Maintaining Momentum till Next Ramadan

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Allah, the Almighty turns to the Heavens and the Earth and asks: “O My servants! If any of you want something from me, I will grant it. If anybody prays, I will answer his prayer. If anybody asks for forgiveness, I will forgive him.” It is such a precious time.

We don’t know if we would live long enough to see the next Ramadan. Yet, what we know for sure is that we are almost at the end of the ongoing mandatory fasting period of this year; and getting ready for celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr very shortly - if God willing.

However, it’s kind of a “must remember exercise” to fully appreciate the usefulness of the month of Ramadan – provided, it has been appropriately practised. Beyond doubt, the experience is pretty helpful in enhancing and improving our self-discipline. Certainly, we learned compassion, tolerance and mutual support during the sacred period.

Although, in the fasting month some halal acts are forbidden only during the fasting hours, yet all Haraam (forbidden) things have to be totally avoided not only in the sacred month but also during all months of the year 24/7. Because, if you don’t, Allah Subhanahu wa Taalaa warns, “let him know that He (Allah) did not accept his fasting in Ramadan.” Meaning in utmost clarity, the sign of acceptable ibbadah (worship) throughout Ramadan is certainly the continuity of good deeds throughout the remainder of the year after the sacred month of fasting. The real focal point now should be nothing but maintaining our positive momentum of pious deeds after Ramadan is gone for another eleven months.

In short, our major obligation remains our sincere effort to keep ourselves motivated for the maintenance of good characters and attributes that we acquired during the blessed month.

After one month of tough rehearsal, we are now at much ease to comfortably schedule our day starting with getting up as early as before dawn in order to offer slatul fajre (morning prayer) followed by recitation of the Holy Qur’an and then spend the whole day under the light of teachings of the Noble Qur’an as practiced by our beloved Prophet Muhammad SallAllaahu  alaihi wasallam and his companions.

Indeed, we are in a much better shape to keep connected to the Almighty Allah Subhanahu wa Taalaa.

Disappointingly, there is a majority of Muslims who turned Ramadan from a time to draw closer to God through fasting and contemplation to a superficial ritual hardly resembling the spirit of the month.

Nevertheless, there are some health issues too as some ailments are aggravated by fasting in which case the patient is exempted from fasting.

Furthermore,  the unaware Muslims turn the holy month of fasting into a month of over-eating. Just take a look at the way they buy food and the amount they consume during Ramadan. Resultantly, the real essence of fasting is diminished or completely lost in some instances.

As excess of everything is bad, this type of Muslims face health problems including diabetes and cardiovascular illnesses due to over-indulgence.

In fact, from medical point of view- there are a lot of health benefits including the elimination of harmful fatty substances from the blood stream, helping the cure of certain types of intestinal and stomach ailments and the reconditioning of body tissues.

Definitely, voluntary abstinence of lawful appetites leads one to appreciate the bounties of Allah Subhaanahu wa taala which are usually taken for granted.

Having realised Allah’s pleasure there are many other clearly noticeable goodies:

It enhances the feelings of inner peace, contentment and optimism, patience, perseverance and moral accomplishment.
As Muslims go through a different and exciting experience for the whole month every year, it naturally breaks the normal routine of life. This is so refreshing, because it teaches the person how to adapt to varying circumstances in his life.
It’s so fascinating experience as fasting promotes the spirit of unity and belonging within the Muslim Ummah. It’s so beautiful as millions of Muslims around the world fast during the same month; and following the same rules and observances.

Genuinely, fasting does promote the spirit of human equality before Allah Subhanhu wa taalaa.

Muslim males and females, rich and poor from all ethnic backgrounds go through the same experience of deprivation with no special privileges for any group or class.

Fasting promotes the spirit of charity and sympathy towards the poor and needy. A rich person may not realise the suffering of the poor or even think about hunger until actually experiencing them. That is why Ramadan is also known as the month of charity and generosity.

Fasting promotes Islamic socializing. Muslims are urged to invite others to eat iftar meal with them at sunset and to gather for Qur'anic study, prayer and visits. This surely provides a better opportunity for socialization in a brotherly and spiritual fashion. Our Prophet ((Sallal Laahu Ta'ala wa alaihi wasallam) indicated on more than one occasion that inviting a fasting person to break his fast after sunset is an act which is highly rewarded by Allah, the Almighty.

Additionally, self-discipline exercised in Ramadan provides an excellent way to get rid of all bad habits.

In nutshell, fasting provides an annual golden opportunity of physical overhaul of the body and spirtual healing of the mind and soul.

Most importantly, it must be remembered that the main essence behind fasting remains the obedience of the Almighty Allah SWT and seeking only His pleasure.

Pakistan’s Miraculous Survival

Updated  Sunday, Aug14th, 2011

Pakistan's birth took place on the night of 27th Ramadan, which is the holiest night in the Muslim calendar and the way to celebrate is to seek forgiveness from Allah SWT with an undertaking to bring the true spirit of Islam in our lives.

 Happy 64th birth day to Pakistan: A country with a proud population of more than 170 million is currently going through a difficult phase; has been facing some real challenges needing an early addressal - sooner the better.

Nevertheless, the proud nation still feels lucky enough to have its own homeland after a long struggle.

Chronologically speaking, the Moughals (the Muslim emperors) ruled the Indian subcontinent before the East India Company from Britain intruded into India. The emperors lost power during the 1857 uprising.

As the frustrated people of united India hated the British rule, the uprising became a large scale armed freedom struggle against the British Raj, which eventually turned into a messy freedom movement leading to independence of India in the later years. Soon it was followed by another freedom struggle but in a peaceful manner. The struggle was led by the Indian National Congress (a political party).
Muslim leaders Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and Syed Ameer Ali worked diligently for the Muslim people’s political advancement.
Later on, in the late 1930s - the Muslim League, another political party, gained popularity, amid fears of ‘under representation’ and an ongoing neglect of Muslims in wider Indian politics.
The word Pakistan is a conjunction of two words Pak meaning “Pure” and Stan meaning “Land,” a name suggested by Choudhary Rahmat Ali.

On 29th December 1930, Allama Iqbal presented the idea of a separate State that would geographically consist of the Muslim majority areas in the subcontinent. Hence, his presidential address called for a separate Muslim homeland in the North Western and North Eastern of South Asia.

At the time, strong Hindu nationalists advocated the “Two Nation Theory,” an ideology that is accredited as being the basis for Pakistan’s creation.

Mr. Jinnah supported the “Two Nation Theory” and led the Muslim League to adopt the Lahore Resolution of 1940 (Pakistan Resolution), which ultimately facilitated the birth of Pakistan.

Since the British colonies were about to dissolve after the Second World War, Pakistan movement, under the leadership of Mr Jinnah, persistently asked for a greater Muslim autonomy in British India. Eventually, a separate Muslim country became a definite outcome.
And, upon creation of Pakistan, the Muslims of India were able to have gained two independent wings (one thousand miles apart).

The Great Britain allowed the creation of Pakistan made up of a “flawed weld of twins” of East Pakistan with West Pakistan on August 14, 1947.

Sadly, the unsupervised partition of British India resulted in deadly communal riots across India and Pakistan where millions of Muslims moved to Pakistan, and millions of Hindus and Sikhs moved to India.

Post partition, certain disputes arose over several princely states between the two neighbours - including Jammu and Kashmir issue which remains responsible for all wars so far.

India claims it as inseparable and Pakistan claims it as a right. While on the contrary, the UN passed resolutions to grant right of plebiscite (self determination) to Kashmiris, India stubbornly manages to deny the right and the dispute lingers on as alive.
Mockery is noteworthy: The adjacent Muslim dominated area of Kashmir headed by Hindu Raja was manipulated to be kept away from joining Pakistan, whereas far away East Pakistan was made part of Pakistan unfairly.

Having been manoeuvred further, Pakistan’s union of eastern and western wings could not withstand the negative ground work against the newly born Muslim country right from the very beginning.

Socio economic and political environment was the major irritation for East Pakistanis which led to violent political repression and tensions escalating into a civil war (the Bangladesh Liberation War) and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, which sadly caused the fall of Dacca - meaning eastern wing of Pakistan was illegitimately cut off, and East Pakistan became an independent state of Bangladesh with Indian assistance of course.

Pakistan suffered huge losses at the hands of its rival. There was an economic turmoil, and a series of successive political crises gave a big blow to Pakistan’s economic progress in its competition at international level.

Furthermore, during the current decade, Pakistan lost over 30,000 civilians and over 5,000 soldiers and security personnel in the war on terror since 9/11. Pakistan’s total economic losses are approximately seventy billion dollars.

The people of Pakistan have suffered the most at the hands of terrorism; they are still going through tough time.

Though an ongoing criminal activity in Karachi is crushing the country’s commerce, yet Pakistan is about to re-emerge as an economic power soon.

Good news: Despite numerous challenges, Pakistan has a great deal of economic opportunities. It does have a bright future. The country is self-sufficient in natural resources such as, natural gas, coal, salt, limestone, marble, etc.

Fortunately, natural resources/reserves are in abundance in Pakistan guaranteeing its economic empowerment depending upon an appropriate and timely injection of administrative measures into the ailing system at the earliest.
Moreover, a significant amount of deposits of copper and gold , zinc and lead in Baluchistan a new gas field in Nawabshah and coal in Tharparkar, Sindh have been confirmed in recent years by Geological Survey of Pakistan and Mineral Development Corporation of Pakistan in collaboration with Mining firms from Australia, China and other nations.

Reko Diq alone has the reserves estimated at “two billion tons of copper” and “20 million ounces of gold.” The value of the deposits has been estimated at about $65 billion which is enough to pay off Pak loans. Hopefully, based on preliminary data, a country-wide aerial survey can be helpful in finding many more significant mineral resources in Pakistan.

The Associated Press of Pakistan quoted Prime Minister Gilani as saying that despite heavy internal and external odds, his country had made significant progress in many fields including nuclear science and Information Technology. Prime Minister feels proud that Pakistanis have made significant strides in the fields of agriculture, industry, nuclear science, information technology and communications.

Luckily enough, Pakistan has been blessed with all kinds of geographical features i.e., mountains, hills, valleys, plains, rivers, ocean, farming lands, deserts, and the four seasons. Most commonly used crops of the world are produced here like, rice, cotton, wheat, sugarcane etc!
Furthermore, Pakistan is known as the best exporter of sport goods. There is good marble available, and handicraft is considered to be the best in the world as well. Historically, Pakistan’s ancient history including Mohenjo-Daro is well known.

Pakistan is famous among the leading manufacturers of top quality home textiles and denim fabrics.

When compared with the developed countries, a good quality education is available here at cheaper cost.
In Sports, Pakistan is proud to have a few extra ordinary names in squash. Hockey has seen many achievements, so did cricket and kabadi.

Don’t worry - be happy is the safest conclusion: After a nationwide destruction in Pakistan, re-construction has to begin as per the economic phenomenon.

Obviously, the country is open for business, as there exists a solid commercial opportunity for internal and external investors.

Furthermore, a gradually diverting trend towards “Merit only Policy” is a definite asset for “Pakistan in the making.”

But, good Governance is the condition precedent here as one of the major key factors for faster recovery. Despite, Pakistan- having been blessed with the experienced professionals, the scientific and technical knowhow, the relevant Industry, the agriculture and the natural resources/reserves, there is still a great deal of need to do more to achieve the desired goal.
Obviously, a competent Judiciary has to be in place to administer justice, safeguard the Constitution and maintain Rule of Law. Additionally, a competent National Election Commission is of extreme importance in order to facilitate the election of a “sovereign parliament” from amongst the educated people of good reputation, talent and integrity.

Beyond a doubt, with the above measures in place, the nation can safely expect an inflow of international investment soon enough to assist Pakistan’s emergence as highly successful State in the region.

Mandatory Ramazan As Opportunity to Self Cleanse

Alhamdulillah, the Holy Qur'an [complete code of life] is regularly recited in the Travih and other prayers. Sadly, many of us remain ignorant throughout our lifetime till our departure from the worldly life without even understanding Allah's message with utmost clarity. It's compulsory for all Muslims to listen to recitation with sincerity and devotion.

Lucky are those who are conversant with Arabic Language (written and spoken). They are getting Lord's message clearly, whereas other Muslims have to learn the language or understand the message through translated versions, provided they are sincere enough to listen to Allah's commandments with their heart and soul.

Reciting the Holy Qur’an and offering daily mandatory five prayers is not enough - unless we stay away from bad deeds and do only good deeds in the eyes of our Lord SWT.

There is no room for hypocrites in Islam which means [baghal mai churee moonh mai ram ram]. Worshipping and dishonesty can’t go hand in hand.

No double standards are permissible.

The best way to respond to Allah's commands is first to follow practices [Sunnah] of Prophet Muhammad Salllaaho Alaihey Wasallam as Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) practical life is the best guide for us all to follow teachings of the Divine message outlined poetically in the noble Qur’an.

Since, the Qur’an is FINAL Divinely Guidance for the “entire Humankind” and not just for the Muslims; therefore, “Non Practical Muslims” and “Non Muslims” must take advantage of it before the soul leaves the body.

 

May Allah SWT give us taufeeq to attain Taqwa during the current Holy month. Aameen!