A Good Friendship is Cheaper than Therapy

On Monday, Dr Zakir Naik, a great speaker on Islam graced Birmingham with the pleasure of his company. However on the Sunday before I was forced to resign myself to the fact that for various reasons I wouldn't be able to see him.

To cut a long story short, a friend stepped in and went out of her way to help me get to the talk. Not only that, but her mum made me dinner, and offered me a place to stay the night! Again today I was running embarassingly late to meet up with some chums for dinner, so by the time I turned up, they'd already eaten. And what do I find? They'd saved up lots of food for me to take home

You see in the past few weeks I've had a few of ups and downs, and regardless of my failure to keep up with a few friendships, I've been lucky enough (Alhamdulillah) to have had my close friends right there and then, ready to help me out.

So I guess my advice for anyone who may be going through a rough patch at the mo is just to sit back, relax, and wait for the good times to begin, for after the bad times MUST come the good... oh, and don't be afraid to let your friends help you along. Sometimes they can see what you can't.

Consequences

Consequences are something I've personally failed to bear in mind recently. The consequence of a mere utterence can be so upsetting that the utterence in itself no longer seems worth it, especially if said in anger.

"Think before you speak" is a saying that's often been recited to me by my loved ones. The ones whom I can trust most to be honest with me when I'm doing or saying something wrong. Unfortunately they haven't been around me recently, and so I was left alone to constantly remind myself of all the teachings that I had been brought up with... Needless to say, I failed miserably.

Perhaps moreso now than ever before am I starting to realise the value of being surrounded by loved ones. It's their brutal honesty which used to keep me grounded as soon as I did something wrong. Currently I'm having to learn to remind myself to stop and think before I speak or act, and to bear in mind all the possible consequences of my actions and/or words.

So now I shall have to invest some hope in the forgiveness of the people around me for "not being myself" recently, and for not realising the consequences of my actions. More importantly, I shall have to invest some hope in the forgiveness of the One who created me for not remembering Him as much as I should have in the path I chose to take.

Here's my hope:

"Announce [Prophet] to My slaves that verily I am the Forgiving, the Merciful." (Qur'an 15:49)

Thanks Pa xxx

The Spider Returns

Day 1 of the Spider Hunt

I have spent the last few months living in total bliss, reassuring myself constantly that I shall never have to re-live the horrific days of my spider attack (refer to blog entry on 13th August 2005.) Such disregard for the possibility of another attack was foolish...

It has been brought to my attention that a new and improved spider has arisen from the dark valleys of my bathroom.

It was reported to have been sighted and initially removed from the premises a few days ago. However, the spider returned with a vengeance, mocking everyone he saw with his swift moves and subtle charm. (My fellow occupants refuse to kill him, and have even named him "Rudyard"... damn that spider... or "Rudyard," as he likes to be called.)

This will be a tough challenge, but someone with experience in the field must rise up to the challenge and defeat the evil fiend once and for all. It seems as though that "someone" will have to be ... ME.

Day: Over a week
I have been waiting for "Rudey" to show his face for over a week now and still no luck.

I have been presented with three possibilities as to his whereabouts:
1. He's hiding in the hole near the bathroom
2. He's committed suicide
3. He's packed his bags and left... probably while the back door was open during "Sparklers day."

Whatever the answer, I can not rest easy until I know what has happened to Rudey once and for all.

Today is Eid... Or is it?

At-Tirmidhî reported that Abû Hurayrah said the Prophet (SAW) said:

"When the first night of Ramadhan comes, the Shaytan and evil jinns are chained up. The gates of Hell are closed and not one of them is opened. The gates of Paradise are opened and not one of them is closed."

This hadith got me thinking: If Muslims can't unite on deciding when Eid is, then how does Shaytan (the devil) know when he's to be released?

Let me put it another way. Can you imagine Allah (SWT) saying to Shaytan:

"Right Iblis, you're free to go to Oxford, Birmingham and Blackburn because fasting finishes for most of them today. BUT YOU MUST NOT GO TO Manchester, Scotland and Pakistan because they're still fasting. You can also go after the Sunni Iraqis, but not the Shi'ite ones. Oh, and didn't I tell you? You were free to visit Libya yesterday."

I'm pretty sure this isn't the case. Eid Al-Fitr is on ONE day, and ONE day only. And Shaytan will be released on ONE day to the whole of the world. More importantly, if we decide it is Eid on the wrong day, then it is very possible that either we end up fasting on a day we should be celebrating, (which in itself is forbidden,) or celebrating on a day we should be fasting. A scary thought isn't it? After all those fasts, we end up missing the day to celebrate getting through it.

So, when deciding when you're going to celebrate Eid, then remember the importance of your decision. And finally, bear in mind that the early Muslims, who did not have the technology we do today to spot the new moon, were able to unanimously agree on when the beginning of Ramadhan/Eid was. Therefore, I don't believe we have any excuse to be so disunited in such an important aspect of our religion.

Anyway, to everyone, whenever you may be celebrating, a HUGE EID MUBARAK! May Allah (SWT) accept all your fasts, prayers and endeavours to please Him throughout this holiest of months and Insha'Allah for the months to come. Aameen.