2011 is Full of Surprises

This year has started off like a huge sack of unknown things where you don't know what you're going to pull out every time you reach into it.  That guy in Tunis who immolated himself in the town square sure as h*** had no idea that his life-ending action would oust the president of his nation.  When that Egyptian guy decided to call for a demonstration in Tahrir Square via Facebook, he had no inkling that it would change the history of his country and determine a new future for the next generations.  And now Libya!  Life's like that, you never know what will happen next.

Allah Subhaanahu wa Ta'ala says in Surah Luqman Verse 34:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ عِنْدَهُ عِلْمُ السَّاعَةِ وَيُنَزِّلُ الْغَيْثَ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا فِي الْأَرْحَامِ وَمَا تَدْرِي نَفْسٌ مَاذَا تَكْسِبُ غَدًا وَمَا تَدْرِي نَفْسٌ بِأَيِّ أَرْضٍ تَمُوتُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌ

Surely Allah is He with Whom is the knowledge of the hour, and He sends down the rain and He knows what is in the wombs; and no one knows what he shall earn on the morrow; and no one knows in what land he shall die; surely Allah is Knowing, Aware.

May Allah strengthen our faith to face whatever comes to us with patience and correctness, amin.

Who Cares?

An infamous tyrannical leader criticised his fellow tyrant when his population revolted against the widespread hunger and food shortages in his country.  He said: "Mjinga yule! That idiot!  He kept his people too hungry!  I told him many times,  feed them just enough, but not too much.  They must  always be kept preoccupied with looking for the next piece of bread to organize and revolt!". An infamous  tyrant actually said that ( a friend of his uncle's cousin's daughter's son told my friend's cousin's neighbour). 

So it turns out, there's a fine and delicate balance expertly maintained by well experienced tyrants in power.  They graciously give the people "just enough" to have a glimmer of hope for a better day,  keeping them just passive enough.  That's how they keep progress down in poverty stricken countries.  What about in places where there is plenty to eat and folks are not scratching the earth for the next meal?  What about in places that are earthquake free, tornado and natural disaster free? People in these places are free to develop and grow their minds, now that their bodies are well fed, but they don't?  Why? What are we preoccupied with so that we don't think to better our lives?  Scroll down for the answer:

They preoccupy our minds with utterly, useless, brain cell destroying, mindless trivia.  They bombard us with this junk on a second to second basis through the thousands of useless tv channels (radio and other media channels are also guilty).

We are too busy with what mindless comment Haifa Wehbe made on some lame talk show to actually nurture our own and our children's minds with education and religion, and therefore better ourselves.  Who is being thrown out this week in Star Academy? What did Brangelina wear to the Oscars?  Is Lindsay Lohan back in rehab?  Is that a baby bump Beyonce is trying to hide?  Did Jay Z have a nose job?

Who cares?  Who cares? Who cares? Apparently a lot of people do!  Enough to generate billions of advertisement dollars and enough to keep people busy trying to play catch up with people we will never meet.  It's all about the money.  Advertisements to keep us in the shopping malls buying things they so cleverly convince us that we need.

We are told what is the most desirable car, phone, woman, man, house, toys, and everything else so that we are so busy trying to acquire those things that we never open our eyes to see that we are living lives entirely empty of substance,  quality and spiritual growth and depth. We are so busy and so blinded by trivial pursuits that we cannot see what is not right in our own societies and indeed in our own homes.  We have no time for character building. 

The good news is this tactic apparently did not work to keep the Egyptians down because to my knowledge, Egyptian tv is mega saturated with trivia with hardly a youth oriented educational channel in sight.  So the stomachs and the minds of everyone were hungry.  Yet the Egyptian youth still did not allow the wool to continue to be pulled over their eyes. There's hope yet.  *Climbs off a very high horse*

Cradle Me

Sometimes we go through such pain and uncertainty that we feel that our hearts cannot take it anymore, that they will literally burst out of our chests from the pain, the pure injustice caused to us by our fellow beings. You want to cry your eyes out and I often do.  We all go through this, every single one of us. I would like to share with you  that, when I go through such times, I take all those tears, fears and injustices  to Allah and let the tears flow like a river. I just cry with my heart and eyes, (not with a loud voice):

Oh Allah, since you are my Master, and I am your slave,
Since You are My Lord, and I am your servant,
Since You are My Creator, and I am your Creation,
Since You are the Originator of every single thing that exists,
And only You have complete power over all those things,
Since You are Merciful, and I am in need of Your Mercy,
Since You are the Forgiver, and I am forever  in need of Your Forgiveness,
Since You are The Protector, and I am vulnerable,
Please help me,
If I don't come to You, then to whom will I go?
If I don't cry to You, then to whom will I cry?
If I don't hope from You, then from whom will I hope?
If I don't have Your Love then what do I have?
Please My Lord, cradle my heart and soul like a mother cradles her child,
and soothe them,
Cover me with you Infinite Mercy, ease for me this pain and bring me to a better day,
Ameen, ameen, ameen.