Walking on the beach last night, the stillness of the sea, the wavelessness and calmness took me back to the time when we used to live in the city by the Red Sea. The same smell… the peculiar smell of the waveless sea, brought back so many memories. The receded shore in the summers was one thing which all of us didn’t like when we were young, and we still don’t like it! The contrast these seas have with the one we enjoy in our homeland is striking. The gushing waves, the waves that make you crazy, the waves in which you dive and the tides that are high in the summer, and the government keeps announcing that the sea is dangerous yet the whole city goes there to killl the heat of the summer and to keep away from the pains and torture of the power breakdowns. *sigh* It’s just a walk and that single walk can take you miles away from everything… the smell.. it’s abstract yet is so concretely embedded in your mind that it awakes all those memories associated with it. How Allah ST has made us all and how He has tuned us, it is all just so amazing. It’s just the realization… it is so overwhelming. SubhanAllah! WOW!
This maybe a clean, beautiful, developed and a rich nation, but somehow you miss the eccentricities of your own land. The nostlagia this place arouses of Jeddah cannot be denied, but the longing for the warmth of one’s own land is greater than anything else. The smell of the rain when it hits the earth, that smell can not be traded with any branded perfume. And I just realised that it’s the blessing of Allah SWT that he has bestowed upon us. But surely we are not doing any good to our own homeland, we are not paying it proper respects. I fear the Day when I’d be asked what did I do to make things right, what I should have done? The people who gave their lives to snatch away a piece of land from the clutches of Brits and the Hindus so that we can live our lives accroding to the Quran and Sunnah, have we actually fulfilled their ambitions/? Have we done justice to the blood that was shed so that we could have rights to perform our religious duties?
I’m still wondering where I stand in the middle of all this…hah! I miss home…
Reflections... 
There’s a society called Elementary Society to Excel in Future (ESEF) formed just two or three months ago by the top position holders of all boards of Punjab. They – all of its members – are very patriotic they aim at changing the system. here is how they establish the need of their existence and their purpose of existence:
“Everywhere we find people talking about the current situation of Pakistan. We discuss and disperse; with no conclusion and no solution at the end of discussion. The faith of every nation depends upon its youth. Only the youth can revolutionize the system effectively. Nation needs dedication and devotion.
In ESEF, we, all the position holders of Punjab and dedicated brilliant students of elite universities of Pakistan, have gathered with the intention to change the society. We shall bring a change in educational sector which will effect in the long run in every sphere of life and ultimately present a soft and moderate image of our country. As we believe:
“The great aim of education is not knowledge but action”.
We have a dream that one day InshaAllah we will fulfill the dream of Quaid-e-Azam and Pakistan will be one of the greatest nation of the world. To accomplish great things we must not only dream, but also act; not only plan but also believe. We, with high aims, will shoot out for the stars and even if we miss, we land on the moon. To become a dignified nation we must have confidence in our powers, abilities and dreams. We have to give selfless service to our nation as we think that this is our obligation. Our Quran tells us:
“Verily, Allah does not change the fate of the nation unless they change themselves”.”
They need guidance, adivce. They act on guidance at once. They are doing much more no matter at what scale without even publishing what they do. You can join their forum and help them find their way @ http://www.esef.org.pk
hmmm… thankyou for sharing this, Umer.
Tum mujhe iss waqt iss qadar yaad aarahi ho ke tumhare ghum mein meine baaqaaida aik munni si post likhi hai apne blog pe 😦
//But surely we are not doing any good to our own homeland, we are not paying it proper respects. I fear the Day when I’d be asked what did I do to make things right, what I should have done?//
Yes, indeed. We, Pakistanis en masse aren’t doing anything. Calamity is, we know absolutely very well what’s right and what’s wrong, but we do not tend to change this whole system inside Pakistan.
Today, I was having a debate with couple of my friends and my younger bro about the upheavals in Pakistan, and generally the political system of Pakistan. I was sad to know that we all understand quite well the solutions to our problems, but we abnegate to practice for the solutions under an excuse which according to them was, “to prevail in Pakistan’s politics – you’ve to demonstrate yourself as a turn-coat occasionally – and a selfish person often. If you’re not from one of these kinds – you can’t prevail in this system. All these excuses I kept on listening often during the debate.”
I was at odds in all this debate – trying to make them understand if we in a literal way want to change Pakistan then we’ve to change our mind-set too.
May Allah give sanity to our surpassingly sane people. Aameen
Thankyou Absar for your comments.
“change our mind-set”
Journey of the thousand miles begins with the single step. I guess change ourselves, but I guess realization comes before that. khare khote ki pehchan ho gi tu we’d know what to change and for how to change we’d always need a guide. The problem is that we don’t realize that we need a guide and the company of the best people around us.
Bus dua hai k Allah hamein sache jhote ki pehchan hi sikha de. Ameen
I like the way you started it “Journey of the thousand miles begins with the single step.”
Indeed, realization. A new update btw. Today again during debate with friends and this time elder bro too – I exchanged my views again. And they were laughing lol. Unfortunately, as per them en masse, things can’t be changed and revolution can’t come so let it be the way it’s. And I had to take a deep sigh ultimately. But I’ll keep on trying time to time – hoping that we Pakistanis will step to fore soon in bringing a revolution InshaAllah.
You’re right. most of us don’t really think that the system can actually change. We should keep in mind that even if not the whole system, we can put in our contribution. We should always give our best in whatever field we are…