Coherence in the Quran:

  The Quran has 114 Surahs (I will translate that to 'chapters' at the moment) – all of which were revealed at different times and these Surahs are divided into two categories:

1.   Makki Surahs (Surahs revealed in Makkah - the main audience were the Quraish – most Ayat are an introduction to Allah, His signs, Paradise, Hell Fire and the Day of Judgment)
2. Madani Surahs (Surahs revealed in Madinah, the main audience were the Muslims)

  The Quran starts with Surah Al Fatihah and ends with Surah Al Naas – at first glance, one may wonder what kind of order the Surahs in the Quran are in? The word Surah, although normally translated in English to “chapter” does not properly explain the word Surah. The word Surah was used in the olden days to refer to the outer walls of a city inside which you had many things going on all of which were connected. So with that in mind, let’s discuss some of the possibilities.

  Clearly the Quran is not in chronological order: for if it was, the first Surah would be Surah Al-Alaq (which in fact is placed near the end). It is not in size order either (Biggest Surah first and smallest last) because then the last Surah would have been Surah Al Kauthar which is not the case. And neither is it in subject order with for example, Taqwa (piety) discussed first, Eman (faith) second etc. nor does it deal with a single subject matter one at a time. The conclusion many may eventually arrive to is that seeing as each Surah is independent of each other, there must not be a connection. Many scholars believe that this is not the case (for concrete reasons that are too long to go into at the moment): just as the order of each Ayah is set by Allah, the order of each Surah in the Quran is also according to Him. With this knowledge they studied the order of the Surahs in-depth and found many beautiful connections between the Surahs and here I will share with you just one such finding. In Surah Ar- Rahman and Surah Al Waqiah, (the 55^th and 56^th Surahs in the Quran), one of the connections between them can be seen when listing the subjects discussed in each Surah.

55- Surah Ar-Rahman -

Subjects discussed in order:

1) Greatness of the Quran (Ayat (signs) in the Book)

2) List of Allah's favors (Ayat (signs) around you.)

3) What happens to people who fail to be grateful? Day of Judgment and Hellfire.

4) People of paradise and what they get. (Tour of paradise)

5) Tour of Elite paradise.

56- Surah Al Waqiah -

Subjects discussed in order:

1) The Elite. (Who will be rewarded elite paradise)

2) People of the right hand (Who will be rewarded paradise)

3) Hell fire and Day of Judgment.

4) The favors of Allah. (Ayat (signs) around you)

5) Greatness of the Quran (Ayat (signs) in the Book)

As you can see, the subjects are reflected in the Surah right after it – this is just one example of the divine connections between each Surah in the Quran. (There can even be multiple connections as well) 

Taken from Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan’s Divine Speech Seminar videos which can be found at Bayyinah.tv.

Note: My knowledge of the Quran is extremely limited – this is just my attempt to share with you whatever minute knowledge I know so that maybe you can learn to fall in love with the Quran’s beauty as I have. Any good that came out of this was from Allah and any mistakes are from myself.

Doughnuts, Starbucks and Randomness. xD

  My baby sister sat at the table with a piece of my brother’s chocolate croissant in front of her.  Her voice echoed throughout Starbucks as she proclaimed in a feigned British accent: “Even if we do buy doughnuts afterwards, I wouldn't be able to eat them”.  I shifted my gaze towards the scrumptious piece that lay in the plate in front of her: my hand lazily pointed towards it. “So … I can have that?” Startled, she cried out with a loud “No!” and instantly let out a stream of laughter. I rolled my eyes at her teasingly and continued to sip at the chocolate-chip ice blended drink that rested between my chilled fingers.

  Around us the place was nearly deserted except for a single table a few feet away where my other younger sister sat with her three friends. Despite the place being nearly abandoned, our table alone was probably enough to give the opposite impression. My older sister sat across from me sipping her coffee and making sarcastic remarks, while my brother attempted to imitate King Candy from Reck-it-Ralph at every opportune moment making us all crack up at. And yet, my baby sister was the one who stole the spotlight - from commenting on the ingredients that went into the cake she’d just devoured to friendly bickering with the three of us on how we should act more like ladies (excluding my brother of course) and yet acting like a complete barbarian herself. (Her words, not mine). I sat with a bemused look on my face – allowing myself to have a chuckle or two at how bloody hilarious we were and shifting from adopting a scowl to doubling over in laughter over something someone had said.

  This picture of today’s outing I have just painted is an unusual one especially with parents like ours (the overly protective kind) who have a habit of calling us up every five minutes to insure we’re still alive and haven’t tripped over our feet and fallen into a ditch – but it’s not as rare as you may think. (Or as rare as I may make it out to be) Although, what initially was supposed to be a visit to Krispy Kreme’s with a group of my younger sister’s friends, it turned out that fate had other plans. Prayer time being right around the corner, the employees at Krispy Kreme’s “kicked” us out the moment we walked in at 3:30 on the basis of it nearly being Salah (prayer) time and so they simply could not have customers. This resulted in the eight of us walking across the street (our drivers having all gone home) towards Starbucks and Krispy Kreme’s losing a couple of potential customers. (Well, not really. We did go back to buy from them anyway)

  We ended up staying in Starbucks till almost five in the evening after which we walked back to Krispy Kreme’s and bought a box full of doughnuts for my parents. Later at home, we related the events to our mother who by now should be used to our random escapades – but was surprised nonetheless. I’m just glad we got back in one piece. (Mentally, that is) xP

A few things I've noticed about myself:

1. I love making lists.
2. I know I've mentioned this before but: I am literally obsessed with cute things. No seriously – I think it’s escalated into a mental disorder. O_o If you know a good psychiatrist*, please do refer them to me.
3. I prefer the easy way out of things – in others words, I’m lazy.
4. I have a knack for wasting time by staring at my laptop screen. Probably the only  talent I possess.
5. I can be laughing one minute and completely moody the next – I blame the hormones.
6. I try too hard to be funny.
7. I really do like writing lists.
8. I’m only writing this because I have nothing else better to do with my life
9. No, idiot – you should be watching a programming tutorial right now.
10. I like talking to myself.
11. I also like programming … And math. You’re welcome to call me a nerd – in any case, that title was claimed by me long time ago.
12. I will now end this and go back to sulking in a corner.

I Remember: Little snippets of my life in Saudi:

Seeing as I once did an “I remember” post centering around our time in America, I thought I’d do one for our time here in Jeddah. I've lived here for the past thirteen years and to be perfectly honest with you, I've got some great memories of the place. Regardless of what you may have heard or read, Jeddah like any other place has its ups and downs and considering the fact that I was born here and half of my mother’s family lives here I've grown to love the place as my own. (No, I’m not Saudi, in case you’re wondering).

So here goes my list of memories: I hope you enjoy them!

I remember playing with the two stay kittens that lived in the bushes outside my grandparent’s house.

I remember letting them climb all over my legs - they’re tiny claws scratching my skin.

I remember the countless sleepovers at my grandparent’s house – (their new and former one) – the late night talks with my cousin, the stories she would demand I tell her (I did enjoy telling them, I promise!), and the secrets we would exchange in the dead of the night.

I remember watching my uncle (who was just a teen back then) play Metal Gear and countless other video games such as Need For Speed, Fear, GTA, and one featuring a Japanese character – he never did tell us what that one was called despite all the begging we did.

I remember the cold air that always escaped through the space beneath the door of my uncle’s room – I remember taking turns with my sister, putting our feet as close as we could, savoring the freezing cold air.

I remember the countless fights I had with my cousin: most revolving around me wanting to sit down with a book and her wanting me to play tag, or hide-and-seek or whatever it was we used to play in those days.

I remember the bird we nursed back to health that had been injured in a fall, and later watching it fly away in to the sky – strong and healthy again.

I remember playing games that consisted of filling our room up with foam balls – pushing the mattress off the bed to make ourselves a ship – and setting the air conditioner to absurd temperatures so we could pretend we’d reached Antarctica.

I remember my days in primary and middle school – how I was always considered the “quiet”, “shy” kid and how much I inwardly hated that.

I remember lying to my sixth grade teacher about showing my report card to my mother because I was too afraid to tell her the truth – she saw right through me on the spot.

I remember being such a clean freak, where every speck of dust would annoy the hell out of me.

I remember dropping a huge bowl golabjamen⁽¹⁾ right in front of some late night guests - the syrup ended up running down my pants and onto the floor while I just stood there dumbstruck.

I remember my mother becoming furious, and my father gently telling me it was alright.

I remember the long bus rides back from school, hanging out with the older girls in the back – and falling asleep by the time we reached our stop.

I remember the messed up jokes my friends would make in high school – the headaches we gave our teachers - especially the social worker, and the good times we all shared. 

I remember hanging out in the deputy headmistress’s office while collaborating on the school magazine my friend Miriam and I were in charge of.

I remember dressing up as a guy once while our grandmother (Allah Yarhamha⁽²⁾) was staying with us – her reaction was to pretend I was some stranger from the streets and to keep telling me to get out – I just stood there, doubling up in laughter.

I remember when our aunt and her sons would visit from the states, the family get-togethers we’d have, mostly consisting of all of us cousins crowding around our uncles and annoying the hell out of them.

I remember riding my uncle’s quad bike over the sand dunes in the outskirts of Jeddah.

I remember attempting a dive into the Red Sea on one of our recent trips there, and ending up with a nose full of water instead.

I remember performing my first Hajj when I was sixteen –  camping out in Mina while rain fell from the skies,  asking for forgiveness in Arafat and sleeping under the night sky in Muzdalifah.

I remember getting my first (unofficial) marriage proposal on Hajj from some random Egyptian lady who thought I’d be good for her son – now THAT was awkward. 

I remember riding my younger cousin’s bike (which I "borrowed" on the spot from him) down the street next to the highway because I was too tired to run and catch up with my sister and uncle who were way ahead. 

I remember the late nights where all of us siblings would make corny jokes, tease each other to no end and laugh till our sides hurt and our throats were all raw. ⁽³⁾

I remember, I remember, I remember

My. Thirteen years is a long time. I could probably go on and on, but I think I’ll stop here, because I think you get the point: Jeddah is awesome - and if you haven't been here, well, let me just say - you are missing out mate. :p (Okay - that was totally not needed. Sigh. I suck at humor)
*Scratches that all out* The real point is: no matter where you are, be thankful for the people and moments in your life (even if things don't always go the way you want them to) - because you never know when all that will be taken away. Sometimes, we need to look past all the "bad" times to realize how blessed we actually are - and I'd say I'm extremely blessed. Alhamdulilah (Praise to God).

(1) An Indian/Pakistani dessert which you MUST try. 

(2) An Arabic phrase which means: May God have mercy on her soul.
(3) We still do that. =)