The anesthesia of familiarity: There should be a Creator for this universe

The Muslim Times | Contact us | Alislam |  Subscribe  The anesthesia of familiarity: There should be a Creator for this universe Epigraph: Allah is He Who raised up the heavens without any pillars that you can see. Then He settled Himself on the Throne. And He pressed the sun and the moon into service: each pursues its course until an appointed term. He regulates it all. He clearly explains the Signs, that you may have a firm belief in the meeting with your Lord. (Al Quran 13:3) Written and Collected by Zia H Shah MD Prologue This popular article in Google-knol was first written in March of 2010. First something about the big picture, Christian apologists want to make a case for Christianity based on laws of nature and science, by showing that there ought to be a Transcendent Creator of our universe.  They make this case, in one breath, and in the very next, deny all of science, by insisting on Eucharist, man-God of Jesus, who is not Transcendent, resurrection and miracles that violate laws of nature. Atheists are right in exposing the irrationality of the Christian dogma. However, the Christians are right in as far as their claim that there needs to be a Creator of this universe, Who employed natural means to do His work. However, both parties in their self-conceit are not listening to how Islam resolves their conflict; Islam as understood by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. When any honest scientist studies nature, he feels, like Albert Einstein, the presence of superior reasoning power, revealed in the incomprehensible universe. However, as the novelty of any new discovery in nature wears off, we begin to take the beauty, complexity, organization and co-ordination that we see every day around us for granted and many among us become vulnerable to think that it may have come into existence purely by chance. However, when we come across the newly discovered organization in nature our prior inferences are challenged. We are flabbergasted and astounded for a brief period of time and truly applause the beauty of the creation of God for a little while, until we are duped by the secular propaganda of neo-Darwinism again and begin to take things for granted. Anesthesia of familiarity takes over! This article examines the splendid interior decorations arranged by the bower birds and a lot more. "He is Allah, the Creator, the Maker, the Fashioner. His are the most beautiful names. All that is in the heavens and the earth glorifies Him, and He is the Mighty, the Wise." (Al Quran 59:25) "The seven heavens and the earth and those that are therein extol His glory; and there is not a thing but glorifies Him with His praise; but you understand not their glorification. Indeed, He is Forbearing, Most Merciful." (Al Quran 17:45) "Try and penetrate with our limited means the secrets of nature and you will find that, behind all the discernible concatenations, there remains something subtle, intangible and inexplicable. Veneration for this force beyond anything that we can comprehend is my religion. To that extent I am, in point of fact, religious." Albert Einstein "Two things fill the mind with ever-increasing wonder and awe, the more often and the more intensely the mind of thought is drawn to them: the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me." Immanuel Kant Northern lights, details are mentioned below Article Claudius Ptolemy, a second century astronomer stated: "I know that I am mortal by nature, and ephemeral; but when I trace at my pleasure the windings to and fro of the heavenly bodies I no longer touch the earth with my feet: I stand in the presence of Zeus himself and take my fill of ambrosia, food of the gods." Polytheism has changed to monotheism, but, in other ways paradigm of humans has not changed.    When we come across the newly discovered organization in nature our prior inferences of agnosticism are challenged.  We are flabbergasted and astounded for a brief period of time and truly applause the beauty of the creation of God for a little while, until we are duped by the secular propaganda of neo-Darwinism again and begin to take things for granted.  Let me narrate an example, when the anesthesia of familiarity was rudely shaken off, after a new discovery, though for a short while. Donald Griffin, who first described echolocation or ultrasound or radar vision in bats, tells what happened when he and his friend Robert Galambos first reported to an astonished conference of zoologists in 1940 their new discovery of echolocation in bats.  One distinguished scientist was so angrily incredulous that he seized Galambos by the shoulders and shook him while complaining they could not possibly mean such an outrageous suggestion.  Radar and sonar were still highly classified developments in military technology, and the notion that bats might do anything even remotely analogous to the latest triumphs of electronic engineering struck most people as not only implausible but emotionally repugnant. Worth special mention here is a confession of an atheist; in the words of Professor Richard Dawkins, "Whenever humans have a good idea, zoologists have grown accus­tomed to finding it anticipated in the animal kingdom. Examples per­vade this book; including echo-ranging (bats), electro location (the Duckbill's Tale), the dam (the Beaver's Tale), the parabolic reflector (lim­pets), the infrared heat-seeking sensor (some snakes), the hypodermic syringe (wasps, snakes and scorpions), the harpoon (cnidarians) and jet propulsion (squids)."  When humans make these discoveries, Nobel prizes and other high awards are given but how do we honor the nature that presented these technologies before mankind, we label it as chance development or accidents!  Likewise, it takes the best human minds to barely fathom the mysteries of Quantum physics.  Yet, many among us do not pause to attribute the end result of particle physics, the universe, to a blind accident. In this article let me discuss a few discoveries about Nature that give us a pause at least for a short while. Every year millions of migratory birds fly towards their wintering quarters and come back in next year´s spring to breed. Behavioral experiments have shown that the Earth´s magnetic field is the main orientation cue on their journeys. Birds can travel the world without any of the gizmos that humans depend on, and a new study suggests how: Our feathered friends might "see" Earth's magnetic field. While other mechanisms are thought to help birds navigate, including magnetically sensitive cells within their beaks, their brain regions responsible for vision are in full gear during magnetic navigation, researchers said. "If you look into the brain of a bird during magnetic compass orientation, only the visual system is highly active," said study co-author Henrik Mouritsen, a biologist at the University of Oldenburg in Germany, noting that most migratory birds do so at night. "Other regions of the brain are not, so birds could use vision to 'see' Earth's magnetism and orient themselves." Read further in the Muslim Times. The Muslim Times' Editorial team: If you like what you see, please forward it to friends and family.  To know more about us: click here. Contact us: muslimtimes@outlook.com 1-800-WHY-ISLAM

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'One learned man is harder on the devil than a thousand ignorant worshipers': Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)

Real Laws of Nature | The Muslim Times

http://www.themuslimtimes.org/2013/02/laughter-is-the-best-medicine/real-laws-of-nature#comment-219290


These are so true yet hilarious! Enjoy:)

Raziya

A disabled friendly environment in Kenya

The petition below says it all. 

Despite Kenya being a signatory to the rights of the disabled, very few places around the country really think about the plight of the various disabilities and address the issues that these raise.

One latest example that I came across today is when I went to book a train ticket to return to Mombasa.

First, nothing about our trains is disabled friendly. Neither the trains nor the platforms. 

If any person has mobility problems, getting on and off these trains is quite a challenge if not next to impossible, e.g. if a person was wheelchair bound or uses two crutches.

Second, I found out today that the Nairobi/Mombasa train no longer leaves from platform 1. It now leaves from platform 2 which passengers have to access via a staircase. How are the disabled, old and infirm supposed to deal with that?

I asked the booking clerk this when she informed me about this change and she admitted that it's highly inconvenient at best and ridiculous in the extreme. That Kenya Railways/Rift Valley Railways were looking into the matter.

So, while they are doing this, people with disabilities cannot and will not be able to use this form of public transport!

Didn't it occur to them earlier?

Why is it that our policy makers and in the current set up at the railway station nobody thought about this problem before changing platforms. As it is, climbing into the train is not at all easy for the disabled, the old and the very young. 

Why is this country so insensitive and it's various organs like the public transport sector?

Multi-storey buildings are another case in point. No ramp, no lifts and if there are lifts, they sometimes are available after a the first or second floors. So, how is a disabled person supposed to get to these floors to be able to get to the lifts? 

Wake up, Kenyan policy makers and the planners of towns and cities!

Raziya

A disabled friendly environment in Kenya

The petition is important because it will help the disabled people live more independently. They need to be recognized by all.
http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/A_disabled_friendly_environment_in_Kenya/?ttDgkab

Sent by Avaaz on behalf of Nafisa's petition

Aging Gracefully!!!!

I'm fwding this on, not to see what happens to my screen if I  fwd this to 7 people out there, but, it's something really worth reading..

Those to whom it applies, enjoy being old!

Raziya

Please send back. ( I did ) It's neat.  Don't delete this one, you'll laugh when you see the return message. As I've aged, I've become kinder to myself, and less critical of myself.  I've become my own friend. I have seen too many dear friends leave this world, too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging. Whose business is it, if I choose to read, or play, on the computer, until 4 AM, or sleep until noon?  I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60 &70's, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love, I will. I will walk the beach, in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves, with abandon, if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set. They, too, will get old. I know I am sometimes forgetful.  But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And, I eventually remember the important things. Sure, over the years, my heart has been broken.  How can your heart not break, when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when somebody's beloved pet gets hit by a car?  But, broken hearts are what give us strength, and understanding, and compassion.  A heart never broken, is pristine, and sterile, and will never know the joy of being imperfect. I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face.  So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver. As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don't question myself anymore. I've even earned the right to be wrong So, to answer your question, I like being old.  It has set me free.  I like the person I have become.  I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be.  And I shall eat dessert every single day (if I feel like it).  MAY OUR FRIENDSHIP NEVER COME APART, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART! Forward this to at least 7 people, and see what happens on your screen. You will laugh your head off!!!!!!!!!!!

How to read the Qur’an | The Muslim Times

http://www.themuslimtimes.org/2013/02/countries/saudi-arabia/how-to-read-the-quran


An excellent article - a must read including the comment/s at the end.

Raziya

How Islamic finance and a more ethical capitalism go hand-in-hand | The Muslim Times

http://www.themuslimtimes.org/2013/02/science-and-technology/economics/how-islamic-finance-and-a-more-ethical-capitalism-go-hand-in-hand

Men without manhood

And excellent diagnosis of present times..., though crudely put in the beginning. But, bear with it and read on....

Raziya

Men without manhood Marriage Monday, 12 November 2012 12:44 Published Date By YAHYA SSEREMBA Summary: The mere possession of a male sexual organ does not make one a man. Author Biography: Yahya Sseremba is the publisher of The Campus Journal news website. Armed with a sharp machete, an angry woman in my neighborhood recently flashed her husband out of her house, threatening to chop him should he ever set foot again anywhere near the apartment. This disgraceful exit is just a slice of the vast humiliation that many men have inflicted upon themselves by choosing to be fed by women, clothed by women and sheltered by women. Is there any manhood left in such men? Their biological construction, obviously, is that of men, with organs like the penis, scrotum and testicles. This natural design is surely part of manhood, not only biologically, but socially as well. Pre-colonial Buganda society, for instance, understood a man as a person who not only had a penis, but a functioning penis. Impotent men, however wealthy they would be, were exempted from a tax levied on men.   Nowhere, however, has the mere possession of a potent penis ever been regarded as the sole determinant of manhood. Two examples – one from traditional African culture and another from religion – may shade more light.    Islam, without ignoring the biological composition of a male person, emphasizes social roles in its description of a man. "Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has made one of them to excel the other, and because they (men) spend (to support women) from their means…" (Qur'an 4:34). This Qur'anic verse defines men in two terms: in terms of their natural abilities that enable them to outclass women and in terms of their expenditure on women. The Noble Book implies that men who cannot support their women financially are men only in name. In traditional Buganda culture, similarly, a man was flogged with eight stripes when his wife committed adultery, a punishment for not satisfying his spouse's sexual or financial needs. It was the failure to meet either of these needs, the people of Buganda believed, that tempted wives to cheat on their husbands. The yardstick of manhood thus took into consideration both sexual and financial obligations to women. Far from living up to this standard, men today have increasingly abdicated their marital financial responsibilities, and some have even fallen further to depending on the money of the very women they are supposed to support. This male degeneration has gone through a long process. The fall of men It's not possible to blame the erosion of manhood on the emancipation of womankind. Not possible because many men have continued to be real men even with emancipated women. As women became financially empowered, however, it became easy for lazy men to find wives on whom to depend. This women empowerment started with the advent of Islam in the Seventh Century. Critics, it is well-known, have accused Islam of holding back women. There are surely things in other civilizations that this religion doesn't recognize as rights and freedoms. Whereas in other cultures a woman may strip and dance to entertain drunkards in a bar, in Islam this is reprehensible and unacceptable. In more meaningful enterprises, however, Islam did allow and indeed encouraged women to exercise their talents and deploy their creativity. Besides prohibiting female infanticide, which the Arabs had passed down from generation to generation as a cherished tradition, Islam dispatched women to seek for knowledge, own assets and accumulate wealth. By the end of the Prophet's mission in AD 632, some had become so wealthy that they started financially supporting their struggling husbands, as narrated in Sahih Bukhar: Abu Said al-Khudri reported that Zainab, the wife of Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud, said: "O Prophet of Allah! Indeed you have ordered us today to give away sadaqah (charity), and I have some jewelry which I wanted to give away as sadaqah; but my husband Ibn Mas'ud claims that he and his children deserve it more than anyone else."The Prophet responded: "Ibn Mas'ud is right. Your husband and your children are more deserving." Such cases in which women financed their spouses were nonetheless limited because of two reasons. Muslim men, including the destitute like Ibn Masud, knew very well that they had no right whatsoever to pass on their domestic financial obligations to their women. Wives could only intervene at pleasure, but not because Islam obliged them to. Secondly, as centuries rolled along new interpreters of religion emerged and alleged that women had no role outside the household. As this interpretation gained ground womankind lost the opportunity to generate revenue and support her partner and progeny. Such restrictions have hindered the emergence of Muslim women whose influence can be compared even remotely with that of Aisha, the Prophet's widow who conveyed to the world much of her husband's teachings and even led a military campaign against what she regarded as an illegitimate new government of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth rightly-guided caliph. But even under such restrictions many Muslim women still considered themselves better-off than some of their counterparts in other civilizations who were – and continue to be – treated as things that attract and entertain customers in pubs and make brothels an enjoyable destination. Outside Islam no notable step toward woman emancipation was taken until womankind, like the Blacks and other marginalized groups, picked up arms and fought for her rights in the 20th Century. Today this fight that started in the West and spread to the 'Rest' has delivered affluence and influence to many women.    Many things have changed as a result, with roles in the family being re-allocated. In some families domestic expenditure – expenses on food, school fees for children, replacing furniture, etc – has been shared equally between wife and husband. Numerous are homes in which husbands alternate with wives in buying food. Here the man surrenders part of his manhood to his wife, leaving no clear family head. In the absence a clear family leader, disagreements easily escalate into problems and problems become hard to solve. Partners start seeing in the elimination of each other the only solution to their conflicts. Indeed, tragedy is always the consequence whenever a polity lacks an undisputed leader. Whereas the father is not supposed to act like a ruthless dictator, it is important that he retains a degree of authority over the rest of the family. How can he deserve such authority without fully meeting family bills? As his authority diminishes his manhood follows suit. Yet he remains far better than the husband that my neighbor expelled from her house late last month. Whereas the former meets half of domestic expenses, the latter represents a growing number of vagabonds in pursuit of 'financially-stable' women on whom to depend and from whom they foolishly hope to make a fortune. Such parasitic men add little value to the family, and they are usually replaced as soon as they outlive their sexual attractiveness. With the threat of replacement ever looming over their heads, these sexual mercenaries live the ass-kissing life of yes-men, obeying orders without question. No man embraces such a contemptible life and remains a man.

A LESSON from a 87 yrs old ROSE for ALL to whom it may apply!

This is so inspirational...

Raziya

"An 87 Year Old College Student Named Rose
The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to g...et to know someone we didn't already know.
I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned round to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me
with a smile that lit up her entire being.
She said, "Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I'm eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?"
I laughed and enthusiastically responded, "Of course you may!" and she gave me a giant squeeze.
"Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?" I asked.
She jokingly replied, "I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of kids…"
"No seriously," I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.
"I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one!" she told me.
After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake. We became instant friends. Every day for the
next three months, we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized listening to this "time machine"
as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.
Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went.

She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up.
At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I'll never forget what she taught us.

She was introduced and stepped up to the podium.
As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on the floor. Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said,

"I'm sorry I'm so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me! I'll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell
you what I know."

As we laughed she cleared her throat and began, "We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop
playing. There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day.
You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.

We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it!There is a huge difference between growing
older and growing up.
If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old.
If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight.
Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability.

The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity in change.
Have no regrets.The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those
with regrets."She concluded her speech by courageously singing "The Rose."
She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives.
At the year's end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago. One week after graduation Rose died
peacefully in her sleep.
Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it's
never too late to be all you can possibly be .When you finish reading this, please send this peaceful word of advice to your friends and family, they'll really enjoy it!
These words have been passed along in loving memory of ROSE.

REMEMBER, GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY. GROWING UP IS
OPTIONAL.

We make a Living by what we get, We make a Life by what we give."

Caliph Umar Farooq versus Emperor Heraclius: Who gave us our Religious Freedoms?

Another reason that I'm proud to be a MUSLIM!

Raziya

The Muslim Times | Contact us | Alislam |  Subscribe  Caliph Umar Farooq versus Emperor Heraclius: Who gave us our Religious Freedoms?  Epigraph: "Permission to fight is given to those against whom war is made, because they have been wronged — and Allah indeed has power to help them — Those who have been driven out from their homes unjustly only because they said, 'Our Lord is Allah' — And if Allah did not repel some men by means of others, there would surely have been pulled down cloisters and churches and synagogues and mosques." (Al Quran 22:40-41) Umar Farooq found the Temple Mount to be a garbage dump for Jerusalem in the 7th century and personally cleaned and restored it!  Written and Collected by Zia H Shah MD In this short article I want to show that Islam is a religion of peace and that revelation has contributed in a big way to human knowledge and history.  I would especially share some snapshots from the life of Umar Farooq (586–590 CE– 7 November 644) the second Caliph of Islam and Heraclius (575 – February 11, 641), the Roman Emperor, who were both contemporaries of each other.  The contrast between the practice of these two rulers should highlight the role of Islam in the history of religious freedom.  As the Muslim Empire grew in the seventh century, the world had two existing Empires at that time, the Roman and the Persian.  The Persian Empire did not survive very long.  So, it may be reasonable to ask, which of the two surviving Empires, the Roman and the Muslim, did most to give us our vision of the religious freedoms, in the seventh century. When the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace be on him, claimed Monotheism in the polytheistic society of Mecca they turned against him and he and his followers had to face persecution for 13 long years. He migrated to Medina but the Meccans did not leave him alone there and attacked Medina, it was in these circumstances that the following verses were revealed: "Permission to fight is given to those against whom war is made, because they have been wronged — and Allah indeed has power to help them — Those who have been driven out from their homes unjustly only because they said, 'Our Lord is Allah' — And if Allah did not repel some men by means of others, there would surely have been pulled down cloisters and churches and synagogues and mosques." (Al Quran 22:40-41) By mentioning Churches and Synagogues before Mosques, the revelation was laying the foundation of genuine religious freedom for the whole of humanity.  These verses were revealed around 624 CE and these teachings through the practices of Prophet Muhammad, may peace be on him, in Arabia laid foundation of freedoms that were put into action by Umar Farooq, may Allah be pleased with him, in Jerusalem in 638 CE, when he took control of Jerusalem, after a relatively bloodless siege by the Muslim army. We visited Spain during the spring vacation of 2011 CE and went to the central mosque of Cordoba, which was a mosque at least for three centuries, but, it is now a Cathedral. In the year 1492 when Columbus discovered America, not a single Muslim was left alive in Spain, either converted on the point of sword, banished or killed. This year, in 2012, we went to visit Turkey and were very happy to see Hagia Sophia, which is a former Cathedral, later a mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul. From the date of its dedication in 360 CE until 1453 CE, it served as the Greek Patriarchal cathedral of Constantinople. The building was a mosque from 1453 until 1931, after Constantinople fell to the Ottoman. This is what groups did to the places of worship of others, the so called enemies, in medieval ages! But, now I want to share something more dramatic with you. I want you to come with me and visit the holy land of Jerusalem. If you have been to Jerusalem you would have visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, one of the Holiest places in Christianity. The site is venerated as where Jesus was put on cross, and is said also to contain the place where Jesus was buried. It did not suffer the fate of the Mosque of Cordoba or the Hagia Sophia, because of the generosity, wisdom and religious tolerance of one man Umar, who was the second Caliph of Islam and a very close associate of the Holy Prophet Muhammad. Jerusalem was under Muslim rule from 638 until the creation of Israel in 1948, except for a period of 80 years between the First and the Third Crusade. After a brief and bloodless siege, initiated after the offensives by the Byzantines colonies, Muslims seized control of Jerusalem from the Byzantines in February 638. Caliph Umar Farooq accepted the city's surrender from Patriarch Sophronius in person. Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, was shown the great Church of the Holy Sepulcher and offered a place to pray in it, but he refused. He knew that if he prayed in the church, it would set a precedent that would lead to the building's transformation into a mosque. He wanted the Christians to have their freedom of religion and their worship places. Therefore, he instead prayed on the steps outside, allowing the church to remain a Christian holy place. It would take Europe several centuries to catch up with the ideal set by Umar regarding religious tolerance, based on the revelation of the Quran and the actions of the Prophet Muhammad. In the 8th century Charlemagne, Charles the Great was converting Scandinavians on the point of sword to Christianity and during the First Crusade, in the eleventh century each and every Muslim was killed in Jerusalem, according to the Christian sources, some 70,000 Muslims were killed including 10,000 in the Mosque of Umar itself. No wonder, we owe our religious freedoms, in our great country of USA, historically speaking, to the revelation of the Quran: "And if Allah did not repel some men by means of others, there would surely have been pulled down cloisters and churches and synagogues and mosques." How Emperor Heraclius saw his role in Christendom and how he converted Jews to Christianity by force is outlined here from the pen of Tom Holland, the author of Rubicon: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Roman Republic, which won the Hessell-Tiltman Prize for History and was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize: Clearly, then, urgent as it was to restore to the redeemed provincials the long-atrophied habits of obedience to Roman rule, more urgent still was the need to reassure them that the victory won by Heraclius had indeed been a victory won by God. This was why, in his negotiations with Shahrbaraz, no more urgent demand had been pressed by the emperor than the return from its ignominious captivity of the True Cross. On 21 March 630, stripped of all his imperial regalia and walking humbly on foot, as Christ Himself had done on his way to Golgotha, Heraclius entered Jerusalem bearing with him the precious relic. Men reported that the manner of his arrival had been the result of advice given him by an angel, who had personally instructed him to take off his diadem, and to dismount from his horse. A supreme honour for Heraclius to receive: orders direct from the heavens to imitate the last journey of his Saviour. The restoration of the True Cross to Jerusalem was the profoundest demonstration imaginable of the great victory that had been won in the cause of Christ. It also served as a ringing statement of Heraclius' intent: never again would he permit the Christian empire to be pushed by its enemies to the edge of oblivion. On his approach to Jerusalem, he had made a point of stopping off in Tiberias, where he had been hosted by a wealthy Jew notorious, under the Persian occu­pation, for his persecution of the city's churches. Asked by Heraclius why he had so mistreated the local Christians, the Jew had answered disingenuously, 'Why, because they are the enemies of my faith." Heraclius, grim-faced, had advised his host to accept baptism on the spot – which the Jew had prudently done. Two years later, this order was repeated on a far more universal scale. From Africa to distant Gaul, leaders across the Christian world received news of a startling imperial decision: all Jews and Samaritans were to be brought com­pulsorily to baptism. Heraclius, conscious of how close he had come to defeat, and of the debt he owed to Christ, was not prepared to take any second chances. From now on, the Roman Empire would be undilutedly, and therefore impregnably, Christian.[1] While Heraclius was baptizing all Jews by force in 632 CE, Umar Farooq in 638 CE was restoring complete religious freedom to not only all the Jews in Jerusalem, but, also the Christians.  Would it be a big stretch to say that Umar Farooq gave the modern world our positive vision of religious freedom, for every one? Read in the Muslim Times. The Muslim Times' Editorial team: If you like what you see, please forward it to friends and family.  To know more about us: click here. Contact us: muslimtimes@outlook.com 1-800-WHY-ISLAM

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'One learned man is harder on the devil than a thousand ignorant worshipers': Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)

Science without Religion Is Lame, Religion without Science Is Blind!

The Muslim Times | Contact us | Alislam |  Subscribe  Science without Religion Is Lame, Religion without Science Is Blind! Epigraph: "In the creation of the heavens and the earth and in the alternation of the night and the day there are indeed Signs for men of understanding; those who remember Allah while standing, sitting, and lying on their sides, and ponder over the creation of the heavens and the earth: 'Our Lord, Thou hast not created this in vain; nay, Holy art Thou; save us, then, from the punishment of the Fire.'" (Al Quran 3:191-192)   Written and Collected by Zia H Shah MD Charles Robert Darwin, FRS (12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist.

Misconceptions in various fields

Misconceptions in various fields

 

Misconception is nothing but a misunderstanding a certain topic, theme, object, history, religion etc.. Not only its false but the misunderstood concept is common among or famous the people and the wrong information keeps spreading amongst the people. Well! Here we have collected 20 of the most common Misconceptions in various fields.