Monday, March 30, 2015

Nikah - Marriage Rules in Islam - Islamic Marriage

Concept of Marriage in Islam

Nikah

 In Islam, marriage is a legal contract between two people. The bride is to consent to the marriage of her own free will. A formal, binding contract is considered integral to a religiously valid Islamic marriage, and outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom and bride.Marriage is an act of Sunnah in Islam and is highly recommended.

Allah says in Qur'an:

Holy Quran 



"And among His signs is this, that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that you may dwell in peace and tranquility with them, and He has put love and mercy between your (hearts): Verily in that are signs for those who reflect� (Quran 30:21).

�And marry those among you who are single and those who are fit among your male slaves and your female slaves; if they are needy, Allah will make them free from want out of His grace; and Allah is Ample-giving, Knowing.� (Surah an-Nur, 24:32)

�O Humans revere your Guardian Lord, Who created you from a single person created of like nature its mate, and from this scattered (like seeds) countless men and women. Reverence Allah through Whom you claim your mutual rights� (Quran 4:1).

"And Allah has made for you your mates of your own nature, and made for you, out of them, sons and daughters and grandchildren, and provided for you sustenance of the best." [Noble Quran 16:72]

Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) said:


Beautiful Hadith



 "O you young men! Whoever is able to marry should marry, for that will help him to lower his gaze and guard his modesty." [Al-Bukhari]

 "Marriage is my sunnah. Whosoever keeps away from it is not from me."

"Modesty was regarded as a great virtue by the Prophet. He said, "Modesty is part of faith." [Al-Bukhari]

Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: �No previously-married woman (widow or divorcee) may be married until she has been asked about her wishes (i.e., she should state clearly her wishes), and no virgin should be married until her permission has been asked (i.e., until she has agreed either in words or by remaining silent).� They asked, �O Messenger of Allaah, how is her permission given (because she will feel very shy)?� He said: �By her silence.� (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 4741)

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: �Any woman who marries without the permission of her walee, her marriage is invalid, her marriage is invalid, her marriage is invalid.� (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, 1021 and others; it is a saheeh hadeeth)

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: �There is no marriage contract except with a walee and two witnesses.� (Reported by al-Tabaraani; see also Saheeh al-Jaami�, 7558)


The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: �Announce marriages.� (Reported by Imaam Ahmad; classed as hasan in Saheeh al-Jaami�, 1027)

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: �No woman may conduct the marriage contract of another woman, and no woman can conduct the marriage contract on behalf of her own self, because the zaaniyah (fornicatress, adulteress) is the one who arranges things on her own behalf.� (Reported by Ibn Maajah, 1782; see also Saheeh al-Jaami�, 7298)

Forced Marriage is Haram in Islam:

Forced Marriage is Haram in Islam

Forced marriages are totally unacceptable in Islam. Islam regards marriage as a right of the individual and therefore others cannot make the decision for them. If a woman/man is forced in marriage then the marriage would not be valid and would therefore need to be cancelled. However, daughters and sons should also recognize the rights of their parents and come to an agreed solution before the marriage takes place.

If this does not happen then those who forced the marriage and those who allowed it are both guilty and have committed a major sin.

Hadith
Rules of Marriage


Consent of Wali and Spouses 

Man and woman agree together to lead married life and this agreement is called nikah (marriage), and the two parties accept the responsibilities and obligations and thus live together as husband and wife. 

For nikah it is necessary that both man and woman have attained the age of puberty-the age of full bloom and strength (4:6, 40:67). Nikah is not possible without mutual consent of both the parties in the presence of at least two witnesses, one from the side of the man and the other from the side of woman. (Man and woman have free choice to marry each other (4:3, 19) Men have been forbidden to marry women against their will, they cannot marry without obtaining consent of women and thus become their masters instead of companion. (4:19) The criterion for selection of spouse should be the unanimity of ideology and faith in Islam, and this is the reason why a momin (Believer-man) is forbidden to marry a mushrika (Unbeliever-woman) vice versa, and thus to save home from becoming hell whereas Allah wants it to become heaven (2:221).

Nikah should be performed in a declared manner, and the relationship between the spouses should not be kept a secret. If it is performed secretly it is not legal. (4:25; 5:5) The Quran has not suggested any ceremony for nikah, nor it has mentioned about involvement of a (third) person to perform it. Since nikah is an agreement between two parties, government can formulate rules and regulations (marriage Act), and it has to be performed accordingly.

For those who are capable of getting married the society has to provide facilities for nikah. (24:32) Those who could not get facilities to get married should keep themselves chaste by self-control till they get alliance. [(24:33)-VI, p.803] Prostitution is prohibited.

Married couple is forbidden from sexual Intercourse when:

(I) The women is not in normal physical condition i.e. during menses, and after this period they can have it as per the natural laws (2:222);
(ii) When either of them or both are observing fast (of course from dawn to dusk) (2:187); and
(iii) Even from dusk to dawn when one is in retreat in the mosque (for some assignment). (2:187)
 
Certain women (relationships) are forbidden for nikah. They are:

(1) Yours mothers
(2) Your daughters
(3) Your sisters
(4) Your father�s sisters
(5) Your mother�s sisters
(6) Your brother�s daughters
(7) Your sister�s daughters
(8) Your foster mothers
(9) Your foster sisters
(10) Mothers of your wives
(11) Your stepdaughters, which have been brought up under your guardianship and are born of wives with whom you have had marital relations. If you have not had marital relations then the prohibition does not apply.
(12) Wives of your real sons.
(13) It is also prohibited to have in marriage two sisters at the same time.
Also forbidden to you in marriage are those women who are already married except those whom you already possess. (4:23,24)
A Muslim man should not marry a mushrika (Unbeliever woman) until she accepts Islam; likewise Muslim woman should not marry mushrik man until he accepts Islam. (2:221) A Muslim woman cannot marry a man from amongst the people who believe in the earlier scriptures (5:5)

Mehar

"Mahr is a wife's right, which becomes binding upon the husband once the marriage is contracted. It is fully payable after the consummation of marriage but if divorce occurs before the consummation of marriage then half of the Mahr is required to be paid unless the wife or her guardians waive it. Allah says: "And give unto the women, (whom ye marry) free gift of their marriage portions..." (An-Nisa': 4) 

He Almighty also says: "And those of whom ye seek content (by marrying them), give unto them their portions as a duty..." (An-Nisa': 24) 

Mahr is very important in Islamic marriage. Allah has used the word "faridah" for it. It means something fixed, decided and obligatory. It is obligatory on the husband to pay mahr to his wife unless she expressly by her own will without any pressure forgives him or returns the amount of mahr to him. Mahr belongs to the wife and it is to be given to her only. It is not the property of her parents or her guardian. No one can forgive the husband to pay the Mahr except the wife herself or, in case she did not go to her husband and the marriage ended without consummation, then in that situation her guardian can also forgive the mahr on her behalf. If a husband dies without paying mahr to his wife, it will be an outstanding debt on him and it must be paid before the distribution of his inheritance among his heirs. 

It is a woman's right and it signifies a husband's love and appreciation for his wife. In the Qur'an it is called "sadaqah" which means a token of friendship. It is also called "nihlah" which means "a nice gift or present." Mahr also signifies a husband's commitment to take care of his wife's financial needs (nafaqah). 

According to the Shari`ah, the mahr should also be reasonable. There is no fixed amount of mahr in the Shari`ah. It should be given according to the financial status of the husband and according to the time and place. 

However, it is a principle of the Shari`ah that the mahr should not be too expensive. It is wrong to declare large amount of mahr at the time of marriage to show off or to boast. Some time bride's family put pressure on the groom and his family for a large amount of mahr so that they may show their pride to their relatives and friends boasting that their daughter was married for a big mahr. Sometimes the groom declares a big amount and secretly thinks that this is just a commitment on paper. People are often heard saying, "Write whatever you want, no one asks and no one pays." This is playing a game with the rules of Allah. Muslims should only commit to what they are really capable of paying and what they intend to pay. It is haram to enjoy relations with a wife and then deny her the mahr when she demands." 

Wedding Khutbah

This is a typical Muslim nikah khutbah (wedding speech) that would be given by an Imam at a Muslim wedding. 

Walima

Walima or the marriage banquet, is the second of the two traditional parts of an Islamic wedding. The walima is performed after the nikah, or marriage ceremony. The word walima is derived from awlam, meaning to gather or assemble. It designates a feast in Arabic . Walima is used as a symbol to show domestic happiness in the household post-marriage] While walima is often used to describe a celebration of marriage.

Saturday, March 28, 2015

Two Vernal Verses for the Turning of the Year

Here's a pair of poetic fragments for everyone shiveringly awaiting the arrival of meteorological spring:


Gone is the winter of my misery,
My spring appears; O see what here doth grow!
                  --Sir Philip Sidney, Astrophil and Stella, no.69


If it's ever spring again,
       Spring again,
I shall go where went I when
Down the moor-cock splashed, and hen,
Seeing me not, amid their flounder,
Standing with my arm around her;
If it's ever spring again,
       Spring again,
I shall go where went I then.
                                          --Thomas Hardy

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

BEOWULF, translated by Seamus Heaney

Seamus Heaney was one of my favorite contemporary poets, and I've long considered his 'bog people' poems of the 1970s ("Punishment," "Bog Queen," etc.) among the strongest English-language poems of the past 50 years. Imagine my disappointment, then, when I finally read his translation of Beowulf and found it largely unimpressive. Oh, there are some very good lines, some places where Heaney pulls marvelous modern poetry out of the old Anglo-Saxon. Heaney's "havoc in Heorot and horrors everywhere"(l.594) probably can't be bettered; there's a wonderful harsh music in the alliteration, and the vowels seem to gasp at the carnage they signify. Similarly, Heaney has his horde of slaughtered sea monsters "...sleeping / the sleep of the sword..."(l.565-6), a phrase that sings like sunlight on calm water, despite its surely deliberate echoing of a modern clich�, "the sleep of death." But elsewhere in Heaney's translation, this sort of thing ceases to be an echo and becomes a blatant tendency to translate Anglo-Saxon verse into contemporary American clich�. At lines 26-27, for example, Heaney tells us "[Scyld] was still thriving when his time came / and he crossed over into the Lord's keeping." Questionable Christianization aside, that 'when his time came' is a vapid 20th-century funeral home euphemism, and Heaney's 'crossed over' is even worse, making the Beowulf poet sound like a Californian guru of the afterlife. Later, Heaney has Hrothgar refer to Aeschere as "my right-hand man"(l.1326), a truly jarring anachronism, akin to having Hrothgar call him 'my main man' or 'my soul brother.' These examples leapt out at me, but Heaney's text is riddled with flat, uninspired, and/or clich�d lines. So I can't agree with Andrew Motion's blurbed contention that Heaney "has made a masterpiece out of a masterpiece." At times, in fact, Heaney has taken the first major work of English literature and turned it into a bit of a mess.


What is the best modern translation of Beowulf? This is not a rhetorical question; the four translations I've read over the years have failed to impress me as poetry, and I would sincerely like to learn of a better one. I've sampled Tolkien's, but it seems too pedantically literal, a donnish crib. Maybe now, almost a generation after Heaney's attempt, it's time for another poet to try her hand. Someone needs to build a better Beowulf. Famous Seamus seems to have left the job undone.

THE CITY AND THE CITY by China Mieville

China Mieville (he's a Brit; the name signifies French ancestry, hippie parents, and a guarantee that Americans will think of Moby Dick the moment they see his name on a dust jacket) possesses one of the most impressive imaginations in contemporary SF. Anyone who has sampled even a bit of his Bas-Lag trilogy (Perdido Street Station, The Scar, Iron Council) will not soon forget his weird inventions and uncanny ability to leap inside the perceptions of nonhuman characters. In The City and the City--best pigeonholed as an SF police procedural, the subgenre that includes Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and Soylent Green ("It's PEOPLE!")--that imagination is wonderfully displayed in the central conceit, two mutually antagonistic cities occupy the same physical space and citizens of each are socialized to 'unsee' buildings and people in the other, even when those buildings abut their own or those people pass them on the sidewalk. It's a fantastically suggestive idea, worthy of Calvino or even Kafka, and Mieville milks it marvelously. This conceit is also by far the best thing about the novel, and therein lies the work's weakness. In sharp contrast to the originality of its setting, The City and the City's characters are flat, its plot formulaic (and as such, a bit too predictable), and its prose rarely rises above the average level for its genre(s). There were several sentences in which an obviously tortured syntax left me wondering if Mieville was writing deliberately 'badly' in order to defamiliarize the language of his text as a parallel to his defamiliarization of our world in his topolganger (his coinage, and a good one) cities. This may have been his intention, but my margin of readerly doubt measures the distance between intention and execution. If linguistic defamiliarization was his target, he didn't quite hit it here. But it's clear that Mieville is damn good, and his writerly craft is still on the up escalator. When he reaches the top, watch out.

Thursday, March 19, 2015

The Quran - Information About Quran

 Holy Qur'an:

Holy Qur'an

The word Quran literally means �to read� and the most readable book through-out in the world is the Holy Quran . The Holy Qur'an - The Book of Guidance
 Allah Almighty revealed the Quran through angel Jibrael Amin (Alihis salam) to the last prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in the cave of Hira on Liala tul Qadr (the night of power) and Allah himself took the responsibility to keep the Holy Quran Safe and sound for the mankind till the Day of Judgment.

 Information About Qur'an:

Qur'an Kareem

Q) Where was the Qur''an revealed first?
A) In the cave of Hira (Makkah)

Q) On which night was the Qur''an first revealed?
A) Lailatul-Qadr (Night of the Power)

Q) Through whom was the Qur''an revealed?
A) Through Angel Jibraeel (Alaihis-Salaam)

Q) To whom was the Qur''an revealed?
A) To the last Prophet Muhammed (Sallahu Alaihi Wasallam)

Q) Who took the responsibility of keeping the Qur''an safe?
A) Allah himself

Q) What are the conditions for holding or touching the Qur''an?
A) One has to be clean and to be with wudhu (ablution)

Q) What is the topic of the Qur''an?
A) Man

Q) What are the other names of the Qur''an according to the Qur''an itself?
A) Al-Furqaan, Al-Kitaab, Al-Zikr, Al-Noor, Al-Huda

Q) How many Makki Surahs (chapters) are there in the Qur''an?
A) 86

Q) How many Madani Surahs (chapters) are there in the Qur''an?
A) 28

Q) How many Manzils (stages) are there in the Qur''an?
A)7

Q) How many Paara or Juz (parts) are there in the Qur''an?
A) 30

Q) How many Surahs (chapters) are there in the Qur''an?
A) 114

Q) How many Rukoo (paragraphs) are there in the Qur''an?
A) 540

Q) How many Aayaath (verses) are there in the Qur''an?
A) 6666

Q) How many times is the word ''Allah'' repeated in the Qur''an?
A) 2698

Q) How many different types of Aayaath (verses) are there in the Qur''an?
A) 10

Q) At the time of the death of Prophet Muhammed (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) how many Huffaz were there?
A) 22

Q) How many Aayaaths (verses) on Sajda (prostation) are there in the Qur''an?
A) 14

Q) In which Paara (part) and Surah (chapter) do you find the first verse about Sajda (prostation)?
A) The 9th Paara, 7th Chapter-Surah-al-Araaf, Verse206

Q) How many times has the Qur''an stressed about Salaat or Namaaz (prayer)?
A) 700 times

Q) How many times has the Qur''an emphasized on alms or charity?
A) 150

Q) How many times in the Qur''an, is the Prophet Muhammed (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) addressed as Yaa-Aiyu-Han-Nabi?
A)11 times

Q) Where in the Qur''an has Prophet Muhammed (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) been named ''Ahmed''?
A)Paara 28, Surah Saff, Ayath 6

Q) How many times has the name of Rasool-ullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) been mentioned in the Qur''an?
A) Muhammed (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) - 4 times Ahmed (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) - 1 time.

Q) Name the Prophet whose name is mentioned and discussed most in the Qur''an?
A) Moosa (Alahis-Salaam)

Q) Who were the Kaathibe-Wahi (copyists of the revelations) of the Qur''an?
A) Abu Bakr (Radhiallahu Anhu), Usman (Radhiallahu Anhu), Ali (Radhiallahu Anhu), Zaid Bin Harith (Radhiallahu Anhu) And Abdullah bin Masood (Radhiallahu Anhu)

Q) Who was the first person who counted the Aayaath (verses) of the Qur''an?
A) Ayesha (Radhiallahu Anha)

Q) On whose advice did Abu Bakr (Radhiallahu Anhu) decide to compile the Qur''an?
A) Omer Farooq (Radhiallahu Anhu)

Q) On whose order was the Qur''an compiled completely in written form?
A) Abu Bakr (Radhiallahu Anhu)

Q) Who confined the recitation of the Qur''an on the style of the Quraysh tribe?
A) Usman (Radhiallahu Anhu)

Q) Out of the copies of ey at present?
A) Only 2 copies. One in Tashkent and the other in Istanbul.

Q) Which Surah of the Qur''an was Prophet Muhammed (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) reciting while praying, that Hazrat Jabeer Bin Muth''im Listened to and embraced Islam?
A) Surah Thoor

Q) Which was that Surah of the Qur''an which the Prophet Muhammed (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) had recited when one of his enemies Utba after listening to it fell in Sajda (prostation)?
A) The first five Ayaaths of Ham-Meem-Sajda

Q) Which is the first and the most ancient Mosque according to the Qur''an?
A) Kaaba.

Q) In Qur''an mankind is divided into two groups. Which are those two groups?
A) Believers and disbelievers.

Q) Who is the man about whom, Allah has said in the Qur''an that his body is kept as an admonishing example for future generations to come?
A) Fir''aun. (Pharaoh)

Q) In the Qur''an the name of which companion of Prophet Muhammed (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) is mentioned?
A) Zaid Bin Harith.

Q) Who is the relative of the Prophet Muahmmed (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) whose name is mentioned in the Qur''an?
A) Abu Lahab

Q) In the Qur''an there is a mention of a Prophet who has been called by his mother''s name. Who was he?
A) Jesus Prophet (Isa Alahis salaam) is mentioned as bin Maryam.

Q) What are the different names used for Satan or Devil in the Qur''an?
A) Iblees and Ash-Shaitaan.

Q) Which category of creature does the Qur''an put ''Iblees'' into?
A) Jinn.

Q) What were those worships and prayers that were ordered by Allah to the community of Bani Israeel and which were continued by the Muslim Ummah also?
A) Salaat and Zakaat. (Al-Baqarah:43)

Q) The Qur''an repeatedly warns of a certain day. Can you say which day it is?
A) Youmal Qiyamah. (Doomsday)

Q) Who were those people with whom Allah was pleased and they were pleased with Him, as mentioned in the Qur''an?
A) Companions of Prophet Muhammed. (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam)

Q) In which year were the vowels inserted in the Qur''an?
A) 43 Hijri.

Q) Which is the first Residential University where the faculty of the Qur''an was established for the first time?
A) Masjid-e-Nabvi. Mosque of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam)

Q) What type of a person does the Qur''an want to make?
A) A Momin.

Q) What is the scale or measure of one''s dignity according to the Qur''an?
A) Thaqwa. (Piety)

Q) Which is the longest Surah (Chapter) in the Qur''an?
A) Surah-al-Baqarah.

Q) Which is the smallest Surah in the Qur''an?
A) Surah-al-Kausar.

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Death Concept in Islam - The Life After Death

What does Islam say about life after death? 


 All of the prophets sent by Allah for the benefit of humanity called upon their people to worship God and to believe in life after death. 

Death is inevitable. It is the one thing that we can be certain about in life. We are born to die. Every soul shall have a taste of death no matter who they are.

 Qur'an says:

"Every soul shall have a taste of death: and only on the Day of Judgement shall you be paid your full recompense." (Quran 3:185)

 "You (Allah) bring the Living out
of the Dead, and You bring the Dead out of the Living" (3:27)

 "Say: 'The Angel of Death, put in charge of you, will (duly) take your souls. Then shall you be brought back to your Lord." (32:11) "Wherever you are, Death will find you out, even if you are in towers built up strong and high! " (4:78)

 Who will revive these bones when they have rotted away? Say: He will revive them who produced them at the first, for He is the knower of every creation, Who has appointed for you fire from the green tree, and behold, you kindle from it. Is not He who created the heavens and the earth, able to create the like of them? Yes, and He is indeed the Supreme Creator, the All-knowing". (36: 78-81)

In another verse, the Qur'an says very clearly that non believers do not have a sound basis for their denial of life after death. It is based on pure conjecture:
"They say, There is nothing but our present life; we die, and we live, and nothing but Time destroys us. Of that they have no knowledge; they merely conjecture. And when our revelations are recited to them, their only argument is that they say, 'Bring us our fathers, if you speak truly"/ (45:2425)".
 The prophet (saw) said:

  "Live in this world as though you are a stranger or a traveler (passing through it)." [Muslim] 

 Whenever someone died, the prophet (saw) would stand for awhile at the burial site and then say, "Seek forgiveness for your (Muslim) brother and pray for his steadfastness since he is now being questioned." [Abu Dawud]

Munkar and Nakir:

 Munkar and Nakir are angels who test the faith of the dead in their graves.
 
 Nakir and Munkar prop the deceased soul upright in the grave and ask three questions: 

1: "Who is your Lord? 

2: Who is your Prophet? 

3: What is your religion?

". A righteous believer will respond correctly, saying that their Lord is Allah, that Muhammad is their prophet and that their religion is Islam. If the deceased answers correctly, the time spent awaiting the resurrection is pleasant. 

Those who do not answer as described above are chastised until the day of judgment. These angels are described as having solid black eyes, having a shoulder span measured in miles, and carrying hammers "so large, that if all of mankind tried at once to move them a single inch, they would fail". When they speak, tongues of fire come from their mouths. If one answers their questions incorrectly, one is beaten every day, other than Friday, until Allah gives permission for the beating to stop. Muslims believe that a person will correctly answer the questions not by remembering the answers before death  but by their iman and deeds such as salat and shahadah (the Islamic profession of faith).

 At the death of the Momin, the angels of death come and extend salaam to the Momin, at this time the Momin in the throes of death��. smiles. (Perhaps some of you may have seen this in a pious relative) The angels of death then gently call for the soul to come out.

If the person is a Kafir or Munafiq then the angels of death look frightening to him and the dying person is terrified at the time of death.

Barzakh:

Soul awaits after death and before resurrection on Qiyamah.

Many Muslims believe that, after death, a person's soul passes through a stage called barzakh, where it exists in the grave (even if the person's body was destroyed, the soul will still rest in the earth near their place of death)

 Death is a blessing for a true Muslim:

 Life is temporary, it is going to end. After that, begins another world. Death leads to what is beyond death.

This is why the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi Wassallam) has said, that wise is the man who understands the purpose of his life, and is aware of the reason which brought him into this world, then remember death abundantly and consistently, this keeps preparing for what is after death, doing everything he could do for the life after death, a person finally leaves this world having lived in it like a traveller.

The Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wassallam used to say this: �Be in the world as if you are a traveller (away from home) a same wayfarer.�

It also narrated by Ubaid ibn Usman that he (all of a sudden) asked  Aishah Radiallaho Anha about death. �Should it be hated?� She replied �Why? Why should it be hated, when I asked the Holy prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi Wassallam) about it, he said: Death is nothing but peace for true Muslim, but for evildoers it is no doubt nothing but remorse.�

Punishment  of the Grave for Non Believers:

Punishment of the Grave is an Islamic concept of the period following death but prior to the Day of Judgement, when the souls of the unrighteous are punished in the grave.

The punishment of the grave applies regardless of manner of death or of the corporeal state of the deceased, and is measured by criteria unlike those of the living. The living cannot perceive these things with their eyes, ears or inner senses. However, the dead person is completely aware of them, but according to the criteria of the afterlife. Animals are able to hear the Punishment of the Grave while human beings cannot.

Life after death

Monday, March 16, 2015

Economic System of Islam - The Islamic Economy

Islam is an entire way of life, and Allah's Guidance extends into all areas of our lives. Islam has given detailed regulations for our economic life, which is balanced and fair.


 Basic Principles in Islam for Consumption or Investment of private property are:

    Concept of �HALAL� and �HARAM� for earning or in production and consumption of wealth.
    A property cannot be used against public interest.
    Show much as you have something.
    Real/money Capital cannot be used for gain.
    Payment of Zakat is compulsory.

 These things are not allowed in Islamic System:

    Production of drugs, gambling, lotery, music, dance etc.
    Lending and borrowing on interest
    Black marketing, Smuggling etc.


What is Islamic Economiy? 

The Islamic Economy

 Islamic economic jurisprudence, also Islamic commercial jurisprudence, or fiqh al-mu'amalat, refers to the rules of financial transacting in a Shari'a compliant manner, or economic activity conforming to Islamic scripture (Quran and sunnah).

 Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) has traditionally dealt with issues in terms of determining what is permissible or prohibited according to the scripture of Quran and ahadith, (whether dealing with issues like property, money, employment, taxes, etc. or anything else). On the other hand, economics being a social science studied how to best achieve certain policy goals, such as full employment, stability, economic growth, and improving efficiency, and equity.

Since the 1970s, Islamic economics has been introduced as an academic discipline in a number of institutions of higher learning throughout the Muslim world and in the West

The central features of an Islamic economy are often summarized as: the "behavioral norms and moral foundations" derived from the Quran and Sunnah; collection of Zakat and other Islamic taxes, prohibition of interest (riba) charged on loans.

Islamic movements and authors generally describe an Islamic economic system as neither socialist nor capitalist, but as a "third way", an ideal mean with none of the drawbacks of the other two systems.

Among the claims made by Islamic activists and revivalists for an economic system that will be based on Islam are that the gap between the rich and the poor will be reduced and prosperity enhanced,] by such means as the discouraging of the hoarding of wealth,  taxing wealth (through zakat) but not trade, exposing lenders to risk through Profit sharing and venture capital, discouraging of hoarding of food for speculation, and other sinful activities such as unlawful confiscation of land.

 Allah Says in Holy Qur'an: 

Holy Quran
 
"To orphans restore their property (when they reach their age). Do not substitute your worthless things for their good ones, and do not devour their property by mixing it up with your own. For this is indeed a great sin" (Qur'an 4:2).


 "Those who devour usury will not stand....Allah has permitted trade and forbidden usury.... Allah will deprive usury of all blessing, but will give increase for deeds of charity..." (Qur'an 2:275-6).

"O you who believe! Devour not usury, doubled and multiplied. But fear Allah, that you may really prosper" (Qur'an 3:130)

Give just measure and weight, and do not withhold from people the things that are their due. And do not do mischief on the earth after it has been set in order. That will be best for you, if you have faith" (Qur'an 7:85).

 Extravagance and waste are strongly discouraged. "[The Servants of Allah are] Those who, when they spend, are not extravagant and not stingy, but hold a just balance between those extremes" (Qur'an 25:67). "O Children of Adam! Wear your beautiful apparel at every time and place of prayer. Eat and drink, but waste not by excess, for Allah loves not the wasters" (Qur'an 7:31).

 "And they have been commanded no more than this: to worship Allah, offering Him sincere devotion, being true in faith. To establish regular prayer, and to give zakat. And that is the religion right and straight" (Qur'an 98:5).

 "Your riches and your children may be but a trial. Whereas Allah, with Him is the highest reward. So fear Allah as much as you can, listen and obey, and spend in charity for the benefit of your own souls. And those saved from the selfishness of their own souls, they are the ones that achieve prosperity" (Qur'an 64:15-16).

 �And measure full when you measure. And weigh with an even balance. This is better and its end is good.� [Al-Bani-Israel: 35].

�They who hoard up gold and silver and spend it not in the way of Allah, unto them give tidings (O Muhammad) of a painful doom.� [Al-Tauba: 34].

 �O Believers! Whenever you lend money for a particular period, write and someone among you must write it justly. And the one who can write must not refuse.� [Al-Baqara: 282].

 �Allah will deprive usury of all blessing, but will give increase for deeds of charity� [Al-Baqara: 276].

 �O believers! Stand firmly for justice, giving witness for Allah, may be therein your own loss, or of your parents or of your relations. Against whom you be a witness, he be a rich or be a poor, in any case Allah has more power than anyone over them, therefore follow not passion lest you may be far away from justice; and if you distort or turn your face, then Allah is aware of your doings.� [Al-Nisa: 135]

 Those who blame Muslims who give charity willingly and laugh at those who get nothing but with their hard labor, Allah will punish them for their laughing and for them, is the painful. [Al-Tauba: 79]

 �Say your prayers (Namaaz) and pay Zakat�. [Al-Muzammil: 20].

 �Establish Prayer and dispense the Purifying Alms (Zakat) and bow in worship with those who bow�. [Al-Baqara: 43].

 �Establish Prayer and dispense the Purifying Alms (Zakat) and bow in worship with those who bow�. [Al-Baqara: 43].


  Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) has said that:

Prophet Muhammad saw

 �Almighty Allah�s mercy descends on one who is gentle at the time of buying, selling, and requesting payment.� [Tirmizi].

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said: �whosoever sells a defective product without disclosing its defect to the purchaser, shall earn the permanent anger of Almighty Allah and the angels continuously curse such a person.� [Ibn-e-Maja].

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said: �The seller and the buyer have the right to keep or return the goods as long as they have not parted or till they part; and if both the parties spoke the truth and described the defects and qualities [of the goods], then they would be blessed in their transaction, and if they told lies or hid something, then the blessings of their transaction would be lost.� (Bukhari, No: 1937)

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) has exhorted that we should refrain from taking oaths unnecessarily; for although, it helps in the sale of one�s products, it reduces the blessings. [Bukhari; also in Muslim].

 Abu Huraira narrated that the Prophet said: �Wealth is not in having vast riches, it is in contentment.� [Bukhari; also in Muslim].



Abu Qatadah related that the Prophet said: �If anyone would like Allah to save him from the hardships of the Day of Resurrection, he should give more time to his debtor who is short of money, or remit his debt altogether.� [Muslim]

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said: �May Allah�s mercy be on him who is lenient in his buying, selling, and in demanding back his money [or debts].� (Bukhari, No: 1934)

Abu Huraira narrated that the Prophet said: �A time will come upon the people when one will not care how one gains one�s money, legally or illegally.� [Bukhari].

It is reported by Jabir that the Prophet said: �The flesh and body that is raised on unlawful sustenance shall not enter Paradise. Hell is more deserving to the flesh that grows on one�s body out of unlawful sustenance.� [Ahmad].

Abu Said related that the Prophet said: �The truthful and trustworthy businessman will be in the company of Prophets, saints and martyrs on the Day of Judgment.� [Darimi, Tirmidhi].

Abu Huraira reported that the Prophet of Allah (swt) said, �And what is most likely to send people to Paradise? Being conscious of Allah and good manners.� [Bukhari, Tirmidhi & Ahmed].

 The Apostle of Allah (pbuh) cursed the one who pays bribes and the one who takes bribes. [Abu Dawud, Hadith no 3573].

 Trying to buy commodities before they reach market is prohibited because market will decide the price [Muslim: 1517].

 Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said: �Those are your brothers [workers under you] who are around you; Allah has placed them under you. So, if anyone of you has someone under him, he should feed him out of what he himself eats, clothe him like what he himself puts on, and let him not put so much burden on him that he is not able to bear, [and if that be the case], then lend your help to him.� (Bukhari, No: 2359)

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said: �I will be foe to three persons on the Last Day: one of them being the one who, when he employs a person that has accomplished his duty, does not give him his due.� (Bukhari, No: 2109)

 Abu Said Khudri related that the Prophet said: �There are two habits which are never present together in a believer: miserliness and bad manners.� [Tirmidhi].

 Abu Huraira related that the Prophet said: �When someone is made rich but he does not pay Zakat for his wealth, then on the Day of Judgment his money will be turned into a poisonous snake with two black spots on its head. It will coil around his neck and bite his cheeks and say: �I am your wealth, I am your treasure�. Then the Prophet recited verse Al Imran: 180.� [Bukhari]

 Abu Huraira narrated that the Prophet said: �The best charity is that which is practiced by a wealthy person. And start giving first to your dependents.� [Bukhari].

Salman Ibn Amer reported that the Prophet said: �To give something to a poor man brings one reward, while giving the same to a needy relation brings two: one for charity and the other for respecting the family ties.� [Ahmad, Ibn Majah, Nasai, Tirmidhi].






Thursday, March 12, 2015

Three Kinds of Imagination

A few months ago while I was skim/skip-reading G?del, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid, that 1980s nerd favorite now almost forgotten (even I, once a card-carrying 80s nerd, had all but forgotten that I still owned a copy), it occurred to me that we might classify imaginations, specifically artistic imaginations, into three categories. Loosely analogizing these categories to art-historical periods, I will call them Classical, Baroque, and Mannerist.


Classical imaginations tend toward simplicity, austerity, elegance. Think of the exquisitely balanced compositions of Poussin's Madonna of the Steps or The Judgment of Solomon, the supersmooth abstraction of Brancusi's Bird in Flight, the stripped-down staccato prose styles of Hemingway or James Ellroy (in Hemingway's case, stripped-down from the lush baroque overplus of Henry James's prose), or the epiphanies of beauty teased out of ordinary pots and pans in Chardin's still life paintings.


Baroque imaginations tend toward complexity, contradiction, even hysteria. We find this tendency in the style of Henry James's fictions and in the matter of Thomas Pynchon's, in Picasso's wildest cubist and surrealist flights, in the overwhelmingly elaborate Capella Sistina in the church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, in the enormous, mind-boggling ceiling painting on the vault of St. Ignazio di Loyola (also in Rome), in the impressive authorial outpouring of imaginative gusto in China Mieville's Perdido Street Station.


Mannerist imaginations tend toward paradox, frustration, impasse. Here we find the inescapable nightmares of Kafka's Metamorphosis and The Trial, the ice-blue untouchable eroticism and interpretive impenetrability of Bronzino's Allegory with Venus and Cupid, David Foster Wallace's "The Depressed Person" and much of Infinite Jest, M. C. Escher's inescapable etchings, and the impossible paintings of Rene Magritte.


These are but three kinds of imaginative tendencies. There are many more possibilities (depressive, comic, tragic, etc.), and none of these categories should be taken as anything more than a fuzzy, loose, contingent kind of intellectual shorthand. Powerful imaginations tend to dissolve such categories and set all pigeonholes aflame.

Saturday, March 7, 2015

Six Kalimas - Six Kalimas in Arabic & English Translation

1) Kalma Tayyab:

 Laa ilaaha illal Lahoo Mohammadur Rasool Ullah

 Meaning:

There is no God but Allah Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.

2) Kalma Shaadat: 

Ashahado An Laa ilaaha illal Laho Wahdahoo Laa Shareeka Lahoo Wa Ash Hado Anna Mohammadan Abdo Hoo Wa Rasoolohoo.

2nd Kalma

Meaning:

 I bear witness that no-one is worthy of worship but Allah, the One alone, without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.

3) Kalma Tamjeed: 

Subhanallahe Wal Hamdulillahe Wa Laa ilaha illal Laho Wallahooakbar. Wala Haola Wala Quwwata illa billahil AliYil Azeem.

3rd Kalma

Meaning:

Glory be to Allah and Praise to Allah, and there is no God But Allah, and Allah is the Greatest. And there is no Might or Power except with Allah.

4) Kalma Tauheed: 

Laa ilaha illal Lahoo Wahdahoo Laa Shareekalahoo Lahul Mulko Walahul Hamdo Yuhee Wa Yumeeto Wa Hoa Haiy Yul La Yamooto Abadan Abada Zul Jalali Wal ikraam Beyadihil Khair. Wa hoa Ala Kulli Shai In Qadeer.

4th Kalma

Meaning:

 (There is) none worthy of worship except Allah. He is only One. (There is) no partners for Him. For Him (is) the Kingdom. And for Him (is) the Praise. He gives life and acuses death. And He (is) Alive. He will not die, never, ever. Possessor of Majesty and Reverence. In His hand (is) the goodness. And He (is) the goodness. And He (is) on everything powerful.


5) Kalma Astaghfar: 


Astaghfirullah Rabbi Min Kullay Zambin Aznabtuho Amadan Ao Khat An Sirran Ao Alaniatan Wa Atoobo ilaihe Minaz Zambil Lazee Aalamo Wa Minaz Zambil Lazee La Aalamo innaka Anta Allamul Ghuyoobi Wa Sattaarul Oyobi Wa Ghaffaruz Zunoobi Wala Haola Wala Quwwata illa billahil AliYil Azeem.


Meaning: 

I seek forgiveness from Allah, my Lord, from every sin I committed knowingly or unknowingly, secretly or openly, and I turn towards Him from the sin that I know and from the sin that I do not know. Certainly You, You (are) the knower of the hidden things and the Concealer (of) the mistakes and the Forgiver (of) the sins. And (there is) no power and no strength except from Allah, the Most High, the Most Great.


6) Kalma Radde Kufr: 

Allah Humma inni Aaoozubika Min An Oshrika Beka Shai Aown Wa Anaa Aalamo Behi Wa Astaghfiroka Lima laa Aalamo Behi Tubtu Anho Wa Tabarrato Minal Kufri Washshirki Wal Kizbi Wal Jheebati Wal Bidaati Wan Nameemati Wal Fawahishi Wal Bohtani Wal Maasi Kulliha Wa Aslamtoo Wa Aamantoo Wa Aqoolo Laa ilaaha illal Lahoo Mohammadur Rasool Ullah.

6th Kalma
Meaning:

The words of Rejecting Disbelief (Radhay kufr)

O Allah! Certainly I seek protection with You from, that I associate partner with You anything and I know it. And I seek forgiveness from You for that I do not know it. I repended from it and I made myself free from disbelief and polytheism and the falsehood and the back-biting and the innovation and the tell-tales and the bad deeds and the blame and the disobedience, all of them. And I submit and I say (there is) none worthy of worship except Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of ALLAH.

Friday, March 6, 2015

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Quranic Verses On Friday - Jumma

Allah says in Qur'an:

�O you who believe, when the call for the Salat has been announced on the day of Jummah (Friday), you shall hasten to the commemoration of God, and drop all business. This is better for you, if you only knew.� 62:9 

�Once the Salat is completed, intashiru (spread out) through the land and seek God's bounties, and remember God frequently, so that you may succeed.� 62:10

 "But when they saw a transaction or a diversion, [O Muhammad], they rushed to it and left you standing. Say, "What is with Allah is better than diversion and than a transaction, and Allah is the best of providers." 62:11

Ayat in Urdu

Ayat

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Dua - Islamic Duas Every Muslim Must Memorize and Recite Daily

Importance of Dua in Islam:

Dua 

Dua is an act of supplication. The term is derived from an Arabic word meaning to 'call out' or to 'summon', and Muslims regard this as a profound act of worship. The Islamic prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) is reported to have said "Dua is the very essence of worship," while one of God's commands expressed through the Quran is for them to call out to Him:

    And your Lord says: "Call on Me; I will answer your (Prayer):
    �Quran, sura 40 (Ghafir), ayah 60

Salat Holy Du'a:

Holy dua

The salat is the obligatory prayer recited five times a day. Salat is read in the Arabic language. Ayat & Hadith About Namaz and Dua's in Urdu

When In Anger:

Anger

In the stressful and highly competitive life of today, the one issue that almost every one of us faces pertaining to our conduct is anger. Everyone of us undergoes anger at one point or another during the day. The anger of ours leads to clouding our judgment and the consequent decisions we make end up hurting someone or making a decision that is a total loss. Therefore, for everyone in general and Muslims in particular, it is imperative to avoid anger, and one of the best way of doing so can be by reciting Dua. Pertaining to Dua for avoiding and controlling anger, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) told of the Dua in one of His hadith in the following way:

�If a person reads (this) when he is angry, then his anger shall go away.

�������� ������� ���� ������������ �����������

Transliteration � �A�oozu Bil�laahi Minash Shaitaanir Rajeem�
Translation- �I seek refuge in Al�laah from Shaitaan the cursed� [Tirmizi Shareef Vol.2 Pg.183].

  Before And After Meal:

Muslim life style

Another important and regular activity done in daily routine is taking of meal. The provision of meals during the day is one of the greatest blessings of Allah Almighty and for such blessing a Muslim ought to be thankful to Allah the Merciful. When it comes to Dua pertaining to meals, there is a Dua that a Muslim must recite before the meal and a Dua which must be recited after the meal. The Duas to recite in this regard are as follows:

Dua before the meal is:

������ ����� ����������� �����������

Transliteration � �Bismil laahir Rahmaanir Raheem�
Translation � �Al�laah�s Name we begin with, The Compassionate, Most Merciful.�

When finished with eating, a Muslim must recite the following Dua:

�� �������� ���� �������� ����������� ���������� ����������� ���� ���������������

Transliteration � �Alhumdu lil laahil Lazee At�amana Wa Saqaana Wa Ja�alana Minal Muslimeen�.
Translation � �All Praise is due to Al�laah, who has blessed us with food and drink and made us from amongst the Believers (Muslims)�. [Abu Dawood Pg.573]

 Entering And Exiting Masjid:

Masjid

Another regular activity that Muslims perform on daily basis is going to Masjid for prayers five times a day. Islam has put great stress on five times a day prayers in general and saying the prayers in the mosque in particular. Therefore, a practicing Muslim enters and exits a mosques five times a day where he submits to Allah Almighty and indulges in His prayer. Therefore, it is imperative that a Muslim knows and understands the importance of being in the mosque and recites particular Duas on respective actions.

Dua before entering the mosque is:

���������� �������� �� �������� ����������

Transliteration � �Allaahum-maf-Tahlee Abwaaba Rahmatika�.
Translation � �O Allaah, open the doors of Your Mercy for me.� [Sahi'h Muslim]

After prayer when a person exits Masjid, the following Dua should be recited:

���������� ������ ���������� ����� ��������

Transliteration � �Allaahum-ma In-nee As`aluka Min Fadhlika�.
Translation � �O Allaah, I seek of You Your Grace.� [Sahi'h Muslim]

 When Sneezing:

 When Sneezing

After a sneeze is also a blessing of Allah Almighty and a Muslim ought to say thanks for it. Moreover, besides the person who sneezes, the other person who witnesses the sneeze must also respond to the Dua made by the sneezer. The person who sneezes must recite the following Dua:

 ��������� �������

Transliteration � �Alhamdulillah�!
Translation � �Thanks and all praise be to Allah�

The person who listens to the sneeze and witnesses the other person reciting the Dua after sneezing, should say the following:

 ���������� �������

Transliteration � �Yar Hamoo kall Lah�.
Translation � �May Allah have mercy on you.� [Bukhari ,Mishkaat Shareef Pg.405]

 Entering And Leaving Home:

Islamic home

Home is the base of a person from which a person exits to search and earn the blessings of Allah Almighty and it is a place where after the long day a person returns and shares those blessings with the family members. Therefore, it is imperative that a Muslim realizes the importance of leaving the home and then entering it.

�The Noble Prophet (Salla Allahu ta�ala �alayhi wa Sallam) said, whoso ever recites this dua before leaving his home, all his difficulties will go away and he shall be protected from the mischief of his enemies and shaitaan will stay away from him:

������ ����� ����������� ����� ����� ����� ������ ����� ������� ������ ������� �

Transliteration � �Bismil laahi Tawak�kaltu Alal laahi Wa Laa Hawla Wa Laa Quw�wata il�la bil�laah�
Translation � �Al�laah�s Name we begin with, I place my (full) trust in Al�laah and there is no Might and Power except with Al�laah.� [Tirmizi Shareef Vol.2 Pg.180]

When entering home, a Muslim must recite the following Dua:

������� ����� ��������ǡ ��������� ����� ���������ǡ ������� �������� �����������

Transliteration � �Bismillaahi walajnaa, wa bismillaahi kharajnaa, wa �alaaRabblnaa tawakkalnaa�
Translation - �In the Name of Allah we enter, in the Name of Allah we leave, and upon our Lord we depend [then say As-Salaamu 'Alaykum to those present].� [Abu Dau'd]

When Feeling Stressed:

Feeling Stressed

Due to all the competition and hard struggle during the day, it is quite natural that people become stressed. It is this stress that sometimes takes the shape of anger while in other times it causes depression, both of which are not favorable, hence it is imperative that a Muslim keeps control when under stress of pressure.  Pertaining to facing any discomfort or being unhappy about something, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) used to recite the following Dua:

��� ������ ������ ����� ����������� ����������� ��� ������ ������ ����� ����� ��������� ����������

��� ������ ������ ����� ����� ������������� ����������� ������� ��������� ����������� �

Transliteration � �Laa ilaaha il�lal laahul Haleemul Hakeemu � Laa ilaaha il�lal laahu Rab�bul Arshil Azeem � Laa ilaaha il�lal laahu Rab�bus Samawaati wal Ardi wa Rab�bul Arshil Kareem�.
Translation � �There is none worthy of worship except Al�laah, The Fore-bearing, The All Wise. There is none worthy of worship except Al�laah, The Lord of the Exalted Throne. There is none worthy of worship except Al�laah, The Lord of the Skies and The Lord of the Earth and the Lord of the distinguished Throne�. [Tirmidhi Vol.2 Pg. 181]

While Traveling:

traveling

Traveling is also an activity, which people undertake on daily basis. No matter how small a distance is or whatever means of traveling is to be adopted, there is always a concern of safety with traveling. Therefore, it is imperative that a person asks for the protection and safety of Allah Almighty.

�������� �������� ������������ ����� �� ��� ������ ���� ������������ �� ������ ����� �������� ����������������

Transliteration -�Subhaanal lazee Sakh�khara Lana Haaza Wa Maa Kun�na Lahu Muqrineen. Wa In�na ilaa Rab�bina La Munqaliboon�.
Translation -  �Glory be to Al�laah who has given us control over this (mode of transport) and without his Grace we would not have been able to control it and undoubtedly we are to return towards our Lord.� [Tirmizi, Abu Dawood]

 Dua Before Sleeping:

����� ���� ���� �����

�Allahumma bismika amuutu wa ahyaa�.

O Allah (SWT)! With your name I die and I live.

Dua After Wakind Up:

��������� ���� ������� ���������� ������ ��� ���������� ���������� ����������

�Alhamdulillaahillazi ahyaanaa ba�da maa amaata-naa wa ilaihinnushuur�.

All praise to Allah (SWT), Who revived us to life after givening us death, and to him we shall have to return.

 Dua When Entering the Toilet:

������ ����� ���������� ������� �������� ���� ���� ������� �� �����������

In the name of Allah, O Allah, I seek your protection from male and female devils.
(Bukhari)

Dua When Leaving the Toilet:

����������� ���������� �������� �������� �������� ������� �������� �� ����������

O Allah. I seek your forgiveness. All praises are due to Allah who has taken away from me the discomfort and granted me comfort.

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Kalma - The First Pillar of Islam - Importance of Kalma

Pillars of Islam
The Five Pillars of Islam are the framework of the Muslim life. The five pillars of Islam refer to the five duties that every Muslim must perform. Pillars of Islam - Islamic Faith

The believer's duties are summed up in five simple rules, the so-called Five Pillars of Islam:

They are as follows:
1)Shahada
2)Namaz
3)Zakat
4)Fasting
5)Hajj

An introduction to the first pillar of Islam:


Shahada

The first Pillar

The first pillar of Islam, LA-ILAHA-ILLA-ALLAH, MUHAMMADUR-RASUL-ULLAH. (i.e. There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah). The first pillar if Islam is the fundamental and basic need of human. It clearly indicates that we must have faith in both the parts of the first pillar of Islam.

 FIRST PART - LA ILAHA ILLA ALLAH (THERE IS NO GOD BUT ALLAH)

    Allah declared: Translation: So know Muhammad "There is no god but Allah." (Al-Quran, 47:19)

    The prophet Muhammad said: "Whoever says LA ILAHA ILLA ALLAH." sincerely, will enter Paradise". (Sahi-al-Jami)

Almighty Allah caused all of Adam's descendants to come into existence and took a pledge from them, saying, "Am I not your Lord? to which they all replied, "Yes, we testify to it (i.e. "LA ILAHA ILLA ALLAH" )(Al-Quran, 7:172)

The name of the Creator of the Universe in the first Pillar of Islam is "Allah". Another word very frequently used for the Almighty in the Holy Quran is "Rabb" which is generally translated into English version of the Quran, as "Lord". The Holy Quran declares "But Allah has excellent names, call Him thereby." (Al-Quran, 7:180).

This verse is commented upon in his tradition, and Abu Hurairah (Radi-allah-anha) narrates that the Holy Prophet said: Tranlation: "Verily, these are ninety names of Allah, and whoever recites them shall enter into Paradise."

SECOND PART - MUHAMMAD -UR - RASULULLAH

The Holy Qur'aan says in S 21 V 107 - Al - Ambiya

"O ! Prophet (Sallallahu alai hi wa sallam) I have not sent you but as a mercy to all the worlds." All the worlds , beyond this earth and humanity . This is called the cosmic or universal level. He is the mercy for the entire creation of Allah i.e.

The universe. His mundane status is , as the Qur'aan say in S 18 V 110 - Kahaf

" O! Prophet proclaim to the people that I am nothing more than a human being' Mislukum'. "

Remember Allah has said in the Holy Qur'aan in s49 v 2 - hujerat

"O Believers do not raise your voices above the pitch of the voice of the Holy Prophet (as) and do not talk with him in the fashion which you speak amongst yourselves. If you make even this slight unconscious mistake, remember all your namaaz, prayers, fasting, Hajj, Zakaat, and every act of virtue will be annulled totally and you will not even know it."

Kalma

Kalma