Kindness makes you a friendly, sensitive and sincere person who feel hurt of other and always ready to help, comfort and encourage people in many ways. It gives you peace of mind. 

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Islam teaches that kindness should extend not only to other people but also to the all creatures, to treat all animals, birds, sea creatures, and insects with mercy and sympathies to them and not harming them.
Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him)  clearly said that the practise of cutting tails and manes of horses, of branding animals at any soft spot and of keeping horses saddled unnecessarily.

“Fear God with regard to animals”, said the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), “ride them when they are fit to be ridden, and get off their backs when they are tired; surely, there are rewards for being kind and gentle to animals, and for giving them water to drink.”

India have just come back from a long tour of Australia and with IPL just around the corner they would have liked more rest. Srilanka were in South Africa and with a gap of few days traveled to Australia for the Tri-Nation series and played their last match just 2 days ago. Bangladesh are the underdogs and don’t have much chances.


But is this isn’t just another tournament for Pakistan who have played non stop cricket for the last five months, If at all this tournament is important for a team, its Pakistan. Winning the Test Series against England comprehensively, but losing the ODI and T20 series, Pakistani Team’s future depends on this tournament.


This tournament for sure will be the last chance for Misbah-ul-Haq to show his capability in the shorter format of the game firstly as a captain who can attack more and secondly a batsman who can score quickly. After losing just one series as a captain Misbah Ul haq is under fire both from the general public and media. He will try his best to prove the critics wrong.


Asia Cup is also the first test of Dav Whatmore who took over as Pakistan’s coach just a week ago. Lots has been said about him, his experience coaching the Srilankan and Bangladesh Cricket Team, his strictness and his good reputation, but coaching Pakistan is totally different and will take the best out of him especially because Mohsin Khan was doing a good job.


This is also the first team selected by the new selection committee lead by Iqbal Qasim. Team selection tells the mind set Pakistan team has. They have tried not to experiment with the team retaining the same bowling squad which played against England and have included Nasir Jamshed and Sarfraz Ahmed instead of Imran Farhat and Shoaib Malik who were labelled as “Sifarishi”.


If Pakistan are able to perform well in this tournament,the stability under Misbah Ul Haq will continue for a considerable time as the next two series Pakistan will play are against Bangladesh and Srilanka. But If they don’t perform well for sure it will bring an end to a few cricketing careers in the ODI format, Pakistan will have no choice except to change the captaincy and bring in new players at the cost of Misbah Ul Haq or even Younis Khan.


They still have a choice though even If they don’t win the Asia Cup.  18th of March, when Pakistan play India. The emotional nation we are, winning or losing the Cup won’t matter if Pakistan is able to beat India, taking the revenge of Mohali 2011. So yes, Pakistan has lots to play for in Asia Cup.

I was fortunate enough to meet one such Muslim in Spain. He belonged to one of the European countries and before converting to Islam, was a guitarist associated with a famous musical band. He also had a degree in Music but after converting he had a beard now, left music and traveled around the world to study Islam. He told me the story of converting to Islam which was amazing.

He had three hobbies. Playing guitar, Impress girls and drinking wild. He used to play guitar and collect money, Impressed a girl by taking her to a date, sitting in a pub and drinking until late night. The next day they were usually found in a park, beside a road, In a hotel’s room or in the girls apartment. This was his usual life but then he made friends with another muslim boy who also loved drinking. He was from Egypt and came to europe for studying but fell in love with a girl who left him for another man. The egyptian guy could not take this and started drinking. He used to drink all night and sleep in his hostel’s room all day. His father who was a rich man used to send hi money so his life was easy. The musician met the muslim guy in the pub. They both were not that religious. Musician thought all the religion were fraud, The egyptian guy said there must be no religion as it makes people fight and humanity was better served if their were no religious divisions.

They talked about religion everyday in the pub while drinking, during these chats the musician noticed something strange. The egyptian guy used to quote Allah, Koran and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) without any hesitation at the start of the discussion but as soon as he started drinking he never uttered a single word about these three or any quote relating to it.  He used to change the topic toward other religions of the world. Musician tried his best to bring the egyptian towards Allah and Prophet but was never successful. Egyptian was so adamant that even when he was drunk at the best he never ever uttered anything about these.

One day Musician asked the Egyptian guy about it. They were at a coffee shop and were in normal condition. Egyptian guy gave an answer which he found really strange.

He said that after he is drunk his tongue becomes dirty as drinking is not allowed.  I can never utter the names of Allah and my Prophet (PBUH) with my dirty tongue? After drinking I wake up on the morning, brush my teeth, clean my face, mouth and tongue, only then I utter the names of my beloved Prophet, Allah and Holy Koran. This is my love for them and no matter how worse a muslim I am, no matter how bad I get I can never take the names or disrespect them in any way.

This struck the Musician deep inside the heart. He went to a book shop, bought the translation of Holy Quran. The moment he stated reading it he knew his life had changed, as he kept on reading he fell deep in love with it. He left music, changed his dressing and converted to Islam.

I asked him what Inspired you most about Islam, and he answered “Unconditional Love”.

Islam is the only religion of the world which fills your heart with unconditional love for Allah and Prophet (PBUH) , it builds a fort inside your heart which can never be destroyed. A Muslim can be cruel, liar, drunk, cheater or anything, he can compromise on anything but when its the matter of Quran, Allah and Prophet (PBUH) he will forget everything, fight the biggest forces in the world, stand against the Pharaoh but never hear or say a word against them, that too just after reciting the first Kalima,  thats what Impressed me the most.

My first interaction with Shahid Afridi lasted a couple of seconds. It was just a shake of the hands with a big smile on his clean shaved face, and why not. It was 16th March 2004 to be exact. Pakistan had beaten India in the 2nd ODI of the Samsung Cup and Shahid Afridi who had been recalled in the team after a long gap had played a big part in victory by scoring 80(58) and also taking 2 wickets for 57 runs.

Shahid Afridi back then was all about Carefree-ness. You could see it in his behavior, the way he talked, the way he moved, the way he had a smile on his face. Back then Shahid Afridi was all about passion. You could see it in his bowling and you could see it in his batting and the way he fielded. Back then he was a Super Star. You could see the way crowd chanted his name and wanted him to hit a six every ball when he came out to bat, you could see all the banners with his name written, you could see the crowd going mad when he fielded near the boundary ropes. His bowling was a bonus in those days.

My next memorable interaction with Afridi was during the 2005/06 series after he had smashed Harbhajan Singh for four sixes in an over and that too during a the first Test Match in Lahore scoring a magnificent 102 runs with 7 sixes. He still had that smile on his face with the slightest of beard now. “Autograph please” I said. My voice barely coming out.
” Idahar lao, naam kya hai tumhara? ” He said. In his heavy voice. I handed him the tennis ball.
“Raafay”, I said.
He signed the tennis ball. No words, nothing else written. I was disappointed, grabbing the ball with my hand and turning away.
“Left hander ho?” He said again.
“Yes” I said.
”Cricket kheltay ho?” He said again.
“Jee”. I said.
“Shabash, good luck” He said.
I felt overwhelmed and ran away to tell everything that happened to my parents.

He went on to score another century in the next match with the same carelessness, same passion. By now religion was starting to play important role in his life, it was obvious. Praying five times a day even during the match days was a normal routine by now. His batting was more consistent than before his bowling was worth bowling him 10 overs during the ODI matches with four players all on the of side to stop runs. Crowd still wanted him to hit a six every ball and he was willing to oblige. Nothing much had changed about Afridi in the cricketing sense, he was still the same.

Last of my memorable interaction with Shahid Afridi was during the World Cup 2011. Pakistan had beaten Srilanka just two days ago. Shahid Afridi was man of the match with the figures of 4/34 in his 10 overs. His beard had grown thicker, He was more stronger now, Shaking his hands told you the power he had. Religion had its showing on him.
“InshaAllah” was a common word with most of the sentences he said. “InshaAllah we will reach the Semi Final if we keep on playing like this” He said.
That Smile was still on his face but you could tell he was a lot more measured in everything he did now, he wanted to lead by an example. His bowling had come of age in the past 2 to 3 years, easily the best leg spinner in the shorter format commentators would say. Taking a wicket with his hands aloft in the air, legs stretched wide, standing like hero is a familiar sight for cricket lovers now. His batting was sensible now. He still hits bowlers out of the park, not on the requests of his bowlers but at his own will. They still call him BOOM BOOM though.

As Cricinfo simplifies it “Of Shahid Afridi it can safely be said that cricket never has and never will see another like him. To say he is an allrounder is to say Albert Einstein was a scientist. ” A complete Super Star, easily the most loved one in Pakistan and around the world. He became a heartthrob after his first cricket match, he still is all around the world, he will always be a heartthrob of millions until the day cricket is played. 


Happy Birthday SHAHID AFRIDI ! Long may you live, Long may you keep entertaining, long may you serve Pakistan. Ameen!

Audience
As non-Muslims are not permitted to undertake the Hajj, the Western world has always been fascinated by the mystery of this great Muslim tradition. The museum’s director, Neil MacGregor, says: ‘In
particular, the exhibition will allow non-Muslims to explore the one aspect of Islamic practice and faith which they are not able to witness.’ Improving understanding in a continent where many speak of Islamophobia is welcome indeed. Rather than sitting back and thinking about your need to order Propecia, renew your library books or send that birthday card, consider visiting the exhibit and immersing yourself in an aspect of another culture that has previously been closely guarded.


Yet it is not just intended for Westerners and MacGregor says that the exhibition intends to reach to a ‘global audience’. Muslims are indeed among those visiting the exhibition and are invited to give their views on the experience of the Hajj on the museum’s website. Muslim visitors to the exhibition have praised the wealth of artefacts on show of the exhibition, which claims to be the first such exhibition about the Hajj on this scale.


Exhibits
The exhibition juxtaposes old and new. An eighth-century Koran which is thought to be one of the oldest surviving copies, on loan from the British Library, is on display. Yet the exhibition also hosts works by artist and Saudi national Ahmed Mater, who saw a resemblance between the gravitation of iron filings towards a magnet and the draw of many devoted Muslims to the Kabah and has illustrated this in his work – last year the pilgrimage is said to have numbered three million.


Centuries-old accounts of journeys to Mecca are displayed alongside Hajj certificates and tickets for pilgrims issued by Thomas Cook. Another highlight is a striking red silk tent that would have been the centrepiece in a camel caravan carrying pilgrims from Cairo to Mecca. These exhibits focus on the journey itself, reflecting the first of the three aspects of the exhibition, the actual journey that pilgrims had to make to reach Mecca. Other aspects comprising the exhibition are the rituals, experience and meaning of the Hajj to Muslims around the world and, finally, the importance of Mecca itself.


Backing
The British Museum worked in partnership with the King Abdulaziz Library in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to set up the exhibition and Saudi Arabia is among thirteen countries that have loaned artefacts.  For example, a seetanah that covers the door to the Kabah was carefully transported to London for the event. The library’s General Supervisor, Faysal Muammar, said he hoped the exhibition would be a source of ‘inspiration and enlightenment’ to all those who visit and attended its opening alongside Saudi officials.

The curator’s exhibition was Pakistan-born British-Muslim Qasira Khan, who actually undertook the Hajj last year as part of her preparation and has included some of her souvenirs in the cabinets. She said that the experience changed her view of the exhibition. She added: “They say that when you go on Hajj it is due to an invitation by God and my invitation must have been due that year.”


Groans
Visitors have complained about delays to the time they were allocated for their visit and that once inside the exhibition it was very crowded. Though entrance to the museum itself is free, tickets for this exhibition must be booked and paid for. At 12 British pounds (around 1,730 Pakistani rupees or almost 20 US dollars) the tickets are not cheap. Although this reflects the enormous expense that must have been involved in mounting such a display, it is also likely to put off many of the visitors it seeks to attract and teach about Islam.
Many of us are far from London and are more likely to participate in the Hajj than to travel to London. But the exhibition should be praised for its efforts to educate through various talks and school programmes and for shining a spotlight onto the enormously rich culture associated with this noble and holy experience of Islam.

{ Muscat, Old City }

It’s weekend here in Oman and my favorite day of the week when we go out and gorge on anything we feel like eating. Wednesday means two days off the gym and I allow myself to eat gulab jamans too. I love this place because of its peaceful, quiet environment but mostly because its where my husband is. Anywhere is a home where he is. He has this amazing ability to make even an otherwise mundane drive into an extreme bit of an adventure.


I’m unable to write these days, not because I am out of ideas, but because I am so much full of them that I am unable to pick one. My mind keeps on wandering to every thing so fast I find it hard to make my little heart sit still and focus on one thing.


I’m discovering Oman all over again. I’m not sure if a social and extrovert would find it as good as I do sometimes, I’m more of an introvert. This is the perfect place to just stand still for some time, breathe in and enjoy a certain delicious laziness.

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Good luck for each and everyone of them

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You can Advertise your website, company or business with us here, or simple be a pal and give us a favor by sharing this post through one of the following options. Hope to have you back!