
Karbala and the Imam Husayn in Persian and Indo-Muslim literature – Schimmel
Thanks to a friend on Twitter I rediscovered this essay by the great Annemarie Schimmel which I had read in the pre-internet times. The…

The Journey Within
By Wanderer It was in August 1989 and the date was either 10 or 11. I had a strange dream, a dream that I…

On secularism, Jinnah and Pakistan
My contribution for Jinnah Institute’s secular space What are we fighting for? What are we aiming at? It is not theocracy, not for a…

The teachings of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti
1. The heart of a lover is like a furnace of love. Whatever goes into it is burnt to nothingness because there is no…

Baba Nanak to Baba Farid
This is how the Sufis and mystics of South Asia viewed jihad, peace and the role of religion. Surely our extremists need to read…

URS TODAY-Hazrat Baha-ud-din Zakariya (RA) Multan
Iftikhar Chaudri’s excellent note on the great saint: Hazrat Baha-ud-din Zakariya(RA) was a Sufi of Suhrawardiyya order (tariqa). His full name was Al-Sheikh Al-Kabir…

Shah Hussain, Madhu Lal and the festival of lights
Lighting of lamps is a metaphor for killing the inner darkness that we live with. By invoking spiritual light through love and self-knowledge, we…

A few Gems From Muhammad (P.B.U.H)
On the blessed day of birth of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), I am posting some of his sayings as we…

A personal God?
Found this post on a web-list: The “Creator” (according to a saying of the Prophet) says: “I AM for you, what you think of…

the Conference of the Birds
The theory of Tawhid (Unity of Divine Being) has been beautifully expressed by the Persian Sufi poet Farid ud din Attar (1157-1235) in his…

Rumi to Hazrat Ali
You are like the gate of that City of knowledge You are a ray of that sum of forbearance O gate, remain open for…

What Is The Message Of Kerbala?
In this #vlog razarumi says that the radical and transformative meaning of Kerbala is to resist injustice and autocracy. The Kerbala tragedy also reiterates…

Who Was First Pakistani Citizen? Hint: It’s Not Jinnah
He was born to Jewish parents in Austria and came from a long line of Jewish Rabbis but ended up becoming the first person…

Use of Religion in Politics Interview With Murtaza Solangi
Murtaza Solangi and Tanzeela Mazhar discuss how political parties in Pakistan have often resorted to the use of religion in politics…

There is no future of Tehreek Labbaik Pakistan says Tahir Kamran
Barelvi organizations primarily derive their inspiration from the saint and shrine culture. Now TLP’s problem is that it is being led by a ‘maulavi’,…

Raza Rumi says Parliament is the institution to enforce Islamic Laws in Pakistan
Raza Rumi’s analysis on Pakistan as an Islamic country. He asserts that it is the role of parliament to enforce Islamic Laws in Pakistan…

Islam and the Cold War baroque
When empire strikes back, but the Force remains strong in the arts and academia of contemporary Muslim countries. I spared with Sadia Abbas As…

Islam Needs Reformation from Within
“Would you permit me to teach my children that God is greater, more just, and more merciful than all the (religious) scholars on earth…
حج 2019: دنیا بھر سے مسلمان مقدس سرزمین پر پہنچ گئے