A supplication to Allah (swt)

Oh Allah
 
Help me to speak words of truth in the face of adversity, to stand up for what is right and good and fight back against what is wrong and evil...
 
Help me to refrain from speaking or thinking ill of others, or to lie in order to gain the admiration of others...
 
Help me to be loyal and steadfast to those around me.
 
Oh Allah
 
Should You bless me by giving me wealth, do not take away my happiness...
 
Encourage my hands (and heart) to be open and giving and allow me to be a benefit to others, near and far.
 
And should You bless me by giving me strength and might, do not take away the wisdom You have graced me to have...
 
Permit me to help others shoulder their burdens and to be a good example, and draw me away from being oppressive or transgressing on the rights of others (because I know You do not love those who oppress or transgress).
 
Oh Allah
 
Should You give me success, great or small, do not take away my humility...
 
Shy me away from arrogance and open my eyes and heart to the plight of others, and use me as a source of comfort for them.
 
Oh Allah
 
Should You give me modesty and lower my gaze and soften my voice, do not take away my sense of dignity...
 
Help me uphold the dignity of those around me by hand and by mouth.
 
Oh Allah...
 
Help me to love others as I love myself; to want the best for those nearest and dearest to me and those around me.
 
And teach me to be firm and to judge myself as I judge others...
 
May any such judgment not be wanton and aggressive and be through understanding and based on righteousness (and not self-righteousness).
 
Oh Allah
 
Teach me that forgiveness is one of the greatest steps toward strength, and one of the greatest gifts You have given us...
 
(Allow me to follow the example of Prophet Muhammad (saw), who forgave those who were the cause of such torment - including forgiving those who had killed his beloved uncle and mutilated his body).
 
Oh Allah
 
Do not curse me with arrogance should I be successful, or fill me with despair and hopelessness should I fail. Permit me to be humble (and aware that all success is from You) yet willing to step up and use the gifts You have bestowed upon me in grateful and proper ways...
 
Oh Allah
 
Remind me always that failure is the trial that comes before success...
 
For both success and failure allow me to be aware of the fact that 'this time, too, shall pass'.
 
Oh Allah
 
Should You take away the wealth You have given me, allow me keep my hopefulness and trust in You...
 
And should I fail, please let me keep the power of determination...
 
Grant me steadfastness and perseverance that I may embrace any trials You put me through and do my utmost at working through them
 
And should You take away the blessing of good health, please permit me keep the blessing of faith that You have Graciously bestowed on me...
 
Please strengthen my Iman through adversity and comfort, and increase my appreciation and awareness of You.
 
Oh Allah...if I have harmed others, or ever do harm to others, give me the courage to swallow or cast away any pride and to apologise...
 
And if others harm me, then I beseech You to bless me with the strength and compassion to forgive them...
 
You have decreed that Your Mercy shall surpass Your Wrath, please allow me to be the same regardless of my impotence and minuteness compared to Your Majesty and Grandeur
 
And... should I, somehow, forget You and the blessings You have bestowed upon me and those around me... Ya Allah, I beg that You should not turn away from me and exclude me from Your great Compassion and Clemency, for You alone are the Greatest, the All Powerful. The Ruler, The Sustainer, The Nourisher, The Provider, The Guider, The Light on all things that were, are and ever will be.
 
Ameen.

After Ramadan...

For Muslims, one of the hopes of Ramadan is that they will be able to carry the drive and 'increase' they experienced through the blessed month forward into the year.  That they will:

- pray more;

- read the Qur'an more;

- learn more

That's all well and good, and commendable goals, but what about the other aspects of Ramadan?

- to reach out to those less fortunate?

- to provide food to those who would otherwise be hungry?

- to be a source of comfort (even if it's just momentary) to those in need?

These are also important (and fundamental) parts of Ramadan and being a Muslim, and are supposed to be a major aspect of our everyday lives.  For many of us, however, they only seem to be important at certain times of the year.

Many of us consider 'charity' to be 'giving some money or clothing I can spare'.  There are other ways of being charitable, the prime one being:

- volunteering a few hours of your time.

Instead of, for example, going to the cinema you could (schedule) to pop in to the local shelter and lend a hand.

You could help hand out food to impoverished children (London-folk, there are a lot of kids who are below the poverty line and don't get nutritious meals, especially during school holidays).

You could visit an elderly person.

Spend time with an ill person.

It doesn't have to 'cost' you anything other than a few hours of your time.

70,000 people volunteered to help out at the Olympics - imagine the change 70,000 people could make each week by merely giving 4 hours of their time...

A suppressed rant

Below is what I was initially going to post after hearing about the shooting at a screening of The Dark Knight Rises in Colorado, but I held off.  I figured it wouldn’t be read anyway (yes, that same stance again).  A few days ago there was the shooting of six Sikhs at a gurdwara in Wisconsin and recently another shooting was, apparently, averted – a copycat of the TDKR one…

As some say: ‘better out than in’ so, rather than holding the rant back…I’m going to let it out…

As news of what can only be described as the ‘actions of a mad man’ (no, I’m not referring to events in the Middle East) filter through, I just can’t help wondering what it is that this person’s friends and family missed…or dismissed.

I’m in no way saying that we should critique the behaviour of everyone we know, or be paranoid about things, but there has to be a certain level of awareness…and inquiry.  The warning signs are almost always there…

With the Columbine shootings, for example, there were numerous signs about Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold and their intentions:

-         website stating pipe bombs were being made; naming people they wanted to kill (they had a hitlist)

-         they already had a criminal file for breaking into a van

-         police warning the school but no action taken (a year before the shooting)

-         showing the weapons to friends

-         the story Klebold wrote mere months before the shooting

Then there’s the aspect of none of their parents having any idea that there was an arsenal in their respective houses.  Sure, there’s respecting the privacy of one’s offspring…but, personally, this ‘ignorance’ of what was going on under their own roofs is disturbing…

Here, so far, we have someone who started buying numerous firearms over a short period of time (from May), but that didn’t cause any eyebrows to be raised (apparently).  I’m not going to call it an ‘arsenal’ because that’s exaggerating and distorting, but he had a good amount of firepower.

Then we find out that a psychiatrist at the university he was attended had identified him to the university’s ‘threat-assessment team’, but they decided not to do anything about it.

This seems to happen often, generally speaking – those in a position to do something, who are provided the information needed…not acting upon the information.  Whether it be football coaches, social services workers, etc…action has to be taken.  Yes, it’s time consuming but rather that than ‘uh oh, we knew about such-and-such.  Sorry.’

And now…the new shootings…

Which has hardly been in the news…

Six Sikhs shot dead.

Why?  Because someone didn’t like them, wanted to make an example of them, and hoped his actions would encourage others to do the same…

Thing is…just as we’ve had potential copy-cats after the TDKR shooting…we’re going to have the same here.

Over in Nigeria we have ‘Islamic militants’ murdering 19 Christian worshippers.  They expect to establish Islamic law in Nigeria by going against Islamic teachings and Islamic laws?!

The Unwanted Minority

Below is a repost of my recent Facebook 'status update'.

'Three of our children were burned to death in Burma,' said the female refugee, 'another two died in the boat getting here...'

Another refugee said:

'They slashed our children, and put a sharp sword on the ground. They held infants above the sword and let the infants fall on it...they killed the babies that way...'

Aung San Suu Kyi chose NOT to speak up for these people...she said she didn't know if they were Burmese...(is that REALLY supposed to make a difference?!)

NGOs have pulled their people out on the basis of the situation being too dangerous, and the Burmese government won't let outsiders in.

Usually my 'status updates' are jokey, or refer to movies or superheroes...

Now I'd like YOU (whoever's reading this and is moved by what they see and hear) to be 'a hero/heroine' and do what you can to bring this to the attention of those who can make a difference. It is said that there's strength in numbers...perhaps we can pull ourselves together enough to put an end to the waves of genocide and hatred...and bloodlust...that keeps erupting across our world...

http://www.vidjin.com/burman-muslims-being-burned-killed-slugged-where-is-un-recent-video.html

Go beyond the physical

Ramadan’s almost here!

 

Alhumdulillah.

 

One of the beautiful gifts bestowed on mankind is the art of cooking (some call it a science, but, whatever ;) ).  It’s something which, generally speaking, is often overlooked.  Yes, we have dozens of cooking shows, celebrity chefs, awesome parents etc, but the blessing we’ve been given in being able to do the things with food, spices and so forth, is…well…beautiful.

 

Those of us who will be fasting for the month ahead should bear in mind (and spare a thought for, at the very least) those of the Family of Man whose stomachs stay empty for days on end.

 

All of us (and you can choose not to believe if you so wish, that’s up to you) will be brought to account on a number of things (including, but not limited to):

 

-         how we spent our time

-         how we spent our wealth

-         how we shared our knowledge

-         how we helped others

-         how we used our bodies

 

For Muslims, this month brings with it so many blessings that, for those of us who take the time to ponder, it’s awe-inspiring.  We can agree to disagree, but life in general is full of blessings (seen and unseen) that are, themselves, awesome when pondered, that the fact that Allah (swt) has magnified all that in the Blessed Month is just…breathtaking.

 

I know, I know – some will say I’m speaking in hyperbole.  Like I said earlier, you can choose not to believe if you so wish.

 

Hand in hand with belief, though, is action.  To take steps to promote positive change; to do things which enhance the lives of those around you; to be a good neighbour, friend, sibling, relative and so on.  Time and time again, Allah (swt) says: ‘Those who believe and do good deeds’…they go hand in hand.

 

I raise my hand and admit that I don’t do anywhere near as much as I should do – but I hope and pray that (Insha’Allah) I’ll be able to do more and, Insha’Allah, be able to encourage others.

 

Please try to make a difference for those around us who are in need.

 

Remember, ‘fasting is bestowed on us…that we may attain taqwa (God Consciousness/Awareness), so go beyond the physical.

Likes and Dislikes about 'The Amazing Spider-Man' movie

Likes

- Gwen being intelligent

- Gwen not being a damsel in distress

- Gwen and the ‘flamethrower’!

- Spidey’s combat acrobatics – especially in the school

- Flash’s growth

- Flaming car (a little like the cable car scene but with a very simple choice – and important here as it served to show Peter that there is more he can do with the abilities he now has)

- Vigilante Peter

- SWAT team taking Peter down

- The interactions between Gwen and Peter

- The girl who has a bit of a thing for Peter (silent crush)

- Peter standing up to Flash (prior to The Bite) was good to see

Dislikes

- Scenes from the trailers and teasers being cut from the movie (although the ‘doorman scene’ was too much like the Raimi stuff so that being cut is fine)

- The fight on the train was a tad messy (granted, it’s instinct kicking in, but the frame cuts, etc, were too jerky and some of the moves just didn’t ‘fit’)

- What happened to the ‘secret of his parents’ stuff?

- Vigilante Peter (yes, it falls in both categories)

- Captain Stacy dying

- Lizard’s uber-enhanced regeneration abilities – seemed better than Wolverine’s!

- Some of the ‘first person’ view CGI effects were…poor.

- No JJJ

Asides:

- There’s, potentially, a lizard-rat roaming around out there…

- I doubt the ‘guy in the shadows’ is Norman (it’s could be Professor Miles Warren)

- Peter (in the movie) designed the web shooters, not the actual webbing (with the amount of webbing out there, it would have been pretty straight forward for the police to trace it back to him)

- Although I don’t think it was their intent, Peter being unable to help Ben (for fear of compounding things and killing him) can be construed (yes, yes, he was dying/dead from the gunshot wound, but Peter tore a tap off without trying, administering some form of CPR on his uncle would have been wrong on his part)

- Why was Peter not as pro-active about his education and science future as Gwen?

Movie Talk (July 4 2012)

Finally got around to seeing Men in Black 3 on Saturday (and bought my advance ticket for Tuesday’s ‘late’ showing of The Amazing Spider-Man).

MiB3 was quite enjoyable, had a touch of Back to the Future in there and a nice way of by-passing the paradox.  I felt it was better than the second one, and provided an aspect of closure and understanding to the relationship between J and K.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World was enjoyable, too (saw it on Monday).  Generally ignoring the impact on the rest of the world and focussing on Dodge and Penny, it was well done.  The brief highlights on how different people were reacting to/dealing with/accepting ‘the end of the world’ was interesting – ranging from ‘keeping things normal’ through to riots and ‘who cares, let’s just sleep with someone’, whilst keeping far away from any religious aspects.  To a certain degree, those things are 'standard', but it was nice seeing them, anyway.

And now, The Amazing Spider-Man...

Although a ‘retread’ of the one from a decade ago, I felt this one worked out a lot better – it still had the ‘bad guy talking to himself’ scene, but it was a lot briefer than the first time around.

Some of the action sequences came off a little awkward, but Flash (Eugene) had a lot of growth in the short time he was in the movie.   

Other thoughts:

- Gwen often looked a lot older than her 17 years;

- the killer of Uncle Ben currently has a ‘Joe Chill’ aspect going for him;

- I’m not sure why Oscorp would sell the bio-cable to someone like Peter;

- I know there’s a lot of construction work going on in Manhattan, but is there really that much along that stretch of the city?

- The discovery of the powers was reasonably well done (especially in the bathroom) – alas, the Dick Grayson handstand-to-dive has now probably been denied us forever :( 

- The banter between Gwen and Peter worked really well and it was good to see that he got her attention before getting the powers;

- Peter was still a stalking photographer, though (first time round it was MJ, now it’s Gwen);

- The Lizard was variable; and

- I prefer Captain Stacy approving of Spider-Man, and of Gwen's relationship with Peter, and I think he should have lived through this movie (and the sequel, and died in the third).

I guess that's enough for now ;)