Monday 18 February 2008

Elusive Rulers...

In a book written by Raghib Al-Isfahani, Maamun Bin Mehran said that he was with the
Caliph Umar Bin Abdul Aziz, who asked his guard, " Who is at the door? " The guard replied that it is a man who claims to be the son of Bilal, the son of the one who called for the prayers (Adhaan) for the messenger of Allah, Muhammad peace be upon him. The Caliph permitted him to enter and asked him to relate something of the Prophet.
Ibn Bilal said that his father related to him that he had heard the prophet peace be upon him say,
" Whoever is given authority in a matter that is related to the people and then creates a barrier
( referring to the guard) between him and them, Allah will place a barrier in front of him on the day of judgement. "

Umar immediately asked the guard to leave his post and return to his home. No one ever saw a guard at 'Umars door again. He stated that there couldn't be anything more unfavorable to the leadership of a people than the harshness of guards and the inaccessibility of the rulers themselves. The wicked acts of the citizens can only become more widespread in the land, knowing that a ruler is difficult to gain access to. It has been said that a leader prevents people from speaking to him because of the evil that is in him or out of sheer stinginess and pride.

Saturday 9 February 2008

Women In Islam

Never in the history of the World, under any religious or constitutional systems, have women enjoyed the rights and privileges which Islam gave to her. The status of women in Islam is something unique, novel and something that has no similarity under any other system other than Islam.

The Qur'an categorically stated that women are as vital to life as men themselves and granted a status to women equal to that of men. The rights and responsibilites of women are equal to that of men, but they are not necessarily identical to them. Equality and identity is not that same thing. The difference lies in the very nature of the roles that the two have to play and there is no ground to assume that she is in any way less less important or inferior to men. Islam gives her due consideration and recognises her independent personality, makes her directly accountable to Allah and confers rights on her equal with men though not identical.

In the pre-Islamic world the plight of women was abject and pathetic. Somewhere she was brannded as a product of evil or the seed of evil. Some systems placed men as the lord of women who has to surrender to his will. Somewhere else questions were raised if she at all possessed a soul. Never in the history of Islam has any muslim doubted the dignity of women, her possession of a soul and other fine qualities.
The Qur'an has honoured women so much so that there is an entire chapter titled Surah Nisa'a (chapter on women) and her status and dignity are explicitly stated therein as well as in many other verses of the Qur'an. Those who look at Islam with a positive view will realise what rights Islam has really granted women; as Lady Cobbold says in her 'Pilgrimage to Makkah'; " It was Islam that removed the in which women are held from the very dawn of history and gave them a social standing and legal rights such as were not granted to them in England till many later centuries. "

Islam did more than that. What it gave her suits her nature, gives her full security and protects her against disgraceful circumstances and uncertain channels of life. It is a pity on those who have failed to understand that the divine system that gives every male and female their due rights.

Thursday 7 February 2008

Ibn Sina ( Aviccena)

Abu Ali Al-Hussain Ibn Abdallah (Aviccena) was born in 980 A.D at Afshana near Bukhara, a part of Iran. The young Abu Ali received his early education in Bukhara, and by the age of 10 had become well versed in the study of the Qur'an and various sciences. He started studying philosophy by reading various Greek, Muslim and other books on this subject and also learnt logic and some other subjects from Abu Abdallah Natili, a famous philosopher of the time. While still young, he attained such a degree of expertise in medicine that his fame spread far and wide. At the age of 17, he was fortunate in curing Nooh Ibn Mansoor, the king of Bukhara, of an illness in which all the well-known physicians had given up hope. On his recovery, the king wished to reward him, but the young physician only desired permission to use his uniquely stocked library.

On his father's dea th, Abu Ali left Bukhara and traveled to Jurjan, where Khawarizm Shah welcomed him. There, he met his famous contemporary Abu Raihan Al-Biruni. Later, he moved to Ray and then to Hamadan, where he wrote his famous book Al-Qanun Fi Al-Tibb. Here he treated Shams Al-Daulah, the king of Hamadan, for sever colic. From Hamadan, he moved to Isfahan, where he completed many of his monumental writings. Nevertheless, he continued traveling and the excessive mental exertion as well as political turmoil spoilt his health. Finally, he returned to Hamadan where he passed away in 1037 A.D.

He was the most famous physician, philosopher, encyclopaedist, mathematician and astronomer of his time. His major contribution to medical science was his famous book Al-Qanun, known as the 'Canon' in the west. The Qanun Fi Al-Tibb is an immense encyclopedia of medicine extending over a million words. It surveyed the entire medical knowledge available from ancient and muslim sources. Due to its systematic approach, " formal perfection as well as its intrinsic value, the Qanun superseded Razi's Hawi, Ali Ibn Abbas's Maliki, and even the words of Galen, and remained supreme for six centuries. " In addition to bringing together the then available knowledge, the book is filled with the authors original contribution. His important original contribution includes such advances as recognition of the contagious nature of Phthisis and tubrculosis; distribution of diseases by water and soil, and interaction between psychology and health. In addition to describing pharmacological methods, the book described 760 and became the most authentic materia medica of the era. He was also the first to describe meningitis and made rich contributions to anatomy, gynecology and child health.