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WHAT?!  ISLAMOPHOBIA in CANADA?

12/29/2022

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In this blog post I intend to explain why there has been no activity in Lucent Eloquence for sometime now, and the challenges I am personally facing.

​It all started on 21 November, 2022 and continues till now, unfortunately. I have had excellent relations with by neighbour/landlord Samuel Adewuyi and his family, having known them since July this year.

So to cut the story short, after launching my non-profit social enterprise, Lucid Eloquence (www.lucid-eloquence.com) on 9 November, 2022, it seems someone broke into my house (or entered it without my awareness) on 20 November, 2022. When I woke up, I noticed several changes.

1. The wall clock was on floor with some damage, with some damage
​2. My laptop screen was dysfunctional after visible physical damage from the top exterior
​3. The fan which was near my bed and running at night was broken
​4. There was spyware installed on my smartphone and laptop by which many people I know and do not know were able to see and interact with me while I do my work.
Later, when I tried to uninstall the spyware from my iPhone, it was degraded in functionality so I could just use email or the apps without the privileges of browsing anything. Also this failed attempt, led them to remotely shutdown my old laptop, so that I was not able to start it and use it. It is still dysfunctional. I had to purchase new devices, which they also hacked immediately. Later on, I also noticed that my phone charging adapter was smashed and made dysfunctional. I do not remember taking such actions myself. 
 and The treatment experience is a gross violation of the Alberta Human Rights legislation, in particular it is a clear violation based on discriminnation of 3 PROTECTED AREAS mentionned in the law, viz.
  • Goods, services, accommodation, or facilities 
  • Tenancy 
  • Statements, publications, notices
The particular discrimination I face is based on THE PROTECTED GROUNDS mentionned in Alberta Human Rights legistration, of religious beliefs (at a minimum), in my case Islam.

Unfortunately, I was harassed and intimidated through systematic but unsuccessful attempts to mentally (psychologically) break me down. This was unsuccessfully attempted in four principal tactics after a unlawful unpermitted entry into my accommodation unit the extra key of which is with my landlord: 

1. My devices were hacked, monitored, controlled, and its online sessions were transmitted globally, breaching my right of privacy as a law abiding peace loving Canadian citizen.
 

2. My residence is being monitored somehow (I believe by hidden cameras/very sensitive audio devices that work 24/7 in a light or dark environment in every place in my residence, including the restroom (unfortunately). The live data from these is steamed globally (I strongly believe) 

3. Digital noises are being projected into my residence which vary in tempo, volume, and type based on my activity. So for example, if I stand up to pray my 5+ daily Muslim prayers or recite my holy book, do something “undesirable'' on my devices or study my naturopathy books to improve my health, in the privacy of my residence, they change in volume, tempo, and type. 

4. Similarly, the temperature of my residence is being controlled as it fluctuates in an extreme manner when I do something that might be “undesirable'' (I strongly believe), from very hot to very cold (mostly very cold). So as I write this statement it has turned to very cold, which is a little unpleasant in the middle of Calgary winters. This is also based on my actions as in point 3 above.

On November 9, 2022, I relaunched my company as a non-profit social enterprise, Lucid Eloquence www.lucid-eloquence.com. Soon after my residence was entered unlawfully (without my permission) while I was sleeping. Since then, all of the points 1-4 mentioned above were carried out and are ongoing. 

I am an intellectual who God gave some ability to express my views so that I can convince a variety of audiences of their veracity as I communicate in a way that people can easily relate to. Some of the blog posts I had written for Lucid Eloquence www.lucid-eloquence.com/blog very systematically and rationality explained how Islamic natural principles can solve a lot of our global issues as well as being a good basis of personal development as opposed to the principles of other faiths, such as Christianity whose dogma makes it difficult to reconcile its teachings with rational/natural principles easily as it appeals more to emotions and feeling good rather than reason and natural principles like Islam, in my personal humble opinion. I expressed my perspective with good faith from the purity of my heart.

I agree that it might have hurt people’s feelings and I should have expressed my views in a better manner, being  more sensitive. Nonetheless, I believe in everything I wrote. This might have caused a repercussion like that described previously, based on religious discrimination (Islamophobia). I apologize to all those hurt by my words, as my intention was not to do so. I am learning to improve everyday, according to Lucid Eloquence’s mission.
 

The motive might be to stop me from my social enterprise work, using the stigma of mental health that my extended family has attached to me falsely for 20 years. By unsuccessfully attempting to psychologically break me down through the 4 tactics mentioned in the previously, perhaps because they do not like my beliefs and practices as a Muslim. It seems to me that they wish to break me down to accept their faith, viz. Christianity, whose fundamental principles seem very irrational to me to accept as a personal faith. There might be a possibility that my extended family and the Calgary Police are cooperating with them or tolerating it, based on the events describe here to achieve this end. This is a conservative conjecture on my part at this point.
 

When I immigrated to Canada in 2013, I was motivated by the fact that Canada treats all humanity well, despite any differences, including that of faith. I believe this is still true in principle, but perhaps to improve as Canadians, we all need to practice our values to their full potential.

I am inclined to believe my neighbor/landlord, Samuel and his family, might be involved, as I hear them act in a panic and converse in loud conversations (which are recorded) when I try to achieve a breakout from this situation and what occurred when Samual visited me on 8 December, 2022 (as documented later in this blog). Also, I believe there are at least thousands of digital witnesses both in Canada and globally, as the live streams of my online activities and daily physical activities in the privacy of my own residence are illegally being transmitted 24/7 all over the world (I strongly believe this is the case from interaction with both acquaintances and strangers). 

On 8 December, 2022, my neighbor/landlord paid me a visit to take the Christmas tree and Christmas gifts from the furnace room in my residence which he keeps locked. While taking his belongings, he casually invited me to spend Christmas with his family. I know his family well and used to visit them weekly, interacting with them always in a friendly neighborly manner, and playing with their kids. But as for celebrating Christmas (birth of a “god”), it is against my reason and Islamic beliefs to do so. So I explained this to him and politely declined, after which he turned off the furnace and locked the furnace room. Note at that time I was alone and not able to leave the residence as neither my devices nor car was not in working order (which is still the case). While he was exiting my rented residence, I complained to him about points 1-4 above to which he expressed complete lack of any knowledge of. It is interesting to note that he brought up point 3 by himself, without me mentioning anything about it, indicating to me that he already knew about it.

Anyway he clearly denied everything, and mentioned that if I have any issues the housing committee members can arbitrate and that undesirable people are not welcome in the community (my words – as I do not remember the exact words he used). I gave him a gift as a token of good neighborliness and he left. I then called AMA to jump start my car in the privacy of my residence, after which he immediately returned and said he forgot to turn the furnace on and that he usually turns the furnace off when he changes the furnace filter, but I distinctly remember that he never changed the filter on that occasion. 


Among the actions related to the control of my devices, the list is extensive and includes such things as: 

1. Forcibly shutting down devices and bringing them on when they wish. 

2. Degrading functionality. 

3. Transmitting my personally online sessions globally 

4. Forcibly making me accept website cookies to new websites I visit, but placing a non removable dialog box covering most of the screen asking me to accept that website’s cookies so that I have no choice but to do so. Kindly note it is through website cookies that a lot of hacking is done. 

5. Using my password from a website to change them so every time relogin it does not work, shutting me from many websites. When I request the passcode by choosing “forgot password” option to these sites, they are not accepted.

6. Forcing my navigation to other sites that I do not wish to go to. 

7. Placing videos of Muslims converting to Christianity, as the first choice in my YouTube session. 

8. Making the bottom banner (which usually states the company information) enlarged so that it covers most of the window so that I am blocked from doing anything in that session at that webpage. 

9. Logging me out abruptly from sessions when they do not like what I do so that the next time I come, I have to start from scratch. 

10. Deleting my profile from websites I work on repeatedly. 

11. Deleting contact mechanism to Customer Support on the website I wish to report problems to. 

12. Blocking me to apply for good jobs which are of my interest on LinkedIn. I have made a formal complaint of this specific issue to the Alberta Hate Crime Committee recently but have not heard from them yet. Perhaps it is too soon to, as this is the holiday season. 

13. Removing specific functionality or options from websites that I wish to use, like the “Guest” option on Chrome and many such options on other websites. 

14. Not letting me install new software on my laptop by redirecting me to a different dialog box when I try to do so. 

15. Distract my workflow by bringing other options in front of my session which I am trying to focus on. 

16. Blocking calls I wish to make on my smartphones. 
There are many such actions of control that they practice, and every time they want to block a new functionality, I hear loud footsteps from upstairs, sometimes loud panic conversations, etc. This is recorded as evidence.

17. I got a VPN subscrtiption to hide my IP from hackers but the next day I found it disabled.

18. Emails are deleted from my email accounts as they know my passwords and my access is controlled based on where they wish to lead me.

Here is the timeline of events with the evidence:
  • 27/07/2022  --I visited my larndlord for a first time for viewing for the purpose of renting after deposit + first month’s rent to the landlady, Joy, Samuel’s wife to secure the unit starting 1 August, 2022.           
  • EVIDENCE: e-tranfer receipt 
  • 01/08/2022 -- I rented my current residence, after I was discharged from Peter Lougheed Hospital, Calgary. after my first arrest on false charges by my ex-wife, Samar Hamid.                                                   
  • EVIDENCE: rental lease
  • 9/11/2022 -- I relaunched of my non-profit social enterprise, Lucid Eloquence, https://www.lucid-eloquence, which focussed my own self development, while improving the community, environment, and global situation on natural principles of peace, balance, and harmony that are intrinsic to Islam.             
  • EVIDENCE: www.lucid-eloquence.com/blog/relaunch
  • The night of 20/11/2022 or the early morning of 21/11/2022 -- My rented residence was entered into without my knowledgevor permission, after which, issues related to Islamophobia started. My landlord has the keys to my accommodation unit and I do not put the bolt before sleeping as I am a trusting person.    
  • EVIDENCE: physical evidence in the form of the damaged wall clock on the floor, pedestal fan broken, spyware on my devices, my old laptop screen was smashed externally to become dysfunctional, my phone charging adapter plug was smashed to become dysfunctioal Photos + Recordings
  • 26/11/2022 -- First contact with Calgary Police in the late afternoon, when I complained about my family 
    putting spyware on my devices and still trying to “control” me.                                         
  • E|V|IDE|NCE: Complaint filed online. 
  • 08/12/2022 --- My neighbor/landlord visited me in the afternoon to access the furnace room (the incidence is described earlier in this blog post). 
  • Night of 12/11/2022 -- I called 911 (Calgary Police), the second time since the harassment started but they were reluctant to visit me. I am told an office came to my residence at 8 AM the next day, when I was asleep from exhaustion, as I stayed up the night for the police to arrive and went to sleep after dawn.       
  • EVIDENCE: Video recording of the interview with Calgary Police. 
  • Night of 12/12/2022 -- My arrest by Constable Choi from Calgary Police on the incorrect application of the Mental Health Act, as requested by my ex-wife who is influential with the Calgary Police, as I believe she witnessed the scenes from the night before through bugging devices in my residence, as we are not in contact much since I relaunched Lucid Eloquence.                                                                               
  • EVIDENCE: Records in Calgary Police and Rockyview Hospital where I was taken for physical/mental examination which were all negative and I was discharged after spending the night there.
  • 12/12/2022  -- Residence was entered into without my knowledge or my permission when I spent the night at Rockyview Hospital after the second arrest.                                                                                      
  • EVIDENCE: CAD 1 coin (a loonies) was place nicely exactly in the center of my washroom floor, perhaps to test whether my arrest made me materialistic in outlook? Note: I do not keep coins in my pockets or 
    residence, I keep them only in my car for grocery cart and laundromat use ONLY. 
  • 24/12/2022 --  Fourth contact with Calgary Police when Constable Blazier (spelling might be incorrect) (Reg# 5939) and Contable Robertson (Reg# 4737) visited me to advise me to report my complaint formally in writing.                                                                                                                                                   
  • EVIDENCE: My statement with Constable Roberton (Reg# 4737) of Calgary Police, as well as the video interview (file# CA 22524574) documents this well.

I believe that most problems like these can be easily resolved if there is mutual willingness and good will. I love my neighbor and his family and always interact positively with them because my religion teaches this. I am a forgiving person and ready to forgive them and whoever is involved completely as Canadians and brothers in humanity, if they change themselves for the better as this episode has made me a better person too. I do not wish to prosecute anyone nor do I wish any compensation. Forgiveness is a principal teaching of Prophet Muhammad (SWAS) who is my role model. 

At this point, for the first time since I started using credit cards in 1990, I have a balance which I did not paid off immediately. It is charging me interest which is not allowed in my religion. It is very painful to me and this is because I could not earn an income due to these circumstances. I have never taken bank interest even in my personal accounts since 1992. So I request authorities to request the financial institution to forgive this balance because I do not have income as all my energy and time is exerted to struggle against this situation. Also, I request leniency with respect to paying the rent for the few months of 2023 on time, as I plan on earning and covering all my expenses, God willing. I have never taken a loan, and neither do I intend to as most loans are interest bearing and not allowed based on my faith. 

I just want a commitment for whoever is involved and all Canadians at large to renew their pledge for the Canadian values of tolerance, good neighborliness, fair play, diversity, etc. for which Canada is known throughout the world. 

I want to personally hug all those who did this to me and forgive them from the bottom of my heart, if they pledge to uphold Canadian values.

I have been in touch with the Calgary Police for at least 5 times since the first unpermitted entry. 

● On 26 November, 2022, after my smartphone was forcibly remotely turned off at a key juncture in my workflow when I was able to achieve a breakthrough, I contacted 911 (Calgary Police) for the first time after the unlawful entry. Two contables came and I explained my issue to them. The conversation was video recorded and available at the Calgary Police Department. I was under the impression that my extended family were involved at that time because my mother had contacted me to stop trying to remove the spyware, when I initially tried to do so. The constables suggested that I take out a restraining order against my extended family but I did not want to do that so I made a formal online cyber security complaint on an Alberta government website. 

● On the night of 11 December, 2022, when the harassment became excessive, I called 911, and talked to a lady who was very cooperative and understanding and told me that the police will visit shortly and if they do not, I should call 911 back. So till dawn when the police did not arrive, I contacted them to be told that they are busy in other areas and the person did not know when they would visit me. This was very surprising to me, because I have called the police at least a dozen times in 2022 (due to marital issues with my ex-wife when we were living at 76 Panatella Drive NW, Calgary). Each time they never delayed in coming, and never took so long. So after dawn prayers I went to sleep as I had not slept the whole night. Apparently a police representative appeared at my residence at 8 AM but I was not able to talk to them because I was asleep. I was informed of this visit by the police in a later conversation.

● On 12 December, 2022, my ex-wife called the police to arrest me on the Mental Health Act for “not taking my medicines”, which was a false excuse. I have not lived with my ex-wife since August 2022, when I divorced her and have stopped communication since she was continuously trying to “control”/”manipulate” me, including in this episode. It seems that she is monitoring me daily from audio/video feeds of the devices in my residence. This is confirmed by her phone call when I was chatting online with some woman for marriage and she and my elder son sensed a danger and tried to communicate with me through a phone call and text message respectively. We are not in touch otherwise. 

She requested the Calgary Police to arrest me, as I was informed by Calgary Police and Rockyview hospital staff. Constable Choi took me to Rockyview Hospital, Calgary at night. They did all sorts of physical/mental tests (which were negative) as well as keen behavioral observation overnight. In the morning they discharged me, not considering necessary admitting me. Kindly note that this is the second arrest that my ex-wife arranged for me on the same false grounds. On the first occasion, they gave me an option to leave on the first day but I wanted to know exactly what is wrong with me because my extended family and my wife have been giving me psychotropic medicines for 20 years. After all physical/mental tests (which were negative) and observation for 3 weeks they privately advised me to divorce my wife and live away from them as they have been abusing me. So that is what I did and I moved in at 77 Harvest Grove Common NE residence in August 2022, living peacefully by myself there since, not disturbing any community member. 

● On 24 December, 2022, while working on my replaced laptop, as the first one was remotely disabled, I witnessed the second too remotely disabled. Hence grudgingly I called 911. Constable Blazier (spelling might be incorrect) (Reg# 5939) and Constable Robertson (Reg# 4737) visited and our conversation is recorded in video (File# CA 22524574). They eventually believed me, while at first they were pursuing the line of investigation based on mental health which my ex-wife and perhaps Islamophobia perpetrators are pushing with Calgary Police. I believe this is why the police did not turn up in bullet point 2 in this section. Even though they understood/believed, they were reluctant to carry out an investigation. They left many resources to contact in case of emergency. On Boxing Day, I emailed complete handwritten reports (as my laptop was forcibly shut off at that time) on Islamophobia & marital issues, explaining them in detail. I seek a peaceful understanding with everyone, God willing.

● On 29 December, 2022, after I sent my report with dates, evnt timelines, and a list of evidence  as a complaint to the Albert Human RIghts Commision. the harrassment reached a fever pitch, so I contacted the non-emergency line of the police again. After providing them the fie#, I was advised to contact  Constable Blazier (spelling might be incorrect) (Reg# 5939) by email as he is incharege of closing the case, so wrote to him the situation and attached the report ot the Alberta Human Rights Commision, as well as detailed handwritted reports (because my laptop was again shutdown remotely forcibily at that time). All these there items were also emailed to Constable Robertson on 26 December, 2022, but I did not even get an acknowledgement from me even though I sent him a follow up email to request to acknowledge the receipt of the reports. I found it very stange that Constable Robertson seemed more experienced/mature/understanding of my perspective of the two (at least to me) and he had requested me to write the reports amd given me his email and Constable Blazer did not but when I contacted Constable Robertson with very detailed reports explaing my situation I did not get any acknowledgement despite the fact that I specifically asked for it in a follow up email, but now Constable Blazier is made in charge of closing the case, and I was supposed to send him the reports even through he did not share his email address on 24 December 2022 when they visited me but Constable Robertson did who is now out of the picture.

PS: I just want to state that I am a well educated professional tax paying citizen who has worked in top organizations in the world, including in Canada, but unfortunately the stigma of mental disability has been falsely attached to me through which many people try to control and abuse me. My professional profile is available here: linkedIn.com/in/oakgis 
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Are We Cyborgs?

12/26/2022

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​As the développent of digitalisation gathers pace over the last 20 years, it seems preeminent that emerging technologies of our era might replace all the skills and analytical abilities we developed since the Industrial Revolution in Europe in the !7th-18th century. We are at the cusp of a new revolution in our global societies in which technologies such as AI, ML, IoT, Big Data, OLAP, Data Mining, Data Analytics, Data Warehousing, Digital Twins, etc, will collectively succeed in replacing the fruits of analytical and cognitive skills that we dorked diligently to develop since the Industrial Revolution.

With such a change almost certain and eminent, what are we, as global humanity have prepared to face such challenges? Will machines control us in an Orwellian world? Or will be become Human-Machine hybrid cyborgs?  These are interesting questions which lead us to consider the essential question, “What fundamentally differentiates us from the products of these technologies are our own creation?” If they can do anything that we can do, what is the essential meaning of being a HUMAN?

We are entering an interesting era, in which in order for humanity to survive and even thrive, we have to return to our basic human nature which was lost through the same Industrial Revolution which made us machine-like. We as humans, are not created to write the perfect code, or to design the best building bluprint, or even diagnose a patient perfectly. Yes, these skills and abilities are vital, but soon they may be carried out better and more efficiently by machines. What will our niche be as controllers of these machines? 

Personally, I am convinced that our niche wil be that what the machines cannot do and perhaps will never be able to do. I ask you sincerely, can a machine really be "spiritual", in the sense that it is regularly inspired by the Divine throughout the day with creative ephipanies? When we begin to consider such questions, we can come to those areas which will be our niche in the future, God willing. These are the most important things that makes mankind, human. To search for such answers, we need to leap from the physical enviromennt of our senses to the metaphysical environment of our inspiration. This can only be done if a "belief" system is natural and rational, as marrying science and technolgy with feelings and emotions that do not make any sense will get us nowhere in terms of trying to answer such critical questions. 

At this junction of global human development, we are forced by advances in emerging technolgies as well as many pressing challenges to seriously recondier the traditonal role of "religion" since the era of Enligntenment in Europe in which great philospohers degraded the role of tradition religion that was illogical, retarded though, and not aligned with scientific advanement. We are forced to reconsider true religion as not the illogical "feel good thing", but the natural and rational way of living which science and technolgy has always been aligned with because just like science functions on natural principle, so do human societies that live a natrual lifestyle. This was amply proven as well as scientific advancement during the "Dark Ages of Euroope" i.e. the Golden Age of Islam based on a rational and natural religion, gave birth to modern science.

So the way to survive now is to "evole" to the natural state that was always meant for us, by always improving ourselves daily based on natural human principles. Part of that improvement is spiritual improvement in which we work diliegently on our heart and discard negative thoughts, and behaviour. We have no choice but to strive to be the best version that we were made to be. And in this endeavour we realize the pinnacle of what it means to be truly human in every sense of the word. It will be our good manners, how emotionally intelligent we become, how pure our thoughts are, how close we are to the Divine, how we sinccerely we live our lives, what positive legacy we want to leave that will make us survie and even thrive in the new era we now enter.

The same "solution" is the real key to most of our very pressig global challenges, including global disparity, crime, delinquincy, intolerance, mental illnesss, sustainabilty, environmental protection, human development, ethical ecconmoic models, good governance, responsible scientific advancement, etc.

Are we interested? 

Are we ready?

PS: Courtesy for the inspiration for this blog post is from a TED Talk by Prof. Dr. Dirk Messner, President of the German Environment Agency (UBA), is a renowned expert in the fields of globalization, sustainability, decarbonization and digitalization. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpFgNZSwm-A)
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The Concept of Happiness in Islam

12/3/2022

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IMAX movies, cable TV, 24-hours news channels, music, amusement parks, spectator sports, computer games, shopping sprees, vacation trips, dating, all night parties, and recreational drugs. The list of entertainment options these days are endless it seems. Our non-working, waking hours are consumed by such activities. 

It seems that we are craving for an elusive inner pleasure which these activities provide only temporarily. The repeated cravings for them become deeper and deeper until they often results in additions, compulsive disorders, living beyond one's means and crime. No wonder the rich among us are busy amusing themselves to death while the poor are envious of their glittery lifestyles and resort to any means to follow them. 

Living a life devoted to Allah (God) not only fulfills the obligation we have as believers, but doing so gives us the sweetness of faith, which satisfies the inner cravings of the soul. So that we may not have the need of endless entertainment and many such activities may even become repulsive to us. A person who experiences this satisfaction is a true ascetic (zahid). His life is blessed and he can feel true happiness without the need for cheap thrills. 

Algazel (Al Ghazzali) gives the analogy of a riding animal when describing the body. He says that the soul is the rider, riding on the riding animal (his body) heading for a final destination (The Hereafter). According to him, a person should take care of the body, its needs and pleasures, just as much is needed for its purpose of taking the rider to the destination safely.

The Life of the Prophet (SWAS) is punctuated with moments when he (SWAS) and his Companions (RA) amused themselves. This sort of permissible fun is necessary for the physical senses so that we can relax and become capable of taking greater burdens of responsibility during the journey of life. 

It is also beneficial in keeping cordial relations and attracting people to the Truth. The Prophet (SWAS), his companions and his family watched the performance of Abyssinian entertainers inside the mosque. The Prophet (SWAS) used to make jokes (not based on false statements).  He used to have light moments with his family members, running races with his wife. He used to interact with children, inquiring about their games. 

Yet despite all this, he did not have the urge to keep himself amused like we do nowadays. Regarding his personal pleasures, he is reported to have said: “Made beloved to me from your world are women and perfume, and the coolness of my eyes is in prayer.” (Ahmad and An-Nasa ‘i)

Thus, a person who understands the meaning of life and has the capability of unraveling spiritual mysteries, will have an inner eye to see dimensions of reality which are not apparently visible. Their soul will long for increasing this insight. They will find inner pleasure in pursuing a path of discovery.

They will enjoy the process of piecing together a large jigsaw puzzle of the most beautiful landscape. As they near completion their excitement and anticipation grows. Until they finally put the last piece. For a believer the last pieces will be put together in 
Paradise when they will have the Ultimate Pleasure from seeing the “Face” of Allah (God). 

It is that pleasure which we can all try to strive for and only in its pursuance will we find burst of real joy in our mundane earthly lives. Don’t we enjoy the feeling when we give charity, read a good book, recite Quran, understand a difficult concept, see Allah (God)‘s wisdom in your life, travel, experience and contemplate on Creation, act justly, fulfill obligations, and fall in prostration? 

All these actions in our worldly lives are acts of worship and obedience to Allah (God) that make us naturally happy and satisfied intrinsically. They are a foretaste of the Ultimate Pleasure awaiting us in the Hereafter. As we grow in obedience we develop insights about the reality we are part of, we create a perpetual cycle of obedience and satisfaction.

By doing such acts regularly and systematically as the Prophet (SWAS) did, we can hope to find the most optimum pattern for happiness which can be achieved. Doing so entails implementing the Prophetic best practice in our lives. A life patterned on such pleasures will have no desire for other forms of entertainment. It will free us from sins, wasting resources, destroying our souls, selfishness, adopting bad habits, setting bad examples for others, degrading oneself, living a life of borrowed living, addictions, and compulsive disorders. It will heal the wounds of material disparity in our societies.

Realize, my friends, that the human soul has been created for its destiny to experience the Ultimate Pleasures of Paradise. It is in our nature to try and fulfill this desire somehow. Most people try to fulfill it by ephemeral means which leave them thirsty with a never quenching thirst for more. These means are harmful for our bodies, souls and societies. 

The real means of achieving happiness is to prepare for the ultimate happiness of the Hereafter. In living a life devoted to Allah (God) in the systematic way we learn from our Prophet (SWAS) we will find deep pleasures which come with understanding reality of our journeys.

This understanding and pleasure is elusive to those who fail to submit themselves. A person who is hooked on to these pleasures will be satisfied from the simple blessings of this life and has no perpetual need for any abominable amusements.

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“Love Thy Neighbour”— A Universal Human “Design Pattern”

12/1/2022

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Whether we happen to be a Jew, Hindu, Christian, or Muslim a very common strong belief that is universal among us is “Love Thy Neighbour”. It signifies that there was one common primordial natural way of life for humanity and principles such as these are its remnants found in all major religions today.
 
In Judaism, the Torah commands, “Love your neighbor as yourself – I am God.” (Leviticus 19:18). The Hindu writings instruct, “This is the sum of duty; do naught onto others what you would not have them do unto you.” (Mahabharata 5,1517). Christian scripture speaks often about love of neighbor. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12, 30-31)
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Muslims learn from the Qur’an, “Serve Allah, and join not any partners with Him; and do good- to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, those in need, neighbors who are near, neighbors who are strangers, the companion by your side, the wayfarer (ye meet)…(Qur’an 4:36).
 
In today’s global village connected through the internet, perhaps every human is a “neighbour” to the other. Applying this maxim, our humanity compels us to love the person with a skin colour that may be different from ours; the person whose political beliefs may not agree with ours; the homeless person sleeping on the sidewalk; the newcomer who migrated having hope in the basic “goodness” in all humanity; the thousands around the world suffering from the effects of war and famine. By loving others, we desire what is best for them and allow them to flourish.
 
Typically, when we search for a place to call home, we look at the intrinsic qualities of the property and the amenities that come with it. So if we find a nice place with parking, swimming pool and gym one often considers this sufficient. To a believer, this is not so. There is an Arabic proverb - Al Jaar Qabl Ad Daar- which literally means “the neighbor before the home” — meaning  that we should consider the character of the neighbor before the suitability of the actual home.
 
We can try to ensure that the financial transaction that we make to have access to our new residence is legally earned and wholesome. Before we start living in the newplace we can remove Satanic influences from it by reciting specific sections from the Scriptures. While it is also from the tradition to have a house warming feast.​

In humanity, the rights of our neighbors  are many upon us, regardless how different they appear from us. According to natural living:

1. We must help them if they ask for our help
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2. Give him relief if they seek out relief

3. Lend him if they need a

4. Do not block their air by raising our building high without their permission

5. Do not harass them

6. Visit (and take care of) them when they are ill

7. We attend their funeral when they die

8. If they commit a sin, we prevent it from being known

9. We congratulate them if they are met with good fortune

10. We grieve in sympathy if a calamity befalls them
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The actual place is important. It should have plenty of sunshine and satisfy various other criteria, but the choice of neighbors should be the foremost in our choice of residence.

Al Jaar Qabl Ad Daar!
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    Ozair Khan

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