شهدت الحضارة الاسلامية و في ذروتها، رحلات لادباء و علماء و جغرافيين غادروا ديارهم و جازفوا بارواحهم ليسيروا في اطراف الارض و اكنافها ليكشفوا عن المجهول ، خدمة للعلم و المعرفة.
فالكتب التي الفها ابن جبير و ابن بطوطة و ياقوت الحموي و الادريسي و ابوريحان البيروني و ناصر خسرو البلخي و سعدي الشيرازي ليست الا النزر اليسير من الكثير. اذ تحوي كتب هؤلاء الرحالة ، على معلومات جغرافية و تاريخية و سوسيولوجية و ادبية لم تستغني عنها اليوم اية مؤسسة علمية او موسوعة جغرافية في العالم بسبب دقتها و اهميتها العلمية.
لاشك بان الحضارة المتقدمة و المزدهرة هي التي تنتج مثل هؤلاء الرحالة و العلماء و الادباء حيث انمحى اثرهم عقب الانحطاط التي اصاب الحضارة العربية - الاسلامية. وقد خلفت الحضارة الغربية، الحضارة الاسلامية، بعد النهضة الفكرية التي شهدتها الحضارة الاوروبية في القرنين السادس عشر و السابع عشر الميلاديين. وقد قام الرحالة الاوروبيين ومنذ القرن الثامن عشر بالسير في الشرق و خاصة في العالمين العربي و الاسلامي حيث اصبحت الكتب التي كتبوها في هذا المجال مصادر هامة للتعرف على اوضاعنا الاجتماعية و السياسية الجغرافية في العصر الحديث.
ويكمن سر الرحلات القديمة المكتوبة بالفارسية او العربية ليس في اهمية معلوماتها بل وفي فخامة لغتها و سلاسة نثرها حيث كان الكاتب - الرحالة يكتب ملاحظاته و خبراته بلغة جميلة نابضة بالحياة و هذا ما يميزه عما يكتبه اليوم بعض الصحفيين عن البلدان التي يزورونها بلغة صحفية ركيكة سريعة الاستهلاك.
كما هناك فرق ايضا بين الرحلات القديمة نفسها حيث اذا قارننا كتاب "ماللهند" للبيروني مثلا - رغم اهميته العلمية - مع كتاب رحلة ناصر خسرو او مع "غولستان" سعدي الشيرازي و هو مجموعة حكايات معظمها ترتبط برحلاته العديدة؛ فاذا قارننا هذه الكتب نرى ان الاثنين الاخيرين هما الاكثر رواجا بين فئات الشعب المختلفة و السبب يكمن في اختلاف النثر و اللغة بين هذه الكتب الثلاث حيث يعبئ شخص كناصر خسرواو سعدي الشيرازي، مفرداته بشحنة عاطفية قوية، فيما يعامل البيروني الالفاظ كمواد علمية صلبة غير منعطفة.
وتنشأ اهمية "رحلة" ناصر خسرو من انها مصدر جغرافي و تاريخي و علم اجتماعي ليس للايرانيين فحسب بل للعرب و الغربيين ايضا. وهاهي الموسوعات البارزة كموسوعة فلسطين و الموسوعة البريطانية و الموسوعة الفارسية اللواتي ينهلن من معلومات هذه الرحلة القيمة. كما وانها منهل للالفاظ و المفردات الفارسية. وقد ابدى ناصر خسرو ابداعا و براعة في معرفة البلدان و المدن التي زارها و منها آسيا الصغرى - تركيا الحالية - و لبنان و الشام و مصر و الحجاز و العراق و الاهواز و سائر المناطق الايرانية. وقد ركز ناصر خسرو على معرفة العمارة و المواقع الاثرية و الطبيعية بل و السيكولوجية الاجتماعية للشعوب التي زارها في رحلته المعروفة في القرن الرابع الهجري.
فيقول مثلا حول مدينة تبريز الايرانية :” مدينة، عامرة، قست طولها و عرضها بقدمي، كان كل واحد منهما الف و اربعمائة قدم“. او انه يعطينا معلومات دقيقة حول مسجد الاقصي وساحته و سقفه و اعمدته حيث تنقلها وبعد 11 قرنا الموسوعة الفلسطينية لتشرح لنا مميزات المسجد و وضع مدينة القدس انذاك.
يقول ناصر خسرو في قسم من رحلته:”عند وصولنا البصرة كنا متعبين ، شبه عرايا،كالمجانين حيث كنا لم نفتح شعر رؤوسنا منذ ثلاثة اشهر. فقررنا ان ندخل حماما للتدفئة حيث الطقس كان باردا ولم نرتد الكساء ، فكل ما في الامر هو ازارين عتيقين كنا نرتديهما انا و شقيقي و رقعتي قماش تحفظ اقفيتنا من البرد. فتساءلت: من الذي يسمح لنا للدخول الي الحمام في هذه الحالة ؟ و كان لي خرجا صغيرا احتفظ بكتب فيه؛ فبعته و حصلت علي بضعة دراهم سوداء لفيتها في ورقة لاعطيها الي صاحب الحمام لربما يسمح لنا بالبقاء مدة اكثر في الحمام كي ندفع الوسخ من اجسادنا. فعندما اعطيته الدارهم حدق بنا متصورا باننا مجانين“.
فهي بالتاكيد تجرية شاقة وصعبة ترافقت مع هذه الرحلة التي قطع فيها الشاعر والداعية و الرحالة ناصر خسرو، مئات الفراسخ حيث نقل هذه التجربة الثمينة بلغة شاعرية لايزال و بعد مرور عشرات القرون لم تندرس وهي في ذروة النثر الفارسي. اذ نشاهد حتي في عصرنا الحاضر كيف تاثر كتاب و روائيين بنثره السليس و الفني، وهاهو الروائي و المفكر الايراني جلال آل احمد و في القرن العشرين يجدد في النثر الفارسي متاثرا بنثر ولغة ناصرخسرو و يقدم لنا نثرا ادبيا جديدا في الادب الفارسي الحديث.
ففنية ناصرخسرو لاتكمن في شاعريته و لغته الادبية و زخرفته للالفاظ و المفردات في النص الادبي كما هو نثر الحريري او الحميدي وما لف لفهما، بل ان نصوص و دواوين البلخي تحمل في طياتها، خبرات و تجارب سربها الكاتب الموهوب في دماء النص بذكاء وبراعة خاصة به.
ويتعرض ناصر خسرو في البصرة لرجم الحجارة من قبل اطفال كانوا يلعبون في الشارع وذلك بسبب شعره الاشعث و لباسه المندرس، حيث يجلس في مكان ما و يتامل في امر الدنيا وكيف فعلت به؛ لكن و بعد ايام يراه ملك الاهواز صدفة و يعرفه و يبدي احترامه لفضله و علمه و ينقذه من تلك التعاسة.
و يقول ناصر خسرو في هذا الشان”لم تتجاوز الفترة بين هاتين الحالتين الا عشرين يوما ؛ اذ ذكرت هذا الفصل ليعلم الناس انه لايجب ان يشكو المرء اثر شدة في الحياة ولا تصيبه خيبة امل من فضل ربه و رحمته جل جلاله وهو رحمان رحيم“.
كما لابد و ان نذكر ان ناصر خسرو كان مواليا للضعفاء و معارضا للخلفاء و الاباطرة، فعليه اعتنق المذهب الاسماعيلي - الذي كان يمثل الايديولوجيا الثورية و المعارضة في عهده - و زار الفاطميين في مصر حيث اصبح داعية لهذا المذهب طيلة حياته. انتهت
by Abdul Malik Mujahid
Not everything that comes through TV is bad. However, because the average child between two and 11 years old watches over 27 hours of poorly supervised television per week; because the only thing that kids do more than watch television is sleep, and because most parents are unaware of the indecent liberties that television takes with our children, you must control this 19 inch Shaytan, as a friend of mine calls it.
1) Permissible and Forbidden on TV: TV programs include stirring documentaries about history, science, and nature as well as excellent dramatizations of classics. It also includes a lot of forbidden in terms of violence, sex, antifamily and anti-Islamic values in cartoons, sitcoms, talk shows and films. It's the job of parents to observe whats on TV programs and guide their children. One rule you can use when teaching your kids the right and wrong of television is the following: if it's Haram to do then, it's Haram to watch.
2) TV Rules for Children: A carefully programmed TV can be a beneficial ally! Set clear rules for your children on how much TV they can watch, when they can watch it, and which shows are permitted. Then stick to your policy no matter how many tears and voices protest. You are the boss. You can unplug the television whenever you want to.
3) Don't Just Allow "Watching TV": Allow children to watch a particular program which you have approved, not just "watch TV."
4) No Channel Surfing: Channel surfing usually means watching the worst of the shows which are on at any given moment. More stops at sex and violence scenes.
5) Homework First: Insist that homework and chores be done before TV is turned on. (No this is not considered child abuse, not at least in Illinois where I live.) Only one in ten parents require children to do homework first at this moment.
6) Watch Together: Watch TV with your children. It will be lots of fun. You might have some topics to talk about later. You may share some laughter as well. If you cannot watch with them all the time, at least do it occasionally.
7) Talk to Children about the Programs: Talking to your children about the programs they watched or you watched together will give you an opportunity to debrief them about the rights and wrongs in them.
8) Never Use TV as Babysitter: No matter what, don't just train your little Muslim to become an avid TV watcher by letting TV calm him down when he is crying or when you want to do something else other than attend to the baby. Also make this rule clear to the babysitters you hire as well. If you have no choice but to subject you child to a daycare center, choose one which does not use TV as its control mechanism. Seventy percent of daycare centers use TV during a typical day.
9) A Smaller Screen is Better: A small-sized TV is better than a larger size TV. The larger size encourages worse watching habits.
10) One TV is Better than Two: One TV placed in the living room will help you keep an eye on what is being watched. A TV in your child's bedroom is the worst thing. It is not that you don't trust your children. It is the TV which you don't trust. The average household in America has 2.24 TVs in their homes and 54 percent of kids in America have a TV in their bedrooms.
11) No Cable Channels: With a few exceptions, cable provides more of the bad TV and adult-oriented programming. I was staying at a pious Muslim's home as the TV brought a rush of his kids in the room I was staying in. To my astonishment, they ignored their "uncle's" presence and protest as they intensely watched a hot nude sex scene on some cable channel. Recently in Florida, during the daytime, a cable company showed adult programs.
12) Encourage Commercial-Free Channels: Public Television and other Commercial Free TV have more informative programs. It is estimated that the average child sees 20,000 commercials per year. Unlike adults, who often mute out commercials, or who get up and make a mad dash for the bathroom during the 60 to 180 seconds, children like TV ads. They like to be told what to lobby for...and lobby they do.
13) VCR Gives Parents More Control: VCR gives you control of TV time and programs. Many parents use the VCR more than television programs broadcast scheduled times. Balance your TV consumption with videos of good programming offered by Muslims and non-Muslims. This will be more in your control and will contribute to the learning process of children. Some of the good video programs could be as good as anything on TV. Adam's World for children ages two to nine is one such video series. Tens of thousands of children learn and have fun with Adam and Aneesah.
One day, I noticed Sister Lonnie Ali (Champion Muhammad Ali's wife) had ordered another set of Adam's World. Since I knew they had a complete set of Adam's World, I asked why she was buying another one. She told me that Asad (their son) had watched Adam's World so many times that all the tapes were worn out. She said he must have watched each tape more than 100 times. His game at one point was to say the dialogue before Adam said it.
14) TV Off Days: Some Muslims keep TV off all Ramadan. Every year there is a campaign called TV Turn Off Week, which encourages people to not watch TV for at least a week. You may want to do the same for very personal reasons. Television can affect young children in adverse ways: aggressive behavior, difficulty falling asleep, nightmares and an insatiable appetite for advertised products. If your kids are showing signs of this nature, eliminating TV for a week or so may help.
15) More Family Activities: TV takes away family time. Poorly managed television wastes opportunities for kids to learn how to relate to other people - including their parents and siblings. And relating with their families is a desire of today's youth. In a nationwide, ethnically balanced survey of 750 ten to sixteen-year-olds, "three-quarters said that if they had a choice between watching TV or spending time with their families, they'd opt for family time."
16) Buy a Movie Camera: Yes you read it correctly. Instead of children being subject to TV, give them the tools to control TV. Empower them with technology. Give them a gift of a video camera. Consumer Reports has a lot of recommendations for good camcorders. Let your kids write a script, shoot a video, edit it on their computer, and put it back on VCR or incorporate it in a multimedia production (and send a copy to Sound Vision. That little producer might have more talent than you think.)
17) Plan Your Time: If you develop the habit of developing a personal plan, children are likely to follow you in the considerate use of their time. By developing a plan for using your time, you will learn to place TV time in proper proportion to other things in life which you want to achieve.
18) Start a TV Journal: To make good use of TV programs, ask children to write a report about it. Have them answer questions like: who were the characters? What was the plot? What was good? What was bad? What did the program try to promote? Let them be the critic instead of simply being lost to agenda of television producers.
19) Fight bad TV programs: Always protest wrong types of things inserted by producers in what you and your children watch. If you don't protest and pursue the matter, they will learn that they can get away with this and will do more of it, not less. Call toll-free to record your dislike of a program: 1-800-TV-COUNTS (operated by the Parents' Television Council, a family oriented, non-Muslim group).
20) Stick to Your Guns: Your children will resist all rule-making efforts to limit their TV time and program selection. Discuss your reasoning with them, but stick to your guns. This is a decision about their growing up as Muslims. More than 4,000 studies have proven that the behavior of children is affected by their TV watching habits. You cannot let false images and wrong ideals distort the future of your children. You must help tomorrow's Muslims today by being reasonable, but firm. If you don't control TV, TV will control you, your pocket, your children, and your worldview.
21) Children Follow You: The bottom line principle of parenting is that children follow you. If you are a couch potato, and fail to practice what you preach, don't expect your rules to have any value. Watch what you are watching if you want anyone to follow your rules about TV. Whether you give prime time to your family or to TV will determine the future direction of your life and your children's life.
1. The Sex
Ask yourself an honest question: given the number of times kissing, and various examples of sexual behavior show up on that screen (even the remote control doesn't work as well anymore) what would happen if Mom or Dad walked right in and sat beside you when it was on?
This nasty aspect of television is getting worse. Why subject yourself to it and earn Allah's anger as you catch even a glimpse of this Haram?
2. You could become more violent
Enough studies have shown the link between watching violence in the media regularly and violent behavior. It should come as no surprise that school shootings, road rage, and airplane rage, to name just a few examples of violence in our culture today, happen. Don't desensitize yourself, your siblings or your kids any longer. Start today to curb watching violence on TV.
3. You'll waste your life
You could have spent more time with your family and friends instead of watching TV. You could have read more about Islam, improved your commitment to Allah, and gained a better chance to get to Paradise in the Next Life. You could have spent more time studying which could have meant admission to medical school or a scholarship to the college you really wanted to attend, or...I think you get the picture. Wasting time means wasting your life. Most TV wastes your life.
4. You'll get fat
TV encourages you to just sit there and let your mind more or less go blank. You pick up pounds sitting there night after night, not getting any exercise.Obesity can lead to diseases later on in life. Sitting there in front of the tube is not good for your health. Walking outside in the fresh (or semi-fresh if you live in the city) air is much better.
5. Your mind will go numb
While TV shows make great topics of conversation amongst friends, future admissions officers at colleges and universities and employers, for instance, will not be impressed with your ability to recite, alphabetically, the cast of your favorite TV show. They will want to know that you are an individual who is aware of the world around him or her. That means someone who is engaged in intellectual pursuits, more specifically reading and DOING things in the community.
6. You'll get lazy
You will also become lazy by depending on this box to entertain you instead of being creative and finding ways to spend your time more usefully. TV can make you a dull couch potato.