musaafir-e dasht

Just came across this excerpt from a book A Sense of Seige: The Geopolitics of Islam and the West   here , about the pseudo intellectuals, which sadly Pakistan is rife with: This is a real tragedy. These intellectuals are unable to question their positions and their assumed mission because they have no intellectual, academic or informative resource other than the West to rely on. Western sources are their only assets; and once their link to these sources is lost, they will be abandoned in the middle of a desert. Sadly, these intellectuals are unable to find the spiritual energy and intellectual courage necessary to save themselves and their countries, to preserve their roots, because that would mean denial of what has become their identity. In this case, “the decisive hour,” as defined by Marx -- a concept that evolved into “class suicide” -- takes place, when a part of the ruling class separates itself and joins the revolutionary class. These intellectuals ultimately expect th...

This is a strange morning. A beautiful one, indeed. While I write in solitude, my folks remain fast asleep. The parents will be travelling to another city today, and they do need proper rest before they set out for the journey. I look outside my window; my vision of the sky is impaired by the thick grey clouds that cover the Karachi sky today. Moonsoon, it seems, is on its way...  Happiness indeed is a gift of Allah (swt), the sweetness of which multiplies specially after one has experienced sorrow.  Sorrow, too is a gift of Allah, for it is sorrow that helps one realise how helpless man is, be it in the times of need or sufficiency. In both the situations man remains reliant upon Allah; there is none but Him who could remove our sorrow; there is none but Him who can lighten up our path.  It takes a moment for the life to get transformed. You do not even realise, and in a split second you find yourself standing at that bend on the road of your life tur...

Life, Literature and Nostalgia By Naeema Akram This is love: to fly toward a secret sky, to cause a hundred veils to fall each moment. First to let go of life. Finally, to take a step without feet. -           Rumi Long ago, in my childhood, that is, I remember an elderly man telling me an inspiring tale about Saladin (Salahuddin Ayyubi), the famous Muslim hero. I was told that Saladin had memorised diwaans and diwaans of Arabic poetry. This piece of information got the precocious child in me thinking. I wondered how was that possible? Saladin – the great Muslim general who I had admired because of the stories I had read and heard about his bravery and kindness in my childhood – and poetry seemed like two worlds apart at that point in time. I was precocious, but some questions take their due time before we are blessed with their life-changing answers… I was a science student all my life. Racking my brains with Physics, Chemi...

An excellent elucidation of the matter by Shaykh al Islam, Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani (May Allah preserve him) posted at ashrafiya.com  - thought-provoking and clarifying many misconceptions regarding Sufism. I would warn the younger Muslim generation about the wrong interpretation of Sufism. It has been widely propagated in the Western world by non-Muslims. They coined the term Sufism. They praise Sufism. They preach sufism. They propagate Sufism. One may think that they do this in service to Islam. However, the reality is that the Sufism propagated by Western writers is quite contradictory to the Shariah. It is quite contradictory to the real essence of Tasawwuf and tariqat. A high ranking western offical visited the Darul Uloom, Karachi. After having a detailed tour observing the teaching activities he commented that he did not see anything about Sufism being taught. It was inquired that what did he mean by Sufism. He replied that Sufism is something relate...

I did not want this day to go unrecorded. Details, I shall write in my personal diary. Here, I shall only say that in all the arduous times of patience, prayers of repentance and tears of regret at letting one's nafs go astray in weaker moments, the Sattar is always there to watch over us. He watches. He listens. He responds... ... He makes you meet an Abdus Sattar - the sabab from the musabbab al asbaab! Whoever fears Allah, He brings forth a way out for him,and provides him (with what he needs) from where he does not even imagine. And whoever places his trust in Allah, He is sufficient for him. Surely Allah is to accomplish His purpose. Allah has set a measure for every thing. (Surah Talaaq, Verses 2-3)

ستیزہ کار رہا ہے ازل سے تا امروز چراغ مصطفوی سے شرار بو لہبی  -اقبال Since eternity till this day, the battle goes on Between the charaaGh of Mustafa and the sharaar of Abu Lahab

I remember somebody once told me that when he was a child, his mother - a woman from a village in Pakistan - used to remain extremely worried about him, as he was a physically challenged child. Imagine the fate of this blessed child of hers! First, Allah made him a daa'i e Qur'an , and then made him immortal by granting him shahaadat . And we, the unlucky ones, left behind... Only to recognise the merit and stature of our Ulama when we are deprived of them... Maulana would be happy for he is united with his Lord now. We are left behind as grieving souls on this earth. Someone very rightly put it today: "the enemy knows (who) our valuable people (are) ... a lot more than we ourselves do!"