News From The Red Planet

Is the white stuff in the Martian soil ice or salt? That's the question bedeviling scientists in the three weeks since the Phoenix lander began digging into Mars' north pole region to study whether the arctic could be habitable.

Shallow trenches excavated by the lander's backhoe-like robotic arm have turned up specks and at times even stripes of mysterious white material mixed in with the clumpy, reddish dirt.
Phoenix merged two previously dug trenches over the weekend into a single pit measuring a little over a foot long and 3 inches deep. The new trench was excavated at the edge of a polygon-shaped pattern in the ground that may have been formed by the seasonal melting of underground ice.
New photos showed the exposed bright substance present only in the top part of the trench, suggesting it's not uniform throughout the excavation site. Phoenix will take images of the trench dubbed "Dodo-Goldilocks" over the next few days to record any changes. If it's ice, scientists expect it to sublimate — or go from solid to gas, bypassing the liquid stage — when exposed to the sun because of the planet's frigid temperatures and low atmospheric pressure.
"We think it's ice. But again, until we can see it disappear ... we're not guaranteed yet," mission scientist Ray Arvidson of Washington University in St. Louis said Monday.
Even if it's not ice, the discovery of salt would also be significant because it's normally formed when water evaporates in the soil.
Preliminary results from a bake-and-sniff experiment at low temperatures failed to turn up any trace of water or ice in the scoopful of soil that was delivered to the lander's test oven last week. Scientists planned to heat the soil again this week to up to 1,800 degrees, said William Boynton of the University of Arizona in Tucson.
Phoenix landed in the Martian arctic plains on May 25 on a three-month, $420 million mission to study whether the polar environment could be favorable for primitive life to emerge. The lander's main job is to dig into an ice layer believed to exist a few inches from the surface.
The project is led by the University of Arizona and managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The lander was built by Lockheed Martin Corp.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080616/ap_on_sc/phoenix_mars;_ylt=Ak5A2XusnXb2IesYJxrgHsYiANEA

Qu'ran, Al-Inshiqaq, Surah 84:16-19

Qu'ran, Al-Inshiqaq, Surah 84:16-19

I swear by the glow of the sunset, by the night and all that the night brings to life, and by the full moon, that you will move from your present existence to a different existence.

Qu'ran, Al-Inshiqaq, Surah 84:16-19

Qur'an, As-Saff, Surah 61:2-3

Qur'an, As-Saff, Surah 61:2-3

Believers, why do you say what you do not execute? It is most offensive in the sight of Allah when you say what you do not practice!

Qur'an, As-Saff, Surah 61:2-3

11th Annual International Mars Society Convention

Dr. Alan Stern To Speak At 11th Annual International Mars Society Convention
We are pleased to announce Dr. Alan Stern will be speaking at the 11th Annual International Mars Society Convention, which will be taking place from August 14-17, 2008 in Boulder, Colorado. Dr. Stern recently served as Associate Administrator, NASA Science Mission Directorate, and is currently the principal investigator for the New Horizons mission to Pluto.
Dr. Stern has had a distinguished career as a planetary scientist and author. He was formerly the Executive Director of the Southwest Research Institute's (SwRI's) Space Science and Engineering Division. Prior to that role, he held several other positions at SwRI, including Director of the Department of Space Studies; leader of the Geophysical, Astrophysical, and Planetary Science section in SwRI's Space Sciences Department; and leader of SwRI's Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences group at Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. From 1983 to 1991 he held positions at the University of Colorado in the Center for Space and Geoscience Policy, the office of the Vice President for Research, and the Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy (CASA).
Dr. Stern has published over 175 technical papers, 40 popular articles, and two books - The U.S. Space Program After Challenger (Franklin-Watts, 1987), and Pluto and Charon: Ice Worlds on the Ragged Edge of the Solar System (Wiley 1997, 2005).
REGISTER NOW FOR A SPECTACULAR CONVENTION!


WHERE:
Back to where it all began in 1998: University Memorial Center, University Of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado.
WHEN:
August 14-17, 2008
REGISTRATION:
Available online
HOTEL INFORMATION:
Available online
SUBMIT AN ABSTRACT:
Do you want to give a talk? Please submit an abstract of no more than 300 words to marsabstracts@aol.com.
SPEAKERS:
We have an impressive list of knowledgeable, inspiring speakers already scheduled.
Some of our other confirmed speakers and programming include:
Dr. S. Pete Worden (Brig. Gen., USAF, ret.; NASA Ames Research Center Director)
Elon Musk (Founder and CEO of SpaceX)
Dr. Jim Garvin (Chief Scientist, NASA Goddard)
Dr. Carolyn Porco (Cassini Imaging Team Leader)
Dr. Chris McKay (NASA Ames Research Center)
Dr. Carol Stoker (NASA Ames Research Center)
Dr. Bill Clancey (NASA Ames Research Center)
Dr, Matt Mountain (Director of the Space Telescope Science Institute)
Dr. Michael Simpson (International Space University)
Dr. Robert Braun (Georgia Tech)
George Whitesides (Executive Director, National Space Society)
Dr. Robert Zubrin (President and Founder, The Mars Society
Dr. Buzz Aldrin of Apollo 11 fame is also tentatively scheduled to speak.
Brother Guy Consolmagno (Vatican Observatory; Curator, Vatican Meteorite Collection)
Dr. Ted Peters (Co-Editor: Theology and Science; The CTNS Journal of Science and Religion)
In addition, we will also be featuring some special programming:
Hubble Space Telescope: Why is it worth the risk and expense to repair HST? We will have speakers to discuss the future repair mission as well as the numerous astronomical discoveries that HST has made over its lifetime.
Mars and Campaign 2008: What will the 2008 elections mean for the future of the space program? We will be holding extensive programming to discuss this topic. We also intend to invite representatives from the Democratic and Republican Presidential campaigns.

Religion and Space Exploration: What impact will space exploration have on religion (if any)? What would the theological implications be of finding life on another planet? What has been the history of religion and space studies? We will be discussing these topics and many more aspects of this profound topic.

Web Advocacy for Mars and Generation Y: There has been much discussion lately about why members of "Generation Y" are not excited about space exploration. We will have in depth discussions on this topic and have presentations on how best to utilize the web for space advocacy.
Mars Project Challenge: Finalists in The Mars Society Mars Project Challenge (MPC) will make presentations explaining why their proposed project should be The Mars Society's next big project.

Latest News From the Red Planet

Clumpy soil on Mars has further hampered the Phoenix lander's attempts to obtain samples for analysis by the spacecraft's test instruments, mission experts said.

"Virtually none of the material made it down into the oven" after the probe dug up new soil clumps from the Martian permafrost with its robotic arm, William Boynton, an investigator for Phoenix's thermal and evolved gas analyzer (TEGA), said during a press teleconference Monday
It was a further setback for Phoenix, whose TEGA analyzer at the weekend was not able to obtain smaller, testable bits from the Martian landscape which researchers hope will provide clues to whether the planet was once habitable for microbial life.
Between 20 and 30 milligrams of soil is necessary for analysis, but Boynton said less than one milligram of matter passed through the screen into one of the probe's test facilities.
The screen is designed to allow through it particles measuring one millimeter (0.04 inch) or less. Inside the port there is an infrared beam which determines if particles enter the machine.
Once it gets a sample, the TEGA instrument spends several days analysing its content, first testing for the level of water content, and then heating it gradually to 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,832 Fahrenheit) to better assess the mineral composition.
Phoenix, which landed on the stark terrain of Mars' north pole region on May 25, collected the first sample on Thursday.
The team aims to try the procedure anew in the coming days. Should that fail, mission scientist Doug Ming said, they will attempt a "sprinkle test" in an attempt to jar smaller soil pieces free.
"We hope to deliver a sample in about two sols," or Martian days, Ming said.
Boynton, who is a scientist at the University of Arizona which is coordinating significant elements of the mission, said the team was not urgently pressed for time.
"It will be at least a week or two (of failure) before we start to get terribly concerned," he said.
Phoenix has a total of eight "ovens" that can be used to test separate samples from the Martian surface.
If need be the team can also employ an alternate delivery mechanism which would grind up the sample. "So we are still pretty optimistic that one of these techniques will work for us," Boynton said.

Ibn Ishaq The Life of Muhammad

Ibn Ishaq, "The Life of Muhammad"

Muhammad now felt compelled to speak openly about the divine revelations he had received. At first people were friendly, listening attentively to what he said; and some were quickly convinced by him. But when he disparaged their ancient gods, most took grave offence; they resolved to regard Muhammad as an enemy, and to treat his followers with contempt. Muhammad was distressed at their reaction, but refused to be deterred from obeying God's command. And Abu Talib, Muhammad's uncle, tried to protect him.

Martian Daily News from Mars

NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander successfully scooped up a sample of Martian soil with its robotic arm, mission scientists said on Friday.
This is really an important occasion for us, to be poised to make a measurement for the first time of the Martian arctic soil," said Phoenix principal investigator Peter Smith of the University of Arizona.
The $420 million mission aims to dig down through the soil to the layers of water ice thought to lie underneath the surface, and to analyze soil samples to determine their composition and see if the ice might once have been liquid water, potentially creating a habitable zone for microbial life at some point in the past.
Phoenix retrieved its sample Thursday from a site dubbed Baby Bear, which lies just to the right of the trench the lander dug out in its practice digs. The practice digging locale is called Dodo

Mission controllers will send instructions to the lander to dump the sample into one of the TEGA ovens tonight. The TEGA ovens, which are about an inch long and the diameter of a pencil lead, will heat up the soil samples and use a mass spectrometer to detect the gases that come off the samples, which will shed light on some of the materials in the soil, specifically those formed by the process of liquid water.
"The TEGA system is particularly sensitive to water in its oven ... water is the first thing that's cooked out," Smith said.
Mission scientists must be careful when delivering the sample not to overload the instrument and contaminate other ovens. Once the sample is delivered on Friday, Phoenix will image TEGA to make sure the sample has been delivered and that the oven door is shut. The instrument is will then begin its four-day analysis (which may not occur in four consecutive days); the team will report each day's results as they become available. Any water present in the sample should be the first thing to vaporize from the soil, Smith said.
The sample also contains some of the white material seen in the scoop after Phoenix's first practice "dig and dump," which scientists think could be ice or a type of salt mineral.
Of course, they can't be sure that any of the white material will make it through the oven's entry screen. "We're hoping that some of this goes in and that we get a hint of what it is," Smith said.
Some science team members think that the whitish material can't be ice because it has been too easy to scrape up — the ice layers under the soil will likely be difficult to scrap because ice is so hard at the brutally frigid temperatures on Mars (which have so far reached a high of only -22 degrees Fahrenheit (-30 Celsius)

Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillan

Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani, "Fayuz E Yazdani"

Once a person said to a dervish, "All I ask for is a small dwelling in Paradise."
The dervish replied, "If you displayed the same contentment with what you already have in this world, you would have found ultimate bliss."

Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani, "Fayuz E Yazdani"

At-Taghabun Surah 64:2-4

Qur'an, At-Taghabun, Surah 64:2-4

It was God who created you; yet some of you refuse to believe, while others have faith. He is aware of all your actions. He created the heavens and the earth to manifest the truth. He fashioned each one of you--and each one of you is beautiful. To God you will all return. He knows all that the heavens and the earth contain. He knows all that you hide and all that you reveal. He knows your deepest thoughts.

Qur'an, At-Taghabun, Surah 64:2-4

The Kashf al-Mahjub

Al-Hujwiri, "The Kashf al-Mahjub"

Speech is a great blessing conferred on man by God, thereby distinguishing him from all other creatures. But speech like wine intoxicates the mind. Thus the Prophet said: "He who keeps silent shall be saved." For in silence are concealed many spiritual blessings and in speech many evils.

Al-Hujwiri, "The Kashf al-Mahjub"

Hadith

The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)

He who remembers his Lord and he who does not are like the living and dead.

The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)

ATTAR Rabi'a

Attar, "Rabi'a"

A religious leader came to visit Rabi'a, and was shocked to see that her clothes were in tatters. He said: 'There are many people who would provide you with decent clothes, if you would only allow them.' Rabi'a replied: 'Everything in this world is on loan to us from God. I am ashamed to accept the loan of a loan.' The man went away, and said to others: 'It is astonishing that a mere woman has reached such spiritual heights. She refuses to spend any time on material matters.'

Attar, "Rabi'a"

Mars probe lands

A NASA spacecraft plunged into the atmosphere of Mars and successfully landed in the Red Planet's northern polar region on Sunday, where it will begin 90 days of digging in the permafrost to look for evidence of the building blocks of life.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080526/ap_on_sc/phoenix_mars;_ylt=AmjLwVaiPCaHmrx50VZTgjMPLBIF

The first images transmitted from the lander about two hours after landing showed one of its feet sitting on Martian soil amid tiny rocks and a view of the horizon of the arctic plain. Another image showed that the lander's solar panels had deployed.

Like a tourist in a foreign country, the lander initially will take in the sights during its first week on the Red Planet. It will talk with ground controllers through two Mars orbiters, which will relay data and images.
Phoenix is equipped with an 8-foot-long arm capable of digging trenches in the soil to get to ice that is believed to be buried inches to a foot deep. Then it will analyze the dirt and ice samples for traces of organic compounds, the chemical building blocks of life.

Sheikh Abdul Qadier Jillani, "Futhul Ghaib"

Sheikh Abdul Qadier Jillani, "Futhul Ghaib"

Liberate yourself from the fetters of the ego and surrender yourself before God. Let the Lord be your shepherd, allow Him to attend to all your cares, and do not allow temptations to entice you. Aspirations of this world are the cause of all concern. Aspire to God and obtain freedom.

Sheikh Abdul Qadier Jillani Futhul Ghaib

Pregnancy

Yes It is true, My wife is pregnant with our 4th child. Pray for us.

Kabeer Ghadan Class Super Transports

The C.S.S. Abu Hanifa an-Nu‘man a Kabeer Ghadan class Super transport. 2000 meters long with a displacement of 2 million these huge ships move cargo all across Confederate space as well as that of thier trading partners. Over three thousand of them were built in the New Kurdistan orbital ship yards before the great war. During the Great War 50 of the Kabeer Ghadan class super transports were converted into troop transports.

Battle of New Pahang

A short clip of young resistance fighters on New Pahang done by the confederate news service.

Muhammad Asad Loepold Weis

Muhammad Asad Loepold Weiss , "Islamic Sufism"

Since the dawn of human consciousness, religion has been the mightiest force driving humankind toward an unknown goal. It has allowed the teeming millions to experience a greater joy and a creative fervor; it has furnished them with the strength and the courage to achieve imperishable cultural feats and enabled them to reach unimaginable spiritual heights.

Muhammad Asad Loepold Weiss , Islamic Sufism

Tustari in ‘Attar Tadhkirat

Tustari in ‘Attar: "Tadhkirat"

No denser veil than pretension exists between God and the devotee. There is no closer way to God than spiritual impoverishment before Him.

Tustari in ‘Attar Tadhkirat

The Kashf al-Mahjub

Abu Ali Thaqafi, "The Kashf al-Mahjub"

Knowledge is the spirit that saves the heart from the death of ignorance; it is the light that saves it from the darkness of iniquity. The hearts of the iniquitous are dead because they are oblivious to God, and the hearts of the heedless are sick because they ignore His commandments.

Abu Ali Thaqafi, "The Kashf al-Mahjub"

Hadith

Prophet Muhammad,

The strong man is not the good wrestler; the strong man is only the one who controls himself when he is angry.

-Prophet Muhammad,

Hadith

Narrated Ibn 'Abbas:
I heard the Prophet saying, "If the son of Adam (the human being) had two valley of money, he would wish for a third, for nothing can fill the belly of Adam's son except dust, and Allah forgives him who repents to Him."

Nizam al-Din Fawa'id al-Fu'ad

Nizam al-Din, Fawa'id al-Fu'ad


The master continued, "If you put oil, pepper, garlic and onion in a cauldron, and merely add water, you have not made a stew. The basis for a stew is meat; the other ingredients are optional. Similarly, spiritual progress depends on detaching yourself from material posessions; other virtuous practices are optional."

Nizam al-Din, "Fawa'id al-Fu'ad"

Red Lion Recon

Video footage from the first recon mission of the Pilot code named Red Lion.

Ghazali al-Munqidh min ad-Dala

Ghazali, "al-Munqidh min ad-Dalal"

Yet I realized that my only hope of attaining eternal bliss was by detaching myself from all worldly desires, and by honouring God in every aspect of my life. I knew that I had to leave the mansion of deception, and set out with all vigour towards the house of God. I had to turn away from wealth and position, and flee from all the worldly obligations that consumed my time.

Ghazali , al-Munqidh min ad-Dalal

Science Fiction in Bangladesh

Ran across this article about science fiction in bangladesh and just wanted to share it with everyone.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangla_science_fiction#Science_fiction_in_Bangladesh

HADITH

The Prophet Muhammad (SAW), as reported by Uqbah bin Amir

Those who maintain kinship with the detached, who continue to provide for those who let them down and willingly forgive their oppressors, shall indeed excel both in this world and the next.

The Prophet Muhammad (SAW), as reported by 'Uqbah bin Amir

Munajat E Maqboo

Munajat E Maqbool

Sufficient is our Lord for us. He is the greatest of all helpers; we depend upon Him alone.

Munajat E Maqbool

Qur'an, An-Nahl, Surah 16:75

Qur'an, An-Nahl, Surah 16:75

God gives this parable, "On the one hand there is a helpless slave, the property of his master. On the other hand there is a man whom we have greatly blessed; this man is generous both in secret and openly." Are the two alike? All praise is due to God! Yet most people do not understand.
-
Qur'an, An-Nahl, Surah 16:75

Nasrabadi in Attar, Tadhkirat

Nasrabadi in Attar, Tadhkirat

Everything has its own food, and music is the food of the spirit.

Nasrabadi in 'Attar, "Tadhkirat"

News from the Front

This video was shot at the battle of Hign Kurdistan, We cannot show the actual planetary defense guns as thier design is classified. The Space battle footage was shot from the forward deck off the battleship the C.S.S. Musa

Razi Kitab al-Muluki

Razi: Kitab al-Muluki

People sometimes justify their obsession with cleanliness on religous grounds; but true religion is not concerned with outward purity.

Razi Kitab al-Muluki

Fethullahbad

News Alert

A group calling itself the Munathifeen, have declared that they intend to destroy the lunar
colony of Fethullahbad, calling it a nest of heresy. The Security forces of Fethullabad are
on high alert, taking the threat very seriously as several months ago the Munathifeen
bombed the Trans-Africa west to east bullet train.

The large egg shaped supply ship the Tel est mon Destin maneuvered to dock. Lit
up from the bottom by the port lights the bright green ship stood out brilliantly against the
dark lunar sky. After it was fully secure in the docking bay the ports passenger air lock was extended to the ship.

Tariq Ramadan, Fethullahbad’s 32 year old head of Helium 3 Mining stood in the
ultra-modern lounge rocking on his heels and playing with his mustache nervously while looking out the large window as he watched the ship’s and port’s airlocks connect. He read the ship’s slogan which was painted in red beneath the ships name, which was painted in black, ‘semper ubi sub ubi’ and laughed. Tariq had done his PhD at Cal Tech and just for fun had taken a Latin class; he had traded silly expressions in Latin with Jacques Cartier who while 20 years older often made him feel the senior member of the friendship, the captain and owner of the Tel est mon Destin, since the first time they had met at one of his boss’s garden parties.
He would have liked to talk with Captain Cartier today but Tariq was not there to see his old friend but to meet a representative from the United Nations. He was to show the UN rep Miko Hayama around Fethullahbad, so that the United Nations could have some idea of what they would need to do to build a large lunar colony. The United Nations’ Trans-National lunar base was to be its boldest project ever.

Tariq stood watching the passengers disembark, new workers from Turkey who had come to work in hydroponics, a few tourist from China, a couple coming back from making umrah. Just as he had started to worry that Miko Hayama had missed boarding the Tel est mon Destin he saw Captain Cartier, walking towards him with a young attractive looking east Asian woman whom he assumed to be one of the Chinese tourists.

Captain Cartier swaggered over to Tariq with the young lady in tow and with a wide smile introduced his companion. “Tariq, I would like you to meet the United Nations representative Miko Hayama. Miko Hayama please meet Tariq Ramadan my good friend and chief engineer in charge of helium 3 mining here at Fethullahbad.” Tariq returned Miko’s subtle bow and was thankful that she had not tried to shake his hand.

Detective Ehab Tawfik waited patiently sipping hot chai out of an old chipped orange ceramic cup in the spaceport’s coffee shop. He rubbed the scar that ran down the left side of his face partially hidden by his close cropped beard. He had gotten it from a car bomb while on assignment in Baghdad. Tawfik watched as the passengers disembarked from the supply ship Tel est mon Destin. Detective Tawfik spotted the man he was waiting for AbuLaith Al-Libi. Since leaving the Iraqi national police 4 years ago and becoming the chief detective, ok only detective in Fethullahbad, the biggest case he had was some missing welding rods, and it turned out those had been just misplaced. Now he had a real case, AbuLaith Al-Libi had been identified by Egyptian Intelligence as a member of the terrorist organization Munathifeen. AbuLaith’s thin build, scruffy facial hair and thick round glasses made him appear to be a mild mannered librarian, not a wild eyed anti-techno fanatic.

Detective Tawfik quickly downed the rest of his chai as he stood up and started to follow AbuLaith to his hotel. Tawfik remembered his maternal grandfather, a retired agent of the Syrian Intelligence agency, talk of the good old days. No following the guy around, grandfather would have grabbed him and started what was euphemistically called a hard interrogation. Tawfik smiled as he recalled the disappointment in the old man’s face when he learned that his grandson had never thrown anyone out of an airlock.

Of course even granddad would not have caused a scene in front of a United Nations diplomat. If she would have come on time maybe he would have been a little tempted to grab AbuLaith right there at the space dock.

Tariq picked up Ms. Hayama’s luggage two new large pink plastic suitcases both of which Tariq found to be surprisingly heavy in the lunar gravity. He wondered if she had vacuumed packed her entire wardrobe and brought it with her. They took the lift to the train station and were quickly whisked over to the Marriot on the moon. Which Tariq pointed out was the finest hotel in Fethullabad and Miko pointed out was the only hotel in Fethullahbad. The hotel’s desk clerk admitted that Miko was right but he assured her that just because they had this Monopoly they did not skimp on the facilities. The hotel had two swimming pools, a health club with racquetball courts, weight rooms, treadmills and saunas. He also warned her against playing racquetball until she got used to the gravity.

After checking in Ms. Hayama wanted to see the Helium 3 processing center right away. The Helium 3 Mining operation was Fethullahbad’s most important industry as it accounted for 96% of their exports, followed by aluminum and computer software. As they toured the processing facility Ms. Hayama fired out questions one after another, Tariq tried to answer as best as he could. Helium 3, Tariq noted is perhaps the only lunar resource economically valuable enough to export to earth and that the polar craters have the highest concentrations on the moon and the highest known concentrations in the solar system.

The energy payback for mining, processing and sending Helium 3 to earth, are an increase factor of 250. Tariq went on to explain that they were able to mine it on the lunar surface in safety because of the magnetic shielding which not only protected the people of Fethullahbad from Solar radiation but the miners on the surface as well. Tariq answered all her questions on the details of the mining operations day to day costs, such as labor, equipment and fuel. He spoke to her for three hours on the subject and when he finally dropped her back to her hotel he felt exhausted.
Tariq walked into his apartment and plunked down on his favorite old overstuffed chair. Before he could close his eyes he wife Shakira called out to him.

“Tariq Ramadan I know you have not forgotten today is your day to cook dinner”?
Tariq groaned loudly as he stood up and walked to the kitchen. The problem with a wife that worked was they had to share the cooking. He did not complain about her working for this was how they had met 2 years ago here on the moon, both of their parents had all but given up on the idea that either of them would get married. They had met on the train Tariq was swallowed up by her big brown eyes. He had stumbled through some small talk with her and after she got off, he had done everything he could to find out anything about her. As it turned out they were both Hydrabadi, their families were happy and 3 months later with Shakira’s supervisor acting as wali they were married.

Tariq pulled a bag of frozen samosas out of the freezer and started up the rice cooker. After throwing the samosas into the microwave he started cooking instant dal on the stove top. Then he set the table and put out a jar of lemon pickle for Shakira and one of Tomato pickle for himself. The dinner wasn’t going to win any awards but they both enjoyed it.

“The woman made me uncomfortable always so close to me, and what type of name is Miko for a woman anyway. It ends in an O, female names end with A” said Tariq his voice filled with irritation.

Trying not to laugh Shakira said “That is only European languages like Spanish and Italian. And how did this little woman, who when I saw her looked under 150 centimeters, make you a big tall man of nearly 200 centimeters, uncomfortable.”

“I told you she was always to close to me and she kept staring at me. I do believe she was undressing me with her eyes.”

“Oh now I know you are being silly. If she had undressed you with her eyes, she would have seen you naked and would have stopped staring at you.” Said Shakira now laughing as she could no longer hold it in, soon Tariq joined her in laughing. Shakira then noted that if he had kept his gaze down he would not have noticed Ms. Miko Hayama looking at him. He responded that Miko would be Shakira’s responsibility tomorrow as Shakira was to take her on a tour of the power station and that she would want to see the magnetic field control center.

After a light breakfast and 3 cups of extra strong coffee to which Shakira added far too much sugar and stirred with a cinnamon stick, Shakira set off for work. Half way there she remembered that she had to pick up Miko Hayama and doubled back to the Marriot on the moon. There she had another cup of coffee with Miko They discussed the new space elevator being built in Northern Brazil and how it was being plagued with cost over runs.

Detective Tawfik had been monitoring AbuLaith for 24 hours and nothing. He had not met with anyone, nor bought any odd assortment of items that could perhaps be made into a bomb. Twice while he was out of his room to eat, detective Tawfik had searched his room, both times with an electronic super nose to try and sniff out explosives. This had been a desperate measure by the detective as all the passengers luggage had been x-rayed, sniffed and rummaged through before they had even boarded the supply ship to Fethullahbad.

An exasperated Tawfik drank down his tenth cup of coffee while looking over the passenger lists of the Tel est mon Destin and the two ships that had come in before AbuLaith had arrived.
“Ehab do you think the bomb could be inside of him?” asked Sergeant AbuHamza Ibn Hamza.
Tawfik looked at the sergeant shaking his head in the negative as well as in disbelief that the sergeant was still wearing the newly arrived riot Armor. Hamza is young; he thought and had only been on the job for 9 months so riot armor was the kind of toy that impressed him. There had been a riot on Fethullahbad. The biggest public disturbance had been a sit down protest in front of the Co-Op protesting the Co-Ops dropping of spicy canned hummus.

“No sergeant everyone getting on the supply ship and getting off was x-rayed. We would have found the bomb even if it was inside of him.”

“Oh” he replied his face falling.

“Of course AbuHamza not everyone was X-rayed That UN diplomat wouldn’t have been.”

“Yeah but she is a Japanese national and according to her passport a Buddhist. Hard to believe she would be working with the Munathifeen.”

“You are right of course but just to be on the safe side lets call down to Interpol and see if we cannot get a record of her movements for the last 4 months.”

Shakira showed off the solar station and explained that since the moon did not tilt like the earth this meant that at the lunar poles is perpetually near the horizon. And in practical terms that there is more solar power available from the slanting sunlight on the outer walls of the polar craters than from directly overhead at the moons equator. In fact the sun’s illumination was available to them 80% of the time unlike the equator where it was only available 50% of the time. This is why they were able to supply all of Fethullahbad’s energy needs with solar power. Of course Shakira added that it was those long shadows which produced the very cold temperatures in the craters which allowed the Helium 3 to build up and also allowed the super conducting coils, which run all around the crater, to produce the magnetic field that protected the lunar colony of Fethullahbad from being flooded by solar radiation.

2 hours later Sergeant Abu Hamza Ibn Hamza and Detective Tawfik munched on spicy potato samosas and looked over printouts of the movements of UN representative Miko Hayama for the last 4 months. Far from being any kind of Munathifeen sympathizer she had spent the last 4 months working with women’s groups in the Sudan, helping them work against religious heretics. Ironically after a car accident she had been taken to a green shield clinic. The green shield clinics were run by the Munathifeen as a way to build public support.

And it was then that detective Tawfik saw all the pieces fall together, the car accident which had delayed rep. Hayama’s arrival had been no accident, it had been a block from the green shield medical clinic. The Munathifeen had known that there was no way they would get anyone near any crucial areas in Fethullahbad. But the UN representative would be given tours of them. The doctor at the clinic told her she had internal bleeding and whether she did or not he opened her up. If anything were wrong, you can’t have your bomb carrier die, and then put a bomb inside of her.

“Hamza, find out where Miko Hayama is right now and get her inside one of our cells.”

“Are we arresting her?”

“No, the cell walls are impervious to any type of radio signal, now Hamza, get her now.”

Grabbing his phone he dialed the hospital and explained that it was a matter of extreme urgency that a surgical team goes to the police station right away. Once the situation was made clear to the hospital Tawfik hung up the phone and while standing up grabbed his taser gun off the wall. His expression grew dark as he hoped that AbuLaith would give him an excuse to use it.
Malaysian yeah yeah music played in the background as Tariq and Shakira ate curried beef with 3 different types of rice at the little Kuala Lumpur restaurant. Between bites of curried beef and sips of cola they discussed their day.

Tariq talked quickly as he was very excited by all that had happened. “So, I am standing there on the train platform waiting for the C train to show up and detective Ehab comes running down the stairs and starts yelling at this guy, some tourist. The tourist tries to run and Ehab tasers him 3 times. The poor guy is lying on the ground completely out of it and Ehab rushes up to him whips out his hand cuffs and slaps them on the fellow. He yanks the fellow up and just drags the semi-conscience guy out. And I still haven’t seen anything about it on the Fethullahbad news site yet.”

“Well, right in the middle of my tour of the solar plant to Ms. Hayama deputy Abu Hamza comes rushing in, wearing some type of body armor and states he needs to take Ms. Hayama into protective custody. He then whisks her off to the police station. And get this my friend Jamila who works over at the hospital says a surgical team was ordered over to the police station at about the same time. Think it might have been an assassination attempt?”

“Tell you what love, after Isha prayer we will check the Fethullahbad news site and hopefully by then they will have updated it with the whole story.”

Hadith

The Prophet Muhammad (SAW), as reported by Umar bin al-Khattab

What I fear most for my people are the hypocrites, who talk wisely, yet act unjustly.

Al-Hujwiri The Kashf al-Mahjub

Al-Hujwiri, "The Kashf al-Mahjub"

Those loved by God are held in contempt by the vulgar, and those who deem themselves virtuous may not be so in the eyes of God....Public ridicule is the very sustenance of the chosen of God. They rejoice in it, just as others rejoice in popularity, for they know that it is a sign that they are close to Him. As God said, "My chosen are hidden under My cloak. Besides Me, only the elect know who they are."

-Al-Hujwiri The Kashf al-Mahjub

Recon Drone

Confederate Recon Drones engage and destroy an automated Imperial sentry.

Approaching New France

The Confederation fleet approaches New France for the biggest battle of the great war.

Hadith

Reported by Nayeem bin Mas'ud, Sahih al-Bukhari

I heard the Prophet narrate the story of another Prophet [Jesus] before him, whose people beat him and caused him to bleed. Even as he wiped the blood off his face he said, "Lord, forgive them for they know not what they do!"

-Reported by Nayeem bin Mas'ud, Sahih al-Bukhari

Names of Mars

The many names of the Planet Mars; Nergal by the Babylonians; Ares by the Greeks, Horus the red by the ancient Egyptians; In India it is Angaraka in Sanskrit as well as Mangala and Kuja; the Hebrews call it Ma’adim; It is Al-Mirrikh in both Arabic, Urdu and Persian; To the Turks it is Merih; to the Chinese, Japanese, Koreans and Vietnamese it is the Fire Star. In mandarin Huoxing. Korean it is pronounced Hwasung. In Japan it is said as Kasei. It is Marte in spanish; to the Scots it is Maurs; for the Basque it is Martitza. In Tamil it is Sevvaay. The Thais call it Angkarn. In Malay it is Marikh

In the Edgar Rice Burroughs novels about Mars he has the locals call the planet Barsoom.
It is also frequently referred to as the red planet. The name of Cairo, the capital of modern Egypt, comes from "Al Qahira," an ancient Arabic name for Mars.

If you have more names for the planet Mars please post them in the comments section.

Nizam al-Din, “Fawa’id al-Fu’ad”

Nizam al-Din, "Fawa’id al-Fu’ad"

On the spiritual path no one has higher or lower status than anyone else.

Nizam al-Din, "Fawa’id al-Fu’ad"

Al-Ghazzali, "Ihya Ulum Id-Din"

Al-Ghazzali, Ihya Ulum Id-Din

Even before accomplishing enlightenment a person knows that everything attests to the existence of God. But these virtuous feelings of innocence disappear as he begins to mingle with corrupt society, because worldly affairs hinder him from swimming in the vast ocean of insight.

Al-Ghazzali, Ihya Ulum Id-Din

Qur'an, Al-An'am, Surah 6:59

Qur'an, Al-An'am, Surah 6:59

God allows people to err as he chooses, and he leads people onto the right path as he chooses. God holds the key to the unseen treasures; no one knows these treasures except him. He knows every creature on land and in the sea. A leaf does not fall without God knowing it. There is no seed in the soil that God does not know. There is nothing green or dry of which God is not aware. Everything is recorded in his glorious book.

Qur'an, Al-An'am, Surah 6:59

Muslims and science

Astronomy

Muslims have always had a special interest in astronomy. The moon and the sun are of vital importance in the daily life of every Muslim.By the moon, Muslims determine the beginning and the end of the months in their lunar calendar. By the sun the Muslims calculate the times for prayer and fasting.
It is also by means of astronomy that Muslims can determine the precise direction of the Qiblah, to face the Ka'bah in Makkah, during prayer. The most precise solar calendar, superior to the Julian, is the Jilali, devised under the supervision of Umar Khayyam.
The Qur'an contains many references to astronomy.
"The heavens and the earth were ordered rightly, and were made subservient to man, including the sun, the moon, the stars, and day and night. Every heavenly body moves in an orbit assigned to it by God and never digresses, making the universe an orderly cosmos whose life and existence, diminution and expansion, are totally determined by the Creator." [Qur'an 30:22]
These references, and the injunctions to learn, inspired the early Muslim scholars to study the heavens. They integrated the earlier works of the Indians, Persians and Greeks into a new synthesis.
Ptolemy's Almagest (the title as we know it today is actually Arabic) was translated, studied and criticized. Many new stars were discovered, as we see in their Arabic names - Algol, Deneb, Betelgeuse, Rigel, Aldebaran. Astronomical tables were compiled, among them the Toledan tables, which were used by Copernicus, Tycho Brahe and Kepler.
Also compiled were almanacs - another Arabic term. Other terms from Arabic are zenith, nadir, Aledo, azimuth.
Muslim astronomers were the first to establish observatories, like the one built at Mugharah by Hulagu, the son of Genghis Khan, in Persia, and they invented instruments such as the quadrant and astrolabe, which led to advances not only in astronomy but in oceanic navigation, contributing to the European age of exploration.

To see the rest of this article go to

http://www.islamtomorrow.com/science2.asp

Ibn Ishaq, The Life of Muhammad

Gabriel ordered Muhammad to mount the animal, which was called Buruq. But as Muhammad approached the animal, it shied. Gabriel put his hand on its mane, and exclaimed, "No one more honorable in the sight of God than Muhammad has ever ridden you before." The animal was so ashamed that it broke into a sweat; and it stood quite still, so Muhammad could mount.-

Ibn Ishaq, "The Life of Muhammad"

Al-Hujwiri The Kashf al-Mahjub

Al-Hujwiri, "The Kashf al-Mahjub"

When reason reaches its peak and the souls of His lovers feel helpless and disabled, they grow restless and stretch their hands in supplication, seeking comfort for their burning souls. When every manner of search within their power has been consumed, the doorway to Him is opened.

Al-Hujwiri The Kashf al-Mahjub

Hadith

The Prophet Muhammad (SAW), as reported by Ibn Umar

Live in this world like a stranger, a wayfarer, and deem yourselves as dwellers of the graves.
-
The Prophet Muhammad (SAW), as reported by Ibn Umar

Futhul Ghaib

Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani, "Futhul Ghaib"

Do not strut proudly on account of your good deeds. Do not let pride waylay you. When you deem yourself holier than others, know that you have fallen into grave error because in your pride you believed yourself equal to God.

-Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani, Futhul Ghaib

From the prayer book, Al-Hizbul-A'zam

From the prayer book, "Al-Hizbul-A'zam"

Strengthen me, my lord,
for I am overcome with feebleness.
Ennoble me once more,
for I have been cast down.
Sustain me, Lord,
for I am impoverished.

From the prayer book, Al-Hizbul-A'zam

Allah is the Forgiver

Narrated by Abu Said Al-Khudri

The Prophet said, "Amongst the men of Bani Israel there was a man who had murdered ninety-nine persons. Then he set out asking (whether his repentance could be accepted or not). He came upon a monk and asked him if his repentance could be accepted. The monk replied in the negative and so the man killed him. He kept on asking till a man advised to go to such and such village. (So he left for it) but death overtook him on the way. While dying, he turned his chest towards that village (where he had hoped his repentance would be accepted), and so the angels of mercy and the angels of punishment quarrelled amongst themselves regarding him. Allah ordered the village (towards which he was going) to come closer to him, and ordered the village (whence he had come), to go far away, and then He ordered the angels to measure the distances between his body and the two villages. So he was found to be one span closer to the village (he was going to). So he was forgiven."

Talgat Amangeldyuly Musabayev , Muslim Cosmonaut

Talgat Amangeldyuly Musabayev born on January 7th 1951 in Kargaly / Dzhampul Oblast / Kazakh SSR. Went into space 3 times first as a flight engineer then last two times he was commander of the missions. His first mission was on April 11th 1994 and it lasted 125 days. On 25-08-1998 he led the space mission which lasted over 200 days in space. His last mission into space was on 06-05-2001 and only lasted 7 days.

Graduated from Engineering Institute of Civil Aviation, Riga, 1974; graduated from Higher Military Aviation School in Akhtubinsk, 1983 with a engineering diploma; Candidate of technical sciences degree, 2000; doctorate in technical sciences, 2007; aviation engineer; received several awards as aerobatic flyer; was selected as cosmonaut on 11.05.1990 from GMVK; 1991 appointed to Major and transferred to the cosmonaut group of Air Force (TsPK-11); OKP (cosmonaut basic training): 01.10.1990 - 13.09.1991; was assigned as double for Soyuz TM-13; following his retirement he became deputy head of the Zhukovsky academy and was appointed to Major General (September 2003); chief of the on 27.03.2007 founded National Space agency of Kazakhstan.

Hadith

The Prophet Muhammad (SAW), as reported by Ali bin Abi Talib

Those who content themselves with limited provender, submitting themselves before Allah's will, shall find even a few good deeds of theirs sufficient for divine approval.

The Prophet Muhammad (SAW), as reported by Ali bin Abi Talib

Anousheh Ansari

First Female Private Space Explorer & First Space Ambassador


On September 18, 2006, Anousheh Ansari captured headlines around the world as the first female private space explorer. Anousheh earned a place in history as the fourth private explorer to visit space and the first astronaut of Iranian descent.

Anousheh is a serial entrepreneur and co-founder and chairman of Prodea Systems, a company that will unleash the power of the Internet to all consumers and dramatically alter and simplify consumer’s digital living experience.

Anousheh has always dreamed of traveling to space, and while she is extremely excited to realize this dream, she is also focused on sharing her experience with others. Her main objective for this mission is to become a Space Ambassador, and help to bring the space travel experience to others.

Anousheh Ansari (Persian: انوشه انصاری, born 12 September 1966) is the Iranian-American co-founder and chairman of Prodea Systems, Inc and a spaceflight participant with the Russian space program. Her previous business accomplishments include serving as co-founder and CEO of Telecom Technologies, Inc. (TTI). The Ansari family is also the title sponsor of the Ansari X PRIZE. On September 18, 2006, a few days after her 40th birthday, she became the first female Muslim and first Iranian in space. Ansari is the fourth overall self-funded space tourist, and the first self-funded woman to fly to the International Space Station.

Born Anousheh Raissian in Mashhad, Iran, Ansari and her parents moved to Tehran shortly afterward. Ansari witnessed the Iranian Revolution in 1979. She emigrated to the United States in 1984 as a teenager.

She received her Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering and computer science at George Mason University and her master's degree at George Washington University.

Hadith

The Prophet Muhammad (SAW), as reported by Aisha bint Abu Bakr

Take to compassion and abstain from oppression and obscenity. Compassion is grace and the lack of it a disgrace.
-
The Prophet Muhammad (SAW), as reported by Aisha bint Abu Bakr

Muslim Cosmonaut

Abdul Ahad Mohmand is the first Afghan astronaut. Before he became an astronaut, Mohmand served in the Afghan Air Force. Mohmand became an astronaut in 1988. He became the first citizen of Afghanistan to go into space. In 1988, Mohmand spent 9 days in space aboard the Mir space station. He made observations of Afghanistan during this mission. Abdul Ahad Mohmand was an Afghan citizen, he was born in Afghanistan and he trained in USSR as a pilot. The original plan was for him to be join by Mohammad Dauran Ghulam Masum. But before the launch Mr. Dauran was diagnosed with appendicitis and his trip was cancelled.

Graduated from Polytechnical High school in Kabul; graduated from Air Force Academy; Colonel Air Force; he currently lives in Stuttgart, Germany.

Transported to the Mir orbital station a Soviet-Afghan crew comprising the cosmonauts V.A. Lyakhov, V.V. Polyakov and A A Momand (Afghanistan) to conduct joint research and experiments with the cosmonauts V.G. Titov and M K Manarov. Returned Manarov, Titov (Soyuz TM-4), Chretien (Soyuz TM-7) to Earth. Initial orbit 195 X 228 km at 51. 57 deg. Maneuvered to a 235 x 259 km orbit, then docked with Mir at 05:41 GMT on August 31st, 1988 at its 339 x 366 km orbit. Moved from aft to forward port September 8th, 1988. Undocked 03:33 GMT December 21st, 1989. Revised software installed as a result of TM-5 abort overloaded computer. Landing planned for 06:48 aborted. Backup program used. Orbital Module retained through retrofire. Recovered December 21, 1988 09:57 GMT. Landed 180 km SE Dzhezkazgan.

Abdul Ahad Mohmand was awarded the hero of the soviet union on September 7th 1988

When Does Poverty End?

Abu Hafs Haddad in Attar: Tadhkirat

Poverty is not complete until one likes giving more than receiving.

Abu Hafs Haddad in Attar: Tadhkirat

Muslim Astronaut

Musa Khiramanovich Manarov was born in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR on March 22, 1951. He was a colonel at the Russian Air Force and graduated from Moscow Aviation Institute with an engineering diploma in 1974. Musa was selected as a cosmonaut on December 1, 1978. He is currently married with two children.

From December 21, 1987 - December 21, 1988 he flew as flight engineer on Soyuz TM-4. The duration was 365 days 22 hours 38 minutes. In February 12, 1990 - May 26, 1991 he flew again as a flight engineer on Soyuz TM-11. The duration was 175 days 1 hour 50 minute . During his 176-day stay, Manarov observed the Earth and worked in space manufacturing. He also performed 20 hours of spacewalks.

Manarov logged a record total of 541 days in space.

Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani, Futhul Ghaib

Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani , Futhul Ghaib

If you are destined for good fortune you will be blessed; if afflictions have been ordained, no matter where you hide they will seek you out. Submit therefore before the will of God; be grateful in well-being and endure adversity with fortitude that His light may radiate within your being.

Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani , Futhul Ghaib

Physical vs. Spiritual Wounds

Sadi, "Gulistan"

A Sufi was wounded by a leopard. He tried every kind of medicine to heal his wounds, but none was effective. Yet the Sufi never ceased to give thanks to God. Some people said to him: 'You are suffering greatly, and yet you constantly thank God. How is this?' The Sufi replied: 'I give thanks to God that I am suffering a physical wound caused by an animal, and not a spiritual wound caused by sin.'

Sadi , Gulistan

Happy New year

TODAY IS THE FIRST OF MUHARRAM

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Why Aamus

I have been asked by several friends why I wrote Aamus so I will explain. I have watched a show little people big world for some time now and have found it fascinating. For those not familiar with the show it is about the Roloff family the parents are both little people one son is also a little person but the other children are not. One of the comments made by the father is how he wished all of his children were little people. This was made while he was trying to discipline his 16 year old son who is already much larger than him. So I was quite sympathetic. The I watched the documentary Sound and Fury which deals with deaf culture. If you haven’t seen it do so, it is excellent. There the idea that cochlear implants are a method of committing genocide against deaf society is brought forth. This along with the ideas of genetic drift which I have explored in other stories brought about the need I had to write Aamus. I have even entertained the idea of a Celtic Alliance ship coming across a planet of little people. I have tried not to state if either side in this argument is right, but to present both sides. Oh and a little side note Aamus is Somali for quite or be quite.

LSU Tigers #1

BCS Championship game
LSU Tigers 38 Ohio Buckeyes 24

The LSU Tigers claimed thier second BCS crown in five seasons with a 38-24 victory against the Ohio State buckeyes on Monday night.

BCS CHAMPIONSHIP GAME. GO TIGERS!!!!!

LSU VS OHIO BCS championship game tonight. Go Tigers!!!!!!

GO TIGERS
GO TIGERS
GO TIGERS

Happy New year

Hope everyone has a

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Qushayri, "Risalah"

Qushayri , Risalah

A Sufi was once engaged in prayer, when his cell caught fire. He did not stop praying for one moment. Afterwards, people asked him about this. He replied: ‘The divine fire held my attention, so I could not attend to the fire in my cell.’

Qushayri, "Risalah"

The Life of Muhammad

Ibn Ishaq , The Life of Muhammad

When Muhammad reached the Grand Mosque, most of the population was at the entrance, eager to look at him. As he went in, he threw the end of his cloak over his left shoulder, leaving his right arm free. He declared, "May God have mercy on the man who today shows the people he is strong." Then he walked round the Kaba, kissing each side, and finally kissing the black stone. After a short pause he trotted round the Kaba three times, and walked around it a further three times.

Ibn Ishaq , The Life of Muhammad

EID MUBARAK

EID MUBARAK

Ibn Ishaq, The Life of Muhammad

Ibn Ishaq, "The Life of Muhammad"

Abdullah, Muhammad's father, died while Amina was pregnant.
Muhammad was born in the year of the elephant. Amina sent a message to Muhammad's paternal grandfather to inform him of the birth, inviting him to come and look at the baby. When the grandfather arrived, Amina told him of the voice she had heard while she was pregnant. The grandfather took the baby to the Kaba, the shrine in the centre of Mecca, and gave thanks to God for this gift.

-Ibn Ishaq, "The Life of Muhammad"

Aamus part 6 The end

The First citizen wearily looked at the newspaper, he felt as if nearly all his strength had drained away. The newspaper showed tens of thousands of protesters in the streets of the capitol, demanding to be allowed to talk with the Starship in orbit. He knew that soon it would be hundreds of thousands in the streets all across the world. Even members of parliament were for an open dialogue with the foreigners and not just members of the opposition but members of his own party.

Business leaders were sending him text messages hourly it seemed demanding to be allowed to negotiate some sort of trade deals. At breakfast that very morning he and his teenage daughter had argued with his wife and eldest son, who was home on holiday.
An argument that had ended with hurt feelings and words that everyone wished they could take back.

Captain Khalid had told him that the C.S.S. Hamza Yusef would soon be leaving the system and that another ship carrying a diplomatic mission would arrive shortly aster their departure. The captain promised the first citizen that they would impose nothing on Sterns’ world but would respect any decision that they made.

First Citizen Kenny Macaskill simply did not want to go down in the history books as the first citizen who oversaw the collapse of Sterns’ world’s society.

Kharaqani in Attar: Tadhkirat

Kharaqani in Attar: Tadhkirat

I made peace with all the people in the world, resolving never to wage war on anyone, and I waged war against my self and have never since made peace with it.

-Kharaqani in Attar: Tadhkirat

Aamus part Five

Pictures taken of Sterns’ World by unmanned drop probes from the C.S.S. Hamza Yusef

The crew had just finished praying Isha a few minutes before and while most of them were still making dhiker or praying Sunnah, Captain Khalid Muhammad and Sub-Commander Amr Diab met to discuss the day’s events in the officers’ mess over cups of thick sweet Turkish coffee and a large platter of walnut Baklava. Their day had been very busy and both men were grateful for some time to relax.

“The laser flashes directed at the ship are defiantly not an attack sir” stated Sub-Commander Amr, “it is old morse code. It took us a while to find a file on Morse code but we have been able to decode the message, somebody down on the planet is asking us if we can really make their children hear. I can tell you that this is not an official government request.”

Captain Khalid sighed and scratched his head. “Then we do not respond, from the emails and news broadcast we have been monitoring their world is already in an uproar about the offer we made them. I am not about to compound our problems by negotiating outside of official government channels. We are leaving the official diplomatic mission that will be here soon, inshallah, enough of a mess.” Said Captain Khalid sadly still thinking about how his offer of help had blown up in his face.

“Understood sir.”

The two men spent the rest of the evening in silence simply enjoying the coffee and thinking of home.

Picture taken of Sterns' world by unmanned drop probes from the C.S.S. Hamza Yusef

Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani

Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani

Do not be ruled by lust; seek freedom by following the righteous. Mere claims of piety will not earn you inner freedom. Remain patient in adversity to attain peace, for adversity is the threshold to freedom. Those who cannot persevere are held back from the doors of Mercy.

-Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani

Aamus Part 4

The Crew of the C.S.S. Hamza Yusef watch as a probe is launched into orbit to observe them.

The C.S.S. Hamza Yusef sat in high orbit over Sterns’s world, where thousands of very excited amateur astronomers, along with several dozen very concerned military stations watched it. The military stations monitored closely everything the could of the C.S.S. Hamza Yusef, taking special care to make sure that they did not try to communicate with anyone outside of the official government channels. And this was because; despite Sterns’ world’s government best efforts at keeping the arrival of the C.S.S. Hamza Yusef a secret everyone knew. One news station was keeping a steady of a blurry picture of the ship in orbit while instant experts discussed the implications of its arrival on Sterns’ world’s society.

The First Citizen could feel the veins in his neck throbbing as his entire 2 meter frame shook with rage. Help, the foreigners had dared to call it help. Stern’s world was a society which existed in silence. The concept of a society which exists in silence was enshrined in their world’s constitution. A Society in Silence was engraved on Mark Sterns statue outside of the Parliament building. This very thing is why their ancestors had left earth, to get away from this type of prejudice and now after hundreds of years the hearing world had finally tracked them down or if Captain Khalid Muhammad was to be believed, stumbled across.

First Citizen Kenny Macaskill had, had the military step up their jamming operations so that the foreigners ship would not be able to communicate with anyone outside of official channels the internal security apparatus try to make sure there were no leaks. Problem was Sterns’ world was not a police state and people were use to freely expressing themselves. The First citizen was afraid that the dangerous alien ideas that the C.S.S. Hamza Yusef would expose the population to, would destroy their society.

Hadith

It is narrated on the authority of Abu Shuraih al-Khuzai' that the Prophet (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) observed: He who believes in Allah and the Last Day should do good to his neighbour and he who believes in Allah and the Last Day should show hospitality to the guest and he who believes in Allah and the Last Day should either speak good or better remain silent.

Luqman 31:18-19

Luqman 31:18-19

Do not treat people with contempt, nor walk insolently on the earth. Allah does not love the arrogant or the self-conceited boaster. Be modest in your bearing and subdue your voice, for the most unpleasant of voices is the braying of the ass.

Luqman 31:18-19

Aamus part 3

After reading the short report to his assembled cabinet The First citizen sat down in his overstuffed green leather chair and called for opinions and questions. The cabinet quickly exploded with questions and opinions.

“Aliens!” stated Sayuka Isoyama the petite Minister of Culture, her entire tiny body shaking with intense anticipation.

“I doubt that it is aliens” replied Josh Brolin the Minister of science and technology, his facial expression relaying to everyone in the room that he thought Sayuka was a few slices short of a whole loaf. “It is far more likely that in the several hundred years that have passed since this colony was founded that earth has made various technological advances which we are not familiar with.” He then sat down taking his glasses off to clean them.

“Invasion Sir, you should call up the military reserves and deploy our star fighters at once” demanded the rather frightened red faced Minister of Agriculture a man used to combating crop pests not the aliens who he was sure would begin landing soon.

“Well there are two problems with that plan, one we do not have any star fighters and two we do not have any star fighters. Now I do realize that it is the same reason but it such a big one that I felt I should mention it twice. Our space command entirely is made up of two asteroid defense ships and three shuttles which we use to put satellites up in orbit and only the Asteroid defense ships are armed.” Stated Gerhard Stoltenberg the bear like minister of defense while looking at the minister of agriculture with contempt. “And military intelligence has determined that the ship is too small to be carrying an invasion force. It has perhaps a crew two hundred.”

“It could be an Alien military reconnaissance vessel” retorted the Agricultural minister trying to regain some of his composure.

“It is not aliens, and why would anyone invade us?” Asked Minister Brolin.

“Earth is overpopulated, it was even so when our ancestors left hundreds of years ago. It has probably only gotten worse and they need to resettle the excess population” blurted out Minister Isoyama whom after the initial shock of the news had passed, had decided it was not aliens.

“It would be easier and cheaper then to just send out thousands of Ark ships” Stated the Defense Minister.

Just as the First citizen was thinking to dismiss the meeting before it turned into a fist fight a well dressed female Aide to the First Minister came in to the conference room and slipped him a hand written note. He read it quickly and after getting everyone’s attention announced that the ship was sending them a text message.

Recon photo taken of Sterns' world's space command center. The center is only accessible by air.

Sub-Commander Amr Diab turned the video monitor to the channel the video stream they had interpreted was on. The officers watched it for a few minutes when Captain Muhammad asked the question that had crossed all of their minds, “what is wrong with the audio?”

“Nothing sir, there is none “replied Sub-Commander Diab with a wily grin he continued, “We have looked at thirty seven video broadcasting streams coming from the planet and none of them have audio. Also we have been unable to detect any audio radio broadcasts coming from the planet.”

“That doesn’t make any sense, one of the first things colonies do is set up a radio station or two. “Said Lt. El-Saher in a confused tone.

“We had the same thought. Me and the boys in communications looked at the programs and while many news, sports and even science programs had text subtitles and narration running under the pictures. Many of the pure entertainment programs did not. Then we looked at everyone was doing with their hands and we realized that they were talking with their hands” said the Sub-commander who was becoming very enthusiastic.

“How did they all become deaf? Was their some sort of virus or chemical accident? I do not see how this could happen on such a large scale.” stated the captain a puzzled look on his face and in his tone.

“We do not know sir, but I am sure that it is not beyond Confederation science to reverse it. Such an offer of help could really help with the diplomatic overtures.” Replied sub-commander El-Saher.

“I am sure that the Confederacy will be happy to send medical teams from New Malaysia or New Kurdistan to help the people of …. What do the people call their world?” asked Captain Khalid Muhammad.

“Sterns’ World, Sir”

“Yes, Sterns’ World. Help the people of Sterns’ World.”

Aamus part 2

First Citizen Kenny Macaskill was feeling annoyed. It was dark outside of his office window and he watched as the rain poured down in sheets, the park across the street being lit up by the occasional flash of lightening. The Rain wasn’t annoying him as it was cleaning up the streets of the capitol city which were sorely in need of it after yesterday’s founders’ day celebration, something which consisted mostly of throwing powder of various bright colors on your friends, foes and people chosen by random in the crowd. As a boy and even when he got older participating with his own children, he had always enjoyed the annual Founders day festival, but now his aides had advised him that as First Citizen it would not be dignified and so he had gone to some official dinner, that had annoyed him. Not that the aides said it, but that he had listened to them. Of course that was not what was really bothering him nor the fact that his secretary had put sugar in his coffee again why the boy kept doing that as he was quite competent at everything else his job required of him.

No what was annoying the First Citizen was that instead of having a year or two of warning about a starship approaching the planet he was told that there was one already in the star system and then they only knew about it because some astronomy grad students studying the huge and violent storms of the gas giant Gallaudet and saw it pass by the gas giant. They had originally thought they had discovered a new comet or asteroid then observed it making a course change. The military trying to keep the news of the star ship hush was currently providing free room and board for all of the astronomy students.

The military had gone on to with, what the First Citizen found to be refreshing, extreme efficiency to commandeer the largest telescopes on Sterns’ world and had confirmed that it was most matter of fact a star ship. They had also managed to determine, according to the classified report on the First Citizen’s large metal and glass desk, that it was not an Ark ship like the one which had brought the original colonist from Earth to Sterns’ world. The report went on to say in clipped military language that the star ship was not only of unknown design but that they were not even sure how its propulsion system worked.

Two Kinds of Silence

Al-Hujwiri , " The Kashf al-Mahjub "

There are two kinds of speeches and two kinds of silences. Speech is either truth or a falsification, and silence is either fruition or heedlessness. If one speaks the truth, his words are better than his silence, but he who invents falsifications, his silence is better than his speech.

Al-Hujwiri , " The Kashf al-Mahjub "

Aamus part 1

Captain Khalid Muhammad sat feeling troubled in his ready room sipping his warm cup of tea and contemplated what his communications officer had told him earlier. He had been having a rather pleasant conversation with his first officer Commander Fadel Shaker whom he had served with for over 10 years now and the Sensors Officer Lt. Kathem El-Saher a young go getter from the planet Khalwat, over a dinner of spicy curried beef, rice and lemon grass soup, about the new star system they had just slid into. The crew was excited as the second planet’s surface was 65 per cent covered in oceans and had an oxygen/nitrogen atmosphere. The sensors had also showed and abundance of plant life and with an average temperature at sea level on the equator of 26c. The sensors had also shown that the planet was teeming with life.

They had been joking about where they were going to build their retirement homes on the planet, which they were currently calling Aamus, with Lt. Kathem El-Saher saying he would want to find where the best ski slopes were on the newly discovered world and build a large home there, when Sub-Commander Amr Diab the communications officer had interrupted saying that he had just picked up some video transmissions coming from the planet.

“Aliens?” asked Lt. El-Saher eagerly his face bright with anticipation.

“No, not Aliens” replied Sub-Commander Amr Diab a no nonsense man in a slightly annoyed tone, looking at Kathem El-Saher he thought if the man had a tale it would be wagging right now. He had then gone on to explain further, it was this further explanation which was bothering the captain.

Blankets

Attar, "Rabi'a"

Rabi'a asked someone to buy a blanket for her, giving the person four coins. The person asked: 'Do you want a black blanket, or a white one?' Rabi'a took back the coins, threw them in the Tigris river, and exclaimed: 'Must we divide even blankets into distinct groups?'

-Attar, "Rabi'a"

Muhammed Ahmed Faris

Muhammed Ahmed Faris was born May 26, 1951 in Aleppo, Syria. He was a pilot in the Syrian Air Force with the rank of a colonel. He specialized in navigation when he was selected to participate in the Intercosmos spaceflight program on September 30, 1985.

He flew as Research Cosmonaut on Soyuz TM-3 to the Mir space station in July 1987, spending 7 days 23 hours and 5 minutes in space. He returned to Earth aboard Soyuz TM-2.

Muhammed Faris was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union on July 30, 1987. He was also awarded the Order of Lenin.[1]

After his spaceflight, he returned to the Syrian Air Force and lives in Aleppo. He is married and has three children.

FLIGHT LOG; Manned three crew. Transported to the Mir orbital space station a Soviet-Syrian crew comprising cosmonauts A S Viktorenko, A P Aleksandrov and M A Faris to conduct joint research and experiments with cosmonauts Y Romanenko and A Laveykin. Maneuvered from initial 231 X 217 km orbit to Mir's 311 X 359 km orbit. Docked with rear Mir port at 3:30 GMT 24 July. Undocked with rear port 30 July and docked to forward port. Undocked 05:55 GMT 29 December. Returned Aleksandrov, Yuri Romanenko (Soyuz TM-2), Anatoly Levchenko (Soyuz TM-4) to Earth. Recovered December 29, 1987 09:16 GMT. Landed near Arkalyk.

NaNoWriMo

http://www.nanowrimo.org/

November is National Novel Writing Month. The goal for aspiring writers is to write a 50,000 word novel (about 175 pages) starting no earlier than November 1 and finishing before November 31.
By signing up at the National Novel Writing Month website (also known as NaNoWriMo), you can create a profile and access the participant forums, where you can finds tips, hints and helpful encouragement. You can post excerpts of your novel for others to read. When you are ready, you can submit your novel for an official word count, which is "read" by a computer. If you succeed, you get a certificate and the satisfaction in having finished a novel.
According to NaNoWriMo, the key to success is to worry less about the quality and more about quantity. The brute force method must work, because every year more and more people finish as "winners".

http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/basics

Hasan Al-Basri in Nurbakhsh

Hasan Al-Basri in Nurbakhsh: Hasan Basri, 174

Good humor and character is manifested in a cheerful face, generous giving, and not imposing one's problems on others.

-Hasan Al-Basri in Nurbakhsh: Hasan Basri, 174

Malaysia's first astronaut

Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor was born Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Al Masrie bin Sheikh Mustapha on July 27, 1972 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Sheikh Muszaphar attended high school at Maktab Rendah Sains MARA in Muar. He then went on to obtain a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery degree from Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, India.

Sheikh Muszaphar is an orthopedic surgeon, and a university lecturer in medicine at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. In 1998, Sheikh Muszaphar worked at Hospital Seremban, followed by a move to Kuala Lumpur General Hospital in 1999, and was on staff at Hospital Selayang from 2000 through 2001. Sheikh Muszaphar is also a part-time model.
Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor is the first Malaysian cosmonaut to go into space. He was launched to the International Space Station aboard Soyuz TMA-11 with the Expedition 16 crew on October 10, 2007.Sheikh Muszaphar was flying under an agreement with Russia through the Angkasawan program.

Space experiments Sheikh Muszaphar will carry out experiments on board the International Space Station relating to the characteristics and growth of liver cancer and leukemia cells, the crystallisation of various proteins and microbes in space.
The experiments relating to liver cancer, leukemia cells and microbes will benefit general science and medical research, while the experiments relating to the crystallisation of proteins, lipases in this case, will directly benefit local industries.

Lipase are a type of protein enzymes used in the manufacturing of diverse range of products from textiles to cosmetics, and the opportunity to grow these in space will mean a possibility for Malaysian scientists to take a crack at an industry worth some USD$2.2bil (RM7.7bil) worldwide by producing these locally.

Spaceflight and religion Since Sheikh Muszaphar is a Muslim, and as his time in space will coincide with the last part of Ramadan, the Islamic National Fatwa Council drew up the first comprehensive guidebook for Muslims in space. The 18-page guidebook is titled "Guidelines for Performing Islamic Rites (Ibadah) at the International Space Station", and details issues such as how to pray in a low-gravity environment, how to locate Mecca from the ISS, how to determine prayer times, and issues surrounding fasting. The orbit of the ISS results in one day/night cycle every 90 minutes,so the issues of fasting during Ramadan are also addressed. The guidebook will be translated into Russian, Arabic, and English.Anan C. Mohd, from Malaysia's Department of Islamic Development said that fasting while traveling is optional, so Sheikh Muszaphar could choose what he would like to do, but if he did decide to fast in space, the times would be centered around local time in Baikonur, where the launch takes place.Sheikh Muszaphar will celebrate Eid ul-Fitr aboard the station, and packed some satay and cookies to hand out to the rest of the crew on Saturday, October 13, to mark the end of Ramadan.

Rumi

Rumi, "Mathnawi"

Every prophet to the world came alone,
within him carrying a hundred unseen worlds.
The cosmos was charmed by his depth
and folded itself into his modest frame.
The foolish thought he was lonely and weak.
With the King as his companion,
how is he weak?

-Rumi, "Mathnawi"

Muslim Astronaut

Sultan Salman Abdulaziz Al-Saud Payload Specialist
Born June 27, 1956, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Completed his elementary and secondary education in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He later went on to study communications and aviation in the United States. In 1982 he was appointed to the position of researcher in the Department of International Communications at the Ministry of Information in Saudi Arabia.In 1984 he served as Deputy Director for the Saudi Arabian Olympic Information Committee at the Olympics in Los Angeles, California. Later that year, when the Department of Advertising was created at the Ministry of Information, he was appointed its Acting Director.In 1985 he flew as a Payload Specialist on STS-51G Discovery (June 17-24, 1985). As one of a seven member international crew, which also included American and French astronauts, he represented the Arab Satellite Communications Organization (ARABSAT) in deploying their satellite, ARABSAT-1B.Upon conclusion of his space flight, he helped in founding the Association of Space Explorers, an international organization comprising all astronauts and cosmonauts who have been in space, and served on its Board of Directors for several years.In 1985 he was commissioned as an officer into the Royal Saudi Air Force. He holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, and is qualified in several military and civilian aircraft.For several years he headed the Advisory Committee for the Science Oasis Project to be built in Riyadh.In 1989 and then again in 1992 he was elected to the position of Chairman of the Saudi Benevolent Association for Handicapped Children; where he also served as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Prince Salman Center for Handicapped Research.In 1991 he accepted an invitation from the Board of Directors of the Saudi Computer Society to become Honorary Chairman, and in 1993 due to his special interest in architecture he agreed to serve as Honorary President of the Al-Umran Saudi Association (a society of specialists in the fields of the built environment).

Prince Sultan told a television interviewer that another big moment was when he had first glimpsed Saudi Arabia from space. "Once," he said, "I was woken up by some crew members who said: 'Come and see your country.' I was looking from the upper deck window. The earth was above us, and I saw the Eastern Province with its lights. It was a very moving sight."

At the same interview, Prince Sultan praised the team of Saudi scientists, who had been monitoring his experiments from earth. "We don't lack talent in the Arab world. We have plenty of it," the prince said. "All we need to do is give people the chance to prove themselves." Prince Sultan also displayed the small Koran he had carried into space; inside was a prayer dictated by his mother asking God to take care of travelers - and the prince's Saudi pilot's licence. "I was saying the prayer during take off," said Sultan. "And the pilot's license?" he was asked. "I took that with me in case we had to land somewhere and I needed to hire an areoplane."

Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani, "Fayuz E Yazdani

Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani, "Fayuz E Yazdani"

Have faith in God the Omnipotent,
the Eternal, the First and the Last,
who grants life and determines death.
He bestows bounty,
and only He can restore crushed hopes.
Have faith, do not lose hope, wait patiently.
He indeed will create a way
to deliver you from your hardships.

-Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani, "Fayuz E Yazdani

Tawhid

Junayd, "Tawhid"

Consider the way for ordinary people. They should believe in the unity of God. They should expel from their minds all ideas of other gods, or other beings which are similar to God; they should know that God has no equals. Yet equally they should realize there are spiritual forces which are opposed to God. They should trust God, and fear all that are opposed to him.

Junayd, "Tawhid