Aab e Hayat by Umera Ahmed
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"Aab e Hayat" by Umera Ahmed is a sequel to much known "Peer-e-Kamil" where Peer e Kamil was the story of finding a mentor, more appropriately, a Kamil person who is only our Last Prophet Muhammad SAWW. Aab e Hayat is the story of living a life by following the footsteps of our last Prophet Muhammad SAWW so that we can make it spiritually alive till eternity. The name Aab e Hayat is metaphorical to actual Aab e Hayat jisko peeny k bad koi marta nahi and that is the purpose of this book to show that the ones who live their lives by following the footsteps of Prophet Muhammad SAWW succeed not only in this world but also in the hereafter.
Before I give a detailed review let me just tell you that, SALAAR DOESN'T DIE IN THE BOOK, he is going to have a tumor but he lives till the end of the book. So those of you who haven't read it because of negative reviews like these now you can read it peacefully qk aesa kuch ni hota.
So coming back to the review, the story starts from the day when Imama came to Salaar's house after their nikah (I know you might be thinking that Peer e Kamil ended with Salaar and Imama performing Umra in the Kaaba but it has the insights of the period of about seven months after their marriage, before going to Umrah.)
The first chapter is all about the new relationship between Salaar and Imama, and how both of them struggle to fit in. Especially Salaar shows a lot of patience as the ways Imama behaves at the start might cause you to hate her (because I did so). But this chapter is also full of many important small lessons about relationships and marriage. And the fact that husband and wife also have their individual lives other than being married, so both of them should respect the privacy and personal space of each other. Umaira Ahmed has also highlighted that being in love isn't enough to sustain a marriage, it is the trust and respect that provide support to the pillars of marriage and once they are gone, there is nothing left to carry the relationship in any direction. When Salaar says,
میری زندگی میں تمہاری امپورٹنس اب میرے ہاتھ میں نہیں، تمہارے ہاتھ میں
ہے- یہ تمہیں طے کرنا ہے کہ وقت گزرنے کے ساتھ تم اس امپورٹنس کو بڑھاؤ گی یا کم
کرو گی۔
۔
محبت یا شادی کا مطلب یہ نہیں ہوتا کہ دونوں پارٹنرز ایک دوسرے کو اپنے ہاتھ کی
مٹھی میں بند کر کے رکھنا شروع کر دیں۔ اس سے رشتے مضبوط نہیں ہوتے، دم گھٹنے لگتا
ہے۔ ایک دوسرے کو سپیس دینا، ایک دوسرے کی انفرادی حیثیت کو تسلیم کرنا، ایک دوسرے
کی آزادی کے حق کا احترام کرنا بہت ضروری ہے۔
۔
کسی رشتے کو کتنی بھی محبت سے باندھا گیا ہو، اگر عزت اور لحاظ چلا جائے تو
محبت بھی چلی جاتی ہے۔
What I loved the most in this chapter was the legacy that Dr. Sibt Ali
started in terms of not giving dowry to any of their daughters on their
marriage. Rather than giving them a set amount of money for their personal use. And
he also taught people who came to him to do the same.
Then the 2nd chapter is all about Imama setting into the social and family life of Salaar where Salaar's family warmly welcomes her and arranges an official ceremony for their walima. In this chapter, you will also see a side of Salaar you never had expected lekin wo bhi insaan hai. But don't worry, here also Dr. Sibt Ali would play a major role in resolving the issue. But in that scenario, you'll feel angrier towards Imama for how she behaved and did few things. Here, you will also encounter the appearance of Imama's family and that's not going to be a happy and normal family interaction, there's going to be a lot more. But, guess what? Salaar will again act like the good guy he is and Imama? Wo bs rehny den. This chapter ends with Imama and Salaar performing Umrah and Imama asks Salaar to make a promise there.
The chapters 3 and 4 are full of so many twists and turns that leave a strong impact on Imama and Salaar's life. Imama goes through the trauma of the death of 2 of her closest people amidst her pregnancy. Then Salar starts working in the World Bank and how the course of his life changes. Many events happen in this time that would affect his later life after a few years. Salaar will also have 4 kids; of which, one of the daughters is going to be an adopted child. The story of Raeesa coming to the life of Salaar and Imama is going to be really interesting. And Hamin Sikander; Salaar's younger son is going to be your favorite and most interesting character. Because I loved and enjoyed every bit of his part. The bond between Hamin and Raeesa is going to excite you and you will love that part for how they support each other. Hamin is going to do a business in his school (yes just in primary school) and how it turns out to be the worst decision of his life but also a big lesson for his later life. The best thing that Salaar says to him at that moment was
ہر وہ چیز جو اچھی لگے اور دوسرے کی ملکیت ہو، ہماری زندگی کا مقصد نہیں ہو
سکتی، نہ ہی ہماری موسٹ فیورٹ چیز ہو سکتی ہے۔
Then, as Salaar's children are going to grow up there are going to be many
characters like Ahsan Saad (whom I hated the most! And guess from his surname
whose son he is going to be..), then there's going to be Ayesha Abideen, Eric
(he was way too annoying at so many places) Hasham and Ghulam Fareed.
It was an amazing piece of writing from the collection of Urdu novels by Umera Ahmed.
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| Aab e Hayat by Umera Ahmed |
Sharing some of my favorite quotes from Aab e hayat here;
زندگی عجیب شے ہے، انسان اسکے طویل ہونے کی دعا بھی کرتا ہے اور اس کی طوالت کے
اثرات سے ڈرتا بھی ہے۔
کسی بھی کام کو کرنے یا نہ کرنے کی صرف ایک وجہ ہوتی ہے، باقی سب بہانے ہوتے
ہیں۔
When Hamin said,
مجھے متاثر ہونے جیسا آسان کام نہیں کرنا، متاثر کرنے جیسا مشکل کام کر کے
دیکھانا ہے۔
میری تمام خامیوں کے ساتھ بھی مجھے اگر بااثر ترین افراد کی فہرست میں رکھا جاتا ہے تو یہ خوفناک بات ہے۔۔ خوفناک اس لئے کیونکہ ہم ایک ایسے زمانے میں داخل ہو چکے ہیں جہاں صرف کامیابی ہمیں قابل عزت اور قابل رشک بنا رہی ہے۔۔۔ ہماری انسانی خصوصیات اور خوبیاں نہیں۔
I loved the part when Imama said for the achievements of her children
کوئی کتنی بھی بڑی اچیومنٹ والا دن ہو چوبیس گھنٹے کے بعد ماضی بن جاتا ہے اور
ماضی کے ڈھنڈورے پیٹنے والے لوگ کبھی مستقبل کے بارے میں نہیں سوچتے۔
When Jibrael said to Imama
سارا قرآن ایک دعا ہے تو دعا امید ہوتی ہے نا۔۔۔ ہر چیز کے لئے دعا ہے تو اس کا مطلب یہ ہے کہ اللہ ہر مشکل میں ہمیں امید بھی دے رہا ہے۔۔ کہ ہم کبھی ناامید نہ ہوں۔ کوئی گناہ ہو جائے تب بھی اور کوئی مشکل پڑے تب بھی۔۔ کیونکہ اللہ سب کچھ کر سکتا ہے۔
جب تک سب کچھ ٹھیک رہتا ہے، ہمیں لگتا ہے ہمارے پاس بہت وقت ہے۔ ہر کام کر لیں
گے۔ ہر کام ہو جائے گا۔۔۔ ہم وہ سارے کام پہلے کر لینا چاہتے ہیں جو ہمارے
نفس کو پسند ہیں، وہ سارے کام زندگی کے آخری حصے کے لئے رکھ چھوڑتے ہیں جو اللہ کو
پسند ہیں۔