Earth Day!

My little cousin asked me to tell her something to write on “Earth” in 50-60 words. There were many things that wanted to come out from my jumbled up mind. But I stopped, wondered for a moment and reflected; that, I cannot outpour everything. But after a while it came to me to write everything down that came into mind.
Our earth is home for more than 6 billion people. It constitutes of varied splendor of Allah Almighty in innumerable forms and ensures the well being of humans. It has lush green forests, deep blue seas, barren deserts and vast fertile lands. It is in fact an unfathomable resource of tranquility for its habitants. It provides us food to survive, shelter to live, water to rejoice, desire to beauty, passion to struggle, challenge to overcome, compassion to love, fear to dread and many things which are the foundations of not only our physical world but composes the very fabric of cognition and conscience of human minds.
To this blessed life we enjoy for granted, we enjoy a bounteous time on this earth to “pursue our happiness”. Whether it is peace or frustration in our souls, our failures or success, the only thing that compels us forward and makes us think is our compassion and love for others. In this hectic pursuit of our very existence where ‘fittest one survives’ we don’t really bother about our fellow beings, ‘Earth’ which is home to us, weak who we have to support and to ‘might’ which has to be subjugated by morality. In our pursuit we end our lives in a box failing to think outside of it and thus fall into the pit of selfishness.
On this day let us revive that compassion that has been compelling us to evolve and has consumed the resources of our ‘home’ that is always the dearest thing of all. Let us be united, like in our homes, let us rejoice peace, like in our achievements and let us eradicate dread like we lend hands to our brothers and sisters in their distress. Let this ‘Earth’ be ‘home’ to us, let it be the epiphany for those who transgress and haven for those who care.

Learning how to learn

Out of curiosity and my attitude of criticizing i have tried and summed up my reflections and thoughts about the modern educational system. This reminisces of mine have been shaped by some of the most renowned scholars like Allama Iqbal, Dr. Mehmud Ahmad Ghazi, Dr. Rafiuddin and others whom i have forgotten. This post below contains nearly half of what i have written and i will be posting the remaining article shortly InshaAllah.


This article is written as a critique on modern education, its implications and to understand where it has lacked and how we Muslims have to transform education in order to preserve the human moralities and Islamic ideology. This is the first article which encompasses the influences on modern education and its origins. In further articles, it will be tried to come up with some rationale on which to build the structure of modern education which keeps human nature intact with its ethics and preserves the teachings and injunctions of Allah Almighty. There has to be a balance between what we take from the prevailing system in which we Muslims are dominated by another civilization and have to decide what is useful for us and what it is that divides and rules us. Just two hundred years back we were united but now grand walls of utilitarianism stands between us which has in fact nothing to do with us or our civilization.
Contemporary education or modern literacy I believe has harmed, as well as benefited human race. To understand the long lasting effects of modern education we have to go back in history towards its inception. From there I believe we can conceive the idea of what contemporary endeavor of modern education is. For now it is enough to say that it has given us war, bloodshed, imperialism, and nationalism. It has divested the superior human values from us and has evolved human society which is individualistic in nature. Where men are all involved in performing feats of personal gratification in which there is no room for love and care with shear selflessness. It has so far given two major wars or world wars in the human history. This cannot be said the age of enlightenment nor is it the Dark Age. It is a delusion of evolution without any direction. No doubt that science and education of people has given us some wondrous inventions and has laid the foundations of various subjects but these were supposed to make human life easier and were to make them civilized. But repercussions have been disastrous. As humans we are on the brink of making some decisions which will in fact architect our future.
Now let us delve into the influences that modern curricula’s have in common.

Industrialization:

The modern age of industrialization initiated by the Great Britain was founded on the sentiments of increasing productivity, On these grounds it can be said that it was related to greed present in human nature. It can also be linked to increase in population but more or less it can be related to greed or avarice. With this radical change there came a rush of inventions and products that changed the face of human society for ever. Previously wars were fought for land, ownership and money; this is not changed even now, groups or clans for their own sake of safety, protection and survival wage wars on other similar groups(by groups today, I mean Nations and corporations). Today, the businesses are running on the Machiavellian thought and totalitarianism without any bounds and without any ethics. This has created the domination of a system based on money and power. Capitalism whose decline has just been started in Wall Street outlines a system in which the whole of economy stands on the greed of humans for power and beauty, which when stripped off from ethics, results in the bigotry of unequal distribution of wealth.
This system is the sentiment of today’s educational system. The degrees which are now offered are only to sustain this system, to make it robust, and are only for its embellishment. The curricula have failed to give people any higher aim of living. Those who aspire for greater good are themselves restrained to a small local level and have up till now failed to achieve any milestone in bringing a halt to the devastation borne by a vast majority of people around the globe. (We are aware of bombings in Japan, massacre of Hitler, Bloodshed by Communists, Economic Depressions).
Capitalistic ideas must be taken critically and should be renounced as the final word for the economic system of humans. This indicates the revitalization of the sentiments on which the subjects are taught in schools and colleges.

Pakistani Eagles and Bengali Tigers; Brothers of same fraternity!

It is an imbecile reality that we (Muslims) were supposed to be the members of the same fraternity. We were supposed to be brothers and sisters and we were to take care of each other. And were supposed to work together with one common goal of life that is to serve Allah Almighty and to promulgate His religion for the good of humanity.
We have a history and a grand civilization in common. But what was observed in Pakistan-Bangladesh match was just frightening and grave. Two ‘Muslim’ countries which share all of this history as a part of a fraternity, people of same faith, people with One God, people with One book, people with One Messenger, were praying to that same God, for the win of their respective country. Despicable! Indeed.

We are trapped in the shackles of Nationalism and so far it has given us infinite number of reasons to be divided. Pakistani, Bengali, Iranian, Iraqi, Arabian, Kuwaiti, Syrian, Punjabi, Sindhi, Balouchi, Pathan, Hazarvi, Doctor, Engineer, Advocate, Politician, Labor, Teachers, Students, Males, Females, Rich, Poor, Intellectual, Ignorant. That is that there can be infinite number of groups in which we can be divided and we actually are currently. When it comes to the movements for safeguarding ‘rights’, the protests and processions are conducted by these different groups present in the society. And nobody cares to consider his/her own wrongdoings and responsibilities. This situation will do nothing but will make this divide more prominent and these groups will continue to fight until we do not recognize the sentiments which unite us. This thing I think is the result of an individualistic society which is formed on the foundations of a Nationalistic state.

Although the behavior of Pakistani team was good in the match and they really appreciated the performance of Bangladeshi team but the idea which makes me disturbed is that ‘we’ are one and there is no ‘two’. We are supposed to be brothers and sisters and we are not to exploit others in any way. We should get along ‘united’ with each other not ‘divided’. There must be no differences between people’s rights and their moral responsibilities. It is vital for our civilization to understand this fact and proclaim the lost moralities of humans.

I was happy at Pakistan’s win of Asia Cup but I also felt this loss. After seeing both sides of the teams, praying and weeping and on the edges of their foot to know the outcomes of a very interesting match I felt all of this and thought to write it. Because we have freedom to write and express and it is for this expression we have language.

Death at UET

At 11:30 p.m. yesterday I got the message of my friend with the words of the title of this post. I called him and came to know that a student has died in UET’s hostel named Mumtaz Hall due to a crumbled wall in the washroom. One student died at the spot and another one escaped with leg damage and some major bruises. VC reached at the incidence and kept an eye on the proceedings. Students made protests, until VC assured to form a ‘committee’ to investigate into the matter.

It is with regret of the loss that is to be borne by the family of the deceased that has no compensation what so ever. Tears cannot flow back through eyes, souls cannot be brought back to existence, expectations; aspirations; associations; love; when lost cannot be given back but only if Allah wills. It is with Allah’s blessing that people find their peace. Otherwise many other souls are lost for the search of their loved ones and many others are left unattended. The whole way of living changes for some; attitudes; desires; aims and even relationships change their face. It is like the world you live in is no more. The people you lived with are no more. The moments you enjoyed are no more. It is those hearty laughs that you forget; these are celebrations you then long for. Everything seems to fade away in an emptiness of sorrow and grief. It is like your feet have left the earth and they wander by themselves. The words you hear have no more meanings in them; the eternal sunshine of the sun is like the gloominess of the night. It is in fact a night at day.

All the hustle of life quietens. It is death that you have experienced.

Altruism

What are the sentiments of caring? Why the act of doing something for someone beyond your interest is not something we encounter on daily basis? Why is it that we, the members of same species with the same origin, with same ideologies of values, borne by birth by every member of this race, has forgotten to care for others and for that unfathomable amount of love and service one can do for others. Why is it that we are loathed in a race for our own existence? Why is it that we do not have time to stop and think for a moment about our purpose and our responsibility as humans? Why is it that we have degraded ourselves to mere living organisms with no aims other than to strive for our own good and for our interest?
We pass by through wondrous creations of Allah Almighty. We are the ones with highest sense of dignity and honor. We have had valor and strength to conquer through the mightiest of the natural forces. With our intelligence we tamed the wraths of nature we have learned to survive and we have learned to lead our lives with civilization and it has been possible with Allah’s blessings alone. It is the higher sense of beauty and an insurmountable thirst for continuous improvement that lead to the wonders that we utilize every day. I was passing through a bridge in Lahore and I saw the sturdy pillars by which its structure was supported. I wondered in reminisce that it must have taken a large number of labor and a wealth of experience and understanding and calculations to build this structure. The world we see today is built pieces by pieces, deliberately, with planning, and sacrifice. This could not have been possible without the blessings of Allah, Who bestowed that unity which resulted in what we see. This cannot be possible without unity and unity cannot come except from care and love. This love is always without conditions and without bounds. The results can be achieved otherwise, but they will certainly not yield in increase of dignity and honor of human race.
It is altruism that is absent from our society. I see and I experience that everyone has some motives and it is these motives which shape the bases of relationships. It is these motives which compel any person to perform and persevere for anything.
I believe that this attitude excruciatingly extracts the humanity left inside humans. Without which we cannot exist. It is the need of the hour that we revive this passion of selfless service of others by giving what is required by others at the appropriate time at which it is required.

Confidence, Valor and Courage

Why are we in desperate confusion when making decisions regarding our very own personal future? Is it our wavering beliefs or lack of trust in our abilities? Unfortunately, we neither receive guidance nor we have vivid aims and goals. We cannot aspire with enthuse for something until we do not believe in it with full of our faith. This confusion I think has deep roots in our past. Our ancestors were the leaders and we are taught about their chronicles; zeitgeist is a civilization that directly clashes with ours. There is a fight for innate moralities of our society with the dominating influence of economic materialism. The results of this are very clear; delusion, discontent and division among ourselves.

It is really an amazing fact that after so many years of decline and loss of our values, we still have resistance and tyranny against the alienate influences of the west. It makes my belief stronger in my religion and its injunctions. This directs me in believing that the implications of my deen are not withered rather they just need authentic innovation in order to blossom in today’s climate. Our civilization has stood staunch in very grim and harsh conditions in the past; though its current stagnancy is condemn-able but it will eventually come out of this state victorious. As Iqbal and other Muslim intellects have pointed out that this innovative revival of Islamic thought will mark the height of human evolution and will be the final, most admirable feat of mankind.

So, in the past, our belief in one Allah Almighty won us battles and gave us that ‘drive’ to struggle and ‘to conquer the world for good’, today that very belief makes us cowards. In the battle of yermuk only 30-35 thousands were against 2 lakhs. This valor, courage, confidence, dignity, responsibility motivation, and enthusiasm came from where? Did it came from reading the ‘seven habits of the highly effective people’? Or was it something else?

This quest of mine for the answer of this question is still in process. If anyone here has the answers I’ll be glad to hear.

Iqbal and Nationalism

The following excerpt has been taken from the the Iqbal's Allahabad address which is an insight about his thinking about the aspired Muslim state and his concerns about nationalism.

It cannot be denied that Islam, regarded as an ethical ideal plus a certain kind of polity – by which expression I mean a social structure regulated by a legal system and animated by a specific ethical ideal – has been the chief formative factor in the life-history of the Muslims of India. It has furnished those basic emotions and loyalties which gradually unify scattered individuals and groups, and finally transform them into a well-defined people, possessing a moral consciousness of their own. Indeed it is not an exaggeration to say that India is perhaps the only country in the world where Islam, as a people-building force, has worked at its best. In India, as elsewhere, the structure of Islam as a society is almost entirely due to the working of Islam as a culture inspired by a specific ethical ideal. What I mean to say is that Muslim society, with its remarkable homogeneity and inner unity, has grown to be what it is, under the pressure of the laws and institutions associated with the culture of Islam.
The ideas set free by European political thinking, however, are now rapidly changing the outlook of the present generation of Muslims both in India and outside India. Our younger men, inspired by these ideas, are anxious to see them as living forces in their own countries, without any critical appreciation of the facts which have determined their evolution in Europe. In Europe Christianity was understood to be a purely monastic order which gradually developed into a vast church organisation. The protest of Luther was directed against this church organisation, not against any system of polity of a secular nature, for the obvious reason that there was no such polity associated with Christianity. And Luther was perfectly justified in rising in revolt against this organisation; though, I think, he did not realise that in the peculiar conditions which obtained in Europe, his revolt would eventually mean the complete displacement of [the] universal ethics of Jesus by the growth of a plurality of national and hence narrower systems of ethics.
Thus the upshot of the intellectual movement initiated by such men as Rousseau and Luther was the break-up of the one into [the] mutually ill-adjusted many, the transformation of a human into a national outlook, requiring a more realistic foundation, such as the notion of country, and finding expression through varying systems of polity evolved on national lines, i.e. on lines which recognise territory as the only principle of political solidarity. If you begin with the conception of religion as complete other-worldliness, then what has happened to Christianity in Europe is perfectly natural. The universal ethics of Jesus is displaced by national systems of ethics and polity. The conclusion to which Europe is consequently driven is that religion is a private affair of the individual and has nothing to do with what is called man's temporal life.
Islam does not bifurcate the unity of man into an irreconcilable duality of spirit and matter. In Islam God and the universe, spirit and matter, Church and State, are organic to each other. Man is not the citizen of a profane world to be renounced in the interest of a world of spirit situated elsewhere. To Islam, matter is spirit realising itself in space and time. Europe uncritically accepted the duality of spirit and matter, probably from Manichaean thought. Her best thinkers are realising this initial mistake today, but her statesmen are indirectly forcing the world to accept it as an unquestionable dogma. It is, then, this mistaken separation of spiritual and temporal which has largely influenced European religious and political thought and has resulted practically in the total exclusion of Christianity from the life of European States. The result is a set of mutually ill-adjusted States dominated by interests not human but national. And these mutually ill-adjusted States, after trampling over the moral and religious convictions of Christianity, are today feeling the need of a federated Europe, i.e. the need of a unity which the Christian church organisation originally gave them, but which, instead of reconstructing it in the light of Christ's vision of human brotherhood, they considered fit to destroy under the inspiration of Luther.
A Luther in the world of Islam, however, is an impossible phenomenon; for here there is no church organisation similar to that of Christianity in the Middle Ages, inviting a destroyer. In the world of Islam we have a universal polity whose fundamentals are believed to have been revealed but whose structure, owing to our legists' [=legal theorists'] want of contact with the modern world, today stands in need of renewed power by fresh adjustments. I do not know what will be the final fate of the national idea in the world of Islam. Whether Islam will assimilate and transform it, as it has before assimilated and transformed many ideas expressive of a different spirit, or allow a radical transformation of its own structure by the force of this idea, is hard to predict. Professor Wensinck of Leiden (Holland) wrote to me the other day: "It seems to me that Islam is entering upon a crisis through which Christianity has been passing for more than a century. The great difficulty is how to save the foundations of religion when many antiquated notions have to be given up. It seems to me scarcely possible to state what the outcome will be for Christianity, still less what it will be for Islam." At the present moment the national idea is racialising the outlook of Muslims, and thus materially counteracting the humanizing work of Islam. And the growth of racial consciousness may mean the growth of standards different [from] and even opposed to the standards of Islam.
I hope you will pardon me for this apparently academic discussion. To address this session of the All-India Muslim League you have selected a man who is [=has] not despaired of Islam as a living force for freeing the outlook of man from its geographical limitations, who believes that religion is a power of the utmost importance in the life of individuals as well as States, and finally who believes that Islam is itself Destiny and will not suffer a destiny. Such a man cannot but look at matters from his own point of view. Do not think that the problem I am indicating is a purely theoretical one. It is a very living and practical problem calculated to affect the very fabric of Islam as a system of life and conduct. On a proper solution of it alone depends your future as a distinct cultural unit in India. Never in our history has Islam had to stand a greater trial than the one which confronts it today. It is open to a people to modify, reinterpret or reject the foundational principles of their social structure; but it is absolutely necessary for them to see clearly what they are doing before they undertake to try a fresh experiment. Nor should the way in which I am approaching this important problem lead anybody to think that I intend to quarrel with those who happen to think differently. You are a Muslim assembly and, I suppose, anxious to remain true to the spirit and ideals of Islam. My sole desire, therefore, is to tell you frankly what I honestly believe to be the truth about the present situation. In this way alone it is possible for me to illuminate, according to my light, the avenues of your political action.