Re: Your New Year Resolutions
 

You continue to drink despite at least some negative consequences - Yes, but they're generally out-weighed by the positive ones (conviviality, social lubrication, and the taste of good wine and beer).

You look forward to drinking. Yes, but then I look forward to slap'n'tickle, making money and (now) going to work, which doesn't make me a sexaholic, greedy bastard or workaholic.

You drink alone. On occasion. As Scamp says, its sometimes nice to just ponder life (or watch it wobbling by) with a nice, cold pint.

You sometimes drink in order to control emotional and/or physical symptoms. Physical? No. Emotional? If a few pints to ease down after a stressful day counts as controlling emotions, then yes, but nothing deeper than that so probably no.

You and your loved ones are suffering as a result of your drinking I usually fart and snore worse after a session, and I've lost a couple of "friends" as a result of in vino veritas, but I wouldn't call that "suffering".

Re: Your New Year Resolutions
 

I'd add another category: You drink on a routine basis (e.g. "I always have one drink on the way home from work" etc). This may - quite literally - just be one drink.......... but you NEED that drink.......... you MUST have it.......... actually, come to think of it, that's more like a fully-fledged Alcoholic..........

Re: Your New Year Resolutions
 

Rubbish! A fully fledged alcoholic would never have just one drink...

Re: Your New Year Resolutions
 

Not true - it's not the volume, it's the habit..............

Re: Your New Year Resolutions
 

Reflections is a better word than Resolutions. So let’s have some reflections on that occasion from an Islamic prospective. If an alien from the outer space was to visit us on earth during Christmas and if he saw the new year celebrations around the world, he’d think the same way as I and all devout Muslims think, basically what are those celebrations all about!!! A year has passed us meaning that we are getting more closer to the edge of the cliff, yet we are rejoicing all about it. A quite strange notion to the Islamic common sense as in Islam celebration has a different meaning all together. In Islam every celebration must be associated with achievements, so we have the first Eid festival which celebrates the achievement of enduring the fast of one whole month of Ramadan. We also celebrate the second Eid which is about congratulating the pilgrims in their journey of discovery. That’s why for those who didn’t participate in the pilgrimage in that particular year has to fast one day before that event just to meet the requirement of this equation of “Celebration demands Achievements”

Re: Your New Year Resolutions
 

RS, your inability to extrapolate from your viewpoint to reach an understanding of others' is something I sincerely hope all other devout Muslims do not share with you.

How hard would it have been for you to transpose the words 'journey of discovery' for 'reflection on the past year' to account for New Year's celebrations? If one is celebrating the achievements of the past year and looking forward to planning more of the journey for the new year I should think others could easily see why one might mark the occasion. If others are bemused by this, all the while maintaining that their own celebrations of the journey of life are sensible, they end up looking like cultural chauvinists.

This overwhelming desire to see all non-Muslims through your own prism says way more about you than it does about us...

Re: Your New Year Resolutions
 

I am so glad you're still on this bored to give us the islamic perspective, we'd be quite lost without you habibi.
It was interesting to note Dubai's Celebration of the Western New Year demanding the achievement of the largest fireworks display in the world. Had I been a cynic I might just have thought that they spunked all that money on fireworks as self aggrandisement and not celebrating an achievement.

Re: Your New Year Resolutions
 

You've added in some extraneous letters there.

Re: Your New Year Resolutions
 

So how does covering your car in stickers, honking your horns, letting fireworks off and being a bigger twat than normal work for national day celebrations?

Should you not have more reason to celebrate being a year older as you are one year nearer to having your wish and leaving this awful life and meeting 'God'?

Re: Your New Year Resolutions
 

Cheer up and try to enjoy life a little. :)

Re: Your New Year Resolutions
 

Red Fish gets off on pissing people off. He's remarkably good at it too, if you are willing to pay attention to the demented little brat.

Re: Your New Year Resolutions
 

Don't Muslims celebrate birthdays then? (serious question) :confused:

Re: Your New Year Resolutions
 

No worries Mike, next time I land in Dubai I will pay you a visit in your office up in the tower InchAllah. You can then show me around your office and perhaps let me have ago at landing one of the airplanes. I think it is an easy task, right?, all I got to do is look down throw the windows and see which run way is free from crossing indian workers then radio to the hovering pilot up in the sky to level up his ass and get the hell down :)

Re: Your New Year Resolutions
 

I believe I am very content with the pleasure I am allowed in this life. But your comment reminds me of a remark by an old friend of mine when I invited him to a party in my local mosque, he said, I just can’t understand how anybody can enjoy a party without the booze. Mind you he was Welsh ;)

Re: Your New Year Resolutions
 

Birthday parties are western tradition practiced by people all around the world including the Muslim world. Devout Muslim, however, shy away from this practice although doing it does not break divine laws. The same goes for all other similar celebrations like national days and what have you. My parents used to do it for me when I was a kid but once I became an adult I never did it.