-inner machinations of my mind-

New Domain Name!

2008-01-22T18:31:00.000-06:00

Moved to Wordpress

2007-11-17T11:22:00.000-06:00

I kinda miss blogger, but eh. I enjoy having my own domain name:

clearout.info

My Domain Got Hacked...

2006-07-26T07:39:00.000-05:00

This is sadly ironic in 2 ways...

1. Its happened b4

2. The link he posted

I think it was the Internet Cafe in Medina.

Success!

2006-06-04T13:11:00.000-05:00

clearout.info

from now on, go to clearout.info

New Blog Underway...

2006-06-04T12:07:00.000-05:00

I got all my domain name info mailed in today and I'm starting on my new blog.

clearout.info

thanks to Stabani, I should be moved in my Wednesday at most.

Awesome Vacation...

2006-06-02T10:31:00.000-05:00

Wednesday and Thursday were awesome for the following reasons:

1. Finally understood why Final Fantsay VII is soo cool by watching Advent Children and Last Order
2. Played Soul Calibur III and made one of the coolest-looking characters ever
3. Beefed up my YouTube Favourites List
4. Sparred a whole bunch and showed that I am actually a formidable opponent

Hello, Wordpress!!!

2006-05-30T13:47:00.000-05:00

Thanks to my bro Stabani, clearout.info, will soon be a reality. Blogspot has served me well, but I can't resist the temptation of having my own domain name...

More info soon

People of Note 2005-2006...

2006-05-29T17:21:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year again...

1. Adam- Just the though of having a to-be scholar as a childhood friend is good. It's amazing to see a very ambitious and capable student give it all up to service his community by first learning, then teaching Islam. May Allah give him much more than he gave up.

2. The Lunch Bench Crew- The people that sat with me at lunch were a group of Muslims that stuck together for that very reason. Most notable are Dinar and Maaz, especially Dinar, for he would get ridiculed for sitting with "a bunch of Indian kids".

3. Faheem Aunty- Without her, the friday halaqa would be long gone. She has fought battle after battle with the insubordiate Masjid administration to let us keep going forward.

4. Imran- Constantly giving me rides and doing me favors, he is the man who invented the "war game". He brings many responsibilities upon himself, but he always puts Islam as priority number 1.

5. Salman- Aside from being my best friend since childhood, he has also helped me a lot with school and other things.

6. Abdul-Razzaq- The only guy in our MSA (other than Mr. D) that I can relate with. Alhamdolillah, he has shown a zeal & passion for Islamic Knowledge that I can only hope to achieve.

7. Irtiza- I now see why he was my older brother's role model. Even as a married man, he is laid back and a really cool guy. He's also the guy who is organizing the umrah trip this summer.

8. South Zone Crew- Sure we haven't met up as much as we used to but we still are good friends. Everytime we meet up, I have a good time.

9. Fajr Program (Level 1 class of '06)- Even though the class is early morning, these guys show a lot of energy. I learned a lot and have expanded in my knowledge along with these guys and with thier help.

10. Hassan/Hamza- Aside from teaching me proper TKD form, each time we talk, I feel like an intellectual. Some might find Hassan's behavior strange when he's around me, but to me, it's all good.

11. Mr. D- If Mr. D wasn't the sponsor for our MSA, I would pray jumuah and leave. I learned a lot in general about history just by chilling with him, and even though he's leaving, I hope to meet with him again.

12. Shariq- Not much is to be said other than saying that he was been the #1 source of knowledge for me this year.

Sorry for the Delay...

2006-05-29T11:45:00.000-05:00

My internet was spazzing out.

Should have both post done by today.

Posts Soon...

2006-05-25T18:24:00.000-05:00

My school ended today and I'm gonna continue with my tradition of having a "People of Note 2005-2006" post and also that post about my bike that I promised. Expect both by Sunday.

Drool

2006-05-23T13:42:00.000-05:00

Another awesome Supreme Commander video:

http://www.eurogamer.net/tv_video.php?playlist_id=466&s=l

School Accomplishment...

2006-05-19T17:49:00.000-05:00

For our final English project, we made a movie trailer for "The Great Gatsby".

It was soo good that Ms. Joseph showed it to all of her English classes, then she showed it to Ms. Robinson who showed it to all of her classes.

The one thing I hate about it is the part where I put the gun to my head and it zooms in. George Wilson probably didn't have a scrawny moustache.

Enjoy:

Exams Week...

2006-05-18T20:03:00.000-05:00

School is such a draining activity.

Lately, I've been getting more and more lazy and my grades have dropped a bit. I could have been exempt from Art with an A but instead I decided to put off work and instead, just goof off. Also ever since Fajr Program has ended, I'm kinda in this slump. I am awaiting tommorow's halaqa as a relief from the drudgery of school.

When I'm gone for the summer, I want Imran and Hani to take over the halaqa and ensure that everything goes well. I am confident that they will do fine and I'm looking forward to seeing "shaykh Adam" when I get back.

As for blogging, I am keeping a journal throughout my whole trip, and I will digitize it when I get back.

Donnie Yen vs Sammu Hung...

2006-05-16T15:28:00.000-05:00

This is probably the coolest thing I've seen on YouTube.
Credit to Hamza Amir and Hassan Amir.

The Locals...

2006-05-15T21:54:00.000-05:00

Don't mind this post, just using it to free up space on the sidebar.

http://sheikspeare.blogspot.com/
http://ubaidseth.blogspot.com/
http://hanikhan.blogspot.com/
http://adupadu.blogspot.com/
http://deathguppy.blogspot.com/
http://hassansquall.blogspot.com/
http://knowyourcreator.blogspot.com/
http://tahaahmed.blogspot.com/
http://makhatri.blogspot.com/
http://az33m.blogspot.com/
http://raikozen.blogspot.com/
http://tahaj.blogspot.com/

Survey Answers...

2006-05-15T15:46:00.000-05:00

Correct answers for the following questions are:

Who goes to heaven?

All Muslims after the Prophet Mohammed (saw)
Those followers of each Prophet before the Prophet Mohammed (saw)
All Muslims eventually goto Heaven if they have sinned

Do we have to follow the sunnah of the Prophet Mohammed (saw) which has been passed down to us in the books of hadith?

Yes

What is the only unforgiveable sin?

Shirk

Are we allowed to make dua to VERY pious people who have passed away in order to seek assistance?

NO. And this means we can't make dua to Isa (as) either.

Brother Abdullah's father passed away. After the burial the family got together and said the shahadah 125,000 times to benefit the deceased. There were 5 members and they divided up the duty to each person. This is not something from the sunnah. The Prophet Mohammed (saw) never did this nor did the Companions. Is this haraam?

... realized that grammar was an issue on this one. The correct answer is supposed to be yes it's haraam.. bu the ansewr that should be chosen is... no they can't... for no theyc an't do that stuff.

Which of the following are signs of extremism?

Killing civilians in the name of Allah (swt)
Celebrating Milad-un-Nabi
Fasting every Friday

Is it mandatory to call others to Islam whether they be Muslim or Non-Muslim?

Yes

Who provides sustenance/money?

Allah (swt) does

What is the main purpose of life?

To worship Allah

What does shirk mean?

Worshipping others besides Allah

How did the ORIGINAL idol worshipping begin?

The leaders of the village did it so the rest did as well
Because of Shaytan
With good intentions

Fajr Program Level 1...

2006-05-13T12:09:00.000-05:00

Alhamdolillah, I success fully passed(more like excelled) Fajr Program level 1.

I have to say that never have I dedicated myself over a long period of time in learning about Islam until now.

I've truly learned a lot and bonded with brothers that I wouldn't meet otherwise.

Some Highlights of the whole class:

1. Finding out some of the stuff that goes down in the MIST assigned reading
2. Seeing Nabeel and Umair act gay
3. Actually passing a quiz
4. Knocking down Salman in football to help Imran get the winning touchdown
5. Hitting the target 4 times in a row in archery
6. Finding little rabbits outside when playing dodgeball
7. Getting whooped in wrestling
8. Learning about the Majesty of Allah
9. Being "on fire" with making up questions for the survey
10. Debunking Desi bidahs

PS. Sorry, but I can't post the results of the survey.

Survey for Fajr Program...

2006-05-11T15:42:00.000-05:00

I need High-schooler and College-goer Muslims to take this survey to help me make my presentation for Fajr Program:

http://www.zoomerang.com/survey.zgi?p=WEB225AX8YSNBD

Expect a post about my experiences in Fajr Program soo, since next week is the last day of Level 1 :(

Post Soon!

2006-05-10T20:06:00.000-05:00

I'll do a post about my bike soon.

Edited the MIST Favourites Post...

2006-05-04T16:58:00.000-05:00

I added a bunch of additions to it

http://clearout.blogspot.com/2006/05/mist-favourites.html

Cool Technology...

2006-05-02T18:59:00.000-05:00

Japanese researchers invent completely transparent material

Whoa. Let's take a step back here. Do you guys understand what this means?

Think about glass. Its kinda hard to see that its there after a good Windex job, but man!

Completely Transparent is good. You could make better glasses, contact lenses, and anything that has to do with optics. Cameras would function better and new imaging technologies would pop up left and right.

This is definatly one technology i'm gonna track.

MIST Favourites...

2006-05-02T18:56:00.000-05:00

Somethings I liked about MIST (in links):

The Brother's Nasheed Competition:
1. The Nasheed Amir Nayeem performed
2. "I'm So Sick of Shaytaan" (watch for the sister going craazy around the end)
3. My Favourite Performance (I love Zaid Noor and Talha Sattar)
4. Klien High's Nasheed

MIST Short Films
1. Bush MSA's short film
2. Katy Taylor MSA's short film
3. Clear Lake's Short Film
4. Kempner's Short Film
5. Muslim Approach 1
6. Muslim Apoach 2
7. Austin MSA Watch this one!

MIST! W00T!

2006-04-30T17:33:00.000-05:00

Man, MIST wasn't very good this year, but finally I won something.

2nd place in the Short Story competition.

Other than that, the only thing that made my MIST worthwhile, was the Kempner MSA guys.

Peeling Away the Past...

2006-04-27T18:35:00.000-05:00

Peeling Away the Past

Still dwelling in one of his bouts of depression, Hamza lapsed into an engulfing reverie. “Hamza! Hamza!” called Naila, “Wake up! What are you doing?! Let’s go, I just found the jacket I wanted.” As he abruptly exited his private little dream world, Naila had been shouting at him to pay for the clothes. “Hamza, do you even care about me anymore? You always daydream instead of listening to me!”

“Sorry princess. Here, let me get you some ice cream.”

“You owe me more than just ice cream! You’ve been an inconsiderate boyfriend lately!”

As Imran and Hani walked out of Radio Shack, they locked eyes with Hamza, and the countless rumors had been proven true. Hamza stared back and widened his eyes once the reality of the situation had struck him.

“Umm…Naila, lets go to the Baskin Robbins near Settler’s Way, It has better flavors.”

“No, I’d rather have Marble Slab right here. Rahim told me that he’d hook me up if I’d stop by.”

“I just remembered that I have to take my little brother to Tae Kwon Do. I have to go home now.”

“You always make some dang excuse! You’re so selfish! You always want everything your way! Just leave me alone, I’m sure Rahim will give me a ride home.”

Hamza was half-relieved. A couple of flowers and to Naila it would be as if this whole incident never happened. He replied, “Sorry, I gotta go. I’ll call you tonight.” As he rounded the corner, he picked up speed and headed for the parking lot. Scanning the food court for Imran and Hani, he bumped into a guy with a McDonald’s tray, spilling his meal all over the floor. “Hey chump! Watch where you’re going!” screamed the man. This had attracted the attention of many of the patrons. It also caught the attention of Hani, who motioned Imran to follow him. “Sorry sir, here’s a $5.” As he sped for the parking lot, he felt a tap on his shoulder. A shiver went down his spine, for he was caught, and his sin was out.

Imran pulled Hamza aside and said the traditional Islamic greeting. Hamza clumsily replied, only to find Imran take a step back in disappointment. “So this is what you’ve been hiding?” said Imran as he pointed to Naila chatting with Rahim. “You used to be the only one that would never miss a sermon and you even taught at Sunday school. I remember that once in class, you warned your students about the harms of dating. And now you are dating her?!” Hani shoved Hamza’s shoulder and added to Imran’s statements. “I’ve ran out of 70 excuses. Just remember, hypocrisy is a sin.”

Hamza slowly walked to the parking lot without saying a word to them. Normally he would have retaliated and called them out for their sins, but lately, he was feeling some remorse over his deeds. Ever since Naila asked him out, he’d been getting depressed and feeling uncomfortable. He felt incomplete every time he looked at his watch, realizing he was missing prayer. After Hamza got home, he locked himself in his room and just stared at the ceiling, thinking about why he felt so incomplete. He decided that he’d go visit his friend Aali. He pulled out his phone to call him and was greeted by a picture of Naila hugging a teddy bear. Hamza fumed with anger. He wasn’t one to blame people but it finally dawned on him that it was Naila who made him weak in his faith.

He hastily deleted all the pictures of her and then went back to the task at hand. Scrolling gingerly through his contacts list, Hamza dialed Aali’s cell number.

“Hello?”

“Hey Hamza! What’s on your mind?”

“I was wondering if I could have lunch with you tomorrow. Its been a while since we’ve met up, and I wanted to have the honor of having lunch with you on your last day in the US.”

“No problem. How does Ten Café sound?”

“That’s fine, God-Willing I’ll see you there”

“Alright man, bye”

“Goodbye”

Hamza hung up the phone and headed home. Lying in bed, he though to himself how unfortunate it was that Aali had to leave. Regret came over him, as he recalled that Aali would actually be leaving the day after tomorrow. Wasting no time, he dialed Aali, hoping he could spend some time with him before he left. He recalled his first thoughts about Aali. He was introduced to Aali at a cricket game, one memorable day at UH. But it was not Aali that had made that day memorable, but rather his best friend Shadaan, whose amazing Pakistani hospitality blew Hamza’s mind away. His first impression of Aali was that of a Pakistani fob, trying to fit in. Hamza also saw Aali later on at a fundraising banquet that Shadaan had wanted Hamza to volunteer at. In the car, Aali was giving Hamza and Shadaan advice on wooing girls on the way there, all the while adding to Hamza’s stereotype. The first time that Hamza had truly met Aali was when they saw each other at the Masjid. Hamza was quite surprised that Aali had come for evening prayer that day, since it wasn’t Ramadan and there were no funerals at the Masjid that day. They talked for a little while after evening prayer every day of that week, until one Friday after Friday prayer, they decided to go and eat at Hamza’s favorite restaurant, Eastern Grill. It was after lunch, at Aali’s apartment, when Aali and Hamza truly bonded. As they began packing Aali’s stuff, Aali told Hamza how he had come to the US in ’94, and went to go study at UH. He recalled how he had hung out with all the die-hard Muslims to fit in, and then later ended up “maxing out” on Islam and plunged into other groups to fit in with them. After he had gotten word of his mother’s illness, and his sister’s troubles, he straightened up and pondered on his actions. Since Aali had “been there, done that”, Hamza believed it would be a good idea to turn to him for advice.

After waking up, all Hamza could think about was his meeting with Aali. He kept rehearsing what he would tell Aali, and he kept imagining Aali’s reply. “This is my one chance,” thought Hamza, “If Aali doesn’t help me; I don’t know any other people to get advice from.”

Hamza waited outside the house for Aali to pick him up. They talked while Aali was doing his final errands, such as taking money out of the bank, and checking the mail for the last time. As we pulled into Ten Café, Aali waved to two of his friends standing outside. We greeted them and proceeded inside. After we proceeded to the counter, Aali talked to the cashier and ordered 2 steaks, no soft drinks. The guy got Hamza a water bottle but he handed Aali a cup of tap water and said, “I don’t think I’m ever going to have another customer that asks for tap water. I’m gonna miss you man.”

They sat down at the table and waited for their meals. Hamza and Aali talked about the best places to eat at in Houston, until their food came. As Aali grabbed his fork Hamza spoke.

“Hey Aali, there was something I was meaning to ask you about. I need some sincere advice, and I don’t know anyone else to turn to. Can you help me out?”

“Sure! What is it Hamza?”

“I’m in a bit of a situation. I was at the mall and two of my good Muslim friends caught me with my girlfriend….You’re not mad are you?”

“Hamza, buddy, we all have our sins. The thing is, we must all take responsibility for them. That is what truly counts.”

“I’m sick of hiding my sin. I just want to be good again. After I started going out with her, my faith has gone waay down. I don’t feel the same anymore, and at times I hope for death, so that I don’t have to deal with this feeling anymore. I feel like a hypocrite every time I step into the Masjid. I teach Sunday Masjid, give halaqas*, and yet, I still feel as if I have betrayed everyone, betrayed myself. I don’t know what to do anymore. It’s as if I’ve been blindfolded.

“Alright. Let’s tackle the root of the matter. Do you really love her?”

“No, I just fell for her looks, nothing more.”

“Then marriage is out of the question. I’m assuming you won’t have a problem breaking up with her, so let’s find out how we will earn the trust of your friends back.”

“Is it possible? I mean, it’s probably gonna be really hard to convince those guys after they saw me with her.”

“I didn’t say that you’d win their respect back instantly. It’s a long process and it’s gonna involve you showing some humility.”

“Where do I begin?”

“Thank them.”

“Thank them?!! Why on earth would I do that?”

“If they didn’t catch you doing your sin, you’d probably still be going out with her.”

“I guess your right. I hope to Allah that every thing works out.”

“My prayers are with you.”

Hamza and Aali made one last stop before Aali had to drop Hamza off. They headed back to Aali’s apartment and Aali handed Hamza some stuff.

“Give these things back to Shadaan, and keep these things.”

“Why did you give me a water gun?”

“That watergun you’re holding means a lot to me. It holds many memories of my golden MSA years. You remember Irtaza right? Well back in my MSA days, Irtaza wasn’t such a mature guy as he is now. He and his “gang” used to spray all the MSA brothers with water guns for fun. One day after getting soaked, my friend Maqsood and I had a plan to get back at Irtaza. We decided to go to Walmart and buy some crazy water guns to spray the gang at the MSA picnic. When we got to the picnic, they tried to surround us but we ran to the car, popped open the trunk and let loose. They ran away and never tried to soak us again.”

As Hamza and Aali got in the car, Aali looked around one last time and sighed. While they drove to Hamza’s house, Aali talked about how much he missed his family and how much he despised the open sinning present in America. Aali was clearly looking forward to Pakistan, as Hamza was looking onward in silence, thinking about how much he’d miss his dear friend. Hamza grabbed the stuff from the trunk once he got out and he waited to say his last goodbye to his beloved friend. Aali motioned for Hamza to come give him a final hug. As they hugged, Hamza held back his tears. After their final embrace, Aali gave Hamza some final advice.

“There’s one last thing I wanna tell you. Respect your parents. It sound easy enough but it’s really hard. I really don’t want to leave Houston, but it’s my duty to go and take care of my mother. If you are really a Muslim, learn to respect your parents, because if you can’t respect the very people that raised you, there’s no guarantee that you can respect anyone else. The best way to be a better Muslim is to peel away your sins, and reveal the purity of Islam inside. I’m gonna miss you dearly, and I know that you will be a better person over time. You have a good head on your shoulders. God-Willing I will see you next time you visit Pakistan.”

Fighting to hold back tears, Hamza remained speechless. As Aali said his final salam, Hamza replied back weakly and slung the water gun on his shoulder, walking toward the door. After Aali’s car had drove off, Hamza shook his head and though about the task at hand. The plan was to go to the Friday halaqa that night and apologize to his friends. “No.”, said Hamza, “I must first apologize to my Lord.”

Laying in prostration, Hamza thought about all the bad things he had done. Today was a day for self-reckoning. Hamza brought his own deeds to account and begged to Allah to forgive each one. After finishing his prayer, he looked at himself in the mirror and recalled Aali’s words. “The best way to be a better Muslim is to peel away your sins, and reveal the purity of Islam inside.” That phrase kept ringing in his mind over and over again, becoming more important with each recollection. His moments of self-study were soon brought to a halt by his phone ringing. Hamza cringed at the sight of the name on the caller ID. He picked up the phone and sighed. His first test was underway.

“Hamza you lying idiot! You said you’d call me later!”

“I’m sorry, I was busy with stuff.”

“You’re always busy with stuff! You never have time for me!”

“I’m sorry Naila, but I’d rather be busy with stuff than have you hold me back. I’m tired of taking you places. I’m tired of using more money on you than I spend on myself. I’m tired of lying to my friends and parents. I shouldn’t have started dating. I’m sorry if I break your heart or whatever, but I’m done with this jazz. I’m going to go spend time with people that really care for me. If you have even the tiniest shred of respect for me, please don’t bother me again.”

He hung up the phone and breathed a sigh of relief. “Now for the hard part.”, thought Hamza to himself.

After parking the car, Hamza glared up to see the area that had once been his second home. The sight of the familiar tattered basketball goal sent a surge of memories rushing Hamza’s way. As Hamza walked toward the Masjid, he saw some familiar faces stare at him. Though he had been here just a month ago, it felt as if he had stepped onto unfamiliar territory. Imran and Hani looked up and saw Hamza approaching. They both stood up and walked toward Hamza.

“Hey man, we ju-“

“No, lemme say something. Thank you guys. I really owe you.”

“Uhh…you’re welcome I guess.”

“If you guys hadn’t caught me with Naila, God knows what I would have gotten into. You guys made me realize that I shouldn’t fear people, but rather I should fear Allah.”

“We would like to apologize also. I guess we forgot to be kind when advising you.”

“You know, I’m glad that I have friends like you guys to keep me straight. Its nice knowing you got backup when worldly desires kick in.”

As Hamza walked into the Masjid, his phone went off. He had gotten a text message from Aali bhai saying goodbye. He saved the message and turned to his friends. With a grin on his face and his friends by his side, he strolled into the Masjid, eager to return to his Lord.

Short Story Background...

2006-04-26T22:28:00.000-05:00

Before I release the short story, I would like to post some background information on it.

The story is based on a real occurance, but only one character is accuratly portrayed.

Aali bhai is accuratly shown. Everyone else has had thier names or actions changed to protect thier identities/reputations.

Short Story Update...

2006-04-25T17:44:00.000-05:00

As MIST (Muslim Inter-Scholastic Tournament) nears, I work more and more on my short story. It is based on me, but some elements are changed to protect the identities of some people.

I'm sorry I haven't been blogging lately. Its because of my friend Austin, who keep giving me awesome books to read (Angels & Demons, The Da Vinci Code). Its also cause MIST is almost here, and I haven't started on the MSA website.

Once the short story is done, I will post it on here for your help with revision, so please keep checking back for updates.

Good Riddance...

2006-04-17T20:39:00.000-05:00

I can't wait until i'm out of High School. I'm not getting a fricken yearbook, cause I don't want to remember the most pointless years of my life. I especially don't want to remember the people that made high school miserable.

Since Mr. D might be leaving, don't expect me to be very enthusiastic about anything that even remotely pertains to school *ahem* MSA *ahem*.

The Weakness in Easy Information...

2006-04-11T17:44:00.000-05:00

In our day and age, information and entertainment come in many forms. Video, audio, text or any combination of the three are widely available to all who seek them. Yet the downside of all this easy-to-use information is but one destructive thing: Laziness.

Let’s work backwards, shall we? Video. It is the most easy to use of all the information gathering techniques, is the easiest to use because all that is required is to watch and remember. The first thing about this is quite obvious. The only work you are doing is staying awake. All the analysis is done for you, and to even help further the laziness, effects are added to help you stay awake and cope with the incoming flux of information. When you watch a video, you can do little analysis. To understand a movie, you just have to look at it face value. There aren’t many movies that have differing perspectives attributed to them, and any analysis done to movies, is always fueled by speculation.

Audio. It is the beloved choice of entertainment for the older generation, as well as the new one. People don’t mind listening to someone talk about something just as long as they can imagine it. The thing about audio is that usually it is tailored to be easy to listen to, as well as visualize. Some work is still done by the listener, as they have to visualize the information with their mind.

Text. With text, all of the information is compiled for you to make sense of. On a more personal note, this is my favorite. The reason being that you have to do all the work. You have to flip the pages, read and understand the text, as well as build an image in your mind. The explanation of what a text depicts, depends on you imagination and comprehension. A single sentence can be taken in many different ways, and it can also be used in many different contexts. There are a lot of varied perspectives on any text, simply because people use their own personalized imaginations to perceive what they are reading. Despite all of the benefits of text, the laziness problem remains. The mere fact that books are a preservation of knowledge shows that the laziness is still there. A book can be opened many years after it was created and still have the same information.

In conclusion, the only information gathering method that doesn’t breed laziness is observation. When you observe, you have to understand and preserve the knowledge shown to you as best you can, because some instances may not occur more than once. Millions of minds nowadays forget things because they know that the information is easily recallable whenever they please. The point of this writing is not to say that easily usable information is bad, but instead to say that it breeds laziness when not used correctly. To counter-act the predominant laziness that is inherent in society today, we must resort to the root of information gathering, observation. Simply put, we have to exercise our brains with observation, so that we remain sharp. If we do not exercise our brains, they will become large but without function.

Why I Play FPS Games...

2006-04-10T21:38:00.000-05:00

This guy says it for me.

Tactical Assault...

2006-04-09T18:52:00.000-05:00

Today at Sunday Masjid, intead of teaching class, we played a game. Probably the most fun game I have ever played. We called it "The War Game", or just simply "Battle", but I think Strategic Assault sounds cooler.

Here's the deal:
You split up into many teams of 3-4 people with 1 leader per team.
Each team starts from a random location on the map.
You spread out accross an area that consistes of a) and Urban setting (the Masjid area) b) A forest setting and c) a desert/plain like terrain that has some hills of stuff.
The object of the game is to be the last team standing.
You can stay safe at your base by clutching the "safety stone".
The only way to eliminate enemies is to strike them in the neck with your right hand after saying an agreed-upon phrase.
You can take prisoners by wrapping around an opposing player and then you can do either of 2 things with them: a) use them as bait to lure the the enemy or b) use them as recon to see what the enemy is up to.
Only leaders can capture other leaders.
All players that have been killed must stay in a pre-assigned "dead zone".
A "free-for-all" version is also easily manageable

Were thinking of playing this game every other week, except next time with water guns.

I have some really awesome stories from this game:

1. Imran and Hani's team formed an alliance against my team, but I ended up getting Imran by dashing around a tree. Shortly afterward Hani got me with a flying hit.

2. In a free-for-all game, I was waving a huge stick to get someone's attention so they would challenge me. I threw the stick away and then afterwards, Hasaan (on of my students) and Imran were close by. I tried to escape by running and then Imran caught up. Imran and I battled for a while but then Hani jumped out of the brush and got me.

Micah Brock...

2006-04-07T17:10:00.000-05:00

This guy has the best kicks I've seen...

Value of Teachers...

2006-04-06T17:14:00.000-05:00

As you guys may or may not know, I teach a class on Seerah at the local Sunday Masjid. It is my 1st experience being an official teacher, and it has been one in which I have probably learned more than my students.

Let's face it, Teaching is hard. The kids I teach make me exert my full effort to keep thier attention. Some of them refuse to listen to me on the grounds that I am only 3 years older than them. Its a hard job, but boy is it worth it.

Can you say Sadaqah Jariyah?

Recently instead of teaching about the Ansar, I decided (along with Imran) to teach them life lessons. I already talked to them about The Purpose of Life. This week I'm gonna talk to them about Independence.

As a teacher, I now feel sympathy to other teachers. I get a lot of crap. I even had to kick a student once to get him to listen (no I didn't injure him).

My students loooove physical activities. I make them do obstacle courses twice a month.

Imran gave them a speech on life in general and he said something that made me really and truly think. He said, " The reason I'm teaching you guys is not because I want to please Allah by helping you become good Muslims, it's also because when I die, I want to know that my kids are in good hands."

InshAllah I will update more, as I feel my will to write come back (expect a short story soon)

Umrah...Again...

2006-04-03T15:28:00.000-05:00

Here's the plan:

Muadh bin Jabal Seminar :

An Umrah Trip with Classes and Tours in the Haramayn

Organized by 'Hafidh' AbdulWaheed (Imam & Khateeb in Houston) and br. Irtiza Hasan (AlMaghrib Institute) and coordinated in part by students of knowledge in Makkah and AlMadinah insha allah.

Sunday June 11 (departure) to Wednesday July 5 (return)

Tuesday June 13 – Saturday June 17 (Makkah)

Sunday June 18 – Sunday July 2 (AlMadinah)

Monday July 3 – Wednesday July 5 (Makkah)

Package includes Umrah, and classes with students of knowledge in Makkah and AlMadinah covering courses in Quranic tajweed and tafseer, Islamic history, seerat arRasoolillah (s), worship, hadith, beliefs and other subjects. (Approximately 60 hours of coursework)

Cost is $1750 from Houston, TX (includes airfare, bus rides, visa processing and hotel accommodations). Teachers in Makkah and AlMadinah will accompany you on tours, classes, umrah and recreational activities. (The cost was designed to be at a bare minimum to make it easier for more people to go. No monetary profit or add on charges are involved. Students will pay for their own food and extra requirements.)

Please contact almaghrib.irtiza@gmail.com for questions about the program.
Young people under the age of 15 may not attend without a parent or older sibling/guardian.
We will take tours of religious and historic sites in Makkah and AlMadinah and nearby areas
Food, medicine, telephone and personal shopping will not be covered and is estimated at $250 to $400 per person.
There is no profit or salaries involved in this program. It is all volunteers, brothers and friends going together for umrah and study insha allah.
Program includes about 60 hours of courses which will take place in AlMasjid AnNabawi and the exact curriculim will be available soon insha allah.

I'm really stoked. not just because I'm going for Umrah, but cause this time I'm going with friends AND I'm also going to Pakistan again to visit my 2 best friends and my favourite neice and nephew.

Sorry...

2006-03-30T18:54:00.000-06:00

Sorry for not updating/ picture blogging only. I've not been busy with work, but rather playing Counter Strike: Source.

Well for today, I'm gonna do a favor for my friend (and my better half) Syed Hassan Amir
Here's pics of my comp:

The awesome 17" flat screen monitor

The CPU that I love so very much. Now time for the specs taken from Steam Diagnostic Scan:

Processor Information:
Vendor: AuthenticAMD
Speed: 1965 Mhz
2 logical processors
2 physical processors
HyperThreading: Unsupported

Windows Version:
XP Service Pack 2 (Build 2600) (32 bit)
NTFS: Supported

Video Card:
Driver: ATI RADEON XPRESS 200 Series
Desktop Color Depth: 32 bits per pixel
Monitor Refresh Rate: 60 Hz
DirectX Card: ATI RADEON XPRESS 200 Series
Number of Monitors: 1
Number of Video Cards: 1
Primary Display Resolution: 1024 x 768
Desktop Resolution: 1024 x 768

Sound card:
Audio device: Realtek AC97 Audio

Memory:
RAM: 958 Mb

Miscellaneous:
UI Language: English
Media Type: DVD
Total Hard Disk Space Available: 238456 Mb
Largest Free Hard Disk Block: 184962 Mb

Got all of this for....$750

Maldives...

2006-03-29T21:15:00.000-06:00

I wanna go to the Maldives sooo bad...

Funny Fajr Program Moment...

2006-03-24T18:50:00.000-06:00

B:
What kind of dawah do you give to a person who takes his girlfriend to Hajj?

Teacher:

I think there is a more pressing underlying issue...

Battlefield 2142

2006-03-23T15:50:00.000-06:00

I can't wait...

HalaqaWeb...

2006-03-21T18:26:00.000-06:00

HalaqaWeb is a project in which the Halaqat (Islamic Talks) from ISGH South Zone Masjid As-Sabireen are put online for others' viewing pleasure

<http://halaqaweb.blogspot.com/>

Cool Commercial: Zurich Financial

2006-03-20T18:07:00.000-06:00

Check it out

I especially like the part where it shows the store changing. That had me sold.

Picture Time...

2006-03-17T13:55:00.000-06:00

Today's picture is one that I did not take. My little brother had stolen my camera in TDC (Texas Dawah Convention) and had taken a picture of this man.

This man is Shaykh Yasir Qadhi, a good family friend of mine. He speaks very eloquently with amazing English, and since he was born in the USA, he can relate to us Muslim youth.

Here is a sample of his speaking skill from his hit lecture, "O Allah, Forgive Me".

Make dua that Allah accepts his good deeds and that with his help, I will enter Madinah University.

Egyptian IQ

2006-03-14T10:49:00.000-06:00

An Egyptian and an American are seated next to each other on a flight from New York. The American asks if he would like to play a fun-game.

The Egyptian, tired, just wants to take a nap, so he politely declines and rolls over to the window to catch a few winks.

The American persists and explains that the game is easy and a lot of fun. He says, "I ask you a question, and if you don't know the answer, you pay me $5, and vice versa." Again, the Egyptian declines and tries to get some sleep.

The American, now worked up, says, "Okay, if you don't know the answer, you pay me $5, and if I don't know the answer, I'll pay you $500."

This gets the guy's attention and, figuring there will be no end to this torment, agrees to the game.

The American asks the first question, "What's the distance from the earth
to the moon?"

The Egyptian doesn't say a word, reaches into his wallet, pulls out a $5
bill, and hands it to the American.

"Okay," says the American, "your turn."
So the Egyptian asks, "What goes up a hill with three legs and comes down with four?"

The American thinks about it. No answer. Puzzled, he takes out his laptop computer and searches all his references.

No answer!

He taps into the air-phone with his modem and searches the Internet and the Library of Congress. No answer.

Frustrated, he sends e-mails to all his friends and coworkers.Checks the
input. All to no avail!

Finally, a long time later, he wakes the Egyptian and hands him $500.

The Egyptian thanks him and turns back to get his sleep.

The American, more than a little miffed, stirs the Egyptian and asks, "Well, what's the answer?"

Without a word, the Egyptian reaches into his wallet, hands the American
$5, and goes back to sleep!

Picture Time...

2006-03-09T16:16:00.000-06:00

I'm thinking of making this my profile pic...

I'm A Lazy Poster...

2006-03-07T15:43:00.000-06:00

I'm gonna try to post more often. don't be suprised if its just a bunch of pictures.

As for the "nationalism is a pencil" post, I will edit it so you all can understand it.

The Difference Between the Genders...

2006-03-07T15:42:00.000-06:00

Excerpts from HER & HIS diaries

HER DIARY

I asked him what was wrong - he said, "Nothing." I asked him if it was my fault that he was upset. He said it had nothing to do with me and not to worry. On the way home, I told him that I loved him, but he simply smiled and kept driving. I can't explain his behavior; I don't know why he didn't say, "I love you too." When we got home, I felt as if I had lost him, as if he wanted nothing to do with me anymore. He just sat there and watched TV; he seemed distant and absent. Finally, I decided to go to bed. About 10 minutes later he came to bed. I decided that I could not take it anymore, so I decided to confront him with the situation but he had fallen asleep. I started crying and cried until I fell asleep. I do not know what to do. I'm almost sure that his thoughts are with someone else. My life is a disaster.

HIS DIARY

Today Pakistan lost the cricket match again. DAMN IT.

Hilarious Moment...

2006-03-04T18:48:00.000-06:00

Erethorma: Allow me to translate for my friend. Nationalism is a pencil.

I was playing Battlefield 2 with my buddy Hassan last Friday and we were doing okay. I kept getting distracted by this one guy who kept asking if anyone could speak German. I understood that he was asking if anyone could speak but out of annoyance I told him that no one here speaks German, stop bothering everyone. Someone took it out of context and said that Germany suck and America rules. Then some guy said Russia is the best. Lo and Behold, Canada had spoken out also. I refrained from saying anything out of sheer amazement at the race war I had accidentaly started. Out of desire I said,"Amreeka is suck" then stayed quiet. Somebody finally stopped the race war by saying, "Shut up and play, no one care what country you think is the best!" I siezed the oppurtunity to say a variation of my favourite spanish phrase (tu madre es un lapiz [your mother is a pencil] ), I spoke outwardly saying, "Nationalism un lapiz." People started saying WTH?! so Hassan spoke the funniest words I have ever heard him say: Allow me to translate for my friend. Nationalism is a pencil.

Dinar and I laughed sooo hard I died (in game of course)

Survival Guide...

2006-02-28T17:30:00.000-06:00

As I was browsing MemoWare.com for cool E-books to put on my mom's phone, I found this awesome survival guide from the US Army.

I searched online for a regular version and lo and behold!, here it is.

Nokia 6600...

2006-02-27T17:53:00.000-06:00

Finally! My older brother, the former holder of this phone, has passed it down to my mother. Since my mom lets me use her phone often, I have added a lot to it.

1st modification: I took an old 256 mb expansion card for a Palm zire and added it to the phone (All MMC cards work in it)

2nd modification: I installed ReadM, a program that enables me to read books and to listen to mp3s on the phone.

3rd modification: I plan to add some programs such as: Super GoBoy, a clone of Bust A Move, and any clone of Raiden.

Link Pile...

2006-02-26T16:10:00.000-06:00

Here's the pile of links I have piled up:

1. A list of 10 really good free games you can get from the Internet
2. A Server Search Engine for Battlefield 2
3. A Multi-touch interaction experiment
This deserves a post of its own (make sure to watch the video)
4. An online repository of Nasheeds
5. The funniest Battlefield 2 video I have ever seen

Purpose of Quraan...

2006-02-26T15:31:00.000-06:00

An old American Muslim lived on a farm in the mountains of eastern
Kentucky with his young grandson. Each morning Grandpa was up early
sitting at the kitchen table reading his Quraan .

His grandson wanted to be just like him and tried to imitate him in
every way he could. One day the grandson asked, "Papa, I try to read
the Quraan just like you but I don't understand it, and what I do
understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does
reading the Quraan do?"

The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and
replied, "Take this coal basket down to the river and bring me back a
basket of water." The boy did as he was told, but all the water leaked
out before he got back to the house. The grandfather laughed and
said, "You'll have to move a little faster next time," and sent him
back to the river with the basket to try again. This time the boy ran
faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home. Out of
breath, he told his grandfather that it was impossible to carry water
in a basket, and he went to get a bucket instead.

The old man said, "I don't want a bucket of water; I want a basket of
water. You're just not trying hard enough," and he went out the door
to watch the boy try again.

At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show
his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water
would leak out before he got back to the house.

The boy again dipped the basket into river and ran hard, but when he
reached his grandfather the basket was again empty.

Out of breath, he said, "See Papa, it's useless!"

"So you think it is useless?" The old man said, "Look at the basket."

The boy looked at the basket and for the first time realized that the
basket was different. It had been transformed from a dirty old coal
basket and was now clean, inside and out.

"Son, that's what happens when you read the Quraan. You might not
understand or remember everything, but when you read it, you will be
changed, inside and out. That is the work of Allah in our lives."

Got it from Sana's Xanga

Islamic Themes In Dune...

2006-02-23T17:52:00.000-06:00

I just finished the book "Dune" by Frank Herbert

one of the best novels...ever. The cool thing is that I found a link about Islamic Themes in Dune. Its pretty obvious since they use soo many Arabic terms and customs.

The Path of Education...

2006-02-21T18:09:00.000-06:00

All the kids in Texas took the TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) test today and for once, they supplied us with a good story to read. The story (scroll down to passage 2) is about a teacher named Miss Bessie and how she inspired kids to be successful. This led me to ponder on the reality of school today and I have come to this conclusion:

School used to be an institution that shaped people into leaders that would change the world for the better, nowadays however, school is merely a tool to ready people for the workforce.

I talked to one of my friends about the test and he told me about his 7 page paper on his plan for school reform. He told me that in refusal of the test, for his essay he wrote, "the best decision i have ever made was to not do this essay". I asked him why he would do such a thing and he merely told me, "School ain't worth trying in. The benifits of school are gone. We get mentally raped everyday by the lack of morals and the carelessness of teachers. We are no longer challenged to do well, simply because there is no motivation except money. With the world revolving around wealth, the real purpose of school has been diminished."

Upon hearing this, I realized that the vast majority of teachers (the only 2 in Dulles are Mr. Sager and Mrs. McMahon) no longer work to see thier students suceed. they simply do it for the pay. In the story about Miss Bessie, it tells about how she would tell her kids to rise above the low standards of the crowd and to actually work to earn your respect. She tells her kids a line which struck me as one of the most powerful lines ever: "What you put in your head boy, can never be pulled out by the KKK, Congress, or anybody."

Teachers nowadays don't teach life skills. They only spew out information to earn thier pay. The true reasons behind education are now obscured and hidden. In this era, only those who truly search for the meaning of education find it. But then again, only those with the will to find the truth, deserve to see it.

Memorable Weekend...

2006-02-20T20:26:00.000-06:00

What a memorable weekend...

Friday: After School, went to MSA then headed out to drop off Ahmed, Razzaq, stop at my house so I could attend a tele-conference and get dressed. After I got dressed for our MSA's 1st banquet, we picked up Razzaq and then headed over to Shahnai. At Shahnai, we had problems setting up the projector that Mr. D had given us, so we had to use a rental projector. We set up and while I was waiting for Irtaza to get there, I encountered my compadre, Bilal (the Prince Autos one). I talked to him and then headed back over to the banquet. Sami spoke, we showed the slideshow and then we had Irtaza speak. After Irtaza's speech, we had food, which was good (lasagna, haleem, and biryani). During the food, we showed "Halal Mah Ride" (thank you Habiba baji for posting it). Mr. D showed up and we said salam. Afterwards Imran and Razzaq did 2 Sami Yusuf nasheeds and then my Kempner compadres showed up. Zaid and Bilal chilled with me and then we went to Sonic and got some dessert. I got a ride to Hassan's house with Danish in his Mustang. Once I got to Hassan's house, we played BF2. Hassan owned at his most (score: 109) and he was having a blast. We found a guy with the new sniper unlock and we kept Team-Killing him for it. He got ticked and announced to everyone that he's not using it anymore. After owning a whole lot, we finally fell asleep @ 2:00 AM.

Saturday: Imran's nani didn't wake him up so Hassan's mom took us to Mission Bend Masjid. Fajr Program was exciting cause we wrestled. I lost all my matches cause I kept jumping and getting ring-outs. After the Fajr Program, I went to UH for the Khateeb Workshop and its was amazing. Atif spoke well and we got it on camera. We're gonna release it on DVD inshAllah. After the Khateeb Workshop, Bilal S. dropped me home and then I slept.

Sunday: Sunday Masjid was tiring. I gave 2 quizzes then went home. 2 words: BF2 ownage! Seriously, with the lag-free computer, I am killing with the PKM. Hassan got his promotion kill from killing me and also I kicked some major butt.

New PC!!!

2006-02-16T15:56:00.000-06:00

We just got a new compy.

Aside from all the junkware, its really good. Its got an AMD 64 Athlon processor and 1 gig of RAM.

Can you say no BF2 Lag?

Also the old comp is in my room. That means UT2004 whenever I want.

Cyanide and Happiness...

2006-02-14T17:34:00.000-06:00

My favourite Webcomic: Cyanide and Happiness

Its soo fricken retarded at times but its heeelarious. Its usually lewd but still funny..Here's some of my faves (WARNING- I made the titles for them myself):

Muslim Xtremists

It wasn't me

Dry Cleaning Advertisment

Cell Phone Esteem Issues

Applejack Batteries

You chipped my brick!

That's what your mom said last night!

Offline...

2006-02-14T16:13:00.000-06:00

My Computer broke so I'm gonna be offline for a bit...

Houston Chronicle...

2006-02-11T12:08:00.000-06:00

Houston Chronicle has done it once again.

It has covered the facts from both sides and left me satisfied:

[From:http://chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/religion/3651065.html]

Cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad have widened divide between Islamic world, West

By RICHARD VARA
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

Worldwide Muslim protests over the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad demonstrate the widening chasm between the religious and cultural values of the East and the West.

"The cartoons have been truly despicable," said Prince Turki Al-Faisal, the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States, who was in Houston for an energy conference this week.

"In portraying the Prophet Muhammad on a bomb — as a Muslim I can tell you the sense of hurt that someone should depict him in such a manner," the prince said, referring to a cartoon depicting Muhammad with a bomb in his turban.

Rodwan Saleh, president of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston, will not look at the cartoons, which are accessible on the Internet.

"I actually went out of my way not to look at them," Saleh said. "Any depiction of the prophet is considered to be blasphemous."

The outrage and, in many cases, violence over cartoons originally printed in a Danish newspaper and reprinted in other European publications has surprised Westerners who have a tradition of freedom of expression and are more tolerant of tasteless art and writings.

"There is no doubt in my mind that this is the beginning of a long ideological battle," said Garth Jowett, professor of communications at the University of Houston. Jowett said the turmoil portends "the enormous clash of cultures" between the West and the East in a shrinking world.

Islamic law prohibits images of Muhammad, who is revered by Muslims as a saintly messenger of divine revelations. They believe the Archangel Gabriel revealed the Quran to Muhammad beginning in A.D. 610.

Saleh said the ban's intent is to prevent idolatry. According to Islamic interpretation, those who make images will be asked to make them come to life on the Day of Judgment. Those who cannot will be punished.

The 12 cartoons originally were published in September after Danish editor Fleming Rose asked newspaper cartoonists to draw the prophet to protest what he considered self-censorship and deference to Islam by publications and artists.

"We have a tradition of satire in Denmark," Rose told the Washington Post. "We do the same with the royal family, politicians, anyone. In a modern secular society, nobody can impose their religious taboos in the public domain."

To Saleh, such views show ignorance of Islam and the spiritual bankruptcy of Europe. But he does not think Rose acted out of hatred or malice.

"What he miscalculated was what this would do to the Muslim world and we have seen the results," Saleh said. "This shows the absence of any spirituality left in Europe. Europe is turning to be a very, very secular if not an atheist kind of society."

Mehdi Noorbaksh, professor at the Center for International Studies at the University of St. Thomas, said the publication undercut the moderate, centrist voices in Islam and helped the extremists.

"Any disturbance in Islam today just plays into the hands of the radicals, unfortunately," said Noorbaksh, a Muslim originally from Iran. "This is the tragedy of the whole thing because a lot of moderate Muslims are trying to say that terrorism is not part of Islam, violence is not part of Islam."

The cartoons, especially the one with the bomb, reinforce the stereotype of Islam as a "fanatical religion, a terrorist organization," he said. The cartoons angered all Muslims, including moderates, he said.

Muslim outrage, especially in the Middle East, is further aggravated by the U.S. invasion of Iraq and the ever volatile Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Noorbaksh said.

The publication of the images has sparked riots, attacks on Danish embassies and boycotts of Danish products.

Noorbaksh said there is a battle within Islam between what he calls conservative "puritanists" and more democratic-minded reformists, he said.

"You have the First Amendment (freedom of the press) in this country, but you cannot impose the First Amendment on the Muslim world," Noorbaksh said. "It is a different culture, different values.

"The way Muslims interact with religion is very different from the way Christians interact with religion," he said. "Islam in the Middle East is not just a faith, it is a culture, too."

Noorbaksh and Saleh say Muslims in the East have responded emotionally to the cartoons. U.S. Muslims, on the other hand, are more accustomed to free-speech and open societies comprised of numerous ethnic groups, Saleh said. They know how to address issues without resorting to violence, he said.

Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council for American-Islamic Relations in Washington, D.C., believes the publication of the cartoons was meant to test, if not offend, Muslims.

"We believe in the freedom of the press and we believe freedom of the press goes hand in hand with responsibility, good judgment and respect for others," Hooper said.

CAIR has condemned the violent reactions to the cartoons.

"The mainstreams in the West and the Muslim world need to marginalize extremists on both sides," Hooper said. "People of good will, common sense and mutual respect need to take the high ground and cool the situation down."

CAIR also will condemn a proposed cartoon competition in Iran seeking humorous depictions of the Holocaust, Hooper said. Saleh also is opposed to the contest.

"It will be a grave mistake on part of the Iranians," Saleh said. "It would absolutely backfire on Islam and the Islamic world."

Jowett believes more cultural clashes are in the offing.

"I don't see this as something that can be resolved unless we are willing to give up our fundamental freedom of speech," Jowett said. "That is not going to happen in the West."

But he noted that freedom of the press is not absolute in all Western countries.

"Freedom of the press does not exist for certain kinds of topics that are deemed to be hate speech," he said, explaining that in Germany, Britain and Canada it is unlawful to publish anti-Semitic or other forms of hate speech or images.

Book: For God and Country

2006-02-09T21:34:00.000-06:00

I got this book over 3 months ago and I'd like to say; I've never read an account of imprisonment so frustrating to me as a reader. Its amazing to see how the most patriotic Muslim US Armed Forces Member is humiliated like that. Put under such scandals and then not even given an apology.

But enough of my rambling, read it, or better yet, just buy it here

Of course your probably won't be autographed like mine:

30 Days

2006-02-08T16:54:00.000-06:00

30 Days is an awesome show (from what I've heard)and they featured an episode in which a devout Christian stays over at a Muslim house for 30 days (hence the name of the show) to get learn more about Islam. Well....here's the episode:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8596690458731858361

Hassan's Moves...

2006-02-08T16:48:00.000-06:00

Here's a video of Hassan showing his moves @ Fajr Program:

Also just as a question, Do you prefer me embedding YouTube stuff or Google Video stuff?

Blog Anniversary!!!

2006-02-05T18:50:00.000-06:00

Technically my blog's anniversary wa on the January the 26th (I was hacked on February the 4th 2005 and I got my blog deleted by a hacker when I attempted to contact him through my blog's commenting system).

Anyway what I'm going to do is "archive" my favourite posts by putting them on this post and then cleaning off the list leaving only this post on it.

Here's the final list of my favourite posts for my blogging year of 2005-2006:

Also just as a side-note...play Call of Duty 2 on a top-of-the-line PC. I went to Gladiators and played it there and I was blown away. It felt like I was on the Russian Front and the AI is amazing. They flank you and everything.

...I need a better PC

Danish Cartoons...

2006-02-05T18:17:00.000-06:00

Its been a while since I've posted something worthwhile, so I've decided to tackle a pressing issue: The Danish cartoons against the Prophet SAW.

My View on them is to do whatever you can to stop the negative portrayal of Muslims AND the negative portayal of other religions. Like Aisha said in her post, "Jesus is depicted on broadway and ridiculed on shows such as Family Guy in ways that make me cringe in discomfort".
I also personally believe that Muslims nowadays had it coming. As Qiyamat fast approaches, the status of the Muslims in the world will degenerate as our adherence to our faith does. In simple English, The more the Muslims become moral-less and less practicing, the worse our status is going to get. Suffice to say, even if the degeneration of Muslims is inevitable, we must still take a stand against it. Here are the links to 3 petitions against the cartoons:

Petition 1
Petition 2
Petition 3

To lighten up the mood here are 2 cartoons about Islam that I found funny:

Ultimate Showdown...

2006-02-02T16:00:00.000-06:00

This animation is awesome.

click the picture of cartoon Samuel L. Jackson to watch it.

Credit to Abu Sara

Tom Yum Goong...

2006-02-02T15:15:00.000-06:00

I just watched the 3rd Tony Jaa movie (Tom Yum Goong). Its not out in the US so I got someone to pirate it for me. I watched it yesterday and I have to say:

WOW!

The below video is part of the movie and if it doesn't blow you away, you hate violence:

Ong Bak: Pirated

2006-01-31T19:31:00.000-06:00

Thanks to some people who like to pirate, my favourite movie is almost completely free to download

The name of the movie is "Ong Bak: the Thai Warrior" and the "sequel" is called "Tom Yum Goong".

Here's a list of the clips:

One of the best fight scenes from the movie

The famous city chase scene from the movie

A mixed montage from "Ong Bak" and "Tom Yum Goong"

A good fight scene from "Tom Yum Goong"

A video with most of the best scenes from "Ong Bak" in it

Tony Jaa rules!

Matrix Mockery...

2006-01-25T15:58:00.000-06:00

The last of the videos I made last saturday @ the Fajr Program:

2006-01-23T21:09:00.000-06:00

Importante!

What looks better?

This:

or This?:

should I capitalize the "C" in the 2nd one?

Fight Day...

2006-01-23T20:11:00.000-06:00

I made this movie about 2 days ago at the Fajr Program....enjoy:

Some Reflection...

2006-01-23T15:46:00.000-06:00

This was in my cousin's AIM profile and for a time....mine

Remember when...

getting high meant swinging at the playground,

the worst thing you could get from the opposite sex was cooties, your enemies were your teachers or your siblings,

race issue was who ran the fastest,

war was a card game,

the only drug you knew was cough medicine,

the only thing that hurts was a skinned knee,

and the only things that can be broken were your toys.

Life was simple and carefree,

but what i remember the most was wanting to grow up...

post it in ur profile if u miss the old days

Dinar complains all the time that I speak of my childhood as the distant past. It may not be but it sure as hell feels like it. I'd give anything to back to when I didn't hate my family, when the only thing I had to worry about was it raining outside or bieng too hot to play.

Allah blessed me with an amazing childhood but he blessed me even more with a limitless future. InshAllah I will make the most of my time from now on and I will learn to cherish my past, even the bad from it. May Allah guide us to the right path. Ameen.

500th POST!

2006-01-23T15:32:00.000-06:00

Dang....500 posts already?

That went fast. Also my blog's 1 year birthday is up and coming (Feb 2nd...but I got hacked before that and it was deleted so its probably earlier)

Nifty Tool

2006-01-22T18:00:00.000-06:00

This Online Timer is an nifty tool for BBQ-ing.

2006-01-22T15:51:00.000-06:00

In the end, we don't worship Allah how WE want to, we worship Allah how HE wants us to.
-Ubaid Seth

Crazy Martial Arts Clip...

2006-01-21T13:02:00.000-06:00

Reading Hasan's blog, I remembered to post this:

My Signature Picture...

2006-01-19T16:11:00.000-06:00

This is my signature picture for the Crescent Youth forums:

Cool isn't it?

TDC Brotherhood.

2006-01-17T20:26:00.000-06:00

This my friends...is brotherhood:

brough to you by Texas Dawah Convention

Procrastination Upgrade...

2006-01-15T20:20:00.000-06:00

I now have the ability to watch TV on my computer.

This is bad because now, procrastination just got a lot easier.

Looking For Comedy In The Muslim World...

2006-01-12T20:56:00.000-06:00

I came accross this movie trailer while skimming Mujahideen Ryder's blog.

The name of the movie is Looking For Comedy In The Muslim World...and alls I know is...I GOTTA see it.

Best Email Ever...

2006-01-12T17:10:00.000-06:00

This is the best email I have ever recieved

From: Hamza
I am bored and lame so I decided to write an email to one of the greatest friends most people hope to have. I wanted to say.......... EID MUBARAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!. In honor of trusting you to be one of my greatest friends I will entrust you with my password for 95% of all things it is.................................*****************. The high points of my week are coming to the Halaqa and hanging out with the crew. You are always busy with something mainly because you know all the muslims in America. I am glad to say you are becoming a greater muslim every day.

Alright Allahhafiz

Me Getting Whooped by Hamza...

2006-01-11T19:07:00.000-06:00

Here's the video of me getting whooped by Hamza. He beat me 2 out of 3 pins cause I couldn't hook his leg and knock him down. He also dodged my hooks and used my own leg movements against me

Without further ado, me getting whooped in wrestling (I'm in the blue shirt, Hamza is in the black)

EID MUBARAK!

2006-01-10T14:12:00.000-06:00

Here's your eid gift, a video of my cat cleaning himself:

The End of The Week...

2006-01-08T14:01:00.000-06:00

Friday: MSA, Halaqa, then WRESTLING. Many people got injusred at the hands of Shariq...including himself. My wrist got messed up cause of Shariq, Hamza messued up my neck, Usman's thumb got screwed up, Raza was thrown into a wall and his elbow bled along with his bit lip. Hani finally put and end to Shariq's spree with 2 pins effectively disabling him.

Saturday: Woke up @ 9:00 to go with Imran to take the al-Maghrib test. We got money from the bank, ate breakfast, then headed over to the Arcade @ UH to play some Time Crisis III. We got pretty far then we went up to take the test. I think I did well. After the test we played some more TCIII then we went to Salman's house. We picked him up then went to Sugarland town square for some Jamba Juice. We perused the place and spent considerable time in the Sharper Image cause they have all sorts of cool gadgets there. I went home then chilled, listening to my Young Qaris cd unil I went to the night program. There I found out my cousin got a BMW and he took me out for a spin, only for me to come back and go out for a spin with Bilal. We listened to the speech, chilled, then I left.

And here I am today.

Bollywood Insult...

2006-01-08T12:51:00.000-06:00

Need I say more?

Enjoying Salat...

2006-01-07T18:13:00.000-06:00

When you enjoy your salat (namaaz), your problems just float away...

As I stayed in sajda today, I felt this calm that I only feel at an Al-Maghrib class or while talking it all out with my 2 compadres (Salman and Imran). It feels as if nothing can make you sad and that you are just in a state of ease. I ask Allah that every salat is like this for me because I enjoy this feeling sooo much.

Here's some tips to a better salat:
1. Listen to a good athan
2. Take a shower
3. Listen to a little quraanic recitation on the computer
4. Isolate yourself in a quiet place in your home
5. Breathe deeply and remember who you are praying to

SUPERCOMPACTPOST!!!

2006-01-07T16:02:00.000-06:00

1) I want a PS2 with Time Crisis III and a gun-con.

2) I will write a review for this book soon.

3) This is an online collection of heeelarious quotes from my Psychology teacher Mr. Thornberg

My favourite quotes are:

"If you're perfect, we're going to display you out front next to the flagpole, and everyone can salute you on Friday." 12-1-99

"That's kinda neat. It's 3D. Or it's confusing." 1-12-00

"It's in colored chalk. Might get you inspired." 1-13-00

"Well, it was kind of necessary. I had just gotten married, and we kinda wanted a refrigerator." 1-28-00

"This money is called a fiat. It has nothing to do with that crummy car that gets manufactured in Italy that sort of rusts right after you look at it." 3-27-00

"They never touch 5th period. If there was a nuclear war, the war would be going on outside, and we'd still have 5th period." 4-11-00

"I dunno, they're kinda at this thing now where they buy new textbooks every 306 years." 4-19-00

"So my entire family is banned from donating blood. I mean, what was I going to do, fight the nurse there? Give me the needle NOWWWW!" 4-25-00

4) 2 things I liked in psychology: Person-centered psychotherapy and Social psychology

5) I want this Native Deen cd just for tracks #2, 6, and 7.

6) I believe we humans are different from animals in that we can think about our thought processes (aka metacognition)

7) LANAT! (this will have to be a xanga post as none of you will understand it)

8) Total Annihilation is the best RTS ever. Supreme Commander is the unofficial sequel, and its gonna be even greater.

Wacky US Hist Moment...

2006-01-05T22:04:00.000-06:00

Mr Sager: So what work did all these former slaves pursue after they were released?
Peter: 1 acronym: NBA

...Guess you had to be there.

Random Quiz...

2006-01-02T17:37:00.000-06:00

Which Peanuts Character are You?

You are Woodstock!
Take this quiz!

3 Parties...

2006-01-02T14:58:00.000-06:00

Yesterday Night, my family was invited to 3 parties all at once.

1. Farooq's sister's engagement party

2. My Neighbor's wedding

3. Jafir's wedding to my distant relative

I went to Jafir's and I had a blast. I chilled with Raza at first then I went over and sat with my friend Rizwan (Kempner guy). My uncle came later and then food was served.

Halfway throughout eating, some guy had a heart problem but his internal pacemaker saved his life. It made quite a stir then everyone found out he was alright so we went back to eating. My uncle, being the docotr he is, had to assure everyone that he was alright. I continued to chill with Rizwan and his cousin until they left. After it was all over My brother's friends all went to Sonic for ice cream. I had eaten waaay to much and didn't have any (there was something called Shrimp Etouffee that I couldn't get enough of.). We were at the Sonic right accross from Shehnai hall (where event #1 was taking place, so I headed over there with Raza only to find out that everyone that I know had already left. I said salam to everyone and went back to Sonic.

2 out of 3 parties....not bad if I do say so myself.

Our Stupid President...

2006-01-02T14:04:00.000-06:00

NEWSWEEK reports that President Bush, appearing before a right-to-life rally in Tampa, Florida on June 17, stated: "We must always remember that all human beings begin life as a feces. A Feces is a living being in the eyes of God, who has endowed that feces with all of the rights and God-given blessings of any other human being." The audience listened in disbelief as the President repeated his error at least a dozen times, before realizing that he had used the word 'feces" when he meant to say "fetus."

My Cat!!!

2005-12-31T11:39:00.000-06:00

Dictator Princess, If you are reading this please give me a second opinion.

My cat is shivering. I read some online forums and it said that its normal and that the vet would also say the same.

I love my cat.

Fear..

2005-12-30T16:16:00.000-06:00

Fear.

It is comprised of the acknowledgement of power over yourself. We fear certain animals because they can easily hurt us. We fear some people because we know that they can take comfort away from us. It is used to judge risk and to keep us away from it.

Fear can be faced with perserverance and consistent reassurance. We can learn to stop fearing something once we reassess the risk it poses against us.

If we even fear insignificant things such as animals and people, why is it that we don't fear Allah? Is He not the Creator of it all? Is He not the one that holds them in his grasp? I believe that once we start to fear Allah the way he deserves to be feared, we will stop fearing anything else and start learning to respect our Lord and Creator the way he should be respected.

TDC: A Life-Changing Event...

2005-12-26T18:39:00.000-06:00

Those of you that don't know what Texas Dawah Convention (TDC) is, you haven't been paying attention.

Before you delve into the details below, here is a list of people on the Audio Team with their descriptions:
---** means on Audio Team last year--
Me**- Must I really?
Salman- Me Compadre. Salman, Imran, and I agreed to get together and be on the audio team but Imran had work.
Asim**- The guy in charge of the Audio team. He is the owner and creator of Muslim Audio and Chinar Leaf, two respectable Muslim companies in Houston. He is very dedicated and has a very mysterious personal life (All I know is that his parents live in Korea and his wife is a convert sister and also he has no kids). Last TDC and this, he slept for about 5 hours the whole conference.

The SEMY (South East Muslim Youth) guys
Mohammed Tariq- Don't know him well but he seems to be a really pious brother
Gehad**- A SEMY guy that was the backbone of the Audio Team operations and at times he assumed ALL responsibilities for blue team of the Audio Team.

Other Friends
Majid**- The Imam of the Jama masjid and he is also a friend of Asim cause he has recorded with him before.
Umair- Another Crescent Youth co-ordinator and a god friend of mine. Infamous for playing pranks last year and getting kicked out for it.
Anis- A hafiz from Madrasah Islamia that is known for his amazing qirat (On the sample he does the athan and he is the 3rd reciter). He wanted to be on the audio team so Majid hooked him up.

The Kempner Guys (scroll down to 9)
Imran- A good friend of mine that goes waaay back to my madrasah days. At the conference I roomed with him and he helped me relieve stress by constantly cracking jokes. He introduced me to saying lanat (a whole post on this later...its not religious, its something funny).
Safwan- Quoting my other post, "Safwan is the new Kempner MSA president, My 2nd cousin, and the funniest person in existence". During the conference he was good at doing his thing and at setting up the stuff. He provided for many entertainign jokes that made me fall over laughing
*looking at schedule*
Imran: Man! All the stuff with exclamation points suck. I'm not going to them
Safwan: Hey look there's Maghrib!
Harris- Another Kempner guy notorious for being Bengali (he gets made fun of with fish jokes)
Asim: Salam Harris, tell me about your expertise
Imran: He's Bengali
Asim: What does that have to do with expertise?
Imran: It doesn't, I'm just warning you that if he doesn't have his fish, heads will fly. Cause he's Bengali.
Zaid- I know his from last year's MIST (Muslim Interscholastic Tournament). If it wasn't for him I wouldn't have had fun at MIST. He has amazing qirat and is very pious.
Bilal- Shadoo if you are reading this, know that Bilal is a techie just like you except his expertise is in cell phones. Like I once said, "If Bilal doesn't know about a cell phone, it ceases to exist."

and the one non-audio team member essential to the operations:
Rizwan- A nice guy that befriended me in Al-Huda. Another cool KHS MSA dude.

Here's the breakdown of the days:

Thursday:
1. Arrived @ TDC, went to 3rd floor and found out that even thought we were right on time, we were early.
2. Put stuff in board room and chilled
3. Saw Abdul-Bary almost decimate someone with a Karate kick.
4. Got bothered about telling everyone to store thier jackets then go outside HAHAHA I'm so sinister
5. Everyone complained to me about the food coming late, thinking that I could do something.
6. Pinapple pizza....mmmmm
7. Went upstairs to chill in the audio room. Bilal hadn't slept for 3 days so he was out of it.
8. Got pestered for not getting our rooms till like 12:30 midnight (once again, thinking I could do something about it)
9. Roomed with Imran, Rizwan, and Salman. Lanats all night long.

Friday:
1. Got up bright, early, and waaaaay unprepared.
2. Almost missed recording 3 lectures
3. Food complaints
4. Asim was mad cause people delayed lectures so much
5. MSA rooms walls leaked audio into other rooms, the GRB guy said it was expected
6. More food problems
7. Went to sleep depressed after planning out the next day

Saturday:
1. All woke up early
2. Had a little rought start
3. A good breakfast (donuts and orange juice)
4. Everything started going smoothly
5. Got to attend some lectures (refer to list)
6. Chilled (management isn't very hard)
7. Browsed the Bazaar (Al-Maghrib!)
8. Same ole'
9. Tried to sleep early but we kept cracking jokes
"Jo Choop Hokar Nahi Soi Ga, Us Pe Be Lanat" (Whoever doesn't shut up and sleep, then he is cursed)

Sunday:
1. More good breakfast
2. Woke up to have Shaykh Yasir Qadhi insult me in the elevator (don't worry, we are friends)

Shaykh: You look really important with you radio
Me: Its just looks Shaykh
Shaykh: I know. If you really were important then the place would be up in flames right now.

Me: How are the kids Shaykh?
Shaykh: Alhamdolillah. And Yours?
Me: InshAllah

3. Same ole'
4. Listened to some really good lectures pertaining to marriage and the opposite gender
5. Some more Same ole'
6. Watched a talk show called "Know the Shaykhs" but I missed the "Masjid Smarts" movie
7. Decided to stay till Monday
8. Got to the hotel room and tried to go to the pool with Talha (Zaid's cousin)
9. Talked to Haytham (Ameer Hosna's little bro) and he reminded me to destroy my pride

Monday:
1. Woke up late
2. Moved some really heavy dollies loaded down with cases of soft drinks
3. Had breakfast/lunch with Asim, Shaykh Waleed, Mudathir, Amad, Gehad, and Ali. Hella Expensive ($14.00 for some good fish)
4. Talked for a while
5. Some guys looking for Mudathir so I helped them out
6. Talha asked me to sit with him but Asim wanted me to sit with him instead
7. Got Asim a smoothie with the last remaining money I had
8. Prayed Dhuhr, loaded 6 guys into a Corolla (I layed down on the 3 people in the back's laps)
10. Got home and unpacked, showered, and chilled

The list of lectures I attended:
1. "The Trouble With Women: The Prophetic Cure" by Yasir Birjas
2. "Know Your Role" by Ramy Nasr (He's like a better version of Raihan)
3. "Al-Maghrib: Rules of Engagement" by Muhammed Ibn Faqih
4. Girls, Girls, Girls by Muhammed Ibn Faqih
5. Got Love? by Yassir Fazaqa

My Updated List of Islamic Shirts I Own:
1. Islam, Let the Truth Be Told (Sahabahs Ink.)
2. Islam, Not As Seen on TV (DHS MSA)
3. Ansar (ansarwear.com coming soon)
4. Islamic Relief: Make A Difference In A Child's Life, Sponsor an Orphan (irw.org)
5. CY Shirt (crescentyouth.com)
6. Islam, My Anti-Drug (uhmsa.org)

2 Islamic Shirts I Want To Own:
1. The Brown Islamic Relief Shirt
2. A-Maghrib Staff Shirt

Texas Dawah is an experience I won't soon forget. You meet new people everytime and the environment is just packed full of Muslims who have just one goal in common; to glorify Allah by gaining knowledge and praising him. It is a much needed eman boost considering I have to go back to school soon. I pray to Allah that I apply each and every good thing I learned from TDC and that I use my new knowledge to better myself and others.

I'm Back...

2005-12-26T17:10:00.000-06:00

I'm suffering from Post-TDC Depression right now so please give me a day or two to collect my thoughts and go back to functioning correctly.

The 6 Days Of Hell...

2005-12-20T15:45:00.000-06:00

ARE OVER!!!

Texas Dawah Beckons....expect a nice looong post on the 26th or the 27th.

Finals Are Approching...

2005-12-08T16:21:00.000-06:00

My grades aren't as good as they should be. I'm on a blogging hiatus until the finals are over.

Good Quote...

2005-12-06T18:32:00.000-06:00

“We are perhaps living in times when living for Islam is more difficult than dying for it.”

[Abdul Malik Mujahid]

Raihan Is A Comin'!!!

2005-12-06T18:14:00.000-06:00

Raihan is coming back on the the 13th! Those of you that don't know Raihan, read this post.

Exorcism in Brunei...

2005-12-04T21:25:00.000-06:00

A video recording of a Muslim girl being exorcized in Brunei.

Not for the light-hearted. Hell Even I turned it off cause its so damn freaky

Any just so you know Knightmare....this is 10X scarier than your Barton Mansion post.

Al-Maghrib Video: ROE!!!

2005-12-03T19:09:00.000-06:00

Man who is that dashingly handsome host?

Masjid Politics...

2005-12-01T21:33:00.000-06:00

As you guys probably don't know, ISGH is having elections and Hafiz Khatri is running for Treasurer and Salim Kudia is running for Director of South Zone.

I walked into the masjid today for Isha and on the chalkboard I saw

"Dec 4th, Your Doomsday: Khatri and Kudia"

Personally Salim Kudia and Hafiz Khatri are some of the best brothers in the masjid, and if one of the other canidates wrote that message, they don't deserve to hold a position.

Summed Up: Masjid Politics suck.

LOG Video...

2005-12-01T21:32:00.000-06:00

The Al-Maghrib LOG video is online! Watch me make a cameo appearance here.

Change...

2005-11-29T19:26:00.000-06:00

Adu is leaving to Hifz School in London for 1-2 years.

So much has changed since last year. I remember that last year around this time, I was getting the Audio team ready and my uncle Usman was in the hospital. Since then I have faced numerous responsibilities and losses. I got a job for the summer and I also became the Crescent Youth co-ordinator. Then I lost Shadoo, Aisha Pa, and Aali bhai to thier respective new homes. I also found Al-Maghrib and my life changed.

I have begun to realize recently that I am becoming more independant from people, yet I am becoming more dependant on Allah. Things that made me happy before (school and screwing around with people) now don't. I've begun to attach myself to the masjid more and also I'm addicted to Al-Maghrib. My goal of going to college and getting a degree in I/O Psychology has changed. I now want to go to Medina University instead to get a degree in Dawah and Aqeedah. The one catch? I can't go to UH cause MU only accept people at the age of 19. No more, no less.

My life has taken a new direction. Time to formulate a new plan. One that will take me to the only success I want. Success in the pleasure of Allah.

-inner machinations of my mind-

New Domain Name!

Moved to Wordpress

My Domain Got Hacked...

Success!

New Blog Underway...

Awesome Vacation...

Hello, Wordpress!!!

People of Note 2005-2006...

Sorry for the Delay...

Posts Soon...

*Drool*

School Accomplishment...

Exams Week...

Donnie Yen vs Sammu Hung...

The Locals...

Survey Answers...

Fajr Program Level 1...

Survey for Fajr Program...

Post Soon!

Edited the MIST Favourites Post...

Cool Technology...

Japanese researchers invent completely transparent material

MIST Favourites...

MIST! W00T!

Peeling Away the Past...

Short Story Background...

Short Story Update...

Good Riddance...

The Weakness in Easy Information...

Why I Play FPS Games...

Tactical Assault...

Micah Brock...

Value of Teachers...

Umrah...Again...

An Umrah Trip with Classes and Tours in the Haramayn

Sorry...

Maldives...

Funny Fajr Program Moment...

Battlefield 2142

HalaqaWeb...

Cool Commercial: Zurich Financial

Picture Time...

Egyptian IQ

Picture Time...

I'm A Lazy Poster...

The Difference Between the Genders...

Hilarious Moment...

Survival Guide...

Nokia 6600...

Link Pile...

Purpose of Quraan...

Islamic Themes In Dune...

The Path of Education...

Memorable Weekend...

New PC!!!

Cyanide and Happiness...

Offline...

Houston Chronicle...

Book: For God and Country

30 Days

Hassan's Moves...

Blog Anniversary!!!

My Favourite Posts

Danish Cartoons...

Ultimate Showdown...

Tom Yum Goong...

Ong Bak: Pirated

Matrix Mockery...

Importante!

Fight Day...

Some Reflection...

500th POST!

Nifty Tool

Crazy Martial Arts Clip...

My Signature Picture...

TDC Brotherhood.

Procrastination Upgrade...

Looking For Comedy In The Muslim World...

Best Email Ever...

Drool