The Story of France with Firown (Pharaoh)

Is it possible that this mummy in front of me is the one who was chasing Moses?:Professor Maurice Bucaille

THOUGHTS ON FORGIVENESS

One of the best gifts that we can offer ourselves is forgiveness

Miracles Of The Quran

The unprecedented style and the superior wisdom inherent in the Qur'an is conclusive evidence confirming that it is the Word of God.

The Truth About Jesus Christ

Tells the truth about Christianity-How the gospels are unreliable- Audience member shouts at him a few times.

Parent-Child Relationship in Islam

Islam recognises family as a basic social unit. Along with the husband-wife relationship the Parent-child relationship is the most important one

Editor's Picks

28 March 2010

The Life of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)

The life and biography of the last and final messenger of God to humanity, Muhammad son of Abdullah, may God's peace and blessings be upon him.

By  Yasir Qadhi
About him:Yasir Qadhi was born in Houston, Texas and completed his primary and secondary education in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He graduated with a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Houston, after which he was accepted as a student at the Islamic University of Madinah. After completing a diploma in Arabic, he graduated with a B.A. from the College of Hadith and Islamic Sciences. Thereafter, he completed a M.A. in Islamic Theology from the College of Dawah.


27 March 2010

Real Meaning of Peace

By Abdur Raheem Green



Pray Before You are Prayed Upon

Imagine your life beginning with the Adhaan in your ear, beginning your life of worship but at the end of your life your own funeral (Janazah) prayer there is no Adhaan nor Iqamah signifying the end of your life as a worshipper --but what prayers have you done to fulfil this time? Have you used your time wisely? Or is it going to become literally the case for you ending your life with others praying upon you at your own funeral!

By Abdur Raheem Green



Coca Cola Muslim Generation

How much has the Muslim community been affected by Western ideologies? Is copying the Western way necessarily harmful? AbdurRaheem Green comments on this topic and offers insight regarding the strange phenomenon of the "Coca-Cola Muslim" Generation.

By Abdur Raheem Green



Sex, Drugs & Rock N Roll: Or is there more to life?

Upon first glance, you may think this lecture is only about Islamic rulings on illicit sexual acts, problems and effects on the society regarding sex, Islamic rulings on drugs and other intoxications, or the rulings on music. However, this discussion is much more profound than that. It discusses one's mentality and viewpoint on life. It talks about the widely accepted notions of what the set standard of achievement is in this life; how much is enough. Everyone always says to "reach for the stars". What exactly does this entail? Who are the ones we are told to look up to and model our lives after? They are the rich, they are the beautiful; they supposedly had it all. The "Supreme Sex Goddess" - Marilyn Monroe. Elvis Presley - the "King of Rock and Roll". They are the ones worshipped and adored by all. Everyone tells you that you have one life, so you might as well live it. Enjoy life and have fun. What are the only ways to have fun? You guessed it: Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n Roll.

By Abdur Raheem Green

24 March 2010

The Design of Sperm

This film is about your story. How you came to be from a single drop of liquid? How you were carefully designed, built, fed, and raised in your mothers womb? When you see the marvelous design, plan and intricacy in each tiny step that leads to your existence, you will recall that this is not the work of the blind forces of nature, but the work of an all-Wise and all-Powerful Creator.





20 March 2010

THE QURAN LEADS THE WAY TO SCIENCE

Scientific observation introduces man to the mysteries of creation, and ultimately, to God's eternal knowledge, wisdom and power. As stated by Albert Einstein, "science without religion is lame", which is to say, that science, unguided by religion, cannot proceed correctly, but rather, wastes much time in achieving results, and worse, is often inconclusive. Islam is a religion of reason that encourages science. Watch this film to see how the Qur'an leads the way to science by calling on people to reflect upon and examine the signs of creation around them

WHAT THE MUSLIMS DID FOR THE WORLD

The early Muslims are credited with inventing distillation and could distil just about anything - from alcohol to perfume. Hygiene is very important in the Muslim world so they invented and manufactured soap - centuries before the West - and hundreds of bathhouses were built throughout Muslim cities. They understood the fundamentals of light and how we see, and gave us the camera obscura. They invented algebra and worked out the angle of the tilt of the earth. They built the first windmill, pioneered the concept of the crank rod, and designed the first ever torpedo. Muslim creativity also led to the invention of a unique instrument called the astrolabe -- it could find the direction of Mecca, tell the time and, with the help of the stars, navigate you across deserts and oceans. But perhaps most important of all they pursued the cause of knowledge, translating and preserving the works of the ancients and building the world's largest libraries -- their 'houses of wisdom.

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Dark Ages or Golden Ages?

While much of Europe slumped into the dark ages after the seventh century, countries in the East such as China, Persia and India were making massive scientific headway under the influence of Muslim culture.

The following 1,000 years of Islamic science and its influence are often neglected, say scholars – but an exhibition at the Science Museum sheds new light on this era.

1001 Inventions: Discover the Muslim Heritage in Our World features an array of artefacts, interactive displays and dramatisations, showing how modern inventions from fields as diverse as engineering, medicine and design can trace their roots back to Muslim civilisation.

"The 1,000-year period from the seventh century onwards was a time of exceptional scientific and technological advancement in China, India, Persia, Africa and the Arab world," says Professor Chris Rapley, Director of the Science Museum.

"This is the period in history which gave us huge advances in engineering, the development of robotics and the foundations of modern mathematics, chemistry and physics."
 

The centrepiece of the exhibition is a six-metre high replica of the Elephant Clock, a 13th century icon with a remarkably multi-cultural design.

"This engineering marvel featured an Indian Elephant, Chinese Dragons, a Greek water mechanism, an Egyptian Phoenix, and wooden robots in traditional Arabian attire," explains Professor Salim T S Al-Hassani, Chairman of the exhibition.

"It embodies cultural and scientific convergence of civilisations and is an appropriate centre-piece for an exhibition about the roots of science and technology."

Other displays include models of an environmentally-friendly Baghdad house, a ninth century dark room – later called a Camera Obscura – and medical instruments from 1,000 years ago, many of which are still used today.

1001 Inventions is a UK-based, non-religious project. It has previously held related exhibitions in Britain and worldwide, including a previous show at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester

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13 March 2010

Aliens & Extraterrestrial Life: An Islamic Look

Where does Islam stand on extraterrestrial life forms? Does Islam say they exist?



Before we speak about the Islamic view on extraterrestrial life forms, we need to be clear about what they are. They are not creatures like angels, whose existence is a matter of faith for Muslims as well as for some other religious people.

A Scientific Understanding

Extraterrestrial (literally, "outside earth") beings (if they exist) have a material existence in the world of space and time on some planets other than the earth. Such beings may be simple one-celled creatures similar to bacteria, but most people commonly use the term extraterrestrial to mean intelligent life on other planets.   

From a scientific point of view, there are a few important points we should not lose sight of when discussing life forms. Life requires complex and subtle chemical reactions for it to come into being as well as to exist. And such reactions require a liquid medium to facilitate them.

But we should know that liquids cannot exist isolated in space or on bodies without gaseous pressure pressing down on a solid surface (Kryss Katsiavriades and Talaat Qureshi, Extraterrestrial Life).

Now of all the known objects in our solar system, only the earth is definitely known to have the conditions needed for liquid to exist under the prevailing conditions.

It is also possible that Jupiter's moons Europa and Ganymede as well as Saturn's moon Titan may have liquid on or below the surface. So there is a distant possibility that they may have some life forms existing there.

And we know that of all liquids, it is water that actually does have some very special properties that are crucial to the formation of life (Kryss Katsiavriades and Talaat Qureshi, Extraterrestrial Life).

Possibilities in the Qur'an



In this context, it is well worth remembering how the Noble Qur'an teaches us of the connection between water and life. For instance, see this verse which gives the meaning of

"Do not the unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one unit of creation), before We cleaved them asunder? We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?" (Al-Anbiyaa' 21:30)   

Today, scientists tell us that life began in the sea when simple molecules bonded together and became self-replicating. And Allah said He created all life from water and raised a protective canopy over the Earth. Allah knows best, and all we can do is to study, to research, and to reflect.

To return to our topic about extraterrestrials: There are verses in the Qur'an that apparently favor the belief in the existence of such creatures, though we cannot find any particular verse explicitly stating their existence.

The very phrase rabbul `aalameen meaning "the Lord of the worlds" as a description of God points to the possibility of the existence of beings in many worlds.

We read in the Qur'an several verses where God's creatures of various kinds are mentioned. Here is one verse which means

"Among His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the living creatures that He has scattered through them: and He has power to gather them together when He wills." (Ash-Shura 42:29)

Based on the above verse, among others, some of our scholars of the Qur'an permit the belief in the existence of life on other planets or anywhere other than the earth according to one's judgment.

Note the expression in the above verse "living creatures He has scattered through them." There is a reference here to creatures on planets other than earth.

The word used for "living creatures" is dabbah and according to the famous Qur'an translator Muhammad Asad, "The word dabbah denotes any sentient, corporeal being capable of spontaneous movement; it is contrasted here with the non-corporeal, spiritual beings designated as angels (Asad, Muhammad. The Message of the Qur'an. England: Book Foundation, 2003, 449).

On the same verse, Abdullah Yusuf Ali comments, "It is reasonable to suppose that Life in some form or another is scattered through some of the millions of heavenly bodies scattered through space." (Ali, Abdullah Yusuf, The Qur'an: Text, Transaltion and Commentary, Ad-Dar Al-`Arabiah, Beirut, 1938, 1314).

So one day, if scientists come forward with solid proof for the existence of extraterrestrial beings, it should not be a surprise for Muslims.

No Conclusive Evidence So Far

But at the same time, to this day there hasn't appeared any confirmed scientific evidence supporting the theory that intelligent beings like humans exist on other planets.

Of course, there have been instances where people claimed that they met aliens (intelligent extraterrestrial beings) or actually saw UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects; supposed space vehicles used by aliens).

In fact, the question of whether aliens and UFOs exist has been the subject of ferocious debate. There are some who claim that aliens do often appear on our skies in space ships and occasionally land on earth, while others categorically deny the existence of such aliens.    

Aliens and UFOs have provided great scope for the kind of fiction that appeals to people's imagination while drawing heavily on their increasing interest in the wonders of science and technology.

Particularly in the United States, there is fertile ground for all kinds of "fashionable" myths to be advanced and propagated. Think of the number of psychics, clairvoyants, spiritualist mediums, and other self-proclaimed experts who flourish there on the "educated ignorance" of the gullible public.

People in the East, who have almost forgotten all these superstitions, are led to believe by the media that these are part of the postmodern lifestyle now renovated and closely followed by a glamorous West. People in the East tend to swallow almost anything spewed out by the American visual media, falling easy prey to such beliefs.

Scientifically, no conclusive proof has been discovered so far of the existence of life on other planets or in other galaxies. But the universe is such an enormous entity that we cannot discount the possibility of life existing, as on earth, in some remote planet in one of the millions of galaxies.

From the Islamic point of view, it is all left to science, as the Qur'an clearly and categorically supports all kinds of honest scientific investigations, for Islam encourages humankind to explore the universe, as this helps to lead to deeper faith in the Almighty Creator.

This is the sound scientific stand towards everything that is yet to be known conclusively. We do not know all the secrets of the universe, nor can we know them. And finally, this issue of the existence of extraterrestrials is not related to our fundamental faith, and a belief or disbelief with regard to them need not trouble us overmuch.