Sufism is the heart of Islam Essay Example for Free

Sufism is the heart of Islam Essay Sufism which is seen as the heart of Islam is a concept which is highly regarded in the Islam religion because of the role it plays in the religion. Studies show that Sufis are men who practice the highest morality and are not led by worldly or their own selfish desires 1. It can be argued that, Sufism is the heart of Islam and it cannot be separated from the Islam religion. This paper is written to critically analyze the fact that Sufism is the heart of Islam. This study found out that there are varied studies which exist touching on the concept of Sufism. Understanding the concepts of Sufism is a core ingredient to understanding the concept of Islam religion. For example, Sufism is all about personal and spiritual growth of Sufis. Studies show that, religion to the men of Sufis is important as long as it does not stand in the way of spiritual growth and progress 1. In other words, religion is there to be analyzed and reasoned so that a follower can derive meaning from the teachings of the religion. Other studies show that, Sufism emphasizes more on love for all human beings and that means that no one should hurt the feelings of other people. When Sufis learn to love each other and treat them equally then they eventually achieve higher levels of morality which is measured by ones behavior and decision making process. God in religion is seen as a God of love and to be actualization with His teaching there is need to practice love actions. The concept of Sufism started with the early leaders of Islam like the Shia Imaams and their followers who used to follow highly spiritually life’s1. Sufism was the commemoration of a kind of divine wisdom from the Prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon Him) and Imams. Early leaders who started the principles of Sufism wanted to achieve higher levels of morality through the use of supplications, teachings and writings. At the time those who led spiritual life did so with so much piety. Sufism is a principle which is made through finding meaning of religion through unveiling the truth through intellectual reasoning. This study found out that the development of piety started among spirituality amongst early Muslims because of tyranny of Islam leaders who purportedly seized the helm of empire after the death of Iman Ali in 40 Hijra 1. This study also found out that critics have a hard time conceptualizing Sufi as an integral part of Islam since they don’t see its evolution from consciousness from the Quaran of Prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon him) teachings 1. From an analysis of how Sufism started its apparent that Muslims who wanted higher levels of morality adopted the concept for their own spiritual benefits and actualizations. Other studies show that Sufism is as a result of mysticism of Jews and Christians at earlier times hence their refusal to adopt Sufism as a major component of Islam1. However studies, critics of Sufism have no bases since Sufism is based on mysticism of the Islam religion. In other words, Sufism is a core ingredient of Islamic faith and one has to work hard to acquire higher levels of Sufism. Sufism is based in finding direction in the Islam faith which also preaches finding order in the human society and within the human soul 1. God finds His relationship with men through religion and love which makes it possible for man to be able to come together to God and eventually return to him at the end in paradise. Quran states that, â€Å"Lo! We are Allahs and Lo! To Him we return. † 1 The principles of Islam describe how a man is supposed to behave in order to be able to have unity with Allah. Such is the part of gnosis which offers direction to the life of an Islam also known as the spiritual journey of Islam. To be able to comprehend and follow the steps of Islamic principles, Muslims have to use qualified teachers in Islam to give them the necessary direction in their faith. The Islam religion believes that Allah is the only supreme being who should be acknowledged and acknowledging any other being beside him is wrong 1. Consequently, in being in unity with Allah, there is need for Muslims to be able to ape or follow His example and the ways He has set for humanity. That can only be followed if one has a purified heart and at the same time is willing to work hard to achieve higher levels of morality 1. With that in mind, it is important to note that following and being in adherence with the principles of Islam calls for discipline and self sacrifice. In order to appease Allah, there is need for Muslims to praise and pray to Him both in the morning and the evening, sell their merchandise to help the poor to mention a few2. At the end of it all faithful Muslims will be paid by God according to what they did since they have been able to find their self. A Muslim will only be able to achieve higher levels of morality if they find their ‘self’ in the Islam faith. Prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon him) once said that one who has known his self has already Known Allah2. This is to say that there is significant peace that comes with finding direction in the Islam faith. On the other hand, it is through self discovery that Muslims are able to have peace and contention with themselves if they know that they are following in the way of morality. Other studies show that to be a successful Sufi, one has to follow the journey of self-realization 2. The Islam religion is based on strict discipline and procedures for example praying 5 times in a day. It is only through keeping and following the laid procedures that Muslims are able to live in light. This paper asserts that, Sufism plays an integral role in the life of Muslims since the principle cannot be separated from the life of Islam. There are many misconceptions surrounding the principles of Sufism but it is important to understand that the principle of Sufism is not any different from the concept of Islam. Studies show that Sufism is a major Islamic mysticism revolving around the journey of self, love and God 2. The journey of Sufism emphasizes on ones inner struggles and more especially the conduct of human beings. The Quaran states that one should â€Å"seek among that which God has bestowed upon you the hereafter. But don’t forget the portion of this world either (28:77). 2 With the above in mind, when people become too inclined towards secularization or spiritualism they may miss out on some important principles vital to Islam principles. Studies show that while Islam is submission, Sufism is the principle of Islam in that Muslims have to submit to mystical principles 2.

Essay --

The cations (Na+, K+ and Mg++) were estimated in the gut contents, fresh tissue of midgut epithelia and heamolymph of uninfected and Bacillus inoculated silkworm. The sodium level was declined from gut contents to heamolymph. The level of sodium content further showed a gradual decrease from the midgut tissue to the heamolymph in the infected silkworm as compared to the uninfected silkworm. The potassium content initially decreased from the gut contents to the midgut tissues in both the uninfected and infected silkworm (Table-1, Fig. 2). Later on, a slow gradient in the potassium content was observed from the midgut tissue towards the heamolymph in the infected larvae. But incase of the uninfected larvae the potassium content gradually declined from the midgut tissue to the heamolymph. In the present study the levels in sodium content was high and potassium concentration was low in tissue than reported earlier. The adult larvae of silkworm, showed a steep gradient for magnesium betwe en lumen and heamolymph, with higher concentration in the heamolymph (Table-1, Fig. 3). Table - 1. Ionic concentration in lumen content, fresh tissue and heamolymph of silkworm Bombyx mori V instar (meq/L). The ionic concentrations were changed in the Bacillus infected larvae. Flacherie resulted in the non-significant decrease of intracellular sodium in midgut cells. Potassium being the major cation in the silkworm diet showed a significant decrease in midgut cells in diseased larvae (p ...f silkworm Bombyx mori Electron micrographs illustrate the midgut of silkworm B. mori. The globlet cell (Plate - 1) wherein the multiplication of pathogen occurs and these cells are slightly elongated with a centrally located cavity. Their ill defined microvillae project into this cavity and these cells are placed in between columnar cells. Dominant cell in midgut epithelium is the columnar cell. The apical surface of the columnar cell is thrown into numerous folds and often appears as finger like projections (microvillae). A cross section of the microvillae, are presented (Plate - 2). The microvillae are located with mitochondria (Plate - 3), vacuoles at the base of microvillae are prominent. Excess of plasma membrane folds at the tip of the microvillae were observed in all the sections scanned. The midgut epithelium is richly supplied with trachea (Plate - 4).

Leadership Case Study: Steve Jobs Essay

1. Steve Jobs had an extremely high interest in being in charge, so to start off with his leader-follower element, he most definitely settles in better on the leader end of the spectrum. Jobs was so far in the leadership end of the spectrum that he had actually been removed from his CEO position in 1985 for being unmanageable. Being one of the most charismatic leaders in the industry has helped him develop his leadership traits through his time with Apple, NeXT, and Pixar. He has always been determined even when Apple took him out of the equation, where he went off to make some of our childhood staples such as Toy Story and gained an enormous share of stock with Disney, which was actually more than he ever owned with Apple. His influence spans across five different industries, which is more than almost any CEO can say that they have done in their entire life. His influence spanned across the computer industry, Hollywood and the movie industry, the wireless phone industry with the IPh one, the retailing industry, and my personal favorite being the music industry where ITunes has innovated the very distribution of music itself. To the point, Steve always seemed to get what he wanted when it came to influencing these many industries. As for organizational objectives, Jobs always wanted to create a product that the customer wanted but almost didn’t even know they wanted or conceive the product in a thought, the IPod being a prime example of this. If Jobs didn’t like the outcome of a product, he sent it back to the drawing board. Jobs and his members shared the goals to create new things they wanted, in the hopes that the customer would too. Change is a huge aspect of the way Jobs leads, all he wants to do is create technologically changing products that he and his customers really want. The constantly updating technology, yet always user friendly interface is Apples motto now a days. Steve’s people skills were apparently not the greatest, but as long as a subordinate shared in his vision of wanting to create and innovate like he did, then Apple would succeed. His people tended to respect him for the way he went about inventing new products and never wanting to fall short on anything. 2. The leadership skills that Steve Jobs possessed that made himself as well as his companies so successful were due his combination of the technical, interpersonal, and decision-making skills he possessed. Keeping up with the  latest technology in the tech industry is an absolute necessity, and Steve and Apple not only kept up with the industry but innovated it every step of the way, so his technical skills were very important. Steve’s interpersonal skills were not conventional in the regular sense of the meaning, but he had his own way of developing relationships and gaining the respect of his subordinates who wished to share in his vision of giving people products that they didn’t even know they wanted. He was sure to consistently communicate this point to his employees, and motivating was one of his key qualities, such as in his key note speeches to his customers to unveil new products every year. Lastly, and what I believe to be his most important skill that he possesses, is his decision-making skills. Jobs was able to come back to Apple and make the necessary decisions to bring it out of bankruptcy by changing the corporate culture back to an entrepreneurial environment to be the innovative company it once was. Critical thinking was a big part of his life, and Steve was known to take walks alone in an almost trance like state where he would be identifying problems and changes in the industry, know where opportunities lied, and would critically think to come up with creative ideas to be the leader and innovator in so many industries. 3. Under the interpersonal managerial leadership roles section, I believe that Steve fell under the category of figurehead and leader roles in this section. Steve was the go to speaker at the key note speeches of unveiling products, and he always had a sense of spirit about him that really made the customer believe in how much he loves the product they just unveiled, and how much Steve believed that the customer would love the product. Steve also continuously performed the leader role by giving instructions of the creation of products, why the company should head in a certain direction, or evaluating performance of research and development of new products. If Steve didn’t want to personally use it, chances are it was thrown in the trash and it was back to the drawing board. As far as the informational role category, I believe that Steve was in the monitor role as well as the spokesperson role. Steve was constantly gathering information and attending meetings in and out of the organization to create new and innovative products. As for the spokesperson role, as I have stated previously, he was the charismatic leader that was the face and spirit of what Apple was all about, and he had  the customer falling in love with a completely innovative product before they had seen anything like it before. As far as his decisional role, he was the company’s main entrepreneur as well as the main disturbance handler when Apple came to him on the verge of bankruptcy. New and improved products and services is Apple’s core belief thanks to Jobs, and his combination of these two roles saved the company single handed thanks to Steve’s enthusiasm and passion of innovation. His decisional roles that he played were by far his most important contributions since he not only saved the company from bankruptcy but also made it the innovative leader in technology for the last 20 years. 4. The primary level of analysis that this case focuses on is the organizational level of analysis. The focus is on how Steve Jobs can influence the entire organization of people to get on top of their game and to constantly be looking for change to innovate new products. He influenced the behaviors, work ethic, and productivity of all of his employees. He individually was able to completely turn the company around from bankruptcy because of the tactics he would use to influence perfection. His mind set was one way, always towards the next best product, and if he didn’t like it then the idea was scrapped. While some of his employees did not quite agree with the angry fits that Steve would have, even the employees that ended up quitting still said there was a sense of respect for what Steve was doing and his passion for it. Steve’s passion resonated throughout the entire organization, and the simple fact that his views of how the innovation culture at the workplace helpe d save it from bankruptcy shows his abilities. Saving Apple was not an easy task, but he was able to accomplish it. 5. The four leadership theory classifications that apply to this case are trait, behavior, contingency, and integrative. Steve’s trait paradigm involves how he acts in the environment of the organization, which included high energy levels at work whether it was anger or passion. It also included his appearance, which he appeared as an angry guy who wanted nothing but perfection, but also showed passion through it all. He was always able to persuade in his own ways, and he always showed his dominance in the workplace, which unfortunately ended up in his initial removal from Apple,  but proved extremely useful in his later years. The behavior paradigm applied in the way that Steve was extremely focused on certain tasks at hand, and the way he is always the biggest critic of any and all products being proposed or worked on in the company. The way that Steve Jobs contributed behaviorally in this case was by controlling his subordinates and demanding perfection every step of the way. The contingency paradigm shows that leadership style is situational, and even though people tended to dislike the way Jobs lead, he ran the organization into its most successful and profitable years, saving it from demise. The most relevant paradigm in my opinion is the integrative paradigm. Since it incorporates portions from the other three theories, I believe that it can be used to describe the charismatic, passion filled leadership qualities that Jobs possessed. He was able to inspire his employees and everyone was always enthusiastic once the levels of productivity they had put in resulted in a noteworthy product everyone will love. 6. Since the passing of Steve Jobs, this seems to be a question that is on everyone’s mind, from employee to shareholder to customer. While it is a scary thought, something tells me that the passion and vision that Jobs was able to give to the organization in the last decade he worked their contributed to the current mentality of a lot of the current top level managers still working there. It has become an atmosphere at Apple that they should only create products that would be worthy of a Jobs stamp of approval, and I personally do not think the organizational paradigm would shift after such an influential human being has put so much effort and soul into a company as Steve has done for Apple. Apple is the leading household name for so many different technologies, they have changed the music industry forever, and have an absolutely absurd amount of cash on hand to fund whatever types of projects they need to be sure they are constantly on top of the industry. While the technolo gy industry is one of the most fast paced changing industries with constant improvements in hardware and software, I do not see Apple falling behind to the point that they will not recover again.

Movie Review The Movie, Philadelphia And A Dumb Man Who...

Tom Hanks once said, â€Å"Sometimes a man just wants the impossible.† In his lifetime, most would agree that Hanks achieved the impossible through his acting career; he personalized many influential movie parts from a gay lawyer with AIDS in the movie Philadelphia to a dumb man who experienced many important events throughout history in Forrest Gump. This shift in the acting world happened on July 9, 1956 when a star was born. Thomas Jeffrey Hanks was born in Concord, California; his parents names are Janet Marylyn Frager and Amos Mefford Hanks. Tom Hanks lived with his father after his parents got divorced at the age of five. His two older siblings also stayed with him and his father while his younger sibling stayed with his mother; their names were Jim Hanks, Sandra Hanks, and Larry Hanks (Biography.com). Hanks’ father moved their family from state to state until they finally settled in Oakland, California where Tom attended high school. After graduating in 1974, Tom Hanks attended a junior college in Hayward California called Chabot Community College. During his time at Hayward, he read and watched a play called the Iceman Cometh by Eugene O Neill; this sparked his interest in acting. He decided to pursue a career in acting and transferred in the theater program at California State University in Sacramento (Biography.com). Tom Hanks’ humble beginning led to the rise of the famous actor within him who has won multiple awards for his acting and changed the world with theShow MoreRelatedLanguage of Advertising20371 Words   |  82 Pages Moscow - 2010 Summary The peculiarities of advertising language are the subject of this graduation paper. At the beginning, in the first chapter is given a general definition of advertising language, its history. The second chapter is types of advertising (consumer advertising, media of consumer advertising). In the third chapter we consider slogans, logos, types with tone and some thoughts of colour. In the fourth chapter we study advertising as a serviceRead MoreProject Managment Case Studies214937 Words   |  860 Pagescould have been listed under several topics. Several of the cases and situations have seed questions provided to assist the reader in the analysis of the case. An instructor s manual is available from John Wiley Sons, Inc., to faculty members who adopt the book for classroom use. Almost all of the case studies are factual. In most circumstances, the cases and situations have been taken from the author s consulting practice. Some educators prefer not to use case studies dated back to the 1970sRead MoreLogical Reasoning189930 Words   |  760 Pages David M. Adams, California State Polytechnic University These examples work quite well. Their diversity, literacy, ethnic sensitivity, and relevancy should attract readers. Stanley Baronett. Jr., University of Nevada Las Vegas Far too many authors of contemporary texts in informal logic – keeping an eye on the sorts of arguments found in books on formal logic – forget, or underplay, how much of our daily reasoning is concerned not with arguments leading to truth-valued conclusionsRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 Pageslikewise. To obtain permission(s) to use material from this work, please submit a written request to Pearson Education, Inc., Permissions Department, One Lake Street, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458, or you may fax your request to 201-236-3290. Many of the designations by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and the publisher was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed in initialRead MoreManaging Information Technology (7th Edition)239873 Words   |  960 Pagesmechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. To obtain permission(s) to use material from this work, please submit a written request to Pearson Education, Inc., Permissions Department, One Lake Street, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458. Many of the designations by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and the publisher was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed in initialRead MoreDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 PagesPrinciples of Management, Human Resources, Strategy, and Organizational Behavior that helps you actively study and prepare material for class. Chapter-by-chapter activities, including built-in pretests and posttests, focus on what you need to learn and to review in order to succeed. Visit www.mymanagementlab.com to learn more. DEVELOPING MANAGEMENT SKILLS EIGHTH EDITION David A. Whetten BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY Kim S. Cameron UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Prentice Hall Boston Columbus Indianapolis