Letter to Julia 20131223

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

Hello Monday, my beloved Julia and Erin.  You must be busy.  I'm busy, but I trying my best to slow down.  My feet hurt.  I've always had bad feet.  All that traveling I've done makes my feet hurt even more.  Standing in one place makes my feet hurt even more.  I'm sorry, but I can't go jogging with you.  We can go on long, slow walks inshaAllah, but we're going to have to get a treadmill if you want to go running.  Unless I follow you around on a motorcycle.  Hey, let's go cycling instead.  Let's ride our bicycles to the international border and have a picnic in a tower overlooking the sugar cane fields.

The countryside certainly can be beautiful, and the flat landscape here makes it easy for weak-footed people like me to traverse on bicycle.  But I have to sing at the same time everyday, so I have to stick to a routine, and can't afford the time to go wandering around.  My feet hurt more than usual today, so I had to sit when I voice trained.  By the Will of Allah, the music is powerful, and can attract people from all over the globe, and therefore gives them a reason to come here.  So let their hearts realize Allah, let them fear and worship Allah.

Qur'an 20131223

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

202.  But their brethren plunge them deeper into error, and never relax.

203.  If you bring them not a revelation, they say, "Why don't you have it together?"  Say, "I but follow what is revealed to me from my Lord.  These are Lights from your Lord, and Guidance, and Mercy, for any who have Faith."

204.  When the Qur'an is read, listen to it with attention, and hold your peace, that you may receive Mercy.

The Heights 7:202-204
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I but follow what is revealed to me from my Lord.  These are Lights from your Lord, and Guidance, and Mercy, for any who have Faith.

Qur'an 20131222

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

194.  Verily those who you call upon besides Allah are servants like unto you.  Call upon them, and let them listen to your prayer, if you are truthful!

195.  Have they feet to walk with?  Or hands to lay hold with?  Or eyes to see with?  Or ears to hear with?  Say, "Call your 'god-partners', scheme against me, and give me no respite!"

196.  "For my protector is Allah, Who revealed the Book, and God will choose and befriend the righteous."

197.  "But those you call upon besides God are unable to help you, and indeed to help themselves."

The Heights 7:194-195
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Call your 'god-partners', scheme against me, and give me no respite!

Letter to Julia 20131221

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

AAAAAA!!!!  The tree fell on top of the house AGAIN!!!  I thought for sure that it would fall parallel to the house but it didn't, it's wedged into the roof, being held up by the rafters exactly like the last tree.  But this time it's a mature coconut tree laden with fruit, weighing about a few tons.  If that thing fell on top of me, I would be like a flat squid.  The good news is that my Dad said for me not to try to bring it down, because he would get the villagers to help.  Praise Allah!  How nice of them to do so, may Allah reward them.  The juice and flesh of young coconuts make a delightful cold beverage, which pleases my Mom's sweet tooth, the sweetest of sweet tooths.  So I took a curved machete and struck off the top, made a hole and let the juice pour into a container, then split the fruit in half to scrape out the flesh with a spoon.  I think you would love this stuff.  Just don't overdo the good food!

I'm sure you both are busy with the Christmas season, because you grew up with it, and it's part of your nostalgia.  I must warn you that Muslims don't celebrate Christmas: we celebrate the 2 Eids, one at the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, and another to mark the end of the Hajj ritual.  So when we marry inshaAllah, you will have to transfer your ritual to the month of Ramadan.  Instead of decorating a tree, you will be decorating the house and compound, there will be no Santa Claus but you will be waking up everyday at about 4am to eat then fast during the day, celebration will be for a month instead of a couple of days, it will be overbearingly social, we will prepare a feast for the Eid and we can exchange gifts if you want, but the small children prefer cash.  Don't blame me!  Blame them!  They visit your house in gangs to kiss your hands, and you give them cash.  Don't worry, the Ramadan crowds are every bit as obnoxious as the Christmas crowds except that it lasts for about a month.  New clothes are a must!  The Prophet (peace be on him) said we have to wear our best clothes for the Eid!  So please be ready to transfer your nostalgia to a different routine.  Mrs. Global!  I personally don't enjoy how social the festive season is because I'm such a recluse, so I'll just let you take charge.  I love you, and I need you.

Qur'an 20131221

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

186.  To such as Allah rejects from God's Guidance, there can be no guide.  God will leave them in their trespasses, wandering in distraction.

187.  They ask you about the Hour: when will be its appointed time?  Say, "The knowledge thereof is with my Lord.  None can reveal as to when it will occur.  Heavy is its burden through the heavens and the earth.  Only all of a sudden will it come to you."  They ask you if you were eager in search thereof.  Say, "The knowledge thereof is with Allah, but most humans know not."

188.  Say, "I have no power over any good or harm to myself except as Allah Wills.  If I had knowledge of the unseen, I should have multiplied all good, and no evil should have touched me.  I am but a warner, and a bringer of glad tidings to those who have faith."

The Heights 7:186-188
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The knowledge thereof is with my Lord.  None can reveal as to when it will occur.  Heavy is its burden through the heavens and the earth.  Only all of a sudden will it come to you.

The knowledge thereof is with Allah, but most humans know not.

I have no power over any good or harm to myself except as Allah Wills.  If I had knowledge of the unseen, I should have multiplied all good, and no evil should have touched me.  I am but a warner, and a bringer of glad tidings to those who have faith.

Letter to Julia 20131219

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

Hello again Julia and Erin, my precious beauties!  How are those emotions today?  Today was such a busy day for me.  I woke up late, right when they called the Fajr prayer at 6am.  But I didn't go back to sleep.  I did my laundry, I made breakfast, shaved and showered then took Chee Cheah to the vet for an antifungal shot.  Poor little kitty!  She's so sensitive to the weather, she breaks out in fungus whenever there's a prolonged rainy spell.  On the way back, I picked up my Dad's paper and some green hot chilli peppers for my Mom.  Then I went to the main market downtown for some wonton skins and fishballs.  Hey, there's a Bruce Lee movie on TV right now!  Then I stopped to blog yesterday's letter, and went home and made stuffed wontons for lunch.  Want some?  Oh, I ate them all!  I had time for a nap before the noon prayer, which was good because I was feeling hammered.  After the prayer, I voice trained for 2 hours.  During the evening, I cleaned up a little around Casa de Julia inshaAllah, and prepared a tree for chopping down.  I also prepared some plastic pots for planting produce.  I watered the flowers, and went out for dinner.  I had rice with egg and anchovies, and iced tea.  Then I took a shower and prayed the sunset prayer, now I'm writing this love letter to you.  I love you.

There is the type of man who sees the Signs of God, yet  he passes them by.  So instead of God, Satan follows him up.  Obviously, God and whatever thereof have less value to him than his own desires.  God could have elevated him if it had been God's will.  But he is like a dog: if you beat it, it lolls out its tongue, and if you leave it alone, it lolls out its tongue.  God will deal with those who reject the signs of God gradually, in ways that they do not perceive.

Letter to Julia 20131218

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

Hi beloved Julia and Erin!  How are you feeling today?  My Mom gave me a blender recently.  And what do you know, the light in my kitchen blacked out when I went to hook it up.  I didn't even get a chance to plug it in.  The starter for the fluorescent lamp died, so praise Allah I had a spare starter.  But when I tried to take the old starter out, the casing came off, leaving the insides jammed into the fixture.  So I had to climb up onto the counter top, dismantle the fixture so I could scrape out what was left of the starter with a screwdriver.  All this while sweating profusely in the dark.  The problem with having the body of a jock is that I sweat like a jock, and therefore smell like a jock.  Oh!  How I would love to have a nice dainty body like you, and smell like strawberries!

Anyway, baby squid was going for cheap over at the night market, so I bought a kilo.  So today, I separated the heads from the bodies, then took out the ink sacs.  Then I threw all the heads into the blender along with some garlic, onion, ginger, and an egg.  Oh no, I forgot the lemongrass!  No water, though.  Squid has the same consistency as water (which is probably why it shrinks when you cook it, because you're evaporating all the water).  I poured the mix into a bowl to add some flour, and made squid meatballs.  The fluid in the eyes darkened the mix a bit.  Next time, I'll use the bodies for meatballs and the heads for fried calamari.  But it's not so bad as the stuff browns quickly and nicely when I fry it.  Hey, that stuff is pretty good!  Pink with a crispy brown shell!  Praise Allah!  I think I'll buy some wonton skins tomorrow, and make mixed stuffed wontons.  You want some?  Stuffed wontons are so dainty, I'm sure you would love them!  You're so dainty.  I love you!

Please maintain your prayers, and ask Allah to bring us together in marriage soon.