bismillah

salaam untuk semua.

satu masa dalam ramadhan ini, teringat-ingat kembali masa lepas yang pasti tidak akan berubah mahupun berulang.
satu masa yang akan datang, inshaAllah .. mungkin kita akan duduk mengingati saat-saat yang kita lalui kini.
kita semua hidup atas kesedaran yang satu, ingin menuju Jannah dan meraih pengampunan Allah. kita sedar apa yang kita lakukan, tapi mungkin tidak selalu kita berjalan seiring tujuan.

Pernahkah kau menangis bila terkenang engkau yang dulu lebih baik dari dirimu saat ini?
Atau, kau sudah jadi orang yang ketawa memperlekehkan 'budak baik' yang jadi identitimu dulu?
Bila maksiat dan dosa orang banggakan, alangkah bertambah pedih janji azab Tuhan ...

......bismillah...
got this in one of the mailing list I subscribe to. Pretty interesting cause it rhymes,
yet how true is the message that the teacher wanted to convey.
READ and REFLECT!!!.............

Subject: petikan ceramah ust. hj akil...

Di dalam hidup manusia, yang penting ialah BERKAT.

Bila hidup kita berkat, diri ini akan selamat.

Apabila diri selamat, rumahtangga jadi sepakat.

Apabila rumahtangga jadi sepakat, masyarakat jadi muafakat.

Apabila masyarakat jadi muafakat, negara kita menjadi kuat.

Apabila negara menjadi kuat, negara luar jadi hormat.

Apabila negara luar jadi hormat, permusuhan pun tersekat.

Apabila permusuhan tersekat, pembangunan pun meningkat.

Apabila pembangunan pun meningkat, kemajuan menjadi pesat.

TETAPI AWAS!

Apabila pembangunan meningkat, kemajuan menjadi pesat, kita lihat bangunan naik bertingkat-tingkat.

Ditengah-tengah itu, tempat maksiat tumbuh macam kulat.

Apabila tempat-tempat maksiat tumbuh macam kulat,

KETIKA ITU manusia mula mengubah tabiat.

Apabila manusia telah mengubah tabiat, ada yang jadi lalat ada yang jadi ulat.

Apabila manusia dah jadi ulat, sembahyang makin hari makin liat.

Apabila sembahyang jadi liat, orang baik ada yang bertukar jadi jahat.

Apabila orang baik bertukar jahat, orang miskin pula nak kaya cepat.

Apabila orang miskin nak kaya cepat, orang tua pula nak mati lambat.

Apabila orang tua nak mati lambat, tak dapat minum madu telan jerla minyak gamat.

Yang lelaki, budak budak muda pakai seluar ketat.

Semua nak tunjuk kuat.

Bila berjudi, percaya unsur kurafat.

Tapi hidup pula yang melarat.

Tali kasut dah tak berikat.

Rambut pun jarang sikat.

Yang perempuan, pakai mini sekerat.

Suka pakai baju ketat.

Suka sangat menunjukkan pusat.

Hingga tak pedulikan lagi batasan aurat.

Pakai pulak yang singkat-singkat.

Kadang-kadang ternampak benda 'bulat'.

Bila jadi macam ini, siapa lihat pasti tercegat.

Silap gaya jadi gawat, bohsia bohjan lagi hebat.

Duduk jauh berkirim surat.

Bila berjumpa, tangan berjabat.

Kemudian pakat lawan peluk siapa erat.

Masa tu, nafas naik sampai tersekat-sekat.

Usah peduli agama dan adat.

Usah takut Allah dan malaikat.

Yang penting apa kita nak buat?

Kita 'bukti' lah kita buat.

Akhirnya perut kempis dah jadi bulat.

Apabila perut kempis dah jadi bulat, maka lahirlah pula anak-anak yang tak cukup sifat.

Bila anak-anak tak cukup sifat, jam tu kita tengok bayi dibuang di merata tempat.

MAKNANYA KETIKA ITU, IBLIS MULA MELOMPAT.

Dia kata apa? Habis manusia dah masuk jerat.

Habis manusia telah tersesat.

Inilah dia fenomena masyarakat.

Oleh itu wahai saudaraku dan para sahabat,

Marilah kita pakat mengingat,

Bahawa dunia hari ini makin singkat,

Esok atau lusa mungkin kiamat,

Sampai masa kita semua akan berangkat! .

Berangkat menuju ke negeri akhirat.

Di sana kita akan ditanya apa yang kita buat.

Masa tu, sendiri mau ingat.

Umur mu banyak mana mu buat ibadat...?

Zaman muda mu, apa yang telah mu buat...?

Harta benda anta, dari mana anta dapat...?

Ilmu anta, adakah anta manafaat...?

Semoga ianya dapat mengingatkan kita supaya segera meninggalkan maksiat dan memperbanyakkan ibadat.

(Petikan ucapan Ustaz Hj. Akil Hayy Rawa.

Sebarkanlah ini kepada ahli keluarga, saudara-mara, rakan-rakan dan sahabat handai kita agar masyarakat kita akan menjadi sebuah masyarakat yang bukan sahaja maju dari segi duniawi malah ukhrawi. Insya-Allah...)

By Ebrahim Kazim, M.B., B.S., D.T.M & H., M.R.C.P.

12/11/2002

Allah (all glory be to Him) tells us in the Holy Quran about Ramadan that, “(He wants you) to complete the prescribed period (of fasting), and to glorify Him in that He has guided you; and perchance ye shall be grateful.” (2:185)
Many benefits, in addition to the spiritual, result from completing this prescribed period of fasting. This article attempts to explain those related to our biological rhythms.


The Stages of Sleep

The background activity of the brain is called the electroencephalogra m (EEG) and can be recorded by the use of scalp electrodes. The dominant frequency and amplitude characteristic of the surface EEG varies with states of arousal.
A person goes through five stages while going to sleep.
Calm wakefulness is accompanied by alpha waves 8-12 Hz (cycles per second) and low voltage fast activity of mixed frequency. This is called stage one. Alpha waves disappear when we open our eyes.
As sleep deepens into stage two, bursts of 12-14 Hz (sleep spindles) and high amplitude slow waves appear.
The deep sleep of stages three and four is featured by an increasing proportion of high voltage slow activity. Breathing is regular in slow-wave sleep or non-REM (Rapid Eye Movements) sleep.
Delta activity (very slow waves, 0.5-4 Hz, high amplitude) is unusual in a normal record and accompanies deep sleep i.e. stages three and four sleep.
After about 70 minutes or so mostly spent in stages three and four, the first REM period occurs, usually heralded by an increase in body movements, and a shift in the EEG pattern from stage four to stage two. These rapid low-voltage irregular waves resemble those seen in alert humans; sleep, however, is not interrupted. This is called stage 5 or REM sleep, when the EEG activity gets desynchronised. There is marked muscle atonia despite the rapid eye movements in REM sleep, and the breathing is irregular.
Theta activity with a pattern of large regular waves occurs in normal children and is briefly seen in stage one sleep and also in REM sleep.
Non-REM (NREM) sleep passes through stages one and two, and spends 60-70 minutes in stages three and four. Sleep then lightens and a REM period follows. This cycle is repeated three or four times per night, at intervals of about 90 minutes throughout the night, depending on the length of sleep. REM sleep occupies 25% of total sleeping time.
When the eyes are opened, the alpha rhythm is replaced by fast irregular low voltage activity with no dominant frequency, called the alpha block. Any form of sensory stimulation or mental concentration such as solving arithmetic problems could produce this break-up of the alpha rhythm. This replacement of the regular alpha rhythm with irregular low voltage activity is called “desynchronisation”.


Fasting Positively Affects Sleep
During the first few hours of an Islamic fast, the EEG is normal. However, the frequency of the alpha rhythm is decreased by a low blood glucose level. This may happen at the end of the fasting day towards evening when the blood sugar is low.
Fasting improves the quality and intensifies the depth of sleep, a matter of particular importance to the aged who have much less stage three and four sleep (deep sleep). The processes of repair of the body and of the brain take place during sleep. Two hours of sleep during the month of Ramadan are more satisfying and refreshing than more hours of sleep otherwise!
REM sleep and dreaming are closely associated. Dreaming may be necessary to maintain health, but prolonged REM deprivation has no adverse psychological effects. Dreaming sleep occupies 50% of the sleep cycle in infants and decreases with age. Brain synthetic processes occur in deep sleep; brain protein molecules are synthesized in the brain during deep sleep or used in REM sleep in restoring cerebral function. Fasting significantly increases deep sleep and leads to a fall in REM sleeping time or dreaming time, and also accelerates synthesis of memory molecules.


Fasting and the Circadian Rhythm
The period of the circadian pace-maker in humans is 24 hours 11 minutes. Hormonal secretion is frequently characterised by rhythmic fluctuations which may be regular or irregular in periodicity. The period of regular oscillation may be as short as a few minutes or as long as a year.
The body timing system that drives circadian rhythms is exposed to external factors ranging from the imposed activity-rest cycle, the natural light-dark cycle, and social activities outside the workplace.
There are biological pacemakers or oscillators within the body with time-keeping capacity which synchronise with the external environmental cycles such as light. Environmental cues that synchronize biological pacemakers are called “zeitgebers” (from the German “time-givers”) , and the process of re-setting the pacemaker is called re-synchronization.
The light/dark cycle is a potent zeitgeber for circadian rhythm but daily cycles in temperature, food availability, social interaction (such as congregational prayers) and even electro-magnetic field strength synchronize circadian rhythm in certain species. Because of recurring cycles of light, temperature and food availability, organisms evolved endogeous rhythms of metabolism and behavior providing response to specific environmental cycles. Many biological rhythms reflect the period of one of four environmental cycles: cycles of the tide, of day and night, of moon phase and of seasons.
Muslims who have been fasting regularly since childhood, have been exposed to different sleep/wake and light/darkness cycles on a daily basis in one annual lunar month. Hence, it may be easier for such persons to synchronize their circadian, circalunar and circannual biological rhythms under difficult conditions.


Fasting, Jet Lag and Shift Work
International travel across time zones produces symptoms of jet lag such as sleep disturbances, gastro-intestinal disorders, decreased alterness, fatigue and lack of concentration and motivation.
Factors contributing to symptoms of jet lag are (1) external desynchronisaion due to immediate differences between body time and local time at the end of the flight. (2) internal desynchronisation due to the fact that different circadian rhythms in the body re-synchronise at different rates, and during the re-synchronisation period, these rhythms will be out of phase with one another.
General symptoms arising from desynchronisation include tiredness during the day and disturbed sleep and reaction time. The severity of these adverse effects and therefore the time required for re-synchronisation depends on the ability to pre-set the bodily rhythms prior to flying, the number of time zones crossed, the direction of flight, age, social interaction and activity. NASA estimates that it takes one day for every time zone crossed to regain normal rhythm and energy levels. A 6-hour time-difference thus needs 6 days to get back to normal.
Rapid adaptation to a new zone can be facilitated by maximising exposure to zeitgebers for the new cycle e.g. changing to meal times and sleep times appropriate to the new time zone. Maximising social contact and exposure to natural lgihting will result in faster resynchronisation than staying at home in a hotel and eating and sleeping without regard to local time. There are widesperead individual viariations in the rapidity of resynchronisation.
Muslims who fast regularly and who have experienced disturbed wakefulness/ sleep cycles on a daily lunar annual basis, can adapt themselves much faster to different time zones during international travel and do not suffer from the ill effects of jet lag. Moreover, the social contact during the Tarawih congregational prayer and the other social-cum–spiritual activities act as zeitgebers which regulate any desynchronised biological rhythm.
Shift workers also experience similar symptoms as jet lag, especially gastro-intestinal, cardiovascular, and sleep disorders and also reproductive dysfunctions in women. The inverted schedule of sleeping and waking also results in diminshed alterness and performance during night-time work with attendant increase in the number of fatigue-related accidents during night time shift hours. Normally, a period of three weeks is required for re-synchronisation among shift workers, and as the fasting Muslim atunes himself to resynchronization processes during the space of just over four weeks in Ramadan, his health problems as a shift worker would be negligible, as his synchronization processes would be more rapid, whether during Ramadan or at any other time.
It is also a common observation that as soon as Ramadan is over, normal circadian rhythms are established in the fasted Muslims with such great rapidity as to be at par with pre-Ramadan levels on the first day of Shawwal, i.e. Eid-ul-Fitr.


Fasting and Encephalins
During fasting, certain endogenous, narcotic-like substances known as opioids (or endorphins) are released into the body. They have a tranquilizing effect as well as an elating effect on the mind. These are also probably responsible for prevention of psychosomatic diseases. The opioids have several effects, including slowing down metabolism to conserve energy. Another effect of opioids may be that, although they produce elation as well as intense hunger, they do not drive the person to eat with sheer gluttony.
Muslims in Ramadan experience an ability to intensely focus their minds on meditation, Quranic recitation and prayers. This spiritual gain during the Holy Month is despite the fact that normal sleep/waking cycles are somewhat disturbed and despite a long day of fasting. Perhaps now we have a closer idea as to the science of this miraculous process.


Dr. Ebrahim Kazim is a medical doctor and the founder and director of the Islamic Academy in Trinidad. The above article was excerpted with permission of the author from his book “Further Essays on Islamic Topics”.

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September 24 marks the first day of the Islamic lunar month, Ramadan, when all Muslims join the Umma (the Muslim Nation) in fasting during each day and praying during the night.

Ramadan is considered a spiritual training month for the rest of the year, a time when believers try to draw nearer to their Creator. Prophet Muhammad said, "Ramadan is the month of endurance and the reward of endurance is Paradise. It is the month of sharing with others, and a month in which Gods blessings to believers are multiplied."

Every day during Ramadan, Muslims totally abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and sexual activity with their spouses, from dawn until sunset. During the winter months dawn is around 5:30 a.m. and sunset is around 5:00 p.m. After breaking their fast, Muslims spend nights in prayer, especially congregational prayers at mosques. Prophet Muhammad said, "Whoever fasts and prays during Ramadan with sincerity and only for the sake of God Almighty, his/her sins will be forgiven."

The predawn meal (suhoor) during Ramadan replaces the ordinary breakfast. The fast-breaking meal (Iftar) usually starts with eating a few dates and drinking a glass of water or juice. Following fast-breaking, Muslims perform the evening prayer (Magreb), which is followed by the main meal, which should be simple. According to Prophet Muhammads teaching, "If you must fill up your stomach, then fill one-third of it with food, one-third of it with water and leave one-third of it empty."

Ramadan is a time of heightened attention to the rules of right conduct. According to the Prophet, "five things break the fast: lying, backbiting, slander, ungodly oaths and looking with passion." In other words, during fasting when certain normally-permitted acts are forbidden, those acts that are always forbidden will ruin a persons fast.

All Muslims who have reached the age of puberty are required to fast, although there are several valid excuses for not fasting, such as illness, pregnancy, hard manual labour and travel. Missed fasting needs to be made up at another time, at the individual's discretion, before the next Ramadan. Children, especially older ones, are often allowed to fast for a few hours during the day. Fasting is one ritual that is strictly between the individual and the Creator. God, and only God, knows whether or not a person observes the fast: it is a test of one's sincerity in the faith. Other rituals, such as praying, going to mosques, giving to the poor or performing pilgrimage are usually observed by others. Hence, Ramadan is considered to be the most personal and spiritual month of the Islamic religious calendar.

Ramadan has also a strong social component. In Islamic countries, all places of eating are closed during the daylight hours. Muslims usually break their fast with families and friends, they also help needy Muslims by offering them fast-breaking meals or money equivalents. Those who have not experienced the fast of Ramadan may think it is easy to skip breakfast and lunch, specially when Ramadan falls during the winter when the day is short. But what about that midmorning cup of coffee or that afternoon smoke? It may be easy for one day, one week. But what about one month?

Unless people have strong faith, they are not likely to make it through for the whole month. But to suggest that fasting during Ramadan is difficult does not mean that Muslims find it to be a hardship. On the contrary, Ramadan tends to be the happiest time of the year. It offers believers an opportunity to strengthen their spirituality through fasting, praying, reading the Quran and contemplating. Many Muslims stay up during the last ten nights of Ramadan at mosques in continuous prayers, praising the One All-Mighty, All-Loving. The sweetness of these night prayers, when nature is calm and the hassle of life subsides, is matchless.

The night of the 27th of Ramadan marks the night that God Almighty started revealing the Quran to Prophet Muhammad more than 1400 years ago. This night, the Quran states, is "better than a thousand months" as God offers more of His love, blessings, mercy, forgiveness and bounties. It is a night when Muslims pray that Gods love and guidance fill the hearts of His servants. Muslims end their month-long spiritual journey of Ramadan with a feast of thanksgiving, where they praise the Lord that they were blessed with the opportunity to witnessing this blessed month and they pray that it will not be the last Ramadan for any of them.