It's my birthday-another year and this journey shall check in to its silver jubilee celebrations or perhaps, if I were to breathe my last, cause my body to rot in the bosoms of earth and alter merry making to an interminable sojourn of regret and lamentation? This is one question that my mind dismisses as 'too abstract' whereas the heart swears by its absoluteness. Death doesn't concern them, it's the timing that does. If I were to listen to the former, zest and amusement would be my priority; but if my conscience wins the debate, I'll discover how unworthy, remorseless and thankless a creature I've been, that I'll leave the world in just a piece of cloth and a handful of wailing relatives behind!
What is it that foresees my soul yearning for God's mercy when its physical form, the body, revelled in His all encompassing benevolence in each passing moment?
Did I usurp someone's interest? No!
Was a child orphaned by me? Never!
Were my actions responsible for my parents' humiliation? I don't think so!
Did I spread malice in His land, attribute slander to a chaste man? No! I didn't..
I've been a good human being, or so I believe? But ask me if the Lord's grace had been reciprocated by indebted prostrations, or if some amount of my wealth had gone to the underprivileged, if I'd canceled a meeting to rescue my parents from the pangs of loneliness, whether I surprised a poor relative by my visit to his shanty home or most importantly, did I respect the unmatchable sacrifice of a man who readily bathe not only himself but his family and companions in blood and dishonour to protect and guide feeble minds like me from erring and going astray from God's path ?
Imam Hussain (A.S) refused allegiance to the tyrant Yazid's (L.A) immoral, unjust and pathetic ambitions thus showing how important it is to stand against oppression; have I done enough for those who made it to the grave much before leaving their cradle? The answer perhaps makes my head hang low with shame and disgust..
I have lived a comfortable life, if not luxurious, and have enjoyed most bounties effortlessly. There hasn't been a time where I feared a bullet piercing my skull or a bomb ripping my flesh into threads. Or found my lips struggling to wish 'Khuda Hafiz' to my loved ones, for I'm always sure they'd return in a sound state. Nor has there been an instance when I was attacked for carrying the flag of Islam, the hijab, on my head; a way of life that my ummah in troubled countries could only dream of..
Every evening, my family sits together in the comforts of our living area while sipping tea as we navigate through various news channels almost habitually.Not to mention, we do discuss current affairs as if our opinions will make a difference to the society. Call it the couch potato mentality if you want but doing aimless idle talks seems prettier than leaving our bed of roses to enter a domain of the oppressed. A territory that marks its carnival of brutality by spreading blood instead of colours and where shrilling cries make up the music ! These are the lands of the downtrodden, suppressed people who are punished despite innocence..Be it the sinless people of Gaza, Kashmir, Palestine, Lebanon or Afghanistan- they all have one thing in common -they are hurt not by the unbelievers but their own people, the Muslims.
Shocked??
Yes, it is we who are responsible for their plight. Our silence is what destroys their lives more than the rockets thrown by the Zionists that rip them apart. We are the modern version of the people of Kufa and probably have no right to shed tears for the sufferings of the holy Ahlul-Bayt (pbut) , because we love being silent spectators to the atrocities committed upon our own brethren. We are what the Holy Qur'an warned the believers of, the hypocrites. Condemning Zionism and sympathising with the victims is what we find more comfortable than extending a hand of support, a hug of comfort to the helpless and using our might against the oppressor seems a troublesome idea..We'd rather wait and watch for the promised Savior of mankind, Imam Mahdi (ajtf), to come and wipe the earth clean off all impurities;after all ordinary mortals like us can only pray for his early reappearance, right?. Perhaps, the root cause of all the evils present in our society is this cowardice . It is our refusal to support the truth that is making the enemy stronger and delaying our Imam's return. If we truly wanted him to come to us, we would do things that would please him and refrain from what is forbidden. We cannot sympathise with the people of Gaza when our days begin with Nescafe and end with Coca Cola. I consider this as the height of hypocrisy that makes us want to get Israel financially stronger (how else you kill a reptile than by breaking its backbone?) while we curse its policies towards its neighboring Muslim countries. If we cannot control our worldly desires and strive for the Right Path, who knows when the Time comes, we'll actually grab a sword and (God forbid) fight against Imam Mahdi!
The time shall soon come when our beloved Imam would grace our sights but it's only our actions that will either lead us to obey him or reject The Truth. Nonetheless, it is never too late, we all have been blessed with the Divine Light that originates from the love of the Holy Ahlul Bayt (pbut) and stems in our hearts. Polish that force with the remeberance of Allah (swt) and speak the truth as the Prophets did, stand up against oppression as taught by the Imams; remember what Allah (swt) says in the Quran, "Allah will not change your state unless you wish to do such yourselfs !" Would have Imam Khomeini been able to bring about such a huge revolution in Iran if it was not for the presence of the Spirit of Allah, the Mahdavian spirit in his heart that reflected in his actions too?? Aren't the handful people of Hezbollah, even with their insufficient means of arms and ammunitions, making Israel taste dirt with defeat? Isn't President Ahmedinejad's challenge to a giant like U.S with his nuclear progress a message for us that we just need to take a step forward and the path to victory would be paved by Allah (swt) ?
It is not enough to cry upon the fact that we weren't present to aide our Master Hussain when the sad event of Karbala happened. We're the representatives of Allah on this earth and so have been assigned of different tasks to perform. Build your characters in such a way that our present Imam himself calls upon us to be in his army, and what better way than delivering truth and spreading justice for the sake of his pleasure..Fight with your temptations like you would've fought if present on the day of Ashura and propogate justice and resist oppression as if the whole earth is Karbala!
May Allah (swt) infuse our spirits with the passion to tongue the right speech, hands to deliver the desired actions, a sight to differ between good and evil and ears that don't let the complaints of the destitute go unheard. May we humans, irrespective of our faith, unite to defend the world under the flag of Muhammed, with the spark of his beloved Ali, mercifulness like Hasan and Hussain's and bravery of that of Maula Abbas until the Awaited Savior of mankind, His Last Hujjat Imam Mahdi (ajtf) comes down to lead us to Heaven's bay, Ameen!
What is it that foresees my soul yearning for God's mercy when its physical form, the body, revelled in His all encompassing benevolence in each passing moment?
Did I usurp someone's interest? No!
Was a child orphaned by me? Never!
Were my actions responsible for my parents' humiliation? I don't think so!
Did I spread malice in His land, attribute slander to a chaste man? No! I didn't..
I've been a good human being, or so I believe? But ask me if the Lord's grace had been reciprocated by indebted prostrations, or if some amount of my wealth had gone to the underprivileged, if I'd canceled a meeting to rescue my parents from the pangs of loneliness, whether I surprised a poor relative by my visit to his shanty home or most importantly, did I respect the unmatchable sacrifice of a man who readily bathe not only himself but his family and companions in blood and dishonour to protect and guide feeble minds like me from erring and going astray from God's path ?
Imam Hussain (A.S) refused allegiance to the tyrant Yazid's (L.A) immoral, unjust and pathetic ambitions thus showing how important it is to stand against oppression; have I done enough for those who made it to the grave much before leaving their cradle? The answer perhaps makes my head hang low with shame and disgust..
I have lived a comfortable life, if not luxurious, and have enjoyed most bounties effortlessly. There hasn't been a time where I feared a bullet piercing my skull or a bomb ripping my flesh into threads. Or found my lips struggling to wish 'Khuda Hafiz' to my loved ones, for I'm always sure they'd return in a sound state. Nor has there been an instance when I was attacked for carrying the flag of Islam, the hijab, on my head; a way of life that my ummah in troubled countries could only dream of..
Every evening, my family sits together in the comforts of our living area while sipping tea as we navigate through various news channels almost habitually.Not to mention, we do discuss current affairs as if our opinions will make a difference to the society. Call it the couch potato mentality if you want but doing aimless idle talks seems prettier than leaving our bed of roses to enter a domain of the oppressed. A territory that marks its carnival of brutality by spreading blood instead of colours and where shrilling cries make up the music ! These are the lands of the downtrodden, suppressed people who are punished despite innocence..Be it the sinless people of Gaza, Kashmir, Palestine, Lebanon or Afghanistan- they all have one thing in common -they are hurt not by the unbelievers but their own people, the Muslims.
Shocked??
Yes, it is we who are responsible for their plight. Our silence is what destroys their lives more than the rockets thrown by the Zionists that rip them apart. We are the modern version of the people of Kufa and probably have no right to shed tears for the sufferings of the holy Ahlul-Bayt (pbut) , because we love being silent spectators to the atrocities committed upon our own brethren. We are what the Holy Qur'an warned the believers of, the hypocrites. Condemning Zionism and sympathising with the victims is what we find more comfortable than extending a hand of support, a hug of comfort to the helpless and using our might against the oppressor seems a troublesome idea..We'd rather wait and watch for the promised Savior of mankind, Imam Mahdi (ajtf), to come and wipe the earth clean off all impurities;after all ordinary mortals like us can only pray for his early reappearance, right?. Perhaps, the root cause of all the evils present in our society is this cowardice . It is our refusal to support the truth that is making the enemy stronger and delaying our Imam's return. If we truly wanted him to come to us, we would do things that would please him and refrain from what is forbidden. We cannot sympathise with the people of Gaza when our days begin with Nescafe and end with Coca Cola. I consider this as the height of hypocrisy that makes us want to get Israel financially stronger (how else you kill a reptile than by breaking its backbone?) while we curse its policies towards its neighboring Muslim countries. If we cannot control our worldly desires and strive for the Right Path, who knows when the Time comes, we'll actually grab a sword and (God forbid) fight against Imam Mahdi!
The time shall soon come when our beloved Imam would grace our sights but it's only our actions that will either lead us to obey him or reject The Truth. Nonetheless, it is never too late, we all have been blessed with the Divine Light that originates from the love of the Holy Ahlul Bayt (pbut) and stems in our hearts. Polish that force with the remeberance of Allah (swt) and speak the truth as the Prophets did, stand up against oppression as taught by the Imams; remember what Allah (swt) says in the Quran, "Allah will not change your state unless you wish to do such yourselfs !" Would have Imam Khomeini been able to bring about such a huge revolution in Iran if it was not for the presence of the Spirit of Allah, the Mahdavian spirit in his heart that reflected in his actions too?? Aren't the handful people of Hezbollah, even with their insufficient means of arms and ammunitions, making Israel taste dirt with defeat? Isn't President Ahmedinejad's challenge to a giant like U.S with his nuclear progress a message for us that we just need to take a step forward and the path to victory would be paved by Allah (swt) ?
It is not enough to cry upon the fact that we weren't present to aide our Master Hussain when the sad event of Karbala happened. We're the representatives of Allah on this earth and so have been assigned of different tasks to perform. Build your characters in such a way that our present Imam himself calls upon us to be in his army, and what better way than delivering truth and spreading justice for the sake of his pleasure..Fight with your temptations like you would've fought if present on the day of Ashura and propogate justice and resist oppression as if the whole earth is Karbala!
May Allah (swt) infuse our spirits with the passion to tongue the right speech, hands to deliver the desired actions, a sight to differ between good and evil and ears that don't let the complaints of the destitute go unheard. May we humans, irrespective of our faith, unite to defend the world under the flag of Muhammed, with the spark of his beloved Ali, mercifulness like Hasan and Hussain's and bravery of that of Maula Abbas until the Awaited Savior of mankind, His Last Hujjat Imam Mahdi (ajtf) comes down to lead us to Heaven's bay, Ameen!
