Arrogance, Ego & Other Drugs!

First thing first, How do I deal with arrogant people? Just like everyone (including arrogant people) I always felt awkward and stressed while dealing with arrogant people but then I came up with a brilliant idea and you can use it too!
Whenever I have to/had to deal with an arrogant person, I just visualize him/her sitting in a bathroom with an explosive case of diarrhea and after that, the arrogant and rude person turns into very, very ordinary and miserable person. Now you can ask why I use diarrhea specifically? It is because arrogance just like diarrhea, happens when someone is given more than what they can handle, resulting in emotional imbalance and explosion. Like they say in Urdu: khaali bartan zayada aawaz daita hai or empty pot makes more noise, which is most certainly true for the arrogant ones.
Arrogance and ego are the hardest of the challenges faced by us in this life and overcoming these two diseases of heart and soul can be the defining moments in a person’s life. Since the beginning of time, all those who were enslaved by the two evil siblings(arrogance & ego), were eventually destroyed as their hearts and souls were consumed by the darkness that accompanies arrogance, ego and other drugs.
Even the story of mankind starts with a discovery of a problem hidden deep in the heart of a being made of fire named Iblees, the one who’s level of knowledge and understanding was such that he was elevated to the heavens to teach the angels. The one who out of his arrogance and ego, couldn’t bow in front of someone made of clay. He is the one whose arrogance and ego consumed him and in just a moment, his status changed from the best, to the worst of them all. Yes, just like all defining moments since the beginning of time when a moment defines and sets direction for thousands of years, for iblees too it only took a moment to bring the hidden illness out in the open, the illness of arrogance and ego. And that was the moment when the arrogant one decided to be the eternal enemy of Adam and his children and started to plot, plan and whisper in their ears. He eventually succeeded in misguiding/making Adam and Eve taste the forbidden fruit resulting in a punishment by banishment to the blue planet, we now call home. After the punishment, Adam and Eve were ashamed and did something Satan couldn’t do because of the disease in his heart; Yes, they accepted their mistake, their poor judgment, their sin and asked for forgiveness with pure hearts, conviction and sincerity. They were able to accept their weakness because their hearts were pure; their hearts were pure because unlike satan, they was free of arrogance and ego. And by the way this repentance, sense of shame and humbleness were exactly the characteristics that made the one made of clay better than the one made of fire.
Just like the first evil committed in the heavens was arrogance, story of the blue planet isn’t different either, where arrogance and ego of Kane consumed him resulting in the first murder in the human history. No logic, no argument and no advice of Adam A.S helped Kane and he still murdered his brother because the darkness of arrogance blurred his judgement and vision. And when your judgement is blurred, right starts to look wrong, light turns into darkness, truth is eaten up by lies and slowly but surely, everything you do becomes the ultimate truth, brightest light and one and only solution or opinion.
Our history is full of arrogant people and arrogant nations who paid dearly because of this evil. Arrogance of Cleopatra ends with her loosing Egypt, love of Mark Anthony and eventually her own life. Hitler arrogantly under estimating Russia in Operation Barbarossa is known to all and who can forget Bonaparte and the blunders of Waterloo. A mosquito was all it took to bring Nimrod and his arrogance back to earth. Henry the VIII had to “create” a whole new religion just to have some so called legitimate “fun time” with poor Ann. Arrogance of Russia in Afghanistan and Americans following their footsteps is not so much ancient history either.
All the signs and warnings were not able to break the spell of arrogance over (the self proclaimed god) the Pharaoh of Egypt until he saw the destroyer of all happiness when he was drowning, but it was too late. Allah says in Quran: He cried, “I accept faith that there is no True God except the One in Whom the Descendants of Israel believe, and I am a Muslim. (Quran 10:90)
And then there is a story of the wealthy Israelite named Karoon who had so much wealth that the keys of his treasures were carried by hundreds of camels and was destroyed because of his arrogance. Allah talks about his arrogant behaviour and his claims as follows: He said: “What I have been given is due to knowledge I possess.” (Quran 28:78)
It was the arrogance of another man whose knowledge and intelligence couldn’t help him against the fire of ego and arrogance and eventually took him to the depths of hellfire. It was the same man who was famous for his knowledge, understanding, intelligence and skills in Arabia and beyond. It was because of his amazing personality and charisma, that he was famous by the name of Abul- Hakam or father of knowledge. But when father of all knowledge was blinded by tribal arrogance and ego, he was renamed to Abu Janl or father of ignorance. It was because of his strong personality that prophet Mohammad S.A.W asked Allah for his guidance (He asked for any one of the two i.e. Omar bin alKhattab or Omar bin alHissham).
You can judge the level of his evil genius from the fact that when all the chieftains of Makkah were planning to kill prophet Muhammad S.A.W, satan was there too (in the form of a man). When everyone started giving their ideas of murdering the prophet, satan also shared his ideas, thoughts and plans with them. But you may be surprised to know that it was Abu Jahl who came up with the best plan; the plan which satin couldn’t come up with, the plan which impressed and amazed all the chieftains including satin, yes… the perfect and foolproof plan!
Just like the bright shining sun cannot help someone without light in his eyes, same is true for Abu Jahl and you can judge that in the event described below.
Once Mughira, who was one of the chieftains of Quraish asked Abu Jahl if he admitted prophet Mohammed’s prophet hood. He replied, “I know that he is truly a prophet. Nevertheless, we compete with the Banu Hashim (prophet’s tribe) in everything. They have the honor of providing food and water to the pilgrims. Now if they also get the honor of prophet hood, I won’t be able to endure it at all!”
One the day of the battle of Badr, Abdullah ibn Masud saw Abu Jahl taking his last breaths, his whole body was buried under steel, and he had his sword in his hand. He was unable to move any part of his body because of the severity of his wounds. Abdullah ibn Masud mounted his chest to check his condition and even at that time, Abu Jahl said arrogantly to Abdullah R.A, “Oh worthless shepherd, you have climbed upon a very strong and high mount”. And when Abdullah ibn Masud started to cut off his head with his blunt and cheap sword, Abu Jahl told him to use his sword instead because according to him, Abdullah ibn Masud’s cheap sword wasn’t good enough for his neck. Last but not least, when Abdullah ibn Masud was about to cut off his head, Abu Jahl told him that he is doing it incorrectly and he should cut off the neck closer to the body so that his head can look higher when placed with other casualties of the battle.
Quran is full of verses where Allah gives warnings to the mankind for example:
“Do not walk on the earth arrogantly, certainly you will never be able to tear the earth open, nor compete with the mountains in height.” (17:39)
“Do not turn your cheek away from the people in arrogance, and do not walk on the earth arrogantly; God does not love any arrogant and boastful person. Be modest in your walk, and lower your voice; surely the most hideous of voices is that of the ass.” (31:18-19)
Ali ibn Abi Talib R.A said, “I am surprised at man: his beginning is a sperm and his end is a corpse, and between his beginning and his end he is just a earner of waste, and still he is arrogant!”
So in short, the take home message is that just like all the beautiful, handsome, rich and powerful before us, we too will turn to dust one day. So we should learn from the history and understand that my super fast car and your huge mansion, my bank balance and your gold & silver, my degrees and your MDs, and my ego and your arrogance will only lead us to our destruction. Those who are arrogant because of their degrees, qualifications and knowledge should not forget Abu Jahl, those arrogant because of their power should learn from Nimrod, those who are arrogant because of their money and mansions should see what happened to the Pharaoh, and all those who feel pride in arrogantly showing off their gold, silver and diamonds should seek guidance from the story of Karoon. Secondly, we should also keep this thought and realization in back of out heads that, in the end, all we leave behind are our good deeds, what we did to help others and the way we positively and productively impacted the lives of people around us.
Iqbal talks about arrogance in his poem ‘Pahar aur gulhari’ or ‘A dialog between a mountain and a squirrel’ as follows (Urdu given below the English translation:

A mountain said this to a squirrel
Commit suicide if you have self respect
You are insignificant, still so arrogant, how strange is it!
You are neither wise, nor intelligent! not even shrewd!
It is strange when the insignificant pose as important!
When the stupid ones like you pose as intelligent!
You are no match in comparison with my splendour
Even the earth is low compared with my height and mightiness
The grandeur of mine does not fall to your lot
The poor animal cannot equal the great mountain!

On hearing this the squirrel said, Hold your tongue!
These are immature thoughts, expel them from your heart!
I do not care if I am not large like you!
You are not a pretty little thing like me either
Everything shows the Omnipotence of God
Some large, some small, is the Wisdom of God
He has created you large in the world
And He has taught me climbing large trees
You are unable to walk a single step
Only large size! What other greatness do you have?
If you are large show me some of the skills that I have
Show me how you break this beetle nut as I can
Nothing is useless in this world!
Nothing is bad in God’s creation!

Pahar aur gulheri

Koi Pahar Ye Kehta Tha Ek Gulehri Se
Tujhe Ho Sharam To Pani Mein Ja Ke Doob Maray
Zara Si Cheez Hai, Iss Pe Garoor, Kya Kehna
Ye Aqal Aur Ye Samajh, Ye Shaur, Kya Kehna!
Khuda Ki Shan Hai Na-Cheez, Cheez Ban Baithen
Jo Be-Shaur Hon, Yun Ba-Tameez Ban Baithen
Teri Bisat Hai Kya Meri Shan Ke Aagay
Zameen Hai Passt Meri Aan Baan Ke Aagay
Jo Baat Mujh Mein Hai, Tujh Ko Vo Naseeb Kahan
Bhala Pahar Kahan, Janwar Gareeb Kahan!

Kaha Ye Sun Ke Gulehri Ne, Munh Sambhal Zara
Ye Kachi Baatain Hain Dil Se Inhain Nikal Zara
Jo Mein Bari Nahin Teri Tarah To Kya Parwa
Nahin Hai Tu Bhi To Aakhir Meri Tarah Chotta
Her Aik Cheez Se Paida Khuda Ki Qudrat Hai
Koi Bara, Koi Chotta, Ye Uss Ki Hikmat Hai
Bara Jahan Mein Tujh Ko Bana Diya Uss Ne
Mujhe Darakht Pe Charhna Sikha Diya Uss Ne
Qadam Uthane Ki Takat Nahin Zara Tujh Mein
Niri Barai Hai, Khubi Hai Aur Kya Tujh Mein
Jo Tu Bara Hai To Mujh Sa Hunar Dikha Mujh Ko
Ye Chaliya Hi Zara Tor Ker Dikha Mujh Ko
Nahin Hai Cheez Nakami Koi Zamane Mein
Koi Bura Nahin Qudrat Ke Karkhane Mein

Sandy Hook Massacre: What can we learn from it!

What happened at Sandy Hook Elementary(SHE) was over the instant last victim took his/her last breath, but what we are left with now are ashes, lifeless bodies, lifelong grief and most importantly the lessons that can be learnt from this incident. First thing first, and I am not exaggerating (but I love to whine!) but the Muslims all over America were freaking out when they first heard the news about shooting at SHE, but the sigh of relief came when the media started identifying the suspect as a “gunman” and not a “terrorist”. Yes, just like the star of Bethlehem, this was sign enough! After the star of Bethlehem i.e. the clarification, Muslims in America who were more concerned about their own lives and the lives of their families, started showing their reaction and grief.{Whining ends here}
While expressing our pain and grief for the victims, we should not forget the social, psychological, mental, and medical reasons that result in such sad and painful events in the first place. Yes, the same “reasons” that are considered and discussed if and only if the suspect is different from the typical definition of a terrorist; Yes, yes! The same old definition –> Tall, dark and handsome!
[Tangent Time: BTW, unlike Mr. Lanza, two “terrorists” (some Qazi brothers) were arrested in NYC yesterday because they were allegedly plotting something and were engaged in suspicious (obviously terrorism in this case as nothing else is applicable) activities.]
It is really sad and ironic that the society never pays any attention to those labeled as loners, isolated, weird, and socially awkward when they are alive and when they are struggling to live like an ordinary person. But these “loners” suddenly become the talk of the town and all those who never cared about them and may be even bullied them, suddenly become interested in their lives and their story; yes this sudden interest blossoms when the shit hits the fan!!!
I can bet that Alex Israel “Mr. Lanza’s former classmate” may have hated to even look at him in school and when he was alive. But just like a typical opportunist, all it took was an interview opportunity with CNN and she was mystically and magically interested in sharing the “life and times of Adam Lanza” via Skype from Italy where she is for study abroad program for this semester and will be coming back next week which is this week because this week was next week, last week! She would have shared a lot more but unlike her, CNN was more interested in Mr. Lanza than her travel plans, bra size or other things she would have discussed if given the opportunity.
Imagine that!!! Seriously Israel, seriously? Godddddd!!!
I want to clear one thing here that I am not trying to justify the evil actions of Mr. Lanza or others like him. All I am trying to do here is to protect and speak out for all other children with special needs who had their plates full of challenges, long before this SHE fiasco, which obviously will pileup more “stuff” in their lives. Life of these kids is already extremely hard in schools and the epidemic of bulling is destroying not only these kids but also the “so called” normal (good looking, social butterfly, hunk) ones. Hence the actions of one person will effect the majority, which my friends is another norm in today’s society. Just because of the actions of one person, the societies and groups related to autism, asperger’s syndrome and other mental health illnesses have to explain themselves and that they are not danger to society. Yet again, what I fail to understand is that why a group of people is compelled to or have to explain their illness to society? These people never choose to be the way they are. Like my mother always says, “nobody goes to a market or out of their way to get an illness!” Last Tuesday, some kid in Maryland school was under investigation because his classmates reported him as a threat to them and the school and this my friends is just the beginning.
[Tangent Time: I was thinking last night that what media and people would have been discussing in a scenario where Adam was a son of a gun enthusiast mother and his father’s name was Mohammad Lanza. In this case, medical & mental history would have been thrown out of window and Nancy Lanza would have escalated from the list of victims to the list of suspects. So basically changing someone’s name can turn everything upside down, turning victims into suspects and mentally ill into terrorists. Magical isn’t it!]
Whatever all these evil men did(from Sandy Hook to Virginia Tech, from Oak Creek, Wisconsin to Aurora) can never be justified but there is nothing wrong in researching and learning from these men and their lives to protect the society from similar occurrences ever again. In my humble( this is a nice way to say that I am smarter than you so shut up and listen) opinion and I can say this with utmost certainty that there is nothing more dangerous than two kind of people i.e. someone without hope and someone who does not have anything to lose. In all these incidents of mass killing, we can see an element of hopelessness, isolation and loneliness. The only thing that keeps us (humans) alive is hope, and the only thing that keeps us sane is social interaction of some kind. It is really ironic and sad that everybody becomes suddenly interested about people like Lanza and their violent actions after they suddenly snap and act violently, but nobody pays attention to the reasons that lead to that sudden violence, no body cares about the long and painful story of their lives that was full of loneliness and pain with no hope. The fire of hopelessness and loneliness can have only two outcomes; if this fire turns into rage, it results in events like SHE, and if the fire turns into ashes, it results in a suicide. Cherry on top for the already difficult and troubled lives is the stigma of being weird, geek, loner, autistic, or having other mental illnesses if the word gets out. All my life, I have been close friends with loners, weirdos, etc. and yes these people are different but nice when you come to know them. They are more guarded and reserved because that is their defense mechanism which they learn from their daily life. If we consider social, psychological, mental, and medical variables of these people and their complex equation, they are not much different.
While mourning for the lives lost last Friday, we should not forget that around the world, there are kids just like the Sandy Hook 20, dying every day because of hunger and thirst in Africa, bullets and bombs in Syria, and  drones and missiles in Pakistan. Isn’t it ironic that we are surrounded by pain and death, TV and newspapers are reporting it everyday, but sadly we never pay attention until we are awaken by someone like Mr. Lanza. I don’t think anybody can truly understand the pain and lifelong trauma these victim families will have to go through now, but again we should not forget other parents of murdered sons and daughters around the world experiencing the same grief.
It is really comforting (at least for those who have no voice and representation) that pain and death doesn’t discriminates among race, color, social status or your coordinates on the world map. Pain of loosing someone is same for all and that is why this pain should join not only the parents of murdered kids but everyone else around the world in an effort to stop these atrocities.
This incident gives us an opportunity to relate to the pain and suffering of those parents who never got the same media attention, the parents who were not able to share the stories of their loved ones with the world, the parents who are also unaware of the reason behind the death of their sons and daughters, the parents who went through the same pain that the tiny American town is going through today. Not many people care but same pain was felt by the parents of 69 students (ages 7 to 17) in Chenegai, Pakistan when a school was targeted by an American drone on 30th October 2012. Same grief and distress was felt by the families of 319 children in December 2008 when Israel targeted U.N. operated school of al-Fakhura in Gaza. And who cares about Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, a 15 year old “American Citizen” who was droned in Yemen last year.
It is really ironic that the level of pain and grief in all these incidents was the same, but unlike Sandy Hook, for the children of Gaza, Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan, there were no vigils, no teddy bears, no candles, no cameras, and no tears.
I felt the same pain in March 2012 (which I am feeling for these 20 kids) when 9 kids were slaughtered in sleep by an American soldier in Kandahar, Afghanistan. But my pain was amplified when I saw the comments on CNN pertaining this incident. I am copying some of the comments here so that you can see what I am talking about.
Total Annihilation: We should shoot all 16 of them again just to make sure they drain properly.
Cameron Robb: Job market is growing. Inflation is steady. Consumer spending is up. 16 less Islamic terrorists to worry about. it’s a good start to the week.
Teriander2: Why the hell did he stop?  Did he run out of Ammunition?
jacee: He deserves a slap on the wrist, then a pat on the back lol.
someguyz: Same old stuff, he’ll get a medal and 2 days in jail.
Canadian: 16 CATS KILLED AND BURNED BY US SOLDIER probably would have caused more worldwide outrage.
(If you want more you can go to my Facebook notes!)
Same kind of comments can be seen over and over again, all over the internet whenever Muslims face similar kind of tragedy. Death should never be celebrated even if it is your enemy because that is not how Nobel and great people (and nations) act. But just like gold and silver, nobility, grandeur and greatness are rare commodities and almost nonexistent in masses, crowds and sheeple.
Last but not least, I don’t care about gun control, gun out of control, or no gun control, but I think using incidents like these to justify stricter gun control laws is like cutting off penises to prevent rape, blaming the spoon for obesity, bombing the hell out of people to stop terrorism, and impregnating nine women to get a baby in one month. Trust me, a toothpick in the hand of a mad man is more dangerous than an atomic bomb in the hands of a wise one. Those who want to kill the innocent will find both reasons and the resources. So instead of concentrating on improving the laws and reducing the guns, we have to work on improving the families, friendships and relationships. Instead of improving the gun laws, we have to work on improving the person behind the gun, we have to work on the reasons behind extreme hopelessness, loneliness, helplessness, racism and hatred i.e. the main causes behind the extreme and violent behaviour. We will have to rediscover and bring back the lost innocence and happiness that is slowly disappearing from our lives and the lives of our kids. In short, gun laws will never fix the problem, but stronger families, lifelong friendships, eternal relationships, communication, patience, and understanding most certainly will.
Iqbal said:
Yaqeen Mohkam, Amal Peham, Mohabbat Faateh-E-Alam
Jahad-E-Zindagani Mein Hain Ye Mardon Ki Shamsheerain

Firm belief, continuous action, the love that can conquer the world
These are the swords of men in the war and struggle of life

The Fifty Shades of Today’s Muslims

…so I was talking to my friends during lunch and the technical discussion took a tangent and we started talking about religions and beliefs. One of my Jewish friend asked us (me and another Muslim guy) about our religion. The reply my Muslim friend gave was really weird, confusing and funny but I kinda expected it. I expected it because I have heard it so many times from Muslims regardless of their geographic location, origin, color, etc. Many of you must have heard the same thing or maybe you are also one of those who describe their religious beliefs just like my friend.
So anyways, my friend replied to the American guy as follows: Oh! I am a moderate Muslim!!! This term always makes me laugh so I thought I should write about it. Good idea right!? May be not, but then everybody hates me anyway, so who cares!
Just like fifty shades of grey, Muslims these days come in many different shades and colors such as “liberal Muslim”, “Spiritual Muslim”, “spiritual but not religious Muslim”, etc.  After analyzing many such personalities (like my friend), I have come up to the conclusion that there are two main causes behind people who describe their beliefs in fifty different shades, when in reality Islam comes in only one.
The first reason is spelled as follows: “I.n.f.e.r.i.o.r.i.t.y C.o.m.p.l.e.x” and the second one can be described as “human weakness”. Now let us talk about these two behaviours and the root causes behind each one in some detail.
The concept of inferiority complex was deeply engraved on the hearts and minds of the Muslims when the European powers started colonization of their lands in Africa and Asia. All colonized territories were controlled with extreme intelligence by making the oppressed people feel insignificant, illiterate, uncivilized, etc. They were force fed the ideas that things they do, things they know, the way they look and everything they believe in makes them uncivilized and uncultured. Hence lassi (curd drink) became paindoo (uncultured) and tea was the new drink of the east, dark color became a stigma and fair&lovely was needed just to look acceptable in the society, beard was unacceptable and men with face like a baby’s butt were the new definition of manhood, when the women who used to breastfeed their kids saw the goori (white) ma’am using the bottle, they took loans to buy the bottles for their loved ones, etc.
Another tactic used against the locals was to divide and rule. As we all know that languages join and keep people together, hence applying the formula of divide and rule, the people of subcontinent were disconnected from Iran, Afghanistan and the Arab world by the introduction of a new language you now know by the name of Urdu. People who didn’t know Urdu/English were not given jobs, all paperwork was changed from Farsi to Urdu/English, teaching Arabic or Farsi in schools was discouraged or discontinued, etc. The people were also made to feel inferior by belittling their profession, hence the super skilled shoemaker of the Muslim world became “moochi” (derogatory term for a shoemaker), imam masjid fell from being the teacher and important part of the community to being someone who lived on the leftovers of the landlords, molvi and Sufi became derogatory terms, and much more. Many of you may not know but there used to be sign boards in some parks and markets of subcontinent with a message saying: Dogs and Indians are not allowed!!!
All those who opposed the oppressors were killed or thrown out of their lands, and all those who supported them and betrayed their people and their land became Makhdooms, Shahs, Gailanis, Zardaris, Sardars, etc. the same people who still rule us. If we compare the colonized and non-colonized regions of the world, we can see the vast differences in the way they feel about their beliefs, culture and everything that defines them as a nation. For example Afghans and Iranian are neighbors of Pakistan but you can see the vast differences in their behaviour as a nation and the level of self respect. I can bet that the dog of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has most self respect than Zardari and company can ever have in 1000 years. The blood of 28 Pakistani sons is cheap and worthless because we have no self respect and have forgotten the meaning of honor. We honor our martyrs by opening the supply routes while Hamid Karzai even though the puppet, was able to get an apology for the blood of innocent Afghan civilians.
Hence it is the same inferiority complex of our ancestors that is transferred to the next generations making us liberal/moderate Muslims, hate our culture, our people, and ourselves.
Coming back from historic perspective behind the concept of moderate Muslims to present, what most people fail to understand is that there is no such thing as moderate or liberal Muslim. I mean is it acceptable for a moderate Muslim to miss Sallah(prayer) or is it ok for a liberal Muslim to drink alcohol? Can you reach spiritual nirvana by dancing with Anna or Shabana? The answer is No! Negative! Nahi! Nah! Nope! So why do people use these terms other than the first reason of this amazing brain fart… i.e. inferiority complex.
Second reason is human weakness i.e. it is an easy way to justify our weaknesses and hence those who drink become liberal Muslims and those who miss prayer become moderate Muslims, etc.
But according to me, there are only two kinds of Muslims i.e. strong Muslims and weak Muslims (like me) or those who try their best to follow the path they have picked and those who are weak and are not able to control their desires and are easily distracted by all the attractions this world has to offer. Weaknesses like alcohol, drugs, women(or men), stealing, cheating, lying, etc. It is not easy to resist these attractive things because we are weak and our desires are strong. Furthermore, it is in human nature to do things that we are not supposed to do or acts/things that are harmful to us, either in long run or in near future. Our curiosity defines us as humans and just like everything else, curiosity comes at a price; sometimes in the form of STD or unwanted pregnancy(knowledge gained at the student health services during college, the place where the reality bites), and sometimes falling from the garden of Eden to earth.
Hence, a Muslim can be weak but can never be liberal, moderate or something else. We are weak and we do things out of weakness and there is nothing wrong in being weak but accepting the weakness and not doing anything to weaken it, is. Another important thing that I have learnt from my personal experience is that not doing anything about our weaknesses is one thing but justifying our weaknesses is the worst thing that we can do to ourselves. Justifying our weaknesses closes all doors of improvement, and no improvement means death. Hence accepting the truth about our weaknesses is the first step, fixing comes much much later.
History is full of men and women who were weak but accepted the truth about their weaknesses and never tried to justify them, and with time, with their effort and with the help of Allah they became the best of them all. Men like, Zaheer-ud-Babar, Umar bin Al-khattab, etc. My own journey from being an atheist to a weak Muslim was not so easy either, but even in the worst of times during this journey, I never justified my weaknesses.
Another important thing is to know the meaning of our claim when we say that ‘I am a Muslim’, or what does being a Muslim means? There is a huge misconception among Muslims that being born in a Muslim family makes you a Muslim! I can announce this with deep sorrow that sadly all those think like that are wrong! Wrong because being a Muslim is not a child’s play and we always, always, always choose to be a Muslim or something else; sometimes couciously  and sometimes by our actions. In my case, even though I was born in a Muslim family, that never made me a Muslim; I had to pick a path, first I picked atheism, and then monotheism; hence we have to choose, and we always do!
Next question: So what happens when you pick “the” path? After making the choice, you have to prove your claims, i.e. the testing begins. Allah says in Quran:
[29:2] Do men imagine that they will be left (at ease) because they say, We believe, and will not be tested with affliction?
The test is according to you level, good students can answer All kinds of questions while weak ones can only answer easy ones.
[29:3] Lo! We tested those who were before you. Thus Allah knoweth those who are sincere, and knoweth those who feign.
So we should always remember that all those who claimed were tested! 20,000 Christians(followers of Jesus A.S not Paul) were burnt alive because they believed and stayed steadfast. Allah talks about them in Quran as follows:
[85] Woe to the makers of the pit (of fire), Fire supplied (abundantly) with fuel. Behold! they sat over against the (fire), And they witnessed (all) that they were doing against the Believers. And they ill-treated them for no other reason than that they believed in God All mighty, Exalted in Power, Worthy of all Praise!
Bilal R.A was tested if you remember! His test was harder because he was not weak like us. Nothing stopped him from saying that truth, and then Allah’s help came and he passed the test with flying colors!
In short, all we can do in life is try. Try and we will succeed.  Be proud of who you are, what you believe in, your people, your history and your bright future.
And BTW never under estimate the power of a weak Muslim because the prophet Mohammad S.A.W said that “the believer sees with the Light of Allah!”. And my dear friends, if you have light of Allah, you have everything!