Beyond Orwellian: Liberty and technology today

By: Robert Scheer

For democracy, privacy is the ball game. Without the assurance of a zone of inviolate space, both physical and mental, that a citizen can inhabit without fear of observation by others, there is no guarantee of the essential sovereignty of the individual promised in the First and Fourth Amendments to the US Constitution. That should be clear, as it is to most people who have been oppressed by the tyranny of authoritarian regimes. Indeed, as Aldous Huxley and George Orwell brilliantly established in their classic writing on this subject, the totality of societal observation over the individual is the defining antithesis of freedom, even when that observation is gained through hidden and subtle persuasion.

6 Steps to Achieve a Quality Salah

Source: productivemuslim.com

By: Abu Umar

Alhamdulillah, achieving a quality salah is something we, as Productive Muslims, are all striving towards. None of us likes to recite Quran during our salah without having our faith refreshed. We would all like for us to feel that peace from showing our obedience to Allah .

We’re all leading busy lives and this can affect the time we spend in worship to Allah . Therefore, in the little time we spend worshiping Him, we want to make sure this is done right and in a way that is pleasing to Allah . This will help benefit us in this life and our worldly duties, as well as the hereafter.

Here are a few points which, inshallah, will help you improve the quality of your salah in terms of improving the prayer itself and also bearing in mind what can harm it.

ABANDONED PRIPYAT, UKRAINE (IMAGE)

 Pripyat is an abandoned city in northern Ukraine, near the border with Belarus. Named for the nearby Pripyat River, Pripyat was founded on 4 February 1970, the ninth nuclear city in the Soviet Union, for theChernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. It was officially proclaimed a city in 1979, and had grown to a population of 49,360 before being evacuated a few days after the 26 April 1986 Chernobyl disaster. Though Pripyat is located within the administrative district of Ivankiv Raion, the abandoned city now has a special status within the largerKiev Oblast (province), being administered directly from Kiev. Pripyat is also supervised by Ukraine’s Ministry of Emergencies, which manages activities for the entire Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.

Israeli warships open fire at fishermen near Rafah

Source: http://www.maannews.net/

GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Israeli warships on Tuesday opened fire at fishermen off the coast of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, in an apparent violation of an agreed-upon three-day ceasefire, a union official said.

Nizar Ayyash, spokesman for Gaza’s fishermen union, told Ma’an that a number of Palestinian fishermen were near the shore when Israeli forces shot at them with machine guns.

No injuries were reported.

Are you stuck in your comfort zone? Break your unproductive patterns!

 Are you stuck in your comfort zone? Break your #unproductive patterns! Click to find out more: http://proms.ly/1lvFXDB 

Change begins at the end of your comfort zone.

 Change begins at the end of your comfort zone.
 El cambio comienza en el final de su zona de confort.
 Verandering begint bij het ​​einde van je comfort zone.
 Le changement commence à la fin de votre zone de confort.
 Veränderung beginnt mit dem Ende der Komfort-Zone.
 Biànhuà kāishǐ yú nǐ de shūshì qū de jiéwěi.
 Förändring börjar i slutet av din komfortzon.
 Izmeneniya nachinayutsya v kontse svoyey zony komforta.
 Değişim Rahat sonunda başlar.
 Cambia inizia alla fine della vostra zona di comfort.
 Perubahan dimulai pada akhir zona kenyamanan Anda.

SUHAIB WEBB: Spirituality & Society (Video)

 In the Qur’an, Allah Almighty swears that whoever purifies his soul is successful and those who corrupt it are losers (Ash-Shams 91:9-10). These verses are often misunderstood. Spirituality, in fact, is not about spending isolated times with God in order to experience  transcendence. This is, indeed, a lowermaqam (level) in the life of a committed believer. No doubt these moments with Allah are important. Allah Almighty told His Prophet:

{Stand (to prayer) by night, but not all night,-

Half of it,- or a little less,} (Al-Muzzamil 73:2 -3)

But true spirituality is to be able to move from those moments of solitude with Allah to begin to find spiritual  peace and tranquility within the creation and when dealing with others. Allah Almighty says about the prophets that they used to walk in the markets; that they used to deal with people.

Often we fail to understand this; we think that spirituality is to work on the heart only. Sheikh Osama Sayed Al-Azhari, My Sheikh in Hadith, said something beautiful about Surat Ash-Shams. He said that the word Nafs [translated as soul] in its origin means the entire life of a person. It is not restricted to the internal, spiritual development. [The plural form of the word nafs] is mentioned in the verse {And do not kill yourselves (anfusakum)…} (Al-Baqarah 4:29) That does not mean killing the internal reality of people but the entire body; the entire existence.

So Sheik Osama said that [the purification of the] soul here (Ash-Shams 91:9) is made up of the following:

1. The internal purification of the heart.

2. Having good akhlaq, that is, good external character with Allah and with His creation. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about what takes people to Jannah, he said, “Being mindful of Allah (taqwa) and having good character” (At-Tirmidhi and ranked Hasan by Al-Albani)

Allah brings both aspects together when he says:

{Indeed, Allah loves those who are constantly repentant and loves those who purify themselves.} (Al-Baqarah 2:222)
More lectures…