Page 22 - Urdu Link - May 25, 2018

P22 – PAKISTAN LINK – MAY 25, 2018 COMMENTARY
n By Saaniyah Sajed Dhikr: Th e Remembrance of Allah loved by Allah Himself.

hikr, or remembrance of Allah, Allah’s bounty is exemplifi ed in this verse
comprises of two main ideas: move- of the Qur’an about thanking Him: “If you are
Dment of your tongue and its eff ects grateful, I will surely increase you (in favor)”.
in your heart. It should not only be felt as Now that you have reached a stage of
movement of your tongue, but also felt deep constant remembrance of Allah, you should
in your heart. be grateful to Allah for reaching this level
Uttering the blessed words of “Subhan of excellence (Ihsan). Every action you take
Allah” and “Alhamdu lillah” is, of course, in and every word you utter is carefully craft ed
itself a bounty. But when you become deeply around the fear and love of Allah. You have
engaged in the Dhikr of Allah, you are able to perfected your religion as much as you can,
truly feel the pureness and love of Allah and and that in itself is something worthy of
His religion. praise. Subhan Allah!
Dhikr not only resonates with the specif- Last but not least, it is unbefi tting of a
ic words, but in a wider scope, accommodates Muslim to engage in a good act and not ad-
the recitation of the Qur’an, spreading kind- vise his or her fellow Muslims regarding it.
ness, and speaking good of others. From this, Now that you have reached the valued stance
we learn that any good deed with the right in- of a Dhakir, you should spread your knowl-
tention is a form of Dhikr. edge about the goodness of the Deen. Share
Allah mentions those who remember with others the rewards of Dhikr in the world
Him through Dhikr specifi cally in Surah Ale’ and the Akhirah, and you will see the positive
Imran, verse 181: change in yourself and those around you.
“Who remember Allah while standing Remember, we are only human and at
or sitting or (lying) on their sides and give fi rst, engaging in constant remembrance may
thought to the creation of the heavens and the be diffi cult. Our hearts will desire to stop and
earth, (saying), ‘Our Lord, You did not create strike at their necks and they strike at yours?’ your happiness. In order to develop a deep, rest. And you may do so. Do not force your-
this aimlessly; exalted are You (above such a Th ey replied: ‘Yes, indeed,’ and he said: ‘It is pure love for our Creator, we must acknowl- self to do more than you are able to. Do not
thing); then protect us from the punishment the remembrance of Allah’” (Tirmidhi). edge that we are helpless without Him. be discouraged by any setbacks, but see them
of the Fire’”. Subhan Allah! Engaging in Dhikr allows Every breath is in His control, and every as steps of the beautiful journey you have em-
Indeed, if Allah has mentioned those us to perform the best of actions and raises heartbeat pumps with His permission. An- barked upon.
who engage in Dhikr, then He has truly be- our rank to the highest in the eyes of Allah. swer these questions: How has Allah blessed Let us reap these rewards and incorpo-
stowed uncountable and unimaginable re- me? How will I thank Allah and remember rate Allah’s remembrance more oft en into our
wards on them. How to engage in Dhikr Him more oft en? lives. Let us live the rest of our lives with the
Dhikr, in all of its benevolence, is not a Next, you should engage in verbal utter- shining hope of reaping the benevolent re-
Benefi ts and Rewards hard task. Allah has eased everything in our ances of Dhikr. Whenever you are free, for ex- ward in the Hereaft er. Let us not forget that
Dhikr, encompassing all good deeds like religion for us, all for our benefi t. He knows ample, in the car, cooking, doing chores, you with every utterance of Dhikr, a tree is planted
prayer, reciting Qur’an, and spreading Islam, us inside and out, the weakness of the human can gain reward by saying Dhikr like “Subhan for us in Jannah. Let us not put off good deeds
carries the honor of being the best deed a we carry in ourselves, and He has made tasks Allah” and “Alhamdu lillah”. to the side, for on the Day where there is no
Muslim can perform. As we can learn in this simple and understandable for our ease. In or- Th ese help you remember Allah’s Glory turning back, we will regret all the chances
Hadith: der to attain the honorable level of a Dhakir, and thank Him. Allah loves those who engage we had to do good. Let us secure our wings
“Shall I not inform you of the best of your or a person who engages in Dhikr continu- much in His thanks. Also remember that it is of hope in the day that we, insha Allah, will
actions, the purest in the sight of your Lord, ously, follow these simple but valuable steps: not Allah Who is need of this Dhikr, but rath- be holding hands and entering our promised
which raises your rank to the highest, which Firstly, acknowledge Allah’s presence in er, it is you. You cleanse your heart, you purify Jannah. Let us take advantage of every mo-
is better for you than spending gold and silver, your life. Allah has been your utmost caretak- your intentions, your mind is at utmost ease ment as a step on the staircase towards meet-
better than meeting your enemy so that you er. He controls your safety, your health, and with constant Dhikr. And best of all, you are ing Allah. SoundVision
n By Moneeza Hashmi Faiz, the Father word. Th at’s probably what I have imbibed from
Lahore her. I do not regret it though a lot of people tell
me I should. I’ll be damned if I do. I am upfront.
s for my memories with Abba, I think Say whatever you want to say and get it over with.
there’s some kami in me, or rather, I She would not mince her words. ‘Th is is not the
Acall it a kind of a defense shield, that I time for this, do this, don’t do this’. And she would
have blotted out a lot in my life. Must have been mother him, to some extent, and bully him.
deliberate, I try not to think He was never the kind of person you would
about it. Because my childhood think of as the absent-minded professor. He was
was a very lonely one I think perfectly dressed, perfectly attired. Everything
that’s why I blotted out a lot of would match, everything was in synch. He would
things. Even when I dig and dig be up at seven or eight in the morning. He would
and dig I get fl ashes and I shun be dressed and out at nine-thirty or ten. It was not
them. It is probably a defense as if he was taking any sort of license with being
mechanism. a poet. He was so, so well dressed and he always
I see him in patches. Salima mashallah has smelled so sweetly. I have that perfume with me
the memory of an elephant; she remembers things still.
from when she was three years old. My memory So he was organized in his own way, but he
is very sketchy about him. Maybe because I was let her do it. I think he probably felt that she en-
young, or that he was working at a newspaper, joyed doing it, which is fi ne. Plus, it took a lot of
which meant late hours. I can remember the load off him, she would be in charge and he could
morning and I can see the room and I can see my always hide behind her. Because he was never
room and I can see where he is. But he was always confrontational. He just couldn’t stand confron-
usually asleep when we got up in the morning; we tation. He couldn’t stand arguments; he couldn’t
came from the school he would be at the news- stand open-ended discussions. So he would put
paper. cial. Th at was very special to me. Th en Ali’s fi rst kept most of them, or if they are lost. her in front, or he would tell me some time, now I
Some things are there though, but there is no roza kushai. He would laugh and say to me (some- He never taught me much or help out with am tired, let’s go, which meant, get me out of here.
such thing as two-year-old, three-year-old memo- times he would go to Data Darbar with me, not a school; I feel that was missing, and fathers of that I used to tell him, ‘You are a coward’. But that was
ries. I can hear the doors clanging and the shouts lot, once or twice), ‘he would get our sins forgiven’, generation did not do so. It was the mothers’ re- his way of getting away and he would do it. He
and my mother screaming when he was arrested. toba. I think he was amused by my rozas (fast- sponsibility though even my poor mother did not. used it very cleverly; he would get somebody else
I can hear it, I can’t see it. And I remember her ing) and my namaz (praying). But I didn’t read the She was also busy with courts, etc. It was my Ph- to do it for him.
crying. I think I was fi ve. And I remember the Qur’an until the day he died and then I started. upi’s responsibility for me at least. Her name was He never wanted to ever hurt anybody or
long train rides to Hyderabad (jail) and back. I re- Th ere were diffi cult times, when I was build- Iqbal, we called her Bali. She spent a long time make anybody feel that he was bored or tired.
member the cell, sometimes. Of going inside and ing my house and we didn’t have any money, we with us, she didn’t marry and she stayed with us Obviously people used to bore him to death and
coming out. I remember sitting outside. I remem- had to stop building at one time, then he came until he came home. Th en he made sure that she he used to tell us aft erwards. He would say, ‘Well,
ber waiting, I remember coming home alone. I silently, he had come from Berut. He gave us 500 married. Maybe he didn’t even know about our they weren’t leaving.’
remember him walking in; I remember his per- dollars, at that time it was a lot of money. He just exams, never asked about the result either. My elder son Ali is the oldest, the fi rst grand-
fume, sometimes. And I would sit in his lap… I put it in my hand and said, “Don’t tell your moth- When I went to college he used to come very son. He named both my sons, Ali and Adeel. Ali’s
remember the night he came home very clearly; er.” So that made a room or a bathroom or some- regularly from Karachi. I was in the hostel. He name was Madeeh, which is a beautiful name and
the garlands that I had around my head. Th ere is a thing. He would do things like that. He would would take me out for the aft ernoon. We would we were very happy to keep it. But my mother
picture somewhere also, but I can’t fi nd it. bring gift s. have lunch somewhere, usually Chinese, there used to say that she can’t pronounce it. And she
From childhood, I think this is my Dadi’s in- At my 10th wedding anniversary he brought was a small restaurant on Th e Mall. And he would said that it would become Mehdi. She said, ‘Faiz,
fl uence, I am very religious. I have an inclination me a pair of earrings from Moscow. Very special. sit there, or somewhere, and he would smoke and give me a simpler name. Th en Abba said, ‘Ali’.
towards religion. My Dadi and my Phupi have a Every birthday he would ask me what I would I would talk or bitch about college. He would lis- He named me as well. My name is Moneeza
big hand in that. So my fi rst roza kushai (breaking like, it didn’t matter how old I was. When I was ten in peace and then it would be time to go. And but we all have two names. My name is also Gul,
the fast). I was eight years old, so I remember that young, it would be little things. When I was old, then he would always, always give me money. which he kept aft er his sister. Salima is Sultana,
very clearly. I think there were patties and some- he was hardly ever around but when he came he Whenever I saw him, he would give me money. Adeel is Omar. Ali is still very silent. So he used
thing cool to drink. would bring something. Th ey were very precious Mama was always upfront, a nice version of to say a lot, ‘Yaar, you should play more, otherwise
Th en reciting Azan in my son Ali’s ear. Spe- to me. I don’t unfortunately remember where I blunt. I can’t for the life of me think of another FAIZ, P24
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