Perceptions, Presumptions and Expectations

Once I read somewhere that perception is the ability of humans to predict or anticipate something whole while experiencing its small part that is to say, based on your previous experiences you can tell what the situation is that you are in at the moment.
It is like I live my life in a perception of how it is actually. And based on my perceptions I make presumptions and these presumptions lead me to expectations that I associate myself with. In everyday life it seems to me that we people are always presuming the behavior and attitude of others that are actually based on our own perceptions and then we expect many things from the people who are very close to us. In my opinion I believe no one on this earth is like me and understands me truly because everyone is unique if no two people can have same finger prints how they can know each other perfectly. Everyone has his own world inside him and no other can know for sure what this world actually is for that particular person. But the arrogance take holds of people and they come to believe that they know everything about the people they are close together with.
When this stage is reached in relationships people make presumptions of other’s behavior and attitude and come to believe about everything they have perceived. This makes them to predict actually what the other person’s action mean and what he aims to do. This is a dreadful thing I believe because no one can know what is inside of the other no matter how long you have spent with him and no matter how strong your relationship is.
When this stage is also over there comes the third level, in which people associate expectations with which they have spent time. But when the part of other comes into play which the other haven’t known and expectations are crushed down, then relationships are broken and there is chaos and discontent among people.
I believe that we should respect others’ inner world and must not presume that our perceptions can be right for sure and start associating our expectations with them. In this way we can be at peace with everyone at every time.

Unity Continued!

I stare at this empty canvas that is ready to take the outpour of my words. I write and the words appear black on the shiny white screen of my digital canvas that is what I should call it. My attempt to write down my thoughts for the unity of mankind whirl stranded in my brain as I try to extract my thoughts from the abyss of my conscience, in realm of reality, in the world of material. My opinions though crafted by society still give the glimpse of what 1 in 6,775,235,700 people think.
Unity and unison the key to an effective movement, the key to success, the key to unfold the bounties of nature, the key to render all the human potential and force to make this world a better place not for an individual, not for a particular commune, not for a single nation, not for a tribe, not for a particular sect of belief, but for all without discrimination and without any difference. This unity when practiced by different ideological tribes yield different outcomes which totally rely on the ideas and philosophies that particular clan believes in and have faith in. With unity there comes power which can be exploited to achieve any goal. Whether, it is the gang robberies or building up of empires, winning of the wars or statute for peace. Unity always yields something like it did for Pakistan, like it did for china, like it did for Hindus, like it did for America and like it is doing for Jews. The mass murders by Hitler and the dropping of ‘fat man’ and ‘little boy’ was also backed by unity. There is unity in cultures and unity in faiths, unity in persecution and unity in the persecuted, unity in profits and unity in losses.
So this unity yielded progress for China while the same unity destroyed Pakistan. The unity in Pakistan was to corrupt, it was to build up the personal empires instead of the country, while it was the country ahead of their actions and thoughts for Chinese, we looted and they gave to the country. They continue to give and we continue to corrupt.
The imperial genocides by America in different regions of the world are a strong consortium of people who do not want the world to progress rather they want de-development in the world. Has the world gained or lost due to this unity it’s certainly you to decide.
Unities erupt into chaos and contentions which give rise to other unions and strengthen them, fall and decline of unities go on and on and on. But this decline and rise of unions depends on the ideologies of people who are bonded in that particular consortium, in that particular tribe. If the ideology is strong enough it yields greatness, if it’s feeble it brings chaos for the world whose scars remain on the face of this planet forever. It is conclusive that the mechanics of unity and contention lies in the ideologies which govern movements.
At our front of Muslims we are divided and yes we are divided for more reasons than any other nation is. We are divided on the basis of religion, race, culture, language and of course the most grave of all these is the racial system whose boundaries lay on the sentiments of money and power. Allama Iqbal has put all of my words in few lines:

Manf-E-At Ek Hai Is Qaum Ki Nuqsaan Bhi Ek
Ek Hi Sab Ka Nabi Deen Bhi Iman Bhi Ek
Harame Paak Bhi Allah Bhi Quran Bhi Ek
Kuchh Bari Baat Thi Hote Jo Musalman Bhi Ek

Yes our Quran is one and our God is one and certainly our last Messenger is one, but we are divided and we will be divided until or unless we don’t want to be divided. There is no deception in religion; it is in the minds of mullahs who are now made the authority by ignorant ‘us’. It’s we who want to stick with our sect which has in fact become our ‘deen’ instead of Islam. I believe it is no place to prove that there is a power which has created this universe Holy Quran is His last message to humanity, as it is well explained by orators and researchers like Dr. Zakir Naik and Harun Yahya. So, here Allah says in surah rom:

So direct your face toward the religion, inclining to truth. [Adhere to] the fitrah of Allah upon which He has created [all] people. No change should there be in the creation of Allah. That is the correct religion, but most of the people do not know. (30:30)

We have forgotten our ideology and that is the basic fact of our division. No matter what basics we consider for our unity only Islam is there that can unite us again. And I have a very strong faith that it will, eventually, InshaAllah!

Reflections on Unity!

Today I learnt the sentiments of unity. Unity is something sentimental, whose basis lie on the purity of concepts and ideologies. If these ideologies are not pure, sincere and do not have any good in them they will surely erupt into chaos and turmoil that is inevitable.
There is only one idea that holds fast all the people together and that is idea of Allah for Muslims and for some it is the idea to rule. After some very grave experiences of human conscience I have reached to this point that Muslims at least can only and only be united if they hold fast the rope of Allah and that is the only way people will not contend each other and will not disrupt into disputes. There is a notion of attachment to the sentiments of power and dictatorship that one finds satisfying the psychological needs and requirements of well being. This notion is actually a lust, a mirage that never ends and is ever increasing. The people cannot escape from its complex networks of aspirations that hold fast to one’s soul, but only those who have ideologies pure and clear enough can undo the power of its evil and can stay united for the better of this world.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Self actualization, self or ideals all means the same thing one is referred to by Maslow, second one by Allama Iqbal and third one by Dr. Rafi-ud-din. These things are the sentiments of improving one’s self in all sectors of human life. It’s the ideals, the self which compels one to realize his responsibilities and to perform tasks which are needed the most in our society. Tolerance, mercy, forgiveness, dignity, sincerity and sacrifice are just words for people its self actualization that gives these words real meaning and no one knows the truth behind these words except those who have practiced it. So, humans are humans because they have wisdom and power of thought that gives them the power to imagine and do things none other can. If our self is dead and we do not actualize what we are and what we are capable of, we are dead and we are like other creations of Allah Subhanawata’la who do nothing but spend their lives for living and living only.
When Maslow said that self actualization is the final need of humans and one cannot proceed to it without fulfilling the smaller demands first, I was taken a back at this view point, in my opinion it is the self and the ideals which make humans human.
I see in my home, I see in my neighborhood, I see in my community, I see in my society that no one cares or bothers about things like dignity and honor they are just selling their character and their honor for money and money alone. Do you think that our society can improve if everyone has a double story house with a car in his garage and an A.C in his bedroom with a cable in his house and all other necessities (actually luxuries) of life. Do you think that it is that point in one’s life when he recognizes the meaning of these words and the meaning of humanity and the purpose of life or self actualization.
We talk about money, we care about money, we relate due to money, we act due to money, we marry due to money, and we kill due to money and one day all our actions are going to come to an end when we breathe the last breath, when we see the last picture, and when we hear the last words from our loved ones. Its then do we realize that what have we done in our lives and where did we spent it.
When one speaks the truth he knows for sure that it’s not only an obligation but the right thing to do whenever any situation comes up in his life. Some people cannot speak but truth why because it’s something from inside that compels them to do so. Therein is self and ideals so strong that they subjugate one’s will according to their code of conduct and that is the most beautiful thing we all humans have in common without which we would be nothing but animals, savage and hungry for food and shelter and for the lives of other living creatures. It leaves me inexplicable; the norms which have become a part of our lives are like a cancer which is going to vanquish us as humans. So it is not money, it is not the food and it is certainly not economy that makes us more human rather it is character, wisdom and morals that make us humans which comes through self actualization.
It left me thinking for a while when I first saw this hierarchy of needs by Maslow but I just let it go. But today there came into my mind all these things and I thought about jotting them down.

Austerity!

(26) And render to the kindred their due rights, as (also) to those in want, and to the wayfarer: But squander not (your wealth) in the manner of a spendthrift. (27) Verily spendthrifts are brothers of the Evil Ones; and the Evil One is to his Lord (himself) ungrateful. (surah 17, verses 26-27)

Dreams of luxurious lives when crumpled leave people in turmoil. People always complain that they do not earn enough and they need more. They need more to maintain balance in their lives and in their community. They have to coup with difficulties and have to double their time just to make the both ends meet. They work for nights and they work for days. Would it not be a lot easier for them to just turn their dreams down and just for one second stop and treasure the moments of their life on this earth and feel the pleasure of being bestowed with countless blessings and bounties they have and thank Allah for whatever they have and gratify Allah and be His servants for all their life.
And that is the beauty of Islam that it guides us to live contended life in whatever grave conditions we are in and hold fast the rope of Allah and ask Him for forgiveness and perform what He has commanded us to perform. But no what we do is run for the false dreams of luxury, people run for cycle when they walk and they run for bike when they ride a bicycle and people run for cars when they drive a motorcycle.
This is what most of us persevere for and live lives for. And when Allah decides something for people they just don’t recognize it and cannot accept their defeat by Allah’s fate. And this very fact is the seed of most of the fights occurring in homes and in our neighborhood. Then people face despicable scorns and morns of their inner desires which were left unfulfilled. How can we think then we can live a peaceful life without any tensions and without worries if we cannot stop ourselves from wanting more and more.

(1)The mutual rivalry for piling up (the good things of this world) diverts you (from the more serious things). (2)Until ye visit the graves (3). But nay, ye soon shall know (the reality). (4)Again, ye soon shall know!. (5) Nay, were ye to know with certainty of mind, (ye would beware!). (6) Ye shall certainly see Hell-Fire!. (7) Again, ye shall see it with certainty of sight!. (8) Then, shall ye be questioned that Day about the joy (ye indulged in!). (Surah: 102)

The choice is always ours, it is always us who have to decide and our fate really depends on what choices we make and at what times. This life is too worthy to spend on futile aims and desires, rather the jolts of life must ignite compassion in our souls to strive for the betterment of humanity, for strive to decrease the wraths which are upon us due to our pitiful and careless actions.

Towards an understanding!

In my last article I tried to point out the grave actions of the whole society including me which are taking us towards a disaster that is as vivid as the days in which we consume our lives. This article is a sequel to the previous one and it also is an emotional spill. InshaAllah! If Allah gave me will and time I will try to take us towards a complete understanding of our problems concealed with the solutions.

Has the story reached thee of the overwhelming (Event)? Some faces, that Day, will be humiliated. Laboring (hard), weary. The while they enter the Blazing Fire. The while they are given, to drink, of a boiling hot spring. No food will there be for them but a bitter Dhari'. Which will neither nourish nor satisfy hunger.
(Holy Quran, 88:1-7)

We come by to no accountability, we are answerable to none and no one questions us. Our loved ones die in front of our eyes we see them breathe their last breath, we treasure their last memories, the days we have spent with them, but we don’t imagine dying ourselves and leaving this bustling world, those moments come by and leave leaving us untouched and impressing nothing on our actions. Just remember that time when you were sick and you were suffering from fever what do you think then, what does come into your min? I know it by experience that everybody in this world has experienced death by one way or the other and when we have this glimpse of death what does come into our mind? (I would be happy to hear your comments). As for me it is always Allah who manifests in me like the Supreme Being who has absolute control of everything and health rests in His hands and I pray, I pray and pray and when I am healthy again I forget all those feelings. I believe that this happens with all of us. But here in this world we as students are not answerable to our teachers, and teachers do not question us, we as sons and daughters are not answerable about our deeds to our parents and they don’t question us, (except some exceptions, because we do what we want to do no matter what), we as the guardians of this nation and the Muslim Ummah are answerable to none because there is no one to question, we are answerable to nobody in this world, we are always compromising our self with what is upon us and we don’t do something about it. We don’t care, we don’t bother about 1 billion people living on this earth on less than a dollar a day, we don’t care about the lies and fantasies and the falsehoods we are living in, nobody bothers to find out the truth and some of those who know it are busy in writing it in columns and some of those who know are involved in secret societies and groups and I don’t know what they are really up to.

Nay! When the earth is pounded to powder. And thy Lord cometh, and His angels, rank upon rank. And Hell, that Day, is brought (face to face),- on that Day will man remember, but how will that remembrance profit him? He will say: "Ah! Would that I had sent forth (good deeds) for (this) my (Future) Life!". For, that Day, His Chastisement will be such as none (else) can inflict. And His bonds will be such as none (other) can bind.
(Holy Quran, 126:21-26)

So, our life is finite, it is not going to go on like this forever, it is going to end some day and just hold on to your throat for 1 minute and you will experience how your death will be. Yes, of course it is difficult and nearly impossible for us to get what the clear image is but still we should be aware of what grave times we are living in and we must prepare ourselves for that breath taking and ears shattering experience of death and then there will the One who will account for our deeds and our actions and then there will be no one to save us from Allah’ wrath. We are looking for answers and for solutions to our problems and for the serenity in our lives. We want to evolve in a free world first the world has experienced Communism and now the world wants to suffer from Democracy. While we have the answers, solutions, and peace in our own religion Islam that means peace itself. But today it has been made a dogma, a dogma for the marriage ceremony, a dogma for the funeral, a dogma for a new born baby, a dogma for the Friday prayer and nothing else. I can do nothing but have a deep sigh on our very pitiful condition. But on the Day of Judgment there will be no running away and there will be no savior for us, there will be no bribe there and there will be no favoritism and there certainly will be no racism on the basis of power. Then when Allah will ask us where did you spend your life? What are we going to say??? Yes, He is Raheem and Rehman but he is also Qahaar and Jabaar. May Allah bless us all and guide us to the straight path because it is His shear grace that we may be guided to the right path by Him.

Do men think that they will be left alone on saying, "We believe", and that they will not be tested? We did test those before them, and Allah will certainly know those who are true from those who are false. Do those who practise evil think that they will get the better of Us? Evil is their judgment!
(Holy Quran, 29:2-4)

Mirage

“Contemplation is a curse that makes an old confusion worse” I don’t know who said it but whenever I remember these words I feel like I am living my life in a deception. What Einstein tried to prove mathematically I think that we are all a living proof of it, we are living in a relative world where nothing is absolute, not even time, space, people, emotions, feelings, desires, actions, behaviors, perceptions, conceptions, assumptions, presumption nothing, nothing is absolute. So, whenever we come across anything ‘new’ in our mind we stop and think what have we been doing before. Then we contemplate, then we ponder over our actions and then we try to come up with a relative ‘logic’ to satisfy what had been the driving power of our actions.
I wake up, I dress up, I pack my bag and go and attend the classes, I come back I again change my clothes, I sleep sometime and then wake up, I hang out with my friends for some time, study if I have to, and then what, I go to sleep again and then repeat this everlasting routine. This is what most of us do in UET. When some incidents (and surely they happen with everyone) make us to stop and think we just don’t bother and move on with our routines. We don’t want to ‘confuse’ ourselves from any past mistake, or I would say we don’t want to deny our actions our egos even when we know that they were wrong. Isn’t this a mirage, a deception, in which we are spending our lives? What does command our life and actions? What are all our actions about? What are we striving for?
A sapling (tree) when tied up in a particular direction grows into that very direction; it never goes out of the way even if it wants to. This is what our state is; we never want to go outside the boundaries set by the society. If you just try it yourself to take one step astray from the path set by the society and right away you are going to face grave and despicable circumstances and you can try it any time.
Like puppets of the society doing what everybody is doing and we say that the wisdom of mankind is at its apex and we are enjoying a free and liberal world in which we can do whatever we want to, think whatever we want to, and believe in whatever we want to, just think it yourself. We aspire for a life that is fabricated by proctor and gamble, Ferrari, Siemens, BMW, Google etc. we live our lives for the profit of these capitalists who hunt us down by their giant billboards, attractive advertisements and with offers that we cannot deny.
This is why when we have a glimpse of the true responsibilities of us and we try to contemplate, we discover our evilness, what we do is only that we ‘make an old confusion worse’. What is the society controlled by and who is the master of the puppets? I guess it is our instincts that are driving us. And we are giving freedom to ourselves to exploit these animal instincts, this is what some philosophers say, some have said that it is the ideals which control one’s perseverance, some say that it is the biological needs in control of literature, art, religion, music, culture etc. one way or the other in my opinion it is something that comes from within, it is the evil which wants us to be free from all bounds, for this very reason democracy is being hailed. It is the evolution taking place and we are exploring the areas of our conscience, by giving freedom to free lancing. This will prove nothing useful to us on the individual level and on the level of the society as a whole because it will unleash our animalism and there lies nothing good but only the wicked. For a proof of it I think I need no example West with its allies is an actual proof of it.