Jumáh Journal--Control your words

There is a story about a slave and his master.
Bring the best part of the body for me (Wanted to eat something from the sacrificed animal).
The slave brought him the tongue.
Next he asked bring the worst part of the body for me.
The slave brought the tongue again.
So he asked how come the same thing can be best as well as worst.
The slave explained:
"Sir, use of this part of the body judiciously and properly can elevate your position and use of the same in-appropriately can precipitate your fall."
This is what I remember what I read long time ago.
I will end this by quoting from Hazdrat Ali RA,( I know there is hadeeth of the prophet about guarding the tongue which I am not quoting here.). This is said in a different way:
"Words are under your control until you have spoken them,
but you come under their control once you have spoken them"

Sunday Surkhi--Punjabi Custom

I was 11 yr. old when I came from Saugor (a city)to Punjab in my village Kotla, where I spent 4 wonderful years of my childhood.
It is not just a change from city to village but also change of way of living different language, aab-o-hawa etc. I was confronted with a variety of cultural aspects to get accustomed to.

When older persons come to meet you they have a way of expressing their piyar and dua combined in one act
sir peh hath pherna.
I had not experienced that before but all my Massis (khalas-friends of my mother) would do that on my head as I would greet them.
So, whats the big deal?
Well not much but they all would do that from back of my head to the front with sufficient pressure to undo all what I had tried to accomplish looking good with the appropriate use of a fine comb.
I had to go back to mirror and comb.
But it is so innocent and deservedly appropriate way of greeting that I do it frequently now here on the young ones but with one difference---making sure their hairdo is not messed up

Jumáh Journal--Moon Split

There is an "Email" around about some pic. of moon showing "split" which it is not but less educated Muslims are going round calling it "proof of Muhammad SAWS and his miracle"
The miracle as I remember was that the prophet PBUH raised his finger to split it to show to those denied him and God and then brought the two pieces together which to me means the two pieces were joined again. The miracle would NOT be a miracle if there is scientific explanation.
Looking up sura Qamar let me quote first two verses:
""The hour (of judgement) is nigh and the moon is cleft asunder. But if they see a sign they turn away and say" This is but a transient magic"
Let just quote what Allama Yusuf Ali says in the introduction of this sura
" This is an invitation to listen to the message and TURN TO TRUTH and righteousness"
Of course some more knowledgeable persons have already commented upon this moonsplit being scientific observation and NOT a SPLIT.

Jumáh Journal-Media and their respect

We live in an age of multimedia world, written, spoken. you-tube and other electronic media. These are all around us whether we like it or not. There are however those who take the news wisely, sift it with their own reasoning etc. Those who accept it as they are without question are surely at fault. After all God has given us the reasoning power for some purpose, right?
"O ye who believe, if a wicked person comes to you with any news, ascertain the truth, lest ye harm people unwittingly and afterwards become full of repentance for what ye have done"
Sura Hujuraat 49th sura verse #6. (Need I give you today's world example?)
A related statement of Hazrat Ali RA (From "Living and dying with Grace")
"Understand information you hear with reasoning of responsibility, NOT THE REASONING OF THE REPORTER, for there are many reports of knowledge but few are responsible." (Capitalization is mine)
How very correct even today. Of course the verses of Qurán Majeed are universal and timeless.
And God warns us in S. Bani Israeel, 17th sura, verse 36
" And pursue not that of which thou hast no knowledge; for every act of hearing, or of seeing or of (feeling in) the heart, will be enquired into (on the day of Judgement)." feeling in the heart can also be said to be use of intellect or reasoning with your intelligence.
May He protect us from following the wrong path.

Thermometer

Deputy Nazir Ahmad was a remarkable maulvi and his writings are a classic. There was sometimes in his writings humorous tinge worth a laugh. In "Ruya-e-sadiqa", he writes
"Angraiz to bala kay moojid hain thermameter aik qism ki nali nikaali hay uss say hararat ka derja máloom hota hay jo chahay dekh lay. iss nali kay aagay nabz aur qarooray aur zaban dekhnay ki zroorat baqi na rahi. Iss nali ko pehlay baghal main rakhtay thay ab munh main rakhnay lagay hain - aainda dekhiyay kahan rakhna tajweez karain."
May be he did not know or was familiar with the rectal placement, I dont know. I have similarly enjoyed Qudratullah Shahab who writes such humor more commonly.

Sunday Surkhi- Mothers day

Happy mothers day to all
For me it is like: zara umr-e-rafta ko aawaz dena

Well folks this is the way I feel
"Zindagi sari kati tujh say juda honay kay bád
too juda ho jaiy-gi, ay maN kabhi socha na tha
Yad kerta huN muhabbat, piyar tera aaj bhi
Hay abhi saaya fagan mayray liyay teri dua"
I hate to translate this one .

JumáhJournal--God is everywhere

" Each time you look up in the sky
Or watch the fluffy clouds drift by
Or feel the sunshine warm and bright
Or watch the dark turn into light
Or hear the bluebird sweetly sing
Or see the winter turn to spring
Or stop to pick a daffodil
Or gather violets on some hill
Or touch a leaf or see a tree
IT'S ALL GOD WHISPERING, THIS IS ME."

( Helen Steiner Rice- not her whole poem)

Poets are special people who see what everybody does and then
Alfaaz ko khoobsurat laRiyoN maiN pro daytay haiN

Music and Qur'an

Not much is given in my bio about this but there was a time, (when I was leaving Pakistan for the first time) I felt, how am I going to survive without access to music of my choice in the West.
I was very closely attached to classical (both vocal and instrumental) music and enjoyed raags as far as I could follow. Had no instruction in the classics but just enjoyed. (It all started from Bollywood songs) My favorite ones were Bhairaveen, Malkaus, PahaRi, Jayjaywanti Derbari and may have forgotten other names now. Many film songs based on classical and semiclassical tuning were also my fav as they were popular.
Sitar has always been appreciated by everybody but to be able to listen to BaRay Ghulamali Khan and such masters not many of my friends could sit with me to listen. I remember coming down with friends from Manchester to London to a program of Ravi Shanker.
Since my hearing acuity started failing, a time came when I could not enjoy music at all. So I quit but thanks to Allah SWT that I can still enjoy recitation of Qur'an and in fact I have become more and more sensitized to all the nuances of Qir'at and Tajweed. Tajweed is a science as well as an art of proper pronunciation of Qur'anic words. According to the teacher of my son Qir'at is a part of tajweed. There is so much music in all the recitations and the rhythm of the Qur'anic words that it amazes me, why I could not detect it before. I was in Badshahi Mosque Lahore in 1965 with my recording instruments when after Isha there was a competition of world famous Qaris, including the late Qari Abdul Basit Abdussamad. It was a very enjoyable evening (lasted till 3 am) but the way I feel the rhythm now is quite different as I was not initiated in Tajweed then. That is how I enjoy Ramazdan Taraweeh. I always missed being in Pakistan in Ramzan but now we have so many good hafiz in America I do not miss Pakistan at all. There is no doubt that a good voice and control enhances tajweed remarkably. Those Huffaz from Arabic speaking countries do a better job as they understand what they are reciting and are not in a hurry to "finish"and put emphasis on special ayat with repetition or with qir'at. This is real music.

SUNDAY SURKHI--MY FIRST NIGHT IN ENGLAND

Dr. Saeed Ahmed is a very close friend of mine who helped me initiate my "anglicization"
Since I am talking about my first leaving home let me continue.
Believe it or not the first thing I did after settling in my room is went to the pub. That's right my first evening and Saeed , my friend took me to a PUB.
I was hungry and hospital cafeteria was closed so he said let's go to the pub I'll get you a cheese sandwich. Of course his GF was with him. He started telling me all about beer that it is not what you think and that it is healthy etc. etc.
I said, spare me the details and get me some pineapple juice and the sandwich and I'll be happy.

Next day I sat down with him as he wanted to know my opinion about his GF and I told him she is fine. I was no expert but he was serious and wanted to know if it will be OK if he married her. Those days there was a lot of discussion in Pakistan times about "foreign wives", people writing in favor and against giving all the arguments so I started giving him such arguments. Saeed was not accustomed to my way of thinking and knew me as thoroughly as I knew him so I was not surprised when he cut me short abruptly (Very Saeed-like)
"I am in love with her and I am going to marry her"
Well there is not much I could say after that.
Yes he did and had four children mashallah. That is as far as I'll go telling about him. He has been a dear and sincere friend and the last time I met him was in Manchester when he was getting ready to go to Australia and I was getting ready to come to America. He retired as prof. of pediatric urology.

Jumáh Journal--Knowledge is the Key

The prophet (S) said, "Keep learning from cradle to grave"
"Ink of a writer is mightier than the blood of a martyr"
And of course many Quránic verses instill into the reader to learn from everything and everybody.
George Sarton writing the history of science mentions that from 8th century onwards one finds Muslim names in the history of science so that by 9th century you find only Muslim names making great advancements in science which become more and more prominent and non-Muslim names only begin to appear after 12th century and that by 14th century Muslim names disappear altogether in the history (Not a quote)
That is an important observation that we need to reflect on.
I firmly believe that the narrow line of thinking of the present day Muslim is from lack of real knowledge. The depth of knowledge is so disappointingly poor that even the statements of some learned Muslims of today leave you wondering when will the sun of Muslim knowledge rise.
Some are of the opinion
Even during the Islamic civilization the Christians and Jews made advances, meaning thereby that Muslims are not endowed with brains and they never were scientifically advanced.
Or that, only translations of previous scientific material was brought by Muslims. They themselves did not advance science.
Or, why talk about it and exaggerate what 'they' did (What they call in persian- Pidram sultan bood---my father was a sultan) we have no reason to be proud of those days.
I feel it is important to know about our past and use it as a stimulus to instigate the same spirit into the present day Muslims, for Allama Iqbal had expectations:
Sabaq phir parh sadaqat ka shujaát ka ádalat ka
Liya jaiayga tujh say kaam duniya ki imamat ka
(Prepare yourself with truthfulness, courageousness and Justice
For you are to perform as the leaders of the world)