In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.
Hello Dearest! Hi Darling! Is it business as usual today? It's almost Super Bowl time, and I'm sure you are deeply entrenched in acts of commerce. You work hard, so you deserve success. Don't forget that as my wife, you are automatically a professional endorser of food products. Yes, you as well. This business affects all business, because everybody must eat. So don't just limit yourself to caviar and crackers. Try all sorts of food out that appeals to you, as long as it's lawful and good. Lawful meaning halal.
What is halal is not limited to just food. Income and sex must also be halal. For instance, I came across a link (which started for me at Yahoo news) that some people were using verse 4:3 of the Qur'an to legalize gang rape and sex slaves. The entire verse reads (and I seek refuge with Allah from Satan the rejected):
If you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans, marry women of your choice: two, or three, or four. But if you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly then only one, or that your right hands possess. That will be more suitable, to prevent you from doing injustice. (The Women 4:3)
What "the right hands possess" generally means captives or slaves. Justice aside, since these women are captives, some people consider it lawful to have sex with them. If you were to read the entire verse, one must marry these slaves or captives in order to be just. "Marry" meaning giving her a place to live, protect her and provide for her. Rape clearly being an act of oppression, and uncontrolled lust clearly being the path of the devil, brings to scrutiny the legality of the capture AND the legality of the war. She is what the LEFT hand possesses: an income of oppression.
Some people with thick beards, wearing sheets and turbans, claiming to be "ulama" (learned), create "fatwa" (edicts) that legalize acts that are clearly oppressive. But you know as well as I that having a pretty face and wearing pretty clothes and a pretty hat doesn't mean that a girl has a good heart. So these "ulama" look the part. I refuse to believe in them, and I am not a follower of them. I am a follower of prophet Muhammad (peace be on him). And if you are still confused as to who the hypocrites are, then know that prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) never oppressed his captives: he released them. And Allah is the Most Merciful.
Getting back to food, it's time for more pizza. So I made a batch of dough this morning, and marinara sauce. My favorite pizza is sausage and basil, and that can be the only type of pizza I eat. I don't desire variety in my pizza. My Mom wants a chicken and pineapple pizza. That will be tomorrow or Saturday, Mom. It depends on whether the dough is ready or not. A caviar pizza? I don't know about that. Dinner was chicken wings again. My stomach has become more sensitive since it got attacked by a sour pineapple, so I had to dilute my home made hot sauce with ketchup. The next batch of hot sauce I make will have to be mild sauce. Would you like to share my food with me? You are welcome, because I love you and I need you.
So many goodies in today's letter, huh? Let's end with a cartoon.
Thursday, February 4, 2016
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
Letter to Erin 20160204
In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.
Hi there! How's it going today? Are you feeling OK? How about you? Are you doing OK? Well, please make sure that you take good care of yourself. Be safe, and stay healthy. I love you and I need you. Thank you for being so patient with me.
It's just another normal day for me. I had to give my baby mangoes fertilizer today. They're almost one year old. Pure bred Harumanis take 8 years to bear fruit. I'll raise them until they're 2 years old. Then I'll see if anybody wants to buy them. After my morning routine, I was ready to start lunch. It's BBQ today! This time it's fish. My parents gave me a scad yesterday. Thanks, Mom and Dad! I'll have to admit that I don't have a permanent recipe for stuffing scad for grilling. I have discovered that Tom Yam (Siamese tamarind based hour sour) paste goes great with this fish. Today I thought I would mix that in with chopped garlic, tofu and fish balls. It took a while to grill that fish because I had to do a little shopping, but it turned out pretty good. My cats loved it, too. In the evening, I worked on my tomatoes. I also had to collect more tamarind for my Mom. For dinner, I had to use up the rest of my sliced bread, so I cooked up cheeseburgers. Good thing too, because it was going moldy. I just cut the mold off, but I ate a little of it. Antibiotics. Now it's time to lay out my bed and set up for bass practice.
Hi there! How's it going today? Are you feeling OK? How about you? Are you doing OK? Well, please make sure that you take good care of yourself. Be safe, and stay healthy. I love you and I need you. Thank you for being so patient with me.
It's just another normal day for me. I had to give my baby mangoes fertilizer today. They're almost one year old. Pure bred Harumanis take 8 years to bear fruit. I'll raise them until they're 2 years old. Then I'll see if anybody wants to buy them. After my morning routine, I was ready to start lunch. It's BBQ today! This time it's fish. My parents gave me a scad yesterday. Thanks, Mom and Dad! I'll have to admit that I don't have a permanent recipe for stuffing scad for grilling. I have discovered that Tom Yam (Siamese tamarind based hour sour) paste goes great with this fish. Today I thought I would mix that in with chopped garlic, tofu and fish balls. It took a while to grill that fish because I had to do a little shopping, but it turned out pretty good. My cats loved it, too. In the evening, I worked on my tomatoes. I also had to collect more tamarind for my Mom. For dinner, I had to use up the rest of my sliced bread, so I cooked up cheeseburgers. Good thing too, because it was going moldy. I just cut the mold off, but I ate a little of it. Antibiotics. Now it's time to lay out my bed and set up for bass practice.
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Letter to Erin 20160203
In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.
Hello, my most precious beloved. Hi Princess! And how are we feeling today? Oh, it's all business hey? There's always something going on with you. After the Super Bowl, then it's March Madness, and so on. That's part of being successful, right? Please make sure you get lots of rest and eat properly. Don't forget to pray. I love you and I need you. Thank you for your love.
Oh, there's nothing special going on here today. I did a lot of running around on my motorcycle in the morning, doing shopping. Mostly for my Mom. She wanted some pineapple, coconut milk, plastic bags, coffee and chicken feet. Yeah, chicken feet. Don't ask me, I don't eat that stuff. The chickenmonger didn't want to sell me any, but I managed to get RM1 worth. I needed more T-shirts, so I got some used T-shirts at the Tuesday market. Then I got home in time to make lunch, which was a huge bowl of noodles in beef broth. The broth was from I boiled the ribs for my BBQ. I try not to waste anything! I also added garlic, onion, bamboo shoots, seaweed, and sliced steak. Dinner was much simpler: I ate rice over at Ina's restaurant. Now please excuse me, I'm going to lay out my bed and set up for guitar practice. Ya Allah, thank You for the knowledge and the bounty that You have provided for me.
Hello, my most precious beloved. Hi Princess! And how are we feeling today? Oh, it's all business hey? There's always something going on with you. After the Super Bowl, then it's March Madness, and so on. That's part of being successful, right? Please make sure you get lots of rest and eat properly. Don't forget to pray. I love you and I need you. Thank you for your love.
Oh, there's nothing special going on here today. I did a lot of running around on my motorcycle in the morning, doing shopping. Mostly for my Mom. She wanted some pineapple, coconut milk, plastic bags, coffee and chicken feet. Yeah, chicken feet. Don't ask me, I don't eat that stuff. The chickenmonger didn't want to sell me any, but I managed to get RM1 worth. I needed more T-shirts, so I got some used T-shirts at the Tuesday market. Then I got home in time to make lunch, which was a huge bowl of noodles in beef broth. The broth was from I boiled the ribs for my BBQ. I try not to waste anything! I also added garlic, onion, bamboo shoots, seaweed, and sliced steak. Dinner was much simpler: I ate rice over at Ina's restaurant. Now please excuse me, I'm going to lay out my bed and set up for guitar practice. Ya Allah, thank You for the knowledge and the bounty that You have provided for me.
Monday, February 1, 2016
Letter to Erin 20160202
Hello Sweetheart. I love you and I need you. I'm sitting here waiting for them to call the sunset prayer, while watching "Groundhog Day". No, I don't endorse Groundhog Day- the computer chose the movie. It was bloody hot today, and I'm in an air conditioned room. I like the movie, though. Funny as hell. I have the notion in my head of taking a few photos or movies of the homestead and how it's coming along to show you for your birthday, but as I was snapping the photos, I didn't like how poor it still is, and how unready it is for marriage. It's not a problem for me, my beloved. I just keep trekkin' on, and inshaAllah the day will come when I can afford to give you the best married life. Always remember that the faithful do not despair. If you despair, it means you have no faith. To Allah we belong and to God is our return.
I did take a photo of my kitty. The one I haven't shown you yet. Her name is Emma, also known as Simper. She was part of a gang of four cats that used to live here when my brother lived here, and now I take care of her. Her siblings have died, and she is an outdoors cat. She's almost 8 years old. It took me a while to appreciate her, but I felt sorry for her because she's a nice kitty. I love all my kitties, and I do the best I can to look after them, but I can't keep all of them inside. The only ones I keep locked up inside are the 3 fertile females. So I have a total of 7 cats: Floofy, Bob Cat, Bat Cat, Chee Cheah, ----, -------, and Emma.
Besides being rich with cats, Allah granted me some knowledge of cooking. Alhamdulillah. While working in restaurants injured my feet, at least I have the skill to eat quite deliciously within my meager budget. For lunch, I had barbecue beef ribs, messy with home made barbecue sauce, made with fermented anchovies. The cats were going berserk! They were banging at the door trying to get out while I was outside grilling. Squid was cheap today at the night market, so for dinner I had fried calamari. Baby squid is too tedious to even dig into my pocket for change to buy, but today's squid wasn't so small. I guess they were adolescent squid. I like to remove the eyes, bill, backbone and ink sac of squid, but when the squid is too small, I can't do that without getting a heart attack. Fried calamari is definitely girlie food. I have a lot. You want some?
Sunday, January 31, 2016
Letter to Erin 20160201
In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.
Hey Precious! Hello Dahlink! Are you feeling healthy and confident today? Well, you should be because you're MINE. You are the most beautiful girl in the world, because you're MINE. I love you, and I need you.
Well, what's for dinner? Lunch was boring, because I was drained and I wanted to just eat and go to sleep. I was about to go to Ina's for rice, then my Mom gave me some donuts, some cookies, and a baguette of french bread, which had to be eaten immediately before it got hard. My Mom suggested soup. Yeah Mom, that's a good idea. I had a can of tomato soup, a sack of onions, and a couple of tomatoes and some fermented anchovies in the cooler. Fermented anchovies? I don't think you would like fermented anchovies. It smells like poop. I mean it literally smells like poop. The cats had absolutely no interest in it. But it's only dried anchovies blended with water fermenting in the cooler, that's all it is. But it does wonders for tomato soups and sauces, gives it a super flavor kick. You don't believe me? Worcestershire sauce is made out of fermented anchovies. The cats had no interest before I made my soup, but afterwards they were all over it. So I finished off that baguette, and I have some leftover soup in the cooler. Wanna try some? I don't think you would like fermented anchovies, though.
Hey Precious! Hello Dahlink! Are you feeling healthy and confident today? Well, you should be because you're MINE. You are the most beautiful girl in the world, because you're MINE. I love you, and I need you.
Well, what's for dinner? Lunch was boring, because I was drained and I wanted to just eat and go to sleep. I was about to go to Ina's for rice, then my Mom gave me some donuts, some cookies, and a baguette of french bread, which had to be eaten immediately before it got hard. My Mom suggested soup. Yeah Mom, that's a good idea. I had a can of tomato soup, a sack of onions, and a couple of tomatoes and some fermented anchovies in the cooler. Fermented anchovies? I don't think you would like fermented anchovies. It smells like poop. I mean it literally smells like poop. The cats had absolutely no interest in it. But it's only dried anchovies blended with water fermenting in the cooler, that's all it is. But it does wonders for tomato soups and sauces, gives it a super flavor kick. You don't believe me? Worcestershire sauce is made out of fermented anchovies. The cats had no interest before I made my soup, but afterwards they were all over it. So I finished off that baguette, and I have some leftover soup in the cooler. Wanna try some? I don't think you would like fermented anchovies, though.
Saturday, January 30, 2016
Letter to Erin 20160131
In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.
Hi there, beautiful girl! How are you feeling, my All-American Sweetheart? Please don't be blue, because I love you, and I want to marry you. I need you, my beloved. I want you to be optimistic, maintain your prayers, and take good care of yourself OK?
I'm a bit tired right now. All that climbing around I did yesterday caught up to me today. But I had a busy morning. It always takes me a long time to get out of the door because I have to take care of the poopers, the pee-ers, and the plants, and today I had to feed the Zam (I usually skip breakfast). Then I took a shower and went downtown to pay my phone bill and buy a few things, but I did have time for a nap when I got back. It was a hot day, and I'm weary. Then I had to go to a wedding reception in the afternoon. One of the local imams was hosting a wedding reception. I avoid such things because I hate parties (a habit I picked up from being in the music business), but the imam has a lot of power around these here parts, and few can escape his grasp. So before voice training I went there, and it was packed. It was pretty much standing room only, but I did manage to find a place to sit. Nobody dances at weddings around here, but there was entertainment which was a drum and flute troupe. The smorgasbord was rice based, which the locals eat with their hands. I usually bring my own fork and spoon, but today I forgot. I didn't hang around too long. I showed the imam my face, ate something, then fled.
Boy, I'm tired. I didn't do much of anything in the evening. I collected some tamarind for my Mom, and that's it. I almost didn't work out, but I managed to convince myself to do so before taking a shower. Dinner is steak and potatoes, waiting for me to eat after the sunset prayer. You are welcome to have some if you like.
Hi there, beautiful girl! How are you feeling, my All-American Sweetheart? Please don't be blue, because I love you, and I want to marry you. I need you, my beloved. I want you to be optimistic, maintain your prayers, and take good care of yourself OK?
I'm a bit tired right now. All that climbing around I did yesterday caught up to me today. But I had a busy morning. It always takes me a long time to get out of the door because I have to take care of the poopers, the pee-ers, and the plants, and today I had to feed the Zam (I usually skip breakfast). Then I took a shower and went downtown to pay my phone bill and buy a few things, but I did have time for a nap when I got back. It was a hot day, and I'm weary. Then I had to go to a wedding reception in the afternoon. One of the local imams was hosting a wedding reception. I avoid such things because I hate parties (a habit I picked up from being in the music business), but the imam has a lot of power around these here parts, and few can escape his grasp. So before voice training I went there, and it was packed. It was pretty much standing room only, but I did manage to find a place to sit. Nobody dances at weddings around here, but there was entertainment which was a drum and flute troupe. The smorgasbord was rice based, which the locals eat with their hands. I usually bring my own fork and spoon, but today I forgot. I didn't hang around too long. I showed the imam my face, ate something, then fled.
Boy, I'm tired. I didn't do much of anything in the evening. I collected some tamarind for my Mom, and that's it. I almost didn't work out, but I managed to convince myself to do so before taking a shower. Dinner is steak and potatoes, waiting for me to eat after the sunset prayer. You are welcome to have some if you like.
Qur'an 20160131
In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.
142. The fools among the people will say, "What has turned them from the direction of prayer to which they were used?" Say, "To Allah belong East and West." God guides whom God wills to a way that is straight.
(The Heifer 2:142)
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To Allah belong East and West.
142. The fools among the people will say, "What has turned them from the direction of prayer to which they were used?" Say, "To Allah belong East and West." God guides whom God wills to a way that is straight.
(The Heifer 2:142)
------------------------------------------------
To Allah belong East and West.
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