You'll be my love forever ..

My son Mohammed Ebrahim is all a couple of years old and his restlessness never ceases to amaze me. He’s one of those kinds of children who you want to put to sleep when you’re tired but the moment they doze off, you yearn to have them awake, back to being normal-being mischievous. So last night, when he had been jumping on the bed, I tried to put him to sleep by cradling him on my lap and used a lullaby to calm his senses, yet the moment my voice refused to be heard, he’d open his eyes and gave a smile that was angelic and sinister at the same time. I knew he wasn’t ready to retire so soon; after a good one hour or so, he came up with a demand. Ebrahim wanted to hear a story while resting his head on my bosom-he loved listening to my heartbeats, I knew, but this time I decided upon a story that even my heart would find difficult to serve properly!

It’s a story- story of a battle fought by a small group of people against a huge army. These were the men who arose to give humanity a lesson against tyranny and oppression; and they had no wherewithal of arms or ammunitions except the inspiration that their Lord’s pleasure is all that they ever sought! Their families accompanied them despite knowing the men will be slained and the women, children would be tortured exhaustively. You may wonder why, it’s because when a tyrant raises his sword to suppress the innocents, God inspires even the most delicate of His creations, the women and children to bear witness and let the world know the truth. So, they put up their tents in a desert like place of Karbala where there was a river flowing a few yards away.  The rivals knew about the presence of their families and their evil minds conceived a terrible plan. The strategy was to acquire control over the river so that these men of valour would either die out of thirst or could be emotionally exploited by hearing the cries of their families for water. But perhaps they were unaware of the fact that this small army which was headed by Imam Hussain, the beloved grandson of the Prophet (p.b.u.t), comprised of his true friends, siblings and sons who harboured an unflinching spirit to blacken the face of injustice so that the ideology to encourage brotherhood, peace and the zeal to overcome obstacles with awe inspiring leaps of faith could be served to mankind for perpetuity.

A night before martyrdom, Imam Hussain gathered his companions and said, “May Allah grant all of you a good reward. I think that the day of our fighting with this army has arrived. I permit all of you to go away, there is no restriction from me and you can take advantage of the darkness of the night,” he turned off the lamp so that his companions do not feel ashamed of taking their first step. But there wasn’t a single man among them who would trade their honour to die by his side for material pursuits and they said, “Should we go away to live after you? We pray to Allah that the time may not come when you may be killed and we may remain alive; what a shame to live the life which is without you!"

The battle began on the 10^th day of Mohurrum, the first month of the Islamic year, and it saw each of the 72 martyrs fighting individually in a way that seemed purely divine, as if they had come to the battlefields wearing shrouds that were meant for humans but wings designed for the angels.  Perhaps, their spirituality had ascended to a station where it was their bodies trapped in a soul that sought the Creator Himself. All of them fought from morning till an hour before sunset. Their leader Hussain himself went to comfort his comrades during their last moments or came to collect their bodies those who were mowed to pieces by the stampeding horses. When he went to console his brother Abbas in his last moments, the Imam took his brothers’ head on his lap but the latter moved away his head and the Imam sadly inquired, “why are you preventing me from comforting you?” and the badly wounded Abbas, with an arrow in his eyes and hands that had been severed off his body, said, “O master, why should I be comforted in death by you while no one will be there to comfort you when you die?”

The fighting continued till they all reached their heavenly destination one after the other, even young children and suckling infants readily accepted arrows on their parched throats. Imam Hussain stood alone on the plains of Karbala and gave one last sermon to call the infidels to the right path before their hands become stained by his pristine blood. But souls meant for damnation and curse are destined to be doomed forever and the heedless crowd of over thousand soldiers pounced upon the sublime, infallible Imam. Some pelted stones; others shot arrows and stabbed him with swords. The attack was so gruesome that when he fell to the ground, his divine body rested on arrows and he said to His Lord, “O Allah, I have left the whole world in your desire.  I accepted the orphanage of my children in your remembrance.  If in your love my body is mangled in to pieces, even then my wounded heart will be in your quest.”

Indeed, Imam Hussain was an exponent of human freedom, self sacrifice and justice; it is with the event of Karbala that we understand that Islam is the religion of peace and we must reject the monarchic representation of Islam. I’m reminded of Dr.Allama Iqbal’s mellifluous words when he said, “I have learnt the secret of the Quran from Hussain.  From his fire I treasured flames of faith.”

Women as His Blessings

It is said that ‘change is the essence of life’ and that a person can never be physically, mentally or even spiritually the same over the span of years. You could say that evolution is natural for both genders but a deeper thought unravels the series of change a girl bears throughout her life.

Allah (swt) has addressed the girls as His Mercy whereas the boys have been referred as His bounty for man; therefore it is said that men will be questioned on the Day of Judgement for the bounties they were blessed with (the number of sons) whereas His Mercy is infinite and that is something that will rescue him on the day when no soul shall help the other.

Now what do we mean? Is it that girls have been awarded the distinction of interceding on their parents’ behalf? The answer is not a sure yes but there are a number of hadiths reported by the Prophet of Islam –a mercy on mankind- that show how a well raised daughter transforms many lives at one go. 

To begin with, female infanticide was rampant during the Age of Ignorance i.e before the arrival of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s) and it continued, albeit secretly, despite the advent of Islam and the Archangel Jibra’eel descended on earth with a verse that described the shattering experience mankind will have to suffer on the Day of Judgement and when the female child will be asked for what sin was she buried alive; it was clear for every sensible man that killing a female child due to fear of poverty, disgrace or humiliation was not acceptable in Islam.The Prophet said that ,” a pregnant woman receives the reward of fasting during the day and worshipping at night throughout her pregnancy,” and we all know that this reward is irrespective of the unborn child’s gender, which obviously proves that girls are as good as boys, or perhaps better.

When she reaches puberty, she becomes a source of comfort for her parents and has been reported by the Prophet as the one who will act as a shield for her parents in this world and in the hereafter (against hellfire) as well. The Prophet himself had only one daughter, Fatima-Az-Zahra, who was so dear to him that he made it a point to first greet her and then leave for the mosque; she was so beloved to him that she was awarded the title of being ‘Umm Abeeha’ for the motherly warmth and affection she’d shower upon him. His love for his daughter only symbolises the beauty of having a blessing whose profoundness is perhaps still unknown to us.

Next, when she’s finally married off, the girl becomes an equal for her partner in every walk of life. There is a tradition reported from the Prophet of peace (p.b.u.h) that when a man and his wife look at each other with love, Allah’s blessings descend upon them. In fact, another tradition urges the men to help their wives in their household matters to earn better rewards, thereby securing the comfort of women. Moreover, on the occasion of Hajjatul-Wida (The Farewell Hajj) Rasulullah among other advices said with regard to women; "0 People! fear Allah with regard to your wives. You have taken them into your possession with the permission of Allah. This hadith clearly admonishes man not to abuse his authority over woman and to fear his Creator in regard to his dealings with them as Allah has placed them in his trust, by making them lawful for him through the sacred bond of nikah. If the husband maltreats them, in reality he is misappropriating the trust that Allah has entrusted to him, what an honorable position Islam has secured for women that Allah himself takes their affairs as His responsibility!

The great Revolutionary leader of Iran, Imam Khomeini (r.A) said that,” if nations were deprived of courageous women who reared true human beings, they would decline and collapse,” thus explaining the important role of women in Islam; for it’s only the honor of a woman who has been honored the responsibility of inculcating exemplary moral values in her children which in turn helps in creating a peaceful society. And there is much reward for this, as evident by the tradition of the Prophet where he says, “"A woman, from her pregnancy to the time of weaning her child is like one protecting the boundaries of the Islamic State; and if she expires during this period she attains the reward of martyrdom. When the woman breastfeeds then on every gulp of milk she receives the reward as though she has granted life to a being and when she weans her child then the angels pat her on her back saying "Congratulations! all your past sins have been forgiven; now start all over again."

To conclude, I might as well add a quote from a scholar who said, “Allah has raised the status of women from below the earth that He has placed heaven beneath her feet.” And how true is that!!!

Hijab is Modesty Personified

                                                                            

Some years ago, Layla was a free spirited girl who made and broke her own rules like any other teenager with the only exception being her choice of dressing. Again, there was no patriarchal dictatorship involved here; it was of course her own decision and there was nothing in the world, not even the stares of women folk (yeah, not men!)that could stop her. The recognition earned by her attire didn’t go unnoticed when a semi clad female acquaintance walked up to her and asked, “Don’t you feel suffocated wearing all this?” It was rather rude for someone to pinpoint a person’s choice when that’s thoroughly fair for one to be comfortable in the skin she’s in. At first, layla couldn’t understand how can someone feel choked up in a loose knee length overcoat and a scarf that conceals her crowning glory. It was hijab, her pride. She tried explaining that being a Muslimah, she has been chosen by God as the flag bearer of her religion because her attire is an indication of the tenets of her faith. It uplifts the womankind to heights of human perfection because it’s only the woman who has been honoured by the responsibility of making a generation succeed the other, to be accepted for the person she is and is too outstanding to be reduced as a mere plaything. The one meter cloth that is tied around her head is what, according to her, distinguishes her from the hypocrites who believe that Islam has transformed the women into slaves or animals. The fact is that these very people are to be blamed for the ruthless portrayal of women as objects of desire, who believe that a woman’s greatness must be defined by the amount of skin exposure and not by the supremacy of her thoughts, character or behaviour. They’re of the opinion that Islam treats its women like animals; she wondered if these very people ever visited a zoo and saw any dressed up mammalian-nudity obviously symbolizes the beast and it’s definitely human to preserve her modesty. 

Again, hijab isn't something that must make the woman feel less fortunate or retrograding than her other non-hijabi counterparts. It allows a woman to dress modestly in a manner that doesn’t call for unwanted attention from strangers, and walk down the road with utmost dignity otherwise it doesn’t make much sense to come out in public wearing a long, black Halloween like super loose or tight costume with loud make up and come across as a blabbermouth. To be precise, good behaviour and humility are a prerequisite for fulfilling the rights of hijab. Layla says that she has always admired The Queen of England as she is impeccably dressed from head to toe and comes across as a very sophisticated lady; but wonders what makes them victimize the religion of Islam alone-perhaps it is the quality of an insecure, ill raised community that aims to achieve glory by suppressing their women in the name of liberation. When you’re free to wear whatever you want, what makes you question our decision to cover up?

How Do We Forget This?

How Do We Forget This?

Imam al Sadiq (as) narrates that Allah (swt) says:

“By My glory, My sublimity, My majesty and My ascension upon My throne; I shall cut-off, by despair, the hope of anyone who places their hope in other than Me. I shall clothe him with the garb of degradation in front of people; I shall avert him away from My proximity; I shall distance him from ever joining Me. Does he place expectations in other than Me during hardships whilst (full control of) the hardships are in My hands? Does he hope in other than Me and contemplate knocking the door of others whilst I hold the keys to the doors when they are locked? And My door is open to whosoever may implore me. Who is it that has had hope in Me in his misfortunes and I have let him down?! Who is it that has expected from Me in adversity and I have severed his hope in Me? I have preserved the hopes of my slaves but they are not satisfied with my preservation. I have filled My heavens with those who do not tire from glorifying Me; and have commanded them not to shut the doors between Me and My servants, but they (My servants) do not have confidence in My words. Does he (My slave) not know that, when a misfortune from among My misfortunes strikes him, none but Me has the ability to relieve it, except by My permission. So why is it that I see him unmindful of Me?! I granted him, by My generosity, that which he did not even request, then I snatched it away from him; yet he does not ask Me to return it, rather he asks those other than Myself! Does he reckon that, despite Me granting initially before being asked, I would not respond to the one who begs Me after being asked? Am I such a miser that My slave has deemed Me to be miserly? Do generosity and open-handedness not behove Me? Are pardon and mercy not in My hands? Am I not suitable for hopes? Who aside from Me can break them? Do those who hope not then fear in placing hopes in those other than Me?

Had all the inhabitants of My heavens and the inhabitants of My earth, all wished together; and had I granted them all fully in accordance with their hopes – My kingdom would not have decreased even to the amount of one grain. How can a kingdom diminish whilst I am its curator? Alas, what an ill-fate for those who despair in My mercy; and what misery for he who disobeys Me and does not fear Me’”.

What promises, man?

 Today, I am in a destructive mood. All of a sudden, my gut feeling wants me to act like a rebel and do away with everyone who acts against me. That feeling of being betrayed with a promise is inexplicable in words; not that I haven’t ever heard of something like ‘promises-are-meant-to-be-broken’ but realizing that someone gave you a word (that something will be done) for his own selfish purpose, it makes me think lowly of that person so much so that I wish to put his name under brackets of suspicion for future references.

I’ve learnt a lesson. The next time he comes asking for help, I’ll straightaway return him with a big ‘NO’ –as big as it could be-promise breakers can’t be deserving of my admiration. Period.

But wait, I just heard the call for prayer and a thought just struck me that need to be mentioned here. I did not wake for fajr today—why? I had been busy with my own rendezvous last night and it was difficult to wake up in the morning. The reason doesn’t end there, the current stability of my life is to be blamed for- I have no reasons to worry at all- I have the entire day to perform its Qadha ..God can wait, no?

That’s me today.

But the person I am when afflicted with sorrow is drastically different:- I go around being kind to friends and foes alike, I find religious songs more mellifluous than other genres (that appear evil at that time) , being of aid to somebody unimportant seems alluring and optional prayers are performed with optimum zeal, commitments after commitments are piled up..Why? Because if I have to ask something from the Lord, I have to be the type He appreciates; and when my needs are answered, I revert back to my original ways of arrogance and self adoration.

Even then, God doesn’t stop His blessings on me, nor does He expose my fallacies before all those people who hold me in high regards.

And here I am, trying to rebuke the person who replied my generosity with his stinginess. A human cannot bear contempt from another human; and yet I believe it’s all right to take the Lord of the Worlds for granted?

Man's transition.

When I was a kid, I loved visiting my village; not with the intent of meeting our relatives back home or bathing in its pure, unadulterated habitat but to get a chance to experience the nature in its truest diversity during the 36 hour rail journey .I loved seeing the mountains with sun peeping from its behind, the large rivers gushing underneath, the serenity of the hills, flocks of sheep being guided through and trees alongside our track that seemed running in the opposite direction.  I would plant my cheeks on the train’s window and look in the reverse marvelling at the speed of those trees –some were short, others dense, perennial, tall etc; it actually seemed to me then that they were all running along us albeit in another direction.  But it wasn’t the case, and having realized the fact that it was we who were speeding ahead while the trees stood still, a grown up me dubbed that innocence as sheer stupidity.

Perhaps, stupidity would be a wrong word for it. You see, there are some things that people around teach you while there are other facts that are unravelled by a deep contemplating heart that is wrapped with past experiences. When I look back at the alacrity by which my life rushed by, I can visualize past events that run before my eyes like those trees whereas the truth is something else. It is me who went running by, turning a year older every year, with a kitty full of occurrences- good, bad, sweet, disappointing, bitter-and these events lay still- engraved in the bosoms of memory.

I’m reminded of one of the most beautiful sayings of a man I knew long before I learnt to recognize my own self, ..I’m not talking about my father but I am referring to his master and my guide Hazrat Ali Ibn Abi Talib (A.S). He said, “Man does not know where he came from or where is he going; he was created from a drop of dirty liquid and yet he walks around like he knows everything?”

The saying in itself may exhibit beauty and eloquence unheard of but it’s seriously ironical for materialistic people like us. We have no idea about our origin-what we were, how we came into existence, what was it like in our mother’s womb-and yet we struggle for fame, power, recognition like everything mighty under the sun belongs to us alone. What is it that makes us forget our nothingness (before we were born) so much so that we do not recognize those in their graves knowing that that is an inevitable reality, no matter how much you deny. And we continue to suppress others while paving our ways out for success and elevation?

Allah, the Glorified, in His book of Hadith-e-Qudsi says, “I did not create the children of Adam to be destroyed but to make them live forever.” And the best way to prolong your life- of the soul and not the body- is to correct your actions in accordance with things pleasurable to Allah (swt)- You see the equation works like this –

Good intentions  +  Good deed =  Rewards

Rewards  ↔  Heaven ↔  Eternity !!

Men I admire the most!!!

The Ultimate Leader of all times --Imam Khomeini

                         Wisdom Divine = Ayatollah Behjat

 America's Sore, Israel's Pain...Truly Muslim's Gain --Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

                   
 The most devout Muslim I ever met, may Allah bless his soul --Late Agha Nasiri --Ayatollah Sistani's Indian Representative!

My Superhero, the only true politician, leader with courage personified --Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad!

Hassan Nasrallah--Long live Hezbollah!!!

Trust One, fear none!

I was reading an article in one of the newspapers about a man who spent 23 years of his life saving drowning people - most of whom life seemed unkind and worthless and suicide appeared as the best form of cure to all the tortures of life; the man was indeed a real hero.I began wondering how much rewards will He be bestowed for his feat of saving so many lives when God says in the Holy Qur'an, "On that account We ordained for the Children of Isra`il that if any one slew a person - unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he slew the whole humanity: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the whole humanity. (5:32) The remembrance of these verses evoked a lot of feelings that led to the realization of God's supreme qualities of love, mercy, compassion and forbearance for His most erring creation called 'man'! The feeling that my Creator cannot stand even an iota of injustice being perpetuated to us made my very existence appear thankless and selfish. The reason being that we human beings, regardless of our Faith, lack the perseverance (in moments of crisis) to abide by His Will. What is it that we begin to question His approach towards "our" life even when the fact lies that it is Allah who created us even though we didn't deserve it. 

What favor had we done to Him that we were brought to existence as His most supreme creation unlike beasts who gorge on decomposed matter! It is sheer love, the kind of love that is 72 times more than that of a mother for her children..He wants to see us grow, have a family, friends, enjoy the bounties and return well pleased and well pleasing to Him. Just as a mother who sends her children to school expecting them to return home happy and with good grades. We getting good grades at school might make our parents boast before their friends about how hard they worked with us but that isn't the case with God..I mean, you can't think Gods of different religions will be presenting their respective worshippers' report card and showing off on the Final Day, right??

 He has the power to make a being perish into nothing and our disobedience towards Him must invoke a furious reaction from him because think of it, that is what we usually do:- supposing you solve somebody's difficult problem and she goes without thanking or even if she thanks at that time, she doesn't say "Salam" and ignores you the next time you both meet - what would you do? You straight away judge her as shameless and intend to severe off your ties with her. But that's you, a human..and unconditional mercy is what God is all about! 

When a blessing reaches us we revel in its joy and bathe ourselves with the pride that God chose us for His favor and you don't ever say ,"XYZ should've gotten it, he was more needy than me," but when a calamity strikes, you have the audacity to question His Decisions. This is the time you try to act more logical than the one who endowed you with logic!

 For example, during the time of Prophet Moses, a man came up to him and said," O Prophet, you say God talks to you on the mountain of Tur and that he solves your queries as well?" Prophet Moses replied, "Yes, is there anything you want to know?" And the man said, "Yes, I want you to ask your God if He created death to pair with life, why doesn't he kill the old ones alone (because they're of no use), what makes Him order the death of young kids, infants...How can He be so cruel?" The Prophet heard him and went to the mountain of Tur, supplicated for His Master and when it was time to engage in conversation, he popped up the question of that man; albeit scared because he was going to repeat that man's harsh words before the Lord of the Worlds! When he was done, God asked Him to go and tell that man that God will answer your questions in a few days' time so meanwhile he can create a garden as an activity. When the message reached the man, he shrugged off saying, " All right, let's see I'll do that if you say so!" 

Days passed by and the man got engrossed in cultivating a beautiful garden. One day, the man was strolling in his garden when he cast his glance over a beautiful bud that would bloom in some days. He liked it so much that he couldn't resist and plucked the bud for himself. Now when Prophet Moses went to meet God on the mountain of Tur, he was ordered to go meet the man and ask how is his gardening going and what does he do with the flowers? When the duo met again, he was asked about the lovely flowers he had cultivated in his garden and he said, " Well, they are all so beautiful in my eyes but there are some I love a lot and feel like carrying them with myself to my place!" The Prophet said, "But don't you feel bad plucking buds out of the stem, how could you?" And the man shot back, "What's wrong with that? I am the creator of that garden, I shall do anything with them! " Therefore, Prophet Musa smiled and said, "O man, when it is so easy to command your will upon the garden you just cultivated, why can't the Benevolent God exercise His will upon His creation and call the ones He loves the most back with Him?"

Having said that, what I mean is that when you're faced with hardships, do not think that God is displeased with you or it's a form of retribution for your misdeeds. He puts us through test so that we reach His nearness just like a mother who has a toddler who is just learning to walk. She makes the baby stand at a distance from her and keep clapping to call ,encourage the kid to walk and reach his mother. The baby takes a step and stumbles..the mother keeps cheering, "come on, good boy...come to mamma" and has her arms open for embrace. The child looks up at his mother's divine face and again stands up, takes a step or two, again falls down but the mother doesn't lose her faith and encourages the child to walk up to her...After repeated attempts, the child, despite all obstacles, reaches his beloved mother who hugs him and becomes the guardian!

This is what God does to us as well. We're made to suffer sometimes so that we can seek His help, renew our covenant with Him, seek His love and mercy and never get disheartened that our Lord is too far from us. In a Hadith e Qudsi God tells us ," When a believer takes one steps towards Me, I take 10 step towards him ; when he comes walking towards Me, I come running towards him!" He has utmost faith in us for our capability to endure testing times and likes to hear our voice so we plead before Him like we'd do to our momma to let us play some extra cricket for the day..!!!

 We must keep striving, despite a hundred odds, believing that He is waiting to embrace us with open arms; and once we reach God, we attain salvation and that' s when we become immune to the adversaries of life!

Moral of the story:- Next time you become hopeless with some worldly affair, bow your head in prostration and say," Glory be to Allah, and Praise be to Allah, and there is no God but Allah and Allah is Great!!!" And witness the sea of hope that will gush forth in your heart!!!

Are We Muslims?

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!

Journey towards God..

It's the month of Ramadan-a period where days are spent fasting and nights are devoted to glorifying the Lord of the worlds. It is in this month when the doors of mercy are open to the ones who aspire to gain nearness to their Creator. How heartening it is to witness  the sea of changes a crescent moon , marking the onset of the month of Ramadan, brings about in most of our brethren. Music gets replaced by Quranic recitations, charity overpowers extravagant desires, a call for prayer never goes unanswered, no backbiting and the mosques get overcrowded while multiplexes remain abandoned..


Everything looks surreal until yet another moon is sighted and that declares the arrival of Eid.-the day passes by with unmatched enthusiasm, merrymaking and revelry. Wait, did you notice the words I just used? You probably did but there's nothing strange about it you say because most festivals are synonymous with these words, aren't they? Yes, they are. But it makes no sense when you over indulge in certain acts on a particular day when you have been strictly abstaining from them during the past month. It's a deceit to the soul when you get back to your wrongful ways after having nourished it with all lawful acts that pleases The One who commands over all of us. How stupid it is to replace the word of God with nasty lyrics, to abandon His house for movies full of crap and forget the fact that there still remain people who are less fortunate and a little trim in your exorbitant party plans could actually help them to celebrate Eid  like a happier person! It's like we struggled to bathe ourselves in the radiance of His glory for a good 30 days and then suddenly run to seek refuge in Satan's castle of false promises!


Why is it that we claim to be God's servants when we're actually assisting Satan to take his revenge from the One we act to prostrate before? We know that this life and the hereafter are both ruled by the Most Supreme   yet we have become Satan's dummy with all the malice, pride, arrogance, deceitfulness, pretense and everything that the Divine Book has described Satan with..Why?? Because we believe life's meant to be enjoyed and turning towards Him for repentance is a business meant only for the oldies. As if you've already been told the time of your death and you go like," Okay, I'm gonna live till the age of 67, so I'll become pious and all that God wants me to when I turn 61!" What if God then reciprocates your reluctance to hail Him by saying," Carry on man, I won't listen to your prayers until then..I don't care whatever you're damned to!" Duh, we all know, whether we admit or not, that Allah is too compassionate to leave us embroiled in all the trauma and sufferings of this life! But still we act like we're never going to face Allah; yes, He's merciful but NOT when we KNOW what we're doing is wrong.


How do you find yourself in a position to ask for His forgiveness when you don't seem to mend your ways of erring? What kind of forgiveness do you seek from Him when we weren't willing to let go off a fellow brother's mistake who also happens to be the servant of God just like you! We keep talking about the shortness of this life, whether to enjoy or to prove ourselves to God is a different topic, but we don't realize the aftermath of breathing our last. Man keeps on planning and sketching how he'd like his future to be and keeps religious obligations at the farthest end of that picture..one spell from the angel of death and the next hour, you find yourself six feet below the earth!


I realized and interpreted this very helplessness of a human being during my friend's pregnancy. Till the time  she wasn't aware of her conception, she prayed and begged His Highness to grant her a son who she- as the then religious person -would educate and prepare to be one of Imam Mahdi's army-men. Anyways, when she got the confirmation of  her pregnancy she kind of continued with her thanksgiving prostrations and supplications but as soon as she entered the third trimester, a gnawing boredom, you could say Satan attacked her and she gave up everything good to non-stop music and other illogical pastimes. She knew she was going the wrong way, sometimes feared that Allah may take away His blessing- her unborn child- from her but despite all the guilt and remorse,  she failed to correct herself. When she entered the eighth month, she decided to tone down all those foolish acts and get back to reciting supplications and prayers, especially the night prayers called the Tahajjud and a supplication called Ziyarat-e-Ashura..She badly wanted to renovate herself spiritually when a thunderbolt struck her in the form of a premature delivery of just 32 weeks. She and her baby had been perfectly healthy until then.


As she  lay in the labor room, with pain inducing syringes on her right hand, she lamented the fact that it was she who had invited the misfortune and that her innocent unborn will have to bear the outcome of her misdeeds; it's indeed God's wrath on a selfish soul like her, she believed. Unwillingly though, she forced herself to believe  that she is definitely going to be ripped off the divine status of becoming a mother at the last moment . Nonetheless, she muttered Aytul Kursi and Naad-e-Ali as much as she could -she felt like the most shameless creature on earth, for she was invoking the benevolence of The One she had chosen to ignore before her own worldly pleasures!


Nevertheless, to her own astonishment, she passed the enduring pain of labor in a manner no one would've expected. The process was so smooth that she didn't even realize she'd already delivered. When she came to know she is finally done giving birth to a boy (like she had wished) she raised up her injected hands and exclaimed ,"Subhan Allah, Alhamdolillah Wa la Ilaha Ilallah Wa Allaho Akbar!" (Glory and Praise be to God who is the only One and the Greatest!)


To conclude, I'd compare this experience with the bigger , inevitable thing called death. How would've it been if I'd told myself to follow the Right Path at a certain age and just when I'd be getting to it, my visa to stay on this planet, would be terminated and I'd be laid to rest in the bosoms of earth..Perhaps, with the kind of record I put up while being alive, I cannot expect my corpse to "rest" in the grave...It'd surely invite a lot of rebuke, torment and chastisement from the angels. No amount of apologies would do to minimize the punishment nor would I get another chance like my friend did..I had battered my soul with injustice when it was made purely out of Divine Light!


Verily, God understands tears when the pain is too much for words. You don't have to go on saying sorry to your Maker all the time but just one single sorry that comes out sincerely with regret, and a pure intention of not repeating that sin again and you're assured to be safe in God's hands and wrapped in His love through this life and the Hereafter as well..


        -                                                             ---- Gulnaar F Khan