Looking within...

Democracy’s Root: Diversity

Please click the link posted above to read the entire article; however to provide you with a brief, the following is an opinion forwarded by columnist Thomas L. Friedman in the NY Times; his opinion was based upon the recent event regarding the visit of the King of Saudi Arabia to the Vatican to meet the Pope. Friedman believes that instead of giving the Pope a gold sword and a gold statue of the camel it would have been better if the King had taken a BRAVE MOVE and gifted the Pope with a DARING visa to visit the city of Mecca & Medina. He says in his article “I give King Abdullah credit, though. His path-breaking meeting with the pope surely gave many Saudi clerics heartburn. But as historic as it was, it left no trace. I wished the pope had publicly expressed a desire to visit Saudi Arabia, and that the king would now declare: “Someone has to chart a new path for our region. If I can meet the pope in the Vatican, I can host Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Shiite and Buddhist religious leaders for a dialogue in our sacred house. Why not? We are secure in our own faith. Let us all meet as equals.” ”

Why not?

I’ve been asked this question a few times hence I figured I’d write about it. I encourage all who have something interesting to say about this matter to comment freely. From what I understand, the reason why we, the Muslims, don’t allow people of other religions to visit our “sacred house” (the Kaba’a) is because we don’t want it to become a mere tourist attraction but how can we really defend this honest statement when we ourselves don’t follow it anymore. While at Hajj I noticed many people having slipped into their world of vanity had forgotten their sole intention of being there. A few even stood by the Kaba’a and posed in front of it as though they were standing besides the Taj Mahal pleased to be taking home a great souvenir. Openly snapping pictures from their technologically equipped camera phones and focusing more on the black square rather than their prayers. It was a little frustrating to see this happen especially when I came to realize that I myself had succumbed to this diversion. However it hit me within a split second after taking pictures that what I was doing was wrong and un-Islamic so I shunned my phone away for the rest of my trip. Regardless times have changed and with that our thinking, I guess there is always a price to pay for modernization and somehow we have never been able to find this balance with religion. Our thinking has evolved so far that we have forgotten to respect the teachings of our archaic religion and with that the right to defend this statement.

However, going back to Friedman and his idea of Democracy… Friedman states that Saudi Arabia has a long way to reach democracy and it won’t be able to attain so until it allows religious freedom in its country. His definition of religious freedom does not only mean allowing people to practice their religion in that country but also welcoming other religions to enter the Holy Mosque at the Kaba’a as though allowing this would create a more Democratic Society?

Friedman questions “Why not?”,

But why, is there a need for them to go there when there isn’t really a purpose behind it all? Wouldn't it be inviting MAJOR Trouble from both ends that may not really be worth it. Especially with the Arab-world follows its set of rules based on the Shari’a (Islamic Law).

Even Democracy comes with a price and how much are we willing to pay to gain it? I agree with Friedman that democracy isn’t about majority rules it’s about the minority rights, but what is Saudi doing so wrong if they are clearly saying, this is an Islamic country. If you don’t want to live there leave… and that goes for all Muslims too, if we recall; Allah has said in Sūrat’l-Nisā’(Section 14, verses 97,98,99,100): “Verily, as for those whom the angels take while they are wronging themselves, they say, 'In what condition were you?' They reply, 'We were weak and oppressed in the Earth.' They say, 'Was not the Earth of Allah spacious enough for you to emigrate therein?” This sura, clearly states that if you are not allowed to practice your religion in a country, the world is vast enough to leave and perform Hijrah (emigration) to find another abode. Didn’t Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) do so and leave for Medina when he (PBUH) wasn’t allowed to perform Islam in Mecca. So why is it a problem that we now cherish our ‘sacred house’ and wish to preserve it the way we want? Its not like they are forcing anyone to stay there and follow Islam, are they?
People are always trying to find fault with anything that is different from the norm and it’s funny because people time and again have set up these norms for all to follow. And those who don’t become the wrong-doers and this misfortune of the world goes back and forth and so on and on, it’s a continuum that never seems to be happy with the other’s state of being.

For years humanity has fought in the name of equality, freedom, and choice, many lives have been lost in this battle to promote minority rights. Us Muslims too have fought for these rights many many years ago, first it was for slaves, then women, then religious freedom then why the attack upon Islam now? Weren’t we the ones who first freed Blacks from slavery some 1400 years ago, weren’t we the ones who gave women equal rights as men and stopped the killing of a female child upon birth some 1400 years ago, weren’t we the ones who fought to practice Islam some 1400 years ago. Then why the blame on Islamic countries now; that they don’t believe in democracy, deprive minorities of their rights, and treat women unjustly. We are attacked over and over again for things that we preached first, fought for and believed in. How did we drift so far away from what we deserve - Respect?!! Why these allegations when we were the ones who first led this world into Democracy? Who is to blame for this transition from right to wrong? If only we could savor what we once believed in... maybe then Islam wouldn't be so far away from the truth; so misunderstood.

Falak Zaffer, December 18th 2007.

When the Best of us…Fail!

He sits there at the signal with his raggedy boots
His torn gloves reveal his crumpled finger nails
Hoping to find someone who’d be kind enough today
To lend him a helping hand or a warm piece of bread
Trying to find comfort on his old wheelchair
Placing his head on his hand for support
He doesn’t ask for money but sits with a cup
Not spending much of his energy needlessly begging
He has less of it and needs to savor every bit
Before he clogs on the floor in the freezing rain
I pass by him every day feeling guilty
And with every pass I feel my sin rising
I do nothing but lower the volume of my blasting radio
I feel sorry but bring him no joy
As soon as I make my turn my memory fades
Leaving no trace of his face behind
But still the lack of my generosity
Haunts my need of self surviving lust
The old man sits and questions me every day
Even though it’s only for a minute
His existence propels me to gravity
I realize therein what goodness is worth
Deep down somewhere I never seem to forget
Is his life only worth my one minute a day?
Is God judging me every time I do nothing?
Turning my face away as I drive by in my brand new car
Warm and cuddled in my brand new fleece
With brand new Timbs that warm up my feet
Is guilt the only thing I can afford?
For the man who sits in hope every day
What if it was God testing me in his frayed apparel?
Giving me a chance that I miss to take
One minute of my day could mean so much more
If only I’d give this old man something more than remorse.

~ Nobody, 17th December 2007.

One year after our engagement:

Life is what I always dreamed it to be but it’s a strange feeling because once a dream becomes reality you begin to wonder if you really are dreaming. We somehow go on living a life unaware of the fact that it’s all real, it’s all happening now and here. We are together building a life from scratch a family of two willing to grow into the future and bonding in times of hardships and strength. My husband now a part of me has grown to be inseparable from my set of believes, my achievements and my failures. Our lives have twined in a fashion that unconsciously we thread into one. Forgetting that we are in fact two different people…

My husband is my epiphany of truth and with him by my side I am ready to salvage my world from all the troubles that we may face.

A note to you Shonz:

I am blessed to have you by my side for you are someone who is so much like me and yet different, someone who completes my shortcomings and I hope that I complete yours. You truly are my reflection and through you’re eyes I see my present. A scary thought for others but somehow I do believe that our world does revolve around each other.

With a tender kiss I give myself to you forever
and through all the vows we’ve made
our life will never be undelivered


You for me and I for you I stated
and this is how it’s been and will continue
for our love will never be outdated

I thank God for you everyday
and sometimes it’s hard to hold my tears
It’s a little scary to love someone so much
but I just pray that God gives us many such years.

With you every step of the way.

You’re Companion & Wife.

Constant World

I lived a life along the docks
Where the breeze was fluid and the ocean warm
A peaceful life with no hard spots
Among the rocks were my calmest thoughts

In the grim moon light
Came a fierce storm
That took away life and pleasures with
It was all gone in seconds to spare
My beautiful paradise lost n’ bare

What went wrong I thought and wondered?
Did the oceans loose its calm?
To the savage underworld…
It couldn’t be I blamed in vain
For life was no longer to be without pain

I later found out the storm was mocked
It was the dams that broke loose and caused a rot
Water gushed from every barrier
Created by man in hopes of
Taming nature’s carrier

I lost all hopes in this land
For mankind was doomed no matter where
I thought in patience for where I’d go
I realized therein that this was home

I built a life from scratch again
It was tiring but worth the same
To rebuild my paradise remained my goal
And I never lost hope within my soul

I stood back after a year to gaze amidst
It was beautiful again with no more rifts
I hoped and prayed that life would remain
And people would let nature live untamed.

~ Nobody
November 10, 2007.

Pursuit of Lost Passion

How many of us really know what passion truly means anymore? How many of us are strong enough to let it out and let it lead us through the garden of life. Its’ color its vibrance is so hard for us to embellish but once broken free it’s as beautiful as paradise itself, filled with bountiful flowers and ever green land. Like a river that never ends curving through every corner with such elegance as if it were hugging a beautiful woman’s body. Passion when let out can conquer all hearts, weak and strong. It can pacify everyone’s needs; it can indulge in every ones spirit and find a comfortable abode in a man’s mind. Passion is the undeniable truth that not everyone is strong enough to release but once out it’s all up to us then.

Delivering ones true potential, true identity and desire is so hard to understand these days, it’s like we are all stuck in this huge maze of ambition that what we truly want is lost in there somewhere. Our options have grown vast with such intensity that people no longer know how to look within for what they want. Instead we all seem to look outwards to make a choice, to make that one decision of life. I guess what they say is true, the grass is always greener on the other side because today in the 21st century unlike the yesteryears what life is all about is “there are so many choices out there, which one should I pick”. It’s like we have all forgotten what we hold in our hearts and just live on trying to figure out where we fit in….we as a human race have forgotten to find the peace within. Sad but true… we have lost against the race of need versus want. And that has become the undeniable truth.

"Undying spirits of the pretentious world fail to recognize the true hero within.

For hearts cherish for what’s truly worth their needs sadly leave all its pure passion behind.

How serenely the worldly act of forging one another is at is most powerful peak for what’s worth nothing…

but sadly we live on whisking away the future in hopes to become what is called the high society cream."

~ Yours heavenly, Nobody.

Liberate Islam??!!

For years now I amongst all people have said, “I am a moderate Muslim and my muslim family practices Moderation”. I have however, on occasions questioned the lifestyle of the more Conservative Muslims? The ones with the beards and hijab… and who dress as if they still belong to the 7th century? Are they living a lie? Does today’s society mean nothing to them? They would argue otherwise and then the question of who am I would never really be answered. So I’ve decided to reframe my question and divert it to the so called moderate society of Islam itself. Who are these so called moderate Muslims? And does Islam preach, understand and accept moderation?

I claim to be one of them so I figured who better to question than myself. Okay question number one: Where do you draw the line on religion? Or better yet, is religion a way of life, a set of rules we are governed by, or is it just a cult we want to be a part off? Moderate Muslims claim to believe in the Oneness of God (Allah) and all moderate Sunni Muslims believe in the Last most beloved Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). We read the Quran, on and off don’t completely understand it, pray five times a day or at least we try sometimes we are just too lazy. Fast during Ramadan but don’t really devout all our free time in prayer or dhikr of Allah. Perform our Holy Pilgrimage to Mecca, and get back to our normal daily routine as if we had just had an outing or a vacation and live life by what we choose Islam to be. We create our own rules, we believe in only what we choose too, we say we believe only in the Quran and the Quran asks us to believe in the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) but yet we have no way of following his teachings because we don’t really believe in Hadiths. Those are for the conservatives you see, because Hadiths are written by men and men hate women so they want to rule over them and so on and on and on! Thus basically we create our own way of life and yet call ourselves Muslims. Am I just mad at what we’ve made Islam to be? Possibly. What is it that I have begun to dislike about the way I follow my religion? Islam has become too commercialized for us moderate Muslims and I think that is what bothers me the most. Us not understanding Islam and just following it for the sake of following it, believing what we understand, changing rules as we like so we can fit in to today’s society. Honestly we are just too afraid to say it but in our minds Islam is outdated. If Islam is complete submission to Allah (The Most Merciful), and if we really believed in Heaven and Hell would we not then fear Hell. Would we go around living the way we do. Would we not rush to our daily prayers like the so called conservative do? Would we not also ask for Allah’s mercy during Ramadan and not just fast to prove we are Muslims? Would we not perform Hajj as if it were our last chance to life and forgiveness? Maybe for a lack of a better word, I have become a little more conservative, if there is such a thing. But is that really so bad? And why are we so afraid of being judged? Why is it that the minute I say the word hijab I will get the “Oh my God she's lost it look?” (from family first) Why is it that people are so quick to judge? And if how we perceive others is so important and if judging someone is equally important shouldn't that give us more of a reason to believe in Judgment day? Shouldn't we be the most worried about Allah’s angel judging our actions/intentions every day? Sad but we even take our work more seriously than life. We are afraid to miss work but we aren't afraid to miss our prayers. We are afraid of losing our jobs but aren't afraid of losing life. We take God’s mercy for granted and become too lazy to submit to him in prayer but are always there to answer our bosses call. We truly have made religion a set of rules that we should live by and have forgotten Allah in the process. We have made a mockery of every aspect of Islam including Hajj. We pay to spend comfortable nights at Hajj as if we are there for sight seeing. Think about it… VIP tents at Mina who are we kidding??? Hajj has become as commercialized as religion itself and it hurts me. I agree there are people who pretend to be very religious but yet live life for their own benefits. They are people who give religion a bad name but shouldn't that be a reason to prove that it can be otherwise. Should one wrong be corrected by another wrong? Maybe I am only attacking moderation and there is a whole other side to this conservative Muslim society, but shouldn’t that give us more of a reason to change it? Shouldn't we follow Islam the way it is supposed to be followed and not just sit back and say “oh you don’t know what all those bearded and hijabi women do behind their disguise so I am better off than them”. Shouldn't we stop criticizing and using that as an excuse to do what we want to do?

Perhaps I am one voice in a million and will be shunned forever in the out roars. But the truth has to be told.

Moderation and Conservatism is a bunch of baloney!!, because that itself has its own set of divisions.

There is no scale in Islam… there are only Muslims and I, as a Muslim have let down Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). I, as a Muslim have lost the most precious thing about Islam, simplicity. I, as a Muslim am losing this battle of religion against society. I, as a Muslim am entrapped in this materialistic world and have forgotten Allah, when Allah alone knows best. As-Salaam Alaikum (Peace be upon you) and may we all learn to live in peace.

My God isn't better than your God and your God isn't better than mine.., because there is only one God and he is divine... I am but a slave sent down to earth to live in harmony without creating divisions let alone in society but in our own home. Let there be none, for who are we to judge?, who are we to create boundaries and separations when we were all created from the same earth. In the end isn't there we will meet as one again? Live in Peace please, live for God and not for what we've made of Him.

Falak Zaffer, September 16, 2007.

An Apology

I’ve seen her through the years, giving her life up for the betterment of her loved ones and in return all she got was a bed in an old age home. I’m not sure how to react in such a situation or how to even comprehend what must go on in the old lady's mind but it hurts to know that even I have become a spectator in this game of HER life. People I know stop and feel bad at her fate but not one to stretch their hand out and take her in to their care. Yes, it’s easy to say that I miss her, I love her, I feel bad for her… I wish I could do something, but is all of that good enough or can we really do something? I wonder when was the last time somebody paid her a visit in the broken down nursing home or even stopped to say hello… Everyone seems to be restricted by either one of the three factors Time, fate and money ever wonder how these very different forms, factors and features got blended into one. How is it that these three things end up prescribing the new meaning of life? Through the eyes of a daughter I have failed to live up to her expectations & all that I am worth doing is apologizing.

Dedicated to my great aunt - I am sorry.

about my husband:

Just like music our lives will mesh into one. I for you and you for me. My notes to balance your keys. Together we will walk a path sometimes green sometimes not so green. I am ready, I am ready to make you my husband, my life partner, my soul searcher.
___________________________


15 days after our engagement:

I'm All that to him.And I know it. With a promise in his eyes he came into my life and I felt it the minute I saw his picture. Not realizing that my destiny lay in his palm and my hand fit right into his, I saw him with a bit of love and bit of insecurity. Yes, a bit of love. I did not know this man nor had I ever met him before but the minute I laid my eyes on his picture I felt like I had known him forever. I had a strong pull towards him and I just had to ask my parents to introduce us (a bold move any girl would be afraid to make in an arranged marriage situation). I knew that minute that this man was different and his genuine smile could encompass everything around him and become one with him. He was powerful in a subtle way and his humility showed on his face. That warmth in his eyes made me feel a bit of love without even meeting him and that made me a little jittery about the whole thing. I can never really begin to understand what compelled me to say `Yes' without any hesitance but I could feel that Allah wasn't really giving me a chance or a choice to think He just made me feel assured that this man would keep me happy and everything else would fall right in place. It all felt like destiny. Imran was to be my destiny.

Today, I know his walk, I've read his eyes and I've felt his heart. His love for me is wonderous and truly I'm all that to him and more.