Nov 21, 2007
by zen non
Herewith is a very nice talk by two Britons who converted to Islam, a black man and a white man whom later change their name to Abdul Haq Baker and Abdur Raheem Green. I had downloaded it from Islamictorrent.net sometimes ago and I had uploaded it recently. It may take a while to download but it worth the time.
From Rap to Reality.mp3
Quoting from br_syed, the uploader:
Bismillah hir-Rahman nir-Rahim
In the Name Of Allah, The Most Merciful, The Giver of Mercy
'Whomsoever guides towards a goodness will get virtues equal to the one who perform that goodness.' (Sahih Muslim)
"From Rap... To Reality" with Abdul Haq Baker & Abdur Raheem Green
Inspiring lecture on how two of London's daees came to Islam.
May Allah reward the speakers for their efforts.
Audio Lecture (English Language)
Size: 43.05 MB (45,144,576 bytes)
Length: 1hour 34minutes 3seconds
Format: mp3
Bitrate: 64mbps
Other Comments:
At 46minutes 34seconds there is a slight gap. If you know of software to snip mp3 files please post it in comment sections. Otherwise please make dua for the efforts of the speakers.
From Rap to Reality.mp3
Quoting from br_syed, the uploader:
Bismillah hir-Rahman nir-Rahim
In the Name Of Allah, The Most Merciful, The Giver of Mercy
'Whomsoever guides towards a goodness will get virtues equal to the one who perform that goodness.' (Sahih Muslim)
"From Rap... To Reality" with Abdul Haq Baker & Abdur Raheem Green
Inspiring lecture on how two of London's daees came to Islam.
May Allah reward the speakers for their efforts.
Audio Lecture (English Language)
Size: 43.05 MB (45,144,576 bytes)
Length: 1hour 34minutes 3seconds
Format: mp3
Bitrate: 64mbps
Other Comments:
At 46minutes 34seconds there is a slight gap. If you know of software to snip mp3 files please post it in comment sections. Otherwise please make dua for the efforts of the speakers.
Nov 19, 2007
by zen non
Question 7 - Is the Qur'an fallible? Can the contents of the Qur'an be re-interpreted in light of the 21st century? If yes how do you get around earlier rulings (by each of the schools of Islam) that the Qur'an is unchangeable in interpretation for eternity.
This another question that I do not have the credibility to answer it. But here is the answer taken from this site.
Title: What is the Purpose of Life
Chapter: Is the Quran credible? by Mostafa Malaekah - http://www.islam-guide.com/
Besides religious guidance, the Quran contains hundreds of verses that speak of the universe, its components and phenomena such as the Earth, the sun, the moon, the stars, mountains, wind, running water, plants, embryological animals, and the successive stages of development of the human being. More than 1,000 verses relating to cosmic facts or cosmic phenomena can be counted in the Quran. During the early days of the Quran, scientific knowledge of the universe was limited and it was not easy to elaborate on the verses relating to the universe or its phenomena except within the limitations of the time.
However, we now know about the laws of the universe much more than before and that is why reviewing the 1,000 or more verses relating to the cosmos, man and his surroundings can be one of the most obvious miraculous aspects of the Quran. This is because of the precedence of the Quran, which was revealed more than 14 Centuries ago, with many of the scientific facts, at a time when people had no knowledge whatsoever of such facts.
The Quran has addressed so many of these facts in a language that is more precise, accurate and concise than scientists have ever been able to do. Nothing in the Quran contradicts any established scientific facts. These cannot be all covered in a short article and hence I have chosen only five verses that can testify to the miraculous nature of the Quran from a scientific point of view:
1) The creation of the universe is explained by astrophysicists in a widely accepted phenomenon, popularly known as the “Big Bang.” It is supported by observational and experimental data gathered by astronomers and astrophysicists for decades. According to the “Big Bang,” the whole universe was initially one big mass (Primary Nebula). Then there was a “Big Bang” (Secondary Separation), which resulted in the formation of Galaxies. These then divided to form stars, planets, the sun, the moon, etc. The origin of the universe was unique and the probability of it occurring by “chance” is zero. The Quran contains the following verse, regarding the origin of the universe:
«"Have those who disbelieved not considered that the heavens and the earth were (once) a joined entity, then We separated them and made from water every living thing? Then will they not believe? "» [21:30]
The striking congruence between the Quranic verse and the “Big Bang” is inescapable! How could a book, which first appeared in the deserts of Arabia 1400 years ago, contain this profound scientific truth?
2) In 1925 an American astronomer by the name of Edwin Hubble provided observational evidence that all galaxies are receding from one another, which implies that the universe is expanding. The expansion of the universe is now an established scientific fact. This is what the Quran says regarding the formation of the universe:
«"And the heaven We constructed with strength, and indeed, We are [its] expander."» [51:47]
Stephen Hawking, in his book A Brief History of Time, says: “The discovery that the universe is expanding is one of the great intellectual revolutions of the 20th century.” The Quran mentioned the expansion of the universe before man even learnt to build a telescope!
3) Scientists say that before the galaxies in the universe were formed, celestial matter was initially in the form of gaseous matter. In short, huge gaseous matter or clouds were present before the formation of the galaxies. To describe initial celestial matter, the word “smoke” is more appropriate than gas. The following Quranic verse refers to this state of the universe by the word dukhan which means smoke:
«"Then He turned to the heaven when it was smoke... "» [41:11]
Again, this fact is a corollary to the “Big Bang” and was not known to mankind during the time of the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H). What then, could have been the source of this knowledge?
4) It was thought that the sense of feeling and pain was only dependent on the brain. Recent discoveries prove that there are pain receptors present in the skin without which a person would not be able to feel pain. When a doctor examines a patient suffering from burn injuries, he verifies the degree of burns by a pinprick. If the patient feels pain, the doctor is happy, because it indicates that the burns are superficial and the pain receptors are intact. On the other hand if the patient does not feel any pain, it indicates that it is a deep burn and the pain receptors have been destroyed. The Quran gives an indication of the existence of pain receptors in the following verse:
«"Indeed, those who disbelieve in Our verses (i.e. signs, proofs) - We will drive them into a Fire. Every time their skins are roasted through We will replace them with other skins so they may taste the punishment. Indeed, Allah is ever Exalted in Might and Wise. But those who believe and do righteous deeds - We will admit them to gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they abide forever."» [4:56-57]
Prof. Tagatat Tejasen, Chairman of the Dept. of Anatomy at Chiang Mai University in Thailand, had spent a great amount of time on research of pain receptors. Initially he could not believe that the Quran mentioned this scientific fact 1400 years ago. He later verified the translation of this particular Quranic verse. Prof. Tejasen was so impressed by the scientific accuracy of the Quranic verse, that at a medical Conference in 1985 he proclaimed in public the Shahadah (Islamic Declaration of Faith), i.e. he embraced Islam.
5) The source of iron (Fe); we read in the Quran:
«"Indeed, We have sent down iron in which there is great (military) might and benefits for the people."» [57:25]
It has recently been proven that all iron, not only in our planet but also in the entire solar system, was obtained from outer space. This is because the temperature of the sun cannot generate iron. The sun has a surface temperature of 6000 degrees Celsius and a central temperature of about 20 million degrees Celsius. There exist much hotter stars, which are known as novae, or super novae where temperatures can reach 100s of billions of degrees Celsius and it is in these stars that iron is formed. When the percentage of iron reaches a certain proportion of the mass of the star it explodes and these exploded-particles travel in space until they are captured by the gravitational fields of other heavenly bodies. This is how our solar system all obtained its iron and it is an established fact today that all the iron in our solar system was not generated or created within the system but has come to it from outer space.
One wonders why the Quran comments on matters like these, things that were not known to anyone at the time of revelation or even for centuries afterwards, unless Allah knows in His eternal knowledge that the time will come when man will then immediately realize that the Quran is the word of Allah and that Muhammad is His last messenger. Allah says in the Quran:
«"We shall show them Our signs in the horizons and within themselves until it becomes clear to them that it is the truth."» [41:53]
Prof. Tejasen accepted Islam on the strength of just one scientific “sign” mentioned in the Quran. Some people may require ten signs while some may require hundred signs to be convinced about the Divine origin of the Quran. Some would be unwilling to accept the Truth even after being shown a thousand signs. The Quran condemns such a closed mentality:
«"Deaf, dumb and blind- so they will not return [to the right path]."» [2:18].
Also:
«"The example of those who disbelieve is like that of the one who shouts at what hears nothing but calls and cries [i.e. cattle or sheep] - deaf, dumb and blind, so they do not understand."» [2:171].
And:
«"Then do they not reflect upon the Quran, or are there locks upon [their] hearts?"» [47:24]
What is the Purpose of Life?
So what does the Creator, Allah, tell us about our purpose in life? Allah states in the Quran that He created man to be His Khalefah, His trustee on earth (Quran 2:30). Mankind’s basic trust, our responsibility, is to believe in and worship Allah:
«"And I did not create the Jinn and mankind except to worship Me…"» [51:56-58]
Very simple! The purpose for man’s creation is to worship the Creator. The essence of Allah’s message through all of the prophets also was:
«“O mankind, worship Allah, you have no deity other than Him."» [7:59].
Allah further states that He made this life in order to test man so that every person may be recompensed after death for what he has earned:
«“[He] who created death and life to test you [as to] which of you is best in deed - and He is the Exalted in Might, the Forgiving."» [67:2]
But in order to worship Him, we have to know Him well otherwise we may form a distorted concept of Him and then go astray. In the Quran Allah tells mankind what He is and what He is not. For example, in response to a question about Allah that was posed to the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H), Allah instructs Muhammad (P.B.U.H) to give the following reply:
«“Say : He is Allah [Who is] One, Allah, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born, nor is there to Him any equivalent."» [112]
It is clear from this that Muhammad (P.B.U.H) is not the author of the Quran otherwise he would not have shown that someone is dictating to him what to say.
Also, Allah has to tell us how He wants to be worshipped, which He does in the Quran. He also tells us in the Quran that all Prophets came with the same identical message to their people - that is to believe in Allah and to worship Him. He also tells us in the Quran that all the people of other religions have deviated from the original teachings of their prophets. This is due to two reasons.
The first is that earlier scriptures were not preserved simply because of the absence or scarcity of writing paper and so the teachings were transmitted orally and with time became distorted.
The second reason is because the clergy of various religions introduced doctrines that were never there (e.g., the Christian trinity creed was introduced only after the council of Nicea in 325 AD and the Council of Constantinople in 386 AD). Because of the changes that crept into earlier religions, Allah tells us that He sent the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) as the last and final prophet and guidance to mankind with a scripture that He promised would be preserved forever. Allah provides a test to prove that the Quran is from Him. Allah says:
«“Then do they not reflect upon the Quran? (i.e. its meanings and its objective) If it had been from [any] other than Allah, they would have found within it much contradiction "» [4:82]
The Quran is available for scrutiny and investigation by any person to try to find even one error or contradiction in it. In fact this test must be applied to any other scripture that claims it is the word of God.
This another question that I do not have the credibility to answer it. But here is the answer taken from this site.
Title: What is the Purpose of Life
Chapter: Is the Quran credible? by Mostafa Malaekah - http://www.islam-guide.com/
Besides religious guidance, the Quran contains hundreds of verses that speak of the universe, its components and phenomena such as the Earth, the sun, the moon, the stars, mountains, wind, running water, plants, embryological animals, and the successive stages of development of the human being. More than 1,000 verses relating to cosmic facts or cosmic phenomena can be counted in the Quran. During the early days of the Quran, scientific knowledge of the universe was limited and it was not easy to elaborate on the verses relating to the universe or its phenomena except within the limitations of the time.
However, we now know about the laws of the universe much more than before and that is why reviewing the 1,000 or more verses relating to the cosmos, man and his surroundings can be one of the most obvious miraculous aspects of the Quran. This is because of the precedence of the Quran, which was revealed more than 14 Centuries ago, with many of the scientific facts, at a time when people had no knowledge whatsoever of such facts.
The Quran has addressed so many of these facts in a language that is more precise, accurate and concise than scientists have ever been able to do. Nothing in the Quran contradicts any established scientific facts. These cannot be all covered in a short article and hence I have chosen only five verses that can testify to the miraculous nature of the Quran from a scientific point of view:
1) The creation of the universe is explained by astrophysicists in a widely accepted phenomenon, popularly known as the “Big Bang.” It is supported by observational and experimental data gathered by astronomers and astrophysicists for decades. According to the “Big Bang,” the whole universe was initially one big mass (Primary Nebula). Then there was a “Big Bang” (Secondary Separation), which resulted in the formation of Galaxies. These then divided to form stars, planets, the sun, the moon, etc. The origin of the universe was unique and the probability of it occurring by “chance” is zero. The Quran contains the following verse, regarding the origin of the universe:
«"Have those who disbelieved not considered that the heavens and the earth were (once) a joined entity, then We separated them and made from water every living thing? Then will they not believe? "» [21:30]
The striking congruence between the Quranic verse and the “Big Bang” is inescapable! How could a book, which first appeared in the deserts of Arabia 1400 years ago, contain this profound scientific truth?
2) In 1925 an American astronomer by the name of Edwin Hubble provided observational evidence that all galaxies are receding from one another, which implies that the universe is expanding. The expansion of the universe is now an established scientific fact. This is what the Quran says regarding the formation of the universe:
«"And the heaven We constructed with strength, and indeed, We are [its] expander."» [51:47]
Stephen Hawking, in his book A Brief History of Time, says: “The discovery that the universe is expanding is one of the great intellectual revolutions of the 20th century.” The Quran mentioned the expansion of the universe before man even learnt to build a telescope!
3) Scientists say that before the galaxies in the universe were formed, celestial matter was initially in the form of gaseous matter. In short, huge gaseous matter or clouds were present before the formation of the galaxies. To describe initial celestial matter, the word “smoke” is more appropriate than gas. The following Quranic verse refers to this state of the universe by the word dukhan which means smoke:
«"Then He turned to the heaven when it was smoke... "» [41:11]
Again, this fact is a corollary to the “Big Bang” and was not known to mankind during the time of the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H). What then, could have been the source of this knowledge?
4) It was thought that the sense of feeling and pain was only dependent on the brain. Recent discoveries prove that there are pain receptors present in the skin without which a person would not be able to feel pain. When a doctor examines a patient suffering from burn injuries, he verifies the degree of burns by a pinprick. If the patient feels pain, the doctor is happy, because it indicates that the burns are superficial and the pain receptors are intact. On the other hand if the patient does not feel any pain, it indicates that it is a deep burn and the pain receptors have been destroyed. The Quran gives an indication of the existence of pain receptors in the following verse:
«"Indeed, those who disbelieve in Our verses (i.e. signs, proofs) - We will drive them into a Fire. Every time their skins are roasted through We will replace them with other skins so they may taste the punishment. Indeed, Allah is ever Exalted in Might and Wise. But those who believe and do righteous deeds - We will admit them to gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they abide forever."» [4:56-57]
Prof. Tagatat Tejasen, Chairman of the Dept. of Anatomy at Chiang Mai University in Thailand, had spent a great amount of time on research of pain receptors. Initially he could not believe that the Quran mentioned this scientific fact 1400 years ago. He later verified the translation of this particular Quranic verse. Prof. Tejasen was so impressed by the scientific accuracy of the Quranic verse, that at a medical Conference in 1985 he proclaimed in public the Shahadah (Islamic Declaration of Faith), i.e. he embraced Islam.
5) The source of iron (Fe); we read in the Quran:
«"Indeed, We have sent down iron in which there is great (military) might and benefits for the people."» [57:25]
It has recently been proven that all iron, not only in our planet but also in the entire solar system, was obtained from outer space. This is because the temperature of the sun cannot generate iron. The sun has a surface temperature of 6000 degrees Celsius and a central temperature of about 20 million degrees Celsius. There exist much hotter stars, which are known as novae, or super novae where temperatures can reach 100s of billions of degrees Celsius and it is in these stars that iron is formed. When the percentage of iron reaches a certain proportion of the mass of the star it explodes and these exploded-particles travel in space until they are captured by the gravitational fields of other heavenly bodies. This is how our solar system all obtained its iron and it is an established fact today that all the iron in our solar system was not generated or created within the system but has come to it from outer space.
One wonders why the Quran comments on matters like these, things that were not known to anyone at the time of revelation or even for centuries afterwards, unless Allah knows in His eternal knowledge that the time will come when man will then immediately realize that the Quran is the word of Allah and that Muhammad is His last messenger. Allah says in the Quran:
«"We shall show them Our signs in the horizons and within themselves until it becomes clear to them that it is the truth."» [41:53]
Prof. Tejasen accepted Islam on the strength of just one scientific “sign” mentioned in the Quran. Some people may require ten signs while some may require hundred signs to be convinced about the Divine origin of the Quran. Some would be unwilling to accept the Truth even after being shown a thousand signs. The Quran condemns such a closed mentality:
«"Deaf, dumb and blind- so they will not return [to the right path]."» [2:18].
Also:
«"The example of those who disbelieve is like that of the one who shouts at what hears nothing but calls and cries [i.e. cattle or sheep] - deaf, dumb and blind, so they do not understand."» [2:171].
And:
«"Then do they not reflect upon the Quran, or are there locks upon [their] hearts?"» [47:24]
What is the Purpose of Life?
So what does the Creator, Allah, tell us about our purpose in life? Allah states in the Quran that He created man to be His Khalefah, His trustee on earth (Quran 2:30). Mankind’s basic trust, our responsibility, is to believe in and worship Allah:
«"And I did not create the Jinn and mankind except to worship Me…"» [51:56-58]
Very simple! The purpose for man’s creation is to worship the Creator. The essence of Allah’s message through all of the prophets also was:
«“O mankind, worship Allah, you have no deity other than Him."» [7:59].
Allah further states that He made this life in order to test man so that every person may be recompensed after death for what he has earned:
«“[He] who created death and life to test you [as to] which of you is best in deed - and He is the Exalted in Might, the Forgiving."» [67:2]
But in order to worship Him, we have to know Him well otherwise we may form a distorted concept of Him and then go astray. In the Quran Allah tells mankind what He is and what He is not. For example, in response to a question about Allah that was posed to the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H), Allah instructs Muhammad (P.B.U.H) to give the following reply:
«“Say : He is Allah [Who is] One, Allah, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born, nor is there to Him any equivalent."» [112]
It is clear from this that Muhammad (P.B.U.H) is not the author of the Quran otherwise he would not have shown that someone is dictating to him what to say.
Also, Allah has to tell us how He wants to be worshipped, which He does in the Quran. He also tells us in the Quran that all Prophets came with the same identical message to their people - that is to believe in Allah and to worship Him. He also tells us in the Quran that all the people of other religions have deviated from the original teachings of their prophets. This is due to two reasons.
The first is that earlier scriptures were not preserved simply because of the absence or scarcity of writing paper and so the teachings were transmitted orally and with time became distorted.
The second reason is because the clergy of various religions introduced doctrines that were never there (e.g., the Christian trinity creed was introduced only after the council of Nicea in 325 AD and the Council of Constantinople in 386 AD). Because of the changes that crept into earlier religions, Allah tells us that He sent the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) as the last and final prophet and guidance to mankind with a scripture that He promised would be preserved forever. Allah provides a test to prove that the Quran is from Him. Allah says:
«“Then do they not reflect upon the Quran? (i.e. its meanings and its objective) If it had been from [any] other than Allah, they would have found within it much contradiction "» [4:82]
The Quran is available for scrutiny and investigation by any person to try to find even one error or contradiction in it. In fact this test must be applied to any other scripture that claims it is the word of God.
by zen non
Question 5 - What are your beliefs regarding equality for women? Can you justify your beliefs using Islamic
jurisprudence?
In my own opinion, men and women has their own role in life. Generally, men are the bread winner and women are bread cooker. Men are the leaders of society while women are the teachers at home. Men built house, women take care of the house, and so on. My point is men and women complete each other. But to me there are certain field that only men can excel and vice versa.For example, women should not be a political leader and men will find it difficult to raise a child at home. And no woman should be put on the battlefront.
I can't give you a good answer because my knowledge is limited, but I can show you a trusted site that already has the answer:
You can read the full article at this link
Title: Ten Misconceptions About Islam
In Islam, women are inferior to men because:
o a man can marry up to 4 wives, a woman can marry only one man
o a man's share of inheritance is bigger than a woman's
o a man can marry a non-Muslim, a woman cannot
o women must wear the veil
This widely held misconception does not remotely follow from the reasons given. The first and most important observation to make about the popular question "Are men and women equal?" is that it is a badly-formed, unanswerable question. The problem which many people conveniently ignore is that "equal" is not defined. This is a very critical point: the equality must be specified with respect to some measurable property. For example, women on average are superior to men if we ask who is shorter in height than the other ("Growth and Development", Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1992). Women are also superior on average if we ask whom do children bond to deeper, mothers or fathers.
Women are also superior on average if we ask who has a tendency to socialize more. On the other hand, men are superior on average if we ask who is taller in height than the other. And so on: every question can be turned around, and more importantly these are properties which are irrelevant.
What then, is the really important property which we are worried about in terms of gender equality? Naturally, from the point of view of the Qur'an and Sunnah, the obvious important property is who is dearer to Allah, men or women? This question is emphatically answered in the Qur'an (translation),
[4:124] If any do deeds of righteousness - be they male or female - and have faith, they will enter Paradise, and not the least injustice will be done to them.
[33:35] For Muslim men and women, for believing men and women, for devout men and women, for truthful men and women, for men and women who are patient and constant, for men and women who humble themselves, for men and women who give in charity, for men and women who fast, for men and women who guard their chastity, and for men and women who engage much in Allah's praise, for them has Allah prepared forgiveness and great reward.
The Qur'an and Sunnah repeat over and over again that Allah only favors one person over another based on that person's awareness, consciousness, fear, love, and hope of Allah (the Arabic word is difficult to translate: Taqwa). All other criteria are excluded: gender, ethnic group, country, ancestry, etc.
Given that Allah does not favor one gender over the other in His attention to us (and it helps to remember that Allah is neither male nor female), we can now address the differences between the genders in Islam. First, men and women are not the same as we know. The Creator states in the Qur'an (translation),
[3:36]...and the male is not like the female...
Men and women are different in their composition, and in their responsibilities under Islam. However, both are bound by obligations to one another, especially the following important one which must be understood in any discussion on men and women. From the Qur'an (translation),
[24:32] And marry those among you who are single and those who are fit among your male slaves and your female slaves; if they are needy, Allah will make them free from want out of His grace; and Allah is Ample-giving, Knowing.
In this verse, the Creator emphasizes that marriage is to be vigorously pursued by the Muslims: the state of being single is not to be maintained. With this in mind, we can begin to understand the four reasons cited above for the nonetheless erroneous conclusion.
Men and women are different in their responsibilities
[4:34] Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel the other, and because they spend of their property (for the support of women). So good women are the obedient, guarding in secret that which Allah hath guarded. As for those from whom ye fear rebellion, admonish them and banish them to beds apart, and scourge them. Then if they obey you, seek not a way against them. Lo! Allah is ever High, Exalted, Great.
Given that husbands are obligated to provide for wives, and that marriage is a highly recommended goal of Islam, it is easy to see why women's inheritance share is half that of men. We note also that men are obligated to provide a suitable dowry to women on marriage. In fact, it is preferable at this point to speak in terms of husbands and wives instead of men and women. Allah says in the Qur'an (translation),
[4:4] And give women their dowries as a free gift, but if they of themselves be pleased to give up to you a portion of it, then eat it with enjoyment and with wholesome result.
Allah says in the Qur'an (translation),
[2:228]...And they (women) have rights similar to those (of men) over them in kindness, and men are a degree above them...
This one degree in no way affects the position of the Creator in which He has stated that He does not hold women dearer to him than men, or vice versa. Rather it is simply a way of partitioning responsibilities in a household of two adults: someone must make the final decision on daily matters. As will be shown below in a section on a different misconception, though the final decision rests with the husband, it is through mutual consultation that decisions are best reached at.
While men are allowed to marry up to four wives, they are also commanded to meet the preconditions of being able to financially support them. They must also deal with each wife justly and fairly with respect to marital and economic obligations. Allah says in the Qur'an (translation),
[4:3] If ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans, Marry women of your choice, Two or three or four; but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one, or (a captive) that your right hands possess, that will be more suitable, to prevent you from doing injustice.
Moreover, women are allowed to reject any marriage proposal made to her by prospective suitors, thus if she does not feel she can abide by the rules of the Qur'an and Sunnah if she marries a certain person, she can reject his proposal. While it is irrelevant to Islam, it is worthwhile to note that both Judaism and Christianity allow polygamy. The idea is not as foreign to the non-Muslims as is often claimed.
Finally, the wearing of the veil by women is also an illogical premise to claim that women are inferior to men. It is more appropriate to indict a society of female exploitation if it tolerates pornography rather than if it enforces the veil. Given that Allah is neither male nor female, given that He does not endear people to Himself based on their gender, given that the Creator cares about all of us male or female, given that the sexual and violent drive of men is stronger than that of women...given all this, it is illogical to cast a negative light on the following injunctions contained in the Qur'an (translation),
[33:59] O Prophet, tell your wives and daughters and the believing women to draw their outer garments around them (when they go out or are among men). That is better in order that they may be known (to be Muslims) and not be annoyed...
[24:30-31] Say to the believing man that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that will make for greater purity for them; and Allah is well acquainted with all that they do. And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; and that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what must ordinarily appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands...
On this misconception, there is a great deal more to write, most of it showing how current practices in many Muslim lands go against what the Qur'an and Sunnah have ordained, lands in which women are treated as property (unIslamic), are not educated (unIslamic), are forbidden their economic rights (unIslamic), and more. On this point in particular, we encourage everyone to consult the Qur'an and Sunnah before incriminating Islam. Always remember that Islam is a complete way of life from the Creator, and that Muslims are people who claim to follow that way of life. A Muslim may claim to follow Islam, but be wrong.
You can read the full article at this link
jurisprudence?
In my own opinion, men and women has their own role in life. Generally, men are the bread winner and women are bread cooker. Men are the leaders of society while women are the teachers at home. Men built house, women take care of the house, and so on. My point is men and women complete each other. But to me there are certain field that only men can excel and vice versa.For example, women should not be a political leader and men will find it difficult to raise a child at home. And no woman should be put on the battlefront.
I can't give you a good answer because my knowledge is limited, but I can show you a trusted site that already has the answer:
You can read the full article at this link
Title: Ten Misconceptions About Islam
In Islam, women are inferior to men because:
o a man can marry up to 4 wives, a woman can marry only one man
o a man's share of inheritance is bigger than a woman's
o a man can marry a non-Muslim, a woman cannot
o women must wear the veil
This widely held misconception does not remotely follow from the reasons given. The first and most important observation to make about the popular question "Are men and women equal?" is that it is a badly-formed, unanswerable question. The problem which many people conveniently ignore is that "equal" is not defined. This is a very critical point: the equality must be specified with respect to some measurable property. For example, women on average are superior to men if we ask who is shorter in height than the other ("Growth and Development", Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1992). Women are also superior on average if we ask whom do children bond to deeper, mothers or fathers.
Women are also superior on average if we ask who has a tendency to socialize more. On the other hand, men are superior on average if we ask who is taller in height than the other. And so on: every question can be turned around, and more importantly these are properties which are irrelevant.
What then, is the really important property which we are worried about in terms of gender equality? Naturally, from the point of view of the Qur'an and Sunnah, the obvious important property is who is dearer to Allah, men or women? This question is emphatically answered in the Qur'an (translation),
[4:124] If any do deeds of righteousness - be they male or female - and have faith, they will enter Paradise, and not the least injustice will be done to them.
[33:35] For Muslim men and women, for believing men and women, for devout men and women, for truthful men and women, for men and women who are patient and constant, for men and women who humble themselves, for men and women who give in charity, for men and women who fast, for men and women who guard their chastity, and for men and women who engage much in Allah's praise, for them has Allah prepared forgiveness and great reward.
The Qur'an and Sunnah repeat over and over again that Allah only favors one person over another based on that person's awareness, consciousness, fear, love, and hope of Allah (the Arabic word is difficult to translate: Taqwa). All other criteria are excluded: gender, ethnic group, country, ancestry, etc.
Given that Allah does not favor one gender over the other in His attention to us (and it helps to remember that Allah is neither male nor female), we can now address the differences between the genders in Islam. First, men and women are not the same as we know. The Creator states in the Qur'an (translation),
[3:36]...and the male is not like the female...
Men and women are different in their composition, and in their responsibilities under Islam. However, both are bound by obligations to one another, especially the following important one which must be understood in any discussion on men and women. From the Qur'an (translation),
[24:32] And marry those among you who are single and those who are fit among your male slaves and your female slaves; if they are needy, Allah will make them free from want out of His grace; and Allah is Ample-giving, Knowing.
In this verse, the Creator emphasizes that marriage is to be vigorously pursued by the Muslims: the state of being single is not to be maintained. With this in mind, we can begin to understand the four reasons cited above for the nonetheless erroneous conclusion.
Men and women are different in their responsibilities
[4:34] Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel the other, and because they spend of their property (for the support of women). So good women are the obedient, guarding in secret that which Allah hath guarded. As for those from whom ye fear rebellion, admonish them and banish them to beds apart, and scourge them. Then if they obey you, seek not a way against them. Lo! Allah is ever High, Exalted, Great.
Given that husbands are obligated to provide for wives, and that marriage is a highly recommended goal of Islam, it is easy to see why women's inheritance share is half that of men. We note also that men are obligated to provide a suitable dowry to women on marriage. In fact, it is preferable at this point to speak in terms of husbands and wives instead of men and women. Allah says in the Qur'an (translation),
[4:4] And give women their dowries as a free gift, but if they of themselves be pleased to give up to you a portion of it, then eat it with enjoyment and with wholesome result.
Allah says in the Qur'an (translation),
[2:228]...And they (women) have rights similar to those (of men) over them in kindness, and men are a degree above them...
This one degree in no way affects the position of the Creator in which He has stated that He does not hold women dearer to him than men, or vice versa. Rather it is simply a way of partitioning responsibilities in a household of two adults: someone must make the final decision on daily matters. As will be shown below in a section on a different misconception, though the final decision rests with the husband, it is through mutual consultation that decisions are best reached at.
While men are allowed to marry up to four wives, they are also commanded to meet the preconditions of being able to financially support them. They must also deal with each wife justly and fairly with respect to marital and economic obligations. Allah says in the Qur'an (translation),
[4:3] If ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans, Marry women of your choice, Two or three or four; but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one, or (a captive) that your right hands possess, that will be more suitable, to prevent you from doing injustice.
Moreover, women are allowed to reject any marriage proposal made to her by prospective suitors, thus if she does not feel she can abide by the rules of the Qur'an and Sunnah if she marries a certain person, she can reject his proposal. While it is irrelevant to Islam, it is worthwhile to note that both Judaism and Christianity allow polygamy. The idea is not as foreign to the non-Muslims as is often claimed.
Finally, the wearing of the veil by women is also an illogical premise to claim that women are inferior to men. It is more appropriate to indict a society of female exploitation if it tolerates pornography rather than if it enforces the veil. Given that Allah is neither male nor female, given that He does not endear people to Himself based on their gender, given that the Creator cares about all of us male or female, given that the sexual and violent drive of men is stronger than that of women...given all this, it is illogical to cast a negative light on the following injunctions contained in the Qur'an (translation),
[33:59] O Prophet, tell your wives and daughters and the believing women to draw their outer garments around them (when they go out or are among men). That is better in order that they may be known (to be Muslims) and not be annoyed...
[24:30-31] Say to the believing man that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that will make for greater purity for them; and Allah is well acquainted with all that they do. And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; and that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what must ordinarily appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands...
On this misconception, there is a great deal more to write, most of it showing how current practices in many Muslim lands go against what the Qur'an and Sunnah have ordained, lands in which women are treated as property (unIslamic), are not educated (unIslamic), are forbidden their economic rights (unIslamic), and more. On this point in particular, we encourage everyone to consult the Qur'an and Sunnah before incriminating Islam. Always remember that Islam is a complete way of life from the Creator, and that Muslims are people who claim to follow that way of life. A Muslim may claim to follow Islam, but be wrong.
You can read the full article at this link
by zen non
1 - So what is your take on Islam. By that I mean what do you believe it means to be a Muslim?
2 - Do you wish to see Islam dominant on earth? If yes, why? If no, why?
3 - If so do you agree with Sharia law? As above, why?
4 - Do you see Mohammed's life as something you wish to emulate? If so why? If not, why not?
5 - What are your beliefs regarding equality for women? Can you justify your beliefs using Islamic jurisprudence?
6 - Do you agree that Islam rules over how you should worship, live your life and run your country? If not, why not?
7 - Is the Qur'an fallible? Can the contents of the Qur'an be re-interpreted in light of the 21st century? If yes how do you get around earlier rulings (by each of the schools of Islam) that the Qur'an is unchangeable in interpretation for eternity.
2 - Do you wish to see Islam dominant on earth? If yes, why? If no, why?
3 - If so do you agree with Sharia law? As above, why?
4 - Do you see Mohammed's life as something you wish to emulate? If so why? If not, why not?
5 - What are your beliefs regarding equality for women? Can you justify your beliefs using Islamic jurisprudence?
6 - Do you agree that Islam rules over how you should worship, live your life and run your country? If not, why not?
7 - Is the Qur'an fallible? Can the contents of the Qur'an be re-interpreted in light of the 21st century? If yes how do you get around earlier rulings (by each of the schools of Islam) that the Qur'an is unchangeable in interpretation for eternity.
by zen non
The followings are my answers to some of the questions ask by a far away friend, which were taken from Darkside RG forum. There may be some mistakes I've made, so please correct me on the facts that I've wrong. Thanks for reading it, by the way.
Bismillah Ar-Rahman Ar-Rahim
1 - So what is your take on Islam. By that I mean what do you believe it means to be a Muslim?
To be a Muslim is to believe there is no God but Allah, and to bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. This is the basic principle of Islam. This is only the beginning, what follows may seems difficult, that is to pray five time everyday, on time without failing even once.
But believe me, the feeling of being able to stand in Solat (prayer), submitting the whole body and soul only to Allah is the sweetest feeling I have tasted for many years. And every single day, I wait eagerly for the time of praying, only hoping that Allah will response to my call, but alas, I also fear that Allah would not forgive me for my sins and for that I will be thrown in the Hellfire in the eternal life. This is the feeling I have; this is how I connect myself to God. I live between hope and fear to Allah.
Then, once a year, there will comes the fasting month, the month of Ramadhan as it is called in Islam calendar. This is a special month, where Muslim can concentrate and multiplies their worship to God during the day and also at night. It is like a big mega sale for Muslim to collect the rewards and blessing of Allah. During this month I will fast during the day (from dawn till dusk, it is about 13 hours or so in my country, but maybe more/less in upper/lower hemisphere countries). And during the night after breaking fast, I will Solat(pray) for an hour or so, sleep for a few hours, then woke up in the earliest hour of the new day just to submit myself to Allah in prayers and reciting Quran. Then before the first light appears on the horizon, I’ll have some food to keep me energized for the day to come.
And so, as a regular guy, this only what I want to be a Muslim. That I can perform my daily prayers, to be able to fast during the month of Ramadhan, that I can help my family and friends alike, that I can contribute a little of my income to the poor and the orphans, and if I have a little more extra money, I can go to Mecca and perform Hajj, the pilgrimage. And currently, I am really grateful that I live in a community that almost everybody’s goal is worshiping Allah day and night. This is my definition of being a Muslim. To be able to live a daily life of worshiping Allah, with a consent that my government has done its best to uphold the law of Islam in this small piece of land called Malaysia.
But to speak the truth, I am so sad and angry seeing my fellow Muslim brothers and sisters as either being oppressive to others or being oppressed by others in my own country or in other part of the world. That brings my answer to the second question
2 - Do you wish to see Islam dominant on earth? If yes, why? If no, why?
Yes. Everything in between the sky and earth are belongs to Allah. Muslims are the one whom Allah trusted to rule the land and the sea. History had proven that during the first golden age of Islam was during the ruling of Caliph Umar Al-Khattab. That means everyone and I meant everyone, Christians, Jews etc able to live peacefully and justice was for all to taste. There are even in his ruling times, no poor people were around. Everyone has been taken care of. After the murder of Caliph Umar, once the united muslim were broken into pieces of sects that until now they would never want to unite again. Pride, greed and jealousy spread across the land of Muslim and thus begun corruption everywhere and sparked the collapsed of this great empire, plunging the Muslim into a deep dark abyss they can’t crawl back to the top.
However, one after another true leader came. Leader that are so poor they live in house of mud, leaders that are so true, that on his death, what riches he left behind was worth just a few penny now. Leaders that are so strong that even the great Roman/Byzantine Empire were afraid of them. Great leaders such as Caliph Umar Abdl Aziz, Harun Al-Rashid, General of War Nur-al-Din and his student, the famous Saladin al-Ayoubi; just to name a few, had bring justice and peace to vast piece of land.
But as men repeated the same mistake, history repeated itself, again and again.
So begin the rise and fall of great Islamic empires. The Abbasid Empire, the Umayyad Empire, the Andalucian Empire up to the Turkish Uthmaniyyah Empire had lasted for hundred of years each. But constant wars waged by kingdoms that opposed Islam had made the world went in chaos. Why? While the muslim wanted to reclaim the land of Allah, to rule it with justice for all, the opposing kings wanted more than just ruling the land. Again, the greed of power to rule the land had shed blood of many men. To make matter worst, weak rulers of Islam Empires were appointed. This was the reason why Muslim had failed to dominate the earth.
Today is the result of yesterday events. While Muslim are still waiting for a true leader to be born again, Islamic rulings had not been practiced up to its standard in the so called Islamic countries such as my country. Today, man made ideology had penetrate the government system in my country. Capitalism, liberalism, Darwinism, these are the tough stained that had defiled the true law of Allah, the Sharia law.
to be continued...
Bismillah Ar-Rahman Ar-Rahim
1 - So what is your take on Islam. By that I mean what do you believe it means to be a Muslim?
To be a Muslim is to believe there is no God but Allah, and to bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. This is the basic principle of Islam. This is only the beginning, what follows may seems difficult, that is to pray five time everyday, on time without failing even once.
But believe me, the feeling of being able to stand in Solat (prayer), submitting the whole body and soul only to Allah is the sweetest feeling I have tasted for many years. And every single day, I wait eagerly for the time of praying, only hoping that Allah will response to my call, but alas, I also fear that Allah would not forgive me for my sins and for that I will be thrown in the Hellfire in the eternal life. This is the feeling I have; this is how I connect myself to God. I live between hope and fear to Allah.
Then, once a year, there will comes the fasting month, the month of Ramadhan as it is called in Islam calendar. This is a special month, where Muslim can concentrate and multiplies their worship to God during the day and also at night. It is like a big mega sale for Muslim to collect the rewards and blessing of Allah. During this month I will fast during the day (from dawn till dusk, it is about 13 hours or so in my country, but maybe more/less in upper/lower hemisphere countries). And during the night after breaking fast, I will Solat(pray) for an hour or so, sleep for a few hours, then woke up in the earliest hour of the new day just to submit myself to Allah in prayers and reciting Quran. Then before the first light appears on the horizon, I’ll have some food to keep me energized for the day to come.
And so, as a regular guy, this only what I want to be a Muslim. That I can perform my daily prayers, to be able to fast during the month of Ramadhan, that I can help my family and friends alike, that I can contribute a little of my income to the poor and the orphans, and if I have a little more extra money, I can go to Mecca and perform Hajj, the pilgrimage. And currently, I am really grateful that I live in a community that almost everybody’s goal is worshiping Allah day and night. This is my definition of being a Muslim. To be able to live a daily life of worshiping Allah, with a consent that my government has done its best to uphold the law of Islam in this small piece of land called Malaysia.
But to speak the truth, I am so sad and angry seeing my fellow Muslim brothers and sisters as either being oppressive to others or being oppressed by others in my own country or in other part of the world. That brings my answer to the second question
2 - Do you wish to see Islam dominant on earth? If yes, why? If no, why?
Yes. Everything in between the sky and earth are belongs to Allah. Muslims are the one whom Allah trusted to rule the land and the sea. History had proven that during the first golden age of Islam was during the ruling of Caliph Umar Al-Khattab. That means everyone and I meant everyone, Christians, Jews etc able to live peacefully and justice was for all to taste. There are even in his ruling times, no poor people were around. Everyone has been taken care of. After the murder of Caliph Umar, once the united muslim were broken into pieces of sects that until now they would never want to unite again. Pride, greed and jealousy spread across the land of Muslim and thus begun corruption everywhere and sparked the collapsed of this great empire, plunging the Muslim into a deep dark abyss they can’t crawl back to the top.
However, one after another true leader came. Leader that are so poor they live in house of mud, leaders that are so true, that on his death, what riches he left behind was worth just a few penny now. Leaders that are so strong that even the great Roman/Byzantine Empire were afraid of them. Great leaders such as Caliph Umar Abdl Aziz, Harun Al-Rashid, General of War Nur-al-Din and his student, the famous Saladin al-Ayoubi; just to name a few, had bring justice and peace to vast piece of land.
But as men repeated the same mistake, history repeated itself, again and again.
So begin the rise and fall of great Islamic empires. The Abbasid Empire, the Umayyad Empire, the Andalucian Empire up to the Turkish Uthmaniyyah Empire had lasted for hundred of years each. But constant wars waged by kingdoms that opposed Islam had made the world went in chaos. Why? While the muslim wanted to reclaim the land of Allah, to rule it with justice for all, the opposing kings wanted more than just ruling the land. Again, the greed of power to rule the land had shed blood of many men. To make matter worst, weak rulers of Islam Empires were appointed. This was the reason why Muslim had failed to dominate the earth.
Today is the result of yesterday events. While Muslim are still waiting for a true leader to be born again, Islamic rulings had not been practiced up to its standard in the so called Islamic countries such as my country. Today, man made ideology had penetrate the government system in my country. Capitalism, liberalism, Darwinism, these are the tough stained that had defiled the true law of Allah, the Sharia law.
to be continued...
Aug 26, 2007
by zen non
Last night i had been given a chance to teach by Allah SWT in a tuition centre at Sri Rampai,KL. I had three class starting at 8pm in two hours. Alhamdulillah, the last one was in front of around twelve naïve 13 years old kids with different beliefs. Their usual tutor was Teacher Khairul; as he was absent, I came in as a replacement.
Topic for that class was energy. As a cracker, i asked them did they believe God? All nodded. Okay, i said to them, I would tell them a story.
To begin my story, I started with when God wanted to create the universe, God gave a very, very strong energy to start the creation. This energy could not be destroyed, it would only kept changing and changing into other energies. Thus with this energy, all the planets, all the moons, all the stars, and everything else was created, I continued. Then why, why didn't we received this energy from God directly from the sky? was my next question. Without waiting for them to think, I continued, it is because we, mankind, could not bear the power of God. Even a mountain would melt into dust not able to hold the power of this great energy from God. But God had a way for us to be able to receive this energy. How? I continued... it was through the sun.
The sun received the power of God and it exploded into fusion. The explosion sent radiation and billions of tonnes of charged particles streaming into space. Alhamdulillah, we sleep soundly every night. If not, Boom!! Boom!! Boom!! What's that bang, the sun is exploding. Sound energy couldn't travel in space.
So, I continued, only beneficial energies reached earth, that is the light energy which also carried the heat energy with it. Thus, green leaves received the light to generate food. So great was this energy, grass became carpet for the land that mankind walked on it. Then, cows grazed on this green, green grass. So rich was this energy, plants had plenty of food where it could stored excesses food in it fruits. In this way, light energy was captured and converted into chemical energy in green and red.
Then, as we ate this food we received the energy from God, filtered after many levels to reach mankind. And we used this energy to do all kinds of works.
Heat energy from the sun also was used to heat up the land and the ocean. While it heated up a piece land, another piece of land which didn't received enough light will became colder. Therefore, a difference in air pressure was created, and so the air would move from the colder area on this earth to the hotter part. Moving air, or wind, is a source of energy on this earth. When the sea was heated, water would be evaporated in mists of cloud which triggered water cycle, either locally, or globally. As a result, another source of energy was handed to mankind. And then i continued explaining to them that fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas, biomass, nuclear, geothermal and hydrogen are sources of energy on earth that came from the sun too.
All of the students were silently listening and i noticed awed look on their face. Although i already knew their answer, i asked them, did anybody had ever told you this? No teacher, we never heard, was their replied. Then with this answer i extended my teaching last night. I told them that the first sentence that shouldn't be but had been there in their textbook was “science is a study of natural phenomena”. I wrote that sentence on the white board, then i erased the phrase “natural phenomena” adding and introducing to these young kids a new phrase “Greatness of God”. I said to them, this is why we must study science. Science is supposed to be a study of the greatness of God.
Then I asked them to open their book and we started a Q&A's session.
To my beloved brothers and sisters,
In the beginning there was only Allah. Allah had chosen us to be tested on a chosen place, the 'ardh. And Allah gave us everything that we need to rule justly on a small piece of land, precious to us 'cause it will never be made land again. Even the energy that we have now comes from Allah SWT. We walk, we talk, we sit and we think with it. We decide how to use this energy, why and when to use it, and for who we give our energy to. For good or for evil this energy from God spread by mankind.
What can we do when we see the blood of our ummah spilled with this energy? And we are on one body, we shall at least feel the pain too. Furthermore, we can teach our children with the teaching of Rasullullah SAW. The Furqan and the Sunnah are on our side, it was not sent down only for the age of the last prophet, but it remains a challenge to today's scientific and technological advancement.
After the beginning is the end.
Ikhlas,
zenoni denoni
This the end for this three-parts series. If any part in this series is wrong, please correct me.
Further reading:
1.Scientific Comments on Verses Of the Holy Quran By: Dr. Salama Abdel-Hady
http://www.55a.net/firas/english/?page=show_det&id=94
2.Is the Universe Static By Magdy Abd AL-Shafy
http://www.55a.net/firas/english/?page=show_det&id=240
3. The birth and death of the universe By:Magdy Abd Al-Shafy
http://www.55a.net/firas/english/?page=show_det&id=226&select_page=3
Topic for that class was energy. As a cracker, i asked them did they believe God? All nodded. Okay, i said to them, I would tell them a story.
To begin my story, I started with when God wanted to create the universe, God gave a very, very strong energy to start the creation. This energy could not be destroyed, it would only kept changing and changing into other energies. Thus with this energy, all the planets, all the moons, all the stars, and everything else was created, I continued. Then why, why didn't we received this energy from God directly from the sky? was my next question. Without waiting for them to think, I continued, it is because we, mankind, could not bear the power of God. Even a mountain would melt into dust not able to hold the power of this great energy from God. But God had a way for us to be able to receive this energy. How? I continued... it was through the sun.
The sun received the power of God and it exploded into fusion. The explosion sent radiation and billions of tonnes of charged particles streaming into space. Alhamdulillah, we sleep soundly every night. If not, Boom!! Boom!! Boom!! What's that bang, the sun is exploding. Sound energy couldn't travel in space.
So, I continued, only beneficial energies reached earth, that is the light energy which also carried the heat energy with it. Thus, green leaves received the light to generate food. So great was this energy, grass became carpet for the land that mankind walked on it. Then, cows grazed on this green, green grass. So rich was this energy, plants had plenty of food where it could stored excesses food in it fruits. In this way, light energy was captured and converted into chemical energy in green and red.
Then, as we ate this food we received the energy from God, filtered after many levels to reach mankind. And we used this energy to do all kinds of works.
Heat energy from the sun also was used to heat up the land and the ocean. While it heated up a piece land, another piece of land which didn't received enough light will became colder. Therefore, a difference in air pressure was created, and so the air would move from the colder area on this earth to the hotter part. Moving air, or wind, is a source of energy on this earth. When the sea was heated, water would be evaporated in mists of cloud which triggered water cycle, either locally, or globally. As a result, another source of energy was handed to mankind. And then i continued explaining to them that fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas, biomass, nuclear, geothermal and hydrogen are sources of energy on earth that came from the sun too.
All of the students were silently listening and i noticed awed look on their face. Although i already knew their answer, i asked them, did anybody had ever told you this? No teacher, we never heard, was their replied. Then with this answer i extended my teaching last night. I told them that the first sentence that shouldn't be but had been there in their textbook was “science is a study of natural phenomena”. I wrote that sentence on the white board, then i erased the phrase “natural phenomena” adding and introducing to these young kids a new phrase “Greatness of God”. I said to them, this is why we must study science. Science is supposed to be a study of the greatness of God.
Then I asked them to open their book and we started a Q&A's session.
To my beloved brothers and sisters,
In the beginning there was only Allah. Allah had chosen us to be tested on a chosen place, the 'ardh. And Allah gave us everything that we need to rule justly on a small piece of land, precious to us 'cause it will never be made land again. Even the energy that we have now comes from Allah SWT. We walk, we talk, we sit and we think with it. We decide how to use this energy, why and when to use it, and for who we give our energy to. For good or for evil this energy from God spread by mankind.
What can we do when we see the blood of our ummah spilled with this energy? And we are on one body, we shall at least feel the pain too. Furthermore, we can teach our children with the teaching of Rasullullah SAW. The Furqan and the Sunnah are on our side, it was not sent down only for the age of the last prophet, but it remains a challenge to today's scientific and technological advancement.
After the beginning is the end.
Ikhlas,
zenoni denoni
This the end for this three-parts series. If any part in this series is wrong, please correct me.
Further reading:
1.Scientific Comments on Verses Of the Holy Quran By: Dr. Salama Abdel-Hady
http://www.55a.net/firas/english/?page=show_det&id=94
2.Is the Universe Static By Magdy Abd AL-Shafy
http://www.55a.net/firas/english/?page=show_det&id=240
3. The birth and death of the universe By:Magdy Abd Al-Shafy
http://www.55a.net/firas/english/?page=show_det&id=226&select_page=3
Aug 17, 2007
by zen non
Four great kings,
Ride horses swift as the wind,
Two were just, two were kind,
An epitome to Age of The Kings.
A white donkey king to its kins,
Once accompanied
a suffering king,
a short journey was his/the grandest gift.
Hail and glory!
for King of the Kings
by zen non
“Tak tahu, bertanya,
Sesat jalan, nanti merana,
Tepuk dada, tanya selera,
Tutup mata, tutup telinga”
– Bahalol, XPDC (Album – Kita Pengyu)
Ramai yang menggunakan internet hari ini. Masing-masing dengan tujuan tersendiri. Ada yang sekadar ingin memeriksa email, berhubung dengan sahabat-handai yang jauh di mata dekat di hati, membaca berita dan lain-lain lagi. Semenjak diperkenalkan pada penghujung milenium lepas, internet kini telah berkembang dengan pesat sesuai dengan tarafnya sebagai teknologi komunikasi terbaik; murah, akses yang mudah dan pelbagai fungsi.
Sesuai dengan tujuan penciptaan asal internet iaitu untuk memudahkan komunikasi dan perkongsian data antara-universiti, kini jaringan yang kecil itu telah berkembang ke seluruh dunia. Akan tetapi tujuan asalnya yang murni masih lagi kekal sehingga hari ini. Walaubagaimanapun, sedih sekali apabila jaringan perkongsian ini telah dicemari dengan pelbagai anasir kapitalis yang menggunakannya untuk menyebarkan ideologi bahawa orang perlu membayar untuk memperolehi perisian atau sekadar mendapatkan bahan-bahan ilmiah mahupun hiburan. Lantas seperti di dalam dunia realiti, orang berada akan memandang jijik akan perbuatan golongan marhein mendapatkan fail-fail secara percuma dari internet. Penulis ingin menekankan di sini bahawa golongan yang mendapatkan bahan-bahan pornografi sewajarnya dipandang hina.
Akan tetapi, bagaimana jika seseorang yang memuat turun perisian yang berharga beribu-ribu ringgit sekadar untuk kegunaan sendiri. Iaitu beliau menggunakan peluang ini untuk memajukan kebolehan diri dengan menguasai perisian-perisian tersebut dan seterusnya boleh menggunakannya untuk membebaskan diri dari belenggu perlumbaan tikus. Atau beliau hanya memuat turun cerita wayang atau lagu-lagu sekadar untuk hiburan. Maka perlukah lagi dia membelinya dari penjaja haram atau penjual sah yang pastinya mengenakan harga yang menekan.
Ah, sedarkah kita bahawa tak kira berjuta transaksi muat turun berlaku setiap saat, filem-filem Hollywood dan Bollywood tetap mencapai keuntungan beratus juta, artis-artis barat masih mampu menghiasi diri dengan “bling-bling” pada gigi,celana dalam, selipar jepun malah tindik telinga anjing mereka. Apakah mereka tak cukup mewah lagi maka kita perlu memberi mereka makan. Oh, kalau begitu mereka mengalihkan persoalan kepada produk tempatan? Penulis berpendapat muat turun daripada internet langsung tidak memberi signifikasi impak kepada kemunduran kualiti produk tempatan. Malah, sekiranya pendedahan kepada teknologi terkini dibuka kepada kesemua rakyat, maka masyarakat akan menjadi lebih bijak dalam penilaian dan pemilihan. Mungkin ini yang tidak dimahukan oleh golongan berada.
“Hey bonggol, banyak bonggol,
jangan sondol, nanti terlanjur,
Hey, bengang, dah lama bengang,
sudah tak boleh nak buat apa,
aku tak nak jadi soh chai, tak nak jadi soh chai”
Tak Nak Jadi Soh Chai, XPDC
Maaf, sekali lagi penulis membawa kepada pendahuluan yang berjela-jela. Apa yang ingin disampaikan cuma penulis ingin memperkenalkan komuniti perkongsian maklumat yang bebas dari rantai besi peraturan sivil yang dicipta oleh manusia-manusia yang lemah. Selepas Napster bersemadi, kini telah muncul komuniti yang lebih mantap lagi iaitu torrent.
Di dalam komuniti torrent, memuat turun data adalah terus dari pengguna-pengguna yang bersedia berkongsi bersama-sama dengan semua ahli komuniti. Ini bermaksud tidak ada lagi muat turun dari server atau situs-situs tertentu. Apa yang perlu dilakukan adalah pengguna memuat turun dan memasang satu robot kecil dari internet ke dalam komputer pengguna. Robot yang dihasilkan oleh pakar perisian internet yang sememangnya pro-perkongsian maklumat hanya memakan sedikit sahaja RAM lantas langsung tidak menjejaskan keupayaan komputer. Robot (perisian) ini yang sangat bijak dan selamat digunakan ini dinamakan sebagai torrent downloader dan antara robot-robot yang terkemuka adalah utorrent, azureus, bittorrent dsb.
Kemudian, pengguna perlu mengakses halaman-halaman yang menyimpan fail rujukan (dengan penghujung nama *.torrent), mencari dan mengambil fail yang diinginkan dan kemudian dengan hanya klik berganda pada fail rujukan tersebut maka proses memuat turun secara automasi berlaku. Pengguna hanya perlu bersabar menunggu sehingga selesai muat turun untuk menggunakan fail tersebut.
Sebagai contoh, penulis yang miskin ini tidak berkemampuan untuk pergi tengok wayang cerita Die Hard 4. Oleh yang demikian penulis hanya menunggu dengan sabar sehingga salinan DVD cerita tersebut dikeluarkan, maka sudah pastinya akan ada pengguna yang baik hati akan memuat naik dalam komuniti torrent. Selepas bersabar kira-kira 3 bulan untuk menunggu salinan DVD yang gambarnya memang cantik, penulis akan mencari dalam situs yang nyata benar mengikut pengalaman penulis yang sudah kira-kira dua tahun menyertai komuniti torrent ini, mencari fail rujukan, membaca komen pengguna-pengguna lain untuk memastikan tidak berlaku perkara yang tidak baik, mengambil fail rujukannya, klik berganda untuk memulakan proses muat turun fail Die Hard 4, dan kemudian bersabar selang sehari dua dengan kelajuan akses 0.5MB, menunggu robot-robot kecil torrent merangkak-rangkak di dalam jaringan lelabah dan membawa pulang isi-isi cerita Die Hard 4 ke dalam PC. Apabila lengkap semuanya. maka hasilnya penulis boleh menonton hero tua, Bruce Willis beraksi sambil makan nasi atau sambil bersenang-senang baring-baring di rumah. Malah sahabat-sahabat pun boleh berkongsi menonton dengan hanya membawa satu CD kosong sahaja. Kemudian setelah dibakar, CD ini boleh ditonton di televisyen dengan menggunakan pemain DVD dengan format terkini.
Bukan sahaja cerita wayang, malah cerita di t.v. juga boleh didapati dengan pantas daripada torrent. Banyak cerita bersiri di t.v. boleh didapati sebaik sahaja ia selesai ditayangkan di US. Dengan kata lain, walaupun berada di Malaysia, penulis masih boleh mengikuti kisah pengembaraan Hiro Nakamura tiga bulan lebih awal dari mereka yang menonton di Astro. Bukan hiburan sahaja, malah komuniti muslim sunnah al jamaah antarabangsa turut mempunyai laman perkongsian torrent sendiri yang setiap hari menawarkan pelbagai pengetahuan melalui dokumentari yang sememangnya tidak akan dilihat di televisi tempatan. Ceramah-ceramah yang disampaikan oleh penceramah yang terkenal seperti Allahyarham Ahmad Deedat, Syeikh Ahmad Jibril, Hamza Yusuf, Zakir Naik (US), Imam Anwar Al Awlaki (Canada) yang sememangnya tidak memerlukan tapisan protokolis propaganda parti berkuasa tempatan juga boleh diperolehi. Yeah, enak sekali.
Secara ringkas, proses untuk pembaca yang ingin menyertai komuniti perkongsian torrent adalah sebegini:
Step 1: Go to http://www.utorrent.com/download.php download and install this software.
Step 2: Run the program – go to Option, Preference, Download,
here you can set where to put the downloaded files. Please create/use two folders. One is for
new unfinished download, and the other one where you want it to be stored when the download
is finish.
Step 3: Go to these trusted site:
1.http://www.islamictorrents.net/ - register, login, then click to torrent icon, it will show list of files available. There is also a search box here. Click to any files, browse down, search for an underlined bold text that has *.torrent extension, click it, save to folder to download later or set to open with”utorrent” which will be easier as you will immediately put it into the utorrent software.
2.- no registration required. Follow instruction at no. 1.
(movie,ebook, software etc)
3.http://btjunkie.org/ - no registration required. Follow instruction at no. 1.
(best movie site)
4.http://www.eztvefnet.org/frontpage.php - no registration required. Follow instruction at no. 1.
(best tv site, always the latest, so be quick to download because if you wait for two or three days, seeders will be low and it will take much longer time to complete downloading)
5.http://www.xtvi.com/index.php?mode=&id= - no registration required. Another tv site.
If your turn on to conspiratorial documentaries, here is a good site.
6.http://conspiracycentral.net
registration required. Sometimes this site got hack by so please wait one or two days for it to recover. It always does. Trust me.
7.http://onebigtorrent.org/index.php
-this is site of Prof. Noam Chomsky, a well known linguist from MIT and also a
strong political activist.
My tips to download torrent:
Be the one who download early. Check the sites everyday. Cause it will determine the time you'll complete downloading.
Always read others commentaries. Some people are bad. They are offering fake files just to disrupt this nice community. Just remember to download video files the extension are *.avi, *.bin, *.mp4, *.mpeg and not other unknown format. Careful when download movie with *.rar, a virus/trojan might attached. Normal size for a movie is about 700 – 800MB, download DVD copy for best quality. Usual size of half an hour TV show is around 350MB, which always a good quality (HDTV). Extra careful when you download software, be sure to know what you are downloading, always read the comments. Or you may end with virus/trojan/worm.
Here is also a movie player that is small in size but plays all kind of movies:
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/
Disclaimer:
All sites and softwares stated above are trusted, very useful and had been used by the author for quite some times. Good things in life is free and we share. So, don't be those who oppose, just follow the flow.
Your welcome.
-ikhlas-
zenoni denoni
p/s: you can also use older peer to peer (p2p) filesharing community for smaller files, (*.mp3,*.wma) by using ares p2p software http://aresgalaxy.sourceforge.net.
Sesat jalan, nanti merana,
Tepuk dada, tanya selera,
Tutup mata, tutup telinga”
– Bahalol, XPDC (Album – Kita Pengyu)
Ramai yang menggunakan internet hari ini. Masing-masing dengan tujuan tersendiri. Ada yang sekadar ingin memeriksa email, berhubung dengan sahabat-handai yang jauh di mata dekat di hati, membaca berita dan lain-lain lagi. Semenjak diperkenalkan pada penghujung milenium lepas, internet kini telah berkembang dengan pesat sesuai dengan tarafnya sebagai teknologi komunikasi terbaik; murah, akses yang mudah dan pelbagai fungsi.
Sesuai dengan tujuan penciptaan asal internet iaitu untuk memudahkan komunikasi dan perkongsian data antara-universiti, kini jaringan yang kecil itu telah berkembang ke seluruh dunia. Akan tetapi tujuan asalnya yang murni masih lagi kekal sehingga hari ini. Walaubagaimanapun, sedih sekali apabila jaringan perkongsian ini telah dicemari dengan pelbagai anasir kapitalis yang menggunakannya untuk menyebarkan ideologi bahawa orang perlu membayar untuk memperolehi perisian atau sekadar mendapatkan bahan-bahan ilmiah mahupun hiburan. Lantas seperti di dalam dunia realiti, orang berada akan memandang jijik akan perbuatan golongan marhein mendapatkan fail-fail secara percuma dari internet. Penulis ingin menekankan di sini bahawa golongan yang mendapatkan bahan-bahan pornografi sewajarnya dipandang hina.
Akan tetapi, bagaimana jika seseorang yang memuat turun perisian yang berharga beribu-ribu ringgit sekadar untuk kegunaan sendiri. Iaitu beliau menggunakan peluang ini untuk memajukan kebolehan diri dengan menguasai perisian-perisian tersebut dan seterusnya boleh menggunakannya untuk membebaskan diri dari belenggu perlumbaan tikus. Atau beliau hanya memuat turun cerita wayang atau lagu-lagu sekadar untuk hiburan. Maka perlukah lagi dia membelinya dari penjaja haram atau penjual sah yang pastinya mengenakan harga yang menekan.
Ah, sedarkah kita bahawa tak kira berjuta transaksi muat turun berlaku setiap saat, filem-filem Hollywood dan Bollywood tetap mencapai keuntungan beratus juta, artis-artis barat masih mampu menghiasi diri dengan “bling-bling” pada gigi,celana dalam, selipar jepun malah tindik telinga anjing mereka. Apakah mereka tak cukup mewah lagi maka kita perlu memberi mereka makan. Oh, kalau begitu mereka mengalihkan persoalan kepada produk tempatan? Penulis berpendapat muat turun daripada internet langsung tidak memberi signifikasi impak kepada kemunduran kualiti produk tempatan. Malah, sekiranya pendedahan kepada teknologi terkini dibuka kepada kesemua rakyat, maka masyarakat akan menjadi lebih bijak dalam penilaian dan pemilihan. Mungkin ini yang tidak dimahukan oleh golongan berada.
“Hey bonggol, banyak bonggol,
jangan sondol, nanti terlanjur,
Hey, bengang, dah lama bengang,
sudah tak boleh nak buat apa,
aku tak nak jadi soh chai, tak nak jadi soh chai”
Tak Nak Jadi Soh Chai, XPDC
Maaf, sekali lagi penulis membawa kepada pendahuluan yang berjela-jela. Apa yang ingin disampaikan cuma penulis ingin memperkenalkan komuniti perkongsian maklumat yang bebas dari rantai besi peraturan sivil yang dicipta oleh manusia-manusia yang lemah. Selepas Napster bersemadi, kini telah muncul komuniti yang lebih mantap lagi iaitu torrent.
Di dalam komuniti torrent, memuat turun data adalah terus dari pengguna-pengguna yang bersedia berkongsi bersama-sama dengan semua ahli komuniti. Ini bermaksud tidak ada lagi muat turun dari server atau situs-situs tertentu. Apa yang perlu dilakukan adalah pengguna memuat turun dan memasang satu robot kecil dari internet ke dalam komputer pengguna. Robot yang dihasilkan oleh pakar perisian internet yang sememangnya pro-perkongsian maklumat hanya memakan sedikit sahaja RAM lantas langsung tidak menjejaskan keupayaan komputer. Robot (perisian) ini yang sangat bijak dan selamat digunakan ini dinamakan sebagai torrent downloader dan antara robot-robot yang terkemuka adalah utorrent, azureus, bittorrent dsb.
Kemudian, pengguna perlu mengakses halaman-halaman yang menyimpan fail rujukan (dengan penghujung nama *.torrent), mencari dan mengambil fail yang diinginkan dan kemudian dengan hanya klik berganda pada fail rujukan tersebut maka proses memuat turun secara automasi berlaku. Pengguna hanya perlu bersabar menunggu sehingga selesai muat turun untuk menggunakan fail tersebut.
Sebagai contoh, penulis yang miskin ini tidak berkemampuan untuk pergi tengok wayang cerita Die Hard 4. Oleh yang demikian penulis hanya menunggu dengan sabar sehingga salinan DVD cerita tersebut dikeluarkan, maka sudah pastinya akan ada pengguna yang baik hati akan memuat naik dalam komuniti torrent. Selepas bersabar kira-kira 3 bulan untuk menunggu salinan DVD yang gambarnya memang cantik, penulis akan mencari dalam situs yang nyata benar mengikut pengalaman penulis yang sudah kira-kira dua tahun menyertai komuniti torrent ini, mencari fail rujukan, membaca komen pengguna-pengguna lain untuk memastikan tidak berlaku perkara yang tidak baik, mengambil fail rujukannya, klik berganda untuk memulakan proses muat turun fail Die Hard 4, dan kemudian bersabar selang sehari dua dengan kelajuan akses 0.5MB, menunggu robot-robot kecil torrent merangkak-rangkak di dalam jaringan lelabah dan membawa pulang isi-isi cerita Die Hard 4 ke dalam PC. Apabila lengkap semuanya. maka hasilnya penulis boleh menonton hero tua, Bruce Willis beraksi sambil makan nasi atau sambil bersenang-senang baring-baring di rumah. Malah sahabat-sahabat pun boleh berkongsi menonton dengan hanya membawa satu CD kosong sahaja. Kemudian setelah dibakar, CD ini boleh ditonton di televisyen dengan menggunakan pemain DVD dengan format terkini.
Bukan sahaja cerita wayang, malah cerita di t.v. juga boleh didapati dengan pantas daripada torrent. Banyak cerita bersiri di t.v. boleh didapati sebaik sahaja ia selesai ditayangkan di US. Dengan kata lain, walaupun berada di Malaysia, penulis masih boleh mengikuti kisah pengembaraan Hiro Nakamura tiga bulan lebih awal dari mereka yang menonton di Astro. Bukan hiburan sahaja, malah komuniti muslim sunnah al jamaah antarabangsa turut mempunyai laman perkongsian torrent sendiri yang setiap hari menawarkan pelbagai pengetahuan melalui dokumentari yang sememangnya tidak akan dilihat di televisi tempatan. Ceramah-ceramah yang disampaikan oleh penceramah yang terkenal seperti Allahyarham Ahmad Deedat, Syeikh Ahmad Jibril, Hamza Yusuf, Zakir Naik (US), Imam Anwar Al Awlaki (Canada) yang sememangnya tidak memerlukan tapisan protokolis propaganda parti berkuasa tempatan juga boleh diperolehi. Yeah, enak sekali.
Secara ringkas, proses untuk pembaca yang ingin menyertai komuniti perkongsian torrent adalah sebegini:
Step 1: Go to http://www.utorrent.com/download.php download and install this software.
Step 2: Run the program – go to Option, Preference, Download,
here you can set where to put the downloaded files. Please create/use two folders. One is for
new unfinished download, and the other one where you want it to be stored when the download
is finish.
Step 3: Go to these trusted site:
1.http://www.islamictorrents.net/ - register, login, then click to torrent icon, it will show list of files available. There is also a search box here. Click to any files, browse down, search for an underlined bold text that has *.torrent extension, click it, save to folder to download later or set to open with”utorrent” which will be easier as you will immediately put it into the utorrent software.
2.- no registration required. Follow instruction at no. 1.
(movie,ebook, software etc)
3.http://btjunkie.org/ - no registration required. Follow instruction at no. 1.
(best movie site)
4.http://www.eztvefnet.org/frontpage.php - no registration required. Follow instruction at no. 1.
(best tv site, always the latest, so be quick to download because if you wait for two or three days, seeders will be low and it will take much longer time to complete downloading)
5.http://www.xtvi.com/index.php?mode=&id= - no registration required. Another tv site.
If your turn on to conspiratorial documentaries, here is a good site.
6.http://conspiracycentral.net
registration required. Sometimes this site got hack by so please wait one or two days for it to recover. It always does. Trust me.
7.http://onebigtorrent.org/index.php
-this is site of Prof. Noam Chomsky, a well known linguist from MIT and also a
strong political activist.
My tips to download torrent:
Be the one who download early. Check the sites everyday. Cause it will determine the time you'll complete downloading.
Always read others commentaries. Some people are bad. They are offering fake files just to disrupt this nice community. Just remember to download video files the extension are *.avi, *.bin, *.mp4, *.mpeg and not other unknown format. Careful when download movie with *.rar, a virus/trojan might attached. Normal size for a movie is about 700 – 800MB, download DVD copy for best quality. Usual size of half an hour TV show is around 350MB, which always a good quality (HDTV). Extra careful when you download software, be sure to know what you are downloading, always read the comments. Or you may end with virus/trojan/worm.
Here is also a movie player that is small in size but plays all kind of movies:
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/
Disclaimer:
All sites and softwares stated above are trusted, very useful and had been used by the author for quite some times. Good things in life is free and we share. So, don't be those who oppose, just follow the flow.
Your welcome.
-ikhlas-
zenoni denoni
p/s: you can also use older peer to peer (p2p) filesharing community for smaller files, (*.mp3,*.wma) by using ares p2p software http://aresgalaxy.sourceforge.net.
by zen non
Bismillah Ar-Rahman Ar-Rahim
In this country, although almost every child attends public school, it is customary that parents still sent their children to tuition centre as an additional effort to get their children attain good result in exams thus providing them better chances to be admitted into better schools or later; to local universities. However, in my point of view, this exam orientated mindset does not have the ability to produce citizens with plenty of resources and skills to earn their living. As a result, typical people that live in boxes are created throughout the country's 50 years history of independence. But nobody is to be blamed because this is how our fathers and forefathers had been educated since the British came 300 years ago.
In Malaysia, our education system still follow the aging British system. Although after time and time of alteration by our ministry of education, a lot of criticisms still risen by both parents and educators because the constant changes and heavier load for the teachers and students. Students in school does not enjoy learning anymore compare to the time of discovering their early childhood. Educational books is read only because they are told to read it, not driven by intrigue, not even by the interest of the mind. But maybe it is not that they do not love knowledge, maybe it is only not the right kind of knowledge that Rasullullah SAW had teached his students, or maybe not the kind of knowledge that Allah wants this kids to have.
An open eye might be able to pinpoint elements of Materialism, Darwinism, Secularism and Capitalism in our current educational curricular. For example, the first sentence in Form 1 Science textbook read as follow: “Science is a study of natural phenomena” which is clearly from Darwin's quote. Furthermore, the disentanglement of religious teaching from civil affairs and public teaching is the way of Secularist.
Recently, during my research, I had come across Kinza Academy, which provides homeschooling service in US http://www.kinzaacademy.com/, whose among its advisory board are John Taylor Gatto and Syeikh Hamza Yusuf Hanson. The contents of its curriculum are the seven arts of liberal education i.e. grammar, logic, rhetoric, mathematics, music, geometry, and astronomy. I am not able to see its contents but I wish I can. Insha Allah.
John Taylor Gatto is a retired teacher. He is an expert in US education system and the author of “Dumbing Us Down”, a book about the failure of education system in US. I'd looked in Kinokuniya at KLCC but without any success and yet it is not cheap either (USD12). While Syeikh Hamza is a renounce speaker in the Muslim community. As a matter of fact, I'd downloaded quite a numbers of his lectures into my hard drive.
To this day, because there has never been found or created a better education system to cater for our diversified ethnicity and religions in this country, issue of mis education is still hanging in the air. An appropriate educational system must completes the requirement for both this life and the afterlife and also will not only available to an engineer's siblings but also to a rubber tapper's son.
I pray to Allah for the dimensional luxury of space and time.
In this country, although almost every child attends public school, it is customary that parents still sent their children to tuition centre as an additional effort to get their children attain good result in exams thus providing them better chances to be admitted into better schools or later; to local universities. However, in my point of view, this exam orientated mindset does not have the ability to produce citizens with plenty of resources and skills to earn their living. As a result, typical people that live in boxes are created throughout the country's 50 years history of independence. But nobody is to be blamed because this is how our fathers and forefathers had been educated since the British came 300 years ago.
In Malaysia, our education system still follow the aging British system. Although after time and time of alteration by our ministry of education, a lot of criticisms still risen by both parents and educators because the constant changes and heavier load for the teachers and students. Students in school does not enjoy learning anymore compare to the time of discovering their early childhood. Educational books is read only because they are told to read it, not driven by intrigue, not even by the interest of the mind. But maybe it is not that they do not love knowledge, maybe it is only not the right kind of knowledge that Rasullullah SAW had teached his students, or maybe not the kind of knowledge that Allah wants this kids to have.
An open eye might be able to pinpoint elements of Materialism, Darwinism, Secularism and Capitalism in our current educational curricular. For example, the first sentence in Form 1 Science textbook read as follow: “Science is a study of natural phenomena” which is clearly from Darwin's quote. Furthermore, the disentanglement of religious teaching from civil affairs and public teaching is the way of Secularist.
Recently, during my research, I had come across Kinza Academy, which provides homeschooling service in US http://www.kinzaacademy.com/, whose among its advisory board are John Taylor Gatto and Syeikh Hamza Yusuf Hanson. The contents of its curriculum are the seven arts of liberal education i.e. grammar, logic, rhetoric, mathematics, music, geometry, and astronomy. I am not able to see its contents but I wish I can. Insha Allah.
John Taylor Gatto is a retired teacher. He is an expert in US education system and the author of “Dumbing Us Down”, a book about the failure of education system in US. I'd looked in Kinokuniya at KLCC but without any success and yet it is not cheap either (USD12). While Syeikh Hamza is a renounce speaker in the Muslim community. As a matter of fact, I'd downloaded quite a numbers of his lectures into my hard drive.
To this day, because there has never been found or created a better education system to cater for our diversified ethnicity and religions in this country, issue of mis education is still hanging in the air. An appropriate educational system must completes the requirement for both this life and the afterlife and also will not only available to an engineer's siblings but also to a rubber tapper's son.
I pray to Allah for the dimensional luxury of space and time.
by zen non
Bismillah Ar Rahman Ar Rahim
The Beginning - Situation
Subhanallah. Alhamdullillah. Allahuakbar.
For as long as I remember, never comes the thought of me being a teacher. But a twist of fate brings me to what I am now. And I have no intention of going anywhere as long as Allah will is what I am now. Mind that my last job was a cook at a nasi lemak stall in Medan Sunway.
With blessing from Allah The Most Gracious, right now I am guided to a path which I endlessly pray to Allah The Most Merciful for any misguidance. Allah with all His Kindness has sustain my livings with adequate students, good health and all kinds of blessing befitting to my needs.
Here is my story. Most of my fifty plus students are kids that are the restless, full of joy and happily-running-around kids who has come regularly to my nice centre here from day one. Alhamdulillah. A few months ago, Allah The Great has sent me a few secondary students to be under my tutelage which brings to my point of my writing here.
Today's morning class was Form 1 Science.
One boy came earlier before 8 telling me he got something at school and had to be excused. That left me with two girls, one is Farhana and a Serani named Ana. I love my students to ask me questions, so then I can tell them stories beyond their school curriculum boundary. And this morning was the usual Q&A tutorial that I had asked them to finish up since last week so I can move to the next topic. As usual too, they'll never met up to my expectation to complete those questionnaires at home by giving me lame excuses of too many homeworks, adik kacau la..et cetera.
So as the Q&As goes along, we came to a question of conservation of natural resources which I intentionally bring up the oil issue. I said to them, in another 20 years or so, without any new oil field found, there will be petrol no more and they have to walk to go anywhere. Or; I added; you can buy horses from me which what I'll be doing at that time, a horse and donkey merchant. They giggles. Then Ana asked me if I would sell camel too. No, I replied. I had no knowledge whether camel could live in this country or not, I had to do some more research on that, I said to them. And then we joke some more on this issue. FYI, I had already told them a few months ago about the petroleum crisis and the like of giants such as USA and China that keep on sucking oil like there will be no tomorrow. And I also had told them before that current wars against terrorism are nothing but business propaganda.
If you are wandering, my point is this. We are the current leaders of the next decade and these young naive kids are our hope. But what have we stored for them, wealth? Money? Power? A vision? What? With the current situation on our education system, we are doom to fail. These youngsters we have now will be wasted as the country that create our education and governmental system intentionally use it as a post colonial divide and conquer tactic. Yet our leaders are sleeping over it, on the rolls that we paid to them. Allahuakbar.
Both my students and I know that their faith is gloomy on the years to come, although we joked about it, but it keeps us alert. I kept thinking and thinking of what should I do so that I can make a small contribution towards the rising of the ummah. And I know that this ummah will surely rise, as our beloved prophet has prophesied. It is only a matter of when will we realize and we can act upon the knowledge that is given to us by Allah. We can be the fire starters. No matter how long it takes, 100, 200, 300 years; but we have to start now. Our brothers in other countries are doing so right now.
My friends, first is we have to raise our eman. Setting up examples. Educate our own children to the path of the righteous people. Spread only the good things. Not the evil deeds. Then we have to strengthen our numbers by inviting the non-believers here to the houses of Allah. So many things yet to be done, why must we sit around and let other to grab this opportunities. Hopefully after all that we have done; on the day of judgment; by Allah mercy, He will save us from the torture of hellfire.
Insha Allah.
Jazakallahhikhairn for you who has read this from start to end.
The Beginning - Situation
Subhanallah. Alhamdullillah. Allahuakbar.
For as long as I remember, never comes the thought of me being a teacher. But a twist of fate brings me to what I am now. And I have no intention of going anywhere as long as Allah will is what I am now. Mind that my last job was a cook at a nasi lemak stall in Medan Sunway.
With blessing from Allah The Most Gracious, right now I am guided to a path which I endlessly pray to Allah The Most Merciful for any misguidance. Allah with all His Kindness has sustain my livings with adequate students, good health and all kinds of blessing befitting to my needs.
Here is my story. Most of my fifty plus students are kids that are the restless, full of joy and happily-running-around kids who has come regularly to my nice centre here from day one. Alhamdulillah. A few months ago, Allah The Great has sent me a few secondary students to be under my tutelage which brings to my point of my writing here.
Today's morning class was Form 1 Science.
One boy came earlier before 8 telling me he got something at school and had to be excused. That left me with two girls, one is Farhana and a Serani named Ana. I love my students to ask me questions, so then I can tell them stories beyond their school curriculum boundary. And this morning was the usual Q&A tutorial that I had asked them to finish up since last week so I can move to the next topic. As usual too, they'll never met up to my expectation to complete those questionnaires at home by giving me lame excuses of too many homeworks, adik kacau la..et cetera.
So as the Q&As goes along, we came to a question of conservation of natural resources which I intentionally bring up the oil issue. I said to them, in another 20 years or so, without any new oil field found, there will be petrol no more and they have to walk to go anywhere. Or; I added; you can buy horses from me which what I'll be doing at that time, a horse and donkey merchant. They giggles. Then Ana asked me if I would sell camel too. No, I replied. I had no knowledge whether camel could live in this country or not, I had to do some more research on that, I said to them. And then we joke some more on this issue. FYI, I had already told them a few months ago about the petroleum crisis and the like of giants such as USA and China that keep on sucking oil like there will be no tomorrow. And I also had told them before that current wars against terrorism are nothing but business propaganda.
If you are wandering, my point is this. We are the current leaders of the next decade and these young naive kids are our hope. But what have we stored for them, wealth? Money? Power? A vision? What? With the current situation on our education system, we are doom to fail. These youngsters we have now will be wasted as the country that create our education and governmental system intentionally use it as a post colonial divide and conquer tactic. Yet our leaders are sleeping over it, on the rolls that we paid to them. Allahuakbar.
Both my students and I know that their faith is gloomy on the years to come, although we joked about it, but it keeps us alert. I kept thinking and thinking of what should I do so that I can make a small contribution towards the rising of the ummah. And I know that this ummah will surely rise, as our beloved prophet has prophesied. It is only a matter of when will we realize and we can act upon the knowledge that is given to us by Allah. We can be the fire starters. No matter how long it takes, 100, 200, 300 years; but we have to start now. Our brothers in other countries are doing so right now.
My friends, first is we have to raise our eman. Setting up examples. Educate our own children to the path of the righteous people. Spread only the good things. Not the evil deeds. Then we have to strengthen our numbers by inviting the non-believers here to the houses of Allah. So many things yet to be done, why must we sit around and let other to grab this opportunities. Hopefully after all that we have done; on the day of judgment; by Allah mercy, He will save us from the torture of hellfire.
Insha Allah.
Jazakallahhikhairn for you who has read this from start to end.
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My Blog List
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A Dua for the People of Gaza2 years ago
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Hello world!3 years ago
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Never Again they said….They lied!7 years ago
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Ramadaan and the Quran11 years ago
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Officially Closed15 years ago
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