Time To Top Up Your imaan

[Valenteenah.]

Like I said, there's no shortage of labels for sisters. If certain people truly believe that the best way to judge a woman's iman is to look at her style of dress (or worse, categorise them all into 3 small compartments), then let them I say!

 

Ragga qaarkood dumarkii baa wax loo saaray.

[Baashi]

^Not true. As usual we're good at twisting things and putting spin on it. It was nothing but simple straightforward observation until feminism spin and gender politics were introduced to the thread.

 

Caano saaxiib fahamkaagu ninyahaw annigu wax ka sheegi mayo. Sida ay iila muuqato dooda aan meesha ku heynaa waxay salku ku heysaa hal qodob: dhaqanka qofka iyo siduu u mucaamilo iyo waxa uu aaminsan yahay xiriir ma ka dhaxeeyaa?

 

Hadaad jawaab ka bixiso way fiicnaan lahayd oo dooduba madax iyo minjo la yaqaan bay yeelan lahayd!

[Valenteenah.]

Not true. As usual we're good at twisting things and putting spin on it. It was nothing but simple straightforward observation until feminism spin and gender politics were introduced to the thread.

'As usual'? Hmm...

 

 

I guess I must be the only one confused as to what part of the thread is the 'spin' and what part is the 'straightforward observation'. As far as I can see, there's nothing more spinworthy than:-

 

In an engineering school, some students have noticed that Muslim women on campus to be divided to three types.

 

1. Hijaab wearing Sisters

2. Jeans and Scarf wearing Transistors

3. Minimally dressed body showing Resistors

Perfection. I don't think even New Labour's spin doctors' could come up with anything as jazzy as the above.

 

Now, my observation is that these are narrow, shallow and misleading categories. Considering that I have never seen the iman of males being questioned depending on the type of attire they wear, I believe this topic introduced the 'gender politcs' u mention, rather than the other way round.

 

Also, where does the feminism come into it, Baashi? Is it due to the fact that a couple of females took exception to the blanket labels?

 

 

Now tell me in aan odaygii islaantii wax loo saarin.

[Baashi]

Come again Aerowen.

 

Do you have problem with the fact that Engineering students have noticed the existence of thre distinct dress attires among the Muslim women population at the U? Or you have problem with the point that asserts that how we dress and how we carry ourselves and our value system are somewhat related? I can cite couple of relevant examples that can nail this point on the wall...

 

On an other note, isn't true that the cririticism on the piece stems mainly from what it had not said than what it have commented on? How about this and that kinda approach thing right! Observing fashion trends and commenting on them is a far cry from women bashing charge methinks! I can assure you if we are to use this level of nitpicking and spinning, as a standard, on any topic, none will survive from the scrutiny and the original message will always be lost on the crowd...

 

Btw my reference of feminism has to do with this fake advocacy presumembly for women's plight in defending against the unsubstantiated labelling sexists like Nur are propagating...as always is the case these sort of fake defenders chase shadows of their imagination.

 

Islaantu been-boodka iyo cidla isku qaadka yey aad u taqaan.

[Jacpher]

Originally posted by Baashi:

 

Islaantu been-boodka iyo cidla isku qaadka yey aad u taqaan.

You’re on fire man!

 

Have a look at another angle. Some Arab singers wear Qamiis while performing in public. Somalis generally perceive this particular robe to be of a religious dress, and expected to behave as such. No question our deception is wrong but can we conclude men that dress these garments have more or less Iman?

[Nephissa]

We each have our own way to express our dedication to Allah. All this sister, transistor, resistor - with all due respect - is simply laughable.

 

How I dress does not determine the level of my Iimaan. There are numerous jalbaab wearing hypocrite women who are far away from being dedicated to Allah. They just wear it as a disguise from their true nature. Underneath all those coverings, their hearts are filthy and vile..

 

There is a hadith narrated by prophet Mohamed (scw) that says: Our actions are judged by our intension (sorry don't know it word by word) ie; if your intension is to do some charity for the sake of showing off, then you are not actually sincer in your deed, so you are judged by your intension when you did the act. There's also a sura in the qur'an that states Allah looks at a person's heart, not at their outward appearance.

 

Now, you may look at me and think i'm less religious, but I somehow earn more good points with God, and have a better chance then the 'head to toe covered hypocrites' to make it to heaven.

[Legend of Zu]

Baashi,

 

Although I haven’t dwelled reading many of the responses in detail… I do believe no one rejected the concept of hijab neither was the protest towards Nur as a person. If I am reading correctly, what some of the Solers (the sisters) are protesting about is the aspects of delivery methods (the analogy, the approach and what the girls termed as “labellingâ€). It seems the whole message was lost due to the audience not being considered or at least them being taken lightly. Now you can all argue about how sometime creativity is needed and so on. However, a balance is needed as for trying too hard to be creative can lessen the impact of the message.

 

This could be a good learning curve for brother Nur where certain aspects of the da’wah can not be delivered in lighthearted manner. Would you think if his approach were direct and serious, this would have occurred? I do not think so. It would have been simple, either you listen or you move on.

 

Now bro Baashi, I do understand that you are defending e-Nuri because you believe he is doing a great service to the da’wah so do we. But again we can’t escape the fact that sometimes we miss the target, therefore, a need to remind each other when things like that happen is necessary.

 

Saad ogtahayba soomaali waxay tiraahdaa “ Hadal Ninah si u yiri nin ah si u qaaday†anagauna waxaa nalaga doonayaa in aan arimaha sidan oo kale ah aan dib u jaleecno islana eegno halka ay wax ka qaldameen.

 

PS: I just couldn’t help but notice that while the sisters opposed Nur for labelling them in return they labelled him. The irony of this whole thread.

[Valenteenah.]

Originally posted by Baashi:

Btw my reference of feminism has to do with this

fake advocacy presumembly for women's plight in defending against the unsubstantiated labelling sexists like Nur are propagating

...as always is the case these sort of

fake defenders

chase shadows of their imagination.

Fake advocacy, you say? I think that's an interesting turn of phrase.

 

A couple of things first, I did not label Nur as sexist (you can scroll back to my previous posts if you please). Second, this topic has been posted at least once before and although I took issue with the pigeon-holing, I decided to ignore it and give Nur the benefit of the doubt.

 

Now, when it was posted again, I couldn't help but comment. I am all for raising one's Iman, however, there's no way I can accept the sister/transistor/resistor analogy as an indication. Now if this sounds like fake advocacy or defending to you (although I cannot grasp why it would come across as such, but nevermind), there's nothing I can do about it.

 

Perhaps it has not occurred to you that topics addressed to women (indirectly in this case) will be responded to by women - whether in agreement or disagreement - therefore, I don't understand where the overt hostility and accusations of feminism are stemming from. Then again, it has become fairly easy for you guys to beat the 'feminism' drum whenever it suits you.

 

One thing I am sure of, is that no amount of contemptuous accusations will deter me from replying to contentious posts.

 

Thanks.

[Caano Geel]

Look Baashi, it was I who did the labelling .. dont have enough time now but will adrress ya in full lata

[NGONGE]

It does not come as a great shock that this thread has turned into a discussion over labels rather than the topping up of Iman (though that too is subtly inferred to in the arguments that ensued).

 

The thread starts with high octane and energy. It then goes on to compare matters to car races! Vroom! Vroom! A sensitive filly can almost smell the pheromones there (to put it bluntly, fast cars are usually a boy’s toy). Thus far though, one only suspects that only sensitive females rejected this analogy (the others probably resisted the doubt).

 

The thread goes on to talk about sisters, transistors, resistors and a whole load of engineering tongue twisters! Now the alarm bells are really starting to ring. This speed-loving, high octane praising, car lover has intended his topic for the girls! How dare he question our (womanhood in general and not the single reader) Iman? Why is he trying to dress what is obviously a sexist thread with the cloak of advice? It is almost as if he’s mocking us. What’s with the labels? Huh?

 

When one reads a piece, one does so with preconceived expectations and ideas. The reader, going by his previous knowledge of the author, arrives with a checklist that he/she ticks as they go on reading the piece. Parts of the piece that meet the reader’s expectations are approved or rejected (depending on the reader’s expectation). New ideas are quickly analysed and treated in accordance with the reader’s prejudice. In the case above, many of the females came into this thread having had ‘history’ with the author and female related topics (see Athena’s ‘old habits die hard’ comment).

 

The majority of the others (myself included) came expecting another good and helpful topic (though it’s gone sour now, I still think it’s a good topic). Some of the boys (particularly those with an engineering background) completely embraced the topic and thought the analogies to almost be an exact depiction of reality. Indeed, terms such transistors, resisters and hijab wearing sisters set their shoulders into shaking with high-octane laughter and appreciation of the expert way the analogy was delivered. That the thread was a boy’s thread was either lost on them or regarded as ‘no big deal’. That the three categories of women described only imply good or bad Iman did not matter to them (to imply is as good as to assert here). Such women exist. Women that wear the hijab are (usually) considered to be of good Iman and women that don’t, have weak Iman. What’s there to argue about? VROOM! VROOM!

 

Some threads are straightforward, clear and unambiguous. They’re also boring. This one was not (though I doubt Nur meant to be controversial). This thread is a demonstration of how people like to read and what criteria they apply when reading.

 

It is unlikely that many people missed the premise of this thread. NO! It was not about women (Kashafa), cars, engineering or sexism. It was about topping up one’s Iman. It was about the lack of practise, neglect of duties and committing of sins leading to the decrease in one’s Iman. It was also about good work increasing the level of one’s Iman. This, if nothing else, is what one should take from this thread (and even if it’s nothing new, it’s a good reminder).

 

For the purposes of these forums and discussions (current and future), what people need to focus on are the ways they read (and write) things.

 

 

Almost all written things can be read on many levels. Some go for the literal meaning of words, some dwell on the style of writing and some read and interpret ideas. Here, some ‘interpreted’ the idea to be dubiously sexist. Others knew what the idea was but decided that the sexism story had more mileage.

 

The greatness of Qays’s poetry (or should that be Celmi) makes many of us imagine Leila (or Hothan) as the most beautiful woman in the world. Leila of course, was probably very ugly. But ugly was (probably) what Qays considered beautiful. It was a matter of taste. Qays was the storyteller and in his version of the story, Leila was very pretty. VROOM! VROOM!

 

To an infant, the story of the hare and the tortoise is just a story. It has animals in it and the narrator is probably using funny noises as he/she reads the parts of the hare and the tortoise (this is all that this story is about for this infant). An older child considers it a puzzle and listens in anticipation to see how this impossible race is going to end (is the hare going to lose?). Once he/she hears the ending of the story, he/she marvels at the ingenuity of the tortoise and scorns the carelessness of the hare (but sees no moral in the story). An adult, having heard a million other similar stories, tries to look for the moral of this tale. Slow and steady wins the race. VROOM! VROOM!

 

Some never move from the infant stage. Some never grow out of the child stage and some are always too damn serious that they never ever leave the adult stage. The trick of course, is to combine all three. New skills do not render old skills obsolete; they rather compliment them.

 

The females don’t want to be engineers. They want to drive those racing cars (and rightly so). Maybe if it was a level racing field, there will not be many dissenting voices and we could go back to talk about the legitimate issue of topping up one’s Iman.

 

Edit:

I have no idea what I wrote above by the way. It’s been a busy day at work and I wrote this in a real hurry (even more than usual). Need to rely on your reading abilities here to keep up with me.

[STOIC]

^^^^How about from physiological perspective saaxiib? Let’s turn to the chemical process that underlies the changing one sided activity detected in this electrical engineering jargons. For readers who are not already familiar with the brother Nur’s daacawah may view this from another perspective. We all know that neuron influences other neurons by a means of chemical known as neurotransmitters . These neurons are secreted across special junction where one neuron meets the other neuron-synapses. At the receiving end of each synapses there are structures known as receptors. Which are protein to which neurotransmitters binds .If this receptors fail to bind the neurotransmitters, a complex biochemical process will not be evolved. This shows that it is a combined effect of large number of neurons that allows the brain to process information from the environment and command to coordinate behaviors.

 

PS:if anyone might be wondering what I am talking about here, this might help you. Neurons are both genders while the receptors are our ability to communicate across gender line. Once we communicate effectively then we will be able to build a stronger Iman ( biochemical process).

[Alle-ubaahne]

Top up your iimaan doesn't have to go all the way from gender lines to scientific terminologies. Iimaan is one of the core significant believe tenants we adhere as Muslims, in which our prophet (pbuh) has explained in a language as clear as the visiblitiy of the sun when there is no cloud. Since Iimaan is very important, why was it explained in a full-proof language? though every thing in our religion was expressed in an understandable manner, but the exception of Iimaan with its emphasis on the precise explainations for it to be easily understood, is because people have to understand and grasp its objectives so that they can be able to live with and act on it. The principle of iimaan was made easy by Allah, but the norm of human tendency is to make things more intricate, for many reasons, because for a chinesse muslim wants to explain Iimaan in what his people can understand or know about by using analogies that can probably be so distanced from the meaning of Iimaan. For instance, if I ask a muslim guy with mechanic background about the meaning of Iimaan, he may use the wheels of a car as an analogy to make me understand how iimaan works, but remember my question was what is iimaan, not how it works and so forth. Now, it seems we are engaging with the issues that arise from language applications, isn't it?

[Libaax-Sankataabte]

My sincere advice for the nomads is to try to focus on the issues and not the poster.

 

Also, civility is important if you want your words to be taken seriously. Don't be fraud.

 

I enjoyed reading this thread.

[Baashi]

Aaaaaaaaaaah! I just reread the exchanges. Many good points have been made by the ladies.

 

1. Don't judge others' iman (personal). True and agreed. The other side of the coin is one can comment on the prevailing attitudes of one segment of the society and make conclusions about one's observations (general).

 

2. Beware the apperances, they can be decieving. Like the old adage said, don't judge a book by it's cover. I have known someone (Muhajabah) who in her dealings and how she carried herself makes u wonder, for instance, say when away from where Somalis often frequent turns 180 degree (like french kiss in movie theater). Again true and agreed. But there is also an other side which is that in most part those who deeply want to follow religious dictates even though the environment they are in are not conducive and welcoming these folks have something deep in their soul that compels them to carry themselves that way.

 

3. Careful how you preach. The old line of anshaxa of daaci wa dacwah. Tell it as it is but always be fair and see things from as many perspectives as you can. Again true and agreed.

 

These are indeed good points and I don't think they are lost on me and other like-minded fellaz. That being said, I can't emphasize enough about the importance of giving others the benefit of the doubt. One of the lessons learned (hopefully) would be that social commentary is fair game. You might not like it. Nevertheless, others have the right to make observations on and about their community and share their take with us. Dismiss if u must but don't u accuse it's author and call names unless you canm substantiate and pen a reasonable objection.

 

All in all, it was good sport and I hope we are all shax shax with it and if any1 of you got offended by my posts know that I don't come here in the middle of my workload to offend folks. Having said, I value Islam very much and I reserve the right to pen strong opinion and back it up in the most civil way that I know.

 

Waa siday tahay dee

[xiinfaniin]

Assuming NGONE has arrested most of the protesters in this thread.

And hoping that Baashi’s gracious sequel will as well, I hope, restore some of the civility back to this thread. Let me go back and highlight one thing that’s lost in the rave;

 

No amount of protest, I must say, could obscure the fact that there is a clear correlation between compliance and adherence to the one’s religious obligation and the level of her/his faith. Did the prophet not say that Iimaan increases with obedience and decreases with disobedience? If you don’t really believe that and you think good intent (without deed) would suffice then how do you define Iimaan?

 

Yaa soo baxay ?