Need for an Heir - 2108 Words

The want and need for an heir can be a powerful desire and drive men to drastic measures. It was the reason behind the decision of King Henry VIII of England to pass the Act of supremacy in 1534, which declared and recognized that he the king, â€Å"was the only supreme head of the Church of England called Anglicana Ecclesia† (History of the Monarchy). After falling in love with Anne Boleyn and needing an heir, King Henry VIII wanted the Pope to annul his marriage with Catherine of Aragon on the basis that it had never been legal. However when the Pope refused to do so, King Henry VIII decided to curb the papal influence and power. He went forth, declaring the Church of England under his own rule and not the Pope’s, as well dismantling all of the catholic monasteries across England. Despite Catholicism being outlawed in England for over seventy years, Englishwomen still sought a monastic lifestyle; leading a sect of nuns called the Poor Clares to establish the first En glish monastic community in France. Between 1536 and 1541 King Henry VIII placed a set of administrative and legal processes that disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland. During the Dissolution of Monasteries as this time period is known for, the throne took the income of these groups and disposed of their assets. In destroying the monastic system, King Henry VIII was able to force the Roman Catholic Church out of England and effectively suppressing his politicalShow MoreRelatedJulius Caesar : Political Propaganda1120 Words   |  5 Pageschildless and not naming an heir to the throne. Therefore Shakespeare used his tragedy Julius Caesar and the Roman politics in the play in order to reflect those of his day. Namely that even the government needs the support of its people, that advice given to political leaders should be taken into consideration, the consequences of rebellion, and the need for an heir. William Shakespeare first looks to show what may happen if the Queen should die without naming an heir to the throne. â€Å"ConceivablyRead MoreWhy Did Henry Viii Want a Divorce761 Words   |  4 Pagesb) Do you agree with the view that the Break with Rome was brought about primarily by Henry’s desire for a male heir? Use sources 4, 5 amp; 6 and your own knowledge to explain your answer. The Break with Rome was brought about by a number of reasons, namely Henry’s desire for a male heir and thus the need to obtain a divorce, the role of the Anne Boleyn faction and their reformist influence and Henry’s desire for greater power and revenue. Source 4 disagrees with the question because it arguesRead MoreThe Greatest And Most Tragic Of Shakespeare s King Lear1043 Words   |  5 Pageswas established as King, people looked up to him regardless of his mental state. This is why as he grew older, he became insistent on maintaining social status. Edmund was Earl of Gloucester’s illegitimate son and Edgar was Gloucester’s legitimate heir. Because of Edmunds birth right, he was lower in social status than Edgar and didn’t receive the same treatment. He spent the entire play trying to climb up the social ladder. Social status is a rampant conflict throughout King Lear. King Lear foughtRead MoreInherited Home Essay753 Words   |  4 Pageswith co-heirs. Dealing with a home that was inherited can be emotional and also complicating when it comes to finances. Even if the home was paid off you need to be sure that there wasnt a reverse mortgage. So it should come as no surprise that a lot of folks want to educate themselves on the sale of an inherited home. So how do you sell your inherited house? We’ll break it down. Here’s our 5-step guide to selling your newly inherited home: Identify First, you need to identify the heir of the propertyRead MoreAnalysis Of How Soon Is Now By John Morrissey833 Words   |  4 Pagesable to use to good effect if they did. When the unknowing hear the opening line â€Å"I am the son and the heir† for the first time, it might register as something less complex, like â€Å"I am the sun and the air.† After all, how often does anybody use the word â€Å"heir† in a song? But â€Å"heir† it is, and that line leads into another exceptional line, â€Å"of a shyness that is criminally vulgar / I am son and heir to nothing in particular.† â€Å"Criminally vulgar?† What a great coupling. The last part of that line is believedRead MoreEssay On Russianity1598 Words   |  7 Pagesare a way for the people to seek blessings and protection from Our Lady of Kazan, a highly regarded figure within the Russian Orthodox Church. On this holiday, various religious and political leaders address the country about the importance and the need for unity. Public events such as concerts and exhibitions are held as well. In order for this wide variety of festivities to take place, schools and most businesses are closed for the day. Such celebrations can be observed throughout the country, forRead MoreGaius Octavius: The Savior of Shakespeares Julius Caesar835 Words   |  3 Pagesreveals that he is off traveling the world. Octavius takes advantage of the fact that he is Caesar’s named heir when the time to seize power comes. Gaius Octavius , one of Caesar’s family members, was somewhat of a rambunctious youngster; however, he asserted himself with self-confidence both in Rome and on the battlefield against the conspirators. Octavius gives readers an example of his need to be in charge when he says, â€Å"Upon the right hand I; keep thou the left (V.i.16-20).† He says this to MarcRead MoreDisagreement Will Be Protected By Law As Well As Organization1466 Words   |  6 Pages Scenario 2 (Recording incidents of violating of rights): Mr. Heir was walking on side of the road with his fishing rods in Deer County. While fishing, Mr. Heir was openly carrying a firearm in a shoulder holster. Of course, the County police stopped Mr. Heirs to determine if he were a criminal. Mr. Heir begins to record the incident from the mobile phone. The Officer requested Mr. Heir to stop recording the incident. Mr. Heirs declined to stop recording from the mobile phone. Officer Jones feltRead MoreUsing Your Re verse Mortgage For Protect Your Home Value1040 Words   |  5 Pagesthe reverse mortgage balance is higher than the value of your home, your heirs may choose to turn the home over to the bank without any personal consequences or financial obligation to them. Regardless of how much the home lost value, your heirs will never have to pay the shortfall if they choose to turn the home over to the lender. You still got your cash, and if you have cash left from the mortgage may leave that to your heirs. On the flip side, if there is equity in your home and you wish to sellRead MoreWhat Does Title Insurance Protect Me From?880 Words   |  4 Pagesresulting from defects that affect the title to his home or again place of business. Owner’s Title Insurance is normally issued in the amount of the real estate purchased. It is purchased for a one-time fee at closing and lasts for as long as you or your heirs have an interest in the property. You should also note that there are two types of Title insurance. One for the real estate owner (that’s you) and one for the mortgage lender. The mortgage lender would most of the time ask you to purchase a title

Sociology Films on Demand Essay - 1088 Words

Films on Demand: Sociology Collection: Social Institutions Andrea M., Britteny Bates, Chandra Roberts SOC/100 12/6/15 Dr. Virginia Merlini Social institutions such as that of family, religion, education, economic and political standings, are set standards or patterns of governing within society. In many cases, this is used to rule over others, in matters of wealth and hierarchy. These social institutions are important because they provide some structure for society. However, not all forms of structure are appropriate. Many of these behaviors are used to control†¦show more content†¦They wanted to make an example of her. In 2012, on her way to school, 12 year old Malala’s bus was stopped by the Taliban, once her identity was discovered she was shot in the head at point blank range. The intention was that Malala’s death would strike fear into the other girls, to get them back under Taliban’s control. However, not only did Malala live, but she thrived! With the help of the United Nations, the American and English governments, she has inspired other girls around the world, started a fou ndation to help other girls, (www.malala.org) and has become the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize! â€Å"Nine Years After 9/11: Has Religious Intolerance Changed In America?† This is a controversial video based and presented in the conflict perspective as it is a debate between four religious leaders over whether religious tolerance has changed in America since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, as well as the controversy over the building of a mosque (community center) at ground zero. Reverend Janet Vincent of Episcopal Church and Bishop Harry Jackson, of Hope Christian Church, argue that religious tolerance has changed and is on the rise due to anxiety and grief that was never confronted after the attacks. Reverend Vincent believes that the lack of leadership from our government as well as members of our government such as, and possibly most famously, President Obama, practicing theShow MoreRelatedFood Chains : Description And Analysis Essay1526 Words   |  7 Pagessupermarkets have enormous buying power, they do not want to take responsibility of the food grown for vending. In the past decade gas, pesticide, and other utilities to manage cr ops have dramatically increased in price. Unfortunately, supermarkets still demand that farmers keep their selling prices the same forcing farmers to decrease their profits. The Coalition of Immokalee workers took a stance in trying to receive fair labor and pay for the work they provide. At first, workers were afraid to take aRead MoreEssay1224 Words   |  5 PagesMovie Review: Equilibrium 1 Movie Review: Equilibrium The movie Equilibrium is an excellent movie to relate to our Introduction to Sociology class. Equilibrium follows the life of John Preston, an elite member of a military team used to locate and destroy all things considered â€Å"sensory stimulating†. In this society all citizens are forced to take drugs that suppress all feeling and emotion. The reason for this is the leader â€Å"father† of this society believes emotion is the cause ofRead MoreEssay on Week 4725 Words   |  3 Pagesï » ¿ Films on Demand: Sociology Collection: Social Institutions There are different social institutions such as family, education, religion, health care, government, and the economy and work. Each of these are important to society for many reasons. They make people who they are and teaches them how to function in society. Family is where everything should start. Your family is the first form of socialization that you experience as well as the religion that your family is a part of. 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Islamic Economic System Free Essays

string(145) " the sight of Allah† \(Al-Rum-39\) Basic concept of Interest/riba is explained by Qur’an, Hadith, Islamic and other scholars in an easy way\." INTRODUCTION Islam is a complete code of life which offers its own social, political and economic systems to guide human behavior in all spheres of life. History has recorded that the economic system of Islam, for the first time in the world had established social and economic justice during the period of al-Khilafah al-Rashidah. In any ideal Muslim society, socio-economic justice is considered as one of the most significant characteristics for the social, political, and economic as well as all realms of human interaction. We will write a custom essay sample on Islamic Economic System or any similar topic only for you Order Now Exploitation and any source of unjustified enrichment in Islam are prohibited. The Holy Qur’an has emphatically instructed Muslims not to acquire each other’s property wrongfully. Islam is not an ascetic religion. It takes a positive view of life as the natural outcome of the belief that human beings are the vicegerents of Allah (Swt). The conditions for interest/riba has been laid down as increase in principal amount and increase with respect to payment period, the more period causes more increase. Interest/riba has been categorized into two types. After describing interest/riba and its types, reasons have been sought for prohibition of interest/riba from Quran referring to Surah Al-Rum-39, Surah Al-Nisa-161, Surah Al-Imran 130-2 and Surah Al-Baqrah 275-281. Help from Hadith (Muslim, Ahmed, Tirmidhi and Ibn-e-Majah) has also been sought. Interest/riba generates various evils like moral evils, social evils and economic evils. The goals of socio-economic justice and equitable distribution of income and wealth are integral parts of the moral philosophy of Islam. However, one of the socio-economic reforms made by Islam was the prohibition of riba (interest). About the efficacy and usefulness of the prohibition of interest in Islam, Muslim economists have tried to provide the juridical clarity and support based on reason, as opposed to mere belief. The purpose of this paper is to spell out the meaning of riba or interest, its different kinds, and the social, moral, as well as economic rationale of its prohibition. The central feature of an Islamic financial system is the absolute prohibition of the payment and receipt of interest. Thus, countries that have chosen to bring their economic systems into closer accordance with the rules prescribed by Islamic law have had to restructure their banking Systems to conform to the restriction on interest based financial transactions. One of the main subjects in Islamic economy is study on ration of usury to currency devaluation compensation. In Iran which average inflation rate has been 20% during the last 30 years (that is prices have been averagely multiplied by 240 in the last 30 years) on the one hand and currency devaluation compensation is regarded usury on the basis of traditional definition of usury on the other hand, the fact that devaluation compensation is considered as usury causes the holders of interest free deposit to face continual and evident devaluation and then cause the holders of fixed salary and cash asset to have zero purchasing power over time and some will benefit (including government and then owners of estates) and some will lose. The incurred loss will be the same as the benefit of some beneficiaries leading to poverty of the poor and wealth of the rich and violation of rule of dominance in private ownership. On the basis of traditional jurisprudence, compensation for currency devaluation is regarded the same as inflation rate and non compensation will lead to undesirable consequences. In this article, this traditional attitude has been challenged and we can say that compensation for decrease of purchasing power which is the same as inflation rate is not only usury but also necessary with regard to economic changes in the current era and this is closer to justice recommended in religious law. With regard to the mentioned material, importance of currency devaluation compensation is made evident. In fact, this article seeks to answer this question whether currency devaluation compensation is one of the usury evidences or not and if it is necessary to compensate it in transaction (especially in term transaction)?. Substantive hypothesis of this research is that compensation for purchasing power decrease in transaction (especially in loan) is necessary. Much has been written on the interpretation of the term â€Å"interest/riba†, Interest on the wisdom underlying its prohibition, on its economic and social implications and on the practical aspects of the Islamic economy which is supposed to work without interest. It is explained that the people not conversant with principles of Islam and economic philosophy of Islam believe that elimination of interest/riba from banks and financial institutions makes them charitable, rather than commercial concerns which offer financial services without a return. This is their wrong assumption that interest free loan is meant for cooperative and charitable activities and not normally for commercial transactions. It is clear that elimination of interest from financial activities does not mean that lender cannot earn profit. If financing is made for commercial purpose, it can be based on the concept of Musharakah and Mudarabah. Islam animated novel systems which were beyond the reach and perception of human beings to think and develop. LITERATURE REVIEW Much has been written on Interest and its evils. Prohibition of interest in Islam is basically is an effort to prevent the society from the evils of interest. Interest free economy is an ideal economic system, model of which is presented by Islam through Qur’an and Hadith. Prophet Muhammad (S. A. W) laid down the basis of interest free economic system 1400 years ago and Khulfa-e-Rashidain carry that work and establish an economic model that is role model for today’s economists and for those who are contributing their efforts for establishing an Interest free economic system. Regarding subject matter in the present article which studies relationship between them, the related literature (except Qur’an Hadith) relates to the recent 30 years. Islamic prohibited Interest as Qur’an Said: â€Å"Allah deprives riba of all blessing and develops charity† (Al-Baqara-276) â€Å"The interest that you give in order to increase the wealth of the people, does not increase in the sight of Allah† (Al-Rum-39) Basic concept of Interest/riba is explained by Qur’an, Hadith, Islamic and other scholars in an easy way. You read "Islamic Economic System" in category "Papers" Fourth Revelation (Surah Al-Baqarah, verses 275-281) â€Å"Those who devour riba will not stand except as stands one whom the evil one by his touch hath driven to madness. That is because they say: â€Å"Trade is like riba†. But Allah hath permitted trade and forbidden riba. Those who after receiving direction from their Lord, desist, shall be pardoned for the past; their case is for Allah (to judge). But those who repeat (the offence) are companions of the fire; they will abide therein (forever). †(275) Allah further said: â€Å"O you who believe, observe your duty to Allah and give up what remains (due) from interest, if you are believers. But if you do not do it, then be warned of war from Allah and His messenger; and if you repent, then you shall have your capital. Do not exploit and be not exploited. † (2:278-279). The Holy Prophet (S. A. W) has advised Muslims to avoid seven harmful things and the third among these is interest, He stated,’ although interest brings increase, yet its end tends to scarcity’. From Jabir (RAA) The Prophet, (PBUH) may curse the receiver and the payer of interest, the one who records it and the two witnesses to the transaction and said: â€Å"They are all alike [in guilt]† (Muslim, Tirmidhi and Musnad Ahmad). From Abdullah Ibn Hanzalah (RAA) the Prophet (PBUH), said: â€Å"A dirham of riba which a man receives knowingly is worse than committing adultery thirty six times† (Mishkat al-Masabih, Kitab al Buyu, Bab al riba, on the authority of Ahmad and Daraqutni). Bayhaqi has also reported the above Hadith in Shu’ab al-imam with addition that â€Å"Hell befits him whose flesh has been nourished by the unlawful. † From Abu Hurayrah (RAA): The prophet, (PBUH), said: â€Å"There will certainly come a time for mankind when everyone will take riba and if he does not do so, its dust will reach him. Abu Dawud, Kitab al Buyu†, Bab fi ijtinabi al-shubuhat; also in Ibn Majah) From Abu Hurayrah (RAA): The Prophet, (PBUH), said: â€Å"God would be justified in not allowing four persons to enter paradise or to taste its blessings: he who drinks habitually, he who takes riba, he who usurps an orphan’s property without right, and he who is undutiful to his parents† (Mustadrak al-Hakim, Kitab al-Buyu) Above illustrated Verses from Holy Qur’an and Hadith explain the meanings and its status in Islam. Prohibition of Riba Act 1997 states that riba is an stipulated payment over and above the principal amount lent in consideration of the time given for repayment, either on simple or compound basis or any discount given on assignment of debt or any financial paper representing money. Chapra (1985) explains that â€Å"Riba literally means increase, addition, expansion or growth†. Even among secular literature, one finds criticism on interest. Aristotle (384-322 BC) in his book â€Å"Politics† criticized interest in following words â€Å"Of all modes of getting wealth, this is the most unnatural†. In value neutral economics too, we find criticism on interest. Keynes (1936, p. 377) in his monumental work â€Å"General Theory of Income, Employment, Interest and Money† reasoned in following words: â€Å"Interest to-day rewards no genuine sacrifice, any more than does the rent of land. The owner of capital can obtain interest because capital is scarce, just as the owner of land can obtain rent because land is scarce. But whilst there may be intrinsic reasons for the scarcity of land, there are no intrinsic reasons for the scarcity of capital. An intrinsic reason for such scarcity, in the sense of a genuine sacrifice which could only be called forth by the offer of a reward in the shape of interest, would not exist, in the long run, except in the event of the individual propensity to consume proving to be of such a character that net saving in conditions of full employment comes to an end before capital has become sufficiently abundant. But even so, it will still be possible for communal saving through the agency of the State to be maintained at a level which will allow the growth of capital up to the point where it ceases to be scarce†. Tahir (1999) describes that riba is a discrepancy which results from the contractual obligations of a party in the context of a direct exchange of items of the same general kind (such as loan transaction) between two parties. Encyclopedia American International Edition (1970) expresses the meaning of interest that it is a charge for the use of money. Interest has not always been considered legitimate or even moral payment. Until the end of middle ages, any charge for a loan was general considered to be usury. Teachings of Christian, Judaic and Islamic religion, all condemned in varying degrees, the taking of interest, in more recent times, however, usury has come to be regarded as only the charging of illegal rates of interest. â€Å"The interest that you give in order to increase the wealth of the people, does not increase in the sight of Allah; and the Zakat that you pay in order to win Allah’s approval, its payers do indeed increase their wealth† (Surah Al-Rome no. 39)(Shafi and Usmani, 1997, p. 67). It is beautiful and powerful statement from Quran which shows that interest is prohibited by God because it can only increase the wealth of individual not the society. â€Å"Exclusion of interest from financial activities does not necessarily mean that the financier cannot earn a profit. If financing is meant for a commercial purpose, it can be based on concept of profit and loss sharing, for which Musharakah and Mudarabah have been designed since the very inception of Islamic commercial law† (Usmani, 2005, p. 10). It is wrong and confused concept in the society about the operation of the Islamic banking system but Islam provides an alternative system where everyone contributes their share of investment and earns profit. In case of losses all the parties of contract suffer according to their agreed terms and conditions. Islamic financial system is being only successful if all the financial activity will be performed according to Islamic financial law Islamic banking is a very strong sector of interest free economy; Islamic anking can be a true alternative of conventional banking. The Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) defined an Islamic banking as â€Å"a financial institution whose statutes, rules and procedures expressly state its commitment to the Principles of Islamic Shariah and to the banning of the receipt and payment of interest on any of its operations† (Hassan, 1999, p. 60). According to this statement it is clear that interest is fully prohibited in Islamic law due to it s bad effects on human being and more badly effects on overall society and economy. In an interest based economy a trend arises that rich people create the methods to increase their wealth through effecting the middle and lower classes. In interest based economy the middle class cannot contribute positively in economic system then gradually the economy travel toward financial crises such as credit crunch. An Islamic bank is an intermediary and trustee of other people’s money with the difference that it shares profit and loss with its depositors. In practice the most Islamic banks have an organizational set-up very matched and similar to their conventional counterpart banks (Dar and Presley, 2000). â€Å"Islamic banking is phenomenally profitable because, although its underlying funding mechanism is the same as conventional banking, its default experience is better, and its charges higher and less transparent† (Cook, 2006, p. 16). It is resulted from above statements that Islamic banking is not totally different from conventional banking. They are doing same practice such as saving deposits and consumer finances but there are some fundamental differences of its practice and objectives. Islamic banking is interest free and its main objectives are the equal distribution of wealth, decreasing the poverty and increasing the investment opportunities. It is very beneficiary for Muslim population who want to solve all their financial matter according to their religion. Because a number of Islamic and some high street commercial banks from all over the world offer products and services that are according to Shariah compliant (www. tandardchartered. com). Islamic and traditional banking actually are not different. The both banking system has same objectives and practice the only difference of implementation of interest because interest is totally prohibited in Islam. Islamic banking falls into the realms of conventional banking; Islamic banking try to ensure that all their financial matters according to Islamic financial law a s well as the rules and regulations of a articular state like the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in the United Kingdom (Shanmugam, Perumal and Ridzwa, 2004). Islamic banking almost provides same services as conventional banking such as current accounts, saving accounts, insurances, mortgages and investment opportunities in the society. Regarding usury or currency devaluation and its related issues, there are abundant economic literatures. Its reason is that this subject has not been raised as main and serious subject in the past. In Sunnite world, the above issue has not been seriously raised. Perhaps, the main reason is that this issue becomes important in the country like Iran which usury free banking has been executed completely due to close relationship between currency devaluation compensation and usury free banking. In fact, by study on history of Islamic banking in world of Islam especially in literature of Sunnites, we notice that history of Islamic banking is divided into two periods: firstly, when it has been raised as an ideal form and secondly, when it has been realized. Principle of attention to usury free banking idea is found in book Anvar Eghbal Goreishi (1946) (Naem Sadighi 1948) and Mohammad Ahmad (1952) and consequently, professional elaboration of Mododi in 1950(1961) and writings of Mohammad Hamidollah in 1944, 1955, 1957 and 1967 are included in this group. In all of these works, bailment means participation on the basis of profit and loss was suggested as main mechanism for usury free banking idea (Abdul Ghafoor, 1955). In the next two decades, usury free banking attracted many attentions; efforts of researchers about this subject started in this period. The first works related to Mohammad Azir (1955) and afterward, Abdullah Arabi (1967), Nejatollah Sadighi (1961, 1969) and Alnajar (1971) and Sadr (1961, 1974) published works in this field in late 1960s and early 1970s (Sadighi 1997, P222). These governmental efforts and assistances led to application of theory in reality and the first usury free bank i. e. Islamic Development Bank was born out of this process in 1975. Afterward, different researches were published in the field of usury free banking. Works done by Mir Akhor (1989), Farokh Omar(1985), Khan (1986), Asif Ahmad (1997), Motahari(1403 AH), Mosaei(1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004), Adib Soltani (1996, Bakhtiari (1996), Beheshti (1989), Taskhiri (1996), Tootonchian(2000) , Davoodi (1995), Marzban(1977), Mesbahi (1997), Hedayati (1996), Yousefi (1998), Arif Mohammad (1988) and Musai (1997, 2001) belong to this category. The first private usury free bank was Dubai Islamic bank which was established in 1975 by a group of Muslim merchants from many countries. Afterward, two other private banks called Feisal Islamic Bank was established in Egypt and Sudan. In the same year, Kuwait government established Kuwait Finance House. But before this date, usury free banking has been available in small and limit scale such as banking in Malaysia in the middle 1940s and another one in Pakistan in the late 1950s. With regard to these experiences, Naser Social Bank was established in 1972 which is available now and its goals are social rather than commercial. During the next 10 years, more than 50 usury free banks were formed out of establishment of the first private commercial bank in Dubai. Most of these banks are in Muslim countries. But many are available in West Europe in Denmark, Luxemburg, Switzerland and England. In 1983 and 1984, many banks were established but afterward, the number of these banks has decreased. METHODOLOGY Since this study was secondary data based, no primary data collection methods were followed. Data was collected from various scholarly articles related to studies. Books on Islamic economics were also consulted and considered for data collection. Data related to Zakat, usher, fidia, jizia and charity was collected from Qur’an and Hadith. And authenticity of data was confirmed by Ulma so that any misconception could be prevented. Scholarly articles and related studies were carefully studied and most related data was taken for report. After rigorous study of literature available, a comparative analysis of various sectors of economy was performed. Comparison of Zakat and tax, conventional and Islamic banking, monetary and fiscal policy and also a brief discussion of inflation is included. After comparative analysis and deep discussion of data collected an effort is made to develop an interest free economy model in Pakistan. COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS Much has been written on the interpretation of the term â€Å"interest/riba. We have expand our discussion more and try to explain the meanings of interest, its implications in different sector of economy and also try to produce free model of economy, sector wise. INTEREST Interest is the money paid for the use of money lent, or for delaying the repayment of a debt. The economy today is based on the system of interest. It has its merits and demerits, but if we analyze it in accordance with the Islamic injunctions and teachings, then we come to realize that this system of interest is not viable for the Muslims, and it undermines the human and cultural values. Interest is the basis of modern capitalism. It is completely opposite to Zakat. Zakat channels wealth from the rich to the poor while interest takes away wealth from the poor and hands it over to the rich. Modern economics are so inter-linked with interest that people may think it is impossible to go without it. The situation is really very complex. But, we must aim at getting rid of interest. Unless people fight against the tyrant rulers and establish an Islamic state -the problems will still be there. Further, until Islamic state established, it will make us feel impossible to solve this riba (interest) problem. Allah SWT has not imposed on us something impossible. An interest-free economy will be a boon for all peoples of the world. INTEREST and ISLAM Interest (riba) has been vehemently disapproved in Islam. Islam prohibits all transactions involving interest. This prohibition is for all interest-based transactions, whether giving or receiving, whether dealing with Muslims or non-Muslims. It is reported that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) cursed those who pay interest, those who receive it, those who write a contract based on it, and those who witness such a contract. Interest is neither a trade nor a profit. It is a means of exploitation and concentration of wealth. PROHIBITION OF INTEREST IN QURAN AND SUNNA’H â€Å"They say, trade is like interest and Allah has allowed trade and prohibited interest. † (2:275). â€Å"Whatever you pay as interest, so that it may increase in the property of (other) men, it does not increase with Allah. â€Å"(30:39). â€Å"O you, who believe, do not take interest, doubling and quadrupling, and keep your duty to Allah, so that you may prosper. † (3:130). â€Å"O you, who believe, observe your duty to Allah and give up what remains (due) from interest, if you are believers. But if you do not do it, then be warned of war from Allah and His messenger; and if you repent, then you shall have your capital. Do not exploit and be not exploited. † (2:278-279). â€Å"Those who devour usury will not stand†¦. Allah has permitted trade and forbidden usury†¦. Allah will deprive usury of all blessing, but will give increase for deeds of charity†¦. † (Qur’an 2:275-6) The Holy Prophet of Islam has advised Muslims to avoid seven harmful things and the third among these is interest, He stated,’ although interest brings increase, yet its end tends to scarcity’. In several verses of the Holy Qur’an, Allah (Swt) has mentioned the consequences of riba. The Qur’an did not declare the prohibition of riba in the early stage of revelation; rather we find that the complete prohibition of interest came sequentially. In the Qur’an Allah (Swt) says: â€Å"That which ye lay out for increase through the property of (other) people, will have no increase with Allah: But that which ye lay out for charity, seeking the countenance of Allah (will increase): it is these who will get a recompense multiplied†. 30:39) â€Å"That they took riba (usury), through they were forbidden and that they devoured men’s substance wrongfully – We have prepared for those among men who reject faith a grievous punishment. † (4:161) â€Å"O ye who believe! Devour not usury doubled and multiplied; but fear Allah, that ye may (really) prosper. † (3:140) â€Å"Those who devour usury will not stand except as stands one whom the evil one by his touch hath driven to madness. That is because they say: ‘Trade is like usury. ’ But Allah hath permitted trade and forbidden usury. Those who after receiving direction from their Lord, desist, shall be pardoned for the past; their case is for Allah (to judge). But those who repeat (the offence) are companions of the fire, they will abide therein (forever)† (2:275) â€Å"O you who have attained faith! Remain conscious of God, and give up all outstanding gains from Usury, if you are (truly) believers†. (2: 278) TYPES OF RIBA Although the Qur’an did not specify any particular kind of riba, it is generally held that the word al-riba in the Qur’an is that kind of dealing which had been in vogue during the pre-Islamic days. Muslim jurists have classified riba in two types: 1. riba al-nasi’ah, and 2. riba al-fadal. Riba al- Nasi’ah The term nasi’ah means to postpone or to wait and it refers to the time period that is allowed for the borrower to repay the loan in return for the addition of the premium. Hence it refers to the interest on loans. The prohibition of riba al nasi’ah essentially implies that the fixing in advance of a positive return on a loan as a reward for waiting is not permitted by the Shari’ah. Hadith on Riba Al-Nasi’ah 1) From Usamah Ibn Zayd (RAA): The Prophet, (PBUH), said: â€Å"There is no riba except in Nasi’ah [waiting]. (Bukhari, Muslim and Musnad Ahmad) â€Å"There is no riba in hand to hand (spot) transactions: (Muslim, and Nasa’i). 2) From Ibn Masud (RAA): The Prophet, (PBUH), said: â€Å"Even when interest is much, it is bound to end up into paltriness. † (Ibn Majah and Musnad Ahmad) 3) From Anas Ibn Malik (RAA): The Prophet, (PBUH), said: â€Å"when one of you grants a loan and the borrower offers him a dish, he should not accept it; and if the borrower offers a ride on an animal, he should not ride, unless the two of them have been previously accustomed to exchanging such favors mutually. (Sunan al-Bayhaqi) 4) From Anas Ibn Malik (RAA): The Prophet, (PBUH), said: â€Å"if a man extends a loan to someone he should not accept a gift. † (Mishkat, on the authority of Bukhara’s Tarikh and Ibn Taymiyyah’s al Muntaqa) Riba al-Fadal Islam, however, wishes to eliminate not merely the exploitation that is intrinsic in the institution of interest, but also that which is inherent in all forms of unjust exchange in business transactions. Riba al-fadal is the excess over and above the loan paid in kind. It lies in the payment of an addition by the debtor to the creditor in exchange of commodities of the same kind. The following tradition of the Prophet Muhammad (saw) is cited as evidence. It is related that Abu Said al-Khurdi said: â€Å"the Prophet Muhammad (saw) has said that gold in return for gold, silver for silver, wheat for wheat, barley for barley, dates for dates and salt for salt, can be traded if and only if they are in the same quantity and that is should be hand to hand. If someone gives more or takes, then he is engaged in riba and accordingly has committed a sin. Islam is a complete code of life which offers its own social, political and economic systems to guide human behavior in all spheres of life. History has recorded that the economic system of Islam, for the first time in the world had established social and economic justice during the period of al-Khilafah al-Rashidah. In any ideal Muslim society, socio-economic justice is considered as one of the most signifi cant characteristics for the social, political, and economic as well as all realms of human interaction. Exploitation and any source of unjustified enrichment in Islam are prohibited. The Holy Qur’an has emphatically instructed Muslims not to acquire each other’s property wrongfully. Islam is not an ascetic religion. It takes a positive view of life as the natural outcome of the belief that human beings are the vicegerents of Allah (SWT). Hadith on Riba Al-Fadal 1) From Umar Ibn al-Khattab (RAA). The last verse to be revealed was on riba and the Prophet, (PBUH), was taken without explaining it to us; so give up not only riba but also raibah [whatever raises doubts in the mind about its rightfulness]. (Ibn Majah,) International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Vol. No. 6 [Special Issue – March 2012] 149 2) The Prophet, (PBUH) said, â€Å"Sell gold in exchange of equivalent gold, sell silver in exchange of equivalent silver, sell dates in exchange of equivalent dates, sell wheat in exchange of equivalent wheat, sell salt in exchange of equivalent salt, sell barely in exchange of equivalent barley, but if a person transacts in excess, it will be usury (riba). However, sell gold for silver anyway you please on the condition it is hand to hand (spot) and sell barley for date anyway you please on the condition it is hand to hand (spot)†. ) From Abu Sa’id al-Khudri (RAA): The Prophet, (PBUH) said, â€Å"Do not sell gold for gold except when it is like for like, and do not increase one over the other; do not sell silver for silver except when it is like for like, and do no increase one over the other; and do not sell what is away (from among these) for what is ready. † (Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, Nasa’i and Musnad Ahmad) 4) From „Ubada Ibn al-Samit (RAA): The Prophet, (PBUH), said: â€Å"Gold for gold, silver for silver, wheat for wheat, barely for barely, ates for dates, and salt for salt-like for like, equal for equal, and hand to hand; if the commodities differ, then you may sell as you wish, provided that the exchange is hand to hand. â€Å"(Muslim and Tirmidhi) Impacts of Interest on Economic System The present money system, based on the payment of interest, is unsustainable. Compound interest leads to exponential growth, which can be seen as a cancer on our social and economic system, a pathological growth pattern leading towards either economic or ecological collapse of unprecedented proportions. Inflation is generally seen as a given and interest as a natural antidote to counteract it, while in fact interest is the major cause of inflation. Economic growth is needed at any cost, by continually increasing public and private debts. The interest system leads to an uneven growth of different sectors of the economy, indicating a severe sickness in the economic system. While the Net Income in Wages and Salaries rose 18 times between 1950 and 1995 in Germany, for instance, the Monetary Assets increased 461 times and the Gross National Product 141 times. The global volume of speculative monetary transactions, arbitrating on the variability of currency values, amounts 97 % of all transactions, with a mere 3 % being in real goods and services. The daily volume of trading exceeds $ 2,000 billion; all the currency and gold reserves in the world would only amount to the volume of seven to eight hours of trading! The interest system has devastating effects on the culture, ecology and society. It sucks up resources from regions with lower returns and redistributes them to the regions with high returns. EVILS OF INTEREST (RIBA) The following evils are explained below which are happened due to interest in the economy. Moral Evils Interest generates such vices as miserliness, selfishness and petty-mindedness. Charity on the other hand develops such virtues as self-sacrifice, sympathy and magnanimity. The former are certainly a form of regression and the latter are signs of progress. Social Evils A society in which selfishness and self-interest are the prime values and people instead of dealing with one another on the basis of consideration are bent upon taking advantage of the pressing needs of each other will always remain victim of chaos and disunity. In contrast, if members of a society are considerate and wish each other well, the society will make rapid progress. Economic Evils From an economic point of view interest results in even more serious losses. Following are some of the highlighted areas: I) Interest and Investment According to Lord Keynes capital investment depends on the one hand on the rate of interest and on the other on MEC (Marginal Efficiency of Capital). The process of investment in a country will continue as long as MEC is higher than the interest rate or at least at par with it. As soon as MEC falls below the interest rate, the process of investment will come to a halt. This phenomenon may be illustrated by the following table: Investment| MEC| Interest Rate| 10 Million| 24%| 18%| 20 Million| 22%| 18%| 30 Million| 20%| 18%| 40 Million| 18%| 18%| Suppose the interest rate is 18% and an investment of Rs. 10 million is made on which the MEC is 24%. Since MEC is higher than the interest rate, investment is profitable. So the process of investment will continue. Now an additional investment of Rs. 10. 00 million is made on which the MEC declines from 24% to 22%. Investment is still profitable. So the process of investment will continue until MEC is equal to interest rate. As the above table shows at an investment of Rs. 40 million the MEC is at par with the 18% interest rate. After that the process of investment will stop because MEC will fall below the 18% rate of interest. The investment will then be non profitable. At this point the only hurdle in the way of investment is the interest rate. Further investment will continue only if the interest rate is reduced. If the interest rate is decreased to zero, the process of investment will continue till the level of full employment is achieved. II) Interest and Price When interest (as compensation for capital) is used as a factor of production it becomes part of the cost of production. Its burden is consequently shifted to the consumer. Moreover, interest is not added to the price once only, but it continues to be added to the price at several stages. Take the case of manufacturing of cloth. In the first place, the farmer will add interest to the price of cotton. Interest will again be added to the cost of production of yarn. It will be added to the cost of weaving, then to the cost of dyeing and finally to the price of finished cloth. Thus at every stage of production, interest enhances the price of goods which is totally unjustified. Interest by increasing the real price manifold causes inflation. III) Interest and Distribution of Wealth The distribution of wealth in a society becomes inequitable due to interest. Interest is an overhead charge which does not form part of any factor of production. Interest is received by the capitalist who continues the use his wealth to earn more wealth. Hence instead of circulating in the society, wealth is concentrated in the hand of the capitalist class. This causes an unjust distribution of wealth in the society. In this way due mainly to interest the rich in the society get richer and the poor, poorer. In regard to the distribution of Wealth, Abdul Qadir Salim writes in the October 1997 issue of the Tarjuman-ul-Quran: â€Å"Now when there is no significant rival to the capitalist system, what is the situation in the world? In this age of free economy and privatization twenty per cent of total world population is still living below the poverty line and its share in the gross wealth of the world is only 1. 5%. The poor are getting poorer. Growing poverty is not the problem of the third world alone. The advanced countries face this problem too. Sixty per cent of world’s resources are controlled and consumed by the twenty per cent rich. The prestigious journal â€Å"The Economist dated 5th Nov. 1996† complains: Never during the last fifty years has there been such as large gap in incomes in Britain as there is today. In other industrialized countries also the gulf between the rich and poor has widened. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Vol. 2 No. 6 [Special Issue – March 2012] 151 IV) Trade Cycle and Interest Interest creates trade cycles also. It plays a special role in bringing about a slump in the market. According to Hawtray’s Monetary Theory, the Banks issue loans with a free hand when the trade is brisk but as soon as signs of a slump appear they start of trade cycles recovery of the loans. In this way capital shrinks and the slump starts declining to its lowest level. V) Interest and Allocation of Resources Chapra (2000) expresses in Tarjuman-ul-Quran: Financial institutions operating on the basis of interest evaluate the resources of the applicants for a loan. They demand proper security to ensure that the borrower will not only return their capital but also an additional charge. How will the financial resources be utilized? This question is not the basic and decisive factor in extending a loan. In this way financial resources flow either to the rich who can provide the requisite securities or to the Government which is considered to be immune to insolvency. Bank deposits are largely provided by various sections of the society. (It is estimated that eighty percent bank deposits in Pakistan are received from middle class and low income groups of the society). However, its advantages are largely monopolized by the rich class. The MEC varies according to the sector of investment. So, projects vital to national interest in which MEC is lower than interest rate will not attract investment. A society run on interest will shy away from investing money in those projects in which MEC is low. If interest is abolished investment will be available for every sector and project without discrimination. VI) Interest and Business The capitalist fixes his share (interest rate) at the time of investment in business. Since his profit is guaranteed under all circumstances, he has no active interest in the business. He does not care if the business earns profit or incurs a loss. The running of business is entirely the responsibility of the management. A class of financiers thus comes into existence who supplies money and then sits idle. If interests are abolished, the financier class will take an active part in the economic struggle and the pace of economic development in the country will be accelerated. VII) Interest and Efficiency Interest has ill-effects on the efficiency of the people in general. The people who take loans to fulfill private needs are especially burdened with constant anxiety and mental depression. This condition has an adverse effect on their efficiency. Their interest in work is half-hearted because they are constantly nagged by the thought that a major portion of their earnings will got to pay the interest. Worry and depression weaken their physical health and their efficiency progressively deteriorates. VIII) Interest and Economic Instability Chapra (2000) states in Tarjuman-ul-Quran that interest destabilize the economy. The well-known American Economist Milton Friedman relates economic ups and downs to rise and fall in interest rate. A high rate of interest creates conditions of extreme uncertainty in investment market. It causes constant ups and downs in the gross profit (interest + profit) on total investment and makes it very difficult to take reliable decisions about long term investment. IX) Interest and International Loans The capitalist economy is virtually based on loans. So we can call it debt based economy. Individual or home consumption, private or public sector, economic activities in all spheres revolve round interest-based credit. The Special Issue on Behavioral and Social Science  © Centre for Promoting Ideas, USA www. ijhssnet. com 152 During the past two hundred years policies for economic development have used loans not only for physical development but also as instruments for financial expansion. So through credit creation financial expansion has not only been made the most dynamic factor for the economy but has been accorded the greatest importance for achieving economic stability. The developing countries suffer heavy loss due to the dominance of interest-based economic order in the world. As debtors the developing countries have to tolerate the interference of the advanced countries in their internal affairs. Economically also the developing countries undergo a great loss because a large portion of their meager resources is utilized in returning loans with interest. ALTERNATIVES TO INTEREST Islam not only prohibits interest but also provides alternatives to it for doing business and transactions. These include the Mudarabah and Musharakah as explained ahead. MUDARABAH â€Å"Mudarabah† is a special kind of partnership where one partner gives money to another for investing it in a commercial enterprise. The investment comes from the first partner who is called â€Å"rabb-ul-mal†, while the management and work is an exclusive responsibility of the other, who is called â€Å"mudarib†. Business of Mudarabah The rabb-ul-mal may specify a particular business for the mudarib, in which case he shall invest the money in that particular business only. This is called al-Mudarabah-al-muqayyadah (restricted Mudarabah). But if he has left it open for the mudarib to undertake whatever business he wishes, the mudarib shall be authorized to invest the money in any business he deems fit. This type of Mudarabah is called ‘al-Mudarabah-al-mutlaqah’ (unrestricted Mudarabah) A rabb-ul-mal can contract Mudarabah with more than one person through a single transaction. It means that he can offer his money to A and B both, so that each one of them can act for him as mudarib and the capital of the Mudarabah shall be utilized by both of them jointly, and the share of the mudarib shall be distributed between them according to the agreed proportion . In this case both the mudaribs shall run the business as if they were partners inter se. The mudarib or mudaribs, as the case may be, are authorized to do anything which is normally done in a course of business. However, if they want to do an extraordinary work, which is beyond the normal routine of the traders, they cannot do so without express permission from the rabb-ul-mal. Distribution of the Profit It is necessary for the validity of Mudarabah that the parties agree, right at the beginning, on a definite proportion of the actual profit to which each of them is entitled. No particular proportion has been prescribed by the Shari’ah; rather, it has been left to their mutual consent. They can share the profit in equal proportions, and they can also allocate different proportions for the rub-ul-mal and the mudarib. However, they cannot allocate a lump sum amount of profit for any party, nor can they determine the share of any party at a specific rate tied up with the capital. For example, if the capital is Rs. 100000/- they cannot agree on a condition that Rs. 10000/- out of the profit shall be the share of the mudarib, nor can they say that 20% of the capital shall be given to rabb-ul-mal. However, they can agree on that 40% of the actual profit shall go to the mudarib and 60% to the rabb-ul-maal or vice versa. It is also allowed that different proportions are agreed in different situations. For example the rabb-ul-mal may say to the mudarib, â€Å"If you trade in wheat, you will get 50% of the profit and if you trade in flour, you will have 33% of the profit†. Similarly, he can say â€Å"If you do the business in your town, you will be entitled to 30% of the profit, and if you do it in another town, your share will be 50% of the profit. † Apart from the agreed proportion of the profit, as determined in the above manner, the mudarib cannot claim any periodical salary or a fee or remuneration for the work done for him by the Mudarabah. All the schools of the Islamic Fiqh are unanimous on this point. However, Imam Ahmad has allowed for the mudarib drawing his daily expenses of food only from the Mudarabah account. The Hanafi jurists restrict this right of the mudarib only to a situation where he is on a business trip outside his own city. In this case he can claim his personal expenses, accommodation, food etc. , but he is not entitled to get anything as daily allowances when he is in his own city. If the business has incurred loss in some transactions and has gained profit in some others, the profit shall be used to offset the loss at the first instance, and then the remainder, if any, shall be distributed between the parties according to the agreed ratio. Termination of Mudarabah The contract of the Mudarabah can be terminated at any time by either of the two parties. The only condition is to give a notice to the other party. If all assets of the Mudarabah are in cash form at the time of termination, and some profit has been earned on the principle amount, it shall be distributed between the parties according to the agreed ratio. However, if the assets of the Mudarabah are not in the cash form, the mudarib shall be given an opportunity to sell or liquidate them, so that the actual profit may be determined. There is a difference of opinion among the Muslim jurists about the question whether the contract of Mudarabah can be affected for a specified period after which it terminates automatically. The Hanafi and Hanbali schools are of view that the Mudarabah can be restricted to a particular term, like one year, six months, etc, after which it will come to an end without a notice. On the contrary, Shafi’i and Maliki schools are of the opinion that the Mudarabah cannot be restricted to a particular time. However, this difference of opinion relates only to the maximum time limit of the Mudarabah. Can a minimum time limit also be fixed by the parties before which Mudarabah cannot be terminated? No express answer to this question is found in the books of the Islamic Fiqh, but it appears from the general principles numerated therein that no such limit can be fixed, and each party is at liberty to terminate the contract whenever he wishes. This unlimited power of the parties to terminate the Mudarabah at their pleasure may create some difficulties in the context of the present circumstances, because most of the commercial enterprises today need time to bring fruits. They also demand constant and complex efforts. Therefore, it may be disastrous to the project, if the rabb-ul-mal terminates the Mudarabah right in the beginning of the enterprise. Specially, it may bring a severe setback to a mudarib who will earn nothing despite all his efforts. Therefore, if the parties agree, when entering into the Mudarabah, that no party shall terminate it during a specified period, except in specified circumstances it does not seem to violate any principle of Shari’ah, particularly in the light of the famous Hadith, already quoted which says: â€Å"All the conditions agreed upon by the Muslims are upheld, except a condition which allows what is prohibited or prohibits what is lawful. † COMBINATION OF MUSHARKAH AND MUDARABAH A contract of Mudarabah normally presumes that the mudarib has not invested anything to the Mudarabah. He is responsible for the management only, while all the investment comes from rabb-ul-mal. But there may be situations where the mudarib also wants to invest some of his money into the business of Mudarabah. In such cases Musharakah and Mudarabah are combined together. For example, A gave to B Rs. 100000/- in a contract of Mudarabah. B added Rs. 50000/- from his own pocket with the permission of A. This type of partnership will be treated as a combination of Musharakah and Mudarabah. Here the mudarib may allocate for himself a certain percentage of profit on account of his investment as a sharik, and at the same time he may allocate another percentage for his management and work as a mudarib. The normal basis for allocation of the profit in the above example would be that B shall secure one third of the actual profit on account of his investment, and the remaining two thirds of the profit shall be distributed between them equally. However, the parties may agree on any other proportion. The only condition is that the sleeping partner should not get more percentage than the proportion of the investment. Now let’s see economy sector vise and analyze both interest based and interest free models. ISLAMIC TAXATION SYSTEM Zakat and Tax Zakat and tax are two systems that are used for the monetary benefits of the people. In this topic we will compare the two systems. Zakat Zakat is one of the five pillars of Islam. The word Zakat means both ‘purification’ and ‘growth’. Zakat occupies a central position in the economic system of Islam. One of the most important principles of Islam is that all things belong to God, and that wealth is therefore held by human beings in trust. Our possessions are purified by setting aside a proportion for those in need, and, like the pruning of plants, this cutting back balances and encourages new growth. Zakat does not only purify the property of the contributor but also purifies his heart from selfishness and greed. It also purifies the heart of the recipient from envy and jealousy, from hatred and uneasiness and it fosters instead good-will and warm wishes for the contributors. As Muslims pay the Zakat they have the genuine feeling that it is an investment and not a debit helping to establish economic balance and social justice in the society. Compulsory payment of Zakat is one of the main principles of an Islamic economy. Every Muslim who owns wealth more than his needs must pay the fixed rate of Zakat to the Islamic state. Zakat is a means of narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor. It helps the fair distribution of wealth. It is a form of social security. The Islamic state is responsible for providing the basic necessities of food, clothing, housing, medicine and education to every citizen. No-one should have any fear of insecurity or poverty (9:69, 103, 98:5). Primarily the root denotes an increase or augmentation (particularly of a positive, favorable or auspicious thing or virtue). Some also say that it means â€Å"to purify†. However, in the Quran AZKA has been used along with ATHAR in 2:232. The root, T-H-R (ta-ha-ra) from which the word ATHAR is derived, has the meanings â€Å"to purify† but the meanings â€Å"to increase, grow, thrive, augment etc. are the primary significations of the root Z-K-W. TAHARA is a negative virtue which signifies being free from dirt, filth or derogatory things. ZAKA is a positive virtue which signifies positive growth and development. The following phrases further clarify the signification of the root Z-K-W. * Zakat-il-ardh means the land throve or yielded increase * Zakat-al-ghulam m eans the boy grew or throve * Al-ilmo yazkoo Alal infaaq means the knowledge increases by spending * Zukkoo means he enjoyed or led a plentiful and a pleasant or an easy, and a soft or delicate life. OR he was in a state of abundance of the goods, conveniences or comforts of life OR he enjoyed a life of increase or plenty. * Zaka means increase or augmentation or growth or development. The term aatozakaat appears in the following verses: 2:43; 2:83; 2:110; 2:277; 4:77; 9:5; 9:11; 22:41; 22:78; 24:56; 58:13; 73:20; The root of the word Aatoo is A-T-Y (alif-ta-ya), which has the following meanings (depending upon what word or preposition follows this word): †¢ To come (to or over someone) †¢ To arrive (at) To bring, bring forward, produce, accomplish or achieve (something) †¢ To bring, give or offer or provide (someone, something) †¢ To do or perform (a deed) †¢ To carry out or execute (e. g. a movement) †¢ To commit or perpetrate (e. g. a sin or crime) The term aatozakaat is usually taken to mean â€Å"give the poor rate† where â€Å"poor rate† means† the local tax for the relief of the poor†. This definition of the term aato zakaat is not correct and does not bring forth the true and complete concept of the term ZAKA. The term aatozakaat does not mean JUST to give some fixed sum from the money to the poor,(although it may be a means of accomplishing ZAKA). It is much more than that. Please see the verse 2:177 in which giving some of the wealth to the near of kin and the orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and the beggars and for (the emancipation of) the captives has been differentiated from the term aatozakaat. Zakat is more than just giving from one’s wealth to the poor. See the following: (2:177) It is not righteousness that you turn your faces towards the East and the West, but righteousness is this that one should believe in Allah and the last day and the angels and the Book and the prophets, and give away wealth out of love for Him to the near of kin and the orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and the beggars and for (the emancipation of) the captives, and establish SALAT and provide UZAKAU; and the performers of their promise when they make a promise, and the patient in distress and affliction and in time of conflicts– these are they who are true (to themselves) and these are they who guard (against the inevitable consequences of violating Allah’s Commands). Even from the language point of view the term aatozakaat cannot be translated as â€Å"give the poor rate†. Although Aatoo has one of the meanings â€Å"give† but Zakat does not mean â€Å"poor rate†. Zakat means increase or augmentation or growth or development. The term aatozakaat is very comprehensive. It signifies â€Å"(to) Do whatever it takes to provide the means for the development and growth of all†, i. e. â€Å"(to) Do whatever is necessary to accomplish the physical and personal growth and development of all†. [See the meanings, â€Å"do†, â€Å"accomplish†, provide and â€Å"achieve† for the word Aatoo given above]. The purpose of Aatozakaat is to provide the means of development for all. It includes physical development and nourishment as well as development of the human personality i. e. mental/intellectual/personal development or development of the â€Å"self†. Development of human hardware as well as human software It involves development, increase and augmentation in the produce and resources to provide abundance of goods, conveniences and comforts to people as well as their self-actualization or development of their personalities. It is a complete economic system that ensures the provision of all the requisite resources for the physical and personal development of people. In order to establish such a system you have to have authority, power, dominion and government. If you already have such an authority and you are an Islamic Government, your primary task is to establish such a system. Please see 22:41. 22:41 (Believers are} those who, if We establish them in the land, establish SALAT and provide ZAKA and enjoin good and forbid evil: †¦ Notice in the above verse, the establishment in the land has been described as a prerequisite for the system of ZAKA. As has been mentioned above that growth and development is of two types: Physical (i. e. of the human hardware or body) and Personal (i. e. of the human software or the self or the personality). For physical development you have to have something added to your body as nourishment but for the development of the self or self-actualization, you need to give something out of your wealth or resources for others. See the following verses (which state that TAZKIYA or personal development is achieved by giving from your wealth to others: 9:103 accept their contribution for the community. Purify their thoughts with proper education and training so that their â€Å"Self† may grow. Appreciate and Help them! Your appreciation and support is a great source of peace in their hearts. Allah is Hearer, Knower 92:18 Who gives his wealth (for the benefits of others) so that he may attain self-development (and grow in goodness). FUNDAMENTALS AND CONCEPT OF ZAKAT Zakat â€Å"alms for the poor† is the Islamic principle of giving a percentage of one’s income to charity. It is often compared to the system of tithing and alms, but it serves principally as the welfare contribution to poor and deprived people in the Muslim lands, although others may have a rightful share. Zakat’s similar-sounding, Arabic language analog is the Hebrew word Tzedakah, the charitable obligation in ancient Israel through to present day Judaism. It is the duty of the Islamic state not just to collect Zakat, but to distribute it fairly as well. Zakat is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. Believers in Islam are aware that by giving a fixed percentage of their surplus wealth, they are fulfilling this religious obligation. Muslims see this process also as a way of purifying themselves from their greed and selfishness. In addition Zakat purifies the person who receives it because it saves him from the humiliation of begging and prevents him from envying the rich. Causes Beneficiaries The Qur’an states that God revealed the beneficiaries of Zakat:†Alms are only for the poor and the needy, and the officials (appointed) over them, and those whose hearts are made to incline (to truth) and the (ransoming of) captives and those in debts and in the way of Allah and the wayfarer; an ordinance from Allah; and Allah is knowing, Wise. † [Qur’an 9:60] The people whose hearts are to be reconciled include (normally new Muslims or those close to becoming Muslim. Non Muslims cannot be included): †¢ Freed slaves †¢ Those heavily burdened with paying their debts †¢ Travelers who find themselves in difficult circumstances There have been cases where you can’t pay to the Zakat for †¢ Traditional Zakat laws generally do not cover trade. †¢ It is not permissible to pay Zakat to some members of the family (i. e. grandparents, parents, spouses, children), for if they were needy or poor, they are under the custody of the eligible man, while Zakat is intended for public welfare. †¢Zakat doesn’t become obligatory on a Muslim if he doesn’t have a minimum amount in his possession that has remained unchanged for a whole lunar year; any increase in that money during the year waits for the following year and any decrease as long as the total amount is still above the minimum amount is exempted. In all the four recognized madhhabs the Fiqh of Zakat is very much the same with the key elements that make Zakat compulsory for an individual being: Islam, Freedom, the Nisab, Ownership and a Year’s Possession. Zakat is a form of payment, which has the spiritual development of the believer. Therefore, it should not be looked at as being only an economic duty. On Whom Zakat Is Compulsory Zakat is the amount of money that every adult, mentally stable, free, and financially able Muslim, male and female, has to pay to support specific categories people. This category of people has been defined above. MINIMUMS AND AMOUNTS 1. Passage of One Lunar Year Zakat is obligatory after a time span of one lunar year passes with the money in the control of its owner. Then the owner needs to pay 2. 5% (or 1/40) of the money as Zakat. (A lunar year is approximately 355 days). 2. Deduction of Debts The owner should deduct any amount of money he or she borrowed from others; then check if the rest reaches the necessary Nisab, then pays Zakat for it. Nisab for Zakat If the owner had enough money to satisfy the Nisab at the beginning of the year, then the money increased (in profits, salaries, inheritance, grants†¦ etc. ), the owner needs to add the increase to the Nisab amount owned at the beginning of the year; then pay Zakat, 2. %, of the total at the end of the lunar year (there are small differences in the Fiqh schools here). Zakat is not mandatory on harvest if the total did not reach the minimum limit of about 653 kilograms, nor on gold amounts if the owner has less than 85 grams of gold or less than 595 grams of silver. Calculation of Zakat Each Muslim calculates his or her own Zakat individually. For most purposes this involves the payment each year of two and a half percent of one’s capital. Zakat in the Qur’an and Sunnah A. The root of the word Zaka(t) is Z-K-W (za-kaf-waw), which leads to the following meanings: †¢ To increase †¢ To grow †¢ To thrive †¢ To augment †¢ To increase in the purity of heart; to increase in integrity †¢ To befit The following points will explain calculation methods of Zakat in different situations: B. There are different opinions about this. However, the general opinion is that jewelry, whether it is normally in use, or stored for occasional use, must all be included in calculating Zakat. The value of the gold or silver content in the jewelry should be included in the category of â€Å"Personal wealth†. Precious stones (diamonds, ruby, pearls, etc) are not to be included neither the labor cost of making the jewelry is to be included. Zakat on precious stones, however, is due if they are items of trade and should be included in Item 6, business inventory. C. Though owning a share of stock of any business is like having a share in the ownership of the business; we have categorized it as â€Å"Personal wealth†. Therefore, the lower of the value of stock at the beginning and the end of the year should be added in the category of â€Å"Personal wealth†. This is categorized as â€Å"Personal wealth† because of two reasons. 1. For the most people who own stock it is held as a saving with expectations that it will grow in value over time. In fact it is readily traded for money. Considering it as a readily redeemable asset, we have treated it as another form of saving. Therefore, we suggest using its fair market value in calculating Zakat. 2. Calculating Zakat on stock treating it as a share in ownership is normally not very convenient. There are literally millions of shares owned by general public. A stockholder will need to know his/her share of cash on hand, profit, and inventory, in order to use those values in the calculation of Zakat. This information is ordinarily very difficult to obtain, unless it is a partnership of a few people. Therefore, we did not treat stocks as a business partnership. D. If this amount is available to the individual at any time without any restrictions, then Zakat should be calculated for this amount through the category of â€Å"Personal wealth† because its nature will be that of savings. If the plan is restrictive and involves penalty and/or taxes, opinions differ on the payment of Zakat. 1. One opinion is that an How to cite Islamic Economic System, Papers

How Much Have the Olympics Really Changed Since Ancient Times free essay sample

Many of the claims people have made about connections between the ancient and modern games are false. The Olympics presents itself as a vehicle for world peace and unity, justified by the idea that the so-called ancient Olympic â€Å"truce† involved a cessation in fighting across the Greek world during the games. But we now know that it was mainly just for protecting those who travelled to the games.Then there is the elitist ideal of Olympic amateurism in the 19th and early 20th centuries. That was justified by the idea that ancient athletes competed just for the sake of it, but it is clear now that they were in it for money.The history of the triple jump is strangest of all. It was invented for the 1896 Athens Olympics in response to an ancient text recording a long-jump record of more than 15 metres. When you look at the text more closely, it becomes clear that the distance was meant as a joke. We will write a custom essay sample on How Much Have the Olympics Really Changed Since Ancient Times? or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page 2. Holy cow!Misleading claims like these have generally been based on a relatively small number of literary texts from the fourth and fifth centuries BC (the classical period). But if you really want to understand ancient sport you need to look also at the thousands of surviving athletic inscriptions carved on stone from the last three centuries BC (the Hellenistic period) and the Roman Empire (from 31BC onwards): few other texts give such a vivid glimpse of ancient day-to-day life.When you look at that material you realize just how bizarre and alien some aspects of ancient sport were by modern standards, especially the religious element. Imagine cows being sacrificed between races in the middle of a modern Olympic stadium, for instance.3. Calendar crunchingYet this material also points us to some surprising similarities between ancient and modern. Many have argued that complex and bureaucratic sporting events were only developed in the 19th century. The evidence from the Roman Empire shows that this can’t possibly be right.

Tropical Rainforests Of The World Essays - Forest Ecology

Tropical Rainforests of the World In this term paper, I will explain the great importance of the tropical Rainforests around the world and discuss the effects of the tragedy of rainforest destruction and the effect that it is having on the earth. I will talk about the efforts being made to help curb the rate of rainforest destruction and the peoples of the rainforest, and I will explore a new topic in the fight to save the rainforest, habitat fragmentation. Another topic being discussed is the many different types of rainforest species and their uniqueness from the rest of the world. First, I will discuss the many species of rare and exotic animals, Native to the Rainforest. Tropical Rainforests are home to many of the strangest looking and most beautiful, largest and smallest, most dangerous and least frightening, loudest and quietest animals on earth. There are many types of animals that make their homes in the rainforest some of them include: jaguars, toucans, parrots, gorillas, and tarantulas. There are so many fascinating animals in tropical rainforest that millions have not even identified yet. In fact, about half of the world's species have not even been identified yet. But sadly, an average of 35 species of rainforest animals are becoming extinct every day. So many species of animals live in the rainforest than any other parts of the world because rainforests are believed to be the oldest ecosystem on earth. Some forests in southeast Asia have been around for at least 100 million years, ever since the dinosaurs have roamed the earth. During the ice ages, the last of which occurred about 10,000 years ago, the frozen areas of the North and South Poles spread over much of the earth, causing huge numbers of extinctions. But the giant freeze did not reach many tropical rainforests. Therefore, these plants and animals could continue to evolve, developing into the most diverse and complex ecosystems on earth. The nearly perfect conditions for life also help contribute to the great number of species. With temperatures constant at about 75-80 degrees Fahrenheit the whole year, the animals don't have to worry about freezing during the cold winters or finding hot shade in the summers. They rarely have to search for water, as rain falls almost every day in tropical rainforests. Some rainforest species have populations that number in the millions. Other species consist of only a few dozen individuals. Living in limited areas, most of these species are found nowhere else on earth. For example, the maues marmoset, a species of monkey, wasn't discovered until recently. It's entire tiny population lives within a few square miles in the Amazon rainforest. This species of monkey is so small that it could fit into a persons hand! In a rainforest, it is difficult to see many things other than the millions of insects creeping and crawling around in every layer of the forest. Scientists estimate that there are more than 50 million different species of invertebrates living in rainforests. A biologist researching the rainforest found 50 different of ants on a single tree in Peru! A few hours of poking around in a rainforest would produce several insects unknown to science. The constant search for food , water, sunlight and space is a 24-hour pushing and shoving match. With this fierce competition, it is amazing that that so many species of animals can all live together. But this is actually the cause of the huge number of the different species. The main secret lies in the ability of many animals to adapt to eating a specific plant or animal, which few other species are able to eat. An example of such adaptations would be the big beaks of the toucans and parrots. Their beaks give them a great advantage over other birds with smaller beaks. The fruits and nuts from many trees have evolved with a tough shell to protect them from predators. In turn toucans and parrots developed large, strong beaks, which serves as a nutcracker and provides them with many tasty meals. Many animal species have developed relationships with each other that benefit both species. Birds and mammal species love to eat the tasty fruits provided by trees.

Justification of the Atomic Bomb essays

Justification of the Atomic Bomb essays On August 6th, 1945 the United States dropped the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima. This military strategy was extremely controversial in the United States. The question I wish to answer is, Was the United States justified in the dropping of the atomic bomb? The answer to this question is yes. I believe they were for many reasons. The main reason was that this bomb would ultimately end the war. Why did the war need to be stopped so badly? In some ways it was helping the United States economy, but mostly it was very costly in both lives and money. Another main reason this war needed to be stopped was to defend America from another attack on our own soil, which would kill many of our people. These are just a couple examples that can be used to prove the use of the atomic bomb was justifiable. In the following paragraphs I will provide more reasons why the use of the atomic bomb was very justifiable. World War II proved to be very costly to the United States. According to lives lost, it was the costliest war in history. There were about 15 or 20 million military personnel killed in the war. Of these, about 293,300 were Americans, and our enemies murdered about 7,000 innocent United States citizens. It has been estimated that we would have lost about one million soldiers if we would not have ended the war with the atomic bomb. Also, to this point in the war, we had spent about 300 billion dollars on all of our war efforts. Many of our materials were damaged throughout the entire war. Many of the estimates on how much money was lost due to damages were very outrageous. If we had not dropped the atomic bomb when we did, this number would have been even more outrageous. The president during this time period was Harry Truman. He understood the moral issues at stake and had the courage to strike a blow that quickly brought to an end the most destructive war in human history. Given the circumstanc...

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Performing Effective Project Monitoring and Risk Management - Essay Example It provides the tools that are going to be and guidance on the way forward. For this mobile application design, one wants to create an application that enables the customers to locate a coffee shop nearest to them. Therefore, the application should function well and the software should be up to date. One  needs to have the appropriate budget and the best people working in the project. The mobile application software should synchronize well with the infrastructure (Gowell, 2012). The above is an example of how to detect the problems in mobile application project and what should be if detected. If there are defects, the problem should be reported back to the reporter and it should inform the customer that the issue being resolved. It should also tell the customer to check again later and if the problem persists, he or she should contact his or her mobile operator. It is all about the information and the operator should also know that the software is not working and inform the IT department of the  problem  so that it can be done within the shortest period. If there is a design  or software  error, then the IT manager and the team should find solutions to the problems and resolve them. The software may be defective  or even the hardware itself. All that matters are that the defect is and the application for finding the nearest coffee shop works well. A customer should not find a defect with the product and so it is the work  of the whole team to pr event this from occurring. Communication is crucial within and outside the business because without it the business would fall. For the marketing management team, information is very importance because it helps in advertising, marketing and selling of the company’s products and services. It also helps in developing a strategic vision, creation of brand awareness, expression of competitive advantage, attracting talent, fostering goodwill and also informing the investment

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Memo to CEO on Eva Concept - Coursework Example What is EVA? The method for determining a company’s true financial performance pioneered by Stern Stewart & Co. adjusts financial reporting to include the cost of capital expenses. Stern Stewart & Co.’s economic value added metric deducts the cost of capital from the net profit after taxes. A company operating successfully, with no accumulation of excess capital or assets may not be performing as well as ratio analysis projects. EVA takes into account the cost of raising capital, as well as normal operating expenses, showing both the current financial health of the company and the economic impact on wealth generation for stockholders and other investors. EVA shows the total net worth of the company after subtracting operating expenses and expenses like dividends to shareholders and lien holders. The resulting numbers provide a solid depiction of the company’s current financial health, though not with the detail offered by ratio analysis. How to Calculate EVA Dete rmining EVA is much less involved than other financial performance tracking methods. The formula for producing a final numerical value is EVA = NOPAT - c * capital. NOPAT stands for net operating profits after taxes, and the â€Å"c† refers to the weighted average cost of capital. Using this simple formula, companies can get a quick glimpse at their total performance. Adding an EVA calculation to an existing financial report is quick, given the financial tracking already in place. Existing documents, tax return, profit and loss statements, ledgers and so on, provide all the needed information to generate a concrete number using the EVA formula. One of the benefits of incorporating EVA in financial reporting is the ability to gain a clear understanding of performance, divorced from any questionable accounting adjustments. Large companies like Enron managed to show positive numbers on financial ratio analysis, even when barely solvent. Including EVA removes that element of risk when generating financial reports. Another benefit to including EVA calculations is the ability to tailor compensation more closely to results. When used to show economic profit after a management change, taking into account the economic profit at the time of the switch, the change in final EVA from then and now show the amount of company profits attributable to the specific management employee or team. Of course, many other factors may influence the final profit outcome, but EVA gives upper management a way to quickly respond to clear improvements implemented on a department level. Showing the Company in the Best Light with EVA Although EVA does not allow for some of the accounting adjustments which make ratio analysis unreliable when used by unethical financial officers, there are still ways to improve the final number. Ultimately, when improving the EVA, a company must either increase total profits or lower total expenses. Restructuring debt can make a big impact on total econom ic profit. For example, if a company earns $7.8M net after taxes, with a weighted average cost of capital at 6.3% and a total invested capital of $26.3M. The formula would then read 7.8 - .0063 * 26.3 = $7.6, showing a company with very strong economic profit. Of course, the total for invested capital would typically be expected to be much higher. Included in that

English Present: Simple And The Present Progressive

English Present: Simple And The Present Progressive Introduction: As a teacher of English to Arabic speaking students I have encountered a number of specific difficulties Arab students have in mastering the English language. In this paper, I would like to focus on a particular grammatical problem they have in the area of verb tenses because, of all the mistakes that my students make, mistakes with verbs and verb tenses impede communication to the greatest degree. The specific problem I will attempt to look at the area of verbs is the problem that Arabic speakers have in using and confusing the present progressive. I will base the evidence for these mistakes on actual writing errors that Arabic students have made. Mistakes such as I am live in Abu Dhabi. come up frequently in my students writing. This paper is basically a contrastive analysis since I feel that the majority of my students problems in this area come from mother tongue interference. However, as will be noted below, this does not mean I rule out other sources of errors such as intralingual errors. The following is the outline of this paper: In the first section of this paper, I will describe the various aspects of the grammatical structure of the present simple and the present progressive in the English language. In the second section of the paper, I will contrast the grammatical structure of the present simple and the present progressive with its Arabic counterparts. I will show how Arabic has structures that vary significantly and radically from their English counterparts. In the third section, I will introduce a number of examples takes from students written work and give an indepth analysis of the possible sources of the errors, mainly with respect to mother tongue interference, but also looking at some possible intralingual sources for these errors as well. Finally, in the last section, I will attempt to suggest a general theoretical approach to dealing with such problems Part One: A grammatical description of the English Present Simple and the Present Progressive: The simple present tense As we already know, the simple present of every verb (with the exception of the verb BE, which I will not be dealing with as a grammatical description since it is not the specific focus of this paper) is identical in every person with the basic unmarked base form of the verb except for the third person forms he, she and it to which we generally add s or es (Quirk 1985, p.98). However, numerous irregularities arise in the spelling and pronunciation of this third person form (Leicester 1998, 12.12)(Thomson 1986, p. 150). Questions are formed by using the auxiliaries do, does, in the present, and did in the past by putting all these before the subject. Negation is formed in the same way using dont (or do not) and doesnt, (or does not) in the present, and didnt (or did not) in the past. These forms go after the subject. In addition, the verb must be changed to the basic form. The simple present is used for statements that are always true, (e.g. The earth revolves around the sun.) (Azar 1989,p.2). The simple present is also used for events, actions or situations which are true in the present period of time and which, for all we know, may continue indefinitely, (e.g. Fatima goes to school at Zayed University.) (Azar 1989, p.2) What we are saying in these expressions is that this is how things stand at the present moment (Huddleston 1984, p.81). A further use of the simple present is for actions that are habitual, things that happen repeatedly, (e.g. We study a lot.) (Alexander 1988, p.163)(Quirke 1985, p.107). Observations and declarations are another use of the present simple, as in the sentence (It says here that there is a new night club opening.)(Alexander 19988, p.163). The present simple can also be used to express the future, especially when we want to express strong certainty, (e.g. When we graduate, we will get jobs.). Swan, Huddleston, Lewis, Thomson and Quirke, et. al. also add eight other functions of the present simple which might come up in other contexts such as: Demonstrations and commentaries (e.g. First, I take a bowl and break two eggs in it, thenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..) The structures here comes and there goes, (e.g. here comes your husband.) Promises and oaths (e.g. I promiseà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦., I swear à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦, He deniesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..) Formal correspondence (e.g. We write to advise you.) Instructions (e.g. You go left, turn rightà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.) Stories (e.g. In act one, Hamlet meets the ghost of his father.), which Huddleston calls the historic present. In expressions of understanding such as hear, see, gather (e.g. I hear youre getting married.) Finally, the simple present can be used in newspaper headlines (e.g. RUSSIANS RAISE OBJECTIONS) Since there are so many instances of when to use the present simple, is there any way to summarize all of these? I concur with Lewis explanation that the present simple: 1-Expresses an event as a total single point in time. 2-Expresses an event as a matter of fact. 3-Expresses an event as immediate rather than remote. The present progressive tense Both the simple and progressive forms usually tell us that an action takes place. But the progressive forms also tell us that an activity is or was, or will be, etc. in progress, or thought of as being in progress. In other words, the present progressive tells us that the speaker sees an action as taking place over a period of time as opposed to a point in time. In addition researchers would add that the speaker sees the period as limited (Lewis 1986; Leech, 1975; Huddleston, 1984; Quirke, 1985). The present progressive tense is formed with the present of be (am/is/are) (which adds aspect and voice), said by Quirke to be the finite verb, plus the ing form (the non-finite form) (Quirke 1985, p. 120). There are no complications with the additional ing form; however the spelling of the ing has some irregularities and needs to be taught to students e.g. write, writing; run, running; begin, beginning; lie, lying). (Alexander 1988; Huddleston 1984; Quirke 1985). Question formation takes place by switching the place of the auxiliary be and the subject. Negation is achieved by inserting not between the subject and the auxiliary or by contracting nt with the auxiliary verb forms (with the exception of the first person singular form am) (Quirke, 1985). In the classroom, the classical reason given for why we use the present progressive is that it shows an uncompleted action in progress at the time of speaking. To emphasise this, we often use adverbials like now, at the moment, just, etc. For example, Hes not home at the moment, hes working. (Quirke 1985). The present progressive can also be used to describe actions which have not been happening for long, or are thought of as being temporary situations, and which are going on around now, e.g. Abdullah is living with his aunt until he can find a place of his own.. A further use of the present progressive is to refer to activities and events planned for the future. We generally use adverbials in such sentences unless the meaning is clear from context, e.g. Were spending next Thursday in Abu Dhabi. (Azar 1989; Huddleston 1984; Quirke 1985). The present progressive can also be used to talk about developing and changing situations, e.g. That child is getting bigger all the time. (Swan 1980). Sometimes the present progressive can be used to talk about feelings, such as I am feeling fine. or My back is hurting me.. The present progressive is used to show repeated actions along with adverbs such as always, constantly, continually, forever, perpetually, and repeatedly, such as He is always helping people.. In this sense it conveys not temporariness, but continuousness. (Leech 1975; Huddleston 1984). The present progressive also is used to show repeated actions that are happening around now, e.g. He is studying a lot of English these days. Why is he going to the library? (Swan 1980). Dynamic versus Stative Verbs in the present simple and the progressive tenses Dynamic/progressive verbs refer to verbs which show actions which are deliberate or voluntary, e.g. Im building a house., or changing situations, e.g. Hes becoming fat.. Dynamic verbs can be used in both the progressive as well as the simple forms e.g. I eat at 5:00 (everyday). as opposed to Im eating now.. Stative verbs (also known as non-progressive verbs) are verbs which indicate a state, condition or experience. Specifically, stative verbs fall into categories such as feelings (like, love), thinking/believing (think, know, realize), wants and preferences (need, want), perception and the senses (smell, see), and being, seeming, having, and owning (seem, look, appear). Stative verbs are generally not used in the progressive forms (Quirke 1985). However some stative verbs can be used in both the present simple and the progressive tenses, which results in a different meaning in each form, e.g. Im thinking of a solution. as opposed to I think he is the best man for the job. or These flowers smell good. as opposed to Latifa is smelling the flowers in the garden.) (Alexander 1988; Azar 1989; Azar 1986; Quirke 1985). The present simple versus the present progressive Swan makes note of a number of areas where students might confuse the present simple with the present continuous. A. We use the simple present to talk about things that are true for the present period of time, or, as was noted above, to say this is how things stand at the present moment for the foreseeable future. However, if the event is temporary and is taking place right now, we use the present progressive. Afrah studies at the Higher Colleges. Afrah is studying her English lesson. B. We use the present progressive to talk about habitual actions if these are happening around the moment of speaking. Fayrouz and Fatima are preparing for the Eid holidays. However, if the habitual action is not closely connected to the moment of speaking, we generally use the present simple. I go to Saudi Arabia once every three years. C. Verbs that refer to physical feelings can sometimes be used in either the simple present or the present progressive. I feel great! or Im feeling great! My head hurts. or My head is hurting. (Swan 1980). PART TWO A grammatical description of the Arabic present simple and the present progressive In this part of the paper, I would like to give readers a very brief background of the Arabic verb system in regard to the simple present and the present progressive. The Arabic verb system is very complicated. However, this does not mean that a teacher has to master the Arabic language before s/he is able to pinpoint errors that may be a result of the interference of Arabic in English. One can study the Arabic language with the goal of simply understanding the structure, rather than with the goal of speaking and writing in the language. Let us first look at the present simple, then the present progressive, and finally the verb to be since all of these grammatical items are specifically relevant to the particular problem at hand. A.The Present Simple In Arabic, the formation of the present simple is radically different from English, since Arabic uses a root system made up of the three most important consonants (though two or four consonant roots do sometimes occur). In Arabic the three basic consonants (the root) stay the same but it is by changes in the vowels, the suffixes and the prefixes that tense and number are indicated. It is vastly more complicated than the way some English verbs change tense by changing vowels, e.g. give, gave. For example, the sentence, he learns could be represented phonetically by ya-droo-soo. The d-r-s is the root, ya is the part that indicates this is a third person singular masculine verb (though this is not the pronoun). The pattern of the vowels and consonants (ya + c1 + c2+ oo + c3 + oo), lets the speaker know that this is the present tense. In contrast, the past could be represented by a different pattern; hence, he learned, dar-ah-sah has the pattern (c1 + ai or ah + c2 + ai or ah + c3 + ah) (and this is just one pattern out of ten!) From a sentence point of view the verb in Arabic is not necessarily treated as the nucleus of a sentence and, in the case of the copula verb BE, can be omitted entirely (as we shall see below). The verb can also be placed at the beginning of the sentence. Like its English counterpart, the present simple tense in Arabic expresses a habitual action. There are other functions, but they are not relevant to this discussion. B.The Present Progressive In general, the present simple form is also used in Arabic to express the idea of a continuous action occurring in the present. Hence, the English sentence He is working now. in Arabic becomes He works now. (represented phonetically by huwwah yaamaloo al eyn.) What is he doing? in Arabic becomes What does he do? (represented phonetically by mehzah yafaaloo al eyn?) Hence, in almost all cases, the present simple form is used to show the idea of continuous action in the present. However, there is a single verb form in Arabic called the ism-ul-fail which is the exact parallel to the idea of continuous action. However, the difference in Arabic is that the ism-ul-fail is used very sparingly compared to English and then only for some very specific verbs of movement, or verbs that indicate changing from one state to another (going up, going in, going down, walking to a place, leaving a place, etc.). Since the ism-ul-fail is radically different in form from the English progressive it is doubtful that any interference in form occurs. C.A Few Points About The Verb BE as a Copula Although BE as a copula is not the focus of this paper, it does deserve mention here for two specific reasons. The first point is that BE in Arabic, when it is the copula in the present tense, is unwritten and unspoken (although this is not true of the copula in the past tense or the future where it is written and spoken). (Kharma, 1989, p. 89). For example, the literal translation of the sentence Ahmed is a student. is Ahmed student.. So it is conceivable that students might leave BE out as a copula OR as the helping verb in the present progressive because it does not exist in the present tense in Arabic (although there are other additional reasons why students might forget to add it to the present progressive as we shall see). The second point is that BE is used so often in English, in so many different kinds of structures, and that it is so irregular, that it might simply add to the confusion of students (Kharma 1989, p. 161). Students who keep on being corrected for leaving out the verb to be when it is necessary, may for example, hypercorrect themselves and start to write it everywhere. Again, we shall explore this issue further below. PART THREE A look at some common written errors made by Arabic speaking students when using the English present simple and present progressive Finding the exact causes of any error can be a difficult and meticulous task. This is partly because there may be multiple reasons as to why students make one particular error and these causes may also overlap at any given time. In addition, it is extremely problematic, even for a native speaker of both Arabic and English, (which I am) to know exactly what is going on linguistically in the mind of a student when s/he makes such an error. However, having said that, even with these obstacles, we can at least make some good hypotheses and lists of possibilities as to why these errors occur with our own students. As a result, we will be able to generate classroom strategies and methods in order to correct and remedy these sorts of mistakes. The following categories of errors are the most common that I have found in students written work with regards to the simple present versus the present progressive. I will look at each category in turn, and offer an analysis of the sources for these types of error. Category One Fatima studies now. Ahmed does his homework now. In these sentences, the intention of the Arabic speaking writer seems to be to convey the meaning of what in English would be a present continuous action, expressed by the present continuous tense. This is clear by the use of the adverb now or in the case of other examples not shown here, from other adverbs or the context of the sentence. In examples one and two, the Arabic speaker seems to be transferring the rules of his native language into English. The Arabic speaker usually uses only the present simple to express events that would be expressed in English by both the present simple and the present continuous. Category Two Mariam cant talk, she eating now. This kind of mistake is a bit more problematic in terms of analysis. It could be that the Arabic speaker, feeling that the full meaning of the action is expressed in the verb with the ing, has decided that the am/are/is forms are redundant and unnecessary. It could also be the case that this mistake is a direct transfer of a particular grammatical form in Arabic. In certain cases Arabic speakers do express the present continuous with a verb and prefix change (called ism-ul-fail), but without the corresponding be form. For example, the literal translation of the sentence Ahmed is running. is Ahmed running. . Category Three Are you knowing the way to Dubai? I am wanting to see my family. In this case, the student has learned the present progressive form, but is over generalizing it to all verbs (or perhaps does not remember or has not been taught the rules for exceptions such as the above). These types of errors could very well be intralingual. This over generalization could also be found in sentences that have the function of explaining, demonstrating teaching or narrating such as: Next I am pouring the oil into the cooking pan. Ali is passing the ball to the goalkeeper. Category Four I am live in Abu Dhabi. We are study English. This category is probably the most difficult to analyze. This is because it is unclear whether the Arabic speaker is making the mistake of adding the additional am/is/are form while trying to use the present tense, or making the mistake of forgetting to use the present participle while trying to use the present progressive tense. That is, did the speaker intend to say I live in Abu Dhabi. and use the extra am form by mistake, or did s/he intend to say I am living in Abu Dhabi. and forget the correct present participle form? Of course, there are other possibilities but these seem like the two most likely. We must obviously look at the context of the paragraph to see if we can get the gist of what the speaker meant. The following is a more detailed analysis of these two possibilities from the standpoint of the students reasoning. 1. If we believe from the context that the student was trying to use the present simple and added the additional am in error, then the following analyses apply: A. The student may be confused by the lack of inflectional endings in English, since Arabic is a highly inflected language, and every personal pronoun has a distinct corresponding inflected verb form. The similarity of the verb forms in I live, you live, etc. may seem very awkward to the Arabic speaker. Hence, they may want to remedy the situation by distinguishing the verb forms in some way by, for example, adding an exceedingly familiar and overused verb form like am, are, or is. B. The student may be over generalising based on what they have learned about the present continuous. That is, they may have learned how to form the present continuous quite easily since there is no mother tongue interference from Arabic, (although they may not have mastered its use). They then may go on to conclude that every verb in the present simple or present continuous in English needs to be preceded by am/is/are. C. Similarly, the student may be hypercorrecting. They may have been corrected so many times for forgetting to use the verb BE in their sentences e.g. Ahmed happy, that they may start to feel that every sentence needs the verb BE. 2. However, if we believe that the student was trying to use the present continuous tense and used the present simple live (instead of the present participle living), then the following analyses apply: A. The student may not have correctly understood how to form the present participle by adding ing to the end of the verb. B. Perhaps students have simply forgotten to add the ing prefix because the structure is so different in their language. This is by no means an exhaustive analysis. However, these are, from my experience and collaboration with other colleagues, both native and non-native speakers, some of the major possibilities. PART FOUR Pedogogical implications of the above research for teaching the present simple and the present progressive to Arabic speaking students From the evidence I have presented here, I believe it is clear that many of the mistakes in using the present simple and the present progressive in form (such as omission of the verb to be in the simple present for Arabic speakers, e.g. I studying), as well as other mistakes in usage (e.g. using the simple present when the present progressive is required) seem to be traceable directly to Arabic mother tongue interference. Based on my analyses, reading and discussion with colleagues, I do feel that in this particular area, teachers of EFL to Arabic speakers must consider mother tongue interference as a major impediment to learning the present tense versus the present progressive. If we know that mother tongue interference is the cause of many errors, what should this imply for our teaching? One thing which I think it does not imply is that we teach English from the point of view of the mother tongue. For example, trying to get students to understand English grammar through word for word translations or using the grammatical structure of Arabic to help students to understand the grammatical structure of English are only useful in certain cases, and then only by someone who is a master of both languages. My experience in reading the research, being bilingual and talking to Arabic speaking students who are at the final stages of their English studies leads me to believe that, at least in the case of Arabic and English, that the two languages are sufficiently different that they are both best looked at in their own respective grammars. Students must be made, not only to think in English, but to understand English grammar in terms of English grammar without constantly switching back and forth to compare it with Arabic. Such practices are ineffective and will cause confusion among students. As Lewis says students should never expect the foreign language to be like their ownà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..the fact that English has verb forms that contain [be] as an auxiliary does not suggest that other languages ought to have a corresponding formà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.students should be positively encouraged to explore the foreign language within itself rather than through the expectations they bring from their own. (Lewis, 1986, pp. 164-165). In addition, I should add that intralingual factors can also be at work when students make such errors (in addition to context specific factors like student motivation, teaching style and competence, etc.). For example, on the intralingual side, we know that students of ESL from many different language groups and even children make common mistakes with the verb to be. Therefore, many such mistakes might be intralingual. (Mattar 1989). Hence, when we try to analyse our students errors we should not be prejudiced to any one theory and we should try to be open to looking at all possible sources of errors. What we as teachers should be doing in the classroom is continually collecting research on student errors and student learning styles in order to form hypotheses about why such errors occur and why such one approach worked and another didnt. We should then be trying to test these hypotheses to see if they are true or not, and afterwards share this information w ith other teachers in similar situations. Only then will we be able to understand why students make errors and what is the most effective way to correct them. Cell Membrane: Structure And Function Cell Membrane: Structure And Function A cell is a dynamic and a complex structure surrounded by a membrane known as the plasma membrane. This acts like a barrier between the inside of the cell and the outside resulting in different chemical environments on the two sides. The cell membrane is not restricted to the outer surface but is also present inside surrounding the organelles. These biological membranes have played a crucial role in the evolution from prokaryotes to multicellular eukaryotes. In prokaryotes, there is only one type of membrane present i.e. the plasma membrane but the unicellular eukaryotes have intracellular membranes compartmentalizing its contents into different functional chambers known as organelles. Each organelle though performs its own specific function, they cross-talk with each other via these membranes in order to work as a unit. Further, different cells in multicellular eukaryotes communicate with each other through these membranes. The membrane, therefore serves a dual purpose of both protecting the interior of the cell from its external environment and also provides a communication interface between the cell and its surroundings or other cells. The diverse functions performed by biological membranes can be attributed to the molecular composition and structure of these membranes. Models for Cell Membrane Structure It took almost a century to develop the present accepted model of a cell membrane based on various physiological and biophysical studies. Physiological experiments involving the transport of molecules and ions across the membrane by Overton in 1899 suggested that the membrane is composed of lipid molecules. Later, Langmuir (1917) showed that lipids when spread on water using Langmuir trough form a monomolecular layer on the surface of the water by calculating the area per lipid molecule. The hydrophobic tails of these lipids were bent and protruding out from the surface of the water. When this method for measuring the area per lipid molecule was applied to the lipids extracted from the known amount of erythrocyte membranes, Gorter and Grendel (1925) concluded that the lipids exist as a bilayer and not a monolayer in a membrane giving birth to the lipid- bilayer membrane model. In 1935, Danielli and Davson elaborated on the model based on the studies measuring the surface tension that membranes are made up of phospholipid bilayer sandwiched between two protein layers. Based on optical imaging of membrane morphology using electron microscopy, Robertson argued that the basic structure of all the membranes is same and proposed the Unit Membrane Model in 1959 []. Several other studies [review or book] suggested that the lipid bilayer has fluid-like properties with lipids and proteins floating in it. Studies of proteins present in erythrocytes membrane and that extracted from other membranes led Singer and Nicolson to classify membrane proteins as peripheral and integral proteins; and finally proposing the Fluid Mosaic Model in 1972 []. This is the most accepted model describing the structure of a cell membrane. According to this model, mosaic of protein molecules is embedded within the fluid of lipid bilayer which is supported by the freeze-fracture studies of the plasma membrane (Figure). Composition of Membranes Membrane Lipids The lipid bilayer is only 5 to 10nm thick organized in distinct regions primarily attributed to the hydrophobic effect caused due to the amphipathic nature of these molecules with both polar and the non-polar regions (Figure). The interactions of these regions with the aqueous environment have been studied with various techniques like x-ray reflectometry,[1] neutron scattering[2HYPERLINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipid_bilayer#cite_note-Zaccai1975-1] and nuclear magnetic resonance. In order to exclude the non-polar regions from the aqueous environment, lipid molecules arrange in such a manner so that the hydrophobic tails point inwardly towards each other and the polar head groups are exposed on the outside facing the water. The outermost region on either side of the bilayer is completely hydrated and is typically around 8-9Ã… thick. The hydrophobic core of the bilayer is typically 3-4  nm thick. The intermediate region is partially hydrated and is approximately 3 Ã… thick. These lipid molecules arrange spontaneously naturally or artificially in solution to form structures like micelles and liposomes (Figure). Micelles are monolayer spherical structures formed by lipid molecules in aqueous environment. On the other hand, liposomes are concentric bilayer of fluid-filled vesicles surrounding the water compartment on both the surfaces. The membrane of the animal cells is composed primarily of three major types of lipids: phospholipids, glycolipids and cholesterol with phospholipids being the most abundant (Figure). The polar head groups of these phospholipids contain a phosphate group and either a glycerol (known as phosphoglycerides) or sphingosine. There are four major phospholipids present in the animal cells, three are phosphoglycerides namely phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylserine; and the fourth sphingomyelin is the only sphingolipid. The heads of glycolipids contain a sphingosine with one (known as cerebroside) or more sugars (known as ganglioside) attached to it. Cholesterol is a sterol molecule with a small hydrophilic hydroxyl group and a rigid ring structure that stabilizes the bilayer. Membrane Proteins The membrane consists of different types of proteins accounting for 25-75% of the mass of the membrane and are categorized based on their interactions with the lipid bilayer (Figure). Moreover, the manner in which a protein is associated with the membrane is indicative of its function. Integral or intrinsic proteins are embedded with in the lipid bilayer. These could be transmembrane proteins spanning the entire length of the bilayer and possess hydrophobic domains which are anchored to hydrophobic lipids and hydrophilic domain interacting with external molecules. They could have only one membrane-spanning (single pass transmembrane proteins, e.g. glycophorin) or multispanning (multi-pass transmembrane proteins, e.g. band3 protein of erythrocyte) segments. The transmembrane segments have helical e.g. bacteriorhodopsin or ÃŽÂ ²- barrel structures. These proteins can be extracted from the phospholipid bilayer only by disrupting the hydrophobic interactions by using detergents like S DS or Triton-X 100. Peripheral or the extrinsic proteins, on the other hand, are loosely bound to the hydrophilic lipid and protein groups on the surface of the membrane by weak ionic interactions. These can be easily removed with high salt or extreme pH without disrupting the phospholipid bilayer. Lipid-anchored proteins are covalently bound to lipid molecule which in turn anchors the protein in the cell membrane. The lipid can be phosphatidylinositol, a fatty acid or a prenyl group. Membrane Carbohydrates Carbohydrate moieties are present on the non-cytoplasmic surface of the membrane covalently attached to either protein or lipid molecules forming glycoproteins or glycolipids. These carbohydrates help in orientation of protein molecules on the cell surface and sorting in cellular compartments. The glycocalyx or the cell coat is the layer of carbohydrates on the cell surface that protects it and participates in the cell-cell interaction. The carbohydrates of the glycolipids of the erythrocytes membrane determine the ABO blood groups in human. Fluidity of Membranes Under physiological conditions, phospholipid molecules in the membrane are in the liquid crystalline state and the molecules are not physically attached to each other so, they can move within the bilayer. These movements could be within a monolayer i.e. rotational and lateral or between two layers i.e. flip-flop. Flip-flop movements are rare and slower compared to the other two as it requires energy for a lipid molecule to traverse from one layer to the other. Besides, some proteins also move in the membrane as concluded from studies based on human-mouse cell hybrids produced by fusion of human and mouse cells [Frye and Michael Edidin in 1970] and FRAP (fluorescence recovery after photobleaching) experiments (Figure). Fluidity in the cell membrane is attributed to its lipid composition. The cis-unsaturated fatty acids with kinks in their hydrocarbon tails and shorter lengths of the tails increase the fluidity by preventing the ordered packing of phospholipids in the bilayer. Cholesterol molecules present in the bilayer affects its fluidity differently at different temperatures because of its rigid ring structure. It reduces the fluidity by decreasing the movement of adjacent phospholipids but at low temperatures, it increases the fluidity by preventing solidification [Alberts]. Fluidity of the membrane allows different molecules like proteins to interact with each other to perform various processes like transport of molecules and cell signalling. Moreover, membrane fluidity is required for various cellular processes like cell movement and cell division. Asymmetry of Membranes The two leaflets, that is, the inner and the outer monolayer portions of the lipid bilayer differ in their physical and chemical properties. This is due to the asymmetric organization of the various components of the membrane. For example, glycolipids and glycoproteins are always present on the non-cytoplasmic surface of the plasma membrane. Membrane regions differ in their lipid composition. The outer leaflet contains predominantly phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin whereas, the inner leaflet contains phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylserine. The inner leaflet also consists of phosphatidylinositol which play a key role in the transfer of stimuli from the plasma membrane to the cytoplasm [Cooper]. The membrane proteins also differ in their distribution in the two leaflets. For example, spectrin and ankyrin are present on the inner surface of the erythrocytes membrane forming a fibrillar membrane skeleton. GPI-anchored proteins ar present on the external surface of the membr ane. The asymmetry of the membrane suggested different roles played by the components of the membrane present on the two surfaces (Figure eg intestinal epithelial cell membrane:Tight junction , lateral movements). Lipid Rafts The plasma membrane of eukaryotic cells have specialized regions known as lipid rafts which differ in their composition from the rest of the membrane. These detergent-resistant and heterogeneous microdomains are rich in cholesterol, sphingolipids and certain proteins. Lipids in these rafts are more highly ordered and tightly packed as compared to the rest of the lipid bilayer. Various studies have attributed diverse roles like in transport of cholesterol, endocytosis, signal transduction, intracellular trafficking and neural development and function to these lipid rafts. Caveolae is an example of lipid rafts which are the invaginated domains in the plasma membrane. In caveolae, a protein caveolin is associated with the cholesterol in the lipid raft. It plays roles in membrane internalization and cell signaling. [Pike et al, 2002; Wary et al, 1998; Huang et al, 1999; Rothberg et al, 1992] (Review: Razani Lisanti, 2001. Exp. Cell Research 271: 36-44). Might not in endocytosis [Thompsen et al, 2002] see lipid rafts 4 references Functions of membranes: Membranes act as boundaries between the cell and its environment and are essential for maintaining the integrity of the cell and the various membrane-bound organelles within the cell, regulating the transport of materials into and out of the cell, responding to external and internal stimuli, and cell-to-cell recognition. The proteins present on the inner surface of the plasma membrane provides shape and maintains the integrity of the cell by anchoring the cytoskeleton found underlying the cell membrane in the cytoplasm. The major component of the cytoskeleton of the most well studied erythrocyte membrane is the fibrous protein spectrin. This protein interacts with other peripheral proteins like ankyrin, actin and tropomyosin. Dystophin, a member of the spectrin family is found in the membrane skeleton of muscle cells. The importance of these proteins is suggested by the fact that mutations in dystrophin leads to muscular dystrophy. Regulated transport of materials across the membrane is due to the amphipathic nature of the lipid bilayer. Therefore, the membranes are selectively permeable and the ability of a molecule or ion to traverse the bilayer depends majorly on its polarity and also on the size. Non-polar molecules like O2, N2 and benzene and small polar molecules like H2O, glycerol, urea and CO2 can pass the membrane but large uncharged (e.g. glucose), polar molecules (e.g. sucrose) and ions (e.g. H+, Na+, HCO3, Clà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ) are not able to diffuse easily across membranes. Hence, various mechanisms are required for transport of materials across the membrane, including simple diffusion, facilitated diffusion and active transport for micromolecules and exocytosis and endocytosis for macromolecules. In simple diffusion, substances diffuse down their concentration gradient. In facilitated diffusion, movement of molecules down the concentration gradient is facilitated by channel and carrier proteins (e.g. glucose transporter). On the other hand, active transport requires energy to move solutes against their gradients and can be classified into primary or secondary active transport depending on the source of energy. The primary active transport depends on the hydrolysis of ATP and is of different types: P (e.g. Na+ K+ ATPase, Figure), F and V types and the ATP-binding cassette or ABC transporters. In secondary active transport, specific solute indirectly drives the active transport of another solute and does not involve the hydrolysis of ATP. Secondary active transport may include either symport (e.g. Na+/Glucose transporter) or antiport (Cl ­-/HCO3 exchanger). The macromolecules such as proteins and polysaccharides are transported by endocytosis (from inside the cell to th e outside) and exocytosis (from outside into the cell) (Figure). Cell membrane is also involved in cell-cell communication. Specialized membrane structures like gap junctions in animals and plasmodesmata in plants provide the cytoplasmic continuity between cells. Tight junctions and desmosomes help in attachment of a cell to other cells or the extracellular matrix forming tissues. Membrane also maintains cell potential by creating chemical and electrical gradient. Cell signaling: Signals through chemical messengers (chemical or electrical stimuli) acting on the membrane receptors most of them being proteins. These signals are then transduced in the cell leading to a cascade of events in the cell. Specific for different cells like Gprotein, Tyrosine-kinase receptors Peripheral proteins act as enzymes e.g. and receptors In summary, biological membranes are the complex and dynamic structures composed of variety of proteins embedded in the fluid of the lipid bilayer. The amphipathic nature of the lipid bilayer and the diversity of membrane proteins are responsible for the involvement of biological membranes in large number of cellular processes.