Muhammad Saad Khan – Page 2 – My Bit for Change

Lifeline for Muslims

(O Prophet), We have surely bestowed upon you good in abundance.So offer Prayer and sacrifice to your Lord alone.Verily your enemy alone has been cut off from the roots. (Sura Al-Kosar: ch:108, v-1-3)

Love of Prophet is indeed a matter of life and death for Muslims. Love of Prophet is something for which each and every Muslim is very emotional. Pseudo-liberals can never understand this because it’s about love of Prophet. Not something to be measured with intellect but something to be felt with heart.

Many will not read beyond this line and will tag it as another piece preaching love of Prophet. I feel pity for those who are silent to keep their liberal attire intact, or are asking other Muslims not to show their sentiments. They have not only lost their own identity, they are pretty much confused about their very purpose of existence in this world. I don’t want to generalize but certainly those who have taken oath for defense of United States and other western countries will definitely have an inclination to keep their nationalities secured and hence keeping mum over the blasphemy.

Hazrat Omar Bin Khattab once said to the Prophet SAWW, O Prophet of Allah, I love you more than anything except my life, and the Prophet SAWW said, No one can be a true believer unless he loves me more than his life.

True, we should propagate love because our Prophet was Rahmatul lil alameen. It is also correct that we need to be peaceful in our reactions. But we need to ponder upon this question that why does this so called ‘freedom of speech’ always target Prophet Muhammad SAWW. The fact is that there are laws for statements against Jews, racism etc but when it comes to Prophet, every Tom, dick or Harry has freedom of speech. This is what is irritating Muslims.

The movie in question is not worth watching. It may be an utter failure in technical filmmaking terms. But I simply cannot buy the idea that the movie was made because of ‘lack of knowledge’ of the filmmaker. No, it was a planned effort to check whether Muslims will react or not. A cheap tactic to gain popularity may be, but a litmus test to check the commitment of Muslims.

For those who say that Prophet forgave a lot of blasphemers; I would like to quote the incident of Ka’ab Bin Ashraf, a Jew who was a blasphemous poet. He used to ridicule the Prophet of peace SAWW in his poetry and Prophet ordered his murder. This is reported in Sahi Bukhari by Hazrat Jabir Bin Abdullah (RA).

Prophet SAWW asked that who will tackle Ka’ab bin Ashraf? He is desecrating Allah and Prophet, so Muhammad Bin Muslimah (RA) stood up and asked, ‘O Prophet of Allah, May I kill him if you like’ and Prophet SAWW said, ‘Yes’… (Bukhari)

So it is evident that blasphemer shouldn’t be roaming around freely. All Muslims should unite to protect the sanctity of Prophet SAWW. In current scenario, the issue is USA is protecting the blasphemer as a state by calling his action as ‘freedom of speech’. This is a very grave situation. That’s why all the protests are logical and legitimate. Ambassadors and diplomats have immunity all around the world, but protesting in front of the diplomatic missions to record protest against a country is a democratic right. The solution is only one. Proper legislation against blasphemy of all Prophets. Thats how mobs and people can be contained. In the absence of laws and without their proper implementation, people will take laws into their hands; this is mob-mentality. We need to act sensibly to come out of this situation.

I am not in favour of burning public and private properties in protests, but I am certainly in favour of peaceful protests and proper legislation for blasphemy. These protests should be aimed to show our love for Prophet and not to destroy the property of innocent people. It is also a great chance for us to tell the world about teachings of Prophet Muhammad (SAWW).

Much can be written on this topic. Iqbal summarized it beautifully in his poem ‘Ibless ki Majlis-e-Shoora’ in which Satan tells his executive council

وہ فاقہ کش کے موت سےڈرتا نہیں زرا

روح محمدؐ اس کے بدن سے نکال دو

The target of satanic forces is very clear. They know that it’s the love of Prophet Muhammad, which has kept Muslims bonded till now. If this bond is broken, Muslims will be no more different than others. Therefore, they attack this bond clearly. This is a lifeline for Muslims. It is a driving force which is keeping all of us in one direction. That’s why when anyone challenges this bond, entire Muslim community rise for the defense of this lifeline. And this is very evident in current protests. But the liberals and American slaves cannot understand.

And last but not least, true love of Prophet (SAWW) will be evident only when we follow his Sunnah in true letter and spirit in every walk of life. Allah says in Quran,

‘’Say, [O Muhammad], “If you love Allah, follow me, Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” [Al-Qur’an 3:31]

Hijab – A Responsibility

A man’s perspective on Hijab usually raises eyebrows from the leftist elite. It might be termed as male chauvinism immediately. A lot of women will say that it is our business so men should stay away from it. Is it really so that men aren’t affected with what women wear? Some self proclaimed Islamic scholars will immediately say that men should lower their gaze before they talk about women’s clothing and they do not need see a woman if they cannot control their urge. Well if lowering the gaze was the ultimate solution, why the Quran made hijab mandatory for Muslim women at all? The source of attraction is there after all, so Quran ordered both men and women to be modest.

Much has been written about the fundamental rights of Muslim women observing hijab. Salutes to sister Marwah Sherbini who embraced martyrdom for hijab. She was the victim of racist attitude just because she was a Muslim obeying the orders of Allah. Many more sisters have faced similar issues especially after 9/11, making the debate of hijab a political one as well. It is ironic that no one has objection over Christian nuns who cover themselves in a certain way dawn to dusk, even when they are amongst fellow nuns but a covered Muslimah attracts all criticism.

There is another dimension to it. Hijab is not merely a piece of cloth. It’s a way of life. It is an entire package which revolves around the character which is required to observe it. Expectations immediately arise from all those who are practicing hijab. Wearing a hijab or growing a beard, for that matter, shouldn’t automatically mean that you are safe or cleansed from sins. But people around you are more judgmental and keenly observing your attitude. Most people won’t bother if a non-hijabi ‘muslim’ woman is drinking alcohol, but will definitely question the morals of a hijabi girl who is drinking alcohol. The attitude and behaviour of those observing hijab becomes very important. Some women, who observe hijab and clearly preach religion to others fail to practice it in their personal lives and as a result, repel people away from religion. We have hypocrites among us, having double standards for themselves and for others which are creating more problems. I have come across women wearing headscarf but having worst morals. A friend of mine usually say ‘yeh pardah kabhi kabhi apno’n se kia jata hey k koi pehchan na le’, pointing towards the dating couples in which females use veils to hide their identity.

Does it mean that hijab or religion is to blame? Certainly not! Hijab (and beard) should not be taken as a synonym for religiousity. A change in mindset is a prerequisite for hijab. If anyone observes it without realizing the real meaning, she is not doing justice with it. Hijab is never meant for oppression, it is meant for protection. The concept of hijab, pardah, abaya should be well understood and followed in letter n spirit.

Women are being objectified in multi billion dollar fashion industry and advertisement world. Call it liberty, but it is worst form of slavery and no doubt even hijabis are falling for this fashion buzz. Hijab is becoming a fashion statement. No, Hijab is not a fashion. It’s purpose is to protect a woman and not to make her more attractive.

Those who object the hijab also have some weird reasons. Some say that they don’t want to wear their religion on their sleeve, therefore, they are not observing hijab. Others are frightened of being judged as backward. Well, a Muslim should look like a Muslim from his or her turnout. That’s what he or she is; a Muslim. Religion is not something to hide or being shy about. So if a Muslimah is practicing hijab, it is not something very unique; she is supposed to do that. Hijab doesn’t mean she is very virtuous and pious. Intentions do matter a lot in these cases. The point I want to make is that don’t make it something too big or too extraordinary, observing hijab should be a normal practice for all Muslim women. But there should be an understanding that it is a complete lifestyle which brings a lot of responsibilities and obligations as Muslims.

The good thing is that hijab is growing and more and more women are opting for it. But my request would be don’t judge anyone on the basis of hijab. Its an obligation for Muslim women, don’t politicize it. And if someone is misusing these symbols, don’t generalize.

Worshiping Idols

While reciting Kalma-e-tayyaba, every Muslim knows that he is negating all idols and testifying that he will worship none other than Allah (SWT).

But do we negate all the idols in our life? Especially those hidden modern day idols which we worship knowingly or unknowingly. Love for anything blown out of proportion is start of idolism. At times we are not even aware of these invisible idols. Here are few of them.

Capitalism is the main idol we are worshiping. Our entire economy is revolving around and worshiping this idol. The fact is that the wealth itself is one of the blessings of God, the problem is with capitalistic mindset. One of the main concepts in capitalism is ‘self interest’ instead of mutual interest. Adam Smith, while giving this concept of self interest, argued that it will increase the efficiency and productivity; but actually it paved the way for cut-throat competition and criminal attitude towards humanity. Another concept of capitalistic economics is to manage the scarcity of resources to fulfill unlimited wants. Every Muslim believes that Allah has ensured his ‘rizq’, capitalism make him strive for capturing and accumulating the resources to have an absolute control over them. Capitalism has inculcated the phenomenon in the hearts and minds of the people that ‘money is power’, no matter how it is accumulated. The merit for honour, dignity and influence is the amount of capital one possess. And the aftermath of this capitalism is that UNDP reports that more than a quarter of the inhabitants of developing countries still have nothing to live on and 20% of the world population in industrialized countries account for 86% of the world consumption. The gap between haves and havenots is widening and Occupy Wall Street movement is one reaction to it.

The problem with the idol of Capitalism is that people are trying to ‘islamize’ this concept of sheer oppression and brutality. Capitalistic economy is snatching bread n butter from the poor while the rich elite is enjoying their lives to the fullest. Islam has clearly forbidden interest and usury, which is the basis of capitalistic economy. Islam discourages accumulation of wealth and usage of unfair means to earn money. Also, the system of Zakat is given in Islam to help the poor and take them out of their miseries. So the philosophy of Islamic economic system is entirely different from capitalism.

Careerism is another significant idol and focus of all of our efforts. Its related with capitalism, but more importantly, its related to our lust for money and worldly desires. Islam has given prime importance to the teaching that this life is temporary and a testing field for the permanent hereafter; yet all of our efforts are directed towards achieving a wonderful career with a bright future and healthy fortunes. The career we pursue pretty much decides what sort of a life we will lead and whom will we marry. Earning ‘rizq-e-halal’ through fair means is strongly appreciated in Islam; but running blindly after the worldly career is problematic. We tend to spend the best of our time in building a career and in the meanwhile we forget how to live a life. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are ideals for a vast majority and are actually idols being worshiped. The purpose of life for a Muslim is to please Allah almighty. If career becomes the purpose of life, it is surely turning into an idol.

Media has become an idol itself. Media portrays itself as a holy cow which is above all ethical and moral standards. It propagates whatever the corporate giants (capitalists) dictate and then people believe it as if it’s a word of God. It is the media which has objectifyed women as a sellable commodity and people have started believing in it. Labeling anyone as terrorist and sparing anyone else is their major contribution towards spreading hate and earning money. Electronic media in specific is a massive propaganda machine. It is badly affecting the lifestyles of the people. Advertisements worth billions of dollars only focus to tell people what do they need which infact they do not need.

Freedom is another one. Capitalistic economy and media has influenced us so much that we want to twist the religion as per our own desires. Unfortunately, a lot of muslims want to defy every order of Quran and Sunnah, and yet they want to be champion of faith. While its mentioned categorically in Quran that don’t cherry pick the issues and accept the religion in a holistic manner; yet people want to blindly follow their desires in the name of personal freedom. It must be clear that after reciting the Kalima, we have surrendered the freedom to Allah (SWT) and now every muslim has to live in the framework of Quran and Sunnah. Once a person exercises his freedom to choose Islam, then he must follow Islam in its true letter and spirit. Thus the liberty for every muslim is limited and not absolute, therefore, those who recite Kalima and choose to be Muslims, should follow Islam, instead of following their own desires and twisting the religion for their own wishes.

Last but not the least, our so called leaders are idols in most cases. The followers won’t listen even a single word against their leader no matter how corrupt or unethical he or she is. This is worst form of slavery we are facing in Pakistan. Be it any fake ‘pir/fakir’ or a party leader, almost everyone has his quota of blind followers. This creates a chaotic situation when people do not listen to any argument against their favourite personality. Specifically on social media, if you dare touch the holy cows, their followers will be at you, using all the abusive language they can. This is worst form of mental slavery and unfortunately, alot of our countrymen are slaves mentally.

Having testified Kalma, It’s a commitment that we will get rid of all these idols from our lives and only bow in front of Allah. They are present in our daily lives, invisible though and most often they are unknown. May Allah help us to get rid of these idols (ameen).

Burma is Burning

Burma is burning and most of us are conveniently silent ….

Some believe that death toll is not high enough to condemn the killings because few dozens have been murdered and few women have been raped; not a big deal because they were muslims. Some others say that we are far away from Burma, so leave them alone and try to solve our own problems first while some are confused to believe the atrocities did actually happen or not.

Media (international and local) is silent because it has not received the dictation from its real masters to show ethnic cleansing of Muslims as a breaking news. Media didn’t even recognize the problem unless Amnesty International reported it. And all of those who want to keep mum are blaming social media for raising voice for the oppressed. Those who are against any check and balance on their own ‘freedom of expression’ want to have checks on social media, so that the issues like Burma are never highlighted anywhere. They are blaming the social media networks like facebook and twitter for propagating fake pictures, while forgetting their own fake stories and fake programs. The problem with electronic media is their capital influx, which they get from multinationals and governments and due to which they cannot go beyond a certain limit set by their sponsors.

Social media on the other hand has given voice to general public. Common people can use twitter, facebook and youtube to express their views and get their views across. Although in countries like Pakistan, internet access and social media usage is still limited, it is good enough to send a few shockwaves across the country. True that social media doesn’t have the access to reliable information some times and anything can get viral without authentication; the problem is not as severe as traditional media which feeds in sponsored news and deliberately corrupt the mindsets. Anything wrong if gets viral on social media, immediately a rebuttal is launched and most of the time people correct themselves.

But why do we need to speak against Muslim genocide in Mayanmar (Burma). The reason is simple, we need to speak up against all oppression, or we can be the next target. If I don’t speak against drones today, a drone can bomb my house tomorrow. Its not a matter of choice now, its an obligation.

Will merely highlighting the issue stop these atrocities? Of course not! But raising our voice is the first and least we can do, so let’s do it. It may not be enough to stop the genocide, but surely its enough to gain the momentum, pile up the courage and cry halt. It will give us strength to do more and definitely will weaken the oppressor.

It is a legitimate question that we should not be silent over the problems prevailing in our own country. We have lawlessness, bombings and target-killings coupled with economic crisis in our country. Therefore when people say that lets sort out our own mess first, it sounds logical. But my take on this is that we need to have a collective approach. We cannot address issues one by one because a long list of issues will pop up when one is resolved. This is a continuous battle, between the oppressed and the oppressor. We have to choose on which side we are standing and then continuously play our role in a collective manner. Cherry picking selective items won’t serve the purpose.

Another question which is asked by our liberal elite in same context is ‘what’s this fuss called Muslim Ummah’ ? Well Muslim Ummah doesn’t mean a bunch of rulers or a few traitors. It’s about the masses of Muslims whose hearts beat together. If any Muslim anywhere in the world is suffering, all Muslims feel the pain and if someone claims to be Muslim but not feeling the pain he should recheck his belief.

So, if Bangladeshi government led by Haseena Wajid is not feeling the pain of displaced muslims of Burma, it doesn’t mean that Muslims of Bangladesh or the world are not concerned. If OIC is silent, it is because most of the people sitting in OIC are not true representatives of Muslim Ummah. The role of UNO is also shameful. It has multiple standards for different religions and regions. Muslims being killed never get their attraction unless ‘oil’ is involved.

So in short, Buddhists, who are known to be peaceful so much so that they won’t crush an ant, are killing muslims, raping women burning villages. Thousands have been displaced so far and forced to live in concentration camps. The military of Burma is fully involved in ethnic cleansing of Muslims. The numbers are not important, what’s important is that Muslims are being oppressed and we should raise our voice at least; therefore, raise it now as its already too late.

Are You as Pious as Me?

Have you seen those people who look very pious and virtuous, but at the same are very arrogant, violent and stubborn? They create repulsive vibes and people try to stay away from them. There must be some problem with those guys who practice and preach religion, but turn more people away then they attract towards religion.

The ‘conceit of piety’ may sound odd; but it happens. It’s a disease actually, better known as ‘kibr’ ‘ghuroor’. Satan (Iblees) was the first one who conceited, thought he is the better one. So, indeed all Muslims should try to refrain from conceit and repent whenever such thoughts come into their mind.

The strange thing is the link of piety with conceit. Those who are pious are never supposed to be arrogant; those who are arrogant can never be pious. So from where comes the amalgamation? That is something to ponder upon.

When a person follows the ‘rituals’ religiously, he develops a feeling that he is better than others; certainly better from those who are not performing religious obligations. This develops a sort of superiority complex, in which a person feels himself superior to others. Such a person becomes big-headed and looks down upon others. It naturally takes away humility and the person becomes more arrogant. In his beliefs he is preaching religion, but actually he is repelling people away.

This conceit is a result of our ‘competitive’ mind-set. We tend to compete and quantify everything in monetary terms. While Allah Almighty has encouraged the sense of competition for paradise, the ‘real value’ of each virtue will be decided by Almighty Himself. It does not matter whether a person has given away a million in charity or a penny, what’s really important is his intention. It’s not like scoring grades in college, where A grader can mock the B grader. Grades would be decided on the Day of Judgment by the Almighty Himself; and till then it’s not disclosed that who will enter Heaven or Hell. Every virtue should take us closer to God doesn’t mean that it is guaranteed that we are closer to God. A famous quote of Hazrat Umar Farooq (RA) in which he said that

‘If on Day of Judgement Allah announces that only one person will enter paradise, from the blessings of Almighty I expect that I will be that one. But if Allah announces that only one person will enter the hellfire, I fear that I will be that one.’

The concept of ‘holier than thou’ repels people from religion. The notion that ‘I have achieved a religious status’ and now I am ‘closer to God than you’ is a problem in itself. When we tag others as lesser than us in terms of piety, it surely serves a detrimental purpose. For the opponents of faith, it serves double purpose. First, it turns people away from the faith. Second, it gives the opponents a chance to mock the religion and those who stand for religion.

When we preach religion and perform the role of Dawah, again it is very important that we have humility and lovely attitude. There can be no example betther than the Prophet (SAW) himself. Prophet of peace (SAWW) shown the most humility in his actions.
Quran says

“And who is better in speech than him who prayeth unto his Lord and doeth right, and saith: Lo! I am of those who surrender (unto Him). The good deed and the evil deed are not alike. Repel the evil deed with one which is better, then lo! he, between whom and thee there was enmity (will become) as though he was a bosom friend.” (ch-41: v 33-34)

Our actions should speak louder than our words. Our words will be effective only when our actions follow them. Those who have the conceit of piety, usually have multiple standards; different for themselves and others. It has more of social aspects. When such a person is in command of the situation, who thinks that others are not equal to him in piety, he actually makes life miserable for others. And what is the end result, people are repelled from God and His word, just because of that particular person and his pharaoh like attitude.

All of us should safeguard our virtues from conceit. Whether small or big, whatever our contribution is, it should make us more humble and more God-fearing.

Prophet (SAWW) gave same message in a hadith narrated hazrat Haritha bin Wahb Al-Khuzai:

“May I tell you of the people of paradise? Every weak and poor obscure person whom the people look down upon but his oath is fulfilled by Allah when he takes an oath to do something. And may I inform you of the people of the Hell-Fire? They are all those violent, arrogant and stubborn people.”

Welcome Ramadan

By the grace of Almighty, the holy month of Ramadan is here. With every beginning of Ramadan, the environment suddenly changes in Islamic world and the bond between Muslims gets stronger and more beautiful. It’s a month of virtues, repentance, charity, forgiveness and blessings. The month gives us opportunity to reconnect with our family and friends as well and rethink about our priorities in life. This month gives a chance to everyone to be closer to the Lord. The opportunity is for everyone to utilize; to reflect, repent and cleanse the inner self.

Prophet Muhammad SAWW delivered a beautiful sermon to welcome the month of Ramadan which is narrated below.

On the authority of Salman al Farsi (May Allah be pleased with him) it is narrated that during the last Jumu’ah of the month of Sha’ban the Prophet (Peace be upon him) recited a Khutba (sermon) in which he said:

‘O people there comes over you now a great month, a most blessed month in which lies a night more greater in virtue than a thousand months. It is a month in which Allah has made Fasting compulsory by day, and has made Sunnah the Taraweeh by night. Whosoever intends drawing near to Allah by performing any virtuous deed, for such a person shall be the reward like the one who had performed a Fardh (Obligatory act) in any other time. And whoever performs a Fardh, shall be blessed with the reward of seventy Faraa-idh in any other time.

This is indeed the month of patience, and the reward for true patience is Jannah (Paradise). It is the month of sympathy with one’s fellowmen. It is the month wherein a true believer’s rizq (sustenance) is increased. Whosoever feeds another who fasted, in order to break the fast at sunset, for the feeder there shall be forgiveness of sins and freedom from the fire of Jahannum (hellfire), and for such a feeder shall be the same reward as the one who Fasted (who he fed) without that persons reward being decreased in the least.”

Thereupon we said, “O Messenger of Allah, not all of us possess the means whereby we can give a fasting person to break his fast.” (They were at the time under the impression that Rasullulah(saw) referred to a full meal). Rasullulah (saw) replied:

“Allah grants the same reward to the one who gives a fasting person to break the fast a mere date, or a drink of water, or a sip of milk (for Iftar).”

“This is a month, the first of which brings Allah’s mercy (i.e. the first 10 days), the middle of which brings His forgiveness and the last of which brings freedom from the fire of Jahannum.”

“Whosoever lessens the burden of his servants (d cor those under his authority) in this month, Allah will forgive him and free him from the fire of Jahannum.”

“And in this month four things you should continue to perform in great number, two of which shall be to please your Lord, while the other two shall be those without which you cannot do. Those which shall be to please your Lord, are that you should in great quantity bear witness that there is no deity to worship except Allah (i.e. recite the Kallimah Tayyibah Laa ilaha illallah) and make much Istighfaar (repentance, beg Allah’s forgiveness with Astagfirullah). And as for those without which you cannot do, you should beg of Allah, entrance into Paradise and ask refuge in Him from Jahannum.”

“And whoever gave a person who fasted water to drink, Allah shall grant that giver to drink from My fountain, such a drink where after that a person shall never again feel thirsty until he enters Jannah.” [Ibn Khuzaimah in his Saheeh]

This Hadith not only signifies the value of Ramadan but tells us how to behave during the holy month. Ramadan takes us out of the usual routine life and places us in a total different scenario while we are doing the same routine tasks. Our behaviour totally changes. Its like a breath of fresh air. Syed Maududi rightly said that it’s a litmus test to check the ‘life’ of a Muslim society. If there is some life left in a society, it will be evident during Ramadan.

One thing which we should ensure is that we must continue the virtues even after Ramadan. This is a training workshop of unity, tolerance and piety for 30 days for entire Muslim society and we should learn from it and continue these good habits throughout the year. If we can refrain from ‘Halal’ (permitted) things when ordered by Allah and when we work together in unison, then it’s not difficult to stop ourselves from the ‘Haram’ (forbidden) if we are willing to obey and please the Lord.

The Moral Demise

Daughter killed her father …..

Shocked when I heard the news that a teenage girl killed her father; reason, he was stopping her from having an illegitimate affair. It was a breaking news on electronic media and reported widely, shocking for the entire country that how she confessed her crime and was actually not feeling any guilt about it.

One thought that continuously struck my mind was what made a daughter so angry that she went to the extent of shooting her father. What was the real cause? Was her ‘teenage love’ for a boy so strong that she didn’t care about her blood relations? Perhaps she was thinking that something magical would happen as often witnessed in famous Indian movies and she would succeed in getting rid of all obstacles that hindered her path & she & her lover would live happily ever after.

Similarly, a shocking news came about an elite school managing a debate on gay rights in Islamabad and I was thinking that where are we heading towards? Do these elite schools give a damn about religious and ethical values or they just believe in blindly following the ultra-liberal ideologies. They are having fun with fundamental religious and ethical values while we are sitting as mere spectators.

Few years ago, during my college days, once a friend was sitting on the stairs, deep in thought. I asked what happened and he said, ‘ Looking at the current trends, I am thinking that If after 20 years my daughter is having an affair, how will I stop her’. It sent shockwaves down my spine at that time, but now we are seeing things actually we never thought about. Lifestyle has entirely changed in our country in past ten years. Just look at the language of our kids these days and it will shock you.

Lets play the blame game. Lets blame media for polluting the mind of the girl who killed her father. Lets blame our educational system for these shallow moral values. Lets blame parents for not teaching the kids properly. Lets blame society for promoting unethical values. Lets blame the government … Lets simply blame!!

This blame game won’t result in anything positive. We certainly need to identify the ‘root-cause’ of the problem and take corrective measures. In my opinion, the root cause is that we have not defined our own role models. We need to define the real role models. And for that purpose, we need to put a lot of question marks on our real ideology. Who are our heroes? Who are we aspiring to become?

Kids idealize the heroes, and whoever heroes they think, they would try to follow them. We need our own real life heroes. Or should I say, we need to project our own real life heroes, because we already have them, but our kids don’t know as many of us have also forgotten. Is our hero Hazrat Khalid Bin Walid, Hazrat Mus’ab Bin Umair or any Bollywood/Hollywood hero. Everyone in Pakistan would certainly respond that Companions of Prophet (SAWW) are our heroes. But then how much we and our kids know about them. How much do we talk about them. How much do we try to follow them?

Our problem is much deeper. We live in a hypocritical society. We have double or triple standards in everything. We have different standards for ourselves and our future generation. We have confused concepts of right and wrong. We want our kids to be modest, polite, religious, and yet they should be westernized, liberal, and exclusively English-speaking. We are exactly as Ghalib said

رند کے رند رھے ، ھاتھ سے جنت نہ گئ

To sum it up in a sentence, we are confused on our ideology of ‘successes’. We need to define what does success means for us. Is having a successful love affair a success? In movies it might be true, but in real life what is the end result. A girl killed her father to succeed in her love affair. Did she get what she wanted? Can she be called successful?

Let’s turn to Quran to get the meaning of success and Quran says

And whoever is removed away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise, he indeed is successful. (Ch 2 :v 185)

Unless we redefine the success in our minds and reteach our kids the problems will only increase. Bollywood style affairs would be more important in the lives of our teenagers and issues like LGBT will be talk of the town in ultramodern Pakistan with no values to uphold and be proud of.

Where are all these gates leading to

Our nation is obsessed with ‘gates’, be it Watergate or Bill Gates; (though the latter is considered a plural by many). Thus, it has become customary to associate the word gate with every scandal, whether it is Memo-gate, Mehran-gate, Veena-gate or the latest Bahria-gate; the word ‘gate’ is there as a symbolic representation.

Do these gates open a gateway to somewhere? What is the impact of all these scandals on a commoner’s life in the country? Take Memogate, for instance. A lot of hype was created about it but with the passage of time, the dust settled down. In the end, it was considered as a political gimmick to divert the attention from critical issues. Many talk shows were conducted and costly airtime was used for discussions on every aspect of the memo. Even if memogate was critical and a matter of life and death for the country, what was the outcome of the whole hue n cry? Similar questions can be raised about other scandals in which nothing tangible is infront of the nation which can be called a ‘result’.

Now, consider the recent hype about Bahria Gate. Malik Riaz did a press conference while holding Quran in his hand. He raised some serious questions regarding judiciary and the Chief Justice. It became a breaking news immediately and all channels started running marathon transmissions discussing the pros n cons of every uttered word and gesture of Malik Riaz’s presser. Social Media didn’t stay behind. #BahriaGate started trending on twitter. Everyone with or without an opinion participated. In fact, even I personally tweeted a lot. It was immediately the talk of the town. Malik Riaz tried to prove that he had interaction with the Chief Justice. It turned out that during lawyers movement the interaction was there and Malik Riaz tried to bargain on behalf of the rulers and CJ never agreed on NRO and meeting Zardari and hence no deal was reached.

Apparently, this scandal is perfectly timed to divert the attention of people from the corruption of current government and issues like poverty, inflation, energy crisis, lawlessness and target killings. Media has created a hype and serious issues of daily life have gone on the back burner.

But in hindsight, when I reflect now I feel that this issue is indeed important. This single scandal shows the reality of our society and unveils the nature of our social fabric. Virtually everything and everyone was bought and confessed about. For me, ‘confessing a crime with pride’ is a bigger issue. Malik Riaz openly admitted that he bribed and offered favours. His intentions cannot be judged, but his actions surely tell that he wanted to influence the judicial system.

Bahria Gate should not be looked upon as ‘just another corruption scandal’. It shows that how a person earned fortunes and on his way up the ladder, he tried to purchase everything that came along. He had contacts with major political personalities, military junta, media tycoons and famous anchors. He had a say in crucial political affairs. He utilized all these deliberately established contacts for his purposes. In some cases, he gave a lot of charity to the poor and deprived people. Thus he used all means to establish his significance. This mentality is not rare. When I joined my first job, a senior told me to ‘oblige’ everyone by giving favours. He told me that’s how I could make my roots stronger in the organization. This culture of influencing others and then taking undue favours is ruining the very essence of our society. So very few were able to resist the fortunes offered by Malik Riaz and in the process Bahria town developed into an empire estate which had its own rules of the game.

Another important aspect of this scandal is the role of journalists. They are fighting each other and exposing themselves on this issue. Their fight has revealed a lot about the unscrupulous internal affairs of media. It also shows how people from media are manipulated. Malik Riaz is investing a lot in mainstream media by ads which clearly influences the opinion of media.

One significant thing is the deplorable trend of holding Quran during press conferences. Altaf Hussain and Zulfiqar Mirza did the same before and now Malik Riaz repeated it once again. Seriously, it shows ill mentality of our so called ‘leaders’. The sanctity of the Quran should be maintained and it should not be used in ‘political mimicry’.

This scandal should be taken to the logical and fair conclusion. All the holy cows should be unveiled and slaughtered once and for all. Only then it can bring long lasting peace in the lives of ordinary citizens. It can decide our future if we punish all the culprits and prove that our nation is not for sale. However, if the history of previous ‘gates’ repeats itself then our society will loose its belief on justice. It will bring more downfall for the morality in our society which is already touching its lows. This scam is a test for our nation and I believe that if we successfully cross this bridge, we will come out as a better nation inshaALLAH.

Budget Simplified

Budget 2012 was being presented in National Assembly and it reminded me about my lab attendant. His newly born daughter died last month during labour at home in a far flung village of KPK . He was not able to afford the delivery expenses in hospital and therefore he opted for labour at home. I came to know about it when he had already left home after hearing the sad news of demise. When he came back, he told me that he is earning about 10K and the charges of a hospital delivery were not bearable for him as the medical tests and medicines were quite expensive. I was thinking that whats in the budget for him.

Finance minister tried to convince people that they are living in a heaven while when we look around, its totally a different picture. There is indeed a darker side which does not match with the claims of present regime. Are you confused in the budetary figures? That is why the budget does contain all this fuss. It is an attempt to show the brighter picture when there is dark all around. To cover up the bad governance and corruption of the government, people are trapped in heavy figures to show that the country is in best condition.

So what are these calculations all about? Lets make it simple, consider the following example. If there are only two persons in a place, one has earned Rs 100 and other has not earned anything. Now calculate their GDP, its Rs 100. Their per capita income is Rs 50. GDP includes the earnings /spending of all, in which the rich elite becomes a significant factor, but poor people contribute little to it. Growth rate of GDP depends more upon how much ‘richer the rich have gotten’. So even if growth figures are high, they are significant only for the rich elite. The facilities are available, but not affordable for the common people.

What is the real purpose of a budget then? Ideally speaking, the budget is an estimate of how much we are going to earn and how much we should spend. It allocates money for different projects. Its a document which reveals that how much of the previous targets were achieved and what are the new targets; that’s it. But the government tries to cover its ugly face by using heavy terminologies. A lot of time these figures are falsified, their impact is blown out of proportion, just to cover the mess the government has created.

Current budget is again a same budget with false promises. A huge part is being spent on defense, government expenditures etc. 70 billion rupees being spent on Benazir Income support program is a wastage of money. This huge amount could have been used for the better projects related to education, health, infrastructure and energy sector.These figures didn’t mean anything to the poor labourer who is trying hard to make both ends meet. It doesn’t mean anything for the person who is sick and spending all he could to get a proper treatment. Joblessness is becoming a huge problem in the country. Industry is closing down and millions are loosing jobs. Current Budget is in heavy deficit. It simply means that earnings are less and expenditures are more, government will not reduce its expenditures but will borrow more money. Rich industrialists are not paying taxes and common people have to pay tax on everything.

Now lets talk about increase in salaries. When salaries are increased by same percentage for all, it means peanuts for poor (low grade employees) and huge increments for high grade officers. It widens the already huge gap of rich and poor in the country. A grade 22 officer earning in six figures, with all the benefits and previliages cannot think about the problems faced by a poor. While price hike and inflation is same for all, increase in income is not similar. It makes the poor ‘poorer’ & the rich ‘richer’

So this budget is a budget for elite class. They will get benefited. Poor will not get any benefits unless we change the system. Only one budget so far has ever been termed as a budget for poor people, and that was presented by Liaqat Ali Khan in 1946. Other than that, whichever party was in govt, circumstances were same for ordinary class. The capitalistic economy needs to be uprooted and Islamic system of finance needs to implemented, which ensures flow of wealth from rich to poor; only that is the way out.

Studying in East Asia

OK! so you wish to study abroad, and do not have the fortunes to pursue your dreams? Well, it’s not the end of the world for you. When there is a will, there is a way and the way is to get scholarships.

Universities around the world are waiting for scholars to do research but they are not getting enough suitable candidates, reason being the suitable candidates do not have the information how to get there.
The focus of this article is on getting scholarships in East Asian countries, i.e. Japan, Korea, China, Thailand and Singapore. Countries like Japan and Korea are developing fast and investing a lot in the education sector. Their industries are fully supporting the academia, and it’s very easy to get a scholarship, only if you are persistent.

So let’s go directly to the tricks of the trade.

First step is to search the universities in your desired country on the internet. Once you go to the website of any university, go to the faculty and see who are the professors and observe what they are doing. Drop an individual email to the professors of your interest. No, they don’t mind you sending them an email directly. The email should contain your strengths and your desired area in few lines. The rates of response will be slow, one in ten probably, but if you get a response, that’s it! You are nearly there. Every professor has got industrial and governmental projects in his lab, for which he needs researchers to work upon. If he is interested in you, he will support your studies, will get the university to waive-off your tuition and will ensure that you are provided a living stipend so that you can simply relax and study!

It’s simple, isn’t it? Now if you want me to type an email for you, sorry I won’t do that for you. If you can read this, then your English is good enough, far better than a lot of Koreans and Japanese. English language is a great barrier especially in research for East Asian countries and they consider Pakistani students as a blessing. They need you to do research for them in English. Some universities like AJOU and KNU will give you direct access to the professors while for others you have to search the university website. Drop emails to the professors and wait for the response. I repeat, consistency and persistence is all that you need.

In each university, professors run labs based on industrial projects, so the funding is not an issue. If professor is interested in you, he will accept you and rest are formalities. For instance, in my lab, my professor accepted a medical student, who was a graduate in ophthalmology, to do PhD in Biomedical Engineering, a totally different field. I have seen people with the background of computer engineering having PhDs in chemical engineering. So it’s all about you, identify your area and locate the professors in those areas. Prefer the professors with more experience and more projects. Labs do have their websites, and it contains emails addresses of the PhD students, drop them an email as well. I know a lot of students who got scholarships by this method. Most importantly, you can find scholarships with living stipend for Masters degree without many prerequisites.
In the process, you might identify certain university scholarships, governmental scholarships, and some industrial scholarships. It was strange for me to see people with all those different scholarships, and their only ability was that they searched for it or someone told them about it. Korean and Japanese governments also give scholarship opportunities to the students of developing world, which need to be searched upon. For some students, even the tickets were paid by the professors. My professor paid my house rent for two consecutive years as I didn’t want to live in a dorm room.

The standard of education in the universities of East Asia, typically in Japan and Korea is getting much better. You can find quite a few of them in top 200 of international rankings. Tokyo University, National University of Singapore, KAIST, SNU and Yonsei are considered top class universities with tangible contribution towards research. One important factor which directly contributes towards the international ranking of a university is the number of enrolled foreign students; thats why the universities of East Asia are interested in attracting foreigners. Therefore, these universities are offering alot of opportunities to the foreign students, especially to those who are from developing world. So if you don’t have the fortunes to study in USA and UK etc, you can certainly utilize the opportunities which are being offered in East Asia.

Having said all this, life is not a piece of cake out there. You have to be strong enough to survive the test of times. If it doesn’t kill you, it will make u stronger. So if u can live alone, and live abroad in a different culture; then you can get the opportunity of studying there. Most importantly, once you are out and in the open, you learn a lot. The benefit of getting scholarship in East Asia would be that you can quit and move on at any time as there’s very little you have invested in monetary terms. There is no bond and you have free will to carry on or quit. In short, all you need is passion and the doors will open for you InshaALLAH.