In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.
51. The answer of the believers when summoned to Allah and God's messenger, in order that he may judge between them, is no other than this: "We hear and we obey." It is such as these that will attain felicity.
52. It is such as obey Allah and God's messenger, and fear Allah and do right, that will win.
53. They swear their strongest oaths by Allah that, if only you would command them, they would deploy. Say, "Swear you not. Obedience is reasonable. Verily, Allah is well-acquainted with all that you do."
54. Say, "Obey Allah, and obey the messenger. But if you turn away, he is only responsible for the duty placed on him, and you for that placed on you. If you obey him, you shall be on right guidance. The messenger's duty is only to preach the clear."
55. Allah has promised to those among you who believe and work righteous deeds that God will, of a surety, grant them in the land inheritance as God granted it to those before them; that God will establish in authority their religion, the one which God has chosen for them; and that God will change the fear of theirs to one of security and peace. They will worship God and not associate any with God. If any do reject Faith after this, they are rebellious and wicked.
The Light 24:51-55
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Swear you not. Obedience is reasonable. Verily, Allah is well-acquainted with all that you do.
Obey Allah, and obey the messenger. But if you turn away, he is only responsible for the duty placed on him, and you for that placed on you. If you obey him, you shall be on right guidance. The messenger's duty is only to preach the clear.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
Letter to Julia 20120221
In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.
YOOOOOLIIIIIIEEEEEEEE!
Hello again today, my beloved Julia! Are you working hard? I saw some of your Victoria's Secret buddies over at the opening of the Victoria's Secret store at the international airport. Well, actually, I saw them in an old newspaper clipping. Yeah, it is old news, but the Qur'an is more accurate and up-to-date than the newspaper, so I live my life of what God says, insyaAllah. Anyway, I think it's a great idea to put a store at the airport. I don't have to go into the city to buy my underwear! Well, I don't wear lingerie anymore. I don't pass anymore, so I don't bother with trying to look pretty. What's the point of wearing dainty underwear when you're built like a chimpanzee?
It must be tiring for your friends to have to fly all the way out here for a store opening. I'm glad that you didn't have to: please remember our goal, which is to SLOW DOWN. That's because you are my princess, and when we are married insyaAllah, we will be going everywhere together, so be prepared and bring your prayer apparel, so we can pray and run at the mosques. I find that even though I'm just a songbird in a cage, I have tons to do to maintain my cage! And when you are here with me insyaAllah, there will be tons to do together to maintain our cage.
Thus, I find myself busy everyday, doing mundane things, doing things for music and beauty, and doing things for Allah. I even have to schedule time to be lazy. I really need an Internet connection at home. It's not that I would babble everyday because I'm not the talkative type, and I would rather have you with me here. But it would be nice not to have to drive all the way to town to the Internet cafe. I'm sooooooo backed up with work to do on the Internet. Aaaaaagh!
YOOOOOLIIIIIIEEEEEEEE!
Hello again today, my beloved Julia! Are you working hard? I saw some of your Victoria's Secret buddies over at the opening of the Victoria's Secret store at the international airport. Well, actually, I saw them in an old newspaper clipping. Yeah, it is old news, but the Qur'an is more accurate and up-to-date than the newspaper, so I live my life of what God says, insyaAllah. Anyway, I think it's a great idea to put a store at the airport. I don't have to go into the city to buy my underwear! Well, I don't wear lingerie anymore. I don't pass anymore, so I don't bother with trying to look pretty. What's the point of wearing dainty underwear when you're built like a chimpanzee?
It must be tiring for your friends to have to fly all the way out here for a store opening. I'm glad that you didn't have to: please remember our goal, which is to SLOW DOWN. That's because you are my princess, and when we are married insyaAllah, we will be going everywhere together, so be prepared and bring your prayer apparel, so we can pray and run at the mosques. I find that even though I'm just a songbird in a cage, I have tons to do to maintain my cage! And when you are here with me insyaAllah, there will be tons to do together to maintain our cage.
Thus, I find myself busy everyday, doing mundane things, doing things for music and beauty, and doing things for Allah. I even have to schedule time to be lazy. I really need an Internet connection at home. It's not that I would babble everyday because I'm not the talkative type, and I would rather have you with me here. But it would be nice not to have to drive all the way to town to the Internet cafe. I'm sooooooo backed up with work to do on the Internet. Aaaaaagh!
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Letter to Julia 20120220
In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.
It sure rained heavily yesterday. It had been so stupendously hot lately, and yesterday was hot too, that I was shocked at the amount of water that came down. Thw weather can sure change quickly, Julia. So much for human superiority. So today, I didn't have to water my flowers as I usually do before sunset, even though it was another hot day. I sat in the yard and just watched the sky. And right before my eyes, the weather started to change. The bright sun was being washed away by a sudden storm. The clouds up high were moving soooo fast Julia, faster than any airplane I've seen travel. I could see the clouds swirling and swirling around, but there was no hail. Not yet. I knew I had to shut the windows on the east facade of the house, but I was still shocked at the fury of the wind that blew the torrents of water that hammered that side of the house. Even with the windows shut, a lot of water was blown into the house, and I had much mopping to do. Even little Chee Cheah had to run and hide at the other side of the house. But the storm stopped just shy of sunset, and the sun came out again but only for a few minutes. Then it started to rain lightly, and it's still raining right now at 10pm.
Talk about the weather! Well, I could talk about chickens and wild dogs, but they're not my chickens: I just have to tolerate them, in the name of love and compassion. The dogs don't belong to me, either. They belong to Allah. Everything belongs to Allah.
It sure rained heavily yesterday. It had been so stupendously hot lately, and yesterday was hot too, that I was shocked at the amount of water that came down. Thw weather can sure change quickly, Julia. So much for human superiority. So today, I didn't have to water my flowers as I usually do before sunset, even though it was another hot day. I sat in the yard and just watched the sky. And right before my eyes, the weather started to change. The bright sun was being washed away by a sudden storm. The clouds up high were moving soooo fast Julia, faster than any airplane I've seen travel. I could see the clouds swirling and swirling around, but there was no hail. Not yet. I knew I had to shut the windows on the east facade of the house, but I was still shocked at the fury of the wind that blew the torrents of water that hammered that side of the house. Even with the windows shut, a lot of water was blown into the house, and I had much mopping to do. Even little Chee Cheah had to run and hide at the other side of the house. But the storm stopped just shy of sunset, and the sun came out again but only for a few minutes. Then it started to rain lightly, and it's still raining right now at 10pm.
Talk about the weather! Well, I could talk about chickens and wild dogs, but they're not my chickens: I just have to tolerate them, in the name of love and compassion. The dogs don't belong to me, either. They belong to Allah. Everything belongs to Allah.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Letter to Julia 20120218
In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.
Hi there, sweet Julia! My, I can sense that you are extra intense lately. Hey, I like you that way, my intensely gorgeous girl! Go ahead and scare them. You turn me on!
I found some clams last Wednesday evening at the night market. Good sized ones too, with no sand! The great thing about clams is the broth: that's the juice inside the living clam before it opens up from being cooked. I fried up the little suckers in a wok using a touch of my Mom's recipe, namely some chilli sauce (if you've forgotten, chilli sauce is tomato ketchup with chilli flavoring). But theoretically, you can fry it up in anything, because what gives the flavor is the clam broth. Make sure you cook clams to death! Or more practically, until every single one of those bad boys is wide open. The broth generated in this session was particularly intense, so I couldn't slurp up all that soup: I could only dip my clam into the broth like a spoon and suck out the meat. I didn't waste the leftover broth, though. I froze it and used it the next day to make fried noodles. Ah, what mild but flavorful fried noodles! It almost tasted like a pasta salad. Clam broth becomes poisonous quickly, so please make sure you use it all up immediately! I offered some noodles to my Mom, but she refused. One thing about my Mom, she's the most competitive cook in the world.
Well, I'm going to go enjoy some ice cream now. You take care of yourself, my beautiful dearest, and please maintain your prayers. I'll be here waiting in all chastity for the day when Allah allows me the means to marry you. I love you, Julia.
Hi there, sweet Julia! My, I can sense that you are extra intense lately. Hey, I like you that way, my intensely gorgeous girl! Go ahead and scare them. You turn me on!
I found some clams last Wednesday evening at the night market. Good sized ones too, with no sand! The great thing about clams is the broth: that's the juice inside the living clam before it opens up from being cooked. I fried up the little suckers in a wok using a touch of my Mom's recipe, namely some chilli sauce (if you've forgotten, chilli sauce is tomato ketchup with chilli flavoring). But theoretically, you can fry it up in anything, because what gives the flavor is the clam broth. Make sure you cook clams to death! Or more practically, until every single one of those bad boys is wide open. The broth generated in this session was particularly intense, so I couldn't slurp up all that soup: I could only dip my clam into the broth like a spoon and suck out the meat. I didn't waste the leftover broth, though. I froze it and used it the next day to make fried noodles. Ah, what mild but flavorful fried noodles! It almost tasted like a pasta salad. Clam broth becomes poisonous quickly, so please make sure you use it all up immediately! I offered some noodles to my Mom, but she refused. One thing about my Mom, she's the most competitive cook in the world.
Well, I'm going to go enjoy some ice cream now. You take care of yourself, my beautiful dearest, and please maintain your prayers. I'll be here waiting in all chastity for the day when Allah allows me the means to marry you. I love you, Julia.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Letter to Julia 20120216
In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.
How are you feeling, my darling Julia? How's it like to be a rock and roll princess? Oh, so many of those people admire your purity in beauty, my beloved. Allah does purify whom Allah wills, so make sure you give God the credit.
It's really hard to achieve purity and simplicity in cooking when using leftovers, especially someone else's leftovers. Purity and simplicity combined is the key to cooking food that doesn't give food poisoning. But sometimes we are forced to use up the leftovers, so with leftovers the key to good cooking is neutralization. Ya ya!
Anyway, there's been an abundance of sliced cheese and cream cheese in my cooler lately, so I've been enjoying cheeseburgers and steak and cheese sandwiches. Alhamdulillah. I also had some oyster mushrooms and broccoli, so I thought I would try to make cream of chicken, broccoli and mushroom soup. It tasted OK, but I feel it would have been better if I had made cream of chicken or cream of broccoli or cream of mushroom soup instead. Simplicity!
Anyway, especially now you have become such the center of attention, you must lower your gaze and guard your modesty, and not try to draw attention to your beauty and ornaments. While this is true for all Muslim women, it is especially unnecessary for you to exhibit yourself. Those who love to see scandal broadcast all over the world will get stomped on eventually. You just make sure you don't stoke the gossip by showing off your bosom etc. Forget the past, and be the princess now and forever.
How are you feeling, my darling Julia? How's it like to be a rock and roll princess? Oh, so many of those people admire your purity in beauty, my beloved. Allah does purify whom Allah wills, so make sure you give God the credit.
It's really hard to achieve purity and simplicity in cooking when using leftovers, especially someone else's leftovers. Purity and simplicity combined is the key to cooking food that doesn't give food poisoning. But sometimes we are forced to use up the leftovers, so with leftovers the key to good cooking is neutralization. Ya ya!
Anyway, there's been an abundance of sliced cheese and cream cheese in my cooler lately, so I've been enjoying cheeseburgers and steak and cheese sandwiches. Alhamdulillah. I also had some oyster mushrooms and broccoli, so I thought I would try to make cream of chicken, broccoli and mushroom soup. It tasted OK, but I feel it would have been better if I had made cream of chicken or cream of broccoli or cream of mushroom soup instead. Simplicity!
Anyway, especially now you have become such the center of attention, you must lower your gaze and guard your modesty, and not try to draw attention to your beauty and ornaments. While this is true for all Muslim women, it is especially unnecessary for you to exhibit yourself. Those who love to see scandal broadcast all over the world will get stomped on eventually. You just make sure you don't stoke the gossip by showing off your bosom etc. Forget the past, and be the princess now and forever.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Letter to Julia 20120213
In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.
As you know my beloved, beautiful sweetheart, everyday is a day of love and romance, and I love you each and every day. And it's all the same day anyway, and today I pledge my love to you, and I want to marry you, and live and be in love and happiness with you in this life as well as the hereafter, insyaAllah. I put my faith in Allah for God to grant us everlasting love everyday, and I don't need some "saint" to tell me to love you once every year.
The Qur'an places strict guidelines for the relationship between a man and a woman. After all, the love thereof is sacred, right? For example, in cases of fornication, 4 witnesses must be produced to prove that the chaste woman is guilty. God's rules in the Qur'an are perfect, after all, it is all to easy to revert to an animal state, especially in matters of lust, sex, greed and revenge. Many humans and humanists would argue the Qur'an's laws of relationships are archaic, but are these people really as advanced or progressive as they think they are? Could it be that they wish to intellectualize and legalize their animal state? Women seem to be getting more and more naked in public each passing day. Isn't freedom of choice actually the right to dance naked in the streets and the right to throw unwanted babies into the trash? No, today we have abortion. How compassionate and humanistic. Sure, there are the victims of rape. As the rapist follows his animal lust, so do some other people wish to protect their choice to follow their animal lust. How is that connected to abortion? But this is not a discussion of abortion: it's about the relationship between a man and a woman. Oh, but to be human is to have options! It's kind of like choosing to be born. Meanwhile, I chose celibacy to honor our sacred love.
So many people exalt love over all, being swept away and consumed by their emotions and all that, and succumbing to confusion instigated by the devil in the matter of the relationship between a man and a woman, and the sanctity of thus in respect to our relationship with God. But the devil can be beaten at his own game. Please be constantly aware! And seek protection with Allah from Satan, the rejected. I would have never met you if it had not been for the mercy of of Allah. Thus, I wish for Allah to bless our love.
As you know my beloved, beautiful sweetheart, everyday is a day of love and romance, and I love you each and every day. And it's all the same day anyway, and today I pledge my love to you, and I want to marry you, and live and be in love and happiness with you in this life as well as the hereafter, insyaAllah. I put my faith in Allah for God to grant us everlasting love everyday, and I don't need some "saint" to tell me to love you once every year.
The Qur'an places strict guidelines for the relationship between a man and a woman. After all, the love thereof is sacred, right? For example, in cases of fornication, 4 witnesses must be produced to prove that the chaste woman is guilty. God's rules in the Qur'an are perfect, after all, it is all to easy to revert to an animal state, especially in matters of lust, sex, greed and revenge. Many humans and humanists would argue the Qur'an's laws of relationships are archaic, but are these people really as advanced or progressive as they think they are? Could it be that they wish to intellectualize and legalize their animal state? Women seem to be getting more and more naked in public each passing day. Isn't freedom of choice actually the right to dance naked in the streets and the right to throw unwanted babies into the trash? No, today we have abortion. How compassionate and humanistic. Sure, there are the victims of rape. As the rapist follows his animal lust, so do some other people wish to protect their choice to follow their animal lust. How is that connected to abortion? But this is not a discussion of abortion: it's about the relationship between a man and a woman. Oh, but to be human is to have options! It's kind of like choosing to be born. Meanwhile, I chose celibacy to honor our sacred love.
So many people exalt love over all, being swept away and consumed by their emotions and all that, and succumbing to confusion instigated by the devil in the matter of the relationship between a man and a woman, and the sanctity of thus in respect to our relationship with God. But the devil can be beaten at his own game. Please be constantly aware! And seek protection with Allah from Satan, the rejected. I would have never met you if it had not been for the mercy of of Allah. Thus, I wish for Allah to bless our love.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Letter to Julia 20120211
In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.
Hi Julia! How are you feeling, my gorgeous one? I'm feeling a bit sore, because I've been doing much yard work. Yes, I finally have some time to do yard work. In particular, there is this tree at the back of my house, which happens to be the tallest tree on the compound. It grew at the side of the ditch behind my house, and it leaned over my house, For months now I was wondering how to safely chop that tree, because it was dying and rotting, and it would fall sooner or later. I have 2 giant mango trees behind my house as well, and my Mom said that the mango trees would stop the dead tree from breaking my roof. I decided to give the dead tree the axe anyway.
I was worried that the tree was bent in such a way that it would fall on top of my house, or on top of me as I chop it. Since it was growing at the side of a ditch, I could only chop it at one angle. So I stood on a chair and focused on a spot high on a tree where it bent slightly sideways. I chopped with my long machete, to keep my distance in case the thing fell on my head, and my axe is too heavy to cut it that high. Anyway, God was nice to me, and I was able to take off 6 foot portions of the very tall tree while the 2 mango trees kept it upright. Amazing, huh? I finally reached a point where I had room in my back yard to knock the tree down, so I used my axe to knock and slide the base of the tree so it fell neatly lengthwise across my back yard. Alhamdulillah!
Well, I suppose that chopping down a tree in my back yard may seem mundane, but to me it wasn't. I'm a musician, not a lumberjack. But most people couldn't care either way if that tree fell on my roof or on my head. It's not as if I were bringing some international corporation crashing down to the dirt. Oh well, story of my life. Hey, when we are together, we'll talk about what to wear and what to eat instead of chopping trees. InsyaAllah.
Hi Julia! How are you feeling, my gorgeous one? I'm feeling a bit sore, because I've been doing much yard work. Yes, I finally have some time to do yard work. In particular, there is this tree at the back of my house, which happens to be the tallest tree on the compound. It grew at the side of the ditch behind my house, and it leaned over my house, For months now I was wondering how to safely chop that tree, because it was dying and rotting, and it would fall sooner or later. I have 2 giant mango trees behind my house as well, and my Mom said that the mango trees would stop the dead tree from breaking my roof. I decided to give the dead tree the axe anyway.
I was worried that the tree was bent in such a way that it would fall on top of my house, or on top of me as I chop it. Since it was growing at the side of a ditch, I could only chop it at one angle. So I stood on a chair and focused on a spot high on a tree where it bent slightly sideways. I chopped with my long machete, to keep my distance in case the thing fell on my head, and my axe is too heavy to cut it that high. Anyway, God was nice to me, and I was able to take off 6 foot portions of the very tall tree while the 2 mango trees kept it upright. Amazing, huh? I finally reached a point where I had room in my back yard to knock the tree down, so I used my axe to knock and slide the base of the tree so it fell neatly lengthwise across my back yard. Alhamdulillah!
Well, I suppose that chopping down a tree in my back yard may seem mundane, but to me it wasn't. I'm a musician, not a lumberjack. But most people couldn't care either way if that tree fell on my roof or on my head. It's not as if I were bringing some international corporation crashing down to the dirt. Oh well, story of my life. Hey, when we are together, we'll talk about what to wear and what to eat instead of chopping trees. InsyaAllah.
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