Tagheyyur.

Aazadi book lays down the journey of freedom from slavery and foreign rule. This book breaks so many idols and brings out shocking facts, yes facts which were literally erased from our books, minds, hearts. It rightly claims that if only we accept what is presented in this book we will have our legacy again., and it is not a mere wish of the author but what our hailed ancestors struggled and lived for. Where do we come from? Why did we come out of India? How did it happen and many more likely questions are answered in this book. It is usually wrongly believed that there was mutual hate among Muslims, Hindus and Britishers and thats how Pakistan came into being. The author discusses this lie which is fed especially to young Muslim of Pakistan. The hate was not mutual. Neither it always existed. Hindus and Muslims lived peacefully in Muslim Empire. Muslim Emperors went out of their ways to keep the peace for Hindus and not make them feel they were ruled by foreigners....

The 9th batch of Introduction to Iqbal Studies started this month and I am co-facilitating it with my honorable teacher Mr. Khurram Ali Shafique. This post is about my long journey at Marghdeen Learning Centre; first as a participant and then actively working for it. Interestingly, I was in the first batch of Introduction to Iqbal Studies in June 2011 when it all started. and at that time I had never imagined that I will be one day assisting my teacher run this very course. I remember how I felt when I started studying at MLC. It was the first time I took up virtual learning seriously [apart from my Spanish online lessons]. I was skeptic of some of the ideas presented in the lessons but our teacher was ever so patient and led me to the point where I became devoted to that very idea, the city of Marghdeen . Looking back at myself in my fresh year I was unrelenting, rigid and well, n aïve . Running this course with my teacher is proving to be so healthy, spiritually! It feels ...

The mind of Goethe, The heart of Rumi, The message of the Quran. This was the unparalleled legacy of the poet-philosopher credited with birthing a nation and a state, and at no other time has the world been more ready to embrace his ideas than it is right now.  The story of his mind, and what he taught, as told herein from a new and compelling angle, leads us on a trail of discovery towards a new way of life. You're invited to approach this as a handbook for implementing his life-giving ideas. The above-quoted blurb reflects the spirit in which my new book, Iqbal: His Life and Our Times, is being offered. The book is a tribute to Iqbal by ten sovereign states, since it is being published jointly by Iqbal Academy Pakistan and the Cultural Institute of the Economic Cooperation Organization, which is the successor organization of the RCD and now includes Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The...

"God", says Allama Iqbal, "is the birthright of every human being." He further states that there is fear in nature and man must be liberated from fear and thus become conscious of himself or herself since there's no mediator. ( Islam as Moral and Political Ideal ) In another* place he states, Tauheed is the manifestation of solidarity, equality and freedom.  Now think about what if each human being on this planet starts exercising this right.   * Our online course, Wisdom of Moses, explains this principle quite beautifully. you can also check this principle here  and here .

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...

The lecture 'Islam as a Moral and Political Ideal' was delivered at the annual session of Anjuman Himayat-e-Islam in 1909 and published in The Observer, Lahore, and the Hindustan Review, Deccan, in April and December that year respectively. "The eternal proposition regulating the structure of Islam is that there is a fear in nature and the human being must be liberated from fear and thus become conscious of himself or herself as a source of power; there's no mediator since God is the "birthright" of every human being. "A strong will in a strong body" is the ethical ideal of Islam, completely missing in the Indian Muslim; a great personality is needed for ethical revival of a people. An educational system reflecting its national ideals is the next best option.  Democracy is the most important political value in Islam while two fundamental principles regulating its political structures are that (1) the law of God is supreme, since the authority...

My favorite passage from Javed Namah, an epic story told by Allama Iqbal. “In this world there is no beggar,” said the Martian Astronomer, “Nor anyone is poor; no slave, no master – no ruler and thus none dominated.” I said, “Being born a beggar or a destitute, to be ruled or suppressed, is all by the decree of God. He alone is the architect of destiny. Destiny cannot be improved by reasoning.” “If you are suffering at the hands of destiny,” replied the Martian astronomer with a visible anger, “It is not unfair to ask God for a new one. He has no shortage of destinies for you. Failure to understand the mystical significance of destiny has led the inhabitants of the Earth to lose their identities. Here is a hint to the secret of destiny: change yourself and your destiny will change with you. If you are dust, you shall be scattered by the wind. But if you become solid as a rock, you can break the glass. If you are dewdrop, then you are destined to fall but if you are an ocean, t...

Why did Iqbal have to propose a "reconstruction" of religious thought when he wrote his  The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam? Could it be that he perceived well the locus in need of this reconstruction and precisely how the reconstruction needed to occur?  I would argue yes to both points.    In Iqbal's,  The Book of Slavery  (part of his  Persian Psalms , 1927), he wrote: "The fetters are not on feet, but on the heart and soul; this is indeed a very intriguing situation." In The Book of Slavery, Iqbal appears to have been anticipating a situation with which many Muslims in the world today resonate.  In his own day, Iqbal saw firsthand the political slavery associated with the colonizers.  He also believed that this political slavery was influencing, and enervating toward, religious beliefs and faith.  It is this that could be termed Iqbal's concept of the religion of slaves.   Iqbal, applying his deep psychologic...

"Nations are born in the hearts of poets; they prosper and die in the hands of politicians."                                                                                       --Iqbal, Stray Reflections (1910) Our mentor, Mr. Khurram Ali Shafique has deduced after years of his research in Iqbal studies that  Iqbal believed that literature plays the most important role in the life of a nation. In fact, he treated literature like a collective dream which comes true. Therefore, the most courageous and daring stand which Iqbal Studies demands from us is that we insist that if anything is wrong in the world, its ultimate root can be traced in the kind of literature that has been venerated, and if we want to bring any positive change, the first step has to be the repre...

Cover from Roo Communication Design To be published by  Libredux, UK on 14 August 2012 , 65th Independence Day of Pakistan 1947 was the moment when whole nation was thinking about one object - Pakistan. The history is repeating itself. We are on the same point where we all are concerned for our land. At that time, the concentration produced Pakistan. What this nation is going to deliver this time?  Think. Are we going to take Pakistan to the boundless heights or are we going to lose it as a nation.  this is the moment to decide.  And Act. you can have a free copy of this ebook from here . Note: This offer expires at midnight, 18 August (California time).