The 15th day of May, 2008.

Today is the 15th of May, 2008. For many people who frequent this blog (as well as many who don't) it is turning out like just another day

Clouds against a blue sky,
Dotted by birds flying high,
Bright, sunny, airy and roomy,
This is my life, my life's free for me
—Abd elAzeez

... and so forth I may rap about the joys of living in a free country. The thoughts can keep going on and on and I could keep counting my blessings all the day long , saying Alhamdulillah (All praise is for Allah) like I try to do everyday.

But alongside this feeling of happiness and gaiety, is a throbbing pain in my side. A pain that's turning chronic now, since I really cannot remember when it actually started and neither can I see a relief in sight. Of course if Allah wills something He merely says "Be" and it is (which incidentally is the literal translation of the one-liner verse numbered 40 in Chapter 16 from the Holy Quran attached on the right side of this article), and that would definitely put an end to the pain InshaAllah, but, for now the pain persists in my side!

But brother Abd elAzeez why are you in pain? you might ask me; and I am quick in quoting the Hadith (i.e. teaching of Prophet Muhammed Peace Be Upon Him) when he (PBUH) said "The Muslim Ummah is like one body. If the eye is in pain then the whole body is in pain and if the head is in pain then the whole body is in pain". That, stands as one of the finest examples of proclaiming unity and brotherhood amongst people yet many of us do not know!

Today, my dear brothers and sisters, is the 15th of May 2008; today is the yawm al-nakba (an Arabic word meaning 'the day of the catastrophe'). Events around this day in 1948, –in simple human terms– saw the mass deportation of a million Palestinians from their cities and villages, massacres of civilians, and the razing to the ground of hundreds of Palestinian villages! In stark contrast to this, war is looked upon by Israelis as the "fulfillment of a historic ideal of the Jewish people to establish a homeland for the Jewish people." We've already posted something about the conflict a few posts back, here's what happened over the course of a few days surrounding 15th of May 1948.

• May 14: State of Israel proclaimed in Tel Aviv at 4pm.
• Haganah launches Operation Schfifon for capture of Old City of Jerusalem.
• May 15:
  
• British Mandate ends.
• Declaration of State of Israel comes into effect.
• President Truman recognizes State of Israel. First Egyptian troops cross border into Palestine and attack colonies of Kfar Darom and Nirim in Negev.
• Three Transjordanian Arab Legion brigades cross Jordan River into Palestine.
• Lebanese troops retake Lebanese villages of Malkiya and Qadas (on Lebanese border), attacked and captured earlier by Haganah.
• May 17:
  
• Haganah captures Acre

Plan Dalet, or Plan D was a plan that the Haganah had out during autumn 1947 to spring 1948; according to some sources it was conceived with the purpose of conquering as much of Palestine as possible and to expel as many Palestinians as possible. All events mentioned above (and sourced from here) are only executions of the infamous Plan D.

Today, is the 15th of May 2008; exactly sixty years ago, was laid one of the (most-fruitful, as I call it) seed of injustice, oppression, division, man-slaughter, rapes, genocides, carpet-bombings, invasions and the so-called war-on-terror in Israel!

Imagine, if tomorrow morning you were made to leave your homes, your property, your lands everything and leave your country under the the orders of a tyrant ruler who had laid foot on your soil just yesterday! Imagine what it would have been like had the British given the control of our beloved country India into the hands of say the Chinese, the Americans, or some other people who didn't even belong here... people whose sole intentions were to kick us out of our cozy little homes into a life of destitution and wandering... a life of trying to fight back against heavily armored tanks, thousands of fully armed soldiers, tyrant governments, unfair UN resolutions, automatic guns, powerful bombs, missiles, grenades, with only stones and swearing women on our sides! A life with absolutely no security... a life with no freedom as we feel it right now!

Today, on 15th of May 2008, I, Abd elAzeez Shaikh, say a silent prayer for the millions of innocent Palestinians driven out of their homes, the thousands killed, raped, tortured and put behind bars in their very own country as part of the execution of this notorious Plan D which continues its operations under various different names still.

I pray that Almighty Allah bless all those affected, and give them peace. I pray that Allah the most Merciful grant paradise to those martyred in trying to re-gain their own lands. I pray that Allah, the Creator, Cherisher and Sustainer of everything that we know of and everything that we do not, give these people the patience to withstand this great trial without losing their faith in HIS Divine Decree and in HIS justice to be served on everyone the Day of Judgement. I pray that we all realize the truth and I pray that we all see the blatant reality which is the very basis of the conflict in Palestine, just like these one hundred and six prominent British Jews who have proclaimed that they will not be celebrating the 60th Anniversary of Israel in this letter titled We're not celebrating Israel's anniversary. —Ameen

All that, is what brings the incessant pain in my side and the tears that drown my heart each time I see the word Israel on TV or in the papers...But then, all is still not lost, hope lies beneath the rubble of broken homes and dead bodies too. For we Muslims have been taught to have faith in Allah the Most Kind and the Most Loving, and to put our complete trust in HIM and whatever HE decrees. The verse 40 from chapter 16 of the Glorious Quran which I've quoted above, is succeeded by the following verses:-

41. To those who leave their homes in the cause of Allah, after suffering oppression,- We will assuredly give a goodly home in this world; but truly the reward of the Hereafter will be greater. If they only realised (this)!
42.(They are) those who persevere in patience, and put their trust on their Lord.
43.And before thee also the apostles We sent were but men, to whom We granted inspiration: if ye realise this not, ask of those who possess the Message.
44.(We sent them) with Clear Signs and Books of dark prophecies; and We have sent down unto thee (also) the Message; that thou mayest explain clearly to men what is sent for them, and that they may give thought.
45.Do then those who devise evil (plots) feel secure that Allah will not cause the earth to swallow them up, or that the Wrath will not seize them from directions they little perceive?-
46.Or that He may not call them to account in the midst of their goings to and fro, without a chance of their frustrating Him?
47.Or that He may not call them to account by a process of slow wastage - for thy Lord is indeed full of kindness and mercy.

---

Today is the 15th of May 2008, and I only say Alhamdulillah.

—Abd elAzeez

Make it in!

"You are the very best" she said to him,
The boy, he only smiled and restated anew
"I don’t know if that adjective suits or not,
But I really love hearing all that from you

It makes me feel like king of the world
Though all my elaborate plans are yet to unfurl
My eyes, my mind, and thoughts they have you
Yes my dear, I love being able to love you"

She said "I wish you won’t leave me ever,
For a prettier face or a love that’s fairer"
"YOU are my world" the boy, said he
"And how could I ever think of betraying thee?"

"My boy’s the best" she continued yet again,
"And I couldn’t ever live peacefully to see him in any pain".
"Troubles and misfortune they come and go", replied the boy
"But if the LORD wills, united we’ll overcome any devilish ploy"

She said "You are the right one I’d always been waiting for
And how I wish that we’d have met before,
All these years when people tried courting me
Oh how I’d have loved to have been courted by thee"
"My love", the boy said with his teary eye
"How I wish that back in time we could fly
And probably save us both the trouble
Of living without each other, these decades double"
"We’re both a little older than that!" the girl she jokingly exclaimed
"You’re smart" he said, "but wouldn’t you believe if I claimed
Myself as a happy kid when I’m in the company of thee
Coz at these times I’m much younger than I ever could be"

Her pretty black eyes seemed to well with tears
As she re-iterated her own restless fears
"What if we can’t be together forever?
What if we aren’t made for each other?
I’d surely be forlorn if you were to go away
And would it not hurt to look back at this on another day?"
"My dear don’t you worry" the boy consoled her
"If the LORD wills our love will win all over"

Years later when they looked back at that bygone eve
All those years of love together they could relive
And later even when the people laid them both down to rest
The couple were content the LORD had blessed their lives with the best
Working towards the heavens they had always believed in
And their desire to take each other there had helped them both make it in!

—Abd elAzeez
[Current Thought: Isn’t true love about caring for one’s life in the hereafter as well?]
[Another Current Thought: Well, everything happens of course only if the LORD wills! :-) ]

Unfinished! (Or not quite so?)

This song is for anyone a little capable, a little insecure
A wicked little lineup to bring you all up to the fore
Crying out loud, but tis ain't a new anthem
Rhyme rhyme rhyme into the new millennium!

Bang bang shoots out the wicked gun
Killing another teary-eyed mother’s beloved son
These chains of anger, ignorance and bliss
Millions have perished and billions more to follow this

Bam! Out comes the impious tank, rolling rolling rolling on the river bank
Ha! Huh! Ha! The mixed sentiments rang
Oh crap! They’re back at us again!
Run! Shouted the commander,
Soldiers, half-bare, in their broken armor

Deafening screams, their pathetic cries,
The young, blue, wide and dreamy eyes
Shattered dreams, dead expectations
And whatever happened to those promised nations?

—Abd elAzeez
[Current Thought: There, listen 2 ma poetry!]

Testing... Three... Two... One!

Stuck between the Devil and the Dead Sea I’d only take the swim;
simply because that Evil dude’s not a companion that I chase

Had I to choose between the Rock and the Hard Place, I’d pick the rock,
and try to devise it into a stepping stone for a better place.

There could be many times when you’re faced with complicated–looking choices in life, but the essential thing to remember is that most of them would not appear as tricky if only you’d just look at them from a different perspective… We (the humble beings that we are) are so used to looking at things from a specific angle, (or should I say we are taught so by our system) that many a time we fail to see the hidden good in most trying situations.

I happened to read a very beautiful email forwarded by someone a couple of days ago; it was titled ‘That’s Allah!’ The entire content of the email was excellent but the one line that that caught my attention the most was ‘Have you ever been in a situation with no clue how it is going to get better, but now you look back on it? That’s Allah! HE passes us through tribulation to see a brighter day!’ [please overlook the mistakes in quoting the line from memory]

That line just helped reinforce my beliefs that everything that we go through is but a test. Some tests are easy and others not quite so… but what matters in the end is how well you stood your ground with faith in all of them. And trust me; the rewards for passing with flying colors are really really good in this case… :-)

—Abd elAzeez
[Current Thought: The countdown in the title… does it seem so apt?]

A lil somthing to think through

Somethings in life are meant for you to hold on to, while others are supposed to be let go of,
Others yet are meant to hang onto you, while the rest are supposed to let you go!

—Abd elAzeez

[Current Thought: That’s a quarter of a century's experience speaking… more updates/refinements expected as the years keep on ticking :-) ]

To Destiny!

I met somebody today who made me realize
That in being not a fool, lies the essence of being wise
LORD I’ve been brought to understand and I can only thank THEE
For making me realize all that happens is simply destined to be!

—Abd elAzeez

[Current Thought: Subhan-Allah! The LORD sure works in mysterious ways!]

... ... ... ...

Woke up this morning missing all my smiles
Been sleep-walking for miles and miles and miles
My dreams are apprehensive; they’ve a fish-eyed view
By the way I just tried to say that I need you

—Abd elAzeez
[Current state of mind: Perplexingly Optioned]

A sad state of affairs

Condemnation
Eradication
Condensation
Here lies their son

Reparation
Compensation
Cost-infliction
Not all in fun

Syndication
Congregation
Convocation
A dying nation

Hesitation
Consultation
Aspiration
No Ambitions

Here lies their son
Not all in fun
A dying nation
With no ambitions

Reminisce the passed times
Churning out these fast rhymes
Because your motherland dies
Amidst destruction, rubble and lies

Deaths, suffering, anguish and pain
Streets wetted with the crimson rain
Terror, wounds, and flowing eyes
The body rots away, the soul still cries

—Abd elAzeez
[Current thought: It could have been anybody... Damn!]

...a test of friendship

How often do we feel good when our close friends they do
And how oft are we sad when they're feelin low too?
For although the former may seem like an easy thing to do,
The latter is but the actual test of true companionship for you!

—Abd elAzeez
[Current state of mind: Apprehensive Exhilaration]

---

Following this post I've decided to record my current state of mind in each post. That, I believe, will give bring some more insight for ya'll into the twisted workings of my grey matter as well as provide me with some record-keeping for future reference (just in case this place becomes too darned famous and some big business tycoon proposes buying it out from me... in millions :-)

---

A little more time for me please…

Oh well it’s been but a long boring day
Weather’s cold and the sky’s been gray
The workplace’s dreary and my eye's getting weary
Couldn’t I’d be anywhere except in this friggin’ chair?

Yet I’m happy and content in a tranquil way
Not feeling as lifeless and dull on this protracted day
Grateful at being alive just to pull through it
For surely THAT gives me some more time to prepare for the grave

—Abd elAzeez

the comfort zone

How comforting is the warm hand of a friend in a time of distress
And so relieving it is when you have someone to whom you can confess
So very simple do the daunting worries and the maddening pain become
After a true friend has supported you with truly sympathizing kind words some

—Abd elAzeez

Retrospective...

An old friend called up the other day
You know it’s been long since she’d gone away
Some years plus a few months more
It’s been a while since you’d closed that door

Things changed, and you moved on,
You never realized when the nostalgia was gone

Someone you knew, passed away another day
There wasn’t even time for a last goodbye, they say
A crushed bike, some broken glass
Some candles in time, burn out too fast

'To each his own, and life waits for no one'
Reiterated this to yourself, and the pain was simply gone

Yet another day when someone broke your heart,
Did you realize once you too played the same part
With a good friend, and too long ago not
Your own mistakes you easily forgot?

Time changes, and a lot of people do too
Second chances for no one, why crave one do you?

Did you once ever even stop to think,
Your story's fading away like some delible ink?
You’ve come so far, do you know if there’s a road back?
These miles you’ve crossed, do you remember the track?

Is it possible to stop here, and hope to start anew?
It seems a little retrospection will do good to you…

—Abd elAzeez

oh Vanity...

When was the last time you stopped,
to take a good look at the person in the mirror

How long has it been since you last noticed,
the disparities between you two are growing dearer?

–Abd elAzeez

A few Unanswered Questions...

All this while, since your life began
You've always yearned for a loving hand
And now you've got your prayers answered
Isn't it time it’s your heart's voice you heard?

Uneasy it is you've always been
For evermore, the other side's seemed green
These days the tide, it seems so changed
Isn't this the reason that racing pulse seems strange?

Time they say, heals all that hurts
In your life you've faced the worst of flirts
The day you found someone you could love
Why's your throat dry, your tongue stuck in its cove?

You've had your highs, and you've seen many a low
You've seen dried rivers that once used to flow
Now your demons are dead, the pain's subsided with your hate
So what is it that now makes you apprehensive of the upcoming fate?

—Abd elAzeez

…and the madness takes over again

Another day for his ailing psyche it is, another wretched sunrise it is
What goes on inside his twisted mind, he cannot explain
He wants to eliminate the sea of insanity that feeds on his brain
He lies weary, on the path he has been walking again and again

His nightmare has come true, and he wakes up screaming in the night
Another love of his is dead, and he’s left alone in the cold hard rain
Crazy thoughts of insanity, like maggots feed on his decaying brain
He tries to fight them, but ends up surrendering to the sickness… again

Stripped to the bone, on the dungeon floor he lies shivering
His wounds hurt, the tears in his eyes wet the blood stain

He struggles against them but the evil thoughts drive him insane

He wants to get back into humanity, yet he just cannot take the pain

In his senses he feels, the depraved world taking over
His mind he sees, wandering in the decadence just like Caine
Corruption, lies, debauchery, sin… the evil tugs at his sleeve again
He tries to resist, but ends up surrendering to the madness… again

Twilight comes around, the sky outside turns crimson

Another nightmare seems true, and he wakes up yet again
He sees the madness take over, and he knows he’s gone insane
He knows not what to do; and has finally given in to the sickening pain.

—Abd elAzeez

...tHe sIcKnEsS

Silently he waits, in this cold dry place
Waits with nothing, not even the wind in his face
Kneeling down on the hard ground
Broken, sad and with face that’s frowned…

The sickness has gotten into him,
There’s no escape in this place where he lies
The demon has woken inside him
And is lurking in the shadows nearby

You left him, so close to dead and decaying
Silently you left, not a word you were saying
He should have known you were a snake from the start
A snake; O yes a snake! One with an evil heart
I wish he never fell to your deathly charms
And in no way trusted your thorned arms

He looks at his reflection in a murky pool
And he sees it’s slowly changing,
Changing with a silent and steady gloom
The sickness has now entered his room

This sickness has gotten over him,
There’s no escape either in the earth or sky
The demon is now lurking inside him
And there are more approaching nearby…

Walking alone and still he's waiting
He's loved you, and now it’s you he's hating.
He's seen his psyche completely changing,
Like a thunderous dark storm that’s been raging

He's lost his soul, and now he's all so cold
It's a horrifying story, that’s still untold
Your words, his silence, all embracing
Like a slit wrist, with warm blood stream pacing

The moon comes around to light up the freak
And pours pale light onto the crimson streak
Tied up, bound in chains and chokingly-gagged
He lies limp on the ground, like a doll ragged

With nothing but the warm air flurrying
He waits the certainty, his vision blurring

The sickness has powered over him,
There’s no escape when it says "Die"
The demons have stopped lurking in him
And gone looking for another psyche to dry…

—Abd elAzeez

Heartburn

The day I stumbled upon ya, I knew I was fallin
T'had never been this way; looked like I'd found ma callin
My head was turning and my heart started burning
I'm gonna go up in smoke, if you don't end me yearning

You've got what it takes to get somebody thinking about you
You've got that charisma to make someone miss you
You've got the right words to have people remember you
Baby you've got everything, and my heart is on embers for you

Baby I've been missin you, now I can't take control
You've arrested my heart and locked me outta parole
You've got everything baby, you've got everything
And to you only, I'd always wanna cling

Abd elAzeez

Just the usual

It was but, just another day
In the sun, some people made their hay

For sometime, it had also rained
And some people, they got wrongly framed

Some people came closer, some drifted away
Today was but, just another day.

—Abd elAzeez

Waiting for his Lady

He's been waiting for his lady,
He's sitting nigh beside the sea
Her blue eyes, sweet perfume,
and the affection he wants to feel
With memories of their love affair,
the sweet nothings that they've shared
His mind is in a state of glee,
and the boy he's waiting by the sea
In that old place where they used to meet,
by the tall green palm tree discrete

He inscribes in sand his amour's name,
in a lettering that's not always same
Gently the sea washes it away, and he writes yet again
he knows the hours that've passed, aren't going in vain
She must be on her way to that place,
picking up flowers or tying them a lace

Her favorite sweets he has got today,
a romantic tune he's humming by the bay
His old six-stringer guitar lies by his side,
today he's learnt two riffs and a slide
He's brought it to sing her a blues song,
a song of his love for her golden hair so long
Of her blue eyes, and graceful moves,
her silken clothes and their lovely hues

Butterflies in his pockets, an old cap for the sunny day,
and that suit he'd inherited after grandpa went away
"Fame and fortune" she says, "are things sublime."
"What matters is I'm yours and you mine"

'She must be on her way' he thinks,
with a twinkle in his eyes each time he blinks
He thinks of what to her he'll say,
and how they'll spend that lovely day

He's waiting for his lady, singing songs beside the sea,
and he'll sit all day under that very palm tree
He is waiting for his lady, thinking about her is he,
for them love isn't easy, just like for you and me.
He's going to wait for his love the whole day by the sea,
and soon she'll come to him, and so believes he...

—Abd elAzeez

A soldier of the coming years...

Do we know how it feels to lose a loved one?
Do we know how it feels when nothing can be done?
Except bury the pain inside, and let the tears subside?
How does it feel when one night's journey seems the longest ride?

They plunged into the war, to protect their village, their dignity
Rode away into the desert, to face their deadliest enemy
Had to save their women, the adversaries were taking away,
And the children who's fathers they'd executed the other day

They rode on horses as fast as they could,
Laying a trap for the foes who were taking the loot
Attacked them with their best, with everything they had
With their swords, their rifles, on horsebacks, and white robe clad

Not the perfect match, against the enemy's machine gun
Still they fought from all sides, attacking as one
The adversaries they too were very well-prepared
All arms and ammunition they promptly bared

Our heroes fought bravely, driven by just one goal
To save the captive prisoners from perishing into a dark hole
With their war cry out loud, they attacked
Like mad men, they tore upon the enemy's pack
A bloody battle between them ensued
In that desert part, the one seclude

By the Grace of the Lord, they then overcame
The foes, they were all now a campaign tame

Then they returned back to the village in victory
Everyone rejoiced as the horse-riders returned in glory
People of each household rushed to welcome their men,
while others thanked HIM for the safety of their women

There were drums beating a victory beat everywhere,
The heroes were returning, there was glory in the air
With bated breath the womenfolk awaited their men
And seeing them, they ran to welcome and to hug them then

The children too, their tiny lips and their tender hands,
Praying for their fathers' safe return from the desert sands
And when each came back, his children rejoiced
The wife was thankful, her eyes were moist

All prayers seemed answered that day, but not little Ali's
His mother, she then began dreading what it is
At last his father's white horse it returned
But atop it, was no white-clad figure to be discerned

Only one horse returned empty that hot afternoon
And the little boy just couldn't figure out why
Although two dry monsoons have passed without a boon
He stil can't understand what made mamma back then cry

His father he thinks, is still somewhere far away
Fighting with the enemy, or gathering lambs gone astray
His mother has now learnt to hide her tears
Since now he is to become the soldier of the coming years...

—Abd elAzeez