The 'Sheikh Google " Phenomenon

Googling The Sheikh

The term ‘Sheikh Google’ generally refers to an amateurish approach of studying Islam, more specifically to the study of Islamic Law (fiqh) and theology (‘aqīda). Yet of course, this does not imply a wholesale negative judgment on studying Islam online, but instead highlights a pitfall which some may fall into whilst reading on Islamic law or theology by themselves: equating basic literacy with scholarship. In other words, to simply ‘Google’ a topic (hence using it as one’s Sheikh) one may then think of oneself as an expert, or at least act like one.

One aspect that has plagued so many of the websites online providing knowledge on Islam is polemics; even when article(s) are written by a single author, there are straw-man attacks on other valid Islamic perspectives. For someone who wants a balanced and nuanced understanding, such sites are best avoided, or they can be used as a spring-board to generate questions, which can then be presented and discussed with a teacher. This is because when embarking on learning something new, it is dangerous to let someone’s deep held views have an unrestrained influence on your understanding, without you engaging the material critically.

The Exclusivist Approach

Another aspect of polemical material is the fact that usually one side is trying to ‘win’ the argument by trying their best to discredit the views of others. It is thus an exclusivist approach. This exclusivist approach ultimately leads to narrow-mindedness and an inability to appreciate or even listen to the views of others. This is further compounded by the fact that arguments are sometimes presented on the basis of “piety,” thus one view is presented as “more pious” than the other. Not fully understanding what could be meant by this, one not only becomes intolerant of those that differ with him/her, but also holds themselves more pious than the others. All this helps to create a very inflated ego, which gives the false guarantee of “you are on the truth” and ultimately becomes another manifestation of “Sheikh Google.” In this regard imām al-Dhahabī (d. 748 AH) says knowledge is: “Not the profusion of narration, but a light which God casts into the heart. Its condition is followership and the flight away from egotism and innovation.”1

This should serve as a helpful yardstick of differentiating when one is honestly seeking knowledge or just accumulating information: when it starts to feed our egos instead of helping us overcome it. When this happens, we should sound the spiritual alarm.

Hence, it is this very involved approach, where ideas that are swallowed wholesale can be damaging to one’s spiritual and intellectual development. Here, Edmund Husserl’s notion of epoché may be useful, which means ‘bracketing out’ one’s own views and subjectivities to the best of one’s abilities in order to appreciate ‘the object’2 or phenomenon as it is, which is the main purpose of phenomenology. This seems to echo what our Prophet ﷺ supplicated for by saying “Oh God, show the truth as the truth and grant us the ability to follow it, and show falsehood as falsehood and grant us the ability to refrain from it.”

True and correct perceptions are thus a gift from God. Yet gifts are usually bestowed on those that deserve it, and so it behooves a student seeking knowledge to keep this in mind particularly when studying Islam, especially controversial issues related to fiqh and ‘aqīda. Though this may be difficult, it can be made even more difficult by the group mentality that exists on some online forums. This can easily lead to issues of fiqh and ‘aqīda becoming more than issues of knowledge, but becoming polarities that define us. We fail to see that by becoming emotionally attached to certain positions, we bring detriment to our learning. At that almost irretrievable stage, we engage in mindless polemics to defend those positions, which destroys nearly all the blessings that knowledge brings.

Engaging The Text

Avoiding websites that offer partial information is perhaps easier said than done. Sometimes we may need an immediate answer to a pressing question, or can sometimes be shy to ask the local imam etc. In such scenarios the usefulness of being critical cannot be over emphasized. What do we mean by being critical? One thing for sure: it certainly does not mean being rude and difficult; rather, it simply means asking questions to clarify what is being said or to inquire for further information. However, this can be difficult to achieve online. This is because the process of reading involves reading what the author has to say, and then processing the information, and ultimately making a judgment on whether to accept or reject the information. Usually, one cannot engage in critical dialogue with the online author, and ask questions to seek clarification, all of which help to refine our understandings. And even if we do have this opportunity, it is usually limited in the form of comments. This fact should humble us if we get overzealous about an issue, and seek to engage in polemics or act as if we ‘know it all.’

Imām Abū Ḥanīfa (d. 150 AH) used to sit with several of his students, engage in long discussions over points of fiqh, and only after listening to all of what his students had to say, he used to state his opinion. Thus the understanding of his pupils was in a sense validated by their teacher. Although that is not to suggest he dictated his opinion to them, as this is proven by the fact that his two most famous students Abū Yūsuf (d.189 AH) and Muhammad (d.189 AH) frequently differed with him. Nonetheless it at least made sure they did not misunderstand him. It is this vital aspect that can be missing when we read online. What we take from a text might not be what was intended by the author, and although authorial intent has been dismissed by some modern literary theorists, as far as I am aware, it still has its importance when studying Islam.

When Facing Contradictions

The above also helps to highlight another challenge in learning from what ‘Sheikh Google’ and similar websites may present. One frequently comes across conflicting information and doesn’t know which to accept, so while one website says “xyz is permissible,” another not only says it is prohibited but is from the major sins! Without recourse to a teacher for further clarification, one has to inevitably decide independently on which opinion to give preference. This can be loosely identified as “tarjīḥ.” Tarjīḥ usually refers to the scientific process of a jurist giving preference to one view over another, which can be a complex process, and hence usually it is the activity of scholars. For example, the Mālikī practice of accepting the (historical) practice of the people of Medina as authoritative was not accepted by the other schools of fiqh. However, Sheikh Ibn Taymiyya (d.728 AH), though a Hanbalī, wrote a whole treatise supporting this doctrine. He thus engaged in a scholarly tarjīḥ. More importantly this usually enables a scholar to then offer scholarly criticism on why an opinion is weak in his view, as he bases his critique on an objective criteria, not his emotions.

In a similar manner, every Muslim engages in tarjīḥ when faced with conflicting opinions, although this is based on different criteria than the scholar – which is usually based on the argument’s persuasiveness, or which scholar one holds to be more knowledgeable and pious, or whether or not one goes for the difficult opinion or easier opinion, etc. This latter type of tarjīḥ is primarily geared to facilitate practice rather than be an intellectual scholarly engagement. Hence it does not befit someone who, after having read some answers to specific questions (fatāwā. [sing. Fatwa]) to then go on about how every other opinion is weak or misguided, simply based on the fatwa they read. For then, one acts as a scholar, as if to suggest one has read books upon books on the matter, when in fact, one has only read a few fatāwā. This does not mean belittling fatāwā issued by qualified scholars online but rather acknowledging the purpose of such sites, which is primarily to inform and facilitate practice, not produce scholars.

Online Fatāwā

It is not difficult to recognize the fact that the Internet has facilitated access to the knowledge of many great scholars, without which many people would have been deprived of such knowledge. And for this we should be grateful. This has obviously seen the rise of sites offering fatāwā. Again, whilst it is undoubtedly useful to seek answers to questions one may have, it is important to remember that whilst specific answers can be helpful for immediate practice, it should not be used as the main source or the only source of one’s education at the cost of a holistic approach. Ad-hoc answers can form scattered knowledge, which without proper guidance, can lead to confusion and or an imbalance in one‘s attitude.

Being critical also involves making sure a fatwa does actually apply to one’s situation. Indeed this can be a difficult task at times, and indeed as part of the training of a Mufti, certain institutions offer specific training on how to apply fatāwā to different contexts. If in doubt, it is best to seek clarification before acting upon the fatwa. It is also important to check the credentials of the person issuing the fatwa, especially if they follow an exclusivist approach e.g. ‘every other opinion is weak or wrong.’ If however someone is merely narrating the opinions of other scholars, than they need not be Muftis themselves.

In terms of the actual topics of fatāwā, edicts can be found given on everything under the sun. Though this can be seen as something positive, it also is worrying due to the possible implications of misapplying a fatwa. Therefore, a good criterion to follow is to discuss beforehand with a Mufti the issues related to the rights of others such as in marriage and divorce, as well as inheritance. This also includes contract law. Such issues have immense social implications, and it is best to tread carefully. Another issue that really should not be our concern, yet it does come up, is the issue of takfīr, or calling others disbelievers. Any website that deems a Muslim known for their knowledge as a heretic or disbeliever, should be flagged and avoided, and if one is left in doubt, then it is again best to discuss it with a scholar, and not the nearest Muslim online.

Scanning Your Teachers

While Imām al-Shāfi’ī (d. 204 A.H) was sitting in a mosque, a man came to him and asked him to provide the proof for the legal doctrine of Ijmā’ (consensus). If he was unable do this, then the man suggested the imām refrain from issuing fatāwā. The humble person that he was, the imām sought respite. When after a few days later the imām provided the proof, the man asked if the imām would teach him. He then became one of the imām’s leading students, whom we know as al-Muzānī (d. 264 A.H.).

The importance of a real life teacher who is balanced and firmly grounded in knowledge is indispensable when it comes to learning. This is because when we learn from real people, we learn knowledge as well as learn manners (ādāb). The right teacher may rebuke us if we raise our voices and discipline us if we act haughty and arrogant, which helps refine our character and ultimately become a better person, which is perhaps one of the most important goals of learning. And it is the absence of such a teacher when it comes to online learning, or when the Internet becomes our only source of learning, when we may become self-deluded into qualifying ourselves with attributes not befitting a student, ranging from adopting the attitude of a judge instead of a seeker, to always looking for evidences to back up our opinions and rejecting all others. This is reflected in the saying “a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.” Discussing the origins of this saying, Gary Martin identifies a 17th century writer who notes: ”Twas well observed by my Lord Bacon, That a little knowledge is apt to puff up, and make men giddy, but a greater share of it will set them right, and bring them to low and humble thoughts of themselves.”3

Yet learning ‘a greater share of it’ requires finding a teacher that not only is able to impart such knowledge, but one who also embodies the ethics of differing (ikhtilāf), and who is balanced. Al-Muzānī knew this very well, thus he made sure al-Shāfi’ī was someone worth studying under. However, in the absence of such a teacher, it seems fair to concede to the fact that the harms that can result from a sectarian-minded teacher can far outweigh the shortfalls of learning from balanced, well-researched websites online. In such instances, we all acknowledge the usefulness of ‘Sheikh Google’ when used correctly, whilst recognizing that ‘Sheikh Google’ should never replace the real balanced Shuyūkh.

1. Shams al-Din al-Dhahabī. Siyar A’lām al-Nubalā. 25 Vols. (Cairo: Mu’assasa al-Risāla, 1985). Vol. 3 Pg. 323. Translation adopted from Zaytuna College. ↩
2. I use the term ‘object’ with hesitation, since it also seems plausible that what is referred to as the object may indeed also be the subject in a sense, and here I’m referring to the Gadamer’s notion of ‘Play’. ↩
3. A. B. The mystery of phanaticism (1968). Quoted in: http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/a-little-knowledge-is-a-dangerous-thing.html. ↩

by Muhammad Haq

Multiple Sex Partners Make a Woman's Immune System Crash; Eating Pork Weakens One's Ability to Think

Multiple Sex Partners Make a Woman's Immune System Crash; Eating Pork Weakens One's Ability to Think




Multiple Sex Partners Make a Woman's Immune System Crash; Eating Pork Weakens One's Ability to Think

Following are excerpts from an interview with Dr. Jamal Al-Din Ibrahim, a self-proclaimed professor of toxicology at California University, which aired on Al-Rahman/Al-Rawdha, on December 2, 2010: 

Interviewer: As you know, the West wants to shift the woman away from her purity, her chastity, and the holiness that Islam bestows upon her, to Western life, to lesbianism, to "How come women can't have multiple husbands?", to "Why can't a woman enjoy sexual liberty before she get married?", to "Why can't there be a focus on women, like in the West – so that women can be with women, without needing men, and men can be with men, without needing women?" These are very dangerous issues. Does science have anything to say about them? 

Jamal Al-Din Ibrahim: Regarding the question of the woman, even American society admits that women in America have lesser rights. Let me give you a clear example: When a woman gets married, she adopts her husband's surname, and gives up her maiden name. If she marries so-and-so, she becomes Mrs. So-And-So. She is attributed to him. Before the scientific revolution, and before there were machines, the woman would be a slave to her husband. She had no rights whatsoever. This was less than 250 years ago. 

The situation developed when women were needed to help the men in modern life. Consequently, women progressed in many aspects, but not with regard to the need to give up their maiden names. 

Secondly, women in America are exploited as merchandise. Women are viewed as merchandise. If a woman is pretty, she has a certain price and status in society. Even at university, the professor will give a beautiful girl better grades than a plain one. In ads, a girl with a nicer body will fetch a higher price. 

[...] 

When I was a student at university, in 1975-1977, they conducted a survey which showed that the female American student, who spends, an average, four years at university, has sexual intercourse with 200-300 guys during these four years. 

When a woman has sex with more than one man, it causes her a medical problem, because it weakens her immune system. 

Interviewer: How exactly? 

Jamal Al-Din Ibrahim: When a woman has sex with more than one man... When she has sex with the first man, her body tries to determine the identity of the man's sperm. 

Interviewer: Before the show, you explained the process of identification to me. 

Jamal Al-Din Ibrahim: Yes, there is a process of identification, and the sperm is registered in her body. It is like when a person enters somebody's home, he is identified, and something like an identity card is prepared... This man now has a special place. This process is conducted by the immune system. It is like when a man works for a certain company, the company makes a great effort to get to know who the person is, and to place him in the right post. After a while, the woman's body easily identifies that man's sperm, which has become part of the woman. Along comes another man and has sex with her. Now the immune system must go over the entire process again. 

Interviewer: The immune system undergoes much effort in the identification of the new guy. 

Jamal Al-Din Ibrahim: It is even more difficult when there are two men at the same time. These girls do that. They have one, two, or three lovers, plus a boyfriend. He may not even be a close friend, but she still has sex with him. This wears out the immune system. 

Interviewer: From having to conduct too many identification processes... 

Jamal Al-Din Ibrahim: It is busy with identification all the time as a result of all these sexual encounters. When the woman reaches her thirties or forties, after 15 years of [sex], she begins to develop breast cancer and uterine cancer, which are very common in America. 

Interviewer: What is the reason for this? 

Jamal Al-Din Ibrahim: The sexual contacts cause the woman's immune system to crash or to weaken. 

[...] 

Someone who eats pork can work hard, but cannot think. His thinking is impaired, because his stomach invests a great effort in breaking up such complex molecules. 

[...] 

It was discovered that pork eating weakens a person's ability to think, as well as his ability to take pride in himself. It abolishes his zeal. 

Interviewer: Is that a fact? 

Jamal Al-Din Ibrahim: It's true. 

Interviewer: A pork eater has no patriotism?

Jamal Al-Din Ibrahim: This has been scientifically established. It lowers the body's level of serotonin, which generates activity and increases one's pride, and maybe even enhances one's happiness. When this hormone is secreted in the body, the person becomes happy, but pork reduces the level of serotonin. A pork-eater can put his muscles to work, but not his brain. 

[...] 

Several doctors have achieved excellent results in treating impotence by having their patients grow their beards long. 

Interviewer: Allah be praised! 

Jamal Al-Din Ibrahim: Beard-growing encourages the production of testosterone. When people who suffer from impotence and cannot get an erection grow beards, the level of [testosterone] rises... They measured it in micrograms, and found that the testosterone level rises among men who grow beards. 

Interviewer: Subhanallah Allah be praised!

Biological clock

Genes and health
The importance of solving the human genome and the genomes of other species is that those billions of letters of DNA are deposited into databases and become available to scientists everywhere to conduct post-genomic research. Such research includes annotating the human genome—matching the DNA codes that hold the secret to human life to the genes, proteins, physiologies, and behaviors that define human life. Such work holds great promise for future medicine, and scientists have been investigating how the genes in the human genome actually contribute to the biology of health and disease.

A new discovery concerning the biology of circadian rhythms
In the last few years, a team of scientists from The Scripps Research Institute and the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (GNF) has been working toward an understanding the biology of circadian rhythms—the cyclic, clock-like expression of genes in the body.

The team, led by Steve Kay, Ph.D., and John Hogenesch, Ph.D., uses a combination of genomic, biochemical, and behavioral approaches, work that recently revealed a new genetic component of the mammalian clock—a protein known as "Rora."
This discovery may someday help people with jet lag, shift workers who feel wiped out after working a night shift, and people with more serious sleep disorders, many of which are related to circadian rhythms, say the scientists, who report their findings in the latest issue of the journal Neuron.

What is the biological clock?
Science has known for years that humans, mice, and many other plants and animals possess internal clocks that keep track of time and coordinate physiological, behavioral, and biochemical processes with the rhythm of the 24-hour cycle of day and night.

These so-called circadian rhythms offer distinct advantages to organisms that use them. Plants, for example, shut down photosynthesis at night, and they gear up their photosynthetic machinery and raise their leaves just before dawn. They use their clocks to measure day length and in that way anticipate changes in the seasons—a system that determines when they shed their leaves, produce seeds, and makes flowers or fruit.

Humans also have circadian rhythms, and we entrain our internal clocks to the 24-hour day. Under normal conditions, we time our major activities with daylight, we sleep during the nighttime, and some of our vital signs follow this pattern. Our blood pressure fluctuates daily, rising and falling at predictable times of day and night.
Scientists have provided evidence of the existence of internal clock mechanisms by placing organisms like rodents in chambers isolated from day/night cycles. In spite of this, the animals' rhythms still cycle approximately every 24 hours.
"Even if you were to put the lights out on us, we would still [time] our activity to when our body expects light," says John Hogenesch, Ph.D

One of the most intriguing aspects of this is that the mammalian clock is actually composed of many separate clocks that maintain different circadian rhythms specifically adapted to the various tissues of the body.

The liver, the heart, and the kidneys each have their own distinct clocks. The liver, for instance, expresses a number of enzymes that remove toxic substances from the bloodstream during the day, which corresponds with the prime time for food (and toxic compound) intake.

Coordinating the activities of all these different clocks is the job of the master circadian oscillator, or master clock, which in humans and other mammals is the suprachiasmatic nuclei, a small center in the brain's hypothalamus with about 10,000 neurons that sits above the optic chasm—the location where the optic nerves cross each other.

This master clock synchronizes independent clocks that reside in peripheral tissues, and every 24 hours, the master clock cycles. This cycling involves the coordinated expression of many genes involved in feedback loops, in which the expression of one gene turns on the expression of a second gene, which turns off the first gene, which turns off the second gene, which turns the first gene back on, etc., day in and day out.

The circadian rhythm in space
The circadian biological clock works outside earth the same as on earth. In the space with no gravity you can find the astronomer's body performs all functions as the clock organize waking up, sleeping, eating and all functions all the day.

Scientists say that the circadian biological clock works from the first moment of creation in the mother's womb.

The biological clock and the forelock
The scientists have found that the biological clock is a group of cells in front of the brain behind the eyes in an area called "the forelock"; this clock sends a stream of signals to the entire body to perform all tasks accurately.
Also the researchers noticed that the forelock is responsible for all mental operations, behavior and the psychological states.

One of those scientists say"Actually, brain imaging has shown that the frontal lobes may be divided into seventeen or more sub regions, each responsible for a slightly different kind of work that the human performs. So a problem anywhere in this area will impact the way a child approaches and performs any task. "


The blue spots indicate the areas operated on due to social behavior disorder, so that the forelock is the headquarter of the human.

Scientists say that the functions of the frontal lobes involve the ability to recognize future consequences resulting from current actions, to choose between good and bad actions (or better and best), override and suppress unacceptable social responses, and determine similarities and differences between things or events. Therefore, it is involved in higher mental functions.

The frontal lobes also play an important part in retaining longer term memories which are not task-based. These are often memories associated with emotions derived from input from the brain's limbic system. The frontal lobe modifies those emotions to generally fit socially acceptable norms. Allah says: (I put my trust in Allah, my Lord and your Lord! There is not a moving (living) creature but He has the grasp of its forelock. Verily, my Lord is on the Straight Path (the truth).)(Sûrat Hûd-verse 56).

Inside each cell there is an accurate biological clock which controls all operations from the birth till death; scientists say that the clock is programmed to work for a specific period of time no more and no less. Here we remember the divine statement as Allah says: (and when their term comes, neither can they delay nor can they advance it an hour (or a moment).)(Sûrat An-Nahl-verse61).

We ask atheists and disbelievers who believe that the universe and human were created by coincidence, is the blind coincidence able to create this accurate biological clock which organize the entire body in that amazing organizing?
Indeed no as the creator is Allah almighty who says about Himself: (Such is Allah, your Lord! Lâ ilâha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), the Creator of all things. So worship Him (Alone), and He is the Wakîl (Trustee, Disposer of affairs, Guardian) over all things.)(Sûrat Al-An’âm-verse102).
--------------------


References:
1- Keith McKeown , New "Clock Gene" Uncovered, The Scripps Research Institute, 2004.
2- Link found between body rhythms and circadian clock, light, Harvard College, 2002.
3- Bengt Jansson, Controversial Psychosurgery Resulted in a Nobel Prize, www.nobelprize.org, October 29, 1998.
4- Zack Lynch, The Search for Emotional Truth, www.corante.com, November 10, 2006.
5- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frontal_lobe

By: Abduldaem Al-Kaheel

Buruan Akhir - Lailatul Qadar

Buruan Akhir - Lailatul Qadar
by radens albanjari

[..] Dari sumber yang dimaklumi kepada penulis, malam lailatul qadar tahun ini akan jatuh pada malam antara malam 27 dan 29 Ramadhan. Penemuan kiraan ini telah dilakukan oleh golongan alim yang dimaklumi akan ilmunya dan hebatnya ibadahnya kepada Allah SWT.


Namun makluman itu adalah atas kiraan manusia, tetapi menyakini bahawa malam yang hebat lagi agung itu wajar umat islam manfaatkan dengan menguat serta melipatgandakan ibadat pada malam-malam 10 yang ganjil yang kini hanya tinggal beberapa hari sahaja lagi.

Berusahalah merebutnya selagi hayat terus dikurnia oleh Allah SWT, kerna untuk memburu malam yang agung itu dimasa hadapan yakni pada Ramadhan akan datang BELUM TENTU antara kita punya rezeki dan umur. Andai hayat dan umur kita habis, alangkah rugi dan gagalnya kita untuk memanfaatkan apa yang diserukan oleh Allah SWT kepada hambanya.

Penuhilah malam-malam akhir ini dengan lebih banyak membaca al-Quran, mengerjakan solat-solat sunat tasbih, taubat, tahajjud dengan berqiamullail. Tinggalkan sementara tidur kalian untuk seluruh malam-malam akhir ini, jika mampu tinggalkan jua tiduran-tiduran nafsu bersama isteri, railah malam-malam akhir ini dimasjid-masjid (rumah Allah) dan kejutlah rakan sahabat untuk bangun bersama beribadat.

Untuk tidak lupa, pastikan jua kalian hadir memenuhi ruang solat dan lantai rumah2 Allah dengan pakaian yang hebat dan baru, pedulikan celaan rakan yang nampak pelik melihat kita berpakaian cantik dimalam hari, alangkah hebatnya jika ditakdirkan diantara malam2 itu kita dikurniakan untuk bertemu Lailatul Qadar. Wow ! Tetapkan niat bahawa kita wajar berpakaian cantik dan hebat untuk 'bertemu' dan 'bicara' dengan Allah. Pakailah wangi-wangian, serta basahkan setiap lidah kalian dengan memohon keampunan dari Allah SWT.

SATU malam yang paling ditunggu-tunggu oleh umat Islam di seluruh dunia kini, itulah malam Lailatul Qadar. Banyak ayat di dalam Al-Quran yang menceritakan tentang barakahnya malam ini. Banyak di antara orang menunggu kedatangan Lailatul Qadar dalam sepuluh hari terakhir.[.sumber - albanjari]

Sebagian orang menunggu kedatangan malam itu dengan berlama-lama di masjid sambil membaca Alquran. Ada yang menunggunya di hadapan rumah, agar dapat melihat turunnya malaikat pada malam Qadar. Tidak kurang juga yang menyambutnya dengan sinaran-sinaran lampu-lampu minyak agar kawasan mereka diterangi. Mereka begitu yakin dengan beberapa tanda-tanda yang banyak diceritakan dalam berbagai cerita sejarah.

Ada suatu hal yang masih tersimpan dalam benak hati kita semua. Sebuah pertanyaan terdalam. Pernahkah Nabi SAW melihat langsung Lailatul Qadar ? Adakah sahabat-sahabat juga pernah melihatnya? Kita pernah mendengar banyak hadis-hadis yang menceritakan tanda-tanda malam tersebut, adakah kita bisa melihatnya dengan mata kepala kita sendiri.

Cara yang paling bijak bagi kita menjawab persoalan ini marilah kita lihat tafsiran beberapa ahli tafsir termasuk melihat tanda-tanda tersembunyi yang sering diceritakan itu.

Tafsir Surat Al-Qadar

Satu surat yang begitu signifikan menceritakan mengenai peristiwa malam tersebut ialah surah Al-Qadar yang berisi 5 ayat. Surat Al-Qadar adalah surat ke 97 menurut susunannya di dalam Mushaf. Ada di antara ulama-ulama mengatakan bahwa surat Al-Qadar ini turun selepas penghijrahan Nabi SAW ke Madinah.

Di dalam membicarakan pentafsiran ayat, amatlah bijak jika kita mengambil penafsiran yang diambil dari Tafsir Jalalain:

Kesimpulannya bahwa malam Al-Qadar itu secara sejarahnya diturunkan Al-Quran dari Lauhul Mahfuz ke langit dunia. Kemuliaan malam tersebut telah dikabarkan kepada Rasulullah SAW. Bulan itu dikatakan satu bulan dengan barakah seperti 1.000 bulan. Di malam tersebut para malaikat-malaikat dan Jibril turun ke bumi dan memohon Allah mengabulkan doa-doa hamba-Nya. Kemuliaan malam tersebut berakhir dengan terbitnya fajar.

Penafsiran yang lebih terperinci, sedikit mengenai ayat pertama surah Al-Qadar ini dapat kita lihat dari Tafsir Ibnu Kathir:

Allah SWT telah mengkabarkan sesungguhnya Ia telah menurunkan Alquran pada malam Lailatul Qadar. Dimana Allah berfirman, "Sesungguhnya kami turunkannya di malam yg barakah". Inilah yang kemudian dikenal sebagai malam Al-Qadar yg berada di dalam bulan Ramadan sebagaimana firmannya, "Pada bulan Ramadan yang diturunkan di dalamnya Alquran".

Berkata Ibnu Abbas, bahwa Allah SWT telah menurunkan Alquran keseluruhannya (secara total) dari Lauhul Mahfuz ke Baitul 'Izzah dari langit dunia kemudian ia diturunkan secara berpisah dan berperingkat selama 23 tahun ke atas Nabi SAW, kemudian firman Allah beliau memuliakan Lailatul Qadar dimana Allah SWT telah mengizinkan penurunan Alquran.

Keistimewaan Lailatul Qadar

Sheikh Dr Yusuf Al-Qaradhawi merujuk kepada surah Al-Qadar di dalam membicarakan persoalan keistimewaan Lailatul Qadar, katanya :

"Allah telah memuliakan Alquran di malam ini, dan ditambahnya dengan maqam yang mulia, yaitu kedudukan dan kemuliaannya yang sangat banyak dari kebaikan dan kelebihan dari 1.000 bulan. Apa-apa ketaatan dan ibadah di dalamnya menyerupai 1.000 bulan yang bukan Lailatul Qadar. 1.000 bulan ini menyamai 83 tahun 4 bulan. Hanya di satu malam ini lebih baik dari umur seseorang yang menghampiri 100 tahun, jika tambah berapa tahun beliau baligh dan dipertanggungjawabkan".

Dan pada malam itu turunnya malaikat-malaikat dengan rahmat Allah dengan kesejahteraan dan barakahnya. Dan kesejahteraanya melimpah sehingga ke terbit fajar. Di dalam As-sunnah, banyak hadist-hadist yang menyebutkan mengenai keutamaan Lailatul Qadar ini. Yang banyak dianjurkan untuk mencarinya pada 10 malam terakhir. Dalam Sahih Bukhari dari Hadis Abu Hurarirah,

"Barangsiapa yang berqiam di malam Al-Qadar dengan penuh keimanan dan bersungguh-sungguh maka telah diampunkannya apa yang telah lalu dari dosanya". (Riwayat Bukhari didalam Kitab Al-Saum).

Rasulullah SAW telah memberi penjelasan kepada siapa yang lalai dan tidak memperhatikan malam tersebut, yaitu sama seperti menghalang dirinya dari menerima kebaikannya dan ganjarannya. Berkata para sahabat yang telah dinaungi mereka bulan Ramadan, "Sesungguhnya bulan ini telah hadir kepada kamu di dalamnya mengandung malam yang lebih baik dari 1.000 bulan. Siapa yang memuliakannya maka beliau akan dimuliakan kebaikan semua perkara. Dan siapa yang tidak memuliakannya maka kebaikannya akan dihalang". (Riwayat Ibnu Majah dari Hadis Anas, isnad Hassan sebagaimana di dalam Sahih Jaami' Al-Saghir). (bersambung)

Sumber : Radar Sulteng

Healing by Fasting and Quran

Islamic Greeting Card by Alhabib

Ramadan is considered the best month to recite the healing verses. It is the month where we should explore it and feel its values and advantages..
A question always pop up in my mind: which verses should I read to be cured from a particular illness? Are there specific verses for each disease? What are the best times for healing via the noble Quran?
Ramadan is around the corner. Ramadan is the month of mercy and healing. Don’t let it pass without seeking healing from Allah (SWT) while reading the verses that are suitable for your disease. If you are in good health and do not have any disease or disorder, it is your opportunity to protect yourself and your body against diseases in the future. But how can that be?
Of course, for each disease there are special verses Allah (SWT) has provided with information regarding healing. However, we lack the knowledge concerning these particular verses to specific diseases such as cancer, Migraine and satanic mania. The curing does exist; however, Allah (SWT) hid it from us to enable us to struggle in searching and contemplating his words. For instance, Allah (SWT) hid the exact time of The Night of Decree (Lailatul Qadr) for us to struggle in achieving it and to perform our best worshiping especially during the last ten days of Ramadan.
Many researches were conducted on ill people using the “Starvation method.” In the western world, they don’t know the Islamic way of fasting, and they don’t recognize the aspiration related to Ramadan. But they do fast and they only do it for their own reasons and benefits. When doctors don’t succeed in treating a particular disease, they usually recommend fasting and preventing foods and drinks for limited periods each day.
Hence, the month of Ramadan is a special event to seek healing. We should not lose this month and leave it without benefiting from it. The optimum advantage occurs when we seek refugee to the noble Quran in this blessed month. The most important thing is to listen to the Quran (regardless of the chapter or the verse type). We should listen to the Quran every day as long as we can, and we should try to be humble and comprehend the meaning of the words.
While listening to the Quran, you will cross the healing verse that is appropriate for your situation. So, you must repeat listening to the Quran especially the chapters that make you unperturbed when you hear them more often, or when feeling their effects in your heart more than others. And certainly, all Quranic chapters are great.
These are some basic rules that I hope you will not neglect to obtain the great advantage; and healing is certain by Allah’s (SWT) will.
1- Dedicate yourself to putting aside some time every day for listening to the Quran. Even if it was only half an hour, listen while you are relaxed and think about Allah’s greatness. Try to feel your heart when it is humbling, to sense your skin when shivering, and for your eyes to tear from fear of Allah (SWT).
2- Try your best to reduce eating and drinking during the night. Concentrate, in your dieting, on eating dates, yogurt, fruits, and water. Don’t forget to stay away from soda, fast food and packaged foods, except fish and organic food.
3- Try to deliver new information to others even via emailing or text messaging using your cell phone. This useful knowledge will be counted for you as giving charity even after your death! Try to print useful articles regarding the Quran and the Sunnah secrets, and post them in the mosque or any place where people can read it. Always trust that Allah (SWT) will give you for each letter a reward, and the reward is ten a like!
4- Try to learn new thing regarding Allah’s book everyday during this holy month. If you, for example, read ten pages regarding the miracles, you will, by the end of this month, read 300 pages. Look at how much scientific knowledge you would obtain in only one month! 5- You must hasten in doing good deeds toward others. Start with your relatives, since charity, helping others, forgiving them, and taking care of your kin…… all these deeds assist in healing your body and increasing your immune system response!
6- Dedicate yourself everyday in memorizing some verses from the Quran and a supplication that the noble prophet (peace be upon him) used to say.
7- Don’t let Satan whisper to you and set you back from remembering Allah almighty. Make sure you say (there is no God but Allah, the only one who has no companion. He owns all belongings, and to him we praise. He has the power on top of everything) 100 times each day. This is one of the most important recalls that we must memorize and apply. Also, don’t forget to read “Alroqia Al-shareia” which means; to seek Allah’s protection from Satan using recalls and supplications that the noble prophet (peace be upon him) used to say. You should read it everyday on yourself, your property, your family and your house!
Finally, don’t think about the difficulties that will face you when applying these recommendations. Just start and trust Allah (SWT), and He almighty will assist you and show you the causes for good deeds, healing, and success.

By: Abduldaem Al-Kaheel

Data Medicine - the quran and sunnah perspectives

This research offers a new perspective for therapy engineering, and opens a wide road for new treatment discoveries. This science that I call “Data Medicine” might be a method to treat many complex diseases. And, of course, this research was based on the Quran and Sunnah.

Introduction

With so many different methods of treatments and supporting information proclaiming each method as best, healing has long been a demanding field; searching for new ways to cure illness is the first concern for humanity. However, the question each of us asks, particularly now, is “when we become sick, which kind of treatments are we going to use and is it the best?” Of course, each of us searches for the best type of treatment, however, since there is limited scientific bases for many healing methods, curing via chemical medicines is currently the most practical technique used.

The purpose of this research is to unite the different methods of treatment and to discover the engineering procedure of healing. When understanding how healing occurs and discovering the healing features through items surrounding us, we will be able to choose the best medication for our diseases.

In this research, we will present to our readers a new idea that might be an introduction to a new science and as they say: “necessity is the mother of invention.” The concealed reason behind this research is my strong need to discover the how healing works, and the reasons for the existence of diseases such as AIDS and cancers that don’t have cures. Also why do we find many different types of treatments such as healing via chemical drugs, natural herbs, the Quran, music, sounds, colors, visualization, yoga, or power… and many more?

Allah almighty says: “He has created everything, and has measured it exactly according to its due measurements” [AL-Furqan: 2]. since the first moment of creation, Allah (SWT) structured everything in an organized system so that each of the universe’s atoms have a job it must do. Such as the atom that is specialized to be a part of a star, or the atom that is or to be a part of a planet, a soil or a part of a cell in the human brain…everything in this universe was created for a purpose. Allah (SWT) says: “Everything with Him is in (due) proportion” [Ar-Rad: 8].

According to this insight, the atom can’t accomplish any work unless the necessary information has been stored inside it! The idea of the research is that Allah Almighty has stored within everything information or programs to guide the creature and direct it what to do. Allah (SWT) said speaking of Musa: “Our Lord is He who gave to each thing its form and nature, then guided aright” [Ta-Ha: 50] which means that Allah (SWT) created everything (gave to each thing its form and nature) and placed information to guide them (then guided aright). Without this, we would not see this amazing universe.

The information that has been stored inside each creature of this universe will direct it to practice its job according to rules it must follow. For example, the seed that is thrown in the soil has a program that contains important information which will cause the cells of the seed to divide and grow and become a specific plant that gives new seeds, leaves and fruits. Hence, the journey of this life continues as Allah (SWT) decreed.

Returning to the subject of disease and healing; how does a disease occur? What guides the virus as it attacks the cell and leads it to divide and multiply causing diseases in human? What guides the human immune system to defend and protect the body via attacking the virus and causing the body to heal? How can medicine cure the ill body? How can honey, for instance, be capable of healing a certain disease and, at the same time, another medicine is capable of accomplishing the same job? How can the Koranic words influence disease and heal the body...what is happing inside the cells?

The purpose of this research is to discover the secrets of healing using a new technique. Researchers in the world of diseases and healing use the same curriculum and obtain the same results; they wait for the disease to arrive, and then, they search for methods to treat it. They rely on experiments by using different chemical products and examine the effects of these medicines on the disease.

The idea that came to my mind is why not to search for the roots of the disease? The question that doctors use is what is the right medicine for this disease? But why not to ask the question of what are the engineering processes that occur inside the cell while being sick and when recovering?

To be able to answer, we must search for the reason of the existence of bacteria and viruses and why they contain systems directed toward the healthy cell? We must search for the information inside this virus, and on the other hand, search for the information the cell carries. Then we must search for the information against this virus and inserts it inside the cell to be capable of destroying the virus. Or, we can search for methods to inactivate the systems the virus carries rather than thinking always of destroying it completely.

We know that there are certain types of bacteria that don’t carry systems against cells, so they are not harmful. There are also some types of bacteria that contain useful systems for the cells and their existence is necessary for the human body, and yet there are some bacteria that are dangerous and capable of destroying and killing the cell; but why?

In order to know the answer, we must admit that Allah (SWT) is the creator of these creatures, and moreover, these creatures are primarily armies aimed toward arrogant people. On the other hand, these creatures can also be a tool to test the degree of a believer’s faith and his trust in his creator. We must, also, admit that these microbes are clever creatures that have “work plan” and information similar to computer programs.

Allah (SWT) provided medicine for every illness except death. And since He Almighty has put systems and information inside the bacteria, viruses and parasites to attack the healthy cells, He (SWT) Has also put contradictory information in plants, herbs, fruits, honey, yogurt and oil to deactivate the virus’s action and stimulate the cells activity. Hence, the whole process is an “information war.” And since doctors do not yet understand these information systems and the opposing systems, traditional medicine still relies on nutrients, chemicals, x-rays, surgeries and the like. The new method that we are eager to discover is “Data medicine” which is to study the information Allah (SWT) has placed in pathogens, and on the other hand, to study the information Allah (SWT) has placed in herbs, chemical, oils and others. Also, at the same time, to study the information Allah (SWT) has set in the body cells, and choose the treatment based on these studies.

Practical example number 1:

Despite the microscopic size of the HIV virus, doctors and scientists are incapable of destroying it completely because of the powerful program the virus has. The method of treating HIV is unchanged for the last thirty years; using all kinds of available drugs to destroy the virus. But they fail each time despite the loss of millions of dollars.The new method relies on searching for the program the virus owns. For example, why does this virus specialize in attacking gay people and the ones that commit adulteries? From here, we should search for the stored information in this virus, study its work, and produce a medicine that is consists from information only! The information can be electromagnetic vibrations that can deactivate, neutralize or modify the information the virus carries and disables it from multiplying.

The goal is to discover a machine that emits electromagnetic radiations that is capable of altering the programs the virus carries and preventing it from accomplishing its job. This is the first step, to modify the method of searching and seek out the programs the virus has which, of course, consist of “information” only.

Practical example number 2:

Allah (SWT) provides medicines for all of the diseases that exist in the earth. Hence, the contradictory information for diseases is available in the nature surrounding us, and we must search for the information that Allah (SWT) placed in honey for example, in other words “to target the map information of honey.”

Also, investigating the materials, plants, water, herbs, insects, and everything Allah (SWT) has created around us, since all creatures are subjected to serve human-kind. Allah (SWT) says: “And has subjected to you all that is in the heavens and all is in the earth; it is all as a favor and kindness from Him. Verily, in it are signs for a people who think deeply” [Al-Jathiyah: 13]. And the sentence (all that is in) means that all creatures around us, even dirt, is subjected to serve us. If we discovered the map information of plants, we will be able to use it to cure a certain disease; Allah has created both the disease and the medicine!

He Almighty made the honey a healing material, He said: “There comes forth from their bellies, a drink of varying color wherein is healing for men. Verily, in this is indeed a sign for people who think” [Al-Nahl: 69]. He (SWT) subjected everything to serve us for free, so we should search in the plants, herbs, and trees. They all contain healing information that is capable of treating a certain disease. And Allah Almighty placed some of His Words unto all His creatures. He said: “Verily, Our Word unto a thing when we intend, is only that we say unto it: “Be!” and it is” [Al-Nahl: 40]. Visualize with me the sentence “We say unto it: “Be!” and it is”. It means that Allah (SWT) speaks to these microbes and commands them (Be!) so they follow the order. We must look at everything surrounding us as accumulated information. The time for discovering the information and using the information to heal diseases has arrived Insha'Allah.

Practical example number 3:

Now the question is if Allah (SWT) has provided information unto everything, what about the Noble Quran? The Quran is Allah’s almighty saying, hence, each verse contains great and effective information. He (SWT) has signs for the existence of healing power in the noble Quranic verses. He (SWT) said: “O mankind! There has come to you a good advice from your Lord and a healing for that which is in your breasts, -a guidance and mercy for the believers” [Yunus: 57]. This means that the Quran is capable of curing people. He almighty also says: “And We send down of the Quran that which is a healing and a mercy to those who believe, and it increases the Zalimun (polytheists and wrongdoers) nothing but loss” [Al-Isra: 82] from here we can conclude that the Quran is a healing for believers, but atheists who mock and deride the Quran will not gain anything but misery and loss.

While the Quranic verses contain healing information for believers, these same verses also contain information directed against atheists. If the Quran was revealed on a mountain, it will wipe out it and demolish it on the ground. That is the reason why we say that the best way to persuade atheists is the Quran. There are certain verses that can have an effect on them and depreciate their points of view.

We can say that there is powerful information in the Quran’s verses; there is a hidden language in each verse that we can’t see with our eyes, but can perceive in our hearts after really understanding the Qurans’ verses. The proof for this hidden language is in Allah’s (SWT) saying: “And we send down of the Quran...” how could the mountain understand the Arabic language? And since the mountain has a special language to glory Allah Almighty, Allah (SWT) has provided in the Quran language that enables the mountain to be affected and cracked. However, Allah (SWT) didn’t make the mountain capable of understanding that language but it is followed.

The results and the benefits of this research;

This research presents many benefits in the healing course as following:

-This research provides a step in providing better methods in treating and discovering the engineers’ techniques for curing.

- This research presents new sight for healing via considering all types of treatments such as treating with chemical drugs, nutrients, herbs, and other methods such as therapy by sound, colors, energy and others, and combines them all in a new type we can call “Data Medicine”.

-Provides the scientific base for many treatment types such as healing via the Quran, visualization, praying, and sounds and many others of complemented or supplemented medications.

-The idea of healing depending on information is considered a very necessary thing. This is because this kind of treatment is cheap, doesn’t cost anything, very effective, and without any side effects. Also, as information technology and numerical communications influenced and changed the world, this technique, if applied, will change our thinking of the world of healing and diseases. And will contribute in making medicine cheap and available for everyone.

Lastly, we pray to Allah (SWT) to have peopled who He (SWT) likes to serve this research. This research is for the sake of Allah (SWT) and not for any other purpose. May He forgive our sins, He is the most Hearers.

By: Abduldaem Al-Kaheel

Why a Hindu Should Become a Muslim

Why a Hindu Should Become a Muslim
Al-Hidaaya - Courtesy of 'Sunday Standard', Nairobi, Kenya


One Indian Hindu research professor, in his stunning book, claims that the description of Avatar found in the holy books of Hindu religion is in fact that of the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam).

If the author of this book were a Muslim, he could have been arrested or he could have even been murdered and all the copies of his book would have been confiscated. Even a ban would have been slapped on its publication. A riot and violence would have broken out against innocent Muslims and their blood would have been shed.

Amazingly, the author of this book is a fair-minded, famous professor who happens to be a Hindu. His name is Pandit Benda Prakash Upadhai and the name of his fact revealing book is Kalki Avatar. The author is a Hindu Brahmin by caste of Bengali origin. He is a research scholar, a seeker of the Truth and a well-known Pandit in Allahabad University.

After years of research work, Pandit Vedaprakash published this book and eight other pandits have endorsed and certified his points of argument as authentic.

According to Hindu belief and their holy books, the description of the Guide and the Leader, named Kalki Avatar, fits only the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) of Arabia. So the Hindus of the whole world should not wait any longer for the arrival of Kalki Avatar (the spirit) and should readily accept Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) as Kalki Avatar.

NEVER ENDING PAIN

What the author and other eight eminent pandits say is that the Hindus who are still anxiously awaiting the arrival of Kaki Avatar are simply subjecting themselves to a never-ending pain, because such a great messenger has come and gone from this world fourteen centuries ago.

Pandit Vedaprakash produces the following sound evidence from the Vedas and other holy books of the Hindu religion in support of his claim:

1. In Purana (a holy book of the Hindus), it is stated that Kalki Avatar would be the last messenger (prophet) of God in this world for the guidance of the whole world and all human beings.

2. According to Hindu religions prediction of the birth of Kalki Avatar would take place in an isle which, again according to Hindu religion, is Arab region.

3. In the books of Hindus, the names of the father and the mother of Kalki Avatar are given as Vishnubhagat and Sumaani respectively. If we examine the meanings of these names, we shall come to a very interesting conclusion, e.g. take Vishnubhagat: Vishnu (meaning god) + Bhagat (meaning slave) = Allah (in Arabic) = Slave of God = Abdullah (in Arabic). Sumaani = Peace or Calmness = Aaminah (in Arabic)

4. In the religious books of Hindus, it is mentioned the staple diet of Kalki Avatar would be dates and olive and he would be the most honest and truthful person in the Region. Without any doubt, the Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) is acclaimed to possess these qualities.

5. It is stated in Vedas (Hindu holy book) that the birth of Kalki Avatar would take place in an honourable clan. This perfectly fits only with the clan of Quraysh to which Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) belonged.

DAZZLING ACCOUNT

6. God would teach Kalki Avatar through His messenger (angel) in a cave. Allah taught Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) through His messenger Jibraaeel in a cave known as Ghaar Hiraa.

7. God would avail Kalki Avatar with a very speedy horse to ride and travel the whole world and the seven skies. This is an indication of the Buraaq and Mi’raaj.

8. God would also avail Kalki Avatar with divine help. This was probably proven in the Battle of Badr.

9. Another dazzling account given about Kalki Avatar was that he would be born on the 12th of a month. The Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) was born on the 12th of Rabi-ul-Awwal.

10. Kalki Avatar would be an excellent horse rider and swordsman. The Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) was both.

The author has given numerous other arguments in favour of his claim that Kalki Avatar is in fact Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) and those who still await the arrival of Kalki Avatar should think again.