Perhaps no historical character has been subjected to vile criticism, false accusations and fabricated assertions by his opponents than Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Yet no one has been the recipient of more profound and genuine love and respect than him. Both love and hostility linger on, and are nurtured despite the fact that 14 centuries have passed since Muhammad had departed this world. Neither feeling would have lingered had Muhammad been an ordinary person, or had his contribution to human life been of temporary nature.
Today we see both feelings surfacing in different ways and shapes, in areas of our world that are wide apart, and among people of different races, cultures, beliefs and life perspectives. Books like Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses, the Danish cartoons, as well as videos and websites dedicated to attack Islam and its Prophet are manifestations of the hostile trend. The large demonstrations that swept the Muslim world against such productions symbolize the deep seated love Muslims feel toward Muhammad, God’s last messenger.
Imam Bukhari is a name that creates a sense of reverence and respect in every Muslim's heart. He was one of the greatest scholars of Islam and the founder of Hadith science. His prestigious compilation named Jame Al-Sahih is regarded as the second authentic book of Islam after the Holy Qur'an.
The hate campaigners, both in the East and West, are bent on painting Islam as a religion of savage laws despite the fact that Islam has never approved any kind of barbaric practices. It is only the figment of imagination of those suffering from “Islamophobia.”
CAIRO: Al-Azhar, Egypt’s 1,000-year-old seat of Islamic learning, will soon be preaching its doctrines on satellite television, a space it has previously left to Islamist parties now leading the country’s first free polls.
Ahmad Deedat is a name which suddenly brings to mind the picture of a smiling white-bearded man fluently speaking in English about Islam. We find him debating with Jimmy Swaggart in the US, or challenging Palestinian American missionary, Anis Shorosh in UK or lecturing in Canada, Sweden, Denmark, Australia or visiting Maldives, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. He was a man of mission. He dedicated his life for the defense of Islam. Though he did not graduate from any university, the prestigious Faisal Award was conferred upon him in recognition of his great services to Islam. His first public lecture to fifteen people was delivered in 1942 at Durban entitled “Muhammad: The Messenger of Peace.”
M. Abdullah was born at Nagzari in India on 13th Rabi II, 1371AH (Jan. 12, 1952) and went blind shortly after birth. His parents left for Pakistan where they settled at Karachi. He was not ignored as a blind boy. His father arranged for him to memorize the Holy Qur’an he completed successfully. Later on he attended school with his younger brother, M. Ahmad. As time went rolled on, both brothers graduated from Karachi University. Abdullah had a keen desire to achieve higher education. He had undaunted courage. He joined his brother in college studies. Ahmad would read the daily class lectures to him which he memorized. During the examinations he was provided with a writer.
MARYLAND: An American Muslim will bike from College Park, Maryland to Camp Hill, Pennsylvania and back on Dec. 10, in a one-man bike-a-thon to raise money for his daughter’s Islamic school.
Tampering with religious principles or trying to overdo what has been prescribed by God is a sin. But, currently, it is a commonplace occurrence.
When Khan Bahadur Yousuf Ali retired from the police force, he never knew that his son Abdullah will take his name and the fame to the four corners of the world. He raised Abdullah well and arranged for his good education. Abdullah memorized the whole Holy Qur’an and was entitled as Hafiz. Later he was sent to England for higher education. He studied English language and literature at several European universities including Cambridge and Leeds. He secured M. A. then L.L.M. then he faired I.C.S.
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was the most successful man in the entire human history. Being the last Prophet of Islam, he not only set a good example for the whole mankind but also showed to them how to achieve success in this world. Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, a prominent Islamic scholar, has identified 10 successful principles taught by the Prophet.
We are speaking today about a highly distinguished woman whose sons are identified by her instead of the normal identification by their father. Afraa’ belonged to Madinah where she married Al-Harith ibn Rifa’ah from the Najjar clan of the Khazraj. She gave him three sons: Mu'adh, Mu’awwidh and Awf. These three are always known by their mother. We say Mu'adh ibn Afraa’ and Awf ibn Afraa’. When she was divorced she went to Makkah where she married Al-Bukayr ibn Abd Yaleel, giving him four sons: Aqil, Khalid, Iyas and Amir. All four embraced Islam in its early days and were among the Muhajireen when the Muslims of Makkah immigrated.
Al-Rubayyi’ belonged to a family from the Ansar that had several eminent companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Her brother Anas was well known among the Ansar, and her nephew, Anas ibn Malik, served the Prophet throughout his ten years in Madinah. She herself was among the early believers from the Ansar. Her son, Harithah, was a well brought up young man. He also was one of the people of Madinah who joined Islam early. He sought to learn from the Prophet and acquired a profound insight into the Islamic faith.
Her husband, Uthman ibn Mazoon, was a man of fine principles. Sometime in pre-Islamic days he decided not to drink any intoxicant. He said: “I will not drink something that has a negative effect on my mental judgment.” When the Prophet (peace be upon him) began to preach God’s message, he was one of the very early people to declare themselves Muslims. Khawlah did not hesitate to follow him and accept the new faith. Thus, she was among the early Muslims.
Al-Shifa was one of the early Muslim women. She belonged to the Adiy clan of the Quraysh. This means that she was from the same clan as two of the ten companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) to whom he gave the happiest news of all, which was that their admission to heaven was assured. These two were Umar ibn Al-Khattab and Saeed ibn Zayd.
Imagine a bride receiving the head of the state or the king who knocks at her door the morning after her wedding night to offer his congratulations. I suppose she will feel over the moon on receiving such an honor. Yet Al-Rubayyi’ received a far more honorable visitor, the Prophet (peace be upon him) himself who came in and sat with her people. She reports: “God’s messenger came to visit us the morning after my wedding, and he sat on this couch as you are sitting now. We had a few maids who were playing the tambourine and chanting praises of my relatives who were martyrs in the Battle of Badr. He listened to their singing until one of them said: ‘Among us is a prophet who knows what will happen tomorrow’. He said to her: ‘Do not say this. Go back to what you were saying earlier’.” (Related by Al-Tirmidhi)
In pre-Islamic Arabia, divorce and polygamy were common practices. A man could marry any number of women he wanted. Women could be divorced for any reason, not least jealousy between a man’s wives. Al-Saabah’s father, Abdullah ibn Imad, came from Hadramout in Yemen and settled in Makkah, where he became an ally of the Omayyad branch of Quraysh. He came to be known as Al-Hadrami, in reference to his former hometown.
When we do the tawaf around the Kaaba, during the pilgrimage or the Umrah, or even as a sunnah, we always start and finish at the eastern corner of the Kaaba where the Black Stone is placed. It is recommended to kiss the Black Stone or touch it at the beginning and as we start every round, but if the place is too crowded, it is enough to just signal with one’s hand, observing what is recommended to do and say during tawaf.
To start with, it is strange to have such a name, Amah, which means ‘slave woman’. Why would anyone call his daughter that? Yet the Arabs at the time used very strange names. Perhaps because of this she was better known by her nickname, ‘Umm Khalid.’
One of the most momentous events in the history of Islam was the pledge given by the Ansar to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) at Aqabah in Mina. They pledged to him that when he would join them in Madinah, they would defend him and protect him like they protect their women and children. They were aware that their pledge meant giving their word of honor that they would spare nothing in providing him with such protection. They were ready to sacrifice their all in his defense. That pledge facilitated the immigration of the Prophet and his Makkan companions to Madinah, where he established the first Muslim state. That pledge was given by 73 men and two women from the Ansar.
Sometimes the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) listed a number of things that have the same verdict in Islam, providing a short statement of requirements or prohibitions. He always preferred a direct and short statement so that it could be quickly learnt and easily reported and transmitted.
An Ansari woman who embraced Islam before the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) immigration to Madinah, Umm Atiyyah was a devoted Muslim who was eager to be in the forefront of servants of the new faith. It is well known that the Ansar gave their pledges to the Prophet at Aqabah in Mina before he moved to join them in their city. However, the number of people who attended that pledge was only 75.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) always took good care of his community. In fact, he took good care of future generations of the Muslim community. The following Hadith establishes certain responsibilities that ensure that everyone in the Muslim community is taken care of. Abu Hurayrah quotes the Prophet as saying: “I am certainly in charge of every believer, both in this present life and the future life. Read, if you will: ‘The Prophet has more claim on the believers than they have on their own selves’. Any believer who leaves behind property will be inherited by his heir. Anyone who leaves a debt or young children, they should come to me. I will take care of them.” (Related by Al-Bukhari).
In the name of God, the Lord of Grace, the Ever Merciful
We shall remove this suffering for a while; but you are bound to revert (to your old ways). On that Day We shall deliver a mighty onslaught; We will indeed exact retribution. We did, before their time, try Pharaoh’s people: there came to them a noble messenger, who said to them: ‘Give in to me, you servants of God! For, I am indeed a messenger sent to you, worthy of trust! Do not exalt yourselves against God; for, indeed, I come to you with manifest authority. I seek refuge with my Lord and your Lord lest you hurl stones at me. If you do not believe me, stand away from me.’ He then called out to his Lord, saying: ‘These people are lost in sin’. (Smoke; Al-Dukhan; 44: 15-22)
We are speaking today about one of the most distinguished ladies of Makkah. She belonged to one of the two most distinguished clans of Quraysh, the Abd Shams clan. Her mother was Umm Hakeem al-Bayda’ bint Abd Al-Muttalib, the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) own paternal aunt. In fact Umm Hakeem is said to be the twin sister of Abdullah, the Prophet’s father. Whether this is true or not, there is no doubt that Umm Hakeem was Abdullah’s full sister. Umm Hakeem married Kurayz ibn Rabeeah and gave him four children one of whom was Arwa who later married Affan ibn Abu Al-Aas and gave birth to a daughter named Aminah and a son, who was none other than Uthman, the Prophet’s early companion and the third Caliph.
Habbebah bint Sahl was an Ansari woman who embraced Islam in its early days in Madinah. The Prophet (peace be upon him) had not yet immigrated to Madinah when she and many other men and women declared their belief in him. Many members of her family were also among the early Muslims. When the Prophet arrived in Madinah, Habeebah and her sister Rughaynah were among the women who met the Prophet and pledged their loyalty to him as Muslim women. One report mentioned by Ibn Saad on the authority of Yahya ibn Saeed claims that the Prophet wanted to marry her, but he felt that jealousy was a strong feeling among the Ansar.
When the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) arrived in Madinah, most Muslims there had not seen him. They accepted Islam on the strength of what they learned from their people who met him in Makkah, or from Mus’ab ibn Umair who spent the best part of a year in Madinah teaching its people the Qur’an and the principles of Islam. Therefore, the Muslims in Madinah were keen to give the Prophet their pledges of loyalty, which they did during the first few days of his arrival.
When Islam started most people took a hostile attitude to it, because they realized that it involved a total change of their way of life. People normally dislike radical changes of what they are used to and what they are familiar with. Yet people accept a total change if they are convinced that it will give them something better. The early Muslims felt that they were taking a highly unfamiliar road, but they realized that it led them to real happiness. Some of them had a special introduction to Islam. Among these were Umaimah and her husband Khalid ibn Saeed ibn Al-Aas.
She came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) when he was sitting with a group of his men companions. She said: “Messenger of God, I am sent by a group of Muslim women and we all share the same view and have the same concern. God has sent you to both men and women. We believe in you and follow you. Yet we, women, have to stay at home. We are the object of men’s desire and we bear their children. Nevertheless, men have privileges, such as the obligatory Friday prayer, attending funerals and going on jihad campaigns. When they leave for jihad, we look after their property and we rear their children. Messenger of God, do we have a share of reward for doing so?”
When the Prophet (peace be upon him) started advocating his message in Makkah, only people with vision and clear minds gave him a positive response. This is the case with all new ideas that seek to initiate a fundamental change in human life. When the advocated change touches on the core of people’s way of life, as is the case with all religions and with Islam in particular, the new believers are bound to suffer persecution by those who want to maintain the status quo. This is what happened to the early Muslims in Makkah.
Muhammad Hamidullah, the world famed scholar who knew 24 languages and wrote 170 books in 22 languages, lived in France for about 50 years.
One of the better known companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) was Abdullah ibn Masood, who was a teenager working as a shepherd when he met the Prophet for the first time. The Prophet admired his honesty as Abdullah refused to give him milk because the sheep in his custody were part of his trust.
It was the first encounter with the Prophet (peace be upon him) that made Umm Maabad realize that he was unlike all men. She was a Bedouin woman living well into the desert at a considerable distance from Makkah.
Bringing up children with proper care is the primary duty of Muslim parents. Parents should not distinguish in a discriminatory manner between their male and female children when bringing them up. However, the fact remains that girls in many Muslim communities are the victims of their parents’ bias against them.
If parents have any right to be biased, it should be in favor of girls. Almighty Allah mentioned girls first before mentioning boys while referring to His sovereign control over the universe and creation of human beings in the chapter Al-Shura (Poets).
Muslim women have been the unfair victims of many brutal cultural practices. Honor killings are seen as the most gruesome of these. Islam has clear laws regulating sexual conduct and killing a girl in such a manner is against the fundamental principles of Islam.
Among the most important values Islam implants in the minds of its followers are those that formulate the Islamic perception of our present life. Islam makes clear that this life is a test. If we pass this test, then we are ushered into a life of pure happiness in the hereafter.
They say the call to perform Haj has to come from above. Earlier in the year I felt like the chosen one and instantly postponed my annual summer vacation to have a more leisurely Haj which is the fifth pillar of Islam and once-in-a-lifetime obligation if one can afford it. I hurried through the process as I knew this is better done earlier in life, ideally middle age and not in your twilight days.
The Imam Bukhari mosque In Uzbekistan
Al Fateh Mosque in Manama, Bahrain.
The little room used as a mosque in Exeter back in 1975 has grown and expanded into a beautiful mosque and Islamic cultural center to cater to the increasing number of Muslims in that sleepy university town in southwest England.
The Kul Sharif Mosque in Kazan, Russia.
The Emperor’s Mosque in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
JEDDAH: Mosques, built in old and modern Islamic architectural styles are among Jeddah’s special features. Take Al-Rahmah Mosque on the Corniche, which attracts a large number of visitors — even more so than historically important mosques. It’s only a little over a decade old and built in a blend of traditional and modern Arab styles.
The popular mosque used to be known as Fatimah Mosque, but its name was changed so visitors wouldn’t mistakenly believe it had a historical association with Bibi Fatimah, (may Allah be pleased with her), daughter of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
Queenie Padilla shares her rebirth after performing Haj in Makkah
The Sayyida Zainab mosque is seen in Cairo on December 3, 2011. (Reuters)
A wooden bridge leading to the Al Aqsa Mosque compound is seen in Jerusalem's Old city, on Nov. 28, 2011. (AP)
Imam Hajj Talib Abdur-Rashid, center, of the Mosque of the Islamic Brotherhood of New York, prepares to address a rally of Muslims and supporters protesting the NYPD 's surveillance operations on Muslim communities in this Nov. 18, 2011, photo in New York. Hundreds of Muslims prayed in a lower Manhattan park and marched to the New York Police headquarters to protest a decade of police infiltrating mosques and spying on Muslim neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
Sheik Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Nov.12, 2011. (AP Photo/Nousha Salimi)
Sun rises behind a minaret of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque prior to Eid Ad Adha prayers in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in this Nov. 6, 2011 photo. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)
Pilgrims perform prayers upon their arrival for the annual Haj in Makkah on Thursday. (Reuters)
Afghan girls are seen at a Qur'an reading class inside a mosque in Kabul on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
Egyptians read the Holy Qur'an at Amr Ibn al-As Mosque in Cairo, one of the world's oldest mosques, originally built in 642 AD. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
In this file photo, Egyptian children play inside the Al-Azhar Mosque, near the Khan el-Khalili market, in Cairo. (AP)
In this Aug. 26, 2011 photo, worshipers listen to the sermon in the main hall of the Noor Islamic Center in Dublin, Ohio. The Noor Islamic Center, one of the largest new Islamic worship centers in the country, doesn't look like a mosque, at least at first glance. And that's what its developer was aiming for, especially in a post-9/11 world. (AP)
The Zahir Mosque in Malaysia.
A view of Muslims praying at the main Mosque in Grozny, Chechnya. (AP)
An Egyptian girl plays with her brother as men pray in the background before Iftar during the holy month of Ramadan inside the Al-Azhar mosque, near the Khan el-Khalili market, in Cairo on Thursday. (AP)
Muslims pray inside the Ottoman-era Suleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul. (AP)
Mahya master Suleyman Kok takes part in the installation of Mahya at the top of one of the Yeni (New) mosque's minarets in Istanbul on Wednesday. Mahya, where dangling lights suspended between minarets spell out devotional messages in huge letters, are intended to reward and inspire the faithful who have spent the daylight hours fasting. The tradition is unique to Turkey. (Reuters/Murad Sezer )
Men pray in the national mosque during the Shab-e-Barat festival in Dhaka, Bangladesh on July 17, 2011. The festival is celebrated by seeking forgiveness and repenting. (Reuters)
The landmark Putra Mosque in Putrajaya, Malaysia, at night. (Reuters)
Pahang State Mosque in Malaysia
A beautiful mosque in Kazakhstan.
Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey.
A beautiful mosque in Turkmenistan.
A view of the courtyard of the 8th-century Omayyad Mosque in Damascus. (AP)
People walk outside a mosque in east London. (AP)
Crystal mosque in Malaysia
Filipino Muslims offer Friday prayers at a mosque in Manila, Philippines. (AP)
A view of the Al-Saleh Mosque in Sanaa. (AP)
Dibba Mosque in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates.
The faithful circumambulate the Kaaba.
The Golden Dome Mosque in West Java, Indonesia.
An outer view of the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. (AP)
People attend Friday prayers during Ramadan at al-Shikh Muhialdin mosque in Damascus, Syria, on August 27, 2010. (Reuters)
Pilgrims throng to pray at the Namirah Mosque in Mina on Nov. 17, 2010. (AN photo)
A view of the Dome of the Rock in Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Muslims pray outside Baiturrahman Mosque in Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
Minarets of a mosque in Riyadh during sunset. (AP)
