Genuine Enemy

Genuine enemy
Happy you when the enemy is genuine
Nothing you do matter
The laughter is frown upon
The smiles disdainful and disgusting
The kindness and show of love
Result in the opposite outcome
Love! Loving! doesn’t matter
That is what the genuine enemy sees
Why be good when it is not noticed?
Why speak if the result is anger and violence?
Genuine enemies!!
Without them, emptiness prevails
Your smiles are a deception
Talk less of the spoken words!
They incite hate
Hate
Why be close to the genuine enemy?
With all the suspicions and unprovoked hating
Better have a genuine enemy than a deceptive friend
You always know their stand points
The worst genuine enemy is the one with political will
He uses hate wrongly
The public space is high-jacked
But other genuine enemies
Can be handled
Asabiyah wakabaliya
May the lord protect us all.

a comment by Jalang dembo on Islamic finance

Demba Jalang said...
Thank you Brother Suntu for an illuminating insight into Islamic Finance.One important thing that help insulate many Islamic Finance Institutions from the current financial crisis is the way debt is treated in Conventional (some may call it Western) Finance. Debt instruments are packaged in various fancy ways and traded in the market in Conventional Finance. To secure the "supposed" underlying value of such fictitious assets, holders resort to buying insurance and thus sell those policies in the market again. In short, these instruments do not have any asset of real value or fundamental backup. At a point the market basically strive on a bubble and burst situation. More crudely, greed mainly drives the market. From the Islamic Finance point of view, trading in debt/debt instruments is forbidden. Any dealing in liquid assets have to be backed by real assets driving the fundamentals on economic activity. There is no shortcut and no one get short-charged.Another basic difference between Islamic Finance and Conventional Finance in all spheres of operation (be it banking, insurance, etc.) is the role the institution play in carrying its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Yes, in a Conventional Finance sense, the Institution call build hospitals, roads and provide other charitable services, but in Islamic Finance, CSR is not only about that. An Islamic Finance Institution take care of their owners' and customers' interest as a guidance consul. For instance, in an insurance operation, there are both shareholders' funds and policyholders' funds. At the end of a review period, say Financial year for the company, after meeting claims, administrative expenses, reserves etc, both parties (shareholders and policyholders are entitle to any surplus funds and may be shared or retained in the company according to reset rules and guidelines. The is missing in a Conventional Insurance setup.A close study of the setup under the two models in finance (Islamic and Conventional) will show that there are clear differences between these institutional, not by only nomenclature.
25 October 2008 22:38

Prophetic statements on economic principles

I will labor to transmit a the statement of the noble Prophet of Islam with regards to economics and justice financial dealings.

1. it is difficult to deny the alignment of Muslim economic thought with free market economies. This is what Prophet Muhammad had to say about free market forces. "prices are fixed by God. He alone contracts and expands the means of livelihood, and I wish to meet my Sustainer having no claims of injustice being made against me in respect of blood and wealth".
1400 year ago, prophet Muhammad made it clear people shouldn't try to fixed prices and interfere in the market forces. God made it easier for people to afford commodities. Manipulating or hoarding good just to force price increase is sinful and haram. Thus Islamic economics takes its guide lines from the Quran and sunnah and contemporary economic activities that are not against the laws of God.

BRITISH MUSLIM HERITAGE SITE

http://www.masud.co.uk/
This site have many issues dealing with early British born Muslims. This are whites mainly who embrace Islam decades ago. some of the writings contain very brilliant poems and personal experiences.
Today, Muslims from Africa and Asia are feeling some how down beat about their Islamic identity. this is due to people having other more important reasons of being in the western hemisphere than spiritual journey. we are either seeking secular education, money and so on, to the extend that we don't share our heritage and faith to others.

THE EPIC STORY OF MALI SARJO. NOT FOR UNDER AGE

The story of mali sarjo. BY Suntou Touray.
04/07/08
The forbidden relationship between a shy young man and his sister. This story is very sad indeed and the end result was the epic of Mali Sarjo.
The term Mali Sarjo is a name of a certain kind of hippo. An Hippo is refer to Mandingo as Maloo. Malo is an adjective for shame. The names just happen to coincide but Malo is living animal, a creature that lives in the rivers and lakes of Africa.
This story is believed to be a true happening. A moral dilemma and a very unusual relationship between close family. The closeness here cannot be underestimated. Whatever the real tail of this story is, it intrigues the entire mande speaking people.
Mandin is name for a region in West Africa, the modern day Niger, Mali, Gunea Conakry, Ivory Coast, Bukina faso etc. That whole area was populated by the Mande speaking people. Mandingo is tribe that has both mixes of traditional and Islamic cultures. The language among the mande people varies depending on the area were a group of mande people lives. There are common phrases and words with the same meanings but some sayings are completely different. It was among the mande people that the mali sarjo event occurs.
The nature of the story is very unusual. The mandingos are very cultured and principle. Every strata of the society operate on a strict custom and norm. The taboos are very much part of the layers of the society. Like every decent organise society, bed-fellowship between two blood relation is the highest taboo any one can break.
Well, this taboo was spectacularly undone. The perpetrators didn’t break that very untouchable and unthinkable taboo on simple grounds but out of concern and emotion. The journey is indeed an emotional epic.
The man
His sister
The shyness ,not able to express love to women, failing to disclose love to the woman of his dream
The local villagers
The expectations
The custom
The assistant of the sister to help boost the brother’s confidence
When the taboo is broken, the sisters pregnancy
The family meeting for answers, threats to kill her if the culprit is not mention. This version of the story is said to unreliable after several findings. But this version was mention to me several years ago, so to discard it without putting in the public domain for further enquiry will be academically and intellectually weak. A passion strong in me is to along the way research Madin history from a peculiar angle. It is a hubby, so comment on this version’s accuracy if you may. I have another version of the Mali Sarjo story. Time permitting, it shall be narrated.
The periods it happen, the prevailing custom
The final discussion between the sister and the brother
But his spirit couldn’t allow him to go any where
His turning into a hippo (malo). Finally the man who impregnate his sister committed ran away from their village out of shame and fear. He did that despicable act due to the fact he was in-confident to face a woman he loves. His lack of confidence made him confide his weakness to his sister, who volunteer to teach him the act of cohabitation so that the brother can have the confidence to face the woman of his dream. A tragic love story, let the sanyang kunda folks don’t have any funny ideas here. During the practice season, the brother impregnates his sister that once. He knew now what to do to face his love but alas, the events unfolding resulted in disaster.
When his sisters pregnancy became evident, she was confronted by her kabilo (family unit) to identify the culprit, she decline for several days whilst consulting with her brother about their next cause of action. He decided to flee the village and go away for good. But on his way to faraway lands, he decided to commit suicide due to the shame and implications of his actions.
The legends have it that, he arrived at a point where two different flowing water met. This is where a sweet water and salt water met, at that point he throw himself deep into the sea. This attempt was to kill himself, he didn’t die, rather he became a hippo or Mallo in mandinka.
From this epic came the song, aah mali sarjo bafula ben malisarjo’
The story is rushed due to wato. The other version later.

The conference on drugs part 2, by Dr Bilal Philips

Satanic Origin: Branding them as devised by Satan.
Allah identified the origin of drugs for humans to realize that they are weapons of their most avowed enemy, Satan. In the battle for human souls, Satan uses a variety of tools which he beautifies and makes alluring in order to trap human beings
Avoidance: Emphasizing the Prohibition by using Avoidance.
Allah’s use of the imperative ‘avoid’ makes the injunction much stronger and more comprehensive than it would have been had the word ‘prohibited’ been used instead. The implication here is that one should not only refrain from the consumption of drugs but also anything to do with their production and distribution should be avoided. Consequently, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Ten people are cursed due to intoxicants, the one who prepares it, the one for whom it was prepared, the one who consumes it, the one who carries it, the one to whom it is carried, the one who pours it, the one who sells it, the one who benefits from its sale, the one who buys it and the one for whom it was bought."
He further emphasized the importance of avoidance by stating, "One should not sit at a table at which alcohol is consumed." Furthermore, the Prophet (peace be upon him) prohibited Muslims from even keeping the containers in which alcohol was traditionally kept.
Success: Linking the avoidance of Drugs to Prosperity
In the above verse, the Almighty also made the avoidance of intoxicants a precondition for prosperity. People naturally desire success and wealth and they despise failure and poverty. Thus, Allah addresses the human psyche by promising success to those who avoid intoxicants. When the wealth normally consumed by addicts is recycled, the financial benefits to society are quite tangible. However, the social benefits to both the individual and family are even more priceless. Furthermore, real wealth, is as the Prophet (peace be upon him) said "richness of the heart and soul, and not an abundance of
- 3 - War on Drugs
property." It is contentment which those who take drugs seek but never find, and that only comes from a sober search for God.
Ultimate success is paradise, so the Prophet (peace be upon him) informed that, "One who consumes drugs and does not repent will not drink it in the Hereafter even if he enters Paradise."
Sows Discord and Hatred
In these verses, the Almighty points out that Satan uses drugs to create enmity among people. It has been proven statistically that the majority of hate-crimes are committed by those under the influence of drugs.
Hinders Remembrance of God and Prayer
The Almighty warned of the most evil consequence of drug consumption; that it prevents people from remembering God and making regular prayer, which is their regular means of remaining in contact with God. Once the consciousness of God is lost, corruption quickly fills the vacuum and those under the influence easily commit the most heinous of crimes without any sense of shame or morality. Intoxicated people are very susceptible to the most perverse suggestions. They lose their shyness and moral values leading to some of the most incredibly evil acts.
Reports of drug-crazed fathers raping their own baby daughters, husbands killing their wives and eating them, and so on, abound in newspapers around the world. In one narration from the Prophet (peace be upon him) he was reported to have said, "Intoxicants are the mother of despicable acts and the greatest of major sins. Whoever consumes them abandons regular prayer, and rapes his mother or his aunt." Prayer is a deterrent against indecency and sinfulness, as the Almighty said (Qur’an) and it is the foundation of remembrance of God. Allah points out that the consumption of drugs breaks the believers’ main link with God and thereby destroys spiritual well-being. In order to further emphasize its danger to prayer, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "The prayer of one who drinks alcohol will not be accepted for forty days and nights."
A Rhetorical Question
This verse is concluded with a rhetorical question, "Will you not, then, desist?" This grammatical construction creates the strongest possible threat. On hearing it, the Prophet’s companion’s response was, "We do, Our Lord: We do!" After hearing all the
- 4 - War on Drugs
expressions of prohibition and grasping their implications, can an intelligent person ignore warning? This question addresses common sense and reason. It invites the thinking person to make the necessary steps to help remove this destructive channel from society.
History Repeats Itself
Descriptions of Madinah at the time when these verses were revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) illustrate the impact that they had on the fledgling community there. Historians reported that the streets of Madinah flowed with wine, as containers were broken and poured in the streets, and even those who had cups of wine in their hands and others who had wine glasses at their lips, stopped immediately and emptied them in the streets.
The prohibition of drugs has remained a way of life for Muslims from that day until today. Though some elements of Muslim society have indulged at different points in history, and many modern Muslim governments have become lax and permissive, for the vast majority of Muslims, the production and consumption of drugs remains prohibited. In the West and East, governments of countries like, USA, Canada, Russia, etc., have at varying times in the 20th century and for varying lengths of time prohibited the production, sale and consumptions of alcohol, however, these periods of prohibition all came to an end. Drugs cannot be eliminated by legislation alone. Legislation is a beginning, it is a tool, but the will to implement the legislation has to come from the power of faith within the population as a whole. The various successful anti-addiction programmes, like Alcoholics Anonymous, which were developed in the secular West all require individuals trying to overcome their addictions to call on God, the Higher Power, to help them succeed.
by Dr. Bilal Philips Qatar’s Guest Centre
www.bilalphilips.com
- 5

MICROECONOMICS

Some basic simple facts about microeconomics, an extract from a book by Dr Greg Mankiw. the principles of microeconomics second edition isbn: 0-03-027017-0. Economy is a Greek word for "one who manages a household". well my mum is the best economies then. haa. our houses faces many tough decision making. kids want toys, the lady want new shoes, the man want a reliable car etc. how can you manage all this choices effectively. difficult. this is why people take loans, overdrafts and other forms of borrowing, just to get by the daily transactions. from the simple concept of managing a household to the monumental arena of making a whole society or nation works. The decision of job creation, farming, business and all the other professions, this choices make economics very important, in fact so important, nations with bad economics policies suffer all sorts of problems.
the mankiw ten principles of economics
1. "learn that economics is about the allocation of scarce resources." what every body wants will be scarce and thus requires prioritisation. the scarcity is cause by high demands and limitations beyoun human ability to provide everything to the satisfaction of the whole.
this means, there is a need to do preparation in time to avoid missing out on what one needs, since others may require the same product at the same time. For a Gambian, Land is something every Gambian needs. But land is scarce, limited. For one not to be disappointed, he/she must try to acquire it in enough time to avoid paying too much for too little.

2. "examine some of the trade-offs that people face". one most forgo something for another. what is that you want most? At what cost are you willing to sacrifice one thing for the other.

3. "learn the meaning of opportunity cost". now this is a key economic term. i will only write about my own humble understanding. may be you know better than i do. opportunity cost is the cost of the item you forgo for another. this mean, one's wants are listed according to needs. the item that you don't need much or can go without are sacrifice for item you needed most. but going without an item have a cost, this may be adjusting one's routine or lifestyle until you can afford to acquire that item. for instance, i like atayya, but the credit crunch may force me to avoid spending my money on attaya and instead use it to buy bread that i need for breakfast. My stopping drinking attaya which is a traditional Gambian tea in social voius will affect my life style. this has a cost. the cost is adjusting to a life without attaya or waraka.
I will continue next time.