May 2012
68 posts
“The environmental problems of technocratic-industrial societies are beginning to...”
– William Devall and George Sessions, Deep Ecology.
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“Just about everybody I know who is serious about personal healing, social...”
– Chellis Glendinning, My Name Is Chellis & I’m in Recovery from Western Civilization.
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“In a world, moreover, where palpable disparities with ‘The West’—in...”
– Sherman Jackson, Sufism for Non-Sufis?
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“Mysticism, however, is dedicated first and foremost not so much to serving God...”
– From Sufism for Non-Sufis? by Dr. Sherman Jackson.
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Islam in Philadelphia
Someone asked me recently what Islam (or perhaps better put, the Muslims) was like in Philadelphia. Here’s a short answer:
So my family and I recently moved to a new home and we hired movers for the heavy stuff. Whilst we were in the middle of our move, my wife asked some friends of hers to come over and help with watching the baby. The three movers were two Blackamericans and one Asian....
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“Muslims in and from the Muslim world routinely look to God as divine...”
– Sherman Jackson from Sufism for Non-Sufis?
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“In the legal-rational system, rules seem to insist on being peremptory over...”
– Hugh T. Miller, Postmodern Public Policy, pg 11.
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Bring Us to Ramadan!
Anas bin Malik, as reported in Imam al-Nawawi’s al-Adhkar, said that the Prophet said:
اللهم بارك لنا في رجب وشعبان وبلغنا رمضان
“O’ God!, bless us in Rajab, in Sha’ban and bring us to Ramadan!”
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“If your unveiling (kashf/كشف) contradicts the Qur’an and Sunna, hold fast...”
– Imam al-Shadhili from al-Tabaqat al-Kubra taken from Sherman Jackson’s Sufism for Non-Sufis?.
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God's 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed!
Growing up listening to the radio, I would often hear the phrase, “100% satisfaction guaranteed,” or something to the effect of this. I had this precise recollection in my sleep with the following verse going through my head:
فاستجاب لهم ربهم أنى لا أضيع عمل عمل منكم من ذكر او انثى بعضكم من بعض
“Their Lord responded to them: ‘I will not let the deeds of any doer among you go to...
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Pornography and Shari'ah
I had a thought about this the other day:
”It is almost impossible to bring about a sentence against adulterers as the evidentiary demands of the case are almost impossible to execute.” ‘Abdalqadir as-Sufi, Sultaniyya
Being that the accused adulterers and fornicators have recoded their misdeeds for all the world to see, this could be an unprecedented case in terms of Shari’ah and adultery.
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“It is still both possible and useful to distinguish a tool-using culture from a...”
– Neil Postman, Technopoly.
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Economic Growth and Progress
The continued use of such plastic words as “economic growth,” and “progress” shows how completely ridiculous our culture has become. If economic growth is like other forms of growth, then at some point, the growing must stop. When a tree is planted, it has to germinate in fertile soil and then after a period of time, it reaches its height and girth and stops growing and...
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Hope
أمة محمد صلى الله تعالى عليه وسلم أمة الرجاء
The Ummah of Muhammad, may God the Exaulted send prayers and blessings on him, is the Ummah of hope. It is for this reason I am an optimist: Not out of some individual code of ethics but because the Best of Creation was hopeful and inspired so many with hope.
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“Most technology survivors lose all or part of their hero system*. Long-Standing,...”
– Chellis Glendinning, from When Technology Wounds: The Consequences of Progress. I am forced to think of newer technologies, such as Facebook (or even dare I say this Tumblr page!) and the Internet as a whole, where people do seem to lose their defining characteristics as well as their identities.
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“We have descended from a culture of shame to a culture of humiliation.”
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“A preacher who confines himself to considering how a medium can increase his...”
– Neil Postman, Technopoly.
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“Will the widespread use of computers in the classroom defeat once and for all...”
– Neil Postman, Technopoly.
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“The paradox, the surprise, and the wonder are that the clock was invented by men...”
– Neil Postman, Technopoly. I would caution Postman, however, from getting ahead of himself for “it” and “we” have not ended yet. Who can say what further uses the clock will be put to. Or perhaps it will be putout of use.
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“To say that someone should be doing better work because he has an IQ of 134, or...”
– Neil Postman, Technopoly.
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“Our psychologists, sociologists, and educators find it quite impossible to do...”
– Neil Postman, Technopoly.
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“The first instance of grading students’ papers occurred at Cambridge...”
– Neil Postman,Technopoly. 