“You should not neglect your time or use it haphazardly; on the contrary you should bring yourself to account, structure your litanies and other practices during each day and night, and assign to each period a fixed and specific function. This is how to bring out the spiritual blessing (barakah) in each period. But if you leave yourself adrift, aimlessly wandering as cattle do, not knowing how to occupy yourself at every moment, your time will be lost. It is nothing other than your life, and your life is the capital that you make use of to reach perpetual felicity in the proximity of God the Exalted.
Each of your breaths is a priceless jewel, since each of them is irreplaceable and, once gone, can never be retrieved.
Do not be like the deceived fools who are joyous because each day their wealth increases while their life shortens. What good is an increase in wealth when life grows ever shorter?Therefore be joyous only for an increase in knowledge or in good works, for they are your two companions who will accompany you in your grave when your family, wealth, children and friends stay behind.” [Ghazali, The Beginnings of Guidance, p23]
http://seekersguidance.org/blog/2009/12/islamic-time-management-imam-ghazali-on-careful-use-of-time/comment-page-1/#comment-2623
Saturday, 2 January 2010
Time Management
Imam Ghazali writes:
Friday, 1 January 2010
“He was the best of the Jews”
By Muqtedar Khan
So, I will tell the story of Rabbi Mukhayriq – the first Jewish martyr of Islam. It is quite apropos as the season of spiritual holidays is here.
Mukhayriq was a wealthy and learned leader of the tribe of Tha’labah. He fought with Prophet Muhammed in the battle of Uhud on March 19, 625 AD and was martyred in it. That day was a Saturday. Rabbi Mukhayriq addressed his people and asked them to go with him to help Muhammed. His tribe’s men declined saying that it was the day of Sabbath. Mukhayriq chastised them for not understanding the deeper meaning of Sabath and announced to his people that if he died in the battle his entire wealth should go to Muhammed.
Mukhayriq died in battle against the Meccans. And when Muhammed, who was seriously injured in that battle, was informed about the death of Mukhayriq, Muhammed said, “He was the best of Jews.”
Muhammed inherited seven gardens and other forms of wealth from Mukhayriq. Muhammed used this wealth to establish the first waqf – a charitable endowment - of Islam. It was from this endowment that the Prophet of Islam helped many poor people in Medina.
When Muhammed migrated form Mecca to Medina in 622 he signed a treaty with the various tribes that lived in and around Medina. Many of these tribes had embraced Islam, some were pagan and others were Jewish. All of them signed the treaty with Muhammed that is referred to by historians as the Constitution of Medina. The first Islamic state, a multi-tribal and multi-religious state, established by Muhammed in Medina was based on this social contract.
According to Article 2 of the Constitution, all tribes who were signatory to the treaty constituted one nation (ummah). Mukhayriq’s people too were signatories to this treaty and were obliged to fight with Muhammed in accordance to Article 37 of the Constitution, which says:
Mukhayriq was a wealthy and learned leader of the tribe of Tha’labah. He fought with Prophet Muhammed in the battle of Uhud on March 19, 625 AD and was martyred in it. That day was a Saturday. Rabbi Mukhayriq addressed his people and asked them to go with him to help Muhammed. His tribe’s men declined saying that it was the day of Sabbath. Mukhayriq chastised them for not understanding the deeper meaning of Sabath and announced to his people that if he died in the battle his entire wealth should go to Muhammed.
Mukhayriq died in battle against the Meccans. And when Muhammed, who was seriously injured in that battle, was informed about the death of Mukhayriq, Muhammed said, “He was the best of Jews.”
Muhammed inherited seven gardens and other forms of wealth from Mukhayriq. Muhammed used this wealth to establish the first waqf – a charitable endowment - of Islam. It was from this endowment that the Prophet of Islam helped many poor people in Medina.
When Muhammed migrated form Mecca to Medina in 622 he signed a treaty with the various tribes that lived in and around Medina. Many of these tribes had embraced Islam, some were pagan and others were Jewish. All of them signed the treaty with Muhammed that is referred to by historians as the Constitution of Medina. The first Islamic state, a multi-tribal and multi-religious state, established by Muhammed in Medina was based on this social contract.
According to Article 2 of the Constitution, all tribes who were signatory to the treaty constituted one nation (ummah). Mukhayriq’s people too were signatories to this treaty and were obliged to fight with Muhammed in accordance to Article 37 of the Constitution, which says:
The Jews must bear their expenses and the Muslims their expenses. Each must help the other against anyone who attacks the people of this document. They must seek mutual advice and consultation, and loyalty is a protection against treachery. A man is not liable for his ally’s misdeeds. The wronged must be helped.
In a way Rabbi Mukhayriq, who was also a well-respected scholar of Jews in Medina, was merely being a good citizen and was fulfilling a social contract. But his story is fantastic, especially for our times when we are struggling to build bridges between various religious communities. Mukhayriq’s loyalty, his bravery, his sacrifice and his generosity are inspirational.
Perhaps it is about people like Mukhayriq that the Quran says:
And there are, certainly, among Jews and Christians, those who believe in God, in the revelation to you, and in the revelation to them, bowing in humility to God. They will not sell the Signs of God for a miserable gain! For them is a reward with their Lord (3:199).
Mukhayriq’s story is a story of an individual’s ability to transcend communal divides and to fight for a more inclusive idea of community. He was a true citizen of the state of Medina and he gave his life in its defense. He was a Jew and he was an Islamic hero and his story must never be forgotten and must be told and retold. When Muslims forget to remember his, and other stories that epitomize interfaith relations they diminish the legacy of Islam and betray the cause of peace.
If Muslim Imams told his story in their congregations in America and elsewhere, I am confident that it will contribute to manifestations of increased tolerance by Muslims towards others. There are many such wonderful examples of brotherhood, tolerance, sacrifice and good citizenship in Islamic traditions that undergird the backbone of Islamic ethics. I wish we told them more often.
If Muslim Imams told his story in their congregations in America and elsewhere, I am confident that it will contribute to manifestations of increased tolerance by Muslims towards others. There are many such wonderful examples of brotherhood, tolerance, sacrifice and good citizenship in Islamic traditions that undergird the backbone of Islamic ethics. I wish we told them more often.
Muqtedar Khan is Director of Islamic Studies at the University of Delaware and a fellow of the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding.
Friday, 25 December 2009
The Buzz on Caffeine by Sam Murphy
The buzz on caffeine
by Sam Murphy
Confused about all the conflicting research on coffee and its effect on your health? Sam Murphy investigates the perks and dregs of your daily cup
Before you sit down to read this, why not go and get yourself a nice cup of coffee? You'll be in good company: 400 million cups of the stuff are drunk daily around the world. We Brits alone spend roughly £850 million a year on our morning cappuccinos, lattes and espressos. Aside from tasting good (and smelling even better), coffee is believed to have a number of health benefits. You may not need a man in a white coat to tell you that your daily dose of caffeine counteracts fatigue and improves alertness and concentration, but did you know that research suggests coffee can lessen the risk of heart disease, Parkinson's disease and gallstones as well as act as a powerful antioxidant and increase physical endurance? So is caffeine a health booster that actually tastes good? Well, not necessarily. For every researcher or health expert downing a double latte, there's another ordering green tea. What are we to think?
Coffee gets its kick from caffeine, one of a group of naturally occurring plant-derived compounds called methylxanthines. Caffeine is a drug, pure and simple. It's addictive - too much can be toxic (although no one has ever died of a caffeine overdose) - and withdrawal causes side effects such as headaches and dizziness. When ingested, caffeine has a 'global' effect, meaning it influences all body tissues, including muscle. Read about its effect on exercise. 'Drinking a cup of coffee stimulates the central nervous system and prompts the adrenal glands to release adrenaline, one of two hormones released in response to stress. Your heart beats faster, glucose is released into the blood stream and you feel energised,' explains Antony Haynes, a nutritionist at the Nutrition Clinic in London's Harley Street. 'In the short-term you feel revived, but over time this repeated stress response frazzles the adrenal glands, while the liver becomes conditioned to metabolise caffeine more quickly, meaning you'll need even more cups of coffee to get the same lift.'
In fact, even if you drink only one cup early in the day, caffeine is still at work on your system hours later. A recent study at the Duke University Medical Center in America, found that levels of adrenalin and noradrenaline remained elevated at night even when subjects had slurped their last cup of coffee at lunchtime - in effect, mimicking 24-hour stress. And that's not the only charge Haynes levels at the world's second favorite drink, after tea. 'Coffee is an anti-nutrient,' he says. 'It hampers the absorption of essential minerals including iron, magnesium, zinc and potassium, as well as the B vitamins.' So, for example, drinking a cup of coffee while eating a hamburger can reduce the amount of iron you absorb by 40 per cent, while zinc absorption is reduced if coffee is drunk within an hour after a meal.
by Sam Murphy
Confused about all the conflicting research on coffee and its effect on your health? Sam Murphy investigates the perks and dregs of your daily cup
Before you sit down to read this, why not go and get yourself a nice cup of coffee? You'll be in good company: 400 million cups of the stuff are drunk daily around the world. We Brits alone spend roughly £850 million a year on our morning cappuccinos, lattes and espressos. Aside from tasting good (and smelling even better), coffee is believed to have a number of health benefits. You may not need a man in a white coat to tell you that your daily dose of caffeine counteracts fatigue and improves alertness and concentration, but did you know that research suggests coffee can lessen the risk of heart disease, Parkinson's disease and gallstones as well as act as a powerful antioxidant and increase physical endurance? So is caffeine a health booster that actually tastes good? Well, not necessarily. For every researcher or health expert downing a double latte, there's another ordering green tea. What are we to think?
Coffee gets its kick from caffeine, one of a group of naturally occurring plant-derived compounds called methylxanthines. Caffeine is a drug, pure and simple. It's addictive - too much can be toxic (although no one has ever died of a caffeine overdose) - and withdrawal causes side effects such as headaches and dizziness. When ingested, caffeine has a 'global' effect, meaning it influences all body tissues, including muscle. Read about its effect on exercise. 'Drinking a cup of coffee stimulates the central nervous system and prompts the adrenal glands to release adrenaline, one of two hormones released in response to stress. Your heart beats faster, glucose is released into the blood stream and you feel energised,' explains Antony Haynes, a nutritionist at the Nutrition Clinic in London's Harley Street. 'In the short-term you feel revived, but over time this repeated stress response frazzles the adrenal glands, while the liver becomes conditioned to metabolise caffeine more quickly, meaning you'll need even more cups of coffee to get the same lift.'
In fact, even if you drink only one cup early in the day, caffeine is still at work on your system hours later. A recent study at the Duke University Medical Center in America, found that levels of adrenalin and noradrenaline remained elevated at night even when subjects had slurped their last cup of coffee at lunchtime - in effect, mimicking 24-hour stress. And that's not the only charge Haynes levels at the world's second favorite drink, after tea. 'Coffee is an anti-nutrient,' he says. 'It hampers the absorption of essential minerals including iron, magnesium, zinc and potassium, as well as the B vitamins.' So, for example, drinking a cup of coffee while eating a hamburger can reduce the amount of iron you absorb by 40 per cent, while zinc absorption is reduced if coffee is drunk within an hour after a meal.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)