TAJRED 2, AJ HAMARAY GHAR CHAND , SARFRAZ BAIG, ACHI LAGTI HAY, تجرید، دوئم، آج ہمارے گھر چاند اتر آیا، سرفراز بیگ، اچھی لگتی ہے

تجرید دوئم

آج ہمارے گھر چاند اتر آیا

ہوئے نادم دور ہی سے اچھا ہے

سرو قامت ہے شجرِ سرو

پھل نہیں لگتا مالی سچا ہے

پتھر پے پس جاتی ہے حنا

ہاتھوں پے کیا خوب رنگ رچا ہے

ابتداءِ عشق میں وفا کی فرمائش کی

ابھی میرا عشق کچا ہے

بڑھاپے میں کام آئے گا

ابھی میرا محبوب بچہ ہے

کہیں نہیں میں پائی میں نے

یارو غالبؔ میرا چچا ہے

سرفراز بیگ ۱۹۹۲۔ ۰۳۔۰۸ راولپنڈی

GHAZAL, MUDAT HUYE KUYE YAR MEIN JANA , SARFRAZ BAIG, ACHI LAGTI HAY, غزل، مدت ہوئی کوئے یار میں جانا نہ ہوا، سرفراز بیگ، اچھی لگتی ہے

غزل

مدت ہوئی کوئے یار میں جانا نہ ہوا

اْس کا رْخِ زیبا ہمیں یاد ہے لیکن

بادلوں نے وفا نہ کی اس کے ساتھ

تاڑنے والے کی نگاہ آر پار ہے لیکن

بیوفائی جسے دیتے ہیں نام رقیب

کیا جانے یہ بھی آدائے یار ہے لیکن

یوں مڑ کے دیکھا جگر چھلنی کردیا

تیر و ناوک نہیں نگاہِ خار ہے لیکن

لیلیٰ و مجنوں دنیا میں نہ مل سکے

ہم نے بھی نہ پایا تو کیا عار ہے لیکن

اب تو پروانے بھی تھک گئے وفا کرتے کرتے

چاہ میں سرفراز ؔ لاچار ہے لیکن

سرفراز بیگ ۱۹۹۲۔۰۳۔۰۸ راولپنڈی

tadreed, sarfraz baig, achi lagti hay, تجرید، سرفراز بیگ، اچھی لگتی ہے

تجرید

اْس کی کی آنکھ میں دیکھا کاجل

کیوں گلہ کروں کہ گرانی ہے

ہر سال فیل ہوجاتے ہیں

ہمیں دوستی بھی تو نبھانی ہیں

دین بھی، دنیا بھی ،رشوت بھی ہے

یہ برائی نہیں مال پانی ہیں

اب عاشقوں کو جوتیاں نہیں پڑتیں

یہ اِک رسم بہت پرانی ہے

اپنی غیرت کے مقرر ہیں یاں معیار

مفاد اپنے میں غیرت کس نے جانی ہے

سرفراز بیگ ۱۹۹۲۔۰۳۔۰۶ راولپنڈی

ATHEIST, SARFRAZ BAIG, SHORT STORY

                                 Atheist

It rained heavily today. Lots of water fell from the sky. It seemed like that as if, today God decided to give shower to whole Rawalpindi city. Rawalpindi is a small city and it has two roads. One is famous and renowned, Muree road. As a matter of fact this road goes towards Muree so that’s why it’s called Muree road or maybe some English man had this name “Murry” so because of that English gentleman this road got this name. If you go to Islamabad you have to use this road up to Faizabad. Other than Muree road there is another important road of Rawalpindi which is called Mall Road. Sometime it’s called Mall road, sometime it’s called G.T. road (Grand Trunk road) and sometime it’s called Peshawar road. When it rains a lot the inhabitants of Rawalpindi face many problems specially the people who live close to Muree road.
Me and Alhan left the college hurriedly and I said,
“Yar, could you please give me lift today because it’s raining heavily. I am leaving my motor bike in college’s parking”.
Alhan said, “No problem, even if you wouldn’t have asked me I would have been giving you lift anyway”.
Me and Alhan came towards his car and as we sat in the car, Alhan asked me,
“Yar you are worried about something”
“Yes I am”.
“Because of this heavy rain?”
“No not at all, not because of rain”.
“Than what?”
“You know, professor Mikael isn’t coming to college from last many days”.
“It’s quite possible that he isn’t feeling well or he must have gone to some European country. You know that he comes to college rarely”.
“You are very right but my preoccupation is that that he doesn’t believe in God. As you know that educated people have awareness and you can discuss with them about this topic but what about illiterates and ignorant or so called educated people, if they come to know about this type of person, they will kill him straight away”.
“But there are many people in Pakistan like him, who don’t believe in God. Famous poet N.M. Rashid was atheist as well”.
“It was different at that time, now things have been changed. Our awareness and mental level started declining instead of growing or rising”.
“What do you mean”?
“I mean to say, what Saadat Hassan Manto, Ismat Chughtai and Hassan Askari have written, their short stories were unbearable at that time what they have written was condemnable but now they are masterpieces of literature but if we write short stories like these they won’t become the part of literature.”
“I didn’t get you”.
“I explain you in simple words. When Pakistan came into being, in Indo-Pak subcontinent, people used to write literature in Urdu and Hindi. At that the writers weren’t Indian or Pakistani. Nobody ever said that he is Muslim short story writer or he is Urdu short story writer. Similarly none of them said that I am Hindu writer or Hindi writer. At Delhi radio Manto and Krishan Chandar used to work together. Both of them used to write dramas. They used to work there as a dramatist, they never represented some religion or country.
When Pakistan came into being Manto became the disputed short story writer. He became not even short story writer of Urdu language; they enameled him as Muslim writer. He became a dependent writer in an independent country even though he was independent and free writer during the time of slavery. From 1947 to 1977 literature prospered and progressed and during this era new literature grew. Literature never got independence or liberty in Pakistan but it flourished slowly. When Zia-ul-Haque implemented martial law, at that time there were lot of restrictions upon literature and i think at that time restricted literature produced. From 1977 to 1987; i call that literature which was produced in that period, sick literature. From 1987 to 1999 they opened a small window for literature to breathe a little bit than they made new restriction for literature and free press and that still we have”.
While they were busy in debating about literature, Zohran’s home came. Alhan stopped the car and said to Zohran, “rest of literary criticism we will do in some other meeting. Now you should go home”.
“You aren’t coming home, have a cup of tea”.
“You know that my father is professor but for kids he is head-master that’s why I should go now”.
________________
There is great relationship between me and professor Mikael. I am in the final year of English literature and with professor Mikael it’s my second year. He teaches us essay and novel for short story; literary criticism and drama there are other professors. Usually in master’s classes professor don’t give lots of lectures, students they prepare on their own, their notes and professors they do grooming of those students who are really fond of studying not for having degree. Professor Mikael is the only professor who takes classes after the college and give lectures to their students outside the college. His way of explanation is very good. Usually he speaks English in British accent but nobody can understand his accent so he uses Pakistani accent of English language as well.
Professor Mikael did his masters in English literature from Punjab University and got gold medal as well. Then he went to England for his higher studies and wrote thesis on “contemporary novel” and got PhD’s degree. After completing his education he came to Pakistan and started teaching English literature in Rawalpindi’s most famous college. Professor Mikael is fifty-five years; i mean he is teaching English literature from last twenty five years.
Professor Mikael goes to England quite often even though he has completed his education. The one reason is that that he is fond of literature and second reason is that they invite him for debates and discussions upon literature and novel.
He is very particular about dressing. You can say foppish. Whenever he goes to England he brings expensive and stylish suits from there. He buys matching ties from there as well but shoes; he uses only Italian shoes always. If you look at him and the way he dress up, suddenly Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s personality will come in your mind. Oh I am very sorry that i haven’t told you that how he looks like.
When he was young, i don’t how he was but now I can tell you how does he look like? He has whitish color; height must be five feet and nine inches approximately. He is neither short nor very tall; you can say he has ideal height. Usually the average men’s height in Pakistan is five feet and six inches but it isn’t necessary.
Face wise he is chocolate hero. He has straight and sharp nose, eyes are small and suitable lips but whenever he speaks they look very ugly because he smokes a lot and due to smoking his teeth are yellow and some corners are black as well. Professor Mikael drinks foreign brands of alcohols. His favourite drink is Scotch whisky but he likes Cognac and Brandy as well. He has thick and dark black hair but on front, right above the forehead he has a bunch of white hair. He says that this i have since birth. In the beginning all students thought that this is some fashion or style of professor Mikael. He says that form last twenty five years i am telling my students that i have this bunch of white hair since birth. He is very punctual and professor Mikael is the only person in the college, even principle of the college cares about him. I am one of his greatest fans that’s why I know a lot about him. I always try to know about him and his mysterious personality and i discover quite often new things about him.
___________________
Two years before i was nineteen years old and I thought that i should do masters in English literature even though my father’s will was that that I should go for civil services but he didn’t say anything because he thought I can do C.S.S. after masters as well.
I started going to college regularly. I didn’t know that what will be the procedure of master’s classes. The only thing I knew that that I have to study only one subject. With the passage of time I came to know that there will be separate professor for everything like for novel, there will some professor and for short story there will be someone else. Similarly for drama and essay as well. In the beginning for me the most difficult was literary criticism. It was exactly like algebra. I didn’t like it but soon I started taking interest in this subject. I felt that somebody has lit some candle of literature and that light shrouded my whole body.
In my class, girls were very punctual in every lecture but boys weren’t very much interested in attending all the classes. Me and Alhan were the only two boys who were very punctual, we were the youngest in the class and we never missed any class.
It has been two months that we were studying English literature and we were being told that for novel and essay your professor will be professor Mikael. He had been to England for two months and now he is back and from now on he will be taking the class of novel and essay. We heard his name only but none of us had seen him. there were rumour about him that he was girls’s favourite professor. There were many scandals about him in the college. The main reasons of scandals were that that he was unmarried until yet.
___________________
Me and Alhan, both of us were desperately waiting to see professor Mikael. Even though he was supposed to be coming in few minutes and we still had sometime but we were feeling that time isn’t moving. There was pin drop silence in the class because of professor Mikael. He was very punctual about time. As clock struck 10:30 we heard the footsteps of someone in the verandas. In a blink of eye a person entered in the class. He was wearing dark blue suit and light sky blue shirt and he had tie with stripes on it. His shirts collar was very nicely settled with neck because it’s quite normal that when some people tie their tie and you can easily see some gap between neck and collar of one finger which seems very awkward. Sometime if knot isn’t perfect than you can see the gap between collars and tie which isn’t nice as well, with professor Mikael there wasn’t anything like this? From last couple of years pink ties and ties with stripes are in fashion.
His trouser crease was very accurate and from top to bottom it was coming toward’s shoes. His shoes were little bit pointed and brogue style. He was carrying books in his one hand and in his other hand he was carrying a stick which had silver handle.
First of all he took off his felt hat and placed it on a stand which was in the corner of the class and then placed his stick at one side, he removed the chair and came in front of the table and stood there. For a while I thought that young Clint Eastwood is standing in front of me.
In his respect all of us stood up but he said in a loud voice in English language, “there is no need to stand up in my honour and respect”. All of us got scarred and we sat again.
After this, whatever we discussed was in English.
He strictly warned us that in my class nobody will speak in Urdu or Punjabi language other than English. There were only three students in the class who were fluent in English. One was me, second was Alhan and third was a girl called Amara. Amara did advance diploma in English language from National Institute of Modern Languages which is university now. She was very fluent in English conversation. Her proficiency of English language was brilliant. Alhan did his “A” levels in very good grades and he studied English literature as a subject in B.A. I can speak English because i grew up in such an environment where everybody speaks English. I have started speaking English when i was a little kid. Apart from that i am madly in love with literature. There were our some other class mates who were able to speak English but they used to avoid speaking English.
Since professor Mikael ordered that in my class nobody will speak in Urdu or Punjabi language the whole class kept quiet and there was pin drop silence in the class.
Then he introduced himself, and then he told us that what he will be teaching us. After this all students introduced themselves but he warned everybody that nobody will stand up or will raise his hand. Everybody will have to be very punctual and if someone is late, he won’t be allowed to enter in my class. Sneezing, itching and coughing aren’t allowed as well. One should be neat and clean in the class. The boys who do shave, they will have to shave every day. Who have permanent beard or moustaches they have to trim them and otherwise have to shave?
The whole class got confused that it’s master’s class and that much strictness. He cleared our concept that he likes teaching those students who really want to study. The students who don’t take interest in lectures, he doesn’t consider them in the class.
After this he started telling us about the history of “essay” that it’s French word and it means to try something. As he started telling us about novel, we heard, the bell rang. His class’s time was over. He took his stick in his one hand and in other hand he grabbed his books. As he decided to go, suddenly he came back, he placed his stick in the corner, took his felt hat from stand and placed it on his head and took his stick back and left the class.
_________
In the beginning I found professor Mikael very boring but slowly slowly I started enjoying his lectures. His knowledge about novel was like an ocean.
About novel his school of thought was that that the novelist should write the way he wants and he shouldn’t care that he is doing grammatical mistakes or he isn’t following punctuation rules. As you know that in every novel there is one hero and sometime you find some heroine as well but it isn’t very important. Behind a successful novel there is always a concrete plot. Then you should have scenario’s explaining and sketching the people. He used to give us the example of James Joyce’s novel Ulysses. He didn’t care about anything and he wrote such a great masterpiece of English literature and it’s asset for the history of literature as well. They didn’t allow this novel to publish in England but it was published in England in 1965. Before it was published by a French publisher called Obelisk. The famous writer Vladivar Nabokov’s novel Lolita was a disputed novel as well but now it has been filmed twice.
Professor Mikael discovered in a very short span of time; me, Alhan and Amara we are madly in love with literature so that’s why he used to pay a lot of attention upon us. He started liking me very much because whenever he mentioned some novelist, i found it either new or second hand and i read it. He had huge collection of novels which he brought from England and still he brings contemporary novels. I borrow from him sometime and sometime i find novels from the market because in Rawalpindi’s Bank road on every Sunday we have second hand books on sale. Milan Kundera, Peter Handke and Paolo Coelho impressed me a lot.
He told us that British publishers aren’t very much interested in British novelists. They prefer to publish foreign writers who write in English. Their heart favorites are Indian novelists. He told us about many Indian contemporary novelists which were unknown to us. Indian novelists have strong grip on contemporary novels like Vikrem Seth, Rohinton Mistry, Vikrem Chandra, Jhampa Lahiri, Bapsi Sidhwa, Anita Desai and above all Booker Prize winner Arundhati Roy. There is Pakistani novelist as well who was born in England, is called Hanif Qureshi. They have made films on his novels as well. Like, my son the fanatic, My beautiful laundrette. Other than Hanif Qureshi there is a female British born Pakistani novelist called Kamla Shamsi. She has written two novels. I have read Saffron but other I haven’t read yet. Nowadays he was reading an American-Afghan doctor’s book, who lives in California. He was telling us that Khalid Hosseini’s novel, The Kite Runner conquered the whole world. the film making company the dream works bought the copy right to make film on it. He was criticizing this novel that whoever will read this novel he will think that when there weren’t Russians in Afghanistan at that time kite flying was the biggest festival of Kabul. As a matter fact the Afghan people can’t even imagine how big festival we celebrate in Lahore that you can’t even see the sky when there is Basant (it’s a spring festival and people start it with kite flying) in Lahore. The problem is that none of Pakistani writer painted this festival in his novel. He was telling us that this novel is very simple and there aren’t any complications in this novel so it has been translated in more than forty languages.
He told us this time when i went to London. Wherever i have been, i have seen Khalid Hosseini’s life size posters in every book shop. There were many phrases written in his praise in bold letters. First of all i though i won’t read this novel because i was little bit jealous but when i saw Khalid Hosseini’s poster, i felt that he is talking to me and saying, “don’t be jealous, read my novel after all i am your neighbour although we haven’t got good relations. I mentioned about Pakistan as well. Finally I bought his novel and now i am reading it.
___________________
The relationship between Alhan and professor Mikael was becoming lesser and little. The only reason was that that Alhan inclination’s toward’s religion were increasing day by day. His family had strict believe in Whabis school of thought. Sometime we used to call him Taliban but he never said anything, on the other hand he wasn’t agreed with professor Mikael’s philosophy. Me and Amara, we aren’t fundamentalist about religion but we follow Sunnites school of thought. You can say we are liberal and moderate Muslim. My family isn’t happy with me because i don’t go to mosque regularly. I go to mosque on Eid-ul-Fitre or Eid-ul-Azha. I keep fasts but it’s something like that as if i am punishing myself. I keep myself hungry and thirsty just to please my parent and on Sehr time I eat with them and on Iftar time i do Iftari with my family. Anyway the whole class’s opinion about me is that that I will be the next professor Mikael but one thing I know very well that I won’t go that far.
Alhan’s father is a professor of Islamic law and sharea at Islamic University Islamabad and his mother is principle of girl’s school. My family is religious but they don’t force me for anything that i should offer prayer, do this do that. My father’s philosophy is that that one shouldn’t be hurt from you, physically of verbally. This is real religion and i follow my father’s philosophy strictly.
Let’s talk about professor Mikael. It has been one year that we are in his class so I know about him more than before.
First of all I would like to tell you that professor Mikael doesn’t believe in God. He refused to accept all religions and religious books and scriptures as well. There is another rumor about his personality is that that he is homosexual. Maybe he isn’t married yet that’s why people think like that about him. He likes beautiful and physically strong people usually.
About Islam my knowledge was very little, you can say so called Muslim but after discussing with professor Mikael about Islam i started reading books about Islam. It’s same like Imran Khan (famous cricketer and politician). He once said in an interview that “we have given the contract of Islam to maullawis and mullahs. We by ourselves don’t read about Islam”. This is very true that it’s our duty to know about Islam like we read about physics, chemistry and mathematics.
Once I asked professor Mikael that Hazrat Ibrahim’s (A.I.) father was a sculptor. Once Hazrat Ibrahim ruined all statues which were made by his father and the axe with which he destroyed all statues he placed that axe on big statue’s shoulder. When his father came and asked him that who did this so he responded that this big statue destroyed all these statues. His father responded that this statue is made of stone. He can’t move. He can’t do this. Than Hazrat Ibrahim said the statue that can’t protect him, how can he help you? Why you beg them, ask them for help.
After relating this story I asked him what you think about this story.
He said, “All religious scriptures have mentioned this story. You know when Ibrahim said to his father that this big statue has done this. So his father what he should have responded”. I said, “no”.
He said, “Listen, Azar should have waited for next day. He would have restored all those statues and would have called his son to show him that look they all are okay. You were very right. They were unable to move. Last night your God came which we can’t see and he restored them again. So Ibrahim would have said that how do you know that is if God has restored them. So he would have responded because you can’t see him.
For many days i remained confused because of professor Mikael’s logical reasoning. Finally I got the conclusion that he drinks a lot of whisky and brandy so that’s why sometime he talks like lunatics. I used to test him by many tactics that maybe he will come back to Islam but he always left me speechless.
Once I asked him why Islam doesn’t allow woman to have four husbands on the other hand men are allowed to have four wives.
He used to give me answer of this question that religion is our own creation. All the prophets were men. So they have presented religion in such a way with which they can take the advantage of everything not women. Even women aren’t inferior to men in any aspect of life. Men and women have same and equal cells in their brain which we call neurons.
I told him that the same question was being asked to Imam Abu Hanifa.
A group of women went to see him and they asked him the same question. That why men are allowed to have four wives and women aren’t allowed having four husbands. So he responded that if a woman will have four husbands than it will be impossible to know that the child which will born, who will be the father of this child.
He gave one bowl to each woman and asked them to get some milk in it (there are different reference some people say it was milk and some people say it was color). Then he brought a big bowl and asked them that everyone put his bowl’s milk in this big bowl. Then he said now all of you one by one take your milk back which you have poured in this big bowl. Those women got baffled and said how is it possible that we can take our milk back, it’s all mix up. So Imam Abu Hanifa said, similarly if a woman will have four husbands than it will be difficult to know the identity of child’s father. So like this her four husbands will start fighting.
Professor Mikael listened whatever i said. As i finished my story the only thing he said that when Imam Abu Hanifa gave this logical reason. At that time D.N.A. wasn’t discovered yet. So a woman can have four husbands. When there will be the problem of child’s father. At that time that kid’s and his fathers’s D.N.A. will be checked and they will find it straight away that that the father of this kid is. He said it’s true that four men can have sexual intercourse with prostitutes one by one. Like most of youngsters hire a prostitute for one night and they respect each other’s turn. On the other hand if a woman will have four husbands than they will fight each other? The one who is strong he will have sex with her first. It’s quite possible that nobody will have sex with her. Men can have four wives because Islam allows them. The reason is that we do brain washing of girl or our daughter that you are inferior to man otherwise there is no woman in this world who gives permission to his husband to have another wife. Woman’s psychology is that she doesn’t like other woman at her place.
After his responds and logical reasoning I used to feel very awkward.
___________________
Time was passing like this and one day a strange thing happened. I saw that our, I mean in front of our benches, where used to sit Amara, someone else was sitting. I didn’t like it and i got annoyed. I spoke to Alhan, i said, “Yar where did that supernatural creature come from”.
He responded me angrily, “i think you have got a lot of influence of professor Mikael’s personality. She isn’t supernatural creature. She is following Islam and wearing hijab. It’s not nice to show your face to those people who are namahram (unknown). Islam doesn’t allow this”.
After hearing his answer I didn’t say anything because if I would have continued arguing with him than there would have been started a long discussion upon Muslims and kafirs (infidels). I didn’t like what Alhan said because he was a simple and sensible Muslim, I don’t know when and why he became like this. Today he responded me like religious extremist.
While i was solving these question about Islam and extremism in my brain’s different parts. Suddenly professor Mikael entered in the class. As he entered in the class he addressed that head scarf girl who was sitting in front of me, at Amara’s seat, “what happened to you Amara”.
She responded, “Sir I have joined a religious academy for women”.
After hearing her answer he didn’t say anything because he knew one thing clearly, even though my students are doing masters in English literature but if I will try to convince them than there will be some of them who would love to kill him to find a decent place in janat (paradise). The only person in the class was Zohran, for him he was for sure that from him I shouldn’t be scared because he won’t hurt me physically at any cost.
He started his lecture,
“So today’s novel’s topic is writing comedy and novel. In our country nobody has taken writing comedy seriously. Nowadays not even Pakistan in India as well, we are writing rubbish comedies. It is very difficult to write humorous literature. Today we need humor in our life desperately.
When we talk about Pakistani sense of humor than we talk about Patras Bukhari. It must be shocking for you that he himself learnt writing humorous literature from Jerome K. Jerome and P.G. Woodhouse. As matter of fact the books of these writers came to us very late, so for us it was difficult to know about Patras source of comedy and humor. Other than Patras, Ibn-e-Insha’s humor was extempore and he had good quality of humor.
Our stage artist they create comedy as well but they have their own style. The stage play which they show to us, these types of plays they show in Italian city called Naples (Napoli) as well. You can see this type of comedy in some Scottish cities as well. I think this kind of comedy is sub-standard”.
After this he didn’t said anything. We were waiting for him that he will say something but at last I couldn’t stop myself and i asked him, “Why you stopped giving us lecture”.
He said, “Today I am not in a mood of giving lecture”.
____________________
Me and professor used to see each other in some restaurant and sometime I used to see him at his home. Between me and him you can’t say it was relationship of teacher and student, it was something like friendship. He was fond of snooker. There was bar and snooker room at his house’s basement. There were plenty of wines, brandies, scotches and cognacs in his bar. I used to play snooker with him but I never gave him company in drinking alcohol or you can say whisky or brandy. He never forced me either. We used to discuss upon different topics.
I asked him once, “Mikael are you homosexual”.
He responded me, “since how long you are in my class and you know me as well. You are the only student who comes to my house. Have I ever done anything bizarre with you, that you found or felt that I am homosexual”.
I said, “I heard this from other people”
He said, “Than what they say, is true. The truth is that biologically all men and women of the world, man-woman, woman-man, woman-woman, man-man, they all attract each other. This is in our genes. Some man like other man’s personality and some women like men similarly some women like other women or girls. Some men or boys like other men or boys. This is quite natural thing which we call unnatural thing. If you know about genetics than you must know it that chimpanzees are homosexual as well. On the other hand gorillas are polygamists. As a matter of fact I believe in evolution so for me it isn’t strange thing. The people who believe in creation for them it’s very bad thing even sin. This is only because of concept and school of thought.
You know in our north western frontier province there is a city called Bannu, where they keep a boy with them. Peshawar or sarhad is notorious for this but this happens all over Pakistan. You go to see in madrasas there is a lot of homosexuality in madrasas. Even though there are homosexuals in tableghi jamat (a missionary Muslim team).
It’s quite normal, this man made society where woman isn’t allowed to go anywhere we keep her at home like a slave than what kind of society you expect. Look at Amara, where she goes for religious lessons, that modern religious academy. All the girls who come there they are from higher class and they are very modern and highly educated. What you think if lots of beautiful girls will see each other, don’t you think they will start liking each other. This thing will develop among them sexual attraction and I think it’s quite natural”.
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Today when professor entered in the class he was very happy. When he is happy than you can see special kind of brightness at his face, he squeezes his lips like he is going to whistle or sometime he grins. You can say smirking.
I couldn’t stop myself and said, “Mikael you look very happy today”.
It must be shocking for you that i haven’t used sir or Mr. with his name. According to professor Mikael’s philosophy, one should be called by his name because sir, Mr. or professors aren’t names. So that’s why we call him Mikael, we don’t add sir or Mr. with his name.
He said, “Zohran you know nowadays we are hearing sad news from all around the world. Everyone is scared but I have heard today that this year they have given literature’s Nobel prize to a Turkish novelist. After Naqueeb Mahfouz, Orhan Pamuk is the second Muslim writer, who has been honoured by this prize”.
Alhan said, “But I have heard that people don’t like Naqueeb Mahfouz in Egypt”.
“You are very right that people don’t like him but they have given him Nobel Prize for literature not because of his religious beliefs”.
Amara asked, “Mikael, who is this Orhan Pamuk”.
“he is a Turkish novelist and he writes in Turkish language. This is a very good thing that his all novels have been translated in English”.
Alhan said, “The people who have given him Nobel Prize, they are kafir (infidel) so one shouldn’t be impressed by this Nobel prize”.
Professor Mikael shouted in a very loud voice, “do you know the definition of kafir (infidel). For your very kind information, whoever believes in one God isn’t kafir (infidel). Even if he is black or white, whatever language he has, wherever he lives. Anyway literature isn’t bound of religious laws and legislations. It’s hasn’t got any religion, country. Since this world has been created, storytellers are telling their stories. One thing keep in your mind that God is big story teller. If you read religious book, you will find many interesting stories in Bible and Quran as well”.
Zohran wanted to cool down professor Mikael. So he said, “Anyway we are here to study literature not religion”.
Today’s period ended with this phrase.
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I knew one thing that professor Mikael’s mood isn’t good today. Orhan Pamuk’s Nobel Prize brought some smile at professor Mikael’s face but Alhan’s only one phrase ruined the whole situation. So I thought I should see professor Mikael today. I dialed his mobile number. He responded me and asked me to come home.
I took my motor bike and went to his home. At the backside of Rawalpindi race course there are loads of expensive bungalows. In these expensive bungalows, one belongs to professor Mikael. In the basement of his bungalow there is very expensive table of snooker and adjacent to snooker table there is bar as well. Today when i arrived at his home, he was sitting in his small library which is next to his drawing room. As he saw me, he said, “Let’s sit in drawing room we will talk there”.
I started the conversation, “Mikael, these days you are very upset. What’s the matter”.
So he said, “you know very well that why I am upset. Can’t you see that we are losing brilliant and good students day by day? It’s true that I am atheist but I never spoke against Islam and I never asked anyone to stop following Islam. Alhan and Amara, they are becoming religious extremists day by day”.
I tried to encourage him and said, “It’s like hay fever, it won’t last long”.
Professor Mikael said, “It’s not hay fever, it will become gangrene. Since American twin tower has been destroyed, the whole world has become against Muslims. Above all Muslims of the world have become extremists”.
“Mikael, what is this all. Why Osama bin Laden has become an icon. What is his true story”?
“Zohran, let me tell you from the beginning. Osama bin Laden is highly educated man and he used to work for American C.I.A. He has Laden construction company as well.
When Russians invaded Afghanistan, Americans were very unhappy of losing the war against Vietnam. They helped Pakistan to train mujahidins against Russian army. Zia ul Haque was already prepared like a puppet to work for them. These all mujahidins used to take their training in Pakistan, for this purpose they used North West Frontier Province and Baluchistan’s area called Waziristan. All mujahidins who got training, they weren’t Afghanis, they were Pakistani. Pakistani generals trained them. During Afghan war American C.I.A. used to move to and fro like dogs. They knew that, even our army generals used to tell them that the best mujahidins you can find in madrasas because they don’t have shelter, food and clothes. They will do anything for you for their basic needs. They will do anything for Islam. Any sensible man, who lives in Lahore’s Gulberg area. He will never go to Afghanistan to fight for Islam. Americans asked Zia ul Haque that you beat the drum of Islam in Pakistan. He used to go to mosque on his bicycle or sometime on foot. He used to go to different mosques. The people who used to accompany him, most of them used to be his guards or army men.
The people who fought in Afghanistan if they all weren’t Pakistan, I would say ninety percent were Pakistani. They were mujahidins at that time and now they are Taliban. As Russians left Afghanistan the local people start mutiny among them. There aren’t oil resources in Afghanistan as if America would have come there. They killed Zia-ul-Haque, even though he never traveled alone. When his plane crashed he was with two other generals and some American officials were with him as well. Mr. Baig arranged everything that’s why he didn’t accompany him; otherwise he was supposed to be coming back in the same plane with him.
Osama-bin-Laden, in the beginning was following American C.I.A.’s instructions. When he came to know that what the real plans of America are, he left them.
I think behind all this some master mind is working, who doesn’t want peace in this world. It’s very common opinion that Jews are behind this and they are the people who don’t want peace in this world”.
“Mikael, my concept isn’t clear yet”.
“Zohran I thought you will get me, because I have given some indication but you didn’t understand after my long lecture and explanation. Anyway if you see the map of Afghanistan, his neighboring countries are Pakistan and Iran at one side and on the other side it has its border with Russia, those are now independent states. Pakistan’s neighboring countries are China and India. Iran has famous Caspian Lake.
Afghanistan is the only country if you have your army or brigade there; you can manage easily with all super powers. It’s not only America; whole world knows the most precious thing of the world is petroleum. To get the hold and control of petroleum you should be in a country where you can move around easily.
In old ages the attackers or invaders never needed an excuse to enter in some country. They used to invent a small excuse to enter in any country but now it’s not like before. To enter in Afghanistan, American needed an excuse for this purpose Osama bin Laden was the best person. Twin tower are no more, I feel very sorry for those people who lost their lives and the most pitiable thing is that that innocent people lost their lives. If you know that on 11th September four thousand people didn’t go to work. It means they knew that this building will be destroyed. I am not saying this on my own, this list which was discovered by a French journalist. That French newspaper publishes a report about those people who lost their lives and they got this documentation from an insurance company. I don’t know someone bribed them or threatened them, further on they didn’t say anything about this. Americans started claiming that Osama bin Laden and Muslims are culprit.
Nowadays it’s not difficult to make counterfeit passport of any country with any name. So Americans planned it very well and they made a list of pilots who were flying those aero planes, they mentioned their names to their media that they are Muslim. With the help of electronic media they convinced the whole world that behind all this the mastermind is Osama bin Laden, so we are going to search him in Afghanistan. Everyone said yes because the whole world has their personal interest with America. The strange and astonishing thing is that that Osama bin laden is Saudi citizen and they are looking for him in Afghanistan. They are forcing Pakistani government as well to find Taliban and Osama bin Laden”.
“But Mikael if Americans are looking for Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan than what’s the point they went to Iraq as well”.
“There is connection, as you know that their forces were already in Afghanistan. Now they needed an excuse to enter in Iraq. Which was given by their created dictator Saddam Hussein? When twin tower were demolished, after couple of months I read an article in American magazine called “The Times”. When I read that article I discovered it straight away that American’s next target is Iraq.
Most of the oil resources of the world are in Iraq. Other than Iraq other Arab countries have the oil resources. Nearly eighty percent of the world’s oil, we take out from Middle Eastern countries. I don’t like what they do. If these Arab countries use their own brain, they can rule the whole world. These Arab kings after little span of time they need new girl. They care about their reign and kingdom. To save their kingship they pay protection to America, in return America buys their oil and America decide the price of oil not these Arabs.
You know Zulfiquar Ali Bhutto, Shah Faisal and Shehanshah Iran Raza Shah Pahlavi they lost their power almost one after another. Shah Faisal was assassinated by his nephew; Zulfiquar Ali Bhutto was being arrested by an ordinary army man. Shehanshah lost his throne because of Imam Khomeini. Everyone knows he was an American agent. He brought so called religious revolution in Iran but now Americans don’t like Iranian revolution. They didn’t hurt colonel Qazafi , I don’t know how did he escape from them. The founder of this master plan was Bhutto and he wanted to bring all Islamic countries on one platform. This was his crime. Even though he was alcoholic but he thought for the betterment of Muslim community. Someone exposed his plan, in America there is lobby which is against all this. Can you imagine that a man fooled Pakistani people for 11 years by the name of Islam”.
Mikael said this and i asked the question which was in my mouth, “Mikael which is that lobby that you mention quite often in your conversation”.
“It can be Jew’s lobby or maybe they don’t have any religion. By the way these three monotheistic sister Semitic religions are very dangerous for humanity” (this phrase is professor Mikael’s favorite. He repeats it many times in his conversation when he is with me). I am not against them. These are the people who have given the concept of one God to this world, before them people used to pray different divinities. Other than them, Aztec, Inca’s civilizations were flourishing in South America. As a matter of fact Maya and Inca were Aztec’s religious divinities. When European invaders invaded South America and America they ruined these societies and civilizations. Different countries divided these South American and American countries. Like some part was occupied by Spanish invaders, some by French, some by Portuguese, some by British people. Like this an old civilization disappeared from world’s map. Now we have their ruins, legends and fables. Egyptian mythology, Greek mythology, Roman mythology, these all civilizations had the concept of God in different forms. Europeans had pagan gods and Indian civilization had the concept of many gods male and female. They still believe in many divinities”.
I got agreed with his philosophy and said, “Mikael God was always there in every society, in different forms, either it was one God or there were many gods”.
“You can say that”.
“But why we need God, as you always say that there isn’t any God”.
“Every single human being needs security physically and morally. Like kids need their father’s security or if you have elder brother you feel secure in his presence”.
“According to your school of thought what is God”.
According to my philosophy God is just “g+o+d. These are three alphabet, they become god. When there weren’t alphabets in this world. at that time there wasn’t Allah, khuda, bhagwan, god, dieu and dio. We have created god for our own comfort otherwise in this world’s creation and civilization there isn’t any god. People used to pray sun before, than they started bowing their heads in front of moon, stars and fire. They worshiped rivers and mountains. The Arabs had civilization and culture in ancient ages they created god first. Assyrians, Babylonians and Sumerians they used to worship different divinities on their own. Than monotheistic religions came into being. The person who gave the concept of one god, he must have been very intelligent. He gave the idea of such god who was invisible. The advantage of this invisible god was that, after this people stop worshipping the idols and different divinities. They stop idol’s worshipping”.
“So the essence of your explanation of is that that we have created god, god hasn’t created us”.
“That was the main point of my conversation”.
“But Mikael, i am Muslim. I believe in one God. I am not agreed with your philosophy”.
“Zohran i never tried to convince anyone. I don’t even want that someone follow my track than it will become a new sect”.
“What about these religious scriptures and books and all these prophets”.
“This is our own creation. According to my point of view these all prophets can be dictators, politicians and pied pipers but the stories we have heard about them aren’t true. If you read The Bible and The Quran. You will find many stories which are similar. Some stories are exactly same in Quran and Bible”.
“What is the authenticity that what you are saying is true”?
“Because i read both these books thoroughly. I relate you one of the story of bible which is in its genesis chapter.
(when Hazrat Ibrahim didn’t have any child from his wife Sara than she gave him permission that you can marry with your concubine Hajra, her name is Rachel in Bible. He did what she said. Hajra (Rachel) became pregnant and in the mean time Sara conceived a baby as well. Ibrahim’s concubine gave birth to Ismail and Sara gave birth to Ishaque which is Isaac in English. It’s written in the Bible that Ibrahim took his son Ishaque (Isaac) for God’s submission to sacrifice him or slaughter him and according to Muslims, he took his son Ismail for sacrifice. This stories is equally famous in all sister Semitic religions but Muslims are the only people who celebrate this day and celebrate Eid-ul-Azha. According to Jews the wife’s child had more importance than concubine’s child. Hazrat Ismail, according to Islamic genealogical tree is Muslim’s great grant father which means Muslims are his descendent. Similarly Jews are Hazrat Isaac’s descendent. Hazrat Isaac made twelve springs with his stick so they have twelve tribes. These Jews they have convinced Christians very easily but Muslim aren’t agreed with them. In fact Hazrat Isaiah (Jesus) was born in a Jew family. They didn’t like it what Isaiah was doing because they never wanted that someone raise voice against their religion. Hazrat Isaiah was very courageous man. He raised his voice against Jews and he was being crucified by them”.
“it means, Isaiah’s courageousness and gallantry impressed you Mikael”.
“You can say that if this whole story is based upon facts and figures”.
“But if we believe there was some poet called Homer, there were Greek philosophers like Aristophanes, Plato, Aristotle and Virgil. If we accept their poetry and literary work than what’s the problem accepting prophets and their scriptures? Why can’t we accept the existence of God”.
“I read all these religious books as a literature. I find them very interesting but if i read them according to religious point of view than lots of questions arise in my mind. As well as my school of thought, to become a good human being, mankind doesn’t need any religion and God. It’s quite simple thing that one shouldn’t be hurt by your tongue or by your any act, which you do. You don’t hurt someone’s feelings”.
“But Mikael religions prevent us from bad things. it saves you”
“Have you read Bible”.
“No”.
“Then listen: in the first chapter of Bible which is genesis that Hazrat Lot left his people and village because two beautiful angels came to his home as guests. His villagers or you can say people wanted to have sex with them. You know what he said, you can have my two daughters, and they are beautiful. You can have sexual intercourse with them. In Islamic books it’s written, Hazrat Lot said you can do nikah with them. They refused to do this. Do you know any father in this world who will provide his own daughters for sexual intercourse? After this Hazrat Lot left his village and with his two daughters and wife. On that day whole village was being destroyed because of heavy rain. Some people say that it was acid rain. As a matter of fact we haven’t found until yet any geological proofs of this rain. Lot’s wife left him in the middle and she became a woman of stone but where is her statue we don’t know. Than Lot continued his journey. They took shelter in a cave. When it was very late, both daughters offered wine to their father. They had sexual intercourse with their father one by one because he was drunk so he didn’t know what happened. Now you tell me Zohran your God will ask these things to his prophet to do with his daughters. We learn these lessons from world’s religions”.
“Mikael you know that they have changed their Bible a lot”.
“If I say the same thing about Quran, you won’t like it but there are certain points in Quran which are debatable. All I want to tell you that these religions of the world they give you only bloodshed and massacres. People made religion as a base of war, behind religion they have their own interests. Have you ever thought that these religious leader they don’t do suicide bombing. They use innocent and simple people for this purpose. They convince them that God will be happy if you will do this. This isn’t the basic doctrine of Islam, Christianity or Judaism. Their philosophy isn’t based upon human blood”.
“But what’s the problem with religion. Religion doesn’t say doing all this”.
“There is nothing wrong if they don’t do extremism and terrorism”.
“This is the duty of mullah and maullawis”.
“no, not at all. This is your duty to tell the people; it’s not that you go for jihad without thinking what you are doing”.
“Okay Mikael I should go now. Today’s conversation was very interesting. Even though I am not agreed with you at certain points but you made me think upon these things”.
“Oh no, don’t need to worry. Don’t tell anyone what I told you. It’s very dangerous nowadays talking about these things. Even I myself call strict follower of Sunnites Muslim. Sometime I feel sorry for Amara and Alhan, I can’t control myself. They are following the wrong track. They were Muslim before and they are and i pray for them they should remain Muslim because it’s nice to have some faith”.
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After having discussion with professor Mikael, I felt strange changes in my thoughts. I started thinking that what are these world’s religions. What is God, if this world is thirteen hundred thousand years old .the origin of civilization goes up to homo-erectus and homo-sapiens. After that human being had evolution process
. When they became civilized they invented religions. So God waited for us to become civilize. Then he created prophets and after that we wrote religious scriptures. If we judge the history and civilization of the world in religious books, the world’s history is not more than fifteen thousand years old or you can say fifty thousand years old. Egyptians pyramids are five thousand years old. The history of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa is five thousand years old. Soan valley civilization is quarter million years old. According to Mikael there were two other civilization Aztec and Inca which disappeared from this world. We can find there signs only in fossils. If God hasn’t created this world than who is the creator of this universe. If we have created God than who has created us. I think Mirza Ghalib was right,
“na tha kuch to khuda tha
na hota kuch to khuda hota
Daboya mujh ko honay nay
na mein hota to kiya hota
Mirza Ghalib.
I started created the scenario of this world’s creation in my brain.
First of all God would have created seven skies and seven earths. Then he would have decorated the sky with stars. He would have created sun, than mountain, rivers planet earth and he would have created gravity. Then he would have created his parliament, than plants, animals, and rest of other things. Lastly he would have created Adam. So it means when God created Adam there was this planet earth. We came here as aliens. So when God punished Adam and Eve and he sent them to this earth from paradise, they must have been arrived at different parts of the planet earth. It must have very strange that they were living on their own. Which religion they must have had at that time. To offer their prayer where they would turn their face.
If you read all religious scriptures, they close all the doors and windows of brain to think about this universe.
Who created man or Adam? in religious books the answer is very simple. God created Adam.
If you read the story of Abele and Qabeel. One brother kills his brother and he carries his brother’s dead body on his shoulder and he saw a crow that showed him how to dig and bury something. It means there were birds on this earth when Adam and Eve came to this world. They were being exiled on such a place which already existed. It seems like that some film director made a film set and then he invited two big stars to act according to set, scene and situation.
Noah’s making ship. Raining for forty days and forty nights. His son went into fish’s belly. First of all even nowadays sometime it rains days and nights for many days and people get disconnected from jobs or they don’t find any mean to move from one place to another. Thousand years before there wouldn’t have any proper drainage system. It’s quite possible that area would have been flooded. This is quite natural thing when we have floods or other calamities; we need support or help of something. When we have water or flood we look for anything which doesn’t sink and wood was the only thing at that time which floats. Now we have other things which float but thousands years before they must have been using wood for floating. Noah made ship because he knew how to make ship. According to professor Mikael there are no sign of this flood on this earth geographically or geologically.
After this Hazrat Ibrahim’s sacrificing his son for God’s submission tells us that for Gods’ submission we can sacrifice animals and other things. It doesn’t mean that he only accept man or woman. We can sacrifice our animals as well for our divinities’s pleasure or to please them. Before this people used to sacrifice their daughters and sons for god’s pleasure and for their divinities. Like in Egypt it was custom to sacrifice a beautiful girl right at the bank of Nile River just not to have flood in that area.
Suddenly i thought that Muslims say that there are hundred and twenty four thousand prophets (124000), we don’t even know the names of twenty four prophets. Why all of them were born in Arab countries. On other continent like Europe or America there wasn’t any prophet. If god had sent the entire prophet for the Arab to show them righteous path so why they haven’t find any righteous path. So it means we are the one who publicise and advertise them. so we have created god, god hasn’t created us. As this thought came in my mind. I felt scream and strange kind of scariness. I started reciting “astaghfar-ullah”. I raised my hands and touched them with my ears. I asked forgiveness from God. I said “nauz billah min zaleka”. I came out from my room and i entered in our drawing room and started watching cricket match.
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Professor Mikael entered in the class at exact time. As usual he hung his felt hat on peg, placed his stick of silver handle in a corner and left the books which were in his hand on the table. He started his lecture. The whole class started listening his lecture. Sometime he used to ask some question to students intentionally just to know that the students are listening to him, they are concentrated on lecture or they are thinking something else. Like this he used to see the students involvement in lecture. So for him it was easy to know their mental level and calibre. In today’s lecture he found that Zohran wasn’t concentrating whatever he was saying. He said, what’s wrong with you Zohran. You are very quite in the class. May God bless you”.
Professor Mikael started using intentionally Insha-Allah, Masha-Allah and Subhan-Allah in his conversation due to Taliban’s activities. He was very afraid of all these extremist’s destruction. Now life was very cheap that if you said something against religion it was quite normal that some religious fanatic would have killed you, doing suicide bombing and in return he would have paradise ticket.
Zohran said, “There isn’t anything wrong with me. Nowadays I think a lot so that’s why i didn’t concentrate on your lecture”.
“It’s all right. Go to canteen and have a cup of tea and eat some samosas as well. Tell the canteen owner that writes the bill in my account”.
Whole class got shocked that how did this happens. Professor Mikael is all changed. Now he doesn’t see anything awkward in Amara and Alhan’s personality”.
Zohran said, “no Mikael i am all right”.
Amara said, “Zohran your problem is that that your inclination isn’t towards religion”.
Alhan appreciated and got agreed with Amara and said, “i am agreed with Amara’s point of view. You should come toward’s namaz (pray). It stops you from bad things”.
Zohran said angrily, “no it’s not, after offering five time’s prayer, you tie a bomb with your body and kill innocent people and you think that the angels will be waiting for you in paradise, carrying garlands in their hands or you can say in their wings. No no, I would love to stay away from such kind of prayers and religion”.
Professor Mikael said, “Zohran the truth isn’t that. There is nothing wrong in Islam or in namaz (prayer). It’s only the interpretation they do”.
Amara and Alhan got conscious, Mikael is praising Islam and religion and Zohran is criticizing religion. It’s quite possible that their brains might have been changed. Like in film Face Off, John Travolta gets the face of Nicolas Cage and Nicolas Cage gets the face of John Travolta.
Zohran said, “Mikael these Taleban are only in Afghanistan and Pakistan or they are in other countries as well”.
“Yes off course. In Italy during the time of renaissance, Italy was under the control of religious priests and papas. At that time a group of Inquisitors came into being. They were very strict, if someone said even I little thing against church or Christianity he was being thrown in dungeon. They used to burn him alive. Their extremism was at very high level, if some woman added more salt in cooking she was being killed. It’s a proverb for Inquisitors in Europe. The word inquisitor came in English vocabulary because of them. In Spain Inquisitors killed thirty-five thousand women. Than in seventeenth century the Catechumen time came. They used to kidnap little children and used to train them for terrorism purpose. They used to make them Taliban of Christianity. There is a novel in English language but I don’t remember its name. The person who wrote this novel was from England. They sent someone especially to kill that person who wrote this novel but they didn’t succeed. You shouldn’t think that Muslim are the only extremist in this world. Christians and Jews are extremist as well. these all three monotheistic religions condemned and denounced extremism. You will never hear this news that Osama decided to do suicide bombing. They always select illiterate and innocent people for this job. They select their people from small villages where they don’t have basic needs, they don’t have clean drinking water. They live in shacks. These Taliban must be drinking mineral water. Whenever i go to England and i meet with some Englishman. When they come to know that i am from Pakistan the first thing they ask is “where is Osama bin Laden” than i respond them that he must be having breakfast with George W. Bush. All these Europeans ask to every Pakistani that where is Osama bin Laden like he is our first cousin and we know everything about him. they don’t even know what is the difference between Osama and Laden. Either Osama is the son of Laden or Laden is the son of Osama. Even though it’s very easy to tell that Osama bin Laden which mean Osama is the son of Laden. This media made him Brad Pitt of terrorism”.
Amara asked, “Mikael, Osama bin Laden, is he alive”.
“of course he is alive. He is helping Americans being alive. As long as he will be alive, Americans will have concrete reason to stay in Afghanistan. They can stay in Iraq, Afghanistan even though if anything happens in any Islamic country they can blame Osama bin Laden and easily enter in any Islamic country. He is their golden bird. The chicken that gives golden eggs, nobody would like to kill him”.
He wanted to say something more but his period was finished and professor Mikael was very strict about time. He habitually took his felt hat and placed it on his head carried his silver handle’s stick and took his books in his other and left the class.
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Zohran was standing outside the professor Mikael’s home. He rang the bell and waited for a while. After few moments professor Mikael appeared. He opened the gate asked Zohran to come inside. While they were walking towards room, he said to Zohran, “I knew that you will come today that’s why I didn’t go anywhere. Let’s go inside, we will chat and we will have tea as well”.
“Zohran was walking with professor Mikael mutely and wordlessly. As he stepped in his drawing room, he got shocked.
“Mikael, these Quranic verses. When did you hang them”.
“you know Zohran, after all I am human being. I have every right to save my life. I started receiving obnoxious and detestable calls that I am kafir (infidel) and my life is in danger. So i became a fictitious and fabricated Muslim”.
“So this is the reason that you were praising Islam in the class”.
“You can say that but certain things were true. As a matter of fact people who become blind because of religious extremism, there is no remedy for them. Even though, if they do PhD. or they are illiterate. There is no difference among them”.
“You are very right”.
“Zohran you will never believe, when i go to England, highly educated people, scholars and intellectuals sometime they talk rubbish. They talk about religion without logics. If you hear them you will never believe that you are talking with some intellectual. Christians they curse God six days and on Sunday they go to church and ask for pardon and forgiveness. Christians are two steps ahead from Muslim. There is little independent state in Italy’s city Rome which is called Vatican City. It has the same value for Christians like Muslims have for Makah Moazma and Jerusalem for Jews. You can say anything about anyone but you can’t say anything against Papa who controls Vatican City. Christians from all around the world donate money to run this religious state. Christian donates money to Vatican City at certain stages. If you are living your life according to Christian’s rules and regulation and you are related to church than you should be baptized in some church. The priest drop some water at child’s head and this child becomes baptized. Baptize means beat or drop. It’s originated from Latin language. After baptism, this child becomes catholic Christian. After baptism priest gives you a book. After baptism the child’s parents give some donation to church as much as they afford. Then there is communion (spiritual union). The child’s parents celebrate his communion in the church. They donate some money to church. after this the child’s parents celebrate his cresima’s ceremony. In this ceremony they use oil. If that child remains Christian when he becomes young than he marries in church. which is matrimonial. The person who gets marry in church, it’s nearly impossible for him to give divorce to his wife. It’s vice versa. In matrimonial ceremony church get some money. The last celebration of Christians with church is funeral. If the person was following Christian faith until death the priest performs his funeral rituals in the church. If no one claims his property than his all money and property goes to church. So like this Christianity’s mafia is earning money from last two thousand years. He is getting donation from all around the world from last two thousand years. Vatican City has influence in different European governments and in Italy they have parallel government with their parliament. They have many sects and they all are very well organized. One of them is Catholic than Orthodox, Evangelicals, Adventist, Puritans, Presbyterians and the strongest among them is Protestants. This sect was born in 15th century. Four different reformers started their activities in different European countries. Like Martin Luther, Zwingli, Knox and Calvin. The followers of this sect were being burnt, were being exiled. Lots of protestant migrated to United States of America. There are two Christian sects who are very chummy; one is Jehovah’s Witness and other is Mormons. They glued themselves with a person. I had meeting with them in London many times. They will follow you up to your home. They have brochures in all languages. You just tell them that you are from Pakistan. They take out brochure in Urdu language from their bag which they carry all the time with them”.
“Mikael have you ever had any experience discussing with them about haram (not allowed) and halal (according to Islamic law and allowed to do)”.
“Yes of course, as soon as they come to know my name, they ask me are you Pakistani, Muslim, why you don’t eat pork. I respond them, why you don’t eat dog. They say that it’s not allowed in our religion. Same is the case with us, pork isn’t allowed in our religion. Anyway according to Bible, Christians aren’t allowed to eat pork meat even they aren’t allowed to eat rabbit’s meat. In Old Testament it’s clearly written that pork meat and alcohol isn’t allowed in Christianity.
If you give Bible’s reference, than they say that it’s written in Old Testament. In New Testament it’s allowed. Old Testament is Jew’s sacred book that isn’t our book. Than i asked them why you have attached Old Testament with Bible i mean with New Testament. Then they say that it contains the stories of Jesus’ great grandfathers. Than i ask them Jesus Christ by himself was born in a Jew family. Then they say that, Jews stopped following the doctrine and rituals of their religion so Jesus came to this world to show them the right path. New Testament wasn’t written by Jesus Christ. It was written by his four disciples. They have written the life story and biography of Jesus Christ. Four of them are different. Everyone is different from other. It’s like Muslims’s hadiths. If you read Saha Satta’s hadiths they don’t match each other. They all are different. They aren’t agreed at one point”.
“By the way what’s logic behind halal and haram”.
“it’s a very simple question. In old ages people used to live in jungles. They used to drink animal’s blood. When Jews gave the concept of one God. Then they started thinking about animals as well. We should eat animals’s meat without blood. Jews were the first people who gave the concept of halal meat. Which means we shouldn’t kill or slaughter animal brutally? We should halal them. Think about our system of slaughtering animal. We cut their throat slowly and slowly and according to Islamic law we say Allah-o-Akbar, Allah-o-Akbar which means God is great. We cut their throat slowly. We wait for the blood that it should go out from their body completely. Jews used to do like that and they still do this but Christian eats the meat without doing this. They don’t care if blood goes out or not. Otherwise Bible doesn’t allow them. There is a sect in Christianity called Seventh Day Adventist. They eat meat without blood. They call it halal meat. Jews eat halal meat as well.
Jews are very extremist and very strict in their religion. They don’t eat bread which contains salt and yeast in it. They say that God has given us wheat without anything. So we will eat it pure. They don’t add anything. Not even in Europe, all around the world where ever there are Jews, they get Azzimo bread from Israel. If you see the packing of this bread, you will see written in Hebrew language on it. This bread is made for Jews specially. Which doesn’t contain salt and yeast? They use halal clothes, soap, and shampoo and there are so many things in their religion which are halal”.
“By the way Mikael this is the height of extremism. What you think we Muslim or you say that these Muslim, why they don’t eat pork meat”.
“First of all it’s written in Quran that pork’s meat is haram for Muslim. For a true Muslim this is enough when Quran doesn’t allow him to eat pork’s meat, so one shouldn’t eat. A good Muslim who is following the path of God and Islam, he shouldn’t eat the meat of pork. If you talk logically, sometime highly qualified scholar can’t convince you logically why it’s not allowed to eat in Islam. All Muslims don’t eat pork meat without knowing any logical reasoning. They even hate pork’s face. For them it’s an ugly animal. Once I went to a imam of London’s Jamia Masjid and I asked him why Islam doesn’t permit Muslims to eat the meat of pork. He said, Mr.; pork is dirty and ugly animal. Islam doesn’t allow such animal which is dirty.
I said, water buffalo, and cow they are dirty as well. They walk on their shit as well sometime. Aren’t they dirty? He said, if Islam doesn’t allow you to eat this dirty animal than what’s the point. There are so many other animals which are halal. You can eat them. If you won’t eat pork’s meat what will happen. He didn’t convince me but he was forcing me to accept his logical reasoning.
Anyway if someone asks me, than I would say Jews didn’t allowed to their followers than the same thing the Christians did (anyway now they do). Lastly Muslims followed many Jews customs they didn’t allow their followers not to eat it. As you know all Prophets were born in Arab countries. Something like one lakh and twenty four thousand. In middle eastern countries the temperature is very hot always. Arabs were not allowed to eat all such kind of animals which weren’t favorable to their climate. As you know that pork’s meat has a lot of fat in it and it grows very fast. It’s good for European countries especially for Scandinavian countries. According to health precautionary matters, pork meat isn’t good for their health. You just imagine, if some Prophets would have born in Scandinavian countries or in some Siberian land than pork’s meat would have been halal. It wouldn’t have been haram even it would have been very respectable in religious community eating pork meat. You know that in ancient ages there weren’t refrigerators to preserve things. in middle eastern countries even in indo-pak subcontinent, these all meats which we get from pork, cow and buffalo, if you don’t preserve them, they become rotten in short time. You know that Indian don’t eat cow meat. Muslim they don’t eat of horse, it’s not haram in Islam but they use it for different purposes. Like in old ages they used to use it for transport, logistics reasons. It was useful thing for wars and battles as well. Now Arabs bet on horse racing (I am talking about rich sheikhs). They keep their savings in Swiss accounts. Bull, cow and buffalo these all are useful animal. On the other hand we eat the meat of sheep, goat and chicken a lot. You imagine if Islam would have said that chicken is haram in Islam than what would have happen with mullahs and maullawis. They would have died”.
As Zohran heard this he started laughing.
“Mikael we read in newspapers quite often that pork’s meat isn’t allowed in Islam to eat and it’s dangerous for health as well. Even medical science proved it that pork’s meat isn’t good for health”.
“What you read in news papers that its meat isn’t good for health. For your kind information these all meats like meat of cow, buffalo, bull and pork none of them are good for health. The doctors, who write these types of articles, there are groups who buy them, bribe them. They write these types of article which are ambiguous, so with their article they make happy Muslims and protect modern science as well. Sometime these scientists write in the newspapers that cigarette smoking isn’t dangerous for health, it’s good for heath. It has nothing to do with it. Every single person has different resistance system in his lungs. Some people smoke a lot and it doesn’t affect their lungs and some people smoke very little but it affects their lungs similarly drinking alcohol. If your lever is strong than alcohol will not hurt you. It’s common sense that excess of everything is bad. If you will exceed the limit it will hurt you”
“Mikael i don’t know either I am good Muslim or bad but the type of Muslims which I see nowadays, I would never like to become like them. I don’t want to become such type of Muslim”.
“Look Zohran, you are an intelligent person. I want you to become a good human being instead of good Muslim. You are good person and try to improve yourself and try to become a useful part of this society. I never tried to convince anybody neither you nor someone else. I don’t want that someone follow my philosophy. I speak with you openly because you have a lot of curiosity about knowing things. The other thing is that you have a lot of courage to hear me what I say. Otherwise according to Alhan and Amara i should be killed”.
“How do you know that”.
“i know that, I can understand what’s going on around me”.
“Mikael I should go now”.
“Why not.”
I said khuda hafiz and took my way to home.
______________
When Zohran came home, his all clothes were wet. As he stepped in veranda, he heard his mother’s voice, “Zohran beta (son) you are back”.
“Yes ammi”.
“beta (son), it was raining cats and dogs, how did you come”?
“ammi Alhan dropped me. I left my motorbike in college’s parking”.
“beta (son) you change your clothes, I bring your lunch at the dining table”.
“ammi first of all I will take shower than I will change my clothes. Than I want you to make tea for me and pakoras as well”.
“okay beta, as you wish, it would have been better if you would have had your lunch”.
Zohran took his shower, changed his clothes ad came to dining table. Everything was ready on the table like, tea, pakoras, samosay, ketchup and mayonnaise.
“ammi it rained a lot. I think nala laye would have been flooded. Lots of poor people will suffer of this. Their houses will be drowned”.
“Yes my son”.
Zohran and his mother were enjoying with pakoras, samosas and tea and they were chatting as well. When Zohran found sometime after having pakoras and tea. He asked his mother,
“ammi, is there any letter for me”?
His mother gave him a letter and said, “I didn’t tell you before because i was for sure that you won’t eat anything and you will start reading this letter. You will forget everything”.
Zohran took the letter and said, “O ammi you”.
Zohran took the letter and he came to his room. The stamps on the envelop were of the photo of queen of England. It was professor Mikael’s hand writing. He opened the letter hurriedly. There were only three lines on it.
“Zohran I have decided to stay in England permanently because it was impossible for me to live in Pakistan because of my ideas and philosophies”.
This piece of paper had the email id, phone number and address of professor Mikael.

SARFRAZ BAIG