Sonya Syed

"Sadia Saleem   Another good one...ur blogs have always uplifted my spirits in some way, but this one being totally different gives us a small grasp at just how powerful our Almighty is...our praises are just a measurement of our faith in Him and our worships are a manifestation of that measurement...ur blog actually took me in d flashbacks and I remembered when we actually landed up at a babas astana for d sake of fun...at times those carefree days are deeply missed       keep up the best work    " This one is especially for my best friend Sadia who has always shown me her love, appreciation and encouragement. And of course, how can I forget all of you for always blessing me with your affections. Sadia and all of my Dear Readers, I thank you so much from my heart for responding so beautifully for my post “Miracles & Magic? I wonder…” . AND Thank You Allah for  this  amazing opportunity to write this blog. It is so true that how ...

­­ For all my readers who are not aware of Urdu language these are the advertisements by self-claimed spiritual healers (mostly referred as Baba or Aalim sahab) who claim that they have some special kind of miraculous religious/ spiritual powers by which they can help their follower/ client to get their dream life-partner/ a good job/ boom in business/ total control over husbands and mother-in-laws, or anything that their follower desires. I am not aware of the growth rate of these Babas in other cities of Pakistan but these days every corner, every street in Karachi is bursting with these advertisements. Clients of these ad Babas belong to moderate income group; there are however exclusive Babas or Aalim sahab available for wealthier followers who act far more sophisticatedly and their reputation is made by word of mouth or probably by appearing on TV shows. Yes, our media also encourage such Babas, after all the media is also part of the so...

Some time ago I introduced myself to a Malaysian lady, “I am from Pakistan”. The lady responded “Oh gosh Pakistan! You have lots of bombing. I know your country I heard it on the news”. Embarrassed as I was, but couldn’t say anything except of changing the subject. Regrettably Pakistan is now synonymous with bombs and even more regrettably Islam is synonymous with extremism and terrorism. Then adding fuel to fire, in the garb of freedom of expression certain sections of foreign intellectuals freely exhibit their disrespect towards our sacred and revered Religious Personalities . Misinformation or lack of information, further fueled by bias, leads to disastrous results and this is what exactly happened in the case of  Islam and especially our beloved  Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him).  I wish, I have the caliber to explain  Prophet Muhammad's (Peace Be Upon Him) teachings. However, if we only take a look at his last sermon which he gave...

Yesterday was a tough day not due to some external situation but mainly due to my own irritability and anger. I have been working on my academic project for months now and with lot of effort I was able to come up with the final draft, which was also approved for submission; just few days before submission deadline when I looked at my work I realized that it was “my worse writing ever!” Naturally I was lost, angry and clueless. I meditated and prayed really got down on my knees, I needed some inspiration just one cue- but nothing happened. It was in that moment I realized that whatever creative I do whether painting, blogging, working or cooking (yes I do cook) it all happens to me. I don’t really do anything myself, some kind of energy comes in giving me all the directions and dictations and I simply follow them. Of course, my intellect and thinking is involved but its only vessel through which creativity passes from. It is not only with me but whenever you do anything th...

My Heartiest Congratulations & Prayers for Imran Khan and his wife Reham on their marriage, and to all the couples who tied the knot recently. May you all live in bliss, harmony and prosperity together. When I wrote my last post on PTI's dharna I had no idea that my next one will be on the marriage of PTI's Chairman Imran Khan with Reham Khan, it was just a matter of days that entire situation has changed dramatically. When the news started to pour in about Imran Khan’s marriage I was a bit uncomfortable because I didn’t like the way either the media or PTI/ Imran Khan handled the situation. All of a sudden a lady’s picture was splashing on every channel with Indian songs playing in the background. (The concept of playing Indian wedding songs on Pakistani news channels is beyond the reach of my humble thinking.) And finally after a lot of chaos we saw the grand finale of this event, when the newly wedded couple posed in front of the camera. A sense...