Happy Birthday Shakespeare 2013

Shakespeare Revisited Cast of Characters: Shakespeare In his fifties Genius The double of Shakespeare, young and dreamy An unkempt room with one chair and a desk. A few pages on the wall, displaying sonnets. Uneven stacks of papers scattered here and there. The play begins with Shakespeare seated at his desk, dipping his pen furiously in the ink-pot. Genius is standing opposite him, smiling to himself. The reed pen glows all of a sudden, as if on fire, and Shakespeare blinks, stunned. Genius bursts out laughing, seeking the attention of Shakespeare. GENIUS Why are you afraid, O Bard of London? You know me, I am sure. SHAKESPEARE (aghast and shrinking) I do not know you. Who are you? GENIUS (edging closer) Bloody sad that you don’t know me! But I know you too well. You are Sheikh Pir. The Poet of the East. Dead and forgotten. SHAKESPEARE (his knuckles white as he clenches a sheaf of papers before him) Dead? GENIUS (laughing contemptuously) More alive than most, who are living in the slums of London, Sheikh Pir. SHAKESPEARE (planting his elbows on the table with a sudden violence) Who are you? Why are you here? GENIUS (his gaze bright and intense) If you don’t recognize your own genius, my friend, then you are doomed. I am here to goad you into writing a Tragedy, which would live forever inside the hourglass of Time. SHAKESPEARE (one snort of a mirth escaping his lips) If I were a genius, I would not be scraping pennies out of the filthy palms of the droolers? Or living in a garret, staging farcical scenes in my head? Besides, I am writing a comedy, not a tragedy. GENIUS (smiling to himself and beginning to pace) Juliet is not the kind of heroine you think her to be. And Romeo is not the prince embroiled in wars, as you perceive him to be. SHAKESPEARE (cupping his chin into his hands) Stratford-upon-Avon is not the place for magicians, young man. Go home, and suckle your brains on goat’s milk. How do you know the characters in my head, if you are that bloody talented? GENIUS (pacing and thinking aloud) Let it suffice for the moment that I know. Your Juliet is Hir, a princess from Jhang. And Romeo is no other than Ranjha, the prince from Hazara. You met them both. They were condemned by the virtue of love, and fated to die together. SHAKESPEARE (his eyes drooping shut) Such alien names. Alien places. If I had been there, had met such people, I would remember. My memory is flawless. GENIUS (halts in his pacing, watching Shakespeare) Genius is a mystery! Remembering, while claiming not to remember? Now you see Hir in the guise of Juliet. Though Juliet herself is a stranger to you. You don’t know how she looks like? SHAKESPEARE (his eyes fluttering open) Juliet is beautiful! Her beauty is engraved inside the mirror of my heart. Hir? I don’t know anything about her, or how she looks like? GENIUS (resuming his pacing) Hir is beautiful. She is the daughter of a king, and a victim of tragic love. Hir’s Romeo is Ranjha, a prince indeed! Hir falls in love with Ranjha, and in return, is consumed by her own love for him. SHAKESPEARE (his gaze following Genius, dreamy and distant) Something inside me is stirring. They get married, and live happily ever-after, don’t they? GENIUS (flashing Shakespeare an enigmatic smile) Truth, even veiled in falsehood, dares not kiss the lips of lies. Hir was forced to get married to a rich curmudgeon by the name of Saida, exiled into the valley of Rangpur. SHAKESPEARE (snatching his reed pen from the ink pot, and writing while murmuring) And she falls in love with her husband. A marvelous ending. GENIUS (mirth spilling from his lips and eyes) Love, a folly most grievous! No woman, if she was wise, would commit such a folly, even if she was marrying for the very first time. And Hir was wise, accepting not her farce of a marriage, and longing for Ranjha. Her longing itself brings Ranjha to her door in the guise of a jogi. SHAKESPEARE (writing with utmost absorption) Would you please leave whoever you are? I am in a bloody rush to finish this Comedy in order to pay my rent, or my landlord would throw me out into the gutters. GENIUS (Standing opposite Shakespeare, his gaze intense and impelling) That means you don’t want to hear the story of Hir and Ranjha? Are your sure? SHAKESPEARE (without lifting his eyes, still writing) Tell me bloody quick then. I want peace and quiet. GENIUS (pacing again) Hir and Ranjha elope. Hir’s parents urge them to return home. Promising them the bliss of home and marriage. Death and doom are lurking behind this promise of wedlock, not the wedding celebrations. Hir’s mother poisons the milk, which her daughter is to drink as a part of the ritual during the wedding ceremony. SHAKESPEARE (dipping his pen into the ink pot) Such tales told by the fools, and sung by the troubadours! Dull and predictable. GENIUS (waving his arms imperiously) Not dull, but tragic! Terrible and inviolate! You don’t want to hear the end, I gather? SHAKESPEARE (jabbing the paper with his reed pen) I am dying to—this second time around, striving toward becoming a rich playwright! If indeed, this is the second time around? What was I before this? A poet? No, don’t bother to answer. Just tell me the ending of this story, and leave. The dawn is nigh and I must finish my play. GENIUS (laughter trilling on his lips) Hir’s maid succeeds in revealing the murderous designs of her mother, but alas, too late! Hir has already taken a few sips from the cup of death. She collapses, but not before Ranjha has snatched the glass of milk, draining it passionately. Ranjha falls at the feet of his Beloved, both joined in Hereafter. SHAKESPEARE (lifting his eyes wearily and watching the Genius dreamily) Romeo and Juliet! It is a Comedy, and it is going to stay this way, since the characters profess to live, not die. You may leave now. I want Juliet to live. She is so very beautiful. GENIUS (vehemently) This play would be a Tragedy! Fates can’t be averted. Juliet is not permitted to disappoint the drooling patrons, who love conflict and the pincers loss and grief. Hir too was barred from disappointing her audience, welcoming death, and tasting the hemlock of immortality. Romeo would die too, by the law and virtue of his own madness, much like Ranjha, earning the title of Sufi and the Lover. SHAKESPEARE (abandoning his reed pen into the ink pot) Hir, this name sounds sweet upon my tongue. And Ranjha, wafting the Scent of Mystery. Did they live? Are they dead now? The Lover and the Beloved—I mean? GENIUS (standing in the middle of the stage, his look opiate) Living forever inside the rosary of songs, sweet and tragic. Worshipped by the young lovers, who still flock to their tombs, dreaming of love sublime and love unattainable. SHAKESPEARE (his gaze fixed to the Genius) Where are they buried? {One fake moon hovers over the stage.} GENIUS Look at that moon yonder. Waxing and waning. Livid and dying. The scarlet lips of fate, sinful as death. A Tragedy most beautiful. SHAKESPEARE (his head drooping over the table) The lily-livered heart of dawn is compelling me to nurture the Children of Tragedy. Hir and Ranjha are singing, holding the Torch of Love. Romeo and Juliet must taste the Soma of Pain. They must divorce Love and Hope. A Tragedy! Yes! A Tragedy most Sublime. A Truth most Supreme! The symphony of Love, Grief, Union. THE END

Boston Tragedy

'The good deed and evil deed are not alike. Repel the evil deed with one which is better. Then lo, between whom and thee there was enmity, would become as though he was a bosom friend.' Quran 41:34 Ignorance by any other name is still spelled violence. It has many faces, but the ugliest of all faces is violence. And yet violence has become synonymous with Islam since Muslims from all parts of the world continue to carve the name of Islam with the pen of violence. Every time, pronouncing 'Peace Be Upon Him' when taking the name of Prophet Muhammad and yet killing in the name of peace and Islam. How could the kind, loving, forgiving Prophet have peace (he must be turning in his grave) when Muslims have become murderers and cutthroats. There are no answers and no one can stop this string of violence. With the exception if clerics, sharia-mongers and Islamic jurists who incite riots when Prophet's name is unjustly maligned with words/caricatures, could afford to take some time out of their acts of piety to denounce every violent criminal as often as necessary to pound peace into the minds and hearts of every false claimant of Islam training or influencing young Muslims to become murderers and hate-mongers. 'O mankind Lo. We have created you male and female and have made you nations and tribes that you may know one another. Lo, the noblest of you in the sight of Allah is the best in conduct. Lo, Allah is knower, aware.' Quran 49:13 Our love and prayers are with the bereaved and the bereaving.

Gun Violence in America

Guns as well as Laws are manmade _One to use for killing mankind _The other for protecting victims of crime _Calling spade a spade _Is quite an issue blind _Where arguments collect nothing but grime _Since all gun-violaters can't be locked in prison _Guns can be locked with Law behind a cage _Simply this stands to reason _If Congress is ready to heed Obama-sage _Sporting guns, hunting guns, rifles harmless _Who controls violence and weapons _Not guns, they are heartless _Laws alone bring peace on earth from heavens _Look into the hearts of families bereaved _Pump the pulse of gun-control Law to succeed

Malala Revisited

The all merciful, the all loving, infinitely compassionate God has sent a team of angels in the guise of doctors, lawyers, students, activists, clerics, media, and army, police and government helpers to bandage the gift of life to healing, so brutally ripped apart by the bullets of Taliban and they demanding unbiased coverage? It is like devil asking his victims to pray for him so that he can go to heaven, pretending that he is not to be blamed for his evil actions since he is already condemned to eternal damnation. ____Precisely and paradoxically one century and thirty-two years ago an Afghani woman by the name of Malala working alongside men to tend the wounded during the Anglo-Afghan war carried the flag of victory when an Afghani flag-bearer was killed by the British. Now after decades of invasions, tyrannies and oppression Malala has returned as Malala Yousufzai who would raise the flag of peace over the globe of this universe, restoring the rights of women usurped by Taliban. The same rights in education and equality in work and marriage granted to them thirteen centuries ago by Prophet Muhammad. ____'Women shall have same rights over men as men have over them.' 2: 228 Quran ____'And they the women have rights similar to those of men in equity. I God will not allow the work of any worker from among you, whether male or female to be lost.' 3: 196 Quran ____And Taliban still want to silence the media and to kill Malala? By striking an innocent girl who even at this young age understands the worth of love and peace, while Taliban young and old and still immature, steeped deep in ignorance; neither knowing what Islam means, nor trying to understand its beautiful precepts, guided by the ocean of their hatred and bigotry know only to kill and tyrannize. Only a handful of hooligans, they are trying their utmost to blacken the face of Islam, succeeding only in killing innocent men, women and children and failing shamelessly in defaming Islam since millions of Muslims know better and continue to practice the virtues of love and peace. And yet our prayers reach out to Taliban for Guidance. ____'Lord grant guidance to my people, for surely they know not.' 7: 199 Quran ____'Create not disorder on earth.' 1: 12 Quran Peace to the world. We are eternally grateful to all who are helping Malala on the rungs to recovery.

Malala--Daughter of Peace

Little Malala has invited Prophet Muhammad to Pakistan and he has accepted the inviataion. We can feel the spirit of the Prophet of Peace in Pakistan, speaking through the lips of thousands of activists, students and peace organizations. Prophet is here to stay, working toward love and peace through clerics who issued fatwas against Taliban. Through the generosity of the true Muslims offering rewards for the arrest of the hatemongers called Taliban. Through the tireless efforts of compassionate men from army, police and government. Through lawyers who boycotted and most of all through young students who have joined hands against violence and ignorance. We are eternally grateful to each and every Angel of Peace for hope in Malala's quick recovery, for the arrest of suspects for the sake of peace and justice in the future. Hoping and praying that these young Taliban criminals guided by their hateful mentors would start a new journey, learning true precepts of Islam from the example of Prophet's life, while rejecting the vile, man-made edicts concocted by men who are brutal and vicious, heartless and soulless. They are living--in this life, in the hellfire of their own hatred, bigotry, hypocrisy, ignorance and darkness. And yet our prayers are for them also that they might escape this fire of eternal damnation through the mercy and grace of God. Prophet's sayings from the pearls of Hadith: God says: Verily my compassion overcomes my wrath. O My servants who have oppressed your own souls by sinning, if you knew the extent of My mercy, you would not despair of My forgivness if you repented. The acquisition of knowledge is a duty incumbent on every Muslim, male and female. That person who shall pursue the path of knowledge, God will direct him to the path of Paradise, and verily the superiority of a learned man over an ignorant worshiper is like that of a full moon over all the stars. Shall I inform you of a better act than alms, prayers and fasting? Making Peace between one another. Enmity and malice tear up heavenly rewards by the roots. Prayer is the annihilation of ego and union with the Divine, which lifts one's soul higher and higher in its journey toward the Beloved. God has not created anything better than Reason, or anything perfect, or more beautiful than Reason. The benefits which God gives are on its account; and understanding is by it, and God's wrath is caused by disregard of it. The rights of women are sacred, see that women are maintained in the rights assigned to them. 'And whos doeth good works, whether of male or female, such will enter Paradise and they will not be wronged a dint in a date-stone.' 4: 124 Quran Life a gift from God, and no one has the power to take it, but God. Love, peace and harmony for the world. Our prayers are for the health of little Malala, and our heartfelt gratitude to all the Pakistanis working diligently to attain the treasures of peace, justice and knowledge without the rust of lies and distortion. Many Thanks!

Malala Yousufzai--Victim of Violence

Malala Yousufzai is the victim of the most beastly and cowardly act of violence by Taliban who do not even fit the category of 'human', save alone being called Muslims. Isn't it time for Muslims NOW, for mullahs and scholars of Islam to raise their voices against Taliban, issue fatwas, apply the laws of Shariah upon these hoodlums for brutally hurting little girls with an attempt at killing? 'It is not for a believer to kill a believer unless it is by mistake...' 4:92 Quran. 'Whoso slayeth a believer of set purpose, his reward is hell forever. Allah is wroth against him and He hath cursed him and prepared for him an awful doom.' 4:93 Quran. Peace is neither of the West, nor of the East, nor of the North or of the South. Peace is a universal gift from the Creator for all to claim and nurture for the sake of leaving the legacy of peace for our children, and bewtowing upon them the treasures of love, peace and harmony. Anyone working toward peace should be respected and applauded, and anyone working against it needs to be schooled in learning the art of peace for the sake of peace at home, in schools, in families, in the world. Prophet of Peace--Prophet Muhammad, and Taliban i am sure, say, Peace Be Upon Him, whenever talking about Prophet Muhammad, should know that their 'beloved Prophet' is turning in his grave with grief, mourning and lamenting this shameless act of violence against a little girl, simply because she believes in peace. 'O People of Scripture! Now has the Messenger come unto you much of that you used to hide in the Scripture and forgiving much. Now hath come unto you light from Allah and a plain Scripture.' 5:15 Quran. 'Whereby Allah guideth him who seeketh His good pleasure unto paths of PEACE. He bringeth them out of darkness unto light by His decree and guideth them unto a straight path.' 5:16 Quran. Where are the 'apostles of peace' who a few weeks ago protested from country to country, burning, killing, destroying against the video defaming their Prophet of Peace? Would they dare come out NOW defending their Prophet of Peace who would not have ever sanctioned killing young girls...protesting peacefully i hope. This is the most vile and atrocious of crimes committed by Taliban amongst many more committed before, and i am appealing, nay, begging the whole world for the crumbs of compassion for the little girl and her family, to find and arrest those assassins/murdererss of innocent children and subject them under the rod of justice. Prayers for peace of the world, even for Taliban. May Allah drain the flood of ignorance and darkness from their hearts, replacing their seeds of hatred with the kernels of love. Our hearts are weeping in shame and sorrow for the victims of violence in this world and especially for Malala Yousufzai TODAY 'With knowledge man riseth to the heights of goodness and to a noble position, associated with sovereigns in this world and attaineth the perfection of happiness in the next.' Prophet Muhammad

Pilgrims of Peace in Pakistan

Many thanks for lending me the opportunity/privilege, Dear Students, for praising your good actions. How profoundly you have grasped the spirit of Islam--marching for peace to counter the ravages of violence. Jihad, besides being an inner struggle to purify one's heart of all evils, as the Prophet said, is also a part of good actions in many small ways, like removing hurdles from the streets so that people don't get hurt. Prophet Muhammad emphasized that Jihad is helping the poor, the orphans, the widows. Being kind to strangers, gladdening the hearts of the sorrowful. Being compassionate and generous. Being loving to God's creatures, including the animals, just to name a few. Your resolve to go out on the streets with the message of goodwill, Young Students, have scattered the seeds of love and peace which would grow and muliply. May the ocean of love in your hearts find channels to flow freely into hte hearts of others so that there is no room left in there for hatred, bigotry and violence. Violence makes big news and we neglect to praise the ones who work toward peace. May Your efforts of peace flourish and find fulfillment in dissolving the fogs of ignorance. Your actions are noble and commendable. If a great majority of us thought about peace, worked toward peace, cultivated the kernels of peace, hopefully there would be peace on earth. Divine Guidance comes from God alone and you, Dear Children of Peace, be assured, are guided by the Hand of God, as Prophet told his followers; adding, and if you are the instrument of evil, then doubt not that you are guided by the devil. Dreaming Peace/Peace on earth Humbly and gratefully I cherish and acknowledge the purity of love in your hearts, Beloved Students, hoping that other Muslims would learn from your example. Islam is not taught by preaching, but by leading a life of good actions, as our beloved Prophet did by the example of his noble character. Two large pearls of wisdom from the lips of our beloved Prophet: A man cannot be a Muslim till his heart and tongue are so. The creation is God's family; for its sustencance is for Him. Therefore the most beloved unto God is the person who doth good to God's family. You have received the gift of Power of Love, dear ones, share it with the world and see the wonder of transformation in its entirety. Contemplating love and peace