be1ieve replied to your photo: That little red bastard should come with a trigger…
haha yesss! i did the same thing and right away your post came along.
Don’t you feel so helpless when that happens? I mean, that need to click…especially when you’re about to walk away from your laptop and just as you’re about to stand up it appears! And then you have this internal struggle, and you think, but…but…but maybe it’s something important…and it starts all over again! 🙁
That little red bastard should come with a trigger warning cos it almost always provokes an OCD reaction in any serious Tumblrer. click…click…click…
doctorofnothing replied to your post: Another reason I would un-follow you
I kinda see what you’re saying but like, self-promotion as in having a blog centered around the self? Yeah I’m not big into the huge narcissism either.
Self-promotion as in posting personal photos with a strong undertone of fishing for compliments. Changing the tone and content of posts to be deliberately topical to garner more attention. Having more reblogs than personal, original content. Being self-indulgent while pretending to be sincerely expressive. That sort of self-promotion.
This probably sounds very judgemental, but it’s not intended that way. That kind of behaviour really irks me which is why I avoid such people because I usually can’t restrain myself from exposing their whimsical attitude. It’s just ugh, you know? 🙂
A few of the blogs I follow are starting to tend towards self-promotion recently. If it continues, I’ll probably un-follow them. It’s not personal. I just prefer not to see certain people in such a light. Physical appearances taint our interactions with others in daily life, while on tumblr, I tend to appreciate the sincerity of opinions, albeit annoying ones at times, that are offered without care or concern for how the person would be perceived by others. Once the whole personal promotion thing gets out there, it becomes a blog of facades rather than sincere thoughts or views. That is often easily reflected in the change in tone and quality of the posts and usually ends up appealing to groupies, which I despise. Hence my aversion to such blogs.
Just thought I’d share that.
The argument that just ‘professing to be Muslim is insufficient these days’ is patently flawed. Far too often the issue of following the way of the salaf versus being a salafi gets raised with the proponents suggesting that too many deviant sects or misguided schools of thought also profess to be Muslim.
So here’s the issue for me. By worrying about what others will think of you based on the label you ascribe to yourself, you’re focusing your actions to be based on the acceptance of others, rather than concerning yourself with your standing in Allah’s eyes. Worse still, by insisting on creating a label for your flavour of Islam different from that of simply being a Muslim is simply creating another sect.
Consider this. Of the 73 sects that are mentioned in the hadith, 72 will be astray. Now let’s assume we create the ‘salafi’ sect as the 73rd sect. However, by creating it as a sect, it becomes bound by dogma, stigma, perceptions and interpretations. And as is the case with over zealous followers of such sects, when those over zealous ones acquire a senior status in the ranks of such sects, they often yield enough influence to contaminate the true teachings with their personal opinions, sometimes deliberately, and other times unintentionally simply because their words are misconstrued by those same over zealous followers.
At that point, all 73 sects would be astray and would therefore nullify the hadith referred to above. For this simple reason, I believe that being a Muslim and nothing else will always be enough. Learning and practising Islam according to the way of the salaf is the default disposition of any true Muslim. When questioned about the basis for our practises, we’re at liberty to quote authentic sources from the salaf, and in doing so, it would make us practising Muslims. So the 73rd sect is in fact everyone that practises Islam according to the salaf, and whether they choose to be labelled salafis or not is irrelevant.
Through simple laziness we succumb to needing to compartmentalise people so that it makes it easier to judge their worth without having to determine the merit of their actions. In so doing, we negate all their good the moment a single attribute of theirs identifies them with some group of misguided individuals. It is entirely possible for someone to be practising 90% of their deen based on the ways of the salaf, yet because something they do may be construed as sufi or shia, even though it is not shirk, they’re deemed deviants by those that indulge in the excesses of labelling Muslims.
I am a Believer, a Mu’min. And that, I know for a fact, is enough for Allah. So why would I want to contaminate my Imaan by labelling my rituals in my effort to get closer to Allah? Principles versus rituals. Insha-Allah we’ll understand the difference soon before it’s too late.
Amongst the etiquette of du’a that is known by all Muslims, young or old, is that of raising one’s hands. Abu Musa al-Ashari, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated:
“The Prophet, peace be upon him, made du’a, and I saw him raise his hands, until I could see the whiteness of his armpits.” (Recorded in al-Bukhari)
Further, Saman al-Farsi, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
“Indeed, Allah is Shy and Beneficient. He is Shy when His servant raises his hands to Him (in du’a) to return them empty, disappointed!” (Recorded in Ahmad)
SubhanAllah! The Lord of the Creation feels Shy when one of His servants lifts his hands up to Him to make du’a! Verily, hearts are filled with love and awe at the Generosity and Beneficence of Allah.
It is important that our palms face upwards, and not the back of one’s hands, because it is not befitting to ask with the palms facing down, which is a sign of arrogance.
There are three different types of motions for du’a that are narrated from the Companions. The first type is to point one’s forefinger without necessarily lifting one’s hands. This action is done when one asks for forgiveness, or makes general dhikr or during tashahhud. The second type is to raise one’s hands to the level of one’s shoulders with the palms facing up. This is done for regular dua’s at any time. The last type of action is only done in extremely severe circumstances, such as asking for rain after drought, or seeking protection from imminent enemy attack. In this case the hands are stretched forth towards the sky, without joining the two palms together. When this is done a person’s armpits are exposed due to the severity of stretching.
The general rule is that one raises one’s hands to make du’a, but there are exceptions. The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, did not raise his hands during the Friday khutbah. So for the du’a during the khutbah, it is not Sunnah for the Imam or the people to raise their hands, except if the Imam makes a special prayer for rain. It is also not a Sunnah to raise one’s hands for the various du’as throughout the day.
As to the exact manner in which one’s hands should be raised, it is to the level of the shoulders, hands placed together, with palms towards the sky or one’s own face. The wiping of the face with the hands will be discussed in a later post, inshaAllah.
Erm…that’s like saying that if you’re a vegetarian and you stand in front of a raging bull, it won’t charge at you. Hmmm…nah, that won’t work. That’s like expecting life to treat you well just because you’re a good person. Hmmmm…nah, that doesn’t happen. So me thinks this is crap.
Egypt state news agency says Mubarak is “clinically dead.”
I just really dig those shades. You reckon the light is bothering him in his current state? Or perhaps he needs it when he finally sees the light? Hmmm…just wondering… :-/