Jun 19, 2009
Posted by arif in Spirituality | 0 comments
“What can my enemies do to me? I have in my breast both my heaven and my garden. If I travel they are with me, never leaving me. Imprisonment for me is a chance to be alone with my Lord. To be killed is martyrdom and to be exiled from my land is a spiritual journey.’ Ibn Taymiyyah
Disclaimer: I strongly disagree with Ibn Taymiyyah’s views on Shia-ism, Non-Muslims, the visiting of Shrines and many other matters. However, the above quote is nonetheless beautiful. (Thank you Nadia).
Jun 17, 2009
Posted by arif in Reviews | 4 comments
Hellboy 2: The Golden Army. Now that’s one heck of a fun movie. I don’t know if my tastes have gone awry or the world around me has changed, but there are truly few movies that I find entertaining. Yes, I’m a sucker for fan the fanatasy, sci-fi genre, but HellBoy 2 is different. Although predictable yet it’s got a captivating storyline with intense moments of emotional drama, the characters are deep, it’s got great humor, not loud, slapstic style but you’d be constantly smiling and chuckling to yourself, simply amazing sets & landscapes, the Action, Special Effects, get’s you oohing and ahing till the credits start rolling. Hell, it’s even better than the first part.
No regrets watching it and would definitely recommend it. If you guys have any movie recommendations please do let us know in the comments below. Cheers!
Jun 16, 2009
Posted by arif in Spirituality | 6 comments
I am not sure how authentic this is, however the picture looks as real as it can get.
Either way, what a stirring moment. Of all times in the day that one is close to God, you are closest to Him in your prayers. And within prayers one of the closest positions is that of prostration, where in total submission man brings his head to the ground and declares, “Glory be to You, O Allah. Glory be to You.” Here’s a man, who arrives at the one of the Holiest places on earth, Medina. He commences prayer, begins conversing with His Beloved. He moves to prostration, surrendering himself completely. Just when He is closest to God as one can be, the Lord brings His hand and lifts His lover to himself saying, “I love you too much to have even this much distance between ourselves. Come even closer to me, my Son. Even Closer.” Subhanallah. “Aisee maut, Allah sab ko naseeb karay.”
Jun 14, 2009
Posted by arif in Reviews | 0 comments
The Zurich Axioms has an interesting preamble. Switzerland. A country that’s landlocked by mountains. It has no agricultural, mineral or any other natural resource of any kind. Yet is one of the richest countries in the world, with a GDP per capita of $42,783! (India’s is at $2,000). How? A large part of the answer lies in the Investment Banking services that the Swiss have specialised in.
Max Gunther summarises the various risk and investment principles used by his father and generations of bankers to create their millions. A quick recap of the few Axioms that I currently remember in my own words:
- Invest a meaningful portion. Do not diversify your investment
- Don’t wait for the peak of any Market (Stock, Real-Estate, etc.). As long as you are higher than your buy price, sell.
- When the ship is sinking, don’t pray, Jump! When the stock market is falling, don’t pray and hope that it’ll climb up again. Sell and get out. When to sell? When the market price falls to 15% of the highest price you’ve held it at.
- Don’t listen to Economists, Stock Market gurus or any other experts. Economy runs on people emotions. No one can predict that.
- Be wary of what the majority is doing. They are not always right. When the world is buying and they are screaming “gimme”, stand in a corner and reply back, “gladly”.
- Don’t stick to an investment plan and don’t be a long term investor. Be always quick and nimble on your feet. If long-term investing is beneficial go long-term. If long term prospects are looking bad, jump ship.
I’d like to add a cautionary note here that, Many of them axioms go against conventional wisdom (for eg. general investment advise is to diversify your risk, however, the Zurich Axioms state that to get high returns one must concentrate his risk). Nonetheless even though some axioms may sound bold, the risk is neutralised by other axioms that state that one should sell fast and always cut short your losses. No matter what it says, the book should NOT be used a sole guide when it comes to investing. But it’s got some really good principles and when used in conjunction with the advise of stalwarts like those of Warren Buffet, Benjamin Graham and Peter Lynch, (advise such as, when buying a company, buy it as if you would hold it for life), I believe one can come out a safe and prosperous investor in any market.
A mere 130 pages, this book is a helpful read and a guide in times of stress and confusion to anyone who’s into any sort of investment or business.
You can get the book from Amazon here.
My rating: 
Jun 13, 2009
Posted by arif in General | 0 comments
I recently heard President Obama’s famous/infamous speech that he delivered in Egypt. The speech was a welcoming change in attitude from the previous administration! Cheering and Wild applause breaking out every 10 minutes, infact I found myself slapping my thigh in appreciation quite a few times. Ofcourse the real brilliantness of his speech has been that while maintaining the same stand on the various foreign policies, he has won hearts of millions of Muslims all around the world. The greatest take back from his speech that I expect is the slow change in mood of the general American public from being highly suspicious of Muslims going back to an attitude of welcome and openness.
