Valuable books

Reading books is a great pastime. You obtain knowledge of some sort and it relaxes and gives peace of mind. I receive many books from a lot of people and I try to read as many as I can.

The first one, a very informative and useful book on Islam, is: 'Quran Dawati Usloob-Hidayat, Nasihat, Tazkeer' written by my dear friend of long standing, Senator Abdul Haseeb Khan. It is available from Karachi Vocational Training Centre, Karachi. He is from Bhopal – Jannatul Muqam – just like I am, and comes from a very educated family.

We both studied at the same High School – Alexandra High School – later renamed Hamidia School after Nawab Hameedullah Khan, the last ruler. Haseeb Khan’s grandfather, Abdul Hameed Khan, was a judge. Their house carried his nameplate. A thorough gentleman, highly respected and known for his honesty, he was a close friend of my late father, who was a retired head master of high schools.

Highly educated people in Bhopal had a close circle. They used to get together in the evening, listen to All India Radio for news (especially during the Second World War) and discuss politics. They were all staunch supporters of Quaid-e-Azam and of Pakistan.

I used to pass the house where Haseeb lived every morning on my way to school. Haseeb Mian has a very diversified personality. He owns Brookes Pharma in Karachi, which he has now handed over to his sons. He uses his retirement for reading, writing and arranging excellent musical (ghazals) programmes at his home. Haseeb Khan is a great philanthropist and social worker.

The book covers from Alif, Lam Meem to Surah Wannas and he has selected 63 Surahs and 732 Aayats. First he gives you the relevant Ayats from a Surah, then an Urdu translation and then, in simple words, the gist of the Ayats. The book contains 271 pages and Haseeb Bhai has put his heart and soul into its preparation, which shows his love for Allah, his apostle and Islam. It is worth mentioning that Haseeb Bhai was largely instrumental in having a law passed in the Sindh Assembly which makes it compulsory for a couple planning to get married to have medical tests done to ensure that there is no danger of thalassaemia to the children born from the union.

The second, extremely useful and informative book, 'The Holy Quran – A Continuous Miracle', is compiled by another of my friends and great Islamic scholar, Prof Dr Muhammed Akram Chaudhry, former VC of Sargodha University and Prof Emeritus of Punjab University. He has a PhD from Glasgow University, is a Fulbright Fellow and has a Masters degree from the University of Riyadh. He taught at the universities of Colorado, Boulder Campus and at Arizona. The book has been published by Bazm-e-Iqbal, 2 Club Road, Lahore and is available from Dar-un Nawadir, Lahore.

Prof Chaudhry has started his introduction with a very important and challenging Ayat of Surah Al-Nisa: “Do they not ponder the Quran? Had it been from any other than Allah, they would have found in it much discrepancy and contradiction.” 9(4:82) On the front page he has put the following quote from the Holy Quran: “Are those who know and those who do not know equal?”

Prof Dr Niaz Ahmad Akhtar, VC of the University of the Punjab, Lahore – himself a great scientist and a religious scholar – has written the following: “The Holy Quran is the most read book in the world – this qualifies for an effort to expound on various themes that it addresses, its language, translation, dialectical variants, etc, this effort is befittingly taken by the author. Notwithstanding, the author is presenting to the world, with his innovative assimilation of yet another miraculous Qur’anic dimension pertaining to the Semantic Extension....”

Mr Riaz Ahmed Chaudhry, director of Bazm-e-Iqbal, has written the following: “In writing 'The Holy Quran: A Continuous Miracle', Prof Dr Muhammad Akram Chaudhry, as an esteemed scholar, has penned down a beautiful tribute to the Inimitable, Unadulterated Word of Allah. This book provides a comprehensive yet nuanced frame of reference for understanding the Holy Quran.”

These books should be kept in every household to study and find the true meaning of the Quran. It is especially useful for expatriates whose children often do not understand Urdu. May Allah shower His blessings on the authors and their families of both of these important books – Ameen.

Email: dr.a.quadeer.khan@gmail.com