VALENTINE DAY, BIRTHDAYS, AND OTHER DAZE

What commercial and cultural propaganda presents as beautiful is rooted in ugly paganism but most blind followers do not know.
- By Khalid Baig
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There is a group of practices that we can consider as the twin sister of bid'ah (innovation). Like bid'ah they flourish on the twin foundations of ignorance and outside influence. Like bid'ah they entail rituals. But unlike bid'ah the rituals have not been given an Islamic face. They are followed because they are considered an acceptable cultural practice or the hottest imported "in" thing.

Most of those who indulge in them do not know what they are doing. They are just blind followers of their equally blind cultural leaders. Little do they realize that what they consider as innocent fun may in fact be rooted in paganism. That the symbols they embrace may be symbols of unbelief. That the ideas they borrow may be products of superstition. That all of these may be a negation of what Islam stands for.

Consider Valentine's Day, a day that after dying out a well deserved death in most of Europe (but surviving in Britain and United States of America) has suddenly started to emerge across a good swath of Muslim countries. Who was Valentine? Why is this day observed? Legends abound, as they do in all such cases, but this much is clear: Valentine's Day began as a pagan ritual started by Romans in the 4th century BCE to honour the god Lupercus. The main attraction of this ritual was a lottery held to distribute young women to young men for "entertainment and pleasure" - until the next year's lottery. Among other equally despicable practices associated with this day was the lashing of young women by two young men, clad only in a bit of goatskin and wielding goatskin thongs, who had been smeared with blood of sacrificial goats and dogs. A lash of the "sacred" thongs by these "holy men" was believed to make them better able to bear children.

As usual, Christianity tried, without success, to stop the evil celebration of Lupercalia. It first replaced the lottery of the names of women with a lottery of the names of the saints. The idea was that during the following year the young men would emulate the life of the saint whose name they had drawn. (The idea that you can preserve the appearance of a popular evil and yet somehow turn it to serve the purpose of virtue, has survived. Look at all those people who are still trying, helplessly, to use the formats of popular television entertainments to promote good. They might learn something from this bit of history. It failed miserably) Christianity ended up doing in Rome, and elsewhere, as the Romans did.

The only success it had was in changing the name from Lupercalia to St. Valentine's Day. It was done in CE 496 by Pope Gelasius, in honour of some Saint Valentine. There are as many as 50 different Valentines in Christian legends. Two of them are more famous, although their lives and characters are also shrouded in mystery. According to one legend, and the one more in line with the true nature of this celebration, St. Valentine was a "lovers'" saint, who had himself fallen in love with his jailer's daughter.

Due to serious troubles that accompanied such lottery, French government banned the practice in 1776. In Italy, Austria, Hungry, and Germany also the ritual vanished over the years. Earlier, it had been banned in England during the 17th century when the Puritans were strong. However in 1660 Charles II revived it. From there it also reached the New World, where enterprising Yankees spotted a good means of making money. Esther A. Howland, who produced one of the first commercial American Valentine's Day cards called - what else - valentines, in the 1840s, sold $5,000 worth - when $5,000 was a lot of money - the first year. The valentine industry has been booming ever since.

It is the same story with Halloween, which has otherwise normal human beings dressing like ghosts and goblins in a reenactment of an ancient pagan ritual of demon worship. Five star hotels in Muslim countries arrange Halloween parties so the rich can celebrate the superstitions of a distant period of ignorance that at one time even included the shameful practice of human sacrifice. The pagan name for that event was Samhain (pronounced sow-en). Just as in the case of Valentine's Day, Christianity changed its name, but not the pagan moorings.

Christmas is another story. Today Muslim shopkeepers sell and shoppers buy Christmas symbols in Islamabad or Dubai or Cairo. To engage in a known religious celebration of another religion is bad enough. What is worse is the fact that here is another pagan celebration (Saturnalia) that has been changed in name - and in little else - by Christianity.

Even the celebration considered most innocent might have pagan foundations. According to one account, in pagan cultures, people feared evil spirits - especially on their birthdays. It was a common belief that evil spirits were more dangerous to a person when he or she experienced a change in their daily life, such as turning a year older. So family and friends surrounded the person with laughter and joy on their birthdays in order to protect them from evil.
How can anyone in his right mind think that Islam would be indifferent to practices seeped in anti-Islamic ideas and beliefs? Islam came to destroy paganism in all its forms and it cannot tolerate any trace of it in the lives of its followers.

Further, Islam is very sensitive about maintaining its purity and the unique identity of its followers. Islamic laws and teachings go to extra lengths to ensure it. Salat (Prayers) is forbidden at the precise times of sunrise, transition, and sunset to eliminate the possibility of confusion with the practice of sun worship. To the voluntary recommended fast on the tenth of Muharram, Muslims are required to add another day (9th or 11th) to differentiate it from the then prevalent Jewish practice. Muslims are forbidden to emulate the appearance of non-Muslims.

A Muslim is a Muslim for life. During joys and sorrows, during celebrations and sufferings, we must follow the one straight path - not many divergent paths. It is a great tragedy that under the constant barrage of commercial and cultural propaganda from the forces of globalization and the relentless media machine, Muslims have begun to embrace the Valentines, the Halloween ghost, and even the Santa Claus. Given our terrible and increasing surrender to paganism the only day we should be observing is a day of mourning. Better yet it should be a day of repentance that could liberate us from all these days. And all this daze.

HANDY HINT

If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Voila! It unseals easily.

Hadith of the Week

Responsibility :

The Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said: "Each one of you is a caretaker (ra'iy) and is responsible for those under his care”(Bukhari, Muslim), and in another narration the Prophet Sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “Allah will ask every caretaker (ra'iy) about the people under his care, and the man will be asked concerning the people of his household. (Ahmad, Nisai and Abu Dawud).

- Taken from [Jamiatul Ulama] Online Newsletter Vol. 3 No. 06.

THE STORY OF THE DRUNKARD

------------------------------A saint was once walking on the bank of a river when he saw a scorpion moving hastily towards the water. Knowing that a scorpion cannot swim he was surprised and decided to watch what happened.

In the meantime a tortoise emerged from the water and came close to the bank. The scorpion jumped onto the back of the tortoise and the tortoise began swimming. Very surprised he decided to follow the tortoise and scorpion. Finally, the tortoise reached the other end of the river and the scorpion jumped onto the bank. The scorpion then continued on its way. The saint continued to follow the scorpion.

A while later he saw a young man sleeping beneath a tree and the scorpion was headed in his direction. Thinking that the scorpion would sting the sleeping man he prepared himself to kill it just as it was about to sting the man. As he went forward he saw a snake quickly moving towards the man. He was more surprised than ever. When the snake was close to the man the scorpion ran straight to the snake and bit it. The snake began to toss and turn and died on the spot. The scorpion then returned from the direction it had come.

The saint explained: "I was amazed at this spectacle of fate and began to think. O Allah, Your servant was sleeping here. A snake was about to bite him and You sent a scorpion from such a distance to save him! I went close to the man and awakened him only to find the stench of liquor emanating from his mouth!

I said to him: 'O young man, you were asleep but Your sustainer was protecting you all along.' When he rose to see the snake and he heard my story he began to cry, saying: 'O Allah, I was astray and did not fear You. O Helper of the helpless! O Listener of those who call out for help! O Remover of calamities! O Being who is seventy times more loving than a mother! I had broken Your commands but You did not turn away from me. You showered me with so many bounties to protect me.' The young man sincerely repented and changed his life."

*Moral*
What man regards as a coincidence is a carefully worked-out plan from Allah Ta’ala. Allah Ta’ala showers His mercy upon us every second of the day. Only He knows of the countless occasions on which He has saved us from a calamity, disease, accident or misfortune. In return the least we can do is to obey His commands.

Monitors: LCD vs. CRT

There’s a fierce battle raging in the world of computer monitors these days! It’s basically old technology pitched against a constantly evolving new technology and there's no telling who will eventually triumph over the other. It will more than likely be LCD, but for now, let's take a look at the following factors before favoring one over the other. Here we go!

Size Does Matter:There’s something to be said about Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) monitors. To begin, the size is a lot less than what is usually given. For example, if it’s a 32" monitor, it actually means 32" diagonally. However, a 17" CRT monitor will only have a 15.7" viewable diagonal image. This is where LCD monitors score, because they are measured by the actual size of the screen.

Look at the Applications:If you're really into gaming or your job is to create high-end graphic designs and animations, a larger, more advanced CRT screen is still the best bet for you. But, if you're a home user who isn’t so particular about size or application, an LCD screen would do just fine. The image quality on an LCD is excellent, the look is more contemporary and it doesn’t strain your eyes that much either. Now, if your preference is a CRT monitor, don’t buy anything smaller than a 17” monitor. Similarly, if you're going for a 15" LCD monitor, you might as well go for a 17,” because they cost pretty much the same.

Bundled Monitors: If you're going for a branded PC, the monitors (whether LCD or CRT) come with it. However, those monitors may not score high on quality and performance. So, it’s best to choose the right brand that is good at all of these things. The way out of this is to go for an "assembled PC," where you go to a vendor and choose the brand of PC, UPS, DVD ROM, hard drive, monitor and so on. The best way to find the best monitor for yourself is to check out the entire range of monitors and go for one that suits your needs the most.

Don’t Mistake Them for Flat Screens:You can get a flat screen CRT monitor, as well as, an LCD. So, just because the vendor is promising to hand you a cheaper flat screen monitor, don’t think it’s an LCD and jump for the deal. You should always ask the vendor if it's a CRT or an LCD. That's the only way to know for sure.

- Taken from http://www.worldstart.com

So You Want to be Something Huh?

Hazrat Hakim-ul-Ummah Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanwi (rahimahullah) addressing his students and disciples said:

“Unfortunately the condition of people (who are treading the path of Deen) today is that they want to quickly become “something” from the get-go before actually doing anything. I say to them, that even the fact that Allah Ta`ala accepts us to be involved and occupied with His Deen is a great status and bounty in itself. What more of a blessing can a person ask for than being occupied in the Deen of Allah Ta`ala.

As for that person who desires to become “something” and gain some name and status for himself through Deen, then remember this well…this person is a very unfortunate and deprived (mahroom) person. Annihilate your desires of status and name and remain busy in His servitude, being hopeful of His grace.

Never become hopeless of Him due to your weaknesses and shortcomings. Stand up and move (trusting in Him alone) and see how Allah makes all the difficulties easy and removes the obstacles.

The condition of treading this path is that one must have talab (the fervent desire) and the problem with us today is that we do not have the talab to attain Allah alone. "DESIRE ALLAH ALONE, AND THEN SEE WHAT HAPPENS.”

(Malfoozat-e-Hakim-ul-Ummah; Vol. 7, Pg. 74)

Dropouts and relevance of school curriculum

- S. MUTHUKUMARAN
It may be worthwhile to introduce two or three levels of exams and not to insist on minimum marks in all subjects


-In an ideal school system there will be no dropouts and no one will be declared as a failure. A student may drop out due to economic or academic reasons. The economic reasons can be tackled through appropriate measures such as waiver of tuition fees, providing free textbooks, uniforms, free meals, etc. Such measures are in force in Tamil Nadu as well as in several other States though the details may vary from State to State.


The academic reasons may be irrelevance of the syllabi, poor teaching, etc. There are attempts at training and retraining of teachers to improve the teaching-learning process. The question of relevance is discussed in the following:


The Kothari Commission (1964-66) recommended adoption of 10+2+3 scheme of education with a single programme of study for all students up to the 10th standard. This recommendation was deliberated upon for several years and accepted by all States and implemented.


It is known from psychological studies on children that every child exhibits its individuality by the time it is 10 or 12 years old i.e. by the time the child is in the 5th or 6th or 7th standard it shows its likes and dislikes. This aspect was taken care of in the earlier scheme of 11 years of schooling by providing scope for branching off at the 8th or 9th or 10th standard, equivalent to the present 7th or 8th or 9th standard.


The argument for a common school system up to the 10th is that the child of 10 or 12 years will not be mature enough to really choose the appropriate branch of study. Therefore there is a need to give sufficient time for the child to identify its own choices for higher studies or training.
The school syllabus may be broadly grouped as those areas of knowledge that are essential for developing the individual as a good citizen and those required to learn a profession or a vocation. In the first five years of schooling the syllabi may almost entirely fall under the first group.
In the next five years of schooling about two thirds of the present syllabi may fall under the second group. As all the students are undergoing the same syllabi which may be covering the needs of all types of students, the syllabi content may be comprehensive but may not be student specific i.e. some parts of the syllabi may not be relevant to some students. Evaluation
Therefore there is no need to insist that every child should pass in all subjects. However, it is necessary that every child successfully completes the schooling. This dichotomy may be resolved by the provision of two or three levels of evaluation. The child may choose any one of these levels. It may be helped by the parents, the class teacher and school advisor, if any, to choose the level based upon its abilities, needs and aspirations.


When a child completes ten years of schooling, the data provided by the school system on the performance of the student in each of the ten years and the levels of achievement in each subject will provide all the necessary information about the interests, abilities, traits and suitability for the particular higher course or training which the individual may aspire to pursue.


To conclude, the experience gained in the implementation of a single programme of study with no branching or optional up to the 10th standard has brought out the following: the present system may have to be continued so that every child is exposed to the full range of subjects and areas of training. But over the years, the load has become very heavy and to some extent partly irrelevant leading to failures and dropouts.


Therefore there is a need for rethinking on the scheme of evaluation. It may be worthwhile to introduce two or three levels of examinations and not insisting on any minimum marks in all the subjects of study. The criteria may be that the student passes all the subjects at the lowest level of examination and at least a certain specified number of subjects at the higher levels.