Friday, December 5, 2008

Health Benefits of Saying "Alhamdulillah" and other Zikr

There are many examples in the Qur'an and Hadith of the virtues of a positive mental attitude, perseverance and optimism in the face of adversity. However, did you know that patience and a positive outlook on life are two of the greatest healing tools that you can use?

The Qur'an (2:155) says, "Give glad tidings to those who exercise patience when struck with adversity and say, 'Indeed, we belong to God and to Him is our return.' Such ones receive [the] blessings and mercy of their Lord, and such are the guided ones." According to the findings of modern science, it appears that this mercy may often come in the form of improved health.

Bernard Jensen says, in his book The Science and Practice of Iridology, "The doctor of the new day will recognize that a man's most important workshop is not the physical body, but the mind that controls it." Dr. Ted M. Morter confirms this in his book, Your Health... Your Choice, when he says that "negative thoughts are the number one acid producer in the body (and high body acidity levels are a major cause of disease)… because your body reacts to negative mental and emotional stress brought about by thought the same way it reacts to 'real' threats of physical harm."

In fact, hospital studies show that, of all the patients who consult outpatient clinical facilities in the United States, an astounding seventy percent are found to have no organic basis for their complaint. That figure is amazingly high. However, although medically these patients are not found to have an obvious organic source for their complaints, there actually is a physical basis for this phenomenon. Since Freud popularized the idea of psychoanalysis, people have often focused exclusively on the mental realm to solve certain problems, forgetting that we cannot separate the physical and mental realms. The mind is in the brain, and the brain is an organ. Like all other organs, it feeds from the same pool of nutrients that other body organs feed from and is susceptible to all of the same problems. Ultimately, the brain is just a part of our body like all of the other parts and is completely dependent on the body. It requires sugar to develop energy unlike other tissues that can develop it from potassium and fats. Consequently, it is the first organ to suffer from low blood sugar and it reacts most severely. Freud himself said that psychoanalysis was not suitable for treating diseases such as schizophrenia, and he postulated that their causes eventually would be found to be biochemical.

If we keep in mind that the brain is an organ and that it works in harmony with the other organs and feeds from the same bloodstream, we can understand how various mental events can affect us physically. For example, simply using our brains to think and study burns up nutrients in our system, particularly phosphorus. Heavily exercising the brain can cause us to suffer from a phosphorus deficiency. And we find that the reverse is also true in this relationship. People who have high intellectual capacity usually have high levels of phosphorus in their system.

There is much wisdom in the Prophet's (SAW) statement (narrated by Abu Huraira), "The strong [person] is not the one who overcomes the people by his strength, but the strong [person] is the one who controls himself while in anger." In fact, staying patient and calm is key to physical strength.

Phosphorus is not the only nutrient that can be depleted by mental stress and a lack of spiritual calm. If the thyroid gland, the primary organ to handle our emotions, works overtime, we can suffer from a deficiency in iodine. Stress from a demanding job, a divorce or relocating can cause a loss of potassium and sodium in the body because it effects the adrenal glands creating more of a need for these minerals.

Even hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) can be caused by excitement. The prophet (SAW) recommended our taking the more moderate path in life; however, we often engage in or expose ourselves to intense excitement by yelling, excessively watching television, and going to the mall, movies, parties, amusement parks, etc. When we see something exciting, our adrenal cortex is stimulated and there is an increase in our blood sugar. This, in turn, stimulates the pancreas to secrete insulin into the blood to lower the sugar level, causing us to then feel tired or weak.

It produces calm and health to practice saying, "Alhamdulillah" for what we have and for what we are faced with. We should try to keep our home and work environments peaceful and as free from stress as possible. One way we can counteract the effects of stress are to simply be aware of the stress we are encountering, and to consume sufficient nutrients and supplements such as herbs.

For instance, if a person is up late praying or reading Qur'an during Ramadan, they can eat phosphorus rich foods and those that will help them maintain their phosphorus intake. If a person is moving, traveling or making Hajj or Umra, they may want to increase their intake of foods high in potassium and sodium as well as vitamin B complex.

If we completely ignore the relationship between mental and physical health, we are missing an important detail in the picture of personal health. And, as in most health problems, practicing prevention is superior to finding a cure. Therefore, the best manner to avoid having negative attitudes and emotions control our bodies is simply to practice the wisdoms that we have been given throughout the Qur'an and Hadith. We should say, "Alhamdullilah" for what we have; "Insha'Allah" for what we intend; and, "Subhana' Allah" when we see something exciting or amazing. We should remember to say, Astaghfir'Allah" when we lose our tempers or become weak, and most importantly, "Allahu Akbar" when we are faced with the challenges of life. These five phrases, said regularly, are like taking a multi-vitamin for holistic health.
By Karima Burns

Saturday, November 29, 2008

An Outcry to Muslim Ummah

What happened when the Khilafah Uthmaniyyah collapsed? see for yourself...

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Pork Tapeworms a Small, But Growing Trend

"We've got a lot more of cases of this in the United States now," said Raymond Kuhn, professor of biology and an expert on parasites at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. "Upwards of 20 percent of neurology offices in California have seen it."

The pork tapeworm has plagued people for thousands of years. The parasite, known as cysticercosis, lives in pork tissue, and is likely the reason why Jewish and Muslim dietary laws ban pork.
Kuhn said whether you get a tapeworm in the intestine, or a worm burrowing into your brain can depend on how you consumed the parasite.

More evidence?

Thursday, November 6, 2008

The Benefit of Zuhr Prayer on body composition



Muslims are required to perform five obligatory solahs a day. Solah calls for many body movements and postures such as standing, bowing, prostration and sitting. Since the movements have to follow a repeated and sequential etiquette, the prayers can be likened to a form of light exercise. A number of research have been carried out to determine the benefits of exercise on body composition. In a study conducted by Slentz and friends in 2004, they maintained that body composition is an important indicator of one's level of fitness. Light exercise according to them burns body fat while heavy exercise burns carbohydrates. In addition, exercise moderately will burn fat and promote oxidization. Scientist agree that the benefits of exercise can be gained if the exercise is carried out regularly. The question rise now is whether praying constitute benefits?

To answer this question, a group of researcher from Malaya University (Malaysia) conducted a series of research to highlight the benefits of solah. With respect to this study, they examined the body composition of people performing the zuhr prayer in congregation. The zuhr prayer is performed in the afternoon and consists of four rakaahs. A total of 47 participants took part in the study. For this study, they set a set of etiquette (which contains five condition) must be fulfilled by the participants. The conditions are as follows:
1.An individual's adherence to the full five solahs
2.An individual's understanding of the solah verses: whether these verses are understood fully, moderately well or with minimal understanding
3.Congregational and non-congregational solah: whether the individual performs the solah individually or in a congregation
4.Back posture during bowing: whether the back is bent at 90-degree angle or otherwise
5.Position of the toes: whether toes are bent or otherwise during prostration and when sitting between prostrations and during the final salutation (sitting during tahiyah)

In their study, the body composition was measured based on whether worshippers carry out all five or less of these conditions. The results of the study showed that individuals who fulfill all the conditions of a properly executed solah have a better body composition than those who did not fulfill these five conditions or practices well. Participants who performed five or four of these conditions were found to have archieved a higher body composition. They also reported of having a higher phase angle (PA) which indicates a large quantities of intact cell membranes and body cell mass (BCM). A higher phase angle (PA) means that the internal organs are functioning efficiently and have a high immune system. A low phase angle (PA) indicates of cell breakdown in selective permeability of cell membrane which may lead to the failure of the internal organs in functioning effectively. Obviously, the benefits of zuhr prayer (performed with specific conditions as ordained) will result in a healthy and active body. Partipants who fulfilled all five or four of these conditions achieved an optimum level of health and are much healthier than participants who only fulfill three or less of the conditions.
Source: Salat: Benefit from science perspective (2008)

Monday, October 27, 2008

Thinking with the heart: The Quran and Scientific Proof




Thinking with the heart besides the brain in the Noble Quran was proven by Science:
The Noble Quran's claim:
Let us look at what Allah Almighty said in the Noble Quran:
"Verily in this is a Message for any that has a heart and understanding or who gives ear and earnestly witnesses (the truth). (The Noble Quran, 50:37)"

"That is because they believed, then they rejected Faith: So a seal was set on their hearts: therefore they understand not. (The Noble Quran, 63:3)"

"Or do those in whose hearts is a disease, think that God will not bring to light all their rancour? (The Noble Quran, 47:29)"

"And We put coverings over their hearts (and minds) lest they should understand the Quran, and deafness into their ears: when thou dost commemorate thy Lord and Him alone in the Quran, they turn on their backs, fleeing (from the Truth). (The Noble Quran, 17:46)"

"Of them there are some who (pretend to) listen to thee; but We have thrown veils on their hearts, So they understand it not, and deafness in their ears; if they saw every one of the signs, not they will believe in them; in so much that when they come to thee, they (but) dispute with thee; the Unbelievers say: "These are nothing but tales of the ancients." (The Noble Quran, 6:25)"

"They prefer to be with (the women), who remain behind (at home): their hearts are sealed and so they understand not. (The Noble Quran, 9:87)"

There are many other Noble Verses that deal with the hard-hearted disbelievers that have hearts with "disease" and "hearts that understand not" that I can provide, but I think the above are sufficient enough. The question here is:
Why is Allah Almighty claiming that the disbelievers' hearts do not understand and are full of disease? Allah Almighty classified them as what we call today "hard-hearted" people.

Allah further says:

"After (the excitement) of the distress, He sent down calm on a band of you overcome with slumber, while another band was stirred to anxiety by their own feelings, Moved by wrong suspicions of God-suspicions due to ignorance. They said: "What affair is this of ours?" Say thou: "Indeed, this affair is wholly God's." They hide in their minds what they dare not reveal to thee. They say (to themselves): "If we had had anything to do with this affair, We should not have been in the slaughter here." Say: "Even if you had remained in your homes, those for whom death was decreed would certainly have gone forth to the place of their death"; but (all this was) that God might test what is in your breasts and purge what is in your hearts. For God knoweth well the secrets of your hearts. (The Noble Quran, 3:154)"

"And that which is (locked up) in (human) breasts is made manifest- (The Noble Quran, 100:10)"

The Arabic word that was translated as "breasts" here is "sudoor". Sudoor is a plural of "sader". The more literal translation of sudoor is "chests" and not "breasts". Sader means a male's breast or chest, while "thadi" means a female's breast. A female's chest is also "sader". So, "breasts" in Noble Verses 3:154 and 3:154 is not an accurate translation. "Chests" is the accurate one.

Anyway, in these Noble Verses, we see Allah Almighty talking about physical thoughts and "secrets" inside the hearts. Again, why is Allah Almighty talking about physical thoughts and "secrets" inside the hearts?

Science had proven that the heart does impact the brain's thinking capability, and does also feed the brain thoughts and feelings that would control the perspective of the person.

Head-Heart Interactions
Traditionally, the study of communication pathways between the "head" and heart has been approached from a rather one-sided perspective, with scientists focusing primarily on the heart's responses to the brain's commands. However, we have now learned that communication between the heart and brain is actually a dynamic, ongoing, two-way dialogue, with each organ continuously influencing the other's function. Research has shown that the heart communicates to the brain in four major ways: neurologically (through the transmission of nerve impulses), biochemically (via hormones and neurotransmitters), biophysically (through pressure waves) and energetically (through electromagnetic field interactions). Communication along all these conduits significantly affects the brain's activity. Moreover, our research shows that messages the heart sends the brain can also affect performance.
The heart communicates with the brain and body in four ways:
Neurological communication (nervous system)
Biophysical communication (pulse wave)
Biochemical communication (hormones)
Energetic communication (electromagnetic fields)

The studies described in this section probe several of these communication pathways, looking specifically at how the brain responds to patterns generated by the heart during positive emotional states. The first two studies focus primarily on neurological interactions, demonstrating that the afferent signals the heart sends the brain during positive emotions can alter brain activity in several ways. In the first study, we find that cardiac coherence can drive entrainment between very low frequency brainwaves and heart rhythms, thus further expanding our understanding of the physiological entrainment mode described in the previous section. In the second study, we learn that coherent heart rhythms also lead to increased heart-brain synchronization. The implications of these findings are explored in the third study, which shows that in states of high heart rhythm coherence, individuals demonstrate significant improvements in cognitive performance.

Taken together, the results of these studies demonstrate that intentionally altering one's emotional state through heart focus modifies afferent neurological input from the heart to the brain. The data suggest that as people experience sincere positive feeling states, in which the heart's rhythms become more coherent, the changed information flow from the heart to the brain may act to modify cortical function and influence performance. These findings may also help explain the significant shifts in perception, increased mental clarity and heightened intuitive awareness many individuals have reported when practicing the HeartMath techniques.

The final two studies in this section are concerned with energetic communication by the heart, which we also refer to as cardioelectromagnetic communication. The heart is the most powerful generator of electromagnetic energy in the human body, producing the largest rhythmic electromagnetic field of any of the body's organs. The heart's electrical field is about 60 times greater in amplitude than the electrical activity generated by the brain. This field, measured in the form of an electrocardiogram (ECG), can be detected anywhere on the surface of the body. Furthermore, the magnetic field produced by the heart is more than 5,000 times greater in strength than the field generated by the brain, and can be detected a number of feet away from the body, in all directions, using SQUID-based magnetometers (Figure 12). Prompted by our findings that the cardiac field is modulated by different emotional states (described in the previous section), we performed several studies to investigate the possibility that the electromagnetic field generated by the heart may transmit information that can be received by others.

The Heart's Electromagnetic Field

The heart's electromagnetic field--by far the most powerful rhythmic field produced by the human body--not only envelops every cell of the body but also extends out in all directions into the space around us. The cardiac field can be measured several feet away from the body by sensitive devices. Research conducted at IHM suggests that the heart's field is an important carrier of information.


Head-Heart Interactions
Thus, the last two studies summarized in this section explore interactions that take place between one person's heart and another's brain when two people touch or are in proximity. This research elucidates the intriguing finding that the electromagnetic signals generated by the heart have the capacity to affect others around us. Our data indicate that one person's heart signal can affect another's brainwaves, and that heart-brain synchronization can occur between two people when they interact. Finally, it appears that as individuals increase psychophysiological coherence, they become more sensitive to the subtle electromagnetic signals communicated by those around them. Taken together, these results suggest that cardioelectromagnetic communication may be a little-known source of information exchange between people, and that this exchange is influenced by our emotions.
HEAD-HEART ENTRAINMENT:A PRELIMINARY SURVEY
Rollin McCraty, PhD, William A. Tiller, PhD and Mike Atkinson. In: Proceedings of the Brain-Mind Applied Neurophysiology EEG Neurofeedback Meeting. Key West, Florida, 1996.


THis figure Illustrates the entrainment that can occur between the HRV and EEG waveforms. The lefthand graphs show the time domain signals for the HRV and the EEG (brainwaves), while the righthand panels show the frequency spectra during the entrained state. Note the large peak at the entrainment frequency (~0.12 Hz) in both the HRV and the EEG while the subject is in the entrained state.
Key findings: As people learn to sustain heart-focused positive feeling states, the brain can be brought into entrainment with the heart.
Summary: This study examines in further detail the entrainment mode of cardiac function described previously in "Cardiac Coherence: A new noninvasive measure of autonomic nervous system order." In the previous investigation it was found that when the heart is functioning in the entrainment mode, there is a marked shift in the HRV power spectrum to the resonant frequency range of the baroreceptor feedback loop (around 0.1 Hz), and frequency locking between the HRV waveform, respiration and pulse transit time occurs. The present study shows that as individuals learn to maintain the entrainment mode through sustaining sincere, heart-focused states of appreciation or love, the brain's electrical activity can also come into entrainment with the heart rhythms. Figure 13, below, shows an example of entrainment occurring between a subject's HRV and the very low frequency band region of the electroencephalograph (EEG) recordings after the individual practices the Freeze-Frame intervention for 5 minutes. There is nearly a hundred-fold increase in power in the 0.1 Hz frequency range of the HRV power spectrum after the Freeze-Frame intervention and a correlated 4 to 5- fold increase in the EEG signal power in that same frequency range. Our present hypothesis is that a strong and sustained increase in baroreceptor system activity leads to greatly increased coupling between the heart (HRV) and the brain (EEG) via nerve conducted signals and increased coherence in the vascular system. The results of this experiment provide one example of how increasing coherence in the heart rhythms, by intentionally generating positive emotions, can alter brain activity.


Cardiac Coherence Increases Heart-Brain Synchronization
The brain's alpha wave activity is synchronized to the cardiac cycle. During states of high heart rhythm coherence, alpha wave synchronization to the heart's activity significantly increases.
Investigation by Rollin McCraty, and Mike Atkinson (which was published in Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Pavlovian Society, Tarrytown, NY, 1999) explores further how the heart's activity influences that of the brain. In this pilot study, heartbeat evoked potentials were analyzed in ten individuals. The analysis of heartbeat evoked potentials is a signal processing technique used to identify segments of the EEG (brainwaves) that are correlated to or affected by the heartbeat. In this way, it is possible to determine specific changes in the brain's electrical activity that are associated with afferent signals from the heart.
The subjects' EEGs were recorded using electrodes placed along the medial line and the frontal sites. To determine which brainwave frequencies showed cardiac- related activity, the region of the EEG between 50 and 600 milliseconds post R-wave was then subjected to spectrum analysis. As a control, this procedure was repeated but instead of using the ECG as the signal source, an artificial, randomly generated signal with the same mean inter-beat interval and standard deviation as the original ECG was used for the time reference. It was found that the brain's alpha wave activity (8-12 Hz frequency range) is synchronized to the cardiac cycle. There was significantly more alpha rhythm synchronization when the real ECG was used for the signal source as compared to the control signals. Additionally, analyses revealed that brainwave activity at a lower frequency than alpha is also synchronized to the ECG signal.

In the next phase of the study, they sought to determine if there is a change in the degree of alpha rhythm synchronization to the ECG during periods of increased heart rhythm coherence. In this phase, subjects used the Cut-Thru technique, an emotional refocusing exercise, a means of quieting inner emotional dialogue, instilling a positive emotional state and increasing heart rhythm coherence. Subjects' heart rhythm coherence and heartbeat evoked potentials were analyzed during a 10-minute baseline period, and again while they practiced the Cut-Thru technique for 10 minutes. There was a significant increase in heart rhythm coherence during the period that subjects used the Cut-Thru technique. Heartbeat evoked potential data showed that in this state of increased heart rhythm coherence, alpha wave synchronization to the cardiac cycle increases significantly.

Signal averaging is a technique used to trace afferent neural signals from the heart to the brain. The ECG R-wave is used as the timing source for event-related changes in the brain's activity, and the resulting waveform is called a heartbeat evoked potential. This graph illustrates an example of a heartbeat evoked potential waveform showing alpha activity in the EEG that is synchronized to the cardiac cycle.
In conclusion, this study shows that the brain's activity is naturally synchronized to that of the heart, and also confirms that intentionally altering one's emotional state through heart focus modifies afferent neurological input from the heart to the brain. Results indicate that the brain's electrical activity becomes more synchronized during psychophysiologically coherent states. Implications are that this increased synchronization may alter information processing by the brain during the experience of positive emotions.


Increased Heart-Brain Synchronization

Changes in alpha wave synchronization during high heart rhythm coherence. There was a significant increase in alpha rhythm synchronization to the ECG at most EEG sites during the use of the Cut-Thru intervention (high heart rhythm coherence). * p <.05, ** p <.01, *** p <.001.

CARDIAC COHERENCE IMPROVES COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE
Rollin McCraty, and Mike Atkinson previous findings (above) indicating that states of increased heart rhythm coherence give rise to distinct changes in the brain's activity, we subsequently performed an experiment to determine whether these changes might have a measurable impact on cognitive performance. Further, they conducted another study to assess changes in cognitive performance associated with states of increased heart rhythm coherence. In this investigation, 30 subjects were randomly divided into matched control and experimental groups based on age and gender. Cognitive performance was assessed by determining subjects' reaction times in an oddball auditory discrimination task before and after practicing the Cut-Thru emotional self-management technique to increase cardiac coherence. In this test, subjects listened to a series of two different tones through headphones. They were presented with 300 tones, each with a 50-millisecond duration. Eighty percent of the tones were 1000 Hertz sine waves (standard), and the other 20 percent were 1100 Hertz tones (odd) randomly mixed in between the standard tones, spaced around two seconds apart. Subjects were instructed to push a button as quickly as possible upon hearing an odd tone. The interval between the presentation of the tone and the pressing of the button is the reaction time.
Following a 10-minute baseline period, subjects were given a practice session to gain familiarity with pressing the button and identifying the different tones. This was followed by the first 10-minute auditory discrimination task. Thereafter, the experimental group subjects were asked to employ the Cut-Thru self-management technique for 10 minutes, while control subjects engaged in a relaxation period during this interval. Following this, all subjects performed a second 10-minute auditory discrimination task, the results of which were compared to the first. Subjects' ECGs, pulse transit time and respiration were continuously monitored throughout this entire experimental sequence. Heart rhythm coherence, derived from the ECG, was calculated for all subjects during each phase of the testing sequence. As shown in the following figure, there was a significant increase in heart rhythm coherence in the subjects who used the Cut-Thru technique that was not evident in the relaxation group.

Increased Heart RhythmCoherence During Cut-Thru

The figure shows changes in heart rhythm coherence across experimental conditions. The experimental group used the Cut-Thru intervention in the interval between the two auditory discrimination tasks, while the control group engaged in a relaxation period during this time. (ADT = auditory discrimination task.) *p < .05 .


Increased Heart-Brain Synchronization
As compared to the control group, subjects using the Cut-Thru technique demonstrated a significant decrease in reaction times in the discrimination task following the application of the technique, indicating improved cognitive performance.

In addition, a significant relationship was found between the degree of heart rhythm coherence and reaction times. Increased cardiac coherence was associated with a significant decrease in reaction times (improved performance).
The results of this study support the hypothesis that the changes in brain activity that occur during states of increased psychophysiological coherence lead to changes in the brain's information processing capabilities. Results suggest that by using heart-based interventions to self-generate coherent states, individuals can significantly enhance cognitive performance.

Increased Heart Rhythm Coherence Improves Cognitive Performance Mean Reaction Times

The above figure shows mean reaction times for the experimental versus control group during the first (pre-intervention) and second (post-intervention) auditory discrimination tasks. By using the Cut-Thru technique to generate a state of increased heart rhythm coherence, the experimental group achieved a significant reduction in mean reaction time, indicative of improved cognitive performance. Note that control group participants, who simply relaxed during the interval between tests, showed no change in mean reaction time from the first to the second discrimination task. (ADT = auditory discrimination task.) *p < .05 .

THE ELECTRICITY OF TOUCH:DETECTION AND MEASUREMENT OF CARDIAC ENERGY EXCHANGE BETWEEN PEOPLE
Rollin McCraty, Mike Atkinson, Dana Tomasino, and William A. Tiller argue in Proceedings of the Fifth Appalachian Conference on Neurobehavioral Dynamics: Brain and Values. 1997. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates that the concept of an energy exchange between individuals is central to many healing techniques. This concept has often been disputed by Western science due to the lack of a plausible mechanism to explain the nature of this energy or how it could affect or facilitate the healing process. The fact that the heart generates the strongest electromagnetic field produced by the body, coupled with our findings that this field becomes measurably more coherent as the individual shifts to a sincerely loving or caring state, prompted us to investigate the possibility that the field generated by the heart may significantly contribute to this energy exchange. This study presents a sampling of results which provide intriguing evidence that an exchange of electromagnetic energy produced by the heart occurs when people touch or are in proximity. Signal averaging techniques are used to show that one person's electrocardiogram (ECG) signal is registered in another's electroencephalogram (EEG) and elsewhere on the other person's body (See Figure 18 for an example). While this signal is strongest when people are in contact, it is still detectable when subjects are in proximity without contact.

Heartbeat signal averaged waveforms (figure above) showing a transference of the electrical energy generated by Subject B's heart which can be detected in Subject A's EEG (brainwaves) when they hold hands.

Al-Quran has shown to us 1500 years ago what scientific exploration can prove today. Isn't this a miracle? Wallau A'lam

Monday, October 20, 2008

Healing from the Quran: Medicine of Information

Healing from the Quran: Medicine of Information By: Abduldaem Alkaheel

We sent down (reveled) of the Qur’an that which is a healing and mercy to those who believes”
(Sarah 17-Aya 82)

This research is the result of the work of three years of search, study and experiences and lead to put the scientific foundation of “Healing by the Qur’an” as well as to proof the new miraculous face of the Qur’an, which I call:
“The Healing Power of The Qur’an” moreover it leads to discover a new kind of medicine, which I name: “Medicine Of Information”

Yes, healing by Qur’an is a 100% real and true act! It was proven to me with certainty that the Qur’an can heal from all kind of physical, psychological, evil effects, worries, envy, magic .. etc.
So, let us start together putting the scientific foundations for this most effective and powerful kind of healing, maybe we can convince our doctors and medical scientists of this amazing kind of healing!
I should mention that I referred to 27 international scientific sources.

The Atom is the essential construction unit for the Universe!
When we give a good look at the Universe, we find it composed of atoms and each atom of the Universe is a continues state of vibration.

Everything is done in the brain
Inside the brain there are more than 1000’000’000’000 “Million millions” of cells, each cell is an amazing complicated computer working with the other cells perfectly and continuously without rest and non stop!

Electromagnetic waves sent by the Brain.
Scientists discovered lately that the brain cells vibrate and send electromagnetic and magnetic waves, which represent the activities in the brain of the Human being. So, the brain cells vibrate and are effected by all kind of vibrations whatever is their kind or source!

The Cell is the Unit of Body Construction
All cells of the body, without exception vibrate, which means that they are affected by all kind of vibrations mechanical, electrical and magnetically!

Healing by Sound
New methods for healing appeared to replace the actual methods, one of the most important is healing by sound. In this field researchers found out that the voice of the human being has a very effective and positive effect for healing many different kinds of illness and important health problems like cancer. But the question is: how sound can help in healing and curing health problems, and do all kind of sounds heal ?

A NERVIOUS CELL VIBE BY SOUND
In the Qur’an hearing comes before sight, it might be a sign of the importance of sound for healing.

Sound is waves dispersed (diffused) in the air
Sound move in the air with a speed of 340 meters/second, and it consists of vibrations coming out of the throat and spread in the air until reaching the ears, then it goes through the ears to all parts of the body.

The mechanism of hearing in the human being


ALL THE CELLS OF THE BODY ARE EFFECTED BY THE SOUND VIBRATIONS
The cell is affected by the sound vibration, and it goes with it by changing its own vibration, which means that the mechanical work of the cell could increase and be stronger to resist viruses when we influence it by certain limited vibrations.

Scientific Experiences
Some scientists and researchers did, for more than 50 years, many experiences on the effect of the sound on the healthy and sick cells of the human being, and they reached an important result that some sound vibrations affect cancer cells and destroy them, while in the same time they affect the healthy cells and strengthen them beside increasing their activities!

A CANCER CELL EXPLODES BY CERTAIN LIMTIED SOUNDS

SOUND VIBRATIONS AFFECT THE ELECTROMAGNATIC FIELD OF THE CELL
A real picture of a cell starts to have an electromagnetic field around it because of certain words, which means that it starts to be more active than before!

A blood cell, affected by the human voice, the electromagnetic field around it changes and whenever there are certain limited vibrations, the cell activates again.

A blood cell, being photographed by a Karlian camera, there appears around a kind of halo (circle of light) changing according to the sound received.

The experiences show us, that when we hear a word, the immune blood cells are affected and with certain words they start to be more active and resistant to all kind of illness. It was also proven that the voice of the patient himself is the most affective!



THE TRANSPORTATION OF THE HEALING INFORMATION
Each aya (Qur’anic verse) contains a certain amount of information to heal certain illness. To guarantee the transport to all cells of the body, there must be a transporter. The best transporter for that is water, honey, olive oil as those are blessed products, God Al-Mighty put certain healing information into them. If we affect them by the sound of the Qur’an, the level of energy inside them will increase. They will store the healing information and transport it to the body cells and this will increase the probabilities of healing by God’s will!



CRISTALS OF WATER (FROZEN) AFFECTED BY THE SOUND
Water has a very high capacity to store any sound and transport it to the body’s cells, we should remember that 70% of the human body consist of water! So, the reciting of the Qur’an on the water will increase it’s energy and it’s capacity of healing, followed by transporting the Qur’anic healing information to all the cells of the body!!!

Honey and Olive Oil Affected by Sound!
During the recitation of the Qur’an onto honey, olive oil or other plant’s oil, the level of energy will increase and the atoms of these healing products will be influenced highly, which will increase their capacity of healing! These products have the capacity to transport the healing information from the Qur’an into all body cells.

HOW ILLNESS, DISEASE OR SICKNESS DO HAPPEN ?
I found during my long research and deep study of the Qur’anic aya’s (verses) that all different kind of illness are in fact different faces of one illness!
God Al-mighty put a program in each cell which makes the cell function all life long. This program consists of a complexity of information. When any outside information enters the cell by a virus or others, then the program of the cell will be affected negatively or positively. Therefore, any damage which happens to the program by a negative affect will appear as an illness, sickness or disease.

THE DNA IS ALSO AN INFORMATION
In each cell there is a strip of information called DNA consisting of more than 3000 millions information!!

THE VIRUS IS BUT AN INFORMATION
The virus is but a collection of information created by God Al-mighty in order to do a certain job. In each single virus a program enables it to affect certain cells.


VIRUS ATTACKING A HEALTHY BRAIN CELL

When a virus attacks the cell, it enters its own program inside the program of the cell, which will affect the healthy program and disturb it or damage it through obliging the healthy cell to copy lots of the virus program.

A CELL EXPLOSES BECAUSE OF THE INCREASING OF THE VIRUSES INSIDE
After the increase of the virus inside the cell, it will use the cell program and its materials to make many copies of itself, then it will explode, freeing thousands of viruses, which in its turn enter to other healthy cells to do the same work.

HOW THE VIRUS WORKS
The virus has no weapon, all what it has is only a strip of information, so the war is “INFORMATION WAR” This is the idea of healing by the Qur’an, because the Qur’an has the opposite information of any damage that has occurred to the healthy cell.

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging fMRI
This machine is used to observe the brain operations, the scientists discovered that the brain is in its best natural condition when the human being is truthful and not lying, when the human being is not doing something wrong or thinking to do something wrong. That’s why they said that the brain is programmed to do the right things.

God Al-Mighty said:
The pattern on which Allah has made mankind; no change (let there be) in the work (wrought) by Allah; that is the straight (perfect) religion; but most among mankind don’t know” (Surah 30 – aya 30)
The scientists assure us that the brain is programmed on pure healthy nature!

THE QUR’AN IS REPROGRAMMING THE BRAIN CELLS
The Creator of illness is the One who created mankind, so He puts secret knowledge in His book. We don’t understand, but it affects all kind of illness and cures them by His will! This could be done by re-balancing the cells that were corrupted. As we said, any sickness, illness or disease is the result of a certain damage in the program of the cell (reprogramming), depending on the kind of the illness, sickness or disease.

THE QUR’AN IS RE-BUILDING THE IMMUNE SYSTEM OF THE BODY
The immune system of the body is also a program. Therefore, when the virus enters the cell it will affect this system and cause damages. When we read certain ayat (verses) of the Qur’an,a the sound that enters the body cells, re-programs the immune system by the power of the information carried inside the Qur’anic voice, and becomes more capable to recognize the illness and destroys it. That’s how the healing by the Qur’an happens!!!

THE HEALING POWER OF THE QUR’ANIC WORDS
The Qur’an has a great effect on all kind of illness because:
1- The effect of the perfect harmony of reciting the words and the letters.
2- The effect of the balanced sound of the Qur’anic words.
3- The effect of the information inside each aya (Verse).
4- The Creator of the illness is the same One who sent the Qur’an (His words).
5- Allah (God Al-Mighty) told us that the Qur’an is healing.

WHAT IS THE MEDICINE OF INFORMATION
The medicine of information is a new science from The Holy Qur’an which we are trying to discover. In this science everything turns into information; each illness is an information, each cell contains certain information. Even in the water there is information, in each plant there is information and so on … inside each creation there is information which God Al-Mighty put inside and all these information function with a perfect program like a universal computer.
Based on this, the healing could happen after knowing the problem happened to the information of the cells, which means the kind of the illness, and searching for right information in the nature, which means searching for the cure.
According to this view, each and any illness has a cure! As the Prophet Mohammed (P.B.U.H.) said: “There is no illness existing for which there is not a cure for it sent by God, except getting old and die…”



THE RESULTS OF RESEARCH AND THE ADVICES
1- Putting the scientific foundation for the healing by the Qur’an.
2- The necessity of doing many scientific experiences on the effect of certain Ayas (Qur’anic verses).
3- Proving the Qur’anic miracles in the science of healing (The healing power in the Qur’anic words).
4- The healing by Qur’an includes all kind of physical and psychological illness.
5- To encourage the self healing, which means, that the sick person practices reading the Qur’anic healing Ayas (verses) on himself, if possible.
6- The necessity of reading the Qur’anic healing Ayas (verses) on water, honey, olive oil and other plants oil, which has then to be taken by the patient.
7- All kind of illness is information and it’s healing could be done by information also, and here we come to discover a new medicine called; “THE MEDECINE OF INFORMATION”.

REFERENCES OF THE RESEARCH
• 1- Joel Schwarz, How little gray cells process sound: they're really a series of computers, University of Washington, Nov. 21, 1997.
• 2- Tomatis Alfred, The Conscious Ear, Station Hill Press, New York, 1991.
• 3- Jenny Hans, Cymatics, Basilius Presse AG, Basel, 1974.
• 4- Maman Fabien, The Role of Music in the Twenty-First Century, Tama-Do Press, California, 1997.
• 5- Emoto Masaru. The Message from Water, HADO Kyoikusha. Tokyo, 1999.
• 6- Keys Laurel Elizabeth, Toning the Creative Power of the Voice, DeVorss and Co. California, 1973.
• 7- Simon Heather, The Healing Power of Sound, www.positivehealth.com.
• 8- Power of Sound, www.bbc.co.uk, 20 November 2003.
• 9- Davis Dorinnem, Sound Bodies through Sound Therapy, Kalco Publishing 2004.
• 10- Sound Cooling, American Institute of Physics, discoveriesandbreakthroughs.org, April 1, 2004.
• 11- Black Hole Sound Waves, (NASA), Sept. 9, 2003.
• 12- International Sound Healing Conference, November 10 -14, 2006.
• 13- Carnegie Mellon, Scientists Show How Brain Processes Sound, Carnegie Mellon University, February 23, 2006.
• 14- Musicians have more grey matter, www.bbc.co.uk, 17 June, 2002.
• 15- Excitable Cells, www.users.rcn.com, 17 July 2003.
• 16- Beautiful music cures brain diseases and improves blood circulation, www.english.pravda.ru, 27.02.2006.
• 17- Hellman B, Gylfe E, Grapengiesser E, Lund PE, Berts A. Cytoplasmic Ca2+ oscillations in pancreatic beta-cells, Uppsala University, Sweden, Dec 11, 1992.
• 18- Revolutionary nanotechnology illuminates brain cells at work, www.nanotechwire.com, 6/1/2005.
• 19- Jill Neimark, Sound healing, www.findarticles.com, March, 2004.
• 20- DNA Code Breaker Tested Theory On Jane Austen Text, www.medicalnewstoday.com, 27 Nov 2006.
• 21- Sharry Edwards, Decloaking Pathogens With Low-Frequency Sound, Nexus Magazine, October-November 2000.
• 22- Common Cancer Treatments Toxic to Healthy Brain Cells, University of Rochester, November 30, 2006.
• 23- Kara Gavin, University of Michigan researchers publish new findings on the brain's response to costly mistakes, University of Michigan, April 12, 2006.
• 25- Brain Scans as Lie Detectors: Ready for Court Use?, Malcolm Ritter, www.livescience.com, 29 January 2006.
• 26- Carl T. Hall, Chronicle Science Writer, Fib detector Study shows brain scan detects patterns of neural activity when someone lies, www.sfgate.com, November 26, 2001.
• 27- Brain and Sound Frequencies, NEW YORK TIMES: SCIENCE SECTION 1989.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Depression and Healing From Natural Food

Depression is real and it is experienced by everyone to some degree in their life. Some people do not admit sadness or guilt and instead they withdraw and hide from society. They may lose interest in things around them and become incapable of any pleasure. Things appear bleak and time passes slowly for them. They are typically angry and irritable and often try sleeping off their depression or doing little but sitting or lying around. Most people with depression can still function but do so at a lower capacity or slower pace.

Allah has sent help through the Qur’an as reading the Qur’an and remembering Allah can alleviate depression with the help of Allah. Also calling on Allah and reciting the duas of the distressed that the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) sent to help alleviate depression should not be neglected.

Symptoms of depression include chronic fatigue syndrome, insomnia, sleeping frequently and for excessive periods of time, loss of appetite or a ravenous appetite, headaches, backaches, colon disorders, and feelings of worthlessness and inadequacy.

Depression may be caused by tension, upset stomach, stress, headache, nutritional deficiencies, poor diet, sugar, mononucleosis, thyroid disorders, endometriosis, any serious physical disorder, or allergies.

Some people become more depressed in the winter months when days are shorter and darker. The sun and bright light seem to trigger a response to a brain hormone known as melatonin which in part is responsible for preventing depression. Because of this it is recommended to stay in brightly lit rooms on dark days. For those living in London, this is especially key as most days are gray and overcast which can contribute to depression. Research reveals that two hours of morning sun is very effective in lifting depression. The evening light had comparatively little results.

Depression begins with a disturbance in the part of the brain that governs moods. The average person may be able to handle every day stresses and their bodies readjust to these pressures. When the stress becomes too great for a person and his adjustment mechanism is unresponsive a depression may be triggered.

Food greatly influence the brains behavior and diet is one of the leading causes of depression. This comes about from poor eating habits and constant snacking on junk foods. The brain’s neurotransmitters which help to control our behavor are controlled by what we eat. The neurotransmitters are dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. When the brain produces serotonin, tension is alleviated. When the brain produces dopamine or norepinephrine we tend to act and think more quickly and are more alert.

Eating carbohydrates alone seems to have a calming effect, while proteins increase alertness. Protein meals containing essential fatty acids and or carbohydrates are recommended for increased alertness. Salmon and white fish are good choices. Avoid foods high in saturated fats, consumption of fried foods such as hamburgers and French fries as they will lead to sluggishness, slow thinking, and fatigue.

Complex carbohydrates have a calming effect as they raise the level of tryptophan in the brain, while protein promotes the production of dopamine and norepinephrine which promote alertness. A balance is achieved when the diet contains a combination of these two nutrients. A turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread is a good combination as the turkey is high in protein and the whole wheat bread supplies complex carbohydrates. You should eat more carbohydrates than protein if you are nervous and are trying to relax. If you are tired and trying to become more alert, you should eat more proteins than carbohydrates.

A depressed person who is looking for an immediate lift would benefit from eating foods like turkey, salmon, or mackeral, which are high in tryptophan and protein.

Once should be awae of the fact that the body will react more quickly to the presence of sugar than it does to the presence of complex carbohydrates; therefore the increase in energy supplied by the simple carbohydrates is quickly accompanied by fatigue and depression.

Heredity is also a key factor in depression as up to 50 percent of people that suffer from recurrent episodes of depression had one or both parents who were depressive.

Nutritional recommendations include the following:

* a raw fruit and vegetable diet, with soybeans and their by-products is important.
* Diets too low in complex carbohydrates can cause serotonin depletion and depression.
* Vitamin B Complex is good for normal brain functioning
* Calcium and magnesium have a calming effect and is needed for the nervous system.
* L-Tyrosine alleviates stress by boosting productionof adrenaline and raises dopamine levels which influence moods. Lack of tyrosine results in a norepinephrine deficiency at a specific brain location, resulting in mood disorders such as depression.
* Lithium arginate or lithium orotate is for manic depressives.
* Multivitamin and mineral complex may be helpful as vitamin and mineral deficiencies are associated with depression.
* Vitamin B6 is good for normal brain function
* Vitamin C is needed for immune function and aids in preventing depression.
* If you are taking MAO inhibitor drugs you should avoid tyrosine as it can raise blood pressure. Also consume the following foods in moderation: avocados, cheese, chocolate, herring, meat tenderizer, raisins, sour cream, soy sauce yeast extracts, and yogurt.
* Diet is very important to alleviate stress. Try to stay away from foods that create stress on the system such as colas, fried foods, junk foods, sugar, white flour products, and potato chips. Eat a 50 to 75 percent raw foods diet. Eliminate dairy products for three weeks and then reintroduce slowly and observe the return of symptoms of your ‘nervous’ condition. A quality diet, exercise and proper rest are very important. You will be amazed at the results.
* Avoid caffeine as it aggravate stress.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Brain, Cerebrum, Quran, Lying

Noble Quran on the Cerebrum: Lying is generated from the person's forehead

Allah has said in the Quran about one of the evil unbelievers who forbade the Prophet Muhammad from praying at the Kaabah:

No! If he does not stop, We will take him by the naseyah (front of the head), a lying, sinful naseyah (front of the head)!(Quran, 96:15-16)

I also called to mind some of the traditions of the Prophet (Peace be upon him), such as: “O Allah! I am your servant and the son of your servant and the son of your bondmaid, my nasiyah (front of the head) is in Your Hands…” and: “ I seek refuge with you from the evil of everything whose nasiyah is in Your Grasp.” and: “Horses have goodness embedded in their nasiyahs, till the Day of Resurrection.”

From the meanings of these texts we can conclude that the nasiyah is the center of control and guidance of both human and animal behavior.

Why did the Quran describe the front of the head as being lying and sinful? Why didn’t the Quran say that the person was lying and sinful? What is the relationship between the front of the head and lying and sinfulness?

If we look into the skull at the front of the head, we will find the prefrontal area of the cerebrum. What does physiology tell us about the function of this area? A book entitled Essentials of Anatomy & Physiology says about this area, “The motivation and the foresight to plan and initiate movements occur in the anterior portion of the frontal lobes, the prefrontal area. This is a region of association cortex...” Also the book says, “In relation to its involvement in motivation, the prefrontal area is also thought to be the functional center for aggression....”

The prefrontal cortex constitutes the bulk of the frontal lobe of the brain, and its function is involved in the making of one’s personality. It is also considered as a superior center among the centers of concentration, thinking and memory. It plays a significant role in the person’s emotion and it is somehow concerned with initiative and discrimination.

The cortex is situated directly behind the forehead; it is hidden deep in the front of the head. Thus the prefrontal cortex directs some of the human behaviour that reflects one’s personality, with respect to being truthful, lying, right, wrong…etc. It also distinguishes between these virtues and vices and urges one to take the initiative whether with good or evil intent.

So, this area of the cerebrum is responsible for planning, motivating, and initiating good and sinful behaviour and is responsible for the telling of lies and the speaking of truth. Thus, it is proper to describe the front of the head as lying and sinful when someone lies or commits a sin, as the Quran has said, “...A lying, sinful naseyah (front of the head)!”

Professor Keith L. Moore, illustrating this Scientific Miracle, says: “The information we now know about the function of the brain, was not mentioned throughout history, nor do we find anything about it in the medical books. Should we survey all the medical literature during the time of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) and several centuries thereafter, we would find no mention of the function of the frontal lobe (nasiyah), or an explanation of it or a statement about it except in this Book (the Holy Qur’an), which indicates that such information is of the Knowledge of Allah, the Almighty, Who knows everything, and that Muhammad is Allah’s Messenger. In fact during an international conference held in Cairo in 1980, Professor Keith L. Moore said: “The comparative anatomical study of human and animal brains shows that the nasiyah has the same function: It is the center of the control and guidance in both man and animals that have brains.

The first time the function of the frontal lobe was known was in 1842, when a railway worker in America was hit with a bar that pierced his forehead. That affected his behavior leaving the other functions of his body intact. Only then doctors came to know the function of the frontal lobe of the brain and its bearing on human behavior.

Doctors, up to then, had thought that this portion of the human brain is a mute region with no function. Who, then, informed Muhammad (Peace be upon him) that this portion of the brain (nasiyah) is the center of control and guidance in both people and animals and that it is the source of telling lies and committing sins?

Prominent commentators of the Holy Quran had to interpret the explicit text metaphorically because they did not know this secret, in order to safeguard the Qur’an from being accused of lying by people who were ignorant of this fact throughout the past centuries. The fact that the nasiyah is the center of control and guidance in both men and animals is clearly mentioned in Allah’s Book and the Sunnah of his Messenger (Peace be upon him).

Who, then, told Muhammad (Peace be upon him) in particular, of this secret and this fact? It is the Divine Knowledge that no falsehood can approach from before or behind it. It is a witness from Allah that the Qur’an is from Him and was revealed with His Knowledge.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Zikr, Quran and Brain

If we look into the Quran we will find that the word “Zikr” occurs 268 times in the Quran and has 63 derivatives used in the Book, the Quran. This word “Zikr” has many connotations in Islam. Its almost opposite is “Nissiyan” (forgetting). This verb occurs 45 times in the Quran; and 28 of its derivatives have also been mentioned in the sacred Book.

Zikr as a practice is simply the constant inward remembrance of ALLAH Names by the repetition of any of them or by the recital of some prayers in mind. When you practice Zikr, (similar to Meditation which the Western world is familiar with) you repeat continuously a given name of ALLAH such as AR-RAHMAN, AR-RAHIM, or Ghaffur, and so, a number of times usually daily with the help of worry beads or a counter. As concentration is not necessarily required, there is no requirement to start Zikr anytime, anywhere. Whether one believes or not, or whether he is aware or not, the related regions of brain become active when the task is achieved, so the resulting benefit is gained spontaneously. At the beginning, repetition might be pronounced by the silent movements of lips. Later when it gets easier the constant repetition is felt inwardly from the mind only. As it can be seen from the following signs in the Koran, without any restriction anyone can practice Zikr anytime he or she wants and anywhere (provided that a convenient list of Zikr words is advised to him or her according to their brain programs): “Meditate (Zikr) ALLAH standing and sitting and lying down” (Sura Nisa:103). ."those who meditate (Zikr) ALLAH standing and sitting and lying on their sides, and who reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth."(Sura Al’imran:190). [A. Baki]

Human beings are far from perfection and surrounded with limitations. Limitations brought on our perception by our 5 senses, for example, prevent us from understanding many phenomena in the cosmos, such as the righteous comprehension of our own reality, the consciousness and therefore of “Allah.” Thus we need to expand our perceptional range by increasing the capacity of our brains. Zikr is the way to do that.

All the activity in the brain is nothing but bioelectric activity in several distinct parts of it, among various sets of neurons (cellular groups) each assigned to a specific duty functioning as a whole. Each and everyday 14 million neurons that make up the brain, are in a constant interaction with 16 billion neighboring neurons. All our activities and our understanding, that is all the functioning of a brain is the result of countless bioelectric flows that are brought to existence in these sets of neurons occurring as a result of these interactions.

When you practice “Zikr” you repeat continuously a given name of Allah, —for instance, “Subhanallah” or “Ar-Rahman” or “Ar-Rahim” a number of times—, and therefore reflect a meaning that belongs to ALLAH.

During the repetition certain regions of the brain are engaged and become active, so there occurs a bioelectric flow in that neural groups of the brain. After that task is performed repeatedly (as you repeat on the same name or a group of names) the neural activity increases, and so does the bioelectric energy, which overflows and new sets of neurons are put to work and so, some other regions of the brain become active. And therefore the brain capacity starts to expand. The brain starts to bring out new meanings, perspectives and commentaries that it had not used before Zikr.

During this practice one is also in the continuous process of radiating spiritual energy, and loading it onto his hologramlike body of frequencies, his spirit, his eternal and imperishable existence.

The following is a passage taken from an article in SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN December 1993, describing complementary laboratory findings about this matter to prove this explanations, which was published seven years after Author Ahmed Hulusi’s first explanations on its importance:

“Complementary findings described this year by investigators at Washington University have emerged from PET scans of humans. (PET measures neural activity indirectly.) In the experiments, volunteers were provided with a list of nouns. They were required to read the nouns ., one by one, and to propose for each noun a related verb. When the subjects first did this task, several distinct parts of the brain, including parts of the prefrontal and cingulated cortex, displayed increased neural activity. But if the volunteers repeated the task with the same list of nouns several times, the activity shifted to different regions. When the volunteers were given a fresh list of nouns, the neural activity increased and shifted back to the first areas again.

Cingulate cortex part is related to reward and motivation whereas the prefrontal relatively deals with executive functions and decisions. One might wonder what are the reward awaiting those who performed zikr? Well, obviously the reward one gets by zikr is serenity and tranquility as revealed by Allah:

"Those who believe, and whose hearts find satisfaction in the remembrance of Allah: for without doubt in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find satisfaction (Ar-Rad 13:28).

So, please remember Allah in everything we do because "Those who forget Allah are forgotten by Him" (At-Tawbah 9:67) and the worst part is "Allah then lets them wander in the web of their own self" (Al-Hashr 59:19)

Wallahu A'lam

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Sleeping Position, Sunnah and Medical Benefits

Which is the best sleeping position? Supine position, stomach, right or left? Do we know the benefits of sleeping on the right side as propagated by Prophet Muhammad. There are numerous hadiths reported the sleeping position of our beloved prophet. For example, Al-Bara' ibn 'Azib said, "When the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to retire to his bed, he would lie on his right side and then say, 'O Allah, I surrender my soul to You and I turn my face to You and I entrust my affair to You and I seek Your support with hope and fear of You. There is no refuge from You but to You. I have believed in Your Book which You sent down and Your Prophet whom You sent.'" [al-Bukhari]

In another hadith 'A'isha said, "The Prophet , may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to pray eleven rak'ats at night. When it was dawn, he would pray two quick rak'ats and then lie on his right side until the mu'adhdhin came and gave the adhan." [Agreed upon]


We know that lying down can be on the back, on the abdomen, on the left or right side. Which of these positions is the best for the functioning of the organs? When lying on the abdomen will make a person feels a short of breath as the backbones’ mass prevents the chest from contracting and then relaxing during inhalation and exhalation. Moreover this position leads to an obligatory bending in the neck vertebraes. Also, the contact of the reproductive organs with the bed leads to masturbation.

The resulting respiratory crisis results in brain and heart fatigue as well. An Australian researcher noticed the increase in the likelihood of babies’ sudden death when they sleep on their stomach compared to those who sleep on one of the sides. It is inimitable that these modern studies agree with what our prophet said as narrated by Abu Huraira (May Allah be pleased with him): “When the prophet (peace be upon him) saw a man lying on his front, He said (Allah and his prophet dislike this position in lying) ” (Reported by Al-Tirmdhi).

Another Hadith is the one narrated by Abu Umama (May Allah be pleased with him) he said: “ When the Prophet (peace be upon him) passed a man sleeping on his front in the mosque he hit him with his feet and said: wake up and seat as this is a diabolic sleep”

Lying on the back, on the other hand, causes the respiration to be through the mouth. The mouth opens up when lying on back as the inferior jaw relax. However, the nose is the one prepared for respiration, as it contains hairs and mucous that act to purify the air entering during inspiration, and as it has dense blood vessels that make the entering air warmer.

Respiration through the mouth then makes the person prone to colds, especially in the winter, and also to gum dryness and its resulting inflammation. As well as it evokes potential situations of dissemble excess or gumic hugely. So these positions the jaw and uvula oppose the wideness of nose and prevents current of breath. So snoring will increase.

Moreover, in this case, the person wakes up with an abnormal white layer covering his tongue and an undesirable mouth odour. Sleeping on the left side is not favoured either, as the heart would be then under the pressure of the right lung, the biggest of the two lungs, and this would affect its contraction especially if the person is old. The full stomach which itself is under the pressure of the heaviest organ in the digestive tract, the liver, which delays its emptying, would also impose a pressure on the heart.

A group of experiments done by Galteh and Butseh found that the passage of food from the stomach to the intestines takes from 2.5 to 4.5 hours if a person is sleeping on the right side whereas its takes 5 to 8 hours if he is sleeping on the left side.


Thus, sleeping on the right side is the correct position as the left lung is smaller than the right one and the pressure on the heart would therefore be less, the liver would not be suspended, and the stomach would be on it and so emptying its contents would be quicker.
Moreover sleeping on the right side is one of the best medical interventions to facilitate the excretion of the mucous secretions of the left respiratory bronchioles.
That is what was said by Dr Al Rawi who added that the reason for the expansion of the airways in the left lung and not the ones in the right one is that the right lung’s bronchioles are laterally positioned to a certain extent, whereas the ones in the left lung are vertical and so it is harder to push the secretions upwards to be excreted. This leads to their accumulation in the inferior segment, leading to the expansion .The symptoms at this stage is excessive phlegm discharge in the morning which may exacerbate and lead to serious illnesses such as lungs’ apse and urinary disease, and one of the most modern treatments for those cases is sleeping on the right side.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Khailulah, siesta, midday napping and Brain

Do you ever feel your energy levels dip after lunch? Do you sometimes wish you could have a siesta to make you feel more refreshed? We have all heard or embraced the siesta habit at some point in our lives. Siesta is the Spanish word for the afternoon nap and khailulah is its equivalent in Arabic. This longtime practice is still respected in the Arab world (the Middle East) and Latin and Mediterranean countries. It is said that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) practiced the khailulah and recommended it. It is an ideal way to jumpstart energy and stimulate the brain half way through the day, getting rid of lethargy produced by the noon heat in order to restart work afresh.

In fact, siesta or taking midday naps are good for your brain and the best part is siesta or Khailulah is sunnah of the prophet. Scientists know that we have a tendency to feel tired in the early part of the afternoon, but they also know that a short period of shut-eye can increase productivity by over 30% and alertness by as much as 100%. Tests by NASA have shown that memory and concentration are also given a boost, while stress and risk of heart disease is reduced by 34%.

Researchers at the University of Haifa in cooperation with the Sleep Laboratory at the Sheba Medical Center and researchers from the Department of Psychology at the University of Montreal recently concluded that a daytime nap changes the course of consolidation in the brain in several positive ways. This research mirrors several other recent studies with similar conclusions.

In this new research, it was revealed that a daytime nap speeds up and improves memory consolidation. Two groups of participants in the study practiced a repeated motor activity, which consisted of bringing the thumb and a finger together at a specific sequence. The research examined the "how" aspect of memory in the participants' ability to perform the task quickly and in the correct sequence. One of the groups was allowed to nap for an hour and a half after learning the task while the other group stayed awake

The group that slept in the afternoon showed a distinct improvement in their task performance by that evening, as opposed to the group that stayed awake, which did not exhibit any improvement. Following an entire night's sleep, both groups exhibited the same skill level. "This part of the research showed that a daytime nap speeds up performance improvement in the brain. After a night's sleep the two groups were at the same level, but the group that slept in the afternoon improved much faster than the group that stayed awake

Further, Scientists at The University of Manchester have for the first time uncovered how brain cells or 'neurons' that keep us alert become turned off after we take our lunch. Dr Denis Burdakov, the lead researcher based in Manchester's Faculty of Life Sciences said that after a meal the glucose blocks neurons that make orexins, which are tiny proteins that help us stay conscious. Due to this we tend to be sleepy after a nice meal in the afternoon. Wallahu A’lam

Monday, September 15, 2008

Fajr Prayer and Brain


Among the daily chores of each person’s life is the waking up in the mornings…And for Muslims one of these early chores is to perform the Fajr prayer..Fajr ..(the obligatory prayer before dawn)Fajr, literally means 'tearing"..it is the garb of death that one tears off oneself when one awakens for fajr..sleep is a sort/shape of death, in the physical sense...and it is 'death itself' in the spiritual sense because one is absolutely overwhelmed by the 'desire of flesh& bone' to rest/relax/take it easy...

"Resistance to awakening at fajr is the first attack of the ease seeking self..the 'nafs'... it tells our conciousness:
'hey everyone is asleep,you wont be harming anyone by sleeping some more,this is such a naive and simple error ,so no big deal,if you miss fajr..you can say it later during the day'.

But in truth, it is the first stab that the ”ease/comfort-seeking” , “shortcuts loving” part of us ('nafs') takes at our spirituality/practicality/self-management/self discipline..it's first score ,and the most damaging one, against our spiritual self esteem/our confidence. it is the first goal against our healthful living,since missing fajr will deflate our spiritual esteem ,first thing in the morning.....and as the shortcut seeking indiscipline (nafs) manages to ride us and dictate to us our actions in the wee hours of the morning...we will spend the entire day as subjects/slaves to it, and not rulers/riders on our nafs.....and during the rest of the day, the low confidence,the low self esteem,the deflated trust in ourselves and in Allah's support for us,we will make a million more mistakes and regress a million more levels ,and ofcourse a day started with remorse, will end,if not in more guilt,then definitely in repentance.

"Allah is the Engineer of our physical and mental machine..He knows the best routine for us to reap optimal advantages from our mind and body machines..SO, if Allah has made our machines such that they must be awake before sunrise,and must go through the wadhou (ablution)rituals,and then prayers,then we WOULD be harming our own machines if we missed attending that specified act for maintenance and sustenance of our own mind and body machines."

Resting our body is not a function of 'sleep'..it is a function of the 'Provider/Samad/Allah"....as in the Holy Quran, (probably surah muzammil) where Allah Rabbul Izzat Instructs about tahajjud prayers..and also grants that during the day following tahajjud,one has a long haul of work to do, Allah Rabbul Izzat reminds that "it is Allah who controls/regulates the quantum of day/toiling and night/resting"....so i interpret it to mean that the amount of work i will put in during the day does not depend on the rest/sleep i had the previous night, but depends on The Regulating Almighty Authority of The Rahmaan.May all muslims,including myself, be garnted the Blessing of fajr prayers in congregation,each day of our lives.

The Creator Subhanahu wa ta’alaa, has decreed that humans, the deputies of Allah over all creation must awake every day before any other created entity designed to work in the day and rest at night, does..

The limit of fajr is around 20 minutes before the sun peeps from across the horizon..

(20 minutes for the congregational prayer..

20 minutes before the sun ‘rises’ because if the imaam makes an error,and the congregation needs to be repeated, it may be done before sunrise.)

Fajr is at a time, when our bodies and minds, are naturally in their deepest slumber..our hormones ,especially “melatonin” which is secreted from a tiny gland in our brain(the pineal body), does so in proportion to the amount/depth of darkness that our eyes/mind perceives.

Melatonin…once secereted executes 3 functions :

1. it deepens our sleep,or tends to lull us back to sleep
2. it causes the release of very negligibly minute amounts of ‘endorphins’(a naturally existing neurotransmitter with actions of heroine/morphine/opium, synthesized in our brains)..these act on our brain’s ‘motivation and reward center’ and comfort us exactly like a mother pats a child to sleep.
3. another chemical is released from the brain ,in response to melatonin, and that strengthens our immune system.(the system that defends against infections/disease)and hastens repair processes in our body.

Thus ,when a person awakes before dawn, the darkness/scarcity of natural light around, causes a Melatonin surge in our brains…this will remain true all our lives, no matter how old one’s habit of saying fajr..the waking up at fajr will always need effort,…the melatonin surge actually ‘lulls’ one to sleep..i have experienced this, and many will agree with me that the sleep one dives into after that first eye-opening at fajr,is deepest and most delicious….thus awakening at fajr, with the sound of the Azaan, or the alram, is ‘an exercise against one’s ‘natural desire to continue sleeping’.

Whenever a human body/mind is made to exert physically against one’s desire/will, messages of ‘discomfort’ from the ‘reward and motivation centre’ of the brain cause another hormone to be released by the ‘hypothalamus’ .

This hormone called the ‘cortisol releasing factor(C.R.F.)’ is meant to “Alarm the body and prepare it for operating optimally in unfavorable/unwanted circumstances.”

The C.R.F then flows to/oozes onto the principal gland of our body, ‘the pituitary gland’ which is attached to the undersurface of the hypothalamus and causes the release of:

1.minute amounts of ‘beta-endorphins’ that act on the ‘motivation and reward center’ and tend to alleviate the feelings of discomfort.

2.a hormone called “A.C.T.H.”

A.C.T.H. flows with the blood towards the kidneys where it causes the release of a hormone ‘Cortisol’ from the glands attached to the kidneys’ upper ends.

Cortisol executes the following actions throughout our body:

1. it cleaves the excess protein from the entire body’s muscles and scrapes fat out of fat stores pushing them into the blood stream. (this is the protein and fat that was in excess and a residue from the previous day’s intake of food).
2. #1, causes the amount of circulating proteins and fats to increase and ,with the exception of the liver, the absorption of glucose into all body tissues is blocked.

This results in ‘fat’(instead of glucose) being used as ‘fuel’ for all physical and mental activity,(doing wadhoo, walking to the mosque, saying the fajr prayers) and glucose is stored in the liver , creating a deposit of this ‘preferred’ fuel that can last the next 24 hours, even if no food is taken/available.

Also the excess protein in circulation is converted into building blocks and sent to whichever repair site within the body needs them.(and in 24 hours there are millions of micro-repair-needing sites created by the wear and tear of ‘living’)

Any protein that is in excess of that needed for repair, is mixed with the fats stored in the liver to make the easily usable fuel, ‘glucose’.

3.cortisol causes an increase in the number of red blood cells…cells that carry oxygen to all body tissues.

4.cortisol increases the depth of breathing.

Thus, a person who gets up for fajr prayers and denies oneself the ‘urge’ to indulge in the short-term-gratification of more sleep, reaps the following advantages:

1. the excess fats and proteins from yesterday’s meals are used up constructively/productively..and the body and brain is relieved of the ‘dullness’ they would essentially cause if not used.
2. repair needed in the body is initiated, and for that ,the ‘fuel’ used is the less-preferred , ‘fats’. Also recovery from disease or injury that the body may be suffering from, is hastened due to the abundance of basic building blocks(proteins) in the blood stream.
3. the increased depth of breathing, and the increased numbers of vehicles(red blood cells)that convey the morning’s freshness(oxygen) to all body tissues, will cause the fajr saying individual to exploit more of that freshness .

4. the increased number of red blood cells will enliven the texture of one’s skin.

5. the awareness that one has managed to defeat one’s

“Nafs”(innate inertia/resistance to ‘positive endeavor’) by saying the fajr in congregation, will enhance the self-esteem (and in this respect, fajr is an act that can not be beaten by any other, as the first act of one’s day, giving a very dense/viscous dose of well-being/being in harmony with nature, first thing in the morning) and through the ‘motivation and reward centre’ this perception elevates one’s mood.

When the ‘reward and motivation center’ perceives this gratification (which is after one has completed fajr) the ‘stimulus’ of discomfort (at waking up for fajr), is no more,and thus ‘cortisol’ secretions cease. Wallahu A'lam