In a world of superficial ties and broken connections, the time to nurture love, care, and real relationships is now, before silence and regret take their place
Being an amateur writer, I cannot claim to do full justice to the art of writing. However, I do pick up the pen and begin to write what I feel. Leaning against the wall and imagining the unimaginable, I was struck by a stream of paradoxical thoughts. Amidst this, while handing me a cup of tea, my mother advised me not to fall for fragile relationships. I couldn’t quite grasp what she meant at the time, but I have since arrived at my own understanding.
Man is the sum of his relationships. In addition to divine connections, we have earthly ones, too. Somehow, we are so intricately bound by the threads of these relationships that, though fragile, they are indispensable. Our lives are entangled in these connections. It is a knotty entanglement—unravelling it is like swallowing a mound of poison.
As I delved deeper into this idea, I came to realise that most relationships, except a few, are inherently fragile. They snap with a single blow. The thread that binds us is so feeble that it often becomes difficult to know how to hold it together. In reality, human beings are often hypocritical and short-sighted by nature. While cursing the devil, we unwittingly nourish its roots. Feigning piety, we conceal monstrous tendencies within.
Returning to the main theme, our foundations of relationships often stand on loose sand, easily crumbling. Why do we form relationships? Because we are human. And what is humanity? It is to accept human beings as they are. But how do we truly accept them? It is by refraining from judging them by worldly standards and instead embracing them through the lens of divine laws. Judging relatives on material grounds leads to the breakdown of our so-called relationships.
Denying poor relatives entry into our homes is a betrayal of true kinship. It is a mockery of what relationships are meant to be. Similarly, forming bonds solely based on wealth or luxury is a brutal insult to the sacred tie of marriage. This sacrosanct union is often left at the mercy of narrow-minded traditions. Trying to appease relatives at the expense of humanity becomes the final nail in the coffin of these fragile bonds, for they are never truly satisfied. They bark endlessly, pointing out faults that do not exist.
The consequences of fragile relationships are visible everywhere. Who is truly content with their relatives? They often call each other snakes. Many believe that their downfall is the result of their relatives’ conspiracies. Visiting one another has become rare. Greetings are sent—not out of sincerity—but to maintain appearances and remain in others’ good books. Yet it is all fake. And in this world of fakery, man finds himself lonely even in his own home.
Now, meetings mostly occur at funerals. What an irony of our times! The light of reason has become the fire of foolishness. In the pursuit of status and wealth, man has become so broken that he yearns for the relationships of the past. He craves genuine human companionship. His material possessions haunt him constantly. He wants to laugh freely in the company of the very relatives he abandoned.
To mend our ways, let us begin by talking to our relatives and strengthening our bonds. Instead of watering the roots of abandonment, let us nurture the roots of love, care, and humanity. Who knows how long we have left? Like Rasul Mir’s beloved, who arrived after her lover was buried, it is of little use to weep and beg for forgiveness at someone’s grave. Let us meet now, in a spirit of humanity.
Let us not speak of jobs, houses, money, and such divisive things. Let us promise to hold tightly to the reins of genuine relationships. Are we ready for this? Please, don’t postpone it until tomorrow—we may not live to see tomorrow.
Now is the time to repair our bruised relationships.
Who will walk the talk?
The question lingers.
Syed Mustafa Ahmad