Nine times Nawaz Sharif was too cute
Even by his own lofty standards When Nawaz Sharif demands to know why he was ousted for the third time from the prime minister’s office, one feels it would be impossible to…
Pampering the next generation
One of the major weaknesses of contemporary education Having seen at close quarters university students (both undergrad and postgrad), many of whom are fresh high school graduates, I can summarise with some…
Quran and hadees
A word on their relationship In Muslim literature and discourse the two words frequently appear together, often in the form of a compound (Quran-o-hadees). For Muslims, the Quran occupies a unique position…
The Pakistani wedding for dummies
A concise introduction The Pakistani weddings are great affairs provided you are blessed with infinite patience. Even better if you are not weighed down with mundane matters such as earning a living…
A politician Imran Khan is not
Not even close He has a habit of proposing marriage in mysterious circumstances. He habitually ties the knot at the most inopportune of times politically (if there’s ever an opportune moment for…
The ‘first’ hadees
Or how the Prophetic (PBUH) narrations get misunderstood ‘Deeds depend upon intentions; and every person will get rewarded according to what he has intended.’ While this does happen to be the first…
Existentialism 101
All you needed to know, and more The other day I happened to mention ‘existentialism’ in a company of a dozen men; and realised to my horror that only a solitary figure…
Three intriguing love stories
How love makes the world go round Love makes the world go round. Well, Madonna seems to believe so, and far be it from the author to question the expert opinion of…
Zodiac signs and personality traits
Know yourself and others There are 12 zodiac signs, and each sign comes with its own set of strengths and weaknesses – something figured out by generations of astrologers through painstaking study…
Bachelors who changed the world
Five singles whose legacy lives on Among men who have had an overwhelming impact on the course of mankind, there are many lifelong-bachelors. Of course, there have been influential married men too…
What God is not
And why, in the light of the Quran From pagan deities all the way to pantheistic variants and then to the many monotheistic versions, gods come in numerous variations. A major reason…
Year 2017: snippets
Looking back at the last twelve months Year 2017 is about to give way to 2018, and it’s time to record for posterity some of its more memorable happenings and personalities. It’s…
The God that doesn’t play dice with the universe
On Einstein, quantum mechanics and God’s omniscience Albert Einstein, the father of general and special relativity, also fathered quantum mechanics – albeit accidentally. He didn’t like this unwanted offspring nearly as much…
Dharna and desi liberals
Playing the devil’s advocate How could a gang of protestors be allowed to not only get away with paralysing the country for three weeks, but also end up making the elected government…
Landmarks in philosophy
Five milestones that have punctuated human thought over the centuries Since philosophy has never been accorded its rightful place in our society, the grasp of philosophical concepts on the part of most…
Why more people need to write prose
And that includes you What with the ubiquity of computers and the internet, the means of writing and publishing were never as widespread as they are. And yet, very few people venture…
In praise of facial hair
Why you must give it a try this no-shave November The institution of facial hair has staged a famous comeback from the brink of extinction that looked certain only a few years…