It was one Hamas activist, Muhammad Abu Wardeh, who was reported to
be recruiting terrorists for suicide bombings in Israel more than a
decade ago that said: “God would compensate the martyr for sacrificing
his life for his land. If you become a martyr, God will give you 70
virgins, 70 wives and everlasting happiness.” All the informed Muslims
knew certainly that Wardeh was only shortchanging his recruits.
This has become widespread to the extent that non-Muslim and mischief
makers who have no modicum of knowledge about Islam use this false
assertion to denigrate the religion, especially when the dare devil
bombers or blood thirsty group struk. They say: Hey! they want to go to
heaven and acquire 70 virgins and other bla bla…
It is only a sick and despicable mind that feels that it has a right to attack, steal, murder and cause harm to others.
One, suicide which is qatlu nafsi-hi is strictly forbidden in Islam,
and it is followed by the punishment of Allah. The flesh and body are
not our own possession but a trust granted to us in order to preserve
our spirit. So, we cannot attempt to blow up the divine work of art
entrusted on us. We cannot also destroy it by going on hunger strike; it
is unacceptable in Islam.
The Quran which guides the actions and activities of any Muslims
says: Suicide is forbidden. “O ye who believe!… [do not] kill
yourselves, for truly Allah has been to you Most Merciful. If any do
that in rancour and injustice, soon shall We cast him into the Fire…”
(Qur’an 4:29-30). Then the Prophet says “Indeed, whoever (intentionally)
kills himself, then certainly he will be punished in the Fire of Hell,
wherein he shall dwell forever”, [Bukhari (5778) and Muslim (109 and
110)].
Abubakar
Shekau (C), the suspected leader of Nigerian Islamist extremist group
Boko Haram, flanked by six armed and hooded fighters in an undisclosed
place. Photo AFP
What the Hadith referred to is matayr which is (sahid) contrary to
killing of oneself. Martyrdom is everywhere praised and encouraged.
Again, the Prophet said: “The most excellent jihad is that for the
conquest of self.” “Whoever suppresseth his anger, when he has it in his
power to show it, God will give him a great reward.” “Do you love your
Creator? Love your fellow beings first.”
“Wish not or supplicate for death before its taime cometh.”
Secondly, paradise is described in great sensual detail in Suratul
Waqiah; Q56 verses 12-40 and other chapters as well as the hadiths.
Also, Q55 verses 54-56 ; Q 76 verses 12-22.
In one of the verses, Hurun moqsuratun fil-khiyam. Meaning: Fair
ones are reserved in the Garden. Yes!, the Quran talks about damsels,
but in a context that most people especially the non-Muslims have
misrepresented and always paint in a derogatory manner to suit their
interests and purposes. There is no where in the Qur’an where 70
virgins was mentioned as a reward for killing people.
In paradise, there are many things that you cannot describe or
comprehend except with spiritually assistance. Allah mentioned in
Qur’an many things about Paradise. Comparing the earthily with that in
heaven is mismatch. It is not about emotional and biological
relationships, it is not about the way we relate here on earth.
The Qur’an says: In Gardens of Bliss: A number of people from those
of old, And a few from those of later times,(They will be) on Thrones
encrusted (with gold and precious stones), Reclining on them, facing
each other. Round about them will (serve) youths of perpetual
(freshness), With goblets, (shining) beakers, and cups (filled) out of
clear-flowing fountains: No after-ache will they receive therefrom, nor
will they suffer intoxication: And with fruits, any that they may
select: And the flesh of fowls, any that they may desire. And (there
will be) Companions with beautiful, big, and lustrous eyes,- Like unto
Pearls well-guarded. A reward for the deeds of their past (life). Not
frivolity will they hear therein, nor any taint of ill, Only the saying,
“Peace! Peace”. Q56 v 12-26
Jihad
Non-Muslims are quick to refer to Islamic term of Jihad. Not many of
them read the Qur’an or the hadiths to know exactly what the term means.
Those of them who take Comparative studies or those who assume to know
usually have a warped knowledge of the term as a result of sentiment of
‘mine is the only way’. They have refused to be guided by the
substance in what they read, rather they twist it and allowed themselves
to be ruled by sentiment.
You will be surprised by the idea of a Pastor on Jihad, or the
meaning a student at the seminary will give to Jihad. Even when you
explain to them, they still hold firmly to what they think they know
because it serves them a purpose. I have had to explain ‘Jihad and the
virgins’ a number of times to some of my non-Muslim colleagues, yet, it
has not changed anything; they still hold on to their idea.
Islam is all about mercy, about virtue, about sacrifice and about
duty to humanity. It encourages moral perfection and any activity that
is far from these, no matter the colouration, is not Islam. As Muslims,
there is no room for fanaticism, for hatred, for racism, for terrorizing
or killing innocent people in Islam, even in a state of war. Shedding
innocents’ blood constitute a form of injustice that can not be
tolerated by Islam.
Combative dimension
The Qur’an states that to kill one innocent person is like killing
all of humanity. Now, for the umpteenth time, Jihad, which literally
means ‘struggle,’ has an internal, societal and combative dimension. The
internal dimension of Jihad encompasses the struggle against the evil
inclinations of the self, and the spiritual project to adorn the self
with virtues such as justice, mercy, generosity and gentleness.
Secondly, the societal dimension includes struggling against social
injustice and creating a communal identity based on charity, respect and
equality; while the third aspect of jihad is only to be used as
self-defense against aggression or to fight oppression, and, even at
that, it is strictly within the limit of good conduct, justice and
preservation of life of the innocents and the sanctity of the
environment. For those who don’t know, this latter type of Jihad can
only be declared by a legitimate, recognized religious authority, not
any individual or a group of people with no legal identity or accepta
bility.
BlackBerry Messenger has been a favourite tool for fans of BlackBerry for many years, and now BlackBerry is hoping to spread the love on the iOS and Android platforms.
But this announcement has many wondering: is giving away BBM really such a great idea?
On the surface it certainly looks like they are giving current BlackBerry users one more reason to join the mutiny to Android and iOS.
If the core reason for staying with BlackBerry up until now had been
staying in touch with BBM contacts, then there is no reason to stick
around any longer.
These users can now ditch BlackBerry and gain access to popular apps, like Instagram, Vine and Spotify, plus they can keep pinging their friends and work colleagues on BBM without any sacrifices. BBLive: Where the action happensThe
effect of this move may be felt most in emerging markets,especially in
South East Asia where BBM (and the unlimited messaging plans that come
with it) are mostly responsible for the huge popularity of the
BlackBerry brand.
BlackBerry is hoping it will have the opposite
effect and drive people to the platform. But will anybody buy the
BlackBerry cow if they are giving away the milk for free?
This
isn't a short-term strategy, and cross-platform BBM is more likely to
damage the BlackBerry subscriber base in the near future than help grow
it.
Current BlackBerry users are keenly aware of the reasons they
want to switch (if they do), while iPhone and Android owners generally
don't think much about BlackBerry at all.
To this end,
cross-platform BBM will invariably build BlackBerry's brand awareness.
Every time BBM shows up in an app search on iOS or Android, that's a win
for BlackBerry. Every download of the app is a new customer.
If
these new users start to use BBM as their IM app of choice, then it will
plant the seed and give BlackBerry a better chance at a sale the next
time these customer's contracts come up for renewal.
Of course,
the big variable here is whether these people end up actually using BBM,
and there is already strong competition on the other platforms.
What's app, doc?
With the rise and rise in popularity of the Whatsapp instant messaging service, no BBM announcement is complete without pundits drawing comparisons between the two services.
Whatsapp
is already cross-platform, boasts twice as many messages per day from a
user base which is now nearly three-and-a-half times larger than BBM.
With so many people on Whatsapp, will anyone even bother with BBM on iOS
and Android?
BlackBerry's
offering will have a richer feature set though, with video and voice
calling coming to the iPhone and Android by the end of the year.
There
is also BBM's unique screen-sharing capability, where you can stream a
mirror of your display during a call, letting your friends browse
through your image gallery with you, or share a map while planning a
get-together.
But ultimately smartphone users aren't loyal to one
service or another. At the end of the day, it all comes down to where
your friends are.
If you have friends among the 60-million people
who use BBM, chances are you will download it and get in touch with
them. You'll install both Whatsapp and BBM, plus Twitter, Skype and
Facebook Messenger and happily switch between them all.
This
multi-service usage is good news for BlackBerry. Ultimately, it just
needs to be part of the conversation, it doesn't need to dominate it.
Win, win?
There
are hearts and minds to be won on the competing platforms. Still, this
is a big gamble for the company formerly known as RIM that could
backfire.
BlackBerry believes that this is the "right time to do
it". Many of the executives at BlackBerry Live used exactly the same
phrase, saying that the company believed that BlackBerry 10
has enough uniquely attractive features to draw in customers besides
BBM. It no longer has to rely on BBM to keep customers in the ecosystem,
so the company can afford to share the love.
Being
more inclusive of the other platforms is a great way to reach out to
millions and millions of users. But does BlackBerry need to give these
users everything? Would a cross-platform text-only service be a smarter
play?
Give Android and iPhone users a taste - a nibble of the possibilities - but make them switch to a Z10 for the full suite of tools, especially the awesome screen-sharing functionality.
Either
way, we'll be rooting for BlackBerry in the meantime. It's nice to
watch a company getting back up on its feet with innovative ideas at the
core of its strategy.
A 35-year-old commercial bus driver, Abraham Ikujunni, has been
arrested for allegedly assaulting an official of the Lagos State Traffic
Management Authority and resisting arrest.
According to LASTMA authorities, the bus driver allegedly stri*ped an
official, Oyeyemi Olusola, ripping his pair of trousers apart.
Pix of the Striped victim
It was learnt that the incident occurred on Friday in Ikorodu area of the state.
It was learnt that the suspect was accosted for not wearing a seatbelt before the incident occurred.
A LASTMA official, who craved anonymity, said, “Around 8:26am on
Friday, the LASTMA official apprehended the suspect around Odonguyan
area of Ikorodu for not using a seatbelt.
“The official entered his vehicle and told him to park properly. He
however drove the official into a street where there were commercial
motorcycle riders
“The riders then supported the suspect and the LASTMA official was
assaulted and his pair of trousers was torn. Fortunately, backup arrived
and the suspect was arrested.”
Our correspondent sighted the suspect’s statement in LASTMA office.
He denied assaulting the official, but admitted tearing his trousers.
He wrote, “My bus was faulty and I was trying to fix it when the
LASTMA man accosted me. He said I should park properly so as not to
obstruct the flow of traffic and I parked. He wanted to arrest me and I
resisted so a struggle ensued.
“He slapped me and my shirt got torn in the process. I then engaged
him in a struggle and while people were trying to separate us, his
trousers got torn in the process. Please, I am also a victim.”
The LASTMA spokesperson, Bola Ajao, could not be reached for comment.
Do you worry that boys are not
attracted to you? Many girls do, even the ones you think would have no
problems! Take Tesuwa for example, she’s good looking intelligent, and articulate.
Yet she says I often feel that boys don’t like me. A few that do showed an
interest in me for a while but later stopped talking to me completely! “What
type of things do boys find attractive in a girl? What do they find
unattractive? Without demeaning yourself, what can you do to draw the attention
of a decent young man?
Earlier this year,
Pinterest sold $200 million in stock to new and current investors for
less than 10% of the company, effectively valuing it at $2.5 billion.
Pinterest still has yet to generate any revenue, but investors are betting that the social pinboard startup could be the next Facebook.
Paul Buchheit, the creator and former lead developer of Gmail, says this is the most counterintuitive aspect of the venture capital business.
“The general public doesn’t understand start-ups at all,” Buchheit recently told Nathaniel Rich of The New York Times.
“They’re mystified how a company with no revenue can be worth a billion
dollars. It’s because of this power law: If a company has a 1 percent
chance of being a hundred-billion-dollar company, then it’s worth about a
billion dollars. That kind of thing doesn’t happen in your normal life
experience. If I get a cup of tea, it’s a cup of tea — there isn’t a
chance that it’s actually made out of solid gold. But that’s how this
works.”
Happy Anniversary to the Parent of Miss Tempest Swam, May God continue to give, guide and protect them through the rest of their lives. Once again happy anniversary from Faces Magazine
