In the name of Allah, Most Beneficent, Most Merciful.
The picture in the home page is one of the proofs of the divinity of the Holy Quran. Read the reason in
http://deentech.com/MI_IC_Picture_in_the_home_page_is_a_miracle_why.aspx . You might visit the URL
http://www.bilal-prayer.com/Quran_en.html also.
You are invited to read –
http://deentech.com/Allah_Exists.aspx ; and
http://deentech.com/MI_IC_Evidence_that_the_Holy_Quran_supersedes_the_Holy_Torah_and_the_Holy_Bible.aspx . As of now, only one religion is approved by God Almighty – Islam.
A Muslim must be clean to offer prayers. The cleanliness is achieved by performing ablution (wudu). One act of performing ablution is to snuff water up one’s nose and blow it out.
http://www.searchtruth.com/searchHadith.php?keyword=should+snuff+water+nose&translator=4&search=1&book=&start=0&records_display=10&search_word=all ===
(1) Yahya related to me from Ibn Shihab from Abu Idris al-Khawlani from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The person doing wudu should snuff water up his nose and blow it out again." (Book #2, Hadith #2.1.3) [Malik’s Muwatta]
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The above requirement of snuffing water up the nose might lead to death. From
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070928/ap_on_re_us/killer_amoeba we have:
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A killer amoeba living in lakes enters the body through the nose and attacks the brain where it feeds until you die.
… If someone allows water to shoot up the nose — say, by doing a somersault in chest-deep water — the amoeba can latch onto the olfactory nerve.
The amoeba destroys tissue as it makes its way up into the brain, where it continues the damage, "basically feeding on the brain cells," Beach said.
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Muslims shoot up the ablution water every time they do wudu. What are we to do? Shall we avoid snuffing the water but just clean the nose? The rewards are very high if one performs ablution under adverse conditions.
http://www.searchtruth.com/searchHadith.php?keyword=adverse&translator=4&search=1&book=&start=0&records_display=10&search_word=all ===
(1) Yahya related to me from Malik from al Ala ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Yaqub from his father from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Shall I tell you the things by which Allah erases wrong actions and by which he raises ranks: the complete and correct performance of wudu in adverse conditions, a great number of steps towards the mosque,and waiting after one prayer for the next prayer. That is the firm hold, that is the firm hold, that is the firm hold." (Book #9, Hadith #9.18.58) [Malik’s Muwatta]
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What could be more adverse than courting death by performing ablution? Before we proceed, we must mention that tayammum could be done instead of ablution under fear of death. Out of the two traditions found in the following URL we quote one. [Do read the other.]
http://www.searchtruth.com/searchHadith.php?keyword=tayammum&translator=3&search=1&book=&start=0&records_display=10&search_word=all ===
(2) Narrated Amr ibn al-'As: I had a sexual dream on a cold night in the battle of Dhat as-Salasil. I was afraid, if I washed I would die. I, therefore, performed tayammum and led my companions in the dawn prayer. They mentioned that to the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him). He said: Amr, you led your companions is prayer while you were sexually defiled? I informed him of the cause which impeded me from washing. And I said: I heard Allah say: "Do not kill yourself, verily Allah is merciful to you." The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) laughed and did not say anything. (Book #1, Hadith #0334) [Sunan Abudawud]
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The fact that Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, laughed implies the approval of substituting tayammum in place of ablution when one is afraid of death due to ablution. In what follows, we give a technical solution so that even under the adverse conditions Muslims could perform ablution overcoming the fear of death.
While the brain-eating amoeba has struck from 1995 in USA, it was known from 1985 in Thailand.
www.ptat.thaigov.net/contents/PTAT_JOURNAL/V22N1/V22N1-ST.pdf is a technical paper published in June 1999. We quote:
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In Thailand, the first case of Naegleria infection was found at Si Sa Ket in 1985 [5]. The second case was from Bangkok [6]; the third and fourth cases were from Trat province [7]; and the fifth case was from Nakhon Pathom province [8]. All of these patients died. A sixth case (from Samut Prakan) survived after treatment with amphotericin B and ketoconazole [9].
The distribution of the ameba has been studied in both tropical and subtropical areas. The amebae are found in standing water, mostly in the summer months [10]. This ameba can survive in tap water [11], in dry soil [12], in mud [13], and in lakes [14]. It was even present in the nasal cavity of a boy who had previously swum in one of the lakes [15].
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From the above it is immediately apparent that snuffing clean water up the nose and blowing it out helps clear the body of any pathogens that might have accumulated in the nasal cavity from air. Accordingly we need to ensure that we use clean water for ablution. Hence performing ablution during adverse times reduces to ensuring the availability of clean water for ablution during adverse times.
Even though the brain-eating ameba survives in dry soil and mud, we do not put soil or mud inside our noses and thus we need not worry. As regards its surviving in tap water, urban communities get treated tap water in advanced countries. In developing countries tap water might be contaminated. Thus there is a need to ensure the tap water in developing countries to be clean. This requirement of ensuring cleanliness of tap water is common to all of humanity and not to Muslims alone and thus is not considered here.
We are concerned with lake water only. If the water of a lake is used by the local population to perform ablution, it is known by usage that the water is safe and thus the traveler also could use the water. We need to address the situation where a Muslim traveler does not find any local Muslim at the time of prayer and that a decision is to be made regarding ablution.
We first give two Traditions.
http://www.searchtruth.com/searchHadith.php?keyword=stagnant&translator=1&search=1&book=&start=0&records_display=10&search_word=all ===
(1) Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Apostle said, "We (Muslims) are the last (people to come in the world) but (will be) the foremost (on the Day of Resurrection)." The same narrator told that the Prophet had said, "You should not pass urine in stagnant water which is not flowing then (you may need to) wash in it." (Book #4, Hadith #239) [Sahih Bukhari]
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http://www.searchtruth.com/searchHadith.php?keyword=stagnant&translator=2&search=1&book=&start=0&records_display=10&search_word=all ===
(1) Jabir reported: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) forbade to urinate in stagnant water. (Book #002, Hadith #0553) [Sahih Muslim]
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In a country inhabited with pious Muslims alone – the only place that needs to satisfy this requirement is the Arabian Peninsula – on the strength of the two above Traditions, we can rest assured that stagnant water would not even have traces of urine and thus could be considered for ablution. However in countries with mixed population, no stagnant water should be used for ablution unless there is a local requirement that urination and other forms of excretion are forbidden by the government. We need to cleanse such waters even if they are safe enough for swimming.
To ensure that the stagnant water is free of ameba, it must be treated. From
www.ptat.thaigov.net/contents/PTAT_JOURNAL/V22N1/V22N1-ST.pdf we find:
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Chlorine is a disinfectant which can kill most harmful microorganisms. This is the reason that chlorine is used in water treatment. It has become almost the only method used for the active disinfection of potable water supplies due to its effectiveness as a germicide. In this in vitro study, chlorine was amebicidal to both groups of Naegleria trophozoites at concentrations higher than 0.75 ppm. This result is similar to the findings of Cursons (1980) who reported that a concentration of 0.79 ppm was effective [26].
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Are there portable water purifiers that mix chlorine and then remove it? Since chlorine affects the environment, the water purifiers use ultra filtration to remove bacteria from water. From
http://www.mansfield.ohio-state.edu/~sabedon/biol2010.htm we find that bacteria vary in sizes from 0.1 to about 600 µmeter. What about ameba? From
http://www.jracademy.com/~mlechner/archive1999/amebas.html we get:
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Amebas are tiny, one celled organisms in the Protista kingdom that usually can only be seen under a microscope. Amebas vary in size from about 1/100 inch (0.25 millimeter) to 1/10 inch (2.5 millimeters) across.
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Since the smallest ameba is 250 µmeter in size, we could safely assume that any water purification system that removes bacteria removes the ameba as well.
There are many water purifiers that claim to remove bacteria. Without in any way sponsoring the products, just for information, we describe two possible water purifiers suitable for a traveling Muslim.
http://www.enerhealthbotanicals.com/Travel-Berkey-Water-Purifier-p/b-travel.htm ===
The Travel Berkey® comes with the new Black Berkey® purifying elements and functions at a rate of efficiency of 2-3/4 gallons per hour. The Travel Berkey® cannot be expanded to additional purification elements.
The lower storage tank capacity is 1.5 gallons. Flow rate is 2.75 gallons per hour with two elements.
Includes two Black Berkey® purification elements which is the maximum it can accommodate.
The Travel Berkey® system can purify up to 66 gallons per day when the upper chamber is full and is the perfect choice when mobility is a key concern. Perfect for camping and foreign travel. The Travel Berkey® is compact enough to fit in a suitcase.
Unparalled in effectiveness for a home based counter top water purifier, Berkey® purifiers using the Black Berkey® purification elements have been proven to reduce pathogenic bacteria (including E. Coli, Klebsiella, Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, Giardia and Cryptosporidium) by 99.99999%.
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http://www.ionindia.com/disaster.html ===
Zero-B Srijal : Low cost disinfecting unit does not require piped water or electricity. Based on the principle of siphoning and designed for easy use, Zero-B Srijal is simply placed into a container of water and the outlet hooked onto a clean container. Pumping the pneumatic bellow twice starts the water trickling through the pipe. Then opening the outlet stopper ensures a steady flow into the container. Water passing through Srijal undergoes a two-stage purification process. First, a filter pad removes suspended dirt and mud, then the water passes through a Zero-B resin chamber where harmful bacteria and viruses are eliminated.
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Since the Srijal works under siphoning the rate could be adjusted by changing the heights between the upper bucket and the lower bucket. From
http://www.ionindia.com/residentiallink.html#zerw we find that a Srijal could filter up to 4500 liters of water.
Our final recommendations are:
1. When traveling carry water for ablution. This is the best approach. We perform ablution wherever we are at the time of prayer.
2. Carry a water purifier and use that to produce ablution-quality water from any water source we encounter at the time of prayer.
3. Use the water source used by a local Muslim.
4. Perform tayammum and offer prayer.
5. Never use water from an unknown water source for ablution.
We pray to Allah SWT to guide us to live as Muslims even under the most adverse conditions.