Category: Random Thoughts

  • Plight of the Rohingya Muslims

    nuzrat reblogged your video: We keep seeing the plight of the Rohingya Muslims…

    How can Bangladesh help…Rohingya? Bangladesh has big problems

    With respect, who doesn’t have big problems? When we see our problems as being bigger than the problems of those around us, we become self-absorbed and lacking in compassion. 

    The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:

    “Every Muslim has to give in charity.”

    The people then asked: “(But what) if someone has nothing to give, what should he do?”

    The Prophet replied: “He should work with his hands and benefit himself and also give in charity (from what he earns).”

    The people further asked: “If he cannot find even that?”

    He replied: “He should help the needy who appeal for help.”

    Then the people asked: “If he cannot do (even) that?”

    The Prophet said finally: “Then he should perform good deeds and keep away from evil deeds, and that will be regarded as charitable deeds.” – Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 2, Hadith 524 

    Here’s another hadith that confirms the importance of charity:

    The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “Save yourself from hellfire by giving even half a date-fruit in charity.” – Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 2, Hadith 498

    I’m sure that the issue is not as simple as can be described in a single post, but to have that kind of attitude from a supposed leader of a Muslim nation when talking about what is acknowledged to be the most persecuted group of ethnic minorities in the world, is just arrogant beyond belief. There are countless NGO’s that would assist Bangladesh in their support of the Ronhingya Muslims if requested, including non-Muslim NGO’s, so I find it difficult to accept the position of the Bangladeshi PM in this issue. 

    Edit: I just read the full text of your note after you reblogged that video. The house of Saud are pathetic beyond belief. They’re probably one of the biggest usurpers of the wealth of the Ummah, and are known to treat even their own citizens despicably. So it’s amazing how so many can insist that they’re beyond reproach. I guess, as much as this may sound idealistic, I’m sure there are many that can testify to the fact that when we give to others in need, Allah increases our own sustenance from sources we never imagined. Perhaps the Rohingya are a test to the Muslims of Bangladesh, and if treated correctly, could attract the mercy of Allah for themselves? This reminds me of the hadith where the Prophet (SAW) used to offer what little he had to his guests even though he himself was starving. 

  • Question – Living Selflessly

    84thlife replied to your post: The more I engage with others, the clearer becomes…

    I really disagree where you said a selfless life is impossible and altruism is a lie; all people have bouts of selfishness from time to time but that doesn’t mean they don’t have bouts of selflessness, too. I say we agree to disagree. 🙂

    I know where you’re coming from with this, but perhaps my jadedness makes me see things differently. To me, we do things for either one of the following key reasons:

    1. We desire appreciation
    2. We desire affirmation
    3. We desire inclusion
    4. We desire admiration
    5. We desire respect
    6. We desire divine reward

    There’s probably one or two more reasons that motivate people to do things for seemingly selfless reasons, but that’s all that comes to mind right now. This is what I was referring to in my original post about some of the motivations being honourable, commendable or noble,  because there’s always an expectation of something in return, even if that something is not materialistic or socially quantifiable in this lifetime. Point 6 above is probably the most noble of them all because it seeks recognition from other than man. But it still indicates a desire for personal gain of some sort.

    If I haven’t convinced you yet, then I’m happy to agree to disagree. 🙂

  • Living Selflessly

    The more I engage with others, the clearer becomes my view of my own dysfunction. Surviving abuse at so many levels across such a broad spectrum of my life while still maintaining my sanity comes at a cost. Only, the cost is rarely discernible by any around me, and often, not even me. 

    I could write volumes about my coping mechanisms and my insane ability to still believe in people and having hope in humanity, but it will make me vomit. And if that is the response it will elicit from me, I’d hardly want to put anyone else through a similar trial.

    People will disappoint and betray as long as there’s stars in the sky and a sunrise tomorrow morning. We’re designed to collide in our needs versus the expectations of others. The more we need, the greater our disappointment. The more we expect, the greater our pain. 

    A selfless life is impossible, because by design, everything we do is motivated by a selfish desire. While those desires may be honourable, noble, or commendable, they’re nonetheless selfish. Altruism is a lie, and philanthropists are just people that trade wealth for respect and appreciation. So it stands to reason that our value must be judged not by our apparent intent, nor our vested interest, but instead it should be judged by the impact we have on others. Regardless of what my selfish motives may have been, if the outcome is positive, it makes no difference what drove me to achieve it. 

    I’ve often realised that even my conscious efforts at maintaining a specific focus in intent or motivation later revealed a less honourable desire lurking beneath. And so I abandon my self-hate and self-loathing so that I can one day be judged more fairly by the one Who created me. Until then, everyone else is just wasting good oxygen offering their opinions about who I am and why I do what I do. They’ll forever be wrong, even more wrong than I.

  • It’s one of those evenings where the reality of mankind causes the bile to foam at the back of my throat threatening to suffocate any peace from my being.

  • Plight of the Rohingya Muslims

    cynicallyjaded:

    We keep seeing the plight of the Rohingya Muslims being publicised, but it doesn’t show one really despicable side to the entire tragedy. Look at this video, and you’ll be hard pressed not to want to spit in the face of the PM of Bangladesh, whom I’m inclined to believe is a Muslim as well, given her name, and given that Islam is the religion of 90.4% of the population according to statistics from 2010. 

    So here’s the question…how can we expect Muslims to be treated like human beings anywhere in the world, if we can’t see fit to fulfil our own responsibilities towards them in our own back yards? Look around the world and see how many conflicts involving Muslims have proclaimed Muslims on both sides of the conflict? Then look at those where the Muslims are being attacked by non-Muslims and see how many Muslim states are intervening or overtly providing assistance to the Muslims? 

    Muslims should hang their heads in shame. We’re the biggest preachers and biggest critics, with the best debating skills at exposing the flaws of our fellow Muslims and finding the most petty bullshit to argue about and find reason to create sects and divisions, but ask us to unite behind a common enemy and even then we’ll get into a debate about whose responsibility it is. 

    Please correct me if I’m wrong in anything I’m saying here, but watch the video first and then tell me how much compassion exists amongst the Ummah for fellow Muslims. The compassion of the layman is irrelevant when the governments that we support and vote into power don’t give a damn about our collective responsibility, while we’re powerless and impotent to change any of it. 

    Like the Arabs say, your leaders are as you are. We’re even pathetic enough to find reason to compete between our own charitable organisations instead of joining forces at the most basic level of civil assistance. Astaghfirullah!

    (Source: http://www.youtube.com/)

  • The Great Olympic Pissing Contest

    Seems a hiatus is called for again, because the Olympic spam is fast becoming a major annoyance. We assign such significance to these events that we fail to see the simple truth behind it all. Like the FIFA Soccer World Cup, and other similar sporting events hosted on a global stage, it’s nothing but capitalistic ventures cloaked in good old fashioned values of sportsmanship and supposed goodwill.

    Look behind the scenes, as with the current Olympics as well, and you’ll see how many ordinary people and businesses are forcefully marginalised and actively excluded simply because they don’t have as much money to pay for the advertising rights of such events. So what started out as a universal celebration of camaraderie and sportsmanship has turned into a pissing contest, and nothing more. 

    So forgive me if I don’t exactly celebrate the inclusion of marginalised groups and countries in a spectacle that holds no honour or respect any longer. The innocence of the world has been defiled a long time ago.  

  • Islamic Wisdom and the Afternoon Nap

    psych-facts:

    Earlier research has found that dreams boost learning, with one study suggesting a 90-minute nap may help lock in long-term memories. But Walker’s research, published this week in the journal Current Biology, finds that another phase of sleep, called nonrapid eye movement (NREM) is most closely linked to the learning boost provided by a nap.

    Walker and his colleagues recruited 44 volunteers — 27 women and 17 men — to come to the sleep lab at noon. First, the volunteers were given a task in which they had to memorize 100 names and faces. Then they were tested for how well they recalled the face-name matches.

    Next, the researchers tucked half of the volunteers in for a nap between 2 p.m. and 3:40 p.m. The scientists measured the napping volunteers’ brain waves as they slept. The other group of participants stayed awake and did daily activities as they normally would. At 6 p.m., both groups memorized another set of 100 faces and names and were tested on their memory. (The experiment was set up so nappers had more than an hour to shake off any remaining fuzziness before the test, Walker said.)

    The first major finding, Walker said, was that learning ability degrades as the day wears on. Volunteers who didn’t nap did about 12 percent worse on the evening test than they did on the morning test. (Walker presented preliminary findings of this effect at a conference in February 2010.) But shut-eye not only reversed those effects, it provided a memory boost: Napping test-takers did about 10 percent better on the evening test than they did on the morning test. In all, the difference in scores between nappers and non-nappers was about 20 percent, Walker said.

    Secondly, the brain-wave monitoring turned up a likely culprit for the memory upgrade: a short, synchronized burst of electrical activity called a sleep spindle. These sleep spindles last about one second and can occur 1,000 times per night during NREM sleep. People who had more of these spindles, especially people who had more over a frontal area of the brain called the prefrontal cortex, showed the most refreshment in learning capacity after their nap, Walker said.

    I love it when modern day research confirms the benefits of age old practices. Muslims have known, but mostly abandoned, the practice of sleeping after the midday prayer, even though it is an established tradition of the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh). Also, because of the ignorance of this in Western culture, most modern day offices don’t allow for such a practice to be maintained. The productivity gains and efficiency benefits could easily outweigh the cost of a 30 – 45 minute downtime in the middle of the day. 

    (Source: http://neurolove.me)

  • A Terrorist’s Awkward Moment