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Friday, December 26, 2008

Jumáh Journal- Food that we eat

S. Baqara aya172
"O ye who believe! Eat of the good things that We have provided for you and be grateful to Allah if it is Him ye worship."
The word used in Qurán for good things is "Tayyebaat" which is pure and good and healthy etc. all combined. In USA we are familiar with all foods that are served or sold have their composition spelled out on the label. There is suggestion to that in Pakistan which came out from a "hair-raising" incident (A customer found a hair in the cake he bought)
Well, be that as it may, it will certainly be a good idea for Pakistanis and of course Muslims here in the USA are striving now harder to obtain "Tayyebaat" which is driving them to find not only halal but also organic and a good suggestion comes from a recently published article you can read here.
Additionally I have a story from Dr. Idrees, my friend who visited us from north this Thursday.
He was organizing a wedding party for his friend and arranged for big dishes to be filled with food cooked in Pakistani-Indian style. The party was due in about an hour and a half when he had to hurry back home after giving all the instructions for serving. This was happening at the University where he taught.
He had hardly reached home that he got a call from the university, "Sir you have to come back quick, the Food Inspector would not allow that food to be served. He tells us to throw it away"
Ya Khuda yeh majra kiya hay!!!
Idrees hurried back, worried to death, thinking how is he going to feed them and from where is he going to get the food that fast as the wedding party arrives in an hour.
So he asked show me what is the matter with food. They said the inspector found "Bugs".
When he was shown the actual "bugs" --hahahaha he started laughing-------
"BaRi Ilaaichi".
This particular condiment "pod" , sort of opens up when cooked and an "Inspector" may easily confuse it with a Bug's wings.

Monday, December 22, 2008

Her fird hay......

Iqbal (Álaihirrahmah) said

afraad kay haathoN maiN hay aqwaam ki taqdeer (the fate of the nations is in the hands of its
individuals)
her fird hay millat kay moqaddar ka sitara (Every individual is the star of the destiny of the
Nation)

There is a program of the President-elect Obama under which all over the Nation group discussions are being held regarding how wecan have better health care for America. This is between 15th and 31st of december, 2008 and the "proposals" or suggestions will provide the guidance and light under which he plans to devise the health care policy.

That this is happening is remarkable and historical.
That this is happeneing even before he takes charge is also remarkable.
I feel so proud to be American all over again. (like I was at the time of Elections).
He, the president-elect, is really making each of us feel like a star of the Nation.

I retired more than five years ago and during my last year of working as a physician I often thought I wish President Bush would ask me, I have such and such suggestion. Never thought it can happen at all. I just expressed a wish. Now it is actually happening and I am so disabled to participate in such discussions in my state, yet I am going to participate just to be able to say that I had something to say in these policies which may or may not turn out to be as good as I would like.
I do plan to write down some points briefly insha-Allah and submit especially how to cut the expences.

Friday, December 19, 2008

Jumáh Journal--Yaum-ul-Aakhir

Qiyamah (inUrdu Qiyamat), also the Yaum-ul-Aakhir:
is a concept common to all three monotheistic religions, Islam, and the religions of Jews and Christians (somehow I have difficulty in accepting Judaism and Christianity as proper).
However, Islam has laid a whole lot more stress on the belief or doctrine (Áqeeda) of the last day or the next world, hereafter etc. I am reminded, in this connection, of one very interesting word of Urdu (used for expressing death) "ïntiqaal" of an individual. Intiqaal means "transfer" and also the word "Rehlat" (journey) is used for the same. These words, entrenched in that aqeeda have come to indicate "journey or transfer of a person from this world to the other world".
There are so many verses of Qurán describing the day, the Hashr grounds or "'maidaan" where final decisions of what you have done good or bad will be judged by the Almighty and to drive home this point so we are urged to prepare for the other world while we are here in this world.
It is regarding this that this famous hadeeth is quoted (translated by me)
"(While in this world) work for this world like you have to stay here permanently and work for your Aakhira like you are going to die tomorrow" (I do not have its reference available at this time, help me out if you can find it)
Another similar one, is from Bukhari as follows:
from Abdullah Ibn Umar RA who said that the prophet SAWS said to me holding my two shoulders: "Live in this world as if you are a foreigner or a traveler."
There is farsi verse of meanings close but not similar to the above, also well known

" Gandum az gandum be-row-yed, jow ze jow
Az mukafat-e-ámal ghafil ma-show "
(Wheat grows from wheat and barley from barley, (so) dont be neglectful of the retribution of deeds)

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Shoe-hurling Journalist's story

I have laughed at the event shown on TV so often. Apparantly the Journalist has had lot of losses in his family making him angry and also all the losses Iraqis have had since Bush attacked that country.
Muslims are not supposed to show bad behavior toward their guests and from that point of view Arsalan Iftikhar's condemnation of the young journalist is appropriate. For no matter how much Iraqis have suffered or continue to suffer, that gesture is uncalled for just like the "bad behavior" and calling names of President Ahmedinijzad when he was invited to speak at the University of Columbia.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Sunday Surkhi- Pakistan news

There is everywhere news of war, destruction, bombing etc. and on our home front the automakers, bailout and other money matters
Could not find something worth writing. I looked at the Pakistani newspaper and read a strange statement which attracted my attention
"Muhtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed ki bersi per 6 (rail) garrian jalaingay"
My God the peoples party is at it again but why are they announcing that aweful thing before 26th of December, did we not see enough last year?

Then I realized, Jeem ki jageh Chay thee. (It was Chalaingay, not Jalaingay)
Meri Jan main Jan aai
I am still at a loss to understand the burning of Railway trains on 27th of December last year.

Friday, December 12, 2008

Jumáh Journal-Decision of God and the prophet

Sometimes we get carried away, in our limited "wisdom"that God has graced us with and encroach upon what has been decided by God or his apostle.
Like, "what is the need to slaughter three million animals now, for there is enough meat in S. Arabia, etc. etc.
Or "What? Allah has allowed Muslim men to marry Christian or Jewish women but has not allowed Muslim women to marry a Christain or a Jew?"
Or "what is the need for praying five times a day, why cant I pray just morning or at bed time all the prayers prescribed"
"Or ........... and there are many "objections"voiced by Muslims, without much knowledge.
It always worries me because "are we offering some advice" to God?
Do we consider our own opinion better than His (who created us and made some rules for us to live by?)
Speaking of myself as a physician working in some hospital I did have questions about why should I write this way, history of my patient or some other "rules" of the hospital that I did not consider "right" or necessary.
Did I not follow the rules? Oh no! I did follow and to the last detail., Nobody asked my opinion.
I did not venture to offer my opinions.
How then can I have the audacity of freely voicing complaint about God's decision; Crossing wits with my Creator?
Sura al-Ahzab 33rd sura, aya 36:
"It is not fitting for a believer man or a woman, when a matter has been decided by Allah and His apostle, to HAVE ANY OPTION about their decision. If anyone disobeys Allah and His apostle he is indeed on a clear wrong path".

I think we should be very careful about such "opinions" when trying to be "'progressive" or "modern" or "moderate"; just a word of caution.
Incidentally, 33rd sura is one of my fav. and it lays down many rules which distinguish the personality of the prophet (SAWS)from ordinary Muslims among other statements.

Sunday, December 07, 2008

Sunday Surkhi--3 million Hajis this year

Today is 9th of ZdulHijjah (12th month of the Islamic calendar) and just after Fajr prayer "takbeer"started and my heart filled with joy and eyes filled with tears I was instantly transported to Haram Shareef and Mina. My friend who watched on (Arabic) Al-Jazeera the Arafat Khutba and informed me they have finished "combined Zduhr and Ásr prayers" and are in "wuqoof". Wow.
Those of you who have performed Hajj will understand my feelings better and what I am writing about. Islam's ritual teachings of Hajj are impressive. Three million or more are in contact directly with their Creator and seeking out His mercy and Forgiveness crying out loud and repeating standing on a bare ground with the only covering of sky, outside their tents, wearing two unsewn pieces of cloth one around their loins and the other over the upper parts of the body (women wearing simple garments fully covering theirs).
What a feeling of awe-inspiring spiritual uplift for man.
While these rites of Hajj will continue for four more days I am reflecting on the state of Muslim Ummah which is exactly contrary to the unity of ummah, demonstarted so forcefully, at Hajj. All the Muslims divided into different "Nations" defined by geographical lines and within those their separate sects, separate political and other loyalties, mostly on each other's throats and even minor localities like different cities and towns of USA where the Muslims live, unfortuntely, the same divisions exist and I know that majority of Muslims in USA are well-educated. I must quote Iqbal (alihirrahmah)
"Munfaít aik hay iss qaum ki nuqsan bhi aik
Aik he subka nabi deen bhi iman bhi aik
haram-e-pak bhi, Allah bhi, Qurán bhi aik
Kuchh baRi bat thee hotay jo Muslaman bhi aik

(Gains of this Nation are one and the losses are also one
One prophet for all them and their faith is also one
The sacred Mosque, God, the Qurán is also one
Was it too much for all the Muslims that they could also be one?).

Very simple yet so powerful way of teaching unity. Iqbal, what a philosopher, what a teacher, what a leader what a poet!!!

Friday, December 05, 2008

Jumáh Journal-- S Najm first Rukooa

I do not intend to go further (after finishing first rukooa See my posts of November 15, 28, December 3 and dec. 4, May also see Nov. 7 as it is also related).
Basically I wanted to post my own view on the explanations and stories connected with this Sura Mubarakah and you can appreciate it from that point of view.
Allah SWT has given a remarkable detail to impress upon (the Mushrikeen as well as Muslims of that time and for all times) us the essentials of waHi and some aspects of the unseen world so that we can be grateful to him. There is no other way to get this knowledge. I had always wondered why in this sura Allah has said so many things which are partially understandable and partially not, until I studied neurology more thoroughly. As I read more details from various mufassireen I got more and more excited as things started clearing in my mind.
I have tried to be brief but hope that you have enjoyed it as much as I have. many non-physicians can understand it too as I have not used too much of the medical jargon.
The rest of the surah also has many exciting aspects especially I would like you to understand the verses that step by step keep pounding increasingly the power of the Almighty Allah until in the end the verse of Sajdah declares the total awe and His Majesty and it is impossible not to prostrate as He commands. If you know Arabic it is easy for you to know what I am saying, but if you dont, learn the meanings of those verses of the second rukooa (from verse 42 onwards) and recite them loud, you will be wrapped up in that maze of these verses which when translated lose all that effect in any other language.
May Allah forgive me for my shortcomings in understanding and comprehension and mistakes I may have made because of my weaknesses
These are the BEST DAYS (and nights) of the Islamic year (Zdul-Hijjah first ten days) and I have benefited from concentrating on the Qurán and some of its verses (so I finished writing about the first rukooa of this Sura)

Thursday, December 04, 2008

Sura Najm--- Continued

Vision of the prophet SAWS
The prophet is said here to be looking at things nobody has seen although the Angel had appeared to previous prophets and Maryam AS (S. Maryam Aya 16-17) and in addition he saw "lote-tree beyond which none may pass" and that something shrouded it (God does not give details as the details have nothing to do with instruction.) I would also not go into those details. One comes across all kinds of "explanations" in books of tafsir and hadeeth which are just exaggerations, imaginations etc. of the (respectable ) companions, but they were only human. So I would suggest ignoring these embellishments.
Vision, as you know involves the process of imaging in the eye stimulating the rods and cones of retina and stimuli carried through the optic nerves up to geniculate ganglia and then the optic radiations spreading into the "Visual cortex" (area 17) and its further connections to other areas of the brain. Appears simple but it becomes complicated when you consider how the images are recognized by the brain. In very simple words for understanding it I would say that connections with memory areas of the brain help in recognizing. That is where the "patterns" are kept telling us that is a dog or a man or who the person is. Now the prophet looks at the grand figure of the archangel Gabriel, a magnificent sight and he "speaks" to make the prophet understand who he is as the prophet is familiar with the voice ( from the cave of Hira). The awe and his powers are described and the prophet is mentally and physically prepared for these unususal sighting experiences. If now the hadeeth says, "he fell down and lost consciousness till the angel wiped his mouth of the saliva and brought him back to consciousness" (and Ibn-Kathir says it is a weak hadeeth), I feel somewhat uneasy why such things continue in the ahadeeth literature), we have to throw such descriptions out. It is on these weak stories the orientalists thrive on their biased opinions and label the prophet as "epileptic". I have avoided many other stories telling about "nervousness and depression" of the prophet S. when there was a break in the Wahi for some time (Futart-ul-WaHi) that "he would go on the mountain to make himself fall from it". That is not the personality of the prophet S. I know of. (How did they knw why he was going on the mountain?)
Anyway coming back to his vision I would draw your attention to two ayat.
"The prophet's heart (and mind), in no way falsified that which he saw."
Maudoodi says :
Dil nay uss main jhoot nah milaya.
Asad says similar things in English. Maulana M. Shafi in his "Márif-ul-Quran" says the same but in explanation makes the following statement:
"Aankh nay jo kuch dekha hay qalb nay bhi uskay idraak main koi ghalti nahin ki aur iseeghalti ko ayat main lafz-e-Kazdb say tábir kiya hay" ( Whatever was seen by the eye, the heart also did not make a mistake in understanding. That mistake has been alluded to by the word "lie")
This comes closer to understanding the meanings, although all mufassireen have done their part in explaining and written at length about it.
That is the "Heart" I had mentioned above as "figurative" heart. What the prophet S. saw with his eyes and recognized the grand figure of Jibreel AS.
The second aya is "Sight never swerved, nor did it go wrong"
Pickthal says, "The eye turned not aside nor yet was overbold".
M.M Shafi says, "Behki nahin nigah aur na had say badhi"
Maudoodi says similar things.
The fact is that the prophet is in the unseen world and lot of "Unseen" objects are in his view. Both Mauddodi and M. Shafi explain that in such a situation where you are looking at strange things you are likely to "look around" in amazement and wonder and curiosity. The prophet S. was aware of his position and nearness to Allah and kept his calm and high deference and would not "look around", so the "sight did not turn aside or go overbold" (overbold is better alternative than go wrong for "Tagha", just like Shafi's "had say nahin badhi"
There is no doubt that these are extra-ordinary words and God Almighty has used these inimitable expressions for us to understand clearly what WaHi is and the next few ayat bring out other aspects why God has chosen here to describe the process of revelation.
Let me first give you a brief summery of the story which is well recorded in sahih ahadeeth that explain the contents of this Sura mubaraka.
The Story of Satanic Verses
First the next ayat: (19 to25)
"Afaraitum-ul-Laata wal-Uzza" ( Have ye seen Lat and Uzza?)
wa Manatath-thaliat-al-ukhra (And another, the third (goddess) Manat)
a-lakumuzd-zdakaru wa lah-ul-untha (What! For you the male sex and for Him the female?)
tilka izdan qismatun dhiza (behold, such would be indeed a division, most unfair)
in heya illa asmaa-un sammaitumooha antum (These are nothing but names which ye have
wa abaa-o-kum ma anzala-Allahu biha min devised ye and your fathers for which Allah
sultanin, inyattabi-óona illadz-dzanna wa ma has sent down no authority. they follow nothing
tahwal-anfus, wa laqad jaa-ahum-minr-rabbi but conjecture and what their souls desire,
him-ul-huda even though there has already come to them guidance fron their Lord.
um lil-insani ma tamanna (Nay! shall man have (just) anything he hankers after?
falillahil-aakhiratu wal oola (But it is to Allah that the End and the Beginning belong)

As I said before this was the revelation during early period of prophethood when he recited the sura in the Haram sharif and at the end he went into sajdah (prostration) and all the Muslims as well as the non-Muslims followed suite. (Maybe the non-Muslims later realized that they made a mistake) The Mushrikeen or the non-Musl;ims started saying that,
"we also performed sajdah because we heard the prophet saying (after thalitha-tal-ukhra) something like this:
Tilka ghuraniqat-ul-óla, wa inna shafaáthunna laturja" . So we thought he has come back to our deen now."
(meanings of this--- these are highly regarded goddesses and their intercession is definitely accepted)

These words they claim, and unfortunately some well-known Muslim scholars (Maudoodi gives the names of Hafiz Ibn Hajr, Abu Bakr Jassas, Zamakhshari and Ibn Jareer) agree that the prophet did "utter" and later "cancelled" (mansookh).
The best and worth reading discussion on these "Satanic Verses" is given by Maudoodi Rahemahullah in discussion of Ayat 51 and 52 of Sura Hajj (22nd sura) Basically what Maudoodi says is that the verses dont fit in the rest of the picture which is against the goddesses or their being highly regarded and secondly the Mushrikeen were overwhelmed by the power of the passages and in that awe performed the sajdah.
The ayat of sura 22 are:
"Never did We send an apostle or a prophet before thee, but, when he framed a desire, Satan threw in some (vanity) into his desire: but Allah will cancel anything that Satan throws in, and Allah will confirm (and establish) His signs: for Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom"
Now, if you see why Allah SWT has mentioned all these things related to WaHi, it starts making sense in which it is shown
That the Messenger Angel has extra-ordinary powers and is strictly faithful in discharging his duties (ameen) and cannot be ättacked"by anybody including Satan during the performance of such duties.
The prophet is extremely careful in listening and seeing. (see my "human being" aspects of the prophet I wrote before on November 7th.
Moreover I would like you to see the verses of S. al-Haaqqah 69th sura (aya 44-45-46:
Änd if the apostle were to invent any sayings in Our name, We should certainly seize him by his right hand and We should certainly then cut off the artery of his heart"
These are extremely harsh words God has used against the prophet and how then anybody can dare interpose any words in His sacred and well-guarded message to corrupt it.
I have given very brief account but surely you can look it up for more knowledge. So you can see that the "Satanic Verses"were a known catchy phrase already known to Muslims before Rushdie embarked on his propaganda against Islam under the guise of "freedom of speech".

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Surah Najm--Continued

Wahi, the revelation of God to us through Muhammad S..
In this process we have The messenger from God, the angel Gabriel (Jibreel AS), the receiver, human being, Muhammad S. and the message itself unaltered, uncorrupted, sacred, protected by God himself and therefore God has granted the power of protection to the angel against all creation (including the Satan).
The best definition of this Wahi, I found in the Bible and I quote (from King Jame's Version): Deutronomy 18, verse 18
"The prophet I shall raise from the midst of their brothers like you; and I shall indeed PUT MY WORDS IN HIS MOUTH, and he will certainly speak to them all that I shall command. (capitalization is mine)
You cant say it better. That was for "Nor doth he speak of (his) own desire, it is naught save an inspiration that is inspired.'"
Next Ayat from 5 to 10:
"'Allamahoo shadeed-ul-Qawa" (he was taught by one mighty in power)
"Zdu mirratin fastawa" (Endowed with wisdom, for he appeared in stately form)
"Wa huwa bil ufuq-il-ála" (while he he was in the highest part of the horizon)
"Thumma dana, fatadalla" ( Then he approached and came closer)
"Fakaana qaba qausain-e au adna" (and was at a distance of but two bowlengths or even nearer)
"Fa-auHa ila ábdihee ma auHa" (So did Allah convey the inspiration to His servant, conveyed, what He meant to convey)
Maudoodi (rahemhullah) translates as :
"Usay, zaberdast quwwat walay na taleem dee hay
Jo barra saheb-e-hikmat hay
Woh samnay aa kharra hua
Jabkeh woh balaai ufaq per tha
phir qareeb aaya aur ooper moallaq ho giya
yahan tak keh do kamanon kay baraber ya us say kam fasla reh giya
tub uss nay Aallah kay banday ko wahi punhchaai jo wahi bhi usay ponhchani thi
Asad (rahemahullah) renders it :
" something that a very mighty one has imparted to him
(Angel) endowed with surpassing power, who in time manifested himself in his true shape and form
appearing in the horizon's loftiest part
then he drew near and came close
until he was but two bow-lengths away or even nearer
And thus did (God) reveal unto His servant what He deemed right to reveal"

From my quotes of different ways of translation I think you get the concept or essence better.
Mufassireen explain the meanings of the two words "shadeed-ul-quwa and Zdu mirrah" which convey the extra-ordinary powers both physical and intellectual of the angel Gabriel (Why the Almighty has chosen to describe the powers of this angel? especailly at this location in Qurán, needs your attention).
Then again Asad's translation (of Fastawa) manifested himself in his true shape and form,
gives clearer understanding although somewhat lengthy, but all other mufassireen basically say the same thing in explanation.
Of course there are other comments about the "bow-lengths" which if you ignore the literal meanings you can easily guess that he came near at an arm's length (in our language) to talk.
A point I wish to clear up here (and is important)--- I am taking these verses depicting the power etc. of the angel and am ignoring the other understanding that these words indicate God himself. (there is alot of discussion about this "contraversy") I am not going to discuss that here because as you can see I am not accepting that but you may accept the alternative I have mentioned and I wont argue with you. I have taken Ayesha RA's understanding when she quotes the aya of Qurán, ""No vision can grasp Him..."(S. al-Anám aya 101) "la tudrikuhul absaar...."
Getting back to the powers of the angel Gabriel, God has also given the same in Sura Takwir and I am going to give you a long quote here from that sura as it conveys alot of what I am saying:
Ayat 19 to 27"(S. 81):
" verily this is a ord of a most honorable messenger (Jibreel AS)
endowed with power', held in honor by the Lord of the Throne
with authority there, (and) faithful to His trust
and (O people!) your companion is not possessed,
and without doubt he saw him in the clear horizon
Neither doth he withold grudgingly a knowledge of the unseen
nor is it the word of the satan accursed
then whither go ye
Verily this is a message to (all) the worlds."

Note in this passage the words used Ämeen"(faithful) and 'held in honor by the Lord of the throne" and you can see the emphasis God has placed on these aspects of the power of the angel. This is very very relevant to Wahi (and its preservation and protection from any adulteration or alteration and of course you know the famous aya
Ïnna naHno nazzalnal-Zdikra wa inna lahoo la-Hafizdoon" (S. 15, aya 9, We have without doubt sent down the message and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption))
Getting back to S. Najm (Ayat 11 to 18)
"Ma kazdab-al-fuadu ma ra-a"(The (prophet's mind) and heart in no way falsified that which he saw)
afatumaroonahu ál ma yara ( will ye then dispute with him concerning what he saw?)
walaqad ra-ahu nazlatan ukhra (For indeed he saw him at a second descent)
índa sidratil-muntaha (Near the lote-tree, beyond which none may pass)
índahu jannat-ul- mawa (Near it is the Garden of abode)
ízd yaghshas-sidrata ma yaghsha (behold the lote-tree was shrouded in mystery unspeakable)
ma zagh-al-basaru wa ma tagha (his sight never awerved, nor did it go wrong)
Laqad ra-a min ayat-e-Rabbih-il-Kubra (For truely did he see of the signs of his Lord the greatest- also translated by others "the greatest signs of his Lord").

Vision of the prophet is described, the wonderful sight of the angel and whatever else was there at the lote-tree and garden of Abode. Also note that mention is made of "second time" sighting. The prophet saw the angel in his true angelic shape and form twice, once at the "horizon" and again at he "Sidratul-Muntaha"--- these are the added verses here which came after mérajunnabi (year 620, the main sura being send down earlier in the year 614, see my previous note).

Here I must discuss the vision of the prophet and his "heart". I shall be referring to mufassireen but basically I have to take up the medical scientific aspects. God has used the words like "Fuad-plural af-eda" or "Qalb, plural Quloob" in the same way we in our ordinary language use it like:
memorizing by heart
or giving my heart to my beloved
etc. and we dont mean the lump of flesh but most of it means the "intelligence"
I am going to call it "figurative heart" or "allegorical heart".
I shall take up the prophet's "Vision" next time IA.

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Medical profession, how I chose.

Well, I have to go back to my village school where I finished my 8th class (Vernacular Final exam) I had scored well but not extra-ordinary. I was only 12 and may be hardly 4 foot and a couple of inches or so. I was poised to go to either Gujrat (Zamindara High school) or to Lahore (My older brother was in Lahore in MBBS classes. It was decided I was too young to go away from home. There was another reason. The school (D. B. Middle school Kakrali) was being elevated to High school level and the head master was reluctant to give me "school leaving certificate(Said, he did not want to lose a good student)
My "fate" maybe? I ended up staying in the village--That was 1946. Then started Pakistan-riots and Kashmir struggle etc. etc., no teachers were willing to come for many months". So some 'substitute teachers'' dragged the 9th class courses. Ultimately in the 10th class we had a BA, BT head master (Master Abdul-Aziz) and a second master who was MA (math) about whom I wrote some blog before (Master Bashir Ahmed Shah, who had announced his being the promised Ïmam Mehdi") and there was a science teacher(Master Abdul-Lateef). Kashmir trouble and "mujahideen"trouble (have written some before about that) interfered with our teachings etc. so when we appeared in our Matriculation exam, none of the students got First division, my position being 3rd. in class, just (high second division). Suffice it to say I was far from being educated and was thoroughly "paindoo" with so poor general knowledge that I did not know what to do in future.
Bhaijan Meraj had started his House Surgeon's job (in Mayo Hospital, after graduating MBBS) when I arrived in Lahore for starting my college. He asked me what did I wish to do, doctor?, engineer?, professor?, Lawyer? etc.
I had no clue but since everybody was a doctor (My two older brothers and my brother-in-law, a Vet. doctor) I thought maybe Engineer will be a good Idea. So when I went for interview to Government College Lahore (A great institution indeed, now a university), the principal was no other than "Pitrus", a well-known writer and highly educated erudite scholar. Now imagine me a tiny 4 ft. 11 inch with glasses on my face and not very robust health (inspite of having lived in the village, that is another story, will tell you later IA) and standing (actually sitting) before that scholar who had thick glasses on his face and looked all the more overwhelming with a serious look. I must have been very nervous. I remember he asked me about non-medical science subjects and I could not tell him the difference between medical and non-medical, or something to that effect.
The next day I went to see results of the interview--- I was not (not surprisingly) selected.
So my brother took me to Islamia college Lahore (Railway Rd.) and was with me for the interview with the Principal, Prof. M.D. Taseer, again a well-known erudite scholar and poet (Pitrus was more a writer, known for his "city of colleges"). Taseer's most well-known verse is:
dawer-e-Hashr mera naama-e-ámaal nah dekh
in main huchh perdah nasheenon kay bhi naam aatay hain"
(O! King of the final day of gathering, dont look at my 'document of deeds', it contains names of some 'veiled persons")
Anyway he looked at me and cracked a joke
ÿeh to mujhay kursi peh baitha nazar he nahin aata" (I can hardly see him sitting in the chair--trying to boost my morale from my short stature). As I would later find out he indeed was a jovial person and could make any gathering filled with laughter
Well. I was admitted as "non-medical F.Sc. student"
On the third day I was to go and pay my dues, but before I went there, all the friends of my brother (all doctors) made fun of me
"You! engineer?, just look at yourself; can you lift up a hammer?"(of course, as I said I was not physically very impressive) "You better go and change your subjects, you would be OK if you become a doctor.
So, I went and told the cashier what my intention was and he said it would be OK he'll accept the dues for that and he gave me my application form and I changed from non-medical' to medical in my own hand.
Allah Allah khair salla.