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Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 9,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 3 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow–
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor’s cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out–
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit–
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.

- Author unknown

P.S.: Don’t brood. Don’t give up. Don’t berate yourself. That’s a lot of Don’ts! So what should you DO?  If you’ve had a bad day, analyse what went wrong, how it went wrong and think of ways you could’ve prevented it. Talk to yourself so that your mind registers it. Next time, your mind will unconsciously guide you to avoid repeating the same mistakes. This poem is for every one who’s feeling down in the dumps today.

I’m here to give you an inside look into Pottermore so you can know exactly how much you’re missing if you’re not already a part of it

First off, I have to admit the tumult of new information completely surprised me. I thought Pottermore would be some sort of social forum where we would have to wait for Jo to post new stuff (probably subscribe to feeds to know immediately when she adds a comment or two). But no! Pottermore takes you through the chapters of EVERY book, and as you  browse, excerpts introduce you to “moments” in the book, which are then elaborately illustrated for you. These “moments” are visually stunning and they are animated so that you can zoom into three levels of focus, collecting chocolate frog cards, books, galleons and unlocking exclusive content from the author herself!

Above, you can see how you can zoom three times into Platform Nine and Three Quarters artwork.

To give you an idea of how much new content there is just for the first book, I’ll list some here:

1. Name origins: How Jo came up with names for Privet Drive, Platform 9 3/4, Hogwarts Express, and the first forty student names that she penned down not knowing how the characters would develop in the series. It is shocking to learn what Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger were initially called
2. Backgrounds of characters: Perhaps the most astonishing discovery is the background to the character of Professor Minerva McGonagall. Jo has shared her childhood, love life and marriage details that help you understand why Professor McGonagall is who she is. Then there is the background story to Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon in which of course Lily and James are involved and is the most emotional of all the exclusive information Jo has shared.
3. Extra scoop on magical objects: Mr. Ollivander’s personal notes provide in-depth analysis of the mysterious subject of wandlore. In his notes, he discusses wand cores, wand lengths and flexibility, wand woods and his own personal experiences at length.
4. Plot development: Jo shares how she materialised her wild imagination into seven books that have become a global phenomenon. For example, she writes about the Sorting Hat: “Finally, I wrote a list of the ways in which people can be chosen: eeny meeny miny mo, short straws, chosen by team captains, names out of a hat – names out of a talking hat – putting on a hat – the Sorting Hat.”

Original version (instrumental):

Orchestra version:

Eastern Classical:

Rock Version:

The previous record was held by the people of  Phillipines who gathered together on the 1st of September, 2009 and a crowd 2948 strong sang the national anthem.

The new record has now been set by the massive effort of 5885 Pakistanis who sang the national anthem with enthusiasm and spirit. Watch these Pakistanis breaking a Guinness record and making a new one in the video below. Video courtesy of  Sharaf Qaiser.

These are the words of the national anthem written by Hafeez Jalandhri (in 1952) and composed by A. G. Chagla (in 1950). Thus, the music was composed before the anthem had been penned down.

Every word in the entire anthem is a loanword from Persian or Arabic save for one word - “ka” ( کا, “of” ) which is a word from the Urdu language (the national language of Pakistan). Urdu is a mixture of many versatile languages, with a major influence of Persian, and it is because of its diverse origins that it is a fast growing and flexible language today. Also, at the time of Pakistan’s birth, Persian and Arabic were, and still are, considered the languages of the educated class in the sub continent.

The anthem lasts for 1 minute and 20 seconds, and uses twenty one musical instruments and thirty eight different tones.

Listen to a remix instrumental version of the national anthem:

REFERENCES:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qaum%C4%AB_Tar%C4%81na

http://chillopedia.com/interesting/pakistan-makes-guinness-world-record-for-most-people-singing-national-anthem-simultaneously/

Art and Photography by: Tehreem Iqbal

Yesterday, after an Iftar party, I was discussing Pakistan’s Independence Day with my sister and sister-in-law and there seemed to be some confusion regarding celebrating it. This led me to research in detail on the topic of patriotism in Islam.

For those of you who are boggled by the same question, I am compiling my findings here. Hope this helps

These are excerpts from various articles over the Internet.

Skip to the end for a summary (in bullet points) and reference links. The quoted words are from Quran or Hadith.

[1] So can one be a Muslim and also a patriot? It comes down to interpretation. If loving and defending one’s country means supporting and overlooking its wrongs and defending its sins and aiding its aggressions, then absolutely NOT.

[2] If void of fanaticism and extremism and if held as an evidence of man’s faith or disbelief, patriotism goes in harmony with the Islamic notion and never contradicts it.

[3] Narrated by Abu Da’wud that the Messenger of Allah (saaw) said,

“He is not one us who calls for `Asabiyyah (nepotism), or who fights for `Asabiyyah or who dies for `Asabiyyah.”

[4]  The Holy Prophet of Islam, Muhammad (SAW), has mandated that:

‘Love of your country (patriotism) is a part of your faith’.

Islam is a universal religion without territorial bounds and this teaching has profound wisdom and logic.

The Holy Qur’an stresses on the obedience to authority in the following verse:

“O ye who believe, obey God and obey the Prophet and obey those in authority from among you.” (Chapter 4: Verse 60)

Prophet Muhammad has also said:

“He who obeys me, obeys God; he who disobeys me disobeys God. He who obeys his authority obeys me; he who disobeys his authority disobeys me” (Muslim, Kitab al Imarah).

Thus, the guidelines for obedience to authority and nation are clearly stated in the Holy Quran and elucidated by the Prophet. Commandments in this regard are very practical and rational … Muslims residing in various parts of the world have different nationalities… It is inconceivable and beyond logic to expect them to oscillate between different loyalties. It would only cause much disorder and disrupt the harmony of the society.

[5] Sheikh ul-Islam Ibn Taimiyyah: Majmo’ al-Fataawaa, Part 28, 201.:

“The one who judges without referring to the Quran is a taghut (means “false leader, liar etc” or believing an individual or any being or thing as a god.)”

Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala says:

“We made you into diverse peoples and diverse cultures that you may discover one another.”  [49:13]

[6] The Messenger of Allah (saaw) said:

“The believers, in their love, mutual kindness, and close ties, are like one body; when any part complains, the whole body responds to it with wakefulness and fever.” [Muslim].

And: “The faithful are like one man: if his eyes suffers, his whole body suffers.” [Muslim].

[7] But our first loyalty is to Allah, creator of the heavens and the earth. This means upholding the truth and being faithful to our conscience. This should make us the most patriotic of all citizens, not simply blind followers of capricious politicians.

As Allah has said:

“Allah forbids you not, with regard to those who fight you not for (your) Faith nor drive you out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with them: for Allah loveth those who are just” [Sura 60:8, al-Mum'tahina]

Sometimes, the most patriotic thing to do is to tell your leaders that they are wrong. Muhammad Ali, the boxer, did so when he refused to fight in Vietnam. He was called all sorts of nasty names. His patriotism was questioned, but later his stand was vindicated and he became an international hero. Nelson Mandela fought the unjust laws of the Apartheid regime in South Africa. He paid for that by spending 27 years in prison. He was accused him of being a traitor, being un-patriotic and un-South African. But today most South Africans treat him like their saviour, and his struggle inspires people who love justice and fair dealing, all over the world.

——————————————————–

From all of these articles, I have deduced that:

•  What we must realise is that our love for our country should not lead us to overlooking its wrongs.
• We should refrain from nepotism (favouring our kin etc. for the sole reason that they are related to us), and promote justice instead.
• We should understand that loving our birthplace and desiring to do some good for it (spreading positivity, working for the benefit of mankind, spreading Allah’s message in the land, promoting peace and fraternity) can be an ibadat as well.

——————————————————-

REFERENCES:

[1] http://www.islamicinsights.com/news/opinion/islam-and-patriotism.html

[2] http://egyig.com/Public/enarticles/who/6/42814732.shtml

[3] http://forums.almaghrib.org/showthread.php?t=18802

[4] http://www.examiner.com/islam-in-miami/patriotism-and-loyalty-to-the-nation-the-islamic-perspective

[5] https://theislamicstandard.wordpress.com/tag/patriotism/

[6] http://www.al-islami.com/islam/common_mistakes.php?p=10

[7] http://khutbahbank.org.uk/2010/05/islam-and-patriotism-inspirational-khutbah/

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 4,300 times in 2010. That’s about 10 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 44 new posts, not bad for the first year! There were 139 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 137mb. That’s about 3 pictures per week.

The busiest day of the year was October 24th with 101 views. The most popular post that day was In Memory of My College.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were facebook.com, twitter.com, levelx.me, mail.live.com, and alphainventions.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for faber castell, faber castell logo, qubee, still life drawing, and faber castel.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

In Memory of My College October 2010
10 comments

Sketches – Still Life and Life Drawing September 2010
14 comments

Campaigns in spotlight July 2010
2 comments

Photography July 2010
15 comments

Graphic Designing July 2010
14 comments

If you’re looking for the most authentic and comprehensive database of Quranic verses and Hadith, look no further.

www.alim.org is the best website I have come across so far. The website has an extensive Index of subjects in the Quran and Hadith. It also provides facilities for reading the Quran on-line (script and calligraphy both), listening to the recitation, multiple translations, and very informative sections about Islam and Islamic history.

Read on about their vision, philosophy and brief history…

Our Vision

Alim.org seeks to provide beneficial Islamic software and services by providing access to Islamic texts and creating tools to encourage the flourishing of a social network integrated within these texts. It furthermore seeks to serve as a general purpose portal for the Muslim community which provides information about social services, events, news and opinion that are of interest to Muslims.

Our Philosophy

Alim.org aims to promote acquiring Islamic knowledge and to help Muslims progress intellectually. The medium of this website facilitates discussion pertaining to Islam within the Islamic source texts. Discussion and knowledge sharing helps facilitate understanding and generation of new thought.

Our Brief History

Alhamdulillah, the Alim and Arabic Playhouse have successfully been serving the Muslim community across the world for almost two decades. Then, early in 2010, the people behind these softwares, along with a new management team, created the Alim Foundation with the intention of putting all of this content online free of charge. Furthermore, we have created a social networking platform that is well integrated with said content. And finally, we have added even more tools to help facilitate learning, discussion and categorization of knowledge to help enrich the existing content and provide a means to expand it.

So, today Project A – The Guild achieved an important milestone. The first ever Book Club in Karachi kicked off at 5.30pm at The Second Floor (popularly known as T2F). My friend, Tehniat, was kind enough (good for her ) to pick me up and we set off together to the T2F. I was going there for the first time and to be very honest, I didn’t notice it until Tehniat and I were standing right at the door and she said, “This is it. This is T2F, yes!” We hurried inside and whatever met my eyes then removed all doubts from my mind about the place – it was a one-in-a-million art heaven!

Photo By: Nabiha Zeeshan

The ground floor is dedicated to art exhibitions and other events. A carpet adorns one side of the floor, while paintings, photographs and the likes on the walls are a source of instant refreshment from the hustle bustle of daily life. There is a coffee stop in one corner.

Photo By: Nabiha Zeeshan

Ascending the twisting staircase, I sensed a feeling of casualness, smartness and uniqueness hanging in the air. I was taking photos with every step, much to the annoyance of my bestie, but there was no stopping me and I know that my bestie would never have stopped me for real, being a photo-addict herself!

We opened the door to the second floor seating area and behold! The first thing that caught my eyes was an arrangement of small square tables, capable of seating four and six, dominated by – and it’s very unusual indeed – books! Books on the shelves, books on the tables, books on the counters, books inside the rooms, books in people’s hands – it had a very strong impact on me. Not only that, but the counter had a Mac perched on it where our orders were being recorded. The walls were lined with black and white photographs and coloured paintings.

The balcony area, which is reserved for smokers, is furnished by one square table, a pedestal fan and four chairs. But the entire setting is given the ‘artistic’ look by the wall mural paintings by Ammad Tahir.

Photo By: Nabiha Zeeshan

So much for the description of the cafe` itself. Let’s move on to the Karachi Book Club. Tehniat and I waited for half an hour before realising (thanks to timely tweets by Tehniat) that a couple sitting at another table was also waiting for Karachi Book Club members to arrive. And that’s how it all began – first, it was the four of us and then soon people were pouring in. My friend had to get up time and again as familiar faces joined the party and she greeted them (having known them through Twitter).

Photo By: Nabiha Zeeshan

After twelve happy people were seated excitedly around three square tables joined together right in the middle of the floor, and after Kamil Rextin had finally figured his way to T2F after getting lost thrice, the meeting officially kicked off. Each member discussed briefly what book they had brought with them, what it meant to them, why it was their favourite and what was special about it. In all, ten books were reviewed and voting proposed “Welcome To Advertising, …Now Get Lost” by Omkar Sane as the most popular. So Saif Ali Khan went home pleased to have suggested what became the “Book of the Month”.