The Good..The Bad...The Ugly...

Sometimes you give everything you got to please another person but somehow in the end all your efforts are for naught and you end up being the bad guy....does it mean you are pathetic at pleasing others? Or does it mean the other person is not worth all the effort? Seriously, over the years I have gained a treasure trove of experience in handling different sorts of people but still find it difficult to discern if the other person needs to be treated nicely or not. Some people don't need your goodness or your cooperation...what they really need is a piece of your mind :p

Some relations are a painful reminder of how vulnerable you are to manipulation and moral extortion because your social duty stipulates you to be good. If you quit that duty you are bad but if you keep on trying valiantly to fulfill it...you are definitely bad. The ugly side of affairs is unveiled when you observe a person least bothered with duties or social opinions. You realize that only those who blatantly refuse to be good are the ones who get the most respect and reverence. You will be shocked to know that those who are full of themselves are the ones who get pampered the most. There is no end to their tantrums but they still get their way in everything. Those who enjoy emotionally trampling others are the ones who get supported most often. You have been trying to be good all along...believing something worthwhile will come out of it and you see the bad guys getting all the good stuff...now isn't that ugly?

Then when you have run out of reasons to be good...you look up and feel Someone watching you...He knows how hard you have tried...He never forgets what you do because His memory does not fail Him like us humans...He tells you to keep on doing what you are doing because that is why He put you on this earth...then you want to be good for Him. To Him we will all return...either good or bad or ugly.

Bare Sentiments

Engraved upon my hands

The lines called fate

Running away like sands

Memories filled with hate

The silence calls halt

Their smiles are hideous

'Tis not their fault

They be only envious

All that I possessed

Clubbed to death

To become obsessed

Till the last breath

My hope, my refuge

Lie in only one

Ah but time's deluge

Will leave behind none

Every body's Favourite Bully

USA has been digging its own grave ever since it tried to "free" Vietnam from the clutches of Communism. It laid out its coffin with the invasion of Afghanistan and hammered down the last nail with the attack on Iraq. It even crafted its own tombstone with Egyptian and Libyan interferences. And now, I get the feeling that the story of how USA fell apart is going to be written with the blood of the helpless Muslims of Syria. Its funeral sermon will be quite a tale...

After the conclusion of the Cold War and the demise of USSR, America has strived very hard to become every body's favourite bully. It has ruthlessly been breaching the sovereignty of every country it considers a ‘threat to national security’. The Homeland that it holds sacred is usually under threat from countries that are located thousands of miles away from it and are economically challenged, politically destabilized, technologically outdated, militarily pathetic and above all are Muslims states. The threat level is deemed grave every time…Sometimes it is Al-Qaida, sometimes its Weapons of Mass Destruction and now its deadly sarin gas…I wonder who created this deadly sarin gas in the first place?? Oh! Let me guess…it was America! Strange coincidence! First it creates these potential threats then it wants to thwart them for the whole world to see.

Why does America run amok on the poor innocent people, to whom it has promised freedom from oppression? Why does it waste its own resources on ruining the countries that it seeks to help? Why can’t America be the ‘nice guy’ and build schools, roads and hospitals for the needy people instead? Or is that too much to ask from a pig-headed superpower, which sends its Marines on baseless Crusades? The Syrians will die for a country that somehow became the focus of America's wrath and the Marines will die for a country that was not even endangered at any point in time. Makes you feel sorry for both sides doesn’t it?

Looks can be deceiving

Every now and then you meet someone you instantly admire due to their attire and style but the moment you converse with them and discover their mentality, you are totally put off! This has happened to me so many times that I wonder why can't people have an appearance that matches their personality? I know people who portray themselves to be very modern and adorn themselves with the latest fashion clothes and have an English accent to their way of talking...but their vision is very narrow and they don't even know what their life is about. They think anybody who says their prayers and observes fast is out-dated and boring. They think just because they have education, whatever they think is correct. On the other hand, I have met people who look very religious due to their external Islamic get-up and vocal projection of Islam but their knowledge is limited to just a few books and they still do what others do but in a manner that they claim is Islamic. They do not practice what they preach and do not bother to figure out the true meaning of the teachings of Islam. They think just because they are carrying the banner of Islam, they have the right to denounce everybody else's belief and philosophy.

Why can't people understand that being modern is not just limited to fashion and English but it is to have a broad-minded approach towards other people and the events going on around them? Why is it that being religious is to just wear an abaaya or have a beard and not understand what our beautiful religion teaches us about humanity and equality? Islam is a religion that teaches both modernity and chasteness at the same time. It does not stop advancement of science and technology and neither does it ask for extermination of all those who behave or think differently. We have been asked to give space to others rather than impose ourselves on them. We as Muslims have not been told to live without the good things of life but have been told to do so wisely. It is not our job to kill people from other religions but it is our responsibility to set a good example for them to create a positive impression. Islam is not what the local and international media portrays...that is people waving Kalashnikovs and waging so called Jihad. It is you and me...it is every person doing his job honestly, it is every child obeying his parents, it is every mother tending to her children, it is every ruler ruling with justice, it is every man offering his prayers and above all it is the rhythm and harmony of nature. You can only see all this if you rise above all your self-imposed standards of superficial modernity or psuedo-piousness. 

High-profile Shenanigans

It takes guts to wave two guns - Lara Croft style - and hurl a mouthful of pointless and meaningless nonsense at an army of armed policemen, media personnel and civilians...but Mr. Sikander did it... for nearly five hours! Talk about high-profile shenanigans :p He may have been high on drugs at the start but I'm sure the media attention went to his head after the first hour! His state of mind isn't hard to understand because a sane man is not so prone to staging Mexican standoffs at such a large scale....especially with his family's safety at stake. The hapless man's wife seemed to be playing multiple parts of a shady sidekick, the innocent intermediary and the unwilling hostage. I do feel sorry for his children because they are the true victims...It is their misfortune to witness the shameful gimmicks of their father and be exposed to all the violence at such a tender age. The reckless bravery of the Good Samaritan, Mr. Zamurd Khan, ultimately saved the day...which leaves me to wonder, what was the purpose of the entire episode...Was it just chowder for the media? Was some deep dark conspiracy unfolding behind this incident? Or was it simply a mad man on the loose? It was an obvious failing of the security forces present because if it hadn't been for the death-defying stunt of Mr. Zamurd Khan, we would still be the unwilling audience of "The Phonebooth" sequel.
The incident leaves a lot to the imagination...The exclusive footage on the news channels did help the imagination along but somehow the more we see, the less we seem to know...

Sure to Die

When unseeing eyes have no more tears to shed

When the outraged monster sees only red

When forgotten moments have slipped by

The aching heart is sure to die.

When the guardians of faith take to arms

When the cries for help ring like alarms

When the rivers of blood have run dry

The dwindling belief is sure to die.

When treachery overpowers trust

When the fires of love are fuelled by lust

When thoughts and actions do not comply

The ebbing conscience is sure to die. 

When treasures are hoarded by the miser

When the book does not make one wiser

When the corrupt rule and the liars lie

The withering soul is sure to die.

"It's just an empty cup"

Sometimes you get inspiration from very unlikely sources, like when I was watching Disney Pixar's animated movie CARS with my daughter, a statement made by the protagonist of the movie, Lightning McQueen, really inspired me...Throughout the movie he is shown to be obsessed with winning a Piston Cup, but in the end realizes that it's just an empty cup...and gives up the cup in favour of helping a fellow racer.

The whole movie was a really stunning allegory of life itself. We spend our precious time trying to fulfill wants and wishes that make us lose focus of everyone and everything around us. We do whatever it takes to lead a posh life, a life less ordinary and a life  that is seemingly very satisfactory. In reality, our every activity revolves around generating more and more money to cater to our ever-increasing desires. The wish-list never stops growing...It's almost as though the cup we are trying to fill has a hole in the bottom. And by the time we realize that it is going to remain an empty cup forever...it's too late to go back.

I read a research that was conducted on old people living their last days in old homes and I was saddened to discover that each one of them regretted having wasted their lives on mundane pursuits rather than spending time with their families and friends. Each of the interviewees wanted to turn back the clock to steal some time  with loved ones. That is the trouble with money..it's so attractive that it blinds you towards many things. It makes you overlook important occasions and forget birthdays. It creates gaps between friends and strikes rifts between brothers. It estranges a father and son. It breaks up marriages and lowers the moral standards of people. This is the reason why Allah has commanded us to adopt the moderate path that does not involve being miserly or being over indulgent. It is our responsibility to restrict ourselves to our means rather than elaborating our means to suit us!

Some people would scoff at my views but seriously...the precious moments that you lose in favour of working extra time cannot be bought back with the extra money you earned. There is nothing more valuable than time, so spend it wisely.