Path to Knowledge

Journey to Knowledge in Words of Imam Bukhari

AI-Qaadee Al-Waleed ibn Ibraaheem AI-Bukhaaree was one of the students of Imam Bukhaaree, and when he grew up, he became the chief judge of the district of Ar-Rayy. He related that, when he was just entering into the early years of adulthood, he developed a yearning to seek out the knowledge of Hadeeth. And he of course went to one of the most eminent Hadeeth scholars of his time and told him about his desire to become a student of knowledge. That scholar was Imam Bukhaaree (may Allah have mercy on him), and if the beginning part of his response seems enigmatic at first blush, it becomes clearer towards the end of the narration. He said to Al-WaIeed,

"0 my son, do not embark upon an endeavor until you know its limits (i.e., what you will be required to learn in order to master the endeavor or course of studies you are embarking upon) and until you know the talents that will be required of you in order for you to succeed at it. And know that a man does not truly and completely become a scholar of Hadeeth until he writes down four things with four things and the example of four things; until he writes during four stages; until he writes in four conditions; until he writes in four places; until he writes down on four things; and until he writes down from four kinds of people. When he does all of that, four things will become easy for him [to lose (i.e., those four things will not preoccupy his time and his thoughts)]; also, he will be tested in four things. And if he remains patient throughout those tests, Allah will honor him withfour things in this world, and will reward him with four things in the Hereafter."

Al-Qaadee AI-Waleed asked, "May Allah have mercy on you. Interpret for me all of the groups of four things you mentioned."

Imam Bukhaaree said, "Yes, the four things one needs to write about are legislations of the Messenger Peace be Upon Him  and all information that one can gather about him; the Companions RadiAllahunho  and their talents (and doings and achievements); the Taabi'oon (the generation that came after the generation of the Companions ) and the doings; and the rest of the scholars (of Islam) – their biographies, their names, their Kunyahs, the places they went to, and the eras during which they lived.

The examples of narrations one should know about are a narration that has a complete and connected chain of narrators; one that has a chain that is only missing the name of the Companion who related It; one that is Mawqoof (i.e., it stops short at someone before the Prophet Peace Be Upon Him; therefore, it can be ascribed to a Companion, but not to the Prophet  Peace Be Upon Him) ; and one that is disconnected."

Imam Bukhaaree went on to explain, "One must write down narrations (and knowledge in general) when one is young, when one reaches an age of understanding, during the years of one’s young adulthood, and during one's middle years.

One must write down (narrations and preoccupy oneself with knowledge under four conditions: when one is busy, when one is free, when one is poor, and when one is rich.

And one must write down (narrations and knowledge in four places :) on the tops of mountains, while traveling by sea, in cities, and in the desert.

And one must write down (narrations and knowledge on four things): on stones, on shells, on leather, and on shoulder bones (of animals) until the time comes when one is able to transcribe that written information onto actual paper.

And one must write down from (four kinds of people:) from those who are above him, those who are below him, those who are at his level, as well as from the book of his father - but he has to be sure that he is transcribing from the actual handwriting of his father and not from the handwriting of Someone else.

Furthermore, one must strive to do four things: to seek out knowledge, seeking only the Countenance of Allah and His Good Pleasure; to act in accordance with the Book of Allah; to spread knowledge among students; and to author works, so as to keep one's remembrance alive even after one's death."

Imam Bukhaaree went on to say, "And one will not accomplish these things without four things that he, as the slave of Allah, must acquire himself: knowledge of the Book (of Allah), of language, of As-Sarf  (a branch of knowledge in Arabic which deals with the study of words before they make their way into a sentence), and of An-Nahwu (the study of words after they enter into a sentence, or in other words, the changes words undergo once they are written in sentences).

And then one will need four things that are from the gifts of Allah  (which He ( Allah Subhawatala) gives to whomsoever among His slaves He Wishes): health, ability (and talent), a strong drive (to learn), and a retentive memory. If one is blessed with all of these things, four things will become easy for him (i.e. ., they will become insignificant in his eyes when compared to his greater purpose in life): family, children, wealth, and homeland.

And one will be tested in four things: Enemies who find satisfaction in his failures and mistakes; friends who find fault with him; ignorant people who level accusations against him; and (contemporary) scholars who become jealous of him (and of his achievements). If he remains patient through all of these tests, Allah  will honor him with four things in this world: With the honor of becoming content with one's lot in life; with the aura of awe one inspires in others through one's profoundly deep faith (in Allah); with the sweet satisfaction of having (and of studying) knowledge; and with an eternal life (Le., even after such a scholar dies, he will live on through the good works and knowledge he will have left behind). And Allah will reward him with four things in the Hereafter: with the option of interceding for whomsoever he wants from his (Muslim) brothers; with being blessed with the shade of the Throne (on a Day during which there will be no shade save that shade); with being able to drink from the Basin of Muhammad ~Peace Be Upon Him (when there will be no water save for the water in that Basin); and with being in the company of the Prophets in the highest levels of Paradise: "Then they will be in the company of those on whom Allah has bestowed His Grace, of the Prophets... (Qur'an 4: 69).

Having explained what it entails to be a life-long student of knowledge, Imam Bukhaaree (may Allah have mercy on him) said to Al-Qaadee Al-Waleed: "0 my son, in general terms I have informed you of the various things I have heard from my teachers on this topic. So either come now to fulfill the purpose for which you have come to me (to seek out knowledge), or abandon this endeavor (if you feel that you will not be able to live up to the terms I explained to yoU).[l]

The reader will have noticed that, although - as I have mentioned above - much of this advice applies to scholars in general, it applies more specifically to the scholar of Hadeeth. But then the discussion between Imam Bukhaaree (may Allah have mercy on him) and AI-Qaadee Al-Waleed quickly turned to the study of Fiqh, In the above-mentioned account, Imam Bukhaaree (may Allah have mercy on him) pointed out all the hardships and obstacles that stood in the way of achieving excellence in the sciences of Hadeeth.

The Excellence of As-Saum (The Fast) during the first ten Days of Dhul-Hijjah

The Excellence of As-Saum (The Fast) during the first ten Days of Dhul-Hijjah

1249. Ibn `Abbas (May Allah be pleased with them) reported: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "There are no days during which the righteous action is so pleasing to Allah than these days (i.e., the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah).'' He was asked: "O Messenger of Allah, not even Jihad in the Cause of Allah?'' He (PBUH) replied, "Not even Jihad in the Cause of Allah, except in case one goes forth with his life and his property and does not return with either of it.''
[Al-Bukhari].

Commentary:  This Hadith brings out the following two points:

1. Righteous deeds during the first ten days of the month of Dhul-Hijjah are far better and more rewarding than righteous deeds done on other days of the year, because they are Hajj days in the sacred season of pilgrimage. Because of their excellence and importance, Allah (SWT) swore by them, thus: "By the Dawn; by the ten Nights...'' (89:1,2)

2. Jihad has great eminence in Islam.

Good Manner and Muslim

The life of a Muslim must stand on seven foundations:

·         Adherence to Allah's Book,

·         Following the way of Allah's Messenger Peace Be Upon Him,

·         Eating that which is lawful,

·         Refraining from harming others,

·         Staying away from sins,

·         Repenting frequently,

·         Fulfilling the rights of others.

In the past and present, the great Islamic jurists of this nation have confirmed that the Muslim's life must be based on the aforesaid foundations. Brother Muslim, you must remain firm upon those seven comprehensive foundations - by the Will of Allah - until the day you die.

A Believer worships Allah by being well mannered and dealing pleasantly with all, so that Allah may love him and make him beloved to his creation. Whoever considers exercising good manners as worship will deal courteously with everyone, the rich or poor, a manager or a tea boy.

If one day a poor cleaner on the street stretches out his hand for you to shake it, and another day a director of some company stretches his hand out in the same way, will you treat them equally?

Will you welcome them both and smile at them equally?

The Prophet (PBUH) will certainly treat them both equally in terms of welcoming them and showing them sincere conduct and compassion.

Who knows, perhaps the one you may belittle and look down upon might actually be better in Allah’s sight than he who you look up and show honor and respect.

Quran (68:4) “and you (Prophet- PBUH) are certainly on the most exalted standard of moral excellence.”

Here, this sentence gives two meanings: (1) "That you stand exalted to a high and noble character; that is why you are enduring all these hardships in your mission of guiding the people to the Right Way, otherwise a man of weak character could not have done so;" and (2) "that besides the Qur'an, your high and noble character also is a clear proof that the accusation of madness that the disbelievers bring against you is absolutely false, for high morals and madness cannot co-exist in one and the same person. " A madman is he whose balance of mind is upset, who has lost his temperamental equilibrium. Contrary to this, the high morals of a person testify that he is a right-minded and sound-natured person, who possesses perfect temperamental equilibrium. The people of Makkah were not unaware of the morals and character possessed by the Holy Messenger of AIIah. Therefore, it was enough just to make a reference to them so that every reasonable man of Makkah was made to think how shameless were those people who were calling a man of such sublime morals and character a madman. Their absurd conduct was not at all harmful for the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) but for themselves, for maddened in their craze for opposition they were saying such a thing about him which could not be regarded as credible by any man of understanding. The same also is the case with those men of knowledge and scholarship, who in the modern time are accusing the Holy prophet (upon whom be peace) of having fits of madness and epilepsy. The Qur'an is available everywhere in the world and the Holy Prophet's life also exists in the written form in entire detail. Every person can see it for himself what a foolish and meaningless thing is being uttered in their blind enmity by those who regard the man who brought this unique and matchless Book and who possessed such sublime morals and character as a mentally deranged person. The best description of the Holy Prophet's character has been given by Hadrat 'A'ishah in her statement: Kana khuluqu-hul-Qur an: the Qur'an was his character." Imam Ahmad, Muslim, Abu Da'ud. Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, Darimi and Ibn Jarir have cited, with a little variation in wording, this saying with several chains of transmitters. This means that the Holy Prophet had not merely presented the teaching of the Qur'an before the world but also given its practical demonstration by his personal example. Whatever was enjoined in the Qur'an was acted upon practically by himself in the first instance; whatever was forbidden in it was shunned and avoided by himself most of all. His own self was characterized most of all by the moral qualities which were declared as sublime by it, and his own self was most free from those qualities which were declared as abhorrent and reprehensible by it. In another tradition Hadrat 'A'ishah has stated: "The Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) never hit a servant, never raised his hand on a woman never used his hand to kill a person outside the battlefield, never avenged himself on anyone for an injury caused unless someone violated a sanctity enjoined by AIlah and he avenged it for the sake of Allah. His practice was that whenever he had to choose between two things, he would choose the easier one unless it was a sin; and if it was a sin he would keep away from it most of all" (Musnad Ahmad). Hadrat Anas says: "I served the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) for ten years. He never did so much as express even a slight disgust over what I did or said: he never asked why I had done what I had done, and never inquired why I had not done what I had not done." (Bukhari, Muslim).

Quran (3:159) It was thanks to Allah's mercy that you were gentle to them. Had you been rough, hard-hearted, they would surely have scattered away from you. So pardon them, and pray for their forgiveness, and take counsel from them in matters of importance. And when you are resolved on a course of action places your trust in Allah; surely Allah loves those who put their trust (in Him).

(21:107) (O Muhammad!) We have sent you to be a real blessing for the people of the world. 

This verse (107) can also be translated as: "We have sent you only as a blessing for the people of the world". In both cases it will mean that the appointment of the Holy Prophet is indeed a blessing and mercy of Allah to the whole world. This is because he aroused the neglectful world froth its heedlessness and gave it the knowledge of the criterion between truth and falsehood, and warned it very clearly of both the ways of salvation and. ruin. This fact has been stated here 'to tell the disbelievers of Makkah that they were quite wrong in their estimate of the Holy Prophet that he was an affliction and distress for them because they said, "This man has sown seeds of discard among our clans and separated near relatives from each other." They have been told here, "O foolish people, you are wrong to presume that he is an affliction for you; but he is in reality a blessing and mercy of Allah for you."

"Shall I not tell you who among you is the most beloved to me and will be closest to me on the Day of Resurrection?" He repeated it two or three times, and they said, 'Yes, O Messenger of Allah (p.b.u.h.).’  He said: "Those of you who are the best in attitude and character." (Reported by Ahmad and its Isnad is Jayyid) Some reports add: "Those who are down to earth and humble, who get along with others and with whom others feel comfortable."

One of the attributes of the believer is that he gets along with others and others feel comfortable with him. He likes people and they like him. If he is not like this, then he will not be able to convey the message or achieve anything of significance. Whoever is like that has no goodness in him, as in the Hadith:
"The believer gets along with people and they feel comfortable with him. There is no goodness in the one who does not get along with people and with whom they do not feel comfortable.” (Reported by Ahmad and al-Bazar; the men of Ahmad's Isnad are Rijal as-Sahih)

The Prophet (p.b.u.h.) set the highest example of good behaviour towards people. He was skilful in softening their hearts and called them to follow him in word and deed. He demonstrated how to reach people's hearts and win their love and admiration.

He was always cheerful and easy-going, never harsh. When he came to any gathering, he would sit wherever there was a free space, and he told others to do likewise. He treated everyone equally, so that no one who was present in a gathering would feel that anyone else was receiving preferential treatment. If anyone came to him and asked for something, he would give it to them, or at least respond with kind words. His good attitude extended to everyone and he was like a father to them. The people gathered around him were truly equal, distinguished only by their level of taqwa. They were humble, respecting their elders, showing compassion to young ones, giving priority to those in need and taking care of strangers.

Hadith - Bukhari's Book of Manners #271, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Ahmad, and Ibn Hibban.

...Abu Darda' reported that the Prophet of Allah, upon him be peace, said, "Nothing is weightier on the Scale of Deeds than one's good manners."

Hadith - Bukhari's Book of Manners #286 and Ahmad

Abu Huraira, r.a., said, "I heard Abu al Qasim (the Prophet saaws), say, 'The best among you in Islam are those with the best manners, so long as they develop a sense of understanding.' "

Hadith - At-Tabaraanee collected it, and Albani authenticated it in Silsilatul-AHaadeethis-Saheehah (#432).

The Prophet (saaws) said: "The most beloved of Allah's servants to Allah are those with the best manners."

Hadith - Bukhari's Book of Manners # 285, Hakim, and Abu Dawud

... Abu Huraira, r.a., said that the Prophet of Allah, saaws, said, "If one has good manners, one may attain the same level of merit as those who spend their nights in prayer."

Hadith - Bukhari's Book of Manners # 290, Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, and Ahmad

... Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet of Allah (saaws) said, "And what is most likely to send people to Paradise? Being conscious of Allah and good manners." 

Backbiting - The Different Ways

Backbiting   --------

Backbiting - The Evil in The Society

Shaikhul-Islam, Ibn Taimiyyah , said that there are those from the people that backbite or listen to backbiting, and they do so to please the company they keep, with the awareness that the victim is likely to be innocent of some of the things that are uttered about him.

Often such offenders feel that if they were to attempt to end such conversation in a gathering, their presence might become unwelcome or burdensome. There are many methods and guises that are employed when one mentions another in a negative way. Under the pretense of being informative, one could say that it is not one's habit to mention others, except for the sake of relating another's condition to someone. Or one could state that by Allah, indeed so and so is one to be pitied, thereby showing superiority over one who is to be rejected. Another method might be to say that so-and-so is a good person; however, he has such and such qualities. Again, one is justified in revealing another's faults. One could also simply state that we should forget so-and-so, and make supplication for their forgiveness as well as our own, intending only to belittle the one that was mentioned. In reality, all these tactics are designed to try to deceive Allah (the Exalted) and to please the creation; and in reality, the many that follow these methods only serve to deceive themselves.

Then there are those that backbite to raise their own status. When they hear of someone's error, they employ words like, I had I prayed for so-and-so last night in my prayed, the news of their sin would not have reached my ears." Again, when a person states of another that he lacks understanding in a matter, the implication is personal superiority for the one that mentions the other's shortcoming.

There are also those that couple jealousy with backbiting  the act of being critical or belittling to those that are praised in the company of others. Some people also backbite for the sake of humor, playfulness and lightheartedness. A person finds a certain amount of satisfaction from being appreciated for his story-telling abilities; speaking ill of someone in a humorous fashion adds flavor to a tale. Others engage in backbiting by showing surprise 'and amazement at another's actions.

How is it that someone could do such a thing? Yet others mention people and their actions with the pretense of sympathy for their actions or misfortunes. In reality, the one who backbites actually finds contentment and satisfaction at the mention of others and their misdeeds.

Another form of backbiting is relating some ones misfortune to their enemies, so that they, too, may find pleasure in putting them down. From these examples, one can surmise that backbiting pertains to a disease of the heart... May Allah save us from this most evil of actions and protect us from its temptations.

KFC - Best Quality Chicken with Worms

“Eat Healthy, Live Healthy”

Worms found in chicken, KFC Kerala outlet sealed

http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Kerala/KFC-outlet-closed-after-serving-chicken-dish-with-worms/Article1-942121.aspx

The Thiruvananthapuram outlet of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) was temporarily shut down on Monday after live worms were found in the chicken served to a customer.  Shiju Abdul Basheer had ordered a dish of fiery chicken. But when his wife cut a piece to feed her little daughter, she found worms wiggling in it.

The restaurant staff apologized and offered to replace the dish. “When I refused, they tried to take it away forcibly. Then, the other customers intervened and alerted the police and the food safety officials,” said Basheer.

Basheer and his brother, who had some of the chicken earlier, showed symptoms of food poisoning when they reached home. They had to be hospitalized.

The authorities raided the outlet and seized bags of chicken that were four to five months old.  “We have sent 13 samples for examination. The outlet can’t open till the reports come,” said an official of the food safety department. The incident comes in the wake of a clampdown on unhygienic food joints, which occurred after a man died two months ago after consuming sheverma (an Arab dish) in Thiruvananthapuram.

On Monday night, the KFC outlets in Kozhikode and Kochi were raided. “It is impossible for worms to stay alive in chicken pieces fried at 260 degrees Celsius. We don’t know how it happened,” said M Najeeb, manager of the Kozhikode outlet.

No one from the KFC franchise in Thiruvananthapuram was available for comment. But on Tuesday, a press release by them said, “We are providing full cooperation to the ongoing probe. We are committed to serving quality products to all our customers.”

Eat Healthy Live Healthy

Worm found in McDonald's burger

http://digitaljournal.com/article/320770

An international branch of McDonald's in Finland served up more than one customer wanted in his burger. The customer discovered a live black worm lurking in his burger slathered sauce.

Vuotias Helsinkiläismies, 22, treated himself to a take-out two euro burger from McDonald's. When he arrived home and unwrapped his hamburger he made a disgusting discovery as the worm crawled out of his food.

Voice Finland reported that the man immediately contacted McDonald's to complain. The branch manager apologized, requested the offending burger and its worm returned to the restaurant, and offered him a credit for the McDonald's meal of his choice. However, Helsinkiläismies decided it was not worth spending 2.7 euros on the bus-fare to return for another burger.

Instead he has sealed the worm inside the burger and popped it inside his fridge until he has the opportunity to return the tainted food to McDonald's. Helsinkiläismies considers it lucky that he spotted the worm before eating it and now hopes the restaurant will focus more on quality control.

MSNBC sent a Dateline team to check if "America’s top 10 fast food chains are clean and safe." Amongst their rather unpleasant discoveries they found a worm in a Wendy's salad, making Wendy's a choice to avoid if the Finnish man decides to take a State side trip.

Read more: http://digitaljournal.com/article/320770#ixzz28yoZbQ5C

WHAT PEPSI AND OTHERS DOING TO ENHANCE TASTE

What You Don't Know About Flavor Enhancers Can Harm You

The receptors are made from HEK293 -- HEK stands for Human Embryonic Kidney cells, with 293 denoting that the HEK was from the 293rd experiment. HEK293 originally came from a healthy, electively aborted baby whose cells were then harvested and cloned.

"Senomyx's salt taste, savory flavor, and sweet flavors -- as well as all their other flavor enhancers -- are purposefully developed so that they stimulate your taste buds without them actually tasting anything ... Much like MSG, these flavor enhancers operate on the neurological level to produce these reactions ...

Since they are not actually ingredients but rather 'enhancers' they are not required to be listed in a package's ingredients except as 'artificial flavors' ... [And] because very small amounts of the additives are used ... Senomyx's chemicals have not undergone the FDA's usual safety approval process for food additives."

It's no secret that most processed foods contain a variety of "artificial" and "natural" flavors intended to make you crave a certain brand of chips or cookies over another. But what is largely unknown to most consumers is that a new variety of food additive is already on the market and probably in some of your favorite snack foods.

These new additives are unique because they are not flavors at all. They are chemicals that contain no flavor of their own, rather they activate or block taste receptors in your mouth. The chemicals can mimic or enhance the taste of sugar, salt and monosodium glutamate (MSG), for example.

Amazingly, these flavor-altering compounds are used in small amounts (less than one part per million), which means companies like Senomyx do not have to go through the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval process typically necessary to release food additives. Instead of the lengthy FDA process, the compound only has to be classified as "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS) by the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association --  a process that can take as little as 18 months, with a mere 3 months of safety testing on rats.

"Unlike artificial sweeteners, Senomyx's chemical compounds will not be listed separately on ingredient labels. Instead, they will be lumped into a broad category -- "artificial flavors" -- already found on most packaged food labels."

Embryonic Kidney Cells from Aborted Baby Used to Create Tastier Junk Foods

Cancer a Man Made Disease

Cancer is a disease of modern time which is causing havoc and no one is spared from it. Even the 4 heads of states of Latin American Countries are facing it at the same time. One of the leader and President of Venezuela Hugo Chavez said it is planted by American.

Apart from these discussion cancer is one of the most deadly disease, it can wait for some time, you live 5, 10 up to 20 years but death is sure once it caught.  The research and experiments shows it is purely a man-made disease.  It is purely depends upon life style and eating habits of the people and there is only one way to stay fit and i.e. change your life style.

Tobacco is one of the most important causes of Cancer and everybody knows about it and governments are trying to control it by different means, most importantly putting warning on every pocket that it will cause cancer. Making laws not to smoke in public and prohibiting its sale to under-age. Nothing is working, is an issue. The sale and consumption of tobacco related products are increasing day by day and cost of tobacco related diseases on health care is increasing day by day.

Bhutan is the first country in the world to ban all types of tobacco sale, soon late us hope every country make same law.

I am talking about the known things and people those products of which peoples are aware of. I am talking of those of which most of the people do not know and consumes. Government and policy makers do not want to talk about.

Should the Cancer Warning be made on every product which contents the chemicals causing the cancer?

The real issue is unsuspecting people eating cancer causing products.  Junk food contains additives and artificial flavors which increases toxic load and can cause cancer. Cancer is basically caused by the life style and continuous exposure to chemical causing cancer including which are present in food.

Pepsi and other Producers are using artificial chemicals and flavors which can cause cancer.  Even though it is mandatory to put label they are avoiding it by using different gimmicks.

Mountain Dew Can Dissolve Rat

In one of the interesting case which is prejudice in USA, a consumer which complaint that; he has found a rat in his Mountain Dew Can. The lawyers of the company are arguing that, it cannot contain a full rat because; it has chemicals which can dissolve rat. There is no issue a rat can come all the way into can.

This is very strong chemical which consumers are drinking without knowing what they are drinking and this can cause them many diseases.

Food Additives Increase Your Toxic Load

Cancer is, by and large, a man-made disease caused by a highly unnatural lifestyle and continuous exposures to excess chemicals, including chemicals in your food.

more:http://www.naturalnews.com/035276_Pepsi_fetal_cells_business_operations.html#ixzz1tJyh5cgz

more:http://www.naturalnews.com/035276_Pepsi_fetal_cells_business_operations.html#ixzz1tJylfcaf

Pepsi's lawyers say Mountain Dew can dissolve a mouse

more:http://www.naturalnews.com/034602_Mountain_Dew_mouse_dissolved.html#ixzz1tJz60ODw

NaturalNews) While drinking Mountain Dew, have you ever seen (or perhaps felt on your tongue) a thick, jelly-like substance? Maybe you assumed the ingredients in the soda had gelled. According to Mountain Dew manufacturer Pepsi, you may have been ingesting some extra protein with your beverage in the form of a liquified rodent.

Quench your thirst with some chemicals

NaturalNews has reported many times in the past on the health dangers of soda, including the fact that Mountain Dew and other fruit-flavored beverages contain a flame retardant chemical (http://www.naturalnews.com/034448_brominated_vegetable_oil_soft_drinks_chemical.html). The bright green color of this soda obviously derives from food colorings, many of which also have negative health consequences.

more:http://www.naturalnews.com/034602_Mountain_Dew_mouse_dissolved.html#ixzz1tJzAHx1Y

Coca-Cola, Pepsi to reduce 'cancer-causing' caramel coloring content of their soft drinks

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/mar/09/coke-pepsi-recipe-change-avoid-cancer-warning

Coke and Pepsi change recipe to avoid cancer warning

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-17308181

Coke and Pepsi change the way they make their drinks to avoid a cancer warning label in compliance with Californian law

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/09/us-coke-pepsi-idUSBRE82814V20120309

Pepsi and Coke may cause Cancer?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2112335/Coke-Pepsi-change-recipe-avoid-putting-cancer-warning-labels.html

Cancer warnings

One has to wonder if this warning would drastically affect the sales of these beverages.  Don’t cigarette packages have dire warnings with disturbing graphics printed on their labels?   Have not other food products also been linked to cancer, such as aspartame and other synthetic sweeteners and food additive products.   So what is it and is there a real concern over 4-MEI?