Hamid And His Shades - Reason for Blindness

You might remember the famous story 'Hamid Ka Chimta' from your school days.

If not, don’t worry, it’s the story of a poor boy who buys a cooking tool for his grandmother instead of toys. A simple story, often told to teach sacrifice.

But today, I’m not interested in roti, chapati, or chimta.

I want to tell you it’s sequel.

I call it Hamid Ka Chashma.

Hamid grew up.

He got taller, grew a moustache, his voice deepened, and slowly the innocent Hamid became HAMID.

Hamid’s grandmother often spoke about her hometown.

A place so beautiful that it sounded unreal.

Lush green gardens, mountains hugging the town, rivers flowing gently through it, fresh air, warm people, the kind of place Instagram influencers would gatekeep today.

One day, Hamid decided to visit this fairytale town.

He asked his grandmother for the address. She gave it to him, though I won’t mention it here. Too confidential. (What if you all rush there before listening to the entire story?)But she did tell him the name.

AlKawn, the miraculous town.

So Hamid packed his bags and set off.

Just as Hamid reached the outskirts of AlKawn, he encountered a spectacle seller.

A very modern one. Trendy stall. Different coloured shades. Probably offered EMI options(He is selling for free now, but don’t rush for freebies you desiees!!).

The seller said, “If you really want to see the beauty of AlKawn, you must wear these special shades. However, remember to never take them off. If you do, their power will vanish. And never listen to the locals if they ask you to remove them. They are old, backward, and don’t understand new technology.”

Hamid, as innocent as ever (only the moustache was new), believed him.

He bought the shades. He wore them. And entered AlKawn.

Inside the town, tourists were amazed.

"Look at those mountains!"

"What a beautiful river!"

"The gardens are breathtaking!"

"Such colours, such life!”

Everyone was praising AlKawn.

Except Hamid.

Through his shades, Hamid saw canals instead of rivers.

Sand and rock heaps instead of mountains.

Grey sky instead of stars.

Ordinary crops instead of gardens.

Confused, Hamid did what many of us do when reality doesn’t match expectations, he bluffed himself.

“It must be beautiful,” he thought.“Everyone says so. If I say it’s normal, I’ll look foolish.”

So he nodded. He agreed. He praised.

He returned home and began telling people that AlKawn was nothing special.

A normal town. Overhyped. Average. And he held onto this story for the rest of his life.

Out of stubbornness? Or innocence?

God knows best.

Now pause. Rewind.

Where did Hamid make the mistake?

AlKawn didn’t change. The town didn’t lie. The rivers didn’t dry.

It was the spectacle seller.

Everything in this story is fictional except for two things:

1. The spectacle seller

2. AlKawn

The spectacle seller can be many things, ideologies, trends, narratives, and unquestioned “isms”.

But AlKawn is real.

AlKawn means the Universe in arabic language.

Now step out of fiction. Ask yourself,

Did you also buy the shades? Did the spectacle seller fool you, too?

Do you also see canals where rivers flow? Mud where mountains rise?Void where meaning exists?

These imaginary shades have very real effects.

They don’t just change what you see, they change how you think, what you deny, what you mock, and, most importantly, what you BELIEVE.

They show:

• canals instead of rivers

• stones instead of stars

• barren land instead of gardens

• matter instead of meaning

• void instead of God

Remove the shades, and something remarkable happens.

Once an atheist removes the shades of atheism, they begin to see God

Once a woman removes the shades of feminism, she begins to see femininity.

Once an individual removes the shades of racism, they begin to see humanity.

Once an individual removes the shades of materialism, they begin to see morality.

Once the shades of capitalism fall, one begins to see the afterlife.

The problem was never vision. It was the lens.

Allah invites us repeatedly to look, not just with eyes, but with reflection.

In The Holy Quran Chapter 30, Ar-Rum, Verse 20 to 25, He reminds us that the universe is not silent:

20. One of His signs is that He created you from dust, then—behold!—you are human beings spreading over ˹the earth˺.

21. And one of His signs is that He created for you spouses from among yourselves so that you may find comfort in them. And He has placed between you compassion and mercy. Surely in this are signs for people who reflect.

22. And one of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the diversity of your languages and colours. Surely in this are signs for those of ˹sound˺ knowledge.

23. And one of His signs is your sleep by night and by day ˹for rest˺ as well as your seeking His bounty ˹in both˺. Surely in this are signs for people who listen.

24. And one of His signs is that He shows you lightning, inspiring ˹you with˺ hope and fear. And He sends down rain from the sky, reviving the earth after its death. Surely in this are signs for people who understand.

• Our creation from dust

• Love and mercy between spouses

• Diversity of languages and colours

• Sleep as rest and provision

• Lightning, rain, and revival of the earth

These are not random events. They are signs for those who think, listen, understand, and reflect.

The tragedy of Hamid was not ignorance.

It was a borrowed vision.

He trusted a seller more than his own sight. He feared looking outdated more than being wrong. And so he lived, describing a universe he never truly saw.

The real question isn’t whether AlKawn is beautiful, indeed it is.

The real question is, What shades are you wearing?

Whatever the shades, remove them, the real world is waiting to amaze you, to bring you back to the Truth - ONE GOD.

This Article went live at Ten Minutes Past Six in the evening, January Thirty First, Twenty Twenty Six.