May, 2020 | Muslims Today

Muslims donate Zakaat for 10-bed ICU facility

Mumbai: Muslims in Ichalkaranji town of Maharashtra have donated a 10-bed ICU at a local hospital with Rs 36 lakh they collected in the form of Zakaat from the community members this Ramadan. The town is 380km from Mumbai.
Zakaat is the third pillar of Islam which makes it obligatory for Muslims to give 2.5% of their annual savings in charity.

ICU section of Indira Gandhi Memorial (IGM) Civil Hospital was inaugurated by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on the day of Eid. Thackeray appreciated the community’s efforts and said via video conference: “Muslims in Ichalkaranji have shown the way for everyone in the country. The Muslim community has set an example on how to celebrate a festival.”

Samast Muslim Samaj (SMS), a Muslim organisation in Ichalkaranji, decided during the holy month of Ramadan to fund a 10-bed ICU facility at the town’s only government hospital as earlier patients needing ICU facility were sent to towns like Kolhapur and Solapur.
TOI quoted Dr Javed Bagwan, a surgeon associated with IGM Civil Hospital as saying, “This is a great gesture by the Muslims of this town. I don’t think anywhere else in India Muslims of an entire town have used the Zakaat money to fund such a facility in critical care. This will help us fight the coronavirus.”

Muslims comprise of 15% of the total three lakh population of Ichalkaranji town.

Teach in Urdu extends helping hand to worst-hit Urdu medium schools amid lockdown

National lockdown for Coronavirus pandemic has affected educational activities all across but the Urdu Schools remain one of the worst hit.

“While we see there is an upsurge of digital educational content and resources in English and few other Indian languages, Urdu language remains visibly neglected and inadequately supported,” said Khurshid Alam, Chief of Teach in Urdu (http://teachinurdu.org/).

Khurshid is the brain behind the online resource Teach in Urdu (TIU), an initiative of Springboard Foundation which is a not-for-profit organization established to promote and encourage Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship at the grass root. Established in 2015, the unit initially ran with 3 volunteers that grew to 11 permanent members with several part-time translators and content curators.

“Although its rich literary heritage needs no introduction, unfortunately, it has very few pedagogical and learning resources available on the digital platform,” opines Khurshid. He explains the motive behind this unique endeavour highlighting that there are about 20 crore people in the subcontinent whose mother tongue is Urdu and although poems and literature in Urdu abound the internet, there is an unprecedented lack of educational resources for students.

According to a 2015 study, there are a total of 28,276 Urdu schools (including private schools) in 26 states of India and apart from NCERT, only six state education boards are providing textbooks on the Internet for Urdu speakers. With over tens of thousands of teachers and millions of students that fall under this category, the need to Urdu educational content is huge. To address this, TIU members of including Abdul Mumin, Mujahidul Islam, Salman Waheed and other full-time professional teachers, digital teaching specialists and teaching assistants are currently involved in developing not only translated material but also resources for empowering Urdu medium instructors.

“While there is a lot of buzz about technology enabling e-learning, meaningful technology integration in education requires concerted efforts to combine high-quality educational resources with teacher capacity building,” explains Khurshid. In this context, his team is concerned with the preparation of educational resources, teaching guides, educational material translation from other languages, and publication of materials in audio/video and other formats. The website also publishes pedagogical content for teachers, guides for various scientific and other educational experiments for children, and interactive simulations among other resources.

In light of the COVID-19 lockdown and huge dearth of digital literacy in the field, a survey of Urdu medium schools is being conducted by TIU to find out how Urdu medium schools are dealing with teaching problems. The survey can be filled by school administration or headmaster or principal (https://cutt.ly/iyWMKSN).

“We are now planning to conduct webinars for teachers to cope up with the educational needs during the lockdown period,” he said. As schools remain closed because of the deadly spread of Corona, TIU is planning on utilizing this time to build direct connectivity with both teachers and students through social media platforms.

Speaking about the reception of website resources among the Urdu speaking students, Khurshid shared that TIU receives an average 3000 visits per month with an active WhatsApp group of teachers from across the country that has full accessibility to content and interaction regarding empowering of Urdu teachers.

courtesy: TwoCircles.net

Islamic arts from the ages

This brass globe is divided into twelve equal sections (for months). Line of equator is marked in degrees, the stars are represented by small cavities and the constellations by engraved pictures. (Safavid, 1649-50)

Astrolobes measured time and distance using the movement of stars. This one is made of brass and has one fixed and six removable disks. An openwork disk with curved pointers sits on top. The back has a perforated pointer attached by a screw, which is decorated with dots. (Alhomad, 1252-53)

This brass jug is decorated with floral motifs and interlace bands in silver and gold inlay. The handle is in the form of a dragon. There are inscriptions set inside cartouches, one such is the owner’s name on the foot. (Timurid, 1466-67)

The tasbih (declaring praise to the Lord) or prayer beads is used at the end of the ritual prayers or by dervishes. A large bead marks the beginning and end of the string, smaller beads divide rest of the beads into groups. Typically, a tasbih has 99 beads. This one is made from the clay of Karbala. It’s here that the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), Imam Hussain, was martyred in 680AD.

This Gold-plated alem is in the form of a palm leaf on a tall base with three knobs. Quranic inscriptions adorn the main part. The summit is itself in the form of a smaller alem. Alems or finials were used as a symbol of power and sovereignty. (Ottaman, 18th century)

**This brass candlestick rests on a circular plinth. It has engraved and niello decoration with a handle at each upper edge. Persian couplets adorn the edges of the rim. (Ottoman, 17th century)**

This rock crystal casket has an octagonal body and a domed lid, both of which are set with emerald and rubies in flower shaped gold sockets linked by gold stems. It was made to contain hair from the beard of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). (Ottoman, 16th century)

This hilyat panel has the top resembling a mihrab or prayer niche and has a picture of Madinah with Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) tomb. The centre has a circular medallion with text describing the physical attributes of the Prophet as narrated by Ali. Names of the four caliphs are inscribed in the four corners, top and bottom have Quranic verses. It ends with a prayer followed by the name of the calligrapher and a date. The hilyat was believed to protect the house where it was hung in. (Ottoman, 1797-98)

This brass alms dish is in the form of a boat with dragon heads at either end, its eyes are made of turquoise. The dish is engraved with rumi scrollwork and medallions. Quranic inscriptions fill up the outside. The owner and the maker finds a mentions too. Some Persian poems are also present. Kashkul as they were called in Turkish, were carried by dervishes for alms collection. (Safavid, 17th century)

This depiction of the Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) footprint is on a silver plaque set in a wooden frame, and lined with blue paper with rosettes. The top frame has a rose bud and a blooming rose. The rose motifs symbolise the Prophet. When the Prophet ascended to heaven during Miraj, he left an impression on a stone. The depiction here is copied from the same. It is believed to bring good fortune. (Ottoman, 1640-41)

This multiple-niche prayer mat can serve seven people simultaneously. It’s made of green velvet decorated with flower and leaf motifs cut from pink, green, red and blue broadcloth. A silk embroidery is used on the tiny circles. (Ottoman, 19th century)

This short sleeves, wrap-around, talismanic shirt is made of white linen and is lined with green silk. The inscriptions have verses from the Quran. The back has several motifs, including a pair of scorpions and Zulfiqaar. The double-bladed sword of Ali was attributed with magical power. It’s depiction here reflects the belief that the power of Ali will protect the one wearing it. (Ottoman, 19th century)

This inscription panel is embroidered in the dival technique in yellow wire on green velvet, surrounded by a border of scrolls. The Arabic inscription literally reads, “Here lies Hazrat Fatima Al-Zahra, most illustrious of women, may Allah grants her Her blessing.” It could have been used on her tomb in Madinah. (Ottoman, 19th century)

**Surah Al-Ikhlas with the kalima by calligrapher Salih, 1845. (Ottoman, wood, silver paint)**

The painting depicts Mir’aj which holds a special place in the Islamic calendar. It’s the night when Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) ascended the heaven on a mystical creature (buraaq) guided by the angel Gabriel. The angel first took him from the Kaaba to Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem and from there to heaven. The obligatory five prayers resulted from this journey (referred to as Isra in the Quran). There’s an element of mystery in the event and so cultural influences show in its depiction. A case here is the representation of houris and a lion on the top left. (Image: Kisas-i-Enbiya, Suleymaniye Library, Turkey)

This copper sherbet pan is engraved with medallions and pendants with inscriptions in cartouches. Borders of floral motifs cover the top and bottom. Two names are engraved on the rim which could be of the maker or the person who sanctioned it. (Mamluk, 15th century)

This rehal or book showcases Anatolian Seljuk woodwork. It is decorated with Quranic inscriptions and a few oral traditions of the Prophet (pbuh). It has openwork rumi and palmette motifs. The rehal used to be an integral part of Muslim households, as it was used for Quran reading, before the audio visual invasion. (Seljuk, 13th century)

The silver Ewer and basin, which has a perforated strainer, in this sample are engraved with a pattern of interconnected medallions with a dot inside each. A knob in the form of a rose tops the lid. (Ottoman, 19th century)

A ney is a flute made of hollow reed stem. This one has two silver bands in the middle to hold the body together. It became a symbol of Islamic mysticism after Rumi found its sound expressing love of God. The Mawlawis understandably call it nay al-sharif. (Ottoman, 1718)

A painting of Madinah showing the tomb of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), few pilgrims some of whom are praying and the date garden of Fatima (daughter of the Prophet). The unsigned painting is gouache on ivory. (Ottoman, 19th century)

This cast steel mirror has a heavily engraved back. It has a holding knob in the centre surrounded by two symmetrical sphinxes. A prayer in kufi script surrounds the edges. In ancient Egypt, the sphinx was a symbol of the hereafter. It later symbolised prosperity and mysticism. (Seljuk, 12th century).

(Source for all above items: Topkapi Museum)