Tagheyyur.

KARACHI :  Shahzeb Khan Shahzeb Khan didn’t even get time to change the clothes he wore to his sister’s valima. He was in his dark grey dress shirt and trousers when four 9mm bullets pierced through his car – a gleaming blue Swift which was an early birthday gift from his parents, and entered his body, eventually killing this popular 20 year old. The car which had somersaulted after the shooting near Mubarak Masjid in Karachi ’s upmarket Defence area on Tuesday morning, now stands silent opposite the Darakhshan Police Station, a sad reminder of what the spoilt young sons of feudal landlords can do if they or their friends are challenged. Ironically, Shahzeb Khan, the only son of his parents, was shot dead because of a small argument. He and his sister had just returned to their home in the Country Club Apartments from the wedding when a servant living in the building teased his sister. Shahzeb raised his voice against the harassment. But this did not sink in well...

(Guest post by Nimra Khursheed) Five minutes were remaining for the class to be dismissed when a student practically yelled from his seat: Jao na yar! (Get out  buddy!)  Witnessing no response another student joined in: Sir! Time is due! It was then a hustle bustle started at the back of the class where the boys were sitting , the remaining  students taking the lectures with boring faces. ‘‘Yes! I know the period is due. Thank you for the reminder .’’  Responded  the teacher glumly and headed for the rostrum to gather his belongings.                                                                                                              ------------------------------------...

The stadium was filled with blue. (India's cricket uniform is blue). Commentators were saying how they can't find the single green among this 'sea' of blue. (Obviously, who would have wanted to be burned alive by those biased people). Mum commented during the match that Pakistanis weren't granted the visas for today's match. We couldn't believe it. She said it's in today's paper. (The 'paper' who is the biggest trumpet for Pak-Ind friendship) and we were furious for India's hypocrisy, yet again. This is no hate post, I am hurt the way they treat us. It's unfair. and our representatives, who runs to them like a dog, who goes to it's master when called, wagging it's tail and gets kicked instead of being thrown a bone to him. I just want to show the real face of those who talk about 'Aman ki Asha', on both sides. This idea infuriates me from the very beginning. This hypocritical idea of Aman ki asha between India and Pak...

Image source . Edited version by and at  Mybitforchange.org Authors Hira Shamim |  Muhammad Umer Toor 1 “Sticks and drones may break our bones, but ftina really hurts” Few months back, Geo aired different kinds of ads of success stories in education. We were having very heated discussions with our friends on Facebook about those one-sided educational promos, in which only one type of education was being glorified: materialistic that helped people gain jobs, and not ethical and spiritual training. Then, nothing was too startling or alarming about it. With a very smooth transition, the message has been stepped up to a whole new level. Now they’ve come up with a very bold, exclusivist and provocative message: Taleem k siwa Paksitan ka matlab kaya? (‘Except education, what can be the meaning of Pakistan?’ No god but education?) [Emphasis ours.] The message is known to at least 44% of Pakistanis in a survey conducted by Gallup Pakistan. Alarms have been ra...

by  Brother Ali Ruqaya It was related by Anas bin Malik that the Prophet   (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him)  said:  “Seeking knowledge is obligatory upon every Muslim.”  [ Sunan Ibn Mâjah ] However, as with all things in our Deen, there are proper ways of going about doing things. We have a certain way of taking wudhu, making salaah, tasbeeh, zikr, fasting and hajj. Here we give you 7 etiquettes for knowledge seekers in sha Allah: 1. Have a sincere intention An example is: I am studying to help the ummah with this beneficial knowledge, to enlighten my intellectual growth...

Hmm.. Yesterday I was thinking about my new phone and the amount of time I spend with it. It reminded me of  Ishtiaq Ahmed's novels. On their second or third page there were some advises written by author for his (usually young) readers. Those were:  Make sure; 1- You have performed obligatory prayer. 2- your parents don't need your help 3- you have completed your homework.  If any of the above chore is left, kindly complete it and then start this novel.  Isn't it great?? I mean, how prudent he was. He didn't want his good intentions to be scoffed at in anyway. He never missed a single opportunity to teach us. Wow. We have grown up. We have learned many things. We need to apply them now. Wherever we are. Must not forget the tarbyah.    

(Guest post by Nimra Khursheed) ‘‘Who is going to come for the summary of what has been delivered uptil now?’’  The teacher demanded for a direct impromptu presentation.  Now? At hand presentation? Amidst a crowd of 60 people?! ‘‘And would like to gain a positive marking?’’  The teacher added eyeing the students.  Silence loomed from every corner of class. Fidgeting in their seats as to whom the teacher would now ask to present ; the students found the offer devouring , but they all had a common excuse: WE ARE NOT PREPARED!                                                                                                                           ...

They are right; pen is mightier than sword. Sword kills you at once, a momentary pain. Pen is another story, if it comes on to dig you deep and injecting venom into your veins than nothing can surpass it. You bleed out,  cutting yourself to take it out of your system but it keeps on killing you. Those words gives you an unspeakable grief, you cannot help but cry. And that's what I did. His words, his gall to offend my country made me cry. I had never thought that somebody would be so driven, audacious to really work to poison their readers. His words were plain hate for Pakistan. They were screaming out to their readers to give up on Pakistan, it's useless. I cannot copy his article here. No, just by thinking about it makes me angry and sad. People are always insulting Pakistan all the time. I don't understand them at all. How dare they speak evil of the thing I love the most. The most precious that ever happened to Muslims after a long time. A gift from Divine. A Reality....

The advertise of "Parhny likhny k siwa, Pakistan ka matlab kia" on Geo TV always disturb me. It makes me think, how would the education, they talk about in it, be able to change our generation's attitude and help us to work for the betterment of Pakistan? Because our education system is a total failure. It lacks the vision, reforms, and principles which a nation need to teach their young ones. In fact our syllabus has not been changed for like 40 years. I was shocked to discover some 6 or 7 years back that I studied same syllabus which my mother studied in her metric and on-wards. Would this kind of a syllabus make Pakistan a better place? Is it the meaning of Pakistan? Was it what Quaid, Iqbal, Jauhar, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan had in mind when they proposed and worked for Pakistan? A stagnant stale rotten education system which doesn't even help students to walk with the rest of the world? Make them slaves of the advanced nation and in inferiority complex with them? Sure...

Do you think that our conception of God influences how we see our role in the universe?  How, or how not? This was the question asked in our recent lesson. This lesson gave us a chance to explore the possibilities of a human in the light of Iqbal's third lecture in  Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam .  There are five elements in the Islamic conception of God, i.e. God is (a) the Infinite Ego; (b) Creative; (c) Knowing; (d) Powerful; and (e) Eternal What I understood from this lecture (and Mr. Khurram's discussion)  is that  the human  reflects in his actions and deeds whom he worships.  The character and color of the one who is worshiped are  automatically transferred into the worshiper. If someone worships  a mere statue then  ultimately they retain the habits of [the material] of their god. This is the case if someone worships money, and could be why the hypocrites are detested so much be...