Kismet

A student was telling me about his financial troubles the other day, and explained them by saying, "It pleased God for my father to lose 20 million riyals in the Doha Securities Market."

Acerbic comments about the DSM aside, this statement represents one of the aspects of Islam that I find the most difficult, even though I know that kind of fatalism exists in my own religious tradition as well. Does it really please God for people to lose $5 million in the stock market? Does everything that happen please God? Does God's sovereignty necessarily imply that nothing happens in the world that is not a reflection of God's will?

( The will of God... )

And they're off!

First thing in the morning we're flying out to Jordan for our 'Eid vacation!

So for the next week and a half, imagine us here in Petra:



and I'll tell you all about it when we get home!