Truth needs to be considered in context By Prof DR Sohail Ansari & Variables 3
Telling lies is a fault in a boy, an art in
a lover, an accomplishment in a bachelor, and
second-nature in a married man. Never
trust a husband too far, nor a bachelor too near.~ Helen
Rowland
A good journalist
should not do
· Good journalist speaks the truth not
so much as he must, but as much as listeners can listen.
·
“I speak the truth not so much as I would, but as much as I
dare, and I dare a little more as I grow older.” » Michel
de Montaigne
Helen
Rowland Quotes
To be happy with a man you must understand him a lot and love
him a little. To be happy with a woman you must love her a lot and not try to
understand her at all.
A man never knows how to say goodbye; a woman never knows
when to say it.
Somehow a bachelor never quite gets over the idea that he is a
thing of beauty and a boy forever.
When a girl marries, she exchanges the attentions of many men
for the inattention of one.
The role of the
poet in pre-Islamic Arabia
Except for a few proverbs, legends,
and some magical and medicinal formulee, the bulk of the literary heritage from
the pre-Islamic era was in the form of poetry. Prose,
which lacks the elaborate rhythm and formal structure of poetry, did not lend itself easily to memorization. Furthermore, in the absence of a developed system of writing, prose was much less easily preserved. Prose works from the
pre-Islamic period were mainly genealogies (ansab) and legends dealing with inter-tribal wars (ayyam al-'arab). Poetry therefore
represents the main form of artistic expression
during the pre-Islamic era.
The significance of poetry in
pre-Islamic Arabia was underscored by the annual fairs,
the most famous of which was the Suq Ukaz, in which poets competed for fame and
recognition through recitations of poetry. The recitations constituted the main
form of entertainment at the fairs. which were cultural as well as trading
events.
The pre-Islamic poet, enjoying his enviable talent
for composing poetry, played multiple roles. He was an artist, an entertainer,
a journalist, and the spokesman for his tribe.
Furthermore, he was the historian who kept alive the history and past glories
of his tribe. His poetry provided a very effective means of propaganda and
public relations.
He was readily capable of influencing
public opinion, and his poetry was sought by kings and tribal chiefs who
generously rewarded him. In short, the poet enjoyed a very prominent status in
pre-Islamic Arabia.
The inimitability of the Qur'an
The inimitability of the Qur'an is not limited to its content. In fact, the Holy Book of Islam is
held by Muslim scholars to be inimitable not only in its content but also in its language. The Qur'an, it has been constantly
maintained, embodies linguistic and literary beauty which
exceeds anything of human origin.
This is borne out by the fact that
no-one has ever been able to compose anything remotely resembling it in its linguistic, literary, or
conceptual elegance. This point is repeatedly emphasized in the Holy Book
itself. Thus the Qur'an says:
If the whole of mankind and the jinn were to
gather together to produce the like of this Qur'an, they could not produce the
like thereof, even if they backed each other up. (17:88)
The inimitable nature of the Qur'an
was recognized by generation after generation of scholars. Al-Tabari (d. 923)
dealt with this subject in his voluminous study of the Holy Book. Al-Zamakhshari elaborated on this theme in his
famous al-Kashshaf, as
did Baydawi in his Tafsir. AlBaqillam,
a prominent scholar, wrote a book which he devoted entirely to this subject and
to which he gave the title I'jaz al-Qur'an (The Inimitability of the Qur'an). Here
he wrote:
The Qur'an is so wonderfully arranged
and so marvelously composed, and so exalted is its literary excellence that it is beyond what any
mere creature could attain.
Al-Jawziyya, also a noted scholar,
added that:
Whoever knows Arabic and is
acquainted with lexicography, grammar, rhetoric, and Arabic poetry
and prose recognizes ipso facto the supremacy of the Qur'an
Ibn Khaldun also dealt with certain aspects of the
style of the Qur'an:
The inimitability of the Qur'an
consists in the fact that its language
indicates all the requirements of the situation referred to, whether they are stated or understood. This
represents the highest degree of speech. In addition, the Qur'an is perfect in
the choice of words and excellence of arrangement.
The inimitability as well as the
linguistic significance of the Qur'an can be better understood within its
pre-Islamic context and according to the role language played
during that period. Furthermore, the linguistic significance of the Qur'an can also be better
understood within that same context.
The linguistic aspect of the Holy
Book was brilliantly used by the Prophet in challenging and eventually
prevailing upon his fellow Arabs who held in high
esteem those who were eloquent and articulate. The eloquence of the Qur'an clearly impressed and
overwhelmed them. This explains why the Qur'an has been referred to
as 'Muhammad's (P.B.U.H) miracle', or. as the 'miracle of Islam'.
The use of the power of the Qur'an as
a means of persuasion was admitted by the Prophet himself and was mentioned
repeatedly in the Qur'an mostly in the form of a challenge to the disbelievers
to produce something similar. On the need and justification for the Prophet to
use a book such as the Qur'an, Ibn Qutayba wrote:
God offered the Qur'an as the
Prophet's sign in the same way as He offered signs for all the other prophets.
He sent the things most appropriate to the
time in which they were sent. Thus Moses had the power to divide the sea with his hand and rod, and to let
the rock burst forth with water in the desert, and all his other signs in a time of magic. And Jesus had the power to bring the dead back to life, to make birds out of
clay, to cure those who had been blind from birth and the leprous, and all his other signs in a time of
medicine. And Muhammad, may God bless him and
grant him salvation, had the book and all his other signs in a time of
eloquence.
Experimental
and Non-Experimental Research
- Experimental
research:
In
experimental research, the aim is to manipulate an
independent variable(s) and then examine the effect that
this change has on a dependent variable(s). Since it is possible to
manipulate the independent variable(s), experimental research has the
advantage of enabling a researcher to identify a
cause and effect between variables. For example, take our
example of 100 students completing a maths exam where the dependent variable was the exam mark (measured
from 0 to 100), and the independent variables were
revision time (measured
in hours) and intelligence (measured using IQ score). Here, it
would be possible to use an experimental design and manipulate the
revision time of the students. The tutor could divide the students into
two groups, each made up of 50 students. In "group one", the
tutor could ask the students not to do any
revision.
Alternately, "group two" could be asked to do 20 hours of revision in the two weeks prior
to the test. The tutor could then compare the marks that the students
achieved.
- Non-experimental research: In non-experimental research, the researcher does not
manipulate the independent variable(s). This is
not to say that it is impossible to do so,
but it will either be impractical or unethical to do so. For example, a
researcher may be interested in the effect of illegal, recreational drug
use (the independent variable(s)) on certain types of behaviour (the
dependent variable(s)). However, whilst
possible, it would be unethical to ask
individuals to take illegal drugs in order to study what effect this had
on certain behaviours. As such, a researcher could ask both drug and
non-drug users to complete a questionnaire that had been constructed to indicate the extent to which
they exhibited certain behaviours. Whilst it is not possible to identify
the cause and effect between the variables, we can still examine the association or relationship between
them. In addition to understanding the difference between dependent and
independent variables, and experimental and non-experimental research, it
is also important to understand the different characteristics amongst
variables.
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