they’re coming…

Maghrib tonight (Tuesday the 7th) marks the beginning of the last 10 nights of Ramadan.

Ramadan is informally separated into three 10-night periods. The first 10 nights are known as the nights of Mercy; the second 10 are the nights of Forgiveness; and the last 10 are of Salvation. And one of the upcoming nights—probably an odd-numbered night, so tonight, Thursday night, Saturday, Monday, or Wednesday, unless we started on the wrong day, in which case it could be yesterday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday, or Tuesday nights—is Laylatul Qadr: the Night of Power, the night that is better than 1000 months when Allah azza wa jall sends down His decree for the coming year.

For these last 10 nights, Muslims strive to worship even more than we have throughout the previous 20 nights, and if we’ve been slacking off during the middle, as so often happens, we’re urged to pick it up and finish strong.  The Prophet, peace be upon him, used to spend the last 10 nights and days in the mosque, worshiping more or less constantly, and leaving almost all worldly tasks. Some brothers and sisters engage in Itikaf and book space in the mosque, where they stay from Maghrib on the 21st night until sunset on the 30th night (or the 29th, if the new moon is sighted, thus ending the month of Ramadan and beginning the month of Shawwal).

Don’t let the calculations distract you: they’re not important.

What is important is worshiping God with the best of your ability all of the time, trying to constantly get closer to God, and occasionally—like the last 10 nights of Ramadan—trying to pick it up even more.

the Importance of Patience (2)

I just have no patience for manmade things. Ya Allah, grant me patience for things.

إِنَّ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَالْمُسْلِمَاتِ وَالْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ وَالْقَانِتِينَ وَالْقَانِتَاتِ وَالصَّادِقِينَ وَالصَّادِقَاتِ وَالصَّابِرِينَ وَالصَّابِرَاتِ وَالْخَاشِعِينَ وَالْخَاشِعَاتِ وَالْمُتَصَدِّقِينَ وَالْمُتَصَدِّقَاتِ وَالصَّائِمِينَ وَالصَّائِمَاتِ وَالْحَافِظِينَ فُرُوجَهُمْ وَالْحَافِظَاتِ وَالذَّاكِرِينَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا وَالذَّاكِرَاتِ أَعَدَّ اللَّهُ لَهُم مَّغْفِرَةً وَأَجْرًا عَظِيمًا

Indeed, the Muslim men and Muslim women, the believing men and believing women, the obedient men and obedient women, the truthful men and truthful women, the patient men and patient women, the humble men and humble women, the charitable men and charitable women, the fasting men and fasting women, the men who guard their private parts and the women who do so, and the men who remember Allah often and the women who do so – for them Allah has prepared forgiveness and a great reward.

Surat Al-‘Aĥzāb, 35


The things that Allah azza wa jall made—living things, plants, etc., and especially people—are easy to have patience for: we’re none of us perfect, and we’re all in need, and we’re all (hopefully) trying to get through this life as easily as possible, and that goes for Muslims as well as everyone else.

But things… I just can’t have patience for the things we make, and I had a pretty hard time today: may Allah forgive me and grant me sabr (patience). Computers and other silicon-based technology can usually set me off in seconds, and my last hour of work today was almost entirely consumed by broken software, and not just any software, not software made by a software company for wide use, not niche games or banking softwares, but internal corporate software.

This did not bode well for the rest of the day… even after a nice long nap, remain testy, unfocused, easily bothered.

Astaghfirullah (both for my lack of patience and for such monstrosities as software made by a corporation whose major areas of focus have no direct relationship to software authoring).

May Allah forgive me, may He grant me ease and patience in this life, and may He guide us all to the straight path that leads to Him, Amin. Continue reading “the Importance of Patience (2)”

the importance of Patience

وَالْعَصْرِ

By time

إِنَّ الْإِنسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ

Indeed all of humanity is in a state of loss

إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ

Except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience.

Surah Al Asr

It seems sort of obvious that those that don’t believe, perform bad deeds, and/or lie and encourage others to lie would be clearly lost, but Allah has included the impatient and those who encourage impatience, rash action, etc. A’udhu Billah! (Allah protect us!)

Ya Allah, make me more patient, grant me patience, and guide me to encourage patience in my brothers and sisters (in Islam and in humanity).  Continue reading “the importance of Patience”

Digital Darkroom Software Review: Darktable

Programdarktable (1.6.3; updated to 1.6.7 late in the review process)
Platforms Available Tested: Linux, Mac, Windows
Installation: normal download dmg & drag app to Applications folder (or wherever you like). Easy.

darktable is probably the closest to Lightroom that you’ll find in the open source space. With the exception of user-definable albums (they’re called Film Rolls in darktable, and they’re a bit strange to use), you can do everything in darktable that you can do in Lightroom, and more, most of it in a few different ways.

Thankfully, I’m not trying for a comprehensive review here… I just want to see if darktable can replace Lightroom for me. Continue reading “Digital Darkroom Software Review: Darktable”

Independence Day

قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ

Say: “He is Allah, the One and Only,

اللَّهُ الصَّمَدُ

Allah, whom all things need and who needs none,

لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ

He wasn’t born, nor did He give birth,

وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ

and there is nothing like Him anywhere.

 

Surah Ikhlas

Oh Allah! I seek independence from all those things that distract from Your worship, from all those things that call me away from Your path, from the cares and worries of this life that intrude during dhikr and dua, and protect me from associating partners with You in anything. Ya Allah help me to remember You, and give thanks to You, and worship You in the best possible manner. Oh Allah! make me independent of all things but You! Amin. Amin. Amin. Continue reading “Independence Day”

Ramadan Halftime Report

We’re more than halfway through Ramadan now… What have we done? How have we performed? Where have we fallen short? What can we do to improve in the next half?

Well, I’ve lost my temper, lost my nerve, lost my focus, and failed in innumerable ways. I’ve spent most of my non-working hours trying not to catch up on sleep, and the rest of the time split between eating/drinking, working on photography projects, taking care of chores, and generally not making worship a priority.

Could I have done better? Maybe, but I didn’t and I can’t go back now.

What can I do differently? Can I modify my activities to include more worship, while still taking care of my responsibilities and chipping away at projects? Can I further modify my sleep schedule (or modify my work schedule and consequently sit in traffic) to accommodate more tarrawih? Can I take the extra 10 minutes it will take to perform wudu and pray 2 rakat of qiyam when I wake up in the middle of the night? Can I turn off the radio and spend my commute time reciting Quran and making dhikr? Can I start repeating some dua and dhikr during work and rest time (“la ilaha il Allah,” for example, can be said without ever moving the lips and could theoretically be recited anytime I’m not talking, eating, or sleeping)?

In sha’Allah.

And whatever I do, In sha’Allah , I need to focus on the quality of my worship, rather than just trying to cram in as much as possible.

May Allah guide me to be a better slave in the last half of Ramadan and in the coming years. May He accept my (and all of our) fasts. And may He grant me many more Ramadans to worship Him and many more opportunities to draw closer to him. Amin.  Continue reading “Ramadan Halftime Report”

Surah Ad-Duhaa

وَالضُّحَىٰ

By the morning brightness

وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا سَجَىٰ

And the night when it covers with darkness,

مَا وَدَّعَكَ رَبُّكَ وَمَا قَلَىٰ

Your Lord has not taken leave of you, nor has He detested [you].

وَلَلْآخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ لَّكَ مِنَ الْأُولَىٰ

And the Hereafter is better for you than the first [life].

وَلَسَوْفَ يُعْطِيكَ رَبُّكَ فَتَرْضَىٰ

And your Lord is going to give you, and you will be satisfied.

أَلَمْ يَجِدْكَ يَتِيمًا فَآوَىٰ

Did He not find you an orphan and give [you] refuge?

وَوَجَدَكَ ضَالًّا فَهَدَىٰ

And He found you lost and guided [you],

وَوَجَدَكَ عَائِلًا فَأَغْنَىٰ

And He found you poor and made [you] self-sufficient.

فَأَمَّا الْيَتِيمَ فَلَا تَقْهَرْ

So as for the orphan, do not oppress [him].

وَأَمَّا السَّائِلَ فَلَا تَنْهَرْ

And as for the petitioner, do not repel [him].

وَأَمَّا بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّكَ فَحَدِّثْ

But as for the favor of your Lord, report [it].

Surah Ad-Duha 93

This Surah has been running through my head all day… Alhamdulillah.

So much better than some pop song or something.

Continue reading “Surah Ad-Duhaa”