The Beloved

The people you fight for,
Are the same people who, when you return, fight you
Stab you
Drown you
Lift you
Aid you
Save you
Encourage you
Send you back to battlefields.

:Loop:

Sickness of the Heart

Take me back to where I belong
Kill this vagabond
Guide this stray self in me
I want to get my heart back to my home

Make me the kinda Mominah I always desired to be
Shed away this coating of exhaustion and arrogance from over me
Keep me safe under the shelter of Your love and guidance
Substitute all your dislikes with all the good in me

~ MB

"Good never brings forth but good"

Narrated Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri:Allah's Apostle said, 
"The thing I am afraid of most for your sake, is the worldly blessings which Allah will bring forth to you." 
It was said, "What are the blessings of this world?" 
The Prophet said, "The pleasures of the world."
 A man said, "Can the good bring forth evil?" 
The Prophet kept quiet for a while till we thought that he was being inspired divinely. Then he started removing the sweat from his forehead and said," Where is the questioner?" 
That man said, "I (am present)." 
Abu Sa'id added: We thanked the man when the result (of his question) was such. 

The Prophet said, "Good never brings forth but good. This wealth (of the world) is (like) green and sweet (fruit), and all the vegetation which grows on the bank of a stream either kills or nearly kills the animal that eats too much of it, except the animal that eats the Khadira (a kind of vegetation). Such an animal eats till its stomach is full and then it faces the sun and starts ruminating and then it passes out dung and urine and goes to eat again. This worldly wealth is (like) sweet (fruit), and if a person earns it (the wealth) in a legal way and spends it properly, then it is an excellent helper, and whoever earns it in an illegal way, he will be like the one who eats but is never satisfied."

Allah's Will

Allah does what He intends
And He does whatever is best for His creation...
No matter how unjust or unkind it may seem to you from your angle
It's always the best.
At times you realize later that what He did was indeed the best
At others, you just fail to figure out.
Cuz you just have your limited scope of mind
Your limited thinking capacity
Your very very limited vision
And He...
He and His capabilities are above all that you know or do not know
Because He is above His creation.
Where your capabilities end,
His just begin.
Because...
He is the one who granted you whatever you possess. 

Expendable Humanity

[I wrote this on the 10th Anniversary of Guantanamo Bay (2013)

With sympathy for every oppressed human soul on OUR planet

In memory of every so-called 'insignificant' human life taken away]

Another ruthless torrent of lashes on flesh

Another bomb blast causing slush and flesh to mesh

Another robbery rage, another wild auto race

Another brother swept away from Earth’s cold cold face

Look around the world, whatever do you see?

Another child’s mother lamenting over her misery

Another bloodthirsty revenge, another man slain

Another dame being swindled down the mute lane

Do you remember those days when Hitler was one?

Now every other politician appears to be his son

Have a look at their victims in Bahrain and Sheeshan

Watch the massacre spread to Libya and Iran

So when I kneel down and raise my hands to pray tonight

Remind me of my people deprived of  every Human Right

Let me cry my eyes out to invoke Lord’s mercy today

To shelter the wretched victims in Guantanamo Bay,

To  extend the blanket of His mercy over to Afghanistan

Bless all the deprived people in Kashmir and Pakistan

Unsheltered families in Haiti, famished kids in Mozambique

Brave young soldiers defending every Falasteeni street

Look at the world drowning under confiscations & plights

Voiceless they die, deprived of basic HUMAN RIGHTS

Dear Lord, help the distressed souls and the bleeding hearts,

Incite the oblivious mass and escort the strayed myriads…

~ MB

Jeddah Historical Festival (مھرجان جدۃ التاريخية)

Balad District is hosting Jeddah's first ever Heritage Festival lately...there's hype about it all over Jeddah and people are swarming to watch the attractions at the festival with great enthusiasm.

Makkah Gov. Prince Mishaal bin Abdullah and Prince Sultan bin Salman, head of the SCTA, open the Jeddah cultural festival.

Making traditional sweets the traditional way

It is scheduled to entertain and educate people about the rich cultural inheritance of Jeddah for 10 days. Not that great a duration, but it is a move grand enough to revive the almost-diminishing cultural awareness in the (especially Saudi) youth. People in Jeddah seem quite carried away by Western culture lately....lets hope this festival will help in the revival of Saudi Arabian Culture.

The carpenters gorgeous yachts

They chose a rather old district to host the festival, its not one of those well-developed sites, but was the perfect point to host an event displaying history and heritage...since its loaded with old architectural buildings and the oh-so-famous Balad Museum.

Traditional Jewellery

There wasn't as much on display as we expected the first day, but they say its going to get really striking by the following weekend. Despite the limited historical display, it still was interesting. 

Ladies' Traditional Outfit on display

They displayed the rural Hijazi housing style featuring antique furniture, utensils, electronic appliances and their living habits. They portrayed dressing style of men (thobs) and women (jalabiyaat), everyday tasks like fetching water, selling fruits and stuff like that. Then there were stands and booths of traditional snacks, sweets, bread, jewellery, handicrafts, artwork etc.

Here are some captures of the event:

Yes, that antique ambulance!

The locksmith's corner

Giant lock & the key

And finally, the paper artwork
(Media Partners' names underneath)

Update: Here's where you'll find all the most recent updates regarding the festival http://historicjeddah.com/

Stop Neglecting Fajr

Things to remind myself when shaytaan tempts me to neglect Fajr prayer:

1 - Islam is about submitting your will to Allah. Submit, and you shall rejoice.
2 - Live now, rest later.
3 - The 2 sunnahs of Fajr are better than the world and everything in it.
4 - Fajr is your first battle against the shaytaan everyday. You win it, you win the day!
5 - The harder you struggle, the more reward you reap.
6 - You skip it one day, the next day you'll be weaker and shaytaan will be stronger. You might skip it again and again until it becomes your habit.