On the call for shariah

A great article by Abu Eesa Niamatullah. Excerpts:

From the onset, one must understand that the Sharī‘ah is part of Islam but Islam is not just Sharī‘ah. There is no doubting its importance with respect to the absolute application of the divine Will of God on Earth, but this is only one aspect of Islam and certainly not the “be-all and end-all” – many people spend their entire efforts on implementing the Law on everyone else whereas the Qur’ānic narrative clearly prioritises the self first and then the rest of the community based on one’s ability.

And it is ability which is the key concept missing from the methodology of our brothers and sisters when we witness their attempts to establish Sharī‘ah at all costs. Many people talk about its establishment (theoretically here in the West) and more practically in the Muslim lands yet it is beyond their capacity to do it in their respective societies. The question must be asked why become busy with that which cannot be done whilst neglecting that which can be done, such as studying the religion deeply, giving da‘wah, working on ones conduct and manners etc as opposed to getting involved in that which is not their priority?

potato chicken leek

dunno why but felt like banging on the keyboard tonight. Probably nonsense so best click away now.

Last chance.



There is something calming in watching steam filter out from under a pot's lid. Especially when it's a glass lid, the rhythm of vapour, condensation and liquid repeated over and over again. Time ceases to be units of seconds or minutes or hours, but you know its time to turn the chicken when steam starts to spill out from the sides of the lid.

Cooking like ironing turns out to be quite the philosophical task. If ironing teaches you that any crease like any problem in this world can be straightened out with patience and pressure, cooking, on the other hand, reminds the person that though things might not seem to fit outright, but with enough persuasion, you may end up with something beautiful. Different ingredients with different properties end up contributing their different qualities to create a wonderful new taste, colour, smell, look.

Good food however cannot be rushed, patience must always be observed, no matter how hungry, how much the stomach growls for food. The fire should remain at medium. The chicken needs more time. The fish's almost done. The tomato can't take it anymore.

Of course you could just get instant something from the store, but then the metaphor ceases to function. There is no instant life from the local grocer. But you can get the different ingredients, you may already have some. And everyone has a recipe to share.

Whoa. Good thing dishes are just a painful task.

Why comments are such goldmines/minefields

Came across this while trawling through Youtube:

Alphamain
Masa sekolah dulu, gua dan rakan2 pecah pintu stadium untuk tengok konsert Sweet Charity - Rock beb. Itu dulu, sekarang gua ada anak tujuh dan 2 bini..Rock beb. Meleleh lu dengar kisah hidup gua...panjang lagi ceritanya...

This was of course from this Sweet Charity video.