We Get What We Give

We get what we give. This is one of the laws of the dunya (this
earthly life) andal-ghayb (the unseen) as well. When we give moneyto
the poor and oppressed, God rewards us with more than we can imagine.
When we share truth, greater truths are revealed to us. When we teach,
we learn. When we show mercy, our Creator has mercy on us. When we
smile, people smile back.
The same is true for love. When we give love, love comes into our lives.
Some people think, "I will open up my love when I meet someone who
loves me truly." Sorry, it doesn't work that way. It's only when we
open up the gates and let our love flow,that loves comes rushing in.

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A Concise Reply to Christianity - A Muslim View

If this booklet were writtento announce my conversion to Christianity,
no Christian would complain that it is too blunt. So if I must reject
an aspect of Christianity in a succinct form, let me not be accused of
bluntness either. A Muslim believes inthe religion of Jesus but sees
mainline Christianity as a religion constructed about Jesus. Our
protest is against two excesses: The apotheosis of Jesus and themost
frequent missionary tactic directed toward Muslims.
Part One
Christians and Muslims wholearn something of one another's religion
find that a crucial issue is the nature of Jesus. The majority of
Christians deify Jesus while Muslims say that he was nomore than a
prophet of God, a faultless human being. The doctrine of the Trinity
avows that three distinct co-equals are God. In particular, Jesus is
said to be God the Son, or the Son of God. As the Muslim questions
details of this theology, the Christian characteristically forms a
common explanation for our differences: He complains that Muslims do
not understand the Trinity; that we are actually accusing Christians
of Tritheism and other heresies.
So the Muslim seeks clarification of the teachingand asks at every
step:"How could that be so?" For example, we insist that the term "Son
of God" cannot have a literal interpretation. Sonship anddivine nature
would be necessary attributes of such an actuality, but theseare
incompatible. The first describes a recipient of life while the second
describes One who received life from no one. These are
mutuallyexclusive requirements then. To be a son is to be less than
divine, and to be divine is to be no one's son.
As a discussion proceeds, it is the Christian who will eventually take
refuge in the response: "These are things that we cannot understand."
His assessment of the Muslim's problem becomes his own confession. The
Christian explanation becomes self-defeating so there is a change of
tactic.
He complains that the Muslim refuses to accept what cannot be
understood. But the modified approach is a diversion. Now the concepts
of verification andunderstanding are confused. To illustrate: Chemical
reactions may be verified but the atom is notthereby understood. Facts
are catalogued but not always explained. This distinction is the key
to ourconcise reply. It is the Muslim who must redirect the
discussion. Our primaryissue is more basic than resolving the
incongruities of Trinitarian doctrine. Rather than ask how the Trinity
can be so, we should ask why it must be so. We ask, "Why must Jesus be
divine? Can we verify the necessity of this belief?"
The Muslim Position
A few centuries ago, European Philosophers commonly felt that a
conjecture was proven if it could be shown to be equivalent to an
assertion made by Aristotle. Unfortunately, such an approach stopped
short of challenging Aristotle and discovering truth.
Similarly,testing the Trinitarian case on what people have said about
Jesus stops short of establishing the integrity of the authorities and
the truth of the matter.
Our purpose here is no more than the illustration that belief in the
Trinity can only be based on Church authority. Many Christians admit
that this isthe case while others insist that the teaching was
elaborated by Jesus himself. "Let them produce their proof," is the
repeated admonition of the Quran, that is, "provide the documentation
that Jesus himself claimed unqualified deity," (Quran 21:24). Unless
this evidencecan be produced, authorities are subject to challenge.
Then the Christian may not evade the Muslim's questions concerning
understanding. The Christian will have no justification for
maintaining an illogical position, unless he is content to rely on the
opinions of men. If he will probe no deeper than this, the
Christian-Muslim dialogue is finished.
For Christians, the only documents accepted as reporting the words of
Jesus are the accounts given in the Bible. We leave the Muslim
attitude toward the Bible for part II of this essay and find our
motivation now in the Quranic verse, "Say: 'O People of the Book! You
have no ground to stand upon unless you stand fast by the Law, the
Gospel, andall the revelation that has come to you from your Lord."
(Quran 5:68). Christians are advised to support their claims by citing
their books. Thus Muslims believe that no saying of Jesus can be
produced which shows himgrasping at equality with God. The primary
issue is not whether Jesus is God. The first question is whether he
said that he was equal to God.

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June 23, 2012 Child rescue team runs into rock

Even as anxiety mounts, jawans continue with their tireless efforts
torescue four-year-old Mahi, who has been trapped in a borewell at a
village in Gurgaon since Wednesday night.
The ongoing relentlessefforts to pull four-year-old Mahi outof a
70-foot-deep borewell at Kasan village here have beenhampered what
with the rescue teams, digging a rescue tunnel, encountering arock.
The three-day rescue operation, which was expected to have
beencompleted on Friday night, continued till late in the evening on
Saturday, further dimming the hopes of the girl being brought out
alive.
"We were just a metreaway from the girl on Friday evening when we ran
into the rock. It slowed down the pace of work as the team initially
refrained from using drilling machines to avoid a cave-in and tried to
cut the rock manually. Later, the drilling machine was also used
selectively. When senior officers of the 3 Engineers Regiment reviewed
the situation on Saturday afternoon, it was decided to navigate around
the rock," said District Public Relations Officer (Gurgaon) R.S.
Sangwan, adding more equipment was being procured to expedite the
work.
Earlier in the day, the team of Army personnel, which was initially
constituted for digging the tunnel,had to be withdrawn as it was
exhausted. "Continuously engaged in digging for over 36 hours, the
personnel were replaced by a new team on Saturday morning," said Mr.
Sangwan.
He said the operation was going on without a break but it would be
difficult to speculate how long it would take. "It is a rocky terrain.
We are trying our level best topull out the girl at the earliest." A
two-member team of paediatricians from the Medanta Medicity Hospital
was also stationed at the spot on Friday night in anticipation of the
operation being completed anytime soon.
Besides, two ambulances of the Gurgaon Civil Hospital and one from the
Army were present at the spot and adequatearrangements had been made
at a hospital in Manesar.
To a query, Mr. Sangwan said: "The girl has been supplied oxygen since
she fell into the borewell on Wednesday night, but there is no update
on her condition as of now. Cameras lowered into the borewell time and
again have not captured any movement, but then there is no space for
them. Also, it is not possible to supply food and water to the girl
with the borewell being so narrow."

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The Wisdom of the Prophet: the Incident of the Epileptic Woman

There is a hadith narrated by 'Ata bin Abi Rabah:
Ibn 'Abbas once said to me,"Shall I show you a womanof the people of Paradise?"
I said, "Yes."
He said, "This black lady came to the Prophet (peacebe upon him) and
said, 'I get attacks of epilepsy and my body becomes uncovered; please
invoke Allah for me.' The Prophet said (to her), 'If you wish, be
patient and you will have Paradise; and if you wish, I will invoke
Allah to cure you.' She said, 'I will remain patient,' and added, 'but
I become uncovered, so please invoke Allah for me that I may not
become uncovered.' So he invoked Allah for her." - Bukhari :: Book 7
:: Volume 70 :: Hadith 555
This hadith was published recently on MuslimasOasis.com , and I was
fascinated by the many comments from readers who have epilepsy and
have been inspired or comforted by this hadith.
One sister wrote:
"(This hadith) was a comfort to me as an epileptic when I had a
seizure outside of a masjid on the pavement in Philadephia during a
busy Jumaah afternoon. When I came to, my niqab was removed, my hijab
loosened, and my husband and a brother were helpingthe paramedics that
had arrived. Because of this hadith I felt comfort in spite of being
such a spectacle, alhamdulillah."
Another said:
"I too am an epileptic. When I first reverted to Islam over 3 years
ago, oneof the sisters who witnessed my Shahada wrote this hadith out
and gave it to me. It is a HUGE comfort to know this. May Allah ease
the trials of all epileptics and those who suffer from any disease
andgrant us all sabr. Ameen!"
And there were other similar comments, from men and women, ma-sha-Allah.
I don't have epilepsy or any other serious sickeness,Alhamdulillah
(praise God) for all His blessings. But as Iread the comments of
people who do have some illness and have been tremendously comforted
by this hadith, all of a sudden I realized the huge wisdom of the
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in whathe said to the epileptic woman. He
could have simply invoked for her and she would have been cured, and
then all of us 1,400 years later would read the story and say,
"Ma-sha-Allah, another miracle to prove his Prophethood." But it
wouldhave no lasting personal significance.
Instead, by asking the woman to be patient and promising her Jannah
(Paradise), the Prophet (pbuh) has sent a message of hope down through
the ages to all the other sufferers in the world: Allah sees your
suffering. Your pain will be compensated, and your patience rewarded
with the greatest possible prize.
Even today epilepsy cannotbe cured, though it can be controlled
somewhat through medication. So even now, all these years later, in
this age of medical wonders, this hadith still has immediate
significance for people who suffer from this illness, and in fact
frompeople who suffer from any illness, from cancer to leprosy to
bipolar disorder.
Another point of note is that every Prophet was sent with certain
types of miracles appropriate to theunderstanding of their people.
Musa (Moses, peacebe upon him) was sent with the staff of power andthe
white hand, because his mission was to a peoplesteeped in sorcery.
"Medicalmiracles" – curing the sick, even bringing the dead back to
life – were the hallmark of the Prophet Isaibn Maryam (Jesus son of
Mary, pbuh), because he was sent to a people who specialized in
healing arts.

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Jokes

Husband: I had a 5ne dream last night.I dreamed I was touring world in
a fine car. WIfe:Sorry,I heard Engine snorting.
@
X: Do you think a genius ever makes a good husband? Y: You should
better ask my wife.
@
Appu-Oye!wat R U doing? Pappu-Recording babies voice. Appu-y? Pappu-
When he grows up,I shall ask him wat he meant by dis?
@
Most people have 5 senses. Some people have 6 senses. But u r blessed
with 7 senses. An extra sense is NON SENSE.
@
A silent night, a star above, a blessed gift of hope and love. A
blessed Christmas to you!
@
8 Semesters 80 GB sylabus80 MB v study 80 KB v remember 80 Bytes v
ans. BINARY Marks v get, known as BTech (Brain Technically Empty)

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Do Your Thing

Life has been challenging lately. In July I've faced some financial
setbacks, and also some personal setbacks that have hit me hard, and
drained me emotionally to the point where sometimes I just sit in my
padded computer chair and don't feel like getting up. I feel like I
hardly have the energy to get up and prepare some food to eat, let
alone pray, work, go to class, care for my daughter…
And yet I do get up. I go out and teach a 2.5 hour martial arts class
and I do itwith vigor, because my students are looking to me for
guidance and inspiration. I get up and domy volunteer job at the
Muslim community center. I get up and take my daughter to the lake or
themasjid, and have a tea party with her, and read her the latest
chapter of "Fish Face". I laugh with her and love her with everything
I've got, because she needs me. I don't have time for self-pity.
I get up and do my thing, because that's what it is to be a man (or
woman), to be a father (or mother), to be a Muslim, to be a friend, to
be alive! You get up anddo what you have to do. You pick your foot up
and take a step, then lift the other one and take anotherstep, and
before you know it you are moving ahead, and time has passed and your
problems have diminished and don't hurt quite so much, or maybe you
have overcome them entirely, because you are experiencing the joy of
life.Your love for Allah, and your gratitude, and your attentiveness
to the beautyand blessings around you, all wash the pain away likea
river.
That's what it is to be alive.SubhanAllah.
So, to all those reading thisnow, I send you light and love, and I
know that no matter what physical or emotional aches you are
experiencing, you will rise each morning with gratitude, you will take
a step and move ahead, you will love and laugh, you will push
self-pity to the side and live your lives with commitment, in the
short time that we all haveon this beautiful ball of brown and blue.

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In a season of consumerist madness, let’s be grateful, and give

At this time of year the stores are pushing their sales at us.
Advertising is everywhere. There if a frenzy to buy, buy, buy. Let's
realize that this is not a spiritual way of life. It's not an
appropriate lifestylefor someone who is dedicated to God. The
consumerist madness is a deception. There's no joy orpeace attached to
it. It's a shallow illusion.
Look at what society has done to itself in the name of consumerism. A
day of thanks (Thanksgiving) has become the prelude to "Black Friday",
the biggest shopping day of the year. Itused to be that Black Friday
did not begin until Friday morning, out of respect for Thanksgiving.
Then the starting gun was moved to midnight, and now it has crept into
Thursday evening. Nothing is sacred.
The Prophet 'Isa ibn Maryam (Jesus the son of Mary), peace be upon
him, has been turned into a marketing strategy. His purported birthday
has become a month of shopping insanity, presidedover by a mythical
sub-deity named Santa. People go into debt, they fight over sale
goods… no mention is made of faith.
We Muslims fall prey to thesame consumerist lifestyle. Sometimes the
holy monthof Ramadan becomes a month of shopping, sleeping and binge
eating, astaghfirullah.
Let us – Christians, Muslims,Jews and all people of God – not follow
this path. Let'shew to a way of sacrifice, zakat (purification),
sadaqah (charity), zuhd (giving up material luxury).We don't have to
be monks, but we must focus on the things that matter: faith and
family.
There are movements that advocate a simple living, back-to-nature,
low-impactlifestyle. In Islam this is called zuhd , which could be
translated as detachment or asceticism. Zuhd is a choice that a person
makes to give up the hunger for material possessions and transgressive
carnal experiences, and live a simple lifestyle dedicated to God.
That's what we need.
The faith in our hearts is more important than the brand name of the
clothes we wear. Where our feet carry us – to someplace good or bad –
is more important than the cost of our shoes. The sincerity in our
hearts is more important than any gift. May Allah help us to see what
is important in life.

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