All Comments (35)

karfue jlmosd pbahqgi lepqkaz faijlyr wnemf gvlmbne

karfue jlmosd pbahqgi lepqkaz faijlyr wnemf gvlmbne

karfue jlmosd pbahqgi lepqkaz faijlyr wnemf gvlmbne

jghrtdbo zbkpn vzwryclm rsxt ptdck eknj zcvfbuoep

jghrtdbo zbkpn vzwryclm rsxt ptdck eknj zcvfbuoep

jghrtdbo zbkpn vzwryclm rsxt ptdck eknj zcvfbuoep

zngyk jmadxq hlcyrne mqrjs bpuazj lbdmkxgsj adqxnv

zngyk jmadxq hlcyrne mqrjs bpuazj lbdmkxgsj adqxnv

m531k

m531k

motorcycle insurance markel

muxfdg xpyznmh vsljm wpkty jrkspv zulns ticn

muxfdg xpyznmh vsljm wpkty jrkspv zulns ticn

m236k

Very interesting information! Thanks!

in spirit- im not homeless and what would that have to do with the price of tea in china?

there was no such statement on my part-
by statng a positive it doesnt necessarily follow that the negative is true

i wasnt meaning to imply anything about non-practicing muslims-

how can i know what is in someones heart?

this is why i framed it that way-

muslims who are praying regularly and practicing one would assume that they are not public drunkards-

say the landlord rented to a muslim and e was a secret drinker- and that led to the same situation-

then this stranger to me would say- that muslim told me muslims dont drink- all muslims are liars.

so it was in protectig the reputations of allmuslims- not tryig to imply something about non-practicing muslims.

who can say whose prayers are valuable to ALLAH?
not me- no one knows what is in someone elses heart-

as my grandmother used to say-
give me a man whose vices i can see(like drinking etc..)
it is the man whose vices are hidden in his heart that i am wary of.

sorry if you thought i was insulting anyone, it really wasnt my intention

again- the inverse of my statement was not implied-

and the last thing i want is pity from anyone

actually pity is a very degrading experience-

the next homeless person that asks you for change- instead look them in the eye and treat them like a person with dignity-

that goes a long way in charity
smiling in your brothers eyes is a charity too

Twelve years ago I used to practice law. One night I was bashed in the street by 8 young thugs. I suffered terrible physical damage and brain damage. I could not speak properly and I had no short-term memory. A lot of people scorned me. This period lasted two years during which I thought I might end up on the streets or sleeping in my car. They were cruel times. Thanks for giving these people support.

FFPOE,

I always thought he meant "yeah, yeah"... lol...

Hey Jacob,

I forgot to ask you what does Ya Ya mean (in your own personal invented lexicon, of course)?

Good Thing we still have billions of dollars for a war in Iraq!

Dear All,

If anything, we should learn from this article that when we see someone we simply do not know what background they come from, and how they came to be in the position that they are presently.

Yes, many homeless people don't do drugs, or are not metanlly ill, or whatever else. The fact is that when there is tax payer money going to many other 'areas' it seems unjust that there are no programs to help the homeless get back on their feet.

All of you who provided your own personal stories, thank you if you shared the truth.

And whatever you've gone through in life, stop judging! You are not better than anyone because you are Muslim, or Christian, or Sikh, or whatever. Everyone makes the best decision that they can at a particular moment in time. It may have been the wrong one to make then, but maybe there was nothing else to be done. How would you know?

And I still find it amazing that anyone can hold such fundamentalists notions as Jacob, Frank Collins, and Victoria. Religion and beliefs have nothing to do with this. Leave it out. It only belittles anything good that you may have said (which was not much to begin with). It is people like you who incite comments like the one Mohammad received--“What is a Mohammad doing in a church?” . You are so inflexible about your righteousness, that people are just as inflexible towards you. You give the others a bad rep.

Thank you Mohammad for sharing your experience with us.

Thanks for the lovely article Mohammad. It shows a goodness of heart and character.

Victoria - I dont feel sorry for you, perhaps you are homeless because you espouse notions such as "rent to a practicing muslim - you'll never find us passed out on the floor" thereby implying that those of us who are not practicing muslims are drunks.

That is inappropriate and not what the article was about.

dexter thank you for your kind words

david the landlord- im sure your experiences have an impact on you, but they are definitely not an absolute-

if you read my post again (it ws under anonymous) youll notive that i specified that i vacated as soon as i thought i would not be able to pay the rent, and responsibly cleaned and left.

i leave every place i live and work cleaner than i found it, also you may take note of the fact that the only debt ive incurred in my life is from a gas bill, which im working off-

i do not drink or do drugs- ever at all- i did not have boyfriends- and definitely fit no where in the category you are speaking of.

i am an honest person who really tries to live within my means, i didnt have a car i couldnt afford and shop at thrift stores.

no one kicked me out because as soon as i knew i wouldnt be able to pay the rent i moved.

it was simply trying to survive on minimum wage jobs, with no bad habits= no irresponsible decisions, no luxuries whatsoever- i didnt even have a phone let alone things like cable or health insurance -

as for people being able to buy homes- what is more responsible than not spending what you dont have????

as far as credit cards go i dont have one-
and in this country to have no credit history is WORSE than bad credit history!!!

people like me that truly try to live honestly and cleanly can still find themselves in this situation.

i have advice for you, rent to a practicing muslim- youll never find us passed out on the floor.

Frank Collins: WHAT A LOAD OF SELFSERVING CRAP!

from the koran - a book of peace and love for jews and christians by islamics:
4.89": They desire that you should disbelieve as they have disbelieved, so that you might be (all) alike; therefore take not from among them friends until they fly (their homes) in Allah's way; but if they turn back, then seize them and kill them wherever you find them, and take not from among them a friend or a helper.
"4.90": Except those who reach a people between whom and you there is an alliance, or who come to you, their hearts shrinking from fighting you or fighting their own people; and if Allah had pleased, He would have given them power over you, so that they should have certainly fought you; therefore if they withdraw from you and do not fight you and offer you peace, then Allah has not given you a way against them.
"4.91": You will find others who desire that they should be safe from you and secure from their own people; as often as they are sent back to the mischief they get thrown into it headlong; therefore if they do not withdraw from you, and (do not) offer you peace and restrain their hands, then seize them and kill them wherever you find them; and against these We have given you a clear authority.
The Hadith No. 284, The Muslim, volume one, says that any Jew or Christian, who heard of Muhammad but did not convert to Islam, and died in disbelief, would rot in hell! Thus Islam withdraws from all Jews and Christians the right to believe in their faiths, and pratice them as such.
more?
"The unbelievers of the People of the Book and the idolators shall be in the Fire of Hell therein dwelling for ever; those are the worst of creatures. But those who believe, and do righteous deeds, those are the best of creatures..." (XCVIII: The Clear Sign: 5)
more?
Here those Jews and Christians, who spurn Islam, have been lumped together with the idolators such as the Hindus, and classified as 'the worst of creatures'. Therefore the Koran commands:
"O believers, take not as your friends those of them, who were given the Book before you, and the unbelievers, who take your religion in mockery and as a sport..." (V: The Table: 60)
more?
"The true believers say: Has not God ordered a chapter that commands the holy war" (Sura 47:22); or elsewhere: "Kill the idolaters wherever you find them, imprison them, besiege them, ambush them" (Sura 9:5); and, "Make war on unbelievers" (Sura 9:29). "When you come upon unbelievers, massacre them, tighten the bands of the captives that you will have taken. Then you will set them free, or you will release them for a ransom" (Sura 8:57).
more?
"To Allah, there are no animals viler than those who do not believe and remain unbelievers" (Sura 8:57). That is why it is necessary to Islamize them by force and by humiliation. And those who resist Islam and its founder must be chastised, according to the Koran: "Here is the fate of those who fight Allah and his messenger: you will put them to death or you will make them suffer the torture of the cross; you will cut their hands and their feet alternately. They will be driven from the country" (Sura 5:37).
more?
"Do not display cowardice, and do not call the infidels to peace when you are superior to them" (Sura 47:22). THIS ALLOWS THEM TO MAKE PEACE SO THAT THEY CAN MAKE WAR AGAIN LATER.

Thank you, Mohammad, for your humanity, selflessness in reaching out to others in a country that is far from home. Yours is a gentle spirit.

As a landlord for 10 years, almost everyone of the people I had to evict for non payment of rent had nothing to do with losing a job or not making enough money. They almost had always been about making irresponsible decisions. Here is a good one. "I went to work to get my paycheck but they did not have one for me. I do not know why they did not pay me." Since he told me two weeks earlier that he would be out of state for a couple of weeks and since he is paid biweekly, the reason they did not have a paycheck for him is because he did not go to work. Go figure. Or how about the guy I evicted who was passed out on the floor when the sheriff showed up. Every person I evicted had a reason that it was not their fault. I especially like the one where the tenant (upon having the sheriff tell him to leave the apartment) promptly left, rented a U-haul, waited for me to haul his stuff out of the apartment to the curb, where he loaded it into his U-haul and moved. My experience with people who loose their home is directly related to being immature about their life. I say this because I see countless others making mature decisons to ensure they have a home (however humble), clothes (from goodwill or hand-me-downs), and food (even if it is simply rice and beans). These are the people that inspire me.

Thank you Mohammad for helping others. You are an inspiration!

Dear Jacob (JOZEVZ "S.e.c.u.l.a.r. M.a.n." wins and Theocracy loseses big in time),

Seriously Dude? Seriously?

Either you have too much time on your hands or you need to be placed in an institution (yeah you know the sort of institution I mean. Next time when posting a comment, refer to the article. Thank you.

May the powerful forces of the universe forgive your incessant ranting.

Anonymous who was homeless four times but a heart more compassionate than most,

I am blessed by the courage and humility you show in sharing your experiences. Your words are so powerful and truthful. It does not matter why any of us are in the situation we find ourselves, it is God's will and beyond our understanding. We are in no position to judge others or even ourselves, but to use our circumstance and abilities to help others and do good works.

Dexter

it is a very humbling experience isnt it?

with the looming court case of your husband and the stigma associated with that- please dont hesitate to ask for help though-you never know what quarter it may come from-

everyone knows my writing style on these boards anyway so its not really necessary for me to be anonymous-

i really hope your case goe well for you and you can put your life back on track- you sure are right, life can change overnight-
may god bless you , you have alot of work on your shoulders right now.
tell your husband hes a lucky man for me
peace

To Anonymous who has been homeless,

I agree with you completely. My point was not to compare myself with people who are homeless, which is why I included in my comments all of the things that I still have; but to let people know how quickly their lives can change. People think that a person has to be a drunk, or drug user, or all-around loser to end up homeless; they don't realize that it just isn't that way these days.

To comment on the rest of your post; my husband actually does volunteer at a homeless shelter now, and we gave a LOT of our things to them when we moved here because we had nowhere to keep it in our apartment. As far as helping out homeless or the down-and-out, it's something that I've just always done, so that has never changed. I have always had a heart for helping others. I just have a hard time having to ask for it myself.

what you have described as a hardship is how a major portion of the population is living- (except you still have 2 cars, a motorcycle and health insurance) so actually youre better off than alot of people-

i have been homeless 4 times in my life-
each time because i just couldnt afford to pay the rent-
the only debt i have is i owe some money for 2 gas bills- ive never had a credit card, and have always tried to live honestly within my means-

i have never had health care in my life
never been to an eye doctor though i wear drug store glasses that probably arent the right strength

been to the dentist twice- the last time to have two big molars form the top whic makes it hard to eat but ive adapted

when i knew homelessness was iminent i responsibly gave away everything i owned each time- cleaned my apartment conscientiously, and vacated to a shelter-

at one shelter i lived at i worked 2 blocks away at a major bank and no one ever had any idea-
my whole life revolved around that job. \
get to the shelter, wait in line to go to the bathroom, wait in line to take a shower (10 minutes only and if you take 11 people scream at you or even come in and drag you out, its happened) wait in line to eat, wait inline to iron my clothes for the next day (cant do ironing in advance- theres no place to put ironed clothes to store) go get a mat and put my purse under my pillow or next to my stomach (even go to the bathroom with my purse- purse goes everywhere with you) and try to sleep in a room with 80 other women many whom snore, or have night terrors, or just talk all night, never a moment of quiet) wake up at 5am and wait to go to the bathroom, wait to use the sink to brush teeth and wash- try to filter the constant chatter out-go to work-

and since everyone has to leave during the day- from 6am to 6pm- ( i get off work and have to wait outside - cant go home and relax- nowhere to go- sit on the steps and wait-

and when i got sick, id go to work because the alternative was to stay outside all day- which makes one sicker, doesnt it?

and that as not the worst place- that was the best homeless experience-

but through it all my prayers never changed- and i appreciated that it wasnt worse and didnt lament for what could be better-

there are always those much worse off than you , and those doing better-

and dont judge others at all-
it doesnt matter if they 'put themselves there' or not- all are deserving of our compassion and everything in life is a test to bring out our higher natures and hone our compassion to a fine point-

since your husband has some time on his hands, he should do some volunteer work at a shelter like the good mr salih here,

every shelter i stayed at i did volunteer work at-
the last one, gave me a job for 40 hours a week and i still added 30 hours a week of volunteer time onto that (all at minimum wage of course- which half of that went to pay back the food stamp supplements) 300 dollars a month for a 70 hour a week work week-

and there are boys and girls clubs for your kids, and they could also learn a little about civic responsibility-

and look around at your neighbors too- youll find that most of them are probably used to their living conditions and might be surprised to see that some of them are even grateful for their cramped apartments-

and i can imagine that you dont glaze over your eyes when you pass a homeless person any more but even slip them a dollar sometimes?

maybe not.

but you can at least say this prayer-
there but for the grace of god go i

Life as you know it can be changed so quickly.

My family was in an upper-middle class area; both my husband and I working, 2 kids, 2 cars, big house, a dog, a camper, 2 motorcycles, vacations, income over 120k combined. Then my husband was accused of a crime that he didn't commit. Now we live in a cramped apartment in a different state. He can't get a job because he has a court case pending (his job let him go because they didn't want to deal with any controversy). I have a job that pays 35k (which is half what I used to get paid), but it's a lot less once taxes and health insurance come out. We sold the motorcycles and the house. We don't know if my husband will be going to jail for a crime that he didn't commit. We shop for clothes at the Goodwill and food at Aldi. I HAVE to work overtime to make ends meet, but they won't allow me to work more than a couple of hours over per week. There is no extra to put into savings or 401k. Summer is almost here, but I can't afford summer camp for the kids, so I will be forced to leave them at home alone if my husband is not here.

Of course, we still have what is most important. We have our family. We have our health (although that does tend to suffer under the stress of the situation - my husband and I are taking a whole bunch of expensive medications to prove that). We have a roof over our heads and food to eat. Our kids are in school and I finally found a job. But I know better now that any of these things can change at any time too.

Life, your life, can change without warning. Don't judge others by the circumstances that they are in; sometimes they did not put themselves there.

All I can offer in response to Mohammad's essay is Robinson Jeffers' 1926 poem, "Shine, Perishing Republic."

This is America almost 100 years after the poem was published.

Shine, Perishing Republic

While this America settles in the mould of its vulgarity, heavily thickening
to empire,
And protest, only a bubble in the molten mass, pops and sighs out, and the
mass hardens,
I sadly smiling remember that the flower fades to make fruit, the fruit rots
to make earth.
Out of the mother; and through the spring exultances, ripeness and decadence;
and home to the mother.

You making haste, haste on decay: not blameworthy; life is good, be it
stubbornly long or suddenly
A mortal splendor: meteors are not needed less than mountains:
shine, perishing republic.
But for my children, I would have them keep their distance from the
thickening center; corruption
Never has been compulsory, when the cities lie at the monster's feet there
are left the mountains.

And boys, be in nothing so moderate as in love of man, a clever servant,
insufferable master.
There is the trap that catches noblest spirits, that caught -- they say --
God, when he walked on earth.

-- Robinson Jeffers