Clandestine Croissant, Anyone?

I'll be honest. This fairly trivial post is occasioned in part by the desire not to see ten weeks' blog silence extend to a full quarter. That would almost feel like a final lurch from moribund to just plain dead. Do we, as a community, really have so little to say?
Anyway, here's your starter for ten: what harm would it do to allow food outlets to remain open during Ramadan? Take for example Le Dôme cafe in BurJuman Centre. They are open for delivery or take-away service only. Where is the sense in that? Someone might just buy half a pound of mince and a packet of lentils from a corner shop to cook after sundown, but a grilled cheese croissant and a café latté?? It's hardly likely that's going into the fridge to be fresh for Iftar. If we're happy to acknowledge that many people in town are not fasting, why can we not also let them sit down in comfort to eat their lunch? The daylight is so bright that it's barely possible to see in through the windows, so the temptation argument doesn't apply. And as those who are fasting have no good reason to step inside, the thing would seem to be self-policing. I'm convinced :-)

Ramadan Kareem.... :)

Ramadhan photos

Yes, I know Ramadhan is over... But here are some excellent photos showing some of the worldwide traditions during this month.

Here

MTV Arabia - no music videos during Ramadan

Just curious what people think.

MTV to drop music videos during Ramadan

Is this needed?

Also - why is music required to be restricted more than other media - movies, TV, internet - during Ramadan?

Disclaimer - I'm trying to understand, not pick a fight. Thanks.

Rights of Motorists

I had almost given up blogging, except for a small incident which happened a few days ago & which motivated me to write this post. While patiently moving at a snail's pace during the afternoon rush hour, this realization dawned on me that maybe the "Road Warriors" see law abiding drivers as donkeys. Yes you read it right, donkeys. How?

Who are the road warriors? They are the rash drivers who show no respect for fellow road users. Especially more so during this Holy month of Ramadan since most of the offenders are Muslims. Imagine people driving on the hard shoulder and yellow lane & then trying to push their way into the proper lane before an exit or a traffic signal. And by the way, this rude behavior is not just limited to male species, even our females have also mashallah become experts in this. Is this what fasting teaches us?

Fasting is supposed to teach us patience, care & respect for others. But it seems that for most of us, the real spirit of Ramadan only means attacking the food the moment Muazzin says athan. Few months ago, I wrote about the Rights of Neighbors. I will quote few excerpts from that post here:

The preacher said that neighborhood is not limited just to houses. For a trader, the traders around him are his neighbors. For a worker, his co workers are his neighbors. For a student, his class mates are his neighbors. For a traveller, the people sitting around him in a bus, train or a plane are his neighbors. For a village, the villages around it are its neighbors. For a city or province, the cities and provinces around it are its neighbors. For a country, the countries around it are its neighbors.

Also I had mentioned these two ahadith:

Narrated by Abu Hurairah (R.A.) the Prophet (PBUH) said,

"By Allah, he is not a true believer, By Allah, he is not a true believer, By Allah, he is not a true believer (three times). He was asked 'Who?" Upon which he replied, "The one whose neighbors do not feel secure from his mischief and evil"

Narrated Jabir (R.A.), the Prophet (PBUH) is reported to have said

"The neighbor with three rights is the neighbor who is a Muslim and a Relative (he has a claim as a neighbor, as a fellow Muslim and as a relative). The neighbor with two rights is the neighbor who is a Muslim (as such he has a claim as a neighbor as well as a fellow Muslim) and the the one with only one right is a non-Muslim neighbor (he has claim as a fellow human being)".

Drive safely & respect the rights of your neighbors (fellow motorists in this case). May Allah guide all of us to His right path :-)