The Hajj |
"Pilgrimage to the House is a duty men owe to Allah, those who can afford the journey; but if any deny faith, Allah stands not in need of any of His creatures."
In this verse, failure to perform Hajj, in spite of possessing means to undertake it, is interpreted as Kufr and its elucidation is found in two Ahadith of the Holy Prophet:
1. "Whosoever possesses provisions and conveyance for a journey to the House of God and in spite of this does not perform Hajj, then his death in this condition and the death of a Jew and a Christian are both similar."
2. "Whosoever, not prevented from proceeding for Hajj by any clear preoccupation of his, or by an order of an oppressive ruler, or due to any deterrent disease, fails to perform the Hajj and dies in this condition, it is his volition either to die as a Jew or as a Christian."
Explaining this very Hadith, Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “I wish to impose Jizyah (tax) on those who do not perform Hajj in spite of possessing the required means. They are not Muslims. They are not Muslims."
From the commandments of Allah and from its explanation by the Holy Prophet and his caliph (peace be on them), you must have judged that this Fard (obligatory act) is not such as may be fulfilled or neglected as you like, but it is one which is obligatory once in a lifetime on every such Muslim who can afford the expenses of making journey to and from Kaba and is not physically incapable, no matter in which part of the world he resides and whatever may be his responsibility in regard to maintaining his family and his business or service.
Those who, despite the necessary means, avoid Hajj and put it off year after year on the pretext of thousand and one preoccupation should be mindful of their Iman. As for those who never care to think for once in their whole life that there is such an obligatory duty as Hajj, and go about travelling throughout the world, and pass by the coast of Hejaz, which is at a few hours' distance from Mecca, in the course of their frequent trips to other countries, they are certainly not Muslims. They lie if they call themselves Muslims, and that person who considers them Muslims is ignorant of the Quran. They may pose that their heart ache for the Muslims. In any case, their hearts are devoid of any feeling for obedience to God and they are bereft of faith in His Commandments. |
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Would you believe if I say that an accountant succeeded in defeating the seven heavily armed African robbers who raided his house (to be exact bedroom) at 3.30 AM in the morning, but it is true and this accountant is alive and here to tell the story of that horrible experience.
I was posted on a temporary assignment as Director Finance to one of our company’s subsidiaries at Zanzibar. One night at about 2 to 3 AM in the morning I heard a chilling scream from some portion of the house. A few moment later someone very violently kicked my bedroom door, which was locked and on second floor of the house, and I saw 6 or 7 black silhouettes of armed men entering, and before I could react, one of them greeted me with blow of a long knife, which fortunately hit my blanket and did not hurt my body. In the meantime one of them tore my bed sheet and prepared ropes to tie my hands and legs and took some nylon rope out and tried to hang me to the ceiling fan by putting the rope around my neck. This whole process must have taken only a couple of minutes.
Now for the first time I very humbly asked them why are they taking all this trouble for. Their answer was that they need a lot of dollars which according to their information were in this
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house. One of them suggested a figure of One million dollars. By now I had realized that the only way out of this situation would be by engaging them in a conversation.
Fortunately I had over a thousand dollars in cash at that time. This amount was substantial from Tanzanian standard. Using this as a strength I told them that I have enough money for them to make their effort profitable, while hurting or killing me will not add any monetary benefit to them. I also told them that for them this amount is substantial, while for me it is not worth fighting and putting my life on risk, so they can be sure that I will be happy to be alive and they should be happy to have this money with out committing a capital crime. This argument surprisingly appealed them and they picked my purse, counted the money, took my Designer watch two pair of shoes and my Nokia mobile.
Eventually after spending good one hour of the morning with me they left happily in a semi-friendly atmosphere returning my credit cards, driving license, and other plastic cards with a promise not to come back if I do not involve police in our private affairs.
Needless to say after they left I started shivering, took a shower and prayed Fajr with gratitude to Allah for saving my life and limbs and went to sleep. True to my promise I did not involve the police in this matter as I knew it was their efficiency that had prompted my visitors to pay the visit with such confidence.
In the end I would like my readers with the following advice,
If God forbids you confront the situation like this:
• Do not panic
• Do not show aggression
• Talk to them
• Try to find common ground
• Show them the advantage of not hurting you
• Treat them with respect and least hostility
• Keep praying silently.
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United Arab Emirate’s National Day was celebrated with great zeal and enthusiasm. A colorful function was held on 1st December 2007 in connection with the UAE’s 36th National Day celebration at lawn of the Pakistan Sports and Recreation Club Dubai and a large number of families and children participated in the event.
On the occasion Syed Sabir Hussain ( General Secretary )highlighted the history and achievements of the United Arab Emirates as a nation. “It was only due the visionary leadership of the UAE, which made possible such a tremendous growth and development in every area of the economy in just 36 years” he said. He said that the open heartedness of the people and rulers of the United Arab Emirates attracted almost every nationality of the world, and now it became a mini world. He pointed that the land of the Association on which we are standing was gifted by H.H. Shaikh Rashid Al Maktoum (Late) to the Pakistani community.
Mr. Muhammad Waseem Consellor Welfare congratulated the people and visionary rulers of the United Arab Emirates on its 36th National day in his speech. He thanked the Association on the giving him the opportunity to address such gathering and hoped that every year PAD will mark the UAE’s National Day. He also hoped that present body will soon be able to reconstruct the long awaited multi purpose hall of the Association.
A beautiful tableau was presented by the students of H.H. Shaikh Rashid Pakistani School Dubai depicting the tradition and
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culture of the United Arab Emirates. Audience was amused by the folk Arabic dance in Arabic traditional costume, this was the presentation of Alllama Iqbal Public School. Most beautiful performance of the Allama Iqbal School was a tableau on the national song “Chand Meri Zamin phool mera watan”, and was much appreciated by the spectators.
In the speech competition students participated from H.H. Shaikh Rashid Pakistani School Dubai, Pakistan Islamia Higher Secondary school Sharjah, Pakistan Islamia School Fujairah, Pakistan Islamia Higher Secondary School Ajman and Allama Iqbal School Dubai. Topics of the speeches were “Pak Amarat Dosti” ,“Pakistanis Role in UAE’s Development” and” Amarat Mera Dosra Ghar” . A panel of the judges formed comprised M.Abdul Qadoos, Mrs. Nina Qasim and Prof. Emunual Bahadur and they judged the competition. Prof. Emunual Bahadur announced the winner and runners of the competition , Syed Hamad Ali of Pakistan Islamia Higher Secondary School got third position , Sandila Ashraf and Wafa of Pakistan Islamia Higher Secondary School Fujairah stood 2nd and 1st respectively.
In the quiz part of the event valuable prizes were given away among the audience, mostly questions were related to the present and past of the United Arab Emirates. In the event a local UAE family was also participated in the event and was honored with gifts.
Clock struck 12: 00 midnight and at the same time a large cake was cut to mark 2nd December 2007, National day of the United Arab Emirates with the cheers of the audience.
At the end prize distribution ceremony was held and shields were awarded to the winner and runners of the speech competition. Commemorative shields were also presented to the members of the jury, host of the function Ms. Zainub Makki and function coordinator Mrs. Shireen Durrani.
Prof. Emunual Bahadur thanked the association for giving him the honour on becoming jury member. He admired the vision of the rulers and prayed for the prosperity of the rulers and nation of the United Arab Emirates. |
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The Citizens Foundation (TCF) is a professionally managed, not-for-profit, non-political organization that is dedicated to the promotion of quality education, at the primary and secondary level, on a mass scale in rural and lower income urban areas of Pakistan.
Initiated by a group of concerned citizens, the Citizens Foundation (TCF) has come a long way since its inception in 1995. To-date, this non-profit organization has achieved the following milestones:
- Opened 101 more school units in August 2007
- 455 operational school units in 46 locations across Pakistan, as follows:
- 412 school units
- 43 afternoon shifts
- More then 55,000 enrolled students, of which 50 % are girls
- 3,000 + teachers, all female
- Teachers Training Centre at Karachi. Another at Lahore under construction
- High non-profit governance rating from JCR-VIS
- Planning to open 100 more new schools in August 2008
For a country with more than 156 million people, where the illiteracy rate is a staggering 65%, TCF is playing a vital role. The ultimate aim of the Citizens Foundation is to build 1,000 schools across Pakistan, providing quality education to 360,000 boys and girls, thereby increasing literacy by 7.5%.
The curricula in TCF schools have been designed to provide quality education that is modern in its approach yet traditional in its values. It promotes an interactive approach that is child-centered. To further enhance the syllabus and facilitate its teachers to teach effectively, guide lessons for all prescribed textbooks are prepared by TCF. TCF’s accounts are audited by KPMG, the international accounting firm.
The incredible success story of TCF and its positive impact on thousands of young lives in some of Pakistan’s most underprivileged areas has become a great example of how education can transform not only individuals but entirecommunities; consequently, TCF has attracted the attention of the electronic as well as the print media both in Pakistan and internationally, including the Financial Times (UK), Sunday Times
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magazine (UK), Gulf News, Khaleej Times, Dawn, Herald, The Friday Times, MSNBC, CNN, ARY, GEO, Indus Network among many others.
TCF is registered in Dubai at the Dubai Aid & Humanitarian City. TCF is also registered with the following international institutions and jurisdictions:
- a tax-exempt approved charity in Pakistan
- a tax-exempt approved charity in the United Kingdom, and
- a tax-exempt approved charity in the United States of America.
- a tax-exempt approved charity in Canada
- registered with the United Nations Organization
TCF’s credibility has earned it many supporters throughout the world. A great number of prominent personalities are ardent supporters of our schools. William Dalrymple, the famous British writer/journalist, has held a number of fund-raising lectures for TCF, both in the UK and in Pakistan. Owen Bennet-Jones, the senior BBC World correspondent, is another long-term benefactor who has donated proceeds from the sales of his latest book to support TCF schools and its children. TCF’s supporters in the UAE include, among others, Al Maktoum Foundation, Sheikh Salem Bin Mohammad Al Qassimi and Mr. Abdul Aziz Abdulla Al Ghurair.
For further details please feel free to contact:
Mr. Imran Mahmood
Tel: 04-3681096,
Fax: 04-3681097,
Mob: 050-3042642
Office No. 14, Building No. 1, International Humanitarian City
Email: tcfuae@yahoo.com
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The great Urdu poet Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib says, “These ideas comes from hidden, Ghalib the sound of my pen (while writing) is the voice of angel.”
It is our vision to promote healthy literature and provide opportunities to sit together, interact, share thoughts and views. This is why we arrange literary sittings, poetry sessions,
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seminars and much more. One of the most popular mediums of literature is poetry: we organize mushairas on different occasions, and whenever feasible.
One of these occasions was when Mr. Shafiq Saleemi, a well known Urdu poet and long time resident of the United Arab Emirates, was retiring and returning to Pakistan. We took this opportunity to celebrate this evening with him on 30th November 2007. The Consul General of Pakistan H.E. Abdul Hameed Chudhry was the chief guest and well known poets and intellectuals participated in the event. The evening was celebrated with articles documenting his work and contribution to Urdu poetry followed by a poetry session.
A similar Mushaira was held on 8th December, where prominent poets Perveen Sher from Canada, Rehana Rohi from Pakistan and a number of prominent poets from all over the UAE participated. Renowned poets M/S Syed Saghir Jafri and Sabiha Saba were the key organizers of the Mushaira. A large number of poetry lovers attended the event, which will remain fond memories of poetry lovers for a long time to come.
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It was during a cabinet meeting that his secretary asked him whether tea or coffee should be served during the session. He shook his head in disbelief and asked angrily whether the ministers will come to the session after having breakfast at home! His secretary was startled, he continued by saying whoever wants to have tea or coffee can have it at home or should go back as the national treasure is not for the entertainment of ministers.
After this, only water was served at cabinet meetings during his term in office. Groceries for the surprising sum of Rs. 38 were bought for the Governor General’s house. He still insisted on receipts. Some items were ordered by his sister and a few items were ordered by him. He asked the accountant to deduct these amounts from their personal account and bill the rest to the national treasure, at the same time he issued instructs urging increased economy in the expenditures of the Governor’s House in the future.
On one occasion, David of Gloster, the brother of the Duke of Wellington was coming to visit Pakistan. The British ambassador requested him to go to the airport to receive him, he smiled and said sarcastically that he will be happy to do so if the British King will come to the airport to receive his brother.
Once a visiting card was given to him in his office, he spilt it into two and threw it away and said to the visitor never to show his face to him again. This person with the visiting card was his brother, who had added “Brother of Quaid-i-Azam, Mohamed Al Jinnah, Governor General of Pakistan” under his name.
It was freezing cold in Ziarat when Col. Ilahi Buksh presented him with a new pair of socks. He admired them and asked for the price. The price was 2 Rupees. He said it was too expensive for
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him to use. He added that even if the socks were bought through his personal accounts, those also belong to the people of Pakistan.
He wanted to return the favour of a nurse who gave him exceptional care in Ziarat. He asked her if he could do anything for her. She requested him to transfer her to Punjab as her whole family lived there. He regretfully refused her request by explaining that such matters were not under his jurisdiction as they were part of the tasks of the Ministry of Health.
He wanted to install a writing table in his plane. When the request reached the Ministry of Finance the request was approved but a note was sent to him stating that “the Governor General is bound to obtain approval from the Finance Ministry on personal matters”. He cancelled his request and never had the desk installed.
This was the Pakistan that was painstakingly built 60 years ago with a leader who embodied the conscience of the people. That leader was called Mohamed Ali Jinnah. Can we compare that Pakistan with what exists today?
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PAD Objectives |
- To promote a positive image of Pakistan in the UAE
- To represent the true culture of Pakistan
- To encourage brotherhood among the community
- To provide a platform for community’s social and recreational
activities
- To create awareness of community issues and find solutions
through participation
- To establish liaison between PAD and Pakistan Consulate
- To prepare the young generation for future challenges by developing
their character and competence
- To enhance female participation in community affairs
- To provide a platform for clean and healthy entertainment
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