Well, not instructions I say laughingly, but certainly inspiration. Inspiration comes from people who thoughtfully providing guidance from the Qur’an or an esteemed scholar. Not rote with pretty images and incomplete information but thoughtfully, after thinking on their own (of course with Allah’s assistance). Here is one:
Ibn Qayyim said “Your soul is just like your enemy, once it finds you serious, it obeys you. If it finds weakness from you, it will take you a prisoner.
I did respond and we had the following conversation.
Me: I am going to force my soul to obey me. Thank you. All praise to Allah.
He: You can’t force it You just teach it to serve you! By forcing your soul gonna be prisoner.
Me: Thank you! I shall heed your words.
This is what I mean by rote. It is mechanical or habitual repetition of something to be learned. Synonyms are very telling. Mechanically, automatically, without thinking, unthinkingly, parrot-fashion, mindlessly; by heart., from memory. I do hope,and pray, that I do not unthinkingly and mindlessly speak of the Islamic Faith in either my blog or on Instagram. It suddenly occurs to me that I might in parrot-fashion bring readers humor. But in my defense would say that I do pick and choose amongst the hilarity found in the New Yorker.
My ‘Instagram Instruction’ sent me thinking and I could see instances where my soul had been taken prisoner. Certain people in my life have taken my soul prisoner – they have done so by creating and maintaining a dependance on them – they were or are mere, mortal men. Then when my should is prisoner, they use me in some manner – not sexually usually. But, at some point, my seriousness returns and I cast them aside, with an enormous sense of relief. I see that they were actually my enemy. I look back at the parade of them, littering my life beginning with my London days – and they all had one thing in common. Despite having a close, very close and dependent relationship with me, they never read my blogs. A warning sign Alexis, a warming sign. A man from my Vancouver days, Triple C (whose real name is David Lall) was funny, here is one of our conversations.
Me: But you never read my blogs. Sometimes I read them to you but you never read them.
He: Why should I read the blog? I am in the movie.
Me: Well maybe, But you are not going to play yourself. You are not handsome enough.
And all of these men had another thing in common. They had a secret, a lie never revealed. David Lall’s was that he had been fired from a job as a concierge at a highly prestigious hotel in Vancouver, that is why he worked so many long hours at the Trump International Hotel and Towers. I found that out later and did find out that he had been my enemy the whole time. His competition during those Vancouver days was Hottie, his real name was Richard Poole. He was my personal trainer at the Equinox gym. He said that he was a physical therapist in England, but that was a lie. How did I find that out? In an unbelievable way. Staying at the Pestana Chelsea Bridge Hotel in London, there was a couple sitting next to me, we were making up limericks. Their son had him for a tennis instructor years before, and he was most destructive to that young man. Richard Poole did not help me with my knees, his ‘training’ destroyed them necessitating right knee replacement surgery. Equinox gym refused to reimburse me even though there was proof that my claims were substantiated. But dnefwmmcb. I wonder what happened to David Lall during the pandemic, or Richard Poole. The Trump, next door to the Equinox gym closed its doors and Joo Kim Tiah declared bankruptcy. All rather scary. Met an Emirati man at the Abu Dhabi Louvre – we chatted for some time, He laughingly said that I was a dangerous woman. Wise Man confirmed that this was true, as have several others. But, in my defense I say.
Me: I am only dangerous to those who make me dependent upon them for their own gain.
Alter Ego: You are right!
Me: There is within me a Big Girl and a Little Girl. I let my Little Girl out, she trusts but when the men show their real intentions and mess with her – the Big Girl steps in.
Alter Ego: Yes, and Big Girl says; Little Girl I am taking over. This is a job for Big Girl. And woe is he (or she) that hurt Little Girl.
Me: Woe indeed. Such havoc comes upon them But I did not cause bankruptcies, the pandemic, the disinheritance of Royalty – I am not that powerful. I just walk away and Allah takes over. All of those men are Satans and that is what one does with a Satan – walk away – stop listening to Satan whispering in my ear. Only listen to Allah,
Do remember the beginning in one Qur’ans. “When you read the Qur’an seek refuge with God from Satan the outcast. He has no authority over those who believe and trust in their Lord. His authority is only over those who follow him and those who associate others with Him.”
(Verses 16:98-100)
Getting back to the plight of women in this world, even this Muslim world. The world is crowded with hordes of woman who have allowed themselves to become dependent on men, not good, righteous, empowering men but weak men who must dominate. They are held prisoners of these men. Women must look to Allah, he provides strength to women. It is women’s strength that can rescue this faith from the rather sorry state that it finds itself at the present time. As Dr. Azmeen has chronicled women have become either subjugated in repressive Muslim societies or too take the worse from Western societies. Strong men prefer independent women, value them and are guided by them There are examples, fine examples of this. The pair that immediately come to mind are Sheikh Zayed and his wife Sheikha Fatima. She was a strong influence upon him, supported women’s rights and was able to find support of women in the nation by influencing her husband. She travelled with him on diplomatic missions, surely observing quietly and providing her husband with her insights. It is unfortunate that his son Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed has not married such a woman. His wife has born him many children but that appears to be her function – she does not travel with him on diplomatic missions and when he is absent from the country, his mother assumes the role. If I remember correctly – entertaining the Royal Family of Belgium when they were here a few months ago. A strong man needs a strong woman. One of the finest examples of that is Winston Churchill – his strong wife has been described as a ‘toe holder’. She kept him grounded, kept him real – said to him in a subtle way. “Listen dear – you are like any man – you put your pants on one leg at a time.” It is an idiomatic expression: For to be an ordinary human being, to go through life like everyone else is so important, and is used in reference to someone who is of an elevated social status, such as a celebrity, star athlete, a member of royalty. I do so love this quote from Bruce Dickinson that sums it all up: “Easy, guys… I put my pants on just like the rest of you – one leg at a time: Except, when my pants are on, I make gold records.”
Go to the search engine of this machine and type in toe holder. Five blogs will appear and they explain the concept of toe holder very eloquently, beautifully and intellectually. I have been a toe holder to rich and powerful men – but I let go their toe. What happened to them – bankruptcy and ruin. Too bad, so sad.
Also type in Dr. Azmeen and you will receive two blogs written about the continued subjugation of women.
The February 11, 2022 blog discusses Sheikha Fatima and includes a link to an inspiring article about her. https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/uae-at-50/2021/12/01/sheikha-fatima-proud-of-all-her-daughters-as-uae-celebrates-its-50th-anniversary.
Paired with this blog is an appropriate photograph, believe that or not, taken yesterday. I crossed the street and went to Terminal 3 to ask some questions about my flight. An extremely helpful Muslim woman provided assistance, then saw an amazing photograph and tribute to Sheikh Zayed, so paused to take a picture. A man in uniform came rushing out of a nearby door, armed with a weapon.
He: You cannot take a photograph.
Me: What? Why? I am taking a photograph of the former leader of this country.
He: Oh! You can take a picture of that but not the security gates.
Me: Why in the world would I want to take a picture of security gates??? And you guys over there are not particularly handsome.
He: You are funny,
Me: That’s what all the guys say.
Now it could be, possible be, that the Esteemed Sheikh Zayed went to the desert to have a slight break from his incredibly strong wife Sheikha Fatima. Just a possibility – married couples do need a break from one another every once in a while.
