tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21480695376382863052024-03-05T07:27:06.796+00:00Eastern LightsAhlan wa sahlan!
Haven't started the journey yet but wanted to safeguard the title. Stay put.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2148069537638286305.post-49072205790018632942012-02-05T19:23:00.000+00:002012-02-05T19:23:14.730+00:00al-Qāhira<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ey-NBSpFBAQ6MduJuWQidvIC37F-8d8UHI3oxdpSEuAzUTvL1oj1C17wJF4dc1dQGFq2SnqpwNk5K45M3k37rO72ma7OJYhtXlyCVD5Dv6el_Nvg0zs2CQ5dT2Q-m7n1NFU_fld9YG6l/s1600/2193192-Travel_Picture-Damascus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ey-NBSpFBAQ6MduJuWQidvIC37F-8d8UHI3oxdpSEuAzUTvL1oj1C17wJF4dc1dQGFq2SnqpwNk5K45M3k37rO72ma7OJYhtXlyCVD5Dv6el_Nvg0zs2CQ5dT2Q-m7n1NFU_fld9YG6l/s200/2193192-Travel_Picture-Damascus.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Geez, I can hardly contain the excitement! It's real, finally real and I'm going! The paper I submitted in a moment of temporary insanity (or so it seemed) was accepted and I've been invited to give a presentation at the conference at Cairo University. Tick tack. Clock's ticking. Better finish that research because I'm flying out in less than two weeks. Actually in a week and change, inshallah.<br />
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Subhanallah I can't believe the day has come, well, to be fair I'm only flying out for a week, not the 6 months+ I've been talkig about for ...well... a while. But it's a start. Not least because I'll be stepping into Tahrir square next week, one of the centre points of the ongoing struggle for change. Because I'll get to see <i style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Unicode" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', 'Lucida Sans Unicode'; text-decoration: none;" title="ISO 233 Arabic">Game'at Al-ʾAzhar al-Šarīf</span></i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">,</span> the world's 2nd oldest institution of higher learning, because I'll get to visit one, if not the Middle Eastern metropolis.<br />
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<i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', 'Lucida Sans Unicode'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">al-Qāhira</i> <br />
<span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', 'Lucida Sans Unicode'; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><i>2012 is looking pretty good right now.</i></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2148069537638286305.post-22104576095246649532012-02-05T19:06:00.002+00:002012-02-05T19:09:47.219+00:0012th of Rabi’a al-Awwal<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">I desired to praise the Chosen One and was hindered</div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">By my own inability to grasp the extent of his glory.</div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">How can one such as I measure an ocean, when the ocean is vast?</div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">And how can one such as I count the stones and the stars?</div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">If all of my limbs were to become tongues, even then –</div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Even then I could not begin to praise him as I desired. </div><br />
And if all of creation gathered together in an attempt<br />
To praise him, even then they would stint in his due.<br />
I have altogether ceased trying – awestruck, clinging to courtesy,<br />
Tempered by timidity, glorifying his most exalted rank.<br />
Indeed, sometimes silence holds within it the essence of eloquence,<br />
And often speech merely fodder for the faultfinder.<br />
<br />
(Ibn Juzayy al-Kalbi)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2148069537638286305.post-73846069189482747552011-12-18T06:37:00.002+00:002011-12-18T06:39:33.153+00:00Le Caire 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR3L0i1_mbzsk8a8egKuOoNzJJ7PZ_FE9fkUkpGKcAi_fzC-zUNi83zhDPrOlAvKciQdufGFwEZ2jNJPIxqybTMSYKSQgya-_BYgZ5MwR6f658iP0jHYhYz1mAXAaYVyNcvXpKovDnXv_8/s1600/800px-Tahrir_Square_on_February11.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR3L0i1_mbzsk8a8egKuOoNzJJ7PZ_FE9fkUkpGKcAi_fzC-zUNi83zhDPrOlAvKciQdufGFwEZ2jNJPIxqybTMSYKSQgya-_BYgZ5MwR6f658iP0jHYhYz1mAXAaYVyNcvXpKovDnXv_8/s320/800px-Tahrir_Square_on_February11.png" width="320" /></a></div>So, yes, I'm still in London, albeit with a few stints on the continent thrown into the mix. Unfortunately, I haven't yet come closer to realising my long delayed plans of spending a few months or longer in Cairo. Needless to say, this has been one of the primary reasons why this blog never took of, or at least why it has been on hold since, well, immediately after its inception. I'm still committed to the original goal, that is of documenting the journey and time spent within one the Middle East's truly ancient cities, but life, work, and my masters program at <a href="http://www.soas.ac.uk/nme/">SOAS</a> have proven quite adept at keeping me busy so we'll have to see what 2012 brings.<br />
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I could mention that I've just submitted a proposal to present a brief paper at two conferences taking place in Cairo in February and March 2012 respectively. The former is politically themed, the later more more historical in its approach to examining the events associated with the Arab Spring and the social and political underpinnings that contributed towards them. Wish me luck. 2012 might just be my year.<br />
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On this note, let me wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Kull Sana'a wa antum bi khair. Inshallah. And before I retire these keys - Let's pray for the amazing, brave people out on the streets in Syria, Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Bahrain, Palestine, Libya and to all those struggling for social justice and open, pluralist and ultimately more accountable societies elsewhere. Even if they are based in London or Washington. You are an inspiration.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2148069537638286305.post-63970689571366145512011-10-24T03:55:00.001+00:002011-10-24T03:55:22.188+00:00Faith in London<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/12151682?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" width="320" height="180" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen allowFullScreen></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2148069537638286305.post-58837932822563874642011-10-15T15:14:00.000+00:002011-10-15T15:14:06.081+00:00Ya Misr<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/27729167?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="400"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/27729167">After the revolution (Egypt)</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1073854">Maaged Mazyek</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2148069537638286305.post-88242831677394156202010-08-01T03:52:00.011+00:002011-03-25T23:43:54.203+00:00Inception<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzSBXS3BRR89LYaHmF-3Aw_Gg1homJFca8aEVclQnrD4llVI6e57dYz3RtheSiY2I28AqVXnHWdT3WkC3bJSbOB3rSdkvuvj8fbtyAn8hbPTKXmHExb3a9zZvAKaFYc-O8kLe3K5tcPEle/s1600/r33_20100307.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzSBXS3BRR89LYaHmF-3Aw_Gg1homJFca8aEVclQnrD4llVI6e57dYz3RtheSiY2I28AqVXnHWdT3WkC3bJSbOB3rSdkvuvj8fbtyAn8hbPTKXmHExb3a9zZvAKaFYc-O8kLe3K5tcPEle/s200/r33_20100307.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">All humans are dead except those who have knowledge; and all those who have knowledge are asleep, except those who do good deeds; and those who do good deeds are deceived, except those who are sincere; and those who are sincere are always in a state of worry.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 16px;">Imam Shafi'i (May Allah have mercy on his soul)</span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2148069537638286305.post-35563319657734475912010-06-20T18:30:00.096+00:002011-03-25T23:44:24.868+00:00Five before Five<div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Messenger* said: “<i>Take benefit of five before five: your youth before your old age, your health before your sickness, your wealth before your poverty, your free-time before your preoccupation, and your life before your death.” </i>(Hakim)<o:p></o:p></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><u1:p></u1:p> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">*peace be upon him <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The first time I heard this hadith was a number of years ago, during several weekend seminars organised by <a href="http://mjd-net.de/">MJD</a>, the Muslim Youth/Student Association of Germany.<o:p></o:p></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><u1:p></u1:p> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Strangely enough it resonated strongly within me then, the wisdom inherent in the messenger's (pbuh) words obvious, years on however, I feel I can appreciate its layers more clearly, beyond merely grasping their content, but realizing that the words reflect the experience of the time spent in London. Has it not, if nothing else, been time spent in 'pre-occupation'? <o:p></o:p></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><u1:p></u1:p> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><u2:p></u2:p>------------<o:p></o:p></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><u1:p></u1:p> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><u2:p></u2:p>You can find a longer commentary in this <a href="http://tarbiyaonline.wordpress.com/2009/03/04/t19-hadith-5-before-5/"><i>blog</i><i> </i></a>on Tarbiyah I stumbled across when trying to recall and find the exact words of the narration.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><u1:p></u1:p> <br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2148069537638286305.post-25000735202967258912010-01-26T23:58:00.005+00:002010-06-20T18:12:38.789+00:00Back to Life.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0zLV9LKYYwIB6aAjFh_9V7M2mqYZaTKGvSGpxclz1kXO8XWuaa0JaazyrE5mNQ0HL2aYBTp4CQxq_Zu4SFfbebabrK6JmwUlFGdeI1I-IACfshOzJUkk84JQJvAjGwCLSodP6tm_zFxE/s1600-h/cropped-persian-calligraphy1017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0zLV9LKYYwIB6aAjFh_9V7M2mqYZaTKGvSGpxclz1kXO8XWuaa0JaazyrE5mNQ0HL2aYBTp4CQxq_Zu4SFfbebabrK6JmwUlFGdeI1I-IACfshOzJUkk84JQJvAjGwCLSodP6tm_zFxE/s320/cropped-persian-calligraphy1017.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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Happiness in simplicity, trust in natural mystery,<br />
blessed by Divinity, become undone just to rise again, rise again. <br />
stand against iniquity of equating uniformity with equality<br />
y'all chase liberty and democracy <br />
but deny diversity and plurality is a fact my friend <br />
so embrace your individuality and bless it with spirituality, <br />
such simple modality makes life. <br />
It works if you work it. So work it. You're worth it.<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Serenity is God's gift.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2148069537638286305.post-87303535785551332502009-11-17T21:58:00.006+00:002009-11-25T16:38:58.906+00:00Prep & Read<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP7Sqm33oEe2ntT3hi230LA_x4yfp5K6Bf_lmlb0NMcF89W2FUyAmPws6RWrekMIPPTIJuD1UOAjkNkLyFvlfdltwllRw-_lcbfaAj-4eis7RtusG07hTFhwx1TWga3vccwlrf90oDavCU/s1600/081664912X.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP7Sqm33oEe2ntT3hi230LA_x4yfp5K6Bf_lmlb0NMcF89W2FUyAmPws6RWrekMIPPTIJuD1UOAjkNkLyFvlfdltwllRw-_lcbfaAj-4eis7RtusG07hTFhwx1TWga3vccwlrf90oDavCU/s200/081664912X.jpg" /></a><br />
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Alright, yes I'm still In London. Though London's weather and the commencing dark season (October-March) certainly has me wishing otherwise. So yes, do pray with me that I'll find a good job soon, so I can keep to schedule and head to Cairo late March.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hint: A good job at this point refers to the non-call-centre-non-market-research-freelance-underpaid-knock-on-your-door-for-charity-what's-it-face-kind. Ideally, vaguely related to my field of study and/or involving some project coordination/ administration capacity. Chances are in 2weeks from today I'll have to lower my expectations and take up a less enticing however bill-paying option. Maybe I should just follow my gut feeling, complete my TEFL and head over now?<br />
</div><br />
Anways, whilst I play adult some more, here's an interesting <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Political-Life-Cairos-New-Quarters/dp/081664912X">read</a> to sweeten the wait. God blessUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2148069537638286305.post-52967560432796586992009-10-27T15:01:00.006+00:002009-11-12T06:25:31.839+00:00Ahlan...<object height="197" width="350"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7058755&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7058755&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="350" height="197"></embed></object><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/7058755">Egypt / Lebanon Montage</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/khalidmohtaseb">Khalid Mohtaseb</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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Stumbled across this... (thanks Samer) <br />
<div dir="rtl" id="result_box"><div dir="rtl" id="result_box"> <br />
<div dir="rtl" id="result_box"> جميلة جدا. مشالله<br />
</div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2148069537638286305.post-78864309423216023942009-10-21T10:49:00.002+00:002009-10-21T11:16:36.027+00:00Mysterious Paths<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYcth2DtLz_g7BcNbByA57LUwuz9b1_gYRbQQ752qWS5pXGEoQXepzRwev49hSeTVa25Mpzx7Q2gv7jwGfMZutjfElSZGa_45Q-_AvTfm2omtYtFBzSZACRDCt9mLdvr-EvOdmfP09Mt52/s1600-h/1140.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYcth2DtLz_g7BcNbByA57LUwuz9b1_gYRbQQ752qWS5pXGEoQXepzRwev49hSeTVa25Mpzx7Q2gv7jwGfMZutjfElSZGa_45Q-_AvTfm2omtYtFBzSZACRDCt9mLdvr-EvOdmfP09Mt52/s200/1140.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzkwbCLTlxXaTy5g5fHMZ9peD7oo4mUuRsYHQOVwLUwGuf9S6jh6hCc4VxsGcnWauyqPBECC6ip32gME2GpyLz5YiNqpwe0rIyAv4GWPk3tYjSLf4VwkqOtAde2AisUSnf2vnnw_vBDuxc/s1600-h/SOAS+library.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzkwbCLTlxXaTy5g5fHMZ9peD7oo4mUuRsYHQOVwLUwGuf9S6jh6hCc4VxsGcnWauyqPBECC6ip32gME2GpyLz5YiNqpwe0rIyAv4GWPk3tYjSLf4VwkqOtAde2AisUSnf2vnnw_vBDuxc/s200/SOAS+library.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnzOu5fzsi7uKA-yTdMw3Y7u_PmblBCoWcvSR-i_YcvmlsJs8GwhyphenhyphentrAS7kwCO91RPDmEIsAIwI55HOGwLsZ7ASOsA7WAPRPEYpjeV6rMPikyXBUzEs6eOwYpwSYIB8jI5oUzDJBAm5jc9/s1600-h/SOAS+bird+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnzOu5fzsi7uKA-yTdMw3Y7u_PmblBCoWcvSR-i_YcvmlsJs8GwhyphenhyphentrAS7kwCO91RPDmEIsAIwI55HOGwLsZ7ASOsA7WAPRPEYpjeV6rMPikyXBUzEs6eOwYpwSYIB8jI5oUzDJBAm5jc9/s200/SOAS+bird+view.jpg" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
Well...<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Who would have thought? Guess what, I got in! Not the MSc in Middle East Politics but the MA Near and Middle Eastern Studies Program. My major, and field of my dissertation - God willing - will be <a href="http://www.soas.ac.uk/courseunits/15PNMC228.html">'Modern Trends in Islam'</a> (with Dr Katherine Zebiri).<br />
Not the way I originally planned but it's amazing how it all turned out. I'm actually really excited about the slight change in focus (I'm already dreaming of that Phd afterwards). Alright, now I've decided to stay on course with Cairo, so I've submitted a request to defer my offer until the next academic year. So it's still going to Cairo first then back to SOAS come Fall'10.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Alhamdulillah ya Rabb! Inshallah it'll all work out, fingers crossed ;)<br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2148069537638286305.post-44573059101589364422009-10-05T00:45:00.011+00:002009-10-11T00:36:10.352+00:00Swapping<object height="165" width="220"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/6R7JZbydqVk&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/6R7JZbydqVk&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="220" height="165"></embed></object><br />
So...<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Life has spoken, hasn't it? I didn't get into the Masters program at SOAS. Well, officially I'm still waiting for a decision on my application, but seeing how lectures start today, it's time to start packing. Swapping books, London weather and libraries against the sun and noise of le Caire. God, I can't wait! Strange, I should be more upset, and in a way I am but I can't help feeling torn.<br />
Torn between the excitement of finally making it, getting closer to the city that has captivated my imagination for about half a decade and the sadness of leaving behind SOAS, at least for a year. SOAS, my university, the community of truly amazing and inspiring people, that come together in their desire to explore, to expand their knowledge and understanding of the world within and around, to grow as individuals and to simply celebrate the diversity that makes this place so remarkable. I think I'm homesick, and I haven't actually left...<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #330000;">"To God We belong, and to Him is our return"</span> (2:156)<br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2148069537638286305.post-36154698692012342002009-07-19T19:57:00.001+00:002009-10-05T00:45:01.209+00:00Travel-Study-Travel-Study-question mark<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.aathitya.in/images/cairo_place.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 520px; height: 225px;" src="http://www.aathitya.in/images/cairo_place.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I finally seem to have found peace with my decision. MSc Middle East Politics or le Caire? seemed like <span style="font-style: italic;">Sophie's Choice</span>, rather than two options available, both wonderful and enticing. After I prayed <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fajr">Fajr</a> on Friday I felt at at home with my choice for SOAS, even if it means delaying le Caire.<br />Now, it's waiting for the acceptence/rejection letter. Khair inshallah.<br />---<br /> Man banda-ye qur'ānam, agar jān dāram<br /> man khāk-e rah-e muhammad-e mukhtāram<br /> gar naql konad joz īn kas az goftāram<br /> bēzāram azō waz-īn sokhan bēzāram.<br /><br /> I am the servant of the Qur'an as long as I have life.<br /> I am the dust on the path of Muhammad, the Chosen One.<br /> If anyone quotes anything except this from my sayings,<br /> I am quit of him and outraged by these words.<br /><br />[Quatrain No. 1173, translated by Ibrahim Gamard and Ravan Farhadi in "The Quatrains of Rumi", an unpublished manuscript]<br /><br />Make your intellect a sacrifice in the presence of Muhammad, and say, "God is sufficient for me, since God is enough for satisfying me. [Dīwān]Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2148069537638286305.post-65154151082730304022009-07-14T11:01:00.000+00:002009-07-17T06:57:01.732+00:00Le Caire<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinpoJP3SbR42KDry-DfIDkovQoafvObmyNdhFWrugdv_IK_aPkdMmTswF9xUVnFMlm-xgo5GvHu4OimaEC-d6wiArvVIMf3Y1tZyd0xYYlSM5b9YOFEjbuScOJO_69zUm9Bd6dOJAX9Laf/s1600-h/1043771.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinpoJP3SbR42KDry-DfIDkovQoafvObmyNdhFWrugdv_IK_aPkdMmTswF9xUVnFMlm-xgo5GvHu4OimaEC-d6wiArvVIMf3Y1tZyd0xYYlSM5b9YOFEjbuScOJO_69zUm9Bd6dOJAX9Laf/s320/1043771.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358339847615652450" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Right, so yes as the title suggests, this blog is dedicated to my upcoming (inshallah!) travel to and 6 months-or-so stay in Cairo. Amazingly beautiful, noisy, dirty, wonderfully exuberant Cairo. Can't wait, it's gonna be something. Stay put.<br /><br />peaceUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0