Surah Al Kahf- Ayah No 35

Assalam o Alaikum 

Shab-e-Juma Mubarak. A soft reminder to recite/understand part/whole of Al Kahf on this blessed day for our own good.

Life is loaded with means of deception (متاع الغرور). What we see will all perish one day (کُلُّ مَن عَلَیہَا فَانٍ) [26:55]. So it is unreal. What we are unable to see was, is and will remain (وَّ یَبقٰی وَجہُ رَبِّکَ ذُوالجَلَالِ وَالِاکرَامِ).[27:55]. Besides, our sojourn is booby trapped every step of the way. If we could see with the eye of the heart, our enemy is doing all he can to distract or defeat us. In order to develop better understanding, visualise this imagery in mind that we are in the middle of a thunderstorm. Whirling tornado is upon us. Below is engulfing whirlpool amid rebellious ocean waves. We are surrounded by the dark energy which gets the better of us more often than not. Quite intense!!!. But there is hope. A rope (Al Quran) is hanging down the Heavens. One end of this rope (Original copy لوح محفوظ) is tied up with The Kursi and we are on its other end. Not an ordinary rope by any means. Allah's swt aide  (Gabriel AS) brought it down and relayed it to the special heart of very special Nabi Muhammad SAW. He SAW passed on this rope of hope from The King of Heavens and Earth to His companions and taught them how to hang on to it. We are so lucky to have this hope among us to stay safe from thunders, tornadoes and swirling whirlpools of dark energy. Just have to hang on to it no matter what.

Back to normal proceedings and let's have a look at today's Ayah No 35. Richer of two men while entering his garden did himself grave injustice. Before we dvelve upon his mistake, note that Allah swt who granted him the garden used the pronoun 'his' garden. It also goes to show that once Allah swt bestows his blessings upon us, He swt grants us the ownership rights as well. These rights are all about what decisions we take and how we carry ourselves. This man totally lost the plot when he claimed that his garden will never perish and this was where he became unjust to himself. Important to note that  Allah is Just. Adversity and good times are Allah’s distribution of exam papers. His justice is above board and across the board. We as specie are unjust to ourselves and each other. Notwithstanding the fact that we are incapable of doing justice, we mustn't quit doing our part of effort towards doing justice. For full justice, Allah swt has kept one day for Justice in His working calendar (No one except Him knows its time and date). And on that Day, Justice will be done like it should be done:

 فَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيْرًا يَرَهُ

So whosoever does good equal to the weight of an atom (or a small ant), shall see it. [7:99]

وَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ شَرًّا يَرَهُ

And whosoever does evil equal to the weight of an atom (or a small ant), shall see it. [8:99]

May Allah help us carry ourselves correctly in adversity and good times, particularly good times. Ameen

Surah Al Kahf- Ayah No 34

Assalam o Alaikum 

Shab-e-Juma Mubarak with this hope that we gather Max Pro Blessings on this blessed day.

Last week's thoughts on Dajjal received mixed feedback. Differing points of view should be accepted and discussed. One such take was about Dajjal being not a definitive entity as there is no mention of Dajjal in Quran and some people believe Ahadith are speculative on the subject. It is true for Quranic mention but issue of Hadith is debatable. However, we have to assume our role in the given scenario which should be getting aware and spreading awareness on Al Kahf and its subject matter which is for all times and ages. Besides, life itself with its glitz and glamour is an absorbing infatuation. To boost its deceptive attraction our untiring enemy is at work. To thwart our consistent enemy (Shaytan), we need constant protection of Quran.

Today's Ayah No 34 is continuation of previous two Ayahs (32 & 33). Allah swt after sketching the possessions of the richer of the two men brings us to the critical point of the story. Rich man's expansive gardens were not only well laid out but were also highly productive in yield. He boasted to his companion of his wealth and numbers (presumably he had many sons out of different marriages and a big workforce). This man is a classic example of how we go wrong in our thinking. Instead of thanking Allah for making this life comfortable for us, we tend to look down upon less fortunate. Our conversations start and revolve around pronuons of 'I' and 'me' like last line of this Ayah. This attitude is the beginning of the end with grave consequences as we will see in this story. Reliance on means than the Creator of means is the greatest Dajl of our times.

May Allah help us understand the message of His Book in its true spirit. Ameen

Surah Al Kahf- Ayah No 33

Assalam o Alaikum 

Shab-e-Juma Mubarak. In times to come, Al Kahf is the only protective shueld that may protect humanity of confusing questions, sinking depressions and exhaustive ambitions. Top FAQ on Dajjal (The King Deception) is whether he is a physical being or a concept? The answer is simple, if we exactly know who he is and what is his method of deception, then it would be an insult of his title. Secondly, if the details on his existence and appearance are not explicit then there is a logical reason to support this. He will be the greatest test humanity has ever seen. He will be granted powers to express his craft of deceit. Could he get  powers at his own? No, no creature can have any powers unless The King of Heavens and Earth wishes to grant any amount of powers to anyone. So why Dajjal be granted such immense powers that even faithful will be tempted to accept him as super being as depicted in Hollywood movies of Superman, Batman and flimsy Bolywood stuff like 'Ra One' as 'The One'? Answer is simple, it will be the greatest test of the faithful. Situation would be so precarious that even the most pious and practicing may find it hard to stand their ground. 

Now keep the sequence of Al Kahf's stories in view. First story revolves around the center pillar of Monotheism i.e Tauheed. And second is about materialism i.e dependency on material means instead of the Creator of these means. Humanity right now faces both challenges posed in first two stories of Al Kahf. Interestingly, when we start the next story, you will feel that it has a strong relationship with our times as well.

Bottom line, no one will escape this fitn of dajjal even if he is a physical being or a concept. Scribe believes its both. As concept the stage is being set. See how hard it has become to be people of pure Tauheed. Probably a Cave like Kahf remains our only option to live life as per Tauheed. Secondly, see how people shift Gods in given situations. In place of prayers they try to connect with invisible God and in real life they connect with visible god i.e money, profit, property etc. This hybrid model of faith is actually the preparation phase or conceptualization of dajjal.

Let's dicuss today's Ayah 33 which is continuation of previous Ayah 32. Couple of points to note are: all blessings (which we think are our material possessions) are granted to us. Nothing in our possession is ours. We have got it out of Allah's swt immense mercy and immaculate distribution system. He swt grants few people more than other to test Haves and Haves Not, more so, the Haves.

May Allah help us pass the test. Ameen

Surah Al Kahf- Ayah 32

Assalam o Alaikum 

Shab-e-Juma Mubarak. This Juma, let's seek protection of Allah swt from all the evil particularly the evil carnate, Al Jajjal (The King Deceiver). A polite reminder to recite whole or at least first/ last ten Ayahs of Al Kahf on this day and if possible understand its message. 

With today's Ayah 32, begins fifth Rukuh or should we say 5th Speech of The King of Heavens and Earth to us the earthlings. It also marks the beginning of second story of Al Kahf i.e. The Men of Two Gardens.

Important point to note is that the first story was about a society where Oneness (Tauheed) of Allah swt was under attack by polytheism. Our heroes, The Kahf Boys stood up to it and became eternal. 

There are interesting parallels in all four stories of Al Kahf with our times. In our times, along with polytheism (in few parts of the world), atheism has emerged as a serious challenger to Monotheism. We are into great struggle with atheism and the second big challenge, humanity came to confront with is materialism. We are at the peak of this pandemic and second story of Al Kahf is about materialism. Wait for next few Ayahs for this story to pick its pace. It will captivate and blow you away. More interestingly, this story is about people of faith. No wonder, Ka’b ibn ‘Iyad reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Verily, every nation has a trial, and the trial of my nation is wealth (materialism).”

Coming over to today's Ayah, wherein Allah swt addressing Prophet PBUH asked to tell the story of two men. One of them was granted vineyard surrounded by palm trees (like a fence). And between the gardens there were crops of grains. How explicit, how brief and yet detailed is the description of these gardens by the Creator of all story tellers.

Two pints to keep note of: firstly, everything is granted to us by Allah's accord and we can't claim to have earned anything in this world including life, health and wealth. Secondly, in this particular case, the bounties are abundant. Two gardens rich with fruits and grains. Pretty much a dream estate. And remember that last Rukuh ended with the description Allah's eternal Eden Gardens. Difference between the both gardens is crazy interesting. Gardens of this world are 'granted' and are temporary whereas the gardens (Jannah) of the next world are 'earned' and are permanent. Gardens or Blessings of this world are a test and the gardens of the next world are a reward of this test.

May Allah we pass this test to earn those permanent gardens. Ameen

Govt spokespersons versus media anchors

No love lost for Media and the Govt incumbent. However, loving the current match between the both. Finally, our 'mainstream', prime time anchors cum leeches (except few) have found their match in Fawad Chaudry, Shahbaz Gill and types. Expose of 'leading manipulators' was overdue and the time was never ripe for their bashing when next General Elections are around the corner. So far, Govt badmouthts are wining over slander brigade of media.
Have been watching 'On The Front' with Kamran Shahid for years just to get a feel of how extremist liberals are playing their game. Secondly, how channels adroitly support their mentors. In case of Duniya News, it is a puppy of Shahbaz, Nawaz and Maryam, in the sequence in which these names are written in this line. And last night's (30 September) episode of On The Front was like chicken coming home to the roost when Shahbaz Gill roasted Kamran Shahid and gave him the taste if his own medicine. Despite him teaming up with Azhar Javed(Duniya News' International Corrspendent) and Uzma Bokhari (PML (N)), Shahbaz Gill prevailed. No wonder journalism is at its lowest when people  like Azhar Javed (a paid presstitute of Sharif Family) made it to this position who is no more than lowlife street journalist. And teacher turned journalist whose only qualification is that his filmstar father Shahid had connections. Interestingly, these connections are with nach gana party who in turn are linked with media and  politicians. And Uzma Bokhari who kept switching hats from abusing Nawaz Sharif to defending him. Not to mention her father's great contribution to this nation when he fought the case of Raymond Davis and helped him achieve clean break.
But we have short memories as nation.Every evening, our middle and old age generations tune in to the talk shows and form opinions based on what these spinmeisters of media wish to sell. Resultantly, forming mixed, confused and polarised opinions notwithstanding serious consequences on our national interests. More so, getting trapped by spoof media and living a lie they wish us to live.
Bottom line, we should neither be dependent on govt mouthpieces, political embouchure and media salesmen/women. We shall be able to cut through the deceptive mazes of narratives serving vested interests of politicians and media.