An American in Saudi Arabia

Ramdhaan 1428/2007

2007-09-12T15:58:00.000+03:00

Al-Hamdu lillaah, another season of opportunities has come upon us. May Allah help us in our fasting and night prayers and make us of those who are steadfast during this blessed month of Ramadhan. May He accept from us all of our charities and our extra good deeds along with that which is obligatory upon us.

Since the moon was not sighted on Wednesday, Ramadhaan will begin on Thursday September 13th, 2007.

I did a little write up a while back about the many opportunities that Allah gives us during these blessed seasons. Perhaps there might be some benefit in it.

Opportunities Gone and Opportunities to Come

Also, last year we had some people questioning the sighting of the moon so perhaps this might be of benefit this year.

Rumors Concerning the Sighting of the Moon

Foreigners killed in Dammaj, Yemen

2007-03-29T12:58:00.000+03:00

Two Students killed in Dar al-Hadith by Followers of Al-Houthi.
- Dammaj, Yemen

Just like the last round of sad news, it seems two foreign Stuents of Knowledge were killed in Yemen.

The following is my brief translation of this Arabic Article published yesterday. I came across it last night.

According to official sources, two foreign students --on of them of French nationality-- were killed today in an attack on students of the Dar al-Hadith institute in the village of Dammaj. This attack, the first of it's kind, was carried out by followers of al-Houthi, a local Shiitie Rebel Leader.

According to some local Yemeni websites:

The encounter took place when some of al-Houthi's followers attacked a group of students from the Salafi institute.
The students "were standing guard, which was a newly enforced measure" after the Government had reportedly "armed them and a groupd of students from the Salafi institute to confront the followers of al-Houti."
The encounter took place "during the passing of a patrol of al-Houthi's followers in the area".

Some sources in San`aa', close to the Administration of the institute reaffirmed, "The Institute commonly stays under tight security measures." He also negated the "possibility of suporters of the Institute taking part in any armed confrontation with al-Houthi's followers in the Sa`dah region." Saying, "Our task is one of Da`wah (Islamic Propagation), not a Military one. We don't take part in any armed struggle against that Rafidhi (Shiite) Rebellion which is present in the villages around the city of Sa`dah." The source also mentioned his sorrow on hearing news of the institute in Dammaj coming under armed attack. He went on to say, "The Institute was established by Shaikh Muqbil bin Haadee al-Waadi`ee --rahimahullah (may Allah have mercy on him)-- more than two decades ago and the people of the area have never known it to be anything other than a peaceful institution which calls to Allah through speech and intellect. Leaving 'Da`wah by hand' (using forecul measures) to the Authorities."

He added that, "Despite the fact that Shaikh Muqbil and his followers would openly call to Allah and denouncing Shirk (Polytheism), Bid`ah (Innovation in religious matters) and Rafdh (Being of Shiite methodology), the School has never been associated with any armed encounter." He then reaffirmed that, "The Center will continue the task of Shaikh Muqbil by defending the Sunnah (teachings of Prophet Muhammad) and defense of the Companions of the Prophet --sallallaahi `alaihi wa sallam (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him)-- and the correct teachings of Islam, regardless of how many attempts there are to hamper it."

The source, who asked to remain anonymous, also fiercely refuted the notion that al-Houthi's followers conceal hatred for the Salafi Da`wah."
He found it strange that, "Some people are trying to make this a sectarian conflict. This (al-Houthi's followers) is an oppressive group that has rebelled against the Government. It is the Government, now, who strives to execute its authority in the region, keen on the service of its citizens", as he put it.

___________________________

May Allah have mercy on our brothers and allow the Government to find those Rafidhi filth and take them to account for what they did.

___________________________

Update (March 31, 2007): According to Reuters and the AFP, it seems the other casualty was a British brother. The authorities seemed to have named him "Patrick" only. Thee was a French-Algerian brother that was wounded. According to multiple news sources, the were standing security during the night, protecting the school.

Update (April 3, 2007): One of my Yemeni classmates said that there was a call mde from a brother in Dammaj stating that the actual persons killed were one French and one Yemeni student. There were three students wounded, one of them was a French-Algerian.

I will be posting another post insha Allah on some of the details learned after the incident.

French Nationals Executed near Madinah

2007-03-20T19:41:00.000+03:00

I've been waiting to see the news break in any of the Western Media outlets, but was surprised to see no real coverage of the affair.

Not too long ago (about two weeks ago) some French expatriates, living in Riyadh, were killed as they completed a trip to the ancient ruins of Mada'in Salih. They were not too far from Madinah, and it seems that some of them (the Muslims from the group) were going to stop by the Makkah to perform 'Umrah before returning to Riyadh.

They had completed a group camping trip near the ancient ruins. As far as I know they were a group of two families, men and women. There were nine of them in the group and two of those murdered were Father & Son. As they were near the villages outside of Mada'in Salih near the Madinah-Tabuk Road, they seem to have gotten lost and made the mistake of asking too many people for directions. They were soon to find out it was going to cost them their innocent lives.

The group were with another group of expatriates that were also camping with them. The other group of 19 Belgians left for Riyadh earlier. Perhaps the Muslims of this French Group wanted to make 'Umrah before returning (?). It seems somebody overheard them asking for directions when they were lost and decided to follow them and take them out.

As they took a rest along the road, a green Nissan Patrol (SUV) approached them. The men were seperated from the women and children and systematically executed. The women and children were left to watch the execution and to then survive their male relatives. Of the four, three died there at roadside and one was taken to the hospital where he subsequently died of his injuries. The Father & Son couple were muslims and their Janaazah (Funeral Prayer) was prayed at the Prophet's Masjid in Madinah. King Abdullah visited their female survivors and promised to take care of them however they required and to find the criminals that did this.

So far, the area that they were killed in has been on lock-down. There are checkpoints all around and there is an extensive search on for the criminals. There are different search parties from different regions, all using their expertise to find those guilty of the crime.

The Government, having taken testimonies from the female survivors, knows the car that the criminals used. It was a green Nissan Patrol, and they've been searching the Kingdom looking for the car. The government --perhaps through a process of elimination-- named two prime suspects and gave them a chance to hand themselves in:

Abdullah Sayir Mu`awadh Al-Mahmadi
His relative Nasir bin Lateef Al-Balawi

It sees they checked the surrounding area and took account of the men in the area and there are still two men unaccounted for. The government gave these two men a deadline to come in and prove theseves innocent, as they were the prime suspects. Those two men let the deadline pass and have become even more guilty in the eyes of the Government. Anybody aiding them is considered and accessory and a reward of $1.86 Million has been made available for information leading to their arrest.

I haven't seen a worse case of blatant terrorism than this. These people are clearly not enemies, two of them were DEFINITELY Muslims. They came to this country to work and to be of benefit to the people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Why, after seeing that they are Muslims, would you not only try to harm them, but also to follow them and meticulously single them out for execution? Not that it would have been ANY different were those four French men non-Muslims. No matter what, the leader of the Muslims of this country has given them a promise of safety and we as Muslims are obliged to honor that promise to the best of our ability.

I remember not too many years ago, when this huge campaign by the filthy Khawarij terrorists was launched against Western interests, they used to always tell people they are after the non-Muslims and that they are doing this for Islam.

How in the world does this help Muslims or Islam in any way!?
How will you aswer for Jean-Marc Bonnet and his 17-year-old son Mubarak!?
They're both French-Moroccan Muslims whose blood was spilled!

Not only, do these criminals make extremely audacious promises, but they also end up doing the exact opposite f what they claim. In all the major campaigns that these terrorists have led, they've caused DIRECT harm to the Muslims. In all the bombings, shootouts and kidnappings, it's been a majority of Muslim casualties. They don't care what your religion is, they want to scare the Ambassador or Consul General of the affected nationality.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a memo a week and a half ago, to all the foreign embassies within the Kingdom highlighting the fact that it seems there is a general fear that these people are going to continue targetting foreign nationals. I remember the Minister of Interior, Prince Naif bin Abdil-Azeez sent a warning out to the terrorists a year or two ago, saying that if they didn't stop carrying out these different campaigns against the foreigners, that he would equip all foreigners with adequate arms to protect themself.
Basically, "If you idiots don't quit it, I'm gonna give them the chance to take you out before I take you out."

I hope they do find those murderers and it would be nice to see them get executed for the crime they committed.

If you've seen any foreign coverage of the story, please leave me a comment with a link, I'll update the blog post with the links, insha Allah.

Sources:

Opportunities gone and opportunities to come

2006-10-16T21:22:00.000+03:00

Remember everybody, that Ramadhan is just one of the many seasons throughout the year in which Allah gives us a chance to increase our rewards greatly by increasing our actions only slightly. It's from his infinite Mercy upon us that he doesn't make these opportunities all come at one time rather he provides us many opportunities to rake in those extra rewards and blessings throughout the year.

In Muharram, the first month of the Islamic Calendar and which is one of the four Sacred Months, we have the fasting of `Ashura', the tenth day of Muharram and a day before it or after it.

In Rajab, the seventh month of the Islamic Calendar and which is another Sacred Month, we have many opportunities to increase our Iman and perform as much as we can.

In Sha`ban, the eighth month of the Islamic Calendar, the Prophet, salallaahu `alaihi wa sallam, used to fast as many voluntary fasts as he could.

In Ramadhan, the ninth month of the Islamic Calendar, the month we are in, we have thirty days in which the gates of Jannah (Paradise) are open and the Shayateen (Devils) are chained. The first ten days of Ramadhan are Mercy, the second ten are Forgiveness and the last third are emancipation from the Fire. In it is a night that is better than 1,000 months (83 years and 4 months), whoever worships Allah in that night it is as if he worshipped Allah with that worship for 1,000 months. As the Prophet, sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam, said, "Whoever fasts Ramadhan, with Iman (Belief) and Ihtisab (accountability), then his sins will be forgiven... even if they are (in multitude) like the foam of the Sea."

In Shawwal, the tenth month of the Islamic Calendar, Muslims all over the world rejoice and celebrate one of Islam's two annual holidays... Eid! After one month of fasting and praying extra voluntary prayers, we -on Eid day- are ordered to have fun and meet with each other in happiness, this being the First of two Eids, Eid al-Fitr (Eid of Breaking Fast).
Also the Prophet, sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam, told us that "whoever fasts Ramadhan, and then follows it up with six days of Shawwal, then it is as if he has fasted the whole year."
Shawwal is also the first of three months in which the Hujjaaj (pilgrims) start coming to Makkah to perform their `Umrah (lesser Pilgrimage) as a pre-Hajj right for Hajj Tamattu` (one of the three forms of the greater Pilgrimage).

In Dhil-Qa`dah, the eleventh month of the Islamic Calendar, also one of the four Sacred Months, that opportunity continues for those who would like to perform Hajj to make their way to the Blessed city of Makkah to perform the Hajj (greater Pilgrimage). Most people come to the Arabian Penninsula during this month for the beginning of their Hajj rights.

In Dhil-Hijjah, the last month of the Islamic Calendar, and one of the four Sacred Months, Muslims perform Hajj.
On the Eigth Day, they go to Mina, the Tent City and rest there and prepare for the coming Hajj Rights.
On the Ninth Day, they go to the valley of `Arafah to supplicate to Allah, asking for forgiveness and asking for their needs in this world, as the Prophet told us that this is a place where our supplications are accepted... another opportunity.
After Dhuhr Salah, there is a Khutbah (Sermon) that is given as a reminder to the believers.
This is the most important of all the Hajj Rights, as the Prophet, sallallaahu`alaihi wa sallam, said, "Hajj is `Arafah." After staying in `Arafah until Sundown, the Hujjaaj leave the valley and assemble in Muzdalifah to sleep that night.
On the Tenth Day, they leave Muzdalifah after Fajr Salah. The Prophet told us that this is also another time in which Allah accepts our Du`aa (supplication)... another opportunity.
Then after leaving Muzdalifah, they come back to Mina to stone the largest of the three Jamaraat (stone statues at the end of Mina closest to Makkah). They also, slaughter their sacrificial animals at that time, whether it be camel, cow, sheep or goat. This day is known as Youm an-Nahr (The Day of The Slaughter). Pilgrims also must make Tawaf (circuits) around the Ka`bah and Sa`ee (sprinting) between Safaa' and Marwah (two small mountains near the Ka`bah).
The Tenth Day is also the day that the second annual Eid celebration occurs on. This Eid is called Eid al-Adhaa (Eid of Sacrifice) in which the rest of the Muslims all over the world, are sacrificing animals for Allah's sake and eating from them and giving charity from them.
On the Eleventh, Twelvth and Thirteenth Days, the Pilgrims are to stone all theree Jamaraat (stone statues) and between the stoning of each, the Prophet told us to make Du'aa and informed us that these are also major opportunities for us in which Allah accepts our supplications... another opportunity.

Basically, all throughout the year we are given these opportunities, and perhaps the wisdom behind this, as some of our Scholars say, is that this causes the Servant of Allah to long for these opportunities, and to prepare themselves, whether it be spiritually, physically, financially or mentally.

May Allah accept our fasting in this Blessed month of Ramadhan and help us to fast the Six Days of Shawwal with ease. These might be our last days on the Earth, let's make the most of them. Besides these prescribed days, the Prophet, sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam, taught us that fasting during the rest of the year is a prescribed Sunnah (tradition of the Prophet).

He encouraged us to fast Mondays and Thursdays, as those are the days that the deeds of the servants are lifted to Allah. He also prescribed fasting the Full Moon days, the Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Days of each month. Also, for those who find themselve more capable of fasting, and want to perform even more than what was mentioned previously, he prescribed the Fasts of Dawud (Prophet David) as he used to fast one day and eat the next day, thus fasting every other day of the month.

Those of us who cannot fast, can help break the fast of those who are able to fast, whether it be voluntary fasts or obligatory fasts. THe Prophet, salallaahu `alaihi wa sallam, told us that whoever provides the fasting person food to break his fast with, that he shares in the reward that fasting person received for fasting.

May Allah make our intentions sincere, solely for His sake, and make our actions correct, upon the Sunnah of his Messenger... Aameen

Rumors concerning the Sighting of the Moon

2006-10-12T17:23:00.000+03:00

There seem to be rumors every year that Saudi Arabi has made a mistake in sighting the moon. Normally it is related to Ramadhan and Eid al-Fitr, but some people go to the extreme of saying that even the sighting of the crescent of Dhul-Hijjah is wrongly declared by the Saudi Government thus causing three million people's Hajj to be invalid.

It's not strange to see such comments from people who narrate anything and everything they here. Yet the sad reality is that many of the people that carry on and propagate these rumors are people that know of the Hadeeth of our beloved Prophet, sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam, in which he said, "It's enough for a man to be considered a liar that he reports all that he hears."

The logic behind being considered a liar based on narrating all you hear is pretty simple. If somebody tells you something, whether it is truth or not, you take it upon yourslef to propagate that news. Let's say the guy that told you that news did the same thing you are about to do: Somebody told him a rumor and he decided that he will tell others. What if the person that started the rumor was joking, or misunderstood something regarding the sighting of the moon or worse of all, what if this person was lying?

HUH!? Lying about such a thing? Why would somebody do that?

I have been seeing a lot of propaganda these days about the Saudi government and its "ultra-conservative" ways and how people go overboard in the month of Ramadhan to be super-religious... Basically, that it's a fake way of life for thirty days.

I don't mean to go off on a tangent, it's just that people don't really like Saudi Arabia. It's against the law to fornicate, to get drunk or get high...
And worse of all for all those losers: The punishments (which are according to the Qur'aan and Sunnah) are pretty tough...

So then we shouldn't be surprised when people go ahead and make up rumors like:
"Saudi Arabia deliberately started Ramadhan early..."
"Saudi Arabia runs on a predetermined calendar..."
"They made an announcement int he Haram that th emoon was sighted incorrectly... My uncle was there I swear!"
"There's too much dust, those Saudis don't know how to sight the moon, the don't even have the new Gigatronicated Celestial Inspector Gadget Telescope!"

For now, I'd just like to say, that the moon was sighted, correctly and accurately. They have very qualified people who have decades of experience in sighting the moon and any rumors that scholars here might have declared the sighting to be inaccruate are just plain rumors.

I'll get into the details of sighting the moon in a later post insha Allaah...

Don't cry over spilt filth...

2006-06-21T13:04:00.000+03:00

This is an article I found that is very related to the subject our last post covered, it's a translated article from the Sharq al-Awsat Arabic Daily newspaper, translated by our beloved brother Hasan as-Somali that I picked up at SalafiTalk.net

O Muslims! Fear Allah And Don’t Sympathise With Zarqaawee.
Excerpts taken from an article from Ash-Sharaq Al-Awsat
By Shaikh Abdul Muhsin Al-‘Ubaykaan
(A senior scholar from Saudi Arabia)

There is no doubt that every Muslim, who is eagerly concerned about their religion and enthusiastic to (protect) the reputation of their nation, is delighted to hear about the decline of a deviant ideology that is attributed to Islam, when in reality it does nothing but smear (the religion's) true image.

A deviant Kharajite ideology that has declared the blood of the Muslims and innocent non-Muslims to be lawful game; it has relished in pronouncing Muslims to be infidels, and it has vigorously endeavoured to destroy and bomb. (An ideology) that has stained the image of Islam and the Muslims, and it has caused many evils which cannot be enumerated and cannot be calculated by any one person.

This Kharijite ideology has produced many ills. From them: this malicious onslaught against the Muslims in general- emanating from many different angles, assaults upon the methods of teaching practised in the Muslim lands, (it has been utilized) as a blockade to the Book and the Sunnah, occupation of Muslim lands, and the captivation of innocent people due to mere speculation. All of this has resulted from this chaos and confusion, and from the war between (the lunatics) of Al-Qaa’idah and certain countries.

Yes, the fact that this ideology has begun to vanish, its symbolic figures are being humiliated and its leaders are falling brings joy to the heart. But sadly we see some of the Muslims continuing to show sympathy to Az-Zarqaawee or to whoever will replace him. Az-Zarqaawee who adopted the wretched ideology of Al-Qaa’idah, this is no more than the belief of the Kharijite, Takfeeris; and it has not brought any benefit to the Muslims whatsoever.

These sympathisers feign blindness to these barbaric, criminal acts, perpetrated by Az-Zaqaawee and his organisation inside and outside of Iraq, that oppose (the laws) of the religion and that cannot be fathomed by sound intellectual reasoning. It is visible to everyone with two eyes to see that Zarqaawee’s actions are not only traceable to Iraq; rather they have spread to other places. This man has (monstrous) ambitions in many arenas; he has explicitly voiced his aspirations, in both speech and action. An example of this is the bombings that occurred in Jordan and massacred those inviolable souls.

Islam is totally innocent of these ideologies and misguided acts. Even Jihad in the path of Allah has stipulations and guidelines that have to be met.

Using the name of Islam and (a twisted) understanding of Jihad to spread anarchy in the ranks of the Muslims, declare their blood and wealth to be lawful, cause disunity and division, weaken their position, empower their opponents against them and blemish the appearance of Islam in the most awful manner- acts such as slaughtering a human by slicing their jugular vein and then showing this to millions through the media outlets- has led to some people fleeing from Islam and detesting the Muslims, because the activities of these weirdoes that have nothing to do with Islam or the Muslims.

Translated by Hassan As-Somali

For the full Arabic version, check out the Sharq al-Awsat paper's site.

Comments are welcome, sympathy isn't...

Another one gone, another one bites the dust!

2006-06-09T07:01:00.000+03:00

They got him... well, at least one of the many "Hims"

They got Abu Mus`ab az-Zarqawi, a Jordanian man from the cursed Khawaarij Sect, may Allaah destroy them. The ones that:

"...kill the people of Islaam, and leave the worshippers of Idols", as our Prophet, Sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam said.

"They leave this Religion as the arrow leaves the bow. Never to return to it again."

"They are the Dogs of Hellfire"

"They recite the Qur'aan yet it doesn't pass their vocal cords."

Our Prophet Muhammad, Sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam, mentioned this group of people, 1400 years ago.

"They are the worst of creation"

"They are young in their age, foolish in their intellects"

"If I were amongst them, when they were to appear in this Ummah (Muslim Nation), I would kill them like the People of `Aad (a nation that Allaah destroyed long ago)."

"The best martyrs are the (Muslim) ones that they have killed." (Meaning that the Muslims killed by them, are the best of Muslims killed in the path of Allaah)

This is the group, that is headed in our time by the likes of:

Usaamah bin Laden
Salmaan al-`Audah
Safar al-Hawaalee
Sa`d al-Faqeeh
Muhammad al-Mis`aree

These are the main retards heading the Khawaarij Sect... Moving from one civilization to another, destroying, inciting riots, causing Havoc... Some do it physically, like Usamah, and others do it verbally, like the rest. They may fool us and our leaders, but they don't fool the Lord of the Worlds.

May Allaah destroy them, Islam is free of them. Allaah is free of them. The Prophet is free of them. Our Scholars are free of them. Don't hold us to account for what they do...

I'm sure the majority of the Muslims out there realize the threat of these people. To the point that some of the Scholars of Islam, of present and of old, declared that the Khawaarij Sect is out of the fold of Islam, due to many Hadeeth (Prophetic Narrations) eluding to that fact.

Let me know what you think people...

Bogged down, lazy, in pain

2006-06-05T20:13:00.000+03:00

Wow... what a LONG Break from Blogging.

First we had some Pre-Final Events going on...
Then we had our Finals, I did a decent Job al-Hamdu Lillaah
Lastly I've been getting all these Migraines, it's not even funny!

After all that, it seems like I was too burned out to get back on the Blog Wagon.
Or maybe blogging was just a hype and now after my first long break from it, I can be more efficient in my schedules... Allaah knows best.

By the way, all the Posts+Comments that I had on here, that were related to Saudi Arabia and information on Living in Saudi Arabia I moved them to the new blog, so that this blog can maintain a more opinionated non-fact-based rhythm.

Always open to comments, till then, peace out people

Rain, Rain don't go Away!

2006-05-03T13:35:00.000+03:00

Allahu Akbar, it rained today.

The day started out really foggyish, the mountains weren't really very visible in the distance, you could BARELY see Mount Uhud or Mount `Air.

During forth period, the fist showers fell. Being stuck in class we were like, "Shaikh, let's break early… IT'S RAINING!" He wasn't having it, but he let me go like five minutes before calss ends saying, "Go… you're a mushawwish…" I won't translate that part, if you kno… you know…

Anyhow, it's not common at all for rain to fall in these parts of the world. Rain falls maybe 3-4 times a year sometimes. While coming back from Makkah this morning (that's a WHOLE 'NOTHER post), we saw lot's of puddles and mini-lakes all over the desert. The Desert Sunrise was BEAUTIFUL… gleaming over small collections of rainwater. Of course, I took a few pics, and as usual, I'm gonna try to get them up, insha Allah.

By the way, the list for new students being accepted to the University is up, bear with me, I'll have a few nationalities' candidates' names up, insha Allah.

Oh yea, if you applied to the Islamic University of Madinah for this upcoming year, the names of the news students are out!

Finally making the trip

2006-04-20T15:38:00.000+03:00

It's been days since returning from the Makkah/Jeddah Trip. Things definitely didn't go as planned. It was a great trip though. No we didn't go Red Sea Snorkeling, but we did catch a Red Sea Sunset. Al-hamdu Lillah (Praise be to Allah).

This is how it went:

Thursday (Afternoon)

We didn't leave before `Asr Salah (Prayer). We left way after, on our way to Makkah Directly.

Thursday (Evening)

We didn't get to Makkah to visit Shaikh Rabee' before `Isha' Salah (Prayer).
We went directly to Shaikh Muhammad al-Banna's house in the Iskan Housing Project in Makkah.
We had dinner with the Shaikh and left from his house around a little before 12 Midnight. The Shaikh is a GREAT host and most welcoming. Also, for some reason EVERYBODY loves the rice dish that his family makes with almonds and raisins in it. Bon apetit...
We got to Jeddah late and basically knew there was gonna be no Red Sea Snorkeling in the early morning as we had kinda planned.

Friday (Morning)

I met up with a family friend from back home in the early morning. He was staying at the Jeddah Intercontinental Hotel on the Corniche. It was quite a hassle trying to find the place, but I managed.
Then, I thought I'd take him out to breakfast, being a kind of a host, I guess, but to no avail. It was Friday morning and most restaurants close early cuz of Jumu`ah (Friday Sermon and Prayer).
So we came back to the hotel and had some food there. I don't have to mention what we ate do I? He's working on a project with Motorola in Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah. They're basically installing something very similar to Nextel back home in America.

Friday (Afternoon)

We (my host and I) prayed Jumu`ah Salah (Prayer) at a local Jeddah Masjid (Mosque).
Then we came home and prepared to go down to Makkah with our families to attend Shaikh Rabee's weekly dars (lesson).
Then we stayed there after the dars (lesson) with the Shaikh, upstairs.
After discussing recent matters with the Shaikh as well as downing a few liters of Ginger Qahwah (Arabic Coffee) and some tea, we decided it was time to head back over to Jeddah for a dinner invitation that we had to answer.

Friday (Evening)

We prayed `Isha' Salah (Prayer) in Makkah and headed out to Jeddah.
We reached Jeddah late, like 10:30, and headed straight to our dinner arrangement.
We left there at 120 something, and once again I was convinced that even though we planned to go snorkeling in the early morning hours, that we might not be able to.

Saturday (Morning)

We had planned to go out to Khalid's (my host) mini-farm-kinda-place out near `Usfan (North of Jeddah). That didn't happen.
Instead we went around running errands till Dhuhr Salah (Prayer).
We came back to Khalid's house and I picked up the family to take them to Khalid's dad's Istirahah (Chill Spot). Now, Istirahah's differ from place to place and taste to taste, but this place was PHAT! It had lots of date palms and coconut palms. It had a phat Arabic Majlis (traditional sitting place) outside in the shade of the date palms. It had a pool, a few bedrooms, a kitchen and a huge living room. It also had a big trampoline (?) for their kids. It was a DELIGHT.
We had lunch there, and I took a little swim until `Asr Prayer (Salah).
After `Asr prayer, we took a little cruise down the Corniche Road, and basically killed some time till Maghrib (Sunset).

Saturday (Evening)

After killing some time by cruising the Corniche Road and taking pictures of weird roundabouts and sunken ships, we headed over to the South Obhur area right accross from Chuck E. Cheese's and I parked along the road so that we could find a spot to sit and watch the Red Sea Sunset that I was looking so forward to...
We got some refreshments, unfolded an old sleeping bag, and sat down to watch the Sunset.
After Sunset, we headed southbound on the Corniche to go to the legendary Jeddah Fountain in the Sea.
After all that, we were supposed to head out to Madinah, we even packed our bags, but I was so pooped that I couldn't drive four hours back to Madinah, so we did the next best thing, we slumbered.

Sunday (Morning)

We started loading the van after Fajr Salah (Prayer) and headed out. We caught a nice little glimpse of a Jeddah Sunrise peeking over the buildings in the outskirts of Jeddah, near Madinah Road.
It had rianed, Al-Hamdu Lillah (Praise be to Allah), and there were minature lakes strewn all over the desert. We caught some amazing sights of valleys filled with water, as well as some roadside trenches.
We almost ran out of Gas on the way back and had to stop by a Bedouin Village called Wadi al-Fura'.
As fate might have it, that is the original hometown of Shaikh `Ubaid, we got some gas and saw some amazing sights and pulled back onto the highway. "Madinah or Bust" (We kinda almost did bust, huh?)
We reached Madinah at about 10:00 and were quite tired. We did the best thing anybody could do, we SLEPT!

That's it, that's the trip. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

I'll try to edit and upload the pics taken and make them available in bigger sizes, perhps 640 x 480 pixels in size. Any further details about the Duroos (lessons) or activities that we took part in will probably be discussed at the Madinah blog, since it's more knowledge-related.

Trip to Makkah and Jeddah

2006-04-20T00:26:00.000+03:00

It's about that time!

Time to visit the only place in the world where it is allowed to make Tawaaf (Circumambulation) of anything (the Ka`bah). The only place that is Holier (?) than Madinah. The first Masjid on Earth...

We're goin' to Makkah! (Insha Allah...)

And then perhaps after that we can go to Jeddah so I can go snorkeling in the beautiful Red Sea!

For details on the Makkah trip, and pics, check the Madinah Blog

Peace.

Psuedo Trip (half way) to Yanbu

2006-04-18T02:28:00.000+03:00

We tried... we really did.

But we left Madinah about an hour before Maghrib so we knew it would be pointless trying to catch Sunset in Yanbu. So we drove down the Old Yanbu Road and I got some nice pics on the way. Some of the better ones didn't totally come through though, the digital camera didn't recognize my tap on the flick trigger thing or something.

Anyhow, I'll be posting the pics of the Psuedo Trip (half way) to Yanbu, insha Allah

Red Sea Trip? I think not!

2006-04-13T03:52:00.000+03:00

Al-Hamdulillaah, we never ended up going out on our little trip...

Due to reasons known to every married man, sometimes women can take a bit of time to get prepared to get in the car and drive for an hour to see the Red Sea Sunset...
Oh well, it was a good idea, we might still go tomorrow but I have like three reports to do for school so Allah knows best.

Red Sea: Trip to Yanbu

2006-04-12T17:39:00.000+03:00

It seems we are gonna take a surprise trip to Yanbu to see the Red Sea.
I dunno if any of you have ever been snorkeling before, but snorkeling in Red Sea HAS to be the most BEAUTIFUL underwater experience that I have ever had. Being that I'm originally from Miami, I've gone snorkeling in the Bahamas and in the Florida Keys. But the Red Sea has absolutely AMAZING coral reef formations.
This trip is not exactly for snorkeling, rather I've rented a car since I recently sold my car and am waiting for the new used car that I had shipped here (cargo) from Miami. Where was I?
Oh yeah, I've rented a car here in Madinah, in wait for the other car to come so I decided, "Why not treat the wife and use up all the free 150km that I get per day for the car?"

So there you go, a trip to see Sea. And being the fact that we are leaving now, at a quarter to six in the evening, we're prolly only gonna get there by Maghrib time (Sunset)...

But that means we get to watch a beautiful Red Sea Sunset, since I could never get to see a Sunset in Miami*... it should be worthwhile

* Miami is on the Eastern coast of Florida, so all you can see (at the ocean) is a Sunrise...

Summer is coming!

2006-04-10T23:45:00.000+03:00

It seems the first heat waves of Summer are already here.
It's getting pretty hot these days and I think this is gonna affect my migraines quite a bit.
In the next few days, insha Allah, I'll give some tips that I've found, to keeping cool when living in this type of dry, hot, desert climatein Saudi Arabia. Madinah can get pretty hot, but like the Prophet said, "Whoever perseveres the harsh conditions (heat, cold, sickness, poverty, famine) of Madinah, then for him is Paradise."

Migraines

2006-04-08T22:03:00.000+03:00

It seems more and more people are being found to suffer from Migraines
I wonder is the same amount of people (in percentage) suffered from these excrutiating pains int he past, back when there were no such things as:

CatScans
Diabetes
IndoMie
Mesothelioma
Panic/Anxiety Attacks
Modern Media

… anyhow, May Allaah cure all those who suffer from this illness and guide them to the right way.

Check out my Migraine Blog

Boycotts

2006-04-08T21:59:00.000+03:00

It seems boycotts are pretty lame

Who invented them?
What are the goals of such boycotts?
Why bother?

If you read Minhaj as-Sunnah by Shaikh al-Islaam Ibn Taymiyah you find that boycotting first came about int he time of the Umawy Empire, the Rawafidh brought it about due to their extreme hate of Yazeed bin Mu`awiyah, they used to boycott the wells he dug for the masses, as well as boycotting some good that would come from the Shaam region (Modernday Jordan/Syria/Lebanon/Palestine) of Arabia, since the people of Shaam showed open alliegence to Yazeed.

It seems these boycotters think that the Kuffar will stop bothering Muslims because the Muslims will not by their products. But if one was to investigate, they’de find that it’s Muslim Businessmen that lose large amounts of money due to the fact that they have binding contracts as agents of the Boycotted Company in their country. So, essentially, the Muslim Businessmen lose tons and tons of lost sales, while the Original Boycotted Company just decreases production or diverts products to another Consumer Country… who’s the winner… who’s the loser?

Why bother? I haven’t the slightest clue, perhaps it’s so all these lame people who are SO far from their Religion can experience a temporary High, while they think they are helping Islam by not eating a certain type of Cheese or Drink, rather than practising the tennets of their Beautiful Religion (?)

Hmm THIS is the real first blog

2006-04-08T21:46:00.000+03:00

I am gonna REALLY start blogging from this day forward, insha Allaah