Mohamed Siruhan

It grieves me to see how people these days, especially among the younger generation, are almost wholly preoccupied with negativity: through baseless arguments, gossip, and useless talk. Their time and energies are constantly being wasted on fruitless distractions that squander their potential, foster enmity, and make them unmindful of Allah’s remembrance. These habits are like an addiction. They are hard to shake off, and they are as effective as any intoxicant in making people speak and act contrary to good sense. I believe that the greatest way to repel such tendencies is to focus on Allah. This is not only a cure for negative thoughts and bigoted notions, but it provides relief for all the negativities, problems and worries of life. The remembrance of Allah calms and fortifies the soul. It cultivates fortitude and perseverance, moderates impatience, and repels depression and despair. Remembering Allah is also very easy. It is accessible to everyone. There are no prerequisites to ful...

Researchers find that a simple stroll among trees has real benefits. For stressed-out workers, this may someday be a doctor's prescription: Walk around in the woods. Scientists in Japan have been learning a lot in recent years about the relaxing effects of forests and trees on mental and physical health. Based on their findings, some local governments are promoting "forest therapy." Experience shows that the scents of trees, the sounds of brooks and the feel of sunshine through forest leaves can have a calming effect, and the conventional wisdom is right, said Yoshifumi Miyazaki, director of the Center for Environment Health and Field Sciences at Chiba University. Japan's leading scholar on forest medicine has been conducting physiological experiments to examine whether forests can make people feel at ease. One study he conducted on 260 people at 24 sites in 2005 and 2006 found that the average concentration of salivary cortisol, a stress hormone, in people who gazed...

One of two young South African cyclists who rode all the way from Cape Town to Makkah has spoken of his happiness at finally being able to perform Haj. Nathim Cairncross, 28, and Imtiyaz Haron, 25, arrived in the holy city on Nov. 2, understandably exhausted after covering an estimated 11,000 kilometers in the space of nine months. They had told Arab News previously that they cycled to Makkah to physically prepare for the rigors associated with performing their first pilgrimage. "However, [Haj] was not as difficult as we thought it would be," Cairncross told Arab News from his base in Aziziyah on Tuesday. "Alhamdullillah it's gone very well. I think it was important not to get caught up in the crowds of people." He added that while they undertook the journey for many personal reasons, they also wanted to improve their spiritual wellbeing. "It was a very tough journey, and you definitely have to be open-minded and flexible," he said. Their trek took t...

A giant clock on a skyscraper in Islam’s holiest city Makkah began ticking at the start of last Ramadan, amid hopes it will become the Muslim world’s official timekeeper. The Makkah Clock, which is considered the world’s largest, has four faces measuring 43 meters in diameter. It sits 400 meters up what will be the world’s second-tallest skyscraper and largest hotel, overlooking the city’s Grand Mosque, which Muslims around the world turn to five times a day for prayer. “The Makkah Clock started with the order of King Abdullah ... one minute after midnight on the first day of the holy month of Ramadan 1431H,” the Saudi Press Agency said. Over 90 million pieces of colored glass mosaic embellish the sides of the clock, which has four faces each bearing a large inscription of the name “Allah”. It is visible from all corners of the city, the state news agency said. The clock tower is the landmark feature of the seven-tower King Abdulaziz Endowment hotel complex, being built by the Saudi Bi...

One of the best ways to win people’s hearts to righteousness is to highlight the path of repentance: the path of asking Allah’s forgiveness, making atonement, and compensating for sins by performing good deeds for the benefit of other people. When calling people to return to Islam, it is wise to emphasize Allah’s forgiveness. No one should ever despair, even those who have returned to the same sin and repented for it a hundred times. Instead, they should repent and never weary of seeking forgiveness. Satan would inspire us to despair and give up on forgiveness. We should be even more resolute in asking Allah to forgive us, praying to Him with humility. When reminding people of their sins, it is good to mention positive action as well, by emphasizing the value of performing good deeds. Allah says: “Surely, good deeds wipe away evil deeds.” [Sūrah Hūd: 114] Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) has informed us of various kinds of good deeds that can atone for our sins. For instance, Abū ...

Translated by His Majesty King Chris Abdul-Wahhab ( Maldives Royal Family ) “Let me tell you! In the Religion there are two types of extremism. One type comes from the observance of the Religion; and the other type involves failing to observe the Religion. We never hear about extremism that involves failure to observe the Religion. We always hear of extremism that involves the observance of the Religion. “Recently a Maldive woman representing herself as a Maldive Muslim has been uttering shameful words of the latter type and has publicised that in the media. She is a woman ambassador. While this shameless woman goes about licking the soles of European infidels, trying to please them , she does not so much as cover-up her nudity as Muslim women are ordered to do by the honourable Allah. As she runs around naked in front of all the humans in the world, auctioning her nudity, this shameless woman said that the biggest threat facing the Maldives today is the issue of ‘extremists’.” “Liste...

Five months ago, the Swedish royal family was the toast of Europe. All eyes were trained on Stockholm as the glamorous Crown Princess Victoria wed her long-time boyfriend in a fairy-tale ceremony, and the world's press clamoured for a glimpse of the elegant Swedish royals and their regal guests. Now the international media is again camped outside the gates of Stockholm's Drottningholm Palace – but this time for far less congratulatory reason. Revelations last week that the King of Sweden once enjoyed romps in seedy nightclubs owned by shadowy underworld figures have eclipsed the sparkle of July's wedding. King Carl XVI Gustaf, the stern-looking, bespectacled monarch who is honorary chairman of the World Scout Foundation, has found himself thrust uncomfortably in the spotlight following the publication of an unflinching book, Carl XVI Gustaf – Den motvillige monarken (Carl XVI Gustaf – The reluctant monarch) which catalogues his past predilection for wild, alcohol-fuelled or...