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Friday, April 19, 2013

Mempertimbangkan Halal dan Haram

Sejak kembali dari Pantai Gading saya menjadi lebih perhatian terhadap makanan dan minuman halal. Karena terbiasa hidup di negara yang mayoritasnya muslim, sebelumnya saya kurang begitu perhatian akan urusan halal haram, terutama makanan. Saya menjadi lebih khawatir setelah mebaca hadith yang berbunyi:
Rasulullah SAW bersabda, “Ketika sebutir zat haram masuk ke perut seseorang dan menjadi bagian tubuhnya, malaikat yang ada di langit dan di bumi mengutuknya.”
Referensi: Greater Sins, vol 1, chapter 27/Safinat’ul-Bihar
Rasulullah berkata kepada Sa’d, “Bila sebutir haram masuk ke perut seorang hamba, salatnya tidak akan diterima selama 40 hari.” [Tabrani]
Tadinya saya pikir asal makanan yang dijual oleh muslim berarti halal karena pasti ia baca basmallah (dalam hal penyembelihan), ternyata sekarang ini banyak muslim kurang peduli akan hal itu asalkan binatang yang dijual bukan babi/anjing berarti halal. Ditambah lagi isu-isu tentang produk-produk yang mengandung minyak babi padahal sudah ada label MUI. Fatwa-fatwa MUI yang dikeluarkan baru-baru ini membuat masyarakat kurang percaya (misalnya fatwa kehalalan bekicot dan kepiting).
Saya jadi ingat waktu SMA kami melakukan kunjungan ke pabrik minuman bersoda, ada teman bertanya apakah produknya halal karena tidak mencantumkan label halal, juru bicara perusahaan tersebut mengatakan alasan produknya tidak berlabel halal karena membeli label halal mahal dan ia meyakinkan bahwa produknya halal. Setelah beberapa lama, produk minuman bersoda ini mencantumkan label halal. Sayangnya, baru-baru ini ada informasi yang mengatakan bahwa produk tersebut mengandung alkohol. Lantas bagaimana dengan label halalnya? Tanyakan pada yang memberi label.
Mempertimbangkan hal tersebut akhirnya bila saya ragu akan kehalalan makanan, saya bertanya tentang bahan-bahannya ataupun kehalalannya (tidak berarti produk yang tidak berlabel halal adalah haram).
Sekarang kita beralih ke kosmetik dan produk perawatan tubuh. Tentu kita tahu banyak kosmetik yang tidak berlabel halal, untuk itu ada baiknya kita memperhatikan komposisi produk tersebut. Misalnya sabun, sabun terbuat dari lemak. Bila kamu seorang analis kimia, kamu bisa meriset apakah sabun yang kamu pakai mengandung lemak hewani/atau minyak nabati. Bila ia mengandung lemak babi sudah tentu haram, bila mengandung lemak hewani yang pada dasarnya halal seperti kambing atau sapi kamu harus tahu bagaimana binatang tersebut disembelih; jika tidak tahu maka sebaiknya tidak digunakan. Ini juga berlaku pada pelembab, body lotion, dan produk-produk yang menggunakan lemak/minyak. Memang untuk produk-produk seperti ini paling baik menggunakan minyak nabati. Namun bila kamu masih ragu, pilihlah yang berlabel halal.
Bagaimana dengan face toner dan parfum yang menggunakan alkohol? Pertama, kita harus tahu jenis-jenis alkohol.
1.       Isopropyl alkohol. Isopropyl alkohol disebut juga isopropanol atau 2-propanol. Alkohol jenis ini umumnya digunakan dalam dunia medis sebagai desinfektan. Isopropanol dibuat dengan mencampurkan air dengan propylene. Tingkat penguapan jenis alkohol ini tinggi, oleh karenanya sering digunakan untuk membersihkan barang-barang elektronik, isopropanol juga digunakan dalam industri kosmetik, termasuk lotion.
2.       Metil alkohol. Metil alkohol disebut juga metanol. Metanol terutama digunakan dalam industri pelarut. Orang-orang juga membuat bahan kimia lain dari metanol. Ini karena hasil samping dari turunan metanol adalah formaldehid, yang digunakan untuk membuat produk dari plastik hingga eksplosif. Metanol juga bekerja sebagai bahan bakar mesin untuk pembakaran internal dan menjaga bahan bakar dari pembekuan.
3.       Etil alkohol. Etil alkohol kadang disebut alkohol gandum, jenis alkohol yang dikonsumsi sebagai minuman. Orang biasanya menggunakan etil alkohol dalam konsentrasi pengeceran. Etil alkohol terkenal dengan kemampuannya mengubah mood dan perilaku. Normalnya hati mampu memfilter etil alkohol dari tubuh manusia, namun ia masih bersifat toksik ketika dikonsumsi lebih cepat dari kemampuan hati memetabolismekannya. Seperti metil alkohol, etil alkohol juga digunakan dalam industri pelarut dan adittif bahan bakar.
Dari jenis-jenis tersebut, etil alkohol haram digunakan/konsumsi karena ia dapat menembus ke aliran darah melalui kulit dan termasuk minuman keras.
Saya punya parfum, saya cek kandungannya di internet. Parfum saya menggunakan alkohol denat. Apa itu alkohol denat? Adalah alkohol terdenaturasi, yang biasa digunakan dalam spiritus/bunsen, dalam hal ini diperbolehkan untuk digunakan. Wallahualam
Artikel ini saya buat dengan tidak sempurna, mohon koreksi bila saya salah.
Sumber:

Considering Halal and Haram for Yourself

Since my coming back from Ivory Coast, I’m getting more and more concern for what I eat, what I drink, what I wear, what I use whether they are halal or not. Because I use to live in muslim country (yes of course the majority is muslim) I didn’t really pay attention to halal and haram especially for foods and drink. I got more worry after I read hadiths saying;
Holy Prophet SAWW , “When a single morsel of haram enters the stomach of a person and becomes a part of his body, the angels of the sky and the earth curse him.”
Reference: Greater Sins, vol 1, chapter 27/Safinat’ul-Bihar
The Noble Prophet SAWW said, "O Sa'd! purify your food, your supplication will be accepted. by The One in Whose Hand lays the life of Muhammad, verily a servant places a morsel of haram in his stomach (and as a result) forty days of worship will not be accepted from him. [Tabrani]

Halal and haram food and beverage is clear, we have majlis that authorized to make halal label on it. But if you doubt with the authorized majlis, then the case is different.
What about the cosmetic and personal care which most of them have no halal label? Well you may check the ingredients. A soap made of fat, you may ask/doing research whether the fat is animal fat or vegetable oils. For vegetale oils, there is no problem with that. While animal fat, it is absolutely haram if the soap made of pork fat; and other lawful animals we must know if the animal slaughtered in halal way or not. This is also applied in moisturizer, body lotion, etc.
Bar soaps are made from animal fat or vegetable oils or their fatty acids by reacting them with inorganic water-soluble alkali salt or bases. The source of fat is mutton or beef tallow or pork fat but glycerin is also added besides stearic acid.
And how about face toner and perfume that contain alcohol? First, we must know the types of alcohol.
1.       Isopropyl Alcohol. Isopropyl alcohol also is called isopropanol or 2-propanol. More commonly it is known as rubbing alcohol due to the practice of physicians rubbing the substance on the body for cooling and disinfecting. Produced by combining water and propylene, rubbing alcohol works well for sterilization. Its high evaporation rate makes it a first choice for cleaning electronics, although it is found in everyday cleaning products, as well. Isopropyl alcohol also is found in cosmetics, including lotions. The chemical formula for this type of alcohol is C3H8O.

2.       Methyl Alcohol. Methyl alcohol also called methanol and wood alcohol, is used primarily as an industrial solvent. For example, it is a component in paint remover and photocopier developer. People also use methyl alcohol to make other chemicals. This is because a by-product of degrading methanol is formaldehyde, which may be used to make everything from plastics to explosives. It also works to fuel internal combustion engines and keep fuel from freezing. The chemical formula for methyl alcohol is CH3OH.
3.       Ethyl Alcohol. Ethyl alcohol sometimes called grain alcohol, is the alcohol people consume in beverages. People usually take ethyl alcohol in a diluted consentration—the level of the consentration is known as the proof of the alcoholic beverage. Ethyl alcohol is known for its ability to alter mood and behaviour. The liver usually is able to filter ethyl alcohol from the human body, but ethyl alcohol still is toxic when consume faster than the liver can metabolize it. Like methyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol also has uses as an industrial solvent and as a fuel additive. The formula for ethyl alcohol is C2H5OH.
From those types, only ethyl alcohol is haram for it can pass into bloodstream from the skin and is an intoxicant.
I checked my perfume, L’Occitane Cherry Blossom. I searched in internet its ingredients, there is alcohol denat. What is alcohol denat? It is denaturated alcohol, which is industrial methylated spirit or surgical spirit, that is regard as permissible for use. Allah knows best.

References:

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Imam Jafar Sadiq dan Ateist

Dayshani mendatangi Imam Ja'far Sadiq lalu berkata, "Wahai Ja'far bin Muhammad, tunjukkan aku kepada sesuatu yang kusembah."
Saat itu ada seorang anak di samping Imam Ja'far Sadiq sedang memegang sebutir telur. Kemudian beliau meminjam telur itu darinya dan berkata, "Wahai Dayshani, ini adalah benteng yang tersembunyi, mempunyai kulit tebal. Di dalam kulit yang tebal terdapat lapisan kulit yang tipis. Di bawah lapisan kulit tipis itu terdapat cairan kuning telur dan cairan putih telur. Cairan kuning telur tidak bercampur dengan cairan putih telur, cairan putih telur tidak bercampur dengan cairan kuning telur. Mereka tetap pada posisinya masing-masing. Tidak ada sesuatu yang baik keluar darinya lalu memberitahukan tentang kebaikannya, tidak pula ada sesuatu yang merusak masuk lalu memberitahukan tentang kerusakannya. Tidak diketahui apakah dia diciptakan sebagai jantan atau betina. Dia terbelah bagaikan warna-warna burung merak. Apakah menurutmu ada yang mengaturnya?"
Seorang zandaqah menunjukkan kedangkalan pemikirannya secara demonstratif, seperti memasukkan tanah dan air kedalam botol, beberapa saat kemudian terdapat cacing dalam botol yang semula diisinya dengan tanah dan air tersebut. Kemudian dia berkata kepada para sahabatnya, "Aku telah menciptakannya, karena aku adalah sebab keberadaannya." Imam Ja'far Sadiq mendengar kabar ini dan membantahnya dengan bukti rasional faktual, beliau berkata, "Jika dia yang menciptakannya, maka tanyakan kepadanya, 'Berapa jumlahnya? Berapa yang jantan dan berapa yang betina? Berapa berat masing-masingnya? Mintalah kepadanya untuk mengubahnya menjadi wujud yang lain.'"

Ateist: Mengapa darah haram?
Imam Ja'far Sadiq: mengkonsumsi darah menyebabkan kerasnya hati dan sifat buruk. Membuat hati tiada belas kasih, tubuh menjadi kotor dan bau, dan kulit tidak berwarna. Ini menyebabkan lepra.
Ateist: Mengapa binatang yang disembelih menjadi halal dan binatang yang mati haram?
Imam Ja'far Sadiq: Binatang yang disembelih adalah yang disebut nama Allah. Sedangkan darah binatang yang mati dengan sendirinya tidak mengalir keluar sehingga dagingnya menjadi berat dan menjijikan.
Ateist: Ikan tidak disembelih, maka ia juga menjadi bangkai.
Imam Ja'far Sadiq: Ikan memiliki darah yang sangat sedikit. Penyembelihannya adalah dengan mengambilnya dari air. Ikan tidak memiliki cukup darah di lokusnya sehingga tidak perlu disembelih.

Tanya Imam Jafar Sadiq

Imam Ja'far Sadiq bertanya kepada Abu Hanifah, "Apakah kamu mengetahui kadar garam yang dikandung kedua mata,kadar pahit yang ada dalam kedua telinga, kadar dingin dalam lubang hidung, dan kadar manis di antara dua bibir?"
Abu Hanifah menyatakan kekagumannya dan menyatakan ketidaktahuannya. Imam Ja'far Sadiq bertanya lagi, "Apakah kamu tahu kalimat yang awalnya adalah kufur dan akhirnya adalah iman?" Abu Hanifah menyatakan ketidaktahuannya kembali.
Kemudian Abu Hanifah memohon agar Imam Jafar Sadiq menjelaskan ungkapan beliau tersebut. Beliau berkata, "Ayahku memberitahuku dari kakekku Rasulullah saw, beliau bersabda, 'Sesungguhnya Allah dengan Keutamaan dan Kebaikan-Nya telah menciptakan kadar garam dalam kedua kelopak mata anak-anak Adam untuk membersihkan kotoran-kotoran yang terdapat di dalamnya, menciptakan kadar pahit pada kedua telinga sebagai tameng dari binatang, jika binatang masuk ke dalam kepala (melalui telinga) dan mengarah ke otak, maka karena rasa pahit itu dia akan keluar: Allah menciptakan kadar dingin dalam kedua lubang hidung agar udara dapat dihirup oleh keduanya, seandainya tidak demikian otak akan membusuk. Allah menciptakan kadar manis di antara dua bibir agar dapat merasakan lezatnya makanan.'"
Abu Hanifah memandang Imam Ja'far Sadiq sambil bertanya, "Beritahu aku tentang kalimat yang awalnya adalah kufur dan akhirnya adalah iman?" Beliau menjelaskan, "Sesungguhnya seorang hamba jika mengatakan, 'Tidak ada Tuhan,' maka dia telah kafir. Jika dia mengatakan selain Allah, maka itu adalah iman."
Imam Ja'far Sadiq bertanya, "Manakah yang lebih berat di sisi Allah; membunuh atau berzina?"
Dia menjawab, "Membunuh."
Imam Ja'far Sadiq berkata, "Bagaimana mungkin Allah rela dengan dua saksi dalam kasus pembunuhan dan tidak rela kecuali dengan empat saksi dalam perzinahan?"
Imam Ja'far Sadiq melanjutkan pertanyaannya kepada Abu Hanifah, "Manakah yang lebih utama; shalat ataukah puasa?"
Dia menjawab, "Shalat lebih utama."
Imam Ja'far Sadiq berkata, "Jika menggunakan kias sepertimu, maka wajib bagi wanita untuk meng-qadha shalat yang ditinggalkannya pada saat haid, bukan puasa, bukankah Allah telah mewajibkan qadha puasa, bukan shalat?"
Imam Ja'far Sadiq mengajukan pertanyaan lagi, "Manakah yang lebih kotor, air seni ataukah air sperma?"
Dia menjawab, "Air seni lebih kotor."
Imam Ja'far Sadiq berkata, "Jika konsisten dengan kias yang kau jalankan, maka diwajibkan mandi setelah mengeluarkan air seni, karena ia lebih kotor, bukan air sperma, bukankah Allah telah mewajibkan mandi karena keluarnya air sperma, bukan air seni."

Imam Jafar al-Sadiq, The Great Teacher

Imam Jafar al-Sadiq(A.S.)

"The Founder of the First Grand Islamic University" The 'Abbasids faithfully followed the Umayyads in policy, belief and practice." [1] Be that as it may, the Umayyads in their last days and the 'Abbasids in their first days could not give much attention to the Shi' is. 
Thus the fifth holy Imam of the Shi'ites Imam Muhammad al-Baqir(A.S.) started teaching his faith in Madinah openly. People came to him from far and wide to learn from him explanations of the Qur'an, the traditions, rules of the sharia, theology, etc. It was not a formal madrasa (university, school); yet, for want of a better word, we shall call it the madrasa of the Imam. 
The fifth Imam Muhammad Al-Baqir (95-114/712-732) died before the madrasa had reached its point of perfection, but his son, the sixth Imam, Ja'far As-Sadiq developed it to such an extent that the number of his disciples exceeded four thousand. This continued up to 132/750 when the 'Abbasids came to power Although as-Saffah, the first 'Abbasid caliph, ruled for only four years, and that time was mostly taken up in consolidating his power, he found time to call the Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq to his capital, Hira, where he was held incommunicado. 
One man who wanted to see him had to disguise himself as a hawker of cucumber to reach the Imam.' [2] But later he came back to Madina. Then came al-Mansur (13S158/754-775) whose only aim in life, it seems, was to kill every descendant of 'Ali. The Shi'is in general, and the 'Alawites in particular, were persecuted more brutally than they were during the reign of the Umayyads.
He put even more hindrance in the way of the Imam. "He forbade the people to go to the Imam, and forbade the Imam to sit (outside) to receive the people, and put the utmost pressure on him. So much so that if a problem appeared in a Shi'is life concerning, for example, marriage, divorce or some other matter, and he had no knowledge of the rule of the sharia about it, he could not reach the Imam, and, as a result, the man and the wife had to separate. " [3] 
After a long period, al-Mansur allowed the Imam to benefit the people with his divine knowledge, [4] but there were always spies to report his words and answers. Therefore, the Imam had to be cautious in his discourses. In short, the period of freedom had gone, so far as the Shi'is were concerned. 
Anyhow, this period coincided with the movement of free thinking which had started in the Muslim world. Arabs came in contact with the older civilizations of Iran, Syria and Egypt, and became acquainted with Zoroastrian and Manichean beliefs and Greek philosophy. Some books had already been translated from Greek and other languages.
Many scholars adopted strange beliefs and foreign ideas and spread them among the common people. One finds a bewildering plethora of new sects mushrooming. Atheism was openly advocated even in the great mosque of the Ka'ba; the Murji'ites, by saying that faith is not affected by deeds, supported the tyrannies of the rulers; the "exaggerators" (ghulat) claimed divinity for this or that human being (even the Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq was believed to be God by Abul Khattab). The Kharijites declared that all Muslims who were opposed to them were infidels; The sufis adopted some ideas from Christian monks and Hindu ascetics, and led people away from Islamic monotheism; the traditionalists flooded the Muslim world with forged traditions. 
In short, there was a deluge of anti- Islamic ideals and ideas which inundated true Islam. Amidst this all, these two Imams guided to the truth. These Imams and their faithful disciples were the first to see this danger, and they were ready to fight it with their logical evidence. They defended the true faith, repulsed its enemies, and raised the standards of the shari'a.
They launched an unremitting jihad (academic, of course) against the ghulat and showed them in their true colours. They argued with the Muttazilites, the Murji'ites, and the Kharijites in public and proved the weakness of their standpoints. They exposed the sufis and refuted their arguments. They corrected what was wrong in the theological ideas of many Muslim scholars, and showed them where they had gone wrong in jurisprudence.' [5] 
As we have explained above, the major part of this work was done by the Imam Ja' far as-Sadiq. As a result of his untiring defence of Islam, the Muslim world came to see in him the only hope for the salvation of Islam. Eyes turned towards him, thinkers accepted the Imam as their "great-teacher"; people used to come into his presence with pen and paper ready, and his words were recorded on the spot. 
Thousands of such notebooks were filled, and the words of the Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq attained the same prestige as those of the Messenger of God. Not only the Shi'is, Sunnis, Mu'tazilites and atheists, but also the Hindus and Christians came to him and benefited from his discourses. 
The Sunni Imam, Malik b. Anas, the founder of the Maliki school of law, said: "No eye ever saw, no ear ever heard, and no heart ever imagined anyone superior to Ja'far b. Muhammad in virtue, knowledge, worship and piety. [6] 
Ibn Shahr ashub writes: "So much knowledge has been narrated from as- Sadiq that has never been narrated from anyone else; and the scholars of traditions have collected the names of his trustworthy narrators of various beliefs and views, and they were four thousand men." Abu Na'im writes in Hilyatu 'l-Awliya: "Malik b. Anas, Shutba b. Hajjaj, Sufyan at-Thawri, Ibn Jarih, 'Abdullah b. 'Amr, Rawh, b. Qasim, Sufyan b. 'Uyayna, Sulayman b. Bilal, Isma'il b. Ja'far, Hakim b. Isma'il, 'Abdu l-'Aziz b. Mukhtar, Wuhayb b. Khalid, Ibrahim b. Tahman, among others ..., narrated from Ja'far as-Sadiq, peace be upon him." [7] 
Quoting from others, Ibn Shahr 'ashub has added the names of the Sunni Imams Malik, ash-Shat and Ahmad b. Hanbal, and al-Hasan b. as-Salih, Abu Ayyub as-Sajistani and 'Umar b. Dinar. [8] Hasan b. Ziyad says that Imam Abu Hanifa (founder of the Hanafi school of Sunni law) was asked about the most learned man he had seen. He replied: "Ja'far b. Muhammad." [9] Nuh b. Darraj asked Ibn Abi Layla: "Would you leave (i.e. change) an opinion you have expressed or a judgment you have delivered for any other person's words?" He said: "No. Except one man." Nuh asked: "And who is he?" He said: "Ja'far b. Muhammad."' [10] 
The above is only a partial list of Sunni scholars and Imams who came to the Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq and benefited from his teachings. Add to it the names of the sufis, atheists, Hindus and Kharijites who flocked to his madrasa, and one can appreciate what a treasure of knowledge was given to people by the Imam. When others benefitted so much, how much more must have been gathered by the Shi'is. One of his well-known disciples, Aban b. Taghlib, narrated from him thirty thousand traditions. Hasan b. Ali al-Washsha' said: "I found in the mosque of Kufa nine hundred shaykhs, every one of them saying 'Ja'far b. Muhammad told me ...' " [11] 
In al-Munjid we find: "His (Ja'far as-Sadiq's) madrasa was the continuation of his father's (al-Baqir's) madrasa, and was extremely successful in spreading Islamic culture; the number of its students in Madina was at least 4,000, and they came from all Muslim countries. There was a large branch-school in Kufa. One of the greatest achievements of as-Sadiq was his call to write and edit; before that little writing was done. The number of the books written by his students was at least four hundred by four hundred writers." [12] 
The Shaykh Muhammad Husayn al-Muzaffar writes: "The best days for the Shi'is were the transition period, the last years of the Umayyads and the early years of the'Abbasids ... The Shi'is took advantage of this breathing space to drink from the stream of the knowledge of the Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq; they traveled to him to receive from him the commands of religion and its reality. His disciples narrated from him in every branch of knowledge, as is seen in the Shi'is books. His disciples were not only from the Shi'a community, but all the sects narrated from him, as is clearly mentioned in the books of, hadith and rijal. Ibn ' Uqdah, the Shaykh at-Tusi and the Muhaqqiq enumerated his narrators, and the total came to four thousand." [13] 
This open teaching and unrestricted preaching increased the number of the Shi'is in every region throughout the Muslim world. It is not possible to give a list of well-known Shi's scholars and missionaries of that time, as it would be too lengthy. The teachings and explanations of the Imams removed the veils of ambiguity from the Shi'i faith and showed its teachings in clear terms. Theology, explanation of the Qur'an, morality, jurisprudence, in short every branch of religious knowledge, was explained in a clear perspective. 
The faith had not changed an iota, nor the Qur'anic explanations, nor the traditions; but the discussions and arguments with the newly-appeared sects clarified many fine points and gave Shi'i theology its distinct shape. Also, Shi'i fiqh (law) was so developed at this time that people started calling it the Ja'fari school of law. The Shaykh Mustafa 'Abdur' Razzaq of al-Azhar University says: "The eagerness to codify law came to the Shi'is earlier than to other Muslims." [14] Some of the factors which helped in this development were: 1. The intellectual advancement of the Muslims; 2. The fortuitousness of the transitional period between the Umayyads and the 'Abbasids; 3. The gatherings of thousands of eager disciples. Such favourable factors never came together before or after this period, and that is why other Imams could not do as much, although all of them possessed the same divine knowledge. That knowledge was not confined to religious subjects only, and we shall mention in the next part of this article two examples of the contributions of this madrasa to other branches of knowledge. 
In the beginning we examined the prominence of the school of the Imam Ja'far as- Sadiq in the religious sciences, and discussed the reasons for its pre-eminence. Now we shall see how it also contributed to other branches of knowledge, those of the natural sciences.

(a) CHEMISTRY.
Jabir b. Hayyan (the Geber of the Latins), who has been called one of the 'fathers of chemistry' and 'the most famous Arabic alchemist' [15], was one of the students of the Imam Ja'far, as-Sadiq. The quantity of Jabir's output is quite staggering: besides his writings in chemistry, he wrote 1,300 treatises on mechanics, 500 on medicine, and 500 against Greek philosophy, not to mention other subjects. The number of his books which have been printed in Latin, French and German since the 17th century comes to thirty, if we count his '500 booklets' as one book. 
There are 36 known manuscripts of his works in the British Museum, the Biblioteque Nationale in Paris and in other libraries in Germany. Egypt, Iran and Turkey. The extent to which he is indebted to the Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq in his research and teachings may be judged from the fact that in many of his books we find: 'My master and mawla. Ja'far. peace be upon him, told me that ...', and in his book, 'al Manfa'a' he explicitly says: 'I acquired this knowledge from Ja'far b. Muhammad, the leader of the people in his time.' [16] 
George Sarton, referring to Jabir's untranslated work, writes: 'We find in them remarkably sound views on methods of chemical research; a theory on the geologic formation of metals; the so-called sulphur-mercury theory of metals ...; preparation of various substances (e.g., basic lead carbonate; arsenic; and antimony from their sulphides). Jabir deals also with various applications, e.g., refinement of metals, preparation of steel. dyeing of cloth and leather, varnishes to waterproof cloth and protect iron, use of manganese dioxide in glass making, use of iron pyrites for writing in gold, distillation of vinegar to concentrate acetic acid. He observed the imponderability of mag- netic force.' [17] 
He also discovered that each metal and material had a basic weight; he called this 'the knowledge of weights, 'ilm al-mawazin.' [18] He was, in the words of Sarton: 'a very great personality, one of the greatest in mediaeval science.' [19] Several of his writings have been translated by scholars such as M. Berthelot, Octave Hodas, E. J. Holmyard, Ernst Darmstaedter and Max Mayerhoff. Berthelot wrote in his 'History of Chemistry': 'The name Jabir holds the same place in the history of chemistry which the name of Aristotle holds in the history of logic.' [20] Holmyard wrote: 'Jabir was the student and friend of Ja'far as-Sadiq; and he found in his incomparable Imam a supporter and helper, the trustworthy guide and helmsman whose direction is always needed. And Jabir wanted to free chemistry, through the direction of his teacher, from the myths of the ancients which had held it in shackles since Alexandria; and he succeeded to a great extent in this aim.' [21]

(b) ANATOMY.
A Hindu physician attached to the court of al-Mansur once asked the Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq if he wanted to learn something in this field from him. The Imam said: 'No. What I have is better than what you have.' Then began a very interesting discourse, in which the Imam asked the physician questions like these: Why is the head covered with hair? Why are there lines and wrinkles on the forehead? Why are the eyes shaped like almonds? Why has the nose been placed between the eyes? Why are the hair and the nails without life (sensation)? These questions moved from the head downwards, till he ended up by asking: Why do the knees fold backwards, and why is the foot hollow on one side? To all these questions, the physician had only one reply: 'I do not know.' 
The Imam said: 'But I do know.' Then he explained all the questions, showing the wisdom and power of the Creator. The hair is created over the head so that oil may reach inside, and heat may go out through it, and so that it may protect the head from heat and cold. There are lines and wrinkles on the forehead so that sweat from the head does not reach the eyes. giving the person a chance to wipe it away. The eyes are almond-shaped so as to make it easy to put medicine inside them and remove dirt from them. Had they been square or round, both would have been difficult. 
The nose is put between the eyes as it helps to divide the light equally towards both eyes. The hair and nails lack sensation to make it easier to cut and trim them. If there were life in them it would have hurt a person to cut them. The knees fold backwards because human beings walk forward, and the foot is hollow to make movement easier.' The physician became a convert to Islam. [22] 
A booklet which was dictated by the Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq in four sessions to his disciple Mufaddal b. 'Umar was widely narrated, and has been widely studied and copied to the present day; al-Majlisi copied the whole book into the second volume of his 'Bihar al Anwar'. [23] In this book, the Imam explained the wonders of creation, showing at every stage how all of it is inter related and could not have come into being by chance. In the first session, he explained the creation of man, his organs of perception, the power of his mind, his gradual development. and all the functions of body and mind.
In the second session. he explained the animal world and its common features; then he divided animals into groups: carnivorous and herbivorous animals; birds and reptiles; and so forth, explaining every group's special characteristics. In the process of doing this he described the donkey. the dog, the elephant, the giraffe, the monkey, domestic mammals, reindeer, the fox, the dolphin, the pythom the ant, the spider, the chicken, the peacock the pheasant, the flamingo, the sparrow, the owl, the bat, the bee, the locust and fish. The third session was devoted to geography. geology. astronomy (not astrology) and other related subjects, such as minerals, trees and medicine. In the last session the Imam dealt with the most common objection made by atheists: If there is a Creator, then why is there so much suffering in the world? 
The Imam answered this with the same attention to detail as he had shown in the previous sessions, with systematic arguments. This book is a treasure of knowledge, written to refute the ideas of atheists. Everywhere the Imam draws attention to the wisdom and power of the Creator. Two examples will be given here at random. 'Allah created eyesight to perceive colours; had there been colour but no eye to see it, there would have been no use for colour. And He created hearing to perceive sounds: had there been sounds but no ear to hear them, there would have been no reason to have them. The same is true for all kinds of perception. and the same is true in the opposite sense: had there been eyesight but no colour to see, eyesight would have been useless; and if there had been ears, but no sounds to hear, ears would also have been useless. 
Now, see how Allah has gauged everything to fit with everything else. For every organ of perception he made something for it to perceive, and for every sensory phenomenon something to perceive it. Not only that. but He created the medium between the organs of perception and their objects, without which perception could not take place; for example, light and air: if there were no light eyesight could not perceive colour; and if there were no air to carry sounds to the ear, it could not hear them. Can someone with a sound mind who observes all these interconnected phenomena fail to admit that they could not exist without the Will and Measuring of a Merciful, All-Knowing Creator?' [24] 
At one point Mufaddal said: 'O My Master! Some people think that all this was made by nature ' The Imam dictated: 'Ask them about this nature. Is it a thing which has the knowledge and power for such work? Or is it without knowledge and power? If they say that it has knowledge and power, then why should they disbelieve in a Creator, because these [i.e., knowledge and power] are His attributes. And if they think that nature does it without knowledge and will, and yet there is so much wisdom and perfection in these works, they must admit that it could come only from a Wise Creator. [The fact is that] nature is only [a name for] the system in creation which operates as He has made it operate.' [25] 
There is an interesting aside in the fourth day's session, where the Imam said: 'The name of the universe in Greek is qusmus (kosmos), and it means 'adornment'. This name was given to it by their philosophers and wise men. Could they have named it so except because of the order and system which they found there? They were not content to call it a system; they called it an 'adornment' to show that the order and system found therein has the highest degree of beauty and splendour.'[26] 

::::::::::::::Notes::::::::::::
[1] M. J. al Mughniya, op cit p. 139 
[2] Muhammad Baqir al Majlisi, Bihar al Anwar, new edition, Tehran, 1385 A.H, vol. 47, p. 171 quoting Qutb al Din ar Rawandi, al Kharaij wa l Jaraih, p. 234 
[3] Ibn Shahr ashub, Manaqib, vol. 4 al Matba al Alimiya, Qum, p. 238 
[4] ibid, many similar reports are given in Fadl b. Hasan at Tabarsi, al Ihtijaj, and al Majlisi, op cit 
[5] ibid 
[6] Ibn Hajar al Asqalani, Tadhib al Tadhib, Hyderabad, 1325 A.H, vol. 2, p. 104 
[7] Ibn Shahr ashub, Manaqab, vol. 4 p 247-8 
[8] Ibn Shahr ashub, op cit, p. 248 
[9] ibid, p. 254 
[10] ibid, p. 249 
[11] Muhsin al Amin, Ayan ash Shia, vol. 4 Part II, Mathah al Imaf, Ebirut, ed. 1380/1920 
[12] Al Munjid fi l Alam, Beirut (21st ed.) 1973 
[13] Muhammad Husayn al Muzaffar, Tarikh ash Shia, Dar az Zahra, Beirut, 3rd edition 1402/1982 pp. 53, 55 
[14] M. Abdur Razzaq, Tahmid li Tarikh al Falsafat al Islamiy, Cairo, 1959, p. 202 
[15] G. Sarton. Introduction to the History of Science, vol. 1. Baltimore. 1927. p. 532. 
[16] 'Abdullah Nima. Falasifat ash Shi'a, Beirut, 1966. p. 196. This book is an excellent source for those who wish to examine the contribution of Shiah scholars to philosophy and science. The author discusses Jabirs life and contribution between pp. 184 and 231. 
[17] G. Sarton. op. cit., p. 532. For the Imam Ja'far as Sadiq. see, ibid.. p. 508. 
[18] Quoted by Abdullah Ni'ma. op. cit., pp. 61. 187. 
[19] G. Sarton. op. cit., p. 532. 
[20] Quoted by 'Abdullah Ni'ma. op. cit., p. 187. 
[21] Quoted by 'Abdullah Niima. ibid., pp. 193-4. 
[22] ash-Shaykh as-Saduq, Ilal ash shari'a, n.p., 1311. p. 44. 
[23] al Majlisi, Bihar al Anwar. new ed.. vol. 111, pp. 57-151. 
[24] ibid.,p.69. 
[25] ibid., p. 67. 34. 
[26] ibid., p. 146.