No Hoes

No Hoes
Originally uploaded by seekerofallah

This is a picture that was taken by a dear friend of mine. It is supposed to say "NO SHOES ON CARPET," but it is funnier this way.

If only I knew what it said...

I'm not sure exactly what is being said in these, but it sounds so beautiful. Thanks to MM for these since he plays it on a continous loop.

PART I

PART II

P.S. I'm on flickr now thanks to the birthday present my parents gave me.

Reflections on the past...

This was written by me towards the end of October in 2003. In March 2004 I embraced Islam.

What keeps a man from believing in god?Stubbornness, pride, fear?I am unsure why I don't but I have nothing in my gut that tells me there is one. Often, I wish I did believe. I feel somewhat empty without it and it would give me something to hope for, an afterlife. Right now, I do not know what happens when I die and for all I know, I simply rot away.

Sophy Burnham said something that really sticks with me and allows me to be patient in my search for a higher power, "To believe in God or in a guiding force because someone tells you to is the height of stupidity. We are given senses to receive our information within. With our own eyes we see, and with our own skin we feel. With our intelligence, it is intended that we understand. But each person must puzzle it out for himself or herself."

Although I'm sure that this will take me a long time, and I may never even find what I search for, I am willing to wait since I'm positive the result will be worth it.

SubhanAllah

"He [Al-Bukhari] wrote Kitab at-Taariikh [Book of History] at the grave of the Messenger of Allah (sallullahu alayhi wa sallam) during the moonlit nights" (Bustan al-Muhaddithin).

big bad brother nassir

I finally got fed up with the attitude and actions of some of my students. We call it an Islamic school, but the morals seemed to be lacked. Therefore, on my part, I decided to crack down on two things : lying and improper gender interaction.

Although the latter is only a few select students, the former is a common problem. Most students do not even understand what counts as lying. It is always "I was just joking."

First time will be a simple warning, but the second is a detention. I'm hoping that this new policy will help to fix the problems.

Anyway, I announced this policy today, and most students didn't seem to care. Then, one student who has been guilty of the latter problem (and most people know it) asked for me to name the kids who have been involved in this. I said I would not. When the student asked why I told him/her I did not want to expose the people's sins in front of others.

I think this really hit her (although only time will tell). She was silent for the rest of the period. I just hope that it really does stick with her.

I found the most amazing note today.

I was in the library and looked through a random drawer, and I found a note. It read:

Hell yeah. What kind do you do?
ghetto a lil like BS u?
All kinds. Tango, salsa, break, etc.
awsum can u do da heel toe teach me
Y? Usually kids think that a tomboy shouldn't be doing that type of dancing!
yea wat the hell

Imagine a 6th grader asking another 6th grader to teach her the heel toe. As the students love to quote me in saying, Amazing.

I ate quail last night.

Unrelated to the title, I had a student observer today. He's actually a friend of mine from UIC. He's clearly Desi, and I'm clearly not. He is walking around the class, helping students with their group work, even though I'm English and he's History. One student yells out the question:

"Is he your brother?"

I just started laughing. My students are so darn cute. I will miss them. It is really hard to leave the students at the end of the year. You spend so much time with them that they begin to feel like your children. They act like they hate me, but then they get upset when I mention not being there next year.

"You can't go. Who's going to teach us? We don't want Ms. ***** back."

I'll miss the kid in 1st grade who clings to my leg and the 2nd grader who looks like I did when I was his age, completely adorable ;).

I'm sure there will be a water works from my side come June.