Stimuli of Muslim curricula!

This article was written by me earlier in 2012. I wrote it and just forgot about it. After seeing some articles on education by Umer Toor I came to remember it. So, it goes like this:

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 is it 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, which compels men to be involved in performing feats of personal gratification having 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 suggests that it has been disastrous. As humans we are on the brink of making some decisions which will in fact be the architecture of 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.
Philosophical Purge:
The subconscious ruling of human nature and the deterrence it brought with it can be attributed to some of the Western philosophers. Though they have discovered in their way great deal of understanding of the human nature but still they have formed the basis of which modern obscenity, immorality, and materialism find their justification. These ideas must be subverted by pure Islamic intellect and ideology. Because in reality these ideas have explored the darkest sides of human conscience and brought to light those attitudes which were once considered taboo.
Machiavelli’s The Prince is one such example. In his book he suggests that for authority, ethical norms for rulers do not matter2. Similar strains on ideologies and actions are attributed to Sigmund Freud3. These dreadful ideas have in fact formed the basis of modern society, economies and governments.
Nail in the coffin for modern education are majorly the ideas of Darwin and Karl Marx4. Karl Marx perpetuating Darwin’s theory of evolution into historical materialism suggests in Marx’s critique of political economy that:

“… in every historical epoch the prevailing economic system by which the necessities of life are produced determines the form of societal organization and the political and intellectual history of the epoch; and that the history of society is a history of struggles between exploiting and exploited, that is, between ruling and oppressed, social classes.”

According to him the structure of society including politics, religion, arts, and philosophy are founded on the basis of economic conditions of prevailing era. People do read and are influenced with these writings just as Ilich Lenin was influenced and brought up the revolution in Russia.
The curriculum of Muslims today does not at any plane, deals with these adulterations and is harming the way our students are nourished ideologically. It spoils the higher obligation and rank that Allah Almighty has awarded to humans. So, to revive the educational system this philosophical purge is inevitable.
Revolutions and wars:
The unrests and revolutions that came in past few centuries have also framed the world view of education and its outcomes. The French revolution attributes a significant place for wiping out feudalism and is credited with evoking liberalism. This revolution preceded by the American Revolution instills a spirit of liberty in the educationist approach of institutions, teaching and learning. It also contributes the idea of democracy in the western world and it was through this revolution that basis of modern political thought is inspired. Political theorists and students now advance their thought after considering the universality of the ideas of democracy and capitalism without analyzing critical the implications of these systems.
Similarly, the Russian Revolution and Marxism has brought with it a completely different mindset and values and when they were first practiced in the revolution they were ferocious in prevailing these ideas to the whole world. The Nazi’s Nationalism was another despicable event that took place and failed. Now the world is left with a single dominion of Capitalism awaited to be replaced with something more ideal.
World wars can simply be attributed to Nationalism. Many of the subjects and fields of study were developed owing to the demands of warfare like Operations Management, Supply Chain Management, and Resource Planning etc. Even the invention of internet is accredited to the needs of military communication after World War II. The overall focus of the education in previous two centuries have not been on the moral grounds because if it were, people would have enjoyed a more safer, indiscriminate and peaceful planet. This so called “Management” and “Engineering” are nothing but the tools to keep the “system” running and to spread the void between rich and the poor, powerful and the oppressed, while their better purposes are still left unexplored.
These ideas have deep impact on the overall structure of educational system of Pakistan as well as other Muslim countries. The need is to understand the fragility of the grim situation that we are in and to find the ways out of it.
The fourth pillar of the state:
It can be said that today everyone is reading, writing, learning, understanding, persevering, and moving forward only for the sake of money and life style. The subtleties of men now rest in the hands of some ignorant celebrities and movie stars or a bunch of business giants and global corporate culture which are controlling and influencing a major portion of the population.
With its importance it’s termed to be the fourth pillar of the state and is the most influential idea rampant in the circles of life of contemporary global culture. It starts influences children from their childhood and matures as the child matures, develops like the child develops and does not die with that person but finds another prey. This fourth pillar of the state and its adversaries are now the most revered in society and people’s ideals are those who come on ‘TV”. This gives an unfathomable, surmounting and alarming situation for the decency and civilization of mankind. Our evolution is at stake due to this media because it has torn apart the garment of modesty from people’s eyes and it has once again took humanity to those primitive times when there was degradation of feminine gender and immodesty it faced.
The media has now become the tool and playground for a few to play and ridicule the many. This influence is also upon the educational system and it influences it indirectly. This has made people weary of studying printed books and has inflicted upon them procrastination and sloth. Which not only affects their learning and mental capabilities but drives them away from abstinence.
The memory of the child and his true freedom must be preserved in order to flourish true wisdom in the students and to conspire in them the motivation of learning.
Conclusions:
Many things must have been left while writing this as this is no short topic it requires deliberate working and understanding of human conscience and zeitgeist of time in order to identify its fallacies. This article is just an effort to compile the thoughts into an organized form to better understand the problem at hand and to convey it to others.
The Islamic concept of educational system is based on the spiritual and moral grounds and implies a set of principles which are completely different and in fact in conflict with the contemporary world view of education. The modern education has moved on after renouncing the existence of any other world other than what they perceive and feel, this attitude has casted a curse on society which has sabotaged its moral values. Dignity, courage, austerity, justice, freedom, wisdom, virtuousness, integrity, and absolute sincerity are absent from today’s learned and literate man. Because if it were a part of the education or if education would have taught these moralities; there must have been less suffering by human race.
“To learn is to understand and to understand we need free thought and for free thought we need not to be slaves”

خرد کو غلامی سے آ زاد کر

Filling the ideological vacuum

I just read the news here about China’s doomsday phobia about 21st December, 2012. It clearly illustrates the hollowness of character, aim and goal of these people towards life. First let us talk about this so called phobia. To me it all seems the modern superstition that has no logical or spiritual basis. Strengthened by the failures of Nostradamus, these are mere tales to which some, who have nothing to believe in, ascribe their faith.
The news in Asia times has narrated some incidents surrounding this ‘phobia’. China a place where more than one fifths of the world’s population resides, constitutes a fair sample of what the world is going through. It clearly suggests the following things:

1. The people are mostly becoming materialistic divorcing the spiritual side of humans
2. They are unclear of why they are here for?
3. Superstitions are still there in their hearts
4. Atheism, although is increasing very rapidly, still doesn’t provide the ideal of satisfaction and happiness
5. This voluptuous and promiscuous attitudes inculcate frustration in people all around the world (another indicator is the rate of suicides in the East Asian countries)
6. There are no foundations on which to build up the moralities and values of system (sometimes this has given people faith in their old traditions and cultures and they have been able to give economic boost to their countries like Japan and China. But still they cannot provide the true foundations of aspirations for a society)
In this scenario I feel that we Muslims have greatly forgotten our obligation of providing the world with answers to these questions of ideal, purpose and justice. Many have been persevering but like one professor (Tarrun Khanna) said “it is not enough”. [He said it in the perspective of revolution in entrepreneurial spirit of Pakistan. In response on being told of the efforts of ‘akhuwat foundation’ and some other Pakistani entrepreneurs]

What is the ideology of Islam? How does it answer these questions? How can it transform the present turmoil of societies? Is it something doable?
According to my opinion these are some questions that need immediate answers. The works of following authors can provide the answers in detail:

1. The Holy Quran & Sunnah of Prophet (Sallallahu alayehe wasalam)
2. The alchemy of happiness (Imam Ghazali)
3. The reconstruction of religious thought in Islam (Lectures of Allama Iqbal)
4. Quran and Modern Knowledge (Dr. Muhammad Rafi-ud-din)
5. Mahazarat e Shariat (Dr. Mehmud Ahmad Ghazai)
These are the writers as far as I know. But I wanted to write here what my own thoughts and reflections say about these questions and this “vacuum” that needs to be filled. So, here it goes:
1. We are created by one creator Allah (Subhanawatalla) [Nothing surpasses Him in any of the ma’roof qualities]
2. The highest intellect and understanding of this universe was revealed to the prophet (Sallallahu alayehe wasalam) and no one can better judge and do justice except for Muhammad (Sallallahu alayehe wasalam)
3. The purpose of this very small life given to us is to spend it in trying to persevere in the cause of Allah (that explicitly means that the decision of right and wrong, virtue and wickedness lies with the decision of Quran and nothing surpasses it)
4. It also means that people are not slaves of any ideal, concept or action apart from what Allah has revealed
5. This ideal of Allah divorces meaning of worldly endeavors of materialistic desires
6. The true satisfaction lies in the following of natural law, the law of Allah
7. The moralities and values that humans are to follow are not mere dogmas but are the foundations of the spiritual well being of people, they cannot be associated with human wishes and they cannot be evil or wicked in any form for other humans (This well being of soul, values and moralities cannot be attained by any other source)
8. The true happiness is when people realize the purpose that Allah has bestowed upon them and this ‘happiness’ is attained by following Allah’s commandments
9. The commandments are distributed in four elements two of Zahir (Outerself) and two of Batin (Innerself). (‘Ibadat (worship), Mu’amalaat (dealings) , Muhlikat (), Munajjiyat) [The details can be read in ‘Alchemy of Happiness by Imam Ghazali]
10. All the miseries that have befallen humans today can be solved by following the commandments of Allah and this ‘vacuum’ can only be filled with His love and affection that surpasses every other joy and bliss.

“The day that neither wealth nor sons will be of any benefit except for he who comes to Allah with a pure heart.” (Al-Quran, 26:89)

The above were my mere scribbles. I would love to hear your thoughts about this and to know more resources that can help in “filling the vacuum”. And please share about what you feel about “happiness” and “contentment” with regards to modern zeitgeist.

New God!

A very striking example of "taaza khuda (Modern God)" on the website of Singapore's Housing Development Board which was established after 1960's crisis. It states that "Living environments are provided with community spaces for residents to mingle and interact. Public housing policies and schemes are formulated not only to meet changing needs and aspirations, but they also support national objectives such as maintaining racial harmony and stronger family ties, and focus on the needs of elderly and those who may be in financial difficulty." The moral values that we hold on to religiously are attributed to "National Interests". This is what Iqbal has stated as:

In taza khudaon mein bara sab se watan hai
jo parahan is ka woh mazhab ka kafan hai

There always have been virtue and wickedness. Although its understanding is inside everybody's heart but nobody except the Creator can define what is right and wrong. Socrates and Plato did try to form their Utopia by shear logic and thought but Rome didn't stay atop for eternity. It didn't ascribe the era of Peace, Justice and equality. The accounts of this so called 'magnificent' empire can be read in many books. (1. The history of decline and fall of roman empire, by Edward Gibbon. 2. Insaani dunya per musalmanon k arooj o zawal ka asar, by Syed Abul Hassan Ali Nadvi). It is clear that the fall was due to lack of civic virtue. Why is that? Because human logic is not capable of defining the balance of society nor it is an evolutionary process.
We as Muslims believe that right and wrong is what Allah and His Prophet (Sallallahu Alaehay Wasslam) has stated and nothing surpasses it. The foundation of Islam is on this that

"Whosoever Does not Judge by what Allah has revealed (then) such people are 'fasiqoon' to Allah." Ma'idah:47

Some people may argue that what bad is happening in West for not following moral code of Islam. The answer is beautifully given by Maryam Jameelah (May God be pleased with her)in her book "Western Civilization condemned by itself" that all the forces in such a society will work for its deterrence. Such a society cannot move on and humanity would have to suffer. And this is exactly what is happening in West.
The example of Singapore that I have stated is just a miniature that i stumbled upon on this website.
The marvels of West surpass this by several thousand exponents.
P.S: This post was inspired by my recent talks with Khwaja Khawaja Ahsan Ul Haq and Umer Toor.

What drives you?

What drives you? Is it the music you hear? Is it the wish of your mother? Is it someone you love? Is it an idea? Is it a movement? Is it your ‘self’? Is it your aim? Is it the prestige that you want? Is it your family? Is it you passion?
What is it? What answer would you get if you question yourself?
What drives me is the idea of doing something and getting myself torn down to pieces and that moment when you say I can’t do it more? That is the point that I love to be in. It fills me with passion and the infinite urge to do more and push the limits. I would really to know what you think about this.

Empathy!

Empathy is a very important thing in the architecture of humans. It is unfortunately, missing from our society. We spend a lot of time with a lot of people and still don't find ones who really know you and care for you and try to help you in whatever way is possible for them. This is actually the foundation of an Islamic society that has eroded by a lot of disasters and calamities that have struck the Muslim societies of the world. Some are coming out of it and working for the betterment but still it is not enough. Our brotherhood is long forgotten by us and we have become selfish. We are brothers only in words and not by actions.
I recently attended a seminar on South Asia Initiative by Harvard Business School. It was an online lecture by Dr. Tarun Khanna. The seminar was focused on entrepreneurship and its development in India and China. And he eloquently gave some of the examples from both of the countries and was actually compelling Pakistanis to learn from them. Dr. Shahid of HEC told him that in Pakistan we have entrepreneurs like Dr. Amjad Saqib and others who are doing philanthropic work. And after quoting 1 more example he asked Dr. Tarun Khanna that we wanted to embark Pakistan on an "entrepreneurial revolution" so how do you think we should move on? Dr. Khanna at that moment said that i know the two examples you have quoted but you have to do 100 times more than what has been done.
These words are still echoing in my brain that we have to do more not only for the benefit of the society but we have to do more in what ever pursuit we are in. And there is nothing more important than working for others and helping them.
The foundation is empathy and it is lacking in us all. We don't know what is on the mind of other people and from what they are passing and what do they require. The reason being the personal ego that we are so much engorged in our own matters that we do not extract ourselves from there to hear, feel and know what others are going through. And then there is a false imagination created in our brains about others. And we use that false comprehension to judge others.
This is causing our society and individual to suffer. We have forgotten our values altogether. We have in fact forgotten the meaning of this ayat:

Muhammad is the apostle of Allah. and those who are with him are strong against Unbelievers, (but) compassionate amongst each other. Thou wilt see them bow and prostrate themselves (in prayer), seeking Grace from Allah and (His) Good Pleasure.
surah fatah (48): 29

Clash of civilizations

I heard the term "Clash of civilizations" nearly three years ago. I read some literature in Urdu that always quoted the book “The Clash of Civilizations” by Samuel P. Huntington. I wanted to read its claims myself but couldn’t muster up the courage to delve into this difficult to digest knowledge spread in the book in words Greek to me. Recently, I went to my mamun’s (uncle) and found that book and borrowed it from him.
I was astonished to read just up to the third chapter. Somehow I felt that it exposed my ignorance about the matter it was cited for in various books. It just blew the castles that I had built in my mind about various claims that were written in reference from this book.
I just wanted to share some of the things here because I believe me, and many others are ignorant of.

Huntington deliberately makes his arguments about the foundations on which the term "Globalization" or "Universal Civilization" are promulgated worldwide. And the lowly individuals like me take it as a serious threat to the traditions of Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) and signs of Allah. But after reading the book and reading the thoughts on the broader spectrum of sentiment. I think we are not going down like this because Alhamdolillah (Praise be to Allah) the foundations of our civilization are still afresh in our society and they just need an injection of novelty and it will again be restored to its most evolved and prestigious form ever InshaAllah (Be what Allah wills)

He points in the third chapter of the book named "A Universal Civilization? Modernization and Westernization" that the concept of a Universal Civilization based on the fact that Western civilization would take on the world and integrate into ‘one world’ is baseless as

What Westerners herald as benign global integration, such as proliferation of worldwide media, non Westerners denounce as nefarious Western imperialism. To the extent that non Westerners see the world as one, they see it as a threat.

Then he analysis some important factors like religion, language, moral values, communication networks, corporatocracy etc. and concludes that Western civilization cannot be in anyway entitled the Universal Civilization.
Another important thing to be noted in this chapter was his honesty in accepting and delivering the true picture of the rise of West he says:

The cause of this unique and dramatic development included the social structure and class relations of the West, the rise of cities and commerce, the relative dispersion f power in Western societies between estates and monarchs and secular and religious authorities, the emerging sense of national consciousness among Western peoples, and the development of state bureaucracies. The immediate source of Western expansion, however, was technological: the invention of the means of ocean navigation for reaching distant peoples.” In large measure,” as Geoffery Parker has observed, “the rise of the West’ depended upon the exercise of force, upon the fact that the military balance between the Europeans and their adversaries overseas was steadily tilting in favor of the former; . . . the key to the Westerners’ success in creating the first truly global empires between 1500 and 1750 depended upon precisely those improvements in the ability to wage war which have been termed ‘the military revolution.’” The expansion of the West was also facilitated by the superiority in organization, discipline, and training of its troops and subsequently by the superior weapons, transport, logistics, and medical services resulting from its leadership in the Industrial Revolution. The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion, but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact, non-Westerners never do.

After reading this i would also like you to please read the whole of the address of Dr. Muhammad Allama Iqbal on Allahabad. There you will see Iqbal's point of view on the rise of West which resembles that of Huntington. (on the surface only but still. . . )

There are some things about Muslims which he had written bluntly without grasping the essence of Islam but again for this it’s we Muslims who are to blame for not “adopting” our own civilization, and foremost the commandments of Allah.
I will keep on posting striking things which I find in this book. In the hope that we remember the 2nd revelation on Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) which commanded him like this:

1. O thou wrapped up (in the mantle)!
2. Arise and deliver thy warning!
3. And thy Lord do thou magnify!
4. And thy garments keep free from stain!
5. And all abomination shun!
6. Nor expect, in giving, any increase (for thyself)!
7. But, for thy Lord's (Cause), be patient and constant!
Surah Al muddathir: 1-5

Purpose of Life!

An extraordinary lecture by Dr. Zakir Naik outlining the purpose of life. The whole lecture can be seen here: http://youtu.be/UVdkdjzY2Xs
Here is the model of goal and purpose in life that he speaks of
Your goal should be:
ISLAMIC
I= your goal should be Islamic i.e. it should be based on the foundations of Quran and Sunah
S= It should be specific
L= It should be Lucrative. 1. In the hereafter 2. If possible then in this world.
A= It should be apt and appropriate.
M= It should be measurable. If its measurable then you know how much you are coming closer to your goal
I= Intention should be to please Allah
C= It should be Consistent. If it’s time bound. If it’s not time bound then it should be consistent for infinity

Three Kinds of people!

During my Eid celebrations I understood with an epiphany that there are three kinds of people in this world.

1. People who take from this world and give nothing back to it
2. People who give as much as they take from this world
3. People who only give to this world without taking much
I think that prophets lie in this third category because their sole purpose is to establish word of Allah on earth and for this very reason they spend their whole lives. Also in this category are people like Abdul Sattar Edhi who spend their whole lives giving without taking much.
Next are those people who are philanthropist and virtuous ones who care for other beings and spend from their earnings for others, they give their time to others and they try to be virtuous. But they keep a balance in what they give and what they keep. These are the people who are members of societies like Edhi center and Akhuwat foundation.
The people of the third category are the greedy ones who only try to fill their pockets from the riches of this world and fail to share with others. These are the ones who are tormented in nightmares and satisfaction/happiness eludes them.
It is the Aura of Muhammad's (p.b.u.h) religion (deen) that after Muhammad (p.b.u.h) no other Prophet is going to come. And Allah has put the responsibility of dawah (preaching)of His word on the followers of Islam - that is Muhammad's (p.b.u.h) religion.
So, it is plausible to say that after Muhammad (p.b.u.h) it's Muslims who have to just give to this world without taking much from it. It is for this reason Allah has again and again told us in the Holy Quran about the malignant nature of dunya (world's gains). He has warned us not to indulge in it so to forget about akhira (Day of Judgment) and the life after death.

In this context i believe we have to think and we have to ponder over our actions that what are we doing and why we are doing things we are doing.
May Allah forgive us and guide us to the straight path.

Directly from my heart !

I read two columns of ansar abbasi and Hassan nisar today. And I couldn’t feel myself more miserable after reading them. From where do I start? Corrupt leadership, corrupt clergy, corrupt scholars, illiteracy, poverty, energy crises, Balochistan’s liberation, India’s ferocity on waters, Aman ki asha, profanity and blasphemy in the name of commercialization, down trodden economy, frustrated people, delusional youth, absence of law and order, divided people, oppressed women, war, terrorism, suicides and this list goes on and on and on.
People try to find optimism in individuals of this nation. Recently, I heard news that Pakistani speakers had won an international debate competition in USA. An individual made a car run on hydrogen fuel cell. And there are number of examples in which Pakistani individuals are providing their unprecedented performances and services internationally. But in this optimism there is a big flaw. These are individuals and we are Muslim ummah. When this word ‘Ummah’ comes into my mind everything collapses on the plane of thought and future of this group or fraternity. I see massacre of Burma, genocide in Palestine, Bosnia, killings in Kashmir. I experience loss of faith in Allah, I see absence of values that Islam has taught us, I see ulema betraying their own religion on television. My heart fills with pessimism again. I see no light in this darkness, I see no flower in this swamp, I see no hope in this despair, I see no visionary in us blinds, I see no heart with feeling in this crowd of heartless souls, I see no escape from this prison of turmoil, I see no Umer, no abu bakr, no abu jundana, no bilal, no Iqbal, no Quaid, no Modudi, no Nadvi.
I pray to Allah to guide our way and be sufficient for us in every aspect of oppression Muslim Ummah today faces. May He grant us strength to stand by our principles with confidence, and dignity. May Allah shatter this rock of illiteracy resting on our hearts and brains. May we revitalize the lost Islamic values and moralities. O Allah ! we have never been in so much need of your blessing then today. Forgive us and guide us.

Reminisce on vanity of Nations!

These were the famous words of soldiers marching into Russia singing:

Let everything go to pieces, We march on
For today Germany is ours;
Tomorrow the whole world!

These have taken from the book "Why Nations go to war" by John G. Stoessinger.
What happened in that war, its catastrophes are explicitly known by everyone today. And i was just imagining that sense of profound vanity that brought Hitler and his subservient a scourging defeat.

Performance Measuring Indicator

the other i just had a flash that what could be the Performance Measuring Indicator (PMI) for evaluating effectiveness of the islaah that ulemas tend to make while delivering their Friday sermons and other islaahi speeches.
The plan that came into my mind is this:
After the sermon, the speaker should tell a conclusion in a form of an action and thereby asking listeners to act upon. At the end of the next sermon or speech, everyone should be given a small piece of paper and be told to write down the extent to which he was able to perform the action as was advised by the speaker. The person should write down what benefits did that particular action provided. Furthermore, if he wasn't able to act then what were the hurdles he faced and what are the possible solutions. This method can be adopted for those groups who are introvert and are literate. This thing can be done on paper but as i am writing this i am thinking that Pakistanis are not all literate. So, to solve this issue people who are extrovert but are not literate can be asked to sit in another session and answer the questions separately. People who are literate and are introvert should be again and again convinced to join the extrovert group.
The people should interact in some way with the speaker and vice versa. This interaction should be done in a way that could be quantified so as to give a measure precisely that what is needed.
This might be a way of measuring the effectiveness of a speech or a speaker. It can make speakers more aware of what they are missing in their sermons. It might indicate that why words of khateeb are not effective change elements now-a-days in our society and mainly it will aware speakers that where they lack. It will also give confidence to people that where they stand morally in the society, what values are missing in them and how these can be improved.
The data collected through this practice can give an overall picture of what people think and where they want to go. It can surely tell that where people are broke and where they are strong. It will tell in which areas betterment is required and in which areas it is satisfactory. I mean we should utilize these tools of PMI in order to better understand the society and to know what is needed the most in our society. What usually happens in the sermons is that a speaker speaks; people listen; and go home without any interaction or feedback. There is a small interval of time at which everybody thinks that yes i have to do this; it is important; but as the moment passes he forgets everything and is left into the abyss like before.
Up till now i have not seen any type of Performance Measuring method utilized by the speakers of mosques in order to know what are the impacts of their speech and how can they do better.
I know that there are a lot of factors that I am not taking into account. But still i think it can be done in many mosques around the globe.
The readers are most welcome to iterate this method into something more practical and effective.

The Philosopher

I could not find anything about the writer, but this story is worth a read. you can find it here at arcnp.org/philosopher.pdf
It is written by Judith Kipling.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Just now I finished the book “the perks of being a wallflower”. A few days early I was just randomly searching on the internet where I found a trailer of a movie named “The perks of being a wallflower”. After reading some details I found out that the film is an adoption of a novel by Stephen Chboskey. The film is directed by the same author and stars Logan Lerman and Emma Watson. I have never read a book that has been adapted into a movie. Out of curiosity I just searched for its .pdf file and fortunately found it and started reading. The lingual style of the book is real simple and it is written in such a flow that it simply captured my attention. So, I started reading it.
The book is in fact a series of letters that have been written by central character of the novel ‘Charlie’ to a person he has never met or talked or knew. He is a very nervous kid who is in search of friends after the demise of his very best friend Michael.
Following things just came into my mind and I thought that I should do little scribbling myself. What I felt after reading this book is right here and it is you people who have to tell me what does this book really depicts…
It’s a book about things “books, music and girls”. At some places it is more than that. It gives you an inside of a kid who ‘thinks too much’ and gets ‘panicky’. It outlines the life of a first year student of high school and things he comes up with and cannot run away. The book teaches us to participate in life but it feels to be more of sarcasm then what has been put into the book, because it teaches us so many things other than participating. Like being there for friends and what friendship really means. Charlie, protagonist of the novel is actually a person who is always caring for others and is giving a helping hand to whatever his friends are coping with. This thing does affect his relationship with Sam but I think it is the innocence in his character that really makes this novel worthwhile to read.
The book teaches us through Charlie little things which go unnoticed by us ‘the common people’ and how they affect the moral structure of the society and how Charlie always tries to not think all of this but it keeps coming to his mind. The good, bad and the ugly experiences he enjoys with people and how different things upset him. If we think in our world these things do matter to us and affect us in different ways. Like many of us feel like to have someone by their side in distress and tension who can pacify our sorrows and ease our pain, and that many of us don’t find that ‘someone’ by our side. It is like people here care no more for others than they do for themselves and this is what makes Charlie special. This is what a wallflower really does; provides you with a sense of serenity while not drawing any attention to you.
The book also touches some morbid and worrying aspects like the lives of 16 year olds who are taking drugs, vine and other stuff and getting high. Things like having sex in this age of adolescence and the feelings it imparts in the kids. The guilt they feel when they masturbate for the first time and how they are always talking and thinking about girls and partying and ‘living’ life. They don’t care about what is happening in the world and what is their role in it or what they can do to better the society in which they live in. The book actually has no moral sentiments from which to draw any values, rather it is the depiction of this these moralities in the thinking and feelings of Charlie.
The relationship of Charlie with his family is shown to be too remote because he is always running for his friends whenever something came up in his mind and he just wanted to know that his family loves him and he loves his family and that’s it. His dad is busy in his work and when he does come home, he sees hockey game without his son because “he asks too many questions”. He did not attend any party with his family except for thanksgiving and Easter and some other traditional parties. The family didn’t go for any outing. I didn’t notice any time when the mother asked to his son that what is really happening with him and why is his attitude like this and he never found his family worthy enough to share his inside passions or feelings with them.
It tells us the story of Don Juan that Sam’s (a friend of Charlie) boyfriend was hiding from her. I don’t how much this book represents family and social structure of West but it feels so strange to read all the details. (It is you guys who have to enlighten me on this very fact). May be because here (in Pakistan) people don’t think about their actions and ‘living their lives’ more than the hardships they bear in catering the bread and butter for their family. And in contrast to this worried and hard environment they still smile and ‘live’ what they really want to live. This difference I am feeling after reading this book might be because of the completely different social structure that I have been brought up and I think I would not have been different if I have been born there. And I thank Allah very much for this that I am not born so much blinded by the perks of this world.
Overall the book has taught me in many ways and I hope that it does this to other readers also.

Magnum Opus

Chirping of hummingbirds, indefinable boundaries of blue sky, that first drop of rain in summer, those cold evenings in winter, explicit beauty in aromatic springs, those grey leaves in autumn, that bliss of coldness in scenic valleys, soothing waters of the streams, those indefinite sands in deserts, fires, floods, lightening, auroras, are an integrate part of the Grandeur of our Creator.
Those warm tears sprinkling from the eyes of a son at her mother’s demise, those merry moments of one’s prestige, those gutty feelings of doing things for the first time, that unconditional love of father for his child, that innocent look on novel face of a juvenile little girl, love, dedication, sacrifice and satisfaction, serenity, joy and felicity, dignity and morality, rage in frustration, confusion in turmoil, and fear of unknown also reflect mastery of the Sustainer. But there is a line that divides God’s Creations; the ones with brains and the ones with not.
In the vastness of this mighty picturesque of universe, we are like a tiny speck of sand in the ocean. But it is us who can think and choose and pacify or activate things. No other creation can have notions or intuitions. They don’t have the burden of sacrificing. They don’t feel happiness. They don’t break down or hang over. They don’t have to repay their debts. They don’t have to invent or to discover. They don’t have to repent or be sincere in any relationship. They don’t question other’s sentiments.
So, these are the most exuberant, vivacious and convoluted creation of our God. That eats, sleeps, and has kids as well. Albeit, it is the only creation with wisdom and soul, it still culminates qualities of many of other creations of God; rage is like a burning fire, love is like a bird in flight, care is like soft whisper of the wind, sacrifice is like a seed that buries beneath the earth, lust is like a vicious ravenous tiger; ambition like an eagle souring above all other.
It is in fact a higher form of creation that God has created and it has a purpose, similar to other creations, but with a mortal physical being. It seems like every other creation is made for us; humans. Rains for crops, animals for food, iron to build, fuel to run our engines on, and what not have we used for our benefit? We still continue our legacy of discovering new elements and utilizing them in a better way. But yes it is us who have the burden of choice that we have to make in every single passing moment of our lives.
After decades of development and persistence what we have discovered is that we live on 1 of the 170 billion galaxies and we exist in a solar system with a star that is 1 in 300 billion; such little is our existence in contrast to the Magnum Opus of our creator.
We have become arrogant of the little knowledge we have acquired through the course of history and in our arrogance we have renounced God. We have dejected His existence. And we aspire to be the ‘commander of our own destiny’. So petty is our presence in the vastness of this universe and still we stand up to God, while actually we cannot. This aura of our race is in fact also a creation of Allah.
It is a dire need for us to understand our place in the grand scheme of Allah who is the Almighty. There is no running away from what He has decided for us. But it is our choices that result in the projection of our destiny. The peace inside of us can only be achieved if we embrace our destiny. It is the need of our conscience to understand our place in this magnum opera of our creator without which we will not be able to bring our rightful place and purpose to fruition.
We are cynical about the good that is left in us. We no more have time for others. We are promulgating macabre vices of our kind and our higher and once inveterate qualities have faded into the looming darkness of liberty; Liberty that extracts every possible characteristic innate in humans, creating chaos if not tamed by shackles of our conscience and moralities. It is this inner captivity of one’s self that can evolve into a beautiful amalgam of diversity in harmony amongst each other that can result in peace and serenity of every one on this planet. That can solve our gravest problems of today like these economic depressions, strategic relations of nations, world wars, indecency, and vanishing values. It can give us the solution to the place of women in society. It can outline the true human rights and can give voice to the unheard.
“

He causes the night to enter the day, and He causes the day to enter the night and has subjected the sun and the moon - each running [its course] for a specified term. That is Allah, your Lord; to Him belongs sovereignty. And those whom you invoke other than Him do not possess [as much as] the membrane of a date seed.

[Quran 35:13]

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.

Prestige!

It is the most amazing and most longed for feeling for somebody who has done tiring efforts to create something with passion and conviction and belonging to that idea. It is an ecstasy that wrenches all the happiness from your insides. It up lifts you to a place where you believe that anything is possible and at this moment we must thank Allah because it is always through Him we can find peace to ourselves. It is like all those hardships were nothing close to the reward you get in the form of this prestige. It is what pays back all your efforts and all your dreams. This feeling is your prestige and it is for this prestige that one struggles for. And what you go through at this moment, are the happiest moments of your lives.
If it’s not there then it’s really difficult to bring out the motives in humans to work tirelessly for any idea.
Do share your feelings on this.

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.

Sands of time

The sun of 2011 was set by vanquishing the stagnant, miserable and dim lights of indolence. The new sun of 2012 rose with the rejuvenation of passion and struggle. What lead the initiation of events in Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt, marked a point in the sands off history, that whenever there is not enough light for people to see vividly they hope and struggle for the new sun to rise. Sand which trickles down from the narrow tight passages of trial and frustration lays down in the hourglass of nature, that is ready to repeat its course with the same outcome of serenity, attained after a lot of loss and repentance after its struggle.
It is wondrous that with the discreetness of outcomes of our actions which repeat themselves, we are unable to comprehend that what is necessary and what needs to be done. Many notable historians like Toynbee and Ibn e Khaldun have pointed out in history that when the characters of Nations and civilizations rot in the attic of vulgarism and disintegration of moralities takes place, there is a test for people and for civilizations. This predicament leads to a mass movement of people which decides their fate. This increases the pace of history itself and exaggerates its evolution. This movement of people is to undo the past condition and to rebuild the future on the sentiments of esteemed values which were buried beneath the sands of unconscious mind.
These actions, if, are unable to repair the damage of the past endeavors of people, are like sandstorms which disperse the civilizations to anonymity and annihilation. This is also incipient for new civilizations and they breathe fresh air for some time to again fall prey to the holocaust for inception of new life. This has happened with many of the civilizations of the past like Babylonian, Syrian, Hellenic civilizations.
With loss there is repentance, with repentance there comes faith, with faith there is taqwa, with taqwa there is responsibility, with responsibility there is opportunity, with opportunity there is struggle, with struggle there is satisfaction, and satisfaction leads to self righteousness and nafs e mutmainna. This is the way civilizations are built again on the sentiments of vigor and dignity. It’s when people decide to stand firm on ground, to do what is right and to demolish the whims and falsehoods of turmoil. It exalts hope in people and a spark to reignite the yoke of life.
It is uprightness and steadfastness that keeps the balance of universe. Without motion there could be no universe, no life and nothing like struggle would have existed in our lives. In reality, all these truths exist in our lives and these are integrated part of human mind and intellect which certainly cannot be overlooked or be forgotten. It just needs to be revived.

“Relieve yourself of the fear of others,
You are a power asleep; shake yourself awake”
(Allama Muhammad Iqbal)

In the Islamic world as well as other centers of the world social structure of our communities is at a decline, injustice is a norm, discrimination flourishes under capitalism, monarchy with a new hood of democracy is dominant, and people live astray lives in trying to find peace in the delusion of modern notions of society. The zeitgeist has stripped humans off of their religion and faith and has made the material world their supreme commander. Particularly in Pakistan people have become static in their lives, they have befallen in the hands of sloth and luxury. Action which was to endorse their existence, aims which were to keep them alive, and dignity which had to earn their rightful place in society is on the verge of extinction.
Although, we have managed to hold on to the mimesis of our civilization but procrastination, and inability to act, and a dignified character is missing from the souls of our people. Universe is a single truth, so as Allah and so as humans. It’s is the unity and constant change which ensures the existence of our life on the small grain of sand. We have today infinite number of reasons to make a divide among ourselves. It is the oneness of our religion which can unite the pearls in a single necklace of love.
But we are faced with venomous melancholia which forbids us to stand up for right and turn down evil by all our force, to adopt the path of righteousness and to put a halt on the wrong turns. We need to act, we need to volunteer, we need to work, and we need to actualize our selves. We need to revive our Islam, we need to wear our morals and ethics, we need to ponder over our own actions and we need to alter them for good, we need to inspire the lost dignity, we need to care for our brothers and sisters, we have to say no to our selfish desires, we have to work for others, we have to rejuvenate the spirit of selfless service for others, we have to adopt the character of our leader Muhammad (S.A.W), we have to do something or else the sands of time will wipe us out from the face of this world as they did to sixteen of the major civilizations of the past.

خدا تجھے کسی طوفا ن سے آشنا کر دے
کے تیر ے بحرکی موجوں میں اضطراب نھیں

On the question of aims by one of our teacher, blank faces of students were observed and they didn’t surely knew what their aim was and what is it that they are here for. The replies came out like this; I want to be an accomplished engineer; I want to be self dependant and would share the burden of my parents; I would go abroad for study and would come back to Pakistan to serve it; etc. There is a reason that we are Muslims and we need to work for that reason. Unfortunately we have taken our deen for granted and we are not willing to learn what it teaches us and what injunctions imply on us as the responsible young Muslims. A study has revealed that majority of the Muslims are 25 or under, a resource that is passing its lives with no aim what so ever. We were sent down to form the caliphate under Allah’s subjected rule. We were to be His representatives. But we are living our lives in a delusion with no meaning and purpose.
The reason of all this delusion and procrastination is that we are reluctant in acquiring knowledge and are hesitant about our fundamental beliefs and faiths. This ideological weakness and lack of true understanding of Islam has lead to this situation. It is observed that those people who are staunch believers of any idea transpire movement and revolt in people against the stagnated sands. We should relive our past and be confident about our future, we should always remember that we have a resource of true wisdom and knowledge with us and it can contribute to eradicate all the grave misconceptions faced by humanity today. We have to understand that our salvation lies in helping others not by ridiculing them, it lies in understanding others not by leaving them alone in the delusions of the society, our success lies in unity and not in discord. We have to revive the brotherhood, a fraternity which no religion on this earth provides with.
We should act, persevere and incept new horizons for our future while learning from the mistakes of our past. We should unleash the passion which is concealed in our hearts and tame this spirit for the fulfillment of Allah’s commandments only then we will be able to succeed in this world and in the world hereafter. Otherwise there will be chaos and discontent in our lives. Otherwise, hourglass of time will break free our sands and will disperse us in the preposterous winds of delusion.

خدا ےَلم یزل کا دست قدرت تو ، زباں تو ہے
یقیں پیدا کر اے غا فل کہ مغلوب گماں تو ہے