I got tired of being alone, even though I had my sister visiting, but it still wasn’t the same.  So now I’m back “home” with my sister on her lovely, funky, blog, the place where my blogging venture was born.   I have imported my posts here from my other blog, so that I can shut that one down with ease without missing my pearls of stupidity.  Haha!  The most absurd thing is that as I’m sitting here quietly typing away in the dark on my laptop, my brother is sitting downstairs making a racket typing some address with a typewriter.  Yes, we still have a typewriter, and my brother decided recently to go retro by typing any mailing addresses with it…  It is a true honor to be related to that man.

Just to warn you, I’m a bit ditzy, and have no intention of matching up to my sisters to eloquence in writing.  So yea, see you soon.  Really, very soon!   And I’ll leave you now with an amazing quote that I just read, which has nothing to do with anything I have written, but it is quite profound.

The tools of conquest do not necessarily come with bombs and explosions and fallout. There are weapons that are simply thoughts, attitudes, prejudices to be found only in the minds of men. For the record, prejudices can kill, and suspicion can destroy, and the thoughtless, frightened search for a scapegoat has a fallout all of its own for the children…the children yet unborn.
[-Rod Serling-]

To err is human, to forgive divine.

Allah loves forgiveness.

If you want Allah to show you mercy, show mercy to others.

These are all common sayings regarding the art and battle of forgiveness, and I am certain there must be about a hundred more. These all exist, to my mind, for one purpose: to encourage us to do one of the most difficult things in the human existence. They’re salves to the ego, when forgiveness is sought. When you are asked to forgive a slight, a crime, an injustice, you forego your chance for achieving retribution, or at the very least, working toward it. You give up the possibility of justice, at least in this temporary world. You are left to deal with the injustice in a way that seems, really, to tip the scales in favor of the one who has done you wrong.

Forgiveness is never a split-second decision. It’s a process, and a long-drawn-out one at that. The person who came for forgiveness may have taken a day, a month, a year, a decade, or a lifetime to do so. It took them that long to realize they might have done something that was not quite apropos. Is it not reasonable to expect that the person who must forgive might need a few hours to reconcile the denial of the promise of justice?

When the person who has committed some slight, great or small, against you comes to ask for your merciful and ever-willing forgiveness, all theories about forgiveness go out the window. Some will tell you that when you forgive another human being, you give yourself the chance to heal. Others will tell you all of the stories from Islam in which forgiveness transpired, and will make it seem like it was the easiest thing in the world for the ashaab kareem radiAllaahu anhum ajma’een to do, and if they could forgive such huge things as the slandering of Sayyida A’isha radiAllaahu anha, then who the heck are we to withhold forgiveness for minor, inconsequential nothings? Except that sometimes, they may not be so inconsequential, even though they certainly are when compared to other events. And perhaps, if we remember the saying, “On no soul does Allah place a burden greater than it can bear,” we might realize that our maximum capacity for pain may very well be less than another’s…but that does not make the pain any less burdensome.

I’m human, and a horrible one at that. I need time. So, if you ask for forgiveness after a year of pretending like the problem was all in my very own stupid little head, then give me the courtesy of expecting a year to forgive you. Or a few hours. Asking for a split-second, instantaneous, pre-notorized certificate of forgiveness is asking for way too much. I guess I’m not well versed in the art of forgiveness. For me, it really is a battle.

“To bear something displeasing with displeasure is called Tahallum (pretending to be tolerant). And to bear displeasure with pleasure is true Hilm (tolerance).”

[Hadhrat Maseehullah Khan Sahab (Rahimahullah)]

Undeniably, one of the hardest things to do is display patience and moreover smile through circumstances of pain and even anger.  But therein lies the reward…

It’s been the coldest winter since a few years I think, and I’m really loving it.  Having a few days of down pour of rain was sooo pleasant.  And not to mention I get to wear my pretty sweaters daily.   But here are less vain reasons to love winter.  I never really thought there would be sayings on winter in the ahadeeth and reading this made me really grin.

“The best season to a believer is the winter, its nights are long for those who wish to pray, and its days are short for those who wish to fast“

Hasan Al Basri.

It is reported from Abu Hurayrah (Radiallahu Anhu) that he said:

Shall I not point you to comfortable proceeds? People responded, “And what is that oh Abu Hurayrah?” He replied, “Fasting in winter.“

It is reported from ‘Umar (Radiallahu Anhu) that he said:

Winter is booty for the devout worshipers.

It is reported from ‘Ubayd bin ‘Umayr (Rahimahullah) that he said:

It used to be said when winter came: O people of the Qur`an, the night has become long so you can pray (more) and the day has become short for you to fast.

It is reported from the famous worshipper Rabi’ah (Rahimahullah) that she said:
I have never heard the adhan except that I remember the caller who will announce the Day of Resurrection, and I never see the falling snow except that I imagine the flying pages of the records of peoples deeds (on that day), and I never see swarms of locusts except that I think about the Great Gathering on the Last Day.

[Ibn Al-Jawzi, Sifah Al-Safwah Vol. 2 p433]

Me: Well, I shall be off now, was a pleasure.
Her: Ok. It was my distinct honor and pleasure as well to do…um…whatever it is that just happened here.

And I thought my presence meant something to people. Guess not! <_<

The Prophet (Salallahu Alayhi Wasallam) said:
“The most beloved of Allah’s servants to Allah are those with the best manners.”

[Hadeeth - At-Tabaraanee]

It’s sad how we’ve become desensitized to bad manners and how easily we are rude to people.  What is more shocking is how work is often taken from a person, but when that person finally has to move on with other things in their life they no longer mean anything.  All their work is simply a thing of the past, and another person is sought after to be used.  That’s life though, I suppose…

And no, I ain’t annoyed at anybody.  Just saw that hadeeth, and a few people flashed through my head.

I just came across an interesting, albeit unsurprising, article on press bias during our crazy election cycle. It’s by Mark Halperin, of Time Magazine, and the basic premise is alluded to in the title: ‘extreme pro-Obama’ press bias. Read it and say “No kidding, Sherlock!” The unfortunate thing is that this type of bias will never stop; in fact, if you look at Huffington Post’s coverage of the potential nomination of Senator Clinton for Secretary of State, you see a similar bias, with a not-so-subtle attempt to derail this possibility from becoming reality. Interesting while being simultaneously disgusting.

Seven years ago, the media was pushing war. This year, they were pushing a Presidential candidate. When it’s an issue you agree with, or can’t do anything about anyway, it might not matter so much; but, when it’s about an issue or person (in the case of elections, it happens to be about both issues and people) you are still trying to get a grasp on, that haze of propaganda can be downright lethal. I guess that is why Thomas Jefferson said:

“The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers.”

“If you see a person walking on the water or flying in the air, don’t believe in him until you have seen two things: how he prays, and if he’s upon the sunnah.“

[Imam Shafi'ee (Rahimahullah)]

Bro: What’s the domain?  Do you know?
Me: Umm…no.
Bro: How about range?
Me: I duno… go to Google and type in domain and math?
Bro: Yeah…I’ve done this before…I know the answer, I just don’t know what the answer is…
Me: So…you know the answer or you don’t know the answer…?

Me: We should get a bird. *2 seconds later* Nah, it’d be caged, nevermind…
Bro: Yeah…it’s caged, makes a lot of noise, you havta clean it…just sit outside and look at them, it’s easier!
Me: But…I want a yellow one.  Or a blue!  Orr greeen.
Bro: Then–
Me: NO!  Don’t tell me to paint it!
Bro: *laughs sheepishly*
Me: Omg…I can’t believe I was right…
Bro: Well…water based paint.