~KAYRA~
11-29-2014, 04:22 PM
Written by Nemrah Ahmed.
Jannat Kay PattayJannat Kay Pattay
In the name of Allah the Exalted.
I owe you all a deep apology for being this late in posting this article. After the completion of Jannat Kay Pattay, I got extremely busy in my upcoming project and since then I couldn’t get a pint of time to write anything but my new novel. Meanwhile you folks read a murder mystery (Paaras) in Pakeeza. It was almost a 6 years old novel of mine that I started back then, (after saann sakin thi) and abandoned. Then after KKTM, I re-wrote that manuscript with a few changes (especially the change of era) and made it a period novel (Beli Raajputaan Ki Malikah). Paaras and BRKM were two sides of the same coin. Just painted same colours with different brushes. So after JKP, I had to complete Paaras because I had promised Pakeeza administration for an episodic serial, and I really enjoyed working with them. Change always brings Khair.
And now, after so long, I am here with you all, ready to answer the most frequently asked questions about Jannat Kay Pattay. I have picked only those questions which made some sense to every reader around and left those which were either answered already in the novel or were not-so-sensible ones. More so, I skipped all such questions which dealt with my personal efforts for the research of this novel because whosoever I interviewed and got help from, their names were mentioned in the acknowledgements of JKP Book. Going in the detail will not be fruitful for any of us
Why did I choose Hijaab as the theme of a fiction novel?
In the recent years, when we are seeing much religion-related stuff in print and electronic media, whenever a protagonist is portrayed with strokes of Deen, writer is most of the times (not always) hung between story and religion, and as a result, one or more aspects of religious sanctions are ignored. Forget the others, even my previous heroines were not the perfect Islamic girls, and no one can be perfect. We are portraying humans, not angels, and we are portraying Pakistani girls and if they are not perfect, we have to write about imperfect ones. Or else people cannot relate to them. But there are some girls, (some because they are very few in millions), who at least try to adopt Hijaab completely. Not in parts. Not in bits and pieces. But as a whole. They will wear it with every non-mehram, even try their best on their wedding, and other functions to cover themselves up. And then these girls have their stories. Happy stories. And painful stories. If a girl does not wear the Shariah Niqaab, she has no idea, ABSOLUTELY no idea, what a Niqaabi girl goes through. The pain, the suffering, the endurance of hers is above the level of understanding of a ‘’normal’’ girl. Just like a non-doctor cannot understand the troubles of a medical student, non-hijaabis can never understand those of hijaabi girls. For once, I wanted to write a completely Niqaabi girl’s story. Something every hijaabi girl can relate with. And JKP was not about Haya only. It was about Ayeshe too (A non-niqaabi, only-hijaabi girl), about DJ too (a non-hijaabi, non-niqaabi girl) and the message I tried to convey is that its about time Hijaabi girls should stop taking non-hijaabi ones as Kaafir, idiots and bad girls, and non-hijaabi girls should start showing some respect for the hijaab. It’s all about mutual understanding. If being a Hijaabi, you don’t ‘understand’ a non-Hjaabi, then how can you expect her to understand your life? This mutual tolerance can only help us become a better Muslim and a better human being. A message I always give: do not judge people, you have not lived their life!
And then, I wanted to sketch Hijaab as a very beautiful thing to adopt in life. I know how writers are blessed with the ability to make people fall in love with the profession they portray. If readers can wish to become climbers after reading a mountaineering novel, why not give them a better direction? Something more sacred and precious. Like Qur’an and Islamic values. Hmm…why not?
What I have seen in hijabi girls mostly is their lack of confidence in their dress code. If people can be so confident when they are wrong, why cant we, the hijaabi girls, be proud and confident of our face-covering? Wo ghalat ho ker confident hain tou ap sahi ho kr confident kyun nhi ho skte? And I am sure that some of you have boosted their confidence level to a higher degree after reading this novel. You are welcome ((http://www.tafrehmella.com/styles/default/xenforo/clear.png
Oh and how can we forget the other storyline of JKP? Jihaan SIkander! (Did I hear someone taking a deep breath?http://www.tafrehmella.com/styles/default/xenforo/clear.png )
Jannat Kay Pattay is every that thing you use to cover yourself up in the time of embarrassment, to use as a mode or tool to gain respect again. So in figurative meanings, Jihaan’s uniform was also a waraq’al’Jannah. Rest is history
When I started this novel years ago (even don’t remember how many years ago..well..I started it in July 2011..) I wrote first draft (and remember that first draft is never for anyone to read, it always lies in the closet of the writer), and in first draft there were two extra characters that I later cut. One was Jihaan’s neighbor girl, and other was Jihaan’s younger brother. Yes, he had a younger brother throughout the novel in the first draft, but in the second one, I cut them both and replaced the younger brother with Bihare Gul (she was not in the first draft) and didn’t replace the neighbour girl with anyone (I left her and him for my next novel because those characters were interesting). And so on and so forth
I think I wanted readers to love Jihaan so his character was knitted from the very start to be likeable. I know some of you hated him initially and loved Major Ahmed, but then, you still loved Jihaan, right? So he was liked from the start. As for Haya, I didn’t intend anyone to like her. But with time I myself fell so much in love with Haya that she became the prime focus of the novel. She was not the perfect, over sweet, nice, and sabr shukr wali girl. She had her shortcomings, and if you noticed, she didn’t change much after hijaab. She never changed her attitude, she never became sweet, she was even in the end the prompt-reactor. And that’s the whole idea. Islam doesn’t mean you have to go against your nature. It wants you to stay in the parameters of your real self and then obey Allah. The reason we pray Namaz in Jama’at in Mosques is to make us understand how we have to bow before Allah WHILE we stay in the middle of the human crowd. You get the idea?
As for Ayeshe, she was a different kind. She was not the reverted person. She never was a sinner so she never changed herself. She was always a pious person, so she remained. That’s how many girls are like. And then there are likes of DJs too. I am so sorry for killing off that character but it was necessary for the character-development of Haya and plot development. She was meant to die. And this is what the character told me.
Characters do talk to the writers. Sometimes they just refuse the writer’s order and write their own selves. They shape themselves, they mould themselves. Like in the second last scene of the novel, when that Waleed-video fiasco was over, Haya tells Jihaan how much she loves him, I intended to write how Jihaan replies the same, that he loves her, BUT when I tried to write it, it just didn’t work. It was like Jihaan, my character, actually looked up at me with a frown on forehead and said, “No writer, I am not like this so don’t make me do things I will never do..huh!!” And then, it was like he himself said, “Natasha is right…” , shuddered and went away. That’s what Jihaan was like, wasn’t he? So sorry to those who were expecting him to say something else, I really tried hard but you tell me, is it easy to convince Jihaan to do what he doesn’t wanna do? (;
Why did you show so much Fashion in the story and then brought the story to the ‘other side’?
The other side? You mean the non-fashion side, or the Islamic side? Because in my beliefs, Islamic side is not a synonym for non—fashion side. Or Anti-fashion. That was the whole point. Islam is not against fashion or nail polish (yes, in the name of Lord, I do mean N-A-I-L P-O-L-I-S-H), or jewelry, or trendy outfits or hairstyles or shoes. Haya wore everything nice and trendy when she didn’t do pardah. She wore everything nice and trendy after she did parah. I have often seen in novels that when you have to portray a religious girl, you show her to be simple and (I am sorry to say) Maasi type. It might serve the purpose but it makes religion look highly difficult for a normal girl to adopt. We don’t have to show a girl wearing a big beige-colur shawl, a dheeli choti, highly sanjeeda expressions on face to make her look religious. There is a difference in being simple and in being lazy. Yes, if I see a girl dressed in rough clothes, with simply tied hair and a not-so-matching shawl, I will call her a lazy girl who doesn’t spend time on herself. Simple hona aur bat hai, safai na rkhna aur bat. And when religious girls like make-up and jewelry, people look at them as they are involved in a big taboo. Its not like that. Wearing nailpolish does not make you a kaafir. It just doesn’t make your wudhu acceptable so you have to take it off before doing wudhu (and there are porous nail paints these days so wudhu issue is long gone), nail paint se namaz ho jati hai wudhu nahi hota. The only problem is, when girls wear nail paint, they feel too lazy to remove it before the next prayer. This is a girl’s fault, not the nail-paint’s fault. (Oh and did I hear someone saying, if you wear nail pain and die, the nails will go hard and it is impossible to remove the pain because..…!! OMG honestly this is the most ridiculous thing I have ever come across so please don’t repeat it. Just to keep people from wearing nail-paint, you don’t have to come up with such silly arguments.)
Normally, in tv dramas, and in novels, and in islamic institutes, and in the minds of elderly ladies, there is a concept that religion means simplicity. I have no objection. Fine. Islam is another name of simplicity. BUT simplicity is not another name of careless-ness and being reckless from your own personality. Simplicity does not mean wearing patched dress when you can afford a better one. Jab paisa ho tu nazar ana chaheay. But in tv dramas, novels, Islamic institute, (and elderly ladies’ minds) the concept nourishes till we get this image: if we have to show a modern girl reverting islam, we will first show her to be high-fi modern, and then, shawl clad, tied haired, dull, weak, serious, frowned, cold, colourless (wearing colours that suit elder people) and silent. The image of a religious girl is that of a nun. (No offense to my Christian readers, I am just portraying an idea). Or a darvesh who is ‘cut off’ from the whole world and worldly things in his own dedh eent ki masjid. Now, think of your personal Islamic knowledge. MashaAllah you all are blessed with a lot of it. Think and tell, does Islam mean, Rahbaniyat? Being cut off from world? When we offer prayer in masjid with Jama’at, what are the obligations? That the Namazi will join his feet with the namazis on his sides, join to the extent that the feets touch (so that satan does not walk through the gaps). Yahi hukm hai na ba’jamat namaz ka? And then where do we bow and do rukoo’wa’sujood? Towards Qibla. Towards the House of Allah. What does this mean?
It means, ‘logon k darmyan reh kr Allah k samnay jhukna’. Community ke sath rehty huay Allah ki frman’brdari krna. That’s the whole idea. Islam does not mean rehbaniyat. It doesn’t forbid us from looking good. Tell me, does simplicity mean to look like a ‘bhoot’? (Sorry!) Or does it mean to stay clean, and fresh and beautiful? Allah is beautiful and He likes beauty. He has no objection with wearing nice clothes and looking nice. He only forbids from doing israaf – crossing your limits. Wear gold but pay its zakat. Keep a latest model car but do drive it to mosque five times a day. My idea of writing JKP was to show the balanced Muslimah. The general concept (a girl wearing lots of jewelry and makeup is not a good muslimah) is totally wrong. Islam does not forbid from make up or jewelry. Don’t feel guilty if you like them. Which girl doesn’t? Islam just wants you to cover your ‘zeenat’ before you go out or before non-mehrams. (Means zeenat is not haram, uncovering it before other men is!) So why feel guilty for doing make up and wearing stylish clothes? I know a lot of women who are burqa clad when they go out but in ladies functions, or in their homes, they look very stylish, ready, all made up. Secondly, even doing burqa doesn’t mean you become ‘bhoot’
I hope I have well described my stance over this make-up-is-not-haram issue so lets move forward.
Is there going to be a drama on JKP?
No, if Allah wills, I have no intentions of dramatizing JKP or any of my previous or upcoming project. I am neither a dramatist nor I have any interest in TV. I am a novelist and this is what I like to be.
Jannat Kay PattayJannat Kay Pattay
In the name of Allah the Exalted.
I owe you all a deep apology for being this late in posting this article. After the completion of Jannat Kay Pattay, I got extremely busy in my upcoming project and since then I couldn’t get a pint of time to write anything but my new novel. Meanwhile you folks read a murder mystery (Paaras) in Pakeeza. It was almost a 6 years old novel of mine that I started back then, (after saann sakin thi) and abandoned. Then after KKTM, I re-wrote that manuscript with a few changes (especially the change of era) and made it a period novel (Beli Raajputaan Ki Malikah). Paaras and BRKM were two sides of the same coin. Just painted same colours with different brushes. So after JKP, I had to complete Paaras because I had promised Pakeeza administration for an episodic serial, and I really enjoyed working with them. Change always brings Khair.
And now, after so long, I am here with you all, ready to answer the most frequently asked questions about Jannat Kay Pattay. I have picked only those questions which made some sense to every reader around and left those which were either answered already in the novel or were not-so-sensible ones. More so, I skipped all such questions which dealt with my personal efforts for the research of this novel because whosoever I interviewed and got help from, their names were mentioned in the acknowledgements of JKP Book. Going in the detail will not be fruitful for any of us
Why did I choose Hijaab as the theme of a fiction novel?
In the recent years, when we are seeing much religion-related stuff in print and electronic media, whenever a protagonist is portrayed with strokes of Deen, writer is most of the times (not always) hung between story and religion, and as a result, one or more aspects of religious sanctions are ignored. Forget the others, even my previous heroines were not the perfect Islamic girls, and no one can be perfect. We are portraying humans, not angels, and we are portraying Pakistani girls and if they are not perfect, we have to write about imperfect ones. Or else people cannot relate to them. But there are some girls, (some because they are very few in millions), who at least try to adopt Hijaab completely. Not in parts. Not in bits and pieces. But as a whole. They will wear it with every non-mehram, even try their best on their wedding, and other functions to cover themselves up. And then these girls have their stories. Happy stories. And painful stories. If a girl does not wear the Shariah Niqaab, she has no idea, ABSOLUTELY no idea, what a Niqaabi girl goes through. The pain, the suffering, the endurance of hers is above the level of understanding of a ‘’normal’’ girl. Just like a non-doctor cannot understand the troubles of a medical student, non-hijaabis can never understand those of hijaabi girls. For once, I wanted to write a completely Niqaabi girl’s story. Something every hijaabi girl can relate with. And JKP was not about Haya only. It was about Ayeshe too (A non-niqaabi, only-hijaabi girl), about DJ too (a non-hijaabi, non-niqaabi girl) and the message I tried to convey is that its about time Hijaabi girls should stop taking non-hijaabi ones as Kaafir, idiots and bad girls, and non-hijaabi girls should start showing some respect for the hijaab. It’s all about mutual understanding. If being a Hijaabi, you don’t ‘understand’ a non-Hjaabi, then how can you expect her to understand your life? This mutual tolerance can only help us become a better Muslim and a better human being. A message I always give: do not judge people, you have not lived their life!
And then, I wanted to sketch Hijaab as a very beautiful thing to adopt in life. I know how writers are blessed with the ability to make people fall in love with the profession they portray. If readers can wish to become climbers after reading a mountaineering novel, why not give them a better direction? Something more sacred and precious. Like Qur’an and Islamic values. Hmm…why not?
What I have seen in hijabi girls mostly is their lack of confidence in their dress code. If people can be so confident when they are wrong, why cant we, the hijaabi girls, be proud and confident of our face-covering? Wo ghalat ho ker confident hain tou ap sahi ho kr confident kyun nhi ho skte? And I am sure that some of you have boosted their confidence level to a higher degree after reading this novel. You are welcome ((http://www.tafrehmella.com/styles/default/xenforo/clear.png
Oh and how can we forget the other storyline of JKP? Jihaan SIkander! (Did I hear someone taking a deep breath?http://www.tafrehmella.com/styles/default/xenforo/clear.png )
Jannat Kay Pattay is every that thing you use to cover yourself up in the time of embarrassment, to use as a mode or tool to gain respect again. So in figurative meanings, Jihaan’s uniform was also a waraq’al’Jannah. Rest is history
When I started this novel years ago (even don’t remember how many years ago..well..I started it in July 2011..) I wrote first draft (and remember that first draft is never for anyone to read, it always lies in the closet of the writer), and in first draft there were two extra characters that I later cut. One was Jihaan’s neighbor girl, and other was Jihaan’s younger brother. Yes, he had a younger brother throughout the novel in the first draft, but in the second one, I cut them both and replaced the younger brother with Bihare Gul (she was not in the first draft) and didn’t replace the neighbour girl with anyone (I left her and him for my next novel because those characters were interesting). And so on and so forth
I think I wanted readers to love Jihaan so his character was knitted from the very start to be likeable. I know some of you hated him initially and loved Major Ahmed, but then, you still loved Jihaan, right? So he was liked from the start. As for Haya, I didn’t intend anyone to like her. But with time I myself fell so much in love with Haya that she became the prime focus of the novel. She was not the perfect, over sweet, nice, and sabr shukr wali girl. She had her shortcomings, and if you noticed, she didn’t change much after hijaab. She never changed her attitude, she never became sweet, she was even in the end the prompt-reactor. And that’s the whole idea. Islam doesn’t mean you have to go against your nature. It wants you to stay in the parameters of your real self and then obey Allah. The reason we pray Namaz in Jama’at in Mosques is to make us understand how we have to bow before Allah WHILE we stay in the middle of the human crowd. You get the idea?
As for Ayeshe, she was a different kind. She was not the reverted person. She never was a sinner so she never changed herself. She was always a pious person, so she remained. That’s how many girls are like. And then there are likes of DJs too. I am so sorry for killing off that character but it was necessary for the character-development of Haya and plot development. She was meant to die. And this is what the character told me.
Characters do talk to the writers. Sometimes they just refuse the writer’s order and write their own selves. They shape themselves, they mould themselves. Like in the second last scene of the novel, when that Waleed-video fiasco was over, Haya tells Jihaan how much she loves him, I intended to write how Jihaan replies the same, that he loves her, BUT when I tried to write it, it just didn’t work. It was like Jihaan, my character, actually looked up at me with a frown on forehead and said, “No writer, I am not like this so don’t make me do things I will never do..huh!!” And then, it was like he himself said, “Natasha is right…” , shuddered and went away. That’s what Jihaan was like, wasn’t he? So sorry to those who were expecting him to say something else, I really tried hard but you tell me, is it easy to convince Jihaan to do what he doesn’t wanna do? (;
Why did you show so much Fashion in the story and then brought the story to the ‘other side’?
The other side? You mean the non-fashion side, or the Islamic side? Because in my beliefs, Islamic side is not a synonym for non—fashion side. Or Anti-fashion. That was the whole point. Islam is not against fashion or nail polish (yes, in the name of Lord, I do mean N-A-I-L P-O-L-I-S-H), or jewelry, or trendy outfits or hairstyles or shoes. Haya wore everything nice and trendy when she didn’t do pardah. She wore everything nice and trendy after she did parah. I have often seen in novels that when you have to portray a religious girl, you show her to be simple and (I am sorry to say) Maasi type. It might serve the purpose but it makes religion look highly difficult for a normal girl to adopt. We don’t have to show a girl wearing a big beige-colur shawl, a dheeli choti, highly sanjeeda expressions on face to make her look religious. There is a difference in being simple and in being lazy. Yes, if I see a girl dressed in rough clothes, with simply tied hair and a not-so-matching shawl, I will call her a lazy girl who doesn’t spend time on herself. Simple hona aur bat hai, safai na rkhna aur bat. And when religious girls like make-up and jewelry, people look at them as they are involved in a big taboo. Its not like that. Wearing nailpolish does not make you a kaafir. It just doesn’t make your wudhu acceptable so you have to take it off before doing wudhu (and there are porous nail paints these days so wudhu issue is long gone), nail paint se namaz ho jati hai wudhu nahi hota. The only problem is, when girls wear nail paint, they feel too lazy to remove it before the next prayer. This is a girl’s fault, not the nail-paint’s fault. (Oh and did I hear someone saying, if you wear nail pain and die, the nails will go hard and it is impossible to remove the pain because..…!! OMG honestly this is the most ridiculous thing I have ever come across so please don’t repeat it. Just to keep people from wearing nail-paint, you don’t have to come up with such silly arguments.)
Normally, in tv dramas, and in novels, and in islamic institutes, and in the minds of elderly ladies, there is a concept that religion means simplicity. I have no objection. Fine. Islam is another name of simplicity. BUT simplicity is not another name of careless-ness and being reckless from your own personality. Simplicity does not mean wearing patched dress when you can afford a better one. Jab paisa ho tu nazar ana chaheay. But in tv dramas, novels, Islamic institute, (and elderly ladies’ minds) the concept nourishes till we get this image: if we have to show a modern girl reverting islam, we will first show her to be high-fi modern, and then, shawl clad, tied haired, dull, weak, serious, frowned, cold, colourless (wearing colours that suit elder people) and silent. The image of a religious girl is that of a nun. (No offense to my Christian readers, I am just portraying an idea). Or a darvesh who is ‘cut off’ from the whole world and worldly things in his own dedh eent ki masjid. Now, think of your personal Islamic knowledge. MashaAllah you all are blessed with a lot of it. Think and tell, does Islam mean, Rahbaniyat? Being cut off from world? When we offer prayer in masjid with Jama’at, what are the obligations? That the Namazi will join his feet with the namazis on his sides, join to the extent that the feets touch (so that satan does not walk through the gaps). Yahi hukm hai na ba’jamat namaz ka? And then where do we bow and do rukoo’wa’sujood? Towards Qibla. Towards the House of Allah. What does this mean?
It means, ‘logon k darmyan reh kr Allah k samnay jhukna’. Community ke sath rehty huay Allah ki frman’brdari krna. That’s the whole idea. Islam does not mean rehbaniyat. It doesn’t forbid us from looking good. Tell me, does simplicity mean to look like a ‘bhoot’? (Sorry!) Or does it mean to stay clean, and fresh and beautiful? Allah is beautiful and He likes beauty. He has no objection with wearing nice clothes and looking nice. He only forbids from doing israaf – crossing your limits. Wear gold but pay its zakat. Keep a latest model car but do drive it to mosque five times a day. My idea of writing JKP was to show the balanced Muslimah. The general concept (a girl wearing lots of jewelry and makeup is not a good muslimah) is totally wrong. Islam does not forbid from make up or jewelry. Don’t feel guilty if you like them. Which girl doesn’t? Islam just wants you to cover your ‘zeenat’ before you go out or before non-mehrams. (Means zeenat is not haram, uncovering it before other men is!) So why feel guilty for doing make up and wearing stylish clothes? I know a lot of women who are burqa clad when they go out but in ladies functions, or in their homes, they look very stylish, ready, all made up. Secondly, even doing burqa doesn’t mean you become ‘bhoot’
I hope I have well described my stance over this make-up-is-not-haram issue so lets move forward.
Is there going to be a drama on JKP?
No, if Allah wills, I have no intentions of dramatizing JKP or any of my previous or upcoming project. I am neither a dramatist nor I have any interest in TV. I am a novelist and this is what I like to be.