Blog

  • Naivety

    I was reckless far too often, mostly due to naivety and gullibility rather than due to any wilfully neglectful action on my part. It’s sad to think that we live in a time when trusting too much is considered being gullible rather than being sincere and optimistic. Then again, maybe that’s why some think I’m insane. Seriously, who could possibly find a good reason to trust first and question later these days? Ok, I admit, I do. Not for any reason other than the fact that I will not contaminate my judgement or my values because of the dishonest and deceitful actions of others. No matter how much it hurts or destroys parts of my life that I love dearly, I refuse to give in…and I pray that I never will become so weak and despicable that I do give in from fatigue.

    Excerpt from Ramblings of a Madman

    (the book I never wrote, but should have)

  • Drakensburg Mountains, South Africa

    Drakensburg Mountains, South Africa.

    (c) Cynically Jaded

  • (Source: http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/4370.Elizabeth_Wurtzel)

  • The Quran is a book for both heart and mind. In nearness to it, a woman or a man who possesses a spark of faith knows the path to follow, knows her or his own inadequacies. No sheik is needed, no wise man, no confidant. Ultimately, the heart knows. This was what the Prophet answered when he was asked about moral feelings. In the light of the Book, he said, “Inquire of your heart.” And should our intelligence stray into the complexities of the different levels of reading, from applied ethics to the rules of practice, we must never forget to clothe ourselves in the intellectual modesty that alone can reveal the secrets of the Text. For “it is not the eyes that are blind, but the hearts within the breasts.” Such a heart, humble and alert, is the faithful friend of the Quran.

    Tariq Ramadan (via seinedoll)

    I don’t think this will be well-received by those that think that life without blindly following a scholar is a life of impiety and sin, not to mention a healthy dose of bid’ah. Let’s continue to strive to make Islam unreachable for the average person and ensure that we have hierarchies and elite circles that are accessible only to title holders, and the masses shall only have access to these sacred resources if they present themselves with cap in hand whilst grovelling for scraps of knowledge that the ‘learned’ ones deem them capable of understanding.

    Na’udhubillah min dhaalik.

  • Muslim vs. Mu’Min

    One thing that always annoys me about these endless debates about sects and madhabs is simply this…how much of what you’re debating has any impact on your Imaan? Given that the majority of Muslims are focused on the rituals of Islam and most don’t understand or appreciate the principles behind it, it’s easy to see why the debates are always around the practises rather than the principles. 

    It’s tiring being a Muslim at times, but forever rewarding to be a Mu’min. There’s too many Muslims and too few Mu’mins. And that’s not just a play on words, because at some point it may be worth noting that Allah refers to the followers as Mu’min in the Qur’an more than ever referring to them as Muslims. There’s wisdom in that. I wish that all our wannabe scholars will apply this at some point so that we stop getting bombarded with these exhausting debates and in fact can start sharing true naseeha about how to deal with life rather than how to interpret history. 

  • Politically Incorrect

    After watching a documentary produced by CNN on Islamophobia in America, I was unwittingly reminded of the dark days of apartheid in my home country. I recalled a specific incident when I was working as a network technician in one of the branches of a leading bank. I was behind the bullet proof window separating the teller from the customers when a black man was standing in line waiting his turn and minding his own business. Close to him was an unkempt white lady probably in her 50’s who would generally have been classified as Jerry Springer material had she been living in the US.

    Through some mishap, the black man’s arm brushed against this woman sending her into an absolutely frenzied state hurling the most vile and abusive language at this black man who just stood there and watched, along with everyone else including me, in absolute amazement. The stunned silence in the banking hall didn’t dissuade this woman at all. Her ignorant venom just kept spewing out as if she was possessed with no control whatsoever over her emotional state. Such blind hatred was the result of generations of brainwashing by an elitist white regime that violently oppressed the non-white majority of the country because they believed that the bible said they should.

    The only difference I see between them and the Islamaphobes today is that it didn’t take generations of brainwashing or divine inspiration but simply a single despicable event the perpetrators of which have never been subjected to a fair trial, nor have the outcomes of official investigations been revealed. Yet the same blind rage and hatred that existed in apartheid South Africa still exists in a populace that refuse to see the truth of their own leaders. The only chilling conclusion I can draw from this is that if they choose not to see the error of their own ways willingly, they may have to succumb to the same kind of pain and agony that South Africa experienced before the darkness of apartheid was finally lifted.

  • Burning out

    I seem to have lost any inclination to want to share my thoughts and instead have been preoccupied with sharing photos recently. I even changed my theme to place more emphasis on the pictures, but I know the new theme probably won’t last. My constant search for a theme that reflects what I want to present my digital world as is a reflection of the changing moods I go through constantly in my efforts to find my sweet spot in life.

    It still eludes me. Very little is comforting, and I choke on my food far too often. Yet another indication of my impatience with life. I’m constantly agitated as if I need to be somewhere else doing something else even though the present moment is not always unpleasant. I’m afraid of getting settled in this single life that I’ve established for me. Only me. No one else plays in this space. Just me. But it seems like me is not enough so far, but I’m resisting the temptation to seek a companion because of this dis-ease that I feel. 

    I need to slow my thoughts down to a sprint. Right now they’re racing ahead at blistering speeds that rarely allows any of them to be fully formed before being replaced with another thought, not always from the same train either. Perhaps my focus on photography will encourage such a slowing of my pace. Maybe I’ll pause for long enough to absorb what beauty abounds, instead of always analysing, critiquing, and interpreting. I need to slow down. I’m burning out. 

  • Angry African sun from my back yard.

    (c) Cynically Jaded