Letter to Julia 20120426

In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.

I swear my house is being taken over by the cats lately.  First of all, my kitty is Chee Cheh.  She's an adorable little kitty who loves a good conversation, especially over breakfast and dinner.  I took her to the vet yesterday.  The poor thing seems to have a chronic fungal problem.  She's so sensitive to moisture, she gets an outbreak whenever it rains a lot, and it has been raining a lot lately, including yesterday.  She's blessed that cats in Malaysia get subsidized veterinary care from the Department of Animal Control, so I only had to pay for her medicine.  The vet showed me how to put a big pill in her mouth to swallow, by holding her neck with the pinkie and ring fingers, and holding her muzzle with the rest of the fingers on the left hand, then opening her mouth with the middle finger of the right hand while the right thumb and forefinger hold the pill.  Well, the vet made it look easy, but I couldn't get the cat to stop squirming.  She said I was being too rough.  Who?  Little ol' me?

As I told you once a while ago, my house used to be inhabited by a gang of cats.  They belong to my brother, and my parents feed them, so they usually hang out next door.  Lately, they've been congregating on my porch, and setting up guard at my front door.  4 cats.  Then there's this other cat with brown striping and a stubby tail that loves to yowl, "Oh oh oh oh oooohhhh" outside my window.  I think he belongs to a girl down the street who probably planted him here.  Then there's this white wildcat, an independent fellow who has lost the shine in his left eye, and he just loves to harass the gang of cats.  Well, somebody tagged my right sandal: when I went out to take Chee Cheh to the vet this morning, I stepped into a sandal drenched in cat pee.  Hey, I'm not being fought over as prime cat property!  I finally got rid of all those fighting chickens outside my bedroom window, now the cats are battling there.

Now, you have probably noticed how Islam today comprises of many different sects, just how Christianity today comprises of many different types of churches, and you are wondering who to trust thereof.  Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) predicted this long ago.  We are instructed not to join any partners in worship to Allah, and this is taken very seriously by Allah.  If you read 30:31-32 of the Qur'an, those who split up their religion into sects are considered to have joined partners with Allah.  Leave the sects alone.  That is our mutual right, let them go about their business, ignore what they say to you, and Allah will deal with them directly.  Trust only in the Qur'an and the teachings of prophet Muhammad (peace be on him), and leave out the gossip and the opinions.