The best way to look at countries on a map is like a chalk outline drawn by the police when someone dies… what you are seeing with the borders are just outlines of historical crimes… past warlords… empires… its nothing to be loyal to. Have loyalty to reason, to evidence, to ideals… not to lines drawn up mostly by criminals
Stefan Molyneux (via socraticapology)
As always, context is critical. 😐
Impossible Dream
To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
And to run where
the brave dare not go
To right the unrightable wrong
And to love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star
This is my quest
To follow that star
No matter how hopeless
No matter how far
To fight for the right
Without question or pause
To be willing to march,
march into hell
For that heavenly cause
And I know
If I’ll only be true
To this glorious quest
That my heart
Will lie peaceful and calm
When I’m laid to my rest
And the world will be
better for this
That one man, scorned
and covered with scars,
Still strove with his last
ounce of courage
To reach the unreachable,
the unreachable,
The unreachable star
And I’ll always dream
The impossible dream
Yes, and I’ll reach
The unreachable star
Sung by Luther Vandross
(For some strange reason, the lyrics of this song is echoing in the void between my ears this morning as I recover from a Red Bull induced hangover.
If I were to stand, facing a wall of water about to crash into me, I would probably breathe a sigh of relief and just succumb to the experience with a hint of a smile at the corners of my lips.
The proper way to make du’a is in a subdued voice, as Allah tells us:
“Call upon your Lord with humility, and in secret.” (Surah al-A’raf:55)
This is why Allah praised the du’a of Zakaraiya when He described it as being secret:
“When he made a du’a to his Lord in secret (or privately).” (Surah Maryam:3)
This principle is also mentioned in hadith. The Prophet peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
“O people! Be gentle on yourselves, for you are not calling someone who is deaf or absent. Rather you are calling the One Who hears everything, Ever-Close.” (Recorded in al-Bukhari)
Shaykh al-Islam ibn Taymiyyah, also mentioned a number of benefits of making du’a silently in his work Majmu al-Fatawa which are as follows:
It is great to identify problems, but the issue I have is that, especially in the West, we have fallen into a “culture of condemnation,” in which in order to be exempt from criticism, we simply must condemn “Issue X” or “Issue Y,” and therefore, we have shown, through mere words, that we are “acceptable” or “good” through our condemnation.
I am sorry, I think that is terrible and lazy; it is easy to condemn something, it is far more difficult to change something. Great, you identify a problem, but the larger question is: are you prepared to take the necessary steps to change it?
This is also true for the behaviour by many Muslims that profess to be on a rightly guided path compared to everyone else, then promptly go about condemning others because that’s easier than engaging meaningfully around the specific issue at hand.
It’s also easier to dismiss everything a recognised scholar says just because of where he comes from, or who he may be affiliated with, than it is to understand that scholar’s perspectives and focus on unwrapping that.
The easiest of all is to assume that your level of piety, your level of understanding, or your level of sincerity in practice is greater than anyone else that does not subscribe to your exact school of thought or interpretations, while emphasising the advice about hating for the sake of Allah, and completing neglecting the advice of good manners in speech and moderation.
When faced with the arrogance, condescension, and inconsideration of the majority of Muslims I see these days, both on Tumblr and in real life, my heart sinks, not only because of how steeped we are in our individual piety without any consideration for our collective responsibility, but also because I see more effort applied towards forming divisions and intolerance rather than establishing understanding and unity amongst all who profess the Shahadah.
Groundbreaking Olympian of the Day: In a surprise last-minute decision, the South African Olympic committee and national track federation said today that double amputee Oscar Pistorius can run in both the individual 400 meters and the 4×400 relay at the London Olympics. Pistorius, who runs on carbon fiber blades, will be the first amputee track athlete to compete at any games.
“Today is truly one of the proudest days of my life,” Pistorius said in an official statement. “I am so pleased that years of hard work, determination and sacrifice have all come together.”
He took to Twitter after the news had a little time to sink in: “Still on cloud 9 but need to keep at what got me here so off to the Gym. Thank you all who shared today with me, I really appreciate it!”
[ap]
