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Qutb-e-Mauritius Muballigh-e-Islam Hazrat Allamah Maulana Muhammad Ibrahim Khushtar Siddiqui Qadri Razvi (Alaihir Rahmah) penned a beautiful collection of poetic praises for Allah Ta’ala, His Beloved Rasool (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) and the Awliya Allah. These were compiled and published with the chronogrammatic titles Qaseem-e-Bakhshish and Zaadirah-e-Bakhshish respectively.
In these compilations he did not only compile a bouquet of poetry, but also penned petals of wisdom, which provide invaluable lessons and teachings about our life and purpose in this Dunya (world). Hereunder we will look at some of his poetic gems related to the reality of the Dunya, so that we may recognise and remind ourselves of our final destination and not get deceived and lost along the journey to it. This Dunya is part of the journey and not the final destination.
This is one of the first fundamental points Allamah Ibrahim Khushtar (Alaihir Rahmah) reminds us about in Qaseem-e-Bakhshish, that this world is temporary and is going to end.
یہ دنیا دوستوں ہے آنی جانی
مگر تم نے یہاں رہنے کی ٹھانی
صدا دیتا ہے یہ ہر دم تنفس
بس اک اللہ باقی سارا فانی
O Friends, this Dunya will come and go
But you have planned to stay here
It is calling out with every breath
“Only Allah is Eternal, everything else shall perish”
This quatrain alludes to the verse of the Holy Qurān, wherein Allah Ta’ala states,
كُلُّ مَنْ عَلَيْهَا فَانٍ ط وَيَبْقَىٰ وَجْهُ رَبِّكَ ذُو الْجَلَالِ وَالْاِكْرَامِ ط
Everything on the earth shall perish. And Eternal is the Being of your Lord, the Most Majestic and the Most Honourable {Surah 55:26-27}
Therefore only a foolish person will chase after and toil for this temporary Dunya, instead of toiling for the everlasting Hereafter. When it comes to worldly gain a person will never invest in something that does not have value and that does not bear profits and rewards. Yet we invest so much of time and effort in the Dunya when it has no value and will bear no profit.
Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) has mentioned in the Hadith,
لَوْ كَانَتِ الدُّنْيَا تَعْدِلُ عِنْدَ اللهِ جَنَاحَ بَعُوْضَةٍ مَا سَقَى كَافِرًا مِنْهَا شَرْبَةَ مَاءٍ
“If the value of the world was equivalent to the wing of a mosquito, to Allah, He would not have given even a drink of water from it to the unbelievers.” {Tirmizi Shareef}
Let alone being equivalent to the entire body of a mosquito, the Dunya is so worthless that it does not even equate in value to just one wing of a mosquito. So the next time you see a mosquito near you, try to carefully look at its wing and ponder over these sacred words of Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam). This alone should be enough to make one abandon chasing after the Dunya and rather using the Dunya to prepare for the Hereafter.
Hazrat Allamah Ibrahim Khushtar (Alaihir Rahmah) further describes the reality of the Dunya:
ہرقدم پرفسادہےدنیا
کس قدربدنہادہےدنیا
صرف فکرمعاش کرتی ہے
بےنیازمعادہےدنیا
On every step this world is a deception
To what extent is this world evil
It only makes one worry about means of livelihood
Unconcerned about the hereafter is this world
This is a caution for those who chase after this evil and deceptive Dunya by abandoning the Shariah and neglecting their duties to Allah Ta’ala.
چاہےکتنی عزیز دنیاہے
چھوڑنےہی کی چیز دنیاہے
مارتی ہےاسےجواپناہے
بےوفا بدتمیز دنیاہے
No matter how cherished the world is
The world is a thing to be left behind
It even destroys the one who is its own
Treacherous and insolent is this world
In this day and age we often find children who abandon their parents in their old age, husbands who abandon their wives and children due to their lusts over other women and wives who abandon their husbands in pursuit of their “independence” or not being prepared to live with the husband’s parents. All of this is because they want to run away from difficulties, they have abandoned the concept of Sabr (patience) and they want to chase after a deceptive Dunya, thinking that they will enjoy peace and happiness by disobeying Allah Ta’ala. The only time a person will attain peace and happiness even in the midst of hardship is by remembering Allah and His Beloved Rasool (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam).
صبح کاسلسلہ،شام کاسلسلہ
لب پر ذکرخدا،دل میں صلےعلے ٰ
ہو گاآسان ہوجوکرم غوث کا
نزع کا،قبر کا حشر کا مرحلہ
The succession of morning, the succession of evening
The remembrance of Allah Ta’ala on the lips, Durood in the heart
It will become easy if the favour of Ghaus-e-Azam is present
The stages of the agonies of death, the grave, the Hereafter
So let us not be neglectful of the remembrance of Allah and His Beloved Rasool (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), as this is the only thing that will grant us peace and success in this Dunya and the Hereafter.
ہرصبح گزرتی ہے ہر شام گزرتی ہے
افسوس تو یہ ہے ناکام گزرتی ہے
ہرلمحہ چلا جاتا ہے موت کی وادی میں
پھر آتی نہیں وا پس جو شام گزرتی ہے
Every morning passes by, every evening passes by
The regret is that it passes by in vain
Every moment goes away into the valley of death
The evening that passes by will not return
We should regret every moment that passes by in vain and should repent to Allah Ta’ala regularly, as those valuable moments that had the potential to earn us reward, will not return. This does not mean that one must sit on the Musallah day and night. Every moment a person spends whether it is in business, with the family, with the spouse, with the children, eating, talking, sleeping etc., if it is done in accordance with the Shariah and the Sunnah of Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) then even those things become a means of reward.
Therefore we should ponder over our purpose and conduct constantly, especially on our birthdays, which serves as a milestone to remind us that we have advanced one year closer to our graves and our worldly lives have reduced by one more year. Instead of having parties and other futile activities, we should remember and thank Allah Ta’ala for His Grace and Bounties, and we should make a sincere intention and effort to become better practicing Muslims going forward.
عمر گھٹتی ہے کبھی بڑھتی نہیں
یہ حقیقت ہے ذرا سوچیں تو ہم
دن ولادت کا یہ دیتا ہے پیام
زندگی خوشتر ہوئی اک سال کم
Lifespan reduces, it never increases
This is reality, we should ponder over it
The day of birth gives this message
O Khushtar! Life has reduced by another year
May Allah Ta’ala grant us the Taufeeq to turn our backs to the Dunya, to turn to Allah Ta’ala and to strive in His path, Allahumma Ameen.
