ڈاکٹر ضیاء الدین مرحوم
افسوس ہے کہ گزشتہ ۲۴؍ دسمبر ۱۹۴۰ء کو ڈاکٹر سر ضیاء الدین مرحوم نے بعارضہ فالج لندن میں انتقال کیا، مرحوم اپنے علمی کمال میں ہندوستان کے مشاہیر میں تھے، وہ تعلیم کے ماہر اور ریاضیات کے ممتاز فاضل تھے، انھوں نے اپنی تعلیم کے زمانہ میں ان فنون میں ہندوستان اور یورپ کی درسگاہوں میں جو امتیازات حاصل کئے، وہ اس دور میں کم ہندوستانیوں کو حاصل ہوئے تھے، چند دنوں جامعہ ازہر میں بھی رہے تھے، اس لئے عربی سے بھی کچھ واقف تھے، ان کی پوری زندگی علم و تعلیم کی خدمت میں گزری اور وہ نصف صدی سے زیادہ کسی نہ کسی حیثیت سے مدرسۃ العلوم اور اس کے بعد مسلم یونیورسٹی سے وابستہ رہے، کئی مرتبہ وائس چانسلر ہوئے، ابھی تھوڑے دن ہوئے کہ اس عہدہ سے سبکدوش ہوئے تھے، برسوں مجلس مقننہ کے ممبر رہے، مالیات میں ان کی رائے اور مشوروں کو خاص اہمیت حاصل تھی، ان کو اس زمانہ کے بڑے سے بڑے اعزاز حاصل ہوئے، جن سے یونیورسٹی کو بھی فوائد پہنچے اور ان کے دور میں اس کو بڑی ترقی ہوئی، ان کا آخری کارنامہ میڈیکل کالج کا قیام ہے، چند مہینے ہوئے جدید تعلیمی نظام کے مطالعہ کے لئے یورپ اور امریکہ گئے تھے، کہ لندن میں پیام اجل آپہنچا۔
مرحوم اس دور کی پیداوار تھے، جب مسلمانوں پر مغربی تمدن مسلط تھا، اور اس کا سب سے بڑا مرکز علی گڑھ تھا، لیکن انھوں نے اس کا بہت کم اثر قبول کیا، اب تو ضعیفی کی عمر تھی، وہ ہر زمانہ میں نہ صرف عقیدے بلکہ ظاہری وضع قطع میں بھی مسلمان رہے، ان کی زندگی بڑی سادہ اور بے تکلف تھی، ان کی سادگی میں ایک صاحبِ کمال کی شانِ بے نیازی پائی جاتی تھی، شخصی طور پر بھی ان...
Some of the variant readings of the Holy Quran having a sound chain of narration are not included in the Uthmanic Maṣāḥif (Codices). Hence, following three probabilities can be deduced about these readings; First: Those were abrogated in ʿArḍah Akhīrah (the last revision). Second: Those might be among those explanatory notes of the Holy Text by Prophet Muhammad (SWA) that were erroneously written by a few companions within the actual text of Quran considering them a part of the Quran. Third: Those may belong to such Aḥruf (readings) that were authentically transmitted from the Messenger of Allah (SWA) but, they were not mentioned in the orthography of the Uthmanic Maṣāḥif by the compilers due to any possible reason. To us, if we come across any authentically narrated recitation of the senior Qurrāʾ companions that seems contrary to the orthography of the Uthmanic Maṣāḥif and there is no proof of their being from the second category, then, it is better to consider them from the third category instead of the first one.
Pakistani farmers are facing many constraints, of which shortage of irrigation water is the major one. On-Farm Water Management Department has introduced Water Users’ Associations (WUAs) throughout the country to operate, maintain and re-habilitate the water distribution system in an efficient and effective manner. Moreover, WUAs are also responsible for providing logistic support and communication bridge between the water users and the Govt. Departments. The present study deals with the importance of the WUAs for the efficient management of irrigation water. The study deals exclusively with the prevailing contingencies which may support or hinder farmers'' participation through WUAs for the management of irrigation water. Thus the main focus of the study was on the analysis of the prevailing formal and informal interventions at farm level for the management of irrigation water through the active participation of water users. The socio-economic regulatory patterns such as age, education, land holding, location of land with respect to watercourse and ‘biradary’ (caste) play a dominant role in determining the direction and extent of activities of the WUAs. The institutional, socio-political and cultural factors were considered to be the main determinants of effective functioning of WUAs within the context of watercourse improvement/maintenance. The present study was carried out in all tehsils of district Sargodha in central Punjab. From each tehsil, one markaz was selected randomly. From each selected markaz, five improved watercourses were selected at random and from each selected improved watercourse, fifteen water users were selected randomly for interview. The data were collected through validated and pre-tested interview schedule. The data were analyzed with the help of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The results show that a large majority of the respondents rated WUAs’ leadership as good, while slightly more than one-fifth of the respondents were of the view that leadership was excellent. About half of the respondents provided both cash and labor as per requirement in the watercourse improvement. A vast majority of the respondents cleaned their watercourses by joint operation and was highly satisfied with the interval/frequency and quality of watercourse cleaning. Rivalry among different ‘briadaries’ (castes), water thefts and non-cooperative behavior of some farmers were the main causes of conflicts among the water users. All the respondents regarded ‘biradary’ (caste) heads’ interventions to resolve the farmers’ complaints. Lack of finance on the part of small/poor farmers, lack of interest on the part of big landlords and lack of unity among the water users were the main problems in the effective functioning of WUAs before the improvement of the watercourse. Majority of the respondents was highly satisfied with the contribution of WUAs in resolving the disputes and thought that WUAs never listened to the complaintee only while taking decision on various issues but listened to both the parties besides judging the situation at site with the view that level of effectiveness of WUAs in resolving the complaints was high. Participation of water