Azka's Writeups

How was the Democratic State of Israel established? When talking about Palestine and Israel most people forget to discuss a very crucial event, the expulsion of the Jews from Palestine under Ceaser in 1 CE. Jews since then believe that God has promised them a return to Jerusalem and it is their Holy right to rebuild the temple of Solomon, ruined by Nebuchadnezzar and then Ceaser. This belief and the belief that a Jewish only state should exist in Palestine is a brief summary of Zionism.  The temple of Solomon existed where the al Aqsa compound stands today. Zionists believe that rebuilding it will pave way to the arrival of their Messiah, who we call the Dajjal. And that's what they plan to do, they have been digging under the Al Aqsa compound for quite some time now in attempts to weaken its foundations- so that its fall can be blamed on the smallest of natural disasters. They also hope to find the Ark of the Covenant lost 3000 years ago which contains some miracles from the earli...

A few days ago I learnt that the people who were displaced from Palestine during the Original Nakba could never even visit their country again. But their children and grandchildren could.  The background of this story is a similar one. Yousef returns to Palestine to fulfill his father's dying wish... 'It should be right here,' I whisper to myself. I can feel hope and raw emotion filling up my chest as I turn the corner.  The hope is the first to go away, the raw emotion stays, grows, claws at my heart.  I run, down the street and back up again. Could I have made a wrong turn, could I be in the wrong block?  But the tree is there, that tree I'd recognize anywhere, the tree I had seen many a times when my father had shown me pictures of his neighborhood. 'This is our local graveyard Yousef, this is where my parents are buried, this is where I want to buried, with them,close to them,' he had whispered, as his hand traced the edges of the picture in his lap.  And th...

The historical play Dirillis: Ertugrul has become a fever for many. It was quoted as ‘a silent ticking bomb’. Even with a high degree of fictional content, dramatization, few things against Shariah injunctions it aptly tries to portray Muslim prestige and their constant struggle for the prevalence of Islam. It accurately depicts major historical events and their outcomes to some extent.  I had not been able to feel the importance of the establishment of Khilafah nor was I able to realize why a large number of subcontinental Muslims would react rashly to its end, when I was studying History as a subject. But this series gave me an idea of the concept, one which I was keen on exploring.  All through the series, we witness Ertugrul’s personal sacrifice. We witness the many people who die in the way of Truth. And from that, from the ashes of many broken states rises yet again a Khilafah, the last one to be- the Ottoman Empire.  The world before the Ottoman Empire was no diffe...

Set in the 13 th century this Turkish series closely follows the activities of Ertugral Ghazi, father of the first Ottoman Emperor; Osman I. I have only made it through the  first –of five- seasons and am hooked.  The reasons are not just the excellent casting, filmography, dubbing and sceneries, but also the fact that I had learnt numerous lessons through only 30 episodes. I feel it is a must watch, especially for young Muslims today and here is why I feel so: It tells us about our history, historic figures and different cultures From the culture of the Turkish tribes, the lifestyle of the Ayyubid royalty to the amazing picturization of historic events, everything is appreciable. It contains powerful historic characters like the knowledgeable Ibn al Arabi and Sheikh Moinuddin Chisti. A character of much interest was the Ayyubid Sultan, Al-Aziz, grandson of the Great Salahuddin Ayyubi. He was indeed a great poet but an unfit ruler which you will be able to see w...