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The scene at Pasir Penambang
Across the Selangor river and facing the town of Kuala Selangor is a place called Pasir Penambang.
Its location besides the river makes it an idyllic place to relax...
A view towards the Selangor river mouth to the west. There are a number of restaurants here offering fresh sea food from local catch...
A view towards the town of Kuala Selangor. You can make some good catch here yourself! :]
Here I'm trying to catch a picture of the bridge crossing the river... but the verandah of a restaurant is blocking. However you can see parts of it if you look closely to the middle left. The hill seen here is the famous Bukit Melawati. Apart from being a main landmark of Kuala Selangor it was the place where earliest Sultans of Selangor used to hold court.
Posted by Radzi Sapiee at 12:25 AM 1 comment:
Views from Bukit Talang near Kuala Selangor
Recently I've found out about the existence of a hill called Bukit Talang near Kuala Selangor and decided to check it.
You see I wanted to see the views from on top.
So I went there and made a climb...
To the east and slightly north one could see the main mountain range of Banjaran Titiwangsa.
This is the view about 90 degree turn anti-clockwise. You could also see, these parts of the state of Selangor are mainly flat...
Turn another 90 degrees and you should be facing west and slightly south. Actually I know there are 3 small hills more than 12 km or so ahead. But you could hardly catch a glimpse as each is about 50-feet tall or so at most.
A look towards the south-west and I know we are facing the town of Kuala Selangor which should be about 15 km ahead. I know this because there's only one hill visible towards the town and it should be the one called Bukit Melawati which at almost 200-feet high is tall enough to make it stand out.
Posted by Radzi Sapiee at 9:59 PM No comments:
Continued from The Tariqat of Ahlul Bait 3.
The Tariqat of Ahlul Bait 4 (Final)
By: Habib Hassan bin Mohammad Al-Attas
http://www.shiar-islam.com/
English translation by Radzi Sapiee
The moral of its scholars
A practicing follower of Tariqat al-Alawiyah will shy away from qualities which could spur the ego. For example its scholars would never strive to meet kings, and they distance themselves from becoming hopefull of those in power. Alas, on the other hand a good king would usually find them (for good counsel and such).
In ceremonies attended by its scholars, it is usual for every scholar to praise the others but never himself. If praised, the praise would not make him feel important but rather they would be become more humble.
At the times of prayers, it is not necessary for the most pious to become imam or leader of the congegrational prayer. As long as sufficient conditions are met, the oldest of them are given priority to lead. This is consistent with the order the Prophet SAW such as said in al-Bukhari's authentic collection of Hadiths under the Book of al-Salah:
وإذا حضرت الصلاة فليؤذن أحدكم, وليؤمكم أكبركم
(رواه البخاري)
This means:
"When it is time to pray,thus someone among you should make the call to prayer and the oldest be the imam." (H. R. Bukhari).
Al-Imam Ahmad bin Zein Al-Habsyi asked his teacher Imam al-Haddad; "What are the roads of the Alawiyin?" He answered in brief: "Their roads are five:
1. Ilmu (Knowledge)
2. Amal (Practice)
3. Al-Khauf (Fear of Allah)
4. Al- Wara (Abstinence)
5. Ikhlas (Do something for the sake of Allah alone)
("Say this is my way": From a talk by Jindan Al-Habib bin Novel bin Jindan about Tariqat Alawiyah, towards the close of Rabitah Alawiyah meeting 1407H/2006 M in Jakarta, in a book published by Yayasan Al-Fachriayah, case: 19)
ILMU: One who practices Tariqat al-Alawiyah must be learned before practicing. For example, before he fast he must learn the laws of fasting. Before performing obligatory Hajj, pilgrims must learn its conditions. The knowledge meant here does not have to very broad or thorough, it is enough the know what is necessary to get things done. If one goes to Mecca to perform the Hajj or obligatory pilgrimage, how is he able to complete the Hajj properly? Knowledge is necessary for perfect practice.
AMAL: We must be diligent in practice. Do all the right things. Do plenty of worship and this includes giving for charity, love to help people, give advice and taking care of family matters and community affairs.
This Tariqat gives more importance on practice than on talking. That is why when asked about al-Alawiyah Tariqat some of its Ulamak or scholars said: "Look into their practices and do not look at what they say."
Those who hold fast to the al-Alawiyah Tariqat will always maintain the perfection of their practices for the sake Allah. They do not give advice on something they themselves haven't practice first. They are afraid that they might be counted among those as mentioned in the Qur'an, Surah al-Baqarah verse 44.
أتأمرون الناس بالبر وتنسون أنفسكم وأنتم تتلون الكتاب أفلا تعقلون
(البقرة: 44)
Which means: "Would you encourage others to do the right thing when you yourself forgot, whereelse you've read the book, have you no sense?" (Al-Baqarah: 44)
(Tariqat al-Alawiyah, Syed Hassan bin Muhammad bin Salim al-Attas, Ba'alawi Mosque, Singapore, 28th Rabi 'al-Akhir 1422 H, 19th July 2001.
AL-KHAUF: Fear of Allah, fear of violating the orders of God, and hope for the pleasure of Allah Almighty.
WARA ': Abstinence,keep away from all that is questionable (doubtful). For example, Anas bin Malik said: "The Prophet found a date one the road, then the Prophets SAW said: 'If I do not worry about the date being for charity, I would have ate it.'" (HR Bukhari and Muslim). For the record the family of the Prophet are forbidden from taking gifts of charity.
IKHLAS: Perform a job because of Allah alone, not for others.
Tariqat al-Tariqat Alawiyah is most easily practiced. It adheres these four things: (1). Ilmu (2) Amal (3) Takhalli (4) Tahalli
(Alwi bin Tahir, Uqud al-Almas, m.s.61, 62, & 64)
1. Ilmu has been discussed above
2. Amal has also been dicussed
3. Takhalli means refrain from committing any sin, being wicked, envious, lazy and other things forbidden by Allah.
4. Tahalli means decorating oneself with all good qualities such as honesty, hard working, executing the Prophet's Sunnah or practices, performing lots of prayers, fasting etc..
Those who practice these are practicing the Al-Alawiyah Tariqat. Thus many have been following the Al-Alawiyah Tariqat without realising it since the Tariqat do not specify certain conditions for its followes nor does it disclose the followers. The important thing is to practice and one's sincerity towards God.
1. Tariqat Ahlul Bait is a way of doing worship or instructions to draw one closer to Allah guided by the Qur'an and Sunnah as practiced by Rasulullah SAW. The practice was extended by Fatimah Azzahra (his beloved daughter) followed by Imam Ali bin Abi Talib, and then the Prophet's beloved grandsons Hassan and Hussein, and their descendants.
2. Alawiyah Tariqat is an Ahlul Bait Tariqat. The name "Al-Alawiyah Tariqat" is given by al-Faqih al-Mukaddam after the name of his grandfather Ubaydillah bin Alawi bin Ahmad al-Muhajir. The Tariqat was founded by descendants of Sayyidina Hussein from the line of Imam al-Muhajir in Hadhramaut who follow the Syafi'i school of thought. Al-Alawiyah Tariqat has five main principles or roads, namely Ilmu (Knowledge), Amal (Practice), Al-Khauf (Fear of Allah), Al-Wara '(Abstinence) and Ikhlas (Doing for the sake of Allah). Practitioners do a lot of praying, fasting, and Wirid (recitals of formulas of remembrance of God). They refrain from committing any sin, disobedience, being envious, lazy, and other prohibited things and garnish themselves with noble practices. Tariqat Ahlul-Bait al-Alawiyah gives importance to practices made sincerely to please Allah.
3. Therefore let us pray to Allah hoping all descendants of Rasulullah SAW and all Muslims follow the way of Rasulullah and his Ahlul Bait, the people of his house in upholding, defending and spreading Islam. Let us try to increase useful knowledge for the world and the hereafter, doing good deeds as much as possible, be afraid only of Allah, doing everything for the sake of Allah alone. Strive to clean ourselves of stains and sins, and adorn ourselves with useful practices for Islam and humanity as a whole following the guidance set by the Quran and Sunnah, and practices of the Ahlul Bait and their ancestors.
4. It is my wish that all Muslims especially the offsprings of Rasulullah SAW would give the best examples as presented by Rasulullah and his Ahlul Bait.
5. God willing, the practices and models of character which have been shown by our beloved Prophet and his Ahlul Bait would make us live happily in the world and the hereafter and be the best Ummah, the best community of the world.
Kuala Lumpur: 23 Dhu al-Hijjah 1430 H (December 10, 2009 M).
Posted by Radzi Sapiee at 10:26 PM No comments:
Imam Ali Zainal Abidin R.A.
Decoration for avid worshippers
Ali ibn Hussein bin Ali bin Abi Talib, Rasulullah's grandson is the only seed from Sayyidina Hussein saved by Allah Almighty from the murders committed by Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan bin Muawiyah at the field of Karbala in Iraq.
Since childhood he has adorned himself with praiseworthy attributes. Utmost courtesy, knowledge and devotion were part of him. He was called Al-Sajjad, because he always prostrated to God. He was also called Zainal Abidin (decoration for avid worshippers) because he always worshipped Allah.
His good practice especially in helping the poor was often done in secret especially at night. Just like his grandfather Ali bin Abi Talib, he carried bread and flour on his shoulders to be divided to the poor and those undergoing hardship. Those who received assistance from Imam Ali Zainal Abidin often wondered who was the benefactor so willing to help them out and put food in front of their doors. The answer was only revealed after Imam Ali Zainal Abidin had died, because there was no more aid as they had received before his death. And when they washed the body of Imam Ali Zainal Abidin, they found blackish signs on his shoulders indicating he has been carrying goods of much weight.
When it comes to mingling around, he was very friendly not only to his friends but also to opponents who have been attacking him. Imam Ali Zainal Abdidin has left many massages for mankind, among it he said: "Three characters (which if present in believers would bring...) benefits: Preventing his tounge from disturbing men or gossipping about them. Busying themselves with something beneficial in the world and the hereafter, and always mourning for their sins. Beware when making friends with the dim-witted, because he can give you trouble when he wants to treat you well. The one Allah loves most among you is the one with the best practice. The most noble deed is the one most honest in value. The most secure from the punishment of Allah is the most afraid of Him. The closest to Allah is the one with the best morals. The most accepted by Allah is the one who takes care of his family needs. The most noble in the sight of Allah is the most pious."
Imam Muhammad al-Baqir
Imam Muhammad has the title Al-Baqir and nickname Abu Ja'far. His father was Ali Zainal Abidin, his mother Fatima binti Imam Hassan. Born in Medina, 1st Rajab 57 AH he died Monday 7 of Dhu al-Hijjah 114 AH.
Among descendants of Imam Hussein he was the first to also have the blood of Imam Hassan. Thus he was descended from Fatimah Az Zahra from both father and mother.
For 34 years he lived under the protection and upbringing of his father, Ali Zainal Abidin. All his life he stayed in the city of Medina and used most of the time in worship to draw himself closer to Allah while leading his people to the straight path.
On his knowledge and obesiance, let us study the words of ibn Hajar Al-Haitsami, a Sunni scholar. He said: "Imam Muhammad al-Baqir has uncovered the secrets of knowledge and wisdom and presented the principles of the spiritual path and religion. Nobody can deny his noble character, the knowledge given by Allah, the wisdom granted by Allah, and responsibility and his thankfulness for dissemination of knowledge. He is a very talented spiritual leader and it is on this basis he got the title Al-Baqir which means the expander of knowledge. He has a good heart, clean in personality and noble in character.
Among his words of wisdom: "He who hates because of Allah and loves because of Allah, then he belongs to the perfect in faith. Each servant surely has a clean heart, when he sins, a black point will appear, when he repents, it will disapper and (his heart) clean again. However, if he continues to sin, there will be a lot of black points until the heart becomes totally black. When this is the case, he will no longer want to return to goodness as said by Allah:
كلا بل ران على قلوبهم ما كانوا يكسبون
(المطففين: 14)
Meaning: "Never even once, but impurities in their hearts are the result of their own behavior" (Al-Muthaffifin: 14).
He also said: "A believer is brother to other believers, he would not condemn him and obstruct him from his rights, and be prejudiced against him. Make this world before you as a temporary stop which you would then leave. Or like a treasure you get in a dream and feel happy about it, but after waking up from your sleep you do not get anything. Three things which will destroy: those who thinks he has done good practice a lot, forget the sins they have committed, and impressed with their own opinions. Heaven is surrounded by obstacles, and (the things that claim) patience, and anyone who persevere in the face of resistance in the world, he will enter Paradise. Hell is surrounded by pleasures and desires, but whoever satisfies himself with pleasures and desires, he would go to hell. "
Imam Ja'afar Shadik
His name is Ja'far bin Muhammad Al-Baqir, Al-Shadik is his title. His mother's name is Fatimah. Born in Medina, Monday 17 Rabi 'al-Awwal 83 AH, he died on 23 Syawwal 148 H and was buried in Baqi `, Medina. He had a total of 10 children (seven boys, three girls). They were Ismail, Abdullah Al-Aftah, Musa Al-Kadzim, Ishak, Muhammad, Abbas, Ali, the daughters Fatima, Asma and Farwah.
Imam Ja'far Shadik was the son of Muhammad al-Baqir bin Ali Zainal Abidin bin Hussein bin Ali bin Abi Talib. His life was full of knowledge and devotion to God. Since childhood up to a total of 19 years, he was under care and upbringing of his father Imam Muhammad al-Baqir. After the departure of his father and since 114 Hijri, he replaced his father's position as a leader who is also spritual and a master in all disciplines favoured by Allah and His Messenger.
He made extensive missions to every corner such that it is said he had 4000 students comprising religious scholars, lawyers and experts in other areas. Among them were Jabir Ibn Hayyan Al-Thusi, a mathematician, Hisham bin Al-Ahkam, Mu'min Thaq , a respected scholar, and many Sunni scholars, such as Sufyan Al-Tsauri, Abu Hanifa (Hanafi sect founder) and others.
Imam Ja'far Al-Shadik was born in the house of knowledge. His father Muhammad al-Baqir was the focus of scholars of his period. Muhammad al-Baqir was visited by many Hadith and Fiqh scholars. Among the notable ones were Sufyan Ats Tsauri, a Sufi master, Sufyan ibn 'Uyainah, a Hadith scholar and the Fiqh master Abu Hanifah (Prof.TM Hasbi Ash-Shiddieqy, "Pokok-pokok pegangan Imam mazhab dalam membina Hukum Islam", literally translated as "The foundations held by Imams of Muslim sects in developing the Islamic law", Volume II, published by Moon Star Jakarta 1974)
Among the wise words of Imam Ja'far Al-Shadik: "A form of leadership which is forbidden is the leadership of the dzalim (wrong and unjust) and its staff, whether of high level or low. It is Illegal to work under their system. Indeed, recognition of Allah is the tranquiliser from all fears, a friend when alone, light in every darkness, strength from every weakness and (medicine) for recovery from every pain. There are 4 types of judges, three are in hell, while one in heaven. Those who judged unjustly (unfair) would enter hell. Those who judged unjustly without knowledge, they are also in hell. Those who are right in judging, but do not know the truth, are also in hell. Meanwhile the ones entering heaven judge with the truth and know the truth. The rights of a Muslim to another Muslim are: convey the greetings of peace upon meeting, visit in times of illness, and mention his goodness when he is not present, and answer"yarhamkumullah" when his brother sneezes as well as meet his call, and send off his body upon death. Among themselves the believers are brothers, they are like one body, if a part of the body is inflicted by pain, then the pain will be felt throughout the whole body.
"The rights of a Muslim upon another Muslim is not to be full when his brother is in hunger, not satisfied (with water) when his brother is in thirst, and should not be dressed (in excess) while his brother is in a state of nudity. Do unto your brother what you like to be done to you. Whoever is zuhud (removed as in having no attachements) to the world, Allah will grow wisdom in his heart, and makes his tounge proficient in pronouncing it (the wisdom), also would make the faults of the world apparent, diseases and cure, and he will be removed from the natural world to the hereafter in a safe condition."
Imam Ahmad bin Isa Al Muhajir and his descendants
In the year 317 H (929 M) Al-Imam Ahmad Al-Muhajir migrated to Madinah with his wife Zainab bt Abdullah bin Hassan bin Ali Al-Uraidhi. Along with him was his son Ubaidullah with wife Banin bt Mohammed bin Isa and grandson Ismail plus 70 other family members. Meanwhile his other children Muhammad, Hassan and Ali stayed on in Iraq to protect their inherited family property. They resided in Medina for a year and the following year, 318 H they did the Hajj, pilgrimage to Mecca. At the time Mecca has just been violated by the group called Qaramithah who murdered and robbed, running away with the holy stone Hajaral Aswad.
From here, Ahmad decided to move to Hadharamaut. They headed to Yemen through Aljubail at the valley of Dai'an and stopped at the village of Al-Hajrain where he bought a house and a piece of orchard for palm dates. This property was then given to his follower called Syawih. They stayed temporarily in the village of Bani Jusyair before continuing and eventually settled at the village of Husaisah.
At that time, the sect called the Kharijites of the Ibadhiah group have influenced the people in Oman, Yemen and Hadharamaut.The Ibadhiah hated the Ahlul Bait, family of the Prophet and used their own interpretions in Shari'ah matters, practice of religion.
Al-Imam Ahmad Al-Muhajir tried to pull them to the right path through dialogues but failed. Finally, the residents of Jubail from Wadi Dau'an and the Imam's own entourage combined shoulder to shoulder to fight and beat the Ibadhiah. Thus Kharijite thoughts were eliminated and the Syafi'i school of thought began to widespread.
Ahmad Al-Imam Al-Muhajir is a Sunni-oriented Syafi'i mujtahid (leading exponent).He died in Husaisah in 345 H (959 M). Among his descendants born in Hadharamaut was Imam Alwi bin Ubaidullah bin Ahmad bin Isa. It is from Imam Alwi that the Sadah (Prophet's descendants) in Hadhramaut came to be called the Aali (family of) Baalawi following the way of the people of Hadhramaut in recording their lineage through their grandfathers. It is from this big family that the Aulias or saints of Allah and prominent scholars brough the light of Islam to the whole of Southeast Asia and East Africa.
Tariqat of Al-BaAlawi (Alawiyah)
In the book Khulasah al-Madad al-Nabawi fi Al-BaAlawi Aurad written by Al-Habib Umar bin Salim bin Hafiz al-Husaini (Hadhramaut: Maktabah Tareem al-Haditsah, second printing, in 1425 H/2004 M) it is explained: "In terms of language Tariqat means road or way. In the world of Tasawwuf, the Tariqat must be experienced by a Murid (a term meaning student in Tariqat) to cleanse his heart to become closer to Allah. In the effort to clean the heart, a Murid is required to multiply their rituals and remembrance, especially those that is Sunnah or Nawafil, recommended."
In principle, any Tariqat still sheltering under the guidance of the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him) is something encouraged by Islam. In one Hadith Qudsi narrated by Imam Bukhari from Abu Hurairah, Allah says which means: "Those who oppose my Wali (friends), thus I (Allah) allows to fight against those people (the ones opposing). And my servant is always approaching Me, with practices other than that I've made a must for him. My servant continously makes himself closer with the practices of the Sunnah (Nawafil) until I love him. When I love him, so I become the 'ears' which he uses to listen, and I become the 'eyes' which he uses to see, and I am the "hands" he uses to mobilise (things), and (I am) the 'legs' he uses to run. If my servant asks from Me, I will grant, if he seeks refuge in me, I will protect him."
The Tariqat of Al-BaAlawi Tariqat is one of the Tariqats of Ahlul Bait. The Tariqat's founder was Al-Sayyid Al-Faqih Muhammad bin Ali BaAlawi Muqaddam Alhusaini. This Tariqat is carried out with practice from generation to generation. Like other Tariqats of Ahlul Bait, this Tariqat is based upon the Quran and Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him), its foundations lies in submission to Allah Almighty following what is commanded by Allah and His Messenger. In other words a servant must continue to struggle to face their own desires and continue to draw himself closer to Allah. After a time, the servant will be shown the road to victory.
The Al-BaAlawi Tariqah is a Tariqat of the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah (following the way of majority). It holds fast to the Quran and Sunnah of Rasulullah SAW along with the practices of the Salafus Saleh, the pios early generation of Muslims. Its outer aspect is as explained by Imam Ghazali in his books such as 'Bidayah al-Hidayah, Ihya Ulumuddin and Minhaj al-Abidin, namely about knowledge which fits with the true Manhaj (way). Its inner aspect is like that described by followers of Syadziliyyah (another Ahlul Bait Tariqat), achiving the truth and purity of Tauhid, unity of God.
A follower of al-Alawiyyah Tariqat could not be detected by clothing or particular practice. The Tariqat does not emphasise on uniform clothing or specific wirid (Islamic incantations). The practices and behavior of its followers is as practiced and performed by the Prophet and his companions. In addition to worship of Allah, they are also concerned about finding daily maintenance, taking care of family and community.
Sayidina Ali bin Abi Talib kw, for example, has his own Wirids obtained from the Prophet which he practiced every day. But he also found time to make a living, have time with family, have time to fight for the cause of Islam.
Habib Abdul Qadir bin Ahmad bin Abdul-Rahman al-Saqqaf was once asked about Tariqat al-Alawiyah. He answered at length in Singapore in a writing dated 7th Ramadan 1395 (31st September 1975). Among others Habib Abdul Qadir said: "The previous generation of pious people were concerned with the education of their children using their way or Tariqat. Their Tariqat holds fast to the Book (the Qur'an) and Sunnah of Rasulullah. First of all they were shown and taught morals and manners of Prophet Muhammad. Then asked to follow the Prophet's attributes, such as attributes of patience, kindness, accepting all challenges with courage, holding one's temper, be gentle, using the easy way allowed in matters and businesses carried out, not look too much to the beauty of the life of the world, distant from the nature of severing ties, likes to help, make visits, ask about business and things, helping as much as one could afford, carry responsibility towards both parents, and obey them completely despite having to go through difficulties, preserve the rights of neighbors , and perform their rights, attending ceremonies whether in love or grief such as sending the dead, protecting rights on the street, not look at women who are not Mahram (allowed in Islam such as closest family members), not looking at houses which is not theirs (out of envy or greed), greeting everyone familiar or not, pray for and seek forgiveness from Allah for all Muslims, carry out obligations towards wives by giving them their rights, while preserving and educating morals and interactions with other family members, concerned about education of children, male and female, taking seriously matters about prayers, morality, and socialising of children with good people."
One thing in Tariqat al-Alawiyah is to always be in the state of abolution, if nullified (by actions which nullify the state such as urinating), then a follower would take abolution again. That is often the case. Often not making the obligatory prayers except in congregation at the mosque, except if there are difficulties. Also do the Witir prayer after Isyaq or end of the night, for those who are capable of getting up before Subuh, at least 3 ra'kaat (cycles). Do the Duha prayer after the sun rises and offer at least 2 cycles and the perfect way is 8 cycles. Also do not leave reading the Quran as wirid as much as a Juz (1/30th of the whole book) or more or less of it (every day). Those who do not know how to read the Quran should recite whatever they know from the Surah (verses) of Wadhuha until the end, and take abolution before bedtime.
Ratib al-Attas or Ratib al-Haddad (collections of verses and Islamic incantations) should be recited before sleep. Anyone who knows the simple version of Al-Haddad wirid should read it every day. Also always take care and practice the formulas of remembrance and wirid taught by the Prophet Muhammad SAW.
Among the habit of those practicing Tariqat al-Alawiyah is not to curse, talk behind other people's back and make complains. They are not accustomed to swear in vain or talk about something which is not needed or make chit-chats. Never interfere in the public's problem unless to improve, teach or delight. If there is no reasonable need for their presence, they will not attend.
One of al-Alawiyah Tariqat practice is never getting involved in doubtful things and unjustness. Be careful in mixing, especially against fraudelent people and those who like to twist tales. Do not like touching the dignity of others, or take other people's wealth without right. Fear Allah and keep away from things that could damage or tarnish their characters. Always seek the pleasure of Allah, doing what is asked and leaving what is forbidden. If they heard people saying things which could offend their feeling and things that should not be voiced they are quick to forgive. But when the limits set by Allah are trangressed they will be angry, and continue to warn of things which are illegal.They prevent cruelty of the unjust by giving reminders to them. If they do not do this themselves, the matter is brought to the authorities to be acted against for the sake of preventing unjustness against Muslims.
Their time is always filled either with education, exchanging views among friends, teaching, guiding, studying the Quran or doing prayers. If sitting with family and children, they are friendly, jovial, teaching with gentleness. Whoever did good they return with kindness. If unable to repay, they will delight the heart by praying for them (those who did good). "
Posted by Radzi Sapiee at 10:17 PM 1 comment:
THE PROPHET SAW AS THE BASIS OF THE TARIQAT OF AHLUL BAIT
Once the call of Islam has met success, the wealth of Muslims multiplied with many becoming rich. Umar ibn Khattab visited the Prophet's house only to find him sleeping on a piece of palm-leaf mat such that his body bears marks from the mat. The house of Rasulullah SAW was very simple, no jewelry, no luxury appliance and such. There was only a pitcher for keeping water hanging on its walls as the Prophet's preparation for taking abolution.
Umar was so touched by this condition that tears began to stream down his eyes. Rasulullah SAW then asked Umar: "What makes your shed such a stream of tears O Umar?" Umar said "How can I not be touched o Rasulullah, this is how I found your house, no furniture, no wealth, where else the key to the east and west is in your hands and wealth has become abundant and spilled over."
The Prophet SAW answered: "I am the messenger of Allah. I am not one of the Roman Emperors or a Kisra of Persia. They make claims over the world, and I make claims for the hereafter."
One day the Jibril (the angel Gabriel) came to the Prophet and send regards from Allah Almighty while asking: "Which do you like o Muhammad, to be a prophet as rich as Prophet Sulaiman (Solomon) or to be a prophet suffering and needy like the Prophet Ayyub (Job)?" He answered: "I would prefer to have a full stomach one day and go hungry the next day. If I'm full, I'll be thankful to my God, If I am hungry I will be patient with the test from God."
There was another day when the Prophet SAW was so exhausted he slept on a piece of palm-leaf mat such than his body bears marks. Ibn Mas'ud, a faithful companion of the Prophet shed tears upon seeing that for a person who has almost all of Arabia in his palms, a person so glorified by God, the Prophet lived such a simple life. Ibn Mas'ud wanted to get a pillow to put under his head. The Prophet looked at Ibn Mas'ud, and said: "I have no desire for that, I am like a traveler in the middle of a vast desert in extreme heat. I found a shady tree. Since I am very exhausted I laid down myself a second for rest with the intention of later continuing my journey towards God" (Introduction on Knowledge of Tariqat by H. Abubakar Aceh).
Such is the Prophet's life as a Sufi and a role model for the practice of Ahlul Bait, a practice which his descendants try to emulate to the best of their abilities. Although they have abundant wealth, their lives remain moderate. They use the riches bestowed by Allah to help the poor, orphans and the needy, not for themselves alone.
If we practice the Tariqat of Ahlu Bait, then we must be able to prove that all we have, knowledge or wealth we have accumulated and the likes are used for the benefit of Islam and humanity as well as for personal and family needs. Remember all the wealth would be left behind when we crossed into hereafter. What would follow is just what we have used in the way of Allah.
Allah said regarding death:
يوم لا ينفع مال ولا بنون إلا من أتى الله بقلب سليم
(الشعراء: 88)
"(It is) the day when property and your children are not useful except those who face Allah with a clean heart" (Al-Syu'ara `: 88).
Before Rasulullah SAW faced the big missions which would shake the world, he has trained himself in living a spiritual life. Before the Prophet was appointed to be the Messenger of Allah, he likes to exclude himself, alone in the cave of Hira doing prayers, meditation and remembrance only of Allah. These he did with complete sincerity until all contacts to others besides Allah were cut off. That's when the first revelation was descended:
اقرأ باسم ربك الذي خلق. خلق الإنسان من علق. اقرأ وربك الأكرم. الذي علم بالقلم. علم الإنسان ما لم يعلم
(العلق :1-5)
" Read in the name of your Allahwho creates. Made man from a blood clot. Read in the name of your noble Allahwho taught the people with Qalam (pen). Taught man that which they know not. " (Al-Alaq: 1-5)
Rasullah SAW's personal strength lies in his spiritual life in the way of Allah. His life became a model which was extended by the Ahlul Bait (family of the Prophet, peace be upon him) and their descendants as best as they could.
FATIMAH AZZAHRA
She was called Saydatun Nisa `i al-Alamin, the best woman in the world. Her father is Muhammad SAW her mother Khatijah al-Kubra. Born in Mecca on Friday of Jumada Tsani (the 6th month of the Muslim Hijriah calender), she passed away on Tuesday 3rd of Jumada Tsani 11 AH. Buried in Baqi, Medina she has two sons (Hassan and Hussein) and two daughters (Zainab and Umm Kultsum).
Siti Fatimah Azzahra is Rasulullah's favorite daughter. She lived a very down to earth life, very much in worship making her submission to Allah a model for all Muslims. Because of her devotion and submission to Allah she is known as "Al-Batul", the person very diligent in worship.
Asma bint Umais said: "One day I was at the house of Siti Fatimah. At the time Siti Fatimah was wearing a necklace given by her husband Imam Ali bin Abi Talib, taken after distribution of goods under the ghanimah (spoils of war). Then Rasulullah SAW came to Fatimah's home. When Rasulullah SAW saw the necklace she wears: "O my daughter, are you proud of to be called by the people as the daughter of Muhammad when you yourself wear jababirah (ornaments worn by rich women)?" Immediately Siti Fatimah took off the necklace for sale. Proceeds from the necklace are used to buy a slave and then the slave was freed. When Rasulullah SAW heard this, he was so happy."
Siti Fatimah Azzahra's son Al Hassan said: "Every Friday night I saw my mother on her mihrab (front of the room for prayers). She continues to bow and prostrate until the morning light shows. I also heard my mother used to pray for all believers men and women, mentioned some of their names and prayed a lot for them. She never prayed or asked anything for herself. So I asked: "Why is it mother that you never pray for yourself just like you pray for others?" My mother only said: "Give priority to you neighbours first, and then only your own family ... ..."
A famous Sufi Hassan Al-Basri used to say "In this community, there is no woman who diligently worships more than Siti Fatimah Azzahra, she continued to pray until her feet swell."
His simple life
The Commander of the Faithful Ali bin Abi Talib was also called Abu al-Hassan or Abu Thurab. His mother was Fatima bint Asad. Born in Mecca on Friday 13th of Rajab (the 7th month of Hijriah calendar) he died at the age of 63 on Friday night 21st Ramadhan (9th month) of 40 Hijrah. This happened after he was stabbed by Abdurrahman ibn Muljam. Ali was buried at Najaf Al-Sharif.
Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah bless his countenance) grew up under the tutelage of Rasulullah SAW. He is the first youth to believe in Allah and His Messenger Muhammad. When Muhammad was appointed as a Prophet and Messenger on Monday, the next day Imam Ali bin Abi Talib converted to Islam. Imam Ali was then only 10 years old. In turn Siti Khadijah was the first woman in Islam (please refer to the book Imam al Muhtadin Ali bin Abi Talib kw, essays by H. M. Al Hamid Al-Husaini, articles 37-41).
About the world and life
... .... In the letter of Imam Ali sent to Uthman bin al-Ansari Hunaif he reminded Uthman bin Hunaif among others : "By Allah, there is not even a small pinch of gold or silver from your world which I kept. There is no property from it I have accumulated. There is not even a piece of clothe I've prepared to replace my worn-out clothes. And there is not an inch of land that I own. And I won't take for myself more than the food for a thin donkey. Verily this world in my sight is more fragile and of no more consequence than an 'afshah (a plant with bitter fruits)."
... ... ... .. O world, go anywhere you want. I have escaped from your clutches, I have avoided your snare and away from your destruction. Where is now the persons you have lied to with your games? Where are the races of people you have trick with your ornaments? Indeed they are those wasted in graves as fillers for burial holes!
By Allah, if you, O the world is a visible human being with heart and feelings,verily I would hand down punishments on you in return for all the servants you have misled with empty dreams. Or the races you have led down to destruction. Or kings you have driven to ruin and those you sent into centres of calamity and difficulty without opportunity to return.Verily whoever set his foot on your path would slip. Whoever sails in your ocean will capsize. As for those who run away from your tightening ropes they would surely succeed. And those who are secure from you would not care how small are their homes. To them the world is only a day almost over.
I swear by Allah, except when He requires something else, really I will train my desire with the most heavy training until it could be happy when it succeeded in seeing a piece of bread for food, and feel content with a pinch of salt to accompany the food. And I will make my eyes dry out of water just like water fountains whose source have receeded.
Blessed are every soul who has performed duty to his God, and be patient in his suffering. Rejecting his closing eyes at night, such that when drowsiness overtook him, he makes the bare ground as place to lie down and hand as pillow. (He) Feels at ease in the middle of a group of servants of Allah who are constantly awake at night because of anxiety thinking about the place they will return to. Their bodies are far away from bed, their lips always moving chanting the name of God, until their sins disappeared because of the continous admission of guilt... ... .. They are the Hisbullah (fighters of Allah), and verily the Hisbullah are people who attain success ...(Surah 58:22). Fear Allah, O ibn Hunaif, make yourself enough with a few pieces of bread so that you would be saved from the envelopes of hell-fire! (Pearls from Nahjul Balagah: Muhammad al-Baqir; articles :95-96)
The life of Imam Ali is the live of a Zuhud (those who lead simple lives) who knows God, not Zuhud because he is forced or Zuhud because he has despaired. Ali reminds us all: "Do not any of you hope for other than pleasure of Allah Almighty and do not fear except in making sin ...". He also reminded: "Whoever is good inside, Allahwould make him good outside." "Patience is courage ... ..." "Avoid matters which could lead to sadness with strength of patience and good confidence. "You should always fear Allahwith the sense of piety of an intelligent man, and his heart always busy thinking. Have piety like the piety of people who when they hear the truth they bow down their heads, when having made a mistake they admitted, when they feel afraid it is because of lack of good deed, and when they have realised an error, they immediately repented.
Imam Ali was the most diligent person in worship. There was a thick skin on his forehead which is blackish showing how much he has prostrated day and night. His nights are used to perform many many Sunnah (non-obligatory or superogatory) prayers, drawing himself closer to Allahwith humility and utmost concentration. It is such diligence which made Imam Ali the noble person he is with such gentle disposition and character.
Ready to sacrifice anything in the way of Allah
Given the rampant threats of enemies, Abu Talib (father of Imam Ali bin Abi Talib) often feared for the security of the Prophet SAW. Thus he always reminded his son Ali to always accompany the Prophet SAW especially in crisis. Therefore, to avoid abduction or murder that may be suddenly be conducted at night, Abu Talib directed his son Ali to sleep on the bed of Rasulullah. In line with his father's directive before he died, Imam Ali bin Abi Talib, especially on the night of Hijra volunteered to sleep on Rasulullah's bed.
There are many words of advice left by 'Ali bin Abi Talib. Among them were:"Whoever improves his inner self, Allah will improve his outside. Whoever did actions for the good of religion, Allah will facilitate his world affairs. Whoever maintains relationship with Allah, Allah will facilitate his dealings with other people. "
IMAM HASSAN BIN ALI
Prophet SAW often said: "Hassan and Hussein are my children ". In the Quran Allah says:
فمن حاجك فيه من بعد ما جاءك من العلم فقل تعالوا ندع أبناءنا و أبناءکم و نساءنا و نساءکم و أنفسنا و أنفسکم ثم نبتهل فنجعل لعنت الله على الکذبين
(آل عمران: 61)
Which means: " Whoever rebutted you concerning the story of Jesus after the coming of knowledge (which gives confidence), say (to him): "Let us summon our children and your children, our wives and your wives, ourselves and yourselves, then let us plead to Allah and we ask that the curse of Allah falls on those who lie."" (Ali Imran: 61)
Such is the closeness of Hassan and Hussein to Rasulullah. Since he was born until the age of 7 years, Hassan was loved and nurtured by Rasulullah SAW until he became known as a friendly, intelligent, generous, intrepid, and knowledgeable person who knows about the contents of each revelation.
In terms of diligence in worship, he is known as a person who always prostrate and very absorbed in his prayers. When he takes abolution fear began to overtake and in prayers his cheeks are wet with tears and face becoming pale for fear of God.
In his compassion he is known as a person who is never shy to sit with beggars and street bums who asked him about religious problems. Many words of wisdom he left behind, among it, when Sayyidina Hassan bin Ali was asked about the meaning of beneficence he said "Goodness is in giving before being requested, and this is never followed by reminding of one's own deeds. Arrogance causes the ruin of religion, and because of it Iblis (Lucifer the devil) was cursed. Greed is the enemy of self, and because of it Adam was thrown out of paradise. Jealousy is the center of badness, as because of it Qabil (Cain) killed Habil (Abel). "
IMAM HUSSEIN BIN ALI
Symbol of heroism
In the midst of the happiness and harmonious family of Fatimah Az-Zahra was born a baby who will fight for the continuation of Rasulullah's mission. Thus came Hussein bin Ali bin Abi Talib who was born on Thursday 5th Sha'ban in the year 4 H and died a martyr at the field of Karbala on 10 Muharram 61 H.
Said Al-Imam Al-Akbar Dr.Abdul Syekhul Halim Mahmud Azhar: "Indeed, the bloodline of Saidina Hussein was almost cut off if not for bounty of Allah. It was this bounty of Allah which maintained him having descendants. Among them there is fragrance of Rasulullah, among them also there are people who are generous in character, couragous, and with hearts full of faith and spirit who always look up, not made busy by the world and all its ornaments which make one wants to remain in this world and follow their desire. Never indeed never, verily their selves are decorated with examples of high conduct which is permanent along with heroism in its best shape along with truth, wherever they are. Verily their selves are like those who help people fight in the way of goodness, that is the way of Allah. "
Verily Sayyidina Hussein has stepped into a battle against people of untruth and found his martyrdom. The battle of Karbala has shed so much blood of people who fought alongside him and the rest were captured. Many of his family members died as heroes and heroins in order to uphold truth and fight against tyranny.
WORDS OF WISDOM FROM SAYYIDINA HUSSEIN BIN ALI
"Suppose the world is still considered valuable, isn't the hereafter far more valuable and honorable? In case our lot has been allocated based on destiny, then leave behind gluttonous feeling for the world. In case the property we amassed would be left behind, why be stingy on goods which will be left behind? Some people worship Allah to make profit, thus their worship is that of a merchant. Some people worship Allah for fear Him, then that is the worship of kids. Some worship Allah because of thanks for His favours, and that is the worship of the free. That is the best of worship. "
OK. Recently I did some voluntary translations for a certain person. So let me share it here starting with this...
By Habib Hassan bin Mohammad Al-Attas
Muqaddimah
Talking about Tariqat, then it cannot be separated from Tasawwuf as Tariqat is one of the branches in the world of Tasawwuf. Tassawwuf is essentially the shaping of self and character. It is a method to curtail and erase unsavory desires in order to achieve a clean mind and self.
Next, in order to get close to AllahAlmighty, it is not uncommon for a Sufi, a Tasawwuf practioner to leave all the trappings of worldly, in fact family and society to be alone and go out on travels. In such exiles, a Sufi increases his remembrance of Allahand prayers including the non-obligatory Sunnah prayers. Here is the juncture were Sufis often got trapped in Bida'ah (innovations), practising rituals which were never done by Rasulullah SAW and his companions. That is when they sometimes practice elements that should not be included in the first place.
At times a Sufi reaches a certain Maqom or spiritual level where they feel superior to others. He thinks his ritual practice is most perfect and do not want to join the congregation of other human beings anymore. Some stopped doing the obligatory prayers thinking they have become very close to God. They thought they have been 'integrated ' in the existence of God, a state often associated with a spiritual concept called the Wahdatul Wujud, the oneness of all existence.
Refer back to the history of the Rasulullah SAW and his companions and we should be able to realise that the education, teaching and role model provided by Rasulullah is the best. The messenger of Allah and his companions never saw the world as a place of shame but rather a land or farm to be utilised to make profit for use in this world and the hereafter. Worship should be understood in its broad meaning, not just rituals like prayers and fasting. It also covers social aspects, like working to seek lawful means to support a family, seeking of knowledge to educate young people and one's offsprings. Worship in its broadest sense is the main purpose for the creation of mankind, also jins, the invisible beings. This is embodied in Allah's decree in the Quran : "Verily I did not create the jinns and mankind except to worship Me." (Al-Zariat: 56)
Ritual prayers are usually conducted in about five or ten minutes only per go, day and night five times making a total of 5 x 10 minutes equals 50 minutes or so. On the other hand the obligatory fast of Ramadhan is performed only during daytime in the month of Ramadhan. So how about worship during the rest of the day and night within 24 hours in one year?
Islam is perfect, Islam covers all aspects of human life. If we look at the Qur'an and Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him), it should be clear to us that AllahAlmighty reminds us not to forget our destiny in this world. The Muslim Ummah is a people of distinction. The Qur'an teaches us to find happiness both in this world and the hereafter.
Like the flow of a river, the world must be experienced and gone through without getting washed away by its swift currents. Pure happiness does not lie in amassing property or money in the millions, having vehicles or luxury home but rather in clean hearts which are always close to God. Once again this does not mean we should run and leave the world to be alone forsaking our responsibility to our families and communities. This is not the right practice whatmore if the ritual and remembrance is not based on the Quran and Sunnah of the Prophet.
One day Rasulullah SAW heard three companions giving their opinions and daily resolutions. The first said to another : "I will continue to pray at night without sleep." The second then said: "I will fast every day during the year. " The third said:"I will stay away from women and not be married ever."
Hearing the discussion Rasulullah SAW approached them and said: "By Allah, I am the person who most fear and full of piety for God, but yet I do not practice worship the way you have mentioned earlier. I also fasted, but not continuous, sometimes I do not fast. I also pray at night, but not before getting some sleep. I also got married. That is my Sunnah and whoever hates my Sunnah is not included as my people."" (Hadith narrated by Bukhari and Muslim).
From the advice of the Prophet SAW , we should understand that a Muslim should view this world with balance as to live happily here and also find happiness in the hereafter. A Muslim must make living in this world as means to find better life in the hereafter. The Quran and Sunnah of the Prophet SAW have shown that the Ummah of Islam under the leadership of the Prophet are the best of mankind, distinguished in all fields bringing benefits to everyone. Rasulullah SAW has successfully made the Ummah strong in all areas, physical and spiritual.
Although the number of Muslims when he started preaching was very low, in a short time (23 years) the Prophet managed to gather enough to match other Ummahs or groups of people. Their piety and faith in Allah Almighty was so strong that they found courage to sacrifice their personal interests in order to uphold the order of Allah. Everyone of them loves the Prophet more than they love their own selves. Therefore, Muslims have the strength to defeat enemies in all fields making them role models for mankind. Indeed Muslims are the best Ummah.
We live in this world only temporarily, just like a traveller in transit. Therefore we must be careful in our actions so as not to do anything that will harm ourselves in the long run. We must realise that we are not going to be here long as we will have to return to our actual home in the hereafter. A traveler must provide enough for his next trip and not get burdened by unnecessary supplies. A man of Allah should realise the temporary nature of the world. Therefore, we should use this world to get provisions in preparation for the afterlife.
Rasulullah SAW taught his Ummah not to be dazzled by the beauty of the world. Instead we are taught to live simple but full of blessings. Blessings come when a person is always honest, accepting and content of the sustenance he received. Happiness lies not in the abundance of property but in the property being blessed. That is why Allah asked the Prophet to convey this to his family: "O Prophet, say to your wives: If you want the glitter of this worldy life and its ornaments then come and I will grant your wish, (but) I will divorce you in a nice way. But if you desire Allah and His Messenger and the abode of the hereafter, verily Allah has prepared great rewards for those who do good amongst you." (Al-Ahzab: 29)
The Tariqat of Ahlul Bait:
The Tariqat or spiritual way of the Ahlul-Bait is a way to leave desire and self-interest as to conform to the will of Allah based on the Quran and Sunnah of the Prophet SAW. So what is commanded by Allah and His messenger is the guide for this Tariqat. At times we should isolate ourselves to reflect on the greatness of God, read the Quran, do more Sunnat prayers and the Ratib (recite selected verses of the Qur'an) aside from Wirids (Zikir or remembrance, Do 'a or supplication and invocation of the names of God).
In the Ahlul Bait Tariqat we are obligated to seek knowledge that is useful, do good deeds and praiseworthy things, ask Allahfor forgiveness and extend our Sunnat prayers, Ratib et cetera. We only fear the wrath of God, we strive to be Wara' (leave all suspicious or doubtful things and practices). At times we fight in the way of Allah for justice and truth against all forms of tyranny and defend the downtrodden. Sometimes we seek lawful means to provide for the family while preaching and spreading Islam to the world. These we do with sincerity and noble intentions. This is the Tariqat of Ahlul Bait.
Meaning of Ahlul-Bait
Ahlul Bait are Rasulullah SAW's closest family members. Allah has said:
إنما يريد الله ليذهب عنكم الرجز أهل البيت ويطهركم تطهيرا
(الأحزاب: 33)
Which means: "Surely Allah intends to remove sin from you, O Ahlul Bait, and purify you thoroughly. "(Al-Ahzab: 33).
This verse was revealed to Rasulullah SAW while he was at the house of Umm Salamah (one of his wives). Then Rasulullah SAW called Al-Hassan, Al-Hussein (the Prophet's beloved grandsons) and Azzahra Fatimah (the Prophet's beloved daughter) and asked them to sit in front of him. Next he called 'Ali bin Abi Talib (the Prophet's son in-law and son to his uncle) and asked him to sit behind. Then Rasulullah SAW covered himself and everyone with the Kisa '(a kind of big and thick blanket) and said: "O Allah, they are my Ahlul Bait, so get rid of filth from them and purify them as could be purified thoroughly."
That is when Umm Salamah also tried to enter the blanket, yet the Prophet prohibited her and said:"Surely you also are in goodness" (This he repeated three times).
This recollection of event known as the Hadith Kisa ' came from Muhammad bin Sulaiman Al-Asybahani who received it from Yahya bin Ubaid Al-Makki who in turn received from Atha bin Abi Rabbah. It was the later who said "Umar bin Abi Salamah (Rasulullah's stepchild) has said that: 'When verse 33 of Surah al-Ahzab was revealed to the Prophet he was at the house of Umm Salamah and he said what have been mentioned (above).'"
Many Hadith interpreters and historians believed the content of this verse was directed at Fatima binti Muhammad (SAW), her husband and their two children. This view was stated by Imam al-Wahidi in his book Nuzul Asbabun under article number 239, Imam al-Qurtubi in his Hadith interpretation volume 14 article 183, Sahib al-Dur al-Juz in his interpretation Manthur volume 5, articles 454-455 and Imam Muslim in his Sahih (collection of authentic Hadiths) volume 15 article 195.
So who is Fatimah? Fatima Azzahra is Rasulullah's favorite daughter, the wife of a leader and mother of martyrs. Her mother Khadijah binti Khuwailid was Mother of the Believers, a good obedient wife, patient and wise. Khadijah was always at the side of Rasulullah to provide support and ease his burden. She gave whatever she owned to him whenever it was needed. And when the angel Jibril (Gabriel) revealed God's message to the Prophet at the Cave of Hira ', he returned to her telling what had happened...
"Cover me (with blanket)!" He was immediately covered, his body shivering like a man with fevre because of the great revelation received at the Cave of Hira '. The Prophet said to his wife Khadijah: "Why me?". Then he told her what had transpired at the cave.
Khadijah heard his story with utmost concentration and immediately gave thoughtful opinions to ease his burden. He told Rasulullah SAW: "Allah preserve us, O Abu Qassim! Be happy and resolute! By the self of Khadijah who is controlled by Him (God), I hope that you become the Prophet of this Ummah. By Allah! He will not disappoint you forever. Surely you are a person who connects brotherhood, (always) telling the truth, bear burdens, (likes to) honor guests and help those in distress. "
Fatimah's husband is Imam Ali bin Abi Talib RA to whom the Prophet has addressed thus: "Are you not satisfied with your position besides me which is like the position of Harun (Aaron) besides Musa Moses), it is just there are no more Prophets after me."
Hassan and Hussein are the two young men of Paradise of which the Prophet has described as follows: "The two are my sons and the sons of my daughter. O Allah, my Lord! I love both of them thus do love them and love those who love them."
Rasullah SAW also said: "All children are born to their mother, associated to their father, except for the children of Fatimah, I am their guardian, I am their ancestor and I am their father."(Hadith narrated by Imam Ahmad in his book Assyuyuti "Jami'il Al-Kabir)"
Most famous Tariqats have founders who are descendants of Ahlul Bait. For example:
• Al-BaAlawi Tariqat's founder is Al-Sayyid Muhammad Al-Faqih Muqaddam Ba Alawi bin Ali Al-Husseini.
• Tariqat Qadiriyah Assayyid founder, Sheikh Abdul Qadir Al-Jailani
• Tariqat Naqsyabandi founder Al-Sayyid Ash-Sheikh Bahauddin Naqsyabandi.
• Ahmadiyah Tariqat Idrisid Assayyid founder Sheikh Ahmad Al-bi Idris al-Hassani.
• Tariqat Syadziliyyah founder Al-Sayyid Al-Sheikh Abu Hassan Ash-Syazuli
Their teachings were mostly transmitted through the eminent religious master Imam Ja'far Al-Shiddiq, all having origins from the the practices of Imam Ali bin Abi Talib, except Tariqah Naqsyabandiah which came from the companion Abu Bakr Assidiq.
34. The limest

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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text:
Q: Python - Pandas : Select rows if a column contains a value in a list I've a dataframe from a CSV file which contains a column named Qualities.
This column can contain a simple letter or a list with many letters combined. My goal is to extract rows which have at least one value (extracted from an array) in a new dataframe.
I've made this code :
dataframe = pd.read_csv(os.path.join("data", '2019-2020.csv'), sep=",", dtype=columns_types, usecols=columns_to_use, converters={"Qualities": lambda x: x.strip("[]").replace("'","").split(", ")})
search_values = ['A', 'B', 'C', 'AM', 'AMC', 'BM']
mask = dataframe['Qualities'].apply(lambda x: any(item for item in search_values if item in x))

players_df = dataframe[mask]

So, I'm getting some results, which are good, but if the column contains ['A', 'Z'], row is not selected.
And I don't know how to change my lambda function to get this like I want. I know I have to explode the list but I don't know how to do this in the lambda function.
Here is an example if I do a print(dataframe['Qualities']). Could it be a malformation when I use converters params in read_csv?

Can anyone help me please ?

A: I guess your code will give you what you want if you change this part:
mask = dataframe['Qualities'].apply(lambda x: any(item for item in search_values if item in x[0].split(",")))

The thing is that in column "Qualities" you have for example one string value "AF1,DC4" instead of two values "AF1" and "DC4".
Another way to split it is change your converters argument in read_csv as Serge Ballesta points out in his comment.
You have:
converters={"Qualities": lambda x: x.strip("[]").replace("'","").split(", ")}

and it seems that the right way is:
converters={"Qualities": lambda x: x.strip("[]").replace("'","").split(",")}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


FORT BENNING, Georgia (Oct. 18, 2017) – This past week, I had the opportunity to talk to a room of Soldiers and Department of the Army civilians during a midweek devotional time, and we talked about the "hidden arthritic areas" of our lives – the area that causes us pain no matter what we do, the soreness that won't end and causes all our inner worst attitudes and moods. It's different for everyone, and it has varying degrees of discomfort, pain and, in some instances, great suffering and turmoil.
The reason why I called this our "hidden arthritic area" is that most of us have a form of progressing or developing arthritis and we ignore it. Let's face it, it's true and we can't do anything about it. And so we pop pain pills, and while sitting on the couch or in a chair, we rub and rub our sore areas, ignoring the fact that there's some real wear and tear going on that we need to start addressing differently.
Like most common forms of arthritis, it's going to happen. It won't ruin our lives, but it does get uncomfortable. It is also not untreatable, although we live on as if it was.
As the group began to reflect, share and encourage one another, everyone started to delve into some deeper reflection, which led to a new self-awareness, and it suddenly gave everyone hope. They were hopeful because they knew there was something that could be done about it, but they needed to admit what was causing the pain and not just dwell on the pain. For many of them it was money. For others it was loneliness, and others an issue of forgiveness.
Many of us are living with chronic pain in our hearts, minds and souls, as well as our bodies. We seem to be addicted to the pain because we live out our lives dwelling on the pain, wanting it to stop but refusing to diagnose and treat the cause of that pain. We also keep it secret, hiding it from others, all the while the agony and the burden of it telegraphs through us, in spite of all efforts to hide it.
Psalm 147:3-5 says, "He (God) heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds. He counts the stars and names each one. Our Lord is great and very powerful. There is no limit to what he knows." What we ought to remind ourselves is that what is ultimately broken is known to the one who created you and called you to a greater purpose. We were never promised immunity from pain. In fact we were actually promised that we would experience them! But we were also promised that God, in all grace, mercy and compassion, would never forsake us and give us his all-surpassing peace and comfort.
Before the sun sets on another day, I hope that we will all take a moment, and whether we're rubbing our knees, our lower backs, hands and feet from all of our developing arthritic areas, I hope you'll also take a moment and think about how your life may be as sore as or more painful than your joints. The reality is, for some of us, our joints may need to be replaced someday. The good news is the hidden arthritic areas of life can actually be rebuilt and made to feel brand new again – no surgery required. This happens when we face the all too uncomfortable practice of facing the truth of what we're unwilling to admit.
Whatever is at the root of your hurt, be encouraged and know that there is a God who knows, who cares, who is available and who will heal and restore. And also know that just as the members of that group discovered, there just might be someone else going through the same thing as you. That they needed someone who also knows, cares and is available because they were looking for the same.
Whatever is your hidden cause of pain, your "hidden arthritic area," please don't suffer alone. Reach out, seek the presence of someone you trust. Know that there are those who also know, care and are available to help you find the restoration and healing you need. Because to all of us and our loved ones, all our lives are irreplaceable.


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School Effectiveness in China
by Pai Peng
This book is a valuable attempt to address the issue of school effectiveness in mainland China. The author applies multi-level modeling and longitudinal student achievement and survey data to evaluate school effectiveness. In the first study, the author analyzes the effects of school resources and classroom processes on student achievement. He also investigates the size of school effects, and the differential school effects for different groups of students. The other… (more)
This book is a valuable attempt to address the issue of school effectiveness in mainland China. The author applies multi-level modeling and longitudinal student achievement and survey data to evaluate school effectiveness. In the first study, the author analyzes the effects of school resources and classroom processes on student achievement. He also investigates the size of school effects, and the differential school effects for different groups of students. The other two empirical studies focus on the value-added evaluation of academic performance in schools, including consistency, stability and robustness of value-added results. The author also discusses the policy implications of these empirical findings in the Chinese school system.
Non-Fiction Education and Study aids Pedagogy Higher and Secondary Business & economics Economic History Economics Theory Essays
Publisher: Peter Lang GmbH, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften (May 05, 2014)
Education and Study aids >
Higher and Secondary


I've been using netvibes on and off since 2006 and one of the first suggestions at the time was to increase the font size. Lo and behold in the year 2014 they still haven't added this feature.
Agreed. I can't use this until this can change. Maybe 10 years ago.
It is very important to setup font sizes when feeds are updated with 24 hours delay!!
Please folks vote " Delay" idea.
Just joined netvibes after google shot himself in the foot once again. Netvibes is great, but almost only 1 week of use, the font size issue its very clear. Please allow the option for font size increase on the feed options.
Still looking for a replacement for IGoogle. I've set up homepages in IgHome, Netvibes, and Protopage. Last night Netvibes was in the lead, but today I discovered how to increase the font size and change background in IgHome which is now the lead candidate. Netvibes, let me chose my font size, and you'd be my choice, but without that choice, I choose IgHome.
holy mackerel - not having the option to change font size is a royal pain. I can hardly read the dashboard.
Looking for iGoogle alternatives Netvibes seems a good candidate. However not being able to set font-size is a dealbreaker. This should be a widget option.
Netvibes is a good service, but i dont get how they dont see that important issue.
Usability is one of the most important things on websites.
You should be able to set Font Type, Font Size and Font Color for users on larger screens.
Yes, we could increase the base font size on wider screens.
please do try to be reactive on this topic, which is essential for a good user experience.
Your is igoogle replacement is better than I could have hoped for but it is not useable.
On a 24" 1920x1200 monitor the text displays at about 7pt.
Afraid I'll be using igHome - not as clean but at least it's readable .
From searching around, this is a common complaint about Netvibes, for years now. I'm very surprised this hasn't been addressed already.


text:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;

namespace Ffb
{
    internal class SquareEffect : IEffectType
    {
        private readonly ICalculationProvider _calculationProvider;
        private readonly IReportDescriptorProperties _reportDescriptorProperties;

        public SquareEffect(ICalculationProvider calculationProvider, IReportDescriptorProperties reportDescriptorProperties)
        {
            _calculationProvider = calculationProvider;
            _reportDescriptorProperties = reportDescriptorProperties;
        }

        public List<double> GetForce(JOYSTICK_INPUT joystickInput, Dictionary<string, object> structDictonary, double elapsedTime)
        {
            SET_EFFECT eff = (SET_EFFECT)structDictonary["SET_EFFECT"];
            PERIOD periodic = (PERIOD)structDictonary["PERIOD"];
            ENVELOPE env = (ENVELOPE)structDictonary["ENVELOPE"];

            List<double> forces = new List<double>();
            double offset = periodic.offset;
            double magnitude = periodic.magnitude;
            double phase = periodic.phase;
            double period = periodic.period;

            magnitude = _calculationProvider.ApplyGain(magnitude, eff.gain);

            double max = offset + magnitude;
            double min = offset - magnitude;
            double phasetime = (phase * period) / _reportDescriptorProperties.MAX_PHASE;
            double time = elapsedTime + phasetime;
            double reminder = time % period;
            double tempforce = 0;
            if (reminder > (period / 2)) tempforce = min;
            else tempforce = max;

            double envelope = _calculationProvider.ApplyGain(_calculationProvider.GetEnvelope(env, elapsedTime, eff.duration), eff.gain);

            List<double> directions = _calculationProvider.GetDirection(eff);
            foreach (var direction in directions)
            {
                forces.Add(tempforce * envelope * direction);
            }
            return forces;
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Let FASTSIGNS® of Herndon, VA personalize your vehicle or fleet of vehicles with company information, branding or attention-getting images.
courteous, quick turnaround, responsive to emails. Good work!
Great service and always easy to do business with you folks.
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text:
Sweet Sugar is a 1972 women in prison exploitation film directed by Michel Levesque and starring Phyllis Davis. It is about a woman sentenced to work on a chain gang.

Plot
Sugar Bowman agrees to serve two years working on a sugar-cane plantation rather than go to jail on a trumped-up drug charge. She arrives with new inmate Simone and encounters brutal guard Burgos and a maniacal plantation owner known only as Dr. John.

Along with using a machete in the field to cut cane sugar all day, Sugar and the other inmates are forced to undergo Dr. John's medical experiments, who is testing drugs. He also rapes the 17-year-old prisoner, Dolores. After being caught in an intimate situation with Carlos, a guard, Sugar is to be whipped, but when Carlos refuses, he is shot by Burgos.

The female inmates attempt to hide and protect Mojo, Simone's love interest who has vague voodoo powers, but the Burgos catches him and Dr. John burns him at the stake. After setting fire to the sugar cane fields and stealing guns and vehicles, Sugar, Simone, and Dolores team-up with two more guards to take Dr. John hostage and attempt to escape. While fleeing, Simone is shot and crashes her jeep with Dr. John. He maniacally claims to be immortal, to which she responds by shooting him and blowing up the jeep, killing them both and blocking the exit so the rest can escape in a truck. After ditching the two guards who helped her, the final shot is Sugar walking down a street in town with two men, apparently making good her escape.

Cast
Phyllis Davis as Sugar Bowman
Ella Edwards as Simone
Timothy Brown as Mojo
Pamela Collins as Dolores
Cliff Osmond as Burgos
Angus Duncan as Dr. John
Jackie Giroux as Fara Ramirez
Darl Severns as Carlos
Albert Cole as Max
James Houghton as Rick
James Whitworth as Mario

Reception
The film was given 1/4 stars by film critic Roger Ebert.

See also
 List of American films of 1972

References

External links

Sweet Sugar at TCMDB

1970s exploitation films
1972 films
Women in prison films
Dimension Pictures films
1970s English-language films
American exploitation films
American prison films
1970s American films

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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text:
Mohammed bin Rashid attends National Defence College graduation
Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum attended the graduation ceremony of the 6th patch of the National Defence College in Abu Dhabi.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Lt. General His Highness Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of tolerance His Highness Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of the Federal Supreme Council His Excellency Ahmed Juma Al Zaabi, Minister of State for Defence Affairs Mohammed bin Ahmed Al Bawardi and Chief of Staff of the UAE Armed Forces Lt. General Hamad Mohammed Thani Al Rumaithi, Minister of Infrastructure Development Dr. Abdullah bin Mohammed Belhaif Al Nuaimi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Higher Education and Advanced Skills Dr. Ahmad bin Abdullah Humaid Belhoul Al Falasi and Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior Lt-General Saif Abdullah Al Shafar attended the ceremony.
Page last updated on June 12, 2019


text:
Search for articles and photos
STORIES OF RESCUE
Home  Righteous without Borders. Acting for the sake of dignity and human rights
Righteous without Borders. Acting for the sake of dignity and human rights
We invite you to view our virtual exhibition, "Righteous without Borders", dedicated to people and organisations which act for human rights and dignity. The exhibition was created in cooperation with the History Meeting House in Warsaw.
Who are the Righteous?
Righteous are amongst us. Those who are not indifferent provide aid to those in need. In light of wars, crime or terror, they defend human rights and dignity. They cross borders, creating a community of values. Always – then and now.
Our exhibition will acquaint you with the Righteous around the globe. We have selected and described people and organisations which have refused to feel helpless and have taken the initiative. Their stories – told through quotes and photographs – are linked by perseverance to act for the sake of others and for the world.
The concept of "Righteous" refers to the title of "Righteous Among the Nations" awarded by the Yad Vashem Institute, since 1963, to those who rescued Jews during the Holocaust. In a broader sense, the Righteous are, apart from those who saved Jews, those who, in various countries and moments in history, risked their lives and freedom in defence of human dignity and human rights.
The Exhibition's Thirty Four Heroes
The heroes of the exhibition have been honoured in the Garden of the Righteous in the Warsaw Wola district, a commemorative site established in 2014. Among them are Righteous Among the Nations honoured by the Yad Vashem Institute, heroes from the period of the Holocaust, e.g. Jan Karski and Władysław Bartoszewski, as well as others who took action at other times in various places around the world, e.g. Nelson Mandela, Antonia Locatelli and Rosa Parks.
In the exhibition, we also draw attention to today's Righteous who face the effects of the ongoing civil war in Syria and who are concerned over the fate of the refugees. Amongst these individuals and organisations are, for example, the White Helmets volunteer civil defence organization who rescue victims of bombing in Syria, as well as Pietro Bartolo who provides medical help to the refugees from Africa and on the island of Lampedusa.
Be active, be helpful
Each of us can become a Righteous. Our exhibition presents selected organisations which aid victims of war, conflicts and persecution. You can also get involved!
Other exhibitions about the Righteous
We encourage you to view our virtual exhibitions, inluding the newest one dedicated to Irena Sendler. It was created in cooperation with Google Arts & Culture Institute on the occasion of 110th anniversary of Irena Sendler's birthday.
It is human being that matters! Irena Sendler. Our exhibition on Google Arts & Culture plaftorm »
They Risked their Lives. Poles who Saved Jews during the Holocaust »
To Mummy as a Keepsake. Jewish Children Rescued from the Holocaust »
Polish Artists Rescuing Jews »
"Righteous without Borders. Acting for the Sake of Dignity and Human Rights" online exhibition was created by POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in partnership with the History Meeting House.
Authors: Karolina Dzięciołowska (texts, concept), Klara Jackl / POLIN Museum (co-ordinator, concept) in conjunction with Artkolektyw
Assistants coordinators: Michał Horbulewicz, Mateusz Szczepaniak / POLIN Museum
Consultants: Dr Krzysztof Persak, Adam Dylewski, Małgorzata Waszczuk, Kamila Radecka-Mikulicz / POLIN Museum, Anna Ziarkowska / History Meeting House
English translation: Zofia Sochańska / POLIN Museum
Exhibition partner: History Meeting House
POLIN Museum in your home »
Individuals honoured in the Garden of the Righteous in 2019 »
Righteous without Borders exhibition on display in Kenya and Rwanda »
POLIN Museum of the History
of Polish Jews
6 Anielewicza Street,
Virtual Shtetl
Date of the photo:
Location at the photo:
Photo description:


text:
How are Indian Households Coping Under the COVID-19 Lockdown? Eight Key Findings
HomeRustandy CenterRustandy StoriesHow are Indian Households Coping Under the COVID-19 Lockdown? Eight Key Findings
By Marianne Bertrand, Kaushik Krishnan, and Heather Schofield
Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation
Overview. COVID-19 was first detected in India in late January. The spread of the epidemic and the economic lockdown enacted in response have impacted the daily lives of nearly all Indians. Yet, tracking the economic impacts of the disease and resulting policies has been difficult due to a lack of comprehensive and representative data.
In this piece, we begin to address this gap using data from a nationally representative survey of Indian households by the Center for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). We examine how incomes have changed since the epidemic began, how households are able to cope with their current economic circumstances, and how this varies across key socio-demographic characteristics, including pre-lockdown household income, place of residence, and religion.
We find a sharp and broad negative impact on household income — with nearly 84 percent of Indian households reporting decreases in income since the lockdown. Further, households have limited ability to cope with the current economic climate — only 66 percent of households report currently having the resources to go on for more than another week before facing distress.
Background on India's Lockdown. Following a one-day curfew popularly known as the "Janta Curfew" on March, 22, 2020, the Government of India ordered a 21-day national lockdown to fight the spread of COVID-19 on March 24, 2020. The lockdown was first extended on April 14, and again on May 1, and is currently due to expire on May 17. Some states have already begun to extend the lockdown further into the end of May. During this time, most of India's 1.3 billion residents have been required to stop working and shelter indoors, with only a few exceptions.[1]
Data. We analyze data collected by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) as part of its Consumer Pyramids Household Survey (CPHS). CPHS is a panel survey that usually surveys approximately 175,000 households across India every four months. CPHS has continued to run through the lockdown with roughly 45 percent of its usual sample. CMIE fielded two short-term questions to all surveyed respondents in the CPHS between April 18, 2020 and April 30, 2020. In total, 5,779 households were surveyed across 27 Indian states.[2]
The questions asked were:[3]
Has the lockdown caused a fall in household income?[4]
For how long can your household continue without borrowing or getting any help in cash or kind from anyone?[5]
We link answers to these questions to CPHS data on various characteristics of the households, including: per-capita household income [6], state, urban versus rural status, and the household religion. Importantly, we use monthly pre-lockdown per-capita household income to bin households into income quintiles.
Finding #1: 84 percent of Indian households have lost income due to the lockdown
Across India, 84 percent of households reported a fall in income due to the lockdown. This fall in income is consistent with the sharp increase in unemployment and the sharp decrease in labour force participation that has been recorded in the CPHS data immediately after the lockdown went into effect, as seen in Figure 1. The unemployment rate reached 25.5 percent on May 5, from a base of 7.4 percent on March 21. The labour force participation rate dropped by 6.6 percentage points in the same period.
Finding #2: Households in the second and third quintiles of the income distribution are most severely affected
As shown in Figure 2, more than 90 percent of households in the second- and third-income quintiles pre-lockdown have experienced declines in income during the lockdown. While still exceptionally high, only about 85 percent of the lowest quintile and 66 percent of the highest quintile of households have experienced a fall in income compared to 93 percent in the remaining households with monthly per-capita incomes ranging between Rs. 3,801 and Rs. 12,374. The slightly lower rates of decline among the lowest income quintile are unusual, but the smaller impacts among better off households mirror what has been observed in other countries.
The disproportionate impact on households in the middle of the income distribution may partly be due to the fact that these households are most likely to be dependent on sources of income which are hit due to the lockdown. The households in the highest quintile are more likely to have stable salaried jobs, with the ability to work from home and continue to earn a living. Households in the lowest quintile may be more heavily concentrated in occupations that have continued despite the lockdown (e.g. agriculture, food vendors) or have benefited from targeted transfer programs. In contrast, the remaining households appear to be exposed to substantial job losses that have not been buffered by additional transfers.
Finding #3: Rural households have been hit hardest
Rural households have been disproportionately negatively impacted. Some 88 percent of rural households report a fall in income under the lockdown, compared to 75 percent of urban households. This pattern is driven both by exceptionally high losses among the middle three quintiles of rural households as well as relatively higher losses among the highest income quintile among rural households.
Digging into the data further, Figure 3 suggests that the hump-shaped pattern seen in Figure 2 is driven by two distinct patterns. First, the protective effect found in the highest-income households is a predominately urban phenomenon. This data is consistent with the idea that salaried workers with the jobs where working from home is possible are relatively protected. In contrast, the highest earning quintile of rural households do not display nearly as much resilience, with 81 percent of rural high-earning households experiencing a decline in income.
Second, within the lowest income quintile, rural households appear to be driving the slight mitigation in declines. Declines in the lowest income quintile are still shockingly high at over 80 percent. However, they are still roughly 10 percentage points lower than the rate of declines among second quintile rural households. These differences may be due to occupational differences or transfers either by the state or through social networks—channels we are working to parse out in ongoing work with additional data.
Finding #4: Some states have been hit harder than others
In addition to variation in income declines by urbanicity, there is substantial variation in declines by state of residence. Figure 4 reports on the differential economic exposure to the lockdown across Indian states.[7] Among the states with sufficient data,[8] the five least affected states are Telangana, Puducherry, Karnataka, Punjab, and Delhi. The five most affected states are Tripura, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Haryana.
Notably, the declines in income do not strongly track the extent of the outbreak. Rather, income per-capita before the lockdown, lockdown severity, and the effectiveness of the delivery of aid are likely contributors. Further data is being analyzed to better understand the possible drivers of this geographic variation, including initial economic conditions in the state, agricultural production prior and during lockdown, severity of the implementation of the lockdown measures, and various measures of state capacity.
Finding #5: No large differences in declines in income by religion
The impact of the lockdown only varies modestly with a household's religion. As shown in Figure 5, similar shares of Hindus and Muslims are affected by the lockdown across income quintiles. While there appear to be slight differences in declines in the highest and lowest income households of other religions — when compared to Hindus and Muslims — this data is relatively sparse making it difficult to draw strong conclusions.
Finding #6: Many households won't survive much longer without additional assistance
Given the low baseline wealth of many households, a very large share of Indian households state that they will be unable to continue — even over relatively short periods — without additional assistance. Across India, 34 percent of all households report being able to survive for no more than one week without additional assistance.
To better understand a household's ability to operate without additional funds, we plot Figure 6. The grey line indicates what fraction of the population is unable to survive beyond the number of days indicated on the horizontal-axis. For example, only 30 percent of households are able to survive one month or more without additional assistance. Crucially, 14 percent of the sample is already out of funds and risks immediate and severe deprivation if they are unable to borrow or receive additional benefits. These figures suggest that the rapid distribution of in-kind or cash transfers is needed to prevent a sharp increase in malnutrition and severe deprivation. Such transfers will also likely promote a more robust recovery as the country is able to reopen.
Finding #7: Households lower in the income distribution are in more immediate need of additional resources
Not surprisingly, as shown in Figure 7, all except households in the highest income quintile face an extreme economic crunch, with nearly one-third of those in the lowest three income quintiles reporting being able to survive for no more than seven days without additional assistance. It is interesting to note again that households in the second and third income quintiles report greater difficulty than those in the very lowest one. In total, only 22 percent of this group anticipates being able to continue one month without additional assistance. These figures highlight the importance of state aid in keeping households going until economic activity picks up.[9]
Finding #8: The need for additional resources varies significantly with geography
The need for additional resources is also affected by where the household is located. As can be seen in Figure 8, on average, the urban poor have the least time before their resources are depleted.Of below median income households, [10] 65 percent of urban households have resources sufficient for no more than two weeks while 54 percent of rural households have resources sufficient for the same period of time. This pattern is reversed among households in the top half of the income distribution.
In addition to variation in need by urbanicity, there is significant variation in need by state of residence. Figure 9(a) shows, across Indian states, the proportion of households that can survive two weeks or less without cash or in-kind help. Figure 9(b) is the same, but considers a one-month time horizon. The five states with households in most urgent need for funds—based upon two week survival—are Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Meghalaya, Haryana, and Telangana are among the most resilient over a two-week period. However, taken together these figures highlight that the need for resources—such as sustained and broad base of transfers—is urgent as nearly all households will be unable to survive without transfers in the medium-run.
Check back to Rustandy's Coronavirus Social Impact Research page for the latest results. Read the press announcement.
Marianne Bertrand, Chris P. Dialynas Distinguished Service Professor of Economics,University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and Faculty Director, Chicago Booth's Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation and UChicago's Poverty Lab;Kaushik Krishnan, Chief Economist, Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE); and Heather Schofield, Assistant Professor, Perelman School of Medicine and The Wharton Schoolat the University of Pennsylvania. Emails: marianne.bertrand@chicagobooth.edu; kkrishnan@cmie.com; hschof@wharton.upenn.edu
We thank Shreya Agarwal, Gabriel Jardanovski, Devika Lakhote, and Feng Lin for excellent research assistance.
[1]Exceptions were granted to select government ministries and departments, commercial establishments such as ration shops (under Public Distribution System), essential telecommunication services and banks, units engaged in manufacturing and transportation of essential commodities, and other emergency services.
[2]CPHS is conducted across the country, except in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu. Some parts of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh are no longer surveyed due to concerns for CMIE staff safety. Ladakh is also not surveyed as it is not accessible year-round.
[3]The responses from this short-term survey will be available to subscribers of the CPHS data delivery service, CPdx.
[4]Potential answers to this question were"Yes"or"No".
[5]Potential answers to this question were "0 day", "1 day", "2 days,"3 days", "4 days", "5 days", "6 days", "1 week", "2weeks", "3 weeks", "1 month", "2 months", "3 months or more".
[6] Pre-lockdown income is measured by a household's total income in February, 2020. Per-capita income is computed as total household income / sqrt(household size). The computed quintiles correspond to Rs.0–Rs.3,801, Rs.3,801¬–Rs.5,914, Rs.5,914–Rs.8,142, Rs.8,142–Rs.12,374 and Rs.12,374–Rs.101,902 respectively. Care should be taken in attaching labels to these groups. For example, though the quintile ranging from Rs.5,914–Rs.8,142 is the middle quintile, it may be misleading to describe these households as middle-income or middle-class. Similarly the highest quintile starts at Rs.12,374 per-capita per-month, which again does map well to commonly held notions of what the "richest" households in India might be.
[7] Figures 4 and 9are made using shapefiles for India from Community Created Maps of India by Data{meet}. These shape files depictISO countries and not sovereign states. We do not claim these to be maps that accurately depict India's sovereign or internal political borders. Any queries or issues regarding these shape files should be directed to Data{meet}.
[8] Other than the regions that are not usually surveyed in CPHS(seenote 1 above), we have dropped states with less than 50 observations from our analysis when producing state-level statistics. While CPHS is representative at the state level, the operational constraints of surveying under a lockdown meant that some states were not adequately covered in the 13-day window for which the two survey questions ran. The states dropped areJammu and Kashmir(2),Goa(33)andSikkim (36)where the numbers in parentheses are the sample sizes for those states.
[9]CMIE is currently running a longer-run survey developed in partnership with Dvara Research Foundation and with inputs from the World Bank to measure the extent to which households are able to make use of state welfare benefits and analysis of this data will begin soon.
[10]Median household per-capita monthly income is Rs. 6,928.
Rustandy Center - Coronavirus Research


IT'S a competition with national appeal.
Brows were furrowed in concentration as six teams of bellringers went head to head at Selby Abbey as part of the National Twelve-Bell Striking Contest.
More mathematical than musical, instead of tunes the bells ring in orderly sequences that the ringers learn in terms of patterns and then ring from memory.
Each team had exactly 30 minutes to practice and then ring their test piece for the judges - and accuracy is key.
In the end it was Birmingham, which has won the competition more times than any other team, who made it through to the final, along with teams from St Paul's Cathedral and the Society of Royal Cumberland Youths.
Leeds also got through to the final for the Taylor Trophy, which will be held in Cambridge in June, after coming third in another eliminator round held on Saturday at Ossett Parish Church.
The judges make the final decision, which they can check with a computer system called the Strikeometer that analyses the sound from the bells and assesses the accuracy with which they are rung. Chief Judge Jenny Earis said: "Birmingham were the clear winners.
"They are a very professional team. Their ringing is very even and has a very strong structure and they ring at a very consistent speed, with very few inaccuracies.
While the ringing went on competitors and supporters were able to quench their thirst at a beer tent in the grounds of the Abbey, serving up real ale from Selby-based Jolly Sailor Brewery.
Campanology or change ringing began in England in the 17th century, and has been exported to the Commonwealth, United States, Canada, Australia and South Africa.
It means ringers can travel throughout the English-speaking world, to ring on English-style bells. But it is not generally found in Europe, apart from a small pocket in Verona, Italy.
These days it attracts all ages with many passing the hobby down to the younger generation. In Yorkshire a number of youngsters have formed their own group known as the Yorkshire Tykes.
There are over 7,000 churches in Great Britain which have a ringing peal of bells, of which only just over 130 have 12 bells. Selby Abbey was hosting the competition for the first time after it increased the number of bells from 10 to 12 in 1999 to celebrate the Millennium.


Haematuria is the technical term for blood in the urine. It is the presence of red blood cells in the urine.
· Microscopic. In microscopic haematuria, the urine appears normal to the naked eye, but examination of the urine under a light microscope shows the presence of red blood cells. The red cells are only visible under a microscope, and they represent only a small amount of blood in the urine.
· Macroscopic. Macroscopic haematuria, also known as 'gross or frank haematuria', is when the red blood cells are visible to the naked eye. They appear as spots of blood or blood clots in the toilet water or turning the water pink, bright red or reddish-brown.
Haemoglobin - only the red pigment, not the red blood cells.
Both microscopic and macroscopic haematuria are always abnormal and invariably require investigation. The only exception is during menstruation.
· 35% of patients with macroscopic haematuria will have an underlying tumour.
Johns Hopkins Medicine Health Alerts indicate that doctors can find no cause for haematuria in up to 10% of cases.
Urinary tract infection and traumatic injuries are the most common causes of haematuria.
Both gross haematuria and microscopic haematuria can be evaluated in a doctor's office.
Assessment must include taking a medical history and asking about recent food and drug intake, exercise and urological procedures. Specific features of the blood in the urine must be elicited including if there is any associated pain or irritation, whether blood appears at the beginning or at the end of the urine stream, how much blood is in the urine and if any blood clots are present. Of course, microscopic haematuria can only be diagnosed with microscopic examination of a urine sample. Genital and rectal examinations are also generally carried out (especially to look for prostate disease).
Doctors assume that painless, gross haematuria is the result of cancer until malignancy has been ruled out.
· Urinalysis. A quick test using a dipstick can be done in the surgery looking for the presence of blood or protein in a urine sample. In the laboratory, the urine sample is examined under the microscope to look for the presence of red blood cells (confirming haematuria), white blood cells (suggesting infection) and protein (due to kidney inflammation or glomerulonephritis).
· Urine culture. Urine is placed onto culture plates to see if bacteria grow (and to identify the type if present and the sensitivity to antibiotics). This is done to confirm whether a urinary tract infection is present and may be causing the haematuria.
· Cytology. This looks for the presence of cancer cells in the urine.
· Blood tests. These are carried out to check for signs of urinary tract infection, kidney failure, bleeding disorders etc.
· Radiology. A range of tests include an intravenous pyelogram or IVP (an x-ray of the urinary tract using contrast) and a CT (computerised tomography) scan. These can reveal a tumour, a kidney or bladder stone, an enlarged prostate or other blockage to the normal flow of urine.
· Cystoscopy. A flexible telescope is inserted through the urethra to view the bladder and the urethra. This test is usually done with local anaesthesia. Biopsies of any suspicious lesions seen may be taken during this procedure.
· Renal biopsy. Here, a sample of kidney tissue is taken for examination under the microscope.
Treatment of haematuria depends on the cause. If no serious condition is causing the haematuria, generally no treatment is necessary.
Treatment depends on the exact cause, and treating the identified cause should stop the bleeding. For instance, if certain medications are causing the bleeding, these may need to be changed. Infections of the urinary tract will be treated with antibiotics. Cancers need specialist care.
A Urologist is a specialist who looks after the bladder, prostate and urethra. If the bleeding originates from kidney disease for which surgery would not be corrective (medical renal disease), follow-up with a Nephrologist would be necessary.