musaafir-e dasht

On Wednesday, at the end of our Postcolonial Studies class, our teacher, Mr Tayyab Zaidi, asked all of us as to how exactly we "faced the book." A unique way of putting it, indeed. The question was followed by a brief discussion as to what did we do in response to the entire facebook episode. The teacher then remained quiet for sometime while we - the students - indulged in a brief conversation about various issues such as the advantage or uselessness of forwarding text messages about the issue etc. The discussion ended when I rephrased a statement given by a religious scholar when the Danish cartoons were published. I won't repeat what I said, but will copy here what he actually said before I write down the response of my teacher. So here goes, Our beloved shaykh (DB) mentioned about 5 years ago when the Denmark issue occurred, “When the world wants to boycott this country or these products for their wrongs, then that is in its own place.  However, if you really want to ...

This is probably one of the most convincing articles I have read on social networking websites. I had always been uncomfortable about them but was never able to articulate my thoughts as clearly as the following article does. A great critique of the phenomenon called, Social Networking. A must-read! Facebook: Social Networking or Social Engineering?   By Mirza Yawar Baig   The big question is, ‘What is social networking and how is it useful?’   Of course you will hear the usual bleating saying, ‘It is so nice to know what my sister is doing….blah, blah.’   So ask this person, ‘Why can’t you send your sister an email asking what she is doing and she can respond to you. Or even better, if you can, call your sister and talk to her.’ But no, I must talk to my sister in a space where it is not only the sister who is listening but almost anyone who cares to listen, even if that person is a total stranger. So is it about your concern for your sister or is it some...

A thought provoking article on the subject... With the latest in-your-face act of the Facebook, the issue is once again attracting headlines. Should Muslims react? How should they react? Where do they stand on the philosophical issue underlying all this?  In the media the issue has been framed as a clash between two camps. One camp stands for freedom of expression. The other wants to curtail it.  Needless to say the first camp is enlightened and virtuous. The other is a relic of the dark ages. The clash in other words is between a civilized and civilizing West and Islam that just refuses to be civilized.  Once you accept this framing of the whole issue, the outcome is already decided. Are you for freedom of expression or not? It is a loaded question, and just like the yes/no question, “Have you stopped beating your wife?” no matter how you answer it, you remain guilty.  Look at the typical Muslim response which begins, “We also believe in freedom of expression bu...

... And thus is the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wassallam addressed by the Lord Himself in the Qur'an. The attempts to denigrate someone whose stations are raised to the highest of levels by Allah SWT Himself, are like trying to spit at the moon. And who has been able to do that ever without dirtying one's own face!

I just returned home after a long, hectic day. I was not able to sleep last night since I had to complete an assignment which was due for submission today. So my day actually started at 11 p.m. yesterday! The first news I got was that of Hadhrat Khawaja Khan Muhammad Sahab's visaal.  We had been listening his name since childhood for his khanqah  is situated in a neighbouring village of my father's hometown. Hadhrat was 98 years old and was a shaykh in the Naqshbandi silsilah.  Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raaj'iuun. May Allah keep his spirit alive in his followers and may we continue to benefit from Shaykh's teachings. Aameen.  "ہم روح سفر ہیں ہمیں ناموں سے نہ پہچان کل  کسی  اور نام سے آجاییں گے ہم لوگ" Such people never die. They are the chosen ones whose stations remain elevated in both the worlds... **** Finally, it was time to set out for the university. I took my last class in the social work department, motivated (or at...

source O you who believe! If a Fasiq (liar-evil person) comes to you with any news, verify it, lest you should harm people in ignorance, and afterwards you become regretful for what you have done.                                                                                                                                                                         ...