What does "I guess" mean? Does it mean yes or no?
“I guess.” has made it’s way into the American lexicon and I guess it means, “I don’t know for certain but if I had to guess — based on the available information and my experience, training, and prejudices — I’d say XXX is the answer.A true “guess” (such as a coin flip) is random; the punter has no way of knowing if one answer (guess) is better than another. In the case of a coin flip, his or her guess has a 50/50 chance of being correct. If a die is rolled, the chances diminish to 1/6 etc.“I guess” implies it is not random. When someone says, “I guess”, they are in effect giving you what they believe to be the correct answer. But it is not an unequivocal ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
Is it offensive for a non-Muslim to say as-salamu alaykum to his Muslim friends?
No, there is nothing against doing so. On the contrary, it is always pleasant to be welcomed in your own tongue (in case you're native Arabic speaker especially while traveling) or by your cultural/religious greeting. It is good to see non-Muslims show interest in our religion/culture by using as-salamu alaykum as greeting or asking questions. As-salamu alaykum is an arabic and islamic greeting meaning Peace be upon you. There is no way you can be offensive while saying it unless you're trying to make fun of it or the person you're saying it to.If you say it to someone and ended up butchering the phrase, we usually will take pleasure and amusment in teaching you how to properly say it and might as well try to teach some other Arabic words that contains some of our difficult letters that non-Arabic speaker usually fails miserably to pronounce.Hope that helps :)
How do I deal with people who won't take no for an answer?
How do I deal with people who won't take no for an answer?You don’t.If you say “No” and the person won’t accept it, it is not your business to make them happy. Walk away.The reason people refuse to accept No for an answer, is because that want you to change your No into Maybe, and finally a Yes. The problem is, your initial/right/true/intuitive response was No, and they failed to respect it. The problem lies with them, not with you.Those who know no boundaries, no honor, no respect are really good at letting a No fly over their head, and continue to insist to get their way. Psychos are especially skilled at that. Just ask any victim of violence.And that’s why it’s not your responsibility nor obligation to deal with such people.There are a lot of respectful people in the world who’d enjoy your company and be honored by your presence. Let go of those who want you to discount and discredit your own opinion, in favor of giving them what they want. Yes?