What is the purpose of all these Universities?

With the Middle East becoming a hub for education with universities established every where, why are they only there to present just education and a bachelor degree or masters or PhD just for the sake of carrying a certificate around?

Around the world philanthropists and organisations fund universities in order for them to establish research centres. Whether they are political or geopolitical research centres or research in  climate change, viruses etc , usually universities around the world have the funding and equipment in place for such studies.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a must by the large organisations and it would be an idea to get them to fund such innovation and to fund the minds we have instead of losing them.

Why aren't we seriously looking into this? We don't need a separate establishment in order to invent and discover, the universities should be doing this. We have PhD holders who just teach and go home, they write a paper here and a paper there to climb up the ranks from assistant to associate to a professor with such great minds and ambitions that can do so much, if just provided with the funding.

The Arab world has lost so much talent and intelligence and so much development because of the lack of interest in pursuing this important role that the universities have.

We have professors and students who are chemists, physicists, biologists, pharmacologists, chemical engineers, mechanical engineers, philosophers,  historians and so on and if they were provided the right funding they could have the potential and ability and tools to discover new technologies, quick cures, write about our own history (instead of having to read it by someone looking on the inside from out), to develop our own vaccines instead of funding others to do so. Give them a chance to develop their minds and develop their ideas and to benefit themselves and the nation.

We still have so much potential and the time is right and everyone should be a part of this to make our world and the whole world a better place. 

There was a time...

There was a time in the time of the Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him and in the time of the Rashidun Caliphs (ra) that  a person would not be buried until their debts were paid.
Today Muslims die and are buried without the question on their worldly affairs and if it affects their Akhira. You do realize that the person who has not paid their debts will suffer in the grave. Or have we forgotten? We have moved far far away from the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him where worldly affairs only matter and, because of greed, distribution is done without consideration for the soul who has left this world.
I give you a case. A father and husband died and his widow and minor children were left with nothing just a few dinars in the bank. Even those few dinars didn't belong to the deceased but belonged to his widow, but was distributed without questioning as to who it belongs to and without asking if the deceased left a debt.
The deceased did leave many debts that the widow had to repay(and is still repaying) and the only thing she and her children had was an apartment- which following her husband's death made them the beneficiaries.
But they aren't allowed to rent or sell the apartment and don't even have the title deeds despite buying the apartment more than a decade ago. Following her husband's death the insurance covered the full amount and the apartment was paid for. But despite that it's as if they own nothing at all. So the widow had to work and still works from home as much as she can, and by herself, has to pay the debts of her husband.
If the widow was living in the time of the Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him, this would not be the case. The deceased's debts would be paid before distribution and the amount that he left would first be investigated as to who it actually belonged to.
Also if a widow and orphans had a property they would receive the title deeds.

The world is tiring and the Sunnah has been forgotten and the widows and orphans are suffering just to make their way.

We have forgotten what it is to be a true Muslim

Once a Sahabis' son was missing. The Sahabi went looking for his son.

As he was searching he found a group of children playing and saw his son was amongst them.

He saw that Rasoolallah ﷺ, the Beloved of Allah was sitting at a short distance watching the children.

The Sahabi came into the presence of the Beloved ﷺ and after presenting Salam he asked Ya Rasoolallah ﷺ I have been looking for my son and found him playing here, do I have your permission to take him?

The Prophet ﷺ replied,

Let your son play a little longer.

The Sahabi took his leave and left.

A short while later he came again and found the Beloved of Allah in the same place watching the children play.

The Sahabi asked for permission to take his son and once again the Prophet ﷺ asked to to let his son carry on playing.

The man left and came back a short while later. Again he asked for permission to take his son and this time the Prophet of Allah ﷺ gave him permission, now you may take your son.

As the man was about to approach the children and call his son, Rasoolallah ﷺ called him back.

He returned to the company of Rasoolallah ﷺ and the Prophet ﷺ said, Take your son but when you call him don’t call him as ‘my son’ call him by his name.

The Sahabi was a little inquisitive as to why this instruction was given and he asked Ya Rasoolallah, the child is my son and if I did call out to him as ‘my son’ would that be a problem?

Tears began to fall down the Blessed cheeks of The Mercy to Creation and He replied,

O my companion, amongst those children there are orphans... if you call out to your child as ‘O my son’ the orphans may feel the loss of their fathers and may be saddened.

To avoid this I have requested that you call your son by his name so as not to hurt their feelings!

The Sahabi was amazed at the intricate level of concern and sensitivity of Rasoolallah ﷺ.

The man took his son, came back to Rasoolallah ﷺ to ask leave.

He then asked Ya Rasoolallah ﷺ why are you sitting watching these children, again with tears in his blessed eyes, the Mercy to Creation replied,

I was watching those children and sat close by so that they know that even though they do not have fathers, they have the Prophet of Allah to care for them.

Subhan'Allah

We have forgotten what it is to be a true Muslim...

- Shaykh Abu Yusha Yasin

My View

One hundred years ago you would have an excuse for a surge in an epidemic leading to a pandemic, but today it makes no sense at all. You can put it down to plain stupidity or ignorance on the individual/community, down to people’s lack of adjustment to technology even in this day and age or down to the fact that people have no patience and have adapted their lives to coffee shops, discos, malls, partying, gatherings and beaches!

People of the past had no choice in their daily lives and had to walk miles to find a doctor as hospitals were already at the peak with war injuries and other infections that came with it.

Another point, it makes no sense with the internet and modern technology facilities that we still feel the need of physical presence in work.

In the case of construction, yes maybe perhaps this is justifiable which is why the majority of those infected are migrant workers who have caught the coronavirus. But then if I owned a construction company, I would have stopped work there and then, until I found an application to implement to safeguard those who worked for me, and then as an organization I should have had the sustainable liquidity in place in case of such disasters . I would provide them with decent living standards, not squished sardine and dilapidated cheap standards. And then the rest of the community wants to know why they are out and about? Would you place yourselves and your children in a small dark room with 10 other strangers you really know nothing about?  

The coronavirus has kind of proved in such a short time that many companies and organizations are not as solid as we thought they were. Many organizations, had the governments not taken steps, would have fired most of their staff within days of the virus emergence, what does that say about the structure of these organizations and how they are run? What does it say about their liquidity?

The only organizations I can’t blame are the restaurants that serve buffets, but even they could have had adapted.

I blame this on the way we start startups and the advisors. Businesses should not start unless they have a six month back up in case of any looming disaster - not just a pandemic, it could be an earthquake or a hurricane! There should be a backup from the beginning; you cannot make a cake without all the ingredients and you always buy more in case the first attempt fails.

Another thing is that landlords……. Private schools…… etc etc …. Is it better to lose tenants and students just because you don’t know what mercy is? Aren’t we in this all together? Banks, what about the expatriates? Why do we nationalize things so much when we are all in this together? We are all human beings and we all suffer the same and we all have families to feed. Expatriates are a part of our society in good times right? So why aren’t they a part in a crisis and why aren’t they included? No matter what excuse you make, we live in a diversified world, and like it or not, we are a global village and one hand can never clap alone.

Another one of the worst things are “journalists” with their unwanted “opinions” and mumbling “historians”  that have nothing to do but rant about the middle east all day and the “human rights abuses” and how much money the GCC states have … hellooooo we  are in the middle of a crisis. We are in the middle of a Global Pandemic, and all you do is rant and rave about so called human rights abuses run by a mafia when it suits or you need to sway something? Have you checked what is happening in your own backyard? And if you want to rant, rant about all the nations, because so far we have done, admit or not, a far better job.

And a final point. There will never be a "normal" after this. Try as much as you may, this will be entrenched in our minds. Like it or not, it is clear that the coronavirus is spreading and people should have the right to choose. Allow people to decide if they wish to work remotely or if they want to come to the office. It should be their choice as at the end of the day, it's their rights to take care of their health. As long as they are doing the work, let them choose. Not force them to come to the office where they don't feel safe! When they lose their health, will you, who hired them, keep paying? No one should be forced to do something they are not comfortable with especially if it will affect their health. All the money in the world cannot buy you your health back, and we need to emerge from this with our health, not with scars.

We still really and intelligently no nothing about, despite everyone hanging his/her PHD on their profiles, because if we really did know, if someone really did have the knowledge, there would have been a cure in the age of space travel, the only thing we can “cure” is turning macho into Ken and Barbie into the barbarian.

Look back at history and search the pandemics of our past and how long they did last but even that cannot provide answers as that era was an era of wars, troops, colonial imperialism and had many factors contributing to the pandemics of the time.

What we can do is to study which places were the first to come out victorious from this pandemic and we can research to know why. In 1918, the deadliest in modern history Spanish Flu pandemic, infected 500 million people worldwide (around one third of the world’s population at the time).

The studies found, the key to flattening the curve was social distancing. And that likely remains true a century later, in the current battle against coronavirus.

“[T]here is an invaluable treasure trove of useful historical data that has only just begun to be used to inform our actions,” Columbia University epidemiologist Stephen S. Morse wrote in an analysis of the data. “The lessons of 1918, if well heeded, might help us to avoid repeating the same history today.

So let’s make sure we adhere and not make mistakes as this is not the first time and this will not be the last.

A few words from our Maker (Subhan wa Ta’ala)

“And be patient over what befalls you” Surah Luqman

“After every difficulty, Allah will soon grant relief” Surah at-Talaq

“So be patient with gracious patience” Surah al-Ma’arij

“Indeed Allah is with the patient” Surah al-Anfal

References :

https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/1918-flu-pandemic

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2020/03/how-cities-flattened-curve-1918-spanish-flu-pandemic-coronavirus/

Coronavirus - A Message to the Believers

One of the worst things to witness is people in fear so let me share with you all a little knowledge and why I am not worried or concerned about this coronavirus, however note well that I and my family are taking all the precautions as prescribed by the blessed Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) who said, "If you hear of an outbreak of plague in a land, do not enter it; but if the plague breaks out in a place while you are in it, do not leave that place." Sahih Bukhari.

Unfortunately this is a lesson that many have not adhered to. If they had, the world would not be going through a pandemic right now and it would’ve been contained.  But “if” is not a word for a believer to utter. What will be will be as Allah Subhan wa Ta’ala has already written down the sustenance of the creation 50,000 years before He created the heavens and the earth.

Everything that you’ll ever get is already written down. So there is no need to worry about our rizq.  Rizq is understood as material provisions in the form of money, food or our jobs, however, rizq can be defined as anything that brings benefits or goodness to us. Rizq encompasses many things such wealth, family ties, spirituality, our faith, intellect, health and everything else that is beneficial to us and can help us fulfil our duties and obligations to serve and obey Allah Subhan wa Ta’ala in order for us to take care of this earth. Even the air that we breathe is a form of rizq from the Almighty. Allah Subhan wa Ta’ala is the Provider, the Sustainer and the One who decides.

Be concerned about what is happening around us, but be more concerned about what we are doing in order to earn the rewards of the Hereafter. To Him Subhan wa Ta'ala we belong and to Him we will all return. 

Brothers and sisters, our ancestors and some of our brothers and sisters around the world have been and are going through worse. Look at this as a lesson and a blessing that we have time to change the way we behave, the way we act, the way we treat one another.  We leave nothing behind except good deeds, a good word and this world, this dunya, is just temporary. One thing that we are all certain of, is that we will all die. Everything and everyone will leave this world and all the money in the world will not bring us back to this life. So look at this virus as a blessing. It is a blessing that gives us time to repent. Now let us utilize the time to prioritize our salah (prayer), to read the glorious Quran, to make Dhikr of Allah Subhan wa Ta'ala. Now we have time for Tahajjud, to fast and to make Tasbih.

Say:  Subhan Allah wa bihamdihi , La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah, Astaghfirullah Wa Atubu Ilaih, and these are just a few words that won’t take us time and we should recite them each day.

Before you sleep say

Subḥāna llah  or Tasbih (Glory be to God) – repeated 33 times.

Al-ḥamdu li-llāh or Tahmid (Praise be to God) – repeated 33 times.

Allāhu ʾakbar  or Takbir (God is greatest) – repeated 34 times.

Utilize this time to understand why we are here and what our true purpose is and make Dua because Duas can change the destiny and sometimes play a miraculous role in our lives.

And your Lord says: “Call on Me; I will answer your (Prayer)… Quran (40-60)