Islam | Muslims Today

Dr. Kalbe Sadiq: The Man Who Walked the Talk

My first personal contact with Dr. Kalbe Sadiq happened while I was still in school. He was visiting my maternal uncle and his good friend, Maulana Hamidul Hasan. I remember his friendly demeanour as my uncle introduced me. This along with a deep understanding of human society was the hallmark of the great man.

The first time I sat through an entire lecture of Dr. Sadiq was in the common room of Hadi Hasan hostel, Aligarh Muslim University. This was probably 1992-93. He started exactly at the scheduled time and shared wonderful insights on Islamic teaching. This was a welcome change for young impressionable minds. It gave us a new perspective.

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For first time in 700 years, no ‘tazia’ processions in Delhi

The carrying of ‘tazias’ at Muharram in Delhi has been undertaken since medieval times but this will be the first time for 700 years that processions will not be carried out, said Syed Kashif Nizami

The carrying of ‘tazias’ at Muharram in Delhi has been undertaken since medieval times but this will be the first time for 700 years that processions will not be carried out, said Syed Kashif Nizami, the custodian of the revered Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya shrine.

“Even during the Partition in 1947, there was no ban on ‘tazia’ processions in the dargah, but this time due to the corona pandemic, Delhi and the Central government have not allowed processions to be held in a mass religious programme.”

“For more than 700 years, the largest ‘tazia’, decorated with flowers, is kept in the Imambara, which is at a small distance from the dargah. More than four ‘tazias’ decorated with flowers are kept here.”

On the 10th day of Muharram, which marks the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussain, the grandson of the Prophet at Iraq’s Karbala in 681 A.D, a procession with mourners carrying daggers and knives is carried out from the dargah and the blood oozing out of their self-inflicted wounds is reminiscent of the tragedy.

However, this time around, all such activities have been banned due to the pandemic. So this time only ‘tazias’ decorated with flowers will be sent to Karbala in the capital.

Gauhar Asghar Kasmi, a member of Shah-e-Mardan Dargah and Anjuman Karbala Committee at Aliganj Jorbagh in Delhi, said: “Every year, the ‘majlis’ starts from the first day of Muharram. Tazias are also kept at many places. On the 10th day of Muharram, processions reach here with nearly 70 large tazias. Tazias are buried here. A procession of mourners beating their chests take to the streets on Teej, the 12th day of mourning. ‘Majlis’ are being organised this year only in the Imambaras. People are allowed to participate in the Majlis with observance of social distancing norms.”

Hindu-Muslim unity is also at display every year on Muharram.

Mohammad Zuhaib Nizami, who is associated with Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya Dargah, said: “Many Hindu families in the vicinity have been part of the ‘tazia’ processions for many years owing to their faith. A Hindu family in Mehrauli has been doing so for many decades.”

The coronavirus has also affected the life of people involved in the business of ‘tazia’. ‘Tazias’ are made in thousands in Delhi, but this time due to corona, people are not buying ‘tazias’ for ‘aqidat’ (goodbye prayers).

Courtesy: National Herald

https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/india/for-first-time-in-700-years-no-tazia-processions-in-delhi

New research finds Allah and Ali in Viking Age patterns

WHAT was previously thought to be typical Viking Age patterns in silver on woven bands of silk in Viking Age graves are actually geometric Kufic characters as per a new research at Sweden’s Uppsala University. The Arabic characters appear in burial costumes in Viking Age boatgraves, as well as in the chamber graves clothing of central Viking Age sites such as Birka in Mälardalen.

“One exciting detail is that the word ‘Allah’ is depicted in mirror image,” says Annika Larsson, researcher in textile archaeology at the Department of Archaeology and Ancient History at Uppsala University. “It is a staggering thought that the bands, just like the costumes, was made west of the Muslim heartland. Perhaps this was an attempt to write prayers so that they could be read from left to right, but with the Arabic characters they should have. That we so often maintain that Eastern objects in Viking Age graves could only be the result of plundering and eastward trade doesn’t hold up as an explanatory model because the inscriptions appear in typical Viking Age clothing that have their counterparts in preserved images of Valkyries.”

It was while working to recreate textile patterns for the Viking Couture exhibit at Enköping Museum, Enköping, Sweden, that the researchers discovered that the woven bands contained ancient Arabic script, Kufic characters, invoking both Allah and Ali. The Kufic characters were found in the Viking Age in mosaics on burial monuments and mausoleums, primarily in Central Asia. Similar Kufic characters appear in the grave costumes in Viking Age chamber graves in central sites such as Birka in Mälardalen, as well as in boatgraves in the area around Gamla Uppsala. Continue reading “New research finds Allah and Ali in Viking Age patterns”

Minus the politics, triple talaq verdict is a welcome move

An Muslim wedding in India THE HISTORIC judgement by the Supreme Court striking down the ridiculous practice followed in some sections of the Muslim community is commendable. About time it was done away with. It is noteworthy, however, that the same has already been banned years back by several Islamic nations, including our favourite neighbour.

Triple talaq or should I say the instant triple talaq had of late become everyone’s favourite whipping boy (comes second only to the four wives conundrum) and though as a Muslim woman I do find it an extremely regressive and outdated practice, I know it has more to do with the patriarchy deeply embedded in our society than anything else! When I say our society I do not mean Muslim, I mean Indian. So while I’m glad it is out of the way, can we be as bothered about ‘all’ women across religions, castes, and economic demographics? Because, frankly, I think the status of women is elevated only by a single factor – economic independence. No religion, no law, no sharia, no nothing!

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Indian Media has a Responsibility

This is a recent debate on Zakir Naik on NDTV, a supposedly balanced news channel. While it’s ok to question his ideology but to let Tarek Fatah join the discussion will only mislead the common public. Tarek puts India in the same league as Pakistan with his emotional outbursts.

Indian media needs to be careful when it invites people like him. He may comes across as a liberal but is a confrontationist.

A tipping point in Pakistan

A CII meeting in progress Given the track record, and growing influence of regressive conservatives in Pakistan, this news item was unusual. The Pakistan Senate’s Functional Committee on Human Rights has recommended that the Council of Islamic Ideology [CII], be dissolved. The CII was established in 1962 by the semi-benevolent dictator Field Marshal Ayub Khan, when he forced through his new Constitution, to recommend ways by which all laws could be in conformity with religious doctrine.

Demanding dissolution of a Constitutional body is hardly routine, but the tipping point seems to have been CII’s suggestion that husbands should be allowed “light” violence against “errant” wives, with the decision on quantum of crime and punishment being left, naturally, to the husband.

It is true that CII’s recommendations are not mandatory, but they affect public discourse. This preposterous instance of misogyny and, indeed, misogamy, made headlines across the world, eliciting ridicule mostly. But ridicule is an inadequate response. Continue reading “A tipping point in Pakistan”

I am an Indian and I am a Muslim

From being addressed as a traitor, to a Pakistani, and of course the usual ‘terrorist’ tag, thanks to the hatred some of my countrymen have against Muslims; I bear it all each day. Twitter, day in and day out is filled with hate messages from the hardliners who demand a certification of patriotism from me, just because I am a Muslim. Feels sad. But then, that is what it is! Just a mere ‘feeling’. I pull up my socks again and get out there on the virtual battlefield to fight my Indianess. I really do not need to do so but I still choose to do it.

It amuses me that individuals with no claim to fame of contributing anything for India indulge in dirty name callings when I raise my voice against intolerance. The usual is, people like these need to be sent to Pakistan. Hell, no! Why should anyone have the right to decide on my choice of country? Why should anyone have the right to question my belongingness to India? And most importantly, why should anyone have the right to dictate terms to me! Continue reading “I am an Indian and I am a Muslim”

Joint Shia-Sunni Namaz in Lucknow

The Shoulder to Shoulder movement which started in Delhi has now reached Lucknow. A joint Shia-Sunni Eid-ul-Zuha namaz was offered at Imambada Sibtainabad in the city today. The event has been creating a buzz on the social media during the last few weeks.

The prayer was led by a Sunni Imam, Maulana Shehzad, and the participants included Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Sadiq.

It’s a welcome change from the regular dividing news coming out of the Muslim community. Let’s hope we see more of this peaceful efforts.

Eid mubarak to all!

Muslims should learn to respect each other

No one has a right to declare that Shiism or Sunnism is false and heretical.

One of the major differences between Shia and Sunni traditions is about the role of leadership. When Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was returning from his last pilgrimage, he gathered the caravan at an oasis called Ghadir Khumm and delivered a revelation, that as of this day he has delivered the complete guidance from God, the message of Islam is complete now.

That message was and is crystal clear; there is no misunderstanding about it. There is no more advisement from God, and nothing more needed to added to the religion, it’s done. However, the tag part of that message was understood in two different ways. Continue reading “Muslims should learn to respect each other”

A petty feudal at Jama Masjid

Imam Bukhari

WHEN ignorance marries bluster you get a functioning blunderbuss. Every scattershot gun should come with a safety catch, but human behaviour so often becomes vulnerable to the ego of a weak mind.

Muslims claim, with justified pride, that the age of jahilya, or ignorance, ended when the message of Islam came to the Prophet Muhammad in the desert city of Mecca. Regrettably, jihalat still lingers in parts of the Muslim world. It has found a temporary sanctuary in Delhi’s Jama Masjid, the iconic symbol of Indian Islam.

If the bluster of its Imam, Syed Ahmad Bukhari, were nothing more than self-inflicted wounds, it would not matter so much. But Bukhari gets media space, thanks to his position, and thereby affects the wider perception of Indian Muslims. When he claims that he will not invite India’s Prime Minister to his 19-year-old son Shaban Bukhari’s so-called investiture ceremony, but would like Pakistan’s leader to be present, Ahmad Bukhari is guilty of many varieties of stupidity. Indian Muslims relate to their country’s leaders, not to those of a foreign nation. But this is an appropriate moment to ask another question. Continue reading “A petty feudal at Jama Masjid”