seasonsali

Great women of Islam

2012-01-25T20:41:00.000-08:00

Great women of Islam

by Xenia Y
greatwomenofislam-120125153114-phpapp01.pdfView Download

Infographic: Surviving the College Dining Hall

2012-01-24T22:54:00.000-08:00

Since people's eating habits tend to be worse during the winter, this would be a perfect time to share this resource.
Via: Online Universities Blog
by mail from Muhammad Saleem

For Your Heart Vein Opening

2012-01-23T10:26:00.000-08:00

heart.pdfView Download

Imaam Al-Shaafi'ee on the Importance of Learning Medicine

2012-01-23T09:44:00.000-08:00

Imaam al-Dhahabi wrote in Al-Tibb al-Nabawi (Dar Ihyaa al-Uloom, Beirut, pp. 228-229):

Chapter: Regarding the Encouragement of Teaching medicine His (alayhis salaatu was-salaam's) saying, "Allaah did not send down a disease except that it has a cure" has already preceded. We say: This (hadeeth) necessitates the mobilization the people's [lofty] concerns [for medicine] and incitement of (their) determinations to learn medicine. And it has already preceded that medicine is a skill. Imaam al-Shaafi'ee said, "I don't know of a knowledge more noble than medicine after the halaal and haraam." And he used to be concerned (and grieved) over what the Muslims had neglected of medicine, and he would say, "They have neglected one third of knowledge and have entrusted it to the Jews and Christians." And he used to say, "Indeed the Ahl al-Kitaab have dominated us with respect to medicine." And al-Shaafi'ee, alongside his greatness in the knowledge of the Sharee'ah, and his great skill in Arabic was also insightful in medicine. The writer (i.e. al-Dhahabi) says: And I have seen our Shaykh, Shaykh Ibraaheem al-Raqiyy to be insightful in medicine, and likewise our Shaykh, Shaykh Taqi al-Din Ibn Taymiyyah, and Shaykh Imaad al-Din al-Waasitee (rahimahullaau ta'aalaa) [were insightful in medicine]. Hippocrates and others have said, "Medicine is inspired by Allaah," and Hippocrates is the chief of this discipline. His school of thought regarding it is the sound, correct school of thought. He was followed therein by Galen who is the leading scholar of this discipline as well, and both of them are venerated a great deal by the physicians.

There are some nice benefits from this quote, from them:

That a Muslim should strive to educate himself about that in which his health and well-being lies and to be familiar with the foundations of medicine. A great starting point for this is to get a good basic grounding in biochemistry and nutrition. This ought to become common knowledge.
That the great Scholars of Islaam were insightful and knowledgeable of medicine, and from them Aa'ishah (radiallaahu anhaa), and likewise al-Shaafi'ee, Ibn Taymiyyah and others.
That there were from the Muslim scholars who grieved at the fact that the Muslims were not at the forefront of medicine and had left this discipline to others, being reliant on them with respect to it.
That Muslim Scholars acknowledge that the correct and sound madhhab (school of thought) with respect to medicine (as in its basic foundations) can be found in the teachings of Hippocrates and Galen.
Following on from the last point, that the core principle of medicine is founded upon healthy-eating and a healthy life-style, and as the saying goes, "food is medicine and medicine is food." The nature of one's diet and lifestyle also determines the type and nature of the diseases that one succumbs to. Simple natural, wholesome diets (offering wholesome nutrition) suited to locality and environment lead to simple diseases which are short-lived and resolve easily, and which can be treated with the simplest of (natural) medicines. Complex diets consisting of refined foods and what in reality cannot even be said to be food, not providing the required nutritional intake the body needs for it to function properly at the biochemical level, lead to complex, chronic (long-term) diseases, requiring complex interventions. Precaution in diet is the foundation of all medicine, and this is what all nations and civilizations and cultures affirmed (through centuries of experience), and each of them developed their own forms of Natural medicine upon this basic foundation.
Refer also to Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali's commentary on the hadeeth of Miqdaam (see this article), and also this article from Ibn al-Qayyim.

Source : http://www.healthymuslim.com/

Sumed Recipe Book

2012-01-22T23:12:00.000-08:00

Recipe Book
A french book of recipes, developed using our newest interface. Different navigation options are provided. Pages are streamed on demand.
Click Here
Source :http://www.flash-ebook.com/demos.html

BIOGRAPHY OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD (SAW)

2012-01-20T19:09:00.000-08:00

THE COMPLETE LIFE OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD ( SAW). A MUST WATCH DOCUMENTARY FOR MUSLIMS AND VERY INFORMATIVE FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE CONVERTED OR PLANNING TO CONVERT INTO ISLAM , TO KNOW THE LIFE OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD ( SAW)

Biography about Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ^Alayhi Wa Salam

:: The Life of Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu ^Alayhi Wa Salam)
Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu ^Alayhi Wa Salam) was a Prophet at age of 40 in Mecca.
He came with the holy book al-Qur’an.
He taught us about the good things to do, and to stay away from the bad things.
He taught us about the day of Judgment, Paradise and Hellfire.
He taught us about Allah, the messengers.
He taught us that Allah does not need anything and Allah does not look like anything.
He immigrated to al-Madina with abu Bakr, and died in al-Madina at age 63.
He spent 23 years delivering the message of Islam.
He was very patient on those who harmed him, so he teach them Islam.
He used to treat both, those who treat him good and treat him bad, with good manners.

:: The Family of Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu ^Alayhi Wa Salam)
The Mother of Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu ^Alayhi Wa Salam) is Aminah.
His Father is Abdullah.
His Grandfather Abdul-Muttalib.
His Great Grandfather is Hashim.
His Great-Great Grandfather is Abdu-Manaf.
He was from the tribe of Quraysh.
He is the best of all creations.
He was raised by his Grandfather Abdul-Muttalib.
He was an Orphan, his mother died when he was 6 years old.
He is the most beautiful prophet of All.
:: Teachins of Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu ^Alayhi Wa Salam)
Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu ^Alayhi Wa Salam) is the last of all messengers.
He is the slave of Allah and the best of all messengers.
He was born in Mecca in the year of alfeel, known as the year of Elephant.
He is the slave of Allah sent to both, Humans an Jinn.
He was born on Monday 12th of Rabi^ al-Awwal according to Islamic calendar.
He taught us that all prophets and messengers were Muslims worshipping Allah.
He was truthful in everything that he conveyed about Allah and the hereafter.
He taught us that Allah does not need anything and that Allah does not look like anything.
He died in al-Madinah and was buried there in the chamber lady ^aishah.
We Love Sallallahu ^Alayhi Wa Salam, May Peace and Blessing be Upon him.
Prophet Muhammad (SAW)
HOLY NAMES
Muhammad
Ahmed
Hamid
Mahmood
Mahi
Hashir
Aaqib
HOLY BIRTH
Islamic Dates/Day/Time/Place
12th Rabbi-ul-Awwal, Monday, Early in the morning (before sun rise) at Holy MAKKAH
or
English date/year
17th June 569. A.D
or
Hindi date date/year
1st of jaaith 3672 kul jug
or
Other Dates
1st year of elephant. (on 40th day after elephant event) 2675th year to Prophet Noah’s flood 2585th year to Prophet Ibrahimi year
DEATH
12th Rabbi-ul-Awwal 11 hijrah, 23 Nabvi, 8th June, 632 A.D, At the time of chast (after sun rise) In Madina munawwarah
In the house of Bibi Ayesha R.A. Burried in the house of bibi Ayesha R.A
Grave exactly where died in the room.
LIFE SPAN Total Life Span
63 years +0 month+4days+6 hours or
total 22330 days or total 535924 hours
Stay in Holy Makkah – 53 years
Stay in Holy Madina – 10 years

Garlic, Honey and Apple Cider Vinegar: Must Have Excellent Home Remedy

2012-01-16T19:56:00.000-08:00

This is an excellent home remedy that you want to keep available at all times in your home. It's great as a preventative and for maintaining good health. There are some variations to this with the addition of other ingredients such as ginger, or cayenne pepper. The base mixture includes the three main ingredients of garlic, apple cider vinegar and honey. Each of these three ingredients have individual benefits on their own and in this mixture, a synergistic effect enhances the properties of each.
The apple cider vinegar must be unfiltered and the honey must be raw, unpasteurised (and preferably organic) honey for all the benefits to be realised. One of the main reasons honey is pasteurised is to speed up the packaging process (heating makes it flow much quicker) - so pretty much all honeys from supermarkets will be unsuitable.
This remedy is an immune stimulant, it lowers blood pressure as well as cholesterol (if you are someone who still believes in that hypothesis), it leads to fewer colds and infections, and is helpful in conditions such as gout, arthritis, and joint aches. It is also a good tonic for the digestive tract and benefits the skin, and is helpful in weight loss. In short, it is beneficial for a wide range of conditions as it is a general immune stimulant and enhancer. You can read the numerous articles on garlic, honey and vinegar elsewhere on this site.

Ingredients

8 cloves of fresh garlic
1 cup (200ml) of unfiltered, unpasteurised organic apple cider vinegar
1 cup (200ml) of raw, unpasteurised honey
Small piece of ginger (this is optional)

Instructions
Mix all the ingredients into a blender and mix at high speed for 45-60 seconds. Alternatively, you can put the garlic in first, blend well so it becomes fine - or you can use a garlic crusher instead - and then place in the blender, then mix in the honey and apple cider vinegar and blend for another 10-15 seconds seconds.
Then pour into a glass jar or container (sealable) and leave in the refrigerator for five days, with the occasional stir every day. After five days the mixture is ready.

Variations
There are other things that can be included. You can added a small amount of ginger (one or two inch length), you just put it in the blender with the garlic, and some cayenne pepper (one small to medium sized pepper) can also be added.
Dosage
The normal dosage is 2 tsp in a glass of water, daily, first thing in the morning. The mixture is very strong, and should not be taken directly.
Source : http://www.healthymuslim.com

10 Things that May Get Extinct Within Our Lives

2012-01-15T22:33:00.000-08:00

Human race has been evolving from day to day. There are things that were so much being used in past and now no one even knows about them. This evolution has made us forget so many things. A present day child would not know what is a telegram? or how a gramophone works? May be a few of us have not even seen a cycle with the front wheel being twice the size of the rear wheels. All these things have become so much out dated that we get to see them in only books or, for that matter, in museums.
We list some of the things that might get extinct in our own lives. Our off springs would be told about them but hopefully they would not get to see them in real. Whether these changes are good or bad depends in part on how we adapt to them. But, ready or not, here they come

1. Post office

A post office is the head quarter where all the postal services are dealt with. These services, given by the government for the citizens, include posting, receipt, transmission or delivery of mail. In olden days, post was the prime method of communication between two distant entities. Due to the advancement in electronic media and the advantages it gives, the usage of postage is already at a low. And since the mail is being discouraged (and emails making their way) soon it will be thought that post offices should be discontinued and the space and the man power should be used elsewhere.

2. Cheques

Ever used a cheque? Majority of us have had. But what for those who have never used a cheque ever? They are surviving good as well. The question is how they are surviving when cheques were an integral part of our payment structures. The answer is they are shifting to ATM cards and online backing. Most of the banks today have already shifted to the online system and people can use the internet and the web portal provided by the bank to make payments. Needless to mention that the online system does not make us wait until the cheque gets cleared from the bank.

3. Land line phones

‘Land line phones’ or ‘land line phone connections’ are phone connections that are given by the local telecommunication authorities. There was a time when only a few of the citizens were using this facility. Then came a time when almost every home had a phone line. But due to the introduction of mobile phones, the usage of the land line phones has decreased significantly. Also the demand of every one for being online always and the privacy required by every individual, mobile phones are replacing landline at a rapid speed.

4. CDs and Tapes

Tapes replaced the old records, CDs replaced the tapes and then DVDs replaced the CDS. Putting CDs and DVDs in one category, this medium of data storage ruled for almost 2 decades. Be it audio or video, CDs and DVDs replaced the magnetic tapes almost everywhere. Now at present day, already CDs and DVDs are being discouraged and flash memory is on the rise. How long would it take before CDs go extinct? Just a matter of years now!

5. Wrist watches/Diaries

Mobile phones affected the land line phones, talked on that topic already. What other things we DO NOT need to carry once we are carrying our cell phone? The facilities a normal cell phone has include a clock for sure. Why carry a watch then? Most of the people around have already stopped wearing a watch, especially the ones who used a watch just for checking the time (not as a symbol). The same goes with diaries as well. Most of us save out contacts and address in the cell phones. Who needs a separate book for that now?

Please Click To Read more : 10 Things that May Get Extinct Within Our Lives

Source : http://www.smashinglists.com/

"PARADISE IS AT THE FEET OF THE MOTHERS"

2012-01-14T07:10:00.000-08:00

The teachings of the Holy Qur'an for the Child to follow during his life is: "Your Lord (Allah) has ordained that you should worship none except Him and show kindness to parents. If one of them or both of them attain to old age with you, say not 'Fie' unto them nor reproach them but speak to them a gracious word. And lower unto them the wing of submission through mercy (defer humbly to them out of tenderness) and pray: My Lord, have mercy on them both as they nurtured me when I was little." (Qur'an 17:23-24)

"And we (Allah) have enjoined upon man (to be good) to his parents: His mother bears him in weakness upon weakness.." Qur'an 31:14)

"We have enjoined on man kindness to his parents: In pain did his mother bear him, and in pain did she give him birth.." (Qur'an 46:59)

The story of a beautiful woman-”Just go, there is nothing wrong with this marriage”

2012-01-13T02:13:00.000-08:00

Just go, there is nothing wrong with this marriage

There was this beautiful woman, who wanted to get married, but she wanted a very pious husband, so she said that she’ll marry the man who recites the whole Quran every single day, fasts for the whole year and stays awake and worships Allah all throughout the night.

She was a very beautiful woman, and a lot of suitors wanted to marry her, but they knew they couldn’t fulfil the conditions she set. Until this one man stepped forward and said he could fulfil them. So the Imam got both of them married.

After the first night of the marriage, the wife sees that the husband doesn’t recite the whole of the Quran, nor does he fast, nor does he stay awake in the worship of Allah, she decided to let it roll on for a few weeks to see if there were any changes, there weren’t, so she filed a complaint and asked for a divorce.

They are both taken in front of the judge, and the judge asked, ‘What were the conditions of the marriage?’ the man replied ‘They were for me to recite the whole Quran daily, keep fast for the whole year and to worship Allah all throughout the night.’

The Judge asked, ‘ did you fulfil them?

The man calmly answered, ‘…yes.’

The judge answers, ‘you lie, your wife has said that you don’t, that’s why she’s asking for a divorce’.

But the man insisted that he had fulfilled the conditions, so the judge asked, ‘did you recite the full Quran everyday?’

The man answered yes.

The Judge, baffled asked, ‘how? How can you do that?’

The man coolly answered, ‘I recite Surah Ikhlas three times a day and according to Prophet Muhammad (saw), reciting Surah Ikhlas three times is equivalent to reciting the whole Quran.’

[Hadith

Narrated Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri: A man heard another man reciting: Surat-ul-Ikhlas (The Unity) 'Say: He is Allah, the One (112) and he was repeating it. The next morning he came to Allah's Apostle and mentioned the whole story to him as if he regarded the recitation of that Sura as insufficient On that, Allah's Apostle said, "By Him in Whose Hand my soul is! That (Sura No. 112) equals one-third of the Qur'an." Bukhari (Book #78, Hadith #638)]

The Judge was intrigued, so he asked, ‘how did you fast the whole year?’

The man answered,

‘ I fasted for the whole month of Ramadan, then kept another six fasts in the month of Shawwal, according to Prophet Muhammad (saw), keeping all of the fast of Ramadan then keeping six fasts in the month of Shawwal, is as if you have fasted for the whole year.’

Hadith
	[Abu Ayyub al-Ansari (Allah be pleased with him) reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: He who observed the fast of Ramadan and then followed it with six (fasts) of Shawwal. it would be as if he fasted perpetually.]Hadith 2614-Sahih Muslim

The Judge remained silent, he couldn’t give a reply saying the man was wrong, so finally he asked, ‘ how did you stay awake all night and worship Allah, when your wife saw you sleeping?’

The Judge thought the man wouldn’t be able to answer this one, but the man, cool as a cucumber answered,

‘I prayed Salatul Isha with jamaat, then the next day prayed Salatul Fajr with jamaat, according to Prophet Muhammad (saw), the one who prays Salatul Isha and Salatul Fajr with jamaat, it is as if he had stayed up all night worshipping Allah.’

[Hadith: Uthman bin `Affan (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) saying: "One who performs `Isha' prayer in congregation, is as if he has performed Salat for half of the night. And one who performs the Fajr prayer in congregation, is as if he has performed Salat the whole night.''

[Muslim]
The narration of At-Tirmidhi says: `Uthman bin Affan (May Allah be pleased with him) narrated that he had heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) saying: “He who attends `Isha’ in congregation, is as if he has performed Salat for half of the night; and he who attends `Isha’ and Fajr prayers in congregation, is as if he has performed Salat for the whole night.”
Commentary: This Hadith tells us that the reward of performing `Isha’ and Fajr prayers in congregation is so great that it equals the worship of the whole night.]

The Judge sat there looking at the man; the final verdict was about to be released…

He said to the man and his wife, ‘…go, just go, there is nothing wrong with this marriage’…

Source : http://reflections4muslimahs.blogspot.com

T A S M I Y A * Naming Your Newborn

2012-01-12T07:24:00.000-08:00

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barkatuh!

* T A S M I Y A *
Naming Your Newborn

This article is based on answers by prominent scholars like, Shaikh Muhammad Ibn Saalih al-Uthaymeen (Majmoo Fataawa wa Rasa’il Fadeelat), Shaykh Bakr Abu Zayd (Mu’jam al-Manaahi al-Lafziyyah), Shaykh Abd al-Aziz Ibn Abdullah Ibn Baaz (Kitaab Majmoo Fataawa wa Maqaalaat Mutanawwi’ah li Samaahat), Shaikh Muhammad S. Al-Munajjad and others.

* T A S M I Y A *
Naming Your Newborn

This article is based on answers by prominent scholars like, Shaikh Muhammad Ibn Saalih al-Uthaymeen (Majmoo Fataawa wa Rasa’il Fadeelat), Shaykh Bakr Abu Zayd (Mu’jam al-Manaahi al-Lafziyyah), Shaykh Abd al-Aziz Ibn Abdullah Ibn Baaz (Kitaab Majmoo Fataawa wa Maqaalaat Mutanawwi’ah li Samaahat), Shaikh Muhammad S. Al-Munajjad and others.

Do names effect the child’s character?

Names do not have any effect on the child’s character or personality, except that the meaning of the name would inspire him, when he grows old enough to understand its meaning and indication. A good and pleasant name would motivate the person to do good acts and inspire him strength and honor, since he is repeatedly called by it.
For example, if the child is named ‘Abdullah‘ meaning ‘a slave of Allah‘; his name will make him realize and keep him aware of his servitude to Allah. He will understand his true role and the purpose of life. Likewise, if he is named after the Khalifah Uthmaan Ibn Affan; the character, qualities and actions of Uthmaan Ibn Affan (radhiyallahu anhu) would influence him. It might even lead him to perform actions, which befit his name and prevent those, which conflict its character. Similar is the case with unpleasant names, which denote bad qualities and actions. A bad name might even provoke the person to do evil!!
Before you decide a name for your child, it is good to consider some important details. Know that the name, which you decide for your child will stay with him all through his life, therefore the name you choose should not embarrass or humiliate his personality.
You should bear in mind the different stages of life and give him a name which would sound good as a child, a youth, an adult, a father, etc. and how it would suit the father to be called as, ‘Abu foolan’ meaning, ‘Father of so and so.’ Because a name which causes embarrassment or discomfort might be a cause of bad feelings of the child towards his parents.

When should the child be named?

Allah’s Messenger (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam) said: “Every child is held in pledge for his Aqeeqah which is sacrificed for him on his seventh day, and he is named on it and his head is shaved.” [(Saheeh) by Shaikh al-Albanee (1165) Abu Dawood (vol: 2, no: 2831) and others]
Another narration in this aspect is related by Anas (radhiallahu anhu), who said: ‘Allah’s Messenger (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam) said: “A boy was born to me this night and I have given him the name of my forefather Ibraheem.” [Saheeh Muslim (4/ 5733)]
In light of these Ahaadeeth we understand that the child can be named on the first day of his birth or it can be delayed until the seventh day. However, what is recommended is to name the child on the seventh day, as such is related in the saying of Allah’s Messenger r. Regarding the Hadeeth which mentions the Prophet’s practice is taken as an evidence to prove that the child can be named before the seventh day.

Who should name the child?

It is the right of the father to choose and name the child because the child will be ascribed and attributed to him (so and so, son/daughter of so and so). But it is Mustahabb (recommended) for the father to consult and involve his wife in the decision. It is also permissible to allow the grandparents or someone else to name the child, since this is also confirmed in the Sunnah.
Anas Ibn Malik (radhiallahu anhu) narrates in a long Hadeeth that Allah’s Messenger (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam) named the son of Abu Talha, he said: “..The Prophet took a date, chewed it, took some of it out of his mouth, put it into the child’s mouth and did Tahnik for him with that, and named him Abdullah.” [Saheeh al-Bukharee (7/379)]
Allah’s Messenger (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam) also named his grandchildren; the children of Fatimah. [Reported by Imaam al-Bukharee in Adaab al-Mufrad. Saheeh according to al-Haafidh al-Isaabah (4/450)]

RECOMMENDED NAMES (MUSTAHAB)

1. Names that indicate servitude to Allah
A name with the first word Abd (slave) followed by any Name of Allah (which is established in the Qur’aan and the Sunnah) This indicates servitude to Allah, for e.g. Abd al-Ilaah means ‘slave of the One True Lord’ Abd al-Ghafoor, Abd al-Lateef, Abd al-Azeez, Abd al-Raheem, Abd al-Malik, etc. However, the best names in this category is ‘Abd-Allaah’ (the slave of Allah) and ‘Abd al-Rahmaan’ (the slave of the Rahmaan) as it was reported that..
The Prophet (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam) said:

“The most beloved of names to Allah are ‘Abd-Allah and ‘Abd al-Rahmaan.”
[Saheeh Muslim (1398)]

It is forbidden to use a name which is not known to be from the Perfect Names of Allah , like Abd al-Mawjood (the slave of the Present One), Abd al-Sattar, etc. This is because Allah’s Names cannot be confirmed without an authentic text from the Qur’aan or the Sunnah. By doing so, we would end up giving Names to Allah, which are not affirmed for Him.

Note: It is Makrooh to use any word with the name of Allah except ‘Abd’, like ‘Rahmat Allah’ (the Blessings of Allah).

2. Names of Prophets and Messengers
The second priority is given to the names of the Prophets and Messenger. Amongst them, first comes the name of our Messenger, Muhammad (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam). (Ahmad is also one of his names).
Allah’s Messenger (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam) said: “You may name with my name.” [Saheeh al-Bukharee (8/206) and Saheeh Muslim (3/53254)]
Then next are the ‘Messengers of strong will’ [Soorah al-Ahqaaf (46): 35] namely, Ibraheem, Moosa, Eesa and Nooh, then the rest of the Prophets (alaihim as-salaam).
Allah’s Messenger (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam) himself followed this principle and named his son after Ibraheem (alaihis-salaam), he said: “A son was born to me this night and I called him after my forefather, Ibraheem.” [Saheeh Muslim (4/5733)]

3. Names of righteous slaves of Allah
The Sahabah (the Companions of Allah’s Messenger (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam)), the Shuhadah (Martyrs) and the Ulama (Scholars). Above all are the Sahabah (radhiyallahu anhu); it is Mustahabb (preferable) to name after them, hoping to follow their example, attaining righteousness and high status.

4. Any good name
The last category suggests those good names, which have a good and pleasant meaning, and are easily pronounced. Examples of such names are Khalid, Usaamah and for girls are Sarah, Su’ad, etc.

FORBIDDEN NAMES (HARAAM)

This category includes Haraam names; therefore anyone who has any of these names is obliged to change it.

1. Names indicating servitude to other than Allah.
Islam forbids worshiping anyone or anything other than Allah, therefore any name, which shows any servitude to anybody except Allah must be avoided, whether it be Prophets, Angels or a leader, like Abd al-Rasool (slave of the Messenger), Abd an-Nabi (slave of the Prophet), or Abd Al-Ameer (slave of the prince).
The great Sahabee (Companion of Allah’s Messenger (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam)), Abd al-Rahmaan Ibn Awf (radhiallahu anhu) said: “My name was Abd Amr – or according to one report, Abd al-Ka’bah and when I became Muslim, the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam) called me ‘Abd al-Rahmaan.” [Narrated by al-Haakim (3/306)]
Also, Haani’ Ibn Yazeed (radhiallahu anhu) said: “A delegation came to the Prophet (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam) and he heard them calling someone ‘Abd al-Hajar (slave of the stone). He asked him: ‘What is your name?” and he said, ‘Abd al-Hajar.’ He said, “No, you are Abd-Allaah (the slave of Allah).’” [See Al-Mawsoo'ah al-Fiqhiyyah (11/335)]
It is mentioned in Kashshaaf al-Qinaa’: “They (the scholars) agreed that every name which implies enslavement to anything other than Allaah is forbidden (Haraam), such as ‘Abd al-’Uzza, ‘Abd ‘Amr, ‘Abd ‘Ali, ‘Abd al-Ka’bah, and any other similar names, such as ‘Abd al-Nabi (slave of the Prophet), ‘Abd al-Husayn, ‘Abd al-Maseeh (slave of the Messiah).” [Haashiyat Ibn Aabideen 5/268; Mughni al-Muhtaaj, 4/295; Tuhfat al-Muhtaaj, 10/373; Kashshaaf al-Qinaa', 3/27]

2. Names befitting Allah Alone

According to the consensus of the scholars..
names which are particular to Allah alone are Haraam to be used,
like al-Quddoos (the Most Holy), al-Khaliq (the Creator), al-Raaziq (the Provider), al-Rabb (the Lord), al-Rahmaan (the Most Merciful), etc.,
Also names, which are Attributes of Allah alone, like Malik al-Mulook (King of kings), al-Qaahir (the Subduer), etc.
because Allah says: “Do you know of any who is similar to Him?” [Soorah Maryam (19): 65]
The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam) said: ‘The most despised name with Allah on the Day of Resurrection will be a man called Malik al-Mulook.” [Saheeh al-Bukharee]
According to a report in Saheeh Muslim, he (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam) said: “The man who will be most deserving of Allah’s anger and most evil on the Day of Resurrection will be a man who was called Malik al-Amlaak. There is no King except Allah.”
It is also forbidden to use names, which befit no one except the Prophet, (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam) such as Rahmat lil-Alameen (Mercy for the world), Sayyid Walad Adam (master of the sons of Adam), Sayyid al-Naas (master of mankind), Sayyid al-Kull (master of all)etc. because these names befit no one except him.

3 . Names, which exclusively belong to the Kuffar
Foreign names, which have no basis in the Arabic and are particular to the Kuffar and other names, which denote religions of Kufr are all forbidden. Such is because these names cause imitating the Kuffar and might sooner or later create a feeling of closeness and love for them.
The temptation to use such names is very strong in our time, but this is a big sin and a sign of humiliation and defeat – It is imitating the Kuffar. If taking their names is due to whims and desires, then no doubt, it is a major sin.
And the person should be reminded the Hadeeth of Allah’s Messenger (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam) said: “He who imitates a people is one of them.” [Saheeh al-Bukharee] and if using such names is because one actually believes that these names are better than the Muslim names, then this will take him away from Islam!
In either case, the person who has done this must hasten to repent. (changing the name is a condition of repentance)

4. Names of Idols and false gods are all Haraam.
UNDESIRED NAMES (MAKROOH)
The following types of names are Makrooh meaning undesired, if somebody has one of them, he should change it. But if it is difficult for him to do so, then he is not obliged.
(a) Names, which are too soft, charming or have provocative meaning, especially for the girls, like Ghaadah (delicate young woman), Huyaam (one passionately in love), Shaadiyah (female singer), etc.
(b) Names of immoral people, such as singers and actors. This is a sign of foolishness and lack of pride in one’s faith, which is often seen when a particular show or a movie becomes famous, people compete with one another to name their newborns after these women and actors.
If these people have names carrying good meanings, then it is permissible to use them, but not in their imitation but for the good meaning!
(c) Names, which convey any kind of sin or refer to sinners and tyrants, like ‘Saariq’ (thief) or ‘Zaalim’ (wrongdoer), Fir’awn, Haamaan, Qaroon, etc. It is also forbidden to use names of devils (shayaateen), such as Khanzab, al-Walhaan, al-A’war and al-Ajda’
(d) Names of animals, which are well known for their undesirable characteristics, such as al-Himaar (donkey), al-Kalb (dog), al-Qird (monkey), etc.
In the previous times, the Arabs would call their children by names of animals but it was only because of the good qualities found in those animals, and this was the desired meaning. So, when they used the name Kalb (dog), it was because of the dog’s alertness and ability to work hard; when they used the name Himaar (donkey), it was because of the donkey’s patience and forbearance, and so on..
(e) Names with ugly and undesirable meaning, which might sound odd and provoke others to make fun of the person and cause him embarrassment, like ‘Harb’ (war), Sahaam (summer heat). Using such names is against the teachings of the Prophet (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam), who taught us to use beautiful names,

He (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam) said:
“On the day of Resurrection you will be called by your names and your fathers names, so make your names good.”
[Musnad Ahmad (5/194).
It's isnaad is declared 'Hasan' (good) by Imaam an-Nawawi and Ibn al-Qayyim. However, it was declared weak by Shaikh al-Albanee and others]
(f) Any name, which is added to the word ‘Deen’ or ‘Islam’ (i.e., names which appear in idaafah genitive construction with these words) such as Noor al-Deen (light of the religion), Shams al-Deen (sun of the religion), Sayf al-Islam (Sword of Islam), Imaam ad-Deen (Imaam of the Religion), etc. because of the great status attached to these two words and also because such names give a person more than what he deserves. Therefore, some scholars ruled it Haraam, while majority say it is Makrooh.
This practice of using the words ‘Deen’ and ‘Islam’ along with one’s name was started with giving such titles to learned men. Later people started using them as first names.
Shaikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (rahimahullah) was known as ‘Taqiy al-Deen’ (piety of the religion), he disliked it and he would say: “But my family gave me this nickname and it became well-known.” Similarly, Imaam an-Nawawi (rahimahullah) disliked his nickname ‘Muhiy al-Deen’ (reviver of the religion).
(g) Names of Angels – It is disliked to use the names of Angels, particularly for girls because it implies imitation of the Mushrikeen, who considered Angels as daughters of Allaah. (Na’aodhu billah).
(h) Names of Qur’aanic Soorahs, such as Ta-Ha and Yaa-Seen because these words are al-Huroof al-Muqatta’ah (letters which appear at the beginning of some Soorahs and their meaning is known to Allaah Alone)
[See Tuhfat al-Mawdood by Ibn al-Qayyim (rahimahullah), p 109] (The notion that Ya-Seen and Ta-Ha are names of the Prophet (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam) is false.)

Source: AHYA.ORG – Authentic Islamic Resources and Information

Received via email sent by Umm Safoora

http://xeniagreekmuslimah.wordpress.com/

Islamic Reflections

2012-01-10T20:18:00.000-08:00

Narrated Abu Huraira(r.a.) :

The Prophet (p.b.u.h) said,

“The best charity is that which is practiced by a wealthy person. And start giving first to your dependents.”

Bukhari (Book #24, Hadith #507)

Source : http://xeniagreekmuslimah.wordpress.com/

I wish my patients could see what I see

2012-01-10T08:39:00.000-08:00

Drsonnet Sonnet Cardiology specialist

So, what is it that I see? I see a 30-year old diabetic who is overweight and out of shape. His blood pressure is high, his cholesterol is high and he is high on life with his family and work. He has no time to take care of himself. He does not respect diabetes. He doesn’t fear it. He will take care of it “one day.” I know what’s coming. I can see his future. How? Read more at

I wish my patients could see what I see

300 SCIENTIFIC SITES

Source : Broken Heart Syndrome

Source : http://tabibqulob.blogspot.com/2012/01/i-wish-my-patients-could-see-what-i-see.html

THE MOSQUE-ITS UNDERESTIMATE USE

2012-01-09T10:33:00.000-08:00

by mthago

When the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w reached Quba on his historic journey to Medina, he stopped for some days in Quba. During the few days he was in Quba the Prophet s.a.w built a mosque and when he reached Medina, among the first thing that he did, he build a mosque which was later named as the Prophet mosque. Prophet s.a.w bought the lands from two orphans and together with the Sahabah, the Prophet s.a.w built the mosque. The mosque was a simple mosque with the pillars of the mosques was made from the trunk of the date trees and the roofs were made from date leaves. Although the mosque was simple but the mosques are full of activities twenty four hours daily. We have to make the activities in our mosques like the activities of the Prophet mosques at the time of the Prophet s.a.w. The activities that were carried out in the Prophet mosque have to be followed by Muslims until doomsday. The actions of the Prophet s.a.w have clearly indicated to us that the activities that are carried out in the mosque are more important than the building of the mosque. The building is like the body but the activities of the mosque are like the soul and the minds of the body. Without the correct activities carried out in the mosque, the mosque will be just like a body without soul and mind. In other words the mosque is like a dead body. What is important is the soul of the mosque, which is the activities that are carried out in the mosque, like the activities carried out at the time of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w

Are our mosque like the mosque of the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w in term of its activities or otherwise. Nowadays Muslims built very beautiful mosques and some mosques are built like a palace and its maintenance can reached to hundred of thousands of dollars in a month. Muslims as well as non-Muslims visits the mosques to look at its splendour and grandeur. The mosques have become a centre of attractions for tourists. Even the Muslims who visited the mosque may not even remember to pray solat in respect of the mosque, because they are so attracted to the beauty of the mosques. Nowadays mosques are lacking the soul and mind and the mosque are like the dead body. When anyone visits a person who is alive, he or she may gain benefit from his visit to that person, but in case the person is dead, the visits are only to pay respect to the dead person. Similarly the visits of Muslims nowadays to the mosque are like visiting a dead person. At the times of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w the mosque was full with activities .The mosque was like a man with body, mind and soul. The mosque was full of activities even during the early hours of the day. The sahabah takes turn to come to the mosques and participates in the activities of the mosques. Each one of the sahabah regards themselves as the worker of the mosques and each one is willing to spare sometime in the day and in the night in making the mosques full of activities twenty four hours daily.

When the mosques are full of activities, the mosques are like a person having mind, body and soul. Anyone who comes to the mosques with a dead soul and mind will find their soul and mind to be rejuvenated. When a person with a dead soul and mind comes to the mosques and participated with the activities of the mosques, their soul and minds will become alive. Their soul and minds will start to become fresh and shining. Now we have many mosques but all our mosques are like a dead person. Any one with a dead soul and minds go the mosques their souls and mind are not rejuvenated and they come out of the mosques having the same soul and mind as he or she has entered the mosques. We have not making use of the mosques to harness human potentials. We have not making use of the mosques to correct our belief and minds. We have not making use of the mosques to produce the best Muslims. We only built beautiful mosques that cost us millions of dollars and we have not used the mosques to its utmost potential as a means to produce the best Muslims .The Prophet mosque at the times of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w, was a very simple mosques and cost them little money to built but the mosques was full of activities twenty four hours daily and they produced out of that mosques such personalities like Hazrat Abu Bakar ,Hazrat Umar and many others that the world has never produced before and probably will never produce in the future.

We are Muslims and we have the Prophet s.a.w as our example. When we want to built a community that is obedience to commandments of Allah, we have to start with the mosques. We have to make our mosques full with activities like the Prophet s.a.w mosque at the times of the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. The mosques of the Prophet s.a.w were full with activities twenty four hours daily, because the amal of dakwah is alive while our mosques are not full with activities because the amal of dakwah like the way the Prophet s.a.w are not alive in our mosques. We think by having lectures in the mosques we are already doing the work of dakwah. We organised daily lectures in the mosques between magrib and Isyha and we expect the Muslims in the locality will come to hear the lectures. Only some of those who come to the mosque for magrib solat will listen to the lecture. We really do not know how to market our religion. By only organising daily lectures in the mosques is not marketing. We do not do any marketing about Islam and we expect the non-Muslims will come to Islam. No matter how good the product is, without marketing the sales of the product will be down. Dakwah is the way how to market Islam to the non-Muslims. We have to visit Muslims in our locality, and remind them about Allah and the orders of Allah and ask them to do the work of dakwah and to perform solat with congregation in the mosques. We have to visit the non-Muslims in our locality and invite them to embraced Islam. We have to ask all the Muslims in our locality to do marketing about Islam in the locality. When the number of Muslims doing the work of dakwah increases the number of Muslims that come to the mosques for prayer also increases. We can organise the Muslims in the locality to spend time in the mosque turn by turn and in this way the mosques will be full of activities twenty four hours daily.

When our mosques are full with amal or activities twenty four hours daily, then our mosques will becomes like the mosques of the Prophet s.a.w at the time of the Prophet s.a.w. Our mosques will have the radiance of light that will penetrate the heart of those who comes to our mosques. Muslims or non-Muslims who enter our mosques will be affected by the radiance of light that comes from the various amal in the mosques and Muslims will come out of the mosques with increase iman and understanding of Islam and the non-Muslims will come out of the mosques as Muslims. In this way we are making use of our mosques correctly and we will have good and quality citizen.
Dr.Nasoha Saabin
March 2010
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Source : http://mthago.wordpress.com/2010/03/27/the-mosque-its-underestimate-use/

History – The mosque in Islamic religion – All About Mosque

2012-01-09T10:21:00.000-08:00

History

Grand entryways and tall towers, or minarets, have long been and continue to be closely associated with mosques. However, the first three mosques were very simple open spaces on the Arabian Peninsula. Mosques evolved significantly over the next 1,000 years, acquiring their now-distinctive features and adapting to cultures around the world.
Advertiser links for Islam
The First Mosques
According to Islamic beliefs, the first mosque in the world was the Kaaba, whose existing foundation was raised up by Abraham, assisted by his son Ismail, upon an order from God. The site of the Kaaba is also believed to be the place where a tent was erected by angels for Adam and Eve to use for worship. The oldest mosque built by Muslims is the Quba Mosque in Medina. When Muhammad lived in Mecca, he viewed Kaaba as his first and principal mosque and performed prayers there together with his followers.
Even during times when the pagan Arabs performed their rituals inside the Kaaba, Muhammad always held the Kaaba in very high esteem. The Meccan tribe of Quraish, which was responsible for guarding Kaaba, attempted to exclude Muhammad’s followers from the sanctuary, which became a subject of Muslim complaints recorded in the Qur’an. When Muhammad conquered Mecca in 630, he converted Kaaba to a mosque, which has since become known as the Masjid al-Haram, or Sacred Mosque. The Masjid al-Haram was significantly expanded and improved in the early centuries of Islam in order to accommodate the increasing number of Muslims who either lived in the area or made the annual Hajj, or pilgrimage, to Mecca, before it acquired its present shape in 1577 in the reign of the Ottoman sultan Selim II.
The first thing Muhammad did upon arriving with his followers near Medina (then named Yathrib) after the emigration from Mecca in 622 was build the Quba Mosque in a village outside Medina. Muslims believe he stayed at the Quba Masjid for three days before moving on to Medina.
Just days after beginning work on the Quba Mosque, Muhammad went on to establish another masjid in Medina, known today as the Masjid al-Nabawi, or the “prophet’s” Masjid. The location of the mosque was declared as such after it hosted Muhammad’s first Friday prayer. Following its establishment, the Masjid al-Nabawi continued to introduce some of the practices now considered common in today’s mosques. For example, the adhan, or call to prayer, was developed in the form still used in masjids today. The Masjid al-Nabawi was built with a large courtyard, a motif common among mosques built since then. Muhammad would stand up at one end of the arcade to preach. Later on, he would develop a three-step pulpit as a platform from which he would give sermons. The pulpit, now known as a minbar, is still a common feature of masjids.

Muhammad lived beside the masjid in Medina, which doubled as both a religious and political center for the early Muslim community. Negotiations were conducted, military actions planned, prisoners of war held, disputes settled, religious information disseminated, gifts received and distributed among his companions. His followers treated the wounded there and some people even lived in the mosque permanently in tents and huts.
Today, the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, the Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina and Al Aqsa in Jerusalem are considered the three holiest sites in Islam.
Diffusion and evolution
Mosques were built outside the Arabian Peninsula as Muslims moved to other parts of the world. Egypt became occupied by Muslim Arabs as early as 640, and since then so many mosques have appeared throughout the country that its capital city, Cairo, has acquired the nickname of city of a thousand minarets. Egyptian mosques vary in amenities, as some have Islamic schools (madrassas) while others have hospitals or tombs. Mosques in Sicily and Spain do not primarily reflect the architecture of Visigothic predecessors, but instead reflect the architecture introduced by the Muslim Moors. It is hypothesized, however, that there were some elements of pre-Islamic architecture which were Islamicized into Andalusi and Maghribi architecture, for example, the distinctive horseshoe arch.
The first Chinese mosque was established in the eighth century in Xi’an. The Great Mosque of Xi’an, whose current building dates from the eighteenth century, does not replicate many of the features often associated with traditional mosques. Instead, it follows traditional Chinese architecture. It is distinguished from other building by its green roof (Buddhist temples are often built with a yellow roof). Mosques in western China incorporate more of the elements seen in mosques in other parts of the world. Western Chinese mosques were more likely to incorporate minarets and domes while eastern Chinese mosques were more likely to look like pagodas.
Mosques diffused into India during the reign of the Mughal empire in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The Mughals brought their own form of architecture that included pointed, onion-shaped domes, as seen in Delhi’s Jama Masjid.
Mosques first arrived in the Ottoman Empire (mostly present-day Turkey) during the eleventh century, when many of the Turks in the region began to convert to Islam. Several of the first mosques in the Ottoman Empire, such as the Hagia Sophia in present-day Istanbul, were originally churches or cathedrals in the Byzantine Empire. The Ottomans created their own design of mosques, which included large central domes, multiple minarets, and open façades. The Ottoman style of mosques usually included elaborate columns, aisles, and high ceilings in the interior, while incorporating traditional elements, such as the mihrab. Today, Turkey is still home to many mosques that display this Ottoman style of architecture.
Mosques gradually diffused to different parts of Europe, but the most rapid growth in the number of mosques has occurred within the past century as more Muslims have migrated to the continent. Major European cities, such as Rome, London, and Munich, are home to mosques that feature traditional domes and minarets. These large mosques in urban centers are supposed to serve as community and social centers for a large group of Muslims that occupy the region. However, one can still find smaller mosques in more suburban and rural regions throughout Europe where Muslims populate. Mosques first appeared in the United States in the early twentieth century, the first of which was built in the late 1920s in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. However, as more immigrants continue to arrive in the country, especially from South Asia, the number of American mosques is increasing faster than ever before. Whereas only two percent of the country’s mosques appeared in the United States before 1950, eighty-seven percent of American mosques were founded after 1970 and fifty percent of American mosques founded after 1980.
Conversion of places of worship
According to early Muslim historians, towns that surrendered without resistance and made treaties with the Muslims received permission to retain their churches and synagogues, One of the earliest examples of these kinds of conversions was in Damascus, Syria, where in 705 Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik took the church of St. John from the Christians and had it rebuilt as a mosque, which is now known as Umayyad Mosque; overall, Abd al-Malik is said to have transformed 10 churches in Damascus into mosques. The process of turning churches into mosques was especially intensive in the villages. The Abbasid caliph al-Ma’mun turned many churches into mosques. Ottoman Turks converted into mosques nearly all churches, monasteries, and chapels in Constantinople, including the famous Hagia Sophia, immediately after capturing the city in 1453. In some instances mosques have been established on the places of Jewish or Christian sanctuaries associated with Biblical personalities who were also recognized by Islam. Muslim rulers in India built mosques seeing their actions as fulfillment of religious duty
On the other hand, mosques have also been converted for use by other religions, notably in southern Spain, following the conquest of the Moors in 1492. The most prominent of them is the Great Mosque of Cordoba. The Iberian Peninsula, Southeast Europe, and India (the Babari Masjid incident) are other regions in the world where such instances occurred once no longer under Muslim rule.
History
Source : http://www.mosque.net/about/history.php

Arabic numerals

2012-01-09T06:22:00.000-08:00

by Sakina Al-Amin
In the meantime, there is a digital Qur'an online that can help you figure out what page you are on since it corresponds with the 604 paged Quran. Here’s the link:
http://quranflash.com/en/index.html#

Click "Enter"and then you can virtually change the pages by the click of a mouse! It’s really quite cool. If you do not read Arabic numerals, they are listed below with their English equivalent. Use them to figure out what page and verse number you are in the Arabic Quran.
http://www.quranclub.net/2008/06/in-meantime-digital-quran.html

ROUTE MAPS... TO ANYWHERE, EVERYWHERE. AMAZING! USEFUL.

2012-01-05T20:25:00.000-08:00

This website is amazing. Select start and destination points, it will show you the way,

by all modes of transport.

The Route with map, to any destination in the world by Air/Bus/Train

Just click on link below and proceed further

http://www.rome2rio.com/
by mail from A.H. Farook Ali

How internet Works? - Amazing Animation

2012-01-04T08:13:00.000-08:00

How internet Works? - Amazing Animation:

May peace and blessings of the Almighty be upon you....

This video you are about to witness gives a basic level information about "How Internet Works?" You are introduced to several networking concepts and it is always a pleasure to have this vid in the blog.

Whats more??....This vid runs for just 12 mins (and few seconds more) and provides you a excellent viewing experience.

My sincere thanks to makers of the video (Gunilla Elam, Tomas Stephanson, Niklas Hanberger) and the engineering community is always thankful to them.

The entire commentary of the video was given below. This vid used here for educational purpose and does not contain any commercial motives.

Let's start and have fun...

==========

Manuscript - Tomas Stephanson, Monte Reid

For the first time in history people and machinery are working together, realizing a dream. A uniting force that knows no geographical boundaries. Without regard to race, creed or color. A new era where communication truly brings people together.

This is the Dawn of The Net.

Want to know how it works? Click here to begin your journey into the Net.

Now exactly what happened when you clicked on that link? You started a flow of information. This information travels down to your own personal mail-room where Mr. IP packages it, labels it and sends it on its way. Each packet is limited in its size. The mail-room must decide how to divide the information and how to package it.

The IP packet now needs a label, containing important information such as senders address, receivers address and the type of packet it is. Because this particular packet is going out onto the Internet, it also gets an address for the Proxy Server which has a special function as we'll see later.

The packet is now launched onto your Local Area Network or LAN. This network is used to connect all the local computers, routers, printers etc. for information exchange within the physical walls of the building. The LAN is a pretty uncontrolled place and unfortunately accidents can happen.

The highway of the LAN is packed with all types of information. There are IP packets, Novell packets, Apple Talk packets - Uh, they're going against traffic as usual. The local router reads the address and if necessary lifts the packet onto another network.

Ah the router. A symbol of control in a seemingly disorganized world. There he is..systematic, uncaring, methodical, conservative and sometimes not quite up to speed. But he is exact... for the most part.

As the packets leave the router, they make their way into the corporate intranet and head for the router switch. A bit more efficient than the router, the router switch plays fast and loose with IP packets deftly routing them along their way. A digital pin-ball wizard if you will.

< As packets arrive at their destination they are picked up by the network interface, ready to be sent to the next level. In this case, the proxy. The proxy is used by many companies as a sort of "middleman" in order to lessen the load on their Internet connection. And for security reasons as well. We can see that the packet are all of various sizes, depending on their content.

The proxy opens the packet and looks for the WEB address or URL. Depending upon whether the address is acceptable…the packet is sent on to the Internet. There are, however, some addresses which do not meet with the approval of the proxy (that is to say corporate or management guidelines). These are summarily dealt with. We'll have none of that. For those who make it, it's on the road again.

Next up - the Fire Wall. The corporate Fire Wall serves two purposes. It prevents some rather nasty things from the Internet from coming into the intranet. And it also can prevent sensitive corporate information from being sent out to the Internet.

Once through the fire wall, a router picks up the packet and places it on to a much narrower road or band-width, as we say. Obviously, the road is not broad enough to take them all.

Now you might wonder what happens to all those packets which don't make it along the way. Well, when Mr. IP doesn't receive an acknowledgment that a packet has been received in due time, he simply sends a replacement packet.

We are now ready to enter the world of the Internet. A spider web of inter-connected networks which spans our entire globe. Here, routers and switches establish links between networks.

Now, the Net is an entirely different environment than you'll find within the protected walls of your LAN. Out here, it's the Wild West. Plenty of space, plenty of opportunities, plenty of things to explore and places to go. Thanks to very little control and regulation new ideas find fertile soil to push the envelope of their possibilities. But because of this freedom, certain dangers also lurk. You'll never know when you'll meet the dreaded Ping Of Death. A special version of a normal request Ping which some idiot thought up to mess up unsuspecting hosts.

The paths our packets take maybe via satellite, telephone lines, wireless or even trans-oceanic cable. They don't always take the fastest or shortest routes possible, but they probably will get there - eventually. Maybe that's why it's sometimes known as the World Wide Wait. But when everything is working smoothly, you can circumvent the globe 5 times over, at the drop of a hat - literally. And all for the cost of a local call or less.

Near the end of our destination, we'll find another Fire Wall. Depending upon your perspective as a data packet, the fire wall can be a bastion of security or a dreaded adversary. It all depends on which side your on and what your intentions are.

The Fire Wall is designed to let in only those packets that meet its criteria. This wall is operating on ports 80 and 25. All attempts to enter through other ports are closed for business.

Port 25 is used for mail packets, while port 80 is the entrance for packets from the Internet to the Web server.

Inside the fire wall, packets are screened more thoroughly, some packets make easily through "customs" while others look just a bit dubious. The Fire Wall officer is not easily fooled, such as when this ping of death packet tried to disguise itself as a "normal" ping packet.

For those packets lucky enough to make this far, the journey is almost over. It's just to line up on the interface to be taken up into the web server.

Nowadays, a web server can run on many things. From a mainframe, to a web-cam to the computer on your desk. Or why not your refrigerator? With the proper set-up, you can find out if you the makings for Chicken Catchitory or if you have to go shopping. Remember this is the Dawn of the Net - almost anything's possible.

One by one, the packets are received, opened and unpacked. The information they contained, that is your request for information is sent onto the Web server application. The packet itself is recycled. Ready to be used again. And filled with your requested information. Addressed and sent out on its way back to you.

Back past the fire walls, routers, and on through the Internet. Back through your corporate fire wall and onto your interface.

< Ready to supply your web browser with the information you requested.

That is - this film.

Pleased with their efforts and trusting in a better world, our trusty data packets ride off blissfully into the sunset of another day, knowing fully they have served their masters well.

Now isn't that a happy ending?

==========

Allah Knows best.

My sincere thanks to:

1. Warriors of the net website. link

Your brother,

Aashiq Ahamed A

Source : http://info-vlsi.blogspot.com/

Quranic Way of Life :: The Best Way to Live life

2012-01-02T21:31:00.001-08:00

Quranic Way of Life :: The Best Way to Live life

Many non-muslim claims Quran is book of terrorism,creates hates.

Geert Wilders,the Dutch MP says its book of violence…nauzbillah…but i’m sure he never read quran and he is Just a Lier….becoz The Facts are totally different,and this post will proove this…InshahAllah….

If You will Apply the guidance of Quran in your life,you can live the Best life,you will be loved by ALLAH (God) and indeed peoples too…

below are the few lessons you can apply in your life to live the BEST LIFE !

Some of the lessons from Quran that apply to our general living!

1. Respect and honor all human beings irrespective of their religion, colour, race, sex, language, status, property, birth, profession/job and so on [17/70]

2.Talk straight, to the point, without any ambiguity or deception [33/70]

3. Choose best words to speak and say them in the best possible way [17/53, 2/83]

4.Do not shout. Speak politely keeping your voice low. [31/19]

5.Always speak the truth. Shun words that are deceitful and ostentatious [22/30]

6. Do not confound truth with falsehood [2/42]

7.Say with your mouth what is in your heart [3/167]

8. Speak in a civilized manner in a language that is recognized by the society and is commonly used [4/5]

9. When you voice an opinion, be just, even if it is against a relative[6/152]

10. Do not be a bragging boaster [31/18]

11. Do not talk, listen or do anything vain [23/3, 28/55]

12. Do not participate in any paltry. If you pass near a futile play, then pass by with dignity [25/72]

13. Do not verge upon any immodesty or lewdness whether surreptitious or overt [6/151].

14. If, unintentionally, any misconduct occurs by you, then correct yourself expeditiously [3/134].

15. Do not be contemptuous or arrogant with people [31/18]

16. Do not walk haughtily or with conceit [17/37, 31/18]

17. Be moderate in thy pace [31/19]

18. Walk with humility and sedateness [25/63]

19. Keep your gazes lowered devoid of any lecherous leers and salacious stares [24/30-31, 40/19].

20. If you do not have complete knowledge about anything, better keep your mouth shut. You might think that speaking about something without full knowledge is a trivial matter. But it might have grave consequences [24/15-16]

21. When you hear something malicious about someone, keep a favorable view about him/her until you attain full knowledge about the matter. Consider others innocent until they are proven guilty with solid and truthful evidence [24/12-13]

22. Ascertain the truth of any news, lest you smite someone in ignorance and afterward repent of what you did[49/6]

23. Do not follow blindly any information of which you have no direct knowledge. (Using your faculties of perception and conception) you must verify it for yourself. In the Court of your Lord, you will be held accountable for your hearing, sight, and the faculty of reasoning [17/36].

24. Never think that you have reached the final stage of knowledge and nobody knows more than yourself. Remember! Above everyone endowed with knowledge is another endowed with more knowledge [12/76]. Even the Prophet [p.b.u.h] was asked to keep praying, “O My Sustainer! Advance
me in knowledge.” [20:114]

25. The believers are but a single Brotherhood. Live like members of one family, brothers and sisters unto one another [49/10].

26. Do not make mockery of others or ridicule others [49/11]

27. Do not defame others [49/11]

28. Do not insult others by nicknames [49/11]

29. Avoid suspicion and guesswork. Suspicion and guesswork might deplete your communal energy [49/12]

30. Spy not upon one another [49/12]

31. Do not backbite one another [49/12]

32. When you meet each other, offer good wishes and blessings for safety. One who conveys to you a message of safety and security and also when a courteous greeting is offered to you, meet it with a greeting still more courteous or (at least) of equal courtesy [4/86]

33. When you enter your own home or the home of somebody else, compliment the inmates [24/61]
34. Do not enter houses other than your own until you have sought permission; and then greet the inmates and wish them a life of blessing, purity and pleasure [24/27]

35. Treat kindly
” Your parents
” Relatives
” The orphans
” And those who have been left alone in the society [4/36]

36. Take care of
” The needy,
” The disabled
” Those whose hard earned income is insufficient to meet their needs
” And those whose businesses have stalled
” And those who have lost their jobs. [4/36]

37. Treat kindly ” Your related neighbours, and unrelated neighbours ” Companions by your side in public gatherings, or public transportation. [4/36]

38. Be generous to the needy wayfarer, the homeless son of the street, and the one who reaches you in a destitute condition [4/36]

39. Be nice to people who work under your care. [4/36]

40. Do not follow up what you have given to others to afflict them with reminders of your generosity [2/262].

41. Do not expect a return for your good behaviour, not even thanks [76/9]

42. Cooperate with one another in good deeds and do not cooperate with others in evil and bad matters [5/2]

43. Do no try to impress people on account of self-proclaimed virtues [53/32]

44. You should enjoin right conduct on others but mend your own ways first. Actions speak louder than words. You must first practice good deeds yourself, then preach [2/44]

45. Correct yourself and your families first [before trying to correct others] [66/6]

46.Pardon gracefully if anyone among you who commits a bad deed out of ignorance, and then repents and amends[6/54, 3/134]

47. Divert and sublimate your anger and potentially virulent emotions to creative energy, and become a source of tranquility and comfort to people [3/134]

48. Call people to the Way of your Lord with wisdom and beautiful exhortation. Reason with them most decently [16/125]

49. Leave to themselves those who do not give any importance to the Divine code and have adopted and consider it as mere play and amusement [6/70]

50. Sit not in the company of those who ridicule Divine Law unless they engage in some other conversation[4/140]

51. Do not be jealous of those who are blessed [4/54]

52. In your collective life, make rooms for others [58/11]

53. When invited to dine, Go at the appointed time. Do not arrive too early to wait for the preparation of meal or linger after eating to engage in bootless babble. Such things may cause inconvenience to the host [33/53]

54.Eat and drink [what is lawful] in moderation [7/31].

55. Do not squander your wealth senselessly [17/26]

56. Fulfill your promises and commitments [17/34]

57.Keep yourself clean, pure [9/108, 4/43, 5/6].

58. Dress-up in agreeable attire and adorn yourself with exquisite character from inside out[7/26]

59. Seek your provision only by fair endeavour [29/17, 2/188]

60. Do not devour the wealth and property of others unjustly, nor bribe the officials or the judges to deprive others of their possessions [2/188]

May Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala make us from those who hear the advice and put it into action! Ameeen

Jazak Allah Khair for reading.
King

slave of ALLAH!

by: KING-slave of ALLAH
Thanks to http://islamgreatreligion.wordpress.com/

BYE BYE 2011 - Welcome 2012 !

2011-12-31T07:33:00.000-08:00

BYE BYE 2011

Before I finally say goodbye to 2011,
I would like to say

    to each and everyone of you.
    For the impact you had in my life
    Specially for those who sent me email,
    You have enriched my year!!

I wish you all a magical
    Festive Season filled with
    Loving Wishes and beautiful thoughts.
    May your coming year mark the beginning
    of Love,
    Happiness and Bright Future.

To those who need someone special,
    may you find that true love.

    To those who need money,
    may your finances overflow.

    To those who need caring,
    May you find a good heart to care for you.

To those who need friends,
    May you meet someone who will also
    enrich your life.

    To those who need life,
    May you find God.

Wellcome 2012!

LOVE & BEST WISHESWith warm regards...

In the name of Allah The most Gracious The most Merciful!

Indeed all the praises are due to Allah, we praise him and we seek his assistance and forgiveness, and we seek refuge in Allah.

Every mistake is from me, and any Truth is from Allah, The Enduring One, He is the Enduring One, I know nothing save that which He hath taught me.

S.E.A.Mohamed Ali (Jinnah)

nidurali

Dangers of the Internet in the Home

2011-12-24T21:31:00.000-08:00

أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

The purpose of this article is to make us aware of the dangers that lurk behind the use of the Internet [especially for children] in the home. As opposed to sticking our heads in the ground like ostriches, it is time we had an honest assessment of the facts and figures associated with the use of the Internet and it being a tool for Shaytan.

DANGERS OF THE INTERNET; EASY OF ACCESS TO PORNOGRAPHY
With the help of a few clicks, pornographic content spreads rampantly across the Internet, carried over an innumerable number of web sites, through explicit images in spam, and through advertisements on search engines. Various statistics show children increasingly being exposed to pornographic content. The content can involve despicable and disgusting acts, sometimes even involving children. The annual revenue of the worldwide pornographic industry is over £60 billion – that’s more than even Hollywood. According to a study by the London School of Economics, 6 out of every 10 children in the UK [1] were regularly being exposed to pornography – that is the majority of children.
MAJORITY OF CHILDREN
Approximately 90 percent of children aged 8 to 16 have seen pornography on the Internet. There are many ways in which children are being exposed to this evil material. Anybody with an email account would know that they are constantly bombarded by emails explicitly advertising pornography or indirectly [by showing one thing and upon clicking re-directing to an explicit site].
There are many game sites on the internet which allow harmless games to be played but advertise sexually explicit websites. According to the TopTenReviews report, at least 26 names of cartoon characters were linked to porn sites, thus exposing children to adult content on the Web.
UNCOMFORTABLE STATISTICS [2]
[1] – 89 percent of youth in chat rooms receive sexual solicitations.
[2] – 73 percent of those exposures happened while searching or surfing the Internet and 27 percent while opening e-mail or clicking on links in e-mails or instant messages.
[3] – 67 percent happened while using the Internet at home; 15 percent at school; 3 percent in libraries; and the rest at other homes, such as friends’, and elsewhere.
[4] – most of the images were of nudity, 32 percent showed a sexual act,
[5] – web searches and search engines were the most common route to exposures (47 percent).
[6] – in 26 percent of the surfing incidents, the children surveyed were “mousetrapped” into another dirty site while trying to get out of the one they were in.
INTERNET – TOOL OF THE SHAYTAN
The Shaytan, who is our open and clear enemy, is using the Internet to corrupt the Believers and their children’s morals, Imaan [faith] and dignity. Allah [swt] says in the Qur’an,
‘Satan threatens you with poverty and orders you to commit Fahishah’
al-Baqarah 2:268
WHAT DOES ‘FAHISHAH’ MEAN?
Linguistically ‘Fahishah’ means, ‘an excess or enormity, a thing excessively and enormously foul, evil, immoral, lewd, obscene, a sin or a crime which is excessively foul; adultery or fornication.’
One finds that the Internet is the marketplace for people indulging in ‘Fahishah’ and all the steps that lead to it – accumulating major sins in the sight of their Creator, Allah [swt]. The Shaytan has openly declared war on the children of Adam [due to his jealousy] and his primary aim is to drag as many of them as possible to the Hell-Fire with him – May Allah [swt] protect us and our children [ameen]
PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS
Repeated and long-term exposure of pornographic material is severely traumatic and damaging to children’s Imaan [faith] and leads to all sorts of psychological and behavioural problems. One must realise that you cannot delete from the memories of children what they have seen of these images or videos. These ‘evil seeds’ are planted into the hearts of the innocent resulting in producing adults who are sexually perverted, promiscuous, immoral, psychologically inept and corrupt Muslims who continue to battle with their sins.
OUR RECOMMENDATIONS
Parents must take active responsibility to ensure that their homes are safe from the influence of Fahishah – especially from the Internet. We recommend the following:
[1] – Do not have access to the internet anywhere in the house except in the main living/dining room with the computer monitor facing outwards – i.e., towards the rest of the room
[2] – Children do not need to have email addresses or accounts on Facebook, Twitter, MSN, Yahoo etc. Supervise access to YouTube.
[3] – do not allow them to use chatrooms
[4] – Only allow access to the internet while they are being supervised [or in groups of responsible children]
[5] – Setup bookmarks for your children and only allow them to visit these ‘approved’ sites – do not give them the opportunity to type in the address box
[6] – Putting a physical block on adult sites – this can be done by adjusting the settings in your internet explorer
[7] – Install internet protection software for children – available free online
[8] – Ensure that the history of the pages visited cannot be deleted.
WARNING
Please do not turn a blind eye to dangers that the Internet poses to our future – our children. Doing so would be tantamount to incompetence and irresponsibility on the part of the Parents. Is it logical that we would ever hand our children a 500 page encyclopaedia, that has 50 pages of explicit material and then expect our children never to stumble upon them? The astute parent would remove the 50 pages and then hand the book over or sit by their side and make sure nothing other than beneficial information is looked at.
We ask Allah [swt], the Lord of the Worlds, to protect us and our children from the fahishah [immorality] and fitnah [turmoil] that surrounds us and protects us all from the traps of the Shaytan [ameen]
———
[1] – http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6336509.stm
[2] – Mainly taken from the key findings of U.S. Study “The Exposure of Youth to Unwanted Sexual Material on the Internet”
Submitted by a Muslim
http://theheartopener.wordpress.com

Sura Maryam 19: 1 - 36 Muslims love Jesus too

2011-12-24T07:27:00.000-08:00

Muslims love Jesus too

View more presentations from Xenia Y

Colic and Its Symptoms in Babies

2011-12-23T08:11:00.000-08:00

Colic is one of the most common problems in babies. In fact, it is so common that this is the kind of thing that you will be prepared for even before it occurs being a major topic in all baby books in your bookshelf.
Colic begins as early as two to three weeks and reaches its peak when the baby is about two months old. After which, symptoms and episodes will slowly die down and at fourth month, there will be no more episodes.
Until now, medical experts cannot find what exactly causes colic to occur. It just happens to babies without any real or specific reason. However, there are a host of possible causes that may influence or worsen a colic episode. Here are some of them.

Allergy to cow's milk or powdered milk
Lactose intolerance
Allergy to the foods that the mother take in and transferred to the baby through breastmilk
Increase in the intestinal gas brought on by foods that usually produce gas in the stomach such as broccoli, onion and beans
Underdeveloped digestive system that may cause strong contractions in the stomach
Hormonal changes in the body of your baby
Anxiety of the mother and postpartum depression
Overfeeding of the baby

Often, the only sign that parents will get is nonstop crying that can last from an hour to as much as five hours! This can be really hard to take for parents especially those who are not used to their babies crying too much. For first-time parents the first episode of colic can be panicking as they do not know why their little angel is crying so hard.
Crying can be the result of a lot of things. This is why it is important for parents to really know the other signs and symptoms of colic in babies before they panic or in some cases not panic.
Predictable crying episodes
Although this will not be evident at the start, a colicky baby will have crying episodes at specific time of the day. This can either occur at day or at night, often after a meal. These episodes will recur at approximately the same time and it can last from just a few minutes to hours. It can occur once every week or everyday of the week. It really depends on the baby and because there is no known cause, parents just have to patiently wait if there will be an episode for that day.
Gaseous state
According to some experts, colic is brought on by gas in the stomach that causes an ache. Babies will often excrete bowels or pass gas near the end of the episode. This will relieve the problem.
Positions of the legs and arms
Babies who have colic will manifest their pain in the way they will draw their legs to their abdomens to squeeze them in. Their hands will also clench into fists and their abdominal muscles will harden. Some babies who cannot take the pain will trash around and become really wild. Their screams and cries will get louder and louder.
Crying madly
This is one of the main symptoms of colic in babies. In fact, most parents think that if their babies cry, they are either hungry or having a colic. The cries of a colicky child is loud and intense. There is no room for a weak and sickly cry. Their cheeks will often become red from the exertion and they will be difficult to comfort.
Source : http://www.healthymuslim.com/

Surat Al-'A`rāf + Surat Al-Jumu`a

2011-12-22T20:03:00.000-08:00

Surat Al-'A`rāf

Surat Al-'A`rāf (The Heights) - سورة الأعراف

7: 204

Sahih International

So when the Qur'an is recited, then listen to it and pay attention that you may receive mercy.

Tamil NEW

குர்ஆன் ஓதப்படும்போது அதனை நீங்கள் செவிதாழ்த்தி (கவனமாகக்) கேளுங்கள்; அப்பொழுது நிசப்தமாக இருங்கள் - (இதனால்) நீங்கள் கிருபை செய்யப்படுவீர்கள்.

Surat Al-Jumu`ah (The Congregation, Friday) - سورة الجمعة

Surat Al-Jumu`a

62: 9

Sahih International

O you who have believed, when [the adhan] is called for the prayer on the day of Jumu'ah [Friday], then proceed to the remembrance of Allah and leave trade. That is better for you, if you only knew.

Tamil NEW

ஈமான் கொண்டவர்களே! ஜுமுஆ உடைய நாளில் தொழுகைக்காக நீங்கள் அழைக்கப்பட்டால், வியாபாரத்தை விட்டுவிட்டு, அல்லாஹ்வைத் தியானிக்க (பள்ளிக்கு) விரைந்து செல்லுங்கள் - நீங்கள் அறிபவர்களாக இருப்பின் இதுவே உங்களுக்கு மிக மேலான நன்மையுடையதாகும்.

Source : http://quran.com/search?q=friday

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FREE CD or DVD For Dawah From Yusuf Estes & Share Islam

2011-12-22T08:42:00.000-08:00

Bismillah Rahman Raheem

FREE CD or DVD for Dawah

From Yusuf Estes & Share Islamwww.DawaCD.com & www.DawaDVD.com

Salam alaykum,
We were all amazed! - to see 1250 stand up and say "Shahadah" - all at ONE TIME.

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4) Over 1,000 Say Shahadah (1200 People do shahadah At One Time)

Two (2) ways to use for dawah:
1. Order these DVDs, copy them, give them out (free) to everyone
2. Give the links to our website for people towatch

*(3) You can also Donate For Islam to help us do more (inshallah): www.DonateForIslam.com

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> Treatment of Women? - Show this to them: www.IslamsWomen.com
> Quran says - WHAT? - the real meaning - the right way (EZ English)

FREE CD or DVD for Dawah
www.DawaCD.com & www.DawaDVD.com

by mail from Share Islam

தொழுகையின் யின் சிறப்பினைப் பற்றி சொல்ல தொழுகையின் அருமையினை விளங்க வையுங்கள்

2011-12-16T10:19:00.000-08:00

உங்களுக்கு தொழ வைக்கும் முன் நீங்கள் தொழுது கொள்ளுங்கள் என்பதனை பல இடங்களில் மற்றும் பள்ளிவாசல்களிலும் பார்க்கின்றோம் . இதன் பொருள் உங்களுக்கு இறப்பு(ஜனாஸா தொழுகை) தொழுகை வைப்பதற்கு முன் இறைவனை தொழ ஆரம்பித்து விடுங்கள்.இது நல்ல அறிவுரையாக இருந்தாலும் மனிதனை அச்சமூட்டி எச்சரிக்கை செய்து தொழ வைக்க முயலும் செயலாக அமைந்து விடுகின்றது. இதைவிட தொழுகையின் அருமையினையும் அதனால் அடையக் கூடிய நற்பயன்களயும் மக்களிடம் எடுத்துச் சொல்பது சிறப்பாக இருக்கும் .

மனதை வருடி விடுங்கள். இக்கால மக்கள் (சிலர்) மனதில் அனைத்து வகை இன்ப துன்பங்களைக் கண்டு அலுத்துப் போய் சுவனத்தின் மாண்பினையும் நரகத்தின் வேதனைப் பற்றியும் சிந்திக்க மனமில்லாதவர்களாய் மாறிவருகின்றனர்.
தொழுகையின் சிறப்பினைப் பற்றி சொல்ல எதனையோ ஹதீஸ்களும் குரான் ஆயத்துகளும் இருக்கிறது. குடிகாரனை வெறுக்காதீர்கள் குடிப்பதை தடுக்க வழி சொல்லுங்கள் . குடிப்பவனும் தொழுகையை நாடிவிட்டால் குடிப் பழக்கம் அவனை விட்டு ஓடிவிடும் .அவரையும் அன்போடு தொழ அழைத்துச் செல்லுங்கள். இக்கால குழந்தைகளுக்கு அடித்து பாடம் சொல்லித் தருவதில்லை மாறாக கல்வி மேல் ஆர்வம் உண்டாக்கி பயிற்சி கொடுத்து வளர்கின்றார்கள்.
ஆர்வம் உண்டாக்கி தொழுகையின் அருமையினை விளங்க வையுங்கள்.
யார் தூக்கத்தினாலோ அல்லது மறதியினாலோ (தொழுகையின் நேரம் முடியும் வரை அத்தொழுகையை தொழவில்லையோ) அவர் ஞாபகம் வந்ததும் (அல்லது விழித்ததும்) அதை தொழுது கொள்ளட்டும் என நபி (ஸல்) அவர்கள் கூறினார்கள்.

தொழுகையின் சிறப்பு

ஸஹீஹுல் புகாரி ஹதீஸ்

721. இறைத்தூதர்(ஸல்) அவர்கள் கூறினார்கள்.
(ஜமாஅத் தொழுகைக்கு) முந்தி வருவதில் உள்ளதை (சிறப்பு) மக்கள் அறிந்தால் அதற்காகப் போட்டி போடுவார்கள். ஸுபுஹ், இஷாத் தொழுகைகளின் சிறப்பை மக்கள் அறிந்தால் தவழ்ந்தேனும் அதற்காக வந்து சேர்வார்கள். முதல் வரிசையின் சிறப்பை அவர்கள் அறிந்தால் (போட்டி ஏற்படும் போது) சீட்டுக் குலுக்கி (யார் முதல் வரிசையில் நிற்பது என்பதை)த் தீர்மானிப்பார்கள்."
என அபூ ஹுரைரா(ரலி) அறிவித்தார்.
Volume :1 Book :10
843. அபூ ஹுரைரா(ரலி) அறிவித்தார்.
ஏழை மக்கள் சிலர் நபி(ஸல்) அவர்களிடம் வந்து 'பொருளாதாரச் செல்வம் பெற்றவர்கள் உயர்வான பதவிகளையும் நிலையான பாக்கியத்தையும் பெற்றுக் கொள்கிறார்கள். நாங்கள் தொழுவது போன்றே அவர்களும் தொழுகிறார்கள். மேலும் நாங்கள் நோன்பு வைப்பது போன்றே அவர்களும் நோன்பு நோற்கின்றனர். ஆயினும் அவர்களுக்குப் பொருளாதாரச் சிறப்பு இருப்பதனால் தங்கள் பொருளாதாரத்தின் மூலம் ஹஜ் செய்கின்றனர்;உம்ராச் செய்கின்றனர்; அறப்போரிடுகின்றனர்; தர்மமும் செய்கின்றனர். (ஏழைகளாகிய நாங்கள் இவற்றைச் செய்ய முடிவதில்லை)' என்று முறையிட்டனர்.
அதற்கு நபி(ஸல்) அவர்கள் 'நான் உங்களுக்கு ஒரு காரியத்தைக் கற்றுத் தருகிறேன். அதை நீங்கள் செய்து வந்தால் உங்களை முந்திவிட்டவர்களை நீங்களும் பிடித்து விடுவீர்கள். உங்களுக்குப் பிந்தி வருபவர்கள் உங்களைப் பிடிக்க இயலாது. நீங்கள் எந்த மக்களுடன் வாழ்கிறீர்களோ அவர்களும அந்தக் காரியத்தைச் செய்தால் தவிர அவர்களில் நீங்கள் மிகச் சிறந்தவராவீர்கள். (அந்த காரியமாவது) ஒவ்வொரு தொழுகைக்குப் பின்பும் 33முறை இறைவனைத் துதியுங்கள்; 33 முறை இறைவனைப் புகழுங்கள்; 33 முறை இறைவனைப் பெருமைப படுத்துங்கள்' என்று கூறினார்கள். நாங்கள் இது விஷயத்தில் பலவாறாகக் கூறிக் கொண்டோம். சிலர் ஸுப்ஹானல்லாஹ் 33 முறையும், அல்ஹம்துலில்லாஹ் 33 முறையும் அல்லாஹு அக்பர் 33 முறையும் கூறலானோம். நான் நபி(ஸல்) அவர்களிடம் சென்று இது பற்றிக் கேட்டேன். அதற்கு நபி(ஸல்) அவர்கள் 'ஸுப்ஹானல்லாஹி வல் ஹம்து லில்லாஹி வல்லாஹு அக்பர்" என்று 33 முறை கூறுங்கள். இதனால் ஒவ்வொரு வார்த்தையையும் 33 முறை கூறினார்கள் என அமையும்'. என்று விளக்கம் தந்தார்கள்.

குர்ஆன் 2:110. இன்னும் தொழுகையை முறையாகக் கடைப்பிடித்தும்; ஜகாத் கொடுத்தும் வாருங்கள்; ஏனெனில் உங்களுக்காக எந்த நன்மையை முன்னமேயே அனுப்பி வைக்கின்றீர்களோ, அதை அல்லாஹ்விடம் பெற்றுக்கொள்வீர்கள். நிச்சயமாக அல்லாஹ் நீங்கள் செய்பவற்றையெல்லாம் உற்று நோக்கியவனாகவே இருக்கிறான்.
2:153. நம்பிக்கை கொண்டோரே! பொறுமையுடனும், தொழுகையுடனும்(இறைவனிடம்) உதவி தேடுங்கள்; நிச்சயமாக அல்லாஹ் பொறுமையுடையவர்களுடன் இருக்கிறான்.
20:132. (நபியே!) உம் குடும்பத்தினரைத் தொழுது வருமாறு நீர் ஏவுவீராக! (தொழுகையின் மீது) நீர் பொறுமையும், உறுதியும் கொண்டிருப்பீராக! நாம் உம்மிடம் உணவு கேட்கவில்லை; ஆனால் உமக்கு உணவை நாம் கொடுக்கிறோம்; இறுதியாகச் சிறந்த நிலை பயபக்தி(யுடையோரு)க்குத் தான்.

55:78. மிக்க சிறப்பும், கண்ணியமுமுள்ள உம்முடைய இறைவனின் திருப்பெயர் மிகவும் பாக்கிய முடையது.

70:23. (அதாவது) தம் தொழுகையின் மீது நிலைத்திருக்கின்றார்களே அவர்கள்.
2:6. நிச்சயமாக காஃபிர்களை (இறைவனை நிராகரிப்போரை) நீர் அச்சமூட்டி எச்சரித்தாலும் (சரி) அல்லது எச்சரிக்காவிட்டாலும் சரியே! அவர்கள் ஈமான் (இறை நம்பிக்கை) கொள்ள மாட்டார்கள்.
Source : http://www.tamililquran.com/bukhariindex.asp

Hercules questions about Prophet Mohammed (pbuh)

2011-12-16T06:15:00.000-08:00

Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam, was a country without any central authority. It was a country far from the civilized nations of those days. At the time Prophet Mohammed Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam was spreading Islam; asking people to turn away from worshipping idols to worshipping Allah, the Almighty, the All-Knower, and the Master. The Prophet Mohammed Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam sent letters of invitation to Kings and Rulers of various countries in the world, inviting them to embrace Islam. Many of the letters were met with a favorable response whilst others were rejected.

In many cases, the messengers of the Prophet Mohammed Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam were badly treated and abused. But the Prophet Mohammed Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam was not worried by these setbacks. He was inviting people to the right path and a few setbacks could not deter him from propagating Islam.

Abu Sufyan a leader of the tribe of Quraish and the arch enemy of the Prophet Mohammed Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam was in Constantinople on a business trip, when the Prophet Mohammed's Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam(pbuh) letter of invitation reached Hercules, the Byzantine emperor of Eastern Roman Empire. Hercules, at the time was in his court at Constantinople celebrating his victory over the Persians.

Hercules read the letter through an interpreter and then asked the people in his court, to find out if there was someone in the city, who knew the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh). Abu Sufyan with his companions was brought into the court.

The emperor Hercules asked Abu Sufyan Radi Allahu anhu, "What kind of family does Mohammed Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam belong to?"
"Noble", replied Abu Sufyan Radi Allahu anhu.

"Has there been a king in his family?" Hercules asked.
"No," said Abu Sufyan Radi Allahu anhu.

"Are the people who have accepted his religion poor or rich?" Hercules questioned again.
"They are poor", replied Abu Sufyan Radi Allahu anhu.

Hercules was now becoming more and more interested and he went on asking questions.

His next question was, "Are his followers on the increase or decrease?"
"Increasing", Abu Sufyan Radi Allahu anhu replied shortly.

"Have you known him to tell lies"? Hercules asked.
"No", admitted Abu Sufyan Radi Allahu anhu.

"Does he ever go against his convents?" Hercules once again asked.
"Not so far. But we have to see whether he carries out the new agreement made between us and him", Abu Sufyan Radi Allahu anhu answered lengthily for a change.

"Have you ever fought him in wars?" Hercules questioned.
"Yes", answered Abu Sufyan Radi Allahu anhu.

"What has been the result?" Hercules asked, getting more and more interested.
"Sometimes we have won, sometimes he", replied Abu Sufyan Radi Allahu anhu.

"What does he teach?" Hercules asked.
"Worship One God, join no partners with Him, carry out your prayers, be chaste, speak the truth and keep union with your relatives", answered Abu Sufyan Radi Allahu anhu.

Even surprised at his own answer as it sounded like he was preaching Islam, Hercules stood up and said, "If all you said is true, then I am sure that this Prophet's Kingdom will reach here where I am standing. I was certain that a Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam was coming, but I didn't know that he would be born in Arabia. If I were to go there, I would embrace Islam and wash the Prophet's feet with my own hands."

This was the way in which the Prophet Mohammed Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam spread Islam.

Prophet Mohammed Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam impressed them by his truthfulness, honesty, noble character and dedication in the service of Allah. Prophet Mohammed Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam did not compel people to accept Islam under threat of waging wars, nor did he compel people to accept Islam by the force of the sword. Prophet Mohammed Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam fought only in defense, and only when the enemies waged war on him.

Edited to add the respects.

by Saalik »

Source : http://ashraf786.proboards.com/

Revelation Order of the Qur'an

2011-12-13T23:29:00.000-08:00

Revelation Order of the Qur'an

The Qur'an was sometimes revealed to respond to various events and incidents. Sometimes it was revealed to support the Prophet (saws) who was faced with many questions, whether by Muslims or non-Muslims, and hardships. Other times was revealed for legislation and for putting rules to govern the social, economical, and political life of Muslims.
The first verses to be revealed, according to the most correct opinion of scholars, are the first five verses of Surat Al-`Alaq, which happens to be Chapter 96 of the 114 chapters of the Qur'an.

Order of Verses
Muslim scholars agree that the order of the verses in every chapter was done or commanded by the Prophet (saws) himself following the commands of Almighty Allah.
The Prophet (saws) once told his Companions after he had received a certain revelation that the arch-angel Gabriel had specified for him the particular order of verses (Ahmad).
There are also many incidents narrated in the books of Sunnah regarding the Prophet's (saws) recitation during prayer. The Companions used to pray every day behind the Prophet (saws) and he used to recite the Qur'an in the order given to him by Allah, and they used to learn and memorize from his recitation.
There have never been any incident in which any of the Companions reciting in any order that violated the order of the verses showed to us by the Prophet (saws).

Order of Surahs
As for the order of the surahs (chapters), the most accepted view is that it was also applied following an instruction given by Almighty Allah. It has been recorded that the Prophet (saws) reviewed the Qur'an with the arch-angel Gabriel 24 times all within his life.
Every year, he used to review it once during the month of Ramadan with Gabriel. During the final year of the Prophet's life, Gabriel revised the Qur'an twice with the Prophet (saws) as a way of confirming it. The Prophet (saws), in turn, used to follow this order in teaching his Companions and communicating the message to them.

Significance of Order
The question of why a surah like Surat Al-`Alaq, which was revealed first not put first in the mushaf (a physical copy of the Qur'an), this will require us to search more in the Qur'an and explore some of its secrets. A deeper look into the whole matter will show us that the order of the Qur'an has a purpose and the revelation of the Qur'an also has a purpose.
For instance, the revelation of the Qur'an responding to specific problems or incidents carries the purpose of solving these problems or providing guidance in these incidents.
During the first 13 years of Islam, the main task of the Prophet (saws) was to call people to Islam based on the Qur'anic revelations that focused on the Oneness of Allah and righteous conduct.
When Muslims migrated to Madinah and an Islamic community started to be well-established and new challenges emerged, the main focus of the revelation was to regulate the life of Muslims through detailing the rulings pertaining to different acts of worship and setting punishments for crimes and so on.
This shows us that the revelation in each of the two stages has a purpose. When the revelation stage was completed, the whole Qur'an was there and the whole message was put in the order that was intended for it to stay till the Day of Judgment.

Explanation of Order
Such an order serves in delivering the message the Qur'an is put for, as it has got another purpose.
If you look at the first surah of the Qur'an, namely Al-Fatihah, you can perceive that it acts as a summary for the structure and the message of the Book (Qur'an) ahead of every reader.
Being Umm Al-Qur'an (the Mother of the Qur'an), it carries all its themes; it summarizes them. It tells us who Allah is: the source of all love and mercy. Therefore, knowing who He is, we should be thankful to Him and worship Him alone. We should seek His help, and He has all the power to give us whatever we need. It makes it clear that Allah is the only One Who can really guide. It speaks about life after death and the consequences of human action and behavior.
The same holds true for Surat Al-Baqarah. The first verses speak about the fact that this Book is above all doubts and it is beyond the abilities of doubters to try to challenge its validity. Then it gives a hint on its main theme — guiding the righteous — and then goes on to speak about the beginning of creation and the story of Adam to establish the theme that humankind is here on earth as a vicegerent of the Creator and should use the Book as a manual to carry out the mission in the right way.
All these themes and messages cannot be carried except through this logical order in which Allah commanded for the Qur'an to be put. If a surah like Al-`Alaq was to be put at the beginning instead of Al-Fatihah, it could have given a significance of course and give a message, but not the exact fully wonderful message that we can get from the order of the Qur'an as it is now.

Why Al-`Alaq in the Current Order?
As for why Surat Al-`Alaq is mentioned in this specific order in the Qur'an, scholars hold the view that in the previous surah of At-Tin, Allah says what means that He has created humans in the best make (At-Tin 95:4). The details of that creation are cited in Surat Al-`Alaq:
*{Read in the name of your Lord Who created. Created humans, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood.}* (Al-`Alaq 96:1-2)

Revelation Order of the Qur'an

Revelation Order	Surah Number	Surah Name	Total Verses	Revelation Place
1	96	Alaq	19	Macca
2	68	Qalam	52	Macca
3	73	Muzammil	20	Macca
4	74	Mudathir	56	Macca
5	1	Fatehah	7	Macca
6	111	Lahab	5	Macca
7	81	Takwir	29	Macca
8	87	A'la	19	Macca
9	92	Leyl	21	Macca
10	89	Fajr	30	Macca
11	93	Duha	11	Macca
12	94	Inshira	8	Macca
13	103	Asr	3	Macca
14	100	Aadiyat	11	Macca
15	108	Kauthar	3	Macca
16	102	Takatur	8	Macca
17	107	Alma'un	7	Macca
18	109	Kafirun	6	Macca
19	105	Fil	5	Macca
20	113	Falaq	5	Macca
21	114	Nas	6	Macca
22	112	Iklas	4	Macca
23	53	Najm	62	Macca
24	80	Abasa	42	Macca
25	97	Qadr	5	Macca
26	91	Shams	15	Macca
27	85	Buruj	22	Macca
28	95	T'in	8	Macca
29	106	Qureysh	4	Macca
30	101	Qariah	11	Macca
31	75	Qiyamah	40	Macca
32	104	Humazah	9	Macca
33	77	Mursalat	50	Macca
34	50	Q'af	45	Macca
35	90	Balad	20	Macca
36	86	Tariq	17	Macca
37	54	Qamr	55	Macca
38	38	Sad	88	Macca
39	7	A'Raf	206	Macca
40	72	Jinn	28	Macca
41	36	Ya'sin	83	Macca
42	25	Furqan	77	Macca
43	35	Fatir	45	Macca
44	19	Maryam	98	Macca
45	20	Ta Ha	135	Macca
46	56	Waqiah	96	Macca
47	26	Shuara	227	Macca
48	27	Naml	93	Macca
49	28	Qasas	88	Macca
50	17	Bani Israil	111	Macca
51	10	Yunus	109	Macca
52	11	Hud	123	Macca
53	12	Yousuf	111	Macca
54	15	Hijr	99	Macca
55	6	Anam	165	Macca
56	37	Saffat	182	Macca
57	31	Luqman	34	Macca
58	34	Saba	54	Macca
59	39	Zumar	75	Macca
60	40	Mumin	85	Macca
61	41	Hamim Sajdah	54	Macca
62	42	Shura	53	Macca
63	43	Zukhruf	89	Macca
64	44	Dukhan	59	Macca
65	45	Jathiyah	37	Macca
66	46	Ahqaf	35	Macca
67	51	Dhariyat	60	Macca
68	88	Ghashiya	26	Madina
69	18	Kahf	110	Macca
70	16	Nahl	128	Macca
71	71	Noah	28	Macca
72	14	Ibrahim	52	Macca
73	21	Anbiya	112	Macca
74	23	Muminun	118	Macca
75	32	Sajdah	30	Macca
76	52	Tur	49	Macca
77	67	Mulk	30	Macca
78	69	Haqqah	52	Macca
79	70	Maarij	44	Macca
80	78	Naba	40	Macca
81	79	Naziat	46	Macca
82	82	Infitar	19	Macca
83	84	Inshiqaq	25	Macca
84	30	Rum	60	Macca
85	29	Ankabut	85	Macca
86	83	Tatfif	36	Macca
87	2	Baqarah	286	Madina
88	8	Anfal	75	Madina
89	3	Aal-e-Imran	200	Madina
90	33	Ahzab	73	Madina
91	60	Mumtahana	13	Madina
92	4	Nisa	176	Madina
93	99	Zilzal	8	Macca
94	57	Hadid	29	Madina
95	47	Muhammad	38	Madina
96	13	Ra'd	43	Madina
97	55	Rahman	78	Macca
98	76	Dahr	31	Madina
99	65	Talaq	12	Madina
100	98	Beyinnah	8	Madina
101	59	Hashr	24	Madina
102	24	Nur	64	Madina
103	22	Hajj	78	Madina
104	63	Munafiqun	11	Madina
105	58	Mujadila	22	Madina
106	49	Hujurat	18	Madina
107	66	Tahrim	12	Madina
108	64	Taghabun	18	Madina
109	61	Saff	14	Madina
110	62	Jumah	11	Madina
111	48	Fath	29	Madina
112	5	Maidah	120	Madina
113	9	Taubah	129	Madina
114	110	Nasr	3	Madina

எம்.ரிஷான் ஷெரீப்
Source : http://mrishaanshareef.blogspot.com/

Religious Tolerance in Muslim History

2011-12-12T22:33:00.000-08:00

By Idris Tawfiq
Religious intolerance has become too much a part of modern life. It is a fact of life, though, that good people, of whatever faith, do not poke fun or try to insult one another’s religion.
On the contrary, we find that real people of faith are keen to get to know each other better and to learn from each other. Goodness, wherever it is to be found, comes from God. Where else would it come from?
We should never feel threatened by goodness. It is only a threat to us when our own faith is weak or lukewarm and it shows up our own shortcomings.
Since the very beginning, Islam has taught respect for the beliefs of others. We see it in the teaching and the practice of Islam right through history. Indeed, it is the sign of a Muslim that he or she respects the religion of others, and their Books and their Prophets. Those who teach otherwise, Muslim or not, are distorting the message of Islam.
Muslims are no more or less perfect than anyone else. They believe, though, that the message they follow is a perfect message and is meant for the whole of mankind. Islam is perfect and it has existed since the beginning of time.
Whilst some Muslims, throughout history, have not always lived up to the beauty of its message, Islam itself has nothing whatever to be ashamed of.
It is an absolute basic belief of Islam, though, that people of other religions should be free to believe whatever they wish. In the Quran, which Muslims believe to be the word of God, you can read what means,
[Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from error: Whoever rejects Satan and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy handle, that never breaks, and Allah heareth and knoweth all things.] (Al-Baqarah 2:256)
In another place, God says what means,
[Wilt thou (Muhammad) then compel mankind, against their will, to believe?] (Yunus 10:99)
The Example of Madinah
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) lived side by side with Jews and polytheists. In Madinah, he made treaties with both, guaranteeing their freedom of religion and joining with them in a pact to defend the city.
It was not that they were Jews or polytheists that made the Muslims eventually fight them, but because they broke the terms of the treaty and sided with the enemy which was attacking the city.
It is, in fact, one of the hallmarks of the way Prophet Muhammad dealt with others, believers and non-believers, that he would listen very carefully to what they had to say, and he would ask, “Have you finished?” before giving an answer.
He set the bench mark very high by showing Muslims that if they engage in dialogue, they must listen with great respect.

The Example of Jerusalem
When the second of the four rightly guided Caliphs, Umar ibn Al-Khattab, entered Jerusalem in 638 AD, he entered the city on foot, out of respect for the holiness of the place.
His first action was to clear the rubble and the debris from the area of Al-Aqsa Mosque and to cleanse the whole sight with rose water.
There was no bloodshed. There was no slaughter. Unlike the slaughter of 70,000 men, women and children which accompanied the arrival of the Crusaders in 1099, the Muslims entered the city peacefully, signing a treaty with the Patriarch Sophronius, which guaranteed their rights to worship, their lives and their property.
The Patriarch, no doubt acting upon his lived experience in the city, asked that no Jews be allowed to live in Jerusalem. Salah Al-Din, known as Saladin in the West, lifted this injunction when he retook Jerusalem from the Crusaders in 1187.
Those who wished to leave were guaranteed their safety. Those who wished to remain were allowed to do so.
In fact, allowing religious minorities to live within the Muslim state would be a test of how faithful the Muslims were to their high calling as a “mercy to mankind”.
Prophet Muhammad said,
He who unfairly treats a non-Muslim who keeps a peace treaty with Muslims, or undermines his rights or burdens him beyond his capacity, or takes something from him without his consent; then I am his opponent on the Day of Judgment. (Abu Dawud)
The Example of Spain
There is a period in the history of Islam which is lovingly known to Muslims as the Golden Age of Islam. This was the period of the Muslims in southern Spain, which lasted for centuries.
During this time, Christians and Jews held high office in the royal court. It was only when the Catholic monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, retook the Muslim cities in the south that mosques and synagogues were burned down and Muslims and Jews were either expelled or forced to convert.
Sultan Mehmet II officially recognized Patriarch Gennadius II as leader of the Orthodox peoples throughout the Ottoman Empire following the capture of Constantinople in 1453.
In the same year, he granted to the leader of the Jewish community (the Chief Rabbi) the title “Hahambasha”, or Chief Wise Man. Both actions show the respect for other faiths which was to symbolize the Ottoman rule.
The Example of Palestine
We have only to look at Palestine under the Ottoman Empire, to see that this was the greatest period when the region knew peace. Christians, Muslims and Jews lived together happily in the holy city of Jerusalem.
Finally, a word of hope in our own day from the city of Edinburgh in Scotland. Some weeks after the Israeli attack on Gaza in January 2009, there was a rise in anti-Semitic attacks and hate crimes in many countries.
In Edinburgh, the synagogue of the United Hebrew Congregation was attacked by vandals, allegedly protesting against the war on Gaza. The response from the Scottish-Islamic Foundation, Scotland’s largest umbrella organization for Muslims, was swift: “We will guard the synagogue for you”, they said, if it proved too difficult for the Jewish community to do so.
What better example can we give of Muslim attitudes to other faiths than that? The Muslims of Scotland were prepared to guard the synagogue of the Jewish community.
Muslims believe that God (Allah) is the Lord of all people on earth. He is not just the God of the Muslims. Because of this, Muslims have a very great responsibility to act with justice and kindness to all those who have not yet come to the fullness of truth, which Muslims believe was revealed in the message of Islam.
Muslims have a responsibility to teach the world about Islam. In the Quran we read.
[Thus We have made of you a nation justly balanced, that ye might be witnesses over the nations, and the Messenger a witness over yourselves.] (Al-Baqarah 2:143)
Religious intolerance has no place in our world. Muslims and others should know that it has no place in Islam, either.
Source : http://www.readingislam.com/

Hadeeth - According to the reliability and memory of the reporters

2011-12-12T09:52:00.000-08:00

Suhaib Hasan

The final verdict on a hadith, i.e. sahih (sound), hasan (good), da'if (weak) or maudu' (fabricated, forged), depends critically on this factor.

Among the early traditionists, mostly of the first two centuries, ahadith were classified into two categories only: sahih and da'if; al- Tirmidhi was to be the first to distinguish hasan from da'if. This is why traditionists and jurists such as Ahmad, who seemed to argue on the basis of da'if ahadith sometimes, were in fact basing their argument on the ahadith which were later to be known as hasan.65

We now examine in more detail these four important classes of ahadith.

Sahih

Al-Shafi'i states the following requirement in order for a hadith which is not mutawatir to be acceptable:

"Each reporter should be trustworthy in his religion; he should be known to be truthful in his narrating, to understand what he narrates, to know how a different expression can alter the meaning, and report the wording of the hadith verbatim, not only its meaning. This is because if he does not know how a different expression can change the whole meaning, he will not know if he has changed what is lawful into what is prohibited. Hence, if he reports the hadith according to its wording, no change of meaning will be found at all. Moreover, he should be a good memoriser if he happens to report from his memory, or a good preserver of his writings if he happens to report from them. He should agree with the narrations of the huffaz (leading authorities in Hadith), if he reports something which they do also. He should not be a mudallis, who narrates from someone he met something he did not hear, nor should he report from the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) contrary to what reliable sources have reported from him. In addition, the one who is above him (in the isnad) should be of the same quality, [and so on,] until the hadith goes back uninterrupted to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) or any authority below him."66

Ibn al-Salah, however, defines a sahih hadith more precisely by saying:

"A sahih hadith is the one which has a continuous isnad, made up of reporters of trustworthy memory from similar authorities, and which is found to be free from any irregularities (i.e. in the text) or defects (i.e. in the isnad)."

By the above definition, no room is left for any weak hadith, whether, for example, it is munqati', mu'dal, mudtarib, maqlub, shadhdh, munkar, ma'lul, or contains a mudallis. The definition also excludes hasan ahadith, as will be discussed under that heading.

Of all the collectors of hadith, al-Bukhari and Muslim were greatly admired because of their tireless attempts to collect sahih ahadith only. It is generally understood that the more trustworthy and of good memory the reporters, the more authentic the hadith. The isnad: al- Shafi'i --- Malik --- Nafi' --- 'Abdullah b. 'Umar --- The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), is called a "golden isnad" because of its renowned reporters.67

Some traditionists prefer Sahih al-Bukhari to Sahih Muslim because al-Bukhari always looked for those reporters who had either accompanied or met each other, even if only once in their lifetime. On the other hand, Muslim would accept a reporter who is simply found to be contemporary to his immediate authority in reporting.68

The following grading is given for sahih ahadith only:

those which are transmitted by both al- Bukhari and Muslim;
those which are transmitted by al-Bukhari only;
those which are transmitted by Muslim only;
those which are not found in the above two collections, but

which agree with the requirements of both al-Bukhari and Muslim;
which agree with the requirements of al- Bukhari only;
which agree with the requirements of Muslim only; and
those declared sahih by other traditionists.69

Hasan

Al-Tirmidhi means by hadith hasan: a hadith which is not shadhdh, nor contains a disparaged reporter in its isnad, and which is reported through more than one route of narration.70

Al-Khattabi (d. 388) states a very concise definition, "It is the one where its source is known and its reporters are unambiguous."

By this he means that the reporters of the hadith should not be of a doubtful nature,
such as with the mursal or munqati' hadith, or one containing a mudallis.

Ibn al-Salah classifies hasan into two categories:

one with an isnad containing a reporter who is mastur ("screened", i.e. no prominent person reported from him) but is not totally careless in his reporting, provided that a similar text is reported through another isnad as well;

one with an isnad containing a reporter who is known to be truthful and reliable, but is a degree less in his preservation/memory of hadith in comparison to the reporters of sahih ahadith.

In both categories, Ibn al-Salah requires that the hadith be free of any shudhudh (irregularities).71

Al-Dhahabi, after giving the various definitions, says, "A hasan hadith is one which excels the da'if but nevertheless does not reach the standard of a sahih hadith."72 In the light of this definition, the following isnads are hasan according to al-Dhahabi:

Bahz b. Hakam --- his father --- his grandfather;
'Amr b. Shu'aib --- his father --- his grandfather;
Muhammad b. 'Amr --- Abu Salamah --- Abu Hurairah.
Reporters such as al-Harith b. 'Abdullah, 'Asim b. Damurah, Hajjaj b. Artat, Khusaif b. 'Abd al- Rahman and Darraj Abu al-Samh attract different verdicts: some traditionists declare their ahadith hasan, others declare them da'if.73

Example of a hasan hadith

Malik, Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi and al-Hakim reported through their isnads from 'Amr b. Shu'aib --- his father --- his grandfather, that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said,

"A single rider is a devil (i.e. disobedient), two riders are two devils, but three makes a travelling party."

Al-Tirmidhi declares this hadith to be hasan because of the above isnad, which falls short of the requirements for a sahih hadith.74

Several weak ahadith may mutually support each other to the level of hasan

According to the definitions of al-Tirmidhi and Ibn al-Salah, a number of similar weak ahadith on a particular issue can be raised to the degree of hasan if the weakness found in their reporters is of a mild nature. Such a hadith is known as hasan li ghairihi (hasan due to others), to distinguish it from the type previously-discussed, which is hasan li dhatihi (hasan in itself). Similarly, several hasan ahadith on the same subject may make the hadith sahih li ghairihi, to be distinguished from the previously-discussed sahih li dhatihi.

However, in case the weakness is severe (e.g., the reporter is accused of lying or the hadith is itself shadhdh), such very weak ahadith will not support each other and will remain weak. For example, the well-known hadith, "He who preserves forty ahadith for my Ummah will be raised by Allah on the Day of Resurrection among the men of understanding", has been declared to be da'if by most of the traditionists, although it is reported through several routes.75

Da'if

A hadith which fails to reach the status of hasan is da'if. Usually, the weakness is one of discontinuity in the isnad, in which case the hadith could be mursal, mu'allaq, mudallas, munqati' or mu'dal, according to the precise nature of the discontinuity, or one of a reporter having a disparaged character, such as due to his telling lies, excessive mistakes, opposition to the narration of more reliable sources, involvement in innovation, or ambiguity surrounding his person.

The smaller the number and importance of defects, the less severe the weakness. The more the defects in number and severity, the closer the hadith will be to being maudu' (fabricated).76

Some ahadith, according to the variation in the nature of the weakness associated with its reporters, rank at the bottom of the hasan grade or at the top of the da'if grade. Reporters such as 'Abdullah b. Lahi'ah (a famous judge from Egypt), 'Abd al-Rahman b. Zaid b. Aslam, Abu Bakr b. Abi Maryam al-Himsi, Faraj b. Fadalah, and Rishdin b. Sa'd attract such types of varying ranks as they are neither extremely good preservers nor totally abandoned by the traditionists.77

Maudu'

Al-Dhahabi defines maudu' (fabricated, forged) as the term applied to a hadith, the text of which goes against the established norms of the Prophet's sayings (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), or its reporters include a liar, e.g. the forty ahadith known as Wad'aniyyah or the small collection of ahadith which was fabricated and claimed to have been reported by 'Ali al-Rida, the eighth Imam of the Ithna 'Ashari Shi'ah.78

A number of traditionists have collected fabricated ahadith separately in order to distinguish them from other ahadith; among them are Ibn al-Jauzi in al-Maudu'at, al-Jauzaqani in Kitab al-Abatil, al-Suyuti in al-La'ali al- Masnu'ah fi 'l-Ahadith al-Maudu'ah, and 'Ali al- Qari in al-Maudu'at.

Some of these ahadith were known to be spurious by the confession of their inventors. For example, Muhammad b. Sa'id al-Maslub used to say, "It is not wrong to fabricate an isnad for a sound statement."79 Another notorious inventor, 'Abd al-Karim Abu 'l-Auja, who was killed and crucified by Muhammad b. Sulaiman b. 'Ali, governor of Basrah, admitted that he had fabricated four thousand ahadith declaring lawful the prohibited and vice-versa.80

Maudu' ahadith are also recognised by external evidence related to a discrepancy found in the dates or times of a particular incident.81 For example, when the second caliph, 'Umar b. al- Khattab decided to expel the Jews from Khaibar, some Jewish dignitaries brought a document to 'Umar apparently proving that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) had intended that they stay there by exempting them from the jizyah (tax on non-Muslims under the rule of Muslims); the document carried the witness of two Companions, Sa'd b. Mu'adh and Mu'awiyah b. Abi Sufyan. 'Umar rejected the document outright, knowing that it was fabricated because the conquest of Khaibar took place in 6 AH, whereas Sa'd b. Mu'adh died in 3 AH just after the Battle of the Trench, and Mu'awiyah embraced Islam in 8 AH, after the conquest of Makkah!82

The author, in his Criticism of Hadith among Muslims with reference to Sunan Ibn Majah, has given more examples of fabricated ahadith under the following eight categories of causes of fabrication:83

political differences;
factions based on issues of creed;
fabrications by zanadiqah (enemies-within spreading heretical beliefs);
fabrications by story-tellers;
fabrications by ignorant ascetics;
prejudice in favour of town, race or a particular imam;
inventions for personal motives;
proverbs turned into ahadith.
Similar to the last category above is the case of Isra'iliyat ("Israelite traditions"), narrations from the Jews and the Christians84 which were wrongly attributed to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).
Source : http://www.islamicawakening.com/

Beautiful Images and Videos of Paris - France.

2011-12-12T01:55:00.000-08:00

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Thu

"Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind." -- Seneca
A woman should be less concerned about Paris and more concerned about whether the dress she's about to buy relates to the way she lives.
Geoffrey Beene
France
Paris's founders were probably the Gauls, who built a small settlement on the left bank of the Seine. The Romans reached here at an early stage, led by Julius Caesar. Paris became a true capital in the year 987 when Ugo Capote founded a new dynasty. Paris began to develop not only as an urban center, but also from the cultural point of view. Paris has retained its place in the history of mankind and its culture.

The Persian Wedding Ceremony, Iranian

2011-12-08T10:23:00.001-08:00

n

21 Dec

For Iranians marriage is considered to be an event, which must be celebrated not quietly but with glory and distinction. It is the most conspicuous of all the rituals and must be celebrated in the presence of an assembly, which can bear witness to the event.
In the ancient times, the musicians playing at marriage gatherings used drums to announce the marriage to the people of the town or village. The group that gathered for the marriage was called the assembly “Anjoman” for the queenly bride.
Traditionally, both the bride and the bridegroom would dress in white with wreaths of flower on their necks, something similar to the Hawaiian Lei. These wreaths of flower are still worn in modern wedding ceremonies in Pakistan (which used to be part of the great Persian Empire), but it is eliminated from the Iranian wedding ceremony. The color white is a symbol of purity, innocence and faithfulness. Today most modern Iranian couples follow the western dress code and style.
There are two stages to a Persian marriage. Most often both take place on the same day, but occasionally there could be some time between the two. The first is called “Aghd”, the legal process of getting married, when both the bride and bridegroom and their guardians sign a marriage contract. The second stage is “Jashn-e Aroosi”, the actual feasts and the celebrations, which traditionally lasted from 3 to 7 days.
The ceremony takes place in a specially decorated room with flowers and a beautiful and elaborately decorated spread on the floor called “Sofreh-ye Aghd”. Traditionally Sofreh-ye Aghd is set on the floor facing east, the direction of sunrise (light). Consequently when bride and bridegroom are seated at the head of Sofreh-ye Aghd they will be facing “The Light”.
By custom Aghd would normally take place at bride’s parents/guardians home. The arrival of the guests, who are to be witnesses to the marriage of the couple, initiates the wedding ceremony. Traditionally the couples’ guardians and other elder close family members are present in the room to greet the guests and guide them to their seats. After all the guests are seated the bridegroom is the first to take his seat in the room at the head of Sofreh-ye Aghd. The bride comes afterwards and joins the bridegroom at the head of Sofreh-ye Aghd. The bridegroom always sits on the right hand side of the bride. In Zoroastrian culture the right side designates a place of respect.
The spread that is used on the floor as the backdrop for Sofreh-ye Aghd was traditionally passed from mother to daughter (or occasionally son). The spread is made of a luxurious fabric such as “Termeh” (Cashmere: A rich gold embroidered fabric originally made in Cashmere from the soft wool found beneath the hair of the goats of Cashmere, Tibet, and the Himalayas), “Atlas” (Gold embroidered satin) or “Abrisham” (Silk).
On Sofreh-ye Aghd, the following items are placed:
* Mirror (of fate) “Aayeneh-ye Bakht” and two Candelabras (representing the bride and groom and brightness in their future) one on either side of the mirror. The mirror and two candelabras are symbols of light and fire, two very important elements in the Zoroastrian culture. When the bride enters the room she has her veil covering her face. Once the bride sits beside the bridegroom she removes her veil and the first thing that the bridegroom sees in the mirror should be the reflection of his wife-to-be.
* A tray of seven multi-colored herbs and spices “Sini-ye Aatel-O-Baatel” to guard the couple and their lives together against the evil eye, witchcraft and to drive away evil spirits. This tray consists of seven elements in seven colors:
1. Poppy Seeds “Khash-Khaash” (to break spells and witchcraft)
2. Wild Rice “Berenj”
3. Angelica “Sabzi Khoshk”
4. Salt “Namak” (to blind the evil eye)
5. Nigella Seeds “Raziyaneh”
6. Black Tea “Chaay”
7. Frankincense “Kondor” (to burn the evil spirits)
* A specially baked and decorated flatbread “Noon-e Sangak” with blessing “Mobaarak-Baad” written in calligraphy on it. The writing is usually with either saffron “Zaffaron”, cinnamon, Nigella seeds, or glitters. This symbolizes prosperity for the feasts and for the couple’s life thereafter. A separate platter of this flat bread, feta cheese and fresh herbs are also present to be shared with the guests after the ceremony, to bring the new couple happiness and prosperity.
* A basket of decorated eggs and a basket of decorated almonds, walnuts and hazelnuts in the shell to symbolize fertility.
* A basket of pomegranates and/or apples for a joyous future. Pomegranates are considered heavenly fruits and apples symbolize the divine creation of mankind.
* A cup of rose water extracted from special Persian roses “Gol-e Mohammadi” to perfume the air.
* A bowl made out of crystallized sugar “Kaas-e Nabaat/Shaakh-e Nabaat” to sweeten life for the newly wed.
* A brazier “Manghal” holding burning coals sprinkled with wild rue “Espand” a popular incense. Wild rue is used in many Zoroastrian ceremonies, rituals and purification rites. It is believed to keep the evil eye away and bring on plenty of health.
* A bowl of gold coins representing wealth and prosperity.
* A scarf or shawl made out of silk or any other fine fabric to be held over the bride and bridegroom’s head throughout the ceremony by various happily married female relatives (mostly bride’s close family members).
* Two sugar cones “Kalleh Ghand” made out of hardened sugar to be used during the ceremony. These sugar cones are grinded together above the bride and bridegroom’s head (over the scarf held above their heads) throughout the ceremony to shower them in sugar (symbolizing sweetness and happiness).
* A cup of honey to sweeten life. Immediately after the couple is married they each should dip one pinky finger in the cup of honey and feed it to the other one.
* A needle and seven strands of colored thread to figuratively sew up the mother-in-law’s lips from speaking unpleasant words to the bride! The shawl that is held above the couple’s head throughout the ceremony is sewed in one corner by the needle and threads.
* A copy of Koran “Ghoraan-e Majid” (the Moslem’s holy book) opened in the middle and placed on the spread. This symbolizes God’s blessing for the couple. Traditionally “Avesta” the ancient Zoroastrian holy book was present during the ceremony and readings were made from it. Eventually Koran replaced Avesta after Iran became a Moslem nation.
* A prayer carpet/kit “Jaa-Namaaz” spread open in the center of Sofreh-ye Aghd to remind the couple of importance of prayer both at blissful times and times of hardship. This prayer kit includes a small rug “Sajjaadeh” to be spread on the floor at the time of prayer, a small cube of molded clay with prayers written on it “Mohr” and a strand of prayer beads “Tasbih”.
* An assortment of sweets and pastries to be shared with the guests after the ceremony. The assortment usually includes: Sugar coated almond strips “Noghl”, Baklava (a sweet flaky Persian pastry “Baaghlavaa”), Mulberry-almond paste made in the shape of mulberries “Tout”, Rice-flour cookies “Noon-Berenji”, Chickpea-flour cookies “Noon-Nokhodchi”, Almond-flour cookies “Noon-Baadoomi”, and Honey roasted almonds “Sohaan A’sali”.

When the bride and bridegroom are both seated the marriage ceremony begins. Usually the Moslem “Mullah” or other males with recognized authority such as a notary public will be the master of ceremony and perform the legal part of the ceremony. The bride and the bridegroom have each a marriage witness. Usually older and married males are chosen amongst close relations to stand as witnesses. The ceremony consists of preliminary blessings, questions to the witnesses, guardians and the marrying couple. Finally the ceremony is solemnized by giving some prayers for the newly wed couple and signing of a legal marriage contract.
After the preliminary blessings and a few words about the importance of the institution of marriage, the master of ceremony confirms with both the parents or guardians that they indeed wish to proceed with the ceremony and there are no objections. Then the master of ceremony asks the mutual consent of the couple. First the bridegroom is asked if he wishes to enter into the marriage contract, then the bride is asked the same question. Once the bride is asked if she agrees to the marriage, she pauses. The question is repeated three times and it is only at the third time that she will say yes. To make the bridegroom wait for the bride’s answer is to signify that it is the husband who seeks the wife and is eager to have her and not the other way around!
During the reading of the marriage contract, all the unmarried ladies are asked to leave the room. There exists the belief that a girl should only hear the marriage ceremony’s readings for her own marriage or her chances for marriage might be ill-fated! Nowadays the single ladies do not seem to be too worried about finding a husband and getting married, because most of them stay in the room to witness the ceremony.
During the service married female relatives of the couple (mainly the bride) hold over the couple’s head the fine scarf. Two different actions take place at the same time. Two pieces of crystallized sugar shaped like cones are rubbed together, a symbolic act to sweeten the couple’s life. In the second act two parts of the same fabric are sewn together with needle and thread to symbolize sewing mother-in-law’s lips together. The ceremony is reminiscent of the ancient traditions.
Once the bride has said yes to the proposal, the master of the ceremony pronounces the couple husband and wife and asks for God’s blessing to be with the couple in their lives together. The bride and bridegroom place the wedding bands on each other’s hands and feed each other honey. Afterwards the couple, their guardians, witnesses and master of ceremony sign the documents.
Traditionally after the ceremony while the bride and groom are still seated the bride is showered with gifts, usually expensive jewelry, and all she receives is hers. The bridegroom does not receive many gifts. He only receives one gift from the bride’s parents/guardians. When all the gifts are presented to the bride the wedding ceremony is officially concluded. Generally after the ceremony the bride and bridegroom and the guests move to the location of the wedding celebration party “Aroosi” and celebrate the occasion by playing laud cheerful music, dancing and consuming some lavishly prepared food.
The celebration includes a lavish meal, sometimes with a whole roast lamb as the centerpiece. Jeweled rice “Morrasah Polo” or sweet rice “Shirin Polo” is always served along with many other dishes and an elaborate wedding cake. The celebration, with so much feasting, singing, and dancing, is a day for all to remember. After the guests have gone home, it is customary to give the remaining pastries to those who were unable to come and to those who helped make the day a success. The sugar cones are kept by the bride for good luck.
Before they enter their home, the bride kicks over a bowl of water placed in the doorway. The water spilled on the threshold represents enlightenment, happiness, and purification for their new house. A friendly competition starts with the bride and groom as the bride tries to enter her house while stepping on her husband’s feet. This act makes the bride the boss in the household.
In recent years, the Persian communities abroad have changed and adopted the life-styles of their host countries. The Persian marriage ceremony, however, is so old and can be such a beautiful ceremony that it would be a shame not to enact it.
Source : http://www.revertmuslims.com/islam_marriage/wedding_traditions.html#persian

Rabbi zidni ilma O my Lord! Advance me in Knowledge [surah Ta-Ha; 20:114]

2011-12-08T10:03:00.001-08:00

in Knowledge [surah Ta-Ha; 20:114]

20 Nov

Rabbi zidni ilma
O my Lord! Advance me in Knowledge
[surah Ta-Ha; 20:114]
رَّبِّ زِدْنِى عِلْمًا
“If Allah wants to favor someone, He grants him comprehension (understanding) of this religion.”

[Sahih Bukhari vol.1 # 71, Tirmidhi and Musnad Ahmad]

“It is only those who have knowledge amongst His slaves that fear Allah.”

[Soorah Al-Fatir (35): 28]

“Seek knowledge, because seeking it for the sake of Allah is a worship. And knowing it makes you more God-fearing; and searching for it is jihad, teaching it to those who do not know is charity, reviewing and learning it more is like tasbeeh. Through knowledge Allah will be known and worshipped. With the knowledge Allah will elevate people and make them leaders and imams, who will in turn guide other people.”

[Fatawa Ibn Taymiyya vol.10, p.39]

“Whoever treads on a path in search of Islamic knowledge, Allah will ease the way to Paradise for him. The angels will lower their wings, pleased with this seeker of knowledge, and everyone in the heavens and on earth will ask forgiveness for the knowledgeable person, even the fish in the deepest of waters will ask for his forgiveness”
[Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah, Tirmidhi # 2835-sahih hadith]
“He whom death overtakes while he is engaged in acquiring knowledge with a view to reviving Islam with the help of it, there will be one degree between him and the Prophets in Paradise .”
[Al-Tirmidhi Hadith no. 249. Narrated by Al-Hasan al-Basri]
Source : http://forums.islamicawakening.com/f40/rabbi-zidni-ilma-23495/

Infographic: A 'Minority Report' type of technology

2011-12-07T22:13:00.001-08:00

Technology has advanced tremendously in the past 10 years. This infographic highlights 'precognition' systems and how the advancement of this new technology could be closer than we think.

Created by: Criminology
by mail from Tony Shin

Mashable Infographic: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)

2011-12-07T22:04:00.001-08:00

>
Via: Business Insurance Blog
by mail from Muhammad Saleem
http://muhammadsaleem.com

The Greatest Physician

2011-12-07T17:40:00.001-08:00

Welcome to a great doctor
As you come to office hours,
He is an expert in all issues
And that day never comes.

He can heal a broken heart
He can cure the soul,
No matter your illness
He is the treatment for you.

The fee for service never alters
He also serves rich and poor,
He is our one chance for salvation
That alone saves us from Hell.

There is a fee for services
We believe this is all they ask.
And as he orders us
And we'll get blessed.

Do you have a specific problem
The trouble is that you?
Then just turn
You can get some more power.

Do not delay seeking treatment
My friends, please do not hesitate
For the office is closing soon
He shut the door and locked it.

I will not hunt for you
, Is so near by doctor.
Your whole life will be better
If you try going to the doctor.
byMuhammad Yahya
http://islamic-articles-collection.blogspot.com/

The Truth About Facebook & Grades

2011-12-06T17:11:00.001-08:00

Infographic: The Truth About Facebook & Grades

As social media continues to evolve, Facebook leads the front and also plays one of the most critical roles in tomorrow's education.
This collaborative infographic illustrates the most thorough data to this date on the topic from leading social media researcher, Reynold Junco.

Via: OnlineEducation.net
Have a great day!--
by mail from Tony Shin

Please Support Wikipedia

2011-12-06T09:53:00.001-08:00

There are three things that I can’t imagine life without.
- Chocolate
- Coffee Breaks
- and Wikipedia.

Almost everyday I visit wikipedia to learn about some Person, Event, A piece of history, a bit of science…gosh the list goes on. When reading news online they have references to events that I have no idea about. But just with a flick of a wrist, wikipedia is open and I know exactly what they are talking about.

Wikipedia is an amazing project setup by an amazing person. Jimmy Wales is determined to keep it Advertising free. What spirit!

Read an excerpt from his passionate appeal:

Wikipedia is something special. It is like a library or a public park. It is like a temple for the mind. It is a place we can all go to think, to learn, to share our knowledge with others.
When I founded Wikipedia, I could have made it into a for-profit company with advertising banners, but I decided to do something different.

We donate regularly to wikipedia. I appeal you to do so as well. Even if it is just Rs.100. per month. You can make your donation by clicking here.

Source : http://www.vakil.org/

EVERY ALPHABET HAS A MESSAGE

2011-12-05T21:44:00.001-08:00

A to Z

Every alphabet has a meaning and message
just find it out
and work on it !!!!!!!!!!

Regards,

priyanka
by mail from Kamakshi Narayan
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Virtue of fasting the first ten days of Muharram

2011-12-05T18:30:00.001-08:00

All perfect praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His Slave and Messenger.
It was narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet said: "The best fasting after Ramadhaan is the month of Muharram." [Muslim, An-Nasaa’i, Abu Daawood and others] An-Nawawi said that this Hadeeth is a direct indication that Muharram is the best month for fasting (after Ramadhaan).
The best days of the month of Muharram are the first ten days. Al-Mardaawi said in Al-Insaaf, "The best days of Al-Muharram are the tenth then the ninth then the first ten days of it.”
Ibn Rajab said in Lataa’if Al-Ma‘aarif, "The best days of Muharram are the first ten days." He quoted Abu ‘Uthmaan An-Nahdi as saying, “They (the people) would glorify three tens: the last ten days of Ramadhaan, the first ten days of Thul-Hijjah and the first ten days of Muharram”.
However, there is not any authentic Hadeeth regarding the virtue of fasting the first ten days of Muharram altogether.
Allaah Knows best.

Related Articles
  The wisdom behind the late prescription of fasting the ninth of Muharram
  No contradiction between the Ahaadeeth of fasting ‘Aashooraa’
  The wisdom behind the Prophet's fasting the tenth of Muharram

Source : http://www.islamweb.net/

Muslims, a Misunderstood Community in India

2011-12-01T10:00:00.001-08:00

By Aziz A. Mubaraki,
The Indian media published many colorful stories reporting that Madrasas are breeding grounds for Islamic terrorism and that many of them are funded by Pakistan's ISI. But the media never bothered to investigate the charges seriously. In fact we have never heard such charge against any Islamic institution having ever been proved to be true in any court of law.
India’s Muslim population, which is estimated to be as large as 150 million (the second largest in the world after Indonesia), is largely poor, illiterate, and has been victims of communal discrimination in almost all walks of life. Government-appointed inquiry commissions highlighted these miseries of Indian Muslims at least twice in recent years. Yet, India’s Muslims have remained committed to the Indian state and seek to participate in country’s mainstream political and economic life.
Living in ghettoes and backward villages Muslims often have no access to quality government, private or missionary schools. The poorer Muslim parents are left with no choice but to send their small children to madrasas where education is almost free. They send their children to madrasas to help them get at least religious education when they do not have easy access to mainstream general education.

Muslims face discrimination in education, job, housing and other fields. This discrimination has given rise to sense of alienation among many Muslims. If this discrimination is removed from the country, Muslims can positively contribute to India’s growth in all terms. But minority Muslims cannot join the mainstream unless they get help from the majority Hindu community. This open-hearted welcome gesture of mutual trust and respect must come from the Hindus first. I am sure that the gesture will surely be spontaneously reciprocated by the Muslims.
This has to be understood that there are a number of Islamic religious and political organisations across the country. But these organisations are not that popular among Muslims who traditionally prefer to support secular groups. For this reason no Islamist group has in fact been able to be involved in terrorist activities with popular Muslim support.
In fact, India's secular education system is yet to do something substantial on its part to help integrate Muslims into the mainstream society. If Muslims are offered opportunity, like other Indians, they would surely prefer modern academic education over what poorer madrasas are offering. Like all others, India’s Muslims too want to improve their standard of living and they know that modern or English education can help them reach that goal comfortably.
However, although at a low pace, traditional hurdles to Muslims’ cultural integration to the mainstream society are falling apart. For all Indians many young and dynamic Muslims have turned culture icons in recent years- be it in sports, movies and other fields. As Muslims have always maintained that they are Indians first and Muslims second, they are making serious efforts to integrate themselves into the mainstream society and win the adulation and respect of other Indians. Unless the authorities guarantee unbiased opportunities for these Muslims, they will never be able to improve their lots and participate in nation’s development.
Separatism and religious extremism hold no appeal to Indian Muslims, and the overwhelming majority of them espouse moderate doctrines. But, it’s unfortunate that mainstream Indian Media have always incorrectly portrayed minority Muslims as one obscurantist community, resorting to violence and terrorism. Bent only on how they can push up their TRP, the media never bothered to unveil the TRUTH, sadly...
(Aziz A. Mubaraki is Member, Advisory Committee, Airport Authority of India (NSC), Ministry of Civil Aviations, Government of India)
Source : http://twocircles.net/