INQALAB ZINDABAD!!

People on streets, no traffic, markets closed, green bandanas on head, emotions in the air, passion in the eyes, anger in gestures, the ‘do or die’ aura around masses and only one demand on the lips of so many “ inqalaab, inqalaab”

Govt trying to control the situation, usage of tear gas and shells to dismiss the crowd, fire opened on innocent protestors, many killed, hundreds injured. No use, no result!

I was among the protestors wearing the green sign proudly. I shouted ‘inqalaab’ till my throat started to hurt. This went on for days without any result. It seemed to go on forever and ever…

I felt tired but enthusiastic also for it was the only solution to the disparity of our society. “Inqalaab, inqalaab” I shouted along with my fellow protestors. “Inqalaab, inqalaab” my voice started to grow fainter. My soul gradually left my body. I felt it go distant…

It was a life time before I finally felt intact but no one around me seemed to notice. I saw the whole scene with a new insight and began to retrieve my footsteps until I was away from the crowd still demanding ‘inqalaab’

I lay awake staring in the sky. The word had just stuck to my mind. My soul had seen it with the eye of a third person and the report said: “you are asking for something you have no idea about. Who are you addressing? The govt? You want the officials to resign? Will it solve your problem?”

There were so many questions and no answer. I was going ballistic searching for them but all I could see was dark.

I begged Al-Mighty, my source of solace and my last resort to help me. A word popped in my head: “IQRA”

So I set out for a new journey and as I read the last line of the biography of Prophet Mohammad (P.B.U.H), I smiled.

Inqabaab – change and that too drastic.

That is what we want and that is something we are ready to die for… right?

Wrong! Because surprisingly it is a very peaceful process and requires zero blood shedding. The only requirement is dedication and will power, for it starts with bringing a change in your own self.

Analyze your personality keeping Hazrat Mohammad (S.A.W) as standard and you will know what is lacking in us which is proving to be a hurdle in the way of inqalaab.

Right now the sins we commit and the bad habits we own are not any individual’s problem rather it has become a national dilemma. Every one in our society indulges into lying, cheating, embezzlement, bribery, deceiving and what not. We commit sins that are in our reach and that too with justifications.  We even have the nerve to mold our religion 
according to our own will.

"All the sins of my followers will be forgiven except those which are
disclosed to the people. For example a person commits a sin at night
and though Allah screens it from the public, in the morning he says.
"O so-and-so, I did such-and-such evil deed"

Sahih Bukhari Hadith No. 980 Book 78, Chapter 60 Narrated by Ibn Umar (r.a.)

The Prophet (peace be upon him) cursed the one who bribes and the one who takes bribe.

Sunan of Abu Dawood Hadith No. 1595 Narrated Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As

"The most hated person in the sight of Allah is the most quarrelsome person."

Sahih Al-Bukhari Volume 003 Book 043 Hadith number 637           Narrated by Aisha (r.a.)

Hazrat Abu Hurairah (Radhiyallaahu Anhu) narrates, in a hadith, that the Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) said, "The signs of a hypocrite are three; whenever he speaks, he tells a lie; whenever he promises, he breaks his promise; if you have trust in him, he proves to be dishonest.




Abdullah bin 'Abbas narrates in one hadith, "Abu Sufyan bin Harb informed me that Heraclius had sent a messenger to him while he had been accompanying a caravan from Quraish. They were merchants doing business in Sham, at the time when Allah's Apostle(Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) had truce with Abu Sufyan and Quraish infidels. So Abu Sufyan and his companions went to Heraclius at Ilya (Jerusalem). Heraclius called them in the court and he had all the senior dignataries around him. He called for his translator who, translating Heraclius's question said to them, "Who amongst you is closely related to that man who claims to be a Prophet?" Abu Sufyan replied, "I am the nearest relative to him (amongst the group)." Heraclius said, "Bring him (Abu Sufyan) close to me and make his companions stand behind him." Abu Sufyan added, Heraclius told his translator to tell my companions that he wanted to put some questions to me regarding that man (The Prophet) and that if I told a lie they should contradict me." Abu Sufyan added, "By Allah! Had I not been afraid of my companions labelling me a liar, I would not have spoken the truth about the Prophet(Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam). The first question he asked me about him was 'What is his family status amongst you?' I replied, "He belongs to a good (noble) family amongst us." Heraclius further asked, "Has anybody amongst you ever claimed the same (i.e. to be a Prophet) before him?" I replied, "No." He said, "Was anybody amongst his ancestors a king?" I replied, "No." Heraclius asked, "Do the nobles or the poor follow him?" I replied, "It is the poor who follow him." He said, "Are his followers increasing or decreasing (day by day)?" I replied, "They are increasing." He then asked, "Does anybody amongst those who embrace his religion become displeased and renounce the religion afterwards?" I replied, "No." Heraclius said, "Have you ever accused him of telling lies before his claim (to be a Prophet)?" I replied, "No." Heraclius said, "Does he break his promises?" I replied, "No. We are at truce with him but we do not know what he will do in it." I could not find opportunity to say anything against him except that. Heraclius asked, "Have you ever had a war with him?" I replied, "Yes." Then he said, "What was the outcome of the battles?" I replied, "Sometimes he was victorious and sometimes we." Heraclius said, "What does he order you to do?" I said, "He tells us to worship Allah and Allah alone and not to worship anything along with Him, and to renounce all that our ancestors had said. He orders us to pray, to speak the truth, to be chaste and to keep good relations with our kith and kin."

This is the inqalaab, we are searching for on the streets and in our demands of resigns.  We all are the same. If this current govt does resign others with same sins, same intentions, same level of corruption will take over. We need to take the social evil out from the root and believe me it has its roots in our hearts too!

“…It was asked, ‘will we be destroyed whilst the righteous are amongst us?’ He (s.a.w) said, ‘Yes, if the corruption increases (beyond bounds)

[Saheeh al-Bukhari and Muslim, on the authority of Zaynab bint Jahsh about the Ya’jooj]”

We need to get our facts straight before blindly following the one with Inqalaab as a slogan.

We are in dire need of change of heart. The test is not to say I believe in Allah, the Exalted rather is to stay firm on this statement. With us, we change with every moment, our heart changes and that's why this is called Qalb (heart) meaning overturns. This was the reason that our Prophet, Sallaho Aleikhe wasallam, frequently used to make doa'

 "O, Allah, the One who changes the heart, make my heart steadfast on your religion".

These difficult moments are a must-part of every one's life (Muslim or otherwise) and Allah, the Exalted says

“Verily, along with every hardship is relief, verily, along with every hardship is relief."  (Surah Alm Nashra: 5-6)

May Allah help us walk on the true path. Amen.


[i would like to acknowledge Dr Tahir Amin who wrote the last lines for me to understand ]

A deep sigh & a tear!

After carrying out a long and tiring routine of 11 hrs I could think of nothing except my beloved bed. Crossing the TV lounge, I stood there to listen to the ‘9o’clock news’ and I wish I never heard that.

Watching the vdo of  poor guy being ruthlessly murdered by rangers, I stood rooted to the ground. The people with guns were the authority. They had the might and they were right... really?

A voice continued to shout in my head : ‘go to your room and sleep, you don’t want to see this’ but I was too shocked to act upon the order.

The fact that it was all true and happened in my own land made me nauseous. I couldn't keep that guy’s face off my mind. Imagine yourself in his shoes for a moment. Imagine his level of fear seeing the rifle pointed at his chest. The fear that he’ll be hit by a bullet, the expected pain of a bullet piercing through his body, the helplessness at not being able to save himself, the pleas of having mercy, begging the ranger to let him go and not shoot him, the trembling legs and the fast paced heartbeat, the cold sweat. Imagine him shouting the name of ALLAH and Mohammad (P.B.U.H) and imagine a Muslim turning deaf ears to all of the above and shooting him to death!

What did he feel when the first bullet hit his hand. He must have been taken by surprise. He must have had that last hope, that last fragile faith that he will survive. What was he thinking!? He should have known that he was not going to survive with so many angels of death surrounding him. Was he a goof to think that people with ‘guns’ will let him go and merely just because he was asking mercy in the name of ALLAH!?  

Didn’t he know that he lives in the land of ‘no justice’?  Pakistan is a no man’s land… there is jungle law here. Might is right. That guy was stupid to expect anything good. He had to be punished! And that too by the hands of security rangers who are securing God knows who from whom on the streets of Karachi.

I heard someone sobbing. Surprisingly it was me! I was crying in the dead of the night on the cold blooded murder of my countryman.

But I had no right to cry! No one in this country owns the right to cry over each other, because we are dead at heart. And let’s assume that we were there at that time. All we would have done was made videos that would later go on air with the titles of ‘ARY EXCLUSIVE’ and ‘GEO EXCLUSIVE’. Or else we would want to be ‘GEO DOST’ by sending in our videos. We don’t have enough courage to stop anyone from doing injustice. We lack the X factor of humanity.

Same happened in the case of Muneeb and Mughees and the wound of kharotabad incident still bleeds.

We are so indifferent towards Humanity, as a nation that it makes me sick to even call us Humans. We are a stigma!

For the first time, I felt so ashamed that I don’t even want to mention ALLAH in my article. I didn’t find any courage to open Quran to find the solution to our inhumanity, our sickness, our barbarism.

But I tried nevertheless. I closed my eyes and opened the Book. And there I saw, written in the sparkling words was the answer.

"InnAllaha laa yoghayyiru maa bi Qawmin hattaa yoghayyiroo maa bi anfusihim"
( Ar-Ra’ad 13:11)

“Allah will not change what is in any nation, until they all collectively make a change occur in what is in themselves.” (Ar-Ra’ad 13:11)

The last light of hope died inside me for I remembered the words of our prayer. “Oh ALLAH! Have mercy on us and change us for good”

Here is the answer to our prayer!

Why would ALLAH want to have mercy on us when we don’t have an ounce of mercy for each other?  He is the creator of all. He has put enough mercy in animals even. Don’t you see the videos of national geographic? A lion not eating the lost baby deer, a dog taking care of a kitten, a python playing with a baby boy… All these are the sign of mercy.

‘Nothing will change!’

I took a deep sigh and shook my head.

‘Nothing will change’

I turned off the light and closed my eyes.

‘Nothing will change’ the angel wrote. ‘Unless you want it changed’ he added.

ILM aur GHAROOR

Looking at the course of the society, every person with a hint of vision would tell you the same thing: “ the time is near”. Even I have heard many learned people talk about it. Now the question that arose in my mind was: “so what?” I know it sounds a little retard but rationally thinking it is the only worthy question at the moment. We know that the time is near, the society is at the brink of collapse, moral values have long been ditched, people are moving happily against Allah’s set rules but how to control it all? Is there a spell that would just change everyone’s heart at once? A spell that is applicable to all the humans? Do we have a solution!?

I don’t know about others but whenever I wondered about it, I found myself to be blank. I spent ages pondering over this and one day it hit me, at a very odd hour.

I was as usual performing the ‘farz exercise’ aka namaz. Same thing since it’s without emotions, feelings, love and sometimes even without direction… anyway, out of nowhere at all, in the middle of the prayer it struck me. The question in the first glance but actually the very answer I was in search of.

“Who am I?” and coming to think of it. Who exactly am I? A human being... Oh what else?

Come on, use a broader prospective. Holistically seeing, I am... nothing...literally. This was the strangest discovery of my life. I imagined the globe in my mind and tried to see its contents.

I saw water in the form of oceans and seas, spread on miles covering 70% of the earth like some greedy soul , mountains standing up front like proud conquerors, huge glaciers with the strength to flood the whole world, volcanoes with the power to burn everything that comes in their way and I saw thousands of square kilometers covered with dense forest or simply with sand..

Have We not made the earth as a wide expanse, And the mountains as pegs? And (have We not) created you in pairs, And made your sleep for rest, And made the night as a covering, And made the day as a means of subsistence? And (have We not) built over you the seven firmaments. And placed (therein) a Light of Splendor? And do We not send down from the clouds water in abundance, That We may produce therewith corn and vegetables, And gardens of luxurious growth? ( Surah An Naba 6-16)

Kia hum ne zameen ko nahi banaya bichona (farsh)? Aur ppaharoon ko maikhien aur hum ne tumien jorey jorey paida kia aur tumare liye neend ko banaya araam aur hum ne raat ko orhana banaya.aur hum ne din ko moash ka waqt banaya. Aur hum ne banaye tumare upper sat mazboot asmaan .aur hum ne chamakhta huwa charagh (aftab) banaya. Aur hum ne pani bhari badliyaiun se utari moosala dhar barish takkey hum is se anaaaj aur sabzi nikalien aur pattun se lipte huwe baagh.( surah An Naba 6-16)

I desperately searched for myself but was unable to recognize my own face in 6.4 billion human beings residing on earth.

And  I thought I had something special in me that automatically makes me superior than so many, I thought I had some talents not many can acquire, I thought I stand out in a crowd. I was so in love with my unique traits. If it was true than why didn’t I stand out in the crowd of 6.4 billion human beings? Why wasn’t I as visible as those mountains or deserts or oceans?

It was the moment of self denial; I had to accept that I was “nothing” and not “something”. The realization struck me and struck me hard. It completely broke the small idol I had made of myself in heart and which I secretly admired and sometimes a step ahead.

For the first time in my life I went down in sadja, rested my head in front of Al-mighty with the truth that I was nothing. “khak” and it was HE, the All doer and All hearing. The divine power. The one and only and the only one.

“AND WHICH IS IT, OF THE FAVOURS OF YOUR LORD, THAT YE, WILL DENY?” (Surah Rehman)

Aur tum apne Rab ki kon kon si naimatun ko jhutlao gey.

But as soon as I folded my prayer mat, an unnamed sadness filled my heart. Not on the fact that I finally was accepting the reality of my being but on the fact that not many people can get this realization as I did. not because I was a smart head but because they have been deprived of gaining the vision.

They are unable to imagine the globe at all. They are unable to imagine the vastness of a desert or extend of a forest. The height of a mountain or the depth of the sea means nothing to them.

Say: "Who is the Lord and Sustainer of the heavens and the earth?" Say: "(It is) Allah." Say: "Do ye then take (for worship) protectors other than Him, such as have no power either for good or for harm to themselves?" Say: "Are the blind equal with those who see? Or the depths of darkness equal with light?" Or do they assign to Allah partners who have created (anything) as He has created, so that the creation seemed to them similar? Say: "(Allah) is the Creator of all things: He is the One, the Supreme and Irresistible." (surah Ar Rad 16)

:| “Un se poochoo asman o zameen ka rab kon hai? Kaho ALLAH . phir un se kaho ke haqeeqat yeh hai to kia tum ne usey chor ker aaise mehbood ko apna karsaaz thehra lia jo khud apne liye b kissi nafa o nuqsaan ka ikhtiyaar nhi rakhtey? Kaho, kia andha aur ankhoon wala barabar huwa kerta hai? Kia roshni aur tareeqiyan yaqsaan hoti hain? Agar aaisa nhi hai to kia un k thehraye huwe shareequn ne b ALLAH ki tarhan kuch paida kia hai k us ki waja se in per takhleeq ka mamla mushtabah ho gaya?  Kaho, har chez ka khaliq sirf ALLAH hai aur who yaqta hai, sab per ghalib.”

Is then one who doth know that that which hath been revealed unto thee from thy Lord is the Truth, like one who is blind? It is those who are endued with understanding that receive admonition. (surah Ar Rad 19)

“Bhalla yeh kiss tarhan mumkin ha k who shakhs jo tumare Rab ki iss kitab ko jo us ne tum per nazil ki hai haq janta hai aur who shakhs jo iss haqeeqat ki taraf se andha hai, dono yaqsaan ho jaien? Naseehat to danishmand log hi qabool kia kerte hain.”

They live a small world full of darkness. They are used to ignorance and the suffocated life. They are their own prisoners. The list contains not only the poor but our people in authority, our feudal lords, our so called leaders, our army men… the list includes Us, as a nation.

It is a Revelation sent down by (Him), the Exalted in Might, Most Merciful. In order that thou mayest admonish a people, whose fathers had received no admonition, and who therefore remain heedless (of the Signs of Allah. The Word is proved true against the greater part of them: for they do not believe. We have put yokes round their necks right up to their chins, so that their heads are forced up (and they cannot see).And We have put a bar in front of them and a bar behind them, and further, We have covered them up; so that they cannot see.The same is it to them whether thou admonish them or thou do not admonish them: they will not believe. ( Surah Ya Sin 6-10)

Yeh khudaye ghalib aur meherban ne nazil kia hai takke tum un logoon ko  jin k baap dada ko mutanabah nhi kiya gaya tha mutanah ker do, who ghaflat men pare huwe hain. Un men se aksar per khuda ki bat poori ho chuki hai aur who eman nhi laien gey. Hum ne un ki gardanoon men tauq dal rakhe hain aur who thoriyun tak phanse huwe hain aur un k sar ullal rahe hain.Aur hum ne un ki agey b deewar bana di hai aur un k peeche b, phr un per parda daal dia to yeh dekh nhi sakte. Aur tum un ko nasihat karo ya na karo un k liye barabar hai, so eman nhi laney k.

This is also worth mentioning that not letting the poor souls get educated because it turns you into a western geek is a baseless assumption. For the first word ALLAH revealed was IQRA which means ‘Study’.

Ilm and gharoor are inversely proportional to each other. Once you get hold of ‘ilm’ in a true sense. Its impossible for you to think high of yourself.

.

Once Maulana Rumi was passing by a stream. He was carrying all his books in both arms. He saw Tabraiz, an Aalim standing by the stream. He greeted him. Rumi invited Tabraiz to study his books which were the essence of his knowledge. Tabraiz took Rumi’s books and threw them in the stream. Rumi couldn’t believe and started yelling at Tabraiz because he had just wasted his all life’s hard work. Those books were the essence of his years and years of education and knowledge. Tabraiz, on seeing Rumi’s reaction, asked him: “is this it? Water can erase your knowledge that you are so proud of?” and bent down to retrieve the books. It astonished Rumi to see that books were dry and not damaged. Tabraiz shook them to remove the dust. He handed the books to Rumi and said: “this is my knowledge”

It showed Rumi the difference between the kind of knowledge he had collected all his life and the true ilm. His life changed from that moment onwards.

That was the ilm of Prophet (p.b.u.h) and his Sahaba and Auliya karaam.

ALLAH has not restricted Muslim men and women from seeking knowledge but society has. If I or you have found the lead, its now our duty to spread the light of realization.

May ALLAH forgive us all and help realize our responsibility and spread the truth. Amen.

What Mali baba has to say....

W

riting down the topic of the assignment I had no idea whom I am going to interview, where would I find such a man who falls perfectly into this poverty sketch. Somehow, I felt irritated. Making up the questionnaire was another headache. How many questions about poverty can possibly be asked??

Today, I finally thought of taking the interview of a man, who looked poor to me, our gardener who we call Mali baba. Why I thought of him as poor? Simply because at the age where he should been taken care of by his children and grandchildren and he should be taking rest and healthy food as much as possible, he goes from house to house working in the gardens. He tires himself up and works like a donkey to earn a few currency notes which still leave him and his family unfed and deprived of many basic necessities of life.

Prior to my interview, I took permission from him and sat on a chair beside him while he worked in my garden. His name was Mohammad Maskeen, aged 68. he had worked all through his life as a gardener, at first in a factory and after 21 years of service he retired and started to work independently to earn himself and his family livelihood.

He works a tough routine from 8 in the morning till 2 and is currently earning 6100 rs while working in 5 houses. Mali baba has 3 sons and 4 daughters who are now married. Currently, there are 9 members in the family, 3 of which are children. Mali baba clearly states himself as a poor man. I did a little background questioning and came to know that he wasn’t poor since generations. His father was a well established man. A middle class prosperous man, until his whole land was illegally taken away by some big fish. They had to then migrate to Kakul village from their native land. Today its been 40 years that he is living here.

On question regarding the occupation of his sons, Mali baba suddenly looked even older, “they are mechanics”, said Mali baba, “but their jobs are not permanent. Sometimes they get to earn 1000 rs but that is not very often. Winters specially bring bad luck when there are heavy rains and practically no work for people.” 

He talked about his third son who did a fine job in FA and now is in search of a job. “I have to give him 20 rs daily, if he gets a job my burden will lessen. I want him to do some respectful job unlike his brothers who have to get under the cars and deal with dirt all day. Being mechanic is not good.”

I felt very cruel in myself when I asked him about his expenditure. He took a deep sigh and said that his expenditure goes way beyond his capacity and reaches 12000 to 14000 per month. “A person has to survive in the society and interact with others in their time of need and it all requires money.” His coping strategy was the easiest and most widely used one: loan. Also he acknowledged the people who help him financially from time to time.

In his view, the society is full of exploiters and people don’t let go of a single chance to make money, even the ones who are already living a luxurious life. He narrated a sorry incident where he went to a doctor and he charged him with the usual 500 rs. It cost him 2000 rs all together without medicines and other tests. His whole budget was ruined. “Doctor could have shown some mercy, I am a poor man.”

However when I asked about being felt like a outcast due to poverty, his view were surprisingly positive. “No, I have always been an honest and hardworking man. and I take pride in my poverty although it wasn’t my choice but I am thankful to ALLAH for what he has given me. He people I work for and the people I live in, they all respect me and love me for what I am. I have never felt like being left alone. But of course you cannot set aside all the class differences. Some things are just there.”

I asked about his views regarding the elimination of poverty from society. He expressed his strong views about the educations as poverty eradicator and gave example of his own daughters who did different courses and became nurse and a teacher and are now earning decent living for their families. But on the other hand he clearly said:” poverty cannot be elimination from Pakistan unless there is corruption and oppression in the society. The rich are exploiting the poor and the poverty is increasing. Poor man has no say in this country.”  He talked about the British era and the good governance they had maintained. “The day the British were gone, it was all ruined for the common man”

In the last, I asked him to relate poverty with women. Does he think that women are a cause of poverty as Pakistan has 51% females out of the total population?  His answer was a strict:”Yes” 

“When women don’t work in the family, there is no way a family can cope with the growing expenses. Women have the ability to work and share the burden with men. Only than a family can stabilize and earn itself a decent living. Women should get educated and join different fields. The world is open for both genders. They should not restrict themselves and let themselves become a burden.”

Talking about the worst thing poverty can do a person Mali baba looked displeased. In his view the criminal activities are triggered by poverty and it’s the worst of all the effects. “Poverty arouses all the negative thoughts in a person when he sees the world full of bounties around him and he cannot get hold of even the minimum of it. One feels very frustrated and the only solution left is then theft, burglary and even worst murder or suicide. Those who don’t fear ALLAH and are not content and are not strong mentally usually adopt this path.”

I had no more questions but Mali baba had a lot to tell. Unfortunately I have less space here. The irritation I felt in the beginning slowly turned into sadness. The wrinkled face seemed like a history book, ready to be read. But nobody has enough time to unfold the unspoken stories that live and die each day on the streets of this land. I left Mali baba with a heavy heart. I have documented his story and quoted his words, instead I wish I could do something else to ease his pain. Prayer is my only weapon. May ALLAH bless us all. Amen.