• Abrar: Obedient believers. (Last Juz, maybe surah Inshiqaq)
• Tasneem : Water in Paradise that falls from heights. (Last Juz)
• LuLu: Pearl. For girls. (Surah Ar Rahman)
• Marjaan: Coral. For girls. (Surah Ar Rahman. The ayah goes “lu’lu’ wal marjaan’ so these could be the name of twin girls maybe)
• Bayaan:  Eloquent demonstration. For both boys and girls, but it is more popular for girls. (Surah Ar Rahman.)
• Bayyinah: Truth that is demonstrated eloquently, Allah uses this adjective to describe the Quran. It is derived from the same root as the previous name. For girls only. (Last Juz)
• Illiyeen: The noble book that contains the deeds of righteous people on the Day of Judgement. For females. You could call her Lily for short (Last Juz.)
• Shams: The Sun. For boys. Can be made feminine name by saying Shamsah.(All over the Quran)
• Nur: Light. For girls. (as in sunlight). (Many places in the Quran)
• Kareem: Generous. (Many places in the Quran)
• Naeem: Bountiful. For boys. (Last juz, Mutafifeen)
• Majeed : One who has greatness and valor. For boys only, its feminine form is Majeedah. (Last juz, Buruj)
• Salsabil:  It’s the name of fountain in Paradise. For girls. (Insaan.)
• Raadiyah: Someone who is content. For girls only. (Last juz, Gaashiya.)
• Raadhi: Someone who is content, for boys.

I’d love it if others could add to the list. I’d like to compile a long list of names some day and pass them out to friends that are pregnant.

Source: quranclub.net

Fashion in Islam, In earlier times the Islamic women clothing was only available in simple fabrics in limited colors such as
white and black only. As the time passed by, a lot of innovation and advancement has been witnessed
and the styles and colors of these modest clothing have been changed and a variety of choices are
available to choose from.

Lots of religious scholars have varied arguments about this debate that does fashion and Islamic women’s clothing go with each other? Well, yes they of course do. Now Abayas, Hijab and scarves have made a big entry into the fashion world. Many women now wear this modest clothing as a status symbol too.
Many Muslim designers have organized fashion shows for these modest clothing in which models
have worn them and walked on the ramp. Many Muslims along with western fashion designers have
appreciated such fashion shows. The new Fashion in Islam these modest clothing includes long hems
with sequences on sleeves, neck and hem area. Other style includes long falls and drapes with different
patterns, prints and painting on them.

Fashion in Islam, Hijab and scarves were only available in black and white color

At first Abayas, hijab and scarves were only available in black and white color only, now they are
available in different colors and fabric materials. Islamic women can now easily follow fashion trends
and also keep their modesty on.
Fashion in Islam is allowed  but fashion should not promote nakedness in society. Fashion should be
under some limits. Islam is the most peaceful religion in the world and women have high and respectful
status in Islam religion. Therefore, women who adopt Hijab receive more respect and honor by other
people. However, Hijab is not part of fashion instead, it is compulsory for every Muslim in the whole
world. Women who use to wear Hijab are more secure and protected.

The religion Islam has given the women the freedom to choose and specified the role, rights and duties. Women are supposed to be modest and there is no permission for adultery of any type. Muslim women can marry any adult male with her own sweet will and if she is not satisfied with her man she can take Khullah and marry another. The right to choose her mate is given to the woman in Islam.

Islam is the religion of love and peace

It is based on code of conducts for everyone. Every man, woman,
child, old, free or slave have been given real guidance to spend their lives happily in this world and
hereafter.

According to Islam, women are not allowed and encouraged to date men, meet them alone
or in public and if meeting a namehrum is necessary at all they are required to take their father, brother,
son or husband with them. All men who are her blood relation are called mehrum and with whom she
can marry, are known as namehrum.

A woman has all the right to educate herself, by going to colleges or universities, work in a field and
adopt any profession, but interaction with the opposite gender is not at all allowed. If they need to
interact, they have been given a certain guideline.

For example, they should be covered properly and their dress should hide all their body parts except face, hands and feet. It is not mandatory to wear a long black gown known as Burqa, abaya but if they choose to wear a dress, it should not be revealing, so not to cause of any sort of physical attraction.

Being a mother in islam

Being a mother is a very important role. Women are taught at an early age to care for their siblings
and learn the duties and responsibilities it takes to care and raise respectable children. Through their
childhood, through their parents, they are disciplined and taught to respect their elders and peers. This
is very important, as this will be handed down to their children and down the line of generations. Raising
children and giving them, Islamic awareness along with worldly education is the foremost duty of a
Muslim mom.

Husband, wife relation is the most sensitive yet beautiful relationship one can have on this earth. Loving and being loved is one of the most beautiful desires a human being has. One can have a smooth can calm married life if he/she follows all the teachings of Islam and fulfills all the obligations on him/her. Respect is also another important pillar in making your marital life a lot more peaceful and harmonized. More you respect your partner more you will be respected in return. Trust is another main thing in making or breaking a relation. In married life if husband does not trust his wife or wife does not respect her husband it can eventually result in a disaster.

When any of these is missing in relationship things start getting bad leading to worst situation. Same is the case in married life there are many factors that can ruin your married life. Some of the illegal actions committed by any of them weather husband or wife it can result in separation or ultimately divorce.

One of the biggest things leading to end of marriage is to deceive your partner. This is done in a variety of ways. A woman or a man who loves her/his partner to the bottom of his/her heart when finds him or her partner cheating on her or him for anyone else results in hatred, arguments and many times to divorce. Islam does not favor any kind of extramarital affairs leading to adultery. There are clear instructions by

ALLAH in Quran the Holy book of Muslims also his messenger Holy Prophet S.A.W also forbade Muslim men and women of committing adultery or having interest in other men or women other than their husbands or wives.

Some of the laws and regulations mentioned in Quran are as follows:

• The unrestricted mingling of the sexes, which ultimately leads to adultery, must be prevented.
• Men and women are not to converse freely except in the presence of another person.
• Unless they have become mates through the institution of marriage, men and women are not to gaze at each other with lewd passion.
• They are not to speak, or flirt, in a manner that evokes lust.

At first Islam provides an open permission for the fulfillment of all the desires through the recourse of legal procedure.  Despite of all this, those who do not follow Islamic lessons not only destroy the fabric of Islamic society and also the family. Islam prescribes severe punishments to those who do not adhere to the Islamic rules and regulation.

In the finance world Muslim nations merely account for 1% of the total value of the global equity. This influence of the Muslims therefore does not permit them to rule other societies where they have no money. It is a misleading conception that Muslims own that portion of the world that actually requires high level monetary conditions.

Muslims, due to extreme poverty, migrate to the developed countries hoping for a proper reward of their labour. That is the main reason behind their immigration, although there may be many others, such as persecution of their race or religion.. The developed countries want to send them back on the plea that the Muslims are influencing their society, and not for the good, according to some. This idea has been spread by the media without any real justification or proof. All 35 nations of America in the north and south have their roots in the Roman European culture and principles which still speak the language of the old world. Besides this, 53 nations of Africa, which were created by Europeans powers, work under these principles and laws.

At one time, Asia was subdued by European powers and maybe today’s Afghanistan also. Hong Kong and Singapore are still with the English as the dominant language and continue trading with the pound sterling. Australia has always been a part of the Commonwealth, and until the late 60’s, only Europeans were allowed to immigrate. For many years it was utilised for prison and the so-called criminals of Europe were sent there. European influence over the five continents is quite evident with these historical references and it is ground reality that Europeans dominate these regions now, but mostly in name only. So it is hard to believe that Muslims influence, dominate and infiltrate other nations where it is a fact that they have not sufficient ability to speak their own language properly.

Maybe the most fabulous endowment Muslims have presented to the world is Islam’s logic of using the information of the Qur’an, pureness in heart and clearness in the brain, for trying to influence all the world’s nations to serve God better, raise the principles of living, and elevate brotherhood and justice for all.

The standards illustrating the mission of the Prophet Muhammad, which have made a worldwide impact in the scientific realm, and social, profound society that framed the Golden Time period characterised by Islam, continued unsullied up to the 15th century. Accompanied by constant deliberation to incorporate confidence with explanation and learning with the material, Muslim and Islamic society of the Golden Age developed a persistent bond among science and ethics in the East & West. This adaptation would not be able to have been in the event that if it had not been for the vehicle of Islam, and the help of its wisdom.

Social networking websites have a special place in the online world. Some of the most popular ones have millions of members from all around the world. One of the most popular social networking online sites is Facebook. Having tens of millions of registered users this website has got the top position among all the popular social networking websites. There are many reasons for which increasing number of people are switching to this online forum.

There are number of activities for all age groups. If on one side kids can play games of their choice through this website then on the other hand adults can communicate with their friends or family members. They can share pictures, videos with each other, can have live chat, not only text but also can have voice and video chat can join different community pages of their interests, can find new friends, can raise their voice internationally in favor of any social or religious cause and much more.

Muslims being in almost every part of the world are also members of facebook. They are taking part in all such activities through facebook. On one hand if some of them are playing positive role in projecting positive image of Muslims and Islam,  helping others to know what is the real way of living and what are the teachings of Islam, avoiding false approaches to tease others or any other negative activity then on the other hand there are many Muslim males and females who are more interested in dating, flirting or some other negative activities which are not only disliked ethically but also according to Islam and being a Muslim they should avoid such activities.

There are many of them who fake users and they make fun of others, misguide them, deceive them etc. So being involved in such activities many of the Muslims sadly are not only becoming a reason to provoke hatred for themselves and Islam as well. One should avoid such activities not only being a Muslim but also being a good human being. No religion permits illegal activities and crossing limits so we all should avoid and try not to become a part of all this at all both for the sake of Islam and humanity.

Gay and Lesbian culture that is; homosexuality, has not been permitted in Islam. There are some verses in the Holy Quran in which Allah clearly indicates thoughts about homosexuality. In the Holy Quran (7:80-81) Allah says that

“Do ye commit lewdness such as no people in creation committed before you? For ye practice your lusts on men in preference to women: ye are indeed a people transgressing beyond bounds.”

(26:165-166) “Of all the creatures in the world will ye approach males”. “And leave those whom Allah has created for you to be your mates? Nay ye are a people transgressing.” (11:82-83) “When our decree issued We turned upside down and rained down on them brimstones hard as baked clay spread layer on layer Marked as from thy Lord: Nor are they ever far from those who do wrong!” The final consequences for not surrendering homosexuality were the devastation of whole urban areas.

The Quran denies any sexual association other than after marriage between a lady and a man. A large number of gay men and ladies state that they are conceived with their sexual inclination & they have no option. Even though this focus is truly much in debate in the world of medical science, it has no backing in the Quran. Although a few of the European countries have declared homosexuality being legal and the followers can even marry each other. One cannot decide is it freedom of choice or modernism or what?

Everyone is well aware of the fact that life is some sort of test. And every person has their own test. For instance somebody is blind by birth, but the same person is living in accordance with the law of God. Others are short, poor, weak, having a big nose and so on, but all are the followers of God’s law. Few men or women may not marry in life, or choose to spend their lives without a spouse.

According to the Quran, they have still been living the chaste life by avoiding sexual links outside marriage. They need to subdue their sexual emotions to serve God’s law. This is a big test and not the easiest for anyone. Those who submitted to God will do all things they are able to obey His law. They are well aware that their salvation or endless joy rests in doing so.

If God condemns homosexuality, then we need to think that a lady or a man with homosexual tendencies are anticipated to act similar to any other individual and take God’s law if they really trust in it. They ought subdue their affections, maintain abstention, and utilize all ready sources of assistance in incorporating social, behavioral and medical treatments to help control their conduct and affections.

In the present age there are numbers of channels for all age groups. There are channels for ladies, for kids, news channels, historical channels, science and tech related channels, regional channels, food and cooking channels, religious channels and much more. There is a controversy about some of the religious channels especially Islamic channels that they are not portraying true face of Islam to the world.

After 9/11 majority of the world got a negative image of Muslims and unfortunately Islam being a religion of peace was considered to be a religion in favor of terrorism and extremism and thus electronic media started portraying Muslims as terrorists. A wave of hatred all across the world degraded Muslims as a whole. This was the time when Islamic world need to respond especially Islamic channels needed to tell the whole world about the teachings of Islam.

But unfortunately many of the Islamic channels not all, already being involved in creating a negative image of Islam since they are a result of dirty politics and are backed by many anti Islamic unions and countries like Israel  and America and many more. Apart from that there are many channels who are so called Islamic channels but sadly they are not delivering the actual lessons of Islam in Asia and some of them are telecasted all over the globe. Only few of the Islamic channels are unbiased and are trying to tell the whole world that Islam does not favor terrorism and extremist activities at all. It a religion of peace and brotherhood and favors harmony in the whole world.

Many of the Islamic channels are considered valuable for those who want to learn about the teachings of Islam whether they are Muslims or non Muslims. Different informative programs being telecasted are helping a huge number of people to wipe out their doubts and uncertainties about Islam. Different scholars are playing a vital role in helping people to solve their problems in the light of Islam with Quranic and Hadith references. Thus making their statements authentic for them.

Thus if there are some channels giving a picture of Islam to the whole world then on the other hand there are many who are a helping hand and playing their part for Islam to regain its glory and respect as a religion and Muslims as believers of Islam which they lost due to several reasons.

Islamic Channels

Al Hiwar Al-Hiwar is an Arabic language Satellite TV Channel broadcasting from London. AlHiwar (means Dialogue in Arabic) was set..	Al Jazeera Documentary Al Jazeera Documentary Channel is an Arabic language documentary channel and a branch of the Al Jazeera network. It aims..
Al Majd Al Majd channel broadcasts religious and family related programs in Arabic. The Al Majd TV Network is a group of general..	Al Majd Holy Quran Al Majd Holy Quran channel is the first Quranic channel that officially started broadcasting on August 16th, 2004. Al ma..
Al Nas Al Nas is a social, cultural channel of a religious nature. Working to spread cultural awareness and knowledge among the..	Al Quran al Kareem Al Quran al Kareem TV broadcasts live transmission from Al Haram in Makkah while viewers are able to hear recitations of..
Al Resalah Al-Resalah is an Arabic language satellite television channel to present true Islam. The target audience is Arab, young ..	Al Sunnah Al Nabawiyah Al Sunnah Al Nabawiyah TV broadcasts live transmission from Al Haram in Madina while viewers are able to hear recitation..
Cordoba TV Islamic Lectures and discussion live from Spain.	Guide US TV Guide US TV – First all-English 24 hour channel for real Islam in America. All across the U.S.A. and Canada. Live sho..
Huda TV Huda TV is not a religious channel as religion is defined in the west; rather it is a window allowing viewers a glimpse ..	Iqra TV Iqra TV (literally recite in Arabic) is a television channel owned by Arab Media Corporation. The channel promotes itsel..
Iqra UK IQRA UK TV aims to be the premier broadcaster of quality Islamic and educational programming to better inform and improv..	Islam Channel Islam Channel is a UK based satellite channel. It is free to air English channel focused on Islamic programs. Islam Chan..
Learn Arabic Grammar TV Learn Arabic Grammar in Urdu Language. A specific video which is providing the complete knowledge about Arabic grammar t..	Learn Quranic Arabic TV Learn Arabic Grammar in Urdu Language. A specific video which is providing the complete knowledge about Quranic Arabic t..
Madani Channel Madani Channel or Madani Channel (Urdu) is a non-commercial TV channel started by Dawat-e-Islami, which broadcasts Islam..	Noor TV Noor TV provides quality television programmes for the 12 Million Muslims across Europe. The programmes are all inclusiv..
Peace TV Peace TV is an Islamic Satellite television network, which broadcasts globally 24/7 from Mumbai, India. Peace TV program..	Peace TV Urdu Peace TV is an Islamic Satellite television network, which is broadcast globally 24/7 from Mumbai India. In Urdu languag..
Prophets of Islam This channel shows 24/7 different documentaries about Prophets of Islam. There is list of some specific documentaries on..	QTV Quran TV is a Pakistani television channel with a religious focus, producing programs mainly focusing on the Ahle Sunnat..
Quran Urdu TV Quran Urdu TV is one of the Pakistani Islamic channels which is only dedicated to Quran recitation. This channel is well..	Saudi TV1 Saudi Arabia TV 1 is an official television station of the Saudi Government. Saudi 1 was established by the late King Fa..
Saudi TV2 Saudi TV2 is the English news and entertainment TV channel of Saudi Arabia. Established in 1982, the channel produces pr..	Sharjah TV Sharjah TV broadcast programs in different languages mainly related to religion and spirituality. The main aims of Sharj..
SN TV New Somali Channel	Somali Channel The Somali Channel is a TV channel from Somalia. Somali Channel broadcasts its programs in somali language.
Tafseer TV Tune into Tafseer TV to gain knowledge about Quran Al-Kareem.	Tanzeem TV English To provide his moral and spiritual fulfillment and salvation are the main objective of Deen, and the proposed collectivi..
Tanzeem TV Urdu Tanzeem channel Urdu provides his moral and spiritual fulfillment and salvation are the main objective of Deen, and the ..	Taraweeh TV This channel shows up taraweeh prayer. You can watch Live Taraweeh from Khana Kaba in the month of Ramadan. Its total Is..
Ummah Channel Ummah Channel is a new dimension of islamic television channel for all Muslims integrating an Islamic way of living with..	Universal TV Universal Television was established in 2005 with the primary aim of filling the information gap and providing reliable ..

Islam teaches that if the people are being involved in dispersing disinformation in your presence, you ought to defend it. If you neglect the same you will deprive yourself from mercy and help of God. Islam grants the freedom for the expression but with some restrictions and limitations for the purpose of safety and dignity of the individuals. Everyone can enjoy this freedom but within the limit of true information and disallowed the disinformation where this freedom becomes exploitation. The purpose of these limitations and checks is to secure the human freedom but not to deprive him of his rights. For the prevention of exploitation of human, such limits on the freedom of individuals have been placed to eradicate the elements that cause uncertainties and insecurities among the people.

Generally, you should have to follow the determinations and decisions of the Holy prophet (PBUH) who delivered the great message for humanity to not to believe or follow the things except those that are revealed to you. Disinformation is the evil process of today’s modern world that is exercised by the followers of Iblees or satin through which they take advantage for their wrongdoings.

Many anti Islamic groups have been running the disinformation campaign with the name of information for the sake of their revenges. The need is existed to clarify these disinformation campaigns by presenting the facts. The facts that are written in Holy Quran but it is necessary for you to take full information about Islam. In Islam all human beings have equal social rights and no one is superior to another on the basis of background, status, profession or cast. Superiority only deserves to those who are better in character and aptitude. These teachings of Islam clearly indicate that there is no permission for anyone to disperse disinformation in the name of information about anyone who is deprived in status. These fundamental teachings of Islam are now the basis of the modern world human rights criteria and deal with the law named as the law of defamation.

A demonstrator holds a placard during a protest against the film ‘Innocence of Muslims’ in Jakarta, on September 14, 2012. More than 350 Muslim fundamentalists and their supporters staged an anti-US demonstration in Jakarta Friday, spewing anger at America over an anti-Islam film (BAY ISMOYO/AFP/Getty Images)

It is a hoax movie which deliberately goes completely against Islam and our last Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (P.B.U.H). The movie titled as Innocence of Muslims created a fine storm in the youth of the Muslim world. The reaction towards disrespect of Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) by the Muslims was a completely disastrous situation. It resulted in the killing of Americans in Libya, as the Americans were killed in Libya by a Muslim group as a reaction to the anti American sentiment.

Part of the aftermath of this film has resulted in the killing of foreigners in Libya - Muslims

Including four Americans and J. Christopher, the American Ambassador. An extremist Muslim group was involved in attacking the embassy for United States of America. They burned down the building of embassy and opened fire on the American staff in embassy in Libya. According to the resources the malicious video had erroneous and evil low level stuff. The film was made in an attempt to ridicule the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H).

This is yet another blasphemous attack on Muslims and their faith or beliefs. Apropos, the blasphemy law prohibits anyone to spread hate against any religions or be a cause of grief and disrupt between the followers of any religion. However, some the extremist groups of Muslims protested and gave strong reactions against the makers of the movie and actors and whatever that was being shown in the name movie or entertainment.

Their intolerance is obvious and they have started protesting – Muslims

These Muslims, although have all rights to protest and defend their beliefs and religion are accused of spreading terrorism in the region. United States of America protests against the killing of innocent Americans in Libya but at the same time have failed to ban or put an end to such activities by extremist anti Islam groups in America.

Innocence of Muslims by Nakoula Basseley was released on 9th September 2012. With the release of this movie Muslims around the world started showing their reaction and anger. Muslims in Libya burnt American Embassy and killed four Americans. Americans were behind the floating of this anti Islamic movie. Morally and ethically it is very wrong to target a certain religion and its followers. The video has been made with intention to spread hatred for Muslims and Islam. Islam is the religion of peace and does not permit such things and instructs its followers to respect other religions and all the prophets including Jesus and Moses.

In reaction to this disrespectful act and attack on beliefs the Muslim countries have blocked all those websites from their internet servers where this anti Islam movie called Innocence of Muslims was floated in reaction, and probably quite rightly so, to stop any more hatred and distrust being born and to try to stem the disrespect shown towards their religion.

Muslims have boycotted all American brands and chain stores available in their respective countries, again a punishment for innocent people on both sides of the debate. We cannot call it ignorance of Muslims now. They reacted dramatically at the launch of this low quality, immoral and low ethical movie erroneously, when ignoring it would have been a far greater punishment to the makers. Anger, hatred and adversity towards Americans should not be thought of as a symbol of love and respect towards their Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (P.B.U.H).

This was a reaction in result of perceived blasphemy. Muslims love their Allah Almighty and His last Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (P.B.U.H). Disrespect and making fun of any religion by anyone cannot be tolerated and ignored, but there are better ways to do this instead of bloodshed.

Of the twelve months in the lunar year, Ramadan is the only one whose name has appeared in the Holy Quran, and Allah has also mentioned its importance. The days and nights of this holy month carry Allah’s blessings, mercy and forgiveness, and hence, are unparalleled to the days and nights of any other month in the year.

The Holy Prophet (S.A.W) always instructed his companions to spend every moment of this holy month in Allah’s praise and worship. On one occasion, the Hole Prophet (S.A.W) gave a complete sermon (khutba) to his companions to welcome the Ramadan. This sermon was given on the last Friday of Sha’baan, upon the advent of Ramadan, from the prayer’s pulpit (the prophet’s minbar). This sermon can be found in the book of Al-Sadooq who narrated it. This narration is based on the authority of Imam al-Rida who narrated it upon the authority of his forefathers. In this article, we take an overview of this sermon and the main points laid down by the Holy Prophet (S.A.W) in this sermon.

The Prophet’s (S.A.W) sermon began with words about the importance of the then approaching month of Ramadan. These words were meant to make Muslims realize the importance of the opportunity they were placed within this month. This is the opportunity for mental cleansing which leads to piety and virtuousness. The Holy Prophet began his sermon as follows:

“O people! A month has approached you laden with blessing, mercy and forgiveness; it is a month which Almighty Allah regards as the best of all months. Its days, in the sight of Almighty Allah, are the best of days, its nights are the best of nights, its hours are the best of hours.”

In this statement, the Hole Prophet (S.A.W) also told that the first ten days (decade) are for mercy, the next ten days are for forgiveness and the last ten days are for freedom from hell.

In the second part of the sermon, the Holy Prophet emphasized on the practices that Muslims should adopt during this month. The Holy Prophet said:

“… you must invoke your Lord in all earnestness with hearts free from sin and evil, and pray that Allah may help you to keep fast, and to recite the Holy Qur’an. Indeed!, miserable is the o­ne who is deprived of Allah’s forgiveness in this great month. While fasting, remember the hunger and thirst o­n the Day of Judgment. Give alms to the poor and needy. Pay respect to your elders, have sympathy for your youngsters and be kind towards your relatives and kinsmen. Guard your tongue against unworthy words, and your eyes from scenes that are not worth seeing (forbidden) and your ears from sounds that should not be heard.”

Most animals are similar in the way their bodies work physically. In all the animals, food is digested in a similar way and air intake occurs through a similar process. Energy generation, movement and all other bodily functions occur in a similar manner.

What makes humans unique as a race is the fact that their minds are much more developed. Scientists have always connected the functioning of human mind to the processes that occur in the human brain. Unlike animal minds, human minds do not just gather information about food, water and shelter and process it accordingly to reach these things. Human mind carries the powers of visualization and reflection. In this article, we will discuss the possible effects of religious fasting on the human brain.

According to researches carried out at the National Institute of Aging in Baltimore, fasting can help people with mental conditions like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Fasting for one or two days per week can even help people with perfectly sound brain operations. Professor Mark Mattson who is a professor of neuroscience at a leading medical school in the U.S was the lead author of this study. A great part of the study was based on the comparison of humans to other animals, and a lot of deductions of the study were drawn from an analysis of the specific effects produced by different actions in the other animals.

The results of the study were striking. Scientists who carried out this study have compared the effects of a cut on human food (energy) intake on the human brain cells as the effects of exercise on the muscle cells. Although most people think that a carefully crafted and properly controlled diet plan that runs throughout the week is a great way of losing weight. This continuous dieting, however, can affect the brain and some hormones in the body adversely. Scientists who carried out this study suggest that intermittent breaks from meals for one or two days per week work better than continuous dieting plans, because these ‘fasting’ plans help improve the functioning of the brain.

In the following, a few positive impacts of fasting on brain are enlisted:

-          Short term fasting induces an increase in neural autophagy

-          Boost in the production of ketones

-          Reduction in risk of trauma, stroke and depression

-          Calorie restriction through intermittent fasting reduces the risks of Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s disease.

In some animals, restriction of calorie intake results evidently in a prolonging of lifespan, and most scientists believe that the same is true for humans. However, no concrete evidence of this has been furnished yet.

Religious fasting may help us to not only become better human beings, but also to improve our physical and mental fitness.

“Fasting has been prescribed upon you as it was prescribed upon nations before you so that you may learn self-restraint“.

In the month of Ramadan Allah alters the rewards of our deeds. He rewards a Nafl prayer with the reward of an obligatory Farz prayer and increases the reward of a good deed seventy times. A person seeking forgiveness is granted forgiveness and Muslim community is rewarded with the day of Eid for keeping fasts throughout this month. However, abstaining from sins is just as important as committing good deeds.

Allah dislike sins and committing sins in the holy month of Ramadan is even more disliked. Committing a single sin in this month is equivalent to committing seventy sins in any other month. In this way Allah discourages believers from sins and at the same time Allah encourages them to seek forgiveness from their past sins. A hadith says “Whoever prayed at night in it (the month of Ramadan) out of sincere Faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven.”

Furthermore, in this month Muslims are obliged to observe fasts. Fasting in Islam is not merely abstaining from food and drink; it is also abstaining from any wrongdoing, in general. If a Muslim does not anything from dawn till dusk but takes or any other haram activity Allah does not accepts his fast so when a believer keeps a fast he gets bound to keep himself away from sins. Not only, he has to avoid all haram activities but also control his temperament.

If a Muslim keeps a fast he cannot abusive or insulting language against anyone, also he cannot harm anyone by his hands if he does he violates the basic rules and regulations of the fast. Generally, any individual uses his hands against others when he is in angry so when Muslims keep a fast, they ought to control their anger. In this way fasting teaches Muslims to control their diet and anger thereby learning self-restraint.

In a nut shell, all sources of Islam clarify the fast that fasting makes all believers control their anger and remain away from sins. Allah has used fasting as a tool so that all believers learn self-restraint i.e. they learn to control themselves from evils and Allah gives Muslims several incentives so that they may start following the right path. The following hadith further clarifies the point; it says “One day of fasting keeps a person away from hell 80 years”.

All Muslims are promised a handsome reward by Allah if they surf their abilities in serving Allah and His mankind. This is why Ramadan is always seen as a great opportunity in all Muslim community.

Ramadan is ninth month of the Islamic calendar and is considered to be the holiest of all. In Quran and Hadith, there are several verses quoting the significance of the Ramadan. All Muslims believe that this month provides them with an ideal opportunity to fight the evil spirit and get uncountable virtue. This is because, firstly, in the month of Ramadan Allah fetters Satan and as a consequence Satan cannot whisper bad ideas in the minds of believers. Secondly, as all Muslims observe fasting so they spontaneously learn tolerance and patience. Fasting also teaches them how to learn self-restraint.

Allah declares this learning of self-restraint the purpose of fasting, the Quran says:

“Fasting has been prescribed upon you as it was prescribed upon nations before you so that you may learn self-restraint. “

In this way the month of Ramadan serves as the training platform for fight against evil, as individuals learn self-restraint, commit good deeds and follow the right path. This makes the person a stronger believer and even when the Satan is set free again, the Satan does not finds it easier to make a believer indulge in any wrongdoing. Ramadan purifies believers spiritually as Allah forgives the mistakes of believer and awards them with great reward for their good actions.

Furthermore, Muslims are also blessed with the uncountable virtue in this month. Allah blesses believers seventy times more than he blesses them, for the same deed, in other months. A Nafl prayer is rewarded with a reward equivalent to Farz prayer and Farz prayer is rewarded with the reward of 70 Farz prayers.

Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, “Whoever fasted the month of Ramadan out of sincere Faith (i.e. belief) and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his past sins will be forgiven, and whoever stood for the prayers in the night of Qadr out of sincere Faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven.”
Such are the blessings of Allah in this month and hence it can be concluded that Ramadan is the key to defeat evil spirit and avail uncountable virtue.

Have you ever repented on your poor behavior with anyone? Have you ever wanted to control your anger? Have you ever wished to gain patience to avoid this anger? If yes, Ramadan comes as a perfect solution for you. Ramadan is the ninth month of the lunar calendar and the whole year for Muslims revolves around this one month.

Fasting in Ramadan is obligatory for Muslims, but this fasting is not meant to test them physically, but it is meant to prepare them for the mercy, blessings and forgiveness which form the essence of this month. To understand this you must be aware of the basic rules and regulations of a fast. This short essay will brief you about these rules and it will present an overview of how to use this Holy month for acquiring patience and tolerance.

Let us first understand what patience is, essentially. Shams Tabrezi, a famous Muslim scholar, defines patience as follows:

“Patience is not sitting and waiting, it is foreseeing. It is looking at the thorn and seeing the rose, looking at the night and seeing the day. Lovers are patient and know that the moon needs time to become full.”

This is what a Muslim exactly does in fast, it’s not that he cannot feel material instincts; it’s just that he is waiting for the dusk.

Allah says in the Holy Quran

“Fasting has been prescribed upon you as it was prescribed on nations before you so that you may learn self-restraint”.

In the light of this verse it can be concluded that the sole purpose of fasting is to make an individual learn self-restraint. The fundamental rules of fasting in this month are meant to extend the control if human mind over human instincts like food, hunger, sex, anger and frustration. Abstinence from all these things creates an individual who spreads love and tolerance at all times, and practices self-restraint to prevent anger or material desires to overtake his intent.

While fasting, a Muslim has to wait from dawn to dusk to eat or drink anything. He bears this hardship patiently just to acquire the love, mercy, forgiveness and blessings of Almighty Allah. He refrains from abusing or insulting anyone no matter how much angry he is. At times, he bears the misconduct of others but does not use his hand or tongue to act against it since Allah has not allowed this in fasting. He looks for divine justice or forgives the other person, but never commits any wrongdoing since he has to obey the commandments of Allah. All these things actually make him learn patience and tolerance. Not only, he learns them but also applies them during a fast. In everyday life, a man is likely to lose his temper occasionally. However, during fasting since he has to abide by the rules and regulations of the fast so he holds his temper

Thus, it can safely be concluded that Ramadan provides individuals with an ideal opportunity to learn and practice tolerance and patience.

At the end of Ramadan, Allah blesses the believers with the festival of Eid. Eid follows the month of Ramadan, and it is purely a reward for those Muslims who observed fasting and pushed their material instincts under control during Ramadan, to attain a state of greater mental purity. This Eid is known as EidUlFitr, which is celebrated on the first day of Shawwal.
When the month of Ramadan ends, Allah asks the believers to celebrate.It must be ensured that the underprivileged are kept a part ofEid celebrations. Therefore, Muslims distribute ‘Fitrana’ before Eid. Fitrana is a special charity donated at the end of Ramadan amongst poor people so that they can enjoy Eid in a similar manner as the rich.
It is narrated that the Holy Prophet would not sleep in the night before Eid. That night is termed as the night of reward so it is desirable to offer Nawafil prayers and pray to Almighty Allah.One can also engage in other forms of worship, for example, recite of Holy Quran. Muslims start their Eid day by offering a special Eid prayer. This Eid prayer must be offered any time between the Fajr and Zuhr prayer. However, many Muslim scholars suggest that the Prayer should not be delayed and should be offered early morning.

Ideally, Fitrana should be paid before the commencement of Eid prayer, to allow the poor with ample time to buy new clothes and food stuff. Eid prayers are congregational prayers; therefore they are a symbol of unity in Muslims.This prayer help in laying down a relationship of brotherhood as all Muslims, whether poor or rich, stand shoulder to shoulder with one another and offer the prayer.

Eid day is reward for Muslims, and Muslims are forbidden to fast on this day. It is narrated that “Allah’s messenger prohibited two fasts: Fasting the day of Adha and the day of Fitr”. Muslims are not supposed to offer any Nawafil after or before the Eid prayer as well, as the messenger of Allah, Muhammad (S.A.W) never practiced this in his life.

This Eid is the happiest day for Muslims around the world as they celebrate finally after their one month long hardships.

All leading Muslim scholars have written prolifically about the blessings that Allah bestows upon the believers during this month. With the arrival of the month, the Satan gets fettered. This is done in order to help the Muslims do good deeds and be in a better position to control their worldly desires, which must be kept under check while fasting.Every good deed is rewarded seventy times more in Ramadan than the reward of the same deed in another month. The reward for a normal Nafl prayer is raised to the reward for an obligatory Farz prayer.

Every moment of this month is so precious that it must be spent seeking for Allah’s mercy and blessings. The whole month is divided into three sets of ten days, called decades. In this article, an overview of the last decade of Ramadan, which is particularly important as the decade for freedom from hell, is presented.

If you look at the religious importance of the last decade, it appears to precede the significance of the other two decades. The first decade is the period of mercy and the middle decade is the period of forgiveness, and finally, the third decade combines the blessings of the first two by being the period of freedom from hell, which requires both Allah’s mercy and Allah’s forgiveness.

In the last ten nights of Ramadanlies the Night of Qadr. The significance of this night can be understood from the fact that there is a whole chapter in the Quran which is dedicated for this night. In that chapter (Surah Al-Qadr), the Holy Quran tells us that this night is more significant than a thousand months:

“Behold: We revealed this Quran on the Night of Power. And what do you know the Night of Power is? The night of Power is better than a thousand months. The angels along with the spirit descend in it by the permission of their Lord with all kind of decrees. All peace is that night until the rise of dawn.”

The presence of this nightin the last decade makes it somewhat more noteworthy than the other two decades. The night of Qadr is the night in which the Holy Quran was revealed from the heavens. Since the exact night on which Lail-at-ul-Qadr lies is unknown, Muslims spend all the odd nights of the last decade. There are special duas (supplications) for this night and for the last decade.

This is the significance of the last decade of Ramadan. Given its high importance, Muslims must spend it worshipping and practicing good deeds.

All Muslims are urged to seek Allah’s mercy as His mercy is at its peak during the entire month. Muslims are also required to show mercy towards fellow beings, as a hadith says:

“Anyone who does not show any mercy will not be shown any mercy. Anyone who does not forgive will not be forgiven. Anyone who does not turn in repentance will not be turned to nor will he be guarded or protected“.

The second decade is the decade of forgiveness. All Muslims are supposed to seek forgiveness in these days, they have witnessed the mercy in the first ten days and now it is time for repentance. Those who repent on their sins are forgiven by Allah for their bad deeds. The Arabic term for this decade is the ‘Ashra of Maghfirat’. Maghfirat means forgiveness and ashra is the Arabic word for a decade or ten days. This short article will focus primarily on the middle ten days of Ramadan. It will give you a concise description of the blessings of this Ashra and its significance, as narrated inAhadith.
The Holy Prophet used to perform ‘Itikaf’(solitude) in the middle ten days of Ramadan.On one occasion, the prophet (S.A.W) said:

“It (Ramadan) is the month, whose beginning is mercy, its middle, forgiveness and its end, emancipation from the fire (of hell) “.

This Hadith Clearly portrays the fact that Allah forgives our sins in these middle ten days of Ramadan so it is our duty to seek forgiveness. We are also supposed to forgive others in this decade as Allah does not forgive those who do not forgive others. When a Muslim considers the blessings of Allah in this month, he curses on his past sins, and in an endeavor to purify from all of them he begs to Almighty for a pardon. The mercy of Allah is at peak in this holy month, and by His commandment the Satan is fettered, so it is a wonderful opportunity for the Muslims to exercise Tauba (prayer for forgiveness) because there is a good chance that they may be pardoned with Allah’s mercy.
Along with fasting, Tarawih prayers are another special feature of the month. Muslims usually cover one third of the Holy Quran in the middle ten days of Ramadan by reciting the Surahs (chapters) of Holy Quran in these prayers. These prayers also lead a Muslim closer to his Lord, so his play for forgiveness becomes more effective. In a nut shell, all worships and practices of this month, and especially the middle decade, must focus on asking the Almighty for forgiving the person’s past deeds.

The significance of the first and last decade of Ramadan is generally considered to be greater than that of the second decade, however, in reality, each decade has its own importance which cannot be compared with the importance of the other decades. In this article, an overview of the first ten days of Ramadan is presented, along with a discussion of its importance.

The first decade marks the beginning of Ramadan and hence the commencement of all the practices associated with Ramadan such as fasting and Tarawih. These practices are all meant to inculcate self-restraint in the believers. This concept is highlighted in the Holy Quran in the following verse: “O you who believe! Observing al-sawm (the fasting) is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may learn self-restraint”.(Holy Quran, Al-Baqarah 2:183)

To incorporate self-restraint as a virtue of believers, these practices are naturally harsh and difficult to observe. Fasting whole day means that the believer has to keep his hunger and other instincts under control, and continue this on a stretch of 29 or 30 days. This is accompanied by praying five times a day and other modes of worship. Once the fast is over, the Muslim men and women have to engage themselves in the long and rigorous Tarawih prayer. This one month of struggle by the believer is necessary for him to be able to learn self-restraint in the month of Ramadan.

It is generally considered that the first ten days of Ramadan are the hardest for the believer because he has to change the whole routine that he has been following for the rest of year. The first decade of Ramadan is, hence, quite fittingly the decade of mercy.

Mercy in Islam carries a very broad meaning which is not just limited to forgiving others. The major Arabic words related with the concept of mercy are Rahman and Rahim. The root word related to mercy is Rhm or (Rahm) which means to spread love, tenderness, forgiveness and tolerance. Muslims are required to demonstrate all these different virtues during Ramadan.

Muslims should pray for Allah’s mercy during this decade. This plea for mercy includes the prayer to Allah for helping Muslims out through the difficult time of Ramadan and to make the fasts easy for them. Muslims should show special mercy towards their follows during this decade by helping them in their affairs.

Thus, we can safely say that the first decade of Ramadan is the most comprehensive period of mercy that occurs within the year.

All worships and pillars of Islam, in one way or the other, help in the establishment of this unity between Muslims.  Let’s begin by taking the example of prayer. Praying 5 times a day, i.e. at Fajr, Zuhr, Asar, Maghrib and Isha times, is obligatory for Muslims. Muslims from all places within a locality pray to the Lord at same time, and bow their heads in the same direction. This is a symbol of unity between Muslims while prayer. Further, praying in congregation is said to be preferable than playing alone, because the former establishes unity and equality among Muslims.

Now let’s take another example to substantiate our point. Zakat is another pillar of Islam, and it is given out to poor Muslims, as a percentage of the wealth or rich Muslims. Zakat, therefore, is meant to create a level economic ground for Muslims, which brings them together on all footings and unites them. Hajj, another pillar of Islam and a very important worship for Muslims, also propagates the same idea of Muslim unity by congregating Muslims from all over the world, and allowing them a platform where they can collectively discuss their problems and seek their solutions.

Just as all these worships, Ramadan and fasting in Ramadan also come as a great source of unity for Muslims. Ramadan is commenced and concluded by moon sighting (or calculation methods) and the month begins and ends at the same time throughout the Muslim country. This commencement and conclusion of Ramadan at the same time bonds the Muslims all over the nation together. Similar practices are observed and similar routines are followed by Muslims all over the country. By freeing themselves of material desires in Ramadan, Muslims afford themselves an opportunity to reflect upon the larger picture of the Muslim nation.

Hunger and thirst that a fasting Muslim endures brings him closer to the pain bore by the poor Muslims whole year. Mosques begin to fill by Muslims, and more and more meetings are held as religious sermons or Aftaar parties. This allows Muslims to meet each other and bond together strongly. In these meetings, religious discussions remind Muslims of their social and religious duties, and refresh their faith. Most Muslims pay their Zakat during Ramadan, which bonds the society together further strongly by bridging the gap between the poor and the rich.

If one considers all the rituals and practices followed in Ramadan, he will find that the impact of the month of Ramadan on Muslim unity and faith is enormous.

In this article, a short discussion of the common routine followed by Muslims is presented, along with the description of the various ways in which this routine helps a Muslim in gaining physical fitness and mental cleanliness. The routines followed by Muslims all over the world vary in different regions, because the physical requirements of fasting and culture are different for different places. The fundamental routine, however, is quite similar, and revolves around the Seher and Aftaar timings.

Muslims begin their day by getting up atSeher (Suhoor). This is the time before dawn and Muslims get up around this time in order to take in meals and water to fulfill the bodily requirements for the fast of the upcoming day. The women generally get up before men because they have to handle all the cooking responsibilities. In some households, food for seher is prepared in the night to prevent the risk of skipping seheri (seher meal) the next morning due to late awakening. The Seheri food is mostly simple breakfast food supplemented with servings of water/juices to make up for the liquid intake of the rest of the day. The kind of meal served in Seheri differs in different cultures, but it is generally simple food comprising of bread, eggs and fruits.

The time for Seher gets over with the call (azaan) of Fajr, after which Muslims offer the Fajr prayer. From Fajr time to early morning, Muslims enjoy free time with no religious or worldly obligation. Some Muslims resume their sleep during this time while others use it to complete their work, projects or assignments. However, the majority of Muslims use this time to engage in worship and in reading the Holy Quran.

After this time, Muslims go to their works and begin their business/office activity as usual. Some Muslims begin their work a bit later in the morning during Ramadan to make up for the sleep lost during Seher. They continue their work activity till evening, taking two breaks for prayers for Zuhr and Asar prayer. Most Muslims like to offer these prayers in a congregation during Ramadan.

In the evening, Muslims return back to their homes as Aftaar time approaches. This is the time for feast for Muslims, as they eat ravenously to make up for the lack of food during the fast. This is not a good approach because taking such high amounts of food negates the very essence of fasting, i.e. to inculcate self-restraint in Muslims.

After this, Muslims rest for a while and then go off for Isha prayer after which they offer Tarawih prayers.

This is the routine commonly followed by most Muslims during the holy month of Ramadan.

The Holy Quran and Ahadith have emphasized the great importance of fasting for a believer, and in one of the Ahadith, it is reported that the Messenger of Allah, Muhammad (S.A.W) said that fasting is for Allah and its reward will be set by Allah Almighty Himself.

The significance of the month of Ramadan is also enormous. Ramadan is set apart from the rest of lunar calendar as a month of purity and piety, where material desires are pushed back and a desire to attain greater inner purity through faith is expressed. The three ten day periods of Ramadan each carry its own significance. Blessings, mercy and forgiveness define the three 10 day periods in Ramadan. The significance of Ramadan can be understood from the fact that Allah chose this month to complete the revelation of Holy Quran.

In view of these facts, it is not surprising that Muslims are never willing to lose any fast. The punishment of skipping or breaking a fast is great, and is prescribed by the Shariat (Islamic law). However, Islam allows Muslims to skip fasts under certain permitted conditions, or break the fast before time if a genuine need arises. In such a case, the person is due to keep a ‘Qaza’ fast after the end of Ramadan and before the next Ramadan.

If the person breaks the fast due to a failure to control his material desires, he is due to pay a ‘kaffara’ (punishment). In this article, a description of the Qaza and Kaffara matters is given to guide Muslims about the conditions in which both of them applicable and the prescribed ways in which both the Qaza and Kaffara should be offered by Muslims.

Qaza Matters: Muslims are allowed to skip a fast under special circumstances. Women who are feeding a baby, or are pregnant and unable to fast or undergoing similar feminine complications may skip the fast. Similarly, old men and women who are too weak and are unable to fast are also allowed to skip the fast. Adults who are very ill and for whom their physicians fear that fasting and lack of water may exacerbate their position,may also skip the fast.

People who undergo the fast but are unable to complete it due to sudden medical complications (e.g. unpredicted illness) may break their fast before Maghrib. All these groups of people are only required to offer a Qaza fast later in the year after the end of Ramadan.

Kaffara Matters: People who intentionally break their fast as a result of failure to control their instincts for food or sexual pleasure are required to offer Kaffara for their broken fast. This Kaffara can be offered by fasting for 60 continuous days or by feeding 60 poor people twice a day (or giving them equivalent cash for eating twice a day). If any one day from this chain of 60 days is skipped, the whole chain has to be restarted from the scratch.

“O you who believe! Observing al-sawm (the fasting) is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may learn self-restraint”.(Qur’an al-Baqarah 2:183)

 

This self-restraint is the key to piety and mental purity. As soon as man discovers a way to control his inner desires, he rises above his material needs and becomes a person with a pure mind, always eager to help others, even if this help comes at the cost of sacrificing some personal interest. This selflessness and humility forms the essence of all rituals and worships in Islam, and fasting is an ideal way to attain these virtues.

People interested in maintaining healthy diets and exercising will also notice another point in the aforementioned details. The concept of self-restraint lies at the heart of most diet plans and weight loss schedules. Workouts and exercise plans require the same ‘self-restraint’ principle. Therefore, one may identify that Ramadan not only brings blessings for mental purity, but also brings a complete code for physical fitness.

It is unfortunate that most Muslims miss out on taking full advantage of the physical fitness code of Ramadan. This is because most Muslims never fully identify the essence of Ramadan i.e. self-restraint. In fact, the most glaring violations of self-restraint, sadly, occur in this month. Seher and Aftaar are considered as occasions for feast and Muslims eat ravenously at these occasions. In this article, a brief overview of a physical fitness plan is presented, which can be adopted by Muslims who choose to explore and fulfill the real essence of fasting and Ramadan.

Meal plan:

Seher time:  Take 3 servings of water (2-3 full glasses), 2-3 eggs with bread and a few pieces of fruits.

You may replace the egg-bread combination with any other combination having a similar calorie value.

Aftaar time: Keep track of your hunger. Most people do not keep track of exactly how hungry they are until they eat too much. Leave a part of your hunger unfulfilled.

Exercise plan:

Do not change your walking/jogging routine.

It is better to work out an hour or two before Aftaar. This helps to absorb the nutrients you later take in Aftaari, and the thirst after workout is bearable because aftaar is only an hour away from workout.

Keeping in view all these things, man can attain both physical fitness and mental purity from Ramadan.

A Muslim is well-occupied with defined beliefs. Whenever a Muslim has to perform a task in future or whenever a decision has to be made regarding foreseeable time; he/she always uses the word insha’Allah. This word has power and magic in its meaning. Because when by predicting a moment or taking a stance for future you say insha’Allah, it means you have full faith in the inevitable event whether it favors one’s resolution or he may face failure in the choice that he has picked up. In case of unaccomplished task, a person does not have to be hold back with Allah Subhana wa Tallah’s will and wish.

Something is always special in Allah Subhana wa Tallah’s decision that is not apparent at the spur of moment but afterwards when time passes, a Muslim truly understands why Allah Subhana wa Tallah has not pushed him/her towards a particular direction. The word insha’Allah is not an ordinary set of characters. When you are reciting these letters; it actually raises your stance in front of Allah Subhana wa Tallah that you blindly trust Him.

Allah Subhana wa Tallah has crafted everything of this world magnificently therefore, there are some special astounding creatyres made by Him which truly fascinate our minds.  Pure souls on earth occupied with love and affection for Allah Subhana wa Tallah and his messengers; especially his beloved Hazrat Muhammad (P.B.U.H), always admire the beauty that has been all around us in the shape of flowers, fruits, mountains, valleys, lakes or even the stream of galaxies and stars in sky.

By seeing such wonderful things, if we say masha’Allah that means we are actually admiring Allah Subhana wa Tallah’s beautifully designed creatures on earth, comprised of splendor and full of brilliance. These holy words should be part of our prayers through which we can attain good virtues. Every time when we say these glorious words, they add in our good book of accounts that is kept by Allah Subhana wa Tallah. In Qur’an, Allah Subhana wa Tallah has said many times to use these words commonly throughout entire life in every verdict to become protected from wrong thoughts and perceptions.

Allah Almighty has spread His magic in every corner of universe. If a person has strong faith in supremacy and greatness of Allah Almighty then natural beauty designed by Him will seem to be the most diversifying masterpieces ever captured by human’s eye. But people with fewer values believe that human is the only supreme authority in the world and can get good control over whatever the matters are running around. They can never be satisfied from the core of their heart just like a true believer always remains in peace.

When a person declares his/her soul and body in accordance with Allah’s will and wish, bundle of blessings that have been stored by Allah for a person open up and shower on that person throughout his/her life. Human character is totally based on the upbringing and the surrounded environment in which he/she breathes since his/her childhood. If a person always wants to shut his mind’s doors and let ignorance keep on entering the heart, the secrets that have to be revealed would always be kept hidden.

It always depends on how you want to lead your way of life. You can go with the defined principles of Allah Almighty or you can create your own path too. But one thing you must keep in mind is that Allah has created human with good intellect, so that he/she can fairly identify difference between good and bad and Islamic values are the true companion for living on this planet. A person who lives in accordance with Islamic customs and adapts according to what has been said to mankind then his life would become easier, free from troubles.

One should always think positively. If something comes bad then it doesn’t mean that life is stopped and there is no way out. Your inner beauty and innocence will show you a right path and will guide you to choose the best for your life. When your heart is pure and free from limitations, you will automatically enjoy the beauty of life and will understand the soul of Allah’s preaching. In order to own a pure and clean soul, start correcting yourself instead of pointing others.

Women had no rights to show their acceptance in choosing appropriate marriage proposal and had no share in property by her parents. After the emergence, Islam gave a woman full right to agree or disagree on marriage proposals. She has now option to choose the best man for rest of her life. Even if a woman doesn’t want to live with her husband due to his humiliating behavior then she can submit termination of marriage agreement in courts.

A woman has been encouraged by Islam to attain a fair share in the legacy of her parents and she can also transfer her legacy to siblings further which was totally prohibited before. After the introduction of Islamic beliefs and values by Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H), women were granted with equal position of supremacy like men.

Islam has provided full authority to women to participate in every appropriate area as in old times; Hazrat Fatima (R.A) and Hazrat Ayesha (R.A) were used to provide their valuable services to warriors. Before the revelation of Islam, Arabian women had been brought in the wars not for the purpose of fight equally with men but if the consequences were turned into defeat then women were offered as a compensation to conquer.

Islam has introduced the concept of (Hijab), which was not known before the emergence. Allah has considered Hijab as a protecting shield for women against the evil minds of men. He has chosen Hijab for women due to the honorable position Allah Almighty wants to bestow them with.

Allah has guided in Quran clearly that woman is not an ordinary individual. She is highly valuable creation of Allah due to her prestigious rank. A woman is not a piece to be offered for auction. She has rewarded with the strong relationship of Husband thus her body and beauty is only visible and touchable by her better half; not for whole world. Her husband has been ordered to behave well for her true rights and duties specifically conducted by Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H).

Arabian women before the commencement of Islamic values were not rewarded with any kind of mercy and nice behavior therefore women were treated like servants. Islam is the only religion who introduced to the world that women need to be treated with love and care.

Astonishing results have been found out by the statistical survey of UN, which highlight 6.40% of growth in Islam against1.46% growth in Christianity. One of the eye-awakening realities about Muslims’ growing percentage in the world’s population is the ratio of 1:5. It indicates the presence of one Muslim in a set of 5 humans on earth.

Islam is not only growing in an Asian region but surprisingly its elevation rate has been heightened in every region of world. In North America, believers of Islam have raised up to 25% since 1989, along with Africa, Asia, and Europe, where growth rate is 2.15%, 12.57%, and 142.35% respectively. Therefore, in Australia and Pacific region, Islam has gained 257.01% raise in believers.

Numerous research institutions, who are deliberately observing the impacts and religious trends on human societies, have reported 35% increase in Muslims’ community by 2030. It has been expecting to grow twice the annual growth percentage of 2010; approximately 1.5% rise is inevitable against non-Muslim population and 0.7% is foreseen annually in next two decades.

In USA, Muslims populace will be expected to ascend twice from 2.6 million in 2010 up to 6.2 million by 2030. Statistically, Muslims were 0.8% of the American population in 2010 that will increase to 1.7% of the total population in 2030. In 2009, facts were reported that number of immigrants in America was mostly seen from Pakistan and Bangladesh. Similarly, by 2030, these countries will remain on the top for the growing rate of immigrants in United States.

In 2010, Muslims percentage in the total population of Canada had been 2.8 % that will increase by 6.6% in 2030; nearly 2.7 million of the total Canada’s population. After United States, Argentina has been on the second position comprising of 1 million Muslims population currently.

On the other hand, in Europe, figures will continuously be raised up to 58.2 million by 2030 as compared to 44.1 million in 2010. So in 2030, Muslims will be 8% of the total population in Europe. France, Belgium, Russia, Bulgaria, Georgia, and Albania will also have the highest percentage of Muslims population by 2030 and the percentage will be elevated up to 10%.

It is pretty obvious from the afore mentioned statistics that Islam will gain more strength and rise in number of believers in coming years that will highly boost the percentage of Muslims in total world’s population.

After strengthening the Hanafi law institute in Iran, the legal system established under this School gained recognition and acceptance in Iraq after which it spread to most parts of eastern region. The whole Islamic jurisprudence system gained immense popularity when inserted in the administration of Government and public legal structure of Damascus. Under the ruling of Muhammad Ali Pasha in Egypt, Hanafi institute and its legal concepts gained accredited certification. Under the enlightened supervision of Al-Imam Al-A’zam, Abu Hanifah (r.a.), the Islamic legal system fetched elevated credibility thus the success of Hanafi School happened to be possible due to the clear visions and passion for Islamic knowledge by him.

Al-Imam Al-A’zam, Abu Hanifah (r.a.) was started on his education in Islamic studies at an early age. His scholarly aptitude pushed him towards the infinite knowledge of spirituality thus his divine interests gained him the assistance of Imam Shabi and his intellectual deep knowledge about religious studies. Imam Shabi recommended Al-Imam Al-A’zam, Abu Hanifah (r.a.) to study the valuable cannons of Islamic foundation to seek exquisite pearls of deep knowledge hidden in the depths of the Islamic sea. Hammad Ibn Abi Sulaiman, known for his scholarly Islamic laws, was the next influential teacher that taught Al-Imam Al-A’zam, Abu Hanifah (r.a.) about Islamic legal structure.

Abu Hanifah (r.a.) was under the teachings of Hammad approximately for 28 years. During this whole tenure Abu Hanifah (r.a.) was attached to Hammad like a shadow, thus he polished his knowledge of Islamic laws under Hammad’s excellence and brilliance. Afterwards he approached Makah and then started to raise his levels of education in Islamic regulations even higher under many scholars of Makah.

Some popular Hadiths of Al-Imam Al-A’zam, Abu Hanifah (r.a.) that exist in Islamic History are:

•  The accomplishment of a task depends upon the hidden objective of the inner soul of a person.
• The completion of a Muslim faith is attached with the good deeds with his/her brother. A person who does not differentiate while making choice for him or her -self and his/her brother should congratulate him or her -self for being the truest Muslim from heart and soul.
• If you love Allah, remove discrimination in the inner and outlook of your personality.

However, wise scholars around the globe have come up with the logics related to what Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) had brought 1400 centuries ago for the betterment of human beings. World’s renowned authors list Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) on the top among greatest other men because he (P.B.U.H) had delivered clear ideas of how a person can lead his life to the road of success.

Allah had given the most valuable yet difficult duty to Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) to spread the message of unity, faith and peace so that a person would be able to sort out his own issues in accordance with the mentioned directions in Islam. Along with this, Allah has awarded humans with some rules to live in world so that a person can live a worthy life. If we analyze thoroughly the guided rules for life from the book of Quran, we will find out that Islam was the first religion that has proved and bound every human to be educated.

There was no other religion but Islam who had granted an opportunity to both men and women, to be educated, organized and cultured. For this purpose, if they have to leave their country then they are totally allowed to achieve their ultimate goals and objectives.

Nowadays, the most important issue that has become a bone of contention in many countries is Hijab. Numerous people believe that Hijab is the limitation that prohibits a woman to live liberally. In reality when you indulge for the ground reason, you will find that how much useful women’s Hijab is in front of men.

Hijab is a protective shield that guards a woman from the evil minds of society. Not only women should cover her body properly but also Allah has ordered in the Holy book of Quran to men that they should lower their gaze, when a woman passes by their way. So, man and woman are equally advised to protect themselves from the devil’s trap. You can observe that in other religions, rate of rape is extremely high because those people are fully exposed and exploitation of each other is a norm. They should keep the secrecy and adhere to the guidelines to keep the privacy. Exhibition of private masculine and feminine body parts is strictly forbidden in Islam.

Islam is the paramount religion that brings about the equality of rights between female and male. If a person is distressed from severe circumstances in his life then he just needs to peek into what Allah Almighty has told about those particular issues to live life in peace. He or she should know his or her rights and perform duties accordingly to please their Allah Subhana Wa Tallah.

Hazrat Aisha (ra) was young when she was widowed but she saw and observed the Apostle of Allah Subhana Wa Tallah thoroughly and his love towards humanity and concern for Muslims. Afterwards, whenever a tribe or Sahabas got ambiguous about the exact version of Hadiths, they brought their confusions to Hazrat Aisha (ra) and seek her true guidance. She had worked immensely for the legal rights of women. She had rescued women from ignorance at that time. She proposed rightful laws for the liberty of women. As she had received the directions of Hazrat Muhammad (P.B.U.H) on women literacy so she showed the open paths for women to get educated and learn Quran. Women in those days had all the means to learn and educate them like their counterparts.

Hazrat Aisha (ra) worked as a legal advisor when Hazrat Muhammad (P.B.U.H) passed away. She (ra) memorized the whole Quran. Her brilliance in Arabic language and the way she had taught the Muslims who came to her to acquire solutions regarding legal and social system of that period, impacted greatly on the widespread acceptance of Islam and regulations beyond the Arab world.

She remained actively engaged in the development of legal structure along with laws for women. The gift of powerful memory that Allah had blessed her helped enormously to guide the people about Islamic values and traditions after Hazrat Muhammad (P.B.U.H). Her house in holy city of Medina became the hub for Islamic teaching, learning and customs that had exhibited by Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H). She had proved to be the most talented student of Hazrat Muhammad (P.B.U.H) and when afterwards she became scholar her exemplary students proved that women have the right to educate themselves for the bright future of next generation.

Several thousand Hadiths had been preserved and approved from Hazrat Aisha (ra). Her assistance in the rectification of many Hadiths had helped to maintain the original versions of Hazrat Muhammad (P.B.U.H) precious sayings. Hadith that had been quoted by Hazrat Aisha (ra) about Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) way of talk is:

• Hazrat Aisha (ra) narrated that Hazrat Muhammad (P.B.U.H) when spoke he chose words very carefully, he always said words that were fewer in number but precise in meaning. (al-Fawaid, Hujjat al-Islam, author Hazrat Imam Gazali, Ihya’ Ulum al-Din, Vol. 2)

With the birth of Hazrat Muhammad (P.B.U.H) and his preaching on Allah Almighty and his only acceptable religion, Islam has got its root classified and stronger with clear and definite values that a Muslim was guided to include in his/her life. During the whole lifetime of Hazrat Muhammad (P.B.U.H), Islam spread across and was accepted with dignity in the major parts of the world. This miracle happened due to the ways and paths that Allah had defined in that era about the extension in an agreeable manner.

Muslims are brought up with the concept of peace, unity and education. No other religion that is still present has ever emerged with these three foundations intact that have become the pillars of Islamic culture. Not a single innocent bloodshed occurred for the acceptability and preaching of Islam. Non-Muslims who were offered to educate the 10 Muslim peoples and afterwards they will be released when their task is ended.

At the time of Makah victory not even a single human was killed. Muslims were gathered under the single flag of Islam for the sake of the sole creator that is Allah Almighty. Muslims are the only community that has shown tremendous research in the field of science and the other entire education fields in a particular time period.

Allah had shown through Hazrat Muhammad (P.B.U.H) that it is only Allah that is running all the streams of life in the whole universe. Even Hazrat Muhammad (P.B.U.H) had proved in front of non-Muslims the event of splitting moon from its center. It was indeed Allah’s power in the finger of Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) who was doing all the magic that appeared as reality.

Through Islam, Allah has provided Muslims a great way to lead their lives with full dignity and prostration in front of only Allah. Allah has shown the world that how much power is in the beliefs of Muslims and by accurately following the guidelines of Islamic customs and traditions Muslims can make the world a much better place.

Muslims practicing Islam as their religion are disturbed owing to the intolerance and misunderstandings of American Christians in America. In fact, there are American Muslims over two million and they are equally horrified by unwanted attacks.

Islam is a great religion like all others that can also peacefully coexist with all other religions. Many Muslims hold great positions in the community as lawyers, doctors, school teachers, university professors, judges, local authorities, etc and they can show progressive paths to all. These progressive individuals must pass the message for a peaceful world.

The new world has transformed into a new economic period with the earlier styles out. The new style integrates economics and emphasizes the financial responsibility to be established. Homes and communities must promote individual entrepreneurship as jobs are not secured incomes any more. Hence school and training center needs to be encouraged to bring awareness about Islam and the world history.

Islam is a name derived from Salaam an Arabic word translating as Peace. The correct translation is they relate to the doctrine of faith. The key of Islam peace is when Muslims are offended as Islamic terrorists by media and this is understood as a contradiction.

Muslims Allah is their God and in Arab it means One True God. They believe in Prophet Muhammad and the Quran is the holiest Islam book that has Gods words in original Arabic language.

Regrettably, the Quran is interpreted and misused. However, the widely accepted interpretations include Muslims to engage in five pillars of Islam and they are:

• Making declaration of faith as believing nothing is worthy than God and Muhammad, the Gods messenger.
• Performing prayers –the Salah, five times a day. They have no priests and Muslims make these prayers at workplaces, homes and also at a mosque.
• Giving charity is done to 2.5% of an individual’s wealth. This is because the possessions of an individual are regarded to be Gods belongings and the stewards are we, the human beings.
• Practicing fasting or sawm, during Ramadan month is very important for Muslims, but there are exceptions for pregnant, nursing or menstruating women, sick and elderly. Apart from them all are expected to fast from drink, food until sundown from sunup. Fasting is viewed as purification and self-discipline means and young adults until reaching the puberty stage need not fast.
• Visiting Mecca, hajj once a lifetime.

Similarly, jihad is a term misunderstood by all, Muslims and non-Muslims. This word Jihad is fighting to remove imperfections from one’s soul and is an internal fight to lead a peaceful life, not to bring disharmony.

In the west, Islam prohibits practicing having premarital sex and girl friends. The Quran principles have clearly stated that men capable of supporting their wife must protect her chastity by marrying her.

Men considering themselves to be unfit for marriage need to practice fasting. However, the families choose the right partners for both, women and men. The religion preacher guides the Muslim husband to look for a Muslim woman and to offer a happy Islamic marriage. This builds an everlasting and strong marriage, besides good Islamic relationship.

As per the Islamic principles, a Muslim husband should look at his first duty to provide clothing, food and shelter to his offspring and wife resulted of this marriage. Hence, women are free of financial duty and offering financial security is completely shouldered by Muslim husbands.

Muslim husbands are expected to follow the Islamic principles so that they do not harm their wives. However, the principles of Islam allow a wife to go for divorce in case her husband is doing something unlawful to her or if he is an alcohol addict.

Muslim men as per Islamic religion need to offer financial assistance even after divorce and do not interfere in her life after divorce, regardless of the way of life she prefers to live and lead.

The Islamic law states the husband to educate his wife about Muslim customs. It is his duty to support her, not suppress her. He should consult in important matters and adhere to it if it is good and reasonable. In fact, the holy book offers right for the husband to beat his wife, in case she fails following Islamic norms and obeying her husband, despite enlightening her.

Finally, Islamic husbands are the one treating their wives with dignity. He should treat her with a smiling face, should be easy going natured and have a smiling face. Islamic marriage asks each husband to respect their wife so that their marriage consummates. This is the ground rule as husband is the Imam and has to take care of the household.

However, any good Muslim husband is not arrogant or chauvinistic, but is in authority.  He does not roam ordering, but takes care to attend and center things to be orderly.

Husbands need to be a good provider and should not fritter his money away. It is the duty of every Muslim husband to treat his family with respect and equality by honoring his wife and giving equal respect to his mother.

No wife or husband is perfect, it is made perfect with love and act state the Islam principles and is expected to follow.

The Islamic foundation is based on Islamic faith and is restricted within the Islamic law in its actions and deeds. ‘Shariah’ is an Arabic word and its actual meaning is ‘way to source of life’. This is now employed to legal system keeping the behavior code in respect to the Holly Quran.

The Islamic bank governing principles are the interest (riba) transactions absence. The economic activities (zulm) including cruelty are avoided, the economic activities (gharar) including speculation are avoided, the tax introduction (zakat) and goods and services contradicting Islamic value is discouraged (haram).

On the contrary, conventional banking is based on creditor-debtor relationship that comprises of depositors and bank and dealings go with borrowers and bank. Interest reflects the cost of money.

Islamic law offers loan free of charge to meet contingencies aiming that creditors do not take advantage from borrowers in lean times. In fact, money lent on interest is viewed as injustice.

Principles relating to financial transactions are that the capital is not rewarded unless it is exposed to risks in businesses. Financial intermediation is followed as per the Islamic framework.

The investor in conventional banking is given priority and is seen with great respect, besides is assured of rate of interest as per the predetermined reports. In contrast, the Islamic banking promotes risk between investor of the capital and its users.

Conventional banking focuses on maximizing profits and does that with full force to gain best profits without any sort of restrictions. Islamic banking aim only at maximizing profit, but restricts its activities to Shariah restrictions.

Islamic banking system is service oriented and has tax (Zakat) collection and pay out center, while the conventional banking refrain dealing with Zakat. The conventional banking system lend and get money with compounding interest and is the key function, while the Islamic banking participates in the business in the form of partnership.

The conventional banking system approves charging penalty and additional money from defaulters. The Islamic banks have maintained no such provisions to charge penalty from defaulters. They take small amounts as compensation and the same is given to charity. In fact, rebates are issued for early settlements.

Conventional banks are based on clients’ credit-worthiness, while Islamic banks emphasis on the projects viability. The relation of conventional banks with its clients is as debtors or creditors, while the Islamic bank client relations is as partners such as investors and trader, seller and buyer.

A person’s fulfillment of inner contentment arrives from the peaceful actions, love and care for humanity. If you believe that you are surrounded by the protective shield of Allah Subhana Wa Tallah’s blessings, all the worries regarding the norms of living would vanish at once and the only thing that would remain is going to be the peaceful environment and calm state of mind.

When we start believing in the preaching of Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) and commence our lives on those enlightened rules first, we gain the infinite blessings of Allah Subhana Wa Tallah and secondly, in this world we find ourselves more peacefully stabled than others. To express our gratitude towards Allah Subhana Wa Tallah in our daily living, the only set of words and the act that can show Allah Subhana Wa Tallah’s true consideration is dhikr or prayers including the recitation and learning of Quran e Majeed and Sunnah

Whenever you perform your routine tasks always believe that there is Allah Subhana Wa Tallah constantly watching you. By having this faith, you are actually doing yourself a favor and with this set of mind would come the assuring feelings of love and affection towards Allah Subhana Wa Tallah, which would bring contentment.

Leave your every decision on Allah Subhana Wa Tallah’s will and see how your every problem would sort out quickly. You would have never imagined that so far. In order to live successfully here and here after, humans have to surpass numerous hindrances that are lying in the path of life at every stop. But with strong determination and faith on Allah Subhana Wa Tallah can ease down a person’s difficult time. It will help in choosing the best option and facing challenges of life.

Follow and go through the records or history of Hazrat Muhammad (P.B.U.H) and follow Him (P.B.U.H.) in the same way, you will never fall on the ground and if you will then you will have strength to stand up again.  In Holy Quran, Allah Subhana Wa Tallah has mentioned clearly that “A person who wants to fetch my blessings must obey Muhammad (P.B.U.H) fully because he has done the duty that has been given him by me (Allah)”.

Allah Subhana Wa Tallah says that “Your feeling of love towards Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) will automatically show love toward me (Allah)”.  In short, strong implementation of Islamic values in true means can get you connected with Allah’s blessings. This is the only way to make the pathway of life here and hereafter easier. And, you can achieve all this by doing dhikr of Allah Subhana Wa Tallah or in remembrance of God.

Observing someone praying to Allah Almighty, saying the heart out, which you cannot say or share with others is very unique and interesting. You can say anything or everything because you don’t have any secrets from Allah Almighty. You can do this in your heart so that nobody else should involved, or keep faith in your heart that none but Allah Almighty can understand what exactly you have in your heart. All you wish to do is to pass all your tensions, anxieties, worries, problems, doubts, fears and everything to none other than but your Lord, Allah Almighty. Allah Almighty is the Lord of all worlds and all that exists in between them. To whom you can submit all what you have in your heart and mind with a firm belief that He listens and grants wishes for or whatever is good for you. This can be done only with firm belief in Allah Almighty and through dua or supplication.

“Dua” a connection, a link, a bonding or in other words dua or supplication is the essence of Ibadah(worship). Dua is a gift blessed to the believers by Allah Almighty. If you call dua as the strongest weapon of believers, you will not be considered wrong at all.

Dua is so powerful and effective that it can change fate when nothing else could do. With dua you can never fail. It is actually the matter of your strong belief upon Allah Almighty. How you see Him? How strong your Imaan is? Submitting everything to Allah Almighty is so fulfilling that the person who does so feels so much satisfied and peaceful that nothing can harm him or her. Allah Almighty shall do what’s the best for them. All they need to do is to pray to Allah Almighty and have a strong faith that he shall do the best for them.

Dua itself is such an empowering and liberating act with an exceptional significance. Islam has emphasized so much on dua. Number of times Allah Almighty has mentioned in Holy Quran about supplication, prayer and dua. It affirms our faith and offers tranquility to our hearts. Our Holy Prophet S.A.W has also guided Muslims to turn to Allah Almighty in the times of troubles or happiness, indeed. We can see number of hadiths and Quranic verses stating with the importance of Dua. Islam has guided Muslims about each and every matter of life and has also guided different duas for the solution of problems and sufferings. Starting from getting up in the morning till going to bed, we have been guided for each and every matter of our lives. If you are starting anything you should start by reciting BISMILLAH, that is: Starting with the name of Allah Almighty, it incorporates Barakaat in everything you do and keeps devil away. Similarly, we are guided for each and every matter of our lives by Allah Almighty. Specific duas or supplications are being guided to us and reciting them adds barakaat and Allah Almighty’s will with everything we do. According to a Hadith:

“Whosoever desires that Allah answers his duas in unfavorable and difficult conditions, he should make plentiful dua in days of ease and comfort.”

So adding these Islamic duas in our daily matters can bring us peace and tranquility.

Suddenly I didn’t know how to open my mouth. But I had to let her know what I was thinking. I want a divorce. I raised the topic calmly. She didn’t seem to be annoyed by my words, instead she asked me softly, why?

I avoided her question. This made her angry. She threw away the chopsticks and shouted at me, you are not a man! That night, we didn’t talk to each other. She was weeping. I knew she wanted to find out what had happened to our marriage. But I could hardly give her a satisfactory answer; she had lost my heart to Jane. I didn’t love her anymore. I just pitied her!

With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorce agreement which stated that she could own our house, our car, and 30% stake of my company. She glanced at it and then tore it into pieces. The woman who had spent ten years of her life with me had become a stranger. I felt sorry for her wasted time, resources and energy but I could not take back what I had said for I loved Jane so dearly. Finally she cried loudly in front of me, which was what I had expected to see. To me her cry was actually a kind of release. The idea of divorce which had obsessed me for several weeks seemed to be firmer and clearer now.

The next day, I came back home very late and found her writing something at the table. I didn’t have supper but went straight to sleep and fell asleep very fast because I was tired after an eventful day with Jane. When I woke up, she was still there at the table writing. I just did not care so I turned over and was asleep again.

In the morning she presented her divorce conditions: she didn’t want anything from me, but needed a month’s notice before the divorce. She requested that in that one month we both struggle to live as normal a life as possible. Her reasons were simple: our son had his exams in a month’s time and she didn’t want to disrupt him with our broken marriage.

This was agreeable to me. But she had something more, she asked me to recall how I had carried her into out bridal room on our wedding day. She requested that every day for the month’s duration I carry her out of our bedroom to the front door ever morning. I thought she was going crazy. Just to make our last days together bearable I accepted her odd request.

I told Jane about my wife’s divorce conditions. . She laughed loudly and thought it was absurd. No matter what tricks she applies, she has to face the divorce, she said scornfully.

My wife and I hadn’t had any body contact since my divorce intention was explicitly expressed. So when I carried her out on the first day, we both appeared clumsy. Our son clapped behind us, daddy is holding mommy in his arms. His words brought me a sense of pain. From the bedroom to the sitting room, then to the door, I walked over ten meters with her in my arms. She closed her eyes and said softly; don’t tell our son about the divorce. I nodded, feeling somewhat upset. I put her down outside the door. She went to wait for the bus to work. I drove alone to the office.

On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned on my chest. I could smell the fragrance of her blouse. I realized that I hadn’t looked at this woman carefully for a long time. I realized she was not young any more. There were fine wrinkles on her face, her hair was graying! Our marriage had taken its toll on her. For a minute I wondered what I had done to her.

On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I felt a sense of intimacy returning. This was the woman who had given ten years of her life to me. On the fifth and sixth day, I realized that our sense of intimacy was growing again. I didn’t tell Jane about this. It became easier to carry her as the month slipped by. Perhaps the everyday workout made me stronger.

She was choosing what to wear one morning. She tried on quite a few dresses but could not find a suitable one. Then she sighed, all my dresses have grown bigger. I suddenly realized that she had grown so thin, that was the reason why I could carry her more easily.

Suddenly it hit me… she had buried so much pain and bitterness in her heart. Subconsciously I reached out and touched her head.

Our son came in at the moment and said, Dad, it’s time to carry mom out. To him, seeing his father carrying his mother out had become an essential part of his life. My wife gestured to our son to come closer and hugged him tightly. I turned my face away because I was afraid I might change my mind at this last minute. I then held her in my arms, walking from the bedroom, through the sitting room, to the hallway. Her hand surrounded my neck softly and naturally. I held her body tightly; it was just like our wedding day.

But her much lighter weight made me sad. On the last day, when I held her in my arms I could hardly move a step. Our son had gone to school. I held her tightly and said, I hadn’t noticed that our life lacked intimacy. I drove to office…. jumped out of the car swiftly without locking the door. I was afraid any delay would make me change my mind…I walked upstairs. Jane opened the door and I said to her, Sorry, Jane, I do not want the divorce anymore.

She looked at me, astonished, and then touched my forehead. Do you have a fever? She said. I moved her hand off my head. Sorry, Jane, I said, I won’t divorce. My marriage life was boring probably because she and I didn’t value the details of our lives, not because we didn’t love each other anymore. Now I realize that since I carried her into my home on our wedding day I am supposed to hold her until death do us apart. Jane seemed to suddenly wake up. She gave me a loud slap and then slammed the door and burst into tears. I walked downstairs and drove away. At the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet of flowers for my wife. The salesgirl asked me what to write on the card. I smiled and wrote, I’ll carry you out every morning until death do us apart.

That evening I arrived home, flowers in my hands, a smile on my face, I run up stairs, only to find my wife in the bed -dead. My wife had been fighting CANCER for months and I was so busy with Jane to even notice. She knew that she would die soon and she wanted to save me from the whatever negative reaction from our son, in case we push through with the divorce.— At least, in the eyes of our son—- I’m a loving husband….

The small details of your lives are what really matter in a relationship. It is not the mansion, the car, property, the money in the bank. These create an environment conducive for happiness but cannot give happiness in themselves.

So find time to be your spouse’s friend and do those little things for each other that build intimacy. Do have a real happy marriage!

If you don’t share this, nothing will happen to you.

If you do, you just might save a marriage. Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up

Source: yanabi.com

The Prophet Abu Hurairah warned people against seven things in the world, of which magic was one of them. Whatever people consult or whomever they visit to learn these things is considered a rejection of Allah in a very bad sense, and punishment will strike these misguided people. Even the lighter forms of future-telling such as reading the stars for a person or telling their life from their palms is also forbidden. Anyone who indulges themselves with magic by visiting a witch or a soothsayer is punished by Allah by having his or her prayers ignored for forty days.

Even those who believe in it but do not practice magic are considered sinners. Magic is thought to be concerned with powers given by Satan, even though many practitioners of magic try not to bring harm to others by thoughts, deeds or other means. There is always the way down into the forbidden arts, which are considered the blackest imaginable. Many acts of absolute atrocity are committed against men, women and children and animals in the guise of magic and the lunatics who strive to make it acceptable to the world.

Magic, simple or complex, is simply seen as haraam or forbidden. It is a temptation to Man to ask of others rather than Allah for answers, future-seeing and other things, including temptation into lust, eating wrongly, consuming alcohol, all of which are forbidden in the Muslim faith. Some practitioners of the dark arts desecrate graves, eat pork and drink blood, all very wrong occupations to a Muslim and attributed to Satan, as well they should be in any country.

To a Muslim, competence in magic can only be attributed to Satan, not Allah, and, as such, it is thought the person may obtain greater powers than Allah. To a true believer this cannot be, as the only Power is Allah, and He has not given permission for this to be so. Many things are attributed to witches, warlocks and others in a Muslim country, and they will be lucky to escape with their lives if they are uncovered. Allah’s punishment is not usually very pleasant for any practitioner of the so-called dark arts.

Wikipedia

Sultana’s Dream was first published in The Indian Ladies’ Magazine. Fortunately, the text of the story has survived. It reads like a feminist vision of the future. But it is not just a feminist vision but also a wonderfully written sci-fi story. It is a vision where women rule the country and men are holed up in “zanana” which is now called “mardana.” Since women are ruling there is peace everywhere and through the use of science all work is done efficiently and smartly.

Some snippets from the story:

Why men should be locked-up:

And you do not think it wise to keep sane people inside an asylum and let loose the insane?’

‘Of course not!’ said I laughing lightly.

‘As a matter of fact, in your country this very thing is done! Men, who do or at least are capable of doing no end of mischief, are let loose and the innocent women, shut up in the zenana! How can you trust those untrained men out of doors?’

‘Since the “Mardana” system has been established, there has been no more crime or sin; therefore we do not require a policeman to find out a culprit, nor do we want a magistrate to try a criminal case.’

Harnessing solar power:

The kitchen was situated in a beautiful vegetable garden. Every creeper, every tomato plant was itself an ornament. I found no smoke, nor any chimney either in the kitchen — it was clean and bright; the windows were decorated with flower gardens. There was no sign of coal or fire.

‘How do you cook?’ I asked.

‘With solar heat,’ she said, at the same time showing me the pipe, through which passed the concentrated sunlight and heat. And she cooked something then and there to show me the process.

Vehicle of the future:

Then she screwed a couple of seats onto a square piece of plank. To this plank she attached two smooth and well-polished balls. When I asked her what the balls were for, she said they were hydrogen balls and they were used to overcome the force of gravity. The balls were of different capacities to be used according to the different weights desired to be overcome. She then fastened to the air-car two wing-like blades, which, she said, were worked by electricity. After we were comfortably seated she touched a knob and the blades began to whirl, moving faster and faster every moment. At first we were raised to the height of about six or seven feet and then off we flew. And before I could realize that we had commenced moving, we reached the garden of the Queen.

My friend lowered the air-car by reversing the action of the machine, and when the car touched the ground the machine was stopped and we got out.

Continue Reading about Begum Roqiya.

Sometimes the dreams tell of good fortune coming and this usually will come true. As does the feeling of lightening of the soul that these devout people often experience. These dreams are often alluded to as the person having them being allowed to glimpse the future as far as Allah permits. These dreams, if good, also signify that the dreamer is on the right path towards Allah and is to be blessed.

The dreams can signify different things when deciphered at different times of the day. Mornings are usually positive, but evenings or afternoons can be the opposite. Dreaming of nasty things, like snakes or scorpions usually means that the person is not on track according to Allah’s wishes and needs to repent and admit to their sins. Although if a grave is opened, there will only be found the normal bones of a human body and no sign of a snake’s remains or that of a scorpion the idea is ingrained from whence the person has the dream.

When a person sleeps their soul is thought to go to Allah who returns it the next morning. If He is pleased with them, they will return refreshed and energised, if not, they will have a restless sleep and be grumpy and tired the next day because of the lack of restful sleep. People may say that they do not dream. This is untrue, as the body does dream, but often the mind covers the dreams in a cloak of secrecy because they have been too unpleasant to recall. Even good dreams may fall victim to this type of censorship by the person’s own mind. The mind is conditioned to deny things that may mean something is going to drastically change a comfortable life, or a personal one, therefore dreams are not always given their due.

Dreams are not straight-forward, either in message or appearance, but, should the person seeking enlightenment continue on, they will make sense. Some may be about something that is weighing heavily on the person’s mind which may be work or personal reasons. Other times, if the person is extremely devout, they may simply be affirmations of this to the person’s inner self should some small doubt have surfaced? Many dreams may simply be a reflection of the way the person is feeling, or an illness that has not been suspected, and may be a warning of this potential problem.

Tasawuff exists purely to purify the heart from every lowly desire, lust, jealousy, nastiness whether by deed or speech, vanity and all the negatives that live in a Man’s heart and words. In return it wishes to clothe the heart with all things that are above these other emotions. These are fear of Allah, trust, love, truth, pure thoughts, and all that will make a Man worthy of attention in the afterlife, but most especially Allah’s mercy and love. This is its primary reason for existing and its soul.

To determine the problems of the heart in these issues is usually placed in the hands of a Shaykh or teacher. This person in turn has to be qualified according to the Shariah rulings, have had teachings by a suitably qualified Shaykh, who is respected by his followers, has no interest in worldly wealth for himself, tries very sincerely to teach his followers with education and morality, and has the needed religious knowledge, among other things. This person does not have to produce karamat or miracles, nor do they need to be able to see the future. Indeed, if they do, they may not be a Shaykh at all.

In order to follow the teachings of tasawuff it is good if you find a Shaykh whom you trust and like, for it will make your conversion easier. Once you have found this person, then there is a promise shared between you both in that he guides you and you follow him. There are several parts which the initiate vows to pursue, of  which are to start an everyday self-assessment before going to bed in order to repent the bad ones and give thanks to Allah for the good ones, make sure that your eyes, ears and tongue are watched strictly to prevent doing or saying the wrong things, develop a humbleness whereby you do not judge others for what they do or think you are better than them, remember Allah frequently and other items which are part of this ritual.

Tattoos are prohibited or forbidden in Islam. This verdict as proved by the Quran and Sunnah should be enough for the believing Muslims or believers in Islam but there is a group of people who keep on debating on this issue. They want to know why tattoos are prohibited or haraam but piercing of ears is allowed in Islam. If piercing with needle is haraam then why do the Muslim girls adorn their ears and nose by piercing to wear earrings and nose pins. There are lots of WHYs and sometimes all this becomes too confusing for new converts and people with weak faith in Islam.

Verdict of Quran & Sunnah

According to Quran and as told to Muslims through hadees or Prophet’s sayings any act that can hurt a person physically, mentally and spiritually is haraam and prohibited. More strictness and penalties are on those acts which are done intentionally to hurt fellow men, animals and including plants and non living things such as property of others which indirectly become a cause of hurt, injury or damage of other human beings. All these are categories of sins and hurting oneself, suicide and inducing pain in one way or the other is also called haraam or prohibited acts. Piercing one’s ears and body, injecting chemicals into the body in the name of art, fashion, display and fun is not at all wise as well as prohibited by Allah and His Apostle.

To Pierce or not to Pierce

The debate should be on the acts that are harmful for the body or not. Tattoo making is one of them. Piercing of ears and nose is not a part of Islamic culture but it is a part of Indian, African and many other cultures in the world. Muslims living in those parts of the world have adopted the norms and culture. They are merely following norms of the society they are living in. So, it is their own choice but they are answerable for their deeds like all the other Muslims in the court of Allah.

Why Tatttoos are Haraam

Women have been told and guided by Allah’s Apostle to dye their hands with Henna and their hair to appear beautiful for their husbands. No where it had been stated haraam the use of herbal extracts and products. Chemical based ingredients and products are not good for health and therefore, they were discouraged and prohibited. Same goes for the case of tattoo making in Islam.

Tattoo ink when injected in the skin can cause many unwanted and undesirable physical conditions including severe allergies, and may lead to the removal of lymph glands. They are teratogenic, one of the leading causes of mutations and carcinogenic problems. Do not pay the price of ignorance and learn more about this tattoo making procedure, the ingredients used for creating tattoo ink and the aftermath of having tattoos on your skin before subjecting yourself to having the procedure done.

Muslims men are prohibited from wearing gold as a wedding band or engagement ring made out of metal that contains yellow Gold. With time and the advancement of technology rings for men now come in a wide variety of materials and forms. A popular metal known as White Gold is available in 18 and 14 carats and is used by Muslim men which are technically also wrong. Another popular 9 carat White Gold known as Swasa also contains yellow gold and is therefore prohibited in Islam for wearing by Muslim males.

Types of Yellow Gold

There are many types of gold and most of them are precious to semi precious metals. Pure Gold or 999 Gold cannot be used in making jewelry as it is too soft and malleable to sustain the wear and tear. Another type of gold known as 916 Gold is made by adding different metal alloys is used for making jewelry and for holding gems and is much stronger as compared to the pure 999 Gold. It is more precious and used for making wedding jewelry and heavy gold sets. After that we have 18k Gold. Addition of alloys leaves it 75% pure but makes it stronger and does not allow the metal to bend. 14k Gold or 58% pure metal and 9k Gold or Swasa 37.5% pure are also used for making jewelry. Many Muslims think it is white gold so wearing it is not prohibited. But even the slightest touch of gold is not allowed by Islamic Shira so wearing it is also haraam for Muslim men.

Men prohibited wearing Jewelry in Any Form

Most of gold jewelry is plated with white, rose and black colored alloys which produces White, Rose and Black gold respectively. As the matter of fact is that it is still gold but only disguised by changing its color and addition of other alloys. In brief, Muslim men can wear silver, silver alloy not containing gold and of course, platinum rings, bracelets and chains but not the metal Gold.

Other Facts Related to Men Wearing Gold

There are many other interesting facts related to wearing gold by men in the Islamic school of thought  that are popular worldwide. Many men think that they will lose their reproductive strength if they wear gold. In some societies or male dominated cultures wearing jewelry can make a man look like a woman so they strongly forbid their males to wear any sort of jewelry. Exchanging of wedding bands or rings is considered an act for Christians and therefore they do not wear a band. However, over the passage of time and with the advent of modern technology, new thoughts and ideas of modernity have replaced old orthodox views about wearing rings and other forms of jewelry including gold ornaments. Some Muslims have started wearing these ornaments to show their individuality and stay above the crowd. All we can say is that it still is fact that gold is prohibited in the form of jewelry for Muslim men to wear.

Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri is a great reformer, an aficionado, a devotee and a noble preacher of Islam. He has been working for the welfare of Islam for the past many years. He is renowned for his work. He has somehow succeeded in bringing to the bottom line the misconceptions about Islam in the western world. He has emerged as one of the most conscientious and diligent parson. He holds the credit for almost 1000 books. These books are available in different languages e.g. English, Arabic, Urdu, etc. Some of his distinguished and acclaimed books include The Glorious Qur’an English Translation, Fatwa on Terrorism and Suicide Bombings, Mawlid al-Nabi, Beseeching for Help, Islamic Concept of Intermediation, etc.

Around 425 of his books are on paper and published while the remaining 575 books are going through the procedure of being in the hardcopy. His books are so acclaimed that they have been translated in to different languages. Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri’s resurrecting, revitalizing, amending and reconstructive labours and harmony dynamics abide notable and significant connotation and embrace a consummate spot in promoting the grounds of world peace and human rights, metastasizing the factual Islamic assurance and belief and propagating portentous scrutiny exertion and discoursing the ideas of the Quran and Sunnah. Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri laid the foundation of a Sufism-based establishment Minhaj-ul-Quran International and used up the next decade mounting it countrywide and globally.

Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri has done prestigious work about the existence and the livelihood of Hazrat Muhammad (S.A.W). His work is beautiful and alluring. The way has thrown light on the slightest events from the life of the greatest Reformer of mankind is just the exhibition of his talent and competency. He actually makes all his readers worship and adore the subject again and again. His speeches on terrorism depict a new face of Islam to the western world, the one they praise. While his lectures he quotes references from different books which makes his lectures even more effectual.

Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri delivered a sermon titled as “Islam on Peace, Integration and Human Rights” in Manchester. Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri disagrees that terrorists and traitors have strayed and trespassed from the right, canonical wisdom of Islam and their defiant and mutinous fortitude of brutality, aggression and spiritual radicalism and fanaticism is a permanence of the Khawarij. Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri portrays intimidation as an “ideological contagion “Suicide assaults are strictly prohibited in Islam, these activities and conducts are un-Islamic, the massacre and killing of innocent mankind in any creed, conviction or kingdom, and violence in all its demonstrations, are thoroughly in negation with the tradition of Islam.” Last but not the least Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri has the right ability to speak to the heart and souls of his listeners, he conveys them the right and factual message and preaching of Islam.

Marriage is defined as the harmony, synchronization and bonding between two persons of opposite gender as husband or wife, in a consensual and contractual association recognized by law, nature and religion. Every relationship has its good and bad days, but only that relationship survives that has the strength to bear the trials and tribulations of time, while others result in to a state of strong disagreement known as divorce.  Divorce can be defined as the action or an instance of legally and spiritually dissolving a marriage so that the couple no longer remains bonded and the people are now two separate entities. The rate of divorce in the west is greater and only a few marriages last till the end, the same trend is now being opted by the Muslim countries.

In Islam there are particular rules for divorce for men and women in the stipulations of Islamic commandment known as sharia. When a man has commenced a divorce the practice is called ṭalāq. When a woman has instigated an annulment it is called khula.

Muslims existing in New York are in a twin circumstances when it comes to the functioning of family unit commandment. They are presided over by the spiritual law of Islam, entitled as Islamic sharia, and by the material family law of the state of New York. To Muslims, the family commandment of Islam commands that matrimony and annulment amongst Muslims should be completed in agreement with the Islamic law known as sharia, despite of whether they survive in an Islamic or secular and materialist fatherland Civil divorce diktat attained by worldly courts are not documented by Islamic sharia. Under Islamic ruling, a Muslim man may get hitched to a non-Muslim woman, whereas a Muslim female is forbidden from marrying a non-Muslim gentleman under these rules, a non-Muslim woman marrying a Muslim man in observance with Islamic sharia is subjected to the regulations of Islam in the areas of dissociation, adolescent guardianship and heritage. In other prose, a non-Muslim woman who marries a Muslim man in harmony with Islamic regulation, deprives herself of the supervision of her offsprings in state of divorce, or if the husband expires. Subsequently, a non-Muslim woman in harmony to a Muslim man in Islam is inclined, under the conventions of Islamic sharia, to capitulate charge and protection of her son when he by passes the age of seven, and her daughter at the epoch of nine. She is also proscribed from legacy and heritage. These regulations are functional right the way through Muslim nations with an organization and scheme of Islamic-law pedestal family unit regulation in place.

Islam the second largest religion, and with the aggravated figure of Muslims immigrating to the United State, American courts are further recurrently seeking into Islamic annulment litigations between Muslim pairs.

Wet dreams are accepted as part of a male’s growing into maturity, but little is talked about of this natural occurrence in a young woman. Both sets of the genders mirror each other in most things, so why should this be any different? As the prophet has said, Allah has made a carbon copy of each sex internally, so what happens in one body will happen in the other.

Female ejaculation in Islam is seen to be a part of the natural evolving of the body, leading into puberty. It can occur around the time of the development of breasts and hair under the armpits and in the genital region. This can be as early as eight, or it may delay until the female child is over ten. Unless there is something abnormal, this is simply a part of growing into maturity and becoming ready for potential child-bearing. Some corruption is responsible for the emphasis on sex; therefore anything that seems out-of-the-ordinary is made out to be different, although it has existed since Man was created. Another reason for the lack of information is that many lecturers are male and women can be very shy about discussing their concerns about this phenomenon with them, including their doctor.

If a person experiences one of these wet dreams during genuine sleep, then it is perfectly natural and no blame can be placed on the person concerned. Although a female’s vagina is always moist due to normal secretions, a female ejaculation, like the man’s, increases this moisture and is usually a sign that this has occurred. Although it may not be as much as the male’s, it is usually accompanied by erotic dreams or feelings and often culminates in a feeling of satisfaction.

If this has occurred then the person should cleanse themselves by washing or ghusal, as the prophet advised. As the person grows in maturity and control of their body, it is often possible to control these urges, but, as they occur during sleep, most people cannot. Many people wake just before ejaculation, with a vague memory of fullness in the genital area, but cannot recall any reason for it being so. In puberty, it is simply a release from sexual dreams.

Umm Salamah said: “Umm Sulaym came to the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alihi wasalam, and said, “O Messenger of Allah, Allah is not too shy to tell us the truth. Does a woman have to do ghusl if she has a wet dream?

” The Prophet said: “Yes, if she sees water (a discharge).” Umm Salamah covered her face and said, “O Messenger of Allah, can a woman have an erotic dream?”He said, “Yes, may your hands be rubbed with dust. How else would her child resemble her?” (Bukhari)

It is thought to be a very wise parent, preferably the mother, who discusses this symptom with her daughter, before she reaches the age of puberty. Otherwise she will almost certainly be given quite the wrong idea from her classmates or even a teacher who is not comfortable with the topic. Most women are not comfortable with talking about the subject either, but it is a natural part of life and growing, and if she reflects, she may remember this happening in her early life also, so there really should be no embarrassment in talking to your daughter about it.

Nikah is the Islamic word for a marriage contract in which the bride and the groom promises in front of relatives usually close family members of both the sides to accept each other for the rest of their lives.

The importance of Nikah can be understood through the sayings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) who replied when once asked “What is more important than prayers”, he replied, “the spirit of prayer”, similarly when asked what was more important than fasting the answer was the spirit of fasting and so for everything else I Islam the most important thing is the spirit behind the action as it is the main guide which leads to action. So in this case what is more important than the marriage is its spirit which in this case is the Nikah?

NIKAH is a binding between two souls which can be conducted either at a single place where both the groom and bride are present or the help of the modern technology can also be taken and nowadays telephone and internet is also being used for conducting Islamic marriages or the Nokah.

The Hijab, which is the Arabic word of the veil is much emphasized is Islam and is considered a part of it as Islam lays much stress on the covering of a Muslim women in every age and step. In many societies Hijab is considered as a cultural part and something that is not a part of the Islamic religion however this is not the case. Anything that is deemed as cultural tends to have its roots from common practices and customs that have been living through for a long time now. Rather the covering of the women which resided in the past and carried on as a cultural aspect was known as the “Jahiliyah” which covered the women rendering her as a lower being as compared to man.

Islam gave the concept of Hijab or a veil to make the women an equal part of the society rather earning her more respect and dignity in the society. Our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) declared clearly that it is incumbent upon every single Muslim to search for awareness no matter how far you have to go searching for it. Islam respects all women as equals in a society and the reason for recommending Hijab to them is only to provide them more self respect and an added bodily protection from the evils and wrongs of the society which are also a part of every civilization.

Women in Islam have many rights which were given to them 1400 years ago which are not well known even by many Muslims today. Women in Islam is give in some instances much more respect and honor than anything else and women are not just mere individuals to serve men or look after their homes or babies rather they are acknowledged as an individual being that has much self respect.

The future is not always predictable and clear. Humans, as subjective beings, can only make assumptions about the future. So many scientists draw theories and the so-called social sciences of humanities and arts but there is no law determining the unknown outcomes with 100% authenticity. But this does not go the same for Islam. Islam, the religion of peace and love will remain for a long time till there comes a time when the believers of this religion stop believing in God.

Islam will rule in near future as per according to the predictions by the holy prophet Muhammad sallalaho alayhi wasalam and Quran. Things are fast moving towards that direction and it is nearing the time when Muslims will rule the world as professed by the last messenger. And for all those predictions and prophecies to come true there is strong need for the Muslim world to come united as one.

There are certain trends these days that demand our attention though. Islam is presently the fastest growing religion throughout the world particularly when compared with Europe and America. According to a recent survey of the USA’s population, more than 50% of its infants are of a minority and within this minority the number of Muslims stands out. A wave of Islam has swept across the continent of Europe. A massive number of people have converted to the religion and the trend goes on with accelerated speed. This trend is a cause of some concern for the governments and traditionalists of both America and Europe.

The reason for mentioning this trend lies in the overwhelmingly obvious strategic and economic importance of these nations and areas. Both Britain and France are veto powers in the UNSC and both have the status of being first world countries (a status that is conferred upon many), unlike so-many countries from where Islam originated.

It is important to point out here another reason that may prove to be the determining factor in the victory of a nation which is also present in the nation (Muslim Ummah) – a common belief system or a common cause. It might sound very emotional and non practical but history says otherwise. Throughout the history of nations, only those who had a cause and a belief to live and fight for had survived and ruled.

A cause which has sound social, political and legal basis, be it the allies in the Second World War or Alexander the great, the reason behind it all is what matters the most. Muslims of today have both belief and a belief in the cause. Only the right kind of opportunity and the perfect amount of intensity is missing. But it is only a matter of time before this is achieved. Keeping in view the Arab Spring, the possibility of a trigger doesn’t seem remote.

A typical Islamic marriage, one in which Islamic rules are being observed, is a symbol of love and unity. Islam prohibits dowry being obtained from the parents of the bride. The man is responsible for all the expenses. Islamic wedding parties are supposed to be attended by close family members and friends of the boy and the girl. This ceremony is supposed to be a simple one instead of being very pompous or elaborate.

Parents of the girl are to give only the essentials to their daughter. Hence it puts no economic or social pressure on them. This is different to Western traditions, where the bride’s parents are supposed to provide her with a dowry, as well as pay for the wedding.

Islam gives equal rights to man and woman. A woman has the right to file a divorce case under Islamic laws. Islam gives ultimate freedom to women by declaring that if a woman does not like her husband for some reason, she can get a divorce without further delay. A man is entitled to the same consideration.

A Muslim man is responsible for earning for the household. He is bound by Islamic law to keep his wife happy and comfortable otherwise the woman has the right to leave him. Again this varies greatly from the Westerner, who technically has to provide for the woman, but all too often does not. The Islamic system also propagates a separate family setup in which husband and wife are allowed to have personal privacy. In the Islam world, the husband has to be just in his relationship with his woman. This is despite the fact that Islam allows the man to marry four times but he must seek the first woman’s permission for it. It is allowed only if the man is capable of being just to all of them. In the Western world, this is forbidden and punishable in a court-of-law if the law of monogamy is broken.

Giving man and woman equal rights and conferring equal duties shows that Islam wants a house to be an institute where living together is not a compulsion. Living together should arise out of love and not be a compromise. Islam believes in love and pursues this aim in every walk of life with ultimate determination.

The human race in general is the victim of the hawkish changes that this particular incident has brought. 9/11 attacks as well as the US/North waged “War on Terror” are both manmade disasters. They have significantly affected ‘man’ too. Although man in general is biggest sufferer in this backlash of the north, Islam is the one that has come under severe criticism ever since. The credit for the portrayal of Islam as a religion of terrorism and hatred goes to world media.

Islam is being portrayed vehemently as a religion of hatred and violence after Al-Qaeda took responsibility for the attacks. The religion of one man or organization has led to a worldwide defaming of an entire religion. Although the world media cannot be held responsible solely for this trend, yet they have really turned and tuned the masses against Islam worldwide. The role of media is to put the facts before the viewer and not to take sides in crucial times like these.

Instead of investigating the case of Islam as an instigator, Media has been molding public opinion against Islam with a dangerous authenticity. Every aspect of Islam is under the scrutiny of media. Media has been judging the religion without true knowledge and analysis of Islam. Quite surprisingly they have been seeing Islam from the same angle as terrorists- jihad and dictatorship. How are they any different then?

When it comes to faulty criticism, one case is that of ‘Veil or Hijab’. Veil is being worn by Muslim women in accordance with Quranic rule to prevent unnecessary attention that might endanger a woman’s security.

It does not reduce the importance of women in society or does not take away their political/ fundamental rights. However it is being presented in media as a tool for abolishing women’s status as an equal human being. A veil does not make a woman an inferior being as is portrayed by media. This portrayal is done on the basis of wrong analysis of human history and modified political facts.

Every precious object or whatever that you hold important in life is kept under a strict watch. Let’s say, woman is the most precious person in form of wife, mother, daughter or sister. Nobody would like their beloved women to be hurt or harmed. They would protect them. Same way for a woman her modesty is far more precious than anything in her life.

She protects her modesty and wishes to keep it safe. Let’s say if a woman is dressed up in a sexy outfit and goes to church. No one would pray but start staring at her because it is human nature to look at the unexpected. Islam only educates the females about their sense of duty and their sense of keeping their modesty intact and safe.

They are given a dress code and that is to protect them from evil gazers and those who are not her mehrum or relations. A woman feels protected and safe when veiled. It is her basic right so nobody should take that away from her. To show or not to show is entirely a person’s decision and it should not be subjugated in the name of religion.