Desert Son: Tales of Le_Muslim_MAN

Maybe It's A MESSAGE!

Okay, first things first, um, has it really been over a year? Sheesh. So much for regular updates. Um, to quickly catch everyone up, um, not much has changed over this time, but there has been some progress. For one, I did manage to finally get a job, which is totally killing me, like literally paining my body and mind; oh and really killing my social life too. It's a night job and VERY physically demanding, and the managers are less than kind, and the environment is just a pain so... But Alhamdulillah, for now, it's helping in some ways because bills don't pay themselves, right?

Um, school still sucks, though I'm on break rn. But that's ending soon. Sadly. Ramadan was short as usual, things got out of whack this year, and there was some extra good and some..... not so good...not so good at all.... Eid was... not as Eid-y as I had hoped. You all know the feeling, as we grow older and Eid starts to feel a little less like it used to every year and you wonder is it because of yourself, is it because growing up sucks, or is it because of the society.

Well, for me, I plan to In Shaa Allah make Eid great again, and build a wall... and be orange... no wait, no I don't lol. But I do have plans to make Eid feel like Eid again, if not in the present, then in the future when I have my own kids In Shaa Allah and I'll uphold the traditions my family used to have once upon a time that made it feel like a real celebration, a real holiday. And I plan to make new ones, to make my own with my new family and keep things joyous and happy for the future.

AAAAAANYWAYS, now moving to the topic at hand. I just came back from Jum'ah and I went to certain Masjid I wasn't technically supposed to go (oops lol) but I HAD to go because the khateeb that came only goes there once a month, and he's one of the few speakers whose khutbahs are actually inspiring, beneficial, and helpful. You actually feel like you learned something or were reminded when you go, and he isn't difficult to understand, he isn't an old man stuck on who's out of touch with the audience like some of other speakers, AND he's actually qualified to speak, the man actually studied deen and went to get a formal education in an Islamic university (Madinah if anyone is wondering lol), unlike some of our speakers who are just the local dentist or lawyer who the people just throw onto the minbar to speak >.>

ANYWAYS, so this guy, Ahmed Al-Kurdy, gave a really nice khutbah on racism and certain social issues happening today. It was fairly relevant and of course, he spoke about it from an Islamic perspective. Nonetheless, there are and were people who were unhappy with this. One person, who I can't name but we'll call "Abu 'Anza", is an acquaintance of mine, and he's the reason I'm writing this although he won't read it (he doesn't have wattpad and even if he did I wouldn't let him find me here lol).

Anyways, it just so happens that as I was leaving from the Masjid to go get gas and pick up something for my mom, he came to me and invited me to lunch with him and some friends. I politely declined due to my prior responsibilities, and he told me we need to catch up some time and discuss the khutbah. He wasn't a fan and he wanted my opinion on it. Then, it also happened that another friend, "Abu Nabilah," who's usually a big big fan of this sheikh, also wasn't too pleased with the khutbah. And to make matters worse, he was also displeased with another khutbah we heard back in Ramadan about another issue.

At first (hey, I didn't start this paragraph with "anyways"), I thought nothing of it. Maybe they just didn't feel inspired? Maybe they didn't feel it the same that I had. That's their business. But then Abu 'Anza mentioned that last week he heard a khutbah from another student from Madinah, and it was about racism too and he didn't like it. So I joked that if next week he hears another khutbah on racism, it's a message.

Then it hit me. Maybe IT IS A MESSAGE! Now I know what you're thinking, "duh it's a message, that's the whole point." But no, what I mean is, maybe these two individuals, and many others, are hearing these khutbahs so they can finally wake up and realize something in themselves. I don't mean to backbite or speak ill of them, which is why I'm keeping them completely anonymous, but the khutbahs they didn't like seemed to be addressing issues that maybe strike a chord with them. Something possibly within them.