And so, the end is near....

What are you doing with your time?

I once gave the Stephen Covey example of imagining your own eulogy, to try and put your life into context and sort out your priorities; and  never have I needed that advice more. With Easter break just around the corner and exams looming in the distance, procrastination rears its ugly head in various forms. However, exam period, deadlines…any tangible form of work that is required of us, just serves to further scare us from accomplishing this task! Why is that?

I cannot possibly revise for exams, seek solid knowledge, dwelve into creative ventures and make a positive change in my life, all the while enjoying some much needed free time: there are only over 2000 hours left till my first exam! Summer time brings with it longer days, and there is no better time to stick to a resolution than the vacation time. So go for a run, burn off those extra pizzas that students live off, read a book, write a book, learn a language, and study. If this seems daunting, then it only supports my theory that labeling a form of work for yourself gives you more motivation to procrastinate. Manage your time; make a list of goals that you want to accomplish over the next month, and a check list of how you want to achieve them!

- Ahem

- Yes, Little Timmy, did you have something to say?

- Nope, just caught a cough because of all the planning I’ve been doing, and the check lists I’ve been making

- Atta boy. See kids, you can all be productive too, just like Timmy!

In the spirit of sticking to this minimalistic ISoc blog, it is important to note that our term as an Executive is almost finished. The climax of the year was certainly our Discover Islam Week, and with an array of events, ranging from proven formula techniques to innovative ventures, we tried to take DIW to a place we never had before. There have been, and will always be failures on our part, and for that I sincerely beg for everyone’s prayers, but all in all, it was a smashing success. A real community formed, rehearsing for plays, working hard to put books in the right bags, transporting and arranging food for hundreds of people a day, singing in the middle of the Portland building, and pioneering what can only be known as….MMMMA

Indeed, many people shone and it is that time of the year where we eagerly wait and see who will form the next committee. It is quite exciting, to see your young ones blossoming into fine individuals, flapping their wings for the first time, and growing up right before your very eyes – metaphorically of course.  This is then a further challenge for us as well, because it is of the utmost importance that they are handed a Society which is in better shape than the one we were handed, and that the skills we have developed through experience are equally transferred to these new soaring birds.

So I previously questioned how we all spend our time. The fundamental point there is whether we have time, and if we do, then why do we have time. Most of us have visited graveyards at some point in our lives. The tombstones will always take us by surprise though, because the birth years are not just from sixty years ago, seventy or eighty. The people in those graves are of all ages, ranging from infants to old men, and so why do I take another breath while someone younger than me is dying right now? To think that we cannot account for ourselves in the next few seconds should tell us about how little control we truly have in our lives. I take another breath because I have been blessed with another moment to repent for what I have done; and if each moment is a blessing, how should I spend this time? A wonderful quote I read was ‘Make sure you do something useful today, because it has cost you a day’

We all have an allotted time span. Be that five thousand days, ten thousand, twenty thousand…our time is limited. Every soul shall taste death, and that is the one fundamental fact that none can ever discord. Do I really want to give one of my precious days up in exchange for sitting in front of a computer and watching some videos, or looking at someone’s pictures, or even reading through someone's blog? 

So what now?

So what now?

I wonder where we go from here, and what a modern day Golden Age would resemble. I sit with adequate roofing over my head, the latest technology in front of me, a glass of warm milk to my side, and think…much like how the Great thinkers did.  My brothers and sisters in Syria, I am calling out to you.

I used to think at the age of 16, that I had reached the peak of my maturity. Even in the last few months, however, my views have changed drastically. I would think about Egypt and wonder how people could equate that with Amy Winehouse’s passing, or why people would still care about Manchester United when the other side of the world was in a shambles. I feel that I understand these situations better, yet I realize that I do not understand said situations at all. ‘If the world is about to end and one of you has a palm tree plant in his hand, he should plant it’. Looking back, I do not think I was wrong. I think we all reach our intellectual maturity capacities early in life. What aids us further is experience, and God knows best

Yes, I remember that this is an ISoc blog. No, it doesn’t matter that I’m its writer and its sole reader

Since our last adventure together, we have gone through many endeavors. We raised almost 7000 pounds during a successful Charity Week, hosted an array of scholars, ended the year with a social, and went through the most wonderful time of the year….exam period!

-Umm…excuse me, Mr. President, but you always just skip through all those interesting details. We wanna know HOW you guys did all that

-Well,Little Timmy, lack of space does leave us constrained for time

-Aww shucks….

-Well, alright, if you insist…but don’t call me Mr. President

So in a nutshell, Charity Week was organized by a whole separate committee to our Executive, so that we could take on more of an overseeing role. Keeping that in mind, the fact that Fresher’s, and people with very little experience, organized an entire array of events from scratch, including a screening of Malcolm X, selling thousands of doughnuts across campuses, and a massive Gala Dinner , all by themselves is absolutely incredible.

-Gosh Golly, that’s awesome

-It truly is, young Timmy. They deserve a majestic round of Cyber Applause

Hosting a speaker is not too difficult, particularly with the contacts that you develop in these roles, and your relationship with FOSIS. The best thing to remember is just to take care of the little details. Confirm and reconfirm dates and times. Play the entire event in your head, and keep asking yourself who is going to take care of each little thing. Now with socials, we have definitely learnt one thing. It does not matter how simple the event is, guys like to chill. Get a room, an Xbox, a deck of cards, and a few pizzas, throw them in a room and eons of people will flux in, through osmotic diffusion.

-Sounds like you’re a busy guy, Mr. Pre-; I mean Shehroze

-Not at all, all you need is a dedicated team, and the rest is in Allah’s hands

-Gee, thanks Shehroze. Can you leave us with something poignant, philosophical and epic?

-No, sadly, I am not JK Rowling. I can however, give you some food for thought

I touched earlier on the different ways in which people look at situations. There will always be your Mother Theresa’s, and your slackers. The Muhammad Ali’s, and the people that just want to be Ali on the PS3. The people who fight for change will always be a minority, because by definition, they must defy the norm. Hence, the norm must be the anti change. There is a risk of my point getting lost in all this technicality, but do bear with me.

We are a generation that people have ridden off. Partying, fun, living in the moment, lost causes…and maybe that was further supported by this summer’s events.  Who is this generation’s Martin Luther King, or Malcolm X? I have asked myself that same question, and hence, I have fallen into the trap of judging millions of people. But it is our generation that fought for something in the Arab world. The generation that is sick of politics because they have grown up listening to the grown ups bicker about it day and night. We are the people who demonstrated in Tunisia. We are the people who marched in Egypt. We are the people who fought in Libya. Yet I sit in front of my valued piece of technology, sheltered from the ever bitter cold, sipping away at my warm skimmed milk.

Change always begins from the mind of one person. We cannot judge the rest of mankind for not immediately jumping on board. Rather, we can coax. And wait. And through that patience, we can supplicate, because the Malcolm X of this generation might just be your flatmate, playing FIFA, whom you have labeled as ‘Slacker’

So Long...

I remember wondering whether the news was always so ‘colourful’ just a few blogs ago. I remember innocently inoculating on the political situations of certain parts of the world. I remember being moved by the unity of of a peoples, whilst simultaneously being horrified by that of another. But a recurring theme here, rather a most prominent theme of life, is change.

There is much writing on the transience of our transitory existence, and I will not dare hold a candle to Yeates, or Twain, or rather any of the great Imams of our time. Rather, I just want you to think about your life as a whole, your entire life. Think about your funeral, and what you would like to be said at your eulogy. Think whether you have accomplished even a fraction of what the person that has just been buried in your mind, has accomplished.

An oppressor is dead. Should I be rejoicing with everyone else? Should I be watching people tear his battered body apart, and find comfort in that? I have previously talked about the people, nay, the heroes in Libya that they call the ‘Rebels’. People younger than me on the streets, fighting for their God given rights to freedom; it is absolutely magnificent. However, have we as a society really gone so low that the sight of monstrous brutality can truly grant a sense of comfort? Well, from the Roman Gladiators to the current day matadors and UFC fighters, has humanity really changed?

Before I start boring my one loyal reader with things far beyond my scope and grasp, I wish to fulfill the purpose of said blog. Insight into the ISoc.

We are in our fourth week. My absence from this blog is an indication in and of itself that quite simply, WE ARE BUSY! Alhamdulilah, we had a wonderfully successful Fresher’s Week. With events ranging from bowling night, to Pictionary, to masjid quizzes, to our fantastic FREE Fresher’s Dinner, we were truly blessed by God. We spent some time over the summer organizing said events, but when university actually started, the wheel started turning in full gear. From manning and organizing our stall in the first few days of Fresher’s Fair, we have come along way as an Executive. Now that we are functioning at our full capacity, and have quickly seeped into our roles, the year has truly started for the Islamic Society.

We recently hosted the Stranger’s Tour! With uber prestigious performers such as Baba Ali, Boona Mohammad and Shaikh Navaid Aziz, the event was a smashing success. We reached a small milestone as an ISoc by contacting book vendors and perfume sellers to come and sell their items to turn the event into a massive bazaar. Moreover, Charity Week is just around the corner, and our CW committee are hard at work. With just a 10 day head start, we are slowly watching Fresher’s turn into mature and developed committee members, much like the metamorphosis from fawn to deer.

I am the President of the Islamic Society. I look at that, and feel like I am bragging. That sentence seems like the epitome of showing off; however, it is true. I am the President of the Islamic Society, and the fact that it seems like I am bragging, is just a small indication of how grateful I should be. Why am I in my position, and not someone far more skilled, knowledgeable, and overall better (and there are MANY that satisfy said criteria)? I am privileged with the absolute honour of being part of a committee that organized weeks dedicated to Charity, or Da’awah, or knowledge, or fun. There are so many instances in our lives when we can look at the positions that we are in and just ponder about how blessed we truly are. All praise be to Allah.

Calamity strikes. Do we really know the definition of calamity though? To come full circle, I mentioned how news items were less ‘colourful’ before yesterday. ‘Economy’s down again….standard…Haven’t heard from BP in a while, oh wait, they’re still making billions? Wait, so Einstein was wrong??? That’s chilling’

Seeing myself fall into this trap was quite eye opening. But we are the future of today, and whether we like it or not, we are ambassadors. Ambassadors of culture, family, faith. I pray that we can spread peace through the love of God and I sincerely wish that such clichés can atleast garner notions, if not actions!

On another note, the SU gave me a card that says ‘President’ on it….how awesome is that?

Joy in a Time of Unrest

In the last year, the ratio of astounding occurrences to everyday matters is one of the highest we've seen in history, definitely the highest in any of our lifetimes. We have seen entire nations unite to stand up for their rights to freedom with success. We still watch the ongoing struggles of peoples who have been oppressed for generations, but they have truly been inspired. Whatever times we are in, one thing is undeniable...we are in a time of great change.


It is impossible to offer any form of social commentary without making mention of the London riots...except that, they no longer have the right to retain that title. Unrest has spread to Birmingham, and even Nottingham, the home of our ISoc. Of all the shocking events in the past year, this seemed to have the most shock value. Citizens of Britain might see a different picture, but to the outside world, it still remains one of the leading world powers. How could so much chaos erupt in one of the most developed and civilised nations on earth?


Well the purpose of this blog is not to answer that question. Debates will ensue over the cause of said riots, and politicians will decide what needs to be done. I reserve judgement on the goverment because I pray with the rest of you that this whole situation is finally contained and confined to non-existence. The purpose of this blog is to shed light on the glimmering rays of hope shown by members of the English community. Throughout this whole fiasco, the heroes  that are praying their tarawih prayers and protecting the shops and banks on the streets, the heroes who are persisting to fight for democracy despite their lives being at risk and the heroes who amidst such situations, still find so much to be grateful and happy about.


This leads us to the heroes of the Islamic Society. In this sacred month, there are a number of people who are working together to ensure that we can provide Iftaars every single day for the large numbers that share in the festivities of this Holy month with us. As a University Society, being able to provide daily meals and host prayers until  late at night is truly an accomplishment, and this is a testament to the generosity of the community, and the truly organised and hard working members.


Meanwhile, the Exec is currently brainstorming in order to make Fresher's Week a truly spectacular event for new students looking to join our wonderful society. There are a number of things we wish to do differently, and our plans might be grander than previous years so inshAllah these efforts do pay off. To think that we are planning for the arrival of enthusiastic, young Fresher's almost  like parents, when we ourselves were in that position not too long ago... It is like a fruit salad of emotion (or perhaps I just can't wait till Iftaar)

We are blessed to be such an active, functional society and the facilities we offer rival many societies in England. InshAllah due to our increasing numbers, we are looking to expand our wudhu area to add to our main masjid. We are lucky enough to have a number of prayer rooms, with wudhu facilities and store rooms where we store food and equipment used throughout the year. The year has not yet started yet the feeling that our ISoc is going to grow, not only in numbers, but in physical size aswell is really quite exciting.


I would like to conclude not by commenting on what the rioters are doing, but rather by expressing my pride towards the way people are handling such a situation. As a British-Pakistani, I can honestly say that I am proud of my nationalities. Both countries suffering from many hardships, but it is about the spirit of the people, and not the minority shown on the news. Keeping up to date with what is going on is as important in these times as it ever was, for you never know when you will be caught up in the mess. My prayers go out to all those who were affected, and all those who are playing a part in quelling this unrest, even if it be by simple prayer!

A Fresh Start

What is democracy?

Is democracy synonymous with freedom? It is quite easy to look at countries trying to enforce democracy and ones in which democracy freely flows, but still look at the undertones and see some harsh similarities, so I suppose it is up to the readers to answer such questions…may God bring what is best for society and politics.

Politics is one beautiful gem of a subject that the real thinkers of this world, the truly knowledgeable people, us teenagers, seem to have many opinions about. After engaging in many informal debates and discussions, you slowly start to realize the circular nature of such practices. It is not essence of the practices in themselves, but more of the people practicing. There are many fruitful discussions to be had at the right time, place and atmosphere but controlling said factors amongst enthusiastic youth, eager to spew our opinions to the world, can be quite difficult. I may speak for others, but I certainly speak for myself when I regretfully think back in hindsight to regular instances when I did not use this logic.

It is much like religion. The fact that people abuse religion should not in any way speak negatively of it. Sheikh Hamza Yusuf describes religion as being like nuclear power. It is clean, efficient and so much good can come of it. However, if not used with great care, it can lead to dangerous toxic waste.

I also wish to point out how horrifying today’s media reports were. It must seem like I am completely anti-media, which is completely false. I do appreciate the hard work that goes into reporting and journalism, and I use the media regularly as a means of keeping up to date with the world. It is however, a means I can keep coming back to for recurring disappointment. I will ignore the main headlines and skip to what should be far more important. Chinese train wreck. Mass murder in Norway.  Al-Qaeda suspected…Al-Qaeda denounced, muslim extremists suspected…denounced, it is actually an anti-muslim conservative; We do apologise. We are ashamed of our disposition of jumping to conclusions. We should be more aware that millions of people rely on our news articles, and we should also be more sensitive when it comes to potentially misinforming the families of such a horrible tragedy. Once again I repeat, we are sorry.

 It is amazing how times keep changing. I wonder if we are in a special time, almost a landmark time. If I were to look at my parent’s generations, religion was something that was passed down to most people, even if it were just the title of being ‘Muslim’ or ‘Christian’ without any of the practices. Not taking any standpoint over here, it is quite different now, when an increasing number of children are going to be born without any sort of religion. Perhaps life will be different, perhaps not much will change whatsoever, but it is definitely a new scenario to that seen before.

These are issues that are far too complex for me to write about, and I will admit to biting off more than I can chew for simply blogging about them, but it is quite interesting. I have heard many anti-religion arguments simply because of the way people use it. Sectarianism and murder in the name of religion is completely a flaw of the people, and how that can be attributed to an ideal in anyway precedes me.  Either way, I do wish to remain impartial and move to lighter hearted topics

The Isoc Executive are officially at work. It is amazing to be a part of a team that is responsible for such large-scale events. We have a number of people working ever so hard behind the scenes to prepare for the holy month of Ramadaan. Alhamdulillah we have already gotten some innovative and unique ideas from our team and inshAllah this Ramadaan may be even more successful and helpful than the last. More facilities like crèches for children are being introduced to encourage brothers and sisters to dine together for Iftaar. It is really a testament of how hard our fellow brothers and sisters are working whilst juggling PhD and Master’s Degrees.

For now, the exec  is directly concentrating their efforts on Fresher’s Week. Fresher’s Week is a chance to really represent ourselves to a new group of students and for this reason; it may possibly be our most important event. Once more, our hopes are to organize some solid events, to create some really fun times where we can all socialize as well as convey what the Islamic Society could potentially do for them, and what they could do for us.

We officially have our first online meeting tomorrow, where we can hopefully finalise the fine details and start being as productive as possible. It is in these next few weeks where we will also discuss plans for the entire year, and how we wish to improve upon our very talented predecessors. It is truly incredible how people from different parts of the globe can come together for the same purpose, and sacrifice their free time for the sake of benefitting others. I pray that this mentality grows stronger and may these people all be blessed by Allah swt. I also pray that this serves as encouragement to people that whilst relaxing is a nice part of the summer vacation, the truly rewarding work is that done with the best and purest of intention.

The Campers Guide...

Much has changed

It has been over a month since my last post, close to two months, and much has changed. The news has become less colourful, perhaps the media has grown bored of the ongoing struggles. Our responsibilities as an Isoc Executive have changed, as the new academic year slowly approaches, and we are starting to fill the shoes of our predecessors and hopefully even exceed these expectations. I feel I have matured, or gotten a slightly better outlook on life and I will relate this directly to the increase in time I have allocated to reading more books. Ah, the joys of holidays! But I have talked about this once before, and it is certainly true; vacations can be a truly hard time!

As the caffeinated, sleepless nights of exam preparation have slowly come to an end, I have found myself getting busier and busier. This is the way I function best, and I do not envy those with more free time than they know what to do with. But much of my post-examination time was consumed with preparing for Camp. A major problem that we had been facing was the lack of enthusiasm by males to attend this camp. We had reserved 35 places for Brothers, but the 13 who had already signed up slowly dwindled to 11. Since males were camping outside, and females in dormitories, the high costs of the indoor accomadation were being matched  by the high number of males camping outside, but since we could not garner enough males, the costs were steadily increading. In circumstances like this, it really is a domino effect where one person influences another influences another until all the places are filled up...unfortunately, due to circumstances, we never quite reached that domino effect. So there was some behind-the-scenes drama, but we left our fates in the hands of Allah, and alhamdulillah, everything did work out as it always does.

We decided that with 11 brothers, and 17 sisters, even if the Isoc would have to largely subsidise the camp at its own expense, the experience and education that we would gain from such a trip would be priceless. So in the hopes that we would make up any money that we had lost, we went through with the camp with high expecations...and deliver it did! From the very first day when we were introduced to our luxury childrens playground with all sporting equipment at our disposal, we knew that this trip would certainly be action-packed.

Just as we were heading out for our preliminary hike with nothing but a compass, a map and a mini-GPS to start the trip, our ASDA truck came to deliver us 3 days worth of supplies. Yes, perhaps we were slightly spoilt as campers, but it is nice to enjoy the luxuries of life out in the wild aswell! Returning from our perilous journey comparable to that of Mordor, the brothers set up their two massive tents. This was no easy feat, but I do wish that everyone does share in this experience at one time or another, for it is truly remarkable. The teamwork, the discussions....the constant wondering whether what you are doing is even remotely correct!

The next two days were filled with wonderful outdoor activities such as wall-climbing, and archery, and in our free time,  we managed to organise full two team cricket matches. It is a truly beautiful site, watching Pakistanis, Indians, Egyptians, Saudis and more Arab-African ethnicities, locked in a fierce albeit friendly battle of sportsmanship. The nights were treacherously cold, especially out in the tents, but we did manage to have some fantastic camp fires and it was at these times that we would have productive discussions. Some of the more knowledgeable people would give short talks and the rest would chime in and it really was a wonderful, education experience. On our final day, despite the constant on/off  teases of English rain, we managed to host a successful barbeque to end our camp, and though we had to rush, it was on an absolutely tasteful note. I would also like to mention that I find 'no pun intended' a very distasteful phrase, so I shall refrain.

I did try very briefly summarising the time we had, but this is near impossible to do, particularly by writing. The best moments of camp were certainly  the 'you had to be there' moments, where certain people earn nicknames, or others will say one-liners that you will remember for years to come and laugh about. My single, favourite moment at camp, was after the cricket match. I played a game of Giant-Connect 4 with one of my friends, and then sat down as his next opponent went to play him. I then looked around me and what I saw was magnificent. A day ago, I was in a bus with some brothers who were close, others who had never said a word to each other all year. Now, I was sitting down, watching two people absolutely immersed in a game of one-on-one basketball; I was observing two brothers who did not initially know each other enthralled by a game of Swingball and having the time of their lives; I saw bowlers, practicing like clockwork to a batsmen; and I realised that we had truly strengthened the ties of brotherhood and sisterhood already for years to come. This is what ISOC Camp 2011 is all about!

I also realised something. Whilst at camp, I did not feel like I had empty time. This is the time I refer to when you have just finished your work, and you do not know what to do, and there are a thousand productive things that you can do, but you choose to possibly go on Youtube and check if a new video is out, or to waste some time on Facebook, even though it is something that you would almost never check regularly. Keeping good company is important. It is so important. Your friends can change the person you are, whether conciously or subconciously, and when in good company, you can really feel it. It is quite a new experience for me to be in company that I can pray with, rather than have to take a leave from to go and pray and this is something I can never take for granted.

There are many issues I wish to speak about, but I do need to keep reminding myself that this is not a personal blog, and I do need to keep reminding myself that I am not a fan of blogs (even though these get longer and longer). I will just stick to one point for now, and this is the issue of discussion. I bring this up because it is something that was prevalent in camp, and it can be fruitful and beautiful, but it can be detrimental if you do not know when the right time is to conclude.

I was having a discussion with one of my close friends, and the topic of Big Bang and Evolution came into play. I do not have enough knowledge about either subject to give any sort of opinion on either topics, but there came a time when the talk was turning into a debate. The wise thing for me to do would have been to end the discussion, claiming that God knows best, and possibly refer him to an Islamic Scholar. Even though I did eventually do this, I feel that in my lack of knowledge and in his inability to understand my points, the friendly debate was taken too far, and it reached the point where it kept going in circles. People have different views. People have different opinions. It is healthy to share your views and opinions with different people, but when such discussions obviously become fruitless, it is advised, nay it is instructed, to acknowledge your forthcomings and to halt.

As teenagers, we feel that we own the world of politics, religion and any serious world issues and that we are the only ones who truly understand all these properly. The truth is, teenagers are arrogant. It is important to see that sometimes the best answer to a question is 'I don't know' and that it is more beneficial to point someone in the right direction, than to make an opinionated guess that could possibly misguide them or misrepresent what you stand for. This ofcourse brings me to the most recurring theme of this blog, which is SEEK KNOWLEDGE!

Lots of us are lucky enough to be blessed with free time. This is a blessing that we do not get everyday, certainly not during the year, and to waste such a thing is of the biggest shame. Read books, get informed and do something productive! You can look at a really busy week in your life and think of how much you accomplished each day, and then you can look at days where you will wake up and literally do nothing. Imagine reaching our full potential. I do pray to God that we may all strive to reach this potential, and that we come back from summer as more cultured, mature, and intelligent versions of ourselves.

Diaries of an Isoc President: Third time's the charm...

Diaries of an Isoc President: Third time's the charm...: "I had forgotten how hard it can be, going home. The reciprocation of your parents' love, the bitter sweet but mostly sweet feeling of being..."