July 9, 2010
Book Review: What Do You Care What Other People Think?, Richard Feynman
Assalamu Alaikum,
I haven’t done a book review in some time, just because I actually have to think before doing these types of posts. LOL
Well, a book I read recently was written by a physicist nobel laureate, Richard Feynman. It is a collection of autobiographical short stories and when I first started reading them, I saw them as simply entertainment or just for leisure.
But the latter half of the novel is one long story in itself when Feynman worked on The Challenger investigation–it was an investigation on a failed space launch where Feynman and other commissioners had to investigate what went wrong in the space rocket that failed it from going into outer space.
As I always say about books, books are only as good as you make of them and then there are some books that are simply bad. I actually saw some themes stretch across the book and one that struck home with me is to not doubt one’s intellectual capacity, regardless if you are unconventional, you might be wrong at times, you might get embarrassed or if things seem hopeless at the time. Read the rest of this entry »
January 11, 2009
Book Review: Les Miserables, By Victor Hugo
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Assalamu Alaikum,
Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo
Les Miserables is definitely a French epic. The vast and deep types of characters, the flawed hero, Jean Valjean, the ultimate story of redemption and the high idealism in spite of cruel realism is what grabs my attention in this book. It is a book that has at least one element every reader can relate to. Some moments grip your attention and others make you empathetic with the characters (be it Jean Valjean, Fantine or Cosette). It is a book that has great characters (in some ways), great plot and profound meaning. Something I would recommend to be read in high schools. The following quote I absolutely love and I have written down:
To owe life to a malefactor . . . to be, in spite of himself, on a level with a fugitive from justice . . . to betray society in order to be true to his own conscience; that all these absurdities . . . should accumulate on himself—this is what prostrated him. Read the rest of this entry »
January 1, 2009
Commentary on The Analects, by Confucius
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Assalamu Alaikum,
(Technically someone wrote down what Confucius said and put it in The Analects, so technically it is not by him.) I recently received the book as a gift from a Hindu (get that?) and I found it rather interesting.
Couple of the sayings struck a chord that I wanted to share with you.
—
—Confucius said: The noble minded guard against three things: in youth, when ch’i and blood are unsettled, they guard against beautiful women; in their prime, when ch’i and the blood are unbending, they guard against belligerence; and in old age, when ch’i and blood are withering, they guard against avarice. —(Chapter XVI saying 188 )
*FYI–ch’i is considered a spiritual force the flows in the body and slightly correlates with one’s actions or the world around the person. When ch’i is at balance, so is the person and the world around them and so a person tries to achieve this. (Kind of like inner peace, but ch’i is also connected to a person’s life line.) [If anyone has a better description, please yell it on my blog.] Read the rest of this entry »
Some Hikams of Ibn Ata’allah
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Assalamu Alaikum!
Here are a list of some of the Hikams of Ibn Ata’allah that strike a chord with me. Some of them are repeats from my Sufi Quotes post (from his book–Ibn Ata’allah/Intimate Conversations):
- One of the signs of relying on one’s own deeds is the loss of hope when a downfall occurs.
- If, in spite of intense supplication, there is a delay in the time of the Gift, let that not be the cause for your despairing. For He has guaranteed you a response in what He chooses for you, not in what you choose for yourself, and at the time He desires, not the time you desire.
- Actions differ because the inspirations of the states of being differ. Read the rest of this entry »
December 31, 2008
Book Review: Candide, by Voltaire
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Assalamu Alaikum,
I had actually read Candide a while back and I found this draft on my blog so I redid it for you all.
Candide, by Voltaire
For friends of mine, I actually named a character in my book after Candide because I found the book struck me.
The first time you read it, you may get a laugh out of all the things Voltaire criticizes. (You MUST read this book with foot notes to understand half the humor. Get the Barnes and Noble copy.) But the second time I found it is very thought provoking. I think that is why I like satires–you can read them at least in two different ways and then some more. Read the rest of this entry »
Sufi Quotes!
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Assalamu Alaikum!
I have been reading my books and I found some of the most amazing Sufi poems/quotes/proverbs that I HAD to share. (I’ll add to the list as I continue reading.) I hope you enjoy them and get closer to Allah swt! (Oh some of the quotes are from the internet, but these quotes are meant for educational purposes as I can imagine the speakers would want us to learn from them.)
Open to me, so that I may open.
Provide me Your inspiration
So that I might see mine.
-–Rumi
I searched for God and found only myself. I searched for myself and found only God.
-–Sufi Proverb
There wouldn’t be such a thing as counterfeit gold if there were no real gold somewhere.
-–Sufi Proverb
If you make intense supplication
and the timing of the answer is delayed,
do not despair of it.
His reply to you is guaranteed;
but in the way He chooses,
not the way you choose,
and at the moment He desires,
not the moment you desire.
–Ibn Ata’llah (I need to do a seperate post for him) Read the rest of this entry »
December 29, 2008
Book Review: Emma, by Jane Austen
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Assalamu Alaikum,
I know it has been a long time since I have put up a book review, but I came across Emma the other day and I thought about doing a review on it.
Emma, by Jane Austen
Emma is a lighthearted book about a matchmaker, Emma Woodhouse and how she pairs up people for marriage that look like good couples, but then they start to run into crazy problems. Soon enough, Emma has to start thinking about her own martial situation… and I will leave it there. The book is a satire that makes fun of social nuances of the Victorian/Regency period and also some of human nature. Emma is perhaps one of the ‘lighter’ books in Austen’s series, both in tone and characters. Emma Woodhouse is a bit of a spoiled but somewhat lovable faulted heroine. Read the rest of this entry »
December 18, 2008
Tao Te Ching Wisdom 33
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Assalamu Alaikum,
I have been reading different books and one I have decided to reread (for the fourth time) is Tao Te Ching, by Lao Tzu. It is the primary scripture for followers of Taoism. I find it very interesting compared to the Old and New Testament. I read one chapter that I loved and wanted to share. (I am looking for a better translation) I think there are many Islamic elements in it:
Wisdom 33
Knowing others is wisdom.
Knowing oneself is enlightenment. Read the rest of this entry »
October 11, 2008
An Older Secret Friend
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Assalamu Alaikum,
I have a mini poem (that was never completed) for an older secret friend. If I told you who she was, Sarah might go crazy. (No, it is not you, Sarah–you are not a SECRET friend….)
We never said hello or good bye. Read the rest of this entry »
October 4, 2008
Where is the Love [?] by Black Eyed Peas
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Assalamu Alaikum,
I will insha Allah, DEFINITELY explicate this later. But it is pretty straight forward. It really is a message for the world:
Where is the love?
