Obedience or Slavery..........?

Few weeks ago my elder sister went on shopping and when she returned, along with other necessaries, she had a beautiful shawl with green and fawn shades and sensational touch of Pashmina fabric . I just become flattered to see that shawl, it was looking beautiful when my sister put it on. Usually i never take interest in fabrics so much but after seeing such a nice color combination, i didn't forget that one. Indeed, My sister Loved that too and was pleased that her loving Husband will like it.
When she visited us next time, she brought a surprise for me. As i was engaged in telling her about my daily routine work of those days, she suddenly pulled her bag, opened that and put out a packet. I was astonished that what it could be, after taking it in my hand, unpacked and amazed to see the same piece of fabric .
"What??" i just could ask.
"Well, this is for you." she answered me with faint smile and yellow face.
I could not understand for a moment what she was saying, then i tried to solve things.
"What do you mean? You purchased it for yourself, not for me." I started arguing which is my all time habit.
"Well, Yes, but now it is your's." she tried to satisfy me in her low voice.
"Why? just tell me the reason otherwise i am not going to accept it. I know yourself, more than you. The thing that you chooses for yourself, never can give to other even as a gift."
She remained quiet for a little time and then said,"My husband doesn't like this color."
I was not expecting that stupid(according to me) answer."So?"
"What so? Why do you always ask so many questions?"
"Yes i do, because i wanna know that why you all have made your life so difficult?"
"I am trying to make my life easy, not difficult", she explained. "I can not wear it because he and my In-laws did not like this shawl, therefore it's of no use for me. It can be useful for you and i think you liked it."
"Yes i liked it, but never wanted to get it like this." i felt a feeling of anger inside me. "Doesn't this matter for him that which color do you want to wear, which thing you want to eat, what do you like, what do you think, what do you feel? Does anyone of these matter for him?"
"Yes, it matters but......." she could not justify her answer.
"If it matters, then why i am looking a feeling of pain on your face while you are giving it to me?" I could not resist myself to speak, "Why he is trying to impose his thinking on you, you have your own senses. At least you should be able to decide what you should wear and eat. I am fed up with these so called standards of your In-laws."
"You can not understand because you are still not married. Being a wife in this society i have to be obedient. I have to respect his choice to make him happy. My paradise is in his happiness."
My anger reached top of the world, "If marriage takes your freedom away then i am not going to marry at all. And sorry to say, this is not obedience. For me, it's nothing more than slavery. To respect your beloved's choice is different from the respect that one gives being pressurized to respect. I am a human being first then a woman, no one could ever claim any right to take benefit of it. Finally if paradise is being made so cheap in this society, then i will prefer freedom on paradise. I will follow the theory of Mansur Hallaj not of Plato."
I know i was so harsh for a moment, then i realized and got over it, tried to make her happy in any way i could, but this is true i am still in a great feeling of grief inside out.
Woman is responsible to build the future of Nations. I wonder what could a woman give to her child if she is supposed to live like a motionless, thoughtless, senseless thing.
I ask a question,"Can a woman give birth to a free person, if she is spending her life like a slave? Education, Health and other matters are far, if she just not supposed to wear a color of her own choice."
That shawl has been kept in my cupboard for two to three weeks. I haven't decide yet to use it because i never like the beauty if it comes to me in this way.......

In the Everlasting Love (بے انت محبّت میں)

In the Everlasting Love
nothing is difficult so,
being very far but still
close to destiny too.
so inside the heart, hopes
glow like some candles,
in the shadow of eyelashes
few dreams also grow up.

In the Everlasting Love
nothing is so unattainable,
being empty handed yet
acquire a new shore.
new scent of memories
new color of thoughts,
like flowers in courtyard
a sensation is always there.

In the Everlasting Love
a new passion every moment,
the journey is full of thorns
still the way will be found.

In the Everlasting Love
neither any distance exists,
comes after every sorrow
the happiness too somewhere.

In the Everlasting Love
nowhere is any detachment,
whenever hands are raised
desire to accomplishment.

In the Everlasting Love
everything is attained,
so no matter, sweet heart
if you are lost and gone.

Still Worshiping Idols......

"An infidel with a wakeful heart praying to the idol
Is better than a true believer asleep in the Ka'bah."

Last night i visited one of my closed relatives and what feeling of shame i got there for myself, i hope i could ever be able to express it.
After some refreshment when i went in her kitchen in search of some water as i was not interested to drink any soft drink. For a while i searched for a glass then i found it at a side of the top. I got the glass, kept it in front of me and nearly started pouring water from the bottle when she suddenly entered the kitchen and after having a watch on me, yelled,"No, don't drink in that glass. We don't drink water in it. Take out other from the first right cabinet". I didn't understand for a moment, then stopped and asked to her,"What's wrong with this one?"
"A non-Muslim student comes here for tuition, we have kept it for him." she explained.
I could not decide what to say next after her justified briefing,"So it's mean that we can not drink in it, Reason?"
"Reason, what reason, i have told you the reason."
I surprised,"Is it the reason for forbidding me, not to drink water in this glass."
"Yes" she went out in drawing room very much satisfied, and i could not drink water at all after that, neither in that one nor in other.
Prophet Muhammad(P.B.U.H), broke all idols placed in Ka'bah fourteen centuries ago, but we, his followers perhaps still worshiping idols. Idols of our thoughts and perceptions, Idols of our self made religious and ethical standards.
In his Great Last Sermon, Holy Prophet declared that no one is superior on other whether Arab or non-Arab, but only one who has more "Taqwa" than others. Superiority is not on the basis of even religion, financial status or any other standards, and still we are dividing humanity, "I am superior than others. I am better than You. I am always right. I can never be wrong at all." What kind of perception, this attitude reflects. Are we trying to separate ourselves from rest of entire humanity. If Yes, then we are most stupid to try to get happiness in this way. This separation is like the separation of body and soul, since body can not claim itself living after departure of soul, we can not claim ourselves as living if we are not connected to humanity.

Like Abu Jahl said to the Idols of Ka'bah according to Iqbal :

"Do not go away from this abode,
Or if leave you must then stay in our hearts."

I read it in "The Republic of Rumi" and clearly understood now.
Are we doing the same thing?

Balwa Mangal (بلوا منگل )

This is the name of one of Agha Hashar Kashmiri's plays, and i had no idea when i was going to read it that i am going to read one of the best literatures of the world. Although it is written in Urdu but it has half of its content of Hindi language according to the name of play, which is the story of a Hindu Brahaman Balwa Mangal.
The best thing which fascinated me is the grasp of language, the clear notion of Hindu religion and the harmony of Agha Hashar for Hinduism.

The Literature that can bring two different religious concepts, two different cultures and thoughts at a point where peace and Love become necessities to accept, is Consensus Literature. This dogma has been changed after 1935 and we brutally placed Agha Hashar with usual less worthy writers.

He no doubt deserves to be called as "Indian Shakespeare".

Something you should not expect from .........?

As the Trial of Aafia Siddiqui ended and she is supposed to be punished, with a deep sorrow I remembered something i forgot during these days.
Something that had given me the same feeling of uncertainty in our thoughts and may be in expectations too. Something i could not wish to share, if the same thought would have not tackled inside my mind.

"She was not upset but everyone was trying to make her upset by treating her like an abnormal person in the office. She didn’t do anything to be punished, anything which may harm anyone, which can be unethical or can be teasing for someone. Nothing was so bad for her except the behaviour of her colleagues. She didn’t hurt them. She only and only expressed her thoughts towards them that if a person dislikes something then nobody has any right to impose that one onto him or her. She didn’t break any rule but refused to attend the workshop that contained some vulgar material that she did not want to watch in a particular video.
It was not a local, rigid and conservative or fundamentalist organization. It was an international, so called intellectual, advanced and modernized organization being supervised under the well developed and well established European country which was one of the states always trying to prove them as representatives of freedom and liberty.
She was not a fundamentalist so called Muslim. She always tried not to hurt someone from her attitude, neither imposed her feelings on anybody nor showed narrow thinking. She believed on freedom of expression and at the same time she respected the ethical and moral values of other communities, wanted to be respected of her own. She was working in this organization for three or four years and she spent a good time there, therefore she often felt that people are so simple and nice around her because she was simple and nice herself but this is what that life teach us, “what we see is not, what is it in real”.
She forgot that the representatives of freedom of expression only show their mind liberty when they plan to make jokes related to the religious and moral issues of other communities. They are only liberal for publishing cartoons of the most respected ones for Muslims. They are not liberal for allowing Muslim girls to wear scarves in their schools, never show broad thinking for understanding the emotions of Muslims for their ethical and moral values."

After having this type of experience, no body can ever expect good from other side. But this is what we do every time and did this time too.............

What to say more??

She holds the civilizations in her hands..........

I met a child somewhat three years ago, in wedding ceremony of my relative. He was a twelve years old student of class 7th, confident, intelligent but naughty and spoiled to some extent. I started talking to him, as i found him an interesting child. After getting information about his schooling, i asked some questions about his home environment, parents' attitude and ethics of his own.
While he was answering one of my questions, unconsciously told me that he often scolds his housekeepers in a very bad manner. When i asked about the reason to do this, he smiled and said, " Because my mum does this, and so i".
I saw him for a moment and then answered,"She might have a reason to scold them".
He remained satisfied, " I don't think so. She always does this to bring out her anger. Anger which is being produced due to any other reason but, not due to housekeepers".
I could not answered the twelve years old child for few minutes then i again asked, " Didn't you learn in your school that we should be very polite and kind towards our housekeepers?"
" Yes, i did." this time i smiled. " But this is of no worth for me. Why should i perform such a thing that is written in books but never applied by a single person in front of me?" i was not expecting that answer from him.
I tried for last time and said, " you are right Hassan but, there is something very important about this."
He came closer to me and asked with innocence," What?"
" We must do such thing which is good according to ethics, although never applied by a single person in front of us,because this is the point where we are called different from people around us, but still linked to the entire humanity".
He smiled beautifully and went to his mother after shaking hands with me.
I had a sad feeling for few moments.
The place where our kids can learn is not the place where they go for few hours called "School", but the place where they spend rest of the day and called "Home". A teacher is responsible to teach a student, but a mother is responsible for filling that teaching in her child's heart.
A Woman holds the civilization in her hands, she can change the world by changing and transforming her child, so he could do what he is born to?

LOVE..........the beauty of Universe

Some of my friends always surprised at me in university life. I never said a single thing "ugly" which they did most of the time. They often asked me the reason and i always answered but they could never understand my point of view. It looks sometimes very difficult to convey the feeling to other's heart, so desperately as it is in your own. May be the reason was the same and i was never be able to explain them.......
It seems hard too for me to explore that feeling now but i want to try it..
There is nothing so beautiful in this universe, except one thing "Love", and which has the ability to make everything "Beautiful". This is so right,the beauty of Sun, Moon, Stars, Planets is not of their own, It is the beauty of the relation of Love between them created by "Nature". They have to follow the rules and remain in their limits to be with this Love. The relation between earth and sky, whether in the form of rain, heat, light or snow is none other than Love.Same with spring and summer, autumn and winter. One has to come and other to go, in order to share that Love to us.
We are not beautiful but this is "Love" which is responsible to transfer this beauty to us. I have often seen faces with so common features and still they are so attractive for everyone. Everyone who wish to see beauty of the Love around himself.
Could it possible that our life remain beautiful, while we are missing this relation among our body and soul, self and conscious, the relation which is embedded in the depth of our heart and which is the reason due to which we are created.
This is my view......... which is yours. Please share.......