^Xasbuunallah...my dear brother, what has come over you? You are probably aware of the importance of these ten days and how we are supposed to try our best to restrain our rather inappropriate desires, while increasing our cibaada as prescribed by our prophet sallalahu calayhi wassalam. Here's a nice short reminder from one of my favourite teachers: clip. I know these shaytanic habits are quite tempting, but Insha Allah, the more you constrain your nafs for the sake of Allah, the more strength you will gain to withstand the temptation. Be a man!

^I used to love Aaran, way better burgers than Fiyaat's (?). I went to that Egyptian school and we'd go there for lunch every day. I don't like to think about Xamar anymore though.

Originally posted by Ibtisam: I'm good hun, it is just cold, otherwise alhumdulilah, when do you finish? Cold in London? Yea right...what was it? like plus 10? It was -15 for us today and I thought even that was nothing. I won't be done until April, Insha'Allah. But as it appears, I may not leave this city till the end of summer, or longer - all kinds of neat research projects are presenting themselves and I feel obliged to indulge. Have you found a perm position yet? Any plan to secure a position in the mother continent?

the sheikh is not on a no fly list. His flight has been canceled, and that’s all. There is no official case against him. That's a relief. Insha Allah khair.

Originally posted by -Lily-: She got hitched and had a baby girl last I heard Haneefa. Masha Allah. Did she marry a Saciidi toloow? She was one interesting sister.

Bisinka, waaxay waxaad dhuraysaan? Whatever happened to OG-Girl horta? Hopefully she's well where ever she happens to be.

FB, I don't have one till couple of days...I doubt I'd be 'trolling' if I had one today And yes, mar mar iy o dhif waan soo gaadhaa. Where's are the top trollers horta? Ngonge? Mise wuu duulay.

This is terrible. Is anyone doing anything about it? What's the community's stance on this whole issue? p.s I suspect it's those frigging undercover Somalis who are behind this. :mad:

^Thanks hon How are things with you? Dhag dhag iyo nus I see, with all those flowers and all lol.

Assalamu Alaikum trollers, subax wanaagsan....are North Americans permitted here? Well, I see few anyways. There's something special about this morning; I woke up happy and energetic, though it's exam week. Must be the beautiful snow outside. *leaves singing I feel good, I knew that I would...*

Jazakallah khair, honey.

Originally posted by Abu-Salman: While inter-racial marriages may face that cultural gap, is "cultural compatibility" still relevant among Somalis, in the case of let's say Buuxo from Borama and Bashir from Baardheere? Heh. I beg to completely differ on the notion of the existence of cultural diversity among Somalis to begin with; unfortunately, we are living in times where Somalis are viewing everything from a clannist/regionalist prism which sadly leads them to see differences that are unfounded. In a homogeneous society like ours, with one language, religion, and ethinicity, I am unable to comprehend how we all of a sudden acquired cultural differences along regional boundaries. How is the so called 'Northerner' culturally distict from the so called 'Southerner'? How are social values, cultural customs and norms different in one region from its neighbouring one? Mind you, this is not to deny the existence of an urban vs rural effect, or different life styles among the people as a result of environmental/socioeconomic factors; but I am opposed to the notion of this being attributable to clan/regional differences. We are suffering from socially constructed myths that are perpetuating belief in these perceived differences, particulary in the post-war period; these beliefs achieve nothing but to further the division and enmity between us. Somali hal dhaqan umbaa mideeya si kasta ooy isku kala saaraan.

Originally posted by Nur: "How big of a deal is cultural compatibility?" Answer: Its a big deal indeed. Marriage introduces many trials and incompatibilities of its own, adding cultural diversity, its one more hurdle that can be overcome if there is an extra effort from both parties. The problem is that when things go wrong between a cultural diverse couple, they immediately seek counsel from their respective cultural families whose advice is almost always negative, its difficult to say the least, the risks outweigh the benefits but it can be worked out. A very close friend of mine who happens to be a non-Somali was reading your answers on this topic when she raised my attention to this particular part upon where she stumbled a bit; and I agreed with her on this. I think we all have our own preferences, and there's absolutely no problem with 'sticking with your own' type of mentality if you so choose. However, when you are in a position where your opinions are expected to be Islamically informed, one must be particularly cautious about delicate issues such as this, especially, in terms of how they communicate 'actual' or 'observed' risks (rather than perceived ones). When you state that the risk outweighs the benefit in this matter, then one is obliged to ask, how? What are you basing that opinion on? What type of indicators can you meausure in such a marriage to infer that the risks actually 'outweigh' the benefits - I apologize for perhaps over-emphasising this point of yours though you did mention that it could be worked out at the end, but it really doesn't sit very well with me - it's a sweeping statement. I think that it is very crucial for us to have a realistic understanding of what some of the practical issues that may arise in such marriages may be, but at the same token, we must not allow biased cultural presuppositions, and unsubstantiated fear and prejudice, to deter us from making logical and Islamically informed decisions. I, along with many family members and friends, am an avid supporter of breaking cultural/ethnic silos that we so comfortably confine ourselves to - unless we collectively promote this, how can we achieve the prophetic model?

^I was referring to NGONGE, walal. P.S. I just noticed those congratulating him. War ninka ka naxa - this much hadal waa cudur.

Mar dhow adigu qudhaada way kaa duuli rabtaa (whatever this phrase means) Of his 19 thousand posts, which one would you say was his best? Horta, have I read any one of them baa ka horeysa.

Xaraam

LOZ, xaal qaado inadeer. And best wishes with your trip. @Xiin. Waa inoo mar kale.

Hehe.

Do you want a brief Islamic view? (I apologize if others have touched on this as I have not read their response) I was reading an article sometime ago that contained a nice quote: “The problem of the heart is the heart of the problem!” This succinctly sums up where our problems emanate from. Suspicion along with deceit, miserliness, wantonness, ostentation, hatred, arrogance, anger, violence, love of power and position, jealousy/envy, and many more, are well known major diseases of the heart which are unfortunately prevailing in our society at staggering rates. Though it may sound simplistic to some, the vast majority of our problems at the social, political, community, family and individual level are attributable to these apparent diseases, many of which we know very little of the cause nor the remedy. The science of the human qalb is a well established area in our Islamic tradition; the primary diseases, their signs, symptoms, and cures have all been explained in the Qur’an, the sunnah, and in prominent Islamic literature (I can recommend some). In the interest of time, I am not able to delve into this much, but the primary cause is the absence of the knowledge and love of the Creator in ones qalb. When the qalb descends to a state of obliviousness, then it becomes susceptible to shaytanic influences, and the impact of the lower, desire-driven nafuus (there are various categories of the nafs). This then leads to sinning, which creates more susceptibility to disease as it further jeopardizes the soundness of the qalb and reduces what level of immunity the individual may have had initially, thus distancing the heart from its Creator and its natural state of purity – it’d actually be neat to build a visual model of this, with all of the interrelated factors, and it’s cyclical nature. Of course, with the mercy of Allah on the individual, this cycle can be broken at any given point, even at points which to some of us, in our very limited capacity of wisdom, may appear hopeless. The most effective intervention is that of tauwbah after stopping the act of sinning. This requires a thorough self-assessment and evaluation of your actions and intentions, and a continuous monitoring system of your state (can be achieved at different levels i.e., spiritual, physical, etc.), in order to detect and treat a sinful action in a timely fashion. Therefore, knowledge of Allah, and love for, and of Him, are critical elements of a successful prevention strategy (clearly, love cannot exist without action). A heart that harbours His remembrance cannot simultaneously accommodate vice and evil. The Dr. Phils and Oprah’s of this world can offer very little in this matter; and no amount of modern psychological theories or models will ameliorate our problems as Muslims. This is a spiritual ailment and the best prevention/treatment model is that taught to us by Allah subxanahu watacala, and His messenger salallahu calayhi wassalam. P.S. Sorry about the lengthy post, or if I seem to have went off on a tangent; to me this is very relevant, and I hope we can increase our awareness in this area (the science of purifying the heart) and about our religion in general.

^Barakallah for the reminder, love. Indeed, this is The Reality no soul will escape. "Walaa dhacaamun ilaa min ghisleen. Laa ya'kuluhuu ilal khaadhi'uun" Yaa Allah, forgive us. Jazakallah kheir, Aaliyah.

^Ma dhici karto. Waad dadaashey haddaba hadaad Canada soo gaadhey NG, You can get them all elsewhere. These ppl should be heading back to the mother continent - invest in and explore the beauty there.

Originally posted by Oodweyne: Dear Mr. RedSee , Do not worry about our colleague Mr. Sophist , for he still in mourning for the passing of Las-Anod from his clannish Puntland fiefdom to Somaliland side ( in the political term that is ). Therefore, that being the case, it’s incumbent on you that what manner of “standing innuendo” that he could levelled with the gentleman in this discussion (which is what he was getting at when he suggested with a straight face, that someone of the “American’s IV league education” under his belt ought not to be supporting Somaliland, politically) should be very much “understandable” in your view of things. Particularly since the period of mourning for the political lost that he has sustained when that city call Las-Anod came under our column, so to speak , could be indefinite period, for the likes of our Mr. Sophist in here... Regards, Oodweyne. ******* PS : As for the topic, I know both gentleman, Mr. Jamal Ali Hussein and Mr. Mustafa Jama very well ( for we all were members of the Somaliland Forum throughout the mid-to-late 1990s ) and therefore, I say kudos to them both... Subhanallah. This is too depressing.

^I presume he means outside the Midwest. Cajaaib, meesha maxaa loogu sii wada socdaa oo yaala. p.s wlc back Mr. Faarax. Maxaa laguu waayey beryahan?

Originally posted by RedSea: Reer hargeisa are the majority of the folks that went to IVY league schools. Compared to whom? Yarkan suu u qumanyahay bey marmar ka wareertaa, LOL.