things that matter

This post is about a book on the life and educational contributions of the sixth Imam of Shia Islam, Imam Jafar Al-Sadiq. The book is famous by the names 'Super Brain of Islam' and 'Superman in Islam' and is claimed to be a work of several Western professors and scholars teaching in various universities of the world. Since the book gained a lot of praise and fame throughout Shia circles, a lot of people got curious about the actual origins and authors of the book. But sadly, when people try to search the names of scholars given in the book, one can not find a single person which can be traced. This is global age where even unpopular writers and scholars can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Google and other social media platforms. Thus it comes as a big surprise that one won't be able to find scholars associated with big universities such as the University of Paris or Chicago. Desperate to find out about the authenticity of the book, I searched the names of the a...

So You Tell Me There's No God?

"The world embarrasses me, and I cannot dream that this watch exists and has no watch-maker". The above quotation, is not a mere phrase by the famous French writer and philosopher, Voltaire, but it is an evergreen logic, beautiful and sensible, that’s brought to the table every so often – whenever the waves of skepticism rise. Since the advent of intelligent life on earth, the world has witnessed many intellectual wars proving and disproving the existence of the watch-maker, someone who created the intellect with which we question this someone’s existence in the first place, if there is a watch, there has to be a watch-maker, and if there is intellect, there is someone behind it – but whoever is behind our intellect, is most surely also beyond our intellect – and that’s where all the nuisance starts. Everyone has an opinion about god, and everyone is busy publicizing it. Monotheism, polytheism, deism, agnosticism, atheism, creationism, darwinism and all kinds of is...

Does Hijab Mean Hiding Oneself?

Hijab hides the body alone; it is not meant to and was never meant to hide the personality of a woman. "Shhh… quiet! Cover yourself up, do not go outside, do not show up in front of guests, do not speak loudly, keep your voices low, keep your eyes low…". These are the bits of advice many girls hear growing up. As they step into youth, they are constantly reminded of that piece of cloth required to cover them, whether it's a dupatta for Indo-Pak girls or a chador or shehla for Middle Eastern or Arab girls. This ideal modest or ba-haya girl can be imagined as a pretty thing robed in clothes of different kinds, having her eyes fixed on the ground or elsewhere, a beautiful but low and accepting voice, a bowed head and almost stooping shoulders. She seems to want to curl in on herself and hide whatever part of her being is still visible. This girl is an image of submission. She is someone no one expects rebellion from. Someone no one expects to...

Who Snatched My Scarf And Shredded It Into Pieces?

When I go out of my house, I see women on the streets covered in quite enough clothes for the hot sunny days we have here in Karachi. Laden in chaadars, burqas, dupattas and scarves, women are waiting at the bus stand or shopping at the local market or simply walking around. It is true that some women can also be seen bare headed or wearing some modern attire like jeans with kurti . Still, generally, one would say that all women on the streets here are modestly dressed; even the most modern ones are pretty modest, and one can't really object to their choice of clothing unless one happens to be an extremist. We see that as far as the hijab of women is concerned, the majority of women are doing a great job of maintaining good standards of modesty in society. By wearing full sleeves and dupattas on their heads despite the hot and humid weather we have here, they are making a sacrifice the whole community should be grateful for. Now, let's see how much the men are contributing i...

Are We Ourselves?

Do you think you are what you are because you managed to be This? Or is it not so that you are what you are because this managed to be You? How are we either good or bad? intelligent or dumb? optimist or pessimist? friendly or aggressive? saint or sinner? Is it what we always wanted to be and worked hard to be this? Or some other forces turned us into what we are? Imagine yourself first as a foetus, then as a child. Then think of terms like heredity and parental training.... the way they brought you up, how much do you think is their hand... in what you are. Or how much was their hand... in what you were then. It was amazingly almost all their's. Now, how about the other siblings, members of the family, home environment, neighborhood, friends, street persons, school teachers, school environment and the impact of relatives on your early life. Were you really deciding from whom to get inspired and from whom not to, whom to listen and whom to avoid? Even if you were deciding, it was...

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About Me

The visible speaks for the invisible... can't stop thinking what's beyond. I'm from Pakistan, I have a love for reading and writing, I'm a constant student and on a quest for knowledge and truth. The biggest questions that still haven't met their satisfactory answers are the things that matter most to me. But I'm also a parent and have a concern for a lot of other things, such as health, food, politics, lifestyle and social causes and so the soul of a journalist inside me compels me to write on these issues as well.

This blog is managed by Faiza Jafar Zaidi