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5. All art is a mirror
to society.
Art in all in its form
is mirror to society . Unfortunately how many times we change mirrors , our
reflection is really very ugly , wicked and macabre . From my teenage years , I
have become an enfant terrible
However , a few goods first . I had an acknowledgement
from my eye specialist to thank me for my comments in my essay ‘Why am I
confused ?( Part II). I told Dr.Shakaib Anwar that every person we meet in our
daily lives is a portable x-ray machine which etches vivid images of our
behaviour . I did’nt wish to use that hackneyed saying that beauty lies in the
eyes of the beholder .However, I further told him that whatever I say or write
comes from the heart . I do not know any other way . Therefore , please bear
with me for a while .
The good doctor mentioned of his plan to leave
Pakistan and move elsewhere in search of a better life . My surviving son has
similar plans and so do we . We wish to remain in peace and harmony far away
from the humbug ; the daily existence . At my age , peace and harmony is what
we want . My family and I want peace with life and that why I decided to move
to the suburbs of Islamabad . But even there , there is an interference with
our lives .In the west ,nobody interferes with another one’s life till one asks
.And yet there are very keen to help each other and even strangers . On buses,
trains or trams each is absorbed in his reading . However ,if one asks the
driver or the police on duty the way , they tell one till one is completely
satisfied .
.In my two essays entitled ‘Why am I confused ‘ (Parts
I and II), I tried to describe ailments in our society as I see and tried to
compare them with the teachings of Islam.
I read a book by M.A. Burke , one time Permanent
Representative for Pakistan to the U.N.O. in New York .In one of the chapters
entitled ‘Jinnah , Ayub and Bhutto’ , he described the politicians of the
Punjab wily , cunning and crooked . Before Partition , they claimed to be
saints and holy men to exploit the gullible and ignorant masses .This image has
not improved .Whether it is the Punjab , or Sindh , the newly named Province of
Khyber Pushtan Khwa or
16
Baluchistan the exploitation has not ended . Rather it
has increased . Islam detest exploitation in all forms and manifestation. The
so called leaders whom the masses voted are parasites sucking the blood of the
masses . For eg none of the so called leaders pay taxes while enjoying the
perks and privileges of office . Indeed the wealthiest of the lot do not build
either schools nor hospitals in their area . Before Partition , Hindus and
Christians build schools and hospitals . In the USA and in Europe , people with
money establish schools , colleges , universities , hospitals and museums. The
Ford Foundation , the Rockefeller Foundation , the Carnegic Trust , the Ted
Turner Trust , the Guggenheim Museum and the Museum of Modern Art are a few
examples. On the contrary , our wealthy deny education to the people in their
area as against the Islamic principle to make it incumbent for each man and
woman to seek knowledge .
When Pakistan became independent , a lot of people ,
who had left all they possessed to come to a new land which they wished to
fashion according to the golden principles of the Holy Quran. They are now
disillusioned and feel deeply betrayed . Instead of Islam , they found
exploitation at every step . They began to ask questions among themselves as
the difference between Pakistan and other parts of the world .
Naturally they and their children learnt the difficult
art of surviving in the new land . When I was young , the word ‘refugee’ was
used within my hearing to describe me so much so that I used to say that I
belonged to Sheikupura ,where my widowed aunt lived ,to hide my refugee status
. And for a very long time , the Government forms that were used, had a column
to describe that status . In 1972 ,
the first language riots occurred in Karachi .
Once when my dear friend fell into an evil company ,
his mother , an educated and a very noble lady , told him to pray with her
every time she prays. After three or four days , he realized, while reciting
Surah Fatiha , what he did was evil . Even 64 years of the country’s
independence and after 64 years of praying to Allah asking Him to show the
straight path , we are in the wilderness . We believe that Allah is Perfect If
so , then the ugly and wicked things lie with us .
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Last week , there is a news item in which a father in
law accused his son and his daughter in law of stealing gold jewellery and handed
them over to the police . The police used an unique way of torturing her. In
another incident , a fake pir tortured a young boy with heated iron rods to
exorcise him from evil beings . In a third incident , the policeman on duty
along with five of his friends allegedly gang raped a married woman . In a
fourth incident , there were reports that police had recovered 500 bottles of
imported liquor .Such reports are rife in the presence of the Haddood Ordinance
promulgated by General Zia in the early eighties .
The media , both print and electronic , is now free ,
a gift from General Musharraf . Murder , theft and rapes are common in every
big city . But the city police in other parts of the world make every effort to
catch the offender . And almost invariably they succeed . However , about our
law enforcement agencies , the less the better .
The first welfare state was established in Medina in
the Holy Prophet’s (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him ) lifetime and
under the Divine Guidance . Shortly after his migration from Mecca to Medina ,
he enacted the Charter of Medina
outlining the rights and obligations of the Muslims and the Jews . Similarly
the Christians were given rights when a deputation from the St. Catherine
Monastery met him . The institutions of Zakat and Bait ul Maal were established
in the regime of General Zia ul Haq . We have no knowledge of the number of
people who are given benefits from them . However , the number of people living
below the poverty line speaks volumes that the money so collected is being
misused . Quite often , the Government of Pakistan uses the money for meeting
the deficit.
We have been taught about the spirit of sacrifice in
Islam . After the Battle of Uhud , three companions of the Holy Prophet (Peace
and Blessings of Allah be upon him ) were fatally wounded and each one was
moaning for water . When water was given to one companion , he suggested that
it may given to his brother who ,too ,was mortally wounded . The second man
suggested the third one . By the time , water carrier reached the first
companion , he died . In the same way , the three died .
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In the month of Ramazan in Islamabad , one can see the
spirit of sacrifice at 12 PM on each Friday at every major crossing when the
offices close. Each motorist and others are in a rush to reach home when one
pray in any city’s mosque. Before the month of the Ramazan ,Government declares
the office timings during Ramazan as 8 AM to 1 PM. On the first day at 12.30, I
tried to telephone my junior .But it was futile . I climbed the stairs to reach
his room The passage was blocked by rows prayer matting . The next day , I
called the Section officer in charge of administration and told him that the
Government had revised the office timings but it did not revise the prayer
timings . The timings for the Zuhr prayers would remain unchanged . Why we
shirk our work during Ramazan when Islam has not decreed it . This was not
liked by staff in the Ministry ,of course ..
I had a chance meeting with the author of an Urdu book
‘Maut ka Manzar’. I bought two copies of it :
one for my dear friend , Ishaq , another one for me . During discussions about
life in Europe , I found him to be a perverted man . I told them that in the
west each person minds one’s business . They never talk about anyone behind
one’s back . Ishaq’s daughter , who read it , asked her father as to how did
know what happens after our deaths because the secret is known to Allah alone .
And the second cleric shared the phenomenon of perversion.
It is an article of faith with me that Allah has not
delegated His Attributes to forgive or punish to anyone. Had He done so the
difference Islam and Christianity (apart from other differences) would have
disappeared because in Christianity the priest forgive the sinner of his sins
regardless of its gravity . . When I fell ill two bearded men came to see me :
I knew only of them. One of them passed judgment on me that I was a sinner and
that illness was my punishment .
It is an article of faith with that the Holy Prophet
(Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon ) was an ideal man to be followed .
However , we are often involved in non issues .
During his campaign of promoting English because he
thought that English would the language of the future , Sir Syed Ahmad Khan was
reviled . Time has proved that he was right . Even in India , those who could
converse in that
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language are living comfortably . Similarly Allama
Iqbal criticized during his lifetime . But after his death , even Ulema Karam
do not hesitate in quoting his verses . In a light vein , Ulema Karam have made
parodies of Indian songs by using the rhythm .
I believe that Islam came to the world to unite and
not divide . However , after 64 years of Pakistan’s existence , the successive
governments have succeeded in dividing Pakistan . The Baluch , the Sindhi , the
Pathan and the Punjabi are all men of honour and they are simple and God
fearing Muslims . However , one needs to analyze why we are divided . I
remember the late Mr. Khalid Ishaq’s gesture by inviting me to his private
library to consult books . I also remember my visit to Sukkur and how I was
accommodated in the Irrigation Rest House by the Superindenting Engineer , Mr.
Abdul Haque . Shoaib Ahmad , the great friend of my late son , Mustafa ,and his
parents are very dear to us . All of them do not come from my hometown.
Before we claim to be a citadel of Islam , let us
start putting our own house in order.
