Wednesday, June 29, 2011

DEAR STUDENTS

In the name of Allah The Beneficent The Merciful

Dear respectful students,


Assalamualaikum, may Allah grant all of you success and happiness in this ephemeral world and in the next eternal world.


I pray that all of you will achieve the best in tomorrow's final exam.  I enjoy the 7 weeks that we have spent together, sharing our experiences, although I was the one who did a lot of talking :)  With every new batch of students, I stand to gain a lot from just knowing you for each and every one of you are unique.  Know that we learn because of differences.  If everything is the same, then there will be no new knowledge.  There will be only 1 kind of knowledge.  Differences make understanding possible.


Even though I might not remember your name, but I do remember faces.  I hope you will acknowledge me when our path crosses, in campus or off campus.  Thanks for listening to me; thanks for staring at me with those round eyes, which sometimes scared me of, but I do like it for it shows that you listened; thanks for making me happy with your good coursework; and thanks for just being there.  I pray that you'll be able to understand how important your worldview is for it is the foundation of your thought and action.  If, somehow, you still do not understand, please read and keep learning until your last breath.  From time to time I hope you will visit this blog...perhaps later you'll understand the significance of this and you want to understand more.


Thank Allah for giving me the opportunity to share what little that I know with all of you.  May Allah bless us all.  Luv ya

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

PROPHETHOOD

In the name of Allah The Beneficent The Merciful

Human is given two divine guidance
  • 'aql--to think, reflect, distinguish right from wrong
  • divine revelation--through intellectual faculty of selected individuals (prophets)
These two divine guidance are interdependent--like eye vision and light ray--the eyes cannot see without the light, and the light without eyes, is useless--the aql without the revelation is misguided, the revelation without the 'aql cannot be understood---revelation confirms the findings of the intellect with certainty

The revelation is transmitted to the prophets through inspiration, from behind a veil, and through angel to be conveyed to mankind
  • THUS, Prophet is a medium through whom messages from Allah, divine revelation, were sent down and transmitted to humankind---prophet's main role is to communicate the messages from Allah to mankind rationally
  • REVELATION is messages from Allah to his prophets concerning the fundamentals of belief and action---it is the act by which Allah discloses HIMSELF to HIS creations
Prophet is an ordinary human being with superb moral characters     
6 characteristics of prophethood
  • truthfulness
  • trustworthiness
  • communication of Allah's messages
  • intelligent
  • infallibility (some scholars assert that prophets did make mistakes but they were pardoned by Allah, thus they have no sin)
  • no mental defect 
The status of prophet is the highest among mankind, thus, whatever he taught us and instructed us to do, is considered obligation and should be done first...

Why prophets were human
  • people would not make excuses for not being able to implement the teachings of the revelation---if prophets were among angles, human being would say how could they do things like angels for angels always obey and without desires
  • would be able to demonstrate to mankind that human is capable of living by the revelation---prophets were exemplars or perfect moral behaviors
The Significance of Prophethood
  • develop the foundation of thought and actions which enable mankind to build civilization; to relate, and respond to the challenges of changing time and space
  • their strategy for living is the interpretations (through practice) of the revelation (theoretical)---revelation is general guidelines which is explained practically through prophets' behaviors and life styles---revelation is theory and prophets' life is practice
  • human mind is limited, therefore it could not think of anything beyond what is perceived by the senses---thus, the mind could not know about the unseen with certainty without revelation from Allah, prophets' role is to convey messages about the unseen world
  • prophet's life was the living proof that the teachings of the revelation are practical and could lead to success and happiness
  • role model for mankind to emulate
Relevance of Prophet's Message
  • The prophet message has not suffered from distortion and falsification---this is guaranteed by Allah
  • Man's morality has lagged behind, man's mind has not matured that it does not need any guidance from Allah
  • The problems faced by the modern man are similar with the problems faced by the people of the prophet's time---materialism, modernism (man is self-suficent), relative morality, etc
  • Human advancement in science and technology has not produced answers to humanity's ultimate concerns, on the contrary it raised more questions

Latest Marks

In the name of Allah The Beneficent The Merciful

Dear Students

Assalamualaikum, May Allah grant all of you the best of the final exam next week, amin.  Here are the marks.  Two students have not submitted all of the assignments yet, or you may have accidentally slipped your assignments under someone else's door.  PLEASE HAND IN YOUR ASSIGNMENTS WITHIN THIS WEEK.


No.
Matric No.
Class Ex1
Class Ex2
Article Review
Mid Term
Human Nature
1
1020878
3
5
8
17
9
2
1016173
3
5
7
17
10
3
1017873
3
5
7
16
10
4
911722
4
5
9
18
9
5
1024918
4
5
9
18
8
6
1026268
3
5
7
18
8
7
1014877
5
5
9
19
10
8
837886
3
5
9
19
10
9
1027032
3
5
9
18
10
10
1026094
4
5
9
19
10
11
1013341
3
5
7
16
10
12
1024553
4
5
8
17
7
13
917271
5
8
18
7
14
1022586
3
5
9
20
10
15
1010625
5
5
9
19
10
16
917891
4
13
17
1016232
4
5
8
15
10
18
1022148
3
5
9
19
8
19
938414
5
9
16
8
20
921982
3
5
8
19
8
21
1019316
4
5
9
18
10
22
916590
3
5
9
17
9
23
1014696
4
5
9
19
10
24
1014802
4
5
9
17
8
25
1016722
4
5
9
17
8
26
1029180
3
5
7
15
8
27
1023164
4
5
9
19
8
28
1023898
3
5
7
17
8
29
1023074
4
5
9
17
10
30
1028032
3
5
8
19
10
31
1018467
4
5
10
13
10
32
1011357
5
5
9
17
10
33
638044
4
7
34
1024628
3
5
8
19
10
35
1018778
4
5
9
14
10
36
1018224
4
5
9
18
10
37
833018
4
5
9
17
9
38
1030977
3
5
10
18
8