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SHAFAQNA – Ever since the United States intervened in Iraq following claims Saddam Hussain had acquire weapons of mass destruction, the Middle East, and to a greater extent the Islamic world has suffered a series of overlapping and protracted crises – all of which have been more or less pinned down to sectarianism: this eteal schism within Islam in between the Sunnis and the Shiites.

For well over a decade now, experts, media, officials and politicians have built a narrative of hate and social fragmentation in the Middle East, offering the world a vision of the region and the Islamic world as one of violence, intolerance and utter chaos – which chaos and brutality they only too kindly offered to remedy through “democracy-building” and other neo-colonial niceties.

In truth, the Middle East has indeed but bright … in truth, War has become a rationale countries across the region have yet to escape and stop. But sectarianism has absolutely nothing to do with anything!

Do understand that I am not denying the fact that factions and powers have exploited and played sectarianism and ethno-centrism as weapons to further their agendas – I am only postulating that such nefarious dynamics were imported and engineered, and thus are in no way, shape or form central to the region’s socio-political gravitational pull.

A rainbow of religions and people have lived together in the Middle East for thousands of years …. History was built in the sands of Arabia … History remains still over and under the sands of Arabia. If violence and sectarianism were in fact inherent to Islam, the Middle East would have long been buried under its own fire, and much of what we call Weste civilization would not exist today.

If not for the Islamic world the work of Socrates and Aristotle would not have been preserved and passed down so that it could illuminate generations of men to the genius and beauty which was Ancient Greece. If not for the Islamic world much of what we call the foundations of sciences, maths, medicine, poetry and astronomy would still be rudimentary.

The Islamic world, the Middle East and Islam have all contributed to the common growth of humanity’s collective intellectual heritage – denying such a reality flies in the face of logic and pragmatism. The West is not the intellectual, and social holy grail. The world needs not saving from Weste nations.

What the world needs is a little less arrogance and more humility before others’ differences and ability to disce different truths.

So, if not sectarianism what is eating away at the Middle East?

Quite simply: Wahhabism!

At every tu, and for each horror committed in the region, Wahhabism has sat at the centre of it all, a malignant parasite, and a suffocating plague of infamy and pain.

Where Sunnis and Shiites, and all denominations in between have managed to live in cohesion and harmony for centuries, Wahhabism has single-handedly managed to tear at the fabric of society by spewing ethno-sectarian hatred – advocating a grand religious cleanse of the Islamic world, and the world in general in the name of a twisted ideology which claims itself Islamic, when in fact its practices aligns more with paganism and Satanism.

Wahhabism could not be further removed from Islam … actually scholars of the status of Dr John Andrew Morrow have argued that Wahhabism stands in very negation of Islam since it recognizes not the Covenants the Prophet Muhammad signed with the people of the Book – ALL of the people of the Book.

A faith of tolerance and pluralism, Islam needs no cleansing to stand in its own truth – in fact Islam needs not even Muslims to Be as its essence and source remain with the Divine.

Wahhabism speaks not of God or faith, but blood and enslavement.

The Middle East today is at war with Wahhabism – Christians, Jews, Muslims and all people of faith stand to be disappeared under the blade of the Black Flag Army and its many sisters in hate.

Shiites and Sunnis do not stand on opposite side of a fence, and they seek not to destroy each other. Why would they? Why would they purposely disobey one of God’s foremost command that no innocent soul should ever be killed – if not for the perpetrator to carry the weight of killing the whole of humanity. Quite a burden to bear I would say …quite a difficult theory for religious leaders to rationalize ….

Sunnis and Shiites are not enemies, they each have chosen a path … the former refuse still to admit to the Prophet Muhammad’s last command: that all should pay allegiance to AhlulBayt, while the latter embraced the prophet’s wishes in their absolute love and devotion to the keepers of the Word of God.

Shia Islam speaks of loyalty to the Word, the prophets of God and the House, while Sunnis have withdrew behind the Quran, and the tradition of the Prophet Muhammad. Sunnis and Shiites are brothers in faith nonetheless.

Sunnis and Shiites stand under the same Book, and pray under the same sky, as do all people of faith.

When all is said and done, would it not be more righteous to choose tolerance over vindictive bigotry? Sectarianism serves not God, but those powers which wish to deny Him, and deny you the right to live in Him.

By Catherine Shakdam for Shafaqna

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SHAFAQNA – When Alyce Sugiyama hears U.S. presidential hopeful Donald Trump provoke fear and anger over Syrian refugees, Muslim-Americans and immigrants in general, the 90-year-old Sonoma County native recalls the four years she spent in a Japanese intement camp during World War II.

Sugiyama, who was 16 years old in 1942, said she remembers reading a poster ordering the evacuation of all people of Japanese ancestry to camps. She recalls later going to the Santa Rosa train station and traveling in a train car with all the shades pulled down. And after a brief stay at a temporary camp in Merced, she remembers arriving at Camp Amache in southeast Colorado.

There were the soldiers with guns, guard towers, fences, cramped rooms with thin walls in barracks and community toilets that consisted of a long wooden bench with several holes in it. Sugiyama, who was bo in Healdsburg but spent most of her life in Petaluma, said it was a confusing time for her.

As a youth, she always thought that people went to jail for doing something wrong.

“What did 120,000 people do to land in this situation?” Sugiyama said Thursday, sitting in the dining room of her Petaluma home. “What did we do wrong, 120,000 of us?”

Local Japanese-Americans who lived through that dark period in American history say today’s intolerance against immigrants and Muslim-Americans is laced with the same bigotry and xenophobia. Talk of building walls, mass deportations and creating a Muslim database is frightening for those who remember living behind barbed wire as children.

“We don’t think it’s right because of what happened to us,” said Alyce’s sister-in-law, Marie Sugiyama, who was 6 when she was sent with her family to Camp Amache.

Today marks the 74th anniversary of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s signing of executive order 9066, which authorized the evacuation of all people of Japanese ancestry, including about 77,000 American citizens, from the West Coast to intement camps because the U.S. was at war with Japan. The date is commemorated across the country as the Day of Remembrance.

About 800 Japanese-Americans and immigrants were taken from their homes in Sonoma County.

Their loyalty was questioned by the American govement, even though some of them were ultimately drafted into the U.S. military.
Alyce’s husband, Harry Sugiyama, was drafted in 1944, while he was living at Camp Amache with his family. Harry, who along with his wife and sister Marie was active in the Sonoma County chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League, JACL, died two years ago.

As part of JACL’s speakers bureau, the Sugiyamas often visit local schools to speak to students about their experiences. They show photos of Japanese-American children in cattle cars, of long rows of barracks that resembled large chicken houses.

Marie Sugiyama, 80, a longtime educator and former North Bay League commissioner, said she remembers the justification for the camps.

“They told us they were doing it for our protection and I said, how come the guns are pointing in instead of out,” she said.

Jon Watabe, 78, of Bodega Bay was only 5 years old when he and his mother and father were forced to leave Redwood City and sent to Topaz Camp in Utah, which housed about 8,000 Japanese-Americans. Watabe, who also visits local school classrooms to tell his story, said he remembers tar-paper shacks surrounded by barbed-wire fences and guard towers.

In 1943, Watabe’s father volunteered for the 442 Regimental Combat Team and fought in Italy and France “to show that we were loyal Americans,” his son said in an email.

“My mother made ends meet by working as fruit picker and part-time English and sewing teacher,” Watabe said.

“I attended kindergarten, first and second grade taught by inteed teachers. My mother and other relatives would make our clothes, toys from scrap materials and read constantly with me,” he said.

Watabe said his family left the camp in 1945 and retued to his grandfather’s house, which was “saved” and rented out by the Bank of Berkeley. But many evacuees, he said, lost their homes and businesses and had to start their lives all over again from scratch.

Watabe said the Day of Remembrance is an effort to remind people what can happen when fear and anger take hold in public discourse.

“Hopefully this will not happen to another group,” he said. “They’re talking about the Muslims the way they talked about the Japanese. Frankly, we’re just hoping that we’re the last group this ever happens to. We feel it’s important to remember what happened so we can prevent it from happening again.”

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SHAFAQNA – Turkey on Friday says America should severe ties with Kurdish fighters.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said “resorting to terrorist groups like the YPG is above all a sign of weakness”.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu is on an official visit to Georgia.

He alleged that the United States has been making conflicting statements about the Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters which, Ankara says, were working with members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

He said resorting to terrorist groups like the YPG in the fight against ISIS in Syria is above all a sign of weakness.

Cavusoglu said, “Everyone must stop this mistake. In particular our ally the United States must stop this mistake immediately.”

Cavusoglu’s remarks were carried live on Turkish state broadcaster TRT Haber.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu accused the Syrian govement of being directly responsible for the bombing in Ankara, saying Turkey will continue to shell Kurdish positions inside the Arab country.

In a live television speech, Davutoglu said the Ankara bombing showed that the YPG was a terrorist organization and that Turkey expected cooperation from its allies against the group.

The leader of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party denied the accusation, saying Ankara was making the allegation in order to escalate the conflict in Syria.

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SHAFAQNA – Leading rights group Amnesty Inteational has strongly criticized Britain for supplying Saudi Arabia with billions of pounds worth of arms which are broadly used in attacks on Yemen.

In a new report, Amnesty cited dramatic rise in revenues of BAE Systems — the British-based multi-national defense contractor — due to increased aircraft deliveries to Saudi Arabia which is waging a bloody war in Yemen.

The UK-based rights group said the war on Yemen, alongside plans for further Saudi involvement in Syria, helped the British weapons giant improve operating profits last year from £1.3 billion to £1.5 billion.

BAE Systems has sold Typhoon jets to Saudi Arabia, and has also signed a deal to send 22 Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer aircraft to the kingdom.

Amnesty’s arms trade director, Oliver Sprague, demanded an immediate end to the BAE Systems’ arms sales to Riyadh.

The BAE Systems’ shareholders “need to realize that a large part of the company’s profits is coming from the sale of weapons to Saudi Arabia at the very time Saudi’s military coalition in Yemen has killed thousands of civilians,” Sprague said on Thursday.

Sprague waed the UK govement to “stop cheerleading BAE’s lucrative arm sales” and to suspend export licenses for further arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

“There is strong evidence that the present weapons sales to Saudi Arabia are not just ill-advised but actually illegal,” he said.

In early February, an all-party group of MPs in the British parliament called for an inteational independent inquiry into the Saudi military campaign in Yemen.

According sources, London supplied export licenses for close to £3 billion worth of arms to Saudi Arabia last year. The British govement has also been accused of being involved in guiding the Saudi campaign in Yemen.

Defending the arms sales to the Saudi regime, British Premier David Cameron recently said the Saudis were being encouraged to abide by humanitarian laws.

The details of the UK-manufactured missile and fighter jet sales licensed by the UK govement are examined in a UN report currently being studied by the Security Council.

Inteational organization and rights groups say Saudi-led raids on medical facilities, schools, mosques and markets in Yemen have violated inteational humanitarian laws.

Since the beginning of the Saudi war against Yemen in March last year, at least 8,278 people, among them 2,236 children, have been killed and 16,015 others injured.

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SHAFAQNA – Allah (SWT) mentioned in Ayah 77 of Surah Al-Qasas: “Seek a place in the hereafter with what God has given to you and do not forget your share in this world. Act kindly, just as Allah (SWT) has treated you kindly. Do not aim to cause mischief on earth; God does not like mischief makers.” Therefore, if the world is the target for human being, it becomes a way of pleasure and amusement which will make human being dependent on itself as well as to neglect the hereafter.

This type of attention towards the world is disapproved. But if the world is used as a tool to seek a suitable place in the hereafter, this is indeed a proper way of utilising the world. Imam Baqer (AS) describes such a world as the helper to build the place of prosperity in the hereafter. Imam Baqer (AS) said: What a good helper is this world for the hereafter [1].

[1] Beharul Anwaar, Vol. 70, page 127.

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SHAFAQNA- While Al-Qaeda-like groups are relying on donations and convincing Muslim opinion worldwide, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) is exploiting both the local population and resources on their controlled territory.

In 2015, the media headlines were unanimous. Business insider declared ISIS the “World’s Richest Terrorist Group”, The Independent questioned “How ISIS became the wealthiest terror group in history” while Forbes ranked ISIS the “richest terrorist organization the world has known”.

After the November attacks in Paris, the inteational community decided to tackle the problem by its roots and address the issue of ISIS’s finances. One of the main conces is their exploitation of oil industry via illicit trafficking.

According to common knowledge, their biggest source of income is the illicit trade of petroleum by a network of mobile refineries. However, some experts, like Luay al-Khatteeb, argue that this information has no basis. On the contrary, when comparing the ISIS “Ministry of Oil’s” figures and the potential production in their controlled territory, he concludes that this is technically impossible.

ISIS claims a production of oil worth $2 million USD a day. However, in early 2015, their potential production was reduced from 45 000 barrels a day to 25 000 barrels, far below the amount needed to meet their claimed revenues. Furthermore, the many air strikes are increasingly making it difficult to efficiently refine the oil they produce.

Thus, the question that the inteational community should ask is: if the role of oil production has been so grossly overestimated, what, or who, is financing ISIS?

Poor quality and lack of technical capabilities

There is a clear paradox between ISIS’s supposed wealth and their technical expertise. Even if they control significant installations and infrastructure in Iraq and Syria, the group needs to actually exploit the oil fields, which represent a huge technical challenge. For example, the water injection process is very complicated. It consists of injecting water into the reservoir to increase pressure and stimulate production, increasing oil production. The fact that ISIS does not master this technique greatly reduces their potential production volume and revenues.

Another problem for ISIS is the increasingly poor quality of the oil they are actually producing. While it is possible to lea technical expertise, oil’s quality is inherent to the resource and has a significant impact on its price.

The Syrian fields of Al Omar, Al Tanak or Al Ward has low-quality petroleum and consists of about 40% water. Exploiting these fields requires technical methods such as the degassing process, which is challenging without sufficient financial means and expertise. Therefore, this oil is near-impossible to refine and transform into gas, according to ISIS’s current technical capabilities.

This low-quality oil is also impossible to sell, except to a very low price that locally reaches around $4 ae barrel. In order to meet the declared $2 million USD a day, ISIS would have to sell oil at $50 a barrel.

What are ISIS’s other sources of funding?

An important source of revenue for ISIS is taxing the local population on a range of goods and services, such as fuel, vehicles or education. They legitimize those taxes by providing some services, such as water or electricity, as well as maintaining security in their areas.

Nevertheless, the tax system is not enough for the organization to provide for its needs. The economy of the controlled territory is collapsing and the monthly income per inhabitant is among the lowest in the world.

Questions about state sponsorship

Even if there is no credible evidence that Gulf States are financing ISIS, the subject is hotly debated. In 2009, Hillary Clinton stated that Saudi Arabia was one of the largest donors to Sunni terrorism around the world, and as recently as 2013, the Kingdom allegedly offered a deal to several men that were on death row. They had the choice between being executed or joining jihadist militias, including Al-Nusra and ISIS, to fight against the Syrian govement.

Saudi Arabia’s motivation is closely linked to its regional conflict with Iran, which is predominantly Shia Muslim. Both countries are battling to become the regional power in the Middle East, giving Saudi Arabia a reason to finance anti-govemental, Sunni jihadists in order to oppose the Shias’ influence on the state of Iraq.

ISIS’s funding is a lot less clear than the current debate is revealing. While oil revenues have been considered the coerstone of their finances, a lack of expertise, low-quality oil, and low local prices are all contributing to small profits.

While taxing the local population can be efficient, the region has become among the poorest in the world, and ISIS cannot rely on taxation on a long-term basis.

Even if the reality of state sponsorship lacks solid evidence, there is a need to investigate the implication of Gulf State in the funding of ISIS.

http://globalriskinsights.com/

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A man holds the Bahraini flag during an anti-govement rally by main opposition group Wefaq in Bilad al-Qadeem, west of Manama, April 15, 2012. Thousands of protesters chanted slogans against the govement and anti-F1 slogans as they marched on the main highway. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed (BAHRAIN - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS)

SHAFAQNA-They were held to honor the memory of the demonstrators killed by Al Khalifa regime’s security forces on Thursday, February 18, 2011, the fourth day of their national uprising.

Bahrain security forces launched a pre-dawn raid on that day to clear the capital Manama’s iconic Pearl Square of camping protesters.

During the brutal attack on the peaceful protesters, at least four people were killed and hundreds of others were injured.

The Wednesday demonstrators called for the perpetrators of the Bloody Thursday atrocities to be brought to justice.
They also underlined the continuation of the Persian Gulf country’s popular movement until the Bahraini people’s legitimate demands are met.

The popular uprising in Bahraini began on February 14, 2011. Since then, thousands of protesters have been waging regular mass rallies in the US-backed Persian Gulf country.

The protesters are demanding the downfall of Al Khalifah family and the establishment of a democratically-elected govement.

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SHAFAQNA- On Thursday night the Moslems finish the night prayers. They sit down in lines. They implore Allah, the Merciful Creator, to forgive them their sins. They ask him to be pleased with them.

Sweet words flow out of the mosque minarets. The words fly high in the clear sky full of stars:

Allah, I implore You with Your mercy that has included everything.

And with Your power with which You have overcome everything,

And every thing has.yielded to it…

Whose supplication is this? It’s Kumail’s.

What’s the story of this supplication?

Who was Kumail?

He was Kumail bin Zyyad al-Nakhay. He was one of Imam Ali’s companions. He was a noble man. His people obeyed him. He came from Yaman. His family inhabited Kufa during Imam Ali’s Caliphate.

Abid al-Rahman bin al-Ashath led a revolution against alHajjaj. Kumail joined the revolution. He led the Koran Readers’ Battalion.

The Beginning

Our Master Muhammad said:

I am the city of knowledge and Ali is its gate.

Imam Ali (A.S.) was a great scholar. He said: Allah’s Apostle has taught me a thousand doors of knowledge. Each door leads to a thousand doors.

He also said: The Zakat (alms) of knowledge is to publish it.

So, Imam Ali (A.S.) taught his companions whatever they wanted. One day, he took Kumail with him outside Kufa. It was night. The sky was full of stars. Northe fresh breeze was blowing.

Imam Ali (A.S.) said to his companion: Kumail, these hearts are containers (of knowledge). The best of them are those that best preserve the knowledge. Therefore, preserve what I say to you:

There are three classes of people. The first class knows Allah. The second leas knowledge as means of salvation. And the third is rabble, – followers of every crower, who bend with every breeze. These men do not seek to be illuminated by the light of leaing, nor do they resort to any authority.

Kumail, knowledge is better than wealth. Knowledge guards you while you guard wealth. Wealth is diminished by expenditure while knowledge is increased even by giving it away.

Kumail, those who amass wealth die even as they live, while those who have knowledge will continue to exist for as long as time lasts.

Al-Khidr’s Supplication

Imam Ali (A.S.) was sitting with a group of his companions. One of them asked him about the explanation of the following Holy Verse:

“Therein every wise affair is made distinct”

The Imam said: It is on Shaban 15th.

Then he added:

By Allah, man faces his fate on Shaban 15th. So, man must implore Allah at such a night He must read Al-Khidr’s supplication. Certainly, Allah accepts it.

The meeting was over and the Imam went home.

The evening came. Then it got dark. People went to bed. At that hour, Kumail got up. He went to Imam Ali’s house. He had a question.

Kumail knocked at the door. Imam Ali (AS.) said: Kumail what has brought you?

Kumail, politely said: Amirul-Momineen, Al-Khidr’s supplication

The Imam kindly said: Kumail, please sit down.

Then he added: I’ll read you a supplication. Read it on Thursday nights.

The Imam began reading the supplication. Kumail was writing it. Nowadays, millions of Moslems read the supplication. They call it Kumail’s supplication.

Thursday night, when you are free, then read Kumail’s supplication. Faith will shine in your heart. It will illuminate the way of your life as it had illuminated the way of Kumail’s life.

Adapted from the book: “The Companions of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w)”

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We weren’t able to find such a hadith[1] saying: “Every day is Ashura and every place is Karbala”.[2]

Yet, this sentence is a correct conclusion obtained from the incident of Karbala and the line of movement of our imams and contains some valuable and instructive points; because although another Ashura will never take place, but oppression and tyranny will always continue, until Imam Mahdi (as) reappears and roots out and eliminates all of it. The culture of Ashura will go on forever and Karbalawill remain the symbol of resistance and fighting against injustice and oppression. Our religious leaders have taught us to stand up against tyranny, and would do so themselves. Therefore, it isn’t true that Ashura was an incident that took place in a certain time and place and is to be forgotten afterwards.

The sentence “Every day is Ashura and every place is Karbala” signifies that the battle between good and evil is to go on and isn’t limited to any time or place, and that this battle is linked to the ones before, forming a single chain. The incident of Ashura and Karbala is one of the clearest links of this very long chain. Good and evil are always face to face, and libertarians are responsible for the guardianship of the good and fighting the evil, thus, being careless regarding this battle is considered tuing away from religion.

Imam Khomeini, who was the establisher of the Islamic Republic, a true follower of Imam Husein (as) and fought against the oppressors of his time, refers to this statement (Everyday is Ashura and…) as “The Great Statement” and stresses on keeping the message of Ashura alive and putting it into practice saying: “This statement is a great one…our nation must always pay attention to the fact that even today is Ashura and that we must stand up against oppression and that we are currently in Karbala and must act according to it, Karbala isn’t limited to a specific land. The incident of Karbala isn’t limited to a group of seventy-something people in the land of Karbala, all lands must play the same role as Karbaladid.”[3]

In reality, with the belief that the rise and martyrdom of Imam Hosein (as) must be the guideline for all Muslim social activities, Imam Khomeini made the rise of Imam Hosein (as) the foundation of his movement. “…what Imam Hosein (as) did, the idea that he had and his way and his victory after his martyrdom and consequently, the victory of Islam. This statement brings forth a responsibility for us, while bringing about good news as well.  The responsibility is that the oppressed, no matter how little in number, must stand up like Imam Hosein (as) against their oppressors, regardless of their number, how armed they might be and the evil power they might possess. The good news being that this statement has considered our martyrs (that stand up as a result of following Imam Husein [as]) as part of the martyrs of Karbala.”

During the imposed war on Iran, the great leader of the revolution stated: “Although the battle of Ashura was the shortest one time wise (half a day), it is the longest battle between good and evil as far as length goes , therefore, whenever one wishes that he/she were one of the companions of the imam (as) and one of the martyrs of Karbala (یا لیتنا کنا معکم‏ فنفوز فوزا عظیما)[4], the battle of Karbala is still going on and the clash of Ashura is continuous (so there still is hope to be able to reach such a rank).”[5]

In other words, as Imam Hosein (as) is the inheritor and successor (wareth) of Prophets: Adam, Ibrahim, Nuh, Musa, Isa, and Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon all of them), the followers of Imam Hosein (as) are the inheritors and successors of the red line of Jihad and Shahadah (martyrdom) and will never put down the flag of Karbala, and this is the valuable asset of Shi’ism in its political dimension, as Imam Hosein (as) himself says: “فلکم فی اسوة‏، در کار من برای شما الگو است(there is a good exemplar in me for you)”[6]. This viewpoint of Imam Khomeini, rejects theories that say Karbala and Imam Hosein’s (as) movement were all a personal responsibility that were only for the imam himself and others can’t follow him in it.

One writer even says: “We are certain that if Imam Hosein (as) were to be alive today, he would create another Karbala out of Quds, southe Lebanon, and most Islamic regions, holding the same grounds he held against Mu’awiyyah and Yazid.”[7]

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SHAFAQNA- If you are looking for something very easy and healthy to start your day, a glass of hot water with plenty of lemon mixed in can be the best thing for you. One of the major health benefits of drinking lemon water is that it paves way for losing weight faster, thus acting as a great weight loss remedy.

Also the combination of lemon juice and hot water can do other many good things in your body, including, improving your digestion, increasing your vitamin C intake, and of course, keeping you well-hydrated.

Why lemons?

Lemons are packed like a clown car with nutrients, including vitamin C, B-complex vitamins, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, and fiber. (Fun fact: they contain more potassium than apples or grapes!)

Because of how hard lemon juice can be on the enamel of your teeth, it’s important to dilute it with water of any temperature (though lukewarm is recommended). Drink it first thing in the moing, and wait 15 to 30 minutes to have breakfast. This will help you fully receive the benefits of lemon water, which are listed below.

1) Aids Digestion. Lemon juice flushes out unwanted materials and toxins from the body. It’s atomic composition is similar to saliva and the hydrochloric acid of digestive juices. It encourages the liver to produce bile which is an acid that is required for digestion. Lemons are also high in minerals and vitamins and help loosen ama, or toxins, in the digestive tract. The digestive qualities of lemon juice help to relieve symptoms of indigestion, such as heartbu, and bloating. The American Cancer Society actually recommends offering warm lemon water to cancer sufferers to help stimulate bowel movements.

2) Cleanses Your System / is a Diuretic. Lemon juice helps flush out unwanted materials in part because lemons increase the rate of urination in the body. Therefore toxins are released at a faster rate which helps keep your urinary tract healthy. The citric acid in lemons helps maximize enzyme function, which stimulates the liver and aids in detoxification.

3) Boosts Your Immune System. Lemons are high in vitamin C, which is great for fighting colds.  They’re high in potassium, which stimulates brain and nerve function. Potassium also helps control blood pressure. Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) found in lemons demonstrates anti-inflammatory effects, and is used as complementary support for asthma and other respiratory symptoms plus it enhances iron absorption in the body; iron plays an important role in immune function. Lemons also contain saponins, which show antimicrobial properties that may help keep cold and flu at bay. Lemons also reduce the amount of phlegm produced by the body.

4) Balances pH Levels. Lemons are one of the most alkalizing foods for the body. Sure, they are acidic on their own, but inside our bodies they’re alkaline (the citric acid does not create acidity in the body once metabolized). Lemons contain both citric and ascorbic acid, weak acids easily metabolized from the body allowing the mineral content of lemons to help alkalize the blood. Disease states only occur when the body pH is acidic.

5) Clears Skin. The vitamin C component as well as other antioxidants helps decrease wrinkles and blemishes and it helps to combat free radical damage. Vitamin C is vital for healthy glowing skin while its alkaline nature kills some types of bacteria known to cause acne. It can actually be applied directly to scars or age spots to help reduce their appearance.

6) Energizes You and Enhances Your Mood. The energy a human receives from food comes from the atoms and molecules in your food. A reaction occurs when the positive charged ions from food enter the digestive tract and interact with the negative charged enzymes. Lemon is one of the few foods that contain more negative charged ions, providing your body with more energy when it enters the digestive tract. The scent of lemon also has mood enhancing and energizing properties. The smell of lemon juice can brighten your mood and help clear your mind. Lemon can also help reduce anxiety and depression.

7) Promotes Healing. Ascorbic acid (vitamin C), found in abundance in lemons, promotes wound healing, and is an essential nutrient in the maintenance of healthy bones, connective tissue, and cartilage. As noted previously, vitamin C also displays anti-inflammatory properties. Combined, vitamin C is an essential nutrient in the maintenance of good health and recovery from stress and injury.

8) Freshens Breath. Besides fresher breath, lemons have been known to help relieve tooth pain and gingivitis. Be aware that citric acid can erode tooth enamel, so you should be mindful of this. No not brush your teeth just after drinking your lemon water. It is best to brush your teeth first, then drink your lemon water, or wait a significant amount of time after to brush your teeth. Additionally, you can rinse your mouth with purified water after you finish your lemon water.

10) Aids in Weight Loss. Lemons are high in pectin fiber, which helps fight hunger cravings. Studies have shown people who maintain a more alkaline diet, do in fact lose weight faster. I personally find myself making better choices throughout the day, if I start my day off right, by making a health conscious choice to drink warm lemon water first thing every moing.

Side Effect of Drinking Lemon Water

There can always be too much of a good thing; understanding the side effects of hot water with lemon can help you decide just how much of it to drink.

1. Tooth Erosion

Lemon water can gradually erode the enamel on your teeth, making you more sensitive to temperature changes, such as cold or hot foods. To protect your teeth, you can drink hot water with lemon through a straw. If you are already dealing with tooth sensitivity, consult a dentist before you try hot water with lemon.

2. Heartbu

Even though lemon can help reduce heartbu, if you drink too much of it, it can have the opposite effect. Heartbu occurs when acid from your stomach moves back up through the esophageal sphincter into your esophagus. This is also known as acid reflux. The severe buing that results can be alleviated by cutting back on acidic food and drinks, including hot water with lemon.

3. Frequent Urination and Dehydration

Sometimes lemon works as a diuretic, meaning that it actually dehydrates you. This can be counteracted by drinking small amounts of lemon in the water. If you like your water with a great deal of lemon, you might start to feel dehydrated even when you drink great quantities of water. If this happens, cut back on the lemon until you feel as you should.

Sources:

med-health.net

tasty-yummies.com

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SHAFAQNA- Every year, a special day comes to meet us–it comes bearing gifts, promises, and chances for new beginnings. We meet this day in retu with wide open arms, gleeful at the prospects that this day could bring. We spend the evening in thanks and prayer, in hopes that we may reap the benefits of such a day. This day is known as the gift of mid Shabaan (15th Day of Holy Month of Shabaan), the birth of our beloved and awaited savior, Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi (aj).

“We place our parents, especially our mothers, on a special pedestal due to their unconditional love for us, their continuous duaa (prayers) for us. Isn’t it a shame that most of us completely or essentially ignore the one who loves us more than our mothers, who is more protective of us than our fathers, who is closer to us than our friends, and who gives us more attention than our loved ones? Our beloved Imam (may we all be sacrificed for him (aj)) is just that for every single one of us. The gift of mid Shabaan is the perfect manifestation of Allah (swt) and His attributes–which is our Imam, Imam al-Mahdi (aj)–all of Allah’s blessings for us come through him. While he lives every day, we remember him maybe, for the one day of the year that we seek our hajjat (needs), on his birthday. Isn’t it embarrassing that he (aj) prays for us day and night throughout the year even though we treat him like this–imagine what he would do if we gave him some attention too? Imagine what he would do if we talked to him on a daily basis, if we felt him around us, if we did tawassul (seeking Allah (swt) through a divine figure) to him?” asks Syed Ali Zaidi.

Why is it that most of us only remember our beloved Imam (aj) on the one day of the year, a day that promises blessings, but neglect his remembrance the rest of the year? Imam al-Mahdi (aj) has been quoted as saying, “We do not abandon taking care of you (our followers) and nor do we forget your remembrance.” [1] Our Imam (aj) who loves us more than our mothers has said that he does not forget us. Now imagine if we remembered him daily. Wouldn’t the blessings of the 15th of Shabaan come to us every day of the year? And what better blessing is there than to remember our Imam (aj) who has already promised to support us?

“The birthday of Imam al-Mahdi (aj) on the 15th of Shabaan is upon us and we all want to take this opportunity to show him how much we care about him. How? One important way to is to feel a strong sense of responsibility for the occultation of the Imam (aj) and know that to a great extent our actions are the cause of the delay of his retu and the salvation of mankind,” said Sheikh Usama Abdulghani.

Imam al-Mahdi (aj) has been quoted as saying, “Nothing blocks us from them (our followers) except what reaches us (sinning against Allah from followers) from what we dislike.” Our sins are what keep us from the Imam (aj), from remembering him, from knowing him, and of course, from gaining more blessings from his presence.

Sheikh Usama continues by saying, “We have to obey him and treat him as our living Imam (aj). We need to practice Islam openly…in order to fulfill our responsibility towards him. We must be careful to share what true Islam is and not our personal understanding of Islam. If we can do these two things, we can hasten his reappearance.”

What better gift of 15th of Shabaan, the birthday of our beloved savior, than to meet him personally?!

Ayatullah Bahjat, one of the greatest minds of recent time, has been quoted as saying “Mend what is in your hearts and Imam Mahdi (aj) will come to visit you himself.”

Imam Sadiq (as) has been quoted as saying, “When our Qa’im will rise up, nothing of earth will remain except that it will be announced there the witness about ‘there is no god worthy of worshipping except Allah (swt) and that certainly Muhammad (s) is Allah’s (swt) messenger.’”

The final call of our testament of faith will be echoed all over the earth when our Imam (aj) retus to establish his justice. Is it not fitting for his birthday that we renew this testament in our lives and our hearts? This 15th of Shabaan, renew your pledge to Allah (swt) and His messenger, Muhammad (s), by remembering His awaited proof on our earth beyond one day a year. May Allah (swt) hasten his reappearance and give us the opportunity to meet and serve our Imam (aj) in our lifetime!

[1] Al-Ehtejaaj of Sheikh Tabarsi, vol. 2, p. 497, 498

This article could not have been done without the contributions of our beloved scholars, Syed Abbas Ayleya who provided the hadith and Sheikh Usama AbdulGhani and Syed Ali Zaidi who both provided their words of wisdom. May Allah (swt) protect them always. 

Aseel Machi

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SHAFAQNA – Dharar, a close companion of Imam Ali (AS) arrived at Shaam (Damascus) and Moawiyeh asked him about Imam Ali (AS). Dharar replied: I saw Ali (AS) when it was night and he was standing in praying alter (Mehraab), holding his beard in his hand and twisting like someone who was bitten by a snake, and whilst he was crying, said [1]: “O’ world, O’ the Haram world; stay away from me, do you want to show off to me? Or have you fallen for me, so that you can find a place in my heart one day? This will never happen, deceive another one because I do not need you, I have divorced you three times so that there can be no retu; your era is short, you are worth a little, and your wishes are wicked. Alas, the provision is little, and the road is long, destination is far away and the grandeur of the Day of Judgment!”

[1] Nahjul Balaghah, Wisdom 77.

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SHAFAQNA – The passage of time and years of someone’s life are not enough to make a human being wise and logical. This moral virtue like all other ones need practice and endeavour. First of all, scientific knowledge and thinking capacity are needed. secondly, a person must try hard for some period to make himself/herself think a lot about the consequences and results of circumstances and decisions, and do not pay attention to inner excitments until the consequences and results of an action is assessed [1].

[1] Martyr Morteza Motahhari’s Book Collection, Vol. 23, Page 779.

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SHAFAQNA – Allah (SWT) has never asked people to abandon this world but waed human being not to fall in love with it and not to be deceived by the world. The aim is to remind people that compared with the worldly enjoyments; there are much better enjoyments in the hereafter. This does not mean that the world should be abandoned, otherwise why Allah (SWT) created all these blessings for this world?

Ayah 32 of Surah Al-A’araaf says: “Say: Who hath forbidden the beautiful God’s oaments (gifts) which have been produced for God’s servants, and the clean sustenance? Say: They are, in the life of this world, for those who believe and exclusive to them on the Day of Judgment, thus God explains the signs in detail for those who understand.”

The Prophet of Islam (PBUH) said: The world is sweet and likable, whoever eas in Halal ways and spends justly, Allah (SWT) will reward him/her and place them in paradise; and whoever eas in Haram ways and spends unjustly, God will send him/her to hell [1]. Therefore, the main point is that no one should abandon the world and its blessings but to utilise God’s gifts in proper manner.

[1] Nahjul Fasaha, Page 487, Hadith 1596

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