What is the Truth?

I am but a man, like all the rest, out there searching for the inner truth

Where I find it, depends on where I look

Will I succeed?

The answer to that, lies with He who knows my fate.

But then again, fate, like a dwindling river can change its course.

My actions, my intentions are what alter its path

 

Above me, the Heavens

Below me, the Earth

Shall I ties weights to my ankles to anchor myself down

Or shall I find a way to lift myself up?

The question with the easiest answer

Yet so many of us tend to flaw

 

What is it, that we can not see

What is it, that we can not comprehend

Are we unaware of what lies above

Or have we forgotten the One Who loves

It is but a veil of our own doing

Put up by our own immorality

 

What better can we expect

Our faith is feeble

We do not stand a chance

A chance in front of the beast

It’s on the left

It’s on the right

Its inside you

Its inside me

 

Above me, the Heavens

Below me, a flaming abyss

Should I fear the fall?

Or should I not care at all?

The question with the easiest answer

Yet so many of us tend to flaw

 

We are infected by greed

We are infected by envy

Looking to those above us, makes us sink further below

Yet we keep doing so

To rise above we have to look to the less privileged

To awaken our gratitude

To awaken our devotion

Devotion to He who provides

Devotion to He who is Just!

 

No man nor women has less than anyone

If you have something that I don’t have

I have something that you don’t have

The rich enjoy money

While the poor enjoy true bliss

 

Rich should be the quality of your heart

Rich should be the quality of your soul

For he who attains such, shall truly reach the pot of gold!

The Coming of Change

Driving down Jacaranda Lane...

Everywhere I turn, I see bursts of color. Spring is here, with all it’s got! The Jacaranda trees! The ladybugs! They are everywhere. Is it just me or is the world looking more beautiful than ever before? Even though we humans are trying our best to make a mess of it, it still isn’t giving up on us. Change is coming! I can feel it!

We’ve seen enough negativity, bloodshed, and corruption in the land. It’s time to see the tables turn. 2012 is anything but the end of the world! Are the planets lining up? They are all coming around to see the most powerful and amazing revolutionary happening, in the history of the universe! Right here on planet Earth! Just you wait and see.

All you people out there thinking that there’s nothing left to live for, your days of making this world a gloomy place, are over. You know why? Positively is coming back, and its coming strong! Watch out!

I use to feel this energy inside of me. Somewhere deep inside. Locked up! But now it seems to have found its way out and is seeping into my bloodstream. The hardships, heartbreak, and sorrows have helped in synchronizing my mind, heart, and soul. I thank you Allah, for putting me through all of it! To make me stronger, not only emotionally, but spiritually as well.

As much as it might seem difficult to accept….one gets closer to Allah in hardship and that is a fact. But you can look at it in another way. Allah is choosing you, out of the millions of people around you to be close to Him! What an honor it is to be nearer to the Creator than others around you, those who are living a life of temporary bliss! If only you choose to look at it that way.

A few days ago, my mother was telling me about one of the prophets, Hazrat Ayub (Job). His life had phases of being blessed with the best in the world to having nothing at all, to a point where even his family left him, and then back to the top.  Hazrat Ayub (AS) cherished the days in which he was in the worst of his conditions, because those were the days in which Allah would personally ask him how he was doing! That is what love really is! Not looking at what you have or have not received from the one you love but just to have the feeling of belonging!

The Holy Quran: Chapter 38

Surah-Sad

Commemorate Our servant Job, Behold he cried to his Lord: “The Evil One has afflicted me with distress and suffering”! (41) (The command was given:) “Strike with thy foot: here is (water) wherein to wash, cool and refreshing and (water) to drink.” (42) And We gave him (back) his people and doubled their number― as a Grace from Ourselves, and a thing for commemoration, for all who have Understanding. (43) “And take in thy hand a little grass and strike therewith: and break not (thy oath).” Truly We found him full of patience and constancy: how excellent in Our service! Ever did he turn (to Us)! (44)

May Allah grant us the wisdom and faith like that of Hazrat Ayub (AS)! So that all our hardships turn into blessings. So that our bond with Allah becomes unbreakable, no matter how hard Satan tries!

There are three words that can change your life:

• SUBHANALLAH: Glory be to Allah
• ALHAMDULILLAH: Praise be to Allah
• ALLAH-HU-AKBAR: Allah is the Greatest

The zikr of these three words have rescued me from falling into the pits of depression! Use them to light your way as well, and InshAllah, no depression or sorrow can bring you down.

Destination Jannah

I have boarded my ship and set sail

On my way to meet Allah.

I see nothing at a distance

But I know deep down inside

It is just a veil!

 

The water is calm now

But I’ve seen its bad side.

It throws me here and there

And makes me lose my way.

I am alone on this ship

I can either hold the wheel or set the sail!

 

At times I feel I have not the capacity to find my way,

I need help…

I can’t do this on my own.

In distress…This is what I say!

 

Is there someone out their who’d like to join me on this voyage?

You can hold the wheel while I set the sail.

Together we can take turns,

To keep from losing our way!

 

If this is what you choose,

There is not much you lose.

Because from then on,

Life will be like a cruise!

 

There is no longer darkness,

Because when you lose your way,

I will show you the light you need.

And when I lose mine…

I know who will be there to shine!

 

And  there is no longer fear,

Because our cause is one.

Towards Allah we shall run!

 

 

 

 

 

No One but You

There is only ONE you! There is only ONE me! From Adam to the last person to be born, there will be no one like you nor me! Why does each and every human being, have a different finger print? A different DNA? A different appearance? Even identical twins are two totally separate individuals. There is a resemblance between them, but they are not the same! Surely, it shows Allah’s undoubted ingenuity! However, Allah has purpose for whatever He does, and that purpose is what I am looking for.

How can we be like someone else when we are not, them? We cant! Then why are we so hell-bent in trying to be like, so and so, and wanting the life of, so and so? That’s not going to happen! Your life is your’s to live and mine is mine to live! Our paths are totally different! Our roles are totally different!

“All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts…”

William Shakespeare

Search for your role is life:

Stop poking your face into other people’s scripts! Stop reading their lines! You have your own! If you have lost your script, look for it! If you can’t find it, then there is no point of your existence on the set!

How saddened am I for those who have lost their script! And more for those who think they have found it but in fact they are just peeking here and there into those of others! At times I feel I’ve lost my script as well. Or maybe its right there in my hand! I’m too busy admiring the poetic lines of others that I fail to look down at my own.

The first step, for people who are in the same state as I, is to stop thinking. The thoughts that are brewing in our minds are the left overs of those whose lives we yearn to possess! So the best way is to, get rid of the rotten brew and start fresh. But wait! Don’t start re-brewing. Have you washed the cauldron in which you brew? You don’t want any contaminants of the previous brew adulterating your new one!  The best way to do so is to fill your mind with Allah. How? Talk to Him. Tell Him how you are feel. And then sleep on it.

Morning is the best time to start anything great. So when you wake up, keeping Allah present in your head, start searching for your script, this is the second step. The first place to look is the place you’d least expect it to be. Right in front of you! You have been using your uniqueness to change the course of lives of the people around you. Remember: what you do, no one else can do! You impact the world, the way no one else can! So take control of your life! If you’ve gotten this far with whatever you’ve done, you’ve probably done it right, you’re just not sure what you do. Everyone has something that gets them going. Something that sparks energy into their heart, what is it? This is a little tricky because there may be many things that seem to make you feel that way. But there is only one thing that is the real deal! At the moment I am at this very step, trying to discover what makes me feel like me.

Here comes the most important step, step three. There is one roll inside each of our unique rolls and that is, to help others find their script. People like you and me, who are have lost their cause of existence, they need help. But handle them with care. Sometimes when someone asks you the way to a certain shop in a mall, you tend to direct them in such a way that they get lost even more than they were before. So its best to guide them to the Help Desk, because that is situated at the most central location and the easiest to find. Where is the Help Desk though? Direct them towards Allah, and that’s all you’ve got to do. The deed you have just done has created enough energy to help a lost soul find his way and has also recharged your torch that had started to flicker.

You’re good to go! A fully charged torch, a map and a straight road ahead, as long as you can see it! Keep charging your torch along the way, or it’ll not be long until you find yourself back in the middle of nowhere!

Surah An-Nisa
O mankind! Now hath a proof from your Lord come unto you, and We have sent down unto you a clear light; (174) As for those who believe in Allah, and hold fast unto Him, them He will cause to enter into His mercy and grace, and will guide them unto Him by a straight road. (175)

 

Allah’s Love

Tired of being depressed, sorrowful, and annoyed with life? You are not to worry! That’s the beautiful thing about life! Allah Subhana-wa-taala has put peace and comfort, even in such circumstance! Don’t believe it? Its true!

Life was taking its toll on me and I started to feel as if I had lost the love of Allah. But the problem did not lie in Allah’s love towards me, but in the definition I had made in my mind about how Allah loves! I always thought that being loved by Allah meant that life would become easy, smooth and free from worries! I was wrong! A man named Hamza Tzortzis made me realize the flaw in my definition just by saying a few phrases! To begin with, he said “Allah is with those who are patient”. Who are the people who have to be patient? Someone with a life he wants, having life go the way he wants it to? Or someone having a difficult time, not happy with life and what he is getting from it? Its the latter who has to be patient! Now let me ask you, would you rather be with your Creator while passing through this phase called life? Or would you rather get everything you want in life and forget that its just a phase in our actual existence?

This got me thinking, and then he said something which was what actually proved me wrong! He was narrating how at times Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and his family would have nothing to eat for days! Prophet Muhammad (SAW), Allah’s most beloved creation, for whom Allah created this entire universe, had to face such difficulties! So I was definitely wrong!

I then sought for what attaining Allah’s love means and what you can feel when you are receiving it. Its the state of ones heart and mind that determines whether one is being loved by Allah or not. No matter what your physical condition is, a calm and satisfied heart is one that is at peace, and that peace is called Allah’s love. No matter what your psychological condition is, a calm and collected mind is one that is at peace, and that peace is called Allah’s love. Acceptance of one’s conditions as a blessing from Allah comes only when ones heart and mind is in a state of peace.

How is one to attain such peace? There are two important actions that can be done to achieve this goal. The remembrance of Allah through Zikr and by reading of the Holy Quran. I’m talking from experience! Its been a few days since I started focusing on these two deeds and I have started feeling the change. I can feel this amazing comfort in my heart and this calmness in my mind.

The love of parents cannot be replaced by anyone else, because its pure, and unconditional! That is one thing only Allah can provide, first through our parents and then directly from Him when we become old enough to understand. Without this love in your life is like…

Sunrise

Wake up! Watch the majestic sun conquer the darkness! See the horizon light up! Once again darkness has fallen and light has prevailed! This is what I feel when I wake up! The morning sun charges me up with positivity! I am ready to face the new day with all the abilities I’ve been bestowed with! Allah-ho-Akbar! (Allah is the Greatest)

I need to stop sleeping late and need to start waking up early! Before the sun rises! Watch it rise and see how every new day brings hope and happiness into this world! Then spend my day with this amazing thought! You don’t realize the importance of what elders say, until you don’t experience it yourself. But that too, if you stop to notice that what you are experiencing is what you were once told, by them. There is no doubt about the fact that Allah helps those who help themselves and Allah opens the eyes of those who reflect over His creations!

I think the worst decisions I’ve made in my life were at night and the best were in the morning! I know for a fact that the night brings with it all other darkness apart from its physical form, like sorrow, depression, anger, envy and the list goes on and on! You tend to get affected by the darkness of the night to make the wrong choices. But that doesn’t mean that you can never make the right ones at night. It’s just that goodness is more on your side in the early hours of the day!

We are bringing ourselves to destruction on our own. Look at our lifestyle! Is this what our ancestors taught us? Just because we have electricity we’ve given up the blessing of an early morning and an early night! This has led to nothing but sickness, depression and not waking up for Fajr prayers! The biggest loss is missing your morning prayers! If you can’t wake up for your Lord there’s no meaning of life, you are good as dead! It’s just another day living like a selfish being thinking of nothing but yourself! We don’t put Allah before of our own selves therefore we lose our way. It’s like walking into a cave without a torch! Even animals start their day with prayer and praise of their Creator! Who are we to neglect such a deed?

One thought leads me to another!

Mold your day according to the five daily prayers and your life will change! The mistake we make is placing our prayers second to all our other work! Push yourself to goodness! Make the right choices for yourself, for your life! It’s a gift we’ve been given and its our duty to do justice to it by living it the way it should be lived!

O Allah you have created us and to You we are to return! May we be able to attain Your forgiveness when we are brought in front of You! We are weak and to You we turn for assistance! Please help us live life the way You want us to…to the fullest! Ameen!

Written for LOYALS ( www.nooreeman.org )

I Found You

Help me! Help me! I’m drowning! Oh Allah teach me to swim in this sea of misery! Oh Allah please make the waves push me ashore! If I sink to the sea bed I will never see sunlight again! I will rust away and no one will be able to help me! You are my savior! You are my strength! Please don’t let me go!

Help me! Help me! I can’t fly! I have landed on hostile ground! Oh Allah teach me to fly off this land of despair! Oh Allah please let the air current take me afloat! I am prey to many. If they find out, they won’t leave a bone. I will never be able to soar the blue skies again! You are my protector. You are my muscle! Please don’t let me fall!

Help me! Help me! I can’t see! I am lost in the darkness! Oh Allah show me light in this cave of agony! Oh Allah let the sunlight light up my path! If I start to walk in the wrong direction I might never find my way out! I will never be able to breathe in open air again! You are my guide. You are my eyes! Please don’t let me lose my way!

He heard me! And along came a dolphin, nudged me, pushed me and made me realize that I can swim because that’s what He wants me to do! He will never let me go!

He heard me! And along came another bird, chirped at me, pecked at my wings and made me realize that I can fly because that’s what He wants me to do! He will never let me fall!

He heard me! And along came a firefly, bumbled in my face, lit the path in front of me and made me realize that I can find my way out because that’s what He wants me to do! He will never let me lose my way!

I asked Him for the waves to push me.I asked Him for the air to lift me. I asked Him for the sun to light my way. He knew better, so He sent a dolphin to teach me to swim instead. He sent another bird to teach me to fly instead. He sent a firefly to light my way instead!

He is the Creator. I am the created! He knows best, what I need! I know not what I need!

Its time I learn how life is to be lived! Move the way He wants me to! Move in the direction He wants me to!

Its time I learn what to expect from people! Nothing! Expect from Him and Him alone!

Its time I change!

 

Written for LOYALS

The Life of a Feeling

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr…the clouds start to grumble…a slight breeze carries the smell of the wet earth from a distance….and large drops of rain start to splat on the road in front of me. I am suddenly startled by a flash of lightning and anxiously wait for the awe-inspiring thunder to follow it through. A gush of wind crosses my face and makes a shiver crawl down my back! I look up at the sky with squinted eyes, a ray of light forces me to pinch them even narrower. From within the clouds emerges a majestic rainbow, each and every band of color vivid as can be! I am engulfed in the peace and tranquility of the moment! I have just experienced a theatrical display art in the making! From behind the dark angry clouds, a splash of colors sweeps across the sky!

Warmth, is what I just felt! A feeling of security! Because it made me realize, that, after every storm comes a rainbow, and after every downpour comes a breeze, and after every hardship comes an ease! So if your life is grumbling or flashing with pain and agony, it’s going to lead to something great! You just have to wait with a pinch of faith!

A moment of pure beauty, gives birth to a feeling! That feeling sinks down into your soul. Will you suppress it or express it?

Suppressing ones feelings is like pushing them into a closet. After it’s placed there, another one comes along. You plan on pushing that in too. Soon your closet is filled with so many unprocessed feelings that you have no clue of what to do with them! It’s like a messy stack of junk that is waiting to topple. One pull at any piece and the entire mound comes rolling out! Then you don’t have a choice of which one should come first. It ends up in a disaster!

Expressing it, on the other hand, takes you to an entirely different realm. In this realm, the feeling that had no shape and form, has become visual or audible. This is when the feeling, gives birth to new feelings in someone else and that feeling is totally independent of yours as it has a different carrier. However, your feeling has now been processed and can now be neatly displayed out on top of your closet. It will now show the world what you are within. How you process a feeling and deal with it is all present there in your work of expression. Once you depart this world, that feeling is gone, gone forever, as no one can experience it the way you did. And that marks the end of a feeling. That visual or audible piece of expression will inculcate feelings in others but as I said earlier, those will never be the same!

For those of you who know a little about Operating Systems, a feeling is somewhat like a thread, it is created and it is processed, and then it dies with its parent thread. And even in these systems there are threads known as zombie threads which are left unattended and cause disasters for the operating system.

My advice, DEAL WITH YOUR FEELINGS NOW! Express them in a beautiful way! Life will change for you! You want to be happy! Give this a shot!

The Beauty Within

Art is expression! We need to express ourselves to know, that what we feel inside, is real! To actually visualize those feelings. Put a little life in to life! Not knowing what our feelings are saying to us is no less than being tortured! By letting it out, we are doing an amazing thing. And that is, revealing Allah’s beauty that is hidden within us!

Beauty can be categorized in two parts. External or Revealed Beauty and Internal or Hidden Beauty which I prefer to call, The Beauty Within. Both are solely Allah’s copyright! We’re just playing the role of the manikins, displaying His art!

creativity + imagination = art

let imagination = infinity (there is no limit to imagination)

which leads to the final equation

art = infinity

Allah is infinite and therefore art belongs to Him alone. What we do is just a mimic of His work, which is far from perfection. As perfection too belongs to Him alone!

Poets, writers, painters, musicians, and even cooks are all artists (or mimicist as I’d like to call them)! Expressing their feelings and emotions (the beauty within) not to show the world how talented they are, but to let free those feelings and emotions, trapped inside them, that are ready to transition to the external phase of existence.

Art when used for self-expression is a blessing to the world, as it gives birth to new ideas. However, when artists think of their art as their sole creation, done completely by their own effort and creativity, things become messy. As I mentioned earlier, we are merely mimicking Allah’s works of art. And the mode of expression too, is Allah’s creation, be it a sight, sound, smell or taste.

A reminder: our mind, which is the core of our creativity, is Allah’s magnificent work as well.

A true mimicist is one who absorbs Allah’s art through his five senses and lets that sink into his soul and after ample contemplation, bursts out like a blooming blossom tree in spring. He who is inspired by this blossom tree is several degrees less of a mimicist, or should I say a mimicist of a mimicist. As the quality of the work of art degrades, down the heirarchy, so does the power of inspiration!

A quick recollection of a previous post “Beauty and the Beast”:

The more and more we start drifting away from nature, the more we start losing the nature in ourselves. We are stuck in a concrete jungle, with cars, mobile phones, TVs, computers and everything that keeps us from our natural selves. Not long ago, people would go down to the river near they’re town. Have a picnic, and enjoy the fresh air. Just to keep in touch with nature. Listening to the birds sing their songs, watching the sun rise, watching the sun set! Picking flowers and climbing trees. Letting the sun and breeze soak their skin! Till then, everything still had its charm and beauty.

Until we do not go far far away from technology, machinery, and pollution, we will never be able to find the true beauty within us. It requires a great deal of meditation, solitude and peace in order to hear what the heart has to say! And trust me, it has a great deal to say!

If you want to be a true mimicist, then you need to free you self from the ropes of materialism which keep your hot air balloon from rising high up into the sky. So that you can view this world with a bird’s-eye view. See things differently and indulge in the true essence of Allah’s art! I truly believe that if you puts your heart and mind into something…anything, no one can come between you and your goal!

REMINISCE

I keep recalling one thing! Walking through a hallway. It’s strange because today the feeling is different. Nostalgia! Deep down in my heart there is a pricking sensation! I don’t know how to make it go away! But a part of me doesn’t want this feeling to leave.

I’m hanging on to the past! And I remember clearly, a moment of that past, which is a reminder for me not to hang on to it, Mr. Farooq Dar, my beloved Pakistan Studies professor, telling me that I’ve got to move on and not let the past hold me back. Although I’m not being ungrateful for my present, but remembering how sweet the past was compared to the present seem like an ungrateful thing to do!

It’s a new beginning! It’s difficult! It’s lonely! But its reality! Bitter reality! And reminiscing makes it ever so unbearable! Is it something I’ve lost? Are these memories ever going to be enough! Writing these words, is making my heart sink! I never thought I’d miss it so much! It was a second home for me, and each individual in that home meant so much to me and they still do!  In the beginning we use to make fun of its name, at times embarrassed to mention it in front of others. But now, its name is part of my identity! And I’m proud of  each letter that forms it!

I am a fortunate graduate of FAST (Foundation of Advancement in Science and Technology)! With Allah’s blessings I graduated this May! The past four years flew by! And now there is no going back, no reliving those moments again! As I walked through the halls of my university today! I could see flashes of the past in every corner! But because I had gone there for some work I didn’t have time to indulge in recollections. That’s all I’ve been doing the rest of the day! Which has led me to letting things out in front of you!

Those of you who still have the privileged of roaming the halls of FAST, it is not a request, it’s an order, ENJOY AND SAVOR EACH MOMENT YOU HAVE LEFT, THERE, so that you never have to face regret! The smiles I received from you today! They are a reminder for me that even though I can not relive the moments that have passed, but I can surely have new one with you!

I LOVE YOU GUYS! MAY ALLAH HELP ME KEEP YOU IN MY LIFE, AND IF NOT THEN SURELY IN MY PRAYERS! I STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT THIS IS NOT THE END, WE WILL BE TOGETHER EVENTUALLY IN A PLACE WHERE THERE WILL BE NOTHING BUT LOVE AND HAPPINESS!