Thursday, December 17, 2015

The Victim

I am no longer happy to play the victim.
At best, helpless victims of discrimination; at worst, adherents of a twisted ideology bent on death and destruction -
this is how we Muslims are viewed today
especially in societies where we are in the minority.


But
I am no longer happy to play the victim.
For we have for too long been on the defensive,
happy at most to condemn acts of terror
in reaction to those who carry them out in the name of our religion.
And yes, condemn we must, but is that enough?


No!
I am no longer happy to play the victim,
to be the person who says
“Terrorists do not represent me”
but go no further,
happy to wait while society dishes out either
abuse or sympathy.


I am no longer happy to play the victim,
I am no longer satisfied with mere sympathy;
because sympathy runs out eventually,
and my religion has never taught me to be dependent
on others' pity.


I am no longer happy to play the victim,
and so
we must go on the offensive, armed with Islam
and to do so with a proper understanding
of what being “armed with Islam” means in today’s context:
To engage society NOT with
guns blazing,
bombs exploding, or
cries for the heads of "the infidels";
But with acts of reforming society with deeds of civic responsibility – Islamic fundamentals like
feeding the poor,
caring for the elderly,
and inviting to spiritual enlightenment;

In short, our presence in any society should be a blessing –
to whatever society that is.


I am no longer happy to play the victim,
and I commend my British Muslim brothers and sisters
who share this thought
and have actually done something about it:


Tuesday, December 15, 2015

I am Independent


"I am independent"
It is the lie we are taught to believe in
as we travel through life;
and as we start 
moving out of our childhood bedroom,
becoming more educated,
and making more money,
it is a lie
we start to believe in.


"I am independent",
because I pay my own bills,
I make my own decisions,
I am my own man.

But what a delusion it is
when
it is not food that gives us nourishment, 
it is not an education that gives us knowledge, 
it is not friends or family that make us feel loved, 
but it is God who does..
even if He does it via 
the food, education, or friends and family 
that He grants us.


"I am independent";
the falseness of this delusion 
lies naked for all to see
at those points in our lives when
we are starving,
ignorant,
or unloved;

and the fragility of the human
body, mind, and heart
is laid bare.


You are not independent.
Where does your dependence lie?



Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Of Peace and OSCEs

Peace, funnily enough, 
can come in the knowledge
that you have a test coming up.

Because
when there is a test coming up,
it takes first priority;
everything else comes second,
allowing you to focus your time and energy 
on that one thing - the test.


Perhaps this is one way
we can say
that Islam brings peace:
not necessarily because
there is with it
an absence of conflict;

but because with it
one finds peace in oneself - 
the peace of knowing 
what the real test is,
and freeing you 
to focus your time and energy on it.

#tadabburOSCE

(Please make du'a for me...!!)


Saturday, December 5, 2015

Papa's Doa

My memory is a bit fuzzy on this,
for it is after all a childhood memory..
but

I remember 
after solat maghrib 
Papa letting me sit on his lap
as he makes doa.

He says it out loud deliberately
(I suspect)
so I could hear him say:
"Ya Allah, 
make my children good people,
grant them success 
in this world and the next"


Sometimes we feel that our success
comes from 
our own intelligence,
our own effort,
or just being at the right place
at the right time.

Forgetting that all help comes from Allah
and that help came via
the help of friends,
a 'lucky break',
or the sincere doa of a father.

Thanks pa :)