50. Qaf/Qaf
I/We begin by the Blessed Name of Allah
The Immensely Merciful to all, The Infinitely Compassionate to everyone.
50:01
a. Qaf.
b. By The Qur’an, The Majestic.
50:02
a. They consider it strange that a Warner has come to them from amongst themselves.
b. So the disbelievers say:
c. ‘This is certainly something strange!’
50:03
a. How can it be that when we will be dead and turned to mere dust in the grave that we will be brought back to another dimension of existence?
b. Such a return to another dimension of existence is far-fetched.
50:04
a. Thus do they reckon while WE Know well what the earth consumes of them,
b. and with US is a Record which keeps track of their deeds, dealings, speech and preserves everything.
50:05
a. Rather they denied and belied The Truth - The Qur’an - when it came to them,
b. so now they are in a state of confusion.
50:06
a. Would they never look up to the celestial realm, above them, and reflect,
- how WE built it without apparent supports, and
- how WE beautified it with planets, and
- how come it has no flaws in it?
50:07
a. And the earth – how did WE spread it out, and cast upon it firm mountains,
b. and made all kinds of splendid vegetation, in pairs, to grow upon it.
50:08
a. WE did all this as an evidence as well as a reminder for every person who turns to Allah in awe, reverence and piety.
50:09
a. And also WE...
Blasphemy law is considered as very basic law in the Muslim societies. This study aims to examine the blasphemy law of Pakistan in historical perspective. Qualitative research designs and discourse analysis techniques have been used to analyse the existing data. In Indian Subcontinent, during the Muslim rules, blasphemy law was being followed and practiced in accordance with principles of Islam. During British regime, it has throughout been demand of the Muslim for legislation of Blasphemy Law. During this period, by acceding to Muslims’ demand, it was introduced but with lesser punishment, even lesser than those which was there in the law of England. In this article, history of the blasphemy law and its interpretation, including conformity with Islamic principles as judged by the Federal Shariat Court, has been documented. In the end, its present status, or restatement of this law, has be unearthed with some suggestions, which have though been alluded to in decisions of the courts, but have not been ever discussed.
The so called “Arab Spring “has surprised the world, Middle East rulers and the scholars. The Arab people who were oppressed for decades have revolted against the authoritarian rulers and have overturned a number of longstanding rulers and threatened the existing global order. To know the factors for the genesis, arguing that the Arab Spring is the product of the interplay between internal and external factors i.e. between the changing structure of international politico-military order and domestic economic and cultural influences; the events unfolded many new rivalries and friendships and has divided the world politics into many notorious camps. The self immolation of a Tunisian street vendor Muhammad Bouazizi evoked agitation within the Middle East and beyond. It was a desperate act by a common person lacking political freedom and hope for economic improvement. It sparked a rebellion that brought the multitude to the streets and ignited the flames of regional upheaval. The Arab people displayed courage in the face of the dictators who have instilled fear in them for so long. At the start of the event there were no signs of dramatic change in the Arab leadership. The entrenched political order was about to face a big challenge of its history. The turmoil in the region travelled to every direction spreading like a wind and the events are recorded in history by the name of Arab spring. This elicited some unrealistic expectations for enhanced political participation, economic progress, freedom and liberty. The Tunisian president resigned twenty-eight days after the first protest and fled to Saudi Arabia. A month later Egyptian president fell from power replaced by a military junta that pledged to hold the country’s first ever elections. Libya was the scene of the third successful overthrow. When various NATO backed rebel groups captured Tripoli and then proceeded to hunt down the state’s long term leader Muammar Qaddafi, assassinating him on October 20th, 2011. In Yemen president Ali Abdullah Saleh agreed to resign on November 23rd, 2011, following a long civil war that is continued till date. Despite the successful ouster the old political order is intact as several other popular revolts ultimately failed or are still ongoing. Regional power Saudi Arabia managed in 2011 to subdue a popular Shiites revolt in Bahrain. Syrian president Bashar Al Assad has clung to power as his military expedition against his opponents turned to a civil war and he succeeded in overpowering the rebellions with the help of direct Russian and indirect American military intervention. Protests in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, Algeria, Oman, Morocco and Kuwait all resulted in limited official change. The Arab monarchies seem to have particularly capable of overcoming the revolutionary waves. The dramatic events of the Arab Spring raised several interesting questions about Arab politics. The challenges of modernization and the Islamic affiliation of the Arab people has been a great riddle as the global powers want the region to be a democratic entity while the Islamists are resisting the global dominance. This clash of both the ideologies has resulted in a collision between the two forces and the region is in chaos. This war of ideologies is continued with the dominance of the secularist’s forces under the umbrella of the global powers while Islamists are either in jails or have waged guerrilla war against them. This study not only explores the underpinnings of the Arab Spring, it also looks at the implications of these events for the regional and global politics.