Iqra's Reflections

We often celebrate our heroes. But those behind the making of these heroes remain unsung. I decided to interview my grandmothers. They have played an important role in my father’s life and then in mine. I keep on learning from them and want to share it as far as it can go.  Sharing a little bit of the background is important. Dad’s own mother passed away before he started walking. His aunts( Khalas ) took care of him. Most important role was of the one I interviewed here. She was the one whom he was with, all the time. Even in the school hours. He went to school with her, she was the headmistress of the school at the time.  From formal to informal; I have learned from her in every field of life. From PT shows and speech competitions in the school to cooking in the kitchen. The first ever dish I made was in her supervision and the first roti I made was for daadi. She’s also the mother of Pakistani Cricket Team Captain, Misbah ul Haq. And has often been interv...

Sometimes we think of doing something good. But then, on second thoughts decide, what difference will it make in this huge world. This world needs bigger solutions. We need to do something of greater impact. And then wish to have more power so that we can make a difference, do our part to make this world a better place to live. Then focus shifts to ‘how can I acquire that power?’ “This passion I have to serve humanity is so much. I want to do something GREAT in life” Have you ever been through this? This obsession with ‘greatness’ leads us to overlook our domain of power. In pursuit of possibilities to do greater things we miss on the circle (even if small) of impact we already have. We forget that small can be big. And for sure, small leads to big. Start small, don’t overlook the importance of small deeds because they have a greater impact. That might include removing a stone from a passage, offering help to a blind, feeding a homeless, texting a friend you have...

16th of September, 2014. I would try to distract the mind for a while. I would look outside the ambulance window. On my way to the hospital with a sinking heart, I saw how indifferent and normal the life outside this vehicle was. It was hard to decide; the burns hurt more or the realisation of the pain of children burned in the air strikes in Gaza and the ones burned, torn and ripped apart in the drone attacks in Pakistan or the fear of hospital staff at the Burn Centre who looked like butchers to me. This happened every time I was on my way to the hospital to get my skin drafted. But at least my pain was acknowledged. I was getting doctors to attend to me. Those children end up falling among a long list of 'casualties'. This made my pain look smaller to me. Two months from the accident, last week, I feel like I was burned again. 16th of December 2014; For two days, everything around me was going round and round. I relived that painful realisation. Everyone was hurt. People...

The sky was different today. There was life, emotions and passion. It seemed to be celebrating the return of a beloved. "How similar we are oh sky" thought Fatima. For her happiness had no measure. Her husband was getting back. He would reach any hour of the night. Abu Hamde who had been a captive in the prison of Israel for six months. He worked as chef to make ends meet. Impatiently had he waited for this day. The day he will be going back to his lovely wife who had shared the news of him becoming father of a boy she had named hamza. He couldn't wait to see his son. To take him in his arms. To tell him the stories of brave Palestinian souls who had stood for the rights of the country, to tell him how much had he had wanted to see him, to tell him about the responsibility that lies on his fragile shoulders to get his country rid of the bloodshed and the massacre that was going on. Once upon a time his mother had told him the same. Her wrinkled eyes had seen many o...

Trying not to think of the imminent departure that was drawing near every moment, I was enjoying food on a fancy cruise ship, sailing in the seemingly endless and calm waters of San Francisco. While the other Emerging Leaders of Pakistan (ELP) Fellows were rocking the colourful dance floor, I thought to try the dessert. As soon as I ingested that first overflowing spoonful of dessert, I could clearly feel the fire. It was spicy cheese, not a dessert, that I had just taken  in. I chased it with water to feel better but that unpleasant feeling stayed for a while, as a reminder: "Taste, before you swallow a spoonful of it." There were many such instances throughout the ELP visit to the United States. Things turned out to be otherwise than what I had thought them to be. Until and unless we taste it, we don't know the reality. Right from the first moment I stepped on American soil, I saw good behaviour. I was immensely impressed and inspired. Politeness and gratitude wer...

(Written on 10th October, 2011) I had an interesting experience this weekend. I went for hiking which was arranged by the adventure club which I’m a member of. It was 5km which we had to cover. Walking on the hiking track…lengthy, rocky…full of ups and downs…badly tiring and energy consuming…I wondered it’s just like the life…Sometimes hard, sometimes comfortable and at times, challenging too… At moments I used to get so much tired that I felt like giving up and going back… going back was easy and moving on was difficult but I was determined in my heart that no matter what I have to reach the mountain top because this is where I’ve set for. And once I reached at top of the hill my tiredom disappeared. You cannot get your goal until you struggle for it. As the Holy Quran says “ That man can have nothing but what he strives for. And (the fruit of) his striving will soon come in sight. Then will he be rewarded with a reward complete.” -(Ch. 53 V. 39, 40, 41) ...

Troubles!! Difficulties!! Loss!!  Why do they exist?? Why me every time?? Why am I into difficulties all the time? Why does Allah put me in so many problems? We often ask this question from ourselves and see people around us in search of answers for such questions. One thing which we should keep in mind is that nothing is purposeless. Good or bad, difficult or easy, pleasing or painful.  Now, difficulties, troubles and loss that we go through can be a blessing for us or they can be a cause of our destruction. That depends on our attitude towards it. When we are on a wrong path and we make mistakes, Allah(s.w.t) puts us in some trouble. When we don't learn from one and go on committing mistakes then Allah puts us in hardships over and over again. Hardships and difficulties are must because when we get into some trouble only then we are more likely to assess ourselves. When a person gets a thorn pricked into his foot he will try to find out that where did he ...