The Prophet (S.A.W). & Education

The mosque of Medina was not only a place of worship. The believers assembled here to learn. When the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) was present they heard his words of wisdom, his elucidation on the verses of the Holy Quran and benefited from his counsel. When he (S.A.W.) was not present, other faithful companions taught what they had heard from the Prophet of Allah.

Once the Prophet (S.A.W.) entered the Mosque before the prayer time. He found two groups in the Mosque. One group was busy with its own act of worship, some were reading the Quran while the others were supplicating. The other group was in a corner busy learning. They learnt how to read and write and discussed the teachings of Islam and their application to their daily lives.

Looking at both, the Prophet (S.A.W.) said:

"They are both engaged in useful pursuits. But I am a teacher. I shall join the group assembled to learn." 

And so he (S.A.W.) sat with the group of students.

References:
Tuhaful Uqool - Abu Muhammad Al Harrani
Biharul Anwar - Allamah Majlisi
Al Amthalun Nabawiyyah - Muhammad Al Gharawi
Dastan e Rastan - Allamah Murtaza Mutahheri
A Compilation of some events in the book "Unto Thee I Grant ....."
Contributed by Br. Ali Abbas

Judgement of Imam Ali, Abu Turab (as) according to Noble Qur'an (Six Months Pregnancy)

 Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) said:

"The foremost judge amongst you is Ali."

After the death of Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw), the Justice of Imam Ali, Abu Turab (as) was very popular. Even the first three Caliphs resorted to him in numerous cases.

During the days of second Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab, a woman was arrested and presented before him.

People said, "O Khalifa! This woman has committed adultery. She has delivered a child after only a period of six months pregnancy".

Umar ibn al-Khattab ordered the woman to be stoned to death.

As people were taking her towards the location for punishment, she kept on pleading that she was innocent but no one would listen to her.

Finally someone informed Imam Ali, Abu Turab (as) about the situation and he (as) came to Umar ibn al-Khattab and asked, "Why have you ordered this woman to be stoned to death?"

Umar ibn al-Khattab replied, "For adultery! She has given birth to a child after a period of six month's pregnancy and we all know the pregnancy period is of nine months".

Imam Ali, Abu Turab (as) said,

"This is not true! It is possible for a woman to give birth after six months pregnancy. This child belongs to her husband".

When asked for Quranic evidence, Imam Ali, Abu Turab (as) said, Allah (SWT) says at one place:

"And the mothers should suckle their children for two years" (2:233) and in another place Allah (SWT) says: "And the bearing of him and the weaning of him is thirty months" (46:15)

If the period of weaning which is two years (24 months) is subtracted from thirty months (which is overall period of bearing & weaning), there remains only six months. This proves that pregnancy period can be of six months.

So Umar ibn al-Khattab set the woman free and said,

"If Ali had not been there, Umar would have perished."

Hazara Pool of Blood

With the dawn of 2013, people prayed for the horrors of 2012 to end, to not to see those horrific sights again. However, it all went against their expectations; it only became more horrific.

Approximately 300 Shias lost their lives, in two attacks, within a time span of 40 days.  It must be noted that the systematic genocide of Shias continues on ideological, communal and political-administrative grounds. Just as any other religion being practiced in the world, Islam also preaches love for humanity. But what could anybody do if people start considering them illegitimate and should either convert or wipe them off? This is where our society has gone wrong.  Muslims in Pakistan often speak about the ethnic cleansing of Brother Muslims in Bosnia, victimization of Palestinians, massacre of people of Kashmir and the onslaught of Taliban in Afghanistan when they were in power.

In our society, a certain clan has taken killing Shias as an essential part of Islam and so persecution of given has become must for a major sect in order to purify and attain a higher level in religion.  It is a society, where poverty, joblessness and lack of knowledge are out of control and dangerous weapons are available to masses. It becomes easier for people to reside to violence in order to execute people belonging to some other school of thought.

Thus, Pakistan has become a killing field of Shias in a more systematic manner. The breeding grounds for religious extremism can be traced back to seminaries and madressas, a few decades ago. It was these religious schools which were initially used by Zia to nurture so-called jihadist for the Afghan war and then for Kashmir.  These madressas, instead of creating humans and honourable citizens of society have nurtured beasts in form of humans. The cornerstone of their education was hatred against other beliefs.

In a practical democratic system, execution of a sect on such a large scale would have changed the government. However, unfortunately it was the refusal of the Hazaras from burying their dead, which brought our government, other political parties and the Cheap Justice into action.

Imran Khan and other religious parties state that foreign agencies are behind destabilizing Pakistan. Despite many conspiracy theories being hatched, should we not ask our fellow citizens why we have groups like SSP, LeJ, and ASWJ who are allowed to operate with such independence? Is it not a fact that the Supreme Court of Pakistan freed the head of LeJ? Is it not true that the Punjab government was providing remuneration to the family of an accused? Is it not a fact that witnesses, lawyers and judges have been targeted for speaking against these organizations? Isn’t it true that we remain silent on persecution of minorities?

Lastly, I would just like to say thank you to the Australian government for offering asylum to the Hazara families affected by these mass killings, for our own government still is unashamed and too busy with minting money and too irresponsible to provide security for its people.

There will be a day when these militant organizations will come after your family, just because you think differently from them. Then, there would be no one to raise a voice for you, because while your fellow citizens were in trouble and needed your help, you only sat and watched in the comforts of your home.

China's Strings around India

It is a fact that majority of Indians firmly believe that China is strengthening it's relations with Pakistan & SriLanka in order to gain easy access to Indian Ocean.

China’s strategy of laying down it’s Strings around India and has in deed made New Delhi think tank something of deep concern to think about.

In order to neutralize Chinese strategy, Indian Prime Minister has made bid in front of the international community to include India in the United Nations Security Council, which would check China's move, which is one of the five permanent members.

Well known author Christopher J. Pehrson in his book "String of Pearls: Meeting the challenge of china’s rising power across the Asian littoral" has stated that China is rising geopolitical influence through efforts to increase access to ports and airfields, develop special diplomatic relationships and modernize military forces that extend from the South China Sea through the Strait of Malacca, across the Indian Ocean, and on to the Arabian Gulf.

As per Indian Think Tank, China's policy of surrounding India with it's strings started way back in 1980's. The core aim of China was to enhance the security of energy and having access to refueling stations all across the globe.

Some in India think China’s latest addition to its string of pearls is the Hambantota port in southern SriLanka. Construction on the first phase began last year with Chinese funding, and the whole $1 billion project is expected to finish by 2023. Chinese interest is more strategic than purely commercial.

It is also a point of concern for India that China has been also helping Pakistan with number of Projects. Gwadar on the Mekran coast in Baluchistan being one of them. The Karakoram Highway, which connects China’s Xinjiang region with Pakistan’s north, can also be seen as one of China’s pearls. The highway, called the ninth wonder of the world by some because of its altitude, was completed in 1986 after 20 years of construction. The road opened up China-Pakistan trade and gave both of India’s rivals a fast route through the mountains, not far from the Line of Control in Kashmir.

As per String of Pearls policy so far China has been able to dampen and neutralize India's will to become dominant player in Asia.

Ignacy J. Paderewski and Herbert Hoover

This is a true story about what happened in 1892 at Stanford University.

Its moral is still relevant today.

A young, 18 year old student was struggling to pay his fees. He was an orphan. A friend and he decided to host a musical concert on campus to raise money for their education.

They reached out to the great pianist Ignacy J. Paderewski. His manager demanded a guaranteed fee of $2,000 for the piano recital. A deal was struck. And the boys began to work to make the concert a success. Paderewski performed at Stanford. But unfortunately, they had not managed to sell enough tickets. The total collection was only $1,600. Disappointed, they went to Paderewski and explained their troubles. They gave him the entire $1,600, plus a cheque for the balance of $400. They promised to honor the cheque as soon as possible.

"No" said Paderewski. "This is not acceptable" He tore up the cheque, returned the $1,600 and told the boys "Here's the $1,600. Please deduct whatever expenses you have incurred. Keep the money you need for your fees. And just give me whatever is left" The boys were surprised, and thanked him profusely.

It was a small act of kindness. But it clearly marked out Paderewski as a great human being.

The truly great people think, "If I don't help them, what will happen to them?" They don't do it expecting something in return. They do it because they feel it's the right thing to do.

Paderewski later went on to become the Prime Minister of Poland. He was a great leader, but unfortunately when the World War began, Poland was devastated. There were over 1.5 million people starving in his country, and no money to feed them.

 Paderewski did not know where to turn for help. He reached out to the US Food and Relief Administration for help

The head was a man called Herbert Hoover - who later went on to become the US President. Hoover agreed to help and quickly shipped tons of food grains to feed the starving Polish people. A calamity was averted.

Paderewski was relieved. He decided to go across to meet Hoover and personally thank him. When Paderewski began to thank Hoover for his noble gesture, Hoover quickly said,

 "You shouldn't be thanking me, Mr. Prime Minister. You may not remember this, but several years ago, you helped two young students go through college in the US. I was one of them."

The world is a wonderful place. What goes around usually comes around.

Rock, Stone, Sand rule

(This post was first published in October 2008 Metta Center email newsletter. The original author of the story is unknown.)

A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a large empty jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks about 2″ in diameter.

He then asked the students if the jar was full?

They agreed that it was.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks. He then asked the students again if the jar was full.

They agreed it was. The students laughed.

The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

“Now,” said the professor,

“I want you to recognize that this is your life. The rocks are the important things – your family, your partner, your health, your children – things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car.

The sand is everything else, the small stuff. If you put the sand into the jar first, there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal.

Take care of the rocks first – the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.

Puppies for Sale

A farmer had puppies he needed to sell. A little boy approached him and said

“I want to buy one of your puppies.”

“Well,” said the farmer,

“These puppies cost a good deal of money.”

The boy dropped his head for a moment. Then reaching deep into his pocket, he pulled out a handful of change and held it up to the farmer.

“I’ve got thirty-nine Rupees. Is that enough to take a look?”

“Sure,” said the farmer. And with that he let out a whistle,
“Here, Dolly!” he called.

Out from the doghouse and down the ramp ran Dolly followed by four little balls of fur.

As the dogs made their way to the fence, the little boy noticed something else moving inside the doghouse.

Slowly another little ball appeared this one noticeably smaller. Down the slope it slid. Then in a somewhat awkward manner the little pup began limping towards the other, doing its best to catch up.

“I want that one,” the little boy said, pointing to the smallest one.

The farmer said, “Son, you don’t want that puppy. He will never be able to run and play with you like these other dogs would”.

The little boy stepped back and began rolling up one leg of his trousers. In doing so, he revealed a steel support running down both sides of his leg attaching itself to a specially made shoe.

Looking back up at the farmer, he said, “You see, Sir, I don’t run too well myself, and he will need someone who understands.”

The world is full of people who need someone who understands them.