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Ghafileen Paradise
Saturday, June 20, 2026
In 2005 when I went to Rywind, the Markaz (headquarters) was still on the old construction, call it nostalgic but I liked that old version better than the new one. Last I went there was in 2015, may be the layout might have changed now. You ask, what that has to do with the blog title, I was with a fellow who knew few of the colloquial of that place. So, at the back of the masjid, there was a basement, with few people sleeping there, at 11am I think, and my fellow called the place “Ghafileen Paradise”.Because you can sleep there without anyone bugging you to join any of the sermons or deeds. …
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From Madina to Margallas: A Coffee Contemplation in Karachi
Saturday, December 13, 2025
Back in 2011, on a journey from Madina to Mecca, I had a sensory experience that stuck with me. After the last prayer, someone was distributing “chai” and “khawa.” I asked for khawa. I am not a coffee fanatic per se, but that specific taste stayed with me the whole journey. I know enough to distinguish instant granules from freshly ground beans, but that cup was something else. Now, as we enter the few fleeting months in Karachi where the weather allows us to enjoy coffee without worrying about the heat, I’ve started reading God in a Cup: The Obsessive Quest For the Perfect Coffee by Michaele Weissman. It was part of a Humble Bundle I bought ages ago—I don’t even remember what the bundle was for—but the book sat in my library waiting for this specific winter. …