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Article Kashmir: hard choices only - https://adimagazine.com/articles/kashmir-a-historical-timeline/ -

https://www.examenglish.com/PTE/pte_academic_writing_1.htm https://www.quora.com/In-Islam-
was-the-Eden-Garden-where-Adam-and-Eve-were-born-in-the-Heaven-or-on-Earth

Model Question: -

You will have 20 minutes to plan, write and revise an essay about the topic below. Your response will
be judged on how well you develop a position, organize your ideas, present supporting details, and
control the elements of standard written English. You should write 200–300 words.

Most of the television news being reported is bad news: wars, famines, accidents, and crime. Some
people think that television news should be a mixture of good and bad news.

Choose whether you agree or disagree with this statement and discuss why you chose that position.
Support your point of view with details from your own experiences, observations or reading.

Answer: -

Television news often inundates us with stories of conflict, disaster, and upheaval. Wars, famines,
accidents, and crimes dominate the airwaves, prompting a debate about whether television news
should strike a balance between good and bad news. I believe that television news should
encompass both good and bad news for the following compelling reasons.

First, an incessant stream of negative news can significantly impact our emotional well-being. Being
constantly bombarded with reports on conflicts, natural disasters and tragedies can instill anxiety
and despair among viewers. So, it is vital to offset this with uplifting stories that offer hope and
kindle positive emotions. Such stories, like successful rescue missions, scientific breakthroughs, and
people’s success stories, provide a much-needed respite from the constant deluge of grim news.

Additionally, presenting a mix of good and bad news offers a more accurate representation of our
world. While it is essential to acknowledge the challenges and adversities in society, it is equally
crucial to recognize the positive developments and acts of kindness that occur daily. Neglecting these
uplifting stories distorts our perception of reality. For example, news reports about communities
rallying during crises or individuals making significant contributions to society serve as powerful
motivators for others to. These narratives inspire action and drive individuals to become actively
engaged in efforts to improve their communities and the world at large.

In conclusion, the inclusion of both good and bad news in television broadcasts is essential for our
emotional well-being, and for accurately representing our reality and motivating people to
contribute positively to society. Striking this balance results in a more informed, hopeful, and
empowered viewership, ultimately contributing to a better and more compassionate world.

Adam’s (A.S) Height: -

As a Muslim this hadith is correct and there is no doubt about it.

So, do I believe that Hazrat Adam (Alaihi salaam) was 90 feet (60 cubits) when he lived on earth?
Obviously, no.
Lets hear what Prophet Muhammad (SallAllahu alaihi wassallam) said in order to understand the
meaning of this tradition correctly:

Abu Huraira (r.a) reported Allah's Messenger (SallAllahu alaihi wassallam) as saying:

Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, created Adam in His image with His length of sixty cubits, and as He
created him He told him to greet that group, and that was a party of angels sitting there, and listen to
the response that they give him, for it would form his greeting and that of his offspring. He then went
away and said: Peace be upon you! (Asalaam O Alaikum). They (the angels) said: May there be peace
upon you and the Mercy of Allah (Wa Alaikum Salaam Wa Rahmatullahi), and they made an addition
of" Mercy of Allah". So he who would get into Paradise would get in the form of Adam (as he was in
Paradise) his length being sixty cubits, then the people who followed him continued to diminish in
size up to this day. (Sahih Muslim)

The italicized part is where readers (muslims and non-muslims) make an error when understanding
due to translations available. The Arabic words are usually translated as ‘then the people who
followed him continued to diminish in size up to this day.’ thinking that the tradition is speaking of
some sort of an evolution which points towards mankind’s stature diminishing with time. This leads
towards people trying to prove or disapprove using modern scientific findings which leads towards
more confusion.

This misunderstanding however is removed when we translate a bit different, as it should, to make
sense with the rest of the hadith (tradition) such as ‘the creation is still lacking after him until now’
which means that creation i.e. mankind has continued to be deprived of that height or that mankind
has not achieved this height since Adam’s fall to earth which means Adam had this height only in
paradise and the creation can regain that back only in paradise.

The above tradition is quire clear that Adam had that height only in paradise due to the words ‘Allah,
the Exalted and Glorious, created Adam in His image with His length of sixty cubits, and as He
created him He told him to greet that group (of angels)’. The Quran confirms that Adam (alaihi
salaam) and the angels had their 1st encounter in the heavens and after Adam (alaihi salaam) was
created he lived in the gardens of heavens or paradise:

(Al Quran 2:34–35) …And [mention] when We said to the angels, "Prostrate before Adam". And We
said, "O Adam, dwell, you and your wife, in Paradise and eat therefrom in

It is during this time that his height was 60 cubits and inshA’Allah those who enter the paradise will
have the same stature and height, as the Prophet described in another tradition other unbelievable
qualities mankind will adopt:

Narrated Abu Huraira:

Allah's Messenger (SallAllahu alaihi wassallam) said, "The first group of people who will enter
Paradise, will be glittering like the full moon and those who will follow them, will glitter like the most
brilliant star in the sky. They will not urinate, relieve nature, spit, or have any nasal secretions. Their
combs will be of gold, and their sweat will smell like musk. The aloes-wood will be used in their
centers. Their wives will be houris. All of them will look alike and will resemble their father Adam (in
stature), sixty cubits tall." (Sahih Al Bukhari)

‘Sweat will smell like musk’

‘will not urinate’

’60 cubits tall’

…these are all unbelievable for people on earth as Allah has said about the enjoyments and life of
paradise as:

(Al Quran 32:17) No soul knows what joy is kept hidden in store for them as a reward for what they
have done.

…or as the Prophet (sallAllahu alaihi wassallam) mentioned about the joys of paradise saying “No eye
has seen, no ear has heard and no mind has imagined…”

Last but not least, a very important thing to mention is that in all the recorded ahadith which
mention Adam’s height being 60 cubits do not mention that his height was the same on earth, they
all talk about his height in the early part of his creation when he lived in paradise. Please note

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Noah’s (A.S) Age: -

Quran portraits prophet Noah as an ordinary human with no quality that differs from his
contemporary people. Thus his age was no way part of his miracle. The saying of people around him
indicate that they must have also lived long time if prophet Noah did so.

But the great ones among his people, who refused to acknowledge the truth, answered: We do not
see in thee anything but a mortal man like ourselves and we do not see that any follow thee save
those who are quite obviously the most abject among us and we do not see that you could be in any
way superior to us: on the contrary, we think that you are liars! (Quran 11:27).

From the Bible we know that prophet Noah lived 600 years before flood+350 years after flood=950
years. Quran doesn’t give any exact year but says that he had lived 1000 years except 50 years before
the flood came. From these two accounts, Muslim exegesises extracted that he had lived 950+ years
since he also lived for years after the flood (Ibn Kathir says: he lived 60 more years after the flood).

Now, if we look at Quranic narrative we see two different words are used to describe his life span.

We sent forth Noah unto his people, and he dwelt among them a thousand years (“sanatin”) bar fifty
years (“aama”) and then the floods over-whelmed them while they were still lost in evildoing: (Quran
29:14)

God could have used same word but he used two different words, both of which means “year”. We
cannot do simple subtraction when units are different. For example, we can substract 50 apples from
1000 apples but we cant substract 50 apples from 1000 oranges. When God used two different units
we just can't overlook it.

Ibn Faris says the real meaning of sanah is dependent on a period of time. It can be defined by the
circular motion of the moon or the sun. Some says: “aam” is the period without hardships
(fruitfulness) and “sanah” is the period when there were hardships (drought). But we can try to look
how does Quran describe these two words.

“Sanah” in the Quran not always mean definite time. For example, Quran 2:96 talks about greedy
people each of them want to live one thousand year (“alfa sanatin”) which definitely doesn’t mean a
specific 1000 year time but a very long time (otherwise there is no reason to think that they will not
want to live more than 1000 years). Another verse 32:5 says that our 1 day is equivalent to God's
1000 years. Such rounded 1000 is used in other verses too (such as in 8:9, 97:3 etc). It is similar to
“yawm”, which doesn’t mean fixed 24 hour (day), but a long period of time. Thus, world was created
in 6 period of time, not in exact 6 days[1] .

On the other hand “aam" is used for more definite one year or to denote something that happens
annually (Quran 9:26, 37,126, 12:48, 31:14).

Thus by combining these two we can only be definite that prophet Noah lived a very long indefinite
amount of time with hardship and then later 50 years in ease, if we focus on Quranic account only.

People have tried to calculate prophet Noah's age based on the fact that Sumerian history shows
that they recorded impossibly long life span for their kings [2] since they had a different counting
system for year. But, I am not sure whether this is wise to use Sumerian calculation system to
understand Quranic verse. Some people has lowered prophet Noah’s age as short as to 71 years
based on that (search for the youtube video if you are interested)! Other says, prophet Noah lived
83.33 years based on 1 sanah=1 lunar month. Lane's dictionary says that “Sanah" also means crop
that can be harvested 4 times a year. Based on that some accounts say that prophet Noah lived for
around 250 years (1000÷4). (Source: Lughat-ul-Quran). It is similar to prophet Joseph's dream
interpretation where he said to save from the seven good harvests for the upcoming famine (Quran
12:46–47). Here by “Sanah” he meant 7 crop cycle not exact 7 year (since all crops don't give annual
harvest).

However, these all are conjectures. When people highly criticize holy books saying that there is no
scientific evidence that people lived so long in past we can just say that, “We know that prophet
Noah lived for very long time, but we don't know how long was it according to the modern year
calculation system”.

And surely the God knows best!

carpe diem = used to urge someone to make the most of the present time and give little thought to
the future.

Hasta la vista, rock star!