THE DIVINE EXISTENCE: ONTOLOGICAL DISCOURSE OF AL-GHAZALI (D. 1111) AND MAIMONIDES (D. 1204)

Purpose: This paper aims to elucidate al-Ghazali and Maimonides ontological arguments in proving God’s existence by analysing their theological writings. In the golden age of Islamic civilization, fellow Jewish and Christian were seen to be engaged in theological discourse with Muslim scholars. In adjacent, al-Ghazali and Maimonides were seen playing vital roles in affirming the existence of God in their respective religions. Methodology: This paper is qualitative in nature and employs content analysis. Both al-Ghazali and Maimonides’ arguments are then analysed comparatively. Comparative theology is done to examine theological discourse as part of inter-religious dialogue. Main Findings: This study finds that their arguments differ in interpreting the necessary existent which Maimonides’ dual categorization of necessary existence distinguishes their arguments from there onwards. This entails the dual argument by which Maimonides affirmed God is the agent and cause of every occurrence. Meanwhile, al-Ghazālī only affirmed God is the agent through His will and concept of particularization. Applications: This paper is vital in discussing the concept of God through inter-theological dialogue. Novelty/Originality: Notwithstanding the significant number of texts on divine existence, the researcher found no study that specifically deals with al-Ghazālī and Maimonides’ discourses on the existence of God. Needless to say, comparisons of the concept of God in Islam and Judaism are very limited in contrast to Islam and Christianity

[The Criteria of Hadith Mawdu’ in the Book of Silsilah al-Ahadith al-Da’ifah wa al-Mawdu’ah by al-Albani] Kriteria Hadith Mawdu’ dalam Kitab Silsilah al-Ahadith al-Da’ifah wa al-Mawdu’ah oleh al-Albani

Imam al-Albani is a contemporary hadith scholar who has produced many great works like book of Silsilah al-Ahadith al-Da’ifah wa al-Mawdu’ah which contains hadiths da’if and mawdu’. The position of hadith in the book caused controversy among hadith scholars because the status of hadith sahih by other scholars were considered da'if by al-Albani and hadiths that did not reach the martabat mawdu 'were considered as mawdu' by him and vice versa. So that, many hadith scholars evaluate al-Albani as a scholar who easily devised new methods of hadith. Therefore, this study aims to look at the criteria used by al-Albani in falsifying a hadith in his book. The methodology of this study is qualitative through the method of content analysis focusing on the book of Silsilah al-Ahadith al-Da’ifah wa al-Mawdu’ah. This study finds that the criteria of hadith mawdu ’by al-Albani in the book of Silsilah uses the approach of criticizing sanad and matan; with the criteria of sanad which are (1) the confession of the narrator of the hadith, (2) the existence of qarinah which is almost the same as the confession, (3) the narrator is known as a liar among the scholars, (4) the hadith is narrated mawquf and (5) the narrator is majhul. While in the matan criteria are (1) weakness in the pronunciation (sound) of the hadith text, (2) the strange meaning of the hadith, (3) contrary to the dalil syar'i, and the mind, (4) related to the priority of the mind, (5) contains abominations, isra'iliyyat and bid'ah, (6) not found in the main hadith book and (7) exaggerates the reward or punishment for light deeds. This study found that al-Albani did not make an innovation in the criteria of hadith mawdu' except for a few criteria but in practice it makes a difference with others. Imam al-Albani merupakan ulama hadith kontemporari yang banyak melahirkan karya-karya agung yang menarik seperti kitab Silsilah al-Ahadith al-Da’ifah wa al-Mawdu’ah yang mengandungi hadith-hadith da’if dan mawdu’. Kedudukan hukum hadith dalam kitab tersebut menimbulkan kontroversi dalam kalangan ulama hadith kerana hadith-hadith yang dihukumkan sahih oleh ulama lain dianggap da’if oleh al-Albani dan hadith-hadith yang tidak sampai ke darjat mawdu’ dihukumkan mawdu’ oleh beliau begitu juga sebaliknya sehingga ramai ulama hadith menilai al-Albani sebagai ulama yang mudah membuat kaedah baru dalam ilmu hadith. Oleh itu, kajian ini bertujuan untuk melihat kriteria yang digunakan oleh al-Albani dalam memalsukan sesebuah hadith dalam kitabnya. Metodologi kajian ini adalah berbentuk kualitatif melalui kaedah analisis kandungan kitab Silsilah al-Ahadith al-Da’ifah wa al-Mawdu’ah. Kajian ini mendapati bahawa kriteria hadith mawdu’ oleh al-Albani dalam kitab Silsilah menggunakan pendekatan mengkritik sanad dan matan; dengan kriteria sanad iaitu (1) pengakuan pemalsu hadith, (2) wujud qarinah yang hampir sama dengan pengakuan, (3) perawi terkenal sebagai pendusta dalam kalangan ulama, (4) hadith diriwayatkan secara mawquf dan (5) perawi majhul. Manakala dalam kriteria matan adalah (1) kelemahan pada lafaz (bunyi) teks hadith, (2) makna hadith yang pelik, (3) bertentangan dengan dalil syar’i, dan akal fikiran, (4) berkaitan dengan keutamaan akal, (5) mengandungi kekejian, isra’iliyyat dan bid’ah, (6) tidak terdapat dalam kitab hadith induk dan (7) melebihkan pahala atau seksa terhadap amalan yang ringan. Kajian ini mendapati bahawa al-Albani tidak melakukan suatu pembaharuan dalam kriteria hadith mawdu’ melainkan beberapa kriteria sahaja namun dalam secara praktikknya menimbulkan perbezaan dengan yang lain

Al-Ghazālī’s approach in refuting anthropomorphism

Anthropomorphism stands at the heart of many theological discourses and is among the most discussed issues by Muslim scholars. Anthropomorphic descriptions of God are mentioned in several Quranic verses and hadith for instance, God’s hand, God’s laughter, God’s heavenly throne, God’s hand and fingers and others. More often than not, anthropomorphic verses were interpreted in a different manner according to a scholar’s theological affinity. Thus, this paper aims to examine al-Ghazālī’s method in dealing with anthropomorphic verses. Imam al-Ghazālī was among the Asha‘irah scholars who wrote extensively on theological and philosophical issues. By adopting document analysis method, this study explores al-Ghazālī’s methods by analyzing his writings mainly in Iḥyā’ ‘Ulūm al-Dīn and Fayṣal al-Tafriqah baina al-Islām wa al-Zindiqah, Iljām al-Awām ‘an Ilm al-Kalām apart from his other treatises such as al-Iqtiṣād fī al-‘Itiqād and Qānūn al-Ta’wīl. It can be found that al-Ghazālī strongly affirms God’s incorporeality by renouncing God’s essence from any bodily figures, space, accidents and directions. Apart from that, al-Ghazālī offered two different approaches in understanding anthropomorphic verses for the learned and laymen. For the learned, al-Ghazālī allowed strict allegorical interpretation with its rules. As for laymen, al-Ghazālī suggested seven steps in understanding antrhopomophic verses in ensuring the sanctity of God’s Essence from any figurative literal interpretation. In sum, this study demonstrates al-Ghazālī’s holistic approach in refuting anthropomorphism that includes the learned and laymen and ensuring one’s creed is preserved from any figurative understanding of God

د ارسة التوتر اللغوي في مهارة الكلام باللغة العربية لدى ا الناطقين بغيرها في كلية الأدارة واللغات

يهدف هذا البحث إلى التعرف على مستوى التوتر اللغوي في مهارة الكلام باللغة العربية لدى الطلبة الناطقيين بغيرها في كلية الإدارة واللغات في الجامعة الإسلامية العالمية بماليزيا، وإبراز العوامل التي تؤدي إلى التوتر اللغوي في مهارة الكلام باللغة العربية لديهم. اعتمد البحث على المنهج الوصفي المسحي باستخدام استبانة لجمع البيانات من عينة مكونة من ثلاثين طالبا وطالبة من طلبة تخصص اللغة العربية للاتصال العالمي في قسم اللغات والإدارة في الجامعة الإسلامية بماليزيا فرع باقوه الذين تم اختيارهم بالطريقة الغير العشوائية (المتاحة أو المتوفرة.) تم تحليل البيانات باستخدام الإحصاء الوصفي والاستدلالي للإجابة عن أسئلة البحث. توصل البحث إلى أن مستوى التوتر اللغوي في مهارة الكلام باللغة العربية لدى عينة البحث جاء بدرجة متوسطة. وتوصل البحث إلى أن من العوامل الرئيسة في التوتر اللغوي لديهم هي الشعور بالتوتر قبل إلقاء الخطاب أو الحديث باللغة العربية، القلق بشأن الفشل في التعبير عن الذات بشكل فعال باللغة العربية، والقلق من ارتكاب الأخطاء أثناء التحدث باللغة العربية. وأظهرت النتائج عدم وجود فروق ذات دلالة إحصائية في مستوى التوتر اللغوي في مهارة الكلام باللغة العربية حسب متغير الجنس والسنة الدراسية. يقدم البحث توصيات منها تشجيع الطلبة على ممارسة مهارة الكلام باللغة العربية وتوفير البيئة المناسبة لذلك، مع التركيز على زيادة الثقة بالنفس خاصة عند تصحيح الأخطاء اللغوية. يوصي البحث باجراء أبحاث للكشف عن الطرق الفعالة في تطوير مهارة الكلام لدى طلبة اللغة العربية للناطقين بغيرها وتعزيز الثقة في ممارسة اللغة العربية باستمرا

Novel ceramic hollow fibre membranes contactor derived from kaolin and zirconia for ammonia removal and recovery from synthetic ammonia

The adverse effects of ammonia found in wastewater streams lead to the development of advanced water treatment technology, i.e. membrane contactor (MC). In this study, single layer hollow fibre membrane (SLZK) and dual layer hollow fibre membrane (DLZK) were prepared from zirconia and kaolin and modified into hydrophobic membrane through simple grafting process via fluoroalkylsilane (FAS) agent. The properties of membranes such as morphology, surface roughness, mechanical strength, wettability and liquid entry pressure were analysed through scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), 3-point bending strength, contact angle and LEPw setup. Finally, the performance of the membranes was also investigated towards ammonia removal via membrane contactor system. Our findings showed that hydrophobicity properties significantly improved for both SLZK and DLZK membranes after grafting modification process as indicated by the increase of contact angle value from 5° and 1° to 132.7° and ~180.0° respectively. Based on the morphological analysis, the surface of DLZK showed more porous structure as compared to the SLZK. In addition, DLZK also displayed the highest mechanical strength and contact angle reading of 125 MPa and ~180° respectively. This suggests that the DLZK showed an excellent membrane contactor performance with highest value of mass transfer coefficient (3.77 x 10-5 ms-1) and almost complete removal of ammonia removal (91%). Overall, these results implied that dual layer ceramic membrane developed from kaolin and zirconia could provide the basis for the development of alternative ceramic membrane with excellent properties for membrane contactor system

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

The factors affecting the choice of transportation mode of students in Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Kota Bharu, Kelantan

This study aims to identify the factors of transportation selection by university students to travel in Malaysia. Transportation is an important service aspect of tourism in this sense and in some cases, it can be the subject of the tourism experience journeys. This research is expected to identify the factors affecting the students' choice mode of transportation which is service quality, travel time and travel cost. Data was collected by conducting a quantitative approach which was distributed 364 among Universiti Malaysia Kelantan students who study in City Campus, Kota Bharu, Kelantan. The data collected was analyzed by using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). Descriptive analysis, reliability test and Pearson Correlation were also used to analyze the data. Generally, it can be stated that the respondents were satisfied with the travel time, services quality and travel cost that affected the choice of the transportation. These students’ choice leads to an establishment of a significant relationship between all the independent and dependent variables. Consequently, it can be proved through the Pearson Correlation results that there was a positive relationship between travel time (r = 0.333**), service quality (r= 0.387**), cost (r= 0.650**) and the choice of transportation mode of students in Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Kota Bharu, Kelantan. It means all the research questions have been answered and the hypothesis of this study has been also achieved. The findings of this study could provide better guidelines for university students because it can enhance their awareness about the importance of the bus service choice. More than that, this research also can help transportation companies or airlines to improve their service and make a good impression on passengers