text:
The Secret Beyond Matter
Prophet Solomon (pbuh)
Similarities Among Prophet Solomon (pbuh),
Mehmet Nuri (Besiktasli). An inscription in the thuluth style, 1364 AH. "God hears and knows everything."
The hadiths of our Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) reveal signs of these two periods. And, when we compare them with what is happening today, we see many indications that we are living in the End Times and that the Golden Age is about to come.
The hadiths characterize the End Times as a treacherous period in which the number of wars and conflicts will increase and the world will be in general chaos because of the moral degeneration arising from people's rebellion against religious morality. Natural disasters will be everywhere, poverty will reach a previously unknown level, crime rates will soar, and murder and massacre will follow each other in an apparently endless succession. But this is only the first stage of the End Times; in the second stage, God will use the Mahdi to rescue people from this chaos.
Indeed, such events have happened numerous times in human history, for wars, earthquakes, and other natural disasters have been common. The same is true of moral degeneration, poverty, and hunger. What distinguishes the signs of the End Times from these events is that all of these signs will happen in the same period one after the other, and in the way described in the hadiths. Here we must give the glad tidings that this chaos will be temporary, for the coming of the Golden Age will bring this distressing period to an end.
December 9, 1991
The Golden Age will be a time when wars and conflicts will end, all irreligious ideologies that caused so much misery will be buried in the dark recesses of history, and the world will enjoy a period of justice and abundant blessings. Islamic morality will spread throughout the world, and people will stream toward religion. As we stated earlier, some of the hadiths describe this dominance of Islamic morality, such as when our Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) speaks of the similarities between this period and the reigns of Prophet Solomon (pbuh) and Dhu'l-Qarnayn (pbuh). Some of these are as follows:
The Mahdi will rule Earth, just like Dhu'l-Qarnayn (pbuh) and Prophet Solomon (pbuh). (Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi 'Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntazar, p. 29)
There have been four kings on Earth: two were believers and two were unbelievers. The believers were Dhu'l-Qarnayn (pbuh) and Prophet Solomon (pbuh), and the unbelievers were Nimrod and Nebuchadnezzar II . There will be a fifth king, from the People of my House. (Ibn al-Jawzi)
In the following pages we will present some of the signs that we are in the End Times and that the blessed Golden Age is near. (For a detailed discussion of these signs, see Harun Yahya's The End Times and The Mahdi [USA, Khatoons. Inc., March 2004] and The Golden Age [Kuala Lumpur, A.S. NOORDEEN, 2003]
The destruction of the Berlin Wall in 1989 symbolizes communism's collapse. One of the clearest proofs of the change in system revealed in the hadiths was when the people toppled and destroyed huge statues of Lenin, considered the most important communist ideologue. Time, April 8, 1996 (bottom right)
A man named Mahdi will come when the systems change…(Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi,Al-Burhan fi 'Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir al-Zaman, p. 14)
In this hadith, our Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) announced that the Mahdi will come during a period of changing systems. This probably refers to communism, which was widespread before collapsing in the late 1980s.
This atheistic philosophy, the product of materialist philosophy, was one of the main reasons for the bloody wars and massacres that marked the twentieth century. This ideology influenced large parts of Europe, Asia, South America, and Africa. Many countries were ruled by communist regimes for decades or were targeted by communist organizations. Communism was one of the reasons for the cold war, which continued from the late 1940s until the early 1990s, and for the cruelest massacres.
Besides fighting with other countries to extend their ideology, communists subjected their own people to great cruelty, mass executions, and massacre. Moreover, they put people to death in forced labor camps and killed them by starvation.
According to various historians' calculations, communist regimes were responsible for the deaths of 120 million people during the twentieth century. Most of these were not soldiers who died in battle, but were civilians murdered by communists. Tens of millions of men, women, old people, children, and babies lost their lives because of the communists' brutal savagery. Apart from this, millions of people were oppressed and forced to leave their homes and countries. Their lands and possessions were confiscated, and they were made to live every moment in fear of being killed, falsely arrested, or subjected to cruelty.
But toward the end of the twentieth century, these regimes, which seemed to be so strong and firm, began to lose their power and crumble one by one. The clearest symbol of this collapse was the tearing down of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Two years later, the world's largest and most powerful communist state—the Soviet Union—collapsed and the Eastern Bloc completely fell apart. Communist regimes from Africa to Central Asia collapsed one after another, the bipolar world order that had been firmly in place since 1945 disappeared, and, according to political commentators, a new world order replaced it. With these very surprising developments, the change of system mentioned in the hadith came about.
The Syrian foreign minister says, "There is nothing going on in Syria." Assad's forces have begun oppressing the people.
At the end of time, their rulers will cause My people severe trouble in such a way that there will be no comfort for Muslims anywhere.(Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi,Al-Burhan fi 'Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir az-Zaman, p. 12)
This hadith indicates that before the Mahdi comes, rulers in some Muslim states will be far removed from religious morality, cruel and pitiless, or ineffective. Indeed, we can see this in such countries as Iraq, Afghanistan, Djibouti, Somalia, Tunisia, Libya, Ethiopia, and Syria. All of the Muslims in these countries are oppressed by their governments and subjected to difficulty and anxiety. They cannot live their religion freely and perform their prayers, and economic restrictions make their lives difficult. Below are some examples of what these people have experienced:
In Iraq, which lost about one million soldiers out of a total of three million during its war with Iran, the fascist Ba'thist dictator Saddam Hussein subjected the Iraqi people to incredible torture and oppression.
Since the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, the country has been unstable and chaotic. Those in power have not been true representatives of Islam; rather, they founded an oppressive, intolerant, and pitiless system.
Between 1977-91, the tiny African country of Djibouti was ruled by a brutal regime that killed about 2 million Muslims and falsely arrested and tortured 7,000 people.
Between 1969-91, Major General Siad Barre led an oppressive regime in Somalia that targeted Muslims.
1- During his 30 years in power, Hafez al-Assad carried out many massacres. In the city of Hama, 40,000 Muslims were brutally slaughtered in one day.
2- Turkey, February 15, 1982
3- The Soviet Union's 10-year occupation of Afghanistan left behind tens of thousands of dead and as many maimed.The bloody civil war that followed plunged Afghanistan into even greater chaos.
For 31 years, Tunisia was governed by the dictatorial regime of Habib Bourguiba. He declared himself president of the republic for life and, while in power, oppressed his subjects. For example, he tried to ban the fast of Ramadan on the grounds that it hurt national production figures.
During the 30 years of Hafez al-Assad's dictatorship, Syrian Muslims were subjected to various acts of cruelty. After some massacres, women were raped and men were tortured. The most atrocious example act of his rule was his decision to bomb and destroy Aleppo (city in northwestern Syria) when it revolted against his rule in early 1982. An untold number of people were killed.
1- Evrensel, March 13, 2001
2- For years, Saddam Hussein, implemented oppressive policies against the Iraqi people as well as against Muslims in neighboring countries.
3- While he was in power, Habib Bourguiba subjected Tunisia's Muslims to various forms of oppression.
4- The main characteristic of Somalia's governments was their anti-Islamic policies. The Somali civil war, which began during Siad Barre's rule, still continues.
Before the Hour comes, there will be a dusty and smoky tribulation like patches of dark night... (Sunan Abu Dawud)
The Arabic word translated here as tribulation is fitnah, which means something that completely alienates the human mind and heart from justice and right. It can also refer to war, savagery, confusion, conflict, and discord. This hadith says that dust and smoke will be left after this tribulation. This tribulation might be dark because why it occurs is not clear and it is unexpected.
When we look at it from this angle, this hadith probably refers to the 9/11 attack against New York and Washington, DC. As we saw on television and in newspapers, large clouds of dust followed these two acts of terrorism and wrapped the areas in smoke.
According to the official account, aircraft crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The ensuing explosions, caused by their fuel, caused a great cloud to form. Smoke rose so high and spread so far that it could be seen throughout New York City and even in surrounding towns. The collapse of the World Trade Center and the nearby Building Number 7 after the explosions caused an even larger cloud of dust to cover all people in the affected area from head to toe.
This event is extremely important, because it occurred within the same period as other signs and is similar to what is described in the hadiths. Therefore, this most deplorable terrorist act may be the tribulation like patches of dark night mentioned as a sign of the Mahdi's coming.
Milliyet, September 12, 2001
As we can see in these pictures, the tribulation like patches of dark night described in the hadith was one of the main features of the 9/11 attack.
The Mahdi will only appear at a time when people are experiencing great fear and are afflicted by disturbances, civil war, and other disasters.(Reported by Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn 'Ali)
According to Amnesty International, Saddam Hussein brutally murdered 5,000 civilians in Halabja by bombing them with poison gas. Thousands of others were killed in similar attacks.
In the great majority of the hadiths in which our Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) mentions the Mahdi's coming, he stresses that the world will be in a state of general chaos, insecurity, and anxiety before he comes. Along with wars and conflicts, another characteristic of this period will be mass murder. The hadith given above draws our attention to this last characteristic.
Historians estimate that both world wars killed about 65 million people. They also estimate that during the twentieth century, more than 180 million people were killed for political reasons. This is an extraordinary figure when compared with similar figures for previous centuries. Until the twentieth century, most of the wars were largely local conflicts fought by opposing armies along a particular line or front. However, twentieth-century developments in weapons technology and military strategy, as well as the prevalence of ideologies that favored violence and bloodshed, made both the idea and the actual implementation of total war feasible. Now governments target not only the opposing army on the front, but also civilians behind the front. Sometimes, there is not even a front to separate the two sides. The twentieth century saw cities bombed (e.g., carpet bombing); chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons used; genocide campaigns implemented with impunity; and concentration and forced labor camps built to hold various unwanted groups of people.
A scene from the massacre at Halabja, ordered by Saddam Hussein
If we look at recent history, we see many instances of massacres. For example, the Serbs targeted mainly Bosnian civilians. Thousands of people were killed, including women, children, and the elderly. The mass graves discovered after the war show the dimensions of the massacres in horrible detail.
The ethnic cleansing campaign directed against the Palestinians since the 1940s is a more long-term policy of mass murder. Instances of this policy, like the slaughters at Sabra and Shatila in 1982, overseen by now-prime minister Ariel Sharon of Israel, show the dimensions of this policy.
Africa has experienced frequent violent ethnic conflict in which thousands of people have lost their lives. In the spring of 1994, a conflict occurred between two large tribes—the Hutu and the Tutsi (slightly less than 15 percent of the nation's population)—that involved five countries—Zaire, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, and Tanzania. Nearly 800,000 people died in this ethnic conflict. Tens of thousands of refugees had to contend with destitution and epidemics in the forests; many of them died. Small children and babies were savagely slaughtered just because they belonged to another tribe.
The Mahdi will not emerge unless innocent people are massacred, and he will appear when those on Earth and up in the sky can no longer put up with such massacres. (Ibn Hajar al-Haythami,Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi 'Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntazar,p. 37)
1- A major act of genocide was perpetrated in Bosnia in front of everyone. Mass graves discovered later on show the real dimensions of this slaughter.
2- Left: The ongoing conflict in Chechnya has cost the lives of thousands of innocent people. Many people became refugees, some of whom died on the road.
3- Left: The ethnic conflict between Hutus and Tutsis left 800,000 people dead and seriously affected Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, and Tanzania.
4- Above: During the second half of the twentieth century, some radical Zionists in the Israeli government conducted a merciless genocide against defenseless Palestinian people. The 1982 massacres at Sabra and Shatila, in which thousands of people died, is only one instance of this. This oppression is still going on today.
The hadiths concerning the Mahdi's coming speak of widespread slaughter in which innocent people are especially targeted. As we know, in almost every conflict today the basic target is innocent civilians, mainly women, children, and the elderly. Since civilians do not have the means to defend themselves, vast numbers of people are killed.
Besides these massacres, recent terrorist activities have focused on the mass eradication of unwanted people. Terrorism, which is designed to spread fear and dread among the general population, is an assault directed mainly against such public places as shopping centers, restaurants, cafes, and schools where people congregate.
Innocent people are always the targets of terrorist attacks, bombings, and acts of sabotage.
Corruption that no one can escape will occur and spread immediately to another place from where it stays.(Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi 'Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntazar,pp. 21-22)
The above hadith speaks of a continuous long-term corruption that is global in extent. This Arabic word translated here as corruption, fitnah, means war, retribution, fighting, conflict. When we consider these meanings, we realize that this is an accurate description of the twentieth century, a time when war quickly spread to many nations, and when conflict, civil war, and chaos began and still continues today. Unfortunately, such violence still continues in the twenty-first century.
Year-by-Year Death Toll
When we analyze the outbreaks of violence since the 1970s, we can see that when corruption ends in one place, it begins in another. During this period, conflict and civil strife occurred in many countries and regions: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Albania, Bulgaria, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya, Palestine, Israel, North Korea, Cambodia, Eastern Turkistan (Xinjiang [northwestern China]), Ethiopia, Somalia, Yemen, Uganda, Algeria, Rwanda, Mozambique, Angola, Congo, Liberia, Burundi, Sudan, Lebanon, Argentina, Northern Ireland, El Salvador, and Nicaragua.
* Deaths Per Million
1- over 10.000
3- 100 to 1.000
These graphs show the number of deaths that occurred as a result of war and other conflicts during the twentieth century. The top graph shows how many people died in various parts of the world between 1950 and 1975. The lower graph depicts a regional representation of how many people died throughout the world between 1975 and 2000.
1- One hadith says that when the End Times begin, there will be endless tribulation. The twentieth century was full of wars, conflicts, and massacres that smothered the whole world.
World history is full of war and conflict, but those that occurred in the twentieth century are unique. First, the numbers of dead far surpassed the total of deaths in all other centuries. Second, until then war had always regional and restricted to a certain region. But in the twentieth century, it spread over the entire world. It seems that, in the last century, no country or region was immune from conflict or terrorism.
Third, the power of weapons is almost beyond human comprehension. The use of nuclear and chemical weapons inflicted unbelievable slaughter on the generation that lived through these conflicts, and succeeding generations continue to be affected by the long-term negative side effects. The first event that comes to mind in this regard is the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
Today, one of the most threatening kinds of warfare is biological warfare. An example of this happened after the 9/11 terrorist attack, when letters containing the anthrax bacteria were sent to important addresses; to date, several people have died because of such letters.
In conclusion, it is likely that the corruption mentioned in this hadith consists of the wars, conflicts, chaos, and terrorism that began in the last century and continue into this one. All of these things may be signs that we are living in the End Times and that the Golden Age may be near.
God Almighty will send the Mahdi after despair has reached the point that people will say: "There is no Mahdi."(Narrated by Nu'aym ibn Hammad)
In the End Times, people will be full of pessimism, for seeing war, poverty, need, injustice, moral depravity, and epidemics all around them will cause them to lose their belief in the Mahdi's coming. Many Muslims will begin to believe that such problems will continue to be unsolvable, and so will lose their expectation of the coming Golden Age and the global prevalence of Islamic morality.
We see many examples of this spiritual state. For example, despite the many hadiths about the Mahdi's coming and the Golden Age's beauty, many people do not believe that such an age will come. But at a time when this pessimism is widespread, by God's grace the Golden Age will begin.
The poor will grow in number.(Amal ad-Din al-Qazwini,Mufid al-'Ulum wa Mubid al-Humum)
Three years before the Antichrist appears, there will be exceedingly stressful days and hunger will rule …(Muhammad ibn 'Abd ar-Rasul Barzanji,Al-Isha'ah li Ashrat as-Sa'ah, p. 220)
One of the most frequently mentioned subjects concerning the End Times is the global spread of hunger, poverty, and destitution. But this dark period will end with the Golden Age, and God will keep His promise.
Many hadiths speak of the hunger and poverty that will foretell the Mahdi's coming. Although hunger and destitution have existed throughout history, they will increase markedly around the world in the End Times.
Today, many people have nothing to eat or drink, live in unhealthy conditions, and have nowhere to stay. This situation is widespread in the Third World and, to a lesser extent, in America and Europe. While a small minority of people lives in luxury, billions of others live on the brink of starvation. In an article, an Oxfam official described the world situation in the following words:
As we enter the new millennium, we bring with us a world in which 35,000 children die each day from causes related to poverty. That is one child dying every 2.5 seconds. We face a world in which the total number of people below the poverty line is growing each year, and now stands at around 1.5 billion.
This is greater than the population of China, four times the entire population of the European Union.
… This is a world in which the gap between rich and poor is accelerating. United Nations figures show that the richest 20% of people owned 30 times the wealth of the poorest 20% in 1960. In the next 37 years, the rich did very nicely, ending up in 1997 with 74 times as much wealth as the poorest 20%.
The frequent media accounts of hunger and destitution is a sign of the End Times. Even in the twenty-first century, many people still struggle with hunger and poverty. God willing, this situation will end with the beginning of the Golden Age.
… The combined wealth of the world's richest three families (Bill Gates, the Waltons, and the Sultan of Brunei) is more than the annual income of 600 million people in the least developed countries. Moreover, in more than 80 of the world's poorest countries, per capita income is lower today than it was 10 years ago.13
One of the first signs of the End Times will be the terrible hunger and famine that will happen before the plenty and abundance of the Golden Age. In this period, people will not even have a loaf of bread to eat and many will die of starvation. But when the Golden Age begins, by God's mercy, human beings will have a wealth and abundance never before seen in the world.
When the Golden Age begins, all of these problems will disappear. Hunger, poverty, and destitution will be replaced by wealth and abundance. No one will be in need, because religion will be lived as God describes in the Qur'an and everyone will share what they have, for "beggars and the destitute received a due share of their wealth"> (Qur'an, 51:19). In a society that lives according to Islamic morality, there can be no destitute people, for believers will strive to avoid the state that God describes in the following terms:"He used not to believe in God the Magnificent, nor did he urge the feeding of the poor. Therefore, here today he has no friend"(Qur'an, 69:33-35). This will be the means whereby social justice, happiness, and abundance will be established in society.
People will prosper until the ninety-fifth year, that is, their business will prosper. In the ninety-seventh and the ninety-ninth year, their possessions will go to waste.(Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi 'Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntazar, p. 54)
This hadith gives us some details about the state of the economy before the Golden Age dawns.
1 - The Black Sea
6 - Jordan
The countries to the left of the Hijaz are known as the region of Sham (Damascus).
The ninety-fifth year probably refers to 1995, a year in which people were comparatively well-off and living conditions were fairly easy. The assertion that business will prosper means that people will have enough income to have a good living standard and have enough money to buy property. But during 1997-99, the economy worsened and poverty and need increased. In these years, property lost its value. We can see that this actually happened in Argentina, where the situation is still serious and continuing.
The inhabitants of Egypt and Sham [Damascus] will kill their ruler and his commands...(Ibn Hajar al-Haythami,Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi 'Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntazar, p. 49)
When we look at Egypt's recent history, we see that its ruler was killed: Anwar al-Sadat, who ruled the country from 1970-1981.
Sadat was assassinated in 1981 by his opponents while presiding over an official parade. Other Egyptian leaders who have been assassinated are Prime Minister Boutros Ghali (1910),
Prime Minister Ahmed Maher Pasha (1945), and Prime Minister Mahmoud Nokrashi Pasha (1948).
The word sham does not refer just to Damascus. In Arabic, sham means left and refers to the cities located to the left of Hijaz (where Makkah and Madinah are located).
14 Many leaders in this region have been assassinated, among them Syrian prime minister Salah al-Din Bitar (1920),
Syrian prime minister Droubi Pasha (1921), Syrian premier Muhsin al-Barazi (1949), King Abdullah of Jordan (1951), and Lebanese Phalangist leader Bashir Jemayel, after a bomb attack in 1982.15
Having discussed some of the signs foretelling the Mahdi's coming, we now turn our attention to various minor signs that will occur when the End Times begin. As they will happen before the Golden Age, they also can be regarded as signs of the Mahdi's coming.
1- King Abdullah of Jordan, assassinated in 1951 while praying in the al- Aqsa Mosque.
When we examine the events mentioned in the hadiths containing this information, we see that each of them is being experienced in today's societies. While these events may appear negative at first sight, in reality they are forerunners of an age of abundance, plenty, happiness, peace, and security. After these events, God will inaugurate an age of light for all humanity. This is God's promise, which He has announced to His believers:
We wrote down in the Zabur, after the Reminder came: "It is My servants who are righteous who will inherit the earth." (Qur'an, 21:105)
And [He will give you] other things you love: support from God and imminent victory. Give good news to the believers! (Qur'an, 61:13)
A time when booty is in the hands of certain people, trust is seen as booty, giving alms is seen as a heavy burden…(Muhammad ibn 'Abd ar-Rasul Barzanji, Al-Isha'ah li Ashrat as-Sa'ah, p. 114)
Goods entrusted to one being regarded as booty, and the giving of alms being regarded as a loan (which is hard to repay)... (Muhammad ibn 'Abd ar-Rasul Barzanji,Al-Isha'ah li Ashrat as-Sa'ah,, p. 139)
The Hour will come when adultery becomes widespread. (Al-Haythami, Kitab al-Fitan)
The Last Hour will not be established until they [wicked people] commit adultery on the roads [public ways]. (Muhammad ibn 'Abd ar-Rasul Barzanji,Al-Isha'ah li Ashrat as-Sa'ah,, p. 140)
The rebuilding of the ruined places in the world, and the ruination of constructed places are signs and portents of Doomsday. (Ismail Mutlu, Signs of the Last Day[Istanbul: Mutlu Publications,1999], p. 138)
When developed places are ruined, then Doomsday is no further away than the distance between your two fingers.(Muhammad ibn 'Abd ar-Rasul Barzanji, Al-Isha'ah li Ashrat as-Sa'ah, p. 143)
1- Left: A section of Miami ruined by Hurricane Andrew in 1991. Above: A view of Miami today.
People will compete with one another in constructing high buildings. (Sahih Bukhari)
Doomsday will not come until a person kills his brother.(Muhammad ibn 'Abd ar-Rasul Barzanji,Al-Isha'ah li Ashrat as-Sa'ah, p. 141)
Most modern cities are composed of skyscrapers. The prediction in the hadith has come true.
The community of the faithful will be on a favorable path until they encounter three things: goodness disappears, immoral children grow in number, and essekkarun appears amongst them… They asked: "What is essekkarun"? They answered: "A generation that will emerge in the End Times, among whom greetings will be regarded as vile oaths.(Muhammad ibn 'Abd ar-Rasul Barzanji,Al-Isha'ah li Ashrat as-Sa'ah,, pp. 141-42)
… everyone complaining about decreased earnings ... the rich respected for their money ...(Muhammad ibn 'Abd ar-Rasul Barzanji,Al-Isha'ah li Ashrat as-Sa'ah,, p. 146)
The conflict in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) between the Hutus and the Tutsis fleeing the violence in neighboring Rwanda, has been going on for years. This conflict has caused the death of countless children.
… stagnation in the markets, a reduction in earnings…(Muhammad ibn 'Abd ar-Rasul Barzanji,Al-Isha'ah li Ashrat as-Sa'ah,, p. 148)
… business being slack. Everyone will complain: "I cannot sell, buy or earn money."(Muhammad ibn 'Abd ar-Rasul Barzanji,Al-Isha'ah li Ashrat as-Sa'ah,, p. 152)
Today, unemployment, low wages, and earnings below the poverty line are problems found in many countries.
Doomsday will not come until your leaders kill and the wicked inherit your world.(Ibid., p. 141)
1- 20th Chronicle, s.127
3- 20th Chronicle, s.335
In the recent past, several leaders have been assassinated, such as American president John F. Kennedy (1963), Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme (1986), King Alexander I of Yugoslavia (1934), and Pakistani President Muhammad Zia ul-Haq (1988).
As we mentioned earlier, the appearance of these signs one after another gives believers the good tidings of the coming Golden Age.
Just as in Prophet Solomon's (pbuh) day, the Golden Age will be a time of wealth, splendor, beauty, happiness, and peace. Life on Earth will be like Paradise, because the Qur'an's morality will prevail throughout the world. Doubtless, this is a grace and good tidings from God for the last period of world history. He announces in the following verse that:
God has promised those of you who believe and do right actions that He will make them successors in the land, as He made those before them successors; will firmly establish for them their religion, with which He is pleased; and give them, in place of their fear, security. "They worship Me, not associating anything with Me." Any who do not believe after that, such people are deviators. (Qur'an, 24:55)
Say:"Truth has come falsehood has vanished.Falsehood is always bound to vanish.(Qur'an,17:81)
… We hurl the truth against falsehood and it cuts hight through it …(Qur'an,21:18)
Up to this point, we have focused on Prophet Solomon's (pbuh) exemplary life and moral character, faithfulness toward God, and how he turned toward Him in everything he did. We have mentioned his courage, just dealings, and tolerance, as well as his forgiving, courteous, welcoming, peace-loving, and noble character. In addition, we have studied his methods of state administration and intelligence gathering, along with his diplomatic successes, public building, and artistic undertakings. We then looked at Dhu'l-Qarnayn (pbuh), a faithful servant who shared many similarities with Prophet Solomon (pbuh).
All of this information shows that Prophet Solomon (pbuh) was engaged in artistic and scientific work about which we know nothing and cannot even guess. This great leader and Prophet made extraordinary advancements in various scientific and other fields in his day. Dhu'l-Qarnayn (pbuh) also established dominion over a vast territory and governed societies with superior knowledge.
Another thing we considered while examining these accounts was the signs of the End Times that they contain. As we know from the hadiths, the Golden Age will be a time of extraordinary development in science, art, and technology, just as in the days of Prophet Solomon (pbuh) and Dhu'l-Qarnayn (pbuh).
Although the other two periods have passed and the Golden Age is still to come, all of them are realities announced to us by God.
The term Mahdism connotes the establishment of these two leaders' superior morality on a new, different, and broader foundation. In other words, the spirituality, logic, intelligence, and social manifestation of Prophet Solomon (pbuh) and Dhu'l-Qarnayn (pbuh) will reveal themselves in society in the End Times.
These three periods are characterized by the prevalence of Islamic morality throughout their realms. God approves of all three of these periods. The times of Nebuchadnezzar II, Nimrod, and Pharaoh were governed by Satan and therefore were irreligious periods. Just as God made Islamic morality prevail after these periods, in the End Times our Lord will let His servants live under the rule of that same morality. This will be the Golden Age, which will be characterized by happiness, well-being, love, brotherhood, loyalty, peace, self-sacrifice, humanity, and helpfulness. Below are some examples of the similarity between the three times.
Prophet Solomon (pbuh) and Dhu'l-Qarnayn (pbuh), who made Islamic morality prevail in their vast territories and had mighty armies, have much in common with the Golden Age. For example, during the Golden Age Islamic morality will prevail throughout the world, streams of people will become Muslims, godless ideologies will be wiped off the face of the Earth, and religion will be lived as it was in the time of our Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace). Some hadiths describe this era, among them:
The Mahdi will own the entire world. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi 'Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir al-Zaman, p. 10)
The Mahdi will invade all the places between East and West. (Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi 'Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntazar, p. 56)
We have already seen the various kinds of knowledge that God gave Prophet Solomon (pbuh): how to rule over jinns and demons, speak to birds, hear and understand ants talking among themselves, and subject the winds and copper to his command. All of these wondrous characteristics distinguished him from other people. Of Dhu'l-Qarnayn (pbuh), the Qur'an says: "We had encompassed that he had 'knowledge comprising essence' near him [or all that he had in knowledge]" (Qur'an, 18:91). From this, we know that he was a servant to whom God granted knowledge.
Like these two leaders, the Mahdi also will have special knowledge. In his Mevzuatu'l ulum (11:246), Taskopruluzade Ahmet Efendi writes that the Mahdi will possess 'ilm al-jafr (the art of divination through numbers). Another hadith reveals the following:
He is called the Mahdi because he is given guidance for a situation unknown to anyone. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi 'Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir al-Zaman, p. 77)
Our Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) also says that the Mahdi, like Prophet Solomon (pbuh), will know the language of animals and have power over human beings and jinns.
The Mahdi speaks the language of birds and other animals. Therefore, his justice will manifest itself over all people and jinns. (Muhammad ibn 'Abd ar-Rasul Barzanji, Al-Isha'ah li Ashrat as-Sa'ah, p. 188)
As we learn from the Qur'an, Prophet Solomon's (pbuh) and Dhu'l-Qarnayn's (pbuh) times witnessed great and unusual scientific and technological advancements. The hadiths describing the Golden Age present a similar situation.
The Golden Age will be a time of great scientific, technological, communication, and medical advancements. Every new development will serve humanity and make life easier in all respects. One sign of this in the hadiths is as follows:
The end of humanity's whip will speak to him. (Hadith at-Tirmidhi)
This hadith probably refers to the cell phone, one of the most common means of communication today. (God knows the truth.)
The hadiths also mention another important technological development:
People will reap 700 measures of wheat for every one they sow … People will throw down a few handfuls of seeds and reap 700 handfuls … Although much rain will fall, none will be wasted. (Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi 'Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntazar, p. 43)
This hadith may be speaking of modern agriculture, which is characterized by the use of machines. In former times, sowing seeds and harvesting by hand were extremely tiring and time-consuming chores. But technological advances have enabled great developments in agriculture, and modern machines have made both sowing and harvesting much easier. Improving seed stocks has increased agricultural production. As technology advances, new methods are developed to increase productivity.
Many hadiths dealing with the End Times refer to that period's technological developments, one of which is mentioned specifically: high agricultural yields due to modern technology.
In the Mahdi's time, many important agricultural and technological advances will make the lives of farmers much easier.
Our Word was given before to Our servants, the Messengers, that they would certainly be helped. It is Our army that will be victorious. (Qur'an,37:171-173)
Today, agricultural technology can make even desert areas green and productive.
The Qur'an gives some information about Prophet Solomon's (pbuh) love and compassion for animals. For example, he loved horses and did not want to harm ants.
In the Golden Age, love for animals will be encouraged. The hadiths reveal that there will be places in which every kind of animal can be easily watched and admired. Here are some examples:
... He will say to the sheep to go to the pasture and eat. The animals will pass through the crops, but will not eat even a single stalk of wheat. Snakes and scorpions will not hurt anyone, and wild animals will sit at our doors but not harm anyone. (Muhammad ibn 'Abd ar-Rasul Barzanji, Al-Isha'ah li Ashrat as-Sa'ah, p. 245)
Snakes will get along with children, cows will get along with lions. (Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi 'Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntazar, p. 64)
These hadiths indicate another similarity between the time of Prophet Solomon (pbuh) and the Golden Age: humanity's dominion over animals. Just as Prophet Solomon (pbuh) established his rule over birds and other animals, in the Golden Age all animals, including beasts of prey, will be under humanity's dominion and thus rendered harmless to people.
Prophet Solomon's (pbuh) relations with neighboring countries were tolerant, forgiving, and peaceful, for he preferred diplomacy to war and applied democratic methods. He established a superior culture and founded his rule on diplomacy, art, and culture. Even though he had invincible armies, he did not use military might. Dhu'l-Qarnayn (pbuh), known to those around him as a man who opposed corruption and dissension, was a leader who brought peace and well-being to his people. From this point of view, their times were very similar to that of the Golden Age.
In the Golden Age, people will become Muslims of their own volition, the world will be dominated by Islamic morality, and war will become unnecessary.
No one will be awakened from their sleep or have a bleeding nose. (Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi 'Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntazar, p. 42)
The Mahdi will follow the way of the Prophet. He will not wake up a sleeping person or shed blood. (Muhammad ibn 'Abd ar-Rasul Barzanji, Al-Isha'ah li Ashrat as-Sa'ah, p. 163)
The hadiths state that the Mahdi will make Islamic morality prevail all over the world by peaceful means through a great cultural initiative. At that time, God willing, the following verses will be fulfilled:
When God's help and victory have arrived, and you have seen people entering God's religion in droves, then glorify your Lord's praise and ask His forgiveness. He is the Ever-Returning. (Qur'an, 110:1-3)
Prophet Solomon's (pbuh) quick and intelligent decisions make him a good example for all believers. His letter to the Queen of Saba, inviting her and her people to true belief, shows his powers of communication. Placing great importance on quick decisions, he employed a knowledgeable person to bring him her throne. In order to stop the corruption of Gog and Magog among a people who were located far from his kingdom, Dhu'l-Qarnayn (pbuh) quickly built a barricade strong enough to stand until the end of the world. This showed his strength and power of reason. In these respects, the Golden Age will be very similar to the times of these two noble men.
In addition, people will flock to Islam, and rapid and comprehensive efforts will be made to facilitate this movement. Societies will adopt Islamic morality, godless ideologies will be quickly and permanently removed, and every kind of oppression will pass into the dark depths of history. With regard to this, the great Islamic scholar, Muhyiddin ibn al-'Arabi, wrote:
God will give the Mahdi so much power that he will remove cruelty from the world overnight, religion will be established, and Islam will be revived. The Mahdi will restore lost value to it [Islam], and it will come to life after its apparent demise … Ignorant people, misers, and cowards alike will become very knowledgeable, generous, and brave … They will practice religion as in the time of Prophet Muhammad (may God bless him and grant him peace)… (Muhyiddin ibn al-'Arabi, Futuhat al Makkiyah, Bab 66, "Signs of the End Times," p. 186)
When God's victory have arrived and you have seen people entering God's religion in droves then,glorify your Lord's praise and ask His forgiveness.He is the Ever-Returning. (Qur'an,110:1-3)
Prophet Solomon (pbuh) placed great importance on public building. As we saw earlier, he used the jinns and demons under his command to construct high arches, statues, huge dishes, and vats. Everyone who saw his palace, including the Queen of Saba, was amazed. Dhu'l-Qarnayn (pbuh) also used a very effective construction technique to build the barricade mentioned above, so that, unless God wills, it will never fall.
God haswiritten: "I will be victorious ,I and my Messengers." God is Most Almighty. (Qur'an,58:21)
The hadiths also allude to the great importance of construction in the Golden Age. In this period, cities will attain a high level of civilization, and their people will live in happiness and peace. One of these hadiths is as follows:
The Mahdi works in the construction of Constantinople and other places. (Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi 'Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntazar, p. 40)
Prophet Solomon (pbuh) used his wealth to proclaim God's religion and spread Islamic morality in his realm. Especially in the cities that he conquered, he invited the people to believe in God and submit to Him. His letter to the Queen of Saba is an important proof of this. And Dhu'l-Qarnayn (pbuh), who said: "The power my Lord has granted me is better than that…"(Qur'an, 18:95), was blessed by God with stable political power, which he used to rid his realm of corruption.
In the Golden Age, people will enjoy great wealth, well-being, and comfort. The Mahdi will use the world's wealth to make God's religion supreme and establish peace and high moral standards throughout his realm. He will do many things that the world has never seen before, soften people's hearts toward Islamic morality, and cause it to prevail within a short time. For example:
There will be a Mahdi among the people. God will send him to make people rich. People will have comfort and good fortune, animals will have plenty to eat, and the soil will bring forth plants… (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi 'Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir az-Zaman, p. 15)
Before allegiance, people will flock to it, and everyone who goes there will enjoy the divine plenty. (Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi 'Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntazar, p. 25)
Say;"O God,Master of the Kingdom!You give sovereignty to whoever You will,You take sovereignty from whoever You will..."(Qur'an,3:26)
"Earth belongs to God.He bequeatsh it to any of His servants he wills.The successful outcome is for those who guard against evil." (Qur'an, 7:128)
We can understand from the Qur'an that Prophet Solomon's (pbuh) time was characterized by great wealth and that the people lived comfortable lives. His palace was splendid, he had a mighty army, and he ruled a vast domain.
The Golden Age's plenty and abundance will be like that in Prophet Solomon's (pbuh) time. People will be given whatever they want and however much they want; even the birds will be happy with the Mahdi's rule. Many hadiths describe in great detail this plenty, abundance, and well-being, among them those given below:
A time will come when a person, withalms of gold in his hand, will go around, finding no one [in need] who is willing to receive them. (Mukhtasar Tazkirah Qurtubi)
Then will my ummah be blessed, the number of animals will increase, and the land will bear its fruits. (Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi 'Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntazar, p. 26)
Possessions will be in abundance then, flowing like water. Yet no one will (condescend) to take any. (Mukhtasar Tazkirah Qurtubi)
During this [period], my ummah [people] will lead a kind of comfortable and carefree life that they have never known before. [The land] will bring forth its yield and will not hold anything back... (Sunan Ibn Majah)
The land will turn like a silver tray growing vegetation... (Sunan Ibn Majah)
So they returned with blessings and bounty from God, and no evil touched them. They pursued the pleasure of God. God's favor is indeed immense. (Qur'an, 3:174)
Prophet Solomon (pbuh) ruled in a tolerant and democratic manner. This will also be the case in the Golden Age, when Islamic morality will dominate and the world will be tolerant and at peace. People will be treated with compassion and mercy, and people of every religion will live in happiness and security. The world's wealth will be distributed equally, and poverty and need will disappear. Here are some relevant hadiths:
The Mahdi will bring justice and sovereignty to a world full of cruelty and injustice. (Muhammad ibn 'Abd ar-Rasul Barzanji, Al-Isha'ah li Ashrat as-Sa'ah, p. 305)
His justice will fill every place… (Ibn Hajar Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi 'Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntazar, p. 20)
A man from my family [Ahl al-Bayt] appears to fill Earth with justice, just as it has been filled with corruption. So whoever reaches that [time] ought to come to them, even if crawling on the ice/snow, since among them is the vicegerent of God [khalifat Allah] al-Mahdi. (Sunan Ibn Majah)
In his time, the goodness of good people will increase, and goodness will even be shown to bad people. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi 'Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir az-Zaman, p. 17)
All nations will open their gates to him ... Security and tranquility will reign over Earth. (Muhammad ibn 'Abd ar-Rasul Barzanji, Al-Isha'ah li Ashrat as-Sa'ah, p. 164)
A calligraphic inscription in the jali-thuluth script from 1280 AH: The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Right: An inscription in the naskhi style by Sayyid Abdullah of the first verses of Surat al-An'am.
So they returned with blessings and bounty from God, and no evil touched them. They pursued the pleasure of God. God's favor is indeed immense. (Qur'an, 3:174)


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I was wondering about the lower left corner as well then decided to leave it. Often I will go back and take a second look a couple of days later and look with fresh eyes seems to help me see the changes I should make. It has been my experience with cattle they will not try to crawl through a barb wire fence. They will however try to get through a slick wire fence often getting tangled up causing serious injury's. It is the go to fencing for most rancher for that reason. Thanks for you suggestions.
Looks good. Hard to say without knowing your usual style and so on. So I'm just going to say a couple things regarding the overall picture that may reflect my tastes more than yours so with a grain of salt:
The eye goes first to the area of most contrast in all cases that I can think of, we're just wired that way. So if you think of the painting as a journey leading their eye based on the hierarchy of emphasis. So with that in mind, you have to look at what you regard as the most important thing for them to see first. That could be the whole composition, it could be the cows' heads, or it could be the fence. Depends on what you want to say.
As I see this, I see the noses and the fence posts and wire first. Their heads and their ears and all that shape stuff we normally associate with cows isn't really playing much of a role. So psychologically I'm feeling entrapment of the animals rather than a positive thing the meat producers would want to show. They're meat or milk producing machines. I'm basing that solely on how you showed it. Of course we all know what cows look like. But then it comes down to the artist's voice. And that is all you, once you get the hang of having a voice in your work.
The painting has some neat stuff happening in it. But it comes across like you were more into the technique than the painting, like you're working on your paint chops and maybe looking for a personal style. Most artists do, and some of us spend our lives trying out new stuff all the time. So you're in good company.
I like the palette knife bit where you scrape away from the animals with color. That's kind of neat and could well serve you as you get some more mileage at it. I personally think placement of those knife marks is a make or break thing. When it works it shows lots of flair. When it doesn't it's very noticeable because it either stands apart or it's a technique used throughout the painting where it's part of an overall style rather than where it draws attention to itself almost more than the subject of the painting. I think the trick to making it work, if you're doing vignettes where there's a model floating on a canvas in which the artist nails the design and chooses just the right marks, where there's often a balance to the whole. If you're wanting to do illustration where text is going onto the picture, that's something you would want to include if you're using it as a presentation of the work you do with an eye to getting future work from it.
But if it's a fine arts kind of painting to be framed and hung, then text is not an element (usually except if you're promoting your show etc). So my previous comment is where I am with it. There's some nice things happening. And it looks like you were trying stuff out -- which I would probably have picked up on as a possibility based on the level of finish you managed.
I think you're really close. You have nice subtleties in the sky as to the colors. The knife work is nice. The overall composition idea has potential, meaning the line up of animals is a good grouping. I've personally seen cows showing an interest in me when I wandered by some of them grazing where they wander over and just stare, maybe to see if I was bringing food or something.
Anyway, I hope this helps. I've done experimental things and was absolutely certain I had painted the best painting ever painted because I was so happy how my experiments turned out, going from my head to the canvas with some fancy brushwork or whatever I was doing at the time. But to anyone else it was probably dull as toast. But I succeeded and got some answers in the process. And the next step was always the challenge -- to try another one only better. I personally filed it away as something I could pull out later down the road as an addition to my go-to style.
Hope this helps. It may be useful or it may not address the things you were wanting comment on. But keep going and keep juggling all those balls. It will pay off. And it's fun as heck.
Last edited by D Akey; 01-06-2019 at 10:34 PM.
"Not a bit is wasted and the best is yet to come. . ." -- remembered from a dream

subset: commoncrawl


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365 Clear Stamps - Kissaten (cafe)
New Sakuralala x Igloo Dining collaboration clear photopolymer stamps from 365 series are perfect for decorating your planner, journal, card, letter and lots more! Igloo Dining is a Japanese illustrator whose illustration theme is to enjoy little things in everyday life.
* Contents: 4″ x 6″ Clear Photopolymer Stamps
* Designed in Japan & Made in USA!
* More Sakuralala Stamps HERE


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By Christine Pulliam
When astronomers study protoplanetary disks of gas and dust that surround young stars, they sometimes spot a dark gap like the Cassini division in Saturn's rings. It has been suggested that any gap must be caused by an unseen planet that formed in the disk and carved out material from its surroundings. However, new research shows that a gap could be a sort of cosmic illusion and not the sign of a hidden planet after all.
"If we don't see light scattered from the disk, it doesn't necessarily mean that nothing is there," says lead author Til Birnstiel (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy), who conducted the research while at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA).
The researchers studied disks that shine in visible or near-infrared wavelengths due to scattered, or reflected, light. (In contrast, radio or millimeter telescopes pick up emission directly from the disk itself.)
Scattered light comes from starlight that bounces off tiny particles about the size of cigarette smoke. Those particles initially suffuse the protoplanetary disk, but undergo changes over time.
Small particles can clump together to form larger and larger objects, eventually growing into full-fledged planets. However, when particles collide they sometimes break apart instead of sticking together. Particles can also move closer to or farther from the star in a process called migration. The team modeled these processes using the Smithsonian's Hydra supercomputer cluster.
"Growth, migration and destruction can have tangible, observable effects," explains co-author Sean Andrews of the CfA. "Specifically, these processes can create an apparent gap in the disk when the small particles that scatter light are cleared away, even though larger particles still remain."
Birnstiel offers the analogy, "Throwing a stone in the air doesn't obstruct my view, but throwing a handful of dust in the air does. Similarly, as small particles grow bigger in some areas of the disk, they don't obstruct our view any more and those regions appear empty."
So how can astronomers tell if a gap in a protoplanetary disk is real, or simply an area where pebbles reign and dust is gone? The key is to make observations at longer wavelengths of light that can pick up the pebbles.
To that end, the team will conduct observations of a well-known example of a disk with a gap, TW Hydrae, with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). If they find large grains within the apparent gap, that will suggest there is no planet. However, if the gap appears empty in these observations as well, then the evidence will be stronger for the existence of an unseen planet.
This work has been published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.


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Downgrade Yosemite to Mavericks via Mac App Store
I upgraded to Yosemite in the day when Apple release its first DP, on my primary laptop unfortunately. I have to say the hand-off feature is really impressive, but in the meanwhile I was suffering from frequent system crashes.
When I decided to downgrade my Macbook to Mavericks, I find out it's not that easy.
After some googling I found out a painless way to do this.
Step 1. Backup your system
At the very first, make sure you have already backup your documents by Time Machine.
Step 2. Get Mac App Store ready
Launch the Mac App Store, navigate to page of OS X Mavericks. DO NOT click the download button here, or you'll be prompt kinda "OS X 10.10 has already been installed.". Just leave the window open and we'll get back to here very soon.
Setp 3. Update the system version number
Then open this file
/System/Library/CoreServices/SystemVersion.plist using XCode (or other apps which could edit a plist file, like TextMate). Open it and find two string of current version number
10.10. Cause we're gonna to downgrade to 10.9 Mavericks, to ensure the download could start we change it to
Save the changes and enter your password when you see the dialog.
Step 4. Download OS X Mavericks & install
Now get back to Mac App Store, click the download button of Mavericks. After entering your Apple ID it would start downloading. Just wait it to finish then the installer will automatically start.
Now the only thing you need to do is to complete the install process as usually. All your settings, documents will remain in your system.


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Waves, sand, rocks and snow surround the remnants of a pier in Eagle River MI.
2012 CalendarEagle RiverLandscapesWinter
A fresh snowfall clings to bushes and trees in East Hancock MI.
2012 CalendarHomeLandscapesNightSnowWinter
A couple of seagulls rest on the breakwall at the South Entry Point of the Portage Canal.
SeagulSouth Keweenaw Entry Point
Isle Royal Queen IV still docked for the winter on the Portage Canal during an unseasonbly warm evening in March 2012.
Houghton MIIsle Royal Queen IVLandscapesPortage Canal
Isle Royal Queen IV docked along Portage Canal on an unseasonably warm March evening.
Isle Royal Queen IV awaits the start of the 2012 season at its winter docking location on the Portage Canal.
The last sunset before winter kicked in (the next day was our first snowfall).
2012 CalendarDuskLandscapesPortage CanalSunset
Northern Lights light up the night over Lake Superior (McLain State Park).
Aurora BorealisLandscapesMcLain State ParkNorthern Lights
The tracks of many on the sands at Au Train Bay.
Au Train BayLandscape
Beach sand smoothed by the waves of Lake Superior (Au Train Bay).
Fall color along the backroads of Keweenaw county.
2012 CalendarFall ColorLandscapeNeal RiuttaSenior Portrait Shots
Gulls riding the wind.
LandscapesSchoolcraft Twp Boat LandingTraverse Bay
Ice builds on the shore of Lake Superior.
East Shore Keweenaw PeninsulaLandscapes
Constantly moving.
Corporate PortfolioMoonPortage CanalReplica Sailing Ship
Natures own beauty on the water. Keweenaw County.
LandscapesVitton Reservoir
North Entry Point of the Portage Canal.
BreakersLake SuperiorLandscapes
Fresh water spray on the breakwall (North Entry Point of the Portage Canal).
Fall ColorLandscapesPortage Canal
LandscapesPortage Canal
LandscapesPortage Lift Bridge
HoughtonLandscapesPortage CanalPortage Lift Bridge
LandscapesPortage CanalSDC
LandscapesMTUPortage Canal
Fall ColorLandscapes
LandscapesMarquetteUpper Harbor
Corporate PortfolioKeweenaw BayLandscapeMoon
Aurora Borealis over Copper Harbor. Lighthouse is green light in center. Copper Harbor lower left.
Aurora BorealisCHC PromoCopper HarborTimelapse


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Cerebellar Abiotrophy
Genetic Diseases in Equines: the importance of Cerebellar Abiotrophy testing
Words by Anette Mattsson
All living species have their genetic diseases; it is a simple fact of nature. We can identify and manage such diseases through their symptoms, but perhaps of more use these days is the ability to work at the genetic level to establish the likelihood of disease, and how to avoid it's perpetuation. In breeding of any sort, whether it be cats, dogs or horses, there is always some physical objective in mind; to produce taller or more refined or steadier-tempered animals. Alongside these concerns there is the weighty responsibility to avoid, and perhaps eventually eradicate, any genetic diseases that we are able to. If a test for a genetic defect is available, it is the breeder's responsibility to test the parent animals before mating, and to act on the results of the tests to avoid producing affected offspring, and continuation of the defect. Scientists have identified more than 13,000 genetically inherited traits in humans, 5,000 of which are diseases or abnormalities. Many of these diseases show a similar genetic pattern across other animal species, so the ongoing work of geneticists in invaluable to all of us who breed Arabian horses. Today's genetic testing enables us to know with certainty if a horse is a carrier of a particular gene; this knowledge allows us to avoid mating with other carriers and prevent the sorrow (and economic loss) that comes with producing an affected foal. The broader scale of such good practice will result in a decreasing number of carriers in the breeding population and a larger, clearer basis for genetic research as more candidate horses become genetically mapped. Total eradication of a genetic disease is not always possible; it might limit the gene pool too much and significant lines would be lost forever. However, we must be as well-informed as possible, whether it be to breed one treasured foal, or for the good of the breed as a whole.
The four most important genetic defects within the Arabian breed are all autosomal recessive conditions. The diseased gene is not sex-linked, and must come from both parents in order to produce an affected foal. These are:
- Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Disorder (SCID)
- Cerebellar Abiotrophy (CA)
- Lavender Foal Syndrome (LFS)
- Occipital Atlanto-Axial Malformation (OAAM)
In this article, we will discuss Cerebellar Abiotrophy (CA) and its significance to Arabian breeding today. It follows the same pattern of inheritance as the other diseases listed where:
N/N = Normal (clear)
CA/CA = Affected
N/CA = Carrier If two apparently healthy horses (clear or carrier) are bred:
N/N x N/N = Clear 100 %
N/N x N/CA = Clear 50 %, Carrier 50 %, Affected 0 %
N/CA x N/CA = Clear 25 %, Carrier 50 %, Affected 25 %
If an affected horse (with mild symptoms) is used in breeding:
N/N x CA/CA = Clear 0 %, Carrier 100 %, Affected 0 %
N/CA x CA/CA = Clear 0 %, Carrier 50 %, Affected 50 %
Cerebellar Abiotrophy (CA) is sometimes called Cerebellar Cortical Abiotrophy (CCA) and is a neurological condition. The Purkinje cells of the neurons within the cerebellum of the brain die off and do not regenerate when affected with CA. Once the neurons are atrophied, they are lost permanently and neurological symptoms become apparent. The Purkinje cells have a critical role in the brain, controlling the electrical impulse communications between the inner molecular layer and the outer granular cortical layers of the cerebellum. As the cerebellum is the site of motor control, the physical symptoms are marked anomalies in balance and coordination. Put simply, without Purkinje cells, an animal loses its sense of space and distance making its' movement unpredictable, unsafe and uncoordinated. In most cases the degeneration of the neurons will begin soon after birth and the severity of the condition is determined by the degree of cellular loss.
The first clinical signs (symptoms) of a CA affected foal will typically present within the first 4-6 months. The Purkinje cells begin to degenerate about 30 days after birth, the rate of which is subjective. As a result, there is no uniform schedule for the deterioration of motor-function in CA foals. Some foals develop symptoms rapidly and are euthanized. There are cases of horses only developing symptoms between three and six years of age, though they are unusual. CA in itself is not lethal and a few horses have lived to normal life-expectancy. Most are, however, euthanized while juvenile due to complications arising from their accident-prone behaviour. Their coordination is unpredictable and their judgement of distances is poor. They are a danger to themselves and others, unsafe to ride or drive and need intensive and careful management of all aspects of their environment. They do not cope with stress; anxiety exaggerates the symptoms and they startle easily, appearing panicky or hyper-active. CA is often misdiagnosed in foals as their symptoms are accredited to a blow, fall or knock to the head when, in actual fact, the causal relationship lies in the opposite direction. It is clear how the wrong conclusion can be reached when the foal appeared normal at birth and CA is also often misdiagnosed as "wobblers syndrome" or "shivering", Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis (EPM) or concussion.
Symptoms of CA are poor balance and an awkward, exaggerated action with the forelimbs ('hyper-metric action') similar to a military goose-step, or a needlessly high elevation used to cross over a very low object. The horse will have a wide stance and an apparent lack of awareness of where the feet are, sometimes standing on, or trying to walk with, a knuckled-over foot. There is a palsy-like head shaking called 'intention tremors' affecting only the head and not the neck or body. The horse will lack a normal blink response although the vision is otherwise correct, and will have poor depth perception and hyper-reactivity to stimulus. Symptoms tend to worsen when the horse tries to concentrate on something or becomes excited or scared. There is a marked tendency to rear up and occasionally fall over backwards when a handler reaches for the halter or pulls abruptly on a lead. When cantering on level ground the horse appears as if cantering uphill, with an exaggerated gait resembling the butterfly stroke in swimming. A CA horse is skeletally sound and the spinal column appears normal. He will not lose weight or show signs of pain, he will not appear lethargic, lose muscle tone or energy levels. All of these symptoms develop and may worsen for six to 12 months after first presentation. If not severe enough to command euthanasia, they gradually stabilize over a period of one or two years. A horse with mild symptoms can live a normal lifespan, but they are often accident-prone and should not be bred from. They often have problems negotiating the simplest of obstacles such as uneven ground. They may run into fences or fall easily, each time risking serious injury. There is some proof that a few affected horses learn to partially compensate for the condition by cognitively learning alternative methods of moving or determining distances. Thus, they appear to improve as they seem less accident-prone, they can even learn to control their levels of activity when anxious. Nevertheless, a constant and forgiving environment is required to house a CA horse; some older sufferers are reported to have another "buddy" horse to act as a guide and support. If a simple test could prevent this sort of a life for a horse, wouldn't we all "opt in" for CA screening?
CA has existed within the Arabian gene pool since the earliest writings of Bedouin tribesmen, and has been recorded fairly comprehensively since the 1840s. In 1967 Max Sponseller conducted a study of "Cerebella Hypoplasia (CH)" using a sample of 21 cases across the United States and Great Britain. The report highlighted the recurring incidence of in-breeding and pointed towards a genetic origin. Soon after, A.C. Palmer carried out an English study (published in 1973) that concurred with the hypothesis of a genetic link, and looked closely at cases of "repetitive close inbreeding". It was not until 1987 that Alexander de Lahunta confirmed the genetic inheritance of the disease. His studies coincided with the extensive research of geneticist Ann Bowling; her work was never were published due to her untimely death, but she proved that CA had an autosomal recessive mode of inheritance. She also posited that the defect was due to a single mutant allele, rather than a combination of several alleles. By this time CA and CH were established as entirely separate problems; CA developing after birth as Purkinje cells degenerate, CH developing during uterine development producing a foal with degenerated Purkinje cells.
Bret Sponseller (son of the author of the 1967 report) published two in depth CA studies in 1994 and 1995. Around the same time universities in Belgium, Finland and Switzerland cooperated on a report published in Germany by the late H. Gerber, whose son, Vinzenz Gerber, continues the work in partnership with molecular scientist Tosso Leeb of the Horse Genome Project, and Dr. Cecilia Penedo of the University of Davis in California. In 2005, they successfully identified DNA-markers for CA and the "CA Marker Scanning Test" has been available to the public since September 2008.
As an autosomal recessive disease, the defective allele causing CA can be carried over several generations before being discovered through a mating with another carrier and an affected foal being born. (A mating that has a 25% chance of producing a symptomatic foal). The Swiss/German research made "markers" based on their investigations of the Rymnik line (maternal grandsire of Skowronek) in the Crabbet-related, Spanish-related, Egyptian-related and Polish-related bloodlines. It is of course incredibly difficult to establish which horses within the pedigrees were carriers, as only an affected offspring can act as proof of its' parent's carrier status. American geneticists are not in agreement with the focus on Skowronek, although they do agree that his son, Naseem, was a likely carrier, with the Negatiw descendants being particularly vulnerable. Several researchers pinpoint Raffles in their studies, but are adamant that Skowronek himself was CA clear. Their studies and collected markers point further back still, towards Mesaoud and Zobeyni and, more precisely, Astraled and his son Gulastra and subsequent descendants. Dr Penedo is particularly well informed on the Negatiw lines and found that his son Naborr was CA clear. Several Negatiw sons, however, have sired affected foals, among them Salon, Bandos, Tinian, Negor and Wandal. Of course this does not mean that all progeny of these stallions will be affected, nor will all of them be carriers. Another horse suspected by both sets of researchers is the Nazeer-son, Aswan. Nazeer traces to Sotamm 1910 (an Astraled son), as does Morafic who is called into question due to his multiple crosses to this stallion. The Crabbet families have been hit strongly due to their immense numbers and popularity. Bazy Tankersly (Al Marrah) freely discussed her Ataxia foals in one of her early books and initiated the F.O.A.L (The Arabian FOAL Association) programme for reporting such genetic conditions. It is partly thanks to her responsible breeding that we have fewer CA affected foals in the Crabbet lines than we may otherwise have had. Numerous studies have looked into the Spanish Arabian bloodlines. They all seem to conclude that Nana-Sahib is the principle horse to be mindful of, as well as the offspring of Razada; sons Kashmir and Ifni; and daughters Teutonica, Katiuska and Moramya (also registred as Moramya II). There is hardly a classical pure Spanish pedigree that does not carry multiple crosses to one of more of these horses.
CA is incurable. The only hope for prevention and management of this disease lies in identifying carriers and selectively breeding away from the disease. The CA status of the horses in your paddocks is unknown unless they (or both parents) have been tested. The responsible approach is to test your horses and to use the knowledge of their results when breeding. It is a simple test, requiring only a hair follicle sample, and kits are available through the University of California laboratory: www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/horse.php or the Van Haeringen laboratory: www.vhlgenetics.com/vhl/webtable.php
A comprehensive and ongoing list of the CA-status of horses can be found at http://www.cerebellar-abiotrophy.org. If you wish to include your own horse's results in the list please email: email@example.com


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- iHaveNet.com: Vacation Travel
The Queen's English: Brilliant and Baffling
by Rick Steves
Oscar Wilde once said, "We have really everything in common with America nowadays, except, of course, language" -- and it's still true. On your first trip to Britain, you'll find plenty of linguistic surprises. I'll never forget checking into a small-town bed-and-breakfast as a teenager on my first solo European adventure. The landlady cheerily asked me, "And what time would you like to be knocked up in the morning?" I looked over at her husband, who winked, "Would a fry at half-eight be suitable?" The next morning I got a rap on the door at 8 a.m. and a huge British breakfast a half-hour later.
Traveling through Britain is an adventure in accents and idioms. Every day you'll see babies in prams and pushchairs, sucking dummies as mothers change wet nappies. Soon the kids can trade in their nappies for smalls and spend a penny on their own. "Spend a penny" is British for a visit to the loo (bathroom). Older British kids enjoy candy floss (cotton candy), naughts and crosses (tic-tac-toe), big dippers (roller coasters), and iced lollies (popsicles). Kids are constantly in need of an Elastoplast or sticking plaster (Band-Aid), which their parents buy at the chemist's (pharmacy).
In a stationery store, you can get sticky tape or Sellotape (adhesive tape), rubbers (erasers), and scribbling blocks (scratch pads). At garden shops, those with green fingers (a green thumb) might pick up some courgette (zucchini), swede (rutabaga), or aubergine (eggplant) seeds. If you need a torch (flashlight), visit the ironmonger's (hardware store).
In Britain, fries are chips and potato chips are crisps. A beef burger, made with mince (hamburger meat), comes on a toasted bap (bun). For pudding (dessert), have some gateau or sponge (cake).
The British have a great way with names. You'll find towns with names like Upper and Lower Slaughter, Once Brewed, and Itching Field. This cute coziness comes through in their language as well. You'll visit brilliant (wonderful) sights that'll give you goose pimples (goose bumps). Your car will have a bonnet and a boot rather than a hood and trunk. You'll drive on motorways, and when the freeway divides, it becomes a dual carriageway. Never go anticlockwise (counterclockwise) in a roundabout. Gas is petrol, a truck is a lorry, and when you hit a tailback (traffic jam), don't get your knickers in a twist (make a fuss), just queue up (line up).
The British never say they have a two-week vacation, but many locals holiday for a fortnight, often in a homely (homey) rural cottage or possibly on the Continent (continental Europe). They might pack a face flannel (washcloth) and hair grips (bobby pins) in their bum bag (never a "fanny" pack, which refers to a woman's nether parts). If it's cold, they wear a warm mackintosh (raincoat) or an anorak (parka) with press studs (snaps).
If you get settled into a flat (apartment), you can post letters in the pillar box or give your mum a trunk (long distance) call. If you reverse the charges (call collect), she'll say you're tight as a fish's bum. If she witters on (gabs and gabs), tell her you're knackered (exhausted) and it's been donkey's years (ages) since you've slept. After washing up (doing the dishes) and hoovering (vacuuming), you can have a plate of biscuits (cookies) and, if you're so inclined, a neat (straight) whisky. Too much of that whisky will get you sloshed, paralytic, bevvied, wellied, ratted, popped up, or even pissed as a newt. (For a longer list, see Chris Rae's witty book about British slang, "The Septic's Companion.")
Then there is the question of accents. In the olden days, a British person's accent indicated his or her social standing. Eliza Doolittle had the right idea -- elocution could make or break you. Wealthier families would send their kids to fancy private schools to learn proper pronunciation. But these days, in a sort of reverse snobbery that has gripped the nation, accents are back. Politicians, newscasters, and movie stars have been favoring deep accents over the Queen's English. While it's hard for American ears to pick out all of the variations -- and some accents are so thick they sound like a foreign language -- most Brits can determine where a person is from based on his or her accent.
All across the British Isles, you'll find new words, crazy humor and colorful accents. Pubs are colloquial treasure chests. Church services, sporting events, the Houses of Parliament, live plays featuring local comedy, the streets of Liverpool, the docks of London, and children in parks are playgrounds for the American ear. One of the beauties of touring Great Britain is the illusion of hearing a foreign language and actually understanding it -- most of the time.
Article: Copyright ©, Tribune Media Services Inc.
Vacations & Travel "The Queen's English: Brilliant and Baffling"


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Another biggie, is to consider buying used. I recently purchased a German made Henckels knife at our local non-profit thrift store for 27 cents including tax.
So you've decided to buy something. Congratulations! Here's how to do it.
First things first — you'll need to determine when your adventure in commerce will take place. (See also: The Best Days to Shop)
This is a bigger deal than you might think, as "when to buy" can often be more important than "where to buy" when it comes to getting the best price. As a general rule of thumb, you're a lot more likely to pay full price if you're trying to buy something at the same time everyone else is. If you're just now getting around to buying an air conditioner, for instance, it's probably too late to get any kind of significant discount — this is peak season for air conditioner purchases, and most stores don't need to offer discounts to move units. You would have been better off buying at the end of last summer or in the fall, when purchases have slowed to a trickle and stores are trying to get the last remaining units off the floor.
Timing is important for non-seasonal purchases as well. Most new products will start coming down in price after spending some time on the shelves. The waiting period can vary — iPhones and iPads tend to come down by $100 when the new model comes out a year or so later, while a new video game can see its first price drop within a couple of weeks. No matter what, though, you can expect to pay full price if you insist on getting that brand new book or DVD the day it comes out, so do your best to show a little patience.
People tend to talk about getting the "best bang for the buck" — that is, the best quality-to-price ratio. That's a reasonable goal, but I find focusing on value above all else sometimes means you wind up with a low-quality product because you couldn't pass up a too-good-to-be-true price. And that can backfire on you when your new forks and knives that you bought at the dollar store turn to rust in your sink after a couple weeks, forcing you to purchase a new set.
That's why it's a good idea to do some research, read user reviews, and determine which brands of your target product meet your standards for quality (and which don't). That doesn't mean casting aside questions of cost and simply buying the highest-quality product on the market — there's nothing wrong with balancing quality and price to some degree. But you should go into the store having established the minimum quality standard and feature set you're willing to tolerate.
Once you've established what you want to buy and when you want to buy it, figure out where you're going to make your purchase. Buying online is usually cheaper than buying in a store, so start there. While you can have some success by simply checking the price on major e-commerce sites like Amazon and NewEgg, your best bet may be to use a price comparison site like PriceGrabber or Google's shopping tool. If you do find the best price online, don't forget to account for the additional cost of shipping — though remember that shipping costs could be offset by the lack of tax if you live in a state which does not collect sales tax on online purchases. You could also avoid shipping costs if you go with a site that offers free shipping (sometimes this is contingent on spending a certain amount) or if you're able to find a free shipping code.
Speaking of codes, you'll want to hunt around for any way to get a discount off the sticker price. You can find coupon codes on deal sites (RetailMeNot is one popular destination for code-hunting) as well as on the websites and social media feeds of individual retailers. You should also check weekly circulars for deals, sales, and clip-out coupons.
If there's one area where brick-and-mortar retailers have a definite advantage over online shopping, it's the potential to save by haggling. If you decide to skip the e-commerce trend and hit a physical store, don't be shy about negotiating for a lower price.
While you can haggle for anything, you're going to have the most luck (and the most potential for savings) haggling over big ticket items like TVs, appliances, cars, and jewelry; these have high margins and are typically sold by commissioned salespeople empowered to negotiate. Entire books have been written about the art of negotiation, so I can't even begin to tackle all the ins and outs of the haggling process. But the basics are simple: go up the retail hierarchy until you find a salesperson or manager who's allowed to haggle, then see how low he or she is willing to go. Don't be afraid to walk away from the negotiation and leave a phone number for the salesperson — as the end of the month gets closer and they grow more desperate to hit their monthly quotas, they might just call you with a better offer on that big-screen TV.
Now that you've done your research and picked out your purchase, head to the cashier (or checkout screen) and pull out your credit card. You'll notice I said "credit," not "debit" — whenever possible, you should use a credit card for purchases.
In part that's because your credit card likely gives you some sort of cash-back rewards with every purchase (and if it doesn't, you should apply for a rewards card as soon as you get the chance). But beyond the potential for rewards, there's also the fact that credit cards simply leave you better protected against the various things that can go wrong with a transaction. Many of them, for instance, offer purchase protection that serves as a sort of warranty on your merchandise. Obviously you'll want to read the fine print in your card agreement, but in many cases it will allow you to bypass the costly extended warranty that most salespeople will try to sell you. And if you make a purchase and somehow fail to receive the product you ordered, you can do a chargeback, which means the credit card issuer will refund you the money and then go after the shady retailer itself.
Using a credit card also provides good protection against fraud in case the transaction somehow results in someone getting a hold of your card or card number. Most credit card issuers will refund all fraudulent charges made with your card, and federal law makes you liable for no more than $50. By contrast, you could be on the hook for up to $500 if someone goes on a shopping spree with your debit card number.
Some people prefer using cash, and there are admittedly a few advantages there; being allowed only the cash in your pocket can rein in spending impulses, for instance. And using cash can also help in a negotiation, as the promise of avoiding swipe fees may prompt a retailer to knock another $5 or $10 off the price of an item. Other than that, though, you're better off using a credit card — just don't go getting yourself into debt.
If you did everything right, you've purchased a quality product at the lowest possible price. Don't forget your receipt!
Disclaimer: The links and mentions on this site may be affiliate links. But they do not affect the actual opinions and recommendations of the authors.
Wise Bread is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
Another biggie, is to consider buying used. I recently purchased a German made Henckels knife at our local non-profit thrift store for 27 cents including tax.
I'm one of those people who tends to put value over everything and I've bought my fair share of items that broke down way soon after I purchased them.
Now that's complete tips for all consumers to be more extra wise while they're shopping. Thanks for this!
Another one to add: If you can try it on or try it out before you buy, DO IT. Just because the reviews are good and the item / service is known to have high-quality, there's still a chance you might not like it. Then you have to spend money or time returning the item / service.
But the credit cards cost more for the shop owner to process, right? So if everybody pays with credit cards, then all prices will go up to compensate for that loss.


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