سیرت طیبہ پر قسِیس زکریا بطرس کی تنقیدات کا تجزیاتی مطالعہ

The Critiques of Zakaria Boutros on the Noble Seerah of the Holy Prophet Muhammad: An Analytical Study Islam is not only a true divine religion but an all-embracing way of life. Prophet Muhammadﷺ is the perfect and ideal role model for the whole mankind. Hisﷺ holy life is open to all in each and every aspect. Hisﷺ noble footsteps and teachings give complete guidance in every walk of life. It has been observed that Jews and Christians’ religious scholars and Orientalist study the Quran, Hadῑth, Islamic History, Culture and Civilization, generally, to deduce negative and subjective conclusions, pretending that they are studying objectively. Father Zakaria Boutros is one such priest from the Middle East. Basically, he is an Egyptian Coptic priest and an active Evangelist. He is a controversial figure in that country for his scriptural studies of Islamic texts. For the last sixty years, he has misguided hundreds of people especially Muslims through his missionary activities and maligning campaign against Islam in the form of booklets, Television programs, Internet services such as Paltalk and personal official websites etc. He has tried to distort facts and to present Prophet Muhammadﷺ in such a way that the attraction of Islam be decreased in the eyes of non-Muslims and doubts be produced among the simple-minded Muslims. In the article under reference, some selected critiques and objections on Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) related to the birth period (pregnancy duration), lineage, sources of knowledge and accusation of worshipping the black stone, are thoroughly analyzed and responded in a scholarly way.

Antioxidant Properties of Medicinal Plants from Coastal Pakistan

Plants have been a major source of chemicals that are useful in treating various human diseases. Synthetic medicines have gained considerable importance but the necessity of drugs extracted from plants is still high because of the greater beneficial effects and lesser side effects of natural products. Natural substitutes of synthetic products are therefore being investigated from plants that are inexpensive and safe to use. The aims of this study were to conduct detailed ethno-medicinal surveys of the rural communities distributed along coastal and sub-coastal regions of Pakistan; to evaluate antioxidant activity and polyphenolic composition of known medicinal plants; and to identify plant species rich in natural antioxidants. I identified about 100 plant species with medicinal properties and most of them were perennials. Decoctions of above-ground plant parts were commonly used to cure 17 different types of ailments by local inhabitants. Halophytes had higher antioxidant potential and phenolic content compared to non-halophytes. Highest antioxidant capacity was recorded in methanol (80%) extracts of Thespesia populneoides, Salvadora persica, Ipomoea pes-caprae, Suaeda fruticosa and Pluchea lanceolata, which was more than that of synthetic antioxidants. These halophytes accumulated significant amounts of total phenolics (TPC), flavonoids (TFC) and proanthocynidins (PC) with high antioxidant activity in their above ground vegetative parts (leaf and stem) compared to roots and seeds. A strong positive correlation was also observed between polyphenols (TPC, TFC and PC) and antioxidant activity using different testing systems. Major phenolics were salicylic, gallic, and chlorogenic acids while dominant flavonoids were kaempferol, rutin and quercetin dihydrate. My data indicate that halophytes represent a rich source of natural antioxidants besides their medicinal uses and could also be considered as potential alternative to synthetic antioxidants for food, pharmaceutical, cosmetics and other industrial products. These plants could provide sufficient biomass at commercial scale using brackish water and saline lands while sparing fresh water and prime agricultural lands for conventional agriculture.