Friday, January 25, 2008

Losing Moses on the Freeway: The 10 Commandments in America

Chapters:

  1. MYSTERY : ghetto. No god.
  2. IDOLS: music. Bands. Wars.
  3. LYING: prostitutes, dancers
  4. The SABBATH: battle for life: freedom from the pull of needs.
  5. The FAMILY: Honor thy mother and father
  6. MURDER: killing --> murdering
  7. ADULTERY: opposite of love, children yang merana
  8. THEFT: stock thing
  9. ENVY: methaphorical: chess shop
  10. GREED
Notes:

What is hell? “The suffering of being no longer able to love”

Love is the only force powerful enough to pull us away from idolatry

“When we worship human achievement or the attainment of pleasure as a final end, we live a life dedicated to the self. Love is about the capacity to subsume ourselves for others.” à celebrity worship. Self admiration. Contradicts love.

Wars: idolatry of the nation. Civil Laws are God.

“Love means that our deepest source of happiness comes in bringing happiness to the beloved.”

Monday, December 3, 2007

H Channel: Cities of the Underground - London

civil engineering skills of the romans and the Brits during 2nd world war in action! best!

deep level bunkers

london tube - 1st world underground railway 1940 nazi targets london: 8 million ppl. deep level bunkers were built to save londoners. bunkbeds with 8000 londoners cramped in. saved thousands of lives.

Thames river

much bigger than it is today. romans tambak, tapi lama2 soil deposited maka sungai semakin kecil.

ancient roman ruins

beneath the streets! secretly preserved now. evidences of central heating system.

london lost rivers

banyak jalan raya skang di london sebenarnya adalah sungai dulu. covered over in the 19th century. why? mase influx manusia, banyak housing and bulidings diperlukan. sebab kedua is they need an awesome sewerage system, so rivers were converted into sewage channels!

Westminster Abbey

underneath is another church and a burial site.

Churchill's secret hideout



Saturday, November 3, 2007

I. suhaib Webb Talk

seize the day
  • the importance of time
  • time moves so quickly
  • utilise our talents
  • correct understanding of time- personified by the action
  • kick our time wasting habits! : make a schedule!
  • actualise the best of ibadah : make a schedule!
  • da'wa: make them know Islam
  • dont fall into the extremes of "everything is haram" or "everything is halal": ummatan wasatan
  • understand the community we live in: bling-bling (hehe) -you should have knowledge of the religion and the knowledge of the 'hood.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

perang uhud 3H

Pihak Quraisy 3000, Islam 1000 orang Walau bagaimanapun, Abdulah bin Ubai (ketua suku Khazraj) bersama tiga ratus orang yang lain telah menarik diri di tengah perjalanan mereka.

Di Bukit Uhud, 50 orang yang terdiri daripada pasukan memanah telah diperintahkan untuk mengadakan kubu pertahanan di atas bukit dan diperintahkan agar tidak meninggalkan bukit itu sama ada kalah atau menang sehingga diberitahu kelak.

Pertempuran bermula dan mula menyaksikan kegoyahan tentera Quraisy. Tentera musyrik mula berundur dan tentera Muslim mula nampak kejayaan mereka dan ketika itu, tentera yang bertahan di atas bukit mula meninggalkan tempat itu untuk memungut harta yang tertinggal dan menguasai medan kemenangan. Sebaik mereka meninggalkan bukit tersebut, Khalid al-Walid bersama tentera berkudanya serta beberapa pimpinan perang untuk mula menyerang dari belakang iaitu menerusi bukit tersebut.

Serangan tersebut memecah-belahkan tentera Muslim dan melemahkan pertahanan mereka. Ketika itulah muncul pelbagai dakwaan dan propaganda yang turut mengatakan bahawa Muhammad telah terkorban. Itu menyebabkan kebanyakan tentera Muslim menjadi lemah dan tidak bersemangat sehingga berpecah kepada kumpulan yang ingin meneruskan perang dan yang ingin lari. Walau bagaimanapun, Muhammad s.a.w. bersama Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, Umar ibni al-Khattab dan Ali bin Abi Thalib masih selamat. Ubai bin Khalaf ketika itu muncul untuk membunuh baginda dan baginda mengambil lembing terus menikam Ubai sehingga mati. Ini merupakan pembunuhan yang pertama dilakukan baginda.

Baginda turut jatuh ke dalam lubang yang digali oleh Abu Amar Ar-Rahab dan dikurung baginda di dalamnya. Ia menyebabkan kedua-dua belah lutut baginda tercedera, cedera pipi, gigi patah dan baginda turut pitam di dalamnya. Kemudian, muncul Fatimah bersama Ali membasuh luka baginda. Tidak kurang juga tentera Muslim yang lain. Jika tidak terkorban, kebanyakannya tercedera dengan hebat. Serangan bertubi-tubi dilakukan oleh tentera Quraisy dengan penuh dendam.

Lebih 70 orang tentera Muslim terkorban manakala hanya 23 orang tentera Quraisy yang terkorban. Hamzah bin Abdul Mutalib iaitu salah seorang panglima Islam turut dibunuh oleh lelaki Habsyi bernama Wahsyi. Dadanya pula kelihatan telah ditebuk dan hatinya telah dikunyah oleh Hind iaitu isteri Abu Sufyan. Baginda memerintahkan agar mereka yang syahid itu dikebumikan bersama pakaian mereka.

Setelah pulang ke Madinah, tentera Muslim mendapat penangan yang hebat apabila diejek oleh Yahudi dan Munafik Madinah dengan mengatakan yang mereka pasti terselamat jika tidak bersama berperang. Peristiwa ini memberi pengajaran kepada para sahabat dan umat Islam seluruhnya bahawa kita perlu taat kepada ketua selain Allah dan rasul-Nya.

[source]

Friday, September 21, 2007

Ancient Europe older than we thought - NG Nov 1977


  1. "megalithic" Greek for "megas" large, "lithos", stone.

  2. correct carbon dating by tree rings - calibration.

  3. found out that west europe's early monuments (eg stonehenge and tombs) were erected way earlier than thought b4: not copying egypt/greece civilisations'.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Battles of the Prophet: short notes [Part 3]

The third Stage

The Battle of Hunain
  • After conquest of Makkah, some tribes proceed fighting.
  • 12000 Muslims, 10000 from conquest.
  • Too confident.
  • When arrived at Hunain, the Archers and the attackers stunned the Muslims --> they retreated in disorder and confusion.
  • The Muslims then returned to the battlefield and fighting intensifies at the call of the prophet.
  • Handful of dusts on enemy's face.
  • Reverse of fortunes and enemy's utter defeat.
  • ayat2 berkenaan the battle: 9:25-26
  • After winning and collecting the booty, the Prophet left for Thaif to face the greatest number of the defeated idolaters.
  • Invasion of Thaif : 10K men, led by Khalid al-Walid
  • Muslim seige around castle, but shot lots of arrows at.
  • to be far from arrows: ascended high place - now its Thaif Mosque
  • the seige lasted too long and the castle seemed immune: retreated.
  • distribution of previous booty: The Ansars x stuju... the Prophet talked to them. (page 485)
The Battle of Tabuk (9H)
  • Byzantines prepare to attack.
  • Prophet stayed away from wives 1 month: org lain got worried.
  • too much paranoia.
  • org jahat erected false moque: Masjid Dirar (the mosque of harm) suh the prophet berkati, but it was revealed onto him that its a false mosque.
  • The Muslims left for Tabuk: 30 000 fighters.
  • the Byzantines and allies x dare fight: so xde fight.
  • effect: tribes turned to support Muslims
  • Islamic State expanded- touched Byzantine's borders.
The Battle at Ubna
  • Rasulullah lantik Usamah bin Zaid, 17 Tahun to lead
  • but the Prophet wafat, so under S. Abu Bakar

Battles of the Prophet: short notes [Part 2]

The second Stage

The conquest of Khaibar

Dhat-ur-Riqa' Invasion (7H)
  • 3rd party (apart from Mekkan and Jews) : desert beduins at Najd
  • "expedition of rags" :one camel, 6 ppl alternate, injured feet covered
The battle of Mu'tah (8H)
  • Mosty significant & fierce battle -start to the conquest of the land of the Christians
  • Mu'tah: borders of Greater Syria, near Baitul Maqdis
  • mission: carry letter to ruler of Busra, incercepted by governor of Al-Balqa', close ally to Caesar, the Byzantine Emperor
  • big issue: war. 3000 muslims vs 200,000 byzantines (u. Heraclius) + allied arabian tribes
  • Army leaders: Zaid al Harithah, JAafar Abi Talib, Abdullah bin Rawhah, Thabit al Arqam, Khalid al Walid (all but Khalid were martyred)
  • Khalid change strategy: introduce forward division from the rear to cast fear into hearts of Byzantine by misleading that fresh forces had arrived.
  • Byzantines believed they are trapped -stopped. Muslims retreat backt o Madinah, 12 martyrs.
The Conquest of Makkah
  • Mekkan breached convenant.
  • Abu Sufyan & Hind reverted.
  • The Messenger prays in Kaabah and delivered an address to the Quraish: page 466.