A Leaf from Prophet's (Pbuh) Life : "Allah has saved him.."
The young men chosen to kill the holy Prophet (Pbuh) had agreed to meet outside his gate after nightfall. They waited until all the men had gathered. From the Prophet’s (Pbuh) house they could hear the women’s voices. They could not enter the house while the women were around, for their names would ever be held in dishonour among the Arabs. So they waited for the Prophet (Pbuh) to appear in the morning as was his habit.
Meanwhile inside the house the Prophet (Pbuh) and all were aware of the presence of the men. The Prophet (Pbuh) took up a cloak in which he used to sleep and gave it to Ali. “Sleep in my bed,” he said, “And wrap yourself in this green cloak of mine. Sleep in it, and no harm will come to you from them.”
The Prophet (Pbuh), then began to recite the Surah Ya’sin, and when he came to the words “And we have enshrouded them, so that they see not”, he went out of the house, and Allah took away their sight so that they did not see him, and he passed through their midst and went on his way.
While the holy Prophet (Pbuh) was on his way, he passed a man who recognised him. A little later that man happened to pass by the Prophet’s (Pbuh) house and seeing men at the gate called out to them. “For whom are you waiting here?” “For Muhammad”, they replied. The man said, “Allah has saved him and he has tricked you all. He has just departed right under your noses!” The conspirators did not believe him. “How could that be?” they thought. One of them had watched the Prophet (Pbuh) enter the house and he was sure that he was still there. So they decided to wait and bide their time. One of the men peeped into the house and saw someone sleeping wrapped in a cloak. He reassured the others that the Prophet (Pbuh) was still at home.
When morning dawned Ali (t), rose and went to the door of the house still wrapped in the cloak. The conspirators saw who it was and felt uneasy. As the day began to be brighter the men finally realized that they were out witted. They ran to the door and battered it and with unsheathed swords threw themselves upon Ali. “Where is Muhammad (Pbuh)”? they asked. “I know not,” said Ali.
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Companions of the Prophet (Pbuh) : Hazrath Usman bin Affan
One night Usman had a dream. Someone in the dream was calling him. “wake up, you sleeping one, Ahmad has appeared in Makkah.” From that moment on, Usman was a troubled man, filled with divine inspiration. He went to the holy Prophet (Pbuh) and accepted Islam. He was thirty-four years old at that time. All the opposition from his uncle Hakam did not prevent him from abandoning Islam.
Hazrath Usman was born in 573 C.E. and belonged to the Banu Umayyah clan. He did not have to suffer financial difficulties as some of the companions did; his childhood and early years were therefore spent in comfort. He was also literate, having learned to read and write early.
Like his great friend and predecessor, Hazrath Abu Bakr Siddiq, Hazrath Usman gave most of his wealth away in the cause of Islam. Indeed, in charity, he was second only to Hazrath Abu Bakr Siddiq. He gave away huge sums of money to buy land for the Prophet’s Mosque, and for the Tabuk expedition he contributed ten thousand dinars and one thousand camels. He also took part in all battles of Islam barring the battle of Badr.
Hazrath Usman bin Affan occupied an important position in the affairs of the state and his advice was sought by Hazrath Abu Bakr and Hazrath Umar.
‘Usman-e-Ghani’ or the ‘wealthy Caliph’ as Hazrath Usman was popularly known, was elected to the Caliphate by popular vote. He was the third Caliph of Islam.
Perhaps, the greatest contribution that Hazrath Usman had was that of having the holy Qur’an compiled and arranged as the holy Prophet (Pbuh) had wanted it. The Qur’an we possess today is the very same that Hazrath Usman bin Affan had ordered to be officially standardised.
Hazrath Usman died a tragic death; murdered by two Egyptians on 17 June 656 C.E. He was reading the holy Qur’an when they killed him.
Hazrath Usman, may Allah be pleased with him, was upright, honest and generous. He was best known for his modesty. The holy Prophet (Pbuh) himself was so pleased with him that he gave him his daughter’s hand in marriage.
Posterity has accorded Hazrath Usman bin Affan the highest honour. Muslims the world over revere him as one of the “Four Pious Caliphas” of Islam.
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The Hira Mount
The Hira Mount is among the well-known landmarks of Makkah, and is situated to the north-east of the city, about three miles away. It was at the Hira Cave, where Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) used to find solitude in order to concentrate on his piety and where the first revelation was made to him with the first Qur’anic verse that urged him to read. The mount was subsequently named Jabal Noor (Mount of Light).
It was narrated by Aisha that the Prophet (Pbuh) used to frequent the Hira Cave until on that fateful day the Archangel Jibreel descended upon him and urged him to read, but the Prophet (Pbuh) was reluctant, because he was illiterate. Yet, the Archangel insisted again and again (three times), until the Prophet (Pbuh) finally acceded to his request and started to recite.
After it was all over, the Prophet (Pbuh) returned to his family that day, with his heart pounding. He was met by Sayyida Khadija bint Khuwailid (may Allah bless her) and asked her to cover him. He was covered and remained so until the trepidation he had had subsided and he started to narrate the incident.
The Prophet (Pbuh) used to frequent Hira Mount well before the message was revealed to him, and it was here that the first verse of the Holy Qur’an was revealed. It is because of this historic significance of the place that Muslims who come for either the pilgrimage, Umrah or just visiting Saudi Arabia, are keen to visit this place and see for themselves how the place looks like and witness part of Islam’s history.
The visitors can see for themselves the difficult terrain that the Prophet (Pbuh) used to traverse in ascending to the Cave, not only because of its 100-meter distance from the bottom, but also because of the steepness of the pillar-like incline.
The Saudi Government has paved the road that leads to the Cave and makes available all the services which the visitor to the Cave might possibly need, including water, food and resting places. In addition, there also is a center for spiritual guidance, whose main responsibility is to guide the visitor and warn him against falling prey to any innovations and superstitious beliefs, such as believing that one would receive blessing from Allah when he visits the place. The visitor is also urged to observe his rituals in the correct manner when he visits the place.
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Agriculture and Related Sciences
A Majority of Indians are engaged in farming. Yet those who employ scientific method in farming are very few. Courses in farming help increase productivity of fields and thus become a source of sustaining more lives per unit of land.
It is for this purpose that the Government encourages agricultural sciences through a chain of colleges and universities. Most states have agricultural universities which besides offering Bachelor’s degree in mainstream agriculture, also provide courses and training in allied sciences such as veterinary sciences, poultry, fisheries, horticulture, sericulture, dairy farming, forestry and marketing and cooperation. The courses are available to students after 12 year of schooling or passing of PUC course.
Courses in Karnataka
Karnataka has two agricultural universities, University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) in Bangalore and Karnatak Agricultural University (KAU) at Dharwar. The UAS itself has 3,500 seats in graduate level studies which has nearly nine disciplines. PG and Ph.D. level courses are available in 45 and 33 disciplines. All courses are semester based. Admission process starts immediately after PUC results are out and the academic session starts from first week of September.
Admissions and Quotas
The admissions are on the basis of marks obtained in PUC examination and there are fixed quotas for different social groups. Muslims can apply under II B category which is exclusively for Muslims and four per cent seats can be availed of by the community students. Certain Muslim communities such as Chhapparband, Takkara, Dervish, Patnul, Pinjara and Barbers come under this category. Only non-Muslim community under this category are Gollas. Sons of farmers, sericulturists, poultry farmers, horticulturists or florists can avail of the facility of 10 per cent grace marks which are added to anyone who comes from rural areas (any area falling outside the municipal limits of seven city corporations in Karnataka). Sons of defence personnel too have priority quotas. Residents from outside the states can get admissions through Indian council of Agricultural Research which has 15 per cent seats for central pool.
Job Prospects
Agriculture offers enormous prospects for jobs in government and private companies. In fact, agriculture has an ever-expanding market for jobs as the growth is tremendous. Graduates or post-graduates degree holders in agriculture are required for post of agriculture officers in every district. Public gardens and botanical gardens have vacancies for PG students of horticulture. Seed and poultry and animal feed companies also offer careers for those who possess additional degrees in marketing and management. Fish farms, government aquaria, marine biology centres, fishing companies, veterinary hospitals, stud farms, poultry farms and companies, food processing companies and medicinal herb farms also employ graduates in relevant disciplines from agriculture stream. For more information contact: Farm Sciences Promotion Committee, Al-Ameen Educational complex, D. J. Halli, Bangalore-560045.
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