A fishy tale: transition from water to land

Evolutionists assume that the sea invertebrates thatappear in the
Cambrian stratum somehow evolved into fish in tens of million years.
However, just as Cambrian invertebrates have no ancestors, there are no
transitional links indicating that an evolution occurred between these
invertebrates and fish. It should be noted that invertebrates and fish
have enormous structuraldifferences. Invertebrateshave hard tissues
outsidetheir bodies, whereas fish are vertebrates that have hard tissues
inside. Such an enormous "evolution" event ought to have been supported
by billions of transitional forms displaying the intervening changes.
Evolutionists have been digging fossil strata for about 140 years
looking for these hypothetical forms, they have found millions of
invertebrate fossils and millions of fishfossils; yet nobody has ever
found even one thatis midway between them.
An evolutionist paleontologist, Gerald T. Todd admits this fact in an
article titled "Evolution of the Lung and the Origin of Bony Fishes" :
"All three subdivisions of the bony fishes first appear in the fossil
record at approximately the same time. They are already widely divergent
morphologically, and they are heavily armored.How did they originate?
What allowed them to diverge so widely? How did they all come to have
heavy armor? And why is there no trace of earlier, intermediate forms?"
The evolutionary scenario goes one step further and argues that fish
evolved from invertebrates, then transformed into amphibians. But this
scenario also lacks evidence. There is not even a single fossil
verifying that a half-fish/half-amphibian creature has ever existed.This
fact is confirmed (albeit reluctantly) by a well-known evolutionist
authority, Robert L. Carroll, who is the authorof Vertebrate
Paleontology and Evolution as: "We have no intermediate fossils between
rhipidistian fish(his favourite 'ancestors' of tetrapods) and early
amphibians." Two evolutionist paleontologists, Colbert and Morales,
comment onthe three basic classes of amphibians – frogs, salamanders,
and caecilians:
"There is no evidence of any Paleozoic amphibian combining the
characteristics that would be expected in a single common ancestor. The
oldest known frogs, salamanders and caecilians are very similarto their
living descendants."
Until about fifty years ago, evolutionists thought that such a creature
indeed existed. This fish, called a Coelacanth, which was estimated to
be 410 million years of age, was put forward as a transitional form with
a primitive lung, a developed brain, a digestive and a circulatory
system ready to function on land and even a primitive walking mechanism.
These anatomical interpretations were accepted as undisputed truth among
scientific circles until the end of the 1930s. The Coelacanthwas
presented as a genuine transitional form that proved the evolutionary
transition from water to land.
However, on December 22, 1938, a very interesting discovery wasmade in
the Indian Ocean . A living member of the Coelacanth family, previously
presented as atransitional from that had become extinct 70 million years
ago, was caught! The discovery of a "living" prototype of Coelacanth
undoubtedly gave evolutionists a severe shock. The evolutionist
paleontologist J. L.B. Smith said that he could not have been more
surprised if he had come across a living dinosaur. In the years to come,
200 Coelacanths were caught many times in different parts of the world.
Living Coelacanths revealed how far the evolutionists could go in making
up their imaginary scenarios. Contrary to claims, Coelacanths had
neither a primitive lung nor a large brain. The organ that evolutionist
researchers proposed as a primitive lung turned out to be nothing but a
lipid pouch. Furthermore,the Coelacanth, which was introduced as "a
reptile candidate getting prepared to pass from sea to land," was in
reality a fish that lived in the depths of oceans and never approached a
distance of less than 180 meters from the surface.
Why Transition From Water to Land is Impossible
Evolutionists claim that one day, a species dwelling in water somehow
stepped onto land and was transformed into a land-dwelling species.
There are a number of obvious facts that render such a transition
impossible:
1. Weight-bearing: Sea-dwelling creatures have no problem in bearing
their own weight in the sea.
However, most land-dwelling creatures consume 40 percent of their energy
just in carrying their bodies around. Creatures making the transition
from water to land would, at the same time, have had to develop
newmuscular and skeletal systems (!) to meet this energy need, and this
could not have come about by chance mutations.
2. Heat Retention: On land, the temperature can change quickly and
fluctuates over a wide range. Land-dwelling creatures possess a physical
mechanism that can withstand such great temperature changes. However, in
the sea, the temperature changes slowly and within a narrower range. A
living organism with a body system regulated according to the
constantsea temperature, would need to acquire a protective system to
ensure minimum harm from the temperature changes on land. It is
preposterous to claim that fish acquired such a system by random
mutations as soon as theystepped onto land.
3. Water: Since it is essential for metabolism, water needs to be used
economically due to its relative scarcity on land. For instance, the
skin has to be able to permit a certain amount of water loss, while
preventing excessive evaporation simultaneously. That is why
land-dwelling creatures experience thirst, something the sea-dwelling
creatures do not do. For this reason, the skin of sea-dwelling animals
is not suitable for a non-aquatic habitat.
4. Kidneys: Sea-dwelling organisms discharge waste materials, especially
ammonia, by means of their aquatic environment. On land, water has to be
used economically. This is why these living beings have a complex
excretory system comprising the kidneys and other organs. Thanks to the
kidneys, ammonia is stored by being converted into urea and the minimum
amount of water is used during its excretion. In addition, new systems
are needed to support the kidney's functioning. In short, for the
passage of organismsfrom water to land to have occurred, living things
without a kidney would have had to develop a kidney system all at once.
5. Respiratory system: Fish "breathe" by taking in oxygen dissolved in
water that they pass through their gills. They cannot live for more
thana few minutes out of water. In order to surviveon land, they would
haveto acquire a perfect lung system all of a sudden.
It is most certainly impossible that all these dramatic physiological
changes could have happened in the same organism at the same time, and
all by chance.

The Concise Presentation of the Fiqh of the Sunnahand the Noble Quran

There is no doubt that there is a considerable shortage in the books of
Fiqh in the English language. The need is so big, almost any time an
additional book found itsway to the market, it became an immediate
success.
This should not, however,be construed to mean that Fiqh is an easy
subject to write about. On the contrary, the books of Fiqh are not all
equal. A few can quickly distinguish themselves especially if they were
to be small and brief in their presentation of the issues discussed in
addition to being based on Daleel (evidence) fromthe Quran and the
Sunnah and not on mere statements of what a specific Math-hab (School of
Jurisprudence) or scholar says about the topics included. And the book
at hand, in this review, is one such book.
This is not a statement against following the well-known four Mathaahib
(plural of Math-hab ) –by necessity; the overwhelming majority of
Muslims must follow one of them. Any Muslim who is not a scholar capable
of making Ijtihad must follow a Math-hab –in fact even when we don't
know it, anytime we consult a book, seeking an answer or a Fatwa, or ask
a scholar for it, our Math-hab becomes that of whoever gives us the
answer or the Fatwa. What is a major shortcoming of most Mathaahib books
–especially the late ones—is that they have eliminated the mention of
the Daleel which made them mere statements of rulings—thus taking
Ittiba' or `following' out of context and making it pure imitation of
others as well as missing the chance of educating theirfollowers.
Throughout this book, the Concise Presentation of the Fiqh of the Sunnah
and the Noble Quran, a Muslim can learn most of the topics of Ibadah
(acts of worship) as well as many of most needed issues of Mu'amalat
(dealings) in our times with great ease and confidence. " ...albeit
small in comparison with the larger works, " this book, as described by
theforwarder, " has combined together two books. " What he meant was
that the extensive use of Hadeeth, by the author, as evidence for the
issues discussed, made the book look like a book of Hadeeth combined
with a book of Fiqh . This is a great display of the statements and
actions of the Prophet Muhammad thus the " ...combination of these two
is a great blessing. "
Since this book was originally written in Arabic, it is important to
mention that its translation is professional and faithful to the subject
which should make it easy to read and facilitate the learning of Fiqh
from it. Also, this edition containshelpful tools that should further
facilitate understanding and learning, and an easy to follow Glossary
with Arabic to English translation, a transliteration chart and a
Symbols directory.
One good advantage of this book is that it draws from Saheeh or
authenticnarrations, which allows the reader to grasp basic aspects of
Fiqh but not get overwhelmed with lengthy details that typically arise
from relying on disputed narrations. Over all, I was very impressed by
the book and I pray that everyone who reads it feels the same and learns
a lot from it. In reading the final words of the author I felt a great
deal of satisfaction because his statement at the last section in the
book dealt with emancipation. He did so hoping to get emancipated from
Hellfire and receive the mercy of the All-Compassionate, Most-Merciful
God, Allah—may He be praisedand glorified.

Optional aspects of ablution

'Sunnah' (optional) Acts of Ablution:
The following acts are not obligatory, yet, once done, are rewarded for
since they constitute the way the Prophet used to perform ablution:
Reciting 'Bismillah' (saying: 'Bismillahir-rahmaanir-raheem', which
means: 'In the name of Allaah, the Most Merciful, the Most
Compassionate).
Washing the hands, threetimes, up to the wrists.
Brushing the teeth with atooth-stick (Miswak).
Rinsing the mouth, thrice.
Sniffing water into the nostrils, thrice.
Combing the beard with the fingers (this is called Takhleel in Arabic).
Passing the fingers of both hands against each other, and also passing
them through the toes (the Takhleel of the fingers and toes).
Washing each limb, threetimes.
Wiping the whole head with wet hands once
Wiping the two ears (inside and outside).
Performing the Wudhoo' in the proper order (as stated above).
Washing each part, one after the other, without pause, to ensure that no
part dries up before the next step.
Humraan, the freed slave of 'Uthmaan bin 'Affaan narrated that 'Uthmaan
once asked for a tumbler of water in order to perform ablution; when it
was brought to him, he poured water from it over his hands and washed
them thrice, and then put his right hand inthe water container and
rinsed his mouth and washed his nose by putting water in it and then
blowing it out. Then, he washed his face thrice and then his forearms up
to the elbows thrice; then, he passed his wet hands over his head and
then washed each foot thrice. After that, 'Uthmaan said: "I saw the
Prophet performing ablution like this of mine, and he then said: " If
anyone performs ablution like that of mine and offers a two-Rak'ah
(units) prayer during which he does not think of anything else (not
related to the present prayer) then his past sins will be forgiven." "
Actions that require ablution as aprerequisite:
There are three actions that require ablution as aprerequisite in order
for them to be accepted Islamically. These are:
1- Any type of prayer (Salaah)
This involves only obligatory, voluntary, or funeral prayers. This is
based on Allaah's statement (which means):
"O you who have believed, when you rise to [perform] prayer, wash your
faces and your forearms to the elbows and wipeover your heads and wash
your feet to the ankles." [Quran 5:6]
Also, the Messenger of Allaah said,
"Allaah does not accept a prayer from a person who is not in a state of
purity. Nor does He accept charity from misappropriated booty." [Muslim]
2- Circumambulating the Ka'bah
Ibn 'Abbaas reported that the Messenger of Allaah said,
"Circumambulation is a type of prayer, but Allaahhas permitted speaking
during it. Whoever speaks during it should only speak good."
[At-Tirmithi and others]
3- Touching a copy of the Quran
Abu Bakr Ibn Muhammad related from his father on the authority ofhis
grandfather that the Prophet sent a letter to the people of Yemen, which
stated:
"No one is to touch the Quran except one who is purified."
[An-Nasaa'i and others]

Is it permissible for her to get an invoice for medication from a pharmacy from which she did not get this medicine?.

Dought & clear, - I work in a government department and our medical
costs are covered by this department; we have to bring an invoice for
the cost of medical consultations from any doctor as well as invoices
from any pharmacy showing the price of medicine, and the department
will cover the cost of these invoices.
My questions are:
Sometimes the doctor who treats me prescribes medicine for me, some of
which can be found in the pharmacy and some of itcannot, so we buy it
from him, but he does not write me an invoice showing the price of
these medicines.
Is it permissible for me to get an invoice from any pharmacy to show
the price of this medicine, but showing the name of some other
medicine that is in the prescription? On one occasion I went to the
doctor and my sister waswith me, and she had some problems, so she
asked the doctor and he wrote a prescription for her. But when I asked
him whether I should pay for this consultation,he refused. Is it
permissible for her to submit it to the department in which myfather
works, because children get half of their medical costs covered bythe
department in whichthe father works?
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
The employee should approach his work with an attitude of
trustworthiness, dignity and honesty, and should avoid haraam
earnings, lying, cheating and deceiving.
He should do the work required of him in a proper manner, without
cheating in his earnings or doing anything that will lead to regret in
the Hereafter.
See the answer to question no. 4651 .
Secondly:
Saying that the medicinementioned is not available in pharmacies is a
dubious statement, because the basic principle is that medicine is
more available in pharmacies than in doctors' clinics; the doctor may
have free samples that he getsfrom (pharmaceutical) companies and the
like.
Whatever the case, it seems to us, and we know from experience, that
if you had looked more, especially in larger pharmacies, you would
certainly have found the medicine that you were looking for or you
would have found a suitable alternative to it. It does not seem to us
that there is any concession concerning what you are asking about,
especially as it is not a case of necessity. So it is not permissible
tohasten to tell lies or resort to deceit and tricks when there is no
case of necessity and no pressure to do so.
Even if we assume that there is no alternative for this medicine, and
that it is only available from this doctor (which cannot be the case),
either the doctor should sell it with an invoice, or you can talk to
your superiors at work so thatthey can find out the facts about the
matter.
Thirdly:
If children have half of their medical costs covered, as you say,
thenit is not permissible for them to submit papers showing anything
but the true facts. If on this occasion you did not payany of the
costs for this consultation, then you do not have the right to ask the
administration atwork for anything.
If you did pay for it, thenyou have the right to askfor what you are
allowed to, according to the conditions stipulatedby your father's
work, but that is on condition that the papers you submit are truthful
and are not made up.