Friday, 21 October 2016
Tuesday, 18 October 2016
Ten healthy eating tips for kids
Ten healthy eating tips for kids
It's not always easy to encourage your children to eat a balanced diet.
Here are ten tips for helping them to develop healthy habits at a young age.
10. Eat breakfast
Eating breakfast, even if it’s just a banana and a glass of milk, kick-starts the body and makes it easier to maintain lasting energy throughout the day.
If you can get your kids to establish the habit of eating a good breakfast at a young age, it should stay with them as they get older.
9. Choose healthier snacks
It’s easy to reach for chips or biscuits when you and your children feel like nibbling on something, but these snacks tend to be low in nutrients and high in calories.
Instead, try to keep your cupboards stocked with healthier snacks such as fruit, air-popped popcorn, unsalted nuts and unsweetened yoghurt.
8. Drink water
Make water the drink of choice at meal times, and keep juice and sweet drinks as occasional treats.
While juice has valuable nutrients and gives a concentrated energy boost for active, growing bodies, kids should go for water first when they are thirsty, not sugar-sweetened drinks.
7. Grow your own
Growing vegetables and herbs at home can be a fun way to teach children where food comes from and to encourage them to eat a more varied diet.
They’re more likely to take at least a little bite of broccoli or carrots if they’ve helped to plant and pick them. If you don’t have a garden, a window box can be just as effective.
6. Eat together
It’s tempting to eat dinner in front of the television, to wolf down lunch at your desk, and to grab snacks on the run.
If you can encourage your children to eat regular meals with you at the table, it can not only reduce snacking, it can also teach valuable social skills.
5. Have fun in the kitchen
Children are more likely to become adventurous eaters if they know how to cook. Make it fun by giving them their own aprons and letting them help you regularly with small tasks in the kitchen.
As they get older and more confident, let them cook dinner once a week. If the thought of kids in the kitchen sounds like a recipe for disaster, why not enrol them in cooking classes during the school holidays?
4. Slow it down
Eating slowly is great for weight control at any age. It’s a fantastic way to show kids that it takes about 20 minutes for the message that they are full to get from their stomachs to their brains.
As much as we’d love our children to finish their meal in minutes, rather than hours, it’s much more important that they learn to slow down and chew their food properly.
3. Be creative
All the vibrant colours in fruit and vegetables come from natural plant chemicals that have healthy effects on our bodies. Different colours have different effects, so it’s good to eat a variety of different colours each day.
Offer your kids a colourful snack of different fruits and berries, or chop vegetables into interesting shapes to make them seem more fun and exciting.
2. Learn when to stop
Although children are born with the ability to stop eating when they are full, it can often be hard for parents to judge whether their kids have eaten the right foods, and enough of them.
Teaching children to listen to their tummies and to ask themselves questions about quantity and quality, such as “Is my tummy full?” or “Will I feel sick if I eat those extra biscuits?” will give them the opportunity to develop their ability to sense fullness.
1. Don't give up
Our research shows that most babies and young children need to try something new seven to ten times before they like it. So don’t be afraid to introduce children to new or more exotic tastes.
A good tactic to get kids to eat a wide variety of foods is to tell them that tasting new things is a sign they’re growing up. Or, take them shopping and let them choose a new, healthy food to serve at home with something they already like.
Monday, 17 October 2016
Qur'an and Science
Qur'an and Science
INTRODUCTION
Mankind is at the threshold of the 21st century in terms of the common era. This age is rightly called the information age with computers, electronic mail and business and commerce and the Internet with WEB pages. To many thinkers religion is alien to science. Science simply means a specialized branch of knowledge. In Arabic it is called 'Ilm. A scientist in Arabic is called an 'Alim. The west is wrong in separating Science from Religion. The great universal Muslim scientists about thousand years ago were at the forefront of knowledge particularly in the sciences and technology without ever giving up their religion. In fact Islam in general and the Qur'an in particular inspired the Muslim scientists to seek and advance knowledge. Hence they achieved all these without any conflict with religion. Today many western educated Muslims follow the western path of separation of religion from science. On the other hand those Muslims trained in Islamic theology have refrained from modern sciences.
By moving away from the reading and in depth study of the Qur'an Muslims have lost the golden opportunity of many a scientific discovery and advancement of knowledge. By moving away from their Scriptures the Western people made many scientific discoveries and inventions. This is because of the suppression and obscurantism practiced by the Church against the scientists and intellectuals in the past. Even the scriptures themselves were a hurdle to the cause of seeking the truth through observation and experimentation as lucidly pointed by Dr. Maurice Bucaille in his most popular book " The Bible, Qur'an and Science."
Science is not a divine revelation but it provides a means for the welfare of man and to better understanding the creation of Allah(SWT), the natural phenomena and their purpose. In simplest terms science means knowledge and Islam exhorts its followers to relentlessly pursue knowledge. The Noble Qur'an, Allah (SWT) ordained His servants to pray to Him thus:
" O Lord! Increase me in knowledge." (20: 114)
It is reported that the Messenger of Allah (SWT) peace be upon him to have once said," Learning comprises treasure houses whose keys are queries." Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) encouraged the spirit of investigation and analysis of facts. One of the most inspiring Ayath (verses) in the Qur'an is the following:
" And He has subjected to you, as from Him, all that is in the heavens and on earth: behold, in that are signs indeed for those who reflect." (45: 13)
To reflect is really the scientific spirit, which leads to understanding and discoveries about Allah's (SWT) creation and natural phenomena. Allah (SWT) guides the efforts of the scientists to meaningful purposes.
The more one investigates the more one knows about Allah (SWT) and His design of the universe. The emphasis is on thinking which leads the way to the cherishing care of Allah to establish all things in nature to service for the benefit of mankind. Allah (SWT) has given us the faculties and the intellectual genius for this purpose. The Muslim should never regard the study of natural sciences as forbidden territory or "haram". According to the Muslim traditions he who seeks knowledge is blessed, but the seeker who also attains success is twice blessed. The Muslim intellectuals have proved this in the past and they already set the trend.
This work was undertaken to prove there is no conflict between science and Islam and many chapters in this book have been based on the Qur'anic inspirations the author derived from reading different Ayath (Verses). Even at the dawn of the 21st century of the CE, the Muslims can derive inspiration from the in depth study of the Qur'an and make new scientific discoveries and push forward the frontiers of knowledge. Many of the Chapters in the book were published as articles in many Muslim magazines and intellectual journals throughout the world. At the urging of many of my friends and Muslim scholars I have collected them in these two volumes titled " The Qur'an and Science." I humbly believe that the younger generation of Muslims will get inspiration from the revelations in the Qur'an and do investigate and contribute to the bank of knowledge.
TABLE OF CONTENTS OF QUR'AN AND SCIENCE
Chapter 1. The Honey Bee
Chapter 2. Qur’an and Science: The Origin of Life
Chapter 3. Science and Sunnah: The Genetic Code
Chapter 4. Qur’an and Science: All Things in Pair
Chapter 5. Jinn- A Scientific Analysis Chapter
Chapter 6. Qur'an and Science
Chapter 7. Mysticism and Quantum Physics: Their Relevance to Islam
Chapter 8. Qur’an and Science on Swine Flesh
Chapter 9. Extension of Halal Concepts to the Personal Habits of Muslims
Chapter 10. Coronary Heart Disease
Chapter 11. Obscurantism
Chapter 12. Beneficial Effects of Lightning
Chapter 13. The Grand Unification Theory (GUT): Its Prediction in Al-Qur’an
Chapter 14. Cosmology: Man Finds Today What Qur’an Said 1,400 Years Ago
Chapter 15. The Qur’anic Foundations of the Anthropic Principle
Chapter 16. Hoopoe: A Bird of Elegance and Intelligence
Chapter 17. Islamic Medicine: 1,000 Years Ahead of Its Times
Chapter 18. Calamities: Scientific Explanations
Chapter 19. The Concept of God: A Scientific Analysis
Chapter 20. Notes on the Education of the Muslim Children
Chapter 21. The Thinking Process
Chapter 22. Qur’an and Science: Water
Chapter 23. The Nature of Soul: Islamic and Scientific Views
Chapter 24. Learning to Respect Allah’s Laws of Nature: Hurricanes
Chapter 25. Islamic Science: Past, Present and the Future
Chapter 26. Alcohol: Prohibited to Muslims, Jews and Christians
Chapter 27. Smoking is Unlawful in Islam
Chapter 28. The Pleasures of Learning
Chapter 29. The Muslim Belief in Angels
Chapter 30. The Alphabets of Success From the Noble Qur’an
Chapter 31. Qur’an and Science: Pollution
Chapter 32. Qur’an and Science: Six Days of Creation
Chapter 33. Islam and the Second Law of Thermodynamics
Chapter 34. The Qur’an and Modern Science: Breast Feeding.
Chapter 35. Why Surah 29 is titled “ Spider” in the Noble Qur’an
INTRODUCTION
Mankind is at the threshold of the 21st century in terms of the common era. This age is rightly called the information age with computers, electronic mail and business and commerce and the Internet with WEB pages. To many thinkers religion is alien to science. Science simply means a specialized branch of knowledge. In Arabic it is called 'Ilm. A scientist in Arabic is called an 'Alim. The west is wrong in separating Science from Religion. The great universal Muslim scientists about thousand years ago were at the forefront of knowledge particularly in the sciences and technology without ever giving up their religion. In fact Islam in general and the Qur'an in particular inspired the Muslim scientists to seek and advance knowledge. Hence they achieved all these without any conflict with religion. Today many western educated Muslims follow the western path of separation of religion from science. On the other hand those Muslims trained in Islamic theology have refrained from modern sciences.
By moving away from the reading and in depth study of the Qur'an Muslims have lost the golden opportunity of many a scientific discovery and advancement of knowledge. By moving away from their Scriptures the Western people made many scientific discoveries and inventions. This is because of the suppression and obscurantism practiced by the Church against the scientists and intellectuals in the past. Even the scriptures themselves were a hurdle to the cause of seeking the truth through observation and experimentation as lucidly pointed by Dr. Maurice Bucaille in his most popular book " The Bible, Qur'an and Science."
Science is not a divine revelation but it provides a means for the welfare of man and to better understanding the creation of Allah(SWT), the natural phenomena and their purpose. In simplest terms science means knowledge and Islam exhorts its followers to relentlessly pursue knowledge. The Noble Qur'an, Allah (SWT) ordained His servants to pray to Him thus:
" O Lord! Increase me in knowledge." (20: 114)
It is reported that the Messenger of Allah (SWT) peace be upon him to have once said," Learning comprises treasure houses whose keys are queries." Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) encouraged the spirit of investigation and analysis of facts. One of the most inspiring Ayath (verses) in the Qur'an is the following:
" And He has subjected to you, as from Him, all that is in the heavens and on earth: behold, in that are signs indeed for those who reflect." (45: 13)
To reflect is really the scientific spirit, which leads to understanding and discoveries about Allah's (SWT) creation and natural phenomena. Allah (SWT) guides the efforts of the scientists to meaningful purposes.
The more one investigates the more one knows about Allah (SWT) and His design of the universe. The emphasis is on thinking which leads the way to the cherishing care of Allah to establish all things in nature to service for the benefit of mankind. Allah (SWT) has given us the faculties and the intellectual genius for this purpose. The Muslim should never regard the study of natural sciences as forbidden territory or "haram". According to the Muslim traditions he who seeks knowledge is blessed, but the seeker who also attains success is twice blessed. The Muslim intellectuals have proved this in the past and they already set the trend.
This work was undertaken to prove there is no conflict between science and Islam and many chapters in this book have been based on the Qur'anic inspirations the author derived from reading different Ayath (Verses). Even at the dawn of the 21st century of the CE, the Muslims can derive inspiration from the in depth study of the Qur'an and make new scientific discoveries and push forward the frontiers of knowledge. Many of the Chapters in the book were published as articles in many Muslim magazines and intellectual journals throughout the world. At the urging of many of my friends and Muslim scholars I have collected them in these two volumes titled " The Qur'an and Science." I humbly believe that the younger generation of Muslims will get inspiration from the revelations in the Qur'an and do investigate and contribute to the bank of knowledge.
TABLE OF CONTENTS OF QUR'AN AND SCIENCE
Chapter 1. The Honey Bee
Chapter 2. Qur’an and Science: The Origin of Life
Chapter 3. Science and Sunnah: The Genetic Code
Chapter 4. Qur’an and Science: All Things in Pair
Chapter 5. Jinn- A Scientific Analysis Chapter
Chapter 6. Qur'an and Science
Chapter 7. Mysticism and Quantum Physics: Their Relevance to Islam
Chapter 8. Qur’an and Science on Swine Flesh
Chapter 9. Extension of Halal Concepts to the Personal Habits of Muslims
Chapter 10. Coronary Heart Disease
Chapter 11. Obscurantism
Chapter 12. Beneficial Effects of Lightning
Chapter 13. The Grand Unification Theory (GUT): Its Prediction in Al-Qur’an
Chapter 14. Cosmology: Man Finds Today What Qur’an Said 1,400 Years Ago
Chapter 15. The Qur’anic Foundations of the Anthropic Principle
Chapter 16. Hoopoe: A Bird of Elegance and Intelligence
Chapter 17. Islamic Medicine: 1,000 Years Ahead of Its Times
Chapter 18. Calamities: Scientific Explanations
Chapter 19. The Concept of God: A Scientific Analysis
Chapter 20. Notes on the Education of the Muslim Children
Chapter 21. The Thinking Process
Chapter 22. Qur’an and Science: Water
Chapter 23. The Nature of Soul: Islamic and Scientific Views
Chapter 24. Learning to Respect Allah’s Laws of Nature: Hurricanes
Chapter 25. Islamic Science: Past, Present and the Future
Chapter 26. Alcohol: Prohibited to Muslims, Jews and Christians
Chapter 27. Smoking is Unlawful in Islam
Chapter 28. The Pleasures of Learning
Chapter 29. The Muslim Belief in Angels
Chapter 30. The Alphabets of Success From the Noble Qur’an
Chapter 31. Qur’an and Science: Pollution
Chapter 32. Qur’an and Science: Six Days of Creation
Chapter 33. Islam and the Second Law of Thermodynamics
Chapter 34. The Qur’an and Modern Science: Breast Feeding.
Chapter 35. Why Surah 29 is titled “ Spider” in the Noble Qur’an
The Islamic Revolution
The Islamic Revolution
The Tawheed, which Muhammad (s) propagated, was distinct from all other ideas because it was based on two principles:
Tawheed Rububiyyah, which means that Allah, is One, without any partners or associates.
Tawheed 'Ulluhiyyah, which means that Allah must be worshipped alone in everything, and total slavery must be to Allah alone in everything ranging from the spiritual to the political.
It was this call for Tawheed, which provoked the anger of the Makkan political authority because they realized that Muhammad (s) posed a threat to their societal setup with this call. The response of Ja'afar ibn Abi Talib (r) also illustrates this understanding which the Makkan authorities feared:
"He summoned us to worship the One True God and to reject the stones and idols we and our fathers had been worshipping in addition to Allah. He ordered us to be trustful in speech, to fulfill all the duties that were entrusted to us, to care for our relatives, to be kind to our neighbors, to refrain from unlawful food and consumption of blood. He forbade us to engage in lewdness and lying, the devouring of the money of the orphan and the defamation of married women. He commanded us to worship the One God and to assign no partners unto Him, to pray, to pay the purifying tax and to fast. We deemed him truthful and we believed him, and we accepted the Message he brought from Allah."This understanding of the spiritual-political nature of the Message of Islam can also be found in many verses of the Qur'an.
Neil Armstrong walked on the surface of the moon on July 20, 1969. Why did it take thousands of years for man to land on the moon?
Non-Muslims ask, "If Islam had never come into existence, would there have been anything seriously lacking in world history?" The answer is yes.
Polytheism and superstition looked upon things and creatures as deities, and encouraged their worship. Before the advent of Islam, polytheism dominated the entire world. Man considered the moon, the sun other planets, wind, river, snake, cow, fire, mountain, etc. as deities. These natural objects inspired man to bow before it rather than try to conquer it. Holding the moon to be sacred was a major obstacle to even thinking of conquering it. The supremacy of polytheism was brought to an end by the Islamic revolution, which replaced it with monotheism, making it the dominant creed of the times. What is revolution?
Revolution is defined as a sudden, radical or complete change; especially the overthrow or renunciation of one ruler or government and substitution of another by the governed. To change fundamentally or completely. To turn over in the mind: reflect upon: ponder.
In the Muslim world this revolution was brought about through the influence of religion. The western world began its revolution by separating the secular sciences from religion culminating in the landing of man on the moon. Modern science is a part of the Islamic revolution. Because of the polytheistic view natural sciences had become forbidden territory and natural phenomena were given sanctity. The Islamic revolution of monotheism opened the doors of research and investigation by displacing nature from its sacred pedestal. Modern science is wholly the gift of the Islamic revolution-directly in its initial stages, and indirectly in its later stages. Modern scientific revolution was set in motion by Islam, which was sent by the Almighty for the guidance of all mankind for all eternity. Henri Pirenne author of "History of Western Europe" says, "Islam changed the face of the globe. The traditional order of history was overthrown." Islam is complete truth. All-pervasiveness of superstition served as a hurdle to all kinds of human development. The kings or rulers exploited the masses through polytheism and superstition. The kings represented God on earth. Some kings like Nimrod, Pharaoh claimed as gods.
Dr. George Sarton, a former Professor of History of Science at Harvard University, stated in his book, "The Life of Science" that the foundations of science were laid for us by the Mesopotamian civilization (present day Iraq) whose scholars and scientists were their priests. The second development of science came through the Greeks. The Third Stage of development, however, is to be credited to the meteoric rise of Islam. For nearly four hundred years Islam led the scientific world as from one end of Islam to the other, from Spain to India, the great body of past knowledge was exchanged between her scholars and the torch carried forward with the new discoveries. Scholars of Christendom from about the eleventh century were mainly occupied for over two hundred years in translating from Arabic into Latin. Thus Islam paved the way for the Renaissance, which in turn led to science's fourth great development in the modern world.
It was God's decree that Prophet Muhammad (s) to be a da'i (missionary) as well as a mahi (eradicator).
The Qur'an says:
"We have revealed to you this book so that, by the will of their Lord, you may lead men from darkness to light.
(Quran, 14: 1)
The Nile Goddess
In Egypt, it was an ancient and pagan custom that sometime in July a virgin decorated with bridal clothes was thrown in the Nile river as an offering to propitiate (or to do something to get favors) the Goddess of the river Nile. After the advent of Christianity, the Egyptians became Christians, however they continued to follow the ancient custom of sacrificing a virgin to the Goddess of river Nile.During the time Hadrat Omar (r), Egypt came under the Muslim rule and Amar bin Al-Aas was appointed Governor of Egypt. The Egyptian elders waited on the Governor in July, and wanted his permission for continuing the old custom of throwing a virgin in the river to seek the pleasure and favors of the Nile Goddess.
The Governor said that such a practice was offensive and revolting to Islam and hence he disallowed such practice in an Islamic State. He further argued that Islam knew of no Goddess of the Nile and the question of any expiation did not arise. Islam knew of only One God-Allah and Allah did not stand in need of any propitiation.
After listening to this argument the Egyptian elders were not satisfied. They warned the Governor Amr bin Al-Aas that unless the sacrifice was made, the Nile River would not rise in flood and the entire countryside would get dry. Governor Amr was however, unyielding and inflexible that floods or no floods human sacrifice could not be permitted. The Egyptian leaders returned home in a gloomily mood.
The month of July came and passed away. No sacrifice was offered, and there was also no rise in the level of the river Nile. The month of August came and still the river did not rise. The Egyptians were trembling at what would happen if the river did not rise. The month of August passed away and still there was no flood in the river. The Egyptian leaders grieved and said, " That is all due to Islam. The Muslims have brought this fate on us."
The month of August was gone and September came, and still there was no sign of any rise in the level of the river Nile. The Egyptians lost hope and most of them were thinking of migrating elsewhere. That made Amar bin al-Aas worried. He reported the facts of the case to Hadrat Umar (ra) and wanted his instructions. Hadrat Umar approved of the action of Amr in not permitting the human sacrifice. Along with the letter, Hadrat Umar (ra) sent a card on which it was written:
"In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. From the slave of Allah, Umar the Commander of the faithful to the Nile of Egypt.Hadrat Umar asked Amr that the card should be thrown in the middle of the river. On the eve of the Feast of the Christian Day of the Cross, Amr had the Christians assemble on the river bank and after reciting some verses from the Noble Qur'an and taking the name of Allah, he threw the card of Hadrat Umar in the middle of the river. Then the Muslims assembled on the riverbank lifted their hands in prayers seeking the blessings of Allah, in making the river rise in level. The card of Hadrat Umar floated on the surface of the Nile for some distance and then it disappeared.
"Everything in the Universe is subject to the will of Allah. The rise in your level is subject to the will of Allah, and we pray to Allah (SWT) to command you to rise in level."
The next morning the river rose to its full flood height. Verily Allah had commanded the river to flow, and that was the end of the evil custom of sacrificing a virgin to secure a rise in the level of the river. That was the vindication of Islam. Many Egyptians now came to believe that Islam was a blessing and a true religion. They hastened to the Muslim camp and were converted to Islam.
Islamic Revolution
Before the time of the Prophet of Islam, the ancient civilizations such as Greek, Egyptian, Roman and Persian- all were polytheistic (shirk) in their beliefs. That is they worshipped natural phenomena such as the earth (Goddess Gaiga now in the west), rivers, mountains, sun, moon or stars. Only Islam was able to displace them from the pedestal of worship and created the intellectual frame of mind, which is known as the scientific revolution.The polytheists believed the river to possess divine attributes. They believed the goddess of river caused the water to move and made it useful or harmful. In Islam the river is a creation of Allah and not a creator and it was a servant of Allah and not the Lord. Thus the Muslims found ways and means to exploit the rivers on a large scale. The history books tell us that there is no precedent in any nation to the large-scale irrigation system developed by the Spanish Muslims. The Spanish Muslims developed agriculture and created Departments of agriculture science and irrigation in the universities. They studied trees and carried out research on the properties of soil. The infertile lands were converted into orchards and lush green fields, in today's terms -a green revolution. Before this people treated rivers, springs and sea as gods. But the Muslims brought the green revolution because of their monotheistic thinking.
Polytheism (shirk) was prevalent until the 7th century. It was replaced with monotheism (Tawhid) by the Islamic Revolution. This in turn opened the doors of research and investigation by abolishing the practice of worshipping the natural phenomena. Modern industrial progress owes its existence to the Arab Muslims due to their creed of monotheism, which instilled them a mental and practical revolution. Islam changed the thinking of the Muslims and contributed to the modern scientific revolution. Historians acknowledge that Islam changed the face of the globe. Polytheism and superstition blocked the progress and advancement of human development. Islam encouraged the investigation of nature and destroyed the sanctity of nature.
Islam also destroyed the concept of intermediaries between God and man, such as the Kings and priests who claimed as God's representatives on earth or even the incarnations of God on earth. Polytheism (shirk) curbed freedom of thought. Polytheism and superstition were the major obstacles to all kinds of progress. Superstitious beliefs were an obstruction in the pat of free enquiry. The search for new truths and discovery of nature's secrets remained forbidden areas for them for centuries. Before the Islamic revolution, the world had been swept by superstitious beliefs and idolatry. The revolution based on monotheism of Islam put an almost complete end to polytheism (shirk) The Greeks excelled in the fields of art and philosophy. Their contribution to the field of science (except Archimedes' hydrostatics) was actually quite negligible. Plato's teacher, Socrates (may be construed as a Haneef) never worshipped the pagan gods which were worshipped by the Athenians in Greece and instilled free enquiry among the youth of Athens and for that he was forced to drink hemlock as a punishment in 399 BC. Archimedes was killed by a Roman soldier in 212 BC failing to recognize him. The atmosphere for scientific progress did not exist in ancient Greece. Similarly, the mighty Roman Empire never produced a single scientist.
In Islam with its foundation of monotheism created an atmosphere and environment which stimulated scientific research that lead to the conquest of natural phenomena. The modern age which is the age of science and industry, of freedom and equality is the direct consequence of the Islamic revolution rooted in the Qur'an.
From the sixth century to the 10th century Europe was in dark ages while the Islamic civilization attained the pinnacles of science and technology. After the crusades the Europeans came in contact with the Islamic civilization. They went to Muslim universities in Spain, Sicily, Cairo, and Baghdad. They translated the Arabic works into Latin for over two hundred years. The European Renaissance started in the 15th century and culminated in the emergence of the modern industrial civilization. Islamic revolution is responsible for the emancipation of the human thought.
During the Abbasid era, paper was being manufactured on a large scale and so books could be produced without the dearth of paper. There were more than 400,000 books in the library of Cordova (Spain) in the tenth century, whereas in Europe at that time, the library of Canterbury- the top of the list of the Christian libraries- contained only 1800 books in the 13 the century.
In many countries scholars were born with creative minds who could think independently of the their fellow citizens. But due to the unfavorable atmosphere and hostile environment of times, their efforts could be brought to fruition. Their knowledge withered away before they could flower. On the other hand Islamic revolution produced favorable atmosphere, it unleashed a mighty flood of knowledge which had been kept pent up for thousands of years by the dam of polytheism (shirk) and superstition. For progress of Science and Technology an atmosphere of free investigation is essential. One may be surprised to know that even today there are some people and societies who believe that the earth is flat. Even today the Hindus with MD and Ph.D. degrees worship the Sun as god and believe that the lunar and solar eclipses are caused when the snakes Rahu and Ketu swallow them. One thousand years ago Abu Rayhan Al-Biruni explained how the solar and lunar eclipses are caused by the shadows of moon and earth falling on the sun and moon respectively. The Hindus believe in 320 million gods and goddesses. Even if one spends one minute in reciting the name of a god, the whole life is not enough to recite the names of 320 million gods and goddesses.
What is Islam
What is Islam
(A) RELIGION OF UNITY
(1) Unity of God
Islam teaches the purest form of Monotheism and regards polytheism as the deadliest sin. A Muslim addresses GOD by His Personal Name: ALLAH --- the word "god" and its equivalents in other languages being unstable in the matter of connotation. Allah, according to Islam, is the One God, who is Indivisible in Person and Who has no partner: wife, son or daughter. He is the Matchless and "naught is as His likeness". "He begetteth not, nor was He begotten". He is the First, the Last, the Eternal, the Infinite, the Almighty, the Omniscient, the Omnipresent. He is the Creator, the Nourisher, the Cherisher of all things. He is the All-just, the Avenger of the wrongs done to the weak and the oppressed, the Compassionate, the Merciful and Loving, the Guide, the Friend, the Magnificent, the Glorious, the Beautiful and the True. In short, He is the Possessor of all Excellence.
Speaking of the conception of God in Islam, Gibbon, the famous western historian, says: "The Creed of Hazrat Muhammad is free from the suspicion of Ambiguity and the Qur’an is a glorious testimony to the unity of God. The Prophet of Mecca rejected the worship of idols and men, of stars and planets, on the rational principle that whatever is corruptible must decay and perish, that whatever is born must die, that whatever rises must set. In the Author of the universe his rational enthusiasm confessed and adored an infinite and Eternal Being, without form or place, without issue or similitude, present to our secret thoughts, existing by the necessity of His own nature, and deriving from Himself all moral and intellectual perfections. These sublime truths …are defined with metaphysical precision by the interpreters of the Qur’an. A philosophic theist might subscribe to the popular creed of the Muhammadans."
(2) Unity of the Universe
From the Unity of the Creator, according to Islam, proceeds the Unity of the Universe, i.e., Unity of Creation and Unity of Purpose. In other words, the Cosmos is a Moral Order.
(3) Unity of Mankind
Islam regards the whole of mankind as an "organic unity" --- a single family, and emphatically says that the distinctions on the mundane plane, the distinctions, namely, of race, colour, language or territory, cannot form the ground for claims of superiority of one group over the other. The only distinction that has "value" is that which arises at the moral and spiritual planes – namely, the distinction of "taqwa", or, "piety and righteousness".Prof. H.A.R. Gibb, the famous English critic of Islam says, "…..Islam…..possesses a magnificent tradition of inter-racial understanding and co-operation. No other society has such a record of success in uniting in an equality of status, of opportunity and of endeavour so many and so various races of mankind… If ever the opposition of the great societies of East is to be replaced by co-operation, the mediation of Islam is an indispensable condition." (Whither Islam? p.379).
(4) Unity of Religion
According to Islam, the human intellect, though a great and powerful asset, has its natural limits, and, therefore, neither the normative nor the empirical sciences are capable of leading humanity to a sure knowledge of ultimate truths and the code of life based upon them. The only source of sure knowledge open to humanity is, consequently, Divine Guidance, and that course has been actually open ever since the beginnings of human life on earth. Allah raised His "Prophets" and "Messengers" and revealed His Guidance to them for transmission to humanity. Coming from the same Source, all revealed religions have, therefore, been one, i.e., ISLAM.
Allah's Prophets and Messengers continued to come to every country and community to work in their respective limited fields. Time after time, the revealed Guidance was either lost or corrupted through human interpolation, and new Prophets with fresh Dispensations were sent, and humanity continued to advance from infancy to maturity. At last, when the stage of maturity was reached – when humanity was practically to become one family --- instead of sectional Guidance, a perfect, final and abiding Revelation, addressed to entire mankind and for all time, was granted in the seventh century of the Christian era. That Revelation, which recapitulates all former Revelations and thus sets a seal on the Unity of Religion, is ISLAM; the Scripture which enshrines it is the HOLY QUR’AN; and the Prophet who brought it is the Leader of Humanity, Hazrat Muhammad (Allah bless him!).Thus all the Prophets of God, from Adam down to Hazrat Noah, Hazrat Abraham, Hazrat Moses and Hazrat Jesus (peace be upon them all), are the Prophets of a Muslim the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him!) being the Last and Final one, and all the Divine Scriptures are the Scriptures of a Muslim, though he follows only the Holy Qur’an because it alone exists in its original purity and it alone contains the religion of Islam which has been followed by all rightly-guided people since the day the first human being came into existence.
(5) Unity of Sexes
Differentiation of functions have misled certain cultures of the world to regard woman as a being who belongs, so to say, to a different and inferior species: and to meet out to her inhuman treatment accordingly. Islam emphatically repudiates that notion and teaches that both man and woman have sprung from the same essence and the same source and consequently possess the same human status. Their functions and interests, instead of being antagonistic, are meant to be mplementary. The natural relation between the sexes, in all its aspects, is therefore, that of love and harmony, without which no true human progress can be possible.
(6) Unity of Classes
Islam aims at the creation of a classless society by eliminating all possible social conflicts (through revolving the different interests).
In the sphere of economics, Islam lays down the principle that wealth should not be allowed to circulate among the wealthy only, and envisages, through its laws and institutions, a "Cooperative Common-wealth of Talents".
In the political sphere, Islam stands for the "Cooperative Commonwealth of the Pursuers of Righteousness".
Taken as a whole, the Islamic state is a "welfare state" where sovereignty belongs to Allah alone and no human being has a right to govern other human beings except in the name of Allah and according to His Will, and where nobody, not even the Head of the State, is above the law. Absolute Justice is the watchword and the Establishment of Righteousness is the goal.
The merits of Islam’s social ethics have elicited praise even from the otherwise hostile critics. For instance:H.G. Wells says: "Islam created a society more free from widespread cruelty and social oppression than any society that had ever been in the world before" (Outline of History, p.325).
H.A.R. Gibb says: "Within the Western world Islam still maintains the balance between exaggerated opposities. Opposed equally to the anarchy of European nationalism and the regimentation of Russian communism, it has not yet succumbed to that obsession with the economic side of life which is characteristic of present-day Russia alike." (Whither Islam? p.378).
Prof. Louis Massignon says: "Islam has the merit of standing for a very equalitarian conception… It occupies an intermediate position between the doctrines of bourgeois capitalism and Bolshevist communism." (Whither Islam? p.378).
(7) Unity of Human Activity
Islam conceives of the human personality as a "unity" and consequently regards the distinction of "secular" and "religious" as unscientific, irrational and absurd. The life of a Muslim, both in its individual and social manifestation, is a life lived for God and God alone.
"Islam," says Dudley Wright, scholar of Comparative Religion, "is no mere creed; it is a life to be lived. In the Qur’an may be found directions for what are sometimes termed the minor details of daily life, but which are not minor when it is considered that life has to be lived for God. The Muslim lives for God alone. The aim of the Muslim is to become God-bound, and to endeavour to advance the knowledge of God in all his undertakings. From the cradle to the grave the true Muslim lives for God and God alone."
(B)RELIGION OF "SUBMISSION TO THE DIVINE WILL"
The word "Islam" means "submission" and, as a religious term, it connotes "submission to the Divine Will and Commands". As such, ISLAM is co-extensive with NATURE. For, everything in Nature submits to the Divine Will without demur. The only exception is man. He has to choose "Islam" through his free will and thus to attain his destiny by falling in line with the rest of God’s Creation.
Goethe, the renowned poet-philosopher of Germany, says:"Naerrisch, dass jeder in seinem Falle Seine besomdere Meinung priest! Whenn Islam Gott ergeben heisst, Im Islam leben und sterben wir alle" viz:"It is lack of understanding that everyone praises own special opinion;(for) Islam means submission to God and in Islam we all live and die."
(C) RELIGION OF NATURE
The above statement brings out, and the Holy Qur’an emphasises in clear terms, that to be a Muslim is to live and grow in accordance with true human nature and in harmony with the Nature around. Islam, thus, means conformity to the Natural Law.
(D) RELIGION OF DISCIPLINE
The concepts of Submission to the Divine Will and Conformity to the Natural Law, when actively realized in human life, give rise to the healthiest form of ISCIPLINE and Islam is the religion of Discipline par excellence.
In his famous book; First and Last Things, H.G. Wells says:
"The aggression, discipline and submission of Muhammadanism makes, I think,… fine and honourable religion for men. Its spirit, if not its formulae is abundantly present in our modern world... I have no doubt that in devotion to a virile… Deity and to the service of His Empire of stern Law and Order, efficiently upheld, men have found and will find salvation."The German Orientalist Friedrich Delitzsch admits that the Muslim shows "owing to his religious surrender to the Will of God an exemplary patience under misfortune and he bears up under disastrous accidents with an admirable strength of mind." (Die Welt des Islam, p.28).
(E)RELIGION OF TRUTH
The concept of "Truth" forms the keynote of Islamic ideology and pervades the entire universal order presented by Islam. Not only is "truthfulness" a fundamental value in the elaborate Islamic Moral Code – a value which forms the foundation-stone of Muslim character, but God Himself has been mentioned in the Holy Qur’an as "The Truth", or "the True", the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (God bless him!) as the "Bearer of Truth", the Qur’an itself as "the Truth", and the abode of the righteous after death as the "Seat of Truth".
(F) RELIGION OF TEMPERANCE
Islam is the religion of Purity and Temperance par excellence. It stresses purity not only of the mind and the heart, which certain other religions also stress, but also of the body, its fundamental principle being the harmonious development of human personality. Consequently; it strictly prohibits the use of all drinks and foods which might be unhealthy and injurious to the body, or the mind or both. Thus its prohibitive injunctions cover not only all the intoxicants, e.g., wine, opium, etc., but also those foods which are harmful to healthy human growth. Ultimately, Islamic Temperance covers all evil thoughts, feelings and deeds.
(G)RELIGION OF BEAUTY
Unlike certain religions, Islam is not the religion of contempt for the world, of the negation of any fundamental value. It is positively and definitely a religion of fulfilment – fulfilment of all the faculties and positive capabilities with which God has endowed man. Aesthetic culture, therefore, forms part of Islamic life – of course, governed and controlled by Islam’s moral and spiritual principles. In Islam the concept of "Beauty" permeates the entire human activity – nay, the whole cosmic order, "Allah," says the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (peace be with him!), "is Beautiful and loves what is beautiful." Beauty in thought, words and deed, and beauty in all creative activity is the Islamic ideal.Islam permits the creation of Art, within the limitations of its spiritual and moral framework. But its motto is not "Art for the sake of Art" but "Art for the sake of Life", whereby alone a true blending of spiritual, moral and physical beauty – the rational and harmonious goal of human life – is achievable.
(H) RELIGION OF REASON
Islam regards Reason as man’s distinctive privilege and God’s noble gift, and the Holy Qur’an has repeatedly exhorted mankind to employ Reason in the matters of social and natural phenomena and in understanding its Message and practicing its Guidance, thus giving to "personal judgment," its due place in the life of a Muslim."Intellectual Culture" in general, forms one of the noblest pursuits of human life in Islam and the acquisition and cultivation of knowledge has been made obligatory upon every Muslim man and woman.
(I) RELIGION OF THE NEGATION OF SUPERSTITION
Islam is a positively rational religion and stands opposed to the mystery cults and religions of mysterious dogmas whose acceptance is generally claimed on the basis of blind faith.
Speaking of the negation of superstition and the affirmation of Reason in Islam, Godfrey Higgins says: "No relic, no image, no picture, no mother of God disgrace his (Hazrat Muhammad’s) religion. No such doctrines as the efficacy of faith without works, or that of a death-bed repentance, plenary indulgences, absolution or auricular confession, operate first to corrupt, then to deliver up his followers into the power of a priesthood, which would of course be always more corrupt and more degraded than themselves. No indeed! The adoration of one God, without mother, or mystery, or pretended miracle, and the acknowledgement that he, a man, was sent to preach the duty of offering adoration to the Creator alone, constituted the simple doctrinal part of the religion of the Unitarian of Arabia." (Apology for Hazrat Muhammad).
(J) RELIGION OF ACTION
Islam stands in sharp contrast with those religions which interpret the Salvation of man in terms of the acceptance of certain intricate and inexplicable formulae. Simplicity is its watch-word and rationality its lifeblood, and as such it gives to both "Faith" and "Action" their due place. Wherever the Holy Qur’an mentions the problem of human salvation, it bases it on "right belief" as well as "righteous action", emphasizing the former as the ground and the latter as the sequence.
(K) RELIGION OF BALANCED PROGRESS
Islamic life is a life of the attainment of "Falah" which means, "The furrowing out of latent faculties". A Muslim, therefore, has to continuously strive for progress…. a progress controlled by righteousness and illumined by Divine Guidance, a progress grounded in spirituality, a progress balanced and comprehending all aspects of human life: spiritual, mental, moral, aesthetic and physical.Paying tribute to the balanced character of Islam and the progress which it inspires, the famous Orientalist Prof. H. A. R. Gibb says:"Within the Western world, Islam still maintains the balance between exaggerated opposites...For the fullest development of its cultural life, particularly of its spiritual life, Europe cannot do without the forces and capacities which lie within Islamic society." (Whither Islam? p.378).
(L) RELIGION OF SCIENTIFIC QUEST
While other religions may feel shy of science Islam has made the scientific quest a religious obligation. The aims of that quest, however, are not the unbalanced indulgence in physical pleasures and the tyrannisation over fellowbeings, but the advancement in the love of God through progress in the knowledge of His works and the service of humanity through the acquisition of control over the "forces of nature".
Speaking of the role of Islam as the inaugurator of the modern scientific era, Briffault, the reputed scholar of the history of civilisation, says:…although there is not a single aspect of European growth in which the decisive influence of Islamic culture is not traceable, nowhere is it so clear and momentous as in the genesis of that power which constitutes the permanent distinctive force of the modern world and the supreme source of its victory – natural science and the scientific spirit … The debt of our science to that of the Arabs does not consist in startling discoveries of revolutionary theories; science owes a great deal more to Arab culture, it owes its existence. The ancient world was, as we saw, pre-scientific. The Astronomy and Mathematics of the Greeks were a foreign importation never thoroughly acclimatised in Greek culture. The Greeks systematised, generalised and theorised; but the patient ways of investigation, the accumulation of positive knowledge, the minute methods of science, detailed and prolonged observation and experimental inquiry were altogether alien to Greek temperament... What we call science arose in Europe as the result of a new spirit of inquiry, of new methods of investigation, of the method of experiment, observation, measurement, of the development of Mathematics in a form unknown to the Greeks. That spirit and those methods were introduced into the European world by the Arabs… Neither Roger Bacon nor his later namesake has any title to be credited with having introduced the experimental method. Roger Bacon was no more than one of the apostles of Muslim science and method to Christian Europe; and he was never wearied of declaring that knowledge of Arabic and Arab Science was for his contemporaries the only way to true knowledge. Discussions as to who was the originator of the experimental method…are part of the colossal misrepresentation of the origins of European civilisation. The experimental method of the Arabs was by Bacon’s time widespread and eagerly cultivated throughout Europe … Science is the most momentous contribution of Arab civilisation to the modern world….. It was not science only which brought Europe back to life. Other and manifold influences from the civilisation of Islam communicated its first glow to European life. "(Making of Humanity, pp 190-202).H.G. Wells, another great Western authority, had to admit that: "Through the Arabs it was, and not by the Latin route, that the modern world received that gift of light and power (i.e., the Scientific Method)."
Because of its deep-rooted hostility to Islam, implanted during the Middle Ages, the West has been very slow in acknowledging the merits of Islam. Admissions and confessions have, however, been gradually coming forth grudgingly or ungrudgingly. Thus, as we have seen above, it has been admitted that the Muslims gave to the West the Scientific Method as well as the scientific inspiration. But the Muslims themselves received them from the Holy Qur’an. This fact has also been admitted at last. For instance, Stanislas Guyard observes: "In the seventh century of our era, the Old World was in agony. The Arabian conquest infused into it new blood … Hazrat Muhammad gave them (the Arabs) the Qur’an, which was the starting point of new culture. " (Encyclopedia des Sciences Religieuses, Tome IX,p. 501). Challenging the adversaries of Islam and referring to the Holy Qur’an, Dr. A Bertherand says: "Let them read and meditate on this great Book: they will find in it, at every passage, constant attack on idolatry and materialism; they will read that the Prophet incessantly called the attention and the mediation of his people to the splendid marvels, to the mysterious phenomena of creation… those who have followed its counsels have been, as we have described in the course of this study, the creators of a civilisation which is astounding to this day." (Contribution des Arabs auprogres des Sciences Medicales, p. 6).Emmanuel Deutsch oberves: "By the aid of the Qur’an the Arabs…came to Europe to hold up the light to humanity, they alone, while darkness lay around,…to teach philosophy, medicine, astronomy and the golden art of song to the West as to the East, to stand at the cradle of modern science, and to cause us late epigoni for ever to weep over the day when Granada fell."
(M) RELIGION OF THE SANCTITY OF LABOUR
In Islam, all honest labour is sacred and forms the life-blood of human progress. "For man is naught but what he strives for," says the Holy Qur’an, and "the labourer is the beloved of God," says the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (God bless him!). Thus "idleness" is a sin and "industry" is a virtue in Islam.
(N) RELIGION OF THE HIGHEST IDEALISM IN ETHICS
Islam lays the foundation of ethics on "submission to the Divine will" and gives to humanity the ethical ideal of imitating the Divine Attributes, even as we have been exhorted by the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (God bless him!) who says: "Imbue yourselves with Divine Attributes."
"The highest form of religious ethic," observes Sir Richard Gregory, "is that in which the aim of conduct is complete and implicit obedience to what is conceived to be the Will of God …(this obedience) may become a joyous and spontaneous acceptance of a mode of life, such as it is conceived would be consonant with the nature of God, subject to such limitations of the flesh as are ineradicable – the ideal of saintliness. Hence arises the desire for uprightness as end-in-itself; either with a view to reward, if not in this world, in the next, or pursued selflessly for its own sake. This concept of religious ethic has led to the highest idealism in human conduct." (Religion in Science and Civilisation, p. 63).
(O) RELIGION OF PEACE AND GOODWILL
The world "Salam", which means "peace", has close root-affinity with the word "Islam". Thus the concept of PEACE forms an integral part of the world ISLAM itself. Indeed, this concept permeates the Islamic religion through and through. For, God, according to the Holy Qur’an, is As-Salam, i.e. (the Source of) peace"; a Muslim’s Salutation, which embodies the ideal of Muslim life, is As-Salam-o -alaikum, i.e., "Peace be unto you"; and the abode of the righteous, towards which the Holy Qur’an invites humanity, is Dar-us-Salam, i.e., "the Abode of Peace".One of the ideals of Muslim life, therefore, is the attainment of peace on all fronts --- peace with self through harmonious self-realisation, peace with fellow creatures through the maintenance of the basic attitude of Goodwill, and peace with God through submission to the Divine Will.
(P) RELIGION OF STRUGGLE (JIHAD)
The Islamic concept of Peace is not, however, utopian, For, Islam is a practical religion par excellence –a religion of Struggle (Jihad) --- and does not, therefore, prescribe any course of action which is unnatural or impracticable. Thus, for instance, in international relations, although basically committed to the promotion of Peace and Goodwill, Islam does allow the participation of Muslims in war when it becomes morally inevitable – when no other course remains open for safeguarding justice, nay, peace itself.The word "Jihad", which has been maligned much by the evil-minded misrepresenters of Islam in connection with the wars of Islamic history, means "struggle" and, according to Islam, it is of two kinds: (1) Struggle for subjugating one’s lower self to the higher self. This is the higher form of "Jihad" and its function is purely spiritual: (2) Struggle for defeating the forces of evil on the collective plane. This is the collective Jihad.The collective Jihad may, again, be either of a peaceful character, namely, propagation of Islam and its establishment in the collective life of the people through preaching and reform, or it may be in the form of war against an aggressor.
The Islamic permission of war is basically for defensive purposes. And not only does Islam rule out all immoral impulses to war but it also lays down a rigid ethics which in its sublimity and humanness surpasses all other ethics of war which humanity has ever known.
Says O. Houdas: " … The Qur’an states: ‘And fight for the cause of God against those who fight against you; but commit not the injustice of attacking them first; verily God loveth not the unjust’ – S.II 190…… Jihad had to be waged to defend Islam against aggression… Once the war was terminated, the Muslims always displayed a great tolerance towards the conquered peoples, leaving them their legislation and religious beliefs." (La Grande Encyclopaedia, Tome 20,p. 1006)."In their wars of conquest," says E. Alexander Powell, "the Muslims exhibited a degree of toleration which put many Christian nations to shame." (The Struggle for Power in Moslem Asia, p. 48).
(Q) RELIGION OF "NO COMPULSION IN CONVERSION"
As regards forcible proselytisation, it has been explicitly banned by Islam with the Qur’anic declaration: "there is no compulsion in matters of faith", and the propaganda that Muslims went out into the world with the sword in one hand and the Qur’an in the other to convert the non-Muslims forcibly is a pure fabrication. Indeed, it is so utterly unfounded that even an enemy of Islam like Rev. Dr. O’Leary had to admit:"History makes it clear that the legend of fanatical Muslims sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point of sword upon conquered races, is one of the most absurd myths that the historians have ever repeated". (Islam at the Croos-Roads, page 8).
(R) RELIGION OF BROTHERHOOD
Islam inculcates the love of God’s creation in general and of the human family, in particular. "The best of you is he who is best to God’s family (i.e., humanity)," says the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (God bless him!) Islam regards humanity as ‘one Fraternity inside which it affirms the existence of the "Islamic Brotherhood", wherein all distinctions of caste and tribe, race and colour, language and territory are superseded and obliterated, and which has been allotted the function of acting as the servant of, and the torch-bearer of Divine Guidance for, the larger Human Brotherhood.Side by side with the code of conduct meant to be observed within the circle of Islamic Brotherhood Islam also gives a definite code of Human Love which relates to the dealings of Muslims with the larger human society.
"The brotherhood of Muhammadanism," says Dr. Leither, "is no mere word. All believers are equal and their own high-priest." (Muhammadanism. P.18).
The Dutch Orientalist Snouck Hurgronje observes: "The ideal of a League of Human Races has been approached by Islam more nearly than by any other ideology; for the League of nations founded on Hazrat Muhammad’s religion takes the principle of the equality of all human race so seriously as to put other communities to shame." (Muslim World Today).
(S) RELIGION OF SPIRITUAL DEMOCRAY
In the sphere of worship, Islam stands for the establishment of direct relation between God and human being without the mediation of any priest. Every Muslim man and woman is, therefore, his or her own priest or priestess.
It is wrong to regard the scholars (Ulama) or the leaders (Imams) of congregational prayers in the mosques as priests. Any good Muslim who knows Islam can lead the prayers, while the ‘Ulama’ are simply scholars and experts of Islamic knowledge and merely fulfil a responsibility which rests on the shoulders of the entire Islamic Brotherhood. For, Islam wants every Muslim man and woman to be a scholar of its teachings, unlike, for instance, Hinduism, where those belonging to the caste of Brahmins alone possess this privilege.Rev.W.Wilson Cash, the famous Christian missionary and hostile critic of Islam, had to confess: "Islam endowed its people with a dignity peculiarly its own… Direct access to God makes one of the strong appeals of Islam" (The Expansion of Islam p. 177).
(T) RELIGION OF HUMAN DIGNITY
Problem of Slavery
By emphasizing freedom as the birthright of all human beings, by proclaiming human equality without distinctions of caste, colour or clime, by denying the sin-innate theory and all other theories of the evil origin of mankind by affirming that the progeny of Adam is the noblest creation of God, by raising humanity to the status of the Vicegerency of God on earth, by making imitation of the Divine Attributes the ethical ideal of mankind, and by pointing out the conquest of the universe as the human destiny, Islam has established human dignity on the loftiest pinnacle conceivable.
Humanity was suffering in various ways because of the wrong notions held by pre-Islamic cultures and religions about human dignity, when Islam appeared. Cruelty was being perpetrated in the name of caste, tribe and race, large masses of humanity had been reduced to the status of serfs, and slavery, which had been an age-old institution, was being practiced by various races and peoples of Europe and Asia, including the Arabs, with the sanction of such scriptures as the Bible and without the least moral compunction. Islam raised its masculine voice of protest against all those evils and gave to the world a philosophy and a legislation which has made it the saviour of the downtrodden and the oppressed for all time.
Among the many misconceptions spread about Islam by its enemies, one is that which relates to slavery. For a proper appreciation of the role of Islam in the abolition of slavery, the reader is referred to the present writer’s "Islam and Slavery." Here, in this brief brochure, we might confine ourselves to the brief statement of a fair-minded non-Muslim scholar of the last century, who said: "His (i.e., Hazrat Muhammad’s) law of slavery is, ‘If slaves come to you, you shall’ --- not imprison and then sell by public sale, though no claimant appears, as in the nineteenth century is the law of Christian England in her provinces, but, --- ‘redeem them, and it is forbidden to you to send them forth’ (Qur’an II, p.85). And this was a man standing up in the wilds of Arabia in the seventh century." (Westminster Review no. IX, p. 221).Even the hostile and biased Dutch critic of Islam, Prof. Snouck Hurgronje, had to say: "According to the Muhammadan principle, slavery is an institution destined to disappear."
(U) RELIGION OF RATIONAL SEX MORALITY
Problem of polygamy
The Islamic view of the fundamental equality of sexes has been already stated in the section on "Religion of Unity" and an impartial historical appreciation of the problem proves beyond all doubt that it was "Islam which removed the bondage in which women were held from the very dawn of human history and gave them a social standing and legal rights such as were not granted them in England till many centuries later." (Lady Evelyn Cobbold, in "Pilgrimage to Mecca"). But the widespread propaganda of the enemies of Islam in connection with polygamy necessitates a specific statement in that connection.
In the first instance, polygamy was not invented by Islam, nor was it made in any way obligatory. It had existed in pre-Islamic societies since time immemorial with the sanction of religion and had been practiced even by those who were accepted as holy personages as for instance, we find in the Old Testament. There it was governed by no law whatsoever, and so also it was in the Arabian society at the advent of Islam. What Islam did was to regulate it and to subject it to such severe restrictions as to make it prohibitive except in cases of emergency. Indeed, monogamy has been the ideal and polygamy only an exception in Muslim Society. This fact is fully borne out by the present as well as the past history of the Muslims and has been admitted by all fair-minded critics of Islam. For instance, William Kelly Wright says: "Most Mohammedans in all ages have had only one wife." (Philosophy of Religion, New York, 1935).
Islam is a natural religion and it takes a very serious view of sexual vices and social ills. Consequently, it was very natural for Islam to permit limited and restricted polygamy for the maintenance of social health in all those situations where it is the only natural remedy. For instance, when war alters the natural sex ratio, giving to women preponderance over men, there are only two alternatives, namely, widespread prostitution or polygamy. Islam prefers the latter to the former in the interests of moral health and social wellbeing of womanhood. Similarly, if the first wife is sterile or suffers from any incurable disease, there are only two possible alternatives, namely, either the first wife should be divorced and a fresh wife taken or she may continue in her status undisturbed along with a second wife. The former course would mean distressing, spinsterhood for the first wife while the latter course would provide to her an honourable normal life without temptation to evil. Polygamy can also become a necessity in a medically incurable case of the hypersexed male who, in most cases, would look to more than one woman for the satisfaction of his biological need. In all such cases, the Islamic permission of polygamy with all its responsibilities and restrictions would be a definitely healthier course than the hypocritical adherence to the formal monogamy.
Polyandry (i.e., the marriage of one woman with several husbands) is not permitted in Islam because psychologically it is unsound, sociologically it is impracticable and biologically it is most dangerous for the physical health of the persons concerned. Certain primitive tribes who practice polyandry are infected with the plague of venereal diseases.
Speaking on polygamy, Dr. Annie Besant says: "There is pretended monogamy in the West, but there is really polygamy without responsibility; the ‘mistress’ is cast off when the man is weary of her and sinks gradually to be the ‘woman of the street’, for the first lover has no responsibility for her future, and she is a hundred times worse off than the sheltered wife and mother in the polygamous home. When we see thousands of miserable women who crowed the streets of Western towns during the night, we must surely feel that it does not lie in western mouth to reproach Islam for polygamy. It is better for a woman, happier for a woman, more respectable for a woman, to live in polygamy, united to one man only, with the legitimate child in her arms, and surrounded with respect, than to be seduced, cast out into the streets, perhaps with an illegitimate child outside the pale of law, unsheltered and uncared for, to become the victim of any passer-by, night after night, rendered incapable of motherhood, despised of all."Another critic of Western social order observes: "The law of the state, based upon the dogma of the Church, which makes it a criminal offence for a man to marry more than one wife, by that same provision makes it illegal for millions of women to have husbands or to bear children…It is untrue that monogamy was advocated by Jesus Christ… whether the question is considered socially, ethically or religiously, it can be demonstrated that polygamy is not contrary to the highest standards of civilisation ….. The suggestion offers a practical remedy for the western problem of the destitute and unwanted female: the alternative is continued and increased prostitution, concubinage and distressing spinsterhood" (J.E. Clare McFarlane: Case for Polygamy).
(V) RELIGION OF SALVATION IN THIS LIFE AND THE HEREAFTER
It is the distinctive merit of Islam that it does not concern itself merely with Salvation beyond the grave—salvation in the Hereafter, but also gives full consideration to --- in fact, ensures --- human salvation in this life. For that purpose, it provides comprehensive Guidance which guarantees moral perfection, social progress, economic justice and political health – in short, all that is needed for the practical realisation and attainment of true human happiness in earthly life and all-round harmonious evolution of humanity.Laura Veccia Vaglieri says: "A religion which is not content with being a theory adapted to the aspirations of our human nature, nor with fixing a code of sublime precepts which may or may not be applied, but which also provides a code of life, establishes the fundamental principles of our morality on a systematic and positive base, precisely formulates the duties of man towards himself and towards others by means of rules which are capable of evolution and compatible with the widest intellectual develo-pment, and which gives its laws a Divine sanction, surely deserves our most profound admiration, as its influence is continual and salutary on man." (Apologie de L’ Islamisme, p. 88).
(W) RELIGION WITH AUTHENTIC AND PERFECT DIVINE SCRIPTURE
There are three fundamental merits of the Holy Qur’an, the Scripture of Islam, in which it stands unique among the scriptures of the world. They are: (1) authenticity of its text: (2) perfection of its literary form; (3) rational character, comprehensiveness and profoundness of its guidance. Even a brief discussion of these merits is not possible in the present introductory sketch. They are, however, so well-established that even the non-Muslim western scholars, who are always ready to attack Islam on the slightest pretext had to admit them in forceful words.Commenting on the beauty of form of the Holy Qur’an Paul Casanova remarks: "Whenever Hazrat Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) was asked a miracle as a proof of the authenticity of his mission, he quoted the composition of the Qur’an and its incomparable excellence as a proof of its Divine origin. And, in fact, even for those who are non-Muslims nothing is more marvelous than its language with such a prehensile plenitude and a grasping sonority that its simple audition ravished with admiration those primitive peoples so fond of eloquence! The ampleness of its syllables with a grandiose cadence and with a remarkable large rhythm have been of much moment in the conversion of the most hostile and the most sceptic." (L’ Enseignement de I’Arabe au College de France, Lecon d’ouverture, April 26, 1909).As regards perfection in matter of guidance and the authenticity of its text, Laura Veccia Vaglieri observes: "But besides the perfection of form and method, the Book is also revealed inimitable by its very substance, for, we read in it, among other things, previsions or future events and of relations of fact accomplished since many centuries or which are generally ignored, and allusions to the most different sciences, religious or profane. On the whole we find in it a collection of wisdom which can be adopted by the most intelligent of men, the greatest of philosophers and the most skillful politicians….. But there is another proof of the Divinity of the Qur’an: it is the fact that it has been preserved intact through the ages since the time of its Revelation till the present day. And so it will always remain, with God’s Will, as long as the universe exists. Read and re-read through out the Muslim world, this book does not rouse in the Faithful any weariness; it rather, through repetition, is found feeling of awe and respect in the one who reads it or listens to it." (Apologie de L’Islamisme, pp.57-59).
(X) RELIGION WITH THE SIMPLEST CREED
The Islamic creed is as simple as the Islamic ideology is profound. Its first fundaments are:
(1) SEVEN ARTICLES OF FAITH
They are: Belief in:
Allah;
Angles;
Divine Scriptures;
Messengers of Allah;
the Hereafter;
the pre-measurement of Good and Evil;
Resurrection after death.
(2) THE "FIVE PILLARS"
They are:
Declaration of faith in the One-ness of God and in the Divine Messengership of Hazrat Muhammad: (Peace be upon him) La ilaha Illallah Muhammadur-Rasulullah;
Obligatory Prayers;
Obligatory Fasts;
Zakat or Poor-tax;
Pilgrimage to Ka’aba at Meccaa by those who possess the means.A Christian critic of Islam makes the following confession: "Islam had the power of peacefully conquering the souls by the simplicity of its theology, the clearness of its dogma and principles, and the definite number of practices which it demands. In contrast to Christianity which has been undergoing continuous transformation since its origin, Islam has remained identical with itself" (Jean Lheureux: Etude sur L’Islamisme, p. 35).For an appreciation of the Seven Articles and the Five Pillars, the reader is referred to "The Principles of Islam" written by His Eminence Muhammad Abdul Aleem Siddiqi and published in the present series. Here it may be noted, however, that these Seven Articles and Five Pillars constitute only the "first fundaments", while the complete ideology of Islam, which shoots off from these fundaments and which is enshrined in the Holy Qur’an and the Prophetic Traditions, is so comprehensive as to cover the entire sweep of necessary guidance on physical, moral, social and spiritual aspects of human life.
(Y) Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him) THE PINNACLE OF HUMAN PERFECTION
A code alone cannot, by its existence as such, inspire mankind to action. Hence to love the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (Allah bless him!) above all human being and things of the world, to believe in him as the Most Perfect Embodiment of Human Perfection and as the Absolute Leader and the Last and the Final Prophet (after whom no new prophet of any category, zilli, buruzi, tashri’ee, ghairtashri’ee --- shadowy or real --- is to come), and to follow him as the "Best Example", form the prerequisite of Islamic Belief.This is the theological status of the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (peace be with him) in Islam. As regards his refulgent personality, that would require volumes even to do bare justice to it.
It is said that the best testimony is that which comes from the enemy’s camp. Here, therefore, we might quote a few statements of the Western scholars of Islam.Hazrat Muhammad’s (peace be with him) figure was highly majestic, his complexion and features were extremely handsome, and "he was gifted", says the renowned Orientalist Lane Poole, "with mighty powers of imagination, elevation of mind, delicacy and refinement of feeling. ‘He is more modest than a virgin behind her curtain", it was said of him. He was most indulgent to his inferiors, and would never allow his awkward little page to be scolded whatever he did. ‘Ten years,’ said Anas, his servant, ‘was I about the Prophet and he never said as much as Uff to me.’ He was very affectionate towards his family. One of his boys died on his breast in the smoky house of the nurse, a blacksmith’s wife. He was very fond of children; he would stop them in the streets and pat their little heads. He never struck anyone in his life. The worst expression he ever made use of in conversation was, ‘what has come to him? May his forehead be darkened with mud!’ When asked to curse someone, he replied, ‘I have not been sent to curse but to be a mercy to mankind.’ He visited the sick, followed any bier he met, accepted the invitation of a slave to dinner, mended his own clothes, milked the goats, and waited upon himself, relates summarily another tradition. He never first withdrew his hand out of another man’s palm, and turned not before the other had turned.‘He was the most faithful protector of those he protected, ‘the sweetest and most agreeable in conversation. Those who saw him were suddenly filled with reverence; those who came near him loved him; they who described him would say, ‘I have never seen his like either before or after.’ ‘He was of great taciturnity, but when he spoke it was with emphasis and deliberation and no one could forget what he said."He lived with his views in a row of humble cottages separated from one another by palm branches cemented together with mud. He would kindle the fire, sweep the floor, and milk the goats himself. The little food he had was always shared with those who dropped in to partake of it. Indeed, outside the Prophet’s house was a bench or a gallery on which were always found a number of poor who lived entirely upon his generosity, and were hence called ‘people of the bench’. His ordinary food was dates and water, or barley bread; milk and honey were luxuries of which he was fond but which he rarely allowed himself. The fare of the desert seemed most congenial to him even when he was the sovereign of Arabia…"There is something so tender and womanly, and withal so heroic, about the man that one is in peril of finding the judgement unconsciously blinded by the feeling of reverence and well-nigh love that such a nature inspires. He who, standing alone, braved for years the hatred of his people, is the same who was never the first to withdraw his hand from another’s clasp; the beloved of children who never passed a group of little ones without a smile from his wonderful eyes and a kind word for them, sounding all the kinder in that sweet-toned voice. The frank friendship, the noble generosity, the dauntless courage and hope of the man, all tend to melt criticism into admiration."He was an enthusiast in that noblest sense when enthusiasm becomes the salt of the earth, the one thing that keeps men from rotting whilst they live. Enthusiasm is often used despitefully, because it is jointed to an unworthy cause or falls upon barren ground and bears no fruit. So was it not with Hazrat Muhammad (Peace be with him). He was an enthusiast when enthusiasm was the one thing needed to set the world aflame, and his enthusiasm was noble for a noble cause. He was one of those happy few who have attained the supreme joy of making one great truth their very lifespring. He was the Messenger of the one God, and never to his life’s end did he forget who he was or the message which was the marrow of his being. He brought his tidings with a dignity sprung from the consciousness of his high office together with a most sweet humility." (Speeches and Table-talk of the Prophet Hazrat Muhammad, Introduction’ XXVIII – XXX)."The essential sincerity of Hazrat Muhammad’s (Peace be with him) nature," says Professor Nathaniel Schmidt, "cannot be questioned; and historical criticism that blinks no fact, yields nothing to credulity, weighs every testimony, has no partisan interest, and seeks only the trust, must acknowledge his claim to belong to that order of Prophets who, whatever the nature of their psychical experience may have been, in diverse manners, have admonished, taught, uttered austere and sublime thoughts, laid down principles of nobler than they found, and devoted themselves fearlessly to their high calling, being irresistibly impelled to their ministry be a power within." (The New International Encyclopaedia. Vol. XVI, p. 72).Speaking of the glorious success which attended the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad’s (Peace be with him) mission, Caryle observes: "To the Arab nation Islam was a birth from darkness into light; Arabia first became alive by means of it. A poor, shepherd people, roaming unnoticed in its deserts since the creation of the world; a Hero-Prophet was sent down to them with a word they could believe: see the unnoticed becomes world-notable, the small has grown worldgreat. Within one century afterward Arabia is at Granada on this hand, at Delhi on that, glancing in valuour and splendour and the light of genius, Arabia shines through long ages over a great section of the world. These Arabs, the man Hazrat Muhammad, (Peace be with him) and that one century --- is it not as if a spark had fallen, one spark on what seemed black, unnoticeable sand? But lo ! the sand proves explosive powder, blazes heaven-high from Delhi to Granada!" (Heroes and Hero-Worship: Chappter on "Hero as Prophet").O. Houdas, the French scholar, said half a century ago about the inner vitality of the Holy Prophet’s Message: "Never has a religion developed with parallel rapidity. In less than half a century Islam spread from the banks of the Indus to the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, and, if this movement slowed down, it still persists after fourteen centuries of existence. After having penetrated in India, in China and Malaysia, Islam continues its invading march in the African Continent which will before long become entirely Muslim. Without special missionaries and without resort to the force of arms, the religion of Hazrat Muhammad (Peace be with him) has converted the Black Continent, and it is not without some astonishment to point out the existence in England and America of small white communities which….. have adopted the Islamic doctrines and made efforts to propagate them. This invasion of Europe, hardly visible today, will surely grow." (La Grande Encyclopaedie, Tome 20, article: Islamisme).
(Z) ABSORPTION IN THE LOVE OF GOD THE FINAL GOAL
Cultivation of and absorption in the love of Allah, and the permeation of the heart with the sweet ecstasy of that love, until a person becomes virtually incapable of acting against the Divine Commands, is the final goal, which bestows upon a Muslim "Abiding Life" --- a life of Peace, Progress and Perfection.
Lailat-ul-Qadr - The night of Power
Lailat-ul-Qadr - The night of Power
In this night (27th of Ramadan), the Holy Quran was sent down from LOH-E-MEHFOOZ (the Preserved Tablet) to the earth. Messenger of ALLAH (Blessings of Allah and peace be on him) told us to search for Shab-e-Qadr in the odd numbered nights, in the last ten days of Ramzan. So, the 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th or 29th night of Ramadan could be Shab-e-Qadr.
Hazrat Aisha Radiallah Anha stated that Rasool Allah peace be upon him said, "Look for Lailat-Ul-Qadr in the odd nights of the last ten days of Ramadhan." (Bukhari)
Hazrat Aisha Radiallah Anha stated that as much Rasool Allah peace be upon him tried (Ibadat) in the last Ashra (ten days) of Ramadhan, did not try in any of the Ashra." (Muslim)
Hazrat Aisha Radiallah Anha stated that I asked Rasool Allah peace be upon him, "If I find Lailatul Qadar then what should I do? HE peace be upon him said, recite this Dua."ALLAH HUMMA INNAKA A’FUVUN TOHIB BUL AFVA FA’AFU ANNI" (Tirmidhi)
Dear visitors, please take advantage of this night, from sunset till sunrise. Offer nawafil (prayers), recite QUR'AAN, do repent (Istaghfar), and Pray for pardon, recite many many Salawat (Darood Sharif & Salaam) and make benediction (Dua'as).
Special DU’AA of Lailatul QADR:
"ALLAH HUMMA INNAKA A’FUVUN TOHIB BUL AFVA FA’AFU ANNI" (Tirmidhi)"O Allah! You are the Forgiver and You like forgiving so forgive me”
21st Night of Ramadhan-Ul-Mubarak - 1st night of Laitlat-Ul-Qadr
1) Pray 4 cycles of ritual prayer (raka’t) (2 cycles of 2 raka' each).
In each raka', after Surah FATIHA recite Surah QADR (Inna anzalna .. )once and Surah IKHLAS (Qul-hu-wal-lah..) once. After completion recite SALAAT-O-SALAAM (Durood Sharif) seventy (70) times. Click here for Durood page.
Benefit: Insha Allah, Angels will pray for forgivenss for that person.
2) Offer 2 cycles of ritual prayer (raka’t)
In each raka', after Surah FATIHA, recite Surah QADR once and Surah IKHLAS three times. After completion of this salah, recite any Astaghfar seventy times.
Astaghfar: "Allah Hummagh Fir Li Wa Tub A'laiyya Inna Ka Innta Tawwabur Raheem"OR "Astaghfirullah Rabbi Min Kulli Zambiyon Wa Atoobu ilaiyh"
Benefit: Effective for forgivness of sins.
3) In this night (21st), recite Surah QADR 21 times.
23rd Night of Ramadhan-Ul-Mubarak - 2nd night of Laitlat-Ul-Qadr
1) Offer 4 cycles of ritual prayer (raka’t) (2 sets of 2 raka’ each)
In each raka', after Surah FATIHA, recite Surah QADR once and Surah IKHLAS three times.
Benefit: Effective for forgivness of sins.
2) Offer 8 cycles of ritual prayer (raka’) (4 sets of 2 raka’ each)
In each raka', after Surah FATIHA, recite Surah QADR and Surah IKHLAS once. After completion of this salah (namaaz) recite the third kalima (Kalima Tamjeed) 70 times. After that, plead to Allah Almighty for forgiveness of sins.
Kalima Tamjeed: "Subhan Allahi Wal Hamdu Lillahi Wa La ilaaha illal laho Walla Hu Akbar.Wala Haowla Wala Quwwata illa Billa Hil Aliyil Azeem". Click here for Arabic text of Kalima Tamjeed.
Benefit: Allah Willing (Insha’Allah), Allah will forgive whoever performs this prayer
3) In the 23rd night recite Surah YAASEEN once and Surah RAHMAAN once.
25th Night of Ramadhan-Ul-Mubarak - 3rd night of Laitlat-Ul-Qadr
1) In this night offer 4 cycles of ritual prayer (raka’t) (2 sets of 2 raka’ each)
After Surah FATIHA, recite Surah QADR one time and Surah IKHLAS five times in each raka’. After completion of this salat recite the first Kalima Tayyab 100 times.
Kalima Tayyab: "Laa ilaaha illal Laho Mohammadur Rasoolullah". Click here for Arabic text of Kalima Tayyab.
Benifit: Insha Allah, Allah Tala will give him/her unlimited Sawab (good Deeds)
2) Offer 4 cycles of ritual prayer (raka’) (2 sets of 2 raka’ each)
In each raka’, after Surah FATIHA, recite Surah QADR three times and Surah IKHLAS three times. After completion of this salah, recite any Astaghfar 70 times.
Astaghfar: "Allah Hummagh Fir Li Wa Tub A'laiyya Inna Ka Innta Tawwabur Raheem"OR "Astaghfirullah Rabbi Min Kulli Zambiyon Wa Atoobu ilaiyh"
Benefit: This salat is good for the pardoning of sins.
3.Offer two cycles of ritual prayer (raka’).
In each raka', after Surah FATIHA, recite Surah QADR once and Surah IKHLAS fifteen times. After Salat, recite the second Kalima (Kalima-e-Shahaadat) 70 times.
Kalima Shaadat: "Ashadu Anlaa ilaaha illal Lahu Wa Ash Hadu Anna Mohammadan Abduhu Wa Rasoolohu". Click here for Arabic text of Kalima Shaadat.
Benefit: The reward of this namaaz is freedom from the punishment of the grave.
4) Recite Surah Dukhan. Allah Willing (Insha’Allah) they will be granted freedom from the punishment of grave.
5) Recite Surah Fath seven times. Beneficial for the fulfillment of desires and wishes.
27th Night of Ramadhan-Ul-Mubarak - 4th night of Laitlat-Ul-Qadr
1) In the 27th night, pray 12 cycles of ritual prayer (raka’) (3 set of 4 raka’ each)
In each raka’, after Surah FATIHA, recite Surah QADR once and Surah IIKHLAS fifteen times. After salah recite any Astaghfar 70 times.
Astaghfar: "Allah Hummagh Fir Li Wa Tub A'laiyya Inna Ka Innta Tawwabur Raheem"OR "Astaghfirullah Rabbi Min Kulli Zambiyon Wa Atoobu ilaiyh"Benefit: Inhsa Allah, Allah tala will give sawab equal to Ibadah of Ambiya Karam's (Messengers of Allah) Ibadah.
2) Pray two cycles of ritual prayer (raka’).
In each raka’, after Surah FATIHA recite Surah QADR 3 times and Surah IKHLAS 27 times, and plead to Allah for the forgiveness of sins.
Benefit: Allah Willing (Insha’Allah), the Allah Almighty will forgive all their previous sins.
3) Pray four cycles of ritual prayer (raka’). (2 sets of 2 raka’ each).
In each raka’, after Surah FATIHA, recite Surah TAKAASUR once and Surah IKHLAS three times.
Benefit: Whoever offers this salah, they will be saved from hardship at the time of death, and Allah Willing (Insha’Allah), they will be freed from the punishment of the grave.
4) Pray two cycles of ritual prayer (raka’).
In each raka’, after Surahh FATIHA, recite Surah IKHLAS seven times and after salah recite this seventy times:
"ASTAGHFIRUL LAA HAL AZEEMAL LAZEE LAA ILAAHA ILLA HUWAL HAIY YUL QAYYOOMU WA ATOOBU ILAIH"
Benfit: Before the person gets up from the praying area, Allah Almighty will pardon them and their parents, and Allah Almighty will Command the angels to adorn the Paradise for them and it is said that they will not die until they see the blessings (ne'mat) of Paradise with their own eyes.
5) Pray two cycles of ritual prayer (raka’).
In each raka’, after Surah FATIHA, recite Surah ALAM’NASHRAH once, Surah IKHLAS three times and after salah, recite Surah QADR 27 times.
Benefit: Effecive for unlimited Sawab of Ibadah.
6) Pray four cycles of ritual prayer (raka’). (1 set of 4 raka’).
In each raka’, after Surah FATIHA' recite Surah QADR three times and Surah IKHLAS fifty times and after completion of this salah (namaaz), recite this once in prostration (sajdah):
"SUBHAAN ALLAAHI WAL HAMDU LILLAAHI WALAA ILAAHA ILLAL LAAHU WALLAA HU AKBAR"
Benefit: After that whatever wish one may have, either worldly or religious, may be pleased. Allah Willing (Insha’Allah), their supplication will be fulfilled.
7) In this night, recite Surah Mulk 7 times. It is good for freeing from punishment.
29th Night of Ramadhan-Ul-Mubarak - 5th night of Laitlat-Ul-Qadr
1) Pray four cycles of ritual prayer (raka’). (2 sets of 2 raka’ each).
In every raka’, after Surah FATIHA recite Surah QADR once and Surahh IKHLAS three times. After salah, recite Surah ALAM’NASHRAH 70 times.
Benefit: Efective for the completion of Imaan.
2) Offer four cycles of ritual prayer (raka’). (2 sets of 2 raka’ each).
In each raka’, after Surah FATIHA, recite Surah QADR once and Surah IKHLAS five times. After salah, recite SALAAT-O-SALAAM (Darood Sharif) 100 times. Click here for Durood page.
Benefit: Effective for forgiveness of sins.
3) Recite Surah WAAQIAH seven times. Beneficial for increase in Rizq.
In any night of RAMAZAN-UL-MUBARAK, after taraavih recite Surah QADR seven times. Allah Willing (Insha’Allah), the one who does so, will be saved from all troubles and afflictions.
On this great night it's of great benefit to perform Salat-Ul-Tasbih. Click here for instructions to perform Salat-ul-Tasbih.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)