Fall of Four Great Empires

I have been busy lately with work and events happening around me so did not get a chance to post something on religion but I wanted to post this. Some people would say why post it on a religious blog, I am a human and I do follow religion but I also live in this world that is around me and Islam doesn’t stop humans to follow cricket. I am a die hard cricket fan; I have been since I was a kid. For some people cricket is a boring game but for me and millions of people around the world it has been a craze since I was a kid. Lots of events passed by in these 30 years, some were sad and some were happy. But unfortunately I witnessed the fall of four great empires in a single day and cricket won’t be the same again. Not in my lifetime at least……

With every loss there is a lesson to learn, we should learn from it instead of being critical of our cricket players. Great Empires were brought down by Power of people in the past and it has just happened again. But this time around the people who brought down the empires are not freedom fighters fighting for thier freedom ..they are bunch on insensitive and selfish human beings....

India Losing to Bangladesh:

India one of the favorites to win the world cup, and a cricket crazy nation was beaten by Bangladesh. Bangladesh is considered the minnows of cricket, for them it’s the moment of national pride and they have done well to beat India, and nothing can be taken away the way they played against one of the best teams. They totally deserved their victory, At least on that particular day they were good enough to win. But what saddened me was an India’s loss and consequences which will be followed within their cricket crazy nation. Cricket is a harsh game for people of sub continent, till they keep on winning they are highly respected and once they start losing their homes and burned, they are cursed and they are blamed for everything. People tend to forget cricket players are just humans and humans win and lose sometimes, God sends signs of weakness through the loss and as a lesson for the people to correct their mistakes and work to succeed better next time. But the Great Worldly Empire lead by Rahul Dravid is fallen, and it’s a sad sight which will not be forgotten for a while, not because India lost to Bangladesh but because people stop believing in their heroes as soon as they face bad patches in their lives. We tend to leave them alone in time of grieve; we are only loyal to our own selves.

Pakistan losing To Ireland

I am a Pakistani and I am a great fan of Pakistani cricket team, I always believed they can beat anyone and lose to anyone cause of their nature. Being a Pakistani i know how we play and conduct our daily activities, we use our hearts more than our brains. Emotions are given priority in our daily lives, taking that theory into consideration it wasn’t a total shocker for me that they lost to Ireland. They have lost to Bangladesh before, as I said cricket is a cruel game and people who follow cricket with passion are its enemy. Just like Indians, Pakistanis try to create a situation that players think if they lose than it will be a nightmare to return to their country and face criticism. No doubt Pakistan had the ability to win over Ireland but humans do commit mistakes and flatter in pressure, The pressure the Pakistani were in past one year was the beginning of their end. Losing the best players, drug related issues, captaincy issues, oval test, and other personal issues faced by player themselves. They are humans after all, even we if face some difficulties we can’t concentrate on our work and our social lives, we drown in depression. So why Pakistan cricket team has to pay for the natural calamity, again it’s the people who brought down their own empire. Our loyalty only stands with one who wins, a sad day indeed not cause of the loss to Irish but they way we are treating our fallen heroes.

Bob Woolmer – No More

The news of his death came as a shock to me; I couldn’t believe it first until I switched on my T.V. I am very saddened by the news, it’s like losing someone who has been close to you for years, and people would ask me why I feel that way after all he was just a coach. For me at least he was not just a coach, He was a perfect teacher. His passion for the game led him to his destiny; he was the best in the business.

I admired him for few reasons, he became part of Pakistani camp as soon as he joined the ranks, he respected their religious beliefs, he wasn’t a racist, and he supported his team in lows and highs as a father supports his children. Since, he became a coach he changed the face of Pakistani cricket. Unity and discipline was evident, he believed in positive cricket. Players got emotionally attached to him and it was vice versa for him. He could have just resigned and left for some other country; anyone would have welcomed him with open arms. But he chose to stick with bunch of emotional people, because he himself was an emotional person … I guess he related to them than anyone would or will ever relate…Pakistan and this world will never come across a coach like him ever again, at least not in my life time. As a Pakistani I would want my country to give him a state funeral or do something good for his family in which ever way its possible, he died as employee of Pakistan, he led from the front. I can go on and on about Bob Woolmer but my words won’t be enough; all I can say is I have lost a loved one today and the world has lost the best.

Inzamam Ul Haq – The Fall of the Legend

More bad news, Inzamam ul Haq resigned as a captain and retired from the one day cricket. I remember the 1992 world cup when he became a hero for our beloved country and his record shows that he was one of the greatest batsmen a world has seen. I feel very disappointed that he took all the blame for the loss which was caused by internal and external factors surrounding the whole team. Humans are weak at times and things like that happen, death of Bob Woolmer and resigning of Inzamam ul Haq show how emotional they were about their game and on the other hand I see people on TV burning their pictures and holding protests. The great empires are brought down by its people, and this time around it’s not different. We ourselves should take the blame for being insensitive to our cricketing world and its players, life will go on but it won’t be the same ever again… We with our own hands destroyed India, Pakistan, Bob and Inzamam. We should bring ourselves to justice, instead of blaming our teams and coaches.

It would have been better, if the whole Indian, Pakistani teams and Bob Woolmer would have resigned and moved on with their lives because people of sub continent don’t deserve greatness. And these great people don’t deserve the treatment they got from insensitive and unforgiving selfish humans; I guess they don’t have faith in the lord of this world and create situation which leads to all of these events. People who mess up everything just sit at home and criticize, go on with their lives, while cricketers suffer all their lives.

I pray to Allah, people start thinking about pros and cons of their actions, I also pray that Bobs Soul rest in peace, I also pray that Inzamam and company who practice religion to have patience in this time of grieve even though people are against them, cause Allah is always with them. Allah Is the Most Merciful and Most Beneficent. Allah tests people, one you survive that test you surly are the winner.

I am not sure about other people; I do support Indian, Pakistani cricket team, and Bob Woolmer and his family….. When they are low but not out. I hope other do as well…..In the end its just a game some win it and some lose it.

for more coverage of the events please visit :

http://gulf.cricinfo.com/

How can Islam be called the religion of peace when it was spread by the sword?

It is a common complaint among some non-Muslims that Islam would not have millions of adherents all over the world, if it had not been spread by the use of force. The following points will make it clear, that far from being spread by the sword, it was the inherent force of truth, reason and logic that was responsible for the rapid spread of Islam.

1. Islaam means peace. Islam comes from the root word ‘salaam’, which means peace. It also means submitting one’s will to Allah (swt). Thus Islam is a religion of peace, which is acquired by submitting one’s will to the will of the Supreme Creator, Allah (swt).

2. Sometimes force has to be used to maintain peace. Each and every human being in this world is not in favour of maintaining peace and harmony. There are many, who would disrupt it for their own vested interests. Sometimes force has to be used to maintain peace. It is precisely for this reason that we have the police who use force against criminals and anti-social elements to maintain peace in the country. Islam promotes peace. At the same time, Islam exhorts it followers to fight where there is oppression. The fight against oppression may, at times, require the use of force. In Islam force can only be used to promote peace and justice.

3. Opinion of historian De Lacy O’Leary. The best reply to the misconception that Islam was spread by the sword is given by the noted historian De Lacy O’Leary in the book "Islam at the cross road" (Page 8): "History makes it clear however, that the legend of fanatical Muslims sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point of the sword upon conquered races is one of the most fantastically absurd myth that historians have ever repeated."

4. Muslims ruled Spain for 800 years. Muslims ruled Spain for about 800 years. The Muslims in Spain never used the sword to force the people to convert. Later the Christian Crusaders came to Spain and wiped out the Muslims. There was not a single Muslim in Spain who could openly give the adhan, that is the call for prayers.

5. 14 million Arabs are Coptic Christians. Muslims were the lords of Arabia for 1400 years. For a few years the British ruled, and for a few years the French ruled. Overall, the Muslims ruled Arabia for 1400 years. Yet today, there are 14 million Arabs who are Coptic Christians i.e. Christians since generations. If the Muslims had used the sword there would not have been a single Arab who would have remained a Christian.

6. More than 80% non-Muslims in India. The Muslims ruled India for about a thousand years. If they wanted, they had the power of converting each and every non-Muslim of India to Islam. Today more than 80% of the population of India are non-Muslims. All these non-Muslim Indians are bearing witness today that Islam was not spread by the sword.

7. Indonesia and Malaysia. Indonesia is a country that has the maximum number of Muslims in the world. The majority of people in Malaysia are Muslims. May one ask, "Which Muslim army went to Indonesia and Malaysia?"

8. East Coast of Africa. Similarly, Islam has spread rapidly on the East Coast of Africa. One may again ask, if Islam was spread by the sword, "Which Muslim army went to the East Coast of Africa?"
9. Thomas Carlyle. The famous historian, Thomas Carlyle, in his book "Heroes and Hero worship", refers to this misconception about the spread of Islam: "The sword indeed, but where will you get your sword? Every new opinion, at its starting is precisely in a minority of one. In one man’s head alone. There it dwells as yet. One man alone of the whole world believes it, there is one man against all men. That he takes a sword and try to propagate with that, will do little for him. You must get your sword! On the whole, a thing will propagate itself as it can."

10. No compulsion in religion. With which sword was Islam spread? Even if Muslims had it they could not use it to spread Islam because the Qur'ân says in the following verse: "Let there be no compulsion in religion, Truth stands out clear from error" [Al-Qur'ân 2:256]

11. Sword of the Intellect. It is the sword of intellect. The sword that conquers the hearts and minds of people. The Qur'ân says in Surah Nahl, chapter 16 verse 125: "Invite (all) to the way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious." [Al-Qur'ân 16:125]

12. Increase in the world religions from 1934 to 1984. An article in Reader’s Digest ‘Almanac’, year book 1986, gave the statistics of the increase of percentage of the major religions of the world in half a century from 1934 to 1984. This article also appeared in ‘The Plain Truth’ magazine. At the top was Islam, which increased by 235%, and Christianity had increased only by 47%. May one ask, which war took place in this century which converted millions of people to Islam?

13. Today the fastest growing religion in America is Islam. The fastest growing religion in Europe in Islam. Which sword is forcing people in the West to accept Islam in such large numbers?

14. Dr. Joseph Adam Pearson. Dr. Joseph Adam Pearson rightly says, "People who worry that nuclear weaponry will one day fall in the hands of the Arabs, fail to realize that the Islamic bomb has been dropped already, it fell the day Muhammad (pbuh) was born".