A Trip Of Rediscovery To Pakistan - Muneeb

A Trip of Rediscovery to Pakistan When it is said to them: "Follow what Allah hath revealed:" They say: "Nay! we shall follow the ways of our fathers." What! even though their fathers Were void of wisdom and guidance? (Al-Baqara, Chapter #2, Verse #170)

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e, as a human are the sum of our fears. To embrace destiny we must inevitably fight those fears and overcome them; whether they come from the familiar or the unknown. In our lives we see a confusion of elements, an earthquake of impossible change. Many lives undone, left behind, known faces made unfamiliar, strange faces made familiar, new challenges to face, new friends to feel safe with, new friends to share feelings with. The need to impose order onto confusion through determination, through study, through struggle and only through these we grasp control. Is the change a gift or a curse? For those who fear what lies ahead, the most important question of all: can we really ever change what we are? Sometimes questions are more powerful then the answers. Why is this happening? Why don’t we have our own opinion? What are they? Who are they? Why them and not others? Why we have abandoned thinking? Why are we not questioning? Why do we take everything personally? Why are we so selfish? Perhaps the answer of right or wrong, good or evil reduces to one simple choice: survive or perish because morality loses its meaning. Questioning and concerning draws a line between human and animals. All animals listen, but they listen to hunt or to protect themselves, we, human listen to absorb information to help make a difference. If we also could not ask questions, then what is the difference between us and animals? As animals don’t ask questions nor pass any criticisms therefore they are absolutely agreeable friends. “Have We not made for him a pair of eyes?- And a tongue, and a pair of lips?- And shown him the two highways?” (Al-Balad, Chapter #90, Verse #8-10). For everything there's a reason and a time of every purpose. We desperately try to keep from being thrown off; we had to make hard choices for the truth and for the love. “Verily We have created man into toil and struggle” (Al-Balad, Chapter #90, Verse #4). Yet still we struggle to make a difference, to make Pakistan a better place, to dream of hope, never knowing for certain who we will meet along the way. Who among the world of strangers or our own will hold our hand, touch our hearts, and share the pain and triumph? There is always reasoning for the opinions and opinions are never right or wrong. But the unfortunate part is that we do not have our own opinion. We are forced to hold other people’s opinion either directly or indirectly and consider it our own. We absorb knowledge/ information to make our opinion, the glorious Qur’an mentions “Do men think that they will be left alone on saying, "We believe", and that they will not be tested?” (Al-Ankaboot, Chapter #29, Verse #2). Perhaps we cannot ask questions because it is reduced to one simple choice; survive or perish. We are all born with ability, an ability of curiosity. But

unfortunately we have lost it on the way, only if we could find it then we will have a tiny but potent chance to get back on track and find our way back to being human. The world is at an agony. We are fighting with ourselves, distancing ourselves from our loves one, from our own existence, hating each other. Yet we find solutions in ourselves; a mother willing to fracture her own soul to protect her child. Youth struggle for innocence despite life's cruelty. It tells us the same story, stay together, be united, stay one. We hope for dream, we dream of hope, of change, of love, of death. And when dream becomes real, the answer to the questions will show itself like the glowing light of the new dawn. We should struggle for the meaning, for purpose. But in the end, we would find it only in each other and we should know in our hearts... that we are not alone. Quaid-e-Azam, Muhammad Ali Jinnah on Pakistan Day, issued from Delhi March 23, 1943 passed us the key of the treasure; he said “Only you have to be fully conscious of that fact and to act with courage, faith and unity.” When we embrace what lies within, the true self and our potential has no limit. The great majority of us are Muslims. We follow the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him). We are members of the brotherhood of Islam in which all are equal in rights, dignity and self-respect. Consequently, we have a special and a very deep sense of unity. But make no mistake: Pakistan is not a theocracy or anything like it. (Broadcast talk (of Quaid-e-Azam, Muhammad Ali Jinnah) to the people of Australia recorded on 19th February, 1948)

It is Muneeb Zafar’s view; people have all right to disagree with it. For comment or suggestion please feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].