• Social Issues

    1. Moral Roots of Islamic Civilization

    The book “Islam at Crossroads” by Muhammad Asad deals with the fall of the Muslim world. It laments the imitation of the West which is in its spirit (materialistic) diametrically opposite to the Islamic spirit (spiritual and harmony between subtle and mundane). It argues that the imitation of the West can only be at the cost of Islam, the two being incompatible. It discusses the attitude the Muslims must adopt towards the West. It further argues that the practical aspect of the spirit of Islam lies in the Sunnah of the Prophet, which has been shunned for the visible impossibility of implementing its seemingly trivial aspects in life, the weakening…

  • Ark-e-Gulab

    Be chamha aabi zam zam

    Be chamha aabi zam zam,Khudayo kar milem sarr. Satisar gomut chu khaeli,Khabar kott gayi sa Jehlam,Chu na kahn, cze nish mye niyham,Be chamha aabi zam zam. Phyeran chus bathen te baalan,Kaeczan chus Majnu ti basan,Czei zaanekh, chumm mye kya ghamm,Be chamha aabi zam zam. Wadan chus subhas te shaamas,Gomut kya chum yi paanas,Chus pyaran, kar mye milhyem,Be chamha aabi zam zam. Gamecz zann ghar-vujhedi,Katyo chukh, cham bekareri,Yitam, chukh czei mye malham,Be chamha aabi zam zam. Romut chus, chamm ne kahn wath,Pakaan chus chaani baapath,Wath haawtamm, kya gasi kamm,Be chamha aabi zam zam. Khudayo kar milem sarr,Be chamha aabi zam zam. بہٕ چَمہا آبِ زَمزَمخۄدایو کَر مِلؠم سَر سٔتی سَر گوٚمُت…

  • Religion and Philosophy,  Social Issues

    Instruction of the Student – Imam Zarnuji

    Burhan al-Din al-Zarnuji (d. 620 AH/1223 CE), a Muslim scholar, is the author of the celebrated pedagogical work Ta’līm al-Muta’allim-Ṭarīq at-Ta’-allum (Instruction of the Student: The Method of Learning). We took the book for our reading sessions. The following summary would be helpful for the ones who have read the text or joined us in the sessions. These bullets can help in reminding what is already learned, this cannot replace a teacher or the text. Foreword by Hamza Yusuf: Islamic Community is Rooted in Adab. Adab is knowing ones place in hierarchy. Argument for hierarchy “Are they the same – those who know and those who do not” (39:9). “I…

  • Ark-e-Gulab,  Blog,  Religion and Philosophy

    Kaashif and Baatin on Love

    What does it mean to say that if there is a tinge of attachment it is not real Love? Kaashif Real Love is selfless. There is no attachment, you don’t need the person anymore. Baatin How can “no attachment” be possible? Kaashif At the “real” level of Love, you are not attached to the person but the person’s “being”. And that is how “no attachment” is possible. Baatin Separation from the beloved shouldn’t hurt then. Kaashif The “being” of the person never goes. The beloved always “is” once she “has been”, she cannot “not be”, for a person who has “been” will always “be”, he can never “not be”. Baatin…

  • Ark-e-Gulab,  Religion and Philosophy

    How to practice faith?

    I don’t claim to be a mystic who has gained any kind of spiritual mileage, however, the very fact that I am a human being makes me eligible to write on a topic that concerns the core living of us humans. While for most of my life I have held on to rationalism in the public sphere of my life while holding on to intuition as the source of judgment in my personal one, the two often seem to be at loggerheads for an outsider. That, however, has not been true in my experience; it has been a smooth ride between the two seemingly contradictory sources of knowledge. Why I…