Funny and heartwarming conversion story

I think the more correct term is 'reversion' as we are all born in a state of peaceful submission to the will of Allah i.e. in a state of Islam. Then our families take over and shape us in their molds. It must be very very difficult to break out. Those born into Muslim families often don't realize it as they may take their faith for granted. Treasure it and nurture it - never take it for granted.

See the peace on his face and his obvious happiness, mashaAllah.

Are you a friend?

How do we treat our friends?
We contact them often and we miss them if we are not in touch
We plan our time with them - and we get together without any plan too
We go over to their place when they call us - and even when they don't
We respond to them when they communicate with us
We take care not to offend them
We go out of our way to apologize to them if we hurt them in any way
We give them first preference over others
We give to them whatever they ask for - and more
We are nice to their family and friends too simply because they are associated with our friend
We dislike those who are not liked by our friend
We fight those who bad mouth our friend
We grant them favors and in fact go out of our way to oblige them
We listen to their advise and often accept it even if we don't like it
We trust them even with our lives
We may even give our lives for them
... and we have high expectations from them too and they live up to them.

Now let us ask ourselves:
Are we friends of Allah?

Food imperialism and the new world order

A most informative speech given in a UK church in 2007.

Eye See

To see the one eye you would probably need to use both eyes. Sounds more conspiracy theorist talk than reasoned thesis, but there is just too much out there for comfort.

Triple-E: Excellent Events and Entertainment (Pvt) Ltd (http://www.tripl-e.com/)



PTCL logo




Eye TV (who run Hum TV)


Samaa TV


KESC's new logo


Geo



Mobilink

Kara Film Festival


Aaj TV


Din News


Indus Vision & Indus Music



Logo from Super Dreams Resort ad Dawn Aug 1, 2009 page 15 Karachi Metropolitan
(http://epaper.dawn.com/Default.aspx?selpg=1726)



Pakistan’s first HIV positive cricket team will play its inaugural grand match in Karachi on August 14, 2009.
Source: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/media-gallery/17-a-positive-match-ek-01?pageDesign=new_mg_wht_detail12-3



Ajoka Theatre (http://www.ajoka.org.pk/)



National Accountability Bureau (http://www.nab.gov.pk/)


Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre (http://www.malc.org.pk/)

Mona Minkara - The Blind Leading the Bland

"When I was seven years old ... the doctor had told my mother that it wasn’t worth spending a penny on my education because I was going to be blind anyway. But as my life went on to prove, it was not I who had limited vision, but he."

This is another look-how-disadvantaged-I-was-yet-I-made-it-so-big story. All about struggling against odds, being helped by close ones and strangers alike and finally attaining heights of success. Very typical.

You can chose to enjoy it, smile over it, even shed a tear - and then move on. Or you can use this spark to ignite the passion of being a contributor rather than merely a receiver.

If I may suggest, this time let us not do what's typical.



Acknowledgement:
http://muslimmatters.org/2009/07/13/positively-muslim-in-the-west-july-2009-mona-minkara/

Shaheedat ul Hijab

She was stabbed eighteen times in a courtroom by a man appealing against a fine for harassing her because of her religion and dress. Her husband tried to save her but got injured first by getting stabbed by the killer and then shot in the leg by a policeman who thought he was the attacker. She was three months pregnant and her three year old son was there at the time of this incident.

The killer was arrested on charges of, get this, "suspected murder".

Had she been a German blond non-Muslim and had the killer been a dark-haired bearded Muslim from Egypt this would have simply been another example of Islamic brainwashed fanatical intolerance that is so rampant these days all over the world.

But she is, sorry was, 32-year-old Marwa al-Sherbini a Muslim from Egypt who wore a hijab (traditional head scarf). And the killer was a German non-Muslim.

Hence the arrest for merely 'suspected murder'.

Hence the husband getting shot by the policeman thinking he must be the trouble maker.

Hence “Christian Avenarius, the prosecutor in Dresden where the incident took place, described the killer as driven by a deep hatred of Muslims. “It was very clearly a xenophobic attack of a fanatical lone wolf.””

Would he have said the same had she been a German blond non-Muslim and had the killer been a bearded Muslim from Egypt?

Compare the media coverage:
BBC: Egypt mourns 'headscarf martyr'
Khaleej Times: Egyptians cry racism in woman’s slaying in Germany

Is it a numbers game?

On the authority of Thawbaan , the Prophet (PBUH) said:

“The People will soon summon one another to attack you as people when eating invite others to share their food.” Someone asked, “Will that be because of our small numbers at that time?” He replied, “No, you will be numerous at that time: but you will be froth and scum like that carried down by a torrent (of water), and Allah will take the fear of you from the breasts (hearts) of your enemy and cast al-wahn into your hearts.” Someone asked, “O Messenger of Allah, what is al-wahn?” He replied, “Love of the world and dislike of death.” [An authentic hadith recorded by Abu Dawud and Ahmad]

Source: http://www.islaam.net/main/display.php?id=1448&category=164

We are already seeing the fulfillment of this hadith:

Haji Omar Regan

Hollywood actor Omar Regan. A sweet Muslim with a sense of humor and a beautiful recitation, masha'Allah.

Remembering Hajj

I was four when I learnt it; never forgot it since then. The talbiya can still bring tears to my eyes.

لَبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ لَبَّيْكَ لَبَّيْكَ لَا شَرِيكَ لَكَ لَبَّيْكَ إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ وَالنِّعْمَةَ لَكَ وَالْمُلْكَ لَا شَرِيكَ لَكَ

"I am present, O Allah, I am present, there is no partner unto You. I am present. Definitely praise and glory is yours (for You). The Kingdom is also Yours. There is no partner for You".

After traveling to Medina via Jeddah , we drove to Makkah for the Hajj 1425AH. I won't go into the the more obvious high points everyone experiences. I was amazed at the spiritual jolts from seemingly small things.

I remember the thoughtful generosity of one fellow traveler who bought steaming hot tea for the entire group as we shivered for hours at the Jeddah Hajj Terminal on an unusually cold and windy night enroute to Medina. We had to stand together around our elderly to shelter them against the biting cold.

The first entry into Masjid Nabvi (PBUH) was exciting though anti-climatic as it had changed so much since I had last seen it in my childhood. Following the crowd shuffling towards it I got closer and closer to the Rozah-e-Rasool (PBUH). I could not breathe. My heart was thumping and I could sense the history of the place. I was actually in the Prophet's (PBUH) neighborhood, in his mosque near his house and burial place. May the peace and blessings of Allah be on our beloved Messenger - aameen.

On exiting the door, I realized I had left my slippers inside the mosque. I tried to go back but was stopped by the crowd and the Shurta policemen. On my panicked request, their senior smilingly let me try and go back but the crowd was too much and I got herded out again. The Shurta explained I could simply go around the mosque and re-enter and come back out this time carrying my slippers. The Shurtas in Medina were really helpful and polite. I remember them whispering near the Rozah-e-Rasool (PBUH) telling people not to raise their voices near the last resting place of the Prophet (PBUH). Amazing to sense the respect and love for the Nabi (PBUH) at such close quarters.

The journey to Mecca for the Hajj was unforgettable. We stopped at the miqat of Zul-Hulaifa at night. The atmosphere was electric. Felt like the culmination of all spiritual experiences ever. Emotions, excitement, anticipation and a sense of affinity with all Hujjaj filled the mind and heart. I dared to wonder: If the effort was such a pleasure what would the reward be? One has to be optimistic!

The rest of the bus journey was like a dream. Most fellow travelers were asleep . Someone had put a most soothing Qur'anic recitation (by Sa'ad alGhamdi I think) on the bus stereo. I was reflecting on the Hijrah journey along possibly the same route in the opposite direction.

In Makkah the first Umrah was over way too quickly. The rush in tawaf was awe inspiring. After the umrah we went upstairs and were dumbstruck by the magnificence of the scene below. We couldn't believe we had just come out of that. No matter how many pictures or videos you see, the real thing hits the heart directly.

The Mina-Arafat-Mina routines seemed to hold more than the endless bus rides and the astounding crowds. We prepare for the Hajj journey as if we prepare for death. We settle our affairs, seek forgiveness from people we have or may have hurt and set off. The rituals there seemed similar to death rites and then rebirth.

It seemed the Ihram was like a shroud. The first night in Mina was like the time in the grave. We were really so tightly packed together! The time in Arafat was like Qiyamah and then it seemed like we were given a second chance to atone. The stoning of Satan was like resolve to never follow him again. Then the head shave (like after birth) and final time in Mina in regular clothes. A time of much fun chatter and making friendships, but also of reflection on what we had just been through.

After the Hajj, in a hotel right next to the Haram, I wanted some hot water to gargle with to ease a sore throat. I was about to use the washroom tap water which was steaming hot, but a senior and much experienced room mate stopped me saying the tap water may not be fresh. What hit me was we were hardly a few yards from the well of Zam Zam. And they way that water was flowing it was more abundant than any thing I've seen offered free. And the rest of the area had no other wells or water source at all!

Nabi Ibrahim (PBUH) was told to recite the Azaan after leaving his wife and only son in this then completely desolate and unhospitable place. When he asked how could any one hear him as there was absolutely no one nearby, Allah told him to do his part and Allah would relay his call to the people.

He did.

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Amazing Kids

These kids are an inspiration :)

Educating values

Islamic values based schooling initiatives are a sore need only partially fulfulled. We will miss it when our elite schools teach our kids to celebrate Valentine's day, Mother's day, Father's day, Halloween etc and to party and booze rather than to understand our core values.

Most Islamic values are left only to be imparted from home. Simply take God out of any public forum and say religion is a personal matter only to be practiced in seclusion. Sounds okay on the face of it. But if you value an Islamic lifestyle please do not take it for granted. It will not stay around unless you nurture it.

A school teacher canceled her studies and told her students to make Valentine's Day cards just because most had no plans to mark this day in any special way and some didn't even know what it was. That was a personal experience almost two decades ago. Now it seems Pakistanis are the ones who invented Valentine's Day!

It's okay to laugh - provided you also have a tear in your eye.

If the aim is to balance the input to a child's intellect, this is anything but. Somehow the secular viewpoint ends up condemning Islamic values in nothing less than extremist fashion.

Deen itself is the balance so I don't agree with the concept of balancing deen and dunya. One is environment we live in and the other is a code showing how to live in it. If you think this is an oversimplification, try 'balancing' your life with twelve hours of seeking wealth and pleasure and then twelve hours of religion each day.

To begin with ...

It began with a creeping realization that there was more to what we see and hear around us. There is more in terms of consequences of our actions and habits than we're comfortable knowing about.

The blitz of information thrown at us from all directions is termed 'progress'. An information superhighway. That's fantastic. Highways are designed to keep us moving. Not a place to stop and contemplate. In fact you can't even slow down. And you may not spot what is missing from the mix fed to us.

It is analogous to looking through a distorted lens. Little things get blown out of proportion. Major things can shrink or get twisted out of shape. A kaleidoscope of colors sprouts up before our eyes and mutates as we try on differing versions of the same line of distorted lenses. This is fascinating for most. Few realize that truth is constant and extremely deep. To begin seeing it the second thing you need is a better set of lenses; the first is a realization that you need them.

I envied people who knew a lot. Still do. But now I really envy people who know what's important. Those who can put two and two together. This is a feeble attempt to share my journey to learn what's important - and try to apply it.

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