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Flight


O human being tear apart the layers that veil the screen of your memory and look inside. Do you not remember the blissful time when you used to breathe in freedom! You suffered from neither hunger nor thirst; nor were you bothered by the heat of sun. You had no fears and did not worry. You did not know what sorrow meant. You happily ate whatever you wished. Distances of time and space did not constrain you. Angels talked of your blissful flight into the realm beyond space.

O my brother, try and search within your mind! Do you not member anything? Why have you forgotten the memory those golden days! Do not these memories buried in the recesses of the past make you restless? You always remember the few days you spend at beautiful resorts or the few pleasant moments you spend in the company of someone you desire, why then does your conscious not recall such great and sublime moments!

If you do not recall anything, then listen! You have been very ungrateful. You have intentionally surrendered to pain and sorrow. Rejecting the blessing of freedom, you have taken upon yourself the shackles of slavery. You have allowed yourself to bee enslaved. Instead of unity and focus, you have given way to doubt and discord. You were a bird free to fly, yet you yourself invited the captors to come and imprison. You pushed your unending abilities into the dark caves of material constraints. Your base conduct made the heavens cry and caused the angels to lower their heads in shame.

O progeny of Adam and Eve! Take heed, analyze and consider your condition. You are so tangled in the web of constraints that it seems impossible for you to escape. You are under such fierce attack of trials and tribulations that you find it hard even to breathe. You wander to and fro for a piece of bread to fill your bellies. Fear of the future forever terrifies you. You want a guarantee of joy and happiness, but find it nowhere.

And look at the horrific result of the false values you have embraced. Instead of realizing the true values of freedom and happiness-for a few pieces of bread you do not hesitate to cut open the throats of your own brother! Under the colourful guise of progress you have painted the beloved earth red with blood. Clouds of misfortune are darkening. Rays of light are dimming. You are in such a state of self-denial that you have tarnished your own greatness. You are Allah's viceroy but materialism and filth have left you without refinement and purity.

O son of Adam, although you have hidden your eternal and unending life behind layers upon layers of curtains and have even buried it inside you, I will not forsake you-I will keep on trying to awaken you, whether you heed my words or not.

God's benevolence stands witness that it has sent many messengers your way, shaped into material form, and they advised you, time and again, to return to your native land, yet you always showed ingratitude.

O human being, pay heed to my words-I, who am your conscience, your inner voice-the cry within your soul! Pay attention; do not strangle my voice, or you will continue to wander helplessly in the dark abyss of misfortune, and will keep on stumbling like a blind man.

O child of Adam! Remove the chains of slavery hanging around your neck. Cut asunder the web of imaginary constraints of space and time. Don the robe of joy and happiness instead of sorrow and misfortune. You have set around you thousands of idols and are busy in their worship-the gods of wealth, of fame and fortune, and the gods of your false desires. Step forward and destroy these to pieces with the staff of Abraham and see what freedom tastes like- the freedom that you have lost by your own mistakes. Take your eyes off this world of darkness and look toward the world of light where freedom awaits you. The Holy Quran openly declares:

O Adam! You and your wife [both] stay peacefully in heaven, and eat happily from wherever you wish. ["Holy Quran Ch2: v35]


Journey Towards Insight

KHWAJA SHAMS-UD-DEEN AZEEMI

Science has made immense progress, yet many believe that, even with all of the modern tools at our disposal, human beings function at no more than 10% of their mental capacity. This leads to the question of what exactly it is that comprises the remaining 90%. Yet another question that arises is this: If it has taken man four and a half billion years to be able to apply only 10% of his ability, how long will it take for him to make use of the remaining 90%?