Browsing: Dhuha

As Salaam Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu,

I wrote about my cat yesterday and then cleverly deleted the post. I was trying to be smart by copy and pasting the post into open office so that I could edit it more conveniently. I don’t really like wordpress’ spell checker. Instead of copying it I chose select all and then hit the delete key.

So I’ll try again so that I can put into perspective something my wife told me today.

Around two years ago, I was sharing some of my fond childhood memories of the many cats I owned, which inspired my wife into wanting a cat as well. I liked the idea mainly because I think it’s good for kids to get some experience with animals. Plus, I love cats. After looking locally for a cat without any success, we decided to get one from a friend of my wife, who lived about an hour and a half by car from us. Remember, Muslims are not allowed to buy or sell animals like cats and dogs, which means the pet store is out of the question. We ended up with two cats pickles the smart one and chutney the dumb one. They were quite cute little things but it didn’t take long for them to get on the bad side of my wife. They stank, their food stank, they shed their fur and scratched everyone and everything.

After a while, we tried to make them spend some of their time outside without any real success. Then I had to leave for a few months and my wife decided that she was going to get rid of them. Mostly, because of cat smells and fur but also because we didn’t have much money and following the Prophet’s salallahu alayhi wa sallam advice she put them out and did not let them in even after a few days of them crying by the back door. Finally, my wife caved and let them back in but she convinced her cousin to take the cats for her boys.

Ah Shame, I walked away from the computer to get my coffee and when I returned I found my daughter playing with the computer and she moved away for the page where I was writing this post. Remembering yesterday, I told her that if she lost the post daddy will be very cross. That’s all I had to say and she broke down in tears. Such a sensitive little girl.

Back to the story:

When the cats got there, my wife’s cousin let them outside and they ran away. We thought it would be the last time when seen either of the cats, but after a few months chutney made her way back to our house but now a bit more streetwise and no need for us. She would occasionally take a nap in our backyard but would run away when ever anyone tried to approach her. All in, she spent a year outside on her own.

Eventually, I was able to coach her into coming into the house so that she could eat and so the girls could play with her. My oldest plays with the cat so nicely, stroking her and so on. She says that chutney is her baby. My youngest gets very excited. She starts jumping up and down and tries to grab to big fists full of her fur. Unfortunately, we learned that even after a year this stupid cat hasn’t learned that she needs to use the toilet outside…

Even last night there was an ‘issue’ with the cat but that didn’t stop my wife from asking me if we could get another kitten.. AS IF! I would let her but what a glutton for punishment… what if we ended up with two semi-retarded cats?

As Salaam Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu,

I am never really sure how to start a blog. Especially, if the blog has a personal nature. There is something strange about opening up in a very public way and writing for an audience that does not exist and may never exist.

Let’s do this first post like an introduction and then there after I will write as if this blog has a long long history with many readers.

In the past I have owned a very popular Islamic Forum, I have blogged about controversial issues and many mundane ones as well. I recently tried joining an Islamic forum but I find them boring or if not boring they are a place of fitna, either between genders or endless arguments that do not benefit and therefore a waste of time. I also tried using facebook, which has some uses but ultimately was a source of trouble for me. If someone asks about that I might go a little deeper but for now lets leave it at ‘I don’t like facebook’. With all my free time and a lack of interesting Web sites, I have decided to start this blog about my family and myself. It will be personal but also I hope that it will be beneficial and useful.

All right, enough with the why let’s get to the who.

I’ll start with myself, not because, I feel that I am the most important but because this blog will be a collection of writings about events from my perspective. My name is Abdullah. I reverted to Islam in 1999 from a Southern Baptist – Christian background. It is important to know that I absolutely detest Christianity. I am also 100% opposed to the retardation that is democracy. In fact, never having voted in any election is in the top five things I am most proud of in my life. My accepting Islam is the first of course. I love coffee. I am trying to be a Web developer. I have been working with PHP for a little while and more recently I started creating Web sites using the Zend Framework. I am a huge fan of Open Source software. I hate Windows and anything Microsoft… to the point of being unjust. However, I recently read somewhere that Microsoft may start contributing to PHP, which could very well change my opinion of MS some degree. I love Ubuntu and Firefox.

Moving along…

I have been married since 2003 to a beautiful woman, who I absolutely adore. She may contribute to this blog from time to time.. well I suggested that she could but who knows if she ever will. I have two daughters and a third child on the way. My oldest is four years old. It has been a very exciting year for her, she started school and madressa. Masha Allah, she has learned the Arabic alphabet before the English alphabet. I hope to put her in a full time Islamic school next year, so that she can get her Islamic eduction along side her secular education. My second is my darling. She has a very special place in my heart. In just three years that little girl stole my heart in a way I didn’t think was possible. Before my girls’ birth, I didn’t and couldn’t feel anything towards them and with my first there was such competition to just hold her that I wasn’t even sure that I wanted to. Even things that should have been my exclusive right were almost taken from me. It was my place to whisper the adhan in her ear for the first time but my wife’s uncle tried to step in… I had to fight him for that. It was to the point that as my wife, the baby and I went to sleep I was wishing that the baby hadn’t come. With the second, it was completely different. I dressed her for the first time and said the adhan in her ear and recited suratul fatiha to her and we were alone my little girl and me, just the two of us. It was a very special bonding period. I hope I have that same opportunity with the third. Another reason for my closeness to my second child is I think she is the most beautiful girl I have even seen, masha Allah. When I look into her eyes I melt. We also spend a lot of time together because she has autism and it is difficult for my wife to look after both the girls together. I think her autism plays a big part in my feeling close to her, although it is difficult there is nothing like having a child with special needs.

I think this has been enough of an introduction to my family and me. I thank you for reading. Feel free to comment. If you have an Islamic blog let me know about it. Who knows if I like it you might find yourself on the blogroll.

As Salaam Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu,

Your brother in Islam Abdullah