As I lay here at the feet of the man I love, I wish to share with you my tale. It is one that billions have read, but none have ever heard.
Today I wish to break my silence.
Mine is the story of search. Search for peace. Search for fulfillment. Search for completion. And it is only now, in the most miraculous of circumstances, that I can confidently declare that I have concluded my search.
My mother, God bless her soul, had always counseled me to keep righteous company. She realized how malleable we are as a species, thus she constantly enjoined me to follow good people. She was always keen to add that serving an honest, sincere man is the greatest blessing in all of Allah's universe.
I never appreciated her advice when I was young for I despised that bitch of a mother. She had wasted away her life doing no good and now had the audacity to counsel me.
Judge me not, dear reader, for I have always loved her to my feeble bones, but I wish to be open and honest with you. Many of my afflictions and sufferings are due to her poor mentoring - that I cannot deny.
And so I rebelled as miserable youth are so want to do. I resulted in exactly that which my mother warned me against. Sadly, I had to experience some vile, wicked men in order to fully appreciate what my mum advised me.
For years I was ashamed of my tragic circumstances. I was embarrassed by all my misadventures. My mother had passed away and no one was there to watch over me, so I naively turned to all sorts of men.
Men who led me astray. Men who called me the most base of names, men who starved me, kicked me and abused me. Men who made me carry out the vilest of deeds. Men who cared not for me, but for my utility.
I would run away from them, looking for that 'good company' that my mother's voice would always beckon to, only to wind up in the same tragic circumstance. If you wish for ever anyone to educate you on the importance of keeping the right circle of companions, I am at your service dear reader.
My associations with these people carried with it unfortunate burdens. The sight of me would encourage a barrage of insults by mothers as they would scurry away their little children. Strangers would abuse me purely due to the company I kept. The places I would venture with these men ensured that I would remain a creature of great disrepute.
Or so I thought.
Redemption is truly at the feet of Allah's Mercy. I am living proof.
I found the man of my dreams, at whose feet I currently rest, by mere happenstance. I was rummaging through a pile of rubbish one evening, whimpering over my latest mishap, when I saw a group assembled behind one of the homes.
I had vowed to avoid such gatherings as nothing but trouble had come from them. Fortunately curiosity (or was it fate?) got the better of me and I quietly strolled over to listen in on their conversation. And immediately it struck me that this lot was different from all the others.
Their talk was not of the standard fare – finding some women, drinking, gambling, wasting the night away – acts which, only now that I have removed myself from that cesspool of degeneration, come across as extremely lowly and depraved. Their words were gently uttered with strong convictions yet sincere humility. They carried themselves with the utmost dignity with nary a sense of pride. And what they spoke of rang musically through my ears.
The eldest of them, maybe in his mid-30's, was very animate (in a hushed manner) in denouncing the errant ways of their elders. He called upon his mates to reject the idolatrous traditions of their people. And when he pronounced the name of Allah, that magical name I had heard from no one except my mother, I immediately knew I had found my calling.
After a life of being in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people, it was not chance that Allah blessed me with this moment. All those mistakes, all my suffering, all my pain was designed just to get me to this singular moment. With a teardrop of melancholy sorrow, followed by a teardrop of reserved joy, I resolved then to accompany this group and never leave their company.
Once they adopted me into their ranks, I fell in love with the youngest of them. His soft demeanor was like no other I had ever seen walking the Earth. He was kind and compassionate and treated me with the utmost respect. And it was he who convinced the others to allow me to join them in their trek to the cave.
Since that night, I have dutifully remained by his side and my loyalty has been duly rewarded with the most noble of rewards - none other than having been immortalized in the holy book of Allah:
Thou wouldst have deemed them awake, whilst they were asleep, and We turned them on their right and on their left sides: their dog stretching forth his two fore-legs on the threshold... (18:18)
(Some) say they were three, the dog being the fourth among them; (others) say they were five, the dog being the sixth,- doubtfully guessing at the unknown; (yet others) say they were seven, the dog being the eighth. Say thou: "My Lord knoweth best their number; It is but few that know their (real case)."... (18:22)
What great act did I, a measly canine, carry out to deserve the eternal celebration of my existence by the Creator of the universe? What deed did I perform to deserve the honor of being mentioned in the same breath as this esteemed group of youth?
I state with the utmost humility that I did nothing but commit to the company of these righteous youth and you, dear esteemed reader, with the countless other reciters of the Holy Quran are witness to my humbled fame.
Do not for a moment take my tale as a short-lived moment of entertainment. The lessons in my story are plenty for all to benefit from. I shall leave it to you, fair reader, to glean what you may from my tale.
Musk, Goodwin, racism and rape
5 days ago
18 comments:
masha'allah nice blog..
you were blessed to have good muslims near you, for I noticed a trend nowadays where praticing muslims stay with each other leaving other people astray and on their own...
Naeem, I've heard of men are dogs, but this was a weird post. I have mixed feelings. Surah Al Kahf isn't about a dog, it's about the youth. I don't get your point I think. I mean, should you write a blog about gnats? They are mentioned in the Qur'an. I mean the dog wasn't even used as a metaphor so you gotta tell me where you're going with this.
bro, did you loose it today.
Please do tell; are there more written in this fashion?
i think his point was that there is baraka and honor for just being in the company of good men,even so for a dog,which is shown when it was mentioned in the Quran.but i may be completely wrong?
I am sorry, but I feel stupid reading this, because I did not get you’re point. Please explain your ONE point.
its sort of like the dog saying that hey even me,just a dog, was mentioned due to my good company.
lesson: keep good company.
Bilal you are right...
I once heard an explalantion for why was the dog included in verses of soret Al Kahif?
the answer was although the dog is "nijis" it was honoured and blessed by the company of good pious men,Allah miracles for the people of the Kahf were on the dog too...
which tells as that one's wellbeing is better when he's with good muslims...
Naeem...really liked your story
jazak alah khayran
I quite liked this untold tale.
Would a dog have been mentioned in the Quran had it not been for the wise company he kept? What a wonderful way to introduce us to the youth of the Cave from a completely new angle and narration! Thank you so much. There is much to learn that the youth in the Cave were certainly good company.
Just one point – “She was always keen to add that serving an honest, sincere man is the greatest blessing in all of Allah's universe” – why can’t a dog serve a ‘sincere’ woman as well and find blessing in it? Why just men?
Asalaamu alaikum.
I am so surprised at how others have taken this... I was deeply moved reading it... and each time I find new meanings. For what it's worth, I also thought it showcased a hidden but fantastic writing talent. :)
Achelois wrote:
“'She was always keen to add that serving an honest, sincere man is the greatest blessing in all of Allah's universe' – why can’t a dog serve a ‘sincere’ woman as well and find blessing in it? Why just men?"
See, I just assumed that it was it a round-about reference to serving the Prophet salalahi alahi wa salaam - which by making frequent du'a for blessings upon him, and by following his sunnah, Muslims do even to this day. I did not read it in the very literal way that you did, but as having a hidden meaning. :) Of course, maybe you are right and Naeem was just accidentally deeper than he intended to be when he really was just saying what you think, LOL. In which case of course your question is totally valid. But then, how many of us were raised by our mothers to serve men, with no mention made of the blessings of serving the women in our lives, much less serving a pious woman (I say this as a convert, perhaps Muslim mothers do teach it)? :)
AA-
Thank you all for you comments and questions. The basic gist of the post was pretty much summed up by both Bilal and Ruba.
@Ahmed, "Please do tell; are there more written in this fashion?"
Not sure what you're asking here. Please explain...
@Achelois, "why can’t a dog serve a ‘sincere’ woman as well and find blessing in it? Why just men?"
My dear Muslim-feminist sister... why was I expecting such a query from yourself? :-)
Let me answer with a counter-question: Do you wonder the same thing when you read the saying 'Dog is man's best friend'? Can not dog build such a close relationship with woman? Why just men?
The usage of man, in both cases, is used generically, as in mankind.
@Aaminah, "I also thought it showcased a hidden but fantastic writing talent. :)"
Coming from an expert writer as yourself, your compliment is doubly appreciated. :-)
"I just assumed that it was it a round-about reference to serving the Prophet salalahi alahi wa salaam"
I love that interpretation. I was actually picturing the relationship between student-teacher or murid-sheikh, but you took it to the ultimate level with the Prophet (saw)! Good one.
Asalaamu alaikum.
Dear brother, you are indeed too kind. I will respond to your request, inshaAllah, but probably over the weekend.
"I was actually picturing the relationship between student-teacher or murid-sheikh, but you took it to the ultimate level with the Prophet (saw)!"
Oh, absolutely! But is not our service to our sheikh just a manifestation of service to the Prophet salalahi alahi wa salaam? :) As we are unable to directly serve our Beloved Prophet (salalahi alahi wa salaam), we serve his inheritors through whom we draw nearer to his teachings and nearer to his and our Lord.
Very nicely put, sister Aaminah.
Saif.
AA-
Yes, very nicely put indeed Sr. Aaminah. Thank you!
I just knew you'd say that :) Actually the phrase "dog is man's best friend" is very old; non-sexist language is relatively newer and so all of mankind is now all of humankind but the 'man' in 'human' still remains just like he remains in 'woman' and 'he' remains in 'she' :P Ah! Argh!
I also agree to the 'hidden but brillant writing talent' ...masha'allah! There are hidden pearls in parables... :+)
It is good that you have a good company. I can relate very much with your experience of bad company. I also found a good company and I kept this good company last 20 years. My sincere advise is make sure your company is always in the road of our Prophet Muhamed peace and blessing be upon him. My single most important sign-post is are they constantly engaged in the learning of his inheritance? mainly the Quran and his Sunnah(Bukhaari and Muslim) and are they engaged in Ibaadah that our prophet was engaged day and night. If those two with the resulting actions are found, rest assured you are in a good company.
Assalamu alaikum brother Naeem,
I appreciate the lesson your story is teaching. However, I would caution you on one thing: in historical fiction, it is important (at least for a Muslim) not to impugn anybody's honor in absence of sound proof. You have written about the dog and its mother doing no good, and in general written negatively. You have no reason to think/believe/make others think that such was the case with the dog companion of Ashab-ul-Kahf.
I hope you don't take my comment wrongly, but I feel as if you are making a lesson or literary attempt at the expense of the dog.
Wa'salam,
NNS
Post a Comment