Ibaadat

 Alvida Juma is so called because it is the last Friday in the month of Ramzaan

That went by yesterday

Thank God ... With His kind grace this Holy month of fasting went off well for us ... Though one can only imagine how difficult it must have been for those who do manual labour and don't have enough to eat at the end of the day 

God Ji has granted to us an infinite variety when it comes to following religious rituals like Namaaz , Roza , pooja , vrat etc 

Like their names , the manner in which they are performed may differ too ... Not only from religion to religion , but from sect / caste / region etc also

But I am sure God Ji has a strict Uniform Code of Conduct when it comes to following the basic principles in religion ... Principles as in essence 

The most elementary principles , on which every religion of the world stands ... justice , equality , fraternity , freedom of choice ( even the religion one wishes to follow ) ... And habits like speaking truth , honesty in business / personal dealing , respecting fellow human beings as well as all other creations of God ... 

God Ji does not compromise on these basics

So it is abominable to see that rituals are preached as religion 

While the basic principles which are the foundation of any religion remain on the periphery of religious discourses 

And so ... 

The ibaadat becomes more of a mere aadat ... 

May God Almighty enlighten us to follow in  His true path

May He accept everyone's sincere ibaadat in whatever form it may have been offered or will be Inshaallah in the future

And may He reward everyone abundantly , joyfully and most beautifully

Religious Confusions

 Ye kab hua , kaisey hua ... 🤔

KyoN ki to baat hi nahi kar rahey filhaal ... 🙂

Arrey yehi ... Mazhabiyat ka overdose ... !!!

Har koi preacher banaa hua hai aajkal

And you can never predict when a perfectly normal conversation would turn into a sermon ... !!!

Every time a discussion / conversation on why the Muslim community is facing backwardness , injustice and discrimination happens , you are loftily informed 👇🏽

"Log Qur'an padh to letey haiN , lekin samajhtey nahi haiN ... Khuda ke bataaye raastey se bhatkeiNgey to aur kya hoga ... ???" 

Chalo ji ... Mil gayaa solution ... Ho gayi baat khatam ... !!! 

I have read The Holy Qur'an in Arabic

Aur phir Urdu translation bhi kaafi hadd tak padha hai 

But the preachers are not satisfied , they want you to "understand" the Message 

They will tell you to read the interpretation of these holy verses done by religious scholars 

And the ignorant me is wondering ke  

... kaun haiN ye log jin ko asal meiN iss Aasmaani Kitaab ko samajhney ki zaroorat hai ... 🤔 ? 

... kaun haiN jo bhatkey huay haiN ... ??

Aur kya hai wo baat jo sirf religious scholars samajh rahey haiN , lekin aam log-baag nahi samajh paa rahey haiN 🤔 ???

And why should I read someone else's interpretation ? 

And that too of a centuries old text that is done by someone who lived in a time that is unimaginable in our time 

Or even by someone who is a contemporary ?

Just because they have studied Arabic and know the language of The Qur'an doesn't mean they have understood the Message to the extent of imposing their point of view on others 

Human intellect and knowledge is limited , and biased too , because like somebody has very rightly said , "no one sees what you see even if they see it too"

Is it any wonder then that our understanding and interpretation of anything and everything  ... be it a situation , a text , a relationship ... or whatever ... depends on where one is coming from 

A lot also depends on what one is trying to prove , evade or justify ...

Even the people whose only mission in life is to malign Muslims claim to have read and "understood" The Holy Qur'an !

So everyone has interpreted it as per their intelligence , needs and above all their vested interests

Khuda ne duniya banaayi ... insaan-haiwaan , phool-phal , nadiyaN-jharney , pahaad-samunder , darakht-jungle , jhaadiyaN-biyabaan ... Aur bhi sab kuchh Khuda ne banaya ... 

Lekin Khuda ne mazhab NAHI banayaa !

 

Mazhab insaan ne banayaa 

In fact , mazhab mard ne banayaa 

Aur very conveniently saarey dos and don'ts apney favour meiN rakh liye !

Namaaz din meiN paaNch martaba padhna farz kari hai 

Lekin sach bolney ki bass preaching-hi-preaching hai

Sach bolney ko mazhab meiN farz ka darja nahi diya gayaa ... 

Ek mahiiney ke rozey rakhna farz hai

Lekin kisi ki dil-azaari karney ko sirf manaa karaa hai 

Dil rakhna , care karna farz meiN shumaar nahi hota hai ...

Ancestral property meiN female heirs ka hissa jaan-na hai to Sureh (chapter) “Nisa” padhiye ... 

KyoN bhai  ???

Khud ke aNdar itni strength of character nahi hai ke sabhi legal heirs ko property meiN equal share diya jaaye ?

Aurat ke rights jaan-ney ke liye Sureh “Nisa” ki zaroorat hi kyoN padey , agar insaan ki niyat saaf ho , aur mard aur aurat ke huqooq (rights) baraabar (equal) hoN ? 

Mazhab meiN Hajj aur Zakaat to farz haiN lekin imaandaari ko sirf ek guiding instruction batayaa hai , uss ko farz nahi karaa hai 

Sharaab haraam hai lekin war haraam nahi hai

In fact war is even permitted !!!

HaaN naa ... ! 

War is allowed for "righteous" causes , like "ushering in peace" or "protecting" religion 

But of course ... conditions apply so as to make a crime like war be regarded as "sacred" and can be justified ... !!!

So ... Don’t kill women , don’t kill children , don’t destroy crops , don’t kill priests , don't kill the aged or the sick ... Lekin generally killing men is okay ... !!!

We , Muslims believe that Qur’an was sent by God more than 1400 years back 

Imagine the condition of women back then ... 

And so came the clause of four marriages ... !

Four marriages were allowed to men under the pretext of extending legitimate protection to women who had lost their male protectors in wars 

 

Wowwwwww ... !

"Neki" ki iss "aziim" inteha par koi fida ho hi naa jaaye ... !!!

Srsly ! 

Ramzaan ke ba-barkat mahiiney meiN aisey sarkash khayalaat ke liye koi jagah honi to nahi chaahiye ... 

Lekin Facebook aisi jagah hai jahaaN arkash-sarkash-zarkash sab apni-apni kahaani kehtey rehtey haiN ... 

Koi suney ya naa suney ... Apna dil halka ... Aur timeline bhaari ho jaati hai 😉😊🙏🏽 !

So ... Gustaakhi maaf ... May God Almighty be merciful and forgiving towards all His creations ... and may we stay on the righteous path and understand the difference between righteous and religious

Immortal Ishq

Love is the most beautiful
Immortal creation of God Almighty

He has made an imperfect and interdependent World
But there in this imperfection is a flawlessly perfect creation:
Love

Love cannot be anything but perfect
Because love is not a kiss or a hug or a man-woman relationship
Love is the purest manifestation of God Himself

Man may work hard to spread hatred in this world
Yet, Love survives and thrives and conquers
Because it is a divine blessing

May we all learn to love God instead of fearing Him
Let us keep him in our hearts
And not disgrace Him on the open streets 

Love Stories in this Universe are written by God Himself
And He writes them with an indelible ink
And without an ending

He has created a circle of love   

Because He does not want love to end ..... Ever

 

Food for thought

"It has often been said that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach and the best way to a woman's heart is through laughter and good conversation"

Such statements are a big proof that men and women have neither matured nor progressed from the time some misogynist tried to push women inside the kitchen !

Why should women go out of their way to please men anyway ?

Don't they have likes and dislikes of their own which must be respected too ? 

Before you start cooking a meal, please consider giving some food for thought to your mind too 😊 

Khair ... In my opinion cooking is a sacred activity ... Ibaadat hai ... You are preparing a meal that will nourish you and your family 

Bhagwaan aur Kisaan ke baad , the cook is supreme 💖🙏🏽💖

Ye saarey khayaalaat aaj ka lunch banaatey huay mere dimaag meiN aaye to socha Facebook ke saath share kar leiN , aur jo bann kar tayyar hua hai wo bhi ... 

Kasam se garmi meiN kitchen meiN paNkha chalaa kar cooking karney se dil ko badi thaNdak milti hai ... 

Aur waise bhi this occasional cook has to blow the trumpet of her occasional kaargardgi 😄😄😄

Thank You God for the blessings we receive 🙏🏽💖🙏🏽

Good Evening family and friends 

Happy Friday Eve

Alif

 "Alif" ... 

The first letter of Urdu , Sindhi , Arabic , Persian , Dari , Tajik , Pashto , Kurdish and maybe some other scripts too , is written like the number 1

Incidentally the word "Allah" begins with an "alif" 

In a deeper spiritual sense , in some of the monolithic faiths , because of its shape , "alif" symbolizes the Oneness of God as well as represents a metaphorical connection between The Supreme Creator and His creations ...

The proverbial "seedha raasta" / "the righteous path" 

Like Sahir Ludhianvi says in one of his much-remembered film songs ...

"Aana hai to aa raah meiN kuchh pher nahi hai ... "

Aur Shuja Haider ne likha ... 

"Chitiyan likh-likh yaar manaavaN 

te yaar na hovey raazi

Rab sohney nu arz maiN paavaN 

te dey dey duniya saari"

Shuja also says ...

"Nikal padaa maiN par phailaye

Thak gaya hooN dil behlaye

Aatish lagi aur tishangi

Seena yeh mera kyoN jalaaye ...

Alif bass harf nahi 

Ye zarf hai kamaal ka 

Ibtiba jahaan ki 

Jawaab har sawaal ka"

The connection between man and God is a simple straight line when man chooses to stay connected with his conscience 

Zamiir / Conscience / Soul se jab rishta tuut jaata hai , tab aadmi seedhey raastey se bhatak kar duniya bhar ke pheroN-chakkaroN meiN phaNs kar reh jataa hai 

Aur agar ye baat samajh meiN aa jaaye ... to phir ibaadat , jis tarah se bhi kari jaaye , wo ek safar ki tarah se hoti hai ... 

Safar ... 

BaNdey ka ... 

Aadmi se insaan banney tak ka ... 🙏🏼

Boundless Bonds

Although this may be said more vocally about finances and money, the fact that relations are the most unstable of all the possessions that one may ever be attached to can hardly be denied. 

Most of one's relations are established at birth just as some other vitals like religion, gender, nationality etc are as helplessly determined. In addition to these predetermined specifics in one's life there are more associations that come along through societal responsibilities like marriage and work/profession, and also as simply as friendships forged over a period of time.

Of the relations so developed, the extension of family through marriage becomes as important and permanent as the relations by birth or what are more popularly known as blood relations. And perhaps these are more complicated too as in they often become defining factors in shaping the bonding between blood relatives. They tend to determine the strengthening and blossoming (or the withering away) of a family and thus determine the happiness (or the conflict) that could make or break an entire clan.

Therefore it is very important to choose these associations intelligently. But in a world full of imperfections, passion and selfishness this is easier said than done. 

One is so painfully amazed to see crowded family courts full of once-upon-a-time loved ones facing one another with bitterness. And more painful is the fact that they are but a small portion of the vast majority of blood relatives locked in varying degrees of hateful rivalry.

A fair amount of friction cannot be ruled out though, if individuals have to interact and live in harmony. 

Ironical as it may sound, the fact that no two individuals are same, and difference in opinion is considered a healthy sign of co-existence cannot be ignored. 

Tact, transperancy and understanding assume great importance in building and cementing long-lasting togetherness specially in multi-dimensional relations.

How can understanding develop? 

And how much of tact should be brought into use? 

How much should one "give" in order to be able take something in a "give-and-take" venture? 

These are questions that do not have a tailor-made answer. Nor is there a ready-reckoner on relations that can provide helpful formulas forever. But some broadly defined rules can be kept in mind.

The following may be guidelines of sorts:

1) Always place yourself in the position of the other in case of a conflict to "understand" the other's point of view.

2) Never try to seek perfection.

3) Do not "give" anything in charity to someone who does not require it. And never "give" in expectation of something in return.

4) Always have work areas well defined.

5) Have good fences and respect other's space and privacy.

And the most important thing to remember is that for a relationship to be enjoyable one must understand and be understood by the other. 

This is where transparency comes in. In most circumstances misunderstandings start with petty things and soon ego takes over reason. 

Ego is often confused with self respect ... but while self respect makes a man worthy, ego spells doom ... self respect is a source of dignified existence, ego undoubtedly causes devastation, not just for the egotist but by extension to associated relationships as well.

Balancing anything is difficult. 

And balancing kinship is perhaps the most difficult of all balancing acts. But relationships are the most precious treasure of a human being because good relations bring more contentment than all the material wealth in the world. 

Hence investment in relations must be as selfless an effort as is humanly possible.

And if earnest attempts are made, even in an imperfect selfish world it is not impossible to have workably fulfilling relationships. The most important ingredient that goes into the making of delicious kinships is a lavish quantity of sincerity dressed with the most exhilarating herbs namely tact, love and humaneness.

But having a family , preferably a clan that upon whom one can depend , is the greatest of all blessings and it is never late in life to mend your relationships , especially the ones that were spiritually and emotionally the spine on which your body of relationships stood

More about Muharram

 It is a bit longish but still I am Copy-pasting my Facebook update in connection with Muharram here also :

" I have not read or academically explored Islamic History.
Whatever Islam I practice is from what I have seen in my family plus my own understanding of God's universal message through His countless Messengers.

So my perception is that The essence of That Divine Message remains the same.
But the Time and Place, Language and Ethnicity are obviously different.

Hence we see that while we celebrated the Victory of Truth and Purity over Evil yesterday, today, the of 10th Muharram, (Aashoora), we are remembering the ultimate sacrifice of Hazrat Imam Husain and his companions.

Also there are some lesser known facts associated with Aashoora (Day of Remembrance) that I came to know through google search on the subject.

Wonder if even the Muslims generally know that Ashoora marks the day that Moses and his followers (a.k.a The children of Israel / Bani Israel) were saved from Pharaoh by God by creating a path in the Red Sea.

Other forgotten, but very important commemorations include Prophet Noah leaving the Ark and Prophet Muhammad's arrival in Medina.

All these three events being significant victories of Truth over Evil.

Have a Peaceful Blessed Muharram Friends