Nomads Firs of all assalamu Aleikum wa raxmatullah wa barakaatuh, I have been on and off lately, I am still overtaken by a load of tasks that is sending my mind to Garasbaalley clincs. I need your prayers these days, I know making a duaa for a guy who only appears on Computer monitors can test your sanity, but I am a real person with real challenged in life who needs real duaa from an a virtual crowd of SOL. Now Shaabaan is the monthg to prepare for Ramadan, the Prophet SAWS used to fast in Shabaan the most, to get into the mood of Ramadaan, in our case we should prepare by discussing how to best benefit from Ramadaan, so please share your thoughts and suggestionf of topics that can be beneficial. Nur

Shams bro Thew story is indeed deep in meaning, it touches on the priceless inner values some of hold dear, that they will never exchange with any material possession. Prophet Muhammad SWAS was offered to be the King of Qureish, the company of their most beautiful women, wealth etc if he can only stop his message of Islam that was threatening the social order of Arabia at the time,. his response, " if you put the sun on my right pal, and the moon on my left palm, i would never stop my mission" In the course of my school and work, I have met people of substance, both Muslims and non Muslims, those who earned my highsest respect have always been the principle centered people, because with these people, I was successful, they were like the perfume carrier, both in terms of faith and business, the latter, who are material centered , they were like the furnance, they burn you, both money and soul. Nur

Oblivion A great read indeed, though I have to disagree with one point, as I belive it to be a tilting of the meaning of a verse in Quraan to please the conventional prevalent womens wisdom ( the article was authored by a woman) Here is the contraversial entry: 17th Ability to be contented with one wife 15 This quality as suggested by the sister suggests that married men who have a desire to marry again not to be ideal husbands. That suggestion is of course a subjective one, depends who reads the verse, but as Muslims, we should separate our personal views from the real meaning of a verse. Polygamy is definetly a contraversial issue, nevertheless, a fact of life that should be faced in ones life. A dear friend of mine is in a difficult situation, he is no longer satisfied with his wife, not because he lost love and loyalty for her, he just found out that she was not true to him on issues that were important to him, like the number of kids they should have. Now, he is intending to marry again, to have children, but neither the new lady he found nor the current one welcomes the idea, he is torn in between the two, as he does not want a divorce, his dilemma is based on his desire to please both, but, none of them is thinking about pleasing him, should men then think about pleasing their wmomen regardless of how illogical the price is? a man should get from marriage what he bargained for, if not, divorce option should not be the only way out for him to seek what is rightfully his, and being content with one wife should not serve the interest of the woman alone without regard of the man's interests, otherwise, we will have to accept far worse alternatives of neglected children, broken homes and struggling single mothers, in my honest assessment of todays situation in our community, polygamy is no more an option, its nearing to be a requirement, and its no fun for a mature man, rather a heavy burden and responsiility laden task, the sooner women realize this fact the better for our community abroad. Now, my take on qualities of an ideal Muslim Husband. 1. Listening, Listening and Listening to understand with the heart and not with the mind. 2. Spending quiet times with wife, preferably away from business, relatives and friends, for bonding. 3. Taking interest in her activities, work, studies, hobbies, friends, relatives, simply connect to her circles so that the two never grow apart with diverging interests that can lead to boredom. 4. He Notices sand appreciates all the special touches she adds to the dwelling, food and in herself, a story I once read describes a man who never appreciated the food his wife cooks, no matter how she prepares the breakfast, he always complained that it was not good, one day, the woman became so furious that she burned the bread, the egges became like plastic and the coffe was brewed like a motoroil, then she dropped the food on the table like a rock saying " Try this", the husband, upon tasting the food was all smiles, " just like my mama used to make " he said, she found his nostalgic secret breakfast formula. 5. He adds his wife and family in his personal agenda, his family are not served the left over of his PRIME HAPPY time. 6. Endearing talk, men who talk very respectfully with their wives do not need to worry about an unhappy wife, few minutes of sharing good endearing words can offeset a Katrina of emotional disruptions that can send the marriage into a tailspin, words may be cheap, but when the right words are said to a spouse, it can indeed be a treasure. Nur

Modesty Very Interesting, thanks for sharing. e-Nuri

e-Nuri Past Publications Revised, for a new audience From Nurtel Archives ( Somaliaonline edition, some changes appear from original version for clarification) TAWHEED Fourteen centuries ago, Allah SWT sent a Messenger(SAWS) to mankind, A man who was raised in Makkah, present day Saudi Arabia, and who belonged to a tribe called Quraish, the decendants of Prophets Ismail and Abraham (aleyhimaa assalam). The Messenger of Allah was sent to an Arab speaking people, and naturally, he communicated with them in Arabic language. Every messenger also did communicate with his people by way of their respective language and culture with examples they could understand and relate it to their lives. The reason is that Allah intended the message to be understood, and his teachings followed. Whe we fail to address people with analogies they understand we fail to deliver the true meaning of our message and confusion shrouds our minds. That is why some of our respected Ulema fail to convince the new generation of Muslims and non Mulsims, because the Ulema are "NOT CONNECTED" to the same media, nor speak the lingo of the times, as a result, a great deal of knowledge remains untransmitted, and not utilized. Based on the above prelude, I am about to convey the history of Tawheed with analogoies that cann be understood by residents of North America, and to an extent most westernized Somalis, specially my cousins in Qurac Dheer, Somali Peninsula, who listen to Heavy Metal in their tents. The Arabian Tribe Quraish was the center of attention of all Arabs at the time as it controlled the holly shrine Kaaba, which represented a tribute erected by Prophet Abraham and his son Ismail for the remembrance and reverence of Allah ALONE on earth. These days, life was simple, there was no TV, Radio, newspapers, sitcoms, tabloids and Somaliaonline. So people communicated one-on-one and they enjoyed poetry and oratory in public places, similar to the ancient Greeks and Romans lavish theaters. They mastered the language early in their childhood, and as adults they were quick to understand the meaning of every spoken word. When the prophet SAWS called them for Islam, they asked him about the essense of his message. The prophet told them ( My message is laa ilaaha illa Allahu) A bedouin responded, (then all Arabs and non Arabs wil fight against you). The bedouin knew the meaning of the word ILAAH in Arabic language. In Suuratl Jinn, aayah 19, Allah says " And when the Abdullah Servant of Allah stood up to calling for his (ilaah), (the polytheists) almost ganged up against him" This brings us to the core issue, TERMINOLOGY. understanding these terminology the way the SALAF understood it, will make us do what they did. The Salaf were proficient in their language, lived their times and fulfilled their commitment to their best. Can the same be said about us? When we speak about Islam do we live our times? are we taking our responsibilities seriously as they did to make Islam interwoven throughout our lifestyle? are we fulifilling our responsibility to Allah? or are we wishy washy people? SALAF were not a group of people, it was a period of time in history, in which Islam blossomed, and the word of Allah reached the corners of the world. Generally it is referred to the first three generations of Saxaabah and the taabiciin, and taabicu taabiciin. Today we are trying to understand what used to drive these people to do monumental achievements recorded to their credit in every sphere of life. They were more pious in ibaadah, more involved in community and political environment, more accomplished in jurisprudence Fiqh, sciences, the arts, and business, they were leaders for humanity, they freed Europe from darkness and corrupt Kings and Church leaders, they traded with asia with honesty and fairness which resulted mass conversion of Asians to Islam, the religion of common sense. The key to understanding what motivated these Salaf generation lies in the components of the very word that changed history The Word was : " Laa ilaaha Ilaa Allah)" Once Quraish heard the word, they became alarmed. why? because they understood its far reaching meaning more than most muslims understand today. This strategy to present this Word before all the detais of Islam's social change was not the choice of our prophet Muhammad SAWS. Nor did it happen thoughtlessly. The Messenger was commanded to do it that way. And there is a wisdom for us to ponder. In contrast, today, the first thing we tell non Muslims is the Hijaab, or Sharia, we fail to set up the right comminications link between man and his maker, the link of Tawheed, laa ilaaha ilaa Allah, which can transform the human being from a defiant to a humble person. Imagine, the Messenger SAWS sitting on the corner of Yamaaniyah of the Kaaba, making ibaadah (worship), and around him ther are circumventing female naked pilgrim women making tawaaf and all he is asking people to do was " SAY , LAA ILAAHA ILLAA ALLAH" not to cover up their bodies, because he was ordered to address the root cause of man's rebellion against his maker which is his ignorance of his maker. He knew if they accept this word, and its requirements, that all evil will be wiped. and in twenty three short years, it was. So, We may ask, how was it possible that the decendants of the father of TAWXIID, Prophet Abraham, Peace be upon him, The honorable tribe of Quraish, put three hundered and sixty idols asnaam (Gods) inside a house dedicated to the sole reverence of Allah, the one and only god? It is all about terminology. Just like Satan persuaded Adam and Eve, to eat from the forbidden tree, calling it ( Shajaratul Khuld), Satan inspired Quraish to worship extensions of Allah through what they have claimed as his daughters, just as Christians today ascribe a son to Allah as an extension of the Real Ilaah (subhaanahu wa tacalaa camma yaquuluuna culuwan kabeera). So Satan inspired them to select the names of these goddesses from the root name of Allah, to make it easy for people ta accept it (like copying a trade mark with slight change, like naming your supermarket SAFESTWAY instead of SAFEWAY, or naming your autopart shop TRECKAUTO instaead of TRAKAUTO). So they named the first godess ( Al Laata, from Allah and Al Uzza, From Al Azeez etc.) This tactic in Arabic language is called ILXAAD, Allah mentioned in the Quraan saying " Inna ladeenu yulxiduuna fee asmaa'ih laa yakhfowna calaynaa)". (Those who change the purpose behind the meaning of His Names, are not hidden from our view) Therefore Ilxaad It means changing the purpose behind the meaning of a word, just like Sodomy is called GAY today. Just like unsuspecting SAFEWAY Supermarkets customers can shop at a phony store cashing illegaly on someone else's trade mark, by naming his supermarkets SAFESTWAY, The decendants of Abraham were tricked by SATAN to worship others beside Allah therby satan scored a point to support his promise to to Allah that he will mislead mankind. When Prophet Muhammad came with his message, he challenged the tribe of Quraish that all but Allah is fake as an ILAAH. This caused a major problem. But what does ILAAH mean. The root meaning of the word ILAA caomes from the Arabic word (ALIHA) the masdar of this word means among others: 1. To seek a protection ( Like an infant seeks mother's love , wormth and protection) 2. To seek a rescuer ( in times of distress) 3. To seek the highest authority, no one scapes from ( Jurisdiction and Sovreighnty). 4. It meant leadership. ( ZACIIM UL QOWM) 5. Any thing one follows even desires is called ilaah Now when all these meaning were assigned to Allah alone, Quraish had a reason to be alarmed. After all they were the masters of the Arabs at the time. They controlled the trade routes, the Pilgramage and the business it created, The slave trade, Gambling, fornication, drinking and all social evils. They were the losers if the system changed and Muhammad came with a very radical view of the world and how it should be run. They offered him to lead Quraish as their Zaciim, if he stops this word. They offered him money, and most beautiful women. But Mohammad SAWS was not looking for power, presidency, good life, rather he had a mission and a message to deliver, and against it nothing could distract him, so he said his famous statement " If they place the sun on my right palm, and the moon on my left palm, to stop my mission, I would not stop preaching the message that man should surrender to his creator willingly) (note that all creatures are submiting to Allah unwillingly since they have no control over their creation and death and all natural causes that are limiting their freedom). " and then Allah ( ISTAWAA) on the heavens while it was smoke ( Dust particles) and said to them and the earth "surrender willingly or unwillingly" they said, we surrender willingly,....." Before Mohammad SAWS, Prophet Jesus (aleyhi salam) delivered the same message, and the Romans with the help of Jews, planned for his murder, but Allah lifted him up to the heavens and saved him from their wickedness. Today, the Tawheed word exists, but there is no correspondense between this word and the reality of those who say it, hence, saying shahaada today is like a tenant signing a rental agreement he did no understand, Is such a document binding? scolars say NO. A further proof for the above observation is that this word has not stirred in our lives, what it has stirred in the lives of the SALAF AL SAALIX, before us. They said the word, and its effects were detected in their lives and the entire world. We also said the word, and it has no significant effect on our lives. A wise person shouldn't then fool themselves that the King has still some clothes. A good way to measure understanding of this word, is a measure of actions it creates in our lives. If the actions are not there. It may mean that there is no gold reserves in the Bank to validate the currency in circulation. The root cause, the meaning of the word and the belief may not be there. Nur 2003 Nurtel Communications Paradise is Possible Summer Campaign

Dear Ngonge I posed the following questions Do you have peridoic doubts about your faith as a Muslim(a)? Does this periodic doubt bouts slow you down from being the pesron you like to be? Do you feel aimless at times, and confused? The reason was that I have more than once came across situations in which good perrson has left the deen after they were asked questions that they were least prepared to find an answer for. The problem is quite big, loosing a single soul is a disaster, I was very touched by it because i did lose a loved one for this problem, and I have realized that we need to face up with this problem in a patient yet a learning way. Doubt, can have many scales, the least of it is the Doubt of Prophet Abrahim when he asked Allah how Alllah revives the dead, the worst is when a person doubts everything in Islam , thus declaring kufr and aimlessness as their new outlook in life. As Muslims, we shouldnt sweep problems under carpet, we should face up the isssues that need an answer, for fear of causing more doubt for others we should not hush hush the issue, because in these days of the wide world of walwal and wareer, no one is safe from being exposed to ideas that shake up pillars of their faith, so , like the Kenyan savaanah, its is an open game, and knowledge is indeed power, hiding or running away is not the best alternative. InshAllah, I will share with you some deep experiences and thoughts of mine, bear with me though, these days, I am top performer in the rat race, full speed @ treadmill. Nur

OG Writes: Originally posted by OG_Girl: [QB] hmmmm.. still need more explaination .... sorry Nur but I can't help, I wish to say jazaka Allah khair and move on... do u understand me by any chance ??!! Yes I do understand you sis, the article is about helping Nomads who have been conmditioned to think inside of a dark box, who once they emerge out of ther box, cant focus right as their eyes were used to darkness, thus scared to question concepts they believed all their lives without being able to make a sense out of it, InshaAllah, we shall discuss concepts that are far fetched, inconsistent with the basic concepts of Islam, the problem being poor eyesight, or heartsight in our sitauation, because: Fa innahaa la tacmii al absaara wa laakin tacmil quluub allatii fil suduur Nur

African sis Your missed sis, are you still around? sorry if took me years b4 responding, but its good to know that some Nomads do read my posts without responding. Nur

Juba Thats right, wortk hard now to enjoy the party later, its no fun partying now and cryin later. Nur

So far Nomads are agreeing to a Love that is a byProduct of Marraiage, not the other way around, how many married couples can look back and say with certainty that their love has increased since marriage? we need to hear at least one couple on this forum, to validate the votes. If you are married, have you ever felt the world is collapsing when your spouse got sick? or felt so jealous that you lost your mind when your husband contemplated the idea of another wife? ( Bisadi waa ka ciyaar, jiirna waa ka naf) both are sign of great love, jealousy is not always bad, its is a testament of a womans love for husband, husbands should think about that, whenever another Halimo attracts them, not that i am discaraging this practice which is legitimate if properly done accodring to Sharia, but that one must always value the past commitment and mutual love before embarking on another renovation project around your home. Nur

WoL sis Indeed, Xaqqan! these are very deep verses, to look and think about what you have invested in for your future. Every deed, little or big is recorded, its either for us or againts us, an accoungting system that does not leave any activity of ours out of the compensation system. As I drove to my office, listening to some verses, a verse shook me tremendously, why, because it touched me at that moment, it showed me a nicma that I was not looking, the nima of riding a luxurious vehicle to work attentively listening to Quran as the Sheikh read " Wa Dhallalnaaha fa minhaa rakuubakum wa minhaa takuluun" And we have made animals subservient to you, so you ride on their backs, and eat their meat as well for food" As a 21st century Nomad, I was nor riding a camel, I was riding a vehicle with airconditioning, sound system, and comfort, so, the verse touched me deeply, when I heard " A falaa yashkuroon?" shouldnt they become grateful then? that verse did it, tears flowed on my cheeks, nothing is more relieveing than a thoughtful cry, I pray that tears wash out my sins, nothing is more comforting than remembering Allah alone to shed some tears at our ungratefulnes and his generosity. Nur

The One. Contraception is a not a new invention, the compaions of the prophet posed this question to the prophet SAWS b4, their method was different, it was called AZL, ( Insulation), to which the Prophet SAWS approved with caution, saying that If Allah decrees to create, nothing can interfere, still, the practice was not prohibited. Like any other Islamic issue that touches on pilars of faith, the intention behind any action outweighs the action itself, if the intention is fear of poverty for not being able to provide, that will conflict with the following verse " And order your family to pray, we do not ask you to provide for yourselves, we provide living for you," If the intention is to rule out having kids and instead raise a dog and a cat, that will conflict with the purpose behind marriage which is tom procreate a healthy replacement at least to carry on the purpose of life on earth and worship of Allah, Lastly if the intention is to space births for health reasons or to give adequate time to a child b4 another anarchist comes along, then the practice is acceptable as long as it is insulation ( AZL) an abortion Wallah Aclam Nur

Maymouna sis Yes, its Xan! best words to say in a mall is the Dhiker of Allah, not the bad Dhiker of people. Nur

Miz S.Lander sis You sure can join the Quran group, or even create your own, just get started sis, memorizing Quraan is easy, so is forgetting Quran, we shoul always continue to upkeep the xifdh. Nur

An e-Nuri Business Venture Development The Spiritual Out-Patient Clinic Nomads Our health is taking a serious beating these days due to genetically altered, chemically preserved , artificially processed colored foods. While these chemicals do their wonders inside our bodies, spawning reactions that would corrode your car engine in a minute, we calmly sit back on our soft couches in our chemically cooled and heated homes using remote controlled gadgets to open our garage doors, operate our refrigerators TV and turn lights on and off without getting up from our soft sofas, all these factors adding to our bad health. Our bodies which are designed by Allah to take abuse to an extent, can only take so much, once the threshold of abuse is crossed, safety mechanisms fail, we feel sick, we throw up or feel like we are on a carousel at Disney in dizziness, we rush to the nearby hospital for help where the Doctor (Dr. WOL?) diagnosis our condition and shakes her head in disbelief. " Mr. Calool Weine, your condition is serious, your cholesterol level is high, liver functions are alarmingly showing deterioration, you need to change your diet, to detoxify your system in order to save your vital organs, its sad that you are only 29 years old " says the internist. That was your body That was your body on bad diet and no exercise That was a Potato couch . Your body is just the window dressing of your soul, the essence of creation and being, have you noticed how we Somalis refer to a dead person as " Meytka" the minute a person passes away? no longer do we refer to that body as a person, the person is gone, leaving behind a bag of fat and weeping relatives, the soul departed the body, the abused vehicle of the soul to meet its maker in heaven. Our soul, just like our body, takes a similar blow from an stealthy enemy, Satan, who corrupts its inner files with wrong messages and visions. Without a periodic deletion of these bad files, our souls become so corrupted, we can act and utter words that show how far our soul has deteriorated, I personally know of one such person in my own family, a young and a promising person, who slowly lost a very valuable healthy soul to Satan, descending from the height of the Himalayas in faith, to the lowest point of an aimless animal. That person is now spiritually dead, but biologically alive. But I have no doubt Allah gives life to the dead, however, it has just dawned on me, "how could I have missed the signs of that persons ailment and sickness?" it took a long period of time until one day, I was face to face with a complete stranger, someone I knew so much turned to someone I have never met. In memory of that person, I imagined the establishment of a clinic to save such individuals in our lives, so that we can offer our help before it is too late. Unlike bodily ailments, the spiritual illness is not felt, in contrast, it is enjoyable, and fun, today, I was discussing business with a dear friend whose shining dark black beard kept shrinking every time I see him, while his wallet is kept growing bigger and his preoccupation with the worldly desires is noticeably increasing. Change in our spiritual health is very stealthy, our actions can be the best way to monitor our spiritual condition at any given time, unfortunately, there are no diagnostic gadgets in malls to measure our iimaan pressure gauge to ward off an spiritual mental stroke. Based on the above observations, e-Nuri and associates are warning Nomads on this water hole, to either shape up, or ship out to the next life unprepared for a torment that will make a day in Nairobi's refugee camp as pleasant as a serene resort in Palau. In the coming days, we shall look deeply into the ailments of the soul, how to diagnose them, how to cure them and how to regularly check up on the vital signs of deterioration of the spiritual values that justifies our temporal existence on this planet in the first place. Inshaallah, time permitting, we shall take you to a tour behind the clinics doors to show you how we are preparing to receive spiritual patients who are in dire need to be seen and treated. till then, please pass the word to your family and friends, e-Nuri Doctors may even consider making house calls for those sick Nomads unable to visit the clinic for an extra fee, a sincere Duaa prayer. (When Nur is in your neighborhood) Please take the following self test: 1. If you find out today that you have six months to live, what would be your priorities from that point on? 2. How much time and effort do you spend on your own desires compared to the well being of the poor and the needy, relatives and humanity in general? 3. Your regular prayers are the litmus test of first defense line against Satan, how are they? quantity and quality? ..............................to be continued Nur 2005 e-Nuri Spiritual Healing Clinics When Part of You Is dying.

OG Girl I read the link about the Rajah concept as you have suggested, From the beginning I caught the flaw in the concept, neither the Verse in Quraan they quoted nor a Hadeeth from Ali radiyallahu canhu suggest the concept, it was one of many concepts added to original Shia fiqh which used to be very similar to Sunnah ( Like Zaydia) but, in the Ghaybatul Sughraa (65 years in which the last imam was absent from age 4 onwards) many concepts were added to Shiaism, Rajaaconcept takes a center stage of all in terms of being out of place with mainstream Islam. In a nutshel, the Rajah was a creation of that period, like many other concepts, if you go back and read the I am a Shia Too thread and look at my sources, you will see that most of these concepts where from a Book called Bihaarul Anwaar, which is the same book that the link uses as a source for the concept, so get your hands on that book if you can, sis, you are in for a surprise of your life. Nur

Og girl It was reported that the Prophet SAWS said " من أبطأ به عمله لم يسرع به نسبه our Somali roots are only for association purposes and common history, but in Islam, all of us are brothers, even Jews who accepted Islam are very much our brothers in faith, there is a site on the web for Jews who reverted back to Islam, Jews ethnically, Muslims by belief. I guess. Wajeer, is NFD of Kenya and Qabri Daharre is in the 5th Kilin of Ethiopia (SomalinRegion), a great geneaology job for someone raised outside of Somalia, because those of us born in Somalia, we memorize our ancestory at least 12 or 13 forefathers, which explains our Nomadic anarchist culture. Amatillah it was back in the mid 90s. But I visit Egypt for business trips, staying mainly in the heart of Cairo not far from Burj Al Qaahira district. Nur

Dedication For all Nomads who find their engines slowing down when life is all an uphill drive and you are loaded with a heavy load of life's requirements, and still you are expected to maintain your iimaan. From time to time, do you find yourself slowing down? From time to time, do you find yourself doing things that you would not dare? ( a young man I know complained to me in private that he is suffering from uncontrolled looks at girls on the subway, bus and shops, he is very devout, young and single, but he cant resist looking at the opposite sex, he needs help) From time to time, do you find yourself not utilizing your time in worthwile activities, instead, you waste time wondering aimlessly at shopping malls and coffes shops? Well, lets all share our worries about our struggles with our nafs, because it si a battle staying the course, otherwise, Allah would not have promised Paradise. So, what is your worries? Nur

OG Girl Thats wonderful breed, I am sure that your mom is remnants of the Fatimiyyah Dynasty, or the Turkish Mamaaleek ruling Dynasty of Egypt, anyway, Egypt is a thrilling place to be, I still remember The Muhandiseen neighborhood, where my fovorite drinks were Haleeb al jaamuus that was brought to us by this Saidiyah lady from her farm. But where is your Somali ingredient, I thought your dad was from Qabri Daharre? WOL, I knew I could not miss the Ibadhi Omani connection, I used to have a friend from Oman who educated me about Oman's history and peoples. Nur

WOL youw write: Interesting My mums Ibadhi and Dad Sunni, I relate more with the Sunni. Remember Ma teaching us to pray as Sunni. As we are supposed to follow our fathers beleif . Dear sis Very interesting, your mom is very likely an Omani, am I right? OG Girl Zaydia? I guess your mom is Yemeni from the mountains, Zaidia the closest to Alul Sunnah, are actually accepted by the Sunni Ulema, they gave as great Scholars like Sheikh Sancaani and Imam Shawkaani, two great Zaydi imaams whose books are studied by mainstream Sunnah students. Nur

A Thrilling Ride Suuratl Caadiyaat This Work was triggerred by a request of Brother Thunder, a fellow Nomad at Somaliaonline Islam Discussion boards, who asked me to shed some light on this Surah. I first read the Surah quickly to grasp the gist of it, for more insight, I reviewed it again, However no matter how many passages I read, a critical link was missing between the first part of the Surah and the conclusion, a real challenge for ulul albaab. In my search for clues, I referred to three different Tafaaseer, Al Tabari for the different narrations and their weights, , Ibnul Katheer for his smooth explanation, and for a deeper inspiration, I delved into the eloquence of the Dhilaal al Quraan ( Shades of The Quraan ) Unfortunately, I was unable to find the connection of the thrilling opening verses with the sobering last verse. After I gave up, Allah SWT opened up a gate of knowledge to enter, in order to see the connection of the first and the last, I could not help but hit the floor to thank Allah SWT in joy for showing me the subtle but critical link of the verses Subhaanallah, Alhamdulillaah and Allahu akbar what a hidden treasure did I find today, A Friday, a day in which Muslims flock to the mosques all over the word to hear words of admonition so they can stay on the siraatul mustaqeem course. Allahumma Salli calaa Sayyiddinaa Muxammad wa calaa Alihi wa saxbih wa sallim. Bismillahi Arraxmaani Arraxiim The Thriller Ride . For those Nomads who can relate to our baadiye setting ( duullaan, ama weerar dagaal colaad ah ), or for those westernized Nomads who had the fun visiting Medieval Times theme parks in California, enjoying a nice meal of chicken served on copper dishes, while two horsemen fight like the Romans. Imagine sleeping in your tents early morning when at at dusk, you wake up amid dreadful sounds and sights of an enemy. The sounds of fast breathing and approaching horses, raising clouds of dust behind them while at the same time, sparking static fire with their hoofs as they hit the dry terrain at high speeds sending shockwaves of fear all around your body, and suddenly, you are butt naked and face to face with the enemy horsemen. But suddenly, when you as a frightened person see the enemy horses standing right above your mattress ( Fa wasatna bihi jamcan ), and stare at these horsemen brandishing shining swords, you realize that your end is near, and now you begin to seriously think about your past intentions and motives of all your deeds. ( End of Primo Scenario ) And here we find the secret connection: THE MOTIVES THAT DRIVE OUR ACTIONS The above scenario " Wal caadiyaati dhabxan, fal mughiiraati subxan, fa atharna bihi naqcan, fa wasatna bihi jamcan............" this swift description of sound, motion and action is a Allah's way throughout the Quraan to get our attention, or " Dhaar" as we say in Somali, in which Allah swears by his creatures or their actions as in this case, similar to " Falaa uqsimu bi mawaaqici al nujuum, wa innahu la qasamun low taclamuuna cadhiim " . However what startled me was that this " Weerarka arooryeed " was done in the way of Allah SWT in Jihad, a form of struggle that was triggerred by a motive , because once the motives were set, the horses were set in motion, followed by the sound of fast breathing Arabian horses, their hoofs raising sparks of fire and a dust behind their tails, all for a MOTIVE and purpose. Now many earthily years pass by in a state of oblivion, and all in a sudden, you find yourself once more standing naked in front of your maker, this time, it in the day of judgment, you show up again just like how you were created in the first time, naked, thirsty, helpless, and humbled. Now imagine yourself hearing these words of wisdom: " Man is indeed unthankful to his lord" (Kanood) , meaning, ungrateful person ( Calooshii la cayaar ) who only counts misfortunes, but never appreciates goodness, nor thanks his lord for it. Being ungrateful all your life, you have never felt that you owe Allah anything that you have, because in arrogance you've felt that you did it all alone without Allah's help, and as a result, all of what you have earned was rightfully yours alone, never recognizing that all along that Allah was making all your successes possible, by prodding you to succeed and providing you with an intricate health maintenance system, a calculating mind, sheer " coincidences or are they?" and guardian angels to look after your safety up until the moment of truth fast approached, enemy horsemen keen to take away your unworthy life with a swift piercing sword right through your heart, ouch!. Your nature of ungratefulness over the years had triggered many actions that worked contrary to Allah's commandments, because the underlying motives behind your actions were an insatiable love for wealth, power and prestige, contempt for those less fortunate than you are. After close examination of your life, you also recognize that you are a key witness over yourself of how precious you've over valued your material possessions that blinded you from your eventual confrontation with your Lord. Oh NO! Enter the opening ceremonies of the day of judgment when graves will split open, releasing their subdued captives and their accompanying manifests of their past deeds , stern angles examine you files to prepare for your hearing in front of an impartial judge, no matter how many evil deeds that you have concealed, your Lord , that day, ( Like any other day) is well aware of your motives and deeds for a just verdict that will rest your case forever, in happiness or in agony. Luckily, that is all in the future, and the present is in your hands, so take my advice, change your ways, before you are chained!. Nur

Animal Farm That was inspirational, here is a piece I dedicated to the appoinment of the new Speaker of the Somali Parliament in Nairobi. The Nairobi Report Now that a Speaker of ther House has been officially elected ( he is a direct decendent of the Prophet SAWS, I am not suggesting that the original Islamic Caliphate is back on track in Somalia until he assumes the highest office ), The office of the President of Somalia and the Prime Minsister is up for graps, the funny thing is as the role and value of these offices are changing these rascals who dont even read the fine print dont realize that Somalia is heading to be a United Nations Protectorate fro the next 20 years, just like the one we had prior to Independence in 1960. Somalia will have a government by the UN, executed by the Tribe, for the Rich businessmen, an ideal Democracy, the Annan-Bush edition. The Presidential hopefulls who are buying delegate votes are paying $1000 up front and $4000-5000 in escrow account to guarantee that delegates deliver the winning vote for the Presidential hopefuls. From a purely business perspetive, ROE, return on equity which is a measure of the sustainability of the Anarchist Government of Somalia is defined as the net bribe earnings per MP Votes divided by the book value of the Somali Government which is broke, usually a ROE of 20% and higher is considered healthy for any business, but in the case of Somalia, business is so good, the ROE approaches infinity, for just few thousand dollars, the Presidential hopefulls are buying votes to steal public money in the form of foreign aid, but are they? Not quite These smart politicians who dont even read the fine Print of my friends plans ( That is Cofee Anaans guidelines for Governance ), the new Somali government will be a municipality, no financial mandate will be in their hands, the next Somali Prime Minister will share power with Kofee Annan, the Ministers will share power with respective UNDP officials ( Fisheries, Aggriculture, Civil service etc) so, writing checks will not be as fun as it used to be, unless? Unless what? Well unless the UNDP officials ( the most corrupt organization on earth ) and the Somali Cabinet Ministers agree to steal the public wealth together, but how Thats easy, because they will write the checks together, they will agree to give contracts to XYZ Company who will be indirectly owned by the third cousin of the Minister's second wife. But that is better than outright theft of public coffers for which these politicians are paying thousands to buy votes. Miss Piggy Reporting For the Anarchist Magazine 2004 e-Nuri Political Satires

Salaaxuddin walaal waxaad qortay: Akhi labadan qolo ma isku dambi baa mise way kala dambi weeyn yihiin? Jawaab Qolada hore Allah wuxuu ka leeyahay : (" Qoladii) Thamuud aheydna, waannu hadeynay, wexeyse ka jeclaysteen indhobeel ( lunsanaan), intay hanuuni lahaayeen " Qoalda labaadna Allah wuxuu ka leeyahay : " Dheh, Ma idiin sheegaa kuwa ugu khasaaro badan? waa kuwa ku lunshay tacabkoodii nolosha adduunka ayagoo isu heysta iney wax wanaajinayaan " Hadaba, labada qolo yaa dambi badan? Runtii, waa su'aal leh jawaab sahlan haddii aad loogu fiirsado aayadda Faatixada. Suuratul Faatixa, Allah wuxuu qolada hore ku tilmaamay " Kuwii uu u cadhoodhay", qolada labaadna, " Kuwii lumay" Waxaa muuqata, in qolada labaad aanan ehel looga dhigin cadhada Allah, taasoo ay ka muuqato in ay ka rajo fiican yihiin kuwa loo cadhooday oo ah kuwo xaq uu soo gaadhay haseyeeshee ka doorbiday lunsanaanta. Qofkii ka baxsda cadhada Allahna rajidiisa ma xuma. Nur

Baashi bro. Some very good points and observations, I agree with you that politics is not confined to those in power, nor to warlords, who use terror as a tool for power. Let us first agree on an all encompassing definition of politics as laypersons understand. It all depends on how you define politics. You can define it as a game, with many players, each with an agenda of their own, and each is using accepted (or unaccepted) methods to reach their goals at the expense of others in the game. So, in the tribal mindset, we are a nation of interest groups (tribes) each tribe is looking for its own, and cares only about its members even if its interests are detrimental to our collective national ineterst. In that world view, you are right that all players of the game to be politicians, good and bad, depending on the effect of their view on the nation as a whole. Another definition of politics would disagree with your obeservation, it will confine politics to an inner core of decision makers, between the elected officials of a government, adminsitrators and law makers of different houses of representatives, be it the house of tribes, house of warlords etc. What goes in that circle is politics and those elected officials are politicians. As an illustration, the term Policy issued by a government official is a decision made by a person or a group vested with authority by a consenting constituents they represent for the well being of that constituency. Those who pass policies on behalf of their constituency are therefore known as Politicians. As for those who disagree with such policies, who in the meantime are NOT vested with such authority, they are referred to as an interest or pressure group who wish to influence a given policy by pressure tactics ( such as signitures, voting block threats etc .) to persuade politicians to adopt their views on issues. In that above sense, the pressure groups are not referred to as politicians, unless they run for a public office in which time they are immediately referred to as political hopefuls. (Like Doctors in internship, or Engineering apprentice ) You write: The politicians in the sixties were poineers in the frontiers of nomad-based politics! They made many mistakes. Some of the mistakes had far-reaching consequences. It’s said nepotism and corruption had reached all time high in late sixties I whole heartedly agree with this statment! Then comes your exception: Yet, I still consider them good politicians! . What Good! Bashi bro. remember that you have said the following about these politicians: 1. They made many mistakes ( Crimes against their public oath they took placing their hands on the holy Quraan ) 2. Some of their mistakes had far reaching consequences ( such as the civil war that cost Somalia thousands of lives, loss of an entire generation, distruction of fauna and flora ) 3. Nepotism ( Every Minsister employed his clansmen even if they were not competent for the job, which led to the far reaching consequenses you've mentioned ) 4. Corruption ( I was told that that the best job in Somalia before the fall was that of a cashier, even Minsiters wished they could be a cashier for a single day, the bililaq looting that followed the collabse of a nation, was trigerred by the looting of the public coffers of these politicians ) Despite all the above, here comes your justification for their goodness for the nation: The reason being that the use of violence and other forms of aggression have been minimum. Contrary to that premise, it was their corruption and neptism that led to the violence and civil war in the first place, it was a cause and effect. Your second justification: The mistakes committed (many) in that era had been the natural consequences of intrigues and political calculations; something inherent in human group interactions and in fact expected from the practice Bingo! this is the most truthful of all statments, but few politicians admit to it. Ojinga Odinga, ( the opposition leader to the Kenya African National Union (KANU)Party's presidential candidate, Jomo Kenyatta, the first president of Kenya and the nations hero in the Mau Mau movemenet that won the independence from the British) , accused Jomo Kenyatta of being corrupt politician, swindling public funds and the more serious accusation, that Kenyatta was an impotent. Upon hearing these allegations, Kenyatta, still in office and bracing for a win in the next election was furious, in a huge rally in Nairobi, Kenyatta addressed his well wishers with confidence: " Mr. Odinga has accused me with two accusations " said Kenyatta, " well, unfortunately one of them is true, the second is a big lie " quipped Kenyatta, to the publics curiosity and laughter, " which one is true, Mzee? " echoed from all over. " Well, as you know, i used to be a freedom fighter against the British, I risked my life for my country, and in the course, I lost all of my wealth for the sake of Kenya's liberation " narrated Kenyatta. " After the independence, I assumed the presidency, but I was poor, so the first thing I did in my first four year term was to enrich myself and my family, I bought a farm in Nakuru for Mama Ngina, I bought so and so for ... etc. at last after four years in office, I am a rich man, I have enriched myself and my family, if I am elected a second term, I promise to work for the enrichment of Kenya only. But if you elect Ojinga Odinga, another poor politician, he will enrich himself first, and Kenya will suffer 8 years instead of 4 years, so you decide " persuasively suggested Kenyatta to his people. Jomo Kenyatta went on to address the second accusation saying: " As for Odinga's second outrageous claim that, I am impotent, well, I wont even answer that, Mama Ngina ( his wife)is here, ask her " mused the Mzee, to the jubilation of the crowd and the election of Jomo Kenyatta as president for life, to limit the number of Thief Executives. Now, that is honest politics, The Kenyatta style! Nur

Shamsuddin bro An important topic indeed, If living is the combination of growth, feeling, movement, etc, the all of these activities are closely linked with time, if time passes without noticeable change, then we are dead, the walking dead. Allah SWT says: " ....A fa man kaana meytan fa axyeynaah wa jacalnaa lahu nuuran yamshi bihi finnaas kamn huwa fizulumaat, leysa bi khaarijin minhaa" meaning " Are they the same, a person who was dead and we caused him to come alive, providing him with light that (guides) him (in dealing) with people, and a person who is in utter darkness who has no exit " Nur