Itimase Dua

The Nights of Power approacheth, which are in themselves the very heart of this blessed month. Vagaries regarding the sighting of the moon coupled with the effect of geography means that for different people, the dates will fall on different days. It doesn't matter - God sees all, and knows our intentions.

I pray that all who stumble across my small corner of the web have their prayers answered, and ask for them to pray for me.

Itimase Dua. And God bless you all.

The Sermon on Piety

Sermon 192 in Nahjul Balagha, also called the Sermon of the Pious, is my favourite. It also scares me very, very much (though lest anyone think I know the Nahj like the back of my hand, I will point out I only know of a handful of the sermons, if that).

Without any aforethought, Imam Ali (AS) was asked to define the pious "in such a way as though I see them". He declined, but was asked again, and came out with what I've pasted below. An incredible number (101 by my count) of attributes are listed below, and if ever you want to know where you are with regard to piety, measure yourself against these. Which is what I'm about to do.

I've broken the sermon into individual sentences, and where I see an attribute mentioned, I'm going to put either a yes, or a no next to them. It will be easy to put the "no" tags but a lot harder to put the "yes" tags, for two reasons - (i) - I don't want to show off, and (ii) - I'm going to be extremely critical of myself, so if I'm not sure, or can think of any recent (or not so recent) example of any contrary behaviour, then I'll put a "no" tag.

Anyway - to begin. I've focused on the core of the sermon only, so there will be a bit missing from the beginning, and the end. Read the sermon in its entirety here.

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Thus, the God-fearing, in it are the people of distinction.

Their speech is to the point (no), their dress is moderate (no) and their gait is humble (no).

They keep their eyes closed to what Allah has made unlawful for them (no), and they put their ears to that knowledge which is beneficial to them (no).

They remain in the time of trials as though they remain in comfort (no).

If there had not been fixed periods (of life) ordained for each, their spirits would not have remained in their bodies even for the twinkling of an eye because of (their) eagerness for the reward and fear of chastisement (no).

The greatness of the Creator is seated in their heart (no), and, so, everything else appears small in their eyes (no).

Thus to them Paradise is as though they see it and are enjoying its favours (no).

To them, Hell is also as if they see it and are suffering punishment in it (no).

Their hearts are grieved (no), they are protected against evils (no), their bodies are thin (no), their needs are scanty (no), and their souls are chaste (no).

They endured (hardship) for a short while (no), and in consequence they secured comfort for a long time (no).

It is a beneficial transaction that Allah made easy for them.

The world aimed at them, but they did not aim at it (no).

It captured them, but they freed themselves from it by a ransom (no).

During a night they are upstanding on their feet reading portions of the Qur'an and reciting it in a well-measured way (no), creating through it grief for themselves and seeking by it the cure for their ailments (no).

If they come across a verse creating eagerness (for Paradise) they pursue it avidly, and their spirits turn towards it eagerly, and they feel as if it is in front of them (no).

And when they come across a verse which contains fear (of Hell) they bend the ears of their hearts towards it, and feel as though the sound of Hell and its cries are reaching their ears (no).

They bend themselves from their backs, prostrate themselves on their foreheads, their palms, their knees and their toes, and beseech Allah, the Sublime, for their deliverance (no).

During the day they are enduring (no), learned (no), virtuous (no) and God-fearing (no).

Fear (of Allah) has made them thin like arrows (no).

If any one looks at them he believes they are sick, although they are not sick, and he says that they have gone mad. In fact, great concern (i.e., fear) has made them mad (no).

They are not satisfied with their meagre good acts (yes!!), and do not regard their major acts as great (no).

They always blame themselves (yes) and are afraid of their deeds (no).

When anyone of them is spoken of highly, he says: "I know myself better than others, and my Lord knows me better than I know. O' Allah do not deal with me according to what they say, and make me better than they think of me and forgive me (those shortcomings) which they do not know. (no)"

The peculiarity of anyone of them is that you will see that he has strength in religion (no), determination along with leniency (no), faith with conviction (no), eagerness in (seeking) knowledge in forbearance (no), moderation in riches (no), devotion in worship (no), gracefulness in starvation (no), endurance in hardship (no), desire for the lawful (yes), pleasure in guidance (no) and hatred from greed (no).

He performs virtuous deeds but still feels afraid (no).

In the evening he is anxious to offer thanks (to Allah). (no)

In the morning his anxiety is to remember (Allah). (no)

He passes the night in fear and rises in the morning in joy - fear lest night is passed in forgetfulness (no), and joy over the favour and mercy received by him (no).

If his self refuses to endure a thing which it does not like he does not grant its request towards what it likes (no).

The coolness of his eye lies in what is to last for ever (no), while from the things (of this world) that will not last he keeps aloof (no).

He transfuses knowledge with forbearance (no), and speech with action (no).

You will see his hopes simple (no), his shortcomings few (no), his heart fearing (no), his spirit contented (no), his meal small and simple (no), his religion safe (no), his desires dead (no) and his anger suppressed (no).

Good alone is expected from him (no).

Evil from him is not to be feared (no).

Even if he is found among those who forget (Allah) he is counted among those who remember (Him), but if he is among the rememberers he is not counted among the forgetful (no).

He forgives him who is unjust to him (yes), and he gives to him who deprives him (no).

He behaves well with him who behaves ill with him (no).

Indecent speech is far from him (yes), his utterance is lenient (no), his evils are non-existent (no), his virtues are ever present (no), his good is ahead (no) and mischief has turned its face (from him) (no).

He is dignified during calamities (no), patient in distresses (no), and thankful during ease (yes).

He does not commit excess over him whom he hates (yes), and does not commit sin for the sake of him whom he loves (no).

He admits truth before evidence is brought against him (no).

He does not misappropriate what is placed in his custody (yes), and does not forget what he is required to remember (no).

He does not call others bad names (yes), he does not cause harm to his neighbour (no), he does not feel happy at others misfortunes (yes), he does not enter into wrong (no), and does not go out of right (no).

If he is silent his silence does not grieve him (no), if he laughs he does not raise his voice (no), and if he is wronged he endures till Allah takes revenge on his behalf (no).

His own self is in distress because of him (no), while the people are in ease from him (no).

He puts himself in hardship for the sake of his next life (no), and makes people feel safe from himself (no).

His keeping away from others is by way of asceticism and purification (no), and his nearness to those to whom he is near is by way of leniency and mercifulness (no).

His keeping away is not by way of vanity or feeling of greatness (no), nor his nearness by way of deceit and cheating (no).

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10 "yes" tags. Some of which I barely feel I merited, though after all those "no" tags in the beginning, it felt good to get my first "yes" hence the exclamation marks. Going over them again, it could easily be 5, or even less. But, let's be generous, and give me 10.

10 our of 101 is still less than acceptable. Though, obviously, these don't exactly translate numerically - I'm not 9.9% pious. But can anything less than 101/101 ever be acceptable?

The thing to bear in mind is that these are specific attributes, which manifest the all-encompassing trait of piety. So in situation X, a pious person would demonstrate [insert attribute from the sermon here], whereas in another situation, another attribute may manifest itself. Point being, that to aim for these specific attributes without aiming for piety in general is like trying to build a house without a foundation.

I need to work on piety first, and the rest, inshaAllah, will follow. Pray for me, please.

:)

Series on Materialism V: Addendum

Part I: Clutter
Part II: Want
Part III: Debt
Part IV: Money

OK - this will be the final one. First off, a few more quotes:

A man is rich in proportion to the number of things which he can afford to let alone - Thoreau

He who would travel happily must travel light - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Most of the luxuries and many of the so-called comforts of life are not only not indispensable, but positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind. - Thoreau

Beautiful, all of them. And that's where it all started - clutter/excessive possessions/minimalism/call-it-what-you-will. Note also that the quote by Antoine de Saint-Exupery has a brilliant double meaning for us muslims, who are travelling towards death and the next life.

Anyway. I've covered a lot of ground in the last four posts, but never quite saw the outcome of the final post until I wrote it yesterday. It's like I was following a chain of linked thoughts, without knowing how it would all turn out, though each time it was logical to make the step from one to the next.

Again, I want to re-iterate what I said at the very beginning... if at any point I sounded judgemental, it's directed at me only, and not at anyone else. I want to lead my life in a very particular way, and I'm always kinda angry/upset at myself for allowing such things to distract and detract from my goal.

What I'm against mostly is the vicious cycle I espoused in the Debt piece, which I've reproduced here in the shape of a (not so) fancy graphic.


That's the crux. If you find yourself following the above pattern, and as a result, find your house increasing in material clutter, most of which seemed important at the time, but you never actually use, then stop, put the money to good use, and clear out your junk. (I honestly can't write that without feeling hypocritical. Why is it always so hard to follow your own advice?)

And money? After all that I have written, I shouldn't see money as other than fake, but it hasn't happened. There is a difference between knowing something intellectually to be true, and knowing something to be true with every fibre of your being - and my recent thoughts regarding this are at the first stage. (Incidentally, when it comes to questioning in the grave, the same holds true. Various lectures have pointed out that the shock of death takes away your mental faculties, and so if you only intellectually believed in the existence of God, and the appointment of Muhammad (SAWW) as his final prophet, and Ali (AS) as his divinely appointed successor, but in your heart felt nothing, or did nothing, then it won't be enough. These you have to know and believe in with every fibre of your being, and these we are reminded of in the talqeen before we are buried.)

That it is fake does not negate the fact that we live in a world which accepts it as real. In a way, it is perfect this way, as the illusory nature of money reflects the illusory nature of this world, and eventually, as repeated contemplation of this will allow this seed of knowledge to take root in the heart and grow, I know I'll become less attached to both this world and its fake currency.

Having said that, we are supposed to work for our living, and pay for it lawfully, and if this means that we have to live in a system which we know to be illusory, then I guess that we have to do it. It just becomes easier to let things which are not important go, and focus on what we need. Also, despite it's illusory nature, we still have to account for all that we are given in this life, including money, and this again becomes easier with said knowledge. If I know that what is given to me is really fake, than I cannot really feel any desire for it, but if someone tells me that there is real, tangible, good for me in spending it wisely, in the way of Allah, then its a no-brainer. Good uses come to mind easily, and very few involve the hoarding of money. The best to me seems to be giving to charity.

And debt? What of debt? Pay them off ASAP. The money may be fake, but I still don't want to owe anyone anything before I pass away. Also, I still hate the parasitic idea of interest. Debts and interest take away your potential to do good with the money you are given, so clear them first. Then set about doing good, swapping what is fake for what is real, and tangible, and of benefit, in this life and the next.

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I'm done. I've written 2,500+ words, which I had no idea I would do before I started writing this series. I feel odd, now that I've written it. Like I've started something, and the consequences are as yet unclear. We'll see.

Series on Materialism IV: Money

Part I: Clutter
Part II: Want
Part III: Debt

This is going to be different from the other three, and easily the longest piece written so far. The other three sort of mesh and link and feed off each other, and it's almost too easy to point the links out between them. Money is different, so I'm going to see if I can arrange my thoughts in a layered way. I'll know if I've done a good job by the end. As I see it, this should be the last in the series, with maybe one more for tying things up neatly and putting a bow on top.

Ok...Money. Where to start? One thing for sure - I won't start with the almighty (sarcasm intended), ubiquitous US Dollar, and the presence, or not (as some might argue), of the all-seeing eye placed above the pyramid, which for some is the mark of the freemasons, and for others the portents of a Dajjalic system, and for some people in a very weird Venn Diagram, a sign of both. For that, I refer you to the web series known as The Arrivals, and leave you to make your own conclusions.

What I will start with is my understanding of what money is. Money, put very simply, is a means of exchange, which facilitates trade and transactions of all kinds. Before the concept of money existed, people would have to trade goods, but with its creation, money could act as a sort of go-between. Then, all you had to do, instead of trading physical goods for each other, was trade them for coins of a set value instead, and all of a sudden, life becomes easier. We can, instead of measuring physical goods of different kinds against each other, put money in the middle, and measure the goods against money. And today, it remains the same, though we have notes as well as coins. So, on the first level, money is an artificially constructed means of exchange, superimposed onto our daily lives, providing a quick way of valuing goods and services, which makes life easier.

Imagine an everyday transaction, with one buyer and seller, and see things through each perspective with this new idea. Then, when you buy something, you are making a decision to part with money for an item. Therefore, whatever the value of the item is, you value the item more than the money you parted with it for. And for selling, the opposite is true. You are willing to part with the item for money because you value the item less than the money you would get for it. Each time there is a choice between the item, and the money, and the buyer chooses one, the seller the other, and both are satisfied (one hopes, anyway).

That it's a measure of exchange, but inherently worthless on its own, forces different consequences and conclusions to what we normally think about money. Money then becomes only as valuable as what you can exchange it for, and some things will not, and never be, available for exchange. Having wealth, or being wealthier means that you now have more to exchange with, and can therefore ostensibly exchange for more - more variety, more quantity, and more quality. With that, I believe, comes a bit of responsibility, with regard to how you spend your money, as now it matters not how much you have, but what you spend it on.

But what would you exchange it for? When considering large spends, and now even for a few small spends, I keep on thinking whether I would rather have the item desired, or have the money. Sometimes the decision is obvious, other times less so (Materialism really does pull, it seems). I think the best way to deal with such is to consider the cost not in money itself, but in how many hours you worked to get the money for an item - which makes things much more real. The weird thing is, you always feel that you could have spent the money in a better way. And for all the ways in which it is possible to spend your money - look around....every shop wants you to spend it with them - only two stand out to me as being the best uses of money. One is the paying of debts that are owed, and the second is in making a difference to someone else's life, through charities and other means. Case in point- £1, or £10, or to some, even £100 may not be worth a lot here, but right now, in Pakistan, after those floods, it may well save a life, or feed a person for a few days, or provide much needed clothing/shelter/etc.

I did say in a preceding paragraph that money was inherently worthless, and I hope to have raised some question marks by saying that. Allow me to explain. To start with, money was actually gold and silver and bronze coins, and these had intrinsic value of their own, which allowed them being used as money. We have now stopped using gold and silver for coinage, and replaced them with metals of lesser value. And now we use banknotes, which are essentially printed pieces of cotton. These are worthless - its only societal acceptance and government backing that makes one piece of printed cotton worth more than another. That this can be printed on demand lessens its value still. The only real currency is gold, and possibly silver, and that gold is becoming more and more expensive shows that our own currencies are becoming more and more worthless. This is happening slowly - we have targets for inflation to make it more manageable, but it's happening nonetheless, and the illusion of worth is kept going on that little bit longer.

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Wow. Honestly, I did not envisage myself writing all this. In a way, I've known all this info for years, but in bits and pieces, and its only now that I've strung all the bits in a way that makes sense. To me, at least. If this makes no sense, I totally apologise. Ignore this post, and take what is good from the preceding three. I'm definitely going to need to write one more piece to tie things up.

Part V: Addendum

Series on Materialism III: Debt

Part I: Clutter
Part II: Want

If clutter is the symptom, and want is the illness, then debt is the mechanism by which the illness operates.

Disclosure of bias: I hate interest, and debt, and the idea of debt, more than most things. The idea that I might owe someone something, and not be able to pay it off before I die, and so have creditors bug my family after my passing really, really irks me. One of the few prayers that I direct for myself is a wish that I'm not taken before I have a chance to pay off all possible debts in this life.

Anyway, to the topic at hand. Western economies are based on consumerism, yes, and hand in hand with such is the consumer debt industry. If, perchance, you desire Object X, thanks to a helpful advert (obviously), but cannot purchase it now with the funds you have, you can always put it on a credit card, or a store card, or go into your bank overdraft, or take out a small consumer loan, at varying rates of interest. All of which, if you think about it, are gambles on the future. You are gambling, right now, that you will be able to, in the future, pay said loan off. Whatever happened to saving up? Or only buying what you could afford? Looks like such ideas have become archaic now.

Credit has become too easy to get, and the lure of being able to have a "new thing" now and pay for it later seems almost irresistible. And the weird thing is that people regard the rates of interest acceptable as a trade-off between paying slightly more (or a lot more) over the long term or ending the debt there and then, or as soon as possible. And they wouldn't be alone. Consumer debt levels in the UK are ridiculous, and whilst the crisis of 2008 and subsequent recession caused a re-examination of attitudes and perhaps a teensy bit of soul-searching for the nation, all of that seems to have gone now.

Is it not the responsibility of lenders to make sure they aren't offering too much credit? Meh. Corporate responsibility is subservient to the demands of shareholders. The credit crisis of 2008 came about because of too much lending, and then for a while, credit became hard to get, but now consumers can get credit easily again. And again, it's not hard to see why. If consumers don't get credit, then once their incomes are spent, they can't buy any more. And an economy based on consumerism needs people to spend, and for growth, needs people to spend more now than they did this time last year. Credit is the easy way to do that, and a secondary stream of income for some through the interest earned. From their point of view, you'd be mad NOT to be offering it.

And for the consumers? A vicious cycle, where clutter, debt, and want all mesh in the worst of ways - something like this:

Dissatisfaction -> Want -> New Purchase -> Temporary Enjoyment -> Clutter + (Potential) Debt -> Dissatisfaction.

Repeat as necessary.

Again, as with clutter and want, I'm not blameless, and am quite angry for falling into this one. I have a list of loans, a store card, a credit card, and an overdraft. None of which are healthy, and none of which I wish I had signed up for. But, as before, what's done is done, and it's easy to see the way out for this one.

- Order your debts in terms of either (i) size or (ii) rate of interest.
- Pick the smallest, or highest interest one, and pay it off, whilst meeting the minimum payments for the rest.
- Repeat, repeat, repeat until debt free. Use money from cleared debts to pay off more and more of the other debts.

Personally, I'm tackling the smallest first, because then it will feel like I've achieved something when I clear it, which increases motivation for tackling the next, bigger, tougher one, and so on and so forth.

Again, as with want, not all debts are bad. If you see the pattern in the series, everything is kinda linked. So what I don't like most of all are debts which are fuelled by want, and lead to clutter. I accept that in the society that we live in, some things are unattainable for most without going into debt, or taking out a loan. Tuition fees for universities, mortgages for houses, and (maybe) a car. Few people are blessed enough to be able to afford any or all straight off without having to go into some form of debt. So they're not so bad - though even then I'd want to pay them off asap. It may well be a worthwhile loan/debt, but I don't want anyone else to suffer for me not having paid it off in my lifetime.

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Thanks for reading this series. One part left, but its writing will be a while longer - I'm going to need to make sure my ideas are crystal clear before I put them online.

Part IV: Money
Part V: Addendum

Series on Materialism II: Want

Part I: Clutter

Clutter is the symptom of of a deeper illness. Want.

It's hard to ignore, once you see the signs. The economies of Western countries are based on consumerism. We are lucky (most of us) to be living in a technologically advanced enough place where we don't have to worry about food, water, shelter, clothing, or electricity - the industrial revolution, competition, capitalism, division of labour, and advances in science and technology have in their ways seen to it that we don't even give a moments thought about such basic human needs (is electricity now a basic human need? I would have said no previously, but there is a huge disadvantage in potential between those who have access and those who don't, so I'm going to say yes). And, not only do we have the luxury of being able to take all such for granted, we have time and leisure (and disposable income) then to spare.

Of course, once we no longer have to focus on what we need, then we begin to focus on what we want. And what do we humans want? Everything under the sun, and more. It's human nature to want, it would seem. And if you're not sure about what you want, advertising is always there to help. Product X will make you the most beautiful woman the earth has ever seen, and Product Y will make you the most powerful, most respected man. Better than all these, is Product Z, which is just so awesome, it will make you the envy of all you know.

In my opinion, what advertising really does is hit at some hidden inadequacy that we feel, and then assures you that the magical product will deal with the problem. Except that (i) it doesn't, or (ii) it does, and one is lured by the advertising of another product, dealing with something else. In essence, we fill a void within ourselves, and are temporarily happy, but when the happiness goes, we need to buy something again to become temporarily happy again, and so on. This phenomenon has been documented and given a name: "Retail Therapy".

And the truth is, we're never done spending on what we want, and we won't be. There is always something else that we want. Like how we need goals beyond our current goals, so that we have something to aim for once we hit our current goals, likewise our mind has a list of stuff that we want, that we think we need, and after we acquire the frontmost possession, and the transient happiness of a "new thing" has passed, there is another to take its place, which then becomes the new object of our desires. And so our life becomes filled with stuff we don't want, and we end up frustrated with the clutter in our life and intuitively feeling that something has gone wrong somewhere, but we don't know what.

Lest you think that this writer is himself blameless, I have a thought experiment to try out. Imagine that a fictional stranger offers you £100, but you have to spend the money on material goods for yourself. Nothing else. For me, despite the fact that I haven't thought about it before, my mind presents me, almost unbidden, with a list of stuff I want. Except I didn't want it before. Or didn't consciously know that I wanted them. I'm guessing the same happened for all who read this. Now increase the limit to £1,000. The same happens again, but you now have more in the list that comes to you, because you can already buy what you would have bought with the £100, so your mind presents you with other stuff on top. And again with increasing factors of 10 - £10,000, then £100,000, and so on. Each time the list will be different. And I am ashamed by how quickly and easily each list of mine is filled - under the surface, for all my spiritual pretensions, apparently I want A LOT of stuff.

Now, it is possible that some of the stuff we buy is actually of use. Out of everything I own, I would gladly give up everything except for phone and laptop (2 items, up from one the last time I checked.). And I am sure others have similar items. So I'm not against owning stuff per se, or buying stuff that we need, or will benefit us. What I am against is buying for the sake of buying, or wanting for the sake of wanting, with fleeting or no benefit, to fill the empty voids within us, which I see way too much of in this society.

And this will continue as long as we continue to focus on what is not important, and allow our hearts to be occupied other than Allah. As much is promised in the Quran:

أَلَا بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ

....verily in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest. [13:28]

The wording is perfect. Our hearts will forever be restless and uneasy without the guidance of Allah, and from this will come the wanting of other stuff, which will fill the void temporarily, but never be enough.

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I think now have two more pieces to write for this series. Writing them has definitely helped crystallise my thoughts, and I know roughly the structure and content of the pieces to follow, and just have to make sure I write them clearly.

Part III: Debt
Part IV: Money
Part V: Addendum

Series on Materialism I: Clutter

For the most part, these are a stray collection of thoughts, which I will try to group in some semblance of order. If it seems disjointed, it's because I'm working through these thoughts as I write them, and if I've done a good job, every section will flow smoothly into the next without anyone noticing. There are my thoughts only, and I wish to stress that if I sound judgemental, its only directed at myself. I fully appreciate that other people have different priorities by which they live their lives. I'll provide a quote as well. Here it is:

I had three pieces of limestone on my desk, but I was terrified to find that they required to be dusted daily, when the furniture of my mind was all undusted still, and threw them out the window in disgust. How, then, could I have a furnished house? I would rather sit in the open air, for no dust gathers on the grass, unless where man has broken ground.

- Walden, by Thoreau

I love the above quote. How can we spend so much on improving our material lives, but neglect our spiritual and mental faculties? What do material goods really bring into our lives anyway, besides needing to be looked after and protected? Can they ever really be worth it?

Anyway. The Holy Month has arrived, and I've used the opportunity to look at what I own and really think about whether I need all that I have. I've barely scratched the surface, but it feels good to have done something and cleared out part of the junk that my house seems to have accumulated. Stuff yet to be done: books, clothes, paperwork - I have a special dislike for paperwork - a ridiculous amount of computer cables, and a remarkable number of household objects that I somehow now have two or more of (how on earth did I end up with two nearly identical printers?!?), and, bizarrely, empty boxes that contain the packaging for some of the stuff.

I keep on thinking that there has to be a better way of living, though. More and more possessions, just seem to be adding to the clutter in my house, and all seem to require maintenance, which sometimes cost more in time and effort than any possible benefit that the item is worth. So some stuff definitely must go. But I wonder - why do I have all this stuff in the first place? I've been committed to a more minimalist style of living for almost a year now...yet in the past year have somehow ended up accumulating more. I guess I must not have been as committed as I thought I would be....

Let's deal with the excuses.

- I thought it was important at the time.
- It was a bargain.

The first is perhaps justifiable, but the judgement should come based on the end result. Time will tell if it was important at the time, and if it wasn't, then it wasn't. No excuses. Exhibit 1: Photography. Based on the time from when I bought the camera to now, it's a no-brainer. Maybe in a year's time the answer will be different, but right now, it's a mistake.

The second is tougher. Again, the judgement should be made at the end of a reasonable period of time, which may vary depending on purchase, but the problem I have with this excuse is simple: that an item may be a bargain or heavily discounted does not in itself make it a worthwhile purchase if you don't need it. Only after buying because of the cheap price do I ponder whether the item was actually necessary. And in pretty much all cases, the answer is no.

2 excuses. More clutter. Ugh. But what's done is done, and I'm rectifying it as best I can. I love that Islam already has a way for this - pay khums on anything your haven't used for a year. Beautiful. If you haven't used it for a year, your obviously don't need it, so get rid of it. If you still want to keep it, pay a tax for doing so.

OK - that's me done for now. At the moment, I have enough content swilling in my head for (I think) a few more in the series, but we'll see what happens when I start writing them down.

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Part II: Want
Part III: Debt
Part IV: Money
Part V: Addendum

It Has Begun

Today was the first day of the holy month of Ramadhan. And it fell on a Friday, which adds to the specialness. And, I feel there was another sign, which marks the day even more in my memory. From almost exactly Zuhr time till mid afternoon, and then later in the evening as well, there was rain of every type, from light drizzle to torrential downpour. All of it was awe inspiring. Looking out once, it seemed that the green of the trees had been mixed with a silvery dark greyish colour, such was the effect that the rain was having. It's a sign for sure, but of what? My own leaning would be that as rain is always considered a sign of God's mercy, so must this be considered likewise, further confirming this month as one in which all sins are forgiven. Or maybe its to do with the power and majesty of God. I don't know. But I know today was special - something was different.

As without, so within. The external shift mirrored an internal one. For the first time at work in a long time, I felt odd. I'm quite the conversationalist at work - I know a little about enough things to thoroughly engage pretty much all of my coworkers in decent enough conversation, but oddly, a few times when I tried to talk to people as I normally would, regarding the latest films/tech/etc, it just felt stale to me. There are only so many times one can discuss what the new iPod Touches will be like*, or how awesome Inception was. But it wasn't that. I just felt that I really shouldn't be wasting my time with such talk, and so gave up after a few attempts. And I was also aware of myself trying and failing to be my usual self - as if I was watching myself. And, of course, it is true. This month is far too important to be wasting breath on idle chitchat. And when the month goes, I really shouldn't be doing that anyway. So, one day in, I already have something to work on. I can't wait to see what its like when the month ends. I should also at this point add that when it came to talking about work-related stuff, or stuff that could be useful in the future when it came to work, conversation flowed much more easily, so the lesson relates to not speaking unless you need to.

I wonder what tomorrow's lesson will be, if I'm lucky enough to be given one....

*Ask if you really, really want to know.

A Few More Gems

Whilst the previous one was taken from the whole of Throeau's book, Walking, these are all taken from one chapter of Walden. The chapter itself is on solitude. Enjoy.

*****

I believe that men are generally still a little afraid of the dark, though the witches are all hung, and Christianity and candles have been introduced.

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Sometimes, when I compare myself with other men, it seems as if I were more favored by the gods than they, beyond any deserts that I am conscious of; as if I had a warrant and surety at their hands which my fellows have not, and were especially guided and guarded.

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I have found that no exertion of the legs can bring two minds much nearer to one another.

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For the most part we allow only outlying and transient circumstances to make our occasions. They are, in fact, the cause of our distraction. Nearest to all things is that power which fashions their being. Next to us the grandest laws are continually being executed. Next to us is not the workman whom we have hired, with whom we love so well to talk, but the workman whose work we are.

*****

I find it wholesome to be alone the greater part of the time. To be in company, even with the best, is soon wearisome and dissipating. I love to be alone. I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude. We are for the most part more lonely when we go abroad among men than when we stay in our chambers. A man thinking or working is always alone, let him be where he will.

*****

Society is commonly too cheap. We meet at very short intervals, not having had time to acquire any new value for each other. We meet at meals three times a day, and give each other a new taste of that old musty cheese that we are. We have had to agree on a certain set of rules, called etiquette and politeness, to make this frequent meeting tolerable and that we need not come to open war. We meet at the post-office, and at the sociable, and about the fireside every night; we live thick and are in each other's way, and stumble over one another, and I think that we thus lose some respect for one another

*****

The value of a man is not in his skin, that we should touch him.

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I have a great deal of company in my house; especially in the morning, when nobody calls

*****

[END]


I was curious to see what would happen if I pasted the whole chapter into Wordle, so I did. This is the result:


(click to see in more detail)

On The Month That Is About To Come...

I sense a change in the month that is about to come, and it is linked to the month itself. The most powerful, most spiritual, soul-nourishing month is almost here. And with it, a whole new lifestyle will come. No TV, no movies, no msn, little or no forum postage, no procrastination. More prayers, more contemplation, more writing, more selflessness, more introspection and self-examination, and more Quran. Maybe this time I'll actually be able to finish the recitation of a whole Quran during the month, inshaAllah.

I also feel, under the surface, that the extra time put to good use, especially contemplation, and the self-examination, will reap positive benefits. As I have got older, especially over the last one year, I've began to have a clearer picture about what I want from life, and the type of person I want to become. Not much has changed in general terms, but I see more details, in clearer, sharper vision, if that makes sense. In the sacred environment of the most holy of months, I intend to totally examine and re-examine all of these under a microscope, and keep only what is good, and Islamically acceptable, and purge what isn't.

It's not just about me, and who I want to be come, and what I want out of life though...there is other stuff swilling in my head.. mostly musings that in the lead up to this month have taken more and more tangible forms, and maybe just a little more exploration and refinement of such thoughts will perhaps give rise to some noteworthy posts. I don't know. Perhaps this is all empty words, and by the end of the month I won't have written anything. But I feel so... optimistic. I really feel that I will benefit from this month like never before, and show it at least partly through what I will output here.

In either case, we won't know until the holy month is over. Before I retreat into my cave for the month, I wish that all who stumble upon my blog gain the maximum benefit from the blessed month, and have all their prayers answered.

inshaAllah.