Do Not Like the Sound of That

Apparently there is further fall in Indian GDP growth.

This does not look like a pleasant news. But such things are unavoidable. Positive growth can not be maintained indefinitely - the resources of the world are limited. It is the west which has been dominating the world thought process for last hundred years that has created this chimera that we should switch to growth mode of society. In a world where economies are interrelated effect of western slow down is bound to reach each and every world economy and the best thing is to anticipate and prepare for it.

So how to handle economic slow down? Good question - and if you do not have the answer then start thinking about it. Yours truly knows at least one thing - sooner or later it will boil down to cutting down your expenditure. Government expenditures should have never reached that they have, just think how Greek folly of debt financed spending that is bringing European economy down, but now we shall have to thing seriously about our own expenditures as citizen.

This is related to patience - Sabr. Sabr is a difficult thing to do but it is extremely rewarding. Switch yourself to Sabr mode and weather it out.

National Science Day - 2012

Today on February 29, 2012 Physics Department is celebrating National Science Day - 2012.
The celebration is associated with the discovery of Raman Effect by Sir C.V. Raman in the first half of twentieth century. Today Professor Naresh Dadhich and Professor M.Sami of Center for Theoretical Physics of Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi delivered lectures as part of these celebrations. Many academics gathered to listen to them and the the 2012 issue of the Physics Bulletin published by the Department of Physics was released by the Vice Chancellor Professor Sibghatullah Faruqi. Most exciting thing was that both of the external speakers were crowded for long time by the students after the lectures. More interestingly some students, perhaps they were from the Zakir Husain College of Engineering and Technology, asked questions during  the lecture itself.

For a mature society scientific discourse is a way of life and it was very heart warming to see this in action.

Broad Minded

Yours truly is sure that brothers and sisters are familiar with the following saying:

It is alright to be broad minded but do not be so broad minded that your brain falls out.

Hazrat Maseeh-ul-Ummah (RA)

Here are some links to the sayings of Hazrat (RA).

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12(A) | Part 12(B) | Part 12(C) | Part 13

Enjoying Induction into Falsehood

A young man, Omar Kamal bin Farooq, is enjoying his induction into falsehood.

No guess required to ascertain who has facilitated his assertion.
This reminds your truly about another young man whom yours truly has to deal with.
Basically yours truly has to make all those accommodations in this case which is against so many of yours truly's self imposed rules.
Reason being his absolutely frail psychological composition. Young man must be dabbling in undesirable substances. And his father must be aware of it. There is a danger of a precious life getting wasted slowly just in front of our eyes. Responsibilities of yours truly are really very minimal in this case and hence the concern too is moderate but the tragedy in making looks gigantic nevertheless - every life is precious, nay, priceless.

And the musings of first young man too are not very heart warming. The route that he is exploring decidedly takes to the wrong destination in the hereafter but the possible end may not be much different from the possible destination that the other young man is heading towards. May Allah(SWT) guide both of them on the right path and give them the requisite strength to follow it. May He forgive ours and their sins and replace them by good deeds. May He cast our lives completely according to His Will - His obedience.

Qari Amir Hasan Sahab Encircled by Divine Mercy

Announcing the passing away of Remainder and Reminder of Pious Predecessors Hazrat Qari Amir Hasan Sahab today morning on Friday, February 23, 2012 at Mumbai. Burial is scheduled for after Friday Prayers in Mumbai.

Verily we are for our Lord and unto Him is our return. May Allah(SWT) grant him a place in Jannat-ul-Firdaus, honourable patience to the grieved family and all those who were associated with him and a replacement of him for the Ummah.

PS: See also TSHS and SF.

False Confidence

Have you ever come across a statement of the following type - the wordings might be different but focus on the theme :

Qur'an gives us many of these scientific theories 1400 years ago. They are not accepting Qur'an as whole but they are relying on Qura'n in their scientific developments. This is the strong argument in favor of Qur'an's truth.

I am sure you have. And I seek refuge from Allah(SWT) if you hold this opinion. There is lots of truth in these sentiments but the falsehood is much more. What makes the situation worse is the fact that separation of truth and falsehood in this is not straightforward. Luckily the danger of being accused of being anti-Islam is not that much in this case otherwise that weapon is also not very far when you deal with such people who have shunned logic and reasoning together with reality.

It is sheer false confidence to have this kind of faith.

Qur'an is the word of our Lord Most High. Science is the creation of our Lord Most High, or more precisely, our knowledge of His creation.

Next Allah(SWT) has given us the abilities to understand the world around us. This fact can be deduced from our experience. So having given us the ability to understand so many aspects of His creation, the thing we call science, where is the need to incorporate that in the Holy Qur'an? As some one has said that it is not a book of science - it is the book of signs of Allah(SWT). Of course He (SWT) has sprinkled it with many things that will be classified in science but the object of this book is quite different and much more noble than the gory scientific empiricism. It is a book of guidance to mankind - a Mercy to us - a finalization and completion of Allah(SWT)'s favour to us.

The Noble Qur'an goes beyond science. It tells us what to do with science. Science can not tell us that. It guides us. Science has very limited capability in this direction.

Then there is another rub. If we thing of the last fifteen hundred years then for the first one third (actually slightly less) we did science and for the last two thirds we have left it. So the reality is that we are not using the God given ability to do what is beneficial for us. And this is a loss.

Naval Joy Ride

Italy is not an aggressive country.
It is country who tried to manage its economy using the worst choice of a businessman with moral ambiguity as PM. That can not be taken against them - though silly it was.
So the joy ride by the marines of their naval ship can be attributed to those marines only.
I suppose this is a known fact that India does not harbour pirates in its neighbourhood.
In fact it is the only country who tried to jack up the stakes in fight against piracy in Somalian seas.
So the Italian marines mistaking fishermen as pirates is really a silly thing.
Just see how individual actions can create diplomatic crisis.

Thankless and Thankfull

Throw anything at Ray Gillon in Portuguese, Thai, Turkish, Russian, Polish, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Bulgarian or Mandarin and he will banter back

And there are ten more languages that he can manage.

Is this not a great blessing of Lord Most High?

There are many people in the world who are extremely well endowed in various ways.
Some are thankful to God for this some are not. There is a terrible news for those who do not render thanks to Lord Almighty. Then there are others who use blessings, even very significant blessings, against God's wishes.
They do lots of damage in this world to the obedient servants of Lord but one only shudders at their fate in the hereafter.

Bagram Baseless Base

Afghanistan was not even a developing country when the US further devastated it to avenge the destruction of the twin towers of the World Trade Center.
Is the revenge not over still?
Have the total deaths in Afghanistan not passed the WTC casualties long back?
Why then there is an American Base in Bagram?

The latest reports are that they have again desecrated the Holy Qur'an.
There are protests in Afghanistan.

The US commander in Afghanistan, General John Allen, apologised and ordered an investigation into a report that troops "improperly disposed of a large number of Islamic religious materials which included Korans".

By the grace of Allah(SWT) the General has at least learned one lesson - their hapless targets, the Afghans, too do have some principles. And if the US forces are ready to kill others for their interests then there are people who are ready to sacrifice their lives to defend their rights, honour and dignity.

According to BBC:

A BBC reporter at the protests said he saw people crying as they protested at claims that foreign troops had set fire to the Koran ...

This cry baby phenomenon should perplexing to the intruders in Afghanistan but they mature enough to realize that the forebodings can not be benign.  They are facing people of heart - only God can grant victory over such people. And it is not that the people of Afghanistan were overwhelmed even in the worst phase. The unwanted visitors have an insolvable problem at their hands.

Crafty Student

She was worried.
Hate symbols started appearing on her door.
The university was very concerned.
The authorities came into picture and put hidden cameras in place.
And it was the student herself who was putting those symbols her door and around the place!

Source : YT

No Mincing of Words

When you realize that the stakes are high there is a possibility that you will not mince your words.
Dr David Duke is one of them.
Here is the video.

And Lord Most High is Most Kind

From a BBC report:

A Swedish man has survived being trapped in his snow-covered car for two months without food, police say. 

Police say the temperature in the area had recently dropped to -30C (-22F).
The man, who was too weak to utter more than a few words, said he had been inside since 19 December. He may have survived by drinking melted snow.
Police say they have no reason to doubt his story.

Verily our Lord Most High is Most Kind.

Thank You Todhunter

Here is a passage from his piece here:

In response to the recent explosions in India, Georgia and Thailand, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Iran is destabilising the world and its aggression must be stopped. Tehran says Israel’s accusation that it is responsible for the bombings is baseless. No mention from Israel of the assassinations of nuclear scientists in Iran. No mention of cyber attacks on Iran, the funding of anti-government militias inside Iran or other destabilisation strategies waged against Tehran by the US, Mossad, the CIA or MI6.

Significant Women

"Never underestimate sisters wearing hijab &, even more so, niqab - especially in the current climate. May Allah reward you & keep you strong" -Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam

The Blast Culture

When western forces devastated Iraq in the name of purported weapons of mass destruction some mysterious events started at a rather regular pace. This was the bomb blast culture. A culture that soon spread to Afghanistan and Pakistan. In fact India itself fell victim to it. Now let us focus on Iraq. Before his downfall Saddam Hussain has asserted that the western forces will be defeated in the streets of Iraq. This did not happen. What happened was an apparently random events of bombing in which the casualties were not at all the US?NATO?European forces but the civilian population. This was incomprehensible. If Iraq is invaded by the western forces then why should Shias and Sunnis start killing each other? But this is what was happening.
The curtain on these mind numbing things is slowly being lifted. Hideous west applied their ages old technology of divide and rule. Do a blast in Sunni locality and sooner or later some one will blame the Shias. And even if that does not happen then the western media sooner or later will find a way to fill up the gap. And then reverse the game by doing a blast in Shia locality and the vicious cycle is complete.

What kind of people will do this kind of thing? Not civilized ones. No wonder M.K.Gandhi quipped that western civilization will be a good idea.

Here are some reports that give us a peep into western tactics to sow the seeds of discontent in the Muslim world. It is not less devastating then a holocaust.

British special forces caught dressed as Arab 'terrorists'

British soldiers have been caught posing as Arabs and shooting Iraqis in the occupied city of Basra in southern Iraq. A group of them was caught yesterday by Iraqi police. They were driving an Iraqi car, wearing Arab clothing, and carrying weapons and explosives.

The Iraqi police were patrolling the area looking for suspected "terrorists" or "insurgents", and they noticed that the men were acting suspiciously. Suddenly, without warning, the suspicious men started shooting at people, but the new Iraqi security forces managed to capture some of them before they could escape. Obviously, if these men had not been caught, the mass media would now be reporting the incident as just another attempt by evil "terrorists" to create civil war in Iraq.

There have been a number of incidents in this area and throughout Iraq in which police and civilians have been targeted and killed by "terrorists" or "insurgents". But this is the first time that any of those responsible have been caught in the act, and it is now clear that at least some of them are working directly for the occupying forces, as many Iraqis have openly suspected all along.

A few days ago, in a statement unreported in the corporate mass media, Iran's most senior military official specifically linked the instability in Iraq with agents of the US and its allies: "we have information that the insecurity has its roots in the activities of American and Israeli spies."

The post-war violence in Iraq is always been blamed on "Islamic extremists" or "rival ethnic factions". Yet in the history of the country, nothing like this has ever happened before. The problems began precisely when the US and UK seized control.

The Iraqi police arrested the men and put them in prison. Unfortunately the police never had a chance to question the men and find out exactly what they were doing, because within minutes the UK sent in six tanks and an elite SAS unit to break their terrorists out of jail.

During the illegal prison break Iraqi officials were held at gunpoint, much of the jail was demolished, and all of the other criminals and insurgents were set free. The US and UK do not hesitate to use violence and terror to achieve their objectives, no matter what the consequences.

The official explanation for the illegal jail break is that somebody thought the British men might be taken away by a gang of Iraqi resistance fighters and never seen again. This is blatantly nonsense, of course, because the entire prison was entirely surrounded by British tanks and troops. With the full force of the British military at hand, the terrorists were rescued quickly and easily.

As further details emerge, the Western media increasingly presents conflicting reports about the nature and sequence of events, and the official British sources cited without question in mainstream news coverage are indicative of a classic disinformation exercise.

When local people saw what was happening the area began to erupt with angry anti-British protests.


SOURCE

The Guardian, "British tanks storm Basra jail to free undercover soldiers", front page, 20 September 2005.

    British troops used tanks last night to break down the walls of a prison in the southern Iraqi city of Basra and free two undercover British soldiers who were seized earlier in the day by local police.
    An official from the Iraqi interior ministry said half a dozen tanks had broken down the walls of the jail and troops had then stormed it to free the two British soldiers. The governor of Basra last night condemned the "barbaric aggression" of British forces in storming the jail.
    Aquil Jabbar, an Iraqi television cameraman who lives across the street from the jail, said dozens of Iraqi prisoners also fled in the confusion.
    ...
    In a day of dramatic incidents in the heart of the British-controlled area of Iraq, the two undercover soldiers - almost certainly special forces - were held by Iraqi security forces after clashes that reportedly left two people dead and threatened to escalate into a diplomatic incident between London and Baghdad.
    The soldiers, who were said to have been wearing Arab headdress, were accused of firing at Iraqi police when stopped at a road block.
    ...
    Muhammad al-Abadi, an official in the Basra governorate, told journalists the two undercover soldiers had looked suspicious to police. "A policeman approached them and then one of these guys fired at him. Then the police managed to capture them."
    ...


FURTHER READING

BBC News, "Iraq probe into soldier incident", 20 September 2005.

    Both men were members of the SAS elite special forces, sources told the BBC's Richard Galpin in Baghdad.
    ...
    Mr Reid said surveillance had established the men were being moved to another location, while at the same time an angry crowd posed an obstacle to the departure of the six-strong team.
    ...
    Almost simultaneously, a separate operation was staged to rescue the men from the place where they had been moved to.
    ...
    Richard Galpin said al-Jazeera news channel footage, purportedly of the equipment carried in the men's car, showed assault rifles, a light machine gun, an anti-tank weapon, radio gear and medical kit.
    ...


Al-Jazeera, "The occupation forces are the real perpetrators of bomb attacks in Iraq?", 14 September 2005.

    Iran�s top military commander accused the United States and Israel of planning the non-stop bomb attacks that killed thousands of civilians in Iraq.
    Brigadier General Mohammad-Baqer Zolqadr, the deputy commander of Iran�s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), told a gathering of senior officials, that the U.S. needs those attacks to justify the continuation of its military presence in Iraq.
    �The Americans blame weak and feeble groups in Iraq for insecurity in this country. We do not believe this and we have information that the insecurity has its roots in the activities of American and Israeli spies,� Zolqadr said.
    �Insecurity in Iraq is a deeply-rooted phenomenon. The root of insecurity in Iraq lies in the occupation of this country by foreigners�.
    ...


Washington Post, "British Smash Into Iraqi Jail To Free 2 Detained Soldiers", front page, 20 September 2005.

    BAGHDAD, Sept. 19 -- British armored vehicles backed by helicopter gunships burst through the walls of an Iraqi jail Monday in the southern city of Basra to free two British commandos detained earlier in the day by Iraqi police, witnesses and Iraqi officials said. The incident climaxed a confrontation between the two nominal allies that had sparked hours of gun battles and rioting in Basra's streets.
    An Iraqi official said a half-dozen armored vehicles had smashed into the jail, the Reuters news agency reported. The provincial governor, Mohammed Walli, told news agencies that the British assault was "barbaric, savage and irresponsible."
    ...
    In London, authorities said the two commandos were released after negotiations. But the BBC quoted British defense officials as saying a wall was demolished when British forces went to "collect" the men.
    The killing of the New York Times reporter took place six weeks after an American freelance journalist, Steven Vincent, was kidnapped and killed in Basra, allegedly after being taken away in a marked police car. ...
    ...
    Iraqi security officials on Monday variously accused the two Britons they detained of shooting at Iraqi forces or trying to plant explosives. Photographs of the two men in custody showed them in civilian clothes.
 

BBC News, "Insurgents 'inside Iraqi police'", 21 September 2005. 

    A report released by the US defence department in July said Iraq's police force was recruiting insurgents and former criminals to its ranks.
  

CBC News, "The Geneva Conventions", 13 May 2005.

    The Americans argued that captured members of al-Qaeda do not fall into any of these categories, saying that al-Qaeda members don't wear uniforms ("fixed distinctive sign") or obey the laws of war. Rumsfeld labeled them "unlawful combatants," and said the rules of the Geneva Convention did not apply.
 

Washington Post, "Enemy Combatant Vanishes Into a 'Legal Black Hole'", 30 July 2003.

     During war, captured enemies are either lawful combatants, soldiers who adhere to such rules of war as wearing identifiable uniforms -- in which case they become prisoners of war -- or unlawful combatants. Al Qaeda and Taliban operatives fall into the latter category, the United States has decided, and thus have fewer legal rights than POWs and far fewer than criminal defendants.

   

What's There in a Name?

This quotation is from Shakespeare and in some situations it is true, that is, the name is immaterial. In some situations it not true and the name matters.

And this should be reminder to us to the effect that western thoughts and ideas may or may not be useful. Any time you come across a gem from them it is better to check it with the Qur'an and the Sunnah.

Coming to the main point. We begin with a quote from Yawar Baig (h/t brother Afriqi Haq) :

They became and created super specialists in the religious texts with no attempt to look at their application to fast changing external realities of society. And they also started preparing ‘priests’; students whose role was seen as being confined to Imaamat in masaajid and teaching in Madaaris. Interestingly, they even called the Ja’amia Islamia, a ‘Seminary’ and its Nazim or Muhtamim, ‘The Rector’. It is tragic to note that no attempt was made at least to be distinct from Christian Religious institutions in nomenclature.

Yours truly does not agree with Mr Baig. Yours truly has been using Seminary for Madarsa and Rector for the Muhtamim. More than that yours truly has been using Monastery for Khanqah. And there is no intention to imitate the Christians. The intention is to communicate to the English speaking people the tenets of Islam. A more careful approach will be to use Islamic Seminary and Islamic Monastery for a Madarsa and a Khanqah but that will only be pedantic. Those who indulge in criticism will continue to do so and it is difficult to mitigate them.  

Time To Check Madness

Here are the BBC headlines:
(1) India Court Debates Gay Sex Ruling (2012)
(2) India Court Reviews Gay Sex Order  (2009) 
(3) India Media Hails Gay Sex Ruling (2009)

The trouble in this matter is that those people who are caught into this deviant behaviour are more vocal than the majority. This is not Indian phenomena. In seventies the homosexuals repeatedly stormed the annual meetings of American Psychology Association to press for regularization of their behaviour. It is strange that the scientific organization of the most scientifically advance country just could not defend itself and buckled. This bowing down of US Psychology community was a tragedy of gigantic proportions. May be tracing your footsteps back is the way out here but action in this regard has to start in the US - only US public, the silent majority there, has to assert to the American Psychology Association to review its , by now a few decades old, folly. And it is not a matter of minority rights. Minority rights are indeed kosher. The issue at stake is whether the sick have the right to decide that they are not sick. This carries the more serious implication by which the healthy are, by insinuation, condemned as sick.

There is another factor that has contributed to this disaster - the western lopsided notion of gender equality. Man and women are equal but man has a slight upper hand - this is the Qur'anic injunction in this matter. Notice that the tie breaker is the difference between the western and Islamic positions. And then there is the complementary equality of man and women. You take care of the bread earning and I'll take care of the house keeping. But this preposition has becoming very insulting in the modern context. Though most of the women do indulge in the house keeping but this can not be asserted as a normal thing without inviting the ire of the so called modern educated and liberated people. Unfortunately many women have fallen into this trap and have accepted that man-woman equality is not complementary but mirror equality. Of course reality sooner or later takes over and these people simply disappear from the scene when they realize that life can not be lived on the basis of these deviations. Unfortunately enough new blood comes up to fill the vacuum created. Luckily the world population is huge and the society can absorb the deviations for some time without disappearing. Yes - society has the danger of disappearance when people forget about procreation.
And should we not take those people as deviated who have decided to ignore procreation entirely? Anyway these things have become very serious in the west. Man and woman are turning into same gender marriages and those woman who are lucky in this aspect are in another trap - they do not find any man who is suitable for them according to the modern criterion of the western man woman equality. It is a fact well acknowledged that Europe is disappearing because of lack of procreation. We in the west have slightly more time to act but warning must be sounded because this time can not be very long. A decade of non-procreation is enough to put you into non-reversible decline. The calculation is simple. A generation, after enough stretching, may be just a three decades long. In that three decades period you get the middle decade only for procreation.

So, to cut the long story short, now is the time for India to put an stop to this disgrace. Marriage is a very sacred institution in India and its sanctity must be maintained. It will not be a bad idea for the silent majority to wake up and assert its right to maintain its modesty, sacred institutions and continuation of its existence.

Thank You Aligarh

Faza-il-e-A'amal  (Excellence of Good Deeds) is the staple diet book in Jama-at work.
Then there was a feeling that it needs to be supplemented by some other book.
Apart from the Selected Traditions (Muntakhab Ahadeeth) Hayat-us-Sahabah (Life of the Companions) (RA) is one such book.
Originally the book was written in Arabic and then translated into Urdu and English.
And then there are brothers looking for the original Arabic. They ask as to where is it published from. And you wonder that may be it it is Cairo or Beirut. But where is it really published from?
Check it below for yourself.

And if you are too lazy to click on above image here is another view of the bottom line.

It is from Dodhpur, Aligarh!
Is it not a sign of the fact that Allah(SWT) choose this town for this noble service?
May Allah(SWT) shower his Mercy on this city of knowledge and accept it for higher noble services for the Ummah of the blessed Prophet(PBUH) and his Deen. Ameen.

Insulting India

Here is the BBC report.
A woman refuses to go to her in-laws because they lack a toilet facility.
And she wins. Her husband is forced to do the needful - to construct the toilet.
Looks like a ordinary event.
Rural India does not have toilets at home.
It is a good idea if your ladies are not forced to go out into the open fields.
But then there are the NGOs preying on gullible Indian society - making the woman a heroine.
And BBC picking up the story.
Is yours truly the only one wanting something to hit?

English Vs Arabic

Here is post from Qafila  blog about the vexing question.

Maulāna Ashraf Ali Thānvi rahmatullah ‛alayh mentions that his nephew was very intelligent. One incident of his nephew’s childhood, when he was not even able to wear his pants properly has been narrated:
I asked him, “Which language is better, English or Arabic?”
He answered, “Arabic”.
This was inspite of the fact that the child was studying English himself. Hence I asked, “Why?
He said, “Because Qur’an has been revealed in this language.”
Maulana: “Your evidence is sound but people who study Arabic do not get any government jobs.”

Nephew: “When someone learns the Dīn of Allah, then he becomes Allah’s; and whoever become Allah’s then Allah also make him His. Then Allah puts in the hearts of people to help him out.”
Maulana: “This is correct too but people consider this to blameworthy.”
Nephew: “This is people’s stupidity. Blameworthy will be in the case where the person begs help from people. When people help from their own initiative, then where lies the blame?” **

Malfuzāt Hakīmul Ummat Malfuz vol.19 pg. 196

** Maulana Thānvi rehmatullah ‛alayh has mentioned the incident by way of highlighting the intellect of the child who is no older than a few years. The underlying message is much deeper. It has been an experience that Ulamā’ are commonly seen as the class of community which feeds on the masses. While this may be true for some corrupt Ulamā’ who have made their religion a means for their bellies, there are those true seekers of the Ulūmud Dīn whose concern in life is nothing but working for the pleasure of Allah.
In my recent visit to Pakistan I came across some shocking revelation about a couple of teachers of a good standing Madrasah. These teachers are at the rank of Sheikhul Hadīth (i.e they teach one of the higher level hadīth books), yet their wages are no more than Rs 2300 per month! That is equivalent to approximately US $30 per month. SubhanAllah! Real Ulamā’ of Dīn are not concerned with worldly perks and pleasures. If Allah blesses them with boon, then they are thankful for it; if they are tested with poverty they are patient with it.
Sometimes when we see Ulamā’ in good clothing and worldly boon and we tend to have sū’ dhan (think bad) about them. This is a disease in our thought process and not the fault of that Alim. There is nothing wrong in dressing good, driving a good car or wearing expensive clothing, as long as it is not done out of Isrāf (excessive spending). Also, we are not tasked to judge who commits Isrāf and who does not. This is a matter of their heartily intention and their private matter. Instead our focus should be inward towards our own well-being. The clothes which I have don, are they free from riyā’ (show)? Is my food from halal source rather than expensive source? Is my car bought for fulfilling my needs or comfort instead of a show to gain some worldly status?

Disappointed in Tusi

Nasiruddin Tusi  (1201 - 1274) was :

(1) An astronomer
(2) A biologist
(3) A chemist
(4) A mathematician
(5) A philosopher
(6) A physician
(7) A physicist
(8) A scientist in general
(9) A theologian
(10) An Ismaili
(11) Persian
(12) A twelver.

And he supported Halaqu Khan and ended up in his ministry.
What a loss!
 

Shaharyar Sahab Is No More

So Kunwar Akhlaq Muhammed Khan Shaharyar Sahab is no more.
Verily we are for our Lord and unto him is our return.
As per Dr Rahat Abrar Sahab the burial is scheduled for 2:30pm today on February 14, 2012 at the university cemetery.
We have been talking about him at this blog and the relevant posts can be found in these links.
It is a strange feeling. Everybody has to leave this world one day but our hearts usually want substitutes for the worthies.
We shall close this post with one observation. During the poetic meets in Aligarh (mushayrahs) the audience is very demanding. Sometimes even youngsters know the significant poems of a poet and they will demand the latest and they also have zero tolerance for bad poetry. Thus usually the poets are given a very tough time. In case Shaharyar Sahab it was a relationship of respect - everybody just listened to him without any frills and without creating any disturbance. Standard of poetry was decided by his standard and if anybody did not get connected with his poetry then the fault lied in the listener not the poet.

Urdu world is left much poorer by his departure.

There is something missing (Kahin kuchh kum hai)  is a phrase which late Shaharyar Sahab had used in one of his poems.
I now we are missing the poet himself.
Aligarh Movement is not an infant but still it feels strange that we find such losses unbearable.

Links : (1) Aligarh Movement (2) Gyanpith Award (YT) (3) Gyanpith Award (TCN) (4) Gyanpith Award (Bhatkallys) (5) Wikipedia (6) At Urdu Poetry (7) At Best Ghazals (8) Facebook (9) Gulf Honour (10) Less Than Expectations (11) Difficult Tasks (12) Numb

Deedawar News

Here is an Alig's site. There is lots of Alig stuff there. Of course the rub is that Sir Syed is perhaps amongst the most misunderstood intellectuals of all times. Misunderstood both by Muslims as well as others. Luckily the misunderstanding is rather simple. Only if we can do something about it. Basically Muslims think that Sir Syed's movement is about putting the Mullas in place or to ignore them or to get rid of the burden called Islam - may Allah(SWT) forgive us for this. Other people's thoughts are opposite of this. They think that Sir Syed's movement is a communal one. The strange thing is that they both have got it wrong. People have been erring to various degrees in their assessment of Sir Syed's movement which we call Aligarh Movement. And, dear Aligs. as we have said earlier if you can do something about it then please, please go ahead. You'll be surprised at the effectiveness of every step taken in clearing the cobwebs accumulated around Aligarh Movement. Let me also remind you that whatever Allah(SWT) has decided to bestow upon you in this world will not go any where but it will find you and come to you - so focus on contributing to Aligarh Movement. And do not get distracted by those who are only worried about what they can get in this world. You shall get your due and they shall get their due but you shall end up doing something that will be useful in the hereafter - we are not sure about them at all who want more and more of this world.

Khan Academy

Here is the link.
This is something about learning.
It looks awesome.

Valentine's Day

You indulge in forbidden things but you cringe with pain when Allah(SWT) takes action.
Very silly indeed.
And these modern day friendships develop and break.
Have you not noticed that?
And same is true about those marriages that are made after through knowing of each other.
Have you missed that also?
And if you have noticed that then what is the benefit of treading a path where there is no permanent bliss?
Permanent bliss is there only if you submit yourself to the will of Allah(SWT).
There is bliss in this world and in the next world.
Have you not noticed the former already?
If not then give it a try.

Here are the Valentine links : (1) History (2) Halal? (3) Al-Balagh (4) SF1 (5) SF2

Useful Keyboard Activism

There are many things that are useful for Ummah and require only your determination and a keyboard!
Here are these.
(1) To develop and present Islamic perspective of Science to the world.
(2) To develop and present Islamic economics to the world.
(3) To present Islam itself along the lines of Maulana Rehmatullah Kairanvi (RA), Shaikh Deedat (RA) and Dr Zakir Naik.
(4) To develop and present the Islamic perspective on social and cultural issues to the world. (Just see Ramchandra Guha's flippancy here. I'll, IA, augment that post with my own perspective.)
(5) To develop and present the Islamic perspective on Psychology to the world. This one might be the easiest one and most effective one because spiritual and tasawwuf investigations of Muslims have no parallel.
(6) To translate the history, specially of Indian subcontinent, as presented by our scholars, to the world.
(7) Suggest other possible effective Islamic institutions that Ummah can build.

Ramchandra Guha's Radar

In this article in the The Telegraph of Kolkata he makes the off the cuff reference:

Then he stayed conspicuously silent when the Deoband mullahs issued a fatwa against Salman Rushdie, lest he, and the Congress, be seen as ‘anti-Muslim’.

The silent man in this context if Rahul Gandhi.

And what can we make of this remark? A lot indeed. This is the typical attitude of modern Indian intelligentsia. Only worsted by the attitude of the Sangh Parivar.

Bad Blogger

If you are a Muslim blogger then you shall be worried as to how she knows so much about you.

Spiritual Pitfalls for the Muslim Blogger

1. Cathartic Sharing

2. Armchair Criticism (You see!)

3. Using Words as Weapons

4. Loving One's Opinion

5. Excessive Speech

6. Sharing that which has No Benefit  

The Obvious Answer

German Chancellor asserted that multiculturalism has failed.
Now when there is some smoke it can only be because of fire.
Hence if she is forced to bring this to public notice there must be some truth to it.
The natural question will be as to why is it so?
Of course the western habit is to blame it on the weak.
So what if I am up the stream and you are down the stream - your mother must have made the water dirty.
The European idea of multiculturalism is that we shall accept you provided you surrender yourself to our culture.
And this is what have been accepting from the immigrants.
But this is not multiculturalism - this is surrender of your identity.
Usually the answer to deepest problems is simplest one and so is the case here.
Just let us take the case of Muslims.
Muslims of Arabia have their own identity.
Muslims of Afghanistan can be clearly recognized from those of Saudia.
Muslims of South India can be clearly differentiated from those of Arabia and Afghanistan.
Muslims of Malaysia too can be recognized  if you mix them among the mixture of above groups. And same is true if you take the Chinese Muslims.
And Muslims all over the world will recognize all of the above as true Muslims.
There is complete multiculturalism.
Sooner or later the same will be true about French, Italian and Swiss Muslims.
They shall be Muslims and still recognizable as French, Italian and Swiss respectively.
There is Islam for you and there is multiculturalism.
Is it so difficult to understand?

So if multiculturalism as failed then please ignore the finger that is pointing towards Muslims and take the hint from the direction of the other three fingers.

See Also : RT

Who is Afraid of Caroline Fourest?

Apparently not the Belgian Muslimahs.
Here is the Caroline Fourest Wikipedia page.
Here is her blog Google translated. (Makes heavy demand on your browser.)
And here is the news item hat tip.

In case you are in a hurry her company includes Salman Rushdie, Ibn Warraq, Maryam Namazie, Taslima Nasreen, and Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

Can you name the type of feather?

Islam of African Americans

Elijah Muhammed started a sect that came to be known as the Nation of Islam.
But the name was deceptive. It was a sect modeled using Islamic terminology including The Qur'an but it was not Islamic in the least bit.
And then there was the miracle of modern times. Imam WD Muhammed, the then leader of this community, made the momentous decision to merge this sect with orthodox Islam.
Of course there were people who did not follow suit but they perhaps can really be taken as exceptions.
And now a brother at SF tells us about the current state of the reformed community. He is bothered about the Islamic health of his people, the African Americans, and he should but the situation seems to be much better as compared to other problems faced by Muslim Ummah. Here is the narrative by that brother - Tariq A. James. It is produced below.

With Allah's Name the Benificent, the Merciful All Praise is due to Allah the Most High the Creator of Everything, the Master of the Day of Judgement . We send salutations of peace and blessings upon our Master Muhammad Sallahu Alahyi wa Salaam

Alhamduillah from the very outset I will say that this is not at all a scholarly critique of the community nor do I wish to inflict any type of harm on anyone including myself by writing this. Alhamduillah anyone who is familiar with the growth and development of Islam in America amongst the indigeneous people knows that Imam WD Mohammed(May Allah have Mercy on him) in many ways stood at the forefront of that growth and development. I myself personally benefitted greatly from the work of the Imam as it was many of his students and followers helped me make my transition into Islam. Very frequently wherever I go I tell people that some of the best Muslims I know are students of Imam WD Mohammed(May Allah have Mercy on him). Being in the community of Imam WD Mohammed was really something special in some ways as I learned how to be a Muslim without throwing away my identity as a African American. It is because of those few short years that I am able to stand proud say that I am a Muslim whose is a benefactor of the work of Drew Ali, Marcus Garvey, Elijah Muhammad, Al Haijj Malik Shabazz, Imam WD Mohammed, Dr. Martin Luther King, Imam Jamil Al-Amin, Shaykh Muhammad Shareef and countless others whom I do not have the space to mention.



Being a benefactor of their work means simply that they have paved the way for young men like me to continue to carry the torch of Islam in America . Typically when people remind us that we have benefitted from the work of some people they usually say this with the motive that we should confine ourselves to thier ideas. In these days has all of a sudden it has become disrespect to be honest and frank about the errors of our elders, my question to those folks is should we be "respectful" and continue to propagate lies that will only continue to set us back in the dunya as well as in the hereafter? With this in mind I ask that you read what what you will see next with the understanding that I am writing this not with the intention of attempting to tear anything down rather the intention is to continue to build upon the structure that we have for the sake of Allah. Realize that we must build on this structure with the bricks of truth and integrity.



I am just a simple convert that came from the gutters of Philadelphia I do not claim to have all the answers nor do I feel superior to anyone. I have no parents that were in the NOI, no glory stories about how I attended Sister Clara Muhammad School, I am just the quiet guy in the masjid.As I said earlier my introduction to Islam came through the community of Imam WD Mohammed. It has been quite a journey which has sometimes been empowering and other times I have been left dazed, confused about issues for weeks at a time.I am just going to submit the following based on my observations and also what has been the observation of many others from the community as well as from outside the community. I hope that this can open up the doors of dialogue that so badly needs to be opened .



This writing does not reflect everyone in the community, but it is a reflection of a good amount of people that represent the community. From what I have seen the followers of Imam WD Mohammed (May Allah have mercy on him) cannot help but attach some type divinity to him in some or from he has to be the madhi, mujedidid etc. why can't he just be a great Muslim leader who did a lot of good?why do we make him more than what he ever said he was? I see his students represent him in ways all of us clearly know he would not approve of, as he was a man of great humilty. The Imams in the community are even more sickening as the reality is Imam Mohammed was primarily self taught(nothing wrong with it neccesarily) so he made mistakes!To be honest I feel like whatever mistakes he made he had a right to make them as he was a leader of a community doing a job that 99.9 percent of us could not do. Quite frankly his mistakes are better than our corrections however we have an obligation as Muslims to leave his mistakes as we are obligated to obey Allah and his Messenger, there is not obdience to the creation that results in disobdience to Allah. There were serious mistakes made that many of these Imams knew of when he was living but were too afraid to question him and they still know of these errors now they privately acknowledge these errors while in public propagating lies in order to keep their huge following who are very well known for being generous with their sadaqa.



If you are more loyal to your teacher's logic than to the truth that they had claimed to have stood for then know that you have "killed" him. Most of the time when some of these disgusting beliefs are challenged people cry "oh African American Muslims can't accept their own" which could not be further from the truth. I personally have a sincere love and respect for Imam Mohammed(R.A) but I just refuse accept things that are not from Islam. When will the Imams stop propagating wicked beliefs like:

-There were messengers after the Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Salam

-Non Muslims are not disbelievers many of the "good" ones will go to paradise.

- Isa (Alayhi Salam) will not return in the physical form.

- denying ahadith that are muttawatir because they don't conform with their "logic".

- Having no concern or precedent for any scholarly consensus whatsoever.

- Imam Mohammed has a school of jurisprudence similar to the 4 Imams.

- Making whatever they want permissible all in the name of culture.

- Likening the the Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Salam to a mail man completely ignoring his Sunnah.

- Denying the Physical existence of all Prophets(Alayim Salam) other that the Prophet Muhammad(Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Salam).

- Claiming that the Prophets were communities.

- Denying Prophetic miracles claiming them to figurative



This is not an attempt to speak bad about anyone or even discredit anybody I am just tired of the deviance that even I too was once misled by.A common reaction when people from this community are confronted about these beliefs is that they either accuse you of "self-hate" or they begin to play word games with the Qur'an. The game basically goes like this they will point to different ayahs that are not necessarily explicit in their meaning alone which need to be read with other ayahs and ahadith in order to be put in its proper context. The disregard the science of hadith so if you present a hadith that does not fit their arguement they will reject it no matter what. This is a very old trick that is typically done by folks who have not studied Islam from from its proper sources. Also keep in mind that the omission of a particular word alone cannot be used as a proof for or against something because they will resort to this also to support their shady beliefs. I sincerely believe that if the "students" of Imam Mohammed were serious about preserving his work then they would collaborate with scholars from Ahlus Sunnah (We have plenty of Black American ones if that makes people more comfortable) and begin to have some serious open dialogue on these issues if you really have a pure understanding that will change the world then share it with everyone.



There are many people in this community even to this day I still love and respect, but I absoluetly cannot support falsehood.No one could ever deny the enormous amount of work Imam Mohammed has done, but it's just a big dishonor to your teacher when you are afraid to admit that he made mistakes. For instance there are many Muslims still to this day that love Ibn Taymiyyah (May Allah have Mercy on Him) there are people who hold his work in high regard, but he received some of the harshest criticism for some of the errors he may have made from his own students!



It is also common for many students of Imam WD Mohammed like to compare themselves to the 4 Sunni school of Jurisprudence when this is mentioned I see a huge contradiction. How many books of fiqh did Imam Mohammed(May Allah have Mercy on him) ever put out? the books and instructions he did give in terms of fiqh how different was it from what was already established? Also did the students of the 4 Imams simply regurgitate what their teachers taught? very often they would come to different conlcusion then their teachers came to.



I feel at this time it is very neccessary to write this as our future depends on the correct implementation of Islam. We do not have to throw the baby out with the bathwater in terms of our historical growth and development, but if we are wrong about the things we say and believe we must correct this no matter what great leader it may have came from. I wanted these observations to be open so by chance that if I am incorrect about anything I can be corrected and I feel no shame in admitting I am wrong if I am. May Allah recity the affairs of the community and guides us all



Your Brother In Faith, Tariq A. James

Muhammad Zakir Ali Khan Sahab : RIP

He died today.
Verily we are for our Lord and unto Him is our return.
Aligarh Movement at some point of time turned into a way of life within the fold of Islam.
And Traditions of Aligarh of became the catch phrase of the tongues of Aligs.
And he is the one who put this sentiment into words in a book.
And books he wrote a lot.
And like a true Alig he was defined by Aligarh Movement.
It is so fresh in the memory when he reminded young Aligs the meaning of Spirit of Aligarh.
Alig spirit is to stand up for the occasion - he said.
As you said sir.
Hope we can live up to that image - a difficult but honourable task.

Links : AM, YT (Sound problem), PO, BR, Dawn, PN,  The News, BR

Another Round of Name Dropping

This page has a scan of an old mathematical text book
And the links about Al-Tusi, Al-Haytham and Omar Khayyam.
But it does not have links about Al-Khwarizmi, Ibn Sina and  Al-Biruni.

White Elephant

For quite some time we have been hearing that Israel is about to attack Iran.
Now in the recent world history two trends are quite discernible.
Might and might of US and the precise and decisive military actions of Israel.
Former facilitates the latter. When A attacks B, and we are talking about significant powers,  then A has to worry about the reaction of the rest of the world.
If C can ensure diplomatic immunity for A, using its might, then A is free to focus its undivided attention on the task at hand.
This diplomatic immunity is what the US has been providing to Israel for as long as it has existed.
As a result we have two type of military actions in last half or so of a century.
Messy and inefficient actions like those of the US and the ones have  textbook precision - the ones by Israel.
Of course UK too is posturing against Iran but Israel is a different game altogether.
The question is whether Iran will suffer the same fate as other Israeli targets of past or whether the world comes to realize that Israel is indeed a white elephant in western drawing rooms.

View All From Deoband Dot Org

Aqidah

• The Difference between Tasarruf and Karamah
• Dispelling Doubt about Knowledge of the Unseen
• The Reality of Miracles
• The Prohibition of Prostrating to Other than Allah
• The People of Al-A’raf
• Defending Hifz al-Iman against the Lies of the Innovators
• The Reality of Shirk, its Manifestations and its Types
• Istighathah: Seeking aid from other than Allah
• A Query Regarding the Barelwis
• The Cosmic Significance of the Descent of ‘Isa (peace be upon him)
• A call to Deobandi-Barelwi unity — Fatwas from two leading Deobandi institutes
• The Unity of God
• The Issue of the Ambiguous Attributes of Allah
• Clearest Rational Argument for the Existence of a Creator
• Regarding the Fundamentals of Islamic Belief
• Authority to Permit and Prohibit
• Istighathah
• Proofs That Deeds Are Presented To The Prophet
• He (Allah) then firmly established Himself over the Throne

Qur’an

• Introduction to Ahkam al-Qur’an
• Abrogation in the Qur’an
• Qur'anic Eloquence
• The Dhikr of the Name of Allah
• He (Allah) then firmly established Himself over the Throne

Hadith

• The Prohibition of Prostrating to Other than Allah
• Background and Methodology of the Deoband Seminary
• Imam Abu Hanifah and Hadith
• Ranks of the Books on Hadith
• The Severity of Narrating Fabricated Reports on the Praise of the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace)
• Reprimanding Men for Denying the Athar of Ibn ‘Abbas
• Unacceptable Narrator Criticism in the Science of Hadith
• Sports and Entertainment in Islam
• The Hijab of Women and its Boundaries
• Wahdat al-Wujud, Wahdat al-Shuhud and the Safest Position
• The Issue of Tawassul in Du'a
• On the Permissibility of Writing Ta‘widhat
• On the Permissibility of Ruqyah
• Knowledge of the Five
• The Issue of the Ambiguous Attributes of Allah
• Seeking Blessing through the Relics of the Prophets and the Pious
• A Query about Mujaddids and their Signs
• Hadith on the Life of the Prophets
• Hadith on the Hearing of the Dead
• Hadiths reported by Sufis
• Regarding the Shadow of the Messenger
• Proofs That Deeds Are Presented To The Prophet

Fiqh

• Al-Muhannad: Deoband on Mawlid
• When should one stand up during the Iqamah?
• The Truth about the Number of Rak‘ahs in Tarawih
• The Hijab of Women and its Boundaries
• Mawlid, Deoband and Hanafi fiqh
• Joining Shoulders and Feet in Prayer Rows
• The Practice of Calling Adhan Over Graves
• The Condition of Pride in Isbal
• The Niqab and its obligation in the Hanafi madhhab
• Folding One's Clothes for Salah
• Tashahhud with Sighah al-Khitab
• Musafahah (Greeting) With Both Hands
• Participating in Bid‘ah With the Intention of Reforming

Tasawwuf

• Hafiz Ibn Kathir and Sufism
• Traversing the path of Suluk
• On Earning Allah’s Pleasure by Submitting to the Shari‘ah
• Imam al-Dhahabi and Sufism
• Hafiz Ibn al-Qayyim and Sufism - Part Two
• Hafiz Ibn al-Qayyim and Sufism - Part One
• Shaykh Muhammad bin ‘Abd al-Wahhab and Sufism
• Sufism and the Imams of the Salafi Movement: Introduction
• The Objective, Benefit and Pre-requisites of the Pledge
• Definition of Suluk
• Inner Dimensions of the Zakat
• The Reality of Tasawwuf (Part Two)
• The Reality of Tasawwuf (Part One)
• Inner Dimensions of the Fast
• Advices of Hakim al-Ummah: Part Six
• An Easy Path To Jannah
• Gatherings of Dhikr in Madrasahs
• Advices of Hakim al-Ummah: Part Five
• Advice of Shaykh Jhinjhanawi’s Murshid
• Tasawwur al-Shaykh
• Advices of Hakim al-Ummah: Part Four
• Advices of Hakim al-Ummah: Part Three
• The Dhikr of the Name of Allah
• Advices of Hakim al-Ummah: Part Two
• Advices of Hakim al-Ummah: Part One

History

• Traversing the path of Suluk
• Shaykh Muhammad Shafi‘: The Mufti of Pakistan
• Imam Abu Hanifah and Hadith
• Refuting the Allegation that al-Barahin al-Qati'ah states that Iblis is more Knowledgeable than the Prophet (upon him be peace)
• Al-Muhannad: Deoband on Mawlid
• Clarifying Misconceptions about Tahdhir al-Nas
• Imam Ahl al-Sunnah Mawlana Sarfaraz Khan Safdar
• Defending Hifz al-Iman against the Lies of the Innovators
• Repelling the Deceits of Al-Barelwi surrounding the Issue of Imkan al-Kadhib
• Haji Imdadullah on Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi - Part Two
• Shattering the Wahhabi Myths surrounding Shah Isma‘il Shahid
• ‘Allamah Sarfaraz Khan Safdar's advice to his students
• The Accusation of Irja’ against Imam Abu Hanifah
• Epitome of Humility: Shaykh Muhammad Ayyub A’zimi (Part Two)
• Epitome of Humility: Shaykh Muhammad Ayyub A'zimi (Part One)
• Scholar of Deep Learning: Shaykh Mazhar Nanautwi
• Mawlana Gangohi and the Wali Allah Tradition
• Brief notes on Shaykh al-Hind
• A Letter Of Condolence Upon The Deaths Of Two Great Savants
• The Pride of Deoband: Shaykh Muhammad Sarfaraz Khan Safdar
• The Epitome of Shari'ah and Tariqah: Shaykh Rashid Ahmad al-Gangohi
• Haji Imdadullah on Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi - Part One
• The Dhikr of the Name of Allah
• The Great and Splendid Gnostic: Shaykh Imdad Allah al-Faruqi al-Thanawi

General

• The Principle of Blocking the Means
• Introduction to Ahkam al-Qur’an
• Background and Methodology of the Deoband Seminary
• Imam Abu Hanifah and Hadith
• Intikhabe Bukhari Sharif: Book review
• Imam al-Ghazali and the signs of the ‘Ulama
• Understanding Taqlid: Following One of the Four Great Imams
• The Concept of Bid’ah in the Shari’ah
• Is it a condition for the Imam to be from Quraysh?
• Advice to Students of Knowledge
• The System of Rule in Islam
• The Place of Politics in Religion
• Do Not Despise The Sinners
• Virtues and Laws Pertaining to Bismillah
• The Condition of Pride in Isbal
• The Pride of Deoband: Shaykh Sarfaraz Khan Safdar
• A Wondrous Miracle
• Principles of Deobandi Fiqh

Bitter, Pushy, Horrible Indira Gandhi

That is how Jacqueline Kennedy described Mrs Indira Gandhi who would be Prime Minister of India. This was four moths after assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1964.
And there are similar details about Jackie's psyche.
This raises many questions.
Man is human.
His public persona might be slightly different from the private.
What is wrong with that?
Of course drastic differences between public and private personalities is a cause of concern but why can we not leave the private to the private?

After that there is the phenomenon of the most powerful nation on the globe.
They know it - or knew it.
And they feel it. Even that is alright.
The problem begins when they live it.
We have seen the Jackie part of the first family above the John part is all the more murky.
Apparently he had his own Monika Lewinsky.
And she also has spilled the beans.
JFK used her and circulated her.

A society with moral corruption of very serious kind is taken by us as the society worth imitating.
It is unlikely that much good will come out of that.

There are sins and there are major sins.
And it is a sin to disclose your sin.
Lord Almighty gas given lots of worldly things to that country.
Apparently they have not been making the best use of them.
This reminds one of a Tradition in which it is said that if there was no danger to the faith and belief of the the believers then Allah(SWT) would have made the houses of the unbelievers of gold.
This was about Prophetic times.
In our times we have seen nearly similar things.
The power that US of A enjoys is indeed of the same level.
This only shows the uselessness of this world for Allah(SWT).
Jannah is Allah(SWT)'s guest house.
Having given the Americans a taste of power it is being taken away from them just in front of our eyes.
We should soon see a very miserable US - a society where fornication starts at the top and the sinners are idolized.
May Lord Most High protect us from the machinations of Satan, this world and our baser selves.

There Is A Point

Some thing has been prodding yours truly's mind for quite some time. The point is that Europe has very deep rooted hesitations in accepting that Islam is a legitimate way of life and that Muslims have their own values. The thought process in its bare reality is rather simple. How can a diverse group of people who are mostly not white claim any legitimacy? Then we have this CNN report:

Europe and the Muslim world seem to be on a collision course that could have major political, economic and ideological ramifications. January 23, 2012, may well come to be remembered as the crucial date when Samuel Huntington's "clash of civilizations" thesis, which many of us believed discredited beyond repair, was reaffirmed.

Lately, by the Grace of Lord Most High, Muslims have started expressing their opinion before the western audience about the reality of Islam. See, for example, the book Good Muslim, Bad Muslim.

So the point is : "Dear west why do you find it so difficult to accept that there are Muslims, there is Islam and it is not a sect of materialistic society?"

The Management Approach

This is not a decisive title. Yours truly toyed with The Western Approach and The Materialist Approach. You might also toy with The Hedonist Approach. Basically the point is this that in today's time a young managerial graduate will be put in a five star hotel with all the perks to enjoy life for a week. After that he is thoroughly impressed with it. Then he is asked whether he likes this life or not. The answer can only be yes for he already has been dreaming of these things. Then he is told that alright go and work for it. He is now ready to do anything to earn this life style. In the modern education, the object decided for us by our beloved founder Sir Syed Ahmed Khan (RA), there is nothing that can prod us to question above approach or attitude or philosophy.

Ontological God

Ontology is the study of nature of reality.
So what is the nature of reality?
Some of it can be ascertained by logical arguments.
If a cat came out of a room then the cat has been there in the room.
Some of the reality can be ascertained empirically.
You can open the door or otherwise peep into the room whether there is a cat or not.
Empirical approach takes us further then the logical, scholastic limitations.
And this too is not sufficient to ascertain the reality as much as we require.
We would like to know whether lobsters are halal or not.
You need the Godly inspiration there.
The Islamic name for that is Wahi.
There is ontological argument for existence of God.
But real argument is Wahi itself.
For those who want to listen and accept the reality.

Spectre of Political Islam

The Europe and the US, the west in general, is haunted by the spectre of Political Islam.
The argument is simple enough - we have put the Church in its place why don't you follow suit.
And it is mighty difficult to calm their nerves down.
And the situation is really worrisome.
They can not calm down on their own.
Having worked themselves into a frenzy it poses two problems.
To calm down and then two eschew that they worked themselves up on their own.
A society who confuses Islam and Arabs is difficult to communicate to.
Particularly when it has been walking on a wrong path for a long time.
In the private life they have realized the need for religion and religion and spirituality is not an uncommon thing in the west. The problem lies in its role on collective life.
Recently there was a news item about integrating atheists into US army environment.
Clearly integration of religion in the Army life is not a problem for the US.
And it is well known that in spite of his confusion about his identity Barack Obama did use the Christian card, even if the use was subtle but only the most naive will assert that his did not use it.
So even in the public life the role of religion is not so insignificant. In God We Trust is not confined to the bank notes - they call them the bills.
But any hint of even similar level of permeation of Islam into Muslim society is an anathema to the west.

Current Calamities

There is strong cold spell in Europe and a hundred people have died in Ukraine.
Then there is continuing bad news form European financial sector crisis. Like airlines collapsing.
Now it is not a proven fact that people of Ukraine are more sinning than other countries, east or west.
But when some calamity comes upon society that is not created by man then the clear indication is that it is from God. And He might make life difficult for whomsoever He wishes - none can stop or question Him.
He also has told us that if you obey Him then what is it that He shall get by putting us in trouble?
The message is clear - we should worry about being obedient to Him. Even if He forgives our disobedience in this life there is after life where we have to give accounts. In fact people getting their punishment in this world are sometimes better off for they might be forgiven in the hereafter. And if one spends a few minutes pondering over it the financial crises like airlines collapsing too fit the bill in the category of God's decision. We have to do only little bit of thinking to realize that. And after that a decision to obey Him is the only next step to goodness of this world and the hereafter. You start becoming aware of God's presence and you start understanding His actions only if you develop a mindset to recognize His signs around you. And what is more worth trying?

Wishing Away Islam

Muslims are doing away with domes.
Muslims are doing away with minarets.
Muslims are getting dissolved in the environment.
All of this and more is available here.

Dear Sandra

Liam Neeson is impressed with Islam.

And the obvious conclusion is that he might be on his way to Islam.

In reaction here is a comment by a viewer called Sandra.

Buh-bye Liam, it's been nice knowing you.

- Sandra, Los Angeles, CA, 27/1/2012

The reaction is understandable. But only if one thinks of the current social, cultural environment. Here is one possible response to above viewer.

Dear Sandra,
Your parting with Liam Neeson is very touching.
You show your love for him. You shall not acknowledge the parting of a person whom you do not love.
And then there is a tinge of pain too.
This is the pain of love then.
This in turn demands that you should be concerned about him.
Real love demands that.
And then there is this inevitable feeling that there is something missing.
If you accept his decision to be the right one then does it not make you think about yourself.
If he is worried about him and you love him then you should worry in similar way about yourself.
If not then you'll be implying that that he is good at his work but not good at taking care of himself.
And some how you are sure that he has got it wrong and you have got it right.
The strange thing is that he has been living in the same society, the superior society, that you live in.
You are also assuming that your decision is better than his.
But is there a harm in rethinking about your own decision to remain smug?
That is all we suggest.
The reason is that the information that is current about Islam in your quarters happens to be incorrect in various ways.
Of course the choice is yours.
Our suggestion is just our duty - duty assigned by your Lord, our Lord to us.
Take care.