Thursday, October 17, 2013

Symtoms of Sihr


 



 


Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem

It is the time of year when some societies celebrate Halloweeen, or "all Hallow's eve". I will blog about Halloween soon, insh'Allah. In the meantime, Halloween is a high point in the Satanic calendar, and at this time Sihr practice (the practice of Witchcraft) is unfortunately active. (Allah save us from indulging or being victim to such evil acts, insh'Allah!)

The temptation to attribute every small thing to the paranormal should be avoided. Yet, remember that there are distinct symptoms that can be attributed to being a victim of Sihr. These have been extracted from various writings.

Without further delay let's get on with the symptoms. (Please remember to use some discernment, if you have a recurring headache you may suffer from a physical illness, so always rule out physical illness by seeing your doctor first!)


1. Symptoms when one is awake:

1 - Turning away, in particular, from acts of worship and obedience, the remembrance of Allah (swt) (Dhikr) and reading the Qur'an.

Allah (swt) says: And whosoever turns away blindly from the remembrance of the Most Gracious (Allah (swt) (i.e. this Qur'an and worship of Allah (swt), we appoint for him Shaytaan to be a Qarin (a companion) to him. And verily, they (Shayateen) hinder them from the path (of Allah (swt) but they think that they are guided aright - (Al-Zukhruf 43:36-37)

2 - Erratic behaviour in one's words, deeds and movements.

Allah (swt) says: (Those who eat Riba will not stand (on the Day of Resurrection) except like the standing of a person beaten by Shaytaan leading him to insanity.) (Al-Baqarah 2:275)

3 - Seizures (with no medical cause); there are signs to indicate that a seizure has devilish causes.

4 - Paralysis of a limb (with no medical cause).

5 - Being quick to get angry or weep with no apparent cause.

6 - Sitting in the toilet for a long time, and talking to oneself.

7 - Constant headache with no medical cause, which is not eased by painkillers.

8 - Irregular menstruation in women.

9 - Not producing children although both husband and wife are medically sound and able to reproduce.

10. Depression. - Depression refers to intense sadness. It is a widespread mental illness, indeed one of the most widespread. As for mild sadness or feeling "blue", this is a normal and natural emotion which hardly anyone can escape, not even a believer.

Allah (swt) says: Secret counsels (conspiracies) are only from Shaytaan, in order that he may cause grief to the believers. - (Al-Mujaddilah 58:10)
If that sadness increases and takes over a person, it becomes depression.

Signs of depression:
- Feeling distressed and sad
- Loss of appetite
- Lack of focus, forgetfulness
- Sleep disturbances, weight loss
- Lack of sexual desire
There are other signs when one is awake, but they may be caused by other life circumstances, such as not succeeding in efforts to get married, repeatedly failing to do so etc.

2. Symptoms when one is asleep:

1 - Frightening nightmares, which includes seeing various kinds of creatures such as ghosts or apparitions, seeing oneself falling from a high place, seeing people in strange forms, and snakes. A man may see a woman who wants him to have intercourse with her (and vice versa) constantly in his dreams, or he may see someone threatening him.

2 - Insomnia, anxiety and fear upon waking.

3 - Talking loudly in one's sleep, or moaning and groaning.
Note: Use your common sense. Somnambulism is sleep walking or sleep talking. If the person is a sleep walker/sleep talker it does not necessarily follow that they are affected by Jinn or Witchcraft!Rukhya, and other symptoms, may help to identify the real cause, but the recitation of Quran over someone that is under a spell will always be uncomfortable, at least.

3. Behavioural Symptoms

For muslims who usually do not do these things (below), these may be signs of Sihr. Sometimes the muslim isn't even aware that they are in fact doing this; it is those around them who pick it up.
- Associating others with Allah (Shirk)
- Minor Shirk (showing off/ boastfulness)
- Bemoaning one's life continuously, and becoming angry with the divine decree
- Forgetting Allah and the Hereafter
- Feeling safe from the plot of Shaytaan and getting carried away in sin and relying on Allah's mercy
- Despairing of the mercy of Allah
- Thinking badly of Allah
- Deliberately telling lies about Allah and the Messenger of Allah (pbuh)
- Arrogance, self-admiration and showing off
- Loving to be praised for doing acts of worship
- Deceit, Hypocrisy, Greed, Stinginess
- Hidden anger, grudges and envy
- Turning away from people out of arrogance and scorning them
- Looking up to the rich and admiring them because of their richness, titles or posessions
- Fear of poverty
- Mocking the poor because of their poverty
- Competing in worldly gains
- Loving to be praised for what one has not done, and boasting about charity given out
- Being preoccupied with the faults of others whilst ignoring one's own faults
- Strong feelings for religions other than the religion of Allah
- Mocking the slaves of Allah, looking down on them and despising them
Not accepting the truth because it goes against one's own whims and desires, or hating those who speak the truth
- Rejoicing in sin and pesisting in sin
- Offending the close friends of Allah and taking them as enemies
- Showing evil behaviour and foul language so as to make people fear you and avoid your evil


To obtain a free copy of the full writing on "Understanding Sihr" please drop me a comment with your email address and I will send it, insh'Allah.

Friday, August 23, 2013

The Dajjal

Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem




The greatest identity theft is about to role out. Are you ready?

For those who think Rome is dead, think again. "Rome", its pagan beliefs, its idolatry, its drunken, womanising self, is alive and well. This is not a conspiracy theory it is simple fact. Look around you. Some evidence is subtle, some evidence is in your face. Look at your currency, the physical currency as well as its role and its "owners". Look at your music, your fashion. The more permissive we become as a society, the easier it is for an antichrist to say "accept me" after all, doesn't he  then have the right to be himself and for you to accept him? See how things are getting distorted?

The more "politically correct" we become, the more morally distorted we build our society to be. Truth and Lies become eroded, and everything is reduced to a matter of "perceptions". And, in the land of the resulting blind, "the one eyed man is king". And that "one eyed man", is the Dajjal.

Much is written in the Hadith about the Dajjal. The Dajjal, in english terms, is the "Antichrist". Some non muslims will probably by now be saying; "why would you talk of the anti-Christ if you do not believe in Christ?" and that would simply be showing their ignorance. Muslims do, indeed believe in "Christ" or "messiah". Christians believe he is Jesus and that Jesus has already saved everyone and Muslims believe he is Jesus and Jesus (the Christ, or Messiah) did not die but was raised to heaven and will return again to slay the one who claims to be G*d; the false prophet, the false god, the beast, whatever you want to call him. For us, Jesus (Essa as) was created TO save believers from the ANTI CHRIST because he will defeat and kill the one who comes to stand against the very concept of God. Right. So moving on.



The Anti-Christ, in Islamic teaching is an individual that already exists. (open your mind a little, after all, so does the devil (shaytaan) (See revelations and the beast, if you are non-muslim). Call him the AntiChrist, call him the Beast, call him evil personified, this being will present himself as God, perform miracles such as the apparent raising of the dead, making the earth give up its treasures "on command". Why? Well, all people of the book know that the aim of the devil is to deceive, to take as many believers to hell as possible, causing them to NOT believe in the One-ness of God. So, Dajjal he will LIE. Lie as has never been lied before. Lie in so palatable a form that people will swallow it hook line and sinker. People who've been taught to listen to the greatest drivel with no moral filter but with the filter of "permissiveness" alone. Dajjal will present people with Hell as though it is heaven itself and those who walk into it will perish. (I'm aware of how that sounds)

As an example, he will say "believe in me" and people will not, so they will come and say 'prove that you are god'. Now, if you want proof and suddenly up from the earth pops your deceased grandmother, smiling happily, that may be enough to convince you. Magicians do all sorts of tricks, or "lies".. so will this guy. Essentially he will not actually raise the dead, but he will summon up Jinn who will take the form of those deceased so as to deceive you and make you believe. He is, as the bible puts it the GREAT DECEIVER. The prophet Muhammad (pbuh) says that never has there been such a trial as the Dajjal. Because as a result of his deeds, many will believe him to be a god, and follow him. Didn't pharaoh have many, many wizards and witches, and didn't he demand that people follow him and worship him as god? And did not Rome do the same? Was it not treatchery to not see Ceasar as one of the gods? EXECUTABLE treachery? Well, same goes for the Dajjal.

Wether you are Christian, Muslim or Jewish you know that G*d is a jealous G*d. Allah is Azawajaal, (the unique, unequalled, ONE God) he permits no partners, he tolerates no Shirk or idolatry. He doesn't have to because he is sovereign. But the devil has vowed to deceive.



If this were the "matrix" movie I'd be sitting in front of you in a long black coat (I do like those coats!) and I'd be holding out a little red pill and a little blue pill. Imagine, if you may that I offer it to you now.. do you want to take the blue pill, continue to play your music, drink your beer and go about life as "ordinary" or would you take the red pill, and see how deep this rabit hole gets.


Here's the red pill: Google the following:
  • DAJJAL
  • DAJJAL PALACE
  • DAJJAL SYMBOLS
  • ALL SEEING EYE
  • DOLLAR PYRAMID
If anything tells you that the all-seeing eye on the dollar pyramid represents "God approving of prosperity" then ask yourself WHY IS GOD PORTRAYED as one eye, the same symbol of Egyptian
witchcraft, the same symbol of SO MANY music artists around the world.
Google this one-eye symbol, look it up in your holy books, and while you're at it.. ask yourself why a PYRAMID to God (our tower of Babylon) is on one of the greatest currencies in the world? Wherein is the chaff (weeds) and wherein is the good seed? Let's not be politically correct and see the above and miss the resemblance. Politically correct means see this coin and just "accept". But do you SEE what it says? ENGAGE. ENERGISE. ENLIGHTEN. It then has the same symbol of the US Dollar (except the EYE that's supposed to be representative of G*d - too weird- is now the masonic symbol).. and note "NEW ORDER SECTOR" at the bottom.

"In the land of the BLIND, the ONE EYED man is KING"  Dajjal Palace is real. It exists. Its links to the Illuminati EXIST. Does religion STILL sound like something far fetched from reality and do you still feel the urge to be politically correct? I didn't think so.



oh... by the way.. here's some art.. "JUST art" - it's a picture by http://www.elfwood.com/~kkimb07/Red-Pill-Blue-Pill.2917715.html (all rights are hers) I'll leave it with you.

 


 
                             I hope you're ready. I'm know I'm not. May ALLAH have mercy, Insh'Allah.


If you'd like to peruse some Hadith concerning Dajjal, please see:

Hadith - Bukhari 9.245, Narrated Abu Said
One day Allah's Apostle narrated to us a long narration about Ad-Dajjal and among the things he narrated to us, was: "Ad-Dajjal will come, and he will be forbidden to enter the mountain passes of Medina. He will encamp in one of the salt areas neighboring Medina and there will appear to him a man who will be the best or one of the best of the people. He will say 'I testify that you are Ad-Dajjal whose story Allah's Apostle has told us.' Ad-Dajjal will say (to his audience), 'Look, if I kill this man and then give him life, will you have any doubt about my claim?' They will reply, 'No,' Then Ad-Dajjal will kill that man and then will make him alive. The man will say, 'By Allah, now I recognize you more than ever!' Ad-Dajjal will then try to kill him (again) but he will not be given the power to do so."
Hadith - Bukhari 9.247, Narrated Huraira
Allah's Apostle said, "There are angels at the mountain passes of Medina (so that) neither plague nor Ad-Dajjal can enter it."


Hadith - Bukhari 9.239, Narrated Anas bin Malik
The Prophet said, "Ad-Dajjal will come and encamp at a place close to Medina and then Medina will shake thrice whereupon every Kafir (disbeliever) and hypocrite will go out (of Medina) towards him."

Dajjal is One-Eyed
Hadith - Bukhari 9.241, Narrated Abdullah ibn Umar
Allah's Apostle stood up amongst the people and then praised and glorified Allah as He deserved and then he mentioned Ad-Dajjal, saying, "I warn you of him, and there was no prophet but warned his followers of him; but I will tell you something about him which no prophet has told his followers: Ad-Dajjal is one-eyed whereas Allah is not."
Hadith - Bukhari 9.504, Narrated Abdullah
Ad-Dajjal was mentioned in the presence of the Prophet . The Prophet said, "Allah is not hidden from you; He is not one-eyed," and pointed with his hand towards his eye, adding, "While Al-Masih Ad-Dajjal is blind in the right eye and his eye looks like a protruding grape."
Hadith - Bukhari 9.245, Narrated Anas
The Prophet said, "No prophet was sent but that he warned his followers against the one-eyed liar (Ad-Dajjal). Beware! He is blind in one eye, and your Lord is not so, and there will be written between his (Ad-Dajjal's) eyes (the word) Kafir (i.e., disbeliever)." (This Hadith is also quoted by Abu Huraira and Ibn 'Abbas).


Hadith - Bukhari 9.237, Narrated Abu Huraira
Allah's Apostle  said, "The Hour will not be established
     (1) till two big groups fight each other whereupon there will be a great number of casualties on both sides and they will be following one and the same religious doctrine,
     (2) till about thirty Dajjals (liars) appear, and each one of them will claim that he is Allah's Apostle,
     (3) till the religious knowledge is taken away (by the death of religious scholars)
     (4) earthquakes will increase in number
     (5) time will pass quickly,
     (6) afflictions will appear,
     (7) Al-Harj, (i.e., killing) will increase,
     (8) till wealth will be in abundance--so abundant that a wealthy person will worry lest nobody should accept his Zakat, and whenever he will present it to someone, that person (to whom it will be offered) will say, 'I am not in need of it,'
     (9) till the people compete with one another in constructing high buildings,
     (10) till a man when passing by a grave of someone will say, 'Would that I were in his place,'
     (11) and till the sun rises from the West.
So when the sun will rise and the people will see it (rising from the West) they will all believe (embrace Islam) but that will be the time when: (As Allah said,) 'No good will it do to a soul to believe then, if it believed not before, nor earned good (by deeds of righteousness) through its Faith.' (6.158) And the Hour will be established while two men spreading a garment in front of them but they will not be able to sell it, nor fold it up; and the Hour will be established when a man has milked his she-camel and has taken away the milk but he will not be able to drink it; and the Hour will be established before a man repairing a tank (for his livestock) is able to water (his animals) in it; and the Hour will be established when a person has raised a morsel (of food) to his mouth but will not be able to eat it."

Hadith - Muslim #7015, Narrated An-Nawwas ibn Sam'an
     Allah's Apostle mentioned of the Dajjal one day in the morning. He sometimes described him as insignificant and sometimes described (his turmoil) as very significant (and we felt) as if he were in the cluster of the date-palm trees. When we went to him (to the Holy Prophet) in the evening and he read (the signs of fear) on our faces, he said: What is the matter with you?
     We said: Allah's Apostle you mentioned the Dajjal this morning (sometimes describing him) as insignificant and sometimes very important, until we began to think he was present in some (nearly) part of the cluster of the date-palm trees.
     So he said: I harbour fear in regard to you in so many other things besides the Dajjal. If he comes forth while I am among you, I shall contend with him on your behalf, but if he comes forth while I am not among you, a man must contend on his own behalf and Allah will take care of every Muslim on my behalf (and safeguard him against his evil). He (the Dajjal) will be a young man with twisted, cropped hair, and a blind eye. I compare him with AbdulUzza ibn Qatan. He who among you will survive to see him should recite over him the opening verses of Surah al-Kahf (xviii). He will appear on the way between Syria and Iraq and will spread mischief right and left. O servant of Allah! Adhere (to the path of Truth).
     We said: Allah's Apostle , how long will he stay on Earth?
     He said: For forty days, one day like a year, one day like a month, one day like a week, and the rest of the days will be like your days.
     We said: Allah's Apostle will one day's prayer suffice for the prayers of the day equal to one year?
     Thereupon he said: No, but you must make an estimate of the time (and then observe prayer).
     We said: Allah's apostle how quickly will he walk upon the earth?
     Thereupon he  said: Like cloud driven by the wind. He will come to the people and invite them (to a wrong religion); they will affirm their faith in him and respond to him. He will then give a command to the sky: there will be rainfall upon the Earth and it will grow crops. Then in the evening, their pasturing animals will come to them with their humps very high, their udders full of milk and their flanks distended. He will then come to another people and invite them. But they will reject him so he will go away from them; they will have a drought and nothing will be left with them in the form of wealth. He will then walk through the desert and say to it: Bring forth your treasures. The treasures will come out and gather before him like a swarm of bees. He will then call someone in the flush of youth, strike him with the sword, cut him into two pieces and (make these pieces lie at the distance which is generally between the archer and his target. He will then call (that young man) and he will come forward laughing with his face gleaming (with happiness).
     It will at this very time that Allah will send Christ, son of Mary. He will descend at the white minaret on the eastern side of Damascus, wearing two garments lightly dyed with saffron and placing his hands on the wings of two Angels. When he lowers his head, there will fall beads of perspiration from his head, and when he raises it up, beads like pearls will scatter from it. Every non-believer who smells the odour of his body will die and his breath will reach as far as he is able to see. He will then search for him (Dajjal) until he catches hold of him at the gate of Ludd and kills him. Then a people whom Allah had protected will come to Jesus, son of Mary, and he will wipe their faces and inform them of their ranks in Paradise. It will be under such conditions that Allah will reveal to Jesus these words: I have brought forth from among My servants such people against whom none will be able to fight; you take these people safely to Tur, and then Allah will send Gog and Magog and they will swarm down from every slope. The first of them will pass the lake of Tiberias and drink out of it. And when the last of them passes, he will say: There was once water there.
     Jesus and his companions will then be besieged here (at Tur, and they will be so hard pressed) that the head of the ox will be dearer to them than one hundred dinars. Allah's Apostle , Jesus, and his companions will supplicate Allah, Who will send to them insects (which will attack their necks) and in the morning they would perish as one single person. Allah's Apostle , Jesus, and his companions, then come down to Earth and they will not find on Earth as much space as a single span that is not filled with putrefaction and stench. Allah's Apostle , Jesus, and his companions will then beseech Allah who will send birds whose necks would be like those of Bactrian camels and they will carry them away and throw them where Allah wills.
    Then Allah will send rain which no house of mud-bricks or (tent of) camel-hair will keep out and it will wash the Earth until it resembles a mirror. Then the Earth will be told to bring forth its fruit and restore its blessing and, as a result thereof, there will grow (such a big) pomegranate that a group of people will be able to eat it and seek shelter under its skin, a dairy cow will give so much milk that a whole party will be able to drink it. The milking camel will give such (a large quantity of) milk that the whole tribe will be able to drink from it, and the milking-sheep will give so much milk that the whole family will be able to drink from it. At that time Allah will send a pleasant wind which will soothe (people) even under their armpits. He will take the life of every Muslim and only the wicked will survive who will commit adultery like asses and the Last Hour would come to them.

Hadith - Abu Dawood #4305, Narrated Imran ibn Husayn
The Prophet said: Let him who hears of the Dajjal (Antichrist) go far from him for I swear by Allah that a man will come to him thinking he is a believer and follow him because of confused ideas roused in him by him.

Friday, July 19, 2013

The path of the black Tiger

Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem.

The Path of the Tiger?


Earlier today, I received an email which read:

Inside each and every human being, a constant battle rages.  It is like a battle between two tigers. One tiger is a manifestation of evil.  It is full of hate, lust, and greed.  It’s fangs drip with bitterness and strife. The other tiger is an embodiment of good.  It is full of love, compassion, and honesty.  He never betrays his brother.
These two tigers are constantly at war. Which tiger is going to win the battle?
The answer is quite obvious…. Whichever one you feed

It got me thinking..

Tigers are awesome, powerful creatures. They can be absolutely, breathtakingly beautiful. But they can also be terrifying, and that will depend on where you're sitting. The Tiger is a wonderful symbol for human character.



It is powerful: the human tongue and human hands have the power to change the world, one person at a time.
It is beautiful: Few things are more beautiful that someone with true compassion and kindness. Human beings are capable of truly beautiful actions towards one another.
It is terrifying: As far as humans can show compassion, they can also show abuse, violence, from crimes against the very nature that is their womb to the very essence of existance through things like war and torture. I'm sure there are those who have been victims of abuse that would, if they could, rather have taken their chances with

a real life, breathing Tiger.

There is, indeed an inner struggle at all times. In Islam, it is called fighting with your "nafs", your carnal flesh, in other words, or your "bad tiger condition". THIS  is the definition of Jihad - to battle within yourself so that your flesh ("dying to the flesh" the christians call it) is subservient. But in Islam, your war or you  jihad means that you give up your own joy for the greater good.



It's important at this juncture to note however that just because you are trying to make your carnal self bend to the greater good and embarking on this jihad, does not mean that you have to stand by and allow yourself to be abused or trod upon because your DO have the right to walk away or to take reasonable action as any sane human being would do; to just accept abuse or continuous harm is not submission or jihad - it's just outright stupid; Allah did not give you
another god to bow to except himself, and he has not given you anyone to fear except himself should you opt for the path of the black tiger. 



How is that your inner tiger fed (the good or the bad??) and how do you ensure that you are feeding the right animal, the one that will lay beneath the shades of green in Jannat some day? It is fed through your relationships, the company you keep, the books you read, the activities you involve yourself in. The Quran, Sunnat and the Hadith are, therefore a menu which you can feed your soul from, and since faith is seen by actions, you can follow the menu, stick to the road that bears the islamic roadsigns to spiritual peace, and insh'Allah (god willing) meet your Creator as a loving, powerful, beautiful, calm, kind being to which he says "well done, true and faithful servant". It's what we all want, isn't it?

The thing about sinfulness or carnal'ness (or the thing about a bad tiger) is you do not start out as a BAD tiger; you fall by degrees, reading or participating in haraam, perhaps, maybe not quite "doing the right thing" or perhaps telling those little white lies that grow and eventually take on claws of their own.

The answer -you can't starve a bad character tiger to death because its probably always going to be there; its the nature of the world to tempt you and the nature of Allah to guide and love you. You simply have to focus on feeding the good tiger within with good books, good company, and simply refuse to have anything to do with those things or individuals that make you someone angry, vindictive, sinful, unhappy, and compassionless.

And hey presto - good kitty!

















Saturday, July 13, 2013

A Beautiful Message for a ramadaan day!

Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem

I came across this today, and found it truly inspirational. Enjoy.

Ramadaan Mubarak

Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem.

To all muslims around the world, Ramadaan is a time of contemplation, of prayerfulness, of literally getting off the bus of this world's fire, fighting and feasting. Its a time when not even consumerism should enter into the heart of a muslim.

During Ramadaan, I imagine the angels are walking gently around, smiling at those who fast, and Allah is granting duahs and forgiveness. It is a month which is seen by those who do not understand the faith as a time of trial, a time of trying to "earn" salvation. They completely misunderstand the premise of our faith. Salvation is striven towards but can only be attained by the mercy and grace of ALLAH the almighty creator. It is HE who by HIS eternal mercy weighs the heart and the intentions and decides "good seed" or "bad seed". So what's with all the good deeds, you ask? Well, christians say that "Faith without actions is dead." Pretty much sums it up; except muslims live by it. And Ramadaan is a living testament to the fact.

There's no room for the hypocrite who pretends to be sorry for his or her acts; Allah is watching. If you truly believe that the almighty Creator of all the universe is watching and waiting to reward you with good things, then doing good deeds become a thing of joy, not a thing of fear of hellfire. However, arrogance also has no place, so the joy of giving and doing must be balanced with the fear of knowing that the ONE who is watching holds your eternal destiny in His hand.

Imagine; by HIS Grace and His Mercy, He can simply say BE, and it truly IS - forgiveness is simply where Allah says "BE". Why is that so hard for christians to understand? After all, the bible says "He says Be and it IS". ah well... Allah knows all hearts and HE is the supreme judge, I just sometimes get sad that people don't see how the bible comes to life through ISLAM, because the portions of truth in it find their full expression only within the greater Truth. To each his own.

So during Ramadaan, every good deed is "worth more" because these good deeds are done during a time that is very, very special and very, very spiritual. But then, the opposite is also true..

Whilst Islam is a faith perfected for us, regretably we are all subject to the human condition, so you cannot judge a faith by one or even many of its followers, but you should look to its teachings, for often the followers deviate. And so it is that in Ramadaan itself, fasting is carried out by some who carry with them the whole day the thought of the "feast" at the end. Dinners, get togethers in the evening somehow detract from the purpose of the fast. Similarly, short tempers are "excused" because of the fast, and backbiting too can increase. These are the human condition. But in all these, the INTENTION is how a man is judged. What I am saying is; sisters, brothers, readers; if in Ramadaan you fall prey to the backbiting bug, the short temper stinkbug, or the feasting frenzy, simply repent, there and then, turn away from ALL that, and race back to Allah; He is ready, willing, and overjoyed to accept repentance.

Ramadaan is a gift. It is not about what you can do for ALLAH; it is about what ALLAH is doing for you; granting you a time of cleansing for the body, the mind, and the soul. Remember, if you can do no good, at least do no evil, and at the very least, make duah. Lots of duah. We do and we do, thinking we please ALLAH, but what pleases ALLAH, I suspect, is seeing that we appreciate HIS gift of this "time out", this time of ultimate mercy and love from him, where he basically splurges on us with blessings, with forgiveness and with HIS presence.

If I have offended anyone with the truth or with my weakness, please forgive me. OH RAMADAAN, blessed month that this is!! OH ALLAH, my Lord, my Creator, the ONE that was, that IS and that EVERMORE shall be; SHUKR. Oh ALLAH, my LORD, my GOD, please forgive my sins. Oh ALLAH,  the BELOVED, grant me closeness to you, and grant peace and blessings upon MUHAMMAD (SAW) without measure, and to his progeny the good and the holy. insh'Allah AMEEN.


Please remember me and my family in your kind duahs.

Friday, June 7, 2013

Book Review - Baghdad Burning

Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem




Talk about not judging a book by its cover!! "Baghdad Burning" (Or "Baghdad Burning - Girl Blog from Iraq Riverbend") is unlike any novel you may have read. That's because it didn't start out as a book; it started out as a blog.

"Riverbend" is an anymous young girl of 24 years, living in Iraq during the Second Gulf War and the occupation that ensued.

The book is a collection of vivid depictions of the everyday lives of those who lived through it, died in it, or walked away from the wreckage, forever imprinted by the experience; woven into one story as seamlessly as one day follows the next. It is real-life, boldly and humourously written, where tongue in cheek moments are interspersed with images the reader will not easily forget.

One image from this book will always remain; a home struggling to stay alive, resources shared and furniture turned to firewood sees its residents cleaning up for a religious holiday when suddenly it is filled with shattered glass and shrapnel and the moment is frozen; everything hangs in mid air. When it unfreezes and the glass drops to the ground, what is left is a turning point that will forever remain in the lives of its occupants.

Forget the media's depiction of what occurred in or continues to affect this area of the world; get to nuts and bolts on this simple, sad and beautifully witty "story". There are a number of different covers as the editions changed. My copy is the picture above, filled with little notes I've made for myself in the pages, and any time I pull it off my bookshelf and am instantly transported to the world of "Riverbend".

In my opinion, one of the best books I have ever read, for its witt, its candour, and its delighfully fresh, homourous approach. It's like watching someone smiling through tears, because that human spirit that refuses to die and the faith that refuses to wane is simply REAL.