Writing on the Wall

 After the demise of Imam Ali, the son of Ali and grandson of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) Imam Hassan attained the caliphate. At this time the Muslim society had assumed a peculiar form. Their strength had been divided almost evenly, and if Imam Hassan had continued fighting against Mu'awiya (the other contender for the caliphate) neither of the two parties could expect victory without severe bloodshed. The result of such fighting would have been disastrous for the Muslims. Hence, Imam Hassan was faced with a situation in which he had no alternative but to come to terms with Mu'awiya and prevent senseless bloodshed. If he had persisted in fighting it would have resulted in gain to the Eastern Roman Empire on the external front and to the Khawarij within the Islamic territories. If those 400,000 or 500,000 Muslims had attacked one another on that day and fighting with Mu'awiya had been continued only God knows what calamity would have fallen on the Muslims from the side of

 It was the 7 century A.D., Europe was still a wilderness. Rome and Greece were still pagans; the Christian creed emanated from the welding of the monastic Christianity with the pagan cult of Rome, affected by King Constantine of Rome, after about 300 years after the departure of Jesus was still ignorant of the elementary knowledge about the world. Its knowledge even about the earth was childish for even centuries later it had yet to pelt stones on Columbus when he told them that the earth was round. This was the state of Europe when Islam had already preached the truth about the universe as a whole. The truth which even to this day is the highest and the modern scientists, with all their claims of wonderful advancement, have yet to arrive at the Islamic disclosures already made through the Holy Qur'an. The only hope lay in the most practicable and the most reasonable Faith, Islam, and its practice, but, with the alienation of the righteous Family Members of the Prophet Muhamm

  Hussain (Peace Be Upon Him) said, “Death with dignity is better than a life of humiliation.”  Just over 50 years of the death of Muhammad (the last Prophet of Islam), the Muslim rulership was sliding into corruption under the tyrant Yazid, from the Ummayad family. Hussain (Peace Be Upon Him), the son of Ali and the grandson of Muhammad (PBUH), was born in 620 AD in the city of Medina. He came from a family renowned for their strong values of justice, charity, and peace – the family of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him). Hussain (Peace Be Upon Him) was widely respected across the lands of Arabia and beyond for his generosity, sincerity, and wisdom. Hussain (Peace Be Upon Him) took a stand against Yazid’s evil rule. Whilst Yazid was feared and hated for his ruthlessness, Hussain was loved and respected by society. Yazid realized this and understood that if he could convince Hussain to support him and gets his allegiance, the people would too. A painting sho

 The word Hijra has, ironically, become a curse in Pakistan which clearly shows the cruelty and obliviousness of a society. Moreover, transgenders are often cast away by their families in Pakistan and many were forced to become either beggars or sex workers owing to lack of acceptance and social status. Part of the transgender or  Hijra  community, social stigma, and discrimination make them outcasts in Pakistan’s highly conservative society. Today hijras, who include transgender and intersex people, are hard to miss. Dressed in glittering outfits, their faces heavily coated in cheap makeup, they sashay through crowded intersections knocking on car windows with the edge of a coin and offering blessings. They crash fancy weddings and birth ceremonies, singing bawdy songs and leaving with fistfuls of rupees. Many Hijras feel a sense of alienation, of being looked at as freaks. They complain about being heckled, harassed, and assaulted. Gurus help the young Hijras navigate some of th

 Muhammad Bin Qasim is a central figure in the history of Pakistan, invoked by the leaders of Pakistan Movement in the past and still quoted as the first Pakistani in our national curriculum today. The story of his conquest of Sindh as the origins of Islam in the sub-continent reifies the idea of Muslim foreignness to the land, cultures, religions, histories of the sub-continent. Pakistan then enters into the picture as the preserver of this alienness. The story of Muhammad Bin Qasim’s conquest, however, is rife with historical inaccuracies. Arab General Muhammad Bin Qasim conquered Sindh in 712 AD and became another invader termed a superhero for the emotional people of Pakistan. However, the facts surrounding this conquest, and the ill fate that followed for the conqueror is known to few among us. People today are divided on his adorned status some term him as a preacher and some say he was a predator. According to researcher and historian Dr Mubarak Ali, the war between Muhamad

  The commander of faithful Imam Ali said Value of a man depends upon his courage, his veracity depends upon his self-respect, and his chastity depends upon his sense of honor. General Qasim Suleimani possessed all these traits and perhaps this was the reason behind a severe propaganda campaign orchestrated by the West which he faced his entire life. The multi-million dollar smearing campaign marred the personality of the real Qasim Suleimani which was deliberately kept hidden from the world. In true letter and spirit, Qasim Suleimani lived like Ali (AS) and died like Hussain (AS). He changed the shape of the Syrian civil war and tightened Iran’s grip against the terrorists and tyrant regimes. He was behind hundreds of ISIS deaths in Iraq and planned movement against Israel’s oppression. And for two decades, his every move lit up the communications networks — and fed the obsessions — of intelligence operatives across the Middle East.  He was known as the two-edged sword of Sye

Compose for Red a proper verse; Adhere to foot and strict iamb; Control the burst of angry words Or they might boil and break the dam. Or they might boil and overflow And drench me, drown me, drive me mad. So swear no oath, so shed no tear, And sing no song blue Baptist sad. Evoke no image, stir no flame, And spin no yarn across the air. Make empty anglo tea lace words— Make them dead white and dry bone bare. Compose a verse for Malcolm man, And make it rime and make it prim. The verse will die—as all men do— but not the memory of him! Death might come singing sweet like C, Or knocking like the old folk say, The moon and stars may pass away, But not the anger of that day.   About The Poet:   ETHERIDGE KNIGHT was an African American poet who made his name in 1968 with his debut volume, Poems from Prison. The book recalls in poetry his eight-year-long sentence after his arrest for robbery in 1960. By the time he left prison, Knight had