"Our Dialogue" by apkar pk

apkar pk & “Our Dialogue

Let me introduce apkar pk. Well, apkar is simply an abbreviation from Allied Promotors Karachi, the company I organize, while the suffix pk stands for Pakistan. And under this brand name, we present a series of publications such as you hold in your hand.
A friend, Ateed Riaz, has been involved in copying and gratuitously circulating pages from Adil Salahi’s religious columns of the Jeddah-based paper, Arab News. I was also favored with these pages, and finding them very interesting and deeply thought provoking, decided to start compiling the columns. In 1989, and a hundred pages later, I showed the result of this exercise to some friends, who were very enthusiastic in their response.

We felt that such a compilation would serve as a useful and handy guide for anyone keen to learn more about the ways of Islam, but who could not get convincing answers from accessible Ulema. Several friends even offered to help with the printing of such a book, and the first version of this work, comprising just 125 pages, emerged under the title “A Question and Answer Session, the Religious Editor, Arab News, Jeddah.” This was our beginning.

Encouraged with the response to our first book, I continued with this compiling work and brought out an enhanced version of the same book under the title, “Our Dialogue,” named after the title of the original columns appearing in Arab News, Jeddah. (These columns are now called “Discourse.”) Yet another volume, “Our Dialogue — Volume IV,” contained further selections from the religious columns which have appeared in Arab News, Jeddah up to July 2003. A handy version based on selected quotations from these books — entitled 'Our Dialogue in a Nutshell' is also available for those readers who are too busy for voluminous reading. In 1996, a compilation covering 'Pilgrimage' was issued and since that year through fine work by Br. Abdus Salam Salami, an Urdu version is also being provided under the title of "Islami Tarze Fikr". A second volume of "Islami Tarze Fikr" — translated by Br. Kaleem Chughtai — has since been launched in 1999. Since 1998, through initiative of Br. Noor Ahmad Memon, a Sindhi translation of 'Islami Tarze Fikr" has been presented under the title of 'Islami Soch Jo Andaz".

Alhamdulillah, the scope has been enlarged and improved since, and a consolidated, improved and revised version of all the previous issues of “Our Dialogue” is now presented to you in four Volumes under the title of "Our Dialogue — Seventh Edition".

Much thought and effort have gone into the body of works presented in the “Our Dialogue” series. All this would come to naught except for the enlightenment provided through the original material presented by Adil Salahi under his worthy columns 'Islam in Perspective' in Arab News, Jeddah. We are also deeply indebted to a host of supporters from our very inception. Valued advice and kind assistance has come in varied and special ways from people who are too many to enumerate, but without whose help, this series of books could certainly not have been presented. [A list of supporters is appended on p.7, but we may have missed out to mention some.] May Allah in His Mercy accept the efforts of all of us.

Tasbahoona Alal Khair

Muhammad Arif
apkar pk • Karachi 74000 • Pakistan
Telephone: 92 21 231 2495 [Work/Home — Roaming]
November 2005

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