KAIZEN

It comes from the Japanese words ‘Kai’ meaning ‘change’ and “Zen” meaning ‘better, the combination of these words mean ‘change for betterment’. Once it is implemented as a continuous cycle it leads to “continuous improvement”. It's a soft and gradual method opposed to more usual western habits to scrap everything and start with new.

It’s a philosophy that defines management’s role in continuously encouraging and implementing small improvements involving everyone. It is the process of continuous improvement in small increments that make the process more efficient, effective, under control and adaptable. Improvements are usually accomplished at little to no expense, without sophisticated techniques or expensive equipment. It focuses on simplification by breaking down complex processes into their sub-processes and then improving them.

The Kaizen improvement focuses on the use of

• Value-added and non-value-added work activities.
• Muda; which refers to seven classes of waste i.e. over production, delays, excessive transportation, excessive and non value-added processing, excess inventory, wasted motion and defective parts.
• Documentation of standard operating procedures.
• The five S’s for workplace organization (five Japanese words)
• Seiko               -           proper arrangement
• Seiton              -           orderliness
• Seiketso          -           personal cleanliness
• Seiso               -           cleanup
• Shitsuke          -           discipline
• Visual management by means of visual displays that everyone in the plant can use for better communication.
• Just-in-time principles to produce only the units in the right quantities, at the right time and with the right resources.
• Poka-yoke (fail-safing or mistake-proofing) - to prevent or detect errors.
• Team dynamics, which include problem solving, communication skills and conflict resolution.

Kaizen relies heavily on a culture that encourages suggestions by operators who continually try to incrementally improve their job or process. An example of Kaizen type improvement would be the change in color of welding booth from black to white to improve operator’s visibility. This change results in a small improvement in weld quality and a substantial improvement in operator satisfaction.  

Kaizen is controlled; it is not acceptable to let anybody change designs, layouts or standards for some pretended "improvement". Most often Kaizen is controlled by improvement groups and everybody, regardless of rank or position, is encouraged to suggest through suggestion submitting system. Suggestions will be discussed by authoritative committee. Suggestions likely to be turned into application are usually rewarded according to the global gain. Improvement idea can be a response to a problem exposed by Kaizen committee or come out spontaneously.

KAIZEN Vs INNOVATION


Kaizen refers to continual improvements. Just carrying out business as usual contains the element of continuity but lacks the idea of improvement. Innovation refers to change or improvement but lacks continuity. Innovation with its strong innovative meaning is often a preferred way to carry out changes, improvements. Yet the Kaizen way and innovation are very different, the Kaizen approach is to make better use of existing resources.

	KAIZEN improvements	Innovation
Thinking	We know well our outfit, can be improved for small expenses	To improve yield, we need top of art material
Habits	Small changes	To be modified
Material	old one is improved	changed for latest state of arts
operator's reactions	good, they have been involved and informed	distrust, haven't been neither involved nor informed
Reliability	similar to before and generally even better	adjustments, failures, flaws, poor knowledge of this new equipment...
Costs (investments)	Reduced	Important
Costs (maintenance, operating)	similar	first unknown then usually important
Yield	improved quickly	important improvements, but long to come as it was necessary to get used to new equipment, to make it reliable, even modify it...

While Kaizen uses small steps, conventional know-how and a lot common sense, innovation comes in big steps and pursues technological breakthroughs. Kaizen is effort-based, while innovation is investment-based. Kaizen constantly reviews the process to check results consistency with targets, while innovation looks for results only. Are they slow to come or seem out of reach? the whole process might be changed.

The benefits to applying the principles of Kaizen are manifold. Solutions emphasize commonsense, low-cost approaches and continual adjustment, thus improvement becomes possible and further desirable. It is not even always necessary to gain upper management’s approval to make changes.

The Prophet Isa/JESUS (AS)

The Holy Qur'an says:

    "When the angels told Maryam (AS) that Allah had given her the glad news of the birth of a son whom He calls His Word, whose name would be Massiah, ‘Isa son of Mary, who would be a man of honour in his life and the life to come and who would be one of the ones nearest to Allah, who would speak to the people while in his cradle and preach to them when he would be a grown - up man, who would be one of the righteous ones, Maryam(AS) said, ‘How can there be a son for me when no mortal has touched me?' The angels replied, ‘That is how Allah creates whatever He wants. When He decides to do something, He just orders it to ‘be', and it comes into existence" (Surah Ale Imran, 3:45-47)"

    Lady Maryam/Mary (AS), daughter of Imran, was from the progeny of Prophet Da'ud(AS). Her mother was a noble and pious woman. One day she invoked Allah to bless her with an issue whom she would dedicate to the service of the Holy Land, Baytul Maqdis. Her prayer was granted by Allah and she was blessed with the birth of Maryam(AS). She took her daughter, Maryam, to Baytul Maqdis and invoked Allah to save her and her daughter from the inducement and guiles of the Satan. This prayer was also answered by Allah.

    When Lady Maryam(AS) was brought to Baytul Maqdis, differences arose between the trustees of the Holy Place about the bringing up of the new-born child. Everybody wanted to bring up the child himself. After all, for arriving at an impartial decision, a lot was drawn from the names of the people and incidentally the lot came to the name of Prophet Zakariya(AS) and thus he took the responsibility of looking after the child. When Lady Maryam(AS) came of age, Prophet Zakariya(AS) set aside a chamber in Baytul Maqdis exclusively for Lady Maryam(AS). Lady Maryam(AS) then got herself busy in the worship of Allah and in the glorification of His Name. Lady Maryam(AS) was blessed by Allah with the exalted position of infallibility and she was given by Allah the designation of the most superior woman of her time.

    When Lady Maryam(AS) was in the Sanctuary, a special place for the worship of Allah, Archangel Jibril (AS) appeared in the garb of a handsome young man before her and she got very much scared to see him with her. Jibril (AS) said to her, "Do not get frightened. I am the Angel of Allah and have brought to you the glad news that the Almighty Allah is going to bless you soon with a son who would be one of the most worthy Divine personages in this world and the Hereafter and he would speak from his cradle. "Maryam (AS) said, "How could that be possible when I have not been touched by any man ?"

    Jibril (AS) said, "There is nothing which is impossible for Allah. He has Power over all things. He can create as He would wish. And whenever Allah wills to do a certain thing, that happens at once with His will"

    At that time Lady Maryam (AS) felt herself to be pregnant and she became much embarrassed and frightened. She was pondering over as to how a virgin could give birth to an offspring. The more she pondered over, the more she got puzzled and worried. Although she was the most dignified of all the women in the world and had an unflinching faith and belief in Allah of highest degree and knew quite well that the Almighty Lord would help her in all moments, still she was afraid of the mischief and the wicked tongue-lashing of the mischievous and spiteful Jews. She wondered as to what answer she would have against their false accusation to establish her innocence and infallibility!

    Much has been written on this topic and different narration's from various sources have been quoted. Some of those writers who have written the biographies of the Prophets and particularly some of those who follow the Egyptian writers have given the duration of Lady Maryam's pregnancy as normal period and have said that she remained in constant mental worry. But according to the narration's of the Shi'ah scholars and authors, Jibril (AS) blew his breath into the bosom of Lady Maryam; as a result of which she became pregnant in the night and in the morning she was delivered of the child and thus the duration of her pregnancy was of nine hours instead of the normal nine months. However, the infallible Maryam (AS) resigned herself to the will of Allah and entrusted all her affairs to the care of her Lord up to the time of her giving birth to the child.

    At the onset of her labour pain, she reached a dried date-palm tree and without the aid of any midwife or any other attendant she gave birth to a handsome child all by herself. The only thing she uttered in her grief was, "Would that I were to die before all this could happen and that I were to be among those who are completely forgotten.

    But suddenly, Lady Maryam (AS), the sad and worried, heard a welcome voice. It was as though somebody was consoling her heart and was saying, "Do not be sad. The Almighty Allah has erupted a brooklet from near your feet. Drink its water and shake the old date-palm tree. Ripe dates will fall down from it. Eat them and get rid of all your worries. Still, Lady Maryam (AS) seemed to have not been satisfied as she was very much scared of the gossiping of her enemies.

    Lady Maryam (AS) was asked by her Lord that if she found people making false allegations against her, she should tell them that she had vowed before Allah to observe fast and as such she was unable to talk with them.

    Lady Maryam (AS) took hold of her dear son and brought him to Baytul Maqdis. Soon after that the Jews saw her, they started casting aspersions upon her and started calling her with strange names and said, "O Maryam! You have done a very strange thing. Your mother was not that one who mixed up with the strangers, and your father, too, was not in favour of doing any unlawful or immoral thing. How is it that you forsook their ways and adopted a different way by which you gave birth to a child without a husband"

    The infallible Maryam (AS) pointed out to the cradle of her new-born son, implying thereby to ask him and not her the answer to their question. The Infinite Power of Allah came into action and the new-born child then started speaking about his exalted position and said, "I am the servant of Allah, my Lord. My Lord has showered on me His Mercy and Benevolence. He has sent me as the Prophet of Allah. He has designated me as the most exalted and the most blessed. As long as I am going to be alive, I have been ordained by my Lord, the Almighty Allah, to offer prayers (Salat), pay Zakat (poor-rate) and to treat my Mother in the most respectable manner".

    Thus Prophet ‘Isa (AS) introduced himself to the critics of his mother in those words and established the innocence and the infallibility of his most exalted and worthy mother.

    As a matter of fact, the birth of a child under the most extra-ordinary circumstances is a great miracle in itself and such a child could never have been born of a mother who was not pious and virtuous herself. And similarly, the Almighty Allah who made the new-born child speak from his cradle was still demonstrating a greater miracle than giving birth to him without the father; which is so very easy for the All-Powerful Allah.

    But despite the clear proofs and Divine signs, the Jews continued committing the sins and saying silly and unworthy things. They stuck their neck in the noose of ignorance and obstinacy all the same without remorse. But still there were a few pious who after witnessing this great miracle did not entertain any doubt and misgivings in their mind and instead acknowledged the birth of the new-born child as one of the greatest signs of the Greatness of the Almighty Allah and considered Lady Maryam (AS) as the most chaste, virtuous and pious woman free from all sorts of sins and evil things.

    When the astrologers of the day came to know of the birth of such an infallible child, they came from all over the country to pay their homage and tribute to him and brought presents for him.

    As soon as the Jewish emperor, Herodotus, learnt about the birth of Prophet ‘Isa (AS).  He got terribly frightened, as he feared that some unexpected circumstances might lead to the downfall of his kingdom. Thus he plotted to kill Prophet ‘Isa (AS) so as to save his empire from any possible mishap. When Lady Maryam (AS) sensed the danger to the life of her son, Prophet ‘Isa (AS), she took him away to Egypt. In Egypt, Prophet ‘Isa (AS) was brought up by his mother until the time he grew up and reached the age of 30 years. The Almighty Allah then revealed upon Prophet ‘Isa (AS) the Divine Book, Injil (Evangel) and afterwards Prophet ‘Isa (AS) came back to Baytul Maqdis and invited the Jews to the true religion of Allah. For three years, he continued preaching to them the commandments of Allah.

    Prophet ‘Isa (AS) was one of the accredited Prophets of Allah and he was endowed with certain miracles. One of such miracles was the raising of the dead to life again under the command and will of Allah. His another miracle was that he could restore the eyesight of the blind and cure the lepers.

    A few of the Jews accepted the faith of Prophet ‘Isa (AS) and embraced his religion after having been convinced of his miracles, but the rest of them became his enemies so much so that they decided to kill him. From amongst the few people who had embraced the faith, Prophet ‘Isa (AS) selected 12 of them as his apostles. These people remained with Prophet ‘Isa (AS) all the time and followed his teachings. Prophet ‘Isa (AS) delegated them his authority to preach the people the laws as laid down by Injil.

    The so-called religious leaders of the people of Bani Isra'il and the Jews who had worldly gains before them thought that with the advent of the Prophethood of Prophet ‘Isa (AS) their influence and domination over the people would be brought to an end and they would be deprived of the people's devotion as well as many gifts and money which they used to receive as a token of love and respect by the people. They formed a united front to oppose the preaching of Prophet ‘Isa (AS) and to extinguish the light which the Almighty Allah had kindled in the person of Prophet ‘Isa (AS) and so that they might pass an easy and carefree life. They openly refuted the Prophethood of Prophet ‘Isa (AS) and called him a magician and skilled juggler.

    However, Prophet ‘Isa (AS) remained undaunted and stood like a firm rock against the dissidents, and continued preaching the people to the path of Allah. For his safety, he only considered Allah as his Saviour and he never became frightened of his opponents. Wherever he went, he preached the people with firm determination. His devotees and followers used to come to Baytul Maqdis on pilgrimage and Prophet ‘Isa (AS) then had an ample opportunity of holding big congregations to deliver his sermons. This enabled the large number of people to come to the fold of Divine religion and the number of his supporters and admirers increased day by day. The Jews became all the more worried to see the popularity of Prophet ‘Isa (AS) and their enmity against him was deeply rooted in their hearts, but they were helpless against the will of Allah. They tried hard to extinguish the Light of Allah, but the Light continued glowing with all its brilliance.

FOOD FROM HEAVENS

    The Holy Qur'an says:

    "When ‘Isa prayed, "Lord, send us a table full of food from heavens so that it will make a feast for us and for those who are yet to come in this world as an evidence from You. Give us sustenance, for You are the best Provider. Allah replied, "I am sending it to you, but if anyone of you turns back to disbelief I will make him suffer a torment that no one has ever suffered". (Surah al-Ma'idah, 5:114-115)

    It has been the tradition and style of the Prophets that in times of difficulties they remained patient and steadfast against the opposition and tortures of their opponents who used to mock them, but they never shirked their responsibility of fulfilling their Prophetic mission and instead by their perseverance and steadfastness they brought their mission to its successful completion.

    Prophet ‘Isa (AS) with the aid and assistance of the twelve of his disciples who were dedicated to the preaching of Injil, and who suffered at the hands of the unbelievers, went from place to place, from towns to villages, inviting the people towards Monotheism and the Divine teachings of Injil. He used to stay a few days at each place and called upon the people to believe in the Oneness of Allah, Resurrection and the Day of Judgement, Paradise and Hell, and to banish the evil desires and inclinations towards sins from the people's hearts.

    It is but natural that honest men respect a noble and pious man for his piety and virtue and are enthusiastic about learning good things from him. Here we see that Prophet ‘Isa (AS) was an exalted Prophet and his twelve disciples too were very pious and virtuous. They possessed noble attributes and from the point of view of their strong attachment to Prophet ‘Isa (AS), they asked him to show them one of the signs of Allah so that they could literally satisfy their hearts and souls by experiencing them personally with their own eyes and reach the extreme limit of perfection of spiritual enlightenment. But they requested Prophet ‘Isa (AS) in an awkward way and said, "O Prophet ‘Isa (AS), son of Lady Maryam (AS)! Does your Lord not possess enough Power to send food for us from the heavens?"

    Prophet ‘Isa (AS) said to them, "If you have really faith and belief in Allah, then you must fear Him". The disciples said, "What we mean is that while eating the food sent from the heavens, we become literally convinced in our hearts of the truthfulness of your words of promise and become a witness to your statement of facts". At last, Prophet ‘Isa (AS) invoked Allah thus: "O my Lord, send food for us from the heavens which may become the cause of our happiness and satisfaction, and by which the first and the last amongst us become happy and that would serve as a sign from You of Your Greatness, and You are the best Provider of sustenance. The Almighty Allah granted his prayers and said, "I am sending food from the heavens, but if anyone of you turns back to disbelief, I will make him suffer a torment that no one has ever suffered".

    Thus the Almighty Allah sent food to them from the heavens and everyone was benefited by His benevolence. Prophet ‘Isa (AS) then addressed himself to his apostles and said, "Eat this food and be grateful to Your Lord, the Almighty Allah, so that He increases your means of sustenance further by showering upon you His benevolence".

    They took advantage of the advice and this incident became famous so much so that many people after witnessing this sign of Allah, embraced their faith in the Divine religion and those of the believers who had already embraced the faith became more fervent in their faith.

    Prophet ‘Isa (AS) from his side spared no pains to invite the Jews towards the right path, for doing the good and forbidding the evil. But the obstinacy of the Jews had overpowered them so strongly that despite the preaching of Prophet ‘Isa (AS) they remained stubborn and arrogant and did not give up abominable things such as greed, usury, etc. They continued showing their bias and animosity against Prophet ‘Isa (AS). The only reason for all these was their love for power and they did not want to leave it. They feared that the time of their domination was coming to an end and somebody else was going to snatch their power and kingdom. The Jews did not give up their opposition to the Prophet of Allah who was endowed with piety and virtue. Instead they blamed him for making disruptions in the rank and file of the people by which the peace and tranquillity of the land was in jeopardy. The Jews thought that by adopting such nefarious designs they would succeed in their aims; but it was their sheer ignorance. Prophet ‘Isa (AS) had belief in his Lord and he knew that Allah was the best Protector and Helper and He had promised him that he would be saved from harm done by his enemies.

    The Jews not only remained content with their nefarious deeds, but they termed Prophet ‘Isa's guidance towards Allah a magical charm and accused him of witchcraft and wizardry. They also claimed that Prophet ‘Isa (AS) had become dissident of the religion of Prophet Musa (AS) and he did not consider Saturday a sacred day.

    The Jews ultimately decided to do away with the exalted Prophet of Allah and so they started looking for Prophet ‘Isa (AS). They sent their spies and informers all over the place to trace Prophet ‘Isa (AS) out. At last they caught hold of one of Prophet ‘Isa's apostles, Sham'un al-Safa. The Jews interrogated him about Prophet ‘Isa (AS), but could not succeed in getting any information about his whereabouts. They then came across someone named Yahuda and this man who was one of the apostles of Prophet ‘Isa (AS), was cunning and hypocrite. He told the Jews the whereabouts of Prophet ‘Isa (AS), his benefactor and mentor.

    Prophet ‘Isa (AS) was busy in a cave, offering worship to Allah in deep meditation. The Jews caught hold of him and took him away to crucify him by nailing his hands and feet on a cross. They rejoiced in thinking that they had achieved their purpose and by crucifixion of the Prophet of Allah, all their problems would be solved. But it was their utter ignorance as the Power of Allah is supreme and His humble creature can not stand before it. Whenever Allah wills to do a thing, it happens. Prophet ‘Isa (AS) was the great sign of Allah. He was born under an extraordinary and unbelievable circumstances and it was obvious that his life too would be extraordinarily quite different from others.

    Therefore under the most dangerous situation when Prophet ‘Isa (AS) was soon going to be crucified by his enemies, the Infinite Power of Allah came into action and Allah raised his chosen Prophet to the heavens where he is still alive.

    According to the prophecy of the Prophet of Islam, when the advent of the Twelfth Imam, the Mahdi, (Imam of the Time) will take place, Prophet ‘Isa (AS) will descend on the Earth from the heavens and offer his prayers behind him.

    Since there is a hidden Power to take revenge upon the oppressors, it is but necessary that sooner or later the culprit would have to meet his ill-fate by suffering from unbearable torment. Therefore Yahuda, the apostle who had betrayed Prophet ‘Isa (AS) was caught hold of by the Jews as he resembled Prophet ‘Isa (AS) very much. Taking him as Prophet ‘Isa (AS), they crucified him. By this, the Divine Will and Power prevailed.

    The Propagation of the Religion of Prophet ‘Isa (AS) The Christian calendar begins from the date of birth of Prophet ‘Isa (Jesus Christ). At the time of his raising alive to the heavens, Prophet ‘Isa's age was 33 years. After this, according to the testament of Prophet ‘Isa (AS), his apostles dedicated themselves to the propagation of the religion of Prophet ‘Isa (AS).

    Some of them went to Baytul Maqdis, some to Rome, and some to Asia Minor, India, and other countries of Asia and Africa. After his apostles, the responsibility of propagating the teachings of Prophet ‘Isa (AS) and Injil fell on the shoulders of the vicegerents of Prophet ‘Isa. At that time, most of the countries of Europe, Asia and Africa were under the domination of the Roman Emperor. The emperor used to torture the followers of Prophet ‘Isa (AS), but still the followers of Prophet ‘Isa (AS) continued their mission of preaching, and despite oppressions and severe tortures, they did not give up their mission and instead, they preached the people secretly.

    This state of affairs continued for about 300 years. In 313 A.D., Qustuntin (Constantine), the Roman Emperor, after seeing the popularity of Christianity, embraced this religion and dedicated himself to the propagation of Christianity. The big Roman Empire having come under the influence of Christianity gave an impetus to its propagation in far - off places. After Constantine, the succeeding emperors too contributed a lot towards increasing the numerical majority of the Christians.

The history of the seat belt

A seat belt is a harness designed to hold in place the occupant of a car or other vehicle against harmful movement that may result from a sudden stop or collision. As part of an overall occupant restraint system, seat belts are intended to reduce injuries by stopping the wearer from hitting hard interior elements of the vehicle or other passengers and by preventing the wearer from being thrown from the vehicle.

Seat belt is a feature of car safety and safety became an issue almost immediately after the invention of the automobile. All vehicles should be equipped with items to avoid any fatal injury to riders. One of the earliest recorded automobile fatalities was Mary Ward; she had the misfortune to fall under the wheels of an experimental steam car built by her cousins. This happened on 31st August 1869, and may make her the earliest motor vehicle accident victim in Parson town, Ireland.

If the national seat belt usage rate increases to 90 percent from the current 68 percent, it would prevent an estimated 5,536 fatalities, 132,670 injuries and save the nation $26 billion annually. THAT'S TAX PAYERS MONEY.

We all pay for those who do not wear seat belts. Countless studies have proven with irrefutable evidence that drivers and passengers sustain more severe injuries when they are not restrainded. The higher health care and insurance costs that result from unbelted drivers and passengers involved in crashes get passed along to everyone. Just for medical care, lost productivity, and other injury related costs, society annually pays an estimated $26 billion for motor vehicle injuries and deaths experienced by unbelted vehicle occupants. The costs of hospital care for an unbelted driver are 50 percent higher than those for a driver who was wearing a safety belt. Society bears 85 percent of those costs, not the individuals involved.

Seat belt or safety belt was 1st developed for a person ascending or descending a ladder or pole, its inventor Edward J. Clag horn was granted U.S. Patent 312085 on February 28, 1885.

The seat belts were introduced initially for aircraft, it was in 1913, by Adolph Pegoud, who became the first man to fly a plane upside-down. However, seat belts did not become common on aircraft until the 1930s.

In the 1940s SAAB incorporated aircraft safety thinking into automobiles making the Saab 92 the first production car first with a safety cage.

Ford Motor Company inculcated the idea of seat belt as standard equipment in its cars through an invention by Edward J. Hock. In 1955 his idea was accepted by the naval authorities as well, and Hock was awarded for his invention.

In 1958, the United Nations established the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations, an international standards body advancing auto safety. Many of the most life saving safety innovations, like seat belts and roll cage construction were brought to market under its auspices.

Nils Bohlin of Sweden invented the three point seat belt for Volvo, who introduced it in 1959 as standard equipment. Bohlin was granted U.S. Patent 3,043,625 for the device.

Most US automobiles were sold with front seat belts standard in the 1964 model year. Rear seat belts were made standard in 1968.

In 1966, the US established the United States Department of Transportation with automobile safety one of its purposes. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was created as an independent organization on April 1, 1967, but was reliant on the Department of Transportation for administration and funding. However, in 1975 the organization was made completely independent by the Independent Safety Board Act. According to the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), seatbelts reduce the risk of death for a front seat car occupant by about 50 percent.

The NTSB and its European equivalent, EuroNCAP have each issued independent safety tests for all new automobiles, without reciprocity.

Despite technological advances, the death toll of car accidents remains high: while this number increases annually in line with rising population and increased travel, however the rate per capita and per vehicle miles traveled decreases.

The seat belts were initially lap seat belts, the designed advanced further with time and now Volvo SCC has criss-cross Belt. The seat belts are of following types. 

The seat belts were initially lap seat belts, the designed advanced further with time and now Volvo SCC has criss cross Belt.

Lap: Adjustable strap that goes over the waist. Used frequently in older cars, now uncommon except in some rear middle seats. Passenger aircraft seats also use lap seat belts.

Two-point: A restraint system with two attachment points. A lap belt or (less commonly) diagonal belt (rare, common prior to the 1990s).

Automatic: Any seat belt that closes itself automatically. There is also a lap belt which should be fastened.

Sash: Adjustable strap that goes over the shoulder. Used mainly in the 1960s, but of limited benefit because it is very easy to slip out of in a collision.

Lap and Sash: Combination of the two above (two separate belts). Mainly used in the 1960s and 1970s. Generally superseded by three-point design.

Three-point: Similar to the lap and sash, but one single continuous length of webbing. Both three-point and lap-and-sash belts help spread out the energy of the moving body in a collision over the chest, pelvis, and shoulders. Until the 1980s three-point belts were commonly available only in the front seats of cars, the back seats having only lap belts. Evidence of the potential for lap belts to cause separation of the lumbar vertebrae and the sometimes associated paralysis, or "seat belt syndrome", has led to a revision of safety regulations in nearly all of the developed world requiring that all seats in a vehicle be equipped with three-point belts. By September 1, 2007, all new cars sold in the US will require a lap and shoulder belt in the center rear.

Criss Cross Belt: Experimental safety belt presented in the Volvo SCC. It forms a cross-brace across the chest.

The usage of seat belt also has its own history, it's now mandatory almost world wide. Now it is compulsory for the manufacturer to equip both cars as well as buses with seat belt at all location i.e. Driver seat, front seat, rear seats & all passenger seats in a bus.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automobile_safety
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seat-Belt
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SUV
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seat_belt_legislation
http://www.f150online.com/ 

The Prophet Idris (AS)

As a result of the efforts of the Prophet Sheth (peace be upon him) some people began to believe in Allah. As the time passed they began to worship the statue of their prophet. They became polytheists, irreligious and faithless. They adopted indecent ways of life. Under such circumstances Allah sent the Prophet Idris (peace be upon him) for the reformation and guidance of those who had gone astray. The Holy Quran makes mention of him in the following Verse:

"Commemorate Idris in the Book, verily he was a man of truth and a Prophet and We raised him to a lofty station." (Surah 19: Verse 56) 

PREACHING AND OPPOSITION

The Prophet Idris (peace be upon him) preached monotheism. He directed his people to abandon idol-worship. He emphasized them not to be captivated by the love of wealth and property. He advised them to abstain from drinking wine and other intoxicants. Only a few men paid heed to his teachings but majority of the people opposed him bitterly. The Prophet Idris (peace be upon him) did not lose heart and continued preaching with unshakeable constancy. He is appreciated for his firm faith and forbearance in the following Verses of the Holy Quran:

"All (Isma'il, Dhul-Kifl and Idris) were men of constancy and patience. We admitted them into Our mercy, for they were of the righteous ones." (Surah 21: Verse 85-86)

MIGRATION TO EGYPT

In spite of untiring efforts the Prophet Idris (peace be upon him) could not attain considerable success and felt disgusted with the indifferent attitude of the public. He was directed to migrate to Egypt and settle on the bank of the river Nile. He preached the religion of Allah among various tribes and admonished them to be good and civilized. Consequently he brought about a remarkable change in the moral and social life of the people.

SOME SAYINGS OF THE PROPHET IDRIS (AS)

His lectures were full of admonition and good advice. Some of his sayings are given below:

1. Do not feel jealous of the prosperity of others.
2. He who has unlimited desires, is deprived of the wealth of contentment.
3. One should be sincere in acts of devotion.
4. It is an act of grave sin to take false oaths.
5. Patience is a key to victory.
6. He who controls his passions, is fortunate. Only a good act will be a living intercessor before Allah on the Day of Judgment.
7. One who is desirous of attaining perfection in knowledge, should have no concern with immoral acts.

THE LEARNED PROPHET

The Prophet Idris (peace be upon him) was born one hundred years after the death of Prophet Adam (peace be upon him). He was the first man who learnt to write. It is said that thirty portions of Allah's sacred scriptures were revealed to him. He was the inventor of the science of astronomy and arithmetic.

DEATH EVENT

The Prophet Idris (peace be upon him) was taken alive to Heavens at the age of 365 years. Ibn Jarir relates in Rauzatul Ahbab that the Prophet Idris (peace be upon him) was the special friend of one of the angels of heaven. The angel took him up into the heavens and when they arrived in the fourth heaven, they met the Angel of Death. The angel questioned the Angel of Death how many years there were remaining of the life of the Prophet Idris (peace be upon him). The Angel of Death said: Where is Idris because I have been commanded to end his life. The Prophet Idris (peace be upon him) then remained in the fourth heaven and he died in the wings of his angel friend who had taken him from earth. Mutwaslah was one of his distinguished son who made his mark.