Sunday Surkhi--Basant Ban in Pakistan

 Apparently in 2005 basant celebration was banned on flimsy reasons like accidents of kite flying and the sharpness of the threads etc.
 Probably there were other reasons like drinking-partying which were not mentioned (purposely?) openly. Such celebrations have been going on as a cultural phenomenon for ages and "untoward side-effects"(accidental deaths etc.) were known but ignored. Why should the government/court be concerned? Not clear and here I agree with the Dawn columnist Irfan that it is not a "Hindu" religious celebration.
 Islam admits all culture as long as there is no Haraam thing attached to it.
 Speaking of Basant I would say
 Flying kites is cheap fun and needs parental warning to be safe.
Drinking alcohol is haraam and should be treated as un-allowed-punishable etc.
Partying for fun and enjoyment related to 'seasonal change' is not Hindu but Hindi culture and cannot be considered un-islamic any more than dancing girls/boys at marriage/Menhdi occasions (Agree with Irfan)
This is similar to  banning videos and  VCRs instead of controlling the contents of films. It reminds me of when loudspeakers were first introduced, they were considered "voices of devil" and now every Masjid has it (Boy! dont we know that)

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Jum'ah Journal- Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi

 This Jum'ah is actually 11th of Rabi'-ul Awwal. Prohet's birthday is usually celebrated on 12th of Rabi'-al-Awwal
 Like the birthday of Eisa AS which definitely is not 25th of December, the exact date of birth of Muhammad Ibn Abdullah Sallallahu Alaihiwasallam is not definitely known. Almost certainly it was Monday (day of the Week) and many dates in this month are considered authentic but 12th is more agreed upon so the 'celebration'
  I do not know when Maulood or Milad started being celebrated in the history but it was definitely not celebrated during the early period of Islam. There is no question that this was a very important event in the history of mankind  (Like Yusuf Islam says) but all kind of poorly understood and week ahadeeth and perhaps even maudooa' ones are narrated in such 'celebrations' which I am not going to narrate here. There is definitely lot of exaggeration totally unwanted and sometimes disrespectful
  It is not considered strictly speaking a "religious" duty but today all over the Muslim world you will find this day a holiday and celebrations that take on a cultural color according to the country where it is celebrated. From my days of Lahore (1948 to 1959) I did not see such celebrations that I see now-a-days. I have attended "milads" yes and have enjoyed N'at khwani (poetry in praise of the prophet SAWS) but the reason for which the group of people will stand-up to say "darood" (salawat) on the prophet is not popular with me. I heard that "because the prophet is now in our midst in this 'majlis' (sitting) we should stand up" As a child it appeared strange to me but when I read this sahih hadeeth I knew why I did not lik it.
Narrated in Abu Dawood from Abu Umamah RA said that one day we were in the Masjid sitting and the prophet SAWS came to us leaning on a staff and we all stood up. He said Do not stand up for me like the 'ajami' (non-Arab?) people who do that for each-other (way of showing respect)'
  There is no doubt that Muslims should say salat (darood) on the prophet SAWS daily (and we do in each salat many time daily) as  the Qur'an says clearly (Sura al-ahzab)

Yusuf Ali

Allah and His angels send blessings on the Prophet: O ye that believe! Send ye blessings on him, and salute him with all respect.

Muslims are also encouraged to send blessings on the prophet PBUH on Fridays.
  There is no doubt that we as human beings and especially Muslims owe a lot of respect for this man. We cannot thank him enough and we cannot be grateful to the Almighty enough for "giving" us this man, sending him for our guidance for indeed we were really totally lost without him and he showed us the right way. There are more solid and pressing reasons for us to do that (be thankful) than what I am writing here.

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Law regarding transplantation/donation of organs in Pakistan

 I do not know the details of the recently passed law in Pakistan for organ donation and transplantation. What I understand from this law that no foriegners will be able to get the organ transplantation done and there will be some other limitations on how the donations will be allowed.
 Apparently there was brisk business going on (Just like there was a similar problem reported in Iran last year) whereby "Kidneys" were obtained from "healthy" people (Very poor who was "selling" his kidney for feeding his family or some other survival strategy of the very poor) who were paid for the gift of life in rupees and then transplantation performed by the surgeon (they need their practice stopped by appropriate organization and the Government) who gets paid by the foreigner in amounts far above the "price" of the kidney.
The law is very welcome indeed. I wonder how such abominable activity of surgeons/physicians occurs  and what are they looking for , some more mony?
How many surgeons can be considered poor enough to try to justify that?
 I am ashamed of such colleagues in my profession. If I was in Pakistan I would deal sternly with such surgeons

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Jum'ah Journal-Inebriation and alcohol

Sorry I got late.
Nothing unusual for us to see the effects of drinking alcohol and its after effects, and at least we know these effects have been known for centuries.
Some of the  remarkable comments in Qur'an-el-majeed:
S. Waqiah (56th) Aya 18 and 19
باکواب وا اباریق وا کاس میں معین - لا یصدعون عنھا ولا ینزفون-
"With goblets (shining) beakers and cups (filled) out of clear-flowing fountains
No after-ache will they receive therefrom nor will they suffer intoxication"(Yusuf Ali)
 "With goblets and ewers and cups filled with water from unsullied springs, by which their minds will not be clouded and which will not make them drunk"  (Muhammad Asad)
شراب چشمہءجاری سے لبریز پیالے اور کنٹر اور ساغر لیئے دوڑتے پھرتے ہونگے جسے پی کرنہ ان کا سرچکرائے گا نہ ان کی عقل میں فتور آئےگا
"(They will be hurrying around) with goblets and ewers and cups filled with drink from the everflowing spring drinking which will not make them dizzy nor will it make their minds cloudy"  --Maudoodi)
  (Mufti Muhammad Shafi's )آبخورےاور کوزے اور پیالہ نتھری شراب کا جس سے نہ سر دکھے نہ بلواس لگے
Goblets and ewers and cup of clear drink which causes neither headache nor nonsensical talk.
 Note the differences in translations of the words  یصدعون 'Yasdaoon' and ینزفون 'Yunzifoon', two effects of heavy drinking
 Surah Nisaa  (4th) and sura Hajj (22nd) the word for drunkun-ness used is 'sukara', as follows:
       یا ایھا الذین آمنوا لا تقربا الصلواۃ و انتم سکاری احتی ا تعلموا ما تقولون۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔
"O ye who believe! approach not prayers in a state of intoxication, until ye understand all that ye say---"
 و تری الناس سکاری ا، و ما ھم بسکاری ا ولاکنّ عذاب اللہ شدید
"Thou shall see mankind as in a drunken riot yet not drunk but dreadful will be the chastisement of Allah"  (Yusuf Ali)
  "Yasdaoon" carries the meaning of headache which M. Asad renders as cloudiness of mind (similar to meaning of 'sukara') and Maudoodi calls it  diziness. Anyway in these verses the Qur.an mentions two or three well-recognised results of drinking hard liquer
1. headache or dizziness
2. C;oudiness of mind
3. Saying things that you dont understand
   Headache is an "after-effect" (which is why Yusuf Ali calls it 'after-ache') that the Holywood movies have popularized so much and drunkenness or as they say one step forward and two steps backward, which is what kind of gait is described in S. Hajj "they will appear drunk but will not be drunk" because of the fear and awe of the day of Qiyamah. Lastly the "until you know what you are saying" type of talk/speech.
   From a neurologist's point of view, the question of headache is interesting because I used to teach the residents and students about the "absence" of headache in the drunks they see in the ER, which sometimes if you ask the man he may oblige you with an unemotional answer "O yes I have headache" but will not volunteer that statement and even if he clearly denies headache the physician must continue to suspect a subdural hematoma the cardinal symptom of which is headache, missing which can be fatal.

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Jum'ah Journal- about Qur'an

Many a people both believers as well as non-believers have made remarkable comments about this book but none, in my knowledge has touched my heart as much as this one.
      So, I would like to share with you this comment written by a Mr. John Penrice in 1873 (Old but very quotable)

 "It is not to be expected that all the transcendent excellencies and miraculous beauties discovered in the Qur'an by its commentators and others should immediately unveil themselves to our cold unsympathizing gaze; beauties there are many and great; ideas highly poetical are clothed in rich and appropriate language, which unfrequently rises to a sublimity far beyond the reach of any translation ; but it is unfortunately the case that many of those graces which present themselves to the admiration of the finished scholar are but so many stumbling blocks in the way of the beginner; the marvellous conciseness which adds so greatly to the force and energy of its expressions cannot fail to perplex him while the frequent use of ellipse leaves in his mind a feeling of vagueness not altogether out of character in a work of its oracular and "soi-disant" prophetic nature."

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Snow storms-This year in USA

There is so much snow in Washington area and Virginia area that Musa (my grandson in Maryland) says if you go out you may get burried in snow. I am afraid he is right and in NJ I heard the news of a child playing in the yard did get burried and sad for the parents took her out too late. Normally you let the kids have fun but this was a very sad news.

No! the above is not USA, That was in Murree (Pakistan) in 1956 X-mas time, myself and Zaheer enjoying the snow. That is uncommon experience for Lahories or even Islamabadies. You have to travel up the mountains for such experience.

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Sunday Surkhi- Killing of 12 YEAR OLD GIRL

 I am sure you have all heard the news that in Lahore one wealthy man mistreated a "home-help" type of girl to the extent that she ended up losing her life. That Islam teaches good conduct with "slaves" is well-known and does not need my quoting ahadeeth or ayat of Qur'an.
 Why then this happens in "the third world' (Mostly Muslim) countries?
 Yes, true there is 'cultural' influence which has remained untouched by Islamic teachings but that is only  part of explanation. Non-Muslims as well as some Muslims question about the holy book:
 "Qur'an does not prohibit slavery "
 Meaning thereby that Man has done great service to the humanity whereas God failed to do that service. Superficially looking at this fact that Bible Taurat and all scriptures fail to mention prohibition of slavery. Does that mean God does not dislike slavery?
  Infact no such thing at all. God has given us principles of living WITH full knowledge of differences between men and women, men of high stature and men of the low, men of great intellectual powers and men of meager intellectual endowment and so on. God is wanting to judge  man according to His balanced Judgement. It is of little consequence to Him that one is a "slave" and the other Master. Both have to be equally answerable for what the slave was actually able to achieve AS A SLAVE (with minimal means and lot of  pardonable acts due to restriction and no provisions at his disposal) and what the master mustered in the way of goods AS A MASTER (who has more abilities, assets and possessions)
 So God has not given how Man should conduct his political career, nor that Democracy or other  '...cracies' are liked and promoted by Him but has insisted on Fairplay, Justice and equality in all "man-to-man" affairs. He has created 'in-equality" to judge and not for letting one group of men get the better of the other group with complete disregard to 'humanity' (human-ness)
 If democracy gives you the best chance to have a fairplay, justice and equality, yes promote democracy
 If socialism gives you such opportunities, let socialism be your choice
 If King-ship and subject type of realtionship can give you the same justice etc. then let there be kings and queeens.
  The bottom line is
 Do men and women get real freedom to live their lives to their fullest abilities without fear of injustice, racial or other prejudice etc. then that way for govenance amogst you is good otherwise the best of democracies, the best of King-Queen, the best of Socialistic regimes are but a game for the oppressor to oppress the weak er ones and nothing more.
 Do we not see that every where? No system has been found to be perfect except as I previously alluded to the 30-40 years of governance with justice during "Khilafat-rashidah"
Otherwise no matter what system you have you will always find such Choudhries (Please! all choudhries do not take it personal, I am not using this term for choudhry but a generic term for any oppressor whether Lord Xyz or his-her majesty or his or her excellencies etc.) and such miserable children of the low will continue to be mistreated.

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Muslims Killing Muslims

There is so much one can talk daily on this subject. Iraq and Pakistan both places showed bombing and killing of innocent Muslims BY MUSLIMS, The Qur'an is clear without giving any options, ifs ands or buts, such Muslims who kill a Muslim knowingly and withut reason, go straight to Hell and stay there for ever.
   4:93


         وَمَن يَقْتُلْ مُؤْمِنًا مُّتَعَمِّدًا فَجَزَاؤُهُ جَهَنَّمُ خَالِدًا فِيهَا وَغَضِبَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَلَعَنَهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُ عَذَابًا عَظِيمًا

"If a man kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell, to abide therein (For ever): And the wrath and the curse of Allah are upon him, and a dreadful penalty is prepared for him."
What I would like is that ALL media spend time and effort to maximize advertising this Aya and quote all the well-known present day Ulama of all sects in Pakistan, making sure all Ulama make this a forceful preaching from all pulpits on next Jum'ah Khutbahs and keep doing it for each khutba for the whole month, kind of "Month against Muslim killing"

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Jum'ah Journal-What have we done for the next generation

Ibraheem AS has left  lessons for us to what we should leave for the progeny. Was always thinking of his offsprings and their welfare, like praying to Allah SWT when he left his wife Bibi Sara and his young son Ismaeel in the desert so they could get food and water and fruits etc.

رَّبَّنَا إِنِّي أَسْكَنتُ مِن ذُرِّيَّتِي بِوَادٍ غَيْرِ ذِي زَرْعٍ عِندَ بَيْتِكَ الْمُحَرَّمِ رَبَّنَا لِيُقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ فَاجْعَلْ أَفْئِدَةً مِّنَ النَّاسِ تَهْوِي إِلَيْهِمْ وَارْزُقْهُم مِّنَ الثَّمَرَاتِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَشْكُرُونَ   (Yusuf Ali)

"O our Lord! I have made some of my offspring to dwell in a valley without cultivation, by Thy Sacred House; in order, O our Lord, that they may establish regular Prayer: so fill the hearts of some among men with love towards them, and feed them with fruits: so that they may give thanks."

  The most important legacy we leave for them is Iman and then comes after that the grain and the fruit and water.  What we brought from our home countries was minimal and God gave us good life here. Sure we can leave, beautiful houses, plenty of money and all the matterial stuff this great country has to offer but in the end what is really matterial and vital,  according to Maulana Yusuf Islahi (the author of the famous "everyday fiqh"), is making sure they have Iman.


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