Gandaghee-Halal Mixtape Vol.1

Surah Ad-Dukhan (recitation by Sh Ibrahim Al Jibreen)

Sh Ibrahim Al Jibreen is one of my most favourite recitors. I really like this clip because it includes the meaning of the Surah too. Deep stuff!

Of particular interest:

v.38 We created not the heavens, the earth, and all between them, merely in (idle) sport.

v.39 We created them not except for just ends: but most of them do not know.

In v.39, the word 'illa' is used. Loosely translated, it means 'except not', like when you say 'I like all fruits except (not) mango'. It negates, but I think the intensity of this negation is lost in the translation because I remember a shaykh saying 'illa' is a really strong negation in Arabic. So like if you say 'except and ONLY except'. People don't develop strong feelings about their dislike for fruits, so my example was a really bad one but you get the gist. Allah SWT uses 'illa' also when He (SWT) declares 'Verily We have not created jinn and insan(mankind) except (and only except) that they may worship Me'. Emphasis on 'except' because linguistically, its an exception in a really strong way, to indicate that we were created ONLY for that purpose--and everything else we do outside of this, is pointless. Obviously this doesn't mean we have to stop doing everything we do, but rather we need to direct all our actions towards that one purpose: we're doing it for the sake of Allah (SWT). I'm going off on a tangent here but you know what I mean.

So anyway, back to v39, which I think is quite interesting because Allah SWT declares that surely the heavens and the earth were not created except for a Just purpose. And then also, I remember reading a particular verse in Surah Al-Imran where Allah SWT describes the men of understanding as those who declare "Our Lord! You have not created all this without a purpose; so Glory be to You!'' (v.191, Surah Al-Imran).

I wonder what it means to have a 'Just purpose', or for something to be created 'in Truth'? Like what does it really mean? That everything in the universe is in perfect design and proportion? Or something more than just the physical dimensions?

Cyanide & Happiness

George Galloway refutes Barack Obama

...but I still think he's the better candidate.

Intelligent Faith: The Role of Reason & Intellect in Islam

By Abu Ammar Yasir Qadhi

I wish...

that Rugs-A-Million would just close down without having a closing-down sale.

I'm going hooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooome.
And I'm gonna make choc-ripple-dessertttttttttt.
Hrrm..
Back to cramming before long weekend.

Ooh our anatomy lecturer, Prof. Eisenberg, said something relatively funny today. He has a reputation for making his lectures (essentially) an advertising campaign for his book '@natomedi@'. 8 o'clock in the morning, its not always nice. Anyway so he was going on about how everyone in his family is either a GP or a physiotherapist. Then he said ''Now you might think I'm leaving the dentists out but that's not true... I just found out...my dentist's mother...and my mother...were both mothers.
..so we're all inter-related."

Hah such wit.

AAIC 2008 Conference Lecture

Speaker: Shaykh Abdul Hakim Quick

"Audacity of Hope"

(This was the first lecture from a series of lectures given by Shaykh Abdul Hakim Quick at the AAIC. The other videos have not yet been uploaded. If and when they are uploaded, I will put them up here too inshaAllah.)

2008 AAIC Conference Conclusions

(as outlined by Mercy Mission Org)
1. That Muslims should remain in Australia, and should contribute to the development of
Australian society.

2. That we must establish a Vision for Australian Muslims that is SMART (specific, measurable,
achievable, realistic, and timely).

3. That Muslims should organise think tanks to research and develop solutions that address our
current situation.

4. That Muslims must aim to achieve healthy integration, and must aim to be contributing
citizens of their society.

5. That Muslims must aim to achieve intra-Sunni unity, and must cooperate with all groups on
matters of mutual concern.

6. That Muslims should seek to establish effective leadership that is reflective of the diversity and needs of the broader Muslim community, and that such leadership should incorporate proper reference to appropriate religious bodies and councils of scholars for consultation and spiritual leadership.

7. That the Muslim community must try to cater for and develop the youth, by providing various youth services including leadership, mentoring, and training, and by providing appropriate role models for the youth to emulate in various aspects of life.

8. That the Muslim community should focus on empowerment through all forms of education,
whether that be secular or religious, and that Muslims should support and aim to achieve higher levels of scholarship in society.

9. That the achievement of self sufficiency and self-reliance in social services by 2020 should be a primary aim for the Muslims community.

10. That Muslims should increase their political awareness and should more fully engage with the political process, so that focus is brought to the particular needs and views of the Australian
Muslim community. That Muslims should seek to identify appropriate spokespersons that can
adequately present their views in the public domain. And that Muslims should seek to take a
more proactive approach in relation to engaging with the media so that misconceptions are
addressed, and so that Islam and Muslims are fairly represented.