Letters to My Daughter

You know the Quality of what you write is diminished if you are reclying your posts. But if your readership is just you, then does it really matter? I've even included a picture of a monkey. "I felt that my 19 years had prepared me for this moment, this particular time in which I would choose between risk and safety. If I am to believe anything I write on this blog, I must do what is difficult because it is the only thing worthwhile. If I believe that the meaning (of love and companionship) is truly superior to form, and the external prettiness of French pedicured toes and new clothes, then I need a change. I write about rationality like it is the bulk of my soul, but the fear of commitment is 98% irrational. If I believe that the beauty of knowing somebody else is significant, then I can make the time. I must make the effort to try before I begin to run."

In attempting to memorize the 150 or so pages I've read so far this semester from my Logic textbook, I have finally caught on to the basic principles of Logic. These realization come at a good time, within days of my midterm for which I have completed perhaps 30% of the required preparation. 1. You can prove anything from a contradiction. Once you show A & ~A, you can show Q, M, Z, whatever your heart desires. This would suggest that if there is a illogical flow in your thought process, then you can make up any silly thing you want. For example, Zaid and Ayesha are best friends. Best friends spend free time together. It is not the case that Zaid and Ayesha are best friends. This set would include inconsistent claims. And you can derive truth from a inconsistent set. So it is valid to conclude I will pass Logic. The roomate is OCD. The world is a made of white chocolate. New Jersey is not a state. 2. Valid arguments do not necessarily have true premises. In order for an argument...

I am sitting in my basement, with work streaming out of my ears and nose, uploading a picture of a monkey for my blog. Could the ridiculousness of the situation be any more apparent? Despite my feeling like a monkey, I believe that this Ramadhan has been a month of some spiritual regeneration. I am finally convinced that disobediance to Allah's laws are bad. This idea I have only accepted superfically for most of my life. I understood that obediance is good, and that disobediance with respect to matters of the heart, is bad. I am not particularly extreme in my disobediance and unfaithfulness, just the casual neglect of my own feelings and intuitions, but this marks a moment of REFORMATION. It happened in the laundry room in my apartment building. All around, there are signs that say WARNING! Do not put more than 1/4 cup of detergent in the machines because your clothes will not wash properly. And twice I deliberately choose to disobey this edict taped conveniently over ever dryer, ...

Happiness is a really strange thing. It is difficult to describe, though it is often expressed most simply as a declaration. The following is an attempt to verbally share with you this feeling of happiness. Happiness is when you wake up in the morning smiling, happy that you made Fajr for the first time without an alarm or your roommate. Happiness is the ability to smile and remain content when your academic career is in shambles, your relationships with your TAs are in need of repair and maybe bribery, when your presentation timeline is several weeks delayed, when your gpa seems like it was half of what you had last year, when you have a logic midterm and two papers to submit in the same week, when you are convinced that there are not enough hours in the day to eat, shower, pray and study. Despite all this, your heart remains peaceful, and you are smiling. You are convinced that you don't need to sleep, and that there's always enough time. Even though it hurts when you laugh, ...

I think I owe the swear jar hundreds of dollars in payment. I have found that swearing has now become habitual passtime activity. I have met the onslaught of assignments, readings, and responsibilities with mindless inexplicable cursing. I remember meeting dates in the middle of the night, and paper topics and ideas when I'm showering or eating. I can't sit in the library for more than 30 minutes and not fall asleep or daydream. The irrgularities of my thinking have made swearing (the current vogue is using Prophet Isa's name in vain or in its variant forms--Jeez, Gee Whiz, etc.) more justifiable. I reason that given the chaotic pattern of my life, and the extreme behaviors of all-nighters at least once a week for pleasure, swearing is the least of my worries. Along with swearing comes another peculiar behavior, crying. I am not fond of crying. It is a display of weakness if one cries out of pain caused by others. However, to cry out of joy is a manifestation of internal ha...

In the Name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Kind The Small Kindness (Sura 107) Do you see him who calls the reckoning a lie? He is the one who casts the orphan away who fails to urge the feeding of one in need Cursed are those who perform the prayer unmindfully who make of themselves a big show but hold back the small kindness This sura speaks literally of three problems: (1) denial of the revelation that is Islam (2) abuse of the orphan and (3) neglect in prayer. These are three distinct but related ideas because the initial attitude translate into behaviors that are contrary to Islamic moral theology. That is, "those who reject the reckoning, are those who abuse the orphan, who are indifferent to those suffering in their midst, and who are neglectful in performing the prayer" (Sells, 125). One who fails to recognize the significance of faith passes through life mechanically, acquiring material objects, seeking pleasurable stimuli, without ever fully recognizing his or h...

Today I was told I was robot. Here's an excerpt: A: u like thinkin like a robot sometimes me: you as in me? or you as in people in general A: u as in u A: like u act so cold it seems like theres no heart A: let me explain how this connects with u my robot metaphor A: u act cold n non affectionate a robot is non affectionate n can b cold, u love to use words to show love a robot also can use words to show love Today my friends threw me a surprise birthday party at Riverside Park, right off the West Side Highway. It was a beautiful day spent with beautiful people who continue to light up my life. I rode the carousel twice. I watched the river. I ate biryani. I played, I skipped, I cried quietly. I no longer feel like writing.