The blood in the streets

The agony of the brothers and sisters dying in Egypt in a revolting massacre of democracy brought to my mind the lines of Pablo Neruda. The time and place may be  different, but the situation the same- perhaps ten times worse.

" And one morning all that was burning,
one morning the bonfires
leapt out of the earth
devouring human beings --
and from then on fire,
gunpowder from then on,
and from then on blood.
Bandits with planes and Moors,bandits with finger-rings and duchesses,
bandits with black friars spattering blessings
came through the sky to kill children
and the blood of children ran through the streets
without fuss, like children's blood.
Jackals that the jackals would despise,
stones that the dry thistle would bite on and spit out,
vipers that the vipers would abominate!

Face to face with you
I have seen the blood
of Spain tower like a tide
to drown you in one wave
of pride and knives!
Treacherous
generals:
see my dead house,
look at broken Spain :
from every house burning metal flows
instead of flowers,
from every socket of Spain
Spain emerges
and from every dead child a rifle with eyes,
and from every crime bullets are born
which will one day find
the bull's eye of your hearts.

And you'll ask: why doesn't his poetry
speak of dreams and leaves
and the great volcanoes of his native land?
Come and see the blood in the streets.
Come and see
The blood in the streets.
Come and see the blood
In the streets!"

-"I'm Explaining a Few Things", Pablo Neruda

The Dream

Alhamdulillah...

Leaving everything to Allah...

Allah knows..

Not a tear falls from your eyes without His knowledge. Not even the tiniest puff of your breath escapes His notice.

So, worry not. Put your trust in Allah. He knows it all..

How true!

إِنَّ مَعَ العُسرِ يُسرًا

He alone...

This Ramadan, befriend the Creator. He alone knows you better than you know yourself.

Ramadan!!

After much anticipation, Ramadan is almost here.. :) There is something about this blessed month that makes one so happy and at peace with oneself and the rest of the world.

A few reminders before Ramadan:

Ramadan is the month of fasting, not feasting.

The shayateen are chained during this month. Make the most of it.

The Holy Qur'an was revealed in Ramadan. Take a resolution to learn more of Qur'an this year.

Ramadan begins with mercy, moves on to forgiveness and ends in protection from hell fire. Use it to the fullest.

Remember, Ramadan comes only once in a year. Who knows if you would be alive next year to ask for Allah's mercy and forgiveness?

Eight years

Eight years ago, it rained so heavily on this day that water had to be drained out of a grave pit before my dearest friend's body was lowered into it.

Lonely?

And when you have Allah, whom else do you need? 

So whenever you feel lonely or sad, remeber this and say, hasbiyallahu wa ni'mal wakeel wa ni'mal maula wa ni'mannaseer- "Allah is sufficient for me, and He is the Best Disposar of affairs. What an Excellent Guardian and Protector He is!" 

Your burdens will be lifted off your shoulders. Your heartburns will be healed. You will feel better. 

You will attain the peace that only faith and unlimited trust in Allah can bring.

So wipe those tears and smile. He is with you.

July 5 Looms Near

Yet another June ends, to be followed by the inevitable July. Why do I fear July so much? 

Because you, my dear Wafa, died on July 5 eight years ago (the use of the word died is deliberate- I had to muster some courage to type that word because I don't know if I  have accepted your death yet, but in the end, that 's what actually happened ). 

Because July brings such an onrush of memories that I wish you were still around, though I know that I can never ever meet you again in this world, which is rather sad.

Because each July takes the moment I saw you for the last time farther back in time, which is dreadful. Forgive me when I say that I am afraid that the voice that I remember as yours might be a mixture of the voices of your sister and cousin- forgive this stupid friend of yours for her poor memory.

Because each year, my life takes new turns and I wonder what turns yours would have taken if you haven't left this world for the better. I wonder what you would study and where, when you would get married and to whom, how many children you would have, and what career you would pursue, and so on and on.

Because I keep missing you so much that I can talk a whole day about you and I still won't be able to say everything that I want to say about you.

And because it rains so heavily in July that I am reminded of that sad, sad morning when it rained so heavily that it seemed to me that the whole world was weeping at the loss of its dear child.

:)

NAK Quote

One of my favourite of all Nouman Ali Khan quotes:

Gives you so much of hope, doesn't it? :)

People!

"Human beings...they are going to fail you," says Shashi Deshpande in her book The Dark Holds No Terrors. How very true. Sometimes, people simply disappoint you. They can be so insensitive/irritating/infuriating that you are forced to marvel at your ability to keep your calm. I can hardly stand people who

1. do not keep their word

2. preach what they don't practise

3. give themselves airs

4. take others for granted

5. are incorrigible.

The last are the worst, as they will never know what they really are. I hope I never ever fall into any of these categories!!!

Jannah = Justice

...because in this world,

Some win,
Some lose.
Some rise,
Some fall.
Some soar,
Some stumble.
Some are strong,
Some are weak.
Some are healthy,
Some are sick.
Some live long,
Some die young.
Some find happiness,
Some drown in sorrow.
Some live in huge mansions,
Some sleep under the canopy of the sky.
Some love,
Some are favoured.
Some dream,
Some are denied even a chance to dream.
Some prayers are unanswered,
Some tears unnoticed,
Some dreams crushed...
Jannah is justice
Because in this world,
Life, at times, is a bit too much to bear.

Ya Allah...

I want nothing more... And nothing less.

* I don't know much about the "beloved ones" part but then I couldn't figure out a way to edit it.

Poem on Jannah by Ammar - Kinetic Typography

This poem was written by Ammar Alshukry and produced by Belal Khan in the form of Kinetic Typography.

Close your eyes and imagine this
Eternal bliss,
your every wish,
at your finger tips
and more...

Perched on a throne, near a stream
So serene, and exquisite a scene
You've never seen
Yet you still dream
of more...

Gone is pain, gone is fear
Gone is grief, gone are tears
Idle speech you shall never hear
And the Prophets make up your social sphere
and more...

The martyrs, righteous and truthful too
You are from them, and they from you
They held tightly to what they knew was true
and To join them, you did too
theres more...

Maidens, chaste, who restrain their gaze
Lost in a glance for days and days
Fun and frolic, as a child plays
Where the breath that leaves your lips is praise
of the One who gave you more

Imagine you and your father, with ages the same
Imagine showing off your book with no shame
Imagine nights with the sahabah, with their stories to entertain
Imagine Muhammad (Sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) knowing your name
What could be there more..

Gardens underneath which rivers flow
A goal so far, and yet so close
A journey worth taking, for those who know
Tell me Do you not wish to go..
for more?

For all the bounties, all the grace
All the sights and the smells and the tastes
Will be forgotten, without a trace
as if frozen in time and space
When you see His Face

What an excellent Master, of a miserable slave
You forgot and He forgave
He gave you guidance, and you still strayed
You asked for mercy, that He gave
and more...and more..and more

Note: I found this AMAZING poem through my dear sis Jinan.. Thank you for sharing it with me, Jinan. I think it will be an amal to share it with those we know, and those who happens to come across my blog by chance.

Gaza

Why does America wish to delay Erdogan's visit to Gaza? Why does it support the Fatah party in this case? Is the US afraid that the Hamas will be empowered with Turkey's help?

And why does the West that celebrates Malala turn a blind eye towards the children of Gaza who resist invasions with stones? Oppression is oppression, no matter whether it comes from the Taliban or the US-backed Israel. 

A lot of things happen in the world. And caught in the woes of our own day-to-day existence, we often forget Gaza and its children. Let us please not forget to pray for them.

the times

It is said- rightfully- that there is a time to sow and a time to reap.
I agree. There is certainly a time for everything. And often, the time chooses what it wants to be rather than us deciding what to make of a time.

There are times when you are afraid you'll burst with joy, and there are times when happiness is but an illusion.

There are times you long for a comforting hand, and times you need to be left alone.

Times when you cherish the past, and times you would rather not walk down the memory lane.

Times when you are so sure of yourself, and times when you don't know why you are the way you are.

Times you can't wait to grow up, and times you weep for the lost childhood.

Times you smile secretly at something, and times you cry silently for an unshareable loss. 

Times you are grateful for the gift of reason, and times you hope if only you could somehow stop thinking...

There are times when you don't know whether to laugh or cry and end up doing both at the same time.

Ruya

Ruya.

There is always Ruya, no matter what. A dream and a vision. Manifestations of wishes and longings beyond fulfillment. Like the rain. And colours. Stars, moon and patches of the sky. Like the wind, music and stretches of sea. Like words- sheer, powerful words. Beautiful words. Ruya.

You are always there, Ruya. You'll always be there. What is life without you?  You are that inevitable, undefinable craving. Ruya.

You will always be there, Ruya. Like a dear little daughter. Like an unborn twin... a long lost friend. A deep yearning in my unconscious. A rain-like Love, so beautifully, beautifully sad. Ruya.

Lost...

... in thoughts:
Wherein lies the fulfillment of the mind?
Why exist when you can really live?
Turbulence, turmoil, torment, torture- how useful these alliterations!
How many ants do we lead to death just because we don't have time to wait till they pass?

...such is life...

If I were a dead leaf thou mightest bear;

If I were a swift cloud to fly with thee;

A wave to pant beneath thy power, and share

The impulse of thy strength, only less free

Than thou, O uncontrollable! If even

I were as in my boyhood, and could be

The comrade of thy wanderings over Heaven,

As then, when to outstrip thy skiey speed

Scarce seem'd a vision; I would ne'er have striven

As thus with thee in prayer in my sore need.

Oh, lift me as a wave, a leaf, a cloud!

I fall upon the thorns of life! I bleed!

A heavy weight of hours has chain'd and bow'd

One too like thee: tameless, and swift, and proud.

*

Make me thy lyre, even as the forest is:

What if my leaves are falling like its own!

The tumult of thy mighty harmonies

Will take from both a deep, autumnal tone,

Sweet though in sadness. Be thou, Spirit fierce,

My spirit! Be thou me, impetuous one!

Drive my dead thoughts over the universe

Like wither'd leaves to quicken a new birth!

And, by the incantation of this verse,

Scatter, as from an unextinguish'd hearth

Ashes and sparks, my words among mankind!

Be through my lips to unawaken'd earth

The trumpet of a prophecy! O Wind,

If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?

-Shelley, "Ode to the West Wind"

Do something GOOD today!!

Dear Daughter..

For a little girl I've neither seen nor known yet loved as if my own.

 

It has rained heavily today. You did not know it, though. You were sleeping soundly beside me, oblivious of the world around you. And now you are asleep again- but no longer beside me. You are lying on soft earth which covers your body (and keeps you warm, I hope), under a little plant that marks your grave.

Others may not mind- after all you lived just for a day. But I do care, because I’ve known you all these months. You were alive, as far as I’m concerned, for the nine months that I’ve carried you in my womb. Inside me, you’ve breathed and your little heart has beat and you tiny body has moved. I’ve talked with you, cradled you in me and I’ve thought of you before doing everything -I was worried how my movements may affect you. And now after all that care and attention, after months of wondering whether it would be a boy or girl and thinking of names… after all that, you have left sooner than you had come.

Had you been born still, it wouldn’t have been this painful. It would have hurt, sure, but not this much. You have lived, though only for a day. And that one day, you haven’t left my side, no matter what you did. Whether you were sleeping, crying or being fed, you were beside me all the time. You have felt as secure beside me as you had within me. I was the only world that you knew. And I had thought of the day you’d start walking, holding my hands, your tiny steps faltering, unsure of what lay ahead but trusting me with your life… I had thought of all the stories I would tell you and the songs that would lull you to sleep, all the things we would do together, and all the things I would teach you… But all in vain! You’ve gone without knowing the colours of the world and the smell of nature. You’ve left without knowing what life is.

Your father, grieving as he is, is at a loss for words. As for your brother, he is still too young to comprehend death. He does not know that he has lost his little sister forever. But I- I feel the pain like no one else. One day you left my body, and the very next day you left my world… I haven’t yet adjusted to these facts. I feel so blank, so empty. What really is a mother without her child? Whom should I feed now; for whom am I bearing all the discomforts of giving birth? It seems like my life has lost its meaning… God save me!

I know you’ll be blessed with the fragrance of heaven. You were too young to do anything on your own, let alone commit sins. You hadn’t even started to live. So surely, God will honour you with a better life in Heaven. Only I’m left here to grieve your loss…I know that everything in life has a purpose. Even a flower of a day has its beauty. So may be your unexpected departure serves some purpose too great for me to even imagine. Whatever, I hope that you are resting in peace, my dear. I do hope the angels of heaven are guarding your little soul from darkness. And I love you, my dear, dear daughter. Wherever you may be, this mother’s heart is always praying for you.

 

[Written on 24 Aug 2008]

Umpteen Reasons Why I Remember You

Happy Birthday, memories... You would have been 21 today. Here are some of the umpteen reasons why I still remember you.

10. Because we played Chinese checkers from your deathbed and that does not happen with everyone.

9. Because you liked chocolate and mango and small samosa-sized manda and I like them too.


8. Because you were a good human being and a good Muslim (may Allah unite us in Jannath).

7. Because your little cousins recognize me only when they are told that I'm deedi's friend.

6. Because your mom's eyes well up every time we meet each other, out of remembering you. 

5. Because you were in a lot of pain and never complained even once, and so you inspire me more than lessons on perseverance.

4. Because I'm in pain myself (though not even one-tenth of what you suffered) and thinking about you helps me stop (at least at times) from  complaining. 

3. Because you told me that for every little bit of pain that we bear patiently, we'll be forgiven some of our sins.

2. Because you were my best friend from kindergarten till the time you were alive.

1. Because I love you in the name of Allah.

Terrible Times

These are terrible times. Terrible times indeed.
And who knows, it may get even worse.

Ya Allah, we seek refuge in you.
Take care of our daughters, lest they be raped and tortured to death.
Take care of our sons, lest they be arrested and branded terrorists.

Ya Allah, make this planet a better place to live in, and help us live in peace.