If Allah Wills (in sha Allah)

We were setting-up our city’s first interactive science gallery in a space a naval museum had kindly made available to us for the purpose. We had purchased construction manuals of interactive exhibits from a foreign science centre. Working on a low budget, we were seeking out local manufacturers who could build those exhibits for us. With the Grace of Allah, and answered prayers, the effort initiated with an email to a nationally decorated scientist in 2011 to the inauguration of the science centre in 2013, took less than two years! 

The naval museum had a dear friend by the name of  Cdr Siddiqui, an octogenarian, who had been associated with the museum and its library for the past sixteen years. The facility was like his own child. He loved it and constantly strived for it. 

The library was located in the ground floor of the museum. Cdr Siddiqui used to spend several hours  daily in the library. While setting-up the science centre, I also spent several hours supervising the work at the museum. We had many interesting conversations on a range of topics from the setting up of this museum to the science expedition to Antarctica in which he had sent Pakistani scientists. 

One day, he asked me to set up a sundial at the museum. I said in sha Allah (if Allah Wills) I will have a sundial built for the museum after we complete the interactive science gallery. He said people say in sha Allah when they don’t intend to honour their commitment. I replied that I know that people do abuse this phrase, but I must say it since Allah has ordered it (Q18:23-24). 

We inaugurated the interactive science gallery in August 2013. Now it was time to honour my commitment to build the sundial. I had the construction manual of an interactive sundial. I contacted the local astronomical society for expertise. They didn’t have anyone, but redirected me to a website of the person who had built a sundial on an intersection in our city. The website had an email address and two phone numbers. I emailed and also tried contacting him over the phone, but the numbers were incorrect. A few days passed and there was no response even to the email. With the sundial website open  in front of me, and I looking at the phone numbers, … it occurred to me that there were too many threes at the beginning of the numbers. So I tried to call with one less three at beginning. The call went through. He was a retired naval officer who had personal interest and expertise in building sundials. He hadn’t checked the email because all the years since he had built the sundial, hardly anybody ever contacted him on that email address. 

He had many designs for various types of static sundials. I shared the interactive sundial design with him and asked him if he could build that. He enthusiastically undertook the project. Working closely with the Director General of the Naval Museum, he built not one but two sundials for the price of one: an interactive one which people could stand on and their shadow pointing towards the time of the day on the dial, and the other a static traditional sundial. The sundial was paid for by the grant given by the Naval Chief.

That one 'in sha Allah', spoken with sincerity of intent, and Allah made it happen with hardly any effort on my part. Allah provided the funds, the expertise, the enthusiasm, and the supervision. I commissioned the project, and then I arranged for the inauguration of the sundial. Alhamdolillah!