He was Mohammed S.A.W

Since it's Ramadan I'm sharing this nasheed (Islamic song) with you:



I think many Muslims are mistaken when they say that genealogy creates arrogance amongst people and that it creates conflict. If your intention is pure and right then I don't think there is anything wrong with learning about your ancestors and tracing where you came from. A person should ask themselves why they are researching their family history. In the Quran it says:

[Mankind! We created you from a male and female, and made you into peoples and tribes so that you might come to know each other. The noblest among you in Allah’s sight is that one of you who best performs his duty. Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware.] (Al-Hujurat 49:13)

Genealogical research is a way of understanding our history and learning about the people that came before us, their way of living, the events in their lives and the world they lived in. This does not mean that we should glorify our ancestors or embellish stories of our ancestry to make ourselves seem important.

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is reported to have said:

“You are sons of Adam, and Adam came from dust. Let the people cease to boast about their ancestors.” (Abu Dawud)

“These genealogies of yours are not a reason to revile anyone. You are all children of Adam. No one has any superiority over another except in religion and taqwa (godliness).” (Ahmad)

Especially now in the age when families are separated by geographical distance, and the attitudes of the younger generation, it's important to keep in touch with our families. Genealogy is a way for people to connect with relatives and share their heritage. More people need to understand this.

What's your opinion on this subject?

Remembering our shaheed..2

I'm posting more announcements of our shaheed (martyred) who are fighting for our country, our people and our freedom. See my first post here.

Sunday July 19th 2009

An unnamed soldier lost his life in Jandola in the Bannu district. (The News)

Tuesday July 21st 2009

Six unnamed soldiers dead in Northwest Pakistan. (Yahoo News)

Thursday July 23rd 2009

An unnamed soldier was killed in a mortar attack in North Waziristan.

'Pakistan says more than 1,800 militants and 166 security personnel have been killed, but the death tolls are impossible to verify independently.' (The Nation)

Note: I can only provide you with names if I find them in the news articles I browse. If you think something needs correcting, please do leave me a message. I try my best.


We should all pray for these men and their families and recognise their courage and sacrifice for their country.

Are you related to a servicemen? Do you have memories of a loved one dying? Do you have a message for the soldiers fighting? Leave me a comment.

Looking for Answers

It's been nearly a week now since I posted the quiz so I'm pretty sure your heads must be hurting by now! Here are the answers:

1) What was the name of Mohammed Ali Jinnah's father?
Jinnahbhai Poonja

2) How many sisters did he have?
Mohammed Ali Jinnah had 3 sisters.

3) What was his mother tongue?
Gujarati. He also spoke Kutchi, Sindhi and English.

4) What was the name of his first wife?
Emibai Jinnah. She was his distant cousin. Unfortunately she passed away a few months after the marriage.

5) Name the occupation of his father.
He was a merchant.

One of our readers, Abbas, mentioned that this was a difficult quiz but I did mention that you might need to do some digging around on the internet. I'm sure many of us are a bit rusty on the facts of Jinnah's life.
Abbas, better luck next time!

So how did you do on the quiz? 5 out of 5? Let me know by leaving me a comment.

Happy 62nd Birthday Pakistan

Jashne-e-Azadi Mubarak (Happy Independence Day)

Junoon se aur ishq se
Milti hai .. azaadi

Tanzeem, ittehad, iman (unity, faith, discipline)
Qaid ka pehgam

Tanzeem ittehad iman
Khaak-e-pak mehrban

Jese ruuh jism-o-jaan
Jaanta hai saara jahan

Junoon se aur ishq se
Milti hai .. azaadi

Qurbani ki baahon main
Milti hai azaadi

Junoon se aur ishq se
Milti hai azaadi

Tauheed ijtehad nizam
Moumin ki pehchan

Tauheed ijtihad nizam
Jab sab imtehan
Zahir ghaib ka nishaan

Sar zameen-e-Pakistan

Junoon se aur ishq se
Milti hai .. azaadi

Qurbani ki baahon main
Milti hai azaadi

Junoon se aur ishq se
Milti hai azaadi

Junooooon

Junoon se aur ishq se
Milti hai azaadi

Qurbani ki baahon main
Milti hai azaadi

Junoon se aur ishq se
Milti hai azaadi

Qurbani ki baahon main
Milti hai azaadi

Junoon se aur ishq se
Milti hai azaadi ..


Azadi by Junoon

I thank Mohammed Ali Jinnah for creating Pakistan for us. Pakistan Zindabad!

Interview at The Pakistani Spectator

Recently I was asked to be interviewed by The Pakistani Spectator. It was quite unexpected since I had never heard of the website and also because I didn't really think anyone would want to interview me. Haha. It seems The Pakistani Spectator interviews bloggers from across the blogosphere and posts them on their website which holds articles from Pakistani bloggers. Well I'm not sure if my interview was the most interesting (yeah right!) but I think I managed to get my point across about genealogy and family history. So please do go check it out and read up on the many Pakistani bloggers we have.

Here's the link.

Mohammed Ali Jinnah Quiz

It's August and the time to get all patriotic. So I'm starting a quiz about Mohammad Ali Jinnah and his family. In a previous post I noted some of his family members which might be useful as well as doing some digging around on the internet to find the answers to the quiz I've made.

1) What was the name of Mohammed Ali Jinnah's father?
2) How many sisters did he have?
3) What was his mother tongue?
4) What was the name of his first wife?
5) Name the occupation of his father.


Write your answers in a comment to this post.
Answers will be posted Friday 14 August 2009! Visit the blog to check if you got them right.

Are you a Mughal?

As I was browsing the internet, I came across an article that was published back in April in the Telegraph, about a trust being opened to bring back the remains of the last Mughal Emperor and for his descendants to be traced.

Dean Nelson writes:

'Calls for Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar's body to be returned to India and to be buried along with those of his royal ancestors have steadily grown since 2007's 150th anniversary of the Indian mutiny – when "sepoys" in British army regiments massacred their officers.

The rebellion was eventually put down with great brutality in a series of bloody battles and Bahadur Shah Zafar was sent into exile in Rangoon, Burma, where he died.

Although he has been described as the "Last Mughal", there have been numerous claims from alleged descendants that Zafar's lineage continues to this day. Now a powerful trust, including influential Muslim academics, businessmen and one of India's leading Urdu poets have joined forces to establish how many Mughals remain, and seek the return of the last emperor.

Professor Aslam Pervez, an historian of Zafar's reign and a founding member of the Mughal Trust, last night told The Daily Telegraph its main aim was not simply to reunite the remaining Mughal royals, but to bring back the last Mughal to Delhi.

"There is a move that we should bring back his last remains from Rangoon and make a grave for him here in Delhi, at Mehrauli, where his father and grandfather are buried.

"There are so many people who claim to be descended. The Mughals were scattered, many ran away from Delhi, to Hyderabad, after the mutiny and no-one knows who went where," he said.

Many are believed to have fled to Calcutta, where 70 descendants have been traced by the trust, and Aurangabad where a further 200 are believed to live. Others are believed to be living in Pakistan and Burma.'

I think it's a great idea but I'm unsure about the reasons of wanting to do this. Is it for historical purposes or just to find out who his descendants are so we can help them out? The article doesn't mention how the findings will be published so I'm not sure whether the public will be able to see this famous family tree. I imagine it's gonna be a difficult task of tracing descendants, perhaps they will be using new technology such as DNA.

Now I'm not claiming to be a desecendant here but my Dad is always telling us we are Meer Mughals so how does that fit in with this? I don't know but it's all very interesting.

What do you think about this? Do you have rumours of Mughal ancestry in your family?