Syed Fadhl Bin Alawi Mauladawila : The Legacy of a Malabar Scholar

 The Administrative Complex of Syed Fadhl Bin Alawi :

Now in ruins, this was once the administrative Complex of the Emir of Dhofar under the Ottoman empire, Syed Fadhl Bin Alawi Mauladawila or better known in the Malabar as Syed Fasal Pookoya Thangal son of Mamburam Alawi Thangal who was exiled from the Malabar by the British for his involvement in the numerous rebellions and revolts against the British empire in Malabar during the latter half of the 19th century. He ruled the Dhofar province from 1875 to 1879 after which he went to Turkey and was the advisor to Sultan Abdul Hamid II where he was known as Fazal Pasha. Among his works the most famous is Uddathul Umara which acted as a catalyst in the freedom struggles of the Malabar people.

The Administrative Complex consisted of meeting Hall, Court room and various administrative administration offices.

This piece was uploaded in 2022. Pictures in the below link.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cf6tzU6KnFv/?igsh=MWdmeDdmMmVneGptNQ==

Dhofar: A Spiritual Wayfarer's Garden

The Tombs in the City

Assad Hariz

It has been quite a few times that I have travelled to Salalah off-work as well as on work and it has alluded me to the spiritual past of this place. The Dhofar region stands at the edge of Oman and is neighboured by the country of Yemen which is known for its religious and spiritual doctrines and the scholars who have travelled across from Yemen to far off lands to propagate Islam to the world are renowned. Most prominently the south Indian states of Kerala and the south east Asian countries like Indonesia and Malaysia owe their Islamic culture to Yemen and this is seen by the fact that majority of these places have followers of the Shafee Madhab and Tareeqa of the Ba Alawiyya and Shaduliya.

Even today places like Tarim are famous for the spiritual madrassas and Sufi scholars. Salalah has a lot of historical sites that bring the spiritual and magical stories of the past that were Pre-Islamic or biblical as well as the stories of the Sahabas (comrades of the prophet) and other religious scholars who travelled to Dhofar to preach and spread Islam.

The Famous among them are the Tomb of Job ( Nabi Ayoub’s tomb) which is on a mountain top and Nabi Imran’s tomb which lies in the heart of the city. Among the scholars, the Tomb of  Muhammad Bin Ali Al Alawiyya in Mirbat is quite famous for its beautiful white twin domes and Arabic inscriptions. He was a great scholar and teacher of the Alawiyya order. 

One unique Mosque that caught my thought was at the 23rd july street ( The Ba Alawi Maqbara). The Mosque looked old with white domes and was surrounded by a large cemetery. There were three or more walkways to the mosque through the cemetery. As I stayed nearby I went for my prayers to the mosque and found it very prepossessing. The Mosque and the Prayers reminded me of the mosques in my town in kerala. There were loud chants and praises of the prophet Muhammad (SAWS) were sung in between the regular prayers and i felt the connection between this place and south India. The Mosque had a small room (shrine) with a beautiful dome adjacent to the mosque. This Shrine looked more intriguing and fascinating. The building had a white beautiful dome which looked incandescent at night with the dark  night sky in the background. It had a dark green door and was closed most of the time. After prayers I went towards this shrine out of curiosity. As I opened the door I saw the graves of a number of the people shrouded in black and green velvet cloth. There were also graves of small children. There was Bakhour (incense) burnt and had a spiritual aura. I started visiting the place frequently and during the Friday evenings, I could smell the beautiful scent of jasmine in the room.

In my zeal to find out who this saint was I started asking people nearby and also found some details in the shrine itself. I talked with the caretaker of the mosque and found that this was a descendant of the Prophet. This graveyard was known as the Ba’Alawi Maqbara and had the graves of the Ba Alawi family who were descendants of the Prophet through Ali r.a and were sufi saints and their disciples. There still exists this sufi order of Ba Alawiyya in parts of Yemen and Kerala.  Soon I found who this great saint was.

He was Imam of scholars Habeeb Ali Ba Umar, a revered scholar of his time and a great saint. His name was Syed Ali bin Umar bin Ali bin Abdullah Ba Umar and was born in the year of 1619 A.D (1030 hijri). His mother was Sharifa Saliha Alawiya binth Abdullah bin Ibrahim bin Umar Fadak and he had a brother Muhammad and several sisters. His lineage is traced back to Hussain (r.a) the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) and son of Ali (r.a).

He began his studies in the Islamic science under his father Syed Umar and after that under the guidance of the great scholar and his sheikh, Habeeb Aqeel Ba Umar (sha’eer Ba Umarain) . he had intended to go to Makka and also visited and met the scholars there and among them was Syed Muhammad bin Abubakr Ashili Almakki.

He was a great teacher and a Daaee (caller to faith) and had travelled extensively to India and the south east Asian countries for missionary works as well as a teacher in the Madrasas there. He also taught at Rabat for a living and travelled to Mecca and met the great scholar Alshilli Almakki there. His knowledge spread through his students to other parts of the world and among them were his sons and followers, Ahmed Mulaqab  Ba Qashkash, Mohammed and Umar.

He was a saint, scholar and a social worker who was known in the Arabian Peninsula for his contribution to the society. Syed Muhammad Abubakr Alshilli talks of him as a noble person who was close to God and followed the path of the haneef. He taught religion, propagated his faith, educated the masses and fought against all types of innovation and called people to the straight path, the path of the guided. He is known to have the face of the full moon enlightened with knowledge. He was a sanctuary for the oppressed, refugees, orphans and the like.

This great saint has left several traces of his works and among them the most notable is the Islamic library that he built. This library contained a lot of Islamic and scientific books as well as references for research. This includes one of his important piece of work which deals with the explanation of the creed of Ahlu Sunna wa Aljamaa under the systems of his sheikh/teacher Sheikh Habib Aqeel bin Umran named “الفيض المقسوم شرح الدرالمنضوم “. It also included a collection of Prose and Poetry.

Sheikh Habeeb Ba Umar was from the lineage of the prophet and he propagated the way of the prophet through his works and knowledge thus giving himself a great status among the people of salalah and other countries that he travelled to. He was a staunch critic of innovations in religion and tread the straight path, the path of the Prophet and his family. He passed away in the year 1685 A.D (1095 hijri).

May he be granted Jannah in the hereafter.

Explaining Kitab Jawahir al-Quran: A reader's understanding of the Book Part-2

Part Two

In Part Two, we look into detail regarding the divisions of the surahs and verses of Quran as described by the author and its beautiful explanation.The author explains the Six aims of the Quran. He compares and metaphorizes the aims to brim stones and jewels. The Highest of the aim is like the red brim stone which is dazzling and precious. This is the “Knowing of Allah Swt himself”. It is known as Al Maarifa ( The Knowledge). It is the Epitome of knowledge and the highest stage a person can achieve. The Al Maarifa comprises of sub sections which are the Knowledge of the essence of the true One, His attributes, and his words.

These topics of the knowledge are like corundum and as the corundum have grades, knowledge is of different grades and stages. Among these the most precious is the knowledge of his essence and the most difficult to understand and comprehend. Then comes his attributes which is explained in the Quran. It is like the Bluish-Grey corundum and last is God’s work (The Yellow ones). The knowledge of his essence is the most puzzling and difficult to acquire and one needs to attain a level of maturity in the ilm of quran to understand it as Allah himself says “Laisa kamisli shaiyan”.

As for the attributes, the scope is wide and a lot of details are present. The divine works are compared to the sea whose shores are wide and long. He says that among the works of Allah there are some which are prevalent and which are hidden from senses and the noblest of his works are that which are invisible ( Alam al-malakut). He mentions about the (Al karubiyun) or the Arch angels who are among the noblest and purest of the creatures of Allah ,who know nothing but to serve Allah. This brings to the topic of the arrogance and haughtiness of the human beings when they think that they are the fullest of the creations of Allah to whom there is no comparison. But to show the insignificance of the human population, Imam Ghazzali mentions about the white earth were there are creatures thirty times more than earth’s and they know nothing about this disobedient creature called humans and nor do they know about iblis. They follow the orders of Allah and that is their aim. This Hadith is narrated by Ibn Abbas (r.a).

The emphasis is on the fact that humans are limited by senses and imagination and this is just the rind of the pith and the pith contains much much more .The second division concerns the definition of the path to God.Allah says in the Quran “ Devout yourself to him very devoutly”(Quran 73:8) and this is achieved by advancing towards him and betraying the things that are against and not from his principles. To achieve it one needs to be in constant remembrance of Allah and be in prayer. This is defined as a journey( As Safar) to God and the remarkable feature of this particular journey is that there is no moving of ones self towards Allah nor Allah comes to him as both are in reality together. This principle of Sufism is a key fundamental point of spirituality where it shows Allah’s omnipotence and the secret lies in finding this so that both are together in spirit and the journey is successful. This is mentioned in Quran 50:15 where Allah says “We are nearer to him than his jugular vein”.

Imam Ghazzali beautifully exemplifies this notion by the use of Mirror. The seeker and the sought are like a picture in the mirror. It is because of rust or dirt that one does not see the picture but if you polish and clean, the image is revealed. This is not by any movement to the sought after but by polishing. By removing the veil, Allah’s essence is revealed and is not concealed as light cannot be concealed and God is the light of the heavens and the earth. This is also an explanation of the verse “Allahu nooru samawathi wal ardh”. The only reason one does not see light is because of a veil that does not allow the light to hit our eyes or by some kind of defect in the vision and this is the same way one sees Allah. Imam Ghazzali also explains this concept in view of the questions of the traditionalists, literalists and the like ( and also some erred concepts in Islamic Mysticism) by saying that once the light is revealed people imagine Allah is in the soul as the picture is in the mirror and the human nature (nasut) has put on divine nature (lasut) but Allah confirms with his words ( Quran 14:27) and it is seen that the picture in the mirror in actuality is not present inside the mirror but only reflected in it and the reflection is not the thing. Allah is revealed to different people at the same time and hence it is the essence which is experienced by humans. It depends upon your closeness to Allah and the amount of Ibadah and iman a person has.

The third division defines man’s condition at the time of his meet with God. It includes the humiliation and punishment that one will face for their evils and also the good things awaiting the believers. He explains it by saying that the most painful of the punishment is the veil or hijab that will separate the person from Allah.Allah distance himself from such people and this is the toughest of the punishments that the disbelievers will face. This division explains about the properties of the people of hell and heaven , the attributes, the events etc and these are regarded as the green christolytes.

The fourth division concerns about the condition of the people who are with Allah and those who denied him, like the prophets of Allah and the evil people like  Firoun,Qarun etc. This divisions illustrate the descriptions of the people who deny Allah and also of the secrets of the people of Allah like the prophets. This division is compared to the Grey ambergris and aloe wood found in the seas.

The fifth division consists of the arguments of the infidels against the truth and  explanation of their errors by obvious proofs. Their falsehood is of three kinds. One is that they speak of God in terms of Human qualities such as associating daughters with him or partners. Secondly they deny the Prophet saws and accuse him of being a liar and soothsayer.And the third is the denial of the day of resurrection and the last day.

The sixth division is the fulfillment of the commitments, and the way the path has to be trodden. It consists of the way in which a person can follow Islam, the laws binding a person to Islam, the legal nuances, the rules and regulations etc which will keep a Muslim in the right path. The topics of usury, charities, marriage, the laws of dowry , nikah, divorce, financial laws and all that governs the Islamic way of life is mentioned in the verses of this sixth division. These are numerous and are straight forward and easy to understand and implement so that the ultimate aim of reaching to Allah swt is achieved.

Explaining Kitab Jawahir al-Quran: A reader's understanding of the Book Part-1

Explaining Kitab Jawahir al-Quran

A readers understanding of the Book Part-1

 

 

A valuable Book for all Quran researchers and lovers and a beginning for those who would like to dwell into the pearls of this magnificent holy treasure , Kitab Jawahir al-Quran is a fine piece of allegorical explanation of the content and heart of Quran, why it is to be read and what to find as a logical thinker and as a spiritual soul. More of a soul’s thirst quencher this is a phenomenon in spiritual writing.

Abu Hamid Al Ghazzali (d.505 AH/1111AD) was a prominent islamic philosopher most famous for his milestone work Ihya Uloomuddin which made the sufi doctrine acceptable to the mainstream islamic circle. He was known as the Proof of Islam ( Hujjah al islam) and the ornament of religion (Zain ud din).In his later years after the completion of the major works , Al-Ghazzali explained his understanding of quran with this book “ Kitab Jawahir al-Quran” The Book of Jewels of Quran. The Book is a source of much of our understanding on Al-Ghazzali’s view and knowledge of the quran.

This is the translation of his glorious work by the scholar Muhammad Abdul Quasem who has beautifully reflected the text into english.

The Book is a great explanation on the beauty of Quran and its theory with an elaboration on the division of its contents and core value of its text. It includes the Maqasid (aims) of the Quran and its theory .The first chapter explains the contents in brief.

The Book consists of 3 parts: 1.) Introductory matters

2.)On the aims of the Quran

3.) Matters connected to the aims

In the first part the section is divided into 19 chapters explaining this section in detail. The 19 chapters are listed in the content and a brief is given on it.

1. The quran is like an Ocean which covers many types of jewels.
2. The limiting of the aims of the Quran and its valuables to six divisions of which three are important principles and the other three follow them and complete them.
3. The explanation of the six divisions and its branching into Ten.
4. The process by which all branches of sciences branch of from these ten divisions. The sciences are divided into the science of the outer shell and inner jewels.
5. how sciences of the ancients and modern branch off from the Quran.
6. The concepts of Quran comprising of red Brimstone,greatest antidote and the strongest musk and all other jewels and pearls.
7. The reason of why all the entities of the invisible world is explained with similitude in the visible world.
8. The understanding of the connection between the visible and invisible worlds.
9. Analysis of the allegories.
10. Its benefits.
11. How some verses of quran excel others.
12. The secrets of Surah Fathiha, description of Arrahman and Araheem.
13. The eight doors of heaven with the surah Fathiha being the key.
14. Why the verse of throne is regarded as chief of quranic verses.
15. An investigation into why surah Ikhlas is equal to a third part of Quran.
16. Why surah Yasin is considered to be heart of Quran.
17. Why Prophet (saws) considered Surah Fathiha as best surah of quran and verse of throne as chief of quranic verses
18. Condition of the gnostics (Aarifun)
19. Secret reason for stringing the jewels of quran on one string and its pearls on the other.

The second part deals with the aims and comprises of the essence of the quranic verses which are of two kinds. The first consists of jewels which are verses concerning the essence of Allah and his attributes. These are known as cognitive part ( al qism al ilmi) .The second consists of the pearls which are verses regarding the straight path, the way of life ,the works which need to be done to achieve the straight path. This is the practical part ( al qism al amali).

The First Chapter begins with the verse

“Do they not ponder over the Quran in order to understand its deep meaning , or is it that their minds are locked up from within? “(Quran 47:24)

The author beautifully requests the readers to arise from sleep and describes the people who only read the Quran at the surface or only know the meaning of it as the ones who are at the shore of the ocean and has not dived into the ocean to find the treasures of Quran. He motivates to sail into the ocean and gather all the jewels of the Quran to understand the significance and royalty of the Quran.

The Impressiveness of the book is due to the fact that it is based on the concept of jewels and precious allegories and metaphorical representation of the topics and verses into pearls and jewels imbibing a keen fantasy and worldly image in the minds of the reader which helps in understanding the concepts of the much deep and invisible meanings and interpretations of the Quranic language. The book explains the jewels as red brimstone, shining pearls, green chrysolite and strongest of the musks, and other metaphors.

In the second chapter the aims and the valuables are explained in a clearer fashion. The Surahs of the Quran are divided into six types. Three of them are the important ones and the other three follow them. The three important ones are the definition of God, the definition of the straight path, and the definition of the condition at the time of attaining to him.

The other three divisions are the conditions of those who answer the call of God. It describes the dealing of God with man. It also describes about the people who do not answer to call of god and about the punishment they will face. The second narration describes the condition of who deny the God and their disgrace in denial of God and in being on the side of falcity. The third division defines the path to god, the preparation and the provisions.

The Book is as though a journey through the sea in a ship, cruising through the beauty of Quran and the author takes you into the world of holiness through this journey….

The Legality

An old piece of writing from my attic (android attic)

The Legality

 

The matter of law is always disputed and varies in different parts of the world. It is seen that certain rules and laws vary to a complete opposite when moving from place to place. This makes legal decision a gimmick at places as it is legal now and illegal then or the other way round. The base of a decision by law depends not on the law but the environment and the circumstances prevalent there and more than that it is in how the matter is shown rather than what the matter is.

As someone said there are no good people and bad people but there are people with good and bad in themselves, so is the matter of law. Laws are made to be broken, changed and twisted according to the person and environment bringing in a new law and maybe that’s applicable only for a certain community. So any social custom, rule or law becomes good as well as bad, a sort of relativity. A good example is the way males and females think. A habit seen as bad by the female maybe seen as good by the male and vice versa.

But human conscience suggests that there should be a true law, a real right and wrong and who decides it is a question. It brings us to the god theory or the reality of God, someone who is there before time and will be present after time and hence would make the right and the wrong. The working of the existential present (The world) is such that something that is legal now was illegal before and the other way round. Understanding this working gives the picture of the plan that is running this world, the plan of god. It is not a law that runs this world but a plan and the plan changes lawful and unlawful, bringing illegal to legal and legal to the illegal framework.

Man-made laws are sometimes inspired by god or nature’s inevitable rules which are followed by all except humans. Humans have the tendency to break it and make it. This gives the proof for the instability of certain laws according to the situation. Human beings tend to deviate from any set of norms and hence the laws and rules he creates may also vary from right to wrong or wrong to right.

As far as the rule of god is concerned, it relies on the plan and it runs according to the plan. The laws and rules do not matter within the framework of his plan. Belief in the plan itself is the law.

Destined to Live

“Sahl bin Saad (ra) narrated that prophet Muhammad (SAWS) said “some people ( in Allah's preordained destiny) even though are people of heaven will perform acts as though they are people of hell and some who are people of hell will perform acts of the people of heaven. It is the acts/deeds that are performed at the end or nearest to death which will be the decisive factor ."

Life is as it flows. One wonders what life is and how it moves through the time frame  and in this flow fate is something confusing and interpreted. Fate or destiny and its relation to morals and values is a study of its own and this is one of the theories of Islam. Preordained destiny or Qadr is part of Islamic belief but how it is manifested is a question that makes thinkers and philosophers ponder .

As this hadith states, people are destined for heaven or hell but their actions may be different. The weight age values more. When it is said that one’s destiny is already decided then why are actions important would be a question but why not think of it as part of destiny.In other words the actions performed are as the destiny  has it and the actions are part of the destiny. But since this hadith mentions about the concept of changing destiny the actions can help in changing ones destiny. So how or what destiny is and how is it related to man is intriguing.

To explain the above notion this hadith narrated by Ali (ra) can be read. 

Ali (ra) narrated that prophet Muhammad (SAWS) said that there is no one among you whose position in hell or heaven has not been decided or written already. The Sahabas (comrades) asked “oh messenger of Allah if so then why not live as per the destiny and withhold from doing any Amal(good deeds) . “ The Prophet replied “You perform the deeds and whatever is written in one’s destiny it will be made easier to them. The victorious will be allowed to perform good deeds and the losers will be allowed to perform bad deeds.” Then the prophet recited Surah 92 Verses 5 to 10:

As for him who gave out his wealth for Allah’s sake and abstained from disobeying and affirmed the truth of goodness we shall facilitate for him the way to bliss. As for him who was a miser and behaved with aversion and denied the truth of goodness we shall facilitate for him the way of hardship

As the hadith mentioned above portrays, life is something which is in between what is decided and what is to be decided. It is action and plan on the same coordinate. A relative plasma where the happening and the should be happening coincides giving one view called “lifespan”. It is really difficult to think of the present and the future together but this is indeed known as destiny, an amalgam of the present and the future.

One famous hadith known to most, talks about tying the camel to the pole and then praying for it to not go loose which depicts the present in future. What may happen might have been decided but we take precautions since we cannot think in two dimensions. Reality is running in two dimensions. The reason why one cannot decide on his future is because of destiny (qadr) but the zeal to work towards a dream or goal comes from action. When these go hand in hand it creates hi-s-tory.

 This is similar to the wave and particular nature of matter. At a time only one is prominent or existing to vision. Destiny and action are the same and it compliments each other or is transparent and dissolves in one another. Maybe it is one and the same but different manifestations.

“The cross-over of two frames result in dimensional collision and life is one such phenomenon.”





ref: 
Saheeh Bukhari wa muslim(muthafaqqun alaih):samyuktha paribasha by Ibrahim Puthoor faisy 
  -kitab ul jihad,kitab ul maqasi
  -kitab ul iman,kitab ul qadr

The Holy Quran (Surah 92 Verse5-10)

Kissing The Sun

The highest points in the Gulf, the place where the sun meets the earth. This is what Jabel Shams is all about. Jabel Shams translated as the sun mountain due to the fact that Oman sees its dusk and dawn on this peak first is the highest peak in the Middle East standing at 3009 m at its summit. It stood with pride among the Hajar range and looked splendorous.

We started off at dawn from Muscat reaching Nizwa through the beautiful way covering small and large Rocky Mountains and we could see the Hajar range basking in glory. We reached Nizwa and had breakfast and set off for the mountains. The town of Nizwa was a historic one. Elected as the Islamic cultural capital of Oman, it lives the Omani tradition. The Nizwa fort and Souq showed the old architecture and the walled city in it. We moved forward to reach near Bahla to proceed towards the Hamra-Jabel Shams road. Soon we reached Hamra and moved towards Jabel Shams. The track was winding and we could see the mountain range closing towards us. We were surrounded by mountains, blue grey and brown with spots of green Date Palms and farm fields. Soon we reached Nakhur were the ancient ruins of Persians still survived. The road started the ascend. It was picturesque and with the usual Omani shades of brown. This land is amazing and mystical. An aura of mystique surrounds you while you travel to the interiors of Oman and we felt it here as well.

The climb was winding and we could see the below villages getting smaller and smaller. The Date Palms and green fields got tinier as the weather got colder. The air was much crispier. Soon the terrain got grayer and steeper until we saw a mesmerizing view of the below land. It was Hamra I suppose but I could see the white buildings at the horizon and a curtain of haze on it. Soon the tar track ended and the muddy brown tracks appeared. We travelled long along the dusty rugged terrain until we reached the view point. It was breath taking. The massive high peaks formed narrow deep chasms into the ground down below. The place was at around 2400m and it looked boisterous.

The mountain formed gorges and crevasses into the land below. It was as though the piece was cut out of the mountains. We moved ahead towards the village of khitaym to take our trekking pass. The grand canyon of Oman as it is called lay in front of us. This large natural wonder is simply breathtaking. It is said to be the second largest canyon in the world after the Grand Canyon in the US and is named the Grand Canyon of Oman. It lays at a height of 3009m at the summit( varies from 2980m to 3009m) and the canyon dives in to the deep. The gorge beneath is known as Wadi Ghul. The entire canyon can be circumvented through the trekking pass of W6 which is a balcony walk around the canyon.

The weather was cool at 16c and it helped during the trek. It was a really splendid journey. As we got down to the pass, we could see the majestic cliff in its brown rising up from the gorge beneath. A few date palms and shrubs were seen below. Jabel Shams is famous for its juniper trees. The hills and the mountains that we passed by were spotted with twirling barks of the juniper trees. At one of the valleys nearing the summit, there were numerous of them.  It looked as though an old frail man was looking at us with his hands resting on his chin. I thought of it as a time teller, who stayed there from time immemorial saying stories of the past. Some of the juniper trees were really old. The main flora of this place is its beautiful juniper trees with their dusty green canopy and the wild olives that grew here and there. Apart from these there were the usual thorny shrubs of the semi-arid terrain. The trail that we took was also the same with junipers and the thorny shrubs. As we walked down , we could see the mountain goats at sides chewing shrubs and leaves standing at the edge. I wondered how they could do this with their hoofs. It was fascinating. The goats were beautiful with their silky hairs and wide eyes yet looked sturdy with pride. They were better climbers than us and I wondered at them. Some clung onto the rocks and were walking upwards. Soon we reached the middle of our climb down. The village of sab stood there at the edge.

This view was breathtaking. The ancient village of Sab Bani Khamis and its ruins were found at the edge of this cliff. The mud bricked houses and a store stood there vertical onto the cliff and was a piece of early engineering marvel. The houses are said to have outlets towards to the lower areas and stay there clinging onto the edge. They brown and seen as though inserted into the cliff walls. They are said to be the village of the khamsamsah tribe who have shifted to Hamra and other villages below. Soon we reached the terrace cultivation lands created at the edge of this cliff. It was dry and abandoned but looked splendor. At the end of this pass was the tower overlooking the Grand Canyon. We climbed up and were greeted with a beautiful view. The entire land ahead was visible. We could see the Hamra with haze on it.

We climbed down and proceeded further. The rocks were large and boulder-like. We climbed them with little bit of difficulty since we weren’t prepared much for this trip. We had our water bottles and they were almost empty. As we climbed we could see the edge of the pool. This was one breathtaking view. Soon after the climb, tucked inside the edge of the cliff lie a shallow but large pool. The water dropped down from the rocks above and the pool looked emerald. It was cool, a soothing coolness. This was balcony view. We climbed down and sat beside the pool. It was a nature pool tucked into the edge of the bowl.

After lying down in the pool enjoying the coolness of the water we returned back. We saw slithery salamanders on the way. Grey dull ones slithered along the rocks. The return was tougher since we had no water with us. The temperature dipped to 8c and was really cool. The walk across the edge of the canyon was a tip-toe when seen from far. When we looked back at the route we took, we didn’t seen one. It looked plain edge all the way down the 2400 meters.

Soon we reached the starting point. The mountain stood behind us grand and pride. The shadows went deep down forming brown and grey together. It was majestic and the sun was dipping down behind the mountains. It was as though the sun rested on a throne or a royal chalice. It was indeed the mountain of the sun with the orange and crimson behind the cliff of brown and blue….

We kissed him, we kissed the sun.

The City Awakes

The breeze, felt i

The sound of a sigh

The women of the house

In await of their spouse

The fragrance of the sea

The air of the coast

Dawn as it arrives with the crimson shade

Far at the horizon I see the mast

The womenfolk rejoice

As the await ends

The crimsons have given way

And I see the minarets, poise 

The city awakes with the sound of the bell

It is indeed the call from “The Arakkal”.

The fishermen are back with their catch

And the sisters smile in the thatch

The market bustles with cacophony,

Vendors, pushers and gulls in the sky.

The womenfolk smile ,

 the men are busy

The harbor is docked, with ships, dhows and little boats

 They have returned with crispy life-notes

The city awakes to the cry of the hawkers

The yellow sun has met the azure

Muezzins have returned

And the temple priests are at rest.

The shrines of the saints ,colored bright

Among the crowded streets ,  a spiritual delight

The warehouses are full at the bay of the Mappilas

And the gullies alive like the waves and the canals

The bells and the wheels fill the narrow streets

Bargaining and paying, men on their feet

The city awakes to the grandeur of the majestic fort

As it looks at the sea, boisterous and pride

The sea has kissed the sand

White froth with the brown land

The palms sway and the waves resonate

The city has awakened with a charm,

The city that narrates stories and psalms.

A poem on the city which was once the capital city of Malabar, a historic Portland  and a stronghold of the sea warriors of the south.

A Tradition and Culture of more than  500 years,  Kannur City (Cannanore)

  

Desert Rain: rain diaries

The drops spread the sand particles to the sides.The light colored sand is now dark.the water drop has soaked the sand crystals. The drops fall again and small heaps of dry sand are wet and hard. rain in the desert is powerful. it is little but powerful as though the sand absorbs strength from the droplets.The clouds are heavy and dark. it hovers over you in the sky giving a pleasant feel and the sun breaks in to give the warmth. The droplets come down from these heavy clouds. The clouds seem to have immense amount of water but the droplets are few. the droplets sway in the wind falling here and there. The wind is strong but pleasant. it is cool and tickles you inside. with the light ticklish winds and few drops of rain falling on you, it is an ecstatic pleasure feel.

The place is calm with the roads empty and the sky is dark and heavy. The buildings lay silent and awaiting the rain. it is still droplets falling randomly, flying around. It wasn't rain nor was it drizzle.
The sky was calm again and the place back to dryness. The clouds started moving away and the sand was light colored. The rain had gone with the wind.

It was evening and the sun was drowning in the orange pool.But the dark clouds were back again and the sky looked red with dark shades of grey.soon the droplets started falling and the sand was dark. but this time it was dollops. heavy shapeless dollops fell splashing and then a few more. The drops wet the sand and the rainy weather oozed from it. It was raining haphazardly. The drops soaked the sands  at the start but it formed small puddles and pools. The mountains at the far-south brought in more of water and the barren land was filled with brownish flowing water. The rain increased and the sky was purple, the dark heavy clouds settled with pride and power. The water swell on the barren arid land and the soil lost its strength to soak in. with the gushing water from the mountains the land was filled with a flash flood. The 'Wadi' as called in the local tongue swell and overflowed the roads and the street. The desert rain sometimes takes such twists from nature. life was at standstill.

It was cold,wet and windy. with the water at the sides, the barren desert was changed into a cold riverbed. The clouds started parting ways and the sky was clear again. stars lit the sky and the moon came out from its blanket. A rain that lasted half of an hour changed the landscape. it was hard, brown and cold. The water from the flash flood would remain for a few days and then the sun would absorb it turning it back to a blue skied brown arid land of the middle east.

In between The Mountains

A Trip to Bilad sayt in The Sultanate Of Oman

The road lay in front of us like a slithering slate-coloured snake. It was a one way road that went straight into the mountains and got lost. We were finding it with every move. The small brown hills at the sides made the road look thinner. The speedometer clocked 100 as we drove past the brown hills. The picture was brown, dark brown hills with greyish barren terrain in between. Very few houses were seen at the sides.

The trip from “Hayy a Thurath” towards” bilad sayt” was long .The distance was less but the one-way road that went winding with elevations across the hills at places meant that we couldn’t keep a constant speed. This road led to the village of Al Hamra. Al Hamra is a picturesque green village that has a history of more than 400 years.

The sky was dark. It was blue with creamy clouds here and there. We saw The Al Hajar ranges in front of us. This great range of mountain lay in front of us in glory. The road is seen narrow and thin and gets lost in this grey boulder of mountains. It had long black cracks on it which were actually deep cliffs and narrow gorges. White spots were seen on top of some of them. Some beautiful villages were studded on them and the houses looked like sugar spread.

The mountain was grey and inclined deeply towards the peak. The range laid there as a boulder.it was a natural border for the place as it cut of the central Oman from the north. As we approached a roundabout we saw a board showing ‘Bilad Sayt’ at 45km towards the right. We now entered the hills. We were surrounded by shades of brown.

The mountains were above us. Now there were layers of hills and mountains playing shades of colour. From brown to grey to blue, the colour differed at different ranges and was a stunning view.it overshadowed each other and came back in waves. Slowly we reached the foot of the range. The road was a winding one. We started uphill. It was a hot day and the temperature was at 38c. The uphill climb was as though we were cutting through a large cake.  We could see the surrounding hills get smaller and smaller. The view was simply breath-taking. The brown hills lay below the large grey mountains and the road that we climbed looked like a slithering black snake at the bottom with crumbs of cars moving. Towards the west lay the large village of Al Hamra. The white houses and the numerous date palms now formed a dense tone. The village laid there like a sheet of velvet spread. Across it, the sun shone. The sky was blue but as though waiting for the sun to splash its setting colours.

The uphill journey continued. It was time for sunset.  With a peaceful flow it started splashing crimson and pink all over the blue sky. Now the sky was crimson with shades of pink and a little bit of blue. The mountain lay below holding on to the sky with a grey and a tinge of violet. It looked bold and felt pride booming from it. The mountain sometimes looked like a curtain, a curtain of dark shade that separated the landscape and at times like a solid bolder standing high.

The village grew even smaller and the houses looked tinier. The mountain turned grey-blue and the sky above had spectacular shades of violet and pink mixed with each other. The sun had set and the last rays had beamed yellow before ending a day. It was peace in physical form.

As we drove again the weather became pleasant. The windows were open and there was a cool breeze blowing serenity. I heard a shout. It echoed throughout and I halted and looked around. The shout repeated several times and it sounded like a bleat. A young boy was seen climbing down the cliff in great pace and skill and he was barefooted. He jumped down the rocks with ease. He wore a dark coloured Dishdasha and in front of him was a flock of sheep. It looked beautiful across the grey rocks. The entire flock was climbing down. Some were walking down briskly while others were clambering down the rocks. The shepherd shouted and the flock moved as instructed. There were brown, black, white and cream coloured ones that were climbing down the grey and brown rocks.
The violet sky at the background made it mystical and tranquil. For a moment I became a Sufi, a Sufi like the shepherd who had no worldly desires in between him and the creator. The Rumi in me was awakened and I was lost in eternal reality. The shepherd was the real Sufi since he was closer to god with this near-heaven abode of life.

Soon we reached a viewpoint. The cliff reached deep at the bottom and like beauty in a bowl the village lay studded in the valley. The mountain shades, cliffs and the weather made it more memorable. It was cold but the gentle breeze that was blowing brought tranquillity across our faces. It was dark now and Al Hamra lit up with the street lights looked magnificent. An ornamental jewellery work lay below us and it was the village at night. We started our descent. With every turn the temperature rose until we were back at the bottom of the range.

We looked back and saw the huge mountains, dark and proud. No one thought there was life on top but life existed only there.

The Religion in Religion

Religion is a phenomenon that governs the human life in many ways. It is set of beliefs that provides a way to think about life and the entire universe in which life is existing. Religion forms an integral part of this society.

The existence of religion in the world and its importance is something to be thought of .how such a set of belief came into being and why is it there are questions that bring us to the way human mind thinks. Religion is always defined as a set of beliefs regarding the universe with reference to a supernatural source. But even beliefs such as atheism are a form of religion too.

Religion fascinates when it is thought in the frame of human thought or a belief system.it is a system containing codes for worshiping, rituals, concept of god(or no god),manners and etiquette, beliefs on the world,nature and its functioning. This system governs its people in all aspects . with all religions, the codified rules are imposed on its followers and the followers abide by without knowing any reason. This goes for atheism too.

Religion is one great scheme  that does not give reason to its rules. The truth and falsehood in religion is an entirely different topic  and this write up discusses the form it maintains. Today religion as a structure has become so rigid that it has become a true organisation. It is a system that cannot be verified or discussed.

While living in this frame, religious followers have become mere followers or abiders  of the system of rules and forgot the soul of it. Since it has become a tangible non-living entity, the soul has evaporated back into nature.

Religion has lost its spirituality. The spiritual element could be called the soul and this soul is no more. The enactment of the spirit of religion comes in the form of its social involvement for the betterment of the people and when the soul which transforms religion and applies on the society is lost then religion loses its significance. This soul of the religion has been overshadowed by customary rituals of worship and modules. Hence the soul of religion has died and is making way or a systematic, mechanical worship procedures that are being followed with fervour  as part of being religious.

To prove the extra-human or non-human  element of  religion,the spiritual aspect of religion should be present and this is missing from all major religions or in majority of its followers. another fascinating element of religion which can also been seen as the corollary to the above mentioned view is the fact that all religions have unity in a basic spiritual element or a single source of existence. Religions then branch out from this basic thought with influences and forgery of ideology bringing it down to an aspiritual entity of rituals and customs. Without this spiritual element religion cannot play its role and with it religion unifies into a single source.

Hence religion without its soul cannot affect human life and society and becomes a topic of critics and defamers. It drives the society into the opposite direction.

Crash Realisation

The world is so unpredictable and unknown to us that we are actually in a murky four dimensional atmosphere that does not tell us anything of what it is or what we are. sometimes life is like that. this thought just sprung up from the parking lot. yes a small parking mistake would have given a slap on my car's bumper which would have leaked some cash out of my pocket but thanks to the all mighty who is the all knower and the owner of this four dimensional murky something.

The incident happened when i went to the Masjid for my prayers and as i was searching for a parking spot near the Masjid, i saw one on the left side. As i reversed my car into the car parking, i was sure it would go in perfectly and the car sped back smoothly when without any reason i just looked back to see that it was just millimetres away from hitting the car parked next to mine. The thought was so fast that i thanked god for it. The thought came in so involuntarily as though some one just caught my face and turned it. As i sat in the masjid i thought about it because it made me ponder even though it was just a small incident that happens frequently with any person who drives. Why i thought about it is itself another wonder of the universe. The matter struck me that, thoughts even though are produced from the human mind or is voluntarily created by a human, sometimes it is as though some instant message or command is sent to the brain that makes you do things. even while thinking so, there is an element of mixture of pre defined destiny and voluntary human action in this world and life. God has made this world and programmed it in such a way probably.

as the famous hadith goes , tie your camel first before leaving it up to god, human destiny, the world and whatever exists in this four dimensional murky atmosphere(The Universe), is linked with our own actions too. But there is another layer to this thought. while it is a voluntary action by a human that performs certain tasks in his life which  creates his destiny, his destiny is already written by the almighty before his existence and hence it is fading into each other, and the layer of thought is that the destiny has been written for a person and the action he takes is part of his destiny as is in my case. so destiny or Qadr or the control of 'The One' is a more powerful layer of function on this universe.

"Allah! There is no god but He,-the Living, the Self-subsisting, Eternal. No slumber can seize Him nor sleep. His are all things in the heavens and on earth. Who is there can intercede in His presence except as He permitteth? He knoweth what (appeareth to His creatures as) before or after or behind them. Nor shall they compass aught of His knowledge except as He willeth. His Throne doth extend over the heavens and the earth, and He feeleth no fatigue in guarding and preserving them for He is the Most High, the Supreme (in glory)."

Random Travel thoughts : Dubai..

No one knew that the simplicity of the desert could be transformed into a flashy land of glittering sky scrapers and speeding metros with millions of people commuting day and night. My recent visit to the Arabian land of dreams, Dubai made me think about human expansion and modernism.

The travel from Muscat to the UAE gives different shades of geography as well as life. The small two storeyed villas and buildings slowly diminish and the large beautiful farms with beautiful date palms and green banana plants are washed away with rugged grey mountains at the border. Then we reach the canvas for this thought, a desert at the foot with large towers standing in the horizon.

It starts with a sea of sands but to what it transforms is bedazzlement. A city of concrete still in its formative period but roaring to the world that it is the next big one. The growth of the Emirates is fast and grand which brought in international infrastructure and a multi-cultural flavor to the place. But as it is with all the big cities of the world the material connectivity is increasing at a rapid pace while human connectivity is slowly vanishing and it does matter when it is in a land that has an established culture of hospitality, courtesy and values. The Modern development often pulls down human values bringing in unhealthy competition in life that changes human beings into money churning machines. While money is good, consumerism may lead to loss of human values and this need to be checked as applicable to all major cities.

But the transformation of this country is something near unbelievable when thinking about the desert it was. Thanks to the wise men behind this, the Emirates is standing tall. The barren hot desert has been changed into heaven and hope the heaven does not lose the humans from it.

The legality

The matter of law is always disputed and varies in different parts of the world. It is seen that certain rules and laws vary to a complete opposite when moving from place to place. This makes legal decision a gimmick at places as it is legal now and illegal then or the other way round. The base of a decision by law depends not on the law but the environment and the circumstances prevalent there and more than that it is in how the matter is shown rather than what the matter is.
As someone said there are no good people and bad people but there are people with good and bad in themselves, so is the matter of law. Laws are made to be broken, changed and twisted according to the person and environment bringing in a new law and maybe that’s applicable only for a certain community. So any social custom, rule or law becomes good as well as bad, a sort of relativity. A good example is the way males and females think. A habit seen as bad by the female maybe seen as good by the male and vice versa.
But human conscience suggests that there should be a true law, a real right and wrong and who decides it is a question. It brings us to the god theory or the reality of God, someone who is there before time and will be present after time and hence would make the right and the wrong. The working of the existential present (The world) is such that something that is legal now was illegal before and the other way round. Understanding this working gives the picture of the plan that is running this world, the plan of god. It is not a law that runs this world but a plan and the plan changes lawful and unlawful, bringing illegal to legal and legal to the illegal framework.
Man-made laws are sometimes inspired by god or nature’s inevitable rules which are followed by all except humans. Humans have the tendency to break it or change it. This gives the proof for the instability of certain laws according to the situation. Human beings tend to deviate from any set of norms and hence the laws and rules he creates may also vary from right to wrong or wrong to right.
As far as the rule of god is concerned, it relies on the plan and it runs according to the plan. The laws and rules do not matter within the framework of his plan. Belief in the plan itself is the law.

A walk back....

I was walking back through time and these eight lines came into my mind... some beautiful times
a lot of scenes pass by with this one picture and these lines bring back numerous episodes of a small part of my life.....

How time flies by

I wonder why 

Remembering this

would make me cry

hearts together 

forget never

the bond will remain

       forever forever.....

The Ride... a simple note

Early morning breaks in and it is a weekday. The busy schedule of office begins. I dress up make something that I only know how to eat and jump into my car. The ride begins.

I get into my car switching it on to hear the humming. I wait a few minutes to get my ride charged up and then begin the journey. This isn't a road trip or a pleasant journey this one is my daily trip to office. 

The radio is on and I am with Chris Fischer.  It is journey of 60 km and I want it to be a peaceful one but alas the schools here don’t like me driving well. There are big coasters full of kids with uniform, then the Mommies with shades taking their kids, and the office goers like me who may be thinking the same way.

 I cruise down the highway without any hassles and sometimes it is splendid outside. The mountain top is covered with low lying clouds and it looks perfect and as I begin enjoying the ride comes the next boulder. Some people like traffic and they cause this second one. The cars try to overtake and just sneak into the right track, then others follow until there is a big fat one right at the end of the flyover.

The traffic doubles the time to reach my office. I wonder if all could obey the rules it would have been better or else rules shouldn't be there. The rules with rule breakers ends up in sluggish roads. Soon I reach the expressway and this is where I enjoy it. With a smooth 120km/h I cruise through it relaxed with the latest beats on. To give myself a nudge I tune into the Arabic one listening to the Khaleeji or the modern. I just love the beats and I feel I am speeding on a beautiful desert camel.

It is nearing eight and I am on track. I reach the office all set to start another day of work thinking of the return journey….

The world of dreams

It has been long since i wrote something and i was lying on my bed with my blanket on my feet looking at the brown peak that i see through my window. It looked great with the sun shining and giving it a slight golden shade. The writer in me awoke and i felt i need to start once again.
So i thought why not begin with words from someone close. why not resuscitate it with my sister's words. I had a conversation with my sister and i asked her for her verses and scribbles as i had read a piece before and i loved it and so i got one from her diary, a small but beautiful one.

let it be a good beginning.


From my sister's diary,

World of Dreams

                                        By Sheza Shareef

Top at the mountain



alone she lies



whispering to the wind



sweet wishes she has.














nature embraces, snow kisses



Rain showers, its all her wishes.









heart blossoms like flower



hands welcome her love.






cracked the heart,wishes flow



shackles build up,dreams blow.









her body starts moving



to behold her inner strength



her heart starts weeping



for she failed to hold breath.









mind probes here and there



heart urged all through her.









but the wall has risen up



making her fall from atop.









far away the wall,her soul lies



top at the mountain side.









wall of dream,made her void



world of dream, took her away.









here in this world alone she lies



away from the world of dreams.

Ramadhan Kareem

The time for revitalizing the body and soul has come again. A time when you can take decisions to change from the stagnant lifestyles we had been living and to rejuvenate the soul so that it lives again.

The month of ramadhan is on our doorsteps and it is time to indulge with one's own soul, to wash it from the scars, clear it off from the worldly dilemmas and bring out a fresh person from each of us.

Wishing you all a very happy and spiritual Ramadhan


2:183 O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that ye may (learn) self-restraint,-

Between Kayli Mundu and Levi's

The Past quarter of a century or more has seen a new breed of Indians being born. The Arabian sands witnessed the liquid gold erupt changing it into an Arabian paradise of crude oil, the modern synonym for luxury,wealth and fief(It is ending). It began a transformation of the entire Asian continent marked especially by the changes in the Indian subcontinent. The Indians, Pakistanis and Bengali flocked to this modern paradise to sweat under the scorching heat and earn some gold for their families. The sixties were the beginning and seventies and eighties saw them coming in large numbers.

Kerala was one of the beneficiaries of this boom and it saw the gulf phenomenon spread viral across every nook and corner of the state. Dubai or 'Dhubei' as pronounced by the Malayalis, was the paradise for every ordinary Mallu. Soon families settled , children started growing on the desert land alien from the Mallu land until they finish high school and go back for college and higher studies.The Levi's are sold out for the blue and green checks of the lungi (kaylimundu). This is one big transformation for them. A mindset is being changed when one leaves the luxuries of the Arabian paradise and reach the tropical warmth of the coconut land.

People tend to try and find out the pros or cons of each lifestyle but both has its own merits and it is seen when passing through life period as well as places of different culture and scope. The cultural soup in which children grow in the gulf is different from the life back in the villages and this collides as well as fuses at different points of time. This is an interesting aspect of  the expat children and their life. The Namesake Mallu is abandoned in his homeland while branded one in the gulf.

Children in the middle east meet different cultures and form a unique one combining all. But it sometimes fades one's own. It all depends on the way he or she is being brought up and may vary from place to place. While they are 'Malabari' in the middle east, they are called 'Saaip/madaama'(sir/Madam a term used to mock at mixed culture or English influence) in Kerala.... confused between the kayli and  Levi's.

The flow of the stream...

Life thoughts are something that amazes our mind since it is a sort of introspection of ourselves, our lives and environment we live in yet it isn't a complicated set of logical statements found in reports published after an analysis of a system

The simile that life could be attached to is a stream.A clear stream of water flows down the hills. Life is indeed like a body of water not too large but flows continuously through a large variety of terrain. It flows slowly among the grey and black pebbles taking some small ones along with it. The clear water of life is similar. We start slow and clear. We feel things and grasp them. Thoughts are created, seeing through different views,new things sprout up like shrubs and at a later stage, the tall grasses grow at the sides of larger stream. The stream then flows down a sudden and comes up through brown rocks forming a different path. We learn bigger things, we learn the base of life and we start thinking differently. The stream slowly inherits color. It absorbs the color of the light green grass that grows at the sides. It gets the colour of the grey slates of rocks and it embraces the yellow and crimson of the sun. We take in the good, bad and those are in between and try to understand the course.

But we walk the journey along with the flow. We move ahead in a track that we did not plan at the beginning; rather we flow with the landscape. The stream is now heavy but it flows with greater pace. It cuts through the large rocks and flows with a massive force. White froth and foam arise as it falls with great speed and mass. The water gushes forth and is whitish blue. It is alive and bubbling like a young man who is eager to conquer new avenues. The water paves its way through huge boulders of sand and rock taking the silt and sediments banking at the sides along its way.

The youth is powerful, implementing ideas, exploring and fearless. It bursts with tremendous power and can create further ways when channeled. Youth is the prime of ages and it is when you can show the world what ‘you’ rather than for whom you are. It is the time to show the identity, like the stream that shouts out loud what it is. Then the stream slows down being a rivulet. It moves with a large amount of water. It is big, sluggish and takes in any amount of deposits whether it is material or energy.From this stage on the stream starts dying. It moves into a body of countless streams being one of them losing character and energy. It rests in peace. It passes away.