Bakra Eid/Eid ul Adha

Assalamualaikum

Image source

Happy Eid Mubarak :)

The day was really nice, but as usual, sad in the beginning. Whenever our precious bakra (goat) is sacrificed, there is a fair amount of sadness in my heart (after all, you're just feeding it moments before, and then it's like... gone :S:S:S). But as usual, I have this further intense feeling of incredulity and increased respect/awe/reverence for Hazrat Ibrahim (May Allah be pleased with him), and HIS sacrifice... whose Sunnah we follow and celebrate Eid-ul-Adha every year.

I may have read about this sacrifice since I was a kid, and it was always a normal thing. Yeah, Hazrat Ibrahim, he passed many tests and the most important thing, he agreed to sacrifice his son, Hazrat Ismail you know. Simple. But eventually, this scenario has presented myself to me in newer ways, replete with so many more lessons in this act of worship that was performed by Hazrat Ibrahim. Some of the lessons are:

1. There is NOTHING, more important than Allah and His commands for a believer. Nothing. Not a thing. Not family, not relatives, not wealth. Nothing.

2. When a believer (a true one) is asked to do something, and he is convinced that this command is directly from Allah (like, in the case of prophets when they had dreams. In our case, whatever is ordained in the Holy Book etc), he/she does NOT use reasoning, logic, or any other human faculties in order to process that command and weigh it against the scales of reasonable/non-reasonable. And THEN obey. Nopes. The true believer will always act on that command, without any arguments, any selective reasoning, ANY line of logic.

3. This world's life will always be full of trials. There will be good parts, happy ones too. But a major portion will be trials, heavy ones. The believer is expected to expect them ... and er, accept them .. without the usual moan "why me?"... or "why always me?" or ... "How come my trials are always so difficult?" ... etc.

These lessons are important ones to remember. The key is...actually, to remember them, and somehow make use of this knowledge and the past incidents which are present in the Quran/hadith. All of them contain important lessons and reminders. Our job is to study the Quran Majeed in a manner that we realise each verse's importance, and apply it to our daily lives. I often wondered how come the Companions of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to take just ONE Ayah (verse) of the Holy Book and study it, and contemplate on it, apply it, implement it etc.. Why just one? And now I get it. My recent forrays into the meaning behind the Quran has made me realise that it's not a Book to be taken lightly by anybody. Not something just to be recited once during the month of Ramadan, and then forgotten for the rest of the year. This is THE Book of life.. :S You (and I) have to study it each day, a little or more, doesn't matter. But every day...and ponder upon its lessons.

Hope we become what we aspire to be Insha Allah. (me more than anybody else :S -- because I seem to have these lofty expectations, and somehow, always fall short of them).

So long :)

“A Race Against Fate”

In a race against fate, they struggle to contain
The light of truth from making gain after gain
Sitting in this cell, I can never complain
While countless other victims are sharing my pain

Victims of a regime that stands confused
Of what will befall it after all it has abused
Despite its claimed virtues over those it has accused
It nullifies its claim with the tactics it has used

They tortured one brother into a painful mess
Until his torture forced him to falsely confess
Life in Supermax for what he said under duress
Seems to be acceptable in the present-day U.S.

And our sister, our pearl, a cover-up gone wrong
Imprisoned by her captors for six years too long
Shot twice in the stomach and still remaining strong
Sleeps in a prison cell where pearls don’t belong

And the scientist, the doctor, the scholar with a plight
They claimed they got him because he urged others to fight
The truth is that he never spoke out of fright
And his persecutors wanted to extinguish his light

The examples are many, but this is just a taste
Of those whose suffering should not go to waste
To helping the oppressed, let us run in haste
It is towards this goal that true men have raced

And remove from yourself the shackles of fear
And make their agenda abundantly clear
With honor, let us defend what we hold dear
Our beliefs, and our brethren—we must start from here

Until when will our sons be dragged from their beds
To be handcuffed and kidnapped by invading Feds
Before our mothers can even cover their heads
It’s the new McCarthyism, and we are the Reds

If you speak out against this, you’re a ‘terrorist’
The black label reserved for those who resist
It doesn’t really matter how much you insist
That you’re no monster, they will always persist

In the deception they have managed to master so well
That only the fair-minded are able to tell
That this plan that could’ve only been hatched in Hell
Is for all who speak up to be thrown in a cell

They think they are ‘free,’ but they are truly constrained
The thirst for oppression leaves their humanity restrained
In the end, they will see that all they have gained
Is the attention of He who defense those they have chained…

Written by Tariq Mehanna who was arrested on October 21st, 2009 from his home in Boston, US. This poem was part of a letter he wrote to his friends from inside his cell -- this letter has been published in a website that has been developed byhis friends for rallying support for Tariq's freedom.

Life begins, life ends - and in between? (sigh)

Salam

Again, a death in the family today. Not very immediate, but close. It wasn't sudden. D Nana was ninety. I can't even imagine being ninety. He had multiple illnesses since the last few years, and now he had landed in hospital *heaves a big sigh* .. there, he was pretty okay till yesterday morning when he lost consciousness. Unfortunately, his son who came back from UK, found him unconscious. And even more unfortunately, this was his favourite son.

His funeral was today at zuhr prayers. Alhamdulillah everybody was talking about how lucky he turned out to be. I mean, imagine. 9th Zulhijja here, 10th in Saudia. Ayyam-e-Tashreeq, AND a Friday. I guess if I die on a day like this, I would be really lucky.

Masha Allah he was a nice person, pretty thankful for everything he had (despite his various ailments). But the sad part is: He had two sons, and both were abroad. Not that its a crime to leave your parents when they're like really old, but it's just sad a/c to me. And if it comes to me, I'll at least never choose this option. Being away from parents in their old age, when they need us the most. If you think about it, they never left ME when I was completely helpless, needing somebody to even make me burp! (can't imagine those times though - but they MUST have happened) :S

Khair. The cool part is that D Nana's grandson (son's son) was the one whose family lived with him, and they all kept him well-cared for, and they were the ones crying the hardest today. I really hope Allah Gives him an amazing place in the Jannat-ul-Firdous, and rewards abundantly those who went out of their way to take care of him.

Usually at funerals, I'm thinking about how one day I'll be where the dead body is and usually some things along these lines. Today, however, as I saw D Nana's daughters sitting and sobbing near him, and saying stuff like "Pappa, please forgive us for anything wrong we have done, Pappa Allah Hafiz" ... it was heart-rending. I can't imagine what they were going through : losing a Dad. It's unimaginable. It's a reality. But an unimaginable reality. And now come to think of it, what in heavens special time do I (the moron) spend with my own father. Usually it's something on the lines of academics and grades, but now even that has kinda fizzled out. Sometimes he narrates funny stories from his clinic and about his patients etc ... but what else? Nothing. Nothing in common :(

[sometimes I do secretly wish my dad was an engineer too.. it would have been cool]. Khair. I sure hope to improve here. And those of you who easily have long conversations with your dads.. I envy you. Keep it up :)

My last firm determination (Insha Allah) for today is that I really MUST get to know my maternal relatives more. I know it's a complete singaporean rice here.. what with cousins marrying their cousins, and their kids marrying their cousins, and everybody named similarly (We have loads of sulaimans, ismaails, ibrahims, yaqoobs, yousufs, ishaqs ... etc You get the picture :)). I should somehow .. juggle my stupid memory and START remembering their names. It doesn't matter whether they're a LOT, their names are all similar, their language is similar (:'( .. think about it. And I can barely understand Gujerati. Kem cho , and aao jo is the best I can do!), never mind some of them are here, some in Surat, Ahmedabad... doesn't matter! I have to get to know them. They're my community, my family. And btw, the Surti community is basically the friendliest community ever! (not that I saw many, but still). They're simple, unpretentious people. They don't care whether your kid is dressed up in Zubaida's clothing, or you're wearing a CK scarf.

Families rock. This Eid, make sure you visit/talk/etc with family loads and loads.. Immediate, or otherwise. India, or Pakistan (or wherever). Doesn't matter. My next stop: convincing mum to go visit the whole huge clan in India. And she would need somebody to carry the bags right :S:S Hope she agrees.

Image source

Do they have a heart?

I came across a rather unpleasant bout of apathetic attitude residing among our doctors today. What happened was that this distant relative of ours complained of high BP and was taken to this amazingly posh cardio hospital in Defence on Sunday late night. They checked him out, did an ECG, looked at the ECG, concluded that it wasn't norrmal at all (there is this something called MI) *scowl*

So the doctor sahib was called, and he supremely informed them that he will be availabe shortly. The poor man (relative) was there in the hospital, for about 4-5 hours, without the amazing doctor turning up. Finally, one of the patient's family members pulled some strings, and got another doctor down there eventually. That doctor, after one look at the patient, declared an emergency angiography. They informed the family that it's just going to take them 15 minutes to do so.

What ultimately happened (oh so sadly) that the angiography simply couldn't be carried out. The patient's heart was so advanced in its failure, that the major coronary artery was completely blocked. They tried and tried to clear it (with er, guide wire), but it was blocked!

The angiography lasted 6 hours. They failed to clear the pathway .. :'(

Later on, Uncle was still okay, talking and everything.. but of course, what do you expect with a blocked coronary artery? :(

The lungs began filling with water, and the last image his wife saw of him when she peeked in the room, was a group of doctors trying hard to administer CPR and this person passed away late Monday night (yesterday night).

Everything, every trial is from Allah, and our belief is that the times of deaths and births are pre-written. So I will never say that IF that doctor had made it, Uncle would have made it. Never. But if that doctor had displayed some sense of responsibility, honesty... then maybe Uncle wouldn't have had to go theough the severe pain he endured because of the said doctor's negligence.

And now, the worst bit. The extreme apathetic attitude from the bunch of doctors/technicians (or I dunno WHICH people who stand besides the main doctor when surgery is going on).. Their comment was heard by one of Uncle's immediate family members,

"Abay yaaarrr... Agar marna hee thaa to 4 ghantay tak khwaar karaanay kee kiaa zaroorat thee !!"

(Man! If you only had to DIE in the end, why did you make us work on you for 4 hours damn!!)

:'( :'( :'(

Advice of the day:

Image source

A pretty insightful story :)

of how one person (a Muslim by birth) who had no acknowledgement of God, turned towards the deen. May we become those who SEEK OUT the message of Allah, and not assume, that just because we are born muslims, we're all set. Heaven is just waiting to welcome us, and there is nothing that can prevent us from attaining the heavenly abode.

Hope we realise that it's not too late to start the quest.. the quest of learning the Quran (not just recitation, mind you). The quest of finding out WHY this Book is called miraculous (and no, not all because of scientific facts found here). May we be sucessful in this oft-neglected endeavour of our lives. Ameen.

Of music, and time wasting habits .. :)

An extremely good reminder that is related to what I had been saying in the previous post. Do go through this, and I pray we all make better use of our time Ameen.

Some really good advice

Salam. I'm feeling lazy. (wanted to do a post on the dars today, but too tired. Is it shaitan?) I guess the lecture today was a little on the draining side ... The upset stomach is NOT helping. Me and my passion for milk... serves me absolutely right. (I have milk allergy).

Yesterday night, I was kinda looking for inspiration. I didn't want to sleep (wastes time). So did my favourite thing in the world. Went up to my bookcase, and started browsing.

Me the weak human being came up with two books. You can see the difference between them yourself :

Sometimes, my actions shame me a lot.

The problem wasn't Shopaholic ... it was this book ALONG with another very worth-reading book. And (aur to aur), I read the shopaholic series few chapters FIRST, laughed at all the funny bits (the book's senselessness can REALLY cheer one up!), and then guiltily looked at the other book.

You can be the Happiest Woman in the World - A Treasure Chest of Reminders By: Dr. Aid Al-Qarni.

I seriously needed to be happy :D.. so of course, i had chosen this book from the bookshelf. Now, after reading the first few chapters, I've decided to share some good advice with you.. it's simple. And it makes sense. We might hear it day after day, but if we REALLY implement it, then I do believe this can make a real positive difference in our lives.

Image source

Found the first chapter in pdf form :D. Yeah. So these simple NOs are extremely effective in eliminating stupidities from our lives. Check out the first NO and the fifth one.. (actually, check out all). But the first and fifth NO strike home a lot. Time. It's the entity by which Allah has Sworn in the Holy Quran :( and said that man/mankind is in loss. And this time, is the one which has to be managed correctly and efficiently. Watching idiotic stuff on TV and comforting ourselves with the fact that "hey, we needed the entertainment" falls under the first NO. Basically, anything that gives us nothing in return ... is a NO. And it includes each and everything we do -- from browsing to emailing to blogging to watching movies/TV/youtubing... etc. The list can go on.

This shallow people thing. Stop here a minute. What exactly does the word shallow mean? According to my humble opinion, it surely refers to those people for whom, this world is nothing but a place to have the most fun, laughter, jokes, wit etc, and they make their duty to spend every minute of their lives pursuing these goals... Nothing serious, nothing to ponder upon. When you sit in their group, and get up 4 hours later, you have gained nothing,...absolutely nothing except that your throat is raw from all the singing, cracking jokes, giggling and rioting you have done. And if you have talked, you have talked about nothing .. useful. Current affairs? Nahi bhui .. hum to politics main nahi parna chahtay.. (very common sentence -- means that we don't want to indulge in politics). So basically a complete waste of FOUR precious hours of your precious lives.

One other NO that REALLY applies to me here is the "No to thinking of past calamities and dwelling on past mistakes" ... :S I really need to implement this. And it's funny. I'm a hugely forgetful person. But the brain is stupid. It remembers the past mistakes, the past deeds, the past stupidities, and things I know for sure have no good purpose in my life now.. but they persist. So here is a chance to improve ourselves, and at least try one NO per day :P.. Hopefully IA.

May Allah Make our tasks easy for us and enable us to have the right 'attitude' towards things. Ameen.