Shut down Sach ka Saamna!!

It is most idiotic, outrageous, blatantly vulgar TV programme ever telecasted in India.
The promos to the programme scream "Waqt aagaya hai Sachaayi ka agnipariksha dene ka"
If the purpose is to highlight the truth, nobody would oppose it.
But what this nonsense programme wants to unveil is not truth, but vulgarity.

The format of the programme goes like this. There is this Rajeev Khandelwal, a failed actor from Bollywood. An actor without a single hit is a flopped actor. He is the anchor of the show. No wonder the Three Khans of the Bollywood should have rejected the chance as the programme lacks respect of the Indian sensibilities.

This failed actor asks questions to the participant. The questions are very, very, very personal, sexy and vulgar.

The participant answers them and then he undergoes the polygraph test to guage whether he has spoken the truth or not. If it is true, he could face the next question. And the cycle of vulgar question, answer, polygraph test and result goes on.

A cash award is awarded at each and every step. One go on winning and go upto Rs One Crore.

God damn such programmes. God damn such participants.

The questions go like this:
* Have you ever stolen bedsheets from a hotel?
* Have you ever had physical relationships with female relatives?

A woman was asked in the presence of her husband whether she would have physical contact with another person. Though she said no, the polygraph test said the answer was wrong.

Star plus people are commercial minded people. All they want is money, money, and money. Money would pour only when the TRP ratings go up.

Boycott this channel.
Boycott this programme.
Condemn this nonsense.

Tail piece :
An appeal to Rajeev Khandewal and his bosses.

If at all your thirst to know the truth is genuine, I have a suggestion to you.

Bring Narendra Modi and make him sit in the hot seat. Ask him the gory details of Gujarat Genocide 2002. And put him under polygraph test.

Bring Manmohan Singh and tie him in the hot seat. Ask him the details of his meeting with George Bush. Ask him the real reason behind the sacking of petroleum Minister Manishankar Aiyar. Ask him whether India - US Deal is helpful to India or not? Then put him under the polygraph test.

Bring the luv purush(?!) L K Advani and hold him tight in the hot seat. Ask him whether he was happy when the Babri Masjid in 1992? Ask him whether he clapped his hands when innocent Muslims were butchered in Gujarat in 2002? Ask him whether he was sincere when he wrote those lines about Jinnah? Ask him. Ask him. Then put him under the polygraph test.

The nation would adore you.

Conference fever grips the state!!

The Tamilnadu Jamaat-e-Islami Hind has planned to hold its state conferene in Trichy on 30th and 31st of January 2010, Insha Allah.

The ground work has already started. The cadre of the Jamaat has plunged into the conference activities and the state machinery has been fixed in top gear.

A thirteen member committee with the undisputable I Kareemullah as convenor has been set up. The committee works in war footing. It has so far conducted more than a dozen brain storming sessions.

The cadre is affected with the conference fever and the work is in full swing.

The mood of the cadre is upbeat and each and every one is eagerly anticipating the dawn of the historic Saturday ie 30th January 2010. It was evident in the cadre convention held in Coimbatore, last Sunday. More than 350 diehard activists connected with the tahreek attended this historic meet. At the end of the day when the Amee-e-Halqa asked the cadre, ''Tell me the number of the delegates which you plan to bring to Trichy?" The cadre thundered, ''More than 2500" When asked the lady Islamists politely said, "Not less than five thousand!"
That's it. The spirit of the lady karkuns say it all.

Amidst this scenario, the state chief of JIH Tamil Nadu has written a open letter to the cadre motivating them to work indefatiguably. He has put forward seven point agenda before the cadre.
They are as follows: 1) Have Ikhlas in all your endeavours. 2) Have faith in the theme of the conference. 3) Build strong rapport with Allah 4) Strive to cultivate good public relations. Reach out to the public with the message of the conference 5) Beautify you character. Moral strength is the main thing. 6) Make Hijrath from laziness to hard work. Make Hijrah from ignorance to knowledge.Shun away the shortcomings. Embrace virtues. 7) Compete with each other in conference activities.
And lastly he has urged the cadre to wage Jihad against nafs.
The gif images of the original letter written in Tamil are given below. Click the image to enlarge it and read.

இது தான் ஜமாத்தே இஸ்லாமி ஹிந்த்!!

Markazi Majlis-e-Numaindgaan is the top most governing body of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind. It comprises of 120 members. It elects the Ameer-e-Jamaat - all India President - of the Jamaat. Usually it meets once in two years. It is the most powerful body of Jamaat. It is the one which elects Markazi Majlis-e-Shoora - Central consultative council. It has the power to suspend and dismiss the Ameer-e-Jamaat and the Majlis-e-Shoora.
Recently the Majlis had its session in Bangalore. Moulana Parvaz Rahmani, who is also the editor of Dawat sehroza attended it. As he has been elected to the Majlis for the first it was his first experience. Being a writer and that too a writer par excellence, he has penned his first hand experience in a short article.
It was a marvellous piece. As usual I translated it in Tamil and shared it with my friends. I have titled it as இது தான் ஜமாத்தே இஸ்லாமி ஹிந்த்!! Yehi hai Jamaat-e-Islami Hind!! To read it click the gif image below.

Mutton, eggs and Jamaat-e-Islami Hind!!!

Once there was a sheep in a dusty town.
It was living happily in its own world.









One day an hen came jogging towards the sheep.

The following conversation took place between them:
"Hi! May Peace be upon you"
"Hi! May Peace be upon you"
"How do you do?"
"I am fine by the grace of Allah! How do you do?"
Soon they became close friends.

One day the clever hen proposed an idea.
As it was a brilliant idea, the sheep concurred with the hen.
What was the idea?
The hen had said: "We have become close friends. Why not we start a hotel?"
The sheep sheepishly agreed to the proposal and they started the ground work to start the hotel.
One day the sheep asked the hen: "What would be the name of our proposed hotel?"
The hen said cooly: "I have already thought it out. The name of our future hotel would be MUTTON And EGGS!!"
The sheep was very clever. He immediately understood the game. He withdrew from the hotel project saying,"While I would be committed, you would be merely involved"

This is the story often told to highlight the difference between commitment and involvement.
In Islam and Islamic movement like Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, commitment to the cause is expected from the cadre.

Ibrahim (AS) with his declaration "Surely my prayer, all my acts of worship, and my living and my dying are only for Allah, the Lord of the whole Universe" (Quran 6: 162) has set the parameters for the scale of commitment.

In other words we do not have pass marks or high marks or first class or second class as far as commitment is concerned. You ought to get 100 percent or perish. It has made very clear in the hadith, "One cannot become a believer unless his love and his hate, his giving and refusing, his friendship and his enmity evolve on the basis of Allah and His Prophet"

Where do we stand now?
Are we committed to the cause of Islam?
Are we merely involved in the process?

We do participate in the weekly meetings. We do sit in the front row in the important gatherings. We do circulate Islamic books with our friends and relatives. We do promote our magazines and journals from Dawat sehroza to Samarasam Tamil Fortnightly to Radiance views weekly. We do actively take part in nation wide campaigns and caravans. We do read Quran and Hadith and nisabi kitabs. We do give gifts to others. We do this. We do that. We can go on bragging our activities. But is it sufficient? Have you ever analysed a basic question? Whether we do all this things when we find time or we do give prime importance?

The present Ameer-e-Halqa used to say about a karkun (let's call him Mr X): "If you cut Mr X to bits and pieces, each and every bit would scream Jamaat-e-Islami, Jamaat-e-Islami"
And surely that is commitment, you would say.
But I would like to add a correction. "If your body is cut to pieces, each and every bit and piece should scream Allah, Allah."
Just like Syedna Bilal(RA) used to say "Ahad! Ahad!"

That is commitment.

Also read : Jamaat-e-Islami Hind and the black belt!!
and : Three dimensions of a personality!

Imran is new Chennai Chief!!

It is official now.
I could say it is the most exciting, exhilarating and heartening news of the year. Rather it could be said as the most exciting news of the Meeqath! (Meeqath is the urdu word for the word term. It usually comprises of four years, in this case from April 2007 to March 2011)
Br Imran Latheef Sait has been appointed by the Ameer-e-Jamaat Moulana Jalaluddin Umari as the Nazim-e-Ilaqa of Chennai city. This was done on the basis of the recommendation of State Shura.
Br Imran Latheef Sait would be refered as மாநகரத் தலைவர் and as City President.

I know Br Imran for the past twenty three years. He is full of vigour, passion and zeal. He is the most reliable hand; whatever task you give, he would finish it off in style. It would appear that he accomplishes everything in an effortless way. But he is the most committed hard worker. He is very humble and never projects himself. He is well versed in Quran and is deeply attached with it. Infact he runs two, three Quran classes every week. Scores of men and women have learned to understand Quran from him.

He is very disciplined, punctual in Namaz.
He is very fond of cultivating friendships across the various cross sections of the society. He has friends everywhere. He speaks flawless English and beautiful Urdu.
He has business acumen and management skills.
He is still young and always remain active and robust.
He is attached with the tahreek right from his childhood.

He is a team man. He is pious, God-fearing and full of humility. He is hardworking, dedicated and known for his meticulous plans. He had served as Divisional Organisor of Madras for two terms during his SIO days. He had been the Divisional organisor for Puducherry division some years ago. He had also served as the Member of State Shura too. He has close rapports with ICSA and interfaith movement for communal harmony people. Besides he is the treasurer of Islamic Foundation Trust for the past couple of years. He played a leading role in providing newly constructed 38 houses to the hapless victims of sea erosion of the village Kottaikuppam near Puducherry. He was the moving spirit behind this mega project undertaken by TNRC (Tamil Nadu Relief Committee).

I am very very happy that such a talented and dedicated karkun with varied interests bubbling with enthusiasm and vigour has been selected for the job. I hope that the forthcoming days would be fantastic, action-packed and simply satisfying. We have great Expectations.
May God bless him. May God help him. May God give him strength and vision to execute the work. Aameen

Read : Jamaat-e-Islami Hind and the Black belt!!

UPSC : Sufiyah Farooqui tops the Muslim list!

Sufiyah Faruqui along with her parents. She is from Bhopal.

01 - 20 - SUFIYAH FARUQUI
02 - 26 - SARFARAZ AHMAD
03 - 51 - SHAID IQBAL
04 - 75 - TAMBOLI AYYAJ FAKIRBHAI
05 - 90 - SADRE ALAM
06 - 94 - ABU MATHEN GEORGE
07 - 120 - KOYA PRAVEEN
08 - 128 - MASOOM ALI SARWAR
09 - 134 - IMTIAZ ISMAIL PARRAY
10 - 139 - AYESHA RANI A
11 - 169 - ZIAUL HAQUE
12 - 244 - ASHIQUZZAMAN
13 - 257 - BASIR AHMED
14 - 303 - SABIHA RIZVI
15 - 304 - ANEES AHMAD ANSARI
16 - 353 -PATTAN IMTIYAZ KHAN
17 - 382 - MASHHOOD UR REHMAN FAROOQUI
18 - 393 - SHAHNAWAZ UL RAHMAN
19 - 398 - CHAN BASHA M
20 - 453 - AKHTAR HUSSAIN ANSARI
21 - 460 - KAZI SUHAIL ANEESAHMED
22 - 499 - TARIQ MABOOD
23 - 502 - GEELANI BASHA K S M
24 - 523 - R GULZAR BEGUM
25 - 540 - MOHD SHAHID ALAM
26 - 546 - MOHD FAIZAN NAYYAR
27 - 582 - MAHFOOZUR REHMAN
28 - 595 - MD SADIQUE ALAM
29 - 603 - MD SALIK PARWAIZ
30 - 606 - MD FAIZUL HAQUE
31 - 619 - MOHAMMED YUSUF QURESHI
32 - 664 - ABDUL HAKEEM M

http://www.upsc.gov.in/

This is the list of Muslim Canditates who have passed with flying colours in the written part of Civil Services (Main) Examination, 2008 held by the Union Public Service Commission in October-November, 2008 and the interviews for Personality Test held in March-April, 2009, and who have been recommended for appointment to Indian Administrative Service, Indian Foreign Service, Indian Police Service and Central Services, Group ‘A’ and Group ‘B’.
First of all let me congratulate them.

Hats off to Sister Sufiyah Farooqui who stands first among the successful canditates. All other thirty one brothers and a sister deserve congratulations.

Next, the details. The total number of canditates passed this year is 792. The total number of Muslim canditates is 32. ie 4.04%

The percentage of successful Muslim canditates continues to be around 3 to 5 % for the past 20 years.

Whenever the UPSC results are announced I analyse and scan the list to find out the Muslim names. I have been doing it for the past sixteen years. It never reached the three digits. It never reached fifty. I always end up frustrated, disappointed and disheartened.

Questions, piercing, penetrating, intimidating questions boggle my mind. They rob my peace of mind. To be honest, I cannot find answers. Now I want to share them with you. Whether it will rob your peace of mind or not, I don't care. I want to relieve them. I would be happy if some of you could answer them.

The questions are as follows:

• What is the reason behind this stale performence?
• Why is this pathetic, insipid and faded performence repeated year after year?
• Who is responsible for this lacuna?
• What are the shortcomings?
• What are the deficiencies?
• Don't we have enough graduates?
• Do our youth lack ambition?
• Who prevents them? Who debars them? Nobody.
• Then what bothers them? What is the remedy?
• Where lies the solution?
• If our youth are not aware of UPSC, whose responsibility is it anyway, to guide, counsel and motivate them?
• What is the role of SIO and Tahreek in this context? Where do they stand?

Read : A success story of a Muslim IAS topper

Dr Muzammil H. Siddiqi and some soul searching questions!

Almighty Allah says: (Surely Allah enjoins justice, kindness and doing of good, to kith and kin, and forbids all that is shameful, evil and oppressive. He exhorts you so that you may be mindful.) (An-Nahl 16:90)

This verse is known as the most comprehensive verse of the Qur’an. It summarizes basic Islamic principles and values: `adl (justice) and ihsan (compassion). These should be the over-riding principles for everything that we say and everything that we do, individually or collectively.

Ethics and the Secular Laws

In the secular legal systems, the law and ethics are not necessarily inter-related. People sometimes fulfill laws but they are not necessarily ethical people. Sheldon Amos in his book The Science of Law says: “A man may be a bad husband, a bad father, a bad guardian without coming into conflict with rules of a single law.” Laws are best understood formally as a system of orders, commands, and rules enforced by some authority. Laws are fulfilled by outward compliance of the rules, even when someone hates those rules and the authority that has given those rules.

The Nature of Shari`ah

Shari`ah is the law of Allah. It is different from laws in the common sense of the word. Shari`ah is the law that is based on ethics. Its basic values are permanent and universal. Shari`ah deals with the outward and inward. The rules of Shari`ah cannot be fulfilled without sincerity, true intention, love, and respect of the law and the Law-Giver, Allah.

The Purpose of Shari`ah

The purpose of Shari`ah is to make good persons and a good society. Its whole objective is ethical and moral. Shari`ah establishes what is good and beautiful. If something is not moral (good and beautiful), it is not part of the Shari`ah. It is also impossible to fulfill the Shari`ah without becoming a good person. A society that establishes the Shari`ah must become a good and beautiful society. It is impossible to have a society compliant to Shari`ah and have injustice, ugliness, and evil in it. It is also impossible to have a good Muslim who is unjust, unfair, unfaithful, and immoral.

Ibn Al-Qayyim in his famous book of fiqh says: “The Shari`ah is founded and based on wisdom and the benefit of people in this life and in the eternal life. Shari`ah is altogether justice, mercy, benefits, and wisdom. Any rule that departs from justice to oppression, from mercy to its opposite, from benefit to harm, and from wisdom to uselessness, is not from the Shari`ah, even if it is included in Shari`ah by interpretation.”

Objectives or Basic Values (Maqasid) of Shari`ah

Scholars say that the Shari`ah has basic values or objectives. They identify them as follows:

1. `Adl and qist - justice and equity

2. Huquq - rights and obligations

3. Shura - consultation

4. Masalih - public interest

5. Falah - success (in this world and in the Hereafter)

The purpose of Shari`ah

The purpose of Shari`ah is to protect and promote:

1. Din - Religion

2. Nafs - Life

3. Nasl - Progeny or Family

4. `Aql - Intellect

5. Mal - Property or wealth

These basic values are further divided into: darurat (necessities), hajat (needs) and tahsinat (complementary ease or felicity).

When we practice the rules of Shari`ah we must keep in mind the objectives of Shari`ah. Very often we follow the rules but we ignore and overlook the spirit and real purpose of the rules.

1. For example the Qur’an speaks about taharah (purification), ghusl (purificatory bath) and wudu’ (ablution). We take these rules and apply them, but we do not take the objective of cleanliness very seriously.

2. We pray in jama`ah (congregation), but we have not learned the system of organization from our salah.

3. We give zakah, but we have not been able to establish a system of social justice.

4. We go to Hajj, but we have not been able to develop a unified Ummah, a community that transcends nationalistic divisions.

5. We recite the Qur’an many times, but we do not try to understand its meaning and message.

6. We talk of the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) but mostly related to some appearances. We pay little attention to Prophet’s character of love, kindness, honesty, truthfulness, sincerity, fulfilling the promises, etc.

Our Responsibility

It is our responsibility to know the rules of Allah and put them into practice with sincerity. But before anything we should ask ourselves: Are we really practicing justice? Are we really fair to others, to our spouses, to our relatives, to our neighbors, employees, employers, to Muslims, to other human beings, to animals, to anything and everything? Are we really compassionate people? Are we really increasing in compassion or are we becoming angry, hateful, arrogant, or complacent about ourselves? We must improve ourselves in justice and compassion. If we do not have `adl and ihsan or rahmah (mercy), then we are not practicing the Shari`ah. Similarly, if we think that we are following the law of Allah but the result is injustice and lack of compassion, then it means that we have not properly understood the law of Allah or we are not interpreting it right.

Excerpts from the khutbah given by
Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi,
President of the Fiqh Council of North America,
and former President of the Islamic Society of North America,
at the Islamic Society of Orange County, California, USA
on 14 Rajab 1424/12 September 2003:

Dr Mansoor Durrani had sent me this priceless piece of speech.
Jazakallah, Dr Mansoor Durrani Sahib!

The story of a dayee with a smiling face and sparkling eyes!

This post is about Br Abdul Muheeth Siddiqui.
I have known Abdul Muheeth for the past twenty years. He is from Nizamabad and was attached with SIO there.

He used to visit Jamaat Office way back in late 1980s when I was serving as Office Secretary. He was doing some business and used to make frequent trips to Srivilliputhur. On his way to Srivilliputhur, he would always make it a point to stay in Jamaat Office (Chennai) for a day or two.

He was a very soft spoken youth and always remained calm and composed. But I distinctly remember the spark in his eyes. He was very passionate in doing Islamic Dawah and his passion reflected in his sparkling eyes. He would always bring some brothers, friends with him.

As days rolled on, his visits became less frequent and due to various developments the chance of meeting him got dimmer and dimmer. But, time and again, in a flash, his smiling face would emerge from nowhere in my mind and I used to cherish his fond memories. And I used to inquire about him whenever I meet some tahreeki brother from Andhra Pradesh.

Br. Muheeth, as it turned up, was very active in Jamaat activities. His circle of friends was very wide. He had just two motives. One, to reform the Muslim Youth and mould them into good Da'ees. Two, to convey the message of Islam to non-Muslim Youth.

Then one Thursday evening came a shocker. I was browsing the Sehroza Dawat when my eyes captured the headings and I could not believe it.

It was an obituary on Br. Abdul Muheeth!
Inna lillahi va inna ilaihi rajeewoon.

The obituary was written by a SIO friend. He has shed light on some aspects of the deceased brother. They are worth sharing:

Br. Abdul Muheeth had the knack of making friendships easily; He was seen invariably amidst a bunch of friends and well-wishers.

He had a tender heart which would melt in no time. The Prophet of Islam has taught us a beautiful way to win others: Give Gifts, Say Salam. Br. Muqeeth didn't stop himself with mentioning this beautiful gem of an advice in his speeches. He practised it.

Feeding the hungry is his favourite amal-e-salih. During Ramazan his house would become a hostel. More than ten to twelve students would be staying in his house. And his mother would never get tired making elaborate arrangements of Sahr and Iftar for these youth of various backgrounds.
He used to give scholarships to many students.

Abdul Muheeth Siddiqui is no more today. He passed away few months back when he was returning from Hyderabad in a car accident.
Thousands of well wishders and friends thronged to attend his Janaza prayer. Hundreds of non-Muslims came with a heavy heart and gazed the proceedings.

May Allah forgive him and grant him exalted place in Jannat.

Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Khair-e-Ummah and the black belt!!

Last Sunday when I was working in my office, an young lad came to see me. He was bubbling with enthusiasm, vigour and passion. His face showed it all. "I've applied for the Rukunniyat - membership of the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind. I hope that I would join the Iyakkam - movement formally by the end of the year." I looked at him intently and tried to find something which was missing.
Then I narrated him the story of the black belt. It was a story which should be told million times. The story goes like this:
Once there was a martial artist. He got trained in Karate from a guru. After many years of rigorous training and practise , he approached his guru with a fond hope that the Guru would award him a Black Belt. But he was told that he had to pass one more test.
"What is the significance of the Black Belt?" asked the Guru. "If you can answer this question correctly, I shall give you the Black Belt."
The young martial artist smiled confidently and replied. "It's the reward for my hard work!"
To his surprise, the Guru shook his head disapprovingly and said, "You are not ready for the Black Belt. You may return after one year."
A year later, the martial artist approached his Guru. Guru asked the same question. Though the artist was puzzled, he answered, "It's a symbol of distinction..... the highest achievement in our art"
The Guru didn't give him the Black Belt. He told him to come with the correct answer next year.
The following year the young artist returned to the Guru. As usual the Guru asked, "Have you understood the importance of the Black Belt?"
"Yes, Master," replied the artist. "I've realized that it is not the end but the beginning of a never-ending journey of discipline, hardwork and the pursuit of excellence"
"Here's your Black Belt" said the Guru, smiling happily. "You have finally understood its true significance."
Similar is the case of Rukunniyat - membership in the Jamaat. Rukunniyat is not an honour. It is the beginning of a never-ending journey of discipline, hardwork, commitment and the pursuit of excellence. Similarly the responsibilities of Ameer-e-Muqami, Nazim-e-Ilaqa, Ameer-e-Halqa are not symbol of honour. Rather they are the beginning of a never-ending journey of discipline, hardwork and the pursuit of excellence.
That is the reason, why posts, offices are not celebrated in the Jamaat circles. I distinctly remember the day when Mr X broke and started crying profusely when he was informed that he was the one who was chosen for the job. Our history is replete with full of such instances. Moulana Naeem Siddiqui in his "Tahreek-e-Islami ki ibtitaayi daur" has grasped the spirit more vividly.
Tail piece : Have you noticed it? The Khair-e-Ummah thought is being put forward by everybody. Tablighi people, Tariqa parties, Muslim leaguers and everybody quote the verse and declare tha the Muslim Ummah is the Khair-e-Ummah. Nobody talks about the tag attached to it. The immense responsibility of enjoining virtues and forbidding evils. Does the message of the black belt story fit here?
Also read : Mutton, eggs and Jamaat-e-Islami Hind!
: A memorable evening with Moulana Farooq Khan Sahib!

Interview : Dr M. Rafat on "Islamic Movement in India in Modern Times"

Dr Muhammad Rafat

Recently Dr. Muhammad Rafat, Ameer-e-Halqa of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind JIH Delhi has given an interview to Janab Parvaz Rahmani, Editor Dawat. Dr.Rafat is from Uttar Pradesh and has been attached with the JIH for the past three, four decades. He is also a member of Markazi Majlis-e-Shoora and Markazi Majlis-e-Numaindgan of JIH. He has doctorate in Physics and teaches to engineering students in Jamia Millia Islamiya Delhi. He is very articulate and soft spoken man.

In his aforesaid interview he has shed light on the present scenario of the Islamic Movement in India. The interview is simply superb. It is very crispy, enlightening and thought provoking. I could not resist the temptation to translate in Tamil and share it with my Tamil knowing friends.
I have met him a couple of times. He is very humble, polite and as they say in Tamil he would never அதிர்ந்து பேச மாட்டார்.
He is a very knowledgeble person and well read man. Earlier I had translated one of his beautiful essay on 1857 and the status of Muslims then.
Herewith I have attached the gif images of the same.
Kindly share it with other brothers. Please write me your views and impressions if time permits.

Dawat sehroza! is online!

Alhumdulillah!
All praise be to Allah.

Dawat sehroza is on line. It is pleasing,heartening and amazing to see Dawat on line. I don't know what to say. I am typing these lines with tears in my eyes. This is the long pending dream. This is the happiest day in my life.

Happy to see my favourite khabr-o-Nazr in the net. Jazakallah. I pray for all those who are behind this noble venture. May Allah bestow them with the best in both the worlds. Aameen.

I could not recall when I first came across Dawat. But it became a companion in no time.

In those days, when I was in Tirupattur, a bustling town with dusty streets, Dawat is the window through which I learnt everything. Without any visa or any formalities I visited various countries with the help of Dawat. I got acquainted the names of various luminaries, stalwarts of the Jamaat through Dawat.

How addicted had I become of this bundle of paper..!
I would be frequenting the residence of Janab Muhammad Shafee who was the sole agent of Dawat. I used to procure the copies of Dawat from him.

Shafee bhai is a very busy man. He is a beedi worker as well as an owner of a Beedi company. Besides he was the Nazim of Halqa-e-Karkunan. He had also started an elementary school catering to the needs of the very poor and downtrodden.

Above all he is also a Dayee. He is a man with wheels. He would always be found wandering here and there, with a bag full of magazines, books, pamphlets, stickers and what not!

He had this knack of reading the faces! The karkunan of the Jamaat of those days had this ability. On seeing me he would understand everything. His hands would invariably go into his bag and come out with a copy of Dawat. Sometimes he would blush and mumble something
which would be so incomprehensible that made me think! I would catch the key words and search them in Dawat.

Then God brought me to the city of unknown ie Chennai. That is another story which could be shared some other day.


T Azeez Luthfullah, Chennai

A memorable evening in Delhi...!

I want to share with you an insight which I got from Moulana Muhammad Farooq Khan.

Moulana Muhammad Farooq Khan is the member of Majlis-e-Numaindgan (central council of representatives) of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind. He is one of the old vanguards of the Tahreek-e-Islami and resides in Delhi. He has written a lot of books in Urdu and Hindi. He is well versed in both the languages. He has translated Quran in Hindi. But his magnum opus is Kalam-e-Nubuwat, a collection of Ahadith in five, six volumes. He could be easily termed as the living legend in the field of Islamic literature. As I have been reading his books for the past two decades, I feel very close to him. For me, not a day passes without reading Kalam-e-Nubuwat. Besides I have been translating his works in Tamil. Chehal Hadhis has been published as Nabi mozhi Narpadhu.
I have met him on two occasions. Once when he delivered a lecture in an all India SIO meet. Next in his room in the second storey of an non-descript building in Old Delhi. I had made up my mind to meet him when I boarded the train in Chennai. By the grace of Allah, we got ourself free at the last day. My colleagues wanted to roam the historic places in Delhi. I cajoled them and virtually dragged them to the room of Moulana Farooq Khan Sahib. It was a brief meeting but It was a memorable evening. Moulana was sitting amidst books.
What he said could be summed up as the following:

There are three essential needs which mould a personality. Without fulfilling this needs one cannot become a wholesome personality.
The three needs are as follows.
First, You ought to have some thing to do.
One cannot remain idle. It is not human nature to remain idle. Man has to do something. Idle mind is devil's workshop. Men do various things. Men get engaged in various occupations to keep themselves occupied. The list of trades, professions, crafts, jobs and careers never ends. But the best thing to do is to do dawah. The best career option is to get engaged in Dawah.
Second, You ought to have some thing to love.
One cannot live with profession, job or business alone. Day in and day out you do a lot of things. But that is not sufficient to nourish your inner soul. Your heart longs to love and to be loved. Naturally men love. Their love knows no bounds. Men love their wives, their sweet little children, their apparels, their face, their language, their organisation, their country, their matinee idol and the list goes on. But the best of them is the love towards God. Love of God is the supreme thing in life. It is the ultimate. You have to research and find out whom does God love? And strive to become one. Besides you should love your Creator more than anything and everything in this mundane life.
Third, You ought to have some thing to hope.
Man exists because of his hope. He may do a lot of things. He may love his job. He may be passionate about many things. But still he needs some thing to hope. Why does he work? Why does he go to faraway lands? Why does he do so many things? Because of Hope. Because of hope that one day he would get a beautiful palace overlooking the sea shore. Of hope that he would be driving in the latest model of car. Of hope that his offsprings would get decent education. The list of hopes and dreams is simply endless.
But the best thing to hope is hope of falah in the Hereafter.
I still remember the day when Moulana Farooq Khan Sahib conveyed this message in his own style; in his own choice of sweetest, chaste words in Urdu. Br Shabeer Ahmed, present Ameer-e-Halqa and Br Muhammad Yahya of AIITA were with me. I remember the haste with which I jostled down the words in an old diary.

Moulana gave me the diary as I asked him paper to take notes. The diary with notes is with me. I will share with you the other notes when next time, Insha Allah.

A.R.Rahman, Oscar and an open letter

Sirajul Hasan has done it.
I always believed, hoped and expected that he alone could do it.
Siraj Bhai, Siraj Sahib, Sirajul Hasan as he is affectionately called by everybody is the chief editor of Samarasam Tamil Fortnightly.
He is a prolific writer in Tamil and master player of words. Over the years he has developed his own style of conveying his thoughts. It could be described as simply endearing. He is in the field for the past three decades. He was groomed by late Moulana M. A. Jameel Ahmed. He has written three books and a collection of short stories. He is the most soft spoken man in the earth. But he is very shrewd in equal measure. Measure your words when you speak with him.
Now what has he done?

He has written an open letter to A. R. Rahman, the music wizard of Chennai. He has lauded ARR for his achievement. He has expressed his joy, pleasure in his own way. A.R Rahman had declared "Yella pugazhum Allahvukke" (All glory be to Allah!!) at the dias of Oscar arena.
Sirajul Hasan has lauded this spontaneous reaction of the Music maestro. Then he explains the significance of Alhumdulillah...!
Slowly and steadily he has woven the web and highlighted the drastic consequences of Shirk-Inai vaippu.
A.R. Rahman is known to be very particular in offering Namaz in time. Sirajul Hasan mentions this and praises the enthusiasm shown by ARR in offering Namaz. Then he goes on elaborating the significance and importance of the ultimate success - the success in Hereafter.
The final appeal from Siraj is what makes your heart melt.
His words are:

isai vazhiyil payaniththu immaiyin sigarangalai ththottu vitteergal
ini-
irai vazhiyil payaniththu marumaiyin vetrigalai pera muyalungal.

It could be roughly translated as "You have reached the zenith of glory in the path of Music.
Next, in future, Please try to get success in Hereafter"

Oh! I miss Br P. H. Shafeeq Ahmed, the lanky lad from the dusty town of Tirupattur. He is also a gifted writer. Shafeeq writes in English.
More than a decade ago, Ace director Manirathinam produced a stupendously stupid film "Roja" depicting Muslims in a very bad light. At that time too Sirajul Hasan wrote an open letter to Mani Rathinam. The finishing lines of that letter are still embedded in my mind "Today what you have in your hands is a stone..! I pray and hope that a day will come when the stone would be replaced by a flower"
Br Shafeeq translated the letter in English and it was published in Radiance Views weekly, Delhi.
I wish I had Shafeeq at my side. He would have translated the piece in English in no time.
As my hands are full I could not do it by myself. If somebody reading this, wishes to translate in English, he is most welcome.

A blessing to the Tsunami victims!!

SAFE HOMES: Collector R.Palanisamy handing over the keys of permanent houses built by TNRC at Chinna Kottakuppam in Villupuram district on Saturday. He is flanked by H. Abdur Raqeeb, Gen. Secy IFT and K. Dhanraj, MP

A blessing to the Tsunami victims!!
A report by T Azeez Luthfullah

The Tamil Nadu Relief Committee (TNRC) handed over 38 houses to the victims of Tsunami in the village Kottaikuppam near Puducherry today.
Mr A Shabbir Ahmed president JIH presided over the simple ceremony arranged in connection with the noble occasion. Dr. R. Palaniswamy I.A.S, Villupauram District Collector handed over the keys of the newly constructed houses to the victims. Mr. H. Abdur Raqeeb, General Secretary, Islamic Foundation Trust(IFT) and member CAC JIH felicitated the organisors and lauded their efforts. He said that the beneficiaries should have a resolve to educate all their children. He hoped a model colony would emerge shedding light of hope and wisdom to the whole of the Kottaikuppam as well as the state. Mr. P. Danraj local MP and Mrs Banumathi Jayamoorthy, local Panchayat Chief congratulated the people behind the mission and pledged all kind of helps to their similar efforts. Mr. Ahmed Meeran a self made man and a committed philanthropist from Chennai and Moulavi Faizur Rahman Madani, Principal, Women's Arabic College, Kottaikuppam also spoke at the occasion.

The TNRC had purchased 1.1 acre and constructed the houses, each measuring 325 sq.ft., at a total cost of Rs 1.25 crore.The habitation has been named as “Samarasam” (harmony/equality). The beneficiaries are fish vendors and petty shopkeepers.
The community hall would be utilised for imparting adult education, giving free tuition to students and counselling for livelihood measures.

TNRC owes its existence to Tsunami, the mass killer. Yes, TNRC was formed when killer waves attacked the shores of Tamil Nadu some years back. TNRC immediately sprung into action and established 100 temporary shelters in lightening speed in Nagapattinam, which was the worst affected town in Tamil Nadu. It also provided Relief Kits comprising of rice, foodgrains, bucket, utensils, soaps, blankets, mattresses etc to 7000 families. When the focus of the world deviated from Tsunami, TNRC continued its mission and got itself engaged in rehabilitation work. Under its innovative and progressive livelihood scheme 500 families were provided with assistance both in cash and kind. TNRC gave top class fibre boats with high power engine and world class fishing nets to sixteen families in Pulicat, a fishing village near Chennai. The smiles on the faces of the boat owners of Pulicat is the everlasting testimony of the pioneering efforts of TNRC. Similarly TNRC established a dairy farm with fifteen fat cows in pudupattinam as a part of its rehabilitation shemes. Keeping the future generations in mind TNRC diversified its efforts and provided educational aid and School kits to 2000 students. The greatest achievement of TNRC stands in the form of Samarasam Nagar in Nagore where it built 100 beautiful houses. Each and every house had been constructed in 400 sq. feet area in a 1300 sq. feet plot. It comprises a drawing room, a hall, a bed room, kitchen, toilet and bathroom with stair case to the terrace. A spacious verandah and sit out is an added attraction.The Tamil Nadu Water and Drainage department (TWAD) has constructed an elegant overhead tank with a capacity of 30,000litres of drinking water and has provided a street pipe for every fifteen (15) houses. The Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) has provided prompt domestic connection and has also erected twenty eight street lamp posts.

The cluster of houses presents a glorious spectacle with the line up of similar looking, beautifully crafted and neatly painted glittering houses dotting the lines. The newly formed colony has been provided with a park and a play ground for the children with all the required facilities too. The colony has been named aptly Samarasam Nagar. Samarasam means peace and harmony.

Now TNRC has added another colourful feather to its crown by distributing 38 houses in Kottaikuppam..! Let us laud their effort and pray for them!!