Primary school Science taught me Food Chains and Food Webs. I had never questioned why Man was always in the central position in these Chain n Web. I arrogantly accepted that I am the Consumer and the other Creatures are here as my food. As I ponder on ayats of the Quran, it made more sense. Allah Has Chosen me to be a khalifah of this Earth. I just did not realise the responsibility that comes with it. My cousin got stung by a jellyfish on a Californian beach. He recounted that there were sightings of sharks by the waters so the beach authorities used some kind of vibration to safely chase the sharks away. Little did they realise that by chasing the sharks away, the beach invited an

Semasa mempelajari konsep Rantai Makanan atau 'Food Chain' di sekolah rendah tak pernah saya tertanya, ' Kenapa manusia di letakkan di kedudukan paling atas di rantai ini, menduduki satu posisi yang amat penting?' Dalam minda saya yang amat kerdil dan sombong, saya terima sahaja yang saya makhluk tertinggi dan makhluk lain wujud sebagai makanan saya. Setelah saya mendalami ayat-ayat al-Quran, saya lebih memahami. Allah telah memilih saya sebagai khalifah di bumi Nya. Dengan kedudukan yang mulia ini, termaktub juga tanggungjawab berat yang harus saya pikul. Dengan kesedaran ini, saya melihat setiap tindak laku saya akan terkesan pada kehidupan makhluk lain di bumi ini. Saya lebih

Having been shown the fate of those who turned away from God's guidance after it had been explained to them by their prophets, the unbelievers are reminded that they are now their successors, having power in the land so that they can show themselves worthy of God's trust:

"Then We made you their successors on earth, so that We might see how you behave." (Verse 14)

This is a powerful statement. They now enjoy something that once belonged to others, but from whom it was removed. They, too, will leave it after their test is over, and they will be rewarded in accordance with what they do.

Thus, Islam shows man the facts as they are so that he is not deceived by appearances. This creates in th

What you have here is the first chapter of the Quran that is named after a prophet, and it is significant that it is Yunus (pbuh). Why Yunus (Jonah)? Yunus is not just the first prophet to have a Sura named after him, but he's also actually the first prophet that was mentioned to Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) in revelation in Surat Al-Qalam:48 There is a profound lesson in that; Yunus was a prophet who at one point gave up and turned away from his people, and ended up not just at a low point, but physically, at the bottom of the ocean, in the belly of a whale, under the darkness of the night, calling out to Allah swt and not only did Allah save him but Allah elevated him. So he was bett

Exploring the topic of contentment, I searched the Quran for derivatives of the root word (faraha/happy) and found that in the majority of cases, 20 or so instances, it described a negative reaction, such as: When goodness comes to them after harm has touched him, he is sure to say, 'Misfortune has gone away from me.' He becomes happy and boastful. Or: And though they may *revel* in the life of this world, it is but a fleeting comfort compared with the Life to come. وَفَرِحُوا بِالْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَمَا الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا فِي الْآخِرَةِ إِلَّا مَتَاعٌ ﴿٢٦ الرعد The two or three examples of the use of faraha in the Quran refer to the believers in Paradise. But the one singl