Sunday 12 June 2011

Khurram Ali Shafique, a man on Mission


We have a rich tradition of periodical meetings by scholars/intellectuals in Pakistan, be it big cities or smaller towns this excellent tradition has never faltered. There was a time when people like Mulana Maudodi, G.A.Perwaiz, Hasan Askari, Sufi Tabassum, Salim Ahmed, Dr Israr Ahmed, Ustad Daman, Ashfaq Ahmed were enchanting and mesmerizing their audience. These days many more intellectual, scholars and luminaries are enthralling their audience and one of them is Khurram Ali Shafique.

Khurram Ali Shafique, is a historian and Iqbal scholar, and is writing a unique biography of Iqbal in six volumes, two of which are already published, this biography is written and presented in such a manner that it provides a kaleidoscopic view of Iqbal's life and times.

Khurram Ali Shafique's weekly meetings presently held at Ahsan Memorial on every Sunday are related to Iqbal studies and Pakistan. No one as I know has undertaken to study Iqbal as a phenomenon that Khurram Ali Shafique has undertaken. He has a mission to understand and let others understand Iqbal in the light of his real message that has been lying under fog and mist of deliberate concealment on the part of intelligentsia and academics. He discusses Iqbal's works with a coherent and holistic view in which Iqbal has never been discussed before.

He is a man blessed with talent, vision, dedication and humility a rare combination in scholars, academicians and men of letters. He is a man with mission and we are fortunate to have his company.

Saturday 4 June 2011

A page from the diary



A friend said the other day" I hate you". My reaction would have been somewhat different had I not known the Toltec wisdom. Fortunately due to that I knew that my friend was in an angry state of mind so this statement just reflected the sentiment of that state. I know when people are happy they would shower praise on us and when they are angry they would admonish us. So if we take things literally we would be in a flux all the time. If we take things personally we would suffer and that just because somebody didn’t mean it.

So I know if a friend say, I hate you today, I know I would hear I love you tomorrow.