Is It Necessary for the Heart to Break?
Currently, the nation, especially the youth and sensitive individuals, seem disheartened and despondent. However, I believe that having one’s heartbroken is not a simple matter. Can its price be paid so easily? The heart is the only thing in the world whose value increases manifold after breaking. When its value increases to such an extent that it resonates with the sentiment “we live in broken hearts,” can such a person be insignificant?
In a Hadith Qudsi, Allah Almighty states, “I am with those whose hearts are broken.” Mulla Ali Qari, may Allah have mercy on him, explains this Hadith by saying that until we break our evil desires, our heart will not be truly broken. And until the heart is broken, we cannot find God. Allah’s name may be on our lips, but He will only enter our hearts when we break them by ridding ourselves of base desires.
This idea reminds me of an anecdote by Maulana Rumi, may Allah have mercy on him. When Allah’s manifestation descended upon Mount Sinai and Prophet Musa (Moses), peace be upon him, fell unconscious, all the commentators of the Quran wrote that Mount Sinai could not bear Allah’s manifestation and thus shattered into pieces. However, Maulana Rumi suggests that the mountain was a lover of Allah. When it saw that the divine manifestation was occurring outwardly, it realized that if it did not break into pieces, Allah’s manifestation would remain only on the surface. Therefore, it shattered itself so that Allah’s light could penetrate its depths as well:
“Come, dwell in my eyes, reside in my heart.” And Maulana Rumi, may Allah have mercy on him, says: “Upon the exterior of the mountain struck the light of the Absolute, It shattered so that the light could also dwell within.”
This is from Maulana Rumi’s Masnavi. When Allah’s manifestation descended upon Mount Sinai, it shattered into pieces so that Allah’s light could penetrate its essence. Those whom Allah grants the ability to strive against their desires, destroy their base desires and the demands of sinful actions, and break their hearts. By casting out the stones of sin from their hearts, Allah then bestows His light upon their hearts.
When the heart breaks, splits into pieces, and these pieces become the throne of the Divine, can this happen just like that? Without pain? Without anguish? Without suffering? Without turmoil? Without sorrow? Without oppression? Without trials and tribulations? Achievements and positions are not granted without effort. And if they are, what is their worth? What is the significance of unearned status? Even if granted, what is the importance of such a position? The true value, importance, and even utility of a status is realized only after enduring the blue flames of pain, becoming a statue of love through the path of passion, and reaching the stage of a broken heart. It is essential, inevitable, and indispensable for the heart to break, as it is only in a broken heart that the full voices of divine love resonate. The throne is set, the king sits, decisions are made, and destinies of many are determined. Therefore, let the heart break, let it break with a smile. A broken heart will teach you how to mend, and once you learn to mend, there will be nothing you cannot achieve. Let the heart break, let it break.
However, it is crucial to mention the calamity we endured under a government that openly claimed it would rid us of IMF by throwing 200 billion dollars at them within the first 100 days. But when they assumed power, they passed the new Amendment Act 2021 for the State Bank, effectively handing over the entire State Bank to the IMF, which is now forced to operate under the burden of subjugation. That government had promised to promote scientific, academic, agricultural, and other fields of knowledge in the country. But were these priorities considered when distributing awards on the first Pakistan Day, March 23, of their tenure? Did a single award go to a research scholar working in any scientific, academic, agricultural, or other field?
Our nation witnessed President Arif Alvi honouring Resham and Mehwish with presidential awards for good singing and dancing. Similarly, more than a dozen entertainers were given awards, demeaning national honours. Remember, my leader had promised to transform the Islamic Republic of Pakistan into a state akin to Medina. He gave an award to Maulana Tariq Jameel, not straying from the vision of Medina. At least Maulana Tariq Jameel’s benefit is that whether it’s the Lahore Ahmadi Shoaib Aziz, the sinful General Pervez Musharraf, or Imran Khan in power, they all make sure to visit him under the pretence of religious preaching. And when they emerge from the corridors of power, they consider it their duty to certify him as a true servant of Islam and Pakistan. (اِنَّا لِلّٰہِ وَاِنَّآ اِلَیْہِ رَاجِعُوْنَ)”Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return.”
It is also our nation’s misfortune that political leaders whose vehicles we showered with flower petals, despite them heading to courts for corruption and ruthless looting of national wealth, slaughtered the nation using the weapon of “marry off the dead.” Recently, when a package was announced from the national treasury for millions suffering from inflation in Punjab, the largest province, an image of Nawaz Sharif was promptly printed on flour bags, painting him as the “Hatim Tai” of today. The court had to intervene to save the oppressed public from this humiliation, yet millions were still granted to the promoter of this project. When an honest female officer from the relevant department refused to comply, she and ten other officers were handed “OSD” orders, and the incoming officer released the funds without a moment’s delay.
ایک دو زخم نہیں جسم ہے ساراچھلنی
درد بے چارہ پریشاں ہے کہاں سے نکلے
One or two wounds? The entire body is riddled,
Poor pain wonders from where it should emerge.
Pakistan ranks second in the world in terms of the number of Hajj pilgrims and first in the number of people performing Umrah. However, according to the global honesty index, Pakistan is ranked 160th. The World Justice Project’s annual report places the Pakistani judicial system at 130th out of 139 countries in terms of adherence to the rule of law. Consider the meter reader who accepts bribes to reduce a 1500 unit reading to 500 units, the butcher who charges for pure meat but includes bones in the weight, the milkman who promises pure milk but adds adulterants, or the SHO who adds false charges to an innocent person’s FIR. We have the teacher who marks attendance while staying home, the shopkeeper who under-measures goods but charges full price, the policeman who takes a 100-rupee bribe, the lawyer who distorts truth for a fee, and the child who steals 10 rupees from a 100-rupee deal. There’s also the clerk who takes a cut from bribes, the athlete who tarnishes the country’s name by fixing matches, the young person who spends nights watching movies and spreading false propaganda on social media, and the MPA or MNA who embezzles millions to build a 100,000-rupee road.
Further examples include the corrupt contractor who misappropriates funds for hand pumps, the councillor who embezzles thousands to cheaply construct a drain, the oppressive landlord who loans money at high interest rates to farmers, the revenue officer who manipulates land records for his son’s benefit, the doctor who performs Umrah on commissions from medical tests, the journalist who sells his pen for money, and the cleric or peer who collects donations in the name of religion. When everyone is making holes in the boat, one cannot claim that the boat sank because someone else’s hole was bigger. We are all guilty. Everyone engages in social media without verification and considers themselves innocent. If today we are ruled by politicians who constantly talk about old and new Pakistan, is it not a punishment for our actions?
In Los Angeles, Dr. Abraham conducted twelve hundred experiments over five years on terminally ill patients to determine the weight of the human soul. He designed a highly sensitive scale in a glass box, weighed the patient’s lungs’ oxygen, and waited for the patient to die. Immediately after death, he recorded the weight. Dr. Abraham concluded that the human soul weighs 21 grams, representing the 21 grams of oxygen hidden in the lungs. When death occurs, this oxygen is expelled, and all cells in the body die. Have we ever thought about how much 21 grams is? It’s equivalent to 14 kernels of corn, one tomato, one layer of an onion, six pinches of sand, or five tissue papers. Yet we, 21-gram beings, consider ourselves the gods of a universe weighing trillions of tons. This, indeed, is the measure of all humans, including myself.
Here the question arises that if the weight of the soul is 21 grams, how much is the weight of our desires in these 21 grams? What is the weight of our hatred, greed, manipulation, cunning, conspiracies, the stiffness of our neck, the pride of our tone in it? This 21-gram human who considers himself the ruler of millions of 21-gram human beings, considers time as his slave and time as his employee and forgets that just a little heat, just a little hiccup is our authority, our power is ours. Stubbornness, pride and cunning will melt the wax and when this 21 grams of air leaves our body, we will be buried under the heavy piles of history and another 21 grams human will take our place.
Oh, this man can’t even see a mole on his back and claims that I have the ability to see every insect that walks on the earth. This is our helplessness and our arrogance over it………!
رَبَّنَا لَا تُؤَاخِذْنَا إِن نَّسِينَا أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَا،رَبَّنَا وَلَا تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْنَا إِصْرًا كَمَا حَمَلْتَهُ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِنَا، رَبَّنَا وَلَا تُحَمِّلْنَا مَا لَا طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِ، وَاعْفُ عَنَّا وَاغْفِرْ لَنَا وَارْحَمْنَا،أَنتَ مَوْلَانَا فَانصُرْنَا عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَافِرِينَ۔۔۔(البقرہ:286)
“Our Lord do not impose blame upon us if we have forgotten or erred. Our Lord and lay not upon us a burden like that which You laid upon those before us. Our Lord, and burden us not with that which we have no ability to bear. And pardon us; and forgive us; and have mercy upon us. You are our protector, so give us victory over the disbelieving people.”
Oh Allah, forgive us, Amen.
Friday 7 June 2024
