All posts tagged: Islam

Part I- What does it mean to be modern?

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Here is a series of blogs exploring what it means to be a modern Pakistani Muslim.  The literary meaning of modern is “Relating to the present or recent times as opposed to the remote past”. By looking at the definition we can easily conclude that modern means adopting all new and trendy things moving in the society. This conclusion however is superficial and wrong.The true meaning of modern may not match this hasty and sup racial conclusion as its meaning varies from person to person and in various different contexts.

Ibn Khaldun, Islam’s Man for All Seasons

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By Benedikt Koehler Tensions tearing at the basis of Islamic societies are never more acute than when stoked in the name of Islam. Idealists invoking Islam as a lever for change spark upheavals that time and again hand power to cynics. Looking for an explanation why Islamic societies wallow in paralysis, some suggest Islamic societies stagnate because Islam itself does not admit of contemplating change in society, that Islam, to put it simply, comes without a toolkit for handling social change. To think so is tempting – but wrong.

نماز اور ہم

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زویا شبیر پانچ وقت اپنے جسم کو وضو کے پانی سے پاک کرنا اور خدا کے سامنےسر بسجود ہونا ۔ہم کتابوں میں پڑھتے ہیں بڑوں سے سنتے ہیں ۔نماز  ہر مسلمان مرد عورت پر فرض کی گئ ہے تاکہ ہم اپنی ذندگی کو دنیا اور آخرت میں آسان بنا سکیں ۔ اسلام کے مطابق نماز  دوزخ کی آگ سے بچاتی ہے اور برے اور بے حیائی کے کاموں سے روکتی ہے ۔لیکن کچھ لوگوں کو نماز  کی حقیقت یا تو پتہ ہی نہیں اور اگر پتہ ہے تو پتہ ہونے کے باوجود وہ اللہ کے بتائے ہوئے اصولوں اور عبادت کی آڑ میں کچھ ایسے شرمناک اور ناگوار کام کر جاتے ہیں جس کے بعد کم از کم ان کو خدا کے عبادت  گزار بندے کہنا تو بالکل مناسب نہیں ہے۔آیئے میں آپ کو ایک ایسے آدمی کی عبادت سے متعارف کرواتی ہوں

Legacy of tolerance

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Published in Dawn, October 10th, 2014 By Anwar Abbas The writer is a freelance contributor with an interest in religion. UNCONTROLLED violence manifests itself at different points and in vastly different ways. Violence today suggests that tolerance is at a breaking point. Scratch the apparently God-fearing, ritualised and placid life of the 180 million or so people of this Muslim country and you will find a tangle of envy, suspicion, hatred and many insatiable animosities.

ایک سادہ سوال

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Awaam جہاں کل کا  روز نبی کریمؑ کی شان میں گستاخی کے خلاف احتجاج کے طور پر منایا گیا وہاں ھم مسلمانوں کو ایک دِن اور منانا چاہیے جسمیںیہ سوچا جائے کہ ہم رسولؑ کی سنت اور دینِ رسولؑ کے پیروکار کے طور پر ہر روز صبح سے شام تک شانِ رسول میں کتنی گستاخیاں کرتے ہیں، ان میں سے چند ایک تو ایسی ہیں جسکا سامنا ہم سبھی کرتے ھیں

The Innocence of Muslims”: Blasphemy as a Political Tactic

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Thierry Meyssan The circulation on the Internet of the trailer for a film, The Innocence of Muslims, sparked demonstrations across the world and resulted in the killing in Benghazi of the U.S. Ambassador to Libya and members of his entourage. *        *        * At first glance, these events can be located in the long line leading from Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses to the burnings of the Koran by Pastor Terry Jones. Nevertheless, this new attack differs from other incidents in that the film was not directed at a Western audience but instead was uniquely conceived as an instrument of provocation directed at Muslims.

The Ethics of Ramazan

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By Mehwish Mushtaq The Messenger of Allah (saw) addressed his companions on the last day of Sha`ban, saying, “Oh people! A great month has come over you; a blessed month; a month in which is a night better than a thousand months; month in which Allah has made it compulsory upon you to fast by day, and voluntary to pray by night. Whoever draws nearer (to Allah) by performing any of the (optional) good deeds in (this month) shall receive the same reward as performing an obligatory deed at any other time, and whoever discharges an obligatory deed in (this month) shall receive the reward of performing seventy obligations at any other time. It is the month of patience, and the reward of patience is Heaven. It is the month of charity, and a month in which a believer’s sustenance is increased. Whoever gives food to a fasting person to break his fast shall have his sins forgiven, and he will be saved from the Fire of Hell, and he shall have the same reward …

Religion: In the shadow of the mosque

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The Economist Religion is becoming less tolerant, and more central to Pakistan   Visibly more pious THE CLEAN-SHAVEN, middle-aged academic in Lahore is under fire from his wife and his bushy-bearded 20-year-old son, a student. Last year he completed the haj, the pilgrimage to Mecca that every Muslim is expected to make at least once. Now, after a lifetime of weekly attendance at the mosque, on Fridays, he is told by his family that he should make the half-hour trip there to say his prayers five times a day. “Pakistan”, he says, “has become very religious-minded and anti-West.”

History lessons from Karbala

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By Hassan Abbas The idea of defiance against tyranny and oppression owes a great deal to Hussain ibne Ali, the hero of the battle of Karbala in 680 AD. With just 72 valiant followers and family members, the grandson of Prophet Mohammad faced the military might of the Muslim empire ruled then by a despot, Yazid bin Mu‘awiya. Hussain refused to sanctify Yazid’s reign through baya’a (allegiance) and consequently, he and his small contingent were martyred in the most brutal of fashions. The accompanying women and children were imprisoned for months in the dark alleys of Damascus.

Hussain- The Light against Tyranny of Mind

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By Shaista Kazmi & Azhar Aslam Al Hussain o Minni Wa Ana Minal Hussain “Hussain is from me and I am from Hussain” [26] Al-Tirmidhi, II, 306. This Hadith of Prophet Muhammad (saw), which is agreed by Sunni and Shia traditions, is etched in the memories of thousands of minds. The prophet said that Hussain was from him that is quite understandable as Hussain (AS) was his grandchild. But why did the Prophet say ‘I am from Hussain (AS)’?

Qadri gets death sentence in Salman Taseer’s murder

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An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) awarded death penalty to Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri on Saturday, DawnNews reported. Mr Taseer was assassinated by his security guard and personnel of Punjab Elite Force, Mumtaz Qadri, on January 4, 2011 at Kohsar Market in Islamabad. “The court has awarded my client with death. The court announced the death sentence for him,” Shujaur Rehman, one of Qadri’s lawyers, told AFP by telephone. Judge Pervez Ali Shah announced the verdict at the court behind closed doors in the high-security Adiyala prison in Rawalpindi, the lawyer said. Dozens of people rallied outside the prison where the verdict was announced, chanting slogans in support of Qadri, an AFP photographer said. Qadri had earlier confessed in court that he had killed Punjab governor Salman Taseer for his ‘blasphemous’ statements.     “The court has awarded my client with death. The court announced the death sentence for him,” Shujaur Rehman, one of Qadri\’s lawyers, told AFP by telephone. via Qadri gets death sentence in Salman Taseer’s murder.