What is EDL?

Answer : It stands for English Defense League.

What is its purpose : If we can cut off the official non-sense then its purpose is to hate Muslims.
Why in News? : Trying to organize Europe against Muslims. A futile task because Europe is enough anti-Muslim already.
Are They Harmful to Europe Itself? : Yes. Homophobia is never good - even if its comes in the Islamophobic variety.

That Man

He was in the Du'a learning group that voluntarily formed after Fajr. Quite keenly interested in the du'a for istikhara. Fair complexion, smart personality but easy going. Bears the name of a mighty Prophet(AS). Made very serious efforts to learn it in spite of his advance age. Another noticeable thing about him was his hair. It had grayed but he always bore a smart hair cut. In the rainy season, yes we have a separate season for rain in India, he wore knee high rain boots. Only later this sinner learned that he is a retired military driver. Once a soldier, always a soldier. One day he confided the reason for learning the du'a for istikhara. He had two sons and one of them left home without any trace or any communication. Husband and wife did their sabr on the remaining son but a few years later he too left home. No trace again and no communication. What kind of burden this ever smiling, always pleasant face carries behind that facade? Only Allah(SWT) knows.

Attrology

The Use of Attar (essential oils)

 Dr Ashraf Dockrat

In a hadi-th we read that the Prophet SAW is reported to have said: “From the things of your world, women (wives) and perfume are beloved to me and the comfort of my eye is the Sala-h”. The pious say that “A pleasant Attar perfume The use of Itr/Attar is an established sunnah practice of the Prophet Muh.ammad SAW strengthens the intelligence and increases virility”. When Sayyidina- ?Ali- radiallahu ?anhu offered fragrance to anyone and if he refused it, he would say: “Nobody but a donkey refuses the favour (of Allah).

T.ibb incorporates the use of fragrant oils to treat imbalances. The natural oils extracted from flowers, bark, stems, leaves, roots or other parts of a plant are used. The inhaled aroma from these "essential" oils is widely believed to stimulate brain function. Essential oils can also be absorbed through the skin, where they travel through the bloodstream and can promote whole-body healing. Today aromatherapy is gaining momentum. It is used for a variety of applications, including pain relief, mood enhancement and increased cognitive function. There are several approaches to utilizing aromatic oils for therapy. The purpose of the application in T.ibb in not to use the essential oil for its medicinal action per se, but rather as an effective method to quickly adjust the subtle essences of the humors.

There are a wide number of essential oils available, each with its own healing properties. The oils most commonly used are rose, violet, jasmine, frankincense, myrrh and chamomile. The oil may be used for massage in pure form or mixed with sweet almond or olive oil as an extender. For emotional and mental applications, apply one or two drops of the oil to a small piece of cotton about the size of the thumbnail. Roll the cotton into a small ball and insert into the ridge (not the ear canal) of the right ear. The cotton may be placed in place for one to three hours.

Attars or essential oils may also be burned on self igniting charcoal. A few drops ignited on the charcoal will scent a small room with fragrance for about twenty minutes.

The oils have qualities associated with them. Listed below are some of the common aromatherapy oils with their respective qualities.

AROMATHERAPY OIL DOMINANT SUBDOMINANT
Chamomile (Dry & Hot)
Lavender (Dry & Hot )
Lemon grass (Dry & Hot )
Eucalyptus (Hot & Dry)

Sanguinous

Phlegmatic
Ylang-ylang (Cold & Moist)
Grapefruit (Cold & Dry)
Bergamot (Cold & Dry)
Rose (Cold & Dry)

Sanguinous

Bilious
Eucalyptus (Hot & Dry)
Rosemary (Hot & Dry)
Anise (Hot & Dry)
Cinnamon (Dry & Hot)

Phlegmatic

Sanguinous
Eucalyptus (Hot & Dry)
Rosemary (Hot & Dry)
Anise (Hot & Dry)
Cajuput (Hot & Dry)

Phlegmatic

Melancholic
Rosemary (Hot & Dry)
Cinnamon (Dry & Hot)
Chamomile (Dry & Hot)
Lavender (Dry & Hot)

Melancholic

Phlegmatic
Clarysage (Hot & Moist)
Peppermint (Hot & Moist)
Chamomile (Dry & Hot)
Lavender (Dry & Hot)

Melancholic

Bilious
Ylang-ylang (Cold & Moist)
Jasmine (Cold & Moist)
Fennel seeds(Cold & Moist)
Coriander oil (Cold & Moist)

Bilious

Melancholic
Ylang-ylang (Cold & Moist)
Jasmine (Cold & Moist)
Fennel seeds (Cold & Moist)
Rose (Cold & Dry)

Bilious

Sanguinous


There is a difference between commercial perfumes and ittar. Alcohol is a common solvent for most perfumes and causes the perfume to evaporate much faster- sometimes upto as much as 10 - 15 times faster. This causes the first impression of the perfume to be overwhelming to human senses, but it soon evaporates and loses power. Given its natural derivation, ittar lasts a long time. Body heat only intensifies its smell. Another major difference between synthetic perfumes and ittar is that the oil-based ittar is worn directly on your body. The inside of the wrist, behind the ears, the inside of elbow joints, back of the neck and a few other parts of your anatomy are directly dabbed with ittar.

A small drop is enough to be used as a fragrance on the body. A few drops can be added to water and used with aromatic vapour lamps. A few drops of some ittars are used with cold drinks, such as milk, to give fragrance.

Numerous varieties of attar are available for use through the year. One should use attar appropriate to the season and in accordance with ones temperament. This is a very important consideration and people are generally unmindful of this when using attars. Remember that your attar not only affects you but also those around you. You should therefore consider carefully and chose the appropriate attar to wear.
Ittars can be classified as “warm” or “cool”.
Warm Ittars' – Ittars such as Musk, Amber, Kesar (Saffron), Oud, Hina are used in winters, they increase the body temperature.

Cool Ittars' – like Rose, Jasmine, Khus, Kewda, Mogra, are used in summers and are cooling for the body.
Chameli can be used at any time of the year.

We will now mention some details regarding some of the more common itr.

Amber
Oil of amber (kahrabah in Persian) or liquid amber, as it is sometimes called, is derived from a species of pine tree (Picea succinfera). Many people have had contact with amber stones and beads, and it is this same basic substance that is used in healing. But the stones have hardened for several million more years than the resin, which is used to manufacture the oil.

There are only three locales in the world where authentic amber can be found. Its colour varies anywhere from a light, translucent pink to a heavy, dark brown. When we realise that the essential sap of these trees, to become amber, has been preserved for one to six million years, we understand that we are tapping into a very ancient healing energy.

Some people use the sap from trees and distill out the essence. But others, realizing this ancient energy within, prefer to grind down the stones into powder and then heat it to revive the essence. This latter form of amber is better for healing but very very difficult to locate.

Amber is recommended specifically for any kind of disease or problem associated with the heart. While the rose is considered the Mother of Scents, amber is called the Father (or King) of Scents.

An excellent method of using Amber is to put one drop on the tip of the finger and apply it to the point of the “Third Eye” (not in the physical eyes, of course). This is absorbed by the body and stimulates the pineal gland, which activates many of our physiological functions.

Frankincense
Frankincense is hot in the second degree, but is not quite so hot as amber. It is a little less drying, too. Frankincense is also a very powerful cleanser of the aura and psychic planes

Myrrh
Myrrh is hot and drying. There are several varieties but those from Tunis and Morocco seems to be of the finest quality.

Violet
Violet is cold and moist in the first degree and can thus be considered mild in its action. Violet leaves, flowers and oils are used in a great number of healing formulas.

Sandalwood
Sandal is cold and dry in the second degree. The best and most famous oil of sandal comes from Mysore, India. It is used in many conditions, frequently for genital and urinarly tract infections. Sandal is also used as a base oil into which other oils are extracted or blended. It is a very good base because it evaporates very slowly and does not spoil over time. In fact aged sandalwood is better than fresh.
Sandalwood is recommended whenever serious meditation and spiritual practices are being undertaken, because it is quieting to all of the egotisms of the body, especially those relating to sexual urges.

Musk
True musk oil is derived from the glands of a kind of deer, found only in remote regions of the world. Musk is hot and dry. Musk has been used in medicine particularly in healing heart and sexual problems.

Rose
Rose is cold and dry in the second degree. There are perhaps three hundred different species of roses used in aromatherapy. The finest and most expensive is said to be the Bulgarian rose. Others consider the first pressing rose oils from India to be superior to the Bulgarian rose. It requires 60 000 pounds of rose petals to produce one kilogram of first pressing rose oil.
The rose is the most superior of all scents in the floral realm. Rose works simultaneously on the physical, emotional, and spiritual bodies, purifying and uplifting all three. It is the least toxic oil. One can make a delicious summer drink by adding rose oil to water.

Jasmine
Jasmine is cold and dry. The flowers of jasmine are cold but the essential oil is heating. This is an important consideration: that not all substances work in the same way in all forms, just as water and ice are chemically the same but quite different in their effects. It is also true that flowers and their oils do not work in the same way in humans as they do in animals: what is heating to a human may be cooling to a fish. This fact makes random experiments on animals a questionable practice at best. The special quality of jasmine is its unparalleled ability to uplift the mood and lessen mental depression.

Hina
Hina (pronounced heena) is the oil extracted from the flowers of the henna plant. Hina is very difficult to find and is considered one of the finest and most refined oils in the world; and its price reflects that too. It is usually aged over a long period of time and it improves with aging. The curious thing about hina (and of some other oils as well) is that the liking for its fragrance is an acquired one: many people on first smelling find it repulsive.

?U-d
The rare and costly oil known as ?u-d is taken from the wood of the aloeswood tree. The best ?u-d comes from India. Its cost can be high but those familiar with its effects do not find the price a consideration. ?U-d is hot and dry in the third degree. Oudh oil is used in traditional medicine for a number of purposes, including to help in childbirth. Breathing the smoke from the burning wood will help with respiratory problems, colds, coughs and asthma. The oil has been used to help sufferers of rheumatism, as a stimulant and a tonic combined with other ingredients. It helps lift the spirit and boosts energy levels.

It is necessary to mention here that women going out from their homes should not use attar in a way that its fragrance attracts the attention of others. Attar may be used by them in the confines of their homes. The instructions of the shari-?ah in this regard are clear. “Rasulullah(S) says: “Any woman, who perfumes herself and leaves the house, is deprived from the blessings of the Alla-h until she returns home.”

(To be formatted.)

May A Thousand Europes Prosper

Twenty five percent of the children in Flanders, Belgium are of foreign origin.
Let us believe them.
Let us also accept that it means that future adult population of Flanders will be twenty five percent foreigners.
Just like the fact that future adult population in the suburb of Antwerp and some other European cities will be of foreign national origin in about forty percent.

And many of these people of foreign origin will be Muslims.

Now that we have the facts in front of us let us analyze them. Does it mean that Muslims have planed and mounted a demographic take over of Europe.
No.
For one, the data is about few European countries.
It is about few cities.
It is about suburbs, mostly.
And there is no organized attempt to demographic flooding.
We have not heard of any - except wild accusations.

And there is no intention of the same - as one can see around. Of course there might be some loud mouths. They should shut up. They are neither helping Islam nor Muslims.

Any Muslim in his right mind would not like that the Belgian race should disappear from their country. Or the French. Or the British.  Islam is there for everybody and it is not a tenet of Islam to displace any race. This is something that must be duly emphasized. Islam is on offer for each and every European but anybody dreaming of any racial take over, from either side, is grossly in error.

This leaves us with one uncovered point. The declining demography of European people. Of course there is undue alarmism. As far as the real problem is concerned then it is up to the Europeans themselves to take up reproduction in their society as it should be. Is that not the normal thing to do? And if you find that difficult to do then why not imitate the thriving societies? See we are not usurping Islam from back door. No hanky panky in Islam. It is their in the open - take it or leave. There is no compulsion in Islam.

May a thousand Europes bloom Islamically. And no hanky panky here again. Choice is yours and we do have our way of praying. And we do want your good from inside. Please do not think that just because we have a tint to our skin we are incapable of loving you. Or God will not disclose the truth in its final phase to us.

Peace.

Fed Up With Li Wei

Apparently Li Wei is the most powerful artist in China.
And amongst most powerful people in China.
This is what BBC asserted some time back.
Surely he must be serving some western purpose.
Last time when yours truly saw his creative work it was time to be left unimpressed.
He created hundred million sunflower beans of porcelain.
Big deal.
Now we have a Yahoo feature - collection of his photographs where apparently gravity is being defied.
Big deal.
Photoshop any body.
Yours truly suspects that not only Li Wei's but the western creativity has reached its saturation.
Result? They keep coming with these inane ideas.
Unfortunately sometimes the ideas are plain loathsome.
Like the experimentation going in theater.
Even in the photographs by Li Wei there is one that is very stressful.
It should not be publicly released.

Friendship of a Transgressor

Friendship of a transgressor with good conduct is dearer to me than that of a learned man with bad conduct.

Junaid Baghdadi (RA)

This reminded your truly of late Dr Farhan Mujib. He was not a religious man. Worse - his inherited company was of the liberals, socialists, communists, Marxists. But to be fair to him yours truly never saw him coloured in that ideology. It was a vestige of past only. A common friend said that his cousin publishes a weekly paper. Farhan Sahab was interested. "What is the name?" Answer : Labourer (Mehnatkash). Farhan Sahab lost the interest immediately, "Oh it is leftist." And thus Farhan Sahab ended up in a permanent conundrum - he was not a leftist but everybody assumed him to be. Yours truly was the only impertinent person who tried to pull him towards Islam. And pressurized others to do the same but they never got the courage to breach the topic. Nothing more could have been done. Of course once he did advice yours truly to pray to Allah(SWT) when a difficult situation arose. For detractors it might not be a big thing but for yours truly it is. There are some people who are so sure of their own good deeds that they criticize others. But there are people who appreciate him. Professor Rashid Hasan usually quips that whatever he was - he was much better than many Muslims. When the topic was breached with Professor Syed Muhammed Abul Hashim Rizvi, who has retired from Physics Department of your beloved Alma Mater, he broke down and said that Farhan was an excellent human being.

Indeed his past haunted him. Once he said in utmost pain that there is only one reason that people hate me and that is Professor Rais Ahmed. Late Professor Rais Ahmed was one of the limited pillars of liberal power structure in AMU - Professor Nurul Hasan of History being another one. There are many people who appreciate Professor Rais Ahmed but there are also the under currents where he is not liked. Late Dr Syed Muhammed Ahmed, former Assistant Public Relations Officer of AMU, was one of those who defended Professor Rais Ahmed. Many teachers of Physics Department remember him fondly and these are not all communists. He was a Haafiz of either 16 or 18 parts of the Noble Qur'an. Professor Hashim Rizvi said that after talking to you for an hour he could give a popular lecture on your topic better than you. Late Professor rais Ahmed went on to become director of NCERT and Vice Chancellor of Kashmir University as well as Vice Chairman of UGC. He was instrumental in framing the concept of what started as Nuclear Science Cener in New Delhi and is now called the Inter University Accelerator Center. He was the brain behind what is called the NET examination and he contributed to the framing of syllabi of IGNOU. He also worked as education adviser to government of Mauritius. For a life time this is no small work. 

But then he is not a universally liked person. I suppose one has to live all of these contradictions of life.

A few days ago a poster appeared in the university. The Hobbies Workshop of the university is organizing an art celebration dedicated to late Dr Farhan Mujib. The title of the celebration is NICHE. It begins on March 31, 2012 in the General Education Center. The poster uses the profiles of Streatchy Hall, Bab-e-Syed and Union Hall in the background. Heart sank to see the colour of the above profiles - it is red. This was a time to make a decision. If liberal intelligentsia is celebrating Farhan Sahab then so be it. Farhan Sahab is no more and a Muslim is not supposed to be attached to past. The decision was to let bygone be bygone. Farewell Farhan Sahab. But it was not to be.

Professor Wasi Haider, Chairman of Physics Department at present very excitedly told a few days ago that there is this event on 31st of March and let us go to it.

So there. Can you refuse the invitation of your teacher to attend the memory of a senior friend? No.

Professor Haider is the eldest son of late Mr Wizarat Hussain sahab - a legendary teacher of the S.T.High School (called Minto Circle). Wizarat Sahab was the only competitor of Professor Irfan Habib Sahab for the leadership of Marxist community of AMU. There gap between Islam and this ideology is not bridgeable but presence of people holding to latter can not be denied. These people have been at the forefront in trying to face the communal juggernaut that was unleashed in India a few decades ago and that is one piece of reality that yours truly finds difficult to ignore. I hope recognizing and acknowledging reality is a step towards dealing with it. In those days when yours truly was ignorant about these things Dr Farhan Mujib once told that there are people who would not like you to be seen in this company. Now the situation has changed, as Allah(SWT) so magnificently wished, that yours truly does not want to be seen in that company. But then again these are our own brothers and sisters (uncles and aunties?) and we too have a responsibility to worry about their hereafter - as they worry about our own present condition, in their own way.

US : The Shooting Country

United States of America is the shooting country.
People shoot others, sometimes for no reason, to death.

Some people will object and assert that there is a generalization here.
But if they ponder a little then they should realize that this generalization can be left out and we can focus on the real problem.

US is taken as the solution country by nearly everybody else in the world.
Unfortunately too many in the Muslim Ummah hold the same view.

But US is a problem country.
And if the perpetual objector is still around then let us be more precise - US is a problem country also.

This leaves us with a puzzle - is it more of a problem country or more of a solution country?

Good question. You decide. On our part we shall take a look at Trayvon Martin shooting:

Oliver, who has known Zimmerman for six years, said he has been in regular contact with members of Zimmerman's family, who have briefed him on Zimmerman's day-to-day reactions as the case has grown into a national referendum on race, gun laws and criminal justice.

Let us take three points mentioned here. First one is race.

Our white brothers and sisters are the most racist in the world. They got to work most on this problem - still. True that they have been working on it for a long time and they have made significant strides in the right direction but they still have a long way to go.

Second is gun laws. US gun laws are silly and dangerous. They have geared their laws for a criminal society. That is a loss. Once a friend said that the informal US law is that see our law and order domain is so wast that we can not protect every one of you personally so protect yourself. Take guns. Once you end up in legal problem we shall handle that part efficiently. People say that courts in US work much more efficiently. May be. But the whole paradigm is so wrong. It is obvious to us but for some reasons it is not to them. May be dear Indians and Muslims should try to explain it to them. Only you can - for no one else knows. They think that US is the standard.

Third point is Criminal Justice. It is simply bad in US. Let us hold it from the other end. The Jail. What is the purpose of a jail? That a criminal goes into it and gets the punishment for his wrong doing by loosing his freedom. One thing that this proves is that there is no absolute freedom - are you not violating the right of a person to freely more around by imprisoning him? But we digress. The normal view about prison term will be that a criminal should think that it is a bad thing to indulge in crime because you loose your freedom for so long. Is that happening? No. This thought is farthest from anybody's mind for US prisons are known to the world, to even those people who are sitting on the other side of the globe and who have never set foot on that land, to be the most unforgiving places to dwell upon. Who so ever survives that ordeal comes out as a bigger criminal. And if you try to catch this conundrum of US criminal justice system from the other end then that also does not work. The things begin their with plea-bargain. This term simply amounts to subterfuge of criminal justice system. The logic is as follows - since the criminal justice system is so expansive therefore allow the criminal to accept voluntarily the charges of a lower crime and do away with it.

Sorry it fails from both ends. Mat suggest that they sit with Islamic law, with very-very cool head, and try to devise solutions to their problems?

No? Good we are watching you and you are watching yourself.

Hamd Recitation by Pir Zulfiqar Ahmed (DB)

Hamd of Allah(SWT) recited by Pir Zulfiqar Ahmed Sahab Naqshbandi  (DB).
The words are by Pir Nasiruddin Nasir (RA) of Golra.
Pir Zulfiqar Ahmed Sahab Naqshbandi (DB) used this Hamd for Muraaqbah after his Sermon at Dar-ul-Uloom Waqf during his last visit to India.

Kis se maangein, kahan jayein, kis se kahein?
(Whom to beg? Where to go? Whom to urge?)
Aur duniya mein haajat rawaa kaun hai?
(Who else is the provider of needs in the world?)

Sab ka data hai tu, sab ko deta hai yu
(You are the giver to all, you give to all)
Tere bando ka tere siwa kaun hai?
(Who is for your servants except for you?)

Kaun maqbool hain, kaun mardood hai
(Who is approved, who is rejected?)
Bekhabar kya kahabar tujh to kya kaun hai
(O the ill informed what you know of the others?)

Jab tuleinge amal sab ke meezaan par
(When every one's deed are weight on the balance)
Tab khulehga ki khota khara kain hai
(Then the fakes and genuine will be disclosed)

Kaun sunta hai faryaad mazloom ki
 (Who hears the cry of the wronged ones?)
Kis ke hathon mein kunji hai maqsoom ki
(Who has the key to the objective?)

Rizq par jis ke palte hain shaah-o-gada
(On whose sustenance survive the king and the popper?)
Tujh Ahad ke siwa doosra kaun hai
(Who else but You Alone?)

Auliya tere muhtaaj aey Rabb-e-kul
(Pious completely depend on you O Lord of all)
Tere bande hain sab anbiya aur rusul
(All the Prophets and Messengers are your slaves)

Unki izzat ka baa-is hai nisbat teri
(The derive their honour from your connection)
Unki pehchaan tere siwa kaun hai
(What else is their identity except it?)

Anbiya auliya ahl-e-bayt-e-nabi
(Prophets, Pious and people of the house of Prophet(PBUH))
Tabayeen - o- Sahaba pe jab aa bani
(The Followers and Companions - when they were in trouble)

Gir ke sajde mein sab ne yahi arz ki
 (Falling into prostration - all urged)
Tu nahi hai to mushkil kusha kain hai?
(Who else is elevator of problems if not you?)

Mera maalik meri sun raha hai fughaan
(My Lord is listening to my cry)
Jaanta hai woh khamoshiyon ki zubaan
(He knows the language of silence)

Ab meri raah mein koi hayil na ho
(Let none hinder my path now)
Namwar kya bala hai saba kaun hai
(Influential people? Wind, as a messenger, I need not)

Ahl-e-fikr-o-nazar jaante hain tujhe
(People of thought and perception know you)
Kuchh na hone pe bhi maante hain tujhe
(They accept you without seeing)

Aey Naseer is ko tu fazl-e-baari samajh
(O Naseer think of it as a Grace of Most High)
Warna teri taraf dekhta kaun hai
(Otherwise who pays any attention to you)

Time's Aarati's Infatuation With Modi

Anil Dharkar and others have a rejoinder in OutLook on the petrifying adulation of Narendra Modi.

Centenary Celebrations of Physics Department - 5

This post will, Lord willing, collect the net links to this event.

(1) India Education Diary
(2) MVO News
(3) The Frontiers Conference
(4) The Economic Times
(5) AMU Website
(6) News Reporter

Centenary Celebrations of Physics Department - 4

Professor M. Zillur Rahman Khan Sahab, while speaking in the Alumni meet of the Physics Department on Wednesday March 21, 2012, said that Wasi Haider Sahab I shall leave the incident narrated by Shaikh Sa'adi to you.

This was a relaxation for the those in the audience who knew Professor Khan - if you are caught by him then hour or hours or even you day might get consumed. And it was already past 6PM for all of the people who have been in the celebrations since 10AM and even earlier - if you were helping the organization in any capacity.

In the next sentence Dr Khan said that Wasi Sahab since it will be difficult for you to recount it I am thinking that I should do it myself. Since Professor Khan is by now slightly hard of hearing Professor Wasi Haider got up to tell him to indeed go ahead with his narration. In fact in this episode latter had to make several visits to the podium and everyone was enjoying the specter made of the current Chairman of Physics Department by his very beloved teacher. Everyone was enjoying to the hilt - the actors and the audience. The audience included a large number of students - they never had such a great time in their life and nor did the faculty, for that matter.

Thus continued the old sage of Quantum Mechanics at Aligarh - Professor Zillur Rahman Khan. He said that this incident has been described by Shaikh Sa'adi in his Gulstan - I (Professor Khan) have read it myself. Once upon a time their was great scholar of Islam and he was famous for his debates. He was once challenged by (or challenged) a heretic. So the debate was organized with all the fanfare. And the scholar of Islam lost in first five minutes.

People asked the scholar as to what happened. He said that I gave my proof of certain things from the Traditions (Hadiths) of beloved Prophet(PBUH) and he said that he does not believe in the Traditions. Then I gave my arguments from the Noble Qur'an and he said that he does not believe in the Noble Qur'an either. And the debate was lost.

"So Wasi Haider Sahab", continued Professor Khan, "in my opinion both points of view should be present in any society. The debater, the Islamic scholar, should have known the opposite point of view also in order to face the situation."

Basically Professor Khan emphasized the same point of view that opposing points of view should be present simultaneously in a society.

And since some people might miss the purport it should be added that Professor Wasi Haider is a communist while Professor M.Z.R. Khan, though not a Islamist by any stretch of imagination, will be classified as representing Muslim point of view.

Professor Khan spoke on other aspects also but that we shall look at in other posts, Lord Willing.

Centenary Celebrations of Physics Department - 3

The programme started around 10AM in the morning and it was only around 8PM people saw Professor MZR Khan off. It was a hectic day and very eventful. Both faculty members and students showed remarkable stamina because it really no-stop show. Though only very few alumni took the microphone but whatever they said made the day a memorable one.

It will be better to get one headline out of our way before yours truly attempts to report the happenings of the day. One modern test of scientific nimbleness of a society is the number of Nobel Prizes under its belt. This is much more true in case of Physics than other disciplines of science. And on this barometer our reading is firmly grounded to ground level - we have none to boast. But this is not a very good measurement. The reason is that western versatility in science reached the present level after centuries of efforts. We do have a century behind us but only a century - after beginning from scratch.

It is a difficult proposition and dear Aligs might find that it is a weak excuse but it is a good excuse.

Events of the day left the feeling in heart that had not come earlier even after decades of association with this movement. The feeling is the following  : To be an Alig is very honourable and a great blessing of Allah(SWT) and at least for a Muslim it is worthwhile choice to decide to be an Alig. And of course : once an Alig, always an Alig. This is also spirit of Aligarh. Hope yours truly can communicate some of this feeling in the reportings of the events that yours truly intends to make.

Centenary Celebrations of Physics Department - 2

After the morning session of the Centenary Celebrations of Physics Department, AMU, Aligarh there were two technical talks by two illustrious alumni of the department Professor Siraj Hasan and Professor Tariq Aziz. Latter is at the Tata Institute for Fundamental Research, Mumbai and has around 700 publications to his credit. Yours truly missed the first talk but caught most of the latter. The latter talk was about B-Physics and CMS results from LHC. Physics wise this is as good as it can. It was very gratifying to hear the latest results of Particle Physics from an Alig. He did talk about the possible Higgs bump between 120 1nd 130 GeV as well as the incredibly sinking room for supersymmetry. The lunch break has just ended and now there is going to be the real Alumni meet. Yours truly might catch it at the fag end.

Centenary Celebrations of Physics Department - 1

Just back from the first session of Centenary Celebrations of Physics Department function. Professor Wasi Haider, Chairman of Physics Department, AMU, Aligarh gave summary of the 100 year journey of the Department. Things began when science teaching began combinely with the appointment of H.Dunncliffe. Because of this the Chemistry Department celebrated its centenary in 2008. We too could have done that, and indeed there was some talk about it in the Department of Physics at that time but there was no evidence that the Physics of Chemistry Departments were created in 1908.

As Professor Haider told that first MSc degree was awarded in Physics in 1923 and first PhD in 1931. Several students of Nobel Laureates served and developed the department in various ways. Then there was the tricky time of partition. It was a long journey for a small period of hundred years.

Present working Vice Chancellor, being an illustrious alumnus of the Department, was on the dais and he said very kind words.

Then Professor M. Zillur Rahman Khan Sahab spoke. And was it a heartwarming lecture? It need a separate report of its own. (Professor Wasi Haider's report should become publicly available later on.)

Then Professor Siraj Hasan, Director of Indian Institue of Astrophysics, Bangalore spoke. His focus was on presently good times of Astronomy in India. Then Professor S.K.Sing who has retired last June from the Department and is continuing as the Vice Chancellor of Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna University, Shrinagar, Garhwal told the gathering about his association with the Physics Department. He told a very touching incident. Late Professor M.Shafi called Professor Singh, in 1985 or so, when latter became a full professor and said that Professor Singh Aligarh has given you whatever it could - now it is your turn to do your bit. Very delicate emotion and yours truly will vouch for the fact that Professor Singh did take it very seriously and indeed he did bring good name to Aligarh. This itself is a delicate point that he disclosed these finer sentiments after retiring from the active service of AMU. His soothing words together with the Grand Old Man of Physics at Aligarh style presentation of Professor MZR Khan just made the day. With an English hat Professor Khan looked like a typical British Lord.

There were many other alumni of the department from India, specially local alumni. Professor Qamar Naseer Usmani and Mr Ammar Hasan came from abroad specially for this function. There was short address by the Dean Faculty of Science Professor Arunima Lal as well as a few words by Professor MSZ Chaghtai. A memento (that is the correct word and it was not used) was also released and Professor Wasi Haider had to explain the miniature size of the memento. It is small because we talk about the things like the atomic nucleus which is small. A souvenir publication too was released that contains some rare photographs related to Physics at Aligarh as well as the complete publication list of the Physics Department since 1931 till today.

Macaulay Syndrome

Macaulay Syndrome, coined by yours truly, is the condition in which a Muslim starts hating the things Islamic and starts advocating the western view.

Example : Uzbekistan Bans Islamic Clothing

A Million Views

Islam is the most reviled religion in the world of today.

One corollary of this is that videos explaining Islam will not get much views.

So if a video gets a million views then it is nothing short of a miracle.

Here is an Ahmed Deedat video that has got more than a million hits.

Misinformed Indian Muslims

From Indian Express:

Rushdie spoke in Delhi without event, proving the fearful second-guessers wrong
Salman Rushdie came to a conclave in Delhi, he spoke his piece, he left. Listening to his words did not cause the audience to spontaneously combust. He delivered his familiar use-it-or-lose-it speech on freedom, denounced votebank politics and religious bigotry, insulted a few politicians, estimated how many Muslims really cared about his presence. The lack of drama and special effects around his talk only showed up how empty all the fuss in Jaipur was.
The Jaipur literary festival controversy had a strange, rehearsed and stop-start quality to it — some Muslim groups were reportedly livid at the idea of Rushdie being invited, and threatened violence. The state government seemed weak-willed, the organisers shared their anxieties with Rushdie, and he finally stayed away. However, the Rushdie issue swallowed up the festival. Others championed his cause, some of them defiantly reading from The Satanic Verses — until the repercussions loomed too big to take on. As it appeared that Rushdie would not even be allowed to speak via videoconference, the surrender seemed abject — India, it seemed, was shamefully incapable of engaging with any writing that struck sparks. Political parties that thought they were competing for the Muslim vote made sure to register their intolerance of Rushdie — to the extent that the state could not even guarantee his security. Salman Rushdie, in their account, was the ultimate red rag to the believers, his presence was an invitation to trouble.
His Delhi visit dissolved all of those ideas, and revealed how entirely manufactured these controversies are, and how they misunderstand what Indian citizens care about. We need to see more of Rushdie in India, to bring him back to human proportions — an individual who can be heard and argued with, not he-who-must-not-be-named. Those who disagree have the right to stay away, without denying others the pleasure of engaging with Salman Rushdie.

From Times of India:

Acclaimed writer Salman Rushdie, author of the controversial "The Satanic Verses" as also bestsellers like "Midnight's Children" and "Shame", Saturday denounced "disgraceful vote bank politics" being practised in the country and said "95 per cent of Muslims in India are not interested in violence being done in their name".
Returning to India two months after he was stopped from attending the Jaipur Literary Festival, Rushdie spoke at the concluding dinner at the two-day India Today Conclave at the Taj Palace Hotel here.

Current Trends in Nuclear and Particle Physics

Just been to the inauguration of the conference with above title in Physics Department. Chief Guest Dr B.K.Jian and Guest of Honour Dr Dinesh K. Srivastava had very kind words about the Physics Department of Physics and both gave very stimulating talks about current situation and future prospects of the subject.

Government Assassin

BBC asks a very pertinent question - should governments kill? For Muslims it requires a serious sort of urgency because in modern times Muslims are sort of exclusive targets for target killing.

Slow Neutrinos

This time the neutrinos are found not to travel faster than light.

Science has a reputation to defend. How come so many people started taking this stuff seriously - including real particle physicists? And, in the first place, did the original team that published the faster than light neutrino results not realize what they were doing? Science is indeed about checks and balances and it is also about getting things wrong but there are limits. Now that the matter has come to a conclusion it will be only be natural if some heads roll. Science has a reputation to defend.

Thanks God It Is Over

Here is the clip that includes the 100th run of Sachin Tendulkar's 100th century in Dhaka just few hours ago. And everybody lived happily ever after. This is going to be a catharsis for a nation - or may be more.

How to Meet the Vice Chancellor?

Just few minutes ago when yours truly arrived at the Department of Physics there was a shining Ambassador car in front of the portico. It is between Maghrib and Isha and it was a curious time for the honourable VC to be around. Only driver was around the car and at yours truly's obvious curiosity he confirmed that it is in deed the VC who is around. Great. He came to see his old department. Soon an aristocratic bureaucrat was infront and he inquired about the where about of  Professor Wasi Haider. Having just arrived yours truly had no clue what so ever about the location of the Chairman of Physics Department. Soon a security man accompanying him was dispatched upstairs who declared that Professor is not there. VC proceeded to his car. Yours truly called Professor Wasi Haider and lo and behold he was in the department. Only he was in his room - not Chairman's office. By this time the VC entourage was on University Road and the Chairman had to contend with a telephone call. So be it. The interesting scoop is that the VC is a former student of the present Chairman.
Not bad. May Allah(SWT) make the coming days good for the Department, the University and the new comer. May he protect every one from evil glances.

Purpose of Life

Who can tell it better than our creator Himself? Here is from Surah- Ad-Dhariyaat:

 

51:56

 

وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ

Transliteration	Wama khalaqtu aljinna waalinsa illa liyaAAbudooni
Abdullah Yusuf Ali	I have only created Jinns and men, that they may serve Me.
Mufti Taqi Usmani	I did not create the Jinns and the human beings except for the purpose that they should worship Me.
Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall	I created the jinn and humankind only that they might worship Me.
Sahih International	And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.

What Is Irtiqa

Literally irtiqa is evolution.
For example Urdu nasr ka irtiqa means evolution of Urdu prose.
We found this blog with the Urdu title.
It was nice to see a blog that talks about science and Islam.
Unfortunately there is no dearth of people talking about topics like that.
Unfortunately because too many of them fall into the wrong sides - either way.
Either bashing science or cursing Islam and Muslims.
How is this blog linked above?
You decide for now - we'll have our take later.

Are All Paths Correct?

In the history of mankind we have seen a large number of conflicts.
Many of these battles were fought for religion.
Mankind is by disposition averse to war because man likes well being to the extreme levels.
Hence man wants to avoid war at any cost.
Or any kind of conflict. So if religious matters lead to conflict man would like to avoid that also.
And then man also devises a philosophical paradigm to justify this.
They just say that all religions are true.
All paths lead to the same goal. Sort of - all roads lead to Rome.
Even amongst Muslims some people have fallen prey to this deception of our Baser Self. Or of Satan the cursed - or both. They should know better. Only if they'll find a few minutes to browse through the Noble Qur'an.

The religion near Allah(SWT) is Islam.

If this is true then any other religion is not the route to salvation.

And no other religion except Islam will be acceptable of you.

This also clearly says that we must guard our religion very carefully.

Allah(SWT) says that truth and falsehood can not be the same. Good and bad can not be the same. This type of statements clearly hint to the direction that we should turn away from those sweet philosophies that assert that any thing is good and every thing is good. Perennial philosophy is precisely that - it asserts that I'm OK and you are OK. This is not always true. The whole point of this world is that it is a test. In any test there is a right answer and there is a wrong answer. Every answer is not the right answer. Such examination, such test is phony. The world does not seem to be a phony place. Just a few days back an upright police officer was brutally crushed to death by a illegal miner. Nothing phony about it. Life is full of such events. If life is full of painful things then how can we imagine that in the hereafter everything will be OK - whatever path we choose in this world? Even intellect does not accept it that there will be no punishment in the hereafter whatever we do in this world. If we believe that all paths are correct then beloved Prophet(PBUH)'s sacrifices, na'aoozubillah, become irrelevant because whether we follow his path or any other path it, n'aaoozubillah, is the same. Just because we are hesitant to tell others that you are following the wrong path we should not ourselves start believing that all paths lead to Jannah. All paths may lead to Rome, and even that does not seem to be correct, but all paths lead to Jannah is not the correct thing to say. In Surah Fatiha we beg to be shown the correct path. Why bother about it when all paths are the same. In Surah Fatiha we beg for protection from the path of those who went astray. Why bother about that if that path is also correct. In Surah Fatiha we seek protection from the path of those on whom Allah(SWT)'s wrath has been there. Clearly there are some paths which shall invite Allah(SWT)'s wrath. Should we not try to avoid them? What is the use of such faith if we do not have complete faith even in Surah Fatiha? How can we be so naive as to believe the sweet poison that everything is OK? If I bad mouth you then it is not OK. How can it be OK if we take that path which is not preferred by Allah(SWT)?

Late Narendra Kumar Alig, IPS

There are people who drool over tidbits of power in this world.
They are the ones who are corrupt even before they get the power.
Then there are the brave hearts who warm your hearts by their actions.
And they exist in real life.
Like IPS officer Narendra Kumar, an Alig.
He tried to intercept a tractor carrying illegally mined building material in Murena, Madhya Pradesh, India.
And he was crushed to a horrible death.
Leaving behind a pregnant IPS wife.
And parents and in-laws.
And a whole Alig community world wide.
And the grateful public - the people of India.
And the day was of a festival - Holi.

Sources : India TV, Timess of India, DNA, Telugu Desam Party, Babus, One India, Economic Times, India  Today Video, NDTV, Yahoo News, IBN, A Probe

The Last Choice

Dr Lawrence Brown

Today I'll tell you about how I came to Islam. Cut to 1990. I was typical American. Accumulating world was the only objective I knew. I got my second daughter that year and noticed something that I ignored in case of my first daughter who stood up on her feet on her first day. I did not see it as a miracle - only as something interesting. I am a doctor. I did not get the message. Second time it was more dramatic. My second daughter Hanna was born ten months after Christina in George Washington University Hospital - a very famous hospital where I too worked. She was born gun metal blue because of lack of oxygen in blood and the reason was that her aorta, the main artery that takes purified blood to whole body, was pinched in the middle to nearly zero size. As a doctor I understood the implications. Having assisted in cardiac surgeries I knew that they will operate her immediately and there will be grafting of the artery. After few years there would be another grafting as she grew but she'll eventually die. A child surgeon was called from another hospital and being emotional I had to leave the intensive care unit for even as a doctor I was not helping the things. There was a prayer room near the ICU and I sincerely prayed for the first time in my life. Till now I was always in a position in my life where I knew how to get what I wanted. This time I was helpless. I used to be atheist and tried to argue people away from God. There was no symbols in the room and I felt that it was the right place to be there. I made a prayer that is rather infamous - oh God if you are there ... Also I clearly remember praying O God guide me to the religion that is pleasing to you. After 15 minutes I was back to ICU and all the doctors were huddled around my daughter like a football team. The guest surgeon looked up to me and said that she is going to be OK. It did not sink in - and I was not the only one who had gone blank - other doctors also did not understand his assessment. But I had prayed sincerely for the first time in my life and got the feeling that this must be hand of my creator. There was second ultra sound taken and she was declared stone cold normal. This year she has entered college. But then I realized that I had made a promise with God and I'll be blameworthy for not fulfilling it. I was not going die with a promise on my had and so I started searching for a religion that was pleasing to God. Started reading scriptures of religions Buddhism, Taoism, Shintoism, Bhagwad Gita, Judaism, Christianity. At each step it did not take me much time to decide that this is not it. By the time I came to Judaism I realized that there is something to it but not more and I moved on to Christianity. I studied with Southern Baptists, the Quakers, Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Mormons, Seventh Day Adventists. (In Indian words his head was eating circles.) In the end I never got my answers. I did something that Christians usually do not do - reading the Bible. I am not putting down those of my brothers who hold on to Christianity but the truth remains that most of the Christians accept their faith without analyzing it. Jesus Christ calls himself son of man and people call him son of God, why? At three places the most important commandment is that there is only one God and there is no mention of trinity.
...
I felt more lost than ever.
This continued for few years. In America Islam is the last religion to be considered.
...
And then the things started falling into place one by one-all of them.
That is how reached Islam - last and conclusion of revelation.

A must listen.

Strange Things to Ogle At

There are lots of videos on YT where the up loader has just recorded a moving train, or two trains crossing, or a slow train coming into view just after crossing of a fast one. There are things to marvel in these cases but yours truly used to feel awkward about marveling at these things. Not everybody is like that. There are train spotters and plane spotters and other type of spotters who appreciate the wonders created by Allah(SWT) through his vice regent. Here one just marveling at the incredible engineering that goes into aircraft landing gear.
If you are not connected with the wonder element of science, engineering and technology you shall still wonder as to what the fuss is all about.

Muslims in America

The study promotes one controversial finding: Its estimate of the Muslim population in the U.S. appears inflated, at least compared to other comprehensive studies of Muslim affiliation. Although there is no precise count of Americans by religion, a recent Pew survey on Muslims in the U.S. estimated the population to be about 2.6 million in 2010. In general, studies show that the Muslim population is under 3 million, somewhere between 1 and 2 percent of the U.S. population. By contrast, the new study's lead author Ishan Bagby says the findings indicate that the Muslim American population is as high as 7 million, based on the figures tracking attendance at Friday prayers.

The study was sponsored by Hartford Seminary, Council on American-Islamic Relation, and a handful of other prominent American Muslim organizations.

 

Source : Slatest via Dr Abu Tamim

Our Very Own Horror

A news item in the Times of India says:

NEW DELHI: Contrary to the impression that India is being used as a transit point by international traffickers to smuggle Afghan heroin to both Europe and the US, the United Nations drug report, 2011, has said that India is the biggest consumer of heroin. Of the 40 tonnes produced in south Asia, nearly 17 tonnes are consumed in India, the biggest consumer in the region with the trade valued at $1.4 billion.

Did we hear it right? Are we really consuming the 40 percent of the drug produced around us?
Now any institution controlled by interested parties, and the west has been interested in India for long, has to be believed cautiously but in the present case we have absolutely know reason to doubt the report in question.
So we got to take it on the chin.
We have a huge and unnerving problem at hand.
This is a problem to which we need to pay attention at a priority that must be qualitatively higher than, say, polio eradication. No insensitivity intended here. The way this menace destroys human will power is horrendous. We hope the relevant people take heed.

What is the Truth?

Commenting on a debate a user said :

No, Hinduism is the truth! Sorry, Buddhism is the truth! Pardon, Christianity is the truth! I apologise, Taoism is the truth! Ok, if its Islam, is it Sunni, Shia or Ibadi?

The long and short of the argument is that there is too much of variety in market about the choice of a religion.
And even if the argument is reduced to Islam then too a number of choices are there and hence it is difficult to decide.

The question is a dishonest one to some extent.
A person who can coin such a statement is perfectly capable of comparing the first four choices. Since he has already come down to Islam there is no point in discussing the first half of his argument.

So out of the three possible versions of Islam which one is authentic?

Again  the answer is that a person who could make above statement is perfectly capable of making a choice after due consideration.

The question is in fact a rhetoric one because the person is not ready to invest i enough time to make up his mind.

But he also needs some sympathy because he is unaware of this fact. It is our responsibility to point this thing out.

Thus Spake Malcolm X

“If you are not careful,the newspapers will have you hating the people who are oppressed and loving the people doing the oppressing.”

-El-Hajj Malik El-Shabbaz (Malcolm X)

Source : SF