PhilAsify 101

A few days into Ramadan, your boy is checking in with a quick thought. At the midpoint of last night's Taraweeh prayer, which I like to describe as the "Taraweeh Halftime Show", the Imam spoke about the virtues of fasting. It was formulaic and typical (not that I'm complaining) but what stood out to me was him saying that your fasts will intercede for you on the day of judgment. My first reaction to that was: Whaaa? But once I gave it more thought, I realized that the Day of Judgment for everyone is going to go down like the most EPIC episode of Law and Order .  Now theres Qur'an verses which explicitly state that no person can intercede on behalf of someone else on the Day of Judgment. So essentially you're on your own. But when it comes to authentic and sound hadiths, you do have intercessors or defense attorneys on that Ultimate Court date. They just aren't your average joes like you or me.

Hey gang. Back from another hiatus to bring you more of that PhilAsify you love so much. If you haven't already, please bookmark this page, share these blogs with your friends, like PhilAsify101 on Facebook, follow me on Twitter and do all the other social media hook ups so you can stay in the loop. *** "O young people! Whoever among you can marry, should marry, because it helps him lower his gaze and guard his modesty" --Prophet Muhammad Recently, I came across an excellent article on the popular news and opinion site Slate.com entitled "Marry Young" . What was more interesting than the headline was the sub heading that accompanied it: "I got married at 23. What are you all waiting for?" I was instantly hooked for the next 10 minutes. Washington, DC writer Julia Shaw started the column by speaking about how marriage--especially in today's society--is held off and procrastinated to the max. Whether it be lack of maturity, social status ...

I got a good kick out of this video above so I thought you guys would too. It's from comedic Muslim video blogger, Hamzah Moin, best known as the Maniac Muslim . I actually had a discussion a while back with my wife over some of the worst inaccurate depictions of Islam and the salat in Hollywood or independent films.   You'd think that when the production crew is planning this movie out, they'd at least hire a Muslim to play the part, or to an even lesser extent, get a Muslim to serve as a consultant to preserve authenticity when it comes to Islamic rituals and practices like they would with a film protrayal of any other culture. But no, let's caricature it up!  My message to the Maniac Muslim though, I'd say that the absolutely worst prayer ever depicted in modern cinema would have to be the one performed in the movie Sabah: A Love Story. To anyone who has read my blog, "The Good The Bad and The Ugly of Muslim Themed Movies"   you would be more...

Come little children, gather round the campfire. It's horror story time. Have you heard this scary tale? American girl meets exotic Muslim boy. Sparks fly. Love is in the air. Muslim boy proposes marriage. American girl excitedly agrees. BUT American girl needs to convert first. Huh? We didn't talk about religion at all before? Doesn't matter. Say some Arabic words ( shahadah ) and throw this thing on your head ( hijab)  and you're good. Now the story can take a variety of horrifying  interesting turns...

A movie that has fast become one of my all-time favorites after the catching it on Netflix is  Office Space. I had always heard good things about the movie and how it had become a cult classic but for years since it's release in 1999, I slept on it. Boy was I missing out on some hilarity! An outstanding element from this hysterical comedy is it's soundtrack, which uncharacteristic of conventional comedy movies, features an abundance of gangsta rap music. Office Space pulls it off brilliantly. The awesome thing is the use of hardcore rap songs actually enhances the comedy. One notable scene is the main character goofing around the office and doing whatever he dang well pleased to the tune of, "Damn, it Feels Good To Be A Gangsta." 

It's the start of a new work week, so rather than dive into my usual PhilAsifical soliloquies, I thought we go a little bit light-hearted today. I just had to share this video that I got a kick out of (pun very much intended) from the world of Mixed Martial Arts.  Though regarded as a brutal sport by critics, MMA rakes in a ton of dough in ticket sales and PPV buyrates, in large due to the hype of fighters verbally jabbing one another before getting down to real fisticuffs. The masses are suckered in plopping down the cash when the fighters hold press conferences which are merely highly publicized smack-talking sessions. Despite this, fighters usually show a great deal of respect and sportsmanship when the final bell is rung. You usually see guys who seemingly hated eachother with such passion and fervor, shaking hands, hugging and sharing laughs mainly because win or lose, they got PAIIIIID son! Dollar dollar bill ya'll! However, a line never to be crossed in the world of...

I found a funny clip from the vault of the interwebs recently that I just needed to share with ya'll in regards to my oft-praised credo, Ballin' on a Budget. For the past couple of parts I've stressed that BOB is a state of mind. And it's something that when implemented, is always on. You don't just throw caution to the wind when it comes to your hard-earned funds. Whether your out hanging with friends, taking your lunch break, thinking about what you want to do this weekend, it is imperative to stick to your guns and be wise with your money. And to make the most of any "fun money" you happen to gather, you have to milk it for all it's worth. You gotta bargain, keep your eyes peeled for deals. Yeah, I know you're not a 43 year old housewife but you make coupons your best friend. You EMBRACE frugality and show no shame. Sure, you're friends and even family may laugh and crack on you. But if they are doing that, then a BOB'er is doing the rig...

I've watched my fair share of Video Game movies and like most gamer fans, I find myself horribly disappointed. Many can hearken back to a time of enjoying an epic game for hour after captivating hour sitting in front of the boob tube, immersed in the magnificent cutscenes of games like Metal Gear: Solid Snake and Final Fantasy . And while sitting there with our friends or siblings we would say, "Man, they gotta make this a movie. It'd be sooo **insert dated reference for awesome**". The highlight of a gamers life from days gone by are those times after school bonding with the our favorite action heroes the Mario brothers, Liu Kang and that guy from the Grand Theft Auto games. When we picture a Hollywood film with these amazing characters, we expect nothing less than a classic cinema experience for the ages. But Alas, when Hollywood actually gets ahold of those button mashing masterpieces, it creates an abortion of a movie. If you don't remember (or have gone in a...

For anyone that keeps a tab on the latest headlines, you are already aware of the depressing state the world is in. Morons are abdundant and reproducing at an alarming rate. We live in a world where a state of emergency can be called, not for a terrorist attack, not for a bomb threat or nuclear holocaust but for Justin Bieber riding around in a bus ! Of course, this is not new at all. Idiotic fan mobs have existed since the infant days of radio and television. They went bonkers for Elvis and Michael Jackson forgetting the fact that they were human beings, just like them. They took dumps, they had flaws, they slept and ate and did tons of things other than entertain. But that didn't stop them from attempting to create a stampede for a chance to publicly rape them and other popular celebrities. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Now people are going loco for a prepubescent boy that dresses and looks like a girl.

For the two or three people that have followed me since the beginning of PhilAsify, you would know that I aspire to be a lot of things that I have yet to venture towards. One of those pipedreams is screenwriting. My passion to read as well as craft compelling stories led me to take a great interest in screenwriting while in college. I took a course on it and have  read a few books that ignited my affection and respect towards this skilled art and made me feel that this may very well be my calling card. I still think it can. Looking back, I wish my  study of screenwriting would have lasted more than a semester and that the class (though I'm not knocking my professor, Sam Havens, as he was a brilliant, funny and blunt teacher) would have been more extensive and hands on. 

Now before you guys go and label this is the "Asif is lazy so he's letting a YouTube video do all the work", here me out! PhilAsify101 is not just about me blogging my thoughts on the universe. In this world of consumerism, ignorance and the desire to impress just for the sake of your own ego, there are bits and pieces left that people can still marvel at. Sometimes it's just the phenomenon of God's creations around us, other times man-made. And just sometimes it's those little things that make you go "WOW!". Things that restore your faith in humanity. This post is about the latter. I present to you a video that has captivated the internet world because of the creativity of a child. If you haven't seen it yet, check it out: Caine's Arcade.

Yikes! In my morning internet screwaround before work, I stumbled upon an interesting article on MSN.com's frontpage that immediately caught my attention. The teaser stated "Study: Beards intimidate". What was I, a card carrying member of the Muslim Beard Society, to think? Would this be an article lambasting me and my sunnah (a practice of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) ) following bretheren? Would this study declare that men should be discouraged from growing beards for fear of societal disapproval and disgust, calling for us to assimilate into clean shavery? I WILL NOT HAVE IT!

Me in a nutshell.  Cot Damn! Good Lord have mercy. It's been already an entire month since I last wrote a blog. I have no one to blame but myself and my deplorable organizational and time-prioritizing skills. The whole point of PhilAsify101 was to break my dryspell of literature generation with an outlet for creative content. Epic FAIL.

Note: The following was a article I wrote a while back for a job interview that required me to write an article while being timed. I had to pick from a selection of writing prompts which were titles of news headlines. Out of the list I chose the above title and while I did not get the job, I thought this was pretty darn good. Probably so good that it hurt my chances to work with these folks, who knows? Without further ado... Remember the good ol’ days when people were innocent until proven guilty? When a citizen of this great country was given certain inalienable rights that could not be taken away without going through the process of having their story heard by a jury of his peers in a fair and just manner? Well it looks like these kooky concepts will be a thing of the past, brought up only when we gather around our grandchildren to dazzle them with ancient rubbish. It has been reported that the majority of Congress is putting the finishing touches on an amendment that will pr...

Sometimes being the odd man out isn't such a bad thing. Over the years, we all have seen our fair share of trends. Whether it be in fashion, music or the ever-changing electronic world, people jump onto a bandwagon and are in disbelief when they meet or speak to someone that hasn't been in the loop. Taking it a step further, those type of people act as if they are looking at an enigma when you respond back that you think a certain trend is whack and you don't wanna bother indulging in it. The literary world is no different.

Still on the heels of week 1 of my blog initiative and your boy is still struggling with consistency. My wife told me a tip for first time bloggers is to have 50 blog posts written within the first month of your blog as a goal to have consistency since that in consequence would attract readers to your blog knowing that its being updated on the regular. Well, I don't know how realistic of a goal that is for me with my work schedule and home study schedule (which I will elaborate upon in a future blog post, InshaAllah). In my inaugural post earlier this week, I wrote that I proclaim myself as "The Writer Who Doesn't Write". As shameful of a title that is, I can also declare myself as the "Reader Who Doesn't Read". Explanation? It's coming. Now I do read in the literal sense, I read ESPN.com box score and news items, I read editorials and news bits on pro wrestling, I read threads on internet forums and also random news items on the ever popular Yaho...