98. Al-Bayyinah/The Clear Evidence
I/We begin by the Blessed Name of Allah
The Immensely Merciful to all, The Infinitely Compassionate to everyone.
98:01
a. Those who disbelieve from among the Followers of the Former Scriptures and the idol- worshipers,
b. will not give up their disbelief until a Clear Evidence was presented to them,
98:02
a. through a Messenger from Allah, reciting purified scripts, and
98:03
a. containing clear instructions for them.
98:04
a. Yet those who were given the former Scriptures did not challenge and become divided into factions until after this kind of Clear Evidence came to them.
98:05
a. Even though all they were commanded to:
- submit to Allah alone in awe, reverence, and worship,
- sincerely devote religion exclusively to HIM, being Haneef, and
- establish the Salat/Prayers and
- pay out Zakat/annual charity
b. for that is/are the parameters of a Religion – Right and Straight.
98:06
a. Indeed, those who continue to disbelieve – even after Clear Evidence has come to them
- from Followers of the Former Scriptures and the idol-worshipers will be in the Fire of Hell - there to remain - never to leave, never to die.
b. Those - they will be the worst of created beings.
98:07
a. However, those who believe and practice righteousness,
b. those - they will be the best of created beings.
Surah 98 * Al-Bayyinah 749
98:08
a. Their reward is going to be with their Rabb - The Lord:
b. Gardens of Perpetual Bliss - through which rivers/streams flow - to live therein forever,
never to leave, never...
Intelligence system is considered to be one of the important tools used by military and civil secret agencies to defend and strengthen a nation. Intelligence system is thought to be one of the oldest studies of known history. Intelligence system consists of correct and accurate information, gathered after great struggle and facing difficulties. This department if related to both peace and war. Intelligence is a basis of formulating all military strategies and plans. The importance of intelligence system both in day to day life and as a nation cannot be overemphasized. This article recounts the intelligence systems and management of the resources of secret services of the companions of the Holy Prophet (SAW) and, thereafter, the Muslims rulers. Furthermore, the principles derived from the era of the companions of the Holy Prophet (SAW) regarding intelligence system have also been discussed in this chapter. The guiding principles that are still valid even today includes: (a) Training of Personnel Since espionage helps to strengthen the roots of a state and protect it from its enemies, therefore it requires a team of well trained professionals with latest technology and trends. Islam emphasized on two aspects of early warning, one is professional and the other is ethical.(b) Counter Espionage. An Islamic state must have an effective network of espionage to keep an eye on all the activities of the enemy. This is known as counter espionage. (c) Reconnaissance. This aims at the fore knowledge of the intentions of the enemy so that one can have a better planning in case of an attack. (d) Verification of Information. Information from an agent should be verified from other sources. An operative may feed false information due to lack of experience and competency and that may create an embarrassing situation. (e) Security of Information. Don’t share your secret, try to protect them. If national secrets are compromised they may cause an extensive damage to national interest. (f) Interrogation of POW. Whenever enemy spies or soldiers are arrested in a war they should be interrogated for extraction of information. They may be subjected to mental stress. (g) Fore Warning of the Enemy. This requires the launching of own agents in the enemy ranks for knowledge of their future plan likes attacks. (h)Treatment of Spies. If anyone is found to be guilty of spying for enemy, he may be penalized with death punishment.
The present investigation explored the potential of various physical, chemical, thermal, non-thermal and biological interventions, individually and in different combinations, to reduce bacterial populations on meat surfaces, thereby improving the quality and shelf stability of raw beef during refrigerate storage. Clove essential oil, hot water washing, UV light treatment and bacteriophage therapy were employed individually on meat fillets (beef) to evaluate their potential to improve safety and quality of meat. Subsequently, different combinations of these antimicrobial interventions were used as multiple hurdle technology to inactivate surface microflora of beef. Prior to any applications, clove powder was nutritionally characterized, and following optimization of an extraction protocol, antioxidant potential and antimicrobial efficacy of clove extracts was measured. For the extraction of polyphenols, four extraction methods were used: ethanol extraction (EE); n-hexane extraction (HE); petroleum ether extraction (PE); and steam distillation extraction (SE). Among these extraction methods, clove oil obtained through HE demonstrated highest extraction yield (48.84±0.13%), total phenolic contents (54.05±0.93 mg GAE/g), total flavonoid contents (15.54±0.46 mg quercetin/g), FRAP value (0.69±0.03 mg/mL) and DPPH activity (0.29±0.01 mg/mL). Additionally, HE clove extract showed the highest antimicrobial activity against all experimental pathogens, producing zones of inhibition of 24.27±0.32 mm for S. Typhimurium, 25.8±0.20 mm for E. coli and 29.67±0.35 mm for L. monocytogenes. With highest susceptibility shown by L. monocytogenes. Moreover, response surface methodology was applied to optimize the treatment combinations for all antimicrobial interventions before their final application on meat. For clove oil treatment, meat samples were dipped in solutions of three concentrations (0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%) for three different time periods (1 min, 2 min, 3 min) and lowest total plate count (3.27 log CFU/g) and Listeria monocytogenes concentrations (2.29 log CFU/g) were recorded in samples immersed in 1.5% clove solution for 3 min. Additionally, immersion in clove solutions was helpful in improving meat qualityand oxidative stability during storage of 15 days. For hot water treatment, total plate count and L. monocytogenes concentrations were lowest on meat samples washed with hot water at 90°C for 90 s i.e., 2.62 log CFU/g and 2.27 log CFU/g respectively. However, drip loss and purge loss percentages were slightly higher and slight discoloration was seen with increase in heat. However, pH, TVBN, and texture values remained in acceptable ranges for all the hot water-treated samples. UV application also reduced total bacteria concentrations with lowest concentrations of total plate counts (2.86 log CFU/g) and L. monocytogenes numbers (2.71 log CFU/g) recovered on meat samples treated with UV light at 8 cm distance for 180 s. Likewise, treat with bacteriophages reduced growth of L. monocytogenes during storage from 5.2 log CFU/g on Day 1 to 3.9 log CFU/g on Day 5, 3.5 log CFU/g on Day 10 and 2.9 log CFU/g on Day 15. Among multiple hurdles, obtained log values of total plate count and L. monocytogenes numbers were 4.35 and 3.92 log CFU/g for dipping in clove oil solution (0.5%) at 60°C for 1 min., 3.31 and 3.26 log CFU/g for hot water wash (60°C) + UV treatment, 3.43 and 3.25 log CFU/g for clove solution dipping (0.5%) + UV treatment and 2.52 & 2.30 log CFU/g for hot water wash (60°C) + clove solution dipping (0.5%) + UV treatment. For phage combinations, L. monocytogenes concentrations were 2.91 log CFU/g for Phage + 0.5% clove essential oil, 2.39 log CFU/g for phage + UV treatment and 1.8 log CFU/g for phage + clove extract + UV treatment. Taken together, these data indicate that individual mitigation treatments each reduced bacterial concentrations on meat surfaces, but multi-hurdle approaches that employed the different treatments on sequence were most effective.Importantly, most mitigation treatments reduced bacterial concentrations without a concomitant decreased on meat quality as measured here.