Ranks of the Mystics

Historical revisionism and deconstruction have always been the tool of the victors to create a generation that would serve its new masters well. Sometimes it is achieved by using the traitors showered for their lax morality, at others, news ideas are forcefully imposed. One of the examples are the words of Lord McCauley who surveyed the education system of the subcontinent in his 1835 report for the British Parliament.

“I have traveled across the length and breadth of India and I have not seen one person who is a beggar, who is a thief. Such wealth I have seen in this country, such high moral values, people of such calibre, that I do not think we would ever conquer this country, unless we break the very backbone of this nation, which is her spiritual and cultural heritage, and, therefore, I propose that we replace her old and ancient education system, her culture, for if the Indians think that all that is foreign and English is good and greater than their own, they will lose their self-esteem, their native self-culture and they will become what we want them, a truly dominated nation.”

For years after pseudo-independence civil services system and English medium schools, this vision has become a reality. The deadly part is how deep it has penetrated.

It is a falsehood that Muhammad bin Qasim RA invaded 712 and it was the first interaction of people of the subcontinent with the Muslims. Long before the muslim merchants had arrived in the region. It is exactly because of these savants and mystics that Islam spread in great numbers.

The argument that Islam was spread by the sword must explain a huge population of Hindus in India today. If extermination and plunder were the goals, they certainly didn’t comply with it building roads, schools, hospitals and employing non-Muslim subjects.

Among these mystics, great Sufi saints single-handedly converted the downtrodden untouchables to the egalitarian and liberal religion of Islam. Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti Ajmeri, Data Ganj Baksh, Nizamuddin Aulia, Shah Walliullah and other blessed souls spearheaded the proliferation of esoteric chains of Sufism.

Like four schools or Madhhabs, Hanafi, Shaafi, Maliki and Hanbali, the spiritual chain of divine blessings were propagated by four chains of tassawwuf. They are known as Naqshbandia, Qadria, Chistia and Suherwardia, their name taken from their founding sheikhs.

A great many books were written on the nature of the soul and how to purify it from the adulteration of diseases of the world e.g. Envy greed, hate, miserliness and cowardice. All of them stem from an impure heart. Prophet SA’s hadith goes like this “Everything has a polish, and the polish of the hearts is Dhikr of Allah”.

These four great sheikhs not only polished the hearts but embedded these Barakat into their disciples. Many ways of doing this have been in use. From Dhikr of La Ilaha to Pas Anfas method, they all agree on some principles.

  • Before the soul starts traveling towards the higher stations it needs to illuminate these parts to be able to travel.
  • There are certain stations on this path and for all of them, strict following of Prophet SA’s sunnah and noble character is mandatory. There is no Sufism without following shariah.
  • Like cardinal parts of the physical body, the soul has its own parts called Lataif. Some of them suggested 5, some 7 and some 11.

Just like the worldly offices, these spiritual matters also use people in this world to run the divine affairs. Ghaus, Qutb, Abdal, Qayyum are some of the officers of this divine army.

The irony of the situation is how such sublime and exalted path of self-inspection and purification went into the hands of opportunities and clowns. Prostrating in front of graves, wearing crowns, lighting the pile of mud called graves was never what these great saints taught them.

These people arduously converted people who for centuries burned the widows alive with their husbands when they died. They drank cow urine and believed that a carved stone can give them sons they greatly need as opposed to the wretched daughters.

Today true Sufism is hard to find but at the same time, its never hidden from the seekers of the knowledge and wisdom. The path remains open. The prophecy that this ocean of light will never see a dark night, holds true. For some, this will be a heresy, for others, just what they were looking. As for me, nothing is upon us but to convey. The gift Allah gives you, tell the people about it.

http://www.naqshbandiaowaisiah.com/library/dalael_us_salook/dalael_us_sulook.pdf

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Nawaz reaches Karachi: expected to attend Holi festival, high-level security huddle

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif reached Karachi on Tuesday on a two-day visit during which he will attend an event to celebrate the Holi festival and will later preside a high level security meeting, DawnNews reported.

The event is being held by the ruling party’s minority wing.

Nawaz Sharif, along with a delegation that includes Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique and federal minister Kamran Michael, was welcomed by Governor Sindh Mohammad Zubair and Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah.

The premier will also be given a briefing regarding the security situation in the city and the steps being taken to improve it, DawnNews reported.

During his visit, the prime minister will hold a meeting with the local representatives of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz at the Governor House.

He is also expected to attend a meeting on various development projects undergoing in the metropolis. Nawaz will meet will delegations of political parties and attend a dinner with industrialists.

Earlier, the provincial apex committee meeting, scheduled to be held on Tuesday, was postponed due to the visit of the premier.

Nawaz will leave for Gawadar on Wednesday, where he is scheduled to chair a high level meeting on development projects in connection with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

North Korea warns of ‘merciless’ strikes as US carrier joins South Korea drills

North Korea warned the United States on Tuesday of “merciless” attacks if an aircraft carrier strike group led by the USS Carl Vinson, which is joining South Korean forces for exercises, infringes on its sovereignty or dignity.

North Korea, which has alarmed its neighbours with two nuclear tests and a string of missile launches since last year, said the arrival of the US strike group was part of a “reckless scheme” to attack it.

“If they infringe on the DPRK’s sovereignty and dignity even a bit, its army will launch merciless ultra-precision strikes from ground, air, sea and underwater,” the North’s state news agency KCNA said.

North Korea’s official name is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

“On March 11 alone, many enemy carrier-based aircraft flew along a course near territorial air and waters of the DPRK to stage drills of dropping bombs and making surprise attacks on the ground targets of its army,” KCNA said.

A US Navy spokesman said the Carl Vinson was on a regular, scheduled deployment to the region during which it would take part in exercises with the forces of ally South Korea.

Last week, North Korea fired four ballistic missiles into the sea off Japan in response to annual US-South Korea military drills, which the North sees as preparation for war.

The murder in Malaysia last month of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s estranged half-brother has added to a sense of urgency to efforts to handle North Korea.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is due to make his first visit to South Korea on Friday.

Last week, the US ambassador to the United Nations said President Donald Trump’s administration was re-evaluating its North Korea strategy and “all options are on the table”.

CHINESE OPPOSITION

Compounding regional tension, China is vehemently opposed to the deployment in South Korea of an advanced US anti-missile system.

The United States and South Korea say the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-missile system is for defense against North Korea, but China fears its powerful radar can probe deep into its territory and compromise its security.

The United States began to deploy the system a week ago, a day after North Korea launched its latest four missile tests.

South Korean and US troops began the large-scale joint drills, which are billed as defensive in nature, on March 1.

The exercise last year involved about 17,000 American troops and more than 300,000 South Koreans. South Korea has said this year’s exercise would be of a similar scale.

The United States has also started to deploy “Gray Eagle” attack drones to South Korea, a US military spokesman said on Monday.

China says the exercises do nothing to ease tension. Last week, it called on North Korea to stop its weapons tests and for South Korea and the United States to stop their drills.

A state-run Chinese newspaper said the USS Carl Vinson was taking part in a simulation of a preemptive strike against North Korea’s nuclear and missile facilities.

The drills sent the North “an explicit radical threat”, to which it could not be expected to remain indifferent, the influential Global Times said. North and South Korea were “equally hysterical”, it said.

“The US and South Korea often accuse China of being uncooperative, but the reality is they are uncooperative over China’s mediation,” it said, referring to complaints that China does not do enough to rein in old ally North Korea.

Spot-fixing scandal: PCB suspends pacer Mohammad Irfan

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday suspended fast bowler Mohammad Irfan following the investigations into the spot-fixing allegations, DawnNews reported.

Irfan had appeared before the PCB anti-corruption unit in Lahore on Monday to answer allegation of him not reporting to the unit incident in which a bookie made a contact with him during the second HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL).

The fast bowler was suspended and charge-sheeted over his alleged connections with bookies. The PCB has asked Irfan to submit his reply within 14 days.

The hearing continued for one and half hours and Irfan was also asked to hand over his cell phone and other relevant information to the unit.

There were reports that Irfan took the stance that he could not report to the unit because he was upset due to the death of his parents, who passed away one after other in a space of one year.

Along with Sharjeel Khan, Khalid Latif and Shahzaib Hasan, Irfan too was accused of allegedly meeting the bookie soon after the inaugural PSL match between Peshawar Zalmi and Islamabad United in Dubai.

The unit immediately sidelined prime suspects Sharjeel and Khalid, but allowed Irfan and Shahzaib to continue playing in the league after initial inquiries.

But after the end of the PSL final in Lahore last Sunday, both Irfan and Shahzaib were summoned by the anti-corruption unit.

Shahzaib, a former international, is to appear before the unit on Tuesday.

If the unit is not satisfied with the answers of both Irfan and Shahzaib, it may file charge sheets against them.

Pakistan will not transfer weapons of mass destruction to states or non-state actors: Aziz

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz on Tuesday reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment not to transfer weapons of mass destruction to states or non-state actors.

Delivering a keynote address on the implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1540 in Islamabad, Aziz said as a responsible nuclear state, Pakistan will continue to partner with international community to prevent non-state actors from acquiring these weapons.

The adviser underscored the need for striking a balance between advancing the goals of non-proliferation and facilitating access of developing countries to strategic and dual-use goods, materials and technologies for peaceful purposes under appropriate safeguards.

In this regard, Aziz expressed Pakistan’s willingness to share its expertise and provision of technical assistance to developing countries in the region and beyond.

He underlined that states which posses advanced capabilities should have an equal opportunity to participate in and contribute to the export control governance architecture.

In this context, he highlighted Pakistan’s credentials and expertise to become a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), while emphasising the need for a transparent, objective and non-discriminatory criteria for the cartel’s membership of non-NPT applicants.

The two-day regional seminar, organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with UN Office for Disarmament Affairs, brings together 13 countries from South and Central Asia, China, Russia, representatives of the 1540 Committee Group of Experts and international organisations including the IAEA, OPCW and Interpol.

The seminar aims to promote regional cooperation for effective national implementation of resolution 1540 including through sharing of best practices and national experiences.

Resolution 1540, adopted by the Security Council in 2004, is one of the important instruments in the global non-proliferation architecture as it seeks to prevent non-state actors from acquiring weapons of mass destruction.