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  • Questions from a Non-Muslim

    cynicallyjaded:

    wolfy18:

    I have a few questions I’d like to put out to the Muslims & Christians on here.

    Some questions might appeal to one religion more so than the other and the questions are sort of related to eachother, but whatever.

    1.  If God is all seeing, all knowing, and the great planner of everything, does this mean he plans evil?

    2.  Can you have mercy without sin?  If not, does this mean we have to become a sinner before we can “find God”?

    3.  If our lives are planned, does this contradict our free will?

    By the way I’m asking out of intrigue, not trying to sound like a condescending twat.  I genuinely want answers.

    Hi, these questions are asked often by both Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Here’s my perspective on what I think it means:

    1. Evil is not a ‘commodity’ like good in the same way that dark is not a ‘commodity’ like light. The one exists in the absence of the other. This ties in with the concept of fate and free will, which also relates to your third question, so I hope to deal with it more comprehensively in that answer. Essentially what I’m saying is that God doesn’t plan good or evil. He simply makes available the choices to us with predetermined outcomes, and what we choose is what determines whether good or evil results from our actions.
    2. Assuming that mercy is only required when we sin overlooks the fact that mercy is also needed to continue giving without reason or recompense. What I mean is that we often only think of asking for mercy if we realise that we’ve done something wrong. However, as Muslims, we consider every good that we receive, and every comfort that we enjoy as a mercy from Allah. So we believe that we’re indebted to Allah for all the mercy that He shows us even though we are often not complying with what we believe to be His will or instructions for the way we should be living our lives. 
    3. Free will and destiny are often very misunderstood. As Muslims, we believe we have a limited free will, and not an absolute free will. What I mean is that I can choose how I respond to a situation, or how I want to act, but I cannot control what situations or experiences are presented to me. This world is a perfect system in that every action has a predetermined reaction. These are the natural laws and order of things that we believe was created by Allah. Therefore, whatever we do, the outcome is known to Allah because He created the ‘rules’ that govern existence and how everything interacts. But in this system, there are variables, and these variables allow us to exercise our limited free will. So by exercising our gift of reason and logic, and our ability to act on it, we choose either to encourage good, or evil. How we choose, and how we comply with the laws and guidelines set out for us is what determines our standing in Allah’s court, and subsequently will determine our final fate when we’re called to account on the day of judgement.

    I’ve contemplated the issue of fate and free will previously, so if you’d like to read more about my thoughts on the subject, you can see some of my previous posts under the tag of fate.

    I look forward to hearing your views on this. 

  • Dua Qunoot

    Dua Qunoot

    Transliteration:

    allahumma innaa nasta ‘Eenuka wa nastaghfiruka wa

    nu’minubika wa natawakkalu ‘Alayka wa nuthni

    ‘Alaykal khair. wa nashkuru ka wa laa nak furuka wa

    nakhla’U wa natruku mayyaf juruk. allahumma iyyaka

    n’Abudu wa lakanusollee wa nasjudu wa ilayka nas’Aa

    wa nakhfidu wa narjoo raHmataka wa nakhshaa ‘Adhaabaka

    inna ‘Adhaabaka bil kuffaari mulHiqq.

    (Image Source: http://iiislam.tumblr.com/)

  • Madrassa for the Blind

    If you’re looking for a worthy cause that is in need of support, consider Madrassa An-Noor for The Blind. They’ve been producing really great work in support of blind Muslims with the Qur’an published in braille, and numerous Islamic publications also made available in braille and other formats that can be used by the visually impaired. They are able to accept contributions from international donors as well.

    I’m sure they’ll appreciate any help they receive, Insha-Allah.

  • Free Advice on Document Writing

    Here’s my pet peeves when it comes to document writing:

    1. The document is worded the way the author thinks rather than how it is supposed to be read
    2. The content is answering a question that is irrelevant to the subject or focus of the issue at hand
    3. The audience is completely forgotten in the pitch of the document
    4. The formatting is inconsistent and tardy
    5. Slang or other informal terms are used

    If you want to make sure that your document serves its intended purpose, and that it will be read, then keep the following in mind:

    1. Write it the way you want it to be read, not the way you’re thinking it out loud. It shows.
    2. After every statement or three, ask yourself if you’re still answering the right question or responding to the right need. If not, delete and rephrase. The last thing you want is a really good answer to the wrong question! 
    3. If you’re writing a document intended for junior level staff, go into approproate detail that will be needed to guide them in what they need to do. If it’s for senior management, including irrelevant detail will lose their attention as well as give the impression that you’re petty or nitpicking.
    4. Take the time to align your margins, justify your text correctly, and apply suitable capitalisation to your headings and sub-headings. A shoddy looking document is that much more difficult to take seriously.
    5. Using cool terms that are the latest social buzz may sound cool to your friends and social networking buddies, but it leaves a bad after taste in a formal document because it undermines the professionalism of the reader, and assumes a level of familiarity that is most probably inappropriate.

    Hope that helps. And I hope that some sorry sod is spared the pain of having to read a crappy document as a result of these simple points being applied.

  • Sakura

  • Eish…interesting…with quite a twist to the story as well. Who would have thought that Obama’s white mother is a descendent of a black slave?

    Obama lineage linked to 1st African slave

  • Obama: My Work Here Is Done

  • Question – Living Selflessly

    84thlife replied to your post: 84thlife replied to your post: 84thlife replied to…

    And FWIW, I really do hope you find examples of people, personally in life or famous, whoever, who you do think do selfless things, even if just occasionally. I’m sure there are some out there. Mahatma Gandhi? Mother Teresa? Someone else?

    I guess the truth of it all is simply that I won’t see the world any differently as long as I see these shortcomings in myself. I see this lack of selflessness in my own character, hence I find it difficult to see anyone else’s motivation any differently. I guess the desire for divine reward is the only admirable selfishness of the lot, and it’s entirely understandable. Perhaps I’ll have a life experience that will convince me otherwise, but until then, I am cynically jaded, am I not? 🙂

    Edit: I don’t have much respect for Mahatma Gandhi. I think he was elevated in status more than he deserved, similar to Nelson Mandela. And I suspect that this would sound like blasphemy to those that love and admire these people, but society tends to overstate the virtues of people that simply step up and take a lead in a vacuum of principled behaviour. So it’s easy to understand why many would admire them. :/ Sorry, my jadedness knows no bounds this morning. 🙁