Thursday, June 27, 2013

How do Muslims observe Ramadan in places where the sun does not set?



THE Islamic holy month of Ramadan begins at the sighting of the new moon in the ninth month of the lunar calendar. During Ramadan (which starts on July 9th this year) observant Muslims abstain from food and drink between sunrise and sunset. Because it follows the lunar calendar, Ramadan shifts by 11 days a year in relation to the Gregorian calendar. In some places, like Saudi Arabia, that makes little difference to the number of hours a day Muslims must fast. But what happens in northern countries where there can be up to 24 hours of darkness or light, depending on the time of year? What about in Antarctica, where periods of continuous daylight and continuous darkness last several months? How do Muslims observe Ramadan in places where the sun does not set?
This question has become more pressing as Muslims have ventured further afield from their original Arabian homeland, where the shortest day of the year lasts for around 12 hours and the longest for about 15. Islamic scholars have proffered various solutions. The strictest interpretation of the Koran, as argued by Saudi Arabia’s Council of Senior Scholars, maintains that one must always observe local timings as long as night is distinguishable from day, even if that means fasting for more than 23 hours a day in the summer and for just a few hours during the winter. (The photo shows Kaltouma Abakar, a refugee from Sudan's Darfur province, breaking her fast during the four-hour night in Rovaniemi, a city in northern Finland.) In those places where the sun does not set at all, one must observe the times of the nearest place where it does.
But other scholars argue that this makes for confusion over which city to follow, and that it is anyway unreasonable and not in the spirit of Islam to require people to fast for such long periods. Al Azhar Mosque in Cairo, one of the world’s most respected Islamic institutes, has ruled that Muslims should not fast for more than 18 hours a day. “We are not supposed to starve to death,” says Salman Tamimi, head of the Muslim Association of Iceland. Some communities, like the 1,000 or so Icelandic Muslims, therefore follow a fatwa (Islamic ruling) which recommends observing the fast times of the 45th parallel. Others, in Alaska and Sweden for example, instead observe the times of Mecca, since that is the place to which the Koran’s verses originally referred, a ruling backed by the European Council of Fatwa and Research. Yet another group of scholars suggests fasting for 12 hours irrespective of the time of year, because an average day offers 12 hours of sunlight.
And what of observing Ramadan from low-earth orbit, where each period of daylight lasts just 45 minutes? In 2007, when Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, a Malaysian astronaut, became the first observant Muslim to go into space during Ramadan, Malaysia’s government published a 20-page booklet of guidelines, confirming that astronauts should follow the same prayer and fasting times as the location from which their spacecraft lifted off—in this case, the Baikonur launch pad. “There is no monolithic standard,” says Imam Abdullah Hasan of the Neeli mosque in Greater Manchester, Britain. “The beauty of Islam is its 


Every behaviour has a positive intention

Everything we do invariably has a positive intention. Our action is always towards obtaining a favourable outcome whether or not we are aware of it. A behaviour may appear negative to us but may not be so once we understand the intention behind it. NLP makes a distinction between the purpose or intention behind the action and the action itself.
We all have a reason for whatever we do. We are always aiming to achieve something. We might think of someone else’s action as annoying. But the person performing it has a positive intention. He has a purpose which could be to feel relaxed whenever he smokes or to boost his courage whenever he gets drunk. A moment’s reflection on our part will enable us to comprehend his behaviour better.
By recognizing his positive intention, we can suggest alternative behaviours that are less harmful and which could make him feel just as relaxed or boost his courage just as much. Accepting that every behaviour has a positive intention, we are less likely to react adversely to other people’s actions and disapprovingly of how they think. In NLP, behaviour includes thoughts as well as actions. With such understanding of their intention, we can become more tolerant in our everyday interactions with other people despite the fact that everyone has a different mental perception of reality.
We may condemn other people whose actions are immoral or criminal. But from their perspectives, they have a positive intention in what they do. We simply do not understand the intention behind their actions. All we need to know is there is an intention behind every action. Bearing this in mind, we can still understand the intention behind these behaviours and offer alternative behaviours. This NLP presupposition is not meant to condone sinful acts or heinous crimes committed by evil people.
Whether an action is good or bad, a person's behaviour has a positive intention. We must neither condone nor condemn the bad actions. Resolve by substituting the bad behaviours with positive ones which achieve the same positive intention. When a person is given a better choice of behaviour with positive intention, they will accept it.


Tuesday, June 4, 2013

This page includes a list of links to my electronic publication Books and Articles that you will enjoy a lot.


Urdu language and literature has a long and colorful history that is inextricably tied to the development of that very language, Urdu, in which it is written. While it tends to be heavily dominated by poetry, the range of expression achieved in the voluminous library of a few major verse forms, especially the Ghazal and Nazm (poetry), has led to its continued development and expansion into other styles of writing, including that of the short story, or Afsana. Urdu literature is principally popular in India and Pakistan. Additionally, it enjoys substantial popularity among South Asian immigrants in North America, Europe and Middle East and usually around the world. It is widely understood in Afghanistan. Urdu is finding interest in North American, European and South Pacific Asian countries primarily through South Asian immigrants.
in the light of my scholarship skill always I am trying to explore  my knowledge and spreading it through teaching and learning with the vision “Protection and promotion of aesthetical and cultural values of Urdu Language, Literature and its historical consciousness” and with the mission “to develop it as a combination of archives, museum, library, cultural research institution and wishes to be perceived as an authority in Urdu Language, Literature & Culture both in terms of collection and conservation”.
Full time I am entail in teaching, learning and writing  I have written lot of articles which are based on Urdu language and literature but approaches are interdisciplinary (few articles and books) Electronic Publications link are given below I will be happy if you will made a rational comment.
Kirori Mal College
Articles & Columns by Dr Syed Muhammad Yahya


Five Electronic Publication (05 Books)
ادبی تجزیات۔ محمد یحیٰ صبا۔ ادب۔ تنقید و تحقیق  

English Article:
The Indian cultural and their relevance to national reconstruction
(Dr. Mohammad Yahya, Dept. of Urdu, Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi, India)

Preamble of India
I, Mohd. Yahya Saba, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a sovereign socialist secular democratic republic and to secure to all its citizens: justice, social, economic and political; liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; equality of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all fraternity assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the nation; in our constituent assembly this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do hereby adopt, enact and give to ourselves this constitution. Purpose of having a preamble: the preamble to our constitution serves two purposes first It indicates the source from which the Constitution derives its authority second It also states the objects, which the Constitution seeks to establish and promote.
I, (Dr. Syed Mohd. Yahya. Saba), do swear / solemnly affirm in the name of God that I will faithfully full-fill the duty of Teacher and Teach the Urdu of B.A.(H) 3rd & 2nd Year  of the Dept. of Urdu, Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi, Deli-110007 and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect and promote the Teaching and Learning process for which day by day our institutions academic culture will stored, and that I will devote myself to the service and well-being of the students of this internationally fame college.
With best regards thanking you in anticipation of a positive response from your side.
Yours sincerely
Dr. Syed Mohd. Yahya. Saba
Dept. of Urdu
Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007
Mob: No: 09968244001
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http://kmcollege.academia.edu/MDYAHYASABA