Angina and the 'Coronary Patient'

Friends,

'Coronary Heart Disease' or better known as 'Ischaemic Heart Disease' is a major killer in Malaysia today.Most will present as 'Angina': described mostly as burning sensation in the centre of the chest following variable degree of physical activity or exertion like climbing staircase, during emotionally stressful situations or at about the climax of a sexual intercourse. For some the chest pain may just be a passing discomfort or mild heartburn lower down in the 'epigastrium' ie near the stomach region. Others may have a choking sensation up the throat or a 'dull' ache around the neck especially at the jaw.

This discomfort may or may not be related and accompanied by a 'numbness' feeling going down the forearm towards the arm, mostly the left but occasionally the right as well, and/or radiates to the back.To compound the problem for us doctors, some 20 per cent, especially in people who are diabetic, and to a much smaller extent those who lead very sedentary and inactive lifestyle, they may not have any symptom at all, to at least bring or push them to get some form of medical attention. Yet to compound the problem further,some 20 % of men would not know they have IHD until they have their first major heart attack.

I used to tell my friends and patients, for us men, as an imperative and incentive towards 'good adab and behaviour'[ sorry Friends , I cannot remove the 'ustaz' factor from the 'doctor' role of Nik Isahak, a very bad habit of mine],for the unfortunate 10 % of heart patients amongst men, they only know they have 'heart problem' when it was already "Maa rabbuka".

The damnning fact is : heart attacks, KILL, 30 per cent die during the first episode even before reaching hospital. Of the 70 % that reach the hospitals, another 5% do not make it. Since 20 % of men afflicted with IHD have no symptom, a significant proportion of them die without knowing what 'hits' them in the first place . This sudden death is due to ventricular fibrillation: The heart rythm just go 'berserk' at the point just after the Heart Attack mainly due to a big segment of the muscle not getting the blood supply suddenly. Normally the blockage is major and invovle the left main stem of the left coronary artery.

What then is the difference between Angina and a Heart Attack, one may ask?

When a major coronary artery supplying blood and nutrients and oxygen molecules to the heart muscle is significantly narrowed due to 'atheroma'[ we, cardiologists, call it 'plaque'] along the vessel which act as a supply chain, one gets angina. The more narrow the constriction, the less activity or exertion would be needed to bring out angina.

In a situation when a 'plaque' ruptures, there would be a 'cascade' of chemical reactions among the microelements in our blood[ platelets] which lead to further 'clogging up' of the already constricted section of that coronary vessel.Symptom wise, patients may now have pain or angina at rest or with just minimal activity[ acute coronary syndrome ]. When the 'clogging up' blocks the artery 100 %, you have a Heart Attack! The heart muscle supplied by the '100 % blocked' segment 'dies'[ become necrotic and blackish/purplish in colour instead of the healthy 'pink' ].

If you can imagine the 'coronary tree' like a ginseng root hanging down with the main trunk above and the smaller branches down, the severity of a heart attack depends on where the 100 % block occurs. If the block is in the main trunk[ we term this as Left Main Stem ], it is 100 % 'curtain' for you. If lower down,half a centimetre away, after the 'widow-makers junction', you have a 50 % mortality. Much lower down say 2 centimetres away, you join the 65 % statistics of those who survive to yet enjoy another 'breather'.... We are talking of centimetres here that make a difference between a fatal heart and a minor heart attack. Grim statistics..

Let us examine what we can do to delay or prevent IHD:

SMOKING : You can stop smoking. fullstop. My patients who had had their first 'coronary event' and having spent one or two days in the CCU almost normally never complain of 'gian' on stopping smoking. That is the 'odd' and curious way of how the element of fear works in motivation towards stopping smoking. It is the regular guys like you whom I see in the clinic that are 'recalcitrant' to any advice. For most, they have to experience the harrowing fear of 'near death' first before being motivated! Dont wait for an acute coronary syndrome before stopping smoking. By then it is a wee bit late, the 'coronary ginseng' by then is already full of plaques all along the way, if one were to take an' intracoronary excursion' using a coronary doppler wire.The coronary angiogram would just show narrowing here and there.

OBESITY : You can eat wisely, cut all those beers if you are not Muslim, join Celebrity Workout and live active lives. Not that simple though. Many 'quick fix' diet and 'herbal claims' in the market by people who wants to make a quick buck here and there. Cannot beat the' more burn and less calories' intake on a regular basis. Exercise ,exercise, exercise. factor exercise into your life. Take that staircase instead of the elevator. Go to work with KTM and walk that extra kilometre or two to your office. Park your car half a kilometre away fromTesco and walk to do your shopping. Choose a surau say one kilometre away from your house and go there daily for your 'Isyak' prayer. Burning calories does not mean you have to put on your 'shorts' and burn it in the gym. It means being active all the time. But of course if you have the time and inclination to do 'gym' work, do mix cardio and weights in the gym at least half an hour at a time ,three times a week. The more the better. Or take almost daily 'brisk walking or jogging in the evening or early morning.

As for the calories, eat whatever you like but EAT LESS. Reduce animal fats intake, less deep fry[ fats add calories doubly], more vegies and lots of fruit and plenty of water intake. Avoid adding calories to your drinks meaning drink just plain water or 'tea and coffee without sugar or milk. If I am sounding like I am asking yuo to be a hermit, well that is not the idea. Be a cournosier, not a gourmet. Think big: Picture the richest man on Earth, the Sultan of Brunei. Slim and steady at 60 plus. Yes you want to eat like him!

DIABETES : Very much related to obesity.My wife is a chronic diabetic and two of my children,sad to say, are 'grossly obese' and moving towards diabetese.They just eat too much and I do not mean to deprecate

them here. This is a common phenomena of the 80's,and we are going to have an epidermics of 'cardiovascular disease' this century and our work are all cut out for us for many years to come. This is the scrouge of this century all tied down to obesity, present sedentary lifestyle and poor eating habit.

If you are diabetic, DO NOT BE penny wise and pound foolish.Please get yourself a good doctor to 'lord' over you. 60 % of my heart patients are diabetic! And they are not a pleasure to work on when the 'plumbing' get clogged up: Their arteries are smaller, their disease are more diffuse. Even the surgeons do not like them. Higher mortality and morbidity risk as well.

Just remember this if you forget evrything you read on my blog today: Diabetes is a 'super major' cause of morbidity in this century. You have to be serious about it. Quite unrelated to the issue of 'heart health',both diabetes and obesity contribute to the problem of 'fatty liver' which form the basis in the long run for scarring[fibrosis] of your liver. Could progress to liver failure from liver cirrhosis.

HYPERTENSION : Should be no sweat here from the point of view of medication and control since unlike in the early 70's we have superb drugs now,but more than 70 % of people with high BP do not continue their medications or are not optimally controlled. Self medication is one of the problem, the other major cause of poor compliance Malaysian' tidakapathy'. We have Malaysians with 'double degree' who when asked 'what anti hypertensive they are on', were not able to tell the name. Again do not be penny wise and pound foolish, see your doctor regularly say once every three to four months when you are already stabilised on a 'regime' of medication. If to him ,140/90 is already acceptable, find another doctor. The aim is to be below 130/90 or lower.

HIGH BLOOD CHOLESTEROL AND LIPIDS

Again,diet, medication and exercise. For the average 'men on the street', I would aim for a total cholesterol level to below 5 mmol, LDL[bad cholesterol] to below 3 mmol and HDL [ good cholesterol] of 1.2 or above. There is really no real' cut off' point at which level one would like to start medication such as the ' statins'[ simvastatin or Zocor, atorvastatin or Lipitor, Vytorin, and lastly the new kid on the block,Crestor]. This depend on the absence or presence of other risk factors. For the average 'man on the street' without any risk factor with a total cholesterol of below 6 mmol, I would advice him to diet and come back for review. I am more 'brutal' with diabetics and people who already have coronary problem: Would aim for their LDL to be below 2 mmol and HDL above 1.2 at least.

Exercise,if you are 'religious' about it, can push up the good choleterol significantly.

GENETICS : Well you cannot go to a supermarket and choose your parents but you can certainly live rightly. Take care of all the above risk factors. Exercise, keeping trim, watch you diet by by avoiding excessive animal fats, increasing fibre and fruit intake on a daily basis. Visit your family doctors annually to check for diabetes and hypertension and oyur lipids.If you have one of the above factors, be stringent with their control. Work out to acheive ideal body weight. My computation is easy: Ideal body weight is equal to your height in centimetres minus 100, plus minus 3 kg either way. Stick to it....By this computation, most of us, including myself, have a lot of work to do!

The bottomline is if you are diabetic,smoking and has hypertension and obese as well: That is not so good news!
The good news is ,it is not so bad if, provided if, you start from day one looking at your risk profile and enlist your doctor as a 'risk manager', the stickter the 'risk manager' the better. Achieving almost perfect 'glucose 'profile, trimming down all those excess fats, stopping smoking entirely and remaining true to your hypertensive drug regime even when you do not have untoward symptom requires a 'tough' and straight thinking 'sargent major' breathing down your neck! It require 'tons' of self discipline as well.

You may ask why?

Diabetes is high risk.Obesity confers a much higher degree of difficulty in your diabetic control even with all the new drugs and insulin. Difficult to have optimal control, at best very sub optimal. Your arteries in the brain,the heart and kidneys age that much faster.[ I am not mentioning the penis as well, but I am mentioning it now as ED is another common presentation of IHD patients . We will discuss this at some other time ].Added to this smoking and hypertension are another serious contenders of the 'makhluk perosak' to the basement membrane of your arteries. All 'makhluk perosak' hammering on a daily basis on that poor basement membrane in the arteries.....the bottomline is you get srtoke,heart attack, kidney failure and ED,one or two decades earlier than it should really be!

Oftentimes I wish I could be like Ms Chen, my Primary One teacher in Sultan Ismail Primary School in Kota Bharu, and able to ask some of my 'recalcitrant patients' to just stand on the chair outside my clinic or something. Their diabetic control is lousy, their weight remain static or even increase, they missed out on their hypertensive medications for weeks on end, and they continue to smoke, despite already having their 'first' coronary! But life as a doctor is not that simple...We can't, and oftentimes we end up blaming ourselves for not giving that 'proper education' to our patients.

I cannot 'sugar coat' that statement in any better way: We have to work harder on you!

The blind man is not equal to the seer;[19] Nor is darkness[tantamount to]light;[20] Nor is the shadow equal with the sun's full heat;[21] Nor are the living equal with the dead. Lo !Allah maketh whom He will to hear. Thou canst not reach those who are in the graves.[22]

[al Fatir , 35 : 19-22]

Glory be to Him who has control of all things. To Him you shall all be recalled.[Ya Sin, 36 : 83]

He it is Who createth you from dust, then from a drop [of seed] then from a clot, then bringeth you forth as a child, then [ordaineth]that you attain full strength and afterward that ye become old man-though some among you die before-and that ye reach an appointed term,that haply ye may understand.[67]He it is who quickeneth and give death. When he ordaineth a thing, He saith unto it only: Be ! and it is.[68].....[al Ghafir , 40 : 67-68]

Bethink you: If it is from Allah and ye reject it-Who is further astray than one who is in open feud with Allah?[52] We shall show them Our portents, on the horizons and within themselves until it will be manifest unto them that it is the Truth. Doth not thy Lord suffice, save He is witness over all things?[53] How? Are they still in doubt about the meeting with their Lord?

Lo ! Is not He surrounding all things?[54].....[al Fussilat , 41 : 52-54]

And we have commended unto man kindness towards parents. His mother beareth him with reluctance, and bringeth him forth with reluctance, and the bearing of him and the weaning of him is thirty months, till, when he attaineth full strength and reacheth forty years, he saith: My Lord! Arouse me that I may give thanks for the favour wherewith Thou has favoured me and my parents, and that I may do right acceptable unto Thee. And be gracious unto me in the matter of my seed. Lo! I have turned unto Thee repentant, and Lo! I am one of those who surrender unto Thee.[15]Those are they from whom We accept the best of what they do, and overlook their evil deeds. [They are]among the owners of the Garden. This is the true promise which they were promised[inthe world].[16]........[al Ahqaf , 46 : 15-16]

The life of this world is but a sport and a pastime. And if ye believe and work off evil. He will give you your wages, and will not ask of you your worldly wealth.[36] If He should ask it of you and importune you, ye would hoard it, and He would bring to light your secret hates.[37] Lo! Ye are those who are called to spend in the way of Allah, yet among you are some who hoard. And as for him who hoardeth, he hoardeth from his soul. And Allah is the Rich, and ye are poor. And if ye turn away He will exchange you for some other folk, and they will not be the likes of you.[38] ..............[Muhammad , 47 : 36-38]

Dr Nik Howk

[ related blog: Longevity 1, 2,3,4....under Health Section]

[ Exercise: Mixing the Sublime and the Profane.....Health Section ]

Conversations on Islam : Ustaz Dr Abdullah Yasin

Subject: Penghayatan Quran dengan Mendengar Vs Hanya Membaca Tanpa Penghayatan

Yang Berbahagia Ustaz Dr Abdullah Yasin, dengan doa agar Ustaz sentiasa diberi kerahmatan Allah dandidalam kandungan sihat walafiat selalu hendaknya.

Ustaz,

Saya ada kemuskilan mengenai Membaca Qur'an. Memang ianya dituntut, lebih2 lagi di bulan yang penuh kerahmatan ini: bulan dimana turunnya Qur'anal karim kepada umat Nabi Muhamad[saw]. Satu mukjizat yang di pandang enteng olih masyarakat masakini, dimana , pada hemat saya, kita keselurohan nya, terutamanya di persekitaran Nusantara Melayu ini, baik Malaysia mahupun Indonesia, lebih mementingkan bacaan dari penghayatan.Dengongan yang enak dan baik dari penghayatan dan praktiknya intisari 2 dan teguran2 dalam Quran. Soalan saya begini:

Bacaan saya tidak 'perfect', bahkan jauh dari tidak 'perfect', bunyi dan 'dengongannya' mirip macam 'mualaf'. Buat beberapa bulan yang lepas saya mengambil pendekatan dengan membaca tafsir penulisan Shaykh Muhamad al Ghazali [ A Thematic Commentary On The Quran ], bagi tiap2 surah yang saya mahu pelajari untuk hari itu, diikuti dengan mendengar bacaan Surah itu dari internet olih Qari Mishari Rashid [ yang begitu mempersonakan hingga 'segan' saya sendiri mahu baca mengikuti beliau], diikuti pula dengan transliteration didalam Ingeris ataau Bahasa Melayu pada tiap2 ayat .

[ http://www.quranexplorer/ ]

Dengan cara ini saya dapat habis satu juz sehari ,insyaallah.

OK Ustaz, apa pandangan Ustaz mengenai cara ini dari segi pahala/dosa nya.

vis a vis : Penghayatan Quran dengan mendengar dan mempelajari maana dan tafsir Vs Hanya membaca tanpa penghayatan.Saya faham mungkin jawapannya mungkin 'obvious' kepada ramai dan pernah juga saya 'terlintas' didalam pembacaan saya yang lepas didalam Quran [ dah lupa ayat dan surahnya ] dianjur supaya mendengar bacaan Quran selain dari membacanya. Juga didalam Sirah Nabi, dimana Nabi kita menyuroh sahabat beliau, Abdullah Mas'ud 'continue to read to him ' the Quran pasal kemerduan suara dan 'tajwid' beliau tepat sekali dari lain2 sahabat.

Namun demikian, ulasan Yang Berbahagia Ustaz di perlukan juga untuk kebaikan bersama kita.

Dr Nik Isahak Wan Abdullah

http://drnikisahak.blogspot.com/

Assalamualaikum,

Terlebih dahulu saya mohon maaf sbb lambat menjawab email Dr. Nik kerana bbrp kesibukan dakwah. Ustaz doa semoga dalam bulan yang penuh berkah ini Dr dan klrga sentiasa dlm limpahan rahmat dan berkat dari Allah. Ust juga ucap tahniah kerana Dr peduli dan ambil berat dengan Al-Quran yang agak berbeza dengan kepedulian majoriti umat Islam lain di Asia Tenggara yang hanya fokus kpd bacaan Al-Quran (Tajwid) sahaja tanpa usaha memahami isi kandungannya. Padahal Al-Quran diturunkan Allah untuk dijadikan pedoman dan petunjuk bagi umat manusia. Sila rujuk ayat 185 Al-Baqarah. Lebih-lebih lagi jika ingin jadi orang yang bertaqwa. Sila lihat ayat 2 Al-Baqarah. Manusia yang berpaling dari ajaran Al-Quran akan mendapat siksaan di dunia dan akhirat. Lihat ayat 124 - 126 surah Taaha. Sedang mereka yang mendustakan dan bersikap sombong terhadat ayat-ayat Allah boleh membawa akibat doa dan amalannya tidak diterima oleh Allah dan mustahil masuk syurga seperti mustahilnya unta masuk ke dalam lobang jarum. Sila lihat tafsiran ayat 40 dari surah Al-A'raaf.

Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda : ( Sebaik-baik manusia siapa yang mempelajari Al-Quran dan mengajarkannya kepada orang-orang lain. ) - ( Al-Quran kelak akan menjadi penolongmu di akhirat atau sebaliknya akan mendakwa kamu. ) - ( Berapa banyak orang yang membaca Al-Quran tetapi Al-Quran mengutuknya ). Ini hanya segelintir hadis Nabi saw tentang kelebihan mempelajari Al-Quran dan bahaya mengabaikannya.

Oleh itu Dr. Ahmad Asrar (ulama besar dari Pakistan) dalam bukunya dalam bahasa Urdu yang diterjemahkan dalam bhs Arab yng maknanya : Apakah kewajipan Umat Islam Terhadap Al-Quran ? menyebut ada LIMA kewajipan umat Islam terhadap Al-Quran : 1. Beriman kepada Al-Quran bahawa ia adalah wahyu Allah yang diturunkan kpd Rasul akhir zaman Nabi Muhammad s.a.w. dalam bahasa Arab. 2. Tilawah yakni membacanya dengan baik / betul. 3. Memahami isi kandungannya sebab ia diturunkan bukan hanya utk dibaca tetapi dihayati dan direnung maknanya untuk dijadikan pedoman hidup. 4. Mengamalkannya dalam kehidupan harian. 5. Menyampaikannya kepada orang lain apa yang sudah kita fahami dan amalkan.

Ringkasannya : Jika kita renung LIMA kewajipan di atas ternyata kebanyakan umat Islam Asia Tenggara hanya penuhi DUA saja dari LIMA perkara diatas yakni iman dan tilawah. Maknanya kurang dari separo kewajipannya terhadap Al-Quran. Jika ini terjadi bagaimana kelak akan menjawa pertanyaan dalam kubur : Apakah IMAM kamu ? jika didunia tidak ada usaha utk melengkapi kewajipan yang lima itu. Agar iman sempurna kita perlu ilmu Aqidah, untuk kesempurnaan tilawah kita perlu ilmu Tajwid, agar sempurna kefahaman kita perlu ilmu Tafsir atau Tadabbur Al-Quran ( Lihat Attachmnt ) - Dengan cabang2 ilmu tsb barulah kita boleh amalkan Al-Quran dengan sempurna dan menyampaikannya kepada orang lain dengan lebih tepat.

Syaitan sangat suka jika kita menjauhkan diri dengan ajaran Al-Quran. Oleh itu Allah suruh kita awali setiap memulai membaca Al-Quran dengan Isti'adzah (mohon perlindungan kpd Allah dari gangguan syaitan) Lihat ayat 98 surah Al-Nahl.

Ustaz harapkan tulisan singkat ini berguna untuk Dr Nik dan kawan2. Sikap Dr yang berusaha menekuni Al-Quran dengan menghayati maknanya hendaklah diteruskan. Ini pertanda atau isyarat baik dari Allah agar Dr menjadi orang yang baik-baik. Sabda Nabi saw : Barangsiapa yang Allah berkehendak untuk menjadikannya orang yang bai-baik, nescaya Allah akan dorong dia gemar mendalami selok belok agama. ( HR Bukhari ). Secara tersirat jika malas dan rasa berat mendalami selok belok agama maka itu bermakna sebaliknya. Adapun tentang bacaan Dr yang dirasakan beluk perfect insya Allah dimaafkan oleh Allah asalkan jangan berhenti memperbaikinya dan jangan marah jika ditegor oleh orang lebih arif. Rasul bersabda : Siapa membaca Al-Quran dengan lancar (mahir) maka ia sederjat dengan malaikat Kiramil Bararah, dan siapa yang membaca Al-Quran dengan tesangkak-sangkat (tdk lancar) namun terus berusaha maka dia akan mendapat ganjaran dua kali ganda.

Demikian sedikit sumbangan ustaz. Salam buat keluarga ; Jasa Dr merawat abang ustaz bbrp tahun lalu tidak pernah pudar dalam ingatan. Jazakumullah Khairan Kathira.

Wassalam

Ustaz Dr. Abdullah Yasin

Talibanization and Demonization of Islam

Talibanization and Demonization of Islam. Such big words.Happens everyday on CNN,BBC and any Western electronic and print media one care to open , listen or view. It has become a national sport in the West and support a host of 'experts' and 'proffesionals'. The bottomline is very simple, too simple that even 'so called enlightened' Muslims themselves missed it and join the bandwagon of 'Islam bashing': The continued subjugation and subordination of anything Islamic, lands,resources and minds and souls.

Just take the recent simple case of Kartika Sari Dewi, that unknown struggling model from Nowhere land in Cherating caught drinking beer with her friends and sentenced to 5 lashings of the 'rotan' by the Sharia court in Pekan.No one care to ask 'how painful ' is an 'Islamic lashing'?, that is more a symbolic 'lashing of the soul' rather than the physical, what is the philosophy behind it?.......What we have after that was an incredible avalanche of media hype against it, National and International.Does not help either that, that chap who 'prophesized' years back that Kelantan will be full with people with no hands if the hudud law come into being, thought that the 'lashings' is barbaric. When you have Muslim like this, you do not need the West anymore!

To the uninitiated, this tantamount to gross injustice, tribal , barbaric,and draconian rule etc etc and etc. But let us put things in perspective, if we are still very naive: The kufr West and East are just drawing 'lines in the sand' and saying 'No to Islam'.One would be very naive to expect 'Non Muslims who know next to nothing about the spirit of Islam to move an inch to anything Islamic but what we do in Malaysia and in any so called Islamic Lands towards the betterment of our Ummah, is to put it very mildly, none of their' .........' business! [ sorry that I intended to use a 4 letter word, here. The general feeling of anger in the Muslim streets all over the world is just too strong on this. Your Fareed Zakaria is just too 'Westernised', he has forgotten how to feel the pain of being a Muslim.., he has given you guys misinformation.]

Let us cross over to Libya and the USA to get an international flavour of what is going on. Al Megrihi's release has caused a lot of 'noise'. The American Administration who for obvious reason want to maintain friendly relation with Gaddafi are feeling uncomfortable with the increasing 'animal noise' building up in New Jersey where Gaddafi is supposed to 'set up tent' before his long awaited comeback speech in the hallowed halls of the UN. His potential American neighbours 'upfront' are making 'animal noise' that they do not feel happy to tolerate having Gaddafi 'whose hand are smeared by American blood in the Lockerbie Affair', camping nearby even for a day or two. That could prick their conscience as if they have one.... They conveniently forgot that this 'chap' had lost a beloved daughter as a result of 'Senior Bush' adventurism years back. They forgot that millions of Muslim blood are on their elected leaders hands, by omission or commission, in Iraq, Palestine, peri- Saddam's Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan![ Not forgetting the Yellow Bastards,the Japanese in Hiroshima and Nagasaki as well. Never mind they are not whites or Germans!] The Europeans are, as usual, just whining in the background saying that they do not mind the Scottish Panel Review's decision to release Al Megrihi on the basis of humanity since that chap is looking at the last few months of his life[ he had advance cancer of prostate], but mind that he was given a Hero's Welcome in Tripoli.

Gaddafi has not lost any of his magic when he retorted that :" They think only they, are humans, while the rest of us, donkeys!"

[I am not yet discussing about what the Scottish Pardon Panel has discovered in their final delibration:There was growing concern that The British and American Intelligence had planted some 'evidence' in the Lockerbie Incidence to make a Libyan conviction quite plausible. They do this all the time......Remember what that' imbecile' did in Iraq!]

It seems to us all, that only Americans could welcome back their soldiers involved in the 'My Lai massarce' years back,garlanded and given medals as heroes, while the rest of the world have to have muted response over their feeling of gross injustice.

Now , why should 1.5 billion Muslims, and fast growing, apologise for their Din and way of life as dictated by the One and True God. Neither should they take sitting down, the dictates from people who are actually more 'barbaric' in all sense of modalities and feeling than them? Please leave us, our Lands and our resources alone and from there we can discuss about Justice and Fairness!.....And yes, perhaps some semblance of Peace can envelope this world again as a result of true mutual respect and real spirit of coexistence........

Please do not underestimate our resolve.....to paraphrase Colonel Muamar Gaddafi,"They think, only they are humans, while the rest of us, donkeys???"

Conversations on Islam: Buff Parry on the Rise of Islam

Light...

Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The similitude of His Light is as a niche wherein is a lamp. The lamp is in a glass. The glass is as a shining star. [This lamp is] kindled from a blessed tree, an olive neither of the East nor of the West, whose oil would almost glow forth [of itself] though no fire touched it. Light upon light. Allah guideth unto His light whom He will. Allah speaketh to mankind in allegories, for Allah is Knower of all things. [ Surah al Nur , 24 : 35 ]

Such splendour, such beauty. Allah's description of Himself.

Scholars,very few of them, with sufic bent, such as the eleventh century philosopher Abu Hamid al Ghazali [ and of late ,that famous Scottish convert, Abdal Qadir as Sufi , and Prof Muhamad al Mahdi ] understood this "light" or nur to be the true quintessential light or the definitive source of all light in the universe. Others, more commonly, interpret 'light' here, rather figuratively, as the guidance God infuses into the hearts of believers that give them the ability to discern right from wrong, good from evil, and give them a strong belief and confidence in their faith and what they profess to be true.

In the light of recent scientific development and progress, al Ghazali's literal take of Nur may indeed be the true meaning and interpretation of the 'ayat'. If that is the case, in 11th century AD , the sufis were the originator of what the likes of Einstein et al discovered some 9 centuries later with 'hardcore science'. That could only come through 'divine' inspiration.! Allahualam.

[see The Big Bang and a Century of Science: The True Nature of Reality, June 24th,2009, under "Personalities"........Prof Muhd al Mahdi]

Ramadan in Kota Bharu,1960....

Friends,

1960. Ramadan in Kota Bharu as I remember it.
The old pair of Second World War howitzers at Padang Bank opposite the Old Istana come to mind for us 7-year-old kids growing up in 'laid back' Kota Bharu. Really not that 'laid back' because 'we' had that tallest building in the world: The famous Zain Building [ 4 storey], near the biggest and busiest roundabout ever infront of 'Palm Manor', [Tengku Razaleigh father's house].

My late father[ he died of perforated ulcer 2 years later, no effective antibiotics then except penicillin ] used to take myself and my younger brother, Mansoor, to Padang Bank just to watch members of the Askar Melayu go through the intricate motion of firing the guns to herald the beginning of 'berbuka puasa'. The rest of the Wan Abdullah clan were already too grown up to enjoy such simple pleasures in life , I supposed. We would then drive to our kampong Teliput home for breaking fast.
Home refrigerators then were a rarity, though we had ours. Bigger boys, my 'playing-marble' and 'police and thieves' friends,10 to 13 year-old, would try earning some extra pocket money,line up along Jalan Teliput and Jalan Kampong Puteh, selling big blocks of ice, at 10 to 20 cent 'a piece', for the mandatory 'ice syrup ' without which any 'berbuka puasa' will not be complete. One or two of them are now in KL, self made millionaires. Not the NEP type though because "we are,damnit,KELANTANESE!!". Not qualified for NEP help.[ even years of potential oil revenue and more importantly uch needed development around Tok Bali has been robbed from us! We will always remember you Dr M , for being so 'small minded', even when you are no longer here!]

The 'guns' would reverbrate again at sahur time to indicate 'imsak' and more often than not we young fellas would be wokened up by the guns., not by our parents who deemed us more of a nuisance,still too young to start serious fasting .Some 'ulamaks' amongst us 'young punks' maintained that one could still drink one or two glasses of water, and if 'quick' enough, can even finish one plate of rice, after the 'gun' and still ''halal' to fast . Up till today, at 57, I still follow that particular 'advisory.[ Thank you TS Ani Arope for sending me that email today confirming that infact 'this is superior practice' as compared to Sahur ,say at 3, and even though not missing the suboh prayer! Or for some ,no sahor and no suboh, but ironically ,fasting!]

1960. Ramadan in Kota Bharu then. Life was very simple and carefree. We can 'jalan' everywhere without being worried for our safety.Daytime spent in looking for kingfishers and mynahs to practice our 'lastik' technique and accuracy, Magrib and isyak time socialising cum 'terawek' and playing 'hide and seek' and 'Malay or Chinese hopscotch' with the girls,at the kampong surau. Post 'teraweh', we young boys occasionally were allowed by our parents to join the 'bigger boys' horning their skills at seeing whose 'bedil buloh' give the loudest 'bang': bamboo contraption with a small hole bored into one of its compartment, adding a bit of carbide to water ,would result in a big bang comparable to the howitzers at Padang Bank.Need to foray deeper into the kampong to see real action, since even then 'bedil buloh' was already illegal. Fantastic bang it gave, using carbide and water and the trick is to doubly stengthened the 'bedil' with steel wires carefully wrapped around the bamboo.

That was Ramadan as I could remember in 1960. Those were also the short time I had and could recollect about my late father, Wan Abdullah. By 1962, I had to grow up 'pretty quickly'.......
"Rabbir-firli-waliwalidayya' wal mukmini wal mukminat"
My Lord, grant forgiveness and blessing to both my parents and all Muslims!

May your Ramadan and mine be a blessed one, insyaallah.

Dr Nik Howk

Conversations on Islam : Abu Hamid al Ghazali [1058-1111]

[ Prof Abdel Wahab El Messeri in conversation on Imam AlGhazali ]
Biodata :


Abdel-Wahab Elmessiri (Arabic: عبد الوهاب المسيري‎, 1938-July 2, 2008) was an Egyptian scholar, author and general coordinator of the opposition organization Kefaya.[1]
Elmessiri was born in Damanhur, Egypt, graduated with a BA in English literature from Alexandria University in 1959. He received a MA in English and comparative literature from Columbia University in 1964 and a PhD in the same field from Rutgers University in 1969. He was professor emeritus of English and comparative literature at Ain Shams University, Egypt since 1988. He was also a University Professor at King Saud University, Saudi Arabia (1983–1988) and at Kuwait University, Kuwait (1988–1989) and a visiting Professor at the International Islamic University Malaysia. He is considered as one of Egypt's most famous thinkers and very well-known among Arab scholars.

Elmessiri's major areas of research included: Jews, Judaism and Zionism; secularism and prejudice; Western culture and contemporaneity; modernism and postmodernism; literary theory and comparative literature. Over the course of his life his outlook moved from western secularism to a modern islamic vision. Elmessiri wrote several articles about his ideas, including "Chosen Community, an Exceptional Burden".

On July 2, 2008 he died after a very long battle against cancer at the Palestine Hospital, Cairo.

....................................



Question: Mohamed Islam:
One of the leading Islamic Philosophers was Al-Ghazali. Who was he? Can you tell us about him?

Answer: Prof Emeritus Abdel Wahab El Messeri:
He was, like most Islamic thinkers or philosophers of the time, quite versatile, well rounded: He was a lawyer, a scientist, a jurist, a judge. Non of the Islamic thinkers were confined to the discipline of philosophy. They had comprehensive knowledge (alchemists. Scientists, literary critics, mystics, etc.). This well-roundedness and comprehensiveness occurred in the west only during the renaissance.

He was born in Tus, near the Iranian border in 1058, during the time of the last florescence in Islamic Philosophy. He went to the Nazamia School in Baghdad, where he made quite an impression. He was preceded by Al-Farabi and Ibn Sina. The philosophical outlook before him was quite impressive.

Later in Baghdad he underwent a change, he started suspecting every thing he had learned. The radical skepticism of Descartes. He is always compared to Descartes. But differences between them are much more than resemblances. Descartes fell back on the Ego to resolve the crises of meaning. ‘ I think therefore I am’. This was the beginning of modern rationalism which resulted in the absolute polarity of man versus nature. Now we know that nature conquered man.
Al-Ghazali left school and went on a quest. When he returned, he came with a world outlook which represented a synthesis of the best in Islam. It was based on a critique of all the trends in Islamic thought during his time. He pointed out:

.......The limitations of the mystics ( Sufis ) The tendency to contemplation and esoteric knowledge. Religion has to express itself in exoteric learning. This was quite a shift in mysticism. He pointed out that action is part of mysticism. You know then you act. Just to know is not enough. He said mystics try to get some kind of union with God, but there has to be a gap between man and God. This sets him apart from those who tended toward heresy. They wanted to bridge that gap between the created and the Creator, but the Islamic World Outlook depends on that gap. Man should not try to bridge that gap, to have union with God, but he must strive to get closer to God. The Muslim learns to recognize the gap. This is of the essence in Islam. Those who want to bridge the gap, and reach God, and have union with Him, are Pantheists. Islam is very much opposed to Pantheism.

......He addressed himself to the Mukalimun (Theologians) They served Islam by solving some problems, but really did not solve most problems.

......As for the Philosophers, he criticized them most severely. Firstly, they believed in eternity of the world, co-eternal with God ( They were believers but erred on certain points). Secondly they made God very distant from man. Thirdly they believed in a world controlled by cause and effect. He refuted these and other points in a book: Incoherence of the Philosophers.

The Cosmology of Al-Ghazali: man is here, God is there. In between is the world of norms, both ontological and psychological, Moral and axiological. In other words, it is not a an arid world, or abyss. It is a field. One can interact with god in that field. If man fulfills some of these norms, and man recognizes his separateness, he can get closer to God. There is a great role for mysticism. Not leading to unity with God, but simply spiritual exercises. The mind for Al-Ghazali is not , like for other philosophers, absolute. It can not be. Otherwise, whence would it derive its norms.

Causality: This is his real contribution to philosophy. Philosophers say: cause lead to effect. Al-Ghazali says : to follow after does not mean to follow from. He says : the power is not the cause. The power is God. God has imposed the pattern. The cause is God. Not like ‘natura naturans’ of Spinoza/ Descartes, they make this latent in nature. This is Pantheism. The patterning force in nature is eminent in it, but transcendental at the same time. This is the essence of Islamic Epistemology, which means: we can know nature but not completely because of the power that is there, both latent and transcendental. Unlike the modern Secular Concept, where you have to know nature completely, and you control it, and harness it to your service. Of course, since modern western man has failed, now you have Materialist Irrationalism, where they claim there is no causality at all. We go from absolute causality of the Cartesian or Hegelian variety, to the Post-modern denial of causality completely.

Ghazali's Islam assures us a level of certainty, enough to go along, but it does not promise us absolute certainty and absolute control of the universe.

MI: The other contribution of Al-Ghazali was the revival of the science of religion?

AWM: He wanted to define the sciences of religion and at the same time infuse spirit into them. The essence of Al-Ghazali’s Epistemology was this attempt to bring in the full complexity of man. With science there had to be emotion. The heart had to be operative, not just the mind. He then moved on to Miskat un Anwar (the mystical: the Niche of Light) where he talks about certain mystical exercises .

He also had educational books to fulfill the function of a well rounded, versatile philosopher: Educator, thinker, psychologist, mystic.

MI: What kind of following did he have?

AWM: I understand that Al-Ghazali dominated the Islamic world from that time on. There was opposition who rejected his view. Saying that it would subvert the mind completely. The Philosophers saw man in the form of polarity: it is either the heart or the mind. Whereas Al-Ghazali says man operated in a complex integrated duality. That is why he said there was a field and not a gap between man and God.

MI: How were the philosophers viewed or received by the ruling elite of the time.

AWM: There were ups and downs. For example : the Mu’tazilites or pure rationalist : if the ruler was of the same persuasion, they would be supported, if not they were persecuted.
Al-Ghazali: he had no problem, because he had ideas of order. He tried to harness the mystical impulse, which sometimes ran amok.

MI: Al-Ghazali as a jurist, what role did he play?

AWM: The same interplay of mind and heart. Between the attempt to apply the idea of law inspired by Divine Revelation. He did not believe in empirical law, but did not reject it. It is all encapsulated in Divine dictates.

MI: How was the world after Al-Ghazali?

AWM: The Mongol invasion of the Islamic world occurred, and then the Crusades. The Islamic World withdrew inwards. Al-Ghazali is sometimes blamed for this withdrawal. But it was a result of these historical forces which were much more powerful in determining the future developments.

[ Prof Abdel Wahab El Messeri is Professor Emeritus on English Literature, Ain Sham University, Cairo]

A Thematic Commentary On The Qu'ran: Al Ikhlas [Purity of Faith ]

Friends,

....If you guys have not got your own copy of Shaykh Muhammad al Ghazali's seminal work, "A Thematic Commentary On The Quran" , yet, perhaps this short thematic commentary by him on Surah Al Ikhlas [ 112 : 1-4 ] could persuade you to grab yours from www.ibtbooks.com ...

GOD IS ONE. He is neither two or three. He has no spouse or offspring. He is Supreme and Omnipotent. The Qur'an tells us: " God says, 'Do not take two gods; He is the One God, so fear Me "[al-Nahl: 51] Elsewhere in the Qur'an, we read: "Do not say 'three gods.' Refrain from saying so for your own good. God is but One God; far too highly glorified is He to have a son" [al- Nisa: 171]

The principle of tawhid is the very soul of Islam. In comparision to God, as we come to know Him through the Qur'an, everything and everyone else is utterly powerless and helpless. The Qur'an abounds with strong arguments supporting this principle:

Never has God begotten a son, nor has there ever been any other god besides Him. Were the opposite to be true, each god would govern his own creation, and some would have overwhelmed others. Exalted be God above their falsehood. He knows the unknown as well as the manifest.[al-Mu'minun: 91-92]

Were there other gods in the heavens and earth besides God, both heavens and earth would have been ruined. None shall question Him regarding His works, but all else shall be questioned.[al-Anbiya: 22-23]

Advocates of the doctrine of Trinity believe in three coequal partners in the godhead, who are in fact one: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, existing in total harmony.

They also believe in the crucifixion of Jesus, which raises the question: who was actually crucified: one of the three or all three? If the three are one, and the 'one' was crucified, does that mean that God was out of existence for a time before He came back to the world? But if the Son only was crucified, how could he be 'God'?

People are, of course, free to believe what they wish to believe, and this surah, which is said to be equivalent to'one third' of the Qur'an, gives a most concise definition of the essence of Islamic belief. "Say, God is one.The Eternal God. He begot none, nor was He begotten. None is equal to Him."[112: 1-4] God is unique, and there is nothing that can be likened to Him. There is nothing that can be equal to Him. He could, therefore, have neither been a father nor a son. He is the Eternal to whom all creation refers and will return.

The very nature of the cosmic structure does not allow for multiple gods. It is nonsensical to believe that there is an independent god for the sun and another for the earth, or one for the animal kingdom and another for the plants, or one for the African continent and another for Europe. The cosmic order is an integrated whole, set up, designed, run, and controlled by a single self-sufficient power. This power regulates the operation of the human digestive system and the orbiting of planets and stars in the infinite universe. The plants grow out of the ground, the dawn breaks every day, and the sun and the moon move in their charted courses in accordance with His will.

Rational and sensible contemplation of these issues could only lead us to believe that there is only the one God, without a partner, the Sovereign, to Whom belongs all the praise, the All-Powerful and Omnipotent.

An Idea Whose Time Has Come : Patrick J. Buchanan

An Idea Whose Time Has Come?

by Patrick J. Buchanan

In 1938, the year of Anschluss and Munich, a perceptive British Catholic looked beyond the continent over which war clouds hung and saw another cloud forming.
"It has always seemed to me … probable," wrote Hilaire Belloc, "that there would be a resurrection of Islam and that our sons or our grandsons would see the renewal of that tremendous struggle between the Christian culture and what has been for more than a thousand years its greatest opponent."
Belloc was prophetic. Even as Christianity seems to be dying in Europe, Islam is rising to shake the 21st century as it did so many previous centuries.
Indeed, as one watches U.S. armed forces struggle against Sunni insurgents, Shia militias, and jihadists in Iraq, and a resurgent Taliban, all invoking Allah, Victor Hugo's words return to mind: No army is so powerful as an idea whose time has come.
The idea for which our many of our adversaries fight is a compelling one. They believe there is but one God, Allah; that Muhammad is his prophet; that Islam, or submission to the Koran, is the only path to paradise; and that a Godly society should be governed according to the Shariah, the law of Islam. Having tried other ways and failed, they are coming home to Islam.
What idea do we have to offer? Americans believe that freedom comports with human dignity, that only a democratic and free-market system can ensure the good life for all, as it has done in the West and is doing in Asia.
From Ataturk on, millions of Islamic peoples have embraced this Western alternative. But today, tens of millions of Muslims appear to be rejecting it, returning to their roots in a more pure Islam.
Indeed, the endurance of the Islamic faith is astonishing.
Islam survived two centuries of defeats and humiliations of the Ottoman Empire and Ataturk's abolition of the caliphate. It endured generations of Western rule. It outlasted the pro-Western monarchs in Egypt, Iraq, Libya, Ethiopia and Iran. Islam easily fended off communism, survived the rout of Nasserism in 1967, and has proven more enduring than the nationalism of Arafat or Saddam. Now, it is resisting the world's last superpower.
What occasioned this column was a jolting report in the June 20Washington Times, by James Brandon, alerting us to a new front.
"Arrests Spark Fear of Armed Islamist Takeover" headlined the story about the arrest, since May, of 500 militants who had allegedly plotted the overthrow of the king of Morocco and establishment of an Islamic state that would sever all ties to the infidel West – to end the poverty and corruption they blame on the West.
The arrests raised fears that al-Adl wa al-Ihsane, or Justice and Charity, was preparing to take up arms to fulfill the predictions of the group's mystics that the monarchy would fall in 2006. Though illegal, al-Adl wa al-Ihsane is Morocco's largest Islamic movement, which boycotts elections, but has hundreds of thousands of followers and has taken over the universities and is radicalizing the young.
Its founder is Sheik Abdessalam Yassine, who has declared its purpose is to reunite mosque and state: "Politics and spirituality have been kept apart by the Arab elites. And we have been able to reconnect these two aspects of Islam – and that is why people fear us."
And, one might add, why people embrace them.
If Morocco is now in play in the struggle between militant Islam and the West, how looks the correlation of forces in June 2006?
Islamists are taking over in Somalia. They are in power in Sudan. The Muslim Brotherhood won 60 percent of the races it contested in Egypt. Hezbollah swept the board in southern Lebanon. Hamas seized power from Fatah on the West Bank and Gaza. The Shia parties who hearken to Ayatollah Sistani brushed aside our favorites, Chalabi and Iyad Allawi, in the Iraqi elections. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is the most admired Iranian leader since Khomeini. In Afghanistan, the Taliban is staging a comeback.
This has all happened in the last year. And where are we winning?
What is the appeal of militant Islam? It is, first, its message: As all else has failed us, why not live the faith and law God gave us?
Second, it is the Muslim rage at the present condition where pro-Western regimes are seen as corruptly enriching themselves, while the poor suffer.
Third, it is a vast U.S. presence that Islamic peoples are taught is designed to steal their God-given resources and assist the Israelis in humiliating them and persecuting the Palestinians.
Lastly, Islamic militants are gaining credibility because they show a willingness to share the poverty of the poor and fight the Americans.
What America needs to understand is something unusual for us: From Morocco to Pakistan, we are no longer seen by the majority as the good guys.
If Islamic rule is an idea taking hold among the Islamic masses, how does even the best army on earth stop it? Do we not need a new policy?

On The Other Side Of The Coin..........Dr Nik's rebuttal:

Pat ,

I am very tempted to chip in and go straight for the jugular and say that ' that clash of civilisation need not be' if Obama [ let us forget that chap Bush Junior who cannot be one of the brightest US President you guys have ever had ! ] wakes up in the middle of some of his nights and listen carefully to the lilting and haunting rendition of The Glorious Qu'ran by qari Abdul-Baasit and ,yes, go through the old English transliteration by Picthal. Listen to Surah Maryam [ Divine letter 19 : 1-98 ] for instance. Forget about what the likes of John Esposito and his misguided orientalist friends had to say and advice for a moment.

[ http://www.quranexplorer.com/ ].......see Link

But then Obama is a 'murtad' so how can he ever has the spirit or the generosity to see things through the prism of a Muslim pacifist. The West psyche is all about political, cultural and ideological subjugation, and economic plunder, and 'our ways are holier than thou' and thus we have the divine duty to liberate you guys approach....for centuries. It is now so deeply ingrained in the Western genes,to the point some of our thinkers think, that the rest of the world has to think and live like you do, otherwise they are just considered as some'yellow' or coloured 'bastards', non entities and non human, that can be dispensed with, just like your cats and dogs. Probably your cats and dogs get treated more humanely than these 'Muslim non entities. We see that everywhere: Lebanon, forget about Palestine they are no longer humans, Iraq ,Afghanistan, those simple folks in Northern Pakistan who for decades have been living under Syariah until recently you guys decided they should be part of the equation in your now ' infamous war agianst terror' [ whatever it mean] , Sudan, Somalia, just to name a few.. Please do not come to this part of the world we do not need your 'dirty hands' meddling in our affairs. We are enjoying our peaceful coexistence with ourselves and neighbours.

Let me put it in simple terms that you guys can understand. World peace is about Fairness and Justice, whatever colour ,language or religious or non religious persuasions you happened to be. The 1.4 billion Muslims all across the globe do not give a hoot whether Sarkozy, Obama or Blair become Muslim tomorrow, or remain , in our opinion, 'spiritially confused souls', because we believe that are their own funerals, both figuratively and literally. The Muslim rulers in 7th century Spain thought so as well because, unlike you guys we lived by this principle : "Say: Disbelievers ! I do not worship what you worship nor do you worship what I worship. I shall never worship what you worship. You have your own religion and I have mine " [Surah al-kafirun, 109 ]. Your 'religious persuasions' are your divine right.

But we care that world Super Powers in a position to impose, exercise due care to insist on justice and fairness in this planet of ours. You guys can burn the Qur'an tomorrow if you like, you can even 'fornicate' openly in the park if that is your choice, and that is not our concern, you can remain God-less untill Doomsday, that are your indomitable rights! We do not question your rights to free expression.

But history has taught us over centuries that you guys are bad news.Very bad news. When Muslims brought light ,science and civility to Europe through Islamic Spain in the Middle Ages, you guys gave the world it's first inquisition, a hundred years later after Cordoba. And for centuries that followed: slavery, plunder and outright massacres and total subjugation of Muslim populations in the Middle East and the Far East and wherever they were. Your guys even want to determine how we think.

Well you may say that was history. But is now any better?

Palestinians being hunted like dogs in their homeland, the long arm of Uncle Sam destabilizing Muslim countries in North Africa, Central Asia and everywhere there are huge reservoirs of the black gold and etc etc and etc, supporting 'puppet governments here and there and suppresing and not recognising popular elected administrations elsewhere.The mind boggling CIA games in Pakistan to finally subjugate a sovereign nation in order to' denuclearize' it, the 'pariah'rizsation and 'talibanization of anything Islamic the world over. What games are you guys playing in cohort with the impotent United Nations and the blank cheques of the Western and Zionist controlled Security Council?

How can millions of pacifist like me counter intellectuals like Osama Ben Laden, Ayman aL Zawathir, Dr Azahari et al who would continue to inspire and motivate thousands of 'jihadists' ,that indeed, the West really had not declared war on Islam years ago and now,when all across the globe Muslims had suffered direct and 'collateral damage' by the millions. Countless lives lost,and endless misery and a sense of hopelessness, depravation and injustice.

Don't you think Pat that it is high time people like Obama and Sarkozy address the bigger issue of justice and fairness on this increasingly small planet of ours. Your young men in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere in the globe can go home and see their parents, enjoy their young and productive lives rather than being shot at and maimed, if people like Obama can look beyond the narrow confine of nationalism and bigotry, into the realm of justice and fairness! We are confident he can if he tries hard enough and allow himself to listen to his very soul and conscience!

You guys have no choice. Who is imbecile enough to fight against 1.4 billion Muslims? That chap we believe who thought so, hopefully, is fully retired somewhere on his farm in Texas enjoying his beer!

Obama has to start afresh and give this world of ours, a new hope: Justice and fairness for all.

To paraphrase Robert Fisk, the celebrated English journalist, who is any time better and more sincere than all your BBC and CNN journalists all added up together, we Muslims wanted freedom from 'you guys'. Please leave us, and our lands, in peace.Islam is an idea whose time has come, not even the might of all the West can beat what is jutting out increasingly like a sore thumb now: The Absolute Truth.

The [faithful] slaves of the Beneficient are they who walk upon the earth modestly, and when the foolish ones address them answer: Peace.[63] And who spend the night before their Lord, prostrate and standing;[64] And who say: Our Lord! Avert from us the doom of hell; Lo! the doom thereof is anguish;[65] Lo! it is wretched as abode and station;[66] And those who, when they spend, are neither prodigal nor grudging; and there is ever a firm station between the two.[67]........[Surah al-Furqan, 25 : 63-67 ]

Dr Nik Howk

Surah Al-Anaam [ 6 : 56-61 ]

And with Him are the keys of the Invisible. None but He knoweth them. And He knoweth what is in the land and the sea. Not a leaf falleth but He knoweth it, not a grain amid the darkness of the earth, naught of wet or dry but [it is noted] in a clear record.[59] He it is Who gathereth you at night and knoweth that which you commit by day. Then He raiseth you again to life therein, that the term appointed [for you] may be accomplished. And afterward unto Him is your return. Then He proclaim unto you what ye used to do.[60] He is theOmnipotent over His slaves. He sendeth guardians over you until, when death cometh unto one of you, Our messengers[angels] receive him, and they neglect not.[61]

Very succinct, clear and precise. These ayats from Surah Al-Anaam, 165 of them, all given to Muhammad, in the early Mekkan days, at one sitting, according to most muffasirun. Early days of fledgling Islam, when only the poor, the dissaffected and the displaced were attracted, while the rest of 'corporate' Mekkah [including his uncles] stood back in disdain while not a few, adopted a hostile stance. Status quo, 1400 years ago, as of now, seemed more important than the salvation of one's soul itself.

God gave us two "Qur'ans". The official one via His messenger Muhammad, while the second , open for all of us to contemplate.Of course to the 'purists' from amongst us, not two 'Quran' but rather two 'Ayats', Ayat Quraaniyah and Ayat Qauniyah as exemplified by Al Baqarah , 2 : 164 below.

Lo ! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the difference of night and day, and the ships which run upon the sea with that which is of use to man, and the water which Allah sendeth from the sky, thereby reviving the earth after its death, and dispersing all kind of beasts therein and in the ordinance of the winds and the clouds obedient between heaven and earth: are signs of Allah's sovereignty for people who have sense.[Al-Baqarah, 2 : 164 ]

Ponder some of us did. Einstein came up with his famous formullae[ e=mc squared ] and that is the nearest one could ever get to putting into equation the 'invisible and the visible'. But did he get to see God there. No !Sadly , like many of us, he missed the trunk and was lost in the branches,twigs and the leaves!

Dr Nik Howk
Related topics:
Surah Abasa [ 80 : 40-42 ], Wednesday May 14th 2008...'Religion/Philosophy'
The Big Bang and a Century of Science[ Part 2 ]: The True Nature of Reality..June 24th 2009,...'Personalities'