While every nation of the world is discussing content and food issues, I want to share a brief story from my day. While US Congress and Burhanuddin Rabbani, Sayaf and Fahim, Dr. Abdullah and likewise other people were fighting over bombing rates against the people of Afghanistan and especially on the inheritors of Prophet SAW, this was a difficult year for many Afghan families.
On the night of 24th December after my brother narrated a story from our neighboring area which was just hit by US B52 in Qandahar, I stopped at the main NY Post Office (33rd & 8th), headquarters to the USPS "Operation Santa Claus" program. I turned to a newsstand and took a copy of 'New York Times'. While a person was having the newspaper talking to his wife as she was busy in choosing gifts for Christmas, Abruptly, I heard a person face him and say, ‘yeah, we are the righteous of all the nations, we don’t bombard the poor Afghans but it’s their leaders who are demanding an intensified bombing campaign, their people who are under the control of terrorists. And you know our brave pilots, we are from grand canyon, hahaha, cheerup, and this Christmas would be very different for Americans.’I'm not one to easily show my emotions, but I hear stories one after another, with tears running down my face. Here is a story I chose from my brother’s phone calls.
Fathima, age 6, who lives with her father and her mom, and with 2 sisters and a brother in the Qandahar City, likes playing with friends her own age in the fields around her house. Her father works long hours to buy food for the family. Fathima, on the third day of American bombing of Qandahar city told her father to take her to Allah and she would tell Him to remove Americans from this peaceful world and destroy their airplanes, and if the father did not take her to Allah then the father was to let her go out to the deserts to pray to Allah Almighty.
11-year-old Ahmad also asks for Shahadat (martyrdom) and says to let him go out of the home to fight the invaders when they land.
The father was unable to give an answer so he finally asked the mother to satisfy them. “You are too young for fighting filthy invaders, Ahmad! And you should wait until you get older; the age for fighting is at least 16,” the mother advised her son.
“And you Fathima, notify your demands from Allah to your father to pen it down and then he would send it to Allah’s house; Kaba e Shareef. And of course Allah will extend His Wrath over all the disbelievers.” They both got satisfied and Fathima ran and took a piece of paper with a half broken pen to her father and told her father to write; “Me, Fathima and all children of Muslims of Afghanistan are under attack of invaders, their airplanes are coming from their far away country to our land and are bombing us, they are not only the enemies of our country and our lives but also the enemies of your religion Islam, they came to remove the real Islamic Emirate from Afghanistan. And moreover, they kill the children who can neither do any good nor harm to anyone. O my Allah! Send your extreme wrath over them and over all their supporters whether they are Afghan or any others. We hate Americans and their followers, kill them all.”
After finishing the letter the father and Ahmad went to a Masjid to perform Isha (night) prayers, and a bomb hit Fathima’s house and all members of the family except Ahmad and his father were martyred. The father says that Fathima whispered into his ear in her last breath, “Don’t send the letter now, I am meeting Allah very soon and I will tell all that we are facing in our country”.
Here's the letter from Fathima in its entirety:
Written by: Waheedullah
Pakistan Cyber Force
Here is an extremely fascinating review of the masterpiece by Zaid Hamid Sahab:
What is the impact of a book that is written by
a Mujahid who not only happens to be a brilliant orator, writer,
defence and security analyst but also photographed almost all of the
rare and historical pictures in the book? I am, of course, referring to
the phenomenal memoirs of Syed Zaid Zaman Hamid which relate his
experiences in the Afghan jihad during and after the Soviet invasion.
Never have I read such a genuine tale of courage, passion and the power
of belief. One is spell-bound from the beginning to the end and is
tempted to finish the book in one go. Though one cannot live the
vibrating life of Jihad as lived by the author, one feels as if one is
experiencing the Afghan resistance first-hand. My knowledge about
Afghanistan and its affairs was limited and there was naivety about it.
For most of the Pakistanis as well, ‘Afghanistan’ is a word which is
remote and irrelevant and they question, ‘Why Afghan Jihad?’ ‘What is
its relevance for Pakistanis in the current scenario?’ These questions
are answered very well and it is obvious that with time, people will
regard it as the most important and relevant book on the history of the
Afghan jihad and what it meant for the whole of Asia.
It is our
history told by an extra-ordinary man; for it is extra-ordinary indeed
to think about saving nations. This man, unlike any other ordinary man,
was NOT thinking about his job or family or buying properties. He was
not making a career out in the war-ravaged gorges of Afghanistan. This
is exactly what gives him an edge on any other writer or analyst. This
puts him in a unique place where he has a bird’s eye view of the Af-Pak
region and is in a place to give excellent advice about the current
geopolitical scenario to the concerned policy makers. This is not just a
tale of war time; it is the blood and sweat of a Mujahid, a holy
warrior, which speaks to us through this book. This is our history where
a man is on a mission to fight the invaders and oppressors of his
brothers in faith. The sincerity of his purpose and the intensity of his
passion throughout enthral the reader. Where in the world can we find
another man who was in the thick of things during Afghan jihad and also
wrote about it? Add to that the special status he was bestowed by Allah
where he performed the utmost important role of communication between
the leadership of Afghan resistance and Pakistani government during
Afghan Jihad, and you have a multi-faceted visionary.
قہاری و غفاری و قدوسی و جبروت
یہ چار عناصر ہوں تو بنتا ہے مسلمان
The narrative has a great sense of humour as well and it makes you
smile despite the grave situations faced by the protagonist. While
talking about the harsh conditions in the tents of Mujahideen, he says:
Heat was unbearable and mosquitoes were more hated in the camp than the Soviet jets.
[Pg 209]
In a very interesting way, the author mentions how the local villagers
utilized the empty cartridge cases that were left after each air raid:
‘When we were fed up of beans and rice, we would pray for a bomber to
come and later when the attack subsided, we would have our supply of
fresh dairy products. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement between
us and the villagers and the Soviets made sure that we continued to have
our delicacies.’ [Pg 155]
One also enjoys the comical
situation, albeit grave, when the author, at the end of the narrative
returns from Kabul to Peshawar in a shabby Soviet-built transport plane.
The character of the pilot makes you laugh out aloud.
It also
has a very human touch; the mention of little treats in life like Kabuli
pulao and Sheer Yakh tell us that he is a human being just like any of
us. The only difference is his iron will with which he conquered his
inner demons and the special protection which Providence provided him.
It is indeed a noteworthy phenomenon throughout the book and confirms
the view that Death itself is the biggest protector of life. The author
has so many hair-breadth escapes in this adventurous and perilous life
that they seem nothing short of miraculous. This book tells us that we
don’t need a superman or an ironman to fight a war; a young man with
passion and ability to transcend human weaknesses can do it better. A
man just needs to believe in his Creator and in himself. This universal
truth is beautifully explained in these lines by the author:
Courage is not the absence of fear; it is the ability to overcome that fear with grace and dignity. [Pg. 105]
Feeling fear is natural, succumbing to it is cowardice and overcoming it is courage. [Pg. 106]
The lines that I loved the most in the book are:
It’s good to die for a cause but it’s even greater to live for it.’ [Pg 73]
Another aspect of the narrative is the compassion and pain the author
feels for the helpless Afghani widows and orphans and is palpable
throughout the memoirs. From the article written in Pakistani newspaper
to spread awareness about the deathly minefields spread all over
Afghanistan to the efforts of clearing Ahmad Shah Masood’s image in
Pakistan, we see him do it all. There is nothing to which his sensitive
soul has not given a thought. I also feel honoured to know about brave
men like Koochi Khan, Brayaley, Daud and the Russian mujahid, Abdullah
Roosi, to name a few. The world would never have known about these
unsung heroes if they had not been made part of history through these
magnificent memoirs.
Pictures also contribute profoundly to the
narrative of this splendid book and I am at a loss of words to describe
this treasure trove. They add tremendously to the worth of the already
poignant memoirs. The readers are rewarded with the extremely rare and
significant historic pictures. Who would have known about or seen the
remotest of places in Afghanistan and beyond, especially the
awe-inspiring River Oxus? In particular, the view of Hazar Sumuch, a
medieval Uzbek village, from mountain top was simply breath-taking.
I would definitely recommend this book to everyone, especially to those
in Pakistan who are in any position to affect the world around. All
over the world too, this would prove to be a treasure for the scholars
of history and international affairs. Then there is the spiritual aspect
to the book which I think is the most important one. In that respect,
this book should be read by each and every person in the world. After
all, what is more important than learning to be at peace with your God
and having an irrevocable relation with Him? A man, who can teach us
this, is a great man indeed. This is a book by a man with a vision
backed with rock-hard experience. To ignore it would be foolhardiness of
colossal proportions. This man of God reminds me of Iqbal’s verses:
حادثہ وہ جو ابھی پردہ افلاک ميں ہے
عکس اس کا مرے آئينہ ادراک ميں ہے
کيا عجب ميری نوا ہائے سحر گاہی سے
زندہ ہو جائے وہ آتش کہ تری خاک ميں ہے
[As captured in a mirror,
Are glimpses in my mind,
Of events that are folded still
In the scroll of time.
One day, the warmth of my sighs,
Like a Promethean spark,
Will inflame the fire of thy soul,
Now dormant in thy dust.]
May we all benefit from the golden words of this man who is a God-send for the Ummah. Ameen.
Xharaf Vsm
Pakistan Cyber Force
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