Screen-Bound minds

If you read a book in continuity, according to my observation, the later half of the book finishes faster than the first half. Partly because you have become acquainted with the book and its subject and partly because your level of concentration has increased. Reading a book gives you mental stability. Further I used to wonder why to repeat a tasbeeh 'n' times? The answer is simple It gives us peace of heart and mind to tread the spiritual path. Peace of heart and mind is not just the requirement of spiritual path but also mundane success.

Unfortunately today most of us, no matter how busy, find ample time to a screen of screen of some sort. Be it an iPhone, iPad, tablet, android phone or laptop. This would decrease our level of concentration and mental stability. I would personally try my level best not to become a slave of the screen. Imagine yourself fully engrossed in a screen, you are lesser likely to listen to anything and pay attention to the surroundings.

No doubt Google can take us to scores of unverified data, but nothing can match the reading of a book, the joy of turning pages and placing book marks! Healthy habits are being taken over by clicks of all sorts. Placing those geographically close very far and those far away as 'all-day-in-touch'. Rather than being book-bound we see today more people are screen-bound.

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Playing games has its benefits no doubt like improving reflexes, logical thinking but not excess of everything is bad. Though I have no research backing on this but I feel that too much handheld devices can also limit the imagination of children as the bigger world is observed less and the screen of the hand-held device is observed more. Observation in turn is directly related with imagination.

Children are the suffering party. It is not just the 'character' that parents are responsible for, it's also the 'personality'. There is a chance of children too much involved in technology to become anti-social. Staying at home and playing a video game becomes a bigger charm than meeting and interacting with people.

These machines make them 'in-charge' at a very young age, which means their mind would eventually become unfit for being a part of team. I have written on importance of team work in another post. Machines would never make decisions and the user becomes in-charge of everything.

A touch screen has limited demands from the user and is extremely flexible and customize-able.So we are bound to think that the real world scenarios should adjust according to us. Because we are the ones who decide.

The response time is very fast this factors induce aggression. Because in the real world the response time is not as quick and your request is not always fulfilled! So children become short-tempered as they demand the same speed of processing from the people around them. Mechanic accuracy is not possible in the real world.

I wonder if these children who remain bound to screens in childhood would ever bother to read a book, to think, observe their surroundings, make new things and so on. I once asked my nephew if his dreams were touch-screen sort! select dream type, select color, select characters and go!

Actually its not the children who are addicted to handheld devices it's actually the parents! More screens at home is not a 'feature' its a serious 'bug'. Sure we should not turn our back towards technology related stuff but we do need to have some limits on it. We have to find a way out  between having techno-fright and being a  techno-freak! While we have other factors in our society to take us high up on the frustration graph we should avoid having more reasons to facilitate it.

[Link to read some valid research on the subject]

A reluctant read of 'The reluctant fundamentalist'!

I caught the sight of this book while rushing out of a book shop. Having read its title, I reconnected that there has been a movie made by this name perhaps and moreover its slim size tempted me to buy it. Besides its better to read the book than to watch the movie because the movie you create yourself is far much richer and customized. Further got to know that the book has been translated to over 30 languages.

My perception was that this has to be a story of 'Islamization' of a Pakistani American. But to my surprise It was nothing like that.

I must admit that I reluctantly started reading this book feeling little motivation to so. Firstly it was a unique read and first of its kind for me being a monologue. Secondly given the situation in Palestine, Google creating a game called 'bomb Gaza' and America supporting Israel, I loved the fact that an American remains muted throughout the book! an unknown sense of achievement!

Its a good book to read. To know what sort of feelings you go through being at a foreign place with turmoil back home. The whole book is about one evening the Changez has with this mysterious American in a cafe in Lahore. Two things go side by side: one being Changez's interaction with the american in the cafe and secondly the story of his life he narrates to him. He does a lot of hard talk at the cafe possibly leading to his death (not revealed at the end)

Given the story of Changez, a financial analyst by profession, one strongly feels that if someone who passes out of Princeton. And survives in American meritocracy based on his talent and skills often feels ashamed  and low in the 'American' Kingdom (owing to his nationality) then what to mention of the Pakistani workers at the grass root level. How might they feel?

His thoughts moved from a smile to actual sympathy for the victims of 9/11, He narrates:

"I stared at one-- and then other-- of the twin towers of New York's World Trade Center collapse. And the I smiled. Yes, despicable as it may sound, my initial reaction was to be remarkably pleased"

Erica's (Changez's love) father summed up Pakistan quite well (A pity though that the description is still relevant!):

"Economy's falling apart thouh, no? Corruption, dictatorship, the rich living like princes while everyone else suffers. Solid people don't get me wrong, I like Pakistanis. But the elite has raped that place well and good, right? and fundamentalism, You guys have got some serious problems with fundamentalism"

Two things mentioned about America regarding post 9/11 are worth mentioning:

"I had always thought of America as a nation that looked forward; for the first time I was struck by its determination to look back "

He further says to the American at the cafe:

"As a society you were unwilling to reflect upon the shared pain that united you with those who attacked you. You retreated into myths of your own difference, assumptions of your superiority.And you acted out these beliefs on the stage of the world, so that the entire planet was rocked by the repercussions of your tantrums... Such an America had to be stopped in the interest not only of the rest of humanity, but also in your own"

At a point someone made him realize that he was much like the janissaries. Janissaries were young christian children captured by ottomans and trained to be soldiers in Muslim army, they were said to be very ferocious and loyal because they ad no memories of back home to retain. This was the point were Changez reverts back to his fundamentals and plans to fly back home to regain his identity.

His disastrous, as they often are, love affair with Erica must also be mentioned, a perfect example of the fact that two incomplete people cannot complete each other, both had their own paths both having their own voids in them, the voids that got bigger when they got closer. Changez confused about his identity and Erica holding on to the loss of his boyfriend Chris. Though there was a lot of emotional connection at Chngez's end but they were not destined to meet. Changez kept on missing Erica to the very end of the book and their story painfully ended!

The story ends with a some thing metallic shining in the American's pocket, now its up to the reader what to make of it!

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.

Media & Sanctity of Ramadan

Ramadan is a Holy month for all Muslims. Though the concept of fasting is there in all religions but there is no concept of a whole month fasting in any other religion.

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It is indeed a pity how our media takes it as an opportunity to sell their channel, newspaper and so on. Every other person on the media comes in an Islamic outfit and outlook and doing a show. It has now become a race of who sells better and bigger in Ramadan. Live transmissions mostly occupy around 10 hours per day and the trend is getting bigger each year.

We must not waste our time in watching all such stuff and concentrate on self growth and improvement. we must know the objectives of this month as clearly stated in Quran and Sunnah so not to fall in any such trap called 'Ramadan transmission'. Just like its not a month to eat and fry similarly it is not a month to watch TV and making calls to live television shows. If are losing simplicity we are losing the true spirit of the month because this month is meant to be for the soul.

Ramadan is NOT a commodity and if we are not selling it we must not buy it as well!

Protect thy heart!

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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!