musaafir-e dasht

So, it came again yesterday. Everyone around was so happy because the weather had become very hot lately. It continued today. And with much intensity. And yet again it played havoc with the lives of the people. We remained safe. Alhamdulillah. But those who were affected, who could realise their plight. I do not even myself capable of empathising with them. How can I ? I know someone ... let us call her Z. For some unknown reasons, I have always considered her to be very close to me. We are entirely different in all ways. We share absolutely nothing in common. She was one of the affectees of this year's monsoon. And now she must have been hit hard again. I haven't got to know about her. Probabaly will get to know something in the morning but the point which I am pondering on is that this is the first 'ashara of the blessed month - the first ten days of Rahmah : His Unconditional Mercy ... In the times we live in, Rains are no more a blessing... Why? Probably because of ...

  One of my teachers once said during a lecture: ...خود احتسابی خود شناسی سے قریب تر ہے Roughly, the translation would be: "self-accountability is highly in proximity with self-knowledge, i.e. knowing thyself ..."

I just came across a highly enlightening post on Q.A.F.I.L.A . It elaborates the wisdom behind refraining from all kinds of sins, specially in Ramadan. It says, "Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi rehmatullah alayh says, “Some people increase their bad deeds in this month ( Ramadhaan ). This is perhaps due to unawareness, or due to deficient understanding, or perhaps they know it yet do not practice caution. This is indeed a very strange matter that in this month, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala has even prohibited those things which were permissible in normal months. Isn’t this an indication that those actions which were already impermissible are now prohibited to a greater degree? Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala even mentioned the reason for these fasts “ لعلكم تتقون ”, that is you fast so that you become more Muttaqi . Now anyone and everyone can judge themselves whether their state outside Ramadhaan is any different from their state in Ramadhaan . Have we secured ourselves from prohibited gla...

Source “ So, no one knows the delight of eyes that has been reserved for them in secret, as a reward of what they used to do. ” (Surah al Sajdah, ayah 17) The blessed month of Ramadan finally arrives, Alhamdulillah. May Allah bless all the Muslims with the Taufeeq of pleasing Him by each an every act of theirs in this month. Aameen. - The Secrets of Fasting by Imam Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali - Worth reading stuff on Fasting by At-Talib - Inner Dimensions of the Fast By Shah Wali Allah al-Dahlawi May Allah SWT forgive each and every sin of ours, may He help us taste the real essence of Ramadan and may He bless us immensely with His and RusulAllah's (sallallahu alaihi wassallam) Love. Aameen. *** ‘A person who spends his time in pursuing futile things will never be inclined towards the necessary things. This is proven through experience.’ - Hakim ul Ummah, Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi RA source On a personal note, one thing I wish to do this Ramadan is not to waste time. Sc...

Auliya Allah (the friends of Allah) always have a wonderful way of explaining things. Even their silences are filled with meaning that is never exhausted. In today's lecture, Maulana Ibrahim Saheb said something so profound that it actually answered so many of my questions. He was emphasizing on the practice of the sunnah of Rasul-Allah sallAllahu alaihe wassalam, when he explained as to how Love is the only driving force behind 'amal (practice). His words are still resonating in my heart and mind: ...عشق کبھی دلیل نہیں مانگتا. عاشق کا کام بس عمل کرنا ہوتا ہے

Everyone has their low moments. Their lowest of all moments. Everyone has their moments of defeat. I just saw something and I feel so so bad about it that I cannot even express my sadness. I do not feel angry anymore over anything now. But yes, I do feel sad. I feel defeated. And it is a very bad feeling, believe me. For how long does one have to keep on walking? What does one do when one gets tired? Some people just do not realise that there is NO time left. There was a time when I used to feel that some of my wishes will materialise. No, I am not hopeless. But yes, I do feel defeated. I hope hopelessness does not follow. In sha Allah . For how long will I just keep on 'saying'? This one question, 'how long' seems to worry me to death at the moment. My frustrations, seem to consume me ... yet again ...

August 14, 2009. My country completed sixty two years of its life and I, twenty four years of my life. Together. For the fear of m aking this post turn into a hodgepodge, I would like to reflect upon both the events separately... *** خدا کرے کہ میری عرض پاک پر اترے" وہ فصل گل جسے اندیشہ زوال نہ ہو" source August 13, 2009. The moment, I steppe d into the University, lo ud, blaring music accompanied by screaming and shouting of both girls and boys, welco med me. I shook my head in disappointment - something I have been now doing for the past five years - and headed towards the department. And yesterday, I realised, how decent a people we were! Alhamdulillah. On a departmental level, no useless activity was to take place. Our teachers had planned an intra-department discussion on the topic, 'The Pakistan we have. The Pakistan we want.' I am quite sure of the fact that this was THE most decent, educative and fruitful activity that must have taken place on the campus yes...

Yet another independence day, but this time it is not free of the gloom and despair that seems to be rising with every passing day in our country. How it relates to poetry, you might wonder. Let me ask, how does it not? Everything that goes around a genuine poet bears its marks on his soul. If a poet is not sensitive to his surroundings then he must review and think deeply about his art. He must think if his art blinds him to what goes on around him or does it provide him with insights that others probably lack. If a poet is able to absorb the sorrows of the present in his self, wisdom will follow. Only then he would be able to successfully look back into the past and come up with a vision for the future. This of course reminds us of none other than Iqbal, who once said about his art: “Mein, keh meri ghazal mein hai aatish-e rafta ka suraagh Meri tamam sarguzasht kho’ay hu’on ki justuju” Think about it! -N.A. In Us

میں، کہ میری غزل میں ہے آتشِ رفتہ کا سراغ میری تمام سرگزشت کھوۓ ہوؤں کی جستجو ... خونِ دل و جگر سے ہے میری نوا کی پرورش ہے رگ ساز میں رواں صاحب ساز کا لہو -اقبال How else could he have defined his art...

"The journey of knowledge must begin with belief. The Western civilization began its with doubt (cf. cogito ergo sum) and to date it is still enmeshed in it."

An enlightening piece of writing on the subject. See here .

The pain is not as painful as purposelessness in life.