sachi baat/سچی ‏بات

سچی بات

سچ کہنا اور سچ پہ رہنا

کتنے عقد کشا کر تا ہے

کس کو کس دن کیا بولا تھا

اس کو اس دن کیا کہنا ہے

یاد نہیں کچھ کرنا پڑتا

لکھ کے کچھ نہیں رکھنا پڑتا

جھوٹ نہیں کچھ کہنا پڑتا

جھوٹ نہیں کچھ کرنا پڑتا

یہ تو بات صحیح ہے لیکن

سچ پوچھو تو سچ تو یہی ہے

سچ میں رہنا ناممکن ہے

سچی بات تو کڑوی ہو گی

سچی بات نہ بھائے گی

دور جو ہیں وہ دور رہیں گے

بالکل پاس نہ آیٗں گے

غیروں کی تم بات ہی چھوڑو

اپنے بھی گھبرایئں گے

یہ سوچا تھا سچ بولیں گے

ہمت ساتھ نہیں دیتی

زندہ رہنا پڑتا ہے تو

جھوٹ میں رہنا پڑتا ہے

دنیا داری ایسے ویسے

اپنے کام کراتی ہے

عادت سی ہو جاتی ہے

نہ چاہو تو پھر بھی منہ سے

سچا جھوٹ نکلتا ہے

اب تو ایسا ہوتا ہے کہ

سچ بولو تو

خود پہ حیرت ہوتی ہے

ناصر گوندل

حلقہِ اربابِ ذوق، نیو یارک

آن لایئن اجلاس

اتوار6/دسمبر2020

Ajay Kumar Lodha R.I.P.

 

Ajay is gone and I could not say good-bye.

I lost a dear friend this past week. The news I dreaded for a while but did not want to hear arrived by text from Shankar Sadhwani on November 20^th, Saturday morning.

Ajay was my first non-Pakistani friend. He was the first person I called friend in the United States.

It was June of 1989 and we were having our orientation for residency in Flushing Hospital in Queens NY due to start next week. We had submitted our requests for the holidays for the year to come. Ajay approached me and asked if we can exchange the vacation slots. He wanted the second half of March 1990 and I had already asked for that. Why? I asked. He had to go to back home to get married. I told I had exactly the same plan. He laughed and said that in that case, he will not ask at all. That was our introduction.

We were all foreign graduates, including the few Americans amongst ourselves. We were from all over: Eastern Europe to South America, Middle East to South Asia to the Far East. We had a sort of United Nations of our own. I bonded the most with Ajay Lodha and Ashok Sharma.

He was a few years younger than me. He had wasted no time after graduation to be in residency program, somewhat unusual for a foreign graduate in those times. He had an advantage. His parents were here and he was exposed to the system here. In the pre internet era, it was a huge advantage.

He was a happy man with an innocent smile. We ended up sharing a lot of work.  We were on calls together. Our first year was the one before the Bell Commission’s rules. We had many 36 hours calls together. We learned together how to endure.  Finding difficult iv accesses, drawing bloods, ABG’s and all the skut work. We learnt together how to transition from our British based MBBS’s to American system.  We became friends. We hung out together. We hailed from diagonally opposite traditions. He was a Rajasthani Jain, a strict vegetarian, and I was a Punjabi from Pakistan. But there were more things in common between us than what separated us.

Over time, we both got married, and had kids. I moved out of Flushing but we stayed close.  We attended each other kid’s events, and family gatherings. He attended my father’s funeral. With time our social lives drifted apart but we remained close to each other at work. I cam back to central Queens and we kept on seeing each other and sharing patients.

Ajay was always ahead of his time. He was first to start moonlighting and first to start practice. He helped me almost in all steps of my professional life. He found me a place to start moonlighting in The Parkway Hospital where he was already working, while I was a fellow in training. Later when I was to join a Heme Onc practice in Forest Hills, he put in good word for me to my prospective employer. I am still working in that place. He had nothing to gain in helping me out. He was primary care and I a specialist. Everyone knows who runs the show in private practice.

Apart from my immediate family there are very few in life whom I own a lot and who owe me nothing. Ajay is one of them.

Out of our Class of 92, Flushing, he was perhaps the most successful person. He built his practice from scratch, expanded it and branched out. He was active in Indian American physicians, ultimately becoming the president of AAPI; and much more, which I am not privy of.

He was always in a hurry, he had to be somewhere, he always had his eye on something ahead. That was his strength. But once in a while, when we spend some time, and relaxed, we always reminisced the good times we had together.

It is my misfortune that I did not have the chance to speak to him since he fell ill. By the time I knew, he was beyond my reach. I texted him on April 9^th, “Ajay, I hope you seen this message soon and be healthy, Just today I heard you were sick. And tried to call you. Then I found out you had been transferred. It is a big service and a price to pay in our profession. Wishing for a speedy recovery, I know you can do it. “. I was hoping he would get it, but by that time he was unreachable. I kept on communicating through Sanjay but with time, I realized it is an additional uncalled burden on him.

After so many months of hearing about him third and fourth hand, one day I thought I should try to communicate directly, and texted him the following on Friday the 20^th November, “Ajay, I have been thinking of contacting you but don’t know if you are willing to communicate. I don’t want to cross any lines. I want to tell you that I think of you almost daily and wish the best for you. Huded and I talk about you all the times. Wish you well and whenever you feel like it you can contact me. I am a click away. And if I don’t hear back at all, I will understand that too.”

And the next day I got a text from Shankar Sadhwani.

Ajay, you have paid the ultimate price for the path you took. And you fought well. Rest is peace my friend.

In gratitude

Nasir Gondal

Tuesday, November 24, 2020

 

 

خواب /Khawab

 خواب

خواب دیکھنے  پر تو کوئ پابندی نہیں

خواب سنانے پر ہے

کیونکہ ایسا کرنے سے آپ

دوسروں کو بھی وہ خواب دکھا دیتے ہیں

جو انہوں نے ابھی تک خود نہیں دیکھا

اس طرح مجاز کو حقیقت میں بدلا جا سکتا ہے

مجاز کو تو جواز کی ضرورت ہوتی ہے

اور حقیقت حق ہے

ایک انسان کا خواب تو مجاز ہے

سب دیکھ لیں تو حقیقت میں بدل سکتا ہے

اس ابلاغ کی اجازت نہیں دی جا سکتی

سرکاری اہلکار نے یہ سب 

ایک سپاٹ لہجے میں کہا

 

اور ہاں

خوابوں کی تعبیر ڈھونڈنے پر بھی پابندی ہے

تعبیر عدم استحکام کی علامت ہے 

جسے کوئ معاشرہ برداشت نہیں کر سکتا

اور ہمارا معاشرہ  تو اب جا کر

صحیح رستے پر لگا ہے

سو بے بنیاد خوابوں کی تعبیریں ڈھونڈنا 

جرم ٹھہرا تو ہے ہی

دوسروں کو سنانا بھی

فساد  فی الارض سے خالی نہیں

آینٰدہ ایسا جواز نہ فراہم کرنے

کی تلقین کے ساتھ

سرکاری اہلکار واپس چلا گیا

آج وہ اہلکار پھر آیا تھا

موجودہ حالات کا تقاضہ ہے کہ

خواب دیکھنا امنِ عامہ کے لیے مضر ہے

آپ یہ روشن دان اور کھڑکیاں بند کر دیں

خواہ مخواہ باہر کی ہوا اور روشنی آتی ہے

اور اس کے ساتھ 

 بھٹکتے ہوئے خواب

بھی آ  ٹپکتے ہیں

نت نئے مسئلے پیدا کر دیتے ہیں

اس میں نیند کا خلل بھی شامل ہے

نیند اچھی آنی چاہیے

سب کا بھلا ہوتا ہے جب لوگ

چین کی نیند سوتے ہیں

ہمارے پاس جدید آلات موجود ہیں

جو ہوا کو گردش میں رکھیں گے

اور مصنوعی روشنی بھی پیدا کریں گے

جب یہ سب کچھ موجود ہے تو

پھر خواب دیکھنے کی کیا ٖضرورت ہے

خواب دیکھیں گے تو سنایں گے بھی

اور ان کی تعبیر بھی ڈھونڈیں گے

سرکاری اہلکار نظریں ملائے  بغیر

رخصت ہو گیا

خواب دیکھنے کے خوف سے

شاید آج رات

مجھے نیند نہ آئے

ناصر گوندل

اتوار ۲۲ نومبر ۲۰۲۰؁ء

نیو یارک

Ghazal/بےوقت

 غزل

پیدا ہوا بےوقت تو مارا گیا بےوقت

جو وقت تھا وہ سارے کا سارا گیا بےوقت

جب تک کھڑا رہا مری شنوائ نہ ہوئ

اور جب چلا گیا تو پکارا گیا بےوقت

وہ جرمِ مفلسی کی سزا کاٹنے چلی

دلہن بنا کے کو سنوارا گیا بےوقت

نا آشنا تھا گردشِ گردوں سے باغباں

کلیوں کو آندھیوں میں نکھارا گیا بےدقت

پہلے دلوں میں فاصلہ پیدا کیا گیا

اور پھر رقابتوں کو ابھارا گیا بےوقت

اس سے کے بیشتر کوئ پڑھ لے ، اسے جلا

تجھ پہ جو اک صحیفہ اتارا گیا بےوقت

ناصر گوندل

نیو یارک

اتوار25/اکتوبر2020؁ء

 

What is Islam /Six Questions. By Shahab Ahmed

WHAT IS ISLAM

By 

Shahab Ahmed

Six Diagnostic Questions. 

I am very happy that I have found Shahab Ahmed at this time. Thanks to Farooq Hamid for introducing me to his book, “What is Islam”. It is an amazing book. I am reading it these days. I am also very sad that I have found Shahab Ahmed at this time. He is dead.

Shahab Ahmed was a phenomenal person. He accomplished so much in such a short time, had he lived longer, he would have given a lot to the world. What I gather online about him, he was somewhat younger to me. He was born in Singapore to Pakistani physicians, came to USA, studied in Princeton and taught in Harvard. He was a polyglot and had extensive knowledge and understanding of the subject matter. This book has 45 page list of cited work, in small print. It is more than 500 pages long, which could easily be a thousand-page book had the print size be of regular size. 

His first sentence, says it all. 

"I AM SEEKING TO SAY THE WORD “Islam” in a manner that expresses the historical and human phenomenon that is Islam in its plenitude and complexity of meaning."

His first chapter, “Six Questions about Islam” is like the Muqadima of Ibn Khaldoon. It raises the six questions he thinks are fundamental to understanding of Islam, for both Muslims and non-Muslims. He presents a different narrative. The prevailing version of Islam focuses on initial centuries and first generation of Muslims. He talks about the later time, from 1350 to 1850, when Islam was the dominant religion of the land from Balkans to Bengal, a phrase he uses in the book.

He makes the point that was Islam, practiced, lived and celebrated at that time. It deserves to be classified as Islam and should not be relegated to a second-degree status. That is what he perhaps will try to put a case in the remainder of the book: What is Islam.

The six questions highlight the various thoughts, practices and concepts prevalent in present day Islam, but run at times contrary to the established dogma of Islam.

First, the Greek influenced reason based philosophical version of Islam. It clearly claims the dominance of reason over faith. Faith has to be subservient to reason: if it is not reasonable, it cannot be Islamic. The scripture is for the common man. Those who can apply reason and interpret the nature, are able to find Divine Truth without being following rituals. Ibn e Sina, the greatest Muslim philosopher makes no bones about it.  Divine is wajib al wajoob., the essence of all existence and can be found with reason. He proudly asserts his faith in a Persian couplet which essentially states that if Ibne sina were a Kafir, there would be no Muslim anywhere.  Can a belief of reason over faith be Islam?

Second, the way of the Awliya Allah, the Friends of God. Sufis can attain the personal experience, kashf, through the rigorous developmental exercise of the holistic faculties. The have found the way(Tariqat) to the Truth (haqiqat) that they do not need to follow the law (Shairat). Anyone able to make this connection through a spiritual experience will find Divine Truth and does not have to follow the rituals. Can this path bypassing shariat be Islam?

Third, the illumination theory of Suhurwardi, that everything is illuminated by God’s light and the  almost pantheism of Ibn Arabi, wahdat al wajood, are the basic ingredient of later day sufism.  This concept exist in contradiction with Good and Evil as binary opposites. Here Divine exists everywhere and every act of worship is essentially worshiping God. Can this be Islam?

Fourth, widely prevalent form of art and expression in the Islamic world, poetry, has the dominant theme of Love. Claimed as the religion of love, mazhab e ishq talks of earthly (often homoerotic) to Divine Love. Penned by poets from Rumi to Jami to Hafiz (the greatest of them all), this poetry and verbal imagery is understood by all. It even talks about understanding and developing a bond with the Rival lover (Raqeeb se, by Faiz). Can this be Islam?

Fifth, the art, including the paintings and pictorial representation is all secular (except architecture). The pictorial representation of humans has been claimed and celebrated by the Islamic culture and society. Can this be considered Islamic when there are clear prohibitions against image making?

Sixth, wine drinking and its social acceptance has been, for all the times, a part of the Muslim culture, despite been considered forbidden. Old literature is replete with mannerism of drinking. Naseeruddin Tusi tells the ‘right way to drink’.  Social drinking gatherings including by kings, philosophers (Ibne Sina) and Sufis (Shams Tabrez) were acceptable and prevalent.  Wine drinking pottery with God’s grace engraved on them were commissioned by Mughals (Jehangir) and Ottomans. Wine in poetry may have allegorical meaning but the reason that symbol existed was that wine was a reality in Muslim culture.  How can this be Islam?

One may comment that many of the six questions could be related to the ‘elite’ of the society, whether political, social, intellectual or spiritual, and common man may have always been following the dogmatic tradition. Shahab makes the point, that on the contrary, we see that the street culture is/was  imbibed by the ethos of issues mentioned above. The penetration of all these thoughts in the common culture, and not restricted to the elite is exemplified by a widely sung kafi of Ghulam Farid, in Saraiki.

Aye Husne Haqiqi, Noor e Azal, teeno wajib tay imkaan kahun

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJs81iqSJhE

Then he mentions, for the initiated that in this kafi, popular in the uneducated and unlettered masses, the following concepts, mentioned in six questions, and more, are raised: Avicennan philosophy of Necessary, Contingent-Possible, Pre Eternal, Self-Essence; Neo Platonic emanationism of Highest Heavens, Celestial Spheres, Spirit, Matter, Vegetable, Animal, Human; Suharwardian Illuminationist Beginning less Light; Akbarian Intellectual Sufism of Absolute Pure Existence, Becoming known of the Originary Archetypes, Display of Attributes and Acts; Mazhab e Ishq of Real True Beauty, Beloved of Every Heart, Houri, Farily Lass, Handsome Lad, Love, Sita, My Darling Love; Text book questions of Kalam/ philosophy/theology of  Essence of the Reality of Quiddity, Species, Positions, Modes, Measures, suspicions, Prehensions, Conviction, Notion; Sufi experiences of Tasting Rapture; Music of dholak, tambur, table, meter, note beat; Natural Phenomenon of Water, Fire, Narcissus, tulip; Quranic Prophetology of Noah, Abraham, Mohammad; Pantheism of Pothi, Gita, Granth, Veda, and what not.

Islam, as practiced and lived in those five centuries, 1350-1850, (the 8th to 13th Hijri centuries) deserve its space in today's question about Islam. That was the time that many of the theological disputes had been settled, and  the philosophers and sufis and the purists had agreed to disagree. Form Balkans to Bengal, there was a remarkable similarity in culture, elite classes had similar manners and customs, wore similar styles of dress, enjoyed much of the same literature and graphic arts.  Their educational institutions had similar curricula, people on many levels of society had similar notions about the ground rules of cooperation and dispute and shared common institutions, arts, knowledge, customs and rituals. That is what Shahab Ahmed makes a case to be considered as the legitimate place in time and history to answer the question: What is Islam.

Shahab Ahmed finished this great book in 2015 and died the next year from Leukemia. May his soul rest in peace.

 

شہر کرشمہshehr e karishma

شہرِکرشمہ

چرچا تھا اس نگر کا فقیدِالمثال ہے

تعبیرِ ہائے خواب میں حدِکمال ہے

زرخیز ہے زمیں تو فضا سازگار ہے

ہر غنچہِِ خیال نویدِبہار ہے

محنت کرو گے اور ثمر اس کا پاوٗ گے

جو بھی تمہارا حق ہے اسے نہ گنواوٰگے

حق میں برابری ہے ہر اک خاص و عام کی

ہے سلطنت یہیں جو کہیں ہے عوام کی

قسمت یہاں کھلے گی اسے آزمایٗے

اس کو وطن بنا کے وطن بھول جایےٗ

ایسی کشش سے کھینچا کہ ہم آ گئے یہاں

تھوڑا سا کشت کاٹا تو پھر ہو گئے رواں

ہم نے بھی اک زمین کا ٹکڑا کما لیا

سر پہ مکاں بنانے کا سودا سما لیا

بنیاد کھودنے کو جہاں پھاوڑے چلے

بد حال و بے کفن کئی لاشے وہاں ملے

ویسے حقیقتاََ یہ چھپایا نہیں گیا

مجھ کو لگا کہ مجھ کو بتایا نہیں گیا

میرا قصور تھا کہ میں اس سے تھا بے خبر

جائے وقوعِ جرم ہے کہتا ہوں جس کو گھر

میرے مکاں کا قصہ نہیں یہ سبھی کا ہے

اپنا سمجھ رہے ہیں وہ رقبہ کسی کا ہے

تختی لگا رہا ہوں کہ میری ہے یہ زمیں

بے گھر ہوئے یا مارے گئے اولیں مکیں

یہ کس طرح مسطح ہوا دامنِ دمن

مزدورِ مغویانِ فریقہ تھے کوہکن

اس سطحِ مرتفع کو جو ہموار کر گئے

کتنے یہاں پہ جبرِ غلامی میں مر گئے

میں جس میں رہ رہا ہوں مقدس مقام ہے

ہر اک قدم یہاں پہ رہینِ غلام ہے

ایسے نہیں ہے شہرِ کرشمہ کمال کا

شامل ہے اس میں خون پسینہ بلال کا

ناصر گوندل

حلقہِ اربابِ ذوق، نیو یارک

آن لاین اجلاس

اتوار11/اکتوبر2020؁ء

 

ghazal/ جو دیکھتا ہوں وہی واقعات لکھتا ہوں

غزل

جو دیکھتا ہوں وہی واقعات لکھتا ہوں

جو سوچتا ہوں وہی ممکنات لکھتا ہوں

جو تو نے پردہ ہٹایا امین ہوں اس کا

پھر اس کے بعد کٹی کیسے رات، لکھتا ہوں

جو روشنائی نہیں تو قلم بھی سوکھا ہے

نیاز مند ہوں مدحِ دوات لکھتا ہوں

جو تیری آنکھ سے ٹپکا ہے میرے پہلو میں

اس ایک قطرے سے میں کایٗنات لکھتا ہوں

ہوا نہیں ہے کوئی معجزہ کہ ذکر کروں

جو ایک آدھ ہوئے حادثات، لکھتا ہوں

مجھے بتایا ہے شاہِ قصور نے جیسے

میں تیری ذات کو اپنی ہی ذات لکھتا ہوں

جو منزلوں کی عنائیات تھیں رقم نہ ہویں

جو راستے میں ہویں مشکلات، لکھتا ہوں

مری زباں میں رکاوٹ سہی قلم میں نہیں

جو بات کہہ نہیں سکتا وہ بات لکھتا ہوں

بپا ہوئی ہے جو صحرائے ذات پر ناصر

خدا گواہ ہے وہی واردات لکھتا ہوں

ناصرگوندل

حلقہِ اربابِ ذوق، نیو یارک

آن لاین اجلاس

اتوار13/ستمبر2020؁ء

 

Ghazal/جواب بننے سے پہلے سوال بنتا ہے

 

غزل

جواب بننے سے پہلے سوال بنتا ہے

سوال بننے سے پہلے خیال بنتا ہے

امیرِشہر کی چوکھٹ پہ اپنی ہستی کو

جو بیچتا ہے وہی کوتوال بنتا ہے

یہ میرے ساتھ ہی خانہ خراب اترے ہے

مرے جنوں کا وہی ماہ و سال بنتا ہے

ہر اک جنم میں مجھے برجِ بردبار ملا

یہاں عروج سے پہلے زوال بنتا ہے

کچھ اضطراب کے پتھر شکوک کے ٹیلے

مری زمیں کا یہی اشتمال بنتا ہے

میں ڈوبتے ہوئے سورج کو پیشوا جانا

جسے یمین میں سمجھا شمال بنتا ہے

وہ جستجو میں بھی اتنا کمال دکھلائے

جو گفتگو میں بڑا باکمال بنتا ہے

لیے وہ ہاتھ میں نشتر بتا رہا ہے مجھے

کہ اس کا زخم وجہِ اندمال بنتا ہے

ناصر گوندل

حلقہِ اربابِ ذوق، نیو یارک

آن لایٗن اجلاس

اتوار16/اگست2020

Double Truth/ دوہرا سچ

دوہرا  سچ

نہ ہو ناقابلِ تردید اس کو مان لوں  کیسے

یقیں کیسے کروں اس کا جو ثابت ہو نہیں سکتا

یہ میرا مسئلہ ہے

یہاں میں رک گیا ہوں

بھرے رستے میں رک جانا

مجھے مشکل تو لگتا ہے

مگر میں ذہن میں اٹھتے سوالوں کو 

جو اک جعلی سکوں  کی  خامشی پامال کرتے ہیں

کسی وجدان کی دستک سمجھتا ہوں

انہیں نظر انداز کر دینا

نہیں میرے تصرف میں

مجھے تحقیق کی، تصدیق کی حاجت رہے گی

تمہارا مسئلہ اس سے سوا ہے

تمہیں کامل یقیں ہے

جسے کامل یقیں ہو 

اسے تحقیق کی، تصدیق کی حاجت نہیں رہتی

تم اپنے ذہن میں اٹھتے سوالوں کو

جو اک جعلی سکوں کی خامشی پامال کرتے  ہیں

کسی معتوب کی سازش سمجھتے ہو

تمہیں مشکل تو ہوتی ہے

مگر ایمان کی طاقت یہاں پر کام آتی ہے

کسی بھی علتِ تاویل سے

مبرا، ماورا ہو کر

عقیدت کام کرتی ہے

عقیدت کی عمارت میں 

ذہن کی کھڑکیاں موجود ہوتی ہیں

مگر جب آندھیاں آئیں

تو ان پہ آہنی چادر چڑھا کر

مقفل ہوکے، قلعہ بند ہوکر

رہے گی مضطرب جب تک

نہیں اترے گا اس سیلِ بلا کی موج کا دھارا

تمہیں ہو قلعہِ ایقاں مبارک

مجھے تشکیک کی صحرا نوردی

ناصر گوندل

حلقہِ اربابِ ذوق، نیو یارک

آن لائین اجلاس

اتوار26/جولائی2020؁ء

ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY BY NASR PART V/Islamic Philosophy in Maghreb.

Continued from Part IV

Islamic Philosophy in Maghreb.

Ibn Masarrah of 4^th hijri, founder of school of Almeria, he was a mystic and a scholar. He was influenced by Empedocles Anbaduqis, who was thought of as a prophet like figure by many Islamic philosophers. Mararrah formulated a cosmology based on his. Its effects can be seen later in Ibn Arabi.

His pseudo-Empedocles cosmology is based on hierarchal emanations of five substances. The first is Materia prima which is different from Aristotelian concept. Here it means Intelligible Matter and is the first emanation of Divine, while Divine Principle itself is above the schema much like Ismailis Originator Al Mubdi. It is followed by Intellect, Soul, Matter and materia secunda. He also interpreted Empedocles concept of Love and Fear as Love and Qahr, (dominion or victory)

 

Ibn Hazm 5^th Hijri, of Cordoba. He was a Zahiri, a sharp critic of Asharite and wrote the first book on comparative religion. (Al Biruni is another one in this category). In addition to being a jurist, moralist, historian, theologian and philosopher, he was a poet. He wrote a book on Platonic love, Tawq al Hamama (Ring of the Dove). It makes him one of the erotic poets fedeli d’amore like Sufis despite certain difference in perspective.

 

Abu Bakr ibn Bajja (Latin Avempace) 6^th hijri. Had influence on many including Ibn Rushd.  Hailing from Northern Spain eventually moved to Fez, became a vizier, imprisoned and died. He was a physician, scientist and a philosopher. His works remain incomplete but by the level he was quoted by later sources, it seems that he had a significant impact on development of anti-Ptolemaic astronomy and cosmology and critique of Aristotelian theory of projectile motion.

In philosophy he was drawn on teachings of Al Farabi. His tadbir al mutawahhid, Regimen of Solitary, is one of the most significant works of Islamic philosophy in Maghreb. He speaks of a perfect state created not by external circumstances but by inner transformation of whose who become inwardly united with the Active Intellect, aqlal fa’al.  He opposed Ghazali’s  mysticism and proposed a detached and intellectual form of mystical contemplation.  It still remains within the family of Sufi gnostic. Unfortunately, this work remained incomplete.

 

Abu Bakr ibn Tufayl (Latin Abubacer) of Cadiz.  Also, of 6^th Hijri. He was also a scientist, physician and a philosopher and attracted to Ibn Sina. His major opus is Hayy ibn Yaqzan, (Living Son of the Awake) which is considered as the source of inspiration for the Robinson Crusoe story. This title is also borrowed from Sina. It is story of philosophical romance. Here Hayy, the protagonist is the hero of the story and not the Active Intellect.  He mysteriously comes to being from the matter and made spiritually active by the Active Intellect. He is raised by a gazelle as a result of sympathy, goodness in all living beings. Growing up he attains knowledge of physical, spiritual and material world and finally the Divine Principle. At that time, he is joined by Absal from neighboring Island, where he has been instructed in religion and theology. Absal realizes, after learning Hays, language, that whatever he has learnt, Hayy has known it in its purest form. Together they try to educate the people of Absal’s island but few understand. This relationship between philosophy as the inner dimension of truth expounded by the revealed religion is the message of Abubacer, but many have claimed it is a treatise on naturalism denying revelation.

 

Abul Walid Ibn Rushd (Latin Averroes) of Cordoba. 6^th Hijri. Most celebrated of Muslim philosophers of Spain.

Although hailed in the West as a free thinker and author of double truth theory (religion and philosophy, as separate sources of knowledge may reach contradictory truths, without detriment to each other), he was a pious person and a religious functionary who tried to harmonize faith and reason. His influence was greater in the West than the East, where later destiny of philosophy was more associated with Sina than his.

He has two distinct destinies. In the West he, as Dante said, was the Great Commentator. It was through his eyes the West sees Aristotle. By mistake, as per Nasr, West know him as the author of Double Truth Theory. He became an inspiration of politicized Averrosim and a symbol of rationalism opposed to religious faith. His work has not survived in Arabic, but in Hebrew and Latin.

In the Muslim world, he has a different destiny. He is considered to have the main aim of harmonizing religion and philosophy. His real thesis was not Double Theory but to explain that there are Not two contradictory truths. But the single truth that is presented by religion, through Tawail, results in philosophical knowledge.

Religion is for everyone but philosophy is only for those who possess necessary intellectual facilities. Yet, one truth is not contradictory from the other.

His major work is the refutation of Ghazali’s Incoherence of the Philosophers, tahafut al faslifah.  Ibn Rush wrote Incoherence of the Incoherence. Tahafat ul tahafat.  Rushd revived Aristotle and opposed many of Sina’s theories. He was opposed to Sina’s theory fo emanation and emphasis on the soul of the spheres.

He banished angels from the cosmos thus helping the secularization of cosmos, preparing the ground for the rise of pure secularized knowledge of the natural order, as we know now scientifically.

With Rushd’s demise, his influence waned, and in the Islamic world, the influence of Sina persisted and prevailed in the form of Ishraqi philosophy which was pointed by Sina as the Orientation of Light.

 

Ibn Sabin of Murcia.7^th Hiji. He later spent much of his life in Egypt and North Africa, and later moved to Mecca and died there in mysterious circumstances. He wedded philosophy with Sufism and was the first to use the term wahdat ul wajood, Oneness of Being. He had extensive knowledge of other religions including Hinduism. He had esoteric knowledge in the science of Numbers. With Kabbalistic sentences. His most influential work in the West is the Yemeni Answers to Sicilian Questions. Which he wrote down in response to Emperor Frederick II questions.

 

Ibn Khaldun of Tunis. 8^th Hijri. Considered as the founder of the Philosophy of History in East and in the West. His kitab ul Ibar, The Book about Events which Constitute a Lesson) and its Prolegomena, Muqadimmah laid the ground work for this discipline. He introduced the term Mashiyyat Allah to explain the Islamic understanding of the rhythms of sacred history and providence of god.

He criticized Ghazali and Farabi.

Continued_____

Kitabeen Jalana

کتابیں جلانا

ہر اک لکھنے والا

کتابوں کو اپنی یونہی دیکھتا ہے

کہ جیسے وہ ماں ہے

کتابوں کے منہ میں 

اسی کی زباں ہے

انہیں نہ جلاؤ

یہ تخلیق کاروں کو ہوںمارتی ہیں

کہ جیسے کسی کی نگاہوں سے آگے

اسی کا گھروندا گرایا گیا ہو

کتابیں جلانا مناسب نہیں ہےٍ

مگر میری تاریخ

ایسے حوالوں سے ایسے بھری ہے

چھپانا بھی چاہوں

چھپا نہ سکوں گا

وہ ہو قرطبہ کا حکیمِ معلم

یا پھر آج کا باغیانہ لکھاری

لکھا اس نے اپنی نظر سے جو دیکھا

زمانے کےپیمان کو جو نہ سمجھا

اسی کی کتابیں جلائی گئی ہیں

ہمیں جو بتایا گیا ہے وہ سچ ہو

کئی اور باتیں چھپائی گئی  ہیں

کئی داستانیں بتائی گئی ہیں

کئی لوریاں ہیں جو گائی گئی ہیں

خیالاتِ فاسد کی کیا بات کرنا

مقدس کتابیں جلائی گئی ہیں

جہاں بھی کتابوں کو لکھا گیا ہے

وہاں پر کتابیں جلائی گئی ہیں

نہیں متفق ہو جو لکھا گیا ہے

جواباً فقط ایک ہی راستہ ہے

اسے نہ جلاؤ

مقابل میں اس کے نئے حرف لاؤ

کتابیں جلانے سے جلتی نہیں ہیں

وہ خاکستری سے نہیں خاک ہوتیں

جِلا ان کو ملتی ہے جب بھی جلاؤ

انہیںمشتہر کر رہا ہے الاؤ

ناصر گوندل

حلقہٗ اربابِ ذوق، نیو یارک

اتوار28/جون2020؁ء

 

Dr. Rubina Inayat/ Peace At Last

Dr. Rubina Inayat 

Peace At Last

by Dr. Nasir Gondal

This Wednesday, the 17th of June,  I was robbed of a friend.

She was not feeling well for some time. Apparently she felt better in between.  Then things worsened. Ambulance was called and she was taken to the hospital. Somewhere along the way she left for somewhere else.

Rubina Inayat was a private person. Knowing her and Sajid for almost two decades, I did not know that she was sick, and she was sick for a long time. They kept it close to their chest. That is perhaps it came as a shock for most of us.

For many of us, APPNA is extended family. It is a home away from home. Belonging to different alumni and specialties, living in different places, Here in APPNA we meet people like ourselves, sharing the same hopes, fears and concerns, hailing from similar backgrounds, we develop a larger circle of friends and colleagues. It was my privilege to know Rubina through APPNA.

It was in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, when APPNA was handling the issues facing our young physicians and their visa issues, this couple from Rhode Island, finishing their respective training, started to get active in APPNA.  They were a team and rivalled each other in their shared passion for issues and causes.

APPNA faced one issue after another and she was in the middle of all. While dealing with the APPNA task force for young physicians and the visa issues, there was the 2005 earthquake. Overnight a group of young volunteers got together, and started collecting funds and equipment and shipping it out. They coalesced to form the taskforce for earthquake relief and APPNA Social Welfare Committee relied heavily on its work. That is where Rubina's skills of networking and organization shined.

She never looked back. APPNA history is incomplete without mentioning her multiple times. From the Committee of Young Physicians, Bone Marrow Registry, Career Counseling, APPNA House in Bronx, serving in various committees and in the Board, and during the last days of her life working for COVID crisis, she gave a large portion of her life to APPNA.

As if involvement in APPNA and her Fatima Jinnah Alumni Association were not enough, she was fully engaged in Pakistani community in central Florida. Her quest for justice and equality found many avenues like Rise for Equality. She seemed to never stop working.

Being active and strong-minded she always stood by her convictions; and by those she felt needed a voice. She had an amazing quality to find resolutions in crisis. She could make sense out of a complicated situation and offer simple and workable solutions. She could argue her point without raising voice and temperature. She always had a calming effect. The last couple of tumultuous years of APPNA would have been worse for the organization had her calming and sane personality not at the scene.

I learned a lot from her. I learned how to stay calm, how to stand your ground, not to lose focus and remain polite. A meticulous organizer, with an eye for the details, she was an avid campaigner and advocate for causes close to her heart.

While working to make APPNA a better organization and world a better place for all of us, she was fighting another war, a war of personal survival all by herself. With Sajid by her side, she was struggling for her breath for many years.  Perhaps she did not want the outside world to factor that in while dealing with her. She did not want charity.  She could take the world. And she did.

Blessed are those who make a difference in others' lives and leave the world in their debt. I am fortunate to have known Rubina and to call her a friend.

You have been through a rough journey. Rest in Peace.

ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY BY NASR PART IV/THE PHILOSOPHERS

Continued from PART III

 

COMMENTS ON ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY BY NASR
PART IV

THE PHILOSOPHERS OF ISLAM (1)

 Early Peripatetic/Independent/Ismaili

 

Treading a fine line between theology, kalaam, with its emphasis on protecting the citadel of faith on one side, and seeking the inner meaning of revelation through ma’arifat in Sufism on the other side, Islamic philosophy followed its own path, constantly interacting with these two dominant forces.

Over the centuries we see all the various combinations. Some philosophers were opposed to kalaam and impervious to Sufism. Later, especially in the last seven centuries, there was much of the overlap due to the teachings of Ibn Arabi, who is the most influential intellectual figure in that time.

 

EARLY PERIPATETIC PHILOSOPHERS, MASHSHA’I

Kindi, Farabi and Sina

It is synthesis of Islamic revelation, Aristotelianism and Neoplatonism.

Kindi. Baghdadi. 3rh Hijri. First devout Muslim well versed in Greek philosophy. His main emphasis was on discovery of Truth, wherever one can find it, even from older generations and foreign people. “For him who seeks truth, there is nothing of higher value than truth itself”. He was deeply interested in relationship between faith and reason.

Farabi.4^th Hijri. From Khurasan. A musician, logician, metaphysist and political thinker, he formulated mashshai in the form it was to take in later Islamic history. His music still reverberates in Sufi music in India and Anatolia.

He sought to harmonize the idea of philosopher-king of Plato with the idea of prophet in monotheistic traditions. He is considered the prime authority on practical philosophy and ethics in Islam. From spiritual aspect, his work is the first important synthesis between speculative philosophy and gnosis, Ifran, in Islam.

 

Bu Ali Sina born in late 4^th hijri, in Bukhara. He is the greatest and most influential Islamic philosopher. His book on medicine is the most celebrated single work in the history of medicine. He is basically philosopher of being. Towards the end, he criticized some of his earlier work as common philosophy and put more emphasis on hikmat al mashraqia, Oriental philosophy, for the intellectual elite. It paves the way for the later Ishraqi school, (mentioned later).

 

Sina’s ontology:

To distinguish Pure Being from Existence of the world he introduced the three possibilities, of Necessity, Contingency and Impossibility. (wujub, imkan, imtima) mentioned earlier . This key distinction is one of the most fundamental in the history of philosophy. It influenced deeply later Islamic philosophy, and traveled to West and became one of the key concepts. This distinction is related to the basic concepts of Existence and Quiddity (wujud and mahiyya) mentioned earlier.

Sina’s cosmology:

Humans are in the domain of the Tenth Intellect. The Necessary Being is in the center. Its contemplation of itself generates the First Intellect. This First Intellect is contingent upon the Necessary Being. This realization by the First Intellect generates the Second Intellect, the Soul of First Sphere and the First Sphere. This process continues in this manner until the Tenth Intellect, and the Ninth Sphere and its Soul is generated. This Ninth Sphere is the sphere of Moon in accordance of nine heavens of Ptolemaic astronomy as modified by Muslim astronomers. The sublunar region is also organized in a hierarchal manner consisting of three kingdoms crowned by man, who represents the point of return to the Origin. By means of Knowledge, he can ascend through the levels of cosmic manifestations to gain union with the Active Intellect. Aql al fa’al.

Thus, the universe is generated through contemplation and returns to its origin through knowledge.

World is NOT created in time, as the time is a condition of the world. It is not eternal as eternity is an attribute to God. However, there is basic distinction between world and God.

God is the Necessary Being and is in need of nothing but Itself and all existents are contingent in themselves, gain their existence from the Necessary Being and remain in utter existential poverty in themselves.

Some Independent Philosophers:

Their fate and the fate of their works tell us that anti-prophetic thought could not flourish the climate where prophecy remained a central reality.

 

Al Warq 3^rd hijra lived in Baghdad. Originally a Mu’tazila, later left and was accused of heresy, Manicheanism, dualism and even atheism. Some claimed he harbored Shiite thought. None of his original works, more than eighty, exist anymore. He was accused of rejecting religion based on Oneness of God.

 

Ibn Rawandi. A student of Al Warq who later turned against him, was also initially a Mu’tazila. He became destitute and lived in poverty, and lost faith in God’s justice and religion. He rejected prophecy in his book Kitabe Zumurd.

 

Ibn Zakaria Razi (Latin Razzes). Early 4^th Hijra. One of the greatest names in Medicine, both East and West. Because of his empiric views, he rejected tawil and hermeneutic interpretations. Expanding on these thoughts, he basically changed alchemy to chemistry, a science based on facts and reason and not on prophecy.

He denied the necessity of prophecy and believed God given guidance to everyone. He wrote a work on the ‘tricks’ of the prophets. He considered himself independent thinker. His views were drawn from Greek, Persian and Indian sources.

His five pre-eternal principles are very similar to Nyaya Vaiseska school of Hindu philosophy.  They are God (basically Demiurge), Soul, matter, space and time. This was against both traditional Islamic theology and philosophy.

He believed in atomism but different than atomism of Mu’tazila and Asharite. He believed atoms had dimensions but were physically indivisible, and that God and Soul are not atoms.

His views were closer to certain Epicurean theses in contrast to nearly all other Islamic philosophers.

Much of his philosophical works did not survive.

Al Biruni.

He was an independent philosopher but not independent of prophecy. He is perhaps the greatest Muslim scientist cum scholar. He admired Razi but refuted his anti-prophetic philosophy. He wrote of his work on Sina and had written extensive book on Hinduism.

 

Ismaili Philosophers

Much before Al Kindi the first philosophical tradition is seen in Shiite schools. It dealt with relationship of prophecy and philosophy on different lines than peripatetic philosophy. There was emphasis on the inner truth of religion, haqiqat.

There is a record of conversation between Imam Baqir 2^nd Hijri and his three disciples. There is esoteric science of letters. Ilm al jafr, which expounds a cosmology based on number 5, reminiscent of Manichaean cosmology

Later Ismaili philosophers in the 4^th hijri onwards developed their own works and philosophical traditions in Fatimid time. Later it continued to flourish in Persia and Yemen. Hasan al Sabbah declared Grand Resurrection in the mountain fortress of Alamut in 6^th Hijri. Later Ismailism and Sufism came together. Two big names in Persian masnavi, Sanai and Fariduddin Attar (Conference of Birds) are claimed by Ismailis as their own.

In Yemen the tradition continued and in 9^th Hijri culminated in the works of Idris Imamuddin. This tradition finally found its home in Indian Agha Khan tradition.

 

Hermetic Influence. Many Ismailis and other Shiite, and some non-Shiite philosophers were inspired by Hermetic influence. (As mentioned earlier, many identified Hermes with prophet Idrees). They include Jabir Bin Hayyan, the father of Islamic Alchemy. Hermetic themes are seen in works of Ibn Arabi also.

Neo-Pytharogan influence. The concern with symbolism of numbers is seen in early Shiite and Sufi circles. The metaphysics is a bit different than that of Sina. It is not based on Being, but on the Supreme Originator Al mubdi.  Being is the first act of al Mubdi, kun fa ya koon.  The first Being is the word of God. Kalaam Allah.

The cosmology is a bit different from Sina. Humans are in the Tenth Intellect, but were originally in the Third Intellect. So, they were thrown down seven (an important number in Ismaili tradition) levels and now the man has to ascent these Seven levels to reach its destiny.

Ismailis also have a cyclic view of history dominated by number 7. There are esoteric hermeneutics Taweel of everything. There is an external and internal (Zahiri, batini) aspect of everything. In the domain of religion, the external is the Prophet and internal is the Imam. The journey is from external to internal. In this aspect philosophy becomes synonymous with truth, haqiqat.

NEXT: ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY IN MAGHREB

ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY/KALAAM

Continued from before 

COMMENTS ON ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY BY NASR

PART III

 

Although Kalaam, theology, is considered outside the domain of pure philosophy (falsafa), many Islamic thought leaders were from this disciple, ie mutakalimeen.  Without a brief detour to Kalaam the topic of Islamic philosophy is not complete.

 

KALAAM

EARLY KALAAM

Ali ibn Abi Talib is considered the first one to establish the science of kalaam. Nahjal balagha contains the first rational proofs of the unity of God.

Later due to Islam’s interaction with Christianity, Mazdeans and Manichaeans, there was a need to construct its own edifice. It needed to develop creed to prevent various kinds of errors. Abu Hanifa of 2^nd hijra was the first one in the series of many to develop versions of creed. There was an initial emphasis on gaining as much knowledge about God as possible.

 

MUTAZILA

It is the first systemic school of Kalaam. Founder, Wasil bin Ata 2^nd Hijri, was a student of Hasan Basri but parted his ways. His emphasis was to use reason in religious matters and the importance of Free Will. Its influence was at the zenith during Mamun Rashid and waned after that. However, it did not completely go away. Present day Zaidis of Yemen have adopted Mu’tazila teachings. Even after its dominance waned, it still had an effect on both Sunni and Shia kalaam of later centuries.

FIVE PRINCIPLES OF MUTAZILA: usul e khamsa, which summarize their basic teachings.

First is the Toheed, Unity of God. To create a rational concept of God, it was reduced to an abstract Idea. They rejected anthropomorphism and explained the Quranic verses dealing with God’s eyes, hands, face etc. with other interpretations. In denying any attributes to God, they denied the eternity of Quran as the Word of God. That became their most contested thesis.

Second is Justice Adl. They liked to call themselves People of the Unity and Justice. God does not will evil. Evil is created by humans who have been given free will to go either way.

Third is Promise and threat, wa’d wa al waid. People are either believers, Momin, sinners, Fasiq or non-believers, Kafir. The sinners are in between a Muslim and a non-Muslim. They would be considered a member of Muslim Community while living, ultimately, they will go to Hell.

Fourth is the in-between position. Manzil bain manzilatain.  It is the expansion of the third point, and it deals with the question of who is saved and who is not. The faith, Imaan is not the only possession for to be saved. Avoidance of sins is a must.

Final is the well-known Islamic principle of exhorting to perform the Good and forbid the Evil. Amar bil maroof wa nahi anil munkir

 

 

ASHARITE

Early Asharism.

Abul Hasan Ashari, late 2^nd hijri was a Mu’tazila follower who changed overnight due to a dream of the Prophet. He refuted his earlier adherence to the claim that Quran is created. Although the Asharites are considered orthodox, they posited themselves to seek an intermediate course between Free thinkers Mu’tazila who made revelation subservient to reason and the externalists who rejected reason completely.

Differences from the usul e khamsa of Mu’tazila: They believed in anthropomorphism of God but defined it different than human physical attributes. Moreover, while Quran is non-created and eternal, its ink, paper and words are created. Sinners will go to hell but Prophet can intercede on their behalf if God willed. They reduced God’s nature to Divine Will from Supreme Reality.

The concept of atomism. All things are composed of Atoms, which cannot be further divided. There is no horizontal causality. It is God’s will and the nature of anything can be changed by God’s will. God is the only cause.

 

Maturidi and Tahawi: Contemporaries of Asharite.

Both were Hanafis, and presented a more rational version of theology. Maturidi considered it incumbent on all humans to seek to know God whether they followed Divine Law or not. Ashari, on the contrary believed that only by following shariat one can follow God.

Asharism remained popular with Shafi’is and eventually triumphed over its rivals across all sects, mostly thanks to later Asharites especially Ghazali

 

Later Asharism Muta’akhireen

It is this Later Theology, which dominated the Muslim world for many centuries to date. It includes Imam Juwayni and his student Ghazali 5^th hijri, the most celebrated of all Muslim theologians and an outstanding figure in the history of Sufism. This later Asharism turned more and more philosophical and reached its peak with Fakhruddin Razi 6^th Hijri, whose work is taught to this day in Azhar.

 

Kalaam in Modern World

Nasr mentions Egyptian Abduh who revived certain Mu’tazila theses and paid more attention to reason, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Syed Ameer Ali and Iqbal (esp. if considered his Reconstruction of Religious thoughts). They are all of mid to late 19^th BCE.

 

Message of Asharism:

In one sentence, it will be to make intelligence subservient to Will of God. It takes away from intellect its function to being able to know God.

Only God knows, wallahul ilm, explains this concept. A positive effect of this omnipotentialism is Pure Goodness. If everything depends on the Will of God, then there has to be inherent goodness in the world.

The concept of atomism, mentioned above, reduces the reality of phenomenal world to disconnected units. This world is annihilated and reconnected at every moment by the Will of God. It denies the horizontal causes of connection and only relies on the vertical cause, the Straight Path, siratal mustaqeem as manifested by the Divine Cause.

Despite its anti-intellectualism, Asharism became the dominant Kalaam in the Sunni world and became combined in certain circumstances with Sufism.

Although it became more philosophical with time, it remained an impediment as seen by most philosophers. It protected the city of Divine Knowledge by building a wall around it, but did not provide the door to enter it.

 

Shiite Kalaam

Ismaili Kalaam is more philosophical. It is mentioned in the philosophy section

Zaydis of Yemen adopted kalaam influenced by Mu’tazila thoughts. It still persists

Isna ashari, (Twelve Imam Shiites) kalam developed much later. Its major work is by the famous scientist Nasir al Din Tusi 7th Hijri, and later by Jamaluddin Hilli’s Kashafal murad.

 

Shiite kalaam differs from Asharism and is more aligned with Sina’s ontology of order of things as compared to Asharite’s atomism.

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