Yesterday, on the 19th of March 2008, the world either celebrated or mourned, depending on your perspective, what is the fifth anniversary of what news channels called, "The US-led War on Terror”
I simply call it, America’s unjustified invasion of Iraq.
Now, 5years and some $200 billion later we are still clueless. There were no “Weapons of Mass destruction” (is this getting too old?), no “links to terror organizations” and as we see now, no reason to continue. Except that it’s already too late; people are still dying, violence is only on the up rise, and the economies (both Iraq and the US) can’t be much worse.
I don’t know where things go from here.
I can only pray, ask Allah subhana wa ta’ala to give peace and victory to the innocent, hungry masses that roam the streets without food for no fault of theirs.
Ameen.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Friday, March 7, 2008
Just another evening...
This is something that happened to me quite some time ago while I was still in Chennai. I immediately put it down on paper but being the lazy couch-potato that I am, I completely forgot abt it. So without further delay we present, just another evening:
It was a typical Saturday evening; and like most other Saturday evenings, I was looking forward to doing what most of us do best on weekends – have fun.
A person I knew was getting married and we were supposed to attend his wedding reception at around 7pm. I had just finished Magrib and left my house to the bus stop hoping to catch an early bus to where the reception was. Now it so happens that I’m not exactly thrilled about traveling in buses but then, being in Chennai means a bit of a sacrifice sometimes (not to mention forbidden costs for traveling the same distance by autorickshaw! :-)
Anyway, while on the bus I conveniently forgot about my stop and remembered it just when the bus nearly started. Now again, being the true blooded Chennai-ite that I was, I decided to get down anyway. I hardly put my first foot down when I lost my balance and all 140 pounds of me came crashing down on the asphalt. Knee first and then on knuckles. I got up as fast as I fell (boy it’s so embarrassing falling off a bus) and brushed away the dirt as if nothing happened and that’s when I noticed a 2inch hole cut into my terribly expensive new trousers. Needless to say, I made the reception and had a good time, except for the part when everyone asks you about the scratches in your hands and the cut in your trousers.
Later that night, thinking about the whole incident, it occurred to me strange. To be quite blunt, I could’ve quite easily died that evening – all that was needed was for me to fall head-first, or a car to run over me, or get caught in the wheels.. it gives me shivers just thinking about it. And all I ended up was, with a pair of ruined trousers. Actually that evening after Magrib before leaving the house, I asked dua to get there safely and get back safely and in the small corner of my twisted mind I actually wondered if anything could go wrong.
Guess I got my answer. Life can change in an instant for any of us, and when it does, we better be prepared for it. Because unlike my bus, this is a one-way trip…
It was a typical Saturday evening; and like most other Saturday evenings, I was looking forward to doing what most of us do best on weekends – have fun.
A person I knew was getting married and we were supposed to attend his wedding reception at around 7pm. I had just finished Magrib and left my house to the bus stop hoping to catch an early bus to where the reception was. Now it so happens that I’m not exactly thrilled about traveling in buses but then, being in Chennai means a bit of a sacrifice sometimes (not to mention forbidden costs for traveling the same distance by autorickshaw! :-)
Anyway, while on the bus I conveniently forgot about my stop and remembered it just when the bus nearly started. Now again, being the true blooded Chennai-ite that I was, I decided to get down anyway. I hardly put my first foot down when I lost my balance and all 140 pounds of me came crashing down on the asphalt. Knee first and then on knuckles. I got up as fast as I fell (boy it’s so embarrassing falling off a bus) and brushed away the dirt as if nothing happened and that’s when I noticed a 2inch hole cut into my terribly expensive new trousers. Needless to say, I made the reception and had a good time, except for the part when everyone asks you about the scratches in your hands and the cut in your trousers.
Later that night, thinking about the whole incident, it occurred to me strange. To be quite blunt, I could’ve quite easily died that evening – all that was needed was for me to fall head-first, or a car to run over me, or get caught in the wheels.. it gives me shivers just thinking about it. And all I ended up was, with a pair of ruined trousers. Actually that evening after Magrib before leaving the house, I asked dua to get there safely and get back safely and in the small corner of my twisted mind I actually wondered if anything could go wrong.
Guess I got my answer. Life can change in an instant for any of us, and when it does, we better be prepared for it. Because unlike my bus, this is a one-way trip…
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