ِ ی م الرَّحم
ن
ِ
سب اہللِ الرَّْحم ٰ
ْ م ِ
The Light
International Organ of the Centre for the Worldwide
Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat Islam
2018
April
2016
February
Germany
Guyana
India
Sweden
Suriname
The only Islamic organisation upholding the finality of prophethood.
Webcasting on the world’s first real-time Islamic service at
Editors
- Amir Aziz
- Abd ul Muqtadir Gordon
- Gowsia Saleem & - Prof. Shahab
Shabbir
- Kaleem Ahmed
- Robbert Bipat M.D, Phd
South Africa-Ebrahim Mohamed
UK
USA
- Shahid Aziz & - Mustaq Ali
- Zainib Ahmad
Contents
The Call of the Messiah 2
Are_Religion_and_Science contradictory
by Dr Robbert Bipat M.D., Ph.D. 3
Remarriage_after_divorce_in_Christianity
and Islam by Dr Zahid Aziz Ph.D. 5
Salaat_A_Personal_Experience 8
Prophet_Empowers_Women
By Hameed Naseem 9
How_Alcohol_Damages_Stem_Cells
By Prof Ketan Patel 11
Is_Dry_January_Worth_It
From Newsweek 12
Broadcasts (UK time)
1. Skype Urdu lecture: Sunday 09:00
2. Live on www.virtualmosque.co.uk
‣ Friday Sermon 13:00
‣ First Sunday of month lecture 15:00.
3. Radio Virtual Mosque
www.virtualmosque.co.uk
2. Research and History
3. The Woking Mosque and Mission
4. The Berlin Mosque and Mission
5. Quran search
6. Blog
Our Recent Broadcasts
‣ Why we are not Sunnis!
‣ Mental Health and the Muslim
Community.
Interesting external links
‣ Muslims did not ask Hitler to kill the
Jews.
‣ If you are afraid of Islam be fearful of Christianity
as well!!!
‣ The Walking Fish.
External Links
The Light is not responsible for the content
of external sites. The inclusion of a link to an external
website should not be understood to be
an endorsement of that website, the views it expresses
or the site's owners (or their products/services).
Some links may have research, which disagrees
with our beliefs. It is for us to consider
such material and provide a rebuttal. Ignoring it
will not make it go away.
Our Websites
1. International HQ
We welcome all scholarly contributions to
The Light.
I Shall Love All Mankind.
February 2018 The
Light 2
The Call of the
Messiah
by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad
The Promised Messiah and Mahdi
(Translator’s note: Although given in quotation
marks, the Quranic references are explanations
rather than literal translation of the verse
quoted.)
Divine help in spiritual advancement
As the high stages of man’s advancement
described in the verses quoted above 1 , cannot
be attained by a man’s own efforts, the Holy
Quran repeatedly invites us to pray to God and
to extend ourselves to our utmost in His path.
Thus, it says: “Pray to Me and I will accept your
prayer,” and again: “And if my servants question
you about the proof of My existence or about
how they should know that God exists, say to
them that I am very near. I answer him who calls
upon Me, and I hear his voice when he invokes
Me and I speak to him. They should, therefore,
make themselves fit to receive My word and
have perfect faith in Me so that they may find My
way.” (2:186) And on another occasion, the
Word of God says: “Those who try hard and exert
themselves to their utmost to find Us, We
surely guide them into our paths.” (29:69) And
again: “Besides prayers and exertions in the
way of God, you should also live in the company
of the truthful and righteous ones, for this is
also necessary in order that you may see God.”
These are the Commandments by following
which a man realizes the true nature of Islam,
for as I have already said the true significance of
Islam is to lay oneself before God like the sheep
that is to be slaughtered; to lose all one’s desires,
passions and intentions and to be completely
lost in the Will and the Pleasure of God,
to subject oneself to death. To love Him so entirely
as to obey all His commandments out of
love and not any other motive. To develop eyes
which see God, ears which hear God, a heart
which is wholly inclined to Him and a tongue
which does not move to utter a word until
moved by Him.
This is the stage at which all the labours of
the spiritual wayfarer end, and all the passions
and desires of man undergo a death. Then does
the mercy of God with His living word and brilliant
lights grant him a new life.
Then he is honoured with the sweet Word
of God, and that most subtle Light - which reason
cannot discover, nor see, itself comes near
to the heart of man, as He says: “We are nearer
to him than his life vein.” With such nearness
does Almighty God honour a mortal man. Then
comes the time that every blindness and darkness
is removed. And, a man sees his God and
hears His voice, and finds himself completely
enwrapped in His mantle of light. Then is the
nature of religion reached, and seeing his God a
man throws off the dirty clothing of worldly life
and wears the magnificent robes of Divine light.
The promises of paradise and of seeing God are
not then simply prospective promises to him,
but he actually tastes of the delights of paradise
in this very life and sees God and speaks to Him,
and thus realizes even here all those promises.
The Almighty God says: “Those who say that our
Lord is the God Who possesses all the perfect
attributes and who has no partner in, His person
and attributes and remain faithful to their
word, their faith not being shaken by any trial
or adversity, however hard it may be - the angels
of God descend upon them and Almighty God
Himself speaks to them and says to them ‘Do not
fear the enemies that stand against you and the
trials that befall you, nor be grieved for the bitter
adversities which befall you in the past, for I
true significance of Islam is
to lay oneself before God
like the sheep that is to be
slaughtered; to lose all
one’s desires, passions and
intentions and to be completely
lost in the Will and
the Pleasure of God, to subject
oneself to death
1 Please see last month’s issue
I Shall Love All Mankind.
February 2018 The
Light 3
am with you, and be joyful that I grant you in
this very world the paradise which was promised
to you.’ ” (41:30)
It should be borne in mind that these
are facts supported by the strongest testimony.
Within the sphere of Islam there
have been thousands of the righteous
people who have actually tasted the
fruits of the spiritual paradise in this life.
In fact, Islam is the blessed religion whose true
followers have been made by Almighty God the
inheritors of all the righteous servants of God
who have passed before them and the heavenly
blessings that were granted to the Muslims had
all been granted to them variously. He has accepted
the prayer which He Himself taught in
the Holy Quran in the following words: “O Lord!
show us the right path, the path of the righteous
whom You have favoured and honoured in
every way and who have received from You all
sorts of blessings, (who have received the honour
of being spoken to by You, of having their
prayers accepted by You and of having been
granted victory, assistance and guidance by
You); and keep us away from the path of those
upon whom Your wrath has descended and of
those who have forsaken Your path and taken to
the wrong path.”
This is the prayer which is addressed to Almighty
God by every Muslim five times daily in
his prayers. It shows clearly that a person who
passes his days in blindness from God; lives and
dies in hell, and that he only really obeys God
and attains true salvation who recognises God
and has a perfect faith in His existence, for only
such a one is granted power to forsake sin and
to love God with his whole heart. The religion,
therefore, in which there is no yearning for a
certain Divine revelation, which is one of the
highest Divine blessings, is not from God, nor is
that prophet true who has not taught people to
seek the path of certain Divine revelation and
perfect Divine knowledge. For, the highest aim
of man’s life, and the only way in which he can
be released, from the bondage of sin, is that he
should attain a certain knowledge regarding the
existence of God and His reprisal. But certainty
regarding the Divine Being who is the most hidden
of all things, is impossible unless from Him
I Shall Love All Mankind.
is heard the voice ‘I AM,’ and unless a man witnesses
the clear and manifest signs of His existence.
Such certainty can never be obtained from
the source of
the existence of a thing
and its actual existence
are . . . quite different
reason, for
the deductions
of reason
lead us no
further than
that there
should be a God, for this is the only conclusion
with regard to the existence of a Creator that a
man can arrive at by deep reflection over the
consummate order and perfect skill displayed
in the universe. But it can be easily seen that
such a conclusion is only an inference suggested
by certain facts, while the statement that God
actually exists requires a sound and conclusive
proof about which there should not be the
slightest doubt. The necessity of the existence of
a thing and its actual existence are two quite different
things. In short, in the midst of the great
religious excitement of the present day, the
seeker after truth should not forget the great
truth that only that religion is from God which
can show God with perfect certainty.
(Return to contents)
Are Religion and Science on
contradictory positions?
by Dr Robbert Bipat, M.D, Ph.D
In the previous edition of The Light an article
by Peter Harrison ‘Why religion is not going
away and science will not destroy it’ originally
published at https://aeon.co and republished
under Creative Commons makes some remarkable
suggestions. First there seems to be a contradiction
between religion and science. Secondly,
secularism is mostly associated with science.
It is particularly the scientific school that
advances this interpretation. But most importantly,
it is suggested that religion and science
are two extremes of a spectrum. Never has
there been any hint towards science and religion
supporting each other, or more specifically,
science supporting religion.
The aim of this article is to show that religion
is not only in accordance with the narrative
February 2018 The
Light 4
of evolution as stated by modern schools of evolution,
but also goes beyond the point of time of
the of living creatures on earth. This will be
done with the support of verses in the Holy
Quran that emphasize both the development of
plants and animals as well as the terrestrial development
in order to allow the existence of
these biological entities.
Let us first start with the Divine term of
Rabb in the opening Chapter of the Holy Quran,
which has been simply translated to “Lord”.
Rabb has a deeper meaning than just Lord. Maulana
Muhammad Ali perfectly states the following
as footnote in his English translation of the
Holy Quran: ‘The Arabic word Rabb conveys not
only the idea of fostering, bringing-up, or nourishing
but also that of regulating, completing and
accomplishing, i.e., of the evolution of things from
the crudest state to that of the highest perfection.
Rabb signifies the fostering of a thing in such a
manner as to make it attain one condition after
another until it reaches its goal of completion.
Hence Rabb is the Author of all existence, Who
has not only given to the whole creation its
means of nourishment but has also beforehand
ordained for each a sphere of capacity and within
that sphere provided the means by which it continues
to attain gradually to its goal of perfection.
By the use of the word Rabb the Holy Quran
thus hints at the law of evolution which is working
in the universe. There is no single word in
English carrying the significance of the word
Rabb — Nourisher unto perfection would be
nearest; but the word Lord has generally been
adopted for the sake of brevity. Rabb or Nourisher
to perfection, however, includes both the
physical and spiritual sides so far as man is concerned,
His Word being the spiritual nourishment
through which man is brought to perfection.’
Long before the existence/creation of animals,
the earth had to be formed. Scientific theories
only support the Quranic view of creation
of the heavens and the earth. Chapter 21:30
states ‘Do not those who disbelieve see that the
heavens and the earth were closed up, so We rent
them.’ Moreover, the subsequent formation of
the earth in time was in layers (sedimentation)
which is clearly described in Verse 35:27 …. And
in the mountains are streaks, white and red, of
I Shall Love All Mankind.
various hues and (others) intensely black. These
colours give the markings of the different layers
and the black colour may refer to the presence
of crude oil in one of these layers.
For the planet to be habitable there must be
an atmosphere of gasses and vapours. This can
only exist when the planet has a magnetic field
that keeps these gasses from escaping the immediate
surface of earth. We now know that the
magnetic field of the earth is created and sustained
by the movement of mass amounts of liquid
iron in the innermost layers of the earth. Recently
scientists concluded that this iron was
not formed on earth, but rather came from colliding
distant stars. Again this supports the
Verse 57:25— ‘And We sent down iron, wherein
is great violence and advantages to men …’ Liquid
iron is immensely hot and consequently violent
to us. The mentioning of advantage is logical.
Subsequently, the existence of life on earth
is close to impossible without water. The importance
of water for life is stated in many
verses like:
2:164 … and the water that Allah sends down
from the sky, then gives life therewith to the earth
after its death and spreads in it all (kinds of) animals….
6:99 And He it is Who sends down water from
the clouds, then We bring forth with it buds of all
(plants), then We bring forth from it green (foliage),
from which We produce clustered grain;
and of the date-palm, of the sheaths of it, come
forth clusters (of dates) within reach; and gardens
of grapes and the olive and the pomegranate,
alike and unlike. Look at the fruit of it when
it bears fruit and the ripening of it. Surely there
are signs in this for a people who believe!
21:30 And We made from water everything
‘Rabb’ signifies the fostering of a
thing in such a manner as to
make it attain one condition after
another until it reaches its
goal of completion.
February 2018 The
Light 5
living.
After the earth was abundantly supplied
with water, scientific evidence suggests that life
started in the oceans. Subsequently fish came
Yes, blessed be Allah, the best of Creators.
As Muslims we must defend this position that
science and religion are not the opposite of each
other. Can one name one single book that includes
all the above scientific statements? No,
divorce is a breach of God’s will for marriage – Church of England website
on land and these evolved to animals walking
the lands. Verse 24:45 states: And Allah has created
every animal of water. So of them is that
which crawls upon its belly, and of them is that
which walks upon two feet, and of them is that
which walks upon four. Allah creates what He
pleases. Surely Allah is Possessor of power over
all things. The order in which these animals are
mentioned is exact that in which the evolution
according to recent scientific findings took
place. First there were amphibians which
crawled on their bellies. The animals moving on
two legs are undoubtedly the dinosaurs, whose
existence cannot be denied. We can safely state
this because the Arabic word used to describe
this part of the verse stands for huge impressive
animals. Eventually the animals moving on four
legs are the mammals which thrived after the
extinction of dinosaurs. Humans are not mentioned
in this context.
Regarding human beings, verses 30:30 ‘So
set thy face for religion, being upright, the nature
made by Allah in which He has created men’ and
32:7 ‘Who made beautiful everything that He
created, and He began the creation of man from
dust’ clearly state that the creation of men was
a separate one. But notwithstanding that, verse
39:6 ‘He created you from a single being, then
made its mate of the same (kind). And He sent
down for you eight of the cattle in pairs. He creates
you in the wombs of your mothers — creation
after creation — in triple darkness’ shows
that evolution also continues in the human race.
This is accentuated by the detailed description
of embryological development in the womb in
verse 23:14 ‘Then We make the life-germ a clot,
then We make the clot a lump of flesh, then We
make (in) the lump of flesh bones, then We clothe
the bones with flesh, then We cause it to grow
into another creation. So blessed be Allah, the
Best of creators!’
I Shall Love All Mankind.
let us state it more explicitly. It is not the Religion
of Islam that supports the scientific findings,
but rather the other way around. All these
verses were revealed long before the scientific
knowledge on these subjects started developing.
Where did we Muslims lose track of these
divine revelations? It is no use to cry over
spilled milk. Let us concentrate on how we can
get back on track to use science to support the
miraculously preserved divine texts in the Holy
Quran. Do we honour Muslims for their scientific
achievements? On the contrary, most of the
time they are considered heretics!
(Return_to content)
Remarriage after divorce in
Christianity and Islam
by Dr Zahid Aziz
The question of remarriage of a divorcee in
church has come under public discussion after
the announcement that Prince Harry of England
is to marry a divorced woman, Meghan Markle.
For example, the UK newspaper Metro carried
an article on 28 November 2017 entitled ‘Will
Prince Harry and divorcee Meghan Markle be allowed
to get married in a church?’ The Daily Express
carried an article on 27 November, ‘Prince
Harry CAN marry divorcee Meghan Markle at
Westminster Abbey’, which began as follows:
“Question marks have been raised over whether
Meghan and Prince Harry would legally be allowed
to have their wedding within the Church
of England as tradition dictates.” It goes on to
quote a church spokesman for Westminster Abbey
who said that since 2002 “it has been possible
for divorced people to be married in the
Church of England”.
As the article in Metro noted, as recently as
2005, Prince Charles and Camilla were refused
February 2018 The
Light 6
permission by the then Archbishop of Canterbury
to have a Christian wedding. They married
in a civil ceremony, followed by a blessing in
church. The article also noted the historic event
in 1936, when the King of England, Edward the
eighth, was forced by the British government
and the Church of England to give up his throne
as he insisted on marrying the divorced Mrs
Wallis Simpson.
So, what is the reason for the Christian
objection to the marriage of a divorced person
taking place in a church? According to the Religions
section of the BBC website, on the page
headed ‘Divorce in Christianity’, the Church of
England says that: “divorce is a breach of God’s
will for marriage” (see www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/ritesrituals/divorce_1.shtml)
The same page tells us that since 2002 the
Church of England has accepted that “in exceptional
circumstances, a divorced person may
marry again in a church”. When a member of the
clergy is approached by a couple to conduct
their marriage, he has the power and discretion
from the Church authorities to agree or to refuse
to perform the marriage if one of the couple
is a divorced person.
From the same page we also learn that the
Catholic Church, which is more strict, considers
that:
been brought about by the will of God, and
therefore for the couple to divorce is to violate
the will of God. (This concept allows as exceptions
such cases where the marriage was invalid
in the first place; for example, where deceit was
practised by one party to marry the other.)
With this topic of remarriage of a divorced
person being in the news, it would be an ideal
opportunity for Muslims to put forward the
teachings of Islam on this issue and show that
these are much more rational, progressive and
compassionate.
In Islam there is no stigma whatsoever attached
to a divorced person, man or woman. Remarriage
of a divorced Muslim, man or woman,
with a new spouse, is no different from a first
marriage. The Quran addresses husbands as follows
about their wives:
“…retain them with kindness or let them go
with kindness…” (2:231)
“…retain them with kindness or part from
them with kindness…” (65:2)
In other words, if the husband cannot tolerate
to live with his wife showing her kindness,
he should end the marriage with kindness.
There is no guilt attached to either side.
Regarding wives, the Quran says:
“Marriage is both a legal bond on earth and
spiritual bond which
God has witnessed.
The latter cannot be
broken using temporal
laws.”
On the page headed ‘Christian Weddings’ of
the same BBC website, the Catholic view is
given as follows:
“Because a marriage is a divine institution it
can never be broken, even if the partners are legally
divorced: as long as they are both alive, the
Church considers them bound together by God.”
(see
www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/ritesrituals/weddings_1.shtml)
The concept behind these Christian church
teachings is that the marriage of a couple has
The Holy Quran gives the wife
a right to claim divorce
I Shall Love All Mankind.
“Then if you fear that they (the married couple)
cannot keep
within the limits
of Allah, there is
no blame on them
for what she gives
up to become free thereby.” (2:229)
Maulana Muhammad Ali here writes that
not being able to keep within the limits of Allah
means “their inability to perform towards each
other their marital obligations and to maintain
good fellowship”. The reference in “what she
gives up to become free thereby” is to her right
to obtain divorce by returning the nuptial gift,
known as mahr, back to the husband. Maulana
Muhammad Ali comments as follows:
“These words give the wife a right to claim
February 2018 The
Light 7
Islam neither condemns a woman
for a divorce nor lowers her status.
The Holy Prophet Muhammad (s)
married a divorcee!
a divorce. It is one of the distinguishing characteristics
of Islam that it gives the wife the right
to claim a divorce, if she is willing to forgo the
whole or part of her dowry.”
The Maulana here cites a case which was
brought to the Holy Prophet Muhammad by a
wife “who was dissatisfied with the marriage”.
The Holy Prophet allowed her to divorce her
husband if she returned to him an orchard he
had given her on marriage. He adds:
“If, then, a woman could claim a divorce for
no reason other than the unsuitableness of the
match, she had certainly the right to claim one
if there was ill-treatment on the part of the husband
or any other satisfactory reason, and
among the early Muslims it was an established
right.”
Besides these general teachings of Islam,
there is the incident of the marriage of the Holy
Prophet himself to his divorced cousin Zainab.
We may note here that his wives are known as
“mothers of the believers”, and thus one of the
“mothers of the believers” was a divorced
woman. How then could a stigma be attached to
a woman for the reason that she was divorced?
This incident is mentioned in the Quran itself
(33:37), leaving no doubt whatsoever for a Muslim
that the story is true and that Allah teaches
us some lessons from it.
Maulana Muhammad Ali has explained in
his notes the facts about this incident, which are
accepted by general Muslim opinion. Zainab
was the daughter of an aunt of the Holy Prophet
(on his father’s side) and Zaid was formerly a
slave whom the Holy Prophet liberated, and
who was like a son to him. The marriage between
Zaid and Zainab took place at the great
insistence of the Holy Prophet who wanted to
remove distinctions of social class among Muslims.
However, it turned out not to be a happy
union, differences arose and Zaid expressed his
desire to the Holy Prophet of divorcing her. The
I Shall Love All Mankind.
Holy Prophet advised Zaid not to divorce
Zainab, as clearly stated at the start of 33:37, addressing
the Holy Prophet:
“And when you said to him (Zaid) to whom
Allah had shown favour and to whom you had
shown a favour: Keep your wife to yourself and
keep your duty to Allah…”
However, Zaid did not heed this advice. The
verse later says:
“So when Zaid dissolved her marriage-tie,
We gave her to you as a wife…”
To quote from Maulana Muhammad Ali’s
footnote:
“After Zainab was divorced the Holy
Prophet took her in marriage, that being the
wish of the lady and her relatives before her
marriage to Zaid, and the Prophet was, now that
the marriage arranged by him proved unsuccessful,
morally bound to accept their wishes.”
If ever a marriage could be described as
what Christians call “God’s will for marriage”
(see the first statement from the BBC website
quoted earlier), it was the marriage between
Zaid and Zainab. It was brought about by the
firm insistence of the man sent by God, to whom
God was revealing His will all the time. Yet neither
the Quran nor the Holy Prophet himself attached
any blame or stigma to the couple for
contravening the will of God. The Holy
Prophet’s advice, “Keep your wife to yourself”,
was not acted upon by Zaid, yet there is no condemnation
of his action, nor does Zainab occupy
a lower position among the wives of the
Holy Prophet for being divorced.
As I wrote above, the recent discussion in
the news about remarriage of divorced persons
should have provided Muslims with an excellent
opportunity to show the progressive and the
human nature of the teachings of Islam. Unfortunately,
Muslims have deprived themselves of
that opportunity by coining the notion that, in
Islam also, the marriage of every couple is decided
and pre-ordained by Allah, and is not the
fallible decision of any human being. It is said
that when parents and relatives of the man and
February 2018 The
Light 8
the woman pray to Allah in regard to their proposed
marriage, Allah guides their hearts to the
right answer, as to whether to go ahead with the
marriage or not. Under this notion it is impossible
to understand why Allah, in the case of His
holiest and greatest of prophets, never directed
him by revelation to abstain from insisting that
Zainab marry Zaid, which led to their marriage.
In Muslim societies, stigma has been attached
to divorce so much so that those who
have been divorced have difficulty in remarrying.
It is considered to be a subject which cannot
be discussed. On the other hand, the divorce of
Zaid and Zainab has been proclaimed publicly
in the Quran, and since the beginning of Islam
commentators of the Quran have been putting
forward their various views on why this divorce
took place. It is reported in Bukhari:
“Zaid ibn Harithah came to the Prophet
complaining about his wife. The Prophet used
to say: ‘Keep your duty to Allah and keep your
wife to yourself’. Aishah said: ‘If the Messenger
of Allah were to conceal anything, he would
have concealed this’.” (hadith 7420)
The Holy Prophet would have wished to
keep this matter private, but Allah made it public
by revealing it in the Quran. Yet we think that
any such incident must be kept concealed. Unless
such matters are discussed, and lessons are
learnt from them, we will never find ways of
avoiding the same mistakes in future and preventing
similar occurrences happening again.
The incident of Zaid and Zainab conveys and
reinforces the Islamic teaching
that marriage is a human
decision. There is always a
possibility that such a decision
can be wrong, even if the decision
is made with the best of
intentions, with complete sincerity,
and all available investigation
and knowledge, and is
accompanied by prayers seeking
guidance from Allah.
Muslim societies, by ignoring and contravening
the teachings of Islam, while convincing
themselves that they are right, are unable to
I Shall Love All Mankind.
bring about reform of their own social ills. So
they are far, very far, from showing the rest of
the world that the religion of Islam, in matters
of marriage and divorce, is eminently sensible,
practical, just, kind and caring.
(Return_to content)
Salaat - A Personal
Experience
Anonymous
It has been several years now since I started
performing the daily prayers. As with many of
us, my prayers started mainly as a physical exercise.
At that time, I could not even imagine
what benefits and satisfaction my prayers
would give me.
As the years went by, I discovered that when
performing salaat in a peaceful and relaxed
manner, I could sometimes hear (or better said,
feel) God’s voice within me. In many cases, if I
had a problem, or needed some direction in life,
it was this voice in the form of inspiration or intuition,
which I would experience during salaat
or meditation, and which many times, showed
me the path to follow. I assume this is what Allah
means in 42:51 of the Holy Quran: “It is not
vouchsafed to a mortal that Allah should speak
to him, except by revelation or from behind a
veil…” And in 50:16, we read: “We are (God is)
nearer to man than his life-vein.”
As the years went by, I discovered
that when performing
salaat in a peaceful and
relaxed manner, I could
sometimes hear (or better
said, feel) God’s voice
within me.
Regarding this kind of guidance, many of us
hold the opinion that we have a free will and we
can choose whatever
we like in life.
Indeed, we have a
free will, as Allah
tells us in 2:256,
18:29, and many
other verses of the
Holy Quran. However,
having a free
will does not mean
that Allah has not destined a certain path for
each of us! After all, we read in the Quran, 5:48:
“For every one of you We appointed a law and a
way.” So, every one of us has been sent to Earth
with a certain mission, and it is up to us if we
February 2018 The
Light 9
choose to discover and follow that mission. If
we choose to perform our prayers regularly, in
a tranquil way, and spend some time in meditation
every day, we will definitely experience
that voice inside us which will show us which
path to follow. Remember, that our Prophet Muhammad
did not receive his first revelation
while busy trading or travelling, but when he
was in a cave, in prayer and meditation! These
are the examples we should follow if we want to
find the Almighty: prayer and meditation.
Furthermore, experience has showed me
that almost anything which happens to us is of
some relevance to our lives. Even many events
which we may experience as setbacks have the
object of guiding us on a certain path. Sometimes
setbacks may prevent us from doing certain
things, or they may lead, or even force us,
along a particular way, and only afterwards
would we realise the reason for those events,
which we first experienced and viewed as trials.
However, if we choose to live in Allah’s way, we
can be sure that everything which happens to us
is only for our good and wellbeing, and is meant
to guide us towards the goal for which Allah has
put us on earth. Therefore, when performing
du‘a (supplication) to Allah and asking for His
favours, we should avoid making demands and
telling Him what to do. In addition to expressing
our wishes to Allah, we should also ask Him to
teach us the right lessons from, and how to deal
in the right way with, everything which He puts
in our path, whether we experience those
events as positive or negative.
Allah’s communication to us through our inner
voice, in the form of inspiration, visions,
dreams, etc. is meant for “those who believe and
keep their duty” (Quran, 10:63). Therefore, by
by performing prayers regularly
and making time for meditation
every day, all of us have
the opportunity to experience
that guiding voice within us,
enabling us to discover our
real goals in life
I Shall Love All Mankind.
performing prayers regularly and making time
for meditation every day, all of us have the opportunity
to experience that guiding voice
within us, enabling us to discover our real goals
in life. And along the way, many Quranic verses,
which may be only words for us now, may become
a reality in our lives! (Return_to content)
Prophet Empowers Women
Quran shows Islam treats women
equally
By HAMEED NASEEM
Special to NWA Democrat-Gazette
It is widely believed in the West that Islam
stands in opposition to women's rights. However,
even a cursory study of the Holy Quran
leaves a strong impression that Islam treats
women just the same as men, with love and respect,
grants them equal rights and places a
very high expectation on both in terms of moral
and spiritual growth. The Quran promises equal
reward for both.
About the creation of humans, we read in
the Quran: “He it is who has created you [humans]
from a single soul and made therefrom
its mate [as well]” Chapter 7, verse 189. Also, Allah
says: “Of his signs [miracles] it is that he has
created mates for you of your own kind that you
may find peace of mind through them, and he
has put love and tenderness between you. In
that there are signs [of great wisdom] for a people
who reflect”, Chapter 30, verse 21. Thus,
male and female are equal in their creation, and
in their desires and ambitions.
The story of the fall of man from divine
grace is mentioned in chapter 20, verses 120-
121, of the Holy Quran: “But Satan whispered
evil suggestions to him [Adam]; he [Satan] said,
‘O Adam, shall I lead thee to the tree of eternity
and to a kingdom that never decays?’ Then they
both [Adam and his mate] ate thereof, so that
their shame became manifest to them, and they
began to stick the leaves of the garden together
over themselves. And Adam observed not the
commandment of his Lord, so his life became
miserable. Then his Lord chose him for his
grace, and turned to him with mercy and guided
February 2018 The
Light 10
him.” It is apparent that Adam is placed
squarely in the cross hairs for the “original sin”
and not his mate, Eve. Allah absolves her completely.
Of course, Adam was pardoned through
grace and mercy.
Men and women are equally treated in Islam
in terms of their obligations and responsibilities
and their earning equal rewards for
equal work. The Quran declares: “Surely, Muslim
men and Muslim women, and believing men
and believing women, and obedient men and
obedient women, and truthful
men and truthful women, and
steadfast men and steadfast
women, and humble men and
humble women, and men who
give alms and women who
give alms, and men who fast
and women who fast, and men
who guard their chastity and
women who guard their chastity,
and men who remember Allah much and
women who remember him much — Allah has
prepared for all of them forgiveness and a great
reward” — Chapter 33, verse 36. It is exactly the
same reward for both, men and women,
whether they are Muslims or not, for the same
act of humility, charity or chastity.
Islam protects the honour and dignity of
both men and women equally. The Holy Quran
declares: “And those who malign believing men
and believing women for that which they have
not done, shall bear the guilt of a calumny and a
manifest sin” — Chapter 33, verse 59. Furthermore,
in chapter 85, verse 11, the Quran warns
of a dreadful punishment for those who persecute
either the believing men or the believing
women. It might be noted that the Arabic word
Mo'min — used in the Quran to identify a believer
— literally means the one who offers
peace and security to others. So, in a wider application
of these verses, God protects the
honor and comfort of those men and women
who are the peacemakers.
I will now mention some of the rights that
Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) declared
unequivocally to belong to women 1,400
I Shall Love All Mankind.
years ago that were not available to them in the
West until recently. In a marriage, man was
made responsible for all due expenses of the
wife and the children, including food, clothing
and shelter. The wife was given the right to own
property and invest her wealth in her own business.
She is not bound to spend her money on
the family at all. Khadija, the first wife of the
Prophet, was a very successful businesswoman.
The prophet worked for her for years before
and after their marriage.
A Muslim
woman inherits the
property of her deceased
husband or
parents according
to a prescribed formula
given in the
Quran. Early Muslims
were so keen to
follow this injunction
that they invented algebra to make it work
for all.
In Islam, marriage itself is presented as a
contract between a man and a woman, and both
are granted the right to divorce. Imagine the
time when the Prophet gave these teachings 14
centuries ago. In Arabia and in the rest of the
world, women had no rights and were treated
with contempt. A young bride once came to the
Prophet and said she wanted to divorce her husband.
He asked her if he abused her or was not
a good man. She said that he was very generous
and righteous, but she did not feel attracted to
him. The Prophet assented readily. Of course, divorce
is not considered a preferred option, but
a last resort. A divorced woman or a widow may
remarry without any stigma as this is her Godgiven
right.
We often hear, "Knowledge is power." The
Prophet empowered women by making education
mandatory for every Muslim man and
woman. The first revelation given to the
Prophet emphasized the importance of reading
and writing as a means of gaining knowledge
and honour for humanity. Prophet Muhammad
advised his followers they could learn half of the
February 2018 The
Light 11
knowledge about Islam from his able and scholarly
wife, Ayesha. And, in fact, a large portion of
the Islamic knowledge has come down to us
through her interpretations and discourses.
(Return_to content)
How Alcohol Damages Stem
Cells and Increases Cancer
Risk – New Research
Professor Ketan Patel
University of Cambridge
(Disclosure Statement: KJ Patel receives funding
from the MRC , CRUK, Wellcome Trust.
From: https://theconversation.com)
After cigarettes, alcohol is perhaps the most
common carcinogen that humans voluntarily
expose themselves to. How this simple substance
promotes cancer, though, has not been
clear. But our latest study, using genetically
modified mice, sheds some light on the possible
mechanism.
Our previous research revealed the principle
mechanism that protects us from alcohol-induced
DNA damage. The first level of this protection
consists of an enzyme that converts acetaldehyde
– a toxic by-product created in the
body when alcohol is metabolised – into a
harmless substance.
The second level of protection consists of a
repair system that fixes the damage that acetaldehyde
causes to DNA. Now we have extended
this work to show how alcohol, and subsequently
its toxic by-product, damages the DNA
of the cells that supply blood – the blood stem
cell.
Inherited gene defects that impair this protection
mechanism are common in humans.
About 500m people in Southeast Asia don’t
have the biological system for dealing with acetaldehyde
(the first level of protection). People
from this region often get a flushed complexion
after drinking alcohol, and they often feel unwell.
They are also at increased risk of oesophageal
cancer.
I Shall Love All Mankind.
Fourfold increase in damage
We show that mice that have been genetically
modified to emulate this loss of protection
accumulate four times more DNA damage in
their blood cells after exposure to a single dose
of alcohol, so they are highly reliant on the DNA
repair system to ensure that these cells don’t accumulate
irreversible DNA damage.
Although it is quite rare, some people lack
the DNA repair system (level two protection)
that undoes the damage. They suffer from a devastating
illness called Fanconi’s anaemia that
leads to premature death due to loss of blood
production, blood cancer and other types of
cancer.
Using mice that lack both protection mechanisms,
we show conclusively that alcohol exposure
causes damage to the chromosomes in
the blood cells resulting in rearrangements of
their chromosomes – the structures in the nucleus
of the cells where DNA is packaged. Using
state-of-the-art DNA sequencing technology, we
deciphered the genomes of the rare stem cells
that supply the blood in these mice and show
how they are altered by this damage.
Damage to the genome of stem cells may
cause them to dysfunction. However, because
these vital cells give rise to a large number of
specialised blood cells, the altered genome of
single stem cells can be transmitted to many
daughter cells. Altered genomes ultimately lead
to altered genes, which, in some instances,
cause cells to become cancerous.
Our body’s protection mechanism against
alcohol can be overwhelmed.
No certainty, but valuable new insights
We have primarily studied the blood cells in
our mice, but we can’t say for certain that alcohol
causes blood cancers. However, it is wellknown
that alcohol does affect the production
of blood. Our results explain, to some extent,
why this happens.
The main advantage of studying blood is
that it is easy experimentally to examine. This is
particularly the case for the blood stem cells,
which can be quantified and functionally assessed
by a technique known as bone marrow
February 2018 The
Light 12
transplantation. This involves transplanting
stem cells that one may wish to assess into a
mouse that no longer has such cells. Over time
the transplanted stem cells start producing new
blood and the efficacy of doing so relates to the
fitness of the transplanted stem cell. So the analysis
of blood stem cells provides a window into
how alcohol may damage other stem cells in the
body, such as those that make the gut and the
liver.
Our new research explains how alcohol
damages DNA in our vital stem cells. Although
we show that this damage is limited by a robust
protection mechanism, inherited dysfunction of
this mechanism is common in humans. Nevertheless,
it is also important to stress that, like all
protective mechanisms they are not perfect and
can be overwhelmed. Most life on Earth, from
bacteria to mammals, also possess this protective
mechanism, but, unlike humans, they have
not yet developed the capacity to manufacture
alcohol on an industrial scale for consumption.
(Return_to content)
IS DRY JANUARY WORTH IT?
DON'T DRINK ALCOHOL TO SLEEP BETTER
AND DECREASE CANCER RISK
BY MELISSA MATTHEWS
After a very gluttonous end of the year,
many attempt to begin the next on a healthier
note by giving up all of their favorite indulgences,
like alcohol. Dry January, as it’s known,
began in the United Kingdom and has become
popular in the U.S., too, as millions attempt to
skip that wine with dinner or after-work drinks.
But is a 30-day break long enough to see
true health benefits? Yes, reports suggest, although
some of the benefits, like weight loss,
may be short-lived. Many abstainers do drop a
few pounds after giving up alcohol, Health reports,
citing a study from last year that revealed
binge drinkers were 41 percent likelier to be
overweight. Data collected over five years
showed just one binge drinking session a month
made a difference in weight. Skipping the
drinks means avoiding that extra weight.
You may not identify as a binge drinker, but
chances are you have been at some point. The
Centers for Disease Control & Prevention estimates
that one in six American adults binge
drink roughly four times per month. For
women, at least four drinks consumed in one instance
is considered a binge and for men it’s up
to five alcoholic beverages. The CDC reports
that most people have eight alcoholic beverages
during a binge.
Given that alcoholic drinks are empty calories—there’s
no health value—it’s no surprise
that binge drinking can lead to weight problems.
The Office of Disease Prevention and
Health Promotion estimates that a 12-ounce
beer has roughly 150 calories while five ounces
of wine contains about 120 calories.
Swearing off alcohol for a month means not
only will your clothes fit better, but also you’ll
sleep more soundly. According to ScienceDaily,
a review of studies from 2013 revealed that
high quantities of alcohol could impact the
quantity of rapid eye movement, or REM, sleep.
This deeper phase of sleep is linked to concentration,
learning and mood, so the more we receive
the better.
In 2013, the staff at New Scientist decided
to conduct their own experiment about what
happened to their bodies after giving up the
bottle for 30 days. Although the sample size was
very small—only 14 participants—people who
gave up drinking reported better sleep quality
and concentration, according to the story.
Additionally, the New Scientist staff reported
other health benefits: the amount of fat
on those who abstained from drinking declined
by 15 percent and blood sugar decreased 16
percent.(Return_to content)
Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha‘at Islam Lahore (UK)
Founders of the first Islamic Mission in the UK, established 1913 as the Woking Muslim Mission.
Dar-us-Salaam, 15 Stanley Avenue, Wembley, UK, HA0 4JQ
Centre: 020 8903 2689 ∙ President: 01793 740670 ∙ Secretary: 07737 240777 ∙ Treasurer: 01932 348283
E-mail: info@aaiil.uk
Websites: www.aaiil.org/uk | www.ahmadiyya.org | www.virtualmosque.co.uk
Donations: https://www.cafonline.org/charityprofile/aaiiluk
I Shall Love All Mankind.
Change language