Both the world and the beloved possess an irresistible pull, yet both can be utterly ruthless. The world has never spared anyone, nor should anyone harbor such an expectation. On the other hand, if a friend—who is a beloved—does not show coyness, airs, and tantrums, then how can they be called a friend? When someone truly becomes a friend of the heart, and both sides know that the heart cannot be severed, the beloved will continue to display their charms, and the lover will keep surrendering. There will be no shortage of devotion from either side, and time will slip away. Meanwhile, the world will leave no stone unturned in deploying its tricks to ensnare its prey in its trap, setting new temptations and snares every day to tighten its grip on its target.
Beloveds come in many forms. For some, their beloved is art and artistic pursuits—these, too, are of various kinds: some noble, and others laced with deceit and fraud. Similarly, people make wealth, riches, and fame their beloved. Yet, even after reaching the pinnacle of these pursuits, they sometimes walk around carrying mountains of complaints. They say that after devoting their entire lives to attaining these things, they gained nothing but regret—it was merely a feast for the eyes. The heart was once delighted, thinking, “This too is mine, and that too is mine.” But in the fading shadows of time, regret sets in: No one remains truly mine. My life was gambled away for what was ultimately fleeting. Those who gathered around me because of my fame were merely players of the moment, participating in the game of the times. When the game itself comes to an end, the players depart—just as in the game of calling partridges, the partridge that stops calling is eliminated from the game. In the end, only a single grain remains, and even that grows tired, leaving the field utterly vacant.
In the same way, wealth—the very thing that brought fame—starts turning away toward others even while it is right beside you, precisely when the true owner’s own limbs begin to fail them. The poor human is left watching helplessly: “Ah, how permanent I considered these things!” Today, there is neither the strength to smell nor the power to touch—no sense of measurement, nor any accounting left.
If human beings were to recognize the true nature of both the beloved and the world in due time, their existence would become a lasting blessing. Within their means, everyone should adopt a few poor students from their neighborhood and community—caring for their food and drink, overseeing their education and upbringing, and striving to help them reach a stable juncture in life. Similarly, to help a young daughter get settled in her home, one could say to her parents, “She is my daughter too; all the expenses are mine.” Surely, such deeds will offer solace to the conscience until one’s final breaths.
There are countless such noble acts. Take our wasteful expenditures, such as ordering an array of dishes at a hotel at a single time, only for the food to end up going to waste—if we were to eat only what is necessary to fill our stomachs and use the remaining amount to feed the poor, so many hungry bellies could be filled! Likewise, in a wedding celebration, what is the point of unnecessarily brandishing sticks to drive away the poor of the community, only to seat a few self-important elites who cannot even eat due to dietary restrictions? No matter how much flattery you engage in, they—just like this worldly beloved—know you inside and out. In the end, all the artifice and pretenses played against each other will fall apart when the time comes. Think about it: both are formed from the exact same letters.
Syed Ghulam Hyder Shah Qalandari
Kunri, Sindh, Pakistan
