Init; Al-mubtada; Beginning

BiIsmillah Arrahmaan Arraheem,
With the name of the One God [Allah], the most beneficent, the merciful

This being the first post of this blog, and that at three in the morning, I suppose I have "a lot of 'splaining to do". I should explain the name, my purpose, what to expect, who I am, and so much more. InshaAllah that will come out within this post, but if not, it shouldn't be too rough to pick up the answer to those questions as time goes on.

The easiest to explain is the name: "A Muslim Anon". For those whom this is enough: La ilaha illaAllah, wa muhammadaRasool Allah. For those who don't know what that means, the translation is "There is no God, but the One God [Allah, is the usual translation there], and Muhammad [peace and prayers be upon him] is his messenger". This is the Shahada, the bearing of witness, that defines at the most basic level what a Muslim is. Thus I explain the middle word, leaving two others to scrutiny. "A" is the standard article in English denoting an inspecific instance. Now notice the play between that and the final word, "Anon". By dictionary.net: "1. Straightway; at once. [Obs.] 2. Soon; in a little while. 3. At another time; then; again.". Someone out there, besides me, has to chuckle at the fact that only the first definition is deemed obsolete. To add to the confusion: I fully intend all three definitions simultaneously, plus the fourth obvious-to-the-internet explanation which is quadruply its definition: anonymous. So who am I? I'm an anonymous Muslim blogger, or a Muslim who is currently submitting to the will of the One God [Allah], or a Muslim who soon will, or at another time will.

Who am I? Another easy question. To make biases evident, I'm American raised and in the middle to lower class. I'm avoiding heritage and ethnicity because I'm an American. The rest shouldn't matter. I'm a young man, contrary to the ostensible e-mail address; it's real though so if you wish to contact me I'll use it. I value anonymity for a reason that may come in another post. I love the English language, playing with it, using it, and expressing myself with it. I'm slightly elitist, and fairly liberal.

What to expect is the next most obvious question for me to answer: opinions. Opinions on possibly world events, though I tend not to near those. Opinions on issues of religion that happen or have happened in my life. Opinions on Muslim things. I'm not a very opinionated person in that I don't act on my opinions in an aggressive manner nor do I force them on others. In fact, I would admit to not having had many opinions at all in the past, but having met with some adversity, I now am slightly the wiser and much the more opinionated. Expect verbosity (I love this language), confusion (I'll think in my post), an attempt at science (being a lover of rigor), and possibly hope (Romanticism...). Know that there will likely be sarcasm, and mild attempts at wit, along with many puns.

What is my purpose is the most difficult question. Before each prayer of the five mandatory daily prayers, followers of the Hanafi school of thought typically state their intentions for the upcoming prayer session, but alas, such clear intentions are only for clear actions. I'm not here to preach, because I've realized that the only way to become a hypocrite is by preaching, so if one eliminates the preaching he eliminates the hypocrisy. But at the same time, when one discovers information, she can't resist sharing the knowledge with the people she cares about, and sometimes that knowledge is just how to live life or think about important issues. And that turns into preaching. On some level, this is more of a personal journal or diary, an attempt at self-expression. On another, this is an attempt to vainly leave a footprint on someone while trying not to touch anyone.

I'll accept feedback, but only specific type. 1) Exclamations or statements of positive things: NOT ACCEPTABLE. Why is this? It's a long story, but quite frankly I don't give a damn if you agree with me. If you really want to tell me that you like what I'm saying, e-mail me. 2) Exclamations or statements of negative things: bring it on. Being a Muslim today means thicker skin more often than not. 3) Argumentation: I love it. 4) Discussion: I'll work with it. 5) Pseudo-random-yet-connected-comments: May God have mercy upon you and your family.

All good from what I say in this blog comes from the One God [Allah], and all evil and wrong comes from me.