Thoughts 2021

[Allah Seeker]

1 hour ago, notme said:

My second dose of Moderna vaccine is this week. Should I pretend to have side effects (if I don't) so that I can take a day or two off? 

It is more interesting to see what you write in a year or two. 

My hope is that both vaxxed and unvaxxed live together happy ever-after, and that all are safe. 

That's my wishful thinking. 

[notme]

My friend is about to lose her home. Does anyone here have any connections in Portland Oregon who might be able to help? She has pets, joint custody of her children, she needs wheelchair accessible, and she is on a small fixed income. 

If you can't help, please pray for her to find a stable, safe, and beneficial home, or the ability to remain in the one she is being forced to leave. (New owners want to occupy it themselves, not rent.)

[Bakir]

21 hours ago, notme said:

My friend is about to lose her home. Does anyone here have any connections in Portland Oregon who might be able to help? She has pets, joint custody of her children, she needs wheelchair accessible, and she is on a small fixed income. 

That this can take place in a rich country is beyond my understanding. What is the use of a state if it's not to guarantee some basic rights, especially for vulnerable people.

I really wish she can find a solution or decent accesible alternative...

[Haji 2003]

BBC radio has announced that a programme for women is to have the time allocated to it will be increased. This has led to a lot of comments from women (traditional definition) about whether it the additional time will benefit them:

 

[Haji 2003]

On 4/27/2021 at 3:11 AM, notme said:

My friend is about to lose her home. Does anyone here have any connections in Portland Oregon who might be able to help? She has pets, joint custody of her children, she needs wheelchair accessible, and she is on a small fixed income. 

If you can't help, please pray for her to find a stable, safe, and beneficial home, or the ability to remain in the one she is being forced to leave. (New owners want to occupy it themselves, not rent.)

Yes, I do. He works in local government there, may have useful connections. Actually he's in Eugene, but may still know people.

[Haji 2003]

Quote

“Almost everyone asks about my caste because everyone wants a Brahmin to do the [funeral] rituals and not the Dalits, but they aren’t available,” he said. “We are.”

https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3dggy/we-spoke-to-a-cremator-at-the-center-of-indias-covid-hell

[Reza]

The early morning period (4 to 6 am) is the best time to be (fully) awake, no matter what time of year. I can attest to it everytime. 

[Haji 2003]

[Soldiers and Saffron]

So much chaos and suffering in the world right now...

It is really heartbreaking to see the videos coming out of Palestine right now as well as what happened in Afghanistan recently, I wonder how much more we need to see as a ummah before we start to unite against the chaos and suffering.

Or will the all the things we see just cause most of us to become desensitize towards the chaos and suffering of others while most of us will be busy living the hyper individualized lives of the modern day and age? I know some people dont even read the news anymore...

What seems strange to me is that other people find the common ground to blame the IR for the suffering, if people die in Palestine, it will be the IRs fault, if they die in Afghanistan, it is also be the IRs fault. It is strange to me that the people who are the biggest critics of the Islamic republic are also the ones who expect the most out of the IR. Is that the trait of a genuine concern? Of a genuine person?

When we see all this chaos and the suffering of the muslims, should it not bring us all closer in solidarity and in union against the chaos and suffering? It seems obvious to me but I have also seen, not only now but others times as well, that when we see chaos and the suffering of muslims, it only causes some people to dive deeper in to sectarian thoughts instead. What will the result of that be if not more chaos and suffering? How much more is enough?

I wish that the world was black and white but it is not and you will find faithful and humane muslims from all the different sects likewise you will find disgusting and hateful muslims as well. I think that any ideology or code of living that is worth being shared to others should be shared by setting examples, it should be shared in a genuine and caring manner, not through hate and hatred, that will not cause the ideology to spread but only serve to cause self glorification by means of condemning those who do not share you ideology.

Meanwhile the muslims in Palestine are getting killed, the muslims in Afghanistan are getting killed and the children in Yemen dont have ifthar tonight. Oppression, chaos and corruption has become normalized while we trying to find reasons not to care for one or the other. How much longer? 

The muslims truly need their Imam(ajf) now, the whole world and all the descendants of Adam(عليه السلام) do.

 

 

[AbdusSibtayn]

It's past midnight where I live, and well past my bedtime. I cannot sleep. Cannot rest. Cannot function. My heart aches. How does one retain his composure as the world around him is falling apart?? How?? How??

Son of Zahrā (aj), where are you!!? When will you come?? 

[Soldiers and Saffron]

 

[Haji 2003]

Albanian mosque in Switzerland.

 

[Hameedeh]

On 4/22/2021 at 7:45 PM, hasanhh said:

 "Alright . . . Pay Attention"

l is going to be away for awhile so all of you behave yourselves, don't miss salah . . .

OR

Y'all get the verbal "whack-whack" when l gets me back here."

Salam All 

Salam. We miss you, Brother. 

[Gaius I. Caesar]

On 4/26/2021 at 1:25 PM, Allah Seeker said:

It is more interesting to see what you write in a year or two. 

My hope is that both vaxxed and unvaxxed live together happy ever-after, and that all are safe. 

That's my wishful thinking. 

I'm fairly confident that your wish will come true as more and more people come to their senses and get vaccinated, instead of believing everything they see on Facebook, Tik-Tok, etc.

I too, will keep you updated a year from now. I'm certain that your apprehensions about vaccines are misplaced, insha'allah.

[Ain-Al Hayat]

On 4/23/2021 at 2:45 AM, hasanhh said:

 "Alright . . . Pay Attention"

l is going to be away for awhile so all of you behave yourselves, don't miss salah . . .

OR

Y'all get the verbal "whack-whack" when l gets me back here."

Salam All 

Lol actually when I opened my account and I noticed that there is no notifications of you since last month... I got worried

But then I saw this post of yours

Thanks for letting us know

Hopefully you will be back soon

Stay safe and happy:)

[rkazmi33]

My parents have been  preparing me for real world for the last 10 years. 

[Abdul-Hadi]

I really hope that this year is substantially better than last year for me. I ran into some major problems last year and my life changed a lot, not in the best possible way either. Things have gotten a lot more difficult for me and a lot of it had to do with my stupid illness.

But I'm still alive and I'm moving in the right direction again, so that's something to be thankful for.

[Dave follower of The Way]

7 hours ago, Abdul-Hadi said:

I really hope that this year is substantially better than last year for me.

HI - Good to see you back!

Yes I pray that this year will be a special year for you.

God - The living and loving one - bless and guide you into all truth

[Ashvazdanghe]

Mano Beshnas Official Video (Farzad Farzin & 40 Singers)

Indian Reacting Irani Mano Beshnas Official Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id-teoirw5U

[Hameedeh]

Before the emergence of Covid-19, if it was raining or snowing (I walk to work) I thought I was not happy. After Covid-19 pandemic, I wake up in the morning and no matter what the weather is I say Alhamdulillah, I'm alive! 

[rkazmi33]

What does it mean to love for the sake of Allah and hate for the sake of Allah. People say that it means hating a sinful person and loving a pious person without considering whether they are good or bad to you. Using this logic, some people took favors from me and then betrayed me saying that it's because I am sinful and an enemy of Allah. So if a "bad" person does a favor to you and you treat him bad in return, isn't this being ungrateful and doesn't Islam emphasize on returning favors? There is someone who has been really kind to me and I want to return the favor but they have been abandoned by the community and I just get a feeling that they try to avoid me. This is frustrating because who gave this right to people to determine who is a friend of Allah and who is enemy? And we are using a principle, which sounds good in theory, to justify our wrong actions and ungratefulness. I really want to return that person's kindness because I have been hurt by people who attacked me after taking favors from me and I don't want to become like that. 

[Abdul-Hadi]

I feel abnormal because I don't think I'm ever going to be getting married or having children. I am 35 years old, suffer from schizoaffective disorder and live with my aging mother (it was good that I moved back in, because she fell down last year and managed to call me to come over, carry her to the car, and get her to the hospital). I know that it's a good thing to be there for your mother when she doesn't have a husband, but a part of me still wishes that I could take care of myself well enough to live on my own, get married, support a family, and have the normal adult life. I feel very guilty that I have made the bad decisions in life that got me where I am at now and I don't really see a way out of this situation. It's not that it's a bad situation, I just wish that I could have a normal life like a Muslim man is supposed to have. I know that Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) has a plan for me and that He is the best of planners, but I can't help but feel inadequate and feel like a complete and total loser and that even if I had a faith community to be a part of, that people would not want to pray next to me or befriend me because I have nothing going on in life due to bad choices that I made before I accepted the invitation to Islam.

I wish that I had been guided to Islam when I was in my teenage years. I wouldn't have gotten mixed up in the stuff I did and would have made better choices in regard to school, career, and who knows? I might be living the life of an adult man by now. The one thing I think that I really have, is the experience to tell little brothers what not to do. That you can live the "Western lifestyle" as a young man and by your mid 30s, realize that it got you nowhere. I suppose I should be too ashamed about any of this to talk about it, but I'm not confessing sins here-- I'm just being real about how the life of a Muslim is something that you want to cling to (hard) when you're young. If you were born into this faith and your parents are even slightly religious, thank Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) every time you pray that you were raised in this and don't throw it away for "Western values". "Western values" are not actual values, they're a mean and cruel joke that is played on young men in the West to draw them away from Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) until their life is eventually ruined. None of it is worth it: the materialism, the consumerism, the "if it feels good, do it" mentality that we are encouraged to believe in in America... granted things could be infinitely worse for me, I could be on the street, have HIV, be addicted to drugs, or be living under the tyranny of a colonial project (Israel), but I just always feel like the "grass is greener on the other side". Then I feel guilty because I should be thankful that I found Islam and am in the situation I'm in because the only thing I can really do is cling to Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) and try to live the character of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) for the rest of the life that I have.

I just want to live a better, more full life. I didn't realize until recently that the lifestyle I had been conditioned to avoid in my youth was the exact one that I would end up wanting to live. Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) has changed my life and my heart, and He has the best possible plan for me, so I shouldn't be so preoccupied with what I want my life to be rather than what Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) wants to do with me and through me.

Thanks for letting me share my thoughts Shiachat.

[Abdul-Hadi]

Here's some more random thoughts: Some famous YouTube Muslim apologists are often not doing a good job. Especially not when they yell, curse, and insult people. They're like Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron are to christianity-- they make it look obnoxious and smug. If either of these men had been my first contact with Islam, I would probably not be a Muslim.

You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, but regardless of this, Islam isn't about "catching" people. There is no compulsion in religion, so you can't bully someone into accepting Islam or trick them into taking the shahada and then telling them (in your British accent) "YOU'RE MUSLIM NOW! YOU'RE MUSLIM NOW!" It took me years of studying and lurking to get to a point where I was comfortable identifying as a Muslim and altering my habits and lifestyle to back that statement up. It's not something that people can be intimidated or pressured into, because then where will be the change in that person? How is the Noor supposed to shine through them when they have no background study and cannot even recite al-Fatihah?

Islam is a commitment to studying and learning, especially for Westerners. It's not just something that you waltz in to as if it was a high school cafeteria. I have not named these gentlemen because I don't want valid criticism to come off as back-biting, but Islam cannot afford to make the same mistakes that Christianity did or it too will suffer the same fate. I love it and have a surprising amount of fear that it's going to be cheapened and commodified the way that Christianity was in the West.

Just my thoughts.

[Guest]

I have been groping around in a state of spiritual darkness for the past few months. I don't know if anyone else has been feeling the same but to me the dunya suddenly seems to be shutting down very very quickly - some things getting wrapped up others toppled over. There is so much Zulm everywhere, people have become unkind, devoid of ikhlaq at an individual level and also collectively. 

It feels like a hurricane is blowing away everything and there is nothing to hold on to for support. I don't find respite or comfort from the usual things anymore- majalis, lectures, even Islamic books.- every service is 'closing operations'. I have never been worried about my faith as I am now. It's a lonely difficult walk. 

[Haji 2003]

 

[Haji 2003]

4 hours ago, starlight said:

There is so much Zulm everywhere, people have become unkind, devoid of ikhlaq at an individual level and also collectively.

Not sure that that's your problem or mine or anyone else's other than those perpetrating it and ok, those at the receiving end.

You can't really worry about those things over which you have no control.

4 hours ago, starlight said:

I don't know if anyone else has been feeling the same

Personally I've found a great deal of hope in the non-Muslims making common cause with the Palestinians in recent months.

Am also ever grateful for the miracles coming my way. Here's the latest one. Out of sheer chance I discovered an admin error I had made at work. Caught it in time and no harm done. Had that piece of sheer luck not happened, hell would have broken loose with hundreds of people affected for a significant life event.

[ali_fatheroforphans]

On the day of judgment your inner prophet will also speak against you. 

Sometimes we know when something is harram - we don't need a fatwa. 

Finding a fatwa to fulfil our desires - that's not faith. Yes we have to give up things we even enjoy at times if it's harram.

[Haji 2003]

 

[Haji 2003]

 

[ali_fatheroforphans]

On 6/24/2021 at 4:12 AM, starlight said:

It feels like a hurricane is blowing away everything and there is nothing to hold on to for support. I don't find respite or comfort from the usual things anymore- majalis, lectures, even Islamic books.- every service is 'closing operations'. I have never been worried about my faith as I am now. It's a lonely difficult walk. 

Imam Ali (عليه السلام) said that most people are asleep, they only wake up when they die.  

Think about how depressing it must have been for our great mystics who see people in the form of animals.

The solution to our state of spiritual darkness is to remember death as often as we can - we all will become dust one day and we'll remember the Quranic verse "Successful are those who have purified themselves". Everything else is just an illusion - seeing bodies without souls. 

[Guest]

3 hours ago, ali_fatheroforphans said:

The solution to our state of spiritual darkness is to remember death as often as we can - we all will become dust one day and we'll remember the Quranic verse "Successful are those who have purified themselves". Everything else is just an illusion - seeing bodies without souls. 

Great advice. But my concern is that for the period of time I have to spend in this dunya I don't find anyone who I can look upto as a halfway good spiritual mentor, whose motive is purely gaining closeness to Allah. I believe these are the people we should stay close to in these turbulent times - someone I could trust and look to for advice. Likes of Ayatullah Behjat have already left this dunya leaving behind a gaping hole and no one to take their place. Ayatullah Sistani (عليه السلام) someone else whom I respect is in his twilight years and secondly, doesn't address people publicly. Rest of the well known scholars, frankly one thing or other has happened that had made me question their khulus. There must be some gems somewhere (313 or their ancestors) but I think they keep to themselves. 

[rkazmi33]

22 hours ago, starlight said:

Great advice. But my concern is that for the period of time I have to spend in this dunya I don't find anyone who I can look upto as a halfway good spiritual mentor, whose motive is purely gaining closeness to Allah. I believe these are the people we should stay close to in these turbulent times - someone I could trust and look to for advice. Likes of Ayatullah Behjat have already left this dunya leaving behind a gaping hole and no one to take their place. Ayatullah Sistani (عليه السلام) someone else whom I respect is in his twilight years and secondly, doesn't address people publicly. Rest of the well known scholars, frankly one thing or other has happened that had made me question their khulus. There must be some gems somewhere (313 or their ancestors) but I think they keep to themselves. 

I am in the same position. I start listening to one aalim, then he says something which makes me question his sincerity and I start listening to other aalims. People tell me I am wasting my time by listening to so many aalims. I should just stick with one and start "obeying" him which means "following him blindly". I have seen some sincere people but they are constantly bullied, so they prefer to remain silent. 

Edited July 1, 2021 by rkazmi33

[notme]

I got appointed to a post in local government, with the Board of Zoning. Has anyone here ever done anything like this and can let me know how it works? I've worked for a municipality before, but in public works, not government. 

[Ashvazdanghe]

On 7/2/2021 at 6:23 PM, notme said:

. Has anyone here ever done anything like this and can let me know how it works?

Salam I haven't  done anything  like this but based on Iranian  dcumentary "ابرها در راهند " about building of "  Hazrat Fatima Zahra Mosque " in Frankfurt  , Germany  which  good cooperation  of Shia community  & St. Markus Coptic Orthodox Church Frankfurt & municipality  of Frankfurt & it's board of Zoning has caused good vibes of cooperation between  multiple people of city with  any viewpoint even marxists & atheists  for fighting  with Islamophobia after 9/11 & besides that benefits  of building  the Hazrat Fatima Zahra Mosque for locals likewise building  kindergarten & auditorium for locals & fixing problem of square due to building  of the Hazrat Fatima Zahra Mosque complex with useful places for both of locals & [Turkish] shia community from second  & third generation of shia Turk labore  migrants as current  citizens of  Frankfurt  , Germany.(hazrat-fatima-zehra-moschee)

http://www.doctv.ir/program/151601

http://www.sourehcinema.ir/?p=75552

https://www.filimo.com/m/GIWYP

https://second.wiki/wiki/st_markus_koptisch-orthodoxe_kirche_frankfurt

https://mapcarta.com/W52468422

https://www.emporis.com/buildings/1160111/hazrat-fatima-zehra-moschee-frankfurt-am-main-germany

[peace4alltheworld]

On 6/30/2021 at 10:02 PM, starlight said:

Great advice. But my concern is that for the period of time I have to spend in this dunya I don't find anyone who I can look upto as a halfway good spiritual mentor, whose motive is purely gaining closeness to Allah. I believe these are the people we should stay close to in these turbulent times - someone I could trust and look to for advice. Likes of Ayatullah Behjat have already left this dunya leaving behind a gaping hole and no one to take their place. Ayatullah Sistani (عليه السلام) someone else whom I respect is in his twilight years and secondly, doesn't address people publicly. Rest of the well known scholars, frankly one thing or other has happened that had made me question their khulus. There must be some gems somewhere (313 or their ancestors) but I think they keep to themselves. 

I would venture say we have not lost Ayatullah Behjat we have him even today in his works that he has left behind.Try to read them and you will see how relevant his words are for today.I think around 20 plus books have been translated into Urdu.Also if possible read the biography of Rajab Ali Khaitab.It was spirtually moving for me.

Secondly what has helped me is talking to Allah.Surely Allah will give you out of this.

Inshallah you will find a way soon.