emel

The One Where Adnan Says Goodbye!

In the Name of Allah, the Owner of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy.

As-salaamu 'alaykum, dear Diary.

I don't want to say it but, your time has come to an end. A year has passed and it's time to open a new Diary.

If you want to read it, click here, Diary. Don't get jealous. I'll always treasure you.

Wa-s salaam.

The One With The Enema

In the Name Of Allah, the Owner of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy.

As-salaamu 'alaykum, dear Diary.

Now that the umpteenth person here at the station has asked me to pass a message on to someone in a different department, when they are more than capable of either (a) phoning the relevant person or (b) writing them a note and sticking it in their in-tray, it came to my mind to note the following characteristics of the pakis that inhabit the station. I believe they are indicative of all of them out there that don't usually interact with any other culture, except on a superficial level. Here goes:

1. They cannot be arsed writing things down and wherever possible will get you to take responsibility for things whch are really their sole responsibility: they like you to own their actions (which may explain why some of them have the deluded idea that you can give the rewards for your deeds to dead people in their graves).
2. EVERYONE likes to be in charge - over the English people (sorry - person).
3. They enjoy minding your business, even though you don't know them from Adam: there are apparently no bounds, with your marriage and personal, family relations free territory. Ths leads to point 4:
4. They are far TOO familiar.

How many more negative things are there to add to the list? Do these people have NO good qualities? Watch this space, dear Diary!

Wa-s salaam.

The One With The Aching

In the Name of Allah, the Owner of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy

As-salaamu 'alaykum, dear Diary.

Well, yesterday, my joints were aching and I eventually crashed out on the radio station admin floor: you guessed it - a virus managed to get me! Anyway, after a good amount of time on the admin floor, I went with Rasin to Tesco's about 0000h and picked up some honey, paracetamol and ibuprofen. Also, I had to make du'aa for MYSELF, as nobody else does. Du'aas are apparently out of fashion.

They've made Tescobogs lots bigger down at the bottom of Bradistan city centre: it now take up the place where Fads DIY used to be, so it's absolutely HUGE. In fact, it was soooo big, it didn't like it one bit: I mean, who buys all this stuff? The wastage must be enormous. It's obscene to even think about it!. And you have to go to the where the clothing section is to get medicines(??).... weird...

Anyway, there was a strange point during our wander among the aisles, when I had balanced a jar of honey on top of a tub of Hagen Daz (carefully, but precariously, I thought), when the honey jar slipped off the ice cream tub... it was like it was happening in slow motion: I just looked at the jar as it fell, with the feeling that it would smash on the supermarket floor, almost certain it wouldn't bounce or anything like that, and then there was the disbelief when it actually did smash... anyway, we had to go back to aisle 5 and on our way back from the other side of beyond, where the clothes are kept, a store assistant was being instructed to clean it up.

When I got home, I put about half a mug of the honey into a mug of decaf tea and drank it all down.

I'm feeling heaps better, now, al-hamdu lillah.

On a slightly different note, and before I sign off for the moment, I was very pleased when looking at the serach terms used to access you, Diary. They seem to indicate that Google (and even, dare I say it, MSN search) are doing their jobs, by directing people to me, using unobscure, realistic search terms:

10/26/05 14:23:16 "blogging: an islamic perspective" (Google)
10/26/05 10:55:31 "environmental health officer" (Google)
10/26/05 01:07:44 Always Your Adnan (Google)
10/25/05 20:20:52 Ramadan Radio (MSN)
10/22/05 13:45:09 adnan (MSN)

Bavarian Wood Exports down at 3.

Salaams and brothely regards as I sign off from the Radio Ramadan admin internet PC.

26 Oct 05: Words From Your Friends

Allah (az-za wa-j jal Al-'Aleey Al-Otheem Al-Kabeeyr As-Salaam Al-Khaabid Ar-Raz-zaaq Al-Khaaliq Al-Aw-wal As-Sam'eey):
- Who tells who? (35:14)
- The greater creation (40:57)
- Have some hunility (21:30)

The Prophet (soll Allahu 'alayhi wa sal-lam): "Poverty for those among you who love me comes quicker than a flood from the top of the mountain to the bottom." (Love for the Prophet Muhammad, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, manifests itself in many ways. One will prefer what the Prophet came with, over his own desires. His anger against people will be for the sake of Allah. He will mention the Prophet often. He will have a yearning to meet him. He will exalt and respect him and be humble when he hears his name mentioned. He will have love for the Qur'an, which the Prophet brought. He will have compassion for his community, striving for their best interests. And another sign for love of the Prophet, sallalahu allahe wa salam, is that he who aspires to it, does without in this world and prefers poverty. (Islamic Awakening)

26 Oct 05: Your Haiku For Today

SPubs

Disbeliever..! Innovator...!
.............Deviant!:
If you're not one of us

26 Oct 05: What ever happened to...?

Abdullah Preston Cohen...?

The One With The Chicken Leg

In the Name of Allah, the Owner of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy.

As-salaamu ‘alaykum dear Diary.

Ziad has just come into the station to check for leaks from the ceiling. He says if there are any, he will be shouting at the contractor, subhaan Allah.

I have had enough of Creepy Vines and have made istikhaarah to leave; the work-related stress is just too much and today was the cherry on the top of the cake. I have just phoned in sick with the reason that I’m not feeling well (which I mentally am not). I had been written up for a 0800-2100 shift tomorrow but I just won’t be able to face it. I’ll probably go and get a sick note from the doctor for work related stress (induced by three females ganging up in me in an office and doing a sort-of “kangaroo court” thingy).

My reflections during and shortly afterwards the inquisition were that Allah was testing me, as he only tests the people whom he loves. Also, there is only a certain amount of time people with greatly differing levels of faith can remain in the same space, before ‘something has to give’. Also, the easiest form of defence is attack; only for weak people, in my opinion.

I need to move on. I just wish I could find a job where I was working with mostly people of the same level of faith as me. With all the will the world, I find that employment buzz words such as “equal opportunities” only seem to work or applicable if you behave exactly as the people around you (i.e. break the rules, treat people like dirt, live a life with no belief in God or feeling free from worshipping him), or fit their perceptions of normality. Any challenges, and you’re out.

A recurring theme – ah, well, this is life for a Mole in a mixed-up society!

Another recurring theme (which I wouldn’t have had to retype if Bill Gates’ Microsoft Word and Microsoft Windows XP had come up with the goods) was regarding my thoughts on why I eat alone even when the guys invite me into the guest area:

1. When I come to the studio, my mind is on work. When I have my mind on work, my mind and body reject the idea of food: take El Gringo’s, for example – wall-to-wall pizza but I just don’t have an appetite: so I try to eat before I go there.

2. I have lived on my own for five years: I am used to my own routines and am a bit of an old dog that you can’t easily teach new tricks to.

3. I am English and by culture, individualistic: for example, one thing which is extremely irritating and strange to me is when I am eating with someone and they put some food morsel in front of me or onto my plate/ part of the plate. They think it's being charitable: I think, "Don't they want that? Why are they giving it to me???" (ho ho).

4. As my wife lives over three thousand miles away, any social activity makes me feel curiously (and not consciously) more and more increasingly lonely and depressed, the longer I have to take part in the activity.

5. By nature, I am shy and retiring and very happy with my own company. I have always been like this.

There seems to have been a constant clash of cultures since I entered the station: it's interesting, as you wouldn't know at first glances (people look pretty much the same wherever you go - two arms, two legs, etc.) that this great difference existed. Mmm. Anyway, onto lighter "comic relief-type" matters....

- AliBhaiSonic just offered me a fairy cake: I had to remind him that fairy cakes are for *** fairies *** only.

-I was just relating the situation from Creepy Vines the other day to SmoothieSufi and “SufiGifts” about when a chicken leg dropped from the sky, and my theory as to where it came from (not the people living in the upstairs flat, as they weren't apparently cooking chicken that day).

Anyway, that’s all for today; my eyes are red, my ears are aching and SmoothieSufi is ranting in my ear, as I type.

Bavarian Wood Exports up at 8, al hamdu lillah.

Adnan signing out.

Wa-s salaam.

25 Oct 05: Words From Your Friends

Allah (az-za waj-jal Al-'Azeez Al-Kareeym Al-Jab-baar Al-'Aleey Al-'Odheem): Allah's throne is a physical thing (39:75)
The Prophet (soll Allahu 'alayhi wa sal-lam): The majority of hellfire is made up of women

25 Oct 05: What ever happened to...?

Ibrahim El-Beltagi?

The One With The Leakage

In the Name of Allah, the Owner of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy.

As-salaamu 'alaykum, dear Diary.

I found this today while searching through you on Google. What does it mean???

Adnan signing out.

Wa-s salaam.

24 Oct 05: Your Haiku For Today

Tea Leaves!

Oh Allah - cut off their hand
However you wish:
Someone stole something.

24 Oct 05: Your Links For Today

Don't know what to do? Need some direction? Make istikaarah?
Bush and Blair: My Love. (video)

24 Oct 05: What ever happened to...?

What ever happened to Ali Laing?

23 Oct 05: Your Haiku For Today

Obstinacy!

Narrow sighted people
See obstacles in their path:
They don't remove them.

The One With The Always

In the Name of Allah, the Owner of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy.

As-salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullaah, dear Diary.

I have had a few individuals exhibit acute rudeness, during my stay at the radio station. It all leads me to believe that they are very ignorant with regards to Islamic manners. I have seen very good examples of what is NOT Islam (i.e. submission to the will of the Creator), from an old man being extremely impertinent on a number of occasions, to someone being overbearingingly helpful (at sometimes inappropriate moments), to someone who was very impertinent when I wouldn't eat food with him, to someone who showed the utmost arrogance and indifference to me, to someone who displayed wilful ignorance and other such behaviours.

I see this all as weakness of faith and character.

"...we've shamed ourselves, we've strayed from Al-Mu'al-lim (The Teacher - Muhammad, soll Allahu 'alayhi wa sal-lam)" (Line from lyrics of track by Sami Yusuf)...

One of them (a presenter) was actually playing the above track - its a shame he falls into the category of those mentioned.

My excuse for these people is they come from backgrounds where it is difficult to see Islam (pertaining to Islam as a whole) practiced purely free from un-Islamic cultural influences.

As I was explaining to SmoothieSufi the other day, although people don't realise it, every time I do anything, I think of pleasing Allah and then go through a series of evidences in my head to check if it is something which Allah has sanctioned in Islam.

I have come to the conclusion to varying degrees of awareness until this entry, dear Diary, that
nobody is aware of this and that they think I am just worshipping Allah when they can see me do outward actions associated with Islam (i.e. prayer, fasting etc.). I say this because I have noticed how nice and sensitive people become when talking to me about these issues, while the rest of the time, they can be quite nasty and horrid.

There is nothing that I consciously do without knowing whether Allah is pleased with it or not. This goes further than prayer and fasting. It includes everything. This is because Islam covers every single second of my life with authetic evidences and real-life examples.

Anyway, I'll end here for today.

Bavaran Wood Exports down at 2, sadly today!

Wa-s salaam.

23 Oct 05: Your Links For Today

Al-'Aaqeedatu-t Tahaaweeyyah
Where is Allah?
The Creed of the Four Imams
The Aqeedah Of Imaam al-Bukhari Died 256H