Keep it on the Green Tiger

Fans of Tiger Woods feel as betrayed as Garth did

Old Friend

He’s not like he used to be. How did the days pass by so fast? I remember watching him growing up, he could barely stand on his own. I was so worried that something as small as a strong wind could topple him over. But day after day, I would watch him through my window growing taller, sturdier.

I no longer worried about him getting hurt. In fact, I would use him as an example of strength and fortitude. It wasn’t just me; everyone would attest to his resilience. If chaos erupted, I knew his resolve would pull him through. Eventually, I practically relied on him for my very survival.

I saw him grow to a full adult. I saw him have children – tons of children. I saw his children grow in the image of their father. Just like him, they grew to be tall and resilient – a source of strength for everyone around them.

But now, he’s different. That youthful vigor he once exuded is now gone. The essence of life that once emanated from him has disappeared. His vibrant complexion has changed to a dull color. He’s become so frail. I can literally see him falling apart right before my eyes. He’s almost half the size he used to be.  I can no longer rely on him to protect me from the chaos of the outside world. I can no longer depend on him for my survival. He’s dying. I know he is.

But he’ll be back. He comes back every spring. Even though he does this every year, I’m always taken back by his annual transformation.

Everything in this universe attests to God’s Glory and leads us to Him if we just reflect. Through the change of the seasons, God shows us life, death, and resurrection.

It is He Who brings out the living from the dead, and brings out the dead from the living, and Who gives life to the earth after it is dead: and thus shall ye be brought out (from the dead). (30:19)

Every year, green turns to shades of orange, yellow and brown. The leaves die away and fall to the ground, lifeless. All that’s left is the tree trunk (which, by the way, is all non-living matter except the outermost layer)  and the unseen roots. The roots stay underground until the winter passes and then God calls the tree back to life as if it had never passed away.

[But] know that God gives life to the earth after it has been lifeless! ^[25] We have indeed made Our messages clear unto you, so that you might use your reason. (57:17)

As a Muslim, I believe that after one’s death and you are buried 6 feet underground, my soul will remain in a dormant state, until the Day of Judgment when God will call forth every soul back to life. See the similarities by any chance? God has made the Earth and all of a creation a means for us to know, understand, and worship Him.

Still not quite sure you agree with me? That’s fine, you can let it simmer inside your head for a little while, but I suggest you think about it before you go to sleep tonight.

39:42 It is Allah that takes the souls (of men) at death; and those that die not (He takes) during their sleep: those on whom He has passed the decree of death, He keeps back (from returning to life), but the rest He sends (to their bodies) for a term appointed verily in this are Signs for those who reflect.

Futbol

Islam is universal and timeless. It is a way of life that can be implemented anywhere. It is progressive and a timeless classic at the same time. It is not defined by a people or by borders.

A recent article by  the associated press cites that pew report on Muslims population came up with these discoveries:

The global Muslim population stands at 1.57 billion, meaning that nearly 1 in 4 people in the world practice Islam…Germany has more Muslims than Lebanon, China has more Muslims than Syria, Russia has more Muslims than Jordan and Libya combined, and Ethiopia has nearly as many Muslims as Afghanistan.

“This whole idea that Muslims are Arabs and Arabs are Muslims is really just obliterated by this report,”

Did you read that? 1 out of every 4 people is a Muslims. How are you going to generalize anything about a quarter of humanity?

I really thought that we had reached a point, at least in New Jersey, where people realize that there are all different kinds of Muslims and that they are just like everyone else. At the Muslims football league by Summit, a lady was asking about our league while she was waiting for us to get off the field so her child’s soccer game can start. When she found out that it was a Muslim League, she said “Oh, can you guys all join the army. They need people who know Arabic to translate.” Saief Abbassi (our all star lineman) replied “Most of us actually don’t know Arabic. The majority of guys here are of Pakistani origin and the rest are second generation Arabs who can’t speak or read Arabic very well. “

Last week, while I was at my brother’s house, a Cablevision rep whose been helping him switch from Verizon Fios stopped by. As he was going through all the contract details and walking through the different services he mentioned the channels and handed Anas and Hana a list of channels. Hana asks the guy if all the football channels are included. The guy looks at the two of them confused and goes “Football? You mean like American football?” So they respond ” umm, yeah. Football.” The guy, with the most confused look on his face, says “Honestly, I did not expect that. You guys just threw me a hug curve ball. I’m gonna be talking about this at the office.”

But you know what, I would have been ok with some broad generalizations about Muslims. For instance, if we were known for ANY of the following characteristics that God describes Muslims as in the Quran:

YOU ARE indeed the best community that has ever been brought forth for [the good of] mankind: you enjoin the doing of what is right and forbid the doing of what is wrong, and you believe in God… (3:110)

Sadly, the majority of Muslims nowadays are not a single community, not enjoining the good, forbidding the evil or truly believe in God. What has come true is the saying of the Prophet (pbuh) as narrated by Abu Dawud:

The people will soon summon one another to attack you as people when eating invite others to share their dish. Someone asked: Will that be because of our small numbers at that time? He replied: No, you will be numerous at that time: but you will be scum and rubbish like that carried down by a torrent, and Allah will take fear of you from the breasts of your enemy and last enervation into your hearts. Someone asked: What is wahn (enervation). Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him): He replied: Love of the world and dislike of death.

Then again, I guess I’d rather people know us as Arabic speaking futbol fans rather than our current condition of scum and rubbish.

In the Land of Tigers

I spent the weekend after Eid with the wifey in Columbia, Missouri, best known in these parts (aside from being the hometown of Hend and Rehab El Buri) for the University of Mizzou, which is best known for its sports teams, the Mizzou Tigers. See the connection. Columbia, Missouri = The Land of Tigers. Trust me, they take their tigerness seriously. (They have “paw prints” instead of user id’s and a tiger tail for their cars.)

Alhamdulillah (Thank God), the weekend was fantastic for all the normal reasons. This time I went down with my b-i-l and s-i-l , Zaied and Rehab, which gave it an added flavor, and also made the trip there and back very enjoyable. It was great to see my in-laws again. They’re always so nice and hospitable. I really feel at home there.

After Friday prayer, a young boy walked up to the mic with a confident swagger and said “Assalamu alaykum. My name is Ali and I am in the first grade. The Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam said : la darrarra wa la dirrar. The Prophet said…” and then Ali’s swagger transformed into a blank stare.  All of a sudden his practicing had alluded him and he stood there dumbfounded in a mosque full of adults staring at him. Then, a little girl strolled up to Ali, whispered in his ear and then as Ali’s swagger returned, she walked back to her father. Ali continued “Neither harm yourself, nor harm others. Assalamu Alaykum.” As Ali sat back down, everyone was smiling and feeling warm and fizzy inside. It was by far the cutest thing I’ve seen in  a while.

It turns out that every Friday, one of the students from the Islamic school shares a hadtih with everyone. The more I thought about it, the more I felt that it was something that wouldn’t fly in most Jersey mosques. I feel like there is less mercy in our hearts here in North Jersey. I was sitting in Eid prayer and the speaker, may Allah bless him and reward him generously for his effort, made a mistake out of nervousness. He said Ali ibn Al-Khattab instead of ibn Abi Talib. The uncle sitting in front of me, with an almost disgusted tone, goes “Heh! Ali Ibn Al-Khattab? Puh! ” and just gets up and leaves. If this is how the reaction to a respected adult is, then what is going to be the reaction to a first grader? How many uncles would put up with a kid stumbling through a hadith? How many people would actually give the child the time of day? How many uncles would be willing to sit for an extra few minutes to build a young child’s self esteem? And most of all, how many of us would be wise and merciful enough to send our own son or daughter over to whisper a reminder in the shaken boy’s ear instead of shouting, or even worse, simply  grumble and get up when he stutters? Us North Jersey people recognize that we’re just harsh, but we embrace it instead of struggle against it. God says in the Quran about the Prophet Mohammad (pbuh):

And We have not sent you but as a mercy to the worlds (21:107)

and it has been narrated that the Prophet (pbuh) said:

Those who have mercy will receive the mercy of the Most Merciful. Have mercy on those who are on earth, the One in heavens will have mercy on you

We are the messengers of the messenger. Where is our mercy? Maybe I have this whole “land of the tigers” thing mixed up.

The Mizzou Tiger statue at the Columbia campus. No joke.

Cute and Cuddly!

89 days.  Don’t act like you don’t know what that signifies, I know you’ve been counting the days since my last post.

SO why the long unannounced absence? What events have transpired during the long silence?

• Move to Paterson
• Marriage
• Canada Honeymoon
• Beginning of Ramadan
• GMAT Exam
• End of 30 Nights program
• Ongoing application process to Masters program

You’re probably saying to yourself: “wow, if all that happened and he didn’t post anything then something big must have happened now for him to post something.” Yes, something big has happened: Eid Al-Fitr. On this momentous occasion, I thought it was only appropriate to give my audience a gift-and what better gift than a new post

The winding path

It’s 3 in the morning and I’m wide awake. I’ve had a bunch of points bouncing around in my head for a little while now that I’d like to write down. I’m not sure if it will all make sense, but God willing, I’ll be able to achieve my goal by the end of the post.
Every now and then, I’ll have to drive somewhere for work. On one day, I went with my supervisor to a botanical garden that was shutting down. Even in it’s desheveled state, I could tell how beautiful the place was. Anyway, we were talking on our way there and it turns out that he first met another colleague of ours in 1985 as her T.A. while she was still studying for her Masters degree  - that’s a year before I was even born!

On another ride, I went down to Flemington with one of the professors to pick up the department van that was being serviced. My only encounter with this professor before I started working in the Biology department was when I was about to graduate. He was the advisor who would make sure you’ve taken all your classes and are ready to graduate. He had a reputation of being a mean person and I never took any of his classes because I heard tons of people failed them each semester. Of course, that perception of him changed drastically since our relationship changed from student and teacher to colleauges. During our talk on this hour longe ride, I discovered that his first wife was very sick and unfortunately past away over a decade ago. He had so much debt racked up from the medical bills that he had to pick up extra jobs and that’s how we wound up doing the advisor thing that made us first cross paths. What’s more interesting thing is that I discovered that he taught both my supervisor and the other colleague as undergrad students.

At this point I came to realize something – I’m really young. I turn 23 in the middle of this November, so I guess I am pretty young. You’re probably reading this and you’re confused as to why this seems like such a revelation to me. The thing is, I don’t feel young. I feel like I’m a seasoned veteran of life. I feel like I have gone through alot, and if you’re close enough to me and know me well, you’ll probably agree.

The realization of my youth left me with two conclusions:

1. What the Hell am I talking about? I’ve barely seen anything yet! Life tends to be an uphill battle and I’ve barely begun my journey. Say I live to 65 (what my father believes to be the  life expectancy for all Idelbi men), that means I’ve only experienced a third of the hardships I’m set to face, and that includes the half of my life that I was being pampered for and had no clue what a hardship was even if I was experiencing one. Alhamdulillah there are millions of people who would love  to switch places with me. I mean, I live in America. That alone puts my life ahead of a whole lot of people.
2. I’m afraid. Every hardship is just a training session to be able to face the next obstacle in life. Every obstacle gets bigger and life gets more complicated. I always feel like my life will get much easier and calmer six months from now, but that six months never seem to get shorter. It’s always six months away. So my big question is what has God planned in my future that needs all this preparation. The prophet Yousef (Joseph) had to go though so much. He was with his family, abondened in a well, sold as a slave, seduced by the minister’s wife, and then back to a humble living when he was thrown in jail. Why did he have to go through all that preparation? He only had to save his people and the surrounding countries from a seven year famine. Even after he had returned to a high position in the kingdom and was reunited with his family, he still had the weight of feeding a nation during years of famine resting upon his shoulders. I’ve been blessed to have good friends surround me and the support of my family throughout my whole life. Family support + good friends + trials and tribulation = huge challenge lying ahead of me.

Life seems like a bunch of random events that all occur mysteriously, but if you look back at what you’ve been through, it tends to all add up. Lots of times if I get lost on the road, I’ll keep on driving till I find something familiar or a sign to a place I know and I’ll continue until I find my destination, even if it takes me a long time to get there. After that first time being lost, I’ll always find my way. One time I was eating dinner with a bunch of friends and Mazen Mokhtar was among us. He mentioned that in the opening chapter of the Quran, God says guide us to the straight path , not heaven or some specific location, but rather a way of life.  All I ask, is that God keeps me on this path, no matter what obstacles He throws my way.

Elevated Perceptions

Sorry for the two week hiatus. Mia culpa.

Anyway, I spent Memorial Day Weekend in Columbia, Missouri (or CoMo as the natives like to call it) with my fiancée (italicized because it’s in French) and, as always, I had a great time. My in-laws are always so great and hospitable and I always get to indulge in some great home cooking.

The travel is a bit long and consists of a 2.5-3 hr flight out of Newark to St. Louis plus an additional 2 hour drive from the airport to the house.  After sleeping for at least a good hour (I’ve been blessed with an amazing ability to sleep in just about any condition), I like to sit and reflect. Traveling is one of the best times to turn to God and ask Him for anything at all. It is narrated that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:

Three supplications will not be rejected, the supplication of the parent for his child, the supplication of the one who is fasting, and the supplication of the traveler.

From traveling back and forth so often, I’ve collected some reflections I’d like to share:

• Tons of metal and steel, wiring and microchips, nuts and bolts are put together to form a massive vehicle that are often times quite impressive. You can feel the power of the airplane as the force pushes against you with each take off and landing. Often times, I’ll see a bird flying seemlessly right beside the airplane. No engines, no pressurized cabins, no huge fuel tank, no need for a runway or a communication tower, no landing gear, no gadgets.  I remember that no matter how large and efficient our man made technology evolves, it remains a cheap imitation of any old flying bird.  What is truly awe-inspiring is the creation of God that we see everyday and neglect to truly appreciate its complexity.
• To some, airplanes signify man’s triumph over their biological limitations and the elements. If man can’t fly, he’ll build something that enables him to fly. But “human flight” (really it’s more like being trapped in a flying container) is far from that. I’ve never felt completely safe in an airplane ride. I mean every bump and shake caused by turbulence that happens in the middle of the sky is a small reminder that you’re relying on God to see you through this.  Every delay due to bad weather is a reminder that you’re still vulnerable to God’s will. Even animals (whether a flock of birds crossing the plane’s path or pheromone crazed snakes) can be a reminder of how we are at God’s mercy when we are in the sky.
• Air is AMAZING. This nothingness that fills the void between here and there. That invisible force is what is used to propel giant aircrafts hundreds of miles an hour and makes flying possible. It can’t be touched or seen except when contaminated with something else. Its presence can only be detected in its absence or in its rapid motion.
  

  Ahmed Eid took this picture on his way back from my Kitab.

  It is so crucial to our existence yet it seems like such an afterthought. The blessing of the abundance of air to the point where we don’t have to think about it like we do other forms of nourishment is enough to dedicate a lifetime of obedience to God.

• As the airplane takes off, humans go from full scale to ant size to indistinguishable. Homes and neighborhoods become clumps of rooftops and vast spans of meadows and grass are reduced to patches of different shades of green. Finally, the airplane reaches a height where only two things are visible — the sun in the distance and a bedding of white clouds beneath you. Back on Earth, you talk to your small circle of family and friends that numbers in the low hundreds if you’re popular (or an Abbassi, the family has to have the biggest family tree ever). Every day that passed was filled with constantly worrying about what I need to do this week, this month, for my future career. Flying above everything puts your small little world into perspective and reminds me of God’s true power. His dominion encompasses all what is in the heavens and the Earth while I struggle with the stress that comes along with being a part time student and a full time employee. Isn’t it ironic that few other experiences can be so humbling and bring you down to Earth like flying in the sky can.
• I always try to squeeze as much time as I can from my very short weekend trips to Columbia so I booked the very latest flight to Newark available on Monday. A good portion of the flight was in the dark of night. As I look down to the ground, my eyes always end up fixated on the lights. No matter how small or how far, I’m amazed as how a house light can pierce the miles of darkness and be seen. My eyes are always guided to the small collections of light and my eyes trace the street lamps down highways. It never fails that my attention is gravitated to the light sources.  God says in the Quran:

God is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of His light is, as it were that of a niche containing a lamp; the lamp is [enclosed] in glass, the glass [shining] like a radiant star: [a lamp] lit from a blessed tree – an olive-tree that is neither of the east nor of the west the oil whereof [is so bright that it] would well-nigh give light [of itself] even though fire had not touched it: light upon light! God guides unto His light him that wills [to be guided];  and [to this end] God propounds parables unto men, since God [alone] has full knowledge of all things. (24:35)

Desensitized by the Senses

By the end of 2006, an estimated 1,106,400 adults and adolescents were living with HIV infection in the United States. There are an estimated 56,000 new cases of HIV each year. The only guarantee not to contract AIDS is through abstinence, but Public Health advocates believe that it is not practical to just promote abstinence because kids WILL be sexually active. In their opinion, other methods of prevention such as condoms are much more effective at slowing the spread of STD’s. Abstinence advocates have raised the question: By making promiscuity more acceptable through the accessibility and availability of condoms, aren’t we being counterproductive since increasing the rate of sexual encounters will increase the rate of failure of condoms?

The questions I’d like to raise: How can we expect children not to become sexually active at younger ages; How can we expect not to have 66-year old perverts (from my hometown of Hillsdale nonetheless), if we don’t control the amount of sexuality thrown in our face from advertisements? But most importantly, how have we come to accept the mass proliferation of indecency?

I’ve been thinking about this for a while. I don’t like malls. I was reminded of that when we took my dad to California Pizza Kitchen for his birthday (awww) in Garden State Plaza. I got there “early” so I decided to go to the Sony store to take a look at laptops and camcorders. I was disgusted on my way there. Every single store had large advertisements of half naked men and women. It didn’t matter what the store was selling, it was selling it with sex. I really had no idea where to look. The store fronts were indecent, the people’s clothing was indecent, and there were too many people in the mall to look down without bumping into someone.  The three straws that broke the camels back? The TV ads for Quiznos, White Castle (seriously, come on), and most of all Burger King. Burger King has to be the worst. How dare they associate Spongebob with the most legendary sexual song of all time!

My suggested course of action: Reverse the trend so that sex DOESN’T sell. Boycott any store that has indecency in ads in plain sight where young children and moral adults can see it. But most of all, be sensitive to the fact that advertisements using nudity to sell their products is wrong and not acceptable.

I’m not suggesting this solely on a religious basis. These ads hurt our girls self esteem, promote promiscuity (which counters all efforts to control AIDS and other STD’s), and ruin harmonies in marriage because guys can’t keep up with these men with washboard abs if they want to work enough to support their families.

It’s not impossible. A generation ago, public indecency was not acceptable.

I’m bringing unsexy back! YEAH!

Finals through Tuesday

Sorry everyone.  God willing, after Tuesday I’ll write an amazing post. But until then, I have a little too much on my mind and not enough time to write up a post.

Or do I?

No pork on my fork

Even though I’m pretty sure you can’t catch it from eating pork, all this talk about the swine flu reminded me of a conversation I had  a while ago with a friend of mine named George Rasic. George was confused why Muslims don’t eat bacon.He absolutely loves it and just couldn’t understand how it could be forbidden if it tasted so good. So I went on explaining how scientifically, fat from pigs are harder for the body to digest, that pigs carry parasites that other animals don’t, and the fact that pigs enjoy rolling around in their own feces. George asked me “Suppose they made a pig that was 100% healthy to eat and they scientifically proved it, would you eat it then?” My response was “No, the reason I don’t eat pork is because God doesn’t want me to. I’m just telling you some facts that can help us understand why.” If you think this is “blind” faith, think again.

Islam in general is not a religion that promotes blind adherence. The very first verses to be revealed to the Prophet (pbuh) were:

Read: In the name of thy Lord who createth, Createth man from a clot. Read: And thy Lord is the Most Bounteous, Who teacheth by the pen, Teacheth man that which he knew not.

Over and over, verses in the Quran command us to use our intellect. God says in the Quran:

• (This is) a Scripture that We have revealed unto thee, full of blessing, that they may ponder its revelations, and that men of understanding may reflect. (38:29)
• [O MEN!] We have now bestowed upon you from on high a divine writ containing all that you ought to bear in mind will you not, then, use your reason? (21:10) (In Arabic, linguistically, a mixed group of men and women are referred to as men)
• The (material) things which ye are given are but the conveniences of this life and the glitter thereof; but that which is with Allah is better and more enduring: will ye not then be wise? (28:60)
• The parable of the life of this world is but that of rain which We send down from the sky, and which is absorbed by the plants of the earth whereof men and animals draw nourishment, until -when the earth has assumed its artful adornment and has been embellished, and they who dwell on it believe that they have gained mastery over it there comes down upon it Our judgment, by night or by day, and We cause it to become [like] a field mown down, as if there had been no yesterday. Thus clearly do We spell out these messages unto people who think! (10:24)

Moreover, the Quran contains scientific facts (the father determines the gender {75:37-39}, the planets orbital movement {86:11}, and the presence of subatomic particles {10:61} ) that would have been impossible to discover at the Prophet’s (pbuh) time. The Quran has never been changed, so if parts of the Quran have these miracles that could have only been accessible only through divine knowledge, then I’ll accept it as a book of a divine source in its entirety. And before anyone claims that there could have been additions or omissions to the Quran by man, there are many numerical phenomenons( the word day is mentioned 365 time, angels and satan mentioned each 88 times, faith and disbelief each mentioned 25 times) that would render that theory impossible.

I won’t ever be able to fully comprehend why such and such happened to so and so. But I know God is the Most Wise, the Most Merciful and that He has sustained me every second of every day of my young life. What’s the reason not to have complete confidence in God?