Reflections: Orientalism & Language

The importance of appealing to men through their minds by using their language. Having orient studies is not for entertainment but a policy. As was mentioned earlier, orients cannot rule themselves nor can they think for themselves. These must be done for them by the occidents. To be able to think for him, we need to get into his head. To control his mind, we need to learn his language. This is why we see Arabic and Islamic studies in every major North-Aemrican and western European universities. Arabic is the language of Islam. Closer a western country is to an Arabic (Muslim) country, more control they have on that country and the laws being passed in that country. Recently we have witnessed new and monumental events in the middle east such as new liberal rules and laws in the Kingdom to revelation and publicising of Arab-Israeli relations. What is incomprehensible is why this event was named as peace talks or peace treaties. Was there any war between the UAE and Israel? Or a war between Bahrain and Israel? The answer is definitely no. Then why is this treaty called a peace treaty. All these Arab countries have had relations with Israel for years. All they are doing now is making these relations public. The real war is between the Palestinians and Israel. Were the Palestinians part of this treaty or so-called peace talks? All these Arab/muslim governments are friends of the the big boss. Question is how much of these events are part of the US foreign policies? What is next?

Let’s not forget what was mentioned earlier: orients cannot represent themselves. They must be represented. Another point brought up by orientalist is the antiquity of Islam and that Islam needs to learn from the west and westerners. In another word, Islam needs to up-to-date itself since it is out-dated and needs to be revived and modernized. For this to happen, Islam need to adapt itself to the modernity of the western culture.

This article is a summary of the book: Orientalism by Edward W. Said and my thoughts and reflections from this book and current world events.

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Reflections: Orientalism 4.11

What the orientalist thinks of an oriental is that the orientals cannot rule themselves nor can they manage their riches. The westerners (orientalist) take it upon themselves to do the job for the orient. The westerners see orientalist as incapables whose only interest is their lust. The occidents not only take it upon themselves to take over and control the riches of the oriental countries, but go further and claim that “we have to run their country for them as well”. This case is different from the colonialism in that they are not directly, or let’s say publically, running the show but some local puppets are. Puppets who are either trained in the west or trained in the east by missionaries or orientalists themselves. By riches we don’t just mean oil fields as in Iraq but oil pipes and rich mineral mines (e.g. uranium) as in Afghanistan and some African countries. The westerners pretend they respect the orient but they don’t and it is, actually, on the contrary. They look down upon the orients. To the westerners, an oriental has no value. They believe the oriental is happy as long as he has his partner and animals. In western movies, the orientals (Arabs, Muslims, Africans) are shown as the source of evil and the source of problems in the west. One example in early 90s is showing Arabs as the source of gas shortage in the US.

This article is both summary of book “Orientalism” by Edward W. Said and my reflections.

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Reflections: Corona

It has been a couple of months that the whole world is battling an insignificant yet powerful enemy. A virus called Corona, Aka COVID-19. Allah says in chapter 74:31 And none knows the soldiers of your Lord except Him. We believe nothing happens without the will of Allah. Does Allah want bad and suffering for His creations? Parents would never want to see their children go through any hardship. Allah loves His creations much more than parents love their children. We also believe that He is a loving, caring, and the most merciful. He is in control of all. Why then He would allow such a pandemic happen to us all? If He wills, this virus can disappear from the face of the earth as were the dinosaurs. Then why is Allah allowing the virus to cause some much pain? Let us see what Allah says in chapter 30:41. He says: Corruption has appeared throughout the land and sea by [reason of] what the hands of people have earned so He may let them taste part of [the consequence of] what they have done that perhaps they will return [to righteousness]. SO maybe instead of blaming everything on God or others, we reflect on what we are doing. We reflect on how we live our lives. How much damage are we causing the environment? Every action has a reaction. Our actions have consequences that will come back to us. It might not necessarily be what we as individuals are doing or are not doing. It could be that the leaders or politicians are making decisions and we are oblivious about these decisions. To make it clear let us look at an example given by our beloved prophet. Two groups of people are aboard a ship with two decks. One group on the upper deck and the other on the lower deck. The group on the lower deck makes a hole on the floor of the ship to get water. The second group does not prevent the first group. what is the result? Everyone drowns. We cannot just sit and be indifferent about the actions of others in our society and on our planet. We all have responsibilities. We have responsibilities toward ourselves. This means we are responsible toward our body. This is the reason some actions are prohibited in Islam. Smoking drugs (including cigarette) and drinking alcohol, for example, are harmful to the body, so these are prohibited. We are responsible toward our family then toward our community.

Let us look at another verse from the Quran. Allah says: And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient. 2:155. This is the reality of the life of this world. Allah tests us all. Calamities fall in our lives in different forms and shapes. We persevere, put our trust in Him, and never lose faith.

Reflections: Fasting

We muslims fast in the month of Ramadhan. Let’s start by asking why. Why do we fast? What is the purpose of fasting? What are we supposed to get out of fasting? What do we we gain from it? what did we gain from fasting previous years? Unfortunately, for many of us, fasting Ramadhan has become a custom. We don’t do what breaks the fast like eating and drinking. By doing this, we get content that we fasted during this blessed month. If we ask some muslims about the reason of their fasting, the reply is to share the feeling that the poor people have. This is a very good point. When we are thirsty or hungry, we are supposed to remember the poor and the needy and their difficult life. What is the result of this? First, be grateful for what Allah has given us. No matter how little it is. Second, try to help the needy as much as we can no matter how little it is. Do not belittle an act of goodness. It can be huge in the eyes of Allah. It is not about the quantity, but the quality of our actions. We should not forget that the poor do not have food to eat to almost the entire year. While we experience thirst and hunger for a fraction of the day for only a month. They might get food or they might not. We, on the other hand, have a fridge filled with food and have someone preparing food for us. So we know there will be food when we are breaking our fast. Then how can we have the same feeling as them? There is a big gap.

Our beloved prophet PBUH has said in a narration to this meaning that some people fast in this month and all they from they fasting is thirst and hunger. May Allah not make us one them.

Allah says in quran that fasting is prescribed to us so we gain taqwa (تقوی). what is taqwa? Dues to the richness of the arabic language, this word has many meanings in the English language. One of these is to have God-consciousness. what this means is that in all situations we are conscious of Allah. That He is aware of our situation and aware of what we do. So let us ask ourselves how much taqwa we gained in the past years. If we did not gain any taqwa, then what did gain from fasting? When we gain more taqwa, we get closer to Allah. This will automatically make a better human being. This in turn, will make us care for other human beings. So we work hard during this blessed month to get closer to Allah, so we become better believers and hence better human beings. This will help us build a better community.

Reflections Jan. 2019

We worship the one who made me. He is The creator. The relationship is between you and Allah. You confess only to Allah. Not anyone else since anyone else might have sins greater than yours. Allah will judge us on the day of judgment. Neither was he begotten not does He beget. You cannot have anyone at the same level as Allah. All the qualities of the prophet do not come close to Allah’s. If someone claims love, there should be actions associated with it. Words should be proven by actions. How can you love Allah and sleep during Fajr time. Always be conscious of Allah. This is taqwa. This will save you. The development of consciousness of Allah will protect us from His wrath. We don’t render an act of worship to anyone besides Allah. We don’t worship Allah based on how we feel. Iblis said I’m better than him. This was his downfall. This happens to us when we see someone with worldly possessions. We try to label him with accusations of Haram income and Haram conduct. We get inspiration from iblis.

THE Success Principles Summary P.1

The Success Principles

Jack Canfield

HOW TO GET FROM WHERE YOU ARE TO WHERE YOU WANT TO BE

Contents

I. The Fundamentals of Success

  1. Take 100% Responsibility for Your Life
  2. Be Clear Why You’re Here
  3. Decide What You Want
  4. Believe It’s Possible
  5. Believe in Yourself
  6. Become an Inverse Paranoid
  7. Unleash the Power of Goal-Setting
  8. Chunk it Down
  9. Success Leaves Clues
  10. Release the Brakes
  11. See What You Want, Get What You See
  12. Act as If
  13. Take Action
  14. Just Lean into It
  15. Experience Your Fear and Take Action Anyway
  16. Be Willing to Pay the Price
  17. Ask! Ask! Ask!
  18. Reject Rejection
  19. Use Feedback to Your Advantage
  20. Commit to Constant and Never-Ending Improvement
  21. Keep Score for Success
  22. Practice Persistence
  23. Practice the Rule of 5
  24. Exceed Expectations
    • II. Transform Yourself for Success
  25. Drop Out of the “Ain’t It Awful” Club…and Surround Yourself with Successful People
  26. Acknowledge Your Positive Past
  27. Keep Your Eye on the Prize
  28. Clean Up Your Messes and Your Incompletes
  29. Complete the Past to Embrace the Future
  30. Face What Isn’t Working
  31. Embrace Change
  32. Transform Your Inner Critic into an Inner Coach
  33. Transcend Your Limiting Beliefs
  34. Develop Four New Success Habits a Year
  35. 99% Is a Bitch; 100% Is a Breeze
  36. Learn More to Earn More
  37. Stay Motivated with the Masters
  38. Fuel Your Success with Passion and Enthusiasm

III. Build Your Success Team

  1. Stay Focused on Your Core Genius
  2. Redefine Time
  3. Build a Powerful Support Team and Delegate to Them
  4. Just Say No!
  5. Say No to the Good So That You Can Say Yes to the Great
  6. Find a Wing to Climb Under
  7. Hire a Personal Coach
  8. Mastermind Your Way to Success
  9. Inquire Within
    • Create Successful Relationships
  10. Be Hear Now
  11. Have a Heart Talk
  12. Tell the Truth Faster
  13. Speak with Impeccability
  14. When in Doubt, Check It Out
  15. Practice Uncommon Appreciation
  16. Keep Your Agreements
  17. Be a Class Act
    • Success and Money
  18. Develop a Positive Money Consciousness
  19. You Get What You Focus On
  20. Pay Yourself First
  21. Master the Spending Game
  22. To Spend More, First Make More
  23. Give More to Get More
  24. Find a Way to Serve
    • Success Starts Now
  25. Start Now!…Just Do It!
  26. Empower Yourself by Empowering Others

 

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Laboratory Tests p.1

Acetylcholine Receptor

To diagnose MG (Myasthenia gravis) & Thymoma

Acid Phosphatase

To diagnose Prostate carcinoma & the effectiveness of treatment

Elevated in:

Prostatitis

Acidic Phosphatase

Multiple Myeloma

Thrombocytosis

Kidney diseases

Related test: PSA

Activated Clotting Time (ACT)

normal range: 70-120 sec

Use: determine the effectiveness of anticoagulant drugs

Elevated:

Heparin administration

Factor deficiency

Liver cirrhosis

Lowered:

Thrombosis

The Power of Habit P.1

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Prologue

The brain changes as habits change.

“All our life, so far as it has defi nite form, is but a mass of habits,” William James wrote in 1892.

Habits can be changed, if we understand how they work.

A community is a giant collection of habits occurring among thousands of people.

Part One:  The Habits of Individuals

T H E H A B I T L O O P

First, find a simple and obvious cue.

Second, clearly define the rewards.

Why habits are so powerful: They create neurological cravings. Craving is what powers the habit loop.

“wanting evolves into obsessive craving” that can force our brains into autopilot

No one craves scentlessness. On the other hand, lots of people crave a nice smell after they’ve spent thirty minutes cleaning.”

toothpastes contain additives with the sole job of making your mouth tingle after you brush

Cravings are what drive habits. And figuring out how to create a craving makes creating a new habit easier.

THE GOLDEN RULE OF HABIT CHANGE
Why Transformation Occurs

The rule: If you use the same cue, and provide the same reward, you can shift the routine and change the habit. Almost any behavior can be transformed if the cue and reward stay the same.

Brad Dufrene: Most people’s habits have occurred for so long they don’t pay
attention to what causes it anymore.

Often, we don’t really understand the cravings driving our behaviors until we look for them.

If you identify the cues and rewards, you can change the routine.
At least, most of the time. For some habits, however, there’s one other ingredient that’s necessary: belief.

📖 Get your copy…You’re Worth It 📖

Iman & Faith

untitled2

We all say we have Iman (Faith). One might ask: what is Iman? the word Iman has the same roots as Amn (أمن) which means security or safety. To have faith (Iman) means what we believe from within us or from within our heart is going to give us safety and security. So when we say we believe in One God (Allah), we believe He is going to protect us. Hence He provides safety and security. when our believe is true and free from any forms of hypocrisy, then it will manifest itself on the outside. This is what the above quote says. The actions testify the faith within the heart. Furthermore, this is also what we understand from the Saying that the heart is like the king and the limbs are the subordinates. Whatever the king orders, the subordinates obey and follow. So if the king is corrupt, the entire body will be corrupt and there is no place in Jannah for what is corrupt. What we conclude is instead of focusing solely on the outward look, we need to focus more on our inside and try to purify our heart. The beauty within us is going to reflect to the outside. May Allah help us purify our hearts & shine our hearts with light of Iman & grant us entry into His Jannah.

Book Summary: How To Win Friends And Influence People-p9

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How To Win Friends And Influence People

Part VI: Seven Rules for Making Your Home Life Happier

1 – How To Dig Your Marital Grave In The Quickest Possible Way.

If you want to keep your home life happy,
• Rule 1 is: Don’t, don’t nag!!!

2 – Love And Let Live

“The first thing to learn in intercourse with others is noninterference with their own peculiar ways of being happy …”

Leland Foster Wood in his book, Growing Together in the Family, has observed: “Success in marriage is much more than a matter of finding the right person; it is also a matter of being the right person.”

If you want your home life to be happy,
• Rule 2 is: Don’t try to make your partner over.

3 – Do This And You’ll Be Looking Up The Time-Tables To Reno

If you want to keep your home life happy, remember Rule 3:
Don’t criticize.

4 – A Quick Way To Make Everybody Happy

Men should express their appreciation of a woman’s effort to look well and dress becomingly. All men forget, if they have ever realized it, how profoundly women are interested in clothes.

If you want to keep your home life happy, one of the most important rules is
• Rule 4: Give honest appreciation.

5 – They Mean So Much To A Woman

Breakfast in bed to a woman does much the same thing as a private club for a man.

So, if you want to keep your home life happy,
• Rule 5 is: Pay little attentions.

6 – If You Want To Be Happy, Don’t Neglect This One

Dorothy Dix: “It is an amazing but true thing that practically the only people who ever say mean, insulting, wounding things to us are those of our own households.”

“Courtesy,” says Henry Clay Risner, “is that quality of heart that overlooks the broken gate and calls attention to the flowers in the yard beyond the gate.” Courtesy is just as important to marriage as oil is to your motor.

So, if you want to keep your home life happy.
• Rule 6 is: Be courteous.

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