farewell

Well, well, well. My bad. I haven't posted anything in almost 2 months. To the point that few to no people will actually return here to read this. But anyway, in the interest of finishing things off properly I am just posting to say that I will not be posting any more. It's just gotten a bit difficult to keep up with, what with the nomadic lifestyle and whatnot :) (yes, even with wi-fi :) Insha'Allah we'll be in touch through email!

The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with eager feet,

Until it joins some larger way

Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then? I cannot say.

--Bilbo Baggins, The Lord of the Rings

Viva Calvin and Hobbes!

Calvin: I'm a genius, but I'm a misunderstood genius.

Hobbes: What's misunderstood about you?

Calvin: Nobody thinks I'm a genius.

*

I've added an item to my wish list: The Complete Calvin and Hobbes

Calvin and Hobbes fans, rejoice! I just found out about this collection of all of the Calvin and Hobbes strips, and so I'm just waiting for a generous donor to drop one my way...

"That's the difference between me and the rest of the world! Happiness isn't good enough for me!I demand euphoria!" --Calvin

Calvin and Hobbes is probably one of the best loved strips...not only can kids get into it but the wry humor, sarcasm, social commentary, and quick wit appeal perhaps more to adults. And because Bill Watterson refused to let his beloved characters be turned into video games and stuffed toys, they haven't taken on the sick cheesiness of other cartoon characters.

"In my opinion, we don't devote nearly enough scientific
research to finding a cure for jerks." --Calvin

Check out this slate.com feature: "Calvin and Hobbes: The Last Great Newspaper Comic Strip"

( the last C&H comic strip, where they bid us farewell...)

Everyday Heroes

If summer were spring and the other way round,

Then all the world would be upside down.

Thus sang the British when they were defeated in the Revolutionary war (or so we're taught). Boy did they have it wrong. If they thought the world was upside down in their time, what about now?

Sometimes I think it's just gone all crazy.

It's hard to get a handle on where the world is going when we think about all the fighting, scheming, oppression, despair, pain... but then if we think a little harder, it becomes clear where we are going. We know where we're going, and indeed the world's increasing entropy is a daily reminder of the Day when things truly will become upside down.

My mind goes back to the Pakistan earthquake... although the world keeps running and new patches of suffering appear, the winter still rapidly approaches. Some things don't change, even as the world changes around us. As the winter comes, the people who did actually survive lose their chance to stay alive and hunger and cold sap their remaining life energy.

A lot of people have gone there to do relief work such as set up tents and treat the wounded. A family friend of ours who is a doctor recently returned from Pakistan and described what he saw.

He related that the suffering was so hard for him and his colleagues to watch and be a part of that they would see a few patients, go off to weep, brace themselves, and then return back to the patients. Constant heartbreak.

He carried donations from people in America and as he saw patients he would hand them money. A businessman turned down the money, saying, "Allah has provided me thus far through my business and I know He will provide again." Others turned down the money ruefully, saying, "What good is it? There is nothing out there for us to buy." Mere survival would be gift enough, considering the brutal winter approaching.

As the doctor prepared to leave, an American (non-Muslim) colleague elected to stay. "What is going on back home can wait. This is where I'm needed." Not an easy decision...may Allah use this event to open his heart to Islam.

I recently got an email from an friend from long long ago. She's now in Karachi and working to to gather tents for the earthquake refugees. Please check them out: http://tentdrive.blogspot.com.

Please continue to save a spot in your duaas for the people of Pakistan and these hardworking heroes.

Let me off this ride now

Things just keep getting weirder in the world, don't they?

So now we hear of a woman confessing to being part of the Jordanian bombings and now we have some Baluchistan Nationalists bombing KFC in Karachi, Pakistan??

I wish this was a ride and someone could just let me off.

Random thoughts on the Amman bombings

As the news reports that Al-Qaidah supposedly "took credit" for the bombings in Amman, even posting that a woman (!!) and three men were behind it I'm starting to think twice.

I made my comments yesterday about brother vs. brother assuming it really is "brothers" doing this whole thing. Yet I think it's not so simple to rule out outside interference. Unfortunately though it seems like there is little attention given to investigating in too much detail who the perpetrators are beyond the fact that they are definitely "Islamic extremists."

I'm not a big fan of conspiracy theories--I don't go for them yet I don't categorically reject them all. Yet it is interesting how Reuters, CNN, and other news outlets have stated as they report on the al-Qaidah claim of responsibility: "The claim's authenticity could not be verified."

Indeed, there are several groups that would stand to benefit by the aftermath of such attacks. And history shows that political parties and governments of all stripes have not been above terrorism and murder to achieve their ends.

I have no answers... just questions. Which is why the behavior of people screaming "Death to Zarqawi" and other such comments in Jordan's streets is a bit off-putting. This behavior doesn't get answers...it's just convenient emotionalism. And I don't think it's a befitting way to mourn the dead. Duaa al-Qunoot, dhikr, duaa... these are ways we mourn with dignity for ourselves and the dead. This modern flag-waving, screaming slogans, and other posturing is all-too-close to the wailing and hair-pulling of days gone by. For when we lose control of our selves, we lose the ability to reflect carefully and take lesson from what has happened.

Yaa Amman...

My heart is full for my beloved home of only 9 short months: Amman, Jordan.

The blasts that ripped through several hotels yesterday have killed at least 56 and wounded about a hundred more.

On a night in which a young couple were celebrating their wedding, the deadliest of the bombs went off, sparing the bride and groom yet killing the bride's father and groom's father and nine of his relatives.

Today at 1 pm Amman time, demonstrators will walk through Amman's streets to show their horror, disgust, and disapproval of this horrific crime. Siraj and I deeply wish we were there to show our solidarity with the Jordanian people. It is especially important for those who "fit the profile" i.e. young, religious, bearded men, to stand up and speak out against these crimes.

The Prophet sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam said:

Be you, O slaves of Allah, as brothers. A Muslim is a brother of another Muslim; he neither oppresses him, nor does he lie to him, nor does he look down upon or humiliate him. Piety is here (and he pointed to his chest three times). It is evil enough for a Muslim to humiliate his brother. All things of a Muslim are sacred for his brother: his blood, his property, and his honor.
(Related by Imam Muslim.)

How much more heinous could this transgression be when we see that it is done by brother against brother? Go look at the news and soak in the images... elderly women in hijaab injured, crying for help. Young men: brothers, fathers, sons, lay bleeding amongst their brethren. The Prophet sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam informed us that a drop of a Muslim's blood is more noble in Allah's eyes then even the Ka'bah itself. Then why, then, has our blood become so cheap?

Yesterday and today have led us to reflect on our short, idyllic time in Amman. Siraj used to pass the Radisson daily on his way to work. On our jaunts to Mecca Mall we would pass the Days Inn. And we'd joke that if we had the money, we'd spend a night in the Grand Hyatt for the heck of it. When we were expecting family friends on a visit, we passed on the numbers of these hotels for them to come visit on their way back from Umrah. A hundred opportunities existed for us and people we knew to be caught in this attack. It's baffling, confusing, and painful.

It's ironic how we used to brag to people that although we live bordering Iraq, Palestine, and "Israel", we were in one of the safest Arab countries in the Middle East. Jordan was like and unlike all we expected of it, and till today we looked forward to going back to see it and perhaps live there. Now? Although I still long to return, I fear that this event will set into motion trends that will make it difficult for Islamic workers in Jordan, and difficult for foreigners to come overseas and study. I don't doubt that already, our former Arabic school in Amman, the Qasid Institute, is feeling the pressure. May Allah make it easy for the Muslims of Jordan and may Allah prevent this event from causing witch hunts of the mukhabaraat (secret police) through the young religious men of the country. I pray that the perpetrators may be brought to justice without innocent men being targeted whose only crime is to have a beard and be involved in Islamic work in these tumultuous times.

In life and death...

If the month of Ramadan must teach us but one lesson, let it be this: Indeed, to Allah we belong and to him we return. Innaa lillaahi wa innaa ilayhi raaji'oon.

Remember Umm Riyadh, the aged wife of my landlord in Jordan? Well, a friend informed me that a couple of days ago, in the end of the blessed month that has just passed us, she too passed through this life on to the eternal life with her Lord.

Ramadan comes and goes as Allah blesses us with increasing years of longevity yet we never ponder if Ramadan will come again to us the next year or not. Indeed, only Allah knows when the end of our term will come and when we will move on to the next life.

Umm Riyadh will not see next Ramadan. She did not even see the Eid of this world, although I pray that she celebrated it with a reward of one enjoying the fruits of a hard life of suffering and sacrifice. She tirelessly served her husband and children and I pray that the reward of her effort is a light for her in her grave, aameen.

I hope that this Ramadan leaves us with a new appreciation for life and it’s beauties and blessings. I hope it’s tinted our sight with new-found gratitude and that it’s showered our heart with new-found patience.

Please pray for Umm Riyadh and for all of us, that we receive Ramadan’s true blessings and benefits. Allahumma aameen.