Rediscover Islam
[Does Islam address only Heaven and Hell or does it address every aspect of life and environment and even beyond?]
Two friends discuss the nature of Islam:
Two friends Rafiqur Rahman (Rafique) and Anis Ahmad (Anis) meet after a long time in Bangladesh. They have been friends for long. Rafique lives in USA and works as a computer specialist in the Silicon Valley. He comes to stay with Anis for a few days. Anis is a science teacher in an English medium school in Dhaka. Rafique has many queries about Islam. Anis takes special interest in the understanding of the Do's and Don'ts of Islam. Rafique arrives at Dhaka in the fourth week of Dec 19 and decides to verify some of his thoughts about Islam through detailed interactions with Anis. In what follows, we reproduce the friendly discussions between Rafique and Anis. We hope that these discussions may remove the confusions that exist the minds of many young people both at home and abroad about the stand of Islam on many things including the attitude of Islam towards people of other faiths. rediscover islam by dr m shamsher ali
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| Rediscover Islam |
Rafique: Anis, I have a lot of things to discuss with you about Islam. Will you give me some time for this?
Anis: Certainly my friend. I shall be busy during daytime. But I shall try to keep every evening free for you.
Remember this is the month of December and your Bhabi is good at making different kinds of tasty 'Pithas' (homemade cakes). I am sure you would like those.
Rafique: I cannot wait for long. Why don't we start our discussions and 'Pitha' session from tomorrow?
Anis: Ok, no problem, the lady of the house, I mean your Bhabi, would be glad to feed you as much as you can.
At this point, Salma, the wife of Anis appeared before them and asked Rafique: Rafique Bhai, why did you not bring Ruby Bhabi, We like each other so much; moreover our son Mizan and your son Rumy being of the some age would enjoy each other's company.
Rafique: Sorry Bhabi, they could not come this time. But I promise to bring them next year. But when can I eat the 'Pithas' that you prepare so well?
Salma Bhabi replied: Today is 23rd December. Just give me one day's time to procure the date juice; Insha-Allah, you would have the first Pitha session tomorrow morning. Rafique Bhai, you are staying with us for only two weeks. I am going to treat you with some interesting dishes also. Ok Bhabi, replied Rafique that would be really great.
On the early morning of 24th December, Rafique who was staying at the house of Anis started chatting about different things with Anis. Salma Bhabi brought before them a large number of utensils each containing a different kind of Pitha. Rafique could not help exclaiming 'oh Bhabi, what a wonderful variety of Pithas you have prepared. You have surpassed my mother who had a magic hand for making Pithas. Salma Bhabi said 'No more word, just eat the Pithas and I shall be happy' and left for some other work. Now began the geometric analysis of the Pithas. Anis said to Rafique: have you noticed the geometrical designs of the pitthas; these pithas called shoru pithas are thus thin (as the name implies) and are straight, these pithas known as Patisaptas are more or less rectangular, these pakkan pithas are like circular discs, these pithas known as "Rosher pitha" are like half ellipsoid and look at these fried pithas. These are asterisk shaped. you read this article by rediscover islam by dr m shamsher ali pdf
Thus, geometry is so much prevalent in the shapes and sizes of Bangali pithas. Then tell me Anis, why is artwork not encouraged in Islam?. Anis was noticing very carefully the enthusiasm of Rafique about geometry and artwork. He immediately replied 'My dear friend, who did say that artwork is not encouraged in Islam. I am very surprised that you have a wrong notion in this matter.
Have you not noticed the calligraphic work in Islam? There have been exhibitions on Islamic calligraphy at London and at other places in the world. And these have been highly acclaimed by people all over the world; If you visit the architectural structures at Samarkand and Bukhara, you will come to know that these structures have been declared by UNESCO as Heritage Sights. These are really mind blowing. Islamic architecture has deployed heavily the symmetry principles used in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics namely reflection or mirror symmetry, translational symmetry, rotational symmetry etc.
Why is it so? Asked Rafique; that is because human figures and human sculptures have been discouraged in Islam and hence the art and architectural work in Islam have exploited very strongly the power of geometry. The blending of mernal and external symmetries of nature and the designing of sites and structures has been really worth visiting. At this point, Anis showed to Rafique two plates of Islamic architecture (HH and LL, shown in Appendix A)
from the book titled 'A Beautiful Question' written by the Nobel Prize Winner in Physics and high energy Physicist Frank Wilczek[1]. This book addresses Nature's Deep Designs and tries to find an answer to the Question: Is the world a work of art?.. While commenting on Plate A, Wilczec writes:
"Places of worship embody the aspirations of their architects, and the communities they represent to Ideal beauty, their chosen means of expression, feature, color, geometry and symmetry. Consider, in particular, the magnificent plate HH. Here the local geometry of the ambient surfaces and the local patterns of their color change as our gaze surveys them. It is a vibrant embodiment of anamorphy and anachromy----the very themes that our unveiling of Nature's deep design finds embodied at Nature's core.
Does the world embody beautiful questions? There is our answer before our eyes: Yes
Color and geometry, anachromy and anamorphy ends in themselves are only one branch of artistic beauty. Islam's injunction against representational art played an important part in bringing these forms of beauty to the fore as did the physical constraint of structural stability (we need columns to support the weight of ceilings, and the arches and domes to distribute tension). Depiction of human faces, bodies, emotions, landscapes, historic scenes and the like, when they are allowed, are far more common subjects for art than those austere beaties".
Thus, Wilczec has amply demonstrated that Islam's injunction against representational art has, in no way, harmed the world of art but has greatly embellished it at a very high level.
Now coming back to the question of geometry which Anis brought up in connection with the structures of pithas, he went on to say that our Supreme Creator Allah has, in fact, made geometry the language of some life forms. At this stage of their discussion, Salma Bhabi appeared with yet another type of pitha (made of rice) in her hand together with a bottle of honey which she put on the dining table and said, 'Take this pitha with some honey. It will taste good'. Salma who was listening to some of their conversations from a distance said 'what's going on?. I made some hard work in getting you warm pithas, now you are making those cold. I thought you were having a pitha session and now I see that it is a session on geometry and artwork.
Have you two become crazy?' The two friends Rafique and Anis burst into laughter while enjoying this remark and started grabbing the pithas for eating. Salma nodded her head in the horizontal direction and left the place with a smile on her face. While eating Pithas Anis continued again with his geometrical discourse. He attracted Rafique's attention to the hexagonal shape of honey bee hives which was shown on the bottle of honey left on the table by Salma.. Look Rafique at the geometrical hexagonal structure of the hive of the bee which has been mentioned the Holy Quran. please try to buy H
hardcover rediscover islam by dr m shamsher ali
One hexagon may attach itself with another similar hexagon in a very natural way and no space is lost in a hexagonal packing of honey. What is more eresting is that it has been mentioned in the Holy Quran [2] that Allah has inspired the bees to travel in rected paths. These directed paths happen to be completely geometrical dances. The dance of the bee on a vertical surface of the hive signifies the presence of food arby. The direction of the circular dance of the bee and an axis making an angle alpha with respect to the wical axis of the hive tells observing bees that if the line between the hive and the sun is taken as the vertical axis of : Read More