Recently amended my habit of disguising people’s identity behind nicknames.Instead received the permission of those important important in my life to use their names when describing shared activities and when writing of our correspondence. For a reason not understood and therefore impossible to articulate – anonymity has returned to their midst.
Had this exchange days ago.
Me: I learn things the hard way. Hahaha
She: You never stop learning. That’s what makes life interesting
Me: Exactly. I am SO curious
She: Its good it is what keep you young
Me: I am so young I am a newborn Hahaha
She: Very true. Everyday we are new born. New day new start to life.
Me: Yes with a proper attitude.
Then this conversation, teaching me a new way of life. Hahaha
He: We are all fallible human beings. That’s what makes life fun and exciting. The Prophet said Allah prefers people who sin and seek forgiveness rather than someone who does not do bad things at all. 
The whole idea of coming back to Him after going astray is what is best Even so, not fasting hardly constitutes a sin!! It’s just one day less of autophagic treatment to your body, that’s all.
Me: I admit that I did not know the meaning of autophagic. Now with the help of Cleveland Clinic I now know more than I ever wanted to know. Hahaha Thanks for making me smarter. hahaha. Guilt free, Ever repenting, Alexis
I shall give you the opportunity to learn from my learning.
“Autophagy allows your body to break down and reuse old cell parts so your cells can operate more efficiently. It’s a natural cleaning out process that begins when your cells are stressed or deprived of nutrients. Researchers are studying autophagy’s role in potentially preventing and fighting disease. Autophagy (pronounced “ah-TAH-fah-gee”) is your body’s process of reusing old and damaged cell parts. Cells are the basic building blocks of every tissue and organ in your body. Each cell contains multiple parts that keep it functioning. Over time, these parts can become defective or stop working. They become litter, or junk, inside an otherwise healthy cell.Autophagy is your body’s cellular recycling system. It allows a cell to disassemble its junk parts and repurpose the salvageable bits and pieces into new, usable cell parts. A cell can discard the parts it doesn’t need. Autophagy is also quality control for your cells. Too many junk components in a cell take up space and can slow or prevent a cell from functioning correctly. Autophagy remakes the clutter into the selected cell components you need, optimizing your cells’ performance” Cleveland Clinic
Can you induce autophagy?
“You can induce autophagy by stressing your cells to send them into survival mode. You can induce autophagy through:
Fasting: Fasting means that you stop eating for a certain amount of time. Fasting deprives your body of nutrients, forcing it to repurpose cell components to function.”
If you want to learn more about it, go right ahead. Go to Cleveland Clinic’s website and type autophagy.
You: Thank you.
Me: You are welcome. Anytime.
Lots of folks (even me) wonder how and why I attract so many readers. The answer is now clear. Where else can you be introduced to autophagy for nothing and I never have nor never will ask for donations. My inbox is littered with ’helpful’ probably newly formed businesses giving readers Ramadan information and knowledge – all seeking donations, reminding readers that charitable giving is mandatory during Ramadan. I am NOT impressed, it is SO transparent and frowned upon.
I fear I may have just sinned. I am limiting social media during Ramadan, not my blog but Instagram. I am also avoiding controversy during Ramadan. Unfortunately I looked to Instagram I received two Likes to a response I made to a reel depicting a woman feeling unseen and unheard because she was wearing a headscarf.
I wrote: On the other hand if a piece of material scares people and blinds them to who I am – why wear it??? It is not a requisite in the faith and labels me and restricts my freedom. I am a revert of four years. Lived in Saudi Arabia for six months but also the US, Canada, the UAE and Malaysia. I covered for approximately three of those four years. At this time I do not. I strive everyday to act and believe in ways to please Allah (SWT) not to merely look like I am a Muslim
There were multiple posts telling the world that the highest number of pilgrims in one day 500,000 were recorded. Think of the money spent by those pilgrims as hotels, restaurants, transportation costs charge totally inflated prices during this time. Ramadan is to be a time of charitable giving, closeness and concentration on Allah (SWT). Instead videos of crowds jostling one another, deafening noise.
I admit to using my blogs, look back at my 2024 Ramadan. I had totally forgotten what I had used as the focus of my Islamic study; a book gifted by Marwin Hetzi (Mr. Marwin as he was called at the Medina Oberio Hotel). I would be called. a coffee table book, it now graces the coffee table in my Penang apartment. The book resting comfortably in Penang: Heart of Makkah Needing some reminders went back to the search engine, typed Ramadan to find 176 entries. Finding those relevant to 2024 will take some exploration.
Exploration completed. This quote from the April 6, 2024 blog.
Back to the Heart of Makkah
“One of my Ramadan Intentions was to entirely consume The Heart of Makkah. We are in the final pages of the book discussing the planned further expansion of Makkah. Think of this as the dessert if you will – the icing on the cake and the decoration. I am not happy about it by the way viewing the futuristic plans. It looks unreal, some sort of megacity of the future – the tiny core of the megastructures is the tiny Kaaba. It will definitely be possible to pack in a lot of pilgrims, with their pilgrim dollars, no doubt about that. The very last chapter The Future of Makkah begins with a quote of Prince Khalid Al Faisal “Our dream for Makkah is taking shape. It is not a mirage in the dessert of an outlandish aspiration, but a real, heart pounding rhythm of progress seen and heard; rising up from the desert sands.” .
The authors tell us. “The world’s Muslim population is expected to increase by about 35 per cent in the next 20 years, using from 1.6 billion in 2019 to 2.2 billion by 2030, drastically increasing the number of pilgrims to Makkah. Consequently, the Saudi authorities have established a future vision for Makkah, and the challenge has begun to to deliver a futuristic city that will house, care and exceed the expectations of the tens of millions of global pilgrims expected to visit the city annually.”
I feel blessed! My visit to Makkah happened when it was of human and humane scale. I was alone, just me, and that was a miracle of sorts. Solitary women were allowed to perform Umrah for the first time in October of 2022. I was there alone in December of 2022. My curiosity and love of knowledge enabled me to worship the infinite wisdom of ASWT. ASWT is an an abbreviation used by a Saudi friend in a recent text – it stands for Allah (SWT)).
The blog continues discussing my personal life – a man no longer in my life, who loomed very large at the time. I shall abide by the words found in a small paperback book given to me by an unremembered donor, a Saudi Arabian driver whose name I do not recall. It provides this wisdom.
What is the work of Satan? To remind of the troubles and the difficulties of the past, which would create a sense of heart-breaking disappointment and deprivation. Man thinks about the prospects of his present and future. As regards shedding tears on the defeats of the past, to bring back the memory of the past sadness, to think of old enmities and to be entangled in the net of ifs and buts, are inclinations which do not suit the conduct of a Muslim…One Hadith has it: “One who wants to be strong among men, should rely on Allah. (Pg.180 Alghazali, M Muslim’s Character)
(Hadith is a collection of traditions containing sayings of the prophet Muhammad which, with accounts of his daily practice (the Sunna), constitute the major source of guidance for Muslims apart from the Quran)
Two reels followed the April 6, 2024 blog. Both of these reels were posted on Instagram The reel of the Kaaba at night received 8.3 views and 286 Likes. It may be viewed on my YouTube Channel. The other, the First Time I Saw This Blessed Sight received 863 views, with this beautiful message: O Allah, You are As-Salam, for You is all peace, blessed are You O Possessor of majesty and honor. I responded: I feel I am SO blessed. Alhamdulillah
Also can be found on my YouTube channel, called Mecca Travel.
Photographs will include Heart of Makkah on the coffee table. Muslim Character, not on coffee table. Two photos of the sunrise this morning, using different filters. The tall building no longer blocks the rising sun. The sun moved, the building did not. Hahahah
