The Electronic Nikah!

Though this piece is a little old but it caught my attention only recently. It shows the need for Muslims too, to adopt to new technologies.

Although the news is all over I'm putting the one that came in 'Times of India' in July 2006.

“Enter, double click and get married ”

Manjari Mishra

LUCKNOW: Twenty-four-year- old Aliza Alim made a coy bride-to-be as she entered the Taj marriage hall in Mansoornagar on Thursday night. The place was smelling strongly of attar and choicest Awadhi cuisine.

The venue was duly partitioned into zanana (womens') and mardana (mens') wings and was packed with guests and relatives just like any other marriage. Everything seemed in place for the shaadi(wedding) but there was a vital difference — the groom was missing.

Alishan Zaidi — the lucky man — was sitting in Dubai facing his laptop waiting patiently for the rites to begin. So was everyone back home here, inching forward to catch a glimpse of the first marriage by video-conferencing at least in this side of the country.

"It did feel a little queer to visualise a 'nikaah'(muslim wedding ceremony) without the groom (dulha nadarat tha, after all –the bridegrrom was missing)" confessed Ali Hussain Abidi, Zaidi's first cousin and the matchmaker. "But later everyone, he claimed, got into the spirit of the occasion and it turned out to be quite an exciting event.

This included even for the two Maulavis — Maulana Hamidul Hasan (a prominent Muslim cleric and scholar) and Maulana Liyaqat Raza. Zaidi an MBA from Lucknow, currently working in a Dubai based multimedia company, had got engaged to Aliza last month during his trip to the hometown.

The marriage was initially fixed for December but both the families decided to advance the D-day as visa formalities for Aliza were taking too long for comfort.

Talking to the TOI on Friday Aliza (now a Zaidi) admitted that she had not imagined that hers would be the first high tech marriage in the state. The Loretto educated young woman, doing a course in fashion designing looked thrilled about her overnight celebrity status. "Why not, every marriage would not have a journalist talking about it", she giggled.

But last night, she confessed, she was scared. Specially when she anxiously looked at the laptop attached to a mobile phone placed in the centre of the room.

However the proceedings turned out to be fairly simple, informed her uncle Irfan Zaidi. The groom appeared on the screen and asked the Maulavi to carry on his behalf.

He also fixed the Mehar at Rs 14000 before saying the mandatory 'qubool hai'( I do). Aliza also gave her consent to Maulavi Hamidul Hasan before the 450 odd guests trooped out for the dawat.

"This is the second hi-tech marriage in our family", claimed Abidi. Alishan's aunt got married telephonically 15-years ago, he claimed.

Things have changed since then, says the prominent cleric Maulana Khalid Rashid, head of Firangimahal. Nikah rules have to be adapted to the changing time like everything else.


What next....

A Tribute

Long after the guns ceased their fire,
Millions of precious lives lost,
And cry of pain and agony died out,
There remains a name to be cherished,
Oscar Shindler!

In a world of cruelty and hostility,
Where you find more foes than friends,
And saving a life meant risking your own,
Where shadow of death loomed large,
And killing of people was a wild sport,
Where women were object of sex,
And a child failed to soften hearts,
A man saved more than a thousand lives,
Sacrificing all he had for himself.

It was a saga of dedication and devotion,
And not just another tale to be told,
It's a message loud and clear,
That when the head of evil rises high,
A saviour comes as a Shindler.

(Wrote in Lucknow after seeing the movie Shindler's List, 7th May 1995)

Utopia

One night I had a dream,
I found myself in a whole new world,
A world full of smiling faces,
A common bond binding all,
A bond of pure love and harmony.

No differences, no quarrels,
No hatred, no violence,
No racism, no castesism,
No weapons, no wars,
Just eternal peace everywhere.

Flowers blooming all around,
The land turning into a flushing meadow,
Huge trees sheltering the smaller ones,
And streams of fresh water floing through them,
Man and nature in complete harmony.

Every breath taken sheer pleasure,
Every moment spent engraved on the mind,
Perhaps it was not just another dream,
It's a wish, a prayer, and a hope.

(Wrote while in AMU, 30th April 1995)

The Wait Continues

There is complete darkness all around,
I find none by my side,
No one to rely on,
No shoulder to cry on,
No one to confide in,
No soul to have faith in
None to guide, none to help,
None to motivate, none to encourage,
Life is suddenly a bed of thorns,
But I have to carry on,
There is still some hope left,
And time will change for me,
I can see light from a small opening,
Is a bright tomorrow in store for me?
I wait...

(Wrote while in AMU, 1st March 1995)

What is Life?

Is it a saga of struggles,
Or is it a bouquet of roses;
Is it an incessant strive for happiness,
Or is it a tale of woes;
Is it the path to a remote destination,
Or is it an aimless stroll;
Is it a long tiring journey,
Or is it a beautiful dream;
Is it a never ending story,
Or is it an unsung melody;
Is it an unfathomable sea,
Or is it just a shallow pond;
Is it a gift of the almighty,
Or is it a retribution of our sins;
What really life is...
I fail to understand.

(Wrote while in AMU, 3rd Jan 1995)

Solitude

Away from the busy world,
In a land of eternal peace,
Everything looks calm and serene,
This is the state I want to be in.

Nobody to bother, none to disturb,
Just me and my solitude,
Enough time to think and weigh things,
With only myself to carry on.

No responsibilities, no promises,
No questions, no directions,
No judging, no arguing,
Whatever I do, I do my own way.

This is the life I love to live.

(Wrote while in Aligarh Muslim University, 16th Nov 1994)

Pursuit

What eyes are to the blind,
Limbs are to the handicapped;

What water is to the thirsty,
Food is to the starved;

What parents are to the orphans,
Children are to the childless;

What husband is to a widow,
Home is to the homeless;

What love is to the neglected,
Money is to the poor;

What literacy is to the illeterates,
Knowledge is to the seeker;

Seek...


(Wrote in the summer of 1992, Class XI, CMS Lucknow)

The Real Essense of Ramazan

For most Muslims Ramazan is just a month of fasting. Unfortunately, it's not just food but more about staying away from sins. It's a very pious month, one in which the holy Qurán came to us for guidance. Ramazan gives us a chance to do some self-introspection. A chance to discover ourselves and make better use of the most beautiful gift given to us by the Almighty - Life!

A famous couplet by the renowned poet Bahadur Shah Zafar comes immediately to my mind:

Jihaade nafs ibaadat me hai hamein manzoor
Wuzu ke waqt ulat'te hai aasteeno ko

Changing Face of Communications

The way human beings have been communicated seems to be nearing the end of the circle. We started with sign language, then the lips step in, and then technology took over. Thanks to a certain Graham Bell, telephone became part of our lives. Look at the way mobile phones have made communication such fun. So now you can actually talk face-to-face with your friend, anywhere anytime, in real time.

The day is not far off when we could actually read each others' thoughts, and of course signs. That's the future of digital communication for you!