Dishonesty and lying in the light of Islam

A very common saying is 'Honesty is the best policy'. On the other hand when it come to our social life and relationships, lying and dishonesty sometimes becomes a major sin. It is also said that it is the root of every evil.
Why lying and dishonesty is a major sin and what scholars say about lying and dishonesty?

It may take care of the present, but it has no future. Worse than telling a lie is spending the rest of your life staying true to a lie. ~Robert Brault
We tell lies when we are afraid-----, afraid of what we don't know, afraid of what others will think, afraid of what will be found out about us. But every time we tell a lie, the thing that we fear grows stronger. ~Tad Williams
Lying and dishonesty always leads to hypocrisy.

Drinking Water or Soft Drinks?

With the frequent use of soft drinks and sodas, we are replacing it with water. Is it ok to drink soda drinks and leave our bodies thirsty? Our kids and teens are becoming addicted to the soft drinks, rather than taking enough water which is essential for their health.

The average American drinks more than 53 gallons of carbonated soft drinks each year, more than any other beverage, including milk, beer, coffee or water.

Harmful effects of taking too much sodas in place of water:

Did you know that just one can of Coke contains 10 teaspoons of sugar?!
This is 100 percent of your recommended daily intake (which is more than double my recommended daily allowance to begin with). Within 20 minutes of drinking that soda, your blood sugar spikes, and your liver responds to the resulting insulin burst by turning massive amounts of sugar into fat. Within 40 minutes, your blood pressure rises due to your body having absorbed all the caffeine, and then your liver dumps even more sugar into your bloodstream.

After about one hour, you’ll start to have a sugar crash, which often times leads you into a vicious cycle of consuming more sugar - and caffeine-laden stimulants, followed by crashes, throughout your day.

It is a proven fact that sugar increases your insulin levels, which can lead to not only weight gain, but also high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, premature aging and many more negative side effects. n soda pack on the pounds, it can also deteriorate the body as well.

One of the more troubling health risks soda drinkers face (as if obesity isn’t bad enough) is a higher cancer risk. Numerous studies have pointed out the link between sugar and increased rates of cancer, suggesting that regulating sugar intake is key to slowing tumor growth.

Which one is better toothbrush or miswak?

Which toothbrush do you use for teeth cleaning?
There are numerous varieties of available toothbrushes starting from cheap and ordinary to expensive, and electric toothbrushes.
Purpose of toothbrush is to clean the teeth and the material of this cleaning tool it almost same 'the plastic'.
But is it the safe way of keep your teeths healthy?
But we have a natural dental cleaning solution. It is natural toothbrush or bark of a tree.
For centuries people around the world cleaned their teeth with the natural toothbrush tree. After the advent of plastic, synthetic toothbrushes people adopted this new and cheap tool for cleaning their teeth.

Importance of Adhaan for Islamic society

The adhan, or Islamic call to prayer, is an integral part of the Muslim faith. The Adhan serves an announcement of the time of prayer.  Adaan is called out in mosques, Islamic schools, homes, and on the street in Muslim communities five times a day.  It is, at the same time, an announcement of the principles of Islam and the significance underlying them of Tawheed, the Risalah, and so on.

The adhan is also used in connection with the birth of a child, when the father reads the Adhan into the ear of his newborn child.

Adhan (call to prayer) lexically means ‘announcement,’ as states in the Holy Quran:

Ramadan -The Most Blessed Month

This is Shabaan month and next one is 'Ramadan' -the month of fasting. The most blessed month Ramadan is being observed by more than a billion Muslims around the world.

Muslims are supposed to observe fast during this month. Fasting or sawm is intended to help teach Muslims self-discipline, self-restraint and generosity. It also reminds them of the suffering of the poor, who may rarely get to eat well. The purpose of fasting is to cleanse the soul by freeing it from harmful impurities.

 Facts about Ramadan

The most blessed month for Muslims:

Did you miswaak your teeth today?

The sentence should be 'Did you brush your teeth today?', but I replaced it with the 'miswaak' a natural tooth brush. This article is about introduction and importance of this 'natural dental health tool'.

Nature has provided us with a wonderful solution to effectively and safely maintain dental health and oral hygiene. This natural toothbrush is called ‘Miswak’, derived from natural resource ‘tree’. Miswak is called natural chewing stick or natural toothbrush because it is composed of a compact group of minute natural fibres that perform exactly the same function as a normal toothbrush except that it is made of natural rather than plastic fibres.

Teaching values to new generation

Few days ago an article caught my attention which was about 'teaching values to our kids'. You will agree with me that our culture, our ethics and values are drastically changed and we are unable to teach these important lessons to our new generation. We are unable to teach our kids 'what ethics or values they need to learn'. This article and useful tips might be helpful to many parents so share your ideas in this connection.

Teaching values to your kids:
How can parents teach values to their kids?
Here are ten ideas to help you:

1. Tell them your life stories and teach through your stories 
   Kids love to hear stories about your childhood. Weave in some moral dilemmas and you've got great opportunities to teach values to them.

Video tutorial sites for teachers

Many educators are still novice to computers or internet and they want to develop their skills to get most from modern technology. This article is for all teachers who love to learn by watching video tutorials. These free tutorials are mostlty created for teachers to help them for skill development.
Good news is that these all sites offer all the tutorials free of charge. Moreover you don't need to register or sign in to watch videos. You are also free to upload your videos at thsee sites.
Most of us know that 'YouTube' is a very effective learning site where you can search and find numerous videos, although there are more sites with video tutorials. I am quoting few of the sites which I usually search or browse for video tutorials.

*** 'Khan Academy' is a non profit organization providing learning opportunities to students,teachers, home-schoolers etc. They have around 3600 videos covering K-12 math, science topics such as biology, chemistry, and physics. Each video is a digestible chunk, approximately 10 minutes long, and especially purposed for viewing on the computer.

*** 'Teacher Tube'
is a place for professional development with teachers teaching teachers. As well, it is a site where teachers can post videos designed for students to view in order to learn a concept or skill.

*** 'School tube' is created by 'National Education Associations' for use in K-12 to empower students and teachers through the use of video. SchoolTube content is student and teacher produced, and is approved through an innovative process.

 And last one is the link to other sites where you can find more tutorials.

* 47 Alternatives to Using YouTube in the Classroom

Among these sites I miss only 'Teachers Tv' which is unfortunately closed, though you can find some of the tutorials at 'Teach Find' site which is a search site to find teaching resources, lesson plans and CPD materials using a simple search tool.