A Righteous Predecessor Advises his Son

Al Khataab ibn al Ma’laa al Makhzumee al Qurashee

 

Mohammad ibn al Mundhir ibn sa’eed related to me that Abu Hatim Muhammad ibn Idrees al Hanthalee said…that al Khataab ibn al Ma’laa al Makhzumee al Qurashee advised his son saying:

My son, fear Allaah and be obedient to Him. Avoid sinning by following His Sunnah and teachings in order to rectify your faults and attain bliss, indeed nothing whatsoever is hidden from Allaah. I put some directions together and drew out a plan for you. If you memorize, understand and act upon them, you would fill the eyes of kings and even the vagabond would be obedient to you. You would continue to be needed and honoured, people would continue to be in need of what you posses. So obey your father, suffice yourself with his advice and open your mind and heart to it.

Beware of excessive talking, joking, laughing and fooling around with brothers, indeed this removes respect / esteem and causes disputes. It is upon you to be tranquil and calm without having pride, which may be attributed to you, and without being arrogant, which may be said about you. Treat both friends and enemies pleasantly, prevent theri harms without putting them down or holding them in high regard.

Take the middle path in all your affairs, for indeed the best affairs are the intermediary ones [i.e. between extremism and excessive lenience]. Speak little, spread the Salaam, and walk firmly and purposefully. Do not stamp your feet, drag your tail [i.e: Isbaal], raise your neck, robes or be conceited. Do not look around too much, stop at crowds or linger in the market.

Do not debate a lot and do not get into arguments with the foolish. When you speak, keep it short and limit joking. If you sit, cross your legs and avoid interlocking your fingers, playing with your beard, ring or sword handle. Do not clean between your teeth [while sitting in public], pick your nose or busy yourself with chasing flies away. Do not spy on others and so forth, which would cause people to belittle or insult you.

To be continued...

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Sit calmly in gatherings and speak proportionately. Listen attentively to those who speak about good without displaying amazement or asking them to repeat themselves and refrain from telling jokes or funny stories.

Do not speak about how impressed you are of your children, servants, means of transportation or weapons. Beware of drawing ‘The Eye’ upon yourself, for if you display your admiration for these things, the foolish would desire them. They would then make up stories about you and question your intellect.

Do not behave like women, and do not be as subservient as a servant. Do not puff up your beard or pat it down to hide it. Refrain from trimming it and pulling out grey hairs. Do not excessively use Kuhl and oils/lotion, use Kuhl occasionally.

Do not plead for your needs, and do not be demanding of your requests.

Do not tell your family how much wealth you have, let alone others. For if they perceive it to be little, you would be trivial in their eyes, and if it were a lot, you wouldn’t gain their satisfaction through it anyway. Discipline them without using force and be lenient to them without being weak and do not mock your servants.

If you were to ever argue, be respectful and safeguard yourself from your own ignorance. Avoid being hasty and contemplate over your argument. Show the judge your forbearance, refrain from pointing a lot, shuffling your feet, reddening your face and sweating. If you are insulted by your adversary, be forbearing and only speak when calm.

Be generous to relatives...

To be continued...



http://www.madeenah.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=188&Itemid=2

Excerpt from The "Wahhabi" Myth:

The word "Wahabism" is in fact nothing but a meaningless appellation which is used by people in two cases: The term "Wahabism" is often used to describe those who closely stick to the verses of the Qur'an and the narrations of the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace) in all religious affairs. Consequently, instead of directly attacking Islam for those things that do not appeal to their desires, they call anyone who follows these texts "Wahabis."

Another different and contemporary usage has appeared for this term. Anybody who belongs to any of the current Qutbist type groups or movements that call for political overthrows, endless blind purported Jihads which are based upon principles other than those found in Islam and led by people who have no knowledge based background in Islamic scholarship, are entered into a giant umbrella group called "Wahabism." This is done even though these followers of Sayyid Qutb despise the Salafi/"Wahabi" scholars and their creed.

Hence, in the first case, "Wahabism" is used to mean "anything I don't like about Islam," and in the second case, "anything I don't like about what the contemporary Qutbist movements do; things that have no basis in Islam."

The media and general population are invited to actually begin to study the principles of Salafism/"Wahabism" and report about it accurately, especially as it seems that the "War Against Terrorism" seems to slowly be turning into the "War Against Wahabism."

Some Western intellectuals are doing something to contest this trend, but they are few and far between, and their knowledge of the nature of Salafism is limited. Gary Leupp, a history professor and coordinator of the Asian Studies Program at Tufts University, posed the following question concerning this current of thought: "In Saudi Arabia itself, is "Wahabism" really the threat posited by some neocons? John Esposito, director of the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University, suggests otherwise."

Professor Leupp quotes Esposito as saying: "Even conforming to an ultra-conservative, anti-pluralistic faith does not necessarily make you a violent individual." Leupp adds: "There are of course millions of peaceable if ultra-conservative, anti-pluralistic Christians."

Driving in his point, Leupp cites F. Gregory Gause III, a professor of political science at the University of Vermont, when he warned the House Subcommittee on Middle East and South Asia about the "dangerous trend" of linking "Wahabism" with terrorism, wherein he explained that this phenomena "is not Saudi or 'Wahabi' in any exclusive sense. It is part of the zeitgeist of the whole Muslim world right now. It is undoubtedly true that the al-Qa'ida network was able to recruit many Saudis. But it would be a mistake to attribute this simply to some purported affinity between 'Wahabism' and al-Qa'ida's message of jihad."

Stating that although "some Saudi clerics and intellectuals have supported al-Qa'ida's message [note: the supporters of Sayyid Qutb, the Qutbists]," he adds that "the vast majority have condemned it [note: the Salafi/"Wahabi" scholars]."

"Moreover," he says, "Al-Qa'ida has been able to recruit both fighters and intellectual supporters from many countries - Egypt and Pakistan, to name but two - where 'Wahabism' is not a prominent intellectual current."

- abridged from the book: The 'Wahhabi' Myth

http://www.thewahhabimyth.com/index.htm

Alternative Fuels

This is something that I've been thinking of in depth over the past year. We all know for a fact that we are killing our planet by using fossil fuels. Actually, it's unfortunate but many will argue that we have already killed our planet. I, on the otherhand, have changed my pessimistic view of Earth's bleek future.

Stewardship is something that we all can and should practice. This is simply being aware of our own actions in regards to the well being of our planet. Fossil fuels (i.e.: coal, oil, and other carbon based fuels) have been destroying our home. Why? Because we're too damn lazy to get off our arses and use the alternatives. These affordable alternatives are right at our doorsteps, sometimes even in our own homes. There are a variety fuels we can use, in contrast to gasoline. The list goes on and on. Some I have JUST learnt about.

Biofuels
Biofuels are really any fuel that is derived from any biomass. From what I know, this category of fuel alternatives is the largest. This is a renewable energy source, unlike petroleum, coal, and nuclear fuels. Biofuels can be categorized into solid, liquid, and gaseous classes.

Of the solid boifuels, the most common are wood, dried commpressed peat (dead plants), straw and other dried plants, animal WASTE, husks/shells from crops like rice and cotton.

Of the liquid biofuels, oils take the stand. Straight vegetable oil (SVO), Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO), and biodiesel obtained from animal fats and vegetable oil can all be used in diesel engines without the need of changing fuels or cleaning fuel tanks. Methane oils can be extracted from LANDFILL wells along with oils similar to petroleum from other types of wastes.

The gaseous biofuels are those that I find most interesting. Methane is produced by the decay of GARBAGE or agricultural MANURE. That's three birds with one stone. Hydrogen is another contributor in the fight against fossil fuels. We already have prototypes for cars made to run on hydrogen fuel cells where, get this, the exhaust is WATER. Amazing, no?

Alcohols Another section of Biofuels
Alcohol can be used in car engines alone or with another type of fuel (if mixed with gasoline, "gasohol" is created). This has been given alot of attention, however, most action has only been taken in Brazil. Both ethanol and methanol have been considered as replacements for gasoline, but ethanol has been given the most attention. Ethanol is believed to be a renewable source of fuel, obtained from organic materials such as grain or sugarcane. This has put more than 150,000 farmers in the U.S. back to work after switching into the fuel business.

Ethanol is amazing. Here are just some sources of this fuel: Corn, wheat, potato wastes, cheese whey, rice straw, sawdust, urban wastes, paper mill wastes, yard clippings, molasses, sugarcane, seaweed and surplus food crops. Petroleum can also be used to make industrial ethanol. In contrast to oils, when pure ethanol is used for car engines, some changes are needed to be made.

Methanol has been considered a fuel, mainly in combination with gasoline. It's received less attention than ethanol because it has a few problems of its own. Aside from being both toxic and explosive, its main advantage is that it can be easily manufactured from methane and has been used in Indy cars since the '60s.

Ethanol is less of a fire hazard than gasoline; while methanol, being more volatile, is somewhat more prone to fire and explosions. However, since ethanol and methanol dissolve in water (rather than floating on it like gasoline) their fires can be extinguished with ordinary water hoses.

Geothermal Power
Geothermal power is the use of geothermal heat for electricity generation. It is often referred to as a form of renewable energy, but because the heat at any location can eventually be depleted it technically may not be strictly renewable.

The way geothermal energy is tapped is by harnessing the power of hot springs and heat within the earth's crust. In California, an area with high temperatures of ground water, this energy is converted into electricity using giant turbines. Wells are dug into the beds of hot water and the steam created when the water hits the heated land spins turbines which generate electricity for over 200,000 homes.

Geothermal-generated electricity was first produced in Lardrello, Italy, in 1904.

Solar Power
We all know of solar power which is created by the use of solar pannels that capture the Sun's energy, right?

Wind Power

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This is something that I contemplate on. I know there are others on this site that think this way also. We are destroying our planet and it's up to US to make the decision to revive it. According to scientific rule, within 50 years, we would have depleted ALL of our natural resources. It's renewable sources of energy such as those listed that will lengthen the life of this planet we call home. I'm hoping to buy a Golf TDI (diesel engine) and fuel it with biodiesel in the near future. That's if I can locate a biodiesel station haha.

Let's get our heads together people, because it's us who have to deal with these problems.

um... you ever have something to say, but don't know how to say it?

 

or... do you ever need to say something, but don't know exactly what you should say?... or you have the words right there, as if on a script, in your hand, and you're trying to say them, but your vision's too blurred?

 

i dont know what im saying really haha... just that, opportunities, they come and go

 

sometimes we see them, but most times we don't

 

opportunities are not a solution to a problem, they are just doors that have been opened, for a moment

March 31st, 2oo6. Today, my brother's getting married Alhamdulillah. I ask myself though, should I be angry for having only found out on March 30th, 2oo6? I don't know. It's not unusual for me to know things about my family much later than the rest of my siblings. For instince, my eldest sister leaving the country, my other brother leaving the country, my dad leaving the country, my mother leaving the country, my younger sister leaving the country, and out of 5 siblings, 5 cousins, and a very large network of family friends, I was the last to know on all those occasions, or for most of them at least. But, this is a wedding, the first one of any of my siblings, shouldn't have I known before my younger sister's friend? Perhaps. But Alhamdulillah my brother's getting married :).