working on my intention

When Ramadan ended last year, I wanted to keep up the spiritual momentum I felt during Ramadan. Fasting is relatively easy for me, all thanks and praise be to Allah, and I feel good when I fast, so that seemed like a good place to start. According to Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, the Prophet used to fast on Mondays and Thursdays, so I could pick up a Sunnah, plus, as reported by Abu Huraira, the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:

 تُعْرَضُ الأَعْمَالُ يَوْمَ الاِثْنَيْنِ وَالْخَمِيسِ فَأُحِبُّ أَنْ يُعْرَضَ عَمَلِي وَأَنَا صَائِمٌ

Deeds are presented on Monday and Thursday, and I love that my deeds be presented while I am fasting.

So after Eid al Fitr, I fasted the 6 days of Shawwal straight away, and then started up Monday/Thursday fasting. I missed a handful of days due to travelling or some other obligation, but I mostly kept it up. My intention from the start was to seek Allah’s pleasure by following the sunnah (tradition) of the Prophet, peace be upon him. Now, I’m fairly certain that my intention hasn’t changed, but some things happened that got me to wondering… Continue reading “working on my intention”

Unboxing ‘In/Human’

In/Human collects 28 of Michael Fraser’s excellent street photographs from various world cities in a slim volume. If you like contemporary street work in high contrast black & white and color, don’t miss it.

Fraser is a cancer researcher and photographer in Canada, and he has (or had) one of the best ‘About’ pages I’ve ever encountered. (As of March 2020, his website has disappeared from the Internet.) Digital, film, 35mm, medium format, whatever, he shoots street and fine art with it, and he’s gotten pretty good with all of it.

Continue reading “Unboxing ‘In/Human’”

Last roll for #BIFscale17

Well, it’s February 24, and #BIFscale17 is drawing near its end. For my 5th and final redscaled roll, for now, I went with EI 25 and the XA, and I tried to shoot under a variety of circumstances: morning, day, night, afternoon, hip shots, bird’s eye, snail’s eye, stabilized, just about everything I could think of, except flash, shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot.

It was a lot of shooting, and I’ve finally tamed the Red Dragon, more or less, but I’m glad #BIFscale only rolls around once per year. Continue reading “Last roll for #BIFscale17”

Actions and Intentions

‘Abdullah bin ‘Abbas reported:

فمن همّ بحسنة فلم يعملها كتبها الله تبارك وتعالى عنده حسنة كاملة، وإن هم بها فعملها كتبها الله عشر حسنات إلى سبعمائه ضعف إلى أضعاف كثيرة، وإن هم بسيئة فلم يعملها كتبها الله عنده حسنة كاملة، وإن همّ بها فعملها كتبها الله سيئة واحدة

He who intends to do a good deed but he does not do it, then Allah records it for him as a full good deed, but if he carries out his intention, then Allah the Exalted, writes it down for him as from ten to seven hundred folds, and even more. But if he intends to do an evil act and has not done it, then Allah writes it down with Him as a full good deed, but if he intends it and has done it, Allah writes it down as one bad deed.

Alhamdulillah! Continue reading “Actions and Intentions”

Unboxing Kevin O’Meara’s ‘Second Best’

For Second Best, Kevin O’Meara attended the Minnesota State Fair—the second best state fair in the country, after Texas—every day of its 2015 run: August 26-September 7. I admire the committment and drive, but I don’t envy the task.

Continue reading “Unboxing Kevin O’Meara’s ‘Second Best’”

Downtown Denton

If you catch it in the right light, at the right time, with the right film, you can get a shot of downtown Denton, TX that actually looks like the downtown Denton of my memory, rather than the bright, clean weekend shopping destination for pretty young families that it is today.

I’m not bitter, well, maybe a bit. I’ve been visiting Recycled Records on the square since the early 1990s, through all the years of empty streets, boarded up storefronts and antique shops, and now I barely recognize the place. The antique/junk shop where I bought a Royal Quiet Deluxe for $25 in 1994 or 1995 is gone, replaced by a clothing store, an accessories boutique, and a candy shop, and there are now at least a dozen possibilities for lunch, several ice cream or cupcake shops, and 3-5 places to grab a cup of coffee, plus places to buy fancy clothes and shoes, home furnishings, all the things you’d expect at an outdoor shopping mall, and precious few of the things I expect from a smallish town square in North Texas. All things must pass and all, and it’s a great thing for the town, but still. If I want a quiet downtown stroll, I’ve got to go all the way to Gainesville, now.

Oh well. At least I can get a fried pie while I’m there. Continue reading “Downtown Denton”

Actions are Judged by Intentions

Narrated by Umar bin Al-Khattab, Amir al Muhmineen:

I heard Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) saying, “The (reward of) deeds, depend upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended. So whoever emigrated for the sake of Allah and His Apostle, then his emigration will be considered to be for Allah and His Apostle, and whoever emigrated for the sake of worldly gain or for a woman to marry, then his emigration will be considered to be for what he emigrated for.”

إِنَّمَا الأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّةِ، وَإِنَّمَا لاِمْرِئٍ مَا نَوَى، فَمَنْ كَانَتْ هِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ فَهِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ، وَمَنْ كَانَتْ هِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى دُنْيَا يُصِيبُهَا أَوِ امْرَأَةٍ يَتَزَوَّجُهَا، فَهِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى مَا هَاجَرَ إِلَيْهِ

Alhamdulillah. Continue reading “Actions are Judged by Intentions”