GLORIOUS QURAN: A MIRACLE OF PURITY AND DIVINITY (3)

Published in The Guardian Newspaper of August 6, 2015



Scientists describe labour, which ends with delivery, as comprised of 4 stages: (1) Stage of dilatation of cervix and contraction of uterus muscle. (2) Stage of delivering of the foetus. (3) Stage of placenta emergence and the formation of blood clot behind the placenta. (4) Stage of uterus contraction. This is to alleviate the bleeding after delivery process, and continues for about two hours. So, Almighty Allah designs these stages from Eve (Hawau) through Hannah (Hannat) and Mary (Mariam), mother of Jesus (AS) till date and not through “placing curse on Eve” as recorded in the Glorious Quran.

After delivery and cutting of umbilical cord which the foetus has depended upon for acquiring food from the mother during pregnancy, the baby starts another stage in a new station of life. In this stage, Almighty Allah, the Supreme Being, ordained another unique food for the baby. He asserts “And the mothers should suckle their children for two whole years for him who desires to make complete the time of suckling; and their maintenance and their clothing must be– borne by the father according to usage; no soul shall have imposed upon it a duty but to the extent of its capacity; neither shall a mother be made to suffer harm on account of her child, nor a father on account of his child, and a similar duty (devolves) on the (father’s) heir, but if both desire weaning by mutual consent and counsel, there is no blame on them, and if you wish to engage a wet-nurse for your children, there is no blame on you so long as you pay what you promised for according to usage; and be careful of (your duty to) Allah and know that Allah sees what you do” (Q2:233).

So, Almighty Allah through the Glorious Quran enjoins “two years” for breastfeeding (without compulsion from the mother and those with medical difficulties) as the best form of weaning and the financial responsibility should be borne “by the father” based on capability. The parents (of the new born baby) are enjoined to seek counsel from experienced ones and health officers and if the mother is medically not fit to breastfeed, she can employ medically certified woman to do so.

More importantly, scientists discovered recently that the child’s complete nutrition is from her mother’s breast milk, as it is not completed unless the mother suckled her child for two complete years! Again, World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life, after which “infants should receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods while breastfeeding continues up to two years of age or beyond ” as reported in WHO (2003) Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding, Geneva. Yet, a new medical conference came with a conclusion that the ideal period of sucking is two years, because in this age the child is in urgent need of immunity elements to develop immunity systems which are only found in mother’s milk.

One would not but ask: why did it take the turn of millennium before WHO, Academy of Pediatrics, US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality among others to align their scientific reasoning with what Almighty Allah has revealed to Prophet Muhammed (through Angel Gabriel) in 14 hundred centuries ago? Why is it that since 1400 years ago, Quran has not be revised, reviewed, re-edited or re-modified? In answering these questions, it is universally acknowledged backed with historical facts and scientific reasoning, that the Glorious Quran is a revealed book from the Almighty Allah through Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) unto mankind over a period of 23 years.

While contributing to the debate on the originality of the Quran, the New Catholic Encyclopedia has a very interesting subject under Qur’an. In an article under this subject, the Catholic Church states that “Over the centuries, many theories have been offered as to the origin of the Qur’an… Today, no sensible man accepts any of these theories!!” Again, Encyclopedia of Religions and Ethics (volume 10, page 549) stated: “There are in the public libraries of Europe many Qur’anic manuscripts of high antiquity, the oldest dating probably from the second Islamic century, but apart from some anomalies of spelling due to rudimentary character of the early Arabic orthography, no real variant can be detected in them….”

Surprisingly, one of the oldest texts of the Qur’an in the world, on parchment that was possibly made within the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), has been found in the collection of the Cadbury Research Library at the University of Birmingham according to BBC Online of July 22, 2015. The two well-preserved leaves of parchment, closely written in an elegant script, have been radiocarbon-dated to between AD568 and AD645, a result regarded by the scientists who tested it at University of Oxford as near certain – 95.4% accurate.

David Thomas, professor of Christianity and Islam, and the Nadir Dinshaw professor of interreligious relations at the university, called the discovery “one of the most surprising secrets of the university’s collections”. He said it supported the view that the version of the Qur’an in use today had hardly changed from the earliest recorded version, and the Muslim belief that the text represented an exact record of the revelations delivered to the Prophet.

The parchment and the beautiful early Arabic script closely resemble other fragments in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris from the earliest mosque in Egypt, founded in AD642. These assertions testify to the message of the Glorious Quran that “Surely, We have revealed the Reminder (Quran) and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption)” (Q15:9). No wonder Rev. Bosworth Smith concluded in his book - Mohammed and Mohammedanism - published in London, that “Al-Quran as a miracle of purity of style, of wisdom and of truth, it is the one miracle claimed by Mohammed, his standing miracle; he called it, and a miracle indeed it is!”

· Concluded.

· Engr. Dauda Ayanda (MNSE), wrote from Ibadan.

GLORIOUS QURAN: A MIRACLE OF PURITY AND DIVINITY (2)

Published online in The Guardian Newspaper of July 31, 2015

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/2015/07/glorious-quran-miracle-of-purity-and-divinity-2/



Yet, it was in 1677 that Hamm and Leeuwenhoek became the first scientists to observe human sperm cells (spermatozoa) using a microscope. They thought that a sperm cell contained a miniature human being that grew in the uterus to form a newborn. This was known as the perforation theory. When scientists discovered that the ovum was bigger than the sperm, it was thought by De Graf and others that the foetus existed in a miniature form in the ovum. Later in the 18th century, Maupertuis propagated the theory of biparental inheritance.

Recently, Prof. Marshall Johnson of Dept. of Anatomy, Thomas Jefferson University would have this to say about embryological stages of human development “I see nothing here (in Quran) in conflict with the concept that divine intervention was involved in scientific description of embryo when Muhammed (PBUH) recited the Quran”. Again, Dr Keith Moore, a non-Muslim professor of Embryology and a world expert on the subject at the University of Toronto was once asked ‘How do you explain this information in the Quran?’ Dr Moore’s response was, ‘It could only have been divinely revealed!’

Moreover, who guides the embryo in his journey to life? He is Allah, the Supreme Being, who says “Our Lord is He who gave to each thing its form and nature, then guided it aright” (Q20:50). The Glorious Quran also asserts authoritatively that “He it is who shapes you in the wombs as He pleases. There is no god but He (Allah), the Exalted in Might, the Wise” (Q3:6).

In order to make it convincingly clear, here is an exquisite remark: Allah says “He creates you in the wombs of your mothers in stages, one after another, in three veils of darkness.” (Q39:6), thus indicating the continuation of the embryonic development and the change from one stage into another, as explained earlier. Embryologists have confirmed that the foetus is surrounded, during the stages of development, with three membranes: The amnion membrane which contains a fluid encompassing the foetus to make it in a state of swimming, thus protecting it from trauma that the uterus encounters, and facilitates the foetus movements for re-position smoothly during labour; the chorion membrane and; the decidua membrane. Some scholars interpreted the three veils of darkness with the amniotic membrane surrounding the uterus, wall of uterus, and abdomen wall. Yet, Allah knows best.

The embryonic stages are in accordance with the Prophet Muhammed’s (PBUH) saying in one of his narration in Sahih Muslim: “When 42 nights have passed over the conception, Allah sends an angel to it, who shapes it (into human form) and makes its ears, eyes, skin, muscles and bones. Then he says: ` O Lord is it male or female? `, and your Lord decides what He wishes and the angel records it.” After 42 nights (6 weeks), the embryo begins to take the human image with the appearance of cartilaginous skeleton, then the external genitals begin to appear later on (the 10th week). In the 7th week the human image gets clearer with the start of the spread of skeleton. This week represents (between 40 and 45 days) the demarcation line between ‘mudgha’ (lump of flesh) and human image.

After the completion of embryonic stages and the passing of nine lunar months, the foetus completes growth in the uterus. Why nine lunar months is the benchmark for delivery while before this time is considered pre-mature and after is post-datum? Who instructs the foetus to prepare for another stage of coming to this world? Almighty Allah says “And We cause whom We will to rest in the wombs for an appointed term” (Q22:5). So the term is divinely ordained as appointed and determined. The Supreme Being also asserts that “The foetus We placed in a place of rest, firmly fixed, for a period (of gestation) determined. For We do determine, for We are the best to determine things” (Q77:21-23).



The Glorious Quran elaborates the stages of labour as a “divine plan” of the Almighty Allah while making reference to women in labour, in which the status of Mary, who is a pious believer in monotheism and the mother of Prophet Isa (Jesus Christ, peace be upon him) as described in the following verse when she was in labour of delivering Jesus Christ: “And the birth pains surprised her by the trunk of the palm tree: she said; ‘Ah! Would I have died before this! And become a thing forgotten.’ But (a voice) cried to her from beneath: ‘Grieve not! Your Lord has set below you a rivulet. Shake to you the palm-trunk, and there shall come falling upon you dates fresh and ripe. So eat, and drink, and be comforted...…” (Q19: 23-26). She made this confession after delivering Prophet Isa (Jesus Christ, pbuh) and recounted her experience of labour pain. As a pious woman who submitted to the will of her Lord, a voice came upon her (from Angel Gabriel) who directed her to eat dates to comfort her.

It has been scientifically proved that dates have several benefits for woman in labour which includes: Dates are rich in fibers which help avoid constipation, as it is a natural laxative, and helps a smooth delivery. Dates contain more than 70% glucose which is easily absorbed and assimilated, thus ensuring the provision of necessary energy during labour. Dates is rich in minerals, particularly magnesium which is necessary for cells physiology, potassium which is necessary for the muscles and irons which is necessary to treat anaemia; Dates contain a substance that helps alert the muscles of uterus to contract and increase contraction during delivery among others.

· To be continued.



· Engr. Dauda Ayanda (MNSE), wrote from Ibadan.

GLORIOUS QU'RAN: A MIRACLE OF PURITY AND DIVINITY (1)

Published online in The Guardian Newspaper of July 24, 2015

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/2015/07/glorious-quran-a-miracle-of-purity-and-divinity-1/



Karl Von Frisch received the Nobel Prize in 1973 for his research on the behaviour and communication of the bees. The bee, after discovering any new garden or flower, goes back and tells its fellow bees the exact direction and map to get there, which is known as “bee dance”. This theory, which centered on investigations of the sensory perceptions of bee and translated the meaning of waggle dance as described in his book published in 1927 – The Dancing Bees, was disputed by other scientists and greeted with skepticism at the time. It was only much later that it was definitely proved to be an accurate theoretical analysis.

It was in the same vein, long before modern civilization, that divine revelation of the Glorious Quran was accepted with skepticism. The Glorious Quran explains, more than 1400 years ago, how bee finds with skill the spacious paths of its Lord thus: “And thy Lord taught the bee to build its cells in hills, on trees, and in (men) habitations. Then to eat of all produce (of the earth), and follow the ways of thy Lord made smooth: there issues from within their bodies (honey) a drink of varying colours, wherein is healing for men: verily in this is a sign for those who reflect” (Quran 16:68-69).

The gender used for the bee is the female gender indicating that the bee that leaves its home for gathering food is a female bee. In other words, the soldier or worker bee is a female bee. However, in Shakespeare’s play “Henry the Fourth”, some of the characters speak about bees and mention that the bees are soldiers and they have a king. That is what people thought in Shakespeare times but not true. It took modern investigations in the last 300 years to align with the Glorious Quran.

This perspective of Von Frisch ground-breaking research which coincided with earlier revelation of the Quran explains why Evolutionary Computing research has also model the behavior of ants known as “Ant Colony Optimization Algorithm” in line with the communication of ants in Holy Quran. The Glorious Quran reveals the activities of ants in relative to wisdom of Prophet Sulaiman (AS) as follows: “And before Sulaiman were marshaled his hosts, of Jinns and men and birds, they were all kept in order and ranks. At length, when they came to a valley of ants, one of the ants said: ‘O ye ants, get into your habitations, lest Sulaiman and his hosts crush you (under foot) without knowing it’” (Quran 27:17-18).

Invariably, the scientific accuracy of Holy Quran with modern science and civilization as shown in the lifestyle of bees and ants (which were not known earlier to mankind) is a pointer to a knowledge that is beyond the unlettered Prophet Muhammed (PBUH). Never in history of Science has anyone drawn inference without proper scientific enquiry based on sound methodical approach with appropriate equipment.

Furthermore, one of the most strange phenomena is the creation of human. One cell grows to be 100 trillion cells. How does this operation happen? Who controls this precise program? Is it nature or the creator of nature? The Glorious Quran refers to the creation of human beings thus: “It is He (Allah) who has created man from water. Then He has established relationships of lineage and marriage; for thy Lord has power over all things” (Q25:54). This verse refers to the creation of Prophet Adam (AS) and the established relationship through Eve (Hawau) - every human being emanated from these two sources. Only after advances have been made in Science do we now know that cytoplasm, the basic substance of the cell is made up of 80% water. Modern research has also revealed that most organisms consist of 50% to 90% water and that every living entity requires water for its existence.

In the meantime, the Glorious Quran mentions no less than eleven times that human being is created from ‘Nutfah’, which means a minute quantity of liquid or a trickle of liquid (sperm) which remains after emptying a cup. It says “Was he not a drop of sperm emitted (in lowly form)? Then did (Allah) make and fashion (him) in due proportion. And of him He made two sexes, male and female” (Q75:37-39). The Supreme Being is reasoning with us when He asked question in the verse above: “Was he not….?” He also demonstrated His supremacy of creation when He said “Allah make and fashion him in due proportion…”

Primarily, sex determination occurs at the fertilization and depends upon the type of sex chromosome (X or Y) in the sperm that fertilizes an ovum. Thus, Almighty Allah asserted “That He (Allah) did create in pairs – male and female, from a sperm-drop when lodged (in its place)” (Q53:45-46). It is therefore out of place to blame a woman for girl child since woman only brings forth X-chromosome. That male and female child emanate from sperm-drop is in consistence with modern Science.

In the course of fashioning our existence, Almighty Allah (SW) explained the stages of embryology that was not known to anyone then (be it scientists or otherwise) to the last messenger – Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) in over 14 centuries ago. Allah says “And indeed We created man (Adam) out of an extract of clay (water and dust); thereafter We made him (the offspring of Adam) as a nutfah (mixed drops of male and female sexual discharge) and lodged it in a safe lodging (womb of the woman). Then We made the nutfah into a clot (a piece of thick coagulated blood), then We made the clot into a little lump of flesh, then We made out of that little lump of flesh bones, then We clothed the bones with flesh, and then We brought it forth as another creation. So blessed is Allah, the Best of Creators” (Q23:12-14).

· To be continued.



· Engr. Dauda Ayanda (MNSE), wrote from Ibadan.

DEVELOP THE PEOPLE TO BUILD INFRASTRUCTURE

By F. E. Ogbimi on July 24, 2015
The Guardian Newspaper
http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/2015/07/develop-the-people-to-build-infrastructure/




IN 1949 when Mao Zedung became the leader of the Chinese people, the economy was in chaos. The Russians on whom the Chinese had depended upon for a long time had quarreled with them and stripped Manchuria, the most built-up city of everything. The transport system was in ruins and the currency worthless. The Chinese used the resource they have in abundance – people (Stoke and Stoke, 1975). “Let the people walk on two legs,” said Mao Zedung. “Let the native skills and the local materials supplement modern technology.” Mao meant to mobilise the entire populace and link learning efforts in educational institutions with those in the rest of the economy.

Everyone in Chinese communes worked together. That was how the Chinese having crawled during the period 1000 B C.- 1949 A. D., 2,949 years, accelerated modernisation to become the fastest growing economy in the world.

The founder of modern Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, became Prime Minister at the age of 35 years (Forbes Global, 2001). In an exclusive interview with Michael Boclurkiw of Forbes Global, in which he shared his thoughts and insights on Singapore and the region, he said: In the early days, the National Science and Technology Board (NSTB), the lead agency in Singapore’s New Economic drive, figured that because of the low percentage of research scientists and other knowledge workers in Singapore, it needed to quickly build up a capability for knowledge generation.

Investments were made in the areas of science and technology. In less than 10 years, the number of research scientists and engineers rose from less than 28 per 10,000 workers to about 70, close to the 75 that most developed economies have. Now, there is a strong base of science and technology covering diverse areas. Again, the Singapore’s miraculous change was a matter of learning and acquiring scientific and technological knowledge, skills and capabilities, as well as developing the people in various knowledge areas for an economy.

The Asians intuitively know that learning is the fundamental basis of self-reliance. That explains why they are credited with the adage which says: teach me how to fish so that I can catch fish myself whenever I want to eat fish. History shows that one society learns from another and this is the basis for improving the productivity of the society with the lower productivity.

Federal and state governments in Nigeria have been emphasising capital investments and erecting infrastructure for decades. Nigerian governments have been mismanaging the economy by emphasising the wrong development strategy and accumulating unnecessary debt burdens. The review of the development experiences of Britain, the United States of America, China and Singapore revealed that they learnt laissez-faire for 2000-3000 years, achieved Industrial Revolution (IR) and acquired the capabilities for building relevant infrastructure before focusing on the development of the relevant infrastructure. So, mismanagement does not come from corruption alone, the more serious mismanagement of the economy comes from adopting the wrong development strategy and implementing wrong projects. Indeed, mismanagement of the economy through the adoption of the wrong development strategy and implementing wrong programmes and projects promotes corruption and it has been the bane of Nigeria’s development since independence in 1960.

It is obvious that European, American and some Asian nations are industrialised whereas African nations are pre-industrialised. If Nigerian leaders were wise, they would try to find out how the non-African nations became industrialised. Nigerian leaders are assuming that knowledge about what other nations did in the past is not important. Also, Nigerian leaders think that Nigeria does not need to understand the industrialisation process before embarking on it. They believe that seeking Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) in a most ridiculous manner and awarding inflated contracts for erecting structures are the sure way to achieving rapid industrialisation. What do the industrialised nations have in common? They have the competences for manufacturing uncountable products. Africans intelligentsia/intellectuals talk of technology transfer because of shallow reasoning. Who transferred technology to Britain – the first nation to achieve the modern Industrial Revolution (IR)? Britain, like all other industrialised nations, was an agricultural nation for about 2000 years. When Britain became the manufacturer of innumerable scientific and technological products, it must have acquired the capabilities for manufacturing the products!

The child must learn how to read and write, otherwise, it grows up to be an illiterate. No one or nation is born with the skills to produce. All knowledge, skills and competences are acquired through learning. One who wishes to be a good dancer must learn how to dance. A nation which hopes to manufacture many products must develop the people to manufacture them.

In a nation where learning – education and training, is emphasised, there is continuous build-up of knowledge, skills and competences (KSCs). As the learning process continues, a point is reached where each type of KSCs begins to enjoy the supportive impact of all others and all of them form an invisible KSCs-network, a sort of problem-attacking front. The nation at that point achieves Industrial Revolution (IR) – a technological puberty. Productivity improves dramatically, the nation achieves economic diversification – various sectors of the economy begin to perform efficiently and effectively. The economic transformation described as IR, may be likened to that which the spider achieves when it combines many of its silk-threads to make its web. The single silk-thread which the spider spins is a relatively weak structural material which fails readily under any stress regime.

However, the web which is made from the combination of many of the weak silk-threads catches the small creatures on which the spider feeds. In a like manner, no individual solves the problems of a nation, but a combination of many millions of knowledgeable, skilled and competent people transforms an agricultural nation into an industrialised one.

What Nigeria needs to do is to develop the people so that the people can build the necessary infrastructure. President Buhari must not owe to build infrastructure. Nigeria should establish a standing training framework nearly as large as the existing educational system to train graduates of educational institutions, science and engineers in particular to acquire complementary practical skills. The absence of the indispensable training framework has been the biggest obstacle to Nigeria’s rapid development.

• Ogbimi wrote via fogbimi@yahoo.com

MUSLIM UMMAH OF SOUTH WEST NIGERIA (MUSWEN) HIJRAH NEW YEAR HOLIDAY: IN DEFENCE OF THE TRUTH

Available online at

The Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN), the umbrella body embracing all Muslim organizations and institutions domicile in South West Nigeria, is deeply concerned that The Punch newspaper subjected the Executive Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, to severe criticism over the Governor's declaration of the Muslim New Year day, Thursday, 1 Muharram 1434/15 November 2012 as public holiday in the state. By making the issue the subject of the Editorial in its issue of 20 November, the newspaper betrayed its deep-rooted traditional bias against anything Muslim. The profundity of the bias seemed to have made the paper forget about the need to research the issue and think it through objectively before writing. That perhaps was also why the Editorial dabbled into extraneous issues that the paper was ill-informed about, such as the Shari'ah adjudication in parts of the country and the role of Islam in the politics of Pakistan. So, contrary to the newspaper's claim, it is not the government of Aregbesola that "has opened itself to criticism"; it is The Punch that has exposed its hatred for Islam.

A little bit of research should have revealed to the newspaper that, long before the British colonialists brought the Gregorian Calendar, the people of the State of Osun had been familiar with the Hijrah system, as Islam had gained firm foot-hold in Yorubaland. The town of Iwo, to this day, is known among the Yoruba as Ile Afaa, 'the abode of Muslim scholars and clerics'. Similarly, like Epe in Lagos State and some other cities in the South West, Ede was recognized as the home of Islamic learning and the Shari'ah. The Punch ought to have known this!

The newspaper should also have learnt that, for Muslims, the Hijrah or emigration of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and the early Muslims from Makkah to Madinah, was a turning point marking relief from oppression and religious persecution to freedom of religion and peaceful coexistence among people of different religious persuasions. It provided such freedom not just for the Muslims but also for the Jews and Christians who lived in or visited the new Islamic city-state of Madinah and its environs.

Are the editors of Punch aware of the fact that the Gregorian Calendar was created by Pope Gregory XIII in the 16th Century with a view to celebrating the Easter at the time the Catholic Church "thought the First Council of Nicaea had agreed upon in 325"? Are they also aware of the fact that many Protestant countries of Europe "initially objected to adopting a Catholic invention for fear that the new calendar was part of a plot to return them to the Catholic fold"?. So, Britain and the British Empire did not adopt the Gregorian Calendar until 1752. Moreover, from the 12th century until 1751 the legal year in England began on 25 March, not 1 January.

That was the kind of calendar that the British colonialists imposed upon all Nigerians including Muslims who hitherto had organized their activities on the basis of the Hijrah calendar. It is pertinent to note that the first six months of the Gregorian calendar are named after false gods and goddesses, an idea that is diametrically opposed to the Islamic doctrine of Tawheed, belief in the absolute Oneness of Allah. It is also pertinent to note that despite these contradictions, the Muslims of Nigeria have, in their characteristic tolerance, restrained themselves from raising objection to the imposition of the Gregorian calendar. On the contrary, they have joined other compatriots in adopting January 1 as the beginning of the country's administrative year.

It was our first Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa that first declared the two public holidays to mark the Muslim 'Id festivals respectively. Hitherto, Muslim employees were expected to go to work, and Muslim children to go to school, even on 'Id days. Sometimes, public examinations were deliberately fixed on days of 'Id. 

When, in 1972, the Seventh Day Adventists, a Christian denomination, demanded that Saturday be declared a work free-day in the country, the government under Gen. Yakubu Gowon acceded to their demand. The Muslims did not raise any objection to the demand or the government's granting of it. Ever since then, Nigerian Christians have enjoyed 104 days of holiday (Saturday and Sunday) every year while Muslims do not have any corresponding advantage. Certainly, Muslims would wish that Friday be a work-free day so they can take our children to the mosques to worship with us as the Christians do on Saturdays and Sundays. However, in our characteristic tolerance, we have not made such a demand with any degree of insistence.

Any reasonable person would expect that, given the above facts, non-Muslim compatriots would understand and welcome the courageous decision of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola to declare the first day of Hijrah year as a public holiday in his state. The Governor himself made it clear that the Muslim faithful use the hijrah calendar for their programmes and therefore, it should be "accorded its due respect like the first day of January". As Femi Abbas stated, and rightly so, in his column on Friday 23 November 2012, an "unjust status quo cannot be maintain indefinitely". Ogbeni Aregbesola has taken the right step in the right direction and he has the support of all lovers of justice in Nigeria, Muslim and non-Muslim alike. If he did not "campaign for office in order to promote religion", as 

The Punch suggested, he did campaign to promote justice and fair play. And that exactly is what he has done! Meanwhile, the law is totally on his side, as the Public Holidays Act gives a State Gorvernor the power to "appoint a special day to be kept as a public holiday in the state".

At this juncture we wish to commend the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Osun State Branch under the leadership of Evangelist Abiodun Aladeseye who demonstrated maturity and fair-mindedness when he declared that the Christians in the state had nothing against the declaration of the holiday. He even reportedly sent congratulatory messages to the governor and the Chief Imam of Osogbo, Sheikh Ajisafe on the occasion. Where does that leave The Punch newspaper which cried when they bereaved did not?

Like some careless commentators, the editors of The Punch were under the notion that Nigeria is a secular country. That notion contradicts the collective agreement of the people of Nigeria that we shall live together and operate "under God" as contained in the opening statement of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Constitution deals MAINLY with public, rather than prIvate life. What it says is that the government shall not adopt any religion as state religion. Secularity means non-recognition of religious values in governance and the most important value taught by the religions practised in Nigeria is belief in the existence and supremacy of God. So, no provision of the Constitution supports the notion of secularity. Nigeria is a multi-religious, not secular, country. ...................The Punch complained that the hijrah holiday was one too many. If that is so, would the paper support a reversion to the pre-Gowon declaration when the country operated a six-day week system? After all, that would save 52 working days for our economy.

The Punch complained that the hijrah holiday was one too many. If that is so, would the paper support a reversion to the pre-Gowon declaration when the country operated a six-day week system? After all, that would save 52 working days for our economy.

It should be noted that, while most non-Muslims in this country are in the habit of opposing demand by Muslims for their legitimate rights which do not necessarily affect them adversely, such as access to the Shari'ah adjudication and interest-free banking, Muslims are not known to oppose any legitimate demands of Christians. A classic example is the demand for government support for Christian pilgrimage to Jerusalem, even though such pilgrimage is not known to be a Christian doctrine.

What we need in this country is not mere preaching of religious tolerance; it is actually putting it into practice. Obviously, the media has a responsibility to promote this attribute just as religious leaders do. We hope that The Punch as well as other media institutions in the country will heed this advice. As we have demonstrated above, the declaration of the first day of hijrah year as public holiday by Governor Aregbesola is a right step in the right direction towards meeting a legitimate aspiration of Muslims in his state. We are fully in support of his action. Not only do Muslims expect that it will remain a permanent feature in the calendar of the government of the State of Osun, the Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN) wishes to implore other governments in the South West and elsewhere, as appropriate, to follow suit in the interest of justice and fair play.

Signed By

HON Justice Bola Babalakin JSC (RTD), CON, LLD

The Current Acting President

Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN)

Professor Dawud O. S. Noibi OBE, FISN, FIAC

Executive Secretary

Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN)

UNDERSTANDING THE SIGNS OF ALLAH ON CREATURES

Published online by The Guardian Newspaper

July 24, 2015


The blessings of the Almighty Allah on the creatures, particularly human beings are unquantifiable. This was further established in Quran 7:54: “Your Guardian-Lord Is Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth in six days, then He established Himself on the Throne (of authority): He draweth the night as a veil over the day, each seeking the other in rapid succession: He created the sun, the moon, and the stars, (all) governed by laws under His command.

Is it not His to create and to govern? Blessed be Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds!” Signs of Allah in Solar System The earth rotates on its axis at one thousand miles an hour; if it turned at one hundred miles an hour, our days and nights would be ten times as long as now, and the hot sun would then burn up our vegetation during each long day, while in the long night any surviving sprout would freeze.

Again, the sun, source of our life, has a surface temperature of 12,000 degrees Fahrenheit, and our earth is, just far enough away so that this ‘eternal fire” warms us just enough and not too much! If the sun gave off only one-half its present radiation, we would freeze, and if it gave half as much more, we would roast.

The slant of the earth, tilted at an angle of 23 degrees, gives us our seasons; if it had not been so tilted, vapours from the ocean would move north and south, piling up for us continents of ice.


If our moon was, say, only 50 thousand miles away instead of its actual distance, our tides would be so enormous that twice a day all continents would be submerged; even the mountains would soon be eroded away.

If the crust of the earth had been only ten feet thicker, there would be no oxygen without which animal life must die. Had the ocean been a few feet deeper, carbon dioxide and oxygen would have been absorbed and no vegetable life could exist.

Or if our atmosphere had been thinner, some of the meteors, now burned in space by the million every day would be striking all parts of the earth, starting fires everywhere.
Because of these, and host of other examples, there is not one chance in millions that life on our planet is an accident. Allah’s signature on mountains Unfortunately, today many of the “smartest” people of this world deny the existence of God.

Suppose one of them walks by a mountain and see that there is a tent on top of the mountain. Immediately he will think that someone went up there and made the tent. He won’t think that the tent formed itself. You and I also won’t think that some sticks came and dug themselves on the ground and then a cloth flew to it to form the tent.

We will all think that someone went up there and made it. That is the mistake. We think that the small and simple tent on the mountain cannot form itself but we think that the huge mountain underneath the tent was formed by itself! This is how narrow our thinking has become.

Signs of Allah in oceans and lands The rains, the seas, rivers, streams, the oceans, drinkable water that flows when you turn on a faucet… People are so used to the existence of water that they probably never think about the fact that a major part of the Earth’s surface -indeed, most of it- is covered with water.

However, what is singularly important here is that, among all known celestial bodies, only the Earth provides drinkable water. Fully four-fifths of the earth’s surface is covered with water.

In addition to large water masses such as oceans, there are various other water sources whose sizes and attributes are different from each other, such as rivers and small lakes.

Some of these waters are too salty to be drinkable, but others are fresh. There is a perfect water balance that has been arranged according to the needs of all living things on the earth. By virtue of water, millions of species of creatures exist on earth, and the balances that are necessary for life are preserved.

For example, clouds and rain are formed by the evaporation of large water masses. Water has a high capacity for drawing and holding heat. For this reason, the large water masses of the oceans and seas maintain the balance of the world’s heat. Therefore, the temperature difference between day and night in regions near the sea is very small.

This makes these regions more livable. The existence of the oceans, a bird’s-eye view of which is seen at the left of this page, is highly significant. Because the oceans reflect the sun’s rays less than land does, they receive more sun energy, yet they disperse this heat in a more balanced way.

Therefore, the oceans cool the equatorial regions and prevent them from becoming excessively hot, and also warm the waters of the polar regions to prevent them from freezing completely. Through the transparency of water, water mosses can photosynthesize under the surface of the ocean.

Water is one of the few substances in nature that expands when frozen. It is because of this that the seas and oceans do not freeze from bottom to top. All of the physical and chemical features of water, of which only a few have been given here, show us that this liquid has been specially created for the needs of human life. It is surely no coincidence that such water is not available on any other planet besides the Earth.

The Earth, which has been specially created for human life, has blossomed with life through water, which has also been specially created. Allah, Who has created countless blessings for His servants and bestowed on them an easy mode of living, has created water with unique artistry and delicacy.

As He maintains in the Qur’an, “It is He Who sends down water from the sky…” (Surat an-Nahl: verse10) The great quantity of water in the seas makes our earth habitable. If the proportion of sea to land on the earth were smaller, then lands would turn into deserts and life would be impossible.

A conscientious person who thinks about these matters is completely convinced that the establishment of such a perfect balance on the earth is surely not a coincidence. Seeing and thinking about all these shows that a Creator Who is exalted and the owner of eternal power created everything for a purpose.

And He has made everything in the heavens and everything on the earth subservient to you. It is all from Him. There are certainly Signs in that for people who reflect. (Surat al-Jathiyya: 13). Never get tired of doing little things to others, because sometimes those little things may mean so much to them.

Sulaimon Salau The Guardian 08029427242

KILL NON-MUSLIMS (2)

Ustaz Abubakr Siddeeq Muhammad — May 15, 2015 3:12 am | Leadership Newspaper

( http://leadership.ng/religion/433233/kill-non-muslims-2)

1. “Terrorise and behead those who believe in scriptures other than the Qur’an.” 8:12

Comment:

Again, to make proper sense of the verse quoted here, you go back a bit. The way out of the mischief is in not allowing anyone to misdirect your attention to one verse out of its general context. A historical context will be missing if you dwell on just verse 12 and ignore the verses before and after it. This principle will guide anyone, Muslim and non-Muslim, to the truth of the matter. There is no verse in the Qur’an, which orders anybody to behead anyone for their faith. What we have are verses ordering the Muslims to fight when attacked, to be as ferocious as the attackers, and to stop when the hostilities cease and to be patient and Allah-conscious. This is what history bears out from Muslims of that era and subsequent eras.

The Surah in question is Al Anfaal (The Spoils of War). In the opening verses, it is clear that the chapter was addressing certain situations pre and post war. The issues of what to do with the war booty after a war, the issues of desertion on the battlefield among others were those Allah addressed here. Other parts of the chapter dealt with rules of engagement and how to encourage troops during a battle. The custom of cherry-picking verses to suit evil purposes is not new but the evil motive is always defeated in the end. Let us look at the parts of the Surah that were ignored and which would have shed light on the matter:

(9) When ye sought help of your Lord and He answered you (saying): I will help you with a thousand of the angels, rank on rank.

(10) Allah appointed it only as good tidings, and that your hearts thereby might be at rest. Victory cometh only by the help of Allah. Lo! Allah is Mighty, Wise.

(11) When He made the slumber fall upon you as a reassurance from him and sent down water from the sky upon you, that thereby He might purify you, and remove from you the fear of Satan, and make strong your hearts and firm (your) feet thereby.

(12) When thy Lord inspired the angels, (saying): I am with you. So make those who believe stand firm. I will throw fear into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Then smite the necks and smite of them each finger.

(13) That is because they opposed Allah and His messenger. Whoso opposeth Allah and His messenger, (for him) lo! Allah is severe in punishment.

(14) That (is the award), so taste it, and (know) that for disbelievers is the torment of the Fire.

(15) O ye who believe! When ye meet those who disbelieve in battle, turn not your backs to them.

(16) Whoso on that day turneth his back to them, unless manoeuvring for battle or intent to join a company, he truly hath incurred wrath from Allah, and his habitation will be hell, a hapless journey’s end.

Without as much as an exegesis, it is clear, what is mentioned here has to do with a battle that was on at the time. In fact, it was the famous Battle of Badr when the pagans of Makkah travelled to the outskirts of Madeenah at a place called Badr. There were a little over 1,000 of them and there were only 313 Muslims. They sought to crush the earliest Muslims who had migrated from Makkah to Madeenah due to religious persecution. It was in the desert and the Muslims were fasting the month of Ramadan. The Messenger of Allah sought Allah’s help and they were victorious. How this can be interpreted to mean that Muslims should be attacking Christians or anyone for that matter is unfathomable.

Furthermore, the verses discuss events leading up to a war. The Muslims were living peacefully in Madeenah. The pagans in Makkah, who did not like the fact of a new religion, which calls to the worship of the One True God, decided to invade Madeenah. The Muslims were few and ill equipped, besides, they were fasting. They prayed for help and Allah helped them and braced them up for the fight with words of encouragement. He told them to fight and be brave, not minding their scant number.

How does that say Muslims should go around murdering anyone who believes in a different scripture? Unless those people want to act like the pagans of Makkah 1400 years ago, these verses will never apply to any non-Muslim. Only at the outbreak of war between Muslims and any aggressor group would these verses apply. They will not apply to people who have neither attacked nor aided an attack on Muslims.

1. “Muslims must muster all weapons to terrorize the non-Muslims.” 8:60

Comment

You must have noticed a common trend in the selection of verses by the fear mongers who compiled the list of references. The response here is the same as the one before it:

I have started from verse 55:

(55) Lo! the worst of beasts in Allah’s sight are the ungrateful who will not believe.

(56) Those of them with whom thou madest a treaty, and then at every opportunity they break their treaty, and they keep not duty (to Allah).

(57) If thou comest on them in the war, deal with them so as to strike fear in those who are behind them, that haply they may remember.

(58) And if thou fearest treachery from any folk, then throw back to them (their treaty) fairly. Lo! Allah loveth not the treacherous.

(59) And let not those who disbelieve suppose that they can outstrip (Allah’s Purpose). Lo! they cannot escape.

(60) Make ready for them all thou canst of (armed) force and of horses tethered, that thereby ye may dismay the enemy of Allah and your enemy, and others beside them whom ye know not. Allah knoweth them. Whatsoever ye spend in the way of Allah it will be repaid to you in full, and ye will not be wronged.

(61) And if they incline to peace, incline thou also to it, and trust in Allah. Lo! He, even He, is the Hearer, the Knower.

(62) And if they would deceive thee, then lo! Allah is Sufficient for thee. He it is Who supporteth thee with His help and with the believers,

Again, as before, this is from Q8 that deals extensively with issues of war and its ethics for the believers. It was in reference to specific events during which rulings were needed and sought. Allah provided the rulings here. Again, it provides no license to murder anyone here, it merely instructs the Muslims of the era what to do in battle when they were under attack and it is useful to the Muslims of all eras who find themselves under a similar threat.

The verses are self-explanatory. The Muslims signed non-aggression and defence treaties with some of the non-Muslim tribes in Madeenah and the outskirts. Some of them broke the terms of the treaty by aiding attacks on the Muslims in some instances and attacking them in other instances. Allah ordered the His Messenger to cancel treaties with such tribes and make an example of them if they meet on the battlefield. It does not require rocket science to realise that the verses are not asking the Muslims to go on a killing spree.