ARMS AND AMMUNITION OF LAHORE
A WORLD CENTRE OF MANUFACTURE
A forgotten story

Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi set the pattern by naming the newly founded city by the name of Mahmudpur, over the remains, or besides the remains, or even on a new site, of the so called Laur, the name and pronounciation of which is still uncertain to this day. We do know that the area was called Mandkukar before that, and it was a market of chickens, founded by the exiled giant of Bashan, known as LA-NGA the nau-guzza of Lahore. We are also told by the historian Baihaqi (in the known volumes rest lost), how Sultan Mahmud gave the task to Malik Ayaz, to make Lahore, one of the grandest city of all times. In many quarters Ayaz is crediting as having founded Lahore, and the love for him is so great in the hearts of the people of Lahore, that they still celebrate his anniversary, and have made a new mausoleum for him in the narrow lanes of the city.

Of course Lahore is a city of culture but there is so much more to it. One aspect not usually written is that it was a world centre for manufacture of arms and ammunition. Baihaqi gives us a list of about 200 different professions of whose specialists were invited to make Lahore, Lahore. And the most important ones it seemed were the gunsmiths who came to Lahore from far away, including Ghazni, the capital of Sultan Mahmud. To this day we have streets in Lahore named after gun-makers (banduk-sazs), bow-makers (teer-garan), and sword makers (talawaran). The swords of Lahore were world famous and people used to come from all over the world to buy swords. So does the industry of bows and arrows, and guns. Many swords and guns used by Mughal Kings and Princes were made in Lahore. Dara Shikoh’s sword was made in Lahore as attested by the inscription on it, to this day. The swords were continuously manufactured till the British banned their making in Lahore. There are swords in our house made in Lahore in the times of the late Mughals, as well as British times, in the Landa Bazaar, Lahore. A sword was presented to my cousin’s husband, also made in Landa Bazaar, Lahore. It seems casting was going on in the Serai of Sultan, the casting area of Lahore.

Lahore was famous for its LOHARS, blacksmiths, and the mohalla of Lohars exist in the city to this day. On such famous gunsmith was SHAH NAZEER, who was gunsmith to Mir Mannu, the Governor of Lahore. Ahmad Shah Abdalli was impressed with the manufacture capacity of Lahore, and ordered two cannons here, in 1757 AD. Made by Shah Nazeer, one got lost in a river bed, the other passed through many hands. It was called Zam-zamah, and made famous by Rudyard Kipling, as the gun, on which his character Kim sat in Lahore. At a dimension of 14 feet and a 4 1/2 inches, and a bore of 9 1/2 inches, it is considered as the biggest cannon made in Lahore. We are told that for its manufacture, a utensil each, came from all the houses in Lahore, some of which were volunteered, and some which were a result of order.

Lahore was also a city of bombs, or hand grenades. At most diggings, remains of ATISH-HUKAS or hand bombs come out. Many of these are highly decorated, and a certain sign is on them, signifying DANGER symbol of that period. But some are very imaginatively shaped in FISH form, and these are beautiful bombs to behold. Museum pieces in all ways. Horse riders used to throw them on the gate way of Forts, or those were throw from the ramparts of forts to attackers below the walls. Many times Lahore was on the brink of falling and held itself against attack. At times through negotiation Lahore was saved. And at other times Lahore was ransacked, and left to the vultures. Lahore was a deserted city, till the Syed brothers inhabited it again in 1420 AD. So Lahore has seen it ups and downs. And when this activity was banned in Lahore,the gunsmiths of Lahore migrated to the Tribal belt on the Afghan border, where they still manufacture arms and ammunition to this day.

It is said that Lahore was named after the discovery of Iron, as ‘Loha’ and ‘Lohars’ and that is why it was called Loharpur. Another funny tit-bit of history is that Changez Khan himself was a blacksmith, and his children were ‘Lohars’.The casting was done in its entire history and even today the Loha mandi near Sultan ke Serai does the same.

EMPOWERMENT OF ANARCHY
INFIGHTING IN SOCIETY
The Strange ways of dividing Planet Earth

The Judeo-Christian-Muslim traditions brought in empowerment of humanity. An egalitarian world that was not seen before. Equality of humankind with responsibilities. And then the structure which bound society was attacked and the FAMILY became a sign of ridicule in the modern world. To engender more and more friction and boiling, various empowerment formulas were tried again and again. Empowerment of women, empowerment of homosexuals, empowerment of zyphiliacs (an official count was made in Germany of people who confessed to having sex with their dogs which ran into hundreds of thousands), empowerment of criminals (by reducing all sentences possible to a joking minimal), empowerment of concepts like the Devil, Vampires and hate-mongers. A survey said that ‘God has done nothing for mankind as compared to the Devil who is human friendly’. Empowerment of nudity with nude beaches. Empowerment of groups which had Piss and Shit parties (this is not a joke). And what not?

The end scheme is to break in humanity in total. To interfere in family life, where a young child can take the parents to court for reprimanding him, where a husband can be booked for assault if he makes a pass at his wife, in name of rape. The world goes hungry, people are dying by thousands, war decimating millions, and yet newer and newer moves on the dance platform, catwalks, with girls continuously being undressed to the minimum. Pole dancers swinging their butts on rock hard steel poles to please the voyeuristic in man. Newer and newer drugs to take advantage of human beings and call them, ‘Ecstasy’ like things. Alcoholic content of drinks being increased to the level where man can stop thinking and using his brain. Bollywood excels in the ridiculous and most vulgar sex jerks, which even puts Elvis Presley to shame.

The Quran tells us to think and ponder. The media presents two extremes to engender a high rating. The normal people of the world missed in all parleys. It is not time to empower ANARCHY. It is time of EMPOWER HUMANITY again. The King Midas should sacrifice their collected trillions and spend them on the welfare of mankind to make the world not only a happier place but PARADISE itself. An if not, then it is time for people to rise and assert their presence on Planet Earth.

CALIPH OF ISLAM IN DELHI
PRAYERS AT JAMIA MASJID AJMERE
A story of a forgotten incident

The contact between Sultan Iltutmish and the Caliph of Islam was in 1226-1229 AD. Awfi and Juzjani as well as others have written about same. The grandest reception possible was given to Al Mustansar Billa who was Caliph of that time. Besides the unforgettable welcome given to the Caliph, the emphasis on the JAMIA MASJID AJMERE, called the ‘Dhai Din ka Jhnopara’. This grandest of mosques was constructed by Sultan Iltutmish in two and a half days, a feat considered impossible with the size and magnitude of the mosque. But those people did it and it is called the same to this day. But the most amazing part is that a SEVENTH ARCHED FRONT was made in honor of the Caliph of Islam Al-Mustansar Billa, and THE SAID CALIPH IS REPUTED TO HAVE SAID HIS PRAYERS IN THE MOSQUE IN 1229 AD. IT WAS A BLESSINGS ETERNAL FOR INDO-PAKISTANI REGION as the world leader of Islam was in this region and hosted by the Sultan, and set the state for the amalgamation of Muslim efforts all over the world. It seemed the UMMA was getting together at that time.
The forgotten incident is recorded here and there and comes in some modern texts too.

A CALIPH OF ISLAM IN DELHI?
AL-MUSTANSAR, MAUTASIM AND SULTAN ILTUTMISH

Sultan Iltutmish became one of the most strong rulers of Muslim India. A son in law of Qutub-ud-din Aibeg (Flaming Star of Lahore). the rule of Iltutmish was phenomenal. And all sought the patronage of the Caliphs of Islam. Different versions are given by different writers, here particularly Minhaj al-Juzjani and Awfi. This is related to 1226, 1227 and 1228 AD. Here Mautasim is touted as the Caliph of Islam but we are told that Mautasim became Caliph in 1242 and his rule ended in 1258. The Caliph at that time was Al-Mustansar, the father of Maustasim.

Awfi tells us:
“One of the manifestations of the grandeur and elegance of Sultan Shams-ud-din Abul Muzaffar Iltutmish, is that costly gifts were sent to the exalted court of the Caliph in Baghdad. NONE OF THE PRECEDING KINGS HAD EVER DISPATCHED SO MANY AND COSTLY GIFTS TO THE CALIPH (AS HE DID). IN RETURN THE CALIPH SENT A STANDARD, RING, VEST, A SPECIAL TURBAN, SADDLED CAMELS, ARABIAN HORSES, AND ROBES OF HONOR FOR THE SULTAN, THE PRINCES, AND THE DIGNITARIES OF THE COURT. ALL THIS MAY BE CONSIDERED A PROUD PRIVILEGE.”

Historians tell us the importance of the arrival of the Caliph of Baghdad himself in Delhi. Magnificent arrangements were made, as a guard of honor was given to the visitors by the Army of Iltutmish. Royal arrangements were plenty, including the making of a special painting of Sultan Iltutmish in the main hall of the reception of the palace, based on the Chinese tradition of painting. Delhi rocked with honor and pleasure in receiving the Caliph of Islam. Various details are given at various places.

The Sultans of Delhi sought patronage of the Caliphs of Islam and volunteered obeisance to them all the time. Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi had received a title from the Caliph of Islam. But the might of the Caliphs were on the verge of decline. In 1258 AD, Halaku Khan wiped out Caliph Maustasim, as well as Baghdad from the face of the Earth. Earlier he had dealt this deadly blow to the might of the Ismaelis, by erasing the old man on the mountain and his assassins too. When change comes to passive people, the change is thorough and complete.

This remains one of the most interesting note in the region of Indo-Pakistan. There are other stories too, but in its entire depth, this story remains phenomenal to this day. And it deserves more research.

2012 END OF THE WORLD
2015 END OF PAKISTAN
HA! HA! HA!

Doomsday stories are in the psyche of man. Ever since the world knew cognition, there were these old embittered disgruntled persons, whose mouth could utter literally bullshit. One comes across Maulvis in our culture who are always talking about the unbearable hazards of the first night in the grave. ‘QABAR KA AZAB’. It seems they already died and came back to report to us. Surely they must know what they are destined to face in the grave. In old chronicles we hear of these soothsayers predicting the end of the world. We are told that looneys like these roamed even in the Old West in the United States from town to town spreading unnecessary filth about tomorrow. Every culture it seems have men like these. And then there are those who tells us direct from mythology what the god Hades is going to do to us in the other world.

Some stories even have morals. In our culture we are told of an old woman who lived next to the house of a prostitute. She would throw a stone in a clay vessel for every visitor to the house of the lady, and kept a count of wrong doings of others. And when she died, she found that the prostitute had been forgiven by Allah, but not she herself. Her mistake relishing the wrong of others. Allah does not like this kind of holy attitude. But all this is fancy, imagination gone wild.

The Quran forbids speculation about the doomsday scenarios. We are told that no one knows the future. Everything works under certain Law. A Law of Physics tell us that to every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In the same way is Allah’s Law of Mukufat. A good deed is rewarded with good consequences, a bad deed is punished with bad consequences. And Allah proclaims that if you do not have faith in this LAW, then you miss being a Muslim all together. And Allah defines TAQDEER for us. If you place the seeds of a mango tree in a ground, you can expect a Mango tree. Nothing else. That is Taqdeer. There is no destiny. What (many things alien to Islam) the Maulvis so wrongly preach (and that is a lot of things) is yes, bullshit. A load of crap aired on the media all the time. The Iqballian concept is your destiny is the way you tackle life itself. The result of your efforts. You are your destiny.

The world did not end in 2012, although we were bombarded with so much on every kind of media. Pakistan is not going to end in 2015. We do not know the future. But we know Allah’s assertion. That Allah will never destroy a nation, as long as there is even one person trying to save it. I am here always! And yes, I am not the only one. There are many many others. When Krishna Menon was India’ambassador to Pakistan (now foreign secretary), I told him that the flame of Quaid’s Pakiastan is still burning, and will never be extinguished. India has pumped millions to the Baloch feudal lords, but although Balochs are probably just 4% of the population, a good many of them know the machinations of foreign powers. They know that once the job is done, the traditional saying is heard. “JO APNI KOM KA NA BANA, WO HAMARI KOM KA KESAY BANAY GA”. ‘A person who is not loyal to his nation, will never be loyal to ours’. The British understood this well. The Indians have to learn it by now. If you dig grave of others, your own grave may have already been dug. PAKISTAN FOREVER!

AMERICA, KUFI STONES AND ISHRAT HUSSAIN ZUBERI
A survey of Red Indian tents

Ishrat Hussain Zuberi was a Pakistani intellectual of his times. Well read and cultured, he was a man of many facets. I recently came across a book written by him on English literature, and was impressed by his command of an alien subject. He was a visitor to the Chughtai Artist Home too, and did a lot of things, which had Chughtai Art in it. A long time back I read an article by him in the newspaper ‘Dawn’ but had misplaced it with time, and was glad, that on my request, Hameed Haroon was kind enough to provide me a copy of it. The subject was sensational for me, as it referred to Stone Inscriptions he found in the a museum in United States, which were in the Kufic script. We all know that Kufic script was relevant to Islamic civilization in the times of the Prophet (PBUH) himself as well as the Caliphs of Islam.

Zuberi Sahib was travelling in the United States, when the Curator of a museum referred to inscription on stones found in Red Indian tents and dwellings. The script was not deciphered by the museum authorities and Zuberi Sahib was asked to comment on them. These antique stones, at least 1200 years old or so, had strange writings on them. Zuberi Sahib found the script to be KUFIC and belonging to Islamic Civilization of the Arab region. The writings referred to MUHAMMED (PBUH) and ALLAH. It literally swept the imagination of Zuberi Sahib and all those who read his article.

The knowledge is more common now. Professor Barry Fell of Harvard University did research on the same subject. Prof Fell had discovered Kufic inscriptions on the walls of mountains in Colorado, New Mexico and Indiana. He found documents, writings, drawings and relics establishing the presence of Islam in America in the 650s. He found that the Red Indian tribes like Iroquois, Algonquin, Anasazi, Hohokan and Olmecs were probably descendant from these Arab ancestors. The Olmecs themselves are subjects of international studies for their unique ethnic background, different from other American groups. Prof Fell even discovered a rock in Nevada, which had the writing in Kufic ‘In the name of God’, written on it. A Mayan rock with the inscription ‘Yassu son of Maryiam’ was also found. Remains of schools, mosques have been found with time and are discussed in various forums.

The resentment to this knowledge is also very much there and many Americans tend to ridicule all such research, but instead of combating it with literal explanations, prejudice remains, and outright statements are made. But there is more proof of another nature.

Abul Hassan Al-Masudi made a trip in a ship from Muslim Spain in 889 and wrote about it in 956. He describes an unknown land, which he had visited with others, and the description fits the description of America to the ultimate degree. And then there is the famous Piri Reis map drawn in 1513 from various sources. It seems that the knowledge of Columbus Christopher was based on maps belonging to Islamic sources. The Piri Reis map is a slap on the face of those who rejected the initial evidence. So who discovered Christopher Columbus? Certainly not him and his rogue Spaniards, who could only bring mayhem to America, including slaughter of innocent people as well as diseases like syphilis to a virgin land. So believe it or not, America is indebted to Islam in more ways than one.

THE BOREDOM OF GOD CREATED HUMANITY
The Big Bang was more like a Whisper

God was always there, and will always be there. Many civilizations believe in re-occurring scenes of life. The world ends and then is created again. And others believe in evolving life, janam after janam, as a never ending solution to existence. In the stillness of things, a sign was heard, which scientists call the Big Bang, the Egyptians call the wakening up of the Sphinx of Giza. The first NOOR, the first light. In a lighter vein, we can say that God got bored with an easy existence, and created the MAN, not only as an ANGEL, but to add spice to life, the DEVIL too. And God pitted Good versus Evil, and engendered the Adventures of life. Man added colour to life itself.

A sentence we hear, again and again, is that ‘God created man in his own image’. In the Quranic reference we hear of Man being ‘Ashraf-ul-maklooqat’. But we hear the NINETY NINE NAMES OF ALLAH as being merely 99 behavioral attributes of the Al-Mighty. And one outstanding attribute is of Allah being a ‘Mussaver’, an artist, a designer of infinite dimensions. And we are left breathless as we observe the artistic talents of the Al-Mighty. The world, the universe, everything is so beautiful, it sends shivers through us, as we praise the One and Only God who created so much beauty.

The Artist in God elicits praise in us, as we sing ‘Hamd’ to His creations. The study of God can never be complete without our study of these 99 attributes. And of course there are infinite other attributes which God has hidden from us. If other civilizations study these ASMA HUSNA, they will learn so much about us! God bless Planet Earth!

MORAL DRAIN LEADS TO BRAIN DRAIN
The story of migrations and coming home

The history of migrations is attached to history of civilization itself. When there was no grass in ones pasture, one would move to another pasture with more grass. But never was it like that condition where you did not utilize your own pasture for illusion of better another. Aesop fables add a fable of the Grass being greener in another pasture. Of course economic needs are essential in a society which does not give credence to the loss of moral values in the process. Before Moses brought the TEN COMMANDMENTS everything was possibly fair in love and war. But God set limits to humankind. God made some values permanent and others subject to change with consensus. So the melting pot concept looks very romantic, but there is certainly the involvement of drain of moral values. Losing ones identity in the flood of culture of materialism.
No two areas of the world are alike. Extreme heat at one place, extreme cold at another. One kind of mineral at one place, other kind of minerals elsewhere. God’s intention was to weave inter-dependence so that MAN could mix with each other and live in peace by sharing the bounties of life. But the rich and powerful captured the sources of wealth and not even a trickle down occurred for others. Instead of the touted clash of civilizations, it was an inherent clash of the human psyche itself.

Our best brains were exported outside. True or not! But not before their moral tampering. They could provide succor to others, but their need was more back at home. Waiting for things to get better, they never realized that they had to come back to make things better. Nothing improves on its own, except recklessness. If all the Pakistanis in the world come back and bring their hard earned wealth back home, will there be no change here? Phenomenal changes will occur. Pakistan will be a power to be reckoned again.
I hold a blade of grass. I plant plants in my country. I like to improve my lot of mankind. I like to contribute to nation building. I am obsessed with making right out of wrong. But I am not the first drop of rain. There are many others. Imagine if we could add more, what would be the result? Coming home is the answer to tomorrow.

CROSSING A ROAD IN STRAIGHT LINE
MAKING CHOICES IN LIFE!
The proportionate way results in miracles

Living in Lahore, the first thing we face from morning till night is traffic. It always seem that the world has gone crazy. I have driven a car in this city all my life. And every year I see the ruin of traffic. The policemen who were there for traffic were replaced by fancy traffic wardens. Not one of them are bothered about the plight of people, except to pave smooth way for their Masters, skulking in and around Lahore every day. The Khadim Aala square is best managed, but only for the Khadim Aala, no body else. The cars are driven by paindos (villagers), who have come into the city, after driving cycles in their villages, or donkey carts for that matter. The car can zig zag like a rabbit in any direction, even the opposite one. No one stops at the red light, no one goes at the green light. They are all in some thinking melee of the times. The motor cycles are driven as my uncle used to say, ‘Sitting on one coming out of their mother’s womb and going back sitting on a cycle’. Not a second to get down. A truly lawless reckless way of moving about. And the cycle rickshaws and the rickshaws, and the vans, and even the buses. All hell broken loose!
But what bout the person walking on the road. If not jaywalking, he too is strolling on the roads like a park. Afraid to move forward, afraid to move backward, cartoon like antics. Accidents occur all the time, most of the time.

We are all Muslims and we have read the Quran. Even translations. Every city has a gateway. The Quran itself has a gateway. It is a ‘Surat’ and it is called Sura Fateh. It explains the whole Quran in a crux of literally few lines. Dr Syed Abdul Wadood has given us the most modern translation, explanation of same in some words. The Quran tells us to chose the PROPORTONATE WAY in life. To evolve towards a position that Allah intended for us. Let us then read the Sura Fateh to understand all this:

PONDERING OVER THE BEAUTY, PROPORTION AND PERFECTION OF THE LIVING AND THE NON-LIVING OBJECTS OF NATURE, EXCITES IN MAN A VOLUNTARY PRAISE OF THE ONE WHO SUSTAINS EVERY COMPONENT OF THE UNIVERSE , FROM ITS INITIAL STAGE TO THE STAGE OF ITS FINAL DESTINATION; BY PROCESSES OF SLOW, GRADUAL AND ASCENDING EVOLUTION, INTERRUPTED OFF AND ON BY SPONTANEOUS REVOLUTIONS.

THE SUSTENANCE OF HUMAN BODY IS A GIFT FROM ALLAH, BUT THE NOURISHMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF HIS PERSONALITY IS SUBJECT TO THE DEEDS HE PERFORMS, THE RESULTS OF WHICH ARE UNDER COMPLETE CONTROL OF ALLAH’S LAW OF REQUITAL, IN THIS WORLD AND THE HEREAFTER.
(OUR RABB!) WE BOW DOWN TO YOUR LAWS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR POTENTIALITIES, BY USING OUR CAPABILITIES FOR THE BENEFIT OF HUMANITY, AND WE SEEK YOUR HELP IN SHAPING OUR LIVES WITHIN YOUR PRESCRIBED PATTERN.
GUIDE US TO THE STRAIGHT PATH WHICH LEADS TO OUR DESTINATION IN THE HEREAFTER.

THAT IS, THE PATH OF THOSE PAST NATIONS WHO STRIVED IN CONSONANCE WITH YOUR LAWS AND WON YOUR FAVOURS, ON WHOM YOU BESTOWED POWER ON THE EARTH WITH ALL ITS POMP AND GLORY, WHOM YOU RELIEVED FROM THE BONDS OF TYRANNICAL RULES, WHOM YOU GAVE SUPERIORITY OVER CONTEMPORARY NATIONS OF THE WORLD, AND WHOSE NECESSITIES OF LIFE YOU FULFILLED, PROVIDING THEM A PROSPEROUS LIFE OF PEACE AND PLENTY.
THEY WERE NOT THE PEOPLE WHO HAD DISOBEYED YOUR LAWS AND CONSEQUENTLY CAME INTO THE GRIP OF YOUR LAW OF REQUITAL WHICH GAVE THEM SLAVERY, MISERY, HUNGER, HUMILIATION AND DESTRUCTION.

NOR WERE THEY THE PEOPLE, WHO WERE LED ASTRAY BY FOLLOWING THEIR OWN BASER SENTIMENTS OR BY FOLLOWING OTHER SELF-INTERESTED AND WRONGFUL PEOPLE, LIKE THEIR CHIEFS AND ANCESTORS, AND THUS FELL INTO HARDSHIP AND MISERY.

This is the crux of the Quran. We read it every day and we hardly understand it. And those outside our culture to whom Quran is an enigma, read this and you know the meaning of the Quran. So when you are crossing the roads, remember the Quran and walk a proportionate way. Make it an habit, and see what happens. The miracle by which Nations are made!

A GOLD DINAR ON THE STREETS OF BAGHDAD
Story of honest days

The creation of life itself centers between two extremes. We have positive charge as well as negative charge of electricity. Magnetism. Everything. Mountains or valleys. Single atom or infinity. Extremes make life. In this context Allah also created Good and Evil. The Quran stresses the best way of life as moving forward is based on Truth and Honesty.
A tale has been told from generations and I heard it from my father, as he heard it from his own. The story of the times of Caliph Haroon ur Rasheed, when Baghdad was the richest capital of the world. Everything flowed through Baghdad, the capital of the world. And where the Court of the Caliph, shined in affluence of every kind, the honesty prevailing in his reign was outstanding too. We are told that Caliph Haroon ur Rasheed used to disguise himself as a common man and used to roam the streets of Baghdad to notice first hand the rights and wrongs going on in the society. The principles were rigid indeed. The testing of men’s character paramount to the character of the city.
Trade flew through Baghdad through caravans and merchants from all over the world passed through the city. Buying things, selling things. A merchant had come from far away and found that there was a gold dinar lying on the paved street. He noticed it but did nothing about it. Time passed. The merchant came again to Baghdad the next year and saw the Gold Dinar there where he had seen it before. It did not vex him then but after repeat of a few years, he could not take the anxiety any more. He asked the nearby shopkeepers as to why the Dinar was lying there after few years, where it was originally seen by him.
The shopkeepers answer was straight forward. ‘WE ARE STILL HOPEFUL THAT THE OWNER WHO LOST IT, MAY COME LOOKING FOR IT AND WILL FIND IT WHERE HE DROPPED IT.” This unimaginable honesty seen in Baghdad engendered the character of the Muslims of that time.
Even today we hear of incidents of Pakistanis both at home and abroad, returning money which is not theirs and not even asking for a reward. It is these stories told at bedtimes that engender the character of the nation. Now our bedtime stories are not stories from the Quran or Aesops Fables or even more awe inspiring tales of yesterday. We sleep on the antics of Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, Daffy Duck, Mickey Mouse, or even more modern personalities like Courage the dog, or the Despicables. Even more and more horrid characters are being made and the Vampires are the scene of the day. Even the concept of ‘Gay’ characters has been introduced in cartoons as normal. These cartoon characters may be fun but never inspire character building. Merely fun. Okay but the stories in the lap of grandmas built our personalities. I remember tales of Solomon and his remarkable judgement which sent ripples through me. Or Moses whose faith was tested by the Pharaoh between the fire and gold coins. And even mundane stories like the boy who used to shout ‘lion, lion’ in jest, till an actual lion came and ate him up. Yes, those stories built us as we are today. We need to do something about tomorrow too. It is our duty to create story books, stories, to build character of our nation. And we need imaginative Muslim investors to invest in children for a better future not only of Islam but of humankind and Planet Earth itself.