The trouble is that, even a high percentage of those we see as successful, became successful by chance. Of course, there are personal efforts, and many of these people are trying their best.  In our community, it is obvious to see someone who wants to open a business, but do not know what are the goals of that business. Amr Khalid said efforts without goals are just dream; same as, goals without efforts are nothing. On the other hands, goals with efforts equal success. Few months ago, a friend of mine told me that, a man came to him; wanting him to design a brochure for his organization. My friend asked the man, give me your organization’s information so that I will do the brochure for you. The man asked him, I do not know what information to give you. This is just an example of many cases similar to this one. Many institutions including religious once do not know what are their goals and objectives, so they just plagiarize other’s information, which both Islam and man-made rules prohibited it. I am not surprised why they are cheating other information even though it is amazing and even disturbing when it comes to a religious institution to make such a cheating. I wonder though why one establishes an organization, in which he or she does not even know its objectives. Why not to contribute to the existing once if he or she feels they can contribute something good to the society.  I believe many people including those who do not know the reason of their organization; intentionally are trying to do something good. However, they did not get a proper training from the beginning. Therefore, sometimes wrong things are right for them. It is noticeable there are some kinds of movement within the community to bring some changes. However, I believe, the hierarchies of well known model from individual to society is either not understood or not implemented rightly because of the lack of proper guidance during the childhood to adult life.

The model is as follows: individual-> family-> community-> society. We know the whole society is made up from individuals who make a family, then two families make a community and then two communities make a society. First, individual has to be raised well spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically to become strong and fit. I put spiritually first, because I believe a human being consist this two important elements (soul and body). Each of these elements has special needs. For example, in order for body to grow, it needs food, medicine, exercises etc. and this is what many parents put emphasis on. It is essential and necessary to stress on this part. However, the soul also needs same care if not more, the care of the soul is not by means of food, nor medication or exercises, but through of proper education. .  Education, I mean, education with ethic and civic responsibilities, where everybody plays his or her role to enjoin the good and forbid the bad. ; For example, individuals should take this as their duty. David Orr said in his article of What Is Education For?

“My point is simply that education is no guarantee of decency, prudence, or wisdom. More of the same kind of education will only compound our problems. This is not an argument for ignorance, but rather a statement that the worth of education must now be measured against the standards of decency and human survival – the issues now looming so large before us in the decade of the 1990s and beyond. It is not education that will save us, but education of a certain kind.”

In order to have a good family, individuals have to be prepared. We know that good husband and wife lay the foundations of a good family. If the two or one of them is not prepared mentally, physically, religiously and academically, they will not be able to establish a strong family and most likely this family will collapse completely.  By the same token, if one of them has a stong foundation of what makes a good family, while the other is not, the family, will most likely face a divorce and children will be the most effected in this process, more than the parents. The two individuals are disproportionate to each other.

Therefore, when there are no strong and well balanced individuals, the family will not be possible, so when there are no good and strong families, there will never be strong and good community, and when there are no good and strong communities, there will never be a strong and good society. We have deep social problems, which started years of wars lack of proper education, governance, ethic and civic responsibilities. In order to respond this deep social problems effectively, we have to start from the basics. We have to start education from the individual level in order for us to have good society. The reason is that many people want to make our society better, while they are not even able to make family for themselves. They cannot make family, nor community, let alone a society, because they are not constructively prepared as individuals who are capable to make that change.   We need to adopt this model to produce a solid young individual, who is physically, mentally, spiritually, and socially fit. Two solid individuals can produce a family who displays compassion, love, respect, tolerance, and understanding. Two solid families will create strong community which leads to create a society where universal humanity, perseverance, cooperation, and unity are the norms.

Every creation consists of two types, female and male.  Males cannot populate and live in this world by themselves, nor can females only populate and live in the world by themselves.  In order the world to be populated, children must be born. Generation refers to a form or stage in the life cycle of organism. It is the time between the birth of parents and birth of their offspring.  As a result, new group of people are introduced to the world, who will take the world which their parents handed them over. As any other creation, human beings go through stages of process. the first stage is unborn which consist of three mains steps, the second stage is after born, which consists of 10 steps with three mains stages. In this paper, we only discuss on youth stage.

After born, the main stages of human beings are three; one is the early before teen, which depends on their parents or guidance they receive. This stage, human beings usually take what was offered to them. They rely on their parents. They carry on and identify themselves to whatever identity that their parents carry on. Therefore, they usually do not care about who they are. This is the group that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said; their parents can make them whomever they want. The third group is settled. They already made their choice in life. They are parents, educators, leaders or whatever society is. However, the group between the two, the young and the old is the group we need to pay a special attention.

This group carries many names. They are called teenagers, adolescents, young adults. However, the term youth can encompass all of them. It is an early maturity; the state of being young or immature or inexperienced. It also refers to a condition or a quality of being young or an early period of development or existence.  Upon these two definitions of immaturity and inexperience which indicate that they need help and the quality of being young, which denotes that they are the future of the society, is what we want to examine in this paper.

Immature and inexperienced:

They are immature and inexperienced, so they are usually confused their role in life. They are not young as the first group, who identify themselves to what their parents identify to, and they are not established as the third group. They are uncertain about their place in society and the world. They are not independent, yet they think they no longer need anyone. If they do not get the right and proper guidance, they will be lost.  They will be affected by the media, friends and relationships as well. Media is a big source of influence to them. Celebrities, bad and violence movies and Films affect them tremendously. Friend is the first source that younger people can turn to both good and bad situations. If the friend is not one who can influence them in the right direction, then he/she definitely influences them into the wrong direction.  Relationship is another main factor that impacts the young people. Young people have curiosity to check out movies, imitate to celebrities, and find friends and relationships. If any of these connections or experiences fails, it will have serious of social and mental implications to them. It is for sure, it will have a big impact on them, because they do not have enough experience or knowledge or even capability to handle these cases. Failed relationship or friendship could create low self-esteem, lack of confidence and social exclusion, which could lead to stress, mental effect and finally some bigger social, physical, and psychological problems. Study shows that, young people who watch high levels of media violence are more likely to be aggressive in the real world and increase risk of aggressive behavior as adults. Therefore, education will never be their priority and impious actions will become their normal life.  They use opposite of every positive word or action to a negative meaning, as a result, a generation of anger and aggressive will be introduced to the world.

This problem will be even higher to minorities and low income families and even higher in immigrant families. In addition to all the pervious issues, belonging and lack of citizenship, intergenerational and identity crises will be developed among these groups.  Belonging is very important, but when a teen comes from a minority group; they usually develop double standard personalities.  When they come to school, majority of students or staffs including teachers are different from them either language, color of skin, background, ethnicity, or religion; then they try to adapt and belong to the school environment or their peers. On the other hands, when they come home, they have to adapt their home environment, which is different that of the school. This type of life style is very dangerous, and person cannot stay in that situation for a long time. At this point, identity crises is developed, they do not know which group they belong to. Therefore, citizenship is lost. Let alone to be active and engage the society to fulfill their civic duties. They feel that they are not part of the society. In some cases, hatred can be developed against the society. Intergenerational crisis and cultural barriers can be seen in the immigrant families.

Quality of being Young:

Having said that all; youth are the backbone of the society, both its young and old. They are major component of any society. If they are guided rightly in the beginning, they are the once who determine what the future of the world would be. Because majority of projects and programs are done by youth, youth have changed the world through education, writing and working revolutionaries. They changed the world both good and bad. Thus, with the world of 6.8 billion people and more than 195 countries, and perhaps more than million organizations, fulfilling and providing a good guidance to this group will be vital for parents, community, organizations, countries, nations, and the world as a whole.

Therefore, you hear and see from every organizations’ or community centers’ brochure youth program.  It became cliché, over used. However when that service is not rightly guided, these centers and organizations will not be a successful on their service to youth.  The majority of the programs are not either well implemented or organizers either do not fully understand the purpose of it or manipulate for their personal agenda. As a result, the world is burning more than ever before by youth serving their mentors’ orders who are actually supposed to do opposite. If you look at any war, young people are fighting carrying the orders of their leaders. When a country does not have central government or unstable one, the situation and armament of young people are even higher. When young people do not have right guidance, education, and enough resources, they are susceptible to any predator.

Religious people are not suppose to be predators who use the young people to fulfill their individual interests, but in these days, it seems like, religious people are creating wars and brainwashing youth; at least in the peoples’ eyes. Religion is being manipulated as same as youth being misused. It is the people who are using the name of the religion to push their political agenda to wage wars and to instigate hatred among people and not that of the religion.

Islam is peaceful religion that creates peace, tranquility and value.  It preserves principles, and ethics of the society. It is a religion of moderation, it is not and has never been nor will it be too far and extreme to the right nor too far and extreme to the left. If that is Islam, one can ask why Muslims are committing the most terrorist actions such as suicide. While terrorist actions including suicide bombing will never be acceptable from anyone or any religion under any circumstance, I believe the following factors could cause the increasing suicide bombings.  First, cultural traditions and dictatorship within the Muslim nations is the number one factor, second western powers mistreat and discriminate Muslims by using their power dispassionately. Muslim nations are paralyzed by their leaders and as a result people went against their governments. Because these governments are not serving their own people, the corruption, mistrust, and chaos are developed among Muslim countries. The dictators of Muslim countries are really acting upon the orders of the west; the long colonization of western powers created these leaders. In other words, these leaders are there for their service, but they did come from the choice of their own people.

Therefore, extremist who are existed and undeniable were given excuse by the actions of Muslim leaders with the support of western powers. They benefited the disproportionate western powers towards Muslims and incompetent and in ability of Muslim leaders to govern their own people.  Therefore, they pick up the youth who were looking for their place in society. These extremists were exited even during the time of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). They accused the Prophet for not acting justly, they declare of being unbelievers to the rightly guided caliphates. Part of their signs includes declaring people to be unbelievers including Muslim authorities/leaders, fighting against Muslims or anyone that has different views from theirs.  The ideology which promotes hate and violence is not part of Islam, no more than excessive and deviation from the path of majority of Muslims, but unfortunately in these days many people are using the name of the religion to fulfill their political agenda and to promote their hate crimes to the society. And if the Muslims do not stand shoulder to shoulder to stop this virus idea, it will create more problems. This corrupted ideology has a tie and is sister to the idea of (khawrijtes) who killed the Islamic caliphate, Ali bin Abi Talib (r’a). This type of extremism, who put much emphasis on people’s appearance and based on their corrupted description makes anyone who does not fit their portrayal out of the religion, will not make any benefit for Muslims nor to others. These extremist ideologies serve no one neither Muslims nor non-Muslims.

Thus, youth needs to learn their Islam and need to differentiate right Islam from the extremists’ ideas.  There is no question that Muslims are going through tough time, however, extremist actions will never be justified. We need to do good all the time, whether we are in a good time or tough time. Even if Muslims are mistreated, we still need to treat good those who mistreated us-and that is Islam.

Youth in Islam:

Islam placed youth in high level. As we stated above, youth are considered light and peak of the society. Allah emphasized many times in the Quran, so the prophet Muhammad (pbuh).  Nearly all the prophets were youth and those who believed, supported and stood by them were youth as well. For example, people who believed Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) at the first stage of the revelation were youth. Few examples of them were, mus’ab bin ‘Umair, Ali bin Abi Talib, Usama bin Zaid, Asma, and ‘Aisha bint AbiBakr. They basically sacrificed their entire lives, properties, and energies for Islam & Muslims.

Allah said, “Allah is He Who created you in (a state of) weakness, then gave you strength after weakness, then after strength gave (you) weakness and grey hair. He creates what He wills. And it is He Who is the All-knowing, the All-powerful ” (30:54).
The Prophet also said, “Take benefit from five before five: your youth before your old age; your health before your sickness; your wealth before your poverty; your free-time before your preoccupation; and your life before your death.”

The Prophet said, Allah will shade on the Day of Judgment…a youth who grows up worshipping Him. The Prophet (pbuh) also said, the servant will not move on the Day of Judgment until he or she was asked about four questions. One of the questions will be what did you do with your youth years of life.  Earlier Muslim youth acted upon the above verses and hadiths, so they basically sacrificed their entire lives, properties, and energies for Muslims and humanity in general.

Becoming an Effective Leader:

Any youth can be an effective leader when they are provided four things; first one is education both Islamic and academia; second one is guide and role model; third one is involvements; and fourth is affiliation.  Education is a cornerstone of our lives; it provides its person stabilities in all spiritual, financial, social status, freedom, security, direction and goals. Therefore, it is the first step of good life in this world and after. Guide and role model brings reassurance, confidence of one’s work, motivates, and encourages him or her to do more and proceed further, because life would be impossible without guidance.  Involvement and service is backbone of society and brings aspiration of heart and mind. It brings sense of relief when one helps others; it also changes one’s educational theory to practical and real life experience for it helps them to understand it more evidently. There is a proverb that says, Read it you will forget it; See it you remember it; and Do it you will understand it.  This means that action and practice are the best way to understand. People are divided into three groups, one group is unfortunate, and the second group is wicked, and the third group is worthy. The first group is the poor or sick, those who need help. The second group, are those who do not offer help and assistance for the needy ones even though they can. The third group, are those who help and serve the needy once. “Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others” Plato.  The fourth is affiliation, which is the origin of jama’a (collectiveness) and collaboration. It brings belonging and loyalty. The loss of affiliation brings cultural lose, which leads to identity lose. Islamic calendar is an example of importance of affiliation. The Islamic calendar did not start until Muslims get new home to affiliate with. One is unable to make date or progress unless they have a group they can affiliate with. There is a proverb that says, a person is a person with others. It really does not matter how much one is educated, smart, or rich; one really cannot achieve a lot individually.

Ending:

Therefore, if you want help yourself, your community and most importantly to go to paradise as our predecessors, then you and I are in a same page.  Thus I encourage you to take initiative immediately to help your neighbor as Muslim youth; we can save the world from extremists, injustice, and bring back the ethics and principles of Islam and lead the world for better once again. I believe this is a time for a great change. This is a call to safe Islam, Muslims and humanity, and you are the generation.  Let us be part of this great change, the world needs correct and true Muslim youth like you than ever before.

The word “Islam” comes from the Arabic word of silm. It means both peace and submission to the will of one Creator-Allah. Muslims are the followers of this religion called Islam. It is the last religion, which Allah sent with His last messenger Muhammad (pbuh), it has been sent to the entire world to safeguard the needs of individuals’ daily life and the lives of the whole community and society as well. In other words, it is the law of the whole world and its entire species.

To prove the above claim, we will take two analogies. Firs analogy, suppose that you are given a brand new computer, and with it you are given two instruction manual; one from the manufacture which made the computer in the first place, and one from other unknown sources. Considering the fact that you do not know how to use the computer without the manual, which one would you use for your computer to better serve you? Every intelligent person would take the one from the manufacturer. In this scenario, we all agree from life experience that the most knowledgeable and suitable manual would be the one from its original manufacturer. The computer is the world; the manual from the manufacturer is the Allah’s law. The unknown manual is the man-made laws. Ponder with this example for a moment while I take you to another more realistic example.

Another scenario, assume that your factory made a brand new computer with its instruction as usual. However, you wanted someone who could work better on the computer by using this instruction. You gave the instruction to two individuals to study, so that whoever accepts, follows, and learns will be better on the computer later. One of the individuals accepted the manual, learned, and understood it. On the other hand, the other individual did not accept, but instead said arrogantly, “I can create a better manual then this”, despite learning or understanding what it meant. Which one of the individuals do you believe will use the instruction and work better on the computer? Of course, the individual who followed the instruction will be better on the computer, because using the computer without its manual will lead to malfunction of the computer let alone a better use.

The above analogy explains the reality of the world we are living in today. Again the computer here is the world and its affairs; the instruction is the Book of Allah, which is Allah’s law on earth. The two individuals represent the true believer of Allah and His Book, and the other one is unbeliever of Allah and His Book. Indeed, Allah gave us guideline to follow in order for us to better govern ourselves and in our worldly affairs. Suffering, tribulation, corruption, and massacre characterize the world today. In every corner of the earth today there are afflictions, which affect humans, animals, and environment caused by the actions of corrupted leaders. They are the ones who refuse to use the Book of Allah in order for them to better govern themselves, and their constituencies. There are no distinctions in here between the so called Muslim leaders in most Muslim countries and leaders of non-Muslim countries today.

Therefore, the whole universe is crying today to get back to the leadership of great Muslim leaders including Omar bin Al- Khatab, Hassan bin Ali, Omar bin Abdul Alziz, and Salahudin Al-Ayyubi. The tolerance, justice, and fairness of these Muslim leaders were recounted through the peace and the compassion that Islam brought to the humanity. Thus, knowing the characters in their homes or administration of these great leaders is essential for the lives of Muslims and non-Muslims as well. However, the purpose here is to ponder about a few examples of their lives and behaviors towards other people because we cannot recount every detail of their lives.

Caliph Omar bin Al-Khatab

Omar bin Al-Khatab was the second Caliph of the Muslims after the Prophet, peace be upon him died. During Omar’s leadership, Islam spread to many parts of the world including Jerusalem, not by violence but by the characters of Muslims. One of Omar’s incredible treatment happened when the merchant Muslims entered the city of Jerusalem. The inhabitants of the city mostly were Christians, and they tried to prevent Muslims from entering the city. However, they found out that resistance would not be the solution. Instead, they requested from Muslim leaders to call and bring their Caliph, who was Omar at that time, to come in person and sign a treaty of peace with them. The Muslim officers got together and thought over the request by counseling to each other. With their high moral values for human life, they accepted the demand, so they sent a person to the Caliph to inform him of the situation. One needs to understand that Muslims could have refused the request and take control of the whole city without any tangible resistance. However, they chose to reach everything by peaceful means without killing, or destroying the infrastructure, and houses of the citizens. Today, the so called “civilized” powerful militaries of the 21st century kill the innocents, destroy homes, roads, hospitals, schools, worship places by using illegal weapons of mass destruction and abuse the prisoners.

When the Caliph heard the news, he accepted and left Ali bin Abi Talib to be his viceroy for the affairs of Medina. Caliph Omar took a very difficult long journey at the request of the Christians in Jerusalem, who refused to deal and reach agreement with his representatives. The Caliph and an attendant of his shared a camel to ride, so they took turns to ride the camel since they could not ride it at the same time. Therefore, the day they entered Jerusalem happened to be the day, in which the attendant was to ride the camel and the Caliph was walking and leading the camel. The attendant requested the Caliph to ride the camel by saying it will be uncomfortable in the people’s eyes for me to ride while the Caliph is walking. However the Caliph answered, “No! It will not happen. I will not be unjust.” The Caliph entered the city and signed the following treating.

“From the servant of Allah and the Commander of the Faithful, Omar: The inhabitants

of Jerusalem are granted security of life and property. Their churches and crosses shall be secure. This treaty applies to all people of the city. Their places of worship shall remain intact. These shall neither be taken over nor pulled down. People shall be quit free to follow their religion. They shall not be put to any trouble…”1

The city of Jerusalem became a place where everyone was welcomed and lived in dignity and equity with others. There was no racism, prejudice, or discrimination against anyone regardless of their gender, race,

color or religious beliefs. The equity, fairness, justice, and compassion, which Islam brought to the world, was applied to everyone to take his or her share. Caliph Omar was invited to a Christian church, and he stayed in the church until the afternoon prayer. The priest of the church told Omar to pray in the church.

However Omar told the priest “I do not want to pray in here because if I pray in the church, I am afraid that some Muslims, after me, will use my pray as an excuse to take the church from you.”2 This is the treatment of a true Muslim leader, unlike the so called democratic leaders of today, who fail to make peaceful solutions for any of the problems that the world is facing. They value killing anyone who disagrees, demolish homes and infrastructures. Their motto is; you are either with us or against us. They do not understand that coexistence can be possible in this life even if someone disagrees with you.

Hassan bin Ali

Hassan bin Ali was the son of Ali bin Abi Talib, the fourth caliph of the Islam. He was known for his care, love, and aid towards others. A man saw Hassan on a horseback and started to vent course words at him. Hassan waited till he finished his vulgar words then replied:

“O old man! I think you are a stranger here. Maybe you mistook me for someone else! If you propitiate us, we will satisfy you. If you ask us, we will give you what you need. If you ask us our advice, we will guide you. If you ask us to give you a ride, we will take you with us. If you are hungry, we will satisfy you. If you are naked, we will clothe you. If you are in need, we will make you rich. If you are a refugee, we will give you lodging. If you have a request, we will grant it. If you join your luggage to ours, and be our guest until the time of travel, it will be more useful to you, because we have a spacious place, a good social position, and a vast amount of money.”3

This man came from another state whose leaders were politically opposed to Hassan. However, Hassan responded with good manner that was possible. If Hassan gave his political opponents this kind of treatment, what treatment would he give to non opponents?

Omar bin Abdul Aziz

Omar bin Abdul Aziz was one of the greatest leaders of Muslims of his time. Historians said during Omar’s leadership, animals felt the fairness and justice on earth let alone between the people. He was a pious leader, obedient to God, and close follower of the Qur’an. One time, Omar was sitting in his room, and he requested from one of his assistants to bring some water. The assistant brought a jar with water to Omar. As he was getting closer to Omar, he dropped the jar on Omar’s foot. Omar got injured on his leg and as human being he got angry due to the pain. Omar yelled at him; however, the assistant recited the following verses.

“And march froth in the way (which leads to) forgiveness from your lord, and for paradise as wide as the heavens and the earth, prepared for Al-Mutaqiin, the pious ones. Those who spend (in Allah’s cause) in prosperity and in adversity, and those who suppress their anger, and forgive the people, and Allah indeed loves those who strive for perfection in their deeds.”4

As soon as Omar heard the verse, he reversed his anger and not only forgave him but also gave him money. The exemplary character of Omar started from his home, because leadership starts within and then reaches to others.

Salahudin Al-Ayyubi

Salahudin Al-Ayyubi was one of the best leaders who ever lived. He was a generous, compassionate, and merciful leader. Both Muslims and non-Muslims witnessed the kind of diligent and benevolent man he was. During his time, he brought peace and justice to the world, when crusaders were slaughtering innocent people. In 1187 CE, Salahudin entered Jerusalem, after crusaders murdered and tortured its innocent inhabitants including women, children, and elders. The crusaders killed more than 70,000 innocent Muslims. Therefore, the city of Jerusalem witnessed the worst human catastrophe. However, when Salahudin took control of the city, people celebrated instead of fear. People tasted the sweetness of justice and freedom for their first time in more than 70 years. Salahudin granted freedom to everyone regardless of their gender, race, color, religion, or socio-economic status. In addition, he offered compensation to those who lost someone in the war. He told his army not to kill or harm physically or mentally Muslims or non-Muslims alike.He pardoned Christians who killed Muslims despicably to live and worship freely as they wanted. He did similarly for Jews. Moreover, Salahudin provided medication for his opponents in the city, Richard, the Lion-Heart of England. Salahudin sent his own doctor to Richard.

These were the characteristics of Muslim leaders, over15 centuries ago. They brought justice and equity to the world. Equity and fairness were part of their way of life. One needs to think about the civilized manners and characters of these leaders. They did not have technology, development, and documentation of declaration of human rights. Yet they gave everybody rights and the world was full of peace and prosperity. There was no fighting, discrimination, or abuse of human rights. If the people of 15th centuries ago respected the human dignity, how did the 21st century rulers respect the humanity? What happened to the science, the technology, the modern medicine, and the civilization that the latter rulers claim that they have reached and made beneficial and easy the lives of human beings? What happened to the declaration of human rights? Leaders of today, especially those who claim, they are pro-human rights and pro-democracy are the worst violators of human rights in the record of history. The true Muslim leaders’ legacy and their contribution to the world are still visible to those who reflect. They respected the beliefs of others. However, the modern leaders have no value of respecting the beliefs of others.

Reference:

1. Retrieved on July28, 2004 from www. anwary-islam.com

2. Retrieved on July 28, 2004 www.anwaryislam. com

3. Retrieved on July 30, 2004 www.almujtaba.com

4. Qur’an 2:134

Comparing Womenʹs Rights Before and After Islam:

There were some civilizations in the past, (before Islam), which oppressed women and treated them inhumane. Some of those were Greeks, Romans, Indians, Chinese, and Arabs as well. They treated women differently; however, what they had in common was degradation and humiliation towards women. Their point of view was that men were better than women in human race bases. In Greek, for example, women were forced to stay at home with no education, work, and no involvement in community activities. In the era of Romans, “Women were half of men,” in other words a woman was not a complete person in every way compared to men. Women were seen as an object of sexual satisfactory for men. In China, men used women for labor. More than moral disappointments, they used to bind their feet to damage their physical ability arguing that it was for their beauty whilst being afraid that wives would run away from their husbands. They did not have any rights, and as a cultural belief, women lived to serve men and not for any other purposes. Women were not count equal to men. Furthermore, if the family had two boys and two girls, these two girls were not counted. In India, women lived also for men to bore children. They also excluded and isolated from the society during their menstruation period. And as for the Arab men, they believed that women lived for their favor, and at the same time they disgraced women. For example, when a man’s wife delivered a daughter; he would feel differently and be ashamed of his daughter. Concerning that era, Allah the Most Power‐full said in the Qur’an (describing when an Arab father was informed about his wife having a daughter),

“And if one of them is informed of the news of (the birth of a girl) that which he sets forth as a parable to the most Gracious (Allah). His face becomes dark, and he is filled with grief.” (43:17).

The Arab men also committed the most barbaric crime to women; they buried them alive. And for that reason, Allah the Most Merciful revealed this verse:

“And when the female (infant) buried alive (as the pagan Arabs used to do) is questioned! For what sin, was she killed.”(81.8‐9).

Women as Part of Humanity and Worshiping Allah:

In terms of worshiping Allah, Islam gives men and women equal rights. If they do righteous deeds, He gives them equal rewards. In turns, if they do bad deeds, He punishes them equally. Allah the Most Exalted said in the Qur’an:

“Whoever works righteous whether male or female‐ while he (or she) is a true believer (of Islamic monotheism) verily, to him or her We will give a good life (in this world with respect, contentment and lawful provision), and We shall pay them certainly a reward in proportion to the best of what they used to do (i.e. Paradise in the Hereafter)” (16.97).

Both man and woman are given the rights to worship their Creator‐Allah, despite their gender. They will get what they deserve and worked for in terms of deeds; there is no superiority in terms of humanity. Another verse, Allah the Almighty said:

“O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honorable of you with Allah is that (believer) who has At‐taqwa {i.e. he is one of the Muttaqun (the pious see v. 2.2)}. Verily, Allah is All‐Knowing, All‐Aware (49.13).

We conclude from this verse that people are equal in their origin, and there is no group or nation that is better than the other group. We, as human beings, all came from a single male and female, who were Adam and Eve. We have equal opportunity to believe in and worship Allah. As matter of fact, the most honorable of us with Allah is the believer who does good deeds; hence, a pious person. There are no distinction between men and women in Islam in terms of humanity. They have the same rights, and each one of them gets what he/she deserves. No one is better than the other except the fear that one has for Allah (Taqwah). In his last ceremony, where the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) delivered a message to the companions, he said;

“O people! Verily your Lord is one and your father is one. All of you belong to one ancestry of Adam and Adam was created out of clay. There is no superiority for an Arab over a non‐Arab and for a non‐Arab over an Arab; or for white over the black or for the black over the white except in piety. ‘Verily the noblest among you is he who is the most pious’.”

This shows that there is no discrimination at all in Islam; hence we are all same and have equal rights.

Women in Their Adolescents Age:

Now let’s look at how Islam honored women as young girls, who used to be buried alive before Islam. Islam gives young girls equal rights as to young boys and in some cases even more. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said in a Hadeeth that was agreed upon, which was narrated by Aisha, the mother of the Muslims (umil mu’aminiin):

“Whomever is blessed with girls and then does well by them in bringing them up, they will be a protector for him from Hellfire” (Saheeh Al Targheeb 1968).”

Translation, if you raise your daughters well in their education, physical and mental wellbeing; you will get more rewards than raising your sons. Islam gives tremendous rights to women as young girls; for example, in Islam when the son turns 15 years old his parents have the rights to say to him leave from the home and support yourself, if they want to, but they are not allowed to say that to their daughter. The daughter has the right and also a power to stay in her parent’s home until she gets married. This does not mean that she cannot work or educate herself. Unfortunately, certain people and of today’s media establish untrue concepts about women’s rights in Islam.

Women as Wives & Their Rights in Marriage:

In terms of marriage, Muslim woman has the right to choose a man she wants. She has the right to condition marriage in terms of her choice, and negotiate her marriage preference. She also has the right to reject any marriage that she does not agree with. In Islam, when two couples agree to marry, the first thing that they do is make a matrimonial arrangement (Nikah) and this is made by an Imam or sheikh, a religious man equivalent to priesthood. Part of the Nikah is called mahr ‐ dowry that man gives to woman. Allah the Most Exalted said in the Qur’an:

“And give to the women (whom you marry) their mahr (obligatory bridal –money given by the husband to his wife at the time of marriage) with a good heart; but if they, of their own good pleasure, remit any part of it to you, take it, without fear of any harm (as Allah has made it lawful).” (4:4).

From day one, right after the marriage, woman will not have any responsibility for the house or family bills; man has to give the woman what she eats, wears, and a place she can live in as well. In Islam, marriage creates happiness and intimacy between couples; it also creates respect and mercy between the families whom the couples came from. As Allah the Most Merciful said in the Qur’an:

“And among His Signs is this, that He created for you wives from among yourselves, that you may find response in them, and He has put between you affection and mercy. Verily, in that are indeed signs for a people who reflect.” (30: 21).

Marriage in Islam creates honesty and truthfulness between the couples. They would become like clothes to each other. For example, if there is a hatred or problem between the relatives of the couples, the marriage of these couples should solve and create peace in between them. Allah the Most Gracious and Most Merciful said in the Qur’an:

“They (women) are libas {body cover, or screen, or Sakan, (you enjoy the pleasure of living with them‐ as in Verse 7: 189)}, for you and you are the same for them.” (2: 187).

In Islam, woman has the right to get sexual satisfaction from her husband. If her husband does not satisfy her at the bed, she has been given a right to go with him to a court and divorce him if she wants to.

Womenʹs Rights as Motherhood:

As mothers, women have incredible rights in Islam. For example, a man came to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and asked him who from amongst human beings warrants the best companionship from me? The Prophet answered him it is your mother. The man asked again, who is next? The Prophet answered him it is your mother, and he asked him again who is next? After wards, the Prophet replied him it is your mother. Then the man asked him who is next? Then finally, the Prophet answered it is your father (Related by Al‐Bukari no.55971 and Muslim 7/2, from Abu Hurayrah).  The implication of this Hadeeth is that we should have full obedience towards our mothers and we comply with whatever they command us to do. As long as they are not ordering us something that is against the Shari’ah ‐ the Islamic law‐, other than that we listen and obey them. Another example that we can understand from the Prophet’s above hadeeth is, for instance, you have $4,000, the first $1000 will go to your mother; the second $1000 to your mother; the third $1000 to your mother, and then the last $1000 will go to your father. Islam emphasized and acknowledged mother’s rights many times because they carry us in their womb for 9 consecutive months. They endured much pain such as morning sickness from day one that we started developing in her body. They gave birth to us, which is the most painful, and they weaned us for about two years. Why then, do we not listen? Does not she deserve to be obeyed at any command she offers, and to help her at any given time she wants? Indeed, she deserves. She has to be obeyed and obeying one’s parents is an immense part of Islam, so Islam considers the one who does not listen to his or her parents as Cuquuqul walidiin (disobedience towards parents). It is considered as one of the major sins in Islam, therefore Muslims are not allowed to become disobedience towards their parents. Here is what Allah the Almighty said in the Qur’an:

“And We have enjoined on man (to be dutiful and good) to his parents. His mother bore him in weakness and hardship, upon weakness and hardship, and his weaning is in two years‐ give thanks to Me and to your parents. Unto Me is the final destination.” (31:14).

Another hadith from the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) says “The paradise is under your mother’s feet,” meaning that, obeying one’s parents in general and specifically obeying one’s mother will cause one to enter the heaven. For that reason, Muslims are not like some nations who their young people go away from their parents by the time they become mature or eighteen years old. And that is the time, in which parents become old and need the aid and care of their children. These young people live separate from their parents. As a result of that, you see the old people are neglected and mistreated in uninhabitable houses. Muslims are different from these civilizations; Muslim youngsters usually stay with their parents and help them because Islam believes fulfilling the needs of the parents will make it easy for us to be on the path to Heaven. Contrary wise, Islam believes if you do not fulfill the needs of your parents, the punishment will be a Hellfire.

Women in Politics and Community Involvements:

Above and beyond that, Islam gives women full rights to involve and be an active participant in their communities’ activities. They have the rights to have an access to politics and to partake in it. They have the rights to express their opinions and to be heard, and they have the rights to vote and to hold high positions in government positions. When Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) passed away, there were couple of people who were candidates from the companions. The women were asked to vote which candidate they want to choose. The process of democratically electing leaders is not a new element to us as Muslims. Moreover, Aisha was one of the Prophet’s wives, she gave the companions advices and they took her advices or suggestions very seriously. There was a time that the companions got into conflict amongst them during the time of Caliph Ali (fourth president of the Muslim government). Aisha, may Allah be blessed with her, took a big role of reconciling them. Umu Salama was also one of the consultants of the Prophet and his companions after the treaty of Sulhul Hutheybiyah, which caused them not to finish their umrah (lesser pilgrimage). The treaty was not very harsh and seemed unfair to Muslims, so the companions showed resistant to the prophet in taking the treaty. When the Prophet (pbuh) told them to cut their hair, slaughter their animals and get ready to go back to Medina, they did not listen and did what the prophet told them. Thus the prophet came to Umu Salama saying that I fear for them and do not know what to do, she said start with yourself when you do they will do.

Women in Academia:

In Islam, education is mandatory to every Muslim; there is no single differential hierarchy between man and woman in terms of education. The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said, “Education is obligatory to every Muslim.” Since our Prophet mandated to us; Muslims have to educate themselves. Both man and woman must pursue education based on their ability. The first verse that was revealed to Prophet Muhammad was Iqra or read, which tells the level of importance cast on literacy. In addition, there are many other verses in the Qur’an, which emphasize the significance of education and the different between educated person and uneducated person.  The word Ilm (knowledge) is mentioned in the Quran more 80 times, all that it does not say Allah the Most Exalted stated in the Qur’an:

“Allah will exalt in degree those of you who believe and those who (are) granted knowledge.” (58:11).

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) encouraged us many times to educate ourselves, and he said “Seek education from the time you are in the cradle till you die.” Aisha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah be blessed with her, was an example for us. When Muslims scholars categorized the companions who were the most and best memorizer of the Hadiths of the Prophet, Aisha was one of the top sevens in narrating the Prophet’s Hadiths. She was one of the most knowledgeable companions when it came to the Islamic law. By the time the Muslim government was in Undulus, known today as Spain, the Qurduba city had a University called Qurduba University. The university had about 70 Muslim women as standing professors amongst its entire staff. Thus, Muslim women have the rights to obtain education, so education for Muslims is top priority whether they are male or female.

Women in Commerce:

Since women have the rights to educate themselves, they also have the rights to work and earn their own money, by using their education and/or intellectual capacity. They have the rights to get the same salary of man if they are working in the same company with the same degree. If a woman works with a man in the same field or same company, she receives the same portion of whatever he gets. Furthermore, she has the rights to manage her money. A good example of that is the Prophet Muhammad’s wife Khadija (pbuh). She was a businesswoman some 1424 odd years ago. Allah gave men and women the same reward for worshiping Him, so why would He not give them the same right when it comes to jobs and salary?

Comparing between Womenʹs Rights in Islam & Women’s Rights in Western Nations:

Muslim women have the rights to have an equal salary with men, where the women of in many western nations do not have. In most cases the women of these nations get less salary than men even if they work in the same field with the same degree, and also same hours. Muslim women have the rights to keep their own maiden name after marriage, whereas the women in many western nations do not have. Usually they change their biological names after they get married. Mothers of these nations and their children go by the same name. This shows that a man has power over his wife despite the wife’s identity. Muslim women have the rights to conceal/cover their bodies, which is another trend now that the doctors denote is a protection for body against disease like skin cancer. Unfortunately, the women of many western nations do not have that opportunity, but instead their body is used to advertise the material objects by the media.

In addition, when a society loses its modesty, value, and principles, the following scenario will be the norms of such a society. This story occurred in India. Young couple got married; however, the girl told her partner that she wants to have a baby but do not want to conceive pregnancy. She then suggested to her partner that they should have surrogate mother. Surrogate, in its simplest form, means to rent, a woman will rent her womb for money. The couple’s sperm and ovum are taken out, and fertilized in a lab, and then injected into the womb of the surrogate mother. Thus, the guy’s mother became their surrogate; they rented his mothers’ womb to carry their baby. Therefore, his mother carried his baby for nine consecutive months, and then she gave birth to her own ‘grandson. So what this means is that the son is the brother of his own father, and the grandmother became the wife of her son. I am sure a conscious person would not need any further elaboration or another example after reading this article what Islam gives women in general and mothers in particular, and what is so called the free and civilized world give their women and mothers. I do not think no one has seen any creature who can behave in such a way, even the animals do not have this insanity amongst them.

Furthermore, the Pagan Arabs used to bury their daughters alive; however, it is the same story in essence but in a different format. And that is what is happening today in many parts of the world, particularly in India and China. The mentality of child‐phobia, fearing to have children is getting out of hands. Government adapts and enforces laws to reduce child birth and allow a child per family. In the world of technology, couples are able to know the gender of their baby before birth. Thus, if the pregnancy test turns out to be a baby girl they abort her, hoping that someday it would be a boy.

Words such as brothels, bordello, whorehouse, etc. would be surprising names to many, but these names are known and sacred to many people from the so called free or civilized world. Brothels are houses of prostitutes where a prostitute woman resides to have sex with her strange client. It is common, well‐known and used service in many European countries including Belgium, Netherland, France, etc. Dictionaries define the word prostitute as an act or practice of engaging sexual activity for money or its equivalent. In this definition, one could easily understand that prostitution is an awful thing to do. First, it is humiliation of the human dignity, physically and mentally. Usually, prostitute works for someone, mainly men, who are known as pimps; who humiliates her. Secondly, the prostitutes’ health is very risky, and they are the victims in most chronic diseases developing every day. Study shows that 25% of nearly three million American young girls between the ages of 12‐19 have sexually transmitted diseases (STD). The number of the girls or women that have sex outside their marriage is really shocking. One can argue that they are not forced and they chose to do that. It is true but in many other vices or crimes, the government and law enforcement enact laws that stop these crimes or at least they put criminals behind bars. However, what strikes me the most here is not what individuals chose to do, but the fact that the government and system allows to have brothels and whorehouses for these girls to work in. Thus, when people lose morality, they would do anything that is in their way. For example, what is happening to the highest officials of this country (U. S. A.) is despicable. It was Bill Clinton that cheated with Monica Lewinsky, and New York’s Governor Eliot Spitzer that muddled with “High Ring Prostitute,” and the list goes on. There is a famous proverb that says “If the head of the household beats the drum, then the rest of the household would dance to the tune.” Put into perspective how many people are looking up to these elected officials.

Take an example of Belgium and Netherland, they provide a place and gave them a license validating prostitution, and billions of dollars are collected from these venues as tax revenue. The following is a excerpt of a long article reported on USAToday.com:

Walking around the red‐light districts in Belgian cities, it is hard to believe bordellos are outlawed here. Dozens of boutique‐style brothels with large front windows line the streets set aside by politicians for prostitution. What is for sale is clearly on display: women dressed in lingerie and stiletto heels. The brothels claim to be bars or clubs with sexy waitresses who serve beer, champagne and soft drinks. But the prostitutes pay the bar owner about $120 to rent the window space for eight hours. When a customer enters, she draws her curtains and charges about $55 for sex. About 80,000 people visit prostitutes in Belgium each day, according to an official government estimate. That is more than the daily numbers, who go to the movies, says Jean‐Marie Dedecker, a member of parliament. According to official reports, the Belgian capital of Brussels has become a center for the trade of children in prostitution. European governments believe that legalizing prostitution and brothels could solve some of these problems. While Belgiumʹs pro‐legalization plans are following the lead of the Netherlands and Germany, the new laws in those countries have produced mixed results. Brothels were legalized in Holland three years ago. But many local governments are still trying to implement the law. Some businesses — banks, for example — continue to discriminate against sex workers by refusing to let the women open accounts. Problems with tax evasion and illegal immigrants are rampant. Only 5%‐10% of the estimated 20,000 prostitutes in the Netherlands pay taxes, according to Mariska Majoor, a former sex worker who now heads the Prostitution Information Centre in Amsterdam. ʺTax people work very hard, but they do not work very hard on the street, ʺ she says.

To end, Islam gave and gives humankinds their rights forever.  In Islam, men and women have the equal rights and each one of them gets what he/she deserves; hence, no one is better than the other except one who has fears (Taqwah) for Allah. Women in Islam have the rights as young girls, wives, and as mothers. In terms of worshiping Allah, if a woman does good deeds, she gets the same reward as man. By the same token, if she does bad deeds, she gets the same punishment as the man. There is no superiority between men and women in Islam in terms of humanity. Woman in Islam has the rights to choose a man she wants; she has the rights to have an equal salary with the man. Moreover, she has the rights to keep her own family name after marriage, and she has the rights to conceal/cover her body. Islam liberated women from ignorance and humiliation of being surrogate mothers, stoic wives, whom their elected husbands disgraced them.  It is unfortunate to keep hearing how media slanders, slurs, insults, and offends about women’s rights in Islam, and how some people are judgmental about Islam and Muslims while not seeing that it is actually they who disgrace women in general.

|Bibliography|

Nawabu‐Din, A. Women’s Action and Point of View in Islam. Egypt. 1989. Retrieved On October
25, 2003 from (http://www.islamway.com/) | Ahmed Sheikh‐Omar Imam (2003, December 25).
Personal interview. | Sharif – Abdirahman H. Mohamed Imam. (2003, October 25). Personal
interview. | From the Qura’an, the Muslim holy book, and Prophet’s Hadeth, the Prophet’s way
of life. | USAToday.com (February 2008)

From the definition in which it was defined to both God and sign will help us to elaborate our knowledge about the creator- God. Everything in this world has origins and base, in which they have begun in the first place. This beautiful building that we are sitting in is consisted of many different things including woods, bricks, and concretes, iron, metals, which themselves were brought from other places and have been put together. These objects have not just come randomly together and formed themselves this s helpful, and useful beautiful building. Architectures, engineers, economist, and other well expert individuals have come together to make it what we as a building today. These experts planned and calculated how many bricks, woods, metals, and money would be in this building. After all these plans and calculations, it became a very useful place that we are using to study, sleep, relax, and use for our daily affairs. Thus, there would be no doubt about the creation of this building, if you ask anyone; they would tell you the same thing. If you say this building just evolved and became the way it is, they will laugh and look at you as crazy, idiot, and unthinkable person. They do not say that you are ignorant, because how it obvious process. They assume that even an ignorant person can know this building does not just come out of the blue but instead, it was constructed and built by knowledgably group of people. As humans we have been given the ability of reasoning, thinking, and understanding capability that give us a sense that this did not erect itself.

From that basic example, we, humans are able to understand that this building was made, and it was made for a purpose. On the other hand, we see heaven, sky, humans, and water; to name a few, but still reject the presence of God. One example would be enough for us to think for a moment about the existence of God. The miracle of human being’s creation is of what we are made of originally; the tiny gushing water is placed in the female’s womb, the unification of the egg and sperm, the development of heart, lungs, legs, hands, skin, muscles, blood, the five sense etc. Each one of these organs or systems in our body is designed to do a specific job.

For example, the heart that starts beating after the beginning of the unification of the egg and sperm till we die. If the heart stops beating for a minute or so our life will be in danger and our existence on earth will come to an end. The life in the womb, and birth would be a miracle it-self. The intelligence we develop during our life, creativeness, and ability to run the whole world are other things to consider. Almost all other creations are here in the world for our benefits. For example, we use horses, cows, camels, sheep, and goats for useful gains. We also benefit from rain, seas, and oceans even though they are God’s creations. Therefore, we are given the authority of the world’s affairs to use everything in it and the intelligence to know a simple thing as a building cannot just come by itself and the fact no one can claim it as the creator of the building, but instead we give names and credit the architectures and engineers who built it. How can we not know and understand the engineer and Creator of our won selves? I think one is contradicting him or herself when they claim that they know this building was built by a group of people but to not know God’s creation (Their own body).

For the above fact, we indeed understood the existence of God. For the fact of those creations we know a lot about him because he taught about himself to us through his messengers. Given the fact that we need to have laws to govern ourselves to keep us out from deviation and misguiding, so did God chose individuals amongst us and sent to us with guidance, which allows us to maintain justice and fairness amongst us and to govern the world, in which He gave its authority to us. He knows us better then we do. Therefore a religion is God’s law to humankind and away to know Him.

A religion is the God’s word and that same religion explains about him that he created all the creations from nothing and gave the following attributions to Him. Inbody said in his book the Faith of the Christian Church, “Transcended, eternity, simplicity, infinity, immutability, holiness, omniscience, Omnibenevolnce, and omnipotence” (P. 139).

Based on this fact, we know about him a lot even though, the knowledge about God may vary between individuals. Since we see all the signs including our won creation and have his actual words (religion), we have enough knowledge about him. For example, if you are told by someone, you have not seen this writer, political figure, mathematician, etc. Physically, but you have seen his or her books, letters, and saw a lot of stuff that this person did including his or her buildings, roads, bridges etc, you know as a fact that this individual, for you have his or her writings before. Logically everyone will accept the practical evidence of this person, when you give them his or her books, and show them all their actions, arts, and works he or she did even though they have not seen him or her physically. However they kind of see it mentally, therefore they will have in their mind images of this person.

Thus, we know God subjectively, for we have seen His signs, and read His words. One has enough knowledge about Him but there are some individuals who know God more than the rest. These individuals are the scholars of religions. In normal life, there are always some individuals whose knowledge exceeds the rest. For example, if you read the writings and biography of someone called Gate, you probably know more about him than us who did not read about him but heard. In this case the churches, synagogues, or mosques have big roles in educating people about God.

On the other hand, objectively, our knowledge, about God is limited. There are some limitations that we cannot pass. Physically, we do not know about God, and there is no need to know about Him. As same as we do not know the person whom we read about his or her writings, saw his or her actions, designs, but never saw him or her physically. Overall, we know a lot about God, we have witness a lot of his actions, saw His religion, and finally read His books, the different religions.

Blood pressure is measured with inflatable arm cuff and pressure-measuring blood gauge in millimeters of mercury (mmHg). For example, 120 mmHg for systolic pressure, and 80 mmHg for diastolic pressure, it is written as 120/80 mmHg. This level is known as a normal blood pressure; however, if the number is higher it could cause problems, which could lead to cardiovascular diseases.

Therefore, blood pressure is not only a disease, but it is both a disease and a risk to the life of the victim. It could lead to the following:

• Arteriosclerosis: arteries become stiff and thick, so it will be difficult for the blood to flow in them. Because there is lipid inside the tunica media of the arteries
• Heart attack: oxygen supplier, coronary circulation, becomes blocked and cardiac muscle cells die due to lack of oxygen
• Stroke: interruption of the blood being supplied to the brain.
• Kidney failure: loss of the ability to filter waste fluids from the system.

The cause of blood pressure is not actually known, however, the most common indicators are:

• Lack of exercise
• Stress
• Salt intake
• Alcohol intake
• Smoking
• Obesity
• All of the above are known as primary.
• Medical consumptions
• This is known as secondary.

Treatments

• More exercise
• Quitting or reducing alcohol intake
• Quitting smoking.

Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by bacteria called myobecaterium tuberculosis. It is aerobic bacterium (uses energy), and it is classified as a gram‐positive bacteria. TB is a deadly infectious disease that effects and starts mostly in the pulmonary system (the lungs). However it is also affects and spreads to many other systems in the body such as circulatory, genitourinary, lymphatic, skeletal, central nervous system, and joints if it is not treated. It is one of the fatal diseases that kills nearly two million people a year worldwide. Study shows one third of world’s population is infected with TB and every one second a person is infected with TB.

Causes:

As stated above, TB is caused by myobacteria. First the infection starts when the myobacteria reaches in the pulmonary alveoli. It begins replicating itself, and then invades alveoli macrophage to suppress the immune system of the lungs. It dwells through its primary site called Ghon within the lungs. From there it spreads to the rest of the body.

Spread:

Tuberculosis is a transmissible disease; it can be spread by a droplet infection through contact that mostly occurs between people who are in close proximate areas including congregations such as mosques, churches, class room schools, and work places. Study shows a person infected with TB can infect up to 14 people a year. Most of the time, TB develops as an asymptomatic, a latent disease, and an infected person does not show signs. However if the latent is progressed as a TB diseases, the death rate would be as high as 50%. TB can be passed by exhaling or releasing a tiny droplet containing tubercle bacilli into the air by any one of the following ways:

• Coughs
•  Sneezes
•  Speaks
•  Kisses
•  Spits
•  Pregnant mother can give to her fetus
•  Using un‐sterilize objects such as needle.

Diagnosis:

Diagnosing TB is hard due to its asymptomatic nature. The victim does not show the symptoms of the diseases because it takes time to develop. Thus, in order to diagnose, one of these procedures or all of them has to be followed by a health care professional.

•  Medical history
•  Chest X‐ray
•  Skin test
•  Serological (blood) test
•  Mantoux test (skin test) a substance called Purified Protein Derivative (PPD) tuberculin is injected into victim’s skin after 48‐72 hours later, skin shows hard, raised bump at the injection site for a positive or nothing for a negative.

Symptoms:

Even though the myobacateria can affect every organ of our body, the most common target organ is the pulmonary (lungs); thus, sometimes it is called pulmonary tuberculosis. TB shows the following signs unless it is a latent.

•  Cough which produces discolored or blood sputum
•  Night sweat
•  Lose of appetite
• Fatigue
•  Weight lose
•  Chills, sensation cold, which penetrates the body
•  Pain with breathing or coughing

Prevention:

Preventing TB needs precaution and awareness of the society. Due to lack of knowledge, many people developed a phobia about the disease. Thus, education is very important, knowing who has TB and then identifying their contactors, so that they will be tested and prescribed if they show the symptoms, is one of the key ways to prevent it. The following guidelines help preventing the disease.

•  Dietary plan, eating health food
•  Staying away from areas where infected people are
•  Ensure an adequate ventilation
•  Getting quality air
•  Regular test
•  Vaccinating children to protect them from getting the disease

Treatment:

To treat TB disease is not complicated, and it is simple even though it will take a while to completely eliminate myobacteria from the body. Most of the time, TB disease will take 6‐12 months to fully rid off the bacteria. Therefore TB is curable not only curable, but it is one of the easiest disease to treat. The symptoms of the disease are well recognized and its medication is available. Yet, it is one of the most fatal diseases in many parts of the world mostly in the developing countries. Specific medication of TB depends on age and medical history of the patient. Generality the victims of TB will be treated on antibiotics, but for specifics, contact your physician or a health care professional.

Syphilis is acute and chronic disease. It is caused by spirochete treponema pallidum bacteria, and it develops in several forms primary form, secondary form, latent form, and tertiary form. It is transmissible disease by either sexual contact or using contaminated instrument such as needles. It affects nearly every where of the victim’s organs from genital that most susceptible, neural system, to cardiovascular system.

Causes and spread:

Syphilis is caused by spirochete treponema pallidum bacteria, and it is transmissible that can be passed through direct personal contact or sharing contaminated tools. Therefore the following is the most common way to transfer syphilis from person to the next.

• Sexual contact
•  Kissing
•  Cuts or abrasion in the skin or mucus membrane
•  Mother to her unborn child
•  Sharing lip sticks, needles, etc
•  Blood transfusion

Diagnosis:

Syphilis is an ambiguous disease, for its many phases which makes it to imitate to other diseases. Thus, diagnosing it depends on the stage of the syphilis. However the following techniques are what a professional health care used so far to diagnose it. Scraping samples of sores from the cells of the patient to analyze under microscope

•  Blood test to check either presence of antibodies or infection depends on the stage.
•  Collecting samples of cerebrospinal fluid for neurosyphilis

Symptoms:

The sings of syphilis is actually depends on what type of syphilis are developed. Primary syphilis is when the skin of the patient shows a chancre, single sore in the period of about several weeks after infection happened. Enlargement of lymph nodes in genital and groin area would be possible, in most cases primary syphilis will disappear without treatment, but sometimes it progress into secondary syphilis. In secondary stage, the skin of the patient shows rashes, redness, and mucus membrane in places like hands, feet, palms, and soles. These symptoms can go away with or without treatment or stays for as late as year. Thus, latent, hidden symptoms, will take reverse when

secondary signs disappear without treatment because infection still retain within the person’s body. Without treatment, the syphilis would progress into tertiary stage mostly likely. In tertiary stage, syphilis can spread rapidly into all organs of the body and especially internal organs such as brain to from neurosyphilis and heart to form

cardiosyphilis which could lead to death. Thus, the following signs are known for syphilis:

•  Chancre or single sores on the skin
•  Enlargement of lymph nodes in genital and groin areas
•  Rashes, redness and discolored in the skin, especially hands, palms, feet, and soles
•  Fatigue, soreness, and aching Cardiovascular, and neurological conditions

Prevention:

Prevention is always number one solution to overcome diseases as proverb says prevention is better than cure.

Preventing syphilis is even more grantee than any other disease, since it is a transmissible disease. Thus the following is a guideline to protect one’s self from getting syphilis:

•  Avoid/abstain from sex, other than a health faithful wife or husband
•  Avoid sharing anything like lip sticks, needles, kissing, or shavers
•  Avoid using any contaminated tools or unclean materials, when cleaning cuts or scars in skin

Treatment:

To have a proper treatment for syphilis depends on understanding and knowing the right stage of the disease. Oral or intramuscular injection of penicillin will be the best medicine to take if the patient is not allergic to it, however if the victim is allergic to penicillin than other antibiotics will be used. Therefore the following drugs are what prescribed so far by health care professionals.

•  Penicillin, what type of penicillin depends on your infection therefore refer to your physician
•  Other antibiotics if allergic to penicillin

Water has five properties. It is universal, meaning almost everything dissolves in water. It has less dense as a solid…ice floats. For example, lakes freeze from the top than down, the temperature inside the water is much warmer than the outside temperature. It has a high specific heat; it takes energy to change the temperature of the water because it absorbs and releases energy very slowly. For instance, our body’s temperature is constant, whether it is very cold in the winter or very hot in the summer. It constantly stays the same; for example, 98.8 degrees Fahrenheit or 37 degrees Celsius, there will be no chang­es at all. It has a high tensile strength; it is very hard molecule, for its particles stick together very tightly. For example, if a person lands on water facing his or her stomach down, he or she does not sink, but rather they would stay on the surface. It also has a high heat of evapo­ration; an example of it is when people run, they heat up, and their body would react by sweating, then this water of sweating cools them down. Water is made up of combination of three mol­ecules, one oxygen atom and two hydro­gen atoms (H2O). However, the surface of the earth is about 75% water, only 1% is drinkable water, 97% is salt seawater and 2% is frozen water in ice caps.

Benefits and Facts

Water is the cornerstone of life; it is an essential base of our daily life. All living beings’ life depends on water. No body can count all the benefits that living beings acquire from water. Water is what makes human body to maintain health; it controls bodily heats, assists to excrete toxic substances through perspi­ration and urination. More quality water we drink is more healthier that our body would be. It is water that keeps our mus­cles to maintain stronger, without drink­ing enough water our bones, muscles, and also our whole body system gets weaker. Besides, we would lose weight without drinking stable amount of water, which could lead us into Chronic Cel­lular Dehydration that could cause our body to be weakened and to be suscep­tible to be affected. For that reason, our immune system would be paralyzed and suppressed; thus, our health would be in danger. We inhale and/or exhale water by means of oxygen from the air, which 75% of its surface is water. In ad­dition, all the chemical reactions in our body occur in water as a result of that we exhale carbon dioxide. Plus more than portion of our body is water. As mentioned in the Qur’an, the Muslim Sacred book, the whole life is made from water.

Dehydration kills us faster than the famine and hunger. It is recommended that average person should drink about couple glasses of water everyday, some say eight ounce of water. In order for one to maintain healthy and function well mentally he or she should drink enough water so that his or her brain would work properly. Human joints need more water to do their work right; as an example, water makes the joints to obtain lubrication, so that they can remain in mois­ture and avoid frictions.

We inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, so our lungs would remain moistures; otherwise, it gets stiff and cannot take O2 and CO2 in and out. Our Kidneys take out waste products from our body; for example, uric acid and lactic acid, so in order for these waste products to be taken away from the body, they have to dissolve in with water. Our back is supported by spinal cord, and liquid-water is stored in it. Thus, if there is no water in its system, it could not make movements, which allows us to move and do the work.

Beyond that, is the pregnant woman; she needs more water than any other person, from day one when she starts having morning sickness up to when she gives birth. Even though she needs water all the time as any other person, she requires more water during her gesta­tion period. In addition, some part of her fetus’s cell’s growth depends on how much water and nutrients, she has consumed. Hence, water allows her to transfer the nutrient from her body to her fetus. Water helps the mother to excrete the waste products easily and avoid constipation, which usually is common during gesta­tion period. Amniotic fluid (the cover of the baby) is mostly water. Suppose the mother drinks more quality water, the chance of having a health baby is higher than when she does not drink enough quality of water. Plus the baby would receive enough milk from her after parturition.

Furthermore, in many cases a lot of food that people eat depends on water. When there is plenty of rain, the land becomes prosper so all living creatures in­cluding humans would have something to eat. On the other hand, if there is a drought, there would be no crops, which almost the partial of the world’s popula­tion depends on it. The drought causes starvation and hunger; it could cause the lack of milk and meat from the animals who most people’s daily lives depend on them. Animals’ lives are also based on water as people do, thus without rain, they would not maintain a life and in turn, people would not receive neither meat nor milk from the animals.

With water, we purify ourselves; we wash in water, swim, and cook from it. Because of water, we remove the toxin and poison from what we eat. Besides, almost everything we drink or eat is related water to some extent; for instant, according to researchers, the milk we drink is about 83% water, the watermelon 84%; Diet Coke contains 98% water, and many other juices that we drink.

Moreover, all the reactions that happen in our body occur in water. Hydrologists denoted that the diges­tive system requires water. For example, our main body component of blood plasma is 92% water, the human fetus, which is the growing physical vehicle is 90% water. The blood, which conveys our fluid and nutrient to our body, is 90%, water. Brain, which is the center and controller of our whole body, is 85% water. Similarly, a kidney which makes the process and refreshment of fluid in our body system is 82%, water. Muscles are the primary movers of our body, and 75% of it is water. Liver that metabolizes and re­moves the toxin from our body and about 69% of it is water; the structural supporters of our body system are bones that contain 22% water.

As above examples illustrates without water these organs could not do their work. Water allows and makes easy for our body to transfer the food, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and all the other chemical reactions that take place internal and external of our body. Overall, 70% of our body is water. For example, if a person’s weight is 200bl and step on scale about 120 of that weight is water. On the other hand, when it comes to lose weight, water is very significant be­cause it does not contain calories, cholesterols, and its sodium is pretty low. Thus, a person can lose weight easily just by urinating and sweating.

Islam

As Qur’an talked about everything that has some value for human life, it clearly stated in number of times the importance of water; thus life originally made from water according to the Qur’an. “Have not those who disbelieve known that the heavens and the earth were joined together as one united piece, then we parted them? And We have made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?” (21:30).

We conclude from the verse life starts with water, means without water, there would be no life on earth in the first place. Now, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, (NASA) is exploring other planets to see whether it had been water in the past, so that human beings may live there one day. Scientists understand now if place like mars had water; it had been a life sometimes in the past, recognizing that life depends and originated on water, which Allah (God) stated numerous times in the Qur’an over centuries ago.

In terms of creation Adam was the first human, and he was created from clay mixed with water. Allah the Almighty said, “And indeed We created man (Adam) out of an extract of clay (water and earth)” (23: 12). It means that our life started with water so we partially water if not whole. Eve was the second human, Allah created her from Adam’s last rib. Eve and Adam married, and Allah gave them many children to populate the earth. Allah said, “And it is He Who has created man from water, and has appointed for him kindred by blood, and kindred by marriage. And your Lord is Ever All-Powerful to do what He wills” (25:54). As any other living creatures, our life’s beginning point was water. The offspring were created the combination of male and female sexual discharge (semen). In here Allah said, “So let man see from what he is created! He is created from a water gush­ing forth, proceeding from between the backbone and ribs” (86:5-6-7). Humans are coming from the semen from their fathers’ backbone and semen from their mothers’ clavicle (the collarbone), this was our first develop­mental stage. Thus, the lives of all living creatures rely on water to some extent.

On the other hand, Qur’an stated in details the sig­nificant of water to our daily lives. We purify ourselves with water, swim, drink, shower, and cook from it. It rains to all living things not only for humans, so they would have prospers and good life. Animals eat from the rain; thus, humans would consume more meat and plenty of milk from the animals. Allah said, “And it is He Who sends the winds as heralds of glad tidings, going before His Mercy (rain); and We send down pure water from the sky” (25:48).When all the grasses, fruits, and trees become dry, which has no shadow, or any other things to use, it is the rain that makes them alive and re-grow them back again so that they reproduce once again. Here another verse Allah said, “That We may give life thereby to a dead land, and We give to drink thereof many of the cattle and men that We had created” (25:49). It ex­plains when rain rains; it could bring back the grass and vegetables, which was ruined by the droughts. Again in the Qur’an Allah said, “See you not that Allah sends down water (rain) from the sky, and We produce there­with fruits of varies colours” (35:27). Rain produces the crops, leaves from the trees, and green grass from the land, which are our biggest sources on earth. Qur’an has furnished centuries and centuries ago the essence of water to living beings and especially to human life. Unfortunately, certain people are either ignoring it or do not want to appreciate the bounty of Allah, in which He gave them. Then as result, people are draw­ing pictures on the water’s surface, which will never be visible to our sights. It means, when one is looking for an answer, which he or she did not understand its question in the first place.

Reference:

1. Batmanghelidj, F, M.D. “Why do we need to drink water?” Harmonik Ireland and the

2. Living Water Workshop. 17 Mar. 2008.

3. Victoria Whitehead. 17 Mar. 2008.

Ramadan is an Arabic word, and roughly translated as intense heat or sun-scorched ground. It is for that reason that it is called Ramadan due to its dry sensation of thirst and burn of the stomach when fasting. Ramadan is the ninth month of the lunar Islamic calendar. It was mandated to Muslims in the 2nd year of Hijrah; thus, it is one of the pillars of Islam. Ramadan was also mandated to people before Muslims.

Allah said, “O you who believe! Observe Asawm (the fasting) is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become Al-Muttaqun (the pious)” (2:183).

It is a blessed and significant month, for it is the month of Qur’an. It was in Ramadan when the Qur’an was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), as well as Injeel to Prophet Issa, Torah to Prophet Musa, Zabur to Prophet Da’ud, and Suhuf to Prophet Ibrahim peace be upon all of them.

Allah said, “The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Qur’an, a guidance and the criterion (between right and wrong)” (2:185).

The word fasting is sawm in Arabic, and it is interpreted as to abstaining from something. During the whole month of Ramadan all applicable Muslim adults fast, commencing and ending with the sighting of new moon, and the entire day is spent on fasting from dawn to dust. It is recommended to break the fasting with dates and/or water, and to have a meal before the dawn prayer. However, if the fasting person drinks or eats unconsciously during the day, the person will stop when he or she remembers and continues fasting the rest of the day. Fasting the month of Ramadan is the fourth pillar of Islam.

Things to Fast from:

The word sawm literally means to “abstain.” However, in the Islamic shar’ah it means abstaining from food, water, sexual activities, and smoking during daylight. One is also not allowed to engage in any misconduct whether that is gossiping, slandering, lying, or harming others physically or psychologically. Parts of the rituals of Ramadan are to be peaceful and behave well, so that even if someone insults you while you are fasting, your response would to be do nothing but say “I am fasting; I am fasting.”

The Prophet said (pbuh) “Fasting is protection or shield, screen, or a shelter from the Hell-fire). So, the person observing fasting should avoid sexual relation with his wife or her husband and should not behave foolishly and impudently, and if somebody fights with his/her or abuses them, he or she should say to him or her twice I am fasting” , ( Bukhari).

Therefore things that we should fast from can shortly be summarized as the following categories:

•  Abstaining from forbidden physical activities performed by mouth, stomach, or sex organs.
•  Preventing from forbidden actions or speech such as vulgar talking, hearing, seeing or viewing forbidden items/or sites.

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said, “He who does not desist from obscene language and acting obscenely, Allah has no need that he did not eat or drink” (Bukhari).

 As the hadith stated, all the above actions and words can negate the fasting. Therefore, one should avoid anything that invalidates his or her fasting.

Importance and Benefits of Ramadan:

On the other hand, Ramadan is a blessed month and has lots of benefits for the observers; therefore, one does not just stop all the above desires of life without compensation or gaining a reward for it. The rewards of this month are numerous. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said this month is divided into

three parts or divisions. “Its beginning is Mercy, its middle is Forgiveness, and its ending is Libration from the Hellfire” (Bukhari).

Thus, the whole month is full of chances to make good deeds. The first part of the month is mercy, and Allah is always merciful, for He starts the word Most Gracious Most Merciful in the beginning of almost every chapter in the Qur’an. Even though Allah’s mercy is open anytime to anyone, He rewards us with His mercy in this month than in any other month. Second part of the month is forgiveness. Allah is most forgiving to His servants. The probability of being forgiven is greater than any other time. The last part of Ramadan summarizes the parts before it, because after receiving both mercy and forgiveness what one seeks is to be freed from the Hellfire or to enter Paradise. Thus the last part of Ramadan is liberation from the Hellfire. He wants us to take the advantages of this honored month in which the deeds multiple. Imagine if your neighbor dealer is selling his or her BMW for $10,000 in one day of the year where it actually is $20,000.00 for the rest of the year. Would you compete and benefit from this chance or would you buy it at the high regular price? Logically, intellectual person would take the chance and save that huge money. Thus, Allah gives the believer

who observe fasting a giant opportunity to secure themselves from the Hellfire.

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said, “A blessed month has arrived. Observing it in fasting is mandated on you. During this month, the gates of Paradise will be opened and the gates of Hellfire will be closed and Satans or evils are chained. (Abu Hureirah).

For this opportunity of the Ramadan, the doors of Paradise are opened and those of the Hellfire are closed. The rituals and worshiping of Allah would be easier than other months, since big evils are jailed. Therefore, the temptations of evil would be less, which enables us to worship Allah more precisely and more frequently. In addition, fasting is by far the most intimate form of worship.

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said that Allah said, “I swore by the One in Whose Hand is the soul of Muhammad, the unpleasant smell coming out from the mouth of a fasting person is better in the sight of Allah than the smell of musk”. (Abu Hureirah).

The smell that comes from the fasting person is much better with Allah than a perfume. This distasteful breath is caused by the lack of eating and long period in which the mouth was covered. It is difficult and not easy to stay without water, food and any desires of life for such a long time. Nevertheless, the reward that such a devout person could deserve is expounded by the following hadith.

The Prophet (pbuh) said Allah said “He or she left his or her food, drink, and desires for My sake. The fast is for Me. So I will reward the fasting for it and the reward of good deeds is multiplied ten times” (Bukhari).

The reason fasting is for Allah is because every other pillar of Islam is carried out physically and cannot be hidden. When one performs, others could see and can even comment on his or her actions. However, fasting is different because no one knows whether one is fasting or not. For example, if one cheats around the corner and drinks water during Ramadan who could tell other than Allah? Therefore, Allah is the only One who can know such actions, for He is the knower of the Unseen. As mentioned above, Ramadan is the month of Qur’an; thus, Muslims are recommended to read the Qur’an, perform tarawih (an extra prayer performed during this month after ‘Isha prayer), and to read a section from the Qur’an  every night. The Qur’an contains thirty sections (Juz); therefore, these thirty sections will be completed by the last night of the month. Within this month, Allah hides in it a night which is better than a thousand months.

Allah said; “The Night of Power is better than a thousand months. The angels and the Spirit descend in it by the permission of their Lord for every affair, Peace, it is, until the break of the dawn” (97: 3-5).

This night’s deed is equivalent to an amount of good deeds in 83 years and four months. Hence, it is the best interest of the fasting people to obtain the deeds of this night. This night could be in any night during the month; however, most scholars indicate that it is one of the odd nights of the last ten nights. Some scholars specifically indicated as the 27th night of Ramadan. Again, no one knows precisely other than Allah because geographically it is very hard to see the month at the same time. A person who lives in South Africa and one who lives in North America will not see the new moon at the same night. Thus, the only safer way to attain this night is to do all the rituals of this month by observing fasting, giving charity, performing prayers, reciting the Qur’an, participating in all rites of the month and avoiding any misconducts and bad habits for the whole month. It is in this night that first verses of the Qur’an were revealed to the Prophet (peace be upon him). It is the night in which Allah determines the courses of the world for the coming year. Ramadan is the month of discipline and self-training. It teaches us how to control ourselves, so that we can do and stop things in a certain time. It is the learning month, so if the lessons learned from this month are carried out after Ramadan  whether it is dietary, righteousness, or how to control desires the impact will be long lasting. The fortune of having assets as fancy as airplane, ships, and sky rises buildings, or basic as niche, or food to eat whatever it may be is a bounty from Allah. It is a mandatory act for whoever is given that fortune to praise and thank Allah and at the same time to sympathize to those who are less fortunate.

Therefore one of the core values of Ramadan is to teach us to clean our heart from its vulgarity and arrogance so that we will help and to ease the vice between us. Ramadan has health benefits. The Prophet (pbuh) said in a hadith that a human being has not filled a container worse than his or her stomach. Therefore, filling the stomach all the time would cause some disease. Almost all the disease that people are afflicted with in these days are from what they eat. We are living in an era in which the majority of the population is overweight and heading to become obese. Thus, fasting will help one to control his or her diet, to manage their weight, and to lower their lipids and cholesterol. Fasting also gives a rest to digestive system to digest the food particles one at a time. This leads to another hadith in which the prophet said, fast, you will get healthier.

Therefore, the reasons and importance of fasting can be summarized as follows:

• Obligation from Allah: obeying and following Allah’s order
• Purifying the soul and gaining more piety: strengthening connection and devotion for Allah preformed by heart and mind
• Self-Control: to discipline one’s habit and to train his or her self by following an order that they can stop or do things in a certain times.
•  Physical Health: to control one’s diet
• Sympathy for less Fortunate: appreciating Allah’s bounty of having what to eat so one might remember the need of those who do not have food.

Who must fast?

•  All mature, sane, and health capable Muslims

Who will not fast?

•  Children: who have not reached the age of puberty

Who is excused?

• Travelers: they will make up the missed days
•  Sick individuals: they will fast the missed days later when they are cured
•  Pregnant and breast feeding women: they might feed a poor person or fast later on according to different scholars’ opinions
•  The elderly and patient: who has no hopes of regaining their ability or health, they will pay or feed one person every day

Who must not fast?

•  Menstruating and Postpartum women: they will fast later after the blood is over.