fatman17
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Acts of ghairat
Random thoughts
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Dr A Q Khan
In one of my columns I had written about ghairat. That article gave rise to much discussion. It was heartening to note that some people are still conscious of this "scarce commodity." It came as a surprise to me that, while some people were happy that I had drawn attention to an important need, there were others who were angry about it and some retorted in a manner that lacked logic.
In the article I wrote about the proverbial pride of the celebrated poet of pre-Islamic Arabia, Amr bin Kulthum, who had slain the king, Amb bin Hind, because the queen had addressed the proud poet's mother in an insulting manner. In our own time, the young Iraqi journalist Muntazar al-Zaidi, displayed an example of ghairat by throwing his shoe at George Bush in anger at his policies and occupation of Iraq. Unfortunately, it did not make much impression on President Bush. It was like water flowing off a duck's back.
Many acts of ghairat have been shown by the Sikh community. The genocide of unarmed civilians took place in Amritsar in 1919 at the orders of Lieutenant Governor Michael O'Dwyer. A Sikh named Odham Singh went to England and avenged the deed by killing O'Dwyer in his own country. Sikh guards shot Indira Gandhi for her part in the infamous raid on the Golden Temple. Another Sikh killed the chief of staff of the Indian army, Gen Arum Shridhar Vaidya, because he had ordered the attack. In this case, the general was killed after his retirement while he was driving his car in Poona. They also pursued another person involved, an ex-IG Police of Punjab named Pereira. He had meanwhile been posted as the Indian ambassador to Bucharest after his retirement. Though he survived the attack, he was crippled for the rest of his life.
The history of our own brave tribal people is also replete with similar golden examples of valour and pride. They have proved again and again that those who injure their pride have to bear the consequences.
On a visit to the US, then-Defence Minister George Fernandes of India was told by American security staff that they were required to conduct his body search. He simply turned away, walked back to the plane and returned home. The Indian government reacted promptly and ordered a body search of every American official visiting India, be he the ambassador, or even a former president. Clinton was due to visit India within a few days and the new orders sent shivers down American spines. They hastened to tender written apologies to the Indians, promising that such incidents would not occur again. Contrast this to what we saw from our senior minister (advisor) Sharifuddin Pirzada and his entourage. We saw them taking off their hats and shoes, emptying their pockets and raising their arms like criminals when they were searched at an American airport.
If you want to see the character of a nation and how they defend their honour and dignity, look at Iran, North Korea and Venezuela. If you want examples of beghairti, you do not have to look far. The past and present history of many Muslim countries is replete with disgraceful examples. The way Gen Pervez Musharraf complied with American wishes after just one telephone call is a perfect example of beghairti of the worst kind. The surrender by Gen Niazi to Gen Aurora in Dacca on Dec 16, 1971, is yet another example. These put the nation of Quaid-e-Azam and Allama Iqbal to shame.
Two human vices -- hypocrisy and shamelessness -- are closely related to beghairti. To say one thing but act otherwise, telling blatant lies, making false promises, deceiving those who trust you, are all glaring examples of hypocrisy, shamelessness and beghairti. Haya is a nobler emotion than ghairat. In fact, it is the moving spirit of all human nobility. When haya is no longer there, one becomes directionless like a vehicle with a broken axle moving at high speed. It will/can hit anything and destroy itself. That is why the Holy Prophet (SAW) said: "If you lose haya, then you may go around doing whatever you like."
In our country the disease of beghairti crept into our system during the Ayub Khan era and has taken a firm root since then. Unfortunately, we have seen it reaching unparalleled heights at the present time. Gen Pervez Musharraf promised the nation that he would shed his uniform by December 2004 but he went back on his word without hesitation, thus testifying to his own beghairti. Before that, many public pledges made by Ayub Khan, Yahya Khan and Zia-ul-Haq were broken. Even elected governments were not blameless. All of them got off scot-free with no trace of accountability. All these are examples of beghairti. The present government has its own record of broken promises, etc.
What makes it worse is that those who utter the name of Allah, who proclaim their faith (kalima), thereby invoking the blessings of Allah in supplication, are the same people who behave contrary to this very concept and commit beghairti, day in and day out. This deplorable state of our faith and conduct is nothing other than a result of losing haya, that vital inner component of human character which the Holy Prophet (SAW) has called "an integral part of our faith."
The question arises, if ghairat is an integral part of our faith, then why is it disappearing so fast and being replaced by beghairati? That is the million-dollar question. History bears witness to the fact that all our great leaders and role models Quaid-e-Azam, Allam Iqbal, Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar, Hasrat Mohani, Liaquat Ali Khan, Nawab Ismail Khan, Raja Sahib Mahmoodabad (Senior and Junior), Sir Abdur-Rahman, Nawab Hamidullah Khan, Sir Aga Khan and Ghulam Ishaq Khan were all shining examples of ghairat. Before them there were heroes like Ghazi Abdul-Qayyum and Ghazi Ilmuddin, who laid down their lives to protect the prestige of the Holy Prophet (SAW) from Hindu bigots. Had our great leaders of yore not been infused with ghairat, we would never have achieved freedom.
Let us seek guidance from the Book of Allah in this regard. In verse 59 (Surah Hud), Allah says: "Such were the Ad people. They rejected the signs of their Lord and Cherisher, disobeyed His Messengers and followed the command of every powerful, obstinate transgressor."
In Surah Bani Israil (verse 16), Allah says: "When we decide to destroy a population, we first send a definite order to the affluent and the influential among them; yet they transgress, so that the word is proved true against them, then we destroy them utterly." Here Allah (SWA) is telling us that He gives some respite to beghairat leaders before ultimately destroying them, while the population is punished for blindly following these leaders.
In Surah al-Anam (verse 123), Allah says: "Thus we have placed leaders in every town, its wicked men to plot therein; (little they know that) they only plot against their own souls, but they perceive not."
Unfortunately, this attitude prevails amongst our ruling elite a malady that can be described with a single word beghairti. However, we should never despair of Allah's mercy. He will surely, sooner or later, provide us with a ghairatmand -- honest, courageous and sincere -- leadership. We should all live in the hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
selling off pak nuke secrets was a act of 'ghairat'???
Random thoughts
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Dr A Q Khan
In one of my columns I had written about ghairat. That article gave rise to much discussion. It was heartening to note that some people are still conscious of this "scarce commodity." It came as a surprise to me that, while some people were happy that I had drawn attention to an important need, there were others who were angry about it and some retorted in a manner that lacked logic.
In the article I wrote about the proverbial pride of the celebrated poet of pre-Islamic Arabia, Amr bin Kulthum, who had slain the king, Amb bin Hind, because the queen had addressed the proud poet's mother in an insulting manner. In our own time, the young Iraqi journalist Muntazar al-Zaidi, displayed an example of ghairat by throwing his shoe at George Bush in anger at his policies and occupation of Iraq. Unfortunately, it did not make much impression on President Bush. It was like water flowing off a duck's back.
Many acts of ghairat have been shown by the Sikh community. The genocide of unarmed civilians took place in Amritsar in 1919 at the orders of Lieutenant Governor Michael O'Dwyer. A Sikh named Odham Singh went to England and avenged the deed by killing O'Dwyer in his own country. Sikh guards shot Indira Gandhi for her part in the infamous raid on the Golden Temple. Another Sikh killed the chief of staff of the Indian army, Gen Arum Shridhar Vaidya, because he had ordered the attack. In this case, the general was killed after his retirement while he was driving his car in Poona. They also pursued another person involved, an ex-IG Police of Punjab named Pereira. He had meanwhile been posted as the Indian ambassador to Bucharest after his retirement. Though he survived the attack, he was crippled for the rest of his life.
The history of our own brave tribal people is also replete with similar golden examples of valour and pride. They have proved again and again that those who injure their pride have to bear the consequences.
On a visit to the US, then-Defence Minister George Fernandes of India was told by American security staff that they were required to conduct his body search. He simply turned away, walked back to the plane and returned home. The Indian government reacted promptly and ordered a body search of every American official visiting India, be he the ambassador, or even a former president. Clinton was due to visit India within a few days and the new orders sent shivers down American spines. They hastened to tender written apologies to the Indians, promising that such incidents would not occur again. Contrast this to what we saw from our senior minister (advisor) Sharifuddin Pirzada and his entourage. We saw them taking off their hats and shoes, emptying their pockets and raising their arms like criminals when they were searched at an American airport.
If you want to see the character of a nation and how they defend their honour and dignity, look at Iran, North Korea and Venezuela. If you want examples of beghairti, you do not have to look far. The past and present history of many Muslim countries is replete with disgraceful examples. The way Gen Pervez Musharraf complied with American wishes after just one telephone call is a perfect example of beghairti of the worst kind. The surrender by Gen Niazi to Gen Aurora in Dacca on Dec 16, 1971, is yet another example. These put the nation of Quaid-e-Azam and Allama Iqbal to shame.
Two human vices -- hypocrisy and shamelessness -- are closely related to beghairti. To say one thing but act otherwise, telling blatant lies, making false promises, deceiving those who trust you, are all glaring examples of hypocrisy, shamelessness and beghairti. Haya is a nobler emotion than ghairat. In fact, it is the moving spirit of all human nobility. When haya is no longer there, one becomes directionless like a vehicle with a broken axle moving at high speed. It will/can hit anything and destroy itself. That is why the Holy Prophet (SAW) said: "If you lose haya, then you may go around doing whatever you like."
In our country the disease of beghairti crept into our system during the Ayub Khan era and has taken a firm root since then. Unfortunately, we have seen it reaching unparalleled heights at the present time. Gen Pervez Musharraf promised the nation that he would shed his uniform by December 2004 but he went back on his word without hesitation, thus testifying to his own beghairti. Before that, many public pledges made by Ayub Khan, Yahya Khan and Zia-ul-Haq were broken. Even elected governments were not blameless. All of them got off scot-free with no trace of accountability. All these are examples of beghairti. The present government has its own record of broken promises, etc.
What makes it worse is that those who utter the name of Allah, who proclaim their faith (kalima), thereby invoking the blessings of Allah in supplication, are the same people who behave contrary to this very concept and commit beghairti, day in and day out. This deplorable state of our faith and conduct is nothing other than a result of losing haya, that vital inner component of human character which the Holy Prophet (SAW) has called "an integral part of our faith."
The question arises, if ghairat is an integral part of our faith, then why is it disappearing so fast and being replaced by beghairati? That is the million-dollar question. History bears witness to the fact that all our great leaders and role models Quaid-e-Azam, Allam Iqbal, Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar, Hasrat Mohani, Liaquat Ali Khan, Nawab Ismail Khan, Raja Sahib Mahmoodabad (Senior and Junior), Sir Abdur-Rahman, Nawab Hamidullah Khan, Sir Aga Khan and Ghulam Ishaq Khan were all shining examples of ghairat. Before them there were heroes like Ghazi Abdul-Qayyum and Ghazi Ilmuddin, who laid down their lives to protect the prestige of the Holy Prophet (SAW) from Hindu bigots. Had our great leaders of yore not been infused with ghairat, we would never have achieved freedom.
Let us seek guidance from the Book of Allah in this regard. In verse 59 (Surah Hud), Allah says: "Such were the Ad people. They rejected the signs of their Lord and Cherisher, disobeyed His Messengers and followed the command of every powerful, obstinate transgressor."
In Surah Bani Israil (verse 16), Allah says: "When we decide to destroy a population, we first send a definite order to the affluent and the influential among them; yet they transgress, so that the word is proved true against them, then we destroy them utterly." Here Allah (SWA) is telling us that He gives some respite to beghairat leaders before ultimately destroying them, while the population is punished for blindly following these leaders.
In Surah al-Anam (verse 123), Allah says: "Thus we have placed leaders in every town, its wicked men to plot therein; (little they know that) they only plot against their own souls, but they perceive not."
Unfortunately, this attitude prevails amongst our ruling elite a malady that can be described with a single word beghairti. However, we should never despair of Allah's mercy. He will surely, sooner or later, provide us with a ghairatmand -- honest, courageous and sincere -- leadership. We should all live in the hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
selling off pak nuke secrets was a act of 'ghairat'???
fateman this man seems to be out of his mind due to personal reveng just like Nawaz Sharif.
