Ground Zero

On Divine Right and Being Right

2007-06-13T03:50:00.000-07:00

What does actual Divine Right mean? Look like? Who has it and how did they get it?

Very good question when you have a whole group of people who have somehow developed an opinion of themselves as being more intelligent than the rest of us poor sods (religious zealots and mostly dark skinned people) i.e. the Americans, Europeans, White People, et.al. Those people. Those people are indeed a fabulous bunch of individuals overall and have invented things, have developed well oiled machinery called "societies" and overall, have much better hygeine than the oppressed and impoverished are able to enjoy. It isn't hard to imagine how "they" got the idea in their head that they were somehow a "superior race". To make matters worse, some of the best people in those same social frameworks do have a sense of morality, ethics and global citizenship.

But.....are they capable of leading this often cited term: The New World Order? Who selected them to do this?

Darwin? Um...they (even the good members of Western society subconsciously believe this (i.e. the Myth of Natural Selection in which nature plays the role of God/Allah and is quite cruel and unthinking) and their efforts (good and bad) they attribute to their highly developed sense of their own goodness aka superiority i.e. it is in their collective conscious and cannot be ignored) seem to think so even though Darwin was simply a man with an opinion. Just an ordinary person with a partially good idea and it was partial. He knew nothing of genetics or the fact that genetics dictate not only adaptation but they pre-empt claims to actual "evolution". There is no such thing as evolution because if there was such a thing it would "pre-exist" in DNA and be empirically observable as "remnants" of the "revision" (known as evolutions).

So who gets Divine Right and how does one know what that actually looks like? History tells us that there have been numerous such claims to "Divine Right". To this day, a monarch sits in Buckingham Palace yet we ignore it as just the fantasy of the nostalgic British. And they pay dearly (in cold hard cash) to support this thing called Divine Right. Suffice it to say, with a history so full of such claimants to the "prize" called Divine Right, it is nearly impossible for a non-muslim individual to actually begin to understand the actual possessor of Divine Right and what that entails. This is largely due to the abuse of "Divine Right" as a man-made type of thing called monarchy, aristocracy, plutocracy, etc.

Of course, I am talking about the Ruler of the worlds and what has become to be known as that Ruler's "emmisaries". Let's call those people prophets instead of kings noting that in some circles the terms are interchangable (i.e. the Christians refer to Jesus Christ (SA) as "The King of Peace"). I assure you though that he was not a King, he was a prophet. And if you will, let us call the Divine Ruler Allah and imagine Allah to sit upon this much scoffed at "eternal throne" (per his own description of his status). "His" is used for lack of a better word to indicate the antecedent but note, Allah is 'gender free' and we do not have words to express the actual characteristics of the Creator.

I would like to interject here, my opinion about myself (as a model of a believer/fanatic/whatever) and evaluate that opinion in terms of what I know beyond a shadow of a doubt, is the belief "non believers" have about us Religious Zealots (of whatever persuasion). Yes....we or at least I, am well aware that to most people I appear to have no clue as to what their opinion is of me. In fact, the exact opposite is true. I know exactly what they think. It is they who do not know what I think. That makes me a teacher of relatively ignorant students. As a teacher or lets be semantic about it, a "professor" (in the land where teaching is not indoctrination but actual professing to believe in something). What good would it be to have teacher who does not actually believe in what they are teaching? Rest assured however that I completely understand how "out there" my opinions must seem to those who live in ignorance of actual religion, monotheism and specifically, Islam. I've suffered much derision due to the ignorance of others and muslims have shed blood because it. It is OUR clear reality even if it is not clear to nonmuslims.

Islam is the final part of the trilogy and the last word. There is no other sacred text in which the Creator ever said "I'm done now" except for the Quran. There could be any number of sacred texts (from the Vedas to the I Ching) but not a single one of them reveals that the author was in fact finished. Only the Quran says this and only the last prophet said that he himself was to be the last prophet ever designated to such a lofty HUMAN post.

Where does that leave the rest however? The Christians, the Jews, the Pagans, etc?

Not really my problem to be honest but to be fair, I do not envy them in their position. As for most "new" Christian sects like the Amish and Mormons, they actually follow a sacred text (the Old Testament) that they have adapted to fit their own ends. This fact is clear upon reading those texts like "The Book of Mormon" written by John Smith, the progenitor of the sect called Mormon. Therefore, these are merely more sects developed from the Christian sect where the Christian sect itself was not "authorized" either as a "distinct" religion from the one religion/philosophy of the creator (Islam, Hanifism, Monotheism rooted in the Abrahamic/Noahide traditions which are in turn sprouts from the most basic of ancestors (all human beings), the religion taught to Adam and Eve by the Creator before the "fall" into this curious reality we call life. Life which is a suspended state of being in which light and time form a construct that is visible to the given human senses (five).

Recently I was in conversation with an extremely intelligent man. Not really what you'd call a "fanatical" muslim...more what "one of you" would call, a "moderate". He was attempting to relate to me that he believes all other religions deserve to be heard, tolerated, etc. I looked at him and said, "But we are right Mohamed." He appeared to be quite shocked at this. How on earth could a muslim say such a thing? Yet....he knew I was right. We have (as muslims) a really rough road to traipse in this matter. How do you deal with the ignorant without alienating them to the cause?

We can't. It is as simple as that and a "fanatic" (me) has to choose one thing or the other: Go along with what non muslims say (and further their ignorance via failure to address their misconceptions) or stand up to it and refuse to back down.

In other words, INSIST that we are right. Afterall, no one ever won a battle by insisting that they were wrong you know. And there is a battle going on in the world whether "you" like it or not. "You" being anything from a good Catholic to a staunch ideological Athiest. Anything from the nicest of persons to the vilest of criminals. "You" are all in the same boat it seems. Perhaps that is why the Quran harps on about the "Ark" of Noah (Nuh, SA). You are either on this boat or you are not...it is a "you are with us or against us" type of thing.

It is however not a secret to muslims be they like me (a so-called 'fanatic') or like him (Mohamed, a so-called 'moderate')...that there is "no coercion" in religion. There just isn't and there is no such thing as a man made "Divine Right". It is, IN FACT, a contradiction of terms. Divine Right IS DIVINE. It isn't man made and it cannot be stolen nor can it be claimed as a prize or as booty of war. It is designated and owned by the Divine Ruler and the authority stemming from it is bequeathed by that ruler whom we muslims call "Allah" (because Allah told us Allah's name) and most other people call "God". Ironically, even the Divine Right itself is non-negotiable to those in possession of it. In other words, those who received it didn't ask for it but they knew they had a duty to protect it. They are known as the Shi'i and specifically, the Twelve designated custodians of the Quran and its historical contexts and tangents. They are basically long dead scholars.

Back to history though because we are making it. Humans tend to view history as a paradigm but not one that they have anything to do with. As if they are not themselves constructing their own parables of existence that might one day in the distant future be read as cautionary tales or as educational texts on "how not to repeat" history itself. This is no doubt why we muslims were instructed to worship Allah as if Allah is very near. Not inside but not outside either. We are taught to observe Allah by observing Allah's rules, the wonder of creation (as Allah's "manifestations" and the only way to "see" Allah is via his creation) and to never let our guard down. Not for one minute. And that is exactly what non muslims (and a large number of muslims too) are guilty of. Letting their guard down. Allowing themselves to construct fallacies and fantasies. Allowing themselves to take this world for "granted". Allowing ourselves to enjoy riches while so many are enjoying immense poverty, frustration, oppression and despair. And mind you, no muslim will tell you that we can eradicate those problems because we know that those problems are man made, not heaven sent. The only problems that are heaven sent are natural disasters and that is why EVEN insurance companies oftentimes do not cover what they call "Acts of God" i.e. it is an actual legal term (which reflect actual "divine" law and its consequences). These events are "sent" via the outcomes of the design itself and known/described by the designer due to his (Allah's) relationship to his own creation. Say this to a non believer however and they'll swear you are insane. They are so out of touch but I guess now that Global Warming is indeed upon us they better get on the ball and figure out that it does no one any good if only North America and Europe practice better environmental hygeine.

Non muslims, generally speaking, have grown so incompetent in these details that they don't even realize how much a part of their everyday lives the "language" of Allah actually is. And it is. Because the laws of Allah are naturally derivitives of the creation itself. How on earth do non muslims think it can be otherwise? I mean it is understandable that Athiest don't "get it" but how is it that humans who "say" they believe in "God" cannot recognize that there is only one Creator (if there were "many" then they would be at war with one another ala the Greek sanctimonies). Therefore, that one Creator only has one philosophy and it saturates everything that (sic) was created. The laws of that creation are both unwritten and written and are exactly IDENTICAL to one another. This is why there are "good people" in the world who are not anything close to being muslim and in fact, some Athiests are mighty damn fine people. "They" heard or understood the quality of the creation that is unwritten and silently agreed upon by every living soul. Every single one as much as evil is agreed upon by those whose inner inclinations are "towards" goodness or "towards" evil. A natural polarity and a kind of quarantine that separates the good from the evil people in the world.

What people (all of them) don't agree upon is Divine Right. Geez, most kids don't even listen to their parents anymore let alone "God". Even those who agree on what constitutes an "evil" act or a good one do not realize that they actually believe themselves to somehow be in possession of Divine Guidance merely because they don't murder, rape, pillage, smoke, drink, cuss, pick their nose or some other variable measure of "human goodness".

They could not be more wrong. Divine Right and the Right to be Right is assigned to certain people. It was given to them long ago. It is an actual human history and it is the underlying cause of ALL wars be they in Afghanistan or in Argentina. Be they wars of Social Democrats against Right Wingnut Fascists. Be they wars within an individual's mind.

Allah's statement about the whole issue and ruling is simply this:

"You" (the reader) will follow me WILLINGLY or UNWILLINGLY. In reality, we muslims have nothing to do with forcing anyone into our way of life or thinking. We muslims are simply people who do it (worship Allah) willingly. Non muslims are those who do it unwillingly but they do it all the same. How so? Via the consequences which do not vary and they do not comprehend our labels because they are "consequences" and not people. Consequences do not selectively choose not to punish muslims either. There is no 'get out of jail free card' to be had by anyone. The Quran points this out quite clearly when it says, "Do not look for ONE catastrophe, look for MANY". The "good old days" when Allah used to select one "model" community to make a point (and evacuate the virtuous prior to the catastrophe) are long over. Allah had the last session and it is called the Quran and it does not pretend to be "otherwise". It does not pretend to be "in competition" with any other 'philosophical' method. Imagine Allah debating with himself about his treatise on Buddhism. That would be not only ridiculous but outrageous. Even more outrageous than a man who is God questioning his own self when he was being crucified by saying, "Father, why have you forsaken me?" How on earth could "God" forsake himself? Ought to be obvious but amazingly enough...there are more Catholics and Christians than muslims to this day.

To make a long essay longer, to get to the point now. When Allah made his last proclamations, selected his last emmissary to the planet...he did one more thing.

He appointed a person who was to lead the religion until the end of "our" paradigm.

He chose an Imam at a place called Ghadeer and then said, "Now, I have perfected your religion for you." What did he mean? Did he mean he only perfected "Islam"?

Absolutely not. "Perfection" is not a quality of "parts". It is a quality that can only be assigned to a "whole". He perfected the whole darn process right down to the last detail of removing the "wild cards" called "prophets" and instead, appointed a human being to be the arbiter of a relatively unwieldy thing: the future of mankind without giving him the "wild card" which is the ability to defy logic by predicting the future and the ability to perform miracles. Allah clarified everything (in the Quran) that came before from the Vedas to Las Caux all the way into the future to include the last map of the genome because naturally, Allah knows all about this and all about the future. Furthermore, Allah stated that clearly when Allah openly related that the Quran would not be followed by anything else. It would suffice for the entire future i.e. for "all time". I have little doubt (none really) that in the future, the FUTURE, will prove to be even more detectable in the Quran than it already is. We just don't know it yet because we have more things about our planet yet to discover. About ourselves and about the cost of the shattering changes that are upon us all right now. And they are. They most definitely are.

And what else would you think a "Divine Right" is supposed to be about? It isn't about oil companies or Uninted Nations courtrooms. It is about mankind itself and how to recognize FACT from FICTION.

And this is the Key to Iraq.

And yes, this is all far worse than Vietnam. It is worse than twenty thousand such things.

A few things about the Sermon of Ghadeer in which actual Divine Right was established:

http://www.ummah.net/khoei/imamate.htm

2007-05-09T03:52:00.000-07:00

On Being Something Certain
versus "something else":

In the post below, I hope to encourage non muslims to understand the Quran as a very deep reckoning with historical religious facts that have been obscured by the two parties who have known of this information all along but have hidden it. They fear the day that the truth about them will be revealed and that is why they make war on Muslims worldwide.

People who have not read the Quran or who simply do not believe in "God" have a very hard time (for athiests it is impossible) understanding that the Quran is not just an ordinary book. It was revealed in a context. Most of Islam is not even in the Quran but in what is called "Al-Sunna" of the prophet which contains the "methodology" of praying, fasting, pilgrammage, etc.

The problem with non muslim religious practice is that they have ALL forgotten the Al- SUNNA (of their OWN beloved prophets/teachers). I assure you, Jesus Christ (Isa, A.S.) did not partake of his own body i.e. "The Eucharist" and did not proclaim himself as a "God". This would make him an apostate and heretic. not to mention, an "auto-cannibalistic practicioner". In essence, the entire practice of "modern" Christianity is based on a profound lie which basically relegated their own beloved prophet a unique kind of "paganistic" symbol and worse yet, he is worshiped as a statue of a man in his skivvies, nailed to a cross and bleeding. Therefore, they are also "idolators" according to the definitive descriptions of what constitutes that sort of "believer".

I also assure you that muslims DO pray the way the last prophet did. They pray in the original language of the prophet (mandatory even for non Arabic speakers). They fast according to the lunar schedule (which was the clock of those times). They make pilgrammage to Mecca, where the last prophet actually worshipped (at the Ka'aba), lived and fought for Allah. When a muslim makes what is called "Haj", they are considered to have "visited the prophet" in his lifetime. A muslim who fails to make Haj (if he is financially able) will be considered to have died in a state of being a non-muslim (polytheist/Christian/Jew/pagan..depending on their actual other practices and beliefs). A poor person however is EXEMPT from this stipulation regarding Pilgrammage. Makes complete sense you know.

I assure you that Mohamed did exist (historically), the facts of his life are not "mythological" and people do follow him and do accept that he is the last prophet sent by the One Creator. I assure you that the failure to accept that is what differentiates the "garden variety" monotheist from an actual Muslim. (For those who are "interested" in Islam and consider themselves somehow "muslim like". You are mistaken. To be a muslim you must accept the last prophet and if you think that "Monotheism" is a good enough philosophical method (tolerance I suppose) that replaces the rather arduous practice of being or becoming a muslim..you are dreadfully wrong. A muslim is a certain thing with a given description and methodology that Allah has specified clearly. The whole "myth" of a "moderate" Islam is basically the pressure the two main groups (Jews/Christians) have placed on muslims in order to force them to abandon the actual practice of PURE ISLAM (misery loves company and they hope to make muslims fail the way they have failed). Moderate Islam is actually well known and it is codified as Shi'i Islam as Ali abi Taleb (pbuh) is the Imam to suggest the "middle road" which includes things like negotiation and tolerance of the ignorant) .

I also assure you 100% that, Jesus Christ (Isa, A.S.) DID NOT EVER WORSHIP, FAST or WALK, in:

Rome.

A "pilgrammage" to Rome is nothing more than a pilgrammage to see a King or Queen. No more and no less.

Islam isn't just a "competitor" to other "religions". It is religion itself, comes on a clear and logical authority and is backed not only by reason but by scientific, numerical and philosophical proofs called "Ayat". It is of course, untenable to ANY athiest and identifying one of those isn't always easy. Some of them are hidden to their own selves and practice what we muslims call, "disambiguation" which is a kind of formal denial that has actual social indicators. One of those indicators is a complete aversion to any discussion relating to religion so if that is you, then this discussion is probably not going to make you feel satisfied or warm and fuzzy inside. In fact, this entire blog will make you want to scream. It means you are an athiest whether you know it or not.

"Those whose intelligence has been stolen by material desires surrender unto demigods and follow the particular rules and regulations of worship according to their own natures." [Bhagavad Gita 7:20]

The Post Below

Jesus Christ according to Islam:

http://www.jafariyanews.com/articles/2k7/15jan_mubahila.htm

Event of Mubahila is famous and is known to all Muslims. Islamic scholars are united on the fact that the verse of Mubahila was revealed in regard to the Christian delegation who came from Najran to dispute the issue of Isa Ibn Maryam/Jesus son of Mary (AS) with the Prophet (SAW).

The Prophet (SAW) waited a moment while Gabriel revealed the following to him: "(Say) he was the Spirit of Allah and His Word."

The archbishop then asked: "Can he be a spirit without having a body?"

Again a revelation was sent to the Prophet (SAW) the revelation is as follows: "The similitude of Isa before Allah is as that of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him: 'Be.' And he was."

When the archbishop heard this, he jumped in objection to the Prophet saying that Isa (A.S.) was created from dust, and said: "Muhammad, We don't find this to be in the Torah, the Bible, or in the Zabour. You are the first one to say this."

This was the moment that the verse of Mubahala was revealed.

If anyone disputes in this matter with thee, now after (full) knowledge hath come to thee, say: 'come! Let us gather together; our sons and your sons, our women and your women, ourselves and yourselves. Then let us invoke the curse of God on those who lie!' (Holy Quran 3:61)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch:

The Archbishop said: "O Christians, I surely see faces of men, who if they were to ask Allah to move a mountain, He would surely do it. Do not hold this meeting, or you shall be destroyed and no Christian will remain on Earth until the Day of Resurrection."

The delegation proceeded toward the Messenger and said: "Abu Al-Qasim, relieve us (from this) solemn meeting."

2007-05-08T08:22:00.000-07:00

Libretto for a Female Lead
(from The Book of Warnings)

In the opening scene
the actors address
the Syrian Armed Forces.
During Act III
one of them is tortured
on the third floor of the abandoned building
the Syrians use for recreation.

Before the climax
several audience members
are asked to leave.
During the intermission
the main character ambles
through the occupied building,
talking to herself.

In the farthest room
are wine bottles and a flak jacket,
twisted pieces of old rope
and pictures of half dressed women
from magazines, their nipples
drawn as circles with red ink.

Other rooms have similar items,
pieces of stale bread,
discarded clothing
and cigarette butts.

In the closing scene of Act II
the main character finds faith
in the creator and sustainer
of the entire universe.
The curtains are drawn closed.
The audience cannot see her
but they do hear the muezzin.

During Acts I and IV
the audience is reminded to applaud
at preordained times,
the moments of liberation:
an old theater trick
for audiences who forget their lines..

In the final scene
while the main character
rises into the air
suspended by thin bungee cords,
American soldiers advance
dressed as dancers in full regalia
lifting her spirit
from the refuse of her occupation.
Ticker tape falls from the heavens.

2007-03-25T06:42:00.000-07:00

The Mysterious Account
of Miriam's (pbuh) Temple Stay

Ah! Ye are those who fell to disputing (Even) in matters of which ye had some knowledge! but why dispute ye in matters of which ye have no knowledge? It is Allah Who knows, and ye who know not! Quran, 3:66

Why is the Sura about the Virgin Mary (Miriam, pbuh) the 19th Sura?

I have often wondered about that. The sura itself is an outright declaration of her role in all of this long winding tale of humanity's most major religious predecessors i.e. the "family" tree of the prophets. It appears that Miriam (the Virgin Mary, pbuh) was sequestered in the Hebrew temple during prepubescence/pubescence to control who would father the prophet that the rabbis were on watch for (it is noted that whenever a prophet was to be born, the Hebrew scholars knew about it as they had certain knowledges which had been handed down through the ages). In the Bible Miriam's 'husband' Joseph iselevated to the status of being from the line of David (Dawood, SAW) ..... but really folks, use your OWN noggins. What significance is he (Joseph,pbuh) if the prophet Jesus (Isa, SAW) is said to have been 'immaculately conceived' (by the Christians and Muslims)? Jews on the other hand, denied Isa (Jesus, SAW) was anything other than "Raboni" or 'teacher'.

Why the discrepancy? This is one major paternity suit if you ask me. It has led to wars, famines, bloodshed and the "creation" of a whole branch of religion not authorized to exist in ANY sacred text: Christianity which more or less falls within the type of fellowship that believes Jesus (a human being) was synonomous with God (although there are exceptions in certain sects like the Copts and Orthodox).

It appears to me that when Miriam (pbuh) was sequestered to isolate her from potential "mates" in the Hebrew temple, it was a means of controlling the lineage of prophets by handpicking the father of her child. Guess what? She turned up pregant even though the only contact she had with anyone at all was the contact she had with the prophet Zachariah (pbuh, the father of St. John the Baptist i.e. Yehye, SAW) who was a short time later into the drama, murdered on the Temple stairs in cold blood. It is interesting to note that when Yehye is mentioned in the Quran, we are told that it is the first time in history that the name "Yehye" was conferred upon any prophet whereas his father's name "Zacharaiah" was a common name amongst prophets and there are at least a half dozen different "Zachariahs" mentioned in the Tanakha (Torah). Why the mention then? What is the importance of the double murder of Zachariah AND Yehye (John the Baptist) in relationship to a unique name i.e. Yehye?

19:7
(His prayer was answered): "O Zakariya! We give thee good news of a son: His name shall be Yahya: on none by that name have We conferred distinction before."

That fact and the placement of Miriam at "19" is a means of indicating the importance of this particular story in a canon (Tanakh, Injeel, Zabur, Quran) which contains thousands of personal dramas. This ONE drama in particular has an importance beyond any drama in any sacred text and as well, it is only the Quran that gives you these incredibly important and MISSING details which are found no where else. Were these details cleansed from what we call "the Bible"? No one knows really but I assure, these are the missing pieces in the modern drama called "religion".

19:37
But the sects differ among themselves: and woe to the unbelievers because of the (coming) Judgment of a Momentous Day!

The manner (per Quran) in which Miriam was "assigned" a protector is notably significant in that the Quran tells us that the rabbis "drew straws" for her once she was assigned to stay sequestered in the temple. It isn't clear whether that means literally drawing straws for her as a means for sequestering the right of fathering a child with her or simply as a means of assigning a "protector" for her from potential 'less than satisfactory' Hebrew suitors NOT of the known royal/divine lineage i.e. David/Solomon. In any event, it was Zachariah (murdered later per Bible lore) that pulled the odd straw which deemed him her "guardian". In the Quran we are told that Zachariah discovered Miriam in her room and that she has been supplied with food from somewhere . Because he is the only one (theoretically) in contact with her personally he questions from where she obtained the food to which she answered, "it is from Allah." Details regarding Miriam are also found elsewhere in the Quran but in particular in the fourth Sura called the Family of Imran (her father who was of known prophetic lineage but not of the direct lineage of David/Solomon).

The case of Miriam and her son Isa (Jesus, SAW) was the first time in Hebrew i.e. Torah history that a MAJOR prophet was born without a direct paternal lineage to the Hebrew prophets of David and Solomon (SAW). Perhaps this is the reason the Jews do not give Isa his "due" and the reason Christians remain so confused regarding his role in the astounding tale of religious and moral human history. Certainly it is the reason the "authors" of the Bible construct a lineage for Joseph without a logical reason to do so.

But why is her Sura given this most important place in the Quran at a position of 19?

It is because this is what divides the "believers" now? The ideas surrounding the birth and attempted assassignation of the next to last prophet is THE problem of modernity and modern religions. It is referred to in the Quran as "The Lie*".

19:89
Indeed ye have put forth a thing most monstrous!

19:90
At it the skies are ready to burst, the earth to split asunder, and the mountains to fall down in utter ruin,

19:91
That they should invoke a son for (Allah) Most Gracious.

This is the significance (at least one of them) of the numerical order of the Sura "Miriam", i.e. Sura number 19:

http://www.quranmiracles.com/mmwh/mmlhread.asp?id=48

*Note: It is "illegal" for me to deliver facts that are not actually mentioned directly in the Quran. In this case, the reason for the "drawing of straws" is not given but we are allowed to deduce a few facts from this detail. Using one's logic to do this is called Ijtihad. This applies also to the mention of "The Lie". The Lie is mentioned but not in the sense that the Quran reveals "THIS is the Lie". There is however no other thing in my estimation that constitutes such a weighty predicament for all believers of any stripe and relegates it to the status of being something that establishes a "fact" when in fact, the whole case of prophets and the three major contenders centers around this extremely important misconception regarding Jesus Christ i.e. Isa (SAW).

**Using citations such as "pbuh" or "SAW" is a means of giving respect to notable persons (pbuh) and prophets (SAW) and a means of distinguishing one from the other. For instance, Yehye was a prophet and is noted by using SAW after his name whereas Miriam is not a prophet but a person who is given recognition of her role by wishing "peace be upon her" whenever writing her name. Unlike other believers who mock prophets in the media, muslims are required to note the respect they have for these important historical figures.

***The word derives from the Arabic verbal root jahada "struggle", the same root as that of jihad; the is inserted because the word is a derived stem VIII verb. The common etymology is worth noting, as both words touch on the concepts of struggle or effort. In the case of form VIII verbs, this means to "struggle with oneself", as through deep thought. Ittihad is a method of legal reasoning that does not rely on the traditional schools of jurisprudence, or madhabs.

2007-03-24T06:49:00.000-07:00

Teaching Islam To Nonbelievers

The Abundance (Kawther)

To thee have We granted the Fount (of Abundance).

Therefore to thy Lord turn in Prayer and Sacrifice.

For he who hateth thee, he will be cut off (from Future Hope).

I have been leading a series of lectures in Bisbee for nearly seven weeks now. My goal was to dispel some of the misconceptions people have about Islam. I also stated that my goal was not to "convert" the students in my lecture series but in that, I know that Islam itself is a system of Allah choosing whom Allah will and if something I say to my students leads them to further investigation and 'conversion', then so be it, the seed of belief was already in them, the notorious MUSTARD SEED. I told them early on about what my bias is and asked them to consider their own. My bias is that I do believe the Quran is the Word of Allah and nothing less, that I take it LITERALLY and I did my best to relate to them the logic of that. The logic of that is based in the Arabic language as the transmission mode of what the Quran refers to as "the communications" of Allah or "Our communications" as it is worded verbatim in the text.

What I've found is that the American society is far away from belief. It is far astray in terms that most people have a very, very difficult time conceiving of a Creator let alone the Angels and the Djinn. I have been really challenged over the weeks by my students because they can become irritated at what it is I have to say. They apparently do not understand that I am not the one saying it....Allah is the one saying it...in the Quran and those communications follow a distinct logic. The problem however with my students overall (with the exception of the believers in the group) is that the unbelievers (athiests and so called "agnostics") is that they possess the FIRST BIAS. The First Bias as I like to call it is that they do not believe in Allah or God (whatever word you choose to use). The first thing a person needs to UNDERSTAND the logic of the Quran is this simple belief and it is contained in the Shehada which is the statement of "WITNESS" a person makes when actually accepting/embracing Islam as a way of life:

"There is only one 'ilah (ALLAH) and he has no sons and no partners and his messenger and prophet is Mohamed". What distinguishes a monotheist from a muslim is the second part of that statement i.e. that Mohamed (SAW) is the messenger and prophet of Allah. It is also what distinguishes other "types" of believers i.e. Christians/Jews/Others from muslims. A muslim is a DISTINCT type of believer but not one that ignores the existence of other types which never accepted the communications i.e. the QURAN and accepted it as the actual word of Allah. Let alone what distinguishes a Jew from all other types of believers that accepted the next to last prophet, Jesus (Isa, SAW) and hence, they are the focus of much of Allah's attention in the Quran as complete and serial rejectors of the prophets (which originated in their demonstrable genetic line). Due to the fact that Allah "chose" them above all others (Allah chooses whom Allah will) then they are in a very serious bind when it comes to the communications. Not from me but from Allah.

My group of students is composed of one fundamentalist Christian (and anti Arab believer - a teacher from the high school), one non practicing Jew (who is very Jewish in an ethnic sense but not a religious one), one woman who desires to accept Islam, another woman who is "Islam" friendly and inquisitive, a man who has never declared to be anything really but seems to want to be something, and yet another who seems to be interested in Islam from either a historical perspective or simply one for entertainment's sake and last but not least, a Canook who left a fundamentalist background for a "universalist" one but cannot conceive of the linkage between science (nature) and religion let alone politics and the all encompassing view Islam has of humanity and the societies in which we exist in together.

Out of all the lectures I have given, it was the last one that provided for me the biggest challenge overall. It was the lecture that questions what the Quran has to say about genetics versus what Darwin had to say and how Darwin's view has become obsolete even to non believing laboratory scientists. It is the case that Darwinism and all of it that Darwinism entails as a basis for societal/political practices has caused most of the disruption in the "God Beliefs" of people in Western society in my opionion and in the opinion of the Turkish muslim philosopher, Harun Yehye. In fact, I was not in agreement with the manner in which Yehye promotes "anti Darwinism" but now that I have seen it up close and personal, I am a believer in Anti Darwinism. That is because Darwinism is taught as a 'religion' in the sense that it cannot be questioned and to question it is to become an "apostate" (kafir in Islamic terminology) to this Western society. Nothing that I can see has caused greater damage to the souls of humanity.

So when one of my students was confronted with my Darwinian challenges he asked, "So, you (muslims) do not believe in evolution?"

How can a person answer that? It isn't that muslims do not believe in evolution "per se" but is evolution really understood by the people who believe in it? Any more than Islam is understood by everyone who believes in that as well?

NO. It isn't. People seem to have confused the two things: Evolution and Adaptation.

Two different things entirely. Evolution is the COMPLETE change of one species into another regardless of the time span required for such a change. For example, evolutionists have promoted the idea that fish somehow turned completely into birds. This is truly laughable when you think about the steps required for fish to transform into land going beasts let alone, sky going and non water filtering respiratory creatures who build nests instead of deposit eggs on underwater grasses or by simply depositing them for the currents to carry this way and that. Forget the fact that fish had to learn to sit on their eggs and completely ignore that fish are COLD BLOODED and birds are WARM BLOODED. And why then are there still fish since we know that for things to evolve it is due to the EXTREME force exerted by the NEED to adapt to varying environmental changes? The list of rhetorical questions that refute the ludicrous concept of absolute evolution are quite long and I won't go into to them now. Hopefully, I wouldn't need to as people have brains and ought to investigate ALL of their beliefs (not just the ones they like either).

Adaptation though, is another matter altogether. Islam puts forth the argument that all body plans were initially created but Islam does not negate that those types of things experienced progress and vascillation through "stages" and sometimes were changed by complete changes (human beings) but that all human beings are of the same type (NOT apes/monkeys) but of different RACES which are now extinct. We humans tend to not think we are like the Dodo bird and can experience RACIAL/SPECIES SPECIFIC extinctions that are the results of the deleterious effects of HUMAN BEHAVIOR. Western systems tend to think that kind of thinking is "for the birds". Heh.

For instance, homoerectus whateveris (to paraphrase the lineages of bones discovered by the Leakey's et.al.), were simply like Eskimoes. And we know for a fact that these types of small indigenous cultures from the Aborigines to the Apaches...are at risk for not only "social" extinction but actual "genetic" extinction through intermarriage, language and social deterioration and disease (as would be the case with the serious genetic mishaps on the Arabian Peninsula where first cousin marriages are the norm and have known detrimental effects on the offspring of those individuals in terms of increasing the morbidity and mortality of specific populations i.e. Saudis the best example of that that I know of).

In a nutshell, it has become clear to me what was not clear before. The Quran states that most people will not "believe" and it is true. Most will not because most cannot as they have been given a serious handicap in their thinking by a significantly huge number of DARWIN FANATICS. Most people will not believe without the intervening periods of vast social change like the one we are experiencing now in which humans are forced (as the Quran states: willingly or unwillingly) to face the seriousness of following a certain set of dictates NOT of human origin but of DIVINE origin.

It does beg the question, "What about the Jews then?" Are we responsible for what becomes of their small "indigenous" tribe in light of the idea that Islam relates that we all originate from the same two persons, Adam and Eve (Huwa, pbut) and in all actuality are all of one species and Allah gives everyone free will to choose "his way or the highway"? That is the question and if I was a Jew or any other type of actual "rejector" then I'd be investigating very seriously what Allah has said his plan is for those who disagree with his words. I'd be what you call, "motivated". It has bothered me for some time that Christians who supposedly believe in "God" would ignore ANYTHING God might have said. I ask them, "If you knew God left a message under that rock over there, wouldn't you want to go see what it said? Wouldn't you be overwhelmed with love for God and a desire to understand his plan and turn that rock over?" That one causes most Christian believers to tremble a little in stupification of their own "ignorance" as in ignoring something very, very important to them.

As for the unbelievers and the arrogant, who cares really what becomes of them. I certainly don't and have no control over it.

How to get people to see the logic of this thing called Islam? Well, Allah knew that was not only difficult but a job for Allah only. And that is why Sura "one-o-nine" was revealed to us as muslims:

The Disbelievers (Kafr)

109:1
Say : O ye that reject Faith!

109:2
I worship not that which ye worship,

109:3
Nor will ye worship that which I worship.

109:4
And I will not worship that which ye have been wont to worship,

109:5
Nor will ye worship that which I worship.

109:6
To you be your Way, and to me mine.

2007-03-21T03:08:00.000-07:00

Sura called Time

76:1
Has there not been over Man a long period of Time, when he was nothing - (not even) mentioned?

76:28
It is We Who created them, and We have made their joints strong; but, when We will, We can substitute the like of them by a complete change.

"It is a striking, but not much mentioned fact that, though geneticists have been breeding fruit-flies for sixty years or more in labs all round the world- flies which produce a new generation every eleven days-they have never yet seen the emergence of a new species or even a new enzyme."21

Although an almost incomprehensible number of species inhabit Earth today, they do not form a continuous spectrum of barely distinguishable intermediates. Instead, nearly all species can be recognized as belonging to a relatively limited number of clearly distinct major groups, with very few illustrating intermediate structures or ways of life. ( Robert L. Carroll, Patterns and Processes of Vertebrate Evolution, Cambridge University Press, 1997)

If my theory be true, numberless intermediate varieties, linking most closely all of the species of the same group together must assuredly have existed... Consequently evidence of their former existence could be found only amongst fossil remains.(Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species: A Facsimile of the First Edition, Harvard University Press, 1964, p. 179)

And be careful for those Moby Bears:

"I can see no difficulty in a race of bears being rendered, by natural selection, more and more aquatic in their structure and habits, with larger and larger mouths, till a creature was produced as monstrous as a whale" - Charles Darwin, The Origin of Humor, er, Species.

Sura Ya Sin, 36

Glory be to the One, who created in pairs all things that the earth produces, as well as themselves, and other things they do not know.

The Arabic word “azvaj” is the plural of “zavj” meaning “pairs,” “matches,” “partners.” There are three sorts of pairs in the Creation as described in the verse:

a- Pairs that grow from the earth, i.e., plants that have species of differentiated sex;
b- Human pairs, males and females. Also some included human characteristics like bravery / cowardice; love / hate; generosity / stinginess, etc.
c- Pairs unknown: men did not know anything about the creation in pairs at the time of the descent of the Quran. In this section we shall be dealing with the latter in particular.

Sura Yunus

Say: "Of your 'partners', can any originate creation and repeat it?" Say: "It is Allah Who originates creation and repeats it: then how are ye deluded away (from the truth)?"

2007-03-19T01:54:00.000-07:00

Sad. I find it entertaining to hear that some gringos think that the war started after 9/11. The war on muslims has been going on for over fifty years in Israel. This is just a little flare up and what a flare up it is to have revealed that the American culture is a bust.

http://www.wakeupfromyourslumber.com/node/957

2007-03-15T04:59:00.000-07:00

From the Zabur, more commonly called, Proverbs which is attributed to Solomon and part of the Psalms of the ancient Jews contained in what is known today as the Torah or Tanakha:

The Sayings of Agur*

I am myself the stupidest of people,
bereft of human intelligence,
I have not learned wisdom,
and I lack the knowledge of the holy ones,
Who has mounted to the heavens, then come down again?
Who has gathered the wind in the clasp of his hand?
Who has wrapped the waters in his cloak?
Who has set all the ends of the earth firm?
What is his name?
What is his child's name?
Do you know?
Every word of God is unalloyed,
a shield to those who take refuge in him,
To his words make no addition,
lest he reprove you
and account you a liar.

Two things I beg of you,
do not grudge me them before I die:
keep falsehood and lies from me,
give me neither poverty nor riches,
grant me only my share of food,
for fear that, surrounded by plenty,
I should fall away
and say "Yahweh - who is Yahweh?"
or else, in destitution, take to stealing
and profane the name of my God.

Do not blacken a slave's name to his master,
lest he curse you and you suffer for it.

There is a breed of person that curses his father
and does not bless his mother;
a breed that, laying claim to purity,
has not yet been cleansed of filth;
a breed haughty of eye,
with disdain in every glance;
a breed with swords for teeth,
with knives for jaws,
devouring the oppressed from the earth
and the needy from the land.

*Agur was the son of Jakey of Massa (in Northern Arabia).

2007-03-15T04:03:00.000-07:00

On Being Different, Unusual,
Impractical and Saved:

From the Qur'an, 42:49-50, the Counsel:

Allah's is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth
He creates what he pleases
He grants to whom he pleases daughters and grants
to whom he pleases sons,
Or, He makes them of BOTH sorts, male and female
AND He makes whom he pleases barren***!
Surely He is the Knowing Powerful

And from the Bee, Sura number 16 which coincidentally (or maybe not!) is the haploid number of male drones who fertilize the diploid (32) Queen Bee rather than the diploid drones who, if they were to fertilize the eggs would manage to create a new species of bee with 64 chromosomes and why stop there! Why not have bees with a squillion chromosomes, what the hell! You see, bees practice a kind of eugenics that conserve all the genetic material of both parents as opposed to humans who are less conservative and exercise a bit more "free will" in their reproduction techniques by using only half of the information contained in the humble strands of DNA:

16:3
He has created the heavens and the earth for just ends: Far is He above having the partners they ascribe to Him!

16:4
He has created man from a sperm-drop; and behold this same (man) becomes an open disputer!

16:5
And cattle He has created for you (men): from them ye derive warmth, and numerous benefits, and of their (meat) ye eat.

16:6
And ye have a sense of pride and beauty in them as ye drive them home in the evening, and as ye lead them forth to pasture in the morning.

16:7
And they carry your heavy loads to lands that ye could not (otherwise) reach except with souls distressed: for your Lord is indeed Most Kind, Most Merciful,

16:8
And (He has created) horses, mules, and donkeys, for you to ride and use for show; and He has created (other) things of which ye have no knowledge.

The interesting thing to note about the Sura called the Bee (well, there are several things actually but this is one) is that it contains within it not only the suggestion of the eugenics of Allah, but the entire process of how food is brought to market including the fact that it is driven there on the backs of animals created specifically as beasts of burdens. For example:

16:10
It is He who sends down rain from the sky: from it ye drink, and out of it (grows) the vegetation on which ye feed your cattle.

There is a sense of the purposefulness of the plan in many Suras but especially in The Bee. When at first a person reads the Qur'an, a person with no experience and no faith either, they tend to see these passages as just more Bible Stories of the ancients. But no....not in this case when in fact it starts out with a big "Wha?" Allah states, I created you from a spermatazoa and you dare to question my authority in these matters? How dare you, you fools! And truth be told, when a person becomes fully aware of the capacity of the Qur'an to comment on human nature, human biology, the food chain and natural selection (which is naturally, Allah's selection of the fittest and it is NOT random and not at all based on competition save for the evil doers who feel there is never enough to go around)...when a person comes to the final conclusion regarding the integrity of the Qur'an, a person can no longer ignore the rules. How it is...only a fool would do that and even then, Allah promises that a soul will follow willingly or unwillingly. One only has to look at the news on any given day and see that people are struggling whole heartedly against natural law in their societies. Natural Law which is necessarily, the Law of the Creator of all things including Jesus Christ (Isa, SAW), including Jonah (SAW), including Musa (Moses, SAW) and including you and me plus our dogs, cats and circular saws:

16:12
He has made subject to you the Night and the Day; the sun and the moon; and the stars are in subjection by His Command: verily in this are Signs for men who are wise.

16:13
And the things on this earth which He has multiplied in varying colours (and qualities): verily in this is a sign for men who celebrate the praises of Allah (in gratitude).

The Qur'an is so thorough that it even reminds of us modern definitions of infinity which are popularly accepted (ignored and avoided by the Greeks who didn't require a mathematical model for infinity (calculus/algebra) in order to square a corner or stack a wall)...popularly accepted "nowdays" as infinity that is "countable and uncountable":

16:18
If ye would count up the favours of Allah, never would ye be able to number them: for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

The notion of countable and uncountable infinities requires a decent understanding of the world of real numbers and the world of transcendental numbers. Take a stick of known size (say a six inch stick) and divide it up into smaller and smaller sections (the notion of Borges Map of the World)...you will never achieve the final division of course and it used to be in mathematics that it was similar to the speed of light...one could approach it but never attain it which of course, is also in the book in the Sura called The Beneficent (a Sura which details several of the favors for you):

55:33
O ye assembly of Jinns and men! If it be ye can pass beyond the zones of the heavens and the earth, pass ye! not without authority shall ye be able to pass!

55:34
Then which of the favours of your Lord will ye deny?

It was that infinity was a "known" quantity but it was unusually hard to gather the facts of it due to its very nature. In other words, it is both countable and uncountable and without it, modern mathematics would not be what it is and we as humans would not have been able to construct a universe that can be discussed logically between each other. We'd still be building the Parthenon and gosh, we'd be very tired of all the repetition of forms.

16:72
And Allah has made for you mates (and companions) of your own nature, and made for you, out of them, sons and daughters and grandchildren, and provided for you sustenance of the best: will they then believe in vain things, and be ungrateful for Allah's favours?-

Allah made mates for you "of your own nature", kind of like the bees who we are expected to study at some point in time to understand the nature of haploidy/diploidy and of course "euploidy" not to mention polyploidy, aneuploidy (which, believe it or not is the cause of cancer) and the soon to be famous:

Eurekaploidy. I discovered that one. No one knows about it yet.

Heh.

***!
Of those he makes barren on purpose, it is the Klinefelter's male, not the Turner's mosaic female, he makes barren. And for a reason. One that many people nowdays, are rather fond of NOT calling: Gender Confusion. A wide spread problem in a society where sixth grade children have begun having sex under their computer lab desks. Sheesh. For that matter, it might be tres inconvenient for men to be "fertilizable" because certainly, they do not possess a uterus and that much is for sure. As opposed to the humble Honey Bee eggs, ALL OF WHICH are viable and hatch regardless of being fertilized in the proper manner or not.

2007-03-12T11:29:00.000-07:00

Are Gender Problems
Getting You Down?

http://www.hawaii.edu/PCSS/online_artcls/intersex/management.html

An article regarding the creation of males, females and a very common genetic disorder in both sexes (Turner's Syndrom (1 in 5000 human births) and Klinefelter's (1 in 700 births))socialization, hormone replacement therapy, transexualism, etc.

From the article:

Another case is that of a well known Olympic figure. He wrote of his story in 1988.42 Erika Schinegger won the Olympic gold medal for Austria for women's downhill skiing in 1966. After the win she was given a sex test and declared unequivocally XY. When told of the test findings she immediately transitioned to living as Erik, a male. Erik said he never truly felt he was a typical girl. He had never been interested in romantic boy friends and was always more attracted to women. As Erika, however, she just thought that was her lot in life. I've interviewed Erik and one of his physicians. None of the physicians she had been seen by previously wanted to tell her of the mistake for fear it would be too psychologically damaging. Switching sex never occurred to her until the condition and situation was revealed. Follow up showed that she was born in a small town, delivered by a midwife, and pronounced a girl due to a severe hypospadic condition. When she was made aware of the situation her transformation to male living was rapid. The hypospadic condition was repaired and her psychological adjustment to the change was appropriate. Erik is now a married ski instructor.

From the Qur'an, 42:49-50, the Counsel:

Allah's is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth
He creates what he pleases
He grants to whom he pleases daughters and grants
to whom he pleases sons,
Or, He makes them of BOTH sorts, male and female
AND He makes whom he pleases barren
Surely He is the Knowing Powerful

***Fertility in males with Klinefelter's cannot be improved with testosterone therapy but enlarged breast size can be influenced with testosterone therapy in Klinefelter's males as well as an increased sense of "well being". Additionally, the type of Klinefelter's in which there is more than one X chromosome, there is an increased possibility for criminality which might be influenced with early recognition and hormone replacement therapy.

***Fertility in females with "monosomy" type Turner's syndrome is absent but females with "mosaic" type Turner's syndrome are usually fertile.

2007-03-07T07:50:00.000-08:00

American Gothic

The simulacrum is never that which conceals the truth — it is the truth which conceals that there is none.The simulacrum is true.=Ecclesiastes, from Baudrillard's The Precession of the Simulacra.

It used to be the sky
and vast dominion meant
this side next, fill it up or erase it.
All the water in the far off sea was clean
under and outrageously deep, freshening the edges.
Once upon a time mom and dad
could fill a car for the weekend
with gum and wrappers
as children fell asleep in the corners,
jarred and blinking in the glow
of good intentions.
There was no where to run, no real need to
and plenty of jargon to fill the time.
Nothing needed to be done about
the same old secrets: engine on, engine off.
Easy does it and upsy daisy in the rigamarole,
we kept the getty-up and go
in the thingamajig under the hood.
Time doesn't pass in these juke boxes anymore,
there's more fidget in a pesky market
than on the streets where everyone used to ride
look no hands and by the seat of the pants
all torn and socks full of thorns.
The weeds mattered more than the sanctions
when girls got up slow and boys grew up thin.
Way back when a window was mostly pegs and putty
instead of glide and shine, no one minded a crack.
No one bothered to count the missing bits
of paint or the patches on a pair,
it was expected. Life needed to end somewhere.
We could stitch the universe with a thread,
organize the world with a rake and we sure did.

2007-02-28T02:03:00.000-08:00

2007-02-20T03:58:00.000-08:00

http://www.yuricareport.com/Dominionism/TheDespoilingOfAmerica.htm

Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained

2007-02-19T08:14:00.000-08:00

http://www.muhammadanreality.com/descentmuhammadreality.htm

This narration is from Ka`b al-Akhbar, who was known as Abu Ishaq. Ka`b was of the learned scholars of the Jews and during the blessed lifetime of the Holy Prophet {S} he lived in the land of Yemen. He did not accede to the honor of true faith during the Prophet's {s} lifetime, but only thereafter, during the Khalifa of Abu-Bakr as-Siddiq, or, according to other accounts, during the time of ‘Umar. He is referred to in some of the hadith related by the honorable companions of the Holy Prophet {S}. One of these companions, Sahif bin ‘Umar al-Ansari, claims to have heard from his father ‘Amr:

During the Holy Prophet's {s} lifetime I became acquainted with Ka`b and I used to meet him in a number of assemblies. It was his intention to come and attend the association of the Holy Prophet {S}, and without yet having met him, he confirmed that he was indeed the Seal of the Prophets; he frequently describe his characteristics to us. One day he told us that this was going to be the Holy Prophet’s last year, and that he very much wished he could make ready and go to meet him on time. He hastened his preparations and set out on the journey. There came one night, however, when he was seen to dart in and out (of the tent) at frequent intervals during the night, gazing intently at the night sky and weeping copiously.

2007-02-17T01:31:00.000-08:00

The Importance of Being Earnest

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=79625

"What does it all mean Basil?" - Austin Powers,, The Spy WHo Shagged Me

Ah, now what does it all mean nowdays? Ask a Shi'i. You need to ask one that understands what being a Shi'i is first off. Then, you need to listen to that Shi'i when that Shi'i is telling you she knows what Nasrallah is thinking before he states it openly. All one has to do actually to know that, is to read the Nahjul Balagha it seems and of course, to have faith and be certain of the afterlife. Without those three things though, you must rely on someone like me. I often tell my kids who are profoundly influenced by the dreadful societies we must live in, that "if you cannot have certain faith, have faith in someone who does." That'd be me. Um, especially when I'm telling you about Sayyed Nasrallah as opposed to some dead poet who is basically, dead.

Unfortuantely for some people it seems.

Anyway, we just celebrated the second year anniversary of the mob style hit on Valentine's Day (forget about the NINETEEN supposed hijackers and the message that was sent, heh, and there weren't even NINETEEN known culprits you know) of our beloved martyr, Rafik Hariri. He is much beloved and he is a martyr. But, and I say, BUT....was he the only one that should require such profound ceremonies and heartaches? How about the eighty people who died when Israel tried to assassignate a much beloved Shi'i scholar by the name of Fadallah? Oh, he is still alive you know and going strong. Runs Mobil gas stations through the Levant and donates everything to his well known charities, mostly orphanages.

What does it all mean? What does it mean when a week ago, Nasrallah demanded the Lebanese government return a weapons shipment to Hezbollah. Is he CRAZY?

Not at all. And when I read about it a week ago I had a great big "Aha!" Yes indeed. Beloved Sayed Nasrallah who never lets anyone down, not so far anyway. What was he doing? Admitting OPENLY that Hezbollah was receiving arms shipments? Is he really all that naive? Or, are we? Alas. His concerns are that the arms shipments will go to one of the many US backed "insurgencies" present in Lebanon (the Mossad most importantly and their minions) and will be used against the Lebanese people instead of against the usurper known as Israel. That is what they are for you know and rightfully so. Noting that the US arms Israel, pays Israel's bills and seems to have this crazy lock-step march going on with their Zionist brethren.

Nasrallah is "going on the record" so to speak. That famous record that recorded that 85% of all Israelis support Israeli war crimes against the Shi'i of South Lebanon this past summer. On THAT record called "the periodical one".

So...what else does this story mean and reflect upon? What is the message when Nasrallah holds a much smaller rally, not internationally televised or recognized commemorating the fallen Shi'i of Lebanon's brutal past as it pertains to Israeli expansionism? It means, we won't be neglected and that the Sunnis in Lebanon have fallen prey to this steady pandering to their misery over ONE fallen Sunni businessman which the US is using against the muslims as a whole. Because Nasrallah is known throughout the ME as a muslim who has faith and is worth following his every word and deed and he is being listened to before anyone is and that includes George Bush, Musa al Sadr, Ahmadinijad, Assad, the King of Jordan, Mubarak and of course, GLEN the MORON BECK.

From the article:

In a rare public appearance, Nasrallah paid tribute to the two Hizbullah leaders, and also responded to comments made by Prime Minister Fouad Siniora on Friday, as well as those made by members of the governing coalition on Wednesday during the two-year commemoration of former Premier Rafik Hariri's assassination. However, Nasrallah did not mention the international tribunal to try those accused of killing Hariri.

Nasrallah insisted that he would not forgive Lebanese authorities for seizing weapons from his group. "We are ready to provide the army with all the weapons that it requires ... but we will not forgive anyone who confiscates a bullet and uses it irresponsibly," he said, referring to the truck-full of Hizbullah weapons seized by the Lebanese Army, near Beirut. Defense Minister Elias Murr has said the army would use the seized weapons to fight Israel in the event of any future violation of Lebanese sovereignty.

2007-02-16T02:09:00.000-08:00

Photo: Heart of a Zinnia by Radiann Porter

1. From the Book of Confusions

Silly old man walks down silly old street
waves his hand at everybody. You don't know him.
No one does. So he must be a retarded angel. - Ode to the Mining Town Waver

As the bee tends
the tendrils of time
on the outskirts
of her metaphysical chores,
she is weightless, harmless, free.
Flowers are her chaplains,
out in space and so small.
Daisy, peony, carnation:
you paper-puzzles, you grand masters,
how about me? Is this a Valentine?

Hey pollen pushers, egg minders
in the society of specialists,
who gave you your orders
to sting and mend?
All this subatomic origami, all these stars.

A must read is, The Chain of Miracles by Harun Yahya the famous Turkish anti materialism advocate and Islamic scholar. Makes you realize that the reason astrophysics is so hard for the layman to comprehend is because those describing it in the text books are lying about who invented it in the first place. They like to take a little too much credit and therefore, do not describe the invention of "something else" (Allah) as plainly as they ought to.

http://www.harunyahya.net/V2/Lang/en/Pg/WorkDetail/Number/2537

2007-02-15T07:52:00.000-08:00

Rocks, Mining and Human Nature

Opals are beautiful and Alexandrite, which is somewhat similar is the most valuable stone...more expensive than a diamond of the same carat weight. Alexandrite is a stone that is measured by its degree of color change...most of them are found in Russia and there are very few with color change potential greater than 90%.

I saw one in Riyadh that was 95% and it was valued at 24,000 US dollars and weighed only one fourth of a carat. When you hold them up to LIGHT, Alexandrites can appear to be green or purple or yellow or pink or any color of the rainbow. Lower quality Alexandrites only show a few of their colors and are worth much less in dollars.

It is the one stone that is like the human being. The higher degree of flexibility, visability and change, the more valuable it is. Diamonds are really the stone of peasants. Traded for weapons you know and actually quite abundant. Like people who are unable to change colors and dimensions, the diamond is not the girl's best friend at all, but humanity's worst enemy.

In reality though, these are all only rocks. You cannot eat them and when you die, you leave them behind and you are buried under nothing but rocks and dirt.

The Light

24:35
Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The Parable of His Light is as if there were a Niche and within it a Lamp: the Lamp enclosed in Glass: the glass as it were a brilliant star: Lit from a blessed Tree, an Olive, neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil is well-nigh luminous, though fire scarce touched it: Light upon Light! Allah doth guide whom He will to His Light: Allah doth set forth Parables for men: and Allah doth know all things.

Ode To Rocks

In pockets and gardens, under
our beds for miners carry
a fair share in long gray
pails with jugs of soup
near shanks and flesh
with crusts plus those
stored in the chests.
The spare parts of the world
cast about pose a craving
as deep as the ocean is long
as the rivers are wide. A record
of perennial harvests hauled
up from the ground
on ladders of iron, even that!
Beloved fountains of slag
pour into banks of remains
where genuflection pays
paper for gold and time with loss.
Poor men fair well in shifts,
forever on the way in or out
with dirt clinging, dirt in love
with the heroic skin, part
ancient shroud part, let me in.

And I hope that the Creator is pleased with my work. I don't try to publish at all anymore...not really. I believe that my poems are recorded and will be returned to me if I am lucky enough to enter paradise.

And here is an exceptional article about the famous Russian stones:

http://www.gemstone.org/gem-by-gem/english/alex.html

2007-02-08T04:15:00.000-08:00

So, I was sayin', there was a flood and this guy looked at me and said...

http://gsahist.org/gsat2/pardee.htm

"Various correspondence in the 1920s led Bretz to believe (Bretz, 1978, personal communication) that Pardee was actually considering flooding from a glacial Lake Missoula as a cause for the scabland topography. Bretz (1974) speculated that Alden dissuaded Pardee from the idea. Bretz saw a memorandum of September 25, 1922, to David White, chief geologist of the U.S. Geological Survey, in which Alden noted of Pardee's work: "... very significant phenomena were discovered in the region southwest of Spokane.... The results so far ... require caution in their interpretation. The conditions warn against premature publication." "

So far we have, silence on the Cambrian Radiation, the origin of the universe from a single point of "zero mass and infinite density" and a flood. What next, the plague?

The Heretic, one J Harlen Bretz:

"It seems then that Pardee actually considered the flood hypothesis with Lake Missoula as the source, but was probably dissuaded from pursuing such a heretical notion any further by Alden and Kirk Bryan (Pardee's superiors at the time). This idea is at least consistent with Pardee's silence when Bretz presented his rather shocking catastrophic flood idea at the now infamous 1927 "scabland debate". 2

Sometime before 1927 geologists were catching on to the seriousness of what Bretz was suggesting. If true, Bretz's theory would undermine the very foundation of Uniformitarianism. Just as anticipated, the general outcry against any hint of a catastrophic model was very loud indeed. In fact, there was a very strong desire to publicly discredit and humiliate Bretz. So, to this purpose, Bretz was asked to present his ideas in public forum to the Geological Society of Washington. Bretz himself was rather unaware of the underlying purpose of this gathering or just how hostile his audience actually was to his ideas. Unawares to Bretz, six "challenging elders", as Bretz later referred to them, were chosen to counter Bretz's claims and beat him in public debate.6

http://www.detectingdesign.com/harlenbretz.html

...I am reminded of the watering of lawns, the boats called sticks and ants.

Bollywood

2007-02-07T09:52:00.001-08:00

In response to the bogus movie: The Lord of War which suggests the AK 47 to be the weapon of mass destruction, the poor man's atom bomb, etc. Hollywood oh, yea. Hollywood. Forgot who was taking issue with violence. Duh.

Old Woman, Tibneen S. Lebanon

2007-02-05T08:50:00.000-08:00

Tafsir/Shi'i

2007-02-05T06:10:00.000-08:00

http://almizan.org/

Anti Shi'i Literature

2007-02-05T05:11:00.000-08:00

http://www.muslimtents.com/aminahsworld/Shiite.htm

Shiaism (The Rafidah) and Islam are indeed different religions. This sect has developed into what we now know as the Shia whose beliefs and thoughts are repugnant beyond belief. The divergence of Shiaism from Islaam can be summarized from the books which they consider most authentic, and the statements of their most respected scholars. Some of the proofs are available on this page Most of the Muslim UMMAH and Western scholars have very little genuine and reliable knowledge of SHIA beliefs and practices. However, most of the openly declared SHIA beliefs revolve around The Concept of Imamah, the superiority of Ali (May Allah be pleased with him), and the so-called love of the Prophet's family members. As a result, the intense love that Sunni Muslims carry for the Prophet's family members combined with the magnanimous personality of Ali has led some Sunnis to accept Shia's as part of the Muslim UMMAH.

Disclaimer: This information posted for the sole purpose of education. The blog author is not represented in this information in any way but provides it as an alternative point of view.

Viva la raza!

2007-02-04T03:53:00.000-08:00

Why is the Qur'an necessary in Arabic?

2007-02-03T12:08:00.000-08:00

http://www.ce.berkeley.edu/~coby/essays/refdigl.htm

It’s a warm Friday mid-afternoon in a village in the Peruvian Highlands, not far from Cuzco. In the main plaza, a small crowd consisting mostly of women and young children – some of elementary-school age, some pre-school – is chatting in Quechua, seemingly waiting for something to arrive. And , sure enough, something does arrive: a brightly painted school bus, which stops near the crowd and disgorges a dozen or so neatly uniformed high-school students. It’s their families who have been waiting for them. But before these older boys and girls join in the Quechua chatter with their mothers and younger siblings, they bid farewell to one another and to their schoolmates who stay on the bus to go on to the next village. They talk about plans for the weekend – soccer, movies – and for the following week. How do I know this? Because this conversation is in Spanish, not Quechua.

2007-02-02T15:29:00.000-08:00

Snort, Swill and Blow:

What next, the plague? Seems to me that rumors of avian flu are a bit overrated in light of midnight tornadoes, a binge-drinking rate among US teenagers at 45% and Italian snuff:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070202/hl_nm/italy_cocaine_dc

What is the world's problem? The sniffles?

I hardly think so.

What About Mars?

2007-01-29T01:55:00.000-08:00

No more problems says the package
the cure came in, no more
warning labels and the price tag
no longer legible. It began
with flashy children and fast cars
then people started talking
about the leftover stuff
after the move out,
wondered what would happen
to the crystal ball and Japanese flag.
Where to put Mars now?
Whose house next?

Crash Course in Islamic Created Causality

2007-01-26T22:58:00.000-08:00

45- Have you not seen how your Lord lengthens out the shadow? He could have kept it motionless had He liked. Then We made the sun a proof for it.

2007-01-25T10:01:00.001-08:00

http://geclark.mystarband.net/flood.html

Winter Issue Voices on the Wind

2007-01-25T10:01:00.000-08:00

http://geclark.mystarband.net/flood.html

http://geclark.mystarband.net/tbird.html

Palestine

2007-01-25T09:38:00.000-08:00

Is justice blind or is she just not looking?

Divinity versus Purity in the context of miracles

2007-01-25T00:09:00.000-08:00

The Quran in its style is not just a book being dictated as one would a letter, "to so and so". It is an actual theological event complete with Allah's knowledge of what occurs in the prophet's own mind and that is included. Even the notion that Allah dictates to the angel and then to the prophet what his own actions should be i.e. "Say" and then it is followed by what should be said clearly pointing out those verses from others. Other statements that are meant only for the prophet are also included and show the incredible detail required in recording such an event. It exposes the actual process of revelation so to speak. It also indicates that there was a moral "burden" on the prophet and what the actual burden looked like in great detail highlighting certain events and I don't think we are to consider it a log of ALL the prophet's activities, thoughts or actions. That would be impossible (to read). The thing is, when a person (prophet or ordinary guy) KNOWS they are in a miracle situation, their fear of making a mistake is much greater (I think) and in the case of Mohamed (SAW) his miracle was so great that he would be HIGHLY unlikely to make even the smallest of mistakes in his practice.

This type of recitation exists no where else in terms of the other prophets but that doesn't mean that a "theological event" of the mental order didn't occur rather it just wasn't recorded verbatim by any prophet that we know of.

To offer the rhetorical question: How does a personal miracle lead to a person's recovery from any given thing and improve their character?

On the Divinity of Mohamed (SAW), Musa (SAW) and Isa (SAW) respectively referred to as Mohamed, Jesus Christ and Moses by other "believers":

I think the question is actually of Divinity not necessarily infallibility in the sense of human error. The Quran clearly demonstrates that mistakes happened but not necessarily mistakes that were of the intentional type and what is a mistake in the landscape of a miracle?

The Quran suggests over and over and over that if Allah wanted to create people who would not err he could have and if he wanted to make a Quran that glowed and flew into the air or whatever, he could have but then there would be no "test" for the believers/unbelievers/humanity. Those things that occurred that "appear" to be mistakes are, to me, part of the story that is necessary to reveal something else and something else and something else.

As well, Allah did not write a story or plan a plot in which he wasn't aware of something or someone's intents, actions or the personal dramas they were all involved it. Allah is basically not constrained by time and already knows the conclusion of the famous tale of this particular civilization i.e. the one involving this group of adversaries and advocates. In that case, there are not mistakes really.

In some cases, the prophet and his companions were given details as well. Stories in the hadith and in particular some that I know of from the Nahjul Balagha were actually revealed to that peer group as well. Sometimes via dreams and sometimes via actual statements of the prophet that were often times cloaked in mysterious language so as not to directly reveal the future. Like the case of the death of Abu Dhar(pbuh) in which at the time of his inevitable death he told his daughter to go to the caravan road and wait and that travellers would soon be coming who would help her to bury her father. She left him alone in his close to death state and went to the road and was met by a caravan. When the members of the caravan questioned her she told them her father's name and they were incredulous and asked to see the old man. When they arrived he was already dead and the rich merchants buried him in a very expensive piece of cloth. There are several other deaths like this recorded in the Nahjul in which the person who was going to die experienced something particular and then stated "Ah, I am going to die then tomorrow as the prophet said such and such"..in one case that a fighter would drink milk just prior to dying. The man asked for water as he was dying but instead, was brought a glass of milk just as the prophet had indicated to him years before (the prophet was at the time dead already i.e. when the old man was readying to die).

In Sermon 5 of the NB, Ali Mu'mineen (pbuh) states the following:

SERMON 5 of the Nahjul Balagha, The Peak of Eloquence

Delivered when the Holy Prophet died and `Abbas ibn `Abd al-Muttalib and Abu Sufyan ibn Harb offered to pay allegiance to Amir al-mu'minin for the Caliphate

O' People! (1)

Steer clear through the waves of mischief by boats of deliverance, turn away from the path of dissension and put off the crowns of pride. Prosperous is one who rises with wings (i.e. when he has power) or else he remains peaceful and others enjoy ease. It (i.e. the aspiration for Caliphate) is like turbid water or like a morsel that would suffocate the person who swallows it. One who plucks fruits before ripening is like one who cultivated in another's field.

If I speak out they would call me greedy towards power but if I keep quiet they would say I was afraid of death. It is a pity that after all the ups and downs (I have been through). By Allah the son of Abu Talib (2) is more familiar with death than an infant with the breast of its mother. I have hidden knowledge, if I disclose it you will start trembling like ropes in deep wells.

This is an example of perhaps the deliverance of messages or information in dreams (not indicated in the NB though) and the idea that a believer should not share negative dreams openly to others.

Then, if you compare Isa (SAW) it is clearly stated in the Quran that he will be judged and will come to testify against others. It is exactly this type of thing, the insistence on the 'infallibility" of a human prophet that lead to the ultimate equating a human being with Allah. There are a few ayat that show that Isa (SAW) was also given the opportunity to "defer" from orders and he will answer for those things on al Yawm.

5:117 I did not say to them aught save what Thou didst enjoin me with; That serve Allah, my Lord and your Lord

And I was a witness of them so long as I was among them

But when Thou didst cause me to die, Thou were the watcher over them

And thou art witness of all things

(These above three lines are all spoken by Isa, SAW)

This shows that the Quran talks about the "end" so to speak and there are two mentions of Isa (SAW) as "among them" and then, as a resurrected soul along with all the other souls on al Yawm. I take it to mean i.e. 'among them' as not actually dead. Death hasn't come to Isa (SAW) yet and therefore this ayat refers to a future time when he too will present HIS evidence as a counter to the evidence of anyone in dispute with Allah's commands which indicates that Isa (SAW) himself had a 'choice'. If he had no choice that would be due to a predetermined 'infallibility' rather than what I think it is better described by and that is "divinity". It is just the case that with prophets, they are more highly motivated to avoid error and hence, do not make mistakes but I don't think that necessarily "predestines" them to not make any mistakes.

*And "thou were the watcher over them" I take to mean "at that time" which is the dispute here, the actual time of Isa's (SAW) death/non death i.e. the "crucifiction" which is witnessed really only by two individuals that we know of, the person on the cross and Isa (SAW) himself and of course, Allah.

Allah is the only infallible "thing" in that sense of the word.

Furthermore, this is the paradox of the time Isa (SAW) spent in the desert fasting and was tempted by the Shaitan. Whereas the argument is completely illogical the way it is presented by Christians (that Isa was God) i.e. it is impossible for the Shaitan to tempt Allah who created EVEN him (sic Iblis) with anything at all...comes into full focus for US. He was tempted. His role was not of the Creator but of the created and that is not indicative of "infallibility" but instead, the 'likelihood' he would withstand greater pressures than any of us would due to his divine information and divine skills imbued upon him by the Creator. That story (Injeel) includes Isa (SAW) being so burdened by one instance of his prophethood that he sweat blood much like Mohamed (SAW) was reduced to a shivering and practically insane "looking" individual under a blanket who feared either being insane or being perceived as such (upon his first encounter with the angel).

For non muslims and unbelievers, this is one of the ways in which they are prevented from accepting Mohamed (SAW) as the last prophet i.e. they "detect" fallibility in a variety of things from his war time activities to his marriage to a young girl.

A Look At The Beginning of Calphate and Imamate

2007-01-23T08:56:00.000-08:00

SERMON 5 of the Nahjul Balagha, The Peak of Eloquence

Delivered when the Holy Prophet died and `Abbas ibn `Abd al-Muttalib and Abu Sufyan ibn Harb offered to pay allegiance to Amir al-mu'minin for the Caliphate

O' People! (1)

Steer clear through the waves of mischief by boats of deliverance, turn away from the path of dissension and put off the crowns of pride. Prosperous is one who rises with wings (i.e. when he has power) or else he remains peaceful and others enjoy ease. It (i.e. the aspiration for Caliphate) is like turbid water or like a morsel that would suffocate the person who swallows it. One who plucks fruits before ripening is like one who cultivated in another's field.

If I speak out they would call me greedy towards power but if I keep quiet they would say I was afraid of death. It is a pity that after all the ups and downs (I have been through). By Allah the son of Abu Talib (2) is more familiar with death than an infant with the breast of its mother. I have hidden knowledge, if I disclose it you will start trembling like ropes in deep wells.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(1). When the Holy Prophet died Abu Sufyan was not in Medina. He was coming back when on his way he got the news of this tragedy. At once he enquired who had become the leader and Chief. He was told that people had paid allegiance to Abu Bakr. On hearing this the acknowledged mischief-monger of Arabia went into deep thought and eventually went to `Abbas ibn `Abd al-Muttalib with a proposal. He said to him, "Look, these people have by contrivance made over the Caliphate to the Taym and deprived Banu Hashim of it for good, and after himself this man would place over our heads a haughty man of Banu `Adi. Let us go to `Ali ibn `Abi Talib and ask him to get out of his house and take to arms to secure his right." So taking `Abbas with him he came to `Ali and said: "Let me your hand; I pay allegiance to you and if anyone rises in opposition I would fill the streets of Medina with men of cavalry and infantry." This was the most delicate moment for Amir al-mu'minin. He regarded himself as the true head and successor of the Prophet while a man with the backing of his tribe and party like Abu Sufyan was ready to support him. Just a signal was enough to ignite the flames of war. But Amir al-mu'minin's foresight and right judgement saved the Muslims from civil war as his piercing eyes perceived that this man wanted to start civil war by rousing the passions of tribal partisanship and distinction of birth, so that Islam should be struck with a convulsion that would shake it to its roots. Amir al-mu'minin therefore rejected his counsel and admonished him severely and spoke forth the words, whereby he has stopped people from mischief mongering, and undue conceit, and declared his stand to be that for him there were only two courses - either to take up arms or to sit quietly at home. If he rose for war there was no supporter so that he could suppress these rising insurgencies. The only course left was quietly to wait for the opportunity till circumstances were favourable.

Amir al-mu'minin's quietness at this stage was indicative of his high policy and far-sightedness, because if in those circumstances Medina had become the centre of war its fire would have engulfed the whole of Arabia in its flames. The discord and scuffle that had already begun among muhajirun (those who came from Mecca) and ansar (the locals of Medina) would have increased to maximum, the wire-pullings of the hypocrites would have had full play, and Islam's ship would have been caught in such a whirlpool that its balancing would have been difficult; Amir al-mu'minin suffered trouble and tribulations but did not raise his hands. History is witness that during his life at Mecca the Prophet suffered all sorts of troubles but he was not prepared to clash or struggle by abandoning patience and endurance, because he realised that if war took place at that stage the way for Islam's growth and fruition would be closed. Of course, when he had collected supporters and helpers enough to suppress the flood of unbelief and curb the disturbances, he rose to face the enemy. Similarly, Amir al-mu'minin, treating the life of the Prophet as a torch for his guidance refrained from exhibiting the power of his arm because he was realising that rising against the enemy without helpers and supporters would become a source of revolt and defeat instead of success and victory. Therefore, on this occasion Amir al-mu'minin has likened the desire for Caliphate to turbid water or a morsel suffocating the throat. Thus, even where people had forcibly snatched this morsel and wanted to swallow it by forcible thrusting, it got stuck up in their throat. They could neither swallow it nor vomit it out. That is, they could neither manage it as is apparent from the blunders they committed in connection with Islamic injunctions, nor were they ready to cast off the knot from their neck.

He reiterated the same ideas in different words thus: "If had I attempted to pluck the unripe fruit of Caliphate then by this the orchard would have been desolated and I too would have achieved nothing, like these people who cultivate on other's land but can neither guard it, nor water it at proper time, nor reap any crop from it. The position of these people is that if I ask them to vacate it so that the owner should cultivate it himself and protect it, they say how greedy I am, while if I keep quiet they think I am afraid of death. They should tell me on what occasion did I ever feel afraid, or flew from battle-field for life, whereas every small or big encounter is proof of my bravery and a witness to my daring and courage. He who plays with swords and strikes against hillocks is not afraid of death. I am so familiar with death that even an infant is not so familiar with the breast of its mother. Hark! The reason for my silence is the knowledge that the Prophet has put in my bosom. If I divulge it you would get perplexed and bewildered. Let some days pass and you would know the reason of my inaction, and perceive with your own eyes what sorts of people would appear on this scene under the name of Islam, and what destruction they would bring about. My silence is because this would happen, otherwise it is not silence without reason."

A Persian hemistch says:

"Silence has meaning which cannot be couched in words."

(2). About death Amir al-mu'minin says that it is so dear to him that even an infant does not so love to leap towards the source of its nourishment while in its mother's lap. An infant's attachment with the breast of its mother is under the effect of a natural impulse but the dictates of natural impulses change with the advance of age. When the limited period of infancy ends and the infant's temperament changes, he does not like even to look at what was so familiar to him but rather turns his face from it in disgust. But the love of prophets and saints for union with Allah is mental and spiritual, and mental and spiritual feelings do not change, nor does weakness or decay occur in them. Since death is the means and first rung towards this goal their love for death increases to such an extent that its rigours become the cause of pleasure for them and its bitterness proves to be the source of delight for their taste. Their love for it is the same as that of the thirsty for the well or that of a lost passenger for his goal. Thus when Amir al-mu'minin was wounded by `Abd ar-Rahman ibn Muljam's fatal attack, he said, "I was but like the walker who has reached (the goal) or like the seeker who has found (his object) and whatever is with Allah is good for the pious." The Prophet also said that there is no pleasure for a believer other than union with Allah.

Snow Drunk

2007-01-20T06:01:00.000-08:00

The sky at dawn is the shadow
of the deer who hoped to be seen,
lagging behind like that to peek
through the hedges. Painters
only did that when they lacked
cameras to abstract that which is
abstracted. This one is gray
on gray with a spray of rose leaves
in the black of what is actually there:

azures, lemons, magentas, pales and darknesses.

The proof is in everything and each
of the prostrating shadows
of dawn, of noon, of dusk,
move this way and that way,
several ways, each one
a better color than the next
one and the unknown of that
is certainly more
than black can tell you
in the constant sillhouette
of the materials frozen
into the peculiar shapes of deers.
My shape is said to be that of a pear.

When I say this to the beholder
I am finished. Returning to
the window of shadows I find
the world has been lit up
and it has snowed.
It has literally snowed,
it is quiet and I am quiet
more than the snow
can tell me in its shushing.
We all begin to jump around
and we begin again our falling.

The Molecular Model of Duality: Potassium

2007-01-19T02:08:00.000-08:00

Dr. Plichta's conclusion:

The biochemical components of life, the amino acids, are coded by the number 19 . The structure of the eighty-one stable, natural existing chemical elements, the components of the Nature, are in many ways subject to the same code . A lonely number, the unique number 19, proves to be the King Number of the chemistry.

What worried Dr. Plichta the most, however , was the question, why all elements with odd atomic numbers possess either one or two isotopes? Only the nineteenth element, Potassium, does not? Because with its three isotopes the Potassium actually would have to be an element with even atomic number. Because this number is an odd prime number, and the element 19, therefore Potassium, behaves like an even-numbered element. For the first time, Dr. Peter Plichta came upon a double-face element. An element, which is odd, however it behaves like an even element .

41:53] We will show them our proofs in the horizons, and within themselves, until they realize that this is the truth. Is your Lord not sufficient as a witness of all things?

[ 72:28] ........ He (GOD) has counted the numbers of all things.

[ 27:82] At the right time, we will produce for them a creature made of earthly materials, declaring that the people are not certain about our revelations.

http://www.submission.org/miracle/19-chemistry.html

2007-01-18T07:24:00.000-08:00

Love Islamic Style

(Some origins and causes of the Sunni/Shi'i Divide)

The greatest love story ever told and all the tremendous details of the birth of a woman from the seed of the apple of Eden where Eve had "no navel" (James Joyce). *

Her husband's (Ali Mu'mineen, pbuh, The Commander of the Faithful
and First Imam of Islam) elegy:

"O the Prophet of Allah salam upon you from me and your daughter who is being buried near to you and who has joined you so soon. O the messenger of Allah, the passing away of your daughter has lessened my patience and I have lost my energy and power. After having endured your separation I have to bear this catastrophe also so patiently. I laid you down in the grave with my own hands; your soul departed from your body while your head was lying between my neck and heart. 'Surely we belong to Allah and to Him we shall return'. (Fatimah) was a trust (entrusted to me) and a souvenir that is taken back from me. Now my sorrow grief and pain is eternal, lasting and overwhelming. It has left me with sleepless nights till Allah chooses for one Realm where you abide. Soon your daughter will inform you that how your Ummah made alliance to ill-treat and oppress her. You ask her the details of what all has happened to her, even though neither a long period passed away after your departure nor people stopped from talking about you. My farewell salam upon both of you (You and Your daughter) not such a salam which is from sad and weary heart (it is from sincere heart which loved and will always love you both). If I go back from (this place) it is not because I am tired of your company; and if I make a permanent abode by your grave it will not be because I am distrustful and suspicious from that reward which Allah has promised with those who bear sorrows patiently".

*This is the actual elegy written by the first Imam of the Twelver Shi'as written in homage to the daughter of the prophet who was his wife and died only three months after her father from heartbreak after being deprived of the honor due her as the only surviving child of what is known as "Ahlul Bayt" (in english this means "The house of the Prophet and is composed only of his nearest relatives: Ali Mu'mineen (pbuh, first cousin to the prophet), Hadrat Fatima (pbuh) and their two children Hassan and Hussein (pbut).

http://www.jafariyanews.com/august2k2/13_patheticwords.htm

http://www.imamreza.net/eng/imamreza.php?id=265

US backing yet another war criminal

2007-01-17T02:08:00.000-08:00

Who is Meles Zanawi? Who has he killed? How many has he killed?

Another "great" step for democrazy in Somalia. What next, the plague? The King of Kings...if only I could find the link to that hadith that told us to "beware" the man who would call himself, The King of Kings aka Halie Selassie.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6251077.stm

Correspondents say the situation on the ground in southern Somalia remains unclear, with communications in the area poor.

Yeah, right. Where on earth have I heard that before?

http://www.ethiomedia.com/addfile/democracy_not_war.html

Democracy yes, Democrazy No!

The Ethiopian people have unequivocally said YES to democracy through the ballot box on May 15, 2005 whereby they have in no uncertain terms rejected or jettisoned the rogue and vicious party which calls itself EPRDF led by the murderer and kleptomaniac Meles Zenawi who without any doubt shall be brought to justice what ever it takes. Our people have made a rationale decision in electing the Kinijit Party whose leaders are unlawfully locked-in in the Gulag type Kaliti prison at the outskirts of Addis Ababa in a bid to make it difficult and inconvenient for relatives, friends, legal counselors and supporters to pay them frequent visits and give them legal counseling.

This is not the first time for Meles to commit such a pernicious and criminal act against those whom he suspects could be a threat to his unquenchable thirst for power. He has done it against Tamrat Layne, Seye Abraha, Abate Kisho and Bitew Belay to mention but a few. Many others from his own circle have fled the country for fear of facing similar trumped-up charges which the foregoing have been subjected to.

What options are we Ethiopians left with to get rid of these scoundrels who have imposed themselves as so called leaders of the country while our legitimately elected leaders are languishing in prison? There is no any one Ethiopian who is not burning inside by the lawless acts of this deceptive guy known by the name of Meles. The normally gullible Ferenjis (the donor community), who once were totally gulled by his ceaseless mendacity and deception are now fed-up with his bogus and sham character and have thus started openly voicing their discontent with regard to his degenerating governance and abuse of human rights in the country. The denials of some of these Western governments’ financial assistance in the form of budget support and the likes are signals of their becoming disgruntled with Meles.

More Odd facts about Odd 19

2007-01-16T22:49:00.000-08:00

ABU ALI HASAN IBN AL-HAITHAM
( 965 - 1040 A.D.)
Another amazing fact about the famous Islamic prime number 19, Allahu Ahkbar!

Abu Ali Hasan Ibn al-Haitham was one of the most eminent physicists, whose contributions to optics and the scientific methods are outstanding. Known in the West as Alhazen, Ibn aI-Hautham was born in 965 A. D. in Basrah, and was educated in Basrah and Baghdad. Thereafter, he went to Egypt, where he was asked to find ways of controlling the flood of the Nile. Being unsuccessful in this, he feigned madness until the death of Caliph al-Hakim. He also traveled to Spain and, during this period, he had ample time for his scientific pursuits, which included optics, mathematics, physics, medicine and development of scientific methods on each of which he has left several outstanding books.

He made a thorough examination of the passage of light through various media and discovered the laws of refraction. He also carried out the first experiments on the dispersion of light into its constituent colors. His book Kitab-at-Manazir was translated into Latin in the Middle Ages, as also his book dealing with the colors of sunset. He dealt at length with the theory of various physical phenomena like shadows, eclipses, the rainbow, and speculated on the physical nature of light. He is the first to describe accurately the various parts of the eye and give a scientific explanation of the process of vision. He also attempted to explain binocular vision, and gave a correct explanation of the apparent increase in size of the sun and the moon when near the horizon. He is known for the earliest use of the camera obscura. He contradicted Ptolemy's and Euclid's theory of vision that objects are seen by rays of .light emanating from the eyes; according to him the rays originate in the object of vision and not in the eye. Through these extensive researches on optics, he has been considered as the father of modern optics.

The Latin translation of his main work, Kitab-at-Manazir, exerted a great influence upon Western science e.g. on the work of Roger Bacon and Kepler. It brought about a great progress in experimental methods. His research in catoptrics centered on spherical and parabolic mirrors and spherical aberration. He made the important observation that the radio between the angle of incidence and refraction does not remain constant and investigated the magnifying power of a lens. His catoptrics contain the important problem known as Alhazen's problem. It comprises drawing lines from two points in the plane of a circle meeting at a point on the circumference and making equal angles with the normal at that point. This leads to an equation of the fourth degree.

In his book Mizan al-Hikmah Ibn al-Haitham has discussed the density of the atmosphere and developed a relation between it and the height. He also studied atmospheric refraction. He discovered that the twilight only ceases or begins when the sun is 19 degrees below the horizon and attempted to measure the height of the atmosphere on that basis. He has also discussed the theories of attraction between masses, and it seems that he was aware of the magnitude of acceleration due to gravity.

His contribution to mathematics and physics was extensive. In mathematics, he developed analytical geometry by establishing linkage between algebra and geometry. He studied the mechanics of motion of a body and was the first to maintain that a body moves perpetually unless an external force stops it or changes its direction of motion. This would seem equivalent to the first law of motion.

The list of his books runs to 200 or so, very few of which have survived. Even his monumental treatise on optics survived through its Latin translation. During the Middle Ages his books on cosmology were translated into Latin, Hebrew and other languages. He has also written on the subject of evolution a book that deserves serious attention even today.

In his writing, one can see a clear development of the scientific methods as developed and applied by the Muslims and comprising the systematic observation of physical phenomena and their linking together into a scientific theory. This was a major breakthrough in scientific methodology, as distinct from guess and gesture, and placed scientific pursuits on a sound foundation comprising systematic relationship between observation, hypothesis and verification.

Ibn al-Haitham's influence on physical sciences in general, and optics in particular, has been held in high esteem and, in fact, it ushered in a new era in optical research, both in theory and practice.

From the Sura called "The Cloaked (hidden) One" which is widely believed to be a Sura regarding mathematics and a proof to the Unbelievers:

74:18
For he thought and he plotted;-

74:19
And woe to him! How he plotted!-

74:20
Yea, Woe to him; How he plotted!-

74:21
Then he looked round;

74:22
Then he frowned and he scowled;

74:23
Then he turned back and was haughty;

74:24
Then said he: "This is nothing but magic, derived from of old;

74:25
"This is nothing but the word of a mortal!"

74:26
Soon will I cast him into Hell-Fire!

74:27
And what will explain to thee what Hell-Fire is?

74:28
Naught doth it permit to endure, and naught doth it leave alone!-

74:29
Darkening and changing the colour of man!

74:30
Over it are Nineteen.

74:31
And We have set none but angels as Guardians of the Fire; and We have fixed their number only as a trial for Unbelievers,- in order that the People of the Book may arrive at certainty, and the Believers may increase in Faith,- and that no doubts may be left for the People of the Book and the Believers, and that those in whose hearts is a disease and the Unbelievers may say, "What symbol doth Allah intend by this?" Thus doth Allah leave to stray whom He pleaseth, and guide whom He pleaseth: and none can know the forces of thy Lord, except He and this is no other than a warning to mankind.

74:32
Nay, verily: By the Moon,

74:33
And by the Night as it retreateth,

74:34
And by the Dawn as it shineth forth,-

74:35
This is but one of the mighty (portents),

74:36
A warning to mankind,-

74:37
To any of you that chooses to press forward, or to follow behind;-

74:38
Every soul will be (held) in pledge for its deeds.

Turning Muslim in Texas . People reverting to Islam in Texas.

2007-01-14T14:04:00.000-08:00

Please Visit http://www.turntoislam.com for more documentaries. For this video Please Link to our webSite. http://www.turntoislam.com

The documentary explores the lives of several Texan families. Muslim and Non Muslim, and their views about Islam and life in the West.

George W Bush may be backed by Christian fundamentalists but in his home state of Texas, Islam is the latest big draw. The Bible belt is transferring its allegiance to the Quran because, for many erstwhile Christians, believe it or not, the church is too liberal.

Eric was a Baptist preacher before he became a Muslim 14 years ago. Now he prays five times a day and even in the middle of watching a football game. His wife, Karen, also a convert, is covered from head to toe in the traditional Muslim burka. Islam, says Eric, is everything I wanted Christianity to be. His mother has found it hard to come to terms with her sons conversion and believes he will return to the Christian faith: Then he will be a dynamic preacher. Eric says: "Maybe some day she will embrace Islam."

2007-01-14T08:38:00.000-08:00

Cool Music Hoochy Islam

2007-01-14T02:18:00.000-08:00

http://mysticsaint.blogspot.com/

Ahlul Bayt

2007-01-13T10:09:00.000-08:00

Stand when they stand:

http://www.al-islam.org/murajaat/index.htm

I References to Proofs Mandating Following the `Itra,

II The Commander of the Faithful (as) Invites to Ahl alBayt's Sect,

III Relevant Statement of Imam Zainul`Abidin.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thul-Qi`da 12, 1329 A.H.

You, thanks to Allah, can be convinced by a mere hint, without the need for an explanation, and you are above doubting the very fact that the purified offspring (`itra) are superior to all others. Their case is quite clear: they have surpassed those with qualifications and have distinguished themselves from seemingly equal peers. They have carried from the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his progeny, the knowledge of the prophets, and from him have they digested secular and religious jurisdictions.

1) The Prophet, hence, has made them equal only to the Glorious Book and set them models of conduct for those endowed with reason, and the ark of safety when hypocricy with its tumultous waves overwhelms the security of the nation, safeguarding it against dissension if the tempests of division rage, the Gate of Salvation: whoever enters it is forgiven, and the strong Rope of Allah which is unbreakable.

2) The Commander of the Faithful is quoted in sermon 86 in NahjulBalagha as saying:

"`Where are you heading (Qur'an, 81:26),' and `where are you straying (Qur'an, 6:95, 10:34, 35:3, 40:62),' since the flags are poised up high, the Signs are clear, and the lighthouse is erected? So, where are you straying? Nay! How can you be blindfolded while you have among you the household (`itra) of your Prophet? They are the reins of righteousness, the religion's flags, and the tongues of truth; therefore, accord them as you accord the Qur'an and approach them as thirsty camels approach the water. O people! Take this[1] from the last of the Prophets, Allah's peace be upon him and his progeny: `whoever among us passes away, he is not really dead, and whoever disintegrates (after dying) from among us does not really disintegrate; therefore, do not say what you do not know, for there is the greatest truth in what you deny. Accept the argument of one against whom you have no argument and it is: `Have I not dealt with you according to the Greatest Weight[2] (Qur'an)? Have I not left among you the Lesser Weight (Ahl alBayt) and laid firm among you the flags of faith?'"

He, peace be upon him, said, in sermon 96 of NahjulBalagha, "Behold the Household of your Prophet; emulate their example and follow in their footsteps, for they shall never take you out of guidance, nor shall they ever bring you back into destruction; halt when they halt, and rise when they rise, and do not go ahead of them lest you should stray, nor should you lag behind them lest you should perish." He, peace be upon him, has mentioned them once, as stated in sermon 237 of Nahjul-Balaghah, saying: "They are the life of knowledge and the death of ignorance; their forbearance informs you of their knowledge, and their outward appearance informs you of their conscience. Their silence indicates the wisdom of their speech. They neither differ from truth, nor do they differ among themselves about it. They are the pillars of Islam and the gateways to salvation. Through them, justice was achieved and wrongdoing was removed, and its tongue was uprooted. They comprehended the creed with care and concern, not like hearing and reporting, for the `reporters' of knowledge are many indeed, but those who safeguard it are few." He, peace be upon him, as stated in sermon 153 in Nahjul-Balaghah, has also said, "His offspring (`itra) is the best, and his family is the best. His tree is the best of trees: it was planted in the sacred place (Haram), and it grew like a vine; it has long branches and its fruit is not unattainable."

He, peace be upon him, is quoted in sermon 153 of Nahjul-Balaghah saying: "We are the banner, the companions, the trustees and the gates. Houses are not supposed to be approached except through their gates: whoever approaches them otherwise is called a thief," until he said, describing the purified offspring (`itra), "They are the vital portions of the Qur'an, and they are the teasures of the Merciful. They tell the truth when they speak, or when they remain silent; none can speak ahead of them. Therefore, let the forerunner speak the truth to his people, maintaining his reason."

He has said in sermon 146 of Nahjul-Balaghah: "You should know that you will never know guidance unless you know who abandons it, nor will you abide by the Book (Qur'an) unless you know who contradicts it, and you will never uphold it unless you know who has discarded it; so, seek that from those who possess it, for they are the life of knowledge and the death of ignorance. They are the ones whose judgment informs you of their knowledge, their silence of their power of speech, their outer appearance of their inner selves; they neither violate the religion, nor do they differ among themselves about it, while it is among them a truthful witness and a silent speaker."

There are many similarly impressive statements of his, peace be upon him, in this regard; consider this one which is excerpted from sermon 4 in Nahjul-Balaghah: "Through us you received guidance in the darkness, ascending the zenith of nobility, and through us you reached the light and dissipated the gloomy night. May the ears that do not listen to the summoner be deafened."[3] He is quoted in sermon 104 of Nahjul-Balaghah saying: "O people! Secure your light from the flame of the lamps of a preacher who follows what he preaches, and drink from a spring cleansed from impurity."

He has also said the following in sermon 108: "We are the tree of Prophethood, the place of the Message, the ones to whom the angels make a pilgrimage, the treasures of knowledge, the springs of wisdom. Our supporter and lover awaits the mercy, while our enemy or antagonist us awaits the wrath."[4]

Among what he has said in this regard is sermon 143 of Nahjul-Balaghah wherein he says: "Where are those who claimed to be deeply versed in knowledge other than our own selves? (See also Qur'an, 3:7 and 4:162). It is a lie and a transgression against us, for Allah has raised us high while putting them down; He bestowed upon us while depriving them, and He permitted us to enter (in the fortress of knowledge) while turning them out. Through us, guidance is achieved and blindness is removed. Surely the Imams from Quraysh have been planted in Hashim's loins. Imamate can never fit anyone else, nor can government either." Then he stated: "But they preferred a speedy gain to a later one, forsaking a pure well to drink from an impure one," up to the end of his statement. He has also said at the conclusion of khutba (sermon) 189 of Nahjul-Balaghahh: "Whoever among you dies on his bed knowing the rights of his Lord and knowing the rights of His Messenger and his family (Ahl alBayt) dies as a martyr, and his reward will be incumbent upon Allah, and he deserves the reward of what good deeds he has intended to do: his own intention will make up for his use of his sword (in jihad)."

Also, he, peace be upon him, has said: "We are the virtuous; our descendants are the descendants of Prophets; our party is the party of Allah, the Sublime, the Glorified, while the transgressing party is the devil's; whoever equates us with our enemy is certainly not of us."[5]

Imam alMujtaba Abu Muhammad alHasan, the patient, master of the youths of Paradise (as), has said the following in one of his sermons: "Fear Allah regarding us, for we are your rulers."[6]

3) Whenever Imam Abu Muhammad, `Ali son of alHusayn Zainul`Abidin, master of those who prostrate in prayer, used to recite this verse of the Almighty: "O ye who believe! Fear Allah and be with the Truthful," he would make a lengthy invocation to Allah containing his plea to be included among "the Truthful" to attain the high ranks. He would then count the calamities and innovations of the group that split from the Imams of Faith and the Tree of Prophethood. Then he would say: "Some people went as far as underestimating us, making excuses for the Qur'anic verses which seem to them to be alike, giving their own interpretation thereof, and casting doubts about the transmitted narrarations in our honour," until he would say: "With whom shall people in this nation seek refuge, since the pillars of this creed have been forgotten and the nation has divided upon itself with dissension, each party accusing the other of kufr, while Allah says: `Do not be like those who became divided and disagreed (with each other) even after receiving the Clear Evidences (Qur'an, 3:104)?' Who can be trusted to convey the Divine proofs and interpret the Judgment other than the peers of the Qur'an and the descendants of the Imams of Guidance, the lamps amidst the darkness, those whom Allah made as His Arguments against His servants? He has never left His creation alone without a Proof. Do you know them or find them except from the branches of the Blessed Tree, the remnant of the Elite from whom Allah has removed all impurity, purifying them with a perfect purification, clearing them from sinning and decreeing their love in His Book?"

That was his own speech, peace be upon him, verbatim.[7] Look into it and into our quotations from the speech of the Commander of the Faithful; you will find them both representing the Shi`a School of Muslim Thought in this regard very clearly. Consider this much of their speech as a specimen for all such speeches of the Imams from Ahl alBayt. They all are unanimous in this respect, and our sahih books quoting them are mutawatir (consecutively reported), and peace be with you.

Sincerely,

Sh

Dear Reader

2007-01-13T02:09:00.000-08:00

Ah well, maybe. Bisbee is warm now but it will be cold soon and very. Not as cold as Oregon perhaps but cold enough to matter sometimes.

Heaven and Hell. Well, actually, they do exist. Not here ranydl, not here. I used to think it a kind of purgatory but there is far too much "light" for it to be so and of course, there is free will and choice which necessarily don't involve purgatory.

Illusion. This life is an illusion (as per the Quran), don't you see it (same)?

Our brains are contained in a space in which there is no:

light
sound
taste
touch
odor

Imagination. We imagine what we do and if we are good folks then the Creator indulges us with what is necessary for our survival and keeps from us those things that might bring on our ruin. If we aren't such good folks, we become Donald Trump and write books to convince others about how easy it is "to get rich". You see, the Creator tells us this in the "teacher's manual" i.e. the Quran. Tells us that if we aren't really good folks i.e. believers in the Creator's manifest projections, then the Creator will lead us by a "lying sinning forelock" to our own ruin and will increase our sin accordingly....all the while making it seem as if we are "successful".

Life is easy once you understand that contract. You begin to realize that it has all already happened. Your trip to Bisbee is already planned and the outcomes are understood. Perhaps you didn't know that but perhaps I do.

Some of Islam is available and some of it is protected. This is the protected aspect of it and might disturb another unintentionally and I hope that is not the case. It is all written down already Ranydl. All of it down to the next fall of snow.

:)

Thanks for visiting my blog.

2007-01-12T01:42:00.000-08:00

Penny wise and pound foolish
used to cut it but then we found
ourselves poor and very, very wise.

http://www.funeralplan.com/products/embalming.html

Your RIGHT to not be buried
"Like an Egyptian":

"Except in certain special cases, embalming is not required by law. Embalming may be necessary, however, if you select certain funeral arrangements, such as a funeral with viewing. If you do not want embalming, you usually have the right to choose an arrangement that does not require you to pay for it, such as direct cremation or immediate burial."

The Theory of Snow

2007-01-11T13:13:00.000-08:00

The night was dark, really dark.
I stopped above the round about
and hurried to urniate
fearful of the wild pigs, omnivores
that stag along the streets
at night. The deer wander through
the hedges to gape and yawn.
The big cats and bears are still
one range away in their territory
where the roads washed away
in a hundred year rain last summer.

When will it be the last time?

This brain of mine is imagination,
corroborated and clean, full
of the most drastic information.
Women here are flag lace and spread eagled,
I'm not used to it anymore,
not used to the going feral.

This snow is a bright lozenge
in the night, hoped for, planned out.
Every piece falls conspicuously
through the lamplight as I wait
for the dragnet of your verbs,
the tragedy of all is well.

No one is well now, are they?

2007-01-07T23:26:00.000-08:00

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=78296

From Sister Cities:

2007-01-07T22:44:00.000-08:00

"They thought I was a tire burning.
They thought I was a Marine barracks."

Thermohaline energy transfers and global warming:

2007-01-04T00:52:00.000-08:00

http://www.aip.org/history/climate/oceans.htm

Another great unknown was the interaction between currents like the
Gulf Stream and the giant eddies that the currents spun off as they
meandered. Evidence of these broad, sluggishly rotating columns of
water had turned up during a survey voyage across the North Atlantic
in 1960. This was confirmed by an international campaign carried out
by six ships and two aircraft in the early 1970s — another example
of how studying ocean phenomena needed international cooperation.
The survey discovered eddies bigger than Belgium that plowed through
the seas for months. What oceanographers had supposed were static
differences in the oceans between their sparse measuring-points, had
often actually been changes over time, not over space.
The oceanographers had been vaguely aware that when meteorologists
built atmospheric models, they included the energy carried by wind
eddies as an important factor (physical oceanography, as one
practitioner remarked, was "to some extent a mirror of
meteorology"). Yet it was astounding to see what prodigious
quantities of heat, salt, and kinetic energy the ocean eddies
carried. Indeed nearly all the energy in the ocean system was in
these middle-sized movements, not in the ocean currents at all.
(28*)

He has set free the two seas meeting together. There is a barrier
between them. They do not transgress. (Quran, 55:19-20)

He is the one who has set free the two kinds of water, one sweet
and palatable, and the other salty and bitter. And He has made
between them a barrier and a forbidding partition. (Quran, 25:53

Or (the unbelievers’ state) is like the darkness in a deep sea. It
is covered by waves, above which are waves, above which are clouds.
Darknesses, one above another. If a man stretches out his hand, he
cannot see it.... (Quran, 24:40)

Water is not like air, and computers that could handle meteorological computations were far too slow to work through comparable models for this swirling ocean "weather." As one ocean modeler complained in 1974, "Extensive research efforts have not yet yielded much more than a greater appreciation of the difficulty of these questions."(29) To get a handle on the problem, oceanographers had to understand the oceans from top to bottom. But they had little data on the depths — the occasional expeditions, retrieving bottles of water here and there from kilometers down, were like a few blind men trying to map a vast prairie. Oceanographers liked to remark that we had better maps of the face of the Moon than of the deep sea. After all, there was little economic incentive, nor much military interest either, in studying the colossal slow movements of water, salts, and heat through the abyss.

The Polytheist

2006-12-16T04:31:00.000-08:00

Every time a poet does this, they risk quitting forever.
Darla Whitehead, The Book of Warnings

In the most Oriental chapters of chaos
are the great portals of time, the backwards
and forwards of speech are opened, closed
bang bang bang, interpretation in the breezes.
The dietary is shared with disaster
in the pigment of newsprint and rally.
Who bothers about the senate anymore
when each thing branches into a hundred more,
a very long history of policy is the groundwork
for a mudslide in a mileau of plunder.
There isn't a quick fix for this, there isn't
a new order. There is this right now
in the revocation of prairies, that haze.
Your God and mine. That makes two.
The future isn't written in Latin anymore.

December First

2006-12-05T03:38:00.000-08:00

Through the hills, up a gear, down a gear
past the honey morning paint on the trees
that have been there ever since I can remember.
A rodent of some type was dead, the odor
of skunk was just about right, always
at the turn by the Pintek ranch.
Smoke from a house poured out
from intention only, a fire
wasn't needed nor felt but certainly
it was seen in the cold air
which holds the wisps and twists
a sublime garland tucked into the folds
of the velvety hills. Perfect.
It was all just so perfect
but still, it isn't home yet
and it isn't where I need to be.
There must be a disasterous love waiting
or some kind of death to abide by soon.
Cold, it is so chilly in this grace
lacking grace, this heavy beauty so near.
Wood disappears into smoke disappears into memory.
This would be nice, to remember this already,
for it to have gone by, for it to be wished for
but not now, now it is a perverse embrace,
this mountain, the chill and the ash-colored air.

The Divers, the Drowned, the Delivered

2006-12-05T03:33:00.000-08:00

We landed on the beach in Bahia Kino
with our best memories and war stories,
monitoring time by watching shadows.

Simplicity is complex nowdays, so many gadgets.

There was a fire ring for instance,
and burning lanterns but no candles.
And diving birds, there were three kinds and their bones.

An old friend caught trigger and hoped for flounder.

After he had too much to drink
he resembled a demon but his hands trembled.
Near the fire at night his eyes glistened.

Don's wife likes Miami, she drinks there.

In the morning there was contrition
and there were flies to spread contagion
by thieving sugar and contempt, a diligent crew.

How many times have I seen this before?

Insects and yeasts take people apart
one piece at a time. We collect wood
to burn, it holds us together as it consumes.

Tayammum, sand ablutions are called Tayammum.

At dawn the sea leaves her glass behind,
ceramic prisons free for the taking.
I couldn't get enough, the sea is so generous.

I was questioned thoroughly, my fingerprints in sand are still there.

Don left so early Sunday, he left cans
and rope, he left precious amounts
of bile in shade trees, he left our rake unattended.

We come from a family of campers, we are honor bound.

Ours tell quiet stories of blindness all the time,
we frequent several places, the animals know
when we are there. Lizards aren't so cautious.

Aztec traders brought handmade trinkets on the last day.

Grandfather, father and two boys. Bedou salesmen
from the pagan interior. His son told me this, he knew why I asked.
He had assimilated over time using a small TV. His eyes said so.

There are rituals and there are habits. These are facts.

Yes I said, yes, there is only one.
He nodded when I spoke of the Arabs.
Vaya con dios I said. He liked that. He smiled.

Untitled

2006-11-30T02:30:00.000-08:00

I say to you the grass came up
from the concrete there
in the night, from the porch
I saw brave little blades.
Water moved silently, covertly
and sometimes it sprayed-not
cognizant of our being there.
I say to you the sky is blue
wherever you go and the night
is in every shadow and night
is without one except when
for sure, she is full. She is so full.
I say to you the insects
consume particular parts and leave
others for the readings.
I say to you shells
are there for the taking,
a greed that carries on
but from where, we do not know.
I say to you the graves
are still occupied by their owners
night and day, they labor on.
I say to you a dream can last
a lifetime and eventually
it loses the leaves of invention
the colors and the faces disappear.
I say to you in limbo we are contained
butterflies in jars, crystal windows
cannot relieve much but the passage
of pressure and air and yet they break
with the entry of grass through concrete, the pummel
of oceans, the magnanimity of fists.
Enter through the door only,
do not enter through the apse
nor the cornice nor the transom.
I say to you thieves cannot take a soul
but some say they do where diamonds
are concerned, some say they do.
I say to you the sky
is blue wherever you are and the clouds
rebuild as often as rain pours
on the metropolis of the dead and the dying.
I say to you not shyly mind you....not shyly.
I say you are no longer purifying
the parts that produce the violent augars.

The Paths of the Righteous

2006-11-19T03:14:00.000-08:00

Hi Meg,

Yes, I also received a letter from one bartelby schrivener mobonuga,
financial exchequer of the belgian ist national bank in Lagos where
funds
are secreted for one Narimbo Danatarr of whom i am told from whom I
have
utterly no pun intended decended. so be it. I am to act as a
facilitator in
abeyance and absentee exchequer for transmittal electronically to my
bank of
the tidy sum of 3 million nachorenias, nigerian money printed in lagos
before BEFORE 1989 and therefor inflation proof . huzza, shit such
wealth
and tomorrow or mwhen ever it arrives I will go out a buy some friends.

back from east coast and worn down a lot of difficulty with this
account and
smarmie attitude from chaos management neus zeigeist wannabees. thenold
game
of young bucks with computers whippin up on old drivers. If we stop the
wheels turning this beaucoup account goes under so they eat at the
edges of
our reality and I unfortunately am spending afar too much time thinking
about getting even. but that's fred. maturity takes more energy than I
want
to expend. or arriving at maturity, but then trucks go over hills and
mountains at 65 mph and with 10 speeds and all the truckin' bozo's are
into
550 CAT's and 13 apeeds and 74 mph whatever. I am about two miles an
hour
faster than some of rest of swtr drivers so I am having fun.

letter from pat Connor at WVU press sez they aren';t considering any
new
writers there in posey or poetry as demand is down quite a bit . I am
encouraged he liked my work I sent last year so i will have to get a
secnd
edition of radio room out sans Joe dong mao references and w' a
stronger
edit. may ghost press it and print and read aroundplaces when I get
time and
sell a little.haven't made it to NYC Open City at all and I am in
Newark
during the days but tied up loading. I will try tomorrow to look up
Open
City press. a viable readers market and tied in with other small
presses in
and around NYC, very viable and may be a home for you? I will get
together
some stuff on City Lights in Berkerly as that may be the only press I
can
feel comfortable with. theyare heavy on local presence and who has
spent
time there in Azuza street , paid their dues,and all the local stuff
but
they might be interested in what I have. will be february before I can
mount
an attack. are U counting the daze unti dismebarkation? fromm the great
desert ship Bisbee? Get me a French national passport and I will come
and
help you clean up and rebuild?

heap o' affection,

Fred

Fred:

Ah yes there it is and they are so beayootiful aren't they, one has to open them up for a while for the wonder potential. Glad to hear you'll have the ghosts do the printing for you but do they know how to read, can they fly? You Fred and sometimes I know all about the flying...on and on but when I mentioned it to the two babies in my care, they seemed not to remember that they could fly. Why do human beings do that you know, forget how to fly in their dreams? Is it because they forget about the abstraction of merely being awake or they just don't know how to say it? Once they learn how to say it they keep it to themselves, the babies. It is a dream of escape really but no one knows the difference anymore...they know it, the kids. One is only one year thus and the other a bit further along the way....we go to the parks to use our mouth parts to taste the swings. Hopefully, they will remember their great aunt Meggie as the one who would swing when they refused. Too much risk of going away completely forever to the sky.
The worst of it is, they will have been validated in their beliefs when I finally do swing away forever. They will remember it that way and then she will somewhere be and not come. Never. For now we just go in between spells and eat from the same bowls and fall on the same stairs. For now.

Tomorrow, it is to the great Bahia Kino with Radi Ann Porter at the helm. We've got the castle all folded together, full of cords and tarps, shovels and pesto.
One week on her favorite beach where she has always wanted to share with us there, the water. She thinks it belongs to her and is so tired of the individual partaking of it....so we go. With cameras and books...for me it is the Cantos, Gravity's Rainbow and the Quran. Cannot go without that you know and the rugs so that I can pray to the Creator near the Mexican sea that he left there for Radi. Saying, here it is...enjoy it for a while. Two dogs will be our gargoyles for the federales and gypsies. My mate is so very jealous of it all as he is stuck in the prison of Riyadh but I told him I'd miss him more because he is less there than he is here. At least here he has a voice on the phone or a smiley on the internet, but there he is just a constant dream and reminder to protect them. Protect them all he says to me as if I am some kind of demon warning system (he knows that I am). The demons down there though are afraid of the Virgin of Magdalena and those in Santa Ana. I cannot wait to be there again in the dusty gas and a taco towns of Sonora. Only Sonora but is there really anything beyond Sonora? You fall to sleep and cannot leave the state of it. That is what the beach is for Radi tells me..for the sleeping. The eating is only for the continuity of the sleeping. At least there we are closer to our hopes of one day seeing the Aztecs. This, we have promised to do if death does not intervene with one of us...and doing these things at our age has become a terminal diagnosis...maybe this will be the last time. We always think of that and then remember the swings that swing aunties away forever. We live in a countdown you know. The darkest star on the brink of radiation over a graveyard of the living...from that short on the view from 16th. Did I tell you?

I live in a Masonic house. Oh it is like driving into a mausoleum...two obelisks at the foot of the driveway...must have been a very big boss indeed to put on such airs. I wonder what kind of sacrifices were practiced here in this house you know, what meetings and organizational endeavors...you see? How the ratings of dingdong have gone down? Nothing is left to say without a confirmation from me that the missive was received. A complete blank save for the few stragglers there hoping he can muster an army against me. I left the Death of Merat taken by Radi Ann on the door and said, see here? Oh..I know the artworks and have seen the paintings in the Louvre ...the Degas are my favorite...his sketches on the corners of his backstages. And I've seen the horses with human faces in the Topkapi. I know what they were saying. They said, you know what we are saying. Simple messages. Things aren't as complicated as they seem you know but there goes the inherent complications...a man named Curtis Faville...somehow famous and I don't really know how..some books perhaps on criticism and then he called me babe. Oh no. Do not call me such a thing and complain about the Tehranians who have banned the Da Vinci Code (which he called an embarrassment when I told him it was not about the sex and murder but what you call, a trade embargo of the highest order..the slap in the face of your dignity kind of thing when the Tehranians say: we do not need to learn how to kill kids in math class you know...we already have had enough of the real deal..you brought it to us, remember)....I might stop by and tell him a thing or two before I do the Up and Adam type of things with the kids in a few hours...drag their drowsy selves out of bed so that we can gettyup and go with Radi Ann to the Sonora...who wants to stop off for some home made lunch at a place she has already earmarked for success. We'll have our cameras and there will be no option but for some picture TAKING. You have to be fast when you steal those or they'll get you, the ghosts. The demons will persue you all the way down to the shores.

All for now...I'll write you from there if I can...she says they have a dinghy internet shop there in Kino just like back home in Haris where we used to sit for hours on lazy Saturdays and swat at the flies in order to read what must be read: the mail.

Meg

View From 16th

2006-11-16T11:03:00.000-08:00

There is a sense of not wanting to be here on 16th and Center, address 319 North, some awful transposition of 19 squared there, in the Masonic house. Two small, concrete obelisks are on either side of the driveway and it ought to be pleasant to look out onto the hills from the large, clean windows of this house, the natural hills and those which are man-made and called slag; the way the sun and the iron play off of each other to create lavender vistas all around is very lovely. There isn't though any solace in the view or on the roofs of so many quaint houses staggered around the smallish valley nor any charm in the massive structure sitting directly across from here just under a natural incline where the cliffs contain whole dynasties of evolution in fossils. It is right at the base of dump number seven. That would be the old hospital which is now a boarding house for the indigent and elderly. It is a handsome building, particularly in the afternoon when the light sculpts the art deco facades into crisp shapes. The place is charming the way things like that are, irresistable to people not used to the less than Byzantine. It is mostly brick and wood laid against timber, all quite flammable and impermanent. The only solid structures in sight are the several frames of shaft elevators that dot the hills in seemingly arbitrary places that mark areas where minerals are easy to find and extract by those who, in the past descended to mine the rock walls for a variety of things like copper and silver and sometimes, a bit of gold. It ought to be pleasant, but it isn't.

The best part of being in a catastrophe is actually being in one. There is nothing anyone can really say about that sort of thing, there is no choice within the boundaries of it, no conclusions and nothing which resembles remorse. It just is. It is a case that one does what one is compelled to do and that would be, to move along with it as if in a river, just glide along and look at things as they pass by or remain motionless at various points along the way.

Waking up in a large hall prepared in advance for the arrival of so many souls (on the run) after one has slept what seemed like several lifetimes contained in a few seconds, is the material of which epiphanies are made, the kind of thing a person only gets to do once, like everything else in the scheme of things. Ship load after ship load, ours was the fourteenth wave. When a person arrives in such a hall, the rest have already disappeared to wherever it is they ship people like us, refugees. There are lines and lines of open cots with one blanket each and a brand new pillow depending on the invasion and the invader. In this particular case, it could be said of it, "it was well appointed". There are boxes full of food and the essentials, foot powder and sanitary napkins and one bathroom with three stalls and three sinks for the women and probably, about the same for the men. It is an exhibition hall on the Turkish side of the island. It is prearranged for cataclysm.

I lay down after spending several hours settling in to the camp by organizing and reorganizing my few possessions but could not sleep because I was still bleeding and felt unclean. I didn't want to shower out in the open with the other women. The children were sleeping on and off and our traveling companions with whom we had left the city two days before were actively moving about and making phone calls to Kabul and Boston. They seemed very busy. Jessica, the mother, was worried about her diet, she could not be around people who had eaten carbohydrates within the previous 24 hours, it was very important to her that we respect this. We had no phone though and there wasn't really anything any of us wanted to say, my children and I, to anyone we knew. We felt very far away, so far that no phone could ever span the distance we felt.

Night began to fall and the hall was still empty. The few stragglers from the boat before ours had departed at one, just after we arrived. We were absolutely alone with thousands of empty cots and all sorts of personal expectations that we knew could never be fufilled. We did not know how we felt yet, not really and somehow, I knew we wouldn't really know how we would feel for a very long time to come. Perhaps forever. We might never recover, I knew that much but also knew that recovery isn't always the best thing if it means there isn't a lesson learned or a price paid. We were paying dearly for something but didn't quite understand what or when the debt we had incurred would finally be paid in full. The numbness was profound.

I spent a few hours walking around the fairgrounds looking for others like myself or those even worse off, those in shock or perhaps even ill. I looked for tears and slouching and found a woman on a bench sitting all alone. I tried to comfort her with talk of God and she appreciated it even though we were of different sects entirely, whole different ballparks of understanding about our status and the cause of the invasion. The woman sobbed as we compared what we'd seen so far and how we feared what else it might be that we would see. She spoke of the sister she'd left behind. It was a kind of sad excitement that allowed the closeness to exist between us for nearly a half hour. I finally got up, held her her for a moment and said goodbye to her. I can remember her face as one of average intellect, average sadness and a complete sense of loss and frustration that aggravated the tiny lines around her eyes. Her face was already anemic from several days living under seige in the south of our country. She could have been a woman in a painting.

When I returned to the hall, everyone in my group, my children and my friend and her two daughters were already asleep or resting with their eyes half closed. No one seemed to have anything left to say even though we'd not spoken more than a few words to each other since the early afternoon. I hadn't slept for nearly a week. The last time I had slept I awoke to a thunderous explosion above our building which lit the sky like a match suddenly lights a dark room. No one moved or said anything as I prepared to lay down, not even a goodnight let alone, an I love you. Then I fell without even a pause to observe my last deep sigh into a dark and immense sleep.

I woke up suddenly but without being startled or disoriented. I had no idea how much time had passed but if time were to be measured as change it must have been years that I had slept because what I saw as I opened my eyes was a world which had completely changed.

The cavernous hall which had been so empty was now filled, every cot in it had a sleeping body there and some held two. None of them moved. I cannot imagine how they settled so close to us in such silence, the way an army of butterflies must arrive in a tree. Thousands more had arrived in those hours or moments of sleep of which I have no real record to refer to. They appeared to be dead rather than exhausted. There was only one soldier walking out of the hall who looked back over his shoulder briefly before disappearing and I sat alone looking over the great event horizon. I sat and waited for things to begin moving again, I was frozen in pain and wonder at the company of souls in which I was immersed as if in the clearest water on the highest mountain, a place where no one had ever been before or would ever go again. Here it was at last, Nirvana, wildly unstable and utterly somnolent. The darkest star on the brink of radiation over a graveyard of the living.

The two obelisks mark the driveway but I do not want to know what they mean. I only know that I exist on the corner of 16th and Central, 319 North.

Chapter from This Purgatory

2006-11-13T05:01:00.000-08:00

Her mother noticed the vague intensity Sally expressed in the diner. As a mother leaning slightly toward the east in those days, it was quite difficult to manage a smile for her own daughter. A fight erupted over the tardiness of the waiter and she said, "He is such a loser." This caused Sally to launch into one of her popular digressions about being thankful for being in a diner and awaiting a bit of food.

"Oh for crying out loud Sally," was all her mother could say. For crying out loud. How does one explain to a Sally what is going on in the late night of a diner except in a story and so she did. She began:

"You know, I used to work in one of these, they're awful..." as if the children hadn't heard it ten times before or a hundred. "Your father would be feeding you as I left and my heart would just sink. In fact, I paid for your sister's homebirth by collecting just the coins in a coffee can. I saved all my coin tips and paid for the midwife myself because really, he wanted nothing to do with it all...before you were born that is," Ruth added in a conscientious way.

Sally just pursed her lips tighter and kept looking around, not realizing that she was even worse off than her mother who knew what it was all about now. Kids always think they know so much.

"But you know, it was also one of the best times in my life. I met people in the diner. All those old guys at the counter and Ultra, who thought he was Jesus. He didn't say so but it was pretty obvious that he looked like him and anyways, he didn't talk alot."

Still, Sally didn't budge. She felt sorry for the waiter. Her mother kept an uneasy eye on the food window and felt certain that their order was just sitting there and getting cold. Oddly enough, she didn't usually care this much about a slow order but for some reason, this time, she did. She didn't want her children to suffer so much. She'd been watching too much news and for crying out loud, had even ordered a collection of Carol Burnett shows from an early morning advertisement there. She just wanted a little "pick me up" as in the way her own mother used to "put on her face" to go out back in the old days when her mother was actually alive.

Ruth was born weighing only five pounds and was put directly into an icubator. This fact somehow made her feel very special throughout her life but she didn't think about it often, just once or twice in twenty years but when she thought of it, Ruth's special nature just seemed to crystalize completely in her own mind. I was in an incubator! Like an egg, like a very precious egg. The reason she was such a lightweight however was because her mom was such a heavy smoker and the fact was in one of her most coveted photographs in which her mother sat slouched and very pregnant on the tattered couch with a menthol held delicately between the tips of her fingers. She'd tried to abort Ruth with a certain drug that gave Ruth cervical problems when she was only fifteen but always held that she had taken it to prevent another stillbirth. Her mother had had two of them and would talk about those once in a while. The only one Ruth really remembered though was the one that fell out at the breakfast table, a little boy. She had lost two brothers! And one of them literally fell out at the breakfast table and for whatever reason, Ruth believed it happened in a diner. It provided so much evidence to Ruth that, yes, she was supposed to be born and yes, she was very, very special.

When the food finally arrived, Josh the waiter begged the pardon of his “clients” as Ruth liked to think of herself when in any service situation, obviously worried about his tip in light of the fact that he’d read Ruth’s look as well as Ruth had read Sally’s and Sally had read her mother’s. Sally’s brother Joseph hadn’t really said a thing about it all because he was just trapped, entirely trapped by two females whom he knew only too well, or so he thought. His mother contemplated the irony of their relationships as all mothers do and often told him, “You were in my uterus you know, I know everything about you.”

Sally still looked distressed. She said, “This place is so scary.”

“There you go again! What do you want me to do about it Sally?” Ruth couldn’t explain what she knew, it was entirely too frightening to let on what it was she knew very well. Sally got even more agitated and pursed her lips even tighter and barely touched the food which looked quite delicious to Ruth who had ordered her usual eggs and biscuits instead of what she really wanted.

“Do you want some mom?” Sally couldn’t resist making a point of offering it to her mom.

“Oh no sweetie, you eat it. If there’s any left I’ll take a bite later.” Ruth’s eggs drooped in front of her on her plate and she slid them around in a puddle of fat, they were half done and the hashed browns were a sorry sight. The biscuit was pretty good and she used it to sop up the luke warm watery eggs. Joseph shoved his food down as fast as usual and Ruth couldn’t help but notice he didn’t know how to cut his baked potato so that he could eat it without messing around with the peel.

“You do it like this son,” she said in a matter of fact tone. He rolled his eyes and just looked helpless. “Your fingers are too long you know, it isn’t really your fault,” and she tried to make him laugh but it wasn’t really very funny. He’d heard it so many times before and pretty much, resented it.

“Oh well, what can I say?” was the only thing she could think of to make it all better, this situation in a cruddy diner in a city that existed mainly to serve the needs of the US military. Everyone in the diner looked the same and outside, just about every car had a bumper sticker on it with the American Flag.

Ruth thought once again how hard it is to live in purgatory without being able to tell anyone about it. It was her secret although she knew that there were others who knew it too. People like Ultra who instead of talking, just imitated and tried to look real.

Chapter One

2006-11-09T01:18:00.000-08:00

"Nothing in Clouds Hill is to be a care upon the world. While I have it there shall be nothing exquiste or unique in it. Nothing to anchor me." T.E. Lawrence

It is true that most stories end right where they began. They wouldn't be stories otherwise. I had just received what I thought to be Lanny's last letter. Lanny and I had been writing to one another for years but it seemed something had changed. Even he couldn't understand what it was I was trying to say about things but I sent my response along anyways hoping that he would choose the right thing and remember the advice.

This is the last thing I think I ever said to Lanny whom I often called doogs. Doogs was his dog that had perished before I ever met any of the men on Cloud's Hill.

I was his one motivation and he, was mine.

To Mr. Lanny Muss:

Oh, if there is ONE person in the world that I get a
letter from and am not surprised but delighted, it is
doogs. Thank you doogs. You know, it wouldn't be a
birthday without one!

We are fine here....we have food and water and a DOG!
A wonderful mutt without a name. We cannot find a
name for the poor guy. A pitbull mix, a just add
water kind of dog that may not beg and roll over but
knows where his bed is and when to be exceptionally
kind to us.

Truth be told however, we are in a miserable state but
opt not to talk too much about where are hearts are
right now and instead rely on the position of our
minds. One needs a good mind to digest it all right
now and plan ahead, so to speak.

As far as the literature is concerned, there was a
terrible yet miraculous falling out of friendships
only weeks before the Great Event which we witnessed.
One of the lesser compatriots in the group took it
upon himself to ask a question of me i.e. what do you
mean by this Zionism? Oh and then he vocalized such
miserably shallow contempt for folks "like me". And
who is like me doogs? I'm sure there are many who see
things as they are instead of how they want them to
be. Some of us learned the truth in various ways and
others learned in various other ways. Some of us were
shown the truth in our dreams and the truth was:

you have it now, go out and do not stand down unless
you are too tired to fight anymore and even then, just
remember to hang onto yourself until the bleeding and
killing stop. Try not to lose consciousness during
the battles raging all around you.

When at first the question was asked, I did what I
know to do and bracketed the contemplation in basic
truths about the "God-ness" of the situation scholars
of the sect like me know so well: There is no
coercion in religion. When we choose to ignore that
it can only be the greatest risk and nothing less, to
say what must be said. We have ways of knowing and
seeing things that are "all the way" not just part.
Someone once said, "It is not the almost good Quran or
the partly correct Quran, it is the Glorious Quran."
Can it be that there are still those who do not
understand the forked road down which that leads?
Those that do not comprehend that every kind of malice
and every kind of benefit is described within that
text and in some places outside of it? The road down
which that leads is certainly haunted by demons that
cannot be described except to those who have at least
seen the road from a fairly close distance let alone,
traversed it. Some of those know what is being warned
of but others just prefer to paint the demons on the
roads below, their own color. There are other roads
of course but the view is not quite as majestic from
those several paths that criss cross beneath our own.
And when a person gets far enough down the second of
the forked paths, they start to lose contact with the
others who know that one person has chosen that hard
path with certain knowledge about the path (unlike the
very lucky travelers who never considered another road
ever..those are the lucky ones). They, those below,
are on their own paths but do not understand the
weariness of the other paths nor do they comprehend
the junctures at which the other roads pass under our
own. Worse, they resent the flighty calls we use to
remind them as if we mimic the call of certain birds.
They often say to others, "those 'up there' are
obviously insane to be making such noises".

We have become many on this majestic path...although
some of the travelers here are not so judicious in
their warnings and others hoping to either keep the
peace or at least, describe what peace might look like
lose the ability to remain patient. It doesn't
resemble what most people think. It, "the peace"
looks more like determination and less like simple
giving up and submission to faulty human desires:
fame, wealth, love.

There is a point on our road that has a sign that is
very clear, This Way Out. No one however that has not
seen that sign in particular believes that it is
there! I've seen the sign with my own eyes and heard
the creak of it (the winds here are harsh and have
voice) with my own ears. I physically lifted those I
could to the level of seeing it as well, dragged their
little bodies and minds up by force and am exhausted
from that activity and the activity of keeping them
there as if held by the finest threads of a spider's
web...this is parenthood and wifehood. The rest I
cannot drag nor hang onto but I did attempt to once,
just a few months ago. Those compatriots were almost
there or at least, one of them was or maybe two. Then
it (a mysterious stack of cards) all fell down because
one of their own path guides took issue with my
leadership and perpetrated a mutiny, a mutiny I had
seen in his eyes for a very long time. I caught him
in his mutinous deed and what does one do when at that
particular point in time but show one's sword? I
asked, Do you like it?

It is sharp and very. It cuts and does not make
hostages. Hostages I am not able to sequester or
return if need be.

I believe that when one shows that sword then there is
no option but to cut the ties, the very thin ties one
has weaved with one's own hand. There is one final
moment however, when the followers can choose either
way, to hang onto what they have been so desirous of
seeing by the second hand logic of description or
else, they can let go and allow their feet to fall
back onto the old road thinking that the old road is
still what the old road was. It isn't! It is a
vaporous road, ancient and changeable anymore but
looks solid to the untrained eye. What can I do to
describe to them the nature the old road and its
destructions and brilliantly reconstructed bridges and
landmarks? The landmarks there look almost real but
they are only copies carved out of memory, from books
and ideas. In fact, they have their own illusions
about the illusions and will swear to one of us that
they know the brilliancy of illusions. Everytime one
of these cautious followers reaches one of the fine
statuaries on those old roads they feel cheated even
though they once again, swear they know they were
going to be cheated by the fake marble. It is then
that they start shouting at us above (whom they cannot
see but know we are there still calling to them about
the looks of things)...they shout about our deeds as
if our deeds were recriminations or violations
which...well...they were but we told them so, we told
them that if you choose to ask deeply of certain
things, you will get an answer and you will be forced
to make a decision.

We are told about these violations..this act of
telling the others, describing to the others the
majesty we are seeing. They begin to hate us after we
cut the ties even though they chose to take that old
path. That old path that leads to the weary
conclusion that the road was rebuilt by those who use
roads for robbery rather than travel. That road below
is just chock full of demons that look fairly smart
and clean, less alarming. The demons up here are not
so devious because they know what we know and they
know where we also go....with them. They wear their
own clothes and you cannot mistake them for anything
but what they are. Our demons travel with us together
and know what we know. I say it once again but
differently this time. We know that when we have
reached the sign This Way Out that we also know who
helped us to get there and who helped them, in fact,
who posted them there. It is as if our demons, the
obvious ones are put there merely to keep us busy or
fatigued. When we reach the door, we know without any
doubt what was told us, was told to us clearly. We
understand the questions on the other side of the door
will consist of very important details of which only
the text provides the answer. I'll tell you what it
is doogs, the answer so that when you get to the door
and move beyond it...you will have the proper
response.

It will be asked:

Who were your helpers?

You are to say:

I thought it was this one. You are not to say, "I
didn't have any." This is an obvious lie, I must just
say it to you directly. It is an obvious lie. There
is no passage through that door without certain kinds
of help and we all make it through that door
regardless of what path we took to get there.

The next question will be:

Where are your helpers now?

You are to say something like:

They are no where to be found, they were false or they
were a bit of trickery, we may have believed them for
whatever reason but we do not deny now what their role
was.

Then, you will be asked:

Who is your helper now?

You are to say:

Allah. There is only one Allah. You are the one who
posted the demons as guardians of many things and
caretakers of even more. (You must know that some
demons can be seen right now, inside...they whip and
torture some so obviously that you can literally see
their heads warp from the blows or see them scurry
away under the thrust of the demonic whips...like my
poorest brother John..last time I saw him, he was
being whipped sorely by one of these shaitans...not
clear whether the shaitan was whipping him for his
failure to bother me on "his advice" or whether it is
just one of the tedious Shaitan that knows he has one
soul and just lazily whips away like a person who
whips a half dead horse).

You might then be asked to question one of the demons
or perhaps even one of the more pleasant looking
pretenders. And I know what any of those false
helpers will say.

They will say:

We didn't ask you to follow us did we? We follow
Allah also. We never told you to take our advice, you
only took it because of your disillusionment.

Oh sure..they are cunning little fellows on THIS side
of the door but inside the door they are merely doing
what it is they were told to do. And to state the
obvious.

Allah does not leave any one without supervision if
they so choose. And most certainly, Allah created the
demons as well (which is a fine point of contention on
the other paths but not ours). We know that no thing
or place or road was left without guardians of the
highest order: angels. All sorts. Of death and more
importantly, the greatest one of all, Iblis. We do
not bow to him but respect his position. We do not
follow his advice but know what purpose to which his
advice serves. Ah! It serves as a rejoinder on the
other side of the door, a final proof. Perhaps a very
painful one for some. A horrid one. One that will
make anything more than that unimaginable. Especially
if they have been shown a sword from one of us. They
will remember that sword in the worst way. The sword
that they basically asked us to show to them, to check
in some way, "our seriousness".

And still...I am not through that door...all I can do
is wait where I am. Hold onto what it is I know I've
pulled up and just stand, dig in. Dig my heels
literally into the path there. All the while I must
watch some very terrible things all around. Majestic
is what majestic is. Like any mountain described
accordingly it is a landscape of sharp edges, huge
drops and dark crevices. Beautiful isn't a descriptor
there. Unless you say, Terrible Beauty. It is a
terrible kind of beauty. Sometimes, it scares me.
Luckily though, those that were already by the door
remind me that all is normal. This stuff is normal,
get used to it for now. It won't last too long but it
might seem so.

All for now doogs. Thank you for my birthday present
which is not only a greeting but an invitation to
digress on these sorts of things for whatever reason
one does that.

No swords for you.

M

Ma'jnoon'ah

2006-11-09T01:10:00.000-08:00