Love one another..eliminate hatred

عن ابي هريرة رضي الله عنه قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: " ان الله يقول يوم القيامة: أين المتحابون بجلالى. اليوم أظلهم في ظلي يوم لا ظل الا ظلي"

Narrated Abu Huraira may Allah be pleased with him: Allah’s Messenger peace be upon him said: Allah will say on the Day of Resurrection: Where are those who love one another for My glory’s sake. Today I will shelter them in My shade, today there is no shade but only My shade.

Sudden Death

A couple of weeks ago I was watching a soccer game live on TV and while a player was preparing to take a free kick near the opponents goal a teammate who is the main striker was getting ready to take advantage of the cross. So this striker took two steps forward and then without any contact with anyone he fell down inside the box. The first impression in such cases is that the striker was trying to trick the referee to give away a penalty but this was not the case here as it was announced minutes later that the player passed away. Yes he died on the spot without any warnings or physical contact with anyone. Sudden death broadcasted live on a satellite TV channel.
Death does not ask for permission and does not take into account whether it’s an appropriate time or not. People die in their sleep, during their work, while in school, on playgrounds, in battle fields, etc. Therefore, we need to get ready and alert that death may not give a chance to negotiate or prepare. Did we do enough good to present ourselves to the most Merciful Allah almighty? Did we carry out our obligations with sincerity?
We need to hold ourselves accountable and ask questions before we get asked at the time when nothing will be useful other than good deeds. May Allah guide us to the right path and grant us paradise in the hereafter.

Is MBA losing its spark?

It’s obvious to anyone that MBA over the past few years have been the course of choice for many university graduates regardless of profession but mainly business and management professionals. MBA gained popularity worldwide as a brand name for a business qualification that takes people to higher places at corporate level. Many people do MBA with the sole purpose of climbing up the managerial ladder regardless of the knowledge and skills they may or may not acquire from the course. Many business schools around the globe developed MBA programs that are similar in terms of content, structure, duration etc with variation in cost and value.
Does MBA really have the magic key to corporate managers’ success? The answer to this till recently would be an affirmative YES. Many people who seek an MBA have no experience in business so on completion of MBA they usually have some background in business administration topics such as accounting and marketing. I am not sure if a two year program or less would be sufficient to make a successful business manager or leader.
I recently read an article in the Economist magazine about the decline of MBA. There is change in the approach to gaining status in corporations. Many now are seeking the knowledge and skills that will equip them to be successful in their area of interest in business be it finance, human resource management, IT management, etc. MBA mostly was a brand name that gave you status but nor necessarily the right skills to be successful. MBA would probably earn you a promotion or pay raise. It is the trend now that professionals are seeking postgraduate programs that are specialized such as a M.Sc. in Marketing Management or a Master of Applied Finance and Banking or a Master of Human Resource Management. These types of masters programs provide students with a solid academic knowledge and practical researched approaches in specific disciplines of business management hence creates specialized business professionals. Many business schools today focus on promoting their specialized business master programs rather than a general MBA degree.
So do you want to do an MBA just because everyone else is doing it? Or do you want to study a program that will prepare you better to be successful in your area of interest and still give you the credentials to go up the corporate management levels? Did the MBA product enter its decline phase of the product life cycle?

No ink to print my driving license

I went to renew my driving license a few days so I had to go through the cycle of filling out a couple of forms and pay a good sum of money. The first step was the eye check which I passed flying colors without even having to do the test (the lady there just signed my form). Then I had to go meet a psychiatrist to check if am mentally fit to be driving around so she asked me how I was doing and I said am ok, do you suffer from any sickness?. Now if I want to get a license and I am not mentally or physically fit why will I tell her about my sickness and disapprove myself?
Anyway I went on to the next step of filling a form and getting it approved by an officer (queue) then made the payment (queue). I went on to the data entry counters (queue). I don’t know why I have to have me details entered in the system if they are already there. The final step was getting my photo taken after that I was told ok take your papers back and check with us after four days to pick up your license. Does it take four days to print my license? No but there is no ink. The headquarters of the traffic police does not have printer ink.

Adopting to Change

Naturally we are resistant to change no matter what it involves even if it was apparently good for us; we even resist simple changes to our daily routines or workplace. Today change is imperative for us to remain upbeat and competitive in this ever changing world; there are many factors of change including globalization enabled by advancing technology, telecommunication, free trade policies, etc. If we don’t have the ability to adopt to change then we will be left behind and eventually lose therefore; we need to be as adoptive as possible in order to not miss out. One of the key factors that can help us not only adopt change but also embrace it is knowledge. Knowledge is very powerful and it’s the real fortune that nobody can take away from us unlike money which comes and goes. We must realize that knowledge is limitless so no matter how much you learn and know you probably still have a lot to learn about. There is always someone more knowledgeable out there and so we need to engage in a continuous learning process. Continuous learning is known to be part of quality management practice and it was well initiated in Toyota Japan.
Next week Inshallah I start a new phase of my learning process by enrolling in a quality management program. I hope it will be beneficial.
The more you learn the thirstier you become for more knowledge. Keep learning keep raising the bar and stay competitive.

Falling sick is a reminder

It’s amazing how we always think that we are so strong and capable yet in reality we weak creatures. We usually take good health for granted and don’t realize this pleasure until we fall sick. We are usually hyper active and enjoying life forgetting many around us who don’t have that luxury due to a long lasting illness or a simple flu virus. A couple of days ago I started having a bad headache and neck pain and I took some panadol which relived me for a couple of hours. This morning I went to work and I was ok till midday when I started feeling horrible again and had to excuse myself from work (not like me at all). I rested and relaxed a little (only 3 hours of sleep:) ) and now Alhamdulillah I am feeling better. As they say health is a crown carried by healthy people but only those who are ill can see it.
The lesson here is that we better be grateful for our wellbeing and remember the unfortunate people around us. It’s a lesson we always remember once we fall sick but unfortunately once we recover we forget all about it. As Allah the almighty tells us in the holy Quran that we are created weak. Certainly without Allah’s mercy we will not survive in this world nor win paradise in the hereafter.
O Allah forgive us and reward us with your mercy and not with our deeds. May Allah help all those who are not well recover and get better.

Customer Service

Should I get back to blogging or should I not? Should I or should I not hmm?! Ok let’s do a test drive:
I am fascinated by a number of things (not many) so I thought I would jot a few lines about one of those things related to my work which is CRM. Customer Relationship Management is really an interesting field and powerful at the same time. This field developed so fast over the past few years to the extent that the business gurus had to come up with new names and theories for it. Earlier we used to hear about customer service and customer support as a supplementary unnecessarily costly service offered by a few businesses. Today however, customer care is a crucial part of every business or organization regardless of the industry. Companies invest heavily in upgrading customer service in order to not only meet their clients’ expectations but also to exceed them and be ahead of others. CRM is rapidly developing and becoming independent of other disciplines (mostly linked to marketing at present). CRM enable you to put a smile on people which I really love.
I really appreciate and enjoy customer relationship management and as part of my job I get to deal with ‘clients’ in every step of my job and what makes it interesting is that I work in the education sector (university) and when you are offering a service it is quite different than offering a tangible product. Dealing with people of different nationalities, cultures, languages, religions, races etc is really amazing. You get to learn a lot in the process and at the same time you get to appreciate others and most importantly appreciate your own culture and background as you start asking questions of why do we look so much alike yet we behave differently.
It is interesting when counseling students of different backgrounds about their career options how they all think and approach their career differently. I get to deal with Arabs from GCC and other countries, Indians, Africans, Russians, Europeans, etc. They all think differently and got contrasting interests in study programs. Moreover, even gender differences within the same race have an impact on this issue. Some will approach me and say we would like to enroll for a master’s program so what do you have on offer or what is good for the market (I hate this cohort of people because I see them as shallow minded). My automatic response to this is “it’s not about which program is in demand by employers but more about what interests you and what is your career plan (if you have one that is)”. This is a whole different issue that I should probably write about separately.
Another discipline that interests me is Quality Management and this is my next endeavor starting next month Inshallah. In Addition, IT really fascinates me and I was lucky to work in this field for a few years. Imagine if you combine CRM, QM and IT wow that would be really fascinating.
So what fascinates you in terms of professions? Tell us what you like about your work.

Bye 2009 and Welcome 2010

I think the year 2009 was quite a defining year and surely booked a place in history with a number of major incidents. The war in Gaza, Obama inauguration as U.S president, and off course the economic down turn that took the world by surprise. These are some of the things that would come up to my mind when thinking 2009 what pops up in your mind? What does 2010 has in store for us?

Happy new year.

I need a road map?!?!

Have you ever being confused? confused about anything. it is a horrible feeling isn't it? Confused about what to do next in life or why are you doing whatever you are doing. what is the ultimate goal that i am seeking. what do i want to achieve. really i have no idea. i mean if you ask me what next? i would black out. Sometimes i feel that i did it all yet i feel i did nothing whatsoever. My mind is filled with question marks and exclamation marks. My heart is filled with mixed feelings. My senses are tired of my poor sense of direction. Talking about my senses man I think i got some serious sixth sense that never let me down but perhaps i am letting it down by ignoring it many times. If only i trusted my instincts! Many people who get to know me well freak out when dealing with me in fact i freak out myself. So what to do? Should I just flow with the waive or sit back and do some serious auditing, thinking, analysis, planning of the situation and how to go forward????
“Your intellect may be confused, but your emotions will never lie to you.”

Spanish: You got to love it

It is said that Spanish is the most widely spoken romantic language in the world! It is not the first language only for Spain but also most of Latin America (Brazil being the exception). We all enjoy Spanish music and above all I enjoy Spanish football La Liga. I think it is the most entertaining football league in the world it just has a different flavor. So what? you say! Well For the above mentioned reasons and others I dont like to mention I decided to pick up Spanish as a foreign language to add to py portfolio. I have always wanted to learn a third language and I was in a dilemma between French and Spanish but eventually I settled with Espanol. Sorry French speakers but I just think French is not that appealing at least not to me. I mean Why do I have to write something completely different from what I am saying (Spelling and pronunciation in French are just weird).
I started learning Spanish formally as well as informally. Informally through a great website that I found (www.livemocha.com). It is amazingly effective and interactive with different languages on the table for you to pick up. Not only am I learning Spanish there but also meeting and making nice friends. I realised that Latin Americans are very helpful and friendly. Everyone wants to help you learn Spanish they make life easier and more fun. To all of my friends from livemocha I say sincerely Gracias! you are great. I hope i make till the end when am fluent in Spanish and may be visit Spain or Latin America one good day (ya I know dreams).

I already noticed a change

8 years in office and i never heard Bush speak positively and with hope. Bush wanted people to live in fear "war on terrorism" were his favorite words.

I never heard Obama speak negatively; lets hope he keeps it that way he never mentioned terrorism in his innaugration speech and mentioned war only once i think.

best of Obama's speeches:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlmEa5PIJAY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CB1RJBuWYbA&feature=related

"To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy.

To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist." Obama.

Well lets hope our leaders change too coz they r not fit for this era of time.

The full text of the speech: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/01/2009120164354602654.html

WE WILL NOT GO DOWN

WE WILL NOT GO DOWN (Song for Gaza)
(Composed by Michael Heart) - http://www.michaelheart.com/
Copyright 2009

A blinding flash of white light
Lit up the sky over Gaza tonight
People running for cover
Not knowing whether they’re dead or alive

They came with their tanks and their planes
With ravaging fiery flames
And nothing remains
Just a voice rising up in the smoky haze

We will not go down
In the night, without a fight
You can burn up our mosques and our homes and our schools
But our spirit will never die
We will not go down
In Gaza tonight

Women and children alike
Murdered and massacred night after night
While the so-called leaders of countries afar
Debated on who’s wrong or right

But their powerless words were in vain
And the bombs fell down like acid rain
But through the tears and the blood and the pain
You can still hear that voice through the smoky haze

We will not go down
In the night, without a fight
You can burn up our mosques and our homes and our schools
But our spirit will never die
We will not go down
In Gaza tonight

watch the video of the song on youtube: We Will Not go Down

Correction: Israel is the occupier not the occupied

I am writing this in response to an email forwarded to me from a good friend of mine. The write-up was clearly bias and/or misinformed. so I thought I would say something about it. The email was basically all against Hamas and pro Israel regardless of all the inhumane atrocities they are committing.
The email starts with a few photos of children in military attire marching or holding toy machine guns or wrapped with a false suicide explosive belt. It comments that Hamas is training kids aged 4 -9 to conquer Israel and kill Jews. I wonder if conquer is the right word? How can Palestinians conquer Israel while Israel is an occupier. Where is Israel that Hamas can conquer? Israel is built on occupied Palestinian lands and you can ask history to explain to you. It has been made clear over and over again by Palestinians and Muslim leaders that the fight is against Zionist Israel who hijacked the Jews faith and not against Jews. By the way there are many Jews living in Arab countries today. I think it is normal and important for Palestinians to teach their children who their historic enemy is and prepare them to face the bitter reality they will face as they grow up because Israel proved over the years that it does not differentiate between children and militants in its aggression.

Then the email mentions that Arabs do live in peace with Jews in Israel! Yes Arabs and Jews live together in occupied Palestine in cities like Jerusalem and Arabs are treated as second class citizens. it is ironic that the natives of the land are treated as second class citizens.
Then it gets serious and talk about living in Israel under fire from Hamas. It says "Today 13 rockets fell in the south as of 4PM our time here as the sun is going down. One missile directly hit a home in Ashkelon as the family ran for the bomb shelter" every time Israel talks about being a victim they mention how many rockets hit them but they never say how many civilians killed you know why? because basically there are mostly no fatalities in such attacks because the rockets are primitive and not guided. I am not saying Hamas should kill Israeli civilians as no sane person would like to see children or women of any race being targeted in wars. But I would ask how many civilians in Israel were killed by such rockets over time since the rockets were invented? you get the figures and compare them only to civilians killed by Israel over the past two weeks and you will be shocked.

The email says that Israel has been under threat of these rockets for six years now horrifying its citizens in the south but it does not say for how long the Palestinians have being terrorized, killed, and made homeless by Israel (since 1967 or is it 1948?).
Then the email gets funny when it says we must understand who Hamas is "You must understand who Hamas is. Unlike a normal army which plays by the rules, Hamas which has always been a terrorist organization". First of all Hamas is a political party with a military wing resisting the occupation. The funny part is talking about Hamas as an army that plays without rules. So are you by any chance suggesting that Israel plays by the rules? Hell no. Israel in every war be it in Palestine or Lebanon violate international law and has no respect whatsoever for war morals. It has no morals nor ethic codes for it army and this is proven many times. It intentionally targets UN installations, children, women, and infrastructure. Remember Qana UN camp in Lebanon 1996, the killings and destruction in Lebanon 2006, and the current crisis in Gaza. More than 40% killed in Gaza over the past two weeks are children and women. Israel uses internationally banned bombs such as using white phosphorus bombs that burn the flesh of humanbeings in Gaza. Israel never implements any of the UN security council resolutions and whenever the UN issues just a statement to condemn Israel then what happens? Israel immediately bombs UN installations and a good example a few days ago after the UN resolution Israel bombed a UN school and aid convoy in Gaza. Israel says Hamas hides within civilians. Well we should know that Gaza strip is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. It is basically a big prison that has been under complete siege by Israel for about three years. Where do you expect Gaza people to go or hide? Israel with all its mighty power and intelligence is unable to locate and destroy Hamas so they instead target houses killing whole families and mosques and schools sheltering civilians. Did you know that Israel more than once in the past two weeks gathered people including women and children in single buildings and kept them there for days without supplies telling them it is safer and then they bombed them killing tens and leaving the rest under rubble not allowing rescue teams to reach them? Are these the morals and rules of war? Just like Israel failed miserably against Hizbullah in Lebanon in 2006 they will fail again in Gaza because they never learn the lesson. Hizbullah is much stronger today than it was two years ago and Israelis know this very well so God willing Hamas and other resistance movements in Palestine will emerge stronger after this aggression.
The email mentions that the media does not report everything. Well yes thats very true you know why? Because Israel "the democratic state" bans all media local and international from entering Gaza or reporting on military operations. They thought they could hide their ugly immoral acts in Gaza but luckily a few journalists were already in Gaza before the start of the barbaric attack on Gaza.
Do you know what Israel teaches its children? In this photo Israeli children sign on bombs used to kill other children and civilians in Lebanon 2006.

These killings must stop now before later. Those who support Israel blindly need to wake up and act on their moral responsibility. History will not forget nor forgive. We owe the children of Gaza.
War ethics in Islam are clearly laid down by Allah in the Quran and by Prophet Mohammed peace be upon him as well as the Muslim leaders after the Prophet. To learn about war morals and ethics turn no further than Islam. Here is a summary of some of the rules please copy this link to your browser: http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaE&cid=1119503545840

Israel above the law or immoral?

We are above the law. We do not give a damn about what the world thinks. We do not care what the so called UN say or decide because we are just too good for anyone. These are words not spoken but yet heard from Israel. The words are spoken through despicable actions of Israel in its various wars. Let me explain to you what I am trying to say:
Every time Israel goes to war to kill non combatant civilians be it in Palestine, Lebanon, or else where they want the world to say nothing and in fact provide support to their killings. Usually it takes the world some days before we hear serious calls for stopping what Israel is doing. The UN Security Council can NEVER issue a resolution demanding Israel to stop its operations because the U.S veto is merely for Israel use and immunity from such resolutions. So mostly the UN just condemns Israel and when this happens Israel get pissed off and in return they target directly and hit UN premises in area they are attacking. If you do not believe me then let me remind you of Israel war in Lebanon in 1996; they directly bombarded UN peacekeepers camp in Qana which sheltered civilians mostly women and children killing hundreds we can never forget those pictures we saw on the media. Well may be that was long ago. Fine, how about yesterday when they attacked a UN school in Gaza filled with civilians. The UN fumed about it as they always do and said they provided Israel with GPS coordinates of their schools so that they are not targeted. Israel was responded a few hours later by bombing ANOTHER UN school !!!
Now the UN is calling for an investigation on these bombings. That’s almost funny I would just tell the UN to shut up useless and hopeless organization. In fact I think they should dissolve the UN its just a waste of time, money and resources.
Bottom line is that Israel is a terrorist ‘state’ with no morals and no respect whatsoever for international law. They have no value for human lives and certainly they deserve a medicine of their own.
We need to wake up to save the world from this destructive immoral entity before it’s too late.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rGOWkWYqJ4

It is SAD..

It is SAD when I look at the news and see every hour a new headline about Israel pushing deeper into Gaza and the number of CIVILAN casualties increases. The number of casualties keeps on rising and the SAD part is not how many killed but as time passes we become more ‘accustomed’ to this news to an extent that we do not react anymore. Some people even lost their feelings about what they see. We may not realize this but to prove it to you just be with others in the TV room and as more news from Gaza come in you will notice at least one person will probably say “just change the channel why are we watching this?” It happens trust me and this is really SAD and in fact dangerous. It is dangerous because tomorrow it will be our turn. Yes we are in for a treat from Israel and its allies; sorry ‘allies’ is not appropriate I would say puppets such as the USA. Do you think if Israel defeats Hamas it will stop there? Of course not because history tells us how Israel operates. They simply cannot stay peaceful for a long time; they live to fight and practice their new weapons. Unfortunately the practice field is Arab lands and the SAD part is that the practice targets are mostly children and women.
I am sick and tired of hearing Israel saying civilians are killed accidentally. This is bullshit moreover; they say “well! Hamas kills civilians too”. Shame on you who uses this justification. Israel got the best intelligence agency in the world and most advanced military systems as they claim so how come they cannot tell a baby from a Hamas militant. On the other hand Hamas is using the most primitive ‘home-made’ rockets that are not guided. I am not saying Hamas should kill civilians but civilians killed by Hamas are not a fraction of what Israel kills every hour. The difference is that Hamas does not target civilians while Israel does. If Israel seriously thinks Palestinian babies and women are a threat to them then at least use proportionate power to attack them.
It is SAD to be so helpless. Gaza is crying and we are chilling out in worldly pleasures. Infants are murdered and terrified, women are killed, families yes whole families are targeted and we are in complete silence and being very passive.
It is SAD when we look at our history and see how much dignity and honor we lost over time. What will we answer when asked about how we helped Gaza? It is SAD because this keeps on happening in Palestine and Lebanon. Israel is taking turns on killing people of different nations and we never learn the lesson. Israel understands only the language of power and fear they do not understand nor believe in peace and negotiations. I think Hezbollah proved this on many occasions when they managed many times to return prisoners from Israel by attacking and kidnapping Israeli soldiers. How many prisoners were freed through negotiations?
Allah is certainly aware of what the wrong doers and oppressors are doing and He alone we ask for victory and seek refuge in.

Recession..bailout..lay-offs

I wonder what would the word of the year 2008. The word that was most used by the media and people in general. Will it be Recession? We all saw how badly the economic and financial situation got in the world and particularly in the U.S. Who could imagine the biggest economy in world was that soft. Major companies pleading and shopping for bailouts. In fact industries are asking for bailout such as the automakers (GM, Ford, and Chrysler). In Europe the situation is not better at all and over the past two months the Gulf countries started to feel the heat too especially UAE (Dubai), and with less effect Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait.
In Dubai like other parts of the world people are being laid off and surprisingly the sectors affected most are the construction & real estate and banking. These till recently were thought to be the booming industries in Dubai. Many companies including giant ones are freezing recruitment. So will lay-off be the word of the year?
The big question is how long will this last and when will the world recover? I heard in one of the radios someone trying to relate this to the story of Prophet Yusuf and the King's dream in the Holy Quran which means 7 years of booming followed by another 7 years of recession!!
Well I guess this is not the best time to hunt for a job so I will focus on my studies and chill out.

Should we hope 4 change?

What many around the world hoped for came to reality; Obama is the president elect of the U.S. I did hope that he wins but not necessarily because I like his policies and believe he will be neutral and fair in his foreign especially Middle East policies but basically I thought his opponent McCain would be disastrous as a president and continuation of miserable Bush administration.
People around the world rejoiced after the elections results and hopes for a better world rose even the financial markets and oil prices were refreshed for a moment and I think again it’s not because Obama is going to perform miracles in saving the economic and financial crisis but I guess because of the relief that dumb head Bush is gonna be history soon. The question is will history ever forgive Bush and his axis of evil aides? Will he be forgiven for the thousands of innocent people killed in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine and even U.S citizens as he is off course to blame for sending those U.S soldiers abroad to kill and be killed? Will we ever forget Bush’s irresponsible stupid policies that led the world to this horrible status?
Will Obama really make a positive difference and is he capable of bringing good change to the world? Am not sure given the current status of the world and challenges he is gonna face as Bush is leaving him a world filled with mines. Could Obama come in at a worse time?
Those of us in the Middle East who saw some hope in this elections results I think we should hold our horses and see what’s really gonna change if any in terms of the U.S blind unjustifiable support to Israel. By the way the first official appointment in Obama’s administration is his White House chief of staff who is known for his close ties with Israel. Does this ring an alarm?
Well we hope for the best and expect the worse. Anyway I don’t think anyone can be worse than Bush.

I failed the test..

Well! Well! Well! Let me first confess that I failed the first test after Ramadan L (read the last paragraph of my previous posting). Hope you passed the test.. I missed it with only one day, I finished fasting five days at the beginning of the month then I don’t know what happened I started to procrastinate and before I know it Shawaal was approaching its end. I was hoping it would be a 30-day month so I am fasting today Alhamdulillah but today is 1st Du EL-Qeida. Inshallah Allah will accept my fasting and yours.
It’s very important to have sincere strong intentions regarding worship be it fasting, Haj, or anything else. It helps a lot in accomplishing the goal and on top of that prayers (Dua’a); scholars always tell us to pray to Allah persistently to help us in our worship acts. May Allah grant us Haj this year and help stay focused on the right path and protect us from Satan and from going astray. Ameen
Remember Quran is a cure to our heart and body.. it is the miracle of miracles .. O Allah help us learn the Quran and remember what we forgot of it.

Did you boost your spirituality?

Ok I agree am not gud @ this blog business so if u ave been checkin ma blog 4 updates am sorry 4 being off the radar for so long. Hope to stay on track frm now on. You probably read that before in this blog J.
One more time we were blessed and fortunate to welcome and experience the holy month of Ramadhan. Fasting, praying at the mosque, watching our language, being patient, caring for others, and the one I enjoy most in this month reciting the holy Quran and this is not surprising since Ramadhan is the month of Quran and revelation of Quran started in Ramadhan. So bottom line is that we got a good recharge for our spiritual being. As much as our bodies require food to energize as much as spiritual being requires food to stay upbeat. Some say that food is about practices such as prayers, fasting, Quran recitations, etc.
Ramadhan is just amazing in everything. Fasting is very high act of worship and Allah tells us that Fasting is for me and I reward it. Unlike the other acts of worship such as prayers, charity, etc fasting is between a salve and the Lord because most of it is unseen to others. I mean who can really tell you senses are fasting such as your eye or tongue. The only problem I have during Ramdhan is we Muslims (I am no exception) tend to slow down life in Ramadhan in the sense that we work less, postpone tasks and blame it all on fasting. What’s the point of fasting while we reduce significantly our routine activities? How are we supposed to feel the struggle of the poor if we just chill out in Ramdhan and don’t even feel the hunger or thirst? I think we need to work on this one!
Quran is truly the miracle of miracles if I may say. Which book on earth that you can read it over and over again for years without getting bored? In fact every time you read through it you realize a new teaching, wisdom, guidance, etc. It is really inspiring and touching. May Allah make us among those whose hearts soften and eyes shed tears when they listen to the Quran and may Allah grant us a taste of Quran and Iman.

I pray to Allah that He accepts our fast and prayers not because we deserve it but because He is the most merciful most generous. O Allah you are the most forgiving make us among those who you freed from Hell fire. Ameen

Hope you all enjoyed and maximized in Ramadhan and had a wonderful Eid. Don’t forget to pass the first test after Ramadhan!!Fast the six days of Shawal. Come one brothers and sisters just six days and you get rewarded for fasting a full year what better bargain can we dream of.

football lovers frenzy

Once again football is the talk of the world with the Euro 2008 kick off in Swiss- Austria. Those of you who are not football frenzy you should know that Euro championship is regarded as the strongest and best football tournament after the world cup as it is contested by the elite football poles of Europe. This time it is co hosted by Switzerland and Austria and I guess we can’t ask for more, I mean beautiful very competitive games in one of the most amazing cities in Europe.
I guess those are enough reasons to be glued to our couches with all senses dedicated to the magical box (TV). Well that’s what is supposed to be but remember that thing called Globalization? Ya as good as it sounds it comes with negatives among which is the materialism wave which did not skip sports and as a result these days any major sport event is being covered and broadcasted by limited TV networks which are available at a fee. Euro2008 was no exception but thanks God its broadcasting rights were granted to Al Jazeera Sport for the Middle East. At least Al Jazeera is not as hungary for money not exploitative as others, you know which network am referring to remember the world cup which was covered by ‘a.r.t’. A.R.T went crazy and increased subscription fees forcing us to subscribe to packages consisting of channels regardless of your interest and we had to subscribe for a minimum time period. This is not the case with Al Jazeera which maintained its fee structure so we raise the hats to them and say Thank you for your professionalism.
The tournament started and so far it did not disappoint in terms of performance but perhaps some were disappointed by seeing Italy (world cup winners) being trashed by Holland and France (world cup finalist) too were sent packing by Holland. Holland got a destructive attack force with Robben, Van Persi, Snieder, Kuyt and at the tip of the spear Van Nistlroy. Who can stop them? Portugal on the other hand is in for nothing but winning with Ronaldo, Nani, Quarisma, to mention a few.
Well, I wish you all an exciting football season and may the best win (Holland, Spain :) ) .
Lastly, I wonder how much money was spent in preparing for Euro 2008 and how much is earned by the two hosts and FIFA???