Reçu: 2010-02-03 16:16
Objet: J'ai remarqué
* * * * *
Bonjour,
J'ai remarqué ton absence depuis lundi (voire même peut-être depuis vendredi de la semaine dernière).
J'espère que rien de grave ne justifie cette absence… comme un épuisement professionnel, ou une dépression pure et simple.
Tu n'es peut-être qu'en formation, comme tu le souhaitais.
Peu importe la valeur de mes spéculations, je souhaite avoir tort de m'interroger sur le pourquoi, et je souhaite que tu réussisses à être "bien" et "heureuse", jusqu'au jour où tu deviendras simplement "bienheureuse"… comme toutes les bonnes personnes que je connais, et celles que je ne connais pas.
__________________________________________
Reçu: 2010-03-08
Objet: J'ai remarqué, et j'ai su
* * * * *
Alors, profite de l'occasion pour te refaire tout à fait émotionnellement.
Depuis la date initiale prévue de ton retour le 22 février, je suis monté souvent au 10e pour vérifier si tu étais de retour. Et c'est ainsi que je dois me rendre à l'évidence que ton congé a été prolongé. C'est pour cela que je te dis de prendre le temps de te refaire complètement. Je sais de quoi je parle, puisque moi aussi, je suis passé par un moment comme celui que tu vis présentement. Mais j'en suis ressorti plus fort, et plus compétent face à la gestion de mes émotions et de mes réactions vis-à-vis de mes superviseurs.
Parfois, c'est un mal pour un bien, crois-moi.
En attendant qu'on se parle en face à face, je te salue et te redis mon amitié.
__________________________________________
(à suivre)
The WYSIWYG Factor
"What do I care what people have to say about me?"
"Yeah, who cares what people think, it's between me and Allah"
Ah yes. Indeed, who cares? People will talk, and spread rumors and be jealous... that's what people do. But does that mean you can do whatever you want without ever taking responsibility for your actions? Without any repercussions ever?
I'm a translator. At work, I always work in WYSIWYG. Why? Because I know what to expect when I send my document to the printer. I know where my margins are, I know where my page breaks are, and I know almost exactly what my print out will look like when I'm done.
Logically, what do you expect from a liar? Lies. What do you expect from a thief? Thieving. What do you expect from a gossiper? Gossip.
So if you're the kind of person who doesn't care what people think, more power to you, but remember that what you see is what you get, and when it comes time to judge your character, people will only rely on one thing: what they've seen.
The Islamic Prayer Times – Computational Philosophy with Particular Reference to the Lack of Twilight Cessation at Higher Latitudes
OR
Praying and Fasting where the sun don't set
I was sent this "joke" today, about two saudis who died on the 16th day of Ramadan because they were working up North and weren't able to break their fasts*. It really is meant as a joke. Though I must admit, I don't get it.
Just for the record, the subject of breaking one's fast at the right time in areas where the sun never sets or rises is legitimate and is the object of serious research.
See for yourself (.PDF).
* I'm pretty sure this scenario is unlikely due to the social disease and poor management of funds that plague the saudi society. Money+ arrogance make for well paid american imports hired to do your work for you, innit?
Praying and Fasting where the sun don't set
I was sent this "joke" today, about two saudis who died on the 16th day of Ramadan because they were working up North and weren't able to break their fasts*. It really is meant as a joke. Though I must admit, I don't get it.
Just for the record, the subject of breaking one's fast at the right time in areas where the sun never sets or rises is legitimate and is the object of serious research.
See for yourself (.PDF).
* I'm pretty sure this scenario is unlikely due to the social disease and poor management of funds that plague the saudi society. Money+ arrogance make for well paid american imports hired to do your work for you, innit?
synesthesia
number form. prior to zero, there is negative. and negative numbers follow a roadmap that is mirror form of what is drawn up. until somewhere in the infinite they meets up and make a loop. but i dont see that in my head. it is in the shadow. the farthest i go in my mind is a few billion. and in fact, the farthest i have been in the negative, in my head, is minus 40 (for obvious reasons if you live in Canada)
that is all for now. read more here
the moomoo talk
hibz and umm-tiggy sittin in a coffee shop sipping tea. enter elderly woman.
hibz: umm-tig, look behind you.
umm-tiggy turns her head quickly.
umm-tig: OH MY GOD hibz! didn't I tell you you need to stop wearin moomoos! now you se what i mean!
hibz: I DON'T WEAR MOOM-
um-tiggy: i don't care what you call them: dishdasha, moomoo, it's still a moomoo!
hibz: ... whatever...
---
origin of the expression: "it's the moomoo talk all over again"
hibz: umm-tig, look behind you.
umm-tiggy turns her head quickly.
umm-tig: OH MY GOD hibz! didn't I tell you you need to stop wearin moomoos! now you se what i mean!
hibz: I DON'T WEAR MOOM-
um-tiggy: i don't care what you call them: dishdasha, moomoo, it's still a moomoo!
hibz: ... whatever...
---
origin of the expression: "it's the moomoo talk all over again"
Merci, Karima (Le Devoir)
Le Devoir
IDÉES, mardi 3 avril 2007, p. a7
Merci, Karima
Jean Dorion
Président général de la Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal
En 2001, revenus au Québec après cinq ans et demi au Japon, ma femme et moi cherchons une garderie pour celle qui est alors la cadette de nos enfants, Blanche, deux ans et demi. Après des mois sur la liste d'attente d'un CPE, la direction nous téléphone: «Toujours pas de place chez nous; que diriez-vous d'une garderie en milieu familial? Voici le numéro à composer, demandez Karima.»
Tiens, un prénom arabe... J'appelle. Je reconnais l'accent maghrébin dans le français de mon interlocutrice. Nous voulons d'abord la rencontrer et visiter les lieux. Le lendemain, ma femme, Blanche et moi sommes à sa porte. Je sonne, on ouvre. Une femme apparaît, dont les vêtements ne laissent voir que le visage et les mains. J'ai un mouvement intérieur de recul. «Un hijab... Des pratiquants! Confier à ces gens-là une part de l'éducation de notre enfant? Une fille...» Globe-trotter, multilingue, père d'une famille binationale, je me pique d'être plutôt dépourvu de préjugés ethniques. Mais là, mon seuil de tolérance est atteint. De l'islam, j'ai peu d'expérience, hors la lecture de quelques sermons peu édifiants de l'ayatollah Khomeiny, qui m'avait déjà stupéfié à une époque où, exilé à Paris, son «islam progressiste» était la coqueluche de la gauche intellectuelle européenne. Face à Karima me reviennent aussi à l'esprit deux rencontres pénibles avec des intégristes en Malaisie, en 1983; j'en avais eu de plus heureuses avec d'autres musulmans malais, mais les mauvaises, même rares, laissent plus de traces. Karima nous invite à entrer. Soyons polis, entrons, tant qu'à être venus; après, il ne sera pas difficile de trouver un prétexte pour nous désister.
Nous parcourons la maison; cinq minutes ne se sont pas écoulées que mes préventions se sont ramollies. Tant on sent partout dans ce foyer l'amour des enfants: dans la décoration, les jouets, le jardin, le bonheur manifeste des petits eux-mêmes. Ma femme et moi rentrons chez nous en nous disant: «Essayons voir...»
Épanouissement
Les dix-huit mois qui suivent seront pour notre fille une merveilleuse période d'épanouissement social, au côté d'enfants de toutes origines, certains musulmans, d'autres dont les familles sont sans doute de toutes croyances et incroyances. De notre côté, nous découvrons en Karima une femme d'un bel aplomb, lectrice d'ouvrages de psychologie enfantine, bien au fait des réalités du Québec et qui mène sa petite entreprise avec amour et rigueur, secondée (pas dirigée) par son mari. En fin d'après-midi, les enfants se retrouvent autour d'elle au jardin pour l'heure du conte. Quand je viens chercher Blanche, il n'est pas toujours facile de l'arracher à ces moments de rêve.
Nous rentrons du Japon, pays très japonisant; la francisation de nos enfants est prioritaire. Nul ne peut mieux nous y aider que la Marocaine Karima: un matin, j'invite Blanche à se chausser: «Viens mettre tes p'tits bas» - «C'est pas des bas, c'est des chaussettes, Karima l'a dit», me corrige-t-elle.
Avec Blanche, Karima s'y prend mieux que nous, je crois. Nous avons alors quatre enfants, Blanche est «le bébé» et cela paraît, par moments. «Tout ce qu'il lui faut, c'est un peu de fermeté, me lance un jour Karima, et ça lui manque.» Elle s'arrête, l'air un peu inquiète de ma réaction aux quatre derniers mots qui lui ont échappé... Touché! En plus de principes d'éducation clairs, Karima a des principes tout court; cela ne l'empêche pas d'apprécier l'apport de gens d'autres cultures. «J'ai été éduquée par des religieuses françaises, me dit-elle un jour, elles m'ont transmis une valeur [elle appuie sur le mot]: le respect d'autrui.»
Aujourd'hui encore, quand on lui parle de Karima, le visage de Blanche s'illumine. Les visages de Karima et de son mari s'illuminèrent eux aussi le matin où je leur appris que j'avais manifesté, la veille, avec 100 000 Montréalais, à 26 degrés sous zéro, contre le projet de Bush d'envahir l'Irak. Aucune haine des Américains, chez eux, mais un brin de fatalisme: «Vous verrez, il y aura la guerre quand même,»
Au cours du débat sur les accommodements raisonnables, j'ai souvent pensé à Karima, à son mari, à leurs deux filles. Et aux nombreux musulmans du Québec. Ce chauffeur de taxi, par exemple, qui me confiait timidement son désarroi: après avoir fui les excès des intégristes en Algérie, il doit parfois, comme musulman, faire face ici aux insultes de quelques passagers ignares.
Nous sommes tous susceptibles d'avoir peur de l'inconnu, comme cette femme musulmane qui a été discrètement malade au moment de partir à la rencontre des gens d'Hérouxville, du si bon monde pourtant, je n'en doute pas. Ma femme et moi aussi, nous étions inquiets la première fois que Karima nous est apparue dans l'embrasure de sa porte. Le 11 septembre 2001 a eu son effet. Mais pensons-y bien: il y a cent dix mille musulmans au Québec, s'ils étaient tous des poseurs de bombes ou des lapideurs de femmes adultères, si même un sur mille l'était, n'aurions-nous pas infiniment plus de problèmes que ce n'est le cas?
Naturelle donc est la peur de l'inconnu, mais trop naturelle aussi la tentation de l'exploiter sans penser aux conséquences futures, pour vendre de la copie, augmenter sa cote d'écoute, ou engranger un vote vite, comme on dit parfois de certains entrepreneurs qu'ils veulent faire une piastre vite. On pensait que la liberté de croire, comme celle de ne pas croire, et de pratiquer ou pas, selon sa conscience, à condition de respecter aussi la liberté des autres, faisait partie des conquêtes de notre civilisation. Le principe est remis en cause à la fois par une majorité plus traditionaliste qu'on ne le croyait, mue par la peur de l'inconnu, et par la frange intégriste des laïcistes, dont la prétention fait parfois sourire: «Les religions sont la cause de toutes les guerres», écrit un lecteur de La Presse. Vraiment? Staline, Hitler, Pol Pot, étaient donc des grenouilles de bénitier? À la vérité, les responsables des guerres ne sont ni les croyants ni les incroyants, ce sont les intolérants, ceux qui vous en veulent de croire ce qu'ils ne croient pas ou de ne pas croire ce qu'ils croient.
Grâce à Karima, Blanche saura, et pour la vie, qu'on ne juge pas de la valeur des gens sur leur croyance ou leur incroyance, ni sur leur façon de s'habiller. Quel beau cadeau que cette rencontre avec Karima! Pour nous, pour Karima et pour Blanche, pour le Québec dont elles font toutes les deux partie et pour notre planète toujours plus petite!
IDÉES, mardi 3 avril 2007, p. a7
Merci, Karima
Jean Dorion
Président général de la Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal
En 2001, revenus au Québec après cinq ans et demi au Japon, ma femme et moi cherchons une garderie pour celle qui est alors la cadette de nos enfants, Blanche, deux ans et demi. Après des mois sur la liste d'attente d'un CPE, la direction nous téléphone: «Toujours pas de place chez nous; que diriez-vous d'une garderie en milieu familial? Voici le numéro à composer, demandez Karima.»
Tiens, un prénom arabe... J'appelle. Je reconnais l'accent maghrébin dans le français de mon interlocutrice. Nous voulons d'abord la rencontrer et visiter les lieux. Le lendemain, ma femme, Blanche et moi sommes à sa porte. Je sonne, on ouvre. Une femme apparaît, dont les vêtements ne laissent voir que le visage et les mains. J'ai un mouvement intérieur de recul. «Un hijab... Des pratiquants! Confier à ces gens-là une part de l'éducation de notre enfant? Une fille...» Globe-trotter, multilingue, père d'une famille binationale, je me pique d'être plutôt dépourvu de préjugés ethniques. Mais là, mon seuil de tolérance est atteint. De l'islam, j'ai peu d'expérience, hors la lecture de quelques sermons peu édifiants de l'ayatollah Khomeiny, qui m'avait déjà stupéfié à une époque où, exilé à Paris, son «islam progressiste» était la coqueluche de la gauche intellectuelle européenne. Face à Karima me reviennent aussi à l'esprit deux rencontres pénibles avec des intégristes en Malaisie, en 1983; j'en avais eu de plus heureuses avec d'autres musulmans malais, mais les mauvaises, même rares, laissent plus de traces. Karima nous invite à entrer. Soyons polis, entrons, tant qu'à être venus; après, il ne sera pas difficile de trouver un prétexte pour nous désister.
Nous parcourons la maison; cinq minutes ne se sont pas écoulées que mes préventions se sont ramollies. Tant on sent partout dans ce foyer l'amour des enfants: dans la décoration, les jouets, le jardin, le bonheur manifeste des petits eux-mêmes. Ma femme et moi rentrons chez nous en nous disant: «Essayons voir...»
Épanouissement
Les dix-huit mois qui suivent seront pour notre fille une merveilleuse période d'épanouissement social, au côté d'enfants de toutes origines, certains musulmans, d'autres dont les familles sont sans doute de toutes croyances et incroyances. De notre côté, nous découvrons en Karima une femme d'un bel aplomb, lectrice d'ouvrages de psychologie enfantine, bien au fait des réalités du Québec et qui mène sa petite entreprise avec amour et rigueur, secondée (pas dirigée) par son mari. En fin d'après-midi, les enfants se retrouvent autour d'elle au jardin pour l'heure du conte. Quand je viens chercher Blanche, il n'est pas toujours facile de l'arracher à ces moments de rêve.
Nous rentrons du Japon, pays très japonisant; la francisation de nos enfants est prioritaire. Nul ne peut mieux nous y aider que la Marocaine Karima: un matin, j'invite Blanche à se chausser: «Viens mettre tes p'tits bas» - «C'est pas des bas, c'est des chaussettes, Karima l'a dit», me corrige-t-elle.
Avec Blanche, Karima s'y prend mieux que nous, je crois. Nous avons alors quatre enfants, Blanche est «le bébé» et cela paraît, par moments. «Tout ce qu'il lui faut, c'est un peu de fermeté, me lance un jour Karima, et ça lui manque.» Elle s'arrête, l'air un peu inquiète de ma réaction aux quatre derniers mots qui lui ont échappé... Touché! En plus de principes d'éducation clairs, Karima a des principes tout court; cela ne l'empêche pas d'apprécier l'apport de gens d'autres cultures. «J'ai été éduquée par des religieuses françaises, me dit-elle un jour, elles m'ont transmis une valeur [elle appuie sur le mot]: le respect d'autrui.»
Aujourd'hui encore, quand on lui parle de Karima, le visage de Blanche s'illumine. Les visages de Karima et de son mari s'illuminèrent eux aussi le matin où je leur appris que j'avais manifesté, la veille, avec 100 000 Montréalais, à 26 degrés sous zéro, contre le projet de Bush d'envahir l'Irak. Aucune haine des Américains, chez eux, mais un brin de fatalisme: «Vous verrez, il y aura la guerre quand même,»
Au cours du débat sur les accommodements raisonnables, j'ai souvent pensé à Karima, à son mari, à leurs deux filles. Et aux nombreux musulmans du Québec. Ce chauffeur de taxi, par exemple, qui me confiait timidement son désarroi: après avoir fui les excès des intégristes en Algérie, il doit parfois, comme musulman, faire face ici aux insultes de quelques passagers ignares.
Nous sommes tous susceptibles d'avoir peur de l'inconnu, comme cette femme musulmane qui a été discrètement malade au moment de partir à la rencontre des gens d'Hérouxville, du si bon monde pourtant, je n'en doute pas. Ma femme et moi aussi, nous étions inquiets la première fois que Karima nous est apparue dans l'embrasure de sa porte. Le 11 septembre 2001 a eu son effet. Mais pensons-y bien: il y a cent dix mille musulmans au Québec, s'ils étaient tous des poseurs de bombes ou des lapideurs de femmes adultères, si même un sur mille l'était, n'aurions-nous pas infiniment plus de problèmes que ce n'est le cas?
Naturelle donc est la peur de l'inconnu, mais trop naturelle aussi la tentation de l'exploiter sans penser aux conséquences futures, pour vendre de la copie, augmenter sa cote d'écoute, ou engranger un vote vite, comme on dit parfois de certains entrepreneurs qu'ils veulent faire une piastre vite. On pensait que la liberté de croire, comme celle de ne pas croire, et de pratiquer ou pas, selon sa conscience, à condition de respecter aussi la liberté des autres, faisait partie des conquêtes de notre civilisation. Le principe est remis en cause à la fois par une majorité plus traditionaliste qu'on ne le croyait, mue par la peur de l'inconnu, et par la frange intégriste des laïcistes, dont la prétention fait parfois sourire: «Les religions sont la cause de toutes les guerres», écrit un lecteur de La Presse. Vraiment? Staline, Hitler, Pol Pot, étaient donc des grenouilles de bénitier? À la vérité, les responsables des guerres ne sont ni les croyants ni les incroyants, ce sont les intolérants, ceux qui vous en veulent de croire ce qu'ils ne croient pas ou de ne pas croire ce qu'ils croient.
Grâce à Karima, Blanche saura, et pour la vie, qu'on ne juge pas de la valeur des gens sur leur croyance ou leur incroyance, ni sur leur façon de s'habiller. Quel beau cadeau que cette rencontre avec Karima! Pour nous, pour Karima et pour Blanche, pour le Québec dont elles font toutes les deux partie et pour notre planète toujours plus petite!
heu. 2001
i can't believe kissander kept it. and how pleasant it was to read it after so long!
when calidhuux and i became friends, we had a blast talking nonsense a lot of the time and laughing at little nothings. we really were a bunch of 8 year olds. we invented a word: heu. i was making fun of a turkish adhan, if i'm not mistaken. we then started using that word to describe things that we liked, and from it derived a whole family of adverbs, adjectives, nouns, and even used it as suffixes, prefixes and onomatopae. so i need to post it up least i should lose it again
---
HEU
Allaheu akbar! Allaheu akbar! Allaheu la ilaha illah heuwa, said the white dwarf. Jiggle, and giggle and white fluffypuffs, Heu is a monosyllable expression used, much like the Smurf’s “smurf”, to describe that which is indescribably pleasant.
Sweet and sour twitches, fuzzy winks, and all colours… with the exception of Pink, are examples of heuishness, in all their Heu.
When the short stubby orange marsupial finished painting heu univheuse on canvas of heu mind, before heu inner eye, blue and silvheu in a mist of celestial heu, she stood back, fuzzy-faces and pink, and smiled.
Heu Majesty Koala the Kween of Heu was no longer a simple ball of pfluph-substance. But prior to the exposition of heuself in the univheusal mind-art exhibition of heuity, she suffered a great many pink ordeals. This is the story of Heu.
[ed : go get some popcorn]
In the land of Pink [ed : i refuse to make the background pink], a very long time ago, when the Dodo ate the pomegranate seeds and died, there lived an orange somewhat sedated creature called Koala. Koala had three fingers on either paw; three very slow and counter productive fingers. One was pink, one was also pink, and the last one, the little chota one, was very much pink, too much pink… ziada. [ed : ziada is an urdu word and it means lots / many / excessive / too much]
As Koala slowly moved from leafless tree to leafless tree, all drained of their green freshness, she had a habit of suckling these fingers, for the bitter taste that exuded from their pinkishness brought upon visual hallucinations, which she very much enjoyed, seeing as her world was composed only of various aggressive pinks.
Baby pink, purple pink, hot pink, dark pink, fuschia, pink with red polka dots…
Koala was a miserable marsupial. Her fur was bristly, her nose was dry and her fingers were pink. Misery!
One day, as Koala sleepily dragged her feet on a foreign road made of pink sand paper, she encountered a sign that read:
Heu: Start at the beginning, and when you come to the end, stop.
Perplexed and intrigued, Koala walked on drowsily. On the horizon, she noted a blurry silhouette, something she had never seen before, something fresh, crisp, and cool. She ceased to nourish her “syst?e sensoriel” with dangerous amounts of pink provided by her fingertips, and approached this new hovering structure. There was freshness around it, soft winds that ran through her orange coat. It was terribly big, yet it seemed so light and airy, like a cloud.
The burning pink and red sun set. Koala circled her new discovery once and, beat by the fatigue and lack of pink stimuli, collapsed at the foot of the thing.
Koala woke to the sound of murmurs. “heu heu heuheu heu heu heuheu,” she heard. Like throbbing, like a heartbeat, like the sound from deep space nine’s central power unit; a sweet melodious sound, yet strange to her untrained and pink-conditioned ears. Blue is an acquired taste in these pink parts. She flared her nostrils and scratched her furry tummy. Koala looked up and tried, as Jack had apparently done in a neighbouring Story land with his beanstalk, to see where this enormous thing ended. Directly above her floated a massive figment of her imagination, but the upper part of it was lost, swallowed by the obnoxiously pink stratosphere. Koala licked her nose and resolved to climb into the unknown. After all, she had nothing to lose but a pathetic pink-dependant existence revolving around three-fingered hands, clammy from the sucking thereof. She lazily walked beneath the centre of the floating whispering novelty and daringly looked up for some entrance.
All she found, sadly, were large letters that read:
Made in Heu.
Suddenly, the sky ripped open and silver flakes of freshness floated downwards. Little light bulbs from afar shown against the new dark sky as the former pinkness melted away like hot wax. The earth beneath her feet grew purple moss with high stems that soon flowered in divinely intricate blossoms, which smelled *snif snif* like cocoa and vanilla.
The trees shed their rough bark and grew extra big and smooth. Their gold foliage shone in the starlight, and their fruits dripped of diamond water. Koala stood in awe. She turned around and around, witnessing this absolute heuness with wide eyes and open mouth. As she turned one last time to face that which was made in Heu, it was gone.
Vanished! Disappeared! Extinct! Died out! Faded! Dissolved! It was no more.
Koala was dizzy. These new scents and colours were a lot to handle. She retraced her steps to the sign she had read before arriving to the strange hovering no longer existing thing. But there, she failed to find the sign. Instead there was a red rubbery sphere waltzing around. As she came near it, it stopped and glided towards her and said: squeeze me!
Reluctantly, Koala did as the ball advised, and everything around her came to a halt.
A faint whistling was heard as Koala’s fur curled and grew. Her nose moistened as her body colour changed from violent orange to passive blue, a colour that most suited her temper. Then, a boisterous voice was heard clearing its throat. Startled, Koala looked around but no one could be seen other than the magnificent scenery.
“Is this thing on?” said the deep echo. “Oh. Well turn it off- where’s my line?”
The whistling ceased for a few seconds, and resumed, to the expectation of Koala.
She rolled her eyes and sat on a golden tree stump.
” You are within the Heu, and the Heu is in you. Yabok trilliuma toghbitsgroo, groo Froshtik mastin ka mavi.”
Little white dwarfs, at that moment, came out from various hiding places and began to cheer.
” Heu! Heu! Heu!” they happily yelled in unison.
Koala and the dwarfs danced and sang under the stars of Heu, for the rest of time.
The Heu.
when calidhuux and i became friends, we had a blast talking nonsense a lot of the time and laughing at little nothings. we really were a bunch of 8 year olds. we invented a word: heu. i was making fun of a turkish adhan, if i'm not mistaken. we then started using that word to describe things that we liked, and from it derived a whole family of adverbs, adjectives, nouns, and even used it as suffixes, prefixes and onomatopae. so i need to post it up least i should lose it again
---
HEU
Allaheu akbar! Allaheu akbar! Allaheu la ilaha illah heuwa, said the white dwarf. Jiggle, and giggle and white fluffypuffs, Heu is a monosyllable expression used, much like the Smurf’s “smurf”, to describe that which is indescribably pleasant.
Sweet and sour twitches, fuzzy winks, and all colours… with the exception of Pink, are examples of heuishness, in all their Heu.
When the short stubby orange marsupial finished painting heu univheuse on canvas of heu mind, before heu inner eye, blue and silvheu in a mist of celestial heu, she stood back, fuzzy-faces and pink, and smiled.
Heu Majesty Koala the Kween of Heu was no longer a simple ball of pfluph-substance. But prior to the exposition of heuself in the univheusal mind-art exhibition of heuity, she suffered a great many pink ordeals. This is the story of Heu.
[ed : go get some popcorn]
In the land of Pink [ed : i refuse to make the background pink], a very long time ago, when the Dodo ate the pomegranate seeds and died, there lived an orange somewhat sedated creature called Koala. Koala had three fingers on either paw; three very slow and counter productive fingers. One was pink, one was also pink, and the last one, the little chota one, was very much pink, too much pink… ziada. [ed : ziada is an urdu word and it means lots / many / excessive / too much]
As Koala slowly moved from leafless tree to leafless tree, all drained of their green freshness, she had a habit of suckling these fingers, for the bitter taste that exuded from their pinkishness brought upon visual hallucinations, which she very much enjoyed, seeing as her world was composed only of various aggressive pinks.
Baby pink, purple pink, hot pink, dark pink, fuschia, pink with red polka dots…
Koala was a miserable marsupial. Her fur was bristly, her nose was dry and her fingers were pink. Misery!
One day, as Koala sleepily dragged her feet on a foreign road made of pink sand paper, she encountered a sign that read:
Heu: Start at the beginning, and when you come to the end, stop.
Perplexed and intrigued, Koala walked on drowsily. On the horizon, she noted a blurry silhouette, something she had never seen before, something fresh, crisp, and cool. She ceased to nourish her “syst?e sensoriel” with dangerous amounts of pink provided by her fingertips, and approached this new hovering structure. There was freshness around it, soft winds that ran through her orange coat. It was terribly big, yet it seemed so light and airy, like a cloud.
The burning pink and red sun set. Koala circled her new discovery once and, beat by the fatigue and lack of pink stimuli, collapsed at the foot of the thing.
Koala woke to the sound of murmurs. “heu heu heuheu heu heu heuheu,” she heard. Like throbbing, like a heartbeat, like the sound from deep space nine’s central power unit; a sweet melodious sound, yet strange to her untrained and pink-conditioned ears. Blue is an acquired taste in these pink parts. She flared her nostrils and scratched her furry tummy. Koala looked up and tried, as Jack had apparently done in a neighbouring Story land with his beanstalk, to see where this enormous thing ended. Directly above her floated a massive figment of her imagination, but the upper part of it was lost, swallowed by the obnoxiously pink stratosphere. Koala licked her nose and resolved to climb into the unknown. After all, she had nothing to lose but a pathetic pink-dependant existence revolving around three-fingered hands, clammy from the sucking thereof. She lazily walked beneath the centre of the floating whispering novelty and daringly looked up for some entrance.
All she found, sadly, were large letters that read:
Made in Heu.
Suddenly, the sky ripped open and silver flakes of freshness floated downwards. Little light bulbs from afar shown against the new dark sky as the former pinkness melted away like hot wax. The earth beneath her feet grew purple moss with high stems that soon flowered in divinely intricate blossoms, which smelled *snif snif* like cocoa and vanilla.
The trees shed their rough bark and grew extra big and smooth. Their gold foliage shone in the starlight, and their fruits dripped of diamond water. Koala stood in awe. She turned around and around, witnessing this absolute heuness with wide eyes and open mouth. As she turned one last time to face that which was made in Heu, it was gone.
Vanished! Disappeared! Extinct! Died out! Faded! Dissolved! It was no more.
Koala was dizzy. These new scents and colours were a lot to handle. She retraced her steps to the sign she had read before arriving to the strange hovering no longer existing thing. But there, she failed to find the sign. Instead there was a red rubbery sphere waltzing around. As she came near it, it stopped and glided towards her and said: squeeze me!
Reluctantly, Koala did as the ball advised, and everything around her came to a halt.
A faint whistling was heard as Koala’s fur curled and grew. Her nose moistened as her body colour changed from violent orange to passive blue, a colour that most suited her temper. Then, a boisterous voice was heard clearing its throat. Startled, Koala looked around but no one could be seen other than the magnificent scenery.
“Is this thing on?” said the deep echo. “Oh. Well turn it off- where’s my line?”
The whistling ceased for a few seconds, and resumed, to the expectation of Koala.
She rolled her eyes and sat on a golden tree stump.
” You are within the Heu, and the Heu is in you. Yabok trilliuma toghbitsgroo, groo Froshtik mastin ka mavi.”
Little white dwarfs, at that moment, came out from various hiding places and began to cheer.
” Heu! Heu! Heu!” they happily yelled in unison.
Koala and the dwarfs danced and sang under the stars of Heu, for the rest of time.
The Heu.
Surat An-Nisah; ayaat 34-35
i told my friend drew that i thought this whole an-nisah wife tapping thing was bogus. so he found me an article which deserves all the du'a in the world.
___
___
Question:
Could you please tell me why the Quran tells men to "beat them" meaning their wives? (chapter 4, verse 34)
Answer:
Thank you for asking about Islam. It is our committment to try our best to provide answers to questions to the best of our ability. However, sometimes we come across questions for which we do not have answers. In this case we will refer you to others who may be able to provide you with proper answers.
Please be aware that we as Muslims, must never lie about anything, especially our religion.
Secondly, we do have the original text of the Quran and the preserved teachings of Muhammad, peace be upon him. This enables us to verify exactly what was said, intended and taught by Muhammad, peace be upon him, as being the religion of Islam.
Third, I would like to remind myself and all who read this in the future that not all questions are purely questions. Some contain statements and implications, that may or may not be true.
Finally, it is important to keep in mind anytime we discover something in the answers to actually be better than what we already have, we should be committed to change our position and accept that which is true over that which is false and take that which is better for that which is inferior.
After taking all of the above into consideration, if we find that the answer to this question provides us with a better approach to understanding what Almighty God has provided us with as a way of life on this earth and in the Next Life, we should then make the logical decsion to begin to worship Him on His terms.
Having said that, let us now look to the particular verse in question in the original text (Arabic), followed by the phonetic sounds in Latin letters and then finally, followed by a translation of the meaning to the English language by experts in both Arabic and in Quranic meanings.
Transliteration
Alrrijalu qawwamoona AAala alnnisa-i bima faddala Allahu baAAdahum AAala baAAdin wabima anfaqoo min amwalihim faalssalihatu qanitatun hafithatun lilghaybi bima hafitha Allahu waallatee takhafoona nushoozahunna faAAithoohunna waohjuroohunna fee almadajiAAi waidriboohunna fa-in ataAAnakum fala tabghoo AAalayhinna sabeelan inna Allaha kana AAaliyyan kabeeran
Explanation (tafsir) of Sura 4:34
Here is the translation of meaning of the verse as best can be defined according to the rules of understanding Quran with the explanations following this translation:
“Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has made one of them to excel the other, and because they spend (to support them) from their means. Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient (to Allah), and guard in the husband's absence what Allah orders them to guard (e.g. their chastity, their husband's property, etc.). Regarding the woman who is guilty of lewd, or indecent behavior, admonish her (if she continues in this indecency then), stop sharing her bed (if she still continues doing this lewd behavior, then), [set forth for her the clear meaning of either straighten up or else we are finished and when she returns to proper behavior take up sharing the bed with her again], but if she returns in obedience (to proper behavior and conduct) then seek not against them means (of annoyance). Surely, Allah is Ever Most High, Most Great.”
Meaning of the Words
For the three words fa'izu, wahjaru, and wadribu in the original, translated here ‘speak to them in a persuasive manner’, ‘leave them alone (in bed - fi'l-madage'),’ and ‘have intercourse’, respectively, see Raghib Lisan al-'Arab and Zamakhsari. Raghib in his Al-Mufridat fi Gharib al-Qur'an gives the meanings of these words with special reference to this verse. Fa-'izu, he says, means to 'to talk to them so persuasively as to melt their hearts.'
(See also v.63 of this Surah where it has been used in a similar sense.)
Hajara - Wahjaru (do not touch or moleste them)
Hajara, he says, means to separate body from body, and points out that the expression wahjaru hunna metaphorically means to refrain from touching or molesting them. Zamakhshari is more explicit in his Kshshaf when he says, 'do not get inside their blankets.'
Here is the translation of meaning of the verse as best can be defined according to the rules of understanding Quran with the explanations following this translation:
“Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has made one of them to excel the other, and because they spend (to support them) from their means. Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient (to Allah), and guard in the husband's absence what Allah orders them to guard (e.g. their chastity, their husband's property, etc.). Regarding women guilty of lewd, or indecent behavior, admonish her (if she continues in this indecency then), stop sharing her bed (if she still continues doing this lewd behavior, then), [set forth for her the clear meaning of either straighten up or else we are finished and when she returns to proper behavior take up sharing the bed with her again], but if she returns in obedience (to proper behavior and conduct) then seek not against them means (of annoyance). Surely, Allah is Ever Most High, Most Great.”
Let me begin by explaining the English language is not powerful enough when it comes to translating the meanings of the Arabic of the Quran. Nor for that matter, is any other language on earth. So, all we have is translations of meanings according to the best understanding of the translators.
The operative word in this verse in Arabic is "daraba." While there are literally hundreds of uses for this word varying from "tap" to "walk in stride" to "strike at something" to "set a clear example", the only meaning that can be assigned to something in the Quran must be according to the rules of Quran. And Allah has used the same word a number of times with a consistent meaning. Let us examine them.
Here is what we find from the scholars of the Arabic language:
Daraba (to have intercourse, not to beat)
Raghib points out that daraba metaphorically means to have intercourse, and quotes the expression darab al-fahl an-naqah, 'the stud camel covered the she-camel,' which is also quoted by Lisan al-'Arab. It cannot be taken here to mean 'to strike them (women).' This view is strengthened by the Prophet's authentic hadith found in a number of authorities, including Bukhari and Muslim: "Could any of you beat your wife as he would a slave, and then lie with her in the evening?" There are other traditions in Abu Da'ud, Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, Ahmad bin Hanbal and others, to the effect that he forbade the beating of any woman, saying: "Never beat God's handmaidens."
Source: al-Qur'an: a contemporary translation by Ahmed Ali, Princeton University Press, 1988; pp78-79
Daraba (to set forth, to make a clear statement or proclamation)
One of the key rules of understanding words of the Quran is to go to other places in the Quran to investigate the usage in other places. This word is used by Allah in other places in the Quran to mean "set forth" or "sets up for you" or "makes known to you" - as is demonstrated in the following verses:
Surah Ar-Ra'd (13:17) yadribu Allahu al-amthala “Thus Allah sets forth a parable”
[here the word "yadirbu" is from the exact same root da-ra-ba]
Surah Ibrahim (14:24): Alam tara kayfa daraba Allahu mathalan .. “Don’t you see how Allah sets forth a parable?..”
And again in the next verse: Surah Ibrahim (14:25) wa yadribu Allahu al-amthala li-naasi
“..and Allah sets forth parables for mankind..”
[again the word yadirbu is from da-ra-ba]
Surah An-Nur (24:35) wa yadribu Allahu al0amthala lin-naasi
“And Allah sets forth parables for mankind..”
Surah Ar-Rum (30:28) Daraba lakum mathalan min anfusikum
“He sets forth for you a parable from yourselves..”
Surah At-Tahreem (66:10) Daraba Allahu mathalan lillatheena kafaroo..
“Allah sets forth an example for those disbelievers..”
In fact, the word daraba has not been translated to mean (beat) or (hit) or (strike) in any other verse of the Quran except this one.
The words for (beat) as in [to hit] found in Surah Baqarah 2:275 ... kama yaqoomu allathee yatakhabbatuhu ash-shaytanu mina almassi..
"..like the standing of someone beaten by the devil (Satan) leading him to insanity."
And in Surah Ta Ha 20:18 Allah Says, “Qala hiya Aasaya atawakkao Aalayha waahushshu biha Aala ghanamee waliya feeha maaribu okhra.”
"This is my stick, whereon I lean, and wherewith I beat down branches for my sheep and wherein I find other uses."
As you can see, these are not even related to the word (daraba).
Verses 34 and 35 in Surah An-Nisaa' need to be read together to understand this is the proper relationship between men and women in general and husband and wife specifically.
Islam seeks to hold the family together and to make peace and reconciliation between spouses. The next verse makes it clear what to do in the case where it seems that divorce may be the result of the uncorrected bad behavior. It stresses appointing arbitrators from both sides and seeks reconciliation.
The first part of 34 deals with all men taking care of all women. Then goes on to explain the wife's proper obedience to Allah because He is the One Who has ordained this relationship of provision and protection for her and to be appreciative and respectful of her husband, guarding herself and his property in his absence. The man is told the proper way to behave when he finds his wife not complying with decency and proper behavior of a Muslim wife. He has a direct order to begin with admonishing her and then if there is compliance to leave her be and don't give her a hard time about it. However, if this continues, he should not have sex with her and this makes it clear to her that he is most serious and this not a joke. Again, if she comes around then he is to let it go and not bother her about it. Finally, if she still insists on such lewdness and bad conduct, he is to make it clear to her in no uncertain terms that they are going to be heading for separation or even divorce unless she comes back to proper behavior. Again, if she complies, then he should not bring it up and return to the bed with her.
And of course, this is all in an effort to translate one short but powerful phrase from Arabic to English. The sources are quoted herein and there may be other interpretations but the only acceptable ones are those based on the teachings of the Quran and the prophet, peace be upon him.
And as always, Allahu 'Alim (Allah is the Knower)
Source: al-Qur'an: a contemporary translation by Ahmed Ali, Princeton University Press, 1988; pp78-79
In the past, some translators of this verse have mistakeningly used the word "beat" or "hit" or even "scourge" (as in the case of an old translation) to represent the word "daraba" in Arabic. This is not the opinion of all scholars especially Raghib and Zamakhshari as mentioned above and those who are well grounded in both Islam understanding and the English language.
34.
Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allâh has made one of them to excel the other, and because they spend (to support them) from their means. Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient (to Allâh and to their husbands), and guard in the husband's absence what Allâh orders them to guard (e.g. their chastity, their husband's property, etc.). As to those women on whose part you see illconduct, admonish them (first), (next), refuse to share their beds, (and last) beat them (lightly, if it is useful), but if they return to obedience, seek not against them means (of annoyance). Surely, Allâh is Ever Most High, Most Great.
The understanding now is that some of the translations are not properly representing the spirit of the meaning. Therefore, they cannot be considered to be the representation of what has been intended by Almighty God.
Now we can properly understand that Almighty God has commanded the men to provide for the women and allow them to keep all of their wealth, inheritance and income without demanding anything from them for support and maintenance. Additionally, if she should be guilty of lewd or indecent conduct, the husband is told to first, admonish her and then if she would cease this lewdness. If she should continue in this indecency, then he should no longer share the bed with her, and this would continue for a period of time. Finally, if she would repent then he would take up sharing the bed with her again.
And Allah is All Knowing of the meanings.
PARTITURAS PARA PIANO: ALFONSINA Y EL MAR (GRATIS)
free partitions for piano and guitar for the beautiful classic by Ariel Ramirez. Lyrics included. Leave your comment, sweet and delightful tea cup!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)