Ark-e-Gulab
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Pop Culture Mysticism
“Popular culture” is a term we use for the broad spectrum of practices, beliefs, objects, and phenomena that are prevalent in society at a given time, particularly in Western culture since the mid-20th century. It encompasses the most immediate and contemporary aspects of our lives, often disseminated through mass media and driven by the interests, preferences, and trends of the general population. Pop culture (modern fast paced life has to have a shorter version of “popular”) is dynamic, reflecting the changing tastes, innovations, and societal norms of the day. Pop culture is marked by its accessibility to a wide audience. It includes music, television, movies, fashion, technology, and more, offering…
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Culture Bashing Cannot go Unabated
The eyes can’t see when they move, only when they stop that they see. Ever wondered why birds move their heads the way they do, Start-Stop movement? They cannot move their eyes, they have to move their head to bring a particular range in focus and then to see something, they have to stop moving it once placed at the right place. To be able to see things clearly we have to stop moving for a moment! Culture bashing cannot go unabated! Stop right there! Stop and pause and rethink what we have been thinking all along! Every coming day an op-ed appears criticizing one or the other aspect of…
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An Alternate Academia
I believe in hierarchies. This I mean in two ways, one, that hierarchies are part of existence, that is to say I believe in hierarchies in the same way as I believe in Sun, Moon, Pacific Ocean, and other things that exist, without ascribing the value of good or bad to them. This also means that I believe that some or the other forms of hierarchies will always exist. Two, that some hierarchies are good and need to be protected. In fact, the protection of such hierarchy is in itself justice. Justice is placing a thing at its right place, doing a thing as it should be done. Justice is…
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No god but God!
Only those mindful of Allah receive guidance. And only those who Worship God can remain mindful of him. Only by remembering Allah all day they may be mindful of him. This initial seeding humility is necessary for receiving any more guidance. Only the ones with basic adab can develop their adab any further. The basic of adab is to know that there are things which you are not knowing. Only with this attitude can adab and then belief and then nearness to Allah be achieved. The belief in what you see not is the first step towards adab for it shows sincerity inside you and the shahadah that only God…
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The Good & the Bad & the higher Self of Man
The human heart thinketh both good and bad, for man prays for evil as fervently as he prays for good, for he is given to haste and rush devoid of sabr. We have knowledge of both the good and the bad, for we have been shown both the highways. The virtue (and the vice) is here, the Prophet (saw) pointed towards his chest thrice. Our reflection of the world outside is the reflection of the world inside. Shams of Tabriz says, “The whole universe is contained within a single human being – you. Everything that you see around, including the things that you might not be fond of and even…
