Assalamu Alaikum

I first and foremost apologise to everyone for not updating my blog as regularly as i hoped to. I had promised to elaborate more on the topic of Hayaa in my last post. However, although i have started a new entry on numerous occasion, hours would pass by getting busy with something else and I'd eventually close the window without having typed out anything. InshaAllah that will come soon, but for today I'd like to share with you my thoughts on the recent terror attacks in Bombay, India.

As I was glued to the news all of last night and today, my mind and heart was flooded with a mixture of thoughts and emotions. I felt devastated for all the innocent lives that were taken and more so for the broken families that were left to mourn the sudden death of their loved ones. One of the thoughts that kept haunting me is how sudden death actually is! None of those people who have lost their lives while on a night out, at a family dinner, or business meeting would have ever imagined before leaving their respective homes that there will never return. My Sheikh Hazrat Maulana Yunus Patel Saahib (db) says that today we are living in an era where everything is instant. We get instant tea, instant coffee, instant pudding, instant cakes, and death too is very much instant.
It is sad and very unfortunate indeed how we take life for granted and seem to think that death is something we have to face eventually, but not just yet! Whereas Islam teaches us to remember that death is always hovering above our heads. Infact one of the best presicriptions for living a sin-free life is to always think to yourself when sinning, "What If my soul is destined to be taken at this moment? Would i want to die in this condition?" How dreadful it is that Muslims loose their lives in discos, casinos, night-clubs, brothels, cinemas, etc. The Hadeeth states to the effect that, you will dies in the same manner as you live, and you will be resurrected in the same manner that you die.
I kept imagining myself, had i been holidaying in India at that moment and maybe been at one of the places that were under attack, would I have been ready to die? Even if i would not have been engaged in a sinful act by the grace of Allah, but am I ready to face my Allah??

Another thing that kept running through my mind is the hadeeth of the Prophet (Sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) that this Ummah is like one body when it comes to their mutual love, compassion, and support. If one part of the body feels pain, the entire body is not at ease. It is a sign of this Ummah and the followers of the prophet to sympathize with all those that have been afflicted by this tragic incident, irrespective of whether or not the victims were Muslims. Islam does not condone unwarranted attacks on innocent civilians. Islam is a religion of peace and harmony. Islam has spread not with the sword but with good character.

Thirdly, I thought to myself how this attack caused such huge commotion all across the globe, and rightly so! The incidents of the past 48 hours in Bombay are nothing but barbaric. However isn't it sad and unfair too that hundreds loose their lives on a daily basis in places where Islam and Muslim are under attack, but it all goes without much mention. I was ashamed when i realised how disturbed I was by the attacks in India, whereas as so many of my own Muslim brothers and sisters are being orphaned and widowed every minute elsewhere, yet i hardly ever think of them apart from the quick mention i make in my duas. But a lot of that has to do with the media. I think if they gave as much coverage of the FACTUAL happenings of those places then most of us would feel much more than we currently do. But that is of course wishful thinking. So inshaAllah I hope that as of today you and I will be more sensitive towards our Muslim brothers and sisters who have been trapped in an endless war!

The greatest lesson we can learn though, is that our time of death could be just as instant....how prepared are we???

"Strange is the VISA OF LIFE...... It can be cancelled at any time, the duration of its validity unknown, and its extension too is impossible." - Hazrat Maulana Yunus Patel Saahib (db)

A humble request to all those reading to make a special dua for my Sheikh Hazrat Maulana Yunus Patel Saahib for a speedy and complete recovery. Hazrat Maulana is a heart patient and is not in very good health at the moment. Ulamaa like Hazrat Maulana are the lanterns of guidance that are very much needed. Thousands of people benefit from them wherever they set foot. Without them it would become ever more diffcult to safeguard our Deen and preserve our Imaan.

Wassalaam.