A Niqab, anyone?

My dearest sisters, I want to buy you a present. I want to buy you a niqab.
I want to buy you a veil.
I want you to be beautiful.
I don't want men to stare at you.
I don't want any man to stare at you without paying the price. I don't you to sell yourself to make others happy. I don't want anyone to judge you on your looks, I want the world to judge you on your religion and character.

I want you to know that you will never please everyone, but that there is a way to make the One who created you and created everyone else pleased with you.
I want you to know that the one who created you, and created everyone else will take you all back to Him -Subhanahu Wata3aala- one day and judge you. So it doesn't make sense to try to please the creation and ignore the Creator.

I want you to know that you will be in your grave alone, and that you will stand and be questioned before Allah alone, and that no one you tried to please in this life will be in your grave with you, and no one will answer any question for you. Save yourself my Sister, save yourself. First.

To all Muslim Ladies out there, take this from a man, a man who knows how his kind thinks because he is one of them.
Men don't want to liberate you, men aren't out there to free you, men just want you to uncover yourself, and the more uncovered you are the better. Because men want that cheap enjoyment, and by uncovering yourself you give it to them.

Ladies, are you really free? When the world judges you by your looks, when you spend half an hour in front of the mirror before you leave home everyday just to please the eyes of the countless men you will meet on your way? That is not freedom, that is enslavement. Yes, when you try so hard to please everyone with your nice pretty face you're actually enslaving yourself to their opinions.

Ladies, don't let the world judge you by your looks, you're not an art gallery, you're a human with character and intellect, with religion, with morals and values. Ladies, when you uncover yourselves almost every man within eyesight will look at you, and judge you, and derive enjoyment from looking at you. And you get what? you get used, for free. Ladies, no one wants anything cheap, and no one wants anything used.

Ladies, why do you make yourselves so cheap? Why are you trying so hard to please others but you aren't trying so hard to please the One who created others?

Sisters, don't put on a niqab to fit in, don't put on a niqab because it's the cultural norm. Put on a niqab because what Allah -Subhanahu Wata3aala- thinks of you matters more than what everyone else thinks of you, combined. Put on a niqab to please Allah, and Allah will make people pleased with you.

My Dear Sisters, put on a niqab to liberate yourselves, liberate yourselves from other people's judgements. Obey Allah to liberate yourselves from the Hell-fire, May Allah protect us all. This life is short and we shall all die, and then no human being's opinion of you shall matter. If it won't matter then why should it matter now? Do it for Allah and Allah shall reward you, and indeed Allah's reward knows no limits.

My Dear Sisters, a niqab, anyone?

When things get too damp.

Meanwhile in my bedroom...

When things get too cool.

Trying hard for that casual confident look but failing very badly...

First Kill

Tough-roasted old bird marinated in delicious Nando's sauce, creatively seasoned with cheap coriander powder and rocky black pepper. All served with freshly bought chewy bread.

Pay before you eat please. No refund.

Dried to perfection

Served with love

Head Chef: 

Muhammad Ashworth

On the way back..

Assalamu Alaikum

When a lions feathers are ruffled, to take literary expressions to new lows, he should simply unruffle them. My Dear Readers, I am not a Lion and I don't have feathers so you can ignore all of the above. PLEASE.

No comment..

The pot my Dad planted for me as a welcome gesture.

It was a very happy day indeed that I flew back to Saudi Arabia, the weather was beautiful no matter what the weather actually was and after fast forwarding two weeks of my life it was time to go back.

As usual my packing was very methodical and calculated, running round the house like an energised baboon and packing everyone else's clothes in my suitcase was all part of the plan. My sisters baked lots of bake-able stuff and even if it wasn't they did. The rest of my family then must've made sardines jealous the way they crammed in the car whilst my brother and myself ambushed the nearest taxi we could get hold off. Off to the airport we went.

Due to fearing greatly for my safety and not wishing to bore you to the extent of going on my brother's blog, I'll just say that I wasn't allowed to leave at the airport, due in no part to my very dangerous character and macho composition, which although such an excuse would greatly enhance my reputation wid ma homies, it would be quite untrue.

So I stayed on, officially ditching, and did my best to stay longer. Meanwhile, my sisters were Marvellous MashAllah. One handled burning the baking, one almost sewed my trousers into pants, one didn't handle the ice-lemon tea at all and one kept jumping my shoulders. I had a lovely time Alhamdulillah.

One lovely cushion my sister sewed for me MashAllah. A tribute to my very excellent blog.

I had to spice up my trip with some sentiment so I visited our Dear Green Turtle, all abandoned and lonely now. Yeah, don't cry.

And so, it was finally time to go back to the jungle which my university happens to grow in the middle of.

Packing..

We arrived at the airport armed with enough sausage rolls to tame a Blue Whale. We tamed a few Blue Whales I think and then I was off.

My personal booty..

I must warn you that I rapidly sink into a state of drunken delirium when I travel, sometime later I woke up to find myself on the plane, in somebody else's seat and with legs rammed firmly into my neighbour. My head was hanging off at such a crazy angle and my body was twisted so extraordinarily I bet a cat couldn't have beat me for the prize of six mice and a rat.

I arrived in KL safely Alhamdulillah and was quite glad no one was meeting me, since I smelt liked a veteran mop and looked like an American coming from Australia.

Hello Mummy.

And the lovely tea box my friend gave me..

That is all for now my Dears, I am missing home very much and so please hug yourself for me.
Love
Ashworth

The Roundabout...

My Dear Wallabies, I know many of you haven't been waiting a very long time for this post, actually you probably haven't been waiting at all. Well here it is and it's not worth the wait, at all.

I arrived in Saudi Arabia an inconsiderable time ago where I was met by three swarthy burly guys, apparently they were two friends and my brother. Oh well, a hairy welcome.
The cold that I walked into wasn't just freezing, it was mind-numbing. I felt like a blubberless penguin out on the Antarctic plains. I don't want to relate my personal history here (Which is not exactly a page-turner anyway) but long story short, I was under virtual house-arrest for over a week, where I sat huddling in corners and hugging my chilled bones like a deep-frozen turkey.

Alhamdulillah, after some extreme overtime put in by some poor bees and the heater, layers of blankets enough to accelerate global warming and some especially warm epithets from my immediate environment, I came round in as many senses possible and am now very nice and round. The penguin found his blubber.

One thing I had forgotten was how dusty it is here. It is perfectly normal to leave your laptop for a few moments and then come back to find it covered in a sand dune. Of course in Malaysia you might find a tree sprouting out of the USB port so there you go.

I hadn't realised this but life in Saudi Arabia really does toughen you up, and I mean in a positive way. I don't know if it's the extreme weather or the burly friends or everything else but it really does. Four months in Malaysia had left me feeling rather soggy round the edges.

That in part may be due to the astronomical amount of oil one consumes over there. Honestly, after eating lunch it may just be possible to turn yourself on by inserting a car key into your ear and turning it forward sharply. Like seriously, in Malaysia you drink oil like nobody's business. I believe I am an expert chef now in Malaysian cuisine, you simply get rice and drown it in oil, then get fried chicken and insert it in a bottle of oil, then you get your veggies and pour a whole bucket of oil down it, turning it into oil soup, all served with an oil dip.

As a budding (possible) economist I've had this astounding brainwave. I have discovered Malaysia's biggest natural resource. People. People must be brimming with oil due to the colossal amount of oil they consume in their diet. I suggest a fair valuation of one person = one barrel of oil, which at current market prices is over $100 an individual. I still have not worked out any reliable method to extract the oil from individuals but at least we have a very oily foundation. I forecast a plummet in petrol prices worldwide due to this sudden excess supply of oil, in addition to Malaysia not only entering but completely dominating the OPEC members organisation.

Alhamdulillah it's such a blessing to be home, I've embarked on a mini health drive since my dietary consumption of oil in Malaysia almost rivalled the combined producing capabilities of the Gulf countries. As part of my committed efforts I purchased a vegetable steamer then proceeded to steam myself like one. The second phase involved me gorging myself at every single possible store and restaurant in Riyadh to ensure that I don't miss good food too much when I go back InshAllah. Right.

Steaming ahead...

My sincere advice to anyone who wants to leave home: Don't leave home. Based on the principle of 'ignore one advice and get a dozen free' I shall assume that you have ignored my first advice and therefore are eligible for the next dozen.
When you leave home (TEMPORARILY) don't pack any clothes with you, just food you're gonna miss. Pack Fairy liquid if you're going to Malaysia and baked beans if you're off to Bangor.

The first thing you do when you arrive at your respective destination is to go to a very nice restaurant, you need this to relax. After that go to a very nice cafe to wash all the food down then go on a shopping spree that'll last you the next decade. If you're a boy you need to buy a washing machine and dryer, a big fridge, lots of deodorant and a dishwasher. Bawl your eyes out for about a month and then bully all the freshers, after which barely pass your exams then catch the next flight home. Give your parents a big hug. Life goes on.

A gift from my parents. Alhamdulillah, I had been stalking this guy for ages.

Before I end this ramble I'd like to just squeeze in a very sorry looking apology to my dear friend Typewriter, also known as Ahmad Samir. I'm sorry for ditching you and I promise that it might happen again in the future, I'll try anyway. But I was sick, I really was.

That's all for now Ladies and Gentlemen
Apparently the world decided to remember Charles Dickens this week
I decided to show the world just how far we've come
Love
Ashworth

Home.

Assalamu Alaikum Dear Readers.

The joy of finishing exams is quite something, trust me, especially if you're flying home the next day. Alhamdulillah for everything. 

Anypath, I came home to a very clogged up airport teaming with human life in all forms. People were queuing and sitting and huddling and sleeping and pushing and barging and giving up and just about trickling through. Alhamdulillah Allah made everything easy and I was out before my three burly Hairy hoods knew it.

I came home to home and there's nothing else I can possibly say. Alhamdulillah for all his blessings and I just wanted to let you know that.

Love

Ashworth

Your Day will come.

Death will come, the day you die will come. There's no use trying to run away from death. Don't spend your whole life trying to dodge death, death will catch you one day. But try to be ready for that day you die, prepare for it by fearing Allah and doing good deeds, and abstaining from what Allah forbade you from doing.

((وَاتَّقُوا يَوْمًا تُرْجَعُونَ فِيهِ إِلَى اللَّهِ ۖ ثُمَّ تُوَفَّىٰ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَّا كَسَبَتْ وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ))
((And fear a Day when you will be returned to Allah. Then every soul will be compensated for what it earned, and they will not be treated unjustly)). - Al-Baqarah(281).


May Allah give us the best of endings and Jannutul Firdaws Al-A3la.

Allah's Mercy..

The Mercy Allah has put in this Mother's heart...

A Wounded Sabre (formerly Saber)...

My Dearest Mummy, this comes from too much Love.

Another one?...Please?