Knowing our limits

" Eyes cannot reach Him but He reaches the eyes. And He is the Incomprehensible, the All-Aware."

 آنکھیں اس کو نہیں پا سکتیں ہاں وہ خود آنکھوں تک پہنچتا ہے اور وہ بہت باریک بین اور ہمیشہ باخبر رہنے والا ہے۔

This verse seems to deepen our limited understanding of the unlimited Noor, His Noor. This verse uses the word الابصار which also means 'understanding' and 'vision' which means it is not in our capability that either with our eyes or our vision we comprehend the Supreme Being. It is only the limited understanding that He has himself given us that we may be able to understand. Though we can identify His existence but we can never totally comprehend.   

[Image Source]

Quran Says He is the light of the heavens and earth. His prophets A.S. are like a prism who make manifest all shades of His Noor for the people, and the willing hearts in turn can color themselves. 

We know Allah through all the attributes that He has taught us. I once asked a bunch of kids that after all why does Allah have so many names? I got a few stares in response initially though, but they could also guess that It was through them that we know Him. 

If we ponder a little further we realize that even His attributes that we know are those which we can understand in our context, i.e. we are the ones who sin so we know Him as the one who forgives. Similarly we are the ones who fall ill so we know Him as the one who gives shifa. There could be countless other attributes that we cannot understand in our context. Even for the attributes we know are not fully lucid for us. Like we know Him as the Creator, but how many things of which sort has He created? , can we comprehend? No! We only know the things He has taught us. So that being a perfect example of Eyes not being able to reach Him but He reaches the eyes. In fact that is he reason His quest becomes all the more interesting. It is الغیب (hidden) in nature that derives all the research and our quest to know more.

Same is the case with our efforts to attain his nearness, we can only have intention & efforts at our end the rest depends on Him.

And so the verse ends beautifully saying that He is incomprehensible for us but He knows everything! 

Looking forward to comments, corrections and suggestions. 

Emphasis In The Holy Quran

Many techniques of emphasis exist across various forms of expression. In phonetics for example a pause or a moment of silence is used for emphasis. Pause can be used in writing as well through a dash or ellipsis points(the three dots). Emphasis is also observed in details and expanded explanations. Similarly artists can create an emphasis in their painting using colors and contrasts, like a prominent portion in a drawing that captures first attention of the viewer. 

[Image Source]

Sculptures and architecture also has emphasis techniques, the emphasis is the shown sculpture needs no words to explain.

Similarly there is emphasis in photography, architecture, interior designing etc. too. Also children exercise emphasis by repeating a question or comment infinitely for the whole day or days or weeks! And the question has to be answered as many times! 

Hence we can conclude that emphasis/ repetition/ over statement is for importance, prominence, highlighting a certain thing and seeking attention. Also it is the beauty of any form of expression. 

The Holy Quran, the most sophisticated expression, has calculated verses and well ordered format. It also has emphasis; one of the way being "repetition". There are many kinds of repetitions in the Holy Quran like the repetition of certain phrases across Quran, repetition of sometimes a word or phrase in back to back verses and also repetition of concepts or incidents like the story of Hazrat Mosa A.S. mentioned at various places in chunks. Also there can be repetition of a verse/phrase across a Surah (like Surah Al-Rahman)Of course in a meaningful and sequenced divine Book like the Holy Quran this repetition is much significant means Allah is emphasizing certain points which require more attention. 

Just wondering about this bit, I thought that the verses that are repeated back to back, i.e. contiguously must be very important that Allah has stressed them to the point of mentioning them twice. I tried finding out how many verses are repeated in such a manner. As far as I have been able to dig out (though its not a personal effort) from various sites is that such repetitions occur at five places in the Holy Quran.

[Image Source]

Main concepts in Repeated verses:

All these are the things that take us away from Allah that have been stressed in these verses first being arrogance that comes due to ignoring the day of judgement or a decisive day in this world hence planing against Prophets. Second being the love of this world and worldly desires. Third being attitude towards problems or tough situations spiritual and worldly both. All these are the factors that might drive us away from our objective i.e. Allah

1. Allah has stressed that those who think their deeds will not be returned or paid back are in negligence and shall one day see for themselves. Hence they out of arrogance lay plans against Prophets which will all be in vain. Allah has stressed very strongly that you will see what you ignore with your own eyes! 

2. Those driven by worldly desires (takathur being abundance of wealth) shall see how useless and wasteful their activities were. This is an endless struggle for whomsoever falls into it. An endless struggle for worldly desire may help us pile up wealth but can never bring peace and happiness. No desire must be bigger than our love for Allah. The smaller objectives in life hence must be directed towards the bigger purpose. 

3. With every difficulty there is relief. For nations Allah sends Prophets when they are in a tough situation spiritually. For the individuals also there is relief with every difficulty maybe sometimes we ignore it due to negative thinking but as per the Holy Quran there always is relief with every difficulty. The first relief with the difficulty is within it i.e. you go through it for Allah! If we don't think positively in tough situations they may easily pull us away from Allah and lead us to hopelessness. 

The repeated Verses:

1. Surah Al-Takathur

[102:4] خبردار! تم ضرور جان لو گے۔

[102:5] پھر خبردار! تم ضرور جان لوگے۔

[102:4] Nay! you will soon come to know.

[102:5] Nay again! you will soon come to know.

2. Surah Al-Inshirah

[94:6] پس یقیناً تنگی کے ساتھ آسائش ہے-

[94:7] یقیناً تنگی کے ساتھ آسائش ہے-

[94:6] Surely there is ease after hardship.

[94:7] Aye, surely there is ease after hardship.

3. Surah Al-Naba

[78:5] خبردار! وہ ضرور جان لیں گے۔

[78:6] پھر خبردار! وہ ضرور جان لیں گے۔

[78:5] Nay, soon they will come to know.

[78:6] Nay, We say it again, they will soon come to know.

4. Surah Al-Qiyamah

[75:35] تجھ پر ہلاکت ہو۔ پھر ہلاکت ہو۔

[75:36] تجھ پر پھر ہلاکت ہو۔ پھر ہلاکت ہو۔

[75:35] ‘Woe unto thee! and woe again!

[75:36] ‘Then woe unto thee! and woe again!’

5. Surah Al-Muddathir

[74:20] پس ہلاکت ہو اُس پر، اُس نے کیسا اندازہ لگایا۔

[74:21] اُس پر پھر ہلاکت ہو، اُس نے کیسا اندازہ لگایا۔

[74:20] Ruin seize him! how he calculated!

[74:21] Ruin seize him again! how he calculated!

Looking forward to Corrections, comments and suggestions!

The Illuminating Verse!

Since the past one month this verse (part of the verse basically) remains somewhere at the back of my mind somehow, and every mention of نور or light (electricity load shedding even) makes me think about it. The verse is as given below:

Surah Al-Nur verse 36: "Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth"

The word نور exists in Urdu, Arabic and Persian. In Arabic it means light, In Urdu it means روشنی (light), تجلّی (transfiguration, manifestation), رونق (Beauty, Gorgeousness)

When we look up the Persian word 'نور' it means light and glory. 'النور ' 'The Light' is also one of the names/attributes of Allah the Almighty.

Light as described by English dictionaries is an entity that stimulates sight makes things visible. Physics suggests it as energy or particles called photons. But the light being mentioned in this verse requires 'vision' rather than 'sight'. Light as a natural agent also requires us to have sight, similarly Allah's light (نور) also requires something from us i.e. vision!

In the spiritual world 'light' is precisely referred to as guidance and 'darkness' (ظلمت) as absence of guidance or "ہدایت" This light is not just illumination or brightness but energy as well! positive energy. So this light has a broader meaning than just illumination, it means that in order to make sense of anything in our world we need to absorb this Noor (نور) according to our capability and willingness. Just like in order to see anything around us we need the light of the physical world similarly through Allah's Noor we can make sense of the things going on around us. Light travels in a straight line for the spiritual path to seek Allah's light we also need to tread the straight path (صراتِ مستقیم)

Light in the broader sense can be understood in three contexts:

1. The light around us
2. The light that is absorbed, i.e. we contain
3. The light that is reflected (ضیاء) (As by the Prophets and spiritually exalted people and through His holy books)

The light around us
A Momin (مومن)  must strive to absorb & retain this light through thick and thin, that is why the color of the flag of Prophet Muhammad S.A.W.W. was black! because it absorbs all light, all shades of the light. We require a lifetime to absorb and retain this light. Reminds me of a quote by Rumi:

"The wound is where the light enters your soul"

Well basically this depends upon the person, the wound can also be the place from where the entire light could exit as well! tough and trying situations would have different impact on two different hearts. So a willing heart might find light from any source experience or happening while an unwilling heart might chose to dwell in darkness. But its always around!

The light we absorb
Shown in our thoughts and actions.

Also in Mathnawi it is stated:

The light which shines in the eye
is really the light of the heart.
The light which fills the heart
is the light of God, which is pure
and separate from the light of intellect and sense.
Mathnawi 1:1126-7

The light that is reflected

Allah's light is manifested as divine guidance, Holy books, Prophets, spiritually exalted people who tread HIS path and so on.


Further references of The Light:

Al-Baqarah verse 257 says that there is no coercion in religion, Allah has sent His shariyah to distinguish between right and wrong. and in the very next verse Allah says that:

"Allah is the ally of those who believe. He brings them out from darknesses into the light. And those who disbelieve - their allies are Taghut. They take them out of the light into darknesses. Those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide eternally therein."

So the believers are promised Allah's help to move out of darkness into the Noor (The light)

In Surah Tauba Allah says:

They desire to put out the light of Allah with their mouths, and Allah insists on perfecting His light though the unbelievers are averse thereto. (9:33)

Hence this light is always there around us, willing hearts can absorb it and reflect it as well. Allah explicitly states that no human activity can put this light out, this is an affirming statement for us Alhamdulillah.

This light is the bigger purpose of life, this light is happiness, this light is the real beauty that we need to develop in ourselves and find in others, this light is the objective of life, this light is the destination. This light can be absorbed & retained with total surrender. Only then we can actually 'reflect' the light to others. Just disliking darkness is not enough to travel towards light we need to tread the 'straight path'.

Looking forward to corrections and suggestions!

Fearless brave hearts

I have read at a number places that the fear of failure is worse than failure itself. In fact we have to hold on to faith in two situations first when we have a fear that something wrong/bad might happen and secondly when something wrong/bad actually happens and we might grieve if we don't hold on to faith.

Talking about 'fear' and 'grief' this verse has been my childhood crush basically, back then I read it superficially in my Islamic studies book and thought very high of the people who have no fear and never grieve! though of them as some very brave and bold people:

This verse somehow reminded me of an instance of Iqbal's poetry:

Aaeen-e-Jawanmardan, Haq Goyi-o-Bebaki

Allah Ke Sheron Ko Ati Nahin Roobahi

Men bold and firm uphold the truth and let no fears assail their hearts:
No doubt, the mighty Lions of God Know no tricks and know no arts.

[Source of Poetry & its meaning]

The holy Quran says that they will neither fear nor will they grieve, which means that they will encounter tough situations but they shall not grieve, otherwise Allah might have said nothing shall happen to them that might cause them to grieve. 

Pretty recently I realized that this phrase ("on them shall come no fear, nor shall they grieve") repeats itself an numerous places, according to what I have researched it occurs at 13 places in different contexts. So I thought to explore how to become like someone who shall have no fear nor shall he grieve. These are the points I have extracted based on the verses mentioned later on.

• Accept guidance that comes from Allah in the form of Prophets/Holy Books (almost three verses emphasize on this) Those who have faith and keep correcting/reforming themselves. (i.e. they need not be perfect)
• Believe in the day of judgement and do good deeds, whatever your religion might be
• Submit yourself to Allah's will.
• Spend wealth for the cause of Allah (secretly & openly) without causing injury or insult.
• Those who do not fear to lose their life for Allah's cause.
• Be happy for whatever God has given you.
• Remain steadfast once you have accepted that ‘Our Lord is Allah’.
• Be Allah's friend (i.e. sincerity towards his religion, his people)

Al-Baqarah Chapter 2 : Verse 39

"We said: ‘Go forth, all of you, from here. And if there comes to you guidance from Me, then whoso shall follow My guidance, on them shall come no fear, nor shall they grieve.’"

[Adam and Eve had wronged themselves and Allah shows mercy on them and tells them to accept & follow  guidance whenever it is given to them so they will have no fear nor will they grieve]

Al-Baqarah Chapter 2 : Verse 63

"Surely, the Believers, and the Jews, and the Christians and the Sabians — whichever party from among these truly believes in Allah and the Last Day and does good deeds — shall have their reward with their Lord, and no fear shall come upon them, nor shall they grieve."

[Salvation does not depend on religion, it depends on having a clean and clear heart because there can be many people to whom the message of Islam has not reached properly]

Al-Baqarah Chapter 2 : Verse 113

"Nay, whoever submits himself completely to Allah, and is the doer of good, shall have his reward with his Lord. No fear shall come upon such, neither shall they grieve."

[Here again in the previous verses Allah tells that Jannah does not belong to any religion it belongs to 'hearts']

Al-Baqarah Chapter 2 : Verse 263

"They who spend their wealth for the cause of Allah, then follow not up what they have spent with taunt or injury, for them is their reward with their Lord, and they shall have no fear, nor shall they grieve."

[The people who spend for the cause of Allah neither for reward nor to degrade or insult are being mentioned here, from this verse onward spending for the cause of Allah is explained until verse 275 after which interest is discussed]

Al-Baqarah Chapter 2 : Verse 275

"Those who spend their wealth by night and day, secretly and openly, have their reward with their Lord; on them shall come no fear, nor shall they grieve."

Al-Baqarah Chapter 2 : Verse 278

"Surely, those who believe and do good deeds, and observe Prayer and pay the Zakat, shall have their reward from their Lord, and no fear shall come on them, nor shall they grieve."

[Here again the context is that Allah is against interest and promotes the institution of Zakat]

Aal-e-`Imran Chapter 3 : Verse 171

"Jubilant because of that which Allah has given them of His bounty; and rejoicing for those who have not yet joined them from behind them, because on them shall come no fear, nor shall they grieve."

[Those who have lost their lives for the cause of God have been mentioned here, & those are yet to join them are mentioned]

Al-Ma'idah Chapter 5 : Verse 70

"Surely, those who have believed, and the Jews, and the Sabians, and the Christians — whoso believes in Allah and the Last Day and does good deeds, on them shall come no fear, nor shall they grieve."

Al-An`am Chapter 6 : Verse 49

"And We send not the Messengers but as bearers of glad tidings and as warners. So those who believe and reform themselves, on them shall come no fear nor shall they grieve."

["reform themselves" i.e. they need not be perfect individuals, should be on the right path]

Al-A`raf  Chapter 7 : Verse 36

"O children of Adam! if Messengers come to you from among yourselves, rehearsing My Signs unto you, then whoso shall fear God and do good deeds, on them shall come no fear nor shall they grieve."

[Those who accept guidance  and reform themselves]

Al-A`raf  Chapter 7 : Verse 50

“Are these the men about whom you swore that Allah would not extend mercy to them? To them it has been said, ‘Enter Paradise; no fear shall come upon you, nor shall you grieve.’”

[Those who were criticized for their right faith in the world will enter paradise eventually, they are mentioned here]

Yunus Chapter 10 : Verse 63

"Behold! the friends of Allah shall certainly have no fear, nor shall they grieve —"

[The context is that Allah knows everything everywhere, He knows whatever good or bad we do]

Al-Ahqaf Chapter 46 : Verse 14

"Verily, those who say, ‘Our Lord is Allah,’ and then remain steadfast — no fear shall come upon them, nor shall they grieve."

[Believing that 'our lord is Allah' is in itself a source of being fearless!]


Looking forward to comments, corrections & suggestions

Hazrat Mosa A.S. & The Bani Israel

It was amazing to know that sixty percent of the Quran Narrates the story of Bani Israel, Hazrat Mosa A.S. and Pharoah (The cursed). When one thinks over this we find a number of logical and strong reasons behind this story occurring in the Holy Quran in chunks in numerous Surahs.

Slightly below mere names, this is what I think the characters of this story represent:

1. Hazrat Mosa (A.S) : Guidance from Allah

2. Bani Israel: The thankless 'mushrikeen' (those who ascribe partners with Allah)

3. Pharoah: A symbol of false Godhood (not literally relevant today), arrogance, misuse of power. In short this person is a result when power/authority is given to an arrogant.

What I conclude is that though this is an ages old story but whatever these elements of the story represent had to continue till the end of time. 

We all in our own circle of authority are prone to becoming a 'Pharoah' of that circle, as the circle of authority or influence widens we are more prone to this attitude. As we can see today how some powerful states are misusing their power to oppress the weaker countries.This is something that must be avoided that is why the Holy Quran repeatedly announces how Pharoah ended up and how the pious were saved.

The end of Pharoah tells us that how a 'mushrik' ends up like, arrogance or 'takabbur' is condemned in the strongest terms in this story. Pharoah was made a symbol for the generations to come. 

Like the Bani Israel, we all tend to become thankless no matter how much Allah blesses us with. 

And of course guidance of Allah is there as a permanent source in the form of Quran and Sunnah. Just like the Bani Israel started worshiping the golden calf when Hazrat Mosa A.S. went to mount Toor similarly the Muslim Ummah is indulging in so many types of shirk. Further Quran also says that Allah has sent Hazrat Muhammad S.A.W.W. as a prophet just like he sent Hazrat Mosa A.S. as a prophet to Bani Israel, so this suggests that there had to be similarities.

Another point that came to my mind was that indeed Allah shows miracles for those who truly believe in Him, and those who faithfully tread His path, no matter the difficulties ahead. Just like the passage that was created for Hazrat Mosa A.S. and Pharoah was shown his path to doom.

How to forget the golden calf of Bani Israel! We all might be having our own golden ones that we might be unknowingly worshiping. Our desires, endless worldly wishes, money, progeny, authority everything whose passion makes us blind is our very own golden calf!

In short this is a very deep story which remains relevant through all ages and like all parts of Quran this story must also be given attention and contemplation below the surface.

Protect thy heart!

[Image Source]

The motivation for this post comes surprisingly, from a cartoon! which I was watching with my nephew the other day. It was basically an animated movie which showed a homeless and weak boy. Suddenly one day he was magically taken to a great Wizard who tells him that the boy has been chosen as the 'Protector of the World'. The boy was very surprised because he did not have the physical strength to become the protector of the world. The wizard told him the reason why the boy was chosen (This is the main point) The wizard said:

You were tried with all sorts of problems but you went through all those courageously and still managed to protect your heart! so the Lords have chosen you as the protector of the world! as you have the perseverance the protector of the world needs to have!

There was a connection with the verse:

اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ

It is only 'isteqamat' or perseverance which can protect our heart and make us walk through problems happily! and hence be among the chosen ones!

Irreversable Steps towards Allah!

صِبْغَةَ اللَّهِ وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ مِنَ اللَّهِ صِبْغَةً

[Al-baqarah:138]

This verse means that we should colour ourselves in HIS colour because its the best. When I read this verse it felt amazing, I dont know, I had read this before but it never struck me like it struck this time. Maybe its because this verse gives a new meaning to 'colour', and I love to play with colours. It was as if this was Allah's ultimate demand from us, the ultimate reason of life, the ultimate direction, The puropose of Islam i.e. that we colour our lives in His Colour. We make this our goal, our objective and reason to be and it ultimately becomes our strength. But its difficult to maintain His colour in the presence of so many tempting colours of the world! But we can pray & try for it! Though the colors of the world are tempting but their reality is nothing.
It is His colour that is explained in Quran and demonstrated in the life of the Prophet Muhammad S.A.W.W.

Because of all these reasons I tried to draw this whole concept, bring it to paper, express it somehow. Though the result was not as good, since I am not an artist and have no expertise in caligraphy, but I think I expressed it atleast. 

[Image Source]

Last Ramzan while I was sending people messages at the start of Ramzan, I though hard and prayed that May the effect  of Ramzan never wear off, May it last forever, May we move steps ahead towards Allah that are irreversable. For that we need to colour ourself in His Colour! Though its impossible to completely colour yourself  but atleast we should start moving in the right direction. Its a wonderful jouney, journey worth spending all your efforts for! So now is the time to take steps towards Allah before the final irreversible step i.e. death! To attain His colour should be the greater focus of life towrds which other intentions should be directed, thats what I have concluded so far. But we should that its a journey, it about knowing how to keep moving in the toughest of times, but again direction is very important, the direction should be towards Allah.

This way is not easy, it demands sacrifice of wishes and desires it demands a complete fanaa.

May Allah deepen HIS colour in our souls! AMEEN

I really want people to comment & share their thoughts even though my blog has very limited readers!

Thank Allah to empower yourself!

Surah Luqman Verse 12:

"And We had certainly given Luqman wisdom [and said]. "Be greatfull to Allah." and whoever is greatful is greatful for [the benefit of] himself. And whoever denies[His favour]- then indeed, Allah is free of need and praiseworthy"

[Translation Source]

I just got to this verse once when i randomly opened the Quran, this verse made me think over the portion:

"whoever is greatful is greatful for [the benefit of] himself"

So it is us who need this thankfulness, Thankfulness or greatfulness to Allah is a multi-purpose activity, it has deep impact on our mind, heart & soul.

1. Keeps you positive
Like it or not, you have to metion all the good things that have happened to you when you're thanking Allah. This leaves us with so much positive thinking! So its like a psychotherapy and keeps us away from tentions and depressions. And once this becomes a habbit one can always find reasons to thank Allah in the most trying conditions.

2. Helps avoid self pity
Self-pity is fatal for a personality, once you start having pity on yourself (height of negativity) you'll visibly lose the potential to face a trial. Hopelessness is which would take over from then onwards, but a person thankful to Allah would never commit this crime called self-pity, because he knows there are plenty of reasons to thank!

3. Leaves you with positivity about future
It gives you a notion that since Allah has not abandoned you uptill now, He would definately not abandon you in future too!

4. Helpful in getting Allah's love... (Husn & Ehsaan)
This is the most important part I read in a book(have forgotten the name) that love has two reaosns: "Husn" (beauty) and "ehsaan"(favour) we can find both these in Allah! so when we'll be thinking & thanking about his favours we'll be guiding ourselves to his love! Also I'd like to make a point here that the more we interact with Allah (i.e. through 'Dua' prayers) the more we are to fall in love with Him.

So lets start thanking Him right away!

We Protest!

The shameful movie by some Americans showing disrespect to our Prophet Muhammad S.A.W.W. shows the extent to which 'freedom of expression' unbound by moral values can take us to. They have shown what the teachings of their religion are, and what is the stance of their faith when it comes to respect for other faiths.

Sad was the reaction of Muslims, the other day I received an sms from a friend (a forwarded message basically) that people in Libya burnt some American official alive and what have we done for the respect of our beloved Prophet Muhammad S.A.W.W.?

Image Source

I was deeply amazed and terrified having received two to three similar messages. It was even sad to see how some self-destructive people in our country reacted and destroyed our own property and resources. How easy it is for them to spread unrest in our country that they don't even need to come here! We are self-destructive! Just the trigger needs to be known! And I so totally feel ashamed of the show going on at the diplomatic enclave, I wonder how the overseas Pakistanis bear with such frequent shames! The result of such a protest is that the shameful movie got sidelined and the acts of voilence are highlighted and discussed.

Here is the contrast between Turkey and Pakistan!

[Source] Protest in Turkey

[Source] Protest in Pakistan

Protest should 'show' whom we are protesting for, the great person, the unmatched example Hazrat Muhammad S.A.W.W. In fact our day to day matters should showcase the superior teachings of Islam and its a pity that we are far from implementing Islam in our lives. Each of our action against the teachings of Islam shows disrespect to Islam and Hazrat Muhammaf S.A.W.W and not to mention how everyone adjusts and changes the religion to suit his/her need and lifestyle! Our protest should show what his teachings were. We are the ambassadors of Islam they are the ambassadors of Christianity. They showed what they had to show and it was our turn to show our grace but we have lost the opportunity. So lets grab whatever is left and lets protest!

Lets protest through every possible media, lets use whichever discussion forum, networking site we have joined. Lets tell them that freedom of expression has to be within moral bounds, lets show them how to respect other faiths, lets teach the secular states a lesson. Our actions will not only speak but slap even! Lets protest through every peaceful mean. Lets recite as much Darood as we can as it is the demand of the time. Lets spread the teachings of Islam to every corner of the world, Lets try and bring our actions more and more in line with the teachings of Islam, Lets pray that may Allah bring the evil minds to justice and guide them towards the right path.

And finally lets thank them for bringing us closer to our religion and our Prophet Muhammad S.A.W.W. And lets thank them for uniting us!

The Path we need, but the path we seldom tread!

I once read a very good comment about Surah Fateha: "The never ending Begining"

No doubt each and every verse of Quran has to offer countless dimensions but Surah Fateha is really special, and really does seem 'never ending'. The verse 6:

"Keep us on the right path"

Ref: Image Source

talks about a 'path' and not an ultimate 'goal', 'objective' or 'destination'. Because i feel that as long as we are alive there can be no perfect state which can be termed as the ultimate goal in fact its like path, which requires us to make decisions each day each moment. So 'Hidayat' seems like a part of the process rather than the start or end of the process! So Allah wants us to constantly seek hidayat from him in the form of this Surah, because we actually need it. We need to be conscious about each and every step because one wrong step could open up the wrong path for us, that path might present temptations. So it would be fairly easier to think before taking the step rather than trying to step back because we might or might not step back! Similarly one right step could change our life! could put us on the right path for a while at least until we encounter the next crossroad! This further proves that there cant be a 'goal' or 'destination' that is why this dua is repeatedly recited in every namaz every rakk'at. SubhanAllah!

Caricaturing the Sacrifice

        Each year on Eid-ulAzha we sacrifice our dignity, sense and respect by making fun of the sacrifice by all means. From adverts to dramas the sacrificial animal is used to sell the channel. And that is what we are teaching the next generation about this event.

Today I got this message from Ufone:

       

 “Win a blackberry Bold 9000! Just MMS funny videos of your sacrificial animals to ….”

This was enough to make me write this blog post!

       And I am pretty sure that the Eid transmission of various channels would be full of people mimicking the sounds of animals and making fun of the sacrifice by all possible means, and frankly to me (I need to use some harsh words here) these programs stink. Sacrifice has become a matter of fun, a  matter of competition and show off, which is against the very spirit of sacrifice.

        Humor is something very positive and constructive as i have stated in another post earlier,  but there has to be a line that divides the things we need to make fun of and things we don’t make fun of. Airing all such programs dramas and adverts even , do we have any right to protest against Islam being caricatured by other religions? No! we don’t, we first need to set our rules and vision right.

          Hazrat Ibrahi A.S. was a Prophet of very high stature, the Quran uses the word 'Hanif' for him, i.e. focused & committed and his commitment was nothing but oneness of God. He spent his life in trials and tribulations but he never let go of his cause. He was the ambassador of oneness of Allah for the ancient man. Even he did not give up in front of a powerful ruler Namrud, which for he was sentenced to be thrown into fire, but that fire could not bear the fire of tauheed(oneness of God) in Hazrat Ibrahim A.S. and turned to flowers.

Reminds me of some urdu poetry:

Be-Khatar Kood Para Aatish-e-Namrood Mein Ishq
Aqal Hai Mehv-e-Tamasha-e-Lab-e-Baam Abhi

Translation:

Love fearlessly jumped into the fire of Namrud
Intellect is absorbed in the spectacle from roof‐top still

The sunnah of such a Nabi of such high stature must never be made fun of.

We need to bring the true essence to the lime light, make the people realize the sunnah better and enhance the knowledge of the new generation on this rather than laughing at the idea and hence let the world laugh at us!

 May there be 'sacrifice' in every ‘slaughter’!! Ameen.