Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Arabic Level II

Announcement:

Arabic Level II Class starts Friday 28th September 2012
3:00 to 5:00 pm (once a week)
Qari Khalid Uthman Alvi

Queries:03008493170

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Lectures on Capitalism

Hast-o-Neest Institute of Traditional Studies & Arts
invites you to a series of lectures on

Capitalism & the Crisis of Civilization
by
Dr. Syed Akmal Hussain

“…[the third point in calling this lecture a “crisis” of civilization].. This Economic and Social system is associated with inculcating a particular relationship between human beings  which is very different from the traditional relationship that we have seen over hundreds, thousands of years ..it systematically develops – as Erich Fromm has argued -  aggressiveness in acquisition, competition.. so this aggressiveness is combined with greed…celebrated by economists as greed is what keeps the market functioning…” Dr. Syed Akmal Hussain



Video streaming by Ustream

Video streaming by Ustream
The first lecture in the series was held on Sunday, 30th September 2012 -
The second lecture in the series was held on Tuesday, 16th October 2012 at 6:00 pm

The third and final lecture will be held at a convenient date in November 2012

Hast-o-Neest Institute of Traditional Studies & Arts
2S, Gulberg II, Lahore
Queries: 03008493170

Dr. Akmal Hussain is an economist, author and social activist. He is currently Distinguished Professor of Economics, Forman Christian College University, Member, Governing Board, South Asia Centre for Policy Studies (SACEPS), and Senior Fellow, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE).

He has also recently advised the Federal Government of Pakistan on economic policy as Chairman, Working Group on Institutions for Development, Panel of Economists and as Chairman of the Working Group on Poverty Reduction for Pakistan’s Tenth Five Year Plan.

Dr. Hussain has helped build organizations for overcoming poverty at the village, district, provincial and national levels in Pakistan. These include the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) at the national level and Punjab Rural Support Program (PRSP) at the provincial level.
Apart from a large number of papers, reports and newspaper articles, Dr. Hussain has authored three books on development policy and has co-authored 27 other books on issues of poverty, peace and development, which have been internationally published.

Dr. Akmal Hussain has a B.A. Honours Degree in Economics from Cambridge University and
Ph.D. in Economics from Sussex University.  

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Sunday 16th September at Purana Kahna Campus

Theoretical and experiential sessions exploring the link between:
Spirituality, Art & Culture



‘Islamic culture displays an undeniable unity which is the result of the spirit and form of the Islamic revelation and ultimately of Divine Unity itself. In the same way that the whole created order is the theophanic reflection of the One in the mirror of multiplicity, so are the various ‘faces’ of Islamic culture so many human echoes of the one Message which is itself beyond the human and which alone bestows upon the activity of a human collectivity the purposes and values which make it worthy of being called a culture in conformity with the noble destiny of man.’
Seyyed Hossein Nasr


Timing:
10 am to 5:00 pm 
(with tea and lunch recess)

Venue:
Hast-o-Neest Institute of Traditional Studies & Arts
(Purana Kahna Campus)
Allahu Chowk, Suparco Road, near Stop # Five,
(Take right U-Turn after ‘Purana Kahna’ blue sign-board in Urdu),
  Ferozepur-Kasur Road, Lahore

Registration:  
Register Online (Click here) 
or
Contact:
Cell: 0300 849 3170
URL: hast-o-neest.blogspot.com
                                                                                  Email: hast.o.neest@gmail.com, 
Find "Spirituality, Art & Culture" on Facebook 

Registration Fee: Rs.1000/- ; Student Fee Rs.500/-
Note: Transportation can be provided from Hast-o-Neest Gulberg to Hast-o-Neest Purana Kahna and back at a nominal rate.


Speakers:

                                                     'Allama Iqbal and the Transformation of Religiosity to Spirituality' - Presenter: Dr. Shahzad Qaiser


Dr. Shahzad Qaiser received his M.A. in Philosophy from the University of the Punjab and Ph.D. from Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan.  He has four collections of Light Essays (Inshaiya) in Urdu.  An accomplished poet of the Punjabi language, he has excelled in the traditional literary genre of Kafi, publishing five volumes of Kafis. He has written numerous books including Quest for the Eternal, Of Intellect and Reason, Metaphysics and Tradition, The Metaphysics of Khawaja Ghulam Farid, Iqbal and Khawaja Ghulam Farid on Experiencing God, the Message of Khawaja Ghulam Farid (rendering Diwan-i-Farid into English prose) and The Metaphysical and Cultural Perspectives of Khawaja Ghulam Farid’s Poetry and Iqbal. Dr. Qaiser is the recipient of the President’s Award for Pride of Performance (Literature) and Sitara-i-Imtiaz (Literature). He has retired as a Federal Secretary and is currently Vice President Iqbal Academy Pakistan, Lahore and Member Punjab Public Service Commission.


                                                        'Modernity, Tradition & Art' - Presenter: Taimoor Khan Mumtaz

Taimoor Khan Mumtaz is a practicing architect in Lahore, specializing in Islamic Architecture.  He holds an MA in South Asian Design & Architecture from De Montfort University, Leicester, UK (1999). He studied Architecture at National College of Arts, Lahore (1994).
He is a Founding Member of Hast-o-Neest– Centre for Traditional Art & Culture, established in November 2010 in Lahore and Founding Trustee of Baytunur, a trust dedicated to Islamic thought, life & culture established in 2006.


                                                          'Introduction to Sufism & the Chishtiyya Tariqa of the Sub-continent' - Presenter: Sahibzada Asim Maharvi
Sahibzada Asim Maharavi, born in a Chishti Sufi family, educated in the West, a researcher, writer and columnist, is the Chairman of Chishtiya Ribbat Sufi Studies Center in Pakistan. He has delivered lectures on spirituality, comparative religion, spiritual healing and history of civilizations.  As chairman of Sufi Studies Center - http://www.chishtiya.org - he has examined, translated and published classical Sufi literature.



'The Way of Dumplings: A Spiritual Commentary On Kung Fu Panda (the movie)' - Presenter: Dr. Qaiser Shahzad
Dr. Qaiser Shahzad is Lecturer/Research Associate, Islamic Research Institute, International Islamic University, Islamabad. His Doctoral dissertation was a comparative study of Johannes Scotus Eriugena (c. 815 – c. 877 AD) and Ibn ‘Arabī (1165 – 1240 AD) - the former a well known Irish theologian, Neoplatonist philosopher and poet while the latter the very famous Andalusian Sufi mystic and philosopher.








Monday, September 3, 2012

Calligraphy


"As the Quran began to be written down on parchment, early calligraphers took to heart one of Muhammad's most famous statements: "God is beautiful and loves beauty." They started early, developing writing styles that enhanced and formalized the 6346 verses and 114 sections of the Quran. The very tools of these early copyists show their careful attention to aesthetics: the angle at which the tip of the writing reed was cut, the care taken in blending inks and curing paper, the use of precious gold to enhance portions of verses, and above all the meditative, near-mystical approach to penmanship that calligraphers adopted in their work -- all combined to create an art of tremendous subtlety and sophistication.


You don't need to read Arabic to see the beauty of this writing, or to see why it would quickly be incorporated into so many other artistic forms. The simple elegance of plain black script circling the rim of a white ceramic plate or bowl speaks for itself and is universal.

In a general museum show of Islamic art, words appear on almost every precious object, from a 12th century Palestinian water pitcher to an inlaid Persian pen case to a small ivory jewelry box carved in medieval Muslim Spain. Calligraphy is the form of forms in Islamic art. But perhaps the most unexpected and universal appearance it makes in Islamic art is in the architecture." Michael Wolfe, Producer, 'Calligraphy is the Islamic Art of Arts', Huffington Post (4/9/2012)

                                                  Course:
Calligraphy

Teacher: Irfan Ahmed Qureshi
Timings: 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm on Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays 
Duration: Four month primary module includes history, traditional paper and pen making.

Course fee: 
Any two or more days a week: Rs.3000/month. 
Once a week: Rs.2000/month.



Hast-o-Neest
Institute of Traditional Studies & Art
2-S Gulberg II
Lahore

Queries: 03008493170


Saturday, September 1, 2012

Course: Ibn 'Arabi’s Fusûs al-Hikam (20 sessions)

10 Chapters from
Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi’s masterpiece:
Fusûs al-Hikam 
 (The Ringstones of Wisdom)
(URDU)

(5 Units: A total of 20 Sittings)

UNIT 1 : Thursday 13th September 2012
UNIT 2: Thursday 27th September 2012
UNIT 3: Wednesday 10th October 2012

Units-I, II, III, IV & V  
Each Unit is of 4 days’ duration held fortnightly on Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday.

Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi

Mystic, philosopher, poet, sage, Muhammad b. 'Ali Ibn 'Arabi is one of the world's great spiritual teachers. Known as Muhyiddin (the Revivifier of Religion) and the Shaykh al-Akbar (the Greatest Master), he was born in 1165 AD into the Moorish culture of Andalusian Spain. Ibn 'Arabi's spiritual attainments were evident from an early age, and he was renowned for his great visionary capacity as well as being a superlative teacher. He travelled extensively in the Islamic world and died in Damascus in 1240 AD.

He wrote over 350 works including the Fusûs al-Hikam, an exposition of the inner meaning of the wisdom of the prophets in the Judaic/ Christian/ Islamic line. [His] extensive writings provide a beautiful exposition of the Unity of Being, the single and indivisible reality which simultaneously transcends and is manifested in all the images of the world. Ibn 'Arabi shows how Man, in perfection, is the complete image of this reality and how those who truly know their essential self, know God.

‘If the believer understood the meaning of the saying 'the colour of the water is the colour of the receptacle', he would admit the validity of all beliefs and he would recognise God in every form and every object of faith.’
Ibn 'Arabi, Fusûs al-Hikam

Source: Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi Society website:



Fusûs al-Hikam: 

Considered to be the quintessence of Ibn 'Arabi's spiritual teaching, it comprises twenty-seven chapters, each dedicated to the spiritual meaning and wisdom of a particular prophet. Over the centuries Ibn 'Arabi's students held this book in the highest esteem and wrote over one hundred commentaries on it.

Timings:
6:30 to 7:30pm 

Fees:
Rs.1000/Unit

Register Online (Click here) or 
send in contact name, cell no./email id to 03008493170 or hast.o.neest@gmail.com

Faculty:
Hamid Raza Fazil
(Specialist in Traditional
 Philosophy/Falsafa & Metaphysics/Irfan)


Hast-o-Neest Institute of Traditional Studies & Art
2-S, Gulberg II
(Turning left after Home Economics College on Main Boulevard coming from Jail Road)

Cell: 03008493170










Course: Introduction to Islamic Philosophy (16 Sessions)

Highlights
Unit 1 starts Thursday 13th September 2012
Unit 2 starts Thursday 27th September 2012


Molla Hadi Sabzavari (1797–1873) was a famous Iranian Shi'ite Muslim philosopher, mystic, theologian and poet.
In 1836-37, Sabzavari  established a center for the study of Islamic philosophy and gnosis in Sabzavar. The school he established rivaled with the schools of Tehran and Isfahan due to his personality. This school became known as Madrasa-ye āji, where part of it still survives till this day. Scholars and students began to flock from all over Persia, Iraq, Turkey, Caucasus, India and even Tibet. His name became widespread all over Iran so much so that in 1857-158, when Naser-al-Din Shah Qajar made a pilgrame to Mashhad, he stopped in Sabzavar and paid a visit to hakim Sabzavari. The Qajar King became very impressed by the philosopher and asked his royal photographer Aqa Reza 'Akkas-Bashi to photograph the hakim. The picture, which is widely available, is the oldest picture of an Islamic philosopher. The Qajar king also requested from him a book in Persian containing the complete theory and cycle of traditional philosophy. Sabzavari obliged and composed the two Persian books: the Asrāral-ekam, which he dedicated to Naser al-Din Shah and also another book titled Hedāyat al-ālebin.
Sabzavari died in 1872. The date of his death is recorded in several chronographs, including the numerical value of the couplet: keh namord zendatar shud  ("He did not die but became more alive after his passing") which was composed by one of his students.

Course:
Introduction to Islamic Philosophy (URDU)
Units-I, II, III & IV  
(Each Unit is of 4 days duration -Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday.
There would be a Unit every fortnight, starting Thursday 13th September 2012)

Timings:
5:00 to 6:00pm 

Fees:
Rs.1000/Unit


Register Online (Click here) or 
send in contact name, cell no./email id to 03008493170 or hast.o.neest@gmail.com

Faculty:
Hamid Raza Fazil
(Specialist in Traditional
 Philosophy/Falsafa & Metaphysics/Irfan)



Hast-o-Neest Institute of Traditional Studies & Art
2-S, Gulberg II
(Turning left after Home Economics College on Main Boulevard coming from Jail Road)

Cell: 03008493170