bakhabar october 2014

Better light a candle than curse the darkness

Monthly e-Magazine ISSN 2319-4049

httpbakhabarbiharanjumanorg Volume 7 Issue 10 October 2014BE AWARE ALWAYS EVERYWHERE

COVER STORY

Love Jihad

Is it Real

Editorial Board

PublisherBihar Anjuman BaKhabar

Editorial BoardAsrarul Haque Seraj Akram Mohd Allam

Ms Farhat Shakeel and Jahanzeb Mashhadi

bakhabarbiharanjumanorg

ldquoThe editors and publishers are not respon-sible for the views of writers and their viewsdo not reflect our policy or ideology in anyway We however reserve the right to editany material submitted for publication onaccount of public policy or for reasons of

clarity and space ndash From Publishersrdquo Pic-tures have been taken from available public

sources

Together we can change our societyJoin Bihar Anjuman

wwwbiharanjumanorg

write to bakhabarbiharanjumanorg

form a chapter in your city or countryDubai Abu Dhabi Chennai

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Bakhabar October 20142

CONTENTS

Sadbhav Mission B16 Sarvodaya Enclave New Delhi 110017

Prof V K Tripathi Convenor Shri Narendra Modi

South Block New Delhi 110001 September 10 2014-09-10

e Sir Shikshak Divas has a sanctity It has been an occasion i) for teachers to introspect and realize that a lamp lights as long as it burns itself a teacher can teach only as long as he keeps learning and ii) for students to express their love and gratitude towards their teachers to strengthen the bond of oneness The strictures and dictates passed on schools on this shikshak divas overshadowed and dumped that motive In fact converting shikshak divas into guru parva and forcing students country wide to watch your speech interaction live appeared more like an exercise in self projection than in touching tender souls Soul is touched by the totality of personality by the tender and personal touch Your persona as a power figure as an authority superior to all others has little for children to emulate to sublime their ego arrogance or desire to cheat to gain superiority You may call your self the first servant but you do not reflect the humiliation and hardship a servant lives He she never gets the round the clock media coverage as you have been getting for the last one year ever since your Lallan College speech on August 15 2013 The children and parents are already exhausted of watching you on TV channels Forcing them to watch you for additional two hours in specially arranged display systems in schools which do not have adequate number of teachers and classrooms and where half the teachers are heavily underpaid is not commensurate with the spirit of academics and education Rather than shadowing the personality of teachers by a virtuous personality it would be much healthier to let teachers blossom and students grow in an atmosphere of freedom where there are no pressures and no discrimination of gender caste religion language or status Internet connectivity to schools is a positive thing but it should not be only for a day in a year It must also be remembered that internet or TV learning is no substitute for class room teaching Teacher is the backbone of teaching and he must be sustained with dignity and given freedom to operate Students are the souls of schools and they must be respected On behalf of Sadbhav Mission and our countrymen I urge you and MHRD to stop this exercise of projecting executive authority as super guide Best regards VK Tripathi 9717309263 tripathivipinyahoocoin

Emotional Intelligence Muslims and Eid AlAzha

Cover StoryLove Jihad

Book Review

The Impact of Islamic Environment

An Open Letter

The Boiling FrogSyndrome

32

31

24

10

15

03


Cover Story

Is it Real


Cover Story

I Aijaz Zaka Syed I

Study the past advised Cicero to know the fu-ture But those who forever live in the pastend up eclipsing their present and the future

No wonder the frequent word of advice from ourelders is Jo huauseybhooljao Dont obsess over thepast Let it go Look to the future A sensible advicecertainly ndash especially for those whose past is like afestering wound

Whorsquos got the stomach time or energy to dig up oldghosts and rake up ones wounds But even if youare determined to get over the past and get on withyour life there are people out there whose sole lifemission is to see you do not in your luxurious exis-tence ever lose sight of the Original Sin No sir aslong as you live like the generations before you youare condemned to carry the cross of historic guilt ndashof dismembering the motherland

It may have been some 67 years since Partition andthose ostensibly guilty of this primordial crime mayhave long gone However anything goes wrong any-where in India or Pakistan and the ghosts of Parti-tion are invoked and brought back from the dead allover again

So the ceaseless anti-government protests across theborder by Imran Khan and his unlikely bedfellowTahirulQadri move R Jagannathan editor of First-post Indiarsquos leading online newspaper so much thathe must thank Lord Ganesha that Partition happenedand that he does not have to suffer the barbariansbent on throwing out an elected government

ldquoWhat Pakistans crisis tells all Indians Partitionwas an excellent ideardquo If you find the title of thepiece evocative and enticing enough what Jagan-nathan argues at the outset should leave you wantingfor more

ldquoIf one were to look at whats happening across ourwestern borders ndash where an elected government isbeing sought to be ousted by street protests possiblytacitly backed by the army ndash any sane Indian shouldbe saying to himself thank God for Partitionrdquo writesJagannathan before delivering the knockout punchldquoThe fact that we had some past civilization links to

the region now called Pakistan should not blind us tothe reality that this link is dead Islamic Pakistan anddemocratic India can never be friends ndash till Pakistanceases to be Islamicrdquo

You do not find such lsquofair and balancedrsquo candour andincisive insight even on Fox News and from the likesof US televangelist Ann Coulter and Bill OrsquoReillythese days

If you find this open Islamophobic bigotry shock-ing well it is meant to be Jagannathanrsquos kind oflsquojournalismrsquo is not an exception anymore it is fastbecoming the norm in a country once known for itsfierce media freedom and secular liberal idealismSuch venom against all things Islamic in the name ofconfronting and critiquing the troublesome westernneighbour is all too common these days

Firstpost has long been a trenchant critic of the pre-vious Congress government and DrManmohanSingh and naturally a passionate supporter of ModiWhich makes sense considering it belongs likemuch of Indiarsquos corporate media today to the Re-liance group of MukeshAmbani a close friend of theprime minister since his good olrsquo Gujarat days

In another gem this week Jagannathan was on aproselytising mission exhorting Hindus to start massconversions from other faiths to deal with the ldquoMus-lim problemrdquo and their fast growing mythical num-bers Adding his voice to the call to arms by theBJPrsquos Yogi Adityanath against the so-called lovejihad imploring Hindus to convert one hundredMuslims for every Hindu leaving the faith Jagan-nathan admonishes Hindu society for its social andcasteist aversion to opening its doors to outsiders

In a piece tantalisingly titled lsquoThe Real Threat toHinduism is Patriarchy not Love or Sex Jihadrsquo Ja-gannathan writes ldquoIf Hindus believe that conver-sions are a threat to them they have no option but tobe more like the proselytizing religions of the world(read Islam) and start setting up institutional systemsfor expanding their reach This will of coursechange the nature of Hinduism ndash but a religion thatdoes not change will atrophyrdquo

Now who would have any issues with Hindu groups

Whorsquos afraid of love jihad


Cover Story

going on a proselytising mission India is a freecountry and everyone is free to believe in and prac-tice the faith of their choice and invite others to theirbeliefs

The trouble is there is a dichotomy if not duplicityat work here While Hindutva votaries like the VHPare busy aggressively proselytising and ldquobringingback Muslims and Christians to their original faithrdquoas they put it they have been fighting for a ban onconversions by Christian and Muslim groups sincean entire Dalit village down south Meenakshipuramconverted to Islam in 1981

Besides as Dalit intellectuals like KanchaIlaiahargue when upper caste Hindus still cannot sharetheir social space food and even God with brethrenfrom a lower birth after 67 of Independence and so-cialist secular democracy how do they expect towelcome new faithful to the fold But then that is Iguess an internal affair of the community and besttackled by its own leaders and intellectuals

What should worry us all though is the increasingradicalisation and communalisation of the intellec-tual space and intolerance of anything remotely re-sembling dissent or difference of opinion As ProfZoya Hasan lamented in The Hindu this week itrsquosnot just that Indian politics suddenly has no use forthe countryrsquos minorities therersquos no room for minor-ity opinion either

On the other hand there is a calibrated and sustainedcampaign to wreck communal peace in UttarPradesh Indiarsquos most populous and most sensitivestate and elsewhere with the rising crescendo ofGoebbelsian propaganda targeting Muslims Madres-sahs are accused of sending Muslim boys to prey onHindu girls in an elaborate conspiracy by mullahs tochange the demographics of India

People like Yogi Adityanath a senior BJP MP and itsmost rabid face today have been on a rampagespewing venom against an already terrified minorityHe urges his followers to impregnate a hundredMuslim women for every Hindu girl falling for aMuslim

BJP President Amit Shah has promised his cadresthat if the current communal polarisation is main-tained the party could soon return to power in UPNo wonder in the past few months more than 600lsquocommunal incidentsrsquo have been reported from UP

alone

And itrsquos not just UP that sits on powder keg all setto blow up A clever national pattern is emergingwith numerous cases of lsquoforced conversions ofHindu girls by Muslim boyfriendsrsquo being reportedfrom various parts of the country in sync with theratcheting up of hysterics by Hindutva groups andtheir sophisticated collaborators in media

Does it all have anything to do with the change ofguard in New Delhi There certainly seems no otherexplanation As they say Jaisa Raja WaisiPraja (Asthe king so the subjects) Itrsquos as though Modirsquos as-cendency has emboldened if not given the go-aheadto the Parivar to go berserk

This even as the prime minister has been all sweet-ness and light vowing lsquosab kasaath sab kavikaasrsquo(participation and progress of all) projecting himselfas a world statesman in the mould of Nehru andKennedy His Independence Day speech warning thenation against the lsquocommunal poisonrsquo and suggestinga moratorium on violence would have made Gandhiproud What explains his deafening silence over theshenanigans of his own followers though If he re-ally means what he says why doesnrsquot he begin bycracking the whip against nuts like Adityanath

Whatever the explanation with all this talk of IndianMuslims joining the distant Isis and Al-Qaedaweighing in on with its own marketing pitch it lookslike it is open season for Indian Muslims

Security and intelligence strategists cannot hide theirglee as they conjure up frightening scenarios ofglobal jihad against India Things are heating up forIndiarsquos largest minority Itrsquos time for Indian Muslimsto be afraid ndash very afraid

The writer is a Middle East based columnist and edi-tor of Caravan an online news magazine

Email aijazsyedhotmailcom


Cover Story

KanchaIlaiah | September 24 2014 0209 am IST

The debate on ldquolove jihadrsquorsquo focuses on Muslimmen seducing Hindu women across the castespectrum and marrying them to propagate

Islam and alter the religio-demographic profile ofour country The same forces have often in the pastaccused Christians of luring Hindus from the lowercastes and tribals into the folds of Christianity

But this is a new Hindutva-Brahminic theory mdash thatthrough love the religio-demographic profile of acountry such as India ndash can be altered Under thepretext of this new theory of ldquolove jihadrdquo any at-tempts at inter-religious marriages which in anycase are few and far between are being blockedEven now India is not a land where marriages ofchoice or lovemarriages as wecall them are en-couraged Matri-monial partnersare by and largestill endorsed byfamilies under ourthriving ldquoarrangedmarriagerdquo system

This arrangedmarriage systemwas institution-alised as it alonecould nourishfeed and sustainthe caste systemAnd thatrsquos the reason it continues even in this dayand age The arranged marriage mechanism put aneffective full stop to inter-caste and inter-religiousmarriages

Not only Hindus but Muslims and Christians too en-dorse this pernicious system to conserve their familylineage cultural and religious traditions

Historically the adoption of the religion of thespouse is well-known and documented More uppercaste Hindu women have married Muslim men thanupper caste Muslim women (there is caste amongMuslims too) have married Hindu men In such

marriages some Muslim women have changed theirreligion and some have not

The most striking example of ldquolove jihadrdquo is that ofKamala Das (later Kamala Surayya) mdash an uppercaste Hindu woman a famous writer and a devoteeof Lord Krishna who lived in Kerala According to abiographic source ldquoShe was born in a conservativeHindu Nair (Nallappattu) family having royal ances-try After being asked by her lover whom she men-tions as Sadiq Ali an Islamic scholar and a MuslimLeague MP she embraced Islam in 1999 at the ageof 65 and assumed the name Kamala SurayyardquoAli was said to be much younger than her and yet hewas willing to marry her on the condition of conver-sion This was a known case of real ldquolove jihadrdquo At65 she embraced Islam and chose to don the hijab

chucking hercolourful de-signer wear

The Brahminiclower casteHindu womenhad been os-tracised by so-ciety till theCheramanPeru-mal royals con-verted to Islamin the early 6thcentury Thepre-and post-AdiShankara-charya

Hinduism had forced lower caste women to be in asemi-naked state This in addition to the pubertalmenstrual and child birth seclusions inposed onthem

Women who embraced Islam either by marriage orthrough other ways were immediately liberated fromtheir semi-nakedness and various forms of untoucha-bilities Though those who embraced Islam in Keralain particular and south India in general took to theways of the locals rights accorded to women in theQuran changed their status instantaneously Till me-dieval times Muslims were granted Quranic rightswithout any compromise

The real lsquolove jihadrsquo


Cover Story

However the AdiShankaraAdwaitaschool did notliberate the upper caste or the lower caste Hinduwomen from Manursquos brutal laws dogmatic supersti-tions and caste-bound practices

As a child I was pained to see the myriad forms ofuntouchabilities that the lower caste women had tosuffer in the erstwhile Nizamrsquos territory mdash Telan-gana By then though the women were allowed towear the upper garment called ravike (a form ofblouse) they could not eat with male members of thefamily They were not allowed to cover their ankleswith their sari or comb their hair every day or talkto their husbands in the presence of other familymembers These practices were apparently adoptedfrom TurkaSanskruti

In Kerala the right to the wear upper garment wasgranted to non-Muslim women in the late 19th andearly 20th century In such a situation going into aMuslim house appeared to be a big relief for youngwomen who desired the freedom to cover their bod-ies Loving Muslim men therefore was a true jihadGradually the south Indian communities across thecaste spectrum learnt from Islamic and Christianicethic and improved the status of women ndash bothwithin and outside the four walls of the houseStudies show that a Muslim womanrsquos status withinher house in south India is far superior to that of herHindu counterpart

In North India particularly in Uttar Pradesh andBihar the status of non-Muslim women is muchworse than that of Muslim women The ugly under-development of these states is related to womenrsquosstatus health education and freedoms In this situa-tion ldquoloverdquo becomes a source of ldquojihadrdquo against op-pression

As far as I know no Hindu organisation has launcheda campaign to promote equality of gender or to abol-ish oppressive practices If they indeed want to stopldquolove jihadrdquo they should take up massive social re-forms amongst all castes The reforms should bespiritual cultural and include the dimension of man-woman relationship We have not heard of a singleSangh leader talking about family or social reformsWe cannot achieve ldquosabkavikasrdquo without givingequal rights to women of all castes and religions andtransforming cultural codes In some castes womenrsquosoppression is in still in the primitive mode In NorthIndia the condition of Jat and Yadav women is

telling of their status in the family and societyNorth India is still an unreformed den and theSanghParivarwalas want to push North Indianwomen into worse conditions They have no agendafor social reform The more they want the Indianwomen to be oppressed ldquoHindu narisrdquo withoutrights the more they will become ldquoMuslim Begumsrdquowith rights The real problem lies in equal rights andthe modernisation of family They need to realisethis

The writer is director Centre for the Study of SocialExclusion and Inclusive Policy Maulana Azad Na-tional Urdu University Hyderabad


Cover Story

I Charu Gupta I

Perhaps inter-religious marriages can be a way toproduce cracks in orthodox Hindu mandates

SUMMARYIn its orchestration and inflammatory appeal thecurrent campaign shares similarities with Hindu re-vivalist projects in the 1920s in UP

ldquoLove jihadrdquo mdash a term floated by some Hinduorganisations mdash has got firmly fixed on theagenda of the RSS and its rightwing affiliates

like the Dharma Jagran Manch even though theUttar Pradesh unit of the BJP has formally droppedthe phrase from its political resolutions The lastmonth has witnessed an aggressive systematic cam-paign around ldquolove jihadrdquo and in the coming daysthere are plans to hold continuous ldquoawarenessrdquo ral-lies in UP against this alleged movement to force-fully convert vulnerable Hindu women to Islamthrough trickery and marriage Portentously thispresent movement has an uncanny resemblance in itsidiom language and symbols to an ldquoabductionrdquo andconversion campaign launched by the Arya Samajand other Hindu revivalist bodies in the 1920s in UPto draw sharper lines between Hindus and MuslimsThis historical dimension brings out in sharp reliefthe orchestrated and fabricated nature of love jihad

Romance love and marriages particularly those cut-ting across caste and religious boundaries have al-ways implicitly challenged certain customs andnorms and aroused deep passions Simultaneouslyreligious conversions have traditionally been andcontinue to be one of the common expedients ofthose on the margins of Hinduism to reject hierar-chies and reconfigure social boundaries The inter-

meshing of romance marriage and conversions hasoften produced increasing worries deeply politicisedrepresentations and everyday violence framedaround the bodies of women When Hindu assertionreaches new heights as happened in UP in the1920s and again is happening in the present sce-nario the Hindu womanrsquos body particularly becomesa marker to enthrone communal boundaries in waysmore aggressive than before

The 1920s in UP witnessed a flurry of orchestratedpropaganda campaigns and popular inflammatoryand demagogic appeals by a section of Hindu publi-cists against ldquoabductionsrdquo and conversions of Hinduwomen by Muslim goondas ranging from allega-tions of rape abduction and elopement to luringconversion love and forced marriages although theterm ldquolove jihadrdquo was not used at the time Drawingon diverse sources like newspapers pamphletsmeetings handbills posters novels myths rumoursand gossip the campaign was able to operate in apublic domain and to monopolise the field of every-day representation Pamphlets with provocative titleslike ldquoHindu Auraton ki Lootrdquo which denouncedMuslim propaganda for proselytising female preysand ldquoHindu Striyon ki Loot ke Karanrdquo an AryaSamajist tract showing how to save ldquoourrdquo ladiesfrom becoming Muslim appeared at this time Thelove jihad campaign of today too is using similartropes

The tales of the 1920s and of 2014 have certain com-mon strains Both campaigns are critically tied to anumber-crunching politics and claims of Hindu ho-mogeneity In 1924 a pamphlet titled Humara Bhis-han Haas published from Kanpur constructed apicture of the terrible calamity of declining Hindunumbers due to increasing conversions of Hinduwomen to Islam It claimed that a number of Aryanwomen were entering the homes of yavanas andmlecchas reading nikah with them producing gaub-hakshak children and increasing Muslim numbersHindu organisations of today too have claimedwithout any evidence that forced conversions ofHindu women in the name of love are part of an in-ternational conspiracy to increase the Muslim popu-lation The issues at stake here are not only toconstruct a picture of a numerical threat from Mus-lims but also to lament the supposed decline in the

The myth of love jihad


Cover Story

number of Hindus and mourn the potential loss ofchild-bearing Hindu wombs

Campaigns like this are also predicated on exclu-sionary principles which survive through constantand repetitive references to the aggressive and libidi-nal energies of the Muslim male creating a commonldquoenemy otherrdquo They underwrite an exclusivistgrammar of ldquodifferencerdquo in the intimate regimes oflove and marriage Simultaneously images of thepassive victimised Hindu women at the hand of in-scrutable Muslims silence and erase female subjec-tivity and desire Any possibility of womenexercising their legitimate right to love choice andconversion is marginalised In June 1924 in Meeruthandbills and meetings claimed that various Hinduwomen were being lured and their pure bodies beingviolated by lustful and sexually charged Muslimmen The present campaign too while focussing itsanger on the Muslims derives its emotional impactfrom the victim It is impossible for Hindu groups toconceive that a Hindu woman can voluntarily elopeor convert While each case of violence againstwomen structured by larger patriarchal structureswhether within or outside a community has to betrenchantly condemned in this case every romancelove elopement and marriage between a Hinduwoman and a Muslim man is also rewritten by Hinduorganisations as forcible conversion There appearsto be a consensus among Hindu groups against anyexercise by women to convert as individuals sansfamilial and community approval Perhaps it mightbe better to see these women not so much as ldquovul-nerable victimsrdquo but as ldquorisk-taking subjectsrdquo

It is also assumed that the mere act of marrying andstaying with a Muslim ensures that the woman isleading an unhappy and dreadful life Fears of elope-ments and conversions also show the need felt not somuch to protect the ldquoHindu kanyardquo but to facilitatethe domination of disciplinary regimes over awomanrsquos actions and choices Such actions bywomen produce daily policing and everyday vio-lence along the alliance model of sexuality wherethrough the arrangement of marriages relations andboundaries of religion are policed Invocations andrelated concerns with Hindu female purity allowHindu male virility and prowess to reassert itself

As in the 1920s today again conversions of Hinduwomen are represented as a general phenomenonDifferent events are made to appear as following asimilar pattern mdash a narrative of luring by a Muslim

male in the name of love and of Hindu female vic-timhood Hate speech is repeatable speech drawingits strength from stereotypes In replication and reit-eration lie its strength its ability to renew itself andits authority as supposed truth In the love jihad cam-paign representation performance and events feedinto each other providing one of the primary sourcesof communal power

Moreover in comparison to the 1920s new dimen-sions have been added to the love jihad issue In thewake of terrorist threats and Muslim fundamental-ism anxieties have been created of a global Islamistconspiracy and foreign hand in such conversions Itappears that when confronted with the phenomenonof conversion from Hinduism to Islam especially byHindu women certain kinds of Hindus lose theirlogical faculty The politics of cultural virginity anda myth of innocence are combined with a perceivedldquoillegitimacyrdquo of the act leading to rants of viola-tion invasion seduction and rape These politicisedentanglements generate an ldquointimate politicsrdquo anembodied struggle in which Hindu communal agen-das are reformulated through women

Besides such a hate campaign while providing gluefor claims to Hindu homogeneity also underwritescertain fears and anxieties of some Hindu organisa-tions For all its limitations some of these womenare ldquobreaking rulesrdquo through the highly ritualised actof individual religious conversion guided in manycases by inter-religious romance and love marriages

These localised and embodied practices of womencan be a strategic manoeuvre with social ramifica-tions Ambedkar upheld inter-caste marriage as oneway to annihilate caste since it produced fissures inthe maintenance of caste purity and control overwomenrsquos sexuality Perhaps inter-religious mar-riages too can be a way to produce cracks in ortho-dox Hindu mandates and create ripples in codifieddefinitions Such an exercise of choice even whenpartial can perhaps also aid a transformative politicsof intimate religious rights

The writer is associate professor of history Univer-sity of Delhi

Posted By Afzal Ahmad KhanLucknow IndiaThe Indian EXPRESSAugust 28 2014


Islam

I have this friend of mine whose daughter is only 7years old but whenever someone rings the doorbellthe young girl quickly rushes in the bedroom to weara head scarf This is the impact of Islamic Environ-ment at home Another friend of mine has a hugedrawing room furnishing not only sofas and a largedining table but also large show case filled with Is-lamic books rarely read Books are not meant to bekept just like furniture and status symbols for peopleto see No wonder this friend of mine in spite ofhaving Islamic books could not manage to cultivatean Islamic environment

It was an introduction of Islamic environment for thewar captives of Badr that caused many of them ac-cept Islam while some of them were tied up to thepoles of Masjid-e-Nabwi just observing the royal Is-lamic brotherhood and experiencing extra ordinarywarm hospitality from the Muslims for whom theyhad come to kill all the way from Makkah

In my school days I had a Non-Muslim friend whowas also my neighbor He used to visit us during Ra-madan and got a chance to see Islam in our IftarEid mutual dealings It took him just few months tobecome a Muslim and he is a practicing Muslim tilltoday When he became a Muslim he was in Yemenas a helper in one of the companies He recited theshahadah in the Masjid after the Jumuah prayers andexperienced a warm hospitality by the localites Peo-ple flocked to greet him welcome him someonehanded over a hundred dollar bill quietly and wentaway without being noticed His words ldquoThis wel-come left a deep mark of Islamic brotherhood in myheart never to be rubbed offrdquo

Two decades back the Mumbai airport was not avery safe place to catch a taxi as stories of passen-gers being robbed at a knife point or charged higherrates than normal rates were common complains Itwas during those days that once I was at the airportto receive my editor and it was midnight when hewalked out along with his family My editor lookedfor a taxi but did not settle for any till he cameacross a Muslim taxi driver with a beard and a capon his head He quickly rushed to the taxi and hiredit On the way he pressed my hands affectionatelyand said ldquoThe Muslim taxi drivers with beards are

the only fellows who can be trusted at midnight ifyou are with your family They are religiously honestand saferdquo

They are religiously honest and safe These wordsstill echo in my mind a certificate of merit awardedby a customer who had met the taxi driver for thefirst time yet he was aware of his honesty before hewalked out of the airport When I visited Surat for alecture tour I was shown to a petrol pump that be-longed to a Muslim who was famous for sellingpetrol without adulterating it ldquoPeople queue up anddo not mind waitingrdquo said my host This was a massapproval of an honest Muslim merchant who wasidentified by his religious values

When was the last time that you or I were a part ofan Islamic environment that promoted Islam throughour dealings or are we merely like that book shelfwith books for show but no one to use FortunatelyIslam is not only talking big about Islam but a dis-play of affection and security towards your fellowhumans which reflects your noble religion in yourdealings with the people Only then you have sub-mitted to Allah



Q amp A

Question and answer details

Name of QuestionerAsifReply date 20140813Question As-salamu àlaykum Why shouldanyone choose Islam as a religion and as a way oflife In other way Why are we Muslimsconsultant Ahmad Kuttyconsultant On Islam Fatwa Editing desk

Answer

Wa àlaykum as-salamu wa rahmatullahi wabarakatuh

In the Name of Allah Most Gracious Most Merci-fulAll thanks and praise are due to Allah and peace andblessings be upon His Messenger

Dear questioner Thank you very much for the greatconfidence you place in us and the apparent interestyou show in having a clearer understanding of theteachings of Islam May Allah guide you to the bestof deeds and help us render this work purely for HisSake Amen

Above all it is to be stated that Islam is the very na-ture of man It is the religion and the Path chosen byAlmighty Allah for him so as to gain happiness inthis life and Paradise in the life-to-come Sometimesa question may raise in our minds why are we Mus-lims What are the very characteristics of this reli-gion that has led us to choose it as a way of life Inwhat way Islam is better than other religionsA True Muslim will cry proudlyldquoIm a Muslim for all to seeSo very glad and proud to beYour temptations try to turn my headBut I have chosen Islam insteadSure I am not like all the restI dont eat pork wear a mini dressI am special Im not the sameMy appearance is different even my nameMy God gives me strength He makes me strongHe guides me right when I go wrongI am a Muslim for all to seeIslam guides me wherever I berdquoIn this context Sheikh Ahmad Kutty a senior lec-turer and an Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute

of Toronto Ontario Canada statesIslam is the rational choice for anyone who wishes tohave a faith that does full justice to the demands ofthe three faculties of man physical intellectual andspiritual Here is a concise listing of Islamrsquos uniquefeatures for which Islam is chosen as a way of life

1-Islam is the only religion whose sources are au-thentically preserved and thus remains immaculatelyfree of all human tampering and interpolations

2-The Islamic scripture is free of mythical elementsthat are incongruous with modern manrsquos understand-ing of the world

3-The Qurrsquoan the Islamic scripture is fully compati-ble with the established facts of science it clearlycontains the signature of the author of the universeas attested to by many objective seekers of truthcoming as they were from diverse religious and in-tellectual backgrounds It also movingly records nat-ural phenomena and enjoins the followers of thefaith to respect and preserve nature and the creatures with whom we share the planet

4-The Qurrsquoan upholds the role of reason and equatesthose who fail to use their reason as being intellectu-ally imbeciles this is a far cry from the teachings ofmany religions which assume incompatibility of rea-son and revelation

5-Islamic beliefs and practices are simple naturaland appeal to both reason and common sense

6-In regards to most of the teachings of Islam theirbenefits can be easily demonstrated by evidence ofthe human experience and by the objective observa-tion of facts Take for instance Islamrsquos ban of alco-hol statistics reveal that abstention from intoxicantsalone could spare humanity from untold misery and

Muslims We Are But Why

Read Alsobull Tips for Duàh (Islamic Callers)

bull Can a Muslim Enter a Church

bull Should New Muslims Register Their Conversion


Q amp A

suffering The valuable resources squandered for in-toxicants can alone solve all poverty related prob-lems of the world Add to this the Islamic pillar ofZakah If only the worldrsquos rich were to part with 25 of their excess wealth humanity would have tack-led the problem of poverty very easily7-Islam takes into account all of the Allah-given in-stincts and faculties of manwoman and thereforegives us a balanced program of life that caters to allof the basic needs of humans - physical intellectualand spiritual unlike many religions and ideologieswhich exaggerate one at the expense of the other

8-Islam provides for us a living example of such abalanced role model in Prophet Muhammad peaceand blessings be upon him whose life unlike thoseof the great heroes and Prophets of other religions isan open book easily accessible for anyone

9-The Islamic story of creation is free of any of theconsequences of the stigma of original sin which hasweighed heavily in the consciousness of a large seg-ment of humanity often proving to be highlyvolatile and resulting in hysterical explosions inboth the individual and collective dimensions

10-The Qurrsquoan is anti-classical in its approach toknowledge and stresses experiential knowledge afact which combines authentic science with authen-tic spirituality

11-The Qurrsquoan provides answers to questions thathaunt every intelligent person questions related tolife after death an area which is almost totally mys-terious in other traditions

12-Islamic teachings about the essential identity ofhuman beings and its stress on human brotherhoodcan break the barriers separating humans from oneanother This can save humanity from the dire conse-quences of nationalism and racism which tend tobreak up humanity artificially by creating and sus-taining perpetual conflicts

13-Islam promises us nothing but total freedom lib-eration and bliss and the highest fulfillment and con-tentment that humans are capable of attaining

14-Islamic history has provided us with a model so-ciety where justice compassion truth and trans-parency of justice were implemented at the humanand natural levels

15-Islam dispenses with all intermediaries betweenman and God and allows all humans to freely contactGod thus eliminating hierarchies and other sourcesof religious exploitation that has characterized reli-gious history throughout the agesExcerpted with slight modifications fromwwwmuslimsca

For all these reasons we are MuslimsHere we would like to cite for you the following tes-timony of one of the new converts- Ibrahim Jagerskyfrom Pennsylvania- showing why he has chosenIslam as a religion

Islam has done a lot for me More than I could haveever guessed And every day it just gets better Iwent from living my life on a trial-and-error basis toembracing guidance and now knowing what the bestchoices are for me to make From seeking who I amand spending a life in confusion I am being guidedI cant find the words to say what its like but Ill tryagain Allah reveals to me what life is I dont haveto guess anymore

Almighty Allah saysldquoBy the morning hours And by the night when it isstillest Thy Lord hath not forsaken thee nor doth Hehate thee And verily the latter portion will be betterfor thee than the former And verily thy Lord willgive unto thee so that thou wilt be content Did Henot find thee an orphan and protect (thee) Did Henot find thee wandering and direct (thee) Did Henot find thee destitute and enrich (thee) Thereforethe orphan oppress not Therefore the beggar drivenot away Therefore of the bounty of thy Lord be thydiscourserdquo (Ad-Duha 1-11)

That is what I went through what Allah did for me -what I am So here is my proclamation to the worldIslam is more than you think it is in fact more lib-eral than most would wish it to be But do not onlylisten Study all views for yourselfand come toyour own conclusion Allah says ldquoAnd whomsoever it is Allahs will to guide He ex-pandeth his bosom unto the Surrender and whomso-ever it is His will to send astray He maketh hisbosom close and narrow as if he were engaged insheer ascent Thus Allah layeth ignominy upon thosewho believe notrdquo (Al-Anàam 125)

Excerpted with slight modifications from wwwislamfortodaycomAlmighty Allah knows besthttpwwwonislamnetenglishask-the-scholardawah-principles175564-muslims-we-are-but-whyhtml


InFocus

I Mirza Yawar Baig I

Looking at the headlines it appears that a storyis being built ndash gradually one article at a timelinking one incident to another using conjec-

ture in the place of hard evidence ndash to create the newbogeyman ndash the Indian Muslim as a lsquofifth columnrsquoA simple search for the meaning of the term revealedthis A fifth column is any group of people who un-dermine a larger groupmdashsuch as a nation or a be-sieged citymdashfrom within The activities of a fifthcolumn can be overt or clandestine Forces gatheredin secret can mobilize openly to assist an external at-tack This term is also extended to organized actionsby military personnel Clandestine fifth column ac-tivities can involve acts of sabotage disinformationor espionage executed within defense lines by secretsympathizers with an external force

This trend is nothing new of course but it is certainlysomething that has taken a new energy today fromtragic happenings in the Middle East ndash in particularthe rise of the ISIS ndash the so-called Islamic State Isay so-called because strangely or not so strangelycome to think of it ndash it contradicts every criterion ofa true Islamic state yet it calls itself that So I gave itanother name - Isnt Isnt - It isnt the Islamic Stateby any stretch of the imagination

The problem of course is that discourse belongs tothose who choose to speak and so those who aresilent are to blame if the discourse takes a turn theydonrsquot agree with or accept When the truth must bespoken silence is culpable Add to this the problemthat apparently some young people who donrsquot havethe ability or knowledge to understand internationalpolitics are getting taken in by the propaganda of theISIS and are tending towards it that is why I loveDr Martin Luther King Jrs wonderful reminderldquoCowardice asks the question - is it safe Expedi-ency asks the question - is it politic Vanity asks thequestion - is it popular But conscience asks thequestion - is it right

And there comes a time when one must take a posi-tion that is neither safe nor politic nor popular Butone must take it because it is rightrdquo

I as a common man have the same access to news ndashpapers and TV news ndash as anyone else I donrsquot spend

time on social media as I really donrsquot have time forchatting and whatnot that happens there But I haveread enough and do have enough of a world view toknow that anyone who goes by lsquoofficial statementsrsquoof any political organization or by newspaper or TVheadlines without asking some critical questions isbound to head off in the wrong direction If thereever was a time to which the adages ndash deceptive ap-pearance or wolf in sheeprsquos clothing ndash could be ap-plied it is this time It appears as if all wolves arewearing sheepskin and bleating like lambs whilesharpening their fangs for the fatal bite Anyone whofalls for that needs a brain transplantSo what are the questions that I asked and suggestthose who think should ask

1 How is it that in a world if you transfer any-thing over $ 5000 through a perfectly legal banktransaction you are asked for justification an entirewar is being funded by a lot more than $5000 andthose funds are not being frozen

2 How is it that when a single individual whodares to call himself a lsquomujahidrsquo ndash is immediately la-beled a lsquojihadistrsquo and is tracked arrested and incar-cerated ndash an entire army is allowed to be recruitedand equipped and is allowed to plunder and murderat will and no action is taken

3 How is it that someone who calls himself Amir-ul-Mumineen ndash Leader of the Believers ndash he and hispeople - go against all rules of the Sharirsquoah and mur-der innocent Christian and other civilians kill jour-nalists and non-combatants shamelessly publishvideos of these despicable Haraam actions destroychurches desecrate and destroy tombs of Muslimscholars and even Prophets

4 Whose interests are really being served to havesomething like the ISIS operating in that theatre ndashthe interests of Muslims globally or the interests ofthose who are famous for fighting proxy wars seek-ing the portraying and labeling of Muslims in highlynegative terms

5 Finally how is it that someone who claims to bethe Khalifa (Ameer-ul-Mumineen) is silent about thegenocide in Gaza I wonrsquot venture to speculate onthe reasons Actions speak far louder than any wordspossibly can

The Birth of a Narrative


InFocus

The answers to these questions are more than obvi-ous and so we and anyone with any intelligence canonly reject the ISIS as being a false flag operationWe reject the ISIS Boko Haram Shabab and allother such organizations and condemn their actionsand condemn those who play these games at the ex-pense of the lives and blood of innocents We de-mand an end to all wars and all games played by therich and powerful which the poor and oppressed paythe price of We call upon all intelligent people touse their intelligence and not fall into the propa-ganda traps being woven to achieve nefarious endsof cynical pitiless people who care for nobody

As for Indian Muslims and the narrative being cre-ated against them ndash as I mentioned it is nothing newndash but if Muslim youth fall into the propaganda trapof ISIS or such organizations and do things whichappear to support them not only will they exposethemselves to prosecution but will give credence tothose who are seeking to label Indian Muslims asless than patriotic and possibly traitors So we adviseanyone who will listen to us to reject anyone whosupports the ISIS or any such outfits

Demanding that Muslims must condemn the ISIS istypical xenophobic and communal nonsense Wedonrsquot have to condemn something that we didnrsquot cre-ate nor support Let those who created ISIS condemn

it and stop supporting it Let them freeze their fund-ing which will stop them as surely as a hole in thehead Let their creators and funders understand thatthey are not fooling anyone We the people of theworld and we the Muslims are more than aware ofwhat is going on and are able to see the schemes be-hind the events We are not fooled by the whimper-ing of captive media who have sold the very spirit offree press and journalism down the drain

As for us Indian Muslims we are and have alwaysbeen Indian first and last Our religious identity isour personal matter and being Muslim doesnrsquot makeus any less Indian than being Hindu makes ourHindu brethren any less Indian It is a shame that weare always challenged to declare our loyalty We seethis as the demand of vested interests not the de-mand of our motherland India knows us and weknow our Watan This is our country We love it likeall others who live in it We pray for its safety andprosperity And we will fight for its integrity Ourhistory is replete with honor of our contribution toour nation and we are proud of it

Writer is Imam ampKhateeb of MahmoodHabib Masjid amp Islamic Center Hyderabad


Book Reviews

The History of Makkah Mukar-ramah and The History of Madi-nah Munawwarahby Dr Muhammad Ilyas Abdul Ghani

Reviewed by Sameen Ahmed Khan

The religious and historical significance ofMakkah Mukarramah can be judged from thefact that the creator of the universe Allah

Almighty has selected it to be the location of Hismost sacred house the Kabah This blessed city washome to Hazrat Ismael (PBUH) and his motherHazrat Hajirah (PBUH) Countless Ambiya andpious servant of Allah have undertaken journey tovisit the House of Allah The city houses the MasjidHaram in which the rewards of a single salaah inmultiplied by a hundred thousand The city has thelocation of Qiblah a direction towards which everyperson performing salaah (namaz prayers) mustface The city alsohad the privilegeof being the birth-place of HazratMuhammad(PBUH) the finalRasul and guide ofthe worlds It is inMakkah where thewell of Zamzam islocated whosewater is better andmore blessed thanthe waters of theuniverse Besidesthere is a long history predating Hazrat Ibraheem(PBUH) Hazrat Adam (PBUH) and Hazrat Hawwa(PBUH) spent time in Makkah when they arrived toearth from the Jannah It is this city which Allah hasmade obligatory to travel and fulfill the rites of HajjMakkah has a very long history and numerous reli-gious places in it

Madinah Munawwarah is the city to which AllahsMessenger emigrated and it gave him refuge em-braced his preaching and supported his religion andits people defended him with their lives their wealthand their sons until Allah made him victoriousMadinah possesses virtues which are well knownand an influence which none disputes It is the citywhere the Holy Prophet made the first mosque(Masjid Quba) It contains the Prophetrsquos Mosque the

Masjid Nabwi where the rewards of each prayer aremultiplied by a thousand Masjid Nabwi hosts thesacred chamber where the Prophet and the first twocaliphs are buried

Dr Muhammad Ilyas Abdul Ghani is the author ofnumerous books related to the history of the holysites in and around Makkah Mukarramah and Madi-nah Munawwarah The titles include (a) The His-tory of Makkah Mukarramah (b) The History ofMadinah Munawwarah (c) History of the ProphetsMosque (Tarikh Al-Masjid An-Nabawi) (d) PictorialHistory of Madinah Munawwarah (e) The Housesof the Companions around the Prophets Mosque (f)Historic Mosques in Madinah Munawwarah Allthese books are now available in numerous Europeanand Asian languages including Arabic Urdu Hindiand Pilipino In this review we shall cover only thefirst two books which are representative of the com-mon theme in all his books Dr Abdul Ghani hasvery successfully undertaken the task of presenting aconcise history of the sacred cities of Makkah

Mukarramahand MadinahMunwwarahtracking theirhistories fromthe earliesttimes in the lightof authentic nar-ration andbooks Both thebooks have sev-eral mapssketches and nu-merous picturesHe describes in

very intricate detail the extensions since the time ofthe Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to the large-scaleconstruction activities in the recent decades Boththe books are not purely historical (as their namesmay suggest) The books shed light on the variousaspects of the two holy cities with references to theQuran and Ahadith It is essential for everyone toknow the most important historical events that havedirect effect on the establishment and sacredness ofMakkah and Madinah as well as their religiousweight The above books provide an excellent start-ing point in this direction enabling an integrated pic-ture of each holy city In the books the various yearsare given both in the Hijri and Christian calendarsMay Allah Almighty increase his Grace upon the au-thor publisher and readers of these books may


Book Reviews

Allah enable us to make journeys to the sacred citiesand Guide us to conduct ourselves in a mannerwhich pleases Him Amen Following is the outlineof each book

The History of Makkah Mukarramah

Chapter-1 Location and Virtues of Makkah Thebook begins with the location of the city of Makkahin terms of the latitude and the longitude along withthe sea-level There is a complete section describingthe superiority of Makkah and its virtues in the lightof Ahadeeth One learns numerous facts for in-stance Makkah is known by Bakkah (Surah Al-Imran 396) and City of Security (Surah Al-Tin953) The author describes the prayers of HazratIbraheem (PBUH) and the saying of the HolyProphet (PBUH) at the time of hijrat to Madinahwhen the inhabitants of Makkah had forced him toleave the sacred city The author then describes thedifferent names of Makkah and their significanceThe various boundaries of the Haram are describedwhich enclose an area of approximately 550 square-kilometers The chapter has a brief but very inform-ative coverage to the period prior and after to theconquest of Makkah In the process there is a briefdescription of the Pledge of Ridwaan Treaty of Hu-daybiyyah and the Demolition of the Idol Uzza

Chapter-2 Miqaat When any person sets out to doHajj or Umrah heshe has to enter the state ofEhraam at the prescribed boundaries These bound-aries are described by several location points knownas miqaat They cover all possible directions fromwhich a person can reach Makkah For the residentsof Makkah their home is to be treated as miqaatThis chapter gives a detailed list of the variousmiqaat in terms of the latitudes and longitudesSome of the miqaat have additional names The dis-tances from the miqaat to Kabah are neatly presentedin a table The mosques at each miqaat are describedin some detail paying attention to the historical as-pects and the architectural details such as the size ofminaretsdomes and their current capacities This isrelevant as the travelers use these mosque complexesfor changing into the two unstitched sheets ofehrram The miqaat for the residents of Madinah isDhul Hulayfah (anbout ten kilometers from MasjidNabwi) which is probably the most used (due to thelarge number of pilgrims visiting Madinah just be-fore Hajj) The mosque at this miqaat is known byseveral names including Masjid Dhul HulayfahMasjid Miqaat and as Masjid Shajarah The Holy

Prophet (PBUH) used to perform salah at the loca-tion of Masjid Shajarah Now there is a very largemosque complex with facilities for ghusal etc fortens of thousands

Chapter-3 Names of Kabah and Builders of KabahThis chapter begins with the names of Kabah as theyappear in the Quran They are Al Kabah Al BaytulHaraam Baytullah Al Baytul Ateeq and Qibla Thecorresponding Ayaat are explicitly given with somecommentary The sanctity of the Kabah is furtherhighlighted from the fact that Allah Almighty ad-dresses Kabah as ldquoMy Houserdquo in Surah Al-Baqarah2125 The Commentators have emphaticallypointed to the grammatical first person ldquoMy Houserdquoin the above Ayat (verse) As expected an entirechapter of the book is devoted to the Kabah and dis-cusses its origins and constructionrebuilding trac-ing the list of Khadimeen throughout the ages TheKabah was rebuilt twelve times starting with the an-gels Hazrat Adam (PBUH) Hazrat Sheeth (son ofAdam) Hazrat Ibraheem and his son Hazrat IsmaelAmaaliqah People Jurhum Tribe Qusay bin KilaabQuuraysh Tribe Hazrat Abdullah bin Zubayr(65AH) Hujjaj bin Yusuf (74AH) Kabah existedprior to Hazrat Ibraheem (Surah Ibraheem 1437and Bukhari Hadeeth 3364) The author points outthat when the floods came during the time of HazratNooh the house was raised to heavens Allah identi-fied the location of Kabah to Ibraheem who thenwith his son Hazrat Ismael raised its foundation(Surah Baqarah 2127) They used rocks from fivemountains to raise the foundation After that all therebuilding has been done only on the parts above theoriginal foundation laid by Hazrat Ibraheem

The changes in the design of Kabah by the Qurayshare described in detail These include the Hateemthe raising of the Kakbah door roof and ceiling thesecond door in the opposite wall raising the walls ofthe Kabah first to put a roof on the Kabah and thewater outlet (Mizaab Rahma) The eleventh andtwelfth are the Turkish Sultaan Muraad (1040AH)and King Fahad bin Abdil Azeez (1417AH) Thereader should not be surprised with the above namesin the list of builders of Kabah The most recent ren-ovation included strengthening the foundation re-construction of the three pillars (inside the Kabah)with new wood and reconstruction of the roof andceiling Besides the door was changed with thelock

In this chapter the author has given the dimensions


Book Reviews

of Kabah in gory detail The four sides of Kabah areunequal requiring different figures for each sideThere are figures for Shaadharawaan (the bottom ofthe Kabah wall that juts out from the rest of thewall) the roof and the three wooden pillars insidethe Kabah All these are described with historicaland architectural details The history of the doorlock and the key of the Kabah are described in detailwith the inscriptions on each The gory details pre-sented are beyond the scope of this review Theseare sure to satisfy even the very curious readers evercraving for the minutest details

Chapter-4 Hajar Aswad Multazam and HateemThere are complete sections describing the HajarAswad (black stone) the Multazam (portion ofKabah between Hajar Aswad and the Door ofKabah) and the Hateem Hajar Aswad was broughtfrom Jannah and presented to Hazrat Ibraheem to beplaced on the corner of Kabah When the Qurayshreconstructed the Kabah it was replaced by theblessed hands of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) By fac-ing (kissing subject to feasibility) this sacred stonethe Tawaaf is started and ended Over time thecolour of Hajar Aswad changed to black from whiteand it broke into eight pieces The largest of thesepieces is the size of a date fruit These eight piecesare attached to a single flat stone which is encased ina sliver frame The chapter further discusses thevirtues and etiquette of kissing the Hajar Aswad Asection describes the acceptance of the prayers atMultazam

Hateem is the crescent-shaped area adjacent to theKabah It is also known as Hijr Ismael because thatwas the place where Hazrat Ibraheem had con-structed a small shade for Hazrat Ismael and hismother Hazrat Hajirah Some portion (about threemetres) of the Hateem definitely belongs to Kabahsince it was separated from Kabah during the time ofQuraysh The Quraysh were short of righteouslyearned funds For this reason an area of approxi-mately three metres could not be included in thewalls They demarcated this area by building thelow wall called Hateem The Quraysh though in theperiod of ignorance were very particular to use onlythe righteously earned money (without looting orusury) to build the Beloved House of Allah

Chapter-5 Ghilaaf-e-Kabah The history of Ghilaafgoes back to Hazrat Ismael (PBUH) who was first toshroud the Kabah in a Ghilaaf It was also the prac-tice of the Holy Prophet and the Khalifae Rashideen

After the Abbasi Khilafat came to end in 656AH theGhilaaf came either from Egypt or Yemen At somestage around 900AH it started coming only fromEgypt and the tradition continued till as recently as1342AH Then the King Abdul Azeez established afactory in Makkah to manufacture the Ghilaaf Theproduction was stopped in this factory and the Ghi-laaf suplly from Egypt was resumed from 1355AHto 1381AH A new factory was established in1392AH Since then to the present all the Ghilaafare made there The sixteen pages are filled with thevarious ayaat inscribed on the Ghilaaf Besidesthere are pictures of Kabah without the Ghilaaf

Chapter-6 Maqaam Ibraheem The Maqaam Ibra-heem refers to the blessed stone which was broughtby Hazrat Ismael for his father Hazrat Ibraheem tostand on while building the wall of the Kabah Thegreatest virtue of Maqaam Ibraheem is that Allah hasinstructed muslims to perform salaah near it Fol-lowing the Quranic injunction (Surah Baqarah2125) one performs two Rakaahs of salaah behindMaqaam Ibraheem after the Tawaaf Over the cen-turies the Maqaam Ibraheem was preseverd in asliver box which was housed in a huge domed hallThe hall occupied a lot of space in the Mataaf andhence it was demolished in the year 1387AH TheMaqaam Ibraheem was fixed in exquisite crystal andencased in a sturdy steel cage The casing was thenmounted on a marble platform and a dome was usedto cover it The imprints of Hazrat Ibraheem can beclearly seen in this way The chapter continues thetradition and there are figures for the size of thedome and the distances of Maqaam Ibraheem fromHajar Aswad and various parts of Kabah

In the periods of ignorance the Arabs worshipped thestones but no one ever worshipped the Hajar Aswador Maqaam Ibraheem even though the Arabs reveredit

Chapter-7 Well of Zazam Mount Safa and MountMarwah About twenty-one metres away fromKabah and seven metres away from Maqaam Ibra-heem is the oldest well and the most celebratedsource of water This chapter focuses on the well ofZamzam whose water is the best of the waters in theuniverse The well originated as a miracle to quenchthe thirst of Hazrat Ismael when he was a baby andhis mother Hazrat Hajirah This chapter describesthe virtues of Zamzam in detail along with the eti-quette of drinking it There is coverage to the recentresearch on how the water gushes from the springs


Book Reviews

within the well Interestingly the water from thesesprings gushes in the direction of Hajar Aswad Safaand Marwah respectively The well had dried upduring the times of ignorance and even its locationhad been lost Abdul Muttalib the grandfather of theHoly Prophet (PBUH) received guidance in hisdream to locate the well Since then it has been inregular use Water was first drawn from it usingelectric pumps in 1373AH With numerous exten-sions the well is now below the Mataaf A few kilo-meters away from Masjid Haraam there is a tankwith a capacity of 150 million litres Water is dis-tributed by tankers to various places including theMasjid Nabwi and other Masajid

Mount Safa is a little hill from which one of the im-portant rites of Haj and Umrah is begun It is lo-cated south-east of Kabah at a distance of 130m andis now covered by a domed roof Marwah is anotherhill located about 300m from Rukn Shaami Pathconnecting Safa and Marwah is called Masaa Itmeasures about 3945m in length and 20m inbreadth The Safa and Marwah and its origin toHazrat Hajirah are described in detail along with theincidents at the time of the Holy Prophet The bookalso describes the renovations of the Masaa Now itis fully enclosed with a high ceiling with provisionsto do the sai on the two upper floors

Chapter-8 Masjid Haraam This chapter begins withthe definition of Masjid Haraam it refers to theKabah Mataaf and all the extensions which havetaken place since the time of the second KhalifahHazrat Umar This chapter is by and large a narra-tion of the expansions which have been going onsince the time of Hazrat Umar This narration is ele-gantly interwoven with historical details andAhadeeth The author goes into the substantial ar-chitectural details including the courtyards doorssize of domes minarets type of stone used in floor-ing and so on The extensions of the recent decadesembedded with technology (escalators air-condi-tioning etc) and the related issues of drainage roadsand tunnels are also described elaborately with nu-merous photographs

There is a complete section on the history of thetarahwih salaah The author points to the docu-mented record of the tarahwih salaah in the last four-teen centuries In the time of Hazrat Abu Bakr thetarahwih was performed individually or in smallcongregations Hazrat Umar had combined thesmall congregations into one Interesting all along

there have been twenty rakaahs followed by threerakaahs of witr (also in congregation) in both MasjidHaram and Masjid Nabwi

Chapters-9 -10 and -11 Mina Plain of Arafaat andMuzdalifah The author takes the reader through thesequence of detailed sections on Mina Arafat andMuzdalifah in the process describing the arkan ofhajj and some incidents from the hajj of the HolyProphet Then the book touches the conquest ofMakkah and its far-reaching effects on the history ofMakkah and how the House was cleansed of shirkand the mushrikun

The chapter provides a geographic picture (withmaps and figures) of the three sites in close proxim-ity At the same time the chapter has an ample cov-erage of the sites whose facilities are constantlybeing upgraded for the ever increasing number ofpilgrims For instance hills have been leveled toprovide more space for tents tunnels have beenmade to reduce the distance to Masjid Haram Be-sides the author describes the extensions of themosques at the three sites There is a complete sec-tion on the Jamaraat where there used to be stam-peded How this has been curbed with renovationsand crown management In fact there have beenseveral conferences on Crowd Management in SaudiArabia From my own experience few years back Ican say that the place is so well managed that evenmy three year old daughter Hajira Khan could dothe rami with ease

Chapter-12 Important Notes Concerning the Visitsto Historical Sites The last chapter describes the nu-merous sites in and around Makkah including theCave of Hira the house of Hazrat Khadeeja and theMala Qabrastan And of course several Masajid aredescribed which include Masjid Bayyah MasjidJinn Masjid Shajarah Masjid Rayah and MasjidulFatah

hellip to be concluded in November 2014 issue

Sameen Ahmed KhanEngineering Department Salalah College of Tech-nology (SCOT) Salalah Sultanate of Oman (rohelakhanyahoocom httpSameenAhmed-Khanwebscom)


I By AsmaAnjum Khan I

Saturdays usually signal the end of a hecticweek A soothing sensation after doing timefor the last six days begins to engulf me After

my talk a sister comes and hugs nothing unusualbut a continuous stream of tears from her eyes wasHer visage with droplets smearing it appeared a bitwhite My little talk about HAaishah RA and otherUmmahatulMomineen had touched her she saidWhen probed about the weepy act her reply not juststunned but kept haunting me for the next fewweeksToday is my husbandrsquos waleema sisterHer tone was calm No further explanation wasneeded I understoodI too am a wife I too am a woman Did I feelshocked stunned amazed astounded or bewil-deredAll into one perhaps I was speechless and it re-minded me of that Eugene Ionesco quote Words failyou after a timeYes words failed mePolygamy is a seriously delicate issue The Creatorthe all knowing has allowed it but with some ceilingsin place There are riders and most often than notgenerally they are overlooked However there is lit-tle or no talk about these riders these ceilings Offlate I have been seeing lots of lsquocampaignsrsquo on thesocial media by our lsquobrothersrsquo advocating polygamyvociferouslyYes vociferouslyPolygamy if practised in its true spirit and with jus-tice can solve some social problems But doing jus-tice among wives is extremely difficult or rathernear impossible our Creator proclaimsSee the related verse hereWhat I find amazing is the men advocatingpolygamy single-mindedly to the exclusion of othermore important issues particularly those related towomen such as widow remarriage giving a womanher rightful share in the property and facilitating herright to khulaa and other such things(httpscrollinarticle669083Muslim-women-and-the-surprising-facts-ab )

You advocate polygamy Fine But shouldnrsquot you tryto first create a balanced society where women aregiven their due share their due rights [ I also thinkthis word given is a culprit in itself and is a pointer

towards the prevalent malaise What do you mean bygiven Our right is our right and we should be right-fully claiming and proclaiming it Why are notwomen free to proclaim and practise the rights givento them by Quran and Sunnah Why should it bemade to sound so patronizing A society wherewomen take to their rights in a natural way wherethey are not made to feel embarrassed about pro-claiming what is legally theirs would be a dreamcome true] The society with such a fine balancemight also make polygamy easier and appear moreacceptable Not that I am advocating it each to his her own My main grouse is when and just when arewe going to address the real issues of womenIf such vociferous campaigns [talks workshopsvideo-lectures social media posts] can be held forpolygamy then why not for widow re-marriages forgiving women rights to property and the right to askfor Khulaa But so far I have not seen anyWe know well Prophet Muhammad PBUHrsquos sayingpertaining to never delaying three things and one ofthem is Widow Re-marriage

But does anyone careWe all have known a few cases of unhappy mar-riages breathing down the neck of hundreds of oursisters but their fear to ask for khulaa keeps themsuffocated There is a big social stigma attached to it do we talk about this Also how manydaughterssisters do we happen to know who arenot given their due share in property by their fathersand brothers ( Almost every home has it you said)But what we surely get to see is the stress on a manrsquosright to exercise polygamy for the following reasonsas given by our brothers its sunnah( I often wonderhow many other sunnahs do men practice beforecoming to this ) secondly men are created strongthey lsquoneedrsquo it Third is interesting itrsquos difficult tolower gaze in todayrsquos times hencehellip[Now really]fourthly a man is polygamous by nature etc etcEeman = Encouraging your husband to remarryThe thing that infuriates me most in this regard is abrotherrsquos argument that if a woman has faitheemanshe should ENCOURAGE her husband to remarryYes you have read it right No need trying to rollback your eyes and re-read the words So this is howmy brothers judge me I am faithful if I encouragemy hubby dear to marry another woman If I care formy sisters truly then I would be doing this Theysay

I Can Marry Four What about youAsmaNama


AsmaNama

Respected brothers wish to give you a piece of mymind

My faith doesnrsquot depend on my encouraging my hus-band for another marriage My faith is a matter be-tween me and My Creator (By the way in generalwe the wives encourage our husbands for waking upfor fajarsalah for reading Quran with meaning forvisiting an orphanage on a regular basis or take upsome good social cause with only a little successhere and there but our sweet hubbies might feel en-couraged for tying the knot one more time Knottyissue you said ) I donrsquot understand this Why askwomen for an impossible or say very very difficultthing When Allah has not burdened His creationsbeyond their capacity then no one else should Whyput the onus on the poor wife when the hubby dearis free to marry once more as and when he pleasesA man can remarry if he wants (with riders inplace) but to ask a wife to encourage her man for thesame and judge her faitheeman on the basis of itOutrageous

Asking a wife to egg on her husband to remarry Is itnot akin to asking Israel to help Palestine The resultof such an attempt may be on the lines of US bring-ing democracy to Iraq or Afghanistan And youknow well how democracy American style is al-ways under the threat of a new ISIS Jokes apartthese guys should stop playing this game Theyshould also stop judging our faith on the basis of ournot just supporting but encouraging you know whatyes Polygamy A womanrsquos weaknesses are wellknown to burden her beyond her natural ability andexpecting her to do things way beyond her capacityis Zulm Allah knows it When Allah has not bur-dened us beyond our capacity no one else shouldWhile polygamy is permitted marrying and remain-ing married to one is also among the nobler optionsA brother informed me that it is an option for theweak Allah forbid Prophet Muhammad PBUH forthe major part of his life remained married to oneProphet sawsrsquo marriage to HKhadijah RA happenedwhen he was 25 and it lasted till she passed away inthe tenth year of the Prophet-hood making it a com-panionship of almost 25 years His two illustrioussons in law HUthman bin Affan RA and HAli RAfollowed in his footsteps The latter among them wasalso specifically asked to refrain from remarryingnot once but twice This may be an exception never-theless the sentiment behind it can be understoodand lessons learnt There is a detailed hadeeth re-

garding it Of course Prophet Muhammad PBUHand his two companions and sons in law remarriedbut only after the demise of the first one [ the daugh-ters of Prophet Muhammad PBUH] and thusproved that marrying and remaining married to oneis also one of the noble options given to men Hadtheir wives lived longer than them would they haveremarried

What happens really when a Muslim man remarriestoday Has it become a tool to harass the helplesswife

What happens really when a Muslim man remarriestoday In majority of the cases the second wife isusually found to be a rich wealthy woman A richwoman a widow a working divorcee with a fat paycheque is lsquochosenrsquo for the next round My observa-tion tells me this yours can be different Rarely everhave I seen a brother who claims to be not weak butstrong taking a poor woman or a widow with kidsor an impoverished or divorced woman as the sec-ond wife[Exceptions are found here too] Donrsquot youfeel a stronger brother [as they assert to be] wouldopt for a widow a divorcee and then rightly claim tobe Strong real strong Our Prophet PBUH tookwidows and divorcees in distress mostly when he re-married except HAaishah RA But why do majorityof women taken as second wives today have to berich and prosperous My ignorant self keeps won-dering The general trend is for the Richie Richbrigade They are trending on the second marriagescene

What is disconcerting is that there is a big socialstigma attached to the widow remarriage and thematters of Khulaa Why donrsquot my brothers work toremove it This stigma crushes the very spirit ofthese unfortunate women The number of womenliving empty lives due to their inability to exercisetheir legitimate right to remarry or ask for Khulaa[divorce] is huge How many women have I seenhellip Ihave lost the count who put up with such a miserablefate Young widows are expected to remain single orrarely encouraged to remarry while a widower(brother) gets hooked in no time Why should it beso Women due to their natural sense of modesty areunable to speak up for themselves Their silenceabout or refusal to remarry mostly emanates fromthis false sense of modesty On the other hand wehave tens of examples before us where we see ourSahabiyaat RA [pious women from the time ofProphet Muhammad PBUH] remarrying not just


AsmaNama

once but many times over after they got widowedor divorced

Some of my brothers say monogamy is a culturalthing May I humbly ask them if a 65 years oldwoman [or younger or older than this] who is amother a sister decides to remarry will it be orwonrsquot it be frowned upon terming it against ourculture I am witness to such a case where a 55 yearold widow after being cold shouldered by her threesons for years decided to remarry and the rest asthey say became history She was disparaged con-demned and most unfortunately her character assas-sination got in full swing Oh she is a woman likethat They said Do you have to be a woman to real-ize the poisonous sting in these words Here mybrothers should sensitize people about the thingthat we all need partners women included Butnovociferous campaigns for this No advocacy ofwomenrsquos rightsHowever these issues need more of our attentionand vociferousness because without the active helpfrom our brothers we women may not and will notbe able to get what is legally ours But do I hearthem saying I can marry four donrsquot know aboutyouWhat about you They ask innocentlyFor a balanced society we need to have a balancedapproach and practice Addressing womenrsquos issueswould be the first step towards this But is anyonelistening

Why this Deafening Silence

The divisive agenda of RSSis now PublicI By Hansal Mehta I

Film Director Hansal Mehta in an interview has expressedserious concerns over the overt activities and statementsof the RSS and allied organizations after the recent cen-tral governments victory in the general elections of 2014He has stated that the Communal and divisive Agenda ofthe century old rightist organization RSS is now open andpublic This interview is the launching video of a seriesof audio-visual interviews available for viewing on theinternet on the joint You Tube video channel by Commu-nalism Combat andwwwhilleleorg

Hansal Mehta the director of films Dilpe Mat le Yaar(Story of migrants) and Shahid (Minority Rights) was-forthright in his assessment of the present scenario whiletalking about the threat of hate-driven divisive politics tojournalist educationist and humanist Teesta Setalvadwho conducted the first interview of the series

Mehta has won the National Film Award for best directorfor Shahid (2014) A marked shift in priorities of the gov-ernment at the centre was one reason that Shahid was un-ceremoniously replaced from being the inaugural film ofthe National Film Festival in May 2014 soon after elec-tion results due to the crucial issues it raises A fear ofchallenging the ideology of the ruling dispensation gov-erns this mood of self-censorship according to HansalMehta while emphasizing that there have been suchthreats before even during moments of our own authori-tarian past

Even during and after emergency it was impossible ordifficult to make serious and honest films over the periodof emergency or about Indira Gandhi While it has beeneasier (to make critical films) in neighbouring PakistanTalking about Hindi Cinema-Then and Now Mehta as-sessment of the 1950s and bollywood ran thus ldquoFilms in50s were more serious and sensitive towards society rais-ing several questions tackling even the gender questionldquoAfter the angry man of the 1970s it was tokenism thatreplaced a more thematic understanding of issues

He also talked cheerfully about his hobby specificallyabout his first venture into television with a highly popu-lar food show A lover of good cuisine and passionateabout its creation Hansal Mehta is today learning the nu-ances of Awadhi Cuisine It was Hansal who producedthe the famous SanjivKapurrsquos show KhanaKhazanaDedicated to creating more films like Shahid that turn themirror of society within Mehta spoke honestly about alsocreating a sex comedy with the same brutal dedication

This interview of Hansal Mehta is the first of the series ofInterviews by Communalism Combatandwwwhilleleorg The Series will further include inter-actions with various Actors Film Makers Artists Aca-demics Writers-Poets Activists Politicians andMusicians which would be launched on their You TubeChannel HilleleTV(httpswwwyoutubecomchannelUC3G7YYiSQ65t2AilCtw-anw)

To view the recent interaction with Hansal Mehta youmay go to httpyoutube1HKbUh-g5Gk directly(Hillele Bureau)


Islam

I By Theresa Corbin I

Saturday 30 August 2014 0000We often fail to remember that blessings alwayscome out of hardship If it wasnrsquot for the fire the for-est would rot and die

When I look back on my life I often thinkabout how it could have all gone so terri-bly wrong if I had only gotten what I

wantedIf I had been independently wealthy I wouldnrsquot haveworked so hard to get an educationIf I hadnrsquot gone to college I wouldnrsquot have learnedabout Islam If I hadnrsquot learned about Islam I donrsquotevenwant tothinkaboutwhere IwouldbeIt is thepath thatwedonrsquotwant totake thatturnsout to bethe bestfor us inthe longrun It isthe flat tire that made us avoid getting involved in adeadly accident or the waitress bringing us thewrong order that allowed us to avoid getting foodpoisoning that are the blessings

The hard part is recognizing that things not going theway we wanted them to is a blessing in disguise

Giving ShotsNothing taught me more about blessings in disguisethan being a pediatric medical assistant In this posi-tion I was tasked with giving the shots for the wellpatient check-ups

Giving shots to little babies was only traumatic forme and the parents The baby would smile and coo atme having no idea what was about to happen Thenonce the sharp needle pierced the skin the babywould cry for a moment and then go back to smilingand cooingAs the child got older and started to understand andremember giving shots was an entirely differentstory Around the age of 2 years and often earlierchildren would scream kick and struggle to get outof getting shots All they could think of was the painfrom the previous shotMost children thought I was trying to harm them andcouldnrsquot understand why their parents were com-plicit in this They felt betrayed and trapped because

preventionof diseasewas a con-cept that thechild couldnot graspNow couldthe childgrasp theconcept thatwas onlydone for hissake It wasa blessingfor the childto be able toreceive theshots butthe child

saw it as a tragedy

The Bigger PictureThe child has a narrow view of the world He cannotunderstand that the shotrsquos pain is only small and tem-porary but will prevent disease that can cause painand suffering that is markedly worse The child can-not see past the pain and in focusing on the pain thechild panics and makes the shot even worse in hisown mind

Even though we can understand the concept of dis-ease prevention the adult is not much better at see-

Hardships in Islam Blessings in Disguise

Understanding Trials amp Hardships

- Do You Remain Optimist ic in Hardship- There is Surely Ease with Every Di f f icult y- Is lam Brings Hardship or Happiness- There is Good in Every Event- How Are Tr ials Def inedCtr + Click to open l ink


Islam

ing past his or her small scope And often we have ahard time thinking bigger than a small pain rightnow that prevents bigger pain and suffering later Weeven make our suffering worse by only focusing onthe pain it causes like the child getting the shotWe often fail to remember that blessings alwayscome out of hardship If it wasnrsquot for the fire theforest would rot and die If it wasnrsquot for the rain wewould never see the fruit of the earth If it wasnrsquot forthe hardship in our own lives we wouldnrsquot becomestronger people

What Allah and the Prophet Have Said aboutBlessingseven if we cannot perceive the blessing we shouldstill trust that Allah knows

Even a small thing like a fever is really a blessingThe Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) saidldquoAllah removes the sins of a Muslim for his illnessas fire removes the dross of gold and silverrdquo (AbuDawud 3092)

And like the fever being a way to purify us every-thing we suffer is a form of good The Prophet saidldquoI am amazed by the believer Verily Allah does notdecree anything for the believer except what is goodfor himrdquo (Muslim 2999)

The greater the hardship the greater the blessing ifwe can only see it for what it really is The ProphetsaidldquoA mighty reward is associated with a large afflic-tion Indeed when Allah loves a people He afflicts

them in trial Thus he who is pleased for him is(His) pleasure and as for him who is angry for himis displeasurerdquo(At-Tirmidhi 2396)

Allah tells us in the Quran that the difficulty Heplaces on us is so that it can make us better peopleAllah does not want to place you in difficulty butHe wants to purify you and to complete His favor onyou that you may be thankful (56)

Acceptance of Allahrsquos Plan for UsIn my time in the medical field as the bearer ofshots every now and then there would be a child thatwas so calm and accepting of the situation that itwould surprise me Even though the child didnrsquot un-derstand why the shot was necessary she trusted thatthe doctorrsquos knowledge was greater than hers andthat the doctor who prescribed the shots only wantedgood for her And without the struggle to resist herfate the shot was next to painless

We should all strive to be more like the child who iscalm and accepting of the shot but on a muchgrander scale

We need to understand that even if we cannot per-ceive the blessing we should still trust that Allahknows what He is doing and He only wants good forus

httpwwwonislamnetenglishreading-islamliving-islamgrowing-in-faith476747-hardships-in-islam-blessings-in-disguisehtml


Islam

I By Shakeel Ahmad I

Everybody who knows even a bit about Eid AlAzha also knows that it is a celebration thatstrengthens a Muslims resolve to sacrifice in

the way of Allah that which he may love the most(commemorating Ibrahim Alaihis Salamrsquos readinessto sacrifice his most beloved son who was a giftfrom God in an age when no one could even dreamof becoming a father) This sacrifice on the day ofEid-Al-Adha is preceded by disciplining of Muslimsto a life of giving (sacrificing) during the first ninedays of Dhul-Hijjah and a strict training (to internal-ize the attribute of sacrifice) for those who have pro-ceeded to perform Hajj

One could become ready to sacrifice the most pre-cious resource like time the hard-earned money the opportunities ofperceived enjoyment like watchingTV serials or movies etc onlywhen one is aware of ones physicalself (self awareness) ones emo-tional self (emotional literacy) hasthe kind of feelings for others (em-pathy and compassion) that makeshim think of the benefits of othersas well and could allocate onesresources feelingsemotions wisely (balance) The four attributes essen-tial to master for high EQ (measure of Emotional In-telligence or EI refer to Part-1 of this series inBaKhabars September issue) are thus essential fornurturing a culture of sacrifice and vice versa Wecan therefore conclude that Emotional Intelligenceis an essential characteristic for selfless sacrificethat is for anyone who is willing to sacrifice for thesake of God without any apparent worldly return in-sight

The importance of the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjahneed no elaboration beyond mentioning the fact thatAllah swears by these ten days in Quran (891-2)From various sources of hadith and fiqh we knowthat these ten days could train us in developing ahabit of sacrificing for the sake of Allah and Allahrsquos

creatures practicing the essential elements of Emo-tional Intelligence as commanded by Allah

What constitutes sacrifice Physical sacrifice couldinclude acts of giving away what we possess likemoney (charity) or what we perceive as possessinglike time (spending on good deeds other than char-ity) Emotional sacrifice could include letting thecalls of emotions subside like controlling angeragainst an offence or forgiving someone even for anact against which permission to take revenge inequal measure is permitted Patience could be con-sidered another emotional sacrifice for example notseeking an immediate return for an act of benevo-lence Without patience and perseverance there canbe no forgiveness or tolerance Spiritual sacrificecould include worshipping God -it requires sacrific-

ing onersquos ego and desires submittingunconditionally onersquos entire self be-fore an unseen entity

We have now arrived at some ele-ments of sacrifice (physical emo-tional and spiritual that could beseen in worship of the creator for-giveness patience charity gooddeeds) that we could examine to see

how Quran and Sunnah commands us to internalizein order to make a success of our lives

Ibn lsquoAbbaas (Radhi Allaho Anhu) reported that theProphet (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam) said Thereare no days in which righteous deeds are morebeloved to Allaah than these ten days The peopleasked Not even jihaad for the sake of Allaah Hesaid Not even jihaad for the sake of Allaah exceptin the case of a man who went out to fight givinghimself and his wealth up for the cause and cameback with nothing(Sahih Bukhari 2457)

These ten days include the Day of lsquoArafaah onwhich Allaah perfected His Religion Fasting on thisday will expiate for the sins of the year before andthe year after These days also include the Day ofSacrifice (Eid Al-Adha) the greatest day of the en-

Emotional Intelligence Muslims and Eid Al Azha[First Ten Days of Dhul Hijjah leads a Muslim towards perfection)


Islam

tire year and the greatest day of Hajj which com-bines acts of worship in a way unlike any otherScholars have recommended to race in good deedsduring all of these ten days apart from indulging inworshipping seeking forgiveness fasting etc Actsof good deeds involve being generous

in giving (charity or sadaqah) to others and reluctantin demanding from others These ten days of intensetraining could make it easy for them (acts of the tendays) to become our habit for the rest of the yearAnd this training year after year could soon inter-nalize them to become a part of our personal charac-ter Muslim as a nation after nurturing thesecharacteristics could become leaders of the societyand role models worthy of emulation by others ex-actly in contrast to the image they carry now

Let us now take a look at reference from Quran andSunnah for some of these elementsForgiveness In the conquest of Makkah Al Mokar-rama by the prophet Muhammad (PBUH) we seethe greatest example of forgiveness which has noparallels in the history of mankind Almost the entirepopulation that tormented and tortured not only theMuslims but their prophet as well for thirteen longyears who fought wars against Muslims and killedthe noblest among them were forgiven In this is themodel of forgiveness for every Muslim to follow

[Quran 42 40-43] The recompense for an injury isan injury equal thereto (in degree) but if a personforgives and makes reconciliation his reward is duefrom Allah hellip The blame is only against those whooppress men and wrong-doing and insolently trans-gress beyond bounds through the land defying rightand justice for such there will be a penalty grievoushellip But indeed if any show patience and forgive thatwould truly be an exercise of courageous will andresolution in the conduct of affairs

What act of forgiveness could be better than to giveup our legitimate right to kill for the killing of a sib-ling

Abu Huraira reported Allahs Messenger (may peacebe upon him) as saying Charity does not in any waydecrease the wealth and the servant who forgivesAllah adds to his respect and the one who shows hu-mility Allah elevates him in the estimation (SahihMuslim 326264)

Patience The holy Quran and the books of ahadith

are full of commandments in favour of patience andall of us can easily recall ldquoinnallahe maaacutes-sabereenrdquoor ldquoAllah is with those who have patiencerdquo(eg 2153 2 249 846 866 etc) Who is betterthan the one who has Allah on his side

Charity Throughout Quran Allah commands us togive in various forms eg ldquoThose who (in charity)spend of their goods by night and by day in secretand in public have their reward with their Lord onthem shall be no fear nor shall they grieverdquo [2 274]Along with prayer we find the mention of charity inmany verses (eg 2277 477 4162 512 2278etc) Promised returns are such that no worldly in-vestment can beat eg Narrated Abu HurairaAllahs Apostle said If any one of you improve(follows strictly) his Islamic religion then his gooddeeds will be rewarded ten times to seven hundredtimes for each good deed and a bad deed will berecorded as it is (Sahih Bukhari 240)

Good Deeds Like charity good deeds are com-manded throughout Quran as if they be the coretheme of Allahrsquos Book Most striking is their strongconnection with Eiman (faith) that is good deedshave no value (for akhirah) without eiman andeiman is incomplete without good deeds ndash bothbeing mentioned together in no less than sixtyverses of Quran (eg 225 262 282 2277 41241719 etc)

Using Intelligence (wisdom hikmah etc) the im-portant constituent of Emotional Intelligence is simi-larly commanded throughout the holy Quran (eg820-23 7179 2246 etc) Phrases like ldquoheartswherewith they understand notrdquo (Quran 7179) orldquoReasoning by heartsrdquo (Quran 2246) all by them-selves hold all that we could perceive as ldquoemotionalintelligencerdquo

From the above discussion we see that through thefirst nine days of Dhul Hijjah the training by variousmeans of sacrifice a Muslim is prepared to sacrificeon the tenth day an animal that is dearest to him(best of domesticated prescribed animals) This tenday training extended to the whole year can make aMuslim what he is supposed to be an emotionallyintelligent person possessing all the attributes thatraise his EQ to the highest possible levels and bringhim closer to Allah Source httpwwwbiharanjumanorgbakhabar_newsbakhabar-November-2010-page7html


By Shaykhul-Islaam Ibn Taymeeyah -Rahimullaah-

Translated byAbbas Abu Yahya

Shaykhul-Islaam Ahmad bin AbdulHaleem IbnTaymeeyah (d728 AH) -Rahimullaah-wasasked

lsquoA woman and her husband have a unity betweenthem but her mother wants them to separate how-ever the daughter does not obey her mother in thisIs the daughter sinful for what the mother invites herto dorsquo

He -Rahimullaah- answeredAll praise be to Allaah if the woman is marriedthen it is not obligatory upon her to obey her fatheror her mother in separating from her husband nor invisiting them nor in things similar to this[1]

Rather obedience to her husband is more of a rightthan obedience to her parents as long as the husbanddoes not order her with sinning against AllaahlsquoAny woman who died while her husband waspleased with her enters Paradisersquo

If the mother of the daughter wants to separate herdaughter from her son-in-law then she is from thespecies of Haroot and Maroot (the two Angels sentdown to test the people) obedience to her is notcomplied with in this matter even if the mothermakes Duarsquo (supplicates) against the daughter

The exception is that the husband and wife gather to-gether upon sinning or the husband orders her to sinagainst Allaah while the mother orders her with obe-dience to Allaah and His Messenger with that whichis obligatory upon every Muslimrsquo

[Taken from Majmoo al-Fatawa vol33 p113][1] TN Note Here ShaykhulIslaam is talking aboutthe obligation however he is not implying that oneshould not visit and keep good relations and this isclearly understood Here are some narrations whichshow the importance of keeping good relations AndAllaah knows best

1 ndash On the authority of lsquoAeysha that the Prophet -sallAllaahualayhiwasallam- said to herlsquoCertainly whoever has been given a portion of gen-

tleness has been given his portion of goodness in theworld and the hereafter Having good relations withrelatives good manners and being good to neigh-bours blesses your dwellings and lengthens yourlifersquo SilsilahAhadeethAs-Saheehah No519

2 ndash From Abu Darda from the Prophet -sallAl-laahualayhiwasallam- who saidlsquoThe person who is disobedient to his parents willnot enter Paradise nor an alcoholic or a person whobelies Qadr (destiny)rsquoSilsilahAhadeethAs-Saheehah No 675

3- From Abu Musa al-Ashaari who said the Messen-ger of Allaah -sallAllaahualayhiwasallam- saidlsquoAn alcoholic will not enter Paradise nor the onewho believes in magic or one who breaks relationsrsquoSilsilahAhadeethAs-Saheehah No 678

4 ndash On the authority of Abdullaah who said that theMessenger of Allaah -sallAllaahualayhiwasallam-said to uslsquoIndeed you will see after me people having concernfor a portion of the Duniya and matters which youwill dislikersquo They said lsquoSo what do you command us to do OMessenger of AllaahrsquoHe answeredlsquoGive them their rights and ask Allaah for yourrightsrsquo SilsilahAhadeethAs-Saheehah No3555Sourcehttpfollowingthesunnahwordpresscom20140815mother-in-law-wants-daughter-to-separate-from-husband

Mother- in -law Wants Daughter to Separate from Husband

Islam


Kerala a prosperous south Indian state boastsof being the only Indian state with 100 per-cent of literacy and many Educational Insti-

tutions as compared to other Indian states Japan isthe most industrialized nation in the world with itsunmatched Suzuki Sony Nokia and PanasonicBangalore is the cyber city of India which hosts alarge number of Multi-National Companies in itsboundaries Yet all these three places have one thingin Common They lead the world in suicide statis-tics And suicides come from affluent class Theyalso include the frustrated students who fail to get upto the mark

Whenever the results of Matriculation and Second-ary schools are out news of students committing sui-cides pour in Quite surprisingly these are not thefailures in exams but those who are not able to getinto medical and engineering are killing themselvesThe success of a student is restricted to the grades hegets Career Worship is being cultivated as newform of God worship by many parents and institu-tions

With the rate race towards a prosperous job intensi-fied the expectations of the parents from childrenalso get hyper I was stunned to see the improvementin achieving percentages in this years Mumbai re-sults one in HSC and the other in SSC got 100 outof 100 in Math The Times of India says that there isa climb in the number of students getting 90 percentand above

A professor in Bhavans College Mumbai once tookthe introductory lecture of the students of BSc firstyear He announced ldquoI believe that this is the mostfrustrated batch in the entire college Raise yourhands those who dont agree with merdquo Everybodyagreed That batch was of those students whoworked extremely hard from ninth standard and sac-rificed all the social activities and confined them-selves to their books coaching classes and buriedthemselves beneath the piles of books and guidesYet they did not manage to get admission in medi-cine and engineering Every Indian college of sci-ence has this batch No one is exempted

So with this the parameter of failure has drastically

gone up If you cannot secure an admission in Medi-cine or IT in spite of getting 80 then you are afailure

Let me take an analytical stock of the situation fromIslamic perspective so that those who have missedthe bus may not sink into depressions Islamicallyfailure in this word is not the end of the road to suc-cess Note the most encouraging words of Quranthe last verse of Surah Imran Yaaayyuhallazinaaa-manofasberoo was saberoo Oh you who have be-lieved Be patient and remain patient In othertranslation O you have believed preserver and en-dure and remained station and fear Allah that youmay be successful

If you analyze the early setbacks or hardships ofMuslims you will discover that many failures are theearly signs of success For those who feel that suc-cess should be fast and immediate then consider thisIn first thirteen years of early Islam only a handfulof people became Muslims in the next decade al-most the whole of Arabia submitted to Islam and thenext decade saw empires like Rome Persia andEgypt losing out to Islam

Many students have formulated a wrong version ofsuccess in their minds They relate it with theirgrades If success is directly proportionate with yourachievements then what about those prophets whodid not have followers except a handful Would youcall them failures Many companions of the Prophet(pbuh) were killed or remained poor while other per-ished in the hot sands of desert and a few even livedto be victims of various trials and tribulation yetthey were entitled to get a merit card from AllahAllah is pleased with them and they are pleased withAllah This is the supreme success says the secondlast verse of Surah M-aidah

Islam de attaches you from materialism It teachesyou how to handle failures and deal with it and letnot failure cause you a loss in your morale in yourmotivation and in your attitude towards your lifeAnd it is very simple SABR PATIENCE If youlose something a relative to death wealth in busi-ness loss or a chance to build a career which youwere dreaming of for years you only have to say +The same verse is the best anti-depressant assurance

The Best Anti Depressant InnalillahiwainnailaihiRajeoon

Islam


from Allah those are the ones upon whom are theblessings from their Lord and they are the rightlyguided Surah Baqarahch 2 verse 156-157

Among the hastiest decision which also provesharmful emotionally and socially is divorce Peo-ple rush for divorces like any thing Why manypeople find themselves incompatible for theirspouses but they get along well even with their ag-gressive boss disobedient children stubborn cus-tomers and irritating neighbors It may seem tomany people that spouses can be replaced easilybut bosses cant be Children can be disobedient butspouses should never be Customers can be stub-born but they follow it up by a profit in dealspouses dont You can shut your doors for neigh-bors but not for your spouse You can sell yourhouse but cant sell your spouse So many peopleare in a haste to replace them

Spouses err They fall short in expectations Theirshortcomings strike brighter than their good quali-ties These are common features everywhere Ifyou look at your spouses errors and shortcomingsthrough microscope then it will give you a magni-fied image This is how Shaytan works Haste is aweapon used frequently by Shaytan to instigate aman to do wrong and destroy his Akhera It is hastethat leads many warring couple to separation Ifhaste is a weapon of shaytan then it is also a testfor man Note these three Quranic verses that re-flects human pyschology

1 Man was created weak KhuliqalInsaanaDhaeefaSurah Nisaa verse 28

2 The prayer that man should make for good hemakes for evil for man is given to Haste SurahAl Israch17 verse 11

3 InnalInsaanaKhuliqahalooa Indeed man wascreated very impatientSurahMaarij chapter 70 verse 19

Islam Where do I startBy Abu Muhammad Yusuf

Imagine waking up one morning to find everyone smil-ing just peace harmony tranquillity mutual love re-spect serenityhellipwouldnrsquot it be divine We all desire tochange the world for the better but where do we startA wise man once said

When I was a young man I wanted to change the world Ifound it was difficult to change the world so I tried tochange my nation When I found I couldnrsquot change thenation I began to focus on my town I couldnrsquot changethe town so I tried to change my family

Now as an old man I know the only thing I can change ismyself And suddenly I realize that if long ago I hadchanged myself I could have made an impact on my fam-ily My family and I could have made an impact on ourtown Their impact could have changed the nation and Icould indeed have changed the world

So what is really the secret to changing world Actuallyits not such a big secret Allah Tarsquoala gives us the perfectand most wise solution

ldquoIndeed Allah will not change the condition of a peopleuntil they change what is in themselvesrdquo (Quran-SurahRad 1311)

If we desire change then let us change what is within our-selves first and have high hopes and good expectationsabout gaining help from our Creator The Messenger ofAllah Tarsquoala (peace be upon him) is reported to have saidthat Allah says

I treat my servant according to his expectations fromMe and I am with him when he remembers Mehellipif hetakes one step towards Me I will take ten steps towardshim If he walks towards Me I will run unto himrdquo (Hadith Bukhariamp Muslim)

Often we fear and resist change Boldness courage anddetermination are essential components of change Thesecret of change is not to fight the old but to refocus andbuild the new

We need to take it one step at a time Rome was not builtin a day and a journey of a thousand miles starts with thefirst step Sometimes its the smallest decisions we makethat can change our life foreverIf you change the way you look at things the things youlook at will Insha Allah changeAllahThe Most Wise is always there to Help and Guideus So let us not delay and try to be the change that wewish to see in the world


I By Aijaz Zaka Syed I

Prime Minister NarendraModirsquos clarion call urging thenation to ldquoshed communal poisonrdquo is welcome How-ever this mission to save India and the world mustbegin with his own lsquoparivarrsquo

August is the month of anniversaries and memo-ries in the subcontinent This past week sawIndia and Pakistan celebrate their Independ-

ence with the usual fanfare although it was a rathermuted affair on the other side of the border PrimeMinister Nawaz Sharifrsquos party was spoiled by theclamorous calls of Imran Khan and TahirulQadri de-manding instant revolution

In India national celebrations were led by Naren-draModi something many in India and around theworld had hoped they wouldnrsquot see in their lifetimeThe Red Fort built by Mughal emperor Shah Jehanwho also gave us the eternal TajMahal and iconic JamaMasjid saw Modi stand where Jawharlal Nehru hadstood and addressed the nation for long years The firstprime minister sported an elegant sherwani for the oc-casion and chose the language of departing British forhis soaring eloquence

Modi who cut his ideological teeth inRashtriyaSwayamsevakSangh and went on to becomeits proud pracharak (propagandist) was expected tobreak from the past And he didndashby choosing his trade-mark short-sleeves kurta with a polka dotted flamingorange turban and speaking in Hindi

But thatrsquos where the predictability ended What Modisaid in his maiden I-Day address took everyone by sur-prise With the Red Fort in the backdrop and majesticJama Masjid on his left Modi said the Indians neededto ldquoshed the poison of communalism and casteismrdquoldquoHow long will this continuerdquo he asked ldquoWe havefought long enough We have killed enough Turn backand see Has anyone gained anythingrdquo

Lamenting that decades of bloodshed had caused deepwounds to lsquoBharat Matarsquo the PM proposed a 10-yearmoratorium on violence One couldnrsquot believe onersquosears nor did onersquos eyes trust what they beheldWhatrsquos going on Is this the same man whose namehas been synonymous with the Gujarat 2002 Urgingnational unity and harmony and stressing the need tobuild a new all-embracing Indiandashit was as though it

was Jawaharlal Nehru and not NarendraModi speak-ing

What do we make of this change if itrsquos indeed achange A classic case of the devil quoting scripture orhas Modi had a sudden change of heart an overnightmetamorphosis Has he lately been reading the Dis-covery of India since he moved into 7 Race CourseRoad Perhaps a copy left behind by DrManmohanSingh

Which reminds mendashwhat a stunning contrast ModirsquosRed Fort performance made against that of his prede-cessor Probably MJ Akbar BJPrsquos new spokespersonis right after all when he suggests that while Dr Singhessentially spoke to his Congress bosses Modi ad-dressed the nation

Thatrsquos not a very charitable thing to say about the for-mer PM a decent and humble man But then politics isnot really the place for decent and humble men Other-wise he wouldnrsquot have ended up holding the can andbeing blamed for all the mess and corruption of theCongress-UPA rule

It turns out that Singh had been all along riding a horsewhose reins were not in his hands But enough aboutthe past The man of the moment is Singhrsquos successorThe effortless transition Modi seems to have madefrom a universally despised satrap presiding over themost chilling state-sanctioned pogrom in Indiarsquos his-tory to the popularly elected prime minister is truly re-markable More dramatic and breathtaking has beenthe ostensible shift in his approach and worldview

ON THE SAME PAGE Either all this is happening with the blessings of Modiand according to a well-defined strategy or the Parivaris singing its own discordant tune independent ofModirsquos orchestra Either way this is a disturbing stateof affairsndashand not just for the countryrsquos minorities andmarginalized communitiesNone of us lsquocynical sickularsrsquo (in Hindutvarsquos parlance)in our wildest dreams had imagined that the architectof Gujarat 2002 would one day preach tolerance andplead for purging the nation of ldquopoison of communal-ismrdquoBut there he wasmdashpure reason sweetness and lightpersonified It was a positive vision statement tooWho would contest his argument that we have ldquofoughtlong enough and killed enoughrdquo India has indeed suf-

Modirsquos Mission to lsquoReformrsquo India MustBegin At Home


fered enough thanks to ldquodecades of bloodshedrdquo It wastime to end the madness

It was a brilliant bravura performance Indeed as thateternal cynic who was a regular at the Mughal court atthe Red Fort would put it ldquoYehmasail-e-tasawwufyehterabayaanGhalibTujhay hum walisamajhte jon-abadakhwarhota (These philosophies you spout withsuch pompous gravity GhalibPeople would think youwise if you werenrsquot such a goddamn drunk)

Doubtless Modirsquos argument makes sense One is al-most tempted to take his words seriously The troubleis even as the PM has been trying to make a breakfrom the past projecting himself as a reasonable prag-matic leader emphasizing time and again on lsquogoodgovernance and development of allrsquo as he promisedduring his poll campaign his party and larger ideologi-cal parivar have been pushing a different conflictingagenda

While he has been signing paeans to inclusive growthand progress Hindutva rabble-rousers have been dip-ping into their old bag of tricks playing the same oldgames that come naturally to themThe past few weeks and months have seen hundreds ofcommunal riots in sensitive states Uttar Pradesh andMaharashtra Tactics have been familiar and Muslimsalways the target

In the name of increasingly dangerous canard likelsquolove jihadrsquo (Muslim boys preying on Hindu girls tolsquoIslamizersquo India) and rumors of forced conversionsand rapes an environment of mass hysteria and hatredis being created against MuslimsLast month rumors of a Hindu teacher being ldquogang-raped and converted to Islamrdquo in a madrassa of all theplaces spread like wildfire in UP with the mediapoliticians and everyone else screaming their heads offabout ldquomass rapes and conversionsrdquo

A state government probe though found it to be a com-plete hoax with the girl insisting it wasnrsquot a lsquogang-rapersquobut a love affair The findings were totally ignored bythe media though and wagging tongues are yet to fallsilent Meanwhile UP continues to simmer and fearstalks the land BJP leaders members of parliament noless talk of more Muzffarnagars waiting to happenOn the other hand the luminaries of Vishwa HinduParishad whose Ayodhya campaign helped the BJPgrow from a 2-member outfit into the principal party ofpower talk of Ram temple Hindu Rashtra (Hindustate) and pushing ahead with the Hindutva agendaNow that an RSS pracharak is the PM some suggestIndia is already a Hindu state Ashok Singhal is confi-dent that the lsquoideal RSS swayamsevakrsquo that Modi is he

is ready to paint India saffron Praveen Togadia assuresthe faithful that the government is set to fulfill thepromise of a magnificent temple at the site of BabriMasjid

On the other hand saffronization of history and textbooks has begun in all earnest with the likes of ProfSudharshan Rao taking charge of the Indian Councilfor Historical Research

Either all this is happening with the blessings of Modiand according to a well-defined strategy or the Parivaris singing its own discordant tune independent ofModirsquos orchestra Either way this is a disturbing stateof affairsndashand not just for the countryrsquos minorities andmarginalized communities

Any attempt to change the democratic and secularcharacter of the constitution and polity could have po-tentially catastrophic consequences for the countrySo itrsquos all very well for Modi to talk of inclusivegrowth and a 10-year moratorium on communal vio-lence But who started it in the first place and who stillcontinues to stir the cauldron of religious hatred acrossthe country

More important as AmulyaGanguli asked soon afterModirsquos I-Day address will the PMrsquos own Hindutva allies heed his call for reason

I do not doubt Modirsquos seriousness He means what hesays albeit for selfish reasons Now that he has won theelection Congress has been wiped out and no seriousopposition exists to confront him the only obstacle tohis long uninterrupted reignndashor at least for 10 yearsndashisfrom within He wouldnrsquot want his fellow travelers toupset the apple cart with their excessive missionaryzeal and delusional designs

But whatever the explanation you cannot have thecake and eat it too You cannot aspire to be the newmessiah of markets and middle class India and allowyour brothers in faith and other crazy cousins to runamok

Ultimately the proof of the proverbial pudding lies ineating We all know Modi speaks well much betterthan his predecessor and many of his detractors In theend though actions speak louder than words Other-wise as Shakespeare would argue even the devil cancite Scripture for his purpose Modirsquos mission to saveIndia and the world must begin at homemdashwith his ownparivar that continues to speak in a thousand tonguesSource httpcaravandailycomportalmodis-mission-to-reform-india-must-begin-at-home


Sadbhavna






Put a frog in a vessel of water and start heating thewater

As the temperature of the water rises the frog is ableto adjust its body temperature accordingly

The frog keeps on adjusting with increase in temper-ature

Just when the water is about to reach boiling pointthe frog is not able to adjust anymore

At that point the frog decides to jump out

The frog tries to jump but is unable to do so becauseit lost all its strength in adjusting with the water tem-perature

Very soon the frog dies What killed the frog

Many of us would say the boiling water

But the truth is what killed the frog was its own in-ability to decide when it had to jump out

We all need to adjust with people and situations butwe need to be sure when we need to adjust and whenwe need to confront face

There are times when we need to face the situationand take the appropriate action

If we allow people to exploit us physically mentallyemotionally or financially they will continue to doso We have to decide when to jump Let us jumpwhile we still have the strength Think on It

Boiling Frog Syndrome - Have You Become aBoiled Frog

Dont put up with rising temperatures Dont be aboiled frog Are you in a job which doesnt suit youyour skills your values and personality Have be-come so comfortable or used to your current situa-tion that you dont really know how to escape fromBoiling Frog Syndrome - Have You Become aBoiled Frog

THE BOILING FROG SYNDROME

Editorial Board

PublisherBihar Anjuman BaKhabar

Editorial BoardAsrarul Haque Seraj Akram Mohd Allam

Ms Farhat Shakeel and Jahanzeb Mashhadi

bakhabarbiharanjumanorg

ldquoThe editors and publishers are not respon-sible for the views of writers and their viewsdo not reflect our policy or ideology in anyway We however reserve the right to editany material submitted for publication onaccount of public policy or for reasons of

clarity and space ndash From Publishersrdquo Pic-tures have been taken from available public

sources

Together we can change our societyJoin Bihar Anjuman

wwwbiharanjumanorg

write to bakhabarbiharanjumanorg

form a chapter in your city or countryDubai Abu Dhabi Chennai

Bangalore Delhi Jeddah

Patna Riyadh Muscat

Aligarh Jubail Qatar

Kolkata Hyderabad Toronto

Muzaffarpur Ranchi Gaya

DammamKhobar

California Chicago


CONTENTS





Emotional Intelligence Muslims and Eid AlAzha

Cover StoryLove Jihad

Book Review


An Open Letter

The Boiling FrogSyndrome

32

31

24

10

15

03


Cover Story

Is it Real


Cover Story

I Aijaz Zaka Syed I

















Cover Story








alone









Cover Story
















Cover Story









Cover Story

I Charu Gupta I











Cover Story












Islam










Q amp A



Answer

















Q amp A
















InFocus
















InFocus








Book Reviews











Book Reviews










Book Reviews










Book Reviews




















AsmaNama









AsmaNama













Islam









saw it as a tragedy







Islam













Islam















Islam





























Islam














Islam


















































Sadbhavna






















Cover Story

Is it Real


Cover Story

I Aijaz Zaka Syed I

















Cover Story








alone









Cover Story
















Cover Story









Cover Story

I Charu Gupta I











Cover Story












Islam










Q amp A



Answer

















Q amp A
















InFocus
















InFocus








Book Reviews











Book Reviews










Book Reviews










Book Reviews




















AsmaNama









AsmaNama













Islam









saw it as a tragedy







Islam













Islam















Islam





























Islam














Islam


















































Sadbhavna






















Cover Story

I Aijaz Zaka Syed I

















Cover Story








alone









Cover Story
















Cover Story









Cover Story

I Charu Gupta I











Cover Story












Islam










Q amp A



Answer

















Q amp A
















InFocus
















InFocus








Book Reviews











Book Reviews










Book Reviews










Book Reviews




















AsmaNama









AsmaNama













Islam









saw it as a tragedy







Islam













Islam















Islam





























Islam














Islam


















































Sadbhavna






















Cover Story








alone









Cover Story
















Cover Story









Cover Story

I Charu Gupta I











Cover Story












Islam










Q amp A



Answer

















Q amp A
















InFocus
















InFocus








Book Reviews











Book Reviews










Book Reviews










Book Reviews




















AsmaNama









AsmaNama













Islam









saw it as a tragedy







Islam













Islam















Islam





























Islam














Islam


















































Sadbhavna






















Cover Story
















Cover Story









Cover Story

I Charu Gupta I











Cover Story












Islam










Q amp A



Answer

















Q amp A
















InFocus
















InFocus








Book Reviews











Book Reviews










Book Reviews










Book Reviews




















AsmaNama









AsmaNama













Islam









saw it as a tragedy







Islam













Islam















Islam





























Islam














Islam


















































Sadbhavna






















Cover Story









Cover Story

I Charu Gupta I











Cover Story












Islam










Q amp A



Answer

















Q amp A
















InFocus
















InFocus








Book Reviews











Book Reviews










Book Reviews










Book Reviews




















AsmaNama









AsmaNama













Islam









saw it as a tragedy







Islam













Islam















Islam





























Islam














Islam


















































Sadbhavna






















Cover Story

I Charu Gupta I











Cover Story












Islam










Q amp A



Answer

















Q amp A
















InFocus
















InFocus








Book Reviews











Book Reviews










Book Reviews










Book Reviews




















AsmaNama









AsmaNama













Islam









saw it as a tragedy







Islam













Islam















Islam





























Islam














Islam


















































Sadbhavna






















Cover Story












Islam










Q amp A



Answer

















Q amp A
















InFocus
















InFocus








Book Reviews











Book Reviews










Book Reviews










Book Reviews




















AsmaNama









AsmaNama













Islam









saw it as a tragedy







Islam













Islam















Islam





























Islam














Islam


















































Sadbhavna






















Islam










Q amp A



Answer

















Q amp A
















InFocus
















InFocus








Book Reviews











Book Reviews










Book Reviews










Book Reviews




















AsmaNama









AsmaNama













Islam









saw it as a tragedy







Islam













Islam















Islam





























Islam














Islam


















































Sadbhavna






















Q amp A



Answer

















Q amp A
















InFocus
















InFocus








Book Reviews











Book Reviews










Book Reviews










Book Reviews




















AsmaNama









AsmaNama













Islam









saw it as a tragedy







Islam













Islam















Islam





























Islam














Islam


















































Sadbhavna






















Q amp A
















InFocus
















InFocus








Book Reviews











Book Reviews










Book Reviews










Book Reviews




















AsmaNama









AsmaNama













Islam









saw it as a tragedy







Islam













Islam















Islam





























Islam














Islam


















































Sadbhavna






















InFocus
















InFocus








Book Reviews











Book Reviews










Book Reviews










Book Reviews




















AsmaNama









AsmaNama













Islam









saw it as a tragedy







Islam













Islam















Islam





























Islam














Islam


















































Sadbhavna






















InFocus








Book Reviews











Book Reviews










Book Reviews










Book Reviews




















AsmaNama









AsmaNama













Islam









saw it as a tragedy







Islam













Islam















Islam





























Islam














Islam


















































Sadbhavna






















Book Reviews











Book Reviews










Book Reviews










Book Reviews




















AsmaNama









AsmaNama













Islam









saw it as a tragedy







Islam













Islam















Islam





























Islam














Islam


















































Sadbhavna






















Book Reviews










Book Reviews










Book Reviews




















AsmaNama









AsmaNama













Islam









saw it as a tragedy







Islam













Islam















Islam





























Islam














Islam


















































Sadbhavna






















Book Reviews










Book Reviews




















AsmaNama









AsmaNama













Islam









saw it as a tragedy







Islam













Islam















Islam





























Islam














Islam


















































Sadbhavna






















Book Reviews




















AsmaNama









AsmaNama













Islam









saw it as a tragedy







Islam













Islam















Islam





























Islam














Islam


















































Sadbhavna






























AsmaNama









AsmaNama













Islam









saw it as a tragedy







Islam













Islam















Islam





























Islam














Islam


















































Sadbhavna






















AsmaNama













Islam









saw it as a tragedy







Islam













Islam















Islam





























Islam














Islam


















































Sadbhavna






















Islam









saw it as a tragedy







Islam













Islam















Islam





























Islam














Islam


















































Sadbhavna






















Islam













Islam















Islam





























Islam














Islam


















































Sadbhavna






















Islam















Islam





























Islam














Islam


















































Sadbhavna






















Islam





























Islam














Islam


















































Sadbhavna





































Islam














Islam


















































Sadbhavna


































Islam


















































Sadbhavna






































































Sadbhavna





















bakhabar october 2014

Documents