I have discovered that there is a liar in my midst; someone previously trusted. Suddenly thought of the expression: You speak with forked tongue. Of course I absolutely HAD to look it up. Of course it is an idiom: “The phrase “speaks with a forked tongue” means to deliberately say one thing and mean another or, to be hypocritical, or act in a duplicitous manner.”
Me and my idioms. I have no idea where, and how, my idiom reliance began. It some time during the course of my blog writing. It seems they have totally taken over my life. I think in Idioms,
Me: I think it idioms, but I am not an idiot
Alter Ego: People might think you are.
Me: I really do not care what people thank of me. I only care what Allah (SWT) thinks of me.
Alter Ego: What do you think Allah thinks of idioms?
Me: Well, Allah (SWT) is All Powerful and they keep coming into my mind. So I guess they are okay.
Alter Ego: Do you have any other evidence of the Almighty’s approval?
Me: I am gifted with many blessings. Do not think I would be without His approval.
Alter Ego: That is rational and logical.
Me: Thank you! That is true of the Islamic Faith. Occasionally that is not the way some Muslims practice it however.
Back to the idiom. “It is an insult to tell someone that he is speaking with a forked tongue, as it is the same as calling someone a liar.” Okay, so I won’t. Where did ‘forked tongue’ come from? “Almost all authorities believe that the metaphor of a forked tongue refers to the forked tongue of a snake. A snake’s forked tongue is also called a bifurcated tongue. The snake uses his tongue to activate his vomeronasal system or his sense of smell. The bifurcation allows the snake to have a three-dimensional experience of smell. The origins of the idea of the forked tongue meaning to tell lies is at least five hundred years old, and is probably derived from the image of Satan as a snake, as depicted in the Adam and Eve story in the Old Testament.”
I absolutely love the use of the expression in this sentence: “As an independent, the only choice you got last election was between the lady with the Pinocchio nose and the white man who speaks with a forked tongue. (The Iowa City Press-Citizen).” What makes this SO funny (and not) is that both of those describe Premier Danielle Smith. (Except she is not a man, I do not think so anyway, maybe she is an altered one). Canadian tax dollars pay for such alterations, $10,000, you have to go to Montreal to get the operation but our tax dollars pay for the air fare. That is the truth – it was told to me by a recipient. There is nothing I can do to remedy this wrong, except leave the country. The individual, the recipient is Scottish, once worked in Qatar. So not born in Canada as I was. There is obviously fundamentally flawed with Canadian democracy.
I am ending my rant on the foibles of Canadian democracy. However, I do recommend that those hoping for intelligent comments concerning Canada’s government subscribe to the Hub. Their most recent edition dealt with the business of government. Excellent reporting by Amanda Lang. To subscribe just go to the hub.ca, then you shall receive great articles, podcasts with insights into Canadian politics.
You: Thank you Alexis. I will. Does this mean you will not be discussing Canadian politics on your blog.
Me: Nope, do not think so. Lots going on in this world. Canada does not make much news as it has no foreign policy etc. Alas and alack, all it seems to have these days is wildfires. Awful ones Kelowna and Yellowknife. Terrible. But I am not stupid enough to go there to provide on the spot coverage. I am going to a place with no wild fires. Saudi Arabia has lots of sand – sand does not burn. It might get real hot (and does) but it does not burn.
You: But it is hot there!
Me: They have air conditioning and lots of oil and other resources to keep those fans going strong. There are mountains in the Asir (which is Arabic for hard and difficult) A man called Muhammed (whom I met at AmBar in the Riyadh Hilton) thinks I should live there and has volunteered to show me around once I get back to Saudi Arabia. He is a nice guy – a little young for me, but who isn’t. Hahaha
You: Good Luck.
Me: I do not need good luck because Allah (SWT) is guiding my life. One of His 99 Names is the Great Planner. I am definitely not complaining about how my life is going at the moment. I am being grateful for all of my blessings.
But do let us get back to those that speak with forked tongues. Hypocrite is one synonym for those liars. I had a memory of discussing hypocrisy in a prior blog. I typed hypocrite into the search engine 23 blogs popped up. This quote, from January 28, 2023, discusses the treatment I received during my five month stay in the UAE. In my customary manner quotes are placed around my prior writings. .
“It was factual I did watch a powerful video featuring the now President of the UAE, but the video was most probably based on lies. Hypocrites rule the UAE. Hypocrites are mentioned 14 times in the Qur’an. Martin Lings book: “Muhammed: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources explains it all. The Prophet (PBUH) fled Mecca for Medina because he was being tortured and ridiculed and followers were being killed. Many of Mecca fled with him; they were called the “Emigrants” . There were many Jews living in Medina who became “Helpers” Muslims of Medina but some of them did not really believe – they did so in order to gain and retain power as the power base had shifted. They were hypocrites, they lied. Allah (SWT) made the Prophet aware of the power of their duplicity, that is why hypocrite is mentioned 14 times in the Qur’an. One can be a faith hypocrite: lie pretending to be a Muslim or one can live their lives as a hypocrite. Hypocrites have four qualities: 1. They lie 2.They break their promises 3. They break their covenants 4. They do not “fight fair” when they are resisted: loose their tempers, yell, swear and do even worse. I always tell the truth, it does not occur to me that others lie. So I am duped, fooled and used by hypocrites. But now I can spot them. They are no longer in my life.
The President of the UAE and his government preach tolerance – they are tolerant towards Israel but not Palestine – they are always the first to welcome both new and old heads of Israel. The monument to three faiths remains uncompleted on Sadayatt Island in Abu Dhabi unfinished and unbuilt after the passage of several years. Almost all construction the UAE can best be described as instantaneous – new buildings appear almost over night. So why not the three faiths monument? “
What does one do when it is discovered that you have a hypocrite in your midst? I am calmly considering my alternatives. The Islamic Faith teaches its believers not to become angry, not to be confrontative, not to become like them – fighting dishonesty with dishonesty is forbidden. The only solution is to get away from hypocrites, politely absent yourself from their presence. Not to seek revenge because that is most time and energy consumptive. A recent Instagram reel spoke of people who did not give back, whose persistent behavior caused much consternation. The scholar suggested that these people were living rent free in your head and heart. I responded publicly to this reel, saying something like:
Me: Thank you for this. I love that you described those kind of people as living rent free. The solution is to evict them them kick them out your life without giving them the traditional thirty day notice.
Here is the good news, if one is of the Islamic faith. There is no way a hypocrite is going to Jannah – so in the long run they shall be punished and you will be free of them – if you behave yourself and go to Jannah, that is. One has to be patient but that is another trait which is , revered by the Prophet (PBUH) easing you into Jannah.
I will look through my Saudi Sojourn photos to find one or two two which may amuse you. One shall be a photo of the creatures that have a giraffe head and a camel body. Why someone decided that was a good idea is beyond my compression. Then a photo of Chinese double humped camels – considered to be some sort of delicacy. Another photo is of a rather handsome tour guide providing amusement (at no extra cost). He put on pairs of my vast supply of eyeglasses and did imitations. My horn rimmed spectacles brought forth an Indian Intellectual. The pictured sunglasses were being worn by a Hollywood producer of of gay films. It was SO funny – you had to be there – but you were not. I had the guy all to myself. Hahaha. The fourth photo is me in the contraption it flew over portions of desolate Saudi Arabia. It is on Instagram – I dare you to watch it. Hahaha. I did live to tell about it, obviously.
