It has got to be one of the funniest films I have seen. Simple concepts, intertwining stories, AMAZING acting. And just so darned funny. Violence? Puh-leese. There was more violence in Scream. The second Samuel L. Jackson movie I've liked, after A Time To Kill. Not that I've seen the entire of Reservoir Dogs, but this was definitely better. Worth watching for the interaction between John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson. Hilarious. "You didn't say please." And Tim Roth's Mockney accent is flawless. Contrast with the Ocean's 11 dude. Worse accent ever, even worse than mine!
Cocked up Cake
As for the cake, complete and utter disaster. It's definitely the way I fold in the flour. I literally beat out all the air bubbles, and then I wonder: huh, why is it completely flat? Tasted good though. I owe Taz (and all you lot) a proper cake - but only after I've spoilt 50 or so others. I just became cocky after the success of the coffee cake. I couldn't get enough of that.
بيت المال
I've been wondering why countries like Iran and Pakistan don't have a Baytul Maal. You don't hear of it. It was definitely there in Ali's, Hassan's and Hussain's (AS) times. Then what happened? It's different from the (so-called) benefits a citizen gets from paying taxes, IMO. You get sewers, roads etc from that. But the Baytul Maal is the collected money of the country and each citizen gets the exact same share from it. Ali (AS) refused to give more than the fair share to his cousin. So where has it gone?
The unbearable lightness of being
I'm feeling down again. The highs of Ramadhan only last so long afterwards. I feel so utterly base for eating. And even when I fasted on Monday, it wasn't the same. The unbelievable lightness of being just wasn't there. Which takes me to the novel of the same name. I've read the synopsis of the book and it seems like one I wouldn't enjoy, but the concept that our lives don't matter and are of no consequence has some merit to it. For, doesn't God say (in paraphrase) "Don't exult in the land, for I will replace you with others like you and it is easy for Me"?
I mean, in a way, we are worth something as fallen humans. But in the grand scheme of things, on this Earth at least, we really are just passersby, easily replaced. I mean, look at the ease with which people die. It's doesn't take much of an effort to die. Death becomes us. We are born in great numbers, so that that many of us will die. Inevitable.
He says that if what we believe other than what He has revealed is true, how is it we don't send our souls back down our throats when the time comes?
Even suicide, it doesn't really take courage or brains, you're just giving in to the weakness of the unfathomable pain. Pop. You're gone. The courage comes from putting enough importance towards this life in order to make it link with the real life that follows. In order to have a good harvest, you need to invest in the sowing of the crop, right? Manure, water, grain. As they say in cooking: rubbish in, rubbish out. Insightful.
Deepak Chopra points out in his new book that death is but another of God's miracles, like birth. And in Islam, death is another of God's blessings, like life is. For it is only when we "die", that we shed the pupa of our soul and come even closer to Him and His Chosen Ones. We are freed from the veils and the chains.
Death may completely devastate us, being as weak and inconsequential as we are, but in the grand scheme - I mean, after all, this is how this machinery is meant to work. We want perfection and peace because of our cell memory of how it was in Heaven. This is something that I just can't explain, but that's how the machinery works. And in order to survive it, you just have to believe in a merciful and just God, and in a better life after this sojourn. And act upon those beleifs with a sincere heart.
Jonah(AS) and the whale
I sometimes think of this world and all the things in it, the infrastructures of governments, the booming/failing economy, the customs and social chains, one's own fickle ego, the mountain of sins - everything is akin to the whale that swallowed up Jonah (AS).
Imprisoned by one's own arrogance and then deceived by the most arrogant and cursed jinn, Shaytan, I have imprisoned myself in the whale and cannot find relief until I accept completely that which Allah has taught us to say. I sometimes confer on Him arrogance and pride, when actually it is my lack of understanding and accepting that which I have to finally understand:
There is no God but You, Glory be to You, I am one who is unjust to my own soul.
It requires complete faith in what is said.
Anyway, what are all these ties to this world but the means to Him? You have family to respect, because He wants you to, and that will translate into respect for His Prophets and Illiyeen, which in turn grants us a glimpse of His Grandeur and respect that too. Earn money, to buy food to eat so we have energy to worship, and at least 20% of that money is not at all yours to begin with, after which you give more as "a goodly loan" so as to not "be niggardly to your own souls".
He has said that our sustenance has been fixed. Ali (AS) has said that we should not rejoice about or bemoan our sustenance, because no matter what we do to earn it, what we get is only that which Allah has already decreed. Therefore, why choose illegal, cowardly means of earning? It curses it and reduces the level of lawful income.
What's worse, of course, is me refusing to seek His grace out of fear of something other than Him. Combien de temps, eh? How long before...?
استخيرالله
I seek the pleasure of Allah in all things.
I wish to hasten that which You like delayed, I wish to delay that which You like to hasten. Make Your pleasure and my pleasure the same. Make me pleased with the Decree. Ameen.
Cocked up Cake
As for the cake, complete and utter disaster. It's definitely the way I fold in the flour. I literally beat out all the air bubbles, and then I wonder: huh, why is it completely flat? Tasted good though. I owe Taz (and all you lot) a proper cake - but only after I've spoilt 50 or so others. I just became cocky after the success of the coffee cake. I couldn't get enough of that.
بيت المال
I've been wondering why countries like Iran and Pakistan don't have a Baytul Maal. You don't hear of it. It was definitely there in Ali's, Hassan's and Hussain's (AS) times. Then what happened? It's different from the (so-called) benefits a citizen gets from paying taxes, IMO. You get sewers, roads etc from that. But the Baytul Maal is the collected money of the country and each citizen gets the exact same share from it. Ali (AS) refused to give more than the fair share to his cousin. So where has it gone?
The unbearable lightness of being
I'm feeling down again. The highs of Ramadhan only last so long afterwards. I feel so utterly base for eating. And even when I fasted on Monday, it wasn't the same. The unbelievable lightness of being just wasn't there. Which takes me to the novel of the same name. I've read the synopsis of the book and it seems like one I wouldn't enjoy, but the concept that our lives don't matter and are of no consequence has some merit to it. For, doesn't God say (in paraphrase) "Don't exult in the land, for I will replace you with others like you and it is easy for Me"?
I mean, in a way, we are worth something as fallen humans. But in the grand scheme of things, on this Earth at least, we really are just passersby, easily replaced. I mean, look at the ease with which people die. It's doesn't take much of an effort to die. Death becomes us. We are born in great numbers, so that that many of us will die. Inevitable.
He says that if what we believe other than what He has revealed is true, how is it we don't send our souls back down our throats when the time comes?
Even suicide, it doesn't really take courage or brains, you're just giving in to the weakness of the unfathomable pain. Pop. You're gone. The courage comes from putting enough importance towards this life in order to make it link with the real life that follows. In order to have a good harvest, you need to invest in the sowing of the crop, right? Manure, water, grain. As they say in cooking: rubbish in, rubbish out. Insightful.
Deepak Chopra points out in his new book that death is but another of God's miracles, like birth. And in Islam, death is another of God's blessings, like life is. For it is only when we "die", that we shed the pupa of our soul and come even closer to Him and His Chosen Ones. We are freed from the veils and the chains.
Death may completely devastate us, being as weak and inconsequential as we are, but in the grand scheme - I mean, after all, this is how this machinery is meant to work. We want perfection and peace because of our cell memory of how it was in Heaven. This is something that I just can't explain, but that's how the machinery works. And in order to survive it, you just have to believe in a merciful and just God, and in a better life after this sojourn. And act upon those beleifs with a sincere heart.
Jonah(AS) and the whale
I sometimes think of this world and all the things in it, the infrastructures of governments, the booming/failing economy, the customs and social chains, one's own fickle ego, the mountain of sins - everything is akin to the whale that swallowed up Jonah (AS).
Imprisoned by one's own arrogance and then deceived by the most arrogant and cursed jinn, Shaytan, I have imprisoned myself in the whale and cannot find relief until I accept completely that which Allah has taught us to say. I sometimes confer on Him arrogance and pride, when actually it is my lack of understanding and accepting that which I have to finally understand:
There is no God but You, Glory be to You, I am one who is unjust to my own soul.
It requires complete faith in what is said.
Anyway, what are all these ties to this world but the means to Him? You have family to respect, because He wants you to, and that will translate into respect for His Prophets and Illiyeen, which in turn grants us a glimpse of His Grandeur and respect that too. Earn money, to buy food to eat so we have energy to worship, and at least 20% of that money is not at all yours to begin with, after which you give more as "a goodly loan" so as to not "be niggardly to your own souls".
He has said that our sustenance has been fixed. Ali (AS) has said that we should not rejoice about or bemoan our sustenance, because no matter what we do to earn it, what we get is only that which Allah has already decreed. Therefore, why choose illegal, cowardly means of earning? It curses it and reduces the level of lawful income.
What's worse, of course, is me refusing to seek His grace out of fear of something other than Him. Combien de temps, eh? How long before...?
استخيرالله
I seek the pleasure of Allah in all things.
I wish to hasten that which You like delayed, I wish to delay that which You like to hasten. Make Your pleasure and my pleasure the same. Make me pleased with the Decree. Ameen.
Comments
SubhanAllah! Simply beautiful...you just really know how to put emotions down into words.
You know, it makes me wonder whether you might really be a philosopher at heart.