Love or respect a person or thing greatly Essay Example Essay Example

Love or respect a person or thing greatly Essay Example Paper Love or respect a person or thing greatly Essay Introduction This is what The New Oxford Dictionary says about worship. This being the definition and meaning that anybody can give praise, respect, or love to anything for instance my sister worships chocolate she shows this by eating gallons and gallons of it! I worship the Leicester Tigers Rugby Football club and show it by losing my voice from shouting at matches! However worship can involve kneeling, praying, and attending services. Worship can take place anywhere, home’s churches, sport stadiums, mosques and others.For a Muslim worship to them means adoration and giving thanks, praise and respect through prayer and that this is the way to communicate with God.In mosques it is a tradition to have a number of features and furnishings. The most noticeable feature of a mosque is:The DomeThis is usually over the roof of the mosque and gives you the feeling of calm when you enter. It reminds them of their origins in the Middle East, as they are common there. It amplifies the voice of the I mam during the Friday prayer when Muslims go to the mosque to pray.The MinaretThe minaret is a tall tower from which a muezzin calls the religious to prayer. Throughout the day the muezzin will go and call from the minaret five times. This reminds people to pray as this is one of the five pillars of Islam known as salah and shows a Muslim submission to Allah.The five pointed star and moonThe five-pointed star reminds Muslims of the five pillars, Shahadah, Salah, Zakah, Saum, and Hajj. The moon represents God, the creator this being one of the 99 names of Allah and of the lunar calendar.Wudu facilitiesMen and women have separate facilities wudu is for washing in, as on entering a mosque you should be presented as clean an smart. Wudu is so that the worshipper and the house of God is keptphysically and spiritually clean. At all mosques there is running water and taps for this ritual to be taken place.Before entering the Mosque, a Muslim performs a ritual washing in the courtyardPrayer hallThis is the most important part of the mosque. It is carpeted for prayer, as there are no seats and everyone stands facing Mecca, the Holy City of Islam. In the prayer hall all are equal in the eyes of God. The empty space resembles Gods vastness. There is nothing in the prayer hall that will put people off from thinking and talking to Allah.Qibla wallThis wall facing Mecca tells Muslims which Direction Mecca is. All Muslims worldwide are united in facing Mecca at times of Prayer which is where Muhammad (pbuh) the messenger and prophet of Allah. Mecca is also the Destination of Hajj one of the five pillars that all Muslims have to make the Journey to at least once in their life.The Kaaba in MeccaMihrabThis is in the Qibla wall and indicates the exact direction Of Mecca and the Kaaba. The prayer leader (Imam) stands in front of this and leads the prayer.The Mihrab (prayer niche) and the Minbar (pulpit) in the Amr Mosque in Cairo are focal points of public worship.MinbarThis is t he pulpit where the Imam stands and gives the sermons and reads from the Qu’ran to the congregation. This represents when Muhammad made himself a platform to stand upon and reminds Muslims of this and carries on the tradition.Woman’s galleryWomen do not have to attend mosque due to family responsibilities but, however if they do chose to go there is a separate room or balcony for them to worship in so as, not to distract men and vice versa so their minds are not disturbed by sexual thoughts. It is also done so that modesty is kept, and that neither sex is displaced from prayer. It is respectful to the women to allow them to pray separately.CalligraphyCalligraphy simply translates into ‘beautiful writing’ and is used as decoration in the mosque with words of the Qu’ran written on the walls. The Islamic art of calligraphy is a way of reminding Muslims of the Qu’ran and Hadith. It is written all over the mosque to remind Muslims that Allah is ev erywhere. Calligraphy is the only decoration in the place of worship as images of humans and animals may lead to idol worship.The Qu’ranThis is the Muslim Holy Book. Muslims believe that this is the word of God, Allah, the same as how the prophet Muhammad received it. The Holy book is a way of life and a guide to living. The Qu’ran is the highest book in the mosque as it is seen as the most important. Whilst being read you must not talk or make a noise as this is a sign of respect. It should be handled with much care and should be protected greatly.The Six ClocksThese are important as they represent the times of prayer; five of the clocks show the times of the daily prayers, or Salah. The sixth one shows the time of the Friday prayer. This Friday prayer unites Muslims and is a time of support, encouragement and a sense of togetherness. These clocks show the importance of prayer to Muslims.B.When Muslims say they worship something they usually mean they give praise, tha nks, and giving respect through prayer to God. Prayer is one of the five pillars of Islam. Muslims pray to praise and glorify God, as Muslims owe everything to him. To Muslims prayer is sacred, as it is a time for worshippers to come into contact with God and be brought closer to him.On entering the mosque Muslims carry out a ritual called Wudu before worship and prayer and worship which can be seen as an act of worship this symbolises the ritual cleansing with water to purify the body and soul. Wudu needs running water and taps so there are wash facilities at mosques.These are the actions made by a Muslim as told to by the Qu’ranWash your hands to the wrists three times, rinse your mouth three times with your right hand; wash nostrils three times, wash your entire face three times, and wipe head once with fingers, wash ears by putting two fingers into the ears and wiping back with thumbs. Then with the backs of both hands wipe the neck once and finally wash the right foot th en the left up to the ankle three times.Washing each part means a different thing. While washing the hands and mouth they pray to God that they could be forgiven from sin they may have committed using there hands or mouths. When washing the nostrils the person needs to pray that they are pure enough to be able to smell the sweet scent of heaven. The washing of the face is to be prayed by asking God to remove the darkness of sin. The person must pray to God to give them the Book of Deeds whilst washing the right arm, and whilst washing the left arm the person must pray that God will not place it there. When wiping the head the person must ask to cover his with Gods mercy. When washing the ears the person should pray to God that they should not hear bad things. As wiping the back of the neck the person should ask that God does not throw ‘The Throne of His Curse’ on them. When washing the feet the Muslim must pray that they are guided in a straight line and not led astray. For this reason, Wudu is an act of worship in itself. All actions are repeated three times to maintain a tradition started by Muhammad.Salah is the prayer that is compulsory five times a day. It is a religious obligation performed by Muslims. Yet it doesn’t always have to take place in a mosque. However it is compulsory on a Friday, as said by the Qu’ran. Prayer five times a day is one of the five pillars.The daily prayer times relate to the place of the sun in the sky,Morning Prayer Between dawn and sunriseMidday Prayer Between midday and halfway between midday and sunsetAfternoon Prayer Between midday prayer and sunsetEvening Prayer After sunset until darkness covers the twilightNight Prayer Between evening prayer and dawnEach prayer only needs to take a couple of minutes. Muhammad used to do this and since then Muslims have fixed the times of prayer on this. During these prayers everything else is set aside and Muslims concentrate on Allah, praising, thanking for hi s forgiveness and alike. Prayer helps Muslims get closer to God, bring peace and tranquillity and reminds people of Allah.Du’a is a private and/or personal prayer not including Salah. This is performed kneeling with your hands facing up. These prayers maybe for thanks, a plea for help and more but are generally are personal. These prayers are for any length an of anytime. Many Muslims keep a part of the house clean so they are able to worship there.Many Muslims prayer before there sleep and pray as soon as they wake up as to be their first and last thought of each day. The best known prayer for Muslims is for personal strength and faith.Every Friday all adult male Muslims are expected to go to leave any other activities that are not associated with the mosque. Muslim men converge together for the Midday Prayer. In Muslim dominated Countries shops an businesses close during the Midday Hour on Fridays this is where the Imam will read from the Qu’ran where all Muslims fac e the Qibla wall and after all Muslims pray separately before returning to work. Meeting at the mosque is indicating brotherhood. Everyone stands close together showing everyone is equal at the time of prayer. It gives Muslim reassurance to face the next week knowing that there are others like them, who are following the same path. The Qu’ran dictates that Friday prayers are held so Muslims are obeying Gods word.Worship is a pillar from the five of Islam and to discontinue will destroy the pillar.Muslims pray to bring themselves closer to God, to tell him things that you don’t want others to know and to concentrate on just Allah. Praying brings peace and tranquillity, courage, hope and confidence. Prayer marks Muslims who have faith. Praying, for Muslims, is the most sacred part of life as it is when they come into contact with God.In the Qu’ran it is said to pray as it is what Muhammad (pbuh) did. Prayer demands performance and regulation, as it can often be in convenient to perform.C.Religious Buildings come between Muslims and God.Muslims believe that a place of worship should be free of statues and figures as it is possible that when the place of worship is over ornate, it can sometimes lead you away and distract you from God as you may be looking at the pictures and idols and not worshipping for the right reasons. Only calligraphy is allowed, as that will focus The Muslims attention on Allah’s teachings. Yet it could be argued that the building itself can distract you and to have pictures and figures in the place of worship will help keep you on track and your mind focused on what you are doing and the reasons for it and that if your mind does drift that seeing all the pictures will bring you back to the original thoughts.On the Fridays it is compulsory for the male to attend mosque and the Friday prayer as the Qu’ran says it. This gives the Muslims a chance to meet and worship together and share experiences and get all t he help and benefit from it they need. However, it could be said that that money spent on buildings and maintenance on the mosque could be used in a better way like towards the poor or hungry in less developed countries instead of on the mosque, Allah would have preferred it this way.The mosque isn’t actually needed some may say purely because Allah is everywhere so why waste money on buildings and features that are not strictly needed? Muslims however say that a mosque provides a place of focus on God and anything performed there does have a reason like for example Wudu, Arabic lessons Qu’ran teachings for children it is also a place for Muslims to meet, talk and to know one another.A mosque is a place from distraction in the outside world, and also keeps the mind focused on the teachings of Allah. Yet wouldn’t it show more commitment if a Muslim did worship at home? Love or respect a person or thing greatly Essay Thank you for reading this Sample!

The Basics of Telescopes

The Basics of Telescopes Sooner or later, every stargazer decides its time to be buying a telescope. Its an exciting next step to further exploration of the cosmos. However, as with any other major purchase, theres a lot to learn about these universe exploration engines, ranging from power to price. The first thing a user wants to do is figure out their observational goals. Are they interested in planetary observing? Deep-sky exploration? Astrophotography? A little of everything? How much money do they want to spend? Knowing the answer to those questions will help narrow down a telescope choice. Telescopes come in three basic designs: refractor, reflector, and catadioptric, plus some variations on each of the types. Each has its pluses and minuses, and of course, each type can cost a little or a lot depending on the quality of the optics and the accessories needed.   Refractors and How They Work A refractor is a telescope that uses two lenses to deliver a view of a celestial object. At one end (the one farther away from the viewer), it has a large lens, called the objective lens or object glass. On the other end is the lens the user looks through. It is called the ocular or eyepiece. They work together to deliver the sky view. The objective collects light and focuses it as a sharp image. This image gets magnified and is what the stargazer sees through the ocular. This eyepiece is adjusted by sliding it in and out of the telescope body to focus the image. Reflectors and How They Work A reflector works a bit differently. Light is gathered at the bottom of the scope by a concave mirror, called the primary. The primary has a parabolic shape. There are several ways the primary can focus the light, and how it is done determines the type of reflecting telescope. Many observatory telescopes, such as Gemini in Hawaii or the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope  use a photographic plate to focus the image. Called the prime focus position, the plate is located near the top of the scope. Other such scopes use a secondary mirror, placed in a similar position as the photographic plate, to reflect the image back down the body of the scope, where it is viewed through a hole in the primary mirror. This is known as a Cassegrain focus.   Newtonians and How They Work Then, theres the Newtonian, a kind of reflecting telescope. It got its name when  Sir Isaac Newton dreamed up the basic design. In a Newtonian telescope, a flat mirror is placed at an angle in the same position as the secondary mirror in a Cassegrain. This secondary mirror focuses the image into an eyepiece located in the side of the tube, near the top of the scope. Catadioptric Telescopes Finally, there are catadioptric telescopes, which combine elements of refractors and reflectors in their design. The first such telescope was created by German astronomer Bernhard Schmidt in 1930. It used a primary mirror at the back of the telescope with a glass corrector plate in the front of the telescope, which was designed to remove spherical aberration. In the original telescope, photographic film was placed at the prime focus. There were no secondary mirror or eyepieces. The descendant of that original design, called the Schmidt-Cassegrain design, is the most popular type of telescope. Invented in the 1960s, it has a secondary mirror that bounces light through a hole in the primary mirror to an eyepiece. The second style of catadioptric telescope was invented by a Russian astronomer, D. Maksutov. (A Dutch astronomer, A. Bouwers, created a similar design in 1941, before Maksutov.) In the Maksutov telescope, a more spherical corrector lens than in the Schmidt is utilized. Otherwise, the designs are quite similar. Today’s models are known as Maksutov –Cassegrain. Refractor Telescope Advantages and Disadvantages After initial alignment, which is necessary to have the optics work well together, refractor optics are resistant to misalignment. The glass surfaces are sealed inside the tube and rarely need cleaning. The sealing also minimizes effects from air currents that can muddy the view. This is one way that users can get steady sharp views of the sky. Disadvantages include a number of possible aberrations of the lenses. Also, since lenses need to be edge supported, this limits the size of any refractor. Reflector Telescope Advantages and Disadvantages Reflectors do not suffer from chromatic aberration. Their mirrors are easier to build without defects than lenses are since only one side of a mirror is used. Also, because the support for a mirror is from the back, very large mirrors can be built, making larger scopes. The disadvantages include ease of misalignment, the need for frequent cleaning, and possible spherical aberration, which is a defect in the actual lens that can blur the view. Once a user has a basic understanding of the types of scopes on the market, they can focus on getting the right-sized one to view their favorite targets with. They can learn more about some mid-range-priced telescopes on the market. It never hurts to browse the marketplace and learn more about specific instruments.  And, the best way to sample different telescopes is to go to a star party and ask other scope owners if theyre willing to let someone take a look through their instruments. Its an easy way to compare and contrast the view through different instruments. Edited and updated by  Carolyn Collins Petersen.