!

A chilly wind begins to blow,
within my soul, from Head to Toe,
And then, Last Breath escapes my lips,
It's Time to leave. And I must Go!

So, it is True (But it's too Late)
They said: Each soul has its Given Date,
When it must leave its body's core,
And meet with its Eternal Fate.

Oh mark the words that I do say,
Who knows? Tomorrow could be your Day,
At last, it comes to Heaven or Hell
Decide which now, Do NOT delay !

Come on my brothers let's pray
Decide which now, Do NOT delay !
Oh God! Oh God! I cannot see !

My eyes are Blind! Am I still Me
Or has my soul been led astray,
And forced to pay a Priceless
Fee Alas to Dust we all return,
Some shall rejoice, while others burn,
If only I knew that before
The line grew short, and came my Turn!

And now, as beneath the sod
They lay me (with my record flawed),
They cry, not knowing I cry worse,
For, they go home, I face my God!
Oh mark the words that I do say,
Who knows, Tomorrow could be your Day,
At last, it comes to Heaven or Hell

Decide which now, Do NOT delay !
Come on my brothers let's pray
Decide which now, do not delay ...

Death

Salaam,

What comes first into your mind when you think of this word...? fear? hope? certainty?

Its an issue that we as people, and often as Muslims, try not to think about. Even the sternest of atheists squirms at having to talk about death. Why? because no matter how powerful and influential we maybe in this world, we will, like any other person, have the same destination; the grave. For many people i suppose thinking deeply about death is uncomfortable as it unveils the real vulnerability and lowly position we have; that the most precious thing to us, our life, is in the "hands" of another supreme being. It also depicts in a clear way how all that has now come to be seen as icons of success; wealth, respect, power, to be nothing in the face of this inevitable juncture in our life and how all this will be useless in trying to fend off this event.

As Muslims we believe that when we die that is the beginning of the "real" life ie that this world is a mere stoppage onto our inevitable and final abode. And so for the believing Muslim death is seen as a gift as the hadith goes, as it frees us from all the constraints and strife that this world presents us. Yet death can be a very difficult thing to deal with.

In the 3 months that iv been in Jordan iv heard the news of the death for 3 people (not a good average..). The first was a guy i knew from uni who committed suicide...i didn't know him too well, although he was in one of my supervision classes, but aH he seemed to be "normal". Academically he was an excellent student - he came top of the management tripos, learnt Japanese on his own and loads of other random things, materially he seemed to be doing well; he was from a well off family and had secured a very good job for after Cambridge. But yet he decided to take his own life. I remember when I got the email telling me about this, the sheer feeling of shock that this person I knew pretty well had committed suicide, and now was not in this world but experiencing all the things we as Muslims read about and need to believe in. Even now, a month after having found out, just thinking about him about where he may be now, about the things he may be going through, about the process in which he dies...just anything to do with the whole issue sends a chill up my spine.

And yesterday I found out 2 people I knew from burnley had passed away - one was a brother of a friend who was only 19, and the other was the father of another friend. Again, the shock at each instance when I found out was something i'll never forget. And again I just ended up thinking about them, about where they may be now, about the things they may be going through etc etc.... And then I thought that im feeling x and y, but what about the families of the people who have passed away, howust they be feeling?

From the Islamic perspective though, there is "good" in the passing away of people that we know. As a Muslims it should remind us about the feeble and vulnerable nature of the life that we have been entrusted with. It also reminds us about the inevitability of death which should hopefully spur us onto thinking now rather than later about how we have been leading our life thus far, whether this is in accordance with how we should be living it wrt what Islam says, and then planning for the future in how we can become better Muslims and prepare for the hereafter. Particularly when people who are young in age pass away it should act as a reminder to all of us that the amount of time we have in this world is already written and could be at any moment - the most certain thing in life is death, the most uncertain thing is the time of it, as someone once said to me. If we always try and think to ourselves that if my life were to end now, what would I have to show for it in the hearafter and what would my fate be? This will inshaAllah motivate us to get a move on and bring Islam into our lives.

May Allah bless the souls of all the deceased, may He give us patience in the face of bereavement, may He bring the reality of the hearafter into our heart and minds, may He enable all of us to make the most of the time we have left in this world and may He allow us to be steadfast in our faith in the face of evil. Ameen.


Salaam

Arabic in a bottle

Ragaa'ouni a'einaik el Ayam illi rahou
A'alamouni andam a'ala El-Madhi wi gerahou

Illi shouftouh kabli ma tshoufak a'inaih
Omri dhayea' yehsibouh izay a'alaya?

Inta Omri illi ibtada b'nourak sabahouh
Ad eyh min omri kablak ray w a'ada
Ya habibi ad eyh min omri raah

Wala shaf elkalb kablak farhah wahdah
Wala dak fi eldounya ghair taa'm el-jiraah.

Ibtadait bilwakti bas ahib omri
Ibtadait bilwakti akhaf la ilomri yijri

Kouli farha eshtakha min kablak khayali
Eltakaha fi nour a'ainaik kalbi w fikri
Ya hayat kalbi ya aghla min hayati
Leih ma kabilni hawak ya habibi badri...