Tagheyyur.

“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...

This is a companion piece to the previous blog I wrote, called: British Muslims & their Strategies for Living in the UK (which can be read here ). Here, I will discuss a few of the principles which ought to animate our engagement with wider society and our fellow citizens; and how, in the time honoured tradition of Abrahamic monotheism, we are called upon to hold a mirror up to society and help steer it away from self-harm. One Qur’anic verse is particularly telling on this point, for it says: Thus have We made you a middle nation, that you may be witnesses over mankind and that the Messenger may be a witness over you. [2:143] Thus this ‘community of the middle way’, distant from all types of extremism; this ‘best part of everything,’ 1 has been tasked with the burden of being witnesses over mankind: witnesses to the truth of God’s Prophets and to the monotheistic message they each came with, and witnesses to the truth that a life lived in hedonistic pursuits w...

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...

There was a street cricket match last night in our area and the lights and colors it brought , in present circumstances, were so invigorating and uplifted my soul. Their cheers were the most melodious sound I have ever heard. The times in Karachi and in whole of Pakistan are very- I think testing would be a better word. I am not going to go into the tirade of how bad the times are. Everybody- who cares enough- knows it. What am I going to write here blew my mind and made me smile.  Pakistani nation is amazing. We, the people painstakingly, are mapping their mistakes, realizing them. And when mapping is done, they are working relentlessly to make them right. To put the country into right direction again. Everybody has got the hold on their special field and putting all of their efforts in it to make it better. Like bees work together- systematically. Slowly. Bit by bit. Motivation, inspiration, aspirations, the Will, of this group is one of the most beautiful things in the World...

"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 .

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...