Tagheyyur.

This interview is divided into series for easy reading purpose. You can read parts I , II , III and IV as mentioned. During freedom movement, the Muslims sadly didn't have access to different forms of media as Indian Congress had. Congress even had voices in British Parliament which spoke on their behalf; ruling Muslims totally out of mainstream. As a result, common English person didn't know which minorities existed in sub-continent and what was their stance. In this backdrop, they were unaware of Muslims' struggles and how they were subjugated. And so they were in favor of United India. Also, it was (and also today) falsely believed that British wanted to create Pakistan. It is one of the greatest lies of history. Quaid-e-Azam made it a point in many of his speeches that "it was the common man who came first. You (educated people) came later" [for Pakistan Movement]. It is also discussed in detail in Mr. Khurram Ali Shafique's new book, Aazadi (u...

  (Int erview continues) SELF(BN): And does that also apply to defense? JINNAH: Of course it applies to defense. Once again I will ask you a question. How is Afghanistan defended? Well? The answer is not very complicated. By the Afghans. Just that. We are a brave and united people who are prepared to work and, if neces- sary, fight. So how does the question of defence present any peculiar difficulties? In what way do we differ from other nations? From Iran, for example? Obviously, there will have to be a transition period. We are not asking the British to quit India overnight. The British have helped to make this gigantic muddle, and they must stay and help to clear it up. But before they can do that, they will have to do a lot of hard thinking. And that reminds me I have something I would like to show you. He excused himself and left the room. I lit a cigarette and waited. And suddenly I realized that something very remarkable was happening, or rather was ...

This is the third part of the interview series. You can read previous parts here and here . Beverly Nichols interviewed Quaid-e-Azam in 1943 and included it in his book "Verdict On India". He was quite taken with Quaid's personality. Look how he describes him [Jinnah] in the chapter when he reached at his place to meet him.  THE most important man in Asia is sixty-seven, tall, thin, and elegant, with a monocle on a grey silk cord, and a stiff white collar which he wears in the hottest weather. [...] I have called Mr. Jinnah 'the most important man in Asia That was to ensure that you kept him spotlit in your mind. Like all superlatives the description is open to argument, but it is not really so far from the truth. India is likely to be the world's greatest problem for some years to come, and Mr. Jinnah is in a position of unique strategic importance. He can sway the battle this way or that as he chooses.    JINNAH: [with a smile] What other question...

It is a common notion that Quaid-e-Azam united Muslims of India but it is hardly ever acknowledged that the Muslims of India were an organic entity and it was growing on its own terms especially after 1857. This aspect is discussed in depth in my teacher's book "Azaadi" in which he describes painstakingly how Muslim Nation evolved and Pakistan came into being. I am by no means diminishing Quaid's role in freedom movement, no. What I mean to highlight is the Muslims of India had developed their intuition and they were growing onto that. Quaid himself always believed that the people had bestowed the power upon him and not vice versa. He acknowledged this principle number of times. For example, when he was proposing the 14 points for Muslim League he clearly conveyed that these are only suggestions based upon numerous meetings with different minority groups within India and it is unto these groups whether they accept them or reject them.  Here, in below responses al...

“Nations are born in the heart of a poet, they prosper and die in the hands of a politician.” Stray Reflections .   Today we, the Pakistani nation, proudly boast of being the nation who was born in the heart of one of the greatest poet of world history. Dr. AllamaIqbal stands tall among the giants who go on living despite of having ceased to exist in the world. Iqbal is one of those people who personify the concept of immortality. After many decades of his death, he still lives in many forms among us; through his written work, his services, and his ideas. He is among those few people who are cherished and owned equally by East and West and his work has been researched and appraised by scholars around the world. Today I am going to look into one of the many facets, which make him a legend. I want us to remember why we need him now and what he has to offer us in these trying times. When I started studying AllamaIqbal, the thing that struck me most was the gra...

Ibn Rajab writes (in verse form): ♦ ‘O you who were not content to sin just in Rajab; But disobeyed your Lord, even in Sha‘ban. The fasting month has come now to shade you, Turn it not into a month of sinfulness too. Recite the Qur’an and glorify God, diligently; For it is the month of glorification and Qur’an. Deny bodily appetites, seeking salvation through it; For soon bodies shall be consumed by the Fire. How many you knew who fasted previously: From among family, neighbours and brothers. Death obliterated them, leaving you to live on; How close are the the living to those who are dead. You take pride in your  ‘ Id clothes, cut to fit; Yet the morrow they will be your burial shrouds! Until when will man dwell in his place of dwelling? Knowing his ultimate abode is the grave.’ 1 ≈ 1.  Lata’if al-Ma‘arif  (Riyadh: Dar Ibn Khuzaymah, 2007), 351-2.

  The following piece was first published on this blog, on 28th August, 2012. It  has been edited and republished at  www.islamicate.co.uk  and reposted here with kind permission. There’s only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self,’ said Aldous Huxley, the English novelist best known for his dystopian novel,  Brave New World. In his exploration of the dilemmas confronting modern man – the rise of capitalism, the dehumanising demands of technology and progress and the cult of self-worship and instant gratification – Huxley hits on many truisms in his chilling forecasts to the modern world. This month will see Muslims the world over observe the fasts of Ramadan. Ramadan, essentially, is the month in which believers are required to buckle down more consciously and improve their own ‘corner of the universe.’ The month is marked by heightened religious observance and also a keener sense of social cohesion, a...

The current state of our planet is one wherein there is huge imbalance and pollution; where the equilibrium of our Earth has been greatly corrupted. Armed conflicts and wars are increasing across the globe; the economies of an ever-increasing number of countries are in meltdown as global capitalism spirals out of control; and we continue to inch ever closer to environmental destruction, to a point where it could be beyond repair. Modern man, instead of being a caretaker of the earth, has become its most deadly predator: damaging the planet, devouring its natural resources and destroying his fellow man! The Qur’an says: Corruption has appeared on land and on sea for what men’s hands have earned, that He may make them taste a part of that which they have done, so that they may repent. [30:41] Corruption (fasad, in Arabic) is defined as: khuruj al-shay’ ‘ani’l-i‘tidal – “A thing leaving a balanced state.”1 In other words, corruption is when something has become ruined, contaminate...

[The following is the transcript from the video khutbah of Shaykh Yasir Qadhi on the Syrian crisis.  The transcript includes slight modifications for the sake of readability and clarity.] Part 1 My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, one of the very few lands that our Prophet   has mentioned in numerous traditions, and in fact even before him, Allāh  has mentioned by reference in the Qur'ān is the land of Shām, which is now the land of Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Filistīne.  This land clearly our tradition, our religion has emphasized it like no other land after the land of Ḥijāz.  There is no question that Mecca and Madīnah, the land of Ḥijāz, is the most sacred land on earth, but after the Ḥijāz comes the land of Syria. Allāh  Himself praises it in the Qur'ān in the beginning of Sūrat'l-Isrā' when He says, “masjid'l-Aqṣa, the land that We have blessed around it.”  Allāh  says that masjid'l-Aqṣa is holy, and not just the masjid but the l...