Victim or Fighter
Sunday, 11 December 2016
Sunday, 9 October 2016
The Divine Decree
Like many others, understanding the concept of divine decree
had always been quite a difficult thing for me. Questions like what am I to be blamed for or be given credit for if everything has already been decided and
pre-destined? How can I be held accountable for anything that I do? For any sin
that I commit or any good deed that I perform? By listening to some lectures,
doing some research on this topic and through some personal experiences I have
finally got my answers thankfully and now I would like to share those.
Firstly, we should understand that there are two kinds of
decree:
1) Unconditional decree
2) Conditional decree
Unconditional decree includes matters that are not in our
control or that we cannot change. Like in what ethnicity we are born, what
family do we have, in what state we are born, whether we are born with some
physical or mental deficiencies or disabilities or we are born with all
physical and mental abilities intact. These are some examples of the matters
that belong to unconditional decree.
Then there comes conditional decree. To understand the
concept of conditional decree let us consider a very common example. Suppose
there is a student and he has exams coming in few days but he doesn’t study for
the exam. When his parents and teachers ask him why is he not preparing for the
exam he says that if it is destined for me to pass the exam I will pass the
exam anyway but if it is destined for me to fail then I will fail anyway. Why
bother to study? Then he appears in the exam and eventually fails. Now let’s go
back in time. Same student has exams coming in few days but now he is preparing
for the exam because he knows that if he won’t study he will fail. Then he
appears in the exam and eventually passes the exam. So, we can conclude that he
passing the exam depends on one condition and that is to study. If he fails the
exam it is because he did not make any effort to pass the exam and the reason
of his failure is his own ignorance. But if he passes the exam it is because he
made the effort to pass the exam and prepared himself for it. Since God has the knowledge of the future so He knew in
advance what decisions and choices we will make in the future and what will be
their consequences and thus wrote it in our destiny. Therefore, we do not take
certain steps because it was written in our destiny, rather, it is the other
way around. It is written in our destiny to take certain steps because we
ourselves choose to take those steps.
خودی کو کر بلند اتنا کے ہر تقدیر سے پہلے
خدا بندے سے خود پوچھے بتا تیری رضا کیا ہے
(Translation:
Set your self-determination so high that before (writing) each decree, God Himself asks
the slave tell me what your pleasure lies in)
Now here it is absolutely important to understand one more
thing. In order to achieve something it is important for us to make effort but
we cannot make it through by means of our efforts alone. Our efforts won’t
affect the consequences without God’s permission and His assistance. We cannot
achieve the desired results without God’s aid and His help and in order to get
His help we must make effort from our end. That’s why I absolutely love the
following statement:
But there is one more possibility in this scenario. Perhaps
the student did prepare for the exams and did put in complete effort from his
end but in the end he failed despite all the efforts. Sometimes such things do
happen with all of us. Sometimes we do try our best to achieve something but we
don’t get it anyway. At such times it is not incorrect to say that this thing might
not have been destined for me. Although you want it really badly but maybe it is not good for you. Perhaps God has something
better for you in store. Perhaps, it will be harmful for you in the long run to
have it. So God does not let you have it for your own good. You may like
something that is bad for you and you may dislike something that is good for
you. But God who created you, who has
the absolute knowledge of everything, seen and unseen alike, present and future
alike, knows better.
Then there can be another scenario.
Sometimes things are just not in our control and there is nothing much we can
do to change the situation. For example, a loved one is suffering from a fatal
disease and the doctor informs you that they will probably not be able to live
for long. You try to do everything you can. You take them to the best doctor,
give them the best care and everything but you cannot make their disease go
away. But you pray day and night for a miracle and that they may be restored to
health and then after sometime your doctor informs you that your loved one has
somehow started to recover. So your prayers have finally been answered and as a
result your loved one has actually been saved but it would not have been
possible without your prayers. If you would not have prayed, your loved one
would probably have died. Or maybe you did some good deed that really touched
God. For example you helped someone out of a difficult situation and as a
reward God eased your pain and saved your loved one. So, your prayers and your
good deeds also affect your destiny.
In a nut shell, the fact that
everything has been pre-destined does not remove from us the responsibility and
accountability of our own actions. It rather makes us understand that we must
carry out all our actions with responsibility and should make complete effort
from our end in all the matters. But if we do not get the desired results even
after putting in effort and carrying out all our actions with responsibility then
there lies God’s wisdom behind it and it is better for us in the long run not
to have what we want.
Following are few really insightful
quotes about divine decree:
Tuesday, 20 September 2016
Prayer of Prophet Ayub/Job (peace be upon him)
An extract from Tafsir Ibn-e-Kathir, Surah Al-Anbiya (Chapter no.21 of Al-Quran):
Allah tells us about Ayyub (Job), and the trials that struck him, affecting his wealth, children and physical health. He had plenty of livestock, cattle and crops, many children and beautiful houses, and he was tested in these things, losing every thing he had. Then he was tested with regard to his body, and he was left alone on the edge of the city and there was no one who treated him with compassion apart from his wife, who took care of him. It was said that it reached the stage where she was in need, so she started to serve people (to earn money) for his sake. The Prophet said:
"The people who are tested the most severely are the Prophets, then the righteous, then the
next best and the next best."
According to another Hadith:
"A man will be tested according to his level of religious commitment ; the stronger his religious
commitment , the more severe will be his test."
The Prophet of Allah, Ayyub, upon him be peace, had the utmost patience, and he is the best example of that. Yazid bin Maysarah said:
"When Allah tested Ayyub, upon him be peace, with the loss of his family, wealth and children,
and he had nothing left, he started to focus upon the remembrance of Allah, and he said: 'I
praise You, the Lord of lords, Who bestowed His kindness upon me and gave me wealth and
children, and there was no corner of my heart that was not f illed with attachment to these
worldly things, then You took all of that away from me and You emptied my heart, and there is
nothing to stand between me and You. If my enemy Iblis knew of this, he would be jealous of
me. ' When Iblis heard of this, he became upset.
Tuesday, 13 September 2016
Ar-Rahman
Ar-Rahman. The
Most Merciful. I had been reading about this trait of Allah, using it in my
prayers and reciting it before starting any task in the form of ‘بسم الله
الرحمن الرحيم (Begin with the name of Allah, the most
merciful, the most gracious)’ ever since I came to my senses but I never actually pondered over it
until recently. This trait makes our Lord most merciful of the merciful which
means that if we combine the mercy possessed by all the merciful beings on the
face of earth even that will not be comparable with the mercy of Allah.
“Allah divided Mercy
into one-hundred parts and kept ninety-nine parts of it with Him and sent down
one part on earth. And because of that, its one single part, His creations are
Merciful to each other, so that even the mare lifts up its hoofs away from its
baby animal, lest it should trample on it.” [Sahih Bukhari]
This trait of
Allah has been emphasized again and again by Allah Himself in the Quran. This is the very trait that got to be a part of
the most frequently recited sentence ‘بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
(Begin with the name of Allah, the most merciful, the most gracious)’. This is the trait that precedes
other ninety eight traits of Allah when we read the names and attributes of
Allah. Moreover, we come to know by Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) that
Allah declares that His mercy prevails His wrath.
“When Allah decreed
the creation, he wrote in his book with him on his throne: My mercy prevails
over my wrath.” [Sahih Muslim]
These are the
few points that can help us internalize the importance of this trait of Allah
and that how much this trait has been emphasized by Allah Himself and by Prophet
Mohammad (peace be upon him). But this is all about reading and studying about
this attribute of Allah. We see but overlook countless examples of Allah’s
mercy in our day to day lives. With the exception of very few, most of us are extremely
disobedient and ungrateful to Allah but despite that fact He does not punish us
for our disobedience and ungratefulness right away. He gives us lots of
leverage. He overlooks many of our mistakes, those we make knowingly and those
we make unknowingly. Despite the fact that He is our master and we are merely
His slaves and that He owes us nothing and we owe Him absolutely everything, He
waits for us to turn to Him and repent. He literally looks forward to us
to turn to Him so that He can forgive us. When we turn back to Him He reaches
out for us without the delay of even a fraction of second. No matter at what
point in time you turn to Him, His door is always open for you. If you walk
towards Him, He will come running towards you.
“Allah, the Exalted and
Glorious, said: I live in the thought of My servant and I am with him as he
remembers Me. (The Holy Prophet) further said: By Allah, Allah is more pleased
with the repentance of His servant than what one of you would do on finding the
lost camel in the waterless desert. When he draws near Me by the span of his
hand. I draw near him by the length of a cubit and when he draws near Me by the
length of a cubit. I draw near him by the length of a fathom and when he draws
near Me walking I draw close to him hurriedly.” [Sahih Muslim]
If somebody
hurts us, breaks our heart or disappoints us then are we usually willing to give
them a second chance? If we truly love them even then after a couple of chances
we will surely give up on them if they keep making the same mistake again and
again because we cannot stand being turned down or being hurt again and again.
But look at Allah’s mercy, see how much He loves you that no matter how many
times you mess up, fail and disappoint Him He will never run out of second
chances for you! That is Allah, Ar-Rahman! He never gives up on His constantly
and consistently failing and disobedient slaves.
“Allah, Blessed and
Exalted is He, says, ‘O son of Adam, as long as you call on Me, I shall forgive
you of what you have done, and think nothing of it. O son of Adam, even if your
sins were to reach up to the clouds in the sky, and then you were to ask for My
forgiveness, I would forgive you and think nothing of it. O son of Adam, even
if you were to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth, and then you
were to meet Me after death, not worshipping anything besides Me, I would bring
you forgiveness nearly as great as the earth.’” [Tirmidhi]
“Whoever repents after his crime and does
righteous good deeds (by obeying Allah), then verily, Allah will pardon him.
Verily, Allah is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful."[Al-Quran 5:39]
Despite the
fact that He owes us nothing yet showers us with countless blessings, we take
many of His blessings and gifts for granted. We constantly and consistently
disobey Him, disappoint Him, keep whining and complaining and are ungrateful to Him. In
addition to that, despite His countless favors and boundless mercy we do not
bother to even take out some time for Him, to remember Him, talk to Him and
connect with Him. Despite of all this, He never leaves us on our own. He still
provides for us, looks after us and takes care of us even while we are
in the state of disobedience! While
we are in the middle of disappointing Him! Not only that He fulfils our needs
but He also showers us with countless blessings and gifts when He is our master.
But He is not an ordinary master. He is not an ordinary rabb. He is
rabb-e-kareem (extremely generous master)!
Wednesday, 10 August 2016
Let Go, Let God (a poem very close to my heart)
I brought my broken dreams to God,
because He was my friend.
But then, instead of leaving Him at peace to work alone,
I hung around, and tried to help
with ways that were my own.
At last I snatched them back and cried,
"How can you be so slow?"
"My child, "He said, " what could I do? You never did let go."
Monday, 8 August 2016
Feeling Empty
I often heard people saying it, writing and singing songs
about it and talking about it but I never actually knew what it actually meant,
until recently, when I experienced this empty feeling myself. Now I kind of know what
these people meant when they said they felt empty. But the thing is, even after
experiencing this feeling I still cannot explain it or put it into words. I think
it’s the absence of emotions in the heart, like nothing makes you feel happy or
excited or sad or depressed or fearful anymore. Everything that was previously
charming has lost its charm. You don’t have anything to look forward to
anymore. Or maybe, it means that the one experiencing empty feeling has become
numb to all these feelings. Perhaps the person has become so hopeless that he
cannot find happiness or excitement in anything and has become so immune to
pain and distress that these feelings don’t affect the person anymore. Or
perhaps it means something else. Whatever the explanation of this might be, I am
quite certain of one thing, at least for now, that emptiness is a kind of
confusing feeling but it is better than depression : )
Tuesday, 26 July 2016
The One Pulling the Strings
تو تو پاک رب دا بانکا
بچہ راج دلارا تو ہی
پاک رب دا بانکا بچہ اسکا
پیارا تو ہی
مالک نے جو چنتا دی تو
دور کرے گا وہ ہی
(Translation: You are the
fearless kid of holy Lord, [His] dear kid is just you
The fearless kid of holy Lord, His beloved is just you
The worry Master has given You, He will remove it Himself)
The fearless kid of holy Lord, His beloved is just you
The worry Master has given You, He will remove it Himself)
Saturday, 23 July 2016
The Supreme Power is on Lookout for You
You may dislike something that is good for you and you may like something that is bad for you. In other words, your knowledge of what's good for you and what's bad for you is very limited. On the other hand, Allah has complete knowledge of absolutely everything. He is all wise and the best of all planners. Above all, He loves you more than seventy mothers altogether! He wants nothing short of what's best for you. Therefore, He is always on lookout for you. He monitors your each step and if He sees that you are moving towards your own destruction thinking that it’s what you need or it's what can make you happy, He creates obstacles in your path, He stops you from walking towards your destruction. He protects you. You are too busy crying over what you cannot have or what you have lost that you are unable to see Allah’s wisdom behind it and of course we cannot comprehend Allah’s wisdom because we are too short sighted for that. But we can learn to be patient and trust Allah’s plan for us. We can bear in mind that whatever Allah does is in our best interest even if we are unable to understand His plan at times. Imagine the supreme power is on lookout for you! Cares about you like nobody else! How can anything possibly go wrong! If you look back at your life, you will realize that every missed opportunity and every loss was a blessing in itself. In one way or another it saved you or aided you. And remember Allah never takes away anything without giving something better in return J
مولا تیرا مالی او ہریالی جنگل والی
تو دے ہر گالی پہ تالی اسکی قدم قدم رکہوالی
اےوی لوک لاج کی سوچ سوج کے کیو ہے افت ڈالی
تو لے نام رب دا نام ساءین دا
(Translation: Master
(God) is your gardener (caretaker), O greenery of the jungle!
You clap on
every swearing (trouble), His protection (with you) at each step
Why have you created chaos by thinking about the worldly affairs?
You call the name of the
Lord, the name of the one whose shade is on you)
Wednesday, 20 July 2016
Blessings in Disguise
When we are going through a hard time we can get carried away
and lose hope very easily and it becomes very difficult for us to recognize the
blessings hidden in it. During the times of hardship and ease alike, we must bear one thing in mind:
Without difficulties
and pain our growth is impossible
Let’s consider a very
common example. Suppose your dream is to become an artist or a psychologist or
an IT expert or whatever you like. In order to educate yourself in your field
of interest and to become skillful in it you get admission in a college or
school or any other educational institution. There if you are taught only the
easiest lessons as a part of your curriculum then would you expect yourself to become an expert in that field after qualifying from that institution? Of course not, because without
challenges and difficulties it’s impossible to learn and grow. Similarly, when we are faced with hardships in our
lives, dealing with those helps in our emotional and mental growth. It’s bound
to make us stronger and smarter.
Let’s consider another
example, when a product is manufactured it is tested and the more difficult
tests it passes the more worthy it becomes. For instance, when a car is
manufactured, it is made to undergo really harsh conditions. It is driven on
bumpy and un-even roads, through water and is made to perform under
many similar tough conditions. As a result, the more obstacles it’s able to
cross and still perform the more worthy it becomes. Moreover, the more severe
the conditions were the more tolerant the car is declared and eventually becomes
even more worthy. In the same way, we are tested under tough conditions so that
when we bear them with patience and don’t break down, the more worthy we become
in the eyes of Allah. After all, He gives the hardest battles to His strongest
soldiers. That’s the reason why prophets were the people who were faced
with the most difficult situations and hardships in the history. If Allah knew
you were not capable of dealing with the hardships you are being put through, He
wouldn’t have given those to you in the first place. How can He put you in a
situation under which you are bound to break down when He loves you more than
seventy mothers altogether. The only reason you are faced with the kind of
difficulty you are going through is because you are capable of dealing with it
and the one who created you knows it well.
‘لا يكلف الله نفسا الا وسعها'
(Translation: Allah does not burden a soul except [with that within] its capacity)
~Al-Quran [2:286]
(Translation: Allah does not burden a soul except [with that within] its capacity)
~Al-Quran [2:286]
Tuesday, 19 July 2016
Imperfect Life
We all know that this life is not perfect. This world is not
perfect. It’s neither perfectly bad nor perfectly good. If it was perfectly bad
then it would have been hell instead. If it was perfectly good then it would
have been paradise instead. This world
is neither of them. This world is our examination hall. The purpose of this
life is to test us. We are tested through hardship and ease, through sadness
and happiness, through pain and peace. The purpose of hard times is to test how
patient we are and the purpose of good times is to test how grateful we are.
Embrace Suffering
Heartbroken, depressed, stressed, anxious, frustrated, worried; these are the emotional states that at one point or another we have all experienced in our lives, or may be are still experiencing and will definitely have to deal with in the future as these are inevitable for us as long as we don’t part ways with our lives. The severity and intensity of such a feeling varies from time to time and situation to situation. Sometimes the blow is huge and the pain caused by such a feeling is constant and it just completely refuses to leave you. It can be devastating, unbearable and can leave you completely shattered. You don’t know where to go, where to run, how to run away from yourself, how to escape this state which is causing you constant and intense pain. Other times the blow is comparatively lighter and causes pangs of pain every now and then. One moment it goes away. Next moment it comes back. The intensity of pain keeps fluctuating. Sometimes the pain and suffering simply refuse to leave you for what seems like eternity. Other times it fades away after striking few blows. But with the passage of time you gradually become immune to that particular pain. The intensity that you felt at the first blow was definitely greater than the current intensity. This means that the intensity of pain declines. Sometimes the rate of decline is so negligible that we don’t even realize that it’s declining. But it always declines. It’s bound to decline and eventually disappear. This is the rule of this universe. Nothing lasts forever; let it be happiness or grief.
یہ ممکن نہی کے شب الم کی سحر نہ ہو
'وہ کہتا ہے 'ان مع العسر یسرا
(Translation: It's not possible that the night of grief is not followed by the dawn
He says, 'Verily, after every hardship comes ease')
Suffering is the inevitable reality of life and there is no
escape from it. But only if you can learn to embrace it you shall be able to go
through such periods of difficulty with much ease. Now the question is, how can
I do that? How can I possibly embrace such negative feelings?
The secret lies in the recognition of two facts:
1) This life is not perfect and
thus suffering is a part of it. It's inevitable.
God turns you from one feeling to another and teaches you by means of opposites, so that you will have two wings to fly. Not one.
~Rumi
2) Allah has the best plan for
you
Every experience Allah gives you, every person He
puts in our lives is the perfect preparation for the future only He can see.
~Dr Bilal Philips
Tuesday, 22 March 2016
Compassion for Animals
Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of
compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its
beauty.
– Albert Einstein
In order to be compassionate towards animals you don’t
necessarily have to start animal welfare campaigns or open up an animal shelter
or take any other such big step. Although, these are some totally great things
to do and I really support and admire people who do so from the depth of my
heart and one day I want to be one of them. But in this blog I will only share
few simple ways to show compassion to animals around us and create a better
place for them.
1.
Don’t shoo the
strays away:
If a stray comes in your way then resist the urge to shoo
them away and go about your business. Ignoring or shooing away a cat or a dog that
comes to you is similar to ignoring or waving away the person who comes to you
to greet you in a warm way. If you just wink at them they will return the wink
quite affectionately ;)
2.
Look after strays:
We can see too many stray cats and dogs roaming around our residential areas, schools, colleges, universities and workplaces. Try to be kind to them. Put bowl(s) of water for them at places where they are likely to come and sit, specifically during summers. Try to feed them every now and then even if it’s a handful of meal. During summers, designate a small cozy space outside your house, in your garden, in your backyard, in your garage, at your school, college, university or workplace for them to rest. Cover that space up with some shade to keep it cozy or put a carton box there for them. During winters, make it cozy by putting a cushion or blanket or anything warm there so that they can sleep on it and keep warm. If there is a spot where birds come and sit often then keep some water, millet or shreds of roti there for them. If a stray cat, dog, bird or any uninvited friend from other specie accidentally invades your residence or workplace then instead of scaring them away you can kindly show them the way out. They are more willing to go out than you are to make them go. Trust me! :)
3.
Drive carefully:
Everyday so many stray animals become victims of road
accidents. While driving, specifically look out for animals so that you won’t
run over them or hit them. Before getting in your car take a look and make sure
that there is no stray around your car. After starting your car wait for a
while before starting the ride, so that if there is some stray around your car
it will move away by the sound and heat of engine. While reversing your car not
only check the rear view mirror but also take your head outside the window and
make sure there is no stray at the backside.
4.
Get medical help for
the injured animals:
If you accidentally hurt an animal by hitting them by your car
for instance or if you see some injured or sick animal lying around then don’t
overlook. That’s totally inhumane. Get them medical help immediately. If you
are a Karachiite like me then following is the list of veterinary clinics
available in Karachi where you can take them or you can also contact Ayesha
Chundrigur Foundation. These guys are doing a great job and they come up at the
spot where the animal needs help. You can also ask them for instructions about
what you can do until they arrive. You just have to give them a call.
C5E Nishat, 2 Khayaban-e-Nishat, Karachi
(021) 35851296
Shop No.22, Royal Appartment K.D.A. Scheme No.1 Mudassir Park Road, Karachi(021) 34521859
Plot No 4-C, 14th St, Khadda Market, DHA 5, Karachi
(021) 35852988
RC Veterinary
MA Jinnah Road, Saddar Town, Karachi
(021) 32743224
(021) 35851296
Shop No.22, Royal Appartment K.D.A. Scheme No.1 Mudassir Park Road, Karachi(021) 34521859
Plot No 4-C, 14th St, Khadda Market, DHA 5, Karachi
(021) 35852988
RC Veterinary
MA Jinnah Road, Saddar Town, Karachi
(021) 32743224
5.
Say NO to animal
cruelty:
If you see animal(s) being mistreated or being subjected to
cruel behavior then speak up. Try to create awareness among your friends,
family and neighbors about animal cruelty and their welfare. Try to make them
realize that they are living beings just like us and can feel pain just like we
do. We can see so many donkey cart owners around us treating donkeys so badly
and beating them up, overburdening them and then forcing them to run under the
scorching sun. If you see such a thing happening around you then stop by and
tell them to go easy on the poor creature. You don’t necessarily have to nag
them, just tell them kindly. Most probably, they won’t pay heed but it’s always
worth a shot. Or you can tell them that you are not going to buy from them
because they are being cruel to the donkey. If you see someone throwing stones
at a dog or a cat or scaring them due to no good reason then stop by and tell
them to stop doing so and let the poor creatures be. Do not watch the
entertainment shows in which animals are used whether it is a monkey show by
the roadside or a well-organized, high budget dolphin show. Poor creatures are
forced to do tricks that are totally against their nature and are tortured
badly in the process. Do not participate in hunting or animal fights that take
place in the name of sport and entertainment. Instead, speak up against these. Teach
your children, family and friends that this is not entertainment but sheer
cruelty. Make people realize that agonizing or killing a living being is not
sport or entertainment at all. Do not go to zoos or circuses. Teach your
children that wild animals are not meant to live in captivity like this. They
should be set free in the wild which is their home. Where they can live the
lives they have been created to live. During baqra eid season, do not at all
participate in the cruel animal races that people do for so-called fun.
Instead, speak up against it. It’s another debate that animals are slaughtered at
this occasion but at least tell the people around you that you are supposed to
take good care of these animals and look after them during the whole time they
are with you, not to abuse them or use them for entertainment or show off. Do
not urge the authorities for dog killings in your locality. It is completely
inhumane to take away an innocent life without any justified reason. And the
reason that they are causing you trouble is not a good enough reason to kill
them. They are not doing it on purpose. In fact, they don’t even know that they
are doing it. Instead, speak up against it. If they are causing you trouble
then there are other humane ways to control that. Study about those ways and
share this information with the people in your neighborhood. Please visit the
following link to see this information.
Stop Killing our Dogs
Stop Killing our Dogs
You can also contribute in preventing cruelty against our
voiceless fellows by boycotting products that are obtained via cruelty to them
like fur or leather. Do not use products that are animal tested. Do not rent
horses or horse carts for weddings or rallies etc as they are heavily drugged
to stay calm in the crowd and all the noise. Since these graceful creatures are
not meant to live among such loud noises and crowd so you cannot blame them if
they get out of control and cause you harm due to any reason.
6.
Do not buy, only
adopt:
If you are planning to keep an animal at home then do not
purchase, only adopt. Do not purchase an animal whether it’s a precious breed
dog from a posh family or a fine breed cat from a pet store or a chick that a
guy on bicycle is selling with a cage at the rear of the vehicle containing poor
babies that have been snatched away from their mothers moments after their
birth. Do not promote the buying and selling business of animals as they are
not commodities rather they are living beings with actual feelings and have the
right of freedom. Do not take them as a pet that you own rather treat them as a
new family member and you will have at least have one family member who loves
you unconditionally for sure ;)
But if you are
planning to keep them chained or caged then please immediately drop the idea of
adopting a pet. They are not a decoration piece for your home. They are not
meant to live this way. They have the right to live freely. One thing that you
must bear in mind before adopting a pet is that it’s a life time commitment. You
cannot just throw them away after a while because you are fed up or because you
realize later on that it was not a good idea in the first place. If you face
any issues after you have adopted a pet like allergies or something then take
the responsibility of finding a good home for them and do not just try to get
rid of them right away. If you cannot keep them then keep them at a shelter or
a foster home until you find a permanent home for them.
7.
Teach your children:
Children are naturally interested in and
compassionate for animals. When they see that the society in which they grow up
handles them with cruelty and treats them as scum they learn and adopt the same
behavior eventually. Various researches show that kids who ill-treat the
animals are more likely to develop violence in their core nature. Cruelty
to animals is considered as one of the three symptoms that predict the
development of a psychopath and it is included as a criterion for a conduct
disorder in children by the American Psychiatric Association. Teaching your children compassion for all kinds of
living beings will eventually make them kind and gender and they will be more
empathetic towards all beings.
You are the one who will have to set example
for your children. Do not shout at animals or curse them. Do not treat them as
scum. Respect them and value their lives. If your child mistreats an animal in
front of you then tell them that it is unethical and that they too feel pain
like us. Appreciate your kids if they show kindness towards an animal. If you
have animal companions at your home then teach your child to be kind to them,
look after them and feed them. This will also develop sense of responsibility
in them.
8.
Make donations for
animal welfare:
Try to make donations to animal welfare programs even if it
is a single penny it can make some difference. Following is the list of welfare
programs that are currently, actively working for animal welfare in Pakistan. Visit
their websites/social media pages and get to know more about them and the work
they do.
ACAP:
PAWS:
ACF:
Broke Hospital for Animals: