Social – My Bit for Change

Love Conquers The World

Love Conquers The World

(محبت فاتح عالم)

I thought of contemporary love as a feeling of deception that you have for somebody, enslaving you to inferior desires. It was not until I read عشق کے پانچ درجے¹ by Khurram Ali Shafique and discovered Iqbal through his Marghdeen². This change introduced me to that powerful love through which beloved says بتا تیری رضا کیا ہے (What is your wish?)³.

My original thought was a reflection of the society, a society having boys and girls eager to talk to each other, spending sleepless nights on phone and offering useless gossip about girls/boys in gatherings. It is an ignorant world view to which youth is forced to believe in; this world view of lust, promulgated by media. It is nothing but a means of profiteering from the masses.

Love is much more powerful than all this, it is that curiosity for an infant to take the first steps; it is in those sleepless nights of mother taking care of her child; it is in those scholars who persevere to preach goodness; it is in those martyrs who stand for their countrymen. It is this love in the universe that holds it all together.

Love is quite a real phenomenon. It exists physically. It is tangible and can be felt and sensed. It can be experienced and then held. It is supreme power of love is that constitutes ‘humanity’ today. It is the foundation of human existence: ‘He placed between you affection and mercy’⁴.

Iqbal wanted to revive this love, this ‘nigah-e-shoq’ to reach for the ultimate love for the Creator, The Sustainer. We often talk about wrath of Allah Almighty, obscuring His forgiveness, His love and mercy. This introduces to people a God-King who would punish them for wrong doings and reward them for obedience. However, the basic element in this is missing; love. Quran’s message is not the rulings of a King, but a code to search and see in Him the muse ‘So remember Me; I will remember you’.⁵

This conception is a shared reality with Christianity that ended in a complete denial of the basis of religion. Karen Armstrong writes:

“When I was about eight years old, I had to memorize this catechism answer to the question, ‘What is God?’: ‘God is the Supreme Spirit, Who alone exists of Himself and is infinite in all perfections.’ Not surprisingly, it meant little to me and I am bound to say that it still leaves me cold. It has always seemed a singularly arid, pompous and arrogant definition. Since writing this book, however, I have come to believe that it is also incorrect. . . . As I grew up, I realized that there was more to religion than fear.”⁶

Islam’s concept is based not on fear; rather it regards fearlessness as the supreme attribute of a Musalman. This love is what inspires freedom from all that restrains the true goodness in humanity. The greatest obstacle Iqbal say ‘that restrains man’s ethical progress is fear’.⁷

“. . . and no fear will there be concerning them, nor will they grieve.”⁸

Due to centuries of decline negativity has been embedded in the genes of Musalmans of today. We do not let any incident go without criticizing it, blaming someone or something, and a widely heard line would be:

“Everything happening is because of a third evil power”

It is a loveless life we are living. It was the primary objective of Iqbal to set mankind free of dogmatic following, to think freely and to reach out for goals far reaching the capability of humans fulfilling the prophecy of God:

کنتم خیرامت اخربت للناس تامرون بالمعروف و تنھون عن المنکر

“You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong.”¹³

Our society tends to seek reality in those ‘out of the box’ opinions and theories (end of times, illuminati, etc.). Instead of focusing on love for the society, and love for the Creator, our conversations are confined in brackets with a negative outside. Popular belief defines a society, popular actions defines their goal and it is these goals and beliefs in which Iqbal wanted to see growth of a collective ego. Pakistan was founded on the basis of this collective ego and it is still forming our society.

There is also an argument that suggests Iqbal ‘said’ many things but he didn’t materialize them in his own life or:

افکار تازہ سے جہان تازہ کی نمود نہی ہوئ

Iqbal became the President of Muslim League, Pakistan was his conception and it was his goal (that he envisioned through collective will). How can we point fingers on his actions when we are ourselves in deep pessimism? Iqbal believed in a melioristic attitude towards life. He believed man has an innate quality of expressing and developing. He saw in man the infinite possibilities to expand his consciousness and will, to completely change what they believe in, to pursue and dream new worlds, worlds that have new possibilities.

اس ذرہ کو رہتی ہے وسعت کی ہوس ہر دم

یہ ذرا نہی، شاید سمٹا ہوا صحرا ہے

This speck remains incessantly ambitious of expansion

Not a speck but perhaps the constricted wilderness he is

چاہے تو بدل ڈالے ہئیت چمنستاں کی

یہ ہستی دانا ہے، بینا ہے، توانا ہے

If he wills he can change the face of the garden

This entity wise, clear‐sighted and powerful is.⁹

Another argument that is widely spoken in our society when compelled to do something instead of criticizing, they would say:

آپ سہی کہتے ہیں، ہمارے ٹھیک ہونے سے کیا ہوتا ہے جب تک اوپر سے لوگ ٹھیک نہ ہوں، ہم کیا کریں؟

You are right but nothing would change unless the rulers change, what can we do?

This attitude aggravates the inactivity. It is that state which Iqbal said about Musalmans of that time:

“Truly economic dependence is the prolific mother of all the various forms of vice. Even the vices of the Indian Muhammadan indicate the weakness of life-force in him. Physically too he has undergone dreadful deterioration. If one sees the pale, faded faces of Muhammadan boys in schools and colleges, one will find the painful verification of my statement. Power, energy, force, strength, yes physical strength, is the law of life. A strong man may rob others when he has got nothing in his own pocket; but a feeble person, he must die the death of a mean thing in the world’s awful scene of continual warfare.”¹⁰

He points out the degraded state of Musalmans of that time as ‘a mean thing in the world’s awful scene’. Unfortunately we still have to conceive a powerful Musalman in our society whose character is the key to happiness of a freeman/freewoman. Freedom that allows the sterling character to grow in a person, making him fearless of everything that enslaves him. Instead of giving in to such notions we have to think hard what we can give to this society.

The character of a Musalman seems to be incomplete without this integration of love for Allah. And this love is not instinctive; rather, it is intellectual and conscious in nature, attained through knowledge of His existence. This knowledge must have unadulterated ‘nigah e shoq’ (Fervent Glance) in order to reach for the buried pearls deep down. If this ocean is murky with ‘complexes’ of any sort it would be difficult to witness the shimmering light of the reality of those pearls.

نگاہ شوق میسر نہیں اگرتجھ کو

تیرا وجود ہے قلب و نظر کی رسوائ

If fervent glance and vision keen You have not met or ever seen;

Your being is a source of shame on heart, and sight can bring a blame.¹¹

So, instead of rendering every activity of our society null by disclaiming its effectiveness, complete transformation of thinking is needed to be that Musalman. The natural melioristic attitude, however, can only be achieved if we unlearn what we have learned. It is one of those hardest things we are capable of doing. Let us revive this spirit to adopt a positive, collective goal, by treading the road of shared love for humanity.

ضمیر لالہ میں روشن چراغ آرزو کر دے

چمن کے ذرےذرے کو شہید جستجو کر دے

Make the lamp of desire bright in the heart of the tulip!

Make every particle of the garden a martyr to search!¹²

References:

1. http://panipatnow.com/archives/314

2. Marghdeen Learning Center (www.marghdeenlearningcenter.com)

3. Iqbal: Khirad Mandon Se Kya Poochun Ke Meri Ibtada Kya Hai, Baal-e-Jibril [Translation from: http://iqbalurdu.blogspot.com/2011/04/bal-e-jibril-053-kirad-mandon-se-kya.html]

4. Quran: 30:21^*

5. Quran: 2:152^*

6. Karen Armstrong: A history of God

7. Iqbal: Islam a moral and Political Ideal, 1909

8. Quran: 2:62^*

9. Iqbal: Insan, Bang-e-Dra [Translation from http://iqbalurdu.blogspot.com/2011/04/bang-e-dra-113-insan.html)]

10. Iqbal: Islam a moral and Political Ideal, 1909

11. Iqbal: Nigah e Shouq, Zarb-e-Kalim. [Translation from http://iqbalurdu.blogspot.com/2011/04/zarb-e-kaleem-119-nigah-e-shauq.html]

12. Iqbal: Tulu-e-Islam, Bang-e-Dra [Translation from: http://iqbalurdu.blogspot.com/2011/04/bang-e-dra-163-tulu-e-islam.html]

13. Quran: 3:110^*

^*The translations are taken from www.quran.com of Sahih International.

The Regime of Reason

Your intelligence is different from mine. And mine is different from yours.

Times changed. “My intelligence is superior to yours”, said Reason.

Who and what is ‘Reason’?

Reason was born and raised like any other intelligence.

It too lived on the imaginative outskirts of human minds.

It too insisted that it had a point.

‘A point to a point’ as it put it.

The point, it ‘reasoned’, was to get to a point.

“It was right”, thought others, “in its own right.”

“You do make a point”, it was told.

But then. One day. Out of the blue. It panicked. It reasoned.

“Is it enough to make a point that is valid? Shouldn’t my point be the only valid one?”

It ran towards the city. It made an announcement.

It “reasoned” that there can only be one intelligence.

Intelligence could be more or less. Not merely ‘this’ and ‘that’.

It was not enough to be different. It had to be superior.

It told others that they must accept its singularity.

Reason alone is intelligence.

Reason’s intelligence alone is Reason.

“Such a wild proposition”, it was told at first.

But then it gained strength.

It used its skills to make a point to reach a point.

It reasoned itself into power. It took over. It ruled a tyrannical rule.

Order was ordered.

Opposition was crushed.

The vulnerable were executed.

Resistance was punished.

Compliance was rewarded.

The terror of Reason became the regime of Reason.

Reason declared the non-existence of all intelligences except its own.

Intelligence was singular.

There was only one intelligence.

This was absurd. This was bizarre. This was letter of the law.

“How can redness describe the colorfulness of yellow”, drew an artsy intelligence.

“How can sweetness describe the tastefulness of a hamburger”, cried a fanatic intelligence.

“Your truth will never compare to mine”, prophesized a mystical intelligence.

Art, emotion, religion were executed.

The death of God was declared.

Man was born.

The Man of Reason began to exist.

Existence became the universal privilege of reasonable man.

“I am being rational”, said reasonable man.

“Your rationality is irrationality. It must not exist.”

“Millions must die so I can build Reason’s civilization.”

Civilization was built on a graveyard of unreason.

Unreason was buried.

There was reason and there were lesser reasons.

The lesser could exist insofar as they acknowledge reason’s sovereignty.

The lesser could exist insofar as they acknowledged their imperfectability.

They could exist if they severed their claims to intelligence.

They were made to destroy their selves to become the self of reason.

Their generations grew under these conditions.

With time, they forgot their ancestors withdrawn rights altogether.

This system. This system that decided which intelligence is intelligent and which is not.

It was very real.

It became realer.

Then it became reality.

Reality was this system.

It was how things are.

It was how things are supposed to be.

It was all for our own sake.

It produced. It produced stuff we needed.

We need that stuff.

We must stuff ourselves with that stuff.

We may not be able to have that stuff today.

It will trickle down tomorrow.

It will trickle down the day after.

It will trickle down later.

It will trickle down.

Trust me.

Feminism – Are We Doing It Wrong?

Feminism (Oxford definition) – the advocacy of women’s rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes.

EQUALITY! Not supremacy. Feminism is all about advocating women’s rights not advocating their supremacy above any other human being and certainly not about loathing men like some sort of filth. Then why exactly do some self proclaimed “feminists” tend to mistake this equality as being treated in a special way? As strange as this article may seem, considering a girl herself is questioning feminism, I really want to say I feel for all those men who have fallen prey to this sort of unfair and manipulative ‘feminism’ or I’d rather call it feminazism. The kinds of feminists I have come across are nothing but a bunch of loud, crude and irrational women. Seldom do I see rational and smart feminists. Most of them are just, downright irrational, confused and silly. Here are a few types of feminists who I have actually come across myself.

– Those who have had bad relationship experiences and perceive all men as evil little despicable creatures just cause their partner turned out to be err not so loyal. Hence pledging themselves that they will not let any man live guilt-free for being a man.

– The confused ones. A very famous Bengali writer also a feminist (will not mention her name) tweeted once saying why don’t men wear women’s attire? That seriously came as a shock to me and made me question the present concept of feminism. What I fail to understand is that why exactly don’t such women understand that when they say this, they’re going against the law of nature. That’s like saying why can’t the Sun revolve around the Earth why does it always have to be us. Yes, that’s how stupid it sounds.

– Then there’s this other kind, the kind that goes nude for no apparent reasons at all. These ones will go nude for the most trivial things. I bet even for a protest against this very article. Almost everything that offends them. What this lot needs to understand that at the end of the day, they are entertaining the same men they’re standing against. They’re merely objectifying their bodies, which is not really helping, come to think of it.

Many of you may not agree and if you’re one of the types mentioned above you might be angry by now but I genuinely believe that the concept of feminism is being badly misunderstood by today’s women. What’s disappointing is that most of the women who luckily are born into societies which grant women their due rights don’t take feminism seriously the reason maybe their lack of understanding the matter as they themselves haven’t really been subjected to double standards and gender bias. I personally feel if educated and rational women take up feminism, it can change the state of the women around the globe. The main reason feminism is not taken seriously anymore is that most of the women chanting slogans about equality aren’t really talking about equality themselves. They’re mostly unreasonable and apologetic.

All in all, I’m all for feminism. I believe women are no less of a gender than men but I also believe exaggerating and ranting about almost everything that is unchangeable, that we clearly know is natural and cannot be changed whatsoever, is plain stupidity. You want to compete? Compete on a mental level not on a physical one. Women surely do have the capability to outdo men mentally and the rising numbers of girls topping in different exams in our country is a proof of it. So ladies, know that you’re no less and that feminism is all about embracing yourself and your femininity, acknowledging the fact that you’re a woman and definitely not weak. You have the power to change the world and shape the future generations. You go girls!

Ghazali Premier College – An Untold Story

I was invited for a talk to Ghazali Premier College (GPC) and I was very surprised when I visited the place. Without any doubt, it was one of the best institutions I had seen in years. GPC immediately became an inspiration for me.
Muhammad Tariq, the director of GPC left a lucrative job in Dubai and came back to Pakistan to play a positive role. It was always on the back of his mind to contribute towards the society. Ghazali education trust took him on board and they went on to acquire this new boarding school which was going to house talented students from all across the country. Students from 354 schools of Ghazali education trust were selected and Ghazali Premier college came into being. One year onward, its something worth visiting.

The facility is located in suburbs of Lahore on Multan road. It is a purpose built campus with attached mosque and hostel in one campus, housing 118 students. These students are selected from all over Pakistan. I was delighted to know that six students from Balochistan are also in this campus. Many of the enrolled kids belong to poor families and quality education is a distant dream for them. GPC provides free education, boarding and lodging to all the students. It is difficult to think about a free boarding school which intakes underprivileged students from all over the country and gives them free education and boarding without any compromise on the quality of education. GPC is certainly a shinning star on the dark horizon of Pakistan.

The focus in GPC is on inculcation of Islamic ethical values along with contemporary education. The schedule of students start with Fajar prayers at the mosque and then they are taught lessons from holy Quran. Entire day activities are thoroughly planned which includes studies and co-curricular activities. Weekends are reserved for social activities and guest lectures. Typically I got impressed with the social activities of students when I was told that currently these students have planted 4000 trees in the nearby locations of the campus. I was told that students are very keen in social activities which is actually a missing aspect in typical Pakistani education system.
My lecture was on contribution of Muslims towards science and how can we get back on track. I tried to involve the kids and was stunned to see their IQ level. The knowledge level of 7^th and 8^th graders was amazing. Their knowledge was also certainly above the text books. They were very energetic and confident. I was amazed by the quality of their questions. Given the scenario that these kids belong to remote areas of the country, their participation in my talk reflected the hard work of their teachers.
During the interaction with the teacher, I came to know that most of them are highly qualified, with some having their Masters from abroad and all of them joined hands to contribute towards the betterment of the society. Ghazali Premier Trust is planning to open many colleges in far flung areas of Pakistan to spread education in remote areas. The beauty of this project is that it is entirely free and the students have to pay nothing. The quality of education is comparable to any best system just because of the dedication of the team.

Resources are key to such projects. The team of GPC is trying its level best to raise donations so far. They are also thinking about expanding this project and plan to open other such boarding schools in remote areas of the country. I hope that people like these will continue their efforts. It is our job to help them in every sense so that they succeed in their mission of making Pakistan a better society.

Live and Let Die!

It was cold. That’s for sure. It was dark- but in dark times, what difference does it make. Two twin boys. Not more than five or six years of age. They were one and apart. They were alone. Perhaps orphans. Their only source of refuge was in each other and the power of imagination only children so young possess. They were all too innocent and all too unprepared. Will they survive? Have they survived? These questions come back to haunt me sometimes. Sometimes.

Only occasionally do my thoughts betray me. Only occasionally do they escape me. My concerns. My worries. My questions. My comments. My consciousness. My being. And barely do I succeed in bypassing the gate-keeper who is there to stop me from wondering off into the forbidden territories as he directs me back to that deep pit where I am meant to belong. Merely reminding me of the official dogma of the land, he says “Mind your own business”. And I listen. I succumb. I give in. To myself.

And yet, in times like these, when speaking and humanizing an event seems too much a task a sane person can endure, a painful madness is what we fear is in store for us. We are reminded again and again. ‘Live and let live’ goes the conventional wisdom. It has a soothing mesmerizing effect. We know it is a flawed, conveniently distorted rationalization of going out in the world seeking a good ‘normal’ time, but we buy into it. We are sold into it. For convenient and flawed reasons. To unsee what hides in front of us. Behind us. Beneath us. Just a bit tilted towards the invisible side of the lane.

Those two kids. Beautiful kids. I wonder what has become of them. But are we ever the same persons. Am I the same kid who thought Jupiter and Mars were where girls and boys came from? Who argued with so passionate fervor that Karachi is bigger than Pakistan? Who couldn’t help saying ‘Qaizemaizam’ was the founder of our nation? I don’t know what happened to that little kid. I’d love to meet him. All I have are a few memories of him and the exciting world he lived in. I wish I could go back. But could I wish the same for them. Would they like to go back? In that single moment. When history stops and mourns. It mourns existence. Will they like to go back? Will they like to be where they are today? I’ll never truly know.

It was in Quetta. That beautiful valley town enchanted with cherished memories of my childhood. Ziarat, a popular hill station resort, was not far away- a weekend’s distance. My family spent four years in Quetta when I was a kid. But this time I was on a short visit. This isn’t something so ancient. Ancient treasures aren’t very well received anyway. The image of Jinnah’s residency in Ziarat exists today in my ancient imagination. But so does this. This moment. This memory. This reflection. This guilt.

It was two or three years ago. I met up with old friends. We hanged out in different places across the city. The freezing night was begging for a heavy garma garam (freshly hot) meal. We decided to have some juicy seekh kebabs of the Lazzat Kadda (House of Taste), a small celebrated restaurant near Liaquat Market. It was late when we got there. It gets late pretty early in Quetta. We laughed off the evening.

It was when we were leaving that a friend directed our attention towards those two young invisible boys. Two intensely shivering, identical souls were sleeping on the side of the footpath. They had grabbed on to each other viciously and tightly. As if their young lives depended on it. As if the universe was hanging in balance. They were using each other’s bodies as blankets. They were both only wearing the thinnest of shalwar kameez outfits. They were fighting a battle against an obscenely cold-hearted weather in an obscenely cold-hearted world. Alone. Scared. Resilient. Powerful.

There are times. Sometimes. When I escape myself. That shivers go down my spine. Not from feeling cold but from feeling overwhelmed by horror. The horror of the event is unspeakable. But what is terrifying to me most is not the event. It is not the scene of seeing two chipmunks left alone in the tragedy of existence. It’s those words that give me nightmares. It’s those words that are truly breathtaking. They force me to self-reflection. They allude me to the society I live in. They push me to myself. They ask me whether I am still there. As a person. As a feeling being. As there. Available. To not ‘live and let die’. To care enough to ‘live and not let die’.

Those words were uttered by a shopkeeper. He said ‘they’re used to it. No worries’.

The ‘Begum’ and ‘Saheb’ Culture

Come, visualize with me..

Sakeena, a 10 year old who has never been to school, never enjoyed playing with dolls let alone the funky hi-tech gadgets, is carrying a 1 year old in her lap, sitting on a table distant to begum saheba’s. Her dull glitterless clothes, unadorned arms and ears tell us, she’s the odd one. Sakeena’s job is to take care of the child who she can hardly carry, feed him, change his nappy and make sure he doesn’t cry while begum saheba enjoys her lavishly decorated table and socialising exercise. Sakeena has no right to run around, play or enjoy with her age-mates at the dinner and absolutely no sharing the table. She may get some food though.

Najma, a 28 year old who looks to be 40, skinny and dark is sweeping the floor of a ‘bangla‘ (a huge mansion). Her two-year old has an ear infection and she does not have money for antibiotics. Her concentration is everywhere. She has to finish work and get her child’s ailment sorted somehow. She takes a day off next day to see the doctor and to take care of her child who does not have proper clothes on his body and no footwear whatsoever whether it’s summer or winter. She gets told off as there was a grand dinner at saheb’s place and begum saheba was in thick soup when Najma didn’t turn up as there was a big mess in the kitchen to be sorted after dinner. She was scolded, insulted and eventually fired.

A child surrounded by a garbage heap, sorting paper and recyclables and eating our rotten left-overs from it at the same time – A child covered with houseflies sleeping on a pavement outside a jeweller’s shop (where jewellery of millions of rupees is being chosen). He dozed off while waiting for his father to go home, who sells Kulfi outside a popular shopping centre – A child who sits outside a fast-food restaurant and begs usfor roti and cannot afford a chicken wing let alone a mighty burger – A child who cleans our windscreen for a few rupees and we shun him away because his water is dirty and would ruin our car – A baby sleeping in the lap of a begging mother unaware of the cruel world he has come to. She covers his face to avoid bright headlights of the cars passing by but we can see his beautiful but muddy feet sticking out of her chaadar – A child who sells a rose bud outside a restaurant where we spent thousands of rupees for what? Yes, one meal –

A woman who washes our expensive branded and imported (etc.) dinnerware, breaks a small chip and is shouted at, beaten and declared unfit for her job – A woman who cleans our extravagant dining table, but is never allowed to share it, dusts our sofa but can’t sit on it and we love it when she sits on the floor near our feet – A driver who drives our luxurious car but waits for a bus for hours around midnight to get home and see his children on the weekend – The guard/chowkidar who sleeps outside on the next door plot under a tent or in our car porch while we sleep in our air-conditioned room away from heat and mosquito bites – The labourer who builds our beautiful house in scorching sun, just to sleep in a place one can hardly call a room, but it’s all-in-one home for him (kitchen, bedroom, lounge etc.).

Close your eyes..

Imagine the muddy feet, the dirty smelly clothes, no surety of food for the day, no money in the pocket, let alone banks, no transport. Recall their mistakes and shortcomings; recall our anger, lack of forgiveness, zero tolerance, and humiliation they face every day. And now, switch sides.Imagine they were us and we were them. Scary thought, isn’t it? They didn’t choose their fate neither did we. So why not fear the Creator who put us in a MORE difficult test than them by giving us authority over them.

The dehumanization of the society has reached its limits. The above examples are complacently accepted. Humans are not equal. They are unequal just because they were born to parents of different social statuses. And the one who has money and authority is superior. The kings and queens found everywhere in our society show their grandeur with harshness and humiliation towards the subordinates at home as well as the less fortunate outside home. Softness, empathy and forgiveness are considered weaknesses.

But this is not what we were taught, is it? ‘We are Muslims and we are proud’, ‘we love the Prophet (SAW)’ and ‘we are ready to die for him’ etc., but are we ready to live in a way he taught us to and follow his footsteps if it kills our big ego? Forgiveness, controlling anger and ignoring mistakes were compared by the Prophet (SAW) with strengths of a wrestler. He taught us that superiority came with piety and not money. Do we think that the mighty and wealthy Arab leaders who lashed and tortured the bodies of Khubab and Bilal (RA) were superior to them? No! Bilal, the black, the poor, the slave, the worthless was the most precious in the eyes of the Prophet (SAW). Did he eat in a separate corner, in different plates, a left-over food? Dig out something that supports us doing so with our servants. But, sharing tables is probably too much to ask for as far as our magnificence is concerned.

“When the slave of anyone amongst you prepares food for him and he serves him after having sat close to [and undergoing the hardship of] heat and smoke, he should make him [the slave] sit along with him and make him eat [along with him], and if the food seems to run short, then he should spare some portion for him [from his own share]” (Muslim).

Remember, Zaid Ibn Harith (RA) who was a slave and the Prophet (SAW) freed him and gave him the choice to go with his father, who had come, to take him, but he refused to go with his father and preferred to stay with the Prophet just because he was loved and cared for. He says he was never told his mistakes and the Prophet (SAW) used to cover what he did wrong without even mentioning it to him.

Once the Prophet (SAW) reprimanded a companion like this,

‘O Abu Dhar! Did you abuse him (your slave) by calling his mother with bad names. You still have some characteristics of ignorance. Your slaves are your brothers and Allah has put them under your command. So whoever has a brother under his command should feed him of what he eats and dress him of what he wears. Do not ask them (slaves) to do things beyond their capacity (power) and if you do so, then help them.’(Sahih Bukhari)”

Gentleness and kindness are rare traits, very valuable in the scales of Allah. They are not weaknesses. They are actually extremely difficult traits to stick to in this materialistic world where everyone can get their mission accomplished at the point of a gun, money or a big tongue which cause similar damage to the weak ones. Kindness is a forgotten virtue. To kill an enemy might be easy in the current times, but killing ego is a hard job. But it raises us in the eyes of Allah and we are actually following the Prophet (SAW) when we do it. What a deal and what a surely victorious way. He went on to say, ‘Seek me among your weak ones, for you are given provision (or help) only by reason of the presence of your weak ones’.

Once a man came to Prophet Muhammad (saw) and said, “O Allah’s Messenger! How many times should I forgive the mistakes of slaves?” The Prophet (SAW) kept quiet. The man repeated his question three times, and the Prophet replied at the third time, “Forgive them seventy times every day.”

We are in a more difficult test than they are. Their hereafter is easier, while we have to answer for every word that we uttered that broke them, every opportunity that we missed to help them and every action that we did to look down upon them as inferior human beings. It was the equality, justice and liberty Islam talked of that attracted the poor and slaves to the call of the Prophet (SAW). We must correct ourselves and create a society that cares, loves and forgives shortcomings of each other.

“O God, grant me life as a poor man, cause me to die as a poor man and resurrect me in the company of the poor.” His wife asked him why he said that, and he replied: “Because (the poor) will enter Paradise (before) the rich. Do not turn away a poor man even if all you can give is half a date. If you love the poor and bring them near you, God will bring you near Him on the Day of Resurrection.” – Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1376

The Morning Show Circus

A while back, I was watching a morning-show when one of the guests on the show compared two very famous morning show hosts to Oprah Winfrey and called them the Oprah Winfreys of Pakistan. The next minute, I was cleaning the tea I had spilled on the table. As much as I wish with all my heart that, that statement was true but unfortunately those two morning show hosts are not even an iota of what Oprah Winfrey is all about.

For starters, Oprah Winfrey show does not have ‘Wedding Weeks’. Yes, weddings are an integral part of our culture, we are a nation which loves festivals and celebrations and marriage is a beautiful bond but that being said it does not mean that being unmarried is a disease or a taboo. Morning shows have an anti-dote for this ‘disease’ too, just by the way. The ‘matchmaking aunties’ are frequent guests on these shows to conduct ‘workshops’ on how a girl should carry herself and the tray when the potential in laws come to scrutinize her

Pakistani morning shows are on a mission to get the entire nation married before the world ends. It is about time they start to do shows on contraceptives as well before the population of Pakistan has doubled due to the weddings arranged by these shows. Or wait, they cannot really dare to do a show on contraceptives because that would upset us and PEMRA. But why don’t we ever raise a voice against the extravagance showcased on these shows and why does not PEMRA ever object to the crime shows which air forced confessions of alleged criminals? For how long will we continue to pick and choose to condemn or disregard the evils?

The shows portray their tactics of generating maximum revenue as a service to humanity. I have never been able to understand what joy does the couple from an under-privileged household get from watching people from the entertainment industry dance around in expensive couture. By doing all this, the morning shows are just demarcating the line between the rich and poor and making it more obvious than before. Showing the majority of Pakistanis who belong to middle, lower-middle and low classes, almost about everything they cannot afford just creates resentment.

An all-time favorite segment of these shows is about supernatural creatures and spirits and black magic. The morning show hosts ooh and aah every time a different ‘Aalim‘ tries to exorcise someone by sprinkling water on them, cutting lemons, lighting candles etc. It is actually painful to watch this and frustrating at the same time to witness different ‘Babas‘ torture people when in fact all they usually need is a good psychiatrist and therapy!

These shows have also really abused the concept of ‘Oprahfication’, that is, if that is what they try to imitate. While Oprah coined this term to describe public confession as a therapy and talked about various issues in her life, in our morning shows it is the other way around. The morning show hosts never talk about their failures, shortcomings, mistakes and life experiences but they invite people and cash on their misery by shedding a tear or two at their heart-breaking stories. While it has its advantages, we are still not ready for it. Inviting people to confess their secrets and discuss their personal and intimate issues on live television without a psychologist or psychiatrist being present is not only harmful but can have long term effects on the lives of these people as we are a part of an extremely judgmental society .

The morning show hosts are usually very active about speaking against domestic violence and gender-issues. But those issues set aside, what do they have to say about how they let themselves and other females on the morning shows be used as eye-candy? It’s not really hard to get why majority of the morning show hosts are females. A single female host carries the weight of dozen of labels and sponsors. Clothes, shows, make up, accessories and the list goes on. The more, the merrier.

These hosts constantly endorse the view that it is of utmost importance to fit in the society and for that you have to look a certain way. Whereas Oprah showed the world how a black woman with a voluptuous body can look so elegant, beautiful and charismatic only if she believes in herself. Almost every day at least one morning show has a make-up competition, which is fine but what is not okay is when the beauticians apply a foundation ten shades lighter to the model’s skin tone in order to make her look fair. This is very rare though, because most of the models chosen are fair-skinned anyway. What message are they conveying by this?

The most disappointing thing about these shows is the guests who are invited. There are few guests, couples to be specific who are permanent guests. They come, they dance, and they laugh out loud, go on and on about their recent vacation in Dubai or Thailand, gossip about other celebrities, display a lot of public affection and leave. From the guests lists of these shows it almost looks like as if half of the Pakistani nation is a part of the show business and the other half is trying desperately to be a part of it.

How often do we see Pakistanis who have excelled in other fields as guests on these shows? The shows endorse lawn brands but never speak up against the low wages the factory workers are paid. We are told about who wore who at the red carpet but we are never told who won the Booker or the Pulitzer prizes. Dramas and movies are reviewed and recommended but books are never talked about. Fashion designers, models, actors and singers are treated as if they are gods and goddesses with magical powers but scientists, economists, thinkers, social and human rights activists are never mentioned. Achievements of Dr. Abdu’s Salam, Prof. Atta-or-Raman, Mahbub-ul-Haq, etc. are never recognized and appreciated. They portray the Pakistani woman as a materialistic human being who has no business other than wearing designer clothes, expensive make up and brewing up facial masks in order to look at least ten years younger than her age. Why cannot the average Pakistani woman be portrayed as somebody who wants to fly a plane, be an astronaut, mountain climber or a F1 racer?

The media tries to get away with all this by using the excuse that it is broadcasting what people like to watch. But that is not a legitimate excuse. Yes, people have grown accustomed to watching trash because it’s the only thing that is aired these days. However that does not mean that we Pakistanis love to watch Turkish couples somersault around on our television screens. We are a nation who loved and appreciated 50-50, Angan Terha, Dhoop Kinaray, Loose Talk. We have been shown great things, so I do not know why the media thinks that all we deserve are dubbed foreign dramas and cheesy morning shows.

How I Came to Love the Veil

Politicians and journalists just love to write about the oppression of women in Islam … without even talking to the females beneath the veil.

They simply have no idea how Muslim women are protected and respected within the Islamic framework which was built more than 1400 years ago.

Yet, by writing about cultural issues like child brides, female circumcision, honour killings and forced marriages they wrongly believe they are coming from a point of knowledge.

And I am sick of Saudi Arabia being cited as an example of how women are subjugated in a country where they are banned from driving.

The issues above have simply nothing to do with Islam yet they still write and talk about them with an arrogant air of authority while wrongly blaming Islam. Please do not confuse cultural behaviour with Islam.

I was asked to write about how Islam allows men to beat their wives. Sorry, not true. Yes, I’m sure critics of Islam will quote random Qur’anic verses or ahadith but all are usually taken out of context. If a man does raise a finger to his wife, he is not allowed to leave a mark on her body … this is another way of the Qur’an saying; “Don’t beat your wife, stupid”.

Now let’s take a glance at some really interesting statistics, hmm. I can almost hear the words pot, kettle, black. According to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, four million American women experience a serious assault by a partner during an average 12-month period.

On the average, more than three women are murdered by their husbands and boyfriends every day . . . that is nearly 5,500 women battered to death since 9/11.

Some might say that is a shocking indictment on such a civilized society, but before I sound too smug, I would say that violence against women is a global issue. Violent men do not come in any particular religious or cultural category. The reality is that one out of three women around the world has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused during her lifetime. Violence against women transcends religion, wealth, class, skin colour and culture.

However, until Islam came on the scene women were treated as inferior beings. In fact we women still have a problem in the West where men think they are superior. This is reflected in our promotion and wages structure right across the spectrum from cleaners to career women who make it into the boardroom.

Western women are still treated as commodities, where sexual slavery is on the rise, disguised under marketing euphemisms, where women’s’ bodies are traded throughout the advertising world. As mentioned before, this is a society where rape, sexual assault, and violence on women is commonplace, a society where the equality between men and women is an illusion, a society where a women’s’ power or influence is usually only related to the size of her breasts.

I used to look at veiled women as quiet, oppressed creatures and now I look at them as multi-skilled, multi-talented, resilient women whose brand of sisterhood makes Western feminism pale into insignificance. My views changed after the truly terrifying experience of being arrested by the Taleban for sneaking into Afghanistan in September 2001 wearing the burka.

During my 10-day captivity I struck a deal that if they let me go I would read the Quran and study Islam. Against all the odds, it worked and I was released. In return I kept my word but as a journalist covering the Middle East I realized I needed to expand my knowledge of a religion which was clearly a way of life.

And no, I’m not a victim of Stockholm syndrome. To be a victim you have to bond with your captors. During my imprisonment I spat, swore, cursed and abused my jailers as well as refusing their food and going on hunger strike. I don’t know who was happier when I was released – them or me!

Reading the Quran was, I thought, going to be a very simple academic exercise. I was stunned to discover that it clearly stated women are equal in spirituality, education and worth. A woman’s gift for child birth and child-rearing is very much recognised as a quality and attribute. Muslim women say with pride they are homemakers and housewives.

Furthermore The Prophet (pbuh) said that the most important person in the home was The Mother, The Mother, The Mother. In fact he also said that heaven lies at the feet of the mother. How many women make it into the top 100 power lists for simply being a “great mother”?

With Islam choosing to remain at home and raise children takes on a new dignity and respect in my eyes, similar to those sisters among us who choose to go out to work and have careers and professions.

I then began looking at inheritance, tax, property and divorce laws. This is where Hollywood divorce lawyers probably get their inspiration from. For instance the woman gets to keep what she earns and owns while the man has to stump up half his worth.

Isn’t it funny the way the tabloid media gets very excited over the prospect of some pop or film stars pre-nuptial wedding agreement? Muslim women have had wedding contracts from day one. They can choose if they want to work or not and anything they earn is theirs to spend while the husband has to pay for all the household bills and the upkeep of his family.

Just about everything that feminists strived for in the 70s was already available to Muslim women 1400 years ago.

As I said, Islam dignifies and brings respect to motherhood and being a wife. If you want to stay at home, stay at home. It is a great honour to be a home maker and the first educator of your children

But equally, the Quran states if you want to work, then work. Be a career woman; learn a profession become a politician. Be what you want to be and excel in what you do as a Muslim because everything you do is in praise of Allah (swt).

There is an excessive, almost irritating concentration or focus on the issue of Muslim women’s’ dress particularly by men (both Muslim and non-Muslim).

Yes, it is an obligation for Muslim women to dress modestly but, in addition, there are many other important issues which concern Muslim women today.

And yet everyone obsesses over the hijab. Look, it is part of my business suit. This tells you I am a Muslim and therefore I expect to be treated with respect.

Can you imagine if someone told a Wall Street executive or Washington banker to put on a t-shirt and jeans? He would tell you his business suit defines him during work hours, marks him out to be treated seriously.

And yet in Britain we have had the former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw describing the nikab – the face veil revealing only the eyes – as an unwelcome barrier. When, oh when, will men learn to keep their mouths shut over a woman’s wardrobe?

We also had Government Ministers Gordon Brown and John Reid express disparaging remarks about the nikab – both these men come from over the Scottish Borders where men wear skirts!!

Then we had a series of other parliamentarians enter the fray describing the nikab as a barrier for communication. What a load of nonsense. If this was the case can anyone explain to me why cell phones, landlines, emails, text messaging and fax machines are in daily use? Who listens to the radio? No one switches off the wireless because they cannot see the face of the presenter.

The majority of sisters I know who choose to wear the nikab are actually white, Western reverts who no longer want the unwelcome attention of those few leering men who will try and confront females and launch into inappropriate behaviour. Mind you, there are a couple of London sisters I know who say they wear the nikab at anti-war marches because they can’t stand the smell of spliffs.

I am afraid Islamophobia has become the last refuge of the racist scoundrel. But the cowardly, chauvinistic attacks launched – largely by men – is unacceptable to Muslimahs as well as their secular, female sisters from the left.

I was a feminist for many years and now, as an Islamic feminist, I still promote women’s’ rights. The only difference is Muslim feminists are more radical than their secular counterparts. We all hate those ghastly beauty pageants, and tried to stop laughing when the emergence of Miss Afghanistan in bikini was hailed as a giant leap for women’s liberation in Afghanistan.

I’ve been back to Afghanistan many times and I can tell you there are no career women emerging from the rubble in Kabul. My Afghan sisters say they wish the West would drop its obsession with the burka. “Don’t try turning me into a career woman; get my husband a job first. Show me how I can send my children to school without fear of them being kidnapped. Give me security and bread on the table,” one sister told me.

Young feminist Muslimahs see the hijab and the nikab as political symbols as well as a religious requirement. Some say it is their way of showing the world they reject the excesses of Western lifestyles such as binge drinking, casual sex, drug-taking etc.

Superiority in Islam is accomplished through piety, not beauty, wealth, power, position or sex.

Now you tell me what is more liberating. Being judged on the length of your skirt and the size of your cosmetically enhanced breasts, or being judged on your character, mind and intelligence?

Glossy magazines tell us as women that unless we are tall, slim and beautiful we will be unloved and unwanted. The pressure on teenage magazine readers to have a boyfriend is almost obscene.

Islam tells me that I have a right to an education and it is my duty to go out and seek knowledge whether I am single or married.

Nowhere in the framework of Islam are we told as women that we must do washing, cleaning or cooking for men – but it is not just Muslim men who need to re-evaluate women in their home. Check out this 1992 excerpt from a Pat Robertson speech revealing his views on empowered women. And then you tell me who is civilized and who is not.

He said: “FEMINISM ENCOURAGES WOMEN TO LEAVE THEIR HUSBANDS, KILL THEIR CHILDREN, PRACTICE WITCHCRAFT, DESTROY CAPITALISM AND BECOME LESBIANS”.

Here is an American man living in a pre-Islamic age who needs to modernize and civilize. People like him are wearing a veil and we need to tear that veil of bigotry away so people can see Islam for what it is.

Yvonne Ridley

In the Name of National Security

STOP! Hands up! Halt! Pass through the full body scanner, motor bikes, pillion riding and cellular services are banned. Do not dare take your mobile phone, camera, or any other electronic device for the matter, inside the building/office and hand it over to the guard (don’t forget; they have no liability in case of damage or loss of your belongings). All this while a caution in contonment areas of KPK reads: Qareeb aanay walon ko goli maar di jaaee gee (anyone to come closer will be shot).

After 9/11, there has been a curb in human rights in most states. In the name of national security, states are violating basic human rights. To legitimize their violations and illegal restrictions, states conjure up ridiculously strict and draconian laws like the ‘Prevention of terrorism Act’ 2002 POTA India and ‘Anti terrorism Act’ 1997 ATA Pakistan.

The issue of missing persons, unlawful detention, violation of personal and privacy matters, such as the government introducing a “Fair trial act 2012”, by which phone and email records of given individuals can be reproduced as an admissible evidence before Court. Moreover, Police would be authorized for spying and inspecting the personal phone records of any individual without prior permission of the Court. Harassment by the law enforcement agencies, extra-judicial killings, restrictions on individual liberties, such as the restrictions and bans on necessities of life like mobile phones and motor bikes, as well as others, have become the commonest of human rights violations by the State.

Our law enforcement agencies fail to provide security, and they also fail to hide their failure when they get hold of innocent people in the name of Karwai (investigation), in the meantime, spying, disrespecting and harassing to maintain “national security”. The actual culprit on the other hand, bails out and takes the benefit of doubt in courts with the help of insufficient evidence, loopholes in existing laws and incomplete challan produced by police for their crime.

This abuse of power by law enforcement agencies terrorizing the whole society and creating a war-like situation throughout the country, as well as these harsh security measures creating an unsecured and fear-prone environment in the country, is why citizens cannot freely enjoy their rights, freedoms and liberties in our society which has been explicitly given to them in our constitution.

These law enforcement agencies consider themselves above the law and no one dares to ask them about their actions. They look and treat every noble citizen as a criminal and enemy to the state. They inspect in a disrespectful manner and ask stupid questions. They lack basic mannerisms and fail to understand how decent individuals are to be spoken to. A lot of innocent people lose their lives in illegal custody and many are inflicted with fatal damages and injuries that haunt them for the whole lives as a gift of “National Security”. According to Code of Criminal Procedure CrPC, a person arrested is not be detained for more than 24 hours without being presenting before the Court. Yet, many are never even presented before any court of law.

Now it is the responsibility of the UN, nation-states, political parties and all human rights NGOs to make sure the authority of law is established, and set some rules to prevent the abuse of power by law enforcement agencies. Moreover, security measures adopted by these authorities should be for the protection of citizens, not to terrorize or humiliate them; it should also be friendly, and handled in a decent and civilized manner.

This is the time to find out the root cause behind the crime and terrorism. It is also the time to stop throwing away the basic principles of civilized order in the name of ‘national security’.

Being Human

Every day, the news channels give an estimated figure of deaths due to target killing, bomb-blasts, sectarian barbarism etc. But those figures are inaccurate. There are more deaths than we can fathom. Each day, we all die as a society, nation and as human beings. We turned off our humanity a long time ago. We all have just been cold, semi-alive bodies lost in our own lives and with each day we get a step closer to death.

Incidents such as the Abbas Town and Ziarat Mansion bomb blast, Hazara genocide, Badami Bagh arson attack, etc do bring us back to life in a state of shock. We wake up, we sympathize, we protest, we help and then we go back to feeling indifferent. One may argue that there is nothing wrong in moving on with our lives. We all have duties and responsibilities to fulfil and chores to run. A calamity occurs, we wake up and we leave our houses to help the victims and then slumber again as a dead nation.

And then there are those under-privileged people who we ignore and fail to help every day? Have we ever spared a moment to think how the people who work for us, for example, our maids and drivers manage to feed and support their families on the low wages we pay them?

We have become indifferent towards suffering unless it hits us. We do not care if a child works for us for low wages, instead of attending school but we make it a point that our children should be enrolled in English medium schools and expensive only. We do not worry about how our maid feeds her children for the entire month, but we do worry when we fail to get a reservation at a new restaurant and when we do go, we never feel guilty when our bill comes down to almost being equal to our maid’s monthly salary. We never notice the ragged clothes of the beggars on the roads but we try our best to be the first ones to reach the ‘Exclusive Lawn Exhibitions’. We do not care if our driver needs his salary in advance to buy medicines for one of his family members and we insult him for always asking for money as long as our cabinets are stuffed with the best multivitamins and health supplements and we can afford the best medical facilities.

We are morally degenerating as a society. The gap between the rich and the poor is at its widest now. It’s about time we realize that we cannot overcome this gap by feeding a poor person once a month, giving a hundred rupees note to a beggar, handing down our old clothes to our maids, etc. If we do that, that is good but there are better things we need to do and much bigger steps we need to take in order to bridge this gap.

‘Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime’.

Your maid complains about her husband’s unemployment? Pull some strings and get him employed and if all fails set him up a thela, (a cart where he can sell little things). You provide grocery to various households? Instead of that, pay the school fees of your driver’s child so that one day he can grow up to be someone who can feed his family on his own. These are just two examples. Look around and you will find plenty of opportunities and ways to help them live on their own and not just survive on your mercy.

We HAVE to cut down on our luxuries so that others can get their basic necessities. Please wake up, feel the pain and responsibility, empathize, support and be human(e).