AnwarTrust Singapore: Sentosa Board walk.

http://youtu.be/3OtAqihZkxc

Anwar Abeer Rock.

Will a woman be with her husband in Paradise?

Praise be to Allaah. 1.Yes, a woman will be with her husband in Paradise, and even with her children, sons and daughters, if they are Muslim. This is indicated by the aayah (interpretation of the meaning): “And those who believe and whose offspring follow them in Faith, - to them shall We join their offspring, and We shall not decrease the reward of their deeds in anything.” [al-Toor 52:21] It is also indicated by the du’aa’ of the angels who carry the Throne: “Our Lord! And make them enter the ‘Adn (Eden) Paradise (everlasting Gardens) which you have promised them — and to the righteous among their fathers, their wives, and their offspring! Verily, You are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise” [Ghaafir 40:8 – interpretation of the meaning] Ibn Katheer (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “(This means) bring them together so that they may find delight in one another in neighbouring dwellings. This is like the aayah (interpretation of the meaning): ‘And those who believe and whose offspring follow them in Faith, - to them shall We join their offspring, and We shall not decrease the reward of their deeds in anything.’ [al-Toor 52:21] This means: We shall make them all equal in status so that they may find joy. This will not be by lowering the one who is higher in status until he is equal with the one who is lower; on the contrary, We shall raise the one who is lacking in good deeds and make them equal, as a bounty and a blessing from Us. Sa’eed ibn Jubair said: when the believer enters Paradise, he will ask about his father, son and brother and where they are. It will be said to him, they did not reach the same level of good deeds as you did. He will say, But I only strove for my sake and for theirs. Then they will be brought to join him on the level where he is.” (Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 4/73) 2. We do not think that anyone who Allaah has decreed will enter Paradise and have all trace of hatred taken away from them will choose to be separated from a loved one when he or she meets them in the Hereafter. 3. If a woman does not get married in this world, Allaah will grant her a spouse in whom she will find delight in Paradise. The joys of Paradise are not limited only to males – they are for males and females alike, and part of that joy is marriage.” (Majmoo’ Fataawaa Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 2/53), There will be no single people in Paradise. And Allaah knows best.

People hate politics and politicians for good reason.

There’s been another bout of hand wringing over ‘political disengagement’ courtesy of a new poll which found that most people don’t vote out of anger rather than apathy. “Big whoop” I say. The Power Inquiry, for which I was Research Director, found exactly the same back in 2006. That would be the 2006 that pre-dated all the things currently blamed for popular antipathy: MP’s expenses, Coalition politics, the 2008 Crash, the recession, Damian McBride etc. etc. The truth is there are two very good, intimately linked reasons why people hate politics and politicians. Neither of them are easy for the political class to swallow. Politics is hateful The first is that politics is hated because it is a hateful profession. That doesn’t make it unusual – most professions are characterised by petty politicking, tedious tribalism, gossip and self-interest. The difference with politics is that, unlike other professions, all those frailties get constantly and very publicly dressed up, by politicians themselves, as humble public service. Such in your face hypocrisy is rarely good for anyone’s credibility. Of course, that’s not to say a lot of MPs don’t work very hard for their constituents and even sometimes in the national interest but a lot of people work very hard for others or for the good of the country and never get a gratis peerage from a thankful nation at the end (or even in the middle) of their careers. Parliamentary democracy is dying The second is that parliamentary democracy itself is based on a conceptualisation of the relationship between ruler and ruled that is dead. In that conceptualisation, we the people accept being ruled by a tiny elite as long as we get to choose which tiny elite is doing the ruling. The problem is that the populations of the advanced economies increasingly don’t like the idea of being ruled by a tiny elite whether they have chosen them or not. Again this is not just a matter for politics. The elitist institutions of authority and power that people are free to walk away from (the Church, the trade unions, the press) have been in decline for decades. Even the biggest, richest corporations have to fight a constant battle now to hold on to their customers’ trust and respect. Politics is different, once again, because it can’t be walked away from. That’s a recipe for popular frustration. A centuries old and profound trend This is no recent trend but is, in my view, the outcome of many centuries of shift away from deference to collective authority towards the free choice of the individual. At one stage, parliamentary democracy was a major consequence of this shift as feudal elites in charge by virtue of force and divinity made way for democratic elites chosen by free voting individuals. Now this historic shift is swamping parliamentary democracy itself. There are two key conclusions. Firstly, no tweaking of MP’s pay arrangements, the discovery of an inspirational new leader or even ‘radical’ change such as the introduction of proportional representation will resolve this deep systemic contradiction. In fact, anyone thinking of going into politics better accept that “I can’t seem to do anything right” sensation as a permanent occupational hazard. Secondly, the problem will only go away when a new political system emerges that better reflects a world devoid of deference. What that looks like I am not sure. The Conservative MP, Douglas Carswell, has had a shot with a strong emphasis on more direct democracy using internet technologies. I suspect it may be something much deeper than that based on widely distributed personal power rather than concentrated democratic power. Whatever it is though it will be driven by the intensely strong desire of 21st century individuals to make their own decisions for themselves not by the nervous, self-doubt of the political class. You can follow me on Twitter here

How about a picture then

How about a picture then, They say a picture is a thousand words, But to describe you for what you really are, For who you truly are, I would have to take a billion of a million pictures with a trillion photographers and painters, Just to describe one side of you And for those of you wondering, That’s a lot of zeros. But I’m not good at painting or photography, So I have to stick with just words for right now And might as well start with those words that I know And I’ll start with English, Move my way into Armenian, Learn all the romantic tongues And work my way down to the dead languages, like Latin So, here it goes— Your eyes are gentle and are like dark lakes that have a glimmer of light as if the moon was reflecting in the darkest of night, Your eyes seem like that they can pull anyone in and they ripple every time you see a familiar friend, They shake and you open the door to your soul whenever you have your eyes meet someone else’s You invite them into your mind. You took me in one time— But I never got out. You know how to write, you know how to paint, you create music for everyone to hear You want to make a noise So people can hear you, But you don’t like all the attention Because you’re shy And I find it funny every time That you burst out into laughter And turn as red as the beautiful rose that you are, And the way that you crinkle your nose When you think something is up between the two of us, Especially on my side Because you know I always want to surprise you with something new. And I love how you stand up And always want to try something new Like really exciting and spontaneous things that actually kind of scare me, But it’s okay as long as I’m with you, But do we really have to go bungee jumping or wave riding? Sky diving is cool with me as long as I can share my parachute with you. And you know how to listen, Your ears point up as soon as you hear a voice You take all their words into memory Imagine the stories that they are telling you Give them advice and make them find their way again through the dark All they have to see are those glimmering whites in your black eyes And they’ll find their way out of the shadows Because your eyes are like lanterns. Your hands are not soft, but rough From all those battle-scars you hold, And when they grasp mine they are warm But I didn’t mind holding them And dancing with you. Oh, and dancing, That’s another thing you just so happen to be good at too, So passionate that even though the guy is supposed to lead, You started to lead me, I was about to do some twirls and spins, But you stopped me with a smile And said that you will follow me. You think you are weird, But I think that we are all a little bit kooky on the inside, I’m especially crazy around you But that’s just my normal self, Because I know that I can trust you enough to see the real me. And we do have those endless talks, But they are always about something new And something deep to think about, And sometimes I end up running my mouth But I love how I got to know you And you got to know me And yet there is still that hint of mystery behind each of our histories, But there is still time To figure out all the pieces of each other and All the secrets between us So just give it more time. Every time I’m around you I’m nervous, And after all of this, I still haven’t admitted a single word Of how much I really want us to date, How much I want us to be together, But right now, let’s just keep it like this, Because I don’t want to screw anything up, But yeah, this is only the first part of the story And I have a few more languages to continue it in, So now, onto Armenian!