RIWAYAT AT-TUBANI

Tafsir pendidikan Surat al Fatehah

2011-10-07T10:00:00.001+07:00

1. dengan menyebut nama Allah yang Maha Pemurah lagi Maha Penyayang.

2. segala puji bagi Allah, Tuhan semesta alam.

3. Maha Pemurah lagi Maha Penyayang.

4. yang menguasai di hari Pembalasan.

5. hanya Engkaulah yang Kami sembah, dan hanya kepada Engkaulah Kami meminta pertolongan.

6. Tunjukilah Kami jalan yang lurus,

7. (yaitu) jalan orang-orang yang telah Engkau beri nikmat kepada mereka; bukan (jalan) mereka yang dimurkai dan bukan (pula jalan) mereka yang sesat.[9]

Pendidik yang baik adalah yang selalu mengawali pembelajarannya dengan menyebut nama allah. Tidak itu saja pendidik yang baik adalah yang menularkan dan mengajarkan peserta didik kebiasaan mengawali setipa pekerjaan dengan menyebut nama Allah. Maka sudah sepantasnya dalam diri pendidik ada keinginan untuk berbagai dan memberikan sesuatu kebiasaan yang disukai dan diberkahi oleh Allah dan RasulNya.

Pendidik yang selalu mengawalai aktivitasnya dengan menyebut nama Allah, maka perbuatannya akan diberkahi dan diridhoi oleh Allah SWT. dalam parktekknya pendidik hendaknya selau mengajak dan membiasakan peserta didik untuk berdoa dan mengawali proses pembelajaran dengan membaca basmallah. Hal ini tentunya dilakukan ketika proses belajar mengajar akan dilaksanakan. Kegiatan ini hendaknya dilakukan secara rutin dan berkesinambungan.

Membaca basmallah merupakan sesuatu akhlak dan adab bagi peserta didik dan pendidik dalam setiap pembelajarannya. Dengan demikian jika aktifitas pembelajaran kita ingin diberkahi, maka membaca basmallah dalam setiap pembelajarn menjadi wajib dilakukan.

Pendidik yang baik adalah pendidik yang selalu mengakhir setiap proses pembelajarannya dengan membaca hamdallah. Membaca hamdallah merupakan sopan santun dalam mencari ilmu, merupakan doa bagi para penuntut ilmu. Satau diantara sekian banyak adab sopan santun dalam menuntut ilmu adalah selalu mengakhiri setiap pembelajaran dengan membaca Alhamdulillah. Hal ini merupakan sikap yang mulia dan disukai oleh Allah SWT. dengan membaca hamdallah mencerminkan jiwa pendidik dan peserta didik yang santun dan tahu berterima kasih kepada Tuahnnya. Pembiasaan mengakhiri setiap proses belajar mengajar dengan memuji Allah SWT akan memberi bekas kspiritual dalam diri peserta didik dan pendidik. Maka dalam pendidikan islam perlu kiranya membiasakan memuji Allah dalam setiap aktifitasnya.

Pendidik dalam pendidikan Islam hendaknya selalu mengedepankan sikap spiritual dalam setiap aktifitasnya, akan tetapi dalam hal itu kegiatan yang lain tidak penting akan tetapi yang dimaksud adalaha bagaimana pendidik memberikan nilai-nialai, roh islami alam setiap kegiatannya. Apapun yang diajarkan pendidik hendaknya mengandung niali-nilai, ruh islami di dalamnya.

Pendidik hendaknya selalu menekankan dan memberi nasehat kepada peserta didik bahwa Rabb (tuhan) berarti: Tuhan yang ditaati yang Memiliki, mendidik dan Memelihara. Rabblah yang menciptakan berbagai jenis dan macam, seperti: alam manusia, alam hewan, alam tumbuh-tumbuhan, benda-benda mati dan sebagainya. Allah Pencipta semua alam-alam itu. Artinya adalah dalam pendidikan islam pengetahuan tentang akidah, keyakinan ketauhidan sangat penting dan wajib diberikan dana wajib ada dalam pendidikan Islam. Dan konsekuensinya adalah dalam kurikulum pendidikan Islam harus ada materi yang membahas tentang ketuhanan, ketauhidan.

Dalam surat ini, dapat dipahami bahwa dalam pendidikan islam henfdknya ada kurikulum yang membahas tentang kekuasaan, politik . dengan adanya pembahasan tentang pemerintahan, politik dan kepemimpinan, maka umat Islam mampu memimpin, mampu menjadi pempimpin yang baik sesuai dengan ajaran Islam. Hal ini dapat dipahami dari Maliknya Allah SWT. untuk itu dalam pendidikan Islam mempelajari politik, kepemimpinan dan pemerintahan. Untuk itu, pendidikan Islam wajib memasukkan materi tentang kepemimpinan, politik, dan pemerintahan dalam kurikulumnya.

Pendidik hendaknya memberikan keyakinan, memberikan pemahaman yang benar tentang Yaumiddin (hari Pembalasan) yaitu waktu masing-masing manusia menerima pembalasan amalannya yang baik maupun yang buruk. Hal ini penting dikethaui oleh peserta didik dala pendidikan Islam, karena hal itu berhubungan dengan ketauhidan, berhubungan dengan Allah SWT sebagai pencipta alam raya ini. Peserta didik yang telah mengetahuai dan memahami tentang iman kepada hari kiamat dengan baik dan benar akan mempunyai perilaku, mempunyai akahlak yang lebih baik, jika dibanding dengan peserta didik yang tidak mengimani hari pembalasan dengan baik dan benar. Maka dalam hal ini memberikan nasehat dan ilmu tentang hari pembalasan menjadi kewajiban bagi pendidik terhadap peserta didiknya.

tafsir surat annas 1-6

2011-09-29T07:57:00.000+07:00

1. Katakanlah: "Aku berlidung kepada Tuhan (yang memeliharadan menguasai) manusia.

2. raja manusia.

3. sembahan manusia.

4. dari kejahatan(bisikan) syaitan yang biasa bersembunyi,

5. yang membisikkan(kejahatan) ke dalam dada manusia,

6. dari (golongan) jindan manusia.

Peserta didik hendaknya diarahkan dandibiasakan untuk berlindung kepada Allah setiap akan melakukan sesuatu. Hal iniperlu dilakukan karena setipa langkah kita akan selalu diberkahi dan dilindungioleh Allah ketika seorang hamba selalu meminta dilindungi oleh Allah. Karena itu pendidik hendakny asejak dini telahmembiasakan kepada peserat didik untuk selalu membiasakan membaca taawuz dalamsetiap aktifitas.

Kesadaran akan kebutuhan untuk selalu berlindungkepada Allah perlu ditumbuhkembangkandalam diri peserta didik. Di sisi lain, peserat didik juga disadarkan bahwahanya Allah yang menguasasi dan memelihara manusia, maka yang layak untukdimintai pemeliharaan dan perlindunganhanyalah Allah semata. Hal ini juga menyiratkan bahwa hanya Allahlah tempatberlindung, sedangkan berlindung kepada manusia adalah sesuatu yang lemah, makatak wajar kalau peserta didik diajar selalu berlindung kepada penguasa maupunkepada manusia.

Pendidik hendaknya selalu mengajarkan kepapadasiswanya bahwa hanya Allah yang berhak menguasai manusia, sedangkan manusiatidak mempunyai kekuasaan untuk menguasaia pribadi seseorang, akan tetapimanusia hanya diberi sedikit kekuasaan untuk mengatur manusia , akan tetapibukan menguasai dirinya. Hal ini penting dibreikan dan dipahamkan kepada peserta didik akan menjadi pribadi yangmerdeka.

Pendidik hendaknya mengajak dan memberi pemahamankepada peserta didik, bahwa yang menguasai atau raja manusia adalah allah, makayang patut kita takuiti dan segani hanyalah Allah semata, sedangkan raja manusia,presiden dan penguasai di bumi tidak sepatutnya disejajarkan dengan kedudukanAllah sebagai raja semua manusia.

Pendidik hendaknya memberipemahaman yang baik dan benar tentangpenyembahan, penyembahan yang patut yang semestinya hanya untuk Allah SWT,bukan untuk yang lain. Kesadran dan pemahaman yang baik akan penyembahan yanghakiki dan benar akan mengantarkan peserta didik ke jalan yang benar dan jalannyang diridhoi oleh Allah SWT.

Pendidik hendaknya memberikan pemahaman yang baik tehntang musuh abadi manusi yaitu setanyang selalu menggoda manusia dimanapun berada. Untuik itu pendidik henfdanyameberi bekal yang cukujp dan pemahaman yang benar tentang keberadaan setan dancara mengggoda manusia. Sebab setan selalu menggoda manusia dengan berbagairtipu daya sehingga manusi terjebak kepada perbuatan yang melanggar aturanAllah. Hal ini perlu ditekankan kepada p[eserat didik, bahwa setan tidak akanpernah puas untuk menggoda manusia.

Setan selalu berusaha menggoda mmebisikkankejahatan kepada manusia, membisikkan kejahatan ke dalam dadav manusia, makapendidik hendaknya member bekal yang cukup kepada peserta didik untuk terusmengsisi dada peserta didik dengan keimanan yang kuat dan mantap.

Peserta didik hendaknya diberi pemahaman bahwasetan itu berasal darai kalangan jin dan manusia, aka perlu kiranya pesertadidik dianjurkan dan dipahamkan kana bnahaya yang mungkin saja berasal darai kalangan manusia dan jinsehingga dirinya terhindar dari gangguan jin dan setan yang berasal darimanusia.

Tafsir Pendidikan Surat Al-Humazah ayat 1-9

2011-07-21T21:21:00.000+07:00

وَيْلٌ لِكُلِّ هُمَزَةٍ لُمَزَةٍ (١)الَّذِي جَمَعَ مَالا وَعَدَّدَهُ (٢)يَحْسَبُ أَنَّ مَالَهُ أَخْلَدَهُ (٣)كَلا لَيُنْبَذَنَّ فِي الْحُطَمَةِ (٤)وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا الْحُطَمَةُ (٥)نَارُ اللَّهِ الْمُوقَدَةُ (٦)الَّتِي تَطَّلِعُ عَلَى الأفْئِدَةِ (٧)إِنَّهَا عَلَيْهِمْ مُؤْصَدَةٌ (٨)فِي عَمَدٍ مُمَدَّدَةٍ (٩)

1. kecelakaanlah bagi Setiap pengumpat lagi pencela,

2. yang mengumpulkan harta dan menghitung-hitung,

3. Dia mengira bahwa hartanya itu dapat mengkekalkannya,

4. sekali-kali tidak! Sesungguhnya Dia benar-benar akan dilemparkan ke dalam Huthamah.

5. dan tahukah kamu apa Huthamah itu?

6. (yaitu) api (yang disediakan) Allah yang dinyalakan,

7. yang (membakar) sampai ke hati.

8. Sesungguhnya api itu ditutup rapat atas mereka,

9. (sedang mereka itu) diikat pada tiang-tiang yang panjang.

Dari ayat tersebut dapat dipahami bahwa menjadi guru dan peserta hendaknya menjauhi sifat mengumpat dan mencela . Sebab mengumpat dan mencela hanya akan membawa kerugia. Mengumpat dan mencela bukanlah pribadi pendidik yang baik, bukan pendidik panutan. Demikian halnya peserta didik. Peserat didik yang baik hendaknya menjuhi sifat mencela dan mengumpat. Sebab mengumpat hanya akan membuat kita celaka dan sengsara.

Untuk itu, sebagai guru yang hendakya selalu mewanti-wanti peserta didik untuk selalu menjauhi sifat mencela dan suka mengumpat.

Pendidik yang baik hendaknya tidak materialistik. Materialistik dalam arti tidak menjadikan harta benda sebagai tujuan dalam mendidik peserta didik. Jika sifat merialistik ada dalam diri seorang pendidik, maka pendidikan akan hancur, hancur karena pendidikan bukan lagi sebagai tempat menuntut ilmu, akan tetapi menjadi ajang bisnis, yang semua berorientasi kepada harta dan kekayaan. Maka dalam ayat ini jelaslah bahwa tatkala pendidik terejabk kepada sikap suka mengumpat, dan mencela, maka pada akhirnya akan jatuh kepada sikap materialism. Nah, jika pendidik sudah di hinggapi sifat tersebut, maka pendidikan tidak lagi berorientasi, kepada tercapainya tingkaT Keilmuan yang hakiki, akan tetapi hanya akan sampai kepada bagaimana memanfaatkan peserta didik sebgai perahan dan lumbung uang.

Pendidik yang terjebak kepada sikap materialis akan menganggap bahwa uang dan harta adalah segalanya. Harta benda adalah sesuatu yang mengkekalkan., tidak heran jika pendidikan hanya sebagai tempat pengumpul pundi-pundi keuangan, sedangkan peserta didik merasa sekolah sebagai neraka yang membuatnya makin sengsara. Mereka merasa seperti digantung dan dipanggan, sekolah bukan tempat yang nyaman lagi, sekolah sudah seperti lautan api, menyakitkan hati dan pada akhirnya menjadikan anak berada dalam tiang gantungan.

Tafsir pendidikan Surat al-Quraisi ayat 1-4

2010-11-19T21:01:00.002+07:00

لإيلافِ قُرَيْشٍ (١)

إِيلافِهِمْ رِحْلَةَ الشِّتَاءِ وَالصَّيْفِ (٢)

فَلْيَعْبُدُوا رَبَّ هَذَا الْبَيْتِ (٣)

الَّذِي أَطْعَمَهُمْ مِنْ جُوعٍ وَآمَنَهُمْ مِنْ خَوْفٍ (٤)

1. karena kebiasaan orang-orang Quraisy,

2. (yaitu) kebiasaan mereka bepergian pada musim dingin dan musim panas

3. Maka hendaklah mereka menyembah Tuhan Pemilik rumah ini (Ka'bah).

4. yang telah memberi makanan kepada mereka untuk menghilangkan lapar dan mengamankan mereka dari ketakutan.

Dapat dipahami bahwa dalam pendidikan, setiap siswa maupun guru telah mengalami berbagai rintangan, tantangan, yang kesemua itu dijalani dengan kesabaran dan penuh keikhlasan.

Dan tatkala para siswa mendapatkan berkah dari kondisi panas dan dingin, dari cuaca panas dan dingin hendaknya mereka makin dekat dsan menyadari siapa yang sebenarnya harus disembah dan diibadahai.

Yang pantas untuk diibadahi oleh para siswa adalah Allah yang mempunyai kabah, Allah Sang pemilik kabah.

Dengan demikian siswa hendaknya sadar bahwa Allah lah yang mengenyangkannya dari kelaparan ilmu, Allah lah yang mengatsi kegelisaha, ketakutan dari kurangnya penguasaan ilmu dan pengetahuan. Dengan adanya perlindungan dari Allah atas segala kelaparan ilmu, maka layaklah hanya Allah yang berhak untuk disembah.

Tafsir Pendidikan Surat Al Maun ayat 1-7

2010-11-15T19:04:00.001+07:00

أرَأَيْتَ الَّذِي يُكَذِّبُ بِالدِّينِ (١)فَذَلِكَ الَّذِي يَدُعُّ الْيَتِيمَ (٢)وَلا يَحُضُّ عَلَى طَعَامِ الْمِسْكِينِ (٣)فَوَيْلٌ لِلْمُصَلِّينَ (٤)الَّذِينَ هُمْ عَنْ صَلاتِهِمْ سَاهُونَ (٥)الَّذِينَ هُمْ يُرَاءُونَ (٦)وَيَمْنَعُونَ الْمَاعُونَ (٧)
1. tahukah kamu (orang) yang mendustakan agama?
2. Itulah orang yang menghardik anak yatim,
3. dan tidak menganjurkan memberi Makan orang miskin.
4. Maka kecelakaanlah bagi orang-orang yang shalat,
5. (yaitu) orang-orang yang lalai dari shalatnya,
6. orang-orang yang berbuat riya
7. dan enggan (menolong dengan) barang berguna
Dalam pembelajaran akan dijumpai siswa yang mempunyai karakter pendusta. Ada siswa kita yang mempunyai sifat pendusta. Sebagai guru yang sadar dan dan tahu , maka perlu melakukan persiapan dan langkah efektif untuk menghadapi anak-anak seperti ini. Guru yang baik akan segera dan selalu siap dengan ilmu yang paling tidak mendeteksi karakter siswa yang suka berdusta.
Kadang kala siswa tersebut anti terhadap anak yatim, tidak berbuat baik terhadap anak yatim, selalu berusaha menjauhi anak yatim yang ada di kelasnya. Jik ahal ikni terjadi , maka dengan mudah pendidik akan segera mendeteksi anak didik yang mempuyai karakter pendusta tersebut.
anak didik yang mempunyai sifat pendusta biasanya akan selalu mencari alasan sebanyak mungkin untuk menyembunyikan sifat pendustanya. Selain menghardik anak yatim, dalam arti membentak, menganiaya, memebnci, mengejek ia juga enggan bergaul dengan anak yatim yang ada di kelasnya.
Siswa pendusta dapat juga diketahui dari sikapnya yang malas-malas dalam ibadah salat. Ia salaat, akan tetapai lalai dalam pelaksanaannya. Jia hal ini ada dalam diri peserta didik, maka dapat dipahami bahwa siswa tersebut masuk dalam katagori anak yang pendusta agama.
Siswa pendusta bniasanya juga mempunyai karakter yang engganbergaul dengan siswa-siswa yang miskin, ia cenderung menjauh dari anak didik yang berasal dari keluarga miskin. Siswa pendusta biasanya juga selalu mempersulit dan membaut ruang gerak siswa miskin sempit dengan tujuan untuk makin menyudutkan anak-anak misikin tersebut.
Dalam segala hal siswa yang pendusta biasanya selalu ingin dipuji, perbuatanya mengandung motif riya, sifat yang ingin selalu dipuji.
Dalam hal ,menolong pun ia selalu memilih-milih seustau yang tidak bermanfaat bagi orang lain, dalam arti pertolongan yang diberikan tidak memberi dalam manfaat bagi orang lain. Dalam arti ia engggan menolong orang lain dengan barang-barang yang dapat dimanfaat dan bermanfaat bagi orang lain.

Tafsir Pendidikan Surat al-kafirun

2010-11-04T19:12:00.004+07:00

1. Katakanlah: "Hai orang-orang kafir,

2. aku tidak akan menyembah apa yang kamu sembah.

3. dan kamu bukan penyembah Tuhan yang aku sembah.

4. dan aku tidak pernah menjadi penyembah apa yang kamu sembah,

5. dan kamu tidak pernah (pula) menjadi penyembah Tuhan yang aku sembah.

6. untukmu agamamu, dan untukkulah, agamaku."

Dalam pendidikan tidak ada paksaan tatkala ada perbedaan, akan tetapi menghargai perbedaan adalah suatu sikap yang baik dan bijak. Pendidik di dalam kelas akan menghadapi hal demikian. Sebab tidak semua peserta didik mempunyai agama yang sama. Dengan demikian sebagai pendidik perlu menyadarinya. Sehingga dalam pembelajaran tidak ada yang merasa ditekan dan di intimidasi. Jika suasana tidak kondusif maka pembelajaran tidak akan berlangsung dengan baik, peserta didik tidak akan konsentrasi dalamproses pembelajaran.

Berdasarkan surat Al-kafirun tersebut hendaknya guru mengedepankan sikap toleransi yang tinggi dalam hal perbedaan agama peserta didik. Sikap toleransi dalam hal beragama adalah perbuatan, sikap yang hendaknya dikembangkan oleh pendidik di ruang-ruang kelas. Sebab dengan adanya pengembangan dan pemahaman yang benar tentang sikap toleransi,akan terjalin hubungan yang abik di antara peserta didik.

Dari Surat Al-Kafirun tersebut dapat juga diambil pemahaman bahwa seorang pendidik harus mempunyai sifat toleran, sifat yang menghargai perbedaan dalam beragama.

Pendidik hendaknya mempunya jiwa multikultural, jiwa yang mampu menerima perbedaan agama, suku, bahsa, adat, budaya dan ras peserta didik. Dengn ada sifat multicultural seorang pendidik diharapkan akan terjadi pembelajaran yang mengakomodasi semua perbedaan peserta didik.

Tafsir Pendidikan Surat An-Nasr 1-3

2010-10-31T08:58:00.000+07:00

إذَا جَاءَ نَصْرُ اللَّهِ وَالْفَتْحُ (١)وَرَأَيْتَ النَّاسَ يَدْخُلُونَ فِي دِينِ اللَّهِ أَفْوَاجًا (٢)فَسَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّكَ وَاسْتَغْفِرْهُ إِنَّهُ كَانَ تَوَّابًا (٣)

1. apabila telah datang pertolongan Allah dan kemenangan,

2. dan kamu Lihat manusia masuk agama Allah dengan berbondong-bondong,

3. Maka bertasbihlah dengan memuji Tuhanmu dan mohonlah ampun kepada-Nya. Sesungguhnya Dia adalah Maha Penerima taubat.

Jika siswa telah ditolong oleh Allah, pendidik ditolong oleh Allah, maka kemenangan akan dating. Pada saat peserat didik dan pendidik mendapatkan pertolongan Allah, maka kita akan melihat manusia berduyun-duyun masuk kepada ajaran Allah, masuk dalam kelas-kelas pembelajaran Islam, kelasa-kelas yang membahas ilmu-ilmu, majelis ilmu akan ramai karena mereka telah dibuka hati mereka di mata Allah.

Jika hal itu telah terjadi banyak manusia yang dating ke majlis talim, majelis ilomu, maka kita akan melihat mereka menyembah Allah, memuji Allah, mereka kan selalu memohon ampun.

tafsir Pendidikan Surat Al kautsar1-3

2010-10-18T05:59:00.000+07:00

إِنَّا أَعْطَيْنَاكَ الْكَوْثَرَ (١)فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَانْحَرْ (٢)إِنَّ شَانِئَكَ هُوَ الأبْتَرُ (٣)
1. Sesungguhnya Kami telah memberikan kepadamu nikmat yang banyak.
2. Maka dirikanlah shalat karena Tuhanmu; dan berkorbanlah.
3. Sesungguhnya orang-orang yang membenci kamu Dialah yang terputus.
Dalam surat ini Allah telah memberikan informasi bahwa nikmat telah kitaterima dengan jumlah yang besar. Nikmat apapun telah kita terima. Di antaranya adalah nikmat iman, kesehatan, kesempatan dan nimat ilmu. Dengan nikmat tersebut kita dapat melakukansesuatu yang bermanfaat untuk orang lain. Nikmat imu midalnya, dapat kita gunakan untuk mengajar dan mendidik orang lain. Sebagai pendidik kita mendapatkan berbagai nikmat, seperti nikmat menjadi pengajar dan pendidik, nikmat ilmu pengetahuan dan nikmat kesempatan.
Semua hal itu adalah bagian nikmat allah yang besar kepada kita , maka pantaslah kita besyukur kepada allah atas semua nikmat tersebut. Kita perlu menyadari bahwa nikmat tersebut adalah pemberian Allah kepada kita.
Di sisi laian, kiatjuga mendapatkan nikmta bertemu dan mengajar serta mendidik anak didik kita/siswa kita. Mengajarkan danmendidik anak didik ada;ah nikmat besar yang diberikan Allah kepada kita, dengan adanya anak didik, amak ilmu kita dapat kita kembangkan, dapat kita berikan kepada mereka.
Untuk mensyukuri nikmat-nikmat tersebut hal yang perlu kita lakukan adalah bersyukur, yang kita buktian dengan perkataan, perbuatan dan keyakian hati.
Salat adalah satu bentuk dari rasa syukur atas semua nikmat yang telah kita terima. Dengan salat kita akan menjaga nikmat-nikmat tersebut, dengan salat semua karunia Allah dapat kita jaga. Bukan itu saja selain, saat perilaku rasa syukur dapat kita lakukan berkorban. Dengan berkorban kita telah melakukan perbuatan yang menunjukkan sikap syukur kepada Allah.
Darai penjelasan tersebut dapat dipahami bahwa nikmat yang banyak hendaknya disyukuri dengan salat dan kurban. Sebab jika nikmat yang banyak di dibarengi dengan sa;at dank urban , amka nikmat tersebut akan diputus oleh Allah. Dan pada akhirnya setiap pendidik dituntut untuk menanamkan rasa syukur kepada setiap siswa atas semua nikmat yang mereka terima. Sehingga peserta didik akanmenjadi anak-anak yang soleh

Tafsir pendidikan dalam surat Al-kafirun 1-6

2010-10-18T05:40:00.000+07:00

قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا الْكَافِرُونَ (١)لا أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ (٢)وَلا أَنْتُمْ عَابِدُونَ مَا أَعْبُدُ (٣)وَلا أَنَا عَابِدٌ مَا عَبَدْتُمْ (٤)وَلا أَنْتُمْ عَابِدُونَ مَا أَعْبُدُ (٥)لَكُمْ دِينُكُمْ وَلِيَ دِينِ (٦)
1. Katakanlah: "Hai orang-orang kafir,
2. aku tidak akan menyembah apa yang kamu sembah.
3. dan kamu bukan penyembah Tuhan yang aku sembah.
4. dan aku tidak pernah menjadi penyembah apa yang kamu sembah,
5. dan kamu tidak pernah (pula) menjadi penyembah Tuhan yang aku sembah.
6. untukmu agamamu, dan untukkulah, agamaku."
Dalam surat ini secara jelas Allah menyatakanbahawa dalam hal kepercayaan tidak ada kompromi. Jika kita mempunyai murid, maka birkan murid itu menganut kepercayaan mereka. Karena hal itu adalah hak mereka. Kita sebagai guru tidak berhak untuk memaksa murid yang berlainan agama untuk masuk agama kita/pendidik karena hal itu bertentangan dengan surat ini.
Dalama masalah social kita tidak dilaranag untuk saling bekerja sama, akan tetapi jika telah sampai kepada kerjasama dan kompromi da;am keyakinan maka hal ini tidak dibolehkan.
Untuk itu peru disadari oleh para guru, bahaw toleransi dianjurkan, akan tetapi hanya dalam batas-batas tertentu, hanya pada batas-batas hubungan sosial belaka. Akan tetapi jika telah merambah keyakinan, maka hal itu dilarang Karen akan menjadikankeyakinan koita terkontaminasi dan terkotori.
Dalam surat ini secara tidak langsung dapat dipahami bahwa tidak semua murid kita beragam yang sama, akan tetapi aka nada murid kita yang tidak sama keyakinannya, untuk itu ayat ini memberika penjelasan dan ramabu-ramabu agar kta tidak sa;a dalam menghadapi siswa kita yang berlainan agama.

Tafsir Pendidikan Surat An-Nashr 1-3

2010-10-16T10:37:00.001+07:00

إِذَا جَاءَ نَصْرُ اللَّهِ وَالْفَتْحُ (١)وَرَأَيْتَ النَّاسَ يَدْخُلُونَ فِي دِينِ اللَّهِ أَفْوَاجًا (٢)فَسَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّكَ وَاسْتَغْفِرْهُ إِنَّهُ كَانَ تَوَّابًا (٣)

1. apabila telah datang pertolongan Allah dan kemenangan,

2. dan kamu Lihat manusia masuk agama Allah dengan berbondong-bondong,

3. Maka bertasbihlah dengan memuji Tuhanmu dan mohonlah ampun kepada-Nya. Sesungguhnya Dia adalah Maha Penerima taubat.

Dari ayat tersebut dapat dipahami tatkala allah telah menolong seorang guru dalam pembelajaran, ketika para murid telah hanyaut dalam pembelajaran, telah terpikat oleh sosok guru dalam proses pembelajaran, maka sang guru jangan lupa kepada Allah. Guru hendaknya menyadari bahwa adanya murid yang antuias dalam mengikuti pembelajaran addalah kehendak Allah. Guru hanya berusaha, pendidik hanya berusaha berbuat yang maksimal dalam menyiapkan pembelajaran.

Dalam posisi puncak konsentrasi pendidikan diharapkan tidak terlena dan lupa diri. Karena hal itu akan mengacaukan,akan member pengaruh negtaif terhadap psikologis peserta didik.

Maka yang hendaknya dilakukan oleh seorang pendidik adalah selalu menjaga kondisi dan situasi tersebut tetap kondusif, sehingga pembelajaran berlangsung aman dan tertib, dan pada akhirnya akan mencapai tujuan pembelajaran. Di samping tetap menjaga kondisi siswa agar tetap focus, pendidikan hendakan membanrenginya dengan sikap, perbuatan dan perkataan dan menunjukkan rasa syukur kepada Allah. Hal inilah yang hendaknya dilakukan oleh pendidik.

Tafsir Pendidikan Surat Al-Lahab 1-5

2010-10-16T10:26:00.000+07:00

تَبَّتْ يَدَا أَبِي لَهَبٍ وَتَبَّ (١)مَا أَغْنَى عَنْهُ مَالُهُ وَمَا كَسَبَ (٢)سَيَصْلَى نَارًا ذَاتَ لَهَبٍ (٣)وَامْرَأَتُهُ حَمَّالَةَ الْحَطَبِ (٤)فِي جِيدِهَا حَبْلٌ مِنْ مَسَدٍ (٥)

1. binasalah kedua tangan Abu Lahab dan Sesungguhnya Dia akan binasa.

2. tidaklah berfaedah kepadanya harta bendanya dan apa yang ia usahakan.

3. kelak Dia akan masuk ke dalam api yang bergejolak.

4. dan (begitu pula) istrinya, pembawa kayu bakar.

5. yang di lehernya ada tali dari sabut.

Dalam surat ini Allah memberikan pelajaran kepada kita bahwasetiap perbuatan yang kita lakukan akan mempunyai akibat kepada kita sendiri. Dalam hal ini Allah memberikan satu contoh sosok Abu Lahab. Sosok manusia yang jahat kepada rasulullah SAW. Perbuatan jahatnya kepada Nabi SAW akan menimpa dirinya sendiri.

Dengan demikian dapat dipahami bahwa tatkala kita melakukan sesuatu , maka akibat baik atau buruk akan kita terima. Demikian juga dalam hal pembelajaran, tatkala siswa melakukan sesuatu pembelajaran, maka hal itu akan member pengaruh terhadap apa yang dilakukan dalam pembelajaran. Sikap kritis dan memikirkan akibat dan efek dari perbuatan yang dilakukan, penting dimiliki oleh seseorang.

Dapat dipahami juga bahwa tatkala perbuatan kita yang tidak sesuai dengan Allah SWT. Maka perbuatan, pembelajaran tersebut tidak akan memberi manfaat. Bahkan akan cenderung membawa seseorang pada jalan negative, jalan negative yang mengarah kepada kehancuran dan kesengsaraan hidup. Kenapa hal ini dapat terjadi satu alasannya adalah karena perbuatan yang kita lakukan, perbuatan yang langsung menggunakan tangan, kekuatan, kekuasaan yang kita punya akan cenderung member efek kepada kita sendiri. Hal ini dapat dipahami dari sosok Abu Lahab yang selalu memusuhi Rasul SAW. Yang pada akhirnya membawa Abu Lahab ke jalan kesengsaraan dan kemurkaan Allah.

Kegagalan,kesengsaraan dan ketakbergunaan semua usaha dalam pembelajaran, dapat dipahami dari ayat berikutnya (Qs. Al-Lahab:2). Apapun persiapan, apapun langkah dan rencana yang telah kita buat akan sia-sia dan tidak memebri manfaat tatkala ada pelanggaran, pembangkangan yang kita lakukan kepada Allah.

Tatkala seorang siswa, seorang guru gagal dalam pembelajaran, akan cenderung menyalahkan orang lain, jarang yang melakukan perbaikan terhadap dirinya. kesalahan yang dilkukannnya sering dilemparkan kepada orang lain. Dengan kata lain selalu mencari penyebab dari luar, sedanag penyebab dari dalam dirinya tidak tersentuh.hal ini dapat dipahami darai sikapistri Abu Lahab yang selalu menemabr fitnah. Dia selalu berusaha mengajak orang lain untuk melakukan hal yang sama seperti yang ia lakukan kepada Nabi SAW

tafsir pendidikan surat al-Ikhlas 1-4

2010-10-12T20:59:00.001+07:00

قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ (١)اللَّهُ الصَّمَدُ (٢)لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ (٣)وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ (٤)

1. Katakanlah: "Dia-lah Allah, yang Maha Esa.

2. Allah adalah Tuhan yang bergantung kepada-Nya segala sesuatu.

3. Dia tiada beranak dan tidak pula diperanakkan,

4. dan tidak ada seorangpun yang setara dengan Dia."

Dalam ayat ini Allah mengajarkan kepada kita bahwa Allah adalah satu.

Allah adalah tunggal tidak Tuhan selain allah. Maka dalam pendidikan yang perlu ditanamkan adalah rasa tauhid yang benara. Rasa bertuhan yang benar dan mengetahui siapa yang pantans dan berhak untuk disembah.

Dalam segala hal kita dituntut oleh Allah untuk selalu bergantung hanya kepada Allah, bukan bergantung kepada orang lain. Pelajaran yang dapat dipetik dari ayat kedua dari suarat al-Ikhlas adalah sebuah pelajaran tentang tauhid, tentang kehebatan Allah sebagai sumber rujukan, sumber tempat bergantung semua makhluk.

Yang perlu disadari adalah bahwa Allah tidak mempunyai anak dan istri, tidak mempunyai keturunan. Maka dalam dunia pendidikan, menanamkan akidah kepada anak didik hendaknay didasari oleh pengetahuan yang baik dan mendalam.

Pada ayat keempat Allah member informasi bahwa di dunia ini dan di alam araya ini tidak ada yang setara dengan Allah. Tidak satupun makhluk ciptaannya sama dengan Allah. Hal mrmbuktikan Al-Quran benar-benar berisi berbagai hal yang dibutuhkan manusia.

tafsir Pendidikan Surat al-falaq 1-5

2010-10-12T20:48:00.001+07:00

قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ الْفَلَقِ (١)مِنْ شَرِّ مَا خَلَقَ (٢)وَمِنْ شَرِّ غَاسِقٍ إِذَا وَقَبَ (٣)وَمِنْ شَرِّ النَّفَّاثَاتِ فِي الْعُقَدِ (٤)وَمِنْ شَرِّ حَاسِدٍ إِذَا حَسَدَ (٥)

1. Katakanlah: "Aku berlindung kepada Tuhan yang menguasai subuh,

2. dari kejahatan makhluk-Nya,

3. dan dari kejahatan malam apabila telah gelap gulita,

4. dan dari kejahatan wanita-wanita tukang sihir yang menghembus pada buhul-buhul

5. dan dari kejahatan pendengki bila ia dengki."

Sebagai manusia yang percaya kepada Tuhan, maka selayaknya menyadari bahaw dalam setipa kegiatan hendaknya di mulai dengan berlindung kepada allah. Memohon pertolongan dan perlindungan kepada Allah. Dengan berlindung kepada Allah, maka kita akan terhindar dari godaan setan dan gangguan setan, jin dan manusia yang jahat. Dalam ayat mendidik manusia agar selalu waspada. Karena tidak semua makhluk Allah baik, ada saja yang menjadi musuh bagi manusia.

Musuh manusia adalah kegelapan, baik kegelapan akhlak, kegelapan ilmu, kegelapan semau hal yang mungkin dapat menyesatkan manusia dari jalan Allah. Untuk itu manusia perlu mneydarai bahaw di dunia ini banyak jebakan dan kepungan yang di buat oleh setan dan bala tentaranya. Yang kesemua itu bertujuan agar manusia terjebak dalam perangkap mereka dan melupakan Allah.

Surat Al-falaq merupakan rambu-rambu yang sengaja dibuat allah untuk manusia. Yang bertujuan agar manuysiatidak sesat dan disesatkan oleh setan yang sengaja berusaha menjerumuskan manusia dalam kesesatan.

Pendidikan dalam Surat Annas

2010-10-12T06:46:00.001+07:00

قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ (١)مَلِكِ النَّاسِ (٢)إِلَهِ النَّاسِ (٣)مِنْ شَرِّ الْوَسْوَاسِ الْخَنَّاسِ (٤)الَّذِي يُوَسْوِسُ فِي صُدُورِ النَّاسِ (٥)

1. say: I seek refuge with the Lord and Cherisher of mankind,
2. the king (or Ruler) of mankind,
3. the Allah (for judge) of mankind,-
4. from the mischief of the Whisperer (of Evil), who withdraws (after His whisper),-
5. (the same) who whispers into the hearts of mankind,-
6. among Jinns and among men.

1. Katakanlah: "Aku berlidung kepada Tuhan (yang memelihara dan menguasai) manusia.
2. raja manusia.
3. sembahan manusia.
4. dari kejahatan (bisikan) syaitan yang biasa bersembunyi,
5. yang membisikkan (kejahatan) ke dalam dada manusia,
6. dari (golongan) jin dan manusia.
Kita disuruh Allah untuk menjadi manusia yang selalu terpaut dengan Allah di manapun dan kapanpun. Kita dianjurkan dan dierintah Allh untuk mencari pelrindungan hanya kepada Allah. Karen hanya Allah yang berhak dijadikan sebagai pelindung. Hal inimemberi arti bahwa pendidikan yang dilakukan oeh Allah kepada manusia adalah sebuah proses agar manusia menjadi Allah sebagai satusataunya pelindung. Karena hanya Allah yang berhak untuk dijakain sebagai pelindung.
Nilai pendidikan yang dapat kita ambil darai ayat ini dalah kita di suruh menguasai dan memelihara manusia dalam naungan allah, iai meberi kesanbbahwa jika kita penjadi penguasa yang perlu kita lakukan adalah mencari perlidungan kepada Allah agar dalam meimimpin dan menguasai manusia selalu diridhoi oleh Allah. Menguasai dalam arti mampu mengendalikan orang yang kita pimpin.
Kita dijarakan noleh Allah untuk menjadi pelindung bagi manusia, hal ini member kesan bahwa sikap dan karakter kita sebagai hamab Allah adalah ahmba yang peduli kepada manusia yang lain, peduli dalam arti selalu memberi rasa aman dan selalu memeliharahubungan baik dan mampu memeliharanya.

Yang kita jadikan sebagai tempat berlindung adalah Allah, Tuhan manusia dan raja segala raja manusia, yaitu Allah SWT. Kiat hendaknya menyadari bahwa Allah adalah satu-satunya Tuhan.
Kita didik oleh Allah untuk menyadari bahwa yang berhak dijadikan pelindung adalah Allah yang menguasai manusia, menguasai hari pembalasan dan sekaligus raja diraja manusia.
Kiat diajarkan oleh Allah untuk menyadari bahwa bisikan setan dan jin ada dimana-mana. Yang yang mampu mengatasai hal itu hanya Allah. Maka kita dianjurkan untuk selalu dekat kepada Allah dan memohon perlindungan kepada Allah.
Kiat didik oleh Allah bhawa setan, Jin dan manusia yang mempunyai hati seta nada di sekita kita, mka kita disuruh oleh Allah untuk selalu waspada selalumemohon perlindungan

Pendidikan Dalam Surat Al--fatehah

2010-10-12T06:16:00.003+07:00

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ (١)الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ (٢)الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ (٣)مَالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ (٤)إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ (٥)اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ (٦)صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلا الضَّالِّينَ (٧)
1. In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
2. Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds;
3. Most Gracious, Most Merciful;
4. Master of the Day of Judgment.
5. Thee do we worship, and Thine aid we seek.
6. Show us the straight way,
7. the way of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy Grace, those whose (portion) is not wrath, and who go not astray.

1. dengan menyebut nama Allah yang Maha Pemurah lagi Maha Penyayang[1].
2. segala puji[2] bagi Allah, Tuhan semesta alam[3].
3. Maha Pemurah lagi Maha Penyayang.
4. yang menguasai[4] di hari Pembalasan[5].
5. hanya Engkaulah yang Kami sembah[6], dan hanya kepada Engkaulah Kami meminta pertolongan[7].
6. Tunjukilah[8] Kami jalan yang lurus,
7. (yaitu) jalan orang-orang yang telah Engkau beri nikmat kepada mereka; bukan (jalan) mereka yang dimurkai dan bukan (pula jalan) mereka yang sesat.[9]

[1] Maksudnya: saya memulai membaca al-Fatihah ini dengan menyebut nama Allah. Setiap pekerjaan yang baik, hendaknya dimulai dengan menyebut asma Allah, seperti makan, minum, menyembelih hewan dan sebagainya. Allah ialah nama zat yang Maha Suci, yang berhak disembah dengan sebenar-benarnya, yang tidak membutuhkan makhluk-Nya, tapi makhluk yang membutuhkan-Nya. Ar Rahmaan (Maha Pemurah): salah satu nama Allah yang memberi pengertian bahwa Allah melimpahkan karunia-Nya kepada makhluk-Nya, sedang Ar Rahiim (Maha Penyayang) memberi pengertian bahwa Allah Senantiasa bersifat rahmah yang menyebabkan Dia selalu melimpahkan rahmat-Nya kepada makhluk-Nya.
sebagai manusia yang baik, selalu melakukan sesuatu yang baik, dalam ayat ini kita disuruh untuk menjadi orang yang selalu ingat Allah dimanapun kapanpundan dalam situasi apapun, termasuk setiap akan melakukan sesuatu. hal ini memberi kesan bahwa ayat ini mengajak kita untuk menjadi orang yang selalu terdidik dan terbimbing oleh Allah SWT.
[2] Alhamdu (segala puji). memuji orang adalah karena perbuatannya yang baik yang dikerjakannya dengan kemauan sendiri. Maka memuji Allah berrati: menyanjung-Nya karena perbuatannya yang baik. lain halnya dengan syukur yang berarti: mengakui keutamaan seseorang terhadap nikmat yang diberikannya. kita menghadapkan segala puji bagi Allah ialah karena Allah sumber dari segala kebaikan yang patut dipuji. dalam ayat ini kita didik untukselalu bersyukur atas semua nikmat yang kiat terima. dengan demikian pendidikan dan pembentukan karakter manusia yang selalu muda berterima kasih, pribadi yang murah dan suka mengucapkan rasa syukur, baik dengan ucapan maupun perbuatan. ayat ini mendidik kitauntuk menjadi mausia yang selalu menerima segala sesuatu dengan lapang dada, dengan rasa terima kasih dan hormat atas semua yang diberikan kepada kita baik yang kita rasakan enak maupun tidak enak.

[3] Rabb (tuhan) berarti: Tuhan yang ditaati yang Memiliki, mendidik dan Memelihara. Lafal Rabb tidak dapat dipakai selain untuk Tuhan, kecuali kalau ada sambungannya, seperti rabbul bait (tuan rumah). 'Alamiin (semesta alam): semua yang diciptakan Tuhan yang terdiri dari berbagai jenis dan macam, seperti: alam manusia, alam hewan, alam tumbuh-tumbuhan, benda-benda mati dan sebagainya. Allah Pencipta semua alam-alam itu. kita diajarkan untuk menjadi pendidik di alam ini, pendidik bagi semua tanpa pandang siapa yang akan kita didik, yang jelas mengarah kepada pembentukan anak didik yang baik di mata manusia dan di mata allah SWT.
[4] Maalik (yang menguasai) dengan memanjangkan mim,ia berarti: pemilik. dapat pula dibaca dengan Malik (dengan memendekkan mim), artinya: Raja. Allah sebagai raja di dunia dan akherat. untuk meneladanai hal oini kita dianjurkan untuk enjadi raja bagi diri sendiri. kita di didik untuk menjadi sosok manusia yang mampau menjadi penguasa atas diri sendiori. dengan menguasai dirio sendiri, maka kita telah didik oleh diri sendiri menjadi pribadi yang kuat, pantang menyerah dan tangguh. dengan pribadi seperti itu kita akan makin dekat dengan Allah, karena kita telah mampu menguasai diri dari penjajahan hawa nafsu kita sendiri dan berusaha mengarahkannya ke jalan yang di sukai oleh Allah.
[5] Yaumiddin (hari Pembalasan): hari yang diwaktu itu masing-masing manusia menerima pembalasan amalannya yang baik maupun yang buruk. Yaumiddin disebut juga yaumulqiyaamah, yaumulhisaab, yaumuljazaa' dan sebagainya. kita didik untuk selalu menerima orang lain apa adanya , pakah ia baik maupun buruk. dengan menerima keadaan mereka apa adanya kita akan sadar bahwa Allah enciptakan manusia beragam, sehingga kita tidak ada pilih kasih, akan tetapi kita menerima orang apa adanya, sesuai dengan keadaan mereka, buka diukur oleh keadaan kita.
[6] Na'budu diambil dari kata 'ibaadat: kepatuhan dan ketundukkan yang ditimbulkan oleh perasaan terhadap kebesaran Allah, sebagai Tuhan yang disembah, karena berkeyakinan bahwa Allah mempunyai kekuasaan yang mutlak terhadapnya.
[7] Nasta'iin (minta pertolongan), terambil dari kata isti'aanah: mengharapkan bantuan untuk dapat menyelesaikan suatu pekerjaan yang tidak sanggup dikerjakan dengan tenaga sendiri. kita didik oleh Allah untuk menjadi generasi yang suka ibadah, generasi yag suka berdoa, generasi yang dekat dengan Allah. generasi yang mencintai salat, dan generasi yang menyuakai dan memakmurkan rumah allah.
[8] Ihdina (tunjukilah kami), dari kata hidayaat: memberi petunjuk ke suatu jalan yang benar. yang dimaksud dengan ayat ini bukan sekedar memberi hidayah saja, tetapi juga memberi taufik. kita didik oleh Allah untuk slelau menjadi pribadi yang selalu menunjukkan kebenaran kepada orang lain, kiat juga dituntut untuk enjadi generasi yang jujur, lurus dan benar. intinya kita didik oleh Allah untuk menjadi generasi, menjadi manusia yang lurus jalan hidupnya, lurus dalamarti sikap dan perbuatannyadisukai oleh manusia da Allah SWT.
[9] Yang dimaksud dengan mereka yang dimurkai dan mereka yang sesat ialah semua golongan yang menyimpang dari ajaran Islam. kita didik oleh Allah untuk menghindari jlan yag dimurkaioeh Allah. hal ini memberi kesan bahwa Allah mendidik manusia untuk menjauhisegala sesuatuyang dimurkai oleh Allah.

useful in the world useless in akherat

2010-08-16T17:18:00.000+07:00

there are ten things that became the pride of man in the world. all of which are not useful in akherat:
ie property, children, beauty, eloquence, glory, dear friends and relatives, retainers, descendant, spouse, strength

do not be arrogant

2010-08-11T05:57:00.002+07:00

Allaah says (in a hadith Qudsi): "Greatness (arrogance or cockiness) is my clothes and majesty. Whoever robs one (of them), I throw him into hell (inferno)." (Narrated by Abu Dawood).
hence in this world there's nothing to disombongkan, because pride is only belongs to God, belongs to the Almighty. to the weakness of self-awareness is the best way that we avoid the wrath of God.
something which we are proud of, we will not be able to penetrate the earth and pierce the sky, the gods prostrate with sincerity and humility.

Our Small Place in Allah’s Creation

2010-05-30T08:17:00.000+07:00

riwayat attubani-People sometimes fancy themselves as being all-important, looking disdainfully from side to side, holding their noses high in the air. But if they would only regard these great and awe-inspiring creations around them, it would give them a sense of humility and they would become humble before their Lord.

Things to Consider:

1. At the time of conception, between five and six hundred million sperm cells pass through the vaginal tract, each of them capable of fertilizing the egg and becoming a human being. But Allah in His wisdom selects one from all of those millions to fertilize the egg, and this one will develop into the fully-formed human being Allah chooses to create, a being that by Allah’s grace possesses the capacity to reason and to dispose of its affairs.

This is how we were all created, so we should feel humility in recognition of the greatness and grandeur of our Lord. We should remember our humble beginnings so we can appreciate the vast difference between that little drop of mixed fluid from which we were conceived and the fully formed human beings we are today. This should compel us to glorify Allah, remain aware of Him at all times, and thank Him.

2. There are over one hundred trillion cells in the human body. Inside each of these cells are organelles, systems, complex processes, and vast stores of information. Each and every detail of the cell glorifies its Lord while carrying out its role in the cell in an exemplary manner.

The nucleus of each cell contains roughly 31 billion nucleotides – the four molecular “letters” on the DNA molecule that spell out the genetic traits of the living organism and regulate its functioning. It is this information that an organism inherits from its father and mother.

This vast number of molecular “letters” that make up our DNA are duplicated in every one of the hundred trillion cells of our bodies. Each one of these letters attests to the greatness of Allah who created them.

3. When we look up at the night sky, we stare off into the vastness of space and the billions of galaxies that are over our heads. Each galaxy is in turn a conglomeration of billions of stars, and these stars are all at various stages in their life-cycles. Some are in the process of being formed. Some are young, others mature, while others are in the throes of death. Each of these stars glorifies Allah in space the vastness of which boggles the mind. Allah alone knows the full extent of the universe. If we imagine a space ship capable of travelling at the speed of light, 186 thousand miles per second, it would take thousands of years for that spaceship to cross a single galaxy, let alone what is beyond it.

Allah says: “But nay! I swear by all that you see, and by all that you do not see.” [Sūrah al-Hāqqah: 38-39]

Allah also says: “Nay, I swear by the places of the stars, and verily that is a tremendous oath, if you but knew.” [Sūrah al-Wāqi`ah: 75-76]

A given galaxy might contain from 100 million to a billion stars, and every day scientists are discovering something new about outer space. The means of observation presently available to science are still quite limited. We, as created beings, should see the greatness of Allah in His creation and view ourselves with humility.

The natural world is an open book that extols the praises of Allah. “The seven heavens and the Earth and all that is therein praise Him, and there is not a thing but hymns His praise; but you do not understand their praise.” [Sūrah al-Isrā’: 44]

Allah also says: “Do you not see that all things that are in the heavens and on Earth bow down in worship to Allah – the Sun, the Moon, the stars; the hills, the trees, the animals, and a great number of human beings? But a great number are (also) such as are fit for punishment. And those whom Allah shall disgrace none can raise to honor, for Allah carries out all that He wills.” [Sūrah al-Hajj: 18]

All the beauty and splendor of the universe that we can see is but a small glimpse of the Creator’s ingenuity.

When a believer reflects on Allah’s creation, it reveals something of the greatness of Allah and His immense wisdom. It brings peace to the believing heart and fortifies a believer’s faith.

Allah says: “Behold! In the creation of the heavens and the Earth, and the alternation of night and day are indeed Signs for people of understanding – those who remember Allah standing and sitting and lying on their sides and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the Earth, saying: Our Lord! You have not created this in vain! Glory be to You. Save us then from the chastisement of the fire:” [Sūrah Āl `Imrān: 190-191]./source; http://en.islamtoday.net

Heaven & Earth and the beasts He scattered in both…" – Extra-Terrestrial Life?

2010-04-08T08:41:00.000+07:00

Riwayat Attubani-Allah says: "And among His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the beasts that He has scattered throughout them both: and He has power to gather them together when He wills." [Sûrah al-Shûrâ: 29]

Human beings have long wondered: Are we alone in this vast universe? Do any other thinking beings exist on other worlds?

We have reason to wonder. Is our planet the only one to bear the fruit of life from among the countless planets of the universe? Is such an eventuality likely? In Allah's creation, does a tree with many branches bear only a single fruit?

A small insect that lives its whole life feeding from a single grape might not be aware that any other grapes exist. However, we are thinking beings, and we can contemplate something outside of our immediate experience. We know there are worlds around other stars, and even if it turns out that the conditions that allow for life are rare, we know for a fact that the Earth possesses these conditions. Allah's universe is truly vast, and around all those countless stars, would not the conditions found on Earth be repeated over and over again? Allah creates everything for a purpose. He who created us and gave us the ability to think is certainly capable of doing so elsewhere in the universe.

Scientists suspect that due to the vastness of space, there must be other intelligent life out there, other civilizations in the universe. They have, as a consequence, committed considerable resources to the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence (SETI). The SETI program employs powerful radio telescopes to detect the broadcasts of other intelligent beings who might exist but who would be forever separated from us by insurmountably vast distances and the limitation of the speed of light.

Some Muslims, though, have their reservations about these ideas. They ask: Where in the Qur'ân does it mention extra-terrestrial life? However, a better question would be: Does the Qur'ân say anything that relates to the topic one way or the other?

Consider the verse: "And We have honored the progeny of Adam and carried them on land and on sea, given them for sustenance things good and pure; and preferred them greatly over many of those whom We have created." [Sûrah al-Isrâ': 70]

We might ask - glancing at the sky when we do – where are those others whom Allah has preferred with special endowments? It would be wrong of us to jump ahead of ourselves and assert that the verse is speaking about extra-terrestrial beings living on other worlds. At the same time, we certainly have no reason to object to the possibility of extra-terrestrial life.

Now we must look at the verse: "And among His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the beasts that He has scattered throughout them both: and He has power to gather them together when He wills." [Sûrah al-Shûrâ: 29]

Allah's words: "throughout them both" (fîhimâ) cannot be interpreted except to mean that the living things mentioned in the verse exist both within the heavens and on Earth. The word we have translated as "beasts" is dâbbah, which can only refer to animate living organism that trod upon the land. The word can apply to animals or even to humans, but it always indicates living creatures that the ability to walk. It is not possible to interpret this word in any other way or claim that it refers in this verse to "angels".

Interpreting the "beasts" that exist in the heavens to refer to angels is shown to be an erroneous interpretation by another verse where Allah makes a clear distinction between the two: "Everything in the heavens and on Earth from among the beasts and the angels makes obeisance to Allah, and they are not haughty." [Sûrah al-Nahl: 49]

As for intelligent life, though there is no textual evidence that refers to it decisively, there is certainly enough evidence to allow for its possibility. In many verses, Allah uses the pronoun "who" (man) – which is used in Arabic to refer to rational beings – to refer to the denizens of the heavens and the Earth.

Allah says: "All who are in the heavens and on Earth make obeisance to Allah, willingly or unwillingly, as do their shadows in the morning and the evening." [Sûrah al-Ra`d: 15]

He says: " Unto Him belongs all who are in the heavens and on Earth. And those who dwell in His presence are not too proud to worship Him, nor do they weary." [Sûrah al-Anbiyâ': 19]

He also says: "All who are in the heavens and on Earth but come to the Beneficent as a servant. He takes account of them all, and has numbered them all precisely." [Sûrah Maryam: 93-94]

From the expressions of the Qur'ân, a Muslim should have no objection to the possibility of extra-terrestrial life and extra-terrestrial intelligence. There is no incompatibility between Islamic teachings and the idea of life existing on other worlds.

And Allah knows best.

Allah's Decree, Free Will, and Our Sins

2010-04-08T08:33:00.000+07:00

Riwayat Attubani-Everything in existence is subject to Allah’s will and power. For Muslims, this goes without saying. It is an essential tenet of every Muslim's faith. Allah says: "Indeed, Allah has power over all things."

However, this is no excuse for human beings to evade responsibility for their own decisions. No one can argue that it was their fate to sin. We know this from firsthand experience. We know instinctively that we make our own decisions. We choose to do some things and refrain from doing other things. We carry out intentional actions. We intend, for instance, to travel or stay at home, to eat or to sleep. When we carry out these and other intentional actions, we recognize that we are doing so of our own volition.

It is on the basis of these intentions of ours that Allah judges us. We are not judged for the involuntary actions of our bodies, nor for what we are forced to do under compulsion or duress.

This is why we see that Allah says: “Whoever disbelieves in Allah after having believed – save one who is coerced (to make an utterance of unbelief) but whose heart is still fully resolved upon faith – but whoever finds ease in unbelief: on them is Allah’s wrath, and they will have an awful punishment.” [Sūrah al-Nahl: 106]

Whoever is coerced into something to the point that he or she has no choice but to comply, then he or she is legally exempt for that action in this world and sinless for it in the Hereafter. We are taken to account for what we do of our own free choice.

Many people put forth questions about free will and predestination with the sole aim of justifying their sinful tendencies. Whenever someone admonishes them for their sins, they say: “What I did was fated for me. It was Allah’s will. I had no choice.”

When we consider what the Qur’an says about our actions, we see that Allah connects our free will to His permitting us to carry out actions by our own choice. Allah says: "But you do not exercise you will, except that Allah wills it; for Allah is full of Knowledge and Wisdom." [Sûrah al-Insân: 30]

We are furthermore told in the Qur’an that no one could believe or disbelieve except with Allah’s permission. Allah has permitted us to make the choice. If Allah had willed to subdue our wills, He could have compelled us to do one thing or another. Instead, He has permitted us to make our own choices and formulate our own intentions. This means we cannot avoid taking responsibility for the decisions we make.

Allah, in His wisdom, has given us an indisputable proof of our free will. This proof is our own unavoidable recognition that we make our own decisions. We can tell the difference between the involuntary movements of our body, like our heartbeats, and the free choices that we make. Therefore, those who wantonly goes about sinning, exercising their free choice all the way, cannot then turn around and say that Allah compelled them to sin.

Setting an Example of Piety

2010-04-08T08:25:00.000+07:00

Riwayat Attubani-One day, close to noontime, while the Prophet (peace be upon him) was sitting and conferring with his Companions, a group of desert dwellers approached. Their purpose was none other than to represent their people to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and declare their faith in Islam. The Prophet (peace be upon him) regarded them. It was obvious from their appearance that they were from a log way off and that their journey had been a hard one. They had no shoes on their feet. Their clothes were scant and threadbare, and amounted to nothing more than scraps of bound cloth. They had no possessions with them and were starving.

The Prophet's face became strained with sorrow and concern. He looked at them with compassion. Then he stood up, turned and went into his house. After a while, he returned and instructed Bilâl to call the people to prayer. Then the Prophet led the Muslims in the Noon Prayer.

Afterwards, he stood at the pulpit and recited verses of the Qur'ân which exhort to goodwill and charity. Then he said: "A man should donate some of his gold or silver, or a container of flour, or a container of dates…" until he finally appealed "…or even if but half a date." In this way, he encouraged all the Muslims to give what they could.

He then took his seat and waited for his Companions to help out their brothers who had come to them in such straitened circumstances. No one acted immediately. The minutes of inaction seemed long and heavy. The Prophet's displeasure with such a response could be seen on his face.

Then a man from the natives of Madinah came forward with a large purse full of silver so big he was barely able to carry it in both his hands. He said: "Messenger of Allah! This is for the sake of Allah."

By taking the initiative, he broke the heavy spell of silence and inactivity, for right then, Abû Bakr stood up and made a donation. Then `Umar came forward with charity. Then everyone came forward with what they could give of food, clothing, and money. The Prophet's face shone with joy as looked at the pile of food and clothing that had been placed before him.

However, his attention was drawn more strongly to that man who had been the first to give and in doing so broke the impasse of hesitation. The Prophet (peace be upon him) then said: "Whoever sets a good precedent in Islam will have the blessing for doing so as well as the blessing for everyone who acts upon it thereafter, without their blessings being diminished in the least. And whoever sets an evil precedent in Islam will have the sin for doing so as well as the sin of everyone who acts upon it thereafter, without their sis being diminished in the least." [Sahîh Muslim: (1017)]

From this event, we can draw valuable lessons regarding the importance, in Islamic work, of taking initiative and of setting practical and conspicuous examples.

We can see the effect the native of Madinah had on everyone else by his taking the initiative and bringing that bag of silver to the Prophet (peace be upon him). The people had been hesitating. However, after the people saw someone make a conspicuous donation, they all rushed to follow suit. It may be true that some of them may have given substantially more than he did, but it was his setting the precedent that got them to do so. This is the reason why the Prophet (peace be upon him) informed him that those who set a good precedent receive the blessings of all those who follow suit. He was, in effect, congratulating that man for taking the initiative.

We also learn from the story that we do not have to be famous celebrities or prominent people for our initiative to count. We do not even know the name of the man who brought the first bag of silver. All we know is that he was a native of Madinah. Nevertheless, he set a precedent that was immediately followed by the two most eminent citizens of the Muslim community – Abû Bakr and `Umar.

Therefore, we should never feel that we are too unimportant or insignificant to set a public example. That unnamed man did not get intimidated by the presence of those community leaders. He was not shy to be the first person to do something good. By being bold, he received the blessings of Abû Bakr, `Umar, and all the other important – and sometimes extremely wealthy – people who gave their donations after him.

In fact, taking the initiative is often what makes people successful. If we look at the lives of great leaders, people of influence, and reformers, we find that those lives are a series of positive initiatives. This is how they became so influential, and this is why they were able to have an enduring legacy.

Doing a good deed in public to set a good precedent is not the same as doing it for personal fame. It is something we do purely for Allah's sake. It is not showing off to do a good deed conspicuously with the sincere intention of teaching people what is right, or for setting a good example, or for publicizing a public welfare program to make it a success. It is, in fact, a good way of calling people to Allah.

Sometimes, the worst thing we can do is fail to do a good deed out of shyness or fear of being seen by others. Al-Fudayl b. `Iyâd said: "Abandoning good deeds because of the people is showing off."

France's Islamic heartland

2010-04-06T19:08:00.000+07:00

Riwayat attubani-The wooded hills of deepest Burgundy are the unlikely setting for a place that could play a key role in the development of a European Islamic identity.

The sound of Arabic mingles with the birdsong

The unhelpfully-named European Institute for Human Sciences (IESH) is in fact a theological college, which for 13 years has been training up a new generation of indigenous imams for France and the rest of the continent.

In the heart of what the French call "La France profonde" (deepest France) - amid the herds of cream-coloured cattle and the breathtaking scenery of the Morvan natural park - veiled young women sit studiously at their texts.

The sound of Arabic mingles with the birdsong.

Here a generation has grown up with French as its mother tongue

Zuhair Mahmoud

"Why are you surprised to find us here? Religious institutions have always sought remote locations to encourage contemplation and inner thought.

"Here we are dead in the centre of France," said Zuhair Mahmoud, 51, the IESH's founder and director.

New generation

Zuhair Mahmoud is a former Iraqi nuclear scientist, who was sent to France by Saddam Hussein 20 years ago as part of a co-operation deal with Paris.

But prompted by his misgivings about atomic weapons he underwent a religious conversion and stayed in exile.

Zuhair Mahmoud: We live in France and accept its laws

"In the 1980s it became clear that the Muslims of France and Europe were integrating definitively in their adopted countries.

"Here a generation has grown up with French as its mother tongue," he told me in his office in the institute's main building - a converted holiday centre.

"These people need imams to pass on the religious values of their parents.

"Leaders from elsewhere cannot do it because they do not understand the language or the customs and habits that prevail here. They have to come from inside."

The 170 students take a two-year Arabic course, and then can stay on for a four-year qualification in Islamic jurisprudence, Koranic studies, history and preaching.

Three-quarters are French, and the rest from elsewhere in Europe.

Western freedoms

"I was very surprised to learn this place existed because I always thought France was intolerant of Muslims," said Adil Rehman, a 33-year-old computer programmer from Stratford in east London, who is in his fourth year.

The silence of the national park encourages contemplation

"The first time I came here, I got completely lost. I was wandering round the countryside at two o'clock in the morning."

According to Adil Rehman, the college plays a vital role by creating a generation of Muslims capable of interpreting Islam to the West and vice-versa.

"The irony is that this type of institute can only really develop in the freedom provided by the West.

"But the reason is clear if you think about it. Here the political systems have no understanding of Islam, so they cannot direct it or make people think in a particular way.

"In the East, it is different. Governments there are well-versed in manipulation. They know what they want you to learn and what they don't want you to learn," he said.

Another British student, Kazi Luthfur Rahman, 19, from Poplar, came to the IEHS after giving up his ambition to study in the holy city of Medina.

It has been easy for men in our society to tell us what to do by saying it comes from religion

Aziza from Strasbourg

"It is certainly a bit isolated after London, but you get used to it. My only problem is at mealtime. I cannot stand French food!" said Kazi Luthfur Rahman, who last year took third prize in the International Holy Koran Competition in Egypt.

Around 70 students are young women - they wear headscarves but share classes with the men.

Many said their aim was to return to their communities to teach Arabic and share their new knowledge of Islam.

"What we have learned is to distinguish between law and custom," said Aziza from Strasbourg in eastern France.

Liberal anxiety

"It has been easy for men in our society to tell us what to do by saying it comes from religion. But things like forced marriage are not in Islamic law. They are only customs and can be discarded," she said.

The IEHS is fully supported by the French Government, whose policy is to encourage a homegrown Islamic identity and wean the five-million-strong community away from its financial and doctrinal dependence on foreign states.

These people are a real threat to secularism

Antoine Sfeir, Paris Middle East Studies Centre

Last week elections were held for a French Council for the Muslim Religion - which is set to become Islam's first ever official representation in France.

Zuhair Mahmoud was himself chosen for the Council's general assembly.

However not all Muslims are happy with the course Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy has taken, nor with the growing influence of the IEHS and its parent body, the Union of Islamic Organisations in France (UOIF).

Progressives note that the UOIF is linked to the highly conservative movement, the Muslim Brotherhood, and fear that Sarkozy has taken the easy option by dealing with the traditionalist establishment instead of working with more liberal forces.

"For a long time the UOIF has been trying to infiltrate the cogs of state and assume control of the Muslim community by marginalising secular Muslims," said Antoine Sfeir, president of the Middle East Studies Centre in Paris.

"These people are a real threat to secularism," he said.

But Zuhair Mahmoud is quick to retort: "Have we done anything to counter France's humanistic values?

"We believe that to live in a country you must accept its laws. If we didn't accept them, then we would live elsewhere."

A Memo to American Muslims

2010-04-06T19:03:00.000+07:00

Riwayat Attubani-In the name of Allah, the most Benevolent and the Most Merciful. May this memo find you in the shade of Islam enjoying the mercy, the protection and the grace of Allah.

I am writing this memo to you all with the explicit purpose of inviting you to lead the American Muslim community in soul searching, reflection and reassessment.

What happened on September 11th in New York and Washington DC will forever remain a horrible scar on the history of Islam and humanity. No matter how much we condemn it, and point to the Quran and the Sunnah to argue that Islam forbids the killing of innocent people, the fact remains that the perpetrators of this crime against humanity have indicated that their actions are sanctioned by Islamic values.

The fact that even now several Muslim scholars and thousands of Muslims defend the accused is indicative that not all Muslims believe that the attacks are unIslamic. This is truly sad.

Even if it were true that Israel and the US are enemies of the Muslim World, wonder what is preventing them from unleashing their nuclear arsenal against Muslims, a response that mercilessly murders thousands of innocent people, including hundreds of Muslims is absolutely indefensible. If anywhere in your hearts there is any sympathy or understanding with those who committed this act, I invite you to ask yourself this question, would Muhammad (pbuh) sanction such an act?

While encouraging Muslims to struggle against injustice (Al Quran 4:135), Allah also imposes strict rules of engagement. He says in unequivocal terms that to kill an innocent being is like killing entire humanity (Al Quran 5:32). He also encourages Muslims to forgive Jews and Christians if they have committed injustices against us (Al Quran 2:109, 3:159, 5:85).

Muslims, including American Muslims have been practicing hypocrisy on a grand scale. They protest against the discriminatory practices of Israel but are silent against the discriminatory practices in Muslim states. In the Gulf one can see how laws and even salaries are based on ethnic origin. This is racism, but we never hear of Muslims protesting against them at International fora.

The Israeli occupation of Palestine is perhaps central to Muslim grievance against the West. While acknowledging that, I must remind you that Israel treats its one million Arab citizens with greater respect and dignity than most Arab nations treat their citizens. Today Palestinian refugees can settle and become citizens of the United States but in spite of all the tall rhetoric of the Arab world and Quranic injunctions (24:22) no Muslim country except Jordan extends this support to them.

While we loudly and consistently condemn Israel for its ill treatment of Palestinians we are silent when Muslim regimes abuse the rights of Muslims and slaughter thousands of them. Remember Saddam and his use of chemical weapons against Muslims (Kurds)?. Remember Pakistani army’s excesses against Muslims (Bengalis)?. Remember the Mujahideen of Afghanistan and their mutual slaughter? Have we ever condemned them for their excesses? Have we demanded international intervention or retribution against them? Do you know how the Saudis treat their minority Shias? Have we protested the violation of their rights? But we all are eager to condemn Israel; not because we care for rights and lives of the Palestinians, we don’t. We condemn Israel because we hate “them".

Muslims love to live in the US but also love to hate it. Many openly claim that the US is a terrorist state but they continue to live in it. Their decision to live here is testimony that they would rather live here than anywhere else. As an Indian Muslim, I know for sure that nowhere on earth, including India, will I get the same sense of dignity and respect that I have received in the US. No Muslim country will treat me as well as the US has. If what happened on September 11th had happened in India, the biggest democracy, thousands of Muslims would have been slaughtered in riots on mere suspicion and there would be another slaughter after confirmation. But in the US, bigotry and xenophobia has been kept in check by media and leaders. In many places hundreds of Americans have gathered around Islamic centers in symbolic gestures of protection and embrace of American Muslims. In many cities Christian congregations have started wearing hijab to identify with fellow Muslim women. In patience and in tolerance ordinary Americans have demonstrated their extraordinary virtues.

It is time that we acknowledge that the freedoms we enjoy in the US are more desirable to us than superficial solidarity with the Muslim World. If you disagree than prove it by packing your bags and going to whichever Muslim country you identify with. If you do not leave and do not acknowledge that you would rather live here than anywhere else, know that you are being hypocritical.

It is time that we faced these hypocritical practices and struggled to transcend them. It is time that American Muslim leaders fought to purify their own lot.

For over a decade we have watched as Muslims in the name of Islam have committed violence against other Muslims and other peoples. We have always found a way to reconcile the vast distance between Islamic values and Muslim practices by pointing out to the injustices committed upon Muslims by others. The point however is this – our belief in Islam and commitment to Islamic values is not contingent on the moral conduct of the US or Israel. And as Muslims can we condone such inhuman and senseless waste of life in the name of Islam?

The biggest victims of hate filled politics as embodied in the actions of several Muslim militias all over the world are Muslims themselves. Hate is the extreme form of intolerance and when individuals and groups succumb to it they can do nothing constructive. Militias like the Taliban have allowed their hate for the West to override their obligation to pursue the welfare of their people and as a result of their actions not only have thousands of innocent people died in America, but thousands of people will die in the Muslim World.

Already, half a million Afghans have had to leave their homes and their country. The war has not yet begun. It will only get worst. Hamas and Islamic Jihad may kill a few Jews, women and children included, with their suicide bombs and temporarily satisfy their lust for Jewish blood, but thousands of Palestinians then pay the price for their actions.

The culture of hate and killing is tearing away at the moral fabric of the Muslim society. We are more focused on “the other” and have completely forgotten our duty to Allah. In pursuit of the inferior jihad we have sacrificed the superior jihad.

Islamic resurgence, the cherished ideals of which pursued the ultimate goal of a universally just and moral society has been hijacked by hate and call for murder and mayhem. If Bin Laden were an individual then we would have no problem. But unfortunately Bin Laden has become a phenomenon -- a cancer eating away at the morality of our youth, and undermining the spiritual health of our future.

Today the century old Islamic revival is in jeopardy because we have allowed insanity to prevail over our better judgment. Yes, the US has played a hand in the creation of Bin Laden and the Taliban, but it is we who have allowed them to grow and gain such a foothold. It is our duty to police our world. It is our responsibility to prevent people from abusing Islam. It is our job to ensure that Islam is not misrepresented. We should have made sure that what happened on Sept. 11th should never have happened.

It is time the leaders of the American Muslim community woke up and realized that there is more to life than competing with the American Jewish lobby for power over US foreign policy. Islam is not about defeating Jews or conquering Jerusalem. It is about mercy, about virtue, about sacrifice and about duty. Above all it is the pursuit of moral perfection. Nothing can be further away from moral perfection than the wanton slaughter of thousands of unsuspecting innocent people.

I hope that we will now rededicate our lives and our institutions to the search for harmony, peace and tolerance. Let us be prepared to suffer injustice rather than commit injustices. After all it is we who carry the divine burden of Islam and not others. We have to be morally better, more forgiving, more sacrificing than others, if we wish to convince the world about the truth of our message. We cannot even be equal to others in virtue, we must excel.

It is time for soul searching. How can the message of Muhammad (pbuh) who was sent as mercy to mankind become a source of horror and fear? How can Islam inspire thousands of youth to dedicate their lives to killing others? We are supposed to invite people to Islam not murder them.

The worst exhibition of Islam happened on our turf. We must take first responsibility to undo the evil it has manifest. This is our mandate, our burden and also our opportunity.

The Seal of Wisdom of the Breath of Angelic Inspiration (1) in the Word of Shith (Seth)

2010-01-10T07:16:00.000+07:00

Riwayat Attubani-Know that the gifts and favours which appear in phenomenal being through human beings or without them fall into two categories: the gifts of the Essence and the gifts of the Divine Names. These two categories are distinct among the people of tasting according to whether as they come from a specific request for a specific thing, from a general request, or without any request. This applies whether they are gifts of the Essence or gifts of the Divine Names. They are specific when someone says, "O Lord, give me such-and-such a thing," and specifies something which occurs to him. They are general when someone says, "Give me what You know is good for all my parts, subtle and gross," without specifying it.

The askers fall into two groups - one group makes the request from a natural impulse to hasten its attainment, "for man is impetuous;" (17:11) and the other group asks because they know that there are matters with Allah which, in the foreknowledge of Allah, are only obtained after a request. They say, "Perhaps what I ask of Him is something of that sort." Their request takes into consideration this possibility. They do not know what is in the knowledge of Allah, nor what their capacity to receive will grant them. This is because it is one of the most difficult things to know capacity at any moment, for it refers to the capacity of the individual at that time. Furthermore, had he not been disposed by his capacity to make the request, he would not have made that particular request.

The goal of the people of presence, (2) who do not possess such a knowledge, is to know it in the moment in which they find themselves. They know by their state of presence what Allah has given them in that moment. and they only receive it by their predisposition for it. They are of two sorts: one group knows their predisposition from what they have already received, and the other group knows what they are going to receive based on their predisposition. This latter group has the most perfect recognition of predisposition.

Among this group are those who make a request, neither to hasten it nor for the possibilities of favour, but rather to comply with the command of Allah when He says, "Call on Me and I will answer you." (40:60) This sort of person is the pure slave and when he asks, his aspiration (himma) is not attached to what he asks for, be it specific or not, rather his aspiration is merely in or not, rather his aspiration is merely in obedience to his Lord's command. When his state requires, he asks for slavehood, and when it requires entrustment [to Allah] and silence, he is silent. So Ayyub and others were tried, and they did not ask Allah to remove their affliction from them. Then at another moment, their state required that they ask that it be removed, and Allah removed it from them.

The immediate granting of a request, or its deferment, depends on the decree which has been determined for it by Allah. If the request coincides with the moment, the answer comes quickly, and if the moment is deferred - either in this world or the next, the answer is also deferred except for the answer from Allah which is, "At your service" (3) - so understand this well!

As for the second category, it is received without making a request, and by "without request" we mean verbal expression of it. In actuality, there must always be a request - be it articulated, or by a state, or from a predisposition. Similarly, unrestricted praise only takes place through verbal expression. The state determines the meaning, for that which induces you to praise Allah is determined for you by a Name of Action (4) or a Name of Disconnection. (5) In the case of the predisposition of the slave, its possessor is not conscious of it, but he is aware of his state because he knows both what his motive is and the state itself. Predisposition is the most hidden form of making requests.

That which prevents some people from asking is their knowledge that Allah has predetermined their destiny, so they have prepared themselves to receive whatever comes from Him, and they have withdrawn from their selves and their desires.

Among these people are those who know that the knowledge which Allah has of them in all their states is their basic constitution in the state of their permanent source-form from before existence. They know that Allah will only give them what their source allows them according to Allah's knowledge of it when they were in their permanent source-forms. Thus these people know that Allah knows the way they will obtain anything.

There is no higher, nor more unveiled group among the People of Allah than this group, who understand on the secret of the Decree. They, in turn, fall into two sorts: those who know it in general and those who know it in particular. Those who know it in particular are higher and nearer perfection than those who know it in general. Such a person knows what is in the knowledge of Allah for him - be it by Allah informing him of the knowledge his own source has accorded to Him, or be it by direct unveiling to him from his permanent source-form whose unfolding states are endless. So he, in his knowledge of himself, is in the position of having Allah's knowledge of him, because it is derived from the same source. In respect of the slave, concern from Allah is predestined for him, and it is constituted by the sum of the states of his source which the possessor of this unveiling perceives when Allah allows him to perceive it, i.e. the states of his source. When Allah informs him of the states of his permanent source-form upon which the form of his existence depends, it is not in the capacity of the creature in this state to perceive what Allah perceives of his permanent source-form upon which the form of his existence depends, it is not in the capacity of the creature in this state to perceive what Allah perceives of these permanent sources in the state of their non-existence, since they are but essential relations without any form. In this respect, we say that divine concern precedes the slave's need because of this equivalence in the communication of knowledge.

In this way Allah speaks so that we will know, and it is an expression which is completely specific - not as is imagined by those who do not drink from this source. The goal of disconnection is to make that in-timeness in knowledge belong to Knowledge. It is the highest aspect of this question which the mutakallim (6) can comprehend with his intellect - unless he considers knowledge to be distinct from the Essence. If he does this, he ascribes relativity to knowledge, and not to the Essence, and because of this, he sets himself apart from the realised ones among the People of Allah, who are endowed with unveiling and real existence.

Let us return to those gifts which are either the gifts proceding from the Essence or the Names. As for the favours, gifts and graces of the Essence, they only come by means of divine tajalli. (7) Tajalli only comes from the Essence by means of the form of the predisposition of the one to whom the tajalli is made. It never occurs otherwise. The one who receives the tajalli will only see his own form in the mirror of the Real. He will not see see the Real, for it is not possible to see Him. At the same time, he knows that he sees only his own form. It is the same as a mirror in the Visible world inasmuch as you see forms in it or your own form but do not see the mirror. At the same time, however, you know that you see the forms, or your own form, only by virtue of the mirror. Allah manifests that as a model (8) appropriate to the tajalli of His Essence, so that the one receiving the tajalli knows that he does not see Him. There is no model nearer or more appropriate to vision and tajalli than this. When you see a form in a mirror, try to see the body of the mirror as well - you will never see it. It is true that some people who perceive this say that the reflected form is imposed between the vision of the seer and the mirror. This is the most that it is possible to say, and the matter is as we have mentioned. We have clarified this in the The Makkan Revelations.

If you wish to taste this, then experience the limit beyond which there is no higher limit possible in respect of the creature. Neither aspire to, nor tire yourself out in trying to go beyond this degree, for in principle, there is only pure non-existence after it.

Thus Allah is your mirror in which you see yourself, and you are His mirror in which He sees His Names. His Names are not other than Himself, as you know. The matter is confusing. One of us implied ignorance of the matter as part of knowledge and said, "The incapacity to achieve perception is perception." (9) Some of us know but do not express it in this way, even though it is the highest of words. Knowledge does not give incapacity to know as the first one said, but rather knowledge gives him the same silence which incapacity gives. This is the highest level of those who have knowledge of Allah.

This knowledge only belongs to the Seal of the Messengers and the Seal of the Awliyâ'. The Messengers and Prophets only see it from the niche of the Messenger who is the Seal. The awliyâ' only see it from the niche of the walî who is the Seal. Even the Messengers only see it to the extent that they see it from the niche of the Seal of the Awliya', for Message and Prophethood - by which I mean the Prophethood of bringing the Sharî'a and its message - ceases, but wilâya never ceases. Thus the Messengers, imuch as they are awliya', see what we have mentioned only from the niche of the Seal of the Awliya'. How could it be different for other awliyâ'? Although the Seal of the Awliyâ' is subject to the judgement which the Seal of the Messengers brought through the Sharî;a, that does not diminish his station nor does it detract from what we have said, for something which is lower from one point of view can be higher from another. Confirmation of this occurred in the history of our Sharî'a in the excellence of the judgement of 'Umar regarding the prisoners of Badr (10) and their treatment, and in the story of fertilization of the date-palms. (11) It is not necessary that the perfect have precedence in everything and in every rank. The Rijâl (12) regard precedence as being in the degrees of knowledge of Allah. Here is their goal. As for the things which are in-time, they do not attach their thoughts to them, so realise what we have mentioned!

Al-Khidr said to Musa, "I have knowledge which Allah has taught me, and which you do not know, and you have knowledge which Allah has taught you and which I do not know." (13)

It is like the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in relation to a brick wall which was complete except for one brick, (14) and the Prophet was that one brick although he himself only saw the place for the single brick. The Seal of the Awliyâ' must also have this sort of vision. He sees the same as the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saw, but he sees a place for two bricks in the wall, and that the bricks are made of gold and silver. He sees that there are two bricks missing in the wall, and he sees that they are a silver brick and a gold brick. He must see himself as being disposed by nature to fill the place of these two bricks. The Seal of the Awliyâ' is these two bricks by which the wall is completed. The necessary reason for which he sees himself as two bricks is that he follows the Shari'a of the Seal of the Messengers outwardly - which is the place of the silver brick. This means the outward Sharî'a with all that pertains to it of ordinances which are taken from Allah by the secret, according to the outward form which conforms to the secret because he sees the matter for what it really is. He must see the matter in this manner, for it is the place of the golden brick in the inwardly hidden. It is taken from the source from which the angel brought it, the same angel who brought the revelation to the Mesengers. If you have understood what I have alluded to, then you have indeed acquired useful knowledge!

All the Prophets, from Adam to the last of the Prophets, take their light from the niche of the Seal of the Prophets, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Even though the existence of his clay was deferred, the last Prophet was nevertheless present in his reality, according to his statement, "I was a Prophet when Adam was between water and clay." (15) Every other Prophet only became a Prophet by being described by divine qualities inasmuch as Allah is described as the Praiseworthy Wali.(16)

The Seal of the Messengers, in respect to his wilâya, is connected to the Seal of the Awliyâ' in the same way in which Prophets and Messengers are connected to it. He is a walî, Messenger, and Prophet. The Seal of the Awliyâ' is a walî and the heir who takes directly from the source, contemplating the ranks. He is the most beautiful of the beauties of the Seal of the Messengers, Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, the overseer of the community, and the master of the sons of Adam by reason of opening the door of intercession. He specified a particular state which is not universal. (17) In this special state, he has precedence over the Divine Names. So the All-Merciful only mediates with the Avenger for the people of affliction through the intercession of the mediators. Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, obtained mastery in this special station. Whoever understands the ranks and the stations does not find this discourse difficult.

As for the gifts of the Names, know that Allah bestows mercy on His creation which is wholly from the names. Either it is a pure mercy, like the excellence of the provision which they have in this world or on the Day of Rising which is bestowed by that name, the Merciful, and so is a gift of mercy, or it is a mixed mercy like the taking of a disagreeable remedy which is followed by relief - it is still a divine gift. Divine gifts can only possibly be given through the intermediary of the guardians of the Names. Sometimes Allah gives it to the slave by means of the All-Merciful, and so the gift is pure from any adulteration which would be contrary to the nature of the moment, otherwise he would not receive the object and what would resemble it. Sometimes He gives by means of the the Boundless, so it is general - or by the Wise, so He looks at what is fitter at the moment, or by the Giving, who gives what is good without those who receive it having to compensate for it by gratitude or deed. He gives by the Compeller, and so He looks at the environment and what is necessary to it. He gives by the Forgiving and so He looks to the environment and what is happening to the individual. If he is in a state which merits punishment, He veils him from it, and if he is in a state which does not merit punishment, He protects him from a state which would merit it. He is "protected from wrong action", "safeguarded", and other descriptions of that sort. The Giver is Allah in the sense that He is the Treasurer of all that is in His treasury, and Allah only brings forth from it according to a predestined decree through the intermediary of a name particular to that matter. So He gives everything its created form (18) according to the name, the Just, and its brothers.

The Names of Allah are endless because they are known by what comes from them, and what comes from them is endless, even though they can be traced back to the limited roots which are the matrices of the Names or the presences of the Names. In reality, there is but one of the Names or the presences of the Names. In reality, there is but One Reality which assumes all these relations and aspects which are designated by the Divine Names. The Reality grants that each of the Names, which manifest themselves without end, has a reality by which it is distinguished from another Name. It is that reality by which it is distinguished which is the Name itself - not that which it shares.

It is the same with the gifts - every gift is distinct from another by personal nature, although they come from a single source. It is evident that this one is not that one. That is because the Names are distinct. Because of its boundlessness, in the Divine Presence there is nothing at all which repeats itself. This is the truth which is determined.

This was the knowledge of Shith, peace be upon him, and its spirit aids every spirit which discusses the like of this, except for the spirit of the Seal who receives replenishing knowledge directly from Allah, not from any spirit. No, rather it is from his spirit that his substance flows to all spirits, although he may not perceive that of himself at the time when his elemental body existed. However, in respect to his reality and his rank, he knows all of that essentially, just as he is ignorant of the composition of the elements (of his body). So he has knowledge and is ignorant, and he is capable of being described by contrary attributes even as the Origin admits of description with opposites such as the Majestic and the Beautiful, the Outward and the Inward, the Last and the First - and they are the same, and not other than Him. Therefore, he knows and does not know, and he perceives and does not perceive, and he sees and does not see. It is by this knowledge that Shith received his name because it means "the gift". In His hand is the key to the gifts in their various types and relationships So Allah gave him to Adam, and he was the first gift, and He only gave it from Himself.

This was the knowledge of Shith, peace be upon him, and its spirit aids every spirit which discusses the like of this, except for the spirit of the Seal who receives replenishing knowledge directly from Allah, not from any spirit. No, rather it is from his spirit that his substance flows to all spirits, although he may not perceive that of himself at the time when his elemental body existed. However, in respect to his reality and his rank, he knows all of that essentially, just as he is ignorant of the composition of the elements (of his body). So he has knowledge and is ignorant, and he is capable of being described by contrary attributes even as the Origin admits of description with opposites such as the Majestic and the Beautiful, the Outer and the Inner, the Last and the First - and they are the same, and not other than Him. Therefore, he knows and does not know, and he perceives and does not perceive, and he sees and does not see. It is by this knowledge that Shith received his name because it means "the gift". In His hand is the key to the gifts in their various types and relationships So Allah gave him to Adam, and he was the first gift, and He only gave it from Himself.

All gifts in phenomenal being are manifested in this fashion - so no one receives anything from Allah and no-one receives anything which does not come from himself. Not everyone recognises this. Only a few of the people of Allah know it. When you see one who recognises that, rely on him, for that one is the source of the purest purity and the elite of the elite of the Men of Allah. Whenever a person of unveiling sees a form which communicates to him gnosis which he did not have and which he had not been able to grasp before, that form is from his own source, no other. From the tree of himself he gathers the fruits of his cultivation, as his outer form opposite the reflected body is nothing other than himself, even though the place of the presence in which he sees the form of himself presents him with an aspect of the reality of that presence through transformation. The large appears small in the small mirror and tall in the tall, and the moving as movement. It can reverse its form from a special presence, and it can reflect things exactly as they appear, so the right side of the viewer is his right side, while the right side can be on the left. This is generally the normal state in mirrors, and it is a break in the norm when the right side is seen as the right and inversion occurs. All this is from the gifts of the reality of the Presence in which it is manifested and which we have compared to the mirror.

Whoever recognises his predisposition, recognises what he will receive. Not everyone who knows what he will receive, knows his predisposition, unless he knows it after receiving it, and this one knows it in a general way. Some people who are weak of intellect think that since it confirmed with them that Allah does what He wills, they deem it admissible that He could contradict wisdom and what the matter is in itself. (19) Because of this, some of them go so far as to deny the possibility and affirm that which is necessary by essence and by other. The man who has achieved realisation, however, admits the possibility and knows its presence and knows what is possible and how it is possible, since in its source it is necessarily existent because of something other-than-it. From where is the name of other, which determines its necessity, valid for it? No one knows this distinction except those with particular knowledge of Allah.

It is in the footsteps of Shith that the last of this human species will be born, and he will carry his secrets. There will none of this species born after him, so he will be the Seal of the Begotten. A sister will be born with him, and she will emerge before him, and he will follow her with his head at her feet. He will be born in China, and he will speak the language of his country. Sterility will spread in men and women, so there will be much cohabitation without conception. He will call people to Allah, but will not be answered. When Allah takes him and the believers of his time, those who remain will be like beasts, not knowing what is lawful (halâl) from what is unlawful (harâm). They will act according to their natural instincts with lust, devoid of reason and law. Upon them the Last Hour will occur.

Notes to to Chapter 2:

1. Nafth, to puff, blow or spit, hence inspiration. Hadith, "He (Jibril) inspired or put (nafatha) into my heart..." Hence poetry is called the nafth of Shaytan.
2. The people of the presence are those who see everything as coming to them from Allah and everything as effected by Allah.
3. Labbayk.
4. Like the Giving, the Provider.
5. Tanzih, making Allah free of any connection to His creation. Names like the Absolutely Pure (al-Quddûs).
6. The people of words - theologians and philosophers. They are unable to enter the realm of reflection and meditation that is the Sufic domain, and thus some of them oppose the Sufic teaching - mistaking the doctrine's meanings since they cannot intellectually identify them with a specific set of physical practices and direct inner experience.
7. A manifestation by which something is made clear and unobscured, as the bride is displayed to the husband or the rust removed from a sword or mirror so that it shines. The tajalli is the unveiling of a spiritual reality in the realm of vision. It is a direct-seeing into the nature of existence, a showing forth of the secrets of the One in the celestial and terrestial realms.
8. Mithâl, a Qur'anic term which indicates learning not by logical but by analogical method. It is simply the ACCESS to the parable and not the parable or any idea that the "metaphor" equals its interpretation. It has no specificity. Mithal is grasped "on the wing" so to speak. It cannot be explored or analysed or extended. That is to say it must not be approached rationally but emphathetically with direct and clear seeing-into.
9. Abu Bakr as-Siddiq.
10. After Badr, Abu Bakr asked the Prophet to either forgive or allow the prisoners to be ransomed. 'Umar said that they should be killed. Eventually, the Muslims reached a consensus that the captives should be ransomed and they were. Later the verse was revealed, "It is not for a Prophet to take captives..." (8:67)
11. When the Prophet had been asked about whether palm-trees should be pollinated and then later said, "You have the best knowledge of these things of your world."
12. Rijal (sing. rajul): The men. Meaning the men of gnosis and illumination. Those who know - that is - who know how-it-is, and not the veiled fantasy experience of so-called ordinary sensory perception which is, as we now know, in direct contradiction to the physical reality of matter according to high-energy physics.
13. cf. Qur'an 18:65.
14. Hadith in al-Bukhari (2815) and Muslim.
15. Hadith in at-Tirmidhi and Musnad Ibn Hanbal.
16. Qur'an 42:28, "It is He who sends down abundant rain after they have lost all hope, and He unfolds His mercy; He is the Praiseworthy, the Wali."
17. He only can open the door of intercession because it is a a special gift to him alone.
18. Qur'an 20:50: "Our Lord is He who gives each thing its created form and then guides it."
19. i.e. they permit that He do the impossible, like making existence non-existence or non-existence existence.

Islamic Medicine: 1000 years ahead of its times

2009-12-17T07:16:00.000+07:00

Riwayat-Attubani-Within a century after the death of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) the Muslims not only conquered new lands, but also became scientific innovators with originality and productivity. They hit the source ball of knowledge over the fence to Europe. By the ninth century, Islamic medical practice had advanced from talisman and theology to hospitals with wards, doctors who had to pass tests, and the use of technical terminology. The then Baghdad General Hospital incorporated innovations which sound amazingly modern. The fountains cooled the air near the wards of those afflicted with fever; the insane were treated with gentleness; and at night the pain of the restless was soothed by soft music and storytelling. The prince and pauper received identical attention; the destitute upon discharge received five gold pieces to sustain them during convalescence. While Paris and London were places of mud streets and hovels, Baghdad, Cairo and Cardboard had hospitals open to both male and female patients; staffed by attendants of both sexes. These medical centers contained libraries pharmacies, the system of interns, externs, and nurses. There were mobile clinics to reach the totally disabled, the disadvantaged and those in remote areas. There were regulations to maintain quality control on drugs. Pharmacists became licensed professionals and were pledged to follow the physician's prescriptions. Legal measures were taken to prevent doctors from owning or holding stock. in a pharmacy. The extent to which Islamic medicine advanced in the fields of medical education, hospitals, bacteriology, medicine, anesthesia, surgery, pharmacy, ophthalmology, psychotherapy and psychosomatic diseases are presented briefly.

INTRODUCTION
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) who is ranked number one by Michael Hart, a Jewish scholar, in his book The 100: The Most Influential Persons in History, was able to unite the Arab tribes who had been tom by revenge, rivalry, and internal fights, and produced a strong nation acquired and ruled simultaneously, the two known empires at that time, namely the Persian and Byzantine Empires. The Islamic Empire extended from the Atlantic Ocean on the West to the borders of China on the East. Only 80 years after the death of their Prophet, the Muslims crossed to Europe to rule Spain for more than 700 years. The Muslims preserved the cultures of the conquered lands. However when the Islamic Empire became weak, most of the Islamic contributions in an and science were destroyed. The Mongols bunt Baghdad (1258 A.D.) out of barbarism, and the Spaniards demolished most of the Islamic heritage in Spain out of hatred.

The Islamic Empire for more than 1000 years remained the most advanced and civilized nation in the world. This is because Islam stressed the importance and respect of learning, forbade destruction, developed in Muslims the respect for authority and discipline, and tolerance for other religions. The Muslims recognized excellence and hungering intellectually, were avid for the wisdom of the world of Galen, Hippocrates, Rufus of Ephesus, Oribasius, Discorides and Paul of Aegina. By the tenth century their zeal and enthusiasm for learning resulted in all essential Greek medical writings being translated into Arabic in Damascus, Cairo, and Baghdad. Arabic became the International Language of learning and diplomacy. The center of scientific knowledge and activity shifted eastward, and Baghdad emerged as the capital of the scientific world. The Muslims became scientific innovators with originality and productivity. Islamic medicine is one of the most famous and best known facets of Islamic civilization, and in which the Muslims most excelled. The Muslims were the great torchbearers of international scientific research. They hit the source ball of knowledge over the fence to Europe. In the words of Campbell' "The European medical system is Arabian not only in origin but also in its structure. The Arabs are the intellectual forebears of the Europeans."

The aim of this paper is to prove that the Islamic Medicine was 1000 years ahead of its times. The paper covers areas such as medical education, hospitals, bacteriology, medicine, anesthesia, surgery, ophthalmology, pharmacy, and psychotherapy.

MEDICAL EDUCATION
In 636 A.D., the Persian City of Jundi-Shapur, which originally meant beautiful garden, was conquered by the Muslims with its great university and hospital intact. Later the Islamic medical schools developed on the Jundi-Shapur pattern. Medical education was serious and systematic. Lectures and clinical sessions included in teaching were based on the apprentice system. The advice given by Ali ibnul-Abbas (Haly Abbas: -994 -A.D.) to medical students is as timely today as it was then'. "And of those things which were incumbent on the student of this art (medicine) are that he should constantly attend the hospitals and sick houses; pay unremitting attention to the conditions and circumstances of their intimates, in company with the most astute professors of medicine, and inquire frequently as to the state of the patients and symptoms apparent in them, bearing in mind what he has read about these variations, and what they indicate of good or evil."

Razi (Rhazes: 841-926 A.D.) advised the medical students while they were seeing a patient to bear in mind the classic symptoms of a disease as given in text books and compare them with what they found (6).

The ablest physicians such as Razi (Al-Rhazes), Ibn-Sina (Avicenna: 980-1037 A.D.) and Ibn Zuhr (Avenzoar: 116 A.D.) performed the duties of both hospital directors and deans of medical schools at the same time. They studied patients and prepared them for student presentation. Clinical reports of cases were written and preserved for teaching'. Registers were maintained.

Training in Basic Sciences
Only Jundi-Shapur or Baghdad had separate schools for studying basic sciences. Candidates for medical study received basic preparation from private tutors through private lectures and self study. In Baghdad anatomy was taught by dissecting the apes, skeletal studies, and didactics. Other medical schools taught anatomy through lectures and illustrations. Alchemy was once of the prerequisites for admission to medical school. The study of medicinal herbs and pharmacognosy rounded out the basic training. A number of hospitals maintained barbel gardens as a source of drugs for the patients and a means of instruction for the students.

Once the basic training was completed the candidate was admitted as an apprentice to a hospital where, at the beginning, he was assigned in a large group to a young physician for indoctrination, preliminary lectures, and familiarization with library procedures and uses. During this pre-clinical period, most of the lectures were on pharmacology and toxicology and the use of antidotes.

Clinical training: The next step was to give the student full clinical training. During this period students were assigned in small groups to famous physicians and experienced instructors, for ward rounds, discussions, lectures, and reviews. Early in this period therapeutics and pathology were taught. There was a strong emphasis on clinical instruction and some Muslim physicians contributed brilliant observations that have stood the test of time. As the students progressed in their studies they were exposed more and more to the subjects of diagnosis and judgment. Clinical observation and physical examination were stressed. Students (clinical clerks) were asked to examine a patient and make a diagnosis of the ailment. Only after an had failed would the professor make the diagnosis himself. While performing physical examination, the students were asked to examine and report six major factors: the patients' actions, excreta, the nature and location of pain, and swelling and effuvia of the body. Also noted was color and feel of the skin- whether hot, cool, moist, dry, flabby. Yellowness in the whites of the eye (jaundice) and whether or not the patient could bend his back (lung disease) was also considered important (8).

After a period of ward instructions, students, were assigned to outpatient areas. After examining the patients they reported their findings to the instructors. After discussion, treatment was decided on and prescribed. Patients who were too ill were admitted as inpatients. The keeping of records for every patient was the responsibility of the students.

Curriculum: There was a difference in the clinical curriculum of different medical schools in their courses; however the mainstay was usually internal medicine. Emphasis was placed on clarity and brevity in describing a disease and the separation of each entity. Until the time of Ibn Sina the description of meningitis was confused with acute infection accompanied by delirium. Ibn Sina described the symptoms of meningitis with such clarity and brevity that there is very little that can be added after I 000 yearS6. Surgery was also included in the curriculum. After completing courses, some students specialized under famous specialists. Some others specialized while in clinical training. According to Elgood9 many surgical procedures such as amputation, excision of varicose veins and hemorrhoids were required knowledge. Orthopedics was widely taught, and the use of plaster of Paris for casts after reduction of fractures was routinely shown to students. This method of treating fractures was rediscovered in the West in 1852. Although ophthalmology was practiced widely, it was not taught regularly in medical schools. Apprenticeship to an eye doctor was the preferred way of specializing in ophthalmology. Surgical treatment of cataract was very common. Obstetrics was left to midwives. Medical practitioners consulted among themselves and with specialists. Ibn Sina and Hazi both widely practiced and taught psychotherapy. After completing the training, the medical graduate was not ready to enter practice, until he passed the licensure examination. It is important to note that there existed a Scientific Association which had been formed in the hospital of Mayyafariqin to discuss the conditions and diseases of the patients.

Licensing of Physicians: In Baghdad in 931 A.D. Caliph Al-Muqtadir learned that a patient had died as the result of a physician's error. There upon he ordered his chief physician, Sinan-ibn Thabit bin Qurrah to examine all those who practiced the art of healing. In the first year of the decree more than 860 were examined in Baghdad alone. From that time on, licensing examinations were required and administered in various places. Licensing Boards were set up under a government official called Muhtasib or inspector general . The Muhtasib also inspected weights and measures of traders and pharmacists. Pharmacists were employed as inspectors to inspect drugs and maintain quality control of drugs sold in a pharmacy or apothecary. What the present Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is doing in America today was done in Islamic medicine I 000 years ago. The chief physician gave oral and practical examinations, and if the young physician was successful, the Muhtasib administered the Hippocratic oath and issued a license. After 1000 years licensing of physicians has been implemented in the West, particularly in America by the State Licensing Board in Medicine. For specialists we have American Board of Medical Specialties such as in Medicine, Surgery, Radiology, etc. European medical schools followed the pattern set by the Islamic medical schools and even in the early nineteenth century, students at the Sorbonne could not graduate without reading Ibn Sina's Qanun (Cannon). According to Razi a physician had to satisfy two condition for selection: firs0y, he was to be fully conversant with the new and the old medical literature and secondly, he must have worked in a hospital as house physician.

HOSPITALS
The development of efficient hospitals was an outstanding contribution of Islamic medicine (7). Hospitals served all citizens free without any regard to their color, religion, sex, age or social status. The hospitals were run by government and the directors of hospitals were physicians.

Hospitals had separate wards for male patients and female patients. Each ward was furnished with a nursing staff and porters of the sex of the patients to be treated therein. Different diseases such as fever, wounds, infections, mania, eye conditions, cold diseases, diarrhea, and female disorders were allocated different wards. Convalescents had separate sections within them. Hospitals provided patients with unlimited water supply and with bathing facilities. Only qualified and licensed physicians were allowed by law to practice medicine. The hospitals were teaching hospitals educating medical students. They had housing for students and house-staff. They contained pharmacies dispensing free drugs to patients. Hospitals had their own conference room and expensive libraries containing the most up-to-date books. According to Haddad, the library of the Tulum Hospital which was founded in Cairo in 872 A.D. (I 100 years ago) had 100,000 books. Universities, cities and hospitals acquired large libraries (Mustansiriyya University in Baghdad contained 80,000 volumes; the library of Cordova 600,000 volumes; that of Cairo 2,000,000 and that of Tripoli 3,000,000 books), physicians had their own extensive personal book collections, at a time when printing was unknown and book editing was done by skilled and specialized scribes putting in long hours of manual labour.

For the first time in history, these hospitals kept records of patients and their medical care.

From the point of view of treatment the hospital was divided into an out- patient department and an inpatient department. The system of the in-patient department differed only slightly from that of today. At Tulun hospital, on admission the patients were given special apparel while their clothes, money, and valuables were stored until the time of their discharge. On discharge, each patient - received five gold pieces to support himself until he could return to work.

The hospital and medical school at Damascus had elegant rooms and an extensive library. Healthy people are said to have feigned illness in order to enjoy its cuisine. There was a separate hospital in Damascus for lepers, while, in Europe, even six centuries later, condemned lepers were burned to death by royal decree.

The Qayrawan Hospital (built in 830 A.D. in Tunisia) was characterized by spacious separate wards, waiting rooms for visitors and patients, and female nurses from Sudan, an event representing the first use of nursing in Arabic history. The hospital also provided facilities for performing prayers.

The Al-Adudi hospital (built in 981 A.D. in Baghdad) was furnished with die best equipment and supplies known at the time. It had interns, residents, and 24 consultants attending its professional activities, An Abbasid minister, Ali ibn Isa, requested the court physician, Sinan ibn Thabit, to organize regular visiting of prisons by medical officers (14). At a time when paris and London were places of mud streets and hovels, Baghdad, Cairo, and Cordova had hospitals which incorporated innovations which sound amazingly modern. It was chiefly in the humaneness of patient care, however, that the hospitals of Islam excelled. Near the wards of those afflicted with fever, fountains cooled the air; the insane were treated with gentleness; and at night music and storytelling soothed the patients.

The Bimaristans (hospitals) were of two types - the fixed and the mobile. The mobile hospitals were transported upon beasts of burden and were erected from time to time as required. The physicians in the mobile clinics were of the same standing as those who served the fixed hospitals. Similar moving hospitals accompanied the armies in the field. The field hospitals were well equipped with medicaments, instruments, tents and a staff of doctors, nurses, and orderlies. The traveling clinics served the totally disabled, the disadvantaged and those in remote areas. These hospitals were also used by prisoners, and by the general public, particularly in times of epidemics.

BACTERIOLOGY
Al-Razi was asked to choose a site for a new hospital when he came to Baghdad. First he deduced which was the most hygienic area by observing where the fresh pieces of meat he had hung in various parts of the city decomposed least quickly.

Ibn Sina stated explicitly that the bodily secretion is contaminated by foul foreign earthly body before getting the infection. Ibn Khatima stated that man is surrounded by minute bodies which enter the human system and cause disease.

In the middle of the fourteenth century "black death" was ravaging Europe and before which Christians stood helpless, considering it an act of God.

At that time Ibn al Khatib of Granada composed a treatise in the defense of the theory of infection in the following way: To those who say, "How can we admit the possibility of infection while the religious law denies it?" We reply that the existence of contagion is established by experience, investigation, the evidence of the senses and trustworthy reports. These facts constitute a sound argument. The fact of infection becomes clear to the investigator who notices how he who establishes contact with the afflicted gets the disease, whereas he who is not in contact remains safe, and how transmission is effected through garments, vessels and earrings.

Al-Razi wrote the first medical description of smallpox and measles - two important infectious diseases. He described the clinical difference between the two diseases so vividly that nothing since has been added. Ibn Sina suggested the communicable nature of tuberculosis. He is said to have been the first to describe the preparation and properties of sulphuric acid and alcohol. His recommendation of wine as the best dressing for wounds was very popular in medieval practice. However Razi was the first to use silk sutures and alcohol for hemostatis. He was the first to use alcohol as an antiseptic.

ANESTHESIA
Ibn Sina originated the idea of the use of oral anesthetics. He recognized opium as the most powerful mukhadir (an intoxicant or drug). Less powerful anesthetics known were mandragora, poppy, hemlock, hyoscyamus, deadly nightshade (belladonna), lettuce seed, and snow or ice cold water. The Arabs invented the soporific sponge which was the precursor of modem anesthesia. It was a sponge soaked with aromatics and narcotics and held to the patient's nostrils.

The use of anesthesia was one of the reasons for the rise of surgery in the Islamic world to the level of an honourable speciality, while in Europe, surgery was belittled and practiced by barbers and quacks. The Council of Tours in 1163 A.D. declared Surgery is to be abandoned by the schools of medicine and by all decent physicians." Burton stated that "anesthetics have been used in surgery throughout the East for centuries before ether and chloroform became the fashion in civilized West."

SURGERY
Al-Razi is attributed to be the first to use the seton in surgery and animal gut for sutures.

Abu al-Qasim Khalaf Ibn Abbas Al-Zahrawi (930-1013 A.D.) known to the West as Abulcasis, Bucasis or Alzahravius is considered to be the most famous surgeon in Islamic medicine. In his book Al-Tasrif, he described hemophilia for the first time in medical history. The book contains the description and illustration of about 200 surgical instruments many of which were devised by Zahrawi himself. In it Zahrawi stresses the importance of the study of Anatomy as a fundamental prerequisite to surgery. He advocates the re implantation of a fallen tooth and the use of dental prosthesis carved from cow's bone, an improvement over the wooden dentures worn by the first President of America George Washington seven centuries later. Zahrawi appears to be the first surgeon in history to use cotton (Arabic word) in surgical dressings in the control of hemorrhage, as padding in the splinting of fractures, as a vaginal padding in fractures of the pubis and in dentistry. He introduced the method for the removal of kidney stones by cutting into the urinary bladder. He was the first to teach the lithotomy position for vaginal operations. He described tracheotomy, distinguished between goiter and cancer of the thyroid, and explained his invention of a cauterizing iron which he also used to control bleeding. His description of varicose veins stripping, even after ten centuries, is almost like modern surgery. In orthopedic surgery he introduced what is called today Kocher's method of reduction of shoulder dislocation and patelectomy, 1,000 years before Brooke reintroduced it in 1937.

Ibn Sina's description of the surgical treatment of cancer holds true even today after 1,000 years. He says the excision must be wide and bold; all veins running to the tumor must be included in the amputation. Even if this is not sufficient, then the area affected should be cauterized.

The surgeons of Islam practiced three types of surgery: vascular, general, and orthopedic, Ophthalmic surgery was a speciality which was quite distinct both from medicine and surgery. They freely opened the abdomen and drained the peritoneal cavity in the approved modern style. To an unnamed surgeon of Shiraz is attributed the first colostomy operation. Liver abscesses were treated by puncture and exploration.

Surgeons all over the world practice today unknowingly several surgical procedures that Zahrawi introduced 1,000 years ago .

MEDICINE
The most brilliant contribution was made by Al-Razi who differentiated between smallpox and measles, two diseases that were hitherto thought to be one single disease. He is credited with many contributions, which include being the first to describe true distillation, glass retorts and luting, corrosive sublimate, arsenic, copper sulfate, iron sulphate, saltpeter, and borax in the treatment of disease . He introduced mercury compounds as purgatives (after testing them on monkeys); mercurial ointments and lead ointment." His interest in urology focused on problems involving urination, venereal disease, renal abscess, and renal and vesical calculi. He described hay-fever or allergic rhinitis.

Some of the Arab contributions include the discovery of itch mite of scabies (Ibn Zuhr), anthrax, ankylostoma and the guinea worm by Ibn Sina and sleeping sickness by Qalqashandy. They described abscess of the mediastinum. They understood tuberculosis and pericarditis.

Al Ash'ath demonstrated gastric physiology by pouring water into the mouth of an anesthetized lion and showed the distensibility and movements of the stomach, preceding Beaumont by about 1,000 years" Abu Shal al- Masihi explained that the absorption of food takes place more through the intestines than the stomach. Ibn Zuhr introduced artificial feeding either by gastric tube or by nutrient enema. Using the stomach tube the Arab physicians performed gastric lavage in case of poisoning. Ibn Al-Nafis was the first to discover pulmonary circulation.

Ibn Sina in his masterpiece Al-Quanun (Canon), containing over a million words, described complete studies of physiology, patlhology and hygiene. He specifically discoursed upon breast cancer, poisons, diseases of the skin, rabies, insomnia, childbirth and the use of obstetrical forceps, meningitis, amnesia, stomach ulcers, tuberculosis as a contagious disease, facial tics, phlebotomy, tumors, kidney diseases and geriatric care. He defined love as a mental disease.

OPHTHALMOLOGY
The doctors of Islam exhibited a high degree of proficiency and certainly were foremost in the treatment of eye diseases. Words such as retina and cataract are of Arabic origin. In ophthalmology and optics lbn al Haytham (965-1039 A.D.) known to the West as Alhazen wrote the Optical Thesaurus from which such worthies as Roger Bacon, Leonardo da Vinci and Johannes Kepler drew theories for their own writings. In his Thesaurus he showed that light falls on the retina in the same manner as it falls on a surface in a darkened room through a small aperture, thus conclusively proving that vision happens when light rays pass from objects towards the eye and not from the eye towards the objects as thought by the Greeks. He presents experiments for testing the angles of incidence and reflection, and a theoretical proposal for magnifying lens (made in Italy three centuries later). He also taught that the image made on the retina is conveyed along the optic nerve to the brain. Razi was the first to recognize the reaction of the pupil to light and Ibn Sina was the first to describe the exact number of extrinsic muscles of the eyeball, namely six. The greatest contribution of Islamic medicine in practical ophthalmology was in the matter of cataract. The most significant development in the extraction of cataract was developed by Ammar bin Ali of Mosul, who introduced a hollow metallic needle through the sclerotic and extracted the lens by suction. Europe rediscovered this in the nineteenth century.

PHARMACOLOGY
Pharmacology took roots in Islam during the 9th century. Yuhanna bin Masawayh (777-857 A.D.) started scientific and systematic applications of therapeutics at the Abbasids capital. His students Hunayn bin Ishaq al-lbadi (809-874 A.D.) and his associates established solid foundations of Arabic medicine and therapeutics in the ninth century. In his book al-Masail Hunayn outlined methods for confirming the pharmacological effectiveness of drugs by experimenting with them on humans. He also explained the importance of prognosis and diagnosis of diseases for better and more effective treatment.

Pharmacy became an independent and separate profession from medicine and alchemy. With the wild sprouting of apothecary shops, regulations became necessary and imposed to maintain quality control." The Arabian apothecary shops were regularly inspected by a syndic (Muhtasib) who threatened the merchants with humiliating corporal punishments if they adulterated drugs." As early as the days of al-Mamun and al-Mutasim pharmacists had to pass examinations to become licensed professionals and were pledged to follow the physician's prescriptions. Also by this decree, restrictive measures were legally placed upon doctors, preventing them from owning or holding stock in a pharmacy.

Methods of extracting and preparing medicines were brought to a high art, and their techniques of distillation, crystallization, solution, sublimation, reduction and calcination became the essential processes of pharmacy and chemistry. With the help of these techniques, the Saydalanis (pharmacists) introduced new drugs such as camphor, senna, sandalwood, rhubarb, musk, myrrh, cassia, tamarind, nutmeg, alum, aloes, cloves, coconut, nuxvomica, cubebs, aconite, ambergris and mercury. The important role of the Muslims in developing modern pharmacy and chemistry is memorialized in the significant number of current pharmaceutical and chemical terms derived from Arabic: drug, alkali, alcohol, aldehydes, alembic, and elixir among others, not to mention syrups and juleps. They invented flavorings extracts made of rose water, orange blossom water, orange and lemon peel, tragacanth and other attractive ingredients. Space does not permit me to list the contributions to pharmacology and therapeutics, made by Razi, Zahrawi, Biruni, Ibn Butlan, and Tamimi.

PSYCHOTHERAPY
From freckle lotion to psychotherapy- such was the range of treatment practiced by the physicians of Islam. Though freckles continue to sprinkle the skin of 20th century man, in the realm of psychosomatic disorders both al-Razi and Ibn Sina achieved dramatic results, antedating Freud and Jung by a thousand years. When Razi was appointed physician-in-chief to the Baghdad Hospital, he made it the, first hospital to have a ward exclusively devoted to the mentally ill."

Razi combined psychological methods and physiological explanations, and he used psychotherapy in a dynamic fashion, Razi was once called in to treat a famous caliph who had severe arthritis. He advised a hot bath, and while the caliph was bathing, Razi threatened him with a knife, proclaiming he was going to kill him. This deliberate provocation increased the natural caloric which thus gained sufficient strength to dissolve the already softened humours, as a result the caliph got up from is knees in the bath and ran after Razi. One woman who suffered from such severe cramps in her joints that she was unable to rise was cured by a physician who lifted her skirt, thus putting her to shame. "A flush of heat was produced within her which dissolved the rheumatic humour."

The Arabs brought a refreshing spirit of dispassionate clarity into psychiatry. They were free from the demonological theories which swept over the Christian world and were therefore able to make clear cut clinical observations on the mentally ill.

Najab ud din Muhammad'", a contemporary of Razi, left many excellent descriptions of various mental diseases. His carefully compiled observation on actual patients made up the most complete classification of mental diseases theretofore known." Najab described agitated depression, obsessional types of neurosis, Nafkhae Malikholia (combined priapism and sexual impotence). Kutrib (a form of persecutory psychosis), Dual-Kulb (a form of mania) .

Ibn Sina recognized 'physiological psychology' in treating illnesses involving emotions. From the clinical perspective Ibn Sina developed a system for associating changes in the pulse rate with inner feelings which has been viewed as anticipating the word association test of Jung. He is said to have treated a terribly ill patient by feeling the patient's pulse and reciting aloud to him the names of provinces, districts, towns, streets, and people. By noticing how the patient's pulse quickened when names were mentioned Ibn Sina deduced that the patient was in love with a girl whose home Ibn Sina was able to locate by the digital examination. The man took Ibn Sina's advice , married the girl , and recovered from his illness.

It is not surprising to know that at Fez, Morocco, an asylum for the mentally ill had been built early in the 8th century, and insane, asylums were built by the Arabs also in Baghdad in 705 A.D., in Cairo in 800 A.D., and in Damascus and Aleppo in 1270 A.D. In addition to baths, drugs, kind and benevolent treatment given to the mentally ill, musico-therapy and occupational therapy were also employed. These therapies were highly developed. Special choirs and live music bands were brought daily to entertain the patients by providing singing and musical performances and comic performers as well.

CONCLUSION
1,000 years ago Islamic medicine was the most advanced in the world at that time. Even after ten centuries, the achievements of Islamic medicine look amazingly modern. 1,000 years ago the Muslims were the great torchbearers of international scientific research. Every student and professional from each country outside the Islamic Empire, aspired, yearned, a dreamed to go to the Islamic universities to learn, to work, to live and to lead a comfortable life in an affluent and most advanced and civilized society. Today, in this twentieth century, the United States of America has achieved such a position. The pendulum can swing back. Fortunately Allah has given a bounty to many Islamic countries - an income over 100 billion dollars per year. Hence Islamic countries have the opportunity and resources to make Islamic science and medicine number one in the world, once again.

Dr. Ibrahim B. Syed, Ph.D is Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY 40292 and President, Islamic Research Foundation International, Inc, 7102 W. Shefford Lane, Louisville, KY 40242-6462

Read other articles by Dr. Ibrahim B. Syed, Ph.D here.

Shahid Athar M.D. is Clinical Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Endocrinology, Indiana University School of Medicine Indianapolis, Indiana, and a writer on Islam.

In praise of Islamic civilization

2009-12-17T07:14:00.000+07:00

Riwayat Attubani-There was once a civilization that was the greatest in the world.

It was able to create a continental super-state that stretched from ocean to ocean, and from northern climes to tropics and deserts. Within its dominion lived hundreds of millions of people, of different creeds and ethnic origins.

One of its languages became the universal language of much of the world, the bridge between the peoples of a hundred lands. Its armies were made up of people of many nationalities, and its military protection allowed a degree of peace and prosperity that had never been known. The reach of this civilization’s commerce extended from Latin America to China, and everywhere in between.

And this civilization was driven more than anything, by invention. Its architects designed buildings that defied gravity. Its mathematicians created the algebra and algorithms that would enable the building of computers, and the creation of encryption. Its doctors examined the human body, and found new cures for disease. Its astronomers looked into the heavens, named the stars, and paved the way for space travel and exploration.

Its writers created thousands of stories. Stories of courage, romance and magic. Its poets wrote of love, when others before them were too steeped in fear to think of such things.

When other nations were afraid of ideas, this civilization thrived on them, and kept them alive. When censors threatened to wipe out knowledge from past civilizations, this civilization kept the knowledge alive, and passed it on to others.

While modern Western civilization shares many of these traits, the civilization I’m talking about was the Islamic world from the year 800 to 1600, which included the Ottoman Empire and the courts of Baghdad, Damascus and Cairo, and enlightened rulers like Suleiman the Magnificent.

Although we are often unaware of our indebtedness to this other civilization, its gifts are very much a part of our heritage. The technology industry would not exist without the contributions of Arab mathematicians. Sufi poet-philosophers like Rumi challenged our notions of self and truth. Leaders like Suleiman contributed to our notions of tolerance and civic leadership.

And perhaps we can learn a lesson from his example: It was leadership based on meritocracy, not inheritance. It was leadership that harnessed the full capabilities of a very diverse population–that included Christianity, Islamic, and Jewish traditions.

This kind of enlightened leadership — leadership that nurtured culture, sustainability, diversity and courage — led to 800 years of invention and prosperity.

In dark and serious times like this, we must affirm our commitment to building societies and institutions that aspire to this kind of greatness. More than ever, we must focus on the importance of leadership– bold acts of leadership and decidedly personal acts of leadership.

Let's set the record straight

2009-12-06T06:34:00.000+07:00

Riwayat Attubani-Imam Tammam Adi Ph.D of the Islamic Cultural Center, Eugene, Oregon, tackles widespread misconceptions and stereotypes about Muslims and Islam and the sets out the reality.

Allah: Just means God in Arabic, the same God we all worship.

jihad: Often mistranslated "holy war," especially against the West, the more accurate Arabic meaning is "struggle." Jihad is the struggle to control one's lower instincts. Jihad also means to use a fair war to give a nation freedom of religion if all other means fail. Islam's main proclamation is "No compulsion in religion" Koran 2:255. The Afghani Mujahideen (those who do jihad) fought against the atheist Russians to keep their freedom of religion. Unfortunately, chaos ensued.

extremism: "We made you a nation that should take the middle way in all its affairs before all humanity . . ." (2:143) "God does not love the excessive ones." (6:141)

suicide "martyrdom": "Do not kill yourselves." (4:29). Self-killers are condemned to hell. Even killing oneself to end extreme pain is unacceptable. Some radical sects, considered non-Muslim by most, view suicide-killing as legitimate.

martyrdom: A martyr (Arabic shaheed=witness) is somebody who dies as a witness for goodness or a witness against evil. A martyr testifies before God about the evil-doers that killed him/her and about the goodness his/her death creates in society.

terrorism: The punishment for those who wreak havoc is extremely harsh (5:33-34). Terrorism has as little to do with Islam as burning a cross to terrorize a black family has to do with Christianity. Terrorism is often done by haters of Islam, peace and justice to sabotage good Muslims causes such as peace settlements, democracy movements and modernization. No Islamic teaching supports terrorism.

on killing innocent people: "And do not kill the soul that God gave sanctity to except by law." (17:33) The Koran tells us that killing one person is like killing all humanity.

family values: Husbands and wives serve each other. Muslim families cherish traditional family values and close relations with the extended family. Women may work and own businesses, but the husband alone has the duty to provide for the family. Children are expected to take care of their parents when they get old.

treatment of women: Misinformation about this subject has fanned much of the hatred about Muslims. Here is what we are really taught: (1) Paradise is under the "feet" of the mother; (2) a good wife is half a man's religion, (3) men are ordered to "treat them in good ways," (Koran 4:19) and that, in the words of the Prophet Mohammed in his last sermon, (4) "the best of you is the one that is best to his wife."

four wives: Islam was the first religion to limit the number of wives. But the taking of more than one wife was meant to happen only when there was social necessity, such a during war times when there were a large number of widows and orphans. A husband is required to treat each wife with absolute fairness and equality and to have only one wife if he doubts he can be fair. Polygamy is illegal in America and, according to Islam, Muslims are bound by American law.

scarves for women: This is based on a verse in the Koran. "And let them spread their scarves over their shirt openings and not show their natural adornment . . ." (24:31) If Muslim women choose not to cover their head, there is no Islamic law punishing them or coercing them. Styles of dress are cultural and vary according to culture throughout the Islamic world.

female genital mutilation: This is found in some African countries and is a very painful tribal practice passed down to the present day. It is not based on Islamic teaching. Many Muslim women, such as the wife of the late Anwar Sadat, are working hard to eliminate the practice.

Deviations from the Islamic norm are cultural or political biases not based on Islam.

The World's Second Biggest Religion Also Is a Way of Life

2009-11-23T07:22:00.001+07:00

By Carolyn Ruff
Special to The Washington Post
Wednesday, May 13, 1998; Page H01

Riwayat Attubani-In a narrow, unadorned room, about 70 women, heads covered by scarves, feet bare against carpeted floor, face a television set showing a man speaking in Arabic. The women stand, bow deeply, then get down on hands and knees and touch their foreheads to the floor.

This is not a scene in Tehran or Cairo or Istanbul but in a mosque in Northwest. Some women are in traditional loose-fitting tunics, others in smart business suits. Around the room, small children play, oblivious to their surroundings. The man on TV is actually in another part of the mosque where only males are permitted to gather for prayer.

Because the number of Muslims in the Washington area is growing faster than the space in mosques, Islam's traditional separation of men and women in different parts of a room for worship has forced the crowded mosque to use separate rooms.

In the main room, the men perform the same rites. Like the women, their motions are fluid, their prayers memorized, reenacting a 1,400-year-old ritual repeated daily by hundreds of millions of people throughout the world.

To observant Muslims, ritual prayer is as natural as sleeping or eating. Islam is not just one component of its believers' lives, a set of beliefs remembered on special occasions. Rather, for the devout, it is a way of life. Its tenets and rules permeate almost everything, often including politics and government.

In a world swayed by misunderstanding of cultural differences, Islam and its adherents often are stereotyped and caricatured, branded with the violent or sexist image of a small minority of zealots. In reality, Islam is no better characterized by acts of Middle Eastern terrorists, for example, than is Christianity by acts of Northern Ireland's terrorists.

Islam is an ancient religion with profound historical and theological ties to Judaism and Christianity. All three religions worship the same God, acknowledge large parts of the same Bible and revere Adam, Noah, Abraham and Moses. And, as do Christians, Muslims regard Jesus as the messiah.

In fact, Islam teaches that it represents the modern mainstream of a primordial, monotheistic religion that began with the earliest humans. Over millennia, the religion took form with the early Jewish prophets, was modified significantly by Jesus and finally shaped by Muhammad, the final prophet, who died in 632.

Among Muhammad's most important acts was rejection of the old Jewish concept of a "chosen people." Instead, he taught that all people are born Muslim and that anyone -- regardless of color, nationality or social standing -- can join the Muslim community simply by submitting to God and reciting the words known as the shahadah: "There is no deity but Allah (God), and Muhammad is his messenger."

Because of its powerful, cross-cultural appeal, Islam has won the hearts and minds of an estimated 1.2 billion people around the world, making it the second largest religion. Christianity has about 2 billion adherents, and Hinduism is third largest with about 800 million.

Despite its association in the Western mind with things Arabic, about 85 percent of Islam's faithful are not Arabs. South Asia has the largest Muslim population, with 275 million believers. Africa is second largest, with 200 million. And, according to the American Muslim Council, China has about as many Muslims as better-known Islamic strongholds such as Iran, Egypt or Turkey. According to The Muslim Almanac, an estimated 2 percent of Americans, or about 5 million people, are Muslims.

It is difficult to determine the exact number of Muslims anywhere because they do not belong to congregations and because mosques are open to all and do not maintain membership rolls.

Quite apart from its importance to believers, Islam has performed services for which all of humanity is in its debt. When Christian Europe sank into the so-called Dark Ages for about 600 years starting in the late 5th century, Islamic scholars elsewhere maintained high standards of academic study, mathematics and scientific research.

Islamic libraries in Baghdad, Cairo and Damascus preserved the writings of ancient Greek, Roman and Indian scholars even as Europe's leaders rejected them.

While Europe languished, Islamic mariners, mathematicians, scientists, physicians and engineers made major advances in many fields. Our words algebra and algorithm, for example, were derived from Arabic. When the best European libraries consisted of a few dozen books, Islamic collections held tens of thousands.

When the Renaissance blossomed in Western Europe in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, it found a trove of ancient knowledge and new discoveries in translations from the Arabic.

PEACE AND SUBMISSION
Islam is an Arabic word derived from the same Semitic three-letter root -- s-l-m -- as the Hebrew word for peace, shalom, often used as a greeting. The meaning of "Islam" encompasses the concepts of peace, greeting and submission. Thus, a Muslim -- the word is derived from the same root -- is one who submits to God, a stance enunciated in the traditional profession of faith: "There is no deity but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger."

"Allah" is simply Arabic for "God," the same supreme, supernatural figure worshipped by Christians and Jews. Unlike most other religions, however, Islam has no baptism or other initiation ceremony.

"Membership in the community of Muslims is not conferred by man," Thomas W. Lippman writes in Understanding Islam. "It is acquired by a conscious act of will, the act of submission, summarized in the profession of faith."

Lippman, a Washington Post reporter who served as the paper's bureau chief in Cairo for three years, writes that "to become a Muslim, it is sufficient to make that profession sincerely in the presence of other believers, who will witness it. But to become a Muslim is also to accept a complex interlocking body of beliefs, practices and other ethical standards."

Like Judaism and Christianity, Islam has undergone splits into separate denominations. The biggest occurred shortly after Muhammad died when his followers disagreed about who should take his role as leader. One branch, called Sunni, today comprises about 83 percent of Muslims, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica. The other, called Shi'ah, accounts for about 16 percent, and a few tiny groups make up the remaining 1 percent.

Although Islam has taken root in cultures as diverse as those of Egypt, China and the United States, in each region acquiring local customs not mandated by the religion -- such as women wearing veils -- Islamic scholars say Muslims everywhere share a core of basic principles, the so-called "five pillars" of the faith.

The first pillar is the profession of faith or, in Arabic, the shahadah. The Council on Islamic Education, an American organization comprising historians and academicians, calls this the central theme of Islam because many Muslims repeat it, in Arabic, several times a day to remind themselves of God's central position in their lives.

The second pillar is ritual worship, or salah. Muslims are required to pray formally five times a day -- at dawn, midday, afternoon, evening and night. At each time, a man summons believers to prayer by calling from atop the mosque's tower, or minaret, or by using loudspeakers. Those out of earshot simply rely on a watch.

Muslims may pray alone or in a group as long as they face the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca, Muhammad's birthplace and the holiest city of Islam. It is common in many predominantly Islamic countries to see Muslims performing the salah wherever they happen to be at the appropriate time. After repeating the prescribed prayer, Muslims may add a personal prayer.

Unlike most Christian or Jewish prayers, the salah requires more than words. The whole body performs the ritual. It begins as worshipers raise their hands and say "Allahu Akbar," which translates as "God is the greatest." Worshippers then bend with hands on knees, kneel with hands on thighs and finally bow their heads to touch the floor. Each motion is accompanied by verses from the Koran. A person, sometimes called an imam, may lead the service.

The third pillar is fasting, or sawm, during the month of Ramadan. Because Islam uses a lunar calendar, its year is 11 days shorter than that of the solar calendar governing most worldly affairs. As a result, Ramadan comes 11 days earlier each year. The month is sacred because, as Muslims believe, God first revealed verses of the Koran to Muhammad during Ramadan.

During Ramadan, Muslims are to refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex from dawn to sunset. Typically during Ramadan, Muslims have breakfast before dawn and do not eat again until after sunset.

The fourth pillar is almsgiving, called zakah in Arabic. Muslims pay a specified amount of money, typically 2.5 percent of one's accumulated wealth each year, to assist the poor and sick. The money is not to support the mosque or Islamic leaders. The Koran does not say how much should be given. In some Muslim countries, according to Lippman, it is voluntary, while in others, the government enforces it.

The fifth pillar is the hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca, the most recent of which occurred last month. Islam requires that every believer make at least one visit to Mecca in a lifetime if physically and financially able to do so.

The spectacular hajj now brings together more than two million Muslims in a religious gathering that has continued without interruption for about 1,400 years. Where once pilgrims came on foot or camel, sometimes after more than a year of travel, most now arrive by air.

The hajj commemorates the sacrifices, faith and obedience of Abraham; his second wife, Hagar; and their son, Ishmael, at Mecca. According to the Council on Islamic Education, it is the largest, regularly scheduled international gathering on Earth.

When the pilgrims arrive, they don special clothing. Men wear two seamless white sheets, and women usually wear a modest white dress and are prohibited from wearing veils or gloves. In this uniform attire, the pilgrims feel that they are equal before the eyes of God and that only virtue and devotion will set one apart from others.

The demanding rites and prayers last for days. At various points, worshipers must make a ritual trek, pray from noon through the following morning and stand in prayer for hours at a time. According to Islamic scholars, the pilgrims hope that God will accept their effort, after which they can commence life afresh with a slate wiped clean of sins.

This year's pilgrimage was marred by sweltering temperatures and a stampede in which more than 150 people were killed when they rushed to perform one of the last rituals known as "stoning the devil." In this, the pilgrims throw pebbles at three pillars symbolizing the temptations of Satan.

The focus of worship in Mecca is the Ka'aba, an empty, cubical stone structure covered by an embroidered black cloth in the courtyard of the Great Mosque.

Ka'aba is the source of the word "cube." The Ka'aba is believed to have been built on the site of an original made by Abraham more than 4,000 years ago, and Muslims consider it the original house of God on Earth.

NO DEITY BUT ALLAH
Perhaps Islam's most distinctive attribute is a belief descended from that of the ancient Jews and akin to that of early Unitarians in a single deity, whether the name be Jehovah, Allah or God. At many times throughout history, this has been a radical claim because most other religions believe in many Gods, a position called polytheism. Islamic monotheism goes even further than its Christian counterpart by rejecting the doctrine of the Trinity, which holds that Jesus also is a deity, along with a third entity called the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit.

The Koran, which is pronounced cur-AHN and which some Islamic groups say is better rendered from Arabic as Qur'an, is the religion's dominant scripture. It is considered the literal word of God, dictated by the angel Gabriel in some miraculous way to Muhammad over 23 years, according to the Council on Islamic Education's handbook, Teaching About Islam and Muslims in the Public School Classroom. Muhammad was illiterate, but his followers memorized the revelations and scribes set them down in writing.

The Koran is viewed as the authoritative guide to proper living, along with tradition, called the hadith, based on sayings and practices of Muhammad.

Muslims view life as a test, says Sulayman S. Nyang, an expert on Islam at Howard University. It is a person's responsibility to live as closely as possible by the words of Allah in preparation for a "Day of Judgment" much like the one in which Christians believe. Muslims say the world someday will be destroyed and the dead resurrected, judged and sent to heaven or to hell.

However, sinners may take heart because, according to the Islamic council's handbook, "the infinite mercy of God is demonstrated in the Qur'anic statement that those who have even a mustard seed's weight of belief in God will eventually be admitted into Heaven."

Islam also teaches that each person has a direct relationship with God and that no intermediary is needed. As a result, Islam has no priests or other clergy. Some people, however, are considered experts on the Koran and serve as leaders of the community. Some, for example, are trained to judge how the Koran applies to social and personal issues. Another leader, called an imam in the Sunni branch of Islam, leads daily prayer, gives sermons, officiates at marriages and performs other clerical duties.

Muslims believe that God revealed scriptures to certain prophets who relayed them to the general public. Among these many messengers were Abraham, Noah, Moses and Jesus, with the final prophet being Muhammad.

Like some Christians, many Muslims believe that human history began with Adam and Eve, but they do not believe in "original sin," the Christian doctrine that all human beings inherit a state of sin from that first couple's disobedience of the command not to eat the forbidden fruit.

Because Islam does not accept the concept of original sin, humanity did not need a savior whose death wiped away this sin. Jesus was not crucified, the religion teaches. Being sinless, he did not need to die and was taken bodily to heaven, as Catholics believe his mother Mary was.

Incidentally, the Koran teaches that God made Adam and Eve simultaneously by splitting one human soul, not by making the woman from a part of the man, as the Jewish and Christian traditions hold. The Koran also teaches that the serpent in the Garden of Eden seduced both Adam and Eve and that both were equally guilty. Muslims often cite this teaching in defense against assertions that Islam is inherently sexist.

LIFE OF MUHAMMAD
No understanding of Islam is complete without knowledge of Muhammad, who was not, as Muslims reckon it, the founder of Islam. Rather, they hold, he was guided by God to help humanity return to the original, true religion.

Muhammad was born about 570 in Mecca in what now is Saudi Arabia. Europe was entering the Dark Ages. Throughout the world, empires were collapsing, new societies emerging and religions spreading. The region's dominant religions were polytheistic, worshipping many deities.

Orphaned by age 6, Muhammad was raised by his grandfather and by his uncle after his grandfather died. Muhammad grew up to be a thoughtful, honest businessman who eschewed worship of tribal gods. He married and became the father of six children, two of whom died young.

At 40, he retreated to a cave outside Mecca to meditate. It was there, Islam teaches, that the angel Gabriel visited him and communicated the first of God's words to him. Muhammad continued to receive these revelations from God for the remaining 23 years of his life.

God instructed Muhammad to convey the message of Islam to the people of his region. This was not easily done. Muhammad asked the people to abandon their many idols and recognize Allah as the one God. He was met with reactions ranging from amusement to anger.

Muhammad also taught two revolutionary principles -- that Islam was the source not just of spiritual authority but also political authority and that the bond uniting people should not be tribe but shared religion.

Lippman writes that dissenters taunted Muhammad with demands that he work miracles to demonstrate authenticity. Muhammad claimed that only Allah could perform miracles. Muhammad insisted that every aspect of nature was an example of God's power. This did little to win converts.

After 11 years of mounting hostility, Muhammad and his small band of followers emigrated to the city of Yathrib, about 200 miles away. There he had better luck, and people embraced his teachings.

Muhammad established himself as the city's political leader and promulgated Islamic teachings. The city was renamed Medina, meaning "city of the prophet." After several years, Muhammad and his followers returned to Mecca, conquered it and established Muhammad as both religious and political leader of his people. By the time he died at age 63, Islam was established throughout the Arabian peninsula.

Within a century of Muhammad's death, Islam had spread, as much by military conquest as voluntary conversion, west to Spain and Portugal and northeast to Central Asia, establishing Islam as a formidable world empire. Islamic rule also pushed into northern Africa and other parts of the Mediterranean basin within the first 20 years of its establishment.

With every advance, Islam adopted and adapted features of many other cultures. By the Middle Ages, Islam was established in parts of Europe, for example, Spain in the west and the former Yugoslavia in the east.

In the 1500s, Hispano-Arab Muslim explorers arrived in America from Spain. In the early 1700s, the slave trade brought the first Muslims -- captured African slaves -- to this part of the world. By the end of the 19th century, free Muslim immigrants were reaching North America from the Middle East and other Muslim lands.

Today, more than 1,300 years after Muhammad, Islam continues to thrive, a growing, global religion with a powerful ideology that now binds one-fifth of the human race in a common system of beliefs.

Women's Rights and Islam
Traveling through the Islamic world, visitors notice that the status of women changes drastically from country to country. Westerners question why women in many Middle Eastern countries cover their heads and most of their bodies. They question the nature of freedom where women have very little political power or social clout.

In many cases, the differences are based on local custom only. Wearing veils, for example, is not required by the Koran but in some places is local custom. Other than Islam's requirement that women dress modestly, most Muslim women are free to dress and to behave like women of any other religion.

Historians note that, before the rise of Islamic culture in the 7th century, women in much of the world had few rights and were considered little more than chattel. Against that background, the Koran and Islamic tradition were positively revolutionary in teaching that men and women are spiritually equal and that women have the right to own and inherit property, seek divorce, gain an education, retain one's family name after marriage and the right to vote.

Muslims such as Rkia Cornell, who teaches Asian and African languages and literature at Duke University, argue that "every culture is inherently sexist to some degree." Cornell insists that, as a Muslim woman, she still has the freedom to control her own life. "Muslim women historically have had a strong role in Islamic society."

What some see as oppressive, Muslims view as protective. While Americans may regard a Muslim woman's attire as stifling, Muslims may view the way American women generally dress as sexist and compromising.

Nation of Islam
The Nation of Islam is a controversial organization in the United States. Formed by Elijah Poole (who later took the name Elijah Muhammad) in the 1930s, the group gained momentum during the civil rights movement in the 1950s. Formed in response to white racism, the Nation advocates separation from white society.

Despite its name, the movement is not accepted by mainstream Muslims as truly Islamic.

"Because the Nation holds that Elijah Muhammad was a prophet of God and that his mentor, W.D. Fard, was God incarnate, the Nation cannot be considered a branch or subset of Islam by mainstream Muslims," writes Susan Douglass of the Council on Islamic Education.

"Such beliefs are contrary to basic doctrines and tenets of Islam as defined by the Koran and Sunnah [Islamic tradition].

Furthermore, the race-based orientation of the Nation contradicts the universalist outlook advocated by worldwide Islam."

The Nation of Islam underwent drastic changes after the death of Elijah Muhammad in 1975, with most members following his son, Wallace, now named Warith Deen Muhammad, toward an orthodox branch of Islam called "American Muslim Mission." This group does not advocate racial separation.

Another faction, led by Louis Farrakhan, kept the name Nation of Islam and many of the separatist ideas.

Mother of the Renaissance
Muslims were the inheritors and guardians of the body of knowledge that created modern society and are credited with having kept scholarship alive through the Dark Ages.

After the decline of Roman government and civic order in the 5th century, Europe turned from the wisdom of the ancient Greeks, Romans and Indians. Elsewhere, however, Islam's large universities continued to advance these intellectual interests.

Although the Renaissance, which occurred between the 14th and 16th centuries, is considered the period of revival of art, science and literature, historians say its roots can be found in the 12th and 13th centuries.

Then, medieval scholars began to question traditional ways of viewing knowledge and regained access to important classical and Islamic texts.

European scholars came to Muslim cities to use the vast libraries. They translated Arabic works into Latin and, often inadvertently, soaked up Muslim culture. This was a pivotal time as the legacies of several cultures began to mingle -- most notably, Greek, Persian, Indian, European and Islamic.

During this epoch when intellectual curiosity was at a peak, education was introduced to those outside the Catholic Church hierarchy, creating a professional class of intellectuals.

Visiting European scholars returned home and helped to establish universities based on what they had translated from Islamic texts and what they had experienced from their immersion in Muslim culture. As a result, large bodies of Islamic knowledge subsequently were transferred to the rest of the European world.

The Beliefs and Laws of Islam

2009-11-23T07:10:00.003+07:00

Stephen Bates explains the basics to non-Muslims with little previous knowledge.

Riwayat Attubani-Origins Islam is the religion of allegiance to God and his prophet Mohammed, who lived around 570-632 and came from a family of traders at Mecca. The religion's book of revelation, mediated by the prophet, is the Koran. The word Islam derives from the same semitic root as the Hebrew word Shalom, which means peace. Islam means "entering into a condition of peace and security with God, through allegiance or surrender to him".

Mohammed is said to have received his revelations over a period of 23 years from the Angel Jibreel, or Gabriel, who was relaying the word of God.

It was not a completely new faith but is the third great monotheistic religion. In Muslim eyes, Mohammed completes a succession of prophets, including Abraham, Moses and Jesus, each of whom refined and restated the message of God.

The Koran therefore corroborates, updates and expands the Old and New Testaments.

It contains 114 chapters, written in vivid, rhyming prose, and was settled in its current form within 30 years of Mohammed's death.

Main tenets Central to Islam is the absolute sense that there can only be one God - Allah - and that he is the source of all creation and disposer of all lives and events. Hence, there is no God but God and Mohammed is his messenger.

All people should become a single Umma - community - witnessing to that fact. On the day of judgment, all will rise from the dead and be sent to heaven or hell.

The Koran contains many moral exhortations, forming the basis of Islamic (sharia) law. It lays down generosity and fairness and the requirements for daily prayer, alms giving, abstinence during daylight hours in the month of Ramadan and pilgrimage to Mecca.

The five pillars of the Islamic faith - the fundamental constituents of Muslim life - are: · Shahada, the profession of faith in the uniqueness of Allah and the centrality of Mohammed as his prophet · Salat, formal worship or prayer · Zakat, the giving of alms for the poor, assessed on all adult Muslims as 2.5% of capital assets once a year · Hajj, pilgrimage to Mecca, which every Muslim should undertake at least once in their lifetime; the annual hajj takes place during the last 10 days of the 12th lunar month every year · Sawm, fasting during Ramadan, the holy ninth month of the lunar year.

Early history In 622, Mohammed travelled from Mecca to Medina in the hijrah (emigration) - this forms the starting point in the Muslim dating system.

After the prophet's death his community split into followers of the caliph Abu Bakr and those who supported Mohammed's closest relative, his son-in-law, Ali ibn Abi Talib.

This division between Shia (followers of Ali) and Sunni (followers of the custom of the caliphate) persists to this day. Although both share most of the customs of the religion, Shiites place more emphasis on the guiding role of the imam.

About 90% of the world's Muslims are Sunni and about 10% Shia.

Sharia The divine law of Islam by which Muslims should live their lives.

It embraces every aspect of life, including family relations, inheritance, taxation, purification and prayer and observes no distinction between secular and religious law.

How far modern Islamic states follow this principle depends on the degree of secularisation they permit. It is essentially laid down by the Koran but has been updated and extended by fatwa (legal opinion), consensus and custom.

Pressures on intellectual freedom come from many sources.

2009-07-11T22:10:00.000+07:00

Throughout much of the Muslim world, university students are among the most ardent fundamentalists, fueled by the literal interpretation of Islam taught at madrassahs (Muslim religious schools). The network of madrassahs in turn links up with religious political parties across national boundaries. In Muslim countries, madrassahs are seen as a legitimate Islamic alternative to unaffordable private schools patronized by the westernized elite.

Professors, particularly in the liberal arts, are often cowed by their own students into silence, both in their teaching and in their writing. Like some postmodernist gone mad, the student of literature may see fiction as nothing but the expression of the writer's politics, while the science student is not concerned with questioning fundamentals, but with applying technologies to religious and political ends.

The results for intellectuals range from a denial of the finest traditions of open debate to working in an environment of omnipresent threat. (In Islamabad, a professor at a medical college this year was found guilty of blasphemy and sentenced to death, after students complained about him to the local religious leader.) It is impossible to ignore the discrepancy between the Islamic emphasis on knowledge and the questionable climate for scholars and intellectuals in Muslim countries. Great scholars of the past, men like Ibn Khaldun, a 14th-century Arab historian; the 14th- century writer Ibn Battutah; and the 11th-century writer Abu Raihan Muhammad Al-Beruni may have made the rulers of their day uncomfortable, but they continued the Islamic tradition of the pursuit of knowledge for the benefit of all. That such renowned Muslim thinkers might today be placed in a cage or threatened with physical harm undermines the Islamic belief that any person may develop his or her intellect to the fullest, yielding a diminished and alienated sense of Islam itself.

Islam, Culture and Women

2009-06-21T20:53:00.000+07:00

Riwayat Attubani-How can anyone justify Islam's treatment of women, when it imprisons Afghans under blue shuttlecock burqas and makes Pakistani girls marry strangers against their will?

How can you respect a religion that forces women into polygamous marriages, mutilates their genitals, forbids them to drive cars and subjects them to the humiliation of "instant" divorce? In fact, none of these practices are Islamic at all.

Anyone wishing to understand Islam must first separate the religion from the cultural norms and style of a society. Female genital mutilation is still practised in certain pockets of Africa and Egypt, but viewed as an inconceivable horror by the vast majority of Muslims. Forced marriages may still take place in certain Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities, but would be anathema to Muslim women from other backgrounds.

Indeed, Islam insists on the free consent of both bride and groom, so such marriages could even be deemed illegal under religious law.

A woman forbidden from driving a car in Riyadh will cheerfully take the wheel when abroad, confident that her country's bizarre law has nothing to do with Islam. Afghan women educated before the Taliban rule know that banning girls from school is forbidden in Islam, which encourages all Muslims to seek knowledge from cradle to grave, from every source possible.

The Koran is addressed to all Muslims, and for the most part it does not differentiate between male and female. Man and woman, it says, "were created of a single soul," and are moral equals in the sight of God. Women have the right to divorce, to inherit property, to conduct business and to have access to knowledge.

Since women are under all the same obligations and rules of conduct as the men, differences emerge most strongly when it comes to pregnancy, child-bearing and rearing, menstruation and, to a certain extent, clothing.

Some of the commands are alien to Western tradition. Requirements of ritual purity may seem to restrict a woman's access to religious life, but are viewed as concessions. During menstruation or postpartum bleeding, she may not pray the ritual salah or touch the Koran and she does not have to fast; nor does she need to fast while pregnant or nursing.

The veiling of Muslim women is a more complex issue. Certainly, the Koran requires them to behave and dress modestly - but these strictures apply equally to men. Only one verse refers to the veiling of women, stating that the Prophet's wives should be behind a hijab when his male guests converse with them.

Some modernists, however, claim that this does not apply to women in general, and that the language used does not carry the textual stipulation that makes a verse obligatory. In practice, most modern Muslim women appreciate attractive and graceful clothes, but avoid dressing provocatively.

What about polygamy, which the Koran endorses up to the limit of four wives per man? The Prophet, of course, lived at a time when continual warfare produced large numbers of widows, who were left with little or no provision for themselves and their children.

In these circumstances, polygamy was encouraged as an act of charity. Needless to say, the widows were not necessarily sexy young women, but usually mothers of up to six children, who came as part of the deal.

Polygamy is no longer common, for various good reasons. The Koran states that wives need to be treated fairly and equally - a difficult requirement even for a rich man. Moreover, if a husband wishes to take a second wife, he should not do so if the marriage will be to the detriment of the first.

Sexual intimacy outside marriage is forbidden in Islam, including sex before marriage, adultery or homosexual relationships. However, within marriage, sexual intimacy should be raised from the animal level to sadaqah (a form of worship) so that each considers the happiness and satisfaction of the other, rather than mere self-gratification.

Contrary to Christianity, Islam does not regard marriages as "made in heaven" or "till death do us part". They are contracts, with conditions. If either side breaks the conditions, divorce is not only allowed, but usually expected. Nevertheless, a hadith makes it clear that: "Of all the things God has allowed, divorce is the most disliked."

A Muslim has a genuine reason for divorce only if a spouse's behaviour goes against the sunnah of Islam - in other words, if he or she has become cruel, vindictive, abusive, unfaithful, neglectful, selfish, sexually abusive, tyrannical, perverted - and so on.

In good Islamic practice, before divorce can be contemplated, all possible efforts should be made to solve a couple's problems. After an intention to divorce is announced, there is a three-month period during which more attempts are made at reconciliation.

If, by the end of each month, the couple have resumed sexual intimacy, the divorce should not proceed. The three-month rule ensures that a woman cannot remarry until three menstrual cycles have passed - so, if she happens to be pregnant, the child will be supported and paternity will not be in dispute.

When Muslims die, strict laws govern the shares of property and money they may leave to others; daughters usually inherit less than sons, but this is because the men in a family are supposed to provide for the entire household.

Any money or property owned by women is theirs to keep, and they are not obliged to share it. Similarly, in marriage, a woman's salary is hers and cannot be appropriated by her husband unless she consents.

A good Muslim woman, for her part, should always be trustworthy and kind. She should strive to be cheerful and encouraging towards her husband and family, and keep their home free from anything harmful (haram covers all aspects of harm, including bad behaviour, abuse and forbidden foods).

Regardless of her skills or intelligence, she is expected to accept her man as the head of her household - she must, therefore, take care to marry a man she can respect, and whose wishes she can carry out with a clear conscience. However, when a man expects his wife to do anything contrary to the will of God - in other words, any nasty, selfish, dishonest or cruel action - she has the right to refuse him.

Her husband is not her master; a Muslim woman has only one Master, and that is God. If her husband does not represent God's will in the home, the marriage contract is broken.

What should one make of the verse in the Koran that allows a man to punish his wife physically? There are important provisos: he may do so only if her ill-will is wrecking the marriage - but then only after he has exhausted all attempts at verbal communication and tried sleeping in a separate bed.

However, the Prophet never hit a woman, child or old person, and was emphatic that those who did could hardly regard themselves as the best of Muslims. Moreover, he also stated that a man should never hit "one of God's handmaidens". Nor, it must be said, should wives beat their husbands or become inveterate nags.

Finally, there is the issue of giving witness. Although the Koran says nothing explicit, other Islamic sources suggest that a woman's testimony in court is worth only half of that of a man. This ruling, however, should be applied only in circumstances where a woman is uneducated and has led a very restricted life: a woman equally qualified to a man will carry the same weight as a witness.

So, does Islam oppress women?

While the spirit of Islam is clearly patriarchal, it regards men and women as moral equals. Moreover, although a man is technically the head of the household, Islam encourages matriarchy in the home.

Women may not be equal in the manner defined by Western feminists, but their core differences from men are acknowledged, and they have rights of their own that do not apply to men

Islam and Freedom of Thought

2009-06-12T15:14:00.001+07:00

Riwayat Attubani-"What was once an occasional event -- silencing scholars -- increasingly has become a way of life in most Muslim countries. From South Asia to North Africa, an entire generation of Muslim intellectuals is at this moment under threat: Many have already been killed, silenced, or forced into exile."
By Akbar Ahmed and Lawrence Rosen

As America and its allies have set about building coalitions that include many of the Islamic nations, it is easy to lose sight of the issue of intellectual freedom within the Muslim world. While the safety of Western countries may depend on alliances with other regimes, those alliances should not come at the price of abandoning scholars and intellectuals in the Middle East, whose ability to speak out is no less under attack, often by these same governments. Our concern is that scholars in Muslim countries will be overlooked in the rush to forge expedient alliances.

The image shown to the world on the cover of the June 17, 2001, New York Times Magazine, of Saad Eddin Ibrahim, a respected Egyptian sociologist, caged and on trial for the exercise of his intellectual freedom, ought to send a chill through both the Muslim world and the West. Before his arrest for alleged homosexuality, embezzlement, and spying for the United States and Israel, he was conducting research on Cairo voters' sentiments about why Muslims join militant groups. From South Asia to North Africa, an entire generation of Muslim intellectuals is at this moment under threat: Many have already been killed, silenced, or forced into exile.

Consider Pakistan. The late nuclear physicist Abdus Salam, Pakistan's only Nobel laureate, was pressured to leave early in his career, in the late 1950s, because he belonged to a sect not recognized by most Pakistani Muslims. Fazlur Rahman, instrumental in starting Islamic studies at the University of Chicago in the late '60s, was chased out earlier in that decade by Islamic religious parties.

There is considerable irony in the fact that Pakistan's record in relation to freedom of thought is not good, given the nature of its founder, Mohammed Ali Jinnah. Jinnah believed in human rights, women's rights, minority rights, and the rule of law. Along with his followers, he hoped to create a modern Muslim nation, one that would respect Islamic tradition but at the same time be part of a modern community of nations.

Jinnah so respected women's rights that he insisted that his sister, Fatima Jinnah, be with him publicly in his struggle for the creation of Pakistan in 1947. Fatima Jinnah herself became a role model for women. And Jinnah deeply loved his wife, Ruttie, who was a non-Muslim (and half his age), and his only child, Dina, who, as a young woman, refused to marry a Muslim. The women in Jinnah's family thus created problems for those who wished to portray Jinnah as a straightforward religious extremist.

That view of Jinnah was pushed most strongly after General Zia-ul-Haq took power in 1977 through a military coup and launched a campaign to "Islamize" Pakistan. But how do you explain a wife who is not a Muslim, and a daughter who refused to marry a Muslim? The historian Sharif al-Mujahid -- whose 1981 biography of Jinnah, Quaid-i-Azam Jinnah, is perhaps the best known in Pakistan -- did not mention either woman in his 806-page volume. Nor do Pakistan's official archives, pictorial exhibitions, or official publications contain more than a picture or two of them.

To portray the real Jinnah, Akbar Ahmed, one of the authors of this essay, along with several friends and colleagues, spent the 1990s on several related projects, which came to be called the Jinnah Quartet. They included the feature film Jinnah (released in English and Urdu in 2000); a television documentary, Mr. Jinnah -- The Making of Pakistan (released in 1997); an academic book called Jinnah, Pakistan and Islamic Identity: The Search for Saladin (published by Routledge in 1997); and a graphic novel (published by Oxford University Press in 1997).

The Jinnah Quartet attempted to answer a crucial question about Muslim society that many scholars and intellectuals -- Muslims and non-Muslims alike -- are asking in their respective countries: Can Muslim countries produce moderate leaders? Do Muslims have leaders who care for human rights, women's rights, minority rights, and the sanctity of law, and who can lead their nations to the international community with honor? The authors of the quartet believe that Jinnah was one such leader who provides a relevant, contemporary model. The Jinnah Quartet attempted not only to challenge images and ideas of the last days of the British Raj, but also communicate ideas about leadership, the nature of the Islamic state, and the compassionate and tolerant nature of Islam.

The Jinnah Quartet project was controversial. Once the filming started in 1997 -- in England, where the author was living, and on location in Pakistan -- the Pakistani press and various political parties launched a disinformation campaign, claiming that Salman Rushdie had written the script for the film, or that it was part of a Hindu or a Zionist conspiracy.

While filming in Pakistan, the author and others involved in the project were verbally attacked and threatened by journalists and "concerned citizens," and important officials repeatedly warned them not to portray a tolerant Jinnah and the tolerant Islam he represented. Journalists demanded money to publish positive articles about the project or threatened to write slander; bureaucrats tried to stop the project through delays and denials of permissions necessary for filming. (Eventually, the government of Pakistan reneged on a written agreement and pulled out almost one-third of the budget it had committed during the shooting of the film.) The project was completed, and the film won several awards at international film festivals. But despite gratifying responses in the West, Africa, and even Pakistan, the Jinnah model appears to have failed in the Muslim world. Even those political leaders who believe in democracy, once in power, fall back on tyranny and corruption to stay in office.

Ordinary citizens have little idea that an indigenous democratic model is available to Muslim society, because the scholars and intellectuals who can articulate that vision are being silenced.

When Muslim scholars and intellectuals -- those who seek and foster knowledge -- are silenced, Muslim citizens are cut off from part of who they are. Islam places enormous emphasis on knowledge. It charges humans to use their God-given reason to better themselves and their dependents, and throughout history ordinary Muslims have cherished that expectation and the benefits such knowledge has produced. They appreciate the control that knowledge gives them over their destiny, the connections it allows them to form with people different from themselves, the insight it gives them into their faith, and the limits it may place on those who exercise power. For that multifarious search for knowledge to be jeopardized is to risk not only the loss of information but a crucial element of who Muslims know themselves to be.

We think of knowledge in this information age as readily accessible to all. When we see an Internet cafe in a dusty town of South Asia or a satellite dish hooked up to a car battery in the countryside of North Africa, we assume that authoritarian regimes can no longer control the flow of communication. But being hooked up and online may make it easier to know what is happening across the world than to know of events in the next town or district.

In many Muslim regimes, intelligence agencies with their own agendas and presidents who exercise their powers capriciously create a constant state of uncertainty that spreads well beyond the challenge of any one thinker's ideas or proposed reforms. When the scholar is silenced it is not useless knowledge that is lost: It is the sense that pursuing knowledge, wherever it may be found, is no longer part of the expression of God's will.

Pressures on intellectual freedom come from many sources.

Indeed, knowledge, for Muslims, is integral to justice, for how, from the Muslim perspective, is one to determine what balance is to be struck among alternatives if one lacks the knowledge to assess choices in the first place? How is one to attach oneself to reliable others if there is no way to tell how they comported themselves in other contexts or made use of the other connections they have forged? How, indeed, is one to achieve the Islamic ideal of knowledge if one is not free to inquire, probe, and appraise the world, for which Allah has told the believer he bears responsibility? When Abdus Salam needed to be protected by riot police on his first visit home after winning the Nobel Prize in 1979, when the co-author of this essay, on returning home after a year at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, was asked by a Pakistani general, "Why have you returned home? We don't need scholars and intellectuals in Pakistan," when researchers like Professor Ibrahim must risk their freedom to publish a survey of voter sentiment, the loss to ordinary Muslims is far greater than each individual case may appear to suggest.

What was once an occasional event -- silencing scholars -- increasingly has become a way of life in most Muslim countries. Along with the appearance of open information -- access to e-mail and the Internet, for example -- in Muslim countries like Egypt and Indonesia has come a more intense denial of intellectual freedom than at any time in recent history. Large numbers of the educated middle class are trying to leave, or have already left, their home countries.

Their exit further weakens the equation of knowledge and Islamic virtue, leaving the field to those, like the followers of Osama bin Laden, who see injustice, but have stilled or lost the voices that could assess it in terms both objective and Islamic. The prophet Muhammad said, "The death of a scholar is the death of the universe." And the president of the American University of Beirut, Malcolm Kerr, gunned down in his office in 1984, once wrote: "If ideas are not available to shape events, then by default events will shape ideas, in keeping with their own unplanned and, perhaps, grotesque course." At a time when it is easy to ignore intellectual freedom while concentrating on combating terrorism, we must remember that only when Muslims have a full range of options freely and openly available to them can creative alternatives to extremism be entertained; only when we in the West support the same openness of thought in the Muslim world that we expect in our own societies can the hopes of ordinary people for improvement in their lives become the basis for a common bond. Saad Ibrahim remains behind bars in Egypt, the quiet American pressures to gain his release obscured by the needs of momentary alliance with that country's government.

If Ibrahim and others like him are, like truth itself, further casualties of a war on terrorism, the victory that will be gained will only fertilize the seeds of perpetual disaffection in Muslim countries and reinforce the image that Westerners are not concerned with freedom except for their own citizens. Meanwhile the lack of clarity and stability in Muslim society will further encourage those who interpret Islam to mean violence and anarchy.

Islam and Judaism

2009-06-07T12:00:00.000+07:00

Akbar S. Ahmed, celebrates the Jewish contribution to humanity and the shared core belief in the one omnipotent, universal God.

American incursions into Iraq mean that once again Muslims and Jews, and not only in the Middle East, will be on opposite sides. Yet when I, as a Muslim, contemplate the Jewish contribution to humanity in history, I feel awe and pride. Awe because of the scale of the contribution -some of the most influential shapers of our world have Jewish associations, like Marx, Freud and Einstein. And pride because I am aware that there are traditional and mythological connections between Islam and Judaism. Both go back to the core of belief - to the idea of one omnipotent, universal God.

The remarkable harmony and symbiosis recorded in history is often overlooked because of the current confrontation in the Middle East, and it is well for scholars and leaders to look back to the synthesis there once was in Spain. The Encyclopaedia Britannica notes the "almost boundless toleration" of the Muslims: "In Spain there came about a remarkable revival. The Jews knew no restrictions upon their activities... the Arab invasion brought salvation." Muslim Spain, at its best, was a culture of religious and cultural tolerance, of libraries and literature and parks.

Several times, when Muslims took Jerusalem from Christians, one of their first acts was to allow Jews back to the city: Hazrat Umar, one of the greatest names of Islam, who reconquered Jerusalem, permitted the Jews to return to the city. I was not surprised to learn that a great Muslim hero, Salahuddin, had as a senior advisor Maimonides, the great Jewish scholar.

In sharp contrast is anti-Semitism in Europe, where Christians widely believed that Jews were Christ-killers; they had betrayed Christ and so had to be punished. Crusaders against the Muslims often began their journey in Europe by slaughtering Jews. Hitler's Glaubenskrieg, the war against Jews, was the culmination, the inexorable conclusion, of a millennium of anti-Semitism. It has become the symbol of evil, and the Holocaust one of the darkest stains on human conscience.

Let us constantly remind ourselves that anti-Semitism is far from dead in Europe. As a Muslim, I note that whenever there is Islamophobia or hatred against Muslims, the signs of anti-Semitism are not far behind. We need to point out that the roots of prejudice among Muslims against the Jewish people are complex and originate from different sources. Prejudice can be religious, ie anti-Judaic; it can be racist, ie anti-Semitic; and it can be political, ie anti-Zionist. Prejudice may combine all three, but one prejudice does not automatically assume the other two. There may be those who oppose the political ideas of Zionism, but are not either anti-Judaic or anti-Semitic.

The success of Zionism in creating Israel complicates matters for Muslims. Loss of land for the Palestinians and the loss of Jerusalem are viewed with injustice and anger among Muslims. In the rhetoric of confrontation, many themselves blur the distinction between anti-Judaism, anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism. Such Muslims make the mistake they accuse others of making about themselves: seeing all Jews as monolithic and threatening.

It would be foolish, though, to deny that unless Muslims feel that genuine tolerance and compassion are shown to the Palestinian people, unless the right of Muslims to the holy city of Jerusalem is acknowledged, and unless media hostility is checked, there will be no end to the confrontation between religions and nations. The people of the Book - Muslims, Jews and Christians - need to find a way of living peacefully together. If we cannot think in terms of our common noble religions, let us think in terms of our common cultural heritage as representing the ideal.

Only a few months ago I had a grandson. He was named Ibrahim after the great Muslim prophet, who is also the great Jewish and Christian patriarch. Ibrahim inherits a legacy of several millennia. He will not be denied his heritage. I would like him to see the Jews and Christians as kin, People of the Book. I would also like him to visit and pray in Jerusalem, with peace in his heart. For me, from Adam in the mists of time to Ibrahim, my grandson, there is a span of human history which both incorporates the great religions of the world and provides hope and optimism for the future.

• Akbar Ahmed, Fellow, Selwyn College, Cambridge, was the first Muslim asked by the Liberal and Progressive Synagogues to deliver the Rabbi Dr David Goldstein Memorial Lecture. His book, A Short Introduction to Islam, was published in February 1999.

Source: The Guardian (London) Saturday, January 16, 1999

Steps to Gaining Allah's Love

2009-05-09T16:49:00.001+07:00

Seven Qualities that Allah Loves

Seven Qualities that Allah does not Love

1. Tawbah (Repentance)

(Truly Allah loves those who turn to Him in repentance) (Al-Baqarah 2:222)

Repentance is a form of detoxification – Sincere repentance cleanses and beautifies the Iman (faith).

We all commit sins but Allah loves those who after committing sins, seek forgiveness with deep sorrow and regret.

This is the only way by which the past can be set right. Allah has a concern for those He loves, therefore each time we slip and relapse into the abyss of desires and sincerely repent, He (exalted be Him) leads us out of it to the summit of forgiveness and further relieves us of hardship and provides for us.

2. Taharah (Purification)

(...Allah loves those who purify themselves) (Al-Baqarah 2: 222).

This is the external purification. The secret to this is performing the acts with the intention of following the example of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

The removal of filth from the body by performing wudu’ (ablution) and ghusl (ritual bath) and removal of filth from the garment, body and place of prayer. They are acts that purify the body and radiate the Iman. It is a means by which Almighty Allah will wipe out our sins and raise our ranks.

3. Taqwa (Piety)

(Surely, Allah loves Al-Muttaqun (the pious) ) (At-Tawbah 9: 4)

The fear of Allah is the source of a pure soul – it is borne out of love and obedience. Thus, a pious person is constantly driven to do good only.

He/She is humble and does not flaunt piety in front of others. The fear of Allah beautifies the Iman and is the origin of all good as one continues to strive to do only what pleases Allah and stay away from the things that would displease him.

Piety is an internal quality as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said,

“Taqwa is here” and he pointed to his chest (Muslim) and it is a quality that puts us above others in the sight of Allah.

4. Ihsan (Goodness & Perfection)

(Verily Allah loves Al-Muhsinun (the good doers)) (Aal `Imran 3: 34).

Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) says,

"Ihsan is to worship Allah (SWT) as if you see Him and if you cannot achieve this devotion, then you must know that He sees you" (Al-Bukhari).

Ihsan goes beyond a noble trait; it is an integral part of Islam. It is the secret to an attentive heart – knowing that Allah is watching everything. This fills the heart with respect and veneration and one becomes too embarrassed to go against Allah's commands. It promotes performance of good deeds for the sake of Allah and not for show-off or to gain praise or fame.

5. Tawakkul (Trust in Allah)

(Allah loves those who put their trust in Him) (Aal `Imran 3:159).

The secret and reality of trust in Allah is the reliance of the heart on Allah alone. Therefore trusting in Allah by wordof mouth is different from trusting in Him by the heart.

Reliance is doing and hoping; doing everything necessary within one's capability to achieve one's aim and hoping with tranquility of heart and soul and putting one's trust in Allah with firm belief that whatever the outcome might be, it is as a result of the Will of Allah and His Decree.

One should never feel that too much time has passed by without supplications being answered; rather we should always place our hope on the One who is able to do all things. Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him ) says, "If you all depend on Allah, with due reliance, He would certainly give you provision as He gives to birds who go forth hungry in the morning and return with full bellies at dusk" (At-Tirmidhi).

6. Qist (Justice)

(Verily, Allah loves those who act justly) (Al-Ma’idah 5:42).

Justice is a prerequisite to peace which is missing in our contemporary society. It involves giving other people the right we give ourselves, treating people the way we would like to be treated.

Justice sounds like a word meant for the leaders alone but rather it affects us all.
It means:

-To beequitable in speech and in actions.
-With no degree of discrimination or false testimony.
-It involves being fair with regards to one's family and those who are in our custody; justice between children by not giving one preference over the other.
-By not committing wrong against oneself such as engaging in sinful practices and immoral acts.
-Justice with Allah in not associating any being with Him in worship and obedience.

7. Sabr (Patience)

(And Allah loves As-Sabirin (the patient) ) (Aal `Imran 3:146).

Patience is one of the most noble of virtues and traits. It is to endure what one dislikes with a sense of acceptance and submission and anticipating Allah's reward.

Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "patience to Iman is like the head to a body: if the head is cut off, the body perishes as well." (Gems and Jewels)

Muslims should adhere to patience when afflicted with calamity and should not yield either to desperation nor despondence because if we are patient, everything that was destined and preordained for us will occur and we will be rewarded. If we complain and are hopeless, then all that was destined for us will still occur, but we will be blamed for our impatience at Allah's Will.

1. Israaf (extravagance)

(Verily, He likes not Al-Musrifun (those who waste by extravagance)) (Al-An'am 6:141)

Excessive spending and lavishness in everything is the core of evil and leads to greater evil. It makes one forget the hereafter and preparing for it. Such acts would be a cause of humiliation and disgrace on the Day of Judgment.

That is why Almighty Allah has prescribed zakah (obligatory alms) and sadaqah (voluntary charity) in order to bless the wealth and to curb extravagance in eating, drinking, clothing and in everything we do.

2. Istikbaar (Pride)

(He likes not the proud) (An-Nahl 16:23)

And the Prophet says,

"Pride is to completely disregard the truth and scorn (looking down upon) the people" (Muslim)

Sometimes a person might be deceived by his/ her knowledge, wealth and property, lineage and ancestry, or worship and be arrogant and boastful.

Al-Hasan Al-Basri advised that: "Do not become proud merely because you worship often, for consider what happened to Iblis after he spent a great deal of time worshipping" (Gems and Jewels)

Pride is among the greatest means of damage to a person's wealth and circumstances. It distances one away from Allah's love and "Whoever has an iota of pride in his/her heart will not enter Paradise" (Muslim).

3. Mukhtal fakhoor (Arrogant boaster)

(Verily, Allah likes not any arrogant boaster) (Luqman 31:18).

Being arrogant and boastful are a deadly combination –beauty, knowledge, wealth and noble lineage should be taken as gifts from Almighty Allah and one should be humble and grateful for them rather than make them a means of pride and oppression.

Servants of Allah cannot be true to themselves as long as they are flattering themselves, walking in an arrogant manner and looking down on people who are inferior to them and not mix with them.

The one who is arrogant in this world will be disgraced on the Day of Judgment.

Prophet Muhammad says,

"The arrogant will be gathered on the Day of Judgment in the form of small ants. Humiliation will surround them from everywhere" (At-Tirmidhi).

4. Udwaan (Transgression)

(Verily, Allah does not like the transgressors-(mu'tadeen) ) (Al-Ma’idah 5: 87).

Human characteristics have limitations, which if surpassed would be transgression and if one falls short of it, it would be a defect – for example, generosity has a limitation, when surpassed, it becomes extravagance, when courage is surpassed, it becomes rashness; when ibadah (worship) is surpassed, one falls into the risk of adopting bid’ah - some of the Companions almost fell into this trap when one of them said, "I will not eat meat,'' another said, "I will not marry women,'' while the third said, "I will not sleep on the bed.''

When the Prophet (may peace and blessings be upon him) heard these statements, he said, “What is the matter with some people who said such and such? I fast and break the fast, sleep and wake to stand to pray, eat meat, and marry women. He who is not pleased with my Sunnah is not with me.”(Al Bukhari)

Therefore, moderation is the best way to deal with all matters – it is not to exaggerate and make it hard for ourselves by prohibiting the permissible things. And not to transgress the limits by excessively indulging in the permissible matters but rather we should only use what satisfies our need and not fall into extravagance.

5. Zulm (Evil, wrongdoing)

(And Allah does not like the Zalimun (oppressors, polytheists and wrong doers)) (Al-Imran 3:57).

This is a reprehensible trait whose existence spoils the Iman and darkens the heart. The wrongdoers are those who have chosen the tempting transient life instead of the hereafter.

All acts of wrongdoing such as stealing, breach of trust, embezzlement, usurping the rights of others, and bribery, have serious consequences in the hereafter.

In a Hadith Qudsi, Almighty Allah says: "O my servants, I have forbidden oppression for Myself and have made it forbidden among you. Therefore, do not commit oppression" (Muslim).

6. Khiyaanah (Treachery)

(Certainly, Allah likes not the treacherous) (Al-Anfal 8: 58).

The treacherous one is two-faced and inconsistent in words and deeds. Acts of treachery lead to betrayal, disloyalty, perfidy, deception and hypocrisy which in turn soil the Iman.

7. Ifsaad (Mischief-making)

(And Allah does not like the mufsidun (mischief makers)) (Al-Ma’idah 5: 64).

This is a comprehensive term which includes great crimes, sins, oppression, carrying false tales, hypocrisy, tyranny and all kinds of mischief. All these acts are despicable and stain the Iman.

Hasten today to adopt the qualities that Almighty Allah loves and don't rest until they become second nature to you; hasten today to abandon all the qualities Allah does not love and don't relent until you hate them with all your heart. The Prophet said: "Faith wears out in the heart of any one of you just as clothes wear out, so ask Allah to renew the faith in your hearts." (Al-Haakim in Al-Mustadrak and Al-Haythami in Majma Az-Zawaa'id)

Therefore the key is supplication, resorting to Allah and sincere desire to please Him followed by action, so we say,

"Allahuma habbib ilayna –Al-Iman wa zayyinhu fi quloobina.

"O Allah make Iman beloved to us and beautify it in our hearts".

References

•Tafsir Ibn Kathir
•Al-Fawaid – A collection of wise sayings by Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim
•The key to paradise by Ibn Rajab Al-Hanbali
•Gems and jewels –wise sayings, interesting events & moral lessons from the Islamic history, compiled by Abdul-Malik Mujahid (Darussalam)
•Glimpses of the lives of Righteous people, compiled by Majdi Muhammad Ash-Shahawi (Darussalam)

Sources:

Excerpt from Sisters magazine courtesy of sisters-magazine.com

Umm Haneefah is a Nigerian Muslimah residing in Warwickshire, UK. She is a

regular contributor to Sisters Magazine

Steps to Gaining Allah's Love

2009-05-09T16:47:00.000+07:00

By Umm Haneefah

Muslim Writer—Nigeria

Riwayat Attubani-Islam, Zhikr and Duaa are ways to Allah
TheQur'an details seven qualities that Almighty Allah loves and seven qualities that Almighty Allah does not love. Then, we-Muslims-have a way to explore the steps to gaining His Love.

Human beings by nature, love rewards when they exert themselves. And when they are devoted to a cause, coupled with anticipating the rewards, they tend to strive more and bear the discomfort that comes with the struggle.

This is similar to our relationship with Allah. Almighty Allah loves it when we exert ourselves for His sake and He describes the payoffs when He loves His servant.

As prophet Muhammad says in a hadith qudsi,

"...When I love him(my faithful servant) I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it. I do not hesitate about anything as much as I hesitate about [seizing] the soul of My faithful servant: he hates death and I hate hurting him" (Al-Bukhari).

This is indeed an aspiration worth pursuing, a dream worth fulfilling and a love worth nurturing.

Why would it not be?

The One who does good when displeased,

How will He be when pleased?

(The key to Paradise by Ibn Rajab Al-Hanbali)

Therefore, to complete one's faith and gain this love, we should seek only Allah alone in love, hate, giving and withholding and Allah alone must be our Lord and the only One whom we worship.

Let me break it down - It is total submission and the essence of submission is to love what the Beloved loves and to abstain from what He does not love.

This was how our pious predecessors achieved the criteria of true worshippers and reached the highest level in their efforts. Allah loves His servant to beautify his tongue through speaking the truth, his heart through sincerity, piety, repentance, trust and patience, his body through obeying and purifying it from all dirt.

Islam and Freedom of Thought

2009-04-22T15:47:00.000+07:00

Ordinary citizens have little idea that an indigenous democratic model is available to Muslim society, because the scholars and intellectuals who can articulate that vision are being silenced.

Pressures on intellectual freedom come from many sources.