"..has there come to you the story of Moosa ?"

وَهَلْ أَتَاكَ حَدِيثُ مُوسَى And has there come to you the story of Moosa (Moses)?

إِذْ رَأَى نَاراً فَقَالَ لِأَهْلِهِ امْكُثُوا إِنِّي آنَسْتُ نَاراً لَّعَلِّي آتِيكُم مِّنْهَا بِقَبَسٍ أَوْ أَجِدُ عَلَى النَّارِ هُدًى
When he saw a fire, he said to his family: "Wait! Indeed, I have seen a fire, perhaps I can bring you some burning brand from there, or find some guidance at the fire."

فَلَمَّا أَتَاهَا نُودِي يَا مُوسَى
And when he came to it (the fire), he was called by name: "O Moosa!

إِنِّي أَنَا رَبُّكَ فَاخْلَعْ نَعْلَيْكَ إِنَّكَ بِالْوَادِ الْمُقَدَّسِ طُوًى
"Indeed! I am your Lord! So take off your shoes, you are in the sacred valley, Tuwa.

وَأَنَا اخْتَرْتُكَ فَاسْتَمِعْ لِمَا يُوحَى
"And I have chosen you. So listen to that which is inspired to you.

إِنَّنِي أَنَا اللَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنَا فَاعْبُدْنِي وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ لِذِكْرِي
"Indeed, I am Allaah! Laa ilaaha illaa Ana (none has the right to be worshipped but I), so worship Me, and perform the prayer (solely) for My Remembrance.

إِنَّ السَّاعَةَ ءاَتِيَةٌ أَكَادُ أُخْفِيهَا لِتُجْزَى كُلُّ نَفْسٍ بِمَا تَسْعَى
"Indeed, the Hour is coming and My Will is to keep it hidden that every person may be rewarded for that which he strives.

فَلاَ يَصُدَّنَّكَ عَنْهَا مَنْ لاَ يُؤْمِنُ بِهَا وَاتَّبَعَ هَوَاهُ فَتَرْدَى
"Therefore, let not the one who believes not therein (i.e. in the Day of Resurrection, Reckoning, Paradise and Hell, etc.), but follows his own desires, divert you, lest you return (to a state of ignorance).

وَمَا تِلْكَ بِيَمِينِكَ يَا مُوسَى "
And what is that in your right hand, O Moosa?"

قَالَ هِيَ عَصَايَ أَتَوَكَّأُ عَلَيْهَا وَأَهُشُّ بِهَا عَلَى غَنَمِي وَلِيَ فِيهَا مَآرِبُ أُخْرَى
He said: "This is my stick, I lean on it and I beat down branches for my sheep, and in it I find other uses."

قَالَ أَلْقِهَا يَا مُوسَى
(Allaah) said: "Cast it down, O Moosa!"

فَأَلْقَاهَا فَإِذَا هِيَ حَيَّةٌ تَسْعَى
He cast it down, and behold! It was a snake, moving quickly.

قَالَ خُذْهَا وَلَا تَخَفْ سَنُعِيدُهَا سِيرَتَهَا الْأُولَى
(Allaah) said:"Grasp it, and fear not, We shall return it to its former state,

وَاضْمُمْ يَدَكَ إِلَى جَنَاحِكَ تَخْرُجْ بَيْضَاء مِنْ غَيْرِ سُوءٍ آيَةً أُخْرَى
"And press your (right) hand to your (left) side, it will come forth white (and shining), without any disease as another sign,

لِنُرِيَكَ مِنْ آيَاتِنَا الْكُبْرَى
"That We may show you (some) of Our Greater Signs.

اذْهَبْ إِلَى فِرْعَوْنَ إِنَّهُ طَغَى
"Go to Firaun (Pharaoh)! Verily, he has transgressed (all bounds in disbelief and disobedience, and has behaved arrogantly, and as a tyrant)."

قَالَ رَبِّ اشْرَحْ لِي صَدْرِي
(Moosa) said: "O my Lord! Open for me my chest (grant me self-confidence, contentment, and boldness).

وَيَسِّرْ لِي أَمْرِي
"And ease my task for me;

وَاحْلُلْ عُقْدَةً مِّن لِّسَانِي "And make loose the knot (the defect) from my tongue, (i.e. remove the incorrectness from my speech) [That occurred as a result of a brand of fire which Moosa put in his mouth when he was an infant: Tafsir At-Tabaree, Vol. 16, Page 159]

يَفْقَهُوا قَوْلِي
"That they understand my speech,

وَاجْعَل لِّي وَزِيراً مِّنْ أَهْلِي "And appoint for me a helper from my family,

هَارُونَ أَخِي "Haroon (Aaron), my brother;

اشْدُدْ بِهِ أَزْرِي "Increase my strength with him,

وَأَشْرِكْهُ فِي أَمْرِي "And let him share my task (of conveying Allaah's Message and Prophethood),

كَيْ نُسَبِّحَكَ كَثِيراً "That we may glorify You much,

وَنَذْكُرَكَ كَثِيراً "And remember You much,

إِنَّكَ كُنتَ بِنَا بَصِيراً "Verily! You are of us Ever a Well-Seer."

قَالَ قَدْ أُوتِيتَ سُؤْلَكَ يَا مُوسَى (Allaah) said: "You are granted your request, O Moosa!

وَلَقَدْ مَنَنَّا عَلَيْكَ مَرَّةً أُخْرَى "And indeed We conferred a favour on you another time (before).

إِذْ أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَى أُمِّكَ مَا يُوحَى "When We inspired your mother with that which We inspired.

أَنِ اقْذِفِيهِ فِي التَّابُوتِ فَاقْذِفِيهِ فِي الْيَمِّ فَلْيُلْقِهِ الْيَمُّ بِالسَّاحِلِ يَأْخُذْهُ عَدُوٌّ لِّي وَعَدُوٌّ لَّهُ وَأَلْقَيْتُ عَلَيْكَ مَحَبَّةً مِّنِّي وَلِتُصْنَعَ عَلَى عَيْنِي "Saying: Put him (the child) into a Taaboot (box/ case/ chest) and put it into the river (Nile), then the river shall cast it up on the bank, and there, an enemy of Mine and an enemy of his shall take him. And I endowed you with love from Me, in order that you may be brought up under My Eye,

إِذْ تَمْشِي أُخْتُكَ فَتَقُولُ هَلْ أَدُلُّكُمْ عَلَى مَن يَكْفُلُهُ فَرَجَعْنَاكَ إِلَى أُمِّكَ كَيْ تَقَرَّ عَيْنُهَا وَلَا تَحْزَنَ وَقَتَلْتَ نَفْساً فَنَجَّيْنَاكَ مِنَ الْغَمِّ وَفَتَنَّاكَ فُتُوناً فَلَبِثْتَ سِنِينَ فِي أَهْلِ مَدْيَنَ ثُمَّ جِئْتَ عَلَى قَدَرٍ يَا مُوسَى "When your sister went and said: Shall I show you one who will nurse him?
So We restored you to your mother, that she might cool her eyes and she should not grieve. Then you did kill a man, but We saved you from great distress and tried you with a heavy trial. Then you stayed a number of years with the people of Madyan (Midian).
Then you came here according to the fixed term which I ordained (for you), O Moosa!

وَاصْطَنَعْتُكَ لِنَفْسِي "And I have chosen you, for Myself.

اذْهَبْ أَنتَ وَأَخُوكَ بِآيَاتِي وَلَا تَنِيَا فِي ذِكْرِي "Go you and your brother with My Aayaat (proofs/ evidences/ verses/ lessons/signs/ revelations), and do not slacken and become weak in My Remembrance.

اذْهَبَا إِلَى فِرْعَوْنَ إِنَّهُ طَغَى "Go, both of you, to Firaun (Pharaoh), indeed he has transgressed (all bounds in disbelief and disobedience and behaved arrogantly and as a tyrant).

فَقُولَا لَهُ قَوْلاً لَّيِّناً لَّعَلَّهُ يَتَذَكَّرُ أَوْ يَخْشَى "And speak to him mildly, perhaps he may accept admonition or fear Allah."

قَالَا رَبَّنَا إِنَّنَا نَخَافُ أَن يَفْرُطَ عَلَيْنَا أَوْ أَن يَطْغَى They said: "Our Lord! Indeed, we fear that he should hasten to punish us or he should transgress (all bounds against us)."

قَالَ لَا تَخَافَا إِنَّنِي مَعَكُمَا أَسْمَعُ وَأَرَى He (Allaah) said: "Do not fear! Indeed, I am with you both, hearing and seeing.

فَأْتِيَاهُ فَقُولَا إِنَّا رَسُولَا رَبِّكَ فَأَرْسِلْ مَعَنَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ وَلَا تُعَذِّبْهُمْ قَدْ جِئْنَاكَ بِآيَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّكَ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى مَنِ اتَّبَعَ الْهُدَى "So go you both to him, and say: Indeed, we are Messengers of your Lord, so let the Children of Israel go with us, and do not torment them ; indeed, we have come with a sign from your Lord! And peace will be upon him who follows the guidance!

إِنَّا قَدْ أُوحِيَ إِلَيْنَا أَنَّ الْعَذَابَ عَلَى مَن كَذَّبَ وَتَوَلَّى Truly, it has been revealed to us that the torment will be for him who denies and turns away."

قَالَ فَمَن رَّبُّكُمَا يَا مُوسَى Firaun (Pharaoh) said: "Who then, O Moosa, is the Lord of you two?"

قَالَ رَبُّنَا الَّذِي أَعْطَى كُلَّ شَيْءٍ خَلْقَهُ ثُمَّ هَدَى (Moosa) said: "Our Lord is He Who gave to each thing its form and nature, then guided it aright."

قَالَ فَمَا بَالُ الْقُرُونِ الْأُولَى (Firaun) said: "What about the generations of old?"

قَالَ عِلْمُهَا عِندَ رَبِّي فِي كِتَابٍ لَّا يَضِلُّ رَبِّي وَلَا يَنسَى (Moosa) said: "The knowledge thereof is with my Lord, in a Record. My Lord is neither unaware nor He forgets, "

الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمُ الْأَرْضَ مَهْداً وَسَلَكَ لَكُمْ فِيهَا سُبُلاً وَأَنزَلَ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَأَخْرَجْنَا بِهِ أَزْوَاجاً مِّن نَّبَاتٍ شَتَّى Who has made earth for you like a bed (spread out); and has opened roads (ways and paths etc.) for you therein; and has sent down water (rain) from the sky. And We have brought forth with it various kinds of vegetation.

كُلُوا وَارْعَوْا أَنْعَامَكُمْ إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّأُوْلِي النُّهَى Eat and pasture your cattle, (therein); indeed, in this are proofs and signs for men of understanding.

مِنْهَا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ وَفِيهَا نُعِيدُكُمْ وَمِنْهَا نُخْرِجُكُمْ تَارَةً أُخْرَى Thereof (the earth) We created you, and into it We shall return you, and from it We shall bring you out once again.

وَلَقَدْ أَرَيْنَاهُ آيَاتِنَا كُلَّهَا فَكَذَّبَ وَأَبَى And indeed We showed him (Firaun) all Our Signs and Evidences, but he denied and refused.

قَالَ أَجِئْتَنَا لِتُخْرِجَنَا مِنْ أَرْضِنَا بِسِحْرِكَ يَا مُوسَى He (Firaun) said: "Have you come to drive us out of our land with your magic, O Moosa?

فَلَنَأْتِيَنَّكَ بِسِحْرٍ مِّثْلِهِ فَاجْعَلْ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكَ مَوْعِداً لَّا نُخْلِفُهُ نَحْنُ وَلَا أَنتَ مَكَاناً سُوًى "Then indeed, we can produce similar magic ; so appoint a meeting between us and you, which neither we, nor you shall fail to keep, in an open wide place where both shall have a just and equal chance (and people could witness the competition)."

قَالَ مَوْعِدُكُمْ يَوْمُ الزِّينَةِ وَأَن يُحْشَرَ النَّاسُ ضُحًى (Moosa) said: "Your appointed meeting is the day of the festival, and let the people assemble when the sun has risen (forenoon)."

فَتَوَلَّى فِرْعَوْنُ فَجَمَعَ كَيْدَهُ ثُمَّ أَتَى So Firaun (Pharaoh) withdrew, devised his plot and then came back.

قَالَ لَهُم مُّوسَى وَيْلَكُمْ لَا تَفْتَرُوا عَلَى اللَّهِ كَذِباً فَيُسْحِتَكُمْ بِعَذَابٍ وَقَدْ خَابَ مَنِ افْتَرَى Moosa said to them: "Woe unto you! Do not invent a lie against Allaah, lest He should destroy you completely by a torment. And surely, he who invents a lie (against Allaah) will fail miserably."

فَتَنَازَعُوا أَمْرَهُم بَيْنَهُمْ وَأَسَرُّوا النَّجْوَى Then they debated with one another what they must do, and they kept their talk secret.

قَالُوا إِنْ هَذَانِ لَسَاحِرَانِ يُرِيدَانِ أَن يُخْرِجَاكُم مِّنْ أَرْضِكُم بِسِحْرِهِمَا وَيَذْهَبَا بِطَرِيقَتِكُمُ الْمُثْلَى They said: "Indeed ! These are two magicians. Their object is to drive you out from your land with magic, and overcome your chiefs and nobles.

فَأَجْمِعُوا كَيْدَكُمْ ثُمَّ ائْتُوا صَفّاً وَقَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْيَوْمَ مَنِ اسْتَعْلَى "So devise your plot, and then assemble in line. And whoever overcomes this day will be indeed successful."

قَالُوا يَا مُوسَى إِمَّا أَن تُلْقِيَ وَإِمَّا أَن نَّكُونَ أَوَّلَ مَنْ أَلْقَى They said:"O Moosa! Either you throw first or we be the first to throw?"

قَالَ بَلْ أَلْقُوا فَإِذَا حِبَالُهُمْ وَعِصِيُّهُمْ يُخَيَّلُ إِلَيْهِ مِن سِحْرِهِمْ أَنَّهَا تَسْعَى (Moosa) said: "No, you throw (first)!" Then behold, their ropes and their sticks, by their magic, appeared to him as though they moved fast.

فَأَوْجَسَ فِي نَفْسِهِ خِيفَةً مُّوسَى So Moosa developed a fear in himself.

قُلْنَا لَا تَخَفْ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ الْأَعْلَى We (Allaah) said: "Do not fear! Surely, you will have the upper hand.

وَأَلْقِ مَا فِي يَمِينِكَ تَلْقَفْ مَا صَنَعُوا إِنَّمَا صَنَعُوا كَيْدُ سَاحِرٍ وَلَا يُفْلِحُ السَّاحِرُ حَيْثُ أَتَى "And throw that which is in your right hand! It will swallow up that which they have made. That which they have made is only a magician's trick, and the magician will never be successful, no matter whatever amount (of skill) he may attain."

فَأُلْقِيَ السَّحَرَةُ سُجَّداً قَالُوا آمَنَّا بِرَبِّ هَارُونَ وَمُوسَى So the magicians fell down prostrate. They said: "We believe in the Lord of Haaroon (Aaron) and Moosa (Moses)."

قَالَ آمَنتُمْ لَهُ قَبْلَ أَنْ آذَنَ لَكُمْ إِنَّهُ لَكَبِيرُكُمُ الَّذِي عَلَّمَكُمُ السِّحْرَ فَلَأُقَطِّعَنَّ أَيْدِيَكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُم مِّنْ خِلَافٍ وَلَأُصَلِّبَنَّكُمْ فِي جُذُوعِ النَّخْلِ وَلَتَعْلَمُنَّ أَيُّنَا أَشَدُّ عَذَاباً وَأَبْقَى
(Pharaoh) said: "Do you believe you in him (Moosa) before I give you permission? Indeed! He is your chief who taught you magic. So I will surely cut off your hands and feet on opposite sides, and I will surely crucify you on the trunks of date-palms, and you shall surely know which of us [Pharaoh or the Lord of Moosa] can give the more severe and more lasting torment."

قَالُوا لَن نُّؤْثِرَكَ عَلَى مَا جَاءنَا مِنَ الْبَيِّنَاتِ وَالَّذِي فَطَرَنَا فَاقْضِ مَا أَنتَ قَاضٍ إِنَّمَا تَقْضِي هَذِهِ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا They said: "We do not prefer you over the clear signs that have come to us, and to Him (Allaah) Who created us. So decree whatever you desire to decree, for you can only decree (regarding) this life of the world.

إِنَّا آمَنَّا بِرَبِّنَا لِيَغْفِرَ لَنَا خَطَايَانَا وَمَا أَكْرَهْتَنَا عَلَيْهِ مِنَ السِّحْرِ وَاللَّهُ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَى "Indeed! We have believed in our Lord, that He may forgive us our faults, and the magic to which you did compel us. And Allaah is better as regards reward in comparison to your reward, and more lasting (as regards punishment in comparison to your punishment)."

إِنَّهُ مَن يَأْتِ رَبَّهُ مُجْرِماً فَإِنَّ لَهُ جَهَنَّمَ لَا يَمُوتُ فِيهَا وَلَا يَحْيى Verily! Whoever comes to his Lord as a transgressor then surely, for him is Hell, therein he will neither die nor live.

وَمَنْ يَأْتِهِ مُؤْمِناً قَدْ عَمِلَ الصَّالِحَاتِ فَأُوْلَئِكَ لَهُمُ الدَّرَجَاتُ الْعُلَى But whoever comes to Him (Allaah) as a believer and has done righteous good deeds, for such are the high ranks (in the Hereafter),

جَنَّاتُ عَدْنٍ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا وَذَلِكَ جَزَاء مَن تَزَكَّى "The Gardens of 'Adn, under which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever: such is the reward of those who purify themselves


وَلَقَدْ أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَى مُوسَى أَنْ أَسْرِ بِعِبَادِي فَاضْرِبْ لَهُمْ طَرِيقاً فِي الْبَحْرِ يَبَساً لَّا تَخَافُ دَرَكاً وَلَا تَخْشَى And indeed We inspired Moosa (saying): "Travel by night with My slaves and strike a dry path for them in the sea, do not fear either being overtaken or being afraid (of drowning in the sea)."

فَأَتْبَعَهُمْ فِرْعَوْنُ بِجُنُودِهِ فَغَشِيَهُم مِّنَ الْيَمِّ مَا غَشِيَهُمْ Then Firaun (Pharaoh) pursued them with his hosts, but the sea-water completely overwhelmed them and covered them up.

وَأَضَلَّ فِرْعَوْنُ قَوْمَهُ وَمَا هَدَى And Firaun (Pharaoh) led his people astray, and he did not guide them.

[Soorah Taa-Haa : 9-79]
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subhaanallaah..when the Qur'aan speaks, everything else is silenced.
do read this post through.

"...we have more right to Moosa.."

'Abdullaah bin ‘Abbaas, may Allaah be pleased with them, said: “The Prophetصلىالله عليه وسلم came to Madeenah and observed that the Jews were fasting on the day of ‘Aashooraa’.
He asked: “What is this?”
They replied: ‘This is a righteous day, it is the day when Allaah saved the Children of Israel from their enemies, so Moosa, 'alayhi salaam, fasted on this day.’
He صلىالله عليه وسلم replied: “We have more right to Moosa, 'alayhi salaam, than you” so he fasted on that day and commanded [the Muslims] to do likewise.” (Saheeh Al-Bukhaari).

“This is a righteous day” –- in a report narrated by Imaam Muslim, [the Jews said:] “This is a great day, on which Allaah saved Moosa, 'alayhi salaam, and his people, and drowned Pharaoh and his people.”
“Moosa, 'alayhi salaam, fasted on this day” – a report narrated by Imaam Muslim adds: “… in thanksgiving to Allaah, so we fast on this day.”
According to a report narrated by Al-Bukhaari: “… so we fast on this day to venerate it.”
A version narrated by Imaam Ahmad adds: “This is the day on which the Ark settled on Mount Joodi, so Nooh, 'alayhi salaam, fasted this day in thanksgiving...

According to another report also narrated by Al-Bukhaari: “He صلىالله عليه وسلم said to his Companions: ‘You have more right to Moosa, 'alayhi salaam, than they do, so fast on that day.”

source: al-minbar.com
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these are interesting flash movies based on "The Perished Nations" book by Harun Yahya, that show the flood that befell the People of Nooh, 'alayhi salaam, and a depiction of how the sea parted for Moosa 'alayhi salaam, with appropriate references from the Qur'aan...

WARNING: the movies have a little (instrumental) music and sound effects

I'm really liking...

Alpha Mummy

any blog that writes about real life issues like "how to fold a shirt in 2 secs", "getting multiple kids to school with a smile on their face (and yours)" and has a video demonstration of a disabled mum changing a diaper with her feet has my vote.

Excerpt:
Research has shown that getting two children up, dressed and out of the house in a hurry is more stressful than landing a Boeing 747 in a snowstorm. Not real research, but... anyway, here are seven great tips from a feature about the school run by Helena Pozniak from The Times back in October. It's always slightly stressful to read the words 'Try not to get stressed' but it's a good list anyway...

the purpose of language

for: all the Rs, may you always speak/write that which pleases Allaah...Aameen.

***

On the evening of the Day of Sacrifice, Abu-R and I were walking uphill, back to the tents of Mina from a supermarket on the outskirts of the tent-city. There was a stiff breeze and some people had set up make-shift tea and coffee stalls on the sides of the road that consisted of a cooler full of hot water, a jar of coffee, tea-bags and a can of tinned milk. SR 1 per cup.

That's where we saw him: old, frail, bearded, bespectacled, ihraam-clad, a warm shawl slung over one shoulder and a cloth bag carrying pebbles in one hand, walking purposefully against the tide of people, looking completely lost.

He stopped by Abu-R and asked in Punjabi: Is the place where we go to stone the devil nearby?

The Jamaraat were directly at the other end from where we stood, he'd obviously walked a long way and looked exhausted. A cup of tea was called for. While crossing the road, I spoke the only Punjabi words that I could muster/remember: "Tusee ithon chalo.."

I'll never forget the change in his demeanour when he heard those words...he looked as if he was suddenly transported back to his village, sitting on a charpai, sipping ginger tea, watching the chulha smoke (where his daughters-in-law were cooking the evening meal) mix with the exhaust from the tractor that his son was parking in the vacant lot in front of his house...instead of being a lone traveller in a sea of strangers.

...that's when I realised that language has a purpose that goes beyond the spiritual release/emotional catharsis of self-expression; the narcissism of carefully crafted poetry/prose; beyond the boundaries of self-identity and cultural pride...language connects.
***

meanwhile, these are really beneficial posts on Teaching/Learning Arabic as a Second Language: 1 and 2

Muhammad Asad, his first Hajj...

"...And there I stood before the temple of Abraham and gazed at the marvel without thinking (for thoughts and reflections came only much later), and out of some hidden, smiling kernel within me grew an elation like a song.

Smooth marble slabs, with sunlight reflections dancing upon them, covered the ground in a wide circle around the Ka'bah, and over these marble slabs walked many people, men and women, round and rouns the black-draped House of God. Among them were some who wept, some who called loudly to God in prayer, and many who had no words and no tears but could only walk with lowered heads...

It is part of the Hajj to walk seven times around the Ka'bah: not just to show respect to the central sanctuary of Islam but to recall to oneself the basic demand of Islamic life. The Ka'bah is a symbol of God's One-ness; and a pilgrim's bodily movement around it is a symbolic expression of human activity, implying that not only our thoughts and feelings -- all that is comprised in the term 'inner life' -- but also our outward, active life, our doings and practical endeavours must have God as their centre.

And I, too, moved slowly forward and became part of the circular flow around the Ka'bah...I walked on and on, the minutes passed, all that had been small and bitter in my heart began to leave my heart, I became part of a circular stream -- was this the meaning of what we were doing: to become aware that one is merely a part of a movement in orbit? Was this, perhaps, all confusion's end?

And the minutes dissolved , and time itself stood still, and this was the centre of the universe."

----
Writing about the Hajj is daunting, b/z there are so many voices, much better in richness of experience and eloquence than mine could ever be.

If the mark of a good writer is that his/her words bring about an instant resonance within a reader, strike the same chord, then I think Muhammad Asad's experience evokes that emotion. I'm always amazed by the straight-from-the-heart spirituality; the complete lack of contrivance and pomposity in his words.

If you haven't read The Road to Makkah...read it today!

The 'Bone-Setter's' Bio-Data

Name:Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Musa Al-Khwarizmi
Birth Date:c. 780
Death Date:c. 850
Nationality:Arabian
Gender:Male
Occupations:Astronomer

World of Mathematics on Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Musa Al-Khwarizmi:

Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Musa Al-Khwarizmi was the author of about a half dozen astronomical works, including a book entitled Al-jabr w'al muqabala (written in 830 AD) that gave the name al-jabr to the branch of mathematics that is now known by its modern spelling as algebra.
The word al-jabr is usually translated as "restoring," with reference to restoring the balance in an equation by placing on one side of an equation a term that has been removed from the other. For example, given the equation x2-5=4, a balance is restored by writing x2=9. The second part of the title, al muqabala, probably meant "simplification," as in the case of combining 2x+5x to obtain 7x, or by subtracting out equivalent terms from both sides of an equation.

[...]

It of interest to linguists that the term al-jabr later came to mean "bonesetter," i.e., the person who restores broken bones. After the term reached Spain with the Moorish invasion, it became algebrista, and continued to be a term for one who sets bones. At one time, it was common for Spanish barbers to post a sign outside their establishments reading "Algebrista y Sangrador" (meaning bonesetter and bloodletter), it being the custom for barbers to practice those medical arts. And the tradition of barbers performing these treatments continued for some centuries. In sixteenth-century Italy, the term algebra continued to be used for the practice of bonesetting.

When Al-Khwarizmi's book was translated into Latin in the twelfth century, the title was translated Ludus algebrae et almucgrabalaeque. The name for the branch of mathematics, however, was eventually shortened to algebra.

Another of Al-Khwarizimi's books on arithmetic and algebra, De numero indorum (Concerning the Hindu Art of Reckoning) has survived only in its Latin translation. In it, the author gave such a complete account of the Hindu numeral system that that system of numbering is now mistakenly known as Arabic numerals. When Latin translations began spreading throughout Europe, readers began crediting the mathematical notation, which became known as algorismi, to Al-Khwarzimi. Later, the scheme that made use of the Hindu numerals became known as algorithm (a corruption of al-Khwarzimi). Today, of course, the word algorithm refers to a set of well-defined rules for solving a problem in a finite number of steps.

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Ed: Rasha recently started algebra, and we thought it would be interesting to look this up (I didn't know any of this when I first studied algebra)...

I'm also seriously beginning to doubt the research that says brain cells atrophy with age...I've understood the meaning of cumulative, associative and dissociative properties of addition and how to solve basic equations only recently, in the process of teaching Rasha ...if that isn't a sign that people get smarter with age, I don't know what is!

back...brb

aayiboon; taa'iboon; 'aabidoon...li rabbinaa haamidoon

We return in repentance and worship...with praise for our Lord.

alhamdulillaah, been back for a while, but there are literally a million things to catch up with and focus on right now.

jzaakumullaahu khayran x 100000000000 for all the good wishes and prayers...may Allaah accept from all of us ...and hope everyone had a blessed 'Eid!

brb, in shaa Allaah!