Issue 118 (July - August 2017)

In his newly released novel The Prisoner of Al-Hakim, Bradley Steffens tells the story of Alhasan Ibn Al-Haytham, one of the greatest minds in the history of science. Ibn Al-Haytham is known for his pioneering studies in optics, but Steffens appreciates him more for the profound empirical foundatio…

The announcement of the discovery of the last four elements of the periodic table, at the International Association of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) on December 30, 2015, was met with enthusiasm all over the world. Of course, the work to find these elements started long ago. This date, however…

I really am an immigrant. I am British and I (rather favorably) married an Austrian girl and we have lived in Austria for 36 years. There has been scarcely a hint of Ausländerfeindlichkeit (hostility to foreigners) in all of those years for the simple reason, I suppose, is that I look pretty much t…

Sea cucumbers are soft-bodied invertebrates from the Holothuroidea class of thorns.  Although they are usually a long cylindrical structure reminiscent of worms, some of them are also spherical.  They are so-named because their shape will remind an observer of a cucumber.  Though they may look stra…

The travelers of light have always endeavored to surpass mere corporeality. Their attitude has always manifested in a determination to bid farewell to ordinary, human feelings. Voicing their heart and soul at all times, they hasten to enjoy the scene of the soul’s horizon. They have always marched…

“The whole society becomes visible to itself as an imperishable living unit. Generations of individuals pass, like anonymous cells from a living body; but the sustaining, timeless form remains.” - Joseph Campbell, ​The Hero With A Thousand Faces If there is to be a future in which to write a h…

An apple a day keeps the doctor away – or so the old adage goes. Can the same be said about tea? A sufficient number of studies confirm that a strong inverse correlation exists between consumption of tea and risk of developing a plethora of cancers; tea is also seemingly effective against other mal…

Most living things, including the human body, are made up of only 11 elements. We know the major elements, like hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon, but what about the lesser known trace elements? They, too, have vital tasks. Everything living and inanimate in the universe is built of atoms –  that i…

Ightirab (doubled separation) is a feeling resembling that which arises from falling into error after reform, or night following day, or the darkness of distress that surrounds the heart after exhilaration. Those whom the Messenger praised in His saying, “Glad tidings to the outsiders,” have always…

I felt Your Infinite Mercy in my soul, While wrapped all around With the divine fear’s glowing coal. As my hopes overflowed my heart My aspirations faded with Your Majesty. So many times I become a Majnun at Your door And sensed You deep in the heart. When deceived by the mirage of truth I lost my…

In Arabic, the word Jihad is a noun meaning the activity of "striving and/or persevering.” According to Prophet Muhammad there are two types of Jihad: minor and major. The Prophet referred to this when Muslims were returning from an expedition, which for him was a minor jihad, and that now they had…

Bradley Steffens’ fine work of historical fiction, “The Prisoner of Al-Hakim,” begins quietly, with two friends sitting in a study, talking about mathematics. One of these friends is Ibn al-Haytham, or Alhasan. History knows him as one of the greatest mathematical minds of the last fifteen hundred…

Do we have to give up our privacy for better security? This has long been debated on Capitol Hill [1]. The discussion stems from the mass surveillance methods deployed by a number of government agencies – actions that are performed in the name of national security purposes. Most of us were surprise…

Imagine a situation where you have no choice but have to sacrifice your only child – your precious, who came late in your life as a great surprise.  Or think of yourself rejected by your father and your community because of your out-of-the-box beliefs that challenged theirs, and you have only a fe…

Question: What does taqwa mean and what needs to be done to achieve it? Taqwa is having the due high regard for God Almighty. And those who adopt it as their life philosophy and accordingly adjust their feelings, thoughts, and deeds are called muttaqi. To live a life of sincere taqwa it is importa…

Tomatoes Might Be a Key to Preventing Skin Cancer Cooperstone JL et al. Tomatoes protect against development of UV-induced keratinocyte carcinoma via metabolomic alterations. Scientific Reports, July 2017 Skin cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world. A new study suggests that nutrie…