Softest of Tongues

And perhaps somewhat suspicious:

bobbyRicky’s comment was important to me, and so i tried to email him. it bounced. his name offered the following blog as his own:

http://www.offerforsale.info/

I went to the site, you should too.

Note:

1) nothing on the blog makes sense.

2) look at the times of the posts. See a pattern? That means theyre likely automated.

Automatically uploaded nonsense.
Now why would someone want to do such a thing.

(Ottawa, Canada – February 23, 2007) – The Canadian Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN) applauds the Supreme Court
judgment striking down the Security Certificates process made today.
The top court ruled that Security Certificates are unconstitutional as
they are inconsistent with a number of Charter rights, including
fundamental justice, the right not to be arbitrarily detained and the
right to a fair defence. The government now has one year to enact
legislation that is consistent with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Security Certificates have been subject to heavy criticism for allowing
indefinite detention, the use of secret evidence in trials, and
possible deportation to torture. A wide range of groups, nationally and
internationally, have criticized the certificate including the Canadian
Bar Association, Amnesty International and the United Nations Human
Rights Committee.

“Today is an extraordinary day in Canadian history. The Supreme
Court has unequivocally and unanimously reaffirmed the rights of all
people to fairness and justice in Canada.

“The Supreme Court has sent a clear message that Parliament must act
with clarity, deliberation and respect for the Charter, while drafting
new legislation in a timely manner. The government cannot morally
continue with the Security Certificates procedure as it has been deemed
unconstitutional.

“Our country’s safety and security are paramount; however,
legislation like the Anti-Terrorism Act and tools such as Security
Certificates cannot be enacted or used in contravention of fundamental
human rights,” said Karl Nickner, Executive Director of CAIR-CAN.

CAIR-CAN was an intervener in the Security Certificates challenge at the Supreme Court.

1. My mother has purchased for me a scuba outfit. Ostensibly so that I can learn to swim. As this incident comes aprox. 3 months before my wedding, Allah willing, I’m unclear as to it’s interpretation, but Basit will likely offer some interesting metaphorical stuff.

2. Tariq Ramadan notes the following:

“It must be said over and over again that the Revelation of a Book, of a Text, would have no meaning if intelligence…were not taken for granted”.
(Western Muslims and the Future of Islam, p20).

Immediately the following verse came to mind, but I hadn’t (hah.) thought about it in such a context:

I thought over this for a long time.

Ultimately, his point (I believe) is that revelation would be fruitless if we lacked the capacity to understand it, because it would be something that would effect no change. This interpretation is in line with the Islamic doctrine that knowledge is beneficial only when it effects a positive change in the individual, leading them to greater spiritual (and physical) purity and proximity to their Creator.

An excellent documentary online by John Pilger.

Part 1 - there are links to the rest from the first part.

“The life of this world is but games and play… and enjoyment of delusion” [57:20]

After citing the hadith, Ghazali, in his book Ihya Uloom ad-Din, writes as follows:

Know that in their forgetfulness the people of the dunya are like a group of people sailing upon a ship. They come to an island and disembark to relieve themselves. The captain warns them against returning late, and instructs them to remain only so long as is necessary, lest he raise anchor and set sail without them.

Heeding this, some of them hurry back quickly and hence find themselves able to sit in the best and most spacious parts of the ship.

Other, however, behave in different ways. Some become entrances by gazing at the island’s flowers and rippling streams and its gems and precious metals, and then suddenly come to, and hasten back to the ship, and although the spaces they find are inferior to those of the people who came back before them, they are still safe.

Others are so preoccupied with the flowers that they cannot bring themselves to leave them, so they pick and carry as many as they can. When they reach the ship they find only narrow, uncomfortable places, and they are made still more uncomfortable by the fact that they cannot bring themselves to throw away the things they have brought on board. When the wind gets up, they are forced to throw away their flowers anyways, and escape with only their lives.

Others, however, penetrate deep into the jungle and forget the captain’s advice, so that when they hear the ship’s final call to depart, they rush back only to find that it has left without them, and they remain marooned with what they have left, until they perish.

Still others are so obsessed with gathering things that they do not even hear the captain’s cry. Of these, some are eaten by wild beasts, others are poisoned by snakes, while others wander aimlessly until they die of starvation. This class resembles the people who live for this world, who are preoccupied with its mortal pleasures, and live in heedlessness of their future.

How repulsive is the one who claims to be intelligent and full of insight, yet is deluded by gems, silver, and gold, by flowers and fruits, none of which will accompany him to his destination.

trans. T.J. Winter, “Selections from the Fateh al Bari of Ibn Hajar al Asqalani”

Came across this quote (: how true, how true. Especially wedding fashions.

Victor Hugo – “Fashions have done more harm than revolutions.”

Just wanted to share with all of you what happened to me tonight:
perhaps one of the strangest but enjoyable encounters in memory.

After
attending a weekly halaqa this evening at the MCE, I stopped by Tim
Hortons to grab a tea (it was cold, and I felt like steeped tea).
SubhanAllah, you meet the most unexpected of people at Timmy’s, always.

While parking, I couldn’t help but notice the three youth
directly in front of my vehicle, all dressed in classic goth style:
long black trench coats, spiked neck collars, etc. Better still, one of
them had a huge samurai sword. “These people probably want to kill
Muslims” I thought to myself, and made a mental note to get in Timmy’s
as quickly as possible. I slipped quickly by them, and noticed they
muttered something as I passed, then followed me inside.

I placed my books down on a table ( I was carrying Qadi Iyad’s Shifa and al Zarnuji’s Instruction of the Student)
and got my tea. Going back to the table, I noticed all three of the
goth guys standing around my table, milling about. “Excuse me” I said,
and they moved so I could sit.

“I was looking at your book” one of them (the one carrying
the sword) said to me, “can you tell me about it?”. So I started
explaining that it was a book outlining the station of the Prophet,
peace be upon him, to the Muslims, and other things besides. “Oh,” he
said. “You know, I don’t look it, but I’m actually Muslim.”

!!!!!!! thought I, but what came out of my mouth was “Really? What’s your name?”
“Abdullah” said he. “My mother is a convert, which is why I’m white” (his words, not mine).

So, to make a long story short, we ended up sitting for a while
at Tim Hortons, and I gave them a ride home (they had been milling
about because they were trying to get a cab since they were stuck
outside at a late hour and the bus service wasn’t functioning), and
insha’Allah they’re going to come to Friday prayer at the University.
One of his other friends (Joven), a Lutheran, is thinking about Islam
now, and so we should make du’a for them (:

***

So the lesson? Never let your initial perceptions cloud your
desire to give da’wah and get to know people. I felt perhaps how the
Prophet, peace be upon him, must have when Abu Dharr converted: it’s
narrated that when the Prophet, peace be upon him, found out that Abu
Dharr was from the tribe of Ghifar (a tribe of bandits known around the
peninsula for their ruthless nature) he raised his eyebrows in
surprise, and then said “Allah guides who He wills.”

Written by Br. Saad Omar of the Ghazali Project. I disagree with the axis of this passage (that we should change so that the sisters respect us or love us or are in awe of us or whatever) but the rest is good. I  like the line about wearing the cloak of Musa (as) over the heart of the Pharoah.

For too long, brothers have been considered the weakest
link of the Muslim community. We hear often that the sisters are
executing their duties as faithful ladies at far higher proportions
than their male counterparts.

This is not a stereotype, but a fact. Ask a 23 years old sister
trying to find a compatible spouse. I would estimate that good sisters
outnumber good brothers at a ratio of 10:1 at the least. That means for
every 10 sisters that are out there, 9 will have to settle for brothers
who are not as committed to the struggle. Realize that this estimate is
my most conservative estimate and when you consider that a significant
portion of the brothers turn overseas to find their spouses, there are
even fewer suitable future potentials for our sisters.

Lets
put the topic of marriage aside for a moment. For too long have the men
slept and refused to stand up. Look at our two famous Muslim American
brothers, Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X and then consider our own lives.
Muhammad Ali stood at the face of a nation and affirmed his beliefs and
in doing so was stripped of his most prized championship belt and years
of his in prison. Malcolm X stood for truth and justice and paid the
dearest price, his life.

Once
again, now consider our lives. We walk a cheap imitation of their lives
as we attempt to follow the stereotypes of so-called alpha males
imitating pimps such as Jay Z or 50 cent. If we have not fallen pray to
that fake hip hop culture, we may imitate preppy idols such as
Timberlake or Usher who must include one song in each album talking
about cheating on their latest girlfriend just to remind us of their
true character. They are not only the scum of the earth; they proudly
display their pathetic nature.

We
spend hours in the gym attempting to beef up our bodies as our minds
and souls remain seriously neglected. Then we turn to the internet
during late hours of the night for our secret lives of AIM flirtation
and pornography.

We
act as if we are slick. That no one knows what we are up to. We walk
around Islamic conventions as we are the imitation of Prophet walking
on earth but every moment that we find ourselves alone, we spit on the
Prophet’s legacy.

We wear the cloak of Moses over the heart of Pharoah.

This
is not a negative message but an honest one. It is time for the
brothers to rise. I refuse to live my life under the stigma of being
“one of the brothers,” a disgraced gender known for sloth, foul play,
and ignorance.

The
movement to reverse this downward swirling path that brothers find
themselves in is called the Fatooha. It is a movement that will proceed
under the mentorship and vision of Imam Zaid Shakir. I call you to it.
It is a movement that existed during the Classical Islamic period and
inculcated principles of Chivalry that later directly led to the
concept of Chivalry in Medieval Europe.

The concepts found in the King Arthur series and similar literature, directly stem from the Fatooha Movement.

Brothers,
it is time to rise. Where are the Abu Bakrs, Khalid bin Walid, Ali, and
Bilals amongst us? Mediocrity has never been acceptable and definitely
is not now.

Whether
you choose to be part of the Fatooha Movement or not is secondary. My
primary message is the follow, as brothers, we have done a grave
injustice to the rest of the community, namely the sisters. But that is
now in our past. It is time to stand up as men, not in a superficial
media-defined sense, but in a profound way. And maybe, someday in the
future, we will not only be worthy of our future wives but the princes
that they will stand in awe of.

This is our mission