Say no to Martians....

Since NASA announced its recent mission to Mars i have been deeply worried that they might succeed this time in finding new life there. The idea of others sharing this universe with us is so disturbing, at least for me.

I look at our current state as humans dwelling on this planet and feel so sad and angry. This feeling is not helped by my addiction to the 24/7 news channels. Same disturbing stories are repeated every hour of the day: famine, diseases, civil wars, ethnic cleansing, mass murders, and crisis everywhere! All this with only one intelligent life around, why would you look for another!

You might say that i am pessimistic and a lot of people do not share my pessimism. Well i know for a fact that my dark view is the common view; i am not the exception. When the professionals tried to imagine new lives on other planet they only came up with Aliens, Star War, Star Trek, Apollo 18, Independence Day and so on... I can not think of any Hollywood movie - apart from some erotic ones- that paints a nice picture of the extraterrestrial life, it is always blood thirsty war mongers scary creatures who are worse than us.

You may argue that we can hope that they might be better and we could learn new things from them! Well, judging by our desires to learn I bet you the first thing we will learn is how to make these fancy laser guns! How we could build better fighter jets, and how we we can kill all our fellow humans with a press of a button.

So far i am relieved that they have found nothing, because as it is, this universe is not big enough for us humans, so Martians stay in hiding as we do not want you!
I am going to start a petition to say Martians you are not welcomed...

death note

Death note:

I pushed my way through to get to the bus, I climbed the stairs to the top deck and found an empty seat at the third row from the end. I sat down and started settling myself, while I was going through my bag to find the headphones, a page on the floor caught my eyes. It looked as it was torn off a wired notebook, carelessly, as the bottom was ripped off.

In a very neat and large font somebody wrote:

Dear all,

I love you all…

Please forgive me…

Goodbye…

Not signed, no indication of the name or who is “all”? I looked around holding it in my hand to see if anybody would reclaim ownership and shout: that’s mine? I looked at the faces to match the handwriting, but there was no sign of an owner…

Looked at it again and started saying to myself this looks like a death note! Somebody was writing his death note!

Why I am saying “his”? could be “her”?!

Who’s this “person? Why they left it on the bus? Why I picked it up? What shall I do with it?

Have they done it yet, suicide? Is he or she dead now? Maybe I can save him from killing himself! Again I was assuming it is a man… maybe it is a man, the way the paper is torn off so carelessly might indicate it is a man. But the handwriting is very neat, so it could be a woman.

But why does he or she want to kill themselves? Is He/ she very depressed? Could I save him/ her? What I would say to stop him, her, from suicide? What could I say to make him/ her change his/her mind? I could say how life is great, how I overcome troubles and manage to live a happy life. But how true is that? Am I happy? Have I succeeded in my life? I feel very bad about myself and my life! I am depressed most of the time. My sense of underachievement and not have any value of life has combined me all through my life. How many times I hoped I will die? Did I ever think of suicide? Maybe this is my death note? Maybe this is my handwriting! Maybe these are my last words!

The empty jar…

The empty jar…

I live in a jar, an empty jar. Although technically speaking, with me inside it, that makes it not empty, but apart from me, there is nothing, just emptiness.

I wake up every morning just before sunrise, I like to witness the day starting. I tidy up my jar, do the cleaning, and then start getting ready for the day. I work hard inside the jar, I polish the glass everyday, smooth the curbs on the lid, and I turn it around few times. I spend my entire day running around like a headless chicken and  keeping myself busy. By night, I lay down looking at my jar, nothing much to stare at, so I just dream of a better jar!

Daily routine is a bad thing, but you have no options when you live in a jar. Repetitive actions are not a good idea, but you have no choice when you live in a jar. Having very little in your life to be proud off or talk about is not a good at all, but you have no options when you live in a jar. Being whom I am is not what I hoped for, but I have no option, I live in a jar! an empty jar!

Everyday, every night, this is what I do in my jar, although its empty and there is nothing but me, although I am alone and had only my reflection on the glass to look at, although I achieve nothing in my life inside this jar, I have no other option but to continue living inside the jar… this is my jar, and my jar is my life!

في النصر و الهزيمه

الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله.

 قال تعالى: انا فتحنا لك فتحاً مبيناً (سورة الفتح، اية١).

يخبرنا الله بفتح عظيم ونصر مؤزر للمسلمين والمبين هو الظاهر الجلي، اي لا شك فيه ولا ريب في وضوحه. هذا النصر هو صلح الحديبية، هكذا وصفه الله سبحانه وتعالى ولكن كيف رأه الصحابة رضوان الله عليم حينها؟ بدأ ظهور عدم الرضا بين الصحابة في لحظات كتابة الصلح، فبعد ان اعترض مشركي قريش وقبل الرسول عليه الصلاة والسلام اعتراضهم ابى علي رضي الله عنه ان يمسح "رسول الله" من كتاب الصلح. وبعد ان تم الصلح جاء عمر رضي الله عنه يناقش الرسول عليه الصلاة والسلام  في شروط الصلح ويسأل لما نقبل الدنية في ديننا! وبعد ان امر الرسول عليه الصلاة والسلام الصحابة ان يتحللوا من احرامهم ولثلاث مرات ولم يفعلوا، حتى تحلل هو عليه الصلاة والسلام وتبعوه. يظهر للعيان ان الصحابة لم يكونوا راضين بشروط الصلح وردهم عن الكعبة في تلك السنة، بل انهم كادوا ان يعصوا امر الله ورسوله حين لم ينحروا ويحلقوا كما امرهم عليه الصلاة والسلام. هذا الصلح هو ما وصفه الله سبحانه وتعالى بالفتح المبين!

في تزاحم الاخبار هذه الايام لا نسمع سوى ما ينغص الخاطر ويندى له الجبين من مآسي في بلاد العرب والمسلمين. فشلال الدم لا يزال ينزف في سوريا، وشبح المجاعة في اليمن يطغى على اي صورة، والفوضى السياسية في مصر، والفوضى الامنية في ليبيا وما يحدث في لبنان والاردن والسودان من انعدام الاستقرار والوقوف على حافة الهاوية. وفوق هذا كله فجراح العراق وافغانستان لم تلتئم بعد، وفلسطين الحبيبة يعجز اللسان عن وصف حالها. وما زاد عن هذا كثير، الا ان الموضع لا يتسع للسرد ولا هذا هو المراد.

اقول : في خضم هذه الاوضاع والاحزان نبحث عن بصيص امل وبارقة نصر لنتشبث بها، ولكنا في اكثر الاوقات، ما ان نجد حدثا لنفرح به، يتبعه الف الف حدث ليقتل الامل في قلوبنا وينزع فكرة النصر من عقولنا.

اعود للحديث عن صلح الحديبية، فكما اسلفت ان الله قد اعتبره نصراً مؤزراً وفتحاً مبيناً ولكن ذلك غاب عن الصحابة حينها. ولا انوي التفصيل والاسهاب في ذكر خصائص هذا النصر، ولكن تكفي الاشارة ان من حضر معه صلى الله عليه وسلم بيعة الرضوان(الشجرة) وصلح الحديبية كان الف واربعمائة صحابي. وبعد عامين عاد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بجيش من عشرة الاف رجل! وخلال تلكما العامان وقعت غزوة خيبر ومؤتة ورسائل الملوك وكثير غير ذلك.

لقد رأى الصحابة صلح الحديبية هزيمة، وقبول الدنية في الامر. ورأه الله فتحاً مبيناً، وكذلك كان. ومثل ذلك تكرر في التاريخ، فالنصر ليس دوماً الفوز في معركة او اكتساب ارضٍ جديدة. وقد تختلط الصورة على البعض لجسامة الحدث وهول الامر، وقد لا يميز الكثير معالم الانتصار، اما لعلو المطلب والهمة (كما في الصحابة) او  لاعتياد الهزيمة (كما هو حالنا الان).  

فكل ما ريد ان اقوله ان معالم النصر والهزيمة قد تختلط ولكن:

هذا الربيع العربي الذي نشهد هو بإذن الله نصرٌ من الله وفتحٌ قريب

life for words

I opened the door angry, as he kept banging on, I shouted:
What do you want? Can’t you read the sign (no traders or free paper)?

-sorry, I only saw it now. Said the old scruffy looking man with a very strange hat!

Ok, see you. And tried to shut the door but he held it by his hand...

-wait, as you already here, have a look.. you might find something you are looking for!
as much as I was annoyed by his intrusivness, I was curious to see what such a filthy bag could contain...
emmm, alright then, show me what you’ve got.

As he started taking things out of his old and worn out leather bag he mumbled
-here we are, let me just open the bag, have a look at this magnificent book, oh yah, also there is this great paper pad, also, also, look at this lovely lovely glasses, and this is my best ever pen… anything you like?

Not really, can’t see anything impressive.

- oops, hang on, before you shut the door.. they are not that expensive, honestly!


emmmm, this book, it looks really old and tatty! how much is it?

-nice stories though… its yours for 2 hours.

What?

-I don’t take money, I trade with time, time of your life!

Interesting..

- so do you want it? Or anything else catches your eyes?

No, not really… what about the glasses?

-oh, these are reading glasses, if you want them, I can give you a special price… 2days?

And the pen?

-life. Without a pause, replied the old man and smiled!

What? Life? What’s it made of? Diamond?

-it is not what it is made of, it is what it can do, and what you can do with it…. Think about it, you can create stories and lives with it, millions of stories, millions of lives, so I’m sure a single life is a bargain for you can get out of it!

True… I’ll have it, I’ll have the lot, but I only have one life!

-will do me nicely, it’s all yours.

The old scruffy man walked away, happy and cheerful: that was a good bargain; I don’t think he knows what he got for his life!

Door shut, walked inside, happy and cheerful: that was a good barging; it was worth paying with own life!

one struggled with one’s life, and one struggled with everyone’s life