Sorry about the language, this is not my video, just ignore it.

Puan Manonmani Sekaran & family will be going back to Malaysia for good on 18 December 2009 hence the farewell ceremony cum pot luck was held last night at the residence of Encik Khaifil & Puan Azira.

The programme started at 8.15 pm with a short speech from Encik Anuar Kasman, the Consul General and the Patron of PERWAKILAN Chennai. In his speech Encik Anuar thanked Encik Sekaran, Puan Mano and the rest of the family members for their contributions and participations in all the activities held throughout the year. Encik Anuar had wished the family for their future success and hope that they will still keep in contact. A quote by Encik Anuar – “Welcoming a new Malaysian family and bidding farewell for another family are part and parcel of life in staying abroad”.  Before ending his speech, Encik Anuar had taken the opportunity to welcomed Encik Chris Tan and Puan Anita and not forgetting the family of Encik Saiful & Puan Madinah.  This was later followed by the gift prensentation by Encik Anuar on behalf of the PERWAKILAN ladies to Puan Mano.  Dinner which was served on pot luck basis was the last itinery that had ended the night.  

A big thank you from the PERWAKILAN Chennai ladies to Puan Mano on her contributions and participations all this while.  We wish you all the best and happiness with your family and your future and hope that all the memories shared will be cherished always.  SELAMAT JALAN. 

Howdy friends!

It’s been 13 days since i stopped schooling.. It’s like I was walking away from my dream and I’m heading in a place where man’s worst nightmare appears. I thought that nothing can go wrong and I will be soon having my diploma. The thing is, my sponsor had a very serious illness where she became bedridden and sick. I know from that time that something bad will happen. Then come one day that a very horrible news screamed all over the house.  I will not be able to continue my studies because the sponsor might have been in a near-to-death phase and their family don’t want to continue to help us anymore. Well from that time, I know that my time left to be with my friends is very limited. Stopping in second year second semester wasn’t exactly my plan. But having financial crisis and everything, I guess my time came to an end. I realized that God has something planned for me that’s why this is happening. So from the day I heard the news, I mae up my mind to have the best week with my bestfriends in school. LOL! I just remembered the quotations from the movie Life or something like it by Angelina Jolie, ” What will you do if you have only seven days to live?”, in my case, what should I do if I only have seven days to be with my friends?.. haha..

It was seven days before the official start of my class. I went to school with my other classmates just to have a meeting with other students from other year. The meeting was about the make-up class for those students who accomodate a number of absences in their RLE duties. My other classmates was wondering why I’m not doing the enrollment form. Then I suddenly told the whole truth, that I’m just finishing my make-up class so I can stop shooling. They felt flushed when I told them that. My bestfriends and I have a lot of plans in the future like swimming together in Rizal Memorial Coliseum, watching cinemas together, going to Star City, helping each other in every cases, finishing our course, passing the board exam. And me being a drop-out student is not one of those plans. Well we didn’t waste a single minute, we enjoy the Tree Planting at Caliraya Laguna, which was supposed to be the replacement for the make-up duty. It was one of the best bonding moments with my friends. How glad I am to be with them, and I even experienced to have a tree planting program before I say goodbye to my school.

Tree Planting (Composting) at Caliraya Laguna

Well the memories won’t be forgotten. I want to thank God for giving me such wonderful friends. I’ll always remember the the times that we always go to cinemas to watch movies. In case you’re wondering who they are..

The best bonding moments with my friends.

If you put the cursor over the picture, you will see their names. I’m the one in pink. This was taken last November 16. This was my last and the best bonding moments with bestfriends. That day was very memorable because that was the same day I told them my secret that I’ve been hiding ever since I went to college. They accept me for who I am and they accept all my flaws. I’m glad to be their friends. I guess I will be able to see them someday again in their scrub suit and I will be in my future job.. “Psychologist”. Right now, I’m looking for a job to be more productive. I think I’ll try to be a call center representative for the mean time so that i will be able to help my parents in the recent finances and to have my own pocket money that will be saved for the next school year.

Someday I’m going to be like them, wearing the scrub suit or simply the nursing uniform. But for now, I’m going to finish my studies next year in a different university. I’m goin to take up BS Psychology next year and I’m going to save money after I graduated so that I can go back to finish nursing. Somehow from the first two years of being a nursing student, I enjoyed my course and I enjoyed what I’m doing. But I know this is not the right time for me. I know there will a time that I will be able to finish nursing and only god can tell when. I’m just here going with the flow and doing my best to reach that dream.

This picture is captured from the mirror ceiling at SM Manila.

I will never forget everyone that touched my life in different ways especially my friends, classmates, clinical instructors, and the faculty of College of Nursing at Lyceum of the Philippines University.

This song chorus  from Splender should end my blog..

It’s alright, I’m ok
I think God can explain
I believe I’m the same
I get carried away
It’s alright, I’m ok
I think God can explain
I’m relieved, I’m relaxed
I’ll get off of your back

Goodbye and until next time! I’ll update you guys what’s goin on in my life.. Don’t forget to pray and strive to what you think is better. Always remember what Candice Michelle always says..”If you don’t go for your dreams, someone else will!”. Love what you do and do what you love! Always reach for your goals. Sometimes God give us problems and difficulties so that we can be stronger and better person.

Dream on!

Always on the brighter side of life,

MJ Vicera

Many (or few, depending on how many people visit this blog from time to time…) of you have i’m sure noticed a significant drop off of posts on this blog over the last few months. While i can’t speak for my fellow Cynics, I can at least provide some clarity as to why my own activity has diminished in this arena.

At first, it was the transition in my role at my real day job, which added a great deal of responsibility to my work life, and thus little time for blogging about space issues.

Then it was work on my backyard, as I was relandscaping and it took up a big chunk of my summer.

Then there is the startup company that i’m busy building with a few close friends/colleagues (more on that in a future post when it’s ready for primetime).

Then it was the birth of our twins (boy and girl) which has made the past few months a bit of a blur (they are 11 weeks as of this morning!).

This morning, after a multi month hiatus I visited the Space Politics blog that Jeff Foust has maintained for a good long time – a very useful place to go if you are interested in following the real drivers of space development in the US (his tagline about the most important orbit being inside the beltway is spot on).  I read a couple of posts and the comment sections for each, and it hit me:

I’ve been rationalizing.

The real reason I don’t spend much time blogging is, frankly, I’m tired of space.  I left the industry ten years ago because I realized that nothing changes, that it’s driven by hidden agendas, incessant sniping, lack of real executive leadership, and fueled in part by gullible outsiders who are regularly schnookered by the snake oil salesmen in our midst (and we all know who they are). That no one in power is willing to honestly discuss the real issues, but instead we have commission after commission that ignore the main reasons for the current structure of NASA and the “big space” industry (hint: jobs and votes) that will prevent them from doing anything meaningful in manned space.  That there is no compelling reason to go to Mars, the Moon, or an asteroid RIGHT NOW – and that  latest version of the argument that  “I think that the survival of humanity is a good rationale for why we must become spacefaring” which is now coming from within NASA is just moronic on so many levels.

What disappointed me as well was that, when I read the comment section at Space Politics, I had a sense of deja vu.  Except it wasn’t a sense – it was real.  I’d seen this before.  At the Advocates Board that the SFF used to run, and at other boards before that.  The nature of the discourse had devolved into ahe-said/she-said cacophony, something that in past space community board meltdowns was driven by particular religious-like beliefs about specific technologies or programs (SSTO vs TSTO, for example) but in the current form is now more akin to what we see in the broader world between the right/left wing echo chambers.  Is this really what the level of dialog in our community has come to?  If so, I can sum it up in one word:

Sad.

I/we have blogged on so many of the major themes out there – from RLVs (needed) to Space Elevators (crack-inspired fantasy) to Space Solar Power (great idea, but a LONG way away for reasons that most don’t want to bother themselves with, as anyone who visits the Howard Bloom thursday night love fest could see) to.. you get the idea.

I have little interest in blogging about the same issues over again – you can get my perspective from simply going into the archives.

Which brings me to the fundamental point: life is too short.

I have many things to be thankful for – the addition of our children to our family being the most recent (and best).  When I look at how I want to spend the time I have in this world – the calculus is simple.  Space is a waste of my time, making the world a better place for my children, spending real time with them (as I type this my daughter is sleeping on my lap), and doing the things I love is what matters to me.

As I have told many people in conferences past when I was fortunate enough to have a chance to present – you can replace virtually anything. My father long ago told me to get as much education as possible, because it was the one thing you couldn’t lose – and with it you could always start afresh.  Time is the only thing you can’t ever get back (note to those of you working on time travel: good luck, and let me know if you succeed…).  So make the most of the time you have.

I have my close friends, my friends, and my acquaintances in the space industry – and I will keep in touch with all of you. And please do keep in touch with me.

I may from time to time, if truly inspired, come back and post another entry here at the blog.

Good luck to you all in whatever endeavors you choose to pursue.

Happy Black Friday!!!!! If you are not from the U.S., it is just like Boxing Day in Canada.

For the Maze, I can’t really explain it so here’s the map.

Step 1: Go to the Ski Village

Step 2: Click the Red Button

Step3: Click the Red Button to show the Map.

The Map will look like this:

How to get the Yeti Costume:

Step1: You will need to find the end of the maze

Step 2: Go inside and it will look like this

Step 3: Walk over to the Big Bin That Says Prize

How to Get the Blue Pom Pom Toque:

Go to the Ski Hill

Click on the Big Bin That Says Free

This should come up, Click “Yes” and you now have this item.

New Sleds

Snow And Sports Catalog Cheats:

Click the Green Penguin’s Face for the Green Hockey Jersey

Click The Lime Green Penguin’s Face for the Green Goalie Gear

Click the word Ice in Ice Skating for the White Pom Poms

He stood still, the breeze gently brushing across his figure. Trapped within his own mind, escape was not possible. Staring at the ground beneath him, he could not break his gaze. He was unaware of the world in which he stood. The sights before him reached his thoughts, but went unnoticed. The world he saw was his own and only by his own actions had he arrived in such a place. A barrier of emotion kept him from truely opening his eyes to see what lay before him. Silently, a chill swept over him, and the back of his mind was quickly filled with terror. Something wasn’t right and it was causing the hairs on his arms stand on end. A strange whistling sound cut through the air, and within a fraction of an instant, unimaginable pain pounded within his chest. Staggering backwards, his eyes were blinking furiously as his dreams were shattered in front of them. The pain overwhelmed him. In a daze, he looked downward and slowly came to realize what had transpired. A cold, sleek, unforgiving arrow stuck out from his chest, aimed perfectly into his pierced heart. He quickly fell to his knees, coughing blood into his numb hands before him. Fading ever further, he fell to his side. Every heartbeat was a futile attempt at life, labored and uneasy, resounding like thunder through his entire body. His mind formed a final farewell, and he slipped into his dream world for the last time.

It’s seems like a million days since farewell. A million days since moments together stopped to be. A million days since our destinies diverged. I stand back and watch our time together pass soundlessly into the past. Into that place where facts are colored by my fears and fantasies, reality shaped by my love and hate, and time, measured by my passion or indifference.

A million memories, moments of the past, seem to gather dust in the attic inside my head. Away from the din of the dreary everyday life, away from prying eyes, away from the tribulations of my day-to-day existence, life lies fragmented and frozen in silent testimony to my time here.

Every gasp, every sigh, every voiceless prayer and unshed tear of my life lives here for eternity. In the solitude of my soul, I climb the three scores and a year old rickety staircase to my attic often now. The tired wood rattles and creeks under my feet as in protest to my frequent visits.

Sometimes in the middle of the night, sometimes in broad daylight, sometimes with the leisurely coutenance of a seasoned tourist, sometimes with the fervent passion of a faithful pilgrim, sometimes for seconds, sometimes for hours, I visit you often in my attic.

I see the vibrant smile, I see the twinkle in your eye, I see the beautiful feet. I see a tear drop braving gravity’s pull. I hear the laughter – unrestrained and full. I see the arms that once held me. Among the unfilled promises of the days gone by I see the moments that made surrender possible.

Amidst the unborn children of my dreams I see everything that gave birth to moments so beautiful. Long after I have bid you my final goodbye, the attic will still be alive with their suppressed giggles and suggestive smiles. In the silence of the night, if you listen closely, I am sure you will hear them laughing.

]]> http://brightsidelass.wordpress.com/2009/11/26/the-layeredss-farewell-outing-for-pavin/ Thu, 26 Nov 2009 18:36:46 +0000 joanblill http://brightsidelass.wordpress.com/2009/11/26/the-layeredss-farewell-outing-for-pavin/

Time for Pavin to set sail on a new path.

And so The Layereds(since all 3 of us have recently, though not on purpose to match, adopted layered hairstyles) went for a 3-D movie, A Christmas Carol, followed by dinner at Chili’s and drinks at G Hotel.

3-D glasses for A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol, IMO, is simply a nice tribute to Charles Dickens’s novel. I don’t think he’d have disapproved. This is my first 3-D full length movie experience. It’s good to enjoy the snow without getting cold

Outside Chili's, waiting patiently to be seated

Chili’s was having really good business as usual. I took the New York  Strip Steak, medium well. Juicy. =] I think I’ve been a beef girl since a few months back. Alice’s appetizer was delish, and so was Pavin’s order. And the sauce that came with our bottomless Tostada chips was yummylicious. Next time I’m there, I’ll try their dessert. I bet they’re all great, too.

Tex-Mex grub

Pina Colada at G-Spot

G-Spot Performance

Our final destination was G Hotel. We were joined by Sarah and a friend, and we headed to G-Spot for the band performance. The singer was doing good, but they were playing so loudly, I couldn’t even hear myself talk. So after a drink, we decided to go to the Lounge, where it was quieter.

The Layereds at the Lounge

The Egyptian Queen and her two 'dayang's. Very ANTM.

Sunburn(Cranberry) Margarita

ANTM candidates

Washroom decor. Interesting.

Farewell, Bestie Number Two! Here’s a toast to you:
May you enjoy the fruits of your labour. And not get too caught up looking for romance. You’re stilly young, love, and did I mention hot? Don’t forget all the ogling and double takes you received that night! =]

Now that I sit & wonder
how time passes so fast
random frames of time lost memories
captivate my mind
appear, stay & vanish
like strobing flashlights..

Blinding me from the factual world
making me forget my earthly plights…

So fast time passed by
So soon we’d to say goodbye
So easily we broke our hearts
So hard it was for us to part….

Remember we first sensed
the longing for each other
filled among ourselves,
each one’s emptiness together…

Finding stupid reasons
just to meet
& celebrating the stupidity
like fools in a fleet…

Bunking the lectures
showing up the next day
standing with dropped heads
all in dismay…

Eye candy in the classroom
pretending guilty
though not a bit
frowning faces like shit…

Wodeva…. But enjoying the play
& bunking again the next day..

Those naughty gestures
when a pal’s crush appeared
& sudden burst out
the moment she disappeared..

The trend didn’ end
Just the victims changed…

Waiting outside the cinema hall
for the last guy to appear
but what compensated for the missed show
was seeing all again together…

Eleven freaks
Eleven birthdays
At least eleven righteous days
to celebrate every year…

Struggled hard to wish the first
waiting calls often got cursed!

But so fast time passed by
So soon we had to say goodbye
So easily we broke our hearts
So hard it was for us to part…

Helplessly we watch when from nowhere
a teardrop trickles down
and reflects those moments so special
the only valuables we own..

Miss those pats on back
so inspiringly they hurt..
Miss those friendly scolds
Trickles of care they did squirt…

Time’s made us so helpless
nothing we can do
Unwilling goodbyes & fake smiles that we waste
Trouble us inside
we stay blank outside…

It’d happen one day
we always knew..
But blindfolded by our love
We were too scared to beleive…

Its hard to believe
that things no longer would be the same
to no one we can complain
no one to blame…

As our love for each other
pampered us to grow & thrive
So will it heal our broken hearts
& empower us to survive…

So fast time passes by
so soon friends say goodbye
so easily they break their hearts
its always painful for them to part…..

-Nero

Samstag, 28. November:
15.30 Uhr: Farewell, my Lovely
20.30 Uhr: The one man village (bis 2.12.)
22.30 Uhr: Der unheimliche Fremde (bis 30.11.)

Sonntag, 29. November:
15.30 Uhr: COMIC CAFE – Eintritt frei!
20.30 Uhr: The one man village (bis 2.12.)
22.30 Uhr: Der unheimliche Fremde (bis 30.11.)

FAREWELL, MY LOVELY

USA/England 1975
Regie: Dick Richards
Kamera: John A. Alonzo.
Mit Robert Mitchum, Charlotte Rampling, John Ireland, Sylvia Miles
35mm
Originalfassung
95 Min.

COMIC CAFE

Info unter highlightzone.de/comic/cafe.html
Eintritt frei!

THE ONE MAN VILLAGE
(Semaan Bil Day’ia)

Libanon 2008
Regie: Simon El Habre
Digital (BetaSP)
86 Min.
Arabisch mit deutschen Untertiteln
Erstaufführung

Semaan El Habre, Onkel des Filmemachers, ist der einzige Bewohner des Dorfes Ain El-Halazoun. Der libanesische Bürgerkrieg zwang die Dorfbevölkerung 1982 zur Flucht und hatte die Zerstörung ihrer Häuser zur Folge. Dauerhaft zurückgekehrt ist nur Semaan, der seit fünf Jahren in einem von Ruinen umgebenen Haus lebt, allein mit seinen Tieren und
seinen Erinnerungen.
Die Narben sind nicht gleich zu sehen. Auf den ersten Blick wirkt das Leben in dem verlassenen Geisterdorf sogar recht idyllisch: ein verschneites Bergpanorama, eine kleine Landwirtschaft, ein zufriedener Mann, der seine Kühe liebt und immer zu einem Spaß aufgelegt ist.
Erst nach und nach treten die Narben, die Spuren des Krieges, zu Tage: in der Landschaft, in der Geschichte der Großfamilie El Habre und im persönlichen Lebensweg von Semaan.
In den individuellen Erzählungen scheint die Geschichte des Libanon und die Situation eines Landes zwischen Vergessen und Erinnern auf.
Ein Film, in dem Schrecken und Schönheit, Schmerz und Poesie nah beieinanderliegen. Eine unaufdringliche Reflexion über Heimat, die Verbundenheit mit Orten und Menschen, die Auswirkungen von Krieg so-
wie den Versuch, schmerzhafte Erinnerungen ins Leben zu integrieren. (Birgit Kohler)

DER UNHEIMLICHE FREMDE
(Attention, les enfants regardent)

Frankreich 1977
Regie: Serge Leroy
Mit Alain Delon, Sophie Renoir, Richard Constantini, Thierry Turchet. 35mm
Deutsche Fassung
102 Min.

Durch einen Unglücksfall und das Auftauchen eines Fremden verändert sich schlagartig das Ferien-Idyll von vier Kindern in einer Villa an der Cote d’Azur. Aus Angst, Opfer des Fremden zu werden, töten die Kinder den Eindringling.
Mischung aus Märchen und psychologischer Studie.
(fd)

Friday Khutbah (Sermons) : Lessons from the Farewell Pilgrimage
- by Imam Al-Haramain ‘Abdul-Bari ibn ‘Awad ath-Thubayti
from the Masjid Al-Haram in Makkah, Dhul-Qa‘dah 18, 1422 (February 2, 2002)

The Transcript:

All praise is due to Allah. May peace and blessings be upon the Messenger, his household and companions.

Fellow Muslims! Each time the month of Dhul-Hijjah approaches, a page in Islamic History glitters and a stance of the Messenger of Allah comes to limelight.

Among the major landmarks of Hajj are those comprehensive principles that the Prophet Muhammad announced in his sermon during the Farewell Pilgrimage. The Prophet proclaimed these concepts that were far from mere slogans but formed part of his call right from the onset of his mission and it was never change nor altered by any circumstances. He impressed these principles in the hearts of his companions in order that they could convey them to the mankind, and those principles were made to survive many generations because of their veracity and efficiency.

In that historical sermon, the Messenger of Allah warned against associating any partner to Allah in worship which is a disease that has almost destroyed the humanity, nearly severed man’s relationship with the source of his good and his very existence and dragged him into the abyss of whimsical desires. So, the fundamental meaning upon which the rules of Hajj as well as the rules of acts of worship revolve is Oneness of Allah. Islam is a religion of Monotheism and the House of Allah was specifically built for the purpose of worshipping Allah alone. He says in His Glorious Book,

“And (remember) when We showed Ibrahim the site of the (Sacred) House (the Kaaba at Makkah, saying): ‘Associate not anything in worship with Me and sanctify My House for those who circumambulate it and those who stand up for (prayers) and those who bow (submit themselves with humility and obedience to Allah) and make prostration (in prayer).” (Surah Al Hajj, 22:26)

Hajj is but a manifestation of Oneness of Allah in its brightest form and the Muslim nation has never been in need of re-establishing the essentials of faith as they are during Hajj. There are some people among the Muslims who have bargained the pure faith of Islam with erroneous ideologies, there are some who spread the poison of atheism with their pens; there are some who have conferred some Divine attributes on their leaders who claim to know the hidden things and receive revelations from heaven and there are some who have introduced the idolization of individuals, exempted some people from religious obligations and taken men as intermediaries between themselves and Allah; not to mention those who worship saints, build domes on graves, circumambulate round them, invoke their owners and slaughter for them, thereby causing proliferation of mausoleums and sects.

In the Farewell Pilgrimage, the Messenger of Allah said,

“It is unlawful for you to shed the blood of one another, to take unlawfully the properties of one another or to violate the honour of one another. They are as unlawful as shedding blood on such a day as today, in such a month as this and in such a sanctified city as this (Makkah).” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

These are everlasting basics for fundamental human rights which are unequalled by any man-made system or statute. In protecting human life, Allah says,

“And there is in Law of Equality in punishment, a (saving of) life for you.” (Surah Al Ma’idah, 5:38) In order to preserve people’s honour, He says, “The female and male fornicator, flog each of them with a hundred stripes.” (Surah Al Nur, 24:2)

This punishment is for unmarried man or woman. As for the married, his or her punishment is stoning to death. There should therefore, be no regard for falsehood or immunity for anarchy.

Islam highly respects man’s right to live. It respects the pure and righteous life, not a life of obscenity and crisis nor that of injustice and aggression.

There is no value in the respect for man’s right to live if that respect is not accompanied by a just law and regulation for that life. Islam takes care of man’s right to protect his life in order to make it an honoured one, rich in security, stability and tranquillity.

Islam builds security in the minds of the Muslims then in his life, in order that he may establish justice – based on the Law of Allah – between people, establish power and authority with which the Law of Allah can be consolidated in the earth, promote good relationship between people under the banner of Islamic brotherhood and strengthen the ties of the kith and kin for the sake of Allah.

Among the fundamental human rights in Islam is that, no man should harm another nor backbite him either with word or deed. It is on account of this that Islam prohibits slandering, calumny, ridiculing others and insulting them. The following story illustrates how this principle was applied during the time of the Messenger of Allah, a man was penalised repeatedly for his continuous alcoholic drinking. On an occasion, he was brought before the Messenger of Allah and flogged. A man among those present said,

“May Allah curse him! How many times has he been brought for this same offence!” Upon hearing that, the Messenger of Allah got angry and said, “Do not curse him. By Allah, I know that he loves Allah and His Messenger.” (Al-Bukhari)

Islam not only protects and honours man during his life, it also guarantees honour for him after his death by commanding that he be bathed, shrouded and prayed for after his death. It also prohibits braking of his bones or assaulting his dead body.

As for the present material civilization, it only proclaims ineffective and lame fundamental human rights in the sense that it is influenced and controlled by disgusting racialism as it also has no faith or correct belief. That is why human rights are being violated in the so-called most developed countries.

Where are fundamental human rights where the Quds is being continuously desecrated, when its lands are being wrongfully occupied and the blood of its rightful owners being shed with impunity?! Where are the claimed fundamental human rights when man’s moral values are being systematically destroyed and his humanity being dishonoured?! The Messenger of Allah in his Farewell Pilgrimage said,

“All matters of the time of ignorance have been put under my feet.” (Muslim)

During the time of ignorance (pre-Islamic period), Human life was very cheap, murder becomes widespread and wars and bloodshed were order of the day. This was because those people had no faith that could protect them from their filthy behaviours. Then, Islam came to change this unenviable situation and established basics for the respect of human life and declared unwarranted and illegal killings as crime. Allah says,

“If anyone kills a person – unless it be in retaliation for murder or (by way of punishment) for spreading mischief in the land – it would be as if he killed the whole mankind.” (Surah Al Ma’idah, 5:32)

Before the advent of the Prophet, tribalism was deeply rooted but the Messenger uprooted it. He (SAW) said,

“You are all from Aadam and Aadam was created from clay. The most honourable of you is the most pious. There is no superiority for an Arab over a non-Arab, or for a non-Arab over an Arab, neither is there any superiority for a red-skinned over a white-skinned or for a white-skinned over a red-skinned except by piety.”

It is by this golden statement that Islam cancelled all human differences. Islam makes it meaningless to evaluate man with the colour of his skin, his lineage, wealth or worldly position, for all this is conferred by Allah upon His slaves with no choice of theirs. There is only one criterion for evaluating man that Allah explains in this verse,

“Verily, the most honourable of you with Allah is (that believer) who has piety.” (Surah Al Hujurat, 49:13)

So the strongest in faith and best in deeds is the most honourable. When the strange seed was nearly sowed among the pure Muslim society during the Battle of Banee Al-Mustaliq, the Messenger of Allah quickly nipped it in the bud with his famous saying,

“Are you raising the slogans of the time of ignorance while I am still in your midst?”

He was never pleased to see signs of racialism or tribalism among his companions even in utterances. Abu Dharr once insulted a man and called him, “You son of a black woman!” The Messenger of Allah angrily told him,

“Are you insulting him on account of the origin of his mother? You are indeed a man on whom there is a trait of the time of ignorance.”

He also said in another occasion,

“He is not of us, the one who calls to nationalism, fights for nationalism and dies for nationalism.” (Abu Dawood)

It is therefore disappointing to find some Arabs these days calling to nationalism and being proud of that in total disregard for the saying of the Messenger of Allah,

“Keep away from that (racialism), for it is stinking.” (Muslim)

In the Farewell Pilgrimage, the Prophet said,

“The first usury to be cancelled is our own usury: that of ‘Abbaas son of Abdul Muttalib. All of it is cancelled.” (Muslim)

Allah prohibits usury because of its grievous harm. It destroys the conscience, ruins human life with covetousness, greed and selfishness. It kills collective spirit, causes enmity and sows hatred among people. Allah declares war on its practitioners in this life through economic crises and psychological disturbances, and in the Hereafter with a painful torment. He says,

“Those who eat usury will not stand (on the Day of Resurrection) except like the standing of a person beaten by Satan leading him to insanity.” (Surah Al Baqarah, 1:275)

The usury-based economic system is responsible for many financial crisis and woes that confront individuals, societies and nations.

In the Farewell pilgrimage, the Messenger of Allah said,

“Fear Allah as regards women, for you married them on a covenant from Allah.”

This saying highlights the protection and the respect that Islam has for woman’s rights either in her capacity as a mother, wife or daughter. It takes care of her rights from the beginning till the end of her life. It makes her body forbidden to the glances of strangers and gives her the right to inherit and acquire knowledge. It also makes no distinction between her and man in reward and religious obligations. Allah says,

“Whoever works righteousness – whether male or female – while he (or she) is a true believer, verily to him We will give a good life and We shall pay them certainly a reward in proportion to the best of what they do.” (Surah Al Nahl, 16:97)

In Islam, we do not talk of rights of woman through empty theories and useless conferences. But we invite every body to read the history of the past women believers like Khadijah, Sumayyah, Asmaa’, A’ishah, Hafsah and Al-Hansaa’. We are opening for the humanity the shining pages from the history of the Muslim women so that they can see the living example of their feats. We invite the mankind to understand how Islam elevates woman, purifies her feelings, refines her character and takes her to the high aims and aspirations. The human history has recorded for them glowing and everlasting achievements that testify to their nobility and excellence.

As for those who appointed themselves as reformers and claim that they are leading women to the right path, they accuse others who admonish women to maintain their modesty and chastity with stupidity and backwardness. But when you look deeply into what they proclaim, you will find that their thoughts and behaviours are abnormal, that they have naturally perverted and have become captives to their lusts. These people have been surrounded by insinuations, so their aim is to deprive the Muslim nation of its values, deprive the free women their glory and the chaste her chastity.

In the Farewell Pilgrimage, the Messenger of Allah said,

“I have left for you that which if you hold fast unto it you will never go astray: the Book of Allah and my Sunnah.” (Muslim)

It is the Creator of man who knows best what is of benefit for man and makes him achieve happiness; and that is holding fast unto the Rope of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger. Allah says,

“Verily, this Quran guides to that which is most just and right.” (Surah Al Isra’, 17:9)

That means it guides man to that which is just in matters of interactions, law, politics, finance, economics, science, education and morals. Allah says,

“He has neglected nothing in the Book.” (Surah Al An’am, 6:38)

Further, whoever wants glory and honour, he can only found that in the guidance of the Quran,

“Whoever desires honour, (power and glory let him know that) to Allah belong all honour power and glory.” (Surah Fatir, 35:10)

Whoever is seeking for security and peace, let him seek for that in the Quran,

“It is those who believe (in the Oneness of Allah) and confuse not their belief with wrong (by worshipping others beside Allah), for them (only) there is security and they are the guided.” (Surah Al An’am, 6:82)

Whoever desires economic prosperity should look for that in the guidance of the Quran,

“And if the people of the towns had believed and had the piety, certainly, We should have opened for them blessings from the heaven and the earth.” (Surah Al A’raf, 7:96)

Also, let those who want power follow the Quranic injunction on the means of power,

“And make ready against them all you can of power, including steeds of war to threaten the enemy of Allah and your enemy.” (Surah Al Anfal, 8:60)

As regards the foundations of human honour and fundamental human rights, Allah says,

“And indeed We have honoured the children of Aadam, and We have carried them on land and sea and have provided them with lawful good things and have preferred them above many of those whom We have created with a marked preferment.” (Surah Al Isra’, 17:70)

There is also in the Quran a promise of prosperity in this world and everlasting bliss in the Hereafter for those who do good deeds.

Since the first generations of Muslims and the righteous predecessors followed the teachings of the Quran, they became leaders who guided mankind by the will of Allah and established a compassionate Islamic state. But when the later generations of Muslims abandoned these pure teachings, they became divided into factions and sects that killed one another and cursed one another. And this is an act that the Messenger of Allah strongly warned against when he said,

“Do not turn back after me into disbelievers, striking the necks of one another.”

It therefore, becomes clear that it is the abandonment of this noble directive that caused what the Muslims are suffering from in our contemporary time.

Dear Brethren, Farewell Pilgrimage is a reawakening call to the entire Muslims on the occasion of the Hajj in order to achieve the desired self-examination, staying upright on the true guidance in response to the call of the leader of the Messengers – peace and blessings of Allah be upon them all.

It’s seems like a million days since farewell. A million days since moments together stopped to be. A million days since our destinies diverged. I stand back and watch our time together pass soundlessly into the past. Into that place where facts are colored by my fears and fantasies, reality shaped by my love and hate, and time, measured by my passion or indifference.

A million memories, moments of the past, seem to gather dust in the attic inside my head. Away from the din of the dreary everyday life, away from prying eyes, away from the tribulations of my day-to-day existence, life lies fragmented and frozen in silent testimony to my time here.

Every gasp, every sigh, every voiceless prayer and unshed tear of my life lives here for eternity. In the solitude of my soul, I climb the three scores and a year old rickety staircase to my attic often now. The tired wood rattles and creeks under my feet as in protest to my frequent visits.

Sometimes in the middle of the night, sometimes in broad daylight, sometimes with the leisurely coutenance of a seasoned tourist, sometimes with the fervent passion of a faithful pilgrim, sometimes for seconds, sometimes for hours, I visit you often in my attic.

I see the vibrant smile, I see the twinkle in your eye, I see the beautiful feet. I see a tear drop braving gravity’s pull. I hear the laughter – unrestrained and full. I see the arms that once held me. Among the unfilled promises of the days gone by I see the moments that made surrender possible.

Amidst the unborn children of my dreams I see everything that gave birth to moments so beautiful. Long after I have bid you my final goodbye, the attic will still be alive with their suppressed giggles and suggestive smiles. In the silence of the night, if you listen closely, I am sure you will hear them laughing.

They say time is a great healer. They lie. The wounds you left behind remain. Unhealed and bleeding. Even after these many years. It’s baffling to see I still hurt. Proud as ever, I watch them silently every day, hiding the pain. I have asked myself a million times why. I had vowed to leave you behind. To move on with my life.

Yet the memories cling on to me like a petulant child. Seeking my attention desperately. Demanding my time. Stubborn, they refuse to let me escape the responsibility of acknowledging their presence. Why do they insist on following me? Are they bound to me for a reason? Or is it the other way round? Am I bound to them for the rest of my life? The possibilities never fail to annoy me. You know I hate ambiguity.

I have gone back in time for answers. I have met you again and again during those visits. Still young. Still smiling. Still watching me with those playful, translucent eyes that showed me a world I had seen only in my dreams.

Was it first love?

It is hard to decipher a 12-year old’s heart. Even now when I’m forty, I fail to complete the sentences that rose in that 12-year old mind. Or maybe it is too simple to understand but needs a language that’s lost in time as we grow up. Making it inaccessible to us, like the boundless treasures of an ancient civilization that we know did exist but can no longer find.

If you were here today, you could have told me. You always had the answers. You knew too much. I knew little to nothing. Yet you let me live out my fantasies. The pride, the vain glory, the know-it-all arrogance, the over-riding need to impress. Did you laugh inside to see me strut by your side? It would have broken my heart if you said yes then.

I would have stopped speaking to you. But only for a while. It would have killed me not to tell you the little secret dreams I had, the toy plane I was working on forever that never flied, my imaginary flights into the galaxy. I have never spoken to anyone except you about the nightmares I had when my mother died. It always felt better when you held my hand in your’s and said my mother’s now a shining bright star in the sky, forever watching over me. I knew it was a lie. But the look in your eyes never let me tell you otherwise. I pretended to believe so that I could see you smile.

But I didn’t know you knew that too. You too pretended to believe me when I said we will be together for the rest of our lives. Or else why did you leave me behind? Why did you walk away with a stranger who didn’t even know what makes you smile?

Did you not trust me enough with your happiness? Did you doubt my love? Did you not see how happy I was when I was with you? Where you not happy with me? My life was nothing but the wind that would fuel the fire that your life want meant to be. My dreams were nothing but your thoughts even when I did sleep. What happened to the fantasy that we both called our own so proudly?

Did we both learn to pretend too much with time? To keep each other smiling, did we start to live lies?

I had wanted to be angry with you for a long while. I couldn’t. Instead I kept trying to find justifications for what you did. I couldn’t find any but I didn’t give up. I hoped that someday I will know why it had to be this way – me getting old alone with only your memories for company and you in some foreign land, in a foreign hand, living amongst people you now call your family.

I will no longer know now. You will no longer have to comfort me with a lie. No longer will I have to pretend to believe you, just to see you smile. Our story will have to end without an ending tonight.

I won’t wonder if you miss me anymore. I won’t wonder if you worry about my failing health or shabby clothes. Or if I have found my place in this vast world without you. Death absolves one of all worldly responsibilities, once you told me so. You are finally free. If you can hear me, I just want you to know that I’m fine. I am getting old like everybody else. I am not too worried about being happy anymore. I find my peace in being content. Knowing that you shine like a bright star in the sky, watching over me.

If I don’t wipe my eyes tonight, know that it’s because you will always remain with me like a tear un-cried.

NYmag

I’m not one of those wifey people who like, rants about bad florists.

-DK

In the way she wore her heart on her sleeve, she wrote and lived the only way she knew how to -
Honestly.

It might  have been difficult to read what she wrote sometimes and often I felt her soul had lived for twice as long as her 20 years, but Daul never let anyone manufacture her.

When they tried to, she fought back.

For me, that’s a life that’s well-lived, no matter how the end came.

At least now you know you’ll never be lonely again.

Say goodbye here: Words For Her

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