72
20. GLOOMY
THOUGHTS.
The other morning I
got up at 3.45 AM to offer my Salaat (prayers , Urdu Namaz ) . Saad , my son ,
also came down for the same purpose . But , before that , I had recharge my
batteries with a cup of hot tea . I went to kitchen to prepare tea both of
us while he was in my
bathroom . I fell into thinking : what was the purpose of my life ? I got depressed suddenly with those thoughts.
Such moods are frequent with me . In the 1980s , I
watched two movies , “ Stop the world , I’m getting off’ and ‘ It’s a mad , mad
, mad world ‘ .
I was born a romantic . I think most thinkers are like
that . This means that I am a round , and not a flat , character . Students of
English Literature are familiar with the terms . My Professor in Gordon College
, Rawalpindi , the late
Reverend Francis Xavier (God
Bless him ) , once told a group of students , including yours truly, that
pessimists always enjoy good health because they think that life would never
get better . I am too very restless .
I want to something for the people . But disappointments made me a cynic.
After my retirement , I took writing as an avocation .
To begin with, my purpose was to convey a message to all Muslims and particularly
the people of Pakistan to acquire high
and quality education, to awaken them to the demands of the time that Science ,
Economics , Mathematics have made remarkable
advancements . The developed world is achieving its goals . During the past seven
years , I have written 118 articles/essays in this vein . I have also written
to warn the Muslims and the Pakistanis of Allah’s Azab . But I am disappointed
to note that nobody is pushed about my writings. The other day , my son , Saad
, and I were discussing it with an old childhood
friend , Haroon Niazi , and his sister
. She told us that she had been writing for the press for umpteen numbers of
years and she failed to
arose the people’s interest . She
, none the less said
that I am able to have a ‘catharsis’
.
Sometimes I have urges to settle in another place ,
another country , USA ,
Canada , UK , Germany , Australia or Malaysia and
choose a small village or a
73
suburb to live . But the developed countries are
closing their borders to new immigration particularly
for the Muslims. Besides I
am 69 . It will be
difficult for my family and I firstly to migrate and secondly to adjust to new
surroundings .
My feeling
of disgust springs from romanticism . The Quaid e Azam achieved Pakistan with
his steely determination . The Quaid’s Pakistan has been replaced by a new
Pakistan whatever it means . Every
government and every leader make
this claim from the separation of East Pakistan from Pakistan in December 1971 onwards. But the lives of the
ordinary people of Pakistan has worsening from to year .
Within Pakistan , many voices are being heard from one
of the spectrum to another . But the voices are coming from the well heeled ,
the members of the elite
and Civil Society that Pakistan
should be secular . Others are quoting the Quaid e Azam’s saying and referring
to the Objectives Resolution of 1949 . Recently during the screening of
nomination papers for the Elections 2013 , Articles 62 and 63 of the
Constitution were being attacked very bitterly . The attackers went so far as
to attack Islam . Again the
attackers were the Members of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and the
members of the Civil Society . Already cries are being heard that there are
plans to rig the elections .
On the other hand were diehard supporters of Islam viz
Dr. Shahid Masood , Orya Maqbool Jan , Zaid Hamid , Syed Bilal Qutab (sedate)
and the Islamic Scholars . The former three are relatively aggressive. Orya
Maqbool Jan has been
repeatedly warning us of
Allah’s Azab. Zaid Hamid emphasizing on the return of the days of Khulfa e Rashideen and Ghazna e
Hind .
These people are trying hard to awaken us for many years. But the majority
either do not hear us or they are heard of hearing because they are happy with
their power and wealth . History tells us that since Hazrat Muhammad because
the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him ) till he migrated
to Medina , he succeeded in making Muslims
of only one hundred people
.
The incident reminds us that the way is both long and
arduous .
74
Mahfooz ur Rahman
Islamabad
April 9 , 2013
No comments:
Post a Comment