There is no such thing as divine law enforced by mankind. Cosmic laws are self-sustaining mechanisms that do not require our assistance to function.

Contrary to what the West seems to think, it is not poverty that brings people like us so close to God. It's the fact that no one is more curious than we are to learn why we are here on earth and what will happen to us in the next world.

Earlier maps had underestimated the distances to other continents and exaggerated the outlines of individual nations. Now global dimensions could be set, with authority, by the celestial spheres. Indeed, King Louis XIV of France, confronted with a revised map of his domain based on accurate longitude measurements, reportedly complained that he was losing more territory to his astronomers than to his enemies.

Germans at the time believed, a little oddly, that dyes killed germs by turning the germs_ vital organs the wrong color.

Religion is also a process of healing, I discovered _ a healing of the soul. Even our language points to this relation. The words __oly_, __holesome_ and __ealing_ all have the same root. (In German, this is even more striking: heilig, heil and heilen.) Muslims believe that all humans are born in a state of purity, our fitra, and it is only in the course of our lives that we tarnish our soul through bad habits and wrong behaviour. Through spiritual practices such as prayer, recitation of Quran and dhikr we can cleanse these acquired __lack spots_ in our soul and return towards our original primordial nature. More so, dhikr is said to enliven the heart.

When you help people, don't wait around to hear them say, "Thank you." A lot of times we do good things, but in the back of our mind we're hoping to get some appreciation. But if you make your intentions pure, and you expect only from Allah, He will take more care of you than you could ever imagine.