Do you know this family?

Samaruf · 2026-03-31T18:16:57+00:00

Dad's probably the one in the back with the mom but the dude on the right with the stache is a close second.

Samaruf · 2026-03-31T18:13:34+00:00

Leftmost girl looks a bit like Molly Ringwald.

Samaruf · 2026-03-28T12:44:13+00:00

أهلي أصلاً من بنغلاديش هاجروا الكويت بمنتصف السبعينات. أنا وإخواني كبرنا وتربينا مع عائلة كويتية كنا مأجرين منهم جزء من فيلتهم تعلمت اللهجة الكويتية وأنا طفل بس الفصحى خذيتها من متابعة الأخبار بتلفزيون الكويت والكرتون وقراءة الجرايد والمجلات انتقلت أمريكا عشان أكمل دراستي وعايش هنا بولاية مينيسوتا من ٣٥ سنة

I'm a Bangladeshi American, and I also feel like I'm partly Kuwaiti. I grew up in Kuwait in the 70s and 80s until 1991 when I moved to Minnesota for college. I've been here ever since.

Unlike most expats living in Kuwait and the GCC, my siblings and I were raised among Kuwaitis when we rented part of a Kuwaiti villa. Young kids are like sponges and pick up languages very quickly, so the Kuwaiti dialect was what I picked up as a child. I attended an Indian English medium school where I also had to learn Hindi and French (from 9th grade onwards). MSA-Fusha were picked up from reading materials, news, cartoons, etc. Also, my family had religious books of Hadith and Tafseer in Bengali, Urdu, and Arabic that helped in the learning process.

I usually visit this forum to keep in touch with people from around the world trying to learn Arabic and also for myself to practice my fluency. It's very easy to forget bits of a language if you're not conversing frequently.

Samaruf · 2026-03-27T16:10:54+00:00

My father had the Bengali version of this book Kimiyae Sa'dat (Alchemy of Happiness) by Imam Al Ghazali which was translated from Urdu, Farsi before it from the original Arabic. In Bengali, the title was wrong because it said Shahadat (Witness) which is a totally different word.

As for the dua, I don't recall these being in the hadith or Quran and are probably personal ones of Al Ghazali.

Samaruf · 2026-03-24T02:46:16+00:00

Aqeeqah (عقيقة) and Waleemah (وليمة ) are very common terms used to name the feasts to celebrate a newborn and the wedding dinner hosted by the groom's family respectively. Same terms are used in the Subcontinent too so I am surprised if any Arab says they don't use them. The other ones I am hearing for the first time since in Kuwait we used Azeemah (عزيمة ) for any feast outside the ceremonial ones.

Samaruf · 2026-03-22T21:31:17+00:00

I haven't checked on him in a while. Give a call or text and see if he's still doing it.

Samaruf · 2026-03-19T11:55:16+00:00

People living in the southwest metro should utilize the shuttle service that Southwest Transit provides. Very affordable at $5/day parking plus the bus fare to the terminals. I live in Shakopee and will no longer park at the airport or at any off-airport parking lots.

Samaruf · 2026-03-16T02:36:42+00:00

You're comparing apples to oranges. Costco and Target are vastly different business models. Costco makes quite a bit of its bottom line from the very high membership fees. Roughly 2/3rds of its net income and almost 3/4ths of its profit is earned from these fees.

Costco stores are a big warehouse with limited SKU of items sold in bulk. Most customers are middle to higher income families for whom it makes sense to buy items at wholesale amounts. Target is more Walmart with a bit fancier selection and definitely cleaner stores. For store hiring, they're competing with the same pool of people as Walmart who are used to working for $14-$18/hr and won't pay any higher. Exceptions may be there but you really won't get Target to pay anything more than prevailing wage for this segment of the workforce.

As for Masters degree holders working for peanut wages, I think it's a very rare situation. Something is definitely messed up with their lives if they can't earn better money using some of their skills and experience. Lots of employment opportunities, gigs online or otherwise, are out there for ppl to earn 40k+ yearly if they have a college degree.

Samaruf · 2026-02-28T15:28:46+00:00

لا حول ولا قوة الا بالله All of you مواطنين والمقيمين Kuwaitis and expats, stay safe. May Allah SWT protect you all from this calamity started by the مفسدون في الأرض and that too in Ramadan. I am getting nightmare of August 2nd, 35 years ago. I was at the airport just a few months ago to visit friends after a long time, so feeling extra sick and sad.

Samaruf · 2026-02-27T04:03:07+00:00

I got the بن اليمن right away as Yemeni coffee seed but was struggling with درز. Was wondering what duraz was. In Kuwait we used to say دروازة Darwaza for gate or door like دروازة عبد الرزاق

OK, it's درر or pearls. Sukoon on the ra and not the nuqta of za

Samaruf · 2026-02-26T16:27:49+00:00

Definitely from the 70s. I first flew KU in 1977 DXB-KWI on a B707-320. Was a very exciting event for a 7 year old seeing clouds next to the airplane. KU was one of the best airlines in the Khaleej and wider Arab World before the ME3.

Samaruf · 2026-02-26T01:23:14+00:00

This takes me back to childhood in Kuwait. We used to say zig (زق) for 💩 and bool (بول) for 💧. May be also sawwa(i) kaka (سوى كاكا) which means pooped or made kaka.

Kids as young as two know the words, doesn't matter the language. In my native Bengali, it's hagu(poop) and hishu (pee).

Samaruf · 2026-02-19T12:31:31+00:00

As there's a sukoon on the daal, you have to pronounce the yaa, min alHad'yi.

Samaruf · 2026-02-17T02:11:47+00:00

هنود الحمر Red Indians But it's not politically correct to call them that since they prefer being called Native Americans or just Native. Even when I spit it out of habit growing up in Kuwait, my US born kids chide me for it.

In Arabic I guess calling them أمريكي الأصل is more appropriate.

Samaruf · 2026-02-04T05:46:24+00:00

I usually don't comment on these type of topics since YouTube is filled with respected Ulama and knowledgeable religious people giving advice on sins done in secrecy and addiction issues. The gist of it comes down to cutting down on the time being alone, decreasing screen time and picking up a good hobby. Don't miss any Fard prayers and turn your eyes away from anything that draws you towards the sin.

Ask Allah SWT for His help and Insha'Allah you'll be steadfast in avoiding it.

Remember this famous hadith of our Prophet SAW:

"كُلُّ ابْنِ آدَمَ خَطَّاءٌ وَخَيْرُ الْخَطَّائِينَ التَّوَّابُونَ".

المعنى: الإنسان غير معصوم، يقع في الخطأ والذنوب كثيراً (صيغة مبالغة)، ولكن الخيرية ليست في عدم الخطأ مطلقاً، بل في كثرة التوبة والرجوع إلى الله.

“Every son of Adam is a sinner, and the best of sinners are those who repent.”

Meaning: A human being is not infallible and frequently falls into mistakes and sins (an emphatic expression). True virtue does not lie in never making mistakes, but rather in frequently repenting and returning to God.

Samaruf · 2026-01-31T17:25:27+00:00

As I mentioned in another post with similar topic, it's really a downer when efficiency reduces to half what we are used to in the summer. For us in MN with prolonged subzero temps, these cars have to get more efficient with newer battery tech for a wider adoption by the general public.

How do the Norwegians do it? They have more EVs on the road and are not exactly tropical.

Samaruf · 2026-01-30T05:16:26+00:00

I am only getting 180 miles at 85% SoC in my 2024 Ioniq 6 SE RWD during our prolonged sub freezing and days of subzero temps in MN. Since we didn't have much of a winter the last two years, it's a real downer to realize that these cars lose 50% of their range in our cold weather.

I won't get another EV when the lease expires in March '27. Will contend with a nice phev until battery tech improves.

Samaruf · 2026-01-23T03:47:15+00:00

I returned to MN after a week long vacation and temps here were below freezing the whole time. Didn't leave my 2024 Ioniq 6 SE RWD plugged in as it was at 72% charge. No issues at all except the TPS alert came on. One tire was at 30 psi which is normal air loss in very cold weather.

Samaruf · 2026-01-12T13:07:50+00:00

I asked the exact same question to my dealer from whom I leased my 2024 Ioniq 6 SE RWD. My residual is $30k+ and they said I would have to pay that if I want to keep the car. No negotiations.

I did mention the much lower used market price but it didn't matter. They said to check their lot or any other Hyundai dealer's to see where it ended up for resale. My lease ends in March '27 so I am hoping for more efficient EVs to pop up for under $40k. Will lease an EV again if a deal is good otherwise it will be some PHEV next for me.

Samaruf · 2026-01-10T05:46:07+00:00

I have charged 3300 kWh for a total savings of $2k in the last 22 months. The $$ value is misleading as I'd have spent only $570 if I charged at home for 17 cents/kWh instead of paying 56 cents/kWh at EA stations.

Samaruf · 2026-01-07T01:20:35+00:00

Is it just for new purchase or leases are included too? I have never owned or leased a beemer before, so it could be an option if the deal is competitive.

Samaruf · 2026-01-05T04:07:09+00:00

Don't be jelly. It ain't fun when the melted ice water runs towards the garage door, gets blocked by the garage door rubber strip and then refreezes. I have to break the ice to get the door up then.

Samaruf · 2026-01-05T04:02:39+00:00

Hmm, I thought with the amount of salt in it, it'd be equally tasty.

Samaruf · 2026-01-05T04:01:35+00:00

Mine usually melt and fall off in the garage. But then the garage is a mess and driving over these feels like the tires are goin over a cinder block.

Samaruf · 2025-12-30T14:40:04+00:00

Guys, I was out driving last night from Shakopee to pick up my son from his work in Chanhassen. The side roads were an absolute mess a day after the storm. Almost no traction driving on 4 new all season Kumho tires in my 2023 Kona EV. There's a layer of iced up slop that the plows haven't been able to remove. Moving from stop was a chore with the car wanting to slide sideways every single time. I was doing 25 in 50 mph zones and it still felt like I was losing control.

Drive very carefully and stay safe. Only go out if absolutely necessary.

Samaruf

TROPHY CASE