Tainted Ink?!

  

Tatu, or most commonly know as Tattoo or Ink, a marking made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment for decorative or other reasons, is considered one of the most controversial forms of body modification/decoration or as i like to see it, ART!

you guessed it, im inked, 4 pieces of art to be exact,, 

My Hand of Fatima or Maryam

I've always been interrogated about my ink:

- where, when did you get?

- does it hurt?

- what does it mean?

- but ur name is Ali, isnt it haram (legally forbidden by Islamic Law, and other religions apply here)?

- do you regret them?

- why did you get one? two? three? four?

- is it addictive?

- can you remove it?

Well, to be honest i do not mind answering most of the questions, they are part of who i am, they each relate to a single or many pit stops in my life which i have chosen to keep forever to remind me of them and for other various personal reasons. 

The question which bothers me the most though is #4!! simply because religious beliefs are some of the most personal to a person, one's relationship with the deity he worships is to be only probed by himself, and himself alone. Don't you think i would've thought of whether it was or not, of whether i might be seen as a Kafer (Those who deliberately hide the truth; unbelievers, truth-concealers; one who is ungrateful), don't you think that this is my personal decision and none of your business? well i did my part and looked it up and came up with some interesting findings!! here goes....

To start off, tattooing is forbidden in Judaism, Christianity and Islam,, guess im screwed wherever i go ! now the juicy why(s):

- Fundamentalist Christians consider it to be an activity that was done by Pagans, so non-believers, thus haram.

- Catholics, well i guess this sums it up,  Leviticus 19:28, which reads "You shall not make any cuts in your body for the dead, nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves..." 

- Jews take it a bit further by stating that "tattooing is simply something NOT done", et voila!! and the Germans worked on this quite well, if you ever wondered why Jews in concentration camps used to be tattooed with an identification number, yes, it was an act to separate observant Jews from their God.

- Islam, now here is where it gets tricky, since there is no apparent instruction in the Holy Qoran (as per my research), but rather a series of Hadeeths (narrations concerning the words and deeds of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Hadith are regarded by traditional Islamic schools of jurisprudence as important tools for understanding the Qur'an and in matters of jurisprudence) well,  the most specific one goes like this "cursed the one who does tattoos and the one for whom tattooing is done", moreover, other scholars/ important ppl in Islam have said that 

      - “Islam denounces excesses in beautifying oneself when it alters the physical features that Allah created him with. The Glorious Qur'an considers such alterations as inspired by Satan, who "...will command them (his devotees) to change what Allah has created...” (An-Nisa': 119)

      - “May Allaah curse the women who do tattoos and those for whom tattoos are done, those who pluck their eyebrows and those who file their teeth for the purpose of beautification and alter the creation of Allaah.”

Soooo, apparently its forbidden to pierce, tattoo, enhance, alter and bring any modification to your body, since it is a an act of Satan, to modify the appearance which God gave you, which in turn is apparently "perfect"

My Rocks

Well, the Islamic point of view, since i am most concerned by it, since the question i get start by "but your name is Ali,,,", so basically, i am a Kafer, an unbeliever (face palm!!) but hey, isn't my grandma also who is a devout believer since she dyes her hair , isn't my sister who has pierced ears, aren't most women who have "enhanced" body parts? isn't my dad who has teeth bridge? hmmm arent the poor animals we eat which are tattooed in order to keep count and identification? 

too many questions which surely i am not the right person to answer, 

a quickie though, funnily enough, if a person converts to Islam, all his previous sins are exempted hmmmm,, but this is for another time to explore :)

Finally, personally i see them as part of who i am, as snapshots of my personal history, as art on my body... i do not truly care what any1 thinks of them, they are on me, for me :) my relationship with the Divine is between me and him, and im sure ill sweet talk him into giving me a "free jail pass card"...


P.S: all ink done at the best studio in the middle east Skin Deep by the famed master Hady Beydoun 
check out his FB page http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2251836098

And there's my buttermint for the day :) 

@Alexi13

Follow me on twitter.com/Alexi13

One Half of SuddenlyTwo (@Alexi13)

wasssap peeps! (yea, not the wisest start for my first blog post i guess :$) 

well a snapshot of who is @Alexi13 is in order so here goes!

Born into a multicultural family with an Arab and European mix, in the land of cheese and wine... i am what you might call the mischievous rebel when growing up, always being questioned about my heritage; a fairly challenging experience considering i grew up in one of the most diverse countries sociologically wise, the land of the Cedars, the land of the Phoenix, the ex-Switzerland of the middle east and soon to regain its title! I've always valued my parental background and so glad my parents have been able to show and teach me the best and worst about their background, their experiences and life. I was still subject to failures and successes like any other teenager growing up, but ever so glad of becoming the person i am today, the pride of my parents, the pride of my lover, the crazy friend of my social circle, the achieved professional i am to become.

residing now in the UAE, Dubai more specifically, i ventured into the world of digital media and marketing and have become a, hmmm, let's say "consensual victim" of the web and the social media cloud that has spawned around the world. Working in one of the biggest local and regional media company, with an amazing team, i am bound to share much of the knowledge and experiences i go through with you all.

You might wonder what makes me so special to blog, to be worth reading, get to know; in all humility, i am one of those persons who likes to keep a positive mark with everyone i meet. The buzzing bee i am allowed me to grow an amazing circle of friends, within my home country and the desert, friends who became more of a second family to me in the recent years. I believe one of the essential things in a person's life is the circle of friends, the circle of life (yea huge Disney fan :$ ) one builds; and my circle has proved to be the best support i can have in any endeavor, but that is another topic to blog about.

ddnt think my first post would be so long, or so personal, i hope it is not some random blabber to some, but just ddnt know where to start or to end, and found myself writing and writing...

well you'll get to know the crazy me in my future posts, my zest for life, my passions, my friends, my interests, the love of my life, family, views on this unpredictable life we are living!!

big shout out to everyone out there!!  hellloooo?!

@Alexi13,

follow me on twitter: twitter.com/Alexi13

there's my buttermint for the day!