Lagu Hari Raya

Hari Raya Lite : Rowan Atkinson

Selamat Hari Raya, Be Safe, Eat Moderately

Its another Hari Raya. Selamat Hari Raya folks. To all Malaysians who will be enjoying the holidays - join in the festivities and share the good cheer.

The roads are clogged up again. Drive safely. Its a big rush so be courteous and give way on the roads. It will not delay you at all. Do leave your steering locks in the trunk. For your comfort do take sanitary emergency stuff in your cars and buses. We heard horror stories of people getting stuck for hours in long jams.

This year will be the first time that our family will not be all together for Hari Raya. For the first time since he was born 23 years ago, our younger son is away on Hari Raya  - 'menjalankan tugas'.  Whats App and Skype does make the world so near though.

 Doctor at large..

Have a good break folks. Time is precious and life is short. Spend time with folks who care for you and whom you care for too. It will be a great blessing if both are the same.

Here is a Hari Raya video someone sent me. 

The Hamas War For Relevance

This is adapted from Middle East sources :

"Hamas spokesperson: We did not agree to extension of cease-fire until midnight.   Israel earlier agreed to extension of 12 hour humanitarian cease-fire that began at 8:00 a.m. for an additional four hours; three rockets fired by Hamas just after 8 p.m. The Israelis agreed to extend by four hours a humanitarian truce agreed with Hamas and other armed groups in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, but Hamas said it never agreed to the extension that would take the 12 hour humanitarian ceasefire that began at 8:00 a.m. to midnight.  Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman for Hamas said there was no agreement to extend the ceasefire.  Earlier on Saturday, the Israelis were leaning towards extending the truce.  "As far as Israel is concerned, there is no reason to prevent Gaza's people from stocking up on supplies, so long as the military can continue its work against the tunnels. Our war is not against the population," the official said.  Earlier Saturday, Foreign ministers from the United States, Europe and the Middle East called for an extension of the 12-hour ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said.  The ministers in Paris, along with senior EU diplomat Pierre Vimont, met on the same day that the Israelis began a 12-hour ceasefire."

Hamas prepared two years for this round of  war and spent hundreds of millions of US Dollars to stock up on rockets, rocket warheads, guns, weapons, bombs and to build hundreds of concrete lined tunnels.  More than half its stock of rockets have been destroyed or depleted and many of the tunnels also bombed or caved in by explosives. Israeli troops are now inside Gaza.

Hamas appears surprised by the timing and scope of the Israeli ground offensive.

Hamas also remains frustrated by the fact that after two years of preparations, and enormous resources poured into the armament and tunnels programs, it does not have any visible achievements to show for its efforts.  

But the biggest blow to Hamas is that this time around it has almost no support and recognition at all from the Arab League or the Organisation of Islamic Countries. Except for tiny Qatar, the major Arab countries like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya and Mahmoud Abbas' Palestinian Authority have no interest in Hamas. Egypt has permanently closed the Rafah crossing into Gaza.

And here is something for supporters of Hamas in Malaysia to ponder. Palestinians in Gaza who hold foreign passports who want to leave Gaza to return to their countries of residence are NOT allowed to use the Rafah crossing into Egypt. So these Palestinians have no choice but to use the border crossing with Israel at Erez, going to Tel Aviv and flying off from there. However Hamas put a stop to Palestinians leaving through Israel. Palestinians leaving Gaza must apply for Exit Visas from Hamas which involves an approval process and payment of large sums of money.

Hamas is therefore losing significant legitimacy not only among other Arab nations but also among Palestinians.

Hence, it is now important that Hamas continues to search for a "victory picture" it can present to the people of Gaza, while preparing for a drawn-out conflict. Rocket fire has dropped from an average of 130 attacks a day to 70, as Hamas paces itself, and saves what remains of its rocket arsenal for the remainder of its clash with Israel.

Hamas's goal is to wage a ware of attrition against the Israeli home front, so that it can present this as an "achievement" to Palestinians at the end of the war. One possibility is that Hamas may seek a victory image by launching a massive wave of rockets, targeting nearly all of Israel simultaneously, in the coming days.

Despite the seemingly united front being presented by Hamas's military and political wings, deep tensions continue to exist between them.  The two wings are in close communication, and senior Hamas member Marwan Issa acts as a bridge between them. Nevertheless, Hamas's military wing, known as the Al-Qassam Brigades, has been progressively losing power to the political wing, which is the sovereign government in Gaza.

The Al-Qassam Brigades, which once called the shots in Gaza, remains intent on continuing the current conflict with Israel for as long as it can. Due to its decentralized operational structure the Al-Kassam Brigades will not  break easily under pressure, despite sustaining a series of heavy blows.

According to intelligence analysts, Hamas did not wish to meet Israeli Ground Forces in Gaza, and did not plan on such a development occurring this month.  Additionally, the clashes with Hamas have shed light on the degree to which Hamas has reached self-reliance in Gaza.

It fires projectiles that are manufactured by a domestic Gazan arms industry. Hamas understands that it cannot count on access to the outside world for weapons imports. It has even self-produced around ten drones.

Hamas invested in a naval commando unit, and spent years training it to carry out raids against the Israeli coastline.  Yet all of these capabilities have been blocked by the Israelis this month.

Hamas maintains six territorial brigades and 26 battalions. Many of these elements - over 300 field commanders - are cut off from command and control sites that have been destroyed. With tunnels also being destroyed, Hamas's fighters are increasingly isolated and exposed. 

Over the past year, Hamas created specialized brigades and battalions for tunnel warfare. They are tasked with using cross-border underground passages to send squads into Israel. Their missions include kidnapping a soldier, disrupting an Israeli ground offensive and attacking Israeli villages near the border.

These cells are seen by Hamas as elite forces. Each Hamas company is responsible for the tunnels in its area of operations, and Hamas's military wing chief, Muhammad Deif, is the senior "tunnels officer."

When it comes to defense, Hamas has built dynamic lines of protection around its tunnel network inside Gaza. It also recently set up a field intelligence division that closely tracks Israeli activities.  These measures have failed to stop the Israelis from systematically destroying the Gazan tunnel network, but they have exacted a painful number of Israeli casualties.

The morale of Hamas battalions on the front line is currently low, as a result of the Hamas limited success. There is a substantial decrease in attempts by Hamas units to engage in combat.

Hamas will need time to rebuild itself and its infrastructure, after sustaining large-scale damage, particularly to its weapons industry. 

The people of Gaza will also have to rebuild their destroyed lives, houses, buildings and property. 

DBKL & Ministry Of FT Wish Selamat Hari Raya

Above & Below : Gambar Terkini. Ke Arah Negara Maju

Above & Below : Ke Arah Kuala Lumpur Tanpa Penjaja Tahun 2080

Above : Jangan Bising. Ada Orang Tidur Di Dalam

Bawah : Pusat Pungutan Sampah. Plastik buang 

ke kiri, kertas campak ke kanan, sisa makanan 

buang mana-mana pun boleh

Selamat Hari Raya Dari DBKL & Ministry of FT

24 Hour Ceasefire In Gaza Rejected By Hamas

Israelis Agree to UN sponsored Cease-Fire for 24 Hours A humanitarian halt to hostilities in the Gaza Strip for 24 hours is in place. The ceasefire was broken by continued fire from Hamas. Hamas and Israel had earlier agreed on Saturday to an initial four-hour extension of a 12-hour humanitarian pause at the request of the United Nations. Three Hamas mortars landed just as the original lull was expiring at 8 p.m. Before midnight, more than a dozen rockets were fired at Israel by Hamas. Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza, issued a brief statement saying there had been no agreement on extending the lull until midnight, and Hamas later took credit for sending two rockets toward Tel Aviv.

Sunday Lite : Abdal Hakim Murad

Fath al-Bari: Commentary  on Sahih al-Bukhari
Abdal Hakim Murad

Introduction to the translation of Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani's commentary on selected hadith (published as a booklet by the Muslim Academic Trust)

The booklet intends to introduce non-Arabic speakers to one of the most seminal genres of Muslim religious literature, namely, the hadith commentary. It is surprising that no serious translations at present exist from this voluminous and influential body of writing, given that there are few hadith which can be understood adequately without reference to the often complex debates which have taken place concerning them between the scholars. These discussions have included investigations of the precise linguistic and lexicological meaning of the Prophetic speech, studies of the isnad, debates over the circumstances surrounding the genesis of each hadith (asbab al-wurud), and issues of abrogation by stronger or later hadiths or by Qur’anic texts. Sufyan ibn ‘Uyayna, the great early hadith scholar, used to remark: al-hadith madilla illa li’l-‘ulama’: ‘the hadith are a pitfall, except for the scholars.’ For this reason no Muslim scholar of repute uses a hadith before checking the commentaries to ascertain its precise meaning, context, and application. 

The importance of this literature may be gauged by the fact that at least seventy full commentaries have been written on Imam al-Bukhari’s great Sahih. The best-known of these include al-Kawakib al-Darari by Imam Shams al-Din al-Kirmani (d. AH 786), ‘Umdat al-Qari by Imam Badr al-Din al-‘Ayni (d.855), and the Irshad al-Sari by Imam Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Qastallani (d.923). However the most celebrated is without question the magnificent Fath al-Bari (‘Victory of the Creator’) by Imam Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani, a work which was the crown both of its genre and of the Imam’s academic career. It is appreciated by the ulema for the doctrinal soundness of its author, for its complete coverage of Bukhari’s material, its mastery of the relevant Arabic sciences, the wisdom it shows in drawing lessons (fawa’id) from the hadiths it expounds, and its skill in resolving complex disputes over variant readings. For Bukhari’s text has not come down to us in a single uniform version, but exists in several ‘narrations’ (riwayat), of which the version handed down by al-Kushmayhani (d.389) on the authority of Bukhari’s pupil al-Firabri is the one most frequently accepted by the ulema. This is, for example, why the new and definitive edition of the Sahih, through the authorized narration of the best-known hadith scholar of recent times, Shaykh al-Hadith ‘Abdallah ibn al-Siddiq al-Ghimari, uses the Firabri version (for this text see www.thesaurus-islamicus.li). Ibn Hajar frequently uses the Kushmayhani variant as his standard text, but gives his reasons, often in complex detail, for preferring other readings where these seem to have particular merit. In doing this he makes it clear that he is authorized, through the ijaza-system, for all the riwayat he cites.

Imam al-Bukhari 

Ibn Hajar considered the hadith collection of Imam Muhammad ibn Isma‘il al-Bukhari (AH 194-256), entitled al-Jami‘ al-Sahih (‘The Sound Comprehensive Collection’), to be the most reliable of all the hadith collections of Islam. His respect for the compiler was no less total, as is evident from the short biography which he offers of him, which portrays him as a saint as well as a scholar. He recounts, on Firabri’s eye-witness authority, how the imam would make ghusl and pray two rak‘ats before including any hadith in his work, and always carried on his person one of the hairs of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). He collected his Sahih in Khurasan, and arranged it in the sanctuary at Mecca, and completed it while seated between the minbar and the Blessed Prophetic Tomb in Madina.

His miracles (karamat) are numerous and well-attested. Once, after helping to build a fortress to defend the Muslim community, he provided the laborers with three small coins’ worth of bread, but even though there were a hundred laborers, there was enough for all. Despite his abstemious personal habits, he was endlessly generous to his students. One of his scribes, Muhammad ibn Abi Hatim, said: ‘When I was with him on a journey we would stay in a single room together, and I would see him rising fifteen or twenty times in a night to light the lantern, and work on an isnad, after which he would lie down again. I asked him: “Why do you impose all of this on yourself instead of waking me?” and he would reply, “You are a young man, and I don’t wish to interrupt your sleep.”’ Ibn Abi Hatim further related: ‘I once saw al-Bukhari in a dream. He was walking behind the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), setting his feet directly in the Prophet’s footsteps.’ And when he was lowered into his grave, a perfume like musk poured out from it. ‘So many people took dust from his grave,’ recalled another of his students, ‘that we had to place a wooden fence around it.’

Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi narrated that ‘Abd al-Wahid ibn Adam said: ‘I once saw the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), with a group of his companions, in a dream. He was standing, and I greeted him, and when he returned my greeting, I said: “Why are you standing here, O Messenger of Allah?” and he replied: “I am waiting for Muhammad ibn Isma‘il.” A few days later the news of al-Bukhari’s death reached me, and when I checked I realized that he had died at the moment when I beheld that dream.’

copyright Abdal Hakim Murad

Free Speech, Inclusiveness And Democracy In The Koran

Its the second last day of the fasting month. Our area is a mess. There is no law and order. He who pays and he who is paid rules the streets. Money talks. 

Anyway just some RUMI-nation  for a Saturday.  There are numerous verses in the Quran that advocate and guarantee freedom of speech, total freedom of faith, inclusiveness and democracy. Here is a short list of three verses :

39:18  ‘They are the ones who listen to all views, then follow the best. These are the ones whom Allah has guided; these are the ones who possess intelligence.’ 

To decide their affairs the Muslims are told to listen to all views and then to follow the best thereof. You cannot listen to all views unless there is freedom of speech. The Muslims must therefore guarantee freedom of speech. 

This has been a Quranic injunction for over 1400 years now. It goes without saying that people can only express their views freely if they are unmolested and given the space to speak. This is reiterated in the following verse :

Surah 58:11  ‘O you who believe, if you are told, "Please make room," you shall make room for each other to sit. Allah will then make room for you. If you are asked to get up and move, get up and move. Allah raises those among you who believe, and those who acquire knowledge to higher ranks. Allah is fully Cognizant of everything you do’.

‘You shall make room for each other to sit, Allah will then make room for you’ ; ‘if you are asked to get up and move, get up and move’. This is not only  social etiquette but there is a higher philosophy here calling the Muslims to be considerate for other people and to be inclusive. 

Far from being the misfits that they have become as a result of mullah indoctrination, these Quranic teachings will make Muslims highly regarded and highly sought after  neighbours and members of society.

Finally in the affairs of governing ourselves the Quran suggests a democratic way of choosing our leaders.

4:59  ‘O you who believe, you shall obey Allah, and you shall obey the messenger, AND THOSE PRECEDING IN AUTHORITY FROM AMONG YOU. If you dispute in any matter, you shall refer it to Allah and the messenger, if you trust in Allah and in the conclusion of all things. This is better for you, and provides you with the best solution’.

AND THOSE PRECEDING IN AUTHORITY FROM AMONG YOU (oolil amri min kum). The words ‘from among you’ indicates an element of volunteerism ie the society has to decide for itself and choose leaders from among its members. 

So all these three verses taken together ie 

i.   the Muslims must listen to all views and then choose the best (39:18)

ii.  the Muslims must be inclusive and create space for other people (58:11) 

iii. and they must choose leaders from among themselves (4:59) 

clearly indicates a democratic, progressive and highly intelligent society. 

The West has latched on to these Quranic teachings for the past few hundred years. The three verses above describe the modern West. They are the most Islamic countries in the world today.

In contrast in Iraq and Syria the Khalifah of the Daulah Islamiyah just blew up a very old historical masjid. He says he did not like that mosque.

In Malaysia some people are collecting money to pay Kiki's fine. Oh well.

Daulah Islamiyah Blows Up Historical Masjid

Radicals from the Muslim terrorist organization, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), destroyed the shrine of the biblical prophet Jonah, in an action not seen since the Taliban destroyed Buddhist religious sites during their rule in Afghanistan.

Iraqi news sources reported that the group destroyed the prophet’s shrine located east of Mosul on Thursday, after seizing control of the mosque that contained it. 

The militants shut down all doors of the mosque, preventing religious observers from entering for their daily prayer, before blowing up the holy site.
“ISIS militants have destroyed the shrine of Prophet Younis (Jonah) east of Mosul city after they seized control over the mosque completely,” 

The ISIS members reportedly blocked the entrances to the mosque before securing the perimeter and placing explosives throughout the holy place of worship. It took ISIS nearly an hour to fill the area with explosive devices. They incinerated the holy site in front of many observers.

The prophet Jonah is best known in the Old Testament of the Bible — as well as the Quran — as the man swallowed by a large fish. Jonah is revered in Christianity, Judaism and Islam.

The tomb of the prophet Jonah in Mosul was the primary shrine to the biblical figure in the world, and served as his major worship site. It was built on an archeological site dating back to the 8th century BC, and is believed to be the burial place of Jonah, although this fact cannot be fully confirmed. 

The shrine was last renovated by Sadam Hussein during the 1990s. Since then, the site has remained a popular site for religious pilgrims of all three faiths.

ISIS presents the greatest crisis seen yet by the Iraqi people since the 2011 withdrawal of U.S. troops. 

The militants have seized huge chunks of territory within the country, gaining control of major cities in both the West and the North, as well as along the Iraqi-Syrian border.

The last time a Muslim terrorist organization destroyed a religious site was when the Taliban blew up sandstone statues of the Buddha in Kabul in 2001. The incident prompted an international outcry, and spurred religious leaders — as well as government officials — to work diligently to preserve the country’s cultural heritage.

Reason Why Dams Dried Up All Over The World

Earth survived near-miss from 2012 solar storm: NASA
 

Washington (AFP) - Back in 2012, the Sun erupted with a powerful solar storm that just missed the Earth but was big enough to "knock modern civilization back to the 18th century," NASA said.

The extreme space weather that tore through Earth's orbit on July 23, 2012, was the most powerful in 150 years, according to a statement posted on the US space agency website Wednesday.

However, few Earthlings had any idea what was going on.

"If the eruption had occurred only one week earlier, Earth would have been in the line of fire," said Daniel Baker, professor of atmospheric and space physics at the University of Colorado.

Instead the storm cloud hit the STEREO-A spacecraft, a solar observatory that is "almost ideally equipped to measure the parameters of such an event," NASA said.

Scientists have analyzed the treasure trove of data it collected and concluded that it would have been comparable to the largest known space storm in 1859, known as the Carrington event.

It also would have been twice as bad as the 1989 solar storm that knocked out power across Quebec, scientists said.

"I have come away from our recent studies more convinced than ever that Earth and its inhabitants were incredibly fortunate that the 2012 eruption happened when it did," said Baker.

The National Academy of Sciences has said the economic impact of a storm like the one in 1859 could cost the modern economy more than two trillion dollars and cause damage that might take years to repair.

Experts say solar storms can cause widespread power blackouts, disabling everything from radio to GPS communications to water supplies -- most of which rely on electric pumps.

They begin with an explosion on the Sun's surface, known as a solar flare, sending X-rays and extreme UV radiation toward Earth at light speed.

Hours later, energetic particles follow and these electrons and protons can electrify satellites and damage their electronics.

Next are the coronal mass ejections, billion-ton clouds of magnetized plasma that take a day or more to cross the Sun-Earth divide.

These are often deflected by Earth's magnetic shield, but a direct hit could be devastating.

There is a 12 percent chance of a super solar storm the size of the Carrington event hitting Earth in the next 10 years, according to physicist Pete Riley, who published a paper in the journal Space Weather earlier this year on the topic.

His research was based on an analysis of solar storm records going back 50 years.

"Initially, I was quite surprised that the odds were so high, but the statistics appear to be correct," said Riley.

"It is a sobering figure."

Titah Khalifah Daulah Islamiyah : FMG

1. UN says Iraq jihadists order female genital mutilation, experts doubtful

 

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Geneva (AFP) - The United Nations said on Thursday that jihadists in Iraq have ordered all women between the ages of 11 and 46 to undergo female genital mutilation, but experts quickly cast doubt on the claim.

Related Stories

• Britain plans new laws to prevent female genital mutilation Reuters
• Britain plans new laws to prevent female genital mutilation Reuters
• ISIS Executions Signal Sunni Infighting in Iraq The Atlantic Wire
• [$$] Islamist Insurgents in Northern Iraq Threaten Christians The Wall Street Journal
• Iraq says footage purporting to show Islamic State leader is false Reuters

The UN's second most senior official in Iraq, Jacqueline Badcock, told reporters in Geneva via videoconference: "It is a fatwa (or religious edict) from ISIS, we learnt about it this morning. We have no precise numbers."

The Islamic State, formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), took over large swathes of the country last month and has begun imposing its extreme Salafist interpretation of Islam.

But several experts have speculated that the fatwa may have been a hoax, and a number of journalists said on Twitter that their contacts in Iraq had not heard of it being issued.

Charles Lister, visiting fellow at the Brookings Doha Center and expert on Iraqi and Syrian extremist groups, said the UN claim appeared to be based on a "quite clearly faked statement" that began circulating online on Wednesday.

"It would certainly be a very big coincidence if the UN source was separate but happened to arise at the same time as this fake statement online," he said.

 

2. Iraq: 'Islamic State' Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Orders Female Genital Mutilation of Two Million Girls

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  By Lydia Smith
  July 24, 2014 13:49 BST
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Female genital mutilation is widely recognised as a violation of human rightsGetty

The leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham has asked all families around Iraq's northern city of Mosul to circumcise their daughters or face severe punishment.

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of the self-declared Islamic State, has ordered the female genital mutilation of two million Iraqi girls to "distance them from debauchery and immorality".

The "fatwa" issued by the Sunni Muslim fighters would potentially affect four million women and girls, the UN resident and humanitarian coordinator in Iraq Jacqueline Badcock told reporters in Geneva by video from Irbil.

"This is something very new for Iraq, particularly in this area, and is of grave concern and does need to be addressed," she said.

Speaking to BasNews, a spokesman for Mosul police, Ahmed Obaydi, said: "Baghdadi's decision to have all women circumcised is, as he claims, to prevent immorality and promote Islamic attitudes among Muslims. The decision was made by Baghdadi as a 'gift' for people in Mosul."

The decision has, however, sparked outrage by human rights organisations, who said that genital cutting exposes women to an increased risk of disease.

Civil rights activist Asil Jamal said: "When ISIS was first arriving in Mosul, people were warmly welcoming them, but as a result of ISIS' horrendous wishes, especially forced female circumcision, it is becoming clear for people that these ISIS militants don't know anything else except torture.

"Now, people in Mosul believe that their decisions are dangerous, especially female circumcision. They believe that it is a violation against their rights," journalist Saad Qasm commented.

The World Health Organisation state that FGM is recognised internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women and reflects a deep-rooted inequality between the sexes.

The practice also violates a person's rights to health, security and physical integrity, the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and the right to life when the procedure results in death.

Zanun Majid, a citizen in Mosul, told BasNews: "Due to this decision, many girls fear for their lives, not knowing where to flee, otherwise risking severe punishment by staying."