This Bhopalan writes…

Photo: Sufia Masjid, Palace Road, Koh e Fiza, Bhopal. Photo credit: Asim Mateen

My maternal grandfather, Abdul Majeed Khan, was one of the engineers involved in the construction of Sufia Masjid.

Named after the Naqshbandi Sufi saint Hazrat Mawlana Ziauddin Farooqi, the Masjid was built by the order of Nawab Sultan Jahan Begum. Completed in 1905, the Masjid’s simple architecture is a blend of Islamic and European styles. The two green domes are covered in green tiles and the prayer hall is decorated with Belgium crystal chandeliers. The Masjid compound hosts a garden with fountains, ablution Hauz (pond) and a grave yard. The royal family used to pray here. Nawab Sultan Jahan Begum and her son, Nawab Hamid Ullah Khan, the last ruler of Bhopal are buried in this graveyard. The resting place of the sufi saint, Mawlana Ziauddin, who died in 1829, is also here. This Masjid was previously known as Ziauddin Tekri. Mawlana Ziauddin Sahib was the student of Mawlana Abu Lais who was a student of Shah Waliullah (Quddissirruhu)

https://masajid.in/sufiya-masjid/

Remember when you taught me to darn?
You drew a thread from the weave of the fabric,
“This is the best yarn, it doesn’t show.”
Skillfully you sewed the hole.
It closed nicely just like you said,
“Brand new now, almost!”

Remember the blue dress you sewed?
I wore it with matching blue sandals when I was five. 
“You look like the blue fairy!”, you smiled.
That clever blue fairy, 
the heroine of all your stories! 
I drew a thread from that moment.
It is the best yarn, it doesn’t show.
One by one, I patched my wounds.
They closed nicely just like you said,
“Brand new now, almost!”

As chairwoman of the seventh Annual Convention of the American Federation of Muslims from India, after declaring the conference open, I asked the attendees to ponder if the ideals the freedom fighters fought for, and Tagore sang for, had been achieved in the fifty years of an independent India?

Tagore’s Gitanjali 35
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

Then, invited our beloved Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani to the stage for a beautiful recitation of the Quran Majeed which left the entire audience in awe.

AFMI website:

Home

Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani website:

https://hishamkabbani.com/

The story is about a spiritual young girl in 18th century India who values friendship and nature above all else, and who, upon finding a priceless treasure, gives it away. The protagonist, Bismi, is young, innocent, and in tune with nature; she is at home in the forest with her animal friends. During one particular forest outing, Bismi is transported on a mystical journey to Uranus, where she picks a large crystal. Upon her return, Bismi makes her way home through the forest and stumbles into the emperor’s hunting party. The unfortunate victim of the emperor’s arrow is her friend, the fawn. Distraught and shocked, Bismi realizes that the emperor does not value life, but material gain. She gives the diamond to the emperor. The emperor is greatly affected by his encounter with this fearless young girl. The epilogue tells us that the crystal Bismi found is the strange and unlucky Kohinoor diamond.

Available on Amazon and Islamic Shopping Network (https://isn1.net/)

Rejoice my heart, rejoice!

Rejoice for what was,
rejoice for what was not.
Rejoice for all that is,
rejoice for all that is not.

Rejoice my heart, rejoice!

My dearest child,
my heart is in sujood,
thanking Allah for the gift of you.

My dearest, sweetest child,
my heart is in prayer, asking for you,
butterflies and beautiful summer skies.

My dearest, most precious child,
light of my eyes, joy of my heart,
a heart full of love is my dua for you.

A heart full of love,
to love the Beloved of Allah.
Aameen!

2009

Grieve my heart, grieve!

Grieve for what was,
grieve for what was not.
Grieve for all that could have been,
grieve for all that is not.

Grieve my heart, grieve!

April 15, 2025