History - The Finest!

FOR many, history is a boring subject. School teachers in particular struggle to make their lessons interesting for the students and very few working professionals actually take out the time to pick a history book and read.


What they fail to realise is that growth and prosperity depend primarily on historical data. Preserved in history are those great events which have undoubtedly changed the way we live. The following sermon is the finest example of the best human being that ever lived, peace be upon him.

This sermon by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was delivered on the Ninth Day of Zul-Hijjah, 10 AH (632 CE) in the Uranah valley of Mount Arafat in Makkah. It was the occasion of the annual rites of Haj (the pilgrimage). It is also known as the Farewell Pilgrimage. After praising, and thanking Allah, Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, began with the words.

"O People! Lend me an attentive ear, for I know not whether after this year I shall ever be amongst you again. Therefore, listen carefully to what I am saying and take these words to those who could not be present here today.

"O People! Just as you regard this month, this day, this city as sacred, so regard the life and property of every Muslim as a sacred trust. Return the goods entrusted to you to their rightful owners. Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you. Remember that you will indeed meet your Lord, and that he will indeed reckon your deeds.

"Allah has forbidden you to take usury (interest); therefore all interest obligations shall henceforth be waived. Your capital is yours to keep. You will neither inflict nor suffer any inequity. Allah has judged that there shall be no interest and that all the interest due to Abbas bin Abd al-Muttalib (Prophet’s uncle) be waived.

"Every right arising out of homicide in pre-Islamic days is henceforth waived and the first such right that I waive is that arising from the murder of Rabiah bin al-Harithiah.

"O Men! The unbelievers indulge in tampering with the calendar in order to make permissible that which Allah forbade, and to prohibit which Allah has made permissible. With Allah the months are twelve in number. Four of them are holy, three of these are successive and one occurs singly between the months of Jumada and Shaban.

"Beware of Satan, for the safety of your religion. He has lost all hope of that he will be able to lead you astray in big things, so beware of following him in small things.

"O People! It is true that you have certain rights with regard to your women but they also have rights over you. Remember that you have taken them as your wives only under Allah’s trust and with His permission. If they abide by your right then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness. Do treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers. And it is your right that they do not make friends with anyone of whom you do not approve, as well as never to be unchaste.

"O People! Listen to me in earnest, worship Allah, say your five daily prayers, fast during month of Ramadan, and give your wealth in Zakat (obligatory charity). Perform Haj if you can afford to.

"All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor a black over white except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not therefore do injustice to yourselves. Remember one day you will meet Allah and account for your deeds. So beware, do not stray from the path of righteousness after I am gone.

"O People! No prophet or apostle will come after me and no new faith will be born. Reason well, therefore, O People! and understand words which I convey to you. I leave behind me two things, the Quran and my Sunnah (i.e., Prophet’s sayings and deeds) and if you follow these you will never go astray. All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and may the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me directly."

Then the Last Prophet concluded his last message by raising his finger to heavens: "Be my witness O Allah, that I have conveyed your message to your people." Peace be upon him.
BY ABID ISHAQ

Murphy's Law

Everyone has heard of 'Murphy's Laws' and have found them applicable to our daily lives as well (at least in most cases). Where and how did these laws come into being?

It was named after a Capt. Edward A. Murphy, an engineer working on Air Force Project (designed to see how much sudden deceleration a person can stand in a crash).

One day, after finding that a transducer was wired wrong, he cursed the technician responsible and said, "If there is any way to do it wrong, he'll find it."

The contractor's project manager kept a list of "laws" and added this one, which he called Murphy's Law.

But the original name for 'if anything can go wrong it will' was sod's law because it would happen to any poor sod (which I think is similar to 'fob').

One interesting fact about Murphy's Law was that it was not actually coined by
Murphy, but by another man of the same name.

Also I read a comment on how a law cannot be originated(?). Laws are discovered.

Let's look into how Mr. Murphy died :

One dark evening (in the U.S.), Mr. Murphy's car ran out of gas. As he hitchhiked to a gas station, while facing traffic and wearing white, he was struck from behind by a British tourist who was driving on the wrong side of the road.

How sad.