GUEST BOOK

Do Not Live Without a Vision:

Many people think that they have a vision but in reality they have
nothing. Countless brothers and sisters consult me regarding key
decisions in their life. My answer has always been and continuesto be,
'if you had a clear vision of what you want tobe or what you want to
do,you would not ask such questions!'
One key quality of any successful person is to live for a mission.
Unsuccessful people live from one day to the next. They are not
inspired by something virtuous not living for a noble goal and
therefore they do not live a noble life. Islam, being a religion of
nobility, does not want people to live in this way. Allah encourages
people tocompete for the best possible afterlife and be inspired all
of the time. In the Qur'an we read,
"Race one with another in hastening towards Forgiveness from your Lord
(Allah), and towards Paradise, the width whereof is as the width of
heaven and earth, prepared for those who believe in Allah and His
Messengers. That is the Grace of Allah which He bestows on whom He
pleases. And Allah is the Owner of Great Bounty." [1]
Such people are dedicated to achieve what they want and look for all
possible means to facilitate such achievements for themselves. Having
vision is paramount to the success of a person. In his book The seven
Habits of Highly Successful People, Stephen Covey considered
"beginning with the end in mind" as the second habit of such
successful people. In fact, we easily see that when Allah desired to
senda prophet, he would prepare him to be a specialperson with high
ambition.He inspired him from an early age to become a leader and set
out a vision for him. Our Prophet was raised a poor orphan - this
situation tends to set a ceiling for what a person might aim for,
however Allah decreed that his grandfather would look after him. His
grandfather, Abdu'l-Muttalib, was the chief of the Quraish tribe which
was the most dignified tribe in the world.Hence, the Prophet tasted
the life of dignified leaders.Furthermore, his grandfather used to
love him so much that the Prophet had the privilege to do what others
could not do. For example, his grandfather would sit on a mat that no
one else was allowed to sit on except the young Muhammad. Throughout
his teenage years he was not involved in the many indecent activities
others his age were. He was inspired to be different. Similarly,
Prophet Yusuf was inspiredto think big and be ready for greatness.
Allah says,
"(Remember) when Yusuf(Joseph) said to his father: "O my father!
Verily, I saw (in a dream) eleven stars and the sun and the moon, I
saw them prostrating themselves to me." [2]
Moses was also inspired from a very young age as he was raised up in
the Pharaoh's house even though he was from the Children of Israel
whom the Pharoah wanted to subjugate and destroy.
There is no doubt that life takes on a different meaning once a person
sets out a vision for him/herself and works towards it. On the other
hand it is boring and devastating when a personlives for nothing of
substantial value.
Many people think that they have a vision but in reality they have
nothing. Countless brothers and sisters consult me regarding key
decisions in their life. My answer has always been and continuesto be,
'if you had a clear vision of what you want tobe or what you want to
do,you would not ask such questions!' Some brothers and sisters may
say that they want to worship Allahor they want to go to paradise.
This is good, but the key question is how? Moreover, Paradise is of
different levels, which levelare you aiming for? The reality is many
people do not have a vision. In order to set out a vision for yourself
simply put yourself in the shoes of your father, what does he do now
after being retired and do you want to follow the same routine?
A vision that does not materialise
I am sure that at this point many people will ask the following
question: what about a vision that I failed to achieve due to 'out of
hand' circumstances? Failing to achieve it is likelyto demotivate a
person and might lead to negativeconsequences. However, this is not
true if the person follows an Islamic way of setting out his vision.
Abu Kabshah al-Anmaari, a Companion of the Prophet (may Allah be
pleased withhim), stated that he heard the Messenger of Allah (peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him) saying:
"Four people are making the most of this world: a man to whom Allah
gives wealth and knowledge,....

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Qualities of Aisha(r.a) and herrole in Islam:

In any discussion on the age of Aisha (ra: may Allah be pleased with
her) at the time of her marriage with the Holy Prophet Muhammad (may
peace and the blessings of Allah be upon him), it is of the greatest
relevance to note the pivotal role she played as a teacher, exponent
and interpreter of the religion of Islam. Aisha was an exceptionally
intelligent and astute woman, a young prodigy, and this was the main
reason why she was got married to theHoly Prophet, as is clearly
proved by events after the Holy Prophet's life. She entered his
household, shortly after his emigrationto Madina, just at the time
when the teachings of Islam in all fields of life for the Muslim
community were starting to be revealed to the Holy Prophet and
demonstratedby him by his example and practice. An intellectually
gifted person was required who would have daily contact with the Holy
Prophet at the closest and most personal level, so as to absorb the
teachings that he was giving on all aspects of life by his words and
actions. Such a person would need to possess the following qualities:
an excellent, precise memory to retain a vast amount of detail accurately,
the understanding to graspthe significance and the principles of the teachings,
powers of reasoning, criticism and deduction to resolve problems on
the basis of those teachings,
the skills to convey knowledge to a wide rangeof audience,
and, finally, have the prospect of living for a considerable period of
timeafter the death of the Holy Prophet in order to spread his message
to distant generations.
That Aisha possessed all these qualities and carried out this mission
is an absolutely positive and undeniable, historical fact. After the
Holy Prophet's death, she acted as a teacher and interpreter of Islam,
providing guidance to even the greatest of the male Companions of the
Holy Prophet Muhammad. They made a special point of going to her to
gain knowledge and seek her opinion. A vast number of sayings and
actions of the Holy Prophet are reported from her in books of Hadith.
She not only quoted his sayings and reported her observations of
events, but interpreted them to provide solutions to questions.
Whenever necessary, she corrected the views of the greatest ofthe
Companions of the Holy Prophet. She made rulings and judgments on
which Islamic law is based.
The following are two examples of what the Holy Prophet's male
Companions said about her:
"Abu Musa said: Whenever there was any hadith that was difficult [to
understand] for us, the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, and
weasked Aisha we always found that she had knowledge about that
hadith."
"Musa ibn Talha said: I never saw anyone more eloquent than Aisha." [1]
In the famous compilation of the lives of saints in Islam,
Tadhkirat-ul-Auliya, the author Farid-ud-Din Attar, who lived eight
centuries ago, introduces the life of the early female saint Rabia of
Basra as follows:
"If anyone says, 'Why have you included Rabia in the rank of men?', my
answer is that the Prophet himself said, 'God does not regard your
outward forms'. … Moreover, if it is proper to derive two-thirds of
our religion from Aisha, surely it is permissible to take religious
instruction from ahandmaid of Aisha." [2]
It is thus recognised, from the earliest times in Islam, that some
two-thirds of Islamic Sharia is based on reports and
interpretationsthat have come from Aisha.
In view of these exceptional qualities of Aisha and the towering role
played by her in the transmission of the teachings of Islam, it is
simply preposterous and outrageous to suggest thatshe was the victim
of someform of child and marital abuse. We ask in particular the
Christian and Jewish critics of Islam, who are reviling the Holy
Prophet Muhammad on the basis ofhis marriage with Aisha, whether they
can point outany example of a woman in their religions who played a
role like that of Aisha in learning the religion from its founder and
becoming the teacher and instructor of all his followers, including
men, after his death....

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A real Story; A Maharaja in Warsaw:

A Maharaja in Warsaw:

:-|Why was a school in Poland named after Jamsaheb Digvijay Singh
Jadeja, who once ruled Nawanagar? Jayaraj Manepalli has the story:
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At first glance, it looks like any school in Warsaw, Poland. Children
playing outside, the buzz in the corridors, the gentle aromaof snacks
shared by students, and teachers hurrying to their classrooms — a
typical school scene.
However, once inside the building, one is transported to different
surroundings. Numerous pictures of Indian monuments and landscape,wall
graffiti depicting classical dance and rangoli, dozens of handicrafts
and decoration items, Tibetan Thangka paintings, classrooms with
bright motifs and paintings, pictures of Indian gods andgoddesses
adorning the walls of the school office makes one wonder whether one
is still in Warsaw.
Walking through the schools on Bednarska and Raszynska streets is like
a trip to an Indian museum. The reason for the special emphasis on
India and its culture goes back to an important phase of Polish
history prior to World War II. The legacy of the kindness shown by an
Indian ruler decades ago continues in this school — thousands of
kilometres away from India.
How did a ruler so far away earn the respect and honour of the school
and isstill remembered today? The Friends of India Education
Foundation that runs this school named it after Jamsaheb Digvijay
Singh Jadeja, the former ruler of the princely state of Nawanagar, as
a tribute to his love and kindness shown to Polish refugees in the
1940s. Digvijay Singh was known to have learnt much about Polish
history and culture from his Polish neighbours during his stay with
his uncle in Switzerland in the 1920s.
The school has a unique form of functioning. It has a constitution,
the executive, judiciary and legislature comprising students, parents
and teachers that administer the "school republic" in a democratic
manner. The school today has different premises for primary, secondary
and International Baccalaureate(IB) sections spread across the city.
Interestingly, Digvijay Singh was declared the patron saint of this
school after the school community consisting of parents, students and
teachers conducted a referendum inJune 1999 and overwhelmingly
approved the move.
The many wars
During the years precedingWorld War II, a huge number of Poles were
taken away by the Red Army to work at the Soviet-run labour camps in
remote parts of North-Eastern USSR and Siberia. When Hitler's army
invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, the USSR announced a general amnesty
leading to the release of Polish exiles from labour camps. This was
also done with a view to encourage forming a Polish Army unit to fight
the German army that was fast advancing into the USSR.
Thus began a great exodus— from the cold parts of the Soviet Union to
warmer southern regions of Central Asia. The long and arduous journey
stretched over hundreds ofkilometres. It was a test of human endurance
and suffering in the most difficult situations. Many travellers lost
their loved ones en route owing to thecold, hunger, malnutrition and
dehydration. The journey stretched across many lands and transit
points — Ashkhabad in Turkmenistan, Mashhad, Isfahan and Tehran in
Iran, Afghanistan, Quetta, Zahedau and Karachi in present day Pakistan
and to India's western coast.
The first batch of the 500 severely malnourished andexhausted orphans
had a surprise welcome, when they arrived in Nawanagar,from the
Maharaja himself. "Don't consider yourselves orphans. You are now
Nawanagaris and I am Bapu, the father of all Nawanagaris, including
yourselves," he said. Digvijay Singh was the Chancellor of the Council
ofPrinces and member of theImperial War Cabinet in British India
(1939-1945) who opened his province to Polish refugees threatened with
annihilation. He knew the officials of the Polish government in exile
that operated from London owing to his position in the Imperial War
Cabinet.
Kind heart
Digvijay Singh not only welcomed the refugees, but also ensured that
they had special accommodation, schools, medical facilities and
opportunities for rest and recuperation at Balachadi, near Jamnagar.
Singh also opened a camp at Chela and involved the rulers of Patiala
and Baroda, with whom he had a good rapport in the Chamber of Princes,
to help the refugees. Business houses like Tata and other individuals
raised over Rs. 6,00,000 between 1942 -1945...

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