Can Pakistan beat India Today?

This is the question of the day. Invariably, every Pakistani cricket follower would be interested in finding an answer to this.
Short answer, basing purely on capability, would be' yes, they can', if it doesn't rain - washed out would be tasteless, besides we need more than a point. But can they perform to potential is difficult to call because anwer to this falls into the corridor of uncertainty like those length off cutters on off stump. Their unpredictably sometimes makes bookies sweat. Mostly, they don't take to the pitch with hunger for win. During the game, you look at Sarfraz' face, you don't have to look at the scoreboard. Captain loses composure way too early. Instead of changing strategy, he keeps changing shades of purple on his face. We have long been basking in the glory of Champions Trophy win couple of years back and tend to totally ignore two humiliating defeats by India in Asia Cup last year. India is balanced & in form team.
Still, its a new day, new game.  You never know which shade of mercurial may turn up today at Old Trafford. A telltale sign of winning mood is when they throw themselves around in the field & take catches; know that they are in for the kill. That team better show up today to break the jinx of illusive World Cup victory over India. Literally, that Moqa Moqa song has become the life story of my generation. May be today is the Moqa those decades long held up fireworks go of instead of going back to the storeroom for another four years.
Victory is important to stay in the tournament and if it happens at the expense of India, it would be double the fun. Otherwise double time grief: loss to India, top four out of reach & early flight home. This picture is way too gloomy for any optimism. We would rather ride our lucky stars & hope for win. Hope is after all, the fuel of life no matter how mercurial is the bet, losing on Pakistan would be worth losing & wining - infinite joy.

Say no to holy cows

Its time we start thinking like Pakistanis. No stupid affiliations. No jiala, no patwari, no insafian, no religious political worker without opinion is worth it anymore. And the opinion is Pakistan. It has to be Pakistan. 

If Sharifs & Zardaris are facing the music, be fully prepared to take IK & his incompetent team to task as well. No military establishment, no plain cloth warriors, no generals, no judges; nobody is above the law. 

Law has taken its course in this country in recent years. Already a deviant justice of Islamabad High Court has been shown the way home. A brigadier & a scientist involved in espionage are being hanged & a lieutenant general who was a step short of being COAS is sentenced for 14 years. 'Sea change' is there. We have started saying no to holy cows. 

Whosoever he is, whosoever his father is/was , whatsoever he has done, if he is unable to justify means of his or his family's asset, he is not above the law. No more holy cows. Mr Faiz Isa must be a great judge. He must have an impeccable record. But allegations change it. If allegations are wrong, the accused comes out strong & vice versa. Unfortunately, instead of clearing his name through proper judicial channel, he is purposefully politicising the issue. Being an insider, he is playing around with the law. All his greatness & impeccable judicial background is at work to make the whole system look like a joke. Instead of facing the law, he intentionally leaked his letter to media. How pathetic that a person cribbing about leakage of information is himself leaking his letter to president which is supposedly an official and confidential correspondence. References filed against him could be wrong or ill intentioned but its niether above nor beyond the law. If he doesn't trust or is unable to answer his own judicial system, why he is on judicial system. Best form of protest could have been stepping down from the holy berth. Men of integrity have done such things in the past. If a judge in highest office or his family has properties in posh areas of London and USA, why can't these be justified. He needs to answer because holy cows is a thing of past now.

Only Allah knows the whole Truth. 

Sighting mischief in moon

Allah SWT said:

يَسْئَلُونَكَ عَنِ الْأَهِلَّةِ ۖ قُلْ هِىَ مَوٰقِيتُ لِلنَّاسِ وَالْحَجِّ ۗ 
"They ask you, [O Muhammad], about the new moons. Say, They are measurements of time for the people and for Hajj.
(QS. Al-Baqara 2: Verse 189)
This is an executive order. So there is no doubt left that our measurement of time has to be aligned with the moon. But if there is little space of doubt in tradition,  void in scientific reason or an opportunity to create hegemony, we the land of pure make a meal of it.
Was there not enough confusion on Eid Moon courtesy Mr barely seeing Muneeb & Mr ever disagreeing Popalzai that now Mr totally non serious Fawad Chaudhary is introducing a new tradition of predetermined Lunar Calendar. It would be a relief that this issue is settled once and for all but unqualified Minister of Science & Technology both on religion & technology, as a matter of habit, may only be trying to stay relevant in news. With his tongue-in-cheek approach, he can barely be trusted with sincerity of purpose to resolve the issue. Its more likely, he is just enjoying the discord he has been able to create with his idea of fixing Eid dates beforehand.
On the other hand, let's see if Mr Muneeb keeps the tradition of moon sighting alive and after years & years of government funding for his moon fest, this time he pays from his own pocket. Let's see if he compromises on five star accommodation & puts up in a lesser hotel. In which case, like every other mullah, he may show the propensity of finding sponsors to create more 'fasad' & confusion, in grieving moments of lost TA/DA. Let's see if government saves proclaimed expense of Rs four million without much fuss.
And Popalzai, he is just another hegemonic mullah. It is weakness of state that mullahs have been calling the shots. Can he announce to step back from his activity because it divides nation rather than uniting it. But he won't give an inch of a space he created for himself over the years among the common folks of KPK. His legacy of different moon tradition has become his identity over the years & this mullah would not let go of the popularity he 'earned' through the divide he successfully managed overtime. 'Fasad' is favorite sport of mullah.
Addition of new moon tradition by Minister of everything but Science & Technology is as insincere & hegemonic as Mufti Muneeb's telescope and as mischievous & divisive as Popalzai's network of moon sighting.
Only sincere leadership can stop mischief. Government should have had opened up a debate on national media, followed by debate in Parliament & could have made a consensual law on the issue. But hang on, if they debated issues & promulgated laws in Parliament then what will be roles of Murad Saeed, Khawaja Asif & Murtaza Wahab type speakers who create such diversions with their eloquence that real issues never surface at relevant forums.
Only Allah knows the whole Truth.

Pakistan versus PTM

Don't attach too much attention to ethnicity card being played by Anti Pakistan elements home & abroad. They have tried their luck in the guise of TTPs, BLAs,  Kalbhoshans, sectarian violence, ethnic separatist, lingual parties even frontline political parties but it didn't work. PTM's cause of ethnicity stands no chance against cause of Pakistan which transcends geographic boundaries.
Before we bulldoze smallness of paid ethnic separatist, lets examine enormity of Pakistan's cause first. Foundations are soundly laid on Islamic ideology though we messed up overtime because we have been bad managers without good leadership. But as it stands, this region has a big role to play in times to come before end of times. Though we cannot be completely certain that its going to be us or others after us. Or may be end of times is much farther away & may be some other folks ruling this region get to play this role. Yet, hope is there & we should all contribute in that cause by bracing ourselves & equipping our next generations with power of Quran. Hope is the fuel of life & hope must remain alive.
This country has survived against the odds, it will continue to survive In sha Allah.
A bunch of thugs with their ethnic cause bear no significance at all. Government institutions should play their legit role & put the genie of Pathetic Thugs Movement back into the bottle.
This government may have been falling short on economic front. And being blackmailed by its allies in absence of any opposition & could not put together a competent team: still has shown strength on diplomatic front (Feb 2019, post Pulwama events) & internal security issues like handling of TLP. PTM issue in comparison appears a non issue.
Insafians are short tempered & believe they hold the battlefield of social media. A new type of political extremism is brewing. They don't realize we have to identify problems to incompetent government team & kick them to work. This government and its team purposefully wastes time in Parliament by 'launching' guided missiles like Murad Saeed & others. PM barely visits Parliament, is he any different in this regard from NS. We can't afford any alternatives. Current set of rulers will mend their ways, apply corrections & deliver.
Just thought appropriate to share the bigger picture. Bigger picture clearly shows bigger role than we might be playing thus far. Quran is the only hope. Ramadan is the best time to spend more time with Quran.
Blessed Ramadan

Going into Cricket World Cup

UGoing into World Cup:
Pakistan Cricket Team's performance in last 13 ODIs:
Won: 0
Lost: 11
No Result: 2
Only good news is that Pakistani top & middle order batsmen scored ten centuries in 17 ODIs played in 2019. Bad news is that they won only two matches out of 17 in past five months. And the reason is simple, our traditional strength, bowling is not delivering. In 17 ODIs in 2019, out of 150 wickets(less two washed out games), Pakistan only managed to take 76. So on average, bowlers are not getting more than five wickets a match. And even worst part is that spinners only got 26 wickets & fast bowlers managed 46 wickets.
Shaheen Shah Afridi 11
Usman Shinwari 10
Junaid Khan 6
Husnain 6
Hassan Ali 5
Wahab Riaz 3 (pllayed only one match)
Muhammad Amir 2
Faheem Ashraf 2
Muhammad Abbas 1
Usman Shinwari managed to get 10 wickets in 9 games againat SA & Australia & didn't make it in the side touring England, same is the case with Junaid.
There seems to be no real bite in spin department either.
Despite, Mickey's fitness regime, fielding hardly showed  any signs of improvement.
Body language of team lacked winning drive, as if they forgot the taste of win.
Captain looked helpless, though he finally made 97 hitting couple of sixes after 17 matches but his decision making has been below par & grip on team very loose.
Teams favorite for this world cup have to be in order of their ICC Rankings & recent performances. But my order of favorites starts with Englang  which have shown some invincibility about them. Australia would be second who look determined to defend the title. India is No3 for because its well balanced. SA & NZ are always knocking on the doors of world cup winners club. My favorite, for once would be England basing purely on their recent ODI cricket.
On purely cricketing terms i.e. batting, bowling, fielding & captaincy, this is one of the weaker Pakistan Team going in to World Cup. What to talk of big boys, they might struggle overcoming lesser sides like Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies & Bangladesh.
But Pakistan Cricket has never been about experts' analysis or statistical reviews. Their viewership across the cricketing world is based on their guile, flare & uncertain ways. Plus its Ramadan. Who knows?

My Best Ramadan Ever

It has been my best Ramadan ever like the ones before this. I found a place where besides offering Traveeh, Quran can be understood in a contemporary way. 

Without any qualms with those who attend Traveeh congregations, it beats the logic of Islam that we listen to the Quran but make no endeavor to understand it. And without any disregard to importance of Quranic recitation & its acoustic value, speed reading in order to 'finish Quran' in hurry has always been beyond my ken. Solely for this reason, I shifted from Hizf-e-Quran to Fahm-ul-Quran for my kids. It is practicable and workable. Just sit together with your family & discuss few Ayahs of Quran daily or few days of the week. It works like magic because this is the only way everyone would understand their role & duties to Allah & each other.

River Hills- Save Mart

The place is Al Shajr House in Bahria Town Phase 7 at 6th floor of River Hills above Save Mart. Google pin:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/CtehX9q2ALuRVbv98

Mr Ehsan & his wife Mrs Zubia Ehsan are the owner & sponsor couple of Al Shajr House. The couple holds important positions in Bahria Town. May Allah accept their efforts. 

Brother Abid Ishaq leads eightn rakahs traveeh nawafil. After Farz prayers there is a ten minutes interactive session on crux of Ayahs to be recited in next four Rakahs. It also includes collective remembrance of Duas therein. Number of Ayahs (roughly couple of Rukus) is foretold on whatsapp group of Al Shajr. Having consulted same Ayahs in own time does wonders to developing better understanding. Then a second ten minutes interactive session on Quran is followed by two cycles each (four Nawafil) in slow, understandable & clear voiced recitation of same Ayahs. Key is quality not quantity. Idea is to take away some Quranic understanding this Ramadan. Lastly, three Witr & dispersal. The activity starts sharp 2100 hrs & ends sharp 2230 hrs daily. Its open house, so everyone's welcome. Separate arrangements for ladies have been made. The activity is very subtly titled MBRE (My Best Ramadan Ever), so is this blog entry. 

Lastly, few words on Brother Abid Ishaq who was raised in UAE & moved to US at the age of sixteen. After pursuing The American Dream for some time, he was intelligent & blessed enough to understand the futility of western ways of life. By 2002, within five years, a spiritually barren person became Imam at Islamic Society of Edmond. That is some progress folks. He was destined for even better things. He moved to Pakistan & worked on good positions from Froebels School Superintendent to Regional Development Manager of Edexcel/ Pearsons. And from writing Islamic columns in Khaledj Times to running his own international educational consultancy, he made some profitable ventures. However, there are better things in life than making good money & chosen ones get to play those roles. After a very sad demise of his loving parents within seven months in 2013-14, he devoted his full time to Quranic Teachings (free of charge). 

خيركم من تعلم القرآن وعلمه. 

Coming across such effort by such people, it was an obligation to acknowledge, encourage & share the good work taking place at Al Shajr House. It is being modeled on the concept of mosque cum Islamic Center and we need many more of these. Would that, every mosque in this country turns into an Islamic Center instead of a particular sect center. Mosque is not just a prayer place, it has to be given a central role as community center & Quran the book of choice. We have to keep pace with world by keeping Islam relevant to modern thought. We have to free our next generation from inhibitions on authenticity, relevance & value of our way of life i.e. Islam. That is our only hope. 

There are other programs at Al Shajr including Sarf, Nahwa, Tajweed & advanced Quranic learnings for all ages by learned scholars in both genders. Interested can contact via text message at whatsapp on this number 0305-5559803. May Allah reward everyone involved. 

Only Allah knows the whole Truth.

Happy mother's year every year

For any other relation, celebrating a day in year makes some sense but for mothers nothing less than mother's year at the start of every year would suffice. Celebtating one day in a year & sharing high sounding words on social media is nothing less than an insult to the relation which transcends geographic & cosmic boundaries because love of a mother for her child is the miniature sample of Creator's love for the creation.
One day celebrations would have been fine if mothers took a single day off during labor or just a day off from feeding & cleaning when we were helpless infants. Or for one night, had she enjoyed slumber when as kids we were unwell. Or for one day had she stopped caring & loving us at any stage of our lives.None of our words or actions can do justice to what she had been doing all this time. How can ever we pay tribute to something we don't even know. What would be the payback of those early years which are blank in our memory. Up to first four & sometimes more years we don't even have a single memory of things. And during those years of total dependence, what she had been up to & how we made through them, is totally & absolutely her dedication & unconditional love & care. Can we ever repay? Is a day in a year & fancy social media posts with bombastic words make up for her time spent with love in our care.
Mother is a 24/7 & 365 days a year relation which ought to be celebrated every day of our lives. For Mother's Year every year, I totally agree with you. For Mother's Day in a year oozing love & care on social media, some pics & pinups is disrespectful, ungrateful & a sheer insult to the relation.
One day dedication is a trap of new way of life where parents are initially relegated from life when kids reach the 'freedom year' on 18th birthday. Then dissociation from real relations & quest for new ones begins. Some settle others don't. My life, my privacy, my freedom remains the mantra of life. Parents end up in old homes. They get visits on mothers or fathers days in a year with hugs, cards & snapshots for the memory. Grandkids also bring them cakes & chocolates & get to spend a day with their grandparents. Thats not us. But by adopting this bull-crap of mothers & fathers days in a year as an accepted norm we are surely heading towards that end. It would be a sorry end. We must celebrate mothers & fathers year every year. Because this is what dustinguishes us from them. This is actually who we are.
Only Allah knows the whole Truth.