30.6.08

First we take Manhattan,
Then we take Berlin.





A senior Iranian commander says the country is digging some '320,000 graves' in its bordering provinces for future slain invaders.


Abd el-Hadi Fights a Superpower

In his life
he neither wrote nor read.
In his life he
didn't cut down a single tree,
didn't slit the throat
of a single calf.
In his life he did not speak
of the New York Times
behind its back,
didn't raise
his voice to a soul
except in his saying:
"Come in, please,
by God you can't refuse."

Nevertheless -
his case is hopeless,
his situation
desperate.
His God-given rights are a grain of salt
tossed into the sea.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury:
about his enemies
my client knows not a thing
and I can assure you
were he to encounter
the entire crew
of the aircraft carrier Enterprise,
he'd serve them eggs
sunny-side up,
and labneh
fresh from the bag.

-Taha Mohamed Ali, So What

28.6.08

On the Mark
..or On the incredible belligerency of the Hebrew genetic line i.e. House of David (Whose real name was Dawood and no, Jesus didn't have friends named Jim (James). May Allah be pleased with his servants.

Interesting article about "Priesthood" from the evidences in Taurat (Torah/Old Testament) and seemingly, exercised by The Church of the Latter Day Saints (Mormons).

http://www.greatlakesrestorationbranches.org/newpage36.htm

Within that text is, as I have often cited, NOVA transcripts about the consistency of gene markers on the Y chromosome. The Hebrews carried it up until the time of Jesus (Isa, May Allah be pleased with him) who was created without any sperm whatsoever and hence, the gene marker was not to be found among the high priests of the Hebrew orders. This same genetic marker was carried from the beginning (Adam, pbuh) to the middle (Ibrahim, pbuh) where it dissected into two distinct family groups. The first group are those who descend from Ibrahim's first born son Ismael, pbuh (from Sarah's maidservant Hagar, pbut) and the Hebrew line consisting of those descended from Isaq and Yaqoob (pbut, Jacob and Isaac) who were products of the uterus of Sarah, pbuh. Therefore, when Isa left this situation (material world) for other locales, the Hebrew line of prophethood was entirely cut off. This is obvious as there is absolutely no claim, even by the modern day Jews that any other prophet after Isa exists noting of course that they refused the prophethood of Mohamed (May Allah bless the seal of the prophets) as did the Christian sects. The twelve apostles were not blood relatives in the sense of sharing a common father with Isa as Isa had no sperm donor, pbuh:

[3.59] Surely the likeness of Isa is with Allah as the likeness of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him, Be, and he was. -Family of Imran in The Glorious Quran

It is unclear what or who the apostles actually were and if any of them were designated as special teachers/priests entrusted with what is known as the Injeel:

[57.27] Then We made Our apostles to follow in their footsteps, and We sent Isa son of Marium afterwards, and We gave him the Injeel, and We put in the hearts of those who followed him kindness and mercy; and (as for) monkery*, they innovated it-- We did not prescribe it to them-- only to seek Allah's pleasure, but they did not observe it with its due observance; so We gave to those of them who believed their reward, and most of them are transgressors. - Iron in The Glorious Quran

NOVA on male genetic chromosome markers:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/2706israel.html

Inside every human cell are 23 pairs of chromosomes, made up of DNA. One half of
each pair comes from the mother, the other half from the father. One of those
pairs determines a person's sex. Women generally have a pair of similar
chromosomes called XX, men have XY. If the father contributes his X to the
offspring, it will be a girl. If he contributes his Y, it'll be a boy. It's the
Y chromosome that determines maleness. And the Y doesn't exchange much genetic
material with its partner X, so a father passes his Y chromosome on to his son
virtually unchanged.


The Quran on these same genetic markers which, if Allah chose he could have made "obvious" but instead, Allah conceals this (for various reasons) but it is the case that you can know these people by their "speech". Like Nasrallah for instance, who, everyone knows...never LIES. Never. Even the modern Israeli cabinet members admit and know this is an absolute fact.

[47.30] And if We please We would have made you know them so that you would certainly have recognized them by their marks and most certainly you can recognize them by the intent of (their) speech; and Allah knows your deeds. -Mohamed in The Glorious Quran.

*Monkery is described as a priesthood in which monastic celibacy differentiates one type of person (common) from the higher order (priests). It is called in Islam, "innovation".

26.6.08

San Juan, the Conspicuous

When someone says Life!
I cringe and creep behind
the curtains once more.
What do they know afterall?

Each of these eyes
is a blind circuit,
each cherished rose
blends into it again.
Where did the wind
come from this time?
If only this one didn't
try to go missing,
if only this one
didn't pretend to be dead.


*A little about San Juan Day
Taliban Towers Resort

This is unbelievable.

25.6.08

The Power of Prayer and the Multi-tasking of the Magnificent



I turned on the tv this morning and found my favorite tv doctor discussing the "Power of Prayer". I thought it delightful as I have just had several prayers answered and each one of them was answered appropriately. Perhaps not the way I wanted them answered but reflecting on what those prayers actually were leads me to know that they were answered.



Dr. Sanjay Gupta as he is known, CNN's "On Call" chief resident really does reflect the face of American medicine today. Down here in the southwest, I'd guess that at least one out of three doctors is either foreign born or muslim or both. Of course, Sanjay Gupta is the dream boy of the illusory American media i.e. just "foreign enough" to be believable and just "white enough" to not threaten all the usual biases that are so obvious and so unbelievably 'acceptable' in many conversational circles of which I've been witness to. I hear all sorts of things out of the mouths of white people. All the more shocking because some of the deeply prejudiced things that people utter come from the mouths of educated professionals. But anyway, Sanjay is a dream boy doctor.



His little bit about the power of prayer was interesting. The poll that he presented showed that 3/4 of all Americans pray once a week. Not bad I'd say but honestly, once a week? Another large group "meditates" once a week...whatever that means.



First, how do people pray if they don't even know what a real prayer situation is made out of?

Obviously, if people think that once a week is good enough, well...there you go. They are way short of actually maintaining a psychological connection to their prayers. Most would not remember what they ate for breakfast let alone what it was they prayed for a whole week before.

During the little sweet and innocuous vignette called the Power of Prayer, Dr. Gupta shows a little film strip that shows several types of people praying and meditating. The meditating part really was only some isometric gym exercises on exercise mats. Hardly constitutes prayer where I come from. The very last image however was a group of Shia muslims. They were the only group who actually looked like they knew what they were doing. Dressed right, everyone in unison. And I assure you, we do it a little more often than once a week. Three times a day actually and in that, there are five total cycles of prayer involved. Each cycle is complete and entails the washing of body parts prior to the prayer, the call to the prayer which is basically a public service announcement that it is time to drop what one is doing and pray in a timely fashion and finally there is the intention to pray the exact prayer that is being offered i.e. fajr, dhur, asr, magrhib or isha.

Then one sets about to actually "Pray".

I won't go into the details of that because it wouldn't mean much to non muslims.

My point is only this, in order to benefit from praying, a person has to be consistent in offering prayers. That way and only in that way can a person actually remember what it is they prayed for and know in what fashion the prayer was answered. The key to prayer in that sense is that a person prays for the correct thing. Then, the answer to the prayer is really quite easy to perceive. Praying for the wrong thing...well.....it just doesn't work.

And why doesn't it work?

Because, it doesn't fit into the natural law of the Creator who created everything and legislated about it's operation and published a highly recognized book of religious law called The Glorious Quran. Praying for that which is prohibited would self-violate the law of Allah and everyone should know the obvious i.e. that Allah does not violate his own creed.

And how might a person understand the idea that Allah answers all these squillions and squillions of prayers each and every day? Well, Allah doesn't have to answer because he created the system and the system works. It simply functions of its own accord.

The problem with that notion in the minds of the wicked and unsuccessful people of course is that they assume that Allah isn't able to do such multi-tasking.

Wrong. Allah is the greatest multi-tasker because the job gets done without any effort whatsoever. It is elegant, it is true. It is so, so elegant that it fills my heart with love and joy for Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful and the Best of All Planners.

Do you not know that Allah knows what is in the heaven and the earth? Surely this is in a book; surely this is easy to Allah. -The proof called The Pilgrimage from the Glorious Quran.

A generic guide to Islamic Monotheistic Prayer:

http://www.howmuslimspray.com/

24.6.08

"That's a nice portion" on the koshometer. Heh.

19.6.08

Kemper Marley, Budweisser and John McCain

In 1948 fifty two employees of Kemper Marley's Arizona liquor monopoly, UNITED LIQUOR, went to prison on federal liquor violations, including Jim Hensley, the father-in-law of Senator John McCain. Hensley was the General Manager of UNITED LIQUOR. On the basis of this, some people might feel UNITED LIQUOR could be described as organized crime. The slick attorney who kept Marley out of this trial and out of prison and sent McCain's father-in-law to prison in his place was William Rendquist ----currently the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court!


It was the judgement of this court that Jim Hensley would be prohibited from working in the liquor industry from then on. Of course such judgments meant nothing to Marley. After Jim Hensley got out of prison, Marley arranged a BUDWIESSER distributorship for Hensley which is now in the hands of Senator John McCain and reported to be worth $200 million.

The Don Bolles Murder in the era of John McCain's rise to power

http://jeff.scott.tripod.com/donbolles.html

Don Bolles was an investigative reporter for the Arizona Republic. He knew just about everything their was to know about the mob in Phoenix. During his career as a reporter he crossed many corrupt officials and gangsters. The one that would end his life was Kemper Marley. Don Bolles reporting exposed Kemper Marley's connection with the mob, forcing him to resign as a member of the State Board Racing Commission. As a result of this, Marley had Bolles killed. Here is an excerpt from C.D. Stelzer's Urban Guerilla Journal which was very thorough about the entire affair. You can look at the whole article on Don Bolles through his website below.
"Beginning in 1946, Licavoli, the Arizona mob boss, operated an illegal gambling wire service with Kemper Marley Sr., the wealthiest liquor distributor in the state. Later, Marley's United Liquor Co. supplied Emprise dog tracks with 10 percent of their alcoholic beverages. During the 1974 Arizona gubernatorial race, Marley was the biggest contributor to Gov. Raul Castro's campaign. After the election, the Castro administration appointed Marley to the state racing commission, but he was forced to resign because of adverse publicity from stories written by Bolles. The Phoenix police theorized that Marley wanting revenge enlisted the help of local contractor Max Dunlap. Dunlap then allegedly hired Adamson to carry out the bombing. Adamson claimed that plumber James Robison assisted him."

(*Don Bolles aunt Deedee was my Aunt Marian's next door neighbor and hence, I've never forgotten that miserable tale of woe.)



Songbird McCain, the rogue killer of his own pals

http://www.wclt.com/news/articledetail.cfm?articleid=23261

McCain's adulterous affair with Hemsley Mafia Debutante Cindy who later turned to stealing prescription medications from underpriveledged children:

When McCain returned to the United States in 1973 after more than five years as a prisoner of war, he found his wife was a different person. Carol McCain, once a model, had been badly injured in a car wreck in 1969. The accident "left her 4 inches shorter and on crutches, and she gained a good deal of weight." Despite her injures, she had refused to allow her POW husband to be notified about her condition, fearing that such news would not be good for him while he was being held prisoner.

But, just a couple years later, McCain, while pondering a future in politics, met Cindy Hensley, an attractive 25-year-old woman from a very wealthy politically-connected Arizona family. While still married to Carol, McCain began an adulterous relationship with Cindy. He married Cindy in May 1980 -- just a month after dumping his crippled wife and securing a divorce.

The famous imbroglio of Liars of a Feather who flock together. The notorious Duke Tully - McCain affair. Duke Tully was publisher of the Arizona Republic (from the same link as the above)

Tully appeared to have a lot in common with his close friend, former Navy combat pilot and war hero McCain. Tully boasted of his 100 missions over Vietnam, retiring from the Air Force as a lieutenant-colonel. Tully's military service, according to Tully, included air combat in Korea, where he once was forced to crash land his P-51 Mustang fighter and spent time in a hospital as a result--so he said. His smashed front teeth were replaced with stainless steel, he also said.
Tully, just like his friend McCain, claimed he had received the Purple Heart, Distinguished Flying Cross and the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry.

Tully painstaking groomed McCain for public office. He introduced him to the influential and gave him guest column space in The Arizona Republic. He manipulated endless favorable references from the paper's other columnists. McCain, in turn, honored Tully by asking him to be godfather of one of his children

However, the day after Christmas 1985, it was revealed in the Chicago Tribune, that McCain's close friend Duke Tully had "an imagination as big as his ego."

Tully had never even been in the military.

The cold case:

http://crimemagazine.com/bobcrane.htm

16.6.08

And certainly We sent Nuh to his people, so he remained among them a thousand years save fifty years. And the deluge overtook them, while they were unjust.

The Flood

How is it one waits
in the womb sublime
for birth, a mere
forty weeks time,
and so long to die?
Is it really so?
Or is it that the earth
waits with me and you
for either one, of the two
through falls and springs,
past temples and kings,
the atoms and strings.
Such strong forces
and weak forces,
the catastrophes of horses,
treaties and divorces?

These upswept mountains
and overswept seas,
we slept also through these.
The sands that were rocks,
eggs became flocks
and the dust in the clocks,
among these, our sweetest talks

and our boldest lies
take measure of those kinds of cries.
The poet earns a living
from such conscientious giving,
as if to say
we were waiting just for that
one to come,
the last poem,
the final diagram.
Or, the steady beat of the oldest drum.

What happens at the door
between its opening and closing,
a particular history
full of dystrophy,
that thing called decadence,
a bit of tungsten evidence,
rising shining and parting,
forever moments starting.
Without a past or prediction
or any map in this local jurisdiction.
How can anyone go on!
Who decides which blip
charts this lonesome trip
called life, this one,
this only one and you're gone?

A shadow never stays long,
its death never wrong
nor its life very strong,
the short, the long,
the phantom song.
At noon, under the feet,
or near night and so fleet.

Poor wise old shadow,
mark this grave, this body.
You are a wise old shadow,
a terrible reflection
escaping detection
changing direction,
a slight thin projection.

Do you see me too?

Can you write a memory,
weather a storm?
Will you wake up
when I do not?
Or are you just a dream
of a thing designed
a breath of time?
Were you an afterthought?
Which apparition do you look like?
Could you be just the sketch?
An anomaly of light?

A shadow only proves
one thing as it moves,
I am here and tremendously small,
as thin as a ghost
full of vapoury boasts,
the arrogant din
of land-locked men
made of red-brown clay
who are born and die
day to day.
Our shadows explain in words
as they force us to exhume
joy and doom,
the perpetual flux,
skies filled with ducks
and freeways with trucks,
does and bucks,
all of the crux
of an abacas,
the tractatus mathematicus.

The Bull of Heaven dies too.
His shadow leaves.
His parable lives on.
The children in Ceylon
want pencils to draw
everything they saw.
They know as well as us.

15.6.08

Cleaning up the streets of Iraq. Very unusual video.



Time is soon...very, very soon.

11.6.08



The Chargers from The Glorious Quran:

I swear by the runners breathing pantingly,
Then those that produce fire striking,
Then those that make raids at morn,
Then thereby raise dust,
Then rush thereby upon an assembly:
Most surely man is ungrateful to his Lord.
And most surely he is a witness of that.
And most surely he is tenacious in the love of wealth.
Does he not then know when what is in the graves is raised,
And what is in the breasts is made.apparent?
Most surely their Lord that day shall be fully aware of them.
The Sandstorm as Divine Victory against the US over a quarter century ago:

Thousands of religious hardliners chanting "Death to America" gathered in Iran's central desert on Tuesday to celebrate a failed US hostage rescue mission 26 years ago.

The anniversary of the US military debacle came amid a mounting war of words with Washington, reported to be mulling the use of force to rein in the Islamic republic's disputed nuclear programme.

Iranian officials used the occasion to tell US leaders that they risked yet more "divine intervention" if they dared to again set foot on Iranian soil.

...many people do not know that episode in US history...it isn't a story oft repeated in the press here in the "so called" free world.

This years anniversary of the Divine Intervention:

http://www.denverpost.com/war/ci_9042287

"Hundreds at the ceremony kneeled in the midday heat, remembering the day 28 years ago when U.S. helicopters on the hostage rescue mission were caught in a vicious sandstorm that led to the collision. Iranian clerical leaders have credited divine intervention for the incident.

"The sandstorm was God's miracle that protected the revolutionary Iran at that time from a foreign attack it was not militarily capable of dealing with," said Abdolrahim Rahimi, a cultural official in Tabas.

He said the gathering thanked God for "nullifying the conspiracy of the U.S. against the newly established Islamic republic." "

Ahmadinijad, "The nuclear bomb (America's) did not prevent the US from failing in Iraq." Therefore, why on earth would Iran fall prey to the idea that nuclear bombs are where national victories emanate? ALL victories are from Allah and as well, all defeats are from Allah too.



"Those who wait for some misfortune to befall you, then if you have a victory from Allah they say: Were we not with you? And if there is a chance for the unbelievers, they say: Did we not acquire the mastery over you and defend you from the believers? So Allah shall Judge between you on the day of resurrection, and Allah will by no means give the unbelievers a way against the believers." Imran, The Glorious Quran

10.6.08

"Dios no tienen fronteras"



Minute Man Militia "Ear of the Pollo" starring Tata and Flor

This Particular Sea

There are so many lights
in the windows, the stars,
so many openings and silence
reveals the movement of night
creatures in the dust
through the leaves
what are they and where?
There are so many secrets
in these places of mine
so many left over pieces
to talk about
and I do.
The dog doesn't really care
but he stays until I am done.
He stays a bit longer
to examine something
in the night, some noise.
A rustle in the bushes -
a traitor it seems
is on the loose again.
This particular sea
is mighty, it is deep.
There is so much drowning there,
so many broken bones.


...somehow related to ....








The Divers, the Drowned, the Delivered

We landed on the beach in Bahia Kino
with our best memories and war stories,
monitoring time by watching shadows.

Simplicity is complex nowdays, so many gadgets.

There was a fire ring for instance,
and burning lanterns but no candles.
And diving birds,

there were three kinds and their bones.

An old friend caught trigger and hoped for flounder.

After he had too much to drink
he resembled a demon but his hands trembled.
Near the fire at night his eyes glistened.

Don's wife likes Miami, she drinks there.

In the morning there was contrition
and there were flies to spread contagion
by thieving sugar and contempt, a diligent crew.

How many times have I seen this before?

Insects and yeasts take people apart
one piece at a time. We collect wood
to burn, it holds us together as it consumes.

Tayammum, sand ablutions are called Tayammum.

At dawn the sea leaves her glass behind,
ceramic prisons free for the taking.
I couldn't get enough, the sea is so generous.

I was questioned thoroughly,

my fingerprints in sand are still there.

Don left so early Sunday, he left cans
and rope, he left precious amounts
of bile in shade trees, he left our rake unattended.

We come from a family of campers,

we are honor bound.

Ours tell quiet stories of blindness all the time,
we frequent several places, the animals know
when we are there. Lizards aren't so cautious.

Aztec traders brought handmade

trinkets on the last day.

Grandfather, father and two boys. Bedou salesmen
from the pagan interior. His son told me this,

he knew why I asked.
He had assimilated over time

with a small TV. His eyes said so.

There are rituals and there are habits.
These are facts.

Yes I said, yes, there is only one.
He nodded when I spoke of the Arabs.
Vaya con Dios I said. He liked that. He smiled.

6.6.08

Islam is not only a journey but it is a race.

Ali Mu'mineen (May Allah be pleased with the itrah of the Last Prophet, SA) often used the metaphor of a race towards death:

Praise be to Allah who established Islam and made it easy for those who approach it and gave strength to its columns against any one who tries to overpower it. So Allah made it (a source of) peace for him who clings to it, safety for him who enters it, argument for him who speaks about it, witness for him who fights with its help, light for him who seeks light from it, understanding for him who provides it, sagacity for him who exerts, a sign (of guidance) for him who perceives, sight for him who resolves, lesson for him who seeks advice, salvation for him who testifies, confidence for him who trusts, pleasure for him who entrusts, and shield for him who endures.

It is the most bright of all paths, the clearest of all passages. It has dignified minarets, bright highways, burning lamps, prestigious field of activity, and high objectives. It has a collection of race horses. It is approached eagerly. Its riders are honourable. Testimony (of Allah, Prophet etc.) is its way, good deeds are its minarets, death is its extremity, this world is its race-course, the Day of Judgement is its horses and Paradise is its point of approach.

4.6.08

Sermon 38, The Peak of Eloquence

Ali ibn Abi Taleb related:

"Doubt is named doubt because it resembles truth. As for lovers of Allah, their conviction serves them as light and the direction of the right path (itself) serves as their guide; while the enemies of Allah, in time of doubt call to misguidance in the darkness of doubt and their guide is blindness (of intelligence). One who fears death cannot escape it nor can one who fears for eternal life secure it."

May Allah be pleased with his Ahl Bayt


3.6.08

Why Do Poets Lie So Much? regarding the knowledges of the poet/philosopher known as Fredrick Nietzsche and billed often as Zarathustra. Nice try it was but no cigar. A mere attempt at the challenge posed in the Quran. And that is all it ever was. It is all anything really is and the knowledge of the superiority of the Communications of Allah given to us in Poetic Form as a Poetic Grand Masterpiece beyond any masterpiece known to human kind is key to knowing anything at all really about anything at all. From the sciences to literature to mathematics to the human heart. Knowing that allows poets to elicit better work, work worthy enough to be presented to Allah in a state of abject humbleness.
On Poetry, Poets and the Abuse
of Knowledge
and Power
Or rather, the expertise and lack of same

Over it are nineteen.

And We have not made the wardens of the fire others than angels, and We have not made their number but as a trial for those who disbelieve, that those who have been given the book may be certain and those who believe may increase in faith, and those who have been given the book and the believers may not doubt, and that those in whose hearts is a disease and the unbelievers may say: What does Allah mean by this parable? Thus does Allah make err whom He pleases, and He guides whom He pleases, and none knows the hosts of your Lord but He Himself; and this is naught but a reminder to the mortals. - The Cloathed One (or hidden secret) from the Glorious Quran. This is the sura for the non muslims who languish in the land of their own ignorance. It is the proof to the physicists, Darwinists, numerologists and those of whom have in their "books" the symbol still existant in their knowledges. It is the coup d'etat.


Who cares really? What I think about poets and poetry can be found
here. That is a poem titled The Flood and it covers what I think about that issue.

Truth. How does one explain to someone who doesn't understand it, the notion that there is an ultimate truth? It is the case that only those who have knowledge understand it and until a person has that knowledge a person will invent a tremendous number of theories regarding the constitution of truth. They will go to many extremes in order to demonstrate to others that they do indeed possess this thing called (interchangably) truth, knowledge, certitude. Certitude being the best descriptor for that exceptionally valuable characteristic which is in fact, the thing that poets ought to possess, seek and how to say it? Win. Yes. Win. Certitude comes from being on the right side of the collective argument. Certitude is also a function of time and the hewing of the soul in the same manner that precious metal is smelted from the combination of basic elements that constitute reality.

The delivery of that certitude to a person is seemingly an arbitrary thing. It is extraneous to the actual job of getting it i.e. by studying, acquiring, purchasing, etc. I imagine that those who are hell bent
on the process (like this very entertaining example suggests) like to refer to it as intellectual property. Those in fact believe that there is an actual commerce to be had in it. Some people on this planet literally possess it as a birthright. That is, I imagine, the hardest pill to swallow for those without that precious birthright.

In some ways, the actual possession of certitude is akin to the act of lapping up the water in a mirage,
it is that delicate. Now, think about it. If a person is able to drink from that mirage and they know that they are quenching their thirst from such a thing, how likely is it that that same person might surrender their right to that well? Not very likely but even so, it is the case that a person sipping or gulping from the edge of such a tremendously fragile thing must forever be on their guard for tricksters who present a variety of other types of illusions as was the case with the famous pair, Harut and Marut.... "evil was the price for which they sold their souls, had they but known this."

So, what then, is the job of poetry and the measure of poets?

You tell me Mr. Silliman. You are the expert. Sadly enough, the polluted well you drink from is nearly dry. What then?

In what is widely cited as the "17th" sermon of Ali ibn Abi Taleb (May Allah be pleased with him and his Ahl Bayt), the four types of experts in the world are described and hence, I liken you to at least one type in there:


About those who sit for dispensation of justice among people but are not fit for it.

Among(1) all the people the most detested before Allah are two persons. One is he who is devoted to his self. So he is deviated from the true path and loves speaking about (foul) innovations and inviting towards wrong path. He is therefore a nuisance for those who are enamoured of him, is himself misled from the guidance of those preceding him, misleads those who follow him in his life or after his death, carries the weight of others' sins and is entangled in his own misdeeds.

The other man is he who has picked up ignorance. He moves among the ignorant, is senseless in the thick of mischief and is blind to the advantages of peace. Those resembling like men have named him scholar but he is not so. He goes out early morning to collect things whose deficiency is better than plenty, till when he has quenched his thirst from polluted water and acquired meaningless things.

He sits among the people as a judge responsible for solving whatever is confusing to the others. If an ambiguous problem is presented before him he manages shabby argument about it of his own accord and passes judgement on its basis. In this way he is entangled in the confusion of doubts as in the spider's web, not knowing whether he was right or wrong. If he is right he fears lest he erred, while if he is wrong he hopes he is right. He is ignorant, wandering astray in ignorance and riding on carriages aimlessly moving in darkness. He did not try to find reality of knowledge. He scatters the traditions as the wind scatters the dry leaves.

By Allah, he is not capable of solving the problems that come to him nor is fit for the position assigned to him. Whatever he does not know he does not regard it worth knowing. He does not realise that what is beyond his reach is within the reach of others. If anything is not clear to him he keeps quiet over it because he knows his own ignorance. Lost lives are crying against his unjust verdicts, and properties (that have been wrongly disposed of) are grumbling against him.

I complain to Allah about persons who live ignorant and die misguided. For them nothing is more worthless than Qur'an if it is recited as it should be recited, nor anything more valuable than the Qur'an if its verses are removed from their places, nor anything more vicious than virtue nor more virtuous than vice.





Why would I bother with such a thing? Well, because I can. Because yes indeed, I'm one of those who is blessed with this commodity called certitude and in that I can discriminate about those that do not possess it nor can they nor do they claim to possess it. It is the one characteristic that is best in people like you i.e. this mandatory piousness of the ignorant although I'm relatively sure that some like you literally bite off the ends of their fingers in rage at us Shia Muslims (Glen Beck comes to mind). It is truly a brave assertion we Shia make and it is ours to make. No....I do not have the Y chromosome (like Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah or Sayyed Sistani or the Grand Ayatollah Khomeini (May Allah be pleased with all of them)) but for whatever reason, I was arbitrarily selected by Allah to have this precious commodity that is (in the words of the Quran) a mighty good fortune.

And of course, I know this about you. You will not assert that you have this certitude. The great thing about certitude is that we are allowed to know this about those who lack it. But go ahead...claim it if you believe it to be your right. In the meantime, continue showing how your ignorance plays such a vital role in this vanity known as poetry. It's awfully entertaining sometimes. And I mean, awfully.

I cannot assert that you do not possess faith in something because obviously you do. If it was the case however that you possessed faith in the right thing, then...it would be obvious not only to me but to the thousand or so readers you have every day. The great thing about certitude is this power of recognition.

Surely the (true) religion with Allah is Islam, and those to whom the Book had been given did not show opposition but after knowledge had come to them, out of envy among themselves; and whoever disbelieves in the communications of Allah then surely Allah is quick in reckoning. - Imran, The Glorious Quran*.

*Not the "almost great" Quran mind you. The Glorious Quran. Imran (pbuh) was the father of the most holy of women, the mother of the prophet Isa (pbut) whose name was Miriam and whose noble sura is in the most special of numerical/gematric positions of "19".

Go figure. I study the most perfect long poem of them all Mr. Silliman. What would a stupid person like me know about this thing called poetry! Heh. I know more than Nietzsche ever could have imagined. All things considered however, this doesn't make me a better muslim or a better person. It simply means I know the power of knowledge, the effect it has on others and the manner in which to use it to elicit a variety of responses from a variety of people. I must always be careful not to abuse it but in this case, you asked for it. Therefore, the blame rests solely on you Ron Silliman. Don't ask questions that you do not really want the answers to.