FYI:
Shaykh Amin will be giving a lecture on preparing for Ramadan on Sunday, October 2, 2005 from 11AM-1:30PM. The lecture will take place at Darul Qasim located at 470 E. Roosevelt Rd., Lombard, Illinois 60148.
This program will help all of us get into the right mindset and derive the maximum benefit from the blessed month. InshaAllah.
See: http://darulqasim.blogspot.com/
Salaam
ATTN WOMEN:
Seeking a professional, qualified lover. The successful candidate will possess the following skills:
1. Customer service. Attending to the needs of the client (see client profile above) at all possible hours. Flexibility in schedule required.
2. Attention to detail. Meeting client expectations in an efficient manner, but with careful attention to details. Relevant responsibilities include, but are not limited to: a) ironing clothing, including undergarments, b) ensuring a Little Debbie's Nutty Bar is enclosed with each lunch, c) selectively choosing pockets to place extra cash for late afternoon Starbucks visit for client-related needs. Other responsibilities as required.
3. Strong work ethic and desire to succeed. Highly competitive field that requires 'ready-to-serve' mentality. If client is unsatisfied with biryani, the right candidate will re-evaluate the process and output a better product.
4. Administrative skills. Candidate should know how to produce potent coffee in order to ensure long-lasting relationship with the client.
5. Strategic financial management. Must be able to work within a specified budget.
6. Project management. Upon generating future clientelle (in this industry, "children"), the candidate will effortlessly maintain functions outlined above while tending to the needs of the children.
Benefits:
You will be provided a clean, nice home to work and live in.
Salary:
Commensurate upon experience.
Minimum Education:
If accepted by next summer, BA/BS required. If space(s) are available now, must be working towards a BA/BS.
Unfortunately, due to the volume of calls expected, we request that no phone calls are made. Send in your resume...
Best Regards :)
AA
Nowadays, it seems even my so-called "opponents" have, by their own realization, received at least some level of revelation:
http://ushakur.blogspot.com/2005/09/dont-cry-for-me_20.html
Umar, I'll make dua for you. Alas! This is all I can do...
Just remember that Allah tests those He loves, bro.
Holla
This is how a real baller looks like, people. Don't forget it. I know my brother Umar can't. Sure, he had a real good first game in our standard best-of-three series (he won 15-10 and pretty much gave me a few pts at the end because he had a sizable lead), but the brother couldn't hang with me, man...
I had sweet revenge in the second game by beating him 15-10. Then the tie-breaker was a close one with me winning it by two: 16-14. Yeah, I won that on one of my sick three's.
Please contact me if you would like lessons. I'll do my best to help you.
Best
Hi
SubhanAllah, man. Now that's the way football was meant to be played!!!
Bears 38. Lions 6.
Words won't describe my excitement in watching this game today. Everyone played the way they were supposed to.
Holla
Oh yes...
A few things about Umar's recent post entitled "Caffeine Fiend" (see: http://ushakur.blogspot.com/2005/09/caffeine-fiend.html):
1) "...and retract a statement I made...": Notice how he starts off with this, right? Was I surprised that Umar, a "Sox fan," was retracting on something? Not at all, folks.
2) You will NOT get stares at Comiskey (US Cellular) for bringing in some Starbuck, but potential beat downs, muggings, and lashings. Welcome to the South Side, pretty boy.
3) Obviously, you're ruh (soul) was trying to reach out to you in Peoria (of all places!) and remind you that you're a Cubs fan at heart. Thus...Starbucks.
4) And finally, Caribou Coffee is waaaaay better than Starbucks. Starbucks settle for convenience whereas Caribou is concerned with quality and taste. But, oh yes, I understand now. You couldn't relate to quality or taste, could you, Mr. Green Bay?
Dang. This was tight.
Wow.
Well, who would've guessed that I would finish reading a book before the end of the year? I've impressed myself, to be honest. :)
But I guess it does speak volumes on Khaled Hosseini's excellent writing.
Anyway, I dn't have the time/energy right now to right about it, especially since I've got a lot to sound-off on! Good and bad.
I hope this builds your anticipation...
Cheers.
AA
Here's a snipet of an email I sent to AJ in one of our daily email convos:
"Masha Allah, bro. Well put. Alhamdullilah, we're lucky to have these fortunate positions. Hand work is so much more tiring, dude, and completely exhausts you out. Though I love labor-oriented jobs, man, to be honest.
I'd be the happiest guy if I was a carpenter. I mean, working with your hands...seeing the day-to-day improvement on something. Visibly seeing the work you put into something. Man, that stuff is awesome to me. And you can make a good living off of it, too. I've always wanted to, on the side, do a business like that and then start my own full-time. I know, gay or weird, but awesome. Having that physical tiredness, to me, means that I've worked. Really worked, ya know?
Not to downplay what we do. You absolutely put it perfectly about being mentally tired...and that can impact the physical, no doubt. And you do also get to see (whether immediate or long-term) your efforts manifested in one way or another. But, I guess the thing is what you mentioned...to be thankful for the many, many things that we have. :) MashaAllah, habibi, well done."
That was the email. Could you imagine me in a social desi situation at, for example, a dinner amongst fellow professionals (let's say a CAMP dinner -- though I've never been to one)? Yes? Okay, fine. But I'm still gonna paint the picture for you here:
"So, what does everyone at this table do for a living," asks the social butterfly, Imran.
"I'm a doctor," answers Umar in a slightly modest, but 'I'm-the-man' tone.
"I'm a consultant. At Accenture," says the next five desis. In unison, too.
"I'm an auditor. At Deloitte," says the vibrant and dashing AJ.
"I'm an IT technician, network guru, and support desk associate," beams Ali in a fobbish accent, despite his childhood and adulthood rearing being here in Amreeka. I mean, America.
"And I'm a human resource manager," says the drop dead gorgeous desi girl (yes, just one girl at the table). "What do you do, Imran?" she inquires in a way that makes me think she wants me. She ends the question with a perfect smile.
"Who me? Oh, I'm a carpenter. I screw in nails all day and then screw over people by charging them extra." Of course, I'm laughing while saying that last line and everyone else does, too. But then I'm asked by the doctor (who else?), "No, seriously, Imran. What DO you do?"
"Umm. Seriously, I'm a carpenter," I whisper back in a sheepish voice. Of course, the network guru follows up with a loud "Vat? Vat did you say?" I briefly looked at Ms. Dead Drop Gorgeous Desi Girl and our eyes met. For about a fraction of a second, that is. Then she quickly turned her eye to the doctor and started smiling at him the way she had just smiled at me. The end (of the carpenter's chances of suviving the desi dunya).
Okay, so the above was a really long, elaborate--I think--way of me saying that telling a 'potential' girl or her family that you, an American-raised Pakistani having grown up with and attend the same schools as all the other professionals, ended up as a mere carpenter. Yeah, it doesn't fly well with you either, huh?
Thus, being a carpenter will remain a dream and a deep, 'dark' secret of mine. Which is now posted on the Internet for the world to see.
:)
Hi
So, I'm listening to Junoon after a while. They're awesome. Or, I guess I should say they were awesome.
You can still listen to their latest/last CD on their website: www.junnon.com.
Sayoooonneee!!!
Dude!
What's up with these fricken Blog Spammers, man? I'm getting so many random comments from really stupid websites.
It's driving me crazy.
Sure, I can select "No" under "Allow New Comments on This Post," but then I couldn't have the enjoyment of satisfying my ego when I see friends/family posting a comment in response to a blog entry. Seriously, the comments feature is nice, it just sucks that these blog spamming commentors have nothing else to do. Losers.
Done for now.
Hi.
This one looks cool if you're interested in starting a blog. Let me know if it's as cool/nice as it looks:
http://www.squarespace.com/
We live in desperate times, don't we? One innocent night at the masjid (Villa Park), a friend and I were casually browsing a list of postings people place on a bulletin board in the main lobby area. These postings range from someone selling a 1984 Toyota Corolla with 214,534 miles to things like Syed Muhammad 'Moe' Hashmi's Coldwell Banker business card.
These things we, of course, accept. But something like the picture above?! How dreadful. How dreadful, indeed. Some desi aunty trying to be all covert and cover up "BABYSISTER" by placing a "T" over the second 's.' How shrewd, Aunty! I have news for you: We're not that stupid to fall for these type of shenanigans. Sure, our American Muslim ummah may be screwed up, but give us some shread of hope here!
Uft, yaar! La hawla! I can't go on here...
:)
Wow
Man, seriously, dude! What does a guy have to do to work for Google? A friend (thanks, Baseer) told me about this:
http://video.google.com/
Fricken tight, dude.
Holla
AA
Well, loyal fans, it's been a minute, hasn't it? Okay, so I should NOT be admitting this, but, hey, what the heck: As I type this entry tonight, I'm listening to Ray J's new joint One Wish. Yes, I know, Ray J... Brandy's little punk-of-a-brother. Whatever it is about this song (and not any other of his so-called songs), I feel it.
Anyway, here's a brief recap of the weekend:
ISNA Weekend.
I was not really planning on attending ISNA this year. But then I remembered that I could possibly find my wife during ISNA, so...
:) Basically, the entire time was spent hanging out in the bazaar or lobby...chillin with friends.
Saturday: I went with this guy who wore a shirt that said, "I HAVE CANDY." Okay, I have to say this: that was embarassing. Come on, man, what are you trying to say? Especially after Fifty's Candy Shop song?! Some of my friends kinda looked at me and were like, "Who's the guy with the shirt?" Now, don't get me wrong here. The brotha with the shirt is a nice guy, but the shirt was questionable (sorry, bro, if you're reading this!).
Moving on now to Sunday: I was initially hanging out with Taha. We went to some DePaul friends' booth where they are in the business of selling clothing. My boy Taha gets really involved and lost in the world of 'power selling,' so I ditch him after suffering through many of his failed attempts. Finally, AJ comes along and saves me, so I hung out with him. I also bumped into Farooq, which was nice to see that baller (mashaAllah). Of course, I probably ran into most of my friends and a handful of family.
I guess ISNA is whatever you make of it. It can be a 'religious' experience if you make the effort to attend as many lectures as possible and spend time amongst good company. It can also be a completely social affair by spending most of your time as I did: hang out for a little bit in the bazaar and a little bit in the lobby(-ies). And then it can be a completely, let's say, liberating experience! Enter "Club ISNA" as it's now commonly referred to. This is for the people who exclusively hang out in the lobbies (especially the Hyatt) and are interested in familiarizing themselves with members of the opposite sex. :) Does that sound a bit better than saying, "...and are interested in hooking up" or "...and are interested in degrading themselves as much as possible." Ouch. That last quote was a nasty slap...sorry.
The thing is, man, you have to be careful and keep yourself in check. Hanging out with girls can be, to be honest, fun and tempting. It's just the stuff that you can get into which causes problems and then gets you into trouble, ya know? This time, enter one's brother: AJ. MashaAllah, it's good to have a friend...or, in his case, someone that's like a blood brother...that has similar intersets like oneself (i.e., the deen, self-respect, etc.) and ensures that we keep on the straight path as much as we can, despite our weaknesses.
As AJ knows, I've been big into this "spending time with quality brothers" thing lately. It stemmed two Sundays ago when Sh. Amin (Oh Allah, please protect him and his family and bless him with the best in this world and in the Hereafter. Allah huma salay ala Muhammad. Ameen) mentioned, while giving tafseer of Surah Furqan, a concept along the lines of saying to yourself on the Day of Judgement, "Why did I spend time with such-n-such friend who diverted me away from xyz." "XYZ" being something deen-related. SubhanAllah. It's amazing, man. Soon after that brief statement Sh. Amin mentioned, I recalled advice that was given to me by Sh. Hussain Sattar over two/three years ago: Imran, the most important thing for you, from what little you have told me, is that you need to have good friends because of the influence your friends have. Back then and up 'til that point two Sundays ago, I never really appreciated that statement. But, in the past few months of my life, I can see how profound that piece of advice truly is. SubhanAllahi wa bi Hamdihi! Our scholars are beyond our planes of existence. And if they're beyond our plane of existence, then what sort of level does the Beloved (sw) begin? No wonder there is a naat that, translated into English from Urdu, states, "Who can understand/appreciate Allah's Greatness other than the Prophet (sw)? And who can understand/appreciate the Prophet's (sw) Greatness other than Allah."
Whoa...talk about your tangents, man. Gotta hit the sack now...
Keep me in your prayers.
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