In the mid 80's, most of my after school hours were spent rummaging through the vast collections of the old books sellers of Kandy. One rainy day, it was on a such expedition did I come across Iqbal's "Shikwa Wa Jawab-e-Shikwa" (The Complaint and The Response to the Complaint) from a seller located at "Ismail Lane".

Little did I knew at that time that it was the beginning of a most joyous journey which will influence me over the decades till the present. 

The main theme of the poem Shikwa is that God is not fulfilling his promise to protect followers of the Prophet from loss and a decline in fortune. In Jawab-e Shikwa God answers directly that he has not broken his promise; instead it is the Muslims, his followers, who have turned away from the Path.