O' Sleeping Man

“The greatest of trials upon a woman is her husband’s other wife.” [Hadith]

I am grateful to Allah Almighty for conveying to mankind that polygamy is the greatest trial that a woman can be afflicted with, because in the society that I have grown up in, polygamy is treated as a religious frivolity which women no longer have the heart to bear nowadays. Meaning, it is viewed as the previous wife’s narrow-mindedness not to bear it happily. I also wonder why a Muslim child of age seven knows that Islam permits polygamy but the above Hadith is very, very unknown to the Muslim society.

This Hadith, together with other Quranic Verses and Ahadith put together, makes it clear that polygamy is not a religious recommendation, but a critical solution in certain critical situations of women and men.

In my life, I have heard many instances of polygamy which broke my heart, but this one episode tore me apart from head to toe, and I felt that I must do some catharsis by writing about it, else I will lose my mind thinking over it. When I heard about it, I felt my soul fly out of my body and into the body of that woman. Let us call her Aminah.

My name is Aminah. I was in love with him. One beautiful day, I got married to him.

I was soon in the family way. First the joy of being in love, then the joy of getting married to him and then the joy of being pregnant; I thought I would burst with happiness. Ah, burst did, but my bubble of happiness…

When I was seven months pregnant, my husband disclosed to me that he had married another woman about a month ago. She was one of his ex-girlfriends. He had married me because he had been in love with me. However, he realized after our marriage that he could not forget her either. So he married her too, six months after marrying me.

And I had no idea. You married her in secret, and I had absolutely no idea.

When did you begin to remember her after our marriage? On our honeymoon? When did you start considering marrying her? When I got pregnant? When did you decide to marry her? When we saw the ultrasound picture of our first baby? My mind rolls back over and over again into our first six months of marriage, trying to recall and trying to re-read your face expressions from the past…

Then one day, you said to me that you were leaving for an ‘official trip’. I was six months pregnant at that time. I did not know at all at that time but now I know that you were actually leaving to marry another woman.

You took those steps away from me towards another woman, and I was waving you goodbye and I did not know. You looked back and smiled at me, and I smiled back at you and I did not know the real reason of your happiness. You reached another doorstep to tie the knot of another marriage, and here was I closing the door of my house, carefully and firmly, thinking that it made my house secure.

There you were, smiling and nodding at another women’s family, giving them the assurance of keeping their daughter happy and secure. Did they not realize that you could possibly remember another forgotten love after marrying their daughter as well?

As the night crept on, I went into our bedroom and came upon your forgotten shirt lying on the bed. I picked it up lovingly, and caressed it lovingly. Little did I know, that you were caressing another woman at that moment. As I lied down on the bed, I felt the first kick of our first baby. I was overjoyed. I put my hand on my tummy, and smiled at the thought of having your baby. Little did I know, that you were out to father another baby with another woman at that moment. I began to feel sleepy and you were not around, so I fell asleep dreaming about you, holding your shirt tightly to myself. Little did I know, that you were also falling asleep, holding another woman tightly to yourself, at that moment.

Can you imagine the moments when I began realizing that something was wrong? Can you imagine the heart-sinking? Can you feel the emotions that our baby experienced when I began to have the inklings of reality? Can you feel the kick the baby felt? Can you imagine me being with another man? Behind your back? Forget the technical legality for a few moments, for the Prophet of Allah Pbuh has testified the turbulence of emotions anyways. Can we just talk about human emotions and human compassion for the time being?

Were you ever a child? Did you ever have a mother? Did you ever have a father? Can you imagine being a five-year-old and hearing your mother’s sobs into the night, because your father had married another woman? Perhaps you do not care about me, the woman, but do you not care about your children either? Can you not fathom the mental torture that the children go through when their father marries another woman after their mother?

Can you try imagine being born a woman? Can you imagine the hurt? Can you imagine the insecurity? Can you imagine the jealousy? Can you imagine waking everyday and feeling the creeping horror that no, it was not a nightmare but much worse than that? A torturous reality! Can you imagine living and dying every moment of your life?

You said to somebody, ‘I am very fair to both of my wives. If I load one’s mobile with a hundred rupees cash, I load the other’s mobile with a hundred rupees cash as well. It is money that really matters…’

What am I? A money-monger? A gold-digger? A slut? You think I will be happy to share my bed with another woman just because I am getting a hundred-rupee worth of mobile load in return? Surely, you have a very low opinion of the women species!

I prêt up for you, and in doing so, sometimes endure a lot of pain. I let go of my self-respect when I am told that you shall not earn and your husband shall feed, clothe and shelter you. The marital pleasures begin with your pleasure and my pain. My life is at risk during child birth. I cannot help losing my figure after childbirth, but it gives you a certificate to begin to taunt me and start sniffing around for another figure. No minaret of Friday sermons realizes or condemns this…so much so for the Jannah under my feet! Post birth, I also become prone to multiple medical complexities, some of which can be fatal. Any loyalty in return?  

The children are yours too, but you get disturbed when they get cranky or cry into the night or engage me in looking after them. You have given me the responsibility of your parents too and then you get irritated when I am not available to you because of the domestic work load. You do not share or lessen the load on me but begin dreaming of another romance with another woman.  

Then, with glee you remember that Islam ‘allows’ polygamy.

Polygamy was not sanctioned by Islam to legalize lust. And it is not oriented to use and discard woman like a tissue paper. Rather, it exists to support women themselves actually. The concept of polygamy in Islam is to ensure that no woman in the society is left alone without a male supporter, although that male supporter can be the father, the brother and the son too. However, when going for a second marriage, did you have a destitute woman in mind? Or did you look around for the prettiest?

O’ Sleeping Man! Woe unto you…Woe unto you for your arrogance.

Woe unto you for your selfishness. Woe unto you for your heartlessness. Woe unto for taking me for granted. Woe unto you for walking over me. Woe unto you for contorting religion to your selfish, base desires.

I am a human being too. We have certain role differences, as ordained by Allah Almighty, but Allah also made some things same between us. I too have a heart that wants love and I too have a mind that wants respect and I too have a soul that wants loyalty.

O’ Sleeping Man, wake up from your lustful slumber to dignified humanity ...

Strange Mujahid

‘Islam came to this world as a Stranger, and soon it will return to how it began (its concepts will appear strange to people), so give good news (of success) to the strangers (who appear strange to others on behalf of their Islam)’. [Hadith, Mishkat]

I consider Hamid Mir to be a rightist and pro-Islam. That is why I was very surprised when on 18^th September 2013, Capital Talk, when one of his guests identified another of his guests as a former Mujahid from the Afghan Jihad, Hamid Mir took a shocked pause…as if, it is uncivilized to be a Mujahid…as if, it is a crime to be a Mujahid…as if, it is strange to be a Mujahid. Then he finally brushed it off by saying, ‘Chalen, wo tho maazi ki baath ho gae na…’ I sincerely hope he did not mean what he appeared to mean. For our Prophet Muhammed Pbuh said, ‘One who dies without ever participating in Jihad, or at least having the deep desire to do so, will die the death of a Munafiq (Hypocrite Muslim).’

There was a time in this nation, that the birth of a boy was celebrated, not because he would grow up to be the breadwinner of the family, but that he would become a protector of the Muslim nation. There was a time in this nation, that a girl was impressed by a boy, not because of his salary slip and sleek car, but because of his bravery and valor in the battleground. There was a time in this nation, that mothers preferred their sons to serve the nation and religion than to spend their lives serving them only. They knew that Jannah lay under the feet of the mother but they also knew that Jannah lay under the shade of swords as well. It was a consideration of the need of the hour. Who needed her son more? A mother or a nation?

In the times of the Holy Prophet Pbuh, there was no standing army as such. I am not saying that a formal army should not exist. It may, according to the need of the time, but the society structure that Prophet Muhammed Pnuh built was more brilliant. In there, every Muslim man was a soldier, a Mujahid. When the need of the hour arose, a relevant number of Muslim men themselves volunteered to fight the war, to do Jihad. If the number did not amount sufficient, a call for more was given, such that in the Expedition of Tabuk, other than the hypocrites, only three Muslim men stayed back from Jihad and they were severely reprimanded for it upon return. Every soldier personally pitched in for weapons, chivalry and ride. The rest of the society was also asked to contribute. Look at the fine management of resources and handling of financial aspects of war. Look at the brilliance of multitasking within the society such the same human resource is being used in peace times and war times. They did not have to pay saIaries to troops when there was no war, for they were absorbed back into the society. I have personally never been against the huge amount of national budget spent on the army in Pakistan, because as a Muslim I honor every penny spent on defence, but the seculars often criticize it. Perhaps they would like to borrow some ideology from Islam and promote the training of all of our men and women for war and combat, for in Islam, women, senior citizens and children are backup reinforcements when the male army runs short. Cool, ya? Or am I being an extremist and promoting terrorism? Well, as of today, Israel has adopted this strategy and it is one of the reasons why they stand so strong today despite being small in number.

Yet, a worst calamity that has hit the Muslim nation today is a further ideological misconception. Despite repetitive warnings in the Holy Quran to not develop deep friendships and alliances with the Jews and Christians, the ‘designated’ soldiers of the Muslim world today are being ordered to fight their so-called war-on-terror against Muslims. These Muslims are ‘volunteer’ soldiers of the Muslim world who have risen to combat the onslaught of the Jews and Christians upon Muslim lands, resources and ideology.  Consequently, sometimes the designated Muslim soldiers and the volunteer Muslim soldiers come face to face with each other and combat each other and kill each other and incur collateral damage on each other. Then, who is the Shaheed here?

Some analogue the given situation to the Battle of Jamal that took place between Syedna Ali RA and Syedna Ayesha RA. What? Relax! There is no harm in mapping any situation to the situations of the Prophets and Companions of the Prophet Pbuh, for that is the very reason why they came into this world; to guide mankind in given situations by their words and actions. So regarding the battle that took place between Syedna Ali RA and Syedna Ayesha RA; I do not think this analogue is valid here. Not because I do not consider the Taliban worthy of it but because I do not consider the agenda of the secular forces worthy of it. Syedna Ali RA and Syedna Ayesha RA were both fighting for the protection of Islam but with a different approach in mind each, while in our scenario, one is fighting for Allah Almighty while the other is fighting for America.

Almost everyone was really offended when Maulana Fazl-ur-Rahman said that even a dog will be considered a Shaheed if killed by the Americans. I, for once, agree with him. People said that ‘Shaheed’ is such a holy concept and term and no matter what, how can anybody associate it with an animal? I say, think again. What does the world think about us? What do the American think about us despite the fact that we dance to their ‘Do More’. In the days following 9/11, while the Americans were still reeling from their surprise of the fact that Musharraf had agreed to just about everything that had been put up to Pakistan, their media printed a cartoon which showed the Pakistanis as dogs, fetching Islamic activists and handing them over to America for a nice, juicy, dollary bone each. This is the impression that we carry even to them and yet we call ourselves Shaheed when we die serving them.    

Moreover, it is strange that the secular Muslim world no longer uses the term Jihad in association with their designated soldiers and they no longer use the word Mujahideen for their designated soldiers but are happy to use the term Shaheed for their designated soldiers. Why? Shaheed is a term coined by Islam to honor someone who has sacrificed his life to strengthen or defend Islam and Muslims, not Jews and Christians and their agenda.

Then, who is a Shaheed? The designated Muslim soldiers fighting on the agenda of America and its allies, or the volunteer Muslim soldiers fighting the onslaught of America and its allies? I see the heartfelt speeches of Mujahideen, burning with passion and purpose, trying to awaken a burping nation, and I see the news clips of our soldiers wearing badges and stars, shaking hands with American generals and awarding them medals for God-knows-what. Friends of both, the designated Muslim soldier and the volunteer Muslim soldier, claim them to be Shaheed when they die. Then by derivation, both of them must be a Mujahid each. But surely, one of them is a strange Mujahid.

Aching Feet

'If I had been born a girl, I would have never studied beyond Matric, gotten married very young and have had a ball of a time at home…’ These were the words of an Asian boy in his twenties. I wonder why he said them. He must have seen his mother working around as he grew up?

In my teens, I read a research somewhere that an average housewife walks about nine to twelve kilometers a day. Or perhaps it said miles. Nonetheless, the question is, where on earth does she travel such a distance? The answer is, within the house! The day starts with the little baby waking up for milk. The mother scrambles out of bed, rushes to the kitchen, makes a fresh feeder and brings it back to the crying baby. She is about to return to her bed when another child mumbles that he wants to go to the washroom. She turns back, escorts the child to the washroom, washes him, dries him and puts him back to bed. Uh! Putting hands in the cold water has spoilt the sweet sleep. Ah! There comes the Fajr Azan. Good, might as well catch the Fajr prayers. She looks at the clock after making Dua. 6 oclock! She thinks she might as well start making breakfast and children’s school snacks. Halfway into making breakfast, the toddler walks into the kitchen, Her pajama is sagging. Oh no! I hope her pamper has not leaked. Quickly dusting her hands off flour, she checks the child. Oh NO! She has leaked! She picks up her child and rushes to the washroom. Oops! The geyser has not been turned on yet. Leaving the child in the tub, she rushes out to turn on the geyser in the backyard. After washing up the child, and changing the child’s bed, she returns to the kitchen to continue making breakfast. One by one, the rest of the family members start waking and getting ready each. ‘Where’s by socks?’ ‘Where’s by belt?’ ‘HEY! I am in the bathroom, please hand me a towel in here.’ And so on till about nine o’clock. You can sit very straight if you think this is the time when she will snuggle back into bed and sleep till the children come back from school. Ding dong! The maid is here. Door opened, and both of them start working. The maid starts doing basic cleaning around the house while the housewife starts putting together laundry; soaping, scrubbing and into the washing machine. Load started, she comes back into the kitchen. There sit the breakfast dishes cheekily, waiting to be washed. That done, she assembles together cooking ingredients for the dinner to-be-cooked. Some things need to be peeled, some chopped and some washed. Blop, and everything goes into the cooker. Soon, the cooker starts whistling. Ding dong! The mailman is here. ‘Please take the letter for me…’ ‘No baji, he is asking for somebody’s signatures’. Oh alright! Where is my chaddar, step out, sign…mumble, grumble…back to the kitchen…ding dong…

Okay, okay, I will stop rambling. I think you get the picture now. Being a house wife is no easy job, that is, if anybody would care to consider it a job. It is very, very, very hard and laborious work. Not to mention it being unglamorous. And not to mention it being a thankless job.

I am certainly not among those who consider it lowly or against male-female equality for a woman to cajole her husband when he returns home from work. Its okay if she takes his bag from his hands. Its okay if she rushes to get him a drink. Its okay if she likes to take off his shoes and socks and massage his head and feet. But, it should be okay the other way round too. But, for that, the society would first of all have to accept that housework is ‘work’ too. That it is ‘hard’ work too. And that it needs appreciation too.

Of the few who do acknowledge, fewer would express it by physically pampering the woman for it. If anyone is compassionate enough to do it, he will make sure that he does not do it publically for fear of being called a sissy.    

It so happened that a girl was pregnant and the couple were visiting some relatives. The girl’s feet were all swollen. So one of the aunts absent-mindedly said to the boy, ‘Why do not you massage her feet?’ So the girl smiled and was about to tell them that their nephew is a really nice husband for he had been massaging her feet at home the night before. But she halted in speech as she caught sight of her husband frowning at her and covertly gesturing her to keep absolutely silent about any such mention. Then the husband gave a nonchalant attitude by his body language to his aunt’s suggestion; he stretched his arms, crackled his knuckles and looked around in a macho style. Later, he whispered to his wife, ‘Never tell any such thing to anyone ever…they will all make fun of me’.

Dinner with Rapists

All flavors of political parties of Pakistan, ranging from PTI to PML-N to MQM have pronounced Aafia Siddiqui, Daughter of the Nation. That makes our current Prime Minister, Mian Nawaz Shareef, her father today.

Geneva Convention, Article 12: Prisoners of war are in the hands of the Enemy Power, but not of the individuals or military units who have captured them. Irrespective of the individual responsibilities that may exist, the Detaining Power is responsible for the treatment given to them.

November 2011: Fouzia Siddiqui, sister of Aafia Siddiqui, desperately wrote the following lines to various social media forums, ‘The Federal Medical Center prison warden has called me and reported that Aafia Siddiqui has just undergone a forced abortion after a rape. She is bleeding profusely, as I write, and it is not known whether she will survive it or not…’

Aafia Siddiqui is one among the thousands of victims of the so-called war-on-terror by America. However, the case of Aafia Siddiqui stands out because of the extraordinary level of torture surrounding her case, such that, even her children were not condescended any reprieve from detention and torture.

Barack Obama and his comrades are the elected representatives of America since 2007. They were the ones in power of America.

Judging by the script of the Geneva Convention, Barack Obama and his comrades are responsible for the treatment meted out to all the prisoners of America’s war-of-terror.

In a world speaking profoundly for human rights and particularly women’s rights, rape is the first and surest treatment given to female captives. Aafia Siddiqui was no exception. Her rape ordeal began in Afghanistan all the way to New York through till Texas even today.

Call me dumb but it is beyond my utmost understanding how Pervaiz Musharraf and his comrades could have the heart and mind to handover a female along with her children to an interrogation power. But then, Pervaiz Musharraf is a criminal criminal…

What about Mian Nawaz Shareef?

How can he receive social calls from his daughter’s rapists and talk to them cordially? How can he smile at his daughter’s rapists? How can he shake hands with his daughter’s rapists? How can he accept hospitality from his daughter’s rapists? How can he enjoy walking the red carpet in the land of the rapists? How can he enjoy teas and dinners with his daughter’s rapists? How can he invite them to daal and qeema?

No doubt that the All Saints Church bombing on 22 September, 2013 in Pakistan was a massive tragedy, but is it logical to set the Pakistani flag at half mast for three days in its reaction? If it is logical, then the Pakistani flag should continuously be at half mast, because we have been ravaged with big and small explosions across Pakistan since the last thirteen years amounting to a death toll of fifty thousand so far.

In my eyes, if anything today calls for the Pakistani flag to be at half mast, it is the imprisonment of the daughter of the nation in America. Her father, Mian Nawaz Shareef, should confront them in all seriousness for an immediate release, instead of wooing the rapists of his daughter, Aafia Siddiqui.

Aafia & Malala

Nobel Peace Prize 2013: My heart skipped a beat in a turbulence of emotions as I saw Malala Yousafzai standup among important, worldly figures and walk up to the stage amidst a thunderous clapping and face the international world at one of the highest profiles. Malala Yousufzai, after receiving numerous international awards, had now been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize 2013. Later, although she did not win the prize but her nomination from the Muslim world at the age of sixteen was itself a great honor. The Pakistani media showed and replayed her video of walking up to the stage for the nomination again and again. The image of her young physique walking to glory reminded me of another such a petite girl.

This time, the year was 1997. The girl was a smiley face of a very fragile physique, but brilliant brains. She had won numerous academic and social awards. In that video, she was walking up to receive her PhD degree from the USA. Her name was Aafia Siddiqui.

Aafia Siddiqui had done her PhD in Education and hoped to return to Pakistan to indoctrinate education into the social fabric of Pakistan. Currently, Pakistan not only suffers from a very low literacy rate, but also from a dual education system of which one end is an education system which is religious but disconnected from the practicality of the modern world and the other is an education system that is secular but disconnected from our ideological identity, Islam. Aafia had devised such an education system for Pakistan that was seamless between the East and West horizons of our education system. Her sister Ms. Fouzia Siddiqui narrates that when she reviewed the educational curriculum devised by Aafia, she did not find the subject ‘Islamiat’ in there, so she questioned. Aafia replied, ‘Islam is not a separate subject. It is an ideology that shall manifest itself in every subject itself…’ She had even bought a huge piece of land in Karachi to build an academic institute for this purpose. She believed that education could change minds and hearts and the fate of a nation.

All this sounds very similar to the ambitions and aspirations of Malala Yousafzai... 

Aafia Siddiqui was truly an educationist at heart. She was truly a Muslim at heart too.

Malala Yousufzai is also truly an educationist at heart, but we have some very disturbing bits of news pieces about her which report her making statements such as, ‘Veiling reminds me of the stone-ages’, ‘Beard reminds me of the Pharoah’ and likewise criticizing Islamic symbols and concepts. Perhaps, one can give her an excuse margin, given her age and circumstances which were prone to a rebellious behavior.

However, regarding the international community, is this slight but pivotal difference between Aafia Siddiqui and Malala Yousufzai exactly the point that has earned both of these brilliant girls a different fate each?

Amongst the Muslim world, there is a common understanding that anybody whom America and the West dislikes is bound to be a valuable person to Islam, and anybody whom they like...automatically loses credibility in the Muslim world!

Such is the case with Malala Yousafzai. There is no doubt that Malala is a very beautiful, extremely intelligent and extraordinarily brave girl. So was Aafia Siddiqui, when she spoke for the Bosnian refugees to a mosque full of men in the USA, such that even the Imam of the mosque took off his shoes and donated them. However, her vocal zest for Muslims and Islam earned her an enforced disappearance, torture and rape. The so-called vocalists of human rights let die her six-month old baby on the roadside. The so-called vocalists of human rights chained her innocent seven-year-old son for the next five years resulting in his feet bones becoming deformed. Why do not you visit Fouzia Siddiqui in Karachi, Pakistan, and see for yourself? And then the so-called vocalists of human rights rush to rescue, educate and promote a fourteen-year-old Malala Yousafzai from the same Pakistan ? Am I stupid or what ?

Aman ka Ghazwa

“And when Luqman said to his son, giving him words of wisdom, ‘O my son, never ascribe partners with Allah, indeed, ascribing partners with Allah is the worst form of tyranny…’ ”

[The Holy Quran, (31) Surah-e-Luqman, Verse 13]

He then went on to give him some more words of wisdom, which included rights of our fellow beings, especially the mother, rights of the society, civilized behavior, humbleness and so on.

I do not hate Indians at all. Only I feel a trifle annoyance when I see them worshipping God through idols, animals and plants. I feel the same kind of annoyance as a person feels when he sees his siblings annoying his mother and continuing with it. That is all, no personal grudge. Who am I to judge God’s annoyance? Well, yes, okay. It is just all about faith and the correctness of anyone’s faith cannot be judged by any scientific formula. I wish it could.

Neither do I belong to the land mafia, which dreams of hoarding land upon land. If Kashmir annexes with Pakistan, my one kanal home will not turn into a two kanal home. Neither will my city expand in its space, luxury and beauty. My daily route will remain what it is. And nor is the purpose to tour Kashmir. If I want to make a trip to the occupied-Kashmir, I can do so even today with a visit-visa to India. India welcomes friendly tourists.

Then what is the issue about Kashmir? Why is Pakistan hooked on to the Kashmir issue?

Is it the water-issue? If it was merely the water-issue, then Pakistan would be speaking about the Indian Punjab too. For Pakistan, being an agricultural country, is heavily dependent upon natural water irrigation. Pakistan has six main rivers coming into it, three coming from Jammu and Kashmir and three coming from Indian Punjab. And it is not as if India has never done any oppression regarding water. Water dispute between Pakistan and India first erupted on April 1, 1948, when India cut-off the water flow of the rivers coming from Indian Punjab into Pakistani Punjab. This cut-off was in violation of an understanding made in good faith prior to partition to not meddle with natural water flows into Pakistan. This dispute was finally resolved by the ‘Indus Basin Water Treaty’ concluded in 1960 between President Ayub Khan and Prime Minister Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru. However, there are serious critics of this treaty here in Pakistan, saying President Ayub Khan sold-off three of its rivers to India. So if it was really about the water-dispute only, Pakistan would be creating some kind of fuss about the Indian Punjab as well. Have you ever heard about it? 

Independence from the British Rule and partition of India between the Muslims and Hindus was completed by the accession of independent princely states to either Pakistan or India or remaining independent. There were about 562 such states, all of whom had announced their accession choice by August 15^th, 1947, except Junagarh, Kashmir and Hyderabad. The subcontinent was reverted to independence by the British under the indigenous rule that Muslim-majority population states would form Pakistan and Hindu-majority population states would form India. And this was the accession guideline given by the British to the rulers of the independent princely states, that if they chose to accede, the accession to either Pakistan or India should be based on the wishes and desires of their people and their religious trends. However, the ultimate decision remained with the ruler of the state.

Junagarh and Hyderabad were Hindu-majority states with a Muslim ruler each, while Kashmir was a Muslim-majority state with a Hindu ruler. Three guesses to what became the fate of these three states…You got it! How did you guess the first time? You must be very, very intelligent or it is simply that you watch the news regularly and have a clear understanding of the gimmicks of India and its allies.

All three were forced to accede to India; Junagarh and Hyderabad on the pretext of being Hindu-majority states and Kashmir on the pretext of the choice of its ruler. Pakistan filed a case in the UN regarding all three states but of course the cases remain sitting to date. After seeing the political attitude of India regarding Pakistan, amidst Aman ki Asha, at the UN General Assembly 2013, and now at Modi’s election victory, I think they shall remain sitting on the UN table, until Ghazwa-e-Hind resolves the matter once and for all, all and out.

When this Aman ki Asha started singing, I was quite skeptical, because I really do not expect any political fairness from India. Its people are alright. Just like us, they also want to have peace, security and a prosperous life. In fact, we are quite the same kind of people, warm-hearted, fun-loving and a helping-hand in the hour of need. Why shouldn’t we be? For we belong to the same land. Geographical boundaries are man-made and cannot change biology. An inch on either side of the Wahgah Border does not create ‘different’ human beings.

Then what is all the fuss about? In fact, as they say, for what reason was Mother India ever divided? The fuss is that as human beings we do not hate each other at all, but we differ due to an ideology and this difference can sometimes really bring us to the cross of a mathematical right angle of 90°. It is like a mother who bears two sons, one grows up to be a Mother Teresa and the other chooses to become Robinhood. Both are doing charity, but one has chosen the right path to welfare and the other has chosen the wrong path to welfare. We all worship, but could any of us possibly be fuming God instead of pleasing Him? I am extremely sorry if I am sound self-righteous but I am just trying to explain a point. You are most welcome to put me in the stream of Robinhood and take the stream of Mother Teresa for yourself. But when I present our case, I shall do it in our light.

As Muslims, we abhor the concept of idolatry and do not wish our children, our plantings, to grow amidst it. Whether we accept it or not, but religion brings with itself an entire culture. Not just culture, but education, politics, economics and everything else. Religion reflects itself in every sphere of life. No, secularism is not an option, for secularism is itself a ‘religion’ and reflects its unwanted colors in every sphere of life too. Thereby, it is the right of the Kashmiri people to live as a Muslim state. As I said before, I am not an encroacher. If it pricks India that Kashmir should annex to Pakistan, fine, let Kashmir be an independent state then, but Kashmir must be given its more than half-a-century-old right of self-determination.

No? Oh well, let it be then. I guess we will just have to wait for Ghazwa-e-Hind. For it is the prophecy of our Prophet Muhammed Pbuh that Ghazwa-e-Hind (Battle of Hindustan) shall take place near the end of times and the Muslims shall sweep the land with victory.

Given the weak situation of the Muslims today, you must be finding my statement extremely funny. So did some people when Prophet Muhammed Pbuh was calling for finances and resources for the Expedition of Tabuk. Many Muslims came up with huge donations, but the overall situation of the Muslims was still very weak because the target was enormous, so much so, that when the expedition finally set out, the ratio of camels to soldiers was one to eighteen! In such a situation, one very poor but very hardworking Muslim worked all night for a Jew and donated his entire nights’ earnings which amounted to only half a kilogram of dates. So the critics of Muslims of those times laughed and mocked and bickered to the joy of their heart, saying, ‘You are planning to confront the mighty Byzantines with half a kilo of dates?’ It so happened that the sincerity and all-that-they-could effort of the Muslims reaped its result. Allah Almighty sufficed them and news about the thirty-thousand march instilled awe and fear in the hearts of the enemies of Islam, and instead of confronting them, they dispersed throughout the land. The Muslim army, thus returned victorious without a fight or bloodshed. This was the second victory of its kind after the Conquest of Makkah.

And Prophet Muhammed’s prophecies do come true. During the invasion of Al-Ahzab upon the Muslims themselves, he predicted the conquests of Syria, Persia and Yemen, all of whom were great powers at that time while the Muslims had only Madinah, a city. Islam ultimately did spread to all these regions and much beyond.

Prophet Muhammed Pbuh even gave the prophecy of Muslims being ceremoniously attacked by all others near the end of times, that is, what is happening today by the name of war-on-Islam, oops, I mean war-on-terror.    

So you be unfair and hold Kashmir tightly to your bosoms. Eventually, we shall get back the entire land.

However, there is no need for the Indians and their allies to feel any apprehension or fear by the above statements. For you do not believe in Prophet Muhammed Pbuh and his statements. While for the Muslims, let it be a solace to their grieving hearts.

Mercy, Army & TTP

Do not fight, in the name of Allah…

In the name of Allah, do not fight…

In the name of Allah, stop fighting…

These are the merciful pleas of our nation today to the TTP. The politicians, media and civil society, all are resonating this message in various tones according to their secularism or religiosity.

Today, we all have a merciful heart, which can feel the pain, horror and cruelty of persecution, terrorism and death. Alas, we were all sleeping mercilessly only a few years ago.

We felt no mercy when Pakistan made a u-turn on the Afghan Taliban after 9/11 and handed over the Afghan diplomats and soldiers one after the other to be tied, blindfolded, gagged and kicked into prisons. Have you ever read the story of the handover of Mullah Zaeef, formal Afghan ambassador to Pakistan, or were you too busy reading about Daniel Pearl only?

We felt no mercy when eighty children of a madrassah in the North-West Pakistan were killed at Fajr time in an airstrike by the Americans. Can you imagine what those eighty children must have been doing at Fajr time? Doing Wuzu. Praying Fajr. Reciting Quran. Blast! They all died. Did the world protest for them or was everybody waiting for the All Saints Church to explode in Peshawar in 2013 for everyone to come out of their houses and express anguish?

We felt no mercy when Aafia Siddiqui was hooded, drugged and whisked away along with her three children from Karachi to Afghanistan and from there to America. Her six month old baby fell and died during the snatching and pickup. You know what? Only fifteen years ago, after making the nuclear explosion in May 1998, we boasted that Pakistan had now become unbeatable. I was one of those proud too. Ha, ha, ha! How funny and sorry that statement seems now. We cannot protect our people, we cannot protect our land and we cannot protect our ideology. I have a great idea. We better donate our nuclear power to Iran, for they have something which we do not have. A spine!

2001…2002…2003…2004…2005…2006…2007…

Seven years, and someone’s patience ran out…so they hit back. Now, we remember ‘mercy’.

They target-killed America appeaser politicians, even if surrounding civilians went down along with them. They target-killed our armed forces, for supporting the American war-on-terror, even if surrounding civilians went down along with them. They target-killed anybody who put forward the American agenda, even if surrounding civilians went down along with them.

Is it human to do so?

585 A.C., 6 Hijri - The Treaty of Hudaibiyah, Clause 4: If anyone from Quraish goes over to Muhammed Pbuh without his guardians permission, meaning a fugitive, he should be sent back to the Quraish, but should any of Muhammed’s followers return to the Quraish, he shall not be sent back.

This clause greatly inflamed the Muslims. However, Prophet Muhammed Pbuh agreed to all the conditions of the Treaty of Hudaibiyah in the long-term interest of the Muslims. The appeasers of participation in the American war-on-terror refer to this treaty with the Quraish with a great gusto in hope of gathering support for cooperation with America. So let us see what happened forth.

“It was during this time while the treaty was being written that Abu Jandal RA, Suhail’s son, appeared on the scene. He was brutally chained and was staggering with hardship and exhaustion. The Prophet Pbuh and his Companions were moved to pity and tried to secure his release but Suhail was unyielding and said, ‘To signify that you are faithful to your contract, an opportunity has just arrived’. The Prophet Pbuh said, ‘But the treaty is not signed when your son entered the camp’. Upon this, he burst forth and said, ‘But the terms of the treaty were agreed upon’. It was indeed an anxious moment.

On one hand, Abu Jandal RA was lamenting at the top of his voice…but on the other hand, the faithful engagement was also considered to be necessary, above all other considerations.

The Prophet’s Pbuh heart was filled with sympathy, but he wanted to honor his words at all costs. He consoled Abu Jandal RA and said, ‘Be patient, resign yourself to the Will of Allah. Allah is going to provide for you and your helpless companions relief and means of escape. We have concluded a peace treaty with them and we have taken the pledge in the Name of Allah. We are, therefore, under no circumstances prepared to break it’…

After the Prophet Pbuh had reached Madinah, Abu Baseer RA, who had escaped from the Quraish, came to him as a Muslim. The Quraish sent two men demanding his return, so the Prophet Pbuh handed him over to them.

On the way to Makkah, Abu Baseer RA managed to kill one of them, and the other one fled to Madinah with Abu Baseer RA in pursuit. When he reached the Prophet Pbuh, he said, ‘Your obligation is over and Allah has freed you from it. You duly handed me over to the men, and Allah has rescued me from them’. The Prophet Pbuh said, ‘Woe to his mother, he would have kindled a war if there had been others with him’.

When he heard that, he knew he would be handed back to them, so he fled from Madinah and went as far as Saiful-Bahr.

The other Muslims who were oppressed in Makkah began to escape to Abu Baseer RA. He was joined by Abu Jandal RA and others until a fair-sized colony was formed and soon sought revenge on the Quraish and started to intercept their caravans.

The pagans of Makkah finding themselves unable to control those exiled colonists, begged the Prophet Pbuh to do away with the clause which governed the return of these persons. They begged him by Allah…”    

Ahan! So now the Americans want a peace treaty with the Taliban so that they can make a safe exit in 2014?

And we make fun of the capabilities and driven emotions of the shalwar, kameez and sandal clad TTP, surviving in the cold weather and the rugged mountains, who managed to hit our GHQ, Mehran Airbase, Marriott Hotel, D.I.Khan and Bannu Jails?

Not that it makes me happy, to see two brothers fighting each other tooth and nail and destroying our own assets and facilities upon the plotting of a neighborhood gangster. So I will beg too.

Dear Army and TTP, stop fighting. You are both Muslims. You are both soldiers. You are both our sons. You are an asset to each other. Why are you fighting each other?

The younger brother wants one thing from the elder brother, and so do many of the Pakistanis. You are very capable, very brave and very intelligent. Do you really need to hang on to America to maintain the brilliance of your fighting power? We have gained enough in our alliance with America, but now we are losing more than we have gained. I beg you to change our foreign policy and anchoring. There are other nations that we can look towards for technical assets, technical training and technical support. Why America? Even if the others are a few notches less than America in precision, that is okay! Remember the victory of Battle of Badr and the defeat of Battle of Hunain? Expertise and resources can be compromised but faith and direction cannot be compromised.

Dear Christians, Hindus and other non-Muslims, this war is not against you but you are getting trodden in the way. We Muslims too have and are continuously bearing the brunt of the so-called war-on-terror. You have stood with us on many occasions like showing support for Aafia Siddiqui. Beware that these attacks on you are most probably not by the TTP, as they have denied it, but by those against peace in Pakistan. We share your agony, but many do not share our agony. Eighty-three of your precious lives have been lost on September 22, 2013, and our local media to the international media to the UN are resounding the protest, and rightfully so! Twenty thousand plus precious Muslim lives were burnt to death in an ancient style torture in Burma 2012, and guess what? It was not allowed to be reported even on the Muslim media! This is the height of oppression and oppression breeds retaliation. Stop the oppression, stop the retaliation.

Lady Boss

Eye to eye, they look at each other. So who will be the boss around here now?

There is the mother of the bridegroom. She has spent her prime years serving her mother-in-law. She was the good wife who never ate before her husband came home. She was the sacrificial mother who skipped eating herself to feed her children if the food was scarce. She worked all day and late into the night. If ever there was a female’s funfair or workshop in town, she could not take out time to go to it as she had to serve food to someone or the other in the family every other hour, and nobody was willing to take over even the simple task of making the evening tea. As she sees her daughter-in-law coming in, in her heart she says goodbye to her days of toiling.

There is the newly wedded wife. She has just left a house where she was one among many siblings. Baba dictated all the do’s and dont’s. Or was it Mama? When she used to talk on the telephone for too long, they used to get angry, and tell her that she must obey them. When she wanted to move out her bed and sleep on a floor mattress, they used to get angry, and tell her that she must obey them. When she wanted to choose her subjects in college, they used to get angry, and tell her that she must obey them. She desperately waited for the time when she would be on her own. As marriage comes closer, she cherishes the thought of becoming the queen of her new life.

Kaboong !

The hopes of both of them dash as the expectations of both of them collide in a loud crash.

For the mother, it is not that difficult to assert her position of power, for everyone in our society is well-reminded of the Prophetic saying, ‘Jannah lies under the feet of the mother’. As a nation, each of us selects a few favorites from religion and broadcast them well to suit our purpose. The son, who is also the husband, usually has not given much regard to this holy saying prior to marriage, but suddenly becomes mindful of it to keep his wife dutiful towards his mother.

For the wife, hmmm, it’s a bit of an uphill task. Which path should she choose? Should she be the submissive Indian shastri? Or should she be the double-character, sugar-coated pill? Or should she simply burst out and declare herself to be a Punjabi jutni? Or should she look towards religion for a genuine solution?

If she chooses to take the submissive line of action, that is, foregoing her dreams and toiling on in the hope of getting a breakthrough one fine day, well she will just be continuing the vicious circle of female-power-politics. She will then expect the same from her daughter-in-law and so on.

If she simply bursts out her hopes and frustration, she is likely to get kicked out herself. Or, if the husband is unwilling to leave her for whatsoever reason, both of them are then likely to get kicked out for violating the family power hierarchy.

Well, what is this double-character, sugar-coated pill? Should one try out this?

It is a woman who is different inside and different outside. She cannot or does not want to expose her true feelings, so she keeps these feelings wrapped in brilliantly colored but fake words and gestures. She will say something, but mean something else. And she will achieve her plans by a very complicated sketch.

The first step of this sketch is redefining relations. Usually, a person has direct relations with many people in his life. And if the person is emotionally intelligent, he does not allow one relation to rule or overrule the other. This woman will first try to severe all these relations and make herself the center of contact of her husband. Anyone who wishes to keep relations with her husband must go through her. For this purpose, she will subtly and cleverly create a negative image of the people around him by ‘innocently’ and repeatedly pointing out their mistakes and negative character traits, for who doesn’t have any? But, highlighting them and enlarging them makes a difference. A point in time will come that the husband will say, ‘This person is a nag, please do not allow him/her to see me unless you take explicit permission from me’. Bingo! The wife has now become the personal secretary of the husband. She will tell you that he is asleep if she does not want you to talk to him.

The second step of this sketch is to redirect passion. A person is usually passionate about his other family members for love, care, companionship and support. Now, the wife must portray such an image of herself in front of the husband that it suddenly dawns on him that God has ultimately blessed him with a person, a wife, who is the true embodiment of love, care, companionship and support. The people around him so far were stupid, careless and did not love him as much as she does and he deserved. And it is now that he realizes all this. Bingo! The wife has now also become the center of attention for the husband. He will jump at the drop of her first tear, but he will not notice someone else’s eyes dried of endless tears shed.

The third step of this sketch is to reverse the reality. The wife has been on a ‘secret mission’ of redefining relations and redirecting passion. Since it was a secret mission, it all happened silently. However, all these changes in the natural relationship cycle of the prior family is bound to incur emotional outbursts, just like a storm is preceded by an eerie silence. When this outburst occurs, the wife feigns surprise in front of the husband and everybody else as well. The ones she has punctured see through her facade while the husband and the few others untouched ones do not. However, before anyone else can become vocal, the wife quickly takes on the role of a peacemaker and soother. She will try to cool down the aggravated person, in front of the husband of course. She will offer him/her a glass of water, which the other person perhaps feels like throwing at her false face. And if the person does so, the ‘saint’ will appear holier and the ‘trouble-maker’ will appear a certified nuisance. Then the wife will go a step further in her sainthood. She will speak of forgiveness and patch-up for the person to her husband, who is right now very annoyed and disgusted at the person who has burst out and created a fuss for no ‘visible’ reason. Bingo! The wife has now become a saint in the husband’s eyes. She is the one always right, always wronged by others and always making peace.

Reader, I do not think I need to tell you that the double-character, sugar-coated pill option is not a good option. For the simple reason that, lying is one of the qualities of the hypocrite, being double-faced is considered one of the worst personality traits in Islam and ‘redefining’ relationships comes under the category of severing relationships.   

Allah’s Messenger Pbuh said, ‘Shall I inform you of the biggest of the great sins?’ They said, ‘Yes, O Allah’s Messenger!’ He said, ‘To join partners in worship with Allah, and to be undutiful to one’s parents’. The Prophet Muhammed Pbuh was reclining, but then he sat up, saying, ‘And I warn you against giving a false statement’. He did not stop repeating that warning, such that the companions wished that he would quiet down.

[Bukhari: Book of Good Manners]

The Prophet Pbuh said, ‘The worst of people in the Sight of Allah on the Day of Resurrection will be the double-faced persons who appear to some people with one face and to other people with another face.’

[Bukhari: Book of Good Manners]

The Prophet Pbuh said, ‘Allah created the creations, and when He finished from His creations, Ar-Rahm, the womb said, ‘O’Allah, at this place I seek refuge with You from all those who sever me, that is, sever the ties of kith and kin’. Allah said, ‘Yes, won’t you be pleased that I will keep good relations with the one who will keep good relations with you, and I will sever the relation with the one who will sever the relation with you’. It said, ‘Yes, O my Lord’. Allah said, ‘Then that is for you…’ Allah’s Messenger Pbuh added, ‘Read in the Quran if you wish, the statement of Allah: ‘Now what can be expected of you, if you are put in authority, other than to create mischief in the land and violate the ties of blood’. The Holy Quran, (47) Surah Muhammed, Verse 22]’

While a very simple solution to this entire tangle is honesty, management and seeking support of Allah Almighty. Did you speak of your expectations at the time of marriage? Do you know that Islam allows for a married couple to have an independent home, even if it is a portion within a house? Do you take support from Islam only when it suits you or do you pay back as well ?

The Zamurad Bravery

Thursday, 15^th August 2013: Islamabad saw one of the weirdest acts of terrorism, when a person named Sikander appeared on Jinnah Avenue, Blue Area, accompanied with his wife, two children and guns. This spot is only a few kilometers away from the Parliament and the Red Zone of the capital of Pakistan. Sikander fired into the air to get attention and then kept the police and security agencies on the hook for more than five hours. It was extremely frustrating to watch. A common person like me was commenting, ‘Okay, even if they want to catch him alive, why cannot they shoot a couple of bullets at his legs and over-power him?’

Finally, an ex-parliamentarian, Chairman Pakistan Bait-ul-Maal and PPP member, Zamurad Khan, appeared on the scene after spending a similarly frustrating time in front of the TV as the rest of the public. He was instructed by the police to stay back but he insisted to go forward. He pretended to talk to Sikander’s children and soon enough jumped at Sikander to take him down. Zamurad slipped and then the surrounding police triggered into action…a much awaited and delayed action! They made some aerial shots to confuse Sikander and then shot at his legs, which staggered him and he was over-powered at last.

The media and public went into a frenzy. In this deadly stand-off, Zamurad Khan came out as a hero, while the police, security agencies and most importantly, the Interior Ministry whose instructions were being followed, reflected in a bad light. The media and public hailed Zamurad Khan for his bravery; the fact that he could not stand the nonsense of the guy Sikander, the fact that he went ahead despite orders to stay back and the fact that he took on the armed guy unarmed. Zamurad Khan put an end to a nerve-ending terrorist stand-off in the middle of the capital of Pakistan by an individual’s act.

Following, the Interior Ministry and the Police department had to face awkward questions by the media and public for their unfathomable delay and inaction against Sikander. It seems that their embarrassment turned into a political pressure and within twenty-fours hours, the media had a mood-shift. It now began questioning the individual act of Zamurad Khan; did he do the right thing? Was it wise to take on an unarmed guy while himself unarmed? Was it right to disobey police orders? Was it right for a civilian to take law into his own hands?

I agree that what Zamurad Khan did was ‘technically incorrect’ and an extremely risky thing. He could have gotten shot. The civilians standing around could have gotten shot. Any media, political or police personnel could have gotten shot. However, all these people could have also gotten shot while Zamurad Khan took no action for the guy Sikander was brandishing his gun from time to time in any case.

Thus, I am grateful to the news analyst, Sir Najam Sethi, for his clear-cut and sharp analysis of the situation and the act of Zamurad Khan. In his talk-show, Aapis ki Baath, Najam Sethi ke Saath on GEO TV, he said that no civilian has the right to take up a misadventure such as Zamurad Khan did, no one has the right to disobey state-institutional orders and no one has the right to take law into his own hands, however, when the state-institutions fail to do their duty, when they fail to respond and act in the face of a criminal offence and when they behave like sitting ducks, nature has its own way of responding to a crisis and it is then that individuals step forward with an individual act to fill the gap of an action wanted but yet unperformed. Thereby, he downright supported Zamurad Khan’s action.

Well said, Sethi Sahab, well said. Perhaps, Sethi Sahab, you would also care to relate this theory of state inaction and individual’s actions to other episodes of injustice, oppression and terrorism.

Mumtaz Qadri was also an individual who reacted to state inaction towards out, loud Blasphemy. Then, while Blasphemy against the Prophet is a recognized crime, there are factions among one Islamic sect who actually organize Majalis, purporting Blasphemy against Shahaba RA, and no one takes an utter notice of them. When Lashkar-e-Jhangvi reacts to this blasphemy, everyone cries ‘Ugh’. Yes, but what about ‘Ughing’ upon organized character assassination of Syedna Ayesha RA, Syedna Abu Bakr RA and Syedna Umar RA?  Faisal Shahzad was also an individual who lost his mind and reasoning to drone killings, family massacres and homes being razed to the ground. Taliban, Al-Qaeda and all other militant groups worldwide are also reactionary groups to the inaction, rather cooperation of Muslim states with global bullies in their injustice, oppression and encroachment upon Muslim lands, resources and ideology.

What should individuals do when one shot at Malala Yousufzai earns her a helicopter escort, 24-hour media coverage, many days of vigil, medical treatment in UK, international scholarships, foreign job for her father, speech invitations at UN, multiple national and international awards, painted portraits and movie scripts upon her life story, while a similar girl, but only of age seven, stands screaming in terror in her abandoned school as Israeli warplanes bombard a Palestinian locality and I do not even know her name. What should individuals do when a ten-year-old Palestinian girl braves up to go to her school which is past an Israeli check-post and the Israeli soldiers fire nineteen bullets in her head and I do not even know her name. The world mourns the closure of girls’ schools in Afghanistan and North-West Pakistan at the hands of Taliban, but what should individuals do when one Iraqi parents stop sending their girl-child to school because she had to cross an American check post on the way and the soldiers standing there used to leer at her beauty. Then one fatal day, not going to school did not save her! The soldiers came home, tied up the parents, tied up the girl-child, raped her mercilessly and then set her mutilated body to flames. And the world does not even know her name.

But somebody does.

Some individuals, here and there, remember these episodes very well.

Some individuals are not interested in useless vigils, useless awards and useless Bush apologies.

Some individuals seethe for revenge, which cannot bring back their terrorized, dead and raped daughters, much worse than what happened to Malala Yousufzai, but it gives them one small moment of sustaining revenge.

I think you know the name of these individuals. We call them ‘terrorists’.

Really, we should think before calling anyone a terrorist. They might actually be victims of a global, organized and targeted terrorist movement themselves and reacting only.     

Think before calling Zamurad Khan stupid. What would you call the response of the authorities who have the authority, responsibility and resources to respond responsibly and yet do not?

Does secularism and atheism blind one to natural psychology and the basic principle of Physics that every action has an equal and opposite reaction ?