Emotionally driven writing

I don't write much despite the fact that my friends and family have told me quite often that I have that spark that not everyone has when it comes to writing. Its not that I don't want to. Its just that I have this permanent writer's block or something. I realised that I write only when I experience something deep on an emotional level.

This is something that I wrote right after we wont the T20 World Cup Final.

From the rampaging militants in the north, the IDPs, double-digit inflation figures, schools, hotels and masjids being bombed, to our President who was caught on camera drinking wine while representing the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

Anarchy and chaos, it seems, has become and integral part of Pakistan’s existence, but our men have shown the world that we can still rise from these ashes.

But one wonders what a mere win can do. The joy that comes from a major win, spreads like wild fire across the hearts of many and forges bonds and eases pain, however momentarily. That radiating joy resonates in every Pakistani giving them that affirmation, that WE can do anything.

This is the day the world shall remember as the day our Pakistani cricket team brought home the T20 Cricket Worldcup and gave hope to Pakistanis of better days to come. Our country it seems, may always be in tumult, always on the edge, always in danger of being pushed to its margins, yet … they are always potential winners. Pakistan Zindabad!

Misconceptions about the Mal'oon Aal-e-Saud: Caretakers of the Holy sites of Islam

Some two million Muslims are assembled in Makkah al-Mukarramah for the performance of Hajj. If the past is any guide, this Hajj will also be performed as a set of rituals in which the hujjaj go through various motions without realizing why they are doing this.

In Islam, every act of ibadah has a spiritual as well as ritualistic dimension. The spiritual dimension is the essence but most Muslims have been deliberately kept in the dark about it. Hajj, the most arduous of Islamic ibadaat, is also a victim. Whereas it should be a journey in obedience to Allah and a submission to His Will in fulfilling the sacrifice of Ibrahim (a), it has been reduced to a set of empty rituals. Hajj, was a platform where all the leaders of the muslim ummah could gather to discuss issues and problems for the betterment and prosperity of Islam. Pilgrims are required to openly proclaim their dissociation from the mushriks but how is that possible when the occupiers of the Haramain — the House of Saud — themselves are the most obedient servants of the mushriks?

Alot of people that I know are under the sad impression that the Sauds are the caretakers of Islam. The fact is that they are the termites that have eaten away at the pillars of Islam. History goes to show that the Saud family were infact nomads who roamed the deserts of Arabia and used to loot people travelling to perform Hajj. With the passage of time they discovered and seized control over an oil well and its all history from that point.

Further, the Saudis are busy demolishing the historic sites of Islam, turning the noble sanctuaries in Makkah and Madinah into replicas of Las Vegas and New York. Where is the spirituality in concrete and glass monstrosities that have sprung up replacing such historic sites as the house of Khadijah (pbuh), the be-loved wife of the Messenger (pbuh), or the house where Abu Bakr Siddiq (pbuh) lived? The graveyard of Jannat-ul-Baqi where Fatima (pbuh), the beloved daughter of our Holy Prophet (pbuh) was buried. Some 90% of the historic sites have been destroyed. Will Muslims rise up to save their heritage from the cultural hooligans?