Monday, May 7, 2012

Chugging along.

I had to work real hard today to force myself out of bed, into the kitchen to cook, and off to Arabic class, etc. Some days I wonder what it would be like to trade places one day with one of those flaky people who blow off their responsibilities (real, imagined, or self-imposed) on a regular basis. I don't mean the woman who calls in sick twice a year to watch daytime TV in her slippers. I mean like a 19-year-old college drop-out with serious delusions in the "what's important" department. I may have been one of these people for about a month or two in the late '90s but I don't remember much about that. All I know is I kinda want it back, just for a bit.

When's the last time I just watched planes??

But then again I don't. Because I wouldn't have this blog and that would be NO FUN.




ISLAM
I actually want to high-five myself today for making it through Arabic class today despite my bad attitude in general this morning. I even somehow made it on time despite having to bake and cool a three-pound meatloaf, about a gallon of mashed potatoes, and two pounds of peas before noon. Doesn't sound like much but I didn't even crawl out of bed until 10:15 because as you saw in yesterday's post, I am TIRED this weekend.

We started translating Hadith #11 (Being cautious of the doubtful) today. It's short and sweet but we still talked about it for over an hour.

Here's the Arabic (just the saying of Muhammad ﷺ itself, not the chain of narration etc): 

"دع ما يـريـبـك إلى ما لا يـريـبـك"

And the English:

"Leave that which makes you doubt for that which does not make you doubt."


Here's the explanation from Abdurrahman.org:


Its meaning returns back to what has already been said regarding the meaning of Hadeeth 6, that is "The Halaal is Clear, and the Haraam is Clear, and between them are Doubtful matters". And it has been narrated in another hadeeth that the Messenger sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam said:

"The slave will never be able to attain the ranks of the Muttaqoon (pious ones) until he leaves those things which do not seem to have any harm in them, fearing that they may indeed be harmful/unlawful."

The basic message is, it won't kill you to give something up that could be harmful/unlawful if you're not sure about it's permissibility.

This reminded me of people who are constantly asking the scholars if certain things are haraam (like listening to music for example), generally because they are hoping someone will tell them no so they can go ahead doing it without feeling guilty. If only they knew the reward from Allah they are refusing!

May Allah make me of those who heed the advice of the Prophet ﷺ, the best of examples for the believers.


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EXERCISE
After class I went to hang with one of my regular pals and we took a walk after dinner. We took the scenic route to the always-awesome Menards to pick out a paint color for her kitchen. It looks like it might be Daffy-dil or this one lighter than Egg Yolk but I can't remember the name. I'm sure she'll comment and fill us all in. We were both ready for more browsing but the guy came on the speaker telling us to get out because stores need to close at 8 p.m. on Sundays around here for some dumb reason. 

Health Tip of the Day: Running errands can become exercise. Since you have to go to the store anyway, why not walk or bike there? If you don't live close enough to your destination, just park the car down the road a piece and walk the rest of the way. Carrying a couple of bags of groceries three blocks is a great way to burn calories and smell the roses. Or bridge guard rails, depending on your location. You will also buy less junk because junk is heavy. Everyone wins!


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