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Hi!

To thine own self be true.

— William Shakespeare.

Welcome to The Infinity Blog. This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.

SPEECH AND SILENCE

SPEECH AND SILENCE – By Zainab Nurani

“I don’t know if it counts as courage, to keep the darkness within me and carry it around all day long, just as it counts as courage to put your heart out on a paper and care a hoot about the consequences.”

Silence is always golden. It is worth more than you can fathom. Silence speaks volumes, but it doesn’t simultaneously. Silence is a strange thing indeed. So many times in my life I have been made to regret the power of speech, hate it, detest it. And here we are again.

Sometimes I wonder if I’m getting softer with age. When I was younger I’d put up with worse but walk through it like it was the easiest task on the planet. Lately, simple words crumble me more.

Back in the day I’d write what I felt without remorse or fear or shame. I’d call the spade out on paper and leave the darkness in the ink. Then, I’d be left with light and love and peace to share, enough to help me put up with glares and words like knives. These days, I’m scared of writing what I feel. I fear the bitter consequences awaiting at the end of the line. I fear someone would infiltrate my writing and see my blood splattered across the page. I fear that what I say would one day come back and bite me in the butt. I don’t know if it counts as courage, to keep the darkness within me and carry it around all day long, just as it counts as courage to put your heart out on a paper and care a hoot about the consequences.

Back then, I thought I was justified to feel the way I did. Today, I am embarrassed and ashamed of what I feel. I detest myself for the way I feel. It is as if it is wrong to feel the way I do. Life is strange, isn’t it?

The very thing that one day used to give me unlimited release today feels like a limited piece of parchment. Only that which is deemed valuable counts. What if I scribble the words over each other, would there still be consequences? Would anyone be able to decipher the soul speak? Will it count as a release?

Now I know, the more you live, the more you lose a little of yourself. That is why you die, because there is nothing more left.

7.31 p.m
6/6/2020
Zainab Nurani

BUBBLES AND UNDERWATER TUNNELS

BUBBLES AND UNDERWATER TUNNELS – By Zainab Nurani

Is it a bubble?

Or is it an underwater tunnel?

The reason I pose this question is because I seek clarity as to the roles human beings play in the lives of their fellows. Perhaps I should illustrate my point with a story or two.

The first one is seemingly normal, and some of you may not see any reason to probe into your minds and over use your brain cells to depletion.

I was in the passenger seat of a vehicle a few days ago. And as is normal for any passenger, I was observing the world outside the window. Our vehicle stopped to let two schoolgirls cross the road. When they safely got to the footpath, one of the girls disposed of her empty lunch wrapper. She did it with such nonchalance and with an attitude of normalcy that this small gesture scared the living daylights out of me. Why?

Simple. Our global news and international bodies are quite loud and vehement as far as environmental protection and depletion is concerned. We all know a thing or two about this topic, no matter how begrudgingly we shake our heads. We are aware that plastic and polythene are non-biodegradable, meaning that they do not decompose in the soil, and are hence deemed unfriendly to our environment. In fact, there are reports by environment protection groups that reveal that Mombasa, my city, will be underwater in the next hundred years. My island under the sun will cease to exist.

And to be honest, what scared me was not a little schoolgirl throwing a wrapper on the street, but the fact that it has become okay to do so. The municipal garbage bin was a mere metre to her left!

In the girl’s defence, she was not the first person to litter that street. Nor was she thinking in the least about the environment. She was in her ‘bubble’.

In a person’s bubble, things like the environment, poverty and elections are insignificant. They have no major place. And if you were to ask that girl why she littered the street, she would probably be thinking, “What does the environment have to do with me, a primary school girl, anyway? And besides, one wrapper won’t deplete the ozone!” In our bubbles, the outside is hazy, unchartered and trifling. As long as we are safe within our bubbles of comfort, we are happy and satisfied.

But are we really?

Because you see, walls of a bubble are pretty delicate and fragile. What would, then, happen if that bubble were to burst?

The second story is rather personal, though it may seem fictitious. An obscure schoolmate of a close friend recently said some rather distasteful things about her to a group of her friends. Naturally, the word spread like wildfire and soon, my friend had no reputation whatsoever. Every move was judged according to the stories that had been, disastrously, doing the rounds.

If we allegedly live in these so called safety security bubbles, then why would my friend be affected by the gossip outside her bubble? And, more importantly, why would people believe things others said without first digging for the truth?

The simple answer is that we live not in these protective bubbles but within the strong walls of underwater tunnels, where the current is strong enough to blow a third person’s words your way, strong enough to rattle our very bones.

Or maybe we live in these bubbles, which then float through these submerged tunnels.

The real problem is not that, though. The true conundrum is whether anyone can spot the glaringly clear contradiction between my first example and my second one. Why is it that, within our bubbles, we are as ready as tax officers in tax season to jeopardize the lives of our own race of billions under the pretext of being dissociated to anything and everything outside our sphere of codes and understanding, while within those tunnels we take it upon ourselves to screw and unscrew the bolts holding together the lives of others? What, then, happened to our lack of concern?

We are humans because we can empathize with our folk. But it seems like evolution is finally playing its hand.

You may think that I sound nutty as a fruitcake, but I implore you to understand this idea. Not everyone will agree with me, but my question is, why not? Why not agree that we are the cause of our own destruction as a species?

In the first example, the street was already littered. I’m willing to bet that the first person who threw the first piece of litter on that street was not thinking about anyone else but himself. It did not concern him that people would be repelled from that road, as long as he had been rid of the litter. Had he been conscious enough to look beyond the short nose of his bubble, he may have had sense enough to throw that litter into a bin.

Human beings are social creatures. We neither are nor have ever been lone islands, weathering the storms of life’s ocean on our own. We have friends and families and acquaintances and colleagues. We thrive off of the energy we derive from others, same as others thrive off of the energy they derive from us. To be blinded by one’s own needs as to discount and downplay the bigger needs of the entirety of our society is simply inhuman, not selfish. Inhuman.

As for the second example, my friend still suffers a bullet holed reputation. Not because the words spoken about her were true, but because of the power of the current that swept these bits of decayed seaweed from one bubble to another.

Ultimately, the point I am trying to make is that if we can afford to stick our oars into the waters of society and shake things up to the detriment of people like my un-reputable friend, then we might as well pay an equal sum to stick our oars back into society’s massive currents and create waves big enough to benefit the world.

You may not think much of environmental degradation. But you will, once the earth, our natural home, gets covered in trash enough to fill our seas to the brim.

You may not think that elections have anything to do with you until a flavourless leader gets voted to office and starts to meddle with your life.

You may not have much thought for poverty while you eat pastries and sleep in warm beds but if you would take a night-time walk once in a while, you would see the number of people who call the streets their homes.

So why not make strides in these fields to help propel the society into a glorious future?

Why instead do we choose to use our influence to spread negative energy and hate and defamation and extremism?

As a student of law, such are the thoughts that keep me wide awake and blinking into the wee hours of the morning, because the truth is that the budding lawyer in me refuses to concede to a problem. Finding solutions to the crises that make human beings want to pull their brains out is what I thrive on.

However, there are some things, such as environmental protection and social growth, that need collective attention. Our five fingers bear witness to the fact that despite our differences and diversity, we need each other in order to excel and create the world we want to live in.

If there is one thing I have adamantly refused to learn from the ostriches of the Maasai Mara, it is the art of burying my head under the ground when a complication stands before me. Hiding under the grey cloud of ignorance and burying our heads deep into our respective bubbles will most certainly not make the obstacle disappear.

We are human. Certainly, we can do better!

In the end, we still inhabit our bubbles that grant us small bouts of security. But our bubbles float through underwater tunnels whose currents change too fast too soon. What you say or do in the safety of your bubble will somehow impact the lives of others.

So, to answer our first question, yes, it is a bubble. But not by its lonesome. It is, instead, stuck in an underwater tunnel.

We are all in bubbles, all of us struggling to navigate these underwater tunnels. We are meant to exist in unity, while being inimitably individual.

For this reason, it is of great importance that we put aside our political, cultural, religious and ethnic differences so that we may be able to hold ourselves and our leaders accountable in order to effect a positive change for generations to come.

And maybe someday, the future will puff up its chest and proudly declare that the past, our era, had pulled off something truly great. The power to impact the future in the best possible way is in our hands. All we need is unity in diversity and individuality. All we truly need is unity.

A unity of individuals.

“ALL MY LOVE, ALEC BROCK” VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR INTERVIEW

INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR LARISSA LOPES

At the beginning of June 2020, “All My Love, Alec Brock” did me the honour of having a virtual book tour in my country. As part of that, I approached the author, the wonderful Larissa Lopes, with the idea that I interview her on the ins and outs of the book, her journey and inspiration, and how to navigate the sometimes frustrating world of writing and publishing. She generously agreed to give me some of her time to put this idea into shape, and I now present to you the Official “All My Love, Alec Brock” Virtual Book Tour Interview with Larissa Lopes!

If I’m honest, reading Larissa’s responses to my questions was eyeopening and inspirational to me for the main reason which is that I have been sitting on my own writing for the longest time, doubting myself with every word I type. What her experience and her story has taught me is that you need to believe in yourself, and in your story, unapologetically, and, of course, that you must never let one rejection from a publishing house tarnish your publication dreams. If you’re either grappling with your own writing, or if you’re just curious about how writers do it, or if it is a mixture of both, I can guarantee that you’ll walk away from this knowing a little more about writing fiction that you already do.

Let’s get to it!

***

Q1: First and foremost, what inspired Linda’s story, bearing in mind a quote from the book that it is somehow based on a real experience?            

L: That’s true, Linda’s story was inspired by something that happened to me in real life. I met this “famous musician” online when I was 15, fell madly in love with him, and we dated for a year and a half before I found out that he was never the guy he’d said he was. I had been catfished this whole time.

This broke my heart, of course—and it took me almost a decade to fully recover. That’s why I felt the need to write this story down. I believed that if I did this right, Alec Brock could help save other girls from falling prey to online predators and suffering the same fate as me.

Q2: One of the parts in the story that I liked was when Linda is taken backstage at the concert, after she collapses due to her panic attack, to meet Alec. I loved how well her conflicting emotions were brought out, versus the confusion that everyone around her had. What is your favourite part of the book?              

L: That was actually one of my favorite scenes to write! I’m a professional fangirl, so I love writing concert and backstage scenes. But my favorite chapters in the book are the ones where Linda and Alec have a chance to talk and get to know each other, like the scene on the boat and in Linda’s room.

Q3: What is one memory you have from writing that you look back at as bitter sweet, sort of like the worst and best time at the same time?                

L: The moment Linda finds out that Alec is not the person she’s been communicating with was the most bitter sweet, I guess. The whole scene at the mall happened to me in real life, so reliving those memories was very painful. But it also felt so good to take those emotions off my chest. I felt like I was finally healed.

Q4: “All My Love, Alec Brock” is a very fun book. It is a great read, and it is wonderfully written. There are some very tough underlying themes, such as anxiety, eating disorders, catfishing (among others), which come through with ease. What did you learn when writing the book, and how has that changed your life?                  

L: I think nothing I’ve ever done has made me learn so much about myself then writing this book. All these themes I explore in the story made me realize something I didn’t know about my personality, my struggles, my unresolved traumas. And when I finished writing Linda’s story, the experience had opened my eyes in so many ways that I ended up walking away from my PhD in Geography and restarting my professional life from scratch. So yeah, I wasn’t expecting any of this when I decided to write the book, but Alec Brock has definitely changed my life.

Q5: What motivates you to keep going and keep on writing, even on days when inspiration seems to have run out?                    

L: Music. Always! I’m one of those people who truly relies on music to stay strong. So, applying this to my writing, what I like to do is to pick a few songs that remind me of my story, and then play them again and again until I’m emotionally attached. Until I can’t listen to them without seeing my characters in my head anymore—as if it was a movie soundtrack.           

So, whenever I’m feeling down or I’m struggling with writer’s block, all I have to do is to disconnect from the world and listen to my Book Playlist. It usually sends me right back to my story.

Q6: You have mentioned many times that Alec as a character is inspired by musicians and bands that you love, and support. What is your fan girl story, and what part has music played in motivating you to keep writing?                  

L: As I said, music is “the thing” that keeps me going—my unlimited source of strength. It has always been like this, since I was a little girl. But writing All My Love, Alec Brock in 2017 (and then trying to get an agent, then a publisher in 2018) was such a big challenge for me, that I had to be the strongest I’d ever been in my entire life. And since I lived on my own in a foreign country, the songs—and the artists—that I was using to “stay strong” were literally the only company I had in my day-to-day life. My only light during the darkest of times.

That’s why I became so emotionally attached to them. They were my friends and family when I was all alone! The ones who stood by my side and helped me keep believing in my dream. I honestly wouldn’t have gotten to where I am today if I didn’t have Harry Styles, Shawn Mendes, The Vamps and 5SOS to give me strength whenever I felt like giving up in 2017/2018.

Q7: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? And what/who inspired you/pushed you into pursuing writing?               

L: It was a big surprise for me actually, to realize I was indeed a writer. Nobody in my family is a fan of reading, so I didn’t grow up around books—and I’ve always hated all the ones I had to read for school. It was only at 19 that I discovered my first book boyfriend (Mr. Edward Cullen, from Twilight), and officially fell in love with reading.       

Still, it took me 7 more years to find out I could write my own stories! But when I finally did, it felt like love at first sight. I’d had this “book idea” in my head for a while, and one day I decided to just sit down and pour my heart out. I wrote nonstop for 3 days, and when I finished my very first draft (over 35K words in only 3 days), I felt like I had no other choice but to learn “how to be a writer” and “how to publish a book.” Because I knew in my heart that this was what I was born to do.

Q8: How long does it take you to write a book? And what is your work schedule like when you’re writing?                   

L: It depends on how much time I can dedicate to my writing on a daily basis. I had a full-time job when I wrote All My Love, Alec Brock, so it took me 9 months to write. With No More Lies, Alec Brock, I could write full-time, so I kind of locked myself at home and finished it in 65 days. (Although I did have to work a lot more on NML (No More Lies, Alec Brock) during the “professional editing” phase than I did for AML (All My Love, Alec Brock).) So, as you can see, I don’t really have a schedule. I just try to devote as much time as possible to my writing every day, so I can get the story out as fast as I can.

Q9: What is the greatest writing advice you have received? And what is the best advice you can give to up coming writers?              

L: “Get the story out as fast as you can.” That’s the greatest advice I’ve ever received, and also the best advice I can give you. First, because it’s better to finish a rough first draft and then go back and edit it again and again, than to get stuck in the middle of a story because your inner critic doesn’t think what you’re writing is good enough. And second, because I believe the faster you write, the more honest and interconnected your story will be! Something truly magical happens when you just get out of your own way and “write from the heart,” instead of trying to control everything.

Q10: For many unpublished writers, it seems difficult to get a publisher’s attention. As an inspiration for myself and others, what is your publishing story?                                   

L: I had to query literary agents for 2 years (with 2 different manuscripts) and get over 100 rejections before signing with my agent, and then with my publisher. So my advice to any aspiring writer out there is to be persistent, because facing rejection is a big part of the deal.             

But you have to take this as motivation to keep working on your manuscript! I feel like these 2 years that I “lost” trying to get an agent were actually essential to my development as a writer. I’m really grateful that this forced me to grow and to wait until I was indeed ready to share my stories with the world! So be open to feedback and never stop working on yourself! That’s how I eventually got my “yes.”

*And a final bonus question*

 Q11: What should I know about the sequel? Any hints about what to expect in book 2?                         

L: Book 2 starts exactly where I left off in Book 1, so you can expect more action scenes and a lot more mystery! But there’s also so much love in this book—in all possible forms. So I really can’t wait to hear what you guys think about the story! 🙂

***

Larissa also made a YouTube vlog about her publishing journey, titled “From Dream To Reality” which is quite helpful as far as shedding light on the great mystery that is publishing is concerned. You can find it at this link: https://youtu.be/bh9–ksTKKk

I previously wrote a review for “All My Love, Alec Brock”, which, as a huge fan of teen fiction works, I thoroughly enjoyed. You can find that here: https://theinfinityblog33557136.wordpress.com/2020/05/18/all-my-love-alec-brock-a-review/

Also, book 2, “No More Lies, Alec Brock” is out on the 14th of July, so if you haven’t read book 1 yet, I suggest you get it ASAP: https://www.amazon.com/All-My-Love-Alec-Brock/dp/195034407X

Finally, a HUGE thank you goes to Larissa for doing this. I really appreciate you making time to make this small project a reality!

A Supplication

A SUPPLICATION – By Zainab Nurani

My Lord ease my restlessness
And grant me inner peace
My Lord eradicate my uncertainty
And grant me confidence,
Boldness, persistence and strength
Enable my soul to bear its burden
With humility and quiet strength
My Lord grant me the power
To read the unspoken intentions
Of those I interact with

My Lord expand my memory
So that I may remember more
And in my memory grant me clarity
So that I may be sure
My Lord don’t forsake me, for if You do
I surely have no where else to go
My Lord grant me contentment
And satisfaction in Your decree
So that I may not fall into ungratefulness
And forget the favours You have
Bestowed over me
My Lord You alone are the All Knowing
You alone understand my discomfort
And its cause, even when I do not

My Lord sharpen my thinking
And enable me to articulate
My beliefs in the best possible way
My Lord simplify my tests
And grant me success

My Lord assist me to do my part
Assist me to work
With motivation and diligence and clarity
Assist me to pan out my priorities
Assist me to understand all that I study
Assist me to deal with those
Who attempt to stop me and hamper my way
Assist me to bear the weight
Of knowledge and education
Lord assist me to share
Assist me to put all my effort
Into what matters are useful

My Lord keep the accursed, shaytaan
Away from me
He is misled, and now
He attempts to mislead me
Lord keep him away from me
Protect me from all his mischief
And grant me forgiveness and internal peace

Ameen

(Zainab Nurani, 2018)

*I wrote this small supplication of sorts when I was halfway through my undergraduate studies. I poured my heart out onto a page and relied on the writing when I felt overwhelmed. I hope that it is something that will assist you to pick up and move through your struggles, whatever they may be, even when getting up and moving seems like the least likely option. I acknowledge that we need not, and may not all believe in the same thing, but I maintain that you must tap into the greatness of whatever it is that you believe in, and let your way be guided by a formidable work ethic and a tireless spirit.

I believe in hard work and effort. I believe in passionate fervour to achieve goals. But more than anything, I recognize constantly that there is always a greater force in action. I acknowledge and value the power of prayer, and faith. When you set your heart to achieve something, and put in work towards it, and then refresh your hope with a small supplication, I know for a fact that God will never never forsake or overlook the struggle you put towards your goal. You may not win always, but as the years pass, you will come to know why. And if you’re feeling betrayed by the Higher Power now, just remember and believe that something better awaits you. You will ultimately reap the reward. Have faith and you’ll see.

May we all be blessed and protected, wherever we are, and may we always have the courage to work towards our goals, and the sense to make a small prayer to the One who grants limitlessly whenever we feel lost, even when we’re not.*

ALL MY LOVE, ALEC BROCK (A REVIEW)

ALL MY LOVE, ALEC BROCK (Alec Brock Series Book 1) by LARISSA LOPES

*Linda González has given up small-town life with her mom to pursue a better education while living with her dad in Los Angeles. At least that’s what she let her family believe. The truth is that she’s in love…with an 18-year-old pop star!

Alec Brock has been her cyber boyfriend for over a year now, and Linda has finally closed the gap in their long-distance relationship. But when she surprises Alec in LA, he has no idea who she is.

In this terrifying turn of events, Linda has nobody to rely on but the real Alec himself. She’s torn between chasing the truth about the guy she fell in love with, and trying to win the heart of the guy he was supposed to be.*

I absolutely LOVED this book! It is wonderfully written, and it offers a true fan girl perspective, but with a twist.  It certainly kept me up all night, on tenterhooks, trying to figure out who the imposter was. I didn’t even realize I was at the last page till I turned it over. Suffice to say, I’ve got the “No More Lies, Alec Brock” (book 2) release date marked on my calendar (July 14, 2020, because you should do the same when you’re done reading this one).

The story is very well written. It did not feel tedious to read at all. In fact, the dialogues and story flow were so natural, and the characters were very relatable, not just from a fan outlook, but also from the perspective of a young person grappling with life and school and friends and love, that I felt like I was having a conversation with Linda.

Linda is from a small town. She’s humble, she’s down to earth, but she is naïve and perhaps a bit too trusting of her online boyfriend, for whom she moves to LA. The problem is that the boy she thought she was dating online, the dashing, heart stealing Alec Brock, hasn’t a clue about who she is! Upon more prodding, she discovers that she has actually been dating an imposter online passing himself off as Alec.

Linda is overcome by embarrassment and betrayal at the trap she fell into, and feels that there is no way she can go back to West Virginia. She spirals into a depression and self neglect that results in her developing an eating disorder, loneliness and heightened anxiety.

In an attempt to get some closure over the whole situation, Linda attends an Alec Brock concert so that she can see him one last time. Instead, she ends up having a panic attack right in front of his eyes resulting in them meeting backstage and him trying to help her. A beautiful friendship develops as they both try to get to the bottom of the imposter situation, and uncover his identity.

Throughout my read, I was constantly on the look-out for clues, trying, and failing, to crack the mystery much sooner than either Linda or Alec. I felt fully invested in Linda’s life; I cried with her, I laughed with her, and I even panicked with her in the space of a few hours of reading.

All around, it was a fantastic read.

There were definitely quite a few things I loved about this book. Aside from all the fan girl feels this book arouses, the book has some more serious underlying themes such dealing with anxiety, cyber security and catfishing online, confusion and depression resulting out of that, and the all-consuming jealousy that all fan girls are familiar with.

The author has done an amazing job at keeping the freshness of youth alive throughout the story in spite of the seriousness of these issues. The best part is that these issues come out naturally and effortlessly, and at no point do they seem forced or out of place.

All in all, “All my Love, Alec Brock” was a great read, and had me reliving all my fan girl moments. It was fresh and authentic, and a real joy to watch Linda grow as the narrative progressed. Like I said, book 2 couldn’t come sooner.

So, do I recommend? YES, MOST CERTAINLY.

Get it here: https://www.amazon.com/All-My-Love-Alec-Brock/dp/195034407X

READ IN YOUR LORD’S DIVINE NAME

ZAINAB NURANI

READ IN YOUR LORD’S DIVINE NAME – by Zainab Nurani

They will tell you about his warmth and compassion
His immense honesty, kindness and good intention
About his soft heart and pure soul
And a character well rounded, whole
But that is not enough of a description
Not for a man of his stature and decoration
Allow me to tell you now, about a man from Arabia
Whose message went even further than Mesopotamia
A young fellow, not well read, nor skilled with the pen
Who lost both parents before he even made it to ten
He questioned and questioned, so he did
Alone up in the mountains in seclusion he would sit
The angel was sent, the Lord decreed “READ”
Only with knowledge can you right a misdeed
Many called him illiterate
But in my eyes he was the most literate
Because even before he could read and write
He saw a situation in dire need of right
He noticed disgrace and sin
Even before the so called literate ones did
So when the command came
“Read in the name of the Lord… who taught the use of a pen”
My Beloved Lord was giving our beloved master a tool
Because the self proclaimed literates would otherwise brand him a fool
In the first revelation
Allah set the tend in motion
That of questioning and inquiring and learning
Instead of customs, plain practice and their blind following
My pure prince then proclaimed
A new era he ushered, a new law he framed
Seeking knowledge obligatory on every person
Man and woman both, without suppression or omission
Why would the Almighty reveal to an illiterate his precious word
If not for the reason that the illiterate meditated
Contemplated the evils of then’s customs and deeds
That his literate counterparts were blind to, indeed
There is no denying he was the chosen one
Crafted beyond human comparison
A man of such nobility, all in the heavens and the earth
Joyously celebrated his blessed birth
Allah called him “habib”, beloved
And the beloved said
Go to land of China if you must
But never let there settle, on your will to learn, any dust
Mohammed, mercy on him, asked all the questions
So that you and I may revel in the answers
And find solace in the fact that he put himself through frenzied sweats
When revelations down from Allah were sent
So that we may today, learn and pray
Today we may act in his best example and unwaveringly obey
I wish I was the earth
To have witnessed his holy birth
And today it hugs his blessed being six feet deep
For his intercession I deeply weep
Almighty Allah You alone I beseech
To Medina where he lies let my salutations reach
Oh Allah, tell him I love him
Tell him I appreciate him
Tell him I yearn to someday stand in his presence
Bear witness oh Allah, that I will uphold his essence
Let him receive my infinite salutations, in my life and even in my demise
Lord, have mercy on my watering eyes
For when I wrong myself, oh Allah, forgive me
On grounds that I love him who is beloved to Thee
Enable me emulate his character in application
More so in the thirst for learning and education
Drive my will towards that which You first revealed
To Read in Your Divine name, just as your beloved, and mine, did.

1.02 a.m
3/11/19
Zainab Nurani

It is currently the islamic month of Rabi ul Awwal, a month of pomp and celebration throughout the world, marking the birth of the Holy Prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon him). Lauded by a number of both muslim and non-muslim scholars alike as being a man of great character and virtue, one of Mohammed’s greatest achievements lay in cultivating a culture of education and learning, in pursuit of one of the greatest commands in the Qur’an, “Read in the name of Your Lord”, in a time of great inequality and oppression, 1400 years ago. And thus it follows, there is no greater shield than knowledge, and no greater weapon than a pen. Blessed be he, in the month of his birth, and blessed may he remain for eternity, the man whose teachings have motivated me to pursue the life of a reader, a writer, and above all, a free thinking human being.

The Infinity Blog is…

‘The Infinity Blog is many things, but the greatest is that it is an attempt at being heard in our increasingly and endearingly noisy world.’

For a long time now, I’ve toyed with the idea of starting a blog. What was holding me back though? I couldn’t tell you, really, because I don’t quite know myself. What I can tell you though, and which is also, I think, pretty obvious, is that I somehow swallowed the bitter fear of being heard, forcefully stepped out of my crippling self degradation, and decided that if there is ever something I want to spend my life doing, it is writing and traveling, and writing and traveling some more.

And so perhaps blogging would help my confidence and hone my writing skills? I don’t know. But with you guys here to help me, I know there are only great things ahead.

As the name suggests, this blog will be dedicated to all topics and ideas and opinions. Together, we will navigate through crappy first drafts of short stories, fiction, book and movie reviews, rants, travel experiences, legal critiques, occasional football, and of course, food! I would love for it to evolve constantly as I learn, grow and interact with my readers.

The Infinity Blog is many things, but the greatest is that it is an attempt at being heard in our increasingly and endearingly noisy world. So here I am, adding to the noise!

#writing #fiction #zerotohero #travel #books #food #life