Surah Al Ikhlas with urdu Translation by Qari... by kashiiibasra
Tuesday, 29 March 2016
Sunday, 27 March 2016
Saturday, 26 March 2016
TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION
The challenging process of educating is in demanding need for solutions on how technology will change education. Society seems to be fascinated by the eruption of technological advancements in the educational field. In 1981 about eighteen percent of U.S. public schools had one computer for instructional use. By 1991 that percentage increased to ninety-eight percent (Alhalabi p.22). Technology has changed and will change many ideas of education the potential of educational systems captivates the lives of many students and teachers.
The effects of technology in the classroom are related to both the teacher and the students. In the past classrooms were lecture driven. With technology involved in education, the students are more active in their learning. The teacher is no longer the center of attention. They play the role of a facilitator or guide of information and not so much of an information source. Technology in the classroom allows the students to be more active with the opportunity of communication of information. By being active the students are then more likely to generate their own choices on how to obtain, manipulate, or display information (Bridgforth). This gives students a higher confidence level.
Teachers reported students had an increase in motivation when using technology. Because of their willingness to work with technology as opposed to a normal classroom setting of boring lecture, helps motivate students to learn. "Technology is the ultimate carrot for students. It's something they want to master. Learning to use it enhances their self-esteem and makes them excited about coming to school," stated a fifth grade teacher (Cradler p. 5).
Technologies also give an opportunity for students and teachers to learn from a broader perspective of learning other skills. Instead of having the social norm of "lecture, notes" type of classes, students get to be active in learning with such a broad area of study. Te...
The effects of technology in the classroom are related to both the teacher and the students. In the past classrooms were lecture driven. With technology involved in education, the students are more active in their learning. The teacher is no longer the center of attention. They play the role of a facilitator or guide of information and not so much of an information source. Technology in the classroom allows the students to be more active with the opportunity of communication of information. By being active the students are then more likely to generate their own choices on how to obtain, manipulate, or display information (Bridgforth). This gives students a higher confidence level.
Teachers reported students had an increase in motivation when using technology. Because of their willingness to work with technology as opposed to a normal classroom setting of boring lecture, helps motivate students to learn. "Technology is the ultimate carrot for students. It's something they want to master. Learning to use it enhances their self-esteem and makes them excited about coming to school," stated a fifth grade teacher (Cradler p. 5).
Technologies also give an opportunity for students and teachers to learn from a broader perspective of learning other skills. Instead of having the social norm of "lecture, notes" type of classes, students get to be active in learning with such a broad area of study. Te...
ASSESSMENTS AND TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION
Most assessments done in school systems are done after a lesson is taught and is created to show only if a student has learned the material being presented. However, I believe that little is done to measure students progress during the learning process to help them learn better. I also believe that in today’s society, we're not using technology as much as we should to develop and design new assessments both formative and summative. However, I believe that our current school systems have made some adjustments to utilize technology in assessment. For example, it helps us create more effective testing experiences and provide improvements in assessment. Also, technology helps teach us what we should be assessing in student learning.
Today, students need to be tested on how they communicate in the normal world and the virtual cyber-world. Technology has presented an opportunity for students to learn from it. There is so much information on the internet these days, and students should be utilizing it. Using technology, students can acquire concepts in virtually any subject. Just how technology has changed how students are acquiring knowledge and learning, it changes how academic subjects can be taught and assessed. Technology allows us as future teachers to be able to assess our students virtually. We can test them online. We can test them on designing products or conducting experiments with using technology. This is all done with being able to effectively communicate in the technology world.
Another advantage to technology drive assessment and how it can measure student learning is that we can test students inside our school’s walls, and outside. Obviously there are going to be certain criteria that the students must follow when being tested outside the classroom, but it allows students to have the opportunity to correctly research something, acquire the knowledge, and then project it on an assessment. Technology driven assessment ca..
Today, students need to be tested on how they communicate in the normal world and the virtual cyber-world. Technology has presented an opportunity for students to learn from it. There is so much information on the internet these days, and students should be utilizing it. Using technology, students can acquire concepts in virtually any subject. Just how technology has changed how students are acquiring knowledge and learning, it changes how academic subjects can be taught and assessed. Technology allows us as future teachers to be able to assess our students virtually. We can test them online. We can test them on designing products or conducting experiments with using technology. This is all done with being able to effectively communicate in the technology world.
Another advantage to technology drive assessment and how it can measure student learning is that we can test students inside our school’s walls, and outside. Obviously there are going to be certain criteria that the students must follow when being tested outside the classroom, but it allows students to have the opportunity to correctly research something, acquire the knowledge, and then project it on an assessment. Technology driven assessment ca..
TEACHERS
There are many roles, qualities, and strategies that comprise an effective teacher. Throughout my observation of a third grade classroom and high school math classes I have become aware of what makes a good teacher. Some of the ideas are new to me, while others have been reinforced since my own education and volunteer experiences. Even though teachers instruct students of different ages and abilities, many of the daily roles and qualities are the same for all teachers.
In order to have an effective classroom and instruction a teacher must have behavior management strategies. While this is not the most important part of instruction and learning, I feel it is the base for education. If a teacher does not run a smooth classroom and the students do not listen, s/he will not be able to fully instruct them and use all of the time allotted. It is also important to have structure in the classroom. In other words, teachers should follow rules made by both the teacher and the students and have certain routine strategies for instruction that students can expect and follow. Teachers also have to be prepared for the day before it begins. This may require teachers to either extend their working hours in the morning or at night. Therefore, a teacher’s role extends beyond the classroom. Throughout my observation I found that teachers to not have very much free time during their day. Being prepared gives teachers more time to help students outside of class or to grade practice questions so that the feedback is prompt.
Teachers possess many important qualities both innate and learned. First, it is important for teachers to be a master in all areas of their subject. If they do not keep up with the experiments and research, they are cheating the students of necessary material. Second, teachers must be able to transfer the material to the students effectively. This includes being able to speak and explain m...
In order to have an effective classroom and instruction a teacher must have behavior management strategies. While this is not the most important part of instruction and learning, I feel it is the base for education. If a teacher does not run a smooth classroom and the students do not listen, s/he will not be able to fully instruct them and use all of the time allotted. It is also important to have structure in the classroom. In other words, teachers should follow rules made by both the teacher and the students and have certain routine strategies for instruction that students can expect and follow. Teachers also have to be prepared for the day before it begins. This may require teachers to either extend their working hours in the morning or at night. Therefore, a teacher’s role extends beyond the classroom. Throughout my observation I found that teachers to not have very much free time during their day. Being prepared gives teachers more time to help students outside of class or to grade practice questions so that the feedback is prompt.
Teachers possess many important qualities both innate and learned. First, it is important for teachers to be a master in all areas of their subject. If they do not keep up with the experiments and research, they are cheating the students of necessary material. Second, teachers must be able to transfer the material to the students effectively. This includes being able to speak and explain m...
A GOOD TEACHER ESSAY
Teachers have the very important responsibility of shaping the lives of young, impressionable children. With this responsibility comes great pride and joy. Therefore all teachers should strive for what can be considered to be a “good teacher.” A good teacher can be defined as someone who always pushes students to want to do their best while at the same time trying to make learning interesting as well as creative. A positive or negative influence from a teacher early on in life can have a great effect on the life of a child. Teachers, especially at the elementary level, must be very creative with their teaching styles. Not every child learns the same way, nor are they interested in the same things. It is difficult to keep the attention of 15-20 children under the age of ten. Classroom setup and design is a good way to get and keep the attention of students. Workstations are a good way to encourage different types of learning. By allowing children a chance to choose which activities they want to participate in, children are taking control of their own education. At the elementary level, children are always learning and sometimes don’t even know it. When I was in kindergarten, I can remember playing at the different stations in the classroom. One station was for gardening and we could plant seeds and check them every day to see how much they had grown. Another station in that classroom that sticks out in my mind is the arts and crafts station. There was a large array of crayons, markers, scissors, construction paper and building materials we could use to make pretty decorations to give to our parents for our homes. By choosing which station we wanted to work at, we were becoming much more interested in what we were learning because we were doing what we wanted to do, not what we had to do. By setting high standards for a student, the teacher is encouraging the student to do the same and will eventually develop ...
Friday, 25 March 2016
Chuck Jones
Chuck Jones is an American motion-picture animator, writer, director, and producer, known for his work on many classic animated films. Charles Martin Jones was born in Spokane, Washington. He moved to California when he was a child and at the age of 15 enrolled in the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles. After graduation, he worked at several animation studios and then, around 1933, went to work for Leon Schlesinger, whose studio produced animated films for Warner Bros. (and was purchased by Warner Bros. in 1944). At the studio he worked with animation directors Bob Clampett and Tex Avery, helping to shape the characters of Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, and Daffy Duck. Promoted to director in 1938, Jones directed his first animated short film, The Night Watchman, that same year. His best-known contributions to Warner Bros. are the series of short films featuring the Road Runner and Coyote (created in 1949) and Pepé Le Pew (created in 1945).After the Warner Bros. animation unit closed its doors in the early 1960s (it later reopened), Jones worked for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) on the “Tom and Jerry” series and other films, including a made-for-television special based on a Dr. Seuss tale, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” which was first broadcast in 1966. He continued to work on special productions for Warner Bros. from time to time and to produce animation through his own company, Chuck Jones Enterprises. Jones earned a reputation in Hollywood as a political liberal and an intellectual. In the early 1940s he helped organize a strike at the Walt Disney studio, and in the mid-1940s he began writing analytical articles on the subject of animation. Jones also volunteered his services as director of Hell Bent for Election (1944), a short film created at the United Productions of America (UPA) studio that supported the re-election of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Three of Jones’s animated shorts received Academy Awards: For Scent-imental Reasons (1949), So Much for So Little (1949), and The Dot and the Line (1965). In 1992 his Bugs Bunny short What’s Opera, Doc? (1957) was selected for inclusion in the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry, an honor accorded to only a small group of American motion pictures. In 1996 Jones received honorary life membership in the Directors Guild of America and an honorary Oscar for “the creation of classic cartoons and cartoon characters whose animated lives have brought joy to our real ones for more than half a century.”
How Islamic inventors changed the world
1 The story goes that an Arab named Khalid was tending his goats in the Kaffa region of southern Ethiopia, when he noticed his animals became livelier after eating a certain berry. He boiled the berries to make the first coffee. Certainly the first record of the drink is of beans exported from Ethiopia to Yemen where Sufis drank it to stay awake all night to pray on special occasions. By the late 15th century it had arrived in Mecca and Turkey from where it made its way to Venice in 1645. It was brought to England in 1650 by a Turk named Pasqua Rosee who opened the first coffee house in Lombard Street in the City of London. The Arabic qahwa became the Turkish kahve then the Italian caffé and then English coffee. 2 The ancient Greeks thought our eyes emitted rays, like a laser, which enabled us to see. The first person to realise that light enters the eye, rather than leaving it, was the 10th-century Muslim mathematician, astronomer and physicist Ibn al-Haitham. He invented the first pin-hole camera after noticing the way light came through a hole in window shutters. The smaller the hole, the better the picture, he worked out, and set up the first Camera Obscura (from the Arab word qamara for a dark or private room). He is also credited with being the first man to shift physics from a philosophical activity to an experimental one. 3 A form of chess was played in ancient India but the game was developed into the form we know it today in Persia. From there it spread westward to Europe – where it was introduced by the Moors in Spain in the 10th century – and eastward as far as Japan. The word rook comes from the Persian rukh, which means chariot.
4 A thousand years before the Wright brothers a Muslim poet, astronomer, musician and engineer named Abbas ibn Firnas made several attempts to construct a flying machine. In 852 he jumped from the minaret of the Grand Mosque in Cordoba using a loose cloak stiffened with wooden struts. He hoped to glide like a bird. He didn’t. But the cloak slowed his fall, creating what is thought to be the first parachute, and leaving him with only minor injuries. In 875, aged 70, having perfected a machine of silk and eagles’ feathers he tried again, jumping from a mountain. He flew to a significant height and stayed aloft for ten minutes but crashed on landing – concluding, correctly, that it was because he had not given his device a tail so it would stall on landing. Baghdad international airport and a crater on the Moon are named after him.
5 Washing and bathing are religious requirements for Muslims, which is perhaps why they perfected the recipe for soap which we still use today. The ancient Egyptians had soap of a kind, as did the Romans who used it more as a pomade. But it was the Arabs who combined vegetable oils with sodium hydroxide and aromatics such as thyme oil. One of the Crusaders’ most striking characteristics, to Arab nostrils, was that they did not wash. Shampoo was introduced to England by a Muslim who opened Mahomed’s Indian Vapour Baths on Brighton seafront in 1759 and was appointed Shampooing Surgeon to Kings George IV and William IV.
6 Distillation, the means of separating liquids through differences in their boiling points, was invented around the year 800 by Islam’s foremost scientist, Jabir ibn Hayyan, who transformed alchemy into chemistry, inventing many of the basic processes and apparatus still in use today – liquefaction, crystallisation, distillation, purification, oxidisation, evaporation and filtration. As well as discovering sulphuric and nitric acid, he invented the alembic still, giving the world intense rosewater and other perfumes and alcoholic spirits (although drinking them is haram, or forbidden, in Islam). Ibn Hayyan emphasised systematic experimentation and was the founder of modern chemistry.
7 The crank-shaft is a device which translates rotary into linear motion and is central to much of the machinery in the modern world, not least the internal combustion engine. One of the most important mechanical inventions in the history of humankind, it was created by an ingenious Muslim engineer called al-Jazari to raise water for irrigation. His 1206 Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices shows he also invented or refined the use of valves and pistons, devised some of the first mechanical clocks driven by water and weights, and was the father of robotics. Among his 50 other inventions was the combination lock.
8 Quilting is a method of sewing or tying two layers of cloth with a layer of insulating material in between. It is not clear whether it was invented in the Muslim world or whether it was imported there from India or China. But it certainly came to the West via the Crusaders. They saw it used by Saracen warriors, who wore straw-filled quilted canvas shirts instead of armour. As well as a form of protection, it proved an effective guard against the chafing of the Crusaders’ metal armour and was an effective form of insulation – so much so that it became a cottage industry back home in colder climates such as Britain and Holland.
9 The pointed arch so characteristic of Europe’s Gothic cathedrals was an invention borrowed from Islamic architecture. It was much stronger than the rounded arch used by the Romans and Normans, thus allowing the building of bigger, higher, more complex and grander buildings. Other borrowings from Muslim genius included ribbed vaulting, rose windows and dome-building techniques. Europe’s castles were also adapted to copy the Islamic world’s – with arrow slits, battlements, a barbican and parapets. Square towers and keeps gave way to more easily defended round ones. Henry V’s castle architect was a Muslim.
10 Many modern surgical instruments are of exactly the same design as those devised in the 10th century by a Muslim surgeon called al-Zahrawi. His scalpels, bone saws, forceps, fine scissors for eye surgery and many of the 200 instruments he devised are recognisable to a modern surgeon. It was he who discovered that catgut used for internal stitches dissolves away naturally (a discovery he made when his monkey ate his lute strings) and that it can be also used to make medicine capsules. In the 13th century, another Muslim medic named Ibn Nafis described the circulation of the blood, 300 years before William Harvey discovered it. Muslims doctors also invented anaesthetics of opium and alcohol mixes and developed hollow needles to suck cataracts from eyes in a technique still used today.
11 The windmill was invented in 634 for a Persian caliph and was used to grind corn and draw up water for irrigation. In the vast deserts of Arabia, when the seasonal streams ran dry, the only source of power was the wind which blew steadily from one direction for months. Mills had six or 12 sails covered in fabric or palm leaves. It was 500 years before the first windmill was seen in Europe.
12 The technique of inoculation was not invented by Jenner and Pasteur but was devised in the Muslim world and brought to Europe from Turkey by the wife of the English ambassador to Istanbul in 1724. Children in Turkey were vaccinated with cowpox to fight the deadly smallpox at least 50 years before the West discovered it.
13 The fountain pen was invented for the Sultan of Egypt in 953 after he demanded a pen which would not stain his hands or clothes. It held ink in a reservoir and, as with modern pens, fed ink to the nib by a combination of gravity and capillary action.
The Concept of God in Islam
Every language has one or more terms that are used in reference to God and sometimes to lesser deities. This is not the case with the word ‘Allah’. Allah is the personal name of the One True God. Nothing else can be called Allah. The term has no plural or gender. This shows its exclusivity when compared to the word ‘god’ which can be made plural, i.e. ‘gods’ or feminine, i.e. ‘goddess’. It is interesting to note that Allah is the personal name of God in Aramaic, the language of Jesus (p). The word Allah is a reflection of the unique concept that Islam associates with God. To a Muslim, Allah is the Almighty, Creator and Sustainer of the universe, who is similar to none and nothing is comparable to Him. The Prophet Muhammad (p) was asked by his contemporaries about Allah. The answer came directly from God Himself in the form of a short chapter of the Qur’an that is considered the essence of the Unity of God or the motto of monotheism. “Say: He is Allah, the One; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten, and there is none like unto Him.” [Al-Qur’an 112:1-4] Some non-Muslims allege that the concept of God in Islam is that of a stern and cruel God who demands to be obeyed fully. He is not loving and kind. Nothing can be farther from the truth than this allegation. It is enough to know that with the exception of one, each of the 114 chapters of the Qur’an begins with the verse: “In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful” In one of the sayings of Prophet Muhammad (p) we are told: “God is more loving and kinder than a mother to her dear child.” Besides being Merciful, God is Just too. Hence evildoers and sinners must have their share of punishment and the virtuous their rightful reward. Actually, God’s attribute of Mercy has full manifestation in His attribute of Justice. People suffering throughout their lives for His sake and people oppressing and exploiting other people all their lives should not receive similar treatment from their Lord. Expecting similar treatment for them will amount to negating the very belief in the accountability in the Hereafter and thereby negating all the incentives for a moral and virtuous life in this world. The following verses from the Qur’an are very clear and straightforward: “Verily, for the righteous are Gardens of delight in the Presence of their Lord. Shall we then treat the people of Faith like the people of Sin? What is the matter with you? How judge you?” [Al-Qur’an 68:34-36] Islam rejects characterizing God in any human form or depicting him as favoring certain individuals or nations on the basis of wealth, power or race. He created the human beings as equals. They may distinguish themselves and earn His favor through virtue and piety alone. The concept that God rested on the seventh day of creation, that God wrestled with one of His soldiers, that God is an envious plotter against mankind, or that God is incarnate in any human being are considered blasphemy from the Islamic point of view. The unique usage of Allah as the personal name of God is a reflection of Islam’s emphasis on the purity of the belief in God. This belief in the Unity of God, is the essence of the message of all the Prophets of God. Because of this, Islam considers associating any deity or personality with God as a grave sin that God will never forgive if the person dies without repenting. The Creator must be of a different nature from the things created because if He is of the same nature as they are, He will be temporal and will therefore need a maker. It follows that nothing is like Him. If the maker is not temporal, then He must be eternal. But if he is eternal, He cannot be caused, and if nothing caused Him to come into existence, nothing outside Him causes Him to continue to exist, which means that He must be self-sufficient. And if He does not depend on anything for the continuance of His own existence, then this existence can have no end. The Creator is therefore eternal: “He is the First and the Last, the Evident and the Immanent: and He has full knowledge of all things.” [Al-Qur’an 57:3] He is self-sufficient or self-subsistent or, to use a Qur’anic term, He is Al-Qayyum. The Creator does not create only in the sense of bringing things into existence. He also preserves them and takes them out of existence and is the ultimate cause of whatever happens to them. “Allah is the Creator of all things, and He is the Guardian and Disposer of all affairs. To Him belong the keys of the heavens and the earth: and those who reject the Signs of Allah,- it is they who will be in loss.” [Al-Qur’an 39:62-63] “There is no moving creature on earth but its sustenance dependeth on Allah: He knoweth the time and place of its definite abode and its temporary deposit: All is in a clear Record.” [Al-Qur’an 57:3] GOD'S ATTRIBUTES If the Creator is Eternal and Everlasting, then His attributes must also be Eternal and Everlasting. He should not lose any of His attributes nor acquire new ones. If this is so, then His attributes are absolute. Can there be more than one Creator with such absolute attributes? Can there be for example, two absolutely powerful Creators? A moment’s thought shows that this is not feasible. The Qur’an summarizes this argument in the following verses: “No son did Allah beget, nor is there any god along with Him: (if there were many gods), behold, each god would have taken away what he had created, and some would have lorded it over others! Glory to Allah! (He is free) from the (sort of) things they attribute to Him!” [Al-Qur’an 23:91] THE ONENESS OF GOD The Qur’an reminds us of the falsity of all alleged gods. To the worshippers of man-made objects it asks: “Worship ye that which ye have (yourselves) carved? But Allah has created you and your handwork.”[Al-Qur’an 37:95-96] “Say: ‘Do ye then take (for worship) protectors other than Him, such as have no power either for good or for harm to themselves?" [Al-Qur’an 13:16] To the worshippers of heavenly bodies it cites the story of Abraham: “When the night covered him over, He saw a star: He said: ‘This is my Lord.’ But when it set, He said: ‘I love not those that set.’ When he saw the moon rising in splendor, he said: ‘This is my Lord.’ But when the moon set, He said: ‘unless my Lord guide me, I shall surely be among those who go astray.’ When he saw the sun rising in splendor, he said: ‘This is my Lord; this is the greatest (of all).’ But when the sun set, he said: ‘O my people! I am indeed free from your (guilt) of giving partners to Allah. For me, I have set my face, firmly and truly, towards Him Who created the heavens and the earth, and never shall I give partners to Allah." [Al-Qur’an 6:76-79] THE BELIEVER'S ATTITUDE In order to be a Muslim (i.e., to submit oneself to God), it is necessary to believe in the Oneness of God, in the sense of His being the only Creator, Preserver, Nourisher, etc. But this belief, later on called Tawhid Ar-Rububiyyah, is not enough. Many of the idolators knew and believed that only the Supreme God could do all this. To acquire Tawhid Ar-Rububiyyah one must add Tawhid Al-Uluhiyyah, i.e. one acknowledges the fact that it is God alone who deserves to be worshipped, and thus abstains from worshipping any other thing or being. Having achieved this knowledge of the One True God, man should constantly have faith in Him, and should allow nothing to induce him to deny the truth. When true faith enters a person’s heart, it impacts the person’s outlook and behavior. The Prophet said, “Faith is that which resides firmly in the heart and which is proved by deeds”. One of the striking results of faith is the feeling of gratitude towards God, which could be said to be the essence of Ibada (worship). The feeling of gratitude is so important that anyone denying the Truth is called kafir, ‘one who is ungrateful.’ A believer loves, and is grateful to God for the bounties He bestowed upon him. He is aware of the fact that his good deeds are far from being commensurate with Divine favors, and therefore he is always anxious to please God. He remembers God often. The Qur’an promotes this feeling of gratitude by repeating the attributes of God very frequently. “Allah is He, than Whom there is no other god; Who knows (all things) both secret and open; He, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Allah is He, than Whom there is no other god; the Sovereign, the Holy One, the Source of Peace (and Perfection), the Guardian of Faith, the Preserver of Safety, the Exalted in Might, the Irresistible, the Supreme: Glory to Allah! (High is He) above the partners they attribute to Him. He is Allah, the Creator, the Evolver, the Bestower of Forms (or Colors). To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names: whatever is in the heavens and on earth, doth declare His Praises and Glory: and He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.” [Al-Qur’an 59:22-24] “Allah! There is no god but He, the Living, the Self-subsisting, Eternal. No slumber can seize Him nor sleep. His are all things in the heavens and on earth. Who is there can intercede in His presence except as He permitteth? He knoweth what (appeareth to His creatures as) before or after or behind them. Nor shall they compass aught of His knowledge except as He willeth. His Throne doth extend over the heavens and the earth, and He feeleth no fatigue in guarding and preserving them for He is the Most High, the Supreme (in glory).” [Al-Qur’an 2:255] “O People of the Book! Commit no excesses in your religion: Nor say of Allah aught but the truth. Christ Jesus the son of Mary was (no more than) a messenger of Allah, and His Word, which He bestowed on Mary, and a spirit proceeding from Him: so believe in Allah and His messengers. Say not “Trinity” : desist: it will be better for you: for Allah is one Allah: Glory be to Him: (far exalted is He) above having a son. To Him belong all things in the heavens and on earth. And enough is Allah as a Disposer of affairs.” [Al-Qur’an 4:17.
Toheed
1- Allaah, the Most High, is One and Alone. He has no partner in His Lordship (ruboobiyyah), nor in His Divinity (Uloohiyyah), nor in His Names and Attributes. He alone is Lord of the worlds, Who deserves that all forms of worship should be directed to Him alone.
2- To direct any form of worship, such as; Supplication (du'aa), Seeking succor and help (istigaathah), Seeking aid and assistance (isti'aanah), Vowing (nadhr), Slaughtering (dhabh), Reliance and trust (tawakkul), Reverential fear (khawf), Hope (rajaa), Love (mahabbah), or other similar acts, to other than Allaah the Most High, constitutes ascribing partners to Allaah (shirk) - irrespective of who the worship was directed to; whether it was an angel, a Prophet, a righteous person, or someone other than this.
3- From those fundamentals upon which worship is based is that Allaah is to be worshiped with love, fear and hope collectively. To worship Allaah with some of them without the other is misguidance. One of the scholars said:
“Whosoever worships Allaah with only love is a heretic; whosoever worships Him with only fear is a Harooree; and whosoever worships Him with only hope is a Murji’ee.”
4- Absolute submission, pleasure and obedience are to be given only to Allaah and to His Messenger, peace and blessing be upon him. To believe that only Allaah the Exalted is the judge is a part of Imaan that He alone is Lord, and He alone deserves to be worshiped without ascribing to Him partners in His judgment or Command. To legislate by what Allaah has not permitted, to refer judgment back to the taaghoots; to follow a code of law other than that of Muhammad, peace and blessing be upon him, or to replace anything of the Sacred Law (sharee'ah) is all kufr (disbelief). Whosoever claims that someone is permitted to leave acting by the sacred Law has committed kufr.
5- Judging by other than the judgment of Allaah is sometimes the greater form of disbelief (kufr akbar), whilst at other times it is kufr lesser than [the great] kufr. An example of the former would be to adhere to a law other than the Sacred Law of Allaah (sharee'ah), or to make judgment by other than it lawful. An example of the latter is to turn away from Allaah's Sacred Law in a specific case because of succumbing to one's false desires, but with one's overall adherence to Allaah's Sacred Law.
6- To divide the Religion into an esoteric, inner reality (haqeeqah), which only the elite can be distinguished by, and an exoteric outer reality (sharee'ah), to which the general masses must adhere, to the exclusion of the elite, is falsehood. The same is the case for separating politics and other than that, from the Religion. Indeed, whatever opposes the Sacred Law, whether it be esoteric realities, politics, or other than these, is either disbelief or misguidance (dalaalah), depending upon its level of opposition to the Sacred Law.
7- None has knowledge of the hidden Unseen (ghayb), except Allaah alone. Believing that someone other than Allaah has knowledge of the ghayb constitutes disbelief. However, along with this, one must believe that Allaah has made some matters of the ghayb known to some of His Messengers.
8- To believe the predictions of the fortune-tellers, astrologers and soothsayers (munajjims) constitutes kufr. Merely going to them and questioning them constitutes a major sin (kabeerah).
9- The means of approach to Allaah (waseelah) that has been ordered in the Qur'aan, is to seek nearness to Allaah the Exalted with those acts of obedience that have been prescribed. Seeking nearness to Allaah (tawassul) is of three types: - Prescribed (shar'ee); this is to invoke Allaah by calling upon Him by using His Names and Attributes, or by mentioning one's righteous action, or by the invocation of a righteous living person. Innovated (bid'ee); seeking closeness to Allaah by invoking Allaah with the personage (dhaat), honour (jaah), right (haqq) or sanctity (hurmah) of the Prophets and the righteous, or their like. Polytheistic (shirkee); this is where the dead are taken as intermediaries between a person and Allaah, supplicating to them and seeking the fulfilment of one's needs through them, seeking their assistance, and other similar acts.
10- Divine blessings (barakah) - which is the affirmation, the increase or the continuance of good and excellence -occurs from Allaah. He selects whosoever He chooses from His creation for this. One may not affirm the existence of barakah, except with a proof. Barakah is found in certain times; such as the Night of Power and Decree (Laylatul-Qadr); in certain places, like the three Sacred Mosques; in certain things, like in Zamzam water; in certain actions - and every righteous action is blessed, and in certain individuals, like in the personage (dhaat) of the Prophets. It is not permissible to seek the barakah of any individual - either by their personage or their relics and remnants (aathaar), except that of the Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him’s personage and relics. This is because there is no evidence to do so, except for him. However, seeking barakah through the Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him, has ceased with his death and with the disappearance of his relics and remnants, peace and blessing be upon him.
11- Seeking Divine blessings (tabarruk) in something can only be affirmed by a textual proof (tawqeefiyyah). Therefore it is not permissible to seek tabarruk, except in that for which there is an evidence to do so.
12- The actions of people at the grave, and their visiting the graves (ziyaarah) is of three types:
- Prescribed: this is to visit the graves with the intention of being reminded of death, sending greetings of peace (salaam) upon its inhabitants, and supplicating for them.
- Innovated: and this negates the perfection and completeness of tawheed and is a means leading to shirk - and it is to go to the graves intending to worship and draw closer to Allaah at them, to seek tabarruk from them and their inhabitants, to offer the rewards of one's good actions to the dead, to build shrines over them, to plaster and light candles at them, to take them as a place of Prayer, to specifically undertake journeys to the graves; and other similar actions.
- Polytheistic: which nullifies Tawheed - and it is to direct any act of worship to the inmate of the grave; such as supplicating to them, seeking their assistance, ritually circumambulating (tawaaf) around them, sacrificing and vowing at them, and its like.
13- The means (wasaa`il) carry the same ruling as their objectives. Therefore, every avenue that leads to shirk in the worship of Allaah, or innovations in the Religion - then it obligatory to forbid it. This is because every newly-invented matter in the Religion is an innovation (bid`ah), and every bid`ah is misguidance and a heresy.
Islamic History
Allah has taught us that the study of history and obtaining lessons from it are essential for the success of mankind in this world and the hereafter. The events of past nations remind us that some nations were destroyed as a result of their bad deeds whilst others attained success on account of their good deeds. The events corresponding with the coming of prophets such as: Adam, Nuh, Ibrahim, and Musa; and the plights of: Pharaoh, Nimrod, ‘Ad, and Thamud have not been related to us in order to bring about amusement and entertainment. Rather, they are to: warn against evil deeds, encourage the performance of good ones, and change our present actions in order to attain a brighter future in this life and the Hereafter. Allah tells us about the drowning of Pharaoh and his men in the sea:
{So this day We shall deliver your (dead) body (out from the sea) that you may be a sign to those who come after you! And verily, many among mankind are heedless of Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelation etc.)} [Yunus 10:92]
{فَالْيَوْمَ نُنَجِّيكَ بِبَدَنِكَ لِتَكُونَ لِمَنْ خَلْفَكَ آيَةً ۚ وَإِنَّ كَثِيرًا مِّنَ النَّاسِ عَنْ آيَاتِنَا لَغَافِلُونَ} يونس: 92
Transliteration: Faalyawma nunajjeeka bibadanika litakoona liman khalfaka ayatan wainna katheeran mina alnnasi AAan ayatinalaghafiloona
The Qur’an is the final book from Allah and has remained in its pure and unadulterated form. It is one of the sources of the Shari’ah and therefore its guidance is of paramount importance to our salvation in this life and the hereafter, and so, the Qur’an requires careful study and contemplation. The news of the previous nations constitutes a large part of the Qur’an. The majority of these people rejected the Prophets sent to them on many occasions showing animosity towards them, all of which brought about Allah’s wrath upon themselves. Allah tells us that these cases of destruction should be a warning for succeeding generations. All of Allah’s Prophets were sent to warn mankind against the evil actions of past nations and save them from this destruction. The great leaders and reformers of every nation paid attention to past conditions and events in order to bring about alertness and consciousness among the heedless and God denying people of their times.
Among the nations of the world, the Muslim's nation is the only one filled with virtuous deeds and noble performance. Islamic history contains attested information about the deeds of its elders and heroes which are irrefutable. At a time when there is fierce rivalry amongst the nations of the world to excel one another; the Muslims despite having the most glorious history appear to be detached and careless as regards to their history. The very few Muslims that do have some inclination towards their glorious past tend to depend on Islamic histories written in English in a distorted form by the rivals and opponents of Islam and the Muslims. Instead, Muslims should rely on the praiseworthy endeavours of thousands of Muslim historians such as Ibn Kathir, Ibn Hisham, Ibn Al-Athir, Tabari, Masudi and so on. Books of Islamic history paint a portrait of the fascinating glory of the past Muslim era. Islamic history needs a deep study as the lessons derived from it will be of great benefit to individuals and societies.
The first memorable work of the Muslims in connection with the art of writing history, is the arrangement and compilation of the science of Hadith. In the same manner they penned down the accounts of their caliphs, nobles, kings and scholars – an entire chest of treasure that should be taken as Islamic history. Muslims appear to be awe-struck, and sing praises for European historians and their developments in the art of writing history. But they are unaware of the fact that the Introduction to History was written by the famous Muslim historian Ibn Khaldun.
The study of history creates high ambitions, draws towards virtues and keeps away vices. It develops wisdom and insight, enhances vision, and creates a sense of caution and vigilance. It creates patience and firmness, and keeps the heart and mind refreshed by warding off sadness and gloom.
By studying history man finds himself constantly in the company of: Prophets, kings, conquerors, friends of Allah and scholars, as well as men of: knowledge, wisdom and excellence. Man can easily save himself from the mistakes committed by: great rulers, military commanders and thinkers. No other study has the benefit of filling the heart with so much joy and equipping one with so many benefits without causing boredom or a headache.
THE COLD WAR
The Cold War was the time of rivalry and conflict between the USA and the Soviet Union. It started at the end ofWorld War II and ended with the collapse of communism at the end of the 1980s. It was a time of politicaltension, in which both superpowers tried to prevent each other from gaining too much power. Even if the conflict did not result in a real war, there were many situations in which the world was very close to it.
After World War II
Although the United States and the Soviet Union were allies during World War II, they had different ideas about the future of the world. At the end of the war the Soviets controlled much of Eastern Europe and installedCommunist governments there. The United States, on the other side, wanted to stop Communist ideas from spreading. It helped Western European countries to stay free and also gave them big sums of money to help rebuild their weak economies. The border between the Communist east and the free west was called the Iron Curtain and ran straight through the middle of Europe.
Military Blocs after World War II
After World War II two military organizations emerged. In 1949 the United States and other western countriesfounded NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization), on the other side the Soviets led the Warsaw Pact, a military organization of eastern European countries. Both military blocs wanted to defend themselves in casethe other attacked.
Berlin
Two of the major events of the Cold War took place in Berlin. After World War II the city was divided into four zones. The French, British and American zone became West Berlin and the Soviet zone became East Berlin. When the Soviets tried to cut off supply routes to the city the Americans reacted by airlifting food, clothes and other supplies to Berlin to help the city survive.
In the 1950s many East Berliners moved to West Berlin to escape Communism. The East German government had no way of stopping them. During this decade thousands of people crossed the border to freedom. In 1961 the East German government erected a wall around Berlin. It became the most famous symbol of the Cold War.
Cuba
Another political and military showdown took place in Cuba. In 1959 rebel leader Fidel Castro overthrew western leaders and installed a Communist government on the island. Soon, the Soviet Union sent supplies andweapons to support Cuba.
In 1962 the Soviet Union set up nuclear missiles on the island. To the Americans, nuclear missiles 90 miles from the coast of Florida was an unacceptable threat to their safety. After days of conflict and tension the Soviets finally agreed to remove their weapons from Cuba.
In 1962 the Soviet Union set up nuclear missiles on the island. To the Americans, nuclear missiles 90 miles from the coast of Florida was an unacceptable threat to their safety. After days of conflict and tension the Soviets finally agreed to remove their weapons from Cuba.
Other Cold War events
The Cold War spread to other parts of the world as well. The Soviet Union tried to expand their influence to Asian countries. Mao Zedong became the first communist leader in China in 1949. The Chinese nationalistswere driven off the mainland to Taiwan. In the years that followed, however, China challenged the Soviet leadership in the Communist world.
After World War II the Soviets occupied the northern part of Korea and set up a Communist government there. When North Korean forces invaded the south in 1950s, the United States led allied forces against the Communist north. After three years of fighting the Korean War came to an end. The peninsula was divided into North and South Korea.
Later in that decade the Soviets spread their influence to Indochina. After the French had been thrown out of Vietnam in the 1950s the country was divided into a Communist north and a free south. North Vietnam, however, wanted to unite Vietnam under Communist rule. Soon the Americans got involved in the war on the side of the South Vietnamese. After a decade of fighting the Americans and South Vietnamese were defeatedand the Communists reunited the country. In 1979 the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in an attempt to stopIslamic influence from spreading to their southern borders.
Arms and Space Race
Four years after the atomic bomb had been dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Soviets exploded their first atomic bomb and became a nuclear power. During the decades of the Cold War both countries increased their nuclear stockpiles. They developed intercontinental missiles which could reach all corners of the world in a short time. During the 1970s each country had enough nuclear weapons to wipe out all life on earth. Later on, they agreed to stop the arms race and set a limit to the number of weapons each country had.
The Soviet Union and the USA extended their rivalry in what became known as the space race. Both superpowers wanted to demonstrate their technological superiority. In 1957, the Soviets launched the first satellite into space and in 1961 Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit the earth. The space race ended in 1969 when Apollo 11 landed on the moon.
End of the Cold War
The latter half of the 1980s slowly brought an end to the Cold War. In the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachew took power. He wanted to open up the economy of the largest country on earth. His policy of glasnost and perestroika aimed at giving the Soviet population more freedom and rights.
In 1989 Communism started to collapse in many parts of Eastern Europe. In November 1989 the Berlin Wall wastorn down and East Germans were allowed to travel freely to the West. In 1991 the Soviet Union ceased to exist and broke up into 15 independent countries. Communism survived in only a few countries, including Cuba.
Thursday, 24 March 2016
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