Balaam in the Quran

Regarding the Islamic view of Balaam, there is no clear reference to Balaam in the Qur'an. However, the commentators argue that he is the one that the following text is referring to:

Relate to them the story of the man to whom We sent Our signs, but he passed them by: so Satan followed him up, and he went astray.
If it had been Our will, We should have elevated him with Our signs; but he inclined to the earth, and followed his own vain desires. His similitude is that of a dog: if you attack him, he lolls out his tongue, or if you leave him alone, he (still) lolls out his tongue. That is the similitude of those who reject Our signs; So relate the story; perchance they may reflect.
—Qur'an, sura 7 (Al-A'raf), ayat 175-176[8]
The Muslim commentators explain that Balaam was a Canaanite who had been given knowledge of some of the books of God. His people asked him to curse Moses (Musa) and those who were with him, but he said, "How can I curse one who has angels with him?" They continued to press him, however, until he cursed the Israelites, and, as a consequence, they remained forty years in the Wilderness of the Wanderings. Then, when he had cursed Moses, his tongue came out and fell upon his breast, and he began to pant like a dog.

The story as told by Tabari[9] is somewhat more Biblical. Balaam had the knowledge of the Most Sacred Name of God, and whatever he asked of God was granted to him. The story of Balaam and the ass, then follows at length. When it came to the actual cursing, God "turned his tongue" so that the cursing fell upon his own people and the blessing upon Israel. Then his tongue came out and hung down on his breast. Finally, he advised his people to adorn and beautify their women and to send them out to ensnare the Israelites. The story of the plague at Baal-peor and of Cozbi and Zimri[10] follows.

According to another story which al-Tabari gives, Balaam was a renegade Israelite who knew the Most Sacred Name and, to gain the things of this world, went over to the Canaanites. Al-Tha'labi[11] adds that Balaam was descended from Lot. He gives, too, the story of Balaam's dream, his being forbidden by God to curse Israel. Another version is that Balak, the king of Bal'a, compelled Balaam to use the Most Sacred Name against Israel. The curse fell automatically, and Moses, having learned whence it came, entreated God to take from Balaam his knowledge of the Name and his faith. This being done, they went out from him in the form of a white dove.

Economics; the means or the idol

'...as I have argued all along, no system or machinery or economic doctrine or theory stands on its own two feet: it is invariably built on a metaphysical foundation, that is to say, upon man's basic outlook on life, its meaning and its purpose. I have talked about the religion of economics, the idol worship of material possessions, of consumption and the so-called standard of living, and the fateful propensity that rejoices in the fact that "what were luxuries to our fathers have become necessities for us"' Schumacher

Haatin al-Assam on haste

Haatim al-Assam stated:
Haste is from the Shaytaan except in five cases:
1. Feeding the guest when he arrives.
2. Preparing the deceased when he dies.
3. Marrying off the virgin when she reaches the appropriate age.
4. Paying off the debt when its due.
5. Repenting from a sin when a sin is commit

Louis MacNeice - Snow

Louis MacNeice - Snow

The room was suddenly rich and the great bay-window was
Spawning snow and pink roses against it
Soundlessly collateral and incompatible:
World is suddener than we fancy it.

World is crazier and more of it than we think,
Incorrigibly plural. I peel and portion
A tangerine and spit the pips and feel
The drunkenness of things being various.

And the fire flames with a bubbling sound for world
Is more spiteful and gay than one supposes -
On the tongue on the eyes on the ears in the palms of one's hands -
There is more than glass between the snow and the huge roses.

In the end it is where yout fear is

Today the news read that the dutchess of cambridge was photographed topless. Now many are going to wonder if this is such a thought provoking situation. And they would be correct, because on its own it is such a random event. However if we see it inline with other events in the world we can see some relevence.

Lets take a trip to a few days ago, where an american was killed in lybia. This tragedy was a result of riots which was a result of people filming the prophet of islam in a disgusting light. The general public response was not of disgust but was a pro freedom of speech arguement.

However we see the disgusting pictures of the royal family and there is no freedom of speech discussion. It is recognised by the majority as disgusting and apologies are being made by all parties.

Now lets think, either they dont believe in freedom or they are scared of the consequnces if they fight the argument. Because if they didnt believe in the freedom of speech they would not have published or even taken the pictures.

The best laid schemes of Mice and Men oft go awry, And leave us nothing but grief and pain, For promised joy." Robert Burns

Here we have our first external [ meaning it is not my experience, but someone else's] post of someone who has gone through an experience that really affected his life, and may affect the course of his life. in the way his life turns out, in the near future and the distant future. as well as shaping his thoughts as an individual. i hope other can benefit from his critical reflections:

Up until the 1st of May, Everything seemed on track for me. I have always been that boy who just loved to excel. From a very young age, I was thought never to settle for second best. Now, this is not to say that I am a genius, it is far from who I really am. More often than not, I always fell below the standards I set for myself, I know you'll say that's a good thing because it made me a force to reckon with amongst my peers, but most of the times, it always left me angry about what could have been if only I tried harder. My dad never really cared about the details of my efforts, all that mattered to him was results. And in over 20 years of academic involvements, the pursuit of excellence now runs in my DNA.

I have a good track record of keeping the right friends close to me, and I believe it helps define who I am. I hate the fact that I didn't make a first class honours in University, but I always take pride in the fact that I had a 2.1, and even first class candidates took me as one of them because no matter how talented the group I find myself, I always had a lot to contribute. An undying thirst for knowledge and excellence made me to travel abroad for further studies, and trust me, from the blast of the whistle; I got off to a flying start. Answering questions in class, initiating intuitive and intellectual discussions and to cap it all up, a B3 overall grade in the first stage of the session (which is a big deal here)

It couldn't get any better, I was on course for what would be the greatest honour of my life, to finish with a distinction. but to be sincere, getting a distinction wasn't priority for me, I would be more than happy with a merit, but anything less will be considered a waste of time and resources, as my dad always told me, "the end justifies the means"

On the 1st of May, out of over-carefulness and the quest for perfection, and of course with a measure of ignorance, I sent my research paper by e-mail to a friend to help check for errors with her own account as I had no access to the such programs. This decision, born out of the fear of failure, proved a dramatic turnaround in my academic experience. My final submission was detected as a plagiarised copy of the draft which my friend accidentally uploaded as it turned out; I had committed the abominable offence as a student. Only two weeks before I was told this, I received a rare commendation from the program leader about the same essay and was to have the work published. As it turned out, I went from grace to grass in 14 days. Such is life. Inasmuch as the punishment of plagiarism (stealing in literature) which a strong part of me takes objection to, because I don't believe one can steal from oneself, has been reduced, the outcome could still have far reaching consequences, I stand a chance of not been eligible to get a merit when I could easily have been on course for a distinction.

I know these sounds like a kid crying over spilt milk, what can I do? I already made it clear that it runs in my DNA. If I were carefree, I wouldn't have bothered to check the originality of my work, and I wouldn't even bother if I had a merit or a pass or whatever. But do I really want to be carefree; do I know how to be carefree? The answer is No. Who am I really living for? Do I care too much about what my folks will make of my performance? Well, I don't live for my folks but I do appreciate their sacrifice for me and I would go as far as being distressed to make them happy. That's how much I value their efforts

This incidence has thought me a lot, it has showed what a friend I am to a lot of people, A lot of classmates have looked beyond the competition to show their deepest concern, some even took it upon themselves to seek advice on my behalf. I will always be indebted to these people. It has also thought me that life isn’t judged based on intention, only God cares about intention. It has showed what a thin line exists between Glory and Shame. 

An amazing friend of mine studying in U.I has also been more than wonderful. She practically made my burden hers and went out of her way to show affection, support, consolation and what have you. I cannot repay her for what she made herself to be in such a devastating period, but I hope she gets all her heart desires.

One thing I ask from the Almighty is to make things get back on track for me before I complete this course, and most importantly, if I have failed to make my parents proud at this stage, may He give me a bigger opportunity to do so in the near future.

A new view

Return

Once I returned last year after travelling, I stopped publishing on the blog. It was through the thinking that no one would want to hear about my mundane ramblings of everyday life. However, to my surprise many people were disappointed that I stop writing and requested that I start again. This time i would like contributions from other people. Their own personal reflections of events. Because everyone has important insights that would benefit others if they were shared. So here begins chapter two of the blog. Hope it's as enjoyable as the last time.