Khasiat

Vitamin K1 and K2—Two Underappreciated Nutrients That Are Crucial for Health

By Dr. Mercola

Most readers here appreciate the importance of vitamin D, as do many physicians. However, there’s another vitamin that is virtually equivalent in terms of benefit that is still sorely underappreciated, and that is vitamin K2.

Very little is known about it, and it doesn’t get much media attention. Dr. Leon Schurgers is a senior scientist who did his PhD work on vitamin K, and I recently had the pleasure of interviewing him on this important topic.

He began his research on vitamin K some 20 years ago at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, and he’s currently one of the leading researchers in the world on this vitamin.

Vitamin K—both K1 and K2—are well known for their function in thrombosis. According to Dr. Schurgers, all K vitamins actually have more or less the same function, which is related to the first part of the vitamin, called the naphthoquinone ring structure.

This ring structure is identical for both K1 and K2. The two vitamins are only different in their side chains.

The Blood Clotting Functions of Vitamins K

Vitamin K1 is well known for being crucial for proper blood clotting. But Dr. Schurgers clarifies this by saying that both vitamins K1 and K2 activate certain coagulation factors. Specifically, there are four coagulation factors (Factor 2, 7, 9, and 10) in the coagulation cascade that are activated by vitamins K1 and K2.

According to Dr. Schurgers, there’s no risk of over coagulating if you take a lot of vitamin K. In other words, your coagulation factors will not become overactive if you take high amounts of vitamin K1 or K2. So it is quite safe to consume vitamin K when you are not taking an oral anticoagulant drug.

Elderly people with atrial fibrillation (AF) or venous or deep-vein thrombosis are often put on oral anticoagulants, which are vitamin K antagonists, meaning they block the recycling of vitamin K—not only K1, but also K2. In this case, you do need to be cautious.

According to Dr. Schurgers:

“If you take oral anticoagulants – Coumadins and Warfarins, you have to be careful with K1 AND K2. However, the advice in the United States is to skip everything that contains vitamin K, and that is something I argue against.

Because if you take away all the K1 and K2 from the diet, every little interference—if you take a little bit of vitamin K—will have a dramatic effect on the anticoagulant level. However, if you have a steady intake level of vitamin K1 or K2, or both, a little bit of interference is not that bad anymore.

So I advocate, please take vitamin K from the diet every day, and put the anticoagulant level on top of that”... [But] there is no real benefit to take extra vitamin K on top of Coumadin, and I would not advocate that.”

In other words, get your baseline PT (prothrombin) measurements while you are taking vitamin K 1 and K2 from the diet and your oral anticoagulant. Then have your doctor adjust your dose based upon that. However, it is important you take the same dose of K1 and K2 all the time or else the drug may over-anticoagulate you.

Vitamin K Benefits Go Far Beyond Blood Clotting

Vitamin K also has important benefits beyond healthy blood clotting. In the 1980s, it was discovered that vitamin K is needed to activate the protein osteocalcin, which is found in your bone.

A decade or so later, another vitamin K-dependent protein was discovered: matrix Gla protein (MGP), found in your vascular system. Without vitamin K, these and other vitamin K-dependent proteins remain inactivated, and cannot perform their biological functions.

Another important finding was that MGP is a very strong inhibitor of calcification. If you inactivate MGP, you end up with serious arterial calcifications, and this is why vitamin K is so crucial for cardiovascular health. Evidence suggests vitamin K can even regress arterial calcification induced by vitamin K deficiency. According to Dr. Schurgers:

“There is a very strong correlation between inactive MGP and microcalcifications. It’s very interesting to speculate that vitamin K deficiency is causative of microcalcification, which then sets on a whole cascade of processes leading to atherosclerosis.”

On a side note, when I was in medical school in the late ‘70s, MGP was completely unknown, which underscores the importance of doctors to stay on top of the research, which is moving quite quickly these days.

Key Differences Between K1 and K2

The difference between vitamins K1 and K2 was first established in the Rotterdam Study,1 which Dr. Schurgers was part of. He explains:

“We published this in 2004... I measured a variety of food items for vitamin K content... Vitamin K1 is highly available in green, leafy vegetables – spinach, kale, broccoli, and cabbage.

However, the absorption of vitamin K1 from food is extremely low. Only 10 percent of the vitamin K, which is found in green leafy vegetables, is absorbed in your body... And there’s no variable or modification of the consumption that will significantly increase the absorption...

That was when we started to measure vitamin K2 in food items. We discovered that it was only present in fermented foods. Vitamin K2 is produced by bacteria in the fermentation product...

The total amount of vitamin K2 in cheese is lower than K1 in green leafy vegetables. However, all the vitamin K2 is absorbed by the body... Vitamin K2 in the food item is nearly completely absorbed...

Vitamin K2 Is Important for Cardiovascular Health

The Rotterdam Study found that those who consumed the greatest amounts of K2 had the lowest risk of cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular calcification, and the lowest chance of dying from cardiovascular disease. This was a profound discovery, because such a correlation did not exist for K1 intake. Later on, other studies also showed that while K2 has health benefits, K1 has none. That’s when the investigation into the differences between K1 and K2 began in earnest.

“If you absorb vitamin K1 and K2, we showed that K1 is mainly going to your liver and stays there,” Dr. Schurgers says. “It has a relatively short half-life. After three to four hours after ingesting a dose of vitamin K1 from food, it is gone. It is taken up by the liver. K2 also goes to the liver, but the liver redistributes it via the low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol fraction... [which] is going to peripheral tissues such as bone and vasculature.

Both K1 and K2 are fat-soluble, but K2 is more fat-soluble, at least in long-chain menaquinones such as MK7. MK7 is transported more to the vasculature as compared to the vitamin K1. We hypothesized that that is one of the main functions – that K2 has additional benefit in the cardiovascular system, and K1 is more present in the liver.”

So, in addition to activating MGP, which is a potent inhibitor of calcification, K2 also helps prevent arterial calcification by transporting calcium away from areas where it shouldn’t be (in the lining of your blood vessels) to where it’s really needed (such as in your bone).

K2 also appears to be important for vascular flow to your brain. Upon autopsy, many with Alzheimer’s are found to have vascular degeneration, which is thought to produce symptoms of Alzheimer’s. And although there’s limited research in this area, evidence suggests vitamin K2 might help prevent Alzheimer’s by preventing plaque deposition. According to Dr. Schurgers, at least one study has also shown that vitamin K2 has a major function in delivering cellular energy for Parkinson’s disease patients, and may be beneficial in the treatment of this disease.

How to Measure Vitamin K Deficiency

Just as you can measure your serum vitamin D level to ascertain whether you might be sufficient or deficient, you can measure your vitamin K1 and K2 levels as well. The problem, however, is that it really only reveals what you ate the day before, which makes it very difficult to judge sufficiency or deficiency. 

“For example, if I measure vitamin K in your blood and yesterday you consumed a lot of spinach, your vitamin K1 will be high. If you consumed a hamburger, for example, with low amount of vitamin K, your vitamin K will probably be very low. So it’s not a very good marker for vitamin K status,” Dr. Schurgers says. 

To get around this problem, researchers have developed enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). These blood tests measure the active and inactive forms of MGP. By that, you can more accurately determine whether you’re sufficient in vitamin K or not. These tests are currently being commercialized, and should be available in both Europe and the US in 2015. Interestingly enough, Dr. Schurgers has found that virtually everyone is clinically vitamin K-deficient based on these tests. And, it’s particularly noteworthy that, in studies, patients with the highest levels of inactive MGP had the highest chance of dying from cardiovascular disease.

“There is always a certain amount of matrix Gla protein, which is circulating in the inactive form, meaning in biochemistry, you need extra vitamin K to activate this form,” he explains.

Recommended Dosages

To avoid vitamin K1 deficiency, Dr. Schurgers recommends eating a minimum of 200 grams of vegetables each day. He also suggests consuming K2 on a daily basis, which means you need to eat some form of fermented food.

“Some people ask: ‘Why is vitamin K2 more important [than K1], whereas there’s K1 in the diet? Where does this benefit come from?’ The only explanation I can come up with, which is just purely hypothetical, is that 100 years ago, we didn’t have refrigerators. Most of the food were in our house for more days and were most likely fermented,” Dr. Schurgers notes.

While the ideal dosage has yet to be determined, studies suggest you need about 360-500 micrograms (mcg) of vitamin K2 per day. There are no known side effects of higher dosages, however, so it’s likely better to err on the higher side. At bare minimum, you need 45 mcgs per day to help ward off cardiovascular disease, as evidenced in the Rotterdam Study,2 which was the first study demonstrating the beneficial effect of vitamin K2. In this study, people who consumed 45 mcg of K2 daily lived seven years longer than people getting 12 mcg per day.

Foods high in K2 include raw dairy products such as hard and soft cheeses, raw butter, and kefir, as well as fermented vegetables like sauerkraut. Keep in mind that the K2 content of pasteurized dairy and products from confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs), which comprise most commercial sources, are NOT high in K2 and should be avoided. Only grass-fed animals (not grain fed) will develop naturally high K2 levels.

Also keep in mind that fermented foods contain a wide variety of different bacteria, and only certain ones—such as Bacillus subtilis—actually make vitamin K2. You can boost the K2 content of fermented foods by making them yourself, using a starter culture specifically designed to optimize K2. My research team found that we could get 400 to 500 mcgs of vitamin K2 in a two-ounce serving of fermented vegetables using a starter culture, which is a clinically therapeutic dose.

Take-Home Message...

Optimizing your vitamin K level has tremendous potential for improving your health, and it’s such a simple intervention—especially if you opt for fresh vegetables and fermented foods. For me, that’s the real take-home message here. Sure, you can swallow vitamin K supplements, but it’s far easier to get vitamin K2 from fermented vegetables. I believe taking this simple step is a really crucial nutritional strategy that can go a long way toward optimizing your health.

While most if not all people are deficient in vitamin K to some degree, if you’ve already been diagnosed with cardiovascular disease, you can be absolutely certain that you are deficient, and it would behoove you to take steps to ensure you’re getting plenty of vitamin K1 and K2, which may help regress some of the damage. Eating lots of green vegetables, especially kale, spinach, collard greens, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts, will increase your vitamin K1 levels naturally.

For vitamin K2, cheese curd is an excellent source. You can also obtain about 200 mcgs of K2 by eating 15 grams of natto each day, which is half an ounce. It's a small amount and very inexpensive, but many Westerners do not enjoy the taste and texture. If you don't care for the taste of natto, do try some fermented veggies made with Kinetic Culture, which will produce high levels of K2. This is what I do nearly every day. As a last resort, take a high-quality K2 supplement. Remember you must always take your vitamin K supplement with fat since it is fat-soluble and won't be absorbed without it. Again, 45 mcg/day is the bare minimum, but you could go as high as 500 mcgs per day or even much higher, as this is one of the few supplements where toxicity has never been demonstrated.

Terrorist Agama, Bangsa dan Videogame

Al-kisah ada tiga orang sekawan yang hidup di sebuah negara Eropah.

Seorang bernama Abdul Malek, lelaki berdarah Arab beragama Islam berketurunan Morocco dari Datuknya yang berhijrah ke negara Eropah tersebut. Seorang lagi bernama Akinbiyi, anak pelarian Senegal yang mempunyai salasilah keluarga yang kucar-kacir, tetapi kini menjadi warga negara tersebut dan dia adalah keturunan ke empat yang menetap di situ. Yang terakhir, Jean Picard, seorang warganegara negara tersebut, seorang pelajar yang average tetapi kacak wajahnya.

Pada satu hari, Abdul Malek berjalan lalu ternampak sebuah majalah memaparkan karikatur Muhammad yang dijadikan jenaka. Dia menyelak majalah tersebut dan baru dia tahu, itu adalah isu istimewa "Jenaka Islam dan Mari Melawak Bersama Muhammad."

Abdul Malek marah.

Dia menulis email kepada penerbit majalah tersebut dan sehari kemudian, dia mendapat balasan yang menyatakan;

a. apa yang mereka lakukan tak menyalahi undang2 negara tersebut
b. apa yang mereka lakukan adalah menepati konsep penerbitan mereka
c. apa yang mereka lakukan selaras dengan kebebasan bersuara yang diaplikasi di negara tersebut

"Get used to it."
Itu ayat terakhir email tersebut dihantar oleh Ketua Pengarang majalah tersebut.

Makin berang Abdul Malek. Dia membuka Whatsapp lalu menghantar mesej kepada Akinbiyi dan Jean Picard. "My bro, aku memerlukan pertolongan mu. Majalah mempermainkan agamaku. Apa kita boleh buat?"

Akinbiyi membalas, "kita baling cat dekat ofis mereka dan ludah muka mereka."Jean Picard menambah, "kita pancitkan tayar kereta pengarang majalah tu." Abdul Malek membalas. "ok. Set. Esok pukul 9.30 pagi kita buat."

Keesokannya, mereka bertiga melaksanakan rancangan mereka. Akinbiyi ditugaskan untuk meludah ketua pengarang majalah tersebut kerana kahaknya yang pekat berbanding mereka semua. Abdul Malek pula akan memancitkan tayar kereta ketua pengarangnya dan Jean Picard pula, yang paling atlit antara mereka, akan mencantikkan pintu masuk pejabat penerbitan majalah tersebut dengan cat merah.

Tepat 9.30 pagi, rancangan mereka bermula serentak. Tiap2 satu rancangan mereka berjaya tetapi sayangnya Jean Picard tersadung kerusi menyebabkan dia jatuh dan sempat ditangkap pengawal. Setelah disoal siasat oleh polis, Jean Picard terpaksa memberikan nama kedua-dua lagi rakannya. Duduklah mereka di lokap semalam sementara menunggu soal siasat esok hari.

Esoknya, datanglah ketua balai dan ketua pengarang majalah tersebut. Mereka disoal siasat bertalu-talu. Apabila ditanya kembali kenapa ketua pengarang majalah tersebut menghina Islam, beliau menjawab "apa salahnya? Undang2 negara kita membenarkan kebebasan seperti itu. Jadi saya boleh buat apa saja yang saya nak. Saya tak salah. Kamu salah. Kamu vandalize pintu ofis saya, memancitkan tayar kereta saya dan yang paling pedih, ludah dia ni tepat masuk ke dalam mulut saya kerana pada ketika itu sedang ingin makan croissant."

"Apa jenis manusia kamu ni?" tanya ketua pengarang tersebut.

Mereka bertiga diam.

"Tapi saya berasa sangat baik hari ini jadi saya tak akan membuat sebarang pertuduhan. Cuma, ambil ini sebagai pengajaran, jangan buat jenayah!" kata ketua pengarang tersebut. "Tapi saya ada satu syarat."

Mereka bertiga melihat sahaja dia bersuara tanpa memberi sebarang reaksi.

"Saya akan mengeluarkan berita mengenai kes ini di majalah saya minggu depan. Apa yang saya akan laporkan, mestilah dipersetujui oleh kamu semua. Dah ramai yang bertanyakan saya mengenai kes ini jadi saya perlu buat satu kenyataan rasmi," beritahu ketua pengarang tersebut.

"Sila tanda tangan surat ini. Surat ini akan membuktikan tiada tuduhan dilaporkan dan anda semua bersetuju dengan apa yang saya cetakkan minggu depan!" tegas dia lagi.

Abdul Malek bertanya, "apa yang akan ditulis minggu depan?"

"Terpulang kepada saya, soalnya, sama ada setuju atau tidak?" ugut ketua pengarang itu.

Oleh kerana risau akan masa depan mereka, mereka bertiga bersetuju untuk menandatangani surat tersebut. Selepas itu mereka pun pulang ke rumah.

Seminggu kemudian, Akinbiyi berlari2 mencari dua rakannya yang sedang melepak di tepi padang. "Malek, Picard! Majalah tu dah keluar!" jerit Akinbiyi sambil tangannya memegang majalah yang dimaksudkan. Abdul Malek dan Jean Picard bangun lalu Abdul Malek melihat muka depannya.

"Memang cilaka!" jerit Akinbiyi.

Muka depannya tertera gambar poster iklan jawatan kosong yang menyatakan ada jawatan kosong sebagai Muslim dengan syarat "perlu pandai meludah, memancitkan tayar dan membaling cat kepada penerbit majalah."

"Ini sudah lebih..." Abdul Malek merungut.

"Bukak lagi!" Akinbiyi mengarahkan mereka.

Tertera wajah mereka yang telah di hitamkan matanya dengan kotak hitam. Tajuknya tertulis "1 Muslim dan 2 Dumbass."

Abdul Malek membaca artikel tersebut.

Pada minggu lepas, saya, Jeremy Baptiste telah diserang oleh 3 pemuda disebabkan artikel-artikel kami yang banyak memperjuangkan kebebasan bersuara seperti amalan negara kita. Untuk makluman tuan puan, kami sudah menarik kembali dakwaan ke atas mereka bertiga untuk menunjukkan sifat toleransi kami.

Setelah di selidik dan disoal siasat oleh pihak polis, dapat kami simpulkan tindakan sedemikian dilakukan atas faktor berikut;

1. Ketua mereka adalah seorang Muslim, jadi kita sudah tahu bagaimana kita nak klasifikasikan perangai mereka, iaitu orang Islam yang gemarkan keganasan. Sila rujuk ruangan istimewa kami minggu ini untuk melihat bagaimana Muhammad mengajarkan pengikutnya mengahwini budak bawah umur untuk habuan seks.

2. Pemuda kedua berketurunan dari Afrika, jadi punca utama beliau membuat tindakan bodoh itu adalah kerana bangsanya yang sedikit primitif berbanding bangsa kita. Saya beruntung kerana dia bukan seorang Muslim, jika tidak, mungkin saya sudah mati dibunuh.

3. Akhir sekali, pemuda terakhir adalah anak tempatan ibu negara kita. Sayang sekali beliau juga terlibat sama dengan kejadian tempohari. Setelah disoal siasat, beliau bertindak sedemikian kerana terpengaruh dengan permainan video.

Sekian, terima kasih.
Jeremy Baptiste.

Russia aircraft vs US aircraft

This article is an excellent read to understand how Russia's technological level is best in its class in many military sectors, especially with regard to fighter jets.  It originally appeared in Russia & India Report. The SU-30 continues to be the number one choice among global buyers.

Built to be the deadliest hunter killer aircraft of all time, the F-35 has quite literally become the hunted. In every scenario that the F-35 has been wargamed against Su-30 Flankers, the Russian aircraft have emerged winners. America’s newest stealth aircraft – costing $191 million per unit – is riddled with such critical design flaws that it’s likely to get blown away in a shootout with the super-maneuverable Sukhois.

Stubby wings (that reduce lift and maneuverability), a bulbous fuselage (that makes it less aerodynamic) low speed and a super hot engine (which a half decent radar can identify) are just a few of the major flaws that will expose its vulnerability during air combat.

With more than 600 Flankers (Sukhoi-27s and its later iterations such as the Su-30, Su-34 and Su-35 Super Flanker) flying with air forces around the world, the fate of the fifth generation F-35 seems decidedly uncertain. Aerospace experts across the world are veering around to the view that America’s most expensive fighter development program (pegged at $1.5 trillion) will be a sitting duck for the flankers.

“It’s a turkey,” declares aerospace engineer Pierre Sprey in an interview to Dutch television. Few people are as qualified to speak about fighter aircraft as Sprey. He is the co-designer of the F-16 Falcon jet and the A-10 Warthog tank buster, two of the most successful aircraft in the US Air Force (USAF).

Winslow T. Wheeler, Director of the US’ Straus Military Reform Project, Centre for Defense information, agrees. “The F-35 is too heavy and sluggish to be successful as a fighter,” he says. “If we ever face an enemy with a serious air force we will be in deep trouble.”

So far the US has been lucky it has never really encountered a “serious” military. Over the skies of war-weary Iraq, tiny Libya and utterly defenseless Afghanistan, the American aircraft operated with impunity. But luck can run out – if they ever come up against the air forces of Russia, China or India the outcome won’t be so one-sided. In particular, the Indian Air Force has beaten the USAF’s fourth generation fighters using both third and fourth generation jets.

The biggest problem with the F-35 is that its US designers are betting on stealth and long range radar to compensate for its lack of speed and maneuverability. But stealth is not really all that it is cracked up to be; it is not the cloak of invisibility.

Plus, Russia’s already excellent radars are getting better. Says Defense Industry Daily (DID): “Meanwhile, key radar advances are already deployed in the most advanced Russian surface-to-air missile systems, and existing IRST (infra-red scan and track) systems deployed on advanced Russian and European fighters are extending enemy detection ranges against radar-stealthy aircraft. Fighter radar pick-up capability of up to (46km) by 2020 is proposed against even ultra-stealthy aircraft like the F-22, coupled with IRST ability to identify Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile firings and less infrared-stealthy aircraft at (92km) or more.”

At the same time, there is no such thing as one radar in a war. “There are lots of radars,” Sprey explains. “And you can’t be nose-on or dead-level to every radar in the theater. There are always going to be radars that are going to be shining up (from below) or looking from above – they can all see you.”

Short on firepower

Another issue is with the American aircraft’s overall shape. “Most great airplanes are beautiful because you are trying to reduce drag,” Sprey says. “But here because of stealth they had to make it very bulbous, very big as they had to carry the weapons inside because as soon as you carry the weapons outside they reflect radar. So this is a huge penalty to the performance of the aircraft which is now big and lumbering like a bomber.”

Lower internal payload means the designers at Lockheed-Martin have signed the F-35’s death warrant. The aircraft carries just two large bombs and four small ones, and a maximum of four beyond visual range (BVR) air-to-air missiles (AAMs).

The USAF claims the F-35’s advanced radar will see the enemy aircraft first and be able to take it out with one of its four long-range AAMs. But BVR kills are still the stuff of dreams for fighter pilots and are quite rare.

In fact, the reliance on the radar acquisition and AAMS can prove suicidal – as indeed it was once upon a time. During the Vietnam War the USAF was so smitten with the concept of BVR combat that the first F-4 fighters were armed only with missiles. But after the Vietnamese Air Force pilots shot them down by the bucket load, the Americans reintroduced cannons in the F-4.

In fact, Russia, which has the most advanced and varied range of BVR missiles in the world, arms its Flankers with at least eight missiles for the simple reason that it takes several shots at a fast moving target to score a kill.

That the Americans ignored this basic lesson of air combat is mind boggling.

In theory, American pilots would play ‘video games’ and take out enemy aircraft at 1000 km. In practice, air combat is like a knife fight. According to DID, the F-35 is very likely to wind up facing many more “up close and personal” opponents than its proponents suggest, while dealing with effective BVR infrared-guided missiles as an added complication. Unlike the F-22, the F-35 is described as “double inferior” to modern Su-30 family fighters within visual range combat.”

The much larger and varied inventory of missiles combined with super-maneuverability, therefore, bestows the Flankers with an edge that’s unparalleled in modern air combat.

Fleet availability

According to the new philosophy of air combat that is being defined by USAF-Lockheed-Martin careerists, the one-size-fits-all F-35 will replace all other fighters as well as ground support aircraft.

But here’s the rub. Because the F-35 is such an expensive aircraft, air forces will buy fewer units. For instance, Japan currently has 100 F-15s but it will replace them with just 70 F-35s. Again, because the F-35 will also be expensive to fly and maintain, air forces will limit pilot flying hours. (Already, spending cuts have forced the USAF to eliminate more than 44,000 flying hours and ground 17 combat air squadrons).

Besides, ‘stealth’ comes with a price. On the F-35 most of the maintenance is on the stealth coating. “It is a ludicrous impediment to combat,” Sprey says. “You are sitting on the ground for 50 hours fiddling on the aircraft trying to make it stealthy when it’s not stealthy anyhow.”

Plus, 100 per cent fleet availability is a logistical impossibility. The USAF averages around 75 per cent – which is pretty decent – but when it comes to stealth aircraft the figures nosedive. The USAF’s super-secret B2A stealth bomberhas an availability rate of just 46.7 per cent. And America’s most expensive fighter, the F-22, despite its $350 million price tag has a fleet availability rate of only 69 per cent.

So if you are, say, the Australian air force, just 48 of your planned fleet of 70 F-35s will be battle ready at any given time. Your chances against the Chinese who have 400 Flankers are smaller than small. You can bet the Aussies won’t be joining the knife fight unless escorted by big brother USA.

Wheeler, who has dealt with US national security issues for over three decades, lays out the implications for western air forces planning to induct the F-35: “The pilots will get worse as they’ll get much less training, which is most important than any technical issue. There’ll be far fewer pilots as the whole force will have to shrink, and you will basically have a showpiece aircraft that can’t do anything. It’s useless, it’s truly monumentally useless, it will ruin any air force that uses it.”

The dogfight hasn’t yet started and the Flankers are up 1-0.

Bersyukur

ﺍﻟﺴﻼﻡ ﻋﻠﻴﻜﻢ ﻭﺭﺣﻤﺔ ﺍﻟﻠﻪ ﻭ ﺑﺮﮐﺎﺗﻪ
ﺍﻟﺤﻤﺪﻟﻠﻪ سموݢ دبري کأمڤونن دان رحمة ﺭﺍﺑﻮ ١٦ ﺭبيع الأول ١٤٣٦ -
Doa Mohon Bersyukur dan Beramal Saleh
[Surah 46 Al-Ahqaaf, Ayat 15]

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيْم

رَبِّ أَوْزِعْنِي أَنْ أَشْكُرَ نِعْمَتَكَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيَّ وَعَلَى وَالِدَيَّ وَأَنْ أَعْمَلَ صَالِحًا تَرْضَاهُ وَأَصْلِحْ لِي فِي ذُرِّيَّتِي إِنِّي تُبْتُ إِلَيْكَ وَإِنِّي مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ

...."Wahai Tuhanku, ilhamkanlah daku supaya tetap bersyukur akan nikmatMu yang Engkau kurniakan kepadaku dan kepada ibubapaku, dan supaya aku tetap mengerjakan amal soleh yang Engkau redhai, dan jadikanlah sifat-sifat kebaikan meresap masuk ke dalam jiwa zuriat keturunanku. Sesungguhnya aku bertaubat kepadaMu, dan sesungguhnya aku dari orang-orang Islam (yang tunduk patuh kepadamu)".

Penjelasan:
Ayat ini mengandungi maksud supaya diberikan ilham agar dapat mensyukuri nikmat Allah yang telah dilimpahkan kepada kita dan kedua orang tua, agar dapat berbuat kebajikan yang di redhai Allah dan diberi kebaikan sampai anak cucu. Allah Maha Lembut terhadap hamba-hambaNya dan menghargai jasa ibubapa. Berbakti kepada ibubapa adalah wajib bagi bagi anak-anaknya. Diantara bentuk berbakti kepada ibubapa adalah bertutur kata yang sopan dan lembut, membantu memenuhi keperluan, tidak mengganggu dan menyakiti hatinya.
ﻭﺍﻟﻠﻪ ﺍﻋﻠﻢ

Cerita hidayah

Cerita kat bawah ni boleh buat kita semua sentap .. Moga kisah ni mampu menyedarkan kita ..
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Allahu Rabbi!! Kisah Tauladan Untuk Kesedaran Kita Umat Islam (Mesti Baca) | Kisah tauladan ini adalah perkongsian dari laman melayukini.net. Semoga ianya memberi pengajaran dan kesedaran buat kita yang beragama Islam. Renung-renungkan..

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Aku punya seorang rakan baik dari zaman kanak-kanak bernama Lim Wei Choon. Sana-sama bersekolah rendah hingga ke peringkat menengah. Selepas SPM, aku masuk ke Tingkatan 6 manakala Lim dihantar keluarganya melanjutkan pelajaran ke Amerika Syarikat. Kenangan sewaktu kanak-kanak hingga ke zaman remaja terlalu banyak yang dikongsi bersama.

Setiap kali hari raya menjelang, Lim pasti berkunjung ke rumahku untuk menikmati dodol arwah ayahku yang amat digemarinya. kadangkala, jika ada kenduri kendara dirumahku, pasti Lim akan turut serta. Aku jarang ke rumahnya kecuali untuk beberapa sambutan seperti harijadi dan juga Tahun Baru Cina. Aku takut dengan anjing peliharaan keluarga Lim.

Dengan Lim juga aku belajar matematik manakala subjek Bahasa Malaysia sering menjadi rujukannya padaku. Kenangan-kenangan seperti memancing, mandi jeram, ponteng sekolah untuk melihat pertandingan ‘breakdance’, semuanya kami kongsi bersama-sama. Apa yang ingin kunyatakan ialah, warna kulit dan perbezaan ugama tidak pernah menjadi penghalang persahabatan kami. 20 tahun telah berlalu, Lim telah menetap di Amerika setelah berjaya mendapat Green Card, beliau bekerja disana. Itu yang kuketahui dari kakaknya.

Hubungan aku dengan Lim terputus setelah dia melanjutkan pelajaran. maklumlah, dizaman kami dulu tiada internet, email atau telefon bimbit, yang ada cuma sesekali menghantar poskad bertanya khabar. Untuk menulis surat kepada lelaki amat malas kami rasakan.

Suatu pagi. Aku bertembung dengan kakak Lim di pasar, kakaknya memberitahu Lim akan pulang ke tanahair. Dan aku amat terkejut dengan berita yang kudengar dari kakaknya.

“He’s name is no more Lim Wei Choon. He’s now Ahmad Zulfakar Lim since 5 years ago… Subhanallah!

Syukur Alhamdulillah, rakan baikku telah menemui hidayah dari Allah S.W.T. Memang aku tak sabar untuk berjumpa dengannya lebih-lebih lagi setelah menjadi saudara seagama denganku.

Hari yang kutunggu-tunggu telah tiba, dan petang itu aku berkesempatan bertemu dengan Lim dirumahnya. Ada satu keraian istimewa sempena menyambut kepulangannya. Ketika aku tiba, tetamu sudah semakin berkurangan…

Assalamu’alaikum… Itulah kalimat pertama dari mulutnya, wajahnya sudah jauh berubah, air mukanya amat redup dan tenang.

Aku menjawab salam dan berpelukan dengannya dan kami menangis umpama kekasih yang sudah terlalu lama terpisah.

‘Ini dia olang memang sudah manyak lama kawan, dari kecik ini dua olang” Ibu Lim menjelaskan pada beberapa orang tetamu yang melihat peristiwa kami berpelukan dan menangis itu. Tetapi aku bukan menangis kerana apa, tetapi kerana amat sebak dan terharu dan sangat bersyukur melihat keislaman rakanku. Lim mengajak aku duduk dibuaian dihalaman rumahnya untuk berbual-bual. beliau masih fasih berbahasa melayu walau sudah lama berada diperantauan.

Talha, kau kawan baik aku kan? betul tak? Memanglah… Kenapa kau tanya macam tu?

Kalau kau kawan baik aku, Kenapa kau biarkan aku diseksa?

Sorry Lim. Aku tak faham… diseksa? What do you mean?

Cuba kau fikir, kita ni kawan dari kecil. Aku ingat lagi, rumah kau tu, is my second house.

Tapi, mengapakah kau tak pernah ceritakan pada aku tentang Islam? Mengapa aku kena pergi ke US baru aku dapat belajar tentang Islam? Mengapa bukan di Malaysia, negara Islam ni?

Dan mengapa aku di Islamkan oleh seorang bekas paderi kristian?

Aku terdiam, kelu tak mampu menjawab. Dan Lim terus berkata-kata. Kalau betullah kau kawan baik aku, Kenapa kau cuma nak baik dengan aku di dunia saja? kau suka tengok kawan baik kau ni diseksa didalam api neraka?

Kau tahu, kalaulah aku ni tak sempat masuk islam hingga aku mati. Aku akan dakwa semua orang Islam dalam kampung kita ni sebab tak sampaikan dakwah dan risalah Islam pada aku, keluarga aku dan non muslim yang lain. Kau sedar tak, kau dah diberikan nikmat besar oleh Allah dengan melahirkan kau didalam keluarga Islam. tapi, nikmat itu bukan untuk kau nikmati seorang diri, atau untuk keluarga kau sendiri, kau dilahirkan dalam Islam adalah kerana ditugaskan untuk sampaikan Islam pada orang-orang yang dilahirkan dalam keluarga bukan Islam macam aku.

Aku masih tunduk dan terkata apa-apa kerana sangat malu. Berdakwah adalah tugas muslim yang paling utama, sebagai pewaris Nabi, penyambung Risalah.

Tetapi apa yang aku lihat, orang melayu ni tidak ada roh jihad, tak ada keinginan untuk berdakwah, macamana Allah nak tolong bangsa melayu kalau bangsa tu sendiri tak tolong ugama Allah? Aku bukan nak banggakan diri aku, cuma aku kesal… sepatutnya nikmat ini kau kena gunakan dengan betul dan tepat, kerana selagi kau belum pernah berdakwah, jangan kau fikir kau sudah bersyukur pada Allah.

Dan satu lagi, jangan dengan mudah kau cop orang-orang bukan Islam itu sebagai kafir kerana kafir itu bererti ingkar. Kalau kau dah sampaikan seruan dengan betul, kemudian mereka ingkar dan berpaling, barulah kau boleh panggil kafir.

Aku menjadi amat malu, kerana segala apa yang dikatakan oleh Lim adalah benar! dan aku tak pernah pun terfikir selama ini. Aku hanya sibuk untuk memperbaiki amalan diri sehingga lupa pada tugasku yang sebenar.

Baru aku faham, andainya tugas berdakwah ini telah dilaksanakan, Allah akan memberikan lagi pertolongan, bantuan dan kekuatan serta mempermudahkan segala urusan dunia dan akhirat sesorang itu. Petang itu aku pulang dengan satu semangat baru.

Aku ingin berdakwah!

Lim yang baru memeluk Islam selama 5 tahun itu pun telah mengislamkan lebih dari 20 orang termasuk adiknya. Mengapa aku yang hampir 40 tahun Islam ini (benarkah aku islam tulen) tidak pernah hatta walau seorang pun orang bukan Islam yang pernah kusampaikan dengan serious tentang kebenaran Islam?

Semoga Allah mengampuni diriku yang tidak faham apa itu erti nikmat dilahirkan sebagai Islam.

Ini mesej Cantik
Yang membuat saya malu pada diri saya.
Adakah anda tertanya-tanya apa yang akan berlaku jika kita membawa al-Quran  seperti cara kita membawa telefon bimbit ...?
Bagaimana jika kita boleh membawanya di mana sahaja kita pergi;
Di Dalam beg kita.... atau Poket kita?
Bagaimana jika kita melihat halaman beberapa kali sehari   ?
Bagaimana jika kita kembali untuk memuat jika dilupakan ?
Bagaimana jika kita dianggap seolah-olah kita tidak boleh hidup tanpa ia ..?
- Dan benar-benar, kita tidak boleh hidup tanpanya ...!
bagaimana jika kita memberikannya kepada anak-anak kita sebagai hadiah ..??
Bagaimana jika kita membacanya semasa dalam perjalanan ??
Bagaimana jika kita menjadikan ia satu keutamaan setiap hari??
Mari kita menjadikan
"Al-Quran adalah kawan kita yg terbaik.
Fikirkan... Walaupun sekali ... sampaiHari kiamat ... kita akan sedar  di setiap hari membuka mesej daripada rakan-rakan ...
Kami berkongsi / dikemukakan jenaka & gosip ...
Tetapi berapa kali kita membuka Al-Quran dan membaca mesej  dihantar daripada Allah subhaana wa Ta'ala sendiri 
Jika anda .. rakan-rakan anda .... dan keluarga .. , Berkongsi peringatan ini dengan mereka ...!!

saintifik terbukti:
   Mendengar Quran  mengurangkan kelaziman sel-sel kanser dalam tubuh manusia dan juga memusnahkan mereka.
   Dengan  pemanjangan sujud menguatkan memori , dan mencegah strok .
Sujud    membuang caj positif di dalam badan
- Dalam dunia    mana SEGALANYA menggunakan elektrik dan memberi kesan negatif kepada kita jadi belajarlah dgn kepentingan ini.
  Syaitan    berkata:
"Saya tertanya-tanya bagaimana manusia dgn tuntutan Cinta Allah  dan menderhaka kepadaNya, dan tuntutan mereka benci saya . tetapi mereka taat kepada saya!"
Akan mengambil 60 saat untuk memberi manfaat kepada orang-orang yang tersayang, menyebarkannya sebagai peringatan.

Rasulullah

CINTA SEINDAH RASULULLAH S.A.W 

Pagi itu, walaupun langit telah mulai menguning, burung-burung gurun enggan mengepakkan sayap. Pagi itu, Rasulullah dengan suara terbatas memberikan kutbah,

"Wahai umatku, kita semua ada dalam kekuasaan Allah dan cinta kasih-Nya. Maka taati dan bertakwalah kepada-Nya. Kuwariskan dua perkara pada kalian, Al Qur'an dan sunnahku. Barang siapa mencintai sunnahku, bererti mencintai aku dan kelak orang-orang yang mencintaiku, akan masuk syurga bersama-sama aku."

Khutbah singkat itu diakhiri dengan pandangan mata Rasulullah yang tenang dan penuh minat menatap sahabatnya satu persatu. Abu Bakar menatap mata itu dengan berkaca-kaca, Umar dadanya naik turun menahan nafas dan tangisnya. Usman menghela nafas panjang dan Ali menundukkan kepalanya dalam-dalam. Isyarat itu telah datang, saatnya sudah tiba. 

"Rasulullah akan meninggalkan kita semua,". Keluh hati semua sahabat kala itu. 

Manusia tercinta itu, hampir selesai menunaikan tugasnya di dunia.Tanda-tanda itu semakin kuat, tatkala Ali dan Fadhal dengan cergas menangkap Rasulullah yang berkeadaan lemah dan goyah ketika turun dari mimbar. Di saat itu, kalau mampu, seluruh sahabat yang hadir di sana pasti akan menahan detik-detik berlalu. 

Matahari kian tinggi,tapi pintu rumah Rasulullah masih tertutup. Sedang di dalamnya, Rasulullah sedang terbaring lemah dengan keningnya yang berkeringat dan membasahi pelepah kurma yang menjadi alas tidurnya.

Tiba-tiba dari luar pintu terdengar seorang yang berseru mengucapkan salam.
"Bolehkah saya masuk?" tanyanya.

Tapi Fatimah tidak mengizinkannya masuk,
"Maafkanlah, ayahku sedang demam," kata Fatimah yang membalikkan badan dan menutup pintu.Kemudian ia kembali menemani ayahnya yang ternyata sudah membuka mata dan bertanya pada Fatimah.

"Siapakah itu wahai anakku?" 

"Tak tahulah ayahku, orang sepertinya baru sekali ini aku melihatnya," tutur Fatimah lembut. Lalu, Rasulullah menatap puterinya itu dengan pandangan yang menggetarkan. Seolah-olah bahagian demi bahagian wajah anaknya itu hendak dikenangnya.
.
"Ketahuilah, dialah yang menghapuskan kenikmatan sementara, dialah yang memisahkan pertemuan di dunia. Dialah malakul maut," kata Rasulullah.

Fatimah pun menahan ledakkan tangisnya. Malaikat maut datang menghampiri, tapi Rasulullah menanyakan kenapa Jibril tidak ikut sama menyertainya. Kemudian panggilah Jibril yang sebelumnya sudah bersiap di atas langit dunia menyambut ruh kekasih Allah dan penghulu dunia ini.

"Jibril, jelaskan apa hakku nanti di hadapan Allah?" Tanya Rasululllah dengan suara yang amat lemah.

"Pintu-pintu langit telah terbuka, para malaikat telah menanti ruhmu. Semua syurga terbuka lebar menanti kedatanganmu," kata Jibril. Tapi itu ternyata tidak membuatkan Rasulullah lega, matanya masih penuh kecemasan.

"Engkau tidak senang mendengar khabar ini?" Tanya Jibril lagi. 

"Khabarkan kepadaku bagaimana nasib umatku kelak?"

"Jangan khawatir, wahai Rasul Allah, aku pernah mendengar Allah berfirman kepadaku: 'Kuharamkan syurga bagi siapa saja, kecuali umat Muhammad telah berada di dalamnya," kata Jibril.

Detik-detik semakin dekat, saatnya Izrail melakukan tugas. Perlahan ruh Rasulullah ditarik. Nampak seluruh tubuh Rasulullah bersimbah peluh, urat-urat lehernya menegang.

"Jibril, betapa sakit sakaratul maut ini." Perlahan Rasulullah mengaduh.

Fatimah terpejam, Ali yang disampingnya menunduk semakin dalam dan Jibril memalingkan muka

"Jijikkah kau melihatku, hingga kau palingkan wajahmu Jibril?" Tanya Rasulullah pada Malaikat pengantar wahyu itu. 

"Siapakah yang sanggup, melihat kekasih Allah direnggut ajal," kata Jibril.

Sebentar kemudian terdengar Rasulullah memekik, kerana sakit yang tidak tertahankan lagi."Ya Allah, dahsyat nian maut ini, timpakan saja semua siksa maut ini kepadaku, jangan pada umatku."

Badan Rasulullah mulai dingin, kaki dan dadanya sudah tidak bergerak lagi. Bibirnya bergetar seakan hendak membisikkan sesuatu, Ali segera mendekatkan telinganya.

"Uushiikum bis shalati, wa maa malakat aimanuku,peliharalah shalat dan peliharalah orang-orang lemah di antaramu." 

Di luar pintu tangis mulai terdengar bersahutan, sahabat saling berpelukan. Fatimah menutupkan tangan di wajahnya, dan Ali kembali telinganya ke bibir Rasulullah yang mulai kebiruan.

"Ummatii, ummatii, ummatiii?" - "Umatku, umatku, umatku" 

Dan, berakhirlah hidup manusia mulia yang memberi sinaran itu. Kini, mampukah kita mencintai sepertinya?

Allahumma sholli 'ala Muhammad wa baarik wa salim 'alaihi.

Betapa cintanya Rasulullah kepada kita. Berusahalah untuk mencintai Allah dan RasulNya, seperti Allah dan Rasulnya mencintai kita. Kerana sesungguhnya selain daripada itu hanyalah fana belaka.