This expression came suddenly to mind: Let Sleeping Dogs Lie. I am sure it is the saying of the day, I shall now look it up. Yes, it is perfect I have just discovered. Many meanings but this comes the closest to my situation.
It is said to warn someone that they should not talk about a bad situation that most people have forgotten about. More research will now take place.
Fascinating the origins of the expression: The expression ‘let sleeping dogs lie’ was a popular proverb by the 13th century, alluding to waking up a fierce watchdog and causing trouble.
Wikipedia:
This intent is similar to the meanings of sayings like “Don’t rock the boat”, “Never trouble trouble till trouble troubles you.
Here a slightly different understanding of the history:
“An early version in Middle English: “It is nought good a slepyng hound to wake” belongs to Chaucer (c. 1385 AD, “Troilus and Criseyde“, III.764)[2] and is predated by earlier French: n’ésveillez pas lou chien qui dort, “wake not the sleeping dog” (early 14th century).[5] The Chaucer’s character, Pandarus, when uttering the phrase, is speaking literally, referring to Criseyde‘s ladies sleeping outside her chamber.[6]The expression ‘let sleeping dogs lie’ was a popular proverb by the 13th century, alluding to waking up a fierce watchdog and causing trouble.
Wikipedia looks at its meaning in different countries and then makes a drastic error:
The idiom is unfamiliar to the speakers of Arabic who mostly fail to recognize its meaning.[17]
I absolutely know the concept is enshrined in the Quran, the supporting Hadiths and other approved sources. For example, it is a basic tenant of the faith, giving superb advice in how to deal with a hypocrite. A believer gets away from those hypocrites quickly and never look back. That is what I am doing at this moment, it seems.
What was Wikipedia’s source of the failure of Arab’s to know the meaning of letting sleeping dogs lie? I looked it up and you will not believe it!!! Al Kayed, Murad; Alkayid, Majd; Essa, Lama Bani (2023). “A contrastive study of the connotative meanings of “dog-related” expressions in English and Jordanian proverbs: Implications for translators and language teachers”. Acta Linguistica Petropolitana (19–1): 66–101.See it for yourself.
How could that be a source of knowledge of the Islamic Faith?? Sometimes when you check out citations in Wikipedia you find they are not reliable. However, the advantage of this over any other media, both social and traditional, is this. Media almost never, ever cites its sources. It seems at this moment in my life everything is evil but there are islands of good amongst the evil. One must have hope, believe in Allah (SWT), keep smiling and laughing and all will be well.
That is what happened at breakfast this morning. Suddenly a huge family appeared, a husband and wife and four sons. They were from Brussels, Belgium. The mother was fluent in English, her husband and sons less so. They all, all six of them had blue eyes. It was a feast, a gift. I could look into a sea of blue eyes – it made me feel less alone, less isolated. I will be a total freak in Nigeria. The good news is that the official language is English so at least I will be able to make myself understood. I heard that most Nigerians have never even seen a white person, so stop you and ask to touch your skins and hair and I guess gaze at my blue eyes. But I think this is an exaggeration and not true in Northern Muslim Nigeria – Muslims most respectful of a woman’s privacy. . I am an ordinary person – one who worked her whole life paying for her education, relying on no one. I might need body guards and and maids, and my own private physician. My husband seems consumed with his business interest and investments. Hopefully if we ever see each other we can work this all out. We both laugh a lot and get over out differences. He is very patient with me, he needs to be. Hahaha
The mother met at Savv Hotel was reading a book with a foreign title. We discussed the title. My ‘translation was Winter is Bitter. No, she said, Silence is Bitter.
Me: My goodness, that is SO true. Silence is so bitter and lonely and alienating. Winter is followed by spring, so there is hope. But silence is ever enduring, everlasting. The blessing of the Islamic Faith is that you are never condemned to silence. Allah (SWT) is there listening. One speaks to him formally through prayer but He can be called upon at any time. He is all listening and all knowing. His ninety-nine names ensure believers that they will be heard. I must go to my room, find my precious book, given to me by Mr. Ali of the Oberio Hotel and find one or perhaps I can Google it. Not going to believe everything I read in Wikipedia however, nor anywhere else of the web.
It seems I shall be leaving this wonderful boutique hotel. I was planning to go to Saudi Arabia but this proved impossible. Hammad’s credit card did not work. The attempt to get a ticket from Singapore Air failed. Fraud Alert raised its ugly head yet again. Spent forty minutes on the telephone with a series of three different people, finally rising to the rank of a supervisor. Asked him where he was based.
He: India. After talking for forty minutes he said he had to put me on hold again.. I said NO – call me back but I am to going to spend more money on this phone call. I received no follow up call yet again. Their technique is to get off the phone as quickly as possible How callous and how inhumane. The lengths banks will go to save my money. Foolish people like me and countless others foolishly invest their funds with them. We have another alternative which I have been exploring, more about that later. I do have an operative credit card within Malaysia . A reservation in another small newly opened boutique hotel has been made for me, so I can stay in Malaysia to sort out my life. Thought with the help of the Canadian Embassy, but no. More about that later.
In Shakespeare’s words: All’s Well that Ends We… Well the end is not yet in sight but with all of the tests that Allah (SWT) is putting me through , my tenacity and perseverance and ability to pass, this means when THE end comes it will be a good ending. I used to joke with people that I would be on Fast Track. It is beginning to look that way. Hahaha.
Photographs of the book, which I shall research further. A still photo of the sunrise this morning and a very amateur reel I made celebrating the morning.
In my dismay turned to the Quran in random fashion opened Chapter 10 Jonah. “Had God hastened the punishment of men as He hastens the the good, the end of their term of life would have been already reached. We leave those who do not hope to meet Us groping along in their arrogance. (10:11)
That is so true of those we will never meet in Jannah, they grope along in their arrogance.
Perhaps now is a good time to define Jannah for the non believers and the arrogant ones. We shall rely upon sometimes unreliable Wikipedia for this definition.
“In Islam, Jannah is the final and permanent abode of the righteous. According to one count, the word appears 147 times in the Qur’an. Belief in the afterlife is one of the six articles of faith in Sunni and Twelver Shi’ism and is a place in which “believers” will enjoy pleasure, while the unbelievers will suffer in Jahannam. Both Jannah and Jahannam are believed to have several levels.”
I am making the effort to confirm (or deny) the source, the citation. The are as follows:. 1.“Searchable Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic” (PDF). giftsofknowledge. p. 138. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
2. Joseph Hell Die Religion des Islam Motilal Banarsidass Publishers 1915.
3. “Paradise In Quran”. The Last Dialogue. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
I read many of the verses contained in the number 3 cite. I commend it to you. This is one most appropriate to these times.
111 And they say, “None will enter Paradise except one who is a Jew or a Christian.” That is [merely] their wishful thinking, Say, “Produce your proof, if you should be truthful.
4, Thomassen, “Islamic Hell”, Numen, 56, 2009: p.401
Yet again I have found something to cheer you up and on. Again from Andy Borowitz.
ATLANTIC OCEAN (The Borowitz Report)—In what is being described as a holiday cruise gone horribly awry, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife Ginni were lost at sea on Monday after Elon Musk’s self-driving superyacht slammed into an iceberg.The Thomases had reportedly been excited about their voyage on the Tesla founder’s craft, one of the few luxury vessels owned by Republican megadonors that they had never boarded.Moments before the collision, a security camera captured Justice Thomas standing astride the ship’s bow with his arms out, gleefully declaring, “I’m king of the world!”
Musk, who was not on board when the self-driving ship ran into trouble, said he was “saddened” by the Thomases’ nautical mishap, telling reporters, “I should have invited Alito. His wife has a collection of SOS flags.”
Seriously I can just see Thomas with his arms out gleefully saying that he is King of the Word, he does think that he is I am sure and his wife has not told him the bitter truth about himself. I love thinking about Alioto’s wife’s collection of SOS flags.
Yet again I have the best room in the hotel with an impeccable view. You shall see some photos tomorrow. I have recovered with the help of Angel and Savv Hotel. When I checked into the Savv Hotel that saved me I looked like I was 105, following the abuse of Penang Lexis Suites l I looked like I was 105. Today I looked like me again. PHEW
