Qur'an 20170523

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

71.  And whoever repents and does good has truly turned to Allah with a conversion-

72.  Those who witness no falsehood, and if they pass by futility, they pass it with honor;

73.  Those who, when they are admonished with the signs of their Lord, droop not down at them as if they were deaf or blind;

74.  And those who pray, "Our Lord!  Grant unto us wives and offspring who will be the comfort of our eyes, and give us to lead the righteous."

75.  These are the ones who will be rewarded with the highest place in heaven, because of their patient constancy: therein they shall be met with salutations and peace,

76.  Dwelling therein- how beautiful an abode and a place of rest!

77.  Say: "My Lord is not uneasy because of you if you call not on God, but you have indeed rejected, and soon will come the inevitable."

The Criterion 25:71-77
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The old rice paddy

My mornings have been early lately.  I wake up before the dawn prayer, then perhaps take a nap after to wait for the sun to come up.  Then I go about my routine of cleaning up after the cats and watering the plants.  Lately, I've been doing a lot of digging with my trusty hoe (not ho).  I can't stand the direct sun, so I dig dig dig until the sun becomes unbearable.  I would have continued digging this evening, but it rained rained rained.  So I made some Irish stew instead.  Want some stew, Irish?  Well, I don't know if it's exactly Irish stew.  It's just beef, potatoes, onions, and a bit of garlic.  I have sirloin and tenderloin in my freezer, but I didn't want to put that in the stew.  What a waste!  Besides, burgers have higher fat content so I tore up chunks of beef burgers and put that in the stew.  I used demi-glace mix as seasoning, and I have to put in black pepper.  Hope I don't forget.

Natty, most men take pride in their strength.  Their strength of will if not physical strength.  So a man is not going to admit defeat, even when defeat is obvious.  Because it's humiliating.  He would rather die.

It's almost Ramadan

And I am busy making preparations.  Mostly in regards to food, of course.  As you know. Muslims are required to fast from dawn until sunset.  I don't really eat that much for breaking fast.  Perhaps the equivalent of a couple of eggs and some bread.  This is because I attend extra worship at the mosque at night along with the congregation, and I don't want to be bothered with having to use the restroom.  I eat the most for the pre-dawn meal, so I wake up early in the morning to cook.  Looks like it's going to be a lot of pizza and pasta for Ramadan, but I also have a whole chicken in my cooler.  It's spaghetti tonight, though!  You want some?

Natty, the reason that the tree lost its crown is because it grew in the wrong spot.  It wasn't meant to survive there.  But it can't be helped because such is life, the seed doesn't choose where it germinates.  People are not like trees, though many of us aspire to be.  We can adapt and grow someplace else.  InshaAllah.  Nowadays, we have the Internet.  You can pretty much seat your business anywhere in the world.  You don't have to live where there's too much competition.

Pina, that's a cute shy face you have there.  I'm glad to see you dress modestly.  Those pants are cute, but I think you need black shoes.

Qur'an 20170521

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

54.  It is God who created man from water: then has God established relationships of lineage and marriage: for your Lord has Power.

55.  Yet do they worship, besides Allah, things that can neither profit them nor harm them, and the disbeliever is a helper against his Lord!

56.  But you We only sent to give glad tidings and admonition.

57.  Say: "No reward do I ask of you but this: that each one who will may take a path to his Lord."

58.  And put your trust in God who lives and dies not, and celebrate God's praise, and enough is God to be acquainted with the faults of God's servants.

59.  God who created the heavens and the earth and all that is between in six days, and is firmly established on the Throne.  The Most Gracious: ask you then about God, of any acquainted.

60.  When it is said to them, "Adore you the Most Gracious!", they say, "And what is the Most Gracious?  Shall we adore that which you command us?"  And it increases their flight.

The Criterion 25:54-60
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Spaghetti

How are you feeling today, my Erin?  I hope those emotions are nice and settled and under control.  I happy that my emotions are under control amidst much hassle going on right now.  Alhamdulillah.  Patience is from Allah.  I've been eating a lot of spaghetti lately.  Oooh, I didn't take any snapshots.  You know what spaghetti looks like, don't you?  Next time I cook it up, I'll take a photo.  I made tons of sauce.  One batch of generic sauce, and one batch of meat sauce.  I must have a thousand recipes for spaghetti sauce.  My favorite is a strawberry and beef sauce.  It was awesome.  No I don't have any snapshots of that.  I made that decades ago while I was living in Salt Lake City, and strawberries were so plentiful, they were growing wild in the yard.  Among the honeysuckle and hummingbirds.

Natty, when the crown of a tree gets cut off, then the tree gradually begins to sprout fresh buds from eyes located at the lower part of the tree.  While it is doing so, it must be guarded from stress.  There must be no creepers, no fungus, no bugs etc.  Keep the tree free from stress as it grows new limbs.

Pina, I saw you on Yahoo news this morning.  It was an article for Harper's Bazaar.  It was an old photo of you.  I should have taken a screenshot, but I didn't.

Situation

So please don't go putting your self into danger because you want to be stronger.  The tests will come naturally.  Otherwise, just take it easy.  You're too darn precious.  After all, strength is not enough.  We need God, so please pray.

Natty, you don't need all that makeup.  And you know it.  Keep an eye on your big brother OK?

What is so interesting to the world here and now is the situation.  I used to think that perhaps I could generate some sort of interest in the music inshaAllah, then perhaps do some regular concerts or TV shows.  But that is not the situation.  The situation is a ghostly voice ringing over all this Islam.  And to the world, this is who the singer is:

We must not kill the mystery!  If you (you being all you business people and politicians) wish to capitalize, then capitalize on the REAL situation.  Creating a fake situation because you want to exert control will ruin everything.  Take what Allah has given you, and do not be ungrateful.

However...

I wouldn't want you to feel sadness or pain.  It's because I love you that I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you.  You are my beloved, you are my beautiful love.  It's just that life isn't supposed to be easy.  I want to take the shots for you, but I have to stand in front of you to do that.  But we are still apart, and in this distance I suffer as I cannot take care of you as well as I should.

Hi Natty dear.  How are your emotions today?  I have a feeling that your next 5 posts are going to be zingers.  Please try not to get us killed, OK?  You're a good girl, OK?.

Hey there Pina.  You need to keep posting to let the world know what's happening to you.  Like I said before, it's your only advantage.