The Story Of ZamZam

Allah Knows by Zain Bhikha

Darwinists, fire at will!

Darwinists have recently been chasing around after fossils discovered decades ago. They keep looking for fossils that “they can suggest as transitional forms.” First, they trumpeted the fossil Ida, discovered in 1983, as the eighth wonder of the world. When this resulted in a fiasco they quickly retracted all their claims about Ida. The new star of the show is ARDI.

ARDI (Ardipithecus ramidus), discovered in 1994, was recently heralded as a glorious discovery 15 years later. Darwinists again claimed that they had discovered that long sought after and fictitious missing link. The Darwinist press went straight to work. Within a few days there was almost nowhere that the name ARDI could not be seen. The same deceptive techniques for the last 150 years were used. Darwinist propaganda functioned totally as planned and everything was conducted according to the rules of the Darwinist dictatorship.

It was first claimed that the life form was a perfect missing ink. They said “It walked upright, despite being 4.4 million years old.” Robot drawings were produced, and these were then animated in a computer environment. The image of an ape walking upright with sure steps appeared in all Darwinist publications. The visual part of the propaganda was complete. All that remained was demagoguery. And since Darwinists were well acquainted with demagoguery, that was soon resolved. The techniques of Darwinist propaganda had been applied with no interruptions.

The only thing that Darwinists had failed to include in their calculations was that this ruse would inevitably be exposed. The field was not empty as it had been before. They never imagined that the ARDI deception would inevitably emerge into the light of day.
DR. OKTAR BABUNA EXPLAINS THE ARDI FOSSIL DECEPTION LIVE ON AL JAZEERA TV
(October 3, 2009)




As with All Their Transitional Fossil Tales, Darwinists Are Deceiving People with Regard to ARDI:

As we have already made clear many times before, Darwinists use the following technique when it comes to the fictitious evolution of man: they take an extinct gorilla or chimpanzee. That is easy for Darwinists because only 120 OUT OF THE 6000 APE SPECIES THAT ONCE EXISTED ARE STILL ALIVE TODAY. In other words, the fossil remains from 5880 ape species are perfect tools for Darwinist speculation. Darwinists generally invent highly primitive scenarios using these fossils, making claims such as “all right, it is a monkey, but its thumb is bent and the soles of its feet are curved, meaning it is turning into a human being.” The scenario is totally illogical, but these illogical accounts may appear quite convincing to people with no knowledge of the subject when published in world famous Darwinist publications, when adorned with scientific terminology nobody can comprehend, and when those who espouse them are professors blindly devoted to Darwinism, in other words, when a lie is repeated over and over again. Darwinists thus take advantage of people’s lack of knowledge, the influence of the media and propaganda techniques, and have been engaged in this base strategy for many years now.

In the case of ARDI, Darwinists produced an identical copy of the BONOBO rather than an extinct species. And they said, “all right, it is an ape, but it stands upright!” Darwinists are deceiving people with this claim. They have found the firing range empty and are free to fire at will.


ARDI

The Idea that ARDI Walked Upright Is a Terrible Deception:

Found in 1994, the fossil skeleton was broken up when first discovered. So much so that when paleontologists first picked up the fossilized bone fragments they were highly brittle. Paleontologists investigating the fossil said, from pictures taken when it was first discovered, that the pelvis in particular looked like a stew and that the bones would need “reconstruction” millimeter by millimeter. In line with that decision, Darwinists took millimetric fragments of uncertain shape and constructed the kind of pelvis they wanted out of them.

A living thing’s posture is a complex issue that can be determined through the structure of the pelvis and the ratios between various other structures in the body. In order for an upright posture to be established, the pelvic bone has to be examined with millimetric and certain measurements, and the angles between the pelvic bone, the femur and the knee bones have to be determined using an exact and very fine calculation.

It is impossible for the delicate calculations in question to be made in this fossil, more than half of which was missing and whose pelvis had been totally reconstructed. It is very easy, however, for the fossil to be set out in such a way as to show its owner walking upright.

Any paleontologist can arrange the fragments in question and then interpret the resulting new fossil as he or she wishes. This was noted in an article about ARDI in Time magazine:
“Indeed, looking at the evidence, different paleoanthropologists may have different interpretations of how Ardi moved...” [1]
In addition, ARDI’s well preserved foot structure totally repudiates Darwinists on the subject. The inward-pointing big toe on ARDI’s feet and the lack of arched feet that human beings have are some of the clearest proofs that this life form did not walk upright. The BBC web site said in a report on ARDI that on the basis of the evidence in question “she could not walk or run for long distances.” [2] A report on the National Geographic web site said that “Ardi would have walked on her palms as she moved about in the trees.” [3]

Darwinists selected a fossil to speculate on 15 years after its discovery. The fossil subjected to that speculation must be one that fully supports the scenario of upright gait on which Darwinists have pinned their hopes. And since there is no available transitional fossil, the ideal subject for speculation, for Darwinists, is a FRAGMENTED fossil.

That is what ARDI made possible for Darwinists: They took the fragmented fossil, arranged it as they chose and engaged in such speculation as they wished. And that is how Darwinist deception works.

Why 15 Years Later?

Because Darwinists realized they had been routed. The last few years in particular have been a time when Darwinists have suffered a great and very powerful collapse. The techniques of Darwinist deception have been exposed, the absence of any transitional fossils has been made clear, and Darwinist frauds have been unmasked. But most important of all, 250 MILLION FOSSILS THAT ALL PROVE CREATION HAVE EMERGED. The Atlas of Creation has dealt Darwinists the heaviest blow of all. Today there is no-one, Darwinist included, who is unaware THAT NOT A SINGLE TRANSITIONAL FOSSIL EXISTS. Darwinists are therefore in a state of stunned shock.

As a result of that great shock, they are frantically looking for a way out, pulling fossils of PERFECT LIFE FORMS DATING BACK 15-20 years from their drawers and writing tall tales about them. This Darwinist wriggling is the clearest sign of the rout they have suffered. The nonsense produced on the basis of an ordinary fossil ape or lemur also documents that fact. But the fact is that the theory of evolution requires the existence not of 1, 3 or a dozen TRANSITIONAL FOSSILS, BUT OF BILLIONS. BUT THERE EXISTS NOT ONE TRANSITIONAL FOSSIL, let alone billions. The reason for this nonsense being peddled by Darwinists is their defeat and state of despair.




[1] Michael D. Lemonick and Andrea Dorfman, "Excavating Ardi: A New Piece for the Puzzle of Human Evolution," Time magazine (October 1, 2009).
[2] http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8285180.stm
[3] Jamie Shreeve, “Oldest Skeleton of Human Ancestor Found,” National Geographic magazine (October 1, 2009).

Why the Turkish-Islamic Union Is Necessary

The Turkish-Islamic Union is a union of love. It is a union of affection, a union of hearts. The basis of this union are love, altruism, helping others, compassion, tolerance and understanding. The aim of the union is also to achieve the highest levels in respect for human beings and in art, science and technology. Once the union is established, not just Turkish societies and Muslims, but the whole world, will attain enlightenment.
· What truly makes the believers' union so strong is their faith and loyalty. Only genuine faith can engender true friendship and alliance. Muslims love one another with a pure heart and for the good pleasure of Allah, without the slightest selfish interest. A union built on the strongest foundation known to humanity—the fear and love of Allah—will never shatter, unless Allah wills otherwise.
· The Turkish-Islamic Union will bring peace to the world. The Turkish-Islamic Union will first and foremost resolve the disputes between Muslim countries and bring peace to the Islamic world; it will also oppose all those movements that incite war and conflict in the world as a whole, and will be a force capable of preventing all initiatives aimed at provoking war.
· With the founding of the Turkish-Islamic Union, America, Europe, China, Russia, Israel and in short the whole world will breathe easier. Terror will come to an end, distribution of raw materials will be guaranteed, the economic and social order will be protected and cultural conflicts will disappear entirely. America will no longer have to send troops to lands thousands of kilometers away, Israel will no longer live behind walls, the countries of the EU will encounter no economic barriers, Russia will have no more security concerns and China will have no trouble finding raw materials.
· With the founding of the Turkish-Islamic Union, the West’s defense spending will fall. With its $400 billion military budget, the United States of America heads the armament list. Russia follows the USA with $60 billion, and China follows Russia with $42 billion. The Turkish-Islamic Union will give rise to a climate of global peace and security by eradicating all conflict and tensions regarding the Islamic world, and will also lead to a reduction in military spending, not just in Muslim countries, but on the part of a great many countries of the world. Investment in arms technology and money spent on weapons development will thus be diverted to such spheres as education, medicine, science and culture.
· Freedom of ideas and expression are inherent in the Turkish-Islamic Union. People holding all kinds of beliefs and views will be able to express their ideas free from pressure and obstruction. These people’s rights will be protected by all means and everyone’s ideas will be met with toleration. Under the leadership of the Turkish-Islamic Union, Muslim societies will be communities in which people respect one another’s views, communities will be dominated by equality, justice and freedom, and oppression and injustice will be banished. The Islamic world will not bring peace and security to Muslims alone, but will play a leading role in global culture and civilization.
· The Turkish-Islamic Union will revitalize trade and strengthen the economy. Union among Muslim countries in the economic, political and cultural arenas will permit the less developed to make rapid progress and those countries which already possess the requisite means and infrastructure to use these as efficiently as possible. Economic growth and investment in science and technology will rise. With economic development will come a natural rise in education levels, and society will make progress on a number of fronts.
· The Turkish-Islamic Union will cause regeneration throughout the Muslim world. Thanks to the Islamic common market to be set up, products from one country will be easily marketed in another, without becoming caught up in quotas or national frontiers. Trade zones will grow, all Muslim countries will enjoy an increase in market share, exports will rise, leading to an acceleration of industrialization in Muslim countries, and economic development will lead to technological advances.
· A Turkic-Islamic world with a powerful economy will be a major cause of prosperity for the Western world and other societies. These societies will find a power with which they can co-operate and engage in mutual trade with no feelings of concern. In addition, the funds that Western institutions and organizations constantly pour in for the region to regenerate will no longer be required, and these funds will be used to strengthen the global economy instead.
· With the founding of the Turkish-Islamic Union, energy resources will be guaranteed. Under the Turkish-Islamic Union, peace and stability will prevail in regions with rich underground reserves, and the democratic system will function in a most well-ordered manner there. A model will thus emerge in which these resources are used in the most efficient manner, and neither Islamic countries nor other communities will be disadvantaged. This, in turn, will make stable and balanced political policies possible in those matters of particular importance in maintaining global economic stability, particularly oil production and prices.
· The Turkish-Islamic Union will encourage art and build a magnificent civilization. Peace and security will take hold, economic problems will be resolved in the Turkic-Islamic world, and a massive cultural advancement will take place, for there will be growing budgets for education, science, and culture. As friendship and fraternal feelings will prosper, people will find more time to reflect and conduct research, and they will be more free-thinking and open-minded when they do so. Environments free of chaos, destitution, and troubles are places in which new ideas take shape, new products emerge, beneficial inventions are made, and continuing progress is achieved. The Turkish-Islamic Union will create such an environment throughout the Islamic world.

ISLAM HAS BROUGHT PEACE AND HARMONY TO THE MIDDLE EAST ALL THROUGH HISTORY

HARUN YAHYA

Palestine, and particularly Jerusalem at its heart, has been holy for Muslims since the beginning of the history of Islam. Muslims' seeing Palestine as holy has enabled them to bring peace and harmony to the region. We shall be considering some historical instances of this in this article.

There are two fundamental reasons why Jerusalem is holy for Muslims: It is the first direction to which Muslims used to turn to pray. Furthermore, what can be seen as one of Prophet Mohammed's greatest miracles, his ascent to heaven, was from Masjid al-Haram to Masjid al-Aqsa, in other words from Mecca to Jerusalem. This fact is revealed in the Koran in these terms:

Glory be to Him who took His slave on a journey by night from the Masjid al-Haram to the Masjid al-Aqsa, whose surroundings We have blessed, in order to show him some of Our Signs. He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing. (Surat al-Isra: 1)

In stories about the Prophets in the Koran, those holy verses that discuss Palestinian lands refer to them as 'blessed lands' and 'holy lands.' In the above verse about the ascent to heaven, Masjid al-Aqsa is described as a land 'whose surroundings We have blessed.' In Surat al-Anbiya, in which the migration of the prophets Abraham and Lot is recounted, the same territory is described as 'a land We have blessed.' All Palestinian soil, where many prophets from the tribe of Israel have lived, fought in the path of God, and been martyred or died and buried, is holy for Muslims.

Consequently, Muslims have brought "blessings", i.e. peace and security to Jerusalem and Palestine over the last 1,400 years.

The Peace and Justice brought to Palestine by Khalif Omar

Jerusalem was the capital of the Jews until A.D. 71. In that year, the Roman Army made a major assault on the Jews, and exiled them from the area after great savagery. As the time of the Jewish diaspora began, Jerusalem and its surrounding area was becoming an abandoned land.

However, Jerusalem once again became a center of interest with the acceptance of Christianity during the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine. Roman Christians built churches in Jerusalem. The prohibitions on Jews settling in the region were lifted. Palestine remained Roman (Byzantine) territory up until the 7th century. The Persians conquered the region for a short time, but the Byzantines later reconquered it.

An important turning point in the history of Palestine came in the year 637, when it was conquered by the armies of Islam. This meant the genesis of a period of peace and harmony in Palestine, which had for centuries been the scene of wars, exiles, looting and massacre, and which saw new brutality every time it changed hands, a frequent occurrence. The coming of Islam was the beginning of an age when people of different beliefs in Palestine could live in peace and harmony.

Palestine was captured by Omar, the second caliph after the Prophet himself. The entry of Omar into Jerusalem, the incredible tolerance, maturity and kindness he showed towards people of different beliefs, introduced the beautiful age that was beginning. The British historian and Middle East expert Karen Armstrong describes the capture of Jerusalem by Omar in these terms in her book Holy War:

The Caliph Omar entered Jerusalem mounted on a white camel, escorted by the magistrate of the city, the Greek Patriarch Sophronius. The Caliph asked to be taken immediately to the Temple Mount and there he knelt in prayer on the spot where his friend Mohammed had made his Night Journey. The Patriarch watched in horror: this, he thought, must be the Abomination of Desolation that the Prophet Daniel had foretold would enter the Temple; this must be Antichrist who would herald the Last Days. Next Omar asked to see the Christian shrines and, while he was in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the time for Muslim prayer came round. Courteously the Patriarch invited him to pray where he was, but Omar as courteously refused. If he knelt to pray in the church, he explained, the Muslims would want to commemorate the event by erecting a mosque there, and that would mean that they would have to demolish the Holy Sepulchre. Instead Omar went to pray at a little distance from the church, and, sure enough, directly opposite the Holy Sepulchre there is still a small mosque dedicated to the Caliph Omar.

The other great mosque of Omar was erected on the Temple Mount to mark the Muslim conquest, together with the mosque al-Aqsa which commemorates Mohammed's Night Journey. For years, the Christians had used to the site of the ruined Jewish Temple as the city rubbish dump. The Caliph helped his Muslims to clear the garbage with his own hands and there Muslims raised their two shrines to establish Islam in the third most holy city in the Islamic world. [1]

In short, Muslims brought 'civilization' to Jerusalem and all of Palestine. Instead of barbaric beliefs that showed no respect for other peoples' sacred values, and which killed them simply out of differences of belief, there reigned the just, tolerant and moderate culture of Islam. After its capture by Omar, Muslims, Christians and Jews lived together in peace and harmony in Palestine. Muslims never tried to use force to make people convert, although some non-Muslims did so of their own free will.

The peace and harmony in Palestine lasted as long as Muslim rule in the region. However, at the end of the 11th century, an invader entered the region from abroad, and the civilized land of Jerusalem was barbarically and savagely plundered, in a way never before seen. These barbarians were the Crusaders.

A historical testimony of Muslim tolerance to the Christians: Muslim Dome of the Rock next to the Christian Church.

The Savagery of the Crusaders

Crusaders plundered Jerusalem and killed all its non-Christian inhabitants.
While members of all three religions were living in peace and harmony in Palestine, the Christians in Europe decided to organize the 'Crusades.' Following a call by Pope Urban II on 25 November 1095 at the Council of Clermont, more than 100,000 people from all over Europe set out for Palestine to 'Free the Holy land from the Muslims' and find the fabled wealth of the East. After a long and wearying journey, and much plundering and slaughter of Muslims, they reached Jerusalem in 1099. The city fell after a siege of nearly five weeks, and the Crusaders moved in. And they carried out a savagery the like of which the world has seldom seen. All Muslims and Jews in the city were put to the sword. In the words of one historian, 'They killed all the Saracens and the Turks they found... whether male of female." [2] One of the Crusaders, Raymond of Aguiles, boasted of this violence:

Wonderful sights were to be seen. Some of our men (and this was more merciful) cut off the heads of their enemies; others shoot them with arrows, so that they fell from the towers; others tortured them longer by casting them into flames. Piles of heads, hands and feet were to be seen in the streets of the city. It was necessary to pick one's way over the bodies of men and horses. But these were small matters compared to what happened at the Temple of Solomon, a place where religious services are normally chanted ... in the temple and the porch of Solomon, men rode in blood up to their knees and bridle reins. [3]

In two days, the Crusader army killed some 40,000 Muslims in the barbaric ways just described. [4] The peace and harmony in Palestine, which had lasted since Omar, ended in terrible slaughter. The Crusaders violated all the ethical laws of Christianity, a religion of love and compassion, and spread terror, allegedly in the name of Christianity.

The Justice of Saladin

The barbaric Crusader army made Jerusalem their capital, and established a Latin Kingdom whose borders stretched from Palestine to Antioch. However, the Crusaders who brought savagery to Palestine did not last long. Saladin gathered all the Muslim kingdoms under his banner in a holy war, and defeated the Crusaders at the battle of Hattin in 1187. After the battle, the two leaders of the crusader army, Reynauld of Chatillon and King Guy, were brought in Saladin's presence. Saladin executed Reynauld of Chatillon, who had won fame with the terrible savagery he had committed against Muslims, but he let King Guy go, as he had not committed the same crimes. Palestine once again saw the true meaning of justice.

Immediately after Hattin, and on the very same day that Prophet Mohammed had been taken from Mecca to Jerusalem in one night, the day of the ascent, Saladin entered Jerusalem and freed it from 88 years of Crusader occupation. When the Crusaders had taken the city 88 years earlier, they had killed all the Muslims inside it, and for that reason they were afraid that Saladin would do the same thing to them. Whereas he did not touch even one Christian in the city. Furthermore, he merely ordered the Latin (Catholic) Christians to leave it. The Orthodox Christians, who were not Crusaders, were allowed to live in the city and live and worship as they chose. The British historian Karen Armstrong describes the second Islamic capture of Jerusalem in these words:

On 2 October 1187 Saladin and his army entered Jerusalem as conquerors and for the next 800 years Jerusalem would remain a Muslim city... Saladin kept his word, and conquered the city according to the highest Islamic ideals. He did not take revenge for the 1099 massacre, as the Koran advised (16:127), and now that hostilities had ceased he ended the killing (2:193-194). Not a single Christian was killed and there was no plunder. The ransoms were deliberately very low...

Saladin was moved to tears by the plight of families who were rent asunder and he released many of them freely, as the Koran urged, though to the despair of his long-suffering treasurers. His brother al-Adil was so distressed by the plight of the prisoners that he asked Saladin for a thousand of them for his own use and then released them on the spot...

When Imad ad-Din saw the Patriarch Heraclius leaving the city with chariots crammed with treasure, he urged Saladin to confiscate it. But Saladin refused. The Koran said that oaths and treaties must be kept to the letter and it was essential that the Muslims should observe the legalities... Heraclius paid his ten-dinar ransom like everybody else and was even provided with a special escort to keep his treasure safe during the journey to Tyre. [5]

In short, Saladin and the Muslims in his command treated the Christians with great mercy and justice, and even showed them more compassion than their own leaders had.


Richard the Lionheart, was not very "noble" at all.
After Jerusalem, the Crusaders continued their barbarity and the Muslims their justice in other cities in Palestine. In 1194, Richard the Lionheart, who is portrayed as a great hero in British history, had 3,000 Muslims, among whom were many women and children, basely executed in Acre Castle. Although the Muslims witnessed this savagery, they never resorted to the same methods. They abided by God's command "Do not let hatred for a people... incite you into going beyond the limits" (Surat al-Ma'ida) and never used violence against innocent civilians. They never employed unnecessary violence, not even against the Crusader armies they defeated.

The savagery of the crusaders and the justice of the Muslims once more revealed a historic truth: Only an administration built on the principles of Islam could allow people of different faiths to live together in Palestine. This fact continued to be demonstrated for 700 years after Saladin, particularly during the Ottoman period.

The Ottoman Empire's Just and Tolerant Rule

In 1514, Sultan Selim captured Jerusalem and the surrounding area, and some 400 years of Ottoman rule in Palestine began. As in other Ottoman states, this period would enable Palestine to enjoy peace, stability, and the living together of different faiths.


The tolerance of Islam continued in the Ottoman Empire. Church, synagogue and the mosque coexisted peacefully.
The Ottoman Empire was administered under what is known as the 'nation (millet) system,' the fundamental feature of which was that people of different faiths were allowed to live according to their own beliefs and even legal systems. Christians and Jews, described as the 'People of the Book' in the Koran, found toleration, security and freedom in Ottoman lands.

The most important reason for this was that although the Ottoman Empire was an Islamic state administered by Muslims, it had no desire to force its citizens to adopt Islam. On the contrary, the Ottoman state aimed at providing peace and security for non-Muslims, and to govern them in such a way that they would be pleased with Islamic rule and justice.

Other major states at the same time had a much cruder, oppressive and intolerant view of government. The Kingdom of Spain could not tolerate the existence of Muslims and Jews on the Spanish peninsula and inflicted great violence on both communities. In many other European countries, Jews were oppressed just for being Jews (for instance they were imprisoned in ghettoes), and were sometimes the victims of mass slaughter (pogroms). Christians could not even get on with one another: the fighting between Protestants and Catholics in the 16th and 17th centuries turned Europe into a lake of blood. The Thirty Years War between 1618 and 1648 was one result of this Catholic-Protestant conflict. As a result of that war, central Europe turned into a battleground, and in Germany alone, one-third of the population of 15 million perished.

In such an environment, it is an indisputably important truth that Ottoman rule was exceedingly humane.

Many historians and political scientists have drawn attention to this fact. One of these is Columbia University's world-famous Middle East expert Professor Edward Said. Himself from a Jerusalem Christian family, he continues his research in American universities. In an interview in the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz he recommended the 'Ottoman nation system' if a permanent peace is to be built in the Middle East. What he said was:

A Jewish minority can survive the way other minorities in the Arab world survived. …it worked rather well under the Ottoman Empire, with its millet system. What they had then seems a lot more humane than what we have now. [6]

Koranic Morality: The Source of Islamic Tolerance

The fundamental reason for the establishment of exceedingly tolerant, just and humane administrations in the Ottoman Empire and other Muslim states is that such government is commanded by the Koran. The reason for the justice and civilization displayed by Omar, Saladin, the Ottoman sultans and many Muslim rulers (and this is accepted by the West today), was their faithfulness to God's commands in the Koran. These are some of the commandments that make up the basis of the Islamic view of government:

God commands you to return to their owners the things you hold on trust and, when you judge between people, to judge with justice. How excellent is what God exhorts you to do! God is All-Hearing, All-Seeing. (Surat an-Nisa : 58)

You who believe! Be upholders of justice, bearing witness for God alone, even against yourselves or your parents and relatives. Whether they are rich or poor, God is well able to look after them. Do not follow your own desires and deviate from the truth. If you twist or turn away, God is aware of what you do. (Surat an-Nisa: 135)

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. (Surat al-Mumtahana: 8)

There is a phrase in politics that 'power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.' This means that everyone who comes by political power becomes somewhat morally corrupted by the opportunities this power brings with it. This really does apply to most people, because they shape their morality in line with social pressure. To put it another way, they avoid immorality because they are afraid of society's disapproval or of punishment. Power gives them strength however, and decreases social pressure. As a result, they become corrupted, or come to easily make concessions regarding morality. If they possess real power, in other words if they rule a nation, they may try all means of satisfying their desires.

The only human model where the 'law of corruption' does not apply is those who sincerely believe in God, who embrace religion out of fear and love of Him, and live according to that religion. Because their morals are not defined by society, not even the most absolute power can affect them. In the Koran, God gave the Prophet David as an example of this ideal ruler, with the way he governed even those who questioned his authority, and the way on the other hand that he prayed with complete submission to God. (Surah Sad: 24)

The fact that the history of Islam is full of just, merciful, humble and mature rulers stems from this morality that God teaches Muslims in the Koran. Since a Muslim ruler fears God, no opportunity that he may be given will make him corrupt, proud or cruel. (Of course rulers who became corrupt and departed from Islamic morality do crop up in the history of Islam, but their numbers and influence were very small).

Conclusion

History reveals that Islam is the only system of belief to offer a just, tolerant and compassionate way of government in the Middle East. The Pax Ottomana, which came to an end with the withdrawal of the Ottoman Empire from the region, has still not been replaced. After the Ottomans, the Middle East first passed into the hands of European colonialists, and then became the target of Israel's policies of occupation and aggression.

There is one fundamental reason for the current conflict in the Middle East: The fact that the sides do not want to make peace. What Israel must do is to abide by U.N. resolution 242 and withdraw to the pre-1967 borders, and recognize and grant the rights of the Palestinian people. What the Palestinians (and other Arabs) should do is to abandon such aims as "pouring Israelis into the sea" and accept living together with the Jews. The most important thing of all is not to dirty just causes with barbaric acts of terrorism against civilians.

In short, in order for there to be peace in the Middle East, both sides have to agree to be moderate and tolerant, and make a genuine effort to rid themselves of Jewish racism (Atheist Zionism) or Arab chauvinism. The vision that is needed for this is hidden in the virtues that Islamic morality has blessed the Middle East over the past centuries.

1- Karen Armstrong, Holy War, MacMillan, London, 1988, p. 30-31
2- Geste Francorum, or the Deeds of the Franks and the Other Pilgrims to Jerusalem, trans. Rosalind Hill, London, 1962, p. 91
3- August C. Krey, The First Crusade: The Accounts of Eye-Witnesses and Participants, Pinceton & London, 1921, p. 261
4- August C. Krey, The First Crusade: The Accounts of Eye-Witnesses and Participants, Pinceton & London, 1921, p. 262
5- Karen Armstrong, Holy War, p. 185
6- 18.8.2000, Ha'aretz Newspaper; MiddleEast.Org, August 2000

DAN TANAMAN PUN BERTASBIH…

Subhanallah! Terjawab sudah makna ayat yang menyatakan bahwa tumbuhan bisa bertasbih dan bersujud kepada Allah Swt


وَالنَّجْمُ وَالشَّجَرُ يَسْجُدَانِ



“Dan tumbuh-tumbuhan dan pohon-pohonan kedua-duanya tunduk kepada-Nya.” (Q.S Ar-Rahman [55]: 6)

Dalam Al-Quran, masih banyak ayat seperti di atas yang menyebut tentang tanaman dan pepohonan bertasbih dan bersujud kepada Allah. Selama ini, ayat-ayat tersebut ditafsirkan hanya sebagai kiasan. Artinya, tumbuhan bersujud dan bertasbih dengan cara tunduk pada hukum alam (sunnatullah).

Tanaman dianggap makhluk tak berjiwa. Mereka yang meyakini tanaman berjiwa akan dicap sebagai penganut animisme atau dinamisme yang musyrik. Sayang sekali, padahal hal itu (konsepsi pohon berjiwa) mengandung isyarat ilmu. Akhirnya, ilmuwan non-muslim lah yang berhasil menemukan fakta ilmiah tumbuhan yang mempunyai jiwa dan kecerdasan.

Richard Karban, ahli ekologi University of California, dalam makalahnya yang berjudul Ecology Letter di tahun 2008 membuktikan bahwa tumbuhan bisa merespon situasi lingkungannya. Mereka bisa berkomunikasi satu sama lain, bahkan juga saling memperebutkan mangsa. Mereka bisa bereaksi sama terhadap stimulus yang pernah dialami. Ini artinya mereka mempunyai memori.

Tanaman pemangsa bisa bergerak secepat 1/30 detik menangkap serangga. Bahkan bunga Morus Alba dapat menyergap mangsa dengan kecepatan kilat Mach 0.5. Tanaman lain bisa bergerak melingkar lebih lambat dalam hitungan beberapa jam.

Tanaman juga ‘berburu’ di bawah tanah dengan akarnya. Long Li, ilmuwan dari China Agricultural University (Beijing), meneliti respon akar kacang yang menyemburkan zat kimia asam untuk mengejar dan menangkap cairan fosfor (yang ia perlukan) di dalam tanah. Ketika serangga jenis tertentu memakan atau melubangi daunnya, tanaman tersebut mengeluarkan berbagai jenis zat kimia yang dapat ‘memanggil’ serangga jenis lain yang merupakan musuh serangga pertama. Bukan hanya itu, tanaman di sekitarnya juta ikut ‘berteriak’ dan membuat pertahanan.

Anthony Trewavas dari University of Edinburgh dalam bukunya mengatakan bahwa tanaman punya kemampuan problem solving. Ini berarti bahwa mereka memiliki kecerdasan. Pada bulan Mei 2009, para peneliti plant neurobiology berkumpul untuk kelima kalinya di Florence (Italia) untuk membahas keberadaan otak pada tumbuhan. Consuelo M De Moraes dari Penn State University menemukan bahwa tanaman bisa membedakan dirinya dari tanaman sejenis. Ini mengindikasikan bahwa tanaman mempunyai kepribadian khas yang membedakannya dengan tanaman (sejenis) lain.

Subhanallah! Terjawab sudah makna ayat yang menyatakan bahwa tumbuhan bisa bertasbih dan bersujud kepada Allah Swt. Shodaqallahul adzim.

BERBAKTI NAMUN TAK BERARTI

Betapa banyak orang yang berpuasa, namun dia tidaklah mendapatkan dari puasanya melainkan hanya dahaga..


”Betapa banyak orang yang berpuasa tapi tidak dapat pahala apa-apa kecuali lapar saja, dan banyak orang yang shalat qiyamu-ramadhan tapi tidak dapat pahala apa-apa kecuali lelah saja”

A.MUQADDIMAH

Mana yang sering kita rasakan setelah kita melakukan aktifitas yang bernilai ibadah ? sakinah (tenang), roja’ (pengharapan) atau khauf (takut) ?. Kita ambil contoh, misalnya: shalat. Ketika kita selesai menunaikan shalat, apakah kita hanya merasa tenang karena sudah menunaikan shalat dan gugur kewajiban ? ataukah hati ini penuh harap agar shalat ini diterima-Nya serta cemas atau takut kalau-kalau shalat ini tidak diterima oleh-Nya?.

Demikian pula dengan ibadah shaum. Setiap hari saat berbuka puasa, terbersitkah dalam hati kita harapan : “Mudah-mudahan Allah menerima shaum kita”, atau kita cemas:“Aku takut shaumku tidak diterima oleh-Nya !”.

B. HARAP DAN CEMAS SETELAH IBADAH SHAUM

Nabi saw. bersabda : "Barangsiapa berpuasa Ramadhan karena iman dan mengharap pahala dari Allah, niscaya diampuni dosa-dosanya yang telah lalu. Barangsiapa mendirikan shalat pada Lailatul Qadar karena iman dan mengharap pahala, dari Allah niscaya diampuni dosa-dosanya yang telah lalu." (Hadits Muttafaq 'Alaih).

Hadits tersebut merupakan penyemangat sekaligus harapan bagi kita, agar setelah shaum dan shalat sunnat tarawih senantiasa berharap (roja’) kepada Allah swt. agar mendapat ampunan atas dosa-dosa yang telah kita lakukan.

Namun, tidak cukup hanya berharap saja, hati kita pun mesti takut (khauf) kalau ternyata ibadah kita dibulan Ramadhan ini tidak dapat apa-apa.

Kita renungkan dua hadits berikut ini :

Sabda Nabi saw. :”Betapa banyak orang yang berpuasa tapi tidak dapat pahala apa-apa kecuali lapar saja, dan banyak orang yang shalat qiyamu-ramadhan tapi tidak dapat pahala apa-apa kecuali lelah saja”. (H.R. Bukhari)

Nabi saw. bersabda: "Jibril datang kepadaku dan berkata, 'Wahai Muhammad, siapa yang menjumpai bulan Ramadhan, namun setelah bulan itu habis dan ia tidak mendapat ampunan, maka jika mati ia masuk Neraka. Semoga Allah menjauhkannya. Katakan: Amin!. Aku pun mengatakan: Amin. " (HR. Ibnu Khuzaimah dan Ibnu Hibban dalam Shahihnya) "

C. MENGAPA TIDAK BISA MERAIH MAGHFIRAH (AMPUNAN) ?

Beberapa hal yang sering kita lakukan, hingga (baca:mungkin) bisa menyebabkan tidak mendapat ampunan di bulan maghfirah ini :

1. Lalai dalam melaksanakan shalat
Nabi saw. berpesan agar kita sebagai umatnya shalat diawal waktu. Namun, apa yang sering terjadi dengan shalat kita dibulan Ramadhan ini ?. Shalat Dzuhur sering terlambat karena kecapek-an kerja, shalat Ashar sering terlambat karena tidur siang sehabis Dzuhur, demikian pula Maghrib sering telat karena kekenyangan berbuka, Isa pun terkadang dilakukan waktu tengah malam dirumah, karena capek dan ngantuk akibat “balas-dendam” makan.

2. Sering ketinggalan shalat berjamaah
Yang paling sering melanda kita terutama kaum pria adalah jarang shalat berjamaah di mesjid, terutama waktu shalat Maghrib. Kenapa? Alasannya tentu sepakat, karena berbuka puasa di rumah bersama keluarga. Jadi, shalat pun memilih di rumah saja.

Nabi saw. menganjurkan agar kita senantiasa menyegerakan berbuka puasa saat tiba waktunya, tentu dengan tujuan agar kaum pria menyegerakan pula shalat maghrib secara berjamaah di mesjid.

3. Tidak menjadikan shaum sebagai benteng
Sabda beliau saw. : ”… puasa itu benteng, janganlah kalian berbuat rafats dan janganlah kalian berbuat jahil..”.

Betapa banyak orang yang berpuasa, namun dia tidak menjadikan dari puasanya itu sebagai benteng dari marah, ghibah (gossip), dusta, janji palsu, sumpah palsu, perselisihan dan perbuatan dosa lainnya.

”Barangsiapa yang tidak meninggalkan ucapan dusta atau melakukan kedustaan, maka Alloh tidak butuh akan (puasanya yang) meninggalkan makan dan minum.” (HR. Bukhari)

Serta, betapa banyak orang yang berpuasa, namun dia tidak menjadikan dari puasanya itu sebagai benteng dari perbuatan jahil, banyak yang terjebak dengan tradisi ngabuburit sambil nongkrong di mall bahkan sambil berpacaran. Dan kenapa setiap Ramadhan pasti rame dengan membunyikan petasan ?

4.Terlalu sibuk dengan urusan dunia
Nabi saw. lebih menyibukkan dirinya disepuluh hari terakhir bulan Ramadhan, tentu dengan harapan meraih lailatul-qadr, namun bagaimana dengan kita disepuluh hari terakhir ini?. Sibuk bikin kue, sibuk buat mudik, sibuk belanja di mall, pasar dan toko. Makanya jangan aneh, kalau sepuluh hari terakhir di bulan Ramadhan masjid akan mulai jarang pengunjung.

5.Jarang membaca istighfar
Ada baiknya kalau kita akhiri sehabis menunaikan puasa ini dengan beristighfar kepada-Nya. Karena kalau kita renungkan, selesai shalat kita istighfar tiga kali, selesai ibadah haji kita beristighfar, ketika meraih kemenangan kita ditugaskan membaca tahmid dan istighfar (lihat: Q.S. An Nashr).

D.KHATIMAH
Sabda Nabi saw.: ”Betapa banyak orang yang berpuasa, namun dia tidaklah mendapatkan dari puasanya melainkan hanya dahaga.” [Shahih, H.R. ad-Darimi].

Hadits di atas semoga menambah rasa khauf (takut/cemas) pada diri kita setelah berpuasa. Karena ternyata, pada umumnya orang berpuasa namun tidak dapat apa-apa. Na’udzubillah.

Kita berharap semoga puasa kita menyebabkan turunnya maghfirah dari Yang Maha Pengampun, dan kita berlindung semoga kita tidak termasuk orang yang berbakti namun tak berarti.