Istikhara for every decision

Allah almighty has provided us Islam as complete way of life. Many times we are confused with available options. In such conditions Prophet peace be upon him guided to perform Istikhara for seeking guideline and blessings of Allah in that particular matter. So whenever you are confused with your options just offer 2 raka prayer and read following Dua with darood shareef. Allah would guide you to right option.

Once you have performed Istikhara, no specific dreams and cautions are required for guideline. Right option would emerge automatically and it would become easy for you. So after Istikhara your duty is over and there is no need to indulge in dreams and signs about it. Allah almighty would guide you to right option once you have asked Him for His favor in your issue.

How to remove caller tunes from Jaz, Zong, Telener, UFone or Warid numbers

Cell phones are commonly used in Pakistan by all age groups. Most of people are very well versed by new and changed packages and facilities provided by their service providers. Telecom service providers have introduced a functionality known as caller tunes. People set these so that all of their callers may hear the music or Naat while waiting the call to be attended.
I have noticed that some people complain that caller tune is activated automatically and how to remove it now?
So here is how to remove caller tunes

• For Zong           SMS UNR to 230
• For Telenor        SMS OFF to 230
• For Jazz             SMS UNSUB to 230
• For UFone         SMS UNSUB to 666
• For Warid           SMS RBT OFF to 7171

Note: I have not personaly verified the above procedures. If any thing requires correction then please mention it.

Some simple tips to be environment friendly

The Earth has already become a dangerous place to live in for the animals and birds. Soon it might be our turn. So let's pledge to save our beautiful planet so that you and your future generations can live happily and peacefully ever after. At your end follow the simple but effective tips.

Use power button

There is a cute small round press button at the bottom right corner of almost all monitors: Please make use of this button.

Avoid printing

Stop printing out Harry Porter, Jeffrey Archer and other e-books. This is a classic example of paper wastage.

Use both sides of print paper

If you have printer with double side print facility then make use of it. If it is not so or you forgot to give double-side prints, make sure you make use of the empty sides as scribbling pads or for your kids' imposition.

Make sure to shut down

Take two minutes from your busy schedule before hurrying back home to shut down the computer.

Blackle (energy efficient search engine)

All of us are big time Googlers. Have you heard of the Blackle search engine? Blackle (Google powered) is a search engine designed all in Rich Black so that your system consumes less power. So change your homepage.

Say no to plastic bags

Plastic bags these days indeed come in bright and flamboyant colours and tempt us to take them home with us. But the saying, "Appearances are deceptive" holds true for these plastic things too. Next time, hold back or go prepared to counter temptation with a cloth bag.

Grow small plants

Roses, Jasmine, Hibiscus and Peas; All these saplings cost hardly between Rs 10 - 20 each. Can't we afford to plant these in and around our houses? Also, more importantly, caring and maintain them as they grow.

Avoid horns

Try to minimize the use of horns. Honking has drastically increased and this adds to the noise pollution and does not provide a conducive environment to live in.

Categorized waste

Try to segregate the different kinds of waste into Bio-Degradable (Fruit or vegetable waste) , Recyclable (waste Paper, paper products) and Electronics (Floppy disks, CD-ROMS ). Once you have segregated your thrash, look for specialized trash cans to throw them away.

Rechargeable Batteries

Use rechargeable batteries though it's an expensive product, it's one-time purchase. Recharge when required. (Same applies to cell-phones, MP3s, iPods and Laptops)

Ink pens and pencils

The best pens to use would be ink ones. Though if you have to use a ball point pen, buy refills instead of buying new pens. Pencils are much better for rough use!

Take care of water tap

Remember to close water taps before preening in front of the mirror. Of course you are beautiful, but Water is a precious resource!

Turn the lights off

Let's not just wake up and walk out of finished meetings and conferences with a sigh of relief, let us remember to turn off the lights and projectors too. Also make sure to off the lights when going out of rooms at home.

Do you know?

Take few minutes to learn about topics like 'Global Warming' , 'Air / Noise /Land / Water Pollution ' etc apart from constant surfing of News, Latest Gadgets, Movies and Music.

And as last tip, spread this message to your friends and colleagues. They too can make a difference.

To be a fan does not loose the right to disagree

Keeping a view about some personality is not digital 1 or 0. You can not tag a person as right always or other wise. I have observed that when people like some one they always praise the thinking and idea of that personality. You can note this behavior at face book pages of  public figures. If you have some reservations about a point or you disagree from what the public figure mentioned that your views should be expressed with free mind. A person with right views may be wrong some time.

It becomes more important when you are dealing with social, cultural or religious matters. Right to disagree is always there and every one should use it for moving towards a better society. 

15 years long hunt with over 3 trillion $ ends at a disputed claim

US claim of Osama Bin Laden hunt became dubious due to a number of reasons. From common people to media and political representatives there are many voices with different questions about the issue. Along with these the changing statements of US officials regarding the Abbottabad operation have further complicated the issue. Majority of people have accepted the death of Osama due to reason that Al-Qaeda announced his martyrdom after couple of days. 

Osama Bin Laden emerged as a symbol of struggle and Jihad against the exploitative systems in the world. It is bad luck of America that Bin Laden ideology has got its roots inside the hearts and minds of vast majority of Muslims all over the world. Muslim youth got a real alternate of Che Guevara that may be even more problematic than a hidden Bin Laden of past.

What to do, when you get a suspect job offer letter?

Recently i came to know about a case where some one started coordination with a fresh graduate (i would call Mr. X) about a job contract. A Email was send with attached contract letter and Mr. X was asked to send a signed and scanned copy of offer letter along with scanned copies of passport and photographs. Email and contract letters were showed to be from Shell Company Malaysia. A lucrative package was offered as salary and benefits. Also some amount was mentioned for visa processing in contract letter but not demanded at the moment. 

Facts  in Case

• Mr. X never applied for Shell Malaysia
• He was never called for phone/online test/interview
• Offered package was much more than normaly being offered in market
• Mail senders were insisting for one day for document submission

Further investigation revealed

With these apparent points, Mr. X further investigated the issue and came to know that 

• Domain used for Shell Malaysia (deducted from email) was proved fake as Shell official domain pointed to its domain in Malaysia, that was totally different
• EMail of Malaysian man power ministry was provided the further cover the case
• That domain (concluded from Email) was also proved fake as original Malaysian man power ministry website was found on Malaysian domain

Potential threats

This was terrible effort of disguise and fraud. It involved following major threats.

• Signatures on scanned agreement were subject to potential misuse
• Scanned photographs and passport may also be misused in very dangerous manner
• With further home work and disguise Mr. X may be convinced to pay a suitable amount on behalf of case processing or documentation

What to do?

If you get any such agreement/ proposal from unconfirmed sources. Then try to confirm the origin of offer. You may easily verify the domains related to EMail used in whole coordination process. Try to talk on phone also. You may involve the related departments to get verification of suspect employer. And most important thing is that never ever expect that some one would issue you a job contract without any test/interview and without your application for that job. Be extremely conscious for over seas offers because that may be complex to verify and may result in great loss.

Nationalism or Islam, Nation or Ummah, have to make a choice

During my Childhood
Like any other Pakistani boy i grew up with strong lessons and slogans of nationalism in my course books, TV, newspapers and schools. We were used to put CRUSH INDIA badges on shirts. India was primary enemy of Pakistani nation and Islam. Kashmir was burning issue and Govts were used to exploit the sentiments of people over Kashmir as it was national as well as Islamic matter. Israel was always unanimously cursed by all segments of society. Later my nation got engaged with Russia in Afghanistan. Even then it was OK as Russia was a threat to Pakistan and Islam as well. Those were very good old days.

Middle phase came
Then there were some matters where i like other common people was disturbed by US attacks on Iraq. I was not satisfied by Govt stance on these issue. Collation forces captured the major resources and sensitive points of Arab world (till today). Any how it was still not a threat to nationalism ideology as Pakistan was not involved in any of collation activities there.

Along with that Ex-Jihadi groups appear with war slogans against US and west. Osama Bin Laden declared war on America from Khost. US navy targeted that camp through cruise missiles by violating Pakistan's air space. It was a clear response of USA for Osama's declaration. Till here nationalism did not confronted the Ummah or Islam.

9/11 also destroyed my ideology
Then time came when Al-Qaeda launched attacks on USA on Sept 11 2001 and US president called for a clear distinction of friend and enemy. He rejected the option to stay neutral. Pakistan at that time was under the rule of dictator Gen. Musharraf. Due to extreme strategic importance and Afghan connections US leadership asked the dictator to assist the collation forces for culmination of Taliban regime and Al-Qaeda activists. For whatever reason dictator stood on the collation side and offered every type of support to US lead forces from 35 countries of the world.

USA brutally carpet bombed Afghanistan with ferocious weapons. Pakistan on his side captured the great Arab mujahedin and sold to USA. Several ex-jihadi individuals were killed at the spot without even a single crime on their record against the state of Pakistan. Even women were sold as later came the case of Dr. Aafia Sidiqui. Here i did not find any way to satisfy my nationalism and Islamic ideology both at the same time. Along with twin towers 9/11 also destroyed my innocent and very firm bond of nationalism and Islamic ideology.

Dictator Gen. Musharraf grasped this reality very much and introduced the attractive but mean slogans like "Sab say pehlay Pakistan". And crushed every local/international individual/organization with some aim to apply Islam in society.

National Security set ups
Almost a decade has past after 9/11. Pakistan is bound to wage a war that is against the mujahideen of Islam. During this process we have created more enemies and less friends. Intelligence Agencies and national security set ups are extremely patriot without any doubt but they are totally failed to justify their actions according to Islamic perspective. This situation leaves no way to opt either nationalism or Islam. Or in other words opt nation or Umma.

Main Concern
The main concern is how could we put nationalism and Islamic bond back same as it was before and what should be done to make sure that in future nationalism and Islam would not be mutually exclusive?

Javed Chaudhry comments and sugestions about mosques environment in Pakistan

In his recent column Javed Chaudhry has analyzed the mosques environment in Pakistan. His criticism was based on following observations

• Shoes were scattered all around 
• There was dust and water drops
• Noise was being produced by snoring and other activities of people during wuzoo
• Windows and fans were covered with dust
• Imam sahib was provoking the people against India, Israel, America, media and other unseen enemies
• There was no discipline among people while leaving after prayer
• Design of wash rooms in mosque is not up to date

After sharing these observations J Chaudhry came with following suggestions to poor nation.

Download Sahih Bukhari Sharif in Software product form

In a previous post i provided Saha-e-Sitta Hadith books with Urdu translation in pdf format. The response was unexpectedly great for me as many people submitted their thanks via comments and emails. Said post got highest visits on my blog. It strengthened my view about sharing whatever i like for my self.

A couple of days back i came across another very useful product based on Sahih Bukhari Sharif developed by some very motivational people. I installed the rich featured software product and find following major aspects

• Sahih Bukhari Sharif is provided as software product
• All volumes are provided in single soft ware product form
• Index of each volume is provided 
• Search facility is provided for both Urdu and Arabic
• Link to development team are provided for contact
• Help related to fonts and other issues is also provided

Indeed it is a valuable effort from development team and may Allah accept it. Do not forget to contribute your any skills for on going projects of development team. You may contact them through links provided in this software book. By clicking on following image  you can download the Sahih Bukhari Shareef in software product form. Size of .rar compressed file is about 62 MB.

Download Sahih Bukhari Software

Source site http://www.islamicurdubooks.com/