"there is nothing in the realm of possibility more wondrous and perfect than what is"
- imam al-ghazali, i think.
and i see this, it now makes no difference whether i am home in damascus where i can see the moon waning between the concrete frames of tall buildings and watch alleycats congregate in the early hours or at home in wuddistan where the same moon casts shadows off clusters of poplars. the things that used to bother me (cigarette smoke, arab pop.) no longer do, and tonight i was sitting at the desk in what used to be z's room, the strip of windows above the sound of people passing up and down the stairs leading up the mountain, trying to make sense of notes scribbled two months ago, and in the end...the way these things fit together so snugly, as a sense of purpose accomplished.
not mine, mind, the blade of time too swift for that, but external joy to provide.
(pictures - graemex.blogspot.com and damascus-online.com)
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two days ago i drew up what would have been the penultimate perfect year here. i'm putting this up that if any of you ever create (kasab or iktisaab) the perfect world, you can live it where i have not. but at least i know what it would have been. it took this long to find out, then, and thus.
september: begin nur ul-iydah and the ajrumiyyah and tajweed 'amali, this last to continue throughout the entire year
october: continue the above, start sharh bayquniyyah
november: by mid-month, nur ul-iydah is finished, so begin mukhtar in its place. by the end of the month the ajrumiyyah is finished, start a sarf book in its place
december: continue all these classes, and start a weekly tafseer class, to continue throughout the entire year
january: by now the sharh bayquniyyah is done; start sharh jazariyyah and the khareedah
february: continue all of the above...by now the sarf book is done, so start something in balaghah
march: the sharh jazariyyah is over; start fiqh us-seerah
april: early in the month the khareedah is finished; start usul ashashi or sharh waraqaat; balaghah is finished late in the month
may: start mutimmatul-ajrumiyyah
june: continue. late in the month fiqh us-seerah done.
july: mukhtar, mutimmah, ashashi/waraqat done.
august: review.
it looks like a lot but it is not really, if you manage your time well you can have lots of time to spend in doing other things. you'd leave solid in your understanding of islamic tradition, and would have a lot of fun.
now is when i want to live this year over, in these ways...
the puzzle-pieces fit together, in the end.
