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Parent-Child Relationship in Islam

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30 December 2011

Miswak - An Oral Health Device


An Oral Health Device 
(Preliminary Chemical and Clinical Evaluation)

A variety of oral hygiene measures have been performed since the dawn of time. This has been verified by various excavations done all over the world, in which toothpicks, chew sticks, tree twigs, linen strips, birds' feathers, animal bones and porcupine quills were recovered 1.

Those that originated from plants are tasty twigs and although primitive they represented a transitional step towards the modern toothbrush. It has been stated that about seventeen plants could be enumerated as natural sources for several of these oral hygiene devices 2.

The most widely used tree twigs since early times is the ..Miswak" or .,,Siwak" 3 .The stick is obtained from a plant called Salvadore Persica that grows around Mecca and the Middle East area in general. It is widely used among Muslims after Prophet Mohammed ( pbuh ) realised its value as a device which should be used by Muslims to clean their teeth. In this respect our Prophet ( pbuh ) is considered the first dental educator in proper oral hygiene.



Although there is no reference to the use of Miswak in Al-Quran, yet several quotations could be read in the compendium of the sayings of Mohammed ( pbuh ) as to the benefits of Miswak in mouth cleanliness. One saying reads as follows:

"IF IT WERE NOT TOO MUCH A BURDEN ON THE BELIEVERS, I WOULD PRESCRIBE THAT THEY USE THE MISWAK BEFORE EACH PRAYER".

Several anecdotes6, incidents, and rules of ethics in using Miswak were mentioned in various references talking on the subject of cleanliness of the mouth.

Salvadora Persica is in fact a small tree or shrub with a crooked trunk, seldom more than one foot in diameter, bark scabrous and cracked, whitish with pendulous extremities. The root bark is light brown and the inner surfaces are white, odour like cress and taste is warm and pungent. Chemically the air dried stem bark os S. Persica is extracted with 80% alcohol and then extracted with ether and run through exhaustive chemical procedures. This showed that it is composed of:


     1 .Trim ethyl amine
     2. An alkaloid which may be salvadorine
     3. Chlorides
     4. High amounts of fluoride and silica
     5. Sulphur
     6. Vitamin C
     7. Small amounts of Tannins, saponins, flavonoids & sterols

PURPOSE OF THE PRESENT INVESTIGATION:

Because of the great quality of oral cleanliness noticed in individuals who use Miswak as the sole device to brush their teeth and because of the low incidence of dental decay of those individuals this work was undertaken.

It is intended to study the following:
  1. The mechanical ability of Miswak as a cleaning device to the mouth and its ability to rid the mouth of bacterial plaque (aggregates harmful to the gum)
  2. If Miswak is powdered and used with a toothbrush, could it act as an efficient mouth cleaner?
  3. As compared to other strongly abrasive toothpowder's, could Miswak rank as highly efficient as to the used material?

Discussion

Oral hygiene and patient motivation towards a clean mouth owe their birth to the teachings of Mohammed (pbuh). Due to the repeated use of Miswak during the day, the users showed an unusually high level of oral cleanliness. It is a well known fact that plaque formed immediately after meticulous tooth brushing. By the end of 24 hours the plaque is well on its way towards maturation and hence starts its deleterious effects on the gingiva 8.

Proper oral hygiene should be maintained through intensive instructions by the periodontist as well as by a great expenditure of time and dexterity on part of the patient. This item is self corrected in Muslims because Miswak users take Miswak as a device that should be used as part of their religious ritual regimen.

The results obtained in this investigation have proved that Miswak and other tree twigs 9 could act as an effective tool in removing soft oral deposits. It could be even used as an effective device in preventive dental programme's in mass populations. The indices used in this investigations were simple and adequate as they discriminated between experimental stages as well as between experimental groups.

Using starch is not quite accurate but it was meant to evaluate the degree by which Miswak and powdered Miswak could rid teeth of deposits as compared to the best abrasive viz. commercial powder.

It is noticed that the difference between first and fifth week of the mean score of plaque percentage for powdered Miswak is the highest (-11.2%) of all readings. This indicates that powdered Miswak is used with t mechanically proper device i.e. tooth brush will give a great deal of oral cleanliness.

It has been reported that Salvadora Persica contains substances that possess antibacterial properties Some other components are astringents, detergents and abrasives 8. Those properties encourage some toothpaste laboratories to incorporate powdered stems and/or root material of Salvadora persica in their products (Beckenham U.K. Sarakan Ltd.).

Although the commercial powder gave a high degree of efficiency in plaque removal yet its use over the experimental period gave a high score of gingivitis percentage within the group using the powder. It is time that plaque eradication is essential but this should not be on the expense of deleterious side effect on other tissues.

It could be concluded that Miswak and powdered Miswak are excellent tools for oral cleanliness. Because of its availability in this part of the world, being inexpensive and readily adopted by Muslims as part of their religious regimen, it is highly recommended in implementing a preventive dental health program  Islamic countries. Also recommendations should be directed to manufacturers of toothpastes to include the powdered form of Miswak in a highly debriding sophisticated toothpaste.

By Dr. M. Ragaii El-Mostehy, Dr. A.A.Al-Jassem, Dr. I.A.Al-Yassin, Dr.A.R; El-Gindy and Dr. E. Shoukry - Kuwait

--
Related Articles: 


Treat Your Children Fairly


Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger Muhammad and upon his family and companions.


Allah has enjoined upon children to honour and respect their parents. He has made the parents’ rights very great and has connected duties towards to parents to duties towards Him and the obligation to worship Him alone (Tawheed). Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

"Worship Allah and join none with Him (in worship); and do good to parents…"[Quran 4:36]

And Allah has given the children rights over their parents, such as education and a good upbringing, spending on their needs, and treating them fairly.

One of the bad social phenomena that are to be found in some families is the lack of fair treatment towards the children. Some fathers and mothers deliberately give gifts to some of their children and not others. According to the correct view, this is a haraam action, unless there is some justification for it, such as one child having a need that the others do not have, e.g., sickness; debt; a reward for memorizing the Qur'an; not being able to find work; having a large family; full-time studies, etc. The parent should have the intention – when giving something to one of his children for a legitimate (shar’iah) reason – that he will do the same of any of his other children should the need arise. The general evidence (daleel) for this is the ayah (interpretation of the meaning):

"Be just: that is nearer to piety; and fear Allah." [Quran 5:8]

The specific evidence is the hadeeth narrated from al-Nu’maan ibn Basheer, who said that his father brought him to the Messenger of Allah   and said: "I have given this son of mine a slave that I had." The Messenger of Allah   said: "Have you given something similar to all of your children?" He said, "No." So the Messenger of Allah   said: "Then take (the slave) back." (Narrated by al-Bukhaari; see al-Fath, 5/211). According to another report, the Messenger of Allah  said: "Fear Allah and be fair to your children." He said: so he came back and took his gift back. (al-Fath, 5/211). According to another report, "Do not ask me to bear witness to this, for I will not bear witness to injustice." (Sahih Muslim, 3/1243).

A male should be given the share of two females, as is the case with inheritance. This is the view of Imam Ahmad (Masaa’il al-Imaam Ahmad li Abi Dawood, 204). Imaam Ibn al-Qayyim explained it in detail in his footnote on Abu Dawood. Anyone who looks at the state of affairs in some families will note that some of those parents who do not fear Allah favour some of their children over others when it comes to gift-giving. This fills the hearts of the children with hatred towards one another and sows the seeds of enmity. A father might give gifts to one child because he (the child) resembles his paternal uncles, and withhold gifts from another because he resembles his maternal uncles; he might give to the children of one wife things that he does not give to the children of another; or he might put the children of one wife but not the children of another into private schools. This will backfire on him, because in many cases the child who has been deprived will not honor his father in the future. The Prophet    said to the man who had preferred one of his children over others in giving him a gift: "Would you not like all of them to honor you equally?" (Narrated by Imaam Ahmad, 4/269; Sahih Muslim, no. 1623).

One of the Salaf said: "Their rights over you are that you should treat them all fairly, and your right over them is that they should honour you."

Another way in which parents fail to treat their children fairly is when they bequeath something in their will to some of their children, or they give them more than the share allocated to them by sharee’ah, or they deny some of their children their inheritance. Some women bequeath their gold to their daughters and not their sons, despite the fact that it is a part of the inheritance, or a woman might state in her will that a gift given to her by one of her children should be given back to him after she dies, claiming that she is being kind to him just as he was kind to her. All of this is not permitted, because there is no bequest to an heir [i.e., one cannot bequeath something to one of the heirs whose share is dictated by sharee’ah]. Whatever was a part of the possessions of the mother or father who has died belongs to all the heirs and is to be shared out according to the laws enjoined by Allah.

Each parent should remind the other if he or she is not being fair and should stand firm on this issue, so that justice will be established. This includes referring matters to scholars as is indicated in the report which follows the hadeeth of al-Nu’maan ibn Basheer who said:

"My father gave me some of his wealth, and my mother ‘Amrah bint Rawaahah said: ‘I will not accept this until you ask the Messenger of Allah    to bear witness to it.’ So my father went to the Prophet    to ask him to bear witness to the gift he had given me. The Messenger of Allah    said to him, ‘Have you done this for all your children?’ He said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘Fear Allah and treat all your children fairly.’ So my father came back and took back his gift." (Narrated by Muslim, no. 1623).

We ask Allah to help us to honour our parents and to treat our children fairly, and to adhere steadfastly to our religion. Ameen

--
Courtesy: Mission Islam

27 December 2011

Human Skin (Our Elastic Cloak)


Did You Know...?
  • our skin is the largest and most versatile organ of our body.
  • the skin is an acute sensory organ, constantly reporting current external conditions to the brain, to which the body responds by making internal adjustments.
  • our skin is a large elastic-like garment that stretches as we stretch and moves as we move.
  • our skin is totally "new" about every 27 days—the outer layer of our skin literally rubs off at the rate of about a million cells every 40 minutes, which our body replaces with new cells at an equivalent rate.
  • our skin shields our body against injury, against invasion by foreign matter and disease organisms, and even against potentially harmful rays from the sun.
  • that our skin controls our body temperature by regulating the release of body fluids.
  • that our skin is equipped with thousands of nerve sensors distributed unevenly over its surface, through which we sense pain, feel temperature, and identify our environment by a very light touch.
  • that the outer layer of our skin contains distinct ridges and dips which are determined before we are born and remain the same throughout our life. No two persons' fingerprints are identical.
Never underestimate the importance of your body's cloak, your skin. You might think of it as something superficial, just a lifeless wrapping, impervious to its environment. But that is not true. Our skin is another marvel of our Creator's handiwork in its design and functionality.

Approximately 2 square yards in total, and weighing 6 or 7 pounds, our skin is unlike any other organ of our bodies. It flexes, it folds, it stretches around joints, it wrinkles as we change our facial expression. It is sometimes smooth and soft, sometimes rough and sandpapery.


Structure...




Structurally, our skin, like every other part of our body, is a masterpiece of design. It consists of numerous layers, each having its own specific properties and functions. The layers are stacked with different orientations, much like plywood, in which the layers are crisscrossed, so that the finished product has much greater strength than a single board of the same thickness. (What element of chance determined this!—what chance designer produces plywood?) The layers of the skin are also designed in such a way that they provide a cushion to the delicate nerve endings, protecting them from external shocks.

The two major layers of the skin are the dermis (underneath) and the epidermis (above), on the surface of which is the dead or horny layer we commonly refer to as skin. Cell division in the skin occurs at a constant rate, because cells at the surface are constantly being rubbed or scuffed away (at a rate of about one million every 40 minutes) and must be replaced. To meet this need, cells at the base of the skin constantly divide and ascend through the different layers until they reach the surface, where they become hard and scale-like, and are eventually scuffed away. It has been estimated that the normal human skin cells take about 27 days, or one month, to travel from the base of the skin to the surface. This means that all our skin is “new” every month —another marvelous design of our masterful Creator, to keep us looking fresh and clean.

Examined under a microscope, a small cross-section of skin looks like a forest of fine hair growing on a terrain with thousands of interruptions. Every square inch of our skin holds up to 650 sweat glands, in addition to the many thousands of nerves, blood vessels and capillaries. In addition to all this, the skin is also riddled by an intricate mesh of lymph vessels which belong to the body's immune system. Who can say that we are not fearfully and wonderfully made?

The cells of the skin are attached to one another in a very special way. Instead of being tightly fused, each cell is attached to its neighbor cell by a zipper-like connection. This unique design allows nutrients and other essential substances to seep between the cells. It also allows for the easy movement of the skin cells, as they rise from the base of the skin to the surface. Can we say that such an arrangement is without design or intelligent direction?

Temperature Control
Thermal infrared imaging: the false-colours scheme displays the modification of the skin temperature distribution during an athletic exercise.
The functions of our skin are many. Primary is its task in regulating the internal temperature of the body by controlling the flow of blood through the body. Were it not for the regulating ability of the skin, we would perish from overheating.

The skin has two mechanisms for temperature control. First, it is pervaded by a tangled but orderly maze of blood vessels: arteries, veins and capillaries. Why does the skin need so much blood? It doesn't. But God has designed our skin to function as the body's temperature-control device. When the air around us is warm, the skin opens extra long routes for the blood to circulate through, allowing more blood to be exposed near the surface of the body, in this way increasing the loss of body heat. This is why our faces get red when we are too warm. When the air is cold, the skin shuts off these extra routes, the blood bypasses them, and in this way body energy is conserved (and we look pale). Also, when it is cold, our blood vessels contract in quick, successive rhythms (we call it shivering). This allows only a small amount of blood to flow through them. Did such an intricate system of control come about by mere chance?

Our skin's second means of controlling body temperature is through the millions of tiny sweat glands in it. Our body has between 2,000,000 and 5,000,000 of these glands. Sweat glands serve two distinct purposes. Distributed over our body, they keep our body from becoming overheated by secreting water upon the surface of the skin, so that the skin is cooled as the water evaporates. The largest concentration of these sweat glands — in the palms of our hands and the soles of our feet — provides friction and keeps the skin from becoming hard and insensitive.

Defense

Cathelicidins are strategically expressed and contribute multiple functions to skin defense. The human cathelicidin precursor protein hCAP18 is expressed by several cell types in the skin including keratinocytes, neutrophils, eccrine ducts, and mast cells. Cathelicidins are processed to active peptides such as LL-37 in neutrophils and more potent peptides in sweat. These peptides have been best characterized as natural antibiotics, killing a variety of bacterial, fungal, and viral pathogens. Other functions include chemotactic and angiogenic behaviors, and an ability to modify fibroblast proteoglycan synthesis. The N-terminal cathelin-like domain of the hCAP18 precursor protein contains both antimicrobial and proteinase inhibitor activity.
Our skin is a silent sentinel always on duty, constantly gathering information about our environment and relaying it to the brain, which in turn signals the body's immune system.

Upon receiving a message of potential danger, the immune system immediately responds by mobilizing its fighting forces—and all without a conscious thought from us.

Our skin will even produce highly specific chemical substances and spread them over its surface to prevent harmful substances from penetrating. Who can think that all this marvelous system came about by chance?

Built into our skin is also a highly specialized defense against the harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun. This shield is the skin's pigment, called melanin. Our skin color is determined by a pigment manufactured in specialized cells that reside between the regular cells of the skin. All of us, regardless of our race, have about the same number of these special pigment cells; only the amount of pigment in the cells varies. When an area of our skin is exposed to the sun, these special pigment cells go to work and produce more melanin.

The newly made melanin granules flow between the skin cells and into those cells exposed to the sun, where they park between the nucleus and the surface of the cell. at position, the melanin acts as an umbrella over the cell's nucleus, protecting its important information (stored in the nucleus) from being damaged by the sun. The result is what we call a “suntan.”

Sensitivity



Our skin is our body's means of learning about our environment. With only a light touch we can tell whether a surface is hot or cold, wet or dry, smooth or rough, prickly or fuzzy.

This is possible because our skin is equipped with countless nerves, some of which lie as close to the surface as possible. We have some 640,000 of these nerves distributed over our body's surface, with several thousand to the square inch in some areas like the fingertips, the lips and the tongue, and the palm of the hand. Touch a very hot surface with the tip of your finger. The nerve endings in the fingertip instantly send a message to the brain by way of the spinal column, and in milliseconds the message is back to the finger muscle telling it to pull away from the hot object. It all happens so quickly that we do not give it a conscious thought. We simply pull our finger away, saying, “It's hot!” Because of the quick response, a minimum of damage is done to the skin at the point of contact.

The Marvel of Self-repair


Our Creator has designed our skin with a remarkable ability of self-replacement. It repairs expertly the minor injuries it suffers, and, given opportunity, will repair even major injuries almost equally well. And observe this amazing fact: that the repaired or replaced skin bears the same pattern of ridges and valleys which the former skin had! (What part of evolution makes this possible?)

 Our hair and fingernails are an outgrowth of our skin, though scientists still do not fully understand how nails grow as they do. The color of our hair is determined by the color pigment which is loaded into the hair shaft as it grows, the amount determining the color. As we age, the center of the hair shaft becomes filled with tiny air bubbles, making the hair appear gray.

As long as the skin remains uninjured, it keeps the body's insides in and the rest of the world safely out. Despite daily scratching, ripping, tanning, burning, and exposure to irritating soaps and drying heat, the skin remains largely unchanged. It constantly relubricates itself and replenishes its outer surface.

Fingernails are a form of modified hair

What happens when we get a splinter of wood in our finger? Immediately a battle is set off within our body. Cells at the sight of the injury release chemicals which alert neighboring capillaries to the crisis. Immediately the tiny blood vessels in the area expand their walls and become porous. This allows additional blood to flow into the area. As a result, the skin reddens and heats up. The wounded tissue swells and becomes tender.

Within an hour, the body's small white blood cells have been summoned to fight the thousands of invading microbes that rode into the body on the splinter. These white blood cells speed to the battle sight, slithering through capillary walls, surround the invading bacteria one by one, and eat them. (Digestive enzymes produced by the white blood cell totally destroy the bacteria). Once one bacteria is destroyed, the white blood cell is ready to attack another invader, and another. All this happens without a conscious thought from us. We simply know that we got a splinter in our finger, we pulled it out, and in a short while it will begin to heal. If these white blood cells were not on duty, the invading bacteria would multiply and multiply, and soon our very life would be threatened—even by so small an injury as a splinter in our finger.

Who cannot bow in reverence to such a God, in whom we live, and breathe, and move? Who can say that we are not fearfully and wonderfully made? Indeed, “The hand that made us is Divine”!

"He is the One who perfected everything He created, and started the creation of the human from clay." [Quran 32:7]

--
Scientific information is taken from:
  • Encyclopedia Britanica, 15th edition, Vol. 16, pp 839ff. Vol. 21, pp. 700ff.; Vol. 25, pp. 227ff.;
  • Popular Science, Vol. 2, pp. 173ff
  • The Incredible Machine, published by The National Geographic Society, pp. 157ff

23 December 2011

Health Benefits of Banana

" And from the dates and grapes, you extract wine as well as healthy nourishment. Surely, there is a sign in it for any nation that thinks " [Quran 16:67]


Go for banana fruit, nature's own energy rich food that comes in a safety envelope! Fresh, delicious bananas are available year around and are very cheap. Botanically, the fruit belongs to the family of Musaceae. Commercially, it is one of the widely cultivated crops in the tropical and subtropical zones.




Scientific name: Musa acuminata colla.

Banana plant or plantain bears hanging clusters of fruits as bunch. Fruits are arranged in tiers, with 6-20 fruits in each tier, and 5-20 tiers make a whole bunch.

Banana plant

There are several cultivars of banana grown with different size (4”-9”inch), color (yellow to brown), weight (70-150g) and taste. Structurally, fruit has a protective outer skin and delicious, sweet and tart, creamy white color edible flesh inside.


Plantains are other cultivars types, more often used as cooking bananas. They are closely related to the familiar fruit banana or dessert banana. Plantains are used as a staple diet in Thailand, Laos, and other Southeast Asian as well as in many parts of tropical Africa regions.

Nutrition Value

Nutritive Value per 100 g
(Source: USDA National Nutrient data base)

Principle
Nutrient Value
Percentage of RDA
Energy
90 Kcal
4.5%
Carbohydrates
22.84 g
18%
Protein
1.09g
2%
Total Fat
0.33 g
1%
Cholesterol
0 mg
0%
Dietary Fiber
2.60 g
7%
Vitamins
Folates
20 µg
5%
Niacin
0.665 mg
4%
Pantothenic acid
0.334 mg
7%
Pyridoxine
0.367 mg
28%
Riboflavin
0.073 mg
5%
Thiamin
0.031 mg
2%
Vitamin A
64 IU
2%
Vitamin C
8.7 mg
15%
Vitamin E
0.10 mg
1%
Vitamin K
0.5 µg
1%
Electrolytes
Sodium
1 mg
0%
Potassium
358 mg
8%
Minerals
Calcium
5 mg
0.5%
Copper
0.078 mg
8%
Iron
0.26 mg
2%
Magnesium
27 mg
7%
Manganese
0.270 mg
13%
Phosphorus
22 mg
3%
Selenium
1.0 µg
2%
Zinc
0.15 mg
1%
Phyto-nutrients
Carotene-α
25 µg
--
Carotene-ß
26 µg
--
Lutein-zeaxanthin
22 µg
--


Health benefits of banana fruit
  • Banana fruit is rich in calories, but very low in fats. The fruit contains good amounts of health benefiting anti-oxidants, minerals, and vitamins.
  • Banana pulp is composed of soft, easily digestible flesh with simple sugars like fructose and sucrose that when eaten replenishes energy and revitalizes the body instantly; thus, for these qualities, bananas are being used by athletes to get instant energy and as supplement food in the treatment plan for underweight children.
  • The fruit contains good amount of soluble dietary fiber (7% of DRA per 100 g) that helps normal bowel movements; thereby reducing constipation problems.
  • It contains many health promoting flavonoid poly-phenolic antioxidants such as lutein, zeaxanthin, beta and alpha carotenes in small amounts. These compounds help act as protective scavengers against oxygen-derived free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) that play a role in aging and various disease processes.
  • It is also a very good source of vitamin-B6 (pyridoxine), provides about 28% of daily-recommended allowance. Pyridoxine is an important B-complex vitamin that has beneficial role in the treatment of neuritis, anemia, and decreasing homocystine (one of the causative factor for coronary artery disease (CHD) and stroke episodes) levels in the body.
  • The fruit is also good source of vitamin-C (about 8.7 mg per 100g). Consumption of foods rich in vitamin-C helps body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful oxygen free radicals.
  • Fresh bananas provide adequate levels of minerals like copper, magnesium, and manganese. Magnesium is essential for bone strengthening and has cardiac-protective role as well.  Manganese is used by the body as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase. Copper is required in the production of red blood cells.
  • Fresh banana is a very rich source of potassium. 100 g fruit provides 358 mg potassium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps control heart rate and blood pressure, countering bad effects of sodium.
Dua/ Prayer
Allahummaghfirlii warhamniy wahdiniy wa 'aafiniy warzuqniy wajburniy war fa'aniy.
(Oh Allah, forgive me and have mercy on me, and keep me on the right path, and keep me healthy, and provide me with halal sources of living, and complete my shortcomings and make my rank high).


21 December 2011

The Light of The Truth



WHAT IS LIFE? Man's existence in this world and the creation of this entire universe are not mere accidents or products of a fortuitous nature. This universe, every single atom of it, manifests and leads us to the realization of a Loving, Merciful and All-powerful Creator. Without a Creator, nothing can exist. Every single soul knows that he is existing and that his existence is dependent upon a Creator he knows for sure that he cannot create him self. Therefore it is his duty to know his master, the Creator.

MANKIND: Man is a unique creature. God establishes man as His representative or deputy to govern over all other creatures in this world. He is endowed with the faculty of REASON, which sets him apart from all other animals. Together with this faculty to discriminate and discern, man is given the freedom (free-will) to choose for himself a way of life worthy of his position as God's representative or to fall lower than the lowest of all animals or creations. Man is born pure and sinless and is given the choice to do righteous deeds or indulge in sins.

DIVINE GUIDANCE: The Creator, out of His abundant Love and Mercy for mankind has not left us in darkness to discover the right path by trial and error alone. Coupled with our intellectual capability to reason, our Creator bestowed upon us DIVINE GUIDANCE that outlines the Criterion for TRUTH, knowledge, as well as the reality of our existence in this world and the Hereafter.

REVELATIONS: From the beginning of mankind, our Creator sent prophets to convey His REVELATION and to invite human beings to the path of true PEACE and OBEDIENCE to the ONE TRUE GOD. This is ISLAM. This message is conveyed towards successive generations of man through the different prophets, all inviting mankind to the same path. However all the earlier messages or revelations from God were distorted by people of later generations. As a result, pure Revelation from our Creator was adulterated and polluted with myths, superstitions, idol worship and irrational philosophical ideologies. The religion of God in a sense was lost in a plethora of religions. Human history is a testament of man's drift between light and darkness, but God out of His Abundant Love for mankind has not forsaken us.

FINAL REVELATIONS: When mankind was in the depths of the Dark Ages, our Creator sent His final Messenger, prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon him) to redeem humanity with the final revelation which represents the ultimate and permanent source of guidance for the whole world.

CRITERIA FOR TRUTH: The following criteria can best serve as a gauge to find out the authenticity of the last revelation (the Qur’an) as words of God:

  1. Rational Teachings: Since our Creator bestowed reason and intellect upon us, it is our duty to use it to distinguish the TRUTH from falsehood. True, undistorted revelation from God must be rational and can be reasoned out by all unbiased minds.
  2. Perfection: Since our Creator is all perfect, His revelation must be perfect and accurate, free from mistakes, omissions, interpolations and multiplicity of versions. It should be free from contradictions in its narration.
  3. No Myths or Superstitions: True revelation is free from myths or superstitions that degrade the dignity of our Creator or man himself.
  4. Scientific: Since our Creator is the Creator of all knowledge, true revelation is scientific and can withstand the challenge of science at all times.
  5. Factual Prophecy: Our Creator is the Knower of the past, present and future. Thus His prophecies in His revelation will be fulfilled as prophesied.

Inimitable By Man: True revelation is infallible and cannot be imitated by man. God's true revelation is a Living miracle, an open book challenging all mankind to see and prove for themselves its authenticity or veracity.

--
Courtesy: Mission Islam

20 December 2011

Poem: Desert Rose



I began my journey the day I was born.
My name told my destiny.

Yet, it remained hidden for me to discover.
I traveled a long time to get to this moment.

So many cactuses I stumbled over in the dark.
No star lighted my path-- I was not yet awake.

Naivety guided me into sandstorms that made wounds in my soul.
Ignorance blinded me as the cactus' thorns scratched me.

However, these wounds propelled me forward and kept me on
a certain path.

One day, when I looked ahead, I saw an oasis.
A mirage, I thought, so I slowly walked towards it-- expecting
to be fooled again.

When I reached the mirage, I found a rose.
I touched it and found it was no dream.

Entranced by this rose, I placed it in the vase of my heart.
As it took root, it became a part of me.

My blindness lifted, for I could see the true Light.
Faith rested in my heart.

My desert rose led me to this destiny.
When I stray-- its paper thorns remind me to come back to
the straight path.

Each day it continues growing, it strengthens my heart and
my soul.

I water it with my prayers, my charity, my fasting.
This rose is here to stay--
It guides me to an eternal Garden.

My thoughts, my goals, my actions are preparing my place in
that Garden.

That is where I will rest my roots--
As long as this rose remains in my heart.