हेनरी सटेन्ले सबसे पहला ब्रिटिश अधिकारी है जिसने इस्लाम क़बुल किया, उसने ऐसा पूरे इस्लामी जगत मे घुमने के बाद किया और वो 1869 मे हाउस आफ़ लार्ड के पहले मुस्लिम मेम्बर बने..

Our first unexpected muslim is Henry the brother baron, born in 1827. Or to give him his full title, Henry Edward John Stanley , 3rd Baron Stanley of Alderley and 2nd Baron Eddisbury (11 July 1827 – 10 December 1903). He may have adopted the name Abdur Rahman. in 1869 Lord Stanley became the first Muslim member of the House of Lords.

He died and was buried on two of the most auspicious dates in the Muslim calendar, 21 and 25 Ramadan (11 and 15 December 1903 respectively).

He was buried according to Muslim rites in unconsecrated ground in the garden of the Dower House on his family’s estate, Alderley Park, at Nether Alderley, Cheshire. The chief mourner at his burial was the First Secretary to the Ottoman Embassy in London. Islamic prayers were recited over his grave by the embassy’s Imam. A
Janaza service in memory of the deceased was held at the Liverpool Mosque , conducted by Abdullah Quilliam

=====

William Henry Quilliam जिसने अपना मज़हब बदल कर इस्लाम क़बुल किया और अपना नाम Abdullah Quilliam रखा और ये वही शख़्स हैं जिन्होने इंगलैंड मे पहली मसजिद की तामीर करवाई इनहोने ही इंगलैंड मे पहला इस्लामी इदारा क़ाएम किया..

इन्होने 1873 मे मोरक्को का दौर करने के बाद 17 साल की उम्र मे इस्लाम क़बुल किया और 1889 मे Liverpool Muslim Institute खोला जो 8 Brougham Terrace, West Derby Road, Liverpool मे आज भी मौजुद है.

हिन्दुस्तान की जंग ए आज़ादी के क़द्दावर नेता और 1905 मे काबुल मे बनी आरज़ी आज़ाद हिन्द सरकार को प्राधानमंत्री मौलवी अब्दुल हाफ़िज़ मोहम्मद बरकतउल्लाह भोपाली ने अपने युरोप के क़याम के दौरान 1895 से 1899 तक इस इदारे मे अपनी सेवाएं दी थी.

========

1902 की इस फ़ोटो मे आप William Henry Quilliam को ल्वरपूल की मस्जिद मे देख सकते हैं जिसने अपना मज़हब बदल कर इस्लाम क़बुल किया और अपना नाम Abdullah Quilliam रखा और ये वही शख़्स हैं जिन्होने इंगलैंड मे पहली मसजिद की तामीर करवाई इनहोने ही इंगलैंड मे पहला इस्लामी इदारा क़ाएम किया.. ख़लीफ़ा अब्दुल हमीद II द्वारा इन्हे इंगलैंड का शेख़ उल इस्लाम घोषित किया गया…फ़ोटो के बैकग्राऊंड मे आप ख़िलाफ़त ए उस्मानीया का झंडा साफ़ साफ़ देख सकते हैं..

बता दुं के इन्होने 1873 मे मोरक्को का दौर करने के बाद 17 साल की उम्र मे इस्लाम क़बुल किया और 1889 मे Liverpool Muslim Institute खोला जो 8 Brougham Terrace, West Derby Road, Liverpool मे आज भी मौजुद है.

हिन्दुस्तान की जंग ए आज़ादी के क़द्दावर नेता और 1905 मे काबुल मे बनी आरज़ी आज़ाद हिन्द सरकार को प्राधानमंत्री मौलवी अब्दुल हाफ़िज़ मोहम्मद बरकतउल्लाह भोपाली ने अपने युरोप के क़याम के दौरान 1895 से 1899 तक इस इदारे मे अपनी सेवाएं दी थी.

Abdullah Quilliam at the Liverpool mosque, 1902. He was appointed as the Shaykh-ul-Islam of Britain by Ottoman Sultan Abdülhamid II, and was the founder of the ‘Liverpool Muslim Institute’, England’s first mosque and Islamic center. Notice the Ottoman flag in the background of the picture.

Abdullah Quilliam Liverpool Camii’nde ,1902. Ingiltere’nin ilk cami ve islami merkezi olan ‘Liverpool Müslüman Enstitüsü”nün kurucusu olan Abdullah Quilliam, Osmanlı Sultanı II. Abdülhamid tarafından Ingiltere’nin Şeyhülislamı olarak atandı. Resimde arka plandaki Osmanlı bayrağına dikkat edin.

=========

अहमद अली अफ़ेंदी दुनिया के पहले नेग्रो पाईलट थे जिन्होने सलतनत उस्मानिया के लिए अपनी सेवाएं दीं थी. नवम्बर 1916 मे उन्होने ये शर्फ़ हासिल किया था. आबाई तौर पे ये नाईजरीया से ताल्लुक़ ऱखते थे.

The virtuous Sufis would call upon those taking bai’at (the oath taken by a person at the time of becoming disciple the of a saint) at their hands to;

• Offer earnest repentance for their sins
• Make a solemn affirmation of loyalty and obedience to God and the Prophet.
• Refrain from licentiousness and self-­indulgence, injustice, oppression and violation of the rights of others.

These pious teachers addressed themselves to the moral elevation of their disciples by

• prescribing measures for the eradication of vices like vanity, malice, jealousy and lust for wealth and power.
• They urged their disciples to remember God and to do well to His creatures and practice self-abnegation and contentment.

Besides the bai’at which symbolized forging of a special link between the guide and the disciple, the revered teachers also exhorted and gave good counsel to whoever came to them and strove to awaken in their hearts the love for the Divine and the ambition to seek His pleasure and to strive with all his might for self-correction and inner reform.

Illustrative of the powerful, inspiring and morally regenerating influence exercised on the society by the Sufi leaders through their tremendous sincerity, moral excellence, preaching and instruction is the following extract from the renowned historian, Ziauddin Barni, depicting the social conditions prevailing in India during the reign of Alauddin Khilji.

“The leading Sufi saints at the time of Alauddin Khilji were Sheikh-ul-Islam Nizamuddin, Sheikh-ul-Islam Alauddin and Sheikh-ul-Islam Ruknuddin. A world received enlightenment from them and took the bai’at at their hands. Sinners were inspired by them to repent for their sins and thousands of evil-doers and habitual defaulters of Namaz (Daily 5 times Muslim Prayer)  abandoned their evil ways and became devout worshipers; a strong fer­vour was created among them for religious deeds and their repentance attained perfection. The obligatory duties of worship and Divine ordinances in the other spheres of life began to be observed as a matter of course. Excessive attachment to worldly desires and aspirations, which lies at the root of most of the evils, got reduced under the force of the high morality, asceticism and profound self-denial of these spiritual masters……………… People grew truthful as a result of their blessings; they became honest in the management of worldly affairs and were fired by the ambition to improve and evolve their inner selves due to the inspirational influence exercised by the laudable moral conduct, abstinence and spirituality of the Sufi leaders……..”¹

The historian goes on to say:

“In the last years of Sultan Alauddin’s rule the general moral level had improved so much that a majority of the people abstained from drink, adultery, gambling and other social and moral perversions. The major sins were shunned as equivalents of infidelity. Muslims refrained from open usury and hoarding for fear of each other’s censure. Adulteration, deceit and under-­weighing were eliminated from the market.”¹

It is manifestly impossible to give a coherent, historical picture of the reformation brought about in public morals by the Sufi divines in few lines. It is enough to know here that the Sufi saints have made an enormous contribution towards the evolution of a healthy, conscientious environment in India which is the nation’s greatest asset and which has provided it with worthy leaders and redeemers at every critical turn of history.

Leaving aside the intervening centuries, the material on which is widely available in the memoirs and biographies of the spiritual leaders, we give an instance from the life of Syed Ahmad Shaheed, a religious reformer and Sufi saint of the 19th century, to show the extent of the moral impact of his personality on society. It is recorded in connection with his brief stay in Calcutta that;

“the liquor business in that great city was suddenly brought to a standstill. The liquor merchants complained to the authorities that though they wore paying the taxes regularly, they had been forced to close down their business since the arrival in the city of a saint under whose influence more and more Muslims were getting reformed daily and taking the vow not to indulge in intoxicants any more. They did not even look at the liquor shops now.”²

These venerable divines enjoined upon their new disciples to observe

• fairness in monetary dealings
• paying back of debts
• scrupulous satisfaction of the claims of others.

To cite an example, the great Sufi Khwaja Nizamuddin Aulia was bidden emphatically by his spiritual mentor, Khwaja Fariduddin Ganj Shakar “to do his level best always to placate the opponent and render to everyone what was his due.”

Khwaja Nizamuddin Aulia owed a person some money and a book he had borrowed from someone had got lost. When on arriving Delhi, he went to settle these accounts, the person to whom he owed the money remarked, “It seems you are coming from the society of Muslims” while the owner of the book said, “Is it always like that at the place from where you are coming ?”³

People likewise were imbued with the desire to oblige and be of help to others under the guidance and instruction of the Sufi saints. During the entire course of the long Haj journey, Syed Ahmad Shaheed and the large band of his companions missed no opportunity to do an act of public service. While they were sailing down the Ganges they came across a boat which was laden with cotton at the landing-ghats of Mirzapur. The owner of the cotton was in need of labourers to remove it to the godown. Seeing his plight, Syed Saheb at once told his companions to unload the boat and so energetically did they apply themselves to the task that in a couple of hours the whole cotton was taken off and deposited in the godown. People who witnessed the deed were left thoroughly amazed;

“What sort of men they are” they commented among themselves. “They did not even know the cotton merchant and yet they have toiled so hard for him without charging a pie. Surely, they are the devout men of God.”⁴

What was achieved by the Sufi divines in India in the sphere of general moral upliftment was solely the result of their evolved spirituality and loftiness of character. No government, no law no other institution could bring about so much improvement in so many people or keep them so steadily within the bounds of moral propriety and rectitude.

 

1. Condensed from Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi by Ziauddin Barni p. 346

2. Waqa-i-Ahmadi

3. Fawaid-ul-Fuwad, pp.14

4. Seerat Syed Ahmad Shaheed, pp.249

Muslims abstain from food and drink from dawn to dusk in the holy month of Ramadan. It is important to get proper nourishment between Iftar and suhoor in order to be prepared for the next day of fasting. Fasting requires a lot of energy and commitment on part of each individual, especially when Ramadan is in the hot summers in most parts of the world. To not fall sick due to dehydration and the demands of this month, there are certain tips that one should definitely keep in mind while staying healthy during Ramadan.

1. Do not skip Suhoor: One should never skip Suhoor. Eating Suhoor in not only a Sunnah, but it is also the most crucial meal of the day. Suhoor provides you with the energy to keep you going throughout the day while fasting. Suhoor is the pre-dawn meal which helps your body stay hydrated and fueled up on energy and nutrients until iftar. It also helps to avoid overeating when you break your fast at sunset in iftar.

2. Keep yourself hydrated in Ramadan: This Ramadan comes at the peak of summers, so drink as much water as you can but not to fill yourself entirely with water so that you cannot attain and store energy as well. Make sure that you drink enough water once you break your fast in order not to remain thirsty after all. Try to keep yourself hydrated by water mainly, sugary drinks and juices can be your next best alternative but should not be your first priority.

3. Break your fast with dates: Dates are eaten at the start of iftar meal. Because they are a nutritious burst of natural sugar, they fuel your body with much-needed energy. So, we should begin our iftar with dates.

4. Avoid sugary food: Sugar results in highs and lows that leave you with more cravings and thus messes up your metabolism. Sugar gives you empty calories without nutritional benefits and results over-eating in Ramadan. it is recommended to eat the sweet food after 2-3 hours to regulate the sugar level as the body breaks the sugar faster making you hungry sooner.

5. Divide your Meal: Take care of yourself as you eat to live rather live to eat that is why dividing your meal into proper portions and timings helps in health stability during Ramadan. Eat mix food including fruits, veggies and a bit of meat to be in a balanced diet.

6. Avoid deep frying: When cooking, make your favourite Ramadan recipes healthier by stewing, baking, roasting, steaming or grilling and avoid frying.

7. Exercise: Never forget exercise during Ramadan. Add exercise to your daily meal is beneficial for your health as it leads to the easy consumption of food avoiding storage of fats. Exercise leads to a healthy weight and a healthy lifestyle.  Best is to exercise a couple of hours after having Iftar as it will not only help to digest food but also keeps your metabolism working.

When molten lava meets sea water it creates steam explosions.

Steam explosions are often encountered where hot lava meets sea water. Such an occurrence is also called a littoral explosion. A dangerous steam explosion can also be created when liquid water encounters hot, molten metal. As the water explodes into steam, it splashes the burning hot liquid metal along with it, causing an extreme risk of severe burns to anyone located nearby and creating a fire hazard.
Wikipedia, Steam Explosions, 2018

Earlier today, a basketball-sized chunk of molten rock slammed into a tour boat off the coast of Hawaii, injuring 23 people and sending at least four to the hospital. The incident happened near the Kilauea volcano, which has been erupting since early May. As USA Today reports, the Lava Ocean Tours boat was hit by falling lava caused by alittoral explosion near the Kapoho volcanic ocean entry, where molten rock from the Kilauea volcano is pouring into the sea.
Gizmodo, Nearly Two Dozen People Injured After Lava Bomb Hits Hawaii Tour Boat, 2018

But 1400 years ago explosion of sea water was portrayed in the Quran.

[Quran 82.3] If the seas were exploded.

Today we know where hot lava meets the sea water it makes steam explosions.