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Last login: 6 days agoUnbreakableMJ: Muhammad 'MJ' Jassim is a 25 year old single guy from Manama, Bahrain.; Likes 4,577 pages, 18 videos, 592 photos • 99 fans • Received 22 reviews; Member since Mar 22, 2006

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Harun Yahya - WE CHALLENGE DAWKINS TO A DISCUSSION BEFORE THE PUBLIC: Aug 31, 10:47pm 1 review atheist, evolution, islam, science, atheism
http://www.harunyahya.com/new_releases/news/dawkins_challenge.php; Challenging Dawkins

Aug 31, 10:46pm: Muhammad?

"The reader may be surprised by our emphasis on the similarity of Muhammad's teaching to the methods of modern science. The scientific method demands that were one to undertake an investigation, he should suspend his personal views, beliefs and doctrines. It demands that he begins his study by observation, classification, comparison, experimentation, and then draw his conclusions from these scientific observations as premises. A conclusion reached through this method is scientific and, by the same token, it remains susceptible to further scrutiny and investigation. It remains valid as long as further scientific study has not disproved any one of the premises on which it is based. This scientific method is the highest human achievement in the cause of free thought. And yet this very method is none other than that of Muhammad, the very foundation of his cause." ~Muhammad Husayn Haykal [source: his book The Life of Muhammad peace and blessing of God be upon him] <direct link>

"I passed from the companions to the Prophet himself. The two bulky volumes written by Maulana Shibli are a creditable performance. But I have the same complaints about them that I have lodged about the diffuseness of the volumes devoted to the companions. But the diffuseness did not interfere with my interest to know how a Mussalman had treated the incidents of the life of one who has been almost uniformly maligned and abused in the West. When I closed the second volume, I was sorry there was not more for me to read of that great life. There are incidents in it which I do not understand, there are some I cannot explain. But I did not approach the study as a critic or a scoffer. I wanted to know the best of the life of one who holds today undisputed away over the hearts of millions of mankind. And I found enough in the volumes to account for it. I became more than ever convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of the Prophet, the scrupulous regard for pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and his own mission. These and not the sword carried everything before them and surmounted every obstacle." ~Gandhi [source: Young India (23 September 1924) Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, vol.29, "My Jail experiences", p.132~133] <link>
(note: if the server is down like it is now, send me a private message and I could send it to you.)

"They [referring to Muhammad's critics] see fire instead of light, ugliness instead of good. They distort and present every good quality as a great vice. It reflects their own depravity... The critics are blind. They cannot see that the only 'sword' Muhammad wielded was the sword of mercy, compassion, friendship and forgiveness - the sword that conquers enemies and purifies their hearts. His sword was sharper than the sword of steel." ~Pandit Gyanandra Dev Sharma Shastri, at a meeting in Gorakhpur lndia, 1928

"I have studied him - the wonderful man - and in my opinion far from being an anti-christ, he must be called the Saviour of Humanity." ~George Bernard Shaw [source: The Genuine Islam,- Vol. 1, No. 81936.]

Aug 31, 10:46pm: "If greatness of purpose, smallness of means and astounding results are the three criteria of human genius, who could dare to compare any great man in modern history with Muhammed? Philosopher, orator, apostle, legislator, warrior, conquror of ideas, restorer of rational beliefs, of a clut without images: the founder of twenty terrestrial empires and of one spiritual empire, that is Muhammed. As regards all standards by which human greatness may be measured, we may well ask, is there any man greater than he?" ~Lamartine [source: Historie de la Turquie, Paris 1854]

Aug 31, 8:27pm: Ramadan 1

"That you should fast is better for you, if you only knew." Suratu al-Baqarah: 184

"[Fasting in Ramadan is] the key to a true, sincere, extensive, and universal thankfulness." ~Bediuzzaman Said Nurasi The Risale-i Nur Collection, Letters, The Twenty-Ninth Letter, The Second Section, Second Point)

Today is the first day of Ramadan, the ninth month in the Islamic calendar. We know the beginning of the month by sighting the moon.. as we knew yesterday after sunset, the new moon was born. It is the moon of Ramadan.

Month of Ramadan would be at least 29 days, and sometimes it's 30 days. In these 29 or 30 days, all muslims from all over the world join together to do Sawm. Sawm in the Arabic language literally means abstaining or refraining from doing anything and that could include refraining from speech. Technically, however, it means abstaining from certain things such as food and drink among few other things during a given time.

Sawm is a school that develops our humanitarianism and emphasizes our freedom. God wants us to develop our Islamic personality on the basis of strengthening our will and resolve in the face of all challenges.

So everyday the fasting starts from dawn and finishes around sunset.
During that fasting period, it is required for one:
* To be in state of Tahara from Janabah. That is to be in state of ritual purity than a state of being ceremonially unclean, especially after a sexual act that may or may not lead to ejaculation.
* To abstain from food and drink.
* To be mindful of other things called "invalidators of fast" which we will be discussing later.
After the fasting period, one can start eating and such, and married couples could enjoy their sexual acts, just like it is in regular days. Two things to keep in mind, first is to always remember Our Creator as we seek His closeness and not forget the holiness of the month, and second is to be prepared for the new day to start, that includes Tahara as I just mentioned above.

So that was a very brief part of Shari'a (Islamic law) in regards to rulings on fasting. Now why do we muslims fast?

Sawm (fasting) in Islam is an act of worshipping Our Creator. Every muslim submits to The Creator in worship, and we do these acts of worship to get closer to The Almighty.

God says in the Qur'an: "You who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you--so that hopefully you will have taqwa." Suratu al-Baqarah: 183

We know in the Bible that Prophet Jesus peace be upon him used to fast for 40 days (Matthew 4:1 and Matthew 4:2), and his fasting meant abstinence from eating and drinking (Luke 5:33). Prophet Elijah peace be upon him used to fast for 40 days in 1 Kings 19:8. Prophet Moses used to fast for 40 days (Exodus 24:18 & 34:28).

Islam Online- Khatirah: Aug 31, 8:25pm 1 review islam, articles
http://www.islamonline.net/English/ram2002/10/Khatirah/article42.shtml; Fasting and Modern Day Assumptions

"There are those who live by modern-day as well as social standards, who accept the rules applied by the majority as absolute facts and use them to try and interpret the Qur'an. People like this make up the majority of those who try to object to the Qur'an, even though they are the least educated and cultured. It is possible to come across such people in every profession and part of society. They make up a majority, who do not think too deeply or possess a certain world-view, and are obsessed only with worldly pursuits and are only focused on their livelihood. Since they seek simple pleasures, small calculations and profits, they perceive the Qur'an as a threat that would limit their so-called freedom, alter their simple lifestyles or expectations, and the order to which they are accustomed. Therefore, they try to oppose the Qur'an with their primitive logic.

Members of this group make the same comments about the Qur'an that they have heard from others, ideas originally not their own. They usually make unreasonable and ignorant remarks about the Qur'an using sentences that begin with such words as, "In the 21st century...", "In our day and age...", "In the space age....", "In the West....", and so on.

They propose that the lifestyle described in the Qur'an and that of our own time are incompatible, and that the former is in fact outdated. From that perspective they subsequently make false claims concerning the Qur'an. For example, they claim that such things as fasting and prayer interfere with the pace of the modern lifestyle, that the Islamic ban on interest cannot be practiced under current economic conditions and even that the prohibition of adultery in this day and age is evidence of the impossibility of applying the Qur'an to our daily lives.

They apply superficial logic and display great ignorance when addressing the topics of the prayers, commands, and prohibitions in the Qur'an. They introduce arguments about the wisdom in some commands which they do not understand or the verses that they cannot comprehend. Worse still, they defend their illogical claims with great ferocity. This stems in part from the fact that what they are defending with such eagerness is based on the ideas of the majority, rather than on logic or reason.

They accept society's general lifestyle and world-view, which they refer to as "the facts of life," as the absolute truth and seek errors and discrepancies in the Qur'an by taking them as a point of reference. The notions they use as criteria have no actual scientific or logical worth. The concepts that they assume to be the absolute truth, "the facts of life" or the requirements of the modern age, are in fact illusions with which they only deceive themselves and provide psychological support for one another.

We are informed, in the Qur'an, of the twisted path of these people, who gather all their strength from being part of the majority and think that they are on the right path since they are in harmony with everyone else:

"If you obeyed most of those on earth, they would misguide you from Allah's Way. They follow nothing but conjecture. They are only guessing." Suratu al-An`am: 116

Medical Benefits of Ramadan-Diabetes Mellitus and fasting-Medical conditions-Ra…: Aug 31, 7:35pm 1 review health, articles
http://www.submission.org/ramadan-health.html; Medical Benefits of Ramadan

From the page: "Most Muslims do not fast because of medical benefits but because it has been ordained to them in the Quran. The medical benefits of fasting are as a result of fasting. Fasting in general has been used in medicine for medical reasons including weight management, for rest of the digestive tract and for lowering lipids. There are many adverse effects of total fasting as well as so-called crash diets. Islamic fasting is different from such diet plans because in Ramadan fasting, there is no malnutrition or inadequate calorie intake. The caloric intake of Muslims during Ramadan is at or slightly below the national requirement guidelines. In addition, the fasting in Ramadan is voluntarily taken and is not a prescribed imposition from the physician.

Ramadan is a month of self-regulation and self-training, with the hope that this training will last beyond the end of Ramadan. If the lessons learned during Ramadan, whether in terms of dietary intake or righteousness, are carried on after Ramadan, it is beneficial for one's entire life. Moreover, the type of food taken during Ramadan does not have any selective criteria of crash diets such as those which are protein only or fruit only type diets. Everything that is permissible is taken in moderate quantities.

The only difference between Ramadan and total fasting is the timing of the food; during Ramadan, we basically miss lunch and take an early breakfast and do not eat until dusk. Abstinence from water during this period is not bad at all and in fact, it causes concentration of all fluids within the body, producing slight dehydration. The body has its own water conservation mechanism; in fact, it has been shown that slight dehydration and water conservation, at least in plant life, improve their longevity.

The physiological effect of fasting includes lower of blood sugar, lowering of cholesterol and lowering of the systolic blood pressure. In fact, Ramadan fasting would be an ideal recommendation for treatment of mild to moderate, stable, non-insulin diabetes, obesity and essential hypertension. In 1994 the first International Congress on "Health and Ramadan", held in Casablanca, entered 50 research papers from all over the world, from Muslim and non-Muslim researchers who have done extensive studies on the medical ethics of fasting. While improvement in many medical conditions was noted; however, in no way did fasting worsen any patients' health or baseline medical condition. On the other hand, patients who are suffering from severe diseases, whether diabetes or coronary artery disease, kidney stones, etc., are exempt from fasting and should not try to fast.

There are psychological effects of fasting as well. There is a peace and tranquility for those who fast during the month of Ramadan. Personal hostility is at a minimum, and the crime rate decreases. This psychological improvement could be related to better stabilization of blood glucose during fasting as hypoglycemia after eating, aggravates behavior changes.

Recitation of the Quran not only produces a tranquility of heart and mind, but improves the memory. Therefore, I encourage my Muslim patients to fast in the month of Ramadan, but they must do it under medical supervision. Healthy adult Muslims should not fear becoming weak by fasting, but instead it should improve their health and stamina."

From Articles by Shahid Athar, M.D.

Debian -- What Does Free Mean?: Aug 21, 12:14pm 9 reviews free-software
http://www.debian.org/intro/free; "Many people new to free software find themselves confused because the word "free" in the term "free software" is not used the way they expect. To them free means "at no cost". An English dictionary lists almost twenty different meanings for "free". Only one of them is "at no cost". The rest refer to liberty and lack of constraint. When we speak of Free Software, we mean freedom, not price."

INTP (Engineer) Personality Type (Jung / Myers-Briggs): Aug 20, 6:47pm 2 reviews psychology, personality, intp
http://www.mypersonality.info/personality-types/intp/; "The INTP is above all a thinker and his inner (private) world is a place governed by a strong sense of logical structure. Every experience is to be rigorously analysed, the task of the INTP's mind is to fit each encountered idea or experience into a larger structure defined by logic."
- An INTP Profile (intp.org)

Open Source is not about freedom, nor is it about licenses. | Open Source Initia…: Aug 20, 8:48am 1 review open-source
http://opensource.org/node/358; From the page: "Open Source is not about freedom, nor is it about licenses."

The GNU Operating System: Aug 20, 8:47am 57 reviews free-software, free-culture
http://www.gnu.org/; What is Free Software?

"Free software" is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the concept, you should think of "free" as in "free speech", not as in "free pepsi".

Free software is a matter of the users' freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software. More precisely, it refers to four kinds of freedom, for the users of the software:

* The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0).
* The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs (freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
* The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor (freedom 2).
* The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits (freedom 3). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.

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