If the World Were 100 People

An interesting study done the University of Wisconsin. It gives some great insight on world demographics, simply put.

If the World Were

50 would be female

50 would be male

20 would be children

There would be 80 adults,

14 of whom would be 65 and older

There would be:
61 Asians
12 Europeans
13 Africans
14 people from the Western Hemisphere

There would be:
31 Christians
21 Muslims
14 Hindus
6 Buddhists
12 people who practice other religions
16 people who would not be aligned with a religion

17 would speak a Chinese dialect
8 would speak Hindustani
8 would speak English
7 would speak Spanish
4 would speak Arabic
4 would speak Russian
52 would speak other languages

82 would be able to read and write; 18 would not

1 would have a college education
1 would own a computer

75 people would have some supply of food and a place to
shelter them from the wind and the rain, but 25 would not

1 would be dying of starvation
17 would be undernourished
15 would be overweight

83 would have access to safe drinking water
17 people would have no clean, safe water to drink

Source: 100people.org [here]

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92 Year Old Woman, Murders her Husband

Sydney: A 92-year-old has become the oldest woman committed to stand trial for murder in Australia, accused of bludgeoning and stabbing her wealthy 98-year-old husband to death, a report said Sunday.

You know she's got to have a good reason for killing the guy. They've been married for 70 years. One morning she just decides, no more, and goes crazy murdering the guy.

On a more serious note, when I hear stories like this, they just prove to me how flawed the judicial system is. Think about it. So what if the 92 year old woman is found guilty. What's the worst they can do to her? She's dead in a couple of years anyway. So what, they put her in prison for a few years before she croaks? I don't think that is justice? They system needs an overhaul.

The story follows:

Clara Tang, who allegedly killed Ching Yung Tang after 70 years of marriage in their Sydney apartment in March last year, has pleaded not guilty on the grounds of mental illness, the Sun-Herald said.

The elderly woman appeared in a local court last week and was ordered to stand trial in the Supreme Court on a date to be fixed.

Documents tendered by police reportedly detailed how the couple survived the Japanese invasion of China and Mao's Cultural Revolution before moving from Shanghai to Sydney 30 years ago.

Tang, who suffers dementia, allegedly feared her husband was poisoning her food. The newspaper said that when arrested, Tang was almost totally soaked in blood. Her husband had been stabbed twice in the stomach and his head was bludgeoned.

She was initially refused bail due to "the level of violence used and for the protection of the community", but police relented with Tang put under strict supervision in a nursing home ahead of her trial.

Source: Gulf News [1]

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An Agnostic Jew attempts to explain the Quran

An agnostic Jew explores the Quran from a different perspective than most Westerners are used to. She attempts to explain the true essence of the Quran. A very interesting video...





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5 Most Satisfying Things in Life

Some of the best things in life are for free. Here's a countdown of life's top 5 spiciest things...


5. When its a scorching hot day out, and your mouth is cracking because its so dry. You've been fantasizing about something cold to quench your thirst. Then you find it. You chug a nice ice cold glass of water.

4. When an unreachable spot on your back is itching. You use the edge of the door to scratch it, but you keep missing the spot. You grow more desperate and the spot grows itchier. Then that dear someone comes along to relieve you with the perfect scratch that hits the spot. Makes your eyes roll right up.


3. When you've been holding it all day long. Your bladder is about to explode. You finally get home, sprint to the toilet, and dive onto the seat. You let it rip. You experience 3 levels of euphoria. Your eyes roll.


2. When your kids do something real cute. You zoom onto them and forget about everything else going on. It's just you and them for a few moments and you feel like you want to eat them up because they're so scrumptious.


1. When your deep in prayer. You've managed to get full concentration. You live every word as you say it, and your body is filled with a serenity. You feel connected to Allah at that moment. Your heart is about to take off heaven-ward. You never want this moment to end!

Feel free to add to the list...

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A Eid Your Kids Will Never Forget

Deeply ingrained in most kids' minds is a Party that is far more superior than any other party in existence. A Party so amazing that it makes all other parties bow in respect. At this Party kids are dressed up, balloons are hung all around, and party games are played. Most exciting is the infamous cake, the plentiful candy, the stacks of presents, and the songs in the air. It's no wonder that kids consider this party to be the Ultimate Party. If you haven't guessed it by now, the mystery party is a Birthday Party.

While celebrating another year in existence has become common in most cultures, I think it's important to be as passionate about celeberating more important occasions such as Eid. So why hasn't Eid been the subject of exhilaration to the extent Birthday parties have been? I think its a matter of focus. We simply need to shift our focus to Eid.

So this year, let's all push to revolutionize Eid. Let's serve our kid's with the most delicious Eid their little minds can think of. Let's make Eid that gem that kids dream of and patiently wait for all year round. Let's turn Eid into the ultimate extravaganza. Let's scrap birthday parties and turn our kid’s attention towards Eid.

For the 2nd year standing, my wife and I have thrown Eid parties for our daughters. On the 3rd day of Eid we invite all of their friends. The girls get dressed up in their tiaras and tutus. We go all out with the party decorations. We have games, songs, and fun activities going on. We get a giant cake shaped to their favorite cartoon character. Everyone gets presents. Everyone is flooded with candy and treats.

The goal: To make kids drool when they hear that Eid is coming.

As Muslims, we need to embody the Islamic cultural within our kids. We need to get our kids excited about Islamic tradition. We need to provide our kids with an alternative to christmas, new years, independence day, and halloween parties. We need to create a fun, exciting alternative that our kids can be proud of and look forward to. We need to boost their Muslim pride and strengthen their sense of belonging. The Eid initiative is one step in that direction.
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Raising the Bar

A true story that inspired me to change the way I deal with my kids.

A mother came home with a guest. She was greeted by her 3 young children who ran to her side. After the regular kisses and hugs, her youngest daughter, 3 years old, looked at her with a big smile. "Mama! I didn't get a new house today." The mother turned to her friend, which had a puzzled look on her face. "Ok, tell me about your house." the mother exclaimed to the girl.

"Well, it has a pink door and purple windows....", the girl excitedly giggled as she described her house in full detail. After she finished her mom asked her, "So what do you have to do in order to get this house?". This was a no-brainer for the girl. She quickly put her hands up, extended her 10 fingers out and began to recite "Surat Al Ikhlas" ten times. With each recitation she lowered a finger. When she had finished 10 times, she joyfully sprung up, celebrating her new house.¹

The mother then said, "Do you know what would make your house look even more beautiful. How would you like a chest full of treasure?" Excitedly the girl nodded in affirmation. She sprung up began to recite, "لا حول ولا قوة إلي بالله".² The girl's smile widened. "Mama, I'm thirsty. I want to drink water out of the Prophet's hand." In unison they chanted, "اللهم صلي على سيدنا محمد".³

Raising our kids should be fun. With some creativity, we can teach our kids the most complex and deepest meanings. Enthusiasm fills the air and every gasp of air is followed by a gleeful giggle. Surely things taught in this way, will be ingrained in their little minds for many years to come.

It's time to raise a generation of little minds that are filled with energy and piety. A generation that has great knowledge hosted in their hearts, not just their minds. A generation that takes pride in its origins, culture, and religion. A generation who aspires to greater things and has the discipline to achieve. Let's take the first step towards building this future. Let's raise our children to be leaders.

Notes:
1. Whoever recites Surat Al Ikhlas 10 times, Allah will build a palace for him in paradise.

قال صلى الله عليه وسلم(من قرا (قل هو الله احد) حتى يختمها عشر مرات بنى الله له قصرا في الجنه فقال عمر رضي الله عنه: اذا نستكثر قصورا يارسول الله
فقال: الله اكثر واطيب) اخرجه احمد

2. The Prophet told Abu Dhar, Shall I guide to a treasure of the many treasures of paradise. He replied in the affirmative. Say, "لا حول ولا قوة إلي بالله", There is no Will or Might, but that of Allah's.

عن أبي ذر قال: قال لي رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ألا أدلك على كنز من كنوز الجنة، قلت بلى يا رسول الله، قال لا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله. رواه أحمد

3. Whoever says, "اللهم صلي على سيدنا محمد", Allah have praise on our Prophet Mohamed, will drink out of the Prophet's hand in Paradise.

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The Blind Man's Ad

A blind man sat on the ground. His filthy clothes were stained with black oil spots. His hair was covered with a smelly rag. He sat legs flat on the ground, holding a hat to collect money in. A dirty card board sign stood by him. The sign read, "I'm blind. Please help me."

A wealthy man walked by and saw this blind man crouched on the sidewalk. He looked into the collection hat and noticed only a few petty coins. He felt sorry for him and decided to take action. He took the sign away. A few minutes later, he gave it back to the blind man and walked away.

An hour had gone by and money started piling up in the hat like never before. The blind man could feel bundles of paper money. He began to wonder what the sign said. So he stopped a girl passing by and asked her to read the sign. The sign read, "Today is a beautiful day, but I can't see it!"

It's the way that you present yourself that matters.
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The Golden Slaves

"A tenth of all that you earn is yours to keep" advised the richest man in Babylon. "What did he mean?" I asked myself, "Wasn't the money I spent to buy myself the finer things in life like a new 60" TV or an iPhone money that I enjoyed and kept?". The richest man in Babylon continued, "Every dollar that you spend puts money into someone else's pocket. The money that you keep is that you save."

Imagine that the money in your bank account came to life and each dollar stood tall representing a muscular slave bulging with strength. The man was no ordinary slave though, he was a golden slave. He could be put to hard work and would create value growing any venture he engaged. He would go on to eventually have children. His children would be born into slavery though and would be immediately be put to work. Thus your number of slaves would multiply and your capacity earn would be exponential. While you sit on the beach and enjoy the Monday morning breeze, your golden slaves would be out toiling to bring you riches. From time to time they would come back to you carrying bags of cash, each time the bags growing larger. You feel content with your trusted golden slaves. They are working hard, ensuring your wealth multiplies.

This is the paradigm of the investor. He doesn't work for money; rather he lets money work for him. That's one important distinction between the rich and poor. The poor spend their lives chasing money, so that they can upgrade their cars and houses. They burden themselves with debt. Then when the end of the month comes and they get their paycheck, it escapes them faster than quicksand. It goes towards paying bills, debt, and other expenses. Soon they realize its only the beginning of the new month and they will have to take on more debt in order to survive. They continue this vicious cycle burying themselves deeper in debt with the passing of each month. Effectively they work their entire lives to put money into other people's pockets.

The rich on the other hand put their earnings to work early on. They invest and multiply their savings and work on building a steady stream of cash that will come to them regardless of whether they work or not. They focus on passive income. Only, once they have excess money, do they start treating themselves to the finer things. They never get themselves into destructive debt.

From a spiritual, what goes around comes around. Every dollar that you give out in charity helping the needy comes back to you multiplied. It leaves your pocket and goes into the possession of God. The Lord of the Worlds simply multiplies it on your behalf and returns it to you at a later stage of your life. Some people would say a person got lucky, when he becomes blessed with good fortune and a shower of riches. I believe it is fate. Nothing is left to chance.

The jist is, even if you only earn a small amount of money, if you follow the above principles you can work your way to a fat pocket. First put a tenth of all you earn aside. Invest that money and let it work for you. Then take another portion of your money and give it in charity to help those less fortunate. In time, your money will multiply.

Suggested readings:

Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

The Richest Man in Babylon by George Clason

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Test Day

Its been 4 long months of brain wreckage. The good news: I finally finished the CFA exam. I feel like a 10 ton boulder was lifted off my chest. The preparation that led up to the exam was exhaustive and tense. The days immediately before the exam were nerve wrecking. You get into a frenzy, magnified by the fears of friends around you that are dreading the exam and are a mess. I am more than sure that my thinning hairline must be related.

Suddenly in the havoc of it all, I started to put things into perspective. The CFA exam would last merely 6 hours. For those important 6 hours, I had spent at least 300 hours of study time. I had trimmed my social life and dedicated time daily to study. I had pooled all my resources and energy in order to accomplish my goal. The expected reward (at the end of the program) would be the CFA designation, an upward pressure on my career.

ALL THIS WAS FOR A 6 HOUR EXAM?

A monologue took over my head, "Isn't life just one big test? How much time do I spend in preparation for the life's test? Do I dedicate half as much energy and resources to succeeding at life's test? If today was my last day on earth, would I pass life's test? What is at stake in life's test?"

Life is one big exam. Your curriculum and guidelines are the Quran and Sunnah. They spell out the principles and values that are core to your success. They are a clear guideline for the test, that is life. If you are able to follow the guidelines you are guaranteed a pass. If you slip up and fall, you can get right back up and get back on track.

I began to imagine what it would be like if I had all the answers to the CFA exam right there in front of me, before I took the exam. The preparation for the exam would have been sweet. All I would of had to do is memorize the answers and download them onto the exam paper to score a 100%. But what if, instead of just copying the answers on to the exam paper, I began philosophizing claiming there was a pattern that I was going to follow and instead changed the answers from an A to B to C. Wouldn't you say that I was being stupid and would be sure to fail?

But isn't that exactly what we do on a daily basis? We know what we need to do in order to succeed in life's test, but we just don't get around to doing it. Instead of answering life's choices with the correct choices, A, we may become philosophical, lazy, and unfocused and choose B. Obviously, the wrong answer results in failure.

The problem is that life's test isn't constrained to a few hours, it's continuous as long as you breathe. We lose perspective on life. We grow too accustomed to our routines and details. We often forget to take a moment before each choice to adjust our intentions and align our choices with our desired goals.

We don't dedicate nearly enough time, resources, or energy to the test of life? At the end of the day the stakes in life's test are high. The reward of passing is eternal bliss. Comfort and pampering beyond one's wildest dreams. The fulfillment of every desire upon thought. Peace. We could definitely expend more dedication for such a precious reward.

Thankfully, we get another day to breathe. Another day means another chance.
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