Riyadat an-Nafs

well, going to Jordan tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon. Just a 10-day trip, inshalla. Just to visit family, see friends, detox my body from this cairo pollution, buy some supplements.. I also think i’ll be swimming a lot every day, inshalla, to get all the tense muscles relaxed and the spine and everything, just in case some parts of me are tighter than others, swimming should reverse things and make everything right again (inshalla).

i’ll still be writing some stuff from there (inshalla).

wassalam.

Truly the Righteous (abraar) will be in Bliss…They are given to drink of a sealed nectar. Its seal is musk, and for that let the competitors compete. (Qur’an 83: 22-26)

One of the best ways for Muslims to stay on track with all their duties, and to do more than what is required, is to think of it as a friendly competition. Sayyidna Abu Bakr and Sayyidna Umar, may God be pleased with them, always competed for good deeds. Abu Bakr would always win, and Umar would try to catch up to him- whether in charity or in extra devotions, Umar would constantly try to find out how much Abu Bakr is doing and try to match him. It’s a great way to win the pleasure and the Ridwan of Allah.

Race one with another for forgiveness from your Lord and a Garden whereof the breadth is as the breadth of the heavens and the earth, prepared for those who believe in Allah and His messengers. Such is the bounty of Allah, which He bestoweth upon whom He will, and Allah is of Infinite Bounty. (Qur’an 57: 21)

As one Shaykh puts it, better than I:

…when one carefully looks at peoples’ behavior, he will notice different kinds of competition. Some people do compete over this mundane world as to conquer and hold it in their possession; some compete over the attainment of high positions; some compete to achieve fame and stardom and some compete on building luxurious houses just as if this world is an everlasting one.

Let us leave those people moving directionlessly in their fake pleasures, and ponder over a better and sublime competition; a competition that is encouraged by the Glorious Qur’aan. It is a race towards the Pleasure of Allaah and the Paradise, a competition in the field of righteous deeds. It is a competition in which the participants are wise people who are aware that this life is short hence they compete with one another in investing their lives in acts of obedience to Allaah.

“The Mufarridoon have gone ahead!”, said the Prophet one time to his companions. “Who are the Mufarridoon, O Messenger of Allaah?”, they asked. “They are those men and women who remember Allaah much.”

He also said,

“Should I teach something with which you can catch up with those who have gone ahead of you and outstrip those who are behind you and none will be better than you except the one who does as you do?’ They said: ‘Yes! O Messenger of Allaah!’ He said: ‘You should glorify Allaah, praise Him, and exalt Him 33 times at the end of every prayer.” (Subhan’Allah x 33, Al hamdu lillah x 33, Allahu Akbar x 33).

“Were people to know the blessing of pronouncing the Adhaan and the standing in the first row in prayer, they would even draw lots to secure these privileges. And were they to realize the reward of performing Salaat early, they would race for it; and were they to know the merits of the Isha and the Fajr Salaat, they would come to them even if they had to crawl.”

Competing for these rewards is a great thing, something that the the sahaaba always tried to do… None of them were content to do simply what was required of them. Instead, they wanted to be ahead, to gain the highest rewards in Paradise, and be raised to the highest degrees. If they saw others surpassing them in good deeds, they would do all that they could to catch up or outstrip them.

Some poor companions came to the Messenger of Allaah (pbuh) one day and asked him of what they could do to be ahead of the rich in terms of reward.

They said: ‘O Messenger of Allaah! The rich people have made away with rewards. They pray as we do, fast as we do and spend their excess wealth in charity, and they free slaves.’

He answered: ‘Has Allaah not provided for you what you can do charity with? Indeed, every glorification (Subhaanallaah) that you do is charity, every exaltation (Allaahu Akbar) that you do is charity, every praise that you give (Alhamdulillaah) is charity, every ‘Laailaaha illa Allaah’ that you say is charity, enjoining what is good is charity, preventing evil is charity and even doing marital intercourse with one’s spouse is charity.’

They said: ‘O Messenger of Allaah! How can we enjoy ourselves and still get reward for it?’

He replied: ‘Tell me, if he does it in an unlawful way, is it not going to be a sin? Likewise is when he does it in a lawful way, he is going to get a reward for that.”

The Prophet told them also to do the dhikr in the way mentioned above, thirty three times each for Subhanallaah, Alhamdulillaah, Allaahu Akbar after every prayer.

So, the poor began to catch up with the rich in rewards, by doing the dhikr after prayer, by trying their best to forbid what is wrong and to enjoin what is right. And realize also that dhikr does not only benefit oneself- it is also considered a sadaqa, charity, because every act of worship benefits all of humanity and not just the person who is worshipping. (I wonder, though, if someone tried to catch up in rewards by giving lots of pleasure to his wife). And what do you think happened when the rich people- already ahead of the poor because of giving in charity and the freeing of the slaves- what do you think they did when they found out that the poor are doing this dhikr that the Prophet promised would make them “overtake those who have preceeded them and outstrip those who were behind them and make them better than all except those who do the same”?

The rich started doing this dhikr as well! Why? Because they were not content to just make it to Paradise, because the companions of the Prophet wanted to reach the highest degrees, and no less! So the poor went back and complained to the Prophet, saying: “Our brothers who possess property heard about what we were doing and they have done the same.” The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “That is a favour which Allah gives to anyone He wills.”

Even for martyrdom the companions competed. Before the Battle of Badr, Sa’d ibn Kaythamah drew lots with his father to see who will go out to fight and who will stay to take care of the women and the children. Sa’d won the lot for battle, but his father said, “My son, give me preference over yourself today”. Sa’d replied, “If it was for other than Paradise, I would have”, and so he went out to battle, hoping to get the reward of martyrdom, and gained his wish.

Before the Expedition of Tabuk, the Prophet asked his companions to donate all that they could as charity to fund the expedition. Umar found this was his chance to surpass Abu Bakr. “Today, I am going to surpass Abu Bakr,” he thought. “So I came with half of my property”, as he later told. “The Messenger of Allaah (pbuh) asked: ‘What have you left for your family?’ I answered: ‘As much as this.’ Then Abu Bakr came with all that he has and the Messenger of Allaah (pbuh) said: ‘What have you left for your family?’ He replied: ‘I left for them Allaah and his Messenger.’ “

I remember this story that a shaykh related one day. Knowing about the competition between Umar and Abu Bakr for good deeds, the Prophet teased Umar once, saying to him: “You will be the one to open the gates of Paradise”. “But what about Abu Bakr?” asked Umar. “Abu Bakr and I will be waiting for you inside!” said the Prophet.

And even the generation that came after the sahaaba, the taabi’een, would attempt to catch up with those who went before them. They thought of their egos, their nafs, as riding animals, which one must tame and ride in the pursuit of good deeds, and in the attempt to join with the Messenger of God in Paradise. So they would say:

“The Sahaaba rode behind the Prophet (pbuh) on the backs of perfectly bred race horses and we are riding on the backs of lame donkeys.”

Then they would address their own nafs, saying: “Do you then want to hamper our movement so that they (the sahaaba) can win the Messenger of Allaah (pbuh) while we remain on the way? By Allaah, we shall meet up with them even though we have to crawl so that they will know that those they left behind are really men.”

In this way, hopefully I will start to compete with my friends in everything.. In doing what is required of me, and in exceeding that.

“have you done all your prayers on time today”?
“yeah, and I did the zuhr sunna prayers as well!”
“oh yeah? Well i’m gonna do all the sunna prayers, inshalla.”
“well, i’m gonna try to do all my prayers in congregation at the mosque.”
“I’m also memorizing the Qur’an.”
“Where have you reached? I’m beginning my second juz’ already”.
“GRRRR!!!”

etc, etc.

Perhaps then, if I turn my ego into a well-trained horse, I could race on ahead and catch up with some of those who went before me, so that I may drink from the raheeq makhtoom, the sealed nectar reserved for the abraar “…and for that let the competitors compete.”

———–

Lots of what I quoted came from this link: Competing for the Hereafter…

I love history. Sometimes I’m just gonna post ancient writings here, just for fun. Today, for example, I’m gonna post some writings with one theme: how different civilizations saw each other a long time ago.

First: The Armenian History attributed to Sebeos, written in the middle of the 7th century, and providing the only substantial non-Muslim account of the initial period of Muslim expansion. This is how the Armenians saw the Muslim expansion (you can see how Sebeos is combining the Islamic conquests, which came after the death of the Prophet, with the message of the Prophet, which is not entirely true):

At that time a certain man from among those same sons of Ismael whose name was Mahmet, a merchant, as if by God’s command appeared to them as a preacher [and] the path of truth. He taught them to recognize the God of Abraham, especially because he was learned and informed in the history of Moses. Now because the command was from on high, at a single order they all came together in unity of religion. Abandoning their vain cults, they turned to the living God who had appeared to their father Abraham. So Mahmet legislated for them: not to eat carrion, not to drink wine, not to speak falsely, and not to engage in fornication. He said, “With an oath God promised this land to Abraham and his seed after him for ever. And he brought about as he promised during that time while he loved Israel. But now you are the sons of Abraham, and God is accomplishing his promise to Abraham and his seed for you. Love sincerely only the God of Abraham, and go and seize your land which God gave to your father Abraham. No one will be able to resist you in battle, because God is with you.”

The Franks and Their Marital Jealousy, an excerpt from the celebrated autobiography of the amir of Shaizar, Usama bin Munqidh, whose life spanned almost the whole first century of the crusades.

The Franks are without any vestige of a sense of honour and jealousy. If one of them goes along the street with his wife and meets a friend, this man will take the woman’s hand and lead her aside to talk, while the husband stands by waiting until she has finished her conversation. If she takes too long about it, he leaves her with the other man and goes on his way. Here is an example of this from my personal experience: while I was in Nablus I stayed with a man called Mu’izz, whose house served as an inn for Muslim travellers. Its windows overlooked the street. On the other side of the road lived a Frank who sold wine for the merchants; he would take a bottle of wine from one of them and publicize it, announcing that such-and-such a merchant had just opened a hogshead of it, and could be found at such-and-such a place by anyone wishing to buy some; ‘…and I will give him the first right to the wine in this bottle’.

Now this man returned home one day and found a man in bed with his wife. ‘What are you doing here with my wife?’ he demanded. ‘I was tired,’ replied the man, ‘and so I came in to rest.’ ‘And how do you come to be in my bed?’ ‘I found the bed made up, and lay down to sleep.’ ‘And this woman slept with you, I suppose?’ ‘The bed,’ he replied, ‘is hers. How could I prevent her getting into her own bed?’ ‘I swear if you do it again I shall take you to court!’ – and this was his only reaction, the height of his outburst of jealousy!

I heard a similar case from a bath attendant called Salim from Ma’arra, who worked in one of my father’s bath-houses. This is his tale: I earned my living in Ma’arra by opening a bath-house. One day a Frankish knight came in. They do not follow our custom of wearing a cloth round their waist while they are at the baths, and this fellow put out his hand, snatched off my loin-cloth, and threw it away. He saw at once that I had just recently shaved my pubic hair. [For those who don't know, Muslim men and women usually shave their armpit and pubic hair every 30-40 days for cleanliness, upon the recommendation of the Prophet]. ‘Salim!’ he exclaimed. I came toward him and he pointed to that part of me. ‘Salim! It’s magnificent! You shall certainly do the same for me!’ And he lay down flat on his back. His hair there was as long as his beard. I shaved him, and when he had felt the place with his hand and found it agreeably smooth he said: ‘Salim, you must certainly do the same for my Dama.’ In their language Dama means lady, or wife. He sent his valet to fetch his wife, and when they arrived and the valet had brought her in, she lay down on her back, and he said to me: ‘Do to her what you did to me.’ so I shaved her pubic hair, while her husband stood by watching me. Then he thanked me and paid me for my services.

You will observe a strange contradiction in their character: they are without jealousy or a sense of honour, and yet at the same time they have the courage that as a rule springs only from the sense of honour and a readiness to take offence.

In the year 1260, Hulegu Khan sent a letter with his envoys to the Mamluks in Egypt. The Mongols back then had Persian viziers with whom they most likely consulted when writing the letter, and so they, despite not being Muslims, quoted two Qur’anic verses in their letter. In the end, the Mamluks refused to surrender, and the great wali of Allah, the Sultan of the Scholars, al-Izz bin Abd al-Salam, told Qutuz that he guaranteed them their victory if they marched against the Mongols. This comforted the Mamluks who knew of the many barakas with which this great aalim was blessed, and they marched out against the Mongols. They won, and it was the first time the Mongols ever lost a battle. Remember, Hulegu was NOT a Muslim, even though he quoted the Qur’an

Here is the Letter from Hulagu to the Mamluks:

From the King of Kings in the East and the West, the mighty Khan:

In your name, O God, You who laid out the earth and raised the skies.

Let al-Malik al-Muzaffar Qutuz, who is of the race of mamluks who fled before our swords into this country, who enjoyed its comforts and then killed its rulers, let al-Malik al-Muzaffar Qutuz know, as well as the amirs of his state and the people of his realms, in Egypt and in the adjoining countries, that we are the army of God on His earth. He created us from His wrath and urged us against those who incurred His anger. In all lands there are examples to admonish you and to deter you from challenging our resolve. Be warned by the fate of others and hand over your power to us before the veil is torn and you are sorry and your errors rebound upon you. For we do not pity those who weep, nor are we tender to those who complain. You have heard that we have conquered the lands and cleansed the earth of corruption and killed most of the people. Yours to flee; ours to pursue. And what land will shelter you, what road save you; what country protect you? You have no deliverance from our swords, no escape from the terror of our arms. Our horses are swift in pursuit, our arrows piercing, our swords like thunderbolts, our hearts like rocks, our numbers like sand. Fortresses cannot withstand us; armies are of no avail in fighting us. Your prayers against us will not be heard, for you have eaten forbidden things and your speech is foul, you betray oaths and promises, and disobedience and fractiousness prevail among you. Be informed that your lot will be shame and humiliation. “Today you are recompensed with the punishment of humiliation, because you were so proud on earth without right and for your wrongdoing” [Qur'an 46:20]. “Those who have done wrong will know to what end they will revert” [Qur'an 26:227]. Those who make war against us are sorry; those who seek our protection are safe. If you submit to our orders and conditions, then your rights and your duties are the same as ours. If you resist you will be destroyed. Do not, therefore, destroy yourselves with your own hands. He who is warned should be convinced that you are evil-doers. God, who determines all, has urged us against you. Before us, your many are few and your mighty ones are lowly, and your kings have no way to us but that of shame. Do not debate long, and hasten to give us an answer before the fires of war flare up and throw their sparks upon you. Then you will find no dignity, no comfort, no protector, no sanctuary. You will suffer at our hands the most fearful calamity, and your land will be empty of you. By writing to you we have dealt equitably with you and have awakened you by warning you. Now we have no other purpose but you. Peace be with us, with you, and with all those who follow the divine guidance, who fear the consequences of evil, and who obey the Supreme King.

Say to Egypt, Hulegu has come,
with swords unsheathed and sharp.
The mightiest of her people will become humble,
he will send their children to join the aged.

I…Am… A Monster…

I eat warriors for dinner.

These thoughts were going through my head, while I was sitting in the gym locker room. Just sitting there, silent, immobile, contemplating. I thought about how close I had come to throwing up, and how on my last set, I literally saw tens and tens of colorful stars popping up all around me… twinkling for some 30 seconds. They kept increasing, and I had taken that as a sign that I was about to faint. But I didn’t. I was sitting there, thinking. I had just pushed my body to the maximum limit of what it can endure. My forearm muscles were so exhaused i could barely hold the pen to write down the numbers on the paper. I was thinking of how long it took me to drink that protein shake, and how i could barely finish half of it cause my body was too beat. I almost threw it all up. I was thinking, now that the first week of Meltdown was over, how I’m supposed to increase my mega-sets from 3 to 4. How is that physically possible? My brain was having a hard time even accepting that such a thing is possible. But I was proud of what I had just pushed myself through. I am a monster. I eat warriors for dinner.

But then, I thought to myself, “If I can push myself into such extremes, and if I am willing to put myself through so much pain, then how come I can’t even push myself to do all my prayers on time? And that’s not even counting fajr!” Even a little girl can get herself to do all the prayers on time, and I can’t. I’m no monster. I’m no warrior. I’m weaker than a little girl.

“Is there anything wrong?”, asked the locker room attendant, while tapping me on the shoulder. I realized I’ve just been sitting there, in the locker room, for 10 minutes. Not changing my clothes… Just sitting there, silently thinking to myself what I just wrote above, just trying to breathe normally. I didn’t even know how to answer his question. I couldn’t even begin to express how tired I was… but I didn’t need to, because he saw that I can’t even answer him, and I just gave a small laugh at my inability to answer him, and at the pain I was going through. And he laughed as he understood. Then, I got myself to answer him, saying: “if only you’ve just been through what I’ve just been through..” but I couldn’t get myself to finish the sentence, the “you’d know what’s wrong”…

“No thanks,” he said while laughing, “it’s hard enough for me what I do, bringing people towels and water.”

DAMN YOU DON ALESSI. DAMN YOUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!

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Inscriptions from Mount Sal`, Medina. This is where the Prophet placed most of the Muslim army during the Battle of the Trench (al-Khandaq). (The inscriptions however, if their dating is correct, are from two years before the battle).

There’s two sets of inscriptions, large ones on the right, which were written later, and smaller ones on the left. The large inscriptions on the right are cut off and we can only read words or phrases like “Wise” and “Bakr” and “Umar son of..” The ones on the left say the following:

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You can see that “Talib” and “Muadh” and “Sulayman” are spelled in the archaic style of Arabic writing that has changed after the arabic script evolved in Abbasid times. This way of spelling did not change for many words in the Qur’an (such as rahman and others), because the Muslims did not want to add anything to the Qur’an, not even a new letter for the sake of spelling. But it has evolved in all non-Qur’anic words, and we now spell “Talib” and “Muadh” differently. Even “Sulayman” is now spelled differently- in non-Quranic texts- than how it is spelled in the Qur’an and in this inscription.

Some feet below this rock there are other inscriptions such as:

“May God accept Umar!
May God treat Umar with forgiveness!”

and

“May God make Umar of the people of Paradise…”

Professor Hamidullah is of the opinion that it may be the handwriting of `Umar himself as `Umar was known for his calligraphic skills.

George Miles asserts that these inscriptions are from 1st century of Hijra but associating them to `Umar’s own hand is a bit tenuous.

However, Safadi dates this inscription to c. 4 AH (or c. 625 CE).

Islamic-Awareness.org

———————–
I tried looking up some of these names. Disregarding the ones I know like Muhammad ibn Abdallah (pbuh), Ali ibn Abi Talib (r.a) or Sa’d ibn Muadh, I only found two:

Umarah son of Hazm:

One day when they were digging the Ditch before the Battle of the Trench the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) fell asleep from sheer exhaustion, and Abu Bakr and Umar stood guard over him keeping the labourers away so that he could sleep in peace. Zayd b. Thabit, who was just sixteen and preparing for his first experience of battle, also fell asleep. Umarah b. Hazm played a practical joke on him, stealing his clothes and tools, and hiding them. Thus Zayd earned the nickname Abu Ruqad (“the Sleepy One”).

M[uslim] son of Awsajah: Fought with al-Husayn in Karbala at the age of 70!

I finished Martin Lings’ Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources. I have two more sira books to read (but not right now): Muhammad by Yahiya Emerick, and Dr. Muhammad Sa’id Ramadan al-Buti’s The Jurisprudence of the Prophetic Biography- the english translation. I’m not sure if that’s the best translation of the title. You see, fiqh means both “understanding” and “jurisprudence”. In this case, it applies to both. At the end of every chapter there is an analysis of the events, and lessons are learned and we are told how jurists have come to make certain rulings based on such and such events. So it’s both a deeper understanding of the Prophetic biography and an explanation of the jurisprudence based on the biography.

Oh yeah, I also need to buy ash-Shifa by Qadi Iyad (translated by Aisha Bewley). I should read the arabic versions one day I suppose but for now I’m reading the english. I’ve also read Allama Shibli Nu’mani’s biography of the Prophet some 3 years ago. It’s the longest and most indepth one (5 volumes) but the translation is horrible and full of typos and all kinds of mistakes. I also need to get the audio CD’s of Amr Khalid’s recounting of the biography which he did this Ramadan, In the Footsteps of the Beloved. He tells it so good he makes you cry in shame of your laziness in comparison to the companions of the Prophet (pbuh), and in love of the Prophet.

“Without doubt, whenever you sit with someone and are with him, you will take on his disposition. On whom have you been gazing that tightness should have come into you? If you look at green herbs and flowers, freshness will come. The sitting companion pulls you into his own world. That is why reciting the Koran purifies the heart, for you remember the prophets and their states. The form of the prophets comes together in your spirit and becomes its sitting companion.”

- Shams Tabrizi

Here, Shams is explaining the benefit of making the Qur’an our constant sitting companion, so that we begin to take in the form and disposition of the prophets, to have them mixed into our souls.. so we can become more like them.

Personally, I believe it is more important to make the Prophetic biography our constant sitting companion. If reading about the Prophets in the Qur’an makes us more like them, then reading about Allah’s beloved will make us more like him, peace be upon him. The more we read about him, the more we understand the way he thought. The more we see how he dealt with certain situations, the more we begin to act like him in similar situations. The more we see his personality, the more we take on his attributes and his personality.

And by understanding the Prophet’s life, and the Prophet’s character, we will arrive at a better understanding of the Qur’an. Furthermore, by studying the sira, we learn why this or that verse of the Qur’an was revealed and when, and we gain a deeper understanding of the Qur’an. By making the biography of the Prophet our constant sitting companion, we become far better Muslims because we understand the Qur’an better, and the vessel who carried this Qur’an to us.

Sayyida Aisha (r.a) was asked about the Prophet’s character, peace be upon him. She said, “His character was that of the Qur’an.” The Prophet, as the vessel of the Qur’an, in a way was the Qur’an. It was infused in his soul so that he personified its ideals and values. To make the Prophet our constant companion in every thought and action until, that is the basis of what is called al Tariqa al-Muhammadiyya.

Next up for me to read, inshalla, is Prayer Fashions Man, a collection of all that Frithjof Schuon (Shaykh Isa Nur ad-Din) wrote about the importance of prayer. I have other books for Schuon but none of them ever “called to me”. They just sit there on the shelf, and I just leave them alone. This was like that, but yesterday it finally “called out to me”. I just had this sudden attraction to it, and so I’m gonna read it (this is how I always determine what book I’m gonna read).

***

As for the exercise front, today I jumped back into the fire. Yep, I decided no matter how painful Meltdown Training is, I’m gonna stick with it. We’re not here to be happy all the time. We’re here for work and discipline. And I have a poor diet, so what? Imagine what would have happened if Abu Dujana didn’t fight at Uhud because he hadn’t been eating well lately. One thing about bodybuilders: their diets are too good. Life’s just not like that…. It’s not perfect. Bodybuilders have absolutely perfect diets and basically pamper their muscles. Ancient warriors were never like that. Their bodies had to adapt so that they grow stronger and bigger with less food, so that the body becomes more efficient at processing food and getting benefits out of it. The body itself becomes tougher.

I decided to change one thing, though, with my diet. I’m gonna stop drinking water, and replace it with milk. Milk is 80% water, and so by drinking milk all day my body is still getting all the water it needs, as well as proteins and tons of other good stuff. If I drank water, I’d fill myself up. By replacing it with milk, I’m being more efficient and getting more into me. Since yesterday I’ve been drinking 1.5-2 kg of skimmed milk a day. In fact only time I drink water is at night with the ZMA so that calcium doesn’t intefere with its absorption. Hopefully this will improve my gains and make up somewhat for the bad diet. My main problem as a vegetarian in Egypt is I end up eating lots and lots of processed carbs. Two or three plates of koshari (Egyptian dish made of: rice, pasta, lentils, chilli) for lunch. My belly is growing again. I’m not sure the Meltdown Training will keep it in check. Gotta find a solution.

Well that’s it for now. Time for isha. Wassalam.

“Death Circuit”. That’s what Don Alessi’s elite athletes call his Meltdown Training program. Death Circuit. That name is so misleading, I could sue him. Death circuit made me think it would be so bad I’d die after I finished. This was far far worse. This was so bad I was dead by the second super-set. After that, I was roasting in jahannam. I had to stop half-way through the third super-set. It all took 10 minutes. 10 minutes. 10 MINUTES! 10 Minutes. Then it took me some 15 minutes until i can breathe normally again. And I started to sweat like crazy. The whole exercise should have taken 15 minutes maybe 17. That’s it. I’m used to spending an hour at the gym, maybe a little more.

I only started today because I took an extra day off after the end of my last program, and then i got sick for two days, having really high fever and puking all over the dining room table and floor. Pleasant. For the past two days i’ve eaten nothing but one plate of rice and 2 kilograms (!!) of fresh guava and strawberry juice. Today I had a small plate of fish. Wasn’t too good.

Anyway, maybe I just hadn’t eaten well enough to start this program. But I doubt it. I’m not going anywhere near this program until I have a PERFECT, flawless diet, and MEGA-DOSE BCAA’s (branched chain amino acids) for recovery (or steroids). haha, jk about the steroids. Now i’ll have to find me a new program.

On the religious front, I’ve slipped back into spiritual jahannam. 4 days i havent prayed. First two days, I was supposed to make up for all prayers at night time but i ended up writing papers until the next morning. Then came two days of severe illness, and one day where I really dont have any excuse whatsoever (not that the previous days I had enough of an excuse). I feel horrible about this. Today it ends, inshalla. If only I could get up from this chair now to go do wudu I would. But I’m afraid my legs would fail me half way through the prayer. Death Circuit ??!!! Inshalla I’ll do the prayers in an hour or two. I can’t believe i slipped less than 10 days (i tihnk) since I started praying again.

I must not let a single day go by without prayer. Not a single day. Not for any excuse in the world.. You always think you’ll go back the next day and you don’t. And no more joining prayers. I’m gonna start doing them all in their proper time. If my hands start getting chapped again or whatever from all the wudu then I’d cut back. Until then, then inshalla I’ll do them all in their proper time..

Gotta be honest about all this. That’s what this blog is for. To push me into doing everything I should be doing. Everytime I slip I have to blog about it. Can’t stay quiet about it.

“Account yourselves before you are taken into account and weigh your actions before they are weighed for you!” -Umar Ibn al-Khattab (r.a)

Wow. I had some amaazing dreams last night. Amazing. I mean, I’ve been having great dreams every night for a while now (and I’ll you’ll soon find out why), but yesterday’s were just.. brilliant. I have the most amazing director up in that head. Anyway, I thought I’d share this info about ZMA with you all so you can have those dreams if you wished to (I don’t guarantee however that they’d be as good as mine, depends on the quality of that director).

What is ZMA? It’s one of the cheapest and most effective supplements out there.. Simply nothing but Zinc and Magnesium, with a bit of vitamin B6 to maximize absorption. Now MOST (up to 75%) of all Americans (and i’m betting more than 50% of Europeans and other people) are deficient in Zinc and Magnesium. Furthermore, studies show that almost 100% of all athletes are deficient in both Zinc and Magnesium. Yeah, that’s 100%. Not only that, but anyone who sweats a lot is (most likely) deficient in both. Vegetarian or vegan? You’re deficient as well.

What does it do? One study showed that it increases free testosterone in professional athletes by 33% and significantly increases their strength and power in 8 weeks. Charles Poliquin also has said his athletes really start to feel the difference after 6 weeks of use. Also increases growth hormone release during your sleep. Basically it restores all those hormones that you need for being strong and healthy and losing fat, to normal levels. People who also have less zinc also have weaker immune systems.

But even better than that- more restful, deeper sleep and of course, the amaaazing dreams. The dreams alone are worth the cheap price of ZMA.

Why can’t you just get your zinc and magensium from a multivitamin/mineral formula? Because these formulas have calcium in them, and then there’s even more calcium that’s not mentioned and is used to bind together the vitamins and minerals. And calcium interferes with the absorption of zinc and magnesium. So even if you’re taking a multi formula, you’re not really getting zinc and magnesium into you because of the calcium.

Anyway, that was my first supplement review here.
You can find ZMA for about 10 bucks for a month’s supply. I recommend at least two months use for athletes.

“You can be a world class expert in anything you choose just by studying the subject one hour a day for the next five years.”

- Alwyn Cosgrove