Being nice is not being stupid

I very seldom watch any dramas on TV but sometimes when I do, I get reminded AGAIN why I don't like most of the dramas.

Seriously, just because the character is nice and God-conscious, it does not mean that she has to be stupid. A woman gets beaten, slapped, bullied and she doesn't do anything at all?!?  

The wrong message is being given when TV keeps on showing that all nice people are stupid people who cannot defend themselves at all, and just wait for fate to somehow change. The good God-fearing characters in Malay stories are most of the time portrayed as such.  My God! Enough! Learn already.. so narrow-minded.. so ignorant.

Muslims, are God-fearing people who also defend themeselves if they have been obviously wronged. 
 

فَمَا أُوتِيتُم مِّن شَيْءٍ فَمَتَاعُ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَمَا عِندَ اللَّهِ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَى لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَلَى رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ

وَالَّذِينَ يَجْتَنِبُونَ كَبَائِرَ الْإِثْمِ وَالْفَوَاحِشَ وَإِذَا مَا غَضِبُوا هُمْ يَغْفِرُونَ

وَالَّذِينَ اسْتَجَابُوا لِرَبِّهِمْ وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَأَمْرُهُمْ شُورَى بَيْنَهُمْ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ

وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا أَصَابَهُمُ الْبَغْيُ هُمْ يَنتَصِرُونَ  

Whatever ye are given (here) is (but) a convenience of this life: but that which is with Allah is better and more lasting: (it is) for those who believe and put their trust in their Lord:
Those who avoid the greater crimes and shameful deeds, and, when they are angry even then forgive;
Those who hearken to their Lord, and establish regular Prayer; who (conduct) their affairs by mutual Consultation; who spend out of what We bestow on them for Sustenance;
And those who, when an oppressive wrong is inflicted on them, (are not cowed but) help and defend themselves.

Al Quran, Ash-Shura' 42:36-39

فَمَا أُوتِيتُم مِّن شَيْءٍ فَمَتَاعُ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَمَا عِندَ اللَّهِ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَى لِلَّذِينَ
إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَذَكَرُوا اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا وَانتَصَرُوا مِن بَعْدِ مَا ظُلِمُوا وَسَيَعْلَمُ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا أَيَّ مُنقَلَبٍ يَنقَلِبُونَ

Except those who believe, work righteousness, engage much in the remembrance of Allah, and defend themselves only after they are unjustly attacked. And soon will the unjust assailants know what vicissitudes their affairs will take!

Al Quran, Ash-Shua'ra 26:227

(Both translations by Yusuf Ali)

Description of the universe in 2 sentences

.. in the scientific perspective.

"The world is made up of atoms."
"Symmetry underlies the laws of the universe."

(From Fabric of the Cosmos, Brian Greene)

إِنَّا كُلَّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقْنَاهُ بِقَدَرٍ

BEHOLD, everything have We created in due measure and proportion;


Al Quran, Al Qamar 54:49 (translation by Asad)

Lessons from the Buddhist's article

"No possessions can be brought along to the next existence; the only thing that follows one is his deeds"

Most Muslims would think that I got that from some Islamic article. However, this is taken from an article from Nalanda Buddhist Society, said to be a Chinese saying.

Interesting! This is exactly what we are taught.

Another point to ponder from this article : when rituals are passed down by word of mouth or just see and follow, without reference to a clear and authentic book of guidance, this is how it can turn out.

Dear Muslims, always have a reference to The Quran and the Sunnah.

***********************

From Nalanda Buddhist Society website :

“What burning ‘paper money’ really meant those days.”

Excerpt from Bro. Tan’s teachings on 30 March.

During a funeral ceremony in ancient China, paper-made models of houses, sedan chairs, treasure chests, clothes, daily utensils, and even effigies of servants, were burnt as the cortege was leaving home for burial in the cemetery.

The ORIGINAL meaning of such an act is to show everyone present that all former possessions of the deceased cannot be brought along to the next life.  At one’s death, everything one had ever owned has to be left behind. The burning only emphasizes this message, as it is the most graphical, symbolic, and dramatic way of showing total loss!

There is a Chinese saying that ‘no possessions can be brought along to the next existence; the only thing that follows one is his deeds, or ‘karma’ ‘ ( 万般带不去，唯有业随身 ).  Furthermore, his relatives and friends only follow the deceased up to the grave, but soon turn to go home, leaving the dead alone in his tomb!

Thus, the burning of cheaply-produced paper models and effigies served as an effective educational tool.  Witnessing how fire consumes every ‘former possession’ of the deceased, even an illiterate peasant or young child was able to understand this sense of total relinquishment at death.

A seller holds up a 'paper car' meant as offerings to the dead.

Today, this practice is completely misunderstood by the majority of Chinese.  Instead of the original meaning, paper-made models have been turned into “paper offerings” – with the mistaken thought that whatever one burns, his departed relatives will obtain in the netherworld!

Hence people nowadays burn paper models of the latest i-Pads, smartphones, LED screens, and “paper money” in inflated sums in order to please the dead.  All these will not help the departed ones at all.  In fact, this misunderstanding will only harm the living by maintaining their ignorance and delusions.

Instead of burning “paper offerings”, one can perform ‘Dedication of Merits’ (Pāli, ‘Pattidāna ’) to help their departed relatives.  The explanation on this Buddhist practice was posted on this website on 31 March.  Scroll down and have a good read!

antibiotics in the fly

Sahih Bukhari : Volume 7, Book 71, Number 673:

Narrated Abu Huraira:
Allah's Apostle said, "If a fly falls in the vessel of any of you, let him dip all of it (into the vessel) and then throw it away, for in one of its wings there is a disease and in the other there is healing (antidote for it) i e. the treatment for that disease."

Scientific findings in relation to the fly.
The new buzz on antibiotics (ABC Science)