Wednesday 22 February 2023

Surah Al Kahf - Ayah No 103

Assalam o Alaikum 
Shab-e-Juma Mubarak. Al Kahf Time. Please find time to recite and understand this amazing Surah or part of it.
Each Surah/ Rukuh is like a diamond necklace and we explore/ examine one diamond of Al Kahf every week. Though together in a Surah/ Rukuh the impact of these diamonds (Ayahs) is tremendously pronounced, yet separately every Ayah remains a precious diamond. And like a necklace, every Ayah is in contact with the previous and the next.
In the same pretext, today's Ayah No 103 is merely a question posed by Allah swt. But the question is no ordinary question. Its about declaration of the greatest losers in life in terms of deeds? So without probing into answer to this question in coming Ayahs, let's do some brainstorming as to who could be the greatest loser in terms of deeds in this world.
A quick recap of all four stories of Al Kahf may help us find the right answers.
First story had two protagonists i.e. polythiest King and monotheistic Al Kahf Boys. Who Allah swt honoured out of the two? For whom a weekly remembrance is held across the globe to this day till the day of judgement?
Second story had two main characters. The wealthy out of two got distracted, forgot His Lord and denied the day of judgement. The other one had less resources but was humble and grateful. Who out of these had higher place in Allah’s Court? Who was the real loser among them?
Third story is about knowledge. Musa AS thought he was the most knowledgeable person alive between Heavens and Earth but Allah swt proved that Khizar AS was more knowledgeable. It also confirms that mere knowledgeability is not the criterion of success in this life because there always one person more knowledgeable than the most knowledgeable.
Last story of Zulqarnain is about establishment of Allah's writ on earth. Is being in power a criteria of success in this world? Or is it judicious use of power?
Let's find out the right answer to these questions in next week's Ayah No 104, Insha Allah.
Blessed Week.


Saturday 18 February 2023

Pakistaniat - Part 1

Pakistan, what a lovely country with deranged populace. A country with immense potential yet a classic case of mismanagement, corruption & disloyalty by all and sundry.

Wish I didn't have to write this. Wish things were not as bad as they are right now. Seventy five years of existence and we are facing existential threat. Never in history we simultaneously faced four crisis viz economic, political, terrorism and constitutional (deferment of elections on different pretext). Firstly, how did we reach near default cum collapse situation? Whereas, a year ago, same time, nothing like this was on the cards. And the moment, one makes a mention like this, our favourite game of tagging starts. Anti PTI would conveniently be thinking 'buckle up for some Imraniyat'. However, read the title it’s Pakistaniat.

The reference to holy places and people in this piece shall be in implied language for the reason that I’m still in Pakistan. And Pakistan is not a free country. There is no freedom of expression to say the least and I’m a not ‘professional journalist’ who earns his bread through writing total crap. Due to this suffocating environment, I considered leaving Pakistan at the turn of calendar year but strong value system wouldn’t let it happen. It was not about bread but breathing yet it didn’t come to pass. Our sold out intelligentsia has always been singing to the tunes of kala sahab and kept us confused on real problems of this country. As for journalists, 99% of them are either compromised or quiet.   Secondly, now things are so clear that even if we don’t mention the culprits openly, everyone knows who is who. Open mention would otherwise not change anything.

 So let’s start from top. Pakistan is controlled by US. You may have a laugh or think that some religious extremist demon inside this writer is getting the better of him. Or May be he watched too many conspiracy theory movies lately etc. Doesn’t matter because we live in times which ought to be completely confusing and totally deceptive. Most difficult times to merely differentiate right from wrong. Look at that goon, the outgoing viceroy of Pakistan who retired in last November, how he played up the whole system and got away with it. I’m quite convinced that he was mini Dajjal and nothing has changed after him. How susceptible are we to manipulation? How submissive are we to power? How fragile is our loyalty to the country? American whip dogs control this land. 

It was a mystery how someone who takes orders all his life can become most powerful independent, honest, patriotic decision maker in the country? The mystery resolved. That is precisely the reason that rising to the most powerful position in Pakistan, that one individual still doesn’t become the emperor rather retains the title of US Viceroy in Pakistan. Pretty much like pre 1947 era, we have foreign occupation (instead of UK it’s US) and we have a Viceroy (Kala Sahab instead of Gora Sahab). All the institutions are designed to serve them and any one person goes out of sync with this order, is weeded out. There is a clear cut promotion criteria for Kala Sahab - liberal (anti Islam/ atheist or minimum non religious), pragmatic, ardent supporter of western ideas and life style and useful to furthering the interests of US. Politicians also have place in this matrix. They have to be loyal to the Viceroy. But lately, this convenient arrangement has been disturbed by a nut head called Imran Khan. He is not submitting to the viceroy. He is the only impediment to the new Pakistan order. He has to be eliminated. It’s not my desire, it’s the demand of the system otherwise this whole system will collapse. IK is a threat to the corporate interest of all stakeholders in this country which have already evolved in to powerful and well entrenched mafias. 

All those romantic things that come with the aura of patriotism are among the best childhood memories of our generation which are diminishing fast. I’d rather cherish those priceless memories and learn to live with pain of all my shattered dreams. 

Part 2 of Pakistaniat on what happens when Imran Khan is taken out of current equation which is most likely by either imprisonment, assassination or physically disabling him. It is a matter of kleptocratic system’s survival which is likely to prevail because of its power. Deranged populace of this country just needs a Sahab (Viceroy - Gora or Kala) to rule over them irrespective of the fact whether the strings are being pulled from East of West of the Atlantic. 

Wednesday 15 February 2023

SurahAl Kahf - Ayah No 102

Assalam o Alaikum. Shab-e-Juma Mubarak. Time to connect with amazing Al Kahf. A polite reminder to recite whole or part of Al Kahf on this blessed day.
With Ayah No 102, we enter in to last Rukuh of Al Kahf. Rukuh as we know is a complete speech of Allah swt which has a start/ intro that sets the tone for things to come, followed by meat of the speech which could be stories, analogies, argumentation or examples and a strong ending with lessons to take home. 
Last Rukuh of Al Kahf is the most powerful speech to conclude magnificent Al Kahf at a very high. In order to make better sense of this Rukuh, we need to keep in mind all the subject matters discussed in the Surah.
Today's Ayah No 102 is clear warning sign for those who take anyone out of servants of Allah swt as their allies. This is first lesson of Tauheed commensurate with first story of Al Kahf wherein our heroes The Kahf Boys, against all the odds, kept faith in Allah swt and took refuge in the Cave and  rest is known to you. Word عبادي here merits a mention which means "my servants". Allah swt didn't say 'my creations' rather there is a sense of ownership in this expression of 'my servants'. They ought to be the people on His right side, these are people we think fall in pious category. This is a very hardline drawn by Allah swt and there are thin margins for error for taking اولیاء. The point is further elaborated in Surah Al Baqrah where Alah swrt mentioned this word for Himself:
اَللّٰهُ وَلِیُّ الَّذِیْنَ اٰمَنُوْاۙ-یُخْرِجُهُمْ مِّنَ الظُّلُمٰتِ اِلَى النُّوْرِ۬ؕ-  [2:257]
Otherwise, Hell might the permanent lodging and what could be worst than this.
May Allah be our only Ally.Ameen
 وكَفٰى بِاللّٰهِ وَلِیًّا

Wednesday 8 February 2023

Surah Al Kahf - Ayah No 101

Assalam o Alaikum. Shab-e-Juma Mubarak. Time to connect with magnificent Al Kahf. A polite reminder to recite whole or part of Al Kahf on this blessed day.
Prophet (ﷺ) warned us ahead of time that— Between time of the creation of Adam (AS) and the Resurrection Day, there is nothing greater than the trial of Dajjal (the Antichrist). [Muslim] When I see the situation in some parts of the world nowadays, I usually think it can’t get any worse. But it will. That’s why Prophet (ﷺ) used to seek Allah’s refuge from Dajjal in His prayer: “O Allah! I seek refuge with Thee from the torment of the Hell, from the torment of the grave, from the trial of life and death and from the evil of the trial of Masih al-Dajjal (Antichrist).” [Muslim] He will be a combination of every tribulation, man has ever known. Trial of wealth (what owner of the two gardens suffered), power (taught through Zulqarnain story), knowledge (as learned in Musa (AS) and Khizar’s story) and faith (what people of the cave went through).  
Coming over to today's Ayah No 101 which is continuation of previous Ayah No 100 wherein hell had been mentioned. People who will be presented with hell would be those whose eyes couldn't see the signs in Al Quran because there eyes had been covered and they wouldn't hear the message or they didn't want to see or hear it. But when they see hell right in front of them, there would be no escape. May Allah guide us to see and hear the signs before its too late, Ameen. It is logical that there wouldn't be any room for forgiveness on The Day of Judgement because entry to the The Court would be through hell from a thin bridge. Having seen hell, our repentance wouldn't be accepted because we are supposed to put full faith in our Lord’s Commandments unseen.

Sunday 5 February 2023

Mistakes of IK

 Zubair Jamal I shall be the last person to defend this rotten and stinking system, establishment, unbridled powers of Army, impotent judiciary and dysfunctional institutions but IK had to take a stand when he sensed that things were going wrong not when he was kicked out of power. 

Despite his massive limitations, inability to judge people and too much unnecessary yapping, I still believe he is our only option. But unless we identify the problems and correct them, we might keep going in circles by blaming the system only.


Zubair Jamal 

He enjoyed the powers that come with one page. Same sector commanders  who are being vilified now when handed him the Kings Men like JKT, wowda etc, managed elections, marshalled Azad candidates, broke he’ll on political opponents were all good. It seems that while in full power (as long as Army held his hand), IK felt the high of power then and didn’t speak. Call it lack of integrity or corruption of power but eventually the whole nation paid the price




Wednesday 1 February 2023

Surah Al Kahf - Ayah 100


Assalam o Alaikum. Shab-e-Juma Mubrak. Alhamdolillah we enter into centurion week with Ayah No 100 hoping and praying that Allah accepts this effort. For modern minds, memorization of Quran or part of it has always been a point of discussion. Most of us think of memorization as an extra deed, but the following hadith clarifies how hollow your soul is when you have nothing of the Quran in your heart. He who does not memorize any part from the Qur’an he is like the ruined house. [At-Tirmidhi] You might ask, why memorize in the 21st century when we have the Quran preserved by Allah and there are millions of copies and apps for it right at our fingertips, machine memory practically supplanting brain memory? Because to take a verse to heart is to know it by heart. Memorization provides us with knowledge of a qualitatively and physiologically different variety— you take the verse inside you and you know it at a deeper level than if you had simply read it off a screen. What you have in your heart is more easy to access and apply to your life in spontaneous situations. You won’t have to open the copy of it or turn on your mobile for that. Quran holds so much wisdom in it that keeping it in your heart will make you a wise person as well. Memorisation of at  least first ten Ayahs of Al Kahf shall have very significant role in eschatology. So if end of times is in sight, then its memorisation is need of the hour for our generation next. It must be passed on like a baton from now to the next generations.

Today's Ayah No 100 is continuation of the previous Ayah No 99 which discussed establishment of The Day of Judgement. Firstly, Gog Mgog shall be unleashed and then the horn shall be blown for The Gathering. At the point, those who disbelieve shall be shown The Hell, the way it should be presented. This is the culmination point of the process of creation and there will be no escape for anyone. The only thing that could come for our rescue should be the right intent and good deeds.

May Allah swt keep us among the people on  the right side. Ameen