Friday 30 November 2012

{Kantakji Group}. Add '11483' Jordan to embrace Islamic banking


KFH-Research issued a report that shed light on the efforts of the Jordanian government to cement the role of Islamic banking in the kingdom and establish a leading regional center for Islamic finance; especially after the rapid growth of Islamic banking in Jordan, due to laws that organzie the work of Takaful insurance and Sukuk.

The assets of the four Islamic banks operating in Jordan is USD 4.6 billion and forms 5% of total banking assets. They achieve annual growth of 13% and are better than traditional banks in growth of deposits and financing. This reflects high demand for transactions; especially that they offer various unique services and products.

in addition, the report mentioned that Islamic insurance companies are still performing poorly, but after receiving a nod from the government regarding the Takaful insurance, the performance is expected to get better. he Jordanian government plans to issue Sukuk to face the deficit in budget, after a legislation that organzies that matter received a nod. The legislation allows the trading of Sukuk in Amman bourse.


Islamic finance in Jordan is still at a very early stage of development. Presently, Islamic finance in Jordan is governed by Banking Law No.28 of 2000 as there is no specific legal framework in place. The Islamic finance started in the country when the Banking Law 13 was endorsed in 1978 which has allowed the establishment of an Islamic bank. Since then, the first Jordanian Islamic bank, the Jordan Islamic Bank for Finance and Investment ( JIB ) was set up. Eventhough it was established as a member of the Saudi Arabia-based Dallah Al Baraka network of Islamic banks, 90% of its capital was owned by the Jordanian citizens. By 1986, it had become the sixth largest Jordanian bank in terms of total assets and had financed numerous projects. This indicates that Islamic banking was welcomed by the Jordanian citizen which subsequently led to the introduction of the second Islamic bank, the Islamic International Arab Bank, in 1998.

As at end-2011, the total assets of Jordan's Islamic banks stood at JOD3.25bln (USD 4.58bln) with 13.13% y-o-y growth (2010: JOD2.87bln). Currently, there are 4 Islamic banks operating in the country. In addition to the Islamic banks mentioned above, two other Islamic banks operating in Jordan are Jordan Dubai Islamic Bank which was established in 2010 and Al Rajhi Bank which set up its branch in 2011. Presently, Jordanian Islamic banks hold approximately 4.85% of the country's banking sector total assets. Based on a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.3% between 2009 and 2011, Islamic banking assets in Jordan are expected to grow from JOD3.25bln as at end-2011 to approximately JOD 3.84bln by the end-2012, accounting for more than 5.4% of the country's banking sector total assets. Based on the key financial highlights, total deposits and total financing of Islamic banks in Jordan have increased by 16.35%y-o-y and 15.58% y-o-y respectively as at end-2011. This indicates that Islamic finance is gradually being accepted in Jordan. In fact, it performs better than its conventional counterpart where conventional loans and advances and deposits grew at less than 10% per annum.

In terms of products and services, Jordan Islamic Bank offers a wide range of financial products and services to both individuals and corporations. The services include Murabahah and Ijarah Muntahia Bithamleek as well as some investment products such as Musharakah and Mudarabah. Other well established Islamic banks the likes of Islamic international Arab Bank, Al Rajhi Bank and the Jordan Dubai Islamic Bank offer services such as home and car financing as well as Musawwamah and Murabahah.

The Jordanian Islamic capital markets remain relatively nascent. Ijarah has been the main principle for fund raising activities. In 2011, Al Rajhi Cement Co.issued the first sukuk out of Jordan which was based on Ijarah principle worth USD119.6mln. The country is mulling tapping the sukuk market to bridge its budget deficit with debts worth USD3.7bln maturing 2012.

On takaful front, there are three takaful operators, namely Islamic Insurance Company Plc (established in 1996), Al-Barakah Takaful Company (formerly known as Arab American Takaful Insurance Co. Ltd, established in 1996) and First Islamic Insurance Company (2006). The Islamic Insurance Company, the oldest player in the market, enjoyed a dominant market share of 43.5% as at end-2011, with gross takaful contributions of JOD16.2mln. This was followed by First Insurance (37.7%) and Al-Baraka Takaful Company (18.9%) with gross takaful contributions of JOD14.0mln and JOD7.0mln respectively as at end-2011.

Takaful products in Jordan exist across nearly all business segments including life, medical, motor, property, and marine. General or non-life takaful accounted for approximately 94% of the Islamic insurance market in 2009 with motor, medical and property segment generating more than 85% of total premiums. It is estimated that the percentage remains at approximately similar level today.

Despite being a small part of the Jordanian financial system, Islamic finance has been receiving strong support from the Jordanian government. The support from the government was reflected when a committee was formed in 2010 to study legislative issues relating to the issuance of sukuk and other Islamic financial products and services and in 2011 a draft law was submitted. The proposed law was to enable the issuance of sukuk under various Islamic principles such as Ijarah and Murabahah as well as other mortgage and equity type of transactions which will benefit the retail and wholesale market.

Recently, in October 2012, the Jordanian house of representatives has approved the sukuk law. According to this law, sukuk shall be tradable at the stock exchange. It is required by the state law that the owner of the sukuk shall have all rights, obligations and actions as decided by the Shariah concept. The law has also provided a number of forms which can be used for sukuk issuances, such as, leasing, Mudarabah, Murabahah, Musharakah, Al-istisna' and any other contract the commission approves of.

The approval of the long-awaited law has allowed the state to issue sukuk and helped paving the way for the government to tap on the strong global appetite for sukuk. In order to encourage the growth of sukuk market in Jordan, following exemptions are given to the special vehicle companies that are responsible in issuing sukuk:

i. All fees, including companies' registration and licensing fees

ii. The prior payment of the share capital of the company prior to the registration

iii. Property sale tax and fees pertinent to lands registration applications conducted between special purpose company and the entity which established it upon the transfer of its title or performing any actions amongst each other

iv. All taxes and fees relating to registration of assets and benefits conducted between the company and the entity which established it upon the transfer of its title or performing any actions amongst each other.

On the takaful front, according to Swiss Re's World Insurance Report, insurance penetration in Muslim countries in general and in Jordan in particular is very low compared to the global average. As at end-2009, insurance penetration in Jordan was only 2.3% while the global average was 7.0%. In order to improve the insurance penetration as well as to meet the citizen's difference insurance needs, the Insurance Commission of Jordan has issued orders which regulate the takaful industry in the country.

In 2011, the Commission has enacted and developed the takaful legal framework which includes several components; mainly, compulsory insurance against fire and earthquake risks for economic entities, industrial and commercial enterprises, and the official and public institutions. The law also provides allowance for takaful companies to practice takaful business management processes and investment of policyholders' subscriptions which based on Wakala, Mudarabah or both and in accordance to Shariah law. There are also provisions covering the Shariah supervisory board in terms of members' eligibility, appointment and dismissal in addition to the board's mandate and duties. We believe that such provision of the necessary legal framework will help create the business environment necessary for developing the insurance sector including annuity and takaful insurance business.

Moving forward, we expect the Jordanian government to continue to intensify its efforts to develop its Islamic finance sector in the country. Other than support from the government, its local demand from the Muslim population who has a growing preference for Islamic finance, especially after political reforms in the country, are among the factors that would assist the future growth of the Islamic finance industry in Jordan. Overall, we believe that the potential for Islamic finance in Jordan is vast given the following factors:

· Proactive measures undertaken by the government and relevant authorities to promote the development of Islamic finance in Jordan.

· Increasing demand for more transparent and ethically structured products, which point to immense potential for further growth of the Islamic finance industry.

· Large Muslim population in the region as well as in the Middle East who are looking for Shariah-compliant products and services.

Nevertheless, challenges that need to be overcome by Jordan establishing itself as an Islamic financial hub include increasing education and awareness, as well as competition from other countries in the region such as Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia who also aspire to be regional champions of Islamic finance. 

© Press Release 2012

--

Maan Barazy

Certified Shari'a Adviser and Auditor (CSAA- AAOIFI Certified) - MA Islamic Comparative Jurisprudence  - BS International Economics 

Managing Partner And CEO of Data and Investment Consult-Lebanon – The Centre For Islamic Finance - Consultant Researcher and Lecturer


--
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Kantakji Group" group.
To post to this group, send email to kantakjigroup@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group لفك الاشتراك من المجموعة أرسل للعنوان التالي رسالة فارغة, send email to kantakjigroup+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/kantakjigroup?hl=en
سياسة النشر في المجموعة:
ترك ما عارض أهل السنة والجماعة... الاكتفاء بأمور ذات علاقة بالاقتصاد الإسلامي وعلومه ولو بالشيء البسيط، ويستثنى من هذا مايتعلق بالشأن العام على مستوى الأمة... عدم ذكر ما يتعلق بشخص طبيعي أو اعتباري بعينه باستثناء الأمر العام الذي يهم عامة المسلمين... تمرير بعض الأشياء الخفيفة المسلية ضمن قواعد الأدب وخاصة منها التي تأتي من أعضاء لا يشاركون عادة، والقصد من ذلك تشجيعهم على التفاعل الإيجابي... ترك المديح الشخصي...إن كل المقالات والآراء المنشورة تُعبر عن رأي أصحابها، ولا تعبّر عن رأي إدارة المجموعة بالضرورة.
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Kantakji Group" group.
To post to this group, send email to kantakjigroup@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to kantakjigroup+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/kantakjigroup?hl=en.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
 
 

Re: [PF:171311] نور نبوت / والد کا مقام و مرتبہ

v v v great

On Fri, Nov 30, 2012 at 8:58 AM, Imran Junani <imranjunani@gmail.com> wrote:

Close
   
 
 

 

PLS FIND ATTACHED 3 FILES   

   

--
PLS SEND SEPERATE EMAIL FOR COMMENTS & SUBSCRIPTION / UNSUBSCRIPTION, DONT REPLY THIS
 
Subscribe your email id to get
Informative Valuable Mails on Daily Basis
by Sending blank emial
subjected "Subscribe Me" To imranjunani@gmail.com

--
--
From:
[Pak-Friends] Group Member
Visit Group: http://groups.google.com/group/Karachi-786
Subscription: http://groups.google.com/group/karachi-786/subscribe
===========================================================
¸,.-~*'¨¯¨'*·~-.¸¸,.-~*'[PäK¤.¸.¤F®ï£ñD§]'*·~-.¸¸,.-~*'¨¯¨'*·~-.¸
===========================================================
All members are expected to follow these Simple Rules:
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
Be Careful in Islamic Discussions;
Bad language and insolence against Prophets (and / or their companions, Islamic Scholars, and saints) is an Instant ban.
Abuse of any kind (to the Group, or it's Members) shall not be tolerated.
SPAM, Advertisement, and Adult messages are NOT allowed.
This is not Dating / Love Group, avoid sending personnel messages to group members.
Do not post anything linked to (or in favor of) facebook.
Thanks
 
 
 

--
--
From:
[Pak-Friends] Group Member
Visit Group: http://groups.google.com/group/Karachi-786
Subscription: http://groups.google.com/group/karachi-786/subscribe
===========================================================
¸,.-~*'¨¯¨'*·~-.¸¸,.-~*'[PäK¤.¸.¤F®ï£ñD§]'*·~-.¸¸,.-~*'¨¯¨'*·~-.¸
===========================================================
All members are expected to follow these Simple Rules:
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
Be Careful in Islamic Discussions;
Bad language and insolence against Prophets (and / or their companions, Islamic Scholars, and saints) is an Instant ban.
Abuse of any kind (to the Group, or it's Members) shall not be tolerated.
SPAM, Advertisement, and Adult messages are NOT allowed.
This is not Dating / Love Group, avoid sending personnel messages to group members.
Do not post anything linked to (or in favor of) facebook.
Thanks
 
 
 

Thursday 29 November 2012

[karachi-Friends] Fwd: { Struggle For Change } USA is using Shiites against Muslims [1 Attachment]




             I am enclosing my essay on the above subject. You can also read it at:


                Please forward to your circle of friends.

                                                     Muhammad Javed Iqbal

                                                                    


Visit My blogs  for a no nonsense, serious discussion of
 burning issues facing the humanity : 

__._,_.___

Attachment(s) from Javed Iqbal Kaleem

1 of 1 Photo(s)

Reply via web post Reply to sender Reply to group Start a New Topic Messages in this topic (1)
Recent Activity:
.

__,_._,___



--


Visit my Blog for a no nonsense, serious discussion of problems facing the humanity:
https://sites.google.com/site/yaqeenweb/home/



--
Be Carefull in Islamic Discussions;
Disrespect (of Ambiyaa, Sahabaa, Oliyaa, and Ulamaa) is an INSTANT BAN
Abuse of any kind (to the Group, or it's Members) shall not be tolerated
SPAM, Advertisement, and Adult messages are NOT allowed
This is not Dating / Love Group, Sending PM's to members will be an illegal act.
 
 
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
Groups "Karachi-Friends" group.
To post to this group, send email to karachi-Friends@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
karachi-Friends+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com

Re: [PF:171307] CNG-_Sailani

good

On Thu, Nov 29, 2012 at 1:28 PM, Imran Junani <imranjunani@gmail.com> wrote:


--
PLS SEND SEPERATE EMAIL FOR COMMENTS & SUBSCRIPTION / UNSUBSCRIPTION, DONT REPLY THIS
 
Subscribe your email id to get
Informative Valuable Mails on Daily Basis
by Sending blank emial
subjected "Subscribe Me" To imranjunani@gmail.com

--
--
From:
[Pak-Friends] Group Member
Visit Group: http://groups.google.com/group/Karachi-786
Subscription: http://groups.google.com/group/karachi-786/subscribe
===========================================================
¸,.-~*'¨¯¨'*·~-.¸¸,.-~*'[PäK¤.¸.¤F®ï£ñD§]'*·~-.¸¸,.-~*'¨¯¨'*·~-.¸
===========================================================
All members are expected to follow these Simple Rules:
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
Be Careful in Islamic Discussions;
Bad language and insolence against Prophets (and / or their companions, Islamic Scholars, and saints) is an Instant ban.
Abuse of any kind (to the Group, or it's Members) shall not be tolerated.
SPAM, Advertisement, and Adult messages are NOT allowed.
This is not Dating / Love Group, avoid sending personnel messages to group members.
Do not post anything linked to (or in favor of) facebook.
Thanks
 
 
 

--
--
From:
[Pak-Friends] Group Member
Visit Group: http://groups.google.com/group/Karachi-786
Subscription: http://groups.google.com/group/karachi-786/subscribe
===========================================================
¸,.-~*'¨¯¨'*·~-.¸¸,.-~*'[PäK¤.¸.¤F®ï£ñD§]'*·~-.¸¸,.-~*'¨¯¨'*·~-.¸
===========================================================
All members are expected to follow these Simple Rules:
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
Be Careful in Islamic Discussions;
Bad language and insolence against Prophets (and / or their companions, Islamic Scholars, and saints) is an Instant ban.
Abuse of any kind (to the Group, or it's Members) shall not be tolerated.
SPAM, Advertisement, and Adult messages are NOT allowed.
This is not Dating / Love Group, avoid sending personnel messages to group members.
Do not post anything linked to (or in favor of) facebook.
Thanks
 
 
 

Wednesday 28 November 2012

Re: [PF:171306] BOOKS REQUIRED

Thnx

On 11/28/12, Rehan <rehansheik@gmail.com> wrote:
> It depends on where you do live. you can request the book stores and
> dealers if they don't have in stock.
> if you want to purchase it online, amazon.com is best choice
> here is the link of the book on amazon.com
> http://www.amazon.com/Personal-Narrative-Pilgrimage-Al-Madinah-Meccah/dp/0486212173
>
>
> On Wed, Nov 28, 2012 at 11:26 AM, miz baloch <miz.baloch@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> al makka n madina by richard berton
>
>
>
>
> --
> [image:
> http://www.mylivesignature.com/signatures/85860/rehansheik/172ed0a3c8d5a1e8d8dbb56306ac0be0.png]
> Good programming is 99% sweat and 1% coffee.
> http://rehansheik.blogspot.com
> If you forward this email, please delete the forward history, including my
> email address. Remember, erasing the history helps to prevent SPAMMERS
> from mining addresses and viruses from being propagated.
>
> --
> --
> From:
> [Pak-Friends] Group Member
> Visit Group: http://groups.google.com/group/Karachi-786
> Subscription: http://groups.google.com/group/karachi-786/subscribe
> ===========================================================
>
> ¸,.-~*'¨¯¨'*·~-.¸¸,.-~*'[PäK¤.¸.¤F®ï£ñD§]'*·~-.¸¸,.-~*'¨¯¨'*·~-.¸
> ===========================================================
> All members are expected to follow these Simple Rules:
> -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
> Be Careful in Islamic Discussions;
> Bad language and insolence against Prophets (and / or their companions,
> Islamic Scholars, and saints) is an Instant ban.
> Abuse of any kind (to the Group, or it's Members) shall not be tolerated.
> SPAM, Advertisement, and Adult messages are NOT allowed.
> This is not Dating / Love Group, avoid sending personnel messages to group
> members.
> Do not post anything linked to (or in favor of) facebook.
> Thanks
>
>
>
>

--
--
From:
[Pak-Friends] Group Member
Visit Group: http://groups.google.com/group/Karachi-786
Subscription: http://groups.google.com/group/karachi-786/subscribe
===========================================================
¸,.-~*'¨¯¨'*·~-.¸¸,.-~*'[PäK¤.¸.¤F®ï£ñD§]'*·~-.¸¸,.-~*'¨¯¨'*·~-.¸
===========================================================
All members are expected to follow these Simple Rules:
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
Be Careful in Islamic Discussions;
Bad language and insolence against Prophets (and / or their companions, Islamic Scholars, and saints) is an Instant ban.
Abuse of any kind (to the Group, or it's Members) shall not be tolerated.
SPAM, Advertisement, and Adult messages are NOT allowed.
This is not Dating / Love Group, avoid sending personnel messages to group members.
Do not post anything linked to (or in favor of) facebook.
Thanks

{ISTABA} Weekly Announcements 11/28/2012 [الإعلانات الأسبوعية]


ISLAMIC SOCIETY OF TAMPA BAY AREA

Weekly Announcements

الإعلانات الاسبوعية

 

 

 

November 28th, 2012

Muharram 14th, 1434

Visiting Tampa this Friday, Please support

 

 

Welcome to I.S.T.A.B.A. Peace Academy!

Now offering childcare for 1year old toddlers!

 

Full time: 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

We are a full time Islamic daycare and preschool located on the same premises of the Islamic Society of Tampa Bay. All of our classrooms, including the young toddlers, use certified curriculums designed to promote a love of learning and a lifetime of successful exploration. Our teachers have many years of combined experience, including childcare training hours and CPR/1ST Aid training.

Your child will have access to:

  •       Loving & caring environment
  •       Circle time
  •       Mat/ Tummy Time
  •       Monthly and Weekly Thematic Units of Exploration
  •       Arts and crafts
  •       Dress up
  •       Sensory explorations
  •       Musical instruments and much, much more!

 

As a parent, you'll enjoy:

  •       An open door policy
  •       Peace of mind
  •       A compassionate childcare provider dedicated to you and your little one!

For more information, please call Sr. Mariam Razak (Director) at (813) 531-5840.

Space is limited, so call now!

 

Guidance Residential is currently hiring Full & Part Time Field Account Executives in your area and request you to please forward this email and announce the opportunity to your family, friends and community. 
Guidance Residential, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Guidance Financial Group, LLC was launched in 1999. We have worked closely with leading financial institutions and world renowned Sharia scholars to develop and offer products that you can use with confidence. Every product we offer is certified by an independent Sharia Supervisory Board to ensure strict standards of Sharia compliance. Our Sharia Board comprises some of the world's leading experts in the Islamic law of financial transactions. These Sharia scholars are actively engaged in designing our products and in overseeing them. Today, being over 10 years in business, we have over 2.5 Billion Dollars invested in Home Financing with over 8,000 families benefited from our program.
The Account Executive (AE's) position is a field sales position. AE establishes the Guidance Residential brand in the market place, meets with potential customers to explain our products, makes group presentations to potential customers and businesses to develop business, completes and follows up on applications, in order to achieve personal budgeted production volume goals. A successful applicant must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily and is required:
 
•Successful completion of the national and state MLO licensing tests. (Possession of a national or state MLO license is preferred)
•Ability to effectively present information in one-on-one and small groups (25-50 participants)
•Ability to speak conversational Arabic or Urdu
 
If you know anyone who might be interested in working with Industry Leaders, please forward this email and my contact details to.
 
Tariq Saleem 
Asst. Vice President
Manager South East Region
 
Guidance Residential, LLC
11107 Sunset Hills Rd, Ste 200, Reston, VA 20190
office 407.615.5630 | mobile 321.231.2500 | fax407.479.3857

Coming soon,

ISTABA & Al-Qassam 2013 Islamic Calendar

 

TO REACH THIS,

WE NEED THIS

Du'a for Shifa' (Recovery)

Please, make Du'a for Br. Fares Alyahya who was severely injured in his arm last week. Br. Fares heads the maintenance department at the Islamic Society of Tampa bay Area.

 

You can reach Br. Fares at 813.403.0073 

Brother Salah Abdul-Hadi Farahat is in need for our Du'a for his Shifa (cure) while going through his chemotherapy. Brother Salah is originally from Egypt, former resident of Tampa, and currently residing with his daughter in Virginia.

 

The mother of our dear Sr. Sameeha passed away in Egypt last Monday, November 26th, 2012. Sr. Sameeha is an active member of our community. May Allah shower his mercy on her late mother and give Sr. Sameeha and her family the patience.

 

Sister Sameeha can be reached at 732-640-6877, Please call and show your support.

MUSLIM SPELLING BEE 2013 AT AYA February 2, 2012

 

Dear Community-Members:

Assalamu alaikum.
 
AYA is honored to host the Muslim Spelling Bee Regional Competition on February 2, 2013.  Last year's Spelling Bee went very well, alhamdulillah,and we are looking for an even larger turnout of spellers this year.
 
I am forwarding you the email and attachments from Br. Tausif Malik, co-founder of the Muslim Spelling Bee, along with attachments.
 
All the information you need to register your child(ren) for the competition is in the email below.  Please note that, if you are registering more child, you will receive a $10 rebate for every child after the first one.
 
I look forward to seeing a great turnout of outstanding spellers!
Wassalamu alaikum
 
Sr. Magda
 

 

WEEKLY CLASS, SR. RAYDANAH ATFEH

Insallah there will be the weekly class by Sr. Raydanah Atfeh at ISTABA old Masjid on;

  • Tuesday:       5:30 pm - 7:00 pm
  • Friday:          11:30 am - 1 pm

The class is to provide Islamci education for Sisters of all ages, Muslims, recent reverts, and non-Muslims.

Please, invite your friends to join this class and help spread the knowledge of Islam and the Noble Qur'an. There is no registeraton needed for this class.

 

For more information, please contact Sr. Raydanah at 352.584.5798

Arabic & Quran Classes for girls

Teacher Sr. Hanan Dahmani & Sr. Samar Mahmalji

  • Monday through Thursday:               3:00 pm to 6:00 pm
  • Saturday:                                      9:00 am to 3:00 pm
  • 1 hour to 1.5 hour per session
  • Limited number of students per class
  • Youngest age of student is 5 years
  • Tuitions:
        $ 50       a month for 2 days a week
        $ 75       a month for 3 days a week
        $ 100     a month for 4 days a week

     
  • For registration, contact;
    Sr. Hanan         813-850-2845,
    Sr. Samar         352-222-2474
  • SlighMasjid@Gmail.com

 

 

Keep the Candle of Hope Alive for the world wide orphans with the

"HHRD Orphan Aid"

  • Presenting Comedian - Baba Ali & Hossein Behizad
  • Motivational Speaker - Skeikh Abder Raoof
  • Venue: Bradenton Convention Center
  • One Haben Blvd., Palmetto, FL 34221
  • Ticket: $10 Per Person (Pre-sale) and $15 Per Person at the gate.
  • Food will be available at the event to purchase

Ibn al-Haytham – The First Scientist

When learning about the Muslim scholars of the past, it is easy to be amazed by their brilliance, accomplishments, and contributions to the modern world. Each provided a lasting legacy that changed the world in their time and today. One scientist in particular stands far above the rest. He is Ibn al-Haytham, the great polymath who lived from 965 to 1040.

He was born in the Iraqi city of Basra during the Abbasid Caliphate. He came about 100 years after the establishment of the House of Wisdom in Baghdad. Undoubtedly  the culture of learning and advancement present in the Muslim world at that time had a great impact on him from an early age. He studied Islamic sciences and soon became a mayor of the city of Basra. During this time, he continued to study, focusing on sciences and other empirical subjects. His big break, however, would come in another part of the Muslim world.

Ibn al-Haytham in Egypt

During his time as mayor of Basra, the Fatimid rival caliph in Egypt al-Hakim (the Fatimids were Ismaili Shias who rejected the caliphate of the Sunni Abbasids in Iraq) heard of an idea that Ibn al-Haytham had to dam the Nile. Al-Hakim was a man of contradictions. Although he was the leader of the heretical Ismaili branch of Shiism  that most scholars of the day completely rejected, he opened up his domain to anyone who could benefit it. Al-Hakim invited Ibn al-Haytham to come to Egypt to attempt his radical idea to dam the Nile. After travelling down the Nile to see where a potential dam could be built, he realized his plan could not go into effect with the technology of the day. There happened to be one problem: al-Hakim was known to be act irrationally ruthless, and acted quite insane on occasion.  In order to escape some kind of punishment, Ibn al-Haytham pretended to be even more insane than al-Hakim himself! This daring idea saved him from excecuti on, but placed him under house arrest in Cairo for the remainder of al-Hakim's life – 10 years.

Those 10 years didn't even seem as punishment to the brilliant scientist. During this time, he got the peace and quiet he wanted to pursue his research. During this time, he dived into the study of light. He wanted to understand what light is, how it works, and how humans see objects. Although what he studied and discovered was truly revolutionary, the way he researched was one of his biggest contributions.

The Scientific Method

Today, it is understood to students of science that everything must be proven. You cannot make claims about scientific theories based on assumption without experimentation. Before Ibn al-Haytham, that was not the case. The ancient Greek philosophies of science still held weight. The Greeks believed that scientific fact can be discovered through reason, or simply attributed to the actions of the gods. Ibn al-Haytham knew better. He was the first scientist in history to insist that everything be proven through a given method for discovering new information – the scientific method.

Western textbooks today usually give little information about the history of the scientific method. Usually the ancient Greek philosophies are mentioned, followed by the "revolutionary" work of Roger Bacon, Galileo Galilei, and Isaac Newton. The truth that is forgotten is that those European scholars stood on the shoulders of Ibn al-Haytham (and other Muslim scientists). Without his ideas about proving scientific theories, we may still be living in a time when speculation, superstition, and unproven myths are the basis of science.

The Book of Optics

Using his revolutionary scientific method, Ibn al-Haytham takes leaps and bounds into the field of optics. In his book, The Book of Optics, he was the first to disprove the ancient Greek idea that light comes out of the eye, bounces off objects, and comes back to the eye. He delved further into the way the eye itself works. Using dissections and the knowledge of previous scholars, he was able to begin to explain how light enters the eye, is focused, and is projected to the back of the eye.

In a similar way, he is the first to study the phenomenon of the pinhole camera. The concept of a pinhole camera is simple: a box with a tiny hole on one side is able to project an image of whatever is outside onto a side of the box on the inside. Those familiar with the way modern cameras work will notice that that is how cameras work in general, but today with the addition of lenses. Ibn al-Haytham was able to build these pinhole cameras hundreds of years before the modern development of photography as we know it.

 

The basic way a pinhole camera works

He also studied the way light is affected when moving through a medium such as water or gasses. From this, he was able to explain why the sky changes color at twilight (the sun's rays hit the atmosphere at an angle, causing refraction). From this, he was able to calculate the depth of the earth's atmosphere, 1000 years before it would be proven by spaceflight.

The translation of The Book of Optics had a huge impact on Europe. From it, later European scholars were able to build the same devices as he did, and understand the way light works. From this, such important things as eyeglasses, magnifying glasses, telescopes, and cameras were developed.

Beyond Light

As if revolutionizing the way humanity understands light and leading to the development of things we can't live without in the 2000s wasn't enough, Ibn al-Haytham also pioneered in other fields.

In 1020s and 1030s, he wrote numerous books on astronomy. He wrote about the mistakes of the Ptolemaic model of how the stars and planets move and provided a more realistic view of the way the universe works (although he knew the earth to be a sphere, he stuck to the ancient Greek idea that the earth was the center of the universe).

He completely refuted astrology as a scientific subject. Continuing with his firm belief scientific ideas needing to be proven, he came to the conclusion that the ideas of astrology were not rooted in any type of science, but in the thoughts and feelings of astrologers. He also noted that astrology directly contradicts one of the main ideas of Islam – that God is the cause of all things, not astronomical bodies.

He had a great influence on Isaac Newton, who was aware of Ibn al-Haytham's works. He studied the basis of calculus, which would later lead to the engineering formulas and methods used today. He also wrote about the laws governing the movement of bodies (later known as Newton's 3 laws of motion) and the attraction between two bodies – gravity. It was not, in fact, the apple that fell from the tree that told Newton about gravity, but the books of Ibn al-Haytham.

Since he was also trained in the traditional Islamic sciences, he also wrote on how to use empirical methods to disprove a false prophet, and how to use math to calculate the prayer direction towards Makkah.

In a precursor to modern psychology, he researched the effect music therapy can have on humans and animals.

Legacy

The list of accomplishments and contributions of Ibn al-Haytham goes on and on. The truly amazing thing is that he wrote over 200 books, but only around 50 have survived till today. What he discovered that we do not even know about probably far outshines even the amazing works that have made it to the present day.

Newton directly built upon the ideas of Ibn al-Haytham

Unfortunately, his contributions have been overlooked since his death. While he was never someone who cared for the fame and prestige that came with being a great scholar, the unawareness today's world has about his contributions is unsettling. When his books were translated into Latin as the Spanish conquered Muslim lands in the Iberian Peninsula, he was not referred to by his name, but rather as "Alhazen". The practice of changing the names of great Muslim scholars to more European sounding names was common in the European Renaissance, as a means to discredit Muslims and erase their contributions to Christian Europe.

Regardless, his brilliant mind inspired countless others who stood on his shoulders. It is not a stretch to say that without his research, the modern world of science that we know today would not exist.

Other than ISTABA's links, the Islamic Society of Tampa Bay Area is not responsible for contents on any of the posted links. The inclusion of any such links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.

 

Islamic Society of Tampa Bay Area

 

7326 East Sligh Ave., Tampa, Fl 33610

www.ISTABA.org

813.628.0007


--
Mahmoud Elkasaby
ISTABA Management
813-270-5441
join us on FaceBood https://www.facebook.com/pages/Islamic-Society-of-Tampa-Bay-Area/223068557731678
 
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
Groups "ISTABA Masjid" group.
To post to this group, send email to istaba-masjid@googlegroups.com
www.ISTABA.org
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "ISTABA Masjid" group.
To post to this group, send email to istaba-masjid@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to istaba-masjid+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.