Hair loss cuts prostate cancer. risk

Balding men should stop fretting about their retreating hairline, as a study suggests that hair loss almost halves the risk of prostate cancer.


Hair loss is a source of concern for many men, with nearly half thinking that going bald makes them feel old and less attractive, while three out of four have self-esteem problems. Most baldness is caused when hair follicles are exposed to too much dihydrotestosterone, or DHT. This is a chemical produced by the male hormone testosterone. If there is too much DHT circulating in the blood, the follicles shrink, so the hair becomes thinner and grows for less time than normal.

Researchers studied 2000 American men between the age of 40 and 47 years, half of whom had suffered prostrate cancer. They compared the cancer rate in those who remembered their hair thinning by the age of 30 with those who did not suffer hair loss.

It was found that men who start going bald by 30 years are up to 45 percent less likely to develop prostate cancer later in life. Although half of all men suffer significant hair loss by the age of 50, the researchers linked high levels of testosterone in those who go bald earlier to a lower risk of tumours.

The researchers found that men who had started to develop bald spots on the top of their heads as well as receding hairlines had lower risk of developing prostate cancer.

It's time to watch out for hidden cameras

Indo Asian News Service, August 31, 2011,

Technological advancement has turned hidden cameras so tiny that they are virtually impossible to detect, says an expert who warns that cameras in changing rooms and toilets are far more common than people realise.

According to Julian Claxton, a surveillance expert whose company, Jayde Consulting, conducts sweeps for recording devices, organisations are typically oblivious to the presence of hidden cameras and, on the odd occasions they do find them, are reluctant to come forward to inform police for fear of reputational damage, The Age reported.

Claxton mentions two instances in Sydney this year. One case involved a hidden camera in the changing room of a Sydney private school, and in the other case a camera was placed in the toilet of a building in Haymarket, New South Wales.

Claxton said that while mobile phones were easy to spot, there were scores of tiny recording devices available on eBay that were small enough to fit into the head of a screw, buttons, pens or cigarette packets.

"One-inch squared would be a big one," he said.

They have become so advanced that one 2.5-inch camera available on eBay has a wireless transmitter on it enabling the offenders to view the footage from a distance without ever having to retrieve the device. The cameras can either be connected to small batteries or permanent power sources.

Claxton said the problem was not only compounded by the fact that cameras were getting smaller, but also by the ability to record significantly more footage on a single card than ever before.

eBay's head of communications for Asia-Pacific, Daniel Feiler, said that, if the government introduced legislation banning the sale of hidden camera devices, eBay would look at getting them removed but as of today these were legitimate products.

Sony, Toshiba, Hitachi join forces in displays

Associate Press, August 31, 2011,

The display businesses of three major Japanese electronics makers are joining forces to become more competitive in small and medium-sized panels - a sector that's expected to grow because of the popularity of smartphones and tablets.

The display-business subsidiaries of Sony Corp., Toshiba Corp. and Hitachi Ltd. agreed to sign a deal later this year and to complete the business combination by the first few months of next year, the companies said Wednesday.

Japanese media reports said the combined forces of the three companies will make them the world's No. 1 in small and medium-sized displays.

Japanese electronics makers have had a tough time fighting competition from Apple Inc. and its iPod and iPad hits as well as the display prowess of South Korean makers such as Samsung Electronics Co.

The latest move shows that the Japanese are determined to make a comeback but have decided they can't do it alone.

The companies said they think still have an edge in technological innovation in displays, but they have to act quickly because rivals are also investing in the sector.

The subsidiary shares will be transferred to a new company called Japan Display, which will be aggressive in research in new kinds of displays, including making them thinner and higher resolution, they said.

"By integrating each partner company's wealth of display expertise and know-how, I am confident the new company will become a driving force for technological innovation," said Sony Chairman and Chief Executive Howard Stringer.

Microsoft gives further peek at Windows 8

Agence France-Presse, August 31, 2011,

Microsoft on Tuesday provided another glimpse at changes coming with the next-generation of Windows software that powers most of the world's computers.

Microsoft is making major improvements to a key Windows Explorer file management program to enhance how it interacts with the coming Windows 8 operating system, according to Windows division president Steven Sinofsky.

"Windows 8 is about reimagining Windows, so we took on the challenge to improve the most widely used desktop tool (except maybe for Solitaire) in Windows," Sinofsky said atop a blog post detailing Explorer modifications.

"Windows Explorer is a foundation of the user experience of the Windows desktop and has undergone several design changes over the years, but has not seen a substantial change in quite some time," he added.

A control "ribbon" for commands was added to make them more easily accessible to people other than "power users" familiar with Windows Explorer shortcuts.

Engineers set out to "return Explorer to its roots as an efficient file manager and expose some hidden gems" in the form of handy commands many people may not know, according to Alex Simmons of the program management team.

Microsoft in June provided the first sneak peek at the successor to Windows 7, a next-generation operating system designed to work on both personal computers and touchscreen tablets.

Sinofsky demonstrated some of the features of the operating system code-named "Windows 8" at a D9 technology conference hosted by All Things Digital.

"Laptops, slates, desktops -- all can run one operating system," Sinofsky said.

"Windows 8" builds upon many of the features in Microsoft's latest mobile operating system for smartphones, Windows Phone 7, including the use of touch "tiles" instead of icons to launch and navigate between applications.

Microsoft has promised to reveal more features of Windows 8, which uses Internet Explorer 10 as a Web browser, at its developers conference in Anaheim, California, opening on September 13.

துபாய் சர்வதேச அல் குர்ஆன் பரிசை இலங்கை மாணவர் வென்றார்

துபாயின் இடம் பெற்ற 15 வது சர்வதேச அல் குர்ஆன் அவாட் Dubai International Holy Quran Award (DIHQA) பரிசை இலங்கையை சேர்த்த அப்துல் காதர் முகம்மத் அஸ்மி பெற்றுக்கொண்டுள்ளார். என்று துபாய் தகவல்கள் தெரிவிக்கின்றது. கொழும்பு மாளிகாவத்தை சேர்ந்த இவர் மிகவும் சிறந்த முறையில் போட்டில் கலந்து கொண்டு -குரல் வளம் பிரிவில்- நான்காம் இடத்தை பெற்றுகொண்டதன் மூலம் ரூபா 1,950,000 பரிசையும் வென்றுள்ளார்.

இந்த Dubai International Holy Quran Award (DIHQA) என்ற துபாய் சர்வதேச அல் குர்ஆன் அவாட் 1997 ஆம் ஆண்டு தொடக்கம் 15 ஆண்டுகளாக துபாய்யில் இடம்பெற்று வருகின்றது. இந்த ஆண்டு இடம்பெற்ற போட்டியில் 92 வீதமான புள்ளிகளை பெற்று லிபியா நாட்டை சேர்ந்த போட்டியாளர் காலித் முகம்மத் முதலாமிடத்தை பெற்று 250,000 திர்கம் பரிசு தொகையை வென்றுள்ளார்.

இரண்டாம் இடத்தை கட்தார் நாட்டு அப்துல்லாஹ் ஹாமத் அபூ ஷாரிதா பெற்று 200,000 திர்கம் பரிசுத் தொகையையும் துருக்கி நாட்டைச்சேர்ந்த அஹமத் ஷரிகை மூன்றாம் இடத்தைபெற்று 150,000 திர்கம் பரிசுத் தொகையையும் வென்றுள்ளார்கள். இலங்கையை சேர்ந்த ஹாபிழ் அப்துல் காதர் முஹம்மத் கனி முகம்மத் அஸ்மி நான்காம் இடத்தை பெற்று 65,000 திர்கம் பரிசுத் தொகையை வென்றுள்ளார். முகம்மத் அஸ்மி    கொழும்பு மருதானை குல்லியதுள் இமாம் ஷாபி மதரசாவை சேர்ந்த மாணவர். இவர் இந்த மதரஸாவின் பதி நான்கு வயது ஹிப்ழ் – அல் குர்ஆன் மனனம் மற்றும் முரத்தல் பிரிவு  மாணவனாவார் என்று அறிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

இந்த முறை இடம்பெற்ற போட்டில் முதல் தடவையாக இரண்டு போட்டியாளர்கள் பார்வை குறைபாட்டுடன் கலந்துகொண்டு இரண்டாம் மற்றும் மூன்றாம் இடங்களை பெற்றுள்ளார்கள் என்பது குறிபிடதக்கது. 

Dua Khatam Al Quran 1428/2007 by Sheikh Sudais Part 3/3

Dua Khatam Al Quran 1428/2007 by Sheikh Sudais Part 2/3

Dua Khatam Al Quran 1428/2007 by Sheikh Sudais Part 1/3

POETRY

Meet me at the Door

When I was a child
I saw a little bird die
It made me very sad
But I did not cry

When I grew up
I became busy with my life
Never thought of death
“I will never die”
I said to myself

Now that I am near the end
Of my long journey
It has dawned to me
It is now time to go

So let me go but do not cry
Just hold my hand
Give me a kiss
But let me go

The death of my body
The cage of my soul
Will free my soul
To live for ever

My heart- the cup of the wine
Of Your Love(1)
Will beat for You
And only You

Since I am from You (2)
And You are Eternal (3)
I will not die
When I die

I am at peace
When with You
In this life
Or the next

Meet me at the Door
Of the Promised Garden (4)
A sinner of Your Love

I can not wait
To be with You
And only You(5)

• 1.Quran 76:21
• 2: Min Roohi 15:29.32:9
• 3. Al- Haiyyu Al- Qayyum
• 4.Surah Al-Fajr ( 89:27-30)
• 5. To God we belong to Him is our return

Written by Dr. Shahid Athar

Goodbye My Friend

Written by Dr. Shahid Athar

My beloved Friend

I waited a year for you

To visit me and

Be with me for a month

---Ramadan, O Ramadan

I was so excited

That you were coming

After one whole year

To be with me

With all your blessings

--Ramadan, O Ramadan

What if,

I had died

Before you came

I would have died

Without meeting you

And in pains but

My eyes still would be open

Waiting for my friend

---Ramadan, O Ramadan

Then you came and

Stayed with me

In the days and

In the Blessed nights

With Al-Furqan

---Ramadan, O Ramadan

I was with you

In Sahoor and Iftaar

In Ishaa and Taraveeh

Reciting Al-Quran

At home and at work

With friends and family

---Ramadan, O Ramadan

Now, that you are leaving

Others are celebrating

That Eid is coming

But I am sad , very sad

My beloved is going

I’ll never let you go

--Ramadan, O Ramadan

Will you comeback again?

Will I be with you again?

Tell me now I don’t know

I will wait for you

-Ramadan, O Ramadan

It is hard to say goodbye

To a dear friend

Who was God sent

With tears in my eyes

I say, Goodbye my friend

---Ramadan, O Ramadan

Islamic Medicine: 1000 years ahead of its times

Written by Ibrahim B. Syed   

SUMMARY

Within a century after the death of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) the Muslims not only conquered new lands, but also became scientific innovators with originality and productivity. They hit the source ball of knowledge over the fence to Europe. By the ninth century, Islamic medical practice had advanced from talisman and theology to hospitals with wards, doctors who had to pass tests, and the use of technical terminology. The then Baghdad General Hospital incorporated innovations which sound amazingly modern. The fountains cooled the air near the wards of those afflicted with fever; the insane were treated with gentleness; and at night the pain of the restless was soothed by soft music and storytelling. The prince and pauper received identical attention; the destitute upon discharge received five gold pieces to sustain them during convalescence. While Paris and London were places of mud streets and hovels, Baghdad, Cairo and Cardboard had hospitals open to both male and female patients; staffed by attendants of both sexes. These medical centers contained libraries pharmacies, the system of interns, externs, and nurses. There were mobile clinics to reach the totally disabled, the disadvantaged and those in remote areas. There were regulations to maintain quality control on drugs. Pharmacists became licensed professionals and were pledged to follow the physician's prescriptions. Legal measures were taken to prevent doctors from owning or holding stock. in a pharmacy. The extent to which Islamic medicine advanced in the fields of medical education, hospitals, bacteriology, medicine, anesthesia, surgery, pharmacy, ophthalmology, psychotherapy and psychosomatic diseases are presented briefly.

INTRODUCTION

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) who is ranked number one by Michael Hart', a Jewish scholar, in his book The 100: The Most Influential Persons in History, was able to unite the Arab tribes who had been tom by revenge, rivalry, and internal fights, and produced a strong nation acquired and ruled simultaneously, the two known empires at that time, namely the Persian and Byzantine Empires. The Islamic Empire extended from the Atlantic Ocean on the West to the borders of China on the East. Only 80 years after the death of their Prophet, the Muslims crossed to Europe to rule Spain for more than 700 years. The Muslims preserved the cultures of the conquered lands. However when the Islamic Empire became weak, most of the Islamic contributions in an and science were destroyed. The Mongols bunt Baghdad (1258 A.D.) out of barbarism, and the Spaniards demolished most of the Islamic heritage in Spain out of hatred.


The Islamic Empire for more than 1000 years remained the most advanced and civilized nation in the world. This is because Islam stressed the importance and respect of learning, forbade destruction, developed in Muslims the respect for authority and discipline, and tolerance for other religions. The Muslims recognized excellence and hungering intellectually, were avid for the wisdom of the world of Galen, Hippocrates, Rufus of Ephesus, Oribasius, Discorides and Paul of Aegina. By the tenth century their zeal and enthusiasm for learning resulted in all essential Greek medical writings being translated into Arabic in Damascus, Cairo, and Baghdad. Arabic became the International Language of learning and diplomacy. The center of scientific knowledge and activity shifted eastward, and Baghdad emerged as the capital of the scientific world. The Muslims became scientific innovators with originality and productivity. Islamic medicine is one of the most famous and best known facets of lslamic civilization, and in which the Muslims most excelled. The Muslims were the great torchbearers of international scientific research. They hit the source ball of knowledge over the fence to Europe. In the words of Campbell' "The European medical system is Arabian not only in origin but also in its structure. The Arabs are the intellectual forebears of the Europeans."


The aim of this paper is to prove that the Islamic Medicine was 1000 years ahead of its times. The paper covers areas such as medical education, hospitals, bacteriology, medicine, anesthesia, surgery, opthalmology, pharmacy, and psychotherapy.

MEDICAL EDUCATION

In 636 A.D., the Persian City of Jundi-Shapur, which originally meant beautiful garden, was conquered by the Muslims with its great university and hospital intact. Later the Islamic medical schools developed on the Jundi-Shapur pattern. Medical education was serious and systematic. Lectures and clinical sessions included in teaching were based on the apprentice system. The advice given by Ali ibnul-Abbas (Haly Abbas: -994 -A.D.) to medical students is as timely today as it was then'. "And of those things which were incumbent on the student of this art (medicine) are that he should constantly attend the hospitals and sick houses; pay unremitting attention to the conditions and circumstances of their intimates, in company with the most astute professors of medicine, and inquire frequently as to the state of the patients and symptoms apparent in them, bearing in mind what he has read about these variations, and what they indicate of good or evil."

Razi (Rhazes: 841-926 A.D.) advised the medical students while they were seeing a patient to bear in mind the classic symptoms of a disease as given in text books and compare them with what they found (6).

The ablest physicians such as Razi (Al-Rhazes), Ibn-Sina (Avicenna: 980-1037 A.D.) and Ibn Zuhr (Avenzoar: 116 A.D.) performed the duties of both hospital directors and deans of medical schools at the same time. They studied patients and prepared them for student presentation. Clinical reports of cases were written and preserved for teaching'. Registers were maintained.

Training in Basic Sciences

Only Jundi-Shapur or Baghdad had separate schools for studying basic sciences. Candidates for medical study received basic preparation from private tutors through private lectures and self study. In Baghdad anatomy was taught by dissecting the apes, skeletal studies, and didactics. Other medical schools taught anatomy through lectures and illustrations. Alchemy was once of the prerequisites for admission to medical school. The study of medicinal herbs and pharmacognosy rounded out the basic training. A number of hospitals maintained barbel gardens as a source of drugs for the patients and a means of instruction for the students.

Once the basic training was completed the candidate was admitted as an apprentice to a hospital where, at the beginning, he was assigned in a large group to a young physician for indoctrination, preliminary lectures, and familiarization with library procedures and uses. During this preclinical period, most of the lectures were on pharmacology and toxicology and the use of antidotes.

Clinical training:

The next step was to give the student full clinical training. During this period students were assigned in small groups to famous physicians and experienced instructors, for ward rounds, discussions, lectures, and reviews. Early in this period therapeutics and pathology were taught. There was a strong emphasis on clinical instruction and some Muslim physicians contributed brilliant observations that have stood the test of time. As the students progressed in their studies they were exposed more and more to the subjects of diagnosis and judgment. Clinical observation and physical examination were stressed. Students (clinical clerks) were asked to examine a patient and make a diagnosis of the ailment. Only after an had failed would the professor make the diagnosis himself. While performing physical examination, the students were asked to examine and report six major factors: the patients' actions, excreta, the nature and location of pain, and swelling and effuvia of the body. Also noted was color and feel of the skin- whether hot, cool, moist, dry, flabby. Yellowness in the whites of the eye (jaundice) and whether or not the patient could bend his back (lung disease) was also considered important (8).

After a period of ward instructions, students, were assigned to outpatient areas. After examining the patients they reported their findings to the instructors. After discussion, treatment was decided on and prescribed. Patients who were too ill were admitted as inpatients. The keeping of records for every patient was the responsibility of the students.

Curriculum

There was a difference in the clinical curriculum of different medical schools in their courses; however the mainstay was usually internal medicine. Emphasis was placed on clarity and brevity in describing a disease and the separation of each entity. Until the time of Ibn Sina the description of meningitis was confused with acute infection accompanied by delirium. Ibn Sina described the symptoms of meningitis with such clarity and brevity that there is very little that can be added after I 000 yearS6. Surgery was also included in the curriculum. After completing courses, some students specialized under famous specialists. Some others specialized while in clinical training. According to Elgood9 many surgical procedures such as amputation, excision of varicose veins and hemorrhoids were required knowledge. Orthopedics was widely taught, and the use of plaster of Paris for casts after reduction of fractures was routinely shown to students. This method of treating fractures was rediscovered in the West in 1852. Although ophthalmology was practiced widely, it was not taught regularly in medical schools. Apprenticeship to an eye doctor was the preferred way of specializing in ophthalmology. Surgical treatment of cataract was very common. Obstetrics was left to midwives. Medical practitioners consulted among themselves and with specialists. Ibn Sina and Hazi both widely practiced and taught psychotherapy. After completing the training, the medical graduate was not ready to enter practice, until he passed the licensure examination. It is important to note that there existed a Scientific Association which had been formed in the hospital of Mayyafariqin to discuss the conditions and diseases of the patients.

Licensing of Physicians

In Baghdad in 931 A.D. Caliph Al-Muqtadir learned that a patient had died as the result of a physician's error. There upon he ordered his chief physician, Sinan-ibn Thabit bin Qurrah to examine all those who practiced the art of healing. In the first year of the decree more than 860 were examined in Baghdad alone. From that time on, licensing examinations were required and administered in various places. Licensing Boards were set up under a government official called Muhtasib or inspector general . The Muhtasib also inspected weights and measures of traders and pharmacists. Pharmacists were employed as inspectors to inspect drugs and maintain quality control of drugs sold in a pharmacy or apothecary. What the present Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is doing in America today was done in Islamic medicine I 000 years ago. The chief physician gave oral and practical examinations, and if the young physician was successful, the Muhtasib administered the Hippocratic oath and issued a license. After 1000 years licensing of physicians has been implemented in the West, particularly in America by the State Licensing Board in Medicine. For specialists we have American Board of Medical Specialities such as in Medicine, Surgery, Radiology, etc. European medical schools followed the pattern set by the Islamic medical schools and even in the early nineteenth century, students at the Sorbonne could not graduate without reading Ibn Sina's Qanun (Cannon). According to Razi a physician had to satisfy two condition for selection: firs0y, he was to be fully conversant with the new and the old medical literature and secondly, he must have worked in a hospital as house physician.

HOSPITALS

The development of efficient hospitals was an outstanding contribution of Islamic medicine (7). 'ne hospitals served all citizens free without any regard to their color, religion, sex, age or social status. The hospitals were run by government and the directors of hospitals were physicians.

Hospitals and separate wards for male patients and female patients. Each ward was furnished with a nursing staff and porters of the sex of the patients to be treated therein. Different diseases such as fever, wounds, infections, mania, eye conditions, cold diseases, diarrhea, and female disorders were allocated different wards. Convalescents had separate sections within them. Hospitals provided patients with unlimited water supply and with bathing facilities. Only qualified and licensed physicians were allowed by law to practice medicine. The hospitals were teaching hospitals educating medical students. They had housing for students and house-staff. They contained pharmacies dispensing free drugs to patients. Hospitals had their own conference room and expensive libraries containing the most up-to-date books. According to Haddad, the library of the Tulum Hospital which was founded in Cairo in 872 A.D. (I 100 years ago) had 100,000 books. Universities, cities and hospitals acquired large libraries (Mustansiriyya University in Baghdad contained 80,000 volumes; the library of Cordova 600,000 volumes; that of Cairo 2,000,000 and that of Tripoli 3,000,000 books), physicians had their own extensive personal book collections, at a time when printing was unknown and book editing was done by skilled and specialized scribes putting in long hours of manual labour.

For the first time in history, these hospitals kept records of patients and their medical care.

From the point of view of treatment the hospital was divided into an out- patient department and an inpatient department. The system of the in-patient department differed only slightly from that of today. At tile Tulun hospital, on admission the patients were given special apparel while their clothes, money, and valuables were stored until the time of their discharge. On discharge, each patient - received five gold pieces to support himself until he could return to work.

The hospital and medical school at Damascus had elegant rooms and an extensive library. Healthy people are said to have feigned illness in order to enjoy its cuisine. There was a separate hospital in Damascus for lepers, while, in Europe, even six centuries later, condemned lepers were burned to death by royal decree.

The Qayrawan Hospital (built in 830 A.D. in Tunisia) was characterized by spacious separate wards, waiting rooms for visitors and patients, and female nurses from Sudan, an event representing the first use of nursing in Arabic history. The hospital also provided facilities for performing prayers.

The Al-Adudi hospital (built in 981 A.D. in Baghdad) was furnished with die best equipment and supplies known at the time. It had interns, residents, and 24 consultants attending its professional activities, An Abbasid minister, Ali ibn Isa, requested the court physician, Sinan ibn Thabit, to organize regular visiting of prisons by medical officers (14). At a time when paris and London were places of mud streets and hovels, Baghdad, Cairo, and Cordova had hospitals which incorporated innovations which sound amazingly modern. It was chiefly in the humaneness of patient care, however, that the hospitals of Islam excelled. Near the wards of those afflicted with fever, fountains cooled the air; the insane were treated with gentleness; and at night music and storytelling soothed the patients

. The Bimaristans (hospitals) were of two types - the fixed and the mobile. The mobile hospitals were transported upon beasts of burden and were erected from time to time as required. The physicians in the mobile clinics were of the same standing as those who served the fixed hospitals. Similar moving hospitals accompanied the armies in the field. The field hospitals were well equipped with medicaments, instruments, tents and a staff of doctors, nurses, and orderlies. The traveling clinics served the totally disabled, the disadvantaged and those in remote areas. These hospitals were also used by prisoners,and by the general public,particularly in times of epidemics.

BACTERIOLOGY

Al-Razi was asked to choose a site for a new hospital when he came to Baghdad. First he deduced which was the most hygienic area by observing where the fresh pieces of meat he had hung in various parts of the city decomposed least quickly.

Ibn Sina stated explicitly that the bodily secretion is contaminated by foul foreign earthly body before getting the infection. Ibn Khatima stated that man is surrounded by minute bodies which enter the human system and cause disease.

In the middle of the fourteenth century "black death" was ravaging Europe and before which Christians stood helpless, considering it an act of God.

At that time Ibn al Khatib of Granada composed a treatise in the defense of the theory of infection in the following way:
To those who say, "How can we admit the possibility of infection while the religious law denies it?" We reply that the existence of contagion is established by experience, investigation, the evidence of the senses and trustworthy reports. These facts constitute a sound argument. The fact of infection becomes clear to the investigator who notices how he who establishes contact with the afflicted gets the disease, whereas he who is not in contact remains safe, and how transmission is effected through garments, vessels and earrings.

Al-Razi wrote the first medical description of smallpox and measles - two important infectious diseases. He described the clinical difference between the two diseases so vividly that nothing since has been added. Ibn Sina suggested the communicable nature of tuberculosis. He is said to have been the first to describe the preparation and properties of sulphuric acid and alcohol. His recommendation of wine as the best dressing for wounds was very popular in medieval practice. However Razi was the first to use silk sutures and alcohol for hemostatis. He was the first to use alcohol as an antiseptic.

ANESTHESIA

Ibn Sina originated the idea of the use of oral anesthetics. He recognized opium as the most powerful mukhadir (an intoxicant or drug). Less powerful anesthetics known were mandragora, poppy, hemlock, hyoscyamus, deadly nightshade (belladonna), lettuce seed, and snow or ice cold water. The Arabs invented the soporific sponge which was the precursor of modem anesthesia. It was a sponge soaked with aromatics and narcotics and held to the patient's nostrils.

The use of anesthesia was one of the reasons for the rise of surgery in the Islamic world to the level of an honourable speciality, while in Europe, surgery was belittled and practiced by barbers and quacks. The Council of Tours in 1163 A.D. declared Surgery is to be abandoned by the schools of medicine and by all decent physicians." Burton stated that "anesthetics have been used in surgery throughout the East for centuries before ether and chloroform became the fashion in civilized West."

SURGERY

Al-Razi is attributed to be the first to use the seton in surgery and animal gut for sutures.

Abu al-Qasim Khalaf Ibn Abbas Al-Zahrawi (930-1013 A.D.) known to the West as Abulcasis, Bucasis or Alzahravius is considered to be the most famous surgeon in Islamic medicine. In his book Al-Tasrif, he described hemophilia for the first time in medical history. The book contains the description and illustration of about 200 surgical instruments many of which were devised by Zahrawi himself. In it Zahrawi stresses the importance of the study of Anatomy as a fundamental prerequisite to surgery. He advocates the re implantation of a fallen tooth and the use of dental prosthesis carved from cow's bone, an improvement over the wooden dentures worn by the first President of America George Washington seven centuries later. Zahrawi appears to be the first surgeon in history to use cotton (Arabic word) in surgical dressings in the control of hemorrhage, as padding in the splinting of fractures, as a vaginal padding in fractures of the pubis and in dentistry. He introduced the method for the removal of kidney stones by cutting into the urinary bladder. He was the first to teach the lithotomy position for vaginal operations. He described tracheotomy, distinguished between goiter and cancer of the thyroid, and explained his invention of a cauterizing iron which he also used to control bleeding. His description of varicose veins stripping, even after ten centuries, is almost like modern surgery. In orthopedic surgery he introduced what is called today Kocher's method of reduction of shoulder dislocation and patelectomy, 1,000 years before Brooke reintroduced it in 1937.

Ibn Sina's description of the surgical treatment of cancer holds true even today after 1,000 years. He says the excision must be wide and bold; all veins running to the tumor must be included in the amputation. Even if this is not sufficient, then the area affected should be cauterized.

The surgeons of Islam practiced three types of surgery: vascular, general, and orthopedic, Ophthalmic surgery was a speciality which was quite distinct both from medicine and surgery. They freely opened the abdomen and drained the peritoneal cavity in the approved modern style. To an unnamed surgeon of Shiraz is attributed the first colostomy operation. Liver abscesses were treated by puncture and exploration.

Surgeons all over the world practice today unknowingly several surgical procedures that Zahrawi introduced 1,000 years ago .

MEDICINE

The most brilliant contribution was made by Al-Razi who differentiated between smallpox and measles, two diseases that were hitherto thought to be one single disease. He is credited with many contributions, which include being the first to describe true distillation, glass retorts and luting, corrosive sublimate, arsenic, copper sulfate, iron sulphate, saltpeter, and borax in the treatment of disease . He introduced mercury compounds as purgatives (after testing them on monkeys); mercurial ointments and lead ointment." His interest in urology focused on problems involving urination, venereal disease, renal abscess, and renal and vesical calculi. He described hay-fever or allergic rhinitis.

Some of the Arab contributions include the discovery of itch mite of scabies (Ibn Zuhr), anthrax, ankylostoma and the guinea worm by Ibn Sina and sleeping sickness by Qalqashandy. They described abscess of the mediastinum. They understood tuberculosis and pericarditis.

Al Ash'ath demonstrated gastric physiology by pouring water into the mouth of an anesthetized lion and showed the distensibility and movements of the stomach, preceding Beaumont by about 1,000 years" Abu Shal al- Masihi explained that the absorption of food takes place more through the intestines than the stomach. Ibn Zuhr introduced artificial feeding either by gastric tube or by nutrient enema. Using the stomach tube the Arab physicians performed gastric lavage in case of poisoning. Ibn Al-Nafis was the first to discover pulmonary circulation.

Ibn Sina in his masterpiece Al-Quanun (Canon), containing over a million words, described complete studies of physiology, patlhology and hygiene. He specifically discoursed upon breast cancer, poisons, diseases of the skin, rabies, insomnia, childbirth and the use of obstetrical forceps, meningitis, amnesia, stomach ulcers, tuberculosis as a contagious disease, facial tics, phlebotomy, tumors, kidney diseases and geriatric care. He defined love as a mental disease.

OPHTHALMOLOGY

The doctors of Islam exhibited a high degree of proficiency and certainly were foremost in the treatment of eye diseases. Words such as retina and cataract are of Arabic origin. In ophthalmology and optics lbn al Haytham (965-1039 A.D.) known to the West as Alhazen wrote the Optical Thesaurus from which such worthies as Roger Bacon, Leonardo da Vinci and Johannes Kepler drew theories for their own writings. In his Thesaurus he showed that light falls on the retina in the same manner as it falls on a surface in a darkened room through a small aperture, thus conclusively proving that vision happens when light rays pass from objects towards the eye and not from the eye towards the objects as thought by the Greeks. He presents experiments for testing the angles of incidence and reflection, and a theoretical proposal for magnifying lens (made in Italy three centuries later). He also taught that the image made on the retina is conveyed along the optic nerve to the brain. Razi was the first to recognize the reaction of the pupil to light and Ibn Sina was the first to describe the exact number of extrinsic muscles of the eyeball, namely six. The greatest contribution of Islamic medicine in practical ophthalmology was in the matter of cataract. The most significant development in the extraction of cataract was developed by Ammar bin Ali of Mosul, who introduced a hollow metallic needle through the sclerotic and extracted the lens by suction. Europe rediscovered this in the nineteenth century.

PHARMACOLOGY

Pharmacology took roots in Islam during the 9th century. Yuhanna bin Masawayh (777-857 A.D.) started scientific and systematic applications of therapeutics at the Abbasids capital. His students Hunayn bin Ishaq al-lbadi (809-874 A.D.) and his associates established solid foundations of Arabic medicine and therapeutics in the ninth century. In his book al-Masail Hunayn outlined methods for confirming the pharmacological effectiveness of drugs by experimenting with them on humans. He also explained the importance of prognosis and diagnosis of diseases for better and more effective treatment.

Pharmacy became an independent and separate profession from medicine and alchemy. With the wild sprouting of apothecary shops, regulations became necessary and imposed to maintain quality control." The Arabian apothecary shops were regularly inspected by a syndic (Muhtasib) who threatened the merchants with humiliating corporal punishments if they adulterated drugs." As early as the days of al-Mamun and al-Mutasim pharmacists had to pass examinations to become licensed professionals and were pledged to follow the physician's prescriptions. Also by this decree, restrictive measures were legally placed upon doctors, preventing them from owning or holding stock in a pharmacy.

Methods of extracting and preparing medicines were brought to a high art, and their techniques of distillation, crystallization, solution, sublimation, reduction and calcination became the essential processes of pharmacy and chemistry. With the help of these techniques, the Saydalanis (pharmacists) introduced new drugs such as camphor, senna, sandalwood, rhubarb, musk, myrrh, cassia, tamarind, nutmeg, alum, aloes, cloves, coconut, nuxvomica, cubebs, aconite, ambergris and mercury. The important role of the Muslims in developing modern pharmacy and chemistry is memorialized in the significant number of current pharmaceutical and chemical terms derived from Arabic: drug, alkali, alcohol, aldehydes, alembic, and elixir among others, not to mention syrups and juleps. They invented flavorings extracts made of rose water, orange blossom water, orange and lemon peel, tragacanth and other attractive ingredients. Space does not permit me to list the contributions to pharmacology and therapeutics, made by Razi, Zahrawi, Biruni, Ibn Butlan, and Tamimi.

PYCHOTHERAPY

From freckle lotion to psychotherapy- such was the range of treatment practiced by the physicians of Islam. Though freckles continue to sprinkle the skin of 20th century man, in the realm of psychosomatic disorders both al-Razi and Ibn Sina achieved dramatic results, antedating Freud and Jung by a thousand years. When Razi was appointed physician-in-chief to the Baghdad Hospital, he made it the, first hospital to have a ward exclusively devoted to the mentally ill."

Razi combined psychological methods and physiological explanations, and he used psychotherapy in a dynamic fashion, Razi was once called in to treat a famous caliph who had severe arthritis. He advised a hot bath, and while the caliph was bathing, Razi threatened him with a knife, proclaiming he was going to kill him. This deliberate provocation increased the natural caloric which thus gained sufficient strength to dissolve the already softened humours, as a result the caliph got up from is knees in the bath and ran after Razi. One woman who suffered from such severe cramps in her joints that she was unable to rise was cured by a physician who lifted her skirt, thus putting her to shame. "A flush of heat was produced within her which dissolved the rheumatic humour."

The Arabs brought a refreshing spirit of dispassionate clarity into psychiatry. They were free from the demonological theories which swept over the Christian world and were therefore able to make clear cut clinical observations on the mentally ill.

Najab ud din Muhammad'", a contemporary of Razi, left many excellent descriptions of various mental diseases. His carefully compiled observation on actual patients made up the most complete classification of mental diseases theretofore known." Najab described agitated depression, obsessional types of neurosis, Nafkhae Malikholia (combined priapism and sexual impotence). Kutrib (a form of persecutory psychosis), Dual-Kulb (a form of mania) .

Ibn Sina recognized 'physiological psychology' in treating illnesses involving emotions. From the clinical perspective Ibn Sina developed a system for associating changes in the pulse rate with inner feelings which has been viewed as anticipating the word association test of Jung. He is said to have treated a terribly ill patient by feeling the patient's pulse and reciting aloud to him the names of provinces, districts, towns, streets, and people. By noticing how the patient's pulse quickened when names were mentioned Ibn Sina deduced that the patient was in love with a girl whose home Ibn Sina was able to locate by the digital examination. The man took Ibn Sina's advice , married the girl , and recovered from his illness.

It is not surprising to know that at Fez, Morocco, an asylum for the mentally ill had been built early in the 8th century, and insane, asylums were built by the Arabs also in Baghdad in 705 A.D., in Cairo in 800 A.D., and in Damascus and Aleppo in 1270 A.D. In addition to baths, drugs, kind and benevolent treatment given to the mentally ill, musico-therapy and occupational therapy were also employed. These therapies were highly developed. Special choirs and live music bands were brought daily to entertain the patients by providing singing and musical performances and comic performers as well.

CONCLUSION

1,000 years ago lslamic medicine was the most advanced in the world at that time. Even after ten centuries, the achievements of Islamic medicine look amazingly modern. 1,000 years ago the Muslims were the great torchbearers of international scientific research. Every student and professional from each country outside the Islamic Empire, aspired, yearned, a dreamed to go to the lslamic universities to learn, to work, to live and to lead a comfortable life in an affluent and most advanced and civilized society. Today, in this twentieth century, the United States of America has achieved such a position. The pendulum can swing back. Fortunately Allah has given a bounty to many Islamic countries - an income over 100 billion dollars per year. Hence Islamic countries have the opportunity and resources to make Islamic science and medicine number one in the world, once again.

Health and Islamic Philosophy

Written by Dr. Shahid Athar

Islam considers health as a basic human right. “Your body has a right over you”, mentioned in one of the hadith (saying) of Prophet Muhammad.  Health is a state of total physical, mental and social well-being in order to maintain the quality of life that we can enjoy at our best performance.  A Muslim’s quest for good health is in conformity with his salvation in the life hereafter, as much as for the enjoyment of life in this world. For a Muslim, health consciousness is God consciousness.  Quran is explicit in this matter and states: O you who believe, be God conscious and let every soul look toward it send for the life hereafter, and observe your duty to God, so God is informed of what you do.  Be not like those who forgot God and therefore He caused them to forget themselves.  Such are the wrongdoers. (Chapter 63, verses 18-19). We forget ourselves not only by forgetting the reality of the life hereafter, but also by forgetting our duties here,  including responsibilities regarding our own bodies which have been given to us as a trust.  We will be questioned if we do not keep the trust. Knowledge of health and disease is not just for physicians and those involved in health care, but for every one of us since we live in our own bodies and feel the pain when the body suffers. Thus, we will be directly affected if we are not able to maintain the machine that we live in.  If we clog up our arteries with excessive salt, sugar, fat and lack of exercise and develop diabetes and coronary artery disease or high blood pressure as a result, we cannot call this the will of God as it is not the will of God for us to do so.  Good health is a gift from God, and illness sometimes is from our own actions.  Quran says, “Everything good that happens to you is from God.  Everything bad that happens to you is from your own actions.” (Chapter 4, verse 79). Quran is not a textbook of medicine but in it, there are guidelines that if practiced correctly will give the healing that it calls itself.  God says in Quran, “We have sent down in the Quran that which is healing and a mercy to those who believe.” (Chapter 17, verse 82).  In addition, God says,  “O mankind! there has come unto to you a direction from your Lord and healing for the diseases in your hearts,-- and for those who believe, a Guidance and a Mercy.”  (Chapter 10, verse 57).  Quran causes the healing not by kissing it or keeping it on a high shelf , but by following the guidance from it and avoiding what is prohibited and do what is good, it is beneficial for them. Let us examine the medical benefits of Articles of Faith.  The first Article of Faith is iman or belief in God.  This belief in God means also belief in our health as a gift from Him, and our responsibility toward our body, because we do it for the pleasure of God so that we may serve Him better.  We must understand that whatever God has prohibited us from doing, it is only for our own benefit and not for His sake.  Therefore, if He has told us in Quran to avoid intoxicants like alcohol and meat like that of swine, only He fully knows of the medical harms of such prohibitions. Science has confirmed some of them and will confirm many later on as our knowledge grows.  The blood and meat of dead animals can be full of germs and other harmful elements such as antibodies.  Pork is high in cholesterol and salt and may contain worms, and has abnormal sex hormones in the fatty tissues.  Alcohol and intoxicants cloud the mind, suppress the inhibition and interfere with our normal capacity of being able to determine what is good and what is bad.  Thus under the influence of alcohol, a person may become violent.  He may want to undress in public, or engage in unlawful sex acts.  All these can lead to trouble.  Over the long tem, alcohol damages all the organs including the liver, stomach, endocrine glands, heart and brain. If Quran prohibited homosexuality, 1400 of years before the epidemic of AIDS was known, it must have the knowledge of the future.  It is true that one can contract AIDS from other modes of transmission including blood transfusions; however, if you investigate the source of the original contamination of even blood, it will finally lead to homosexuality. Let us discuss the medical benefits of Islamic prayer (salat).  The salat has three components:   One is ablution or wadu.  The washing of all exposed areas of the body, which come into contact with germs and dirt throughout the day, including hands, feet, face, mouth and nostrils, five times a day is healthy, preventive medicine.  If we keep our nostrils clean in the manner prescribed for the wadu, we will breathe in cleaner air to our lungs.  Is it not the washing of hands being encouraged in hospitals for everyone to prevent the spread of infection? The second aspect of prayer is recitation of Quran.  The  effect  of the sound echoing and the meaning have a healing effect on the body and the mind.  Different letters of Arabic when recited have echoing properties to different target organs in the body.  It has been studied and determined that listening to the recitation of Quran reduces the heart rate, blood pressure and rate of respiration, and has a biofeedback-type tranquilizing effect.  A study has been published by Dr. Ahmed El-Kadi of Akbar Clinic in Panama City ,Florida .  The physical activity in the r Islamic prayer, salat, is mild, uniform  and involve all muscles and joints. The second pillar of Islam is charity or zakat. Zakat has been described as purification of one’s wealth, and it is the right of the poor over the wealth of the rich.  Most people who have money are very much attached to it and because of the love of money, they are driven to insanity.  Quran says, “And he is violent in the love of wealth.” (Chapter 100, verse 8).  With the lack of money, people are committed to crimes and also with an excess of money, they are under stress.  People die of heart attacks sometimes when they win a lottery jackpot. By having the institution of zakat, in which everyone must give .2.5 percent of his saved wealth to the poor, with the addition of the general charity which is voluntary, one becomes more peaceful knowing that the money belongs to God and is being returned to Him for His cause.  Therefore, those who give regularly to charity are more peaceful people, and it is advisable that in illness, one should give more to charity which will help a person recover from his illness. The third Pillar of Islam is fasting in the month of Ramadan  . Fasting produces physiological change in the body, gives rest to different organs and improves adaptability. It lowers the blood cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar.  It produces peace and tranquility in the mind.  It is an institution in learning self-restraint as those who have a habit of nibbling food, drinking a lot of coffee and smoking, will have to give up all that during the month of fasting.  Hopefully, this pattern of restraint will continue even after Ramadan is over, and that is why Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) has advised us to fast on Mondays and Thursdays after Ramadan. The next Article of Faith is hajj, or a pilgrimage to Makkah.  This Pillar of Faith is a requirement for all able men and women, and is to increase one’s physical endurance.  Long walks and heat from the sun, thirst, and physical exercise are to remind us of the Day of Judgment, and in doing hajj, there is a form of jihad and striving in the cause of God that makes us strong Muslims. One must also keep himself in good shape before hajj so that he can perform the hajj in the correct manner which as mentioned, requires a lot of physical endurance. Nutrition and Health: We are told in Quran, “O you who believe, eat of the good things which we have provided to you, and thank God if indeed it is He whom you worship.” (Chapter 5, verse 4).  We are also told not to commit any excess in eating and leave one-third of the stomach empty.  With the stomach being a blender and grinder, it would not work to mix the food when it is full to the neck.  Among the foods, fruits are especially emphasized in Quran (Chapter 36, verse 57; 43:73, 16:67 and 50:68).  Among the fruits that were mentioned were the ones which were known in Arabia at that time, including grapes, pomegranates, figs, olives and dates.  Fruits are low in calories, high in vitamins, minerals and fiber.  Sugar in fruit is fructose, not sucrose, and fructose has been shown to cause no rise in blood sugar and sometimes even lowers the high blood sugar of diabetes.  Honey is from fructose.  We are told in Quran, “There comes from their bellies a drink of diverse color, in which there is a healing for mankind.” (Chapter 16, verse 69).  Therefore, in honey, there is a cure.  Recent studies have confirmed that honey has antibiotic properties comparable to Gentamicin, a very strong antibiotic. Value of Exercise: Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) led a very active life, advising Muslims to teach their children physical exercise including swimming, archery, horseback riding, etc.  He used to walk at a fast pace and helped his wife with the housework and even raced with her.  It is the lack of routine physical activity or exercise with abundant food that we have, which has caused our present-day obesity and coronary artery disease. Unfortunately, Muslims of today especially women do not engage in regular exercise. What should we do when we are affected with disease? Muslims should accept their disease with patience as a test and pray to God for recovery.  Quran says, “If God touches you with affliction, no one can remove it but Him.  If He touches you with happiness, He has power over all things.” (Chapter 6, verse 17).  Prophet Abraham (pbuh) said, When I am ill, it is He who cures me.”(Chapter 26, verse 18). In one of the hadith, Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) has said that “No Muslim is afflicted by injury or illness without God causing his sense to drop away just as a tree sheds its leaves”  (Bukhari). Illness brings us closer to God. The question is, should we seek medical help if cure is from God?  The Prophet, when he was asked this question, replied, “Yes, take medicine as God has not created a disease without creating a cure, except for one, that is old age.”  This implies that we Muslim physicians should  seek the cure for disease, and Muslim patients should use it.  During the illness, in addition to resting, taking medicine and appropriate nutrition, we must increase remembrance of God.  As God says in Quran, “Those who have believe,  and whose hearts find satisfaction in the remembrance of God: for without doubt in the remembrance of God, do hearts find satisfaction.” (Chapter 13, verse 28). It is now known that psychological peace and tranquility lower the level of the ACTH hormone which in fact affects the T-lymphocytes and cell-mediated autoimmunity.  Thus once the immune system becomes more effective  under psychological peace and tranquility, giving the body a chance to fight the disease.  On the other hand, those who are at the peak of their anxiety with stress have very high levels of ACTH and suppress their own immune system as a result. In conclusion, establishing Islam not only means establishing mosques,  Islamic centers and schools, but also establishing Muslims economically, politically as well as physically. Tibbe  Nabvi is not just honey and black seed, but also understanding the working of the body and knowing what is good and what is not good for this machine.  To know the value of exercise and stress management, and preventive checkup of this machine, not waiting for it to completely break down, and taking it to the emergency room.  It also means to accept the doctor’s advice and take medicine in the tradition of Prophet Mohammed (pbuh)

THANKSGIVING – A TIME TO THANK GOD

Written by Dr. Shahid Athar

Sometimes we take things for granted and behave as if we created ourselves and acquired everything we have from our own efforts. It is He who brought you forth from the wombs of your mother when you knew nothing, and He gave you hearing and sight and intelligence and affections, that you may give thanks to God. (Qur'an 16:78) We thank You God for everything we have, for everything good that happens to us. Everything good that happens to you (O Mankind) is from God; everything bad that happens to you is from your own actions. (4:79) We thank You for creating us as humans, the best of creation, with intelligence and five portals to decide what is right and wrong. Have We not given him (mankind) two eyes, a tongue and a pair of lips, and shown Him the two highways of good and evil.  (90:8-10) Our Lord ! You sustained us through nine months of helpless intrauterine life, continued to provide us with food and other materials to sustain us throughout our life. O you who believe!  Partake of good things which we have provided for you as sustenance, and render thanks to God, if it is truly Him that you worship. (2:172) We thank You God not only for creating and sustaining us, but also for guiding us, for accepting our prayers and for forgiving us when we wrong ourselves.  Thus it is impossible for us to deny You favors upon us. For how long, you will deny the favors of your Lord.  (Qur'an:  Surah Ar-Rahman) We thank You God for our own gains. Whoever is thankful (to God) is in fact thankful for his own self. But if anyone is ungrateful, God is self-sufficient and glorious.  (31:12) We thank You God for giving us, to live and prosper a spacious land of freedom and opportunity, where 'the weak and oppressed could migrate to.'    (See Qur'an 4:97) We should thank You God by remembering You , not on just one day a year but in our daily life. Remember Me, I will remember you, thank Me and reject Me not.  (Qur'an 2:152)

Roles of a Mosque in a Muslim Community

Building a mosque is a prophetic and Islamic tradition of Muslim Communities. One of the first things that the Prophet Mohammed "Peace be upon him" did when he entered Medina, is to build a mosque, the mosque of Quba. Subsequently wherever the Muslim's have gone, they have built a Mosque for their needs in that community.

When I came to this country in 1969, there were not more than 50 Mosques but, yes Islam is growing and now there are 2,000 Mosques. But, is it the number of Muslims or the number of Mosques which reflects the true parameters in the strength of Islam? Unless we build a community around the mosque to support and maintain the Mosque and strengthen the community, the mosque itself will not protect the community.

Thus we see that at the peak of communist rule in Russia, there were only 400 mosques left in the whole of the USSR while during the revolution in 1914, there were 24, 000. Most of these mosques under communist operations were closed on week days and open only for Friday Prayer or Sundays. 700 mosques in Bosnia were destroyed by Serbs and there are many mosques in India that have been left behind, abandoned, or converted to Hindu Temples.

Let us ask ourselves, why do we need a mosque to begin with? After all, a Muslim can pray at home and his home is his mosque where he can live a comfortable Islamic life with himself and his family. However, we must remember that Islam is a religion to be practiced collectively therefore, all good things if they are done together has more of a reward than the same things done alone. Never in the Quran does Allah address Muslims as believer but, always as believers.

Thus we are supposed to pray collectively in a congregation and participate in other acts of worship like fasting and hajj together. Therefore, we do need a mosque for collective prayer. Many of the well established mosques in the country started with either a rented house,apartment, or basement of a house or even a garage. By growth of the community and their motivation, there are full fledged mosques.

But is the mosque only for prayers? No. The mosque is the center for all Islamic activity as it used to be in the mosques of the Prophet in Medina. In these mosques, not only prayers took place, but it was a school of knowledge where companions used to study the Quran and ask questions. It was a place for the Government to receive delegations from foreign countries. It was a treasury from which charity work was done and it was a war-room where decisions and planning for wars imposed on Muslims were made.

In fact, the mosque extended to the care of the needy and orphans, and the sick as well as a place for giving D'awa to non Muslims.

Thus we need our mosques not only to be a place of prayer but, a place for seeking Islamic Knowledge for Muslims and non Muslims, and there should be formal classes for newly converted Muslims to ease them into Islam.

It should be a place where our children can receive an Islamic education combating the secular education of their public schools. It should be a place where community social functions can take place with Islamic guidelines whether it is an Iftar party, eid party, marriage, or aqeeqa ceremony that takes place. It should be a place where Muslim men can socialize with other Muslim men and women with women, young boys with young boys, and girls with girls. Not necessarily in the prayer area but, in other areas of the mosque.

Muslims should have in their mosque a reference library where they can go and study Islam. From the mosque, there should be collection and distribution of all Sadaqa and Zakat. In addition to Sunday School and full time Islamic school, there should be day time and evening coaching classes for students in high school and knowledgeable teachers and professionals in the community should coach our students so that they can do a better job with their grades and provide some career counseling. Within each community, there are many Muslim physicians,male and female thus, I propose that in each mosque there should incorporate a free medical clinic which can meet after Friday Prayer or after Sunday school. Where Muslims without insurance or those who are in need of emergency help can receive treatment.

If our resources increase, we can open these clinics even to non-Muslims and that would be the best form of D'awa. Another role of the free health clinic, is to provide education to Muslim men and women about health care, preventive aspects, and emergency care like first aid. Screening for diabetes, high blood pressure, and cholesterol can also be done in this clinic on a regular basis. I propose that in each mosque there should be one room for exercise which can be alternated on days for use between men and women. For Muslim men when they want to exercise, it is easy because they can put on shorts and start jogging in the streets. We do not want our women to do the same. Therefore, we must care for their health by providing them an exercise facility in privacy. To furnish an exercise room is not that expensive; less than $5,000.

Should we allow non-Muslims to come to our mosque or not. The Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) did allow non Christian delegations not only to come and talk to him about Islam but, he allowed them to stay and pray in their own way too. This is Islamic compassion. Doctor Muzzamil Siddiqui, President of ISNA, also wrote a paper in this response agreed to allow the non-Muslims to come to the Mosque. We want to make sure of several things as safeguards.The first is that people do not come in the prayer area. The second is that the women should dress in modesty.

Therefore, if one knows of a certain non-Muslim delegation whether it is a church, interfaith or school coming in, one may want to send them some material regarding the Islamic concept of modesty. Many times, people are ignorant about Islamic customs and that is no reason to shun them away but, we must educate them.

D'awa to non-Muslims is a necessity and a tool of survival. Imam Fakhri Al Razi said 500 years ago "that we should cease to divide the world into Darul Kufr and Darul Harb but,divide is according to Darul Islam and Darul D'awa". If any part of the earth is not Darul Islam,they are all in need of D'awa.

Support maintenance of the mosque is every ones responsibility and not just that of the organizers. When there is a broken pipe or a roof which leaks in out own house, we call the plumber and get it fixed or do it ourselves. We do not do fund raising for maintenance of our house or for the education of our children. Therefore if we consider a mosque, The House of Allah as our responsibility, then we should take care of it as good or better than we take care of our own house and our family. I propose that every member of the community irrespective of his financial status does something for their mosque. Those who can give, they should give money.Those who can work, if they cannot give money, should work in teaching children or doing the maintenance work whether it is painting, cleaning or yard work. There are many programs available through grocery stores and telephone companies that will benefit the mosque.

We have implemented such programs with a long distance company as well as two grocery stores and the income for a small community can be as much as $2,000 per month.

PROBLEMS AND SUGGESTIVE SOLUTIONS

There are many problems which are going on in several communities inside the mosque which has not only divided the community but, sometimes exposed our disunity to non-Muslims when the matters go to court. Some mosques have become inclusive clubs or organizations putting the glory of the organizer inside and closing the door for everyone else. An Islamic organization should be able to bring more people in rather than chase them out. This is related to our egocentrism. We are living in a "me first" society where the motto is I will get Me a hamburger. For most Muslims, this is the issue. "I will not cooperated with you since I don't like you but, when I do the same thing, I want you to support me". An extension of this problem is "whatever you are doing is un-Islamic because it is such-and-such Hadith against it however, I see nothing wrong with what I am doing since I see nothing in the Quran or Hadith against it".

Another problem is the fact that "there is another group which makes things happen, a. second which watches things happen, and a third which does not know what has happened". We Muslims usually belong to the third category of apathetic people but, we have added a forth which will criticize everything that happens. When the rice pilaf is being cooked, we want to stay away from the heat. When it is being served, we want to complain of a shortage,of salt, sugar, raisins and almonds. We always like to watch what others are doing without worrying about ourselves. The nature of this problem is told from the following story told to me by an elderly Muslim scholar. After he led the congregation in prayer, someone from the congregation came and told him that his prayer was invalid. When asked why, he said "your nose was not touching the ground in Sujood". The Imam replied, " I am an old man and I had a heart operation. It is possible that my nose was not touching the ground during Sujood but, may I know what was your nose doing at that time"? There is another story which goes like this. The host was insisting to the guest that he should eat more of the sweets that he was serving. The guest said " no I am full. I have taken 4 pieces already".The host said" No you are wrong, I have been counting and you have taken 6 pieces".

In every mosque, there is sometimes friction between the Administrator and the congregation; between the Imam, the Shura, and the Board of Trustees, between brothers and sisters, between conservatives and liberals, and of course between different ethnic groups. Not only do these differences hurt the feelings of one another but, sometimes has even led to fighting or court battle. How do we solve such problems? We must remember that all of us are subservient to Allah and His messenger. That Imam has to be followed only when he is following Allah and his messenger. The Imam expects by his example to generate love for Him in the heart of the congregation members.

Islam is a colorless religion. It does not endorse one color of skin over another; one language over another; one type of food over another. Islam is like a flower garden with roses and other flowers of different colors and smell. Diversity among Muslims in their origin of tribes languages are signs from Allah. We should forget our differences and remain united in love and service to each other only for the sake of pleasure of Allah. Ask yourself in your Mosque; are you part of the solution or part of the problem? In one church, I saw this sign which said "a church is not a playground for the mischief makers, but a rehab hospital for the spiritually ill. Come on in, the doctor is in". The same thing can be said about a mosque also.

It is important for the congregation to participate in the activities of the mosque and for the organizers to invite everyone including women to actively participate. Womens roles should not be just left for cooking for the functions in the Mosque but, even to participate in the decision making process effecting the mosque as they would do in their own house. Children should not consider Sunday School a place where they are dragged from home to memorize some Surah but, a place so appealing and lively and full of interesting activities that they insist on going there every Sunday. And their parents should not look at Sunday School as a baby sitting place or a day care center where they can drop the kids off and watch the football games or go shopping. They must be actively involved in adult education or whatever activities are going on that day.

What is good for our children is also good for us. I firmly believe that when a Muslim is attached to a mosque, half of the problems are solved. Then he can take the message of Islam that he learns in the mosque to his home and environment, then most of the problems can be solved. We should not accept donation without participation, nor should we accept criticism without volunteering to resolve it.

Written by Dr. Shahid Athar