thankfulness

We take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.~Cynthia Ozick

The Pen

Take a pen in your uncertain fingers.

Trust and be assured

That the whole world is a sky-blue butterfly

And words are the nets to capture it.

~Muhammed al-Ghuzzi

good reminders..

A while ago, I saw a sign in a doctor’s office with the following written on it. This is a bit paraphrased cos I was madly trying to copy it down before the doctor actually came in.

Good Day:

wake up early
reflect
eat like a king
smile lots
encourage, compliment when due
be enthusiastic with everyone you meet

Bad Day:

wake up late
no shower
rush
no exercise
no spiritual reflection
rush rush-coffee muffin very fast
worry
sour expression
be mad at work

long walk to freedom

“A freedom fighter learns the hard way that it is the oppressor who defines the nature of the struggle and the oppressed is often left with no recourse but to use methods that mirror those of the oppressor. At a certain point, one can only fight fire with fire.”

~Long Walk to Freedom, by Nelson Mandela.

A book that should be required reading before people graduate high school. I read about half of it before my trip, and now I think it is time to insha’Allah find the book again and finish the other half! It contains so many wonderful points to reflect upon, and truly helps you begin to think deeply about the word apartheid, and the very specific point people like President Carter are making when they use the term. (That’s another book I’ve been meaning to read).

p.s-this post reminds me of a nutrition course I took during university and a lecture we had one day about food systems in Zimbabwe. Before the prof launched into her lecture though, she stopped and said, “now, since the vast majority of you haven’t learnt about Africa in your elementary, high school and university education, we are going to have to have a atrocious 40 minute history lesson about an entire continent, to gain a rudimentary understanding of events that shaped Zimbabwe’s development and that specifically have led to food problems.” It was an embarassing moment, because the majority of really didn’t know very much. What I remember of elementary and high school history lessons were mind numbing classes about the exact same European countries and not very much about the rest of the world..

warm and fuzzy

“What a surprise! This is the first time I see the guest is a muslim and prays! I’m proud of it! because I am muslim too and pray five times like U! May Allah bless U!”

~A note I found in our hotel room when travelling with my family last year. Our prayer mats were generally visible in the room: either folded on the bed or on one of the side tables, or folded on the floor in the direction of Makkah. On the last day of our stay our Muslim housekeeper left us that exciting note. I found the note today in an old book…and felt all warm and fuzzy all over again, even though the incident is long gone. Just shows you never know how your actions have an impact on those around you…

back to school..

In just a few days students all over the world (except places where the school calendar is structured differently of course) return to school. And for the first time in my life, I’m not one of them. I’m happy I graduated in May alhamidullah, but it is strange not to be thinking of school supplies right now, or agonising over lovely stationary and pens and notebook purchases. And it’s strange not to feel anticipation and excitement and nervousness about school–the feelings I usually have around this time of year.

Insha’Allah I will return to university soon for more schooling.

In the meantime though, this is a good opportunity to use the time I have to learn things I’ve wanted to learn for a while, and devote more time to things that haven’t received much attention in the past several months with the intensity of uni involvement and graduation.

For instance: Insha’Allah I finally have time to devote to SunniPath! Not all the courses for the fall term are up yet, but I’m having a really hard time choosing what I want to take from the current courses offered. A few courses I’m wrestling with..

1) Introductory Arabic 1: This is a class I’ve been wanting to take for a while now, but with uni classes, I always thought I didn’t have enough time. Also, in the past I’ve been a bit apprehensive about learning Arabic (can I really do it? But everyone says Arabic is sooo hard! What if the Arabic in the class doesn’t have diacritic marks and I can’t read it?) On the Rihla though we had a lovely Arabic class, I was surrounded by arabic during the trip, and generally, it finally dawned on me that if I don’t just start, I really won’t learn the language. I’ve got to stop making excuses and roll up my sleeves. So insha’Allah this semester will be my first foray into the structure of the Arabic language. Please make dua it goes well!

2) Introduction to Classical Logic: I can’t decide whether to take this class, but I really really want to. It’s taught by Shaykh Hamza Karamali who is an amazing teacher masha’Allah, and I’ve always left every class I’ve taken with him with lots to think and reflect upon. In his class “Finding the Straight Path” ( I don’t think it’s offered this semester) he spoke a great deal about the importance of thinking critically about issues and just generally using our brains, rather than being reactionary to whatever we read. I think a course devoted on sharpening my brain could be a wonderful learning opportunity, but it’s part of the SP transitional curriculum, which means technically I should be finishing the Foundations and Seekers curriculum before taking the course. But i really really want to take it now…

3) A Hanafi fiqh class: My confusion is over whether or not to take the Essentials class, or the Intermediate class. They seem pretty similar, but the Essentials class covers basic aqida, an intro to ihsan and prayer, whereas the intermediate class covers purification and prayer in detail. There is lots to learn from a beginner class, but I tried taking the intermediate class last year and didn’t get very far (too much going on!), so it would be a cheaper option..Aaah decisions!

Also the Ramadhan class on the spiritual aspects of Ramadan looks good too. Actually everything looks good..which is why it’s always agonising making SP decisions!

There is also a Saturday morning creative writing class at one of the local universities that looks lovely. I would looove to take it, but it’s an expensive course. Would it be better to get a book on creative writing?

so many debates.

To end off, things I love: ramadan excitement/shehzad’s roy new song laga reh/chaat papri surprises/mithai/sunshine/lipgloss/new SP course discoveries/meccaone lectures/comfy abayas/cosy lunches/solitude/yellow walls/newly vacuumed floors/reflection time/creamy moleskine pages

More 44 Scotland Street

Travelling back home this summer, I made the marvelous discovery that a new novel has been published the 44 Scotland Street series! The name of the book is The World According to Bertie, and I actually yelped for joy in the Heathrow airport Borders bookshop  when I saw it on the shelf. It’s not as satisfying as the other novels, (after 3 books you can guess what is going to happen to the characters) but it is full of delicious words that make it an enjoyable enough read. (the words that follow  are the words that I looked up afterwards).

apocryphal: of doubtful authenticity
quotidian: occurring every day
crowstepped: any of a series of steps at the top of a gable wall
paysage moralise: moralized landscape
fluted: having or marked by grooves
mullions: a slender vertical member that forms a division between units of a window, door, or screen or is used decoratively.
casus belli: an act or event that provokes or is used to justify war
dramaturge: A writer or adapter of plays; a playwright casus belli: an act or event that provokes or is used to justify war
echt: true, genuine
synaesthetic: A condition in which one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another, as when the hearing of a sound produces the visualization of a color
fey: lots of meanings..which can be found here.
pugilist: the skill, practice, and sport of fighting with the fists; boxing
mots justes: exactly the right word or expression
atavistic: The return of a trait or recurrence of previous behavior after a period of absence.
pellucid: transparently clear in style or meaning
dalliance: frivolous spending of time; dawdling. 2) playful flirtation
mendacious: lying; untruthful 2) false; untrue.

My favourite paragraph in the book  is one that I want to implant firmly in my mind and heart. It  is near the end of the book and occurs when two of the characters are trying to decide what to name painting. I’ve wrote it out to remember it better..

” Domenica turned away from the stove. ‘It’s a line from Auden,’ she said. ‘”If equal affection cannot be/let the more loving one be me.” ‘

They were both silent for a moment. Behind Domenica, the pot on the stove simmered quietly; there was a square of light on the ceiling, reflected off window glass, shimmering, late light. Angus thought: yes, this is precisely the sentiment. That’s it exactly. That’s all we need to remember in this life, two lines to guide us. “

things I love..

the sound of rain pouring down when I’m snug inside/ordering books online/sleeping in/fresh plums at breakfast/subha ke chai (with honey)/the feeling of my qur’an in my hand/spicy corn/remembering madinah/baby smiles/the smell of babies/wooden prayer beads.

Alhamidullah.

The Vision of Islam (Part 1)

Recently I’ve started reading the book The Vision of Islam by Sachiko Murata and William Chittick. I was reading it during the school year and loved it, but stopped when paper writing became too intense. Because too much time has elapsed since I first started the book though, I’ve started reading it again from the beginning. I’m not done yet but really wanted to share some introductory notes (not even close actually because so often there is a sentence or two in the book that really make me think, and I end up putting it aside to think about that one point, and then only return to the book the next day). If you’re looking for a good comprehensive introductory text on Islam though, I highly recommend this book. Also, a great companion to the book is the CD set by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf teaching the Vision of Islam.

Here are some notes from the initial pages of the book that I found quite interesting. Hoe you enjoy!

The Quran is a book of 114 suras. The word sura is generally translated as chapter, but the word literally means “a fence, enclosure, or any part of a structure”. The shortest sura is 10 words and the longest sura is 6100 words. The longest sura is the 2nd one, and after the 2nd one, generally speaking, the suras gradually decrease in length. The last 60 chapters take up as much room as the 2nd surah alone.

Suras are divided into ayahs, a word that is often translated as verses but that literally means signs. Due to the way that the Quran is organised Westerners may find it extremely difficult to appreciate the Quran, particularly when it is translated.

“Enough evidence is provided by Islamic civilization itself, and by great philosophers, theologians and poets who have commented on the text, to be sure that the problem lies on the the side of the reader, not the book.The text is undoubtedly one of the most extraordinary ever to be put down on paper. Precisely because it is extraordinary, it does not follow people’s expectations of what a book should be.”

“Simply attending synagogue, church or mosque does not mean that one sees things any differently from contemporary atheists. Our culture’s dominant ways of thinking are taught not in places of worship but in our media and educational institutions.”

” As a rule, it seems when people with no grounding in the Islamic worldview pick up a translation of the Qur’an they have their prejudices confirmed, whatever they may be.”

More to come later insha’Allah..

an excellent read.

I was sent this article by a friend today. Really well written, and one that has a lot of good reminders, particularly if you get confused by all the media coverage out there of Muslims who seem to really dislike each other. The author also has a recently published book titled “The Muslim Next Door: The Quran, the Media and that Veil Thing”. Can’t say for sure whether it’s a good book, but the preview of the book on Amazon looked very interesting. And I hope my public library is ordering lots of copies, because I’ve noticed there are very few quality resources available in local libraries and bookshops for people who aren’t Muslim, but are just trying to learn more about Islam (if you’re one of those people, three cheers from me). Yay for trying to fight through the fog of media nonsense!