₦airaland Forum

uplawal: Honesty this is not showing showing off,i don't like people who miss salat for any reason,and i hate anyone telling me they will change to be praying cos they don't at all,yet they don't,just making mouth,i can even avoid the person as long as he or she continues until she changes,there is this hatred that feels me particularly those that disbelievers that says they will change but never,they think they deceive Allah,but they deceives themselves really,and my uttermost hatred goes towards christians that ridicule Islam.

My baby

See Uplawal, lemme tell you some things you might actually know but not realise their import.

That you observe your prayers constantly may appear to be by your personal effort, yes, but actually, it is LARGELY by the GRACE of ALLAH.

Do not outrightly condemn those muslims who don't observe their salat constantly. Condemn the ACT, but ENCOURAGE the people & pray for them for these reasons:

- THAT WE ARE MUSLIMS TODAY DOESNT GUARANTEE WE WILL DIE AS MUSLIMS & THAT IS WHY WE HAVE TO CONTINUOSLY PRAY TO ALLAH FOR THIS TO HAPPEN.

- The unbeliever today may eventually become a muslim & a mu'min tomorrow. The very good muslim today can become a disbeliever tomorrow. It has happened in the past even in the tine of the Prophet (SAW) & it is still happening NOW. Don't ever forget that.

I believe you are yoruba right? Have you heard of ''apadasiaburu''? May Allah not make it our portion.


Lastly, you may want to read my post above especially the areas that have to do with having an excellent character towards muslims & non-muslims alike. That was the greatest attribute of the Prophet. One of the imams at a mosque i pray jumat constantly says '' Olorun o fi irun royin anobi (SAW), iwa é lo fi royin e ju'' as the Prophet is always been described as the best of mankind. Of course, we cant be like him, but let us try in our own way. Get rid of the hate in your heart & replace it with more love You have it in you.

Peace.

BetaThings: Excellent point


I have seen people come up with this "shaytanic deception' which some people put up. Nobody who understands Islam will say that really. It is one thing to sin, it another to justify it. I cannot see how a one-on-one duty to Allah is excused because a third party is remiss in his own duties. In any case if the "bad-mannered" person who prays regularly changes for the better, will the person who has not been praying go back to 5 years and make up the salat

Thanks bro. The bolded is one of the major reasons I feel sorry for a few of my muslim friends. We all sin everyday, some things clearly frowned upon by the religion, we do them. We have to keep trying to stop these things, but the only way we can be successful at this is if we truly recognise that those things are not right. Unfortunately many of us muslims fail in this regard. It is indeed essential to constantly pray for Allah's guidance, wisdom & further understanding of the deen to be able to recognise wrong for what it is & be determined to move away from it without attempting to justify it just because we indulge in it.

BetaThings: I am bothered by this impression that despite having beard they are well behaved. It should be because they know the rules of Islam (evidenced by keeping the beard) they are amiable towards non-muslims. Religion is practised with knowledge, not emotion. A knowledgeable Muslim will speak up for Islam without abusing the people reverred by other religions, they will not abuse anyone's parents; they know that they cannot cut family ties though some members of the family are non-muslims, they know that as Muslims their duties to their parents require them to drive their parents to and from Church (without entering the Church if the parents are Christians)if the parents so require. A knowldegeable Muslim knows that armed jihad cannot be embarked upon without having an Amir who knows the steps to take to declare armed jihad. They know that they should demonstrate the beauty of Islam to people through their conduct and know the right of neighbour. We can go on and on.

Lol. Maybe i shouldn't have used the word ''despite''.
But the reality is this: A good number, or okay, some of our brothers (those who are active visible adherents of the sunnah ) on campus are generally not really what you call amiable, even towards other muslims who even if they pray regularly, do not outwardly keep to the sunnah especially in dressing (note: these other brothers usually still look & dress decently too o!).

Now, because of this, people (muslims and non-muslims alike) often times see these brothers as unapproachable especially when it concerns matters outside the deen. Some of them also see everything (some justified yes, some outrightly ridiculous to me) as a sort of 'war' /'competition' between muslims and xtians. I do not think this should be so. I believe ( & i think you do as well) an ideal muslim is someone who is amiable, friendly just and of excellent character towards both muslims AND xtians, tho of course, he is well within his rights to dissociate himself from anyone who tries to denigrate his person or religion & proves deaf to admonition.

Those brothers i mentioned (three in particular, i was quite close to) were close to what fits in my idea of the ideal muslim. Religious, knowledgeable, focused, yet sociable and amiable to all without crossing limits.

I stand corrected by anyone who has attended a public university here in Nigeria but I can boldly say that not all our brothers and sisters including those who outwardly & inwardly keep to the sunnah display the characteristics above.

One of the greatest attributes constantly used to describe Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was his EXCELLENT CHARACTER towards everyone irrespective of religion. THAT sunnah, I think we must all try to emulate.

May Allah help us.

Jarus: Yes. But pls modify to remove his name

Wow!!!! Alhamdulilah. So so proud

Post modded

bukahands: I haven't applied yet, I want to write the GRE first then that will determine the schools I will apply to. The schools topping ma list is

MUN (canada) Msc biochem
Minnoseta state uni(US) environmental science

The 2 schools don't really need GRE so if I score high will switch my choice

Hmm...was also considering MUN before but dunno, seems I'm boning it jare. 2nd school I guess you mean Minnesota State University, Mankato, right? Also checked it out. Didnt really see a course i'm interested in. Env Science came close but its not Env Health Science, so i may pass.lol.

Remeber you have to come on saturday with names (& GRE codes) of four schools you are sending scores to.

@Chairmen Imperiouxx, OjaP, Fadinus & co,........

I do not think Virgin Ice was out to cause any controversy intentionally. Infact, if i had any doubts, they were cleared by her subsequent post. I think she's just out to encourage us. You know what guys, we can never agree on everything all the time, but we must be able to seek clarifications or even question certain opinions of others whilst respecting those opinions at the same time. She's a newbie here so i doubt she's used to the occasional drama & I'm quite sure some people will find her opinions /at the very least, some aspects of it, quite useful .

We are all one family here.lol. Let everyone be free to air their views but also be ready to accept / dish out constructive criticism of those views in a family way

Virgin ice, Imperioux, everyone, you guys are all on point. Make we dey carry go

Mystiqme: Didnt see nothing

Guess you later saw it in your junk/spam folder. It usually goes there.lol. thanks for your message. Sent you a reply.

Ogbeche77: i'm at ikeja presently, how can i contact you.

Heyy man. Seen ur pm. Sent you a mail. Take care. You being at Ikeja is an advantage. See my message for details.

Mystiqme: Indiana and Oklahoma, I also applied to another school in Ohio. No admits though. .
You can send me a PM. Apparently, I can't send one presently.

Really, IUB should better accept me o! lol.

@bolded, Done!

Mystiqme: Funny thing is I actually applied to 2 out of the three universities you listed here.lol.

LOL! Really? which and which? & did you get admits there?

Mystiqme: Lol.. I wrote GRE and TOEFL at FirstLogic. The place aint bad. Success!

Hmmm..thanks again bro. Btw, whats the name of your school make i check am out sharp sharp I must have checked out up to 30 schools' websites this year alone! God help me.
I'll understand if you want to keep it private tho

Mystiqme: To all that ask: Yes you can apply directly from Bsc to PhD, that's what I did. Out of my classmates here, only 2 out of 8 have Msc and na the same requirements all of us dey do. However, be prepared to hit the ground running when you get here. I don't mean to scare you but it ain't easy.
I also agree with Imperiouxx that an MSc might give you an edge in case you want to develop your research skills or you just don't like long story of PhD.lol.
The only thing is you might find it easier to get funding for PhD than for MSc. Not impossible, but easier.
As for me, I nor get any money.. .
The Visa interview is gonna be a breeze, just smile and answer confidently, It is very rare for them to refuse Phd Visa.
I hail all my Babas o, Imperiouxx and his harem , Kpolli, walex, etc.

Hmmm...thanks for the insight

bukahands: @findout i am also writing the GRE exam on Saturday at ikeja. i studied biochemistry. which schools do u intend to apply for ?

At First Logic I believe? Same here too o! Best of luck to us. Schools I've picked for now are: (list still undergoing continuous review for no.s 3 and 4)
1) Indiana University Bloomington (Application submitted online; currently assembling supplemental materials for postage)
2) University of Cincinnati Ohio (Still working on SOP, currently open on MSword here)
3) University of Oklahoma
4) Still working on it.lol

How about you?

Ogbeche77: I visited one at the city last week but the latest gre books they have was revised 2002

I believe luxurious buses from Lagos get to whatever state you are. right?lol. I actually run what i call a "book pre-order" biz part-time outside NL. Got into it accidentally when I had to procure books for some corpers i left behind in Delta & some who had returned to their houses in other states. Yes, I can get you the 2012 Kaplan and/or Barron GRE, GMAT, IBT TOEFL or even SAT sef if you want.lol. Send me a PM so we can discuss & fear not, I make very little (when any) profit.lol.....coz we are in the same shoes o. Also preparing for my GRE which I'm writing on saturday. & please any book buying and sending will be done after that saturday. Thanks.

Justwise, apologies o! I hope this post won't be regarded as an advert, coz it isn't.lol.

maclatunji: ^I get your point but I doubt observing salat is meant to be an instrument of saying you 'Thank you Allah' in the strict sense of the word 'thanks'

Bros Mac, What I mean is observing salat is our responsibility, a commandment issued by Allah for us to follow. This same Allah has done soo much for us, chief of which is making us muslims and preserving our lives, so who are we not to recognise his favours on us and obey his commandments which he would still reward us again for doing so o!

Yeah, salat shouldnt be done to seek favours for Allah mainly, we have the nawafil both night and day for that. But Allah knows what is in our minds & inshaAllah will grant our requests as long as we remain faithful to Him and obey His commandments. Note that I mentioned that the chief intention we should have while observing salat is that we are doing it for Allah's sake. To seek His pleasure. To be in his "good books".

Jarus: My former workplace was very permissive. We had a mini-mosque in our building and had top guys that were Muslims (including our Deputy CEO, a Muslim convert from Delta state) who are very supportive. They even give prayer times allowance in many meetings. So it was very easy to say all prayers at their right times even when in office.

My current place of work. Initially, when I joined, used to take bike (or sometimes drive) to go to nearest mosque. Later, I discovered a closer mosque at trekable distance. Later, during last Ramadan, I was shown a small praying ground within the compound next to us. So now very easy.

...........

Ahamduilah I do. Thanks to a fairly strict islamic background + good friends at secondary school & Uni plus ultimately the grace of Allah, been observing my 5 daily for as long as i can remember tho of course, used to miss a little when I was much younger. & like some posters have mentioned already, there's a certain feeling of guilt and 'incomplete-ness' that overwhelms you when you havn't prayed (if you r the type who prays constantly tho). When you now observe that salat, that feeling of emptiness vanishes & you feel satisfied within. Till today tho, I too get distracted sometimes and delay my salat but when that happens, i try to observe it before the time for another one .....most times

For those who don't observe regular prayers, it'll take you less than 10 minutes, max 15 to observe these prayers. First of all, have it in your mind that you want to change not for anyone, not for that cute muslim babe or handsome muslim guy, not for your parents or the people you are iving with, not for your boss or co-workers, but for the sake of Allah (& yourself). You may be encouraged by the afore-mentioned people but make sure you are not doing it for them. Then TRY as much as possible to devise means of observing them. If you don't have access to a osque at work, then just try without inconveniencing anyone, to get a place to pray. If you have a car, make sure a praying mat and at least a 75cl bottle of water is inside the trunk(learnt this from my dad) ALWAYS.lol. If you are a student, then you had better have friends who observe salat or who -if non-muslims- will be the ones to remind you its time for prayer & encourage you to go even if you are feeling reluctant to(personal experience).

And above all, a popular "defensive strategy"/ excuse used by muslims who don't pray regularly is that there are some muslims who pray 5 times daily yet they have very terrible characters. Yes, this might be true. But so also do we have several muslims who observe their 5 daily prayers and have excellent manners, relate happily with both muslims and xtians. I remember some muslim brothers back in Uni who despite having beards and being what you might call "Alfa" were sooo amiable and nice towards both muslims and xtians. Never judge a religion or an act of worship by those performing it. You do your own and keep encouraging others to do so coz it is a commandment from Allah and it is ALWAYS ultimately to our benefit.

Allah has blessed you with a good job, car(s), house, beautiful family, good grades at school, nice looks, e.t.c, Infact if you feel He hasnt done anything for you, at least He has preserved your life and protected you till this day! Observing 5 daiy prayers (max = 15 minutes each plus quick supplications) is not too much to say THANK YOU ALLAH FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE, PLEASE DO MORE FOR ME. DONT DELAY, CHANGE TODAY!!!!.....tomorrow morning 5:45am subhi, YOU CAN make it

virgin ice: I wrote gre buh it wasnt compulsory instead optional(like d sch will say) It was part f d docx I sent to dem. Av only received d mail like I said stating d offer I got n I accepted d ofa.

Ok. Wait for your i-20 to arrive, while away time reading this thread & be rest assured that by the time it comes, you'll know what exactly you have to do. Its not so difficult. You've gone thru the hard part & what's more, you have plenty of time. I assume you are due to resume for the Fall semester- August? So no worries

imperiouxx: For biology courses then you will compete with america counterpart. That's the field they study most at advanced level. I love Biomedical science sha. You can look into that. Choosing MS instead of that PhD then was my best decision.

Hmm... Will look into that too. Thanks boss. Biomedical Science/Engineering are areas we are not really into here in naija yet (which is an advantage) tho I forsee things changing within the next decade. Hmm..... Good. You made a good decision & you are still convinced it was the right thing, happy for you bro. Na why u don fall in love with your lab

Agielted: Guys, I'm yet to receive your responses. Please...

University of Oklahoma is also one of the schools I intend applying to. However, I dont have much info on it apart from what's available on usnews and other review sites. I think the tution is fairly moderate & seems they give scholarships and all as well. How easily? I don't know. Would also love to hear from our people over there on here if they know anything about the school.

virgin ice: Dept: chemistry. Jus my project buh my references wer very strong, cgpa 4.29 and av only got d email wc I replied. Yes full grant

Good!!! Don't tell me you didnt write the GRE? Lol. Strong cgpa, strong references. They obviously really helped.

Ok, but have you been contacted by the Int'l students Office? They are the ones to issue the i-20 i believe. You can mail them /admissions & and ask when you should be expecting your application packet. When that comes, ehen, visa things will start. In the mean time tho, try and read as much of this thread as you can, including the earlier parts as well.

imperiouxx: Surely a good idea if you are academically fit. Because MS + thesis(research) in SCIENCE fields.....na gulf war. but I prefer one step a time. Gave chance for future direction. You can transfer from you MS to PhD at anytime during your MS degree too, I got another friend who just did that last fall. Options are here for you....dis no be naija!

hmmm.... No be naija indeed o. Lol. I intend veering off a bit from science o! Lol.... Running towards Environmental Health/Public health e.t.c. Lol. But just maybe, i may apply for Biological sciences at one school.lol. Coz i believe my lack of keen interest in MCB was largely because most of what i was reading in the textbooks, i didnt get to see live. Experiments couldnt be condicted properly, few /total lack of some equipment e.t.c. Inshort the naija way. lol. Tho I dare say my school (LASU) is still quite good in practicals compared to even some some old time Federal Unis.

But studying Biological sciences or mcb at a decent school in US will be a different kettle of fish entirely. It might be stressful, but I'm quite sure I'll be ''at home'' & since all I need will be at my disposal in the lab, then I believe I'll experience that joy, that happiness that comes when you successfully conduct an experiment in d ideal conditions & get your desired /expected / at least not entirely out of line results.

imperiouxx: Surely a good idea if you are academically fit.

hmmm..... I believe I am. Especially if its a topic I'm genuinely interested in. I guess that was part of the issues I had with my undergrad.... Wanted to go for medicine, didnt work out, chose microbiology. Interesting course yes, but did I really develop that keen interest? NO! Could still have made a 2:1 with a lil more effort tho but......anoda story.lol.

Why did u reject the PhD offer

virgin ice: @ imperiouxx n find out, it's phd direct.

Cooool!!!! Congratulations. Hope its fully funded. Have you had some journal publications and all? Btw, what's ur major?


& as regards your initial query, lets start from:

Have you received /requested for your i-20 form from the school? I believe it should arrive with your admission packet. Have you received that? Or you've only been notified via email?

imperiouxx: Yea, it's possible wella but you must have track record in your field and research (because some will ask you to submit your research and/or publications when sending documents for addmission), the phone interview or on campus interview will typically base on RESEARCH nothing more. They don't just give the admission like that of MS o.

Lol! Thanks for that boss. I have some small research experience apart from undergrad but the only 2 major 'publications' (if i can call them that.lol) I can boast of are my undergrad seminar report and my final year project report. Se fini. Lol. Just wondering if I should give it a try.....for a 3rd or 4th school. Already applied & applying to 2 for M.S. , but then I'm really hoping to get funding (GA/RA + even if its partial, but preferably full tution waiver). Undergrad cgpa = 3.47 -not so great I know . Writing GRE on saturday tho. So working hard towards getting a really good score in that.

virgin ice: @winbyforce, I was nt interviewed. Applied usually, with GRE n TOEFL. I sent mails to 5 lecturers dat I can carry out my research under ther supavision for review of my docx, dis musta helped cos I was persistent n dese lecturers r d board dat decide. Some pipu go tru d interview u spoke abt buh only on rare cases except d school specify dat u must, wc adly hapns.

Congratulations! Do you have a Masters degree already or you applied for the Ph.D straight up with ur Bachelors? I'm asking coz I learnt you can apply for Ph.D. directly at some schools. Thanks.

Ngutor: O[b]ga Siena I want to assure you that if you relocate to Nigeria with your skills you will ever have only one regret; why you made the choice late. You will make money (tax free)sotaaaaaaaay you go cry.[/b]
On another level can these injectors be replaced?

Seconded

1) Was this converted?
2) Reason for sale??
3) Niice car

Can someone please hook these 2 people up fast? They really should be dating. I'm serious!

aribisala0: Commandant and Minister should be made to sleep there till it is fixed

Lol. Now thats likely what a Buhari/Idiagbon/Murtala Mohammed would do
Millitary rule had its benefits I tell you. By now, at the very least, some people would have been sacked.

Osareime: I went to a private boarding school in Abuja and it was beautiful. There was no bullying because the management was American and Nigerians trained in America. At a point teachers were not even allowed to tell students to kneel down. The food was good. We ate 5 times a day and good food. (not home quality but good).

Ice cream, salads, drinks, yogurts, chicken and many others were normal. The bathrooms were always clean, hot water flowed in harmattan. It wasn't home but it was comfortable.

The students were from good homes. I made many many good friends there.

The academic life was great. We had the best WAEC result for years.

Nice programs and events that I look back now and really appreciate.

Although I lost a lot of classmates in a plane crash in 2005, (RIP angels), I loved my boarding school experience.

I would love for my children to have an experience like that.

Yes, the LJC ajeburrer sec school alumni are here.lol.
But really, your secondary school is one of the best in Nigeria presently. I've seen products of that school & I'm over-impressed. I'm sure less than 10 percent of your classmates are schooling in Nigeria & a good number of those outside are in really good schools.

& no offence o, but is we call LJC a boarding house, what do we call the FGCs? jungle house? loool. Miss, ur school was home away from home

dshiznitplata: na so d tin go...04set..d last of Mr Fagbayi....sori Mrs Fagbayi...lol pls tell d misinformed fellow...I remba den dere was a senior in ss3 who made d full ss2 to sleep in class n anywere nyt falls...frm class nobody goes to d hostel unless an informant says d senior isn't in skool...trust me...its like ur worst nytmare came alive..IJ for lyf....Fagbayi for lyf...Sobogun for lyf....rotflmao... na so d tin go...hw do I get to U?.. seems u knw too much

Lol. See my classmate o! U r really taking me way back with Sobogun! That guy's cane contributed a lot to my B3 in WAEC Chemistry (very proud of it!) Lol.
Funny enuf, I think I know you...if the last two syllables of ur username is ur middle name.........

I remember those days man, the yeye seniors then wey dey make boys enter hostel for midnite, 'Gado's will chase you, after you land safely on ur bed, dorm prefect will call assembly around 1am, give us 'mario world' coz people didnt do their portions or because someone ''blocked'' inside laundry e.t.c.

We suffer o!!!!! Lol. BUT IJ rocks abegggg.....

damula: no lies thomas ..in my view boarding house remains d best...it builds in d child strong will and maturity tho activities of students in boarding house can be checked... Proudly FGCL...pro unitate all the way..

na so we plenty reach for here? lol. anyway, some of una fit don graduate before them born me sef.lol. School is almost 38 years old.lol