The Quran on Mountains

Both the Quran and science agree to the structural makeup of mountains and the role they play in maintaining the stability of the Earth.

A book entitled Earth is a basic reference textbook in many universities around the world. One of its two authors is Professor Emeritus Frank Press. He was the Science Advisor to former US President Jimmy Carter, and for 12 years was the President of the National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC. His book says that mountains have underlying roots.These roots are deeply embedded in the ground, thus, mountains have a shape like a peg.

Mountains have deep roots under the surface of the ground.

The mountains, like pegs, have deep roots embedded in the ground.

Another illustration shows how the mountains are peg-like in shape, due to their deep roots.

This is how the Quran has described mountains. God has said in the Quran:

“Have We not made the earth as a bed, and the mountains as pegs?”

Modern earth sciences have proven that mountains have deep roots under the surface of the ground and that these roots can reach several times their elevations above the surface of the ground.So the most suitable word to describe mountains on the basis of this information is the word ‘peg,’ since most of a properly set peg is hidden under the surface of the ground.

The history of science tells us that the theory of mountains having deep roots was introduced only in the latter half of the nineteenth century.Mountains also play an important role in stabilizing the crust of the earth.They hinder the shaking of the earth. God has said in the Quran:

“And He has set firm mountains in the earth so that it would not shake with you.

Likewise, the modern theory of plate tectonics holds that mountains work as stabilizers for the earth. This knowledge about the role of mountains as stabilizers for the earth has just begun to be understood in the framework of plate tectonics since the late 1960’s.

Could anyone during the time of the Prophet Muhammad have known of the true shape of mountains? Could anyone imagine that the solid massive mountain which he sees before him actually extends deep into the earth and has a root, as scientists assert?

A large number of books of geology, when discussing mountains, only describe that part which is above the surface of the earth. This is because these books were not written by specialists in geology. However, modern geology has confirmed the truth of the Quranic verses.

who made for you the earth a bed and the sky a ceiling

In the first verse God swears by the sky and its function of ‘returning’ without specifying what it ‘returns.’ In Islamic doctrine, a divine oath signifies the magnitude of importance of a special relation to the Creator, and manifests His majesty and the supreme Truth in a special way.

The second verse describes the Divine Act that made the sky a ‘ceiling’ for the dwellers of earth.

Let us see what modern atmospheric science has to say about the role and function of the sky.

The atmosphere is a word which denotes all the air surrounding the earth, from the ground all the way up to the edge from which space starts. The atmosphere is composed of several layers, each defined because of the various phenomena which occur within the layer.

Rain, for one, is ‘returned’ to Earth by the clouds in the atmosphere. Explaining the hydrologic cycle, Encyclopedia Britannica writes:

“Water evaporates from both the aquatic and terrestrial environments as it is heated by the Sun’s energy. The rates of evaporation and precipitation depend on solar energy, as do the patterns of circulation of moisture in the air and currents in the ocean. Evaporation exceeds precipitation over the oceans, and this water vapor is transported by the wind over land, where it returns to the land through precipitation.”

Not only does the atmosphere return what was on the surface back to the surface, but it reflects back into space that which might damage the flora and fauna the earth sustains, such as excessive radiant heat. In the 1990’s, collaborations between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) of Japan resulted in the International Solar-Terrestrial Physics (ISTP) Science Initiative.

Polar, Wind and Geotail are a part of this initiative, combining resources and scientific communities to obtain coordinated, simultaneous investigations of the Sun-Earth space environment over an extended period of time. They have an excellent explanation of how the atmosphere returns solar heat to space.
Besides ‘returning’ rain, heat and radio waves, the atmosphere protects us like a ceiling above our heads by filtering out deadly cosmic rays, powerful ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the Sun, and even meteorites on collision course with Earth.

Pennsylvania State Public Broadcasting tells us:

“The sunlight that we can see represents one group of wavelengths, visible light. Other wavelengths emitted by the sun include x-rays and ultraviolet radiation. X-rays and some ultraviolet light waves are absorbed high in Earth’s atmosphere. They heat the thin layer of gas there to very high temperatures. Ultraviolet light waves are the rays that can cause sunburn. Most ultraviolet light waves are absorbed by a thicker layer of gas closer to Earth called the ozone layer.

By soaking up the deadly ultraviolet and x-rays, the atmosphere acts as a protective shield around the planet. Like a giant thermal blanket, the atmosphere also keeps temperatures from getting too hot or too cold. In addition, the atmosphere also protects us from constant bombardment by meteoroids, bits of rock and dust that travel at high speeds throughout the solar system. The falling stars we see at night are not stars at all; they are actually meteoroids burning up in our atmosphere due to the extreme heating they undergo.”

Encyclopedia Britannica, describing the role of Stratosphere, tells us about its protective role in absorbing dangerous ultraviolet radiation:

“In the upper stratospheric regions, absorption of ultraviolet light from the Sun breaks down oxygen molecules; recombination of oxygen atoms with O2 molecules into ozone (O3) creates the ozone layer, which shields the lower ecosphere from harmful short-wavelength radiation…More disturbing, however, is the discovery of a growing depletion of ozone over temperate latitudes, where a large percentage of the world’s population resides, since the ozone layer serves as a shield against ultraviolet radiation, which has been found to cause skin cancer.”

The mesosphere is the layer in which many meteors burn up while entering the Earth’s atmosphere. Imagine a baseball zipping along at 30,000 miles per hour. That’s how big and fast many meteors are. When they plow through the atmosphere, meteors are heated to more than 3000 degrees Fahrenheit, and they glow. A meteor compresses air in front of it. The air heats up, in turn heating the meteor

Earth is surrounded by a magnetic force field – a bubble in space called “the magnetosphere” tens of thousands of miles wide. The magnetosphere acts as a shield that protects us from solar storms. However, according to new observations from NASA’s IMAGE spacecraft and the joint NASA/European Space Agency Cluster satellites, immense cracks sometimes develop in Earth’s magnetosphere and remain open for hours. This allows the solar wind to gush through and power stormy space weather. Fortunately, these cracks do not expose Earth’s surface to the solar wind. Our atmosphere protects us, even when our magnetic field does not.

How would it be possible for a fourteenth century desert dweller to describe the sky in a manner so precise that only recent scientific discoveries have confirmed it? The only way is if he received revelation from the Creator of the sky.

NASA Set to Launch Final Year of Shuttle

NASA officials gave a thumbs up Feb. 5 for the Feb. 7 launch of the space shuttle Endeavour, which is currently set for a 4:39 a.m. liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA officials gave a thumbs up Feb. 5 for the Feb. 7 launch of the space shuttle Endeavour, which is currently set for a 4:39 a.m. liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. As things currently stand at NASA the mission to the ISS (International Space Station) is the first of five last missions for the shuttle mission.

Five shuttle missions are planned in 2010, with the last flight currently targeted for launch in September. After that, the fleet goes into mothballs as NASA determines in what direction the future of U.S. manned spaceflight is headed.

Kathy Winters, shuttle weather officer, said the forecast has improved and there’s only a 20 percent chance weather would be an issue at launch time. Although it may be a little chilly and breezy, no constraints should be violated. The forecast at the transoceanic abort landing sites in Spain and France also looks favorable.

Mike Leinbach, shuttle launch director, said his team is not tracking any technical issues and everything is on track for the rotating service structure rollback at 8 a.m. Saturday and loading of the external fuel tank with propellants around 7:15 p.m.

“The team is energized and excited about the countdown… looking forward to getting Endeavour off the ground Sunday morning,” said Mike Leinbach, shuttle launch director.

The flight will be Endeavour’s 24th mission and the 33rd shuttle flight dedicated to station assembly and maintenance. Liftoff is planned for 4:39 a.m., EST, making it the final scheduled space shuttle night launch.

Endeavour’s primary mission will be the delivery of the Tranquility node, the final module of the U.S. portion of the space station. Tranquility will provide additional room for crew members and many of the space station’s life support and environmental control systems. Attached to the node is a cupola, which houses a robotic control station and has seven windows to provide a panoramic view of Earth, celestial objects and visiting spacecraft.

Spanning about 22 feet in length and 14 feet in diameter, Tranquility’s connection point on the station will be on the Earth-facing side of the Unity node. The new component will provide an additional docking point for space shuttles and other crew vehicles visiting the station.

According to NASA, the cupola’s windows will be more than trim. As more cargo vehicles begin frequenting the space station, the station’s robotic arm is going to be called into action to capture some of them as they approach and guide them into their docking port. Cupola will provide additional views for those operations.

This Crisis Won’t Stop Moving

YOU know we’re in trouble when we’re told that the economic problems in Greece, Portugal and Spain, the most indebted countries in the euro zone, are likely to remain safely contained in those nations.

After all, we heard the same nonsense in 2007 from United States financial leaders talking about the subprime mortgage mess. Both Ben S. Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, and Henry M. Paulson Jr., then the Treasury secretary, rolled out to reassure concerned investors that troubles in mortgage land wouldn’t permeate the rest of the economy.

As we all now know, mortgage woes were contained — to planet Earth. And so it may be with overleveraged nations in Europe.

Simply put, contagion is a fact of life in our interconnected global economy and financial markets. And that means investors must strap in for more gyrations in the stock and bond markets as the great and painful deleveraging that began in 2007 continues around the world.

Sure, there are rays of light amid the gloom. The slightly upbeat jobs report on Friday, for example, is an example. But it is only one data point and not enough to move the needle on much larger issues that remain, including investor fears that Greece, Portugal and Spain will default on their debts.

“This is a reminder that every country has its limit,” said David A. Rosenberg, chief economist and strategist at Gluskin Sheff & Associates in Toronto, one of Canada’s top wealth management firms. “And our heightened concerns over sovereign credit quality are not going to abate anytime soon.”

During his years as chief economist at Merrill Lynch in New York, Mr. Rosenberg was perspicacious indeed. So his take on the potential fallout from financially stressed countries is a valued one.

First, Mr. Rosenberg reckons that the flight to the dollar will continue. Even though the United States has plenty of its own economic challenges — enormous public debt weighing on a struggling economy, for example — our lot is far better than others’, he maintains. “In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king,” he said. “The U.S. dollar is that one-eyed man.”

But that does not mean we are finished with our own debt purge.

“Watching the situation in Europe, it’s not even clear that the root cause of problems here at home has been solved,” Mr. Rosenberg said. “We still have a very fragile situation: household balance sheets, and delinquencies, defaults and home prices are still vulnerable to another down leg. People think because you finish one chapter in this post-bubble credit collapse that the book is done.”

As for housing prices, Mr. Rosenberg expects further declines of 10 to 15 percent over the next few years. He pointed to the roughly nine million residential housing units available for sale across the country, a very high vacancy rate when judged against a total housing stock of 130 million units.

If his forecast is accurate, the numbers of borrowers who owe more than their homes are worth will rise significantly. Mr. Rosenberg estimates that fully half of the mortgage-holding population in the country could be underwater by 2011.

For now, these borrowers are getting little to no help from lenders — no surprise — or from the government. Indeed, the Obama administration’s loan modification program has more or less allowed banks that own second mortgages on troubled borrowers’ homes to continue to press for full repayment of these obligations.

When it comes to writing down principal amounts on mortgages, the government has pressured those holding the first mortgages more than the institutions holding the seconds. Never mind that the second liens are worthless and should be written down to zero.

THIS see-no-evil approach to second mortgages is part of an overall denial on the part of policy makers, politicians, bankers and regulators that has prolonged the agony of this crisis. Owning up to reality about what loans are worth is rough medicine to take, but denying that problems exist only puts off the inevitable.

“We are much further along the road to price discovery and full disclosure than Japan was at this same stage of their credit contraction,” Mr. Rosenberg said. “There are still some very significant credit problems in the U.S. and as they pertain to commercial real estate are still extremely problematic. Some banks will likely be whipped very hard.”

The challenge for Mr. Obama is that he has thrown oodles of taxpayer money at these problems and still the unemployment rate stands at 9.7 percent.

“We came off a year when you could not have asked for more government stimulus and we lost five million jobs,” Mr. Rosenberg pointed out. “What do you do for an encore? The deleveraging is ongoing and yet the government stimulus is largely behind us. That is problematic for an economic forecaster.”

The fact is, to save the world from economic collapse we have transferred the liabilities of the private sector to the public. And not every country has the money to service or repay that debt.

“We are in a post-bubble credit collapse and there are going to be periods of calm and stormy weather. Investors will have to navigate through the volatility,” Mr. Rosenberg said. “Unfortunately, I think we are still in the early stages. The next recession will happen more quickly than people think.”

Toyota Apologizes for Massive Recall

Japan— Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota Motor Corp., broke his near-total silence Friday on the safety crisis battering his company, offering a “heartfelt apology” to customers but little new on what steps the auto maker will take to resolve the doubts of car owners and lawmakers in the U.S.

During an hour-long press conference near Toyota’s headquarters here, Mr. Toyoda said the company would establish a “special global quality committee,” and seek advice from outside experts to re-evaluate the company’s vehicle engineering, manufacturing and sales and marketing practices.

Still, Mr. Toyoda left gaps in his explanation of how Toyota plans to reassure customers around the world the company’s vehicles are safe, as dealers started making repairs to millions of recalled cars.

The company’s U.S. sales arm Friday said parts needed to fix the gas pedals have been sent to dealers, and it has begun mailing letters to owners to let them know when to bring their vehicles to a dealership.

The grandson of Toyota’s founder began and ended his first news conference on the recall with customary Japanese-style bows, but there was no deep, long bow of contrition.

Mr. Toyoda said the Japanese company “will cooperate sincerely and wholeheartedly” with U.S. regulators in resolving the safety problems that have halted sales and production of eight models in its biggest market.

He had no answers for one urgent question among Toyota customers, which is whether the company plans to recall and fix software glitches linked to brake problems in the 2010 Prius—a hybrid car that has been a symbol of the company’s technology leadership. U.S. safety regulators are investigating 124 complaints about 2010 Prius brakes.

Shares of Toyota, which have tumbled as the crisis has unfolded, climbed in New York trading Friday. The company’s American depositary shares rose 3.4% to $74.23 on the New York Stock Exchange, but are still well off the $90 price they fetched in mid-January.

Mr. Toyoda spoke late Wednesday with U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who has said his department could seek civil penalties against Toyota for its slow response to safety concerns that have led to the recall of six million vehicles in the U.S. to correct problems regulators say have caused cars to accelerate out of control, leading to five deaths.

According to a senior executive, Mr. Toyoda has suggested to his inner circle that he is prepared to testify before congressional hearings in the U.S., the first of which is next week.

In all, Toyota has recalled nearly 10 million vehicles, mostly in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. On Friday, a spokeswoman said it will recall 160,000 vehicles in Russia. The company says the recalls could cost it as much as $2 billion.

Mr. Toyoda has kept a low profile since the company announced the recall Jan. 21. He had spoken just once, when a television crew from NHK, a Japanese broadcaster, caught him briefly on tape from Davos, Switzerland, where he was attending the World Economic Forum.

The 53-year-old defended his silence by saying he directed executives from behind the scenes and had let his top quality executive Shinichi Sasaki, “the most knowledgeable person,” communicate with the public.

Mr. Sasaki handled the company’s press conference earlier this week to announce a fix for the sticky acceleration pedals, which Toyota believes is one of two causes of the acceleration problems. It also cites misplaced floor mats.

Those who know Mr. Toyoda say his reclusiveness stems from his own notion of an ideal chief executive. His first instinct when dealing with any issue, these people say, is to try to spend more time in the field.

His aim is to embrace a traditional Toyota practice called “genchi genbutsu,” a leadership maxim that boils down to getting out of the office and visiting the source of the problem, according to these people.

But the same people worry Mr. Toyoda’s self-effacing style may be backfiring in this crisis, which has widened to include the Prius, the crown jewel in the company’s lineup.

Toyota has developed a new software program to improve the Prius’s braking system, and the Prius cars assembled since late January all carry the new software in their systems. It remained unclear after Mr. Toyoda spoke Friday what steps the company plans to fix Prius cars it has already sold.

Mr. Toyoda sent an email to Toyota employees in Japan to explain the U.S. recall, asking them to work together with him to regain customer trust and “work on building great cars” through mutual effort. But lower-level managers wondered why the message had few specifics.

Toyota faces a long-term challenge if it can’t soon dispel the doubts about the safety of its vehicles. Car makers hit with safety scares in the past, such as Volkswagen AG’s Audi unit in the 1980s and Ford Motor Co. in 2001, struggled for years to regain customer confidence.

Mr. Toyoda said Friday he considers the company’s priority to be on safety rather than sales and profit. “Quality is our lifeline,” he said.

Swine flu: Is the U.S. epidemic over?

The odds of a third wave of pandemic H1N1 influenza hitting this spring seem to be declining, but authorities are concerned that the virus is still spreading — albeit at a reduced rate from its peak — and is not disappearing as would be expected in a normal influenza outbreak, federal officials said Friday.

What the experts say: Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said: “My sense is that we are not at all out of the woods because the virus continues to circulate. The chances of a larger wave are difficult to predict, but they may be less likely than continuing circulation of the virus.” Still, with continued circulation, “vaccination remains a good idea,” she said.

But another expert said a future large wave of cases now seems unlikely. The expert, Vanderbilt University’s Dr. William Schaffner, said the epidemic has “one foot in the grave.”

What Americans think: A poll from the Harvard School of Public Health shows that only 18 percent of Americans think it is “very likely” that there will be a third wave of swine flu.

Cases are dropping: Officials on Friday reported for the fourth week in a row that no states had widespread flu activity. U.S. cases have been declining since October. This also mirrors the worldwide pattern.

How many got sick? An estimated 55 million or more got sick from swine flu and recovered. The global death toll is more than 15,000.

What’s the status of vaccines? About 155 million doses of vaccine are now available, Schuchatsaid, 124 million doses have been shipped, and about 70 million people have been vaccinated, about 23.4 percent of Americans.

‘Snowmageddon’ Blankets Mid-Atlantic in Heavy Snow

Mid-Atlantic residents were buried Saturday from a likely record-setting blizzard the president jokingly dubbed “Snowmageddon,” and those brave enough tried to clear a path through the wet, heavy mounds of thigh-high snow.

The snow was falling too quickly in the nation’s capital for crews to keep up, and officials begged residents to stay home and out of the way so that roads might be cleared in time for everyone to return to work Monday. The usually traffic-snarled roads were mostly barren, and Washington’s familiar sites and monuments were covered with nearly 2 feet of snow.

Tihana and Jarrett Blanc had given up on digging, instead taking their dog, Hector, for a walk through northwest Washington during what forecasters said could be the biggest storm for the nation’s capital in modern history.

The storm toppled trees and knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of customers in Washington, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The situation was the same in West Virginia, where some 400 National Guard troops were helping with snow removal.

Shoppers picked store shelves clean Friday in anticipation — Tihana Blanc mused it was like people preparing for Armageddon. Nearly two feet of snow had fallen by noon Saturday in cities across the region.

Hundreds of car wrecks were reported across the region, though only two deaths were reported — a father and son who died while helping another motorist in Virginia. By Saturday, most people couldn’t drive anywhere because their cars and roads were buried.

In Ellicott City, Md., Christine Benkoski said she was trying to dig out from at least 2 feet. As she tried to clear her driveway, she said she uncovered how the storm had transitioned from snow, to ice, then back to snow.

“I feel like an archaeologist,” Benkoski said.

“I’ve been out here for an hour, and my only goal is to get to the street.”

And President Barack Obama, a snow veteran from his days in Chicago, didn’t have a smooth day. He walked out of the White House midmorning to find the South Lawn, his backyard, looking nearly like an untouched wilderness. Instead of the familiar scenes of manicured lawns and clipped hedges, snow had piled on every shrub and the backyard was almost colorless.

First, there was a small fender bender on the White House south lawn. Then a tree branch, overcome with snow, cracked and fell on a motorcade vehicle with press inside when the president was coming back from a speech at the Democratic National Committee’s winter meeting in town.

Instead of a presidential limo, Obama rode in a black SUV covered with presidential seals.

Obama thanked Democrats for “willing to brave a blizzard, Snowmageddon.”

Noting the president’s hometown, DNC chairman Tim Kaine said “It’s like an April day in Chicago.”

After all that, the White House announced Obama would have no more outings for the day.

Meanwhile, Shawn Punga and his wife, Kristine, were making plans to move to a hotel if the power was not restored to their house in Silver Spring, Md. They were concerned for their 2-year-old daughter, Ryder, who was bundled up in thick pink pajamas and slippers.

“I have just been watching the thermostat. If it hits 60, that’s when we’re going to pack up,” he said.

Airlines canceled flights, churches called off weekend services, and Amtrak and commuter trains ground to a halt. Some people wondered if they would be stuck at home for several days.

At Dulles International Airport, part of a hangar roof collapsed and damaged some of the private jets housed inside, though no one was hurt, said Courtney Mickalonis, spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. Snow crews worked overnight, but “it’s coming down faster than we can keep up with it,” she said.

The snow comes less than two months after a Dec. 19 storm dumped more than 16 inches on Washington. Snowfalls of this magnitude — let alone two in one season — are rare in the area. According to the National Weather Service, Washington has gotten more than a foot of snow only 13 times since 1870.

برطانوی مسلمانوں کی ’غیرقانونی شادیاں

برطانوی مسلمانوں کی ایک بڑی تعداد اس طرح کی شادیاں کر رہے ہیں جن کی کوئی قانونی حیثیت نہیں ہے۔ ایسا اس لیے ہو رہا ہے کیونکہ مسلمان جوڑے اسلامی طریقے سے شادیاں کر رہے ہیں جبکہ برطانوی قانون کے تحت سوِل تقریب کے بغیر شادی کو باقاعدہ تسلیم نہیں کیا جاتا ہے۔

شہیدہ خان نے اپنے منگیتر کے ساتھ برمنگھم میں اپنے گھر پر ہونے والی روایتی اسلامی تقریب میں شادی کی تھی۔ شادی کے بعد وہ اپنے خاوند کے ساتھ لندن آگئیں اور جوڑے مل کر ایک نئی زندگی کا آغاز کیا۔ لیکن نکاح کے تیرہ ماہ بعد شہیدہ کو احساس ہوا کہ ان کی شادی کی کوئی قانونی حیثیت نہیں ہے۔

’مجھے یونیورسٹی میں داخلے کے لیے ایک میرج سرٹیفکیٹ دکھانا پڑے گا۔ اسی لیے مجھے احساس ہوا کہ میرے پاس میرج سرٹیفکیٹ نہیں ہے۔ یہ سوچ کر مجھے شدید دھچکا لگا اور میں نے اپنے خاوند سے کہا کہ ہمیں اپنی شادی کا اندراج کرا لینا چاہیے۔ لیکن وہ اس بات کے حق میں نہیں تھے۔‘

چند ماہ بعد جب وہ گھر واپس آئیں تو انہوں نے دیکھا کہ گھر کے داخلی دروازے کے تالے تبدیل کر کے انہیں گھر سے نکال دیا گیا ہے۔

’اس وقت میں بے گھر ہو چکی تھی۔ میں نے قانونی کارروائی کی لیکن مجھے کچھ حاصل نہیں ہوا۔ اگرچہ میں اس سارے عرصے میں گھر کا مورگیج دیتی رہی تھی لیکن گھر میرے نام نہیں تھا۔ اسی وجہ سے مجھے کچھ بھی حاصل نہیں ہوا۔‘

آخرکار شہیدہ کو اپنے والدین کے گھر واپس جانا پڑا۔

’یہ ایسے ہی تھا جیسے یہ شادی کبھی ہوئی ہی نہ ہو۔ یہ میرے زندگی کا بدترین دور تھا۔‘

فیملی لاء کی ماہر وکیل آئینہ خان کا کہنا ہے کہ ان کے پاس شہیدہ خان کی طرح کے کیس بڑی تعداد میں آ رہے ہیں۔ ’مسلمانوں جوڑوں میں ایسی شادیوں کا رحجان بڑھ رہا ہے جن کی کوئی قانونی حیثیت نہیں ہوتی۔‘

آئینہ خان کے مطابق یہ ایک ایسا مسئلہ ہے جس سے بڑی تعداد میں ایسے مسلمان لڑکے اور لڑکیاں متاثر ہو رہے ہیں جن عمریں تیس سال کے لگ بھگ ہوتی ہیں اور ان کی شادیوں کا اندراج نہیں ہوتا۔

’ایسی شادی کے بعد ایک پارٹنر کی وفات یا شادی کی ناکامی کی صورت میں انہیں شادی شدہ جوڑوں کے حقوق حاصل نہیں ہوتے۔ ‘

’میں اور میرے ساتھی وکیل ایسے سینکڑوں کیسوں کو دیکھ رہے ہیں جہاں بنیادی خرابی اس لیے پیدا ہوئی کیونکہ شادی کا اندراج نہیں تھا۔‘

’نکاح کی وجہ سے جوڑے کو صرف اکٹھے رہنے کے حقوق حاصل ہوتے ہیں۔ اس لیے شادی کی ناکامی کی صورت میں انہیں قانون کا مدد سے انہیں انصاف دلانا انتہائی پیچیدہ عمل ہوتا ہے۔‘

برطانوی تنظیم مسلم پارلیمینٹ کے سربراہ ڈاکٹر غیاث الدین صدیقی کا کہنا ہے کہ کئی مسلم خواتین کی زندگیاں اس لیے تباہ ہو رہی ہیں کیونکہ اسلامی شادی یا نکاح کی کوئی قانونی حیثیت نہیں ہے۔

’یہ ہماری کمیونٹی کا بڑا مسئلہ ہے۔ لیکن اس سے متاثر ہونے والے افراد کی صحیح تعداد بتانا بہت مشکل کام ہے کیونکہ اس سلسلے میں اعداد و شمار دستیاب نہیں ہیں۔ یہ اگر ہزاروں میں نہیں تو سینکڑوں میں ضرور ہوں گے۔‘

شائستہ گوہر برطانیہ میں قائم مسلم وومن نیٹ ورک کی سربراہ ہیں۔ ان کا کہنا ہے کہ مسئلہ اس لیے پیدا ہوتا ہے کہ بہت سارے جوڑوں کو اس بات کا پتا نہیں ہوتا کہ اسلامی شادی یا نکاح کو کوئی قانونی حیثیت نہیں ہے۔

’اگر شادی کسی اسلامی ملک میں ہوئی ہو تو اسے برطانیہ میں بھی قانونی حیثیت حاصل ہوتی ہے۔ لیکن بہت سے لوگوں کو اس بات کا احساس نہیں ہے کہ اگر نکاح برطانیہ میں ہوا ہو تو اس کی کوئی قانونی حیثیت نہیں ہوتی۔‘

شائستہ گوہر کا کہنا ہے کہ کئی جوڑے انتظار کرنے کو ترجیح دیتے ہیں کہ سول تقریب میں اس کا اندراج کرانے سے پہلے اس بات دیکھتے ہیں کہ یہ چلتی بھی ہے یا نہیں۔

لیسٹر سے تعلق رکھنے والے جوڑے سیلا اور ریاض چودھری نے بھی اسی طرح کرنا چاہتے تھے۔ انہوں نے پہلے نکاح کیا اور سول تقریب میں اس کا اندراج کرانے کے لیے ایک سال کا انتظار کیا۔

’سول تقریب میں شادی کے اندراج سے پہلے میں اس بات کو یقینی بنانا چاہتی تھی کہ شادی چلے گی بھی۔‘

’طلاق بہت مہنگی پڑتی ہے اور شادی کی ناکامی کی صورت میں میں اس ساری تکلیف سے بچنا چاہتی تھی۔‘

شائستہ گوہر کے مطابق کئی جوڑے یہ سمجھتے ہیں کہ وہ شادی کا اندراج بعد میں کرا لیں گے اور وہ ’بعد‘ کبھی نہیں آتی۔

ڈاکٹر غیاث الدین صدیقی کا کہنا ہے کہ بعض مسلمان خواتین کا اسی بنا کر استحصال ہو رہا ہے کیونکہ ان کے پارٹنر نکاح کے بعد شادی کا اندراج کرانے کا وعدہ کرتے ہیں لیکن آگے چل کے اس سے مُکر جاتے ہیں۔

’اس سے مسلمان مردوں کو اپنے بیویوں پر کنٹرول حاصل ہو جاتا ہے کیونکہ وہ طلاق، طلاق، طلاق کہہ کر شادی ختم کرنے اور انہیں چھوڑنے کی دھمکی دے سکتے ہیں۔‘

’اس سے بعض مردوں کو ایک سے زیادہ شادیاں کرنے کا موقع مل جاتا ہے۔ میں ایسی کئی واقعات کو جانتا ہوں جہاں مردوں نے کئی عورتوں کی شادیاں کیں کیونکہ ان کی کسی بھی شادی کا اندراج نہیں تھا۔‘

ڈاکٹر غیاث الدین کے مطابق مسئلہ یہ ہے کہ برطانیہ کی صرف چند ہی مسجدیں اپنا اندراج کرا رہی ہیں۔ ’میں نہیں سمجھ سکا کہ ایسا کیوں ہو رہا ہے کیونکہ اس کا طریقہ بہت سادہ ہے اور اس کے لیے صرف ایک فارم ہی بھرنا پڑتا ہے۔ مذہبی رہنماؤں کو ایسی مسلمان خواتین کی حفاظت کرنے کے لیے زیادہ ذمہ داری کا مظاہرہ کرنا چاہیے جو غیر ضروری طور پر تکالیف اٹھا رہی ہیں۔

Popular Habits That Can Damage The Brain

Humanity’s evolution has always been tied to the brain. Ever since man first began to walk upright, cognitive process were, and still are, humanity’s greatest asset. This has unquestionably led to mankind leading the race called evolution. Analytical skills, a greater memory capacity and speech are the key developments in the evolution of the human brain that has given us humans a place at the top of the food chain.

The human brain works in a seamless manner with other organ systems in the human body. Needless to say, this unique and complex organ needs care and maintenance. But sadly, pressures faced in daily living are causing individuals to adopt certain habits that may in the long run, damage the functionality of the brain, and eventually that of other important organ systems.

Ignorance isn’t always bliss. Individuals need to be aware and conscious of a few habits that could lead to brain damage, so that an affirmative action can be taken to put an end to such unhealthy way of life.

Habit 1: Skipping Breakfast

Time is crucial today and the easiest way to do so is skip meals, mostly breakfast. But breakfast is the most important mean of the day as it allows body to refuel its glucose reserves after an average 8 hour long fast. Glucose is the main fuel for the brain. Not eating breakfast causes blood sugar levels to plummet leading to an insufficient supply of nutrients and eventually brain damage.

Habit 2: Smoking

Four thousand chemicals, forty three cancer causing compounds and four hundred other toxins present in a single cigarette stick blocks carotid artery, the main blood vessel in the brain, thus cutting blood supply to brain cells and causing stroke. Empysema, cancer and multiple brain shrinkage is also caused that eventually leads to Alzheimer disease.

Habit 3: Eating in Excess

Brian works closely with digestive organs and sends them hunger signals to indicate that it is time to eat. Overeating however numbs this brain-nerve signal, causes brain arteries to harden and thereby decreases mental power.

Habit 4: Lack of Sleep

Sleep is essential to rejuvenate cognitive function of the brain. Sustained deprivation from sleep cause neurons to malfunction, diminish mental performance and accelerate the death of brain cells. People who regularly do not get enough sleep become less sensitive to insulin. This increases the risk for diabetes and high blood pressure — both serious threats to the brain.

Habit 5: Exposure to Air Pollution

Brain is the largest consumer of oxygen. The lack of oxygen even for just three minutes can cause irreversible damage to the brain. Pollutants present in the atmosphere are known to cause inflammation and abnormal protein deposits in brain tissue, decrease the supply of oxygen to the brain and turn on tumour genes that can lead to brain tumours.

Habit 6: Covering the Head While Sleeping

Covering the head while sleeping causes an increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide. Since brain requires adequate oxygen for it’s functioning, an increase in the concentration of any other gas can have damaging effects on the brain.

Habit 7: No Brain Exercise

Human brain is like a knife that needs to be sharpened time and again to function well. A lack of stimulating thoughts and brain engaging activities like reading, socialising and engaging in intellectual conversations that help to keep the mind constantly active can impede mental growth.

Habit 8: Stressing the Brain During Illness

Working hard or studying with sickness surely leads to a decrease in the effectiveness of the brain, as well as, damage the brain.

Brain cells are precious. If they are not taken care of, they can die prematurely and unlike the liver, cannot be regenerated. Being wary and keeping a check on the habits that damage the brain, can prolong an individual’s life and keep most diseases at bay!

Taken from:biomedme.com

Kuwait Fund Made 40% Return on Blackrock,

Kuwait Investment Authority, the emirate’s sovereign wealth fund, made about a 40 percent return on its $750 million investment in BlackRock Inc.’s capital increase in May, the fund’s chief Bader al-Saad told the Al- Arabiya TV channel in an interview in Davos.

The sovereign wealth fund also was among a group of investors that had bid for Cadbury Plc, he said. Cadbury later agreed to an offer from Kraft Foods Inc.

Sovereign wealth funds, fueled in part by oil revenue, have been sources of capital around the world for companies including Citigroup Inc. and Morgan Stanley, helping them to withstand the credit-market seizure that followed the collapse of U.S. subprime mortgages. The KIA in December said it sold its stake in Citigroup for $4.1 billion and made a profit of $1.1 billion.

The Kuwaiti fund’s $2 billion investment in Bank of America Corp., which lost 35 percent of its value, isn’t a source of concern, al-Saad said. The fund’s chief said he expects any sale of the stake in the U.S. bank to yield a profit.

“Bank of America is one of the world’s largest banks, and we are not worried about that investment. I believe we will make a profit,” al-Saad said.

Returns in 2009 may prove one of the best for the Authority, al-Saad said “if things continue as at present.” The fund’s financial year ends March 31, 2010, he said.

This year, the KIA will focus on investments in countries with growth rate between 8 percent and 10 percent, mainly in Asia and Latin America where “demographics encourage investment,” al-Saad said. The KIA is planning to invest in the financial, insurance and the services sectors, he said.