Letters to My Daughter

speak the truth and you shall be heard

Bismillah irAHman uraheeem. Alhamdullilah, I was married on Memorial Day Weekend, May 28th, 2006. It was a ceremony that brought together two dynamic families, amazing friends of two dynamic individuals, and was witnessed by over 500 guests in attendance at the Long Island Sheraton. I felt like a passenger in much of the event planning, the details, the mayhem of the wedding. But alhamdullilah, alhamdullilah, alhamdullilah. It has been a wonderful first month of marriage, full of surprises, cries of happiness, and moments of total amazement at the will of Allah talla. Of all the guests in attendance, there are several women I would like to dedicate this entry to, the women who supported, and guided me on the chaotic days leading up to my bethrothal, and without whom I would probably still be trying to put on my holud sari. First is my mother, Nargis Z. Kalam, a mother of 20 years, a wife of 22 years, an elementary school teacher, and the greatest woman I have ever known. She always pu...

The countdown to the wedding offically began when I woke up at 8:30 this morning. This happened without the assistance of my two alarm clocks, my mother, or my Mohamed. The fact that I woke up this early implies, obviously, that I am getting married in 7 days. In terms of preparation, I am trying to bathe and shower every day, wash my face before going to bed, brush my teeth, eat at least 2 full meals, etc. Basically, the daily routine now consists of the normal things that most people do everyday, things that I have neglected to do because the chaos of student life precludes normalacy. In particular, I hope to continue this excellent habit of brushing my teeth well into my married life, insha'Allah. If I don't, it will be time for the root canal. And besides, there is morning breathe to worry about. Some of my aunties came over yesterday to do giftwrapping. We decided to put some things in a massive pink Victoria's Secret box because I happened to have visited Victoria...

The following is an excerpt from a paper I wrote for my history professor, who seemed like a nice guy but was really cold, and merciless. I wrote this section with him in mind. He is about 32ish, and an eligible bachelor, but still a cruel...bastard. I don't really mean that but cruel bastard is a sort of idiom with no adequate substitute. Not only was Al Jahiz an early ethnographer, he seemed to be a sociologist of sorts as well. He made human observations about emotions, such as envy, jealousy, and of course, love. In his essay, “Love and Women,” he tells us of the difference between men and women, about when women are superior to men and vica versa, what occupations and rights women ought to observe. During this time period, passionate love or eros was distinct from conjugal love, because the eros could only be aroused by professionals, like “singing slave-girls,” a class of prostitutes that are cultured, and educated in specific arts like the geisha. One passage of note descr...

counting crows. So she said what's the problem baby What's the problem I don't know Well maybe I'm in love (love) Think about it every time I think about it Can't stop thinking 'bout it How much longer will it take to cure this Just to cure it cause I can't ignore it if it's love (love) Makes me wanna turn around and face me but I don't know nothing 'bout love Come on, come on Turn a little faster Come on, come on The world will follow after Come on, come on Cause everybody's after love So I said I'm a snowball running Running down into the spring that's coming all this love Melting under blue skies Belting out sunlight Shimmering love Well baby I surrender To the strawberry ice cream Never ever end of all this love Well I didn't mean to do it But there's no escaping your love These lines of lightning Mean we're never alone, Never alone, no, no Come on, Come on Move a little closer Come on, Come on I want to hear you whisp...

Donna Lewis! Feels like, I'm standing in a timeless dream Of light mists, of pale amber rose Feels like, I'm lost in a deep cloud of heavenly scent Touching, discovering you Those days, of warm rains come rushing back to me Miles of windless, summer night air Secret moments, shared in the heat of the afternoon Out of the stillness, soft spoken words Chorus: I love you, always forever Near and far, closer together Everywhere, I will be with you Everyday, I will devour you I love you, always forever Near and far, closer together Everywhere, I will be with you Everyday, I will devour you (Chorus) Say you'll love, love me forever Never stop, not for whatever Near and far and always and everywhere and everything Say you'll love, love me forever Never stop, not for whatever Near and far and always and everywhere and everything Say you'll love, love me forever Never stop, not for whatever Near and far and always and everywhere and everything

alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdullilah. alhamdulli...