FLOWERS MAGZINE (FEBRUARY 2011)

AL QURAN

They say, “When will this promise be fulfilled, if you are truthful?” Say, “You have an appointment of a day, which you will be unable to postpone for a moment, nor bring forward.” (Surah Saba: 29-30)

Those who reject the advent of Judgment day (Qiyamah) ask, “When will this promise [of Judgment day (Qiyamah)] be fulfilled, if you are truthful?” These people intend to say that, since Judgment day (Qiyamah) has not yet occurred, a date has to be set for it, and, if no one is aware of the date, it means that it will never occur. Such reasoning is both foolish and childish.Allah replies to them saying, “Say, ‘You have an appointment of a day, which you will be unable to postpone for a moment, nor bring forward.” The fact that Judgment day (Qiyamah) has not yet arrived does not mean that it will not take place.

AL HADITH

Abu Hurairah (radhiasllahu unh) said: The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said, "The most disgraceful man near Allah is a man who calls himself (or likes others to call him) Malikul-Amlak (i.e., king of kings).''
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Allah appreciates humility and humbleness and abhors pride and haughtiness. To arrogate to oneself the title of `The king of kings' reflects pride and not humility and is, therefore, forbidden. Moreover, this is an exclusive attribute of Allah and it is unjust to associate it with any one else

Dear Readers,

Assalam-o-Alaikum. Here’s the February issue in your hands. Let me introduce you to one new contributor, Shiza Yasmeen. 3 of her contributions are included in this issue. This issue’s title is based on Charles Dickens Day on 7th February. His biography and a poem are also included in this issue. You may have read his books, e.g David Copperfield, Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby etc. Although 5th February has gone, we should still remember the Kashmir Day. Those helpless Kashmiris who are going through hard times by the Indian soldiers. May Allah soon make the Kashmir, a part of Pakistan. Ameen.
I hope you like this issue. Give your feedback, suggestions and contributions (compulsory)
At the email address mentioned below or for feedback, you can post a comment on the website alsomentioned below.
I hope you like this issue. Allah Hafiz.

Qintra.

Amazing Universe Facts

o The universe is so vast in relation to the matter it contains that it can be compared in the following way: A building 20 miles long, 20 miles wide and 20 miles high that contains 1 grain of sand
o The three most common elements in the universe are 1) hydrogen; 2) helium; 3) oxygen.
Scientists believe that hydrogen comprises approximately 90 to 99 percent of all matter in the Universe.
o A bucket filled with earth would Weigh about five times more than the same bucket filled with the substance of the sun. However, the force of Gravity is so much greater on the sun that a man Weighing 150 pounds on our planet would Weigh 2 tons on the sun.
Contributed by: Shiza Yasmeen.

Brainteasers!

1. I have been walked on all of my life.I am solid to the core
Words can't hurt me. At times I can be polished up
What am I?

2. I live upon a star. My initials are PQRS. I have many neighbors. I am on something elecric. What am I?

3. A man died of old age, but was only 15. How is this possible?

4. I am the start of war and end of sorrow.
you can't express wisdom without me but I am at the heart of dimwits. You may find me in waves but never in oceans?

Answers
1. A wooden floor. 2. Number 7 on telephone. 3. He was born on a leap year. 4. The letter W

Poetry Corner

Poetry Corner
Sea Shell
Sea Shell, Sea Shell,
Sing me a song, O Please!
A song of ships, and sailor men,
And parrots, and tropical trees,
Of islands lost in the Spanish Main
Which no man ever may find again,
Of fishes and corals under the waves,
And seahorses stabled in great green caves.
Sea Shell, Sea Shell,
Sing of the things you know so well.

Amy Lowell

Error messages

There was once a young man who, in his youth, professed his desire to become a great writer.
When asked to define "great" he said, "I want to write stuff that the whole world will read, stuff that people will react to on a truly emotional level, stuff that will make them scream, cry, howl in pain and anger!"

He now works in Microsoft, writing error messages.

Contributed by: Shiza Yasmeen

Peep Peep!

Story Stop!
The Best Flower

In a beautiful field of flowers there were three flowers that were liked a lot. Those flowers were Daisy, Lily, and Rose. They were the prettiest flowers in the whole field. All the other flowers would watch them, wishing they could be just like them.
One day, Daisy, Lily, and Rose were fighting over who was liked the most.
“All the flowers like me the best!” Rose said. “I am the prettiest flower.”
“No, I am! Look at my shining white petals!” assured Daisy.
Lily shook her leaves. “Everyone talks about me the most,” she said
The three flowers continued to bicker. One by one, the other flowers stopped watching them. The other flowers thought that they were rude. They did not want to be like Rose, Lily, and Daisy anymore, because those three flowers were ugly on the inside. The rest of the flowers saw past their prettiness and realized that they were not as great as the other flowers thought they were.
Instead, they watched a flower named Marigold. Marigold would never bicker, and she helped everyone. She accepted gifts gracefully and smiled a lot. She was the nicest flower in the whole field. Lily, Daisy, and Rose soon realized that no flowers watched them anymore.
The three flowers continued to bicker. One by one, the other flowers stopped watching them. The other flowers thought that they were rude. They did not want to be like Rose, Lily, and Daisy anymore, because those three flowers were ugly on the inside. The rest of the flowers saw past their prettiness and realized that they were not as great as the other flowers thought they were.
Instead, they watched a flower named Marigold. Marigold would never bicker, and she helped everyone. She accepted gifts gracefully and smiled a lot. She was the nicest flower in the whole field. Lily, Daisy, and Rose soon realized that no flowers watched them anymore.
“We used to be the most liked flowers. What happened?” asked Lily.
“No one likes a fighting flower! We fought and were selfish, so no flower likes us!” said Daisy.
“Yes.” Lily agreed. “Marigold is very nice. I want to be more like her. She seems much happier than we are.”
Then Rose said, “How foolish we are! Let’s be friends again and never argue over who is the best ever again.

Interesting Science History

Al-Khwarizmi

Muhammad ibn Musa Al-Khwarizmi was a Persian mathematician, astronomer and geographer, a scholar in the House of Wisdom in Baghdad. He was famous of Treatises on algebra and Indian numerals. In Ibn al-Nadīm's Kitāb al-Fihrist we find a short biography on al-Khwārizmī, together with a list of the books he wrote. Al-Khwārizmī accomplished most of his work in the period between 813 and 833. After the Islamic conquest of Persia, Baghdad became the centre of scientific studies and trade, and many merchants and scientists from as far as China and India traveled to this city, as did Al-Khwārizmī. He worked in Baghdad as a scholar at the House of Wisdom established by Caliph al-Mamūn, where he studied the sciences and mathematics, which included the translation of Greek and Sanskrit scientific manuscripts. Al-Khwārizmī's contributions to mathematics, geography, astronomy, and cartography established the basis for innovation in algebra and trigonometry. His systematic approach to solving linear and quadratic equations led to algebra, A crater on the far side of the moon was named after him and an Iranian award was also named after him. If he didn’t worked out algebra, avery important thing of maths would we even have the basic

Fruits and Vegetables

Turnips
Turnip is essentially a root vegetable that is a member of the Cruciferae family. This vegetable is usually grown in regions that experience temperate climates. Turnips provide an excellent source of vitamin C, fiber, folic acid, manganese, pantothenic acid, and copper. They also offer a very good source of thiamine, potassium, niacin, and magnesium. In addition, they are a good
source of vitamin B6 and E, folic acid, and riboflavin.
Turnip greens are more nutrition dense than the root. The greens provide an excellent source of vitamins A, B6, C, E, folic acid, calcium, copper, fiber, and manganese.The most common type of turnip is mostly white-skinned apart from the upper 1–6 centimeters, which protrude above the ground and are purple, red, or greenish wherever sunlight has fallen. This above-ground part develops from stem tissue, but is fused with the root. The interior flesh is entirely white. The entire root is roughly conical, but can be occasionally tomato-shaped, about 5–20 centimeters in diameter, and lacks side roots. The turnip was a well-established crop in Hellenistic and Roman times, which leads to the assumption that it was brought into cultivation earlier.

Book Review

Matilda

This book is written by Roald Dahl. It’s about a genius little girl Matilda. Poor Matilda has grown up in a family that scoffs at reading books and demands that the family eats their dinner in front of the television every night.Matilda teaches her to read and by the time she is five and a half years old! Matilda desperately wants to read books, but her parents refuse she has secretly read all the books in the children's section of the public library! Reading is not Matilda's only amazing skill; she can also do double-digit mathematics problems and make things move with her mind!
Matilda is finally allowed to go to school, but quickly learns that the Headmistress, Mrs. Trunchbull, is even more cruel and unfair than her neglectful parents. Matilda's teacher is Mrs. Trunchbull's niece, Miss Honey, and she are lovely and kind. Miss Honey takes a special interest in Matilda and tries to make her parents understand how unique their daughter is. In turn, Matilda wants to help Miss. Honey and make her school a less frightening place. Matilda is a gifted little girl, but can she defeat both Mrs. Trunchbull and her parents? Find this out by reading this book!

Written by Shiza Yasmeen.

Around the World in each issue

Europe
Europe is the world's second-smallest continent by surface area, covering about 10,180,000 square kilometres (3,930,000 sq mi) or 2% of the Earth's surface and about 6.8% of its land area. Of Europe's approximately 50 states, Russia is the largest by both area and population (although the country has territory in both Europe and Asia), while the Vatican City is the smallest. Europe is the third-most populous continent after Asia and Africa, with a population of 731 million or about 11% of the world's population. Land relief in Europe shows great variation within relatively small areas. The southern regions are more mountainous, while moving north the terrain descends from the high Alps, Pyrenees and Carpathians, through hilly uplands, into broad, low northern plains, which are vast in the east. As a continent, the economy of Europe is currently the largest on Earth and it is the richest region as measured by assets under management. In 2009 Europe remained the wealthiest region. Historically, religion in Europe has been a major influence on European art, culture, philosophy and law. The largest religion in Europe is Christianity .Following these is Islam concentrated mainly in the south east (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Kosovo, Kazakhstan, North Cyprus, Turkey and Azerbaijan), and Tibetan Buddhism, found in Kalmykia. Other religions including Judaism and Hinduism are minority religions.

Q & A

How big is the largest pearl?
Excited? After seeing this word pearl? Pearls are things of such beauty that they have been given a value by mankind. China was the first country to discover pearls. Chinese people found the in mussels taken from shallow rivers approximately 4000 years ago. By 6th or 7th century B.C pearls were unearthed along the coasts of India, Persia and Ceylon. The largest pearl detected is 50mm long by 100mm round. This pearl named was named ‘The Hope Pearl’. Other large pearls are Shah Sufi’s Pearl, La Ragente and La Pellegrino.

Quiz time

Here’s a quiz.Its about dwellings. Hoe you enjoy answering them. Choose from the options and email it .

1. Where do boy scouts, explorers and troops live for a time.
a) Convent
b) Camp
c) Inn
d) Hostel
2. Where are invalid or convalescent people treated?
a) Prison
b) Sanatorium
c) Asylum
d) Convent
3. Where are mentally ill people kept?
a) Creche
b) Sanatorium
c) Coop
d) Asylum

Quotable Quotes

• Leadership ... the ability to see what no one else sees, to listen when others talk and the ability to be optimistic when others are pessimistic.

-- George W. Cummings

• If at first you don't succeed, try, try, again. Then quit. There's no use in being a damn fool about it.

-- W.C. Fields
• Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.

-- John F. Kennedy

• Doubt is a pain too lonely to know that faith is his twin brother.

Khalil Gibran

Charles Dickens.

Who does not know the famous English novelist, Charles John Huffam Dickens (Charles Dickens for short)? He was born on 7 February, 1812 in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England (now the Dickens Birthplace Museum) His father was a clerk in the Navy Pay Office. A fault caused him financial difficulties throughout his life. Charles had an older brother Frances, known as Fanny, and younger siblings Alfred Allen, Letitia Mary, Harriet, Frederick William known as Fred, Alfred Lamert, and Augustus Newnham. In 1827 the Dickens were evicted from their home in Somers Town for unpaid rent dues and Charles had to leave school. He obtained a job as a clerk in the law firm of Ellis and Blackmore. In 1833, his first story of many, “A Dinner at Poplar Walk” was published in the Monthly Magazine. He married Catherine Hogarth, daughter of the editor of the Evening Chronicle on 2 April,1836. Most of his novels were first serialized in monthly magazines as was a common practice of the time. Oliver Twist between 1837 and 1839 was followed by Nicholas Nickleby (1838-1839), The Old Curiosity Shop (1840-1841), and Barnaby Rudge (1841). Dickens’ series of five Christmas Books were soon to follow; A Christmas Carol (1843), The Chimes (1844), The Cricket on the Hearth (1845), The Battle of Life (1846), and The Haunted Man (1848. Dombey and Son (1846) was his next publication, followed by David Copperfield (1849). In 1850 he started his own weekly journal Household Words which would be in circulation for the next nine years. From 1851 to 1860 the Dickens lived at Tavistock House where Charles became heavily involved in amateur theatre. By now Dickens was widely read in Europe and in 1858 he set off on a tour of public readings. A year later he founded his second weekly journal All the Year Round, the same year A Tale of Two Cities (1859) was first serialised. Great Expectations (1860-1861) was followed by Our Mutual Friend (1864-1865). Charles Dickens died from a cerebral hemorrhage on 9 June 1870 at his home, Gad’s Hill.

POETRY

LUCY'S SONG

How beautiful at eventide
To see the twilight shadows pale,
Steal o'er the landscape, far and wide,
O'er stream and meadow, mound and dale!
How soft is Nature's calm repose
When ev'ning skies their cool dews weep:
The gentlest wind more gently blows,
As if to soothe her in her sleep!
The gay morn breaks,
Mists roll away,
All Nature awakes
To glorious day.
In my breast alone
Dark shadows remain;
The peace it has known
It can never regain.