Preface
Each time one reads the Quran his or her understanding deepens. One may be blessed to have a command of the Arabic language and read the Quran in the language exactly as revealed from Allah to the Prophet through the Angel Gabriel. However, for most Muslims around the world, even if we know Arabic, the beauty and depth of the Quran eludes us. Therefore, we often rely on the tafseer (explanation) and translations to help us gain an understanding to guide us in our lives. Brother Hashemi continues from his previous works to carefully delineate in the translated text which words or phrases are a mere translation and which few words or phrases were added for easier reading and understanding.
As a revert to Islam, and a humble but imperfect follower of the teachings of Prophet Mohamed, I tried to learn from authenticated sources: The Quran, The Hadiths (substantiated sayings of the Prophet), and Sunnah (practices of the Prophet as witnessed from endorsed sources). Having information does not make someone knowledgeable. Even with authentic sources readily available, it takes a lifetime of study to consolidate the information into knowledge. And, being knowledgeable does not necessarily mean one uses this knowledge to guide one’s life. However, with works like those produced by Brother Badr Hashemi, we can become that much closer to understanding the body of knowledge and incorporating that knowledge in our daily lives.
Allah used his messengers to relay His message to humans and jinn (unseen creation) in order to guide us. The last messenger, Prophet Mohamed was given the final and irrevocable message to mankind, the Quran. It was revealed in the language spoken by the Prophet and the people of Arabia. The Quran confirms...
Modern social activists through media present Islam’s view about women as an oppressed figure linked to her sexuality through so-called liberalism; her oppression is particularly symbolized by obsessive concern with sex, women’s bodies, the veil, and female isolation. While on factual grounds such mind set and groups have oppressed women by judging their worth as persons based on physical attractiveness. Such modern trends and feministic approaches have turned the image of woman as tool of entertainment or attraction. Those who are convinced by such modern values regard woman‘s status in Islam as inferior on the basis of several issues including; guardianship in marriage, polygamy, divorce right. Unfortunately this horrible disease has crept into Muslim societies in the name of cultural interrelation which is in total disregard for our purity and distinguishing values. The magnitude of women rights in Islam with comparison to feminism has been covered in this brief paper. The first part of the paper gives image of women in western society and bases for initiatives taken for feminism movement in west. Second part of the paper gives a comparison between Islamic approach of women rights and feminism. Third part of the paper describes the view of women liberation and modernity in western society. In fourth part of the paper discussion about women oppression has been presented. In fifth part Islamic view of women rights has been given through Quranic verses and references which is followed by findings and conclusion of the whole discussion
In Pakistan, per hectare crop yields of rain-fed areas are relatively lower than obtained from irrigated areas. It is mainly due to less water availability and poor soil fertility. Lower soil organic matter limits micronutrients replenishment to soil solution. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the zinc (Zn) requirement of maize, as well as to find out the interactive effect of organic and mineral fertilizer sources of nitrogen (N) on maize growth, yield and nutrient uptake. Experiments were conducted at National Agricultural Research Centre, (NARC) Islamabad, having latitude 33o 43 ́ N, longitude 73o 04 ́ E, and altitude 490 m. Soil of the study area is coarse loamy, mixed, hyperthermic Udic Ustochrept and belongs to Nabipur soil series. It is alkaline, calcareous, low in organic matter content, and deficient in N, P, K and Zn contents. Initially, an incubation study was conducted to investigate the pattern of Zn retention, release and equilibrium of added Zn fertilizer in soil,. Four levels of zinc viz. 0, 2, 4 and 8 mg kg -1 were applied to soil weighing 300 g, and incubated by maintaining field capacity moisture at 30±1 °C for 15 days. Soil samples were drawn after 1, 5, 10 and 15 days for the determination of extractable Zn concentrations. Zinc availability / release were enhanced with increasing Zn rate, rendering the highest Zn concentration of 7.8 mg kg -1 in soil extract with 8 mg kg -1 Zn application. In the beginning, release rate was rapid and decreased gradually up to 15 days. 1 2 In the field experiment, main plots had four combinations of N sources viz. control; 100 % recommended dose of N from chemical fertilizer (CF); 75 % N from CF + 25 % N from farm yard manure (FYM), and 50 % N from CF + 50 % N from FYM. In the sub-plots, there were three levels of zinc fertilizer viz. 0, 4, 8 kg Zn ha -1 . This experiment with the same treatments was conducted in both spring and summer seasons of 2008 on maize. Crop growth, yield parameters, photosynthesis rate, activity of nitrate reductase and superoxide dismutase enzymes, and nutrients uptake were measured. After the crop harvest, status of organic matter, N, P and Zn in soil was determined. Data on crop and soil parameters were subjected to statistical analysis of variance, and treatment means were compared by lsd test at P ≤ 0.05 to obtain statistical difference among them. Maize grain yield was at the highest with 75 + 25 % (CF + FYM) with 4 kg Zn ha -1 , although it was statistically at par with that from 50 % + 50 % (CF + FYM) with 4 kg Zn ha -1 and 75 % + 25 % with 8 kg Zn ha –1 . Zinc application showed a significant increase of grain and straw yield. Zinc uptake increased with the application of Zn fertilizer. Enzyme activities were enhanced with the application of Zn and FYM. The Study revealed that substitution of 25 or 50 % N with organic manure + 4 kg Zn ha -1 perform better than 100 % N fertilizer alone, with respect to improvement of crop growth, yield and soil fertility, and activities of superoxide dismutase and nitrate reductase. It reflects that integrated plant nutrient management ensures balanced supply of nutrients to the crop and improves stress tolerance as well