Dr Muhammad Maroof Shah

He comes close to mystics but doesn’t go all the way with them. Beckett is considered by some as the greatest writer of the twentieth century. Those who know what the hell has been modernity and especially the twentieth century and have read or watched Beckett’s work will largely agree. His work is set in hell or purgatory because he sees  them everywhere. Do you know of any person who is really happy, at home, without revenge or malice or complaint and not speaking ill of someone? Do you know anyone who can confidently say his life has been live well or he has found meaning in it? Who isn’t a creature of habit? Who doesn’t wait aimlessly and distract himself by gossiping or playing absurd games or meaningless chatting on social networks? Who has found unalloyed love that heals all wounds? Beckett describes  man’s failure, especially modern man’s failure who has lost faith in God. Anyway do you know anyone who truly believes today? Belief in manifested by virtues of accept...

Reading Samuel Beckett on Waiting Most of us complain that our prayers are not heard, that nobody is ours or we are lonely, that love doesn’t turn up the way we want, that Mahdi/Christ/Messiah isn’t coming. All these complaints are dissolved if we understand how to wait, and why. Learning how to wait one has to read Beckett, move to Tillich, to mystics and of course to Tradition (al-Deen). We will have to note the secret that Sufis have – the secret of patiently waiting and moving beyond hope and despair. Just wait and ask for nothing. That is the station of raza.  Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett is considered a classic. But so far it has been interpreted mostly in pessimistic terms or at best as a species of comedy that involves mocking laughter. Its heroes are waiting for certain Godot who never comes but they don’t lose hope. Godot doesn’t come while they play absurd games to pass time. Some critics have identified Godot with God and interpreted its failure to come as our ...