Understanding the Basic and major Concepts in Islam

 https://aboutislam.net/blog/the-basic-and-major-concepts-in-islam/

The Basic and Major Concepts in Islam

Abrar Hussain

International Center for Chemical and Biological Science, University of Karachi, Karachi Pakistan. abrarhussain0307@gmail.com

Introduction

Islam is the true religion in the world which has the second largest followers. It is the religion of the world starting from the beginning and will be followed till the end. Due to its eternal nature and comprehensive guidelines, their basics faiths remain constant and not changed at any cost. It is one of the key reasons that attract the non-followers to follow and obey the rules and regulations. Here, some of these basics and key faiths/ concepts are described.

1- The concept of ALLAH 

ALLAH is the one and only creator of the universe. It is the basic faith in Islam that the follower must follow one and only ALLAH, and consider HIM the creator, the greatest, the largest, and the supreme power. According to the Qur’an ALLAH is one and not responsible for neither accountability nor anyone is like HIM. These concepts give the strength of power to the followers and exclude all those who claim ALLAH authority. The basic faiths about ALLAH include the following.

1-      ALLAH is one and only one

2-      ALLAH is the creator of the whole universe including humans

3-      HE has neither children nor parents

4-      HE is the supreme and omnipotent

5-      HE can do everything, nothing is impossible

6-      HE is the one to whom we will return

7-      ALLAH judge everyone equally

8-      ALLAH is transcendent (above and beyond anything that exists in the world)

9-      ALLAH is Immanent (close to every human and within all things on Earth)

2- The Concept of Messenger (Prophet) 

ALLAH has sent HIS messenger to righteously guide HIS servants to the straight path. These pious, innocent, chosen, and selected HUMANs are the messengers or prophets of ALLAH. The only mission of all these messengers is to convey the message of the ALLAH and guide them to the right way. Approximately one lakh and twenty-four thousand such messengers were sent for this mission, although about 25 names are mentioned in the Quran. Some important beliefs about messengers include these following.

1-                  These are humans

2-                  They were chosen by ALLAH

3-                  They were guided by ALLAH

4-                  They preach the Islam

5-                  They were specific for a specific area and time except Last prophet.

6-                  Some prophets have unique characters

7-                  They act as a role model for everyone

8-                  They reprimand the polytheist and atheist

9-                  All prophets were brave, generous, honest, perspicacious, and spiritual teachers

10-              Hazrat MUHAMAAD S.A.W. is the LAST prophet of ALLAH

3- The Concept of Angles 

Angles are the non-human creation of ALLAH which are created from light and every time pray to ALLAH. Belief in angle existence is a fundamental part of the Islamic faith. Angles are the amazing creators of ALLAH. In Quran and hadith, both give us thoughts about angles. The basic belief of a Muslim about angles include the following.

1-      These are created from light and perform ALLAH commands every time.

2-      These are innocent and sinless.

3-      They performed various works like conveying revelations, bringing rain to the earth, blowing the air, protecting the humans, recording our deeds, etc.

4-      They are different from human beings not having will like humans.

5-      They have no gender.

6-      Although the exact number is unknown, but four of them are noble and the main angles.

7-      The exact functions, duties, and role of all angles are known to ALLAH only.

4-The concept of Holy/Divine Books 

Islam, the true and eternal religion in the world has a comprehensive and complete guidance system for their followers. To follow the ALLAH commands correctly and righteously the ALLAH revealed a few books (four major books) to HIS messengers. All the messengers are the true reflectors, explanators, and preachers of these books. They convey the book’s messages to all the people in an effective way. Due to the ALLAH commands and orders to the followers, the Muslims have the following belief about these holy and divine books. These books are Zabur (Psalms) was sent to David (Dawud), Torah sent to Moses (Musa), Injeel (Gospel) sent to Jesus (Isa), and Quran sent to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

1-                  ALLAH revealed books for the guidance of their followers.

2-                  Four books are the main and major books.

3-                  All three books are not following now, only the Quran is following.

4-        The Quran is the complete code of life and contains all the comprehensive rules for human life.

5-                Only the Quran is still in its original state, no one can change even a single dot in the Quran.

6-                  ALLAH protected the Quran from any distortion and took this responsibility. 

7-                  The Quran is revealed in the Arabic language.

5-The concept of Qayama 

As mentioned earlier that everyone is responsible for his/her own deeds. It is also mentioned in the Quran that everyone should get the reward of their deeds. Therefore, it is important that all people are gathered and a correct system must require to give the rewards. In ISLAM the rewards of each’s deeds should be given on a specific day called Judgemental Day/ Resurrection Day or the day of Qayamat. Before that day there are some events that indicate the near time of Qayamat. Being the crucial part of Muslim belief, Muslim have the following thoughts about Qayamat.

1- The Qayamat has a specific time and it will come on that day.

2- All the people from the beginning to the end will be gathered.

3-On that day everyone should receive their proper rights, there will be no injustice.

4-On that day the Muslims will be successful and the infidels will be given hell fire.

5- The record of every person should be given to the respective persons.

6- Some events are already happened.

6-The concepts of right and wrong 

Any action a human can perform in this world me fall into two categories. In ISLAM as already documented, every man and women is responsible for their deeds, and according to their action the person will receive the reward on the day of Qayamat. In ISLAM the action will be right if it is according to ALLAH command and HIS prophet MUHAMMAD S.A.W.’s teaching. Morality is the key part of the rights action and Islam is strongly emphasize on the good characters. The basic thoughts of a Muslim about rights and wrongs include the following.

1-All actions which are according to ALLAH command are rights.

2-ISLAM have proper and defined boundaries of right and wrong.

3-Every individual should follow the Islamic principle of right and wrong or good and bad, instead of using their own concepts.

4-The person who’s done right things should receive a good reward and there will be hellfire for those who are doing wrong.

5- We are not free to do what comes in our mind or what we can do, is freely done.

7-The concept of Death 

It is a universal truth that every individual should taste death. Humans, animals, and other living things should die before the day of judgment. But, there is a difference in concept after the life of death. According to Muslim theology death is the beginning of a new life which is in the form of Heaven or hell. The basic thoughts about death are the following.

1.     .Death is not the ending of our life, actually it is the beginning of a new life.
2.       Every individual has a specific time which they are spending in this world.
3.       Not only humans but all other things should be destroyed before the day of judgment.
4.       After death every human should get their reward. i.e. good or bad.
5.       Both life and death are according to the well of ALLAH.

Conclusion

The basic belief of a Muslim about ALLAH is HE is the one, superpower, eternal, and sent down many messengers to the earth for the guidance of mankind. The Muslims have the faith that he is responsible for their every deed and according to their deeds they will get the rewards i.e. heaven or hellfire. May ALLAH keep us the true followers of Islam.

Climate-Friendly Food and Agriculture

 https://www.theearthneedslove.com/2024/01/climate-friendly-food-and-agriculture.html

 

CLIMATE-FRIENDLY FOOD AND AGRICULTURE

Abrar Hussan

International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, Karachi-75270 Pakistan (abrarhussain0307@gmail.com)

Introduction

Any long term change in temperature and weather of an area is known as climate change. The causes of climate changes may be natural or man-made. In the beginning of 19^th century rapid industrialization take place which besides other activities also affect the climate of an area. For instance, burning of coal, fossil fuels and gases etc. can cause the climate change most probably by interrupting the air and change its composition. These sources i.e. burning of fossil fuels etc. can aid the green house effects which ultimately change the climate.

The potential of climate change is measure in term of their negative effects on all forms of lives. The disruption of balance ecosystem, change in weather patterns, increase in temperature, extensive flooding, melting of glaciers, and increase in the eruption of volcanic are the key consequences of climate change. All the aforementioned effects can lead to the negatively effects the human and other animal’s lives, enhance the death ratio, increase non-communicable diseases, and create the emergence of health issues. Agriculture sector is also at high risk from climate changes due to temperature changes, flooding, irregular rainfall, and longer or shorter drought seasons. All these situations can lead to affect the foods that are produced in that particular area.

Agriculture is one of the main sources of income in many countries around the globe. (In Pakistan 60% of the land is considered as agriculture land). They aid to the countries assets and improve the quality of life of the residents. Proper and fresh foods availability, verities of food items, and labour working etc. all are the benefits of agriculture sector. But unfortunately, some negative aspects like their contribution in climate change (production of different gases i.e. CO₂, CH₄, NO₂ etc.), acidification of rain, eutrophication, residual of fertilizers, and waste of residual etc. are also associated with this sector. These problems are more emerged currently due to the use of advance agriculture techniques, which on one side enhance the productivity and required less time but on the other hand produce poisonous gases, and disrupt the ecosystem.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) for the Asia region declared that the geographical location of a country a can also associated with the climate change. Besides geographical location other factors like socioeconomic development, rapid industrialization, and lack of proper resources also contribute to the climate change.

Currently, the matter of climate change is of global concern different international and national organization are working for the prevention or to overcome the drastic effects of climate change, but there are more to be done. Therefore, the present article aimed to describe various environmental friendly methods that can help to reduce the climate change, but the demand of agriculture substances is not affected.

Eco-friendly system

The activities or products that cause limited destruction in the environment and have a sustainable factor are referring as eco-friendly substances or actions. The factor of sustainability and presentation of the available resources for future generation is the key property of eco-friendly and hence, it is separated from the term environmental friendly. Eco-friendly system is crucial for balancing of ecological, social, and economic value of any population. It also accounts for waste reduction, renewable energy, and sustainability of the long-term environmental factors.   

Sustainability and food system

Sustainability is a multidimensional concern, to which our food systems also attribute. The nature of clean and safe food is the basic right of any human and it is also our responsibility to save the food for future. The food conservation in the environments and its safe storage for future is the concern of global association and collaboration. Food system is comprised of a chain of steps ranging from cultivation in the fields to processes food on the table. As looking sample and linear chains, the food system is considered a complex and multifactorial process that required time, care, and patients. For any society it is necessary that there will be a steady and sustainability in the food chain, but this may also vary from place to place and also changes with time. Food chains indicate the overall status of an area in term of field potential, the agriculture land, and the socioeconomic status. Sustainable food can provide a healthy and fresh food for the consumers.

 

        Figure 1: Graphical illustration showing the pillars of sustainability

Agricultural impact on environment and climate

Agriculture is the important part of our life which helps to generate new crops and aid to the economic value of any country. Besides the importance and crucial part in our daily life, the agriculture sector also impact negative on our environment, mostly due to the operation and process associated with agriculture. Rigorous agricultural processes can harm the environment through fertilisation, irrigation, machinery and plant protection chemicals. Similarly, the agriculture waste and animal manure on burning can aid to the air pollution. Recently the impact of agriculture on climate change is recognized and got full attention. Different parts and constituents of agriculture can badly impact the climate. For instance, the soil ‘type, irrigation, chemicals, etc. can badly impact our surrounding. 

Importance of sustainable food

The aim of food is to remove the hunger and vanished the poverty. The sustainable foods have both of these properties with additional benefits of its safe nature to the environments. It also not affects the biodiversity of the area and covers the all aspects of the foods. Sustainable foods also help in the restoration of forest as they required less area for cultivation. The increasing in multiple diseases also provide a way to use sustainable foods as they provide more choices. The sustainable foods and agriculture must meet the required criteria for present and future generation, while ensuring the environmental protection. The basics of food security like access, availability, utilization and stability must be present in a food which are claimed to be sustainable. 

Examples of sustainable foods

Different foods are used as sustainable foods. Each food has its own importance that collectively helps to reduce their environmental impact. Food with good nutritional values and improved health like, cereals, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and olive oil etc. have the least environmental effect. Some of the important sustainable foods are listed below.

Mushroom

Mushrooms belong to saprophytes that can help to decompose the remaining of an organism and obtained their energy. These also live in different association with their host and generally no chemical or pesticides etc. are used for their cultivation, and hence aid to the safe nature of the environments.

Corn
corn is extensively used in feed industries and considered as a sustainable food. Its demand is more in developing countries as they produce more feeds supplements. Their industrial applications make them parallel with petroleum and its demand is gradually increasing. Here, its importance is in term of environmental protection. It is identified that organic corns can produce less carbon footprint then non-organic. They also lack the production of pesticides and widely distributed in different soils.

Conclusion

The agriculture sector contributes huge to the socio-economic value of a country. Due to the current situations of climate changes, which effect the agriculture sector a lot, is of issue of interest. Following the green ways of agriculture by promoting the concept of sustainable foods, can reduce the effects on the land. Various types of foods are grown which have all the required properties of a foods, and also have the factor of sustainability. Such foods required less area and give more products. In conclusion, promoting the climate friendly or environmental friendly agriculture not only help to reduce the burden of negative complications but also help to give more products.