Communication and Signalling in the Language of Birds

Scientific research has revealed that throughout the living world,
communication isjust as important as it is to human beings. Countless
living things lack the capacity for human speech, yet they employ
entirely differentmethods in order to communicate with each other—and
even with other species. Some of the most dramatic examples of this is
displayed by birds.
All forms of life on Earth have been created with miraculous
properties and astonishing abilities.The examination of just one
single species is enough to reveal hundreds of proofs of Allah's
magnificent creation.
In one verse of the Qur'an, Allah reveals that:
There is no creature crawling on the earth or flying creature, flying
onits wings, who are not communities just like yourselves—We have not
omitted anything from the Book—then they will be gathered to their
Lord. (Qur'an, 6: 38)
The birds to which this verse draws our attention notice are one of
the living communities that we need to examine and reflect upon.
There are roughly some 10,000 species of bird in the world, each of
whichpossesses its own miraculous features. Wherever you may live, you
can see a great number of these feathered creatures and can observe
different and extraordinary properties in each and every one. With
their attractive appearances, flawless flight mechanisms, expertise on
the routes and timingof migrations, ability to build nests and
altruistic behavior toward their young and to one another, birds
possess countless proofs of the fact of creation. Their ability to
communicate isanother of these.
Birds' Sense of Hearing
For birds to display their talents in communicating by sound, song—and
in the case of some birds, words— they require excellent hearing. At
critical times in their lives, their sense of hearing becomes
particularly important. Experiments have shownthat in order for birds
to learn the distinctive song of their own species, they need an
auditory feedback system. Thanks to this system, young birds learn to
compare the sounds they produce themselves with the patterns of a song
they have memorized. If they were deaf, it wouldn't normally be
possible for them to sing recognizable songs.
Birds' ears are well equipped for hearing, but they hear in a
different way from us. For them to recognize a tune, they have to hear
it in always the same octave (a series of seven notes), whereas we
humans can recognize a tune even if we hear it in a different octave.
Birds cannot, but can instead recognize timbre—a fundamental note
combined with harmonies. The ability torecognize timbre and harmonic
variations lets birds hear and reply to many diverse sounds, and
sometimes even reproduce them.
Birds can also hear shorter notes than we can. Humans process sounds
in bytes in about 1/20th of a second, whereas birds can distinguish
these soundsin 1/200th of a second. This means that birds aresuperior
at differentiating sounds that arrive in very rapid succession. In
other words, a bird's capacity to perceive sound is approximately ten
times greater than ours; and inevery note heard by a human, it can
hear ten. Moreover, some birds are also able to hear lower-frequency
sounds than we are. Their hearing sensitivity is so finely tuned that
they can even tell the difference between pieces by such famous
composers as Bach and Stravinsky.
Birds' extremely sensitive hearing functions perfectly. Clearly, each
of this sense's components is created by special system, for if any
one failed to work properly, the bird would not be able to hear any
sounds at all.
Bird Sounds Are Not Haphazard
Usually, birdsong is not composed of randomly produced sounds. Songs
are exceptionally diversemelodies of specific meaning, sung for a
purpose, and are much more complex than the calls used for signaling.
They are generally used by males to advertise and defend a territory,
or in courtship. It is also believed that songs serve a social
function. When a pair is building their nest, they also establish
communicationby song. Experiments on caged birds have also
demonstrated that birds find it easier to learn songs if another bird
is present, but out of sight,in another cage.
Male and female songbirds have differentbrain structures, particularly
in the regions related to soundproduction. With many songbird species,
the males can sing, but the females cannot. The males use "song" to
call their mates or designate a tree, pole, or electrical cable as a
place to perch.Each species sings a songwith its own characteristics,
but any given species' songs display variations according to age, sex,
particular time of year, and geographical location-appropriate for the
environment in which they live. For example, birds that live in
meadows use "songs of flight." Similarly, ones that live in the dense
foliage of rain forests or reed thickets have loud voices to
compensate forreduced visibility.

Story - Novel A Daughter's Pain

You'll find me crying on the girl's bathroom floor and you'll ask
me what's wrong.And like always I'll respond_Nothing. But inside I'm
screaming everything. If you knew me well enough you could see my
palace falling apart,slowly and painfully. When you look me in the eye
do you seewhat I see...fear,sadness and hate. When you look me in the
eye tell me what do you see? Can't you see the fear in my eyes? Can't
you tell I'm slowly deteriating in front of my own eyes? Can't you see
what I see? I guess not. No one will ever see unless they take a walk
in my life for a day. No one will ever understand my pain...No one
When the walls start to close in on me I start to realize
what a mistake I am...I shouldn't be here...I don't want to be
here...In my place, in my life...Everythings just not right.
You wonder why I cry, but you know because your the one
causing the pain. Your the one who leaves me lying on the
floor...Lying on the floor to suffer from the pain that you caused.

Al-Bukhaari: the master in the science of Prophetic narrations

His mother woke up witha start and said happily:"What a pleasant
dream! Allaah's messenger Ibraaheem appeared in my dream, and said:
"Owoman! Allaah restored your son's eye sight because of your
frequentsupplications". She said:"O Allaah, make it a glad tiding. "O
Allaah answer my supplications and restore the sight of my child."
The pious mother walkedto her son's room, hardly able to move her
feet. When she reached his bed, she was about to wake him up but she
hesitated. Her broken heart was beating and she kept tenderly and
kindly caressing his head with her shaky hands. She was still
supplicating and hoping that Allaah would answer her frequent
supplications and cure her son. The young boy woke up and started
looking in amazement and moving his eyelids in confusion. He said in a
breaking voice:
"Mother!! I can see you, I can see your beautiful face! I can see my
room and my toys!!"
All perfect praise be to Allaah! All perfect praise be to Allaah!
Allaah gave me back my eyesight!!"
She was so happy that she thought she was dreaming. But she soon
realized that it was real when she saw her beloved son running and
playing as he used to do. Filled with faith and happiness, she said:
"All perfect praise be to Allaah! All perfect praise be to Allaah who
has the power to do everything."
One day, when the mother was tidying up the house in the morning, she
came acrossa few papers containing some narrations of the Prophet .
She remembered her belovedhusband and said sadly and painfully while
wiping the tears off her cheeks: "May Allaah have mercy on you,
Muhammad's father. You were a man who used to fear Allaah. You dreamed
for a long time that your son Muhammad would be a religious scholar! I
promise you that I will domy best to achieve your dear wish, Allaah
willing." Then she called her son kindly, and Muhammad hurried to her
obediently. Then, shesaid to him: "It is time foryou, my son to seek
religious knowledge and benefit yourself and the people around you.
Tomorrow I will send youto a small school where you can memorize the
Quran, learn Prophetic narrations and study the Arabic language to
become an honourable scholar like your father, Ismaa'eel .
The young boy, Muhammad, said cleverly:"Mother! Was my father an
eminent scholar?"
The mother replied: "Yes, my son." Mohammad, then said politely: "I
promise you, Mother, that I will follow his footsteps seriously and
exert all my efforts."
The city of Bukhaaraa (now in Islamic Uzbekistan) was located at that
time in one of the greatest countries beyond the Transoxus (now
Turkistan ). Schools of knowledge where people could learn Arabic, the
Quran, history, and Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) were spread
throughout the city. The young boy, Muhammad Ibn Ismaa'eelAl-Bukhaari
then set out to quench his thirst for knowledge from these sweet
springs. Earlyin his life, he showed signs of intelligence that
surprised everyone around him. He had a sharp mind, an attentive
heart, an amazing memory, and an incredible ability to memorize.
Before he wasten, he had memorized the whole Quran, mastered the
Arabic language, covered much of the Fiqh, and memorized many
Prophetic narrations. His pious good mother always encouraged her son
and prepared a suitable atmosphere for him to acquire knowledge. When
Al-Bukhaari finished his studies in the small schools, his wise mother
thought to send him to the well-known study circles in Bukhaaraa,
Samarqand, Bekend, Marw, and Nesabor. He became famous among the
scholars to the point that he used to argue with his professors and
even corrected them sometimes!!
The success and physiognomy of Al-Bukhaari didn't end there. His
shaykh andteacher Mohammad Ibn Salaam Al-Bekandy the scholar of
Buhaaraa and the scholar of Prophetic narrations across the Transoxus
(now Turkistan ), used to ask him to revise some ofhis books and
corrected any mistakes he found. Scholars used to wonder in
astonishment: "Who was that boy who edits the books of his
professor?!"
Imaam Bekandi used to say proudly about his clever student: "This boy
is unique of his kind."
On many occasions Imaam Bekandi talked to his colleagues about his
student, Al-Bukhaari who memorized seventy thousand Prophetic
narrations by heart. In addition to this, he neverreported a narration
of the companions or thegeneration following them unless he knew when
and where they were born, as well as where they lived and died!
The years passed and Mohammad Ibn Ismaa'eel reached the age of sixteen
years. He felt a great need to go and seek knowledge in every corner
of the world to satisfy his thirst for knowledge. He headed toMakkah,
accompanied byhis mother and elder brother, Ahmad, in 210 AH to
perform Hajj (pilgrimage) and seek more knowledge. After the
pilgrimage, his mother and brother Ahmad returned to Bukhaaraa while
he stayed in Makkah to move between its domes of knowledge: East, and
west; North and South. Before the end of two years in this sacred
city, he started writing his book The Issues of the companions and
their Followers which marked the beginning of his renowned books.
* Al-Bukhaari always loved to visit Madeenah. Among the fruits of his
visits to that blessed place was writing his book: "The Big Book of
History" which is considered the first book that comprises the namesof
the narrators of Prophetic narrations and the details of their lives.
From that wonderful sacred spot, Al-Bukhaari set out on a
relentlessendeavor to visit all the Islamic territories out of his
love for compiling theProphetic narrations. He traveled to Hijaaz (
Saudi Arabia ), Levant ( Syria , Jordan , Palestine and Lebanon ),
Egypt , and Khurasaan (a vast area between north east Iran , southern
Russia , and western Afghanistan ). He visited Basrah and settledfor
some time in Baghdad which was the capital of the Abbasid state at
that time. He greatly benefited from these journeys seeking knowledge.
He had the pleasure of meeting mostthe narrators of Prophetic
narrations at that time, sat with them, listened to the narrations,
and memorized whatever knowledge they had.
One night, Al-Bukhaari had a strange dream that later had a great
impact on his life. He sawhimself standing before the Prophet holding
a palm-leaf fan in his hand with which he pushed all evil away from
the Prophet . He was so confused and surprised that he went to his
scholars asking them to interpret his dream. They said happily: "You
will clear the lies and false claims away from the Prophet . "
Al-Bukhaari then remembered his teacher, shaykh Is-Haaq Ibn Raahawayh,
the prominent scholar of Khurasaan, when he told his students once:
"It would be great if you cancompile a concise and brief book
containing the authentic narrations of the Prophet ."
These words echoed in Al-Bukhaari's heart and he remembered that dream
which was always in his mind since he started learning the Prophetic
narrations. Thereupon, he immediately made an intention to actively
and seriously pursue this mission and started to strive in his long
journey of writing this great book in 217 AH when he was twenty three.
Because of that dream, Al-Bukhaari traveled thousands of miles moving
from one Islamic territory to another, undergoing all sorts of
difficulties, hardships, and weariness, sometimes to obtain onlyone
narration of the Prophet . He sometimes even had to eat grass to
satisfy his extreme hunger after he had spent all his money. Even the
few hours of night in which he snatched short naps to rest a while,
were not so resting for him, as he used to wake up fifteen to twenty
times a night to lit his lamp and sit to classify the narrations he
had collected. Al-Bukhaari made a pact with himself that he wouldn't
include a narration from any narrator until he had personally met him,
and listened to the narration with his own ears. He never accepted
narrations except from the ones who were known for being honest,
diligent, accurate, fearing Allaah, and having a sharp memory. After
this process, he would have a ritual bath; pray two Rak'as and
theninclude only the narration that had met all these conditions in
hisbook.
After sixteen years of continuous effort and hard work, Al-Bukhaari
finished his valuable book that comprised around 7000 authentic
narrations which he selected from amongst 600,000 authentic and
non-authentic narrations. He overlooked many authentic narrations so
that his book wouldn't be too long. He chose to name the book "The
Authentic Book Encompassing a Brief Authentic Narrations of the
Prophet, his Tradition and Life" to become the title of the most
authentic book after the Quran. The bookis known as 'Saheeh
Al-Bukhaari' (The authentic narrations reported by Al-Bukhaari ). This
book became well known and it gave him a high rank that someone like
him truly deserved to achieve. He had a vast knowledge,great manners,
a tolerantnature, dignity, and an untainted tongue. He cared so little
for this life,he had deep faith, and had Allaah's consciousness at all
times. After Imaam Al-Bukhaari became famous throughout the world,
thousands of scholars came to him as students of the leader in
memorization of authentic narrations untilthe number of people who
attended his study circles in Baghdad reached 20,000. Among the most
remarkable figures of his students were Imaams At-Tirmithi,
An-Nasaa'ee, Muslim, and others .
In 250 AH, Al-Bukhaari left to Nisabor, a city in Khurasaan and stayed
there for a while teaching the people. Then he decided to return to
his dear city, Bukhaaraa, and when he did the people rushed to welcome
him in a great celebration in which huge tents were pitched and
decorations were hung. They threw flowersand golden and silver coins
on the Imaam uponhis arrival into the city. There was an overwhelming
atmosphere of happinessthat prevailed throughout all Bukhaaraa.
Allaah Willed, out of mercy to the Imaam, that Al-Bukhaari would only
meet his Lord after peace and happiness hadfound their way into his
heart again. One day, the people of Samarqand sent a message for him
asking him to come. He agreed and packed with great joy. When he
started walking towards his animal he said: "Take me back, I have
become weak and very ill". When they took him back to hishouse, he
said some supplications then he laidon his bed sweating a lot,then his
pure soul ascended to its Creator. His death was on a Friday night,
the beginning of the month of Shawwaal, 256 AH (870AD). He was
sixty-two years old when he died. He was buried in the village of
Khartank whichis now known as 'Khawaajah Saaheb'. MayAllaah have mercy
upon the great Imaam and mayAllaah admit him into

The World of Jinn -II

Jinn: Muslims and non-Muslims
Almighty Allaah tells us in the Noble Quran that some of the jinn said
(what means): "And among us are Muslims [in submission to Allaah], and
among us are the unjust. And whoever has become Muslim — those have
sought out the right course. But as for the unjust, they will be, for
Hell, firewood.'" [Quran 72:14-15]
The Muslims among the jinn are of different levels as regards
righteousness and piety. Allaah Says (what means): "And among us are
the righteous, and among us are [others] not so; we were [of] divided
ways." [Quran 72:11]
The story of the first jinn who became Muslim was narrated by
'Abdullaah Ibn 'Abbaas who said:"The Prophet went outwith a group of
his Companions ( ) heading for the marketplace of 'Ukaath. This was
when the devils were prevented from getting any news from heaven, and
shooting stars had been sent against them. The devils went back to
their people, who said, 'What is the matter with you?' They said, 'We
cannot getnews from heaven, and shooting stars were sent against us.'
Their people said, 'Nothing is stoppingyou from hearing news from
heaven except somenew event that must have happened. Go and look in
the east and the west of the earth, and see if you can find out what
it is that is stoppingyou from hearing news from heaven."
Those who went out in the direction of Tihaamah came upon theProphet
in (a place called) Nakhlah, when hewas on his way to 'Ukaath, and
found him leading his Companions in Fajr (dawn) prayer. When they
heard the Quran, they listened to it and said, 'By Allaah, this is
what is stopping us from hearing news from heaven.' When they wentback
to their people, theysaid as Allaah tells us in the Quran (what
means): "Indeed, we have heard an amazing Quran [i.e. recitation]. It
guides to the right course, and we have believed in it. And we will
never associate with our Lordanyone." [Quran 72:1-2]
Then Allaah revealed to His Prophet the verse (which means): "Say, [O
Muhammad], "It has been revealed to me that a group of the jinn
listened and said, "Indeed, we have heard an amazing Quran..."
[Al-Bukhaari]
Their reckoning on the Day of Resurrection
The jinn will be called to account on the day of Resurrection.
Mujaahid said, concerning the verse (which means): "…but the jinn have
already known that they [who made suchclaims] will be brought [to
punishment]." [Quran 37:158]
"They will be brought to judgement." [Al-Bukhaari]
Protection from the harm of the jinn
Because the jinn can see us while we cannot see them, the Prophet
taught us many ways to protect ourselves from their harm, such as
seeking refuge with Allaah from the accursed Shaytaan (Satan),
reciting chapters Al-Falaqand An-Naas (the last twochapters of the
Quran), and reciting the words taught by Allaah in the Quran (which
mean): "And say, "My Lord, I seek refuge in Youfrom the incitements of
the devils. And I seek refuge in You, my Lord, lest they be present
with me." [Quran 23:97-98]
Saying Bismillaah (in the Name of Allaah) before entering one's home,
before eating or drinking, and before having intercourse with one's
spouse will also keep the devil from entering the house or partaking
with a person in his food, drink and sexual activity.
Similarly, mentioning thename of Allaah before entering the toilet or
taking off one's clothes will prevent the jinn fromseeing a person's
private parts or harming him, as the Prophet said: "To put a barrier
that will prevent thejinn from seeing the 'Awrah (parts of the body
that must be covered in Islam) of the Children of Aadam, let any one
of you say 'Bismillaah' when entering the toilet." [At-Tirmithi]
Strength of faith and religion in general will also prevent the jinn
from harming a person, so much so that if they were to fight, the one
who has faith would win.'Abdullaah Ibn Mas'ood said: "A man from among
the Companions of Muhammad met a male jinn. They wrestled, and the man
knocked down the jinn. The man said to him, 'You look small and skinny
to me, and your forearms look like the front paws of a dog. Do all the
jinn look like this, or only you?' He said, 'No, by Allaah, among them
I am strong, but let us wrestle again, and if you defeat me I will
teach you something that will do you good.' The man said, 'Fine.' He
(the jinn) said, 'Recite (the verse, which means): "Allaah- there is
no deity except Him, the Ever- Living, the Sustainer of [all]
existence …" [Quran 2: 255]
The man said, 'Fine.' He said, 'You will never recite this in your
house but the Satan will come out of it like a donkey breaking wind,
and he will never come back in until the next morning.'"