Thursday 28 August 2008

The difference

A Sage was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said. 'Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.' The Lord led the Sage to two doors. He opened one of the doors and the Sage looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew, which smelled delicious and made the Sage's mouth water.

The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful. But because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.The Sage shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.The Lord said, 'You have seen Hell.'

They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man's mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.

The Sage said, 'I don't understand.'

'It is simple,' said the Lord.

'It requires but one skill. You see they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves.'

Wednesday 27 August 2008

A dialogue between a Flower and a Pearl

One day, a brilliantly beautiful and fragrant flower with attractive colors met a pearl that lives far in the bottom of the sea and has none of these characteristics. Both got acquainted with each other. The flower said: "Our family is large; roses and daisies are members of the family. And there are many other species that are various and countless; each has a distinctive scent, appearance etc." Suddenly, a tinge of distress appeared on the flower.

"Nothing accounts for sorrow in your talk; so why are you depressed?"The pearl asked.

"Human beings deal with us carelessly; they slight us. They don't grow us for our sake but to get pleasure from our fragrance and beautiful appearance. They throw us on the street or in the garbage can after we are dispossessed of the most valuable properties; brilliance and fragrance."The flower sighed.

And then the flower said to the pearl: "Speak to me about your life! How do you live? How do you feel it? You are buried in the bottom of the sea."

The pearl answered: "Although I have none of your distinctive colors and sweet scents, humans think I am precious. They do the impossible to procure me. They go on long journeys, dive deep in the seas searching for me. You might be astounded to know that the further I lay, the more beautiful and brilliant I become. That's what upraises my value in their thought. I live in a thick shell isolated in the dark seas. However, I'm happy and proud to be in a safe zone far from wanton and mischievous hands and still the humans consider me highly valuable".

Do you know what the flower and the pearl symbolize?The Flower is the UnHijabed Woman and the Pearl is the Hijabed Woman.

Courtesy Cloey

Sunday 24 August 2008

Disconnect

It is useless to have a learned tongue but an ignorant heart.
~Shaykh Abdal Qadir al Jilani

Friday 22 August 2008

Teary eyes and glowing heart

What has happened to your eyes, (the more) you tell them to stop, the more they continue flowing.

What is the matter with your heart, (the more) you tell it to come to its senses, (the more it is distracted).

Does the lover think that his love can be concealed.

While his eyes are shedding tears and his heart is glowing.

- Excerpt from the ‘Qasidah Burda’ by Imam Busairi

Wednesday 20 August 2008

Golo Molo and friends

Chono mono
Bailu cutie
Goshi janu

Pinky
Choto

Golo molo

Reddy

Zeenie leenie teenie

Snow white

Gopo baby

God bless my friends infinitely.

Saturday 16 August 2008

Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish

Drawing from some of the most pivotal points in his life, Steve Jobs, chief executive officer and co-founder of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, urged graduates to pursue their dreams. (Standford University, 2005)

Thursday 14 August 2008

14th August


Mera Jaaga Ehsaas
Meray Mann Ki Hai Pyaas
Mainay Tori Zanjeer
Mera Dil Hai Azaad
Meray Dil Main Junoon
Yeh Joshila Hai Khoon
Meri Apni Zameen
Mujhay Is Pay Sukoon
~Noori

You can listen to the lyrics of this music score here .
I also enjoyed viewing and listening to this national anthem video.

Happy Independence day! Pakistan Zindabad!

Monday 11 August 2008

Blink! Scientists move closer to invisibility cloak

WASHINGTON (AP) — Scientists say they are a step closer to developing materials that could render people and objects invisible.

Researchers have demonstrated for the first time they were able to cloak three-dimensional objects using artificially engineered materials that redirect light around the objects. Previously, they only have been able to cloak very thin two-dimensional objects.

The findings, by scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, led by Xiang Zhang, are to be released later this week in the journals Nature and Science.

The new work moves scientists a step closer to hiding people and objects from visible light, which could have broad applications, including military ones.

People can see objects because they scatter the light that strikes them, reflecting some of it back to the eye. Cloaking uses materials, known as metamaterials, to deflect radar, light or other waves around an object, like water flowing around a smooth rock in a stream.

Metamaterials are mixtures of metal and circuit board materials such as ceramic, Teflon or fiber composite. They are designed to bend visible light in a way that ordinary materials don't. Scientists are trying to use them to bend light around objects so they don't create reflections or shadows.

It differs from stealth technology, which does not make an aircraft invisible but reduces the cross-section available to radar, making it hard to track.

The research was funded in part by the U.S. Army Research Office and the National Science Foundation's Nano-Scale Science and Engineering Center.

Source: The Associated Press

Harry Potter certainly had lots of adventures aided by the invisibility cloak. Maybe time is near for our friendly disappearances ;)

Thursday 7 August 2008

Watch who ya whistle at :p

The best slogan written in front of a famous beauty parlor: "Don't whistle at the girl going out from here, She may be your grandmother"

~Courtesy A friend

Tuesday 5 August 2008

Four Keys to Success

If 4 matters are present, success is guaranteed:

1) one's intention must be true;
2) one's goal must be true;
3) the means one takes must be true; and
4) the way one takes the means must be true.

Explaining the Four Keys to Success

1. True Intention

A true intention is for one’s action to be sincerely for the sake of Allah.

Allah Most High says, “They were only ordered to worship Allah, making their religion sincerely His.” [Qur’an, 98.5]

And, “Whoever hopes for the meeting with his Lord, let him do righteous work, and make none sharer of the worship due unto his Lord.” [Qur’an, 18.110]

The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Actions are by intentions, and each person shall only have that which they intended.” [Related by Bukhari and Muslim, on the authority of Umar (Allah be pleased with him)]

Imam Ibn al-Mubarak (Allah have mercy on him) said, “How often is a small action made tremendous through its intention, and how often is a tremendous action rendered small through its intention.” [Dhahabi, Siyar A`lam al-Nubala, 8.400;

2. True Goals

Having a true goal entails that one’s goal is something that is pleasing to Allah, in accordance to the guidance of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) that has been explained to us in the Shariah.

A’isha (Allah be pleased with her) relates that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Anyone who acts in way not in accordance with this affair of ours shall have it rejected.” [Related by Muslim]

3. True Means

Taking true means entails several things:

a) one take the most effective outward means to accomplish one’s goals; and

b) one take the most effective inward means, including complete reliance upon Allah, and ensuring that one’s action is in accordance with the general guidance of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), and any specific sunnas related to one’s action.

4. True Way of Taking the Means

This entails that the way one takes the means be in accordance with the spirit of excellence, wisdom, gentleness, dignity, and forbearance that are the essence of the way of the Beloved Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace).

~Allama Shabbir Usmani's commentary on Sahih Muslim

Source: Sunnipath Q & A