Collective Learning

Throughout human history, each generation has built upon the work of those who came before. People have passed on knowledge through spoken and written language, both locally and globally. This process is called “collective learning.”

As human societies came in contact through trade and conflict, they shared knowledge and technologies across cultural barriers. As networks of exchange spread, the pace of learning increased. The more we learn and share what we know, the greater the rate of new learning.

Ways of Sharing Knowledge

Person-to-person, oral transmission of knowledge was slow but effective. To help remember what was said, ideas were put into poetry and song. For example, orally transmitted ideas have come down to us today in religious texts and epic poems from thousands of years ago.

The development of writing systems served as a catalyst to the exchanging of ideas. Scribes patiently wrote things down on clay, stone, wood, bone, and skin. Alphabets improved over time; instead of pictures, they began using phonetic symbols.

More people could learn to read and write. With the invention of papyrus, parchment, and then paper, ideas could be stored in smaller spaces. Written words became more portable and could be carried over land and sea. Books could hold more text than scrolls. Then, libraries collected and stored books.

Among the major world religions, three are very closely related in their origins, beliefs, and revealed books, or holy scriptures. They are also closely related in their moral and ethical beliefs, as well as their views of the individual and social life.

They are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Their followers are called Jews, Christians, and Muslims, respectively.

Jews, Christians, and Muslims are all monotheists, which means they believe in a one God. However, the three faiths do differ in important aspects of their beliefs.

Historically, relations among the followers of these faith groups include both conflict and cooperation. In modern times, adherents of the Abrahamic religions sometimes act as enemies. At other times, in essence, they appear like squabbling children of a single parent, who are in fact capable of reaching understanding and living in peace together.

The combined three Abrahamic faiths comprise the largest percentage of the world’s religions. The map below indicates in pink where Jews, Christians, and Muslims are in the majority.

Source : http://www.islamicspain

Revelations

Jews, Christians, and Muslims share a belief that God, their Creator, has “spoken” to humankind over time. The word for this pine communication is “revelation.” It comes from the word “reveal,” which means “to make visible or apparent.”

All the monotheistic faiths believe that God revealed Himself to certain individuals, called prophets, over the course of human history.

Jews, Christians, and Muslims believe that God communicated five main messages:

1. The nature and qualities of the One God
2. The purpose and nature of the universe created by God
3. The need to worship One God
4. The purpose of human life; the need to live a righteous life; judgment after death; and reward or punishment in the afterlife
5. Morals and laws which people are told to follow

Adherents of these Abrahamic faiths also believe that angels are God’s messengers to human beings and that the angel of revelation is named Gabriel.

Prophets

According to the Abrahamic faiths, prophets are human beings chosen by God as bearers of revelation to other human beings. The monotheistic faiths believe major prophets received revelations that have been memorized, recited, and written down in holy books or scriptures over the centuries, while other prophets were inspired to teach people.

While Abraham is a key figure in all monotheistic faiths, he is not the first individual of faith: Adam and Eve are the first human beings mentioned in the scriptures as receiving revelation from God. Other prophets mentioned in the scriptures include: Elijah, Isaiah, Noah, Jonah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David, and Solomon.

The Abrahamic religions differ, however, over two of these individuals: Jesus and Muhammad, who lived about 600 years apart. Among the three Abrahamic faiths, only Muslims believe that Muhammad was a prophet and that he was born in Makkah in about the year 570 C.E. They believe that he received the final revelation from God: the holy book called the Qur’an.

Historically, Christians and Jews did not accept Muhammad as a prophet. Similarly, Jews do not accept Christian or Muslim beliefs about Jesus. (See The Messiah section below.)

The Scriptures

Believers in the Abrahamic faiths have preserved scriptures and traditions of the prophets, and the story of their unfolding in human history. They continue to write, recite, and study the words of revelation that were first communicated orally, then later recorded in books.

The three main scriptures include the Torah, Bible, and Qu’ran.

by Ahxuan

The Qur’an is not a book of medicine or of health sciences, but in it there are hints which lead to guidelines in health and diseases. Prophet Mohammed (peace and blessings be upon him) has been sent as an example to mankind so his traditions in matters of health and personal hygiene are also a guide for his followers.

We start our discussion with the following verse: “Everything good that happens to you (O Man) is from God, everything bad that happens to you is from your own actions”. (Qur’an 4:79).

The human body can be compared to some degree with a machine created by man. The fascinating tape recorder has many mechanical and electronic parts but life does not come to it till an electrical current is passed through.

Similarly, in the components of the human body there are the anatomic parts and fluids but also the spirit (the soul). As the care of a machine requires keeping it clean, giving it some rest, and passing electricity of proper voltage, and using it carefully and wisely, so are there requirements for the body and of the body as a whole.

Before we come to the physical care of human body, let us talk about the spiritual care. The spiritual care involves the acts of worship. The problem is that Iman (faith) cannot be translated into belief, nor Salaat into prayer, Nor Wudu into washing hands, face and feet nor; Sawm into fasting nor Zakat into charity nor Hajj into pilgrimage to Mecca.

A. Iman:

Belief in God is the first and foremost important need for spiritual stability. Belief in God includes belief in His attributes, His angels, His books, the Day of Judgment, the Heaven and Hell and belief that – all good and bad is within His reach.

Imam Rumi has called faith being superior to prayers. In illness, according to Imam Ghazali, the awareness of God increases and man becomes closer to God by realizing his own weakness.

Without true belief, neither our prayer, nor charity, nor fasting nor pilgrimage will be accepted. The essence of belief is to rid ourselves of all false gods around us, or within us, and to worship no one except God alone.

B. Salat: There are three health aspects of Salat:

I. Wudu: Washing all the exposed areas of the body, hand, feet, face, mouth, nostrils etc. 5 times a day is a healthy preventive procedure. Hand washing is being emphasized more and more in hospitals now in order to prevent the spread of germs. However, non-Muslims did not know that handwashing is so important – it has been ordered in Qur’an (5:7) 1400 years ago. And for complete cleanliness bathing is advised (4:43).

2. Recitation of Qur’an:

This has a healing effect on the body, mind and heart. These healing effects are due to the effect of sound (echo) and the meaning. The letter Alif resounds unto the echoes to heart and the letter YA resounds unto echoes to the pineal gland in the brain.

The movements in Salat are mild, uniform, and involve all muscles and joints. The caloric output is desired to keep the energy balance.

C. Zakat (Charity):

The word itself means purification and growth. Here it is meant to imply the purification of legitimately earned wealth. Many of our crimes are committed with money or for the love of money, and in the love of money one becomes violent in behavior. “And he is violent in his love of wealth” (Qur’an 100:8).

In Islam the ownership of wealth belongs to God. We are the disposers of that trust. Therefore, this concept establishes peace at heart and our behavior in the loss of money or unusual gain. In either way, we thank God.

by Ahxuan

1. Prophet’s response to racist comments:

A man once visited the Prophet’s mosque in Madinah. There he saw a group of people sitting and discussing their faith together. Among them were Salman (who came from Persia), Suhayb who grew up in the Eastern Roman empire and was regarded as a Greek, and Bilal who was an African. The man then said:
“If the (Madinan) tribes of Aws and Khazraj support Muhammad, they are his people (that is, Arabs like him). But what are these people doing here?”
The Prophet became very angry when this was reported to him. Straightaway, he went to the mosque and summoned people to a Salat. He then addressed them saying:

“O people, know that the Lord and Sustainer is One. Your ancestor is one, your faith is one. The Arabism of anyone of you is not from your mother or father. It is no more than a tongue (language). Whoever speaks Arabic is an Arab.” (As quoted in Islam The Natural Way by Abdul Wahid Hamid p. 125)

2. Statement of the universal brotherhood in the last Sermon:

O people, Remember that your Lord is One. An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a black has no superiority over white, nor a white has any superiority over black, except by piety and good action (Taqwa). Indeed the best among you is the one with the best character (Taqwa). Listen to me. Did I convey this to you properly? People responded, Yes. O messenger of God, The Prophet then said, then each one of you who is there must convey this to everyone not present. (Excerpt from the Prophet’s Last Sermon as in Baihiqi)

Written by johnleemk

Economists refer to the benefits conferred by something as “utility”. Likewise, there is a school of philosophical thought known as utilitarianism, which holds that activities which confer a net utility to society should be permitted, and those with negative net utility be forbidden.

(Subject to some restraints, depending on who you listen to, of course. John Stuart Mill was an utilitarian who suggested ways of calculating utility that would prevent a tyranny of the majority.)

I consider myself to be something of an utilitarian; my only ideal is to uphold what benefits society, subject to Mill’s constraints. It just so happens that many liberal ideals coincide with what I consider to benefit society.

Freedom of speech is one such ideal. The benefits conferred on society by unfettered freedom of speech are hopefully obvious; by increasing the supply of ideas, we have a greater chance of striking gold.

Of course, if you look at it another way, by allowing bad ideas to proliferate and be given a hearing, we are reducing our chances of lucking out by diverting our attention from other ideas.

This latter argument is the fundamental basis for most suggestions that speech be limited. That there must be restraints on freedom of speech is accepted by most; hardly anyone would support speech which directly harms others, e.g. slander or incitement.

“Seek knowledge even as far as China.” – Saying of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)

Posted in Chinese Islam, Chinese Muslims

Source : http://islaminchina.wordpress.com

By Tariq Ramadan
The New York Times
January 6, 2008

Reading the Koran

See full-text article(s):The New York Times

The New York Times – January 6, 2008

For Muslims the Koran stands as the Text of reference, the source and the essence of the message transmitted to humanity by the creator. It is the last of a lengthy series of revelations addressed to humans down through history. It is the Word of God – but it is not God. The Koran makes known, reveals and guides: it is a light that responds to the quest for meaning. The Koran is remembrance of all previous messages, those of Noah and Abraham, of Moses and Jesus. Like them, it reminds and instructs our consciousness: life has meaning, facts are signs.

Source : http://www.euro-islam.info/2008/01/06/reading-the-koran/

By Christopher Landau
BBC Religious Affairs correspondent, Caux, Switzerland

Young Muslims are learning how to become “peace agents”

A groundbreaking conference for young Muslims from across Europe is taking place in Switzerland.

Delegates from seven countries have been brought together by the organisation Initiatives of Change, which has a long history of promoting peace on the continent.

In the late 1940s, it brokered meetings between those who had been on opposite sides in World War II.

Now its headquarters, high above Lake Geneva, is hosting a group of young Muslims for the first time, as they consider how to work as “peace agents” within their communities.

We are truly, we believe, duty bound to make sure that peace prevails on this planet Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra Muslim scholar

The organisers admit some unease within their own inter-faith peace movement about targeting a conference specifically at Muslims.

But conference convener Peter Riddell believes that all those living in Europe need to address tough questions about how Islam relates to their shared future.

“We’re faced with a need to redefine what it means to be European. In many ways you could say that European culture has defined itself in opposition to Islam,” he said.

“So now the challenge is, whether we’re going to embrace a European culture which includes a substantial component of Muslims, or whether we’re going to reject that.”

If we compare the life of Muhammad  before his mission as a prophet and his life after he began his mission as a prophet, we will conclude that it is beyond reason to think that Muhammad  was a false prophet, who claimed prophethood to attain material gains, greatness, glory, or power.

Before his mission as a prophet, Muhammad  had no financial worries.  As a successful and reputed merchant, Muhammad  drew a satisfactory and comfortable income.  After his mission as a prophet and because of it, he became worse off materially.  To clarify this more, let us browse the following sayings on his life:

Posted by Robert

Source : http://www.jihadwatch.org/

Scientists advocate a switch to people powered transport for health and climate

Cutting emissions to mitigate climate change will also make people healthier, according to research.

A special series of articles, published in medical journal, the Lancet, outlines how such policies could have a direct impact on global health.

The series has been released ahead of the UN climate summit in Copenhagen.

World Health Organization (WHO) director, Margaret Chan, said health protection should be a criterion by which mitigation measures were judged.

Dr Chan was just one of the key figures in global health research who wrote a comment article that was published alongside the Lancet reports.

SCIENTIFIC EXPERTS from around the world are predicting that 3 years from
now, all life on Earth could well come to an end. Some are saying it’ll be
humans that would set it off. Others believe that a natural phenomenon will
be the cause. And the religious folks are saying it’ll be God himself who
would press the stop button.. The following are some likely arguments as to
why the world would end by the year 2012. *

Reason one: Mayan calendar*

The first to predict 2012 as the end of the world were the Mayans, a
bloodthirsty race that were good at two things — building highly accurate
astrological equipment out of stone and sacrificing virgins.

Thousands of years ago they managed to calculate the length of the lunar
moon as 329.53020 days, only 34 seconds out. The Mayan calendar predicts
that the earth will end on December 21, 2012. Given that they were pretty
close to the mark with the lunar cycle, it’s likely they’ve got the end of
the world right as well. *

Reason two: Sun storms*

Solar experts from around the world monitoring the sun have made a startling
discovery. Our sun is in a bit of strife. The energy output of the sun is,
like most things in nature, cyclic and it’s supposed to be in the middle of
a period of relative stability. However, recent solar storms have been
bombarding the earth with lot of radiation energy. It’s been knocking out
power grids and destroying satellites. This activity is predicted to get
worse and calculations suggest it’ll reach its deadly peak sometime in 2012.

அன்புடன் புகாரி

Marriage in Islam

In Islam, marriage is a blessed contract between a man and a woman, in which each becomes “permitted” to the other, and they begin the long journey of life in a spirit of love, co-operation, harmony and tolerance, where each feels at ease with the other, and finds tranquility, contentment and comfort in the company of the other. The Qur’aan has described this relationship between men and women, which brings love, harmony, trust and compassion, in the most moving and eloquent terms:

(And among His Signs is this, that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that you may dwell in tranquility with them, and He has put love and mercy between your [hearts] . . . (Qur’aan 30:21)

This is the strongest of bonds, in which Allah (subhaanahu wa ‘ta’aalaa) unites the two Muslim partners, who come together on the basis of love, understanding, co-operation and mutual advice, and establish a Muslim family in which children will live and grow up, and they will develop the good character and behavior taught by Islam. The Muslim family is the strongest component of a Muslim society when its members are productive and constructive, helping and encouraging one another to be good and righteous, and competing with one another in good works.

The righteous woman is the pillar, cornerstone and foundation of the Muslim family. She is seen as the greatest joy in a man’s life, as the Prophet (SAW) said:

“This world is just temporary conveniences, and the best comfort in this world is a righteous woman.”1

A righteous woman is the greatest blessing that Allah (subhaanahu wa ‘ta’aalaa) can give to a man, for with her he can find comfort and rest after the exhausting struggle of earning a living. With his wife, he can find incomparable tranquility and pleasure.

How can a woman be the best comfort in this world? How can she be a successful woman, true to her own femininity, and honored and loved? This is what will be explained in the following pages:

By Yoginder Sikand

At its recently-held 30th convention held at Deoband, the Jamiat ul-Ulema-e Hind passed a significant resolution on girls’ education which, surprisingly, received little attention in the media. The original Urdu version of the resolution calls upon Muslims to establish ‘non-residential institutions for providing religious and modern education to girls, for which an appropriate syllabus should be prepared.’ ‘Their education’, it goes on, ‘must be fully in accordance with the limits set by the shariah and the rules of pardah. Co-education must be fully avoided, or else it is feared that more harm than good would result.’ The English version of the resolution reads somewhat differently. It appeals to Muslims to ‘establish non-residential modern educational institutions for girls’ education’ that would be based on a ‘special syllabus for them, which should be completed within six years.’ ‘On completion of 10 years of age,’ it adds, ‘complete shariah norms should be observed while continuing their education.’

Hajj.

BBC News – In pictures: First day of Hajj pilgrimage.

A thousand rays touch me
as I walk along
a thousand leaves watch me
as I walk along
a thousand little breezes hear me
when I walk along

::Inspired by the Monday Blues!!::

by `மழை` ஷ்ரேயா(Shreya)

Source : http://www.rishanshareefpoems.tk/