Bulls vs. Lakers 3/21/09

I attended this game, and while Da Bulls performed extraordianarily against arguably the best team in the Association, they managed to fall apart in the fourth quarter.  Deja vu.  It seemed like they turned the ball over 6 times in a row, and after every turnover, the Lakers hit a 3-pointer.  Man, what is it with Ben Gordon and dribbling a basketball?  You would think he would have it figured out by now.  Oh well, thank God for John Salmons.  Since he came to Da Bulls, he has been my favorite player.  Very intelligent, always looking for the easiest way to score.  While he can hit the long ball, he prefers to get to the hoop.  Based on my experience balling and watching others, this usually makes the long shots more comfortable / natural when the defense starts playing back.  My man can defend, too.  MashaAllah.  Derrick Rose was aggressive for most of the game.  He usually seems to know what is needed from him at any given moment.  Very exciting to watch, I am so thankful we got that top spot in the draft last year.  Magnifique!

It was good to actually witness them perform at such a high level, despite the loss.  The thing that really disturbed me, however, was the crowd chanting “MVP” in the final minutes whenever Kobe Bryant scored.  It literally made me nauxious.

Welcome Back, Kirk!

I decided that, with my obsession with basketball (playing it and watching Da Bulls), I could add some commentary to go along with the overabundance of that which is already out there.  I don’t get cable, so I won’t be able to do this for every game.  Lucky you.

Kirk Hinrich came back into action on Monday after missing the whole regular season up to that point with a torn thumb ligament.  It might be just me, but Da Bulls seam like an entirely different team with him out there.  I didn’t see Monday’s game, so I’m basing this off of what I saw last night at Toronto against the Raptors.  Their defense and their selflessness on offense was reminiscent of the three years that Scott Skiles coached them into the playoffs (’05, ’06, and ’07).

Kirk is known for his defense, and in his return, it appears that he has already set an example for the rest of the team.  Of course, this brings us to the issue that was inevitably going to present itself- Da Bulls have an abundance of guards, and someone is going to lose playing time.  Thank God that someone (so far) is Larry Hughes.   Kirk doesn’t shoot the ball when double and triple-teamed, he doesn’t complain about playing time, and he cares more about winning than his own stat line.  Hughes is the opposite.  For the first time this season, Larry Hughes did not play in a game for which he was healthy (he played 7 minutes on Monday, which was his low for the season).  Coach Vinny Del Negro gave Hughes extended playing time in the few games leading up to Monday, and he performed decently, although he made some very selfish decisions that probably cost Da Bulls a win Saturday night against the lowly Oklahoma City Thunder (formerly known as the Seattle Supersonics).

Hopefully, there are some GM’s out there who saw his stats but didn’t see the actual game.  Then we can trade him for a power forward or center.  Otherwise, Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah are actually starting to perform, so I wouldn’t mind seeing Paxson doing the same thing with Hughes that he did with Eddie Robinson back in ’03 I think it was- ban him from team functions.  Let his contract run out after next year and then we’ll have plenty of cap space for the epic free-agent Summer of 2010.  He gets paid a lot, but the team chemistry looks 1000 times better with Kirk out there.  With the much improved ball movement that was on display, Noah was left open under the basket a few times and his teammates found him for the easy dunk.  He also came up with the game-clinching blocked shot on All-Star Chris Bosh (who would be the perfect acquisition for that summer of ’10).

Although the Raptors were without their up-and-coming point guard Jose Calderon and big man Jermaine O’Neal (who seems to be washed up anyways), this victory showed what Da Bulls are capable of when they play for the team and not for themselves.  That was by far some of the best passing I’ve seen from them since they made it to the conference semifinals almost 2 years ago.  Although it usually gets ugly when Da Bulls get into their 1-on-1 mode, Derrick Rose seems to know when it’s necessary.  When the Raptors started making a game out of it, Rose basically took over for 4 of 5 consecutive possessions to keep the game in Da Bulls’ hands.  That man is a BEAST!

If Tyrus continues to play to his strengths and maintains the recent consistency in his mid-range jump shot, and if Del Negro continues to utilize Luol Deng’s slashing abilities in the offensive sets (as he finally started to do last night), and if Thabo Sefalosha continues to show that he can shoot the ball as he has of late, and most importantly, if I’m right about Hinrich’s return rejuvenating the team, we might just be able to make it past the 1st round of the playoffs again (with a 5 or possibly a 6 seed).  I know that sounds like a lot, but we’re not that far removed from the last time that occurred.  Kirk Hinrich is a very intelligent basketball player and I believe the young’uns will learn a lot from how he plays the game.

22-24 Ramadan 1429 / 22-24 September 2008

I have attended 4 more masaajid since the last time I wrote about the first 4 I have visited this month (9 Ramadan).

- One in the west suburban area, where I used to take classes for new Muslims.   There is an Islamic K-12 school on the premises, and several community events are held here.  It also has a bookstore.  The classes I used to attend were on Sundays.  I don’t go anymore because of transportation issues and other responsibilities (I do not have a valid drivers license due to actions that occurred in my pre-Islamic life, but inshaAllah that should be resolved soon).

-Another in the west suburban area, which I visited for the first time.  Some brothers and myself came here to raise funds for necessary expansion of my primary masjid.  There was a lecture after taraweeh that I thought would have been really interesting, but we were tired and had a long ride home.  Can’t think of too much too say about it since I was busy fundraising… the carpets were red, which was quite cheerful.

-One in the south suburban area.  Again, we went for fundraising purposes.  We arrived early so I can elaborate more on this one.  It was just built a couple years ago and seems to be really involved with the youth, which is always good.  A friend and I had discussed that among the immigrant community, we see so many of the elders at the masaajid compared to people our age and younger (mid-twenties).   By making the masjid into more of a community center instead of just a place of worship, people from all age groups will probably attend  in higher numbers.  This was Mike’s idea, got to give him the credit he deserves, mashaAllah! They have a really hi-tec AV setup, and sometimes they record taraweeh recitation to make CD’s for people.  I will admit that I’m still stuck in the CD era, but I am slowly turning away from music and toward listening to more Qur’an recitation.

-On Tuesday, I visited a masjid on the north side, where my friend is the Imam.  They have itiqaf there right now, which I briefly mentioned in my 3 Ramadan entry.  In the last 10 days of Ramadan, it was a sunnah (example of the Prophet, peace be upon him) to have itiqaf (stay in the masjid).  So they were at the beginning of the stay, and I had some stimulating conversation with some knowledgable brothers, mashaAllah.  As much as I wanted to stay for taraweeh, I had to leave before the busses stopped running.  I’m not quite ready for a 10 day itiqaf yet, but hopefully one of these years I will be.

Eight masaajid in 24 days, hopefully I can do a few more in the next 5 or 6 days!

18-21 Ramadan 1429 / 18 – 21 September 2008

Ramadan is almost over!  Just another week and a half to go.  As far as my goals stated on the entry for the 1st…

-I feel like I have greatly improved my taqwa.  I feel focused in my prayers, and I try to remember Allah often (especially in times of difficulty, so he remembers me in times of ease).  In a somewhat related note regarding taqwa, I feel like I need to set another Ramadan or post-Ramadan goal…”lowering my gaze”.  It’s getting better than before, but still there are times I know I’m looking at a female just a bit longer than what is appropriate.  Maybe if I just keep a book with me at all times.

-I have made all my cumpolsury prayers on time for the month, mashaAllah.  This has included several occasions of praying outdoors in public areas in full view of many non-Muslims.  On Saturday, some of my family went to a Cubs game.  Yeah, I support the Cubs as long as they’re not playing against the Sox.  Ticket prices were a bit steep, so my brother, some of his friends, and I went to a, umm, ahem, cough, “public house” to watch the game.  Don’t worry, I didn’t drink.  It was all for the sake of being with family anyways.  So the Cubs won the division, and Clark Street was swarming with people to the point where there was no motor traffic.  It was near the end of ‘asr (the afternoon prayer), so I prayed in the middle of Clark St!  Once in a lifetime opportunity, I had to do it.  I guess someone tried to video tape me, and one of my brother’s friends stood in his way.  Thanks Darren!

-I finished memorizing Surat ar-Rahman, alhamdulillah.  Thanks for giving me a topic for today, Lamya!  I was overdue for a post.

-Time to start memorizing some du’as.  I’ll start Monday morning inshaAllah.

-Swearing is a habit that’s hard to break.  I’m more conscious of myself when I do it and I think it has been somewhat reduced.  Still working on it.

-I have received a decent amount of positive feedback from this blog, so I guess I’m raising awareness of Islam.  Being around non-Muslims when I’m fasting contributes to the cause, as does making sure I do my prayers regardless of circumstance.  I’m in charge of a group that hands out food, clothes, etc. outside a masjid in a poor area.  We made a few innovations to allow us to better connect with the community to whom we are giving, so that helps as well.

Self-betterment is a life-long process.

15-17 Ramadan 1429 / 15-17 Ramadan 2008

Not too much happening.  Just fasting and trying to learn from and memorize Qur’an.  I’ll get back to you all when I think of something or if something happens.

13, 14 Ramadan 1429 / 13, 14 September 2008

‘Twas a busy weekend, so no time for a post yesterday.

On Saturday, my mom was in town so I met up with her and my brothers.  I only see her about once every month or two, so it was good times.  We went out for a late lunch.  I should say they had lunch, I just watched them eat.  Man, food sure smells good when you’re fasting!  Even more so than usual.  It’s all good though, I wasn’t tempted or anything.  Fasting really isn’t as hard as it would seem, IF you eat before dawn and have the right state of mind about it.  If you remember that you’re fasting for Allah, then it really helps to overcome the hunger.

My mom told me that it looks like I lost weight, and I have also noticed it in my face, but I just started to notice it elsewhere as well.  For me, that’s not a good thing.  I normally work out- lifting weights for strength and playing basketball for cardiovascular, but all that is put on hold for Ramadan.  I need to lift weights just to maintain a decent body mass, and now I’m getting skinny.  It’s a blessing and it’s a curse.

I left a  little earlier than everyone else because there was a fundraiser with which I planned to help.  People from my main masjid went to another masjid to raise money to build a permanent location, as the current one is rented and the community is outgrowing it.  The original location burnt down last winter.  It went well, alhamdulillah.  However, my ride left early and I caught a ride home with someone else.  Before my original ride left, he gave me the umbrella that I had left in his car a week ago.  I have a tendency of leaving them behind.  A couple weeks ago, I had to retrace my steps four times in one day because I left my umbrella behind!  So I brought my umbrella into the masjid and of course, I left it there.  I’m not even trying to sport one any more.  I’ve lost four in the past year I think.

Sunday was the perfect day to give up umbrellas.  A constant downpour during Day of Dignity- an annual Ramadan charity event formerly known as Humanitarian Day.  In three or four hours, we passed out food, clothes, hygeine packages, childcare products, school supplies, and provided free health screenings for approximately 600 individuals.  All outdoors.  All in the rain.  All without an umbrella.  The funny thing is, I’ve had a sore throat for the past four or five days and now it’s gone!  I think it’s the green tea and honey.  I’m preparing to (inshaAllah) be a doctor in the future and that’s my answer for everything- green tea and honey.  What a quack.

It’s amazing how many people turned out for Day of Dignity.  We had about 30 volunteers show up, and I believe we gave away everything.  As I have been telling people, it was definitely a character building experience!

12 Ramadan 1429 / 12 Sepember 2008

I ate more for iftaar and got more sleep last night.  I ate more for sahoor this morning, and I feel much better today.  I guess the minimalist approach that I had mentioned earlier works, but only to a certain extent.  After all, we are only human.  It goes to show that we are dependent on that which Allah provides for us.  All the more reason to be grateful for everything, even the mere fact that we exist.As today is Friday, I will summarize the khutbah (speech) I heard at jumu’ah (Friday congregation).  The khateeb (speaker) spoke about ar-Rahman (the Merciful), one of the names for Allah.  It is also the chapter in the Qur’an that I am trying to memorize, so that was a pleasant surprise.  The chapter starts out:

Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Raheem (In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate)

Ar-Rahman (The Most Merciful)

‘Allam al-Qur’an (He tought the Recitation)

Khalaq al-Insaan (He created Mankind)

He tought the Qur’an before He created Mankind.  As we believe that the Qur’an applies to all time, the principles are universal.  Some verses may apply to specific historical occasions, but upon evaluation they can guide us in similar future circumstances.  This also addresses the idea that Islam (submission to Allah) is a natural state of being found throughout nature.  However, man, who has been given free will, can choose not to submit.  As such, the Qur’an provides guidelines by which one can choose to make proper decisions to promote taqwa (see 1 Ramadan) and submission to Allah.  We believe that we basically need to understand the absolute monotheistic nature of Allah and behave properly in order to inherit jannah (paradise, heaven).  This life is temporary, and the akhirah (afterlife) is infinite.  The khateeb mathematically proved that this life is nothing compared to the afterlife- anything divided by infinity equals zero, so we need to keep on the straight path.  Mathematics and religion united- Subhanallah!

The hardest concept for me to grasp on my path toward Islam was the belief in an afterlife.  I had always believed in God and thought there was a kernel of truth to the stories of the prophets, but the thought of anything beyond death did not make any sense to me.  I eventually realized that it was because I disagreed with Christian teleology, and that was all I ever learned regarding the hereafter before I studied Islam.  For example, Adam (peace be upon him) ate the forbidden fruit and was therefore kicked out of paradise.  Ok, understandable.  But, all of humanity thereafter was born with Adam’s sin ingrained into their souls, which we can only alleviate by accepting the idea that Jesus (peace be upon him) died for our sins.  How can this be so if God is the distributor of justice?  I wasn’t around back then.  I didn’t offer any fruit to Adam.  What’s his snack have to do with me?  What if I’m a serial killer, but I believe in John 3:16?  Am I saved?

In the natural world, we see laws that enforce balance: gravity keeps us grounded and keeps planets and moons in orbit.  All sorts of animals are members of symbiotic relationships in which one party can not live without the presence of another: termites contain a protozoan that digests wood, humans have bacteria that digest food and prevent deadly bacteria from occupying the body, etc.  The night and day, water and land, male and female all balance each other out in a way that without one, the ecosystem collapses.  We have all experienced a sense of karma I assume, where one is indirectly rewarded or punished for one’s actions.  So if one accepts these harmonies, it should follow that the universe is ultimately balanced in all matters, including justice.  However, that does not appear to be the case.  Those who deal in fraud live in luxury while some of the righteous know nothing but poverty.  The afterlife provides the balance of justice.

Furthermore, in 36:77-79 of the Qur’an, Allah tells us:

77. Does man not see that it is We Who created him from sperm? Yet behold!  He stands forth as an open adversary!  78. And he makes comparisons for Us, and forgets his own origin and Creation:  He says, ” Who can give life to dry bones, and decomposed ones at that?”  79. Say, “He will give them life Who created them for the first time!  For He is well-versed in every kind of Creation!”

If Allah created us in the first place, why can’t He do something that He’s already done and re-create us after we die?

On another note, I was going to attend a masjid to which I have never been before, but delays in the el train led me to going somewhere closer.  I broke my fast on a bus, but arrived at iftaar in time to pray and eat.  I have also attended Taraweeh tonight and last night.  Perhaps that has helped rejuvenate me.

11 Ramadan 1429 / 11 September 2008

Nothing noteworthy happening lately.  I was really tired this afternoon, so I left work at 1:30 to go home and take a nap.  They’re pretty laid back there, so no problems.  I was done anyway.  I think I need to try eating and sleeping more, just to see what happens.  I know I had mentioned the benefits of cutting down on those two, but I think I’ve gone too far.  I have a really fast metabolism, and I must start considering that if I want  to continue enjoying this blessed month to its fullest.  So I’ll try that and get back to you all tomorrow with a post that is closer to standard length, inshaAllah.

10 Ramadan 1429 / 10 September 2008

The past couple days, I have been starting to notice the hunger.  It’s not too serious, but I postponed a few things at work until tomorrow.  Good thing it’s a slow week!  After work, I had to do my laundry, which I have also been postponing.  Man, Ramadan sure keeps me busy!  Alhamdulillah, I am enjoying it thoroughly, but I broke fast at 7:10 in the laundramat with a few dates and didn’t eat dinner until about 8:50.  It was either that or wear dirty socks and undies tomorrow, which I am NOT trying to do.  I have not been able to stay up as late as at the beginning of the month, as my eyelids have become heavy around 10-10:30 for the past four or five days.  I have attended taraweeh (see 2 Ramadan) twice in this span, and I’m too tired to go tonight.  I really feel like I should go tomorrow, though.  Perhaps that will pick me up and inshaAllah, the next post will be a bit longer.

9 Ramadan 1429 / 9 September 2008

I have been trying to make this an eclectic Ramadan, so I have visited quite a few different masaajid (mosques), and I will share my observations.  But first I want to provide an interesting bit of linguistic history I picked up from my brother, who lived in Spain for over a year.  The word “mosque” came from the Medieval Age when Muslims occupied Spain.  They composed such a large percentage of the population that the Spaniards would comment on how they so frequently swarmed to the masjid like a bunch of flies, or muscas as they said in Spanish.  That presents a rather unpleasant image so I stick with masjid.

From my minimal understanding of the language, putting a meem (Arabic m) in front of a word in Arabic usually turns it into a concrete noun related to the original word.  Sujud refers to the position of Islamic prayer in which the individual, on his or her hands and knees, places the forehead on the ground, saying “Subhana rabbiyal-’ala” (Glory to the Lord, Most High).  We believe that at this moment of prostration, one becomes closer to Allah than at any other time in the worldly life.  So our houses of worship are called “masaajid” (sing. masjid), or a place where one can get closest to Allah.

Reflections of Chicago masaajid that I have visited this month:

1) The first masjid I went to this month is rather small, maybe about the size of a regulation basketball half-court (I love basketball).  It is located on the west-side and consists predominantly of African-American converts.  Although I hear it is common in other countries, it is the only masjid I know of that has an outdoor amplification system for the adhaan (call to prayer).  It has the softest carpet of any masaajid with which I am familiar.  Delightful!  A local community service group provides food and clothing for the poor in the community, and some of the attendees work as chaplains in the Cook County Jail, teaching Islam to inmates who express interest.  I attend this masjid more frequently than the others so I know more about it than I know about them.

2) There is a masjid located downtown, and it is usually open only during the weekday business hours although it is open more for this month.  I have gone here for taraweeh (see 2 Ramadan), but I have not yet attended the iftaar.  It accommodates a diverse group of Muslims from all over the world, predominantly Desi (Indian/Pakistani/Bengali).  I often attend the jum’uah (Friday congregational prayer), and in my experience, it usually has the more knowledgable, charismatic speakers to give the khutbah (sermon).

3) One of the masaajid on the north side is conveniently located near a concentrated plethora of ethnic* restaurants.  The brothers here are very friendly, as they are in most masaajid, but I have heard the female perspective of this one, and the sisters all seem to feel unwelcome.  I understand and respect the separation of the genders in Islam, as it effectively prevents intimate pre-marital relationships.  But when it goes beyond a certain point, it seems to compromise the potential for building the community.  There is much to say about this issue and will be a main topic for another day, inshaAllah.

*I use the term “ethnic” to protect the local community.  This behavior is found among all ethnicities in the Muslim population.

4) Another masjid on the north side is extremely diverse.  One can not pinpoint a majority ethnic population here, and from what I hear, the attendees include a small Hispanic convert population.  Today was only the second time I’ve been here, and I haven’t really noticed.  I think without even realizing it until just now, I have given up trying to guess peoples’ nationalities and ethnic backgrounds.  Up until about a couple months ago, it used to be a kind of game for me, but not anymore.  Alhamdulillah.

I hope to attend more masaajid in the next 20-21 days so that I can gain new experiences and share another post along the lines of this one.  InshaAllah.