Black Sea Expedition

CuriosityStream dan Misteri Keajaiban Laut Hitam (Black Sea)

NY - Sunday, November 15, 2020 - Black Sea Expedition

Kepada peminat misteri2 alam macam saya, korang wajib ada satu apps yg namanya Curiosity Stream (CS). Apps ni berbayar tapi kalau nak tengok for free, boleh email saya nanti saya share login id and password (niesa.zaman@gmail.com)

Sebab apa saya nak share? sebab apps ni sebenarnya penuh dengan kajian2 barat seperti Discovery Channel tu. Yup ada yang kata Curiosity Stream ni is Neflix for Nerdy :D dan salah satu cara nak tadabbur alam ialah dengan lihat/dengar/baca kajian2 yang telah dibuat oleh manusia, especially dari barat sebab mereka banyak invest utk research.

Pada mulanya sy subscribe sebab awal tahun ni saya sangat berminat tentang kajian tapak sejarah di Pompeii Italy yang mana kemusnahan di bandar itu sangat serupa dengan apa yang terjadi dengan kaum Nabi Luth. Untuk Visit Pompeii memang dah ada dalam travel bucketlist saya, hopefully and insyaAllah with His willing, I will visit this historical site bcuz I am planning to travel to Italy-Switzerland-Slovenia in the future.

Sesungguhnya telah berlaku sebelum kamu (contoh kejadian-kejadian berdasarkan) peraturan-peraturan Allah yang tetap; oleh itu mengembaralah kamu di muka bumi, kemudian perhatikanlah bagaimana akibat orang-orang yang mendustakan (Rasul-rasul).

(A-li'Imraan 3:137)

Ada juga kajian tentang langit seperti Black Hole etc. So topik berkaitan sejarah dan sains ni memang favorite sangat, so this apps is a total dope for me.

Dalam CS ada 2 episod tentang ekspedisi Laut Hitam, pada 2015, sekumpulan ahli arkeologi maritim memulakan 3 tahun kajian untuk mengkaji bagaimana laut hitam terbentuk.

Mengikut kajian, 20,000 tahun lalu laut hitam ini pada asalnya adalah satu tasik pre-historic yang terpisah dengan lautan. Namun bagaimana ia kemudian banjir menyebabkan ia bersatu dengan laut tu masih dalam perdebatan (teringat kisah Nabi Nuh). Tapi bila mereka buat kajian, sebenarnya banjir yang menyebabkan terjadinya laut hitam ni bukan disebabkan banjir yang berlaku dlm masa yg singkat tapi memerlukan beribu-ribu tahun. So ia tiada kaitan dengan zaman Nabi Nuh.

contoh prehistoric lake

Dalam ekspedisi ni, selain mencari bagaimana laut hitam terbentuk, mereka juga mengkaji peradaban2 yang hilang dengan mencari kapal-kapal yg karam di dasar laut hitam.

Menariknya, kapal2 karam di dasar laut hitam adalah sangat terpelihara dan sempurna keadaannya, yang memudahkan penyelidik ini mengkaji bahan dan struktur binaan kapal dan kaitkan dengan tahun ia karam dan kepunyaan empayar kerajaan dalam sejarah. Ini kerana laut hitam, dibawah paras 150m ialah bersifat anoxic, bermaksud tiada oksigen wujud. Bila oksigen tiada, bahan organik seperti badan kapal yang dibuat daripada kayu balak beribu tahun lalu masih intact dan most of them sempurna.

Tapi ada juga certain tempat yang tinggi kandungan HS (hydrogen sulphide). HS ni terhasil daripada sejenis bakteria yang hidup berpaut pada kayu2 balak pada kapal karam. Ia menjadikan sumber kayu dasar laut ni sebagai makanan. So walaupun keadaan laut itu anoxic, kapal juga boleh reput kerana kehadiran makhluk Allah ini. Saya ada cover dalam blogpost sebelum ni bilamana wujudnya awan hitam yang gelap dan toksik dalam dasar laut yang diceritakan dalam AQ (refer here).

Uniknya, mereka mengkaji peradaban zaman lampau dengan mengutip amphora dalam kapal karam. Amphora ialah sejenis pasu/tembikar yg digunakan orang Greek zaman dahulu untuk pindahkan minyak zaitun, wain and pes ikan melalui kapal utk tujuan perdagangan. Mereka merentas lautan mediterranean dan juga laut hitam. Lepas karam, amphora itu akan penuh dengan sedimen, dan dengan itulah mereka para pengkaji ini boleh tahu tahun berapa kapal itu dibuat, jenis makanan yang wujud dsb.

Antara penemuan mereka yang terbaik ialah mereka jumpa kapal yang berusia 2500 tahun lepas yang tidak pernah dicatatkan dalam penemuan sebelum2 ni.

Bila habis tengok 2 episode ni, apa yang saya belajar dan semakin kagum dengan aturan Allah SWT ialah;

1. Allah preserve apa yang ada di dasar laut hitam dengan menjadikan air laut di bawah ini anoxic iaitu air yang tiada oksigen. Kerana kehadiran oksigen mampu mereputkan bahan organik kayu balak yang digunakan untuk membuat kapal, maka dalam keadaan gelap dan tiada oksigen, kondisi ini boleh membantu mengawetkan peninggalan zaman dahulu supaya manusia zaman kini boleh mengkaji dan belajar tentang apa yang telah berlaku. Ada juga kapal2 karam kepunyaan kerajaan Islam yang juga menguatkan lagi sejarah tentang apa yang berlaku di Rom dan juga kejayaan umat Islam zaman dahulu.

2. Allah memang mahukan kita mengkaji kaum dan peradaban masa lalu supaya hambanya mampu berfikir tentang kewujudanNya dan bagaimana sesuatu peradaban itu musnah supaya kita mengambil iktibar. Banyak sangat Allah mention dalam AQ tentang kapal di lautan yang dikaitkan dengan rezeki dan kebergantungan kita pada Allah, dan juga fungsi angin untuk membantu kapal itu berlayar. Ada juga Allah mention tentang harapan hamba2Nya, juga dosa dan pengampunan dariNya apabila berfirman tentang kapal di lautan.

3. Hydrogen sulphide yg tinggi di dasar laut ialah disebabkan kewujudan makhlukNya yg bernama microscopic bacteri yg hidup dalam filamen yang berpaut pada kayu balak kapal karam. Jika ada oksigen yang menghalang kereputan, ada juga bakteria yang memangkin pereputan organik. Setiap sesuatu itu ada pasangannya.

Dan Dia lah yang menguasai kapal-kapal yang belayar di laut, yang kembang tinggi layarnya seperti gunung-ganang;

(Ar-Rahmaan 55:24) 

4. Apabila sesuatu itu disebut di dalam AQ, mesti ia adalah sesuatu yg memberi hint untuk kajian lebih dalam. Dan dalam ayat di atas, layar2 kapal juga adalah element penting dalam ekspedisi ni sebab setiap zaman mempunyai layar yang berbeza-beza. dengan itu juga mereka boleh membezakan peradaban yang terkubur bersama kapal2 yang karam dalam laut hitam.

OK thats about it. Bolehlah start saving so nanti boleh travel utk lihat kebesaran Allah, dan belajar dari kesilapan orang2 terdahulu yang telah dimusnahkan. Setakat ni saya baru dapat ke Jogjakarta untuk melawat Borobudur yang dikaitkan dengan kajian Kiyai Fahmi Basyar, seorang ahli matematik Indonesia yang mengkaji kaitan Borobudur dengan zaman Nabi Sulaiman dahulu. InsyaAllah lepas covid settle boleh plan untuk travel lagi =D

Abasa 80:25-31

Ar-Ruum 30:41

Regenerative Agriculture

Good Agricultural Practice in Surah Abasa

NY - Saturday, November 7, 2020 - Abasa 80:25-31 , Ar-Ruum 30:41 , Regenerative Agriculture

Do you know that modern agricultural activities contribute as high as 14% of greenhouse gases that causes global warming? That is not including the 18% of deforestation as more rural land is needed to be used for modern farming, which accounts for about 32% in total.

Allah SWT mentions in Surah Ar-Ruum:

Telah timbul berbagai kerosakan dan bala bencana di darat dan di laut dengan sebab apa yang telah dilakukan oleh tangan manusia; (timbulnya yang demikian) kerana Allah hendak merasakan mereka sebahagian dari balasan perbuatan-perbuatan buruk yang mereka telah lakukan, supaya mereka kembali (insaf dan bertaubat) | Ar-Ruum 30:41

Allah mentions that the damages were caused by human hands. If we look at the practice of modern farming, you will notice the excessive use of nitrogen-based fertilizers in agriculture is contributing to nitrous oxide emissions. Leftover nitrogen that hasn’t been absorbed by plants, reacts with the soil to produce this dangerous greenhouse gas. FYI, nitrous oxide gas is 300 times more harmful to the climate compared to carbon dioxide, CO2.

One of the best practices in agriculture is when we humans mimic how nature works, such as those in regenerative agriculture, and integrated farming concept.

In Surah Abasa, Allah SWT told us that even if we don't want to ponder about our creation, just look at how Allah administers our food production and its cycle.

And when we talk about food, our staple foods come from farming, such as rice from paddy plantation, and poultry and meat from feedstocks farming.

It all started when He let the rain falls on the Earth's surface, water, is a basic necessity for His creation as small as a single cell microorganism to start living.

Sesungguhnya kami telah mencurahkan hujan dengan curahan yang menakjubkan | 80:25

If we study the farming concept, the farmers will usually wait for the rain to fall down, and then after that then only they will start to prepare the soil by plowing as the soil is much softer after the rain which provides perfect conditions for seeds to grow.

Kemudian kami belah-belahkan bumi dengan belahan yang sesuai dengan tumbuh-tumbuhan | 80:26

In the above ayat, Allah mentions that the rainfall aids to loosen the soil for the farmers to start putting seeds on the ground. To loosen the soil more, farmers will use a tilling machine or plowing machine to break the topsoil. But do you know that by planting roots/legumes crops such as cassava can also help to loosen the soil naturally? 

The plowing machine in modern agriculture

So why does tilling and plowing the topsoil harms the environment? 

First, the plowing machine will cause massive breakage of soil which will reduce the capacity of soil for carbon sequestration. So, instead of the soil has the ability to store carbon dioxide, plowing will release the CO2 to the environment and increase its concentration in the air thus contribute to global warming.

Secondly, plowing will reduce soil porosity and its ability to retain water. This will result in the farmer having to put more water and fertilizer on the crops as the soil is not able to retain much anymore. What one will notice, the first time they planted the crops on the newly tilled land, the crops will give high yield, but the next cycle, the crops yield just become lesser compared to the first cycle, so they increase the fertilizer, which in turn will harm the environment, as the fertility and the condition of the soil have been deprived of a more natural way to replenish nutrients.

Lalu Kami tumbuhkan pada bumi biji-bijian, dan buah anggur serta sayur-sayuran, dan zaitun serta pohon-pohon kurma, dan taman-taman yang menghijau subur, dan berbagai buah-buahan serta bermacam-macam rumput, | 80:27-31

And the above ayat, if you notice the sequence, first is the grain (rice, wheat, corn, etc) followed by grapes and vegetables, the olive and the dates, gardens filled with greenery, variety of fruits and different types of grasses.

What I learned from the ayat, the importance of growing different types of plants or planting different types of crops on the same land plot, or with current practice is known as integrated farming or regenerative farming.

A type of farming that involves only a single crop plant, or livestock species in a field or farming system at a time is called monoculture and usually, it is meant for a commercial purpose where large amounts of capital and labor are required. This farming practice usually will require a lot of fertilizers and types of machinery which in turn will damage the topsoil =(

If you read about the integrated farming concept, it is beneficial if you incorporate grain types of crops in between after you harvest some crops. For example, after you harvest your corn, you plant the mung beans. These 2 crops will balance the soil nutrients, as the corn will use up the nitrogen, but the mung bean will increase back the nitrogen in the soil. Vegetables can be used as cash crops and when some of them gone bad and you left it on the ground, it will help to replenish the nutrients back to the soil. If you integrate your farm with livestock such as cow and goat, you can rotate them in different plot whereby of one plot has finished harvesting, you can lead them to consume the grass and crops leftover from there. their manure will help the soil to be more fertile as more bacteria will exist in the soil that helps to produce nutrients in the soil and retains more water.

Grasses, which are also beneficial to the farm naturally are a type of cover crop. A cover crop is an important feature in regenerative agriculture where it helps to replenish nutrients in the soil and compete with weed (rumpai). There are four types of cover crops: grasses, legumes, brassicas, and nonlegume broadleaves. each of these crops has been proven to benefit soil health. For example, a combination of grass and legume in cover cropping has been practiced by some farmers. Grass cant accumulates nitrogen from the air, but it helps to accumulate large quantities of nitrogen from the soil. Example of grasses is such as winter wheat, oat, barley, ryegrass, etc. While legumes can fix nitrogen from the air. examples of legumes are alfalfa, clover, peas, etc.

So you see, each of the crops mentioned by Allah in this surah has its function in good agricultural practice. I haven't discovered much about how fruit trees will benefit the farm, however, I will do my best to read more about its function. perhaps, it could attract bees as bees are little creature which helps to pollinate the entire earth with crops and greens. That is why there is a specific surah in the AQ about bees, but if you notice, Allah did not mention a single word of 'bee' in that surah. Why?? because,... hehe I probably will explain later in a specific blog post about that interesting surah =D

Ok. that's it for now, actually, I have a lot more to explain about agriculture but later lah, I will divide into several blog posts so it won't be too boring for you to read.

Whispering Heart

When Your Heart Whispers...

NY - Friday, November 6, 2020 - Whispering Heart

when you met someone that makes every single thing exciting, 

whatever you do, she makes you think like you are part of the best thing in the world,

even as simple as buying groceries together, it didn't matter

you were never an adventurous person, but she made you feel like u was

you seldom get interested in trying something new, she made you feel excited enough to try

because at the end of the day, whether it's good or bad, you get to laugh out loud together with her, 

and that's the best feeling ever

when time gets tough, just thinking about her calms your heart and keeps you smiling

and you wonder, how can you live without her by your side, someone who hears you differently,

having a similar wavelength and all,

someone whom you can show your most sincere yet so cheeky kind of smile,

that is rarely shown in any other photograph

and her bold attitudes, none of them scared you away,

you believe in her silly visions of what the future would look like,

and you weren't scared when she incorporates you in her every dream,

she made you feel that having freedom in living this life the way that you always wanted

is possible, away from those close-minded people, who actually care more about themselves than the feelings of others..

p/s: part of the above was a dialogue between a therapist and her patient from Netflix, and I just can't help myself but add more lines hehe. interesting movie to watch on Friday night.