The linguistics of aesthetics

I find the English language to be endlessly interesting and fun. At times though, the terms and their varied use and connotations puzzle me. One such situation is the words people use to describe the opposite gender. I call this... the linguistics of aesthetics. The question is, what is the difference between ‘cute’, ‘pretty’ ‘hot’...

Taweez

The concept of taweez is a highly contested one which has many facets. I usually reserve opinion on this topic to myself but M this is for you since you asked. A taweez is a talisman or charm of which there are numerous varieties. Some consist of writing Verses of the Quran on a piece...

Getting the Best Out of Hajj

What - Getting the best out of Hajj seminar When - Sunday 19th September 2010, 10am-5pm Where - Liverpool GIYC Who - Abu Muneer Ismail Davids Why - To learn about the process of Hajj I have attended many many seminars and lectures in my lifetime. More than most because of my affinity with the...

Fasting the 6 days of Shawwal

So Ramadan is over and even though we miss it, most of us (myself included) have reverted to our daily lives. I had a week at home with the flu, did I spend my time reading Quran? Even a bit a day knowing that I had done so easily in Ramadan? Nope. I sat and...

September movie marathon

Being home sick with the flu for a week was no fun, it did however give me time to watch all the movies I’ve been hoarding up since Ramadan. Some were good, some funny and others quite a waste of time. Here is a list of best to worst: Four Lions - The best of...

Day 30 – Ramadan and Conclusions

As Ramadan draws to a close it makes me wonder about the finality of life itself, how many of us will live to see the next Ramadan, how many we know that did not make it to this one. With Eid just around the corner, in the midst of merriment and cheer, I hope I...

Day 29 – Ramadan and Understanding

It’s very hard to understand people. Just when you think you have someone figured out, they change, things change or how you see them change, either way.. it sucks. Sometimes I wish I could just freeze time at a single point and understand people around me and have them fixed at that constant so I...

Day 28 – Ramadan and Sleep

There is something about the condition of sleeping which has such universal appeal to everyone, so that no matter how much sleep one has had, one always covets 'five minutes more.' In the last two days of Ramadan, I wish I could say just five minutes more and extend Ramadan. It's flown by way too...

Day 27 – Ramadan and Compassion

Having finished a complete recitation of the Quran Sharif in this holy month has given me such a sense of accomplishment and joy that I wonder why I have kept myself from it in all the previous Ramadan's that have come and gone in my life. All I can pray for now is that my duas...

Day 26 – Ramadan and Need

It's funny how what we 'need' is another persons 'want' and another persons 'want' is someone else's luxury. We were organising clothes, blankets and sheets to send to Pakistan today and ended up with about 20 odd garbage bags worth of stuff. Stuff we thought we 'needed' but didn't really. Stuff that people who yesterday...