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I will not be updating this version anymore.

wasalamun alaikum warahmatullaah

Imagine yourself gazing upon the Earth.

In near orbit.

There are a few massive yet graceful space stations in geosynchronous orbit. Ships capable of near-space travel dock at the station, disgorging dozens, or even hundreds, of tourists and businesspeople. Supply barges constantly ply established routes bringing vital supplies and refills to the station. Private space yachts glide about here and there, letting their owners enjoy unparalleled, sweeping vistas of the whole globe.

Farther away, nearly invisible against the sheer blackness of space, are smaller research stations. There, scientists are constantly developing new ways to fight diseases, to grow plants with greater crop yields, pioneering new breakthrough technologies for people who are blind or deaf, and finding new ways to improve the standard of living on Earth. Other, larger stations farther out in orbit serve as way-stations for massive freight barges returning from the moon, Mars, or perhaps even the asteroid belt, with cargo holds full of ore and minerals, en-route to planet-side industries.

Closer to home, imagine entire areas - miles and miles - of the Sahara turned into Africa’s breadbasket, thanks to new irrigation, soil engineering, and soil reclamation technologies. Famine on that continent has receded into the collective memory of its’ senior citizens and is now just a shadow of its former self, the remnant of a bad dream from which the world has woken up from and found Africa not only sustaining itself but even exporting grains and produce to other growing markets.
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salamualaikum

So, Rabyia asked me a question:

“I’m really interested to know how you would advice an individual who has tasted the sweetness of eemaan but through stresses of life has drifted away from the deen and now has become like a stranger to even the simplest of deeni matters.”

Honestly I don’t feel capable of answering this question but I’ll try.

Have you read the hadith of Hanzalah, when he was sitting and crying, accusing himself of nifaaq, and when he explained why he felt that ay to Abu Bakr, then he too also became stressed similarly? This was because their eeman used to be so high, so rock solid when they were with the Prophet, but when they were away from him, it used to go lower.

So nabeyuna Muhammad [saws] told both of them that eeman is not something that stays at a constant, high level all the time. It goes up and down. So from this we know that - as is blatantly apparent - our eeman will fluctuate from time to time. Sometimes it’ll be like just a few bumps and other times like a roller-coaster.

It happens to me too.

I usually deal with it by reminding myself of a lot of things, not all at once, but just any of the following, and in no particular order:
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THE FOLLOWING APPEARED ON CRAIG’S LIST :

What am I doing wrong?

Okay, I’m tired of beating around the bush. I’m a beautiful (spectacularly beautiful) 25 year old girl. I’m articulate and classy.I’m not from New York. I’m looking to get married to a guy who makes at least half a million a year. I know how that sounds, but keep in mind that a million a year is middle class in New York City, so I don’t think I’m overreaching at all.

Are there any guys who make 500K or more on this board? Any wives? Could you send me some tips? I dated a business man who makes average around 200 - 250. But that’s where I seem to hit a roadblock. 250,000 won’t get me to central park west. I know a woman in my yoga class who was married to an investment banker and lives in Tribeca, and she’s not as pretty as I am, nor is she a great genius. So what is she doing right? How do I get to her level?

Here are my questions specifically:

- Where do you single rich men hang out? Give me specifics- bars, restaurants, gyms, etc.

- What are you looking for in a mate? Be honest guys, you won’t hurt my feelings

- Is there an age range I should be targeting (I’m 25)?

- Why are some of the women living lavish lifestyles on the upper east side so plain? I’ve seen really ‘plain jane’ boring types who have nothing to offer married to incredibly wealthy guys. I’ve seen drop dead gorgeous girls in singles bars in the east village. What’s the story there?

- Jobs I should look out for? Everyone knows - lawyer, investment banker, doctor. How much do those guys really make? And where do they hang out? Where do the hedge fund guys hang out?

- How you decide marriage vs. just a girlfriend? I am looking for MARRIAGE ONLY.

Please hold your insults - I’m putting myself out there in an honest way. Most beautiful women are superficial; at least I’m being up front about it. I wouldn’t be searching for these kind of guys if I wasn’t
able to match them - in looks, culture, sophistication, and keeping a nice home and hearth.

* it’s NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

PostingID: 432279810

THE ANSWER: Dear Pers-431649184:

I read your posting with great interest and have thought meaningfully about your dilemma. I offer the following analysis of your predicament. Firstly, I’m not wasting your time, I qualify as a guy who fits your bill; that is I make more than $500K per year. That said here’s how I see it.

Your offer, from the prospective of a guy like me, is plain and simple a crappy business deal. Here’s why. Cutting through all the B.S., what you suggest is a simple trade: you bring your looks to the party and I bring my money. Fine, simple. But here’s the rub, your looks will fade and my money will likely continue into perpetuity…in fact, it is very likely that my income increases but it is an absolute certainty that you won’t be getting any more beautiful!

So, in economic terms you are a depreciating asset and I am an earning asset. Not only are you a depreciating asset, your depreciation accelerates! Let me explain, you’re 25 now and will likely stay pretty hot for the next 5 years, but less so each year. Then the fade begins in earnest. By 35 stick a fork in you! So in Wall Street terms, we would call you a trading position, not a buy and hold…hence the rub…marriage. It doesn’t make good business sense to “buy you” (which is what you’re asking) so I’d rather lease. In case you think I’m being cruel, I would say the following. If my money were to go away, so would you, so when your beauty fades I need an out. It’s as simple as that. So a deal that makes sense is dating, not marriage.

Separately, I was taught early in my career about efficient markets. So, I wonder why a girl as “articulate, classy and spectacularly beautiful” as you has been unable to find your sugar daddy. I find it hard to believe that if you are as gorgeous as you say you are that the $500K hasn’t found you, if not only for a tryout.

By the way, you could always find a way to make your own money and then we wouldn’t need to have this difficult conversation.

With all that said, I must say you’re going about it the right way. Classic “pump and dump.”

I hope this is helpful, and if you want to enter into some sort of lease, let me know.

I found the following really interesting. Seems like a lot of world and business leaders were either mediocre in their studies, or complete dropouts [like Bill Gates and others]

From an article by Maclean’s:

A growing body of evidence suggests grades don’t predict success — C+ students are the ones who end up running the world

SARAH SCOTT | Aug 30, 2007 |

Back at Thornhill high school in the early 1970s, Mike Cowie and his brother Mark didn’t pay much attention to their school work. For one thing, the identical twins were working at a garage after school to pay for their cars. They were bored in the classroom and didn’t see any practical point in the curriculum. Why, for example, should they memorize a bunch of “common musical terms” from an eccentric music teacher who claimed he let his dog sit in the driver’s seat on the way to school? They emerged from high school with C-pluses and a few Bs, just enough to get into university. Their father gave each of them $600 for tuition on one condition — they get out of town.

Now, their old teachers may be surprised to learn that the Cowie brothers are among Canada’s most successful commercial real-estate brokers, doing mega-million-dollar real-estate deals for corporate Canada. From their modest offices in downtown Toronto, they can see some of the high-rise buildings they’ve helped clients buy, sell, lease or build. You’ve got to be able to read people, says Mark. “I look for little signs” — how they sit, how they hold their arms, what they do with their hands, which way they look. Just recently he saw a potential deal start to crater when a developer failed to look a prospective client in the eye as they were shaking hands. “I can understand inflections, how people say things,” says Mark. “You can tell if they’re hesitating.”

The Cowies’ success is the story your high school teacher may not want you to know. It’s the triumph of the C+ student, the guy who won’t be voted Most Likely to Succeed. He’s bored in class, and comes home with withering report cards that say things like, “If only he tried harder.” His eyes glaze over as his high school English teacher tries to whip up enthusiasm for Shakespeare. He gets lousy marks because he does not want to deliver what the teacher demands. But then, in university or maybe later, he turns on — and becomes so successful that the school brings him back to give speeches to the kids. High school marks, it turns out, do not predict how well you’ll do later in life.

Read the rest here.

You can take my money.
You can take my belongings.
You can take my friends and family.
You can take the roof over my head.
You can take the clothes off my back.
You can take my body to the limit, and beyond.

…

But you’ll never douse the white-hot fire of my eyes.
You’ll never breach the fortress of my will.
You’ve got nothing massive enough to corral my spirit.
You couldn’t survive the trip down to the depths of my passion.
You’ll make nary a dent in my resilience, no matter how hard you strike.

And insha’allah like my grandfather Dawood, no matter how small I am and no matter how big you are, you will meet me head on, face-to-face, and you will never see my back. I will be at the tip of the spear, at the head of the pack, completely unrelenting, entirely unyielding and utterly unrepentant.

And do you know why?

Come hither, and I’ll tell you.

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