We have been in this for a while now. Since birth to be exact. The country of Pakistan was built on the notion of an Islamic state; this very notion is now debated at some far-fetched fronts with the air of arrogance assocaited with self-satisfying false prophets.

Islam has always been considered as the religion of peace; that notion is now been debated with great aplomb, citing numerous texts from the exegis of texts that translate yet another explanation of a certain phrase from the holy book of Muslims.

There were times when Eid was celebrated by spotting the most noticable feature of any night sky, a feature that when absent would entice poets to write sweet songs of separation. Now that very moon has become so hard to spot. So hard. But we don’t understand the complexities that are inherent in using our faculties of vision. Poor friggin’ us.

There was a time, somewhat long ago, when Muslims were free thinkers. Dare I say, they were creative. There was thought, there was action, there were mistakes, there were adjustments, carried out by mortal humans with biases and preconcieved notions. Still there was massive progress in all spheres of human endeavor. This was a time when the nation had a brain. And as a consequence of that, had a heart as well.

The premium importance was on finding God, not accepting Him; on discovering one’s own and not following someone else’s potential. It was this type of nation that produced people like Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Shafi.

Now people follow the people of those times. There was a time when power lay in the hands of every soul alive. Now power is cuddled amongst the few haves. Power does corrupt. Absolute power does corrupt absolutely.

Where is that power now? Who will take it back? From whom? These questions, no one will answer for me. Because no one can’t. Only I. I am the one. Are you?

ImageSource: M.S.M under CC License

A remarkable website that I rediscovered today.

Anyone interested in listening to some beautiful recitations of the mighty Book, head over to The Quran Explorer.
It also has translations from different famous commentators in a total of seven languages, including English, Urdu and French.

A definite bookmarkable website for all net savvy Muslims for sure

Javed Ghamidi PhotoSource: Wikipedia

The interview with Mr. Ghamidi has been postponed till sometime this week. So keep those questions coming.

The interview is, God willing, expected to take place this coming Sunday (Sept 14, ‘08), early evening. If any of you have any questions that you want to ask him directly, please either use the comments section to ask, or email me. You could expect to get the answers here God willing, by Monday evening. I will also be asking him about getting the most out of life - hacking life, so to speak - from an Islamic point of view.

The beautiful religion of Islam has left the field quite open in terms of creatively living one’s life (Tim Ferris, take note ), as I always try to be living proof of that. Sometimes, I actually succeed. God’s Grace, all of it. (this God’s Grace is what most of us call ‘luck’; I do not find luck or coincidence or chance in any of God’s scheme of things, but that’s just me)

A bit about Javed A. Ghamidi & the interview

Known to be controversial in his intrepretation of Islam, he has presented a truly unique, modern yet fundamentalist view of the religion of Islam. I am a Muslim (thankfully  ) and have found his methods of inquiry, deduction and importantly, his presentation quite unique, and many a times, on the mark.

This coming Sunday, I and a few of my friends will be visiting Mr. Ghamidi (most probably at his home) with a small list of questions, for a pre-arranged meet up. This is not an interview per se, and I am hoping that it turns out to be a fruitful discussion where we learn the most. The questions we will be asking (althoug not in a written format as of yet) are a result of our (friends) discussions amongst ourselves and our readings into the Holy Qur’an, Hadith literature and the writings of acclaimed Quranic commentators like Moudidi, M Asad and Dr. Israr.

Those who are aware of today’s political Islam will know that Mr. Ghamidi and Dr. Israr are not on the same frequency when it comes to Islam. This inshAllah, should be a learning and an interesting experience. I await your questions as well (quickly now, there is not much time left ).

I will probably be updating on twitter as well, so you can also follow me on twitter.