innalhamdolillah. amad, (depending on how quickly i click “submit comment”) i am the first to tell you here that i love you for the sake of Allah. since you also indicate that the glass contained no alcohol, i seek refuge for you and for all of us with Allah from shaytan.

i do not see how the scathing and sarcastic tenor of this article advances any good result or action. wAllaho’Alim. laa hawla wa laa quwwata illa billah. this article may only generate a backlash of support for zardari, a backlash that may rear its ugly head the next time he actually commits a sin that hurts all of Pakistan.

by contrast his immodesties are personal sins — ones for which we would be better to pray to Allah that he someday feels shame. if anything his lack of modesty can only do drive Pakistanis in two directions: to emulate him or to recognize how vile such behavior makes a person. perhaps your article may help some people see that vileness. i pray that it may be so.

but i am always reminded of the hadith that never does harshness touch something without making it ugly, and never does kindness touch something without making it more beautiful. it is true, alhamdolillah, in all things, especially in naseeha and especially in how one handles his brother’s mistakes. may Allah forgive me for any error in what i have written; all the error would be from me. and any good of it is from Him.

bismillah. i would add two more cautionary trains of thought:

1) would any of us feel better if zardari’s glass had had alcohol in it? if his reaction to articles like this one is to say “damned if i do and damned if i don’t” then how much good was accomplished?

2) how many people publicly spread harsh criticisms of musharraf during his reign? how many people exposed his sins? who among them is happier with zardari? why do they think the same tactics will produce a better result?

in Torchbearers we faced a harsh reality: on the one hand the Muslim ummah has for many hundreds of years often had to deal with rulers who seized power by force, among whom were many tyrants. but whenever a group of Muslims deposed such a ruler by transgression and open rebellion, the following leader was at least as much of a tyrant. and the best of the scholars in those generations were the ones who refused to join such populist insurrections.

he repulses me….

It’s one thing to expose someone’s sins if they are doing it in private. But to make an open display of one’s own indecency, like this Zardari, deserves to be openly rebuked because otherwise, as I see it, if we all shrug it off, then as an ummah it is easy for us to quickly become desensitized to such actions.

Wallahu A’lam.

I think my last comment was caught by spam. Please check. Jazakallah

I am totally ignorant about Pakistani politics. Can anyone summarize Zardari in one sentence?

Well this picture is worth a thousand words but we cannot comment on it because we have to give him the benefit of the doubt. This was actually going to go on my blog but then I had second thoughts.

Amad I want to draw your attention to a matter even more disturbing then this picture. The problem is that people in Pakistan have been fooled by their founders. Their founders used religion, politics and secularism to promote what we know today as Pakistan. How can Islam and socialism exist side by side. It is because of all these factors that over the course of its 60+ years history Pakistan has so much corruption. Thus you see even the name ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF PAKISTAN does not make sense Islamically. It is a violation of Islam’s basic principles of Aqeedah. Today we have all kinds of preverted religous sects existing in Pakistan that practice actions that I feel ashamed reproducing here. The party of Zardari is actually a Socialist order which tends to compartmentalize religion as a mere religion and just limited to rituals. Why do you think Pakistan has such a hard time with finances? Its because they implemented socialist five year plans and ran the country Soviet style. Now they are trying to run it Capitalist style. All these powers are people who are very ignorant. Their followers are even more ignorant. Wallahi I do not want to step foot in that country out of fear that I will not be able to practice my religion.
We should take this opportunity and educate them about what their governments have forced them to think. A post by any MM member on how nationalism is a great sin in Islam and its consequences will be much welcomed and poignant. Wallah u Alam

Amad: “I don’t have any confirmation. I presented the picture as is.”

So if you cannot confirm what he was drinking why bother posting it in the first place? And even if it appears to resemble wine, for all you know it may not be, and if it is it could be non-alcoholic. Fortunately our religion is not based on assumptions but verified news. And just think, if that is not wine he is drinking, then would you not be sinful for insinuating that it may have been?

MR said:

I am totally ignorant about Pakistani politics. Can anyone summarize Zardari in one sentence?

SHADY!!!

Assalaamu alaikum,

Imaam Ibnul Qayyim (rahimahullaah) said,

“And contemplate Allaah’s (I) Wisdom when He made people of authority, making them a reflection of the ruled. It is as if the deeds of the ruled appear in the form and deeds of their rulers :

if the ruled are upright, then their rulers will be upright

if the ruled incline away from uprightness, then their rulers will do the same to them

if the ruled transgress and oppress, then their rulers will do the same to them

if there appears deception and plotting from the ruled, then it will be the same from their rulers

if the ruled take away the rights of the people and become miser as to the rights of others, then their rulers will do the same to them and deprive them of their rights

if the ruled take away from the oppressed /weak among them that which they deserve not to take in their transactions with them, then their rulers will do that towards the ruled’s wealth and take what they deserve not, and impose on the ruled taxes and assignments

and whenever the ruled take from the oppressed and weak unjustly, then their rulers will do the same to them and take it by force

so the actions of the ruled appear in the actions of the rulers and it is not in the Divine Wisdom that Allaah (I) assigns authority over the wicked and evils ones, EXCEPT to the ones who are of their own kind

Since the first generation was of the best generation and of the most righteous, … so were their leaders righteous

It is not befitting Allaah’s Wisdom that in “our times” (Ibnul Qayyim’s times) that those assigned to authority over us be the like of Muawwiya and ‘Umar bin ‘Abdul ‘Aziz, not to mention Abu Bakr and ‘Umar. The leaders of those before us were in accordance with their own conditions and ranks. Our leaders are in accordance with our own condition and rank. In both cases, this is entailed by the Wisdom of Allaah (I).”

Mezba said:

Pakistan as a nation is doomed. I have said this before elsewhere and I will say this again.

This is a country that massacred thousands of Bengali (fellow Muslims) in 1971 (some estimates go above a million). They raped hundreds of women. Yet as a nation till today they have not shown remorse for any of their actions.

Even today, if you ask a Pakistani, they will either deny their army committed atrocities or they will say, “Oh, we only killed a few Hindus.” As if that is Ok!

Hundreds and thousands of souls still have not forgiven Pakistan because Pakistan has not asked for forgiveness. Buried under all their curses, how can Pakistan as a nation succeed?

Zardari is the least of Pakistan’s problems.

Although I was not born at the time, but I am assuming I being Pakistani, is considered to be guilty too? Can you point to your sources about this information, because we were never taught about Pakistani raping/killing Bengalis.

I have no doubt that it is not juice. SubhanAllah, but then didn’t someone say drinking alcohol is probably least of his problems he needs to worry about!

My father is sooo much in to Paki politics that just hearing anything about Pak makes me sick now. It increases my blood pressure (which is not a good sign for someone in her early 20s) – Every time my mom turns on Geo news channel (which I hate btw), it does nothing but increases me in my anger. I mean they show, old people who have been tighed in their own houses for years, people are being forced to sell their kids just to put food on table……I can go on and on but then whats the point!

@ Mezba

Umm, not true.

I’m Pakistani and I know very well what happened – though I wasn’t born at the time. There were gross human rights violations committed at the hands of the Pakistani Army in (what was then) East-Pakistan, and there is no moral excuse or justification for them. I have openly shared my views with other Pakistanis on the harrowing crimes committed against our own Muslim brothers and sisters. So for you to say that Pakistanis are in denial of the atrocities that occurred is outright incorrect.

But let me ask you this. Since I wasn’t even around at that time, what can I possibly do to make you happy? Would an apology from me for something that I’m not personally responsible for appease you?

“That was a nation that has past. For them is what they earned, and for you is what you earn. And you will not be questioned about what they did.” [al-Qur'an 2:134]

al Baakistaanee

personally, I cannot comment on whether he is drinking juice or alcohol, but it is well known that he is a criminal.
No, backbiting such leaders is not considered a sin, as far as I know. Such leaders should be exposed in public, afterall its a ‘democratic’ Pakistan, so shouldn’t the people be known about the actions of their culprit leader?

assalamualikum….
what is the purpose behind this article?

I don’t remember where, but I remember hearing about Ibn Hazm’s explanation of husn udh-dhaan where he said that there are limits and you shouldn’t take it to the point of bring foolish. And, if I remember correctly, he gave this very example, i.e. if you see someone drinking from a wine bottle, it’s inappropriate to assume it to be juice. Perhaps someone who knows could confirm this…

I have no problem with exposing oppressors who publicly and openly sin…I do think perhaps it would be better to research and write a long and detailed article on some of the problems with Zardari from a both a Muslim and human perspective which would include reflections upon what are the long term structural issues with Pakistani society that result in corrupt feudal politicians or corrupt military dictators being the only alternatives as leaders, along with some thoughts about what people in Pakistan can do to address these long term conditions, what people outside of Pakistan can do, or at least what lessons we can learn then to just post a picture which will let some people blow off steam but will not educate anyone who didn’t already know any of the above and instead will actually result in not much more than gossip and/or confusion.

Allaah knows best.

I also think Sister Mezba has an excellent point about the war between Pakistan and Bangladesh. In taking the AlMaghrib class on Making of the Modern Muslim World with Dr. Ashraf Ismail WaAllaahee this came across clearly as the absolute low point of the Muslim ummah (at least in this century). I say this not to diminish any other tragedy like the Palestinian Nakbah, the formal abolition of Khilafah, the massive death of innocents that resulted from Partition of the SubContinent, the Communist genocides of Muslims in Europe and Asia, or anything else. As some people have commented of course no individual is born guilty of the sins of those who came before him, but any ummah or any nation must deal with its collective history and will no doubt reap the crops of the seeds that the nation collectively has sown.

It is not just the atrocities of the war, but the fact that Pakistan, a nation founded on the Muslim identity of its inhabitants, if not necessarily on the basis of Islam, and for which hundreds of thousands died in the Partition…systematically discriminated against its Eastern half (what became Bangladesh) which basically led to the Bengali independence movement and which without doubt hurt the image and importance of Islam among many Bengali Muslims.

Today Pakistan is a nation where 73 percent of the population is in poverty. That’s over 120 million Muslims living in poverty. Over one third of Pakistani children under five are malnourished, tens of thousands (I’ve seen estimates up to 250,000) Pakistanis die of diarrhea each year. And yet the wealth of the country is stolen by corrupt elites or spent on a military which primarily kills Muslims and props up that elite. Those lives lost to diarrhea could be saved and the malnourished children could be fed but Pakistan spends 40 percent of GDP on the military while spending .7 percent on public health. These are crimes against humanity and these are crimes against our Muslim brothers and sisters. So, I think an article outlining some of these realities and prescribing some means of assisting would be fine to include this photograph alongside as symbolic of the corrupt and out of touch nature of these elites….but these are the issues we should be talking about.

May Allaah (swt) guide all of us and may Allaah (swt) bless the beautiful people of Pakistan!

Allaah knows best.

salaam aleikum,

to be fair, Musharraf openly bragged and boasted to Western reporters about drinking scotch:

“Mr. Musharraf, though a secular leader who is said to enjoy the occasional tumbler of Scotch, did little to undercut the power of extremist clerics in the nation, or to curb the Taliban and other militant groups, which had long been used by Pakistan’s intelligence services to exert influence in India and Afghanistan.”

source: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/19/world/asia/19legacy.html?fta=y

and this article mentions how well it is a politicized issue:

http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,405232,00.html

interestingly enough, Musharraf has the same taste in alcohol as Britney Spears. How far we have truly come.

by the way that Chinese guy must really be into apple juice too then because it looks like the exact same thing! lol

whoa lets watch it using the T word (takfir.) who said he was ismaili anyway?

whoa lets watch it using the T word (takfir.)

Takfir is part of our religion, and the Isma’ilis are considered disbelievers by consensus of the scholars.

Pakistanis who are born today must acknowledge the dark chapter in their country’s history as well as educate others. Once the people genuinely feel sorry then perhaps we can move on, ala Germany after the Second World War. But so far, hardly any Pakistani (some commentators in this thread excepted) are even prepared to acknowledge the genocide. Sometimes I just wonder if all the souls who were tortured, particularly the women who were raped, can EVER forgive Pakistan. Unless a Pakistani leader shows genuine remorse (the army especially) on a visit to Bangladesh, I doubt it will happen.

Who said he was Ismaili?

Drinking alcohol is the least of his crimes…

To those who think it’s not wine, after all that he has done, why wouldn’t he drink wine?? At regular work parties, they raise an eyebrow when some non Muslims choose to avoid drinking wine, I don’t think it would be any easier on the international level for a Muslim leader. Especially a sweet lil puppet. :)

Assalamu alaikum,

Your sins are private till you commit them in the privacy of your home, not blatantly in front of the whole world.
He has brought shame on the entire nation by sipping liquor and sexually harassing Palin in front of the whole world. I hope she sues him after she loses the election. (And don’t tell me she is what kind of woman, because it is not about her, but about the ‘president’ of Islami Jamhooria al Pakistan.

Now for some public sins:

http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Pakistan/ss/events/wl/081401pakistan;_ylt=AtWf6KTGvTKvXxsVo7kv6qP9xg8F

For those who nothing about Pakistani politics:

http://sigmundcarlandalfred.wordpress.com/2007/11/07/democracies-are-not-built-overnight-tyrannies-are/

http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1002/p04s01-wosc.html

http://www.pakistanlink.com/hussaini/11142003.html

Benazir’s neice Fatima writes:

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-bhutto14nov14,0,2482408.story?coll=la-opinion-center

Zardari should be whipped in public by a Pakistani criminal court (if only they implemented the hadd)!

The quote from Ibn Qayyum (rah) summed the situation up. When the populace leaves the rope of Allah and become opressor then we see the people like zardari leading us.

Alcoholic drink or not, that’s nothing in comparison to the Kufr, the Rulers have fallen into today diviating away from the Book of Allah and instead implimenting the Laws of their payed Masters and making it binding upon the masses to obey themand take their Judgments to them!

Could we all maybe request Dr. Israr Ahmed to run for president? ;)