Remembering the rain

It’s raining and I’m remembering those rainy days in London, when I felt so lucky to be inside where it was warm and dry. The pace of the day felt slower and at home or in the office there was a cozy atmosphere. Maybe that was a throwback from school days when rain meant playtime inside and of course this was quieter and you had to find a puzzle or game to play or sit in the reading corner with a book. This is as opposed to the running and screaming we did in the playground when the weather was dry. I loved rainy days.

If I was outside I’d be huddled under my umbrella, which would sometimes turn inside out by the force of the wind. It makes me giggle to remember fighting to put it right with one hand, while holding the handle with the other, people scurrying out of my way to avoid getting poked in the eye and getting wetter and wetter. I remember trying to stay as far inside the pavement as possible to avoid those sadistic vehicle drivers who relished the chance to drench you with a flood of water as they no doubt chuckled at their skill and continued on. I hated rainy days.

After so long in Cairo where we hardly had rain I started to appreciate it when it came. It never lasted for long, it always finished too soon. There were so many days when I thought, Ya Rab, I wish it would rain. I remember once when I first moved to Cairo, I had a night where I felt so homesick, I was awake for most of the night and missing my family and wanting to go home. I remember falling asleep with the thought on my mind… I even miss the rain. The next morning when I left the house for work… it was raining! Thank you Allah for the rain.

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Are we so lacking in faith?

I received an email recently relaying information regarding a study which was conducted by a Dutch psychology Professor in the Netherlands. The gist of his discovery is about:

 

“the effect of reading the Qur’aan and repeating the word ALLAH both on patients and on normal persons.”

 

The Saudi daily newspaper who reported this story claims “that the psychologist was quoted to say that Muslims who can read Arabic and who read the Quran regularly could protect themselves from psychological diseases.”

 

How?

 
“The psychologist explained how each letter in the word ‘ALLAH’ affects healing of psychological diseases. He pointed out in his research that pronouncing the first letter in the word ‘ALLAH’ which is the letter (A), released from the respiratory system, controls breathing. He added that pronouncing the velar consonant (L) in the Arabic way, with the tongue touching slightly the upper part of the jaw producing a short pause and then repeating the same pause constantly, relaxes the aspiration. 
Also, pronouncing the last letter which is the letter (H) makes a contact between the lungs and the heart and in turn this contact controls the heartbeat.”

 

Ok, now the first thing I would ask myself upon reading this (and I did) is who is this professor, what is his first name and were does he conduct his research? I don’t suffer fools gladly and this is valid information. Do you expect me to believe a man who only goes by the name of “Van der Hoven”? Not until I see some credentials!

 

As Sheikh Khaled Yassin says “Mathew who? Mark who? Luke who? John who? Four different gospels that were written 48 years apart and none of these men who did not corroborate with each other, none of them wrote their last name? …. If a police man stopped you … and you only had your first name would that be acceptable to him? Could you get a passport with your first name?”

 

So this leads me to sigh deeply. More propaganda spread by Muslims to convince themselves to the existence and supremacy of Allah. Is the Quran not enough? Are they not aware that the Quran contains facts which were impossible to know at the time it was revealed to the Prophet Mohamed? Do they not see the order of nature and the beauty of Allah’s creation? Is this not enough to prove the wonder of Allah without possibly fabricating Dutch professors and medical studies?

 

I could be wrong about this. It could all be absolutely “REAL AND VERIFIABLE” as I was assured in capital letters in the email, but if it is, why did a Google search not come up with any more information about this man except for other websites discussing the same issue? I have a friend who is a law professor and when I type her name in Google I have pages of search results with her name and she’s not famous, but she exists. If this study had been published, by now you would have had no end of other professors aiming to disprove these results. This is Islam we’re talking about and we don’t need more reasons for people to convert to Islam now do we.

 

Don’t people see that accepting these kinds of stories without verifying them and then further propagating them to others who also don’t stop to verify them only causes non muslims (or at least the haters) to further laugh at and ridicule Islam. When unbelievers asked the Prophet Mohamed for his miracles, what did Allah say?

 

Say: “If the whole of mankind and Jinns were to gather together to produce the like of this Qur’an, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they backed up each other with help and support. And We have explained to man, in this Qur’an, every kind of similitude: yet the greater part of men refuse (to receive it) except with ingratitude!

They say: “We shall not believe in thee, until thou cause a spring to gush forth for us from the earth, Or (until) thou have a garden of date trees and vines, and cause rivers to gush forth in their midst, carrying abundant water; Or thou cause the sky to fall in pieces, as thou sayest (will happen), against us; or thou bring Allah and the angels before (us) face to face: Or thou have a house adorned with gold, or thou mount a ladder right into the skies. No, we shall not even believe in thy mounting until thou send down to us a book that we could read.” Say: “Glory to my Lord! Am I aught but a man, – an apostle?” Surah Al Isra: 88-93

 

The email lost all credibility when I got to this part. Sigh.

 

‘This is a simple test. If you love Allah and you are not ashamed of all the great things that he has done for you, send this to everyone you know, May Allah help U to succeed…Ameen 

 

 

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What’s in a name?

Xeper in response to my post about  predestination asked a couple of questions. To paraphrase;

• Why the usage of the name Allah for non native Arabic speakers instead of God?
• Why the usage of the name Rabb which is fairly uncommon amongst Muslims outside of Egypt let alone a British Muslim convert?

In my post I interchanged between the names Allah and God for two reasons. When I mentioned my life and beliefs as a Muslim now, I used Allah and when I referred to my pre-Islam days I used God. This is because this is what He was known to me as then. God.  It was I guess, a way of highlighting my relationship with Him in my past.

He wasn’t much for me back then. My main knowledge of Him was as the creator and the cause of any distress I was in and any success when I deemed to remember Him; usually as an offhand “Thank God”. People were sometimes fanatical in His name and on occasion others would writhe around on the floor speaking in a strange “tongue” which even they didn’t understand; because they felt His spirit. I was frequently accosted in the street by the bashers of his holy book, urging me to “seek salvation”; I preferred to seek ….. other pleasures and be “true to myself”.  

My mum used to reel off many other names for Him in her spiritually induced lectures (read “ramblings” as I considered them), my Dad called Him Jah and my aunt called Him Jehovah. Other family members and friends sometimes called Him on a Sunday. But still to me He was just God. I didn’t know Him as they seemed to.

Jesus loves you. God is good. God will make you pay for your sins. The only way to God is through Jesus. Jesus is Salvation. Follow Jesus. God works in mysterious ways. God is the Judge. To God we will return. Jesus loves you. Oh yes he does. STOP! Who is He?!!?

In the year or so preceding my reversion to Islam, He became a bit more to me. He was still a mystery, but one I wanted to solve. I saw him manifest in various ways and He started to become the source of my guilt. I was doing the wrong things. How did I know? I could just feel it. He was going to punish me. How did I know? I could feel it. But still to me He was just God. I didn’t know any other way to view Him.

Then I found Islam. Or did it find me? I’m not sure, but reading the Quran (translation) gave me an insight into who He is in a way I could understand. Now as a Muslim He means so much more to me than He ever did before. He is my life and reason for living. For Him I wake in the morning, I eat, I work, I think, I dream, I hope, I succeed, I strive, I laugh, I cry, I am happy and I am sad. He is my life. He is The One. He is Allah.

He didn’t change; He didn’t become a new god; He was and always will be the same. But I feel that “Allah” says everything about Him without having to explain. When I speak to another person who also calls Him “Allah” it’s like an unspoken understanding…. Even if that perception is all in my head!

Can it create confrontation? Yes it can. When I first reverted to Islam, my Mum would refer to Him as “Your Allah” in a condescending way and I would have to explain He wasn’t mine, He’s the same God that she prays to. By time, I found it made more sense when discussing Him with non Muslims, to use a neutral name. God for my Mum and most others; the creator for my Dad and any other person with uncommon beliefs. This way I create a platform where we can both stand on common ground and discuss the similarities and differences in our beliefs. Any other way I find causes the discussions to be conducted as if we are two people standing on opposing enemy lines.

Why do I use Rabb? This one is much simpler.  Partly, as I explained in my reply, it’s something I picked up from living in Egypt. The other reason is that I read once that Lord is a poor translation of Rabb which has a deeper meaning. I’ve also picked up the habit of using Arabic words mixed with my English when I feel it suits the meaning better Ya3ni…. J Maybe it’s because you can say more with less words in Arabic.

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