My interpretation would not do justice to McPendo - post 117. But I will try humbly - since that post was really deep.
Batin - is one's inner self. A person who does not look deep within oneself knows very little about his batin - the only thing he knows is to eat when hungry, shout when angry etc. But once you start looking within yourself (this can take different paths - some may do this through Allah, some through Ram, some through just spirituality and meditation), you may find more about yourself, where you belong in this universe, your role, and your purpose.
Zahir is your outer self - just physical characteristics. We tend to put too much emphasis on this - at the expense of getting in touch with our batin. The Gita I think also preaches something similar - dont be too enamored with outer beauty - be beautiful on the inside.
If I were to capture the post in 2 words - know thyself.
My sincere apologies to McPendo if I am off base.
But , but , but the only way you can see into yourself is via an X -Ray , ultrasound, CAT scan etc. And that is not a pretty picture. You are better off looking at batin.
But , but , but the only way you can see into yourself is via an X -Ray , ultrasound, CAT scan etc. And that is not a pretty picture. You are better off looking at batin.
Mirch, you're right please don't look inside your batin its probably woodstock going on in there. Not a pretty picture indeed.
When you find a significant other, do you perform Nikah (civil marriage)?
When you lose a love one, do you go through Muslim funeral protocols (ghusl, kafan, namaz--e-janaza, burial in Muslim graveyard)?
Do you eat pork or avoid it to your best ability?
I think most of the Desi atheist would say yes to the above (if they chose to answer honestly). My point is, all Desi atheist are Muslims trapped in atheist bodies ..
**becharay nunnay munnay masoom loug, fuzool main struggle kerte hain to act atheist ..
**yes i said ACT.
I'm going to ahead and ignore your condecending tone about dead loved ones (which makes you beneathe most human beings), as I can answer your questions.
Question 2: My wife and I buried our daughter, who was 2 months old, around the time you posted this. Neither of us practice any form of religion nor do we hide it. I don't have any family, but she does. Her family is shia, so we held a shia burial event for her family's sake. There are no islamic inscriptions of any sort on her grave. I had no objection to any of it and she was already gone. I just wanted to be done with.
Question 3: As far as eating pork, well... I don't eat pork for the same reason as an average american doesn't eat a fetus (which is a delicacy in some parts of japan). I just wasn't raised with it, so I have no want for it.
Question 1: We had a nikkah for several reasons. Muslim countries are very shallow in the sense that, if we decided to move to pakistan or say malaysia/indonesia/uae...we will have degraded rights as a kaafir couple. So after consulting with a muslim lawyer friend of mine, we decided to have an official nikkah as well.
When you find a significant other, do you perform Nikah (civil marriage)?
When you lose a love one, do you go through Muslim funeral protocols (ghusl, kafan, namaz--e-janaza, burial in Muslim graveyard)?
Do you eat pork or avoid it to your best ability?
I think most of the Desi atheist would say yes to the above (if they chose to answer honestly). My point is, all Desi atheist are Muslims trapped in atheist bodies ..
**becharay nunnay munnay masoom loug, fuzool main struggle kerte hain to act atheist ..
**yes i said ACT.
I'm going to ahead and ignore your condescending tone about dead loved ones (which makes you beneathe most human beings), as I can answer your questions.
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Sorry to hear about your loss but that does not give you permit to insult me. Learn to control your tone please
I'm going to ahead and ignore your condecending tone about dead loved ones (which makes you beneathe most human beings), as I can answer your questions.
Question 2: My wife and I buried our daughter, who was 2 months old, around the time you posted this. Neither of us practice any form of religion nor do we hide it. I don't have any family, but she does. Her family is shia, so we held a shia burial event for her family's sake. There are no islamic inscriptions of any sort on her grave. I had no objection to any of it and she was already gone. I just wanted to be done with.
Question 3: As far as eating pork, well... I don't eat pork for the same reason as an average american doesn't eat a fetus (which is a delicacy in some parts of japan). I just wasn't raised with it, so I have no want for it.
Question 1: We had a nikkah for several reasons. Muslim countries are very shallow in the sense that, if we decided to move to pakistan or say malaysia/indonesia/uae...we will have degraded rights as a kaafir couple. So after consulting with a muslim lawyer friend of mine, we decided to have an official nikkah as well.
Dr. LuLworth,
Truly sorry for your loss. I cannot imagine the grief your wife and you are going through.
Question 2: My wife and I buried our daughter, who was 2 months old, around the time you posted this. Neither of us practice any form of religion nor do we hide it. I don't have any family, but she does. Her family is shia, so we held a shia burial event for her family's sake. There are no islamic inscriptions of any sort on her grave. I had no objection to any of it and she was already gone. I just wanted to be done with.
I'm so very sorry. :(
May Allah swt bless her soul!
I was an atheist, once, for a brief time. And thanks Allah, I didnt had my Nikah nor i lost any love ones during that period. And i never ate pork to begin with.
It was that curious teenage brain, that read a lot of astronomy books (brief history of time, chariot of gods etc) and got confused. For me, atheists are confused bunch, just like the one i was.
I don't really understand these questions. What's so hard to understand about the atheist perspective? It's a belief in relationships and outcomes you can control and influence, an understanding based on what you can observe and study, an unwillingness to live and die for something you don't know to be true. So many of my friends and professors in college were atheist or agnostic, but I wasn't. But I respected their perspective, and I didn't see their lives to be without meaning or purpose.
I think it is much harder to understand why people have faith, other than fear of the unknown (and contrary to what others have said, people don't just believe in God just because they fear the Hellfire).