tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37678108847275655812024-03-28T05:23:46.060+05:30Maqsood Qureshi's BlogThat wasn't serendipity. That's destiny. My mother wasn't there anymore. It's stark, pitch-dark. Colossal, abysmal despair. Then, I found her: My Lightning Bug. -- For my Print and E-books: Go here, please: http://pothi.com/pothi/
Here's my E-mail address: maqsoodqureshi@gmail.comMaqsood Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02737288031857356782noreply@blogger.comBlogger6508125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767810884727565581.post-63989710781216550362024-01-08T21:38:00.004+05:302024-01-08T21:42:26.182+05:30Habeeb Dot App! :-)<h1 style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Now serendipity has a perfect synonym: Habeeb Dot App! :-)</span></h1><h1 style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The prospects of finding your soulmate are more promising now! Chat on, buddy! :-) Ciao! :-)</span></h1><h1 style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Hello, Alpha Geeks! This is a place for the Geronimos in us -- Anarchists -- Ghostbusters -- Ethical Hackers -- Shamans -- Faith Healers -- Polymaths -- Eggheads -- Folks who purportedly claim that they'd tame poltergeists! -- Someone who patiently explains what a grey hat does for a living to his novice crush! -- People with sheer, mammoth grit and mettle who soldier on no matter what! -- People with Sherpa-like relentlessness of spirit in 'em -- People with Dunkirk spirit in 'em -- People who buckle down to Sisyphean ordeals! People with Sisyphus in 'em! -- This hangout is also for denizens from deep space, geeks, nerds, night owls and wizards. Listening to jazz -- Looking for drive-by Subway -- Stealthily war driving concurrently! :-) Postscript: Good-time Charlies, good-time girls, damsels in distress and even notoriously conniving dragon ladies too -- feel free to sign up! LOL ROFL</span></h1><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://habeeb.app/">Habeeb Dot App</a></div>Maqsood Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02737288031857356782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767810884727565581.post-36940453013741097122024-01-05T16:21:00.001+05:302024-01-05T16:21:20.865+05:30My Eyes at the Moment of the Apparitions by German artist August Natterer, who had schizophrenia<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCufqAu2RYS78UdIueA3i-37SoZpx7kiGzDR9pI_F7vPMbx8-24feztuHpmt6xxygtbN3mvIdrMce_xQj585F08ZxtxQUlyerwH7MXTmY6olkBNrPWYGttHJbPGOW_UzQOh68BhPtRuogkjtugKuaSG-tFRU54eAwyzHqQybiCmQsehSMZdOuVVLJl1bKv/s866/August_Natterer_Meine_Augen_zur_Zeit_der_Erscheinungen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="866" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCufqAu2RYS78UdIueA3i-37SoZpx7kiGzDR9pI_F7vPMbx8-24feztuHpmt6xxygtbN3mvIdrMce_xQj585F08ZxtxQUlyerwH7MXTmY6olkBNrPWYGttHJbPGOW_UzQOh68BhPtRuogkjtugKuaSG-tFRU54eAwyzHqQybiCmQsehSMZdOuVVLJl1bKv/s320/August_Natterer_Meine_Augen_zur_Zeit_der_Erscheinungen.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>Maqsood Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02737288031857356782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767810884727565581.post-50763486838372900922023-12-25T14:14:00.001+05:302023-12-25T14:28:26.971+05:30Merry Xmas, everyone! Have a whale of a time, folks! :-)Maqsood Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02737288031857356782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767810884727565581.post-70720832434462415282023-10-19T11:08:00.003+05:302023-10-19T11:08:44.811+05:30"If you can't treat someone with dignity and respect, get out," he said Thursday as audience members looked on with rapt attention. <p>Air Force Academy Lt. General Jay Silveria delivers powerful speech on race after slurs found in dorms.</p>Maqsood Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02737288031857356782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767810884727565581.post-56803102641837169662023-08-24T17:15:00.000+05:302023-08-24T17:15:04.303+05:30Congrats, ISRO. Jai Hind, folks! :-)<p> https://www.isro.gov.in/index.html</p>Maqsood Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02737288031857356782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767810884727565581.post-71400659529696667842023-08-22T21:14:00.002+05:302023-08-22T21:15:35.026+05:30A powwow: Sugar and I :-)<p style="text-align: justify;">Dictionaries are giving me a very feeble meaning of (ideological) soulmate! LOL ROFL -- I just imagine bumping into her -- and my knees begin to buckle -- I know I'd just stand there dumbfounded -- Unable to utter a single word...But here's a seriocomical dialog(s) between Duckling and me:</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Hello! Miss ABC! </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Hello! Mister Blah-blah-blah! </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><She thinks I'm mousy and docile!></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Er-Ahem-Tooke eh? Miss? John Something yeah yeah that English political radical and philologist? Yeah yeah, I've read him: The Diversions of Purley! </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><White lie!></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I've read about Anthropomorphism too!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><Half-truth!></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Excuse me! </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Nothing Miss...most unkindest cut of all...You too, Brutus?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Excuse me! Are you alright?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Yeah yeah Miss...I was just quoting: Shakespeare!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Oh okay</p><p style="text-align: justify;">You're fairly well-read huh?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Oh, I just try Miss</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So, who's your favorite author?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">You, miss!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Really?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Yep, miss!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I've browsed through your Blog quite a few times....you've eclectic interests! </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><OMG! Don't say it...it sounds so foppish!></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Thank you so much, Miss</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So you're THE Hunchbacked Whirling Dervish huh?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I've a dervish-like temperament, Miss!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">To be continued...</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Maqsood Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02737288031857356782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767810884727565581.post-61700895928424485362023-08-21T20:05:00.002+05:302023-08-21T20:05:48.153+05:30Like Doctors Without Borders, I love people irrespective of (their) race, religion, gender, or political affiliation. -- I'm pretty comfy amongst people who are below the poverty line -- The underprivileged. -- I don't know any who's who -- in the first place -- And I don't hobnob with 'em either -- I mean: rich and powerful people -- I'm not into social climbing -- even when I was in Abu Dhabi -- Believe me -- You know folks: Sometimes I think my idealism is pseudo -- Nevertheless, I love this girl to bits -- And I wanna marry her -- in spite of -- inevitable hurdles! -- Wish she'd write back to me -- It's been seven years or so -- And I've been waiting..... To be continued...Maqsood Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02737288031857356782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767810884727565581.post-9363151372480389502023-08-19T16:54:00.001+05:302023-08-19T16:54:44.057+05:30The Steadfast Tin Soldier by Hans Christian Andersen -- You know folks though I love it but I don't want her to read such stories -- tearjerkers -- I'd urge her to read something funny instead. For instance: Paul Jennings' Thirteen Unpredictable Tales -- Paul's stories are funny, weird and wacky with surprising endings -- Any type of fiction with multiple endings -- The Lady, or the Tiger? by Frank R. Stockton -- Or epistolary novels like Daddy-Long-Legs -- That's my favorite -- I love writing letters to her; and I want her to write back to me.<p style="text-align: justify;"> </p>Maqsood Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02737288031857356782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767810884727565581.post-91747051623191595252023-08-18T17:52:00.002+05:302023-08-18T17:52:21.950+05:30I wanna write a libretto for her like Vikram Seth -- though I don't know anything about operas and all that -- or a travelog just for her -- Has she read: From Heaven Lake? But I'm not a jet-set traveller or a globe-trotter either -- I'm barely above the poverty line -- she's a writer par excellence -- I'm a wannabe Colin De Silva -- By the way: Does she love Historical Fiction like me? The first book I wanna give to her is: The Founts of Sinhala. -- Wish I were well-read like her -- or had a milieu like her -- I'm a mediocrist -- a nobody -- a functionally illiterate Blogger. -- Nevertheless, I just love writing to her -- writing about her. My most favorite fantasy is to take her on a flying date -- in a Cessna -- but that means soloing: Hello! Miss ABC. It's me, Richard Bach's fair-haired boy Mister Blah-blah-blah! I'm a barnstormer. Would you like to go for a ride eh? LOL ROFL Someday: I'd get my wings! To be continued....Maqsood Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02737288031857356782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767810884727565581.post-46119326434291380132023-08-15T10:23:00.004+05:302023-08-15T10:24:45.582+05:30Stream of consciousness: Duckling and I :-)<p style="text-align: justify;">Stream of consciousness</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Writing about her isn't an easy task -- Existing words are not really succinct -- I need new words -- But there're no new words -- Unless someone coins 'em -- Who's gonna coin 'em? -- Nobody! -- Duh! obviously I'll have to coin (new) words -- For her -- Maybe just one word -- That portrays her completely -- That tells her everything I wanna tell her eh? -- Would I be able to coin such a word? -- I'd have to come up with its meaning too, right? duh! -- I'm going bonkers with bewilderment LOL ROFL -- Am I being incoherent? -- Not making sense? -- Let's say: I just wanna tell her that I love her very much; and I wanna spend the rest of my life with her -- but this is very trite and hackneyed -- I want something you know pathbreaking -- something unprecedented -- and, one more thing: It'd sound plausible too! -- She's a Psychologist: Professionally speaking -- If I tell her that magic is real; and I'm an occultist -- She'd surely brush me off -- It's to be logical -- rational -- I think she's a staunch skeptic unless proven otherwise! LOL ROFL -- But she'd be willing to listen to me if I tell her that I study: The paranormal i.e. all the things that are impossible to explain by known natural forces or by science.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p>Hello, Duckling! My name is Mister Blah-blah-blah and I study The paranormal! :-)</p><p>How do you do?</p><p><br /></p><p>Duckling: Hello! Mister Blah-blah-blah! But we're not meeting for the first time! </p><p>Me: (Completely nonplussed by the question!)</p><p><br /></p><p>Me: Oh I'm such a schnook!</p><p>Duckling: Excuse me?</p><p>Me: Nothing. Never mind...Miss ABC! :-)</p><p><br /></p><p>Me: BTW, Miss ABC: What're you doing these days eh?</p><p>Duckling: Oh I'm researching and filming a documentary on schizophrenics! What about you?</p><p>Me: Um...social work....NGO...you know...helping The underprivileged..</p><p>Duckling: Oh that sounds great! </p><p><br /></p><p>To be continued.... :-)</p>Maqsood Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02737288031857356782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767810884727565581.post-21943240285734573762023-08-15T08:46:00.002+05:302023-08-15T08:46:34.159+05:30Stream of consciousness stream of consciousness, in literature, technique that records the multifarious thoughts and feelings of a character without regard to logical argument or narrative sequence. The writer attempts by the stream of consciousness to reflect all the forces, external and internal, influencing the psychology of a character at a single moment. The technique was first employed by Édouard Dujardin (1861–1949) in his novel Les Lauriers sont coupés (1888) and was subsequently used by such notable writers as James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, and William Faulkner. The phrase stream of consciousness to indicate the flow of inner experience was first used by William James in Principles of Psychology (1890). The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2023, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. See more Encyclopedia articles on: Literature: GeneralMaqsood Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02737288031857356782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767810884727565581.post-12029596682225416652023-08-15T04:42:00.003+05:302023-08-15T04:42:27.536+05:30Happy Independence Day, folks! :-)Maqsood Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02737288031857356782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767810884727565581.post-67256522376691831932023-08-13T14:30:00.004+05:302023-08-13T14:30:35.199+05:30Reprint: WEDNESDAY, JULY 12, 2023 Hello! This is Prince of Persia! Is that really you eh Miss....What's your name? You sent me a SOS signal...er..I mean Distress Signal.....Where're you right now eh? Your exact location? Please turn on your radio beacon....Is an evil, tyrant vizier keeping you in a dungeon? I'm your knight in shining armor....don't let 'em give you a fright....LOL ROFL Just goofing around with you ma'am.....you're a girl who shuns beauty pageants....perhaps you raise the dead with your big, bright, starry surreal eyes and hypnotic voice....BTW, why did you leave your native place so hurriedly: Venus? You're so brainy you know....You've this girlishness in your voice and angelic innocence on your face....you speak impeccably chaste Persian....obviously duh....BTW, you know my last girlfriend was from Iran....we ended amicably.... she'd a very difficult, unpronounceable Persian name...Of course...duh.....but I still remember her....she's like you...your doppelganger...believe me...I met her in Kish Island.....you remind me of her.....anyways, still making super bright whizzes, astrophysicists and nuclear scientists feel like brain dead zombies? LOL ROFL I'm so terribly sorry...I lost my flair and tempo...Wish I'd do justice to you....I mean...there're no such words....no such words exist...to write about someone like you...so no offence okay....don't get mad at me.....and don't get me wrong....I've many Iranian friends here....in India.....I love you guys so much....And of course I'm crazy about you. Bye for now. Your comrade-in-arms: Hunchbacked Whirling Dervish! :-) One more thing: Please feel free to page me IF any evil creature DARES to bother you again. :-) LOL ROFL Just kidding. I NEVER say good-bye because there's no word for good-bye in Navajo. :-)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ5VS6QXkZ5IEpzTVeVqkTF14OsGkS9nB5X2rf0MP9-MDC9FAKaJeAowoMFH5W1yZKkBx0PAg1H0tyfZC_ldxUu433n6Ngo-OdZ66g5g6e3cPi6JVmGlziG6-seAGI-_Z2kOp5ujkw7bIcwuKBxZOBHDfhsFFs4cj9qtpZs0UgqOsFZKtJizpJVj3CVVby/s729/gf1%20(1).PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="474" data-original-width="729" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ5VS6QXkZ5IEpzTVeVqkTF14OsGkS9nB5X2rf0MP9-MDC9FAKaJeAowoMFH5W1yZKkBx0PAg1H0tyfZC_ldxUu433n6Ngo-OdZ66g5g6e3cPi6JVmGlziG6-seAGI-_Z2kOp5ujkw7bIcwuKBxZOBHDfhsFFs4cj9qtpZs0UgqOsFZKtJizpJVj3CVVby/w400-h260/gf1%20(1).PNG" width="400" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>Maqsood Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02737288031857356782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767810884727565581.post-5752196412158840272023-08-10T18:59:00.002+05:302023-08-10T18:59:24.466+05:30Major Gaurav Arya (Retd): is an Indian Army veteran. He left the army in 1999 and started his corporate career. He has worked with top corporates like Wipro, Hutch (now Vodafone) and Ernst & Young. He was CEO and President in a Singapore based MNC before he joined the media in 2017. He is currently Senior Consulting Editor – Strategic Affairs for a leading Indian media conglomerate. Major Arya is a writer and public speaker. He frequently speaks at corporate and other events. In 2017 he was invited to speak at the UK Parliament. Major Arya is founder of Chanakya Forum.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjSyaY0aHUrTXOliJM3mgdv75R4_fB7-pFuZyOzzMctPYjlaHP7MD4VoHMFkICPBeE3ZGlWhKEY1Mjv6PKimJf7J5DmtHgtuO6MSMLvp6B_eiYw13qCtcaceNW4HSN9Fb9V_HdgFhUu3J-yb2Yj22ckEbqqobZOitdpqGqXqXxj-iLhMj8l_NsqshtVo_r/s1280/Gaurav-Arya.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1269" data-original-width="1280" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjSyaY0aHUrTXOliJM3mgdv75R4_fB7-pFuZyOzzMctPYjlaHP7MD4VoHMFkICPBeE3ZGlWhKEY1Mjv6PKimJf7J5DmtHgtuO6MSMLvp6B_eiYw13qCtcaceNW4HSN9Fb9V_HdgFhUu3J-yb2Yj22ckEbqqobZOitdpqGqXqXxj-iLhMj8l_NsqshtVo_r/w400-h396/Gaurav-Arya.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>Maqsood Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02737288031857356782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767810884727565581.post-89438486083724291902023-08-07T20:31:00.003+05:302023-08-07T20:31:40.379+05:30The effect of sihr on the marital relationship: Praise be to Allah. The saahir (person who practises sihr) does things by which he affects people with sihr. Sometimes this is by illusion or making things appear to be something else, as Allaah said concerning the sorcerers of Pharaoh (interpretation of the meaning): “and their sticks, by their magic, appeared to him as though they moved fast” [Ta-Ha 20:66] They do actions that change how things look in people’s eyes, so that they see things other than they really are, as Allaah says in Soorat al-A’raaf (interpretation of the meaning): “So when they threw, they bewitched the eyes of the people, and struck terror into them, and they displayed a great magic” [al-A’raaf 7:116] So they do things to bewitch people’s eyes, so that they see a rope as a snake or a stick as a moving snake, when it is not a snake at all but only a stick or a rope. They may also bewitch people in other ways, so that a man becomes hateful to his wife, or vice versa. They may do this by bewitching their eyes, or by giving them evil potions which they get from the shayaateen, or by tying knots on which they blow and pray to the shayaateen instead of to Allaah, and seek their help in harming people. So a man may imagine that his wife is not the wife he knows, and she may appear ugly or hateful to him, or a wife may imagine that her husband is not the husband that she knows, and she sees him as something ugly and terrifying, because of what these criminals have done. So their sihr may be of two types, one of which involves illusions and tricking the eyes, so that they do not see things as they really are. The other kind includes that which is called al-sarf and al-‘atf (spells aimed at creating hatred or love), which is done by tying knots and blowing on them, and using potions which they make by inspiration of the shayaateen. This second kind may make a man love or hate his wife, or a woman love or hate her husband. It may also affect a person's relationship with people other than his or her spouse. Hence Allaah has commanded us to seek refuge with Him from the evil of those who blow onto knots, and to seek refuge with Him from every evil.Maqsood Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02737288031857356782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767810884727565581.post-74576712992371556392023-08-07T20:29:00.000+05:302023-08-07T20:29:03.362+05:30Can sihr (witchcraft, magic) kill? Praise be to Allah. Yes, there is sihr that can kill. When discussing different forms of murder the scholars have mentioned that the person who kills another by means of a kind of sihr that usually kills should be executed (qisaas – retaliation), because he has killed by means of something that usually kills. Ibn Qudaamah said in al-Mughni (9/330): “The sixth kind: if he killed him by means of a kind of sihr that usually kills, then he has to be executed, because he has killed by means of something that usually kills, like killing by use of a knife. If he killed by means of something that does not usually kill or something that sometimes kills and sometimes does not, then he has to pay diyah (blood-money), but qisaas is not required, because he intended to do harm, and it is akin to beating someone with a stick (which may or may not kill).” The ruling concerning the saahir (practitioner of sihr) in al-Mawsoo’ah al-Fiqhiyyah (24/267) says that in the case where he killed a person by means of his sihr… the majority say that killing by means of sihr may be done deliberately, in which case qisaas is required. According to the Maalikis, evidence or a confession is required. According to the Shaafi’is, if the person whom the practitioner of sihr killed was his equal , then qisaas is required if the killing was deliberate, which may be proven by a confession on the part of the saahir, such as his saying “I killed him by means of my sihr”, or “I killed him with this type of thing”, supported by the testimony of two reliable witnesses who have practised sihr in the past but have now repented, who can confirm that this kind of sihr usually kills. If it is a type that does not usually kill, then the matter is more akin to manslaughter. And Allaah knows best.Maqsood Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02737288031857356782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767810884727565581.post-51557442468898084972023-08-06T19:44:00.002+05:302023-08-06T19:44:50.721+05:30“They said: ‘O Musa! Either you throw first or we be the first to throw?’ Musa said: ‘Nay, throw you (first)!’ Then behold! their ropes and their sticks, by their magic, appeared to him as though they moved fast.” [Ta-Ha 20:65-66] It appeared to the onlooker as if these sticks and ropes were snakes, moving fast in the valley. They were only sticks and ropes, but the magicians, through what they had learned, made what they demonstrated before the people look different in their eyes to what it really was. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “by their magic, appeared to him as though they moved fast.” [Ta-Ha 20:66] And in Surah al-A’raf Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “He [Musa] said: ‘Throw you (first).’ So when they threw, they bewitched the eyes of the people, and struck terror into them, and they displayed a great magic.” [al-A’raf 7:116] But in fact their sticks and ropes did not change; it was the people’s sight which changed because of the sihr, so they thought they were snakes, because of the illusion brought about by the magicians. Some people call this taqmir, which is when the magician does things to make a person not sense reality as it really is, so his eyes do not see what is really there and things may be taken from his shop or his home without him realizing it, i.e., he does not know what is really happening. So he may see a rock as a chicken or as an egg, and so on, because reality has been changed in his eyes because of the confusion wrought by the magician, and because his eyes have been bewitched. There are things that the magicians do with certain substances to make people’s eyes not see what is really happening. This is the kind of magic which Allah describes as “great” [i.e. serious, powerful] in Soorat al-A’raf (interpretation of the meaning): “… So when they threw, they bewitched the eyes of the people, and struck terror into them, and they displayed a great magic.” [al-A’raf 7:116] Reference: Majmu’ Fatawa Wa Maqalat Mutanawwi’ah by Sheikh ‘Abd Al-‘Aziz Ibn Baz, p. 65. And Allah knows best.Maqsood Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02737288031857356782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767810884727565581.post-79182102654277332502023-08-06T19:43:00.001+05:302023-08-06T19:43:13.627+05:30I.e., this magic and any harm that results from it is subject to the prior decree and will of Allah, for our Lord cannot be overwhelmed and nothing can happen in His Dominion against His Will. Nothing happens in this world or in the Hereafter except by His prior decree and His great wisdom, as He wills. So some people may be tested by sihr, and others may be tested by sickness, or by being killed…etc. Allah is All-Wise in all that He wills and decrees, and in all that He prescribes for His slaves. Hence Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “but they could not thus harm anyone except by Allah’s Leave.” [al-Baqarah 2:102] I.e., by His universal (kawni) will and decree, not by His legislative (shar’i) will [i.e., He wills that it should happen but He does not enjoin it and He is not pleased by such actions]. For shari’ah does not allow such things, indeed it forbids them, but by His universal leave He already knows and has already decreed that So and So will do sihr, and that So and So will be affected by sihr, just as He already knows and has already decreed that So and So will be killed, or afflicted with a certain sickness, or will die in a certain land, and will receive such and such provision, or will be rich or poor. All of that happens by the will and decree of Allah, as He says (interpretation of the meaning): “Verily, We have created all things with Qadar (Divine Preordainments of all things before their creation as written in the Book of Decrees, Al-Lawh Al-Mahfooz.") [al-Qamar 54:49] “No calamity befalls on the earth or in yourselves but it is inscribed in the Book of Decrees (Al-Lawh Al-Mahfooz) before We bring it into existence. Verily, that is easy for Allah.” [al-Hadid 57:22] The evils that come at the hands of the magicians or others do not happen because our Lord is ignorant, for He knows all things and nothing at all is hidden from Him, as He says (interpretation of the meaning): “Verily, Allah is the All-Knower of everything.” [al-Anfal 8:75] “that you may know that Allah has power over all things, and that Allâh surrounds all things in (His) Knowledge.” [al-Talaq 65:12] So Allah knows all things, and nothing happens in His Dominion that He does not will, but He has perfect wisdom and good aims in whatever He decrees should happen to people of honour or humiliation, losing or gaining power, sickness or health, magic and other things. Everything that happens to people happens by the will of Allah and in accordance with His prior decree. These magicians may perform their illusions, as stated in the verse quoted above (interpretation of the meaning): Maqsood Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02737288031857356782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767810884727565581.post-39439946498918836622023-08-06T19:41:00.002+05:302023-08-06T19:41:19.012+05:30And it may involve other things which they manage to do through the shayatin (devils), so they do things that may affect a man's reason or make him sick; they may cause division between a man and his wife, resulting in her looking ugly to him, or by making her hate her husband or be put off by him. This is blatant kufr as the Quran states. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “They followed what the Shayatin (devils) gave out (falsely of the magic) in the lifetime of Sulayman (Solomon). Sulayman did not disbelieve, but the Shayatin (devils) disbelieved, teaching men magic.” [al-Baqarah 2:102] Allah informs us that they (the shayatin) committed kufr by teaching men magic. Then He says (interpretation of the meaning): “and such things that came down at Babylon to the two angels, Harut and Marut, but neither of these two (angels) taught anyone (such things) till they had said, ‘We are for trial, so disbelieve not (by learning this magic from us).’”[al-Baqarah 2:102] Then Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And from these (angels) people learn that by which they cause separation between man and his wife, but they could not thus harm anyone except by Allah’s Leave” [al-Baqarah 2:102] Maqsood Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02737288031857356782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767810884727565581.post-52020807008190273072023-08-06T19:39:00.001+05:302023-08-06T19:39:14.728+05:30As Allah said concerning the magicians of Pharaoh (interpretation of the meaning): “They said: ‘O Musa! Either you throw first or we be the first to throw?’ Musa said: ‘Nay, throw you (first)!’ Then behold! their ropes and their sticks, by their magic , appeared to him as though they moved fast. So Musa conceived fear in himself. We (Allah) said: ‘Fear not! Surely, you will have the upper hand. And throw that which is in your right hand! It will swallow up that which they have made. That which they have made is only a magician’s trick, and the magician will never be successful, to whatever amount (of skill) he may attain.’” [Ta-Ha 20:65-69] Sihr may involve things that the magician does when tying knots on which he blows, as is referred to in the Quran (interpretation of the meaning): “And from the evil of those who practise witchcraft when they blow in the knots.” [al-Falaq 113:4] Maqsood Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02737288031857356782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767810884727565581.post-18203765313101125122023-08-06T19:36:00.002+05:302023-08-06T19:36:18.017+05:30Sihr and Its Types: https://islamqa.info/en/answers/9432/sihr-and-its-typesMaqsood Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02737288031857356782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767810884727565581.post-89690581085157144242023-08-06T17:49:00.003+05:302023-08-06T17:49:48.022+05:30Who's That Girl eh? LOL ROFL It's a joy to see her looking so elegant . . . . IF you don't know her please try Visual Search! I snipped her picture...Hope Joy Alukkas' people won't sue me or something! LOL ROFL hehehehehehehe<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBZPgvXqcsLYmtHj6jEBsWXnpAfnQcNtUJd5i0mz8qNjX5D7zKqTz5Eut8g6i0-_0YrSWvThRJFQtTwLn2r52uip__aEHO1TWcQ0p9BAPe79IFH5qekpJ8eoMScKJVHhtywbtYnZhsxM1CvFd5QX6l02XpGCukYKluHtYoV4vz3rq6G1iyttauhyX0oBGm/s893/whoisthisgirl.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="890" data-original-width="893" height="399" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBZPgvXqcsLYmtHj6jEBsWXnpAfnQcNtUJd5i0mz8qNjX5D7zKqTz5Eut8g6i0-_0YrSWvThRJFQtTwLn2r52uip__aEHO1TWcQ0p9BAPe79IFH5qekpJ8eoMScKJVHhtywbtYnZhsxM1CvFd5QX6l02XpGCukYKluHtYoV4vz3rq6G1iyttauhyX0oBGm/w400-h399/whoisthisgirl.PNG" width="400" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>Maqsood Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02737288031857356782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767810884727565581.post-75235435717192097522023-08-06T17:30:00.002+05:302023-08-06T17:30:25.574+05:30Mandrake is a magician whose work is based on an unusually fast hypnotic technique. As noted in captions, when Mandrake "gestures hypnotically", his subjects see illusions, and Mandrake has used this technique against a variety of villains including gangsters, mad scientists, extraterrestrials, and characters from other dimensions.[1] At various times in the comic strip, Mandrake also demonstrates other powers, including becoming invisible, shapeshifting, levitation, and teleporting.[1] His hat, cloak, and wand, passed down from his father Theron, possess great magical properties, which in time Mandrake learns how to manipulate.[citation needed] Although Mandrake publicly works as a stage magician, he spends much of his time fighting criminals and combatting supernatural entities. Mandrake lives in Xanadu, a high-tech mansion atop a mountain in New York State. Xanadu's features include closed-circuit TV, a sectional road which divides in half, and vertical iron gates.[1]Maqsood Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02737288031857356782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767810884727565581.post-14849097642976882692023-08-06T17:24:00.002+05:302023-08-06T17:24:40.584+05:30The I Ching or Yi Jing (Chinese: 易經, Mandarin: [î tɕíŋ] (listen)), usually translated Book of Changes or Classic of Changes, is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. Originally a divination manual in the Western Zhou period (1000–750 BC), the I Ching was transformed over the course of the Warring States and early imperial periods (500–200 BC) into a cosmological text with a series of philosophical commentaries known as the "Ten Wings".[1] After becoming part of the Five Classics in the 2nd century BC, the I Ching was the subject of scholarly commentary and the basis for divination practice for centuries across the Far East, and eventually took on an influential role in Western understanding of East Asian philosophical thought.[2] As a divination text, the I Ching is used for a traditional Chinese form of cleromancy known as I Ching divination, in which bundles of yarrow stalks are manipulated to produce sets of six apparently random numbers ranging from 6 to 9. Each of the 64 possible sets corresponds to a hexagram, which can be looked up in the I Ching. The hexagrams are arranged in an order known as the King Wen sequence. The interpretation of the readings found in the I Ching has been endlessly discussed and debated over the centuries. Many commentators have used the book symbolically, often to provide guidance for moral decision-making, as informed by Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. The hexagrams themselves have often acquired cosmological significance and been paralleled with many other traditional names for the processes of change such as yin and yang and Wu Xing.Maqsood Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02737288031857356782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3767810884727565581.post-78928533835381658492023-08-06T17:15:00.002+05:302023-08-06T17:15:34.431+05:30Yin and yang (/jɪn/ and /jæŋ/), yinyang,[1][2] or yin-yang[3][2] is a Chinese philosophical concept that describes opposite but interconnected forces. In Chinese cosmology, the universe creates itself out of a primary chaos of material energy, organized into the cycles of yin and yang and formed into objects and lives. Yin is the receptive and yang the active principle, seen in all forms of change and difference such as the annual cycle (winter and summer), the landscape (north-facing shade and south-facing brightness), sex (female and male), the formation of both men and women as characters, and sociopolitical history (disorder and order).[4] Taiji or tai chi (simplified Chinese: 太极; traditional Chinese: 太極; pinyin: tàijí; lit. 'great pole') is a Chinese cosmological term for the "Supreme Ultimate" state of undifferentiated absolute and infinite potential, the oneness before duality, from which yin and yang originate. It can be compared with the old wuji (無極, "without pole"). In the cosmology pertaining to yin and yang, the material energy which this universe was created from is known as qi. It is believed that the organization of qi in this cosmology of yin and yang has formed many things.[5] Included among these forms are humans. Many natural dualities (such as light and dark, fire and water, expanding and contracting) are thought of as physical manifestations of the duality symbolized by yin and yang. This duality lies at the origins of many branches of classical Chinese science and philosophy, as well as being a primary guideline of traditional Chinese medicine,[6] and a central principle of different forms of Chinese martial arts and exercise, such as baguazhang, taijiquan (tʻai chi chʻüan) and qigong (chʻi kung), as well as appearing in the pages of the I Ching. The notion of duality can be found in many areas, such as Communities of Practice. The term "dualistic-monism" or dialectical monism has been coined in an attempt to express this fruitful paradox of simultaneous unity and duality. Yin and yang can be thought of as complementary (rather than opposing) forces that interact to form a dynamic system in which the whole is greater than the assembled parts.[7] According to this philosophy, everything has both yin and yang aspects (for instance, shadow cannot exist without light). Either of the two major aspects may manifest more strongly in a particular object, depending on the criterion of the observation. The yin and yang symbol (or taijitu) shows a balance between two opposites with a portion of the opposite element in each section.[citation needed] In Taoist metaphysics, distinctions between good and bad, along with other dichotomous moral judgments, are perceptual, not real; so, the duality of yin and yang is an indivisible whole. In the ethics of Confucianism on the other hand, most notably in the philosophy of Dong Zhongshu (c. 2nd century BC), a moral dimension is attached to the idea of yin and yang.[8]Maqsood Qureshihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02737288031857356782noreply@blogger.com0