A discussion on Post-Modernism

While having a discussion on 'post-modernism' with a relative of mine this is what I concluded... A discussion of post-modernism would take much too long. It has shaped our world-view, but mostly in ways that people don't realize, e.g., in familiarizing them with alternative views of what "makes sense". It is the ultimate rebellion against the authority of the canon.

In an explicit sense, only a few people - mainly in academia - are really aware of post-modernism. Its greatest contribution, is to undermine the idea of objective meaning and to expose the essential subjectivity underlying all claims of objective truth. From a traditional viewpoint, it is mainly a "destructive" approach and, indeed, rejects the value of constructed structures. In this, I think, it does not take sufficient account of human nature, which is based on the "real fictions" of agency and self-reference. Formally, it is a much more rigorous approach than traditional theories of meaning and signification.

According to Ali Minai, Assoc. Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Cincinnati (with whom I was having the discussion), we're now seeing the birth pangs of the post-postmodern age, where people are seeking a return to meaning without falling into the old traps of tradition, religion, nationalism, etc., that they have only recently escaped. Of course, not everyone agrees with this direction, e.g., the jihadi movement in Islam and the right-wing in Europe, in America. However, they will lose because this genie is out of the bottle, and is fueled by globalization. The biggest threat to it is that some great calamity, e.g., climate change, may yet turn people back towards parochial ways...

Tough Measures

 

"Autobiography is only to be trusted when it reveals something disgraceful. A man who gives a good account of himself is probably lying, since any life when viewed from the inside is simply a series of defeats."  - George Orwell

The much heated debate

Today we had our Reading Club Session after 1. We all were really excited about this particular sitting because the book under discussion and the person going to present it, both attracted our attention. You must have heard of the famous Dan Brown series, and most of you I'm sure must have been perplexed by its plot. Such an amusement this whole concept of the All-Seeing-Eye and the Satanic cults that not a single being on this planet stays untouched by its discovery. It is mystified by the organizations believing in it and the impact remains for too long. In such trance-like moments, we tend to forget our purpose of existence and we are often taken up by the fear that some supernatural force is going to destroy us. Such a pity, this kind of emotion that is likely to be found amongst the youth....that energetic youth who is capable of performing far more valuable tasks in the name of the (only)Creator: 

In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
Say: He is God, the One and Only;
God, the Eternal, Absolute; 

He begetteth not, nor is He begotten;
And there is none like unto Him

                                                                                                    (Surah Ikhlas)

Sir Faheem from Department of International Relations was the visiting guest for the meeting and he felt it was necessary for the students to realize that mental luxury, specially at this point in time cannot be afforded at any cost. This definitely needs further discussion which I'm hoping will take place in the meetings to come. What was most surprising for me was the turn his presentation on the novel took -- Why did Dan Brown, a 'non-believing Jew' write such a blasphemous novel in the first place? Are reading club discussions on books like these generating unwanted political/conspiracy theories? Would the reading of the novel be more lethal than the awareness of a harsh reality one has to face sooner or later? How should the novel be read AT ALL?  (to this I add, why was Dan Brown born in the first place?!!) 


Can we afford to remain in ignorance? Is not our duty clear to us; awareness of (and its rigorous practice) the Islamic tradition being handed down to us through the Prophets (may Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon them)? This needs more attention. 

I am still thinking about the growing chaos in th society, which our presenter rightly pointed out, needs to be dealt with more straight forwardly than in a 'dream-like state' or lets just call it denial. . .       

                                             

:(

... longing for what I parted with precisely five minutes ago... I'm surrounded by complete silence again. Hope to see you all again... Miss you...

Tafakkur

 Tafakkur (Reflection)

---

Shaikh Ahmad Hendricks

Many years ago a book called " Penny for your thoughts" was published. It would be interesting to see whom of the modern generation read this book or heard of it. The cliched title shouldn’t fool one. The intention of the author is to explore the content and quality of everyday thought. This book is not a treatise on logical thinking or the rules of correct reasoning.

The systematic study of logic has to be looked for in other works and is usually the forte of experts and scholars. The subject of this book is more humble but extremely important. People you meet often are so deeply steeped in some thought or issue. A look of utter surprise comes into their faces when you ask them, "Penny for your thoughts?". What is of great interest to me is the fact that often people fail to recall the stream of thought that so deeply engrossed them. Yes we are aware of some of the many reasons why this happens.
But for a Muslim to be so entirely taken over by everyday worries and concerns is not good enough. The author of this book suggests interesting and useful methods to help gain control over ones propensity to sink into purposeless thinking and well worth a read.

The quality of our thought is a very serious and important subject for any Muslim to consider. Says Allah, the Most High, in the Qur'an surah ali 'Imran verses 190 – 191,
"Surely in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the rotations of the day and night are signs for the ulul albab. Those who remember (dhikr) Allah, the Most High, standing, sitting and whilst reclining on their sides and who think (tafakkur) about the creation of the heavens and the earth, [They say] O our Lord You have not created this in vain, Glory be to Thee and protect us from the fires of hell".
In this verse Allah, the Most High, speaks highly of the ulul albab or literally the possessors of mind or the intellectuals. Qualities of this kind are mentioned in the Quran precisely because Muslims are expected to emulate them. The second important attribute of this level or quality of Muslim is remembrance (dhikr). We will discuss that in a later article. Our focus in this article is on the crucial matter of tafakkur.

Imam ‘Abdallah ‘Alawi al-Haddad says in his Book of Assistance, "Know that the reformation of both the din and the dunya depends on sound purposive thinking (tafakkur), and the individual who has mastered this ability has gained a portion of every possible good. It is said: Purposive thinking (tafakkur) for an hour is better than a years worship. It is also related that Sayyidna ‘Ali, may Allah bless him, said: There is no worship ('ibadah) like purposive thinking (tafakkur). A certain gnostic is reported to have said: Purposive thinking (tafukkur) is the lamp of the heart, if it removed the heart has no light."

The reader will notice I’m translating the word tafakkur as "purposive thinking" not simply ‘thinking" or "contemplation". Imam Ahmad al-Haddad in his excellent book "Key to the Garden" defines tafakkur as follows: "And tafakkur is the focus and movement of the heart and mind through the meaning of things in order to reach the underlying intention, and by this, the pearls of truth is reached." Tafakkur is the art, if you like, of churning a matter around in ones mind. The intention driving this process must be to discover the truth behind a saying or clarify the real nature of a principle of belief. We shouldn’t be fooled, this is a skill one has to learn. Thinking to some purpose is a skill we have to acquire.

It is also important to note that this kind of "quality thinking" formed an integral part of the texture and culture of Muslims since the time of the Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him. A saying attributed to both ibn ‘Abbas and Abu Darda, may Allah be satisfied with both of them, goes like this
"Tafakkur for an hour is better than a whole nights salah." This ability and capacity to think deeply about things is the light of a Muslim. The author compares the human heart to a house and tafakkur to the lamp that provides the light in it. The heart is steeped in darkness without the light of tafakkur. Indeed the full and even basic understanding of our din is beyond the scope of the unthinking.

Tafakkur in the context of din is traditionally divided into four types.

The first is the level of the ordinary people (al-‘ammah). This level involves the search and discussion proofs and arguments to arrive at some conviction. Interesting to note is that the requirement or need for proofs before you believe in Allah, for example, is placed at the most basic level.

The second type of tafakkur is that of the worshippers (al ‘abidin) whose main interest is to know the rewards of a particular ‘ibadah. They want to get on with the work. Knowledge of the rewards inspire them to greater activity.


A third type is the tafakkur of the ascetics (zuhhad). At this level the main focus is on the contingency of existence. They are deeply impressed by the truth of verses such as " everything will disappear and only the Face of Allah will remain". The results of that kind of thinking, which is often inspired by Allah, is a complete break from this world. They loose interest in wealth, fame, power and position.

The fourth type is the tafakkur of the gnostics (‘arifin). They are the great searchers of the truth behind the universe and its creation. They delve into the secrets of the Names and Attributes of Allah, the Most High. And often they speak of things that far exceed the capacity of ordinary people. They are also the great lovers of Allah, the Most High. Love flows from knowledge of the Beloved. The greater our knowledge of the Beloved the greater out love for Him.

So as Imam Ahmad al-Haddad says, "Knowledge comes from tafakkur and from knowledge adoration, and from adoration love".

Maulana Jalalud'din Rumi - Whoever Brought Me Here

Whoever knows the original work please let me know it's title.

Whoever Brought Me Here

All day I think about it, then at night I say it.
Where did I come from, and what am I supposed to be doing?
I have no idea.
My soul is from elsewhere, I'm sure of that,
and I intend to end up there.
This drunkenness began in some other tavern.
When I get back around to that place,
I'll be completely sober. Meanwhile,
I'm like a bird from another continent, sitting in this aviary.
The day is coming when I fly off,
but who is it now in my ear who hears my voice?
Who says words with my mouth?
Who looks out with my eyes? What is the soul?
I cannot stop asking.
If I could taste one sip of an answer,
I could break out of this prison for drunks.
I didn't come here of my own accord, and I can't leave that way.
Whoever brought me here, will have to take me home.
This poetry. I never know what I'm going to say.
I don't plan it.
When I'm outside the saying of it,
I get very quiet and rarely speak at all.

Trans. Coleman Barks.

Farewell Ramadan and see u next year by Allah's will

I do not want to part with this month. I want this month to stay with me, or just take me with it. I have told it several times that I shall complain the Higher Authority if it abandons me. But it says it has to go. . . It is also promising that it will come again. I trust it, because it has never lied. It always visits me with new zeal, never lets me down and always always keeps its promise. We are holding each tight, weeping harder with the passing of time. . .Ah! The silky mornings wrapped around my shoulders and the soft evenings gently caressing my forehead. . . I don't want to let go the feel of it. But it has to go. . . It says it will come back (weep). . .

Ramazan Updates

Ramazan Updates

Beliefs concerning Allâh Ta’âla Author: Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi

Beliefs concerning Allâh Ta’âla

1. In the beginning, the entire universe was non-existent. Through the creation of Allâh, it came into existence.

2. Allâh Ta’âla is One. He is not dependent on anyone. He has not given birth to anyone, nor was He begotten. He does not have any wife. There is no one equal to Him.

3. He has been since eternity and will remain till eternity.

4. There is nothing similar to Him. He is unique.

5. He is alive. He has power over everything. There is nothing that is beyond His knowledge. He sees and hears everything. He speaks, but His speech is not like ours. He does whatever He wishes and there is no one to stop or reprimand Him. He alone is worthy of being worshipped. He has no partner. He is merciful to His servants. He is the lord. He is free of all blemishes. He is the one who saves His servants from all calamities. He is the possessor of honour and greatness. He is the creator of all things; nothing has created Him. He is the forgiver of sins. He is all-powerful.

6. He gives in abundance. He is the one who gives sustenance. He decreases the sustenance of whoever He wishes and increases the sustenance of whoever He wishes. He humiliates whoever He wishes and elevates whoever He wishes. He gives honour to whoever He wishes and disgraces whoever He wishes. He is just. He is extremely tolerant and forbearing. He values and rewards service and worship rendered to Him. He accepts duas (supplications). He is all-encompassing. He is the ruler over everyone and no one is a ruler over Him. No work of His is devoid of wisdom. He fulfils the needs of everyone. He is the one who created everyone and He is the one who will bring all back to life on the day of qiyâmah. He is the one who gives life and He causes death.

7. Everyone knows Him through signs and attributes. No one can know the essence of His being. He accepts the repentance of the sinners. He punishes those who deserve punishment. He is the one who gives guidance. Whatever happens in this universe occurs under His order. Without His order, even an atom cannot move. He does not sleep nor does He slumber. He does not get weary of protecting the entire universe. He is the one who is keeping everything in control. He has all good and beautiful qualities. There is no bad or defective quality in Him, nor is there any blemish in Him.

8. All His qualities are from eternity and will remain till eternity. No quality of His can ever disappear.

9. He is free from the qualities of the creation. Wherever such qualities have been mentioned in the Quran or Hadith, we leave the meanings of them to Allâh. He is the one who knows the reality of these things. We believe in these things without delving into them and have the conviction that whatever their meanings may be, they are correct. And this is the best way of looking at these things. Alternatively, we could give them some appropriate meaning with which we could get an understanding of them.

10. Whatever good or evil that takes place in the world, Allâh Ta’âla knows of it from eternity; and according to His knowledge He brings it into existence. This is what is meant by taqdir (pre-destination). There is a lot of mysterious wisdom in creating even evil things. Everyone is not aware of this wisdom.

11. Allâh Ta’âla has given man an understanding and the power of choice with which he chooses between good and evil. However, man does not have the power to bring anything into existence of his own accord. Allâh Ta’âla is pleased with good deeds and displeased with evil deeds.

12. Allâh Ta’âla has not ordered man to do anything which is beyond his power.

13. Allâh Ta’âla is not bound by anything. Whatever mercy He shows is solely out of His kindness and virtue.

Trust

The word trust contains an ocean of meaning, but underneath it all is the sense of responsibility, the sense of having to appear before Allah and to account for one’s actions.

[Muhammad al Ghazali]

The Examiner

by F.R. Scott, A poem written in the 1940's in Canada concerning

the American schooling system

The routine trickery of the examination baffles these hot and discouraged youths

Driven by they know not what external pressure, they pour their hated self-analysis, through the nib of confession, onto the accusatory page

I, who have plotted their immediate downfall, I am entrusted with the divine categories: A, B, C, D, and the hell of F

The parade of prize and the back door of past, in the tight silence, standing by green grass window, watching the fertile earth graduate its sons with more compassion

Not commanding the shape of stem and stamen, bringing the trees to pass by shift of sunlight and increase of rain

For each seed, the whole soil; for the inner life, the environment receptive and contributory

I shudder at the narrow frames of our textbook schools in which we plant our so various seedlings

Each brick-walled barracks, cut into numbered rooms, black boarded, ties the venturing chute to the master's stick

The screw-desk rows of lads and girls, subdued in the shade of an adult, their acid sub-soil, shape the new to the old in the ashen garden

Shall we, shall we open the whole skylight of thought to these tip-toe minds, bring them our frontier worlds and the boundless uplands of art for their field of growth?

Or shall we pass them the chosen poems with the footnotes, ring the bell on their thoughts, period their play, make laws for averages and plans for means, print one history book for a whole province and let 90,000 read page 10 by Tuesday?

As I gather the inadequate paper evidence, I hear across the neat campus lawn the professional mower's drone clipping the inch-high grass.

Writing or Root Canal!?

Excruciating pain.....the moment that needle touches the root.. the dentist assures that its just there to remove the germs.....it can't be... doesn't seem like it... germs? removed? ...Yes yes its part of the whole process... you open the tooth from the center by drilling and then insert needles to clean the inside....



...I haven't written this yet... just the thought of it is SO painful...

مقصد کی تلاش

"For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life and how I chose to experience it.."

-anonymous

Amir Meenai's ghazal

her lehza hie momin ki nai aan nai shaan...

Some prominent personalities of the Independence Movement by Maulana Aslam Shaikhupuri

People with insight can derive a wealth of lessons and guidance from the history of nations, groups, and individuals. People who take a lesson from the past, keep a critical eye on the present, and have high hopes of the future, find the doors of progress opening up to them. On the contrary, they cannot be saved from the storms of life who break ties with the past, ignore the achievements of generations gone; fail to be on guard against the doings of their group's rebels, hypocrites, power hungry cowards; who see the present with rose colored glasses, and believe it a fruitless exercise to think of the future. There are a lot of lessons to be learned from the sovereignty of the Muslims over the sub-continent, mutual misunderstandings, the slavery of the British, the Freedom Movement, and the founding of Pakistan. The need is to recount the events again and again so that the new generation remains conscious to the causes of successes and failures. The fall of the Muslim rulers who had ruled Indo-Pak for nearly a thousand years on over 108 million square miles was not due to the strength of the opponents but their own weaknesses that had left them hollow and unsound. They could not bear the winds of opposition and fell to the ground. They had been given a long time to rectify themselves but they did not make use of it. The common man aside, even the elite were devoid of the real meaning of Deen, a few practices were given the name of faith, there remained no relationship between Deen and politics; every distinctive quality of the non-Muslims from prostitution and alcohol to dance and music were rampant in the palaces and privacies of the rulers. The courts were filled with toadying sycophants running after position and power, designing courtiers, hidden conspiracies and animosities. These were the reasons that had hollowed the foundations of the Mughal emperors. The East India Trading Company, established in the name of business, closely observed the weaknesses of the rulers and the simplicity and ignorance of the common man and took advantage by developing ties with the nawwabs and rajas and uprising them against the central rulership. The rulership, already afire, burst into flames that soon devoured the thousand-year power, grandeur and magnificence. Nawwab Siraj ud Dawlah was the first Muslim ruler to realize this stratagem. He warned the British to keep to their trade and close up all armories and forts. The British naval chief, Walton, replied with clenched teeth, "Nawwab Siraj ud Dawlah! I will start the fires of war that will not be quenched even with water." So it was, and although the Nawwab came out with his sword to fight the "Company Bahadur", the conspiracies of hypocrites like Mir Jafar and Uma Chand rusted his blade. It is most probable that without this infidelity the British pride would have been in the dust of Plassey. The second sultan was Hayder Ali whose eagle eyes saw through the ploys of the British and he made a firm resolve to break the chains of slavery the British were trying to bind them in. but his life was short and he was unable to see his dream come true. His true successor in this outlook was his son, the honorable, courageous, Fatah Ali Khan Tipu Sultan. This name will always be written in golden letters and this name will always light candles of valor and gallantry. His feat of standing up against the enemy was a historical event and his martyrdom was no less a wonder. Tipu Sultan furthered his movement of freedom with all political insight, military power, and international assistance. He extended ties with the Ottomans, sided with the French against the British, sent his ambassadors to France, Turkey, Iran, and other countries for building smooth relations. He was the first Hindustani Muslim who took stock of the industrial development of the West and turned his own business endeavors that way. Success was at hand but the British using their customary cunning and wiliness were able to bring round the rulers of Southern India and some close associates of the Sultan. At last this great leader was martyred at the Saranga Patam by the treachery of his own men. General Harris had said by his dead body, "From today, India is ours!” General Bard had said, "The last link of India's freedom has broken today. No power on earth can stop us from taking India now." Their continuous victories and the internal disturbances had boosted the morale’s of the British and now they were hoping to see India as a Christian state. Mr. Mangles said in the London Parliament that God had shown them this day that India is ruled by Britain so that the flag of Christ would fly from one end of India to the other. So everyone should use all his or her powers for the great mission of turning India to Christianity and no one should be lax in the matter. These were the turbulent times when the son of Shah Waliullah, Shah Abdul Aziz rahamahullah alaih gave the decree of India being a "Daarul Harab". The decree had far reaching effects on the Muslims and they became active at different fronts against the British. This verdict played an important role in the uprise of 1857. People used to sit in market places and public gatherings to listen to the ulema talk and then the Muslims took oath by the Quraan and the Hindus by the Ganga Jal that they would not rest until they had kicked the British out of their country. The movement was so strong that in some places the mujahideen were able to snatch back some areas and even cities. From May to September of 1857, every campaign was led by the ulema but among them the campaign of Shamili is specially notable for it saw great leaders like Maulana Muhammad Qasim Nanotvi, Maulana Rashid Admad Gangohi, Maulana Muhammad Munir, Hafiz Muhammad Tahir, and Maulana Sheikh Muhammad take full part in the fight. The War of Independence failed due to a host of reasons. The British then set out for revenge. The Hindustani nation was subjected to inhuman cruelty. The soldiers were given open leave to loot and plunder the city of Delhi for three days. This permission was made use of in the most horrible way. For three whole days people were frenzily murdered, heads fell from bodies, the blood flowed incessantly, bullets were shot at soldier and civilian indiscriminately; then came the hangings. Lynches were set up at all major roads, which became the pleasurable diversions for the British where they used to gather to enjoy the gruesome scenes of murder by rope. Some of the Muslim neighborhoods were wiped clean of any living being. A Field Marshal wrote to his mother that the most effective way for the life sentence was to explode the criminal with a cannon, which was a most gruesome scene, but at that time they could not take any chances. Their aim was to show those rouge Muslims that the British, with the help of their God, were there to stay. Apart from the physical killing of the Muslims, tens of steps were taken destroy the Muslims' education and economy. They were sacked from key and important jobs; the official language was changed from Persian to English; they were barred from government jobs; their property was seized which were the source of income for their madrasas and organizations. Although the freedom fighters lost due to internal weaknesses, infidels, lack of a central and overall authority, but the effects of this fight for freedom reached every corner of India. The intense desire to be rid of the foreigners blossomed in every God fearing heart. In the future this Freedom Movement took the shape of the Indian National Congress, Tehreeke Khilafat, Tarke Mawalaat, Jamiat Ulema Hind, and the Muslim League. Because the British had used their ace card in developing feelings of hatred between the Muslims and the Hindus, many Muslim leaders began to ask for a separate homeland for the Muslims. The everyday experiences of life, of dreadful incidents in offices and departments, the lack of political insight, and mutual differences fueled the fire and at last in 1947 the land was divided and after crossing a sea of blood and carnage, a country came into being in the name of Islam and freedom. The dwellers of Pakistan celebrate their day of freedom every year on 14 August but it seems that another movement will have to be started to make them realize the real reasons for the attainment of Pakistan and to free them of British slavery. Let us see who has the honor of heading that movement!!

A metaphor for the Spiritual Path

Such a beauty... Masha'Allah
The Falls look attractive. One is naturally driven towards them..irrespective of the loudness and the shaking as one gets nearer and nearer.. Each step absorbs the one preceding it. Subhan'Allah, such a majestic Sign...

TODAY

A double class was suppose to begin at 9:25. It was no ordinary class....it was sociolinguistics! A cup of tea in the morning did not seem enough a doze to keep us awake. Anyway, we at least had Chocolato didn't we Naeema?! I as usual had an imaginary screen running in front of my eyes throughout the class. We were desperately looking forward for Sir TZ's aka Tayyab Zaidi (who happens to be our teacher) class. He couldn't come... for a genuine reason *Sigh* Our souls wandered from place to place in that huge campus for the next hour before the start of another nightmarish session that happens to be conducted by a highly "culture oriented" professor KRK, Kulture re Kulture! We learn..or rather we will learn to translate from one language to another.. BUT NOT WITHOUT KNOWING THE CULTURE OF THAT LANGUAGE...so you see..The day ended on this note:

tum na aae to her cheez wahi thee keh jo hai...

Intellect, Reason and Unity Of Being

Intellect, Reason and Unity Of Being
S H Nasr

The tragedy of modern Western philosophy lies, from the Muslim point of view, in confusing intellect and reason. The intellect to which the Sufi doctrine appeals and through which it is understood is that instrument of knowledge which perceives directly. It is not reason which is, at best, its mental image. Intellectus is not ratio. The latter can create and understand philosophy in the usual meaning of the word; only the former can understand metaphysics in its true sense which lies at the heart of the doctrine. To comprehend the doctrine is therefore not just to try to conform ideas to a logical pattern. Nor is it to play with ideas and seek to perform any kind of mental acrobatics. It is a contemplative vision of the nature of things made possible through intellection. The doctrine or metaphysics would be the easiest thing to teach if all men could understand as easily as they can reason. But in fact it is most difficult to explain precisely because only a few are capable of intellection. That is why even within the Tarîqah [i.e. spiritual path within Islam] only a small number are capable of fully comprehending the doctrine.

Doctrine is in a sense the beginning and end of the Path. It comes at the beginning as a knowledge that is 'theoretical' and at the end as one that is realized and lived. Between the two there is a world of difference. Every doctrinal work of Sufism is like a key with which a particular door is opened and through which the traveller must pass until finally, at the end of the road, he realizes in his being the doctrine that he knew 'theoretically' at the beginning. There are those who belittle doctrine in the name of experience. But doctrine is absolutely essential especially at the beginning of the Path when man is lost in the maze of distracting thoughts, and especially in modern times when the confusion in the mental plane makes the possession of a clear vision of the nature of things indispensable. The doctrine at the beginning is like the map of a mountain to be climbed. At the end it is the intimate knowledge of the mountain gained through the actual experience of having climbed it.

Also in the same way that different descriptions can be given of a mountain depending on the angle from which it is being viewed, doctrine is often expressed in terms that may seem contradictory in certain external aspects. But the subject of all the descriptions is the mountain and the content of all the expressions of doctrine is the Truth which each formulation expresses from a certain point of view. In metaphysical doctrines there is no innate opposition, as in schools of philosophy, but complementary forms that reveal the same essence.

All doctrine, as already stated, is essentially the distinction between the Real and the apparent, the Absolute and relative, or substance and accidents. Its cardinal teaching is that only Allah is absolutely Real and consequently this world in which man lives is contingent. Between God, who transcends Being and whose first determination is Pure Being, and this world, which is farthest away from It, there are located a number of other worlds each standing hierarchically above the other in the scale of universal existence. Together they comprise the multiple states of being, which all receive their being from God, while before Him they are literally nothing. Man thus stands before this vast number of worlds above him, and beyond them before the Divine Presence Itself which, although completely transcendent with respect to all domains of the Universe, is closer to man than his jugular vein.

The central doctrine concerning the ultimate nature of reality has usually been called wahdat al-wujûd or the (transcendent) unity of Being. This cardinal doctrine, which is not pantheism, or pan-entheism nor natural mysticism as Western orientalists have called it, is the direct consequence of the Shahâdah. It asserts that there cannot be two completely independent orders of reality or being which would be sheer polytheism or shirk. Therefore, to the extent that anything has being it cannot be other than the Absolute Being. The Shahâdah in fact begins with the lâ, or negation, in order to absolve Reality of all otherness and multiplicity. The relation between God and the order of existence is not just a logical one in which if one thing is equal to another the other is equal to the first. Through that mystery that lies in the heart of creation itself, everything is, in essence, identified with God while God infinitely transcends everything. To understand this doctrine intellectually is to possess contemplative [intuitive] intelligence; to realize it fully is to be a saint who alone sees 'God everywhere'.

From: Ideals and Realities of Islam, S H Nasr

Advice For Students Of The Deen

Advice For Students Of The Deen

by Sh. Shoayb Ahmed

1. We must make sure that we are acquiring knowledge firstly for the pleasure of Allah. We must be mindful of the Hadith, "Actions are according to the intentions." (Al-Bukhari & Muslim)

2. We must always practice on whatever we learn. This reaffirms our knowledge and Allah will grant us insight and knowledge of those matters which we were totally unaware of. "A person is not an Alim (learned person) until he acts on his knowledge." (Ibn Hibban)

"Whoever acts upon what he has learnt, Allah grants him knowledge of that which he was unaware of." (Abu Nuaym in Al-Hilyah)

Ibrahim ibn Ismail ibn Mujamma' said: "We used to memorize the Hadith by relying on practising on it." (Tadreeb Al-Rawi)

3. Students must work on developing a high level of Taqwa. The greater the level of taqwa, the greater the quality of ones knowledge. Allah says in Surah Al-Baqarah, verse: 282 "Fear Allah and Allah will teach you."

It is reported from Sufyan Al-Thawri: "When a man wished to acquire knowledge (ilm), he engaged himself in Ibadah before that for twenty years." This may be achieved through being very particular on the five Salaat, regular Istighfaar for our shortcomings, Dua, recitation of the Quraan and other adhkaar.

The Dhikr is a source of peace and contentment. Surah Ra'd, verse: 28

4. The Nur and the fruits of true knowledge and the ability to retain and remember whatever was learnt is possible when the person abstains from sin. In this regard, Imam Al-Shafi complained to his teacher, Waki' about his weak memory. His teacher directed him towards avoiding sin and he went on to say that knowledge (of Deen) is a light and the light of Allah is not granted to a sinner. 5. Students must select a good teacher and a pure source of ilm. If and when the teacher is an embodiment of virtue, piety and ilm, then this will permeate to the students. Muhammad ibn Sireen is reported to have said: "Certainly this ilm is Deen, so take care as to who you take it from." (Safahaat fi Adab Al-Ra'y by Shaykh Muhammad Awwamah)

Imam Malik was asked: "Can ilm be taken from a person who has not acquired it and neither has he sat (with scholars)?" He replied: "No"

The person then asked: "May it be taken from a person who is true and authentic (reliable), but he does not memorize and does not understand?"

He (Imam Malik) said: "Knowledge is not documented from anyone except a person who memorizes and has truly acquired it and sat with the people (scholars) and really knows and practices and he possess the quality of fear of Allah."

Imam Abu Hanifah was told about a group in the masjid discussing issues of Fiqh. He asked: "Do they have a leader?"

They replied: "No"

He said: "These people will never gain true understanding (Fiqh)."

6. Students may aspire to acquire certificates from different institutions as this is what may assist them in this world, but they must remember that the transmission of ilm through the sanad must never be neglected. This is the very means by which our Deen has reached us and in this way it has been preserved.

Abdullah ibn Al-Mubarak said: "The Isnad is part of the Deen. If it were not for the Isnad, then any person would have said whatever he wished."

7. As students we must not be distracted by excessive physical comfort. Our illustrious scholars of the past underwent great difficulties to acquire knowledge even it were a single Hadith. They valued their ilm more than their lives. Yahya ibn Abi Kathir said: "Ilm cannot be acquired through physical comfort." (Tadhkirat Al-Huffaaz)

8. Many students wish to gain maximum in the shortest possible time. In trying to achieve this, they experiment with different short courses. These do not provide the desired fruits. In a couplet by Imam Al-Juwayni, he says that knowledge will not be achieved except through six things; intelligence, eagerness, hard-work, competence, the company of a teacher and a long time.

We must be willing to gradually progress in our knowledge. Imam al- Bukhari in Kitab Al-Ilm defines a Rabbani as one who trains people with basic matters of ilm before more complex ones."

9. Students must have a high degree of respect and humility for their teachers and more especially the scholars of the formers generations. When we consider ourselves after a few years on par with the pious predecessors or even in a position to ridicule them, then we will be deprived of true knowledge.

Abu Hatim Al-Razi reports from Yahya ibn Maeen: "We criticize some people and it is likely that they already have their feet in Jannah some two hundred years ago."

Abu Nuaym mentions in Al-Hilyah in the biography of Imam Malik who told a young boy from the Quraysh: "Learn etiquette (adab) before you acquire knowledge."

In Rislat Al-Mustarshideen: "Humble yourself in front of those from whom you learn."

A person must be humble in his relationship with the creation of Allah especially those who are eager to benefit from his knowledge. Allah had even instructed the Prophet Muhammad to be humble with those who followed him. Surah Al-Shu'ara, verse: 215 When one inculcates the quality of humility, then will he be a source of good for the creation. Allah mentions that He had not sent the Prophet except as a means of mercy for the world. Surah Al- Ambiya verse:107

10. We must never consider ourselves as having reached a stage where we cannot learn something new. A person remains a student forever. Saeed ibn Jubayr said: "A person is a scholar (alim) as long as he continues to learn. No sooner does he abandon knowledge, thinking that he is not in need and he is content with what he has, then he is the most ignorant."

11. We must not be deceived by some eloquent speaker who does not possess true and genuine ilm. The Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said: "My greatest fear for you after I depart from this world is the evil of the hypocrite whose knowledge is only on his tongue." (Al-Tabarani in Mujam Al-Kabir and Ibn Hibban)

12. We as students must regard our knowledge as the most valuable and prized possession. We must never feel inferior in front of people of other professions.

The Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said: "Indeed the ulama (scholars) are the heirs of the Prophets. The Prophets did not leave behind gold (dinars) and silver (dirhams), instead they left ilm. Whoever takes it has surely taken a great share." (Abu Dawud, Al- Tirmidhi, Al-Nisaai & Ibn Majah)

13. Students must inculcate in themselves the readiness to admit and say, "I don't know."

It is reported form Ibn Masud: "Whoever knows then must speak, and whoever does not know then must say, I don't know because to say this is part of ilm."

Al-Sha'bi was asked about something to which he replied and said; "I don't know." Someone told him, "Are you not ashamed to say this even though you are the jurist of Iraq?" He replied: "The angels were not ashamed when they said, Glory be to You (Allah), we have no knowledge about this." (Al-Sha'bi was referring to the incident when Allah created the Prophet Adam and thereafter instructed the angels to prostrate before him)

14. We must be mindful of the fact that we could be wrong. It is reported from Ibn Masud who used to say: "If it is correct then it is from Allah, and if it is incorrect, then it is from me and shaytaan."

15. Ever era is weaker academically and intellectually than the former. As the years go by, true and genuine scholarship is weakened.

It is reported Ya'qub ibn Shaybah from Ibn Masud: "Not a day comes upon you except that it is of a lesser degree in knowledge then the day before it. So when the ulama are all gone, people will all be on the same level. Then they will not instruct others to do good and they will not forbid evil. This is when you will be destroyed." Ibn Taymiyah said in Rafu' Al-Malaam: "Assuming all the Hadith were gathered in compilations (books), no Alim will know all that is contained in the books. Some person may have many books, but he is not aware of its contents. However, those who lived before these compilations were gathered were much more knowledgeable in the Sunnah. Their chests were their compilations and it contained much more then these books."

16. A student must take out some time to teach whatever he has learnt . By doing this whatever was learnt is further embedded in the heart and mind.

There is great reward in this because we have been advised by the Prophet in a Hadith reported in Sahih Muslim "Whoever invites towards good, then for him is a reward equal to those who follow, but their reward is not decreased in any way."

Through teaching, a person will be following the example and Sunnah of the Prophet. In a Hadith reported by Ibn Majah the Prophet is reported to have said,

"…Indeed I have been sent as a teacher." 17. One must adhere to the teachings of the Shariah and in doing so he will be a perfect role model for others. In Surah Al-Imraan, verse: 31 "Say! If you love Allah, then follow me (the Prophet), then Allah will love you and He will forgive your sins." In Surah Al-Ahzaab, verse:21 "Indeed there is for you in the Messenger of Allah a perfect example."

Because the ulama are the heirs of the Prophets, it is only appropriate that they are also examples for the people.


Sh. Shoayb Ahmed (shoayba---webmail.co.za)

Hatred by Wislawa Szymborska

Look, how constantly capable and how well maintained in our century: hatred. How lightly she regards high impediments. How easily she leaps and overtakes. She's not like other feelings. She's both older and younger than they. She herself gives birth to causes which awaken her to life. If she ever dozes, it's not an eternal sleep. Insomnia does not sap her strength, but adds to it. Religion or no religion, as long as one kneels at the starting-block. Fatherland or no fatherland, as long as one tears off at the start. She begins as fairness and equityt. Then she propels herself. Hatred. Hatred. She veils her face with a mien of romantic ecstasy. Oh, the other feelings -- decrepit and sluggish. Since when could that brotherhood count on crowds? Did ever empathy urge on toward the goal? How many clients did doubt abduct? Only she abducts who knows her own.

Talented, intelligent, very industrious. Do we need to say how many songs she has written. How many pages of history she has numbered. How many carpets of people she has spread out over how many squares and stadiums! Let's not lie to ourselves: She's capable of creating beauty. Wonderful is her aura on a black night. Magnificent cloud masses at rosy dawn. It's difficult to deny her pathos of ruins and her coarse humor mightily towering above them columns. She's the mistress of contrast between clatter and silence, between red blood and white snow. And above all she never tires of the motif of the tidy hangman above the defiled victim. She's ready for new tasks at any moment. If she must wait she'll wait. She said she was blind. Blind? She has the keen eyes of a sniper and boldly looks into the future --she alone.

-translated by Walter Whipple

in a haze. . .

Is this real life? I mean is this really the real life I am living? Dead while living...screaming while living...annoyed while living...happy and flamboyant while living. It is so very difficult to refrain from doing what is done and doing what is untouched. It seems as if everything is hazy...disappearing..slowing fading away..

REGRET: An amazing article by Maulana Muhammad Aslam Shaikhupuri

I am staring in bewilderment at the burnt corpses of the innocent little twin brothers....

The Divine Power has His own scheme of providing or withholding offspring, which is without doubt a wisdom-based system. Some yearning arms remain empty forever; some are given boys, some girls, and others both. It is another debate that a Mu'min should have firm belief in destiny, but the desire for boys is ingrained in the human breast. One can of course pray, or even wish, but not act in any way that would anger the Decider of male or female. One hears of couples that get out of their minds in their wish for a male child, are again and again swindled by doctors, hakims, quacks, so-called magicians, but even then never give up hope. Even their trials and tribulations fail to lead them to the sweet satisfaction of bowing to Allah’s will. The acquisition of a son seems to them the greatest gratification and the solution to all problems. Man faces problems and his nature makes him believe that if this problem were solved he would be happy and content with no other worries or desires to bother him; the second, third, fourth problem leads him through the same feelings and he, designating it the last one runs to solve it like a mad man. Problems keep getting worked out but his madness instead of being satiated gains new heights...the desire for sons is one such desire that maddens those who are not aware of daughters being a mercy and dissatisfied with destiny.

But you would rarely have heard a tragedy so sad, that a mother burnt her lovely innocent children with her own hands. But we, who are gradually becoming the heirs of the practical, moral, and social waywardness; immoralities, excesses, lawlessness, and corruption of bygone nations; are finding such shocking and heartless acts recurring incidence. A number of unmarried mothers do such a thing to cover their black deeds, but the little twins I am talking about were the legitimate children of their mother. The little angels were not given up to lashing flames by any other than their own mother who wrapped them in a blanket, poured kerosene over them and struck a match. The mother who is a shade of love, a sea of affection, a tower of greatness, a fortress of adoration, a sign of heaven, the most beautiful gift of nature, a sweet gentle breeze.........the mother who gives up her warm and dry bed to her wet child, becomes a shield in troubled times, provides coolness in the harshness of the world...no one can even imagine how a mother who conjures up the music of falling water, the coolness of stars, and the fragrance of flowers could throw to flames her own flesh and blood? Imagine it or not but it is the truth. This did happen at the hands of a mother in the cultured metropolis of Karachi. A woman named Zahra, laying aside family traditions, honor and shame, married a handsome, well-dressed, eloquent man of her choice.

The print and electronic media have afflicted our sisters and daughters with the disease of idealism. A number of them knock around on roads, parks, markets, clubs, parties, colleges, and universities looking about for their ideals. A few meetings and outward get up are enough to decide them on their “life partners”, putting aside family background and practical and moral drawbacks. The parents are taken aback by their daughter’s imprudence; they beg and cry, try to frighten her with pictures of future unfaithfulness, with the dishonor among the family...but she hardly cares and rejects all appeals labeling them narrow-minded social hurdles; her enemy, and God knows what. She stands fast on her decision because this is what she has learnt from digests and tele dramas.

The first few months go by in a dream and she proudly shows off her love and laughs at the “frights” given her by her family and relatives. Then the rosy tints fade and life faces her in all its crudeness, then she starts lamenting her decision. The well-dressed, handsome, loving man she had married starts to change. The outer shell sheds and out comes a frightening, hard, loathsome character. The sentimental, unwise girl who spurned the love of her parents, the sincerity of here siblings, and the concern of relatives becomes frightened. She feels alone in a place where beasts abound and there is no sympathetic hand to help her out.

And when she is left all on her own with that piece of paper with “divorce” written on it, she is either compelled to sell herself or hide her face and beg on roads, or give up her life, or...like Zahra, burn the beautiful pictures she herself created. Countless Zahras are regretful of their decisions after emerging from their intoxication and deceitful pride...but this regret is of no use.

Come to think of it, this regret should also encompass the parents who never question their daughter’s freedom, licentiousness, mixing with the opposite sex, going alone in parties, making boy friends...but when their honor is at stake, they shake the sky with their cries.

This regret should also be shared by the untruthful flag bearers of women’s rights who encourage young girls to elope and stand against Islamic traditions and who then present such cases as models for others to follow.

This regret should also be shared by those reformers who have become negligent of their duty of social reform in their pursuit of unnecessary debates, indulgence, and desire for wealth. It is the result of their negligence that has resulted in the meaninglessness of shame and honor; that has made fornication easy and marriage difficult, that has advanced dowry and countless other meaningless customs that has made the easiest of the Sunnah of Rasoolullah (salallahu alaihi wasallam) the most difficult.

Until and unless there is a restraint on the free mixing of the sexes, until the importance of chastity and modesty are impressed in hearts, until reformers play their roles in society, unless marriage is freed from unnecessary, self-made, and ignorant customs, emotionally unstable “Zahras” will continue revolting against their families; temporary bonds will continue to bind; shells will continue to break; bitterness will continue to raise its head; homes based on lust will continue to break; divorces will continue to proceed; regrets will continue to be wept over.......but there will be nothing left except burnt bodies, cracking bones, blackened corpses, news reports and lamenting newspaper columns!

Wasting Time...

Dharney ko dil pey yaan na utha haath per se haath

Kaamon se log apne nimat ker chaley gaye

Time...the most precious commodity..you waste it and you face the consequences..sigh...today was grammar exam...in the three days I spend staring at the sentence structures and trying to know the difference between tense, aspect, time, and making the assignment, I think I spend most of the time allowing myself to daydream. The rest of the world saw me dug in my books..My sister called me from Malaysia..said to me.."would you ever care to separate yourself from books and talk to me instead"... called me a 'studious sister'..huh! Another sister is arriving from US on the day before my next exam and she has warned me that if she sees me studying she won't hand me the books she is getting for me...haha I laughed at myself..My brother asked me to get a life and my nephew and nieces think I am a lazy bump!


I decided to write this because I couldn't afford to waste more time...thoughts don't stay in one place all the time...they are a very clever specie..will find a way out through other means and haunt you for days at length:) Am I making any sense? I used to listen to a song when I was in school..liked its lyrics...

"Time, where did you go?
Why did you leave me here alone?
Wait, don't go so fast
I'm missing the moments as they pass
Now I've looked in the mirror and the worlds getting clearer
So wait for me this time...."

"Women's Protection"

'Ek Zinda Haqiqat Mere Seene Mein Hai Mastoor

Kya Jaanega Woh Jiske Ragon Main Hai Lahoo Sard

Na parda Na Taleem, Nai Ho Ke Purani

Niswaniyat E Zan Ka NigeBaan Hai Faqat Mard

Jis Qaum Ne Is Zinda Haqiqat Ko Na Paya,

Us Qaum Ka Kursheed Bahut Jald Huwa Zard’.

-Iqbal

"Life without a friend is like death without a witness."

SO WHAT!

So what if the sky is blue and the grass is green and the moon is full

So what if the wind is blowing and the trees are gently swaying

So what if there is fog all around and the snow is falling

So what if the leaves are falling and the sky is showing all colors

So what?!

So what if the children are playing in the ground and the old couple is walking hand in hand

So what if the home is warm and cozy and the whole family is having dinner together

So what if the bird is making a nest to lay eggs and the cat is licking its kittens

So what if the sea is deep blue and so silent you can hear a pebble drop in it

So what?!

So what. . .

A WILD MAZE

A reader might judge me as wise or lame! How then is it possible to guess who I am? I am not the only one thinking on the same line. But there are times when I think I am the only one with such brains. I am even capable of imagining myself in the lowest pit of the society. I seek help, I seek knowledge, I seek pain, I seek comfort, and I even seek undefined love. I know I'm a human-but wait; is not mass the quantity of matter a body contains? Am I that large mass of cognizance? Who knows? -I do! -How come? - Oh nonsense, why because I am a man!

It is a wild wild maze. Am I one of the stereotypes? They say a bride needs to look pretty so makeover is essential. They say US is a super power so it is reverent to bow. They say it is mundane to go to church, mosque, synagogue or any other place of worship and so it is! They say that having milk over fish causes stuff like –itis, -emia, -omas or –megaly and I believe them?! ‘You are such a priest’, they say, and that is the final word. They say ‘Wow it is an Italian glass and it becomes unique.

Ever heard of Jeremy Bentham? He designed the famous panopticon style prison consisting of several cell blocks interconnected by main administrative block. What exactly is a “panopticon”, anyway?

The means by which the abstract space of the machine and the social space represent a unifying theme of utopia spatial organization. Bentham struggled for decades to promote his vision of how reconciliation might be accomplished through the construction of his architectural and social experiment; the panopticon (all seeing place) – each cell would be separated by walls on either side, so that the prisoners are “secluded from all communication with each other”. A window on the wall facing the building’s exterior and an iron grating facing the buildings interior would ensure constant surveillance over the activities of each individual by an inspector who was located in a tower at the center of the panopticon. This surveillance was unidirectional however as a set of blinds covering the windows in the inspector’s power would prevent prisoners from watching their captors.

In the modern times Bentham’s panopticon concept could be integrated into many social functions. The organizations of our private relation, “are like so many cages, so many small theaters, in which each actor is alone, perfectly individualized and constantly visible.” Like the prisoners in the panoptiscopic penitentiary, the citizen “is seen, but he does not see; he is the subject of information, never a subject in communication”.

We have so rigidly created our own worlds that we forget that this phenomenon should not focus on the structure of the architecture but on “the space between the lines”.

Aik Kamra e Imtihan - by Amjad Islam Amjad

بےنگِاہ آنکھوں سے دیکھتے ہیں پَرچے کو
بے خیال ہاتھوں سے
اَن بُنے سے لفظوں پَر اُنگلیاں گھُماتے ہیں
یا سوالنامے کو دیکھتے ہی جاتےہیں
ہر طرف کَن اَنکھیوں سے بچ بَچا کے تَکتے ہیں
دُوسروں کے پَرچوں کو رَہنما سمجھتے ہیں
شاید اِس طرح کوئی راستہ ہی مِل جائے
بےنِشاں خوابوں کا کچھ پَتا ہی مِل جائے

مجُھ کو دیکھتے ہیں تو
یُوں جواب کاپی پَر ہاشیے لگاتے ہیں
دائرے بناتے ہیں
جیسے اِنکو پَرچے کے سب جواب آتے ہیں
اِس طرح کے مَنظر میں
اِمتہان گاھوں میں دیکھتا ہی رہتا تھا
نقَل کرنے والوں کے
نِت نئے طریقوں سے
آپ لطُف لیتا تھا! دوستوں سے کہتا تھا

کِس طَرف سے جانے یہ!
آج دِل کے آنگن میں ایک سوال آیا ہے
سینکڑوں سوالوں سا ایک سوال لایا ہے
وقت کِی عدالت میں
زندگی کِی صُورت میں
یہ جو تیرے ہاتھوں میں ایک سوالنامہ ہے
کِس نے یہ بنایا ہے
کِس لیے بنایا ہے
کچُھ سمجھ میں آیا ہے

زِندگی کے پَرچے کے
سب سوال لازِم ہیں..سب سوال مشکِل ہیں
بے نِگاہ آنکھوں سے دیکھتا ھُوں پَرچے کو
بے خیال ہاتھوں سے
اَن بُنے سے لفظوں پَر اُنگلیاں گُھماتا ھُوں
ہاشِیے لگاتا ھُوں
دائرے بناتا ھُوں
یا سوالنامے کو دیکھتا ہی جاتا ھُوں

"Dekhna taqrir key lazzat keh jo uss ney kaha
Hum ney yah jana keh goya yehee meray dil mein thaa"

A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act 4, scene 1

"The eye of man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not seen, man's hand is not able to taste, tongue to conceive, nor his heart to report, what my dream was."

Mind like Water

Smooth...everything around me is calm and silent..as if nothing has gone wrong..how and why? Nobody nobody seem to know...strange world out there..people die and nobody nobody knows....sigh

Surrender

himmat-e-iltijaa nahii.n baaqii

himmat-e-iltijaa nahii.n baaqii
zabt kaa hausalaa nahii.n baaqii

[himmat-e-iltijaa = strength to plead]
[baaqii = remaining; zabt = tolerance/restraint]

ik terii diid chhin ga_ii mujh se
varnaa duniyaa me.n kyaa nahii.n baaqii

[diid = sight/view]

apanii mashq-e-sitam se haath na khe.nch
mai.n nahii.n yaa vafaa nahii.n baaqii

[mashq-e-sitam = practice of tormenting/oppression]

terii chashm-e-alam_navaaz kii Khair
dil me.n ko_ii gilaa nahii.n baaqii

[alam_navaaz = consoling when in grief]

ho chukaa Khatm ahad-e-hijr-o-visaal
zindagii me.n mazaa nahii.n baaqii

[ahad = promise]
[hij-o-visaal = separation and union/meeting]
                           

Faiz Ahmed Faiz

XLIII. "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways..." by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861)

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight For the ends of Being and ideal Grace. I love thee to the level of everyday's Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light. I love thee freely, as men strive for Right; I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise. I love thee with a passion put to use In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith. I love thee with a love I seemed to lose With my lost saints, --- I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life! --- and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death.

Beauty lies in truth

Truth..what does it signify?..who knows what it is?

..whatever it is, it is beautiful

..but this world blurs the Truth through the 'images' it has constructed across several millions of decades..

Balance strikes the image and the forces collide..this collision is never ending...only He knows when it'll stop..


Keep whispering...

. . .

"Log ye kyun kehtai hain, log woh kyun kehtay hain"

...kyun keh un ko yeh khud nahi pata hota keh woh jo 'kertai' hain woh kyun kertai hai. . .

"The need of the hour is that your life be revolutionized. The revolution should not be an individual one but a collective one. The change should be concerning your belief, your morals, your actions, your dealings, your decisions, and your efforts. Your life in every way should become a beacon of guidance and it should become a means for da’wah.”


Abul Hasan ‘Alī al-Nadwī

Truly Blessed. . .

Talking of Madinah . . .
What type of world would it have been without Makkah and Madinah?

By Syed Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi (RA)


Friends have invited me to give a talk on Madinah, describing what I saw there, and I have readily agreed. As a Persian poet has said: "To talk of the beloved is no less pleasant than to meet him."
I do not know when I first heard of Makkah and Madinah. Like all Muslim children, I was brought up in an environment in which Hijaz (Arabia) and Makkah and Madinah were household words. I, distinctly, remember people saying Makkah, Madinah together as if these were the same. When they took the name of one of them, they, generally, mentioned that of the other as well. I, thus, came to imagine that Makkah and Madinah were not two different places, but one, and learnt to appreciate the difference only as I grew up. It, then, became clear that these were two different towns separated from each other by over 300 kilometers.
In my childhood, I had heard people talking about Arabia and the two towns with the same fervor and enthusiasm as they did about Paradise and its joys and comforts, and it was from that time that I was seized with the desire to attain Paradise and visit Arabia.
Soon I realized that it was not possible for anyone to see Paradise during his lifetime, but he could, of course, go to Arabia. Parties of Hajjis (pilgrims) were visiting it regularly. So, why could I, also, not make a visit to that 'Paradise of Faith?'
Days rolled by and I grew in age. My old eagerness was revived when I read books on the life of the Holy Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) and studied the history of Islam, and the urge to perform the Hajj and make the pilgrimage to Makkah and Madinah became so strong that I was never without it.
Then, it so happened that I did reach the place where neither the grass grew nor rivers flowed. Only barren mountains stood on all sides of it like sentinels. Yet, as famous Pakistani poet Hafeez Jullundri has said:
Neither grass grows here nor flowers bloom,Yet even heavens bend themselves low to meet it.
As I saw the apparently unattractive stretch of land, I felt how devoid of scenery that town was. At the same time, however, I thought what a great favor it had bestowed upon mankind. Without it, the wide world would have been nothing more than a golden cage, and man, a prisoner. This was the town that took man out of the narrow confines of the earth and made him acquainted with limitless possibilities of development, and restored to mankind its glory and freedom. It relieved humanity of the heavy load under which it was groaning and broke the fetters unjust rulers and ignorant lawgivers had put around its feet.
As I reflected over what the world would have been without this town, I thought of comparing it with the bigger towns of the world and seeing what would have been the loss of human race and civilization had the latter not come into existence. One by one, all those towns came to my mind, and I felt that they were flourishing merely for the sake of a handful of men and had made no notable contribution to human progress and happiness. On the contrary, they had been guilty of various sins against man, at various stages of history. For selfish gain, one town had razed the other to the ground, and one country had ravaged the other countries.
Civilization would have been none the poorer without those cities. But without Makkah, humanity would have, certainly, remained unblessed with truths, beliefs, ideals and sciences that were its pride today. It was owing to it that the world regained the imperishable wealth of Faith and rediscovered the true knowledge that lay buried under a thick crust of conjecture and speculation. It got back the dignity and nobility that had been trampled under the feet of cruel oppressors. In fact, humanity was reborn at Makkah, and history turned a new leaf.
But what am I saying? What do I mean when I ask: What would the world have been like had there been no Makkah? It had remained asleep, until the 6th Century, with its dry mountains and huge sand dunes, even with the House of Ka'aba and the Well of Zam-Zam, while humanity was caught in the clutches of death. Surrounded by its mountains and sand dunes, it went on leading a secluded life as if it had nothing to do with the larger human family, and was not a part of, but apart from the world that lay around it.
I should, therefore, not be enquiring what would have been the state of the world without Makkah, but without its illustrious son who turned the scales of history and showed a new path to mankind.
As I reflected on it, a few scenes emerged on the landscape of my mind. It appeared as if the leader of the Quraish was circumambulating around the House of Ka'aba, alone and by himself, and people were jeering at him and passing sarcastic remarks, but he was carrying out the circumambulation with supreme indifference to all hostility and opposition.
On finishing the circumambulation, he wants to go into the House of Ka'aba, but the key-bearer, Osman bin Talha checks him with a firm hand. The leader of the Quraish bears it, too, with exemplary fortitude, and says: "Oh Osman! What will it be like on the day when the key will be in my hand and I will give it to who I please?" "Will all the Quraish be dead on that day?" asks Osman in anger. "No", he replies. "On that day, they will attain real respect and honor."
I, then, see the same leader circumambulating around the House of Ka'aba, on the occasion of the Victory of Makkah, and his Companions who had sacrificed their all for his sake gathering around him like moths. He sends for the keeper of the key, and says to him: "Osman! This is your key. Take it. Today is the day of showing kindness and keeping the promise."
As history tells, the celebrated son of Makkah did not only become the owner of the key with which he could open the door of the House of Ka'aba, but, with him, also, was the key with which he could open the locks of humanity no seer or philosopher had been able to do till then. It was the Qur'an that had been revealed to and the Apostleship that had been bestowed on him.
After performing the Hajj, I flew towards Madinah on the wings of eagerness. The hardships of the way seemed to be a blessing to me, and before my eyes was drawn the soul-stirring image of the earlier traveler whose camel had passed through the same route.
The first thing I did on reaching Madinah was to offer two Rak'ats of salat and express my sincerest gratitude to the Almighty for granting me the good fortune to be there. After it, I betook myself into the 'presence' of the Holy Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam). How boundless was his favor upon me, really! I could never give thanks to him as was his due. I offered Durood and Salaam, and affirmed that he had conveyed the Message of the Lord to the world, proved true to the trust He had placed with him, showed the Straight Path to the Ummah, and strove till the last breath of his life in the way of God.
I, then, made the salutation to both the trusted friends of his whose selfless devotion was without a parallel in history. No one had discharged the duties of companionship or fulfilled the obligations of succession as they did.
From the Prophet's Mosque, I went to Jannat ul-Baq'ee. What a priceless treasure of truth and purity, of love and dedication is buried in this small plot of land! Asleep here are those who had sacrificed the life of this world for the life of futurity. These are the men who willingly abandoned their hearths and homes in the way of faith, and preferred to spend their lives at the feet of the sacred Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) than with friends and relatives. "Among the Believers are men who have been true to their covenant with Allah." [Al-Ahzab 33:23].
Thereafter, I visited Uhud where the most spectacular drama of love and fealty was staged. It was here that the world saw living models of faith and steadfastness; it was here that it learnt the true significance of courage and constancy. On reaching there, it seemed that I heard Hazrat Anas bin Nazr, Radi-Allahu anhu, say: "I feel the sweet smell of Paradise coming from the side of Uhud." Or that on hearing the news of the martyrdom of the Holy Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam), Sa'ad bin Mu'ad, Radi-Allahu anhu, was saying: "What is the joy of fighting and Jihad when the Apostle of God is no more?" And Anas, Radi-Allahu anhu, interjecting: "What is the joy of living after him?"
It was here, again, that Abu Dujana, Radi-Allahu anhu, had made his back serve as a shield for the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) arrows pierced his flesh, but he flinched not. Syedna Talha, Radi-Allahu anhu, in the same way, had taken the arrows aimed at the Holy Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) on his hands until the arms were paralyzed. Hazrat Hamza, Radi-Allahu anhu, was killed on this very battlefield and his body was cut to pieces, and Hazrat Mas'ab bin Omair, Radi-Allahu anhu, was martyred in such a state that even a shroud could not be provided for him, and he was buried in a blanket which was so short that if the head was covered, the feet became bare, and if the feet were covered, the head became bare.
Would that Uhud gave something of its treasure to mankind! Would that the world got a small particle of the faith and steadfastness of those glorious times!
Friends say: "You took us to Cairo and acquainted us with its important personalities; you have told us about Damascus and its people, and introduced us with its scholars; you have taken us round the Middle East. Now, tell me something about Hijaz and its distinguished sons." But what am I to do? To me Hijaz stands only for one man about whom I can go on talking forever. It is because of him that Hijaz is Hijaz, and the World of Islam is the World of Islam.
Our honor, indeed, is by Mustafa's name!