The Learner

On rewriting my novel, A Weird Hope By Muhsin Ibrahim I published my novel, A Weird Hope , in 2012. I don't have a copy today. However, as I was working on publishing a second edition very soon, I asked a friend who still keeps a copy to send me its imprints. I found avoidable errors in the "Acknowledgement." What about other parts of the book? It's pretty embarrassing. Beyond that, I felt happy. I was glad because my writing skills are evidently better today. That enabled me to see those blunders, which led me to upgrade the language of the forthcoming edition. I also insisted on getting a competent editor, not just one who would do it for me for free or quickly. Hey, you may still see errors. I'm human—and a Learner. I shall talk more about the book once it's released. For now, I advise fellow budding writers to never stop practising. Writing is a passion. Nevertheless, they should take their time getting their manuscripts published. I know the euphoria of s...

Too many people desperately seek cheap popularity on social media (SM). They include socialites, self-identified religious scholars, and ordinary people. The first category, such as Murja Ibrahim, doesn't surprise me; their followers astonish me. But the second and third categories astound me. The "religious scholars" mindlessly chase fame (and fortune) on SM today. It's common to see a benighted person countering an established scholar over what he barely understands. I came across one a while ago, trying to debunk a theological discourse using baseless claims. He struggled to recite the Qur'an before him. The third category hides behind "catching cruise," whatever that means. Yesterday, someone shared that viral tweet by parody accounts of Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. People called his attention to the fact that they were parody accounts. He admitted knowing that but added that he was only "catching cruise." What is that, for God's sake...