I did not know Salman Taseer, at least not personally. But I had often heard my father talk of Salman's father, Din Mohd Taseer (or Dr Taseer), as his dear friend, who was with him in Kashmir, and was the principal of Islamia College at Lahore. I was born in Kashmir, where father was Director of Education. Dr Taseer was a frequent visitor to our home.

I have two close friends, Salima Faiz, daughter of Alys and Faiz Ahmed Faiz Sahab, and Sheherzade, daughter of the great writer of short stories Ghulam Abbas. Both were close to Salman Taseer. Salima's mother was Salman's aunt — his mother's sister — and Sheherzade's father was Dr Taseer's closest friend.

Both women, in their separate spaces, one in Lahore and the other in Canada, are devastated by his assassination. What words of comfort can I offer them? There is a sense of outrage in my heart. And now the Pakistan Minister for Minority Affairs, Shahbaz Bhatti, has been gunned down too. Once again Islam has been vandalised and pilloried. Mumtaz Qadri, Taseer's assassin, has been hailed as a hero and saviour.

Let me recall an incident from the life of the Prophet. He once visited Taif, a town in Saudi Arabia, where he was reviled and insulted by the people. The angel Gabriel appeared before him and said, “These people of Taif have insulted you. If you order me, I will destroy them in retribution.” The Prophet replied, “No, Jibrael, spare them; let them be. One day they will become good people.” It was as a consequence of the Prophet's forgiveness, that Taif today is the most beautiful and peace-loving part of Saudi Arabia.

Muslims regard the life of the Prophet, his Sunnah, as the model for their own. At his last Khutba, before his death, he addressed the Ummah and said: ‘I am leaving you with three things; the Quran, my Hadith (sayings) and my Sunnah (life). Hold on to these and you will be safe.'

Another story goes that when the Prophet walked by a certain house on a Mecca street, a basket of trash was thrown at him from the upper storey. He never looked up, just dusted off his cloak and walked on. One day it stopped. He inquired and found that his tormentor was an old woman who lay sick in her house. It is recorded that the Prophet went up to help her as she lay burning with fever. This is the lesson of Islam. And some insane elements have, by perpetrating such dastardly acts, made a mockery of it.

Surah Al Baqarah of the Quran refers to such people, when it says: “ Sumun bukmun umiyun faham la yar ja oon ”, which translates as “Deaf, dumb, blind, they will not return to the path.” And what is the path? Surah Al Hamd , the first and quintessential Surah of the Quran, describes it as Sirat ul Mustaqeem — the straight path — which is ordained for Muslims because, says the Quran: “It is the way of those on whom Thou has bestowed Thy grace; Those whose portion is not wrath and who do not go astray.”

Islam stands for forgiveness, understanding and compassion. I can quote hundreds of verses from the Quran enjoining these practices. Above all, the Quran instructs Muslims to respect the faith of others and forgive transgressors. There is no place in the Quran for draconian laws, such as the blasphemy laws designed to terrorise people. As for the specific case of the Christian woman Asiya Bibi, who has been sentenced to death for insulting the Prophet, it negates the very spirit of Islam.

One of the world's greatest scholars and commentators on the Quran, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, has in his Tafsir (commentary) on the Quran, condemned rivayat (heresy) as it is the most unreliable source of evidence.

Salman Taseer received 29 bullets for being outspoken and true to himself. I don't know how he lived, but he died a hero for all of us in the subcontinent who live by our truth.

Although death comes only once, we all live in dread of that day. It is for this reason, and this reason alone, that the aam janata of Pakistan has not raised a storm at this heinous event.

But there is a seething inside and it is bound to erupt one day. We, who are their neighbours and well wishers, can only offer them our solidarity at this darkest moment. As the poet said:

Chiragh-e-toor jalao bahaut andhera hai/Sukhan ki shama jalao bahaut andhera hai (Light up the lamp of divine guidance, it is too dark/ Light up the candle of poetry, it is too dark).

(The writer is Member, Planning Commission, Government of India.)

© Women's Feature Service

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