Our leaders tell us that our political system is in need of change for honest leaders we can trust. Sociologists see that our social system also requires change. Social relations are in jeopardy, calling for intensive care. Strong social relations demand trust. There can be no security or unity in society if its members are suspicious of one another. Developing trust is a real challenge in these times. People are afraid of being deceived or conned. In order to change this condition we must work hard to become trustworthy. Trust is to be earned.
Allah sent us the best model for this virtue. Our inspiration, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was the most trustworthy man in history. He earned his name, (Al-Amin) The Trustworthy as a young boy, by the people of Mecca. In his fair dealings, he became recognized for being trustworthy. He was always entrusted to take charge of other people’s merchandise. He was entrusted to trade on behalf of those who could not travel themselves. He was so trustworthy, he impressed a wealthy, widowed, noble, businesswoman so much, she actually proposed marriage to him, despite being 15 years his elder. Muhammad (SAW) worked very hard for Khadija, managing all of her caravans. His time was spent traveling across deserts and through oases to distant lands and foreign cities. He never overpriced his goods, nor skimped on weights. He usually gave other merchants the benefit of the doubt.
In business transactions, honesty, trustworthiness, and fair dealings are an obligation to Allah. Cheating, concealing the defects of merchandise, or taking advantage of someone’s ignorance is sinful. Allah states in the Qur’an:
And if one of you deposits something on trust with another, let the trustee discharge his trust, and fear his Sustainer. (Al Baqara: 283)
Give full measure when you measure, and weigh with a straight balance. That is the most fitting and most advantageous in the final determination. (Al Israa: 35)
O you who believe! Whenever you give or take credit for a stated term, set it down in writing. And call upon two of you as witnesses; and if two men are not available, then a man and two women from among such as are acceptable to you as witnesses, so that if one of them should make a mistake, The other could remind her. (Al Baqara: 282)
As explained in the previous article, honesty and trust go hand in hand. The opposite, according to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is also true, he said, “The worst lie is to distrust another.” Distrust is a root cause for distress in social relations, opening the door to many evils. A good person thinks of others as good while an evil person suspects others of being the same as he is. Suspicion destroys friendships and unity. Another side to distrust is the fact that it does not allow people to accept the reasons given by the person suspected. The blessed Prophet (SAW) said ”Anyone who does not accept the explanation of defense given by his brother is a great tyrant”. Always remember to look for and appreciate the virtues of others and overlook their shortcomings”. By avoiding suspicion and overlooking each other’s shortcomings, people can learn to trust again. To trust and be trusted is essential in mending social relations.
Betraying a trust is a grave sin. Disclosing secrets is another breach of trust which destroys family ties. Protecting the trusts Allah gave us is also a serious matter. The deeper meaning of trustworthiness is to preserve all of the blessings that were granted to us by Allah. One’s fortunes and family members are trusts that should be paid back. So, this is a serious matter deserving our immediate attention.
Let’s not contribute to this crisis of mistrust which plagues the world but be a part of the solution using the inspiration of Prophet Muhammad (SAW). The concept of trust seems so basic, we often take it for granted. Yet, it is the key to social change. Do we always return the trusts be they big or small in due time? Trust is a measure of faith. How deep is our faith? Remember, the more people trust a person for his money, lives, and honor, the deeper the faith of that person is! Are we able to trust and be trusted?
Allah says,” and you reckon it was a simple thing and in the reckoning of Allah it is a tremendous thing.” (Al Nur:15)
Minggu, 15 Juni 2014
Senin, 02 Juni 2014
ANNOUNCEMENT
From : English Department of Lampung University
Lampung University
Bandar Lampung, 35147
Contact : Asty Firdausya
Phone : 0812-3567-8944
For use : now to July 3, 2013
On the 4th of July, 2013, a team from the University of Adelaide will come to the University of Lampung to provide guidance on scholarships for outstanding students in Indonesia. The briefing will be delivered directly through the university’s dean of Adelaide in a great detail. The event will take place during the day and held in the multipurpose building of Lampung University. Enjoy the event.
THE SCIENCE OF EARTHQUAKES
What What is an earthquake?
An earthquake is what happens when two blocks of the earth suddenly slip past one another. The surface where they slip is called the fault or fault plane. The location below the earth’s surface where the earthquake starts is called the hypocenter, and the location directly above it on the surface of the earth is called the epicenter.
Sometimes an earthquake has foreshocks. These are smaller earthquakes that happen in the same place as the larger earthquake that follows. Scientists can’t tell that an earthquake is a foreshock until the larger earthquake happens. The largest, main earthquake is called the mainshock. Mainshocks always have aftershocks that follow. These are smaller earthquakes that occur afterwards in the same place as the mainshock. Depending on the size of the mainshock, aftershocks can continue for weeks, months, and even years after the mainshock!
What causes earthquakes and where do they happen?
The earth has four major layers: the inner core, outer core, mantle and crust. (figure 2) The crust and the top of the mantle make up a thin skin on the surface of our planet. But this skin is not all in one piece – it is made up of many pieces like a puzzle covering the surface of the earth. (figure 3) Not only that, but these puzzle pieces keep slowly moving around, sliding past one another and bumping into each other. We call these puzzle pieces tectonic plates, and the edges of the plates are called the plate boundaries. The plate boundaries are made up of many faults, and most of the earthquakes around the world occur on these faults. Since the edges of the plates are rough, they get stuck while the rest of the plate keeps moving. Finally, when the plate has moved far enough, the edges unstick on one of the faults and there is an earthquake.
Why does the earth shake when there is an earthquake?
While the edges of faults are stuck together, and the rest of the block is moving, the energy that would normally cause the blocks to slide past one another is being stored up. When the force of the moving blocks finally overcomes the friction of the jagged edges of the fault and it unsticks, all that stored up energy is released. The energy radiates outward from the fault in all directions in the form of seismic waves like ripples on a pond. The seismic waves shake the earth as they move through it, and when the waves reach the earth’s surface, they shake the ground and anything on it, like our houses and us! (see P&S Wave inset)
How are earthquakes recorded?
Earthquakes are recorded by instruments called seismographs. The recording they make is called a seismogram. (figure 4) The seismograph has a base that sets firmly in the ground, and a heavy weight that hangs free. When an earthquake causes the ground to shake, the base of the seismograph shakes too, but the hanging weight does not. Instead the spring or string that it is hanging from absorbs all the movement. The difference in position between the shaking part of the seismograph and the motionless part is what is recorded.
How do scientists measure the size of earthquakes?
The size of an earthquake depends on the size of the fault and the amount of slip on the fault, but that’s not something scientists can simply measure with a measuring tape since faults are many kilometers deep beneath the earth’s surface. So how do they measure an earthquake? They use the seismogram recordings made on the seismographs at the surface of the earth to determine how large the earthquake was (figure 5). A short wiggly line that doesn’t wiggle very much means a small earthquake, and a long wiggly line that wiggles a lot means a large earthquake. The length of the wiggle depends on the size of the fault, and the size of the wiggle depends on the amount of slip.
The size of the earthquake is called its magnitude. There is one magnitude for each earthquake. Scientists also talk about the intensity of shaking from an earthquake, and this varies depending on where you are during the earthquake.
How can scientists tell where the earthquake happened?
Seismograms come in handy for locating earthquakes too, and being able to see the P wave and the S wave is important. You learned how P & S waves each shake the ground in different ways as they travel through it. P waves are also faster than S waves, and this fact is what allows us to tell where an earthquake was. To understand how this works, let’s compare P and S waves to lightning and thunder. Light travels faster than sound, so during a thunderstorm you will first see the lightning and then you will hear the thunder. If you are close to the lightning, the thunder will boom right after the lightning, but if you are far away from the lightning, you can count several seconds before you hear the thunder. The further you are from the storm, the longer it will take between the lightning and the thunder.
P waves are like the lightning, and S waves are like the thunder. The P waves travel faster and shake the ground where you are first. Then the S waves follow and shake the ground also. If you are close to the earthquake, the P and S wave will come one right after the other, but if you are far away, there will be more time between the two. By looking at the amount of time between the P and S wave on a seismogram recorded on a seismograph, scientists can tell how far away the earthquake was from that location. However, they can’t tell in what direction from the seismograph the earthquake was, only how far away it was. If they draw a circle on a map around the station where the radius of the circle is the determined distance to the earthquake, they know the earthquake lies somewhere on the circle. But where?
Scientists then use a method called triangulation to determine exactly where the earthquake was (figure 6). It is called triangulation because a triangle has three sides, and it takes three seismographs to locate an earthquake. If you draw a circle on a map around three different seismographs where the radius of each is the distance from that station to the earthquake, the intersection of those three circles is the epicenter!
Can scientists predict earthquakes?
No, and it is unlikely they will ever be able to predict them. Scientists have tried many different ways of predicting earthquakes, but none have been successful. On any particular fault, scientists know there will be another earthquake sometime in the future, but they have no way of telling when it will happen.
Is there such a thing as earthquake weather? Can some animals or people tell when an earthquake is about to hit?
These are two questions that do not yet have definite answers. If weather does affect earthquake occurrence, or if some animals or people can tell when an earthquake is coming, we do not yet erstand how it w
An earthquake is what happens when two blocks of the earth suddenly slip past one another. The surface where they slip is called the fault or fault plane. The location below the earth’s surface where the earthquake starts is called the hypocenter, and the location directly above it on the surface of the earth is called the epicenter.
Sometimes an earthquake has foreshocks. These are smaller earthquakes that happen in the same place as the larger earthquake that follows. Scientists can’t tell that an earthquake is a foreshock until the larger earthquake happens. The largest, main earthquake is called the mainshock. Mainshocks always have aftershocks that follow. These are smaller earthquakes that occur afterwards in the same place as the mainshock. Depending on the size of the mainshock, aftershocks can continue for weeks, months, and even years after the mainshock!
What causes earthquakes and where do they happen?
The earth has four major layers: the inner core, outer core, mantle and crust. (figure 2) The crust and the top of the mantle make up a thin skin on the surface of our planet. But this skin is not all in one piece – it is made up of many pieces like a puzzle covering the surface of the earth. (figure 3) Not only that, but these puzzle pieces keep slowly moving around, sliding past one another and bumping into each other. We call these puzzle pieces tectonic plates, and the edges of the plates are called the plate boundaries. The plate boundaries are made up of many faults, and most of the earthquakes around the world occur on these faults. Since the edges of the plates are rough, they get stuck while the rest of the plate keeps moving. Finally, when the plate has moved far enough, the edges unstick on one of the faults and there is an earthquake.
Why does the earth shake when there is an earthquake?
While the edges of faults are stuck together, and the rest of the block is moving, the energy that would normally cause the blocks to slide past one another is being stored up. When the force of the moving blocks finally overcomes the friction of the jagged edges of the fault and it unsticks, all that stored up energy is released. The energy radiates outward from the fault in all directions in the form of seismic waves like ripples on a pond. The seismic waves shake the earth as they move through it, and when the waves reach the earth’s surface, they shake the ground and anything on it, like our houses and us! (see P&S Wave inset)
How are earthquakes recorded?
Earthquakes are recorded by instruments called seismographs. The recording they make is called a seismogram. (figure 4) The seismograph has a base that sets firmly in the ground, and a heavy weight that hangs free. When an earthquake causes the ground to shake, the base of the seismograph shakes too, but the hanging weight does not. Instead the spring or string that it is hanging from absorbs all the movement. The difference in position between the shaking part of the seismograph and the motionless part is what is recorded.
How do scientists measure the size of earthquakes?
The size of an earthquake depends on the size of the fault and the amount of slip on the fault, but that’s not something scientists can simply measure with a measuring tape since faults are many kilometers deep beneath the earth’s surface. So how do they measure an earthquake? They use the seismogram recordings made on the seismographs at the surface of the earth to determine how large the earthquake was (figure 5). A short wiggly line that doesn’t wiggle very much means a small earthquake, and a long wiggly line that wiggles a lot means a large earthquake. The length of the wiggle depends on the size of the fault, and the size of the wiggle depends on the amount of slip.
The size of the earthquake is called its magnitude. There is one magnitude for each earthquake. Scientists also talk about the intensity of shaking from an earthquake, and this varies depending on where you are during the earthquake.
How can scientists tell where the earthquake happened?
Seismograms come in handy for locating earthquakes too, and being able to see the P wave and the S wave is important. You learned how P & S waves each shake the ground in different ways as they travel through it. P waves are also faster than S waves, and this fact is what allows us to tell where an earthquake was. To understand how this works, let’s compare P and S waves to lightning and thunder. Light travels faster than sound, so during a thunderstorm you will first see the lightning and then you will hear the thunder. If you are close to the lightning, the thunder will boom right after the lightning, but if you are far away from the lightning, you can count several seconds before you hear the thunder. The further you are from the storm, the longer it will take between the lightning and the thunder.
P waves are like the lightning, and S waves are like the thunder. The P waves travel faster and shake the ground where you are first. Then the S waves follow and shake the ground also. If you are close to the earthquake, the P and S wave will come one right after the other, but if you are far away, there will be more time between the two. By looking at the amount of time between the P and S wave on a seismogram recorded on a seismograph, scientists can tell how far away the earthquake was from that location. However, they can’t tell in what direction from the seismograph the earthquake was, only how far away it was. If they draw a circle on a map around the station where the radius of the circle is the determined distance to the earthquake, they know the earthquake lies somewhere on the circle. But where?
Scientists then use a method called triangulation to determine exactly where the earthquake was (figure 6). It is called triangulation because a triangle has three sides, and it takes three seismographs to locate an earthquake. If you draw a circle on a map around three different seismographs where the radius of each is the distance from that station to the earthquake, the intersection of those three circles is the epicenter!
Can scientists predict earthquakes?
No, and it is unlikely they will ever be able to predict them. Scientists have tried many different ways of predicting earthquakes, but none have been successful. On any particular fault, scientists know there will be another earthquake sometime in the future, but they have no way of telling when it will happen.
Is there such a thing as earthquake weather? Can some animals or people tell when an earthquake is about to hit?
These are two questions that do not yet have definite answers. If weather does affect earthquake occurrence, or if some animals or people can tell when an earthquake is coming, we do not yet erstand how it w
PISA TOWER
A UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most recognized buildings in the world, the Leaning Tower of Pisa ("torre pendente di Pisa," in Italian) in Italy's Tuscany region famously tilts to the southwest, a condition created when its original architects set its foundation in loose, shifting earth. Efforts to correct the tower's posture during its 800-year history have resulted in a reduction in its tilt, and a recent overhaul completed in 2001 added a level of stability this medieval tower never had.
Location
The tower is part of Pisa's Piazza del Duomo (Cathedral Square), a plaza dominated by Pisa's Duomo (cathedral), its Baptistery and Campo Santo (walled cemetery), all built in the medieval Romanesque style. The tower is the cathedral's campanile, a free-standing bell tower. Pisa sits near the Mediterranean coast in Tuscany, about 50 miles east of Florence.
Construction History
Construction on the campanile began on Aug. 9, 1173, on the site of a dry estuary with sandy, unstable soil. During the next five years, workers built three stories of the tower, then abruptly stopped construction. Building resumed in 1272 and continued for five years, at which time the seventh story leaned about 1 degree off center (equivalent to 2.7 feet). Workers completed the tower, with chambers for seven colossal bells, in 1370. Various excavations and the addition of the bells causes the tower to lean more than 13.5 feet by the early 20th century.
Architecture
Workers used gray marble, limestone and stones to build the tower. Its Romanesque style employs a colonnaded facade with Corinthian capitals topping the columns. Inside, 294 steps or 296 steps lead to the tower's top: workers built two fewer steps on the seventh story to compensate for its shorter height on the southwest side.
Inclination
Before the most recent effort to save the tower from collapse, its inclination was about 5.5 degrees, or almost 15 feet off its axis. Extensive restoration projects between 1990 and 2001 gradually reduced the tilt by inches and, more importantly, stabilized the foundation with a complex system of lead weights.
Visiting the Tower
Tourists may go inside the Leaning Tower of Pisa under strict regulations. Timed tickets let in only 40 people at a time for a 30-minute guided tour, which involves climbing the nearly 300 steps to the summit for views of the entire city. Advanced reservations guarantee admission to this popular
landmark
Minggu, 01 Juni 2014
HOLIDAY
When I was 3rd
grade of junior high school, my friends and I went to Bali. We were there for
three days. I had many impressive experiences during the vacation.
First day, we visited Sanur Beach in the morning. We saw the beautiful sunrise together. It was a great scenery. Then, we checked in to the hotel. After prepared our selves, we went to Tanah Lot. We met so many other tourists there. They were not only domestic but also foreign tourists.
Second day, we enjoyed the day on Tanjung Benoa beach. We played so many water sports such as banana boat, jetsky, speedboat etc. We also went to Penyu island to see many unique animals. They were turtles, snakes, and sea birds. We were very happy. In the afternoon, we went to Kuta Beach to see the amazing sunset and enjoyed the beautiful wave.
The last day, we spent our time in Sangeh. We could enjoy the green and shady forest. There were so many monkies. They were so tame but sometimes they could be naughty. We could make a close interaction with them. After that, we went to Sukowati market for shopping. That was my lovely time. I bought some Bali T-Shirt and souvenirs.
In the evening, we had to check out from the hotel. We went back home bringing so many amazing memories of Bali.
First day, we visited Sanur Beach in the morning. We saw the beautiful sunrise together. It was a great scenery. Then, we checked in to the hotel. After prepared our selves, we went to Tanah Lot. We met so many other tourists there. They were not only domestic but also foreign tourists.
Second day, we enjoyed the day on Tanjung Benoa beach. We played so many water sports such as banana boat, jetsky, speedboat etc. We also went to Penyu island to see many unique animals. They were turtles, snakes, and sea birds. We were very happy. In the afternoon, we went to Kuta Beach to see the amazing sunset and enjoyed the beautiful wave.
The last day, we spent our time in Sangeh. We could enjoy the green and shady forest. There were so many monkies. They were so tame but sometimes they could be naughty. We could make a close interaction with them. After that, we went to Sukowati market for shopping. That was my lovely time. I bought some Bali T-Shirt and souvenirs.
In the evening, we had to check out from the hotel. We went back home bringing so many amazing memories of Bali.
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