Math Day

I took some kids from my school down to CSU-Pueblo for a math competition today and our upperclassmen did very well. We lost to only one team and came home with a big trophy for the math bowl competition. In the individual written contest, we got a 2nd place, 5th place, and two honorable mentions - so all our upperclassmen placed. We did the best out of all the schools in our district that went down on the bus together to the competition.

On the way down to Pueblo, I saw something really neat - a whole herd of Elk in a field eating grass, just off the Interstate a few miles north of the PPIR (Pikes Peak International Raceway) track. I've never seen Elk at that low of an elevation before, and there were many of them - neato!

The pictures in this post were taken at the CSU-Pueblo Physics/Math building - they had some neat art reminiscent of Islamic tilings.
is pretty ill. I went to visit the person, and the teacher is getting the needed help but may be there awhile, probably not back to teaching for this semester. Prayers would be appreciated.

My district is looking at having to cut more than $10 million from an already bare-bones budget for next year - it is a little scary - I expect total salary freezes, layoffs, furloughs, cut programs, larger class sizes, no new textbooks or supplies, etc., even though many are already desperately needed.

Finally, Colorado Springs has a veritable Hooverville these days. Along Fountain Creek all the way from Motor City up to CC and probably other places beyond sight of the Interstate, are tents of homeless people who have set up semi-permanent/permanent camp. There were so many I couldn't count....

Fort Hood Tragedy

When things like this happen, my own selfish perspective is that I feel slapped on both sides of the face: once as a human being and again as a Muslim. There is no relief, things keep happening. And there is no reasoning with people who make comments like those below, cut-and-pasted from comments to Fort Hood news articles at my local paper's website. It doesn't matter how factually inaccurate what they say might be, they don't care, and it doesn't change that apparently a Muslim did something horrible again and it is all over the media, so now Muslims face a new bout of suspicion and hatred, and many families must deal with the loss of a loved one in a horrible crime. I feel awful for many reasons on many levels, and sick and tired of being made out as guilty and feeling guilty for crimes I didn't commit, had nothing to do with, don't believe in the ideology behind, etc. Sick and tired of being expected to apologize for things that have nothing to do with me, even when said apology won't be accepted or believed by the same people demanding it anyway. And angry at Muslims who drag the rest of us through the mud and shove our faces down in it. And sorry for all of humanity in tragedy, and thankfully reminded of the true nature of the dunya. I feel pretty helpless to do anything about this continuing state of affairs, and frustrated as a result, like I just have to sit and take it because it is out of my hands.

The only way to prevent this in future is if every last Muslim was
no longer alive.

Many reports have come in - the most explicit from NPR this morning - that Hassan openly lectured fellow doctors during a conference at Walter Reed where all the doctors took turns educating their fellow doctors by lectures which were SUPPOSED to be about their medical field. But Hassan chose to lecture them about the KORAN, and further described in detail how the Korean describes how to kill 'infidels' by, among other things, beheading.

That session was SO bizarre that the doctors after the sessions discussed what Hassan had done - apparently not just 'informing' them about the Korea, - not the purpose of the conference sessions - but pushing it on them. And while one fellow Muslim doctor 'disputed' Hassan's lecture, others joked that he was capable of going out and shooting someone for his beliefs. Prophetic!

Now we get to the nitty gritty of WHY we have a war against Extremist Muslims in the Middle East - or more precisely why we are defending - by taking the fight to their homelands - the war those Muslims started againt US and the largely Christian West. Starting in spades on 9/11.

The reality is (1) the Korean explicitly instructs the faithful to EITHER convert all Infidels, or Kill Them!

Maj Hassan was a very good, very devout Muslim. And not only has a video camera at a store in Killeen Texas taken just a few hours before the massacre shows him, but he is dressed totally in Arabic white costume and cap. And of course you have heard that he shouted "Allah Ahkbar" before he started shooting.

To those of you implying. or outright saying, that muslims should be allowed the same rights as everyone else, I ask you to repeat after me, "If it ain't white, it ain't right!"

The most violent religion is ISLAM! PERIOD! Please don't compare them to ANY religion in our country. Sure we have our problems. NONE of them have killed 3,000 people nor have they killed 14 innocent military. I know the religion of peace loves the USA. Puhleeze. Show me where the religion of peace loves human rights. NOWHERE! They hate women, they hate individuatity. They simply HATE! Go to hell mohammed. go to hell islam. you are hell!

Want to know? Take a large Bible and hold it up as you enter a large mosque during prayers. I'll send flowers!

Ahhh... poor muslims. Allah Akbar. Your religion is incompatible with freedom. If you don't like it, move back to your sandbox. We feel for you. You use our freedom and liberal views of religion against us. How dare we label you as terrorists. although you are always in the middle of terroism. Go Away! We will watch you constantly. You will never find peace in our country! You will be suspect. You will flee. Flee for your life. We will watch you! So far not one muslim has proven to be compatible with our lifestyle. Flee you ugly trash... FLEE!

Take a hard look at the number of Islamic teenage girls killed by their fathers right here in the USA because the young women became too westernized. Also you might take a hard look at the number of Islamic teenage girls who have been hanged because they were molested by older men. The reasoning? They should not have put themselves in a position to temp males. In other words, the older men got them alone, so it was the girls fault!

The ideology of Islam bears some scrutiny. There have been too many incidents to pass these actions of violence off as insignificant, not worth of monitoring. Enough of this fuzzy warm understanding feeling nonsense.

Or, maybe it was just good ol' fashioned jihad! Believe it or not, some devout muslims have a tendency to things like that. BUt, then they are all devout, or they are not considered muslims. It seems the only way they can get to heaven ironically enough is to kill someone (an infidel) during jihad!
It seems that salvation through mercy and grace, and by repentance (and changing the bad things we do towards others) would be a little less destructive to the world at large. But, the religion of Islam isn't predicated on a personal relationship with God. There is no understanding of that at all. There is no understanding of "God as a father figure" or even a truly "loving" God. Allah is a God of guidance and one who demands allegiance. If you are not of the faith then "you are worthy only of death by the sword". In christianity if you are not of the faith, then you are just lost for eternity. Christians may try to bring you back to the flock (so to speak) because that is what our God tells us to do for salvation (among other things) but muslims simply want you gone! As in dead! Nothing less! Becaause their God tells them that is their way to salvation.
So, is it salvation through love and caring, or salvation through eliminating those who don't think as you do?

Anyone who associates with someone who chooses to call themselves Mohammed, Hussein, Hassan, Ali or Atta is putting the safety of themselves and their families at risk.

These people should not be allowed to purchase weapons. They should not be allowed near governmental or military facilities. They certainly should not be in the military. Any suspicious behavior by them should be reported to authorities immediately.

This may seem like racial profiling but there are 12 patriots dead in Texas that would not be if this had been followed. Given our military installations and the Air Force Academy, I suspect there are sleeper cells right here in Colorado Springs intent on hurting us.

When is the US Government going to get it through their heads that you cannot trust Muslims? The Muslim brain is not programmed to respect human life and thus this type of scenario will continue.

Someone with the name "Hassan" should not be allowed in the military or in our communities.

They are named after the son of Mohammed and simply that name makes it too likely they are a terrorist.

The military should have kicked him out because of his name along with all the Muhammads, Mohammeds, Alis, Husseins, Attas, etc.

The religion of peace strikes again. Wake up America!

So how does it work? If a Muslim is on a martyr mission and fails to die, but ends up getting shot by a military firing squad, does he still get the 72 virgins?

My $11 peel-and-stick new bathroom floor

Happy Birthday of Imam Reza (as)

I bear witness that there is no God save Allah, the One; and there is no partner to share with Him.

I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger, verily, he is the lord of the ancients and the moderns, verily, he is the head of the Prophets and the Messengers.



O Allah send blessing on Muhammad, Thy servant, Thy Messenger and Thy Prophet, the chief of all that has been created by Thee, blessings which no one is able to measure other than Thee.



O Allah send blessings on the Ameer ul Moomineen, Ali ibna Abi Talib, Thy servant, the brother of Thy Messenger, whom Thou elected to have Thy Knowledge, made him a guide to show the right path to those of Thy servants who want to be led aright, an evident proof for those who pay careful attention to Thy Message, he managed the affairs of the religion according to Thy system of justice, made application of Thy commands to settle the issues which cropped up among the people, and let Thy will and command rule supreme in all matters; peace be on him, also mercy and blessings of Allah.



O Allah send blessings on Fatimah, the daughter of Thy Prophet, the wife of Thy friend, the mother of the two sons, Hasan and Husayn, the prime leaders of the people of Paradise, she is pure, purified, pious content, wise leader of all the women of the Paradise,
blessings which no one is able to measure other than Thee.



O Allah send blessings on Hasan and Husayn, the two sons of Thy Prophet, the prime leaders of the people of Paradise, Thy established authority among the people, Thy two evident proofs for those who pay careful attention to Thy Message, who managed the affairs of the religion according to Thy system of justice, and made application of Thy commands to settle the issues which cropped up among the people.



O Allah send blessings on Ali bin Husayn, Thy servant, Thy established authority among the people, Thy evident proof for those who pay careful attention to Thy Message, who managed the affairs of the religion according to Thy system of justice, and made application of Thy commands to settle the issues which cropped up among the people, the lord among Thy adorers.



O Allah send blessings on Muhammad bin Ali, Thy servant, Thy representative in the earth, the deeply versed in the knowledge of Prophets. O Allah send blessings on Jaa'-far bin Muhammad, the truthful, Thy servant, the defender of Thy religion, Thy decisive argument over the mankind, the truthful, the just.

O Allah send blessings on Moosa bin Jaa'-far, Thy upright servant, Thy approved spokesman among Thy people, Thy decisive argument over the mankind.



O Allah send blessings on Ali bin Moosa who please Thee most, the chosen, Thy servant, the defender of Thy religion, rightly and justly established by Thee as an authority who made earnest presentation of arguments to promote Thy religion which is the religion of his truthful ancestors, blessings which no one is able to measure other than Thee.

O Allah send blessings on Muhammad bin Ali, Thy servant, Thy chosen representative, appointed by Thy command, who invited people Thy path.

O Allah send blessings on Ali bin Muhammad, Thy servant, the defender of Thy religion.



O Allah send blessings on Hasan bin Ali who put Thy system into practice, the established authority among the people, Thy demonstrator who carried out the mission of Thy Prophet, Thy witness over the mankind, distinguished with Thy excellence, who reminded people to obey Thee and Thy Messenger. Thy blessings be on all of them.

O Allah send blessings on Thy demonstrator, Thy established representative among the people, perfect, growing and everlasting blessings expedite his arrival
and help him, let us be with him in this world and in the Hereafter.

O Allah I seek Thy nearness through my love for them. I make friends with their friends, I oppose their enemies, so, on account of them, give me good of this world and the Hereafter, keep away from me the evil of this world and the Hereafter, the dreadful fright on the Day of Judgement.

Peace be on you, O the representative of Allah!Peace be on you, O the evident proof of Allah!

Peace be on you, O the light of Allah in the darkness of this (ignorant) world!

Peace be on you, O the mainstay of the religion!

Peace be on you, O the Inheritor of Adam, the sincerely attached friend of Allah!

Peace be on you, O the Inheritor of Nooh, the Prophet of Allah!

Peace be on you, O the Inheritor of Ibrahim, the intimate friend of Allah!

Peace be on you, O the Inheritor of Ismaeel, the sacrifice offered to Allah!

Peace be on you,O the Inheritor of Moosa, who spoke to Allah!

Peace be on you, O the Inheritor of Eesaa, who received mercy , joy and ease from Allah!

Peace be on you, O the Inheritor of Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah!

Peace be on you, O the Inheritor of the Ameer ul Moomineen, the representative of Allah, the executor of the will of the Messenger of the Lord of the worlds!

Peace be on you, O the Inheritor of Faatimah Zahra!

Peace be on you, O the Inheritor of Hasan and Husayn, the prime leaders of the people of Paradise!

Peace be on you, O the Inheritor of Ali bin Husayn, the pride of the worshippers!

Peace be on you, O the Inheritor of Muhammad bin Ali, the deeply versed in the wisdom of the ancients and moderns!

Peace be on you, O the Inheritor of Jaa'-far bin Muhammad, the truthful, the virtuous!

Peace be on you, O the Inheritor of Moosa bin Jaa'-far! Peace be on you, O the virtuous and pious guardian!



I bear witness that, verily, you established the prayers, gave the prescribed share to the needy, commanded to do that which is right and lawful, not to do that which is wrong and unlawful, sincerely served Allah, till the inevitable came unto you

Peace be on you, O Abal Hasan, and mercy and blessings of Allah be on you.



O Allah I had left my place of domicile to go towards Thee, and crossed many a town in the hope of getting Thy mercy, therefore, do not disappoint me, do not send me away without awarding that which I need, have mercy on my restless agitation near the son of Thy Messenger's brother, Thy blessings be on him and on his children.



My father and mother are at your disposal O my Mawlaa! I have come to visit you, adore you and take refuge with you from the excesses I indulged into, from the burden of sins I carry on my back, so, in the day of distress, be my advocate before Allah, because you enjoy special privileges in the presence of Allah, and He shows respect for you and brings honour to you.



O Allah I seek Thy nearness through my love and friendship for them (the Ahlul Bayt), I love each and every one of them, from the first to the last, and avoid intimate association with anyone other than the Ahlul Bayt Curse of Allah be on those who subverted Thy "Favour" suspected Thy Prophet to be guilty of falsehood, denied Thy revelation, laugh at Thy representatives, and gave preference to nonentities over the "Aali Muhammad.

O Allah I seek Thy nearness by calling down curses on them, I keep myself aloof from them in this world and in the Hereafter, O Beneficent!

Blessings of Allah be on you, O Abal Hasan!

Blessings of Allah be on your soul and your body! You suffered patiently and exercised self-control, (although) you were truthful and your truthfulness had been confirmed; Allah destroyed him who gave the orders to kill you, and him who carried it out.

The Raven (Edgar Allan Poe)

Here are several recitations of Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven.

Which do you think is the best, the creepiest?

Vincent Price:



James Earl Jones:



Christopher Walken:



David S.J. Guilmette:


Basil Rathbone (and creepy talking Poe head):



Alan Parsons Project with Rob Gonsalves art:



German:


Spike Durden:



Jay Marks / Phobe Rush Animation:



Bamshad Abedi-Amin Poetry into Film Assignment:


W.B. Ward:



Aaron D. Frankel (super 8mm film):


hasaniwalker, puppeteer:




The Simpsons, in Portuguese:



The Simpsons, in English:

"The Raven" on The Simpsons - Watch more Videos at Vodpod.

Spanish:



Lance Cotterdam, Special Olympics recitation medal winner:



World of Warcraft (couldn't figure out how to embed it, but it is pretty cool, so follow the link.)

Lady Masooma (as)

IN THE NAME OF ALLAH THE ALL-BENEFICENT, THE ALL-MERCIFUL

FELICITATIONS TO YOU ALL ON THE OCCASION OF THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE BIRTHDAY OF HADHRAT FATIMA MA'SUMA (PEACE BE UPON HER)

10 DAYS OF NOBILITY:

The first ten days of the lunar month of Dhul Qa’dah are celebrated in some Muslim countries like Iran as Daheye Karamat (ten days of nobility). This is because they start with the birthday of Hadhrat Ma’suma (‘a) on the 1st of Dhul Qa’da [173 AH] and meet with the birthday of her sibling, Imam al-Ridha (‘a) on the 11th [148 AH] of the same month. Both are epitomes of spiritual greatness and nobility. Their life histories are brim with lessons for us to learn and emulate. Celebrating such occasions is to remember their personalities and instill in us the spirit of obedience to Almighty Allah. When one beholds the tomb of Hadhrat Ma’suma (‘a) in the holy city of Qum, which in reality serves as its fundamental source of light, one should be overtaken with the purity it exemplifies. Her radiant shrine constantly echoes a very important message for all her lovers: protect yourself from sin and struggle for infallibility. She was known as al-Ma’suma by her infallible brother Imam al-Ridha (‘a) due to her immaculate personality. If we are receptive enough to absorb her message, we would struggle for purity. Celebration in reality is an act of commitment and pledge. We must resolve to flee from sin, in order to celebrate this occasion of joy. Imam al-Ridha (‘a) likewise gives a similar message but in another language: the language of Divine pleasure. The word al-Ridhaa connotes both al-Raadhi (the pleased one) and al-Mardhi (the one whom one is pleased with). In other words He is pleased with what Allah does, and Allah is pleased with Him. He thus enjoys the state of a contented soul (al-nafs al-mutma’inna), whose status is so high, that Almighty Allah addresses it thus: “O soul at peace! Return to your Lord, pleased, pleasing! Then enter among My servants! And enter My paradise!” (89:27-30)The word “jannati” (my Paradise) in the verse refers to the loftiest kind of Paradise, which scholars of authority call “Jannat al-Liqa’”(the Paradise of encountering Allah). Such a station is what has to be experienced and words do not qualify to express. Fortunate are those who are able to visit the radiant shrines of Imam al-Ridha (‘a) and her noble sister Hadhrat Ma’suma (‘a). Mere visitation, however, is not enough. We need reflective minds who are able to draw a world of information by beholding such edifices of light, that can transport every receptive heart to the true meaning of belief, action, love, steadfastness, extinction in the Divine, absorption, revolution, emancipation, concern, etc.

Salams and Du'as
Holy Proximity of Hadhrat Ma'suma ('A) (From Muhammad Khalfan)

Please visit imamreza.net to read more about Lady Masooma (as). Also, here is a book about her at al-islam.org.

Her Ziarat, given to us by her brother, Imam Reza (as):

Allah is the great
Glory be to Allah
Praise be to Allah
Peace be on Adam, the Choice of Allah! Peace be on Noah, the Prophet of Allah,
Peace be on Ibraheem, the Friend of Allah, Peace be on Mosa who spoke to Allah, Peace be on Isa, the Spirit of Allah.
Peace be on you, O Messenger of Allah, Peace be on you, O the best of the Mankind
Peace be on you, O Choice of Allah! Peace be on you. O Mohammed bin Abdullah, the last of the Prophets!
Peace be on you, O Ali bin Abi Talib, Commander of the faithful and the Successor of the Messenger of Allah.
Peace be on you, O Fatimah, the Leader of the women of the worlds,
Peace be on you, O the grandsons of the Prophet of Mercy, and the leaders of the youth of Paradise
Peace be on you, O Ali bin Husain, the leader of worshippers, O Coolness of investigating eyes,
Peace be on you, O Mohammed bin Ali, O the explorer of the knowledge
Peace be on you, O Jafar bin Mohammed, the truthful the benign, the trustworthy,
Peace be on you, O Mosa bin Jafar, the pure, the purified,
Peace be on you, O Ali bin Mosa, the pleased, the gratified,
Peace be on you, O Mohammed bin Ali, the pious one Peace be on you, O Ali bin Mohammed, the pure, the advising guardian, and the trustworthy
Peace be on Hasan bin Ali, Peace be on the successor after him
O Allah, bless your light, the successor and vicegerent of Thy Messenger and Thy decisive argument over mankind
Peace be on you, O daughter of the Messenger of Allah! Peace be on you, O, daughter of Fatimah and Khadeejah!
Peace be on you, O, daughter of the Commander of the faithful! Peace be on you, O, daughter of Hasan and Husain!
Peace be on you, O, daughter of the vicegerent of Allah! Peace be on you, O, sister of the vicegerent of Allah! Peace be on you, O, Aunt of the vicegerent of Allah!
Peace be on you, O, daughter of Mosa bin Jafar! May Allah confer His Mercy and blessing on you!
Peace be on you May Allah grant us your companionship on the day of Judgment
and guide us to follow your footsteps and lead us to your grandfather's fountain andquench our thirst out of it, with Mohammed's own cup in Ali's hand,
Allah bless you All. I ask Allah to grant us, through you, happiness, ease and your companionship,
together with your grandfather on the day of Judgment
and not to deprive us from understanding you. Indeed, He is Protector and Powerful on everything.
O Allah, I seek Thy nearness through my love for you, my enmity for your enemies and my surrender to Allah willingly, not arrogantly my acceptance,
with unshaken faith, what He communicated to Mohammed seeking in that Thy Face! Thy satisfaction, and the next world.
O Master! Stand by us when Allah sits in judgment over us, O intimate of Allah,
O Allah, I ask Thee to make my ending happy, and not to take away what you have given me
There is neither might nor power but with Allah, the Great, the Exalted.
So by Thy generosity, might Mercy and bounteousness, comply with our supplication,
Allah, bless Mohammed, and his pious and pure Progeny and give them abundant peace! O the most Merciful of the Merciful.

Game time: Play "What is it?"

Click on the picture to make it big.

Post your guesses in comments.

Then, click here to see if you guessed well!

Personally, I was amazed when I read what it is a picture of - beautiful!