Grace

http://youtube.com/watch?v=siNsgbIWhAQ Still the best damn vocalist. Jeff Buckley. been dead for over a decade but his songs never grow old. and here's one of his finest. "Grace" from the album "Grace". the lyrics maybe short but the song..... sigh. the song. :) seriously, listen to the song. Grace

There's the moon asking to stay
Long enough for the clouds to fly me away
Though it's my time coming, I'm not afraid, afraid to die
My fading voice sings of love,
But she cries to the clicking of time, Of time
Wait in the fire...

And she weeps on my arm
Walking to the bright lights in sorrow
Oh drink a bit of wine we both might go tomorrow,oh my love
And the rain is falling and I believe
My time has come
It reminds me of the pain
I might leave Leave behind
Wait in the fire...

And I feel them drown my name
So easy to know and forget with this kiss
But I'm not afraid to go but it goes so slow
Wait in the fire...

Succumbing to Urges (2 of 2)

A simple example. Look at the people that go abroad for studies. Those friends and relatives of yours that uve known your whole life. Those people that once upon a time shared talks about such issues and talked against it…some of them whose even preached about it. Then you see them finish their O’Ls and A’Ls and go abroad for further studies away from their families and relatives. After a year of living life on their own with almost total freedom, to be able to go to whore houses, to be able to go to the bar and buy drinks, to be able to bring whomever they want over to their own apartment where they’re alone to do whatever they want, and when they’re able to use weed etc without that fear in the back of their mind that a family member or relative might come in any moment.

After all that when you meet them and start to get to know that relative and friend what do you find out? That almost every single one of them have gotten into atleast one of the above mentioned. Some even all of it. And you can tell that somewhere within MOST of them, they feel guilty and ashamed about it. So much that they try everything they can to hide it from the people they hold dear. Even upto the point of taking extreme measures to ensure their secrets and im not talking about murder here. :p but doing unspeakable acts to top those ones they’ve already succumbed to. Or even minor ones where they make up lies about those people who know the truth and try to keep them away from those that haven’t seen what’s behind those curtains.

And when they explain their experiences this is how most of it goes.

*Alcohol: I went with my friends to a bar to have fun. They all drink but I never do. And anyway its not a problem for me to go to a bar as long as I don’t drink right? Im just there to have fun and help my friends out if they need me. I didn’t wanna be a spoil sport. I had full confidence that I wouldn’t succumb to it. But one day they offered me a drink. OR one day I was so messed up about my bf/gf/exams/life/blah/blah, I wanted to try it. To see what it was that was so addictive about it. To see why people seem to like it so much. So I thought id have just one drink and that was it. It went like that for a month or so and before I knew it I was one of the GANG. And they all cheered for me and was so proud. They liked me so much that they later even took me when they were going to use weed at a friends place. I felt so connected with my FRIENDS.

*Sex: I went out with my Maldivian friends among whom there were some chicks. We started talking and hanging out. She was having probs with her bf and I was having probs with my gf. We started talking and we found out that we had so much in common. And we were always there for each other whenever we needed it.(not to mention the fact that she was probably one of 3 maldivians that i even knew who lived there with me). One night she broke up with her bf and was crying. I went to console her and before we knew it one thing led to another. Back in male’ when I make out there was always that thought in the back of my head that someone might come in any minute. But that wasn’t there. And it felt great that I was free of it. Plus she was so hot when she was wearing those clothes she said she was ashamed to wear back home as people would tease her and cos her parents would feel ashamed. And she was so sexy the way she moved her humps when we danced at the disco which made me so hot for her. So we started making out and once you start its hard to stop. Before we knew it we were having sex. And boy was that feeling awesome. How can one EVER regret having sex.

Pretty much the same story as the first one for weed etc. for testing it out just once or to fit in. and once uve succumbed to it that conscience within you that gives you that guilty feeling slowly fades away and abandons you.

So I wonder how life would be if that situation were to arise. Im talking about the situation where alcohol and weed are readily available to anyone. Some of them can barely stand those urges even during the time they are back in male’ for holidays for a month or so. now lets imagine how life would be in Maldives or how the life of the Maldivians would be like in say 20years time. But that’s for another time I guess. Ive babbled enough for now. Hehe.

Succumbing to Urges (1 of 2)

Something that’s been on my mind for a few years now. While growing up you see almost everyone around you, your generation being all good and honest and blah blah blah. But after a certain time you see them slowly change. Some go into drugs, into prostitution, using weed, drinking alcohol, having sex and some even going towards other religions. Most of them ppl you’ve known your whole life and some even people whom you would never expect to go down that road. And we justify that change we see by telling ourselves “its part of growing up, they are finally letting go of the grip their parents have on them and they are finally making their own choices and decisions in life”. That they have that courage to follow the path they believe in. or does that happen mostly to Maldivians?

The main thing we see in Maldivians…..oh wait. Let me replace that word ‘see’. Cos the main thing we SEE ourselves going towards is probably drugs. But the main thing we KNOW ourselves going towards is sex. Well, no surprise there. I don’t think there’s anyone out there who doesn’t like sex in one form or the other. But I think the reason why we go towards it mainly is becos ppl expect us to do so. we see and try to live like the western world. Whenever we watch a movie or so we are made to believe that its just a simple part of life and simple part of growing up. Or how others like to label it as “exploring life and experimenting for oneself”.

We live in a community where everyone is now into it openly. We talk and some of us even boast about it among friends. We even tease those who aren’t into it. Whether if its cos they want others to join in so that no one can tell them its not right without being a hypocrite, or maybe they found out how wonderful it was and wanted their friends to experience that wonder as well. Wherever you turn to its there. For example if you’re in a relationship for 6months and you haven’t got laid you’re either gay or a pussy. Or atleast one of the couple will either reel the other into it or breakup if they don’t succeed after giving an innocent gold plated excuse. And some of us find ourselves getting into it after convincing ourselves by saying “all my friends are doing it. So why cant i? I don’t wanna be given a label and be teased anymore. Its just a part of growing up. I blame it all on hormones”.

Or maybe its just our weakness to try and do what we are told not to. Like some people who like to boast (whistle whistle) saying: “the food that you eat while fasting and in secret tastes so much better”. Or “you always love the stuff that you have stolen more than the ones you’ve bought”. Maybe its true. Or maybe that’s what they say to justify to themselves that what they’ve done aint wrong. As most of us have that sense which gives us that uneasiness and guilt when we’re about to do something wrong.

Or it might even be that sex is the one thing that’s most readily available to us. Its all around us and everyone’s doing it. And by sex ofcourse I’m not talking about the legal ones. We know that even most of the married couples some whom we might call aunts or uncles are having affairs of their own. Its one big secret that every Maldivian is aware of. So what if we could easily get alcohol and weed? Already there are lots of people who can get a hold of them. Mostly the people working in resorts and those seamen who go abroad in their work. but what if it was available to anyone who wants it? Ill bet within a year there will be new recruits that are more than twice the number of ppl that are already using them.

Why do I believe in God (2 of 2)

Im sure most of you are familiar with the water cycle, the revolution of the earth around the sun, the coming of night and day, the lifecycle of plants and animals of all sorts. Everything is in order which allows us to calculate time etc. so now it makes one wonder. If the chances of pulling out merely ten marbles in order is that big, what are the chances of all that ive explained happening in order? And those are just merely some examples. What about the way our hearts and minds work, our kidneys, how a baby is formed and born into this world, how he grows up. So many countless scenarios. And lets say even if we believe the ‘big bang’ theory, someone had to create that combustion. There are countless signs that a higher being or force is behind all of this. That all of this couldn’t have happened by random.

And I wonder. About the basic instincts we have when we are born. Not just humans but other living beings as well. Most living beings doesn’t need one to teach it how to survive, feed etc etc. Its as if all those information are automatically stored inside them when they come into this world. Or lets take humans in another example. When we are doing something, instinctively we know if what we are doing is right or wrong. We have that feeling within us. That which distinguishes stuff for us. That awareness and reasoning. We all seem to be governed by some law.

Well, I was gonna stop here but lets ask ourselves a further question. When we see a car, building , a clock etc we automatically consider the person or company that designed it or manufactured it etc. you would NEVER think that it created itself or came to be by chance or just happened to be there. Lets make this more simpler. Lets say you were walking down a field and you saw a mobile phone lying there on the ground. Would you think that it was always there? No you wont. Instead you would KNOW that someone left it there or lost it. Why? Because its not part of the natural landscape. It has been obviously designed by someone and lost by someone. And this is a simple thing. Its not like the human eye or the sun for instance. So how could someone believe that the mobile phone had a designer but the universe or everything else in it doesn’t have a designer and that it all just came about randomly.

And one final example. Think about the brain, how it thinks and how it functions. How it analyses, stores information, retrieves information, distinguishes light and categorizes information in a millionth of a second. Think of how the brain does that constantly. This is the brain that made that mobile phone, those buildings, those robots and all those amazing creations by man. So is it logical to say that all those stuff were designed by the man and his brain, but that brain doesn’t have a designer? That it too goes into the category of ‘chance’? I think that’s more than enough reason for one to believe that there is a higher being behind all these or atleast for one to start thinking about it.

P.S- This is the point where I try to link it all to the quran which was sent over 1400years ago before man found out abt all these through science. But I was asked not to talk about the prophets, about the quran or the afterlife. So I guess ill have to leave the next part aside.

Why do I believe in God (1 of 2)

Firstly as to why im writing on this topic, the blogger ‘KONCHEKEY’ had commented on a previous post of mine saying : "answer me this.. better yet write a post about it
forget about the prophets, forget about the books, forget about the after life "y do U believe in god?"
(also dont talk about islam in it, thats for the next question)"
I dunno if this is somehow to show just how stupid he thinks someone believing in islam is or not but lets see how it goes.

I was born to a muslim family and obviously since birth they’ve tried to implement our religion onto me. I still remember being curious and asking my dad all sorts of questions about god n all. He was really helpful but nevertheless my questions never ceased. To be honest as I was growing up I just took the easy way and believed whatever my parents told me naturally. But the more I learnt at school, from parents and my own personal experience while growing up I felt more assured. Though ive come across people saying that this world has come about by chance….randomly.

By the time I finished my O’Ls n so I had gained enough knowledge to decide for myself whether if the basics of what I believe in is TO ME, right or wrong. Luckily I did science and those who have knows all the stuff that we were taught about the very BASIC fundamentals of how our bodies work and not to mention the very basic principles of physics. Never liked chemistry(whistle whistle). And I think we’ve all seen our share of National Geographic Channel as well. Hehe. It makes you wonder. Why does our parents believe that there is a god that we cannot see. So many religions in the world. We as muslims say that the others are mislead. Wont they be saying the same thing about us? It makes one wonder. Here are some of the things which contributed to the decision I came to about the issue “is there a god? Or are we here by random choice?”. The same way as people gamble?

Heres a very simple example that most of you probably have heard by now. Take 10 marbles and number them 1-10. Put all the marbles in a bag and shake them up. Now without looking take out the marble with the number 1. And then marble number 2 and so on. In that order. Its just 10 marbles right? No big deal. So what do you think the chances are to pull out all the ten marbles in that order? Anyone done probability? The chances are 26 MILLION to one. Hard to believe? Try it for yourself. Use the calculators. And that’s the chance of picking out JUST ten marbles in order.

Another example which I hope u’ve heard of before. The very earth we live on is ONE of nine or so planets that revolves around our sun. This sun which gives light, etc is ONE star which is apparently one of the smaller stars in our galaxy the Milky way. Now the Milkyway is apparently one of the smaller galaxies in the Nebula called Andromeda. And this Andromeda in itself has millions of galaxies like the Milkyway. There are literally countless number of clusters of galaxies that have been PREDICTED by the scientists of today.

Meaning of the word "ISLAM" and some info about the word "ALLAH".

A word that we've been using ever since we were lil kids. but does anyone really know what the word means.

Islam is derived from the word ‘salam’, which means peace. Its also derived from the Arabic word ‘silm’ which means to submit ur will to allah, the all mighty god. So in short islam means : "Peace acquired by submitting your will to almighty God."

And regarding the concept of Allah in Islam, the best reply a muslim can give is in
the Quran, surat al Ikhlas, chapter number 112, verse 1-4 which says:
"Say he is Allah one and only. Allah the absolute and eternal. He begets not, nor is he begotten. There is nothing like him". this is a four line definition of almighty Allah.

So why do muslims prefer to say Allah instead of God? its because a person can play mischief with the english word 'god'. For example if u add 's' to god it becomes 'gods'. same goes for adding 'dess', 'father', 'mother' which makes it 'goddess', 'godfather', and 'godmother'. but there is no such word as 'Allahs', nothing like female Allah, Allah father or Allah mother.
Furthermore the word 'Allah' has been mentioned in all the major scriptures of the world including hindu, sikh, jewish and the christian scriptures. Its mentioned in the Gospel of Mark, chapter number 15, verse number 34 as well as the Gospel of Maththew, chapter number 27, verse number 46. When jesus(PBOH) when he was put on the cross he cried out "Ellai Ellai lamaa sabakthani" so as to say "Oh God Oh God! why hast thou forsaken me". and this "Ellai Ellai lamaa sabakthani" is the exact words spoken by Jesus(PBOH) and we know he spoke "aramaike" which is the sister language of arabic. and if you translate those words into arabic it means "Allah Allah". and those words you will find in all the different translations of the bible. The new testament has been translated into more than 2000 different languages but in every translation the original words spoken by Jesus(PBOH) is maintained.

Elah- (Arabic) means god or something worshipped
Allah- Has no gender
Allah- Never plural - always singular
Al-lah- means the only one to worship

*Dr.Zakir Naik*

What they said wasnt entirely true.

Please correct me if im wrong. The first figure shows how we were basically taught as we grew up. That the Earth revolves around the sun as such. And that was the mental picture that most of us had due to all those models of the planets revolving around the sun and due to all the diagrams that were shown to us pretty much like that one. But this isnt entirely true. So ill try to shed some light on this lil misconception.

The second figure shows how the Earth revolves around the sun. It is not in one line with the sun. The earth you might say moves up and down as it revolves around the sun. This explains the climates that are experienced by the northern and southern hemispheres. When the earth is at its top position, the intensity of the sun is stronger on the southern hemisphere than the northern. so its summer for the southern while its winter for the northern. and when the Earth is at its lowest position its winter for the southern and summer for the northern. and whether the earth is in the top position or the bottom position the equator doesnt move that further away from the sun to experience winter. or in other words the intensity of the sun's rays on the equator doesnt vary that much.

The seasons result from the Earth's axis being tilted to its orbital plane; it deviates by an angle of approximately 23.5 degrees. Thus, at any given time during summer or winter, one part of the planet is more directly exposed to the rays of the Sun. This exposure alternates as the Earth revolves in its orbit. At any given time, regardless of season, the northern and southern hemispheres experience opposite seasons.

This makes one wonder how perfect the alignment is. i mean what if the earth was just a bit further away from the sun? it would probably be winter all the time. and what if the earth was a bit closer to the sun? it would be summer for all the places and those places in the southern hemisphere which already experience temperatures of over 60degrees wouldnt allow any life on it. and we'd all probably die out of heat in time. and if this movement is not done by the earth, time would probably build up enough heat on the earth that would no longer support life one day. and it makes you wonder about the continuous rotation of the earth which brings forth day and night.

So i hope this shed some light on the misconception that most of us have regarding this matter. yea, ive made a new blog to put all the religious stuff or such into but the next paragraph seems to deviate from that plan. hehe. so the following verse is for those that wonder about such things.

"In the creation of the heavens and the Earth, and in the difference of night and day are Signs. Signs for men of Reason! Those who celebrate the praises of Allah while standing up, sitting down or lying on their sides. And they contemplate the creations of the heaven and the earth. They say: Our lord! You have not created all of this for no purpose! Glory be to you! Save us from the punishment of the Hell-Fire!"
*surah 3 Al-Imran, Verse 190*

Impacts 5 : The Daily Five Prayers (2 of 2)

Some of us see the error in our ways and start resuming daily prayers. Daily prayers that are required of us. But everytime we miss a single prayer it adds up on which we’ve determined previously. So the question stands “What are we doing in compensation to those that we missed in the past?”. Simply praying five times a day is not enough. Just how many of us CAN actually recite the quran without making countless mistakes nowadays? When was the last time we sat down with the Quran and recited it for even half an hour? The last ramazaan? Whats ur excuse? Not enough time? Too busy? Doing what? Playing games, watching movies, trying to impress the opposite sex, playing sports? Hmmmmm, wonder if they are reasonable excuses.

And this is considered to be the very basic fundamentals of our religion, the beam which supports islam. So if we are unable to even achieve this, we should be ashamed to call ourselves muslims. If we are unable to achieve that, we are merely posers who aren’t grateful to god for all the blessings in our lives even if we CLAIM that we are. We bring shame to the name ‘Muslim’.

This is the reason why we are lured into committing other sins. If we pray daily five times a day, we’d automatically be keeping away from other sins. The prophet(SAW) said “If one of you had a stream infront of your house and you went down to that stream every two hours or three hours or so, u washed urself and bathed urself in it, would there be any dirt on you?”. The principle is followed from the daily prayers.

For example a person prays five times a day would he be thinking about fornicating, committing adultery, or maybe robbing a bank? Say they’ve just finished praying the fathis prayer. And they start planning for this bank robbery. Or lets say a man calls a woman and they wanna meet together if you know what I mean. And he goes “where shall we meet? Lets meet after lunch. Oh wait, its afternoon now its time for the afternoon prayer. So before we have this little meeting we’re gonna have, lets pray the afternoon prayer first”. So they both pray and then he calls up and says “we’ve both prayed and where do we go from here? Should we go to your house or my house? And what do we do from there? We have a lil drink and we’re getting smooches or whatever. And really get into it and then he suddenly goes. Oh wait. Its time for the Asru prayer”. Im sure u know what Im getting at. Its not gonna happen. Simple.

The Quran says : “Innassalaatha thanhaa anil fakhshaai val munkar” (don’t have the Arabic font) : meaning “Verily the prayer is the preventive deterrent against human tendencies towards doing what is wrong”.

*4th paragraph referenced from Sheikh Khalid Yasin

Impacts 5 : The Daily Five Prayers (1 of 2)

This post goes out to all those believers out there who claim that they are a muslim. Lets say that its some advice. Whether you choose to accept it or not is upto u.

If I said to u theres a house for u, fully furnished with no mortgage or rent, 4 bedrooms. Nice neighbourhood, fully paid for with one condition. You move into the house and five times a day you are asked to make a phone call. Even the phone is there in the house. So just call up the company who gave you the house and say thank you very much. To be grateful and to take care of the house. And if somebody comes by and wants to spend the night and are hungry, give them what they need, treat them nice and let them keep going. Is that reasonable? Human beings should be motivated to be grateful if they are given something to which they haven’t paid for or have to pay for.

Well, that house is not a building, that house is you. Because that personality that is u is inside a body. That personality is housed. But when you die, so does that body. And that personality is wrapped up and is accounted for everything that’s been done by that personality. And what im saying to you and myself is that we have to be grateful for the life that we have been given because we are beneficiaries. You have been given this life without having to pay for it. The creator of the heavens and the earth, the benefactor has given us all of this without us even asking for it, the water, the air, our eyes, our thinking, the kidneys, our hearts, the ability to express ourselves and countless more. And im sure I don’t have to tell anyone the miracles of those and how they work. So don’t u think it is reasonable for that creator, that benefactor to say to you and I, that we should do three things

1) We should recognize this benefactor

2) Conform to some basic principles of decency, dignity, honour, justice, fairness and equity among human beings.

3) To give thanks, praise or worship at certain given times and places.
Three things that every human being is capable of doing irrespective of gender, race, status or wealth. So is this form of tribute reasonable? And thus comes the wordings we’ve all heard of “ Laa ilaaha illallah” meaning nothing to be recognized, no one to be paid tribute to, except the benefactor, the creator.
Such a simple thing asked of us. We all stand up feeling mighty and powerful and we all say proudly”I am a muslim. Laa ilaaha illallah!”. Yet we are unable to do this simple task. 5prayers a day which would take us like 25mins. That is just 1.5% of the time we have in a whole day. Jes a mere ONE POINT FIVE percent. So how can we even think of coming up with an excuse not to be able to do that. But we do don’t we? And the five prayers are “Vaajib” for us. Meaning we get “azaab” if we miss even one.

Heres something simple each one can do including myself. Consider a full month and see just how many prayers u are able to do(believe me, it would be easier than counting those that we did not do). Im sure the average Maldivian figure would be lower than 30. But lets take 30 as it is. Meaning we forgo 120prayers per month. Making it 1440 per year. Now multiply that by the number of years it has passed since u became physically mature. Quite a number isn’t it? That’s the “azaab” we have been able to collect only from forgoing the daily prayer. And only god knows the MEASURE of “azaab” for every single prayer that we forgo. Afterall the daily five prayers are ENFORCED in our religion to do on countless occasions even in the Quran. Do u really think the “azaab” for disobeying it or the measure of it would be light?

*2nd and 3rd paragraph referenced from Sheikh Khalid Yasin

Seafarers in the Maldives

No wonder why most Maldivian Seamen whose been sailing for years are messed up. we've got ppl from 6 nationalities in our current course and in all of them except Maldives they all get time off. its like u work for 2months straight and then u get 2months off WITH pay. Or in some companies you work for 3months and get one and a half months off with pay. so basically ull be getting half the year off to relax urself after working ur arse off on a ship by going to vacations to different places/countries. but in Maldives you work for 12months and u get one month off. but if u take that one month off, u dont have any job guarantee. so u need to find a friend with the certificate to work in ur stead who will be willing to hand-over his work after you come back from that one month holiday.

It had been proved that people will get psychologically affected if they do not get enough time off. its obvious actually. working on a ship without seeing ur family and friends for months at a time only to see them for like a day or two before u have to leave again. i wonder if there is an IMO regulation or sumthing where seafarers have to be given certain time off.

And boy was everyone in shock when they heard how seafarers live their lives in the maldives. i guess after working like that for years u finally crack(most of them). and then they start drinking and going to prostitues, whatever they can do to make it seem easier and worthwhile for the time they are away from home. its sad actually. but then again who knows. maybe there are other countries as well who are in even worse condition than what maldives is in. and plus, not everyone is broken down to that extent. the clever ones finish off their seatime, save up some money and start a business elsewhere.

Dont Worry.

Look, i know its scary and that there is a risk that u might not even come out of this alive. But its jes an operation. u have got to stop worrying so much abt it. everything is gonna go smoothly and the scars if any will be gone in due time. you are not gonna die. trust me on that. uve got too much to do anyway. we cant be letting u go off that easily u knw :p. ive got a drum to get u as well. cos i sure as hell cant gonne give it if ur dead. not to mention the fact that u have ur end of the bargain to keep. so be brave abt it, know that our prayers and well wishes will always be with u. and come back safely u hear? :)

oh yea, one more thing. no matter how much u want it, i aint going in after u and u arent gonna take me as well. :p and when i said to be optimistic abt it, i didnt mean for u to look forward to the operation going wrong. :p hehe. good luck and cya soon.....safe n sound ;)

"Dont worry about a thing,
cause every little thing gonna be all right.
Singin: dont worry about a thing,
cause every little thing gonna be all right!

Rise up this mornin,
Smiled with the risin sun,
Three little birds
Pitch by my doorstep
Singin sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true,
Sayin, (this is my message to you-ou-ou:)

Singin: dont worry bout a thing,
cause every little thing gonna be all right.
Singin: dont worry (dont worry) bout a thing,
cause every little thing gonna be all right!"
-Bob Marley-