https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFVWUWq6lsQ

BACK AGAIN BECAUSE LIFE CHANGED!

Life as we know it does not fit the puzzle we painted a picture for. In fact, life is within the realm of trials, tribulations, hardships, toil, trouble, happiness and sadness. You will notice that happiness is about the only positive feeling mentioned and the question is why. It is so because when you traverse the gauntlet of all anxieties you will find that feeling of accomplishment and that will be a feeling of greatness.

A while ago I was interviewed on GAIS – THE READING CIRCLE (see YouTube link above) on my book that I have written and there is an article on it on my website. Today, after a long while that I pen an article because for one year eight months, I was authoring the Al-Falaah’s book. It was an exciting period of activity. The historical biography of Al-Falaah College was the brainchild of the school’s administrator, Hafidh Ismail Dawood, a project emanating from the legacy of the founding forefathers and their astute planning in their pursuit of establishing an educational institution for the benefit of humanity. In March 2022, I was as the Deputy Principal of AFC entrusted with the task of writing the history of the School. Today I enmesh the euphoria of hopefully seeing the launch of my second book and my new efforts on my workbook on my book, TEACH AND LEAD.

The difficulty of writing that extraordinary historiography as I call it made me realise just how hardships and challenges grows your grit and gives you power over your weaknesses. In my plans to travel to Sri-Lanka in October 2025 for the GAIS conference I have worked with a good friend, Waheed Hoosen, to craft a work book. Here is a preview of the cover page of the work book next to my book:

The years that followed saw my end of term at the prestigious Al-Falaah College to join Port Shepstone Islamic School. In the time, I had to adjust to a new life and that is what the article is all about – ADJUSTMENT when things become challenging. The call makes you think on what type of ADJUSTMENTS we are making in comparison to the ADJUSTMENTS the Muslim Ummah is making in Gaza are making amid the carnage of genocide. The image below is inserted to encourage debate and analysis.

Can you imagine the ADJUSTMENT of the Ummah in this situation of utter despair?

What is being expressed here is how in all we experience there are millions of people going through something more grave and we do not perceive it because we have become the centre of our world. We are our own echo chambers and therefore, we are not open to empathise deeply with others. I had to learn this when I wrote the historiography of the Al-Falaah College. It was learning curve of deep reflection on how life works out and how at every cusp we have to make adjustment to either, assimilate, accommodate, thrive and carry on. When I realised how far back the idea of writing a history of the Al-Falaah College was conceived; 2009 to be exact, it was the sunrise to a new life to realise it came to being in my brief stint there. Your life goals have a way of transcending the actual time and space of your here and now. It was witnessing that events and things happen on a divine time schedule and to embrace the day’s trials is actually a ‘second coming’ of all sorts. I invite you to read my ‘author’s note on the book:

The notion of formally documenting the history of the Al-Falaah College began to take root in 2009, prompted by, inter alia, the School’s phenomenal growth, credibility and institutional eminence, as the school offered a holistic education from Grade 00 to Grade 12. Sanabelle Ebrahim, a young and spirited graduate, took on the challenge of researching the background for the book. Her contribution is inestimable as it set in motion the groundswell that resulted in the book you now hold in your hands. Ms Ebrahim provided the idea of the Al-Falaah College Champions for each chapter and compiled a general questionnaire for those who would be featured in the book. In March 2022 I was commissioned by Hafidh Ismail Dawood, the school’s administrator, to take on the task of making the book a reality. At the time there was no formal written documentation or concrete concept design to work from, no interviews, no overview and no general outline of what the book ultimately should look like. Every Thursday morning from 7:00 am to 9:00 am I would be writing; the dopamine for this task derived from my passion for cycling with Team Impi every Thursday before and at the break of dawn in the winter and summer months respectively.
My brief was to document the history of the AFC as a narrative, emulating the genre of the biography, albeit viewed from the perspective of an omniscient narrator. This point of view would provide the reader with insight into the world of the AFC, which included our service to humanity and to acknowledge all those who, present and past, contributed to the success of the School. This would prove to be no easy undertaking, as it was premised on the aspiration that the book would be ready for the 40th anniversary of the AFC in 2024. Although a daunting prospect at the time, it became clear during the writing process, that the history of the AFC will forever be a part of all those who have been connected with the School in whatever capacity, be it as a member of the Board of Governors (BOG), principals, staff, parents, students, donors, support staff, admirers and critics. With the divine help of Allah (ﷻ) on more than one occasion, the first draft of approximately 80 000 words was concluded on 4 January 2024, from where the manuscript was discussed in terms of its design, layout, editing, print, publication and official launch. 
The book presents glimpses of the bigger picture, and there are instances where names and events are not conclusive or even omitted, and for that, I indulge your kindness to forgive and overlook, as it was not intentional. I joined the AFC in January 2022 as deputy principal, already in awe of the glorious institution and its traditions. Writing the history of the AFC as a narrative with its mélange of biography and leadership genres is unique, setting it apart from other history books of similar purpose. Furthermore, the QR Code located on the back cover make the Picture Mosaic (located in the middle section of the book) an invitation to look back into history. The applicable QR Code link is exceptional, as a variety of pictures, annual school magazines from 1986 that have been scanned, and links to the annual digital magazines that began in 2018, will always be available for viewing, subject only to possible changes in future technology. The link will provide the reader with ongoing real-time interaction with the School. 
The book tells the story of the Al-Falaah College. It is a narrative about ordinary people, their great deeds and memorable legacies, and who became legends in their time at the School. The successes of their efforts are woven into the tapestry of man’s service to humanity, to make this world a better place for generations to come. It is the history of the efforts of the founding fathers in shaping future qualitative education within an Islamic framework in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) to hopefully become the benchmark for other Islamic schools to follow, both nationally and internationally. Embrace the contents, as within you, dear reader, lies the greatness of purpose that will and can change the destiny of those who view education as a vehicle of change and transformation. 

In the greater scheme of things we are at the cusp of a new world order that has come into being whilst millions around the world are recollecting the glories of the past hoping that it will be a stimulus to inspire the present, shape the future and change the destiny of humanity. That is why ‘The Second Coming’ is so poignant here. The horror of the genocide in Gaza, the carnage in Sudan and the continuous wars across the world has confused humanity as to why the killing continues – massacre upon massacre only because a people believe in Allah or because they are not white or because they reside on lands rich in natural resources? These questions are all thoughts that knock at the soul. It is mankind’s thinking that the ‘second coming’ on its own will make the old vanish and the new emerge like a seedling from fresh earth. It is not going to happen that way.

Your life goals have a way of transcending the actual time and space of your here and now.

Abdullah Sujee

So while I long to witness a publication and writing my novel, I am aware of what the hope is for those who have lost everything and at the same time cognisant that many are also hoping that things can improve. This is the ‘second coming’ everyday that we miss because we think and believe the big things that are out of our control must change than we will change. That is how it felt for me when I was taught this poem back in the day of schooling and today, it has a new meaning for me. The meaning for me now is: would I be ready for such an eventuality and be on the right side of the moral compass? It is a loaded question.

The Second Coming – A reflection…

A reflection on readiness, hope, and the moral compass

There was a time when Yeats’ poem felt like prophecy—distant, dramatic, almost theatrical in its warning. “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold.” We studied it in school, dissected its metaphors, and moved on. But today, I return to it not as a literary exercise, but as a mirror. A mirror that asks: Am I ready?

Not for the beast slouching toward Bethlehem, but for the quiet reckonings we miss every day. The second comings that arrive not with trumpets, but with choices. With moments.

We often believe that change must come from the top—from governments, revolutions, divine interventions. But what if the second coming is already here, unfolding in the margins? In the way a teacher forgives a child. In the way a community rebuilds after loss. In the way we choose mercy over vengeance, truth over comfort. The ‘widening gyre’ is perhaps our own fears and phobias getting the better of us and we perceive it not. The falcon lost to the falconer is also an indication of just how far we have strayed from Allah and doing so, we forget to embrace the new chances at doing things. But for the poem was one for me to observe resistance. I see people who refuse to wait for the world to change before they do. People who embody the second coming in their courage, their compassion, their refusal to be indifferent. They are not mentioned but, they are implied as if they await the second becoming with determination and a means to look forward to a new world amid the chaos.

This poem, once a warning, now feels like a question. A deeply personal one: Would I be ready for such an eventuality? Would I be found on the right side of the moral compass?

It is a loaded question. And it demands more than intellectual assent—it demands spiritual clarity, ethical courage, and a willingness to act. In the Qur’an, we are reminded:

“Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves.” (Surah Ar-Ra’d 13:11)

This is the second coming. Not a beast, but a beckoning. A call to transform what is within. To rise, not in fear, but in faith. So I ask myself—and I ask you—what are the second comings we’ve missed today? What small revolutions of kindness, of justice, of truth have passed us by because we were waiting for something bigger?

Perhaps the second coming is not a single event, but a daily invitation. To rise. To repent. To rebuild. Will we answer it? What is your ‘second coming’ ?

• Abdullah Sujee