Naeem's Blog

In my constant struggle to raise my children in this very chaotic world, I have found myself consistently battling the fitnah of the television. I simply haven't had the fortitude to throw it away.

Pathetic, I know.

When we were in the US and my two older kids were younger, we didn't have cable, so they would only watch PBS cartoons and animated movies (I am scarred for life after watching 'Spirit' 10,000 times).

Then we moved to our compound here in KSA where Cartoon Network and Disney Channel were freely available. So the kids began watching a variety of cartoon shows (without those dreaded commercials that are often worse than the show itself).

You see, I've always restricted my children to only watching animated cartoons, never allowing them to watch sitcoms or movies with real actors. That was my way of restricting the influence of television.

Or so I thought.

When I started seeing the content of the cartoons they were watching, I became extremely disgusted. Shows like Kim Possible had the lead character, a female tween who moonlighted as a spy, always sporting a croptop, exposing her midriff while struggling with a dorky family and typical boyfriend issues.

Another popular show, Ben 10, made light of the constant bickering between the lead character, Ben, and his cousin Gwen. They would regularly insult each other and try their best to get the other in trouble - unfortunate traits that soon began to manifest themselves in my two older kids.

I realized that the good ol' days of the Smurfs, Transformers, and Voltron were long gone.

So, I decided to turn off the TV and replaced it with a weekly movie. I would get the latest Pixar or Disney movie on DVD and make it an event with pizza and ice cream. Can't go wrong with that, eh?

Yeah, right.

While I always realized that these feature films had underlying messages, I never considered them to be so pernicious. Probably because I was older when I began watching them (we never watched such animated films in my childhood) and simply laughed off the silliness of every woman finding her white knight.

However, I am now faced with my young impressionable children being exposed to extremely questionable morals subtly injected into these supposedly innocent cartoon movies.

Like the film, Shark Tale, that glorified the vegetarian shark choosing his alternate lifestyle and 'coming out' as a dolphin. Or Mulan's defiant stance against authority. Or the racial stereotypes like the Arab accent of the villains in Aladdin (while the good guys had normal American accents) and the hyenas in Lion King voiced by an Afro-American and Latino.

I think it naive on my part to assume that my children will not be negatively affected by these messages.

For example, almost every animated movie revolves around some love-story component. Do I need to expose my daughter to such fantasies, where the pinnacle of every girl's dream is to find her prince charming? Do I want my son to believe that adult authority is inept and always to be questioned - even rejected, as portrayed in almost every one of these animated movies?

So I've decided to boycott all animated cartoons and films. No more Cartoon Network. No more Disney. No more Pixar.

Instead, I've found another alternative: family movies from the 60's and 70's. I just shared that old classic 'Escape to Witch Mountain' with my kids and they really liked it.

Until I finally throw away the boob tube, I guess that's the closest I'll find to wholesome entertainment.

There are no coincidences in life. None whatsoever. Every single event takes place for a reason.

A few days ago, I posted about the unfortunate loss of my wife's purse, which contained, among other items, her two credit cards.

Then today, I was listening to a lecturer talking on Riba (Interest/Usury) present his argument against keeping credit cards. And I must admit, to date, his argument has been the most effective one I've heard:

When signing up for a credit card, we all agree to pay the interest fees in case the full balance is not paid off after the first month. Many Muslims (including yours truly) convince themselves that everything is halal as long as the payment is made before the end of the month.

But in essence, would we ever sign a similar contract that required us to drink a glass of beer at the end of the month if we didn't pay the credit card balance?

Worse yet, would we ever sign a contract that required us to fornicate with our neighbor's wife if we didn't pay the credit card balance?

In reality, the contract we are signing with the credit card company is much worse than the above examples. So how can any sane Muslim ever sign the dotted line on a credit card contract?

Simple, yet powerful.

And with that short lesson I am able to connect a few more dots in my life. The loss of the credit cards combined with the effect of the lecture has inspired me to be rid of these shiny plastic devils once and for all.

Life is a series of dots, each one representing an event, each one representing a special moment. Memories are made up of these dots, be they blissful, heartbreaking, or both.

Special is the one capable of connecting some of these dots. Like when a child barely capable of holding a pencil accomplishes the feat, connecting two or three dots results in pure joy.

What then of the select few who are able to make complete pictures from these dots and glean true meanings of life? Ya Allah!

Here, then, is my humble tale of connecting a few dots in my life. Maybe one day I shall be able to make something from these various connections dispersed throughout my life that resemble a picture.

But for now, I simply get giddy when I connect a few lonesome dots.

---

It all began with a harmless donation of 200riyals (~$50).

My friend from Madina was on a quick weekend trip to Riyadh and hadn’t brought sufficient pocket money. I suggested he take the 200riyals for his immediate needs and upon his return to Madina, he could donate it to his Sheikh, who looks after the needs of over 50 destitute families in Jeddah. With that condition, he happily accepted.

Fast forward a couple hours.

My wife had gone out to a local mall where unfortunately her purse was stolen. Seems like a group of young abaya-clad girls rushed into the store where my wife was shopping, causing a commotion of sorts, and rushed back out, in the process conveniently taking her purse as it hung off the back of the stroller.

Needless to say, everything was lost.

Included in the damage was my wife’s phone, which had a pre-paid balance of 1,300riyals. While we immediately cancelled the credit cards and ATM cards, we weren’t able to cancel the phone SIM chip. The SIM card wasn’t under my name, so I was told to come in-person to the local STC (Saudi Telecom Company) office. Unfortunately it was 8pm and they would only open up the next day at 4pm.

My immediate response was to write off the 1,300riyals as, I figured, any small-time pick-pocket surely knows how to transfer the balance to another phone number. Either that, or they would use the bulk of the balance to make international calls and what not.

So you can imagine my pleasant surprise when I walked into the STC office the following day and found the balance untouched. They quickly issued a new SIM chip with the 1,300riyal balance.

1,300riyals were miraculously rescued from the debris of the purse-snatching fiasco.

Or so I thought.

“Or who is there that can provide you with Sustenance if He were to withhold His provision?” (67:21)

The Prophet (saw) stated “…and the Rizq is fixed. Nothing will take place before its due time, and nothing will be deferred beyond when it is due.”

The following day, I went to my HR department to request new health insurance cards for my wife and 4 kids. 200riyals a pop they told me. Stunned, I asked why in the world is it so expensive to print some cheap plastic cards?

Fraud was the answer. Many employees report lost or stolen cards while passing them on to relatives or friends who use the cards to avail medical services they are not entitled to (most hospitals don’t ask for picture IDs – I bet they knowingly turn a blind eye, preferring the guaranteed insurance money over turning away a fraudulent patient).

So, I had to pony up 1,000riyals for the insurance cards. Oh well - you gotta do what you gotta do.

I then went to the two banks to have them re-issue the ATM cards. They told me that the charge for it would be 50riyals. A bit pricey for a small plastic card, but clearly more reasonable than the insurance card. So I didn’t argue too much.

And that’s when it struck me and a few dots seemed to connect.

With the combination of the insurance cards, ATM cards, and the donation, that 1,300riyals was simply not meant to be in my pocket. My sustenance (rizq) has been predetermined and this amount was going to leave my hands one way or another.

Just as it is said that your rizq will run after you like death (and so, the teaching goes, there is no point in running after it), it can be equally stated that it will run away from you in a similarly guaranteed fashion.

Today, I stand before you as living proof of that.

It's all about rebranding.

According to this excellent piece by Naomi Klein, the American corporatocracy, after taking a major global PR beating during the Bush years, rebranded itself with Obama.

Just like Blackwater renamed itself Xe after the numerous scandals in Iraq, the sole imperial power in the world decided it too needed a major face lift. And Obama was exactly what the plastic surgeon ordered.

"When Obama was sworn in as president, the American brand could scarcely have been more battered - Bush was to his country what New Coke was to Coca-Cola, what cyanide in the bottles had been to Tylenol. Yet Obama, in what was perhaps the most successful rebranding campaign of all time, managed to turn things around."

"So, it seemed that the United States government could solve its reputation problems with branding - it's just that it needed a branding campaign and product spokesperson sufficiently hip, young and exciting to compete in today's tough market. The nation found that in Obama, a man who clearly has a natural feel for branding and who has surrounded himself with a team of top-flight marketers. His social networking guru, for instance, is Chris Hughes, one of the young founders of Facebook. His social secretary is Desirée Rogers, a glamorous Harvard MBA and former marketing executive. And David Axelrod, Obama's top adviser, was formerly a partner in ASK Public Strategies, a PR firm which, according to Business Week, "has quarterbacked campaigns" for everyone from Cablevision to AT&T. Together, the team has marshalled every tool in the modem marketing arsenal to create and sustain the Obama brand: the perfectly calibrated logo (sunrise over stars and stripes); expert viral marketing (Obama ringtones); product placement (Obama ads in sports video games); a 30-minute infomercial (which could have been cheesy but was universally heralded as "authentic"); and the choice of strategic brand alliances (Oprah for maximum reach, the Kennedy family for gravitas, and no end of hip-hop stars for street cred)."

So with a few minor cosmetic touch-ups (announcing the closure of GitMo, assigning first female Latina to Supreme Court, ceasing usage of 'war on terror' terminology), the Obama administration has seemingly undone all the damage of the Bush years.

The reality is "that Obama played the anti-war, anti-Wall Street party crasher to his grassroots base, which imagined itself leading an insurgency against the two-party monopoly through dogged organisation and donations gathered from lemonade stands and loose change found in the crevices of the couch. Meanwhile, he took more money from Wall Street than any other presidential candidate, swallowed the Democratic party establishment in one gulp after defeating Hillary Clinton, then pursued "bipartisanship" with crazed Republicans once in the White House."

Who was it who said that as much as things change, they stay the same?

I recorded this short clip as I was walking out of the Haram this past weekend. I couldn't pass up the shot of these workers washing the floor of the Haram with the Ka'aba in the background.

(I tried embedding the video directly here, but no go. Will keep trying. In the meanwhile, sorry for that extra click.)

My father never really beat me. When upset with me, he would either grab my ear and squeeze really hard or force me into the murghi (chicken) position.

(What’s that? You’ve never heard of the murghi? Oh you poor, deprived non-Desi soul. This quaint punishment imported from the Indian subcontinent requires the trouble child to squat down, loop arms under the knees, and grab hold of the ears - Hold position until father finishes eating dinner, wakes up from nap, or just forgets about you.)

So, I’ve never really considered any type of corporal punishment on my children. I would normally yell at them until they obeyed and if that didn’t work, I would resort to taking away some privilege (ie. grounding). For the most part, that worked with my older 11yr old daughter and my 9yr old son.

However, in the past year or so, Humza’s been getting a bit rebellious and isn’t too bothered with losing his privileges. He’s quite strong willed and if need be, he’s willing to sacrifice playing video games or going out in order to get his way. He’s slowly lost respect for our authority and has even had the gall to talk back a few times.

This had to stop. Immediately.

So, in the midst of one of these spats, he went too far and I decided enough was enough. I took him into the bathroom, laid him over my laps, and smacked him on his behind. His reaction? He let out an is-that-all-you-got? chuckle. I got even more upset and hit him as hard as I could. Nothing. His butt was simply too thick. I ended up stinging my hand with no effect whatsoever on the chubby offender.

After that mishap, I decided to simply start hitting him on the back of his hand whenever he would upset me or his mother.

But, his attitude wasn’t changing. In fact, I noticed him getting worse.

So I did what I should have done from the get-go and starting researching the matter. I quickly learned that Muslims have no real thought-out plan on raising a well-disciplined child. Most scholars and teachers provide generic advice on how to cultivate a righteous child, but nothing exists (that I could find) that details how to specifically deal with a problem child.

But wow! There's a plethora of documentation on the Christian side. I mean, these folks have it down to a science. They offer multiple approaches in great detail with alternative steps for varying situations. Amazing stuff!

Don’t get me wrong. I’m sure Muslims know what they’re doing - they just haven’t institutionalized it. We don’t write about it in our books or teach it in lectures.

Muslims just aren’t into counseling as an institution. We’re simply told to deal with the problem (whether it’s a rocky marriage or a tantrum toddler or a pubescent teen or an in-family squabble) according to the Quran and Sunnah. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that just doesn’t cut it.

And so, I found much enlightenment on how to deal with a child from the vast collection of Christian books and websites on the topic.

1. The most important lesson I learned was consistency. Establish a rule and stick to it. Initially, I would yell out some random rule (“No more eating in the family room”) and never follow through with it. This led to the kids losing respect for my rules or simply unable to keep track of the latest rule. I now have fewer rules, but am unswerving in enforcing them.

2. Another essential concept is called First Time Obedience (FTO), which stresses that the child should obey the parent the first time they hear a command. The parent should never repeat him/herself. In repeating , the parent is implicitly stating that it’s ok NOT to obey the first few times – and that obedience is required only upon repetition or when an ultimate threat is given (“If you don’t listen, I’m going to ground you!”).

3. One should never raise their voice when asking the child to obey them. Again, the child is learning that the first few times when the request was made in a normal voice, he isn’t required to act – and obedience is only required when the parent begins to yell.

4. Drop the stupid counting to three tactic. When you ask the child something, your request should be serious enough to warrant immediate attention. By counting to three, you’re telling them that the initial request wasn’t to be taken seriously.

5. Stop with the crazy threats (“I will ground you for one year if you hit your sister again”). Say you what you mean and mean what you say. Follow-through is most critical.

6. Be ready to outlast them. Children are very keen on testing the parents to find their breaking point. If the child puts his foot down, be ready for a long staring match. If you give in, all what you’ve worked for will go down the drain.

7. In carrying out an order, the child must do so with a proper attitude. Grumbling and pouting while doing so is unacceptable and must be repeated, but with a better attitude.

When it comes to punishment, timeouts and groundings may be effective in some cases, but the stick must always be kept as an option. There’s so much negativity out there against physically disciplining one’s child. Clearly there is a difference between beating a child to a pulp and smacking them as a means of discipline. But all too often, both get thrown around as being forms of child abuse. That’s too bad because a properly placed smack can go a long way in dealing with a problem child.

Personally, I’ve begun to use a small stick with a quick smack to the back of the calf as their punishment.

And here is what I learned about the stick:

1. Never hit the child in a state of anger. Always be in control of your emotions. If you’re upset, walk away and come back when you’ve cooled down.

2. Let them understand that the punishment is a direct result of their action. No need to lecture. Just be clear that they understand how they broke the rules.

3. Never hit the child to hurt. The smack should be a deterrent from which they learn, not a scar that causes humiliation or hatred.

4. Never hit in front of others. The punishment is not intended to embarrass the child.

5. Never make play of the punishment or the stick. Nothing to do with it is a joke and the children must realize that it’s very serious.

6. Never hit with your hand. The hand should be seen as a part of the parent and should symbolize care and love. Using a small stick is ideal.

7. Fight the urge to hug or caress them after the punishment. Don’t tell them that this hurts you more than it will hurt them. The parent needs to be strong in establishing the importance of his/her order.

8. Of course, there are appropriate ages for implementing these punishments. You can't hit a 2-yr old toddler and if you're hitting a 16-yr old, it's probably too late.

All that being said, I can’t emphasize enough the need for a loving environment in which the child sees the parents smiling and playing with them more often than punishing them.

Finally, I like how the Christian perspective links the parent-child obedience to the God-man obedience. God doesn’t repeat or count to three or yell - He simply states a command and expects it to be followed. We try to constantly remind them that following our orders is but a subset of following the orders of Allah (swt).

For you news junkies out there, here's a nice list of top 10 stories that snuck under the radar this past year.

Personally, I'm trying to cut down on the amount of news I absorb each day, as so much junk is out there.

Yay for me for ditching HuffPo from my list of daily reads! That site has gone down the tubes in the past year, resembling more a tabloid than a viable alternative to MSM. Even with Google News, I focus only on the World news as other useless sections clutter up their front page (Entertainment, Sports).

I'm finding this gluttony of information that the Internet has afforded us to be very unhealthy for my spiritual state. Is that a poor reflection on me or on the dismal value of the news?

Probably a bit of both.

Mrs. Jenkins* ruined me.

I wish I had never learned how the sunrise is a result of the Earth's rotation.

I wish I had never learned that earthquakes are caused by the movement of tectonic plates.

I wish I had never learned how rain comes from condensation of water vapor carried within clouds.

I wish I had never learned that lightning is the discharge of atmospheric electricity accumulated within clouds.

I wish I had never learned how seasons are a result of the Earth's orbit around the Sun.

I wish had never learned about the body's immune system, white blood cells and all that other physio-medical-biological crap.

Can you imagine how much sweeter my faith in Allah would have been if I attributed all these natural phenomena solely to His direct involvement in my life, instead of viewing them as some bio-chemical reactions?

Every sunrise would be a reminder how Allah has 'pulled' this blazing ball of fire out from the horizon.

Every deluge of rain would be an instant cause to run to prayer thanking Allah for the blessing.

Every earthquake or volcanic eruption would be an immediate reminder of Allah's power and wrath.

Sickness and health would be the domain of Allah, not doctors and pharmacists.

I'm convinced that pre-Industrial Age Muslims had a sweeter taste of Iman due to their lack of scientific knowledge. We may laugh off their ignorance and backwardness, but I'm sure they were stronger in Iman than most of us - they attributed all these mysterious occurrences in nature to God.

They had no other recourse. They didn't analyze and rationalize every single natural phenomenon.

They took them as communications from their Creator. The universe was one great blessing (or trial) after another.

Merely looking up at the sky would inspire immediate awe in them as how could Allah place above them this magical canopy without pillars or poles.

But for us, the sky is simply an empty vacuum we call space.

I imagine every spring renewing and re-energizing their faith by their mere witnessing of the dead plants coming back to life.

But not us - we see photosynthesis in action.

Just great.

Damn you Mrs. Jenkins.

*Original names have been altered to protect the identity of stupid 8th grade science teachers.

I just saw this work by artist Sandow Birk called the American Quran (h/t Calligraphy Qalam blog).

The project took five years (and counting?) and consists of Birk hand-transcribing the English Quran onto pages with paintings depicting life in America in the background.

My immediate reaction was 'Cool, another way of carving our own unique space into the American landscape.'

But then when I looked at the sample pics, I was turned off by certain imagery that clearly goes against "Quranic culture". Let's put aside the traditional Islamic stance against painting human images - for it can be argued that Muslim artists and miniaturists throughout the centuries partook in such forms of art.

What really offended me was seeing the translation of the Quran on a backdrop with a woman wearing a mini-skirt and another one breast-feeding her child. Blasphemous? No, not really. Such images are seen everywhere on a daily basis. But is it appropriate to place these images inside a work calling itself the American Quran?

What do the other pictures contain of the American lifestyle? Images from Spring Break in Daytona Beach? Maybe a scene inside a techno club in NYC? Or how about some fat-cat banker standing on Wall street holding up his million dollar bonus?

All images I would deem inappropriate inside a sacred text.

But then again, it *is* art, no? And as they say, 'All's fair in love and art'.

And the various pictures of dogs struck me as a bit odd, especially from someone who, according to his bio, "traveled extensively through the Islamic world, visiting several of the most populous Muslim nations".

You'd think he would've picked up on the small fact that mini-skirts and dogs are a bit taboo in most Muslim cultures. But I guess I'm projecting a non-American version of Muslim culture onto his interpretation of an American-Muslim culture.

I wonder if he's implying that an American instance of the Muslim culture will find these pictures acceptable.

Am I being overly sensitive?

"Whoever reads a letter from the Book of Allah, he will have a reward. And that reward will be multiplied by ten. I am not saying that “Alif, Laam, Meem” is a letter, rather I am saying that “Alif” is a letter, “laam” is a letter and “meem” is a letter.” So increase your recitation of the Qur’an to gain these merits, and to gain the following merit as well." (Prophetic Teaching)

I was raised in a traditional Pakistani home. No, we didn't eat Pratha every morning. I’m talking about our relationship with the Quran.

My siblings and I learned to read the Quran in our early childhood, memorizing large portions, enabling us to recite at extremely high speeds – all the while never understanding a word. I was taught of the immense rewards for reciting the Quran and so I dutifully complied, reading as much as possible in an attempt to accumulate good deeds.

Later, when I went away to college, rationality found its way into my religion. I figured it made no sense that I was reading something I didn’t understand. I felt strongly, as many college students do when it comes to their under-developed thoughts, that reciting the Quran without understanding was a completely worthless endeavor.

And as many immature individuals are wont to do, I began to look down on those who differed from my newfound approach. I would pity the Bangladeshi man whizzing through his Quran recitation or arrogantly correct my aged Aunt who would dash through her litany of nightly dhikr.

I figured the only way to benefit from any act of worship is by *intellectually* internalizing it and this required a competent level of understanding what was being recited and contemplating over it.

I extended this line of thought to my dhikr. In my childhood I would witness my elder relatives whirring through their post-prayer dhikr (Subhan’Allah 33x, Alhamdul’Ilah 33x, and AllahuAkbar 34x) and naturally I adopted their methodology. However, in my college years, I felt dhikr performed at the speed of light was fruitless and instead opted for a more sedate approach, choosing to recite less and ponder more.

So while I used to rush to finish reciting the Quran during the 30 days of Ramadan, I chose instead to read less with an emphasis on studying the translation. Similarly, I stopped sprinting through my dhikr and lessened the load, reciting each term 5 or 6 times, focusing on the meaning rather than reciting it exactly 33 times.

I convinced myself that intellectual comprehension was the key to spiritual bliss.

After all, that is the only way to internalize worship, no? Through understanding, contemplation, and deep reflection, right?

Ahh, the rotten fruits of modern secular thought.

Thankfully, I've been blessed to be in the company of people who have freed themselves from these chains of backwards thinking.

I’ve learned that great spiritual blessings (barakah) are found in reciting the Quran and doing dhikr, regardless of the intellect's ability to process the content. As long as the heart and soul are focused on Allah (swt), the blessings of partaking in these blessed acts are beyond our measly rationale.

I now understand how special Godly individuals are able to recite the entire Quran in one week or three days or even one day. I understand how some select few are able to recite the Tahlil (La-Illaha-il-Allah) thousands of times each day.

For the heart moves at a pace which the brain can simply not maintain.

Blessings are not derived purely from understanding. The Prophet (saw) even said so.

When he taught us that reciting each letter of the Quran will bring about 10 blessings, the examples he gave – the beginning letters of Sura Baqarah (Alif, Lam, Mim) – are universally accepted as being beyond the understanding of man.

So according to our beloved Master, blessings reside in the recitation of something we will *never* understand.

Now, does this mean that we needn't ponder and reflect on what is being recited? Of course not.

I am simply stating that we mustn't belittle those speeding along the fast lane of the spiritual highway, without a care for their intellectually mandated speed limits.

As you all may know, I'm not on the best of terms with the folks over at Brass Crescents Awards. That is, until now!

I got the following from their legal department:

From: Our Legal Department
To: Naeem
Re: Your complaints

We have come to know of your recent tirade and are unaffected by your childish rants. The BCA has a long history of supporting blogs of the highest standards, dead and alive. That should suffice to explain why your effort has remained absent from our nomination forms.

Nonetheless, the truth of the matter is that your blog has been ineligible due to the Honorary Judge status conferred upon your kind self. We at the BCA secretly awarded you this status several years ago, which subsequently disqualified you from any future participation. We hope you understand that this honorary status trumps any BC award you could have possibly won. Please believe us.

As an honorary judge, your vote is of the utmost importance. We hope that you can review the winners of this year's awards and give us your opinion. Since Internet communication is not very secure, we will call you to get your votes. Yeah, just wait for us to call you.

We will then incorporate that into our system and adjust the tallies accordingly. We promise.

Again, we hope this clears up any possible misunderstandings.

Now, if you could kindly refrain from referring to us with feces-related names ("poopie-heads", "Brass Crap awards", "Brass DooDoo awards"), we would be much obliged.

So, there you go folks. It's official - the only reason I wasn't nominated is because I'm a secret judge! Yay for secrecy in the judiciary!

But I have my nagging doubts. I think it may be a big hoax.

I just can't imagine a legal document casually addressing me with my first name. Just doesn't make sense. Besides that, everything else makes total sense to me. I mean, I would make a perfect judge. My wife's always telling me how judgmental I am.

I've written before on the importance of reclaiming Jihad, but I've noticed a recent trend and felt it worthy to revisit the subject.

It has become commonplace in the current political climate for Muslims to regularly define (and sometimes redefine) the concept of Jihad. As I see it, there are three popular approaches, all factually correct, but functionally useless to those aspiring to holistically actualize this sixth pillar of Islam.

First, there are those who are keen to denounce blatant acts of terror and violence and disassociate said acts from the venerable principle of Jihad. This approach basically provides us with a clear definition of what Jihad is NOT.

That's all fine and well, but it fails to answer the obvious follow-up question - If that isn't Jihad, then what is?

The other popular trend is to emphasize the internal aspects of Jihad - the spiritual battle with the nafs (ego). Surely, you will find no greater proponent of this concept than this writer. The nafs is truly one of the greatest obstacles to pleasing our Creator.

However, this fails to address the outward needs of man. While struggling to purify our inner selves, we cannot turn a blind eye to the filth surrounding ourselves. The flood of secular hedonism is overtaking our homes yet we are busy with spring cleaning and interior decorating.

Finally, you find those focused on the spiritual Jihad responding to the claim that their ilk has abandoned the physical Jihad by waxing poetically on the glorious history of Sufi Mujahideen.

While this history is impressive to say the least, it says nothing about current day teachers of Tasawwuf and their inadequate approach to Jihad. Far too many of those calling to the ways of the inimitable Hasan al-Basri and Abdullah ibn Mubarak have become derelict with their obligations towards Jihad.

While countless awliyah of the past sufficed themselves with focusing on the inner self, content with the basic framework for "Islamic" governance provided by the sultans, emirs, and caliphs - the same cannot be said for today's situation wherein the Shariah has been shredded apart and relegated to the private domain. Yet, these spiritual inheritors of ibn Arabi and Imam Ghazali remain blind to contemporary political realities, choosing the route of passivity and non-interventionism.

Sadly, very few out there are interested in negotiating a balanced approach to Jihad that finds one combating the oppressions of the nafs while equally turning back the oppressive hands of the tyrant.

Well, it's actually four, if you wanna include mine here. Cuz after all, it really is *my* post that is highlighting the beauty of these other three, so mine is actually the most beautiful of all, no?

Moving on...

1. Tim points out the frustrations of "the perpetual oscillation between right and wrong curtailing my spiritual growth".

Such ingratitude we display in our regular commission of sins and the even greater ingratitude we perpetrate by sinning after having begged Allah for His forgiveness!

As I commented on his blog, how I wish that I could live out all my hedonistic tendencies and carry out all my sins and then once and for all, return to my Lord with the utmost sincerity, instead of playing this back-and-forth game of sinning and repenting.

But then I'm reminded of the numerous ahadith detailing how Allah (swt) loves to forgive his repentant servants - one hadith going so far as to state that if mankind were to cease sinning, Allah (swt) would destroy them and bring back another people who would sin and seek His forgiveness.

So I'm in the clear, right?

Not really, I say to my silly self. All those teachings on repentance and Allah's forgiveness are geared to those who make sincere taubah (repentance), not the wishy-washy version that I put forth every other day, which finds me scheming my next sin before my crocodile tears have even dried.

That's why I wish I could simply accrue my mountain of sins and then turn to Allah with an unbreakable promise to never return to that wretched lifestyle ever again.

2. al-Kakazai writes about frivolous talk at the Dar-al-Hadith blog.

How often do we find ourselves in a sitting, discussing matters that are of absolutely no benefit? Dare I say too often?

I have partaken in numerous such occasions and I must confess that I get up from such gatherings feeling spiritually exhausted and weakened. Nary a mention of Allah (swt) or His bountiful blessings. How odd!

Socialization for the pure sake of entertainment is a very strange phenomenon.
So is conversation for the pure sake of passing time.

3. Baraka reminds me of the countless prayers that I've pleaded to my Lord, so many of which He has eventually answered, and I, in turn, have so callously forgotten to acknowledge these divine favors.

"We ask and we ask and we ask of God, and then forget that we did so, or forget to even thank Him when our prayers are answered."

So, it's that time of year. No, I'm not talking about Hajj or Eid - this is more important. I'm referring to the annual "Let's take a collective dump on Naeem" Brass Crescent awards.

Another year has come and another year has gone in which the good folks at the Brass DooDoo awards overlooked my online presence. (Read about past travesties here and here)

In fact, their treachery has sunken to new lows this year - they added a category for dead blogs!! Its like they're saying that I can't even compete against a corpse.

Really? I mean, was that even necessary? Aziz, did you really have to go there?

Well, if they're going to go this far, it's only fair they should create a category for Resuscitated Blogs, as mine was dead for 4 months and then it miraculously came back to life. In fact, that's more reason to celebrate and give me some sort of award.

Anything?

To be honest, I've moved on from those poopie-heads. The folks at BC wouldn't know blogging beauty if it kicked them in their aRSS.

So this year, I am going to officially make blogging-takfir of these folks. They're all dead to me. As of 0700hours GMT, they will all be removed from my blogroll.

What's that? They were never on your blogroll to begin with, you say. Well, in that case, I'm gonna double remove them and so I guess, that means...I have to...hmmmm...add them?? Well, that just doesn't make sense, does it?

Whatever.

Truth is, I have too many blogging awards and am thankful that I needn't worry about some cheesy BC award. Folks are running over each other to give me awards...it's like so weird. Like this guy here. I got his Gold Star award for having too much time on my hand...not sure what that means, but it must be good cuz it's a Gold Star.

Anyways, I'm taking my 13 loyal readers and going to play elsewhere. You folks have no idea how high I can fly.

Remember that scene in Braveheart, before the first battle, when William Wallace gave his stirring speech to the mistrustful masses. When confronted by a skeptic who declared that he would rather run from the battlefield and live than fight an impossible battle and die, Wallace countered:

"Aye, fight and you may die. Run, and you'll live... at least a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willin' to trade ALL the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take... OUR FREEDOM!"

Well, I fear we have all become like that ragtag army of weak-minded, indecisive characters.

For too long, many of us have been unwilling to commit to a cause in which we believe. I speak from experience while also, presumptuously, speaking for many of you out there.

Let me explain.

Over the years, I have dabbled with various movements, from Tablighi Jamaat to Jamaati Islami to Hizbu-Tahrir to Tanzeem Islami to so many other acronym-based organizations. I have introduced myself to numerous spiritual brotherhoods such as the Naqshabandi, Shadhili, and Ba-Alawi. And I even started up my own lttle group, the Muslim Kids Club, a Baltimore effort geared towards kids aged 7-12.

I'm a proto-typical Muslim-movement 'playa', sleeping around with so many while never having the guts to fully commit to any one of them - all the while thinking myself to be balanced and mainstream, looking down on the "one-trick ponies" who've naively giving up everything for that lonely cause of their choice.

But I fear my hidden trepidation and not-so-hidden pomposity has failed me.

No true success can ever come from sitting on the sidelines. And here I am sitting in the stands watching the single most important match, that of haqq (truth) vs batil (falsehood), scared to enter the competition, content with my sissie pom-poms.

I have for too long straddled the fence between activity and passivity, between commitment and lethargy.

Neither living for a cause nor dying for it - just going through the motions with noncommittal activism mixed with feigned piety.

Not sure why, but I have a theory.

We have become a content people, lacking vigor and fire. We have adopted industry standard best-practices in risk management. Like a prudent fund manager, we have diversified our portfolios in hopes of minimizing our risks. We have become living examples of the adage 'Paralysis through Over-analysis'. With our safe 9-5 jobs, guaranteed pensions, and retirement plans, we have adopted a psyche fearful of taking risks and making commitment.

And this fear has seeped into our religious endeavors.

After all, we convince ourselves, you'll never suffer the ignominy of divorce if you never get married. You'll never experience the bitter pain of a broken heart if you never fall in love. Right?

But what sort of existence is that?

Truth is that sleeping around is very dangerous - and that is equally applicable to the religious realm as it is to the physical world.

It's time to throw caution to the wind and do away with our 'judicious restraint'.

It's time we moved beyond the safe confines of our comfort zones and trudged into the realm of sacrifice and struggle.

Whether it be going out for 40 days with Tablighi Jamaat (and thereafter committing one's life to the cause) or giving baya'a to Dr Israr Ahmed or diving headfirst into one's local Ikhwan chapter or joining a Sufi silsila (brotherhood), let us all put our money where our mouth is.

Let us stop dilly-dallying.

that the 10 most blessed days of the year are upon us. Try and take advantage of them.

While so many of us are keen to perform extra acts of worship in the last 10 nights of Ramadan, we are too lax when it comes to these 10 days of Dhul-Hijja.

Let us make this year different.

You can start by reading this and this.

what an agent provocateur looks like? Well, dear reader, wonder no more!

Yours truly has uncovered rare footage of not one, but TWO of these elusive creatures in the wild:



Seriously, these guys can't seriously expect us to take them seriously.

Seriously??

I don't even know where to begin. I could take the more serious route and present the Islamic argument on where they have strayed. Or I could simply treat them like Larry, Mo, and Curly and expose them for the stooges they really are.

Hmmmmm....that's a tough one.

I'll choose Entrapment Stooges for $300, Alex.

First off, the poor saps are trying their darndest to convince Joe SixPack of their Muslim extremist credentials. One of them swears his love for OBL, going so far as to declare that he loves OBL more than himself! (huh?!) And when the topic of Israel comes up, he's able to inject the famous Mahmoud Ahmadinejad line of wiping it off the map.

Impressive - both OBL and Ahmadinejad referenced in one interview. Bogeyman caricaturing has never been so easy. Oh wait, I forgot to mention their donning of the keffiyeh. No Muslim stereotype is complete without it!

Then his buddy goes on about how the Quran commands Muslims to terrorize all non-Muslims, even quoting the exact word in Arabic (with impressive pronunciation I might add). But I'm extremely disappointed that Agent McFly failed to quote the more fiery verse of 'slay them wherever you find them.'

Tsk, tsk. The researchers back at base must have slept on this one.

In their defense, they've done a respectable job in presenting themselves as 'real' Muslims to the larger Muslim community. With their smooth Arabic, requisite elements for the hardcore Islamic look (bushy beard, kufi and keffiyah), limited knowledge of the Quran and Hadith (I liked their twist on the famous hadith where Umar swears his love for the Prophet (saw) by stating that he loves the Prophet more than himself, but this goof instead swears by Allah that he loves OBL more than himself) - these guys present just enough a veneer of Muslim thugishness to bedazzle, bewilder, and be-stupefy* the masses.

Finally, one of them admits to having (coincidentally) known the young Muslims Americans involved in three separate cases dealing with plots to carry out terrorist acts. But he washes his hands of them when he declares "I would not do it myself."

Of course not. Your job is to entice, enlist, and entrap.

These jokers are the GWoT equivalent of IT honeypots - Fake computing systems designed to bait hackers so IT security surveillance teams can collect information on the latest hacking techniques.

The only fools who would take these schmucks seriously are naive Americans and even more naive young Muslims.

...(pause to think)...

Oh crap!
---

*My made up word. I couldn't think of another word starting with 'be'

Stuck in a crumbling marriage with Billy Bob, poor Mary Lou is constantly wavering between the lows of physical violence and the highs of sweet love - abundantly showered on her by a suddenly remorseful husband.

While she knows that Billy Bob loves her to death, a fact unrealized by her friends and family, she fears those moments when his inner demons incite him to let loose on her petite frame.

Like that evening last weekend, when little Johnny broke daddy's favorite beer mug. Mary Lou pleaded in vain, begging her high school sweetheart to simply buy another mug. But the backlash was swift and severe. Billy Bob’s eyes turned bright red and with one fell swoop, he planted Mary Lou on her back with a deep blue bruise on her side to serve as memorabilia.

Or like the time two weeks ago, when Betty Sue from down the street dropped by for an unannounced visit. While she may be as nice as apple pie on a Sunday afternoon, Betty Sue just doesn't know when to quit talking. So she ended up leaving right before Billy Bob came home, causing Mary Lou to rush dinner; and in her haste, she burned the casserole.

Billy Bob didn’t take too kindly to the sentiment. She tried to explain that Betty Sue the neighborhood chatterbox had come over unexpectedly but that only increased his fury, resulting in a ferocious slap to the back and a quick punch to the face.

Pastor Buck has regularly provided them with counseling, constantly calling on Billy Bob to withhold quick judgments and temper his anger – but to no avail. The beating has only intensified at every perceived slight to his fragile manhood.

Mayor Jones even got involved, at the behest of Mary Lou’s mother. But no bigwig from Town Hall, driving a big car and spouting even bigger words in some official statement is changin’ Billy Bob’s wayward ways.

Mary Lou’s family has consistently pleaded for her to leave the scoundrel. The gifts he showers you with are no consolation for the misery he has heaped upon you, they cry. But she keeps holding out, in hopes that next time Billy Bob’s tears will be genuine and his promise to rehabilitate himself will be legitimate.

*****

The more I think about it, the more I can’t help but compare the plight of the American Muslim community to the sufferings of poor Mary Lou.

In the postmortem analysis of the tragic shootings in Texas, the situation bears an uncanny resemblance to the tension felt moments before an abusive husband’s foreseeable outburst:

1. An unfortunate incident involving Muslims has lit the fire in the American landscape with media talking heads inciting the masses to question every American Muslims' loyalties.

2. Leaders of the Muslim community have come out with all sorts of statements in hopes of forestalling an Islamophobic backlash.

3. Politicians and religious leaders have released official statements calling on the American community to temper bottled-up frustrations and withhold judging the wider Muslim American community.

4. All the while, American Muslims are legitimately fearful of the impending backlash from the wider American citizenry with whom they wish simply to coexist peacefully.

And this sad cycle has repeated itself countless number of times since the inception of the Global War on Terror.

So the question remains – Should Mary Lou leave this roller coaster relationship with Billy Bob or cling to the hope that they can find a way to coexist and maybe even live happily ever after?

A beautiful exchange between two special lovers of Allah (swt):

Imam Jafar as-Sadiq asked the famous saint Shaqiq al-Balkhi about the affairs of his people.

Shaqiq al-Balkhi replied, 'They are well. When they receive from the blessings of Allah (swt), they are thankful. And when they are tested with difficulty, they bear patiently.'

Imam Jafar frowned, replying 'Such is the state of dogs.'

And he continued, 'The state of true believers is that when they are showered with Allah's blessings, they give. And when they are tested, they are thankful.'

I scoff at the mere suggestion, reminding myself of the various injunctions of Allah (swt) and His messenger (saw) that not only make certain forms of combat necessary, but commendable. How can any sane Muslim ever consider all forms of war to be criminal, especially when our Creator has stated, "Fighting is prescribed upon you and you dislike it. However, it may be that you dislike a thing which is good for you..."(2:216)?

The Prophet took part in many battles and he surely was no criminal! So who are we to suggest that war become a criminal act, worthy of universal condemnation?

Of course, when I bring up the criminality of war as discussed in contemporary forums, I am looking at it less from secular, international standards and more from Islamic juristic rulings. So, in reality, my question may be better phrased - Should war be Haram?

My concern arises from a recent talk given by Mahathir Mohammad on the call to criminalize war (YouTube link).

While he didn't express any earth-shattering points in his short talk, it struck me while listening that war in the 21st century is entirely different from how warfare was conducted in the past. So maybe it *is* time that we reconsider the Islamic ruling on war as its carried out in this day and age.

After all, Muslims universally reject modern-day slavery - not because slavery never existed in Islamic history, but because the form in which it has been practiced in recent history is abominable and would have been deemed inhumane and clearly Haram by our beloved Prophet (saw).

Why can't the same logic be applied to modern warfare?

After giving it some thought, I seriously believe that our perfect model Muhammad (saw) would reject all forms of modern warfare. The indiscriminate killing by missiles and drones, the unfathomable harm caused by multi-ton bombs, the ability to destroy an entire nation in a matter of hours, environmental damage beyond control - all stand in stark contrast to every teaching of the Prophetic concept of war.

Surely some will counter with the verse in the Quran "Make ready against them whatever force and war mounts you are able to muster, so that you might deter thereby the enemies of God" (8:60) as a justification to using modern military equipment, including nuclear.

But the problem with the nuclear deterrence argument is that one must be fully prepared to make good on one's threat. And Islamically, I'm just not comfortable with that possibility.

On the other hand, I understand that traditional scholars, such as Abu Hanifa, justified the usage of flooding or poisoning water sources as legitimate tools in war. But c'mon, the scope of such tactics pale in comparison to the ridiculous damage that can be inflicted by the military arsenal at our disposal in the 21st century.

No, I haven't become a pacifist. I firmly believe that force is necessary to bring about justice and truth. It's just that the current form in which this force is wielded has got me thinking twice about its permissibility in our deen.