Quote by Mufti Menk Ismail

Life was not given to us to be perfect. Every single person will go through tests & hardships. Nobody will have a perfect life.

Life must have it's ups and downs.

Those who resign to the Decree of the Almighty & are pleased with it, lead the happiest lives. Try ur best & leave the rest in His Hands.

Paradise would lose it's value if life was to be perfect!

Life is also too short to be lead in the disobedience of the One we will very soon return to.

We get so caught up in this material world and before we know it, we have returned to the Almighty unprepared.

Prepare for the inevitable too.

When our pleasure is sought through His displeasure, we stand to lose much. It is definitely not worth the deal.

Spiritual Tools To Wake Up For Fajr

ALLAH CREATED EARTH FOR US

"He (Allah) is the Creator of the heavens and the earth..." (Surat ash-Shura: 11)


Allah is the One Who created earth, the Sun, stars and Moon. So how did all the living things on earth come into being? Imagine a huge planet with its surface completely empty. There are no humans or animals, no plants or insects.

Earth has been decorated in a lot of detail for living things to survive. Allah is the One Who has given earth all these details. Otherwise none of us would have been able to live, neither you, nor your parents, or indeed any of your friends would have been here.

Let's consider how Allah created the earth so that living things can survive:

1. Think about… how orderly everything in the universe is. The sun has been put in the exact position from which it could warm us and give us light at the same time. If there were no sun, there would not have been one living thing on earth. Neither us, nor the animals nor any other creatures would have been able to live.

2. Allah has also distanced the sun from earth to just the right extent. If earth was a little bit closer to the sun, the heat would have scorched it and we would not have been able to live. If earth was a little more distant from the sun, then glaciers would have covered it and again, few living things would have been able to survive. This is one of the reasons why there is no life on other planets, because they are either too close to the sun or too distant from it.

3. As you know, living things need to breathe in order to live. We need oxygen in the air so that we can breathe. Exactly the right amount of oxygen exists in the air so that human beings can breathe. If there were a little bit more or a little bit less, neither we, nor the animals, nor the plants would have survived, because, as we have already said, we need to breathe in order to live. For this we need oxygen.

4. One of the most important things that make it possible for us to survive is water. No organism can live without water. For this reason, Allah has created some parts of earth as water. Three quarters of earth's surface is covered with water. However, there is no water on any of the other planets nor is there any water on the moon that you see at night. The essentials for living things are only available on earth.

Many events on earth make it possible for us to live. If even only one of these events doesn't take place, no living thing would be left on earth. So, is it possible that these thousands of events have come together spontaneously and formed such a place as earth? Of course not. Not even one of these events could happen by chance. Allah has created earth for human beings. And, because of this, earth is the most suitable place for us.


Harun Yahya

People of the book are one another's trusted friends

Islam is the religion of peace, love and compassion. However, nowadays certain circles are trying to give Islamic morality the wrong image. The religion of Islam commands people to create an "abode of peace and well-being" on the face of the Earth, but those circles try to show the opposite of this as if there was a conflict between followers of other religions and Muslims. However, the view Islamic morality takes of Jews and Christians known in the Qur'an as the "People of the Book" is extremely just and merciful. God makes this known in the Qur'an as follows:

God does not forbid you from being good to those who have not fought you in the religion or driven you from your homes, or from being just towards them. God loves those who are just. (Qur'an, 60:8)
Only argue with the People of the Book in the kindest way - except in the case of those of them who do wrong - saying, "We believe in what has been sent down to us and what was sent down to you. Our God and your God are one and we submit to Him." (Qur'an, 29:46)

The Qur'an states that there are those among the People of the Book who are sincere in their belief:

Among the People of the Book there are some who believe in God and in what has been sent down to you and what was sent down to them, and who are humble before God. They do not sell God's signs for a paltry price. Such people will have their reward with their Lord. And God is swift at reckoning. (Qur'an, 3:199)
... There is a community among the People of the Book who are upright. They recite God's signs throughout the night, and they prostrate. They believe in God and the Last Day, and enjoin the right and forbid the wrong, and compete in doing good. They are among the righteous. You will not be denied the reward for any good thing you do. God knows those who guard against evil. (Qur'an, 3:113-115)
Those who believe and those who are Jews and the Sabaeans and the Christians, all who believe in God and the Last Day and act rightly will feel no fear and will know no sorrow. (Qur'an, 5:69)

In the books of truth sent by God as guidance to His people, a community model is described that is based on love, peace, compassion and justice. For example, in the Qur'an God tells that the Torah brought down to the Jews is a guidance for people:
We sent down the Torah containing guidance and light, and the prophets who had submitted themselves gave judgment by it for the Jews - as did their scholars and their rabbis - by what they had been allowed to preserve of God's Book to which they were witnesses... (Qur'an, 5:44)
The arguments and conflicts between Jews, Christians and Muslims based on historical problems, prejudices, misunderstandings and misapprehensions should be put to an end once and for all. Followers of all three religions should live in mutual understanding and compassion. What is important is to bring up points in common rather than differences, to be helpful rather than troublesome, constructive rather than destructive, cooperative rather than obstructive, integral rather than separate, and to cause unity rather than segregation. In the Qur'an God makes known as follows this responsibility of the believers:

Those who do not believe are the friends and protectors of one another. If you do not act in this way there will be turmoil in the land and great corruption. (Qur'an, 8:73)

God has ordered the believers to be the peacemakers and protectors of peace on Earth. He has condemned those who disturb peace on Earth, declare war without just cause (such as defense or salvation from oppression), disrupters, and killers of innocent people. Our Lord has ordered believers to create a world where all people can live in peace and it is one of the important responsibilities to ensure peace and security for mankind.
At the root of wars, conflicts and all forms of corruption is man's distancing from the true religious moral values. Sometimes the perverse interpretations of certain individuals allegedly in the name of religion can influence people who have insufficient knowledge of the true religious ethic. And this may cause them to commit acts that are totally inappropriate in terms of religious ethic. The solidarity of the believers gains importance in the face of people who believe in the necessity of solving disagreements and problems by violent means, those who persecute people with oppressive and despotic implementations.
Every Christian, Muslim or Jewish believer is obliged to do his utmost to strive to this end. It is right for those Muslims, Jews and Christians who believe in one God, who try to gain His approval, who have surrendered to Him, whose hearts are bound to Him, who praise Him, and who essentially defend the same values, to act in partnership. Sincere believers should unite in order to live according to the moral values of religion, prevent the disasters caused by irreligion, struggle intellectually against atheism and materialism.
Prejudices arising from ignorance or the provocations of those who are against the religious moral values should be banished. Jews, Christians and Muslims should try to cooperate to spread the high moral values on Earth. This cooperation should be built on the founding principles of love, respect, compassion, understanding, harmony and cooperation. It is necessary to consider the immediate need for action, and to keep far away from elements that can lead to conflict, argument and dissidence. In the Qur'an the Muslims' call to the People of the Book for unity is made known as follows:

Say: "People of the Book! Come to a proposition which is the same for us and you - that we should worship none but God and not associate any partners with Him and not take one another as lords besides God." (Qur'an, 3:64)

The biological clock in plants

Many plants have a biological clock containing details of their own structure and other life forms that assist them with pollination and that bears a literal resemblance to a computer. The existence of this biological clocks points to a single reality, the fact of Creation.

The ability to measure time is an ability that one does not usually expect to see in other living things other than man. It may be thought that this is limited to man, but both plants and animals possess a time-measuring mechanism, or "biological clock."

In the 1920s, when two scientists in Germany, Erwin Buenning and Kurt Stem, were studying the movement of bean plant leaves, they saw that the plants were moving their leaves towards the sun throughout the day, and that at night they were gathering their leaves vertically upwards and assuming a sleeping position.

Some 200 years before these two scientists published their findings, the French astronomer Jacques d'Ortuous de Marian had also observed that plants possessed such a regular sleep rhythm. Experiments in a dark environment where temperature and moisture were controlled showed that this situation did not change, and that plants possessed systems inside themselves which measure time.

Under natural conditions, plants select certain times for certain activities. They do this in line with certain changes in the sunlight. Because their internal clocks are tuned to sunlight, they complete their rhythmic activities in 24 hours. In other cases, there are some rhythms which are much longer than 24 hours.

No matter how long the rhythmic motions last, there is one point that does not change. These motions happen to ensure the life of the plant and the survival of the generations, and always take place at the most appropriate time. And in order for them to be successful, several complicated processes have to be completed in a flawless manner.

For example, in most plants flowers open at a particular time of year, i.e. at the best possible time. Plants' clocks, which regulate this time, also calculate the duration of sunlight falling on the leaves. Every plant's biological clock calculates this period in accordance with the plant's particular features. No matter what the calculation, the flowers open at the most appropriate time. As a result of research into the regulation of time in the soya bean, it was seen that, at whatever time these plants are sown, they open their flowers at the same time of year.

Plants use this perfect sense of timing in many of their functions, not just opening flowers. For example, it causes the time the poppy flower disperses its pollen to coincide with the days and hours when pollinators are most prevalent. And these days and hours vary from plant to plant. But at the end of the day, with this time regulation, every plant disperses its pollen in a manner guaranteed to give the best results. Poppy flowers disperse their pollen in July and August between 05:30 and 10:00 in the morning. That is the time is that bees and other insects emerge to look for food. At this point the flower has to include in its calculation not just its own characteristics, but also those of other living things, down to the finest detail. The plant must have accurate knowledge of the time when the creatures which will fertilize it emerge, the length of the journey they will undertake, and the times they feed. In such a situation the following question comes to mind: Where in the plant is this clock, which possesses all this "information," which does all the necessary calculations, analyses the features of other creatures, and works in a way reminiscent of a computer centre? Scientists believe that biological clocks in living things other than plants generally come into existence as an effect of the pituitary gland. But where the perfect time measuring system is in plants is still a mystery to them.

This clearly indicates a superior intelligence and power which establishes and controls the timing of all plants' different activities.

The biological clock in plants is just one of the countless miracles of Creation. The theory of evolution on the other hand, which irrationally maintains that life emerged by chance, conflicts with scientific truths and tries to find support for its claims by building various fantasies. This is a reality that evolutionists admit from time to time.The famous, Nobel prize-winning evolutionist Dr. Robert Milikan admits the evolutionists’s predicament;

"The pathetic thing is that we have scientists who are trying to prove evolution, which no scientist can ever prove. (SBS Vital topics, David B. Loughran, April 1996, Stewarton, Scotland, URL:http://www.rmplc.co.uk/eduweb/sites/sbs777/vital/evolutio.html)

God shows us proofs of His creation with His superior power and infinite knowledge everywhere, and expects us to reflect and draw conclusions from them. As stated in the Qur’an, only people capable of using their intellects can think and learn and thus know and appreciate our Lord in the best possible way.

“It is He Who sends down water from the sky. From it you drink and from it come the shrubs among which you graze your herds. And by it He makes crops grow for you and olives and dates and grapes and fruit of every kind. There is certainly a Sign in that for people who reflect.” (Sura An-Nahl, 10-11)

The leaves we eat

Contrary to what most people think, providing the necessary oxygen for life is not the only function of leaves. A significant part of what we eat, drink and inhale is also produced by leaves. The vegetables whose leaves and stalks we eat and the beverages with various aromas and flavors, steeped from dried leaves that we drink are important parts of our daily diets. In addition to being a food source containing vitamins such as C, A, thiamine, niacin, and folic acid, leafy vegetables offer varying amounts of minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, iron, sodium and potassium. Enriched with the fiber in their structure, and containing little fat and few calories, vegetables are specially created for a healthy human diet. That is why doctors regard the consumption of fruit and vegetables as essential for good health. As blessings created for human beings, many of the plants found in nature contain substances used in the treatment of various ailments, from headaches to cancer.

Some 20 amino acids serve as building blocks in the human body. The body is unable to synthesize eight of these on its own, for which reason they have to be absorbed through the foods we eat. All vegetables contain these amino acids in varying degrees. With their structures specially created for the human body, these plants have no side effects and do no harm when consumed properly. They merely bestow health and meet our dietary needs.

The leaves we eat every day, the flowers that adorn our tables and delight us with their appearance, have been specially created, both in terms of shape and flavor. The rich leaves in vegetables such as cabbage (Brassica oleracea), for example, retain their freshness for long periods. Even if the outer leaves wilt, it takes a long time for the inner ones to do so. There are large quantities of calcium and Vitamins A, C, B1, B2 and B12 in such plants. In addition they contain carbohydrate, cellulose, protein and useful salts that are essential for human body also they are low in calories.

Another example of the healthful leaves that we eat is spinach, which contains high levels of Vitamins A, B1, B2, C and K, substances such as proteins and cellulose, and large quantities of iron. No matter which vegetable one takes as an example—chard, purslane, lettuce, artichoke, cauliflower or broccoli—all are marvels of design with their shapes, ease of cultivation and nutrient-storage capacity. In addition, each one is a nutritional blessing with its characteristic flavors and contents that have been specially created for human beings.

Along with these vegetables we eat, there are also leaves we use to add flavors to whatever we eat and drink. A large number of these leaves serve as special natural medicines created for us by Allah. For instance, parsley is one of these, rich in vitamins, especially Vitamin C. Thyme is another scented dried leaf which has been used very often against various ailments and infectious diseases since very ancient times.

Modern research has shown that thyme is an antiseptic, whose oil is a powerful germ killer. Thyme oil, known as thymol, is widely employed in the manufacture of drugs. In addition to its other nutritional properties, thyme is used in the treatment of flu, colds and angina, as well as improving the appetites of sick children and as a restorative for convalescents.

There are so many therapeutic herbs—including bay, basil, tarragon, dill, marjoram and mint—that encyclopedias on the subject mention more than a thousand varieties of such plants and their superior properties. These plants, which are recently being re-evaluated, are being used in the search for cures for a variety of diseases from cancer to rheumatism, from skin disorders to hoarseness.

Leaves whose teas we drink, such as sage, camomile and bergamot, are among these plants used not just for their taste, but for their therapeutic health-giving properties. For example, sage has the Latin name of Salvia salvatrix, or life-saving herb. This plant, used as an antiseptic, soothes and prevents night sweats, flu, nervous disorders and tension.

Plants’ health-giving properties are the clearest evidence that Allah created them as a blessing for human beings. The fact that a nutrient can be eaten; stores substances that benefit only human beings; can be grown abundantly, widely and easily enough to serve all of mankind, who need not labor too hard to enjoy all its benefits are some of Allah’s great miracles. In the Qur’an, Allah reveals this blessing to thinking people:


It is He Who created you. Yet among you are those who are disbelievers and those who are believers. Allah sees what you do. He created the heavens and the earth with truth and formed you, giving you the best of forms. And He is your final destination. He knows everything in the heavens and earth. He knows what you keep secret and what you divulge. Allah knows what the heart contains. (Surat at-Taghabun: 2-4)

Harun Yahya

"Our Lord!" (they say), "Let not our hearts deviate now after Thou hast guided us, but grant us mercy from Thine own Presence; for Thou art the Grantor of bounties without measure." (3:8)
رَبَّنَا لَا تُزِغْ قُلُوبَنَا بَعْدَ إِذْ هَدَيْتَنَا وَهَبْ لَنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ رَحْمَةً ۚ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ الْوَهَّابُ

Ameen !!

THE DEPRESSIONS OF THE FAITHLESS SOCIETY

THE DEPRESSIONS OF THE FAITHLESS SOCIETY- Harun Yahya

God declares in the Qur'an that He has created mankind according to a certain disposition in the verse: "So set you your face steadily and truly to the Faith: (establish) God's handiwork according to the pattern on which He has made mankind." (Surat al-Room, 30). The disposition of mankind relies on being a servant to God and having faith in Him. Since man is unable to meet his unlimited wishes and needs by himself, he naturally needs to humble himself before God and turn to Him.

If the individual lives in accordance with this disposition, he attains true confidence, peace, happiness and salvation. If he denies this disposition and turns away from God, he spends his life in distress, fear, anxiety and grief.

This rule, which is true for man, also holds true for societies. If a society is comprised of people who believe in God, it becomes a just, peaceful, happy and wise society. Unquestionably, the opposite also holds true. If a society is unaware of God, then the order of such a community is basically ruined, corrupt and primitive.

When societies that have turned away from God are examined, this fact is readily seen. One of the most important results of irreligious thought is the abolishment of the concept of morality and the development of completely corrupt societies. Transgressing religious and moral bounds, and catering exclusively to the satisfaction of human wishes, this culture is a system of oppression in the fullest sense of the word. In such a system, all sorts of degeneracies from sexual perversion to drug addiction are encouraged. Eventually, societies that are devoid of human love and are egoistic, ignorant, shallow and nonsensical have grown up.

In a society where people live only for the satisfaction of their own desires, it surely is not possible to maintain peace, love and amity. In such a society, human relations depend on mutual interests. An extreme feeling of distrust prevails. When there is no reason for one to be sincere, honest, reliable or well-behaved, nothing stands in the way of dissimulation, falsehood, or betrayal. The members of such societies have "cast God away behind their backs (with contempt)" (Surah Hud, 92) and thus never acknowledged the fear of God. Since they cannot "make a just estimate of God", they are unmindful of the day of judgement and the day of account. For them, hell is nothing more than an idea appearing in religious books. None of them think that they shall have to give an account of themselves in the presence of God after their death for all the sins they have committed during their lives in this world, or that they may ultimately be doomed to an eternal life of torment in Hell.
Even if they do think about it, they suppose that they will enter paradise after they "pay for their sins", as it is expressed in this verse:

This because they say 'The Fire shall not touch us but for a few numbered days': For their forgeries deceive them as to their own religion. (Surat Al-e-Imran, 24)

Thus they are led to spend their lives doing their best to satisfy their own desires and needs.

This situation naturally brings on the ethical degeneration and moral collapse that we see in many societies today. In their own reasoning they suppose "we have come into this world but once and will live for only 50-60 years and then die, so let us get the best of things here". The thought system based on this erroneous reasoning may bring with it all kinds of injustice, prostitution, theft, crime and immorality. One subscribing to it may become involved in all kinds of crime, homicide, or fraud. When every individual thinks of nothing but the satisfaction of his own needs and desires, everyone else--including his family and friends--have secondary importance. Other individuals in society have no importance whatsoever.

In a social structure that rests on interest relations to a large degree, the mutual distrust of people hinders the formation of peace both at the social and individual level and it causes people to live permanently in a state of doubt, unease and irresolution. Not knowing by whom, when or how misdeeds will be committed in such a society, people live spiritually in a condition of great fear and distress. General distrust and suspicion cause them to lead very unhappy lives. In a society where all kinds of moral values are disregarded, the outlook of people on notions such as family, honesty and chastity is quite alarming, for they have no fear of God.

In such societies, the lives of people do not rely on mutual love and respect. Its members feel no need to show respect to each other. They do not display a caring attitude to each other without a good cause. Actually, they are quite right, in terms of their ignorant reasoning, in behaving this way. They are taught throughout their lives that they have evolved from animals and that their souls will be lost forever upon their death.
They therefore deem it meaningless to respect a body of ape origin that will rot under the earth and that they will never see again. In their corrupt logic, "all the others as well as themselves are to die and be buried under the earth, their bodies will decay and their souls will vanish.
So why would they bother to do good to other people, and be self-sacrificing?" Indeed, these thoughts permeate the subconscious of everyone who has no belief in God or, therefore, in the hereafter. In societies with no belief in God, there is no basis for peace, happiness, or confidence.

The purpose of all we have said is not to suggest that "degeneration occurs in societies where there is no belief in God, therefore there must be belief in God." God must be believed in because God exists and whoever denies Him commits a great sin before Him. Our intention in noting that societies where belief in God does not exist become corrupt is to emphasise that the fundamental viewpoints of these societies are wrong. Wrong viewpoints lead to ill consequences. A society that commits the biggest sin of denying God, is sure to suffer the worst outcomes. These outcomes are worthy of attention because they show how mistaken this society is.

The common characteristic of such societies is their being deceived as a whole. As stated in the verse, "Were you to follow the common run of those on earth, they will lead you away from the way of God." (Surat al-Anaam, 116), that most of society share a common character creates a "mass" psychology that reinforces the already-existing disbelief. God describes such societies that are unmindful of Him and the Hereafter as "ignorant" in the Qur'an. Even though the members of this society may study physics, history, biology or similar sciences, they do not have the sense and conscience to acknowledge the power and might of God. And they are ignorant in that sense.

Because the members of an ignorant society are not devoted to God, they go astray from His path in different ways. They follow people who are incompetent servants of God just like themselves, taking them as examples and adhering to their ideas as absolute truths. Ultimately an ignorant society ends up a closed society that increasingly blinds itself, becoming further and further divorced from reason and conscience. As we have stated at the beginning, the most notable aspect of this system is that members of such a society act in consonance with anti-religious indoctrination.

God describes in the Qur'an with a striking parable how such a life, resting upon a vain and corrupt basis, is destined to be ruined:
Which then is best? He that lays his foundation on piety to God and His good pleasure? Or he that lays his foundation on an undermined sand-cliff ready to crumble to pieces? And it does crumble to pieces with him, into the fire of hell. And God does not guide people that do wrong. (Surat at-Tawba, 109)

There is yet another point to be remembered: every society and every person has the opportunity to be rid of the indoctrination, way of life and philosophy of ignorance. God sends them messengers who warn them and inform them of the existence of God and the hereafter and who tell them the real meaning of life. And along with His messengers He sends righteous books that answer all the questions that are derived from the very conscience of people. This is the law of God that has existed since eternity. In our day, the guide of all people is the Qur'an, which shows the right way and leads people from darkness to light. People will be judged according to their own preferences. The messenger who brought the book to people thus called out to them:

Say: "O you men! Now Truth has reached you from your Lord! Those who receive guidance, do so for the good of their own souls; those who stray, do so to their own loss: and I am not (set) over you to arrange your affairs. (Surah Yunus, 108)

Harun Yahya(An invitation to the truth)