ISLAM & AL-KITTUN

ISLAM FAITH & CATS

Arabs in the 7th century believed that the cat was pure spirited. Pre-Islamic Arabs are said to have worshipped a Golden Cat.

The Prophet Muhammad (s) was tender and kind towards cats. He appreciated cats. Muhammad’s (s) favorite cat was called Muezza. There is a well known story regarding the Prophet Muhammad (s) and Muezza.

When the call to prayers was heard, Muezza was asleep on one of the sleeves of the Prophet’s (s) robes. The Prophet (s) wanted to wear the robe to go to prayers. Rather than disturb Muezza, Muhammad (s) cut off the sleeve to leave Muezza in peace. Prophet (s) then stroked the cat three times, which, it is said, granted Muezza seven lives and the ability to land on his feet at all times (as you might know, cats have a self-righting mechanism,a righting reflex, which is a complex series of movements when a cat falls and which protects the cat from breaking her back).

Prophet (s) was so attached to his cat that when he gave sermons he let Muezza rest on his lap and he also drank from water previously drunk by his cat. He also did his ablutions from the same water that was drunk by a cat. He seemed to treat his cat in the same way as cat lovers do today but even cat lovers might think twice about drinking the same water that had been drunk by a cat for fear of transmission of disease from the cat’s saliva (but see below).

Islam teaches Muslims to treat cats well and that the cat is a creature to be cherished and loved. Mistreating a cat is regarded as a severe sin in Islam.

Cats according to the Qur`an and Sunnah

An example as to how Muslims are punished for mistreating cats can be found in the `ahadith (oral traditions telling the story of the Prophet Mohammed (s) and which have been recorded in writing). When a woman kept a cat locked up and failed to feed the cat until the cat died, the woman was tortured and "put to hell.”

It is believed that you will suffer no harm if you drink from the cat’s water provided no impurities are seen in the cat’s mouth. In another story from the `ahadith, it is stated that a when a cat ate a pudding put down during prayers, the person who was in charge of the pudding ate from the same place as the cat and Prophet (s) said this was alright as the cat is not unclean and is "one of those who go around amongst us".

Islam teaches Muslims that, in relation to a cat:

• the cat should not be sold for money or other traded goods
• cats saliva is harmless unless the cat has "visible impurities" in the mouth
• that Muslims are free to live with cats but they must treat cats well, providing the cat with enough water and food and giving "roaming time" (a degree of freedom of movement)

Bukhari’s authentic hadith is one of the six major Sunni hadith collections (Wikipedia). Muslims see this hadith as the most trusted collection; many would say the most authoritative book after the Qur`an.

This hadith regarding cats is set out in Volume 3, Book 40, Number 552. The story of the women mentioned above is recited. It seems that the woman was scratched by the cat and to punish the cat she imprisoned it and failed to feed it. Her actions were frowned upon and she was duly punished.

Islam’s teachings in relation to cats indicates a gentle approach to our fellow creatures, including humans!

What's the Biology says

This salmonella bacterium is undergoing the process of binary fission. Image: Janice Haney Carr/CDC

Bacteria propagate or reproduce most commonly by a kind of cell division called binary fission. In binary fission, a single cell divides and two identical cells are formed. This is an effective way for bacteria to reproduce, however it does produce problems. Since the cells produced through this type of reproduction are identical, they are all susceptible to the same types of antibiotics.

In order to incorporate some genetic variation, bacteria undergo a process called recombination. Bacterial recombination can be accomplished through conjugation, transformation, or transduction. In conjugation, bacteria transfer pieces of their genes to other bacteria through a protein tube structure called a pilus. In transformation, bacteria take up DNA from their environment and incorporate it into their own DNA. In transduction, bacterial DNA is exchanged through a type of virus that infects bacteria called a bacteriophage.

Pelangi Lepas Hujan

RAINBOW...

Seringkali hati kecil mengaduh sakit, seringkali jiwa meratap hiba. Dugaan dan ujian yang bertimpa-timpa, kadangkala menewaskan semangat yang ada. Kadangkala kita berasa sendirian dan terasa betapa kita dipinggirkan. Ketika kita menyangka sudah tidak ada lagi yang bernilai dalam kehidupan dan yang kita lihat hanyalah jalan suram di hadapan.

Lantas kita marah kepada Tuhan, kita kecewa dengan ketentuan yang diciptakan. Kita menyalahkan takdir hitam dan saat itu sendu airmata mengaburkan kewarasan. Lalu kita hilang pertimbangan, di antara keimanan dan rasukan syaitan. Kita hanya nampak jalan mudah untuk melepaskan diri, lalu ada yang seringkali memilih kematian sebagai penyelesaian.

Pernahkah sekali kita memahami alam.

" Mengapa Tuhan hadirkan pelangi selepas hujan? "

" Mengapa Tuhan tumbuhkan bunga selepas kering-kontang? "

Hanya daripada benih hitam yang kusam, apabila disirami hujan lantas berbunga cantik. Maka tersenyumlah alam. Betapa indahnya aturan Tuhan.

" Mengapa tidak ada hujan berpanjangan atau sinar mentari yang menyinari alam? "

" Mengapa harus ada putaran alam seperti hitam malam dihiasi bintang? "

" Mengapa untuk tidak ada sekaligus dalam satu masa? "

" Mengapa harus hilang sesuatu untuk sesuatu? "

Jawabnya, SENANG.

Kerana tidak ada kemanisan tanpa ada kepahitan, dugaan dan rintanganlah yang mewarnai kehidupan. Mengecapi kebahagiaan memerlukan adanya pengorbanan. Setiap kesenangan akan ada bayaran contohnya seperti Tuhan hadirkan pelangi selepas hujan dan kicau burung yang menyanyikan kedamaian.

" Biar hujan di dalam hati, pasti ada pelangi yang menanti. Insyaallah. "

Keajaiban Maha pencipta

Alam Semesta Berbentuk Trompet

Persoalan tentang bentuk alam semesta atau dalam bahasa saintifiknya 'geometry of the universe' sentiasa menjadi subjek kajian para ahli astronomi dan ahli kosmologi. Dengan bantuan pelbagai alat dengan teknologi terkini, pelbagai teori telah dikemukakan tentang rupa bentuk sebenar alam semesta ini. Adapun dalam menerangkan bentuk alam semesta, para saintis menggunakan dua kaedah iaitu local geometry, berkaitan tentang kelengkungan alam semesta yang mampu dilihat dengan mata atau bantuan teknologi manakala global geometry pula menjelaskan tentang topologi alam semesta secara keseluruhannya.

Kosmo Berbentuk Trompet

Terkini, saintis telah mengemukakan satu lagi teori yang menyatakan bahawa alam semesta berbentuk seperti trompet. Bentuk trompet ini atau nama lainnya Picard horn atau Picard topology dapat dijelaskan melalui hyperbolic geometry. Bentuk ini nampak seperti tidak masuk akal, akan tetapi menurut Frank Steiner dari University of Ulm yang mengetuai kumpulan pengkaji dari German, beliau mengatakan bahawa berdasarkan pemerhatian yang dilakukan, beliau mendapati alam semesta (kosmo) seolah diregangkan menjadi corong yang panjang. Satu bahagian sempit satu bahagian lagi terbuka luas seperti loceng. Dengan kata lain juga, ruang angkasa adalah terbatas.

Persoalan Terjawab

Teori ini berjaya menyelesaikan dua teka-teki dari pemerhatian yang diperoleh. Salah satunya adalah tentang corak tompok-tompok panas dan sejuk yang dilihat pada cosmic microwave background radiation. Pemerhatian ini menunjukkan bahawa alam semesta saling tidak ubah seperti alam semesta pada 380,000 tahun selepas kejadian Big Bang. Dengan bantuan WMAP milik NASA, mereka mendapati bahawa corak-corak tersebut terpadam dengan skala yang besar di mana tiada tompok-tompok panas atau sejuk jelas yang melebihi 60 darjah. Berdasarkan fakta ini, Frank Steiner mendakwa bahawa teori yang dikemukan mereka disokong oleh pemerhatian ini.

Model ini juga menjawab satu lagi teka-teki yang menjadi persoalan apabila pada tahun 2003, satu kumpulan saintis menyatakan bahawa alam semesta ini terbatas (finite). Kumpulan saintis ini menggunakan model bentuk bola atau spherical universe. Akan tetapi seperti yang telah dijelaskan tadi, model ini tidak menepati data yang diperoleh dari WMAP apabila mereka gagal menemui sebarang imej back-to-back melalui analisis data. Sebaliknya, bentuk trompet yang dikemukakan tidak bercanggah dengan data dari WMAP.

Ruang Angkasa Yang Elip

Model ini juga mempunyai satu lagi kelebihan lain. Menurut teori yang konvensional iaitu berbentuk mendatar atau leper, tompok yang paling kecil pada langit mikroglombang (microwave sky) sepatutnya berbentuk bulat, namun hakikatnya tidak begitu. Menurut Steiner, tompok-tompok tersebut sebenarnya mempunyai bentuk sedikit elips. Picard topology menjelaskan keadaan ini. Dalam model tersebut, ruang lengkung angkasa bertindak sebagai kanta yang mengubah imej tompok yang sejak dari dahulu lagi bulat kepada bentuk yang dilihat seperti elips oleh mata kita.

Namun yang demikian, para saintis terpaksa meninggalkan salah satu prinsip asas kosmologi yang mengutarakan bahawa seluruh bahagian alam semesta ini secara kasarnya adalah serupa apabila menerima pakai model ini. Menurut Holger Then pula iaitu salah seorang ahli kumpulan pengkaji tersebut,

“If one happens to find oneself a long way up the narrow end of the horn, things indeed look very strange, with two very small dimensions.”

Apa yang menarik dalam model ini pada bahagian yang paling hujung, seseorang itu dapat melihat belakang kepalanya sendiri!

Menurut Kaca Mata Al-Qur’an

Dan Dia lah Yang menciptakan langit dan bumi Dengan (tujuan) Yang benar, dan (Dia lah juga) pada masa (hendak menjadikan sesuatu) berfirman: “Jadilah”, lalu terjadilah ia. FirmanNya itu adalah benar. dan bagiNyalah Kuasa pemerintahan pada hari ditiupkan sangkakala. ia Yang mengetahui Segala Yang ghaib dan Yang nyata, dan Dia lah Yang Maha Bijaksana, lagi Maha mendalam pengetahuanNya. [Al-An’aam : 73]

Dan sudah tentu akan ditiup sangkakala, maka pada waktu itu Matilah makhluk-makhluk Yang ada di langit dan Yang ada di bumi, kecuali sesiapa Yang dikehendaki Allah (terkemudian matinya); kemudian ditiup sangkakala sekali lagi, maka Dengan serta merta mereka bangun berdiri menunggu (kesudahan masing-masing). [Az-Zumar : 68]

Bukankah sangkakala juga dikenali sebagai trompet?

Di sini bukanlah tujuan saya untuk mencari-cari ayat Al-Qur’an demi membenarkan kandungannya berdasarkan penemuan-penemuan sains seperti di atas. Teori sekali-kali tidak akan mengatasi Hukum. Apatah lagi untuk membenarkan. Al-Qur’an bukan sebuah kitab yang mengajar sains, tapi merupakan kitab yang menunjukkan tanda-tanda kebesaran-Nya seperti ungkapan popular oleh Dr Zakir Naik,

“Koran is not a book of science but a book of signs”

Penemuan sains melalui pelbagai proses evolusi sebelum hakikat sebenar ditemukan. Sebagai contoh, para cendekiawan Islam dahulu kala sendiri hanya baru mendapati bahawa bumi ini berbentuk sfera setelah kira-kira 830 M. Malah sebelum itu, mereka juga percaya bahawa bumi ini mendatar. Akan tetapi setelah kajian dilakukan, barulah mereka menemui hakikat bahawa bumi ini sebenarnya sfera. Mengapa fakta sains ini tidak terus saja diekstrak dari Al-Qur’an? Mengapa perlu ada kajian sebelum merumuskan fakta yang sedia ada di dalam Al-Qur’an? Sesungguhnya ini adalah tanda yang dimaksudkan oleh Allah seperti firman-Nya:

Kami akan perlihatkan kepada mereka tanda-tanda kekuasaan Kami di merata-rata tempat (dalam alam Yang terbentang Luas ini) dan pada diri mereka sendiri, sehingga ternyata jelas kepada mereka Bahawa Al-Quran adalah benar. belumkah ternyata kepada mereka kebenaran itu dan belumkah cukup (bagi mereka) Bahawa Tuhanmu mengetahui dan menyaksikan tiap-tiap sesuatu? [Fusshilat : 53]

Cara Allah memberi hidayah ialah dengan kita mencari, bukan hanya bergoyang kaki.Begitu juga cara Allah memperlihatkan kita tanda-tanda-Nya, dengan mencari dan mengkaji.

Masya Allah

Science Fails to Explain God
www.iLuvislam.com

At an educational institution: Professing to be wise, they became fools ....

"LET ME EXPLAIN THE problem science has with God."

The atheist professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his new students to stand.

"You're a Muslim, aren't you, son?"
"Yes, sir."
"So you believe in God?"
"Absolutely."
"Is God good?"
"Sure! God's good."
"Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?"
"Yes."

The professor grins knowingly and considers for a moment.

"Here's one for you. Let's say there's a sick person over here and you can cure him. You can do it. Would you help them? Would you try?"
"Yes sir, I would."
"So you're good...!"
"I wouldn't say that."
"Why not say that? You would help a sick and maimed person if you could in fact most of us would if we could... God doesn't."

[No answer]

"He doesn't, does he? My brother was a Muslim who died of cancer even though he prayed to God to heal him. How is this God good? Hmmm? Can you answer that one?"

[No answer]

The elderly man is sympathetic.
"No, you can't, can you?" He takes a sip of water from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax. In philosophy, you have to go easy with the new ones. Let's start again, young fella."
"Is God good?"
"Er... Yes."
"Is Satan good?"
"No."
"Where does Satan come from?" The student falters.
"From... God..."
"That's right. God made Satan, didn't he?"

The elderly man runs his bony fingers through his thinning hair and turns to the smirking, student audience.

"I think we're going to have a lot of fun this semester, ladies and gentlemen."

He turns back to the Muslim.

"Tell me, son. Is there evil in this world?"
"Yes, sir."
"Evil's everywhere, isn't it? Did God make everything?"
"Yes."
"Who created evil?"
[No answer]
"Is there sickness in this world? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All the terrible things - do they exist in this world?"

The student squirms on his feet.

"Yes."
"Who created them? "
[No answer]

The professor suddenly shouts at his student.

"WHO CREATED THEM? TELL ME, PLEASE!"

The professor closes in for the kill and climbs into the Muslim's face. In a still small voice:
"God created all evil, didn't He, son?"
[No answer]

The student tries to hold the steady, experienced gaze and fails.Suddenly the lecturer breaks away to pace the front of the classroom like an aging panther.The class is mesmerised.

"Tell me," he continues,"How is it that this God is good if He created all evil throughout all time?"

The professor swishes his arms around to encompass the wickedness of the world.

"All the hatred, the brutality, all the pain, all the torture,all the death and ugliness and all the suffering created by this good God is all over the world, isn't it, young man?"
[No answer]
"Don't you see it all over the place? Huh?"

Pause.

"Don't you?"
The professor leans into the student's face again and whispers, Is God good?"
[No answer]
"Do you believe in God, son?"

The student's voice betrays him and cracks.

"Yes, professor. I do."

The old man shakes his head sadly.

"Science says you have five sensesyou use to identify and observe the world around you. You have never seen God, Have you?
"No, sir. I've never seen Him."
"Then tell us if you've ever heard your God?"
"No, sir. I have not."
"Have you ever felt your God, tasted your God or smelt your God...in fact,do you have any sensory perception of your God whatsoever?"
[No answer]
"Answer me, please."
"No, sir, I'm afraid I haven't."
"You're AFRAID... you haven't?"
"No, sir."
"Yet you still believe in him?"
"...yes..."
"That takes FAITH!" The professor smiles sagely at the underling.According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol,science says your God doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son? Where is your God now?"
[The student doesn't answer]
"Sit down, please."

The Muslim sits...Defeated. Another Muslim raises his hand.

"Professor, may I address the class?"

The professor turns and smiles.
"Ah, another Muslim in the vanguard!Come,come, young man. Speak some proper wisdom to the gathering."

The Muslim looks around the room.

"Some interesting points you are making, sir. Now I've got a question for you.
"Is there such thing as heat?"
"Yes," the professor replies.
"There's heat."
"Is there such a thing as cold?"
"Yes, son, there's cold too."
"No, sir, there isn't."

The professor's grin freezes. The room suddenly goes very cold. The second Muslim continues.

"You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super-heat, mega-heat,white heat, a little heat or no heat but we don't have anything called 'cold'.We can hit 458 degrees below zero, which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold,otherwise we would be able to go colder than 458 - - You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold."
"Heat we can measure in thermal units because heat is energy.Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it."

Silence. A pin drops somewhere in the classroom.

"Is there such a thing as darkness, professor?"
"That's a dumb question, son. What is night if it isn't darkness?What are you getting at...?
"So you say there is such a thing as darkness?"
"Yes..."
"You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something, it is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light but if you have no light constantly you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? That's the meaning we use to define the word. In reality, Darkness isn't. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker and give me a jar of it. Can you...give me a jar of darker darkness,professor?"

Despite himself, the professor smiles at the young effrontery before him.This will indeed be a good semester.

"Would you mind telling us what your point is, young man?"
"Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed to start with and so your conclusion must be in error...."
"The professor goes toxic. "Flawed...? How dare you...!"
"Sir, may I explain what I mean?"

The class is all ears.

"Explain... oh, explain..."

The professor makes an admirable effort to regain control. Suddenly he is affability itself.He waves his hand to silence the class, for the student to continue.

"You are working on the premise of duality," the Muslim explains."That for example there is life and then there's death; a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science cannot even explain a thought.It uses electricity and magnetism but has never seen, much less fullyunderstood them. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life, merely the absence of it."

The young man holds up a newspaper he takes from the desk of a neighbour who has been reading it.

"Here is one of the most disgusting tabloids this country hosts,professor. Is there such a thing as immorality?"
"Of course there is, now look..."
"Wrong again, sir. You see, immorality is merely the absence of morality. Is there such thing as injustice? No. Injustice is the absence of justice. Is there such a thing as evil?"

The Muslim pauses.

"Isn't evil the absence of good?"

The professor's face has turned an alarming colour. He is so angry he is temporarily speechless.

The Muslim continues.

"If there is evil in the world, professor, and we all agree there is, then God, if he exists, must be accomplishing a work through the agency of evil. What is that work, God is
accomplishing? Islam tells us it is to see if each one of us will,choose good over evil."

The professor bridles.

"As a philosophical scientist, I don't vie this matter as having anything to do with any choice; as a realist, I absolutely do not recognize the concept of God or any other theological factor as being part of the world equation because God is not observable."
"I would have thought that the absence of God's moral code in this world is probably one of the most observable phenomena going," the Muslim replies.
"Newspapers make billions of dollars reporting it every week! Tell me, professor. Do you teach your students that they evolvedfrom a monkey?"
"If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process,youngman, yes,of course I do."
"Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?"

The professor makes a sucking sound with his teeth and gives his student a silent, stony stare.

"Professor. Since no-one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavour,are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist,but a priest?"
"I will overlook your impudence in the light of our philosophical discussion. Now, have you quite finished?" the professor hisses.
"So you don't accept God's moral code to do what is righteous?"
"I believe in what is - that's science!"
"Ahh! SCIENCE!" the student's face splits into a grin.
"Sir, you rightly state that science is the study of observed phenomena. Science too is a premise which is flawed..."
"SCIENCE IS FLAWED..?" the professor splutters.

The class is in uproar.The Muslim remains standing until the commotion has subsided.

"To continue the point you were making earlier to the other student, may I give you an example of what I mean?"

The professor wisely keeps silent. The Muslim looks around the room.

"Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen air, Oxygen,molecules, atoms, the professor's brain?"

The class breaks out in laughter. The Muslim points towards his elderly, crumbling tutor.

"Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor's brain...felt the professor's brain, touched or smelt the professor's brain?"

No one appears to have done so. The Muslim shakes his head sadly.

"It appears no-one here has had any sensory perception of the professor's brain whatsoever. Well, according to the rules of empirical, stable,demonstrable protocol, science, I DECLARE that the professor has no brain! As we can't feel it, we can't touch it, we can't ever smell it using our sense.

NOW IT IS EVERYONE'S CHANCE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ISLAM, ABOUT GOD, ABOUT THE PURPOSE OF EXISTENCE OF CREATION AND LIFE, ABOUT THE MESSENGERS OF GOD, & ABOUT HIS HOLY BOOKS, ESPECIALLY THE HOLY QUR'AN. THEN IT IS YOUR CHOICE TO BECOME A MUSLIM, OR NOT.

Allah says in the His Holy Book:
There is no compulsion in religion; truly the right way has become clearly distinct from error; And he who rejects false deities and believes in Allaah(The God) has grasped a firm handhold which will never break. and Allah is ALL-Hearing, All-Knowing 2:256

Allah is the Protecting Guardian of those who believe. He brings them out of the darkness into the light; As for those who disbelieve,their guardians are false deities. They bring them out of light into darkness...(257)"


The Muslim sits... Because that is what a chair is for!!!