Family of the Heart Seminar - September 10, 2004

INTODUCTION

By Ziauddin Ahmed, Mississauga, ON.

Having read some, and heard so much about Abdul Salam  I feel one should refrain from giving

Ziauddin Ahmed

 him the title of Doctor or Professor, because certain personalities like Albert Einstein, William Shakespeare, Asad Ullah Khan Ghalib and the like are so firmly entrenched in the annals of human achievement  that they have out grown the need for titles or pseudonyms. They have also surpassed the man-made boundaries and confines of countries and nationalities. They are now a treasure and an asset for all of humanity.

If Pakistan shunned and ignored Abdul Salam it should be of no consequence, because the loss is not Salam’s.  It is an evidence of the myopia of the country  and its people in failing to benefit from the wisdom and knowledge of his work. Their neglect could not hinder in making  Abdul Salam  an International citizen -- surely above the boundaries and restraints of a single Nation.

In the  introduction of  Dr. Parvez Hoodbhoy’s book—Islam and Science-- Abdul  Salam himself set the standards of judgement of any creative work.  For Hoodybhoy says of Salam that  “ In his essay he made it perfectly explicit that the validity of a scientific truth can be adjudicated only according to criteria internal to science and not by appeal to religious, metaphysical or aesthetic considerations.” On International standards his work speaks for itself, and in scientific circles it is one of its milestones.

The greatness of a person is not  limited to the laurels he receives in the resounding of applause and the noise of jubilation, but  in the impression he leaves on the minds and the intellect of fellow humans. This, comes unaccompanied, and is unprompted by an outside source,  for its worth is felt by the sheer strength and weight of the idea itself. The greatness of a man is also gauged by the effort he puts into uncovering and then sharing the light of his inner self with society at large.  It is perhaps endowed in the very  grain and nature of his being. That this is the way of all great people is clearly seen through the pages of history. Why do humans toil and labour to bring forth their hidden talent  and then  struggle to get it across to others? This perhaps, is question for the philosophers.  It is only pertinent here to say that humanity is, from time to time, injected and infused to continue to struggle and advance, through the example of people like Abdul Salam.

I should not continue to take the time or the theme of the imminent speakers who will certainly highlight the life and work of the great individual.

It is felt that to get your participation and keep your interest alive we should  invite a few questions after each speaker has presented his paper.  So please bear with patience during the narration and be ready to probe after it.