Say no to the one who always says no....

Listen! Do not make up your mind about another man or accept what another man tells you about you until you make effort to establish or discover the facts.

Allow me to repeat that:

Never say never or say 'fo shizzle' until you're able to find the truth to what you're being caused to make up your mind about, for among us are individuals whose only gift is the gift of negating anything that has a potential to inspire wonder.

If you're observant, you'll realise that one attribute that people who've succeeded with their ideas have in common is the ability to ignore those who consistently deny, criticise, doubt and detract everything and everyone but themselves.

Breaking news!

Meanwhile, the strange rumour going on is that the famous Supreme Court is considering the legalisation of paedophilia, necrophilia and beastility.

Okay that was a joke. But what if the recent legitimisation of same sex marriage by the Supreme Court is caused to be invoked as precedent in the above supposed cases? But that's none of my business

What's perhaps my business and I still cannot get my head around is the rights of the kids that'll be adopted by these queerly affectionate couples.

What if the kids grow up and realise that they're in fact products of eBay acquired semen, or perhaps born naturally but sold off to these two that they'll probably call dad and dad or mom and mom.

Where are the child rights activists when you need them? Are they saying these kids do not have rights to natural rearing? Isn't it true a claim that humankind is no longer interested in anything without a curse behind it?

Believers have limits...

"I will do whatever damn well pleases me." You and I hear this all the time; in fact I must confess that I say it when I get really pissed off. But to be honest, saying it in matters of faith and as someome who calls himself a believer is the pits of foolishness.

Granted, God said there's is no compulsion in religion, but let's not forget that this carte blanche stops the moment you sincerely submit to His Will; because then you're expected to observe the teachings, the rules, the laws and the regulations that guide or prescribe the conduct of a true believer.

Now let me give an analogy: say for instance you sat to your grade nine exams. You will naturally have an abundance of high schools to go to, except your marks deny you.

Now let's assume you did well and decided to go to Nusrat High School. Tell me, will you tell Mr. Bojang (the principal) that you'll come to school as and when you damn well like, wear whatever you want, you'll not attend the daily "assemblies" and you'll not go to school on Saturdays, will you?

LOL..l bet, knowing Mr. Bojang the way I think I know him, he won't even hesitate to expel your arse out of his school - now I rest my case!

I wonder who's the bigger bigot?

I am not a scholar and I am not pretending to be one, but one thing I know is that to say "we believe" alone is not enough; we cannot say we're true Muslims unless we believe AND do good works - that's written.

When we say we submit, we submit not to the word 'Islam' but to the Will of God, and God's Will entails doing good, enjoining goodness and forbidding evil.

Now unfortunately, trying to be good by doing good, or by enjoining goodness and forbidding evil is caused to mean bigotry, narrow mindedness, extremism, etc.

This is why people who aren't acting in accordance with our expectations or those who disagree with a certain lifestyle are seen to be haters of the adherents of that lifestyle, and their decision to differ is caused to mean phobia.

This is why contradicting our true beliefs, standards and virtues in order to overtly pretend to be in support of the things we covertly dislike has sadly become the newest cool.

Granted, willing to impair your own conviction in order to allow another man to uphold his may afford you the ground to demonstrate a good show of compassion, but whether you're sensibly compassionate is what I doubt.

But maybe the reason is not so weird after all. Maybe we tend to be politically correct about certain moral declines simply because they're expected to offer opportunities that may be favourable to us...Still sad tho!

Feeling hopeful. ..

Maybe very soon that dream will also be  decriminalised by the Supreme Court. Just maybe!

I mean being a Blackman or Muslim living in the west and be allowed to exercise your independent faculty of choice, without constraint, fear of being gunned down or locked up.

Who's not judgemental?

So it's okay to call me judgemental for telling you to find practical use for your God-given conscience and to avoid being weak in morals, but you're not judgmental for calling me "judgemental", right? 

Hamna nay ndohay na deh!!!! But I guess that's the beginning of the end of intelligent civilisation for us.

We have unfortunately become a people who define terms anyhow they favour us; mostly for partisan or controversial purposes, but also to appear affectedly proper or just for the heck of it.

Top on the list of terms being selfishly perverted these days are: 'extremism', 'intolerance' and 'prejudice'...and if you live where I live, you may want to add the terms 'patriotism' and 'youth' to your list 

Psychological warfare

If this annoys or irritates anyone, I am sincerely sorry; but really, I have to ask because I am getting sick and tired of being sick and tired of accepting hypocrisy in the name of tolerance. 

C'mon, why should an entire ummah of decent Muslims be obliged to apologise for the crimes of al-Qaeda, ISIS, Boka Haram, the Taliban or any other Muslim-looking ego serving group? Isn't it sufficient that we've denounced their acts?

Why are other systems of faith conveniently absolved and not blamed for the actions of non-Islamic terrorists like the LRA, NLFT, the Army of God, CSA, the Israeli Army and the many anti-Muslim terrorists in Burma and India?

What sort of psychological warfare is this? Or is it a case of a wrong being a wrong only when it is committed by people who do not look like us, or who do not share our beliefs? Why can't we bite the damn bullet and resolve these issues as common threats? Why do we keep treating the beard, hijab and turban as badges of terror rather than religious customs? Why are we bent on creating a cluster fuck of confusion?

Why do we condone Muslim targeted bigotry, but find it stupid when Muslims genuinely talk about things that aren't conformable to morality, law and justice? Why is it okay to celebrate the rulings of a Supreme Court but crude to obey the commands of a Supreme God?

Envy kills communal success...

You know you're envious if you cannot wish for anyone what you wish for yourself, and if you pretend to be in favour of other people's dislikes simply because you want to get to them. 

You know your envy is contrary to logic if you cannot accept any achievement but yours, and if you'll rather all of you fail than see someone else succeed.

You know your state of envy is Satanic if you can wish ill fate on everyone, simply because you know your personal doom is impossible to avoid.

U.nfortunately, communal success in a society infested with all these, will be but an unattainable pursuit...we seek refuge from such.

The NEW Hate!!!

Actually, the true definition of a hater is someone who expresses inappropriate hatred or dislike. The phenomenon is usually not based on any solid reason or facts. It's chiefly motivated by envy.

But that was before the demise of intelligent civilisation. Now unfortunately, a hater is anyone who does not conform to our accepted beliefs, practices and the many weird things we do.

SO the true construction of the heart of the supposed hater doesn't matter anymore. If you ask me, just pretend to like them and they'll like you back! So cute!!

“And remind, for indeed, the reminder benefits the believers"

Just because the things you did in the night did not come to light doesn’t mean they’re right. Appearing right in the sight of man cannot be interpreted as might or authority to judge. Sometimes there are things you don’t know about the people you think you know everything about.

Just because people who criticise are said to be judgmental doesn’t give you a blank cheque to do whatever you damn well desire - it doesn’t work that way. No one is exempted from guidance because none can get it right all the time. And when I say “none” I mean even when you think you’re the only soul living within the limits of decency.

Let us learn to guide one another and be thankful for those who offer guidance in connection with sensible behaviour – even if they’re brutally honest. Let us not paint all of them with one brush or say they’re judgemental simply because they said something that was devoid of praise or admiration.

Just because I wrote this piece doesn’t mean I am as good as it is possible to be. In fact I am the most unreasonable when it comes to weighing the consequences of the actions I take. But I am just trying to do what’s right and in consideration of the verse that said: “And remind, for indeed, the reminder benefits the believers.”

Mumbo-jumbo!

You don’t want to be exposed to any possible failure, but you want an enterprise built in your name. You don’t want to think hard or do more than you’re currently doing, but you want to earn more than you’re earning. You don’t want to be taught, but you want to be knowledgeable.

You don’t want to part with a grain of what you possess, but you want to receive as much as there’s to ask for. You cannot count on yourself to feed yourself, but you want to have everything. You want to live as you rudely think fit, but you’re still under your daddy’s roof.

You cannot listen to your own conscience when doing evil, but you feel irritated when others rebuke you to your shame. You surrender your strength of character because you’re not using it, but you feel dissatisfied with the results you’re getting - anyway, anything’s possible!

Now let me segue into another topic:

I once I told y’all ladies whose wardrobes are a malfunction that Ramadan will come and you’ll be expected to remain beautiful but not bare fleshed, and you’ll be sorry because all you can call clothes will be a reckless collection of booty tight denim jeans, pencil skirts, miniskirts, sweatpants, skin tights, daring club dresses, etc. In fact I can confirm that the only modest or African attire that some of you got are ‘teem-taats’ – now see, y’all have to do some avoidable Ramadan shopping; mas!!!

For the other ladies who probably think looking ‘halal’ means looking as ugly as a troll in the morning, let me tell you that it’s very possible to look glam and modest at the same time. And according to me, it is a sin to remain ugly when you have the opportunity to pretty up. Wish y’all a blessed month of Ramadan!

Names count!

Looking at Bolt and Serena together on a photo got me thinking that people sometimes become what their names or surnames imply. So here I have used syllables, anagrams and denotations to validate my hypothesis and see what I got:

The syllables in Serena Williams' surname are: ‘will-I-am’ - meaning she’s the embodiment of will. Usain Bolt, even if not for his nickname of "Lightning Bolt," the word bolt denotes speed, meaning to take off. Richard Branson the founder of Virgin Group would’ve been ‘Ret-ard’ if he didn’t have the ‘rich’ in ‘Rich-ard’. See Goodluck Jonathan's rapid rise from deputy governor, to governor, to vice president and president and tell me he isn’t lucky.

Prophet Muhammad (SAW), the greatest man in history's first name is derived from the Arabic word ‘hamid,’ meaning to praise, hence the praiseworthy. Vladimir Putin's first name is derived from ‘vladeti’ meaning to rule. Larry Page as CEO of Google Inc. naturally deals with pages. David Cameron's ‘David' means beloved in Hebrew and Cameron as a Scottish surname means crooked nose – hence ‘beloved crooked-nose.’ BTW crooked could mean both warped and dishonest – so you figure.

Michael Jordan's first name (Michael) is the name of one of the seven archangels in Hebrew tradition and considered the patron saint of soldiers and that’s exactly what Michael Jordan was to the Bulls in their glory days. William Leonard Roberts II, AKA Rick Ross is an outcome of the ‘will’ in his first name and Leonard obviously means brave lion. Warren Buffett's surname is a sign of affluence. I would've said the word ‘bloom’ is a spin-off from Michael Bloomberg's if only he was born before the word was coined.

Look at the composition of Bill Gates (William Henry Gates): He’s got ‘will’ as in willpower, ‘bill’ as in demand for payment and ‘gates’ as in opening, no wonder he’s the richest. Barack Obama's first name Barack means ‘blessed’ in Hebrew as in ‘Baruch’ and in Arabic as ‘Mubarak’ or Barakah. And do you not know why President Bill Clinton left presidency with bills to pay but with a clean-ton of legacy?

To cut a long story short, make sure you choose wisely when naming your kids. I am sure someone is dying to ask: "Omar Touray what about you?" Without bragging, Omar in Hebrew means eloquent or speaker and the two syllables in Touray are ‘two-ray’ - ray symptomatic of light and two is the sum of one and one or one less than three

Anyone can be angry...

Aristotle said: “Anyone can be angry - that is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way - this is not easy”- I agree, and I believe:

This is why some of us tend to tamely wait until the person responsible for our anger has left and then we begin to blow up with rage – foolishly disturbing the peace - like trying to shut the stable door after the horse has bolted.

This is why we ruin our case even when we have a genuine anger, because we absolve the actual cause of the annoying situation by transferring the anger or directing our reactions and negative emotions at innocent people.

This is why some of us rave against certain situations that only require simply and intelligent solutions. You know, like getting upset about something that you could just divest yourself of, or cursing the darkness when you could simply put the lights on.

This is why those who’re caught up in their own world can say anything, poke fun at or ridicule anyone without taking anyone’s feelings into account, but they become angry the moment they’re given a taste of their own medicine, forgetting that there wouldn’t be any if they didn’t start any. 

This is why I did this piece, hoping that even if we cannot do away with anger, we will at least learn to be angry with the right people, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way.

Today's friendly looking relationships...

I hate to say it this way and I may be as wrong as some of the sentiments I read about 9/11, but this is how I see many of today's friendly looking relationships:

You're doing well, I'll be at your service, ratify your wrongs, laugh for you, with you and slyly at you, but as long as everything you're making is for both of us. If you become broke or you're in some serious mess, it's by you and for you to face. In the meantime, what I have or can do in return is conveniently of me, by me and for me.

Your what, well-being? Aaah! I get it! You mean reciprocated bailout? Do I care? That's a future impossible tense buddy. In fact it's about bloody time I show you who the real me is and the fool or tool you've always been to me. Pretty cute!

Anyway, shout out to the scarce breed of friends who still uphold the ideals of true friendship. Respekt Konkrete!

Hashtag Comfort...

Hashtags don’t bring comfort. In fact no one becomes genuinely comfortable by pretending to be comfortable. You can only live comfortably when you’re really and truly comfortable. And even if you’re able to act out so well, the unpleasant facts will ultimately expose the lovely fiction.

But go ahead and take that selfie, upload the picture and caption it: “STARTED FROM THE BOTTOM NOW I’M HERE.” I swear down I wouldn’t judge you, even if there’s no discernible progress or difference between where you started from and where you’re claiming to be, it’s none of my business.

My business may unfortunately come at the last part and that’s mostly against my will. You know, when you’re busted and a certain scandalmonger starts to show aggression and my sense of sympathy obliges me to get your back.

But before then, Lord grant us the cleverness to not be so captivated and deceived by everything we see, the guts to always seek the truth, the brilliance to choose the right things to believe in, and grant us the vision to differentiate. Amen!

So, his was artificial Intelligence…

So we were playing our word game and minding our own business. But perhaps because of our appearance, this very massively suited guy thought we didn’t know book. He stopped off as if scrabble is his game, then he looked at the tiles on the game-board, pointed to the word ‘phlegm’ and then with elegance he said:

“This is not ‘A’ English word.”

But I swear down we didn’t laugh, we felt sorry, knowing he’s one of those scruffy suit wearers who give legitimate suit wearers a bad name, and unfortunately 98% of those you see all over the place dressed in poorly-tailored hefty suits, swinging hopeless keys and walking like they’re suffering from chronic hip pains are like that.

Never try to make shit up to your will.

If you know your privacy policy is sustained only if nobody is handy, if you cannot make a distinction between private and public life or in case you cannot keep your affairs or circumstances where they’re appropriate, and if you cannot feel good about the things you own or know without going public, no matter how much appeal you want to add to what you portray, if you do not master the art of bending the truth, never try to make shit up to your will.

It is said that: “Letting the cat out of the bag is a whole lot easier than putting it back in” and I agree. Now let me tell you a true story:

Once upon a time, a certain young lady entered a public transport and started talking on her phone, naturally getting everyone all ears. Whether she was really talking to someone or just talking I don’t know, but she was talking trash about a certain local superstar. And not only was she talking with style and confidence, she pretended to be related to the one she was talking about.  

But the level of bullshitting got to an inordinate height and she got busted. We eventually knew she was one of those people that will spew fragrant lies everywhere they go and just to exhibit connection with fame and famous people. This young lady didn’t know that seated in front of the van were two people, one a sister and the other a cousin to the person she was talking about. I couldn’t stand seeing her struggling to make amends, so I got down before my intended stop. I am allergic to embarrassment and so I wouldn't want to be tempted to stand up for her. 

The honourable thing is to ask if you don’t know…

Many of us are shamed because we don’t know and we don’t want to ask. We remain in our shyness or perhaps conceit, thinking that admitting our lack of knowledge in a certain area or to a certain situation will separate us from the lifestyle or clique that we want to represent.

So now we’ve made the virtue of asking a laughable thing, but what we don’t ask ourselves is the backside: what if our facade backfires and we’re asked to do or give details of those things that we pretend to have all the answers to?

In fact which of the two is more admirable:  asking even if you’re going to be made fun of for a minute or not asking and run the risk of making a fool of yourself forever? But no wonder the young lady’s dessert was fruits mixed with finger chips, boiled eggs, oyster, ‘daharr’ and shrimps and still called fruit salad.