Hadith Authenticity: A Survey of Perspectives

A Survey of Perspectives 

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Many non-Muslims, including those who study Islam at an introductory university level, have absolutely no concept of the importance of hadith in Islam. It is also perhaps safe to assume that many Muslims themselves do not fully grasp the fundamental importance of the hadith as a basis for the religion of Islam, and more particularly as a basis for the shari'a, or Islamic law. This essay will seek to both outline the importance of the hadith within Islam, and also try to present a survey of the various views on the authenticity of the hadith, both within Muslim and non-Muslim scholarship. In order to understand the importance of the hadith it is essential to first know what the hadith is. Simply put, the hadith are collected traditions about the sunna1 of Muhammad. Thus they are composed of sayings attributed to Muhammad, as well as the actions of Muhammad in various situations, both of which are held to serve as examples and guidelines for Muslim belief and practice.2 According to Muslims, the hadith is almost equal in importance to the Quran. Dr. Mazhar U. Kazi, in the introduction to his A Treasury of Ahadith states that "all the sayings, sermons, and utterances of the Prophet were.. divinely inspired. In Arabic these are known as ahadith (singular: hadith)."3 Dr. Kazi goes on to say that "all of the actions and deeds of the Prophet were also divinely inspired."4 Dr. Kazi summarizes his view on the traditions with clarity: The sunnah and ahadith are not to be taken as the wise sayings of sages and philosophers or the verdicts of rulers and leaders. One should believe with full conviction that the words and actions of the Prophet represent the will of Allah, and thus one has to follow and obey them in each and every circumstance of life.5 Another Muslim scholar, John L. Esposito, in his work, Islam - The Straight Path states that, Quranic principles and values were concretized and interpreted by the second and complementary source of law, the Sunna of the Prophet, the normative model behaviour of Muhammad. The importance of the Sunna is rooted in such Quranic injunctions as "obey God and obey the Messenger... If you should quarrel over anything refer it to God and the Messenger" (4:59) and "In God's messenger you have a fine model for anyone whose hope is in God and the Last Day" (33:21). Belief that Muhammad was inspired by God to act wisely, in accordance with God's will, led to the acceptance of his example, or Sunna, as supplement to the Quran, and thus, a material or textual source of the law.6

IS SMOKING HARAM ?

 IS SMOKING HARAM, HALAL OR MAKROOH? 

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According to Qur'an and Hadith (The saying of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) all intoxicants are 'haram' whereas tobacco is an intoxicating substance.

Intoxicants in the light of Qur'an:

(Surah Al-Baqarah Ch:2 V:195)

وَلَاتُلْقُوابِأَيْدِيكُمْإِلَىالتَّهْلُكَةِ

"Don’t make your own hands the cause of your own destruction"

(Islam prohibits "tobacco" in any form which makes smoking haram however people still argue over it and will normally start saying that ‘Pan’ and ‘Pepsi’ etc are also not good for health so they are or can be haram as well. hence we should avoid them, but where Islam is concerned IF and only IF PAN contains "Tobacco" then its haram else you may have it (still not having is preferred) it’s NOT HARAM. However by smoking cigarette or sheesha we are making our own hands the cause of our own destruction).

(Surah Al-Ma’idah Ch:5 V:90)

يَاأَيُّهَاالَّذِينَآمَنُواإِنَّمَاالْخَمْرُوَالْمَيْسِرُوَالْأَنصَابُوَالْأَزْلَامُرِجْسٌمِّنْعَمَلِالشَّيْطَانِ

فَاجْتَنِبُوهُلَعَلَّكُمْتُفْلِحُونَ

“O you who have believed, indeed, intoxicants, gambling, [sacrificing on] stone alters [to other than Allah], and divining arrows are but defilement from the work of Satan, so avoid it that you may be successful.”

(Tobacco causes Physical, Intellectual, and Moral Effects on the Human System "Tobacco, moreover is of itself, an intoxicating substance").

(Surah Al-Balad Ch:90 V:10)

وَهَدَيْنَاهُالنَّجْدَيْنِ

“And pointed out to him the two conspicuous ways”

(Allah (سبحانهوتعال) has given us the right to choose our own path, whichever path we chose He makes that path easier for us. So choose the right one which leads to righteousness so you can have Allah’s mercy and countless blessings.)

(Surah An-Nisa’ Ch:4 V:29)

وَلَاتَقْتُلُواأَنفُسَكُمْ 

“And do not kill yourselves”

(“Smoking Kills”it’s even written on every cigarette pack, and  we all know it  still we argue that smoking is not haram According to world health organization (WHO) there are more than a million people who die only because of smoking . 90% of people who die from lung cancer is due to smoking. )

(Surah Al’-A’raf Ch:7 V:157)

وَيُحِلُّلَهُمُالطَّيِّبَاتِوَيُحَرِّمُعَلَيْهِمُالْخَبَائِثَ

“And makes lawful to them the good things and makes unlawful to them impure things”

(We are all aware of the unlawful things. and  cigarette is impure as it causes several diseases which are mentioned again and again, it contains nicotine which is nothing more but a poison,so it’s time we should all agree to the fact that smoking is unlawful . Fear Allah (سبحانهوتعال) and ask for His mercy and guidance surely if you do so with a firm belief He The Lord of the Worlds will help you in every step you take towards him.)

(Surah Al-‘Isra’ Ch:17 V:26-27)

 وَلَاتُبَذِّرْتَبْذِيرًاO إِنَّالْمُبَذِّرِينَكَانُواإِخْوَانَالشَّيَاطِينِۖوَكَانَالشَّيْطَانُلِرَبِّهِكَفُورًا

“And do not spend wastefully, Indeed, the wasteful are brothers of the devils, and ever has Satan been to his Lord ungrateful.”

(Smoking is a waste of money, a smoker burns his wealth for no good reason plus it’s harmful to the body and there is no difference between the person who’s smoking and the person who commits suicide.)

(Surah Al-‘Ankabut Ch:29 V:69)

وَالَّذِينَجَاهَدُوافِينَالَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْسُبُلَنَا

“Those who strive hard in Our Cause, We will surely guide them to Our Paths.”

(If you have a craving to smoke then you have to seek Allah’s help in order to quit smoking. If you pray to Allah (سبحانهوتعال) for His help and then make sincere efforts to give up smoking, then Allah (سبحانهوتعال) will help you .but one should have a very strong belief that Allah (سبحانهوتعال) will surely help him, and remember nothing is easy, one needs to be strong.)

(Surah Al-Ma’idah Ch:5 V:2)

 وَتَعَاوَنُواعَلَىالْبِرِّوَالتَّقْوَىٰۖوَلَاتَعَاوَنُواعَلَىالْإِثْمِ

“And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression”

(The prohibition of smoking is not restricted to consuming it, but applies as well to offering it to people, sitting with those who are smoking, or selling it. All of this involves helping people commit sins, which is prohibited)

(Surah Ar-Ra’d Ch:13 V:28)

الَّذِينَآمَنُواوَتَطْمَئِنُّقُلُوبُهُمبِذِكْرِاللَّهِۗأَلَابِذِكْرِاللَّهِتَطْمَئِنُّالْقُلُوبُ

“Those who have believed and whose hearts are assured by the remembrance of Allah . Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah hearts are assured."

(Even medical science has rejected outright the myth that smoking calms the nerves. So many people who do believe that cigarettes are good for the removal of the sadness and departure of the worries should know that it’s not true. Now almost all the scientists expunged this idea and concluded to the fact that cigarettes are actually causing a person to get tensed instead of healed. However what we Muslims know for sure is that the remembrance of Allah is the only healing power, for there is no one to guide us better then Allah (SWT))

(Surah ‘Al-Imran Ch:3 V:159)

لَهُمْوَشَاوِرْهُمْفِيالْأَمْرِۖفَإِذَاعَزَمْتَفَتَوَكَّلْعَلَىاللَّهِۚإِنَّاللَّهَيُحِبُّالْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ

“And when you have decided, then rely upon Allah. Indeed, Allah loves those who rely [upon Him].”

(Rely on Allah sincerely, with full determination not to return to smoking ever, if one has a strong faith and Trust in Allah (SWT) then Allah will surely guide him to the right path and he will be able to give up this evil habit  for good.)

(Surah Al-Baqarah Ch:2 V:219)

يَسْأَلُونَكَعَنِالْخَمْرِوَالْمَيْسِرِۖقُلْفِيهِمَاإِثْمٌكَبِيرٌوَمَنَافِعُلِلنَّاسِوَإِثْمُهُمَاأَكْبَرُمِن

 نَّفْعِهِمَاۗ 

They ask you about wine and gambling. Say, "In them is great sin and [yet, some] benefit for people. But their sin is greater than their benefit."

(Similarly when we talk about smoking we know that the harm is greater than the benefit as proven by medical science as well.)

(Surah Al-Baqarah Ch:2 V:224)

وَلَاتَجْعَلُوااللَّهَعُرْضَةًلِّأَيْمَانِكُمْأَنتَبَرُّواوَتَتَّقُواوَتُصْلِحُوابَيْنَالنَّاسِ

“And do not make [your oath by] Allah an excuse against being righteous and fearing Allah and making peace among people.”

(We should fear Allah (سبحانهوتعال) at all times and do as commanded, however if we are smoking we are disobeying Allah (سبحانهوتعال). So do we fear Allah (SWT) then? We should be ashamed of ourselves and ask forgiveness and quit smoking as Allah (SWT) is ‘The Most Merciful & The Most Beneficent’)

(Surah Al-‘A’raf Ch:7 V:179)

لَهُمْقُلُوبٌلَّايَفْقَهُونَبِهَاوَلَهُمْأَعْيُنٌلَّايُبْصِرُونَبِهَاوَلَهُمْآذَانٌلَّايَسْمَعُونَبِهَا

“They have hearts with which they do not understand, they have eyes with which they do not see, and they have ears with which they do not hear.”

(Almost all smokers give lame excuses that smoking is not haram it’s very disgraceful that we are well aware of the fact that smoking is haram and still we keep on doing the same thing.)

(Surah Al-‘Anfal Ch:8 V:22)

إِنَّشَرَّالدَّوَابِّعِندَاللَّهِالصُّمُّالْبُكْمُالَّذِينَلَايَعْقِلُونَ

“Indeed, the worst of living creatures in the sight of Allah are the deaf and dumb who do not use reason.”

(If such people hear the Qur'an, they will not understand it. By doing so, they will be like animals, which have no minds, or even worse. So if there is even a tiny chance of something being haram we should simply stay away from it.)

(Surah An-Nisa’ Ch:4 V:59)

أَطِيعُوااللَّهَوَأَطِيعُواالرَّسُولَ

“Obey Allah and obey the Messenger”

(A Muslim can’t deny the Hadith of The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). He has been instructed to do so by Allah (سبحانهوتعال) Himself. If we don’t agree with Hadith then we are not Muslims since a Muslim testifies that ‘There is no god but Allah And Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)is His Messenger’ by believing in Qur’an but not the Hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)we only ‘Testify that there is no god but Allah’whereas we don’t testify that Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)is His messenger. A Muslim needs to follow the teachings of Allah’s Messenger as commanded.)

(Surah At-Tawbah Ch:9 V:71)

وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَوَالْمُؤْمِنَاتُبَعْضُهُمْأَوْلِيَاءُبَعْضٍۚيَأْمُرُونَبِالْمَعْرُوفِوَيَنْهَوْنَعَنِالْمُنكَرِ

“The believing men and believing women are allies of one another. They enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong”

(A faithful friend will only encourage you to do what is right and prevent you from doing any evil act. The one who offer you cigarette is encouraging you to do an evil act clearly he doesn’t care about your health or future.)

(Surah Al-Baqarah Ch:2 V:6)

إِنَّالَّذِينَكَفَرُواسَوَاءٌعَلَيْهِمْأَأَنذَرْتَهُمْأَمْلَمْتُنذِرْهُمْلَايُؤْمِنُونَ

“Indeed, those who disbelieve - it is all the same for them whether you warn them or do not warn them - they will not believe”

(Numerous times when someone tries to warn that ‘smoking kills’ smokers get annoyed and end up making fun of that person. They should fear Allah for their heart is sealed and they have been blinded.)

(Surah Al-‘Ankabut Ch:29 V:45)

إِنَّالصَّلَاةَتَنْهَىٰعَنِالْفَحْشَاءِوَالْمُنكَرِۗوَلَذِكْرُاللَّهِأَكْبَرُ

“Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing, and the remembrance of Allah is greater”

(Start praying ‘five’ times a day as prescribed by our beloved Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) as Prayer keeps you away from all kinds of evil acts.)

The great invention: ASTROLABE

Astrolabe 

 

  Although the astrolabe has origins traced back over 1,500 years, it was highly developed in the Islamic world by 800 and was introduced to Europe from Islamic Spain (Andalusia) in the early 12th century. It was the most popular astronomical instrument until about 1650, when it was replaced by more specialized and accurate instruments. Astrolabes are still appreciated for their unique capabilities and their value for astronomy education.

What is an Astrolabe?

The astrolabe is an astronomical computer for solving problems relating to time and the position of the Sun and stars in the sky. Several types of astrolabes have been made. By far the most popular type is the planispheric astrolabe, on which the celestial sphere is projected onto the plane of the equator. A typical old astrolabe was made of brass and was about 6 inches (15 cm) in diameter, although much larger and smaller ones were made.

Astrolabes are used to show how the sky looks at a specific place at a given time. This is done by drawing the sky on the face of the astrolabe and marking it so positions in the sky are easy to find. To use an astrolabe, you adjust the moveable components to a specific date and time. Once set, the entire sky, both visible and invisible, is represented on the face of the instrument. This allows a great many astronomical problems to be solved in a very visual way. Typical uses of the astrolabe include finding the time during the day or night, finding the time of a celestial event such as sunrise or sunset and as a handy reference of celestial positions. Astrolabes were also one of the basic astronomy education tools in the late Middle Ages. Old instruments were also used for astrological purposes. The typical astrolabe was not a navigational instrument although an instrument called the mariner's astrolabe was widely used. The mariner's astrolabe is simply a ring marked in degrees for measuring celestial altitudes.

Astrolabe

Although the astrolabe has origins traced back over 1,500 years, it was highly developed in the Islamic world by 800 and was introduced to Europe from Islamic Spain (Andalusia) in the early 12th century. It was the most popular astronomical instrument until about 1650, when it was replaced by more specialized and accurate instruments. Astrolabes are still appreciated for their unique capabilities and their value for astronomy education.

What is an Astrolabe?

The astrolabe is an astronomical computer for solving problems relating to time and the position of the Sun and stars in the sky. Several types of astrolabes have been made. By far the most popular type is the planispheric astrolabe, on which the celestial sphere is projected onto the plane of the equator. A typical old astrolabe was made of brass and was about 6 inches (15 cm) in diameter, although much larger and smaller ones were made.

Astrolabes are used to show how the sky looks at a specific place at a given time. This is done by drawing the sky on the face of the astrolabe and marking it so positions in the sky are easy to find. To use an astrolabe, you adjust the moveable components to a specific date and time. Once set, the entire sky, both visible and invisible, is represented on the face of the instrument. This allows a great many astronomical problems to be solved in a very visual way. Typical uses of the astrolabe include finding the time during the day or night, finding the time of a celestial event such as sunrise or sunset and as a handy reference of celestial positions. Astrolabes were also one of the basic astronomy education tools in the late Middle Ages. Old instruments were also used for astrological purposes. The typical astrolabe was not a navigational instrument although an instrument called the mariner's astrolabe was widely used. The mariner's astrolabe is simply a ring marked in degrees for measuring celestial altitudes.

The Seven Earths

The Seven Earths

Their Existence and their Location 

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Qur'an & Science Problem : 

It may come as a surprise to some of our readers to find that the Qur'an teaches that Allah created seven earths.

"It is Allah Who has created seven heavens, and earths as many ..." S. 65:12, F. Malik's translation

What should we understand these seven earths to be? Earth in the sense of a land mass, i.e. seven continents located on our one planet earth? Other planets similar to our earth? Before we can evaluate whether this Quranic statement is true, i.e. decide about its scientific correctness, we need to clarify the exact understanding of these ‘seven earths’, particularly how Muhammad understood them. The teaching on the seven earths is found in the early Islamic data, the ahadith and commentaries on the Qur'an.

Evidence from the Ahadith

Sahih Al-Bukhari

Narrated Muhammad bin Ibrahim bin Al-Harith:
from Abu Salama bin 'Abdur-Rahman who had a dispute with some people on a piece of land, and so he went to 'Aisha and told her about it. She said, "O Abu Salama, avoid the land, for Allah's Apostle said, ‘Any person who takes even a span of land unjustly, his neck shall be encircled with it down seven earths.’" (Volume 4, Book 54, Number 417; see also Numbers 418, 420; Volume 3, Book 43, Numbers 632-634)
Narrated 'Abdullah:
A (Jewish) Rabbi came to Allah's Apostle and he said, "O Muhammad! We learn that Allah will put all the heavens on one finger, and the earths on one finger, and the trees on one finger, and the water and the dust on one finger, and all the other created beings on one finger. Then He will say, ‘I am the King.’" Thereupon the Prophet smiled so that his pre-molar teeth became visible, and that was the confirmation of the Rabbi. Then Allah's Apostle recited: ‘No just estimate have they made of Allah such as due to Him.’ (39.67) (Volume 6, Book 60, Number 335)

Sahih Muslim

Muhammad b. Ibrahim said that Abu Salama reported to him that there was between him and his people dispute over a piece of land, and he came to 'A'isha and mentioned that to her, whereupon she said: Abu Salama, abstain from getting this land, for Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: He who usurps even a span of land would be made to wear around his neck seven earths. (Book 010, Number 3925; see also Numbers 3920-3924) 

The Earth: Flat or Round?

What does the Qur'an Say? 

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Do they not look at the camels how they are made.
And the sky how it is raised high.
And the mountains how they are fixed firm.
And the earth how it is spread out?
(Wa ilal'ardi kayfa sutihat.)
-- Sura 88:17-20

Interpretation given in Al-Jalalayn:

At the earth how it is spread out(*) (Arabic: sutihat): meaning it was stretched, so they can see in it a sign for the power of Allah ... and his saying sutihat makes it obvious that the earth is flat, and this is certified by Ulama' ash-shar'a (the shari'a theologians), not a globe as it is said by ahlul-hay'a (the laymen)." (Tafseer Al-Jalalayn. printed in Damascus 1964. Al-Mallah Printshop and Bookstore)

(*) The word "sutihat" is from the root word "sataha".
Note: The commentators are well informed about the scientific conclusion that the earth is a globe, but the scientists are considered to be laymen in regard to understanding the meaning of the Qur'an. Because revelation has primacy over science, the Qur'an is the decisive basis for the commentators to insist that the earth is flat.
Furthermore, the Qur'an says:

And after that He spread the earth.
(Wal'arda ba'da dhalika da-ha-ha.)
-- Sura 79:30

Again, let us consult Tafsir Al-Jalalayn:

That is: "Basataha" as it was created before heaven without "Dahoo".

We see that Al-Jalalayn is emphasizing the issue of "flattening". The interpreters are saying: "That is, He flattened it since it was not made flat before heaven was created."
Reading the context of this aya, Sura 79:27-33, the message of the Qur'an seems to be: Originally the earth was not flat (but somehow crumbled up?). After first creating the heaven over it (see 79:28-29), Allah flattened the earth (to make it inhabitable: ("A provision for you and for your cattle" 79:33).
COMMENT:
Udhi'ya or Udhu'wa, are two names for the egg of the ostrich. The verb Da'ha (Ydahoo: present tense) is not derived from Udhi'ya or Udhu'wa, because names are derived from the "verb of origin" (fi'l al masdar), and the verb of origin is not derived from a name. The verb of origin is "dahawa" from which the verb "da'ha" and "yadhoo" are derived, and so is the name of the noun denoting the egg. The verb "da'aha" does not mean "kaw'wara" (made round) or made something in the shape of an egg, whether it is an ostrich egg or a chicken's egg. As a matter of fact, the verb "da'ha" means the complete opposite to the concept of the roundness. Here is what "Al-munjid fil'lugha wal'alam" has to say:

• "da'ha da'hwan ... God `da'ha' earth that is `basataha'."
     And that is exactly what Al-Jalalayn has said.
• "da'ha idhiwa'an: `inbisatan'." (that is: flattening)
• "al-udh'y, al-idhi'y, al-udhu'wa, al-udhi'ya: The egg of the ostrich in the sand."

We must pay attention to what Al-Munjid is saying here: "The egg of the ostrich ‘in the sand’" and the following is the reason for this expression:
When the female ostrich fears a danger threatening her egg, she immediately digs into the sand to hide the egg, then "tadhoo" (flattens) the earth above it, so that it would not be seen by the vultures of the air who are always in search of such a delicacy for their next meal. Therefore, the word "al-udhu'wa" is used as a name of the ostrich egg since it is something (with the sand) flattened (over it). That is where the name came from. The Arabic dictionary never states that the verb "da'ha" means "made round" or "made in the shape of the egg of an ostrich".
Other verses in the Qur'an stated that earth is flat using other words. All of these words are interpreted as "flat" and none of them has been interpreted as round.
We read in Sura 96:6 (Ash'shams): "Wal'ardu wa ma ta'haha".
The word "Tahaha" is interpreted in Tafsir Al-Jalalayn as "He made it flat". In Munjid Al-lugha Wal'alam, the word "Taha" is also interpreted as "to flatten or to stretch". Then, the noun "At'taha" is interpreted as "a flat part of the earth". Then, Al-Munjid gives a sentence as an example to confirm the meaning of "taha" as "to make a certain thing flat".
In Sura 15:19 (Al-Hajar), we read: "wal'arda madadnaha wa'alkayna feeha rawasi".
The word "madadnaha" is from the verb "madda", which is a very simple and easy word to understand. Not even a little Arabic child would use this word to describe the shape of a watermelon or a ball. It is the most simple way to describe something flat.
If Muhammad or the author of the Qur'an really had known that the earth is round, and had wanted to mention this fact in the book, he could have used a more simple word in Arabic to put an end to this puzzling issue. We have no doubt that Muhammad was aware of the existence of other words in the Arabic language that can describe the shape of something round. In fact, we read in sura 81:1 (At'Takweer - meaning: Rounding!):

"Itha'sh-shamsu kuwirat": "When the sun is folded up."

In this verse, Muhammad is predicting that "the sun shall be folded up" or "shall become rounded" (which would be a better translation). This means first of all that Muhammad believed that the sun is also flat and that it will become round when the hour comes. And this also means that he knows that there is a better word to describe a round shape. Therefore: Why he didn't use this term to to spare the Muslims this confusion?
Yes, Muhammad did indeed believe that the sun is flat as Al-Jalalayn comments on this verse by stating: "`kuwirat' that is `lufifat' i.e. folded up and its light taken."

The Islamic View of Creation

The Islamic View of Creation 

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CREATION OF MAN

In the 19th century Charles Darwin put forward a theory that man came into being through a long process of evolution and not all of a sudden in one stroke as stated in the Bible. He concluded that the evolutionary process which produced man in his present form probably took millions of years. The second main point in Darwin's theory is that man evolved from lower forms of animal life. In the beginning there existed only small types of animals which during the course of time were followed by larger and larger ones. Eventually one of these kinds of animals developed into man as we know him but it has now become extinct although it can be maintained that a better form of that animal, the missing linkage is represented by the monkey. This theory is

Charles Darwin

based on the fact that ancient human skeletons which have been unearthed in various places show remarkable differences from one age to another in the size or structure of the bones or skull. This is taken to indicate that there has been a slow development and progress of the species from era to era. It is also argued that the embryo in the womb, at different stages of its development, successively resembles a number of lower animals such as a rabbit, fish or something else. This is taken to furnish ground for the conclusion that the stages which the embryo passes through represent, so to say, the stages which man has passed through from a lower animal to that of a human being. A further argument advanced in support of the theory of evolution is that there are a number of similarities which seem to indicate that man and these lower animals are one and the same thing and that the structure of the human body is not an exclusive feature of the human species as it has evolved from the bodies and structures ures such as those shared by the apes.

THE PIERCING STAR AND BLACK HOLES

THE PIERCING STAR AND BLACK HOLES  _____________________________________________________

collected from web   

_________________________________________________________________________________ 

The holy Quran is word of god. The Almighty revealed it to his final prophet to humanity. When prophets were inviting their people to the truth,

God endowed them with miracles to convince their people. Moses was given a miracle that excelled magic and dazzled magicians in ancient Egypt. Jesus was given a miracle that excelled medicine and he could cure people from incurable diseases. The only people who could see these miracles are the ones who were there. Because the prophet Muhammad was the final prophet his miracle had to be continuous and immortal, this immortal miracle is the holy Quran itself.

At the age of revealing the holy Quran Arabs were excelled in poetry and prose, so the holy Quran challenged them by its eloquence. Now miracles of the holy Quran appeared in the scientific signs mentioned in a lot of verses, these verses indicate to scientific facts which have been discovered since only few decades, So humanity must know that the holy Quran is the word of Allah. 

The Status of Women in Islam

The Status of Women in Islam
Dr. Jamal Badawi

I. INTRODUCTION

The status of women in society is neither a new issue nor is it a fully settled one.

The position of Islam on this issue has been among the subjects presented to the Western reader with the least objectivity.

This paper is intended to provide a brief and authentic exposition of what Islam stands for in this regard. The teachings of Islam are based essentially on the Quran (God's revelation) and Hadith (elaboration by Prophet Muhammad).

The Quran and the Hadith, properly and unbiasedly understood, provide the basic source of authentication for any position or view which is attributed to Islam.  

সত্য উন্মোচন...

সকল প্রশংসা মহান আল্লাহ তায়ালার , যিনি আমাদের কে এই পৃথিবীতে আসার সুযোগ দিয়েছেন। সুযোগ দিয়েছেন অপার সুন্দর্জ্যে মোহিত হবার। আজ আমি যা কিছু ভালো তা করার চেষ্টায় নিজেকে নিয়োজিত করতে পেরেছি তার অশেষ করুনায়।আর দুরুদ ও সালাম বিশ্ব নবীর দরবারে।যার সৃষ্টি না হলে বিশ্বকুলের সৃষ্টি হতনা।
আজ যা কিছু ভালো তার অনুসন্ধান করাই আমাদের মূল লক্ষ্য হওয়া উচিত। মন্দ যা আছে তাকে সবাই মিলে সমূলে ধ্বংশ করা দরকার।এখানে দেখা প্রয়োজন নাই কে শেতাঙ্গ বা কে কৃস্নাঙ্গ। এই যুগে কুসন্স্কারচ্ছন্ন হবার সুযোগ খুব কম; নাই বললেই চলে। তাই সত্যকে উদঘাটন করার সুযোগ এখন অনেক বেশী। আমরা সবসময় সত্য উন্মোচন করার কাজে আমাদের নিয়োজিত রাখব , এটাই তো হওয়া উচিত।আর সত্য উন্মোচন করার সবচাইতে ভালো উপায় হলো - হিংসাত্মক মনোভাব পরিহার করা ও নিজ নিজ ধর্মের পরিপূর্ণ অনুসরণ করা। আল্লাহ আমাদের সকল কে সত্য জানার এবং মানার তাওফিক দান করুন।আমীন...  

3,600 patients with neurotoxic symptoms in Damascus hospitals

3,600 patients with neurotoxic symptoms in Damascus hospitals on Wednesday – Doctors Without Borders

However, MSF could not “scientifically confirm the cause of these symptoms”.
However, MSF could not “scientifically confirm the cause of these symptoms”.
It follows from the report that MSF will now replenish “empty stocks” and deliver additional medical supplies.

“In addition to 1,600 vials of atropine supplied over recent months, MSF has now dispatched 7,000 additional vials to facilities in the area. Treatment of neurotoxic patients is now being fully integrated into MSF’s medical strategies in all its programs in Syria,” stated Janssens.
It follows from the report that MSF will now replenish “empty stocks” and deliver additional medical supplies.
“In addition to 1,600 vials of atropine supplied over recent months, MSF has now dispatched 7,000 additional vials to facilities in the area. Treatment of neurotoxic patients is now being fully integrated into MSF’s medical strategies in all its programs in Syria,” stated Janssens.
“In addition to 1,600 vials of atropine supplied over recent months, MSF has now dispatched 7,000 additional vials to facilities in the area. Treatment of neurotoxic patients is now being fully integrated into MSF’s medical strategies in all its programs in Syria,” stated Janssens.
Syria is yet to give its assent to the UN inspectors currently in the country, who have not yet visited the sites of the alleged assault.

আল্লামা হযরত মাওলানা শাহ্ ছুফী নেছারুদ্দীন আহমদ (রহঃ) এর জীবনী

আল্লামা হযরত মাওলানা শাহ্ ছুফী নেছারুদ্দীন আহমদ (রহঃ) এর জীবনী

 

১৭৫৭ খৃষ্টাব্দে পলাশীর আম্র কাননের যুদ্ধে বাংলা বিষয় উড়িষ্যার শেষ স্বাধীন নবাব সিরাজুদ্দৌলার পতনের সাথে সাথেই শুরুহয় এদেশের ইসলামী তাহজীব, তমাদ্দুন ও আদর্শের অধঃপতন। বিশেষ করে এই উপমহাদেশের মুসলমানগণ বর্ণনাতীত লাঞ্ছনা ও গঞ্জনার শিকার হইতে লাগিল। ক্রমে ক্রমে অবস্থা এমন হইল যে মাত্র এক শতাব্দীর মধ্যে মুসলমানগণ তাহাদের স্বকীয় কৃষ্টি ও সভ্যতা প্রায় ভুলিয়া গিয়া নিপতিত হইল অধঃপতনের গভীর অন্ধকারে। জ্ঞানের অভাবে নিজ তাহজীব তামাদ্দুন বিবর্জিত হয়ে মুসলমানগণ বরণ করে নিয়াছিল বিধর্মীদের আচার ব্যবহার ও তাহাদের চাল-চলন, পোষাক-পরিচ্ছদ। বিজারতীয় অনুকরণে তাহারা নামের পূর্বে “শ্রী” ব্যবহার করিত, লুংগী পাজামার পরিবর্তে “ধূতি” পরিধান করিত। মাথায় টুপী না পরিয়া “টিকি” রাখিত, এমনকি কোন কোন মুসলিম মহিলা সিথিতে সিঁদুর পর্যন্ত ব্যবহার করিত। পূজা পার্বনে মুসলমানদের অবাধে অংশগ্রহণ, দেব-দেবীর নামে মান্নত ইত্যাদিবহু ইছলাম গর্হিত কাজ ও বিশ্বাস বাংলার ঘরে ঘরে সংক্রামক ব্যাধির ন্যায় ছড়িয়ে পড়েছিল।

জন্মকাল ও স্থান

সামাজিক এই অবক্ষয়ের সময় জাতিকে সটিক পথের দিশা দিবার জন্য অভিভক্ত বাংলার অন্তর্গত তৎকালীন বরিশাল বা বাখেরগঞ্জ জিলাধীন (বর্তমানে পিরোজপুর জিলাধীন) ছারছীনা গ্রামে জন্ম নিলেন মর্দে মুজাহিদ, যুগশ্রেষ্ঠ ওলিয়ে কামিল, মুর্শিদে বরহক, খাঁটি নায়েবে নবী আল্লামা হযরত মাওলানা শাহ্ ছুফী নেছারুদ্দীন আহমদ (রহঃ)।

তাঁরই প্রতিষ্ঠিত ছারছীনা দরবার উপমহাদেশের শরীয়ত ও মা’রেফতের এক অন্যতম শ্রেষ্ঠ কেন্দ্র। তিনি ইলমে শরীয়তে ছিলেন যেমন একজন অতিউঁচু স্তরের মুহাক্কিক আলেম, তেমনি ইলমে মারেফতেরও একজন অতি উচ্চ মকামের ওলিয়ে কামিল। নিজের জীবনে এবং তাঁর অনুগামী ও অনুসারীদের পরিপূর্ন রূপে সুন্নাতে নববীর আমল এ এত্তেবা তথা সুন্নাত পুনরুজ্জীবন এবং সর্বক্ষেত্রে তার প্রতিষ্ঠাই ছিল তাঁর মহান সাধনা। লেবাস, পোষাক, চাল-চলন, খাওয়া-দাওয়া, আমল-আখলাক, লেনদেন, মোয়ামালাত-মোয়াশারাত-এক কথায় জীবনের প্রতিটি ক্ষেত্রে প্রতিটি কাজে সুন্নাতের পাবন্দিতে তিনি ছিলেন অত্যন্ত কঠোর ও আপোসহীন। ফরজ, ওয়াজিব, সুন্নাতে মুআক্কাদাতো বটেই, এমন কি নফল, মোস্তাহাব ও মোস্তাহসানও তরক করতেন না তিনি, এবং তার মুরীদ মো’তাকেদদেরকেও এ ব্যাপারে বিশেষ তাকিদ দিতেন। তিনি ছিলেন কঠোর সাধক, আবেদ, জাহেদ, কাশ্ফ ও কারামওয়ালা মহান সুফী দরবেশ। শিরক-বেদআত ও কুসংস্কার উচ্ছেদের এক সংগ্রামী মর্দে মুজাহিদ, এক অসাধারণ সফল সংস্কারক।

Syrian govt ready to cooperate with UN experts in chemical attack probe - Moscow

Syrian govt ready to cooperate with UN experts in chemical attack probe - Moscow

A handout image released by the Syrian opposition's Shaam News Network shows smoke above buildings following what Syrian rebels claim to be a toxic gas attack by pro-government forces in eastern Ghouta, on the outskirts of Damascus on August 21, 2013. (AFP Photo/Shaam News Network)

Speaking on Thursday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Lukashevich said Moscow hopes that UN experts will conduct “objective investigation of all possible cases of use of chemical weapons on Syrian territory.”The Syrian government is ready for “maximum” cooperation with UN experts working to clarify the alleged use of chemical weapons in attacks, Russia’s Foreign Ministry says. The UN has requested access to Damascus suburbs to be granted “without delays”.

"We hope that the results will clarify the issue and will help to dispel numerous speculations around the alleged use of the Syrian chemical weapons that simultaneously create a positive background for the moves towards the start of the political process of settlement of the Syrian crisis", he said.

The statement comes the day after a gas attack was reported by opposition activists in the capital, Damascus, killing according to various reports from dozens up to 1,300. However, according to Lukashevich no one has a confirmed data on the number of killed. 

While rebel groups blamed the incident on President Bashar Assad's forces, the government suspects it was carried out by opposition to draw international attention to their cause.

The attack coincided with the visit of UN observers, coming to the country to investigate previous cases of chemical attacks in the war-torn country. 

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on the Syrian government to allow a UN team, led by Swedish scientist Ake Sellstrom, to visit the site in the Damascus suburbs.  

"A formal request is being sent by the United Nations to the government of Syria in this regard. He expects to receive a positive response without delay," Ban’s office said in a statement. 

UN human rights chief, Navi Pillay, also said that allegations of the use of chemical weapons are“exceptionally grave and need to be comprehensively proved or disproved as soon as is humanly possible". 

France has called on the international community to respond with force if it is proved true that the Syrian government was behind Wednesday’s chemical attack on civilians.  

Speaking during a telephone conversation with the UN Secretary General, French President, Francois Hollande denounced “the likely use of chemical weapons" on the night of August 20-21

20 Greatest Inventions by Muslim Scientists

20 Greatest Inventions by Muslim Scientists

From coffee to cheques and the three-course meal, the Muslim world has given us many innovations that we take for granted in daily life. As a new exhibition opens, Paul Vallely nominates 20 of the most influential- and identifies the men of genius behind them

1) Coffee

The story goes that an Arab named Khalid was tending his goats in the Kaffa region of southern Ethiopia, when he noticed his animals became livelier after eating a certain berry. He boiled the berries to make the first coffee. Certainly the first record of the drink is of beans exported from Ethiopia to Yemen where Sufis drank it to stay awake all night to pray on special occasions. By the late 15th century it had arrived in Mecca and Turkey from where it made its way to Venice in 1645. It was brought to England in 1650 by a Turk named Pasqua Rosee who opened the first coffee house in Lombard Street in the City of London.

The Arabic qahwa became the Turkish kahve then the Italian caffé and then English coffee

2) Pin-Hole Camera

The ancient Greeks thought our eyes emitted rays, like a laser, which enabled us to see. The first person to realise that light enters the eye, rather than leaving it, was the 10th-century Muslim mathematician, astronomer and physicist Ibn al-Haitham. He invented the first pin-hole camera after noticing the way light came through a hole in window shutters. The smaller the hole, the better the picture, he worked out, and set up the first Camera Obscura (from the Arab word qamara for a dark or private room). He is also credited with being the first man to shift physics from a philosophical activity to an experimental one. 

Read more......... 

Egyptian court orders Hosni Mubarak's release from prison

Egyptian court orders Hosni Mubarak's release from prison

Former president to be freed as early as Thursday, triggering fears of further turmoil amid crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood 

Egyptians divided over Hosni Mubarak release

The former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak will leave jail as early as Thursday after a court ruling that is expected to add to the turmoil since the army toppled President Mohamed Morsi.

On Wednesday the court upheld a release petition from Mubarak's lawyer.

Egyptians grieve for loved ones as massacre continues

Egypt's mosques transformed into surgeries as further Morsi supporters become victims of bloodbath at hands of police

• 
• • Patrick Kingsley in Cairo
  • The Guardian, Friday 16 August 2013 20.38 BST

Egypt's mosques become makeshift operating theatres, with green prayer-mats being used as beds. Photograph: Hassan Ammar/AP

Tears streaking down his face, Ahmed al-Sheikh let out a long howl as his legs gave way beneath him. "My brother," he screamed, as a passerby caught his body before it fell to the floor. "My brother."

Al-Sheikh's brother, Mohamed, was lying motionless a few feet away on the floor of central Cairo's al-Fath mosque – shot dead by police in the third day of deadly violence to grip the Egyptian capital.

Heavy gunfire rang out in the fiercest street battles in the city since the security forces launched their bloody crackdown against supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi on Wednesday. Military helicopters hovered overhead as supporters and opponents of the Muslim Brotherhood clashed in the streets below.

At the time of Mohamed's death, 19 other protesters lay dead next to him. Later, others would count at least another 25 corpses – making a total of 45, with the death toll likely to rise significantly. Across the country on Friday the death toll from clashes rose to at least 60, with 52 civilians and eight police officers killed, security officials told Associated Press.

At Ramses Square in central Cairo the bodies were piled up on the green – and later bloodstained – carpet of the al-Fath mosque. Earlier, after midday prayers, thousands of pro-Morsi supporters had gathered nearby to protest the state-led massacre of hundreds of their friends at two pro-Morsi camps on Wednesday, in what the Muslim Brotherhood had styled as a "day of rage".

Within hours, they were themselves the victims of yet another bloodbath at the hands of police – the second massacre of Morsi supporters in three days and the fourth in the six weeks since the army ousted Morsi on 3 July.

"We didn't expect this after the killing and the burning of the bodies at the camps," said Dr Anas Awad, a protester and off-duty medic who had rushed to the Ramses Square mosque to offer his expertise. "We thought at least they would leave some time to grieve."

Next door, grieving had already begun again. Mohamed Abdel was kneeling at the knees of his friend, Mohamed Said, shaking with sobs. Moments earlier, Said – shot in the back – had been conscious, lying against a pillar. Then his head slumped and doctors rolled his eyelids shut. Minutes later, he was lying in the line of corpses in the next-door room.

"Does [General] Sisi want to kill us all?" asked Mohamed Abdallah, a 46-year-old accountant sitting nearby – shot in the arm, he said, by a live police round.

"I don't have words for them," said Awad, of the police who attacked them and the army-backed regime that has justified the brutal crackdown. "History and God and Egypt will judge them."

It was a hellish scene at the mosque. Every spare patch of floor became a makeshift operating theatre. Green prayer-mats were beds, tables were used as stretchers, while those already treated – blood drenching their shirts – sprawled against the walls at the side. In the absence of anaesthetic, someone ran around distributing grapes. Elsewhere, there was a team dedicated to resuscitating the unconscious.

A woman who had come for the day from Menoufiya province, squatted in a corridor, crying hysterically. "My brother and his family came today from Menoufiya," sobbed Nagwa el-Qilani, clutching a Qur'an, "but I can't find them and I don't know if they are alive."

The mayhem at the mosque was in many ways one of nightmarish deja-vu for many of those present. Dr Hisham Ibrahim – the surgeon who ran the field hospital that dealt with casualties at Rabaa al-Adawiya, one of Wednesday's cleared camps – was again in charge at al-Fath on Friday.

Speaking on the imam's megaphone, Ibrahim issued directions, ordering the injured, who arrived at a rate of one a minute, to one section of the sprawling building, corpses to another, and deliveries of donated medical supplies to a third corner. He later asked for donations of blood.

How the fighting began remains unclear, and – as usual in post-Morsi Cairo, where truth has become a rare commodity – there were conflicting accounts. Television footage showed some armed and masked men among Friday's 28 pro-Morsi marches to Ramses Square. But who fired first was unclear. Several protesters said their vast majority were peaceful; that it was the police who first trapped the marchers and then opened fire.

"We were walking on 6 October Bridge [a flyover]," said 25-year-old doctor, Mohamed Ahmed Abdel Salem, who approached the central Ramses Square from west Cairo. "Just 200m before we got there, police cars came up behind us and started firing on us, and so did people from the police station to the left of the bridge. It was like a trap.

"They started with teargas and then real bullets. People started falling. Other people tried to carry them on motorbikes, but they couldn't get anywhere because they were trapped. Some used planks or the plastic sides of the bridge to cover themselves, others threw stones at the police station."

Salem's group managed to reach ground-level via a ramp and said police continued to fire at them from behind as they scrambled for safety. He admitted the presence of armed men among the protesters but distanced himself from their actions.

"Of the 2000 people there, maybe only two had guns but they had masks, and no one knows who they were. And the police fired first," Salem insisted.

A witness at another march, who was not a supporter of either Morsi or the army, told the Guardian that some of the marchers did have weapons but only used them after local residents in an area of west Cairo started firing on them. Inside the mosque, doctors were in no doubt that the police had used little restraint. "They were shooting to kill," said Dr Mahmoud el-Hout, secretary-general of the medical syndicate in Sharqiya province and one of the protesters. "We were expressing our opinions peacefully, and they intended to kill us."

Arriving at Ramses Sq shortly before the shooting started, The Guardian saw teargas fired on protesters who were armed only with rocks. A helicopter later hovered overhead with its door open – and several witnesses reported that soldiers inside were firing on protesters.

Medics also reported being attacked while treating patients. "I was treating people on the bridge," said el-Hout's son Omar, also a doctor. "Then there was a volley of shots. I got down, and I realised I had been hit in the chest by shotgun pellets."

As night fell and the new curfew – enforced on Wednesday to contain the violent protests after the massacres – approached, the medics feared further attacks on the al-Fath mosque.

"After they finish outside," said el-Hout, "they will come in here and arrest all the wounded. I can believe anything of these criminals. They're not humans. They're animals."

Elsewhere in Cairo, many pro-army Egyptians – protesting at counter-demonstrations – launched similar vitriol at Morsi's supporters, in an indication of Egypt's deep divisions.

"They weren't peaceful," said Rabia Farahat, a 30-year-old plumber. "They had weapons, they attacked churches. I support the army against them. If I'm a soldier and someone attacks me, I'm going to fight back."

But Morsi's loyalists, a dwindling minority in Egypt, vowed that their fight would go on. They compared this week's protests to the 2011 revolution – a reference that will anger the majority of anti-Morsi Egyptians, who see themselves as the guardians of the goals of the uprising that overthrew Hosni Mubarak.

"We don't know right now what will happen next," said Noha el-Guindy, a 24-year-old office manager, as the shooting started up the road. "But we will continue to go out in the street as we did in 2011. We resisted then, and we will resist again." 

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