Diversity/Equilibrium and Intent to Intend

It was a normal weekend, but somehow I feel as if I was on vacation. Ok, I suppose I feel as if I were on vacation because I spent Fri/Saturday with my cousin and his family who are visiting from the Mother land. We did DC on Saturday, YES, in heat hotter than hell on its hottest day. I had never, ever driven into DC before Saturday and I suppose I never ever will again! Crazy, crazy drivers.

Sunday I was supposed to meet in Jersey for a CAMP meeting, but we thought it best for me not to attend on the basis of a 4 hr drive one way. iA I will get the jist of the meeting on a conference call and be able to iron out last week details still. So instead I went to visit Noreen's parents in Bmore. Auntie is making my outfit for the Gala so she needed a shirt from me for size. Being in Baltimore and so close to one of my favorite malls which I had not been to in 10 years, I decided to look for the "accessories" to my outfit: shoes, dupatta, chemise, etc. I spent the day shopping with Uncle and Auntie, learning about sales and quality, but not before having some wisdom passed down to me. See, when your own parents tell you something good, its called a lecture. When someone else's parents tell you something good, its wisdom.

Uncle has some really fantastic theories on human behavior and interaction and life in general. One such theory being about diversity. He simply stated diversity is the state of equilibrium, a point when the net result is zero. Diversity is needed for balance. As charged particles we each give off our own force. When forces are balanced, there is harmony. A radical person, much like radical particles, are those whose charges are left unopposed.

Neat, na?

As I was suppressing the urge to take out my pen and paper, Auntie was pouring me another cup of chai. Another topic was marriage and gender roles, not in a misogynistic way, but in essence to depict the mere difference between male and female thinking: Females, of course being a more emotional animal, and males being more practical. He said that the main feature to look for is education. He's right. But thats not the whole truth. There are some educated people amongst us who do not know the ways of society and how to interact, what to say and when not to say it, or basically the finesse involved in arguing and making sure your point is heard. Its all about up-bringing, traditions, values, integrity, education, tolerance, acceptance, and respect.

After I left I was invited for dinner at Norim's house (Noreen and Jim). They had a very special guest over: Imam Bashar with family. I have been keen on meeting him for the past three years, the feeling was mutual :) , and so I finally had the opportunity. He's a Syrian Imam who is extremely knowledgable about Islam and he has a certain manner of speaking that makes you wish to hear more instead of the regular screaming and blaming privy to some Imams/Sheikhs.
Jim and Noreen, iA this December, are going for Hajj and they asked him for guidance. He talked about intention, niyat. According to hadith, on the Day of Judgement people will find things listed in their book of deeds things they had never done. It is all about intention, should you have had the means, then you would have done so accordingly. Also, he said that a man accustomed to praying Tahajud who suddenly finds himself ill and incapable of praying he will, iA, still get the reward and blessings as if he continues to pray. He mentioned the importance of dhikar as the ways and means of connecting with Allah (swt). Its like calling someone and gettign a busy signal; you keep trying. Eventually, you make the connection switch from dial-up to broadband and you are in touch with the spirit of Allah (swt) and then at that point He gives you blessings for that which you have not even prayed for yet, just because of the close relationship.

In closing he did say that the most important thing to remember is the beauty of being created human. We could have been something else, but we were created an animal of higher thought and intellectual capacity. He said that on the Day of Judgement two animals will fight each other. One killing the other first, then after being resurrected, the other killing the first. They will be turned to dust afterwards. Because they will not be judged. On the Day of Judgement, non-believers will wish they are dust.

It was a beautiful meeting and the perfect way to end my weekend. I learned a lot, Allhamdullilah, and iA I hope I will be able to make it out to some of his lectures.