I seek refuge with Allah from Satan, the rejected one.
In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.
Hi Julia! I love you, my ravishing princess. So, what is security? We know that security is grated by Allah, the Best to protect, and the Best to help. The Qur'an states:
It is those who believe, and confuse not their beliefs with wrong that are in security, for they are on guidance. (The cattle 6:82)
I haven't started my dinner yet, but on the menu tonight is clams. It's Monday the 9th, between the Magrib and Isya' prayers, usually my dinnertime, but I absolutely had to write a few words to my beloved first. I bought 2 kilos of clams at the night market just now, believe me that I can easily down 2 kilos of clams. I don't know the English name of these particular clams, but the literal translation from Malay is "Snails of a Thousand Brains", where clams and snails have the same name in Malay. Clams and shellfish generally don't need salt, and these clams are quite powerful in flavor. I don't like my shellfish to turn into rubber, so I try not to overcook them. This time, I will be stir-frying them with chilli paste, a pinch of sugar, garlic, cilantro, and lime, to point where a generous broth is generated. The shells of these clams are comparitively fragile, so I have to be cautios when folding in the mix. Knowing when to shut the heat off takes practice. I guess a solid indicator is when the clams yawn wide open. The clams that clam up generally have nothing but mud in them, but I open all of them, cautiously over my trash container, to make sure I'm not wasting any precious broth. Whoa! Don't drink all the broth, Julia! Sip a little, but save most of it for other seafood dishes. Heh! I'm just cooking by the seat of my pants. InsyaAllah, it will still taste awesome. Want some?
Monday, January 9, 2012
Qur'an 20120110
In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.
133. They say, "Why does he not bring us a Sign from his Lord?" Has not a Clear Sign come to them of all that was in the former Books of Revelation?
134. And if We had inflicted on them a penalty before this, they would have said, "Our Lord! If only You had sent us a messenger, we should certainly have followed Your Signs before we were humbled, and put to shame."
135. Say, "Each one is waiting. Wait you therefore, and soon shall you know who it is that is on the straight and even way, and who it is that has received guidance."
Ta Ha 20:133-135
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Each one is waiting. Wait you therefore, and soon shall you know who it is that is on the straight and even way, and who it is that has received guidance.
133. They say, "Why does he not bring us a Sign from his Lord?" Has not a Clear Sign come to them of all that was in the former Books of Revelation?
134. And if We had inflicted on them a penalty before this, they would have said, "Our Lord! If only You had sent us a messenger, we should certainly have followed Your Signs before we were humbled, and put to shame."
135. Say, "Each one is waiting. Wait you therefore, and soon shall you know who it is that is on the straight and even way, and who it is that has received guidance."
Ta Ha 20:133-135
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Each one is waiting. Wait you therefore, and soon shall you know who it is that is on the straight and even way, and who it is that has received guidance.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Letter to Julia 20120107
Hello there, my beautiful Julia. How are you feeling? It's just me and my kitty here as usual. I've always been somewhat of a loner, but I'm sure you would agree that I try and tried hard to be married, huh? When I got past my misspent youth and learned to appreciate God more, I tried to do whatever service to community in secret. I don't need any titles or medals. All I want is the best that God can give me, in this life as well as the next. InsyaAllah.
Chee Cheah is getting rather plump. She used to be such a dainty little kitty. I feed her regularly before dawn and before the Asr prayer, but she always runs outside to join the other cats when my Dad feeds them at 6pm. She doesn't eat anything, but she just goes there to meow along with the group, then sits on the wall to watch them eat. After that, she runs back into my house again.
Let me remind you that fame is a liability, not an asset. You may feel exhilarated with all the attention being lavished on you right now, but would you feel the same without a marriage to anchor you? Then we observe some marriages that have no stability whatsoever. Our lives are in the care of Allah, so please pray that Allah will have mercy on us, and make our journey to God together easy and pleasurable.
Chee Cheah is getting rather plump. She used to be such a dainty little kitty. I feed her regularly before dawn and before the Asr prayer, but she always runs outside to join the other cats when my Dad feeds them at 6pm. She doesn't eat anything, but she just goes there to meow along with the group, then sits on the wall to watch them eat. After that, she runs back into my house again.
Let me remind you that fame is a liability, not an asset. You may feel exhilarated with all the attention being lavished on you right now, but would you feel the same without a marriage to anchor you? Then we observe some marriages that have no stability whatsoever. Our lives are in the care of Allah, so please pray that Allah will have mercy on us, and make our journey to God together easy and pleasurable.
Qur'an 20120107
In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.
105. They ask you concerning the mountains. Say, "My Lord will uproot them, and scatter them as dust."
106. God will leave them as plains, smooth and level.
107. Nothing crooked and curved will you see in their place.
Ta Ha 20:105-107
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My Lord will uproot them, and scatter them as dust.
105. They ask you concerning the mountains. Say, "My Lord will uproot them, and scatter them as dust."
106. God will leave them as plains, smooth and level.
107. Nothing crooked and curved will you see in their place.
Ta Ha 20:105-107
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My Lord will uproot them, and scatter them as dust.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Letter to Julia 20120105
Stability is for those who have it. Or more accurately, stability is for those who are granted stability by Allah. This is not a satisfactory answer for those of doubtful faith, but doubt is instability, right? This world is unstable. There's always something wrong somewhere with somebody, so as far as this life is concerned, stability is at best a dynamic equilibrium. But even that seems limited to very few communities. Why are things so uncertain? Because people refuse to give up corruption, interest, and ridiculous profit margins. So bubbles become inevitable, and if bubbles are inevitable, then the shortage of natural resources is also inevitable. And that means that war is also inevitable. But war has always been inevitable sometime somewhere. That makes Judgement Day also inevitable. How does that ring for those of doubtful faith? However, God has God's Own plan and mystique for Judgement Day. Far beyond the means and perceptions of sniveling humans.
It seems that I cannot escape situations of rapid growth. I have been actively immersed in businesses of rapid growth, and I have observed the crash and burn of those businesses when they are unable to maintain their expansion, be it the loss of liquidity, or spiralling debt. Expansion seems to be only of rapid growth, it almost seems like a law. However, I know it isn't so. One could always refuse deals and opportunities, and limit one's business to what one has the strength and means to maintain. This depends on whenever a person wants to live as a billionaire as quickly as possible, or tolerate the life of an average person or a pauper for a while. I am certain that to succumb to the destruction of rapid growth is the result of greed, the inability to resist the mass of offers and conjectures that are crammed within a short period of time. Allah is the One who enlarges or restricts the provision of whomsoever God wills. Gradual growth is neither unbearable nor impossible. The oldest and mightiest trees grew slowly. By the Will of Allah.
I've become so slow, Julia. I walk slowly, I work slowly, and I drive slowly. I'm also rather lazy. I acquired my laziness from working at the pizza joint: it never really mattered how hard or quickly I worked, it was never enough. But an ant like me enjoys working, so I work slowly. I scrubbed the walls of my bathroom today. Even though I don't use hot water, the climate is so hot and humid at times that mold builds up on the walls. It was a sloppy job, as I was in a rush to perform the sunset prayers, and rice was cooking in the pot. This house needs much effort to be ready for you, and it's not just a matter of money either. My energy seems spread out, I'm doing too many things at this time, plus I'm slow and lazy. But I believe that Allah will make everything snap together nicely for us eventually, insyaAllah. And we can have our beautiful life and marriage together. My most cherished Julia.
It seems that I cannot escape situations of rapid growth. I have been actively immersed in businesses of rapid growth, and I have observed the crash and burn of those businesses when they are unable to maintain their expansion, be it the loss of liquidity, or spiralling debt. Expansion seems to be only of rapid growth, it almost seems like a law. However, I know it isn't so. One could always refuse deals and opportunities, and limit one's business to what one has the strength and means to maintain. This depends on whenever a person wants to live as a billionaire as quickly as possible, or tolerate the life of an average person or a pauper for a while. I am certain that to succumb to the destruction of rapid growth is the result of greed, the inability to resist the mass of offers and conjectures that are crammed within a short period of time. Allah is the One who enlarges or restricts the provision of whomsoever God wills. Gradual growth is neither unbearable nor impossible. The oldest and mightiest trees grew slowly. By the Will of Allah.
I've become so slow, Julia. I walk slowly, I work slowly, and I drive slowly. I'm also rather lazy. I acquired my laziness from working at the pizza joint: it never really mattered how hard or quickly I worked, it was never enough. But an ant like me enjoys working, so I work slowly. I scrubbed the walls of my bathroom today. Even though I don't use hot water, the climate is so hot and humid at times that mold builds up on the walls. It was a sloppy job, as I was in a rush to perform the sunset prayers, and rice was cooking in the pot. This house needs much effort to be ready for you, and it's not just a matter of money either. My energy seems spread out, I'm doing too many things at this time, plus I'm slow and lazy. But I believe that Allah will make everything snap together nicely for us eventually, insyaAllah. And we can have our beautiful life and marriage together. My most cherished Julia.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Letter to Julia 20120104
Ah, how beautiful you are, my precious beloved Julia. My, you do so love to hide in the wide open, don't you? Well maybe not, but you are good at it. But I recognized you the minute I saw you, Red. I suppose you made it easy for me, huh? Well, I'm really not that smart, so I hope you continue to make it easy for me. I've clearly fallen in love with you. I want us to get married and live happily together in this life and ever after. Please. InsyaAllah.
All this humility I have not yet forgotten all those hard times, and my service to God, insyaAllah. But there are those who claim to be my friends yet are weighed down by their ornaments, so much that they create an object of worship (greed) out of them. I do not represent them, and I cannot represent them as against Allah. It is their own doubt that represents them. Then they resort to materialism. Again. This doubt is then stoked by a person who rationalizes that this materialism is the right path.
All this humility I have not yet forgotten all those hard times, and my service to God, insyaAllah. But there are those who claim to be my friends yet are weighed down by their ornaments, so much that they create an object of worship (greed) out of them. I do not represent them, and I cannot represent them as against Allah. It is their own doubt that represents them. Then they resort to materialism. Again. This doubt is then stoked by a person who rationalizes that this materialism is the right path.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Letter to Julia 20120102
Greetings, my beautiful, sexy Julia. It has come to my attention that the 2011-2012 Victoria's Secret fashion show has been aired. I haven't seen it yet. The bandwidth at this Internet cafe can get pretty narrow when it's crowded, and not conducive to watching videos, but I'll try to sit through the whole thing as I blog this my love letter. I am apprehensive to see the show for a few reasons. Firstly, you know that I don't want to stumble upon any bad news. I would rather plead blissful ignorance, and live in my adolescent fantasy world where Julia and I will be happily married without any obstacles whatsoever. I have my fantasies to keep me going! Secondly, I just want my Julia. I don't want to have to wait through all those other acts just to see my girl. And lastly, hey we are supposed to be a deeply spiritual love. I can't have you parading around wearing next to nothing for everybody, when you should be parading around wearing next to nothing only for me. I want you all for me! But I suppose we must do the best we can with the situation Allah gives us.
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