mungkin tatkala ini
kita asyik pandang depan
hingga tidak perasan
jarang sekali toleh belakang
melihat bagaimana
dulu dan sekarang

ibu
pernah sekali ninda bilang
hidup jangan sekali tewas

ibu
sekali ada ninda kata
jangan digadai kerana hutang

ibu
ninda ada beritahu
jangan sekali kali menidak bangsa
walau sekian besar pekungnya

ibu
ninda ada ingatkan
mesti perkasa
martabat Melayu

ibu
ninda selalu pesan
dahulukan bangsa

ibu
di sini diriku
adalah zuriat Melayumu
benih bapa dan poyangku

ibu
matiku adalah
untuk bangsa dan Melayuku...

Alang Budiman
Selasa, 26 Ogos 2008
23 Syaaban 1429H
17:57:27 ptg

Infinite past events is impossible

This is contrary to your claim, because saying that past events are infinite is to say that the events prior to this moment in time have not finished. This is self-contradictory.

Words and letters is the kind of speech that creatures have

Speech consisting of words and letters is the speech of creation. For this reason one cannot say that Aļļaah's eternal attribute of Speech is letters and sounds, because Aļļaah said:

"لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ"

Meaning: "Absolutely nothing resembles Him." (Al-Sħuuraa, 11)

Words and letters must be creations

Why? Because words and letters have a beginning. So in "bismillaah", for example "i" comes after "b", so when you say bismillaah, the sound "i" only becomes existent after "b" 's non-existence. This means "i" has become existent after non existence, which means that it needs a creator to exist. Nothing can come into existence without a creator, all Muslims must believe that.

In other words, speech that consists of words and letters is created, and since you say that Aļļaah's eternal attribute of Speech is words and letters, then you are saying that it is created, even if you say it is "uncreated." In other words, you made takfiir for yourself when you said: "Allah's words are eternal. In fact, to claim otherwise, as the Mu'tazilas do, is clear cut Kufr."

The Muˆtazilah said, like you, that Aļļaah's speech is letters and sounds. They said it is created because it is letters and sounds, and letters and sounds have a beginning, so they must be created. You take this one step further in deviation by denying the obvious, which is that anything with a beginning, such as letters, is a creation. It is a creation because it came into existence, which means it was brought into existence. To be brought into existence is the very definition of being created.

Besides, do you not know that the Arabic language was created by Aļļaah? So if Arabic is a creation, how can Arabic speech be anything but a creation?

The meaning of the phrase "Qu'aan is not created"
When Ahlu-s-Sunnah, the AsħˆAriyys and the Ĥanafiyys, say that the "Qu'aan is not created" they are referring to Aļļaah's eternal attribute of speech that is not sound or letters. In other words, the Speech that the book of the Qur'aan refers to.

The saying of Ahlu-s-Sunnah is that the words and letters in the printed copies of the Qu'raan refer to Aļļaah's eternal kalaam, and tell us in Arabic what He said eternally without letters, sounds or words. It is therefore correct to say that "the Qur'aan is not created," because the word "qur'aan" actually refers to what Aļļaah tells us, and His speech is not created. It is not correct, however, to say that the words, letters, and sounds associated with the book are not created, because words and letters need a creator, and because the Arabic language, the language of the book, is a creation.

An example to clarify is that the word "Aļļaah" refers to Aļļaah. I do not worship these letters, or the sounds of uttering this word. Rather, I worship the one they refer to. In the same sense, the words, letters and Arabic in the book are not themselves Aļļaah's attribute of Speech, but refer to that attribute. They tell us what Aļļaah said.

Even in our daily lives, we speak of speech in this way. So for example, if I have a transcript in Arabic of something the U.N. Secretary General said, I will refer to it as "the U.N. Secretary General's speech", although his actual, real speech is something in the president Himself, meanings inside of him that he wanted to express (like when you say, "I have something to say in mind) - his internal speech. Alternatively, his real speech is his speech of letters and sounds, that he expressed in another language at a particular point in time, the speech that was originally just meanings that he had in mind. The paper with the transcript, however, just tells me what he said. So if I handed the Arabic transcript to someone saying, "This is the U.N. Secretary General's speech," no one would understand from this that his real speech was in Arabic. No one would tell me, "liar, it was not in Arabic." No one would tell me, "Liar, the speech of the president occurred days ago from his mouth. It was sounds, not written words."

The reason is that such transcripts and other forms of narration, that refer to the speaker's real speech are customarily called "so and so's speech." This is why the letter's and sounds we find in the books of the Qur'aan are called Aļļaah's Kalaam/Speech, even though His eternal speech is not created, and therefore not words, letters or sounds.

From this we know that the word "Qur'aan" has two meanings. The first is the book, the organized and sequential Arabic words and letters of the muşĥaf. The second it the eternal Speech of Aļļaah that the words and letters of the muşĥaf refer to, and that is not itself words, letters, language or sequence.

Lately some of the wahabis think themselves clever and ask: "Who said alif laam miim?" Let me respond to that with a question: "Who created the Arabic language which alif and laam and miim are part of?"

हुआ यू कि एक दिन यह सब माफिया अपने हाथ में हमेशा की तरह अपने व्यवसाय के अनुसार सारे सामान लिये बाजार में जा रहा था तो देखा कि कोई कलम कागज लिये तो कोई कैमरा लिये अपने भागता हुआ उनके पीछे आ रहा है। सबके माथे की पट्टी पर हुआ था ‘मीडिया’। उनकेा आते देखकर माफिया के सरदार ने कहा-‘भागो,यह मीडिया वाले आ रहे हैं। हम जिन इलैक्ट्रोनिक सामान की तस्करी कर लाते थे उससे यह मीडिया बहुत पावरफुल हो गया है। यह हमारा स्टिंग आपरेशन करने वाला है सो भागो।’
तब उनमें से एक बोला-‘आने दो। हम उनके सरदार से बात कर लेते हैं। अरे, इस जमाने में और भी मामले में हैं। हमें दिखाकर इनको क्या मिलेगा?’

तब तक मीडिया वाले भी वहां पहुंच गये और लगे फोटो खींचने और साक्षात्कार लेने-‘आपको यह धंधा करते हुए कैसा लग रहा है?’
‘क्या आपको कोई पकड़ता नहीं है।’
आपके धंधे के मूल मंत्र क्या हैं?’
एक माफिया ने मीडिया के सरदार से कहा-‘यार, तुम आज हमारी बदौलत ही इतने पावरफुल हुए हो। अगर हमारी भद्द पिटी तो तुम्हारा भी बुरा हाल होगा।’
मीडिया सरदार ने कहा-‘पर अब बताओ हम करें क्या? दिखाने और छापने के लिये कुछ सनसनीखेज तो चाहिए।’
माफिया सरदार ने कहा-‘यार, इसका मतलब तुम हमें ही निपटा दोगे। समाज ने अगर हमसे डरना बंद कर दिया तो सबसे पहले तुम्हारा ही पता कटेगा। तुम लोग भी कोई दूध को धुले नहीं हो।’
मीडिया सरदार ने कहा-‘अब तुम्हीं बताओ। हम अपना काम कैसे चलायें। सनसनी खबरें कब तक और कहां से लायें।
समझदार माफिया ने कहा-‘चलो अभी मास्टर माइंड के यहां चलते हैं। वह कोई न कोई रास्ता निकाल देगा। वह हवा में तीर चलाने की कला में माहिर है।’

दोनों मास्टर माइंड के पास पहुंचे। उसने कहा-‘मेरे को माल देते जाओ। माफिया वाले अपना काम करते रहें और मीडिया वालों को भी मुद्दे ढूंढने के लिये कहीं अन्यत्र जाने की जरूरत नहीं है। उनके घर पर रोज नये मुद्दे पहुंच जायेंगे, पर उस पर बहस अधिक करना पर मूल विषय पर कभी नहीं जाना क्योंकि वह केवल हवाई मुद्दे होंगें।

मीडिया और माफिया दोनों के सरदारों ने उत्सुकता से पूछा ? कैसे?’
मास्टर माइंड ने कहा-‘यह जमीन खाली पड़ी है। इस पर किसी मकान बनाने का प्रस्ताव पहले उछालेंगे और फिर बहस करवायेंगे। इस पर तुम्हारा समय अच्छा निकल जायेगा। बस यह कहने की कोशिश बिल्कुल मत करना कि इस इमारत बनी तो नहीं बनी तो क्या फर्क पड़ना है क्योंकि इससे विषय बिल्कुल खत्म हो जायेगा। यह देखो पेड़ से पता गिर गया है इसका सीधा प्रसारण करना और पर्यावरण पर भारी संकट घोषित करना। ऐसे दिखाना जैसे कि पूरा पेड़ गिर गया है। किसी ऐसे विद्वान को मत बुलाना जो कहे कि ऐसे तो पते रोज गिरते हैं और इससे कोई फर्क नहीं पड़ता। कहीं मंदिर का मामला होगा तो कहीं दहेज का सब जगह अपनी टांग ऐसे फंसाना जैसे वह राष्ट्रीय मामला हो।’

मीडिया के सरदार ने कहा-‘यह तो हम ही कर लेंगे। फिर तुम्हारी क्या जरूरत है?’
माफिया वाले हमें ही ऐसे मुद्दे बनाने के लिये किराये पर लें तो क्या फर्क पड़ता है।’
मास्टर माइंड हंस पड़ा-‘लोगों को कहां से लाओगे? यह काम तो हम ही कर सकते हैं। यह भीड़ को भेड़ की तरह हांकने वाले सरदार भी हैं जो अपनी ताकत रखते हैं वह हमारी सलाह ही मानते हैं भले ही तुम दोनोे की कृपा पर वह भी चलते हैं। जिंदा सांप से अधिक मरे हुए सांप को जीवंत मुद्दा बनाना इतना आसान नहीं है। इसलिये तुम्हें हमेशा ऐसे हवाई मुद्दों के लिये हम पर निर्भर रहना पड़ेगा।’
इस तरह तीनों के बीच हवाई मुद्दों को बनाये रखने का फैसला हुआ।

यह आलेख 'दीपक भारतदीप की हिंदी पत्रिका’पर मूल रूप से लिखा गया है। इसके अन्य कहीं भी प्रकाशन की अनुमति नहीं है।
अन्य ब्लाग
1.दीपक भारतदीप की शब्द पत्रिका
2.दीपक भारतदीप का चिंतन
3.दीपक भारतदीप की शब्दयोग-पत्रिका
लेखक संपादक-दीपक भारतदीप

Don’t show your hands to unknown person and believe on his palmistry. If you believe in your hands sure there can be no mystery!!!

Because those who don’t have hands also have got their future; believe yourself.

-A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

HOW JINNAH AND LIAQAT OF THE PAKISTAN MOVEMENT OUTMANEUVERED THE FIFTH COLUMNS:

The Unionists, The Khaksars and the Frontier Gandhi

Posted on December 7, 2007

by Moin Ansari

HOW JINNAH AND LIAQAT OF THE PAKISTAN MOVEMENT OUTMANEUVERED THE FIFTH COLUMNS

The Defeat of Sir Choutto Rams Zamindara League and the Feudal Unionist Parties in the Punjab

By Moin Ansari

Dec. 27th 2007

The silent majority remains supine and tries to ignore the hate-clans polemical diatribes. We are an emotional people. The pullulating millions should not be swayed by the rantings of a few, however on many occasions the young and the impressionable can actually be beguiled. The nurseries of hate produce the lone assassins and the suicide bombers, not by actually showing them how to murder and maim but, rather by creating an atmosphere of intolerance. The question before all of us is the same question that beduffled the nation in the forties; can the majority take cathartic action against this evil phalanx within us? Can the moderate and progressive forces see through the vacuity of the argument proposed by the fringe? If not the clans hate mongering will lead to us anachronism and obscurantism.

If we cannot expose the true agenda of the hate mongers, it will be an opprobrium to our great heritage.  For the sixty years a tiny miniscule minority is engulfed in pure unadulterated malevolence. This hate mongering clan brings up obscure arguments, and selects inexplicable references, and has tried to debase our history.  Those of us who have not caviled with the facts must challenge the gross inaccuracies over and over again. Let us all coalesce and destroy the cabal that thrives on the profits of feudalism, slavery, and the illieteracy. Our teeming millions are steeped in penury. Can we mprove their lot?

“Most of this area, now called Pakistan, was under Ranjeet Singh’s empire (1799-1839), and even in notorious anarchic era of 1839-1849 the state was sovereign, maintaining unchallenged monopoly coercive  power, but lacked societal will and `ethical idea’ to enforce order and, ultimately, collapsed. If that was not a colonialist expansionist era, that state might have prolonged for long despite the internal chaos.”

The period (1937-1947) chosen by Professor Long is momentous in the making of Pakistan. In the pre-1937 period, the Muslim League was a weak and inert organisation, destitute of leadership, funds and the press. It was seen as a coterie of toadies and sycophants basking in the sunshine of British patronage, passing stereotyped, mild resolutions for the protection of Muslims interests and making speeches in the Assemblies and at the Muslim League annual sessions. Mohammad Ali Jinnah then counted nowhere. He was rebuffed by the stalwart Muslim leader, Fazl-I-Husain in Punjab, and distrusted by the Congress. The British ignored him.

By 1939, the Muslim League became a strong and spirited organisation, and in March 1940, it demanded a separate homeland, an independent, sovereign Pakistan State, and by 1945, Jinnah emerged as the sole spokesman of the Muslims, who made high bids and vetoed all constitutional proposals suggested by the Congress and the British government. He scuttled the Simla conference in June-July 1945 and asked for parity with the Congress in the Viceroy’s executive council.

Jinnah met Mahatma Gandhi on equal terms for negotiation to resolve the political stalemate at home on Malabar Hill in Bombay from September 9 to 29, 1945, and rejected his formula. He took to task the three Premieres, Sikander Hayat Khan of Punjab, Fazl-ul-Haq of Bengal, and Saadullah of Assam, for joining the National Defence Council by subverting the Muslim League resolution of September 29, 1940.

By 1945, the Muslim League succeeded in setting up its party ministry in four of the provinces, and in the fifth, it held a strong position by putting pressure on the dispirited and shrinking Unionists party in Punjab.

How was Jinnah and Liqat able to out maneuver the Gandhi-Nehru machine and their accolytes– the Unionist Party in the Punjab and the Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan in Sarhad? This is a fantastic story of determination and grit told on these pages and on this site.

“Few individuals significantly alter the course of history. Fewer still modify the map of the world. Hardly anyone can be credited with creating a nation-state. Mohammad Ali Jinnah did all three.” Stanley Wolpert Jinnah.

“The best showman of them all. Quick, exceedingly clever, sarcastic and colorful. His greatest delight was to confound the opposing lawyer by confidential asides and to outwit the presiding judge in repartee.” TIME Magazine Apr 22, 1946.

“When Muhammad Ali Jinnah returned to India, he started to reorganise the Muslim League. In 1936, the annual session of the All India Muslim league met in Bombay. In the open session on 12 April 1936, Jinnah moved a resolution proposing Liaquat Ali Khan as the Honorary General Secretary. The resolution was unanimously adopted and he held the office till the establishment of Pakistan in 1947.[6] In 1940, Liaquat was made the deputy leader of the Muslim League Parliamentary party. Jinnah was not able to take active part in the proceedings of the Assembly on account of his heavy political work. It was Liaquat Ali Khan who stood in his place. During this period, Liaquat was also the Honorary General Secretary of the Muslim League, the deputy leader of the party, Convenor of the Action Committee of the Muslim League, Chairman of the Central Parliamentary Board and the managing director of the newspaper” Dawn http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liaquat_Ali_Khan

“The Congress leaders invited him to join their party, but he refused and joined the Muslim League in 1923. Under the leadership of Quaid-i-Azam, the Muslim League held its annual session in May 1924 in Lahore. The aim of this session was to revive the League. Liaquat Ali Khan attended this conference along many other young Muslims.” http://www.storyofpakistan.com/person.asp?perid=P010

Once the Liaqat Jinnah machine target the Unionists of the Punjab, Khizar Hyatt, the Tiwanas and the Noons never knew what hit them?

THE PRE-INDEPENDENCE FIFTH COLUMNS:

FRINGE FASCIST MOVEMENTS OF THE SUBCONTINENT

There were the mainstream movements in the Subcontinent that represented the wishes of the people. There were also fringe fascist movements and fringe feudal parties that represented the vested interests of a few individuals. These fringe movements failed to win the hearts and the minds of the people. If the fascist movements had succeeded, there would have been no Pakistan. The Muslim League and the Congress won electoral victories and led the two countries to nationhood.

The fifth columns represent a sad chapter in our history. Most Indians aware of our history are ashamed of the fringe movements. Similarly most Pakistanis are ashamed of the fringe terror movements. Eulogizing the fascist movements based on ethnic origin may have worked in 1939 in Germany, but the world has rejected fascism and what they represented. The world has also rejected feudalism, though some vestiges of this dinosaur remain in certain pockets of the Subcontinent.

THE MUSLIM LEAGUE THROUGH SEPARATE ELECTORATES REPRESENTED THE MUSLIMS

The Indian National Congress and the All India Muslim had a point to argue with the British Raj. The Indian National Congress continued to argue that the Congress was the representative of all the people of “India”. The Muslim League argued the point that the Muslim League and the Muslim League alone represented the rights, and the aspirations of the Muslims of the Subcontinent. The Indian National Congress wanted to forge “India” into a nation, while the Muslim League argued that India had never been a nation, and that it had always been a conglomeration of nationalities. Even though the British called it “India’, there were actually more than 500 different countries in the Subcontinent.

The Muslim League formed by Alama Iqbal and many other leaders in 1906 as a reaction to the imposition of Hindi-Devanagri script on the Muslims, and as an immediate reaction to the annulment of the partition of Bengal (which would have created the province of Muslim Bengal with a Muslim majority). The mission of the Muslim League was to fight for the rights of the Muslims, and fight it did. It fought the Indian National Congress and it fought the British Raj.

The story of the Muslim League is indeed a story of success. Under the able leadership of Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Khan Liaqat Ali Khan, the Muslim League was able to score many wins. From its nascent beginnings the League turned into a mass movement, and this strength was depicted in its successes. Even though the Muslim League was not successful in securing the province of Muslim Bengal, around 1933 the Muslim League was successful in securing for the creation of the province of SINDH.

THE RADICALIZATION OF THE MODERATE CONGRESS: UNHOLY ALLIANCES

The Congress under the leadership of Motilal Nehru had been a moderate right wing political party run by Harrow and Oxbridge bred Indians. To improve the base of the Congress so that it represented a broad base of Indians, some nonconformist elements were brought into the party. These ultraist elements radicalized the INC and moved it leftwards. By the time Jawaharlal became president of the INC the political ideology of the party had moved towards the Fabian and Socialist camps. Under Jawaharlal Nehru the Congress was polarized between its secular (Nehru), parochial (Patel) and religious leadership (Lal Laj Pai). Gandhi tried a dual tactic to isolate the Muslim League.

1)  On the one hand Gandhi was able to put up a great facade of tranquility by appointing figurehead Muslim “showboys” like Azad to the Congress Leadership. These figureheads had no real power and were over ruled on many occasions by the real Brahmin power brokers in the Congress.

2)  On the other hand the Indian National Congress tried to sow seeds of discontent and tried to put in wedges in the Muslim movement. The Congress tried to put up alliances with Muslim figureheads in the Punjab and in Sarhad

The Gandhi tactics were to show the British that the Congress represented all Indians-Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, Brahmins, Kahatriyas, Vaisas, Shudras and other Hindus. The INC opposed the creation of Pakistan so it strategically hunted for Muslims who would form alliances with the anti-Pakistan Congress. It found fifth columns in the Punjab and in Sarhad.

In India Wins Freedom by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (Page 13 he says the following:

…the Muslim League had been isolated and Congress, though it was a minority had become the decisive factor in Punjab affairs. Khizar Hyat Khan was the Chief Minister through Congress support and he had naturally come under its influence.

In the Punjab the socialist Congress linked up with the feudalistic landlords who represented the Unionist Party. While both the parties were poles apart in ideology and interests, both of them wanted to defeat the Muslim League and somehow stop the freight train of the Muslim League. The Congress was socialistic and had propounded the complete decimation of the feudal system. The Congress was dominated by Hindus and largely represented the interests of the majority of Indians in India -the Hindus. This marriage of convenience between the Congress and the Unionists of the Punjab was severely criticized by the rank and file of the Congress and by Azad.

In India Wins Freedom by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (Page 13 he says the following:

“The alliance of Congress with the Unionist Party was in principle wrong. They argued that the Muslim League was a mass organization and the Congress should have formed a coalition with the Muslim League and not with the Unionist Party in the Punjab…sacrificing leftist principles in forming a coalition with the Unionist Party…..

In the Sarhad the Congress found an ally called Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (Badshah Khan -the Frontier Gandhi) who associated himself with the secular ideals of M.K. Gandhi.

Thanks to the Punjabi populace (who felt repressed by the Unionists and gladly voted for the Muslim League) and some great Muslim League leaders from the Punjab who supported Jinnah and Liaqat Ali Khan, the Gandhi-Congress tactics of isolating and marginalizing the League failed at the polls, when after the announcement of separate electorates, the Muslim League repeatedly got more than 96 percent of the Muslim votes.

Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah out smarted the INC and their lackeys by forming liaisons in the Punjab and by bypassing the jirga leadership in the Sarhad. The following is a detailed description of how Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Shaheed e Millat Khan Liaqat Ali Khan, outsmarted their opponents and provided counter balance to the Congressional props in the Punjab and the Sarhad. Had the fifth column called the Unionist succeeded in their conspiracies with the Congress, there would have been no Pakistan.

The question was: what should one expect of a fresher to the industry?

A number of answers came, hinting at what should be done and what lacks! Till that moment I was in the conference, but the speaker before me left everyone with a thought that everyone could relate to, but not many could suggest a solution to.

What is lacking in our system are proper training and development methodologies, which could be implemented right from the first year, when a student enters college, till the time the student graduates out. The principle applies to all (management, engineering, IT etc.)

A unique industry-academia partnership, which has been tried before many a times on several occasions and platforms, but hasn’t been able to make an impact, as the corporate vision is again “nurturing” and “nurturing profits”!

Today such a question arises, because we all know the quality of majority of the graduates being pumped into the market each year. And again a majority of them still are either unemployable by industry standards or simply not upto the mark, which forces the corporate to invest into the individual intellectually again.

Expectations from the “fresher” should be:

1. He/she should already be aware of the fact that college is over!
2. Domain knowledge (which could be honed upon as per the requirements by the corporate)
3. Understanding of hierarchy, work ethics of the organization
4. How do they contribute to the company’s growth (which most corporate forget to share with the “employees” )

I strongly feel that, instead of investing into a “fresher” post recruitment, the industry should collaborate together, to hone the future prospective taskforce according to their own requirements.

*
The Startups/Emerging companies!

Situation becomes difficult to answer for a startup/emerging company, which could not afford highly experienced professionals nor can they take a chance of being happy employing everyone who comes cheap!

*
What do startups do?

Having these stalwarts from the industry as mentors could be one option. Moreover, any startup/emerging company/SME, looking to hire freshers could be highly instrumental in establishing such a training and development knowledge grid, which links the industry and the academia.

The emerging companies can use the “social networking” and “web 2.0″ tools in a unique and innovative manner, in knowing their candidate in and out before joining in.The step involves minimal costs and high level of innovation!

*
The power of community!

I feel startups and emerging companies can take innovation to new heights and in the process, create a platform which allows for the existence of a unique knowledge grid which aims at increasing the employability of the graduates from India.

As goes one of the major agenda’s of President Kalam’s Mission 2020

Kalam: Let me tell you about my experience. 2007 I became the project director of India 's satellite launch vehicle program, commonly called the SLV-3. Our goal was to put India 's "Rohini" satellite into orbit by 1980. I was given funds and human resources -- but was told clearly that by 1980 we had to launch the satellite into space. Thousands of people worked together in scientific and technical teams towards that goal.

By 1979 -- I think the month was August -- we thought we were ready. As the project director, I went to the control center for the launch. At four minutes before the satellite launch, the computer began to go through the checklist of items that needed to be checked. One minute later, the computer program put the launch on hold; the display showed that some control components were not in order. My experts -- I had four or five of them with me -- told me not to worry; they had done their calculations and there was enough reserve fuel. So I bypassed the computer, switched to manual mode, and launched the rocket. In the first stage, everything worked fine. In the second stage, a problem developed. Instead of the satellite going into orbit, the whole rocket system plunged into the Bay of Bengal . It was a big failure.

That day, the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization, Prof. Satish Dhawan, had called a press conference. The launch was at 7:00 am, and the press conference -- where journalists from around the world were present -- was at 7:45 am at ISRO's satellite launch range in Sriharikota [in Andhra Pradesh in southern India ]. Prof. Dhawan, the leader of the organization, conducted the press conference himself. He took responsibility for the failure -- he said that the team had worked very hard, but that it needed more technological support. He assured the media that in another year, the team would definitely succeed. Now, I was the project director, and it was my failure, but instead, he took responsibility for the failure as chairman of the organization.

The next year, in July 1980, we tried again to launch the satellite -- and this time we succeeded. The whole nation was jubilant. Again, there was a press conference. Prof. Dhawan called me aside and told me, "You conduct the press conference today."

I learned a very important lesson that day. When failure occurred, the leader of the organization owned that failure. When success came, he gave it to his team. The best management lesson I have learned did not come to me from reading a book; it came from that experience.

Mustahil Dhati = Intrinsically Impossible

Mustahil 'Aradi = Contingently Impossible

Some people posit the theory that:

A lie told by Allah (God) is hypothetically possible (ja'iz 'aqli) in the very limited sense of not being intrinsically impossible (mustahil dhati), it is nevertheless contingently impossible (mustahil 'aradi) since He has  informed us of His truthfulness in the Quran.

There are people in this world who hurl such insults at Allah, the Creator who created them, and there are people who defend them. We seek refuge in Allah from such blasphemy.

What's that, the above is not an insult? Ok, how about I say:

It is hypothetically possible (ja'iz 'aqli) for the speaker of such rubbish and its defender to be a despicable idiot and a buffoon full of flaws with no basic understanding of Islam or tawhid!

Does that sound like an insult?

What's that? I've lost my adab. How can I speak in such a tone about a fellow human being who also claims to be a Muslim? Well if he can attribute flaws to His Creator, whom he believes in, why can't I attribute flaws to this person?

Oh that's right, he was only talking about the "hypothetical possibility" of Allah lieing, may Allah protect us from such filthy beliefs by the tawassul and blessing of His beloved Habib Muhammad, sal'Allahu 'alaihi wa'sallam.

My friend, I too, am talking about the "hypothetical possibility" of such a person being an absolute idiot unqualified in Islam and totally bereft of any understanding of tawhid.

What's the fuss all about?

If my statement sounds like an insult to a human, then be damned sure, the first statement is definitely an insult to Allah, our Creator and consequently kufr.

Even if the reader doesn't consider my comments to be insulting to the speaker and the defender of the initial quote, the initial comment quoted is still kufr. Allah's Speech does not pertain to His Power. So there is no question of "possibilities" regarding His Speech as it is NOT a creation but rather eternal and divinely perfect and absolute without any changes attributed to it. Further details on this topic can be found on this blog.

Disclaimer: No accusations are made at any specific individuals. The problem is tackled at a generic and ideological level. We respect and dignify all our Muslim brothers and sisters and uphold their honor and dignity unless proven otherwise by witnesses and confessions.  

Even if someone feels some specific individuals have been insulted, explicitly or implicitly, they should worry about showing respect and humility and servitude towards their Creator, Allah, subhanahu wa'ta'aala, against whom such filth has been uttered, rather than try and uphold the empty honor and dignity of such individuals who utter such disrespectful comments towards their Creator.

In fact, if they feel an insult was hurled at their dignitaries by the author of this blog, their distress at, and the acknowledgement of, the fact that an insult was hurled- would be blatant proof that their initial comments about the "hypothetical possibility" of Allah lieing is an insult hurled at their Creator, as all that has been done is that their ugly comments have been turned towards them. They would have fallen in their own trap.

May Allah protect all Muslims from such filthy beliefs and such fitnah unleashed by Sunni-sounding individuals and keep them steadfast on the path of true Ahlus Sunnah wal'Jama'ah. ameen by the tawassul of His Blessed Habib, sal'Allahu 'alaihi wa'sallam.

Any comments are welcome.

An atheist professor of philosophy speaks to his class on the problem science has with God, The Almighty.
He asks one of his new students to stand and.....

Prof:
So you believe in God?
Student:
Absolutely, sir.
Prof
: Is God good?
Student:
Sure.
Prof:
Is God all-powerful?
Student
: Yes.
Prof:
My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to God to heal him.
Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But God didn't. How is this God good then? Hmm?
(Student is silent.)
Prof:
You can't answer, can you? Let's start again, young fella. Is God good?
Student:
Yes.
Prof:
Is Satan good?
Student
: No.
Prof:
Where does Satan come from?
Student:
From...God.. .
Prof:
That's right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?
Student:
Yes.
Prof:
Evil is everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything. Correct?
Student:
Yes.
Prof:
So who created evil?
(Student does not answer.)
Prof:
Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don't they?
Student:
Yes, sir.
Prof:
So, who created them?
(Student has no answer.)
Prof:
Science says you have 5 senses you use to identify and observe the world around you.
Tell me, son...Have you ever
seen God?
Student:
No, sir.
Prof:
Tell us if you have ever heard your God?
Student:
No, sir.
Prof:
Have you ever felt your God, tasted your God, smelt your God? Have you ever had any sensory perception of God for that matter?
Student:
No, sir. I'm afraid I haven't.
Prof:
Yet you still believe in Him?
Student:
Yes.
Prof:
According to empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your GOD doesn't exist.
What do you say to that, son?
Student:
Nothing. I only have my faith.
Prof:
Yes. Faith. And that is the problem science has.
Student:
Professor, is there such a thing as heat?
Prof:
Yes.
Student:
And is there such a thing as cold?
Prof:
Yes.
Student:
No sir. There isn't.
(The lecture theatre becomes very quiet with this turn of events.)
Student
: Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat.
But we don't have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can't go
any further after that.
There is no such thing as cold . Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of
heat
. We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy . Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it ..
(There is pin-drop silence in the lecture theatre.)
Student:
What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?
Prof:
Yes. What is night if there isn't darkness?
Student :
You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright
light, flashing light....But if
you have no light constantly, you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? In
reality, darkness isn't. If it were you would be able to make
darkness darker, wouldn't you?
Prof:
So what is the point you are making, young man?
Student:
Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed.
Prof:
Flawed? Can you explain how?
Student:
Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there is life and then there is death, a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one.To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it.
Now tell me, Professor.Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?
Prof:
If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.
Student:
Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?
(The Professor shakes his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument is going.)
Student:
Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a preacher? (The class is in uproar.)
Student:
Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor's brain?
(The class breaks out into laughter.)
Student
: Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor's brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain,sir.
With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir?
(The room is silent. The professor stares at the student, his face unfathomable. )
Prof:
I guess you'll have to take them on faith, son.
Student:
That is it sir... The link between man & god is FAITH . That is all that keeps things moving & alive.
NB: I believe you have enjoyed the conversation. ..and if so...you'll probably want your friends/colleagues to enjoy the same...won't you?....
this is a true story, and the
student was none other than........ .

APJ Abdul Kalam, the former president of India

Regards,

Preeti

Oleh: Aan Rukmana

Sore itu langit Jakarta mendung diselimuti kabut kesedihan. Atmosfer pesimisme kolektif merebak seketika. Struktur bangunan kebangsaan seakan ambruk. Roda aktivitas pun terhenti sesaat. Sebuah momen historis kepergian Sang Guru Bangsa. Tepat pada 29 Agustus 2005 lalu bangsa Indonesia kehilangan putra terbaiknya. Prof. Dr. Nurcholish Madjid yang akrab disapa Cak Nur telah tiada.

Sore itu saya duduk termenung sendirian di pelataran kampus Paramadina. Tidak ada kata yang terlontar atau imajinasi yang terabstraksi. Semuanya mengalir begitu saja dalam keheningan. Memang menjadi kebiasaan saya merenung di sore hari. Tiba-tiba lamunan sore itu pun pecah ketika datang serombongan mobil mengiringi mobil jenazah. Menurut kabar Cak Nur telah pergi. Antara percaya dan tidak percaya saya pun menyaksikan momen sore itu dengan diam. Hati saya pun membatin, “Benarkah Cak Nur telah tiada?”

Imajinasi ini terbang melayang menelusuri jejak waktu yang telah lampau, pada tahun 2001 ketika pertama kali saya menginjakkan kaki di Universitas Paramadina. Itulah saat pertama saya berjumpa Cak Nur. Ketika masa pro-training akan dimulai, panitia mengumumkan kepada peserta bahwa Cak Nur akan membuka acara pro-training di hari pertama. Mendengar pengumuman itu seperti mendengar kabar dari langit. Apalagi bagi saya yang selama ini hidup jauh di pedalaman Banten. Melihat langsung sosok Cak Nur jauh lebih berharga buat saya daripada acara pro-training itu sendiri. Ini yang selalu saya tunggu-tunggu dari dulu, bertemu tokoh besar bangsa ini.

Saat penting itu pun datang. Cak Nur dengan penampilannya yang sederhana, berkaca mata tebal diiringi senyum masuk ke auditorium, tempat kami mahasiswa baru berkumpul. Di awal pidatonya, Cak Nur berkata: ”wahai anak-anakku, memasuki perguruan tinggi itu seperti memasuki samudera luas. Tidak ada batasan di dalamnya, karena batasan itu adalah batasan kita sendiri. Maka pergunakanlah keluasan itu untuk mengembangkan kreativitas kalian. Tidak usah takut gagal kalau sudah berusaha, karena kegagalan setelah berusaha itu mendapatkan nilainya sendiri.” Mendengar tutur Cak Nur yang begitu mengalir dan inspiratif saya teringat dengan ajaran yang dulu saya dapatkan di pesantren. Akan tetapi ulasan yang kontekstual dan diperkaya dengan ilustrasi terkini menjadikan pesan-pesan itu genial dan mencerahkan.
Hari itu saya seperti Musa yang menerima Sepuluh Pesan Tuhan di Bukit Thur Sina, atau Barman yang mendapatkan ”pencerahan hidup” setelah berjumpa dengan Humam seperti dikisahkan Kuntowijoyo lewat novel mistiknya, Khotbah di Atas Bukit. Hari itu menjadi momen erlebnis bagi perkembangan ke-Islaman saya. Sejak saat itu saya mulai mempelajari pemikiran Cak Nur.

Setelah sekian lama menelusuri pemikiran Cak Nur, saya menyadari bahwa Islam yang saya dapatkan selama ini adalah ”Islam Pedesaan” bukan ”Islam Perkotaan”. ”Islam Pedesaan” selalu menjadikan fiqih sebagai sentralnya, sedangkan ”Islam Perkotaan” meliputi seluruh dimensi ajaran Islam mulai dari fiqh, kalam, falsafah hingga tasawwuf. Otoritas tertinggi dalam ”Islam Perkotaan” terletak pada diri masing-masing. Penafsiran atas teks terbuka lebar bagi siapapun. Tidak ada ketentuan mutlak mana yang lebih benar dari sebuah penafsiran. Di sini teks menjadi otonom untuk ditafsirkan. Berbeda dengan ”Islam Pedesaan” di mana induk seluruh penafsiran bermuara pada pemegang tampuk institusi agama. Apakah itu seorang kyai, ustadz, rahib, pendeta atau pemangku jabatan keagamaan lainnya. Di sinilah terjadi institusionalisasi agama. Ukuran dari kebenaran adalah seberapa dekat kebenaran itu dengan kebenaran pemimpin agamanya. Posisi Tuhan telah diganti oleh pemimpin agama.

Fondasi yang melandasi seluruh dinamika ”Islam Perkotaan” adalah logos, sedangkan basis pembangunan ”Islam Pedesaan” adalah mitos. Andai logos itu cahaya maka mitos adalah kegelapan. Sebuah keniscayaan logis jika di balik ”Islam Perkotaan” itu muncul impian besar membangun peradaban luhur. Peradaban yang berpilarkan ilmu pengetahuan. Inilah model Islam modern yang dulu pernah lahir tapi kini hilang diterjang skeptisisme panjang akibat merebaknya model ”Islam Pedesaan” yang berbudayakan taklid.

Menurut Cak Nur sumber lahirnya peradaban luhur itu adalah tawhid (Madjid, 2005: 72). Ajaran tawhid (monoteisme radikal) membawa implikasi pada pembebasan manusia. Manusia bebas dari apapun (free from) dan untuk melakukan apapun (free for). Kebebasan ini merupakan anugerah terbesar manusia. Karena unsur kebebasan inilah konsep surga dan neraka menjadi sesuatu yang rasional. Sisi pertanggungjawaban manusia diafirmasi oleh adanya kebebasan manusia. Konsekuensi logis lainnya adalah manusia memiliki tugas menata dunianya. Penataan dunia menjadi proyek ilmu pengetahuan. Alam yang selalu bersembunyi di balik misteri tersingkap perlahan-lahan oleh ilmu pengetahuan. Manusia menjadi berani menjamah alam. Pada akhirnya alampun benar-benar mengalami desakralisasi. Meski manusia memiliki kebebasan mengeksploitasi alam, tapi pertanggungjawaban tetap ada pada dirinya. Menghancurkan alam sama dengan menghancurkan eksistensi dirinya sendiri.

Dari beberapa tulisan Cak Nur ditemukan bahwa dalam Islam tidak ada konflik antara agama dan sains. Dari awal kelahiran Islam, agama dan sains selalu berjalan harmonis. Alih-alih menjadi lawan, justru agama mendorong lahirnya gerakan intelelektual di dunia Islam. Berbeda dengan kondisi Eropa Abad Pertengahan di mana agama dan sains bermusuhan. Bahkan tidak jarang banyak ilmuwan diinkuisisi oleh kalangan agama karena penemuannya bertentangan dengan tafsir lahiriah Kitab Suci. Menurut Cak Nur yang muncul kemudian di dunia Islam adalah kejumudan akibat berhentinya ijtihad (berpikir). Untuk urusan ilmu pengetahuan seluruh umat Islam bersepakat, akan tetapi untuk urusan agama umat Islam terpecah belah ke dalam beberapa golongan. Perpecahan ini semakin mengkristal ketika masing-masing membawa simbol agama.

”Islam Perkotaan” di samping mendorong lahirnya ilmu pengetahuan juga mendorong terciptanya masyarakat yang egaliter di hadapan hukum. Siapapun—tanpa melihat jabatan yang disandangnya—berdiri sama di hadapan hukum. Tidak ada perlakuan khusus bagi si pelanggar hukum. Di sini antara kyai dan santri sama saja posisinya. Di sini posisi keadilan ditegakkan setinggi-tingginya.

Seketika saya terperanjat dari lamunan itu. Seorang teman menepuk punggung sambil berkata, ”ayolah jangan melamun terus, Cak Nur telah pergi, ayo kita bacakan al-Qur’an.” Saya baru sadar kalau tadi terbawa hanyut pengalaman lama ketika awal berjumpa Cak Nur. ”Oh demikian berartinya Cak Nur untuk pencarian Islam saya. Saya benar-benar merasa kehilangan dirinya.” demikian lirih saya ke sahabat yang tadi membangunkan.

Untaian pesan Cak Nur yang dulu di sampaikan pada awal perkuliahan kini kembali mengiang-ngiang di telinga. Bagi saya posisi Cak Nur jelas, ia ingin mengajarkan orang lain beragama sesuai dengan pencarian jati dirinya. Antara Islam seseorang dengan yang lainnya tentu berbeda. Cak Nur telah menempuh perjalanan panjang menuju Islam versi dirinya. Islam Cak Nur berbeda dengan Islam Saya.

Kadang muncul kekhawatiran pada diri saya karena tidak jarang kematian seorang tokoh besar meninggalkan jejak para penerus yang kaku. Mereka menjadikan tokoh itu ”penjara” bagi kebebasan mereka sendiri. Batasan kebebasan pemikiran sang penerus adalah sosok yang diteruskannya itu. Seringkali penganjur ”kebebasan” diikuti oleh orang-orang ”anti-kebebasan.” Proposisi ini tidak berlaku buat saya, apalagi bila dikaitkan dengan Cak Nur yang mana selama hidupnya mendorong orang lain untuk beragama otentik. Model keberagamaan otentik yang dimaksud Cak Nur adalah keberagamaan sebagai dinamika yang berproses menuju hakikat keberagamaan yang paling dalam. Beragama merupakan perjalanan panjang tanpa henti (becoming). Demikian wasiat Cak Nur yang hingga saat ini selalu menjadi pedoman pencarian keislaman saya. Semoga Cak Nur selalu mendapat ketenangan di alam sana.

Jakarta, 13 Juli 2008

Sumber: ICAS-JAKARTA

more about Saint Alphonsa of India

Although I was not able to watch the documentary from start to finish, what I was able to watch just ripped my heart. 

Let's face it, unless you're part of the population below poverty level, you cannot truly understand the rice crisis that is going on.  Although the price has gone up, it's still affordable to most of us in the middle class (we even buy brown rice which is more expensive compared to white rice).  I personally don't feel the pinch as everytime I go to the grocery or the wet market, there is always ample supply. 

This documentary was really eye-opening and enlightening.  I couldn't help but cry when I saw a family who only had bananas to eat and they were just dipping it in salt or sugar to add more flavor.  They couldn't afford anything more because their father only earned PhP100.00/day and the price of rice in Mindanao leapt to PhP110.00/kilo! 

This crisis is very troubling because we were once the top producer and exporter of rice, even teaching our neighboring countries how to harvest it.  And now look where we are.  Farming lands sold to land developers who turn it into housing communities, buildings or malls, jurassic means (not to mention back-breaking labor) of harvesting crops that is so inefficient and labor-intensive that half of it is just goes to waste.  It's definitely a world away from Thailand and Cambodia who have modernized their system and made it more effective.  So what can we do to help?  I came across this website that you might want to check-out.  I'm sure they would appreciate any amount you can spare.  It's the least we can do for the people who help put food on our tables. 

And as trivial as it may sound, I personally will pause before I reach for that extra cup of rice.  I feel like such a glutton all of a sudden....

After this generation came the Shaykh of Insight, the Imam of the Horizons in debating and verification: Abu Al Hasan Ali ibn Ismail Al-Ash`ari.

Ali ibn Ismail ibn Ishaq, Abu Al Hasan, was among the descendants of the famous companion Abu Musa Al Ash`ari. He is the founder of the Ash`ari school in beliefs and a Mujtahid scholar. He authored some 300 books. (Source: Al A`laam). He outlined the Sunni belief system in detail with explanations and proofs more than anyone else before him. For this reason, the Sunni scholars call themselves followers of the Ash`ari school.

He is the one that became a cut in the throats of the Qadariyyah, the Najjaariyyah, the Jahmiyyah, the anthropomorphists, the Shi'ites and the Khawarij. He filled the world with his books. No Kalam scholar has ever been bestowed with a following like the one he was endowed with. The reason is that all the People of Hadith follow his way, as do all the People of Insight

The people of insight are the followers of the Hanafi school today. Their belief are identical to that of the Ash`ari school, although they are usually called Maturidis as opposed to Ash`aris. The differences between these two schools basically come down to semantics. For this reason, the label as an "Ash`ari" follower is applied to followers of both schools.

that do not have Mu`tazilite inclinations.

Among his famous students are: Abu Al Hasan Al Baahili

Abu Al Hasan Al Baahili Al Basri was a direct student of Al Ash`ari. The Hafidh Ibn Asakir narrated from Abu Bakr Al Baqillani that he, Abu Ishaq Al Isfaraini and Ibn Furak would have a lesson with Al Baahili once every week. Abu Bakr said that he was so preoccupied with worship of Allah that we had to remind him of the length of the lessons. He would also sit behind a curtain so that neither the three of them, nor the commoners that would attend could see him. When asked about this he answered, "You can see the commoners with your eyes, and they are people that tend to be negligent of religious concerns, and this way you will also look at me with the same eyes.  Abu Ishaq Al Isfaraini used to say, "I was like a drop in the ocean beside Abu Al Hasan Al Baahili." On the other hand, Al Baahili used to say, "Beside Abu Al Hasan Al Ash`ari  I was a like a drop beside the ocean." This was all mentioned by Ibn Asakir in Tabyin Kadhib al Muftari under the biography of Al Baahili in the chapter listing the students of Al Ash`ari.

and Abu Abdullah ibn Mujahid,

Muhammd ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammd ibn Yaqub ibn Mujaahid (? - 370 h.) was a scholar of the Maliki school  a student of Al Ash`ari, and the teacher of Abu Bakr Al Baqillani. (Source: Al A`laam).

and these two are the ones that are the shining suns of their time and the masters of their generations, such as:

Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Al Tayyib (Abu Bakr Al-Baqillani)

Muhammd ibn Al Tayyib ibn Muhammd ibn Ja`far, Abu Bakr Al Baqillani, Al Qadi Al Baqillani (338 h. - 403 h.) was the head of the Ash`aris of his time. He wrote many books, some of which are in print. (Source: Al A`laam). Al Dhahabi in his "Tarikh al Islam" V. 28, P. 89 relates that Al Baqillani was once sent by the Muslim ruler to debate the Christian scribes of the Roman Emperor. When he arrived to the emperors hall they had made the entrance to the emperor very low, to the extent that one had to bow down in order to enter. Al Baqillani realized that it was a trick to make him bow to the emperor, so he turned and entered back end first. Once there, he turned to one of the monks and said, "How are the wife and kids?" Astonished, the emperor replied, "Do you not know that the monk elevates himself having a wife or kids?" Al Baqillani closed his trap by quickly replying: "You consider him above this, but you do not consider Allah to be clear of and above having a female companion and child?" He was also mockingly asked, "What happened to `Aisha?" They were referring to the time that she, the Prophet's wife, was accused by the hypocrites of having been unfaithful. They wanted to make him lose his temper by their insinuations. Al Baqillani answered: "As what happened to Maryam. (They were both accused of adultery), then they were both declared innocent by Allah, and Maryam brought a baby, while `Aisha did not." They could find no response to this, because he had shown them that permitting  the slander of `Aisha would imply permitting ugly and heretical slander of Maryam even more.

the head of the judges of Iraq, the Arabian Peninsula, Faris (Southwest Iran), Karmaan (Southeast Iran) and all the border areas belong to these lands,

Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Al-Husayn ibn Furak (Ibn Furak),

Muhammd ibn Al Hasan ibn Furak Al Ansaari Al Asbahani (? - 406 h.) was among the greatest scholars of belief methodology, as well as Shafi`i fiqh (jurisprudence).

and Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Muhammad Al-Mihrani (Abu Ishaaq Al Isfaraini).

Ibrahim ibn Muhammd ibn Ibrahim ibn Mihraan,  Abu Ishaq Al Isfaraini (? - 418 h.) was a great scholar of beliefs, methodology and fiqh. He used to be nicknamed "the pillar of the religion." He was also a reliable narrator of Hadith.(Source: Al A`laam).

Before these there was Abu Al Hasan Ali ibn Mahdi Al Ţabari,

Abu Al Hasan Ali ibn Muhammd ibn Mahdi Al Tabari was a student of Al Ash`ari in Al Basrah. The meaning of one of his poems is: He is not lost who has a companion able to mend his ways. For the world is merely by its inhabitants and a person is by his companions.

the master of jurisprudence, Kalam, methodology, literature, grammar and Hadith. Among his heritage is a student like Abu Abdullah Al Husayn ibn Muhammad Al Bazzaazi,

I was unable to find anyone of this name that is of Abu Mansur's generation or earlier. The Al Husayn ibn Muhammd Al Bazzaazi mentioned in Al Waafi bi-l-Wafayaat died in 495 h., which seems too late for being meant here.

the master debater and author of books on all aspects of Kalam.

Also before this generation was the Shaykh of the Sciences, Abu Ali Al Taqafi.

Muhammd ibn Abdul Wahhaab ibn Abdul Rahmaan ibn Abdul Wahhaab, Abu Ali Al Thaqafi (244 h. - 328 h.) was among the greatest scholars of all time in fiqh, methodology and belief. He stayed in Naysabur. Ibn Khuzaymah told him one time: "It is not allowed for any of us to give fatwa as long as you are alive." (Source: Siyar A`laam al Nubalaa').

In his time the Imam of the Sunnis was Abu Al Abbas Al Qalanisi,

Ahmad ibn Abdul Rahmaan ibn Khaalid Al Qalanisi Al Razii, was among the Sunni scholars that lived in the time of Al Ash`ari and fought deviants. His appearance as a defender of the faith was earlier that that of Al Ash`ari, and he was not among his students. (Source: Ibn Asakir in Tabyin Kadhib al Muftarii P. 293.)

who authored more than one hundred and fifty books in Kalam. The books and critiques authored by Al Thaqafi against deviant groups are more than one hundred.

In our time we have reached  Abu Abdullah ibn Mujahid and Muhammad ibn Al Tayyib (Abu Bakr Al Baqillani) the head of the judges,  Muhammad ibn Al Husayn ibn Fuurak, Ibrahim ibn Muhammad Al-Mihrani (Abu Ishaq Al-Isfaraini) and  Al Husayn ibn Muhammad Al Bazzaazi. Our own teachers follow the same path of these that we have reached, which is to enliven the truth and put its enemies in chains."

Translation and Commentary by Shaykh Abu Adam al Naruiji

As for Dawud, the leader of the literalists, he wrote a lot on belief along with his many writings on jurisprudence. His son, Abu Bakr,

Muhammd ibn Dawud ibn Ali ibn Khalaf Al  Dhahiri (255 h. - 297 h.) was an Imam and son of the Imam Dawud Al Dhahiri. He took over his fathers position as a Mufti and teacher after his father. (Source: Al A`laam).

was a scholar of jurisprudence, Kalam <belief>, methodology, literature and poetry.

Abu Al`Abbaas Ibn Surayj

In the manuscript it is written "Ibn Shurayh", but it is likely a typographical error, and should be Ibn Surayj, because he was the head of the Sunnis at that time and wrote very many books, as indicated by Abu Mansur: Ahmad ibn Umar ibn Surayj Al Baghdadi, Abu Al Abbas (249 h. - 306 h.) the head of the Shafi`is of his time who wrote some 400 books and was a Judge in Shiraz (in today's Iran). He fought deviant sects and had debates with Dawud Al Dhahiri. (Source: Al A`laam).

the best of this group in these sciences, and he has a critique on the book of Al-Jaruf

Al Jaruf was a philosopher of the school of equality of proofs.

against those who claim equality of proofs

The claim of equality of proofs is when someone looks at the evidences presented by two opponents and then declares himself unable to decide who is right. The book of Al Jaruf, which defended the idea of equality of proofs, was written by a philosopher against Al Jubba`i, who was a Mu`tazilite. This belief of equality of proofs is basically agnosticism, in the sense that they neither affirm nor deny, but its followers fall into three groups: First, those who question the existence of the Creator. Second, those who believe in the Creator, but doubt prophethood. Third, those who believe in the Creator and the prophethood of Muhammd, but have doubts about other beliefs. (See Al Fisal fi-l-Milal by Ibn Hazm).

and it is more complete than the critique of Ibn Al-Rawandi

He seems to mean Abu Al Husayn Ibn Al Rawandi (? h.- 298 h.), who was a philosopher accused of numerous heresies. (Source: Al A`laam).

against them. As for his writings on jurisprudence - Allah knows their number.

Another of the Kalam scholars in the time of Al Ma`mun is Abdullah ibn Sa`eed Al Tamimi,

Abdullah ibn Sa`eed ibn Kullaab, Abu Muhammd Al Qattaan (? - 245), was one of the greatest Kalam scholars of his time. (Source: Al A`laam). He is also mentioned with the last name Al Tamimi by Al Subki in  Tabaqaat Al Shafi`iah Al Kubraa. In Tabaqaat Al Shafi`iah it is stated in the biography of Abdullah ibn Sa`eed ibn Kullaab that Abu Hasan Al Ash`ari was heavily influenced by him and by Harith ibn Asad Al Muhasibi

who crushed the Mu`tazilah in the assembly of Al Ma`mun, and scandalized them with his eloquent exposure and clarification of their faults. The remains of his clarifications are in his books. He is the brother of Yahya ibn Sa`eed Al-Qattaan,

Yahya ibn Sa`eed Al Qattaan Al Tamimi, Abu Sa`eed (120 h. - 198) one of the Imams of Hadith science. He gave the Fatwas of Abu Hanifah and is regarded as a highly trustworthy Hafidh. (Source: Al A`laam).

the inheritor of the knowledge of hadith and the master of narrator criticism.

Among the students of Abdullah ibn Sa`eed is Abdul Aziz Al Makki Al Kattaani,

Abdul Aziz ibn Yahya ibn Abdul Aziz Al Kinani Al Makki (? h. - 240) was among the students of Al Shafi`i and debated Bishr Al Marisi. (Source: Al A`laam).

who scandalized the Mu`tazilah in Al Ma`mun's assembly. Yet another Kalam scholar was, his student, Al Husayn ibn Al Fadl Al Bajali,

Al Husayn ibn Al Fadl ibn Umayr Al Bajali (178 h. - 282 h.) was one of the leaders of the knowledge of the meanings in the Quran. He was originally from Al Kufa, but the governor Abdul Aziz ibn Tahir brought him to Naysabur where he bought a house for him. He stayed there teaching until he died.

the master of Kalam, methodology, Quranic commentary and interpretation. Later scholars relied upon his notes and pointers in interpreting the Quran. He is the one that Abdul Aziz ibn Tahir, the governor of Khurasan <in North East Iran> brought with him to Khurasan, and as a result people said, "He took with him all the knowledge of Iraq to Khurasan."

Among the students of Abdullah ibn Sa`eed is also Al-Junayd,

Al Junayd ibn Muhammd ibn Al Junayd Al Baghdadi, Abu Al Qaasim, Al Khazzaz (? - 297) was one of the greatest scholars of all time. One of his contemporaries said, "I have not laid my eyes on anyone like Al Junayd. The scribes come to his lessons to learn from his words, the poets for his eloquence, and the Kalam scholars for the meaning of what he says. The great scholars and historian Ibn Al Athir said about Al Junayd: "The top scholar in the world in his time." He is considered as one of the great imams of Sufism for his compliance to the sciences of Hadith and Quran along with leadership in Sufi knowledge. He said, "Our way is controlled by the Quran and Hadith." (Source: Al A`laam).

the Shaykh of the Sufis and the Imam of the monotheists. He has an article that is written according to the requirements of the Kalam scholars, but with Sufi expressions.

Translation and Commentary by Shaykh Abu Adam al Naruiji