u/Imamsheikhspeare

Descartes, the philosopher of skepticism decided one day to doubt everything, he decided to discard all beliefs, including reliability of his own senses. But he realized he couldn't doubt his own senses because he couldn't be able to exist if he can think, and concluded with "_cogito ergo sum_" which translates to "I think, therefore I am" which means that I think, so I exist.

Later critical philosophers like Friedrich Nietzsche and Georg Lichtenberg argued that Descartes sneaked a massive assumption by using "I", they felt "thinking is occurring" or, "it is thinking" was more accurate;

• Critics believe, that by using "I", Descartes already assumed what he was trying to prove, saying that while there is a thought, there isn't a unified existing self behind this.

• According to Nietzsche, "I" is a grammartical illusion, he believed that this is a result of how language is structured: every action having a "doer"

But years ago, Ibn Sina already solved this problem by his thought experiment known as "The Floating Man".

In the experiment, a man is created instantaneously (or suspended) in midair, fully developed and formed perfectly, without any memories, no sensory experiences, no physical senses, not even from their own body. His vision is veiled and his limbs are too far to touch each other. Would this person know he exists? yes he would.

This is an Arabic love poem that predates Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet by 700 years.

It's about Majnun (Qais ibn Al-Mawlawah) and Layla Al-Amriyya from Banu tribe. Majnun means madman in Arabic. They were childhood friends but as they grew up, it became harder for them to meet each other. Qais wrote love poems for her. When he asks for her father's hand, he refused. She was instead married to Ibn Salam who was a wealthy nobleman from Thaqif tribe, because Qaus had kind of publicly declared his love which was frowned upon in Bedouin culture.

Layla was taken far away with her husband. Qais was sick from sorrow and yearning. His father took him to Hajj hoping that Allah heals him. Qais prayed to be blessed with for Layla's love forever. After returning he abandoned his tribe.

After this he wandered like a madman in the desert composing verses to animals and even wind.

Some accounts say he met Ibn Salam, who was moved by his pain but feared the scandal and refused to let him see her.

Layla heard about this meaning and cried. She died out of sickness.

Qais hearing this wandered once more. Days later, a traveller found his body near Layla's grave.

This story is beautiful because it shows that Arabs could also write stories well regardless of how much we underestimated their past culture and history.

Ulysses by James Joyce is a particularly hard novel to read. Now here is a passage I want to share with all of us readers.

"He held out his copybook. The word Sums was written on the headline. Beneath were sloping figures and at the foot a crooked signature with blind loops and a blot. Cyril Sargent: his name and seal.

— Mr Deasy told me to write them out all again, he said, and show them to you, sir.

Stephen touched the edges of the book. Futility.

— Do you understand how to do them now? he asked.

— Numbers eleven to fifteen, Sargent answered. Mr Deasy said I was to copy them off the board, sir.

— Can you do them yourself? Stephen asked.

— No, sir.

Ugly and futile: lean neck and tangled hair and a stain of ink, a snail's bed. Yet someone had loved him, borne him in her arms and in her heart. But for her the race of the world would have trampled him underfoot, a squashed boneless snail. She had loved his weak watery blood drained from her own. Was that then real? The only true thing in life? His mother's prostrate body the fiery Columbanus in holy zeal bestrode. She was no more: the trembling skeleton of a twig burnt in the fire, an odour of rosewood and wetted ashes. She had saved him from being trampled underfoot and had gone, scarcely having been. A poor soul gone to heaven: and on a heath beneath winking stars a fox, red reek of rapine in his fur, with merciless bright eyes scraped in the earth, listened, scraped up the earth, listened, scraped and scraped."

This passage is when Stephen the teacher is helping his futile student. Stephen thinks, no matter how untidy and futile the student is, someone a mother carried him, fed him, looked after him and still loves him deeply. It's a simple thought, but it's relevant because today we see the youth neglecting and even growing angry towards their parents. Some parents are harsh on pressures, indeed, but we are overlooking the genuine universal parental love in every race.

Oguz Atay is a Turkish modern or postmodern writer, and I want to read his novels. The only problem is, I don't know turkish, so I need translations. his work is largely untranslated. I hear that his work Tutunamayanlar is the turkish Ulysses, and even people who know turkish don't read his works because it's too hard, which might be the sole reason for its lack of translators. His works, especially Tutunamayanlar (The Disconnected) intrigue me and many other readers, and it would be very nice if someone knows a translator.

I want to suggest the best book about Islam:

Volume 1: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LfWvrwJX05DE2wCv2zOtyM0jrFtEuQJC/view?usp=drivesdk

Volume 2: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1piQl55771Sx6ng-7Tui99jrZti8WErLI/view?usp=drivesdk

Volume 3: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VIJHLaitp-25pjT7y1gDKt_AyA08Sx1P/view?usp=drivesdk

The good thing about the book I recommend is: it always provides evidence for what it says. That means one will always be able to understand things with clear proofs. It also contains some astonishing philosophical discussions about Christianity, the existence of God, and also the prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him).

I think that's in the first part of the second volume. So enjoy reading it! If you have a passion for knowledge and a curiosity about Islam, this book will be an inspiring and valuable read! You can buy the remaining volumes from Amazon.

If you read Arabic, this is the full arabic version :

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SKO3_eHqwYMmPt6kdHSPoRo4QVSd93yk/view?usp=drive_link

It’s a very recent book and one of the most important works ever written about Islam and monotheism. One of its strengths is that it discusses and corrects the mistakes made by earlier scholars. It also contains many authentic prophecies of the Prophet (peace be upon him) that, unfortunately, many Muslims are unaware of. If you wish, the scholar himself explains the book on his YouTube channel—he has already completed many episodes and continues to release a new one every Monday. You can also join the discussions and ask questions if you like. Here is the link to his channel and the explanation series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmpU7KBqn11p_Dg7zvkQ7ZsyAAvWDyT29&si=NTlpJkNpDgAwsqPu

Eid Mubarak, although a little late, to all muslims