When I left my island on 6th January this year I found that its water wss the freshest and the purest available in Maldives. I heard people praising and talking about islands which are famous for their good quality of water. But at that time I believed our island's was, and would be the best. The fact that our island was very recently inhabited made me believe that it would take ages to fully withdraw the freshwater from its layers.
But when I visited my island this July I nearly got a shock to believe that it has been becoming saltier. It would not be wrong to say that it is not just brackish-but really really salty. I couldn’t believe it at first. So I asked my dad about it, since I may “mis-tasted” it myself after bathing from salt water in Male’ for a half-year. But my dad confirmed it and said that it has been happening in the North part of the island while the Southern region seemed to be not much worse yet. Then what has gone wrong? Why it took just 6 months to be salty? Is it just the fact that “fresh water is a thin lens of water floating over a mass of denser salt water”? Or are the people to be blamed for this rapid damage?
There could be some possible reasons for this:
• Digging the wells so deep that it slowly mixes the salt water with the thin fresh water lens over time.
• Tsunami effects? But since Hulhudhuffaaru was not affected by it, it would be unwise to blame the Tsunami, though one can propose a theory that can associate these two factors scientifically.
• Construction of the Habour. But how can we link the problem with this??
There could be other reasons as well, but all I could say is that we had been so busy enjoying the benefit of the Grace of Allah Almighty that we forgot to make use of it properly. We exploited it without knowing that it will run out one day.
I could suggest the lovely people of Hulhudhuffaaru these solutions to lower the rate of depletion of the fresh water lens.
• Connect a gutter to the well so that excess rain water may fall into the well. This may mix the rain water with the ground water so that the fresh water layer might get thicker again.
I couldn’t think of anything any other solution. But there should be many. I look forward for your valuable suggestions for this would-be great threat for the people of Hulhudhuffaaru.
The need of the hour is not to have concern about the problem of having salt water or to find out appropriate solutions for the same, as it is history now. So let’s look for ways to make the best use of the salty water! What else can we do?
According to a UN 2007 Country Report, “surface water is lacking throughout the country with the exception of a few swampy areas.”
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
JANNAH-some facts
1. You will remain healthy forever, disease will never come.
2. You will remain alive for ever, death will never come.
3. You will remain in bounties which will never be finished.
Jannat is made with
Bricks of Gold and Silver.
Its cement is of perfumed Musk.
Its chips are pearls and Yaqoot.
Its sand is Zafraan.
There are eight doors ofJannah. These are eight grades of Jannat
1. Jannatul Mava
2. Darul Maqaam
3. Darul Salaam
4. Darul Khuld
5. Jannat-ul-Adan
6. Jannat-ul-Naeem
7. Jannat-ul-Kasif
8. Jannat-ul-Firdous
Food of Jannah
They will eat foods and fruits continuously up to 40 years.
Every bowl will have a new taste.
They will take eructation which will digest the food and there will be perfumed sweating for the digestion of water.
There will be no urine and stool.
Place Name
There will be gardens in Jannah.
Every garden will have the length of about 100 year's journey.
The shadow of these gardens will be very dense.
Their plants will be free of thorns.
The size of their leaves will be equal to ears of elephants.
Their fruits will be hanging in rows.
Jannatul Mava is in the lowest,
Jannat-ul-Adan is the middle &
Jannat-ul- Firdous is on the highest.
Those who love each other for the sake of Allah will get a pillar of Yaqoot,
On which there will be seventy thousand (70,000) rooms.
These will shine for the residents of Jannah as the sun shines for the residents of Duniya.
There will be rooms in Jannah in such a way that every room will have seventy thousand (70,000) dinning sheets.
On every dinning sheet 70,000 types of foods will be served.
For their service 80,000 young boys will be moving around looking like beautiful scattered pearls.
One bunch of dates will be equal to the length of 12 arms.
The size of a date will be equal to the big pitcher.
These will be whiter than milk, sweeter than honey and softer than butter and free
Of seeds.
The stem of these plants will be made up of gold and silver.
There will also be gardens of grapes. The bunches of grapes will be very big.
The size of a single grape will be equal to a big pitcher.
Someone asked, ya Rasulullah (Sallalahu alaihi wasallam):
will it be sufficient for me and my family. It was answered, it will be sufficient for you and your whole tribe.
The Dresses of Jannat
The dress of Jannah will be very beautiful.
One will wear 70 dresses at a time.
These will be very fine, delicate, weightless, having different colors.
These dresses will be so fine that the body even the heart will be visible.
And the waves of love in the hearts will also be visible.
These dresses will never become old, never be dirty and will never tear.
There will be four canals in every Jannah.
1. Water
2. Milk
3. Honey
4. Sharabun Tahoora.
There will also be three fountains in Jannah:
1. Kafoor
2. Zanjabeel
3. Tasneem
Qualities of People of Jannah
In Jannah, height of every Mo 'min, will be equal to the height of
Hazrat Adam (Alaihissalaam) 60 arms (90 feet).
Beauty will be like that of Hazrat Yousuf (Alaihissalaam)
Age of youth will be like that of Hazrat Esa (Alaihissalaam) 30-33 years).
Sweetness of voice will be like that of Hazrat Dawud (Alaihissalaam).
Tolerance will be like that of Hazrat Yaqoob (Alaihissalaam)
Patience will be like that of Hazrat Ayyub (Alaihissalaam.)
Habits will be like that of Sayyaduna Muhammad (Sallalahu alaihi wasallam)
NOTE:
If a person makes Du'a for Jannah three times,
Jannah requests Allah that O, Allah; make his entry into Jannah.
And if a person makes Du'a for safety from Jahannum three times,
The Jahannnum requests Allah that, O, Allah; save him from Jahannum.
Please pass on and may Allah grant the entire Ummah of Nabi sallalahu alayhi wasallam Jannat ul Firdous Ameen!
Every good act is charity
JAZAK ALLAHU KHAIR-
May Allah Forgive our sins...Ameen
Remember the Prophet PBUH said if u have knowledge pass it on
Even if it is just one verse. So Forward this message and help us in our
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Muslims in America before Columbus
Preparatory Commitee for International Festivals
to celebrate the millennium of the Muslims arrival to the Americas
( 996-1996 CE )
PRE-COLUMBIAN MUSLIMS IN THE AMERICAS
By Dr. Youssef Mroueh
INTRODUCTION Numerous evidence suggests that Muslims from Spain and West Africa arrived to the Americas at least five centuries before Columbus. It is recorded,for example, that in the mid-tenth century, during the rule of the Ummayyed Caliph Abdul-Rahman III (929-961 CE), Muslims of African origin sailed westward from the Spanish port of DELBA(Palos) into the "Ocean of darkness and fog". They returned after a long absence with much booty from a "strange and curious land". It is evident that people of Muslim origin are known to have accompanied Columbus and subsequent Spanish explorers to the New World.
The last Muslim stronghold in Spain, Granada, fell to the Christians in 1492 CE, just before the Spanish inquisition was launched. To escape persecution, many non-Christians fled or embraced Catholicism. At least two documents imply the presence of Muslims in Spanish America before 1550 CE. Despite the fact that a decree issued in 1539 CE by Charles V, king of Spain, forbade the grandsons of Muslims who had been burned at the stake to migrate to the West Indies. This decree was ratified in 1543 CE, and an order for the expulsion of all Muslims from overseas Spanish territories was subsequently published. Many references on the Muslim arrival to Americas are available. They are summarized in the following notes:
A: HISTORIC DOCUMENTS:
1. A Muslim historian and geographer ABUL-HASSAN ALI IBN AL-HUSSAIN AL-MASUDI (871-957 CE) wrote in his book Muruj adh-dhahab wa maadin aljawhar (The meadows of gold and quarries of jewells) that during the rule of the Muslim caliph of Spain Abdullah Ibn Mohammad(888-912 CE), a Muslim navigator, Khashkhash Ibn Saeed Ibn Aswad, from Cortoba, Spain sailed from Delba (Palos) in 889 CE, crossed the Atlantic, reached an unknown territory(ard majhoola) and returned with fabulous treasures. In Al-Masudi's map of the world there is a large area in the ocean of darkness and fog which he referred to as the unknown territory (Americas).(1)
2. A Muslim historian ABU BAKR IBN UMAR AL-GUTIYYA narrated that during the reign of the Muslim caliph of Spain, Hisham II (976-1009CE), another Muslim navigator, Ibn Farrukh, from Granada, sailed from Kadesh (February 999CE) into the Atlantic, landed in Gando (Great Canary islands) visiting King Guanariga, and continued westward where he saw and named two islands, Capraria and Pluitana. He arrived back in Spain in May 999 CE.(2)
3. Columbus sailed from Palos (Delba), Spain. He was bound for GOMERA (Canary Islands)-Gomera is an Arabic word meaning 'small firebrand' - there he fell in love with Beatriz BOBADILLA, daughter of the first captain general of the island (the family name BOBADILLA is derived from the Arab Islamic name ABOU ABDILLA.).Nevertheless, the BOBADILLA clan was not easy to ignore. Another Bobadilla (Francisco) later, as the royal commissioner, put Columbus in chains and transferred him from Santo Dominigo back to Spain (November 1500 CE). The BOBADILLA family was related to the ABBADID dynasty of Seville (1031-1091 CE). On October 12, 1492 CE, Columbus landed on a little island in the Bahamas that was called GUANAHANI by the natives. Renamed SAN SALVADOR by Columbus. GUANAHANI is derived from Mandinka and modified Arabic words. GUANA (IKHWANA) means 'brothers' and HANI is an Arabic name.Therefore the original name of the island was 'HANI BROTHERS'. (11) Ferdinand Columbus, the son of Christopher, wrote about the blacks seen by his father in Handuras: "The people who live farther east of Pointe Cavinas, as far as Cape Gracios a Dios, are almost black in color." At the same time, in this very same region, lived a tribe of Muslim natives known as ALMAMY. In Mandinka and Arabic languages, ALMAMY was the designation of "AL-IMAM"or "AL-IMAMU", the leader of the prayer,or in some cases, the chief of the community,and/or a member of the Imami Muslim community. (12)
4. A renowned American historian and linguist, LEO WEINER of Harvard University, in his book, AFRICA AND THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA (1920) wrote that Columbus was well aware of the Mandinka presence in the New World and that the West African Muslims had spread throughout the Caribbean, Central, South and North American territories, including Canada,where they were trading and intermarrying with the Iroquois and Algonquin Indians. (13)
B: GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORATIONS:
1. The famous Muslim geographer and cartographer AL-SHARIF AL-IDRISI (1099- 1166CE) wrote in his famous book Nuzhat al-mushtaq fi ikhtiraq al-afaq (Excursion of the longing one in crossing horizons) that a group of seafarers (from North Africa) sailed into the sea of darkness and fog (The Atlantic ocean) from Lisbon (Portugal), in order to discover what was in it and what extent were its limits. They finally reached an island that had people and cultivation...on the fourth day, a translator spoke to them in the Arabic language. (3)
2. The Muslim reference books mentioned a well-documented description of a journey across the sea of fog and darkness by Shaikh ZAYN EDDINE ALI BEN FADHEL AL-MAZANDARANI. His journey started from Tarfaya (South Morocco) during the reign of the King Abu-Yacoub Sidi Youssef (1286-1307CE) 6th of the Marinid dynasty, to Green Island in the Caribbean sea in 1291 CE (690 HE). The details of his ocean journey are mentioned in Islamic references, and many Muslim scholars are aware of this recorded historical event..(4)
3. The Muslim historian CHIHAB AD-DINE ABU-L-ABBAS AHMAD BEN FADHL AL-UMARI (1300-1384CE/700-786HE) described in detail the geographical explorations beyond the sea of fog and darkness of Mali's sultans in his famous book Massaalik al-absaar fi mamaalik al-amsaar (The pathways of sights in the provinces of kingdoms).(5)
4. Sultan MANSU KANKAN MUSA (1312-1337 CE) was the world renowned Mandinka monarch of the West African Islamic empire of Mali. While travelling to Makkah on his famous Hajj in 1324 CE, he informed the scholars of the Mamluk Bahri sultan court (An-Nasir Nasir Edin Muhammad III-1309-1340 CE) in Cairo, that his brother, sultan Abu Bakari I (1285-1312CE) had undertaken two expeditions into the Atlantic ocean. When the sultan did not return to Timbuktu from the second voyage of 1311 CE, Mansa Musa became sultan of the empire. (6)
5. Columbus and early Spanish and portuguese explorers were able to voyage across the Atlantic (a distance of 2400 Km's) thanks to Muslim geographical and navigational information. In particular maps made by Muslim traders, including AL-MASUDI (871-957CE) in his book Akhbar az-zaman (History of the world) which is based on material gathered in Africa and Asia (9). As a matter of fact, Columbus had two captain of muslim origin during his first transatlantic voyage: Martin Alonso Pinzon was the captain of the PINTA,and his brother Vicente Yanez Pinzon was the captain of the NINA. They were wealthy, expert ship outfitters who helped organize the Columbus expedition and prepared the flagship, SANTA MARIA. They did this at their own expense for both commercial and political reasons. The PINZON family was related to ABUZAYAN MUHAMMAD III (1362-66 CE), the Moroccan sultan of the Marinid dynasty (1196-1465CE). (10)
C: ARABIC( ISLAMIC )INSCRIPTIONS:
1. Anthropologists have proven that the Mandinkos under Mansa Musa's instructions explored many parts of North America via the Mississippi and other rivers systems. At Four Corners, Arizona, writings show that they even brought elephants from Africa to the area.(7)
2. Columbus admitted in his papers that on Monday, October 21,1492 CE while his ship was sailing near Gibara on the north-east coast of Cuba, he saw a mosque on top of a beautiful mountain. The ruins of mosques and minarets with inscriptions of Quranic verses have been discovered in Cuba,Mexico,Texas and Nevada. (8)
3. During his second voyage, Columbus was told by the indians of ESPANOLA (Haiti), that black people had been to the island before his arrival. For proof, they presented Columbus with the spears of these African muslims. These weapons were tipped with a yellow metal that the indians called GUANIN, a word of West African derivation meaning 'gold alloy'. Oddly enough, it is related to the Arabic word 'GHINAA' which means 'WEALTH'. Columbus brought some GUANINES back to Spain and had them tested. He learned that the metal was 18 parts gold (56.25%), 6 parts silver (18.75%) and 8 parts copper (25%), the same ratio as the metal produced in African metalshops of Guinea. (14)
4. In 1498 CE, on his third voyage to the new world, Columbus landed in Trinidad. Later, he sighted the South American continent, where some of his crew went ashore and found natives using colorful handkerchiefs of symmetrically woven cotton. Columbus noticed that these handkerchiefs resembled the headdresses and loinclothes of Guinea in their colors, style and function. He refered to them as ALMAYZARS. ALMAYZAR is an Arabic word for 'wrapper','cover','apron' and/or 'skirting' which was the cloth the Moors (Spanish or North African Muslims) imported from west Africa (Guinea) into Morocco, Spain and Portugal. During this voyage, Columbus was surprised that the married women wore cotton panties (bragas) and he wondered where these natives learned their modesty. Hernan Cortes, Spanish conqueror, described the dress of the Indian women as 'long veils' and the dress of Indian men as 'breechcloth painted in the style of Moorish draperies'. Ferdinand Columbus called the native cotton garments 'breechclothes of the same design and cloth as the shawls worn by the Moorish women of Granada'. Even the similarity of the children's hammocks to those found in North Africa was uncanny.(15)
5. Dr. Barry Fell (Harvard University) introduced in his book 'Saga America-1980' solid scientific evidence supporting the arrival, centuries before Columbus, of Muslims from North and West Africa. Dr. Fell discovered the existence of the Muslim schools at Valley of Fire, Allan Springs, Logomarsino, Keyhole, Canyon, Washoe and Hickison Summit Pass (Nevada), Mesa Verde (Colorado), Mimbres Valley (New Mexico) and Tipper Canoe(Indiana) dating back to 700-800 CE. Engraved on rocks in the arid western U.S, he found texts, diagrams and charts representing the last surviving fragments of what was once a system of schools - at both an elementary and higher level. The language of instruction was North African Arabic written with old Kufic Arabic scripts. The subjects of instruction included writing, reading, arithmetic, religion, history, geography, mathematics, astronomy and sea navigation. The descendants of the Muslim visitors of North America are members of the present Iroquois, Algonquin, Anasazi, Hohokam and Olmec native people..(16)
6. There are 565 names of places (villages, towns, cities, mountains, lakes, rivers,.. etc. ) in U.S.A. (484) and Canada (81) which derived from Islamic and Arabic roots. These places were originally named by the natives in precolumbian periods. Some of these names carried holy meanings such as: Mecca-720 inhabitants (Indiana), Makkah Indian tribe (Washington), Medina-2100 (Idaho), Medina-8500 (N.Y.), Medina-1100, Hazen-5000 (North Dakota), Medina-17000/Medina-120000 (Ohio), Medina-1100 (Tennessee), Medina-26000 (Texas), Medina-1200 (Ontario), Mahomet-3200 (Illinois), Mona-1000 (Utah), Arva-700 (Ontario)...etc. A careful study of the names of the native Indian tribes revealed that many names are derived from Arab and Islamic roots and origins, i.e. Anasazi, Apache, Arawak, Arikana, Chavin, Cherokee, Cree, Hohokam, Hupa, Hopi, Makkah, Mahigan, Mohawk, Nazca, Zulu, Zuni...etc..
Based on the above historical, geographical and linguistic notes, a call to celebrate the millennium of the Muslim arrival to the Americas, five centuries before Columbus, has been issued to all Muslim nations and communities around the world. We hope that this call will receive complete understanding and attract enough support.
Dua for studying
|| || o ||
_o_,_\ ,;: .'_o_\ ,;: (_|_;: _o_,_,_,_;
( .. / (_) / ( .
Bismillah irRahman irRaheem
In the Name of Allaah, The Most Gracious, The Most Kind
DUA BEFORE STUDYING
Allahumma infa'nii bimaa O Allah! Make useful for me what You
'allamtanii wa'allimnii taught me and teach me knowledge
maa yanfa' unii. that will be useful to me.
Allahumma inii as'aluka O Allah! I ask You for the understanding
fahmal-nabiyyen wa hifthal of the prophets and the memory of the
mursaleen al-muqarrabeen. messengers, and those nearest to You.
Allahumma ijal leesanee O Allah! Make my tongue full of
'amiran bi thikrika wa Your remembrance, and my heart with
qalbi bi khashyatika. consciousness of You.
Innaka 'ala ma-tasha'-u (O Allah!) You do whatever You wish,
qadeer wa anta hasbun-allahu and You are my Availer and
wa na'mal wakeel. Protector and the best of aid.
DUA AFTER STUDYING
Allahhumma inni astaodeeuka O Allah! I entrust You with what I
ma qara'tu wama hafaz-tu. have read and I have studied.
Faradduhu 'allaya inda (O Allah!) Bring it back to me when
hagati elayhi. I am in need of it.
Innaka 'ala ma-tasha'-u (O Allah!) You do whatever You wish,
qadeer wa anta hasbeeya and You are my Availer and
wa na'mal wakeel. Protector and the best of aid.
DUA WHILE STUDYING SOMETHING DIFFICULT
Allahumma la sahla illama O Allah! Nothing is easy except what
ja-'altahu sahla wa anta taj You have made easy. If You wish, You
'alu al hazana etha shi'ta can make the difficult easy.
sahla
DUA FOR ANXIETY
Allahumma inni a'oodhoo bika O Allah! I seek refuge in You from anxiety
minal-hammi walhuzni, wal-'ajzi and sorrow, weakness and laziness,
wal-kasali wal-bukhli wal-jubni, miserliness and cowardice, the burden of
wa dal'id-dayni wa ghalabatir- debts and from being oppressed by men.
rajaal
DUA FOR DISTRESS
Allahumma rahmataka arjoo falaa O Allah! It is Your mercy that I hope for
takilnee ilaa nafsee tarfata so do not leave me in charge of my affairs
'aynin wa aslih-lee sha'nee even for a blink of an eye and rectify
kullahu, laa ilaha illa anta for me all of my affairs. None has the
right to be worshipped except You.
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