the phenomenon that is wikipedia.

wikipedia is basically an encyclopedia that
can be available to be modified by anyone,
anonymously.

The concept of self-regulation and 'edit
this page' is basically handing over the
task of verifying the content of any articles
to the users, hence anyone with better knowledge
of a topic, may edit the entry to reflect the
unbiased (sometimes biased) view of an article.

that's not always the case.

due to the ability of users to stay anonymous,
some articles contain elements of slander, and
it reached a level that the founder of the
Wikipedia has started a new, Wikipedia-mirror
encyclopedia called Citizendum (Citizendom?)

You have to prove your credentials to write in
this 'dom.

melalut pulak.

to me, wikipedia is a good thing to do to
while away those free times. you can find
anything (plus one) and who knows, you
might stumble across a link you might like.

so, for example, you want to know what the
hell is 'diphtong'.

you just type 'define: diphtong' in google
and wikipedia will tell you.

(disclaimer: the word is kind of misleading,
and some people might visualise it as a new,
crazy kind of thong. but no, it's not.)

Definition: -

In phonetics, a diphthong (Greek,
"diphthongos", literally "with two sounds")
is a vowel combination usually involving a
quick but smooth movement from one vowel to
another, often interpreted by listeners as
a single vowel sound or phoneme.While "pure"
vowels, or monophthongs, are said to have
one target tongue position, diphthongs have
a moving tongue. ...

one of the things i like about this Wikipedia
is, aside from being a time-killer, it is a
great tool for me to revisit the history of
Prophets.

I learnt more, too, on the subject of all
thing Jewish/Yehud/Talmud/etc.

It's quite interesting to read and remember
about the hardships of the Prophets, and to
add new dimensions, such as what the scholars
of the West think of the Messengers.

You'd learn of the origin of the names Moses,
Jesus, Abraham, Eshmael, and how they are
related to each other.

I knew now why the Israelis consider themselves
special.

And lastly, the Seal of Prophet. You'd learn
so much about the Prophet in school, but to
read them again and visualise what it's like
is refreshing.

It's cool to see the article in Wikipedia.

It really is.

You'd read about his childhood, the death
of his father, the kindness of his grandfather,
the rejection of his uncle, the death of his
mother in yathrib (?), and many more
hardships.

One particular paragraph particularly struck
me, as I'm orphaned myself.

"At the age of six, Muhammad lost his mother
Amina and became fully orphaned. Many years
later, when he was exiled by his Meccan
opponents, on his first pilgrimage from
Medina to Mecca, he stopped at his mother's
grave and cried bitterly, bringing tears
to the eyes of his companions."

It's weird to have an article in Wikipedia
grasping at the frayed ends of your emotion.

It's also shocking to hear that before the
Prophet made his journey to Yathrib, he sent
a group of his closest sahib to Habshah,
knowing the Christian king there's a just
ruler.

I never knew that.

Maybe I forgot.

"In 615 AD/CE, a band of Muslims were counseled
by the Prophet Muhammad to escape persecution
in Mecca and travel to Ethiopia, which was
ruled by a Christian king.
In that year, his followers were fleeing
from Mecca's leading tribe, the Quraish,
who sent emissaries to bring them back to
Arabia, but the King of Ethiopia protected
Muhammad's followers. Since then, Muhammad
himself instructed his followers who came
to Ethiopia, to respect and protect Ethiopia
as well as live in peace with Ethiopian
Christians. Accordingly, some scholars
state that Ethiopia was the country that
saved Islam from its near destruction and
termination."

Hmm...