Al Quran English Translation of Al-holy Quran rciter [8]. Surah Al-Anfal [The Spoils of War]

القرآن Al Quran

English Translation of Al-holy Quran rciter

[8]. Surah Al-Anfal [The Spoils of War]

Ayat 43. (And remember) when Allah showed them to you as few in your (i.e. Muhammad's  [SAWW](PBUH) dream, if He had shown them to you as many, you would surely have been discouraged, and you would surely have disputed in making a decision. But Allah saved (you). Certainly, He is the All-Knower of what is in the breasts.

Hadith الحديث

English Translation of Hadith

Hazrat Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah  [SAWW](PBUH) said, "Allah, the Exalted, has said: `I will declare war against him who treats with hostility a pious worshipper of Mine. And the most beloved thing with which My slave comes nearer to Me, is what I have enjoined upon him; and My slave keeps on coming closer to Me through performing Nawafil (voluntary prayers or doing extra deeds besides what is obligatory) until I love him, (so much so that) I become his hearing with which he hears, and his sight with which he sees, and his hand with which he strikes, and his leg with which he walks; and if he asks Me something, I will surely give him, and if he seeks My Protection (refuge), I will surely protect him". [Al-Bukhari Hadith # 6502]

Lesson : as mentioned above in Surah Al-Anfal Ayat 43 "(And remember) when Allah showed them to you as few in your dream,) This Hadith tell us the status and distinctive signs of the favoured men of Allah ('Auliya' Allah) The Noble holy Quran online has defined them as: "Those who believed (in the Oneness of Allah) and used to fear Allah much (by abstaining from evil deeds and sins and by doing righteous deeds)". (10:63). According to this definition, every believer who really fears Allah is a favoured of Allah. It means that except for Faith and piety, favoured of Allah are neither people of the special kind nor have they any special distinctive signs, as is generally thought by some people. In this respect, the ignorance of the general public is shocking because they regard even such persons as favoured of Allah who not only neglect the religious obligations and the practice of the Prophet [SAWW](PBUH), but also woefully lack cleanliness. Sometimes they call even mad or half-mad persons as favourites of Allah, whereas a Wali in the true sense is one who is meticulous about observing the obligations and is fearful of Allah. Firstly, the love of those whom Allah loves entail the love of Allah, and hating them entails the hatred of Allah.Secondly, when a true Muslim acquires nearness and love of Allah by means of performing religious obligations, supererogatory and voluntary prayers, Allah then becomes his special helper and protects his limbs and organs and does not let them work for His disobedience.

read quran online

The Violence Needs to Stop: This Is Not Islam

 

 

Sent to you by top blog via Google Reader:

 

 

The Violence Needs to Stop: This Is Not Islam

via Inside Islam by Reem on 1/3/11

Last week, I wrote about the killing of Iraqi Christians by extremists in the name of Islam. Unfortunately, events over the weekend require me to return to this topic yet again. Just after midnight January 1st, there was a deadly attack in Alexandria, Egypt on the Saint's Church. Twenty-one people were killed and some 79 were injured as a car bomb exploded outside of the church after New Year's Mass. Not only is this event tragic but it puts the Coptic community in Egypt on edge ahead of their Christmas on January 7th.

This news troubled me all weekend because this kind of violent attack does not represent the faith that I know and live everyday. There has been increasing tension between Muslims and Christians in Egypt recently and an event like this will exacerbate the situation. Moreover, these attacks raise more concern in Muslim communities worldwide, making it increasingly difficult to argue that Islam is a religion of peace as extremists continue to perpetuate acts of violence in the name of Islam.

However, Muslims around the world have spoken out strongly against the attacks. In the United States, the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) issued a statement; Turkey condemned the attacks; the Algerian President Abdel-Aziz Bouteflika denounced the violence; and King Abdullah II of Jordan as well as  Jordan's Islamic Action Front (IAF) condemned the attacks.

While it may be hard for those outside of the Muslim community to see that this violence does not represent Islam, it is important to remember that the worldwide Muslim community is over 1.5 billion and that the vast majority not only do not engage in violent acts but strongly reject those who have hijacked their faith for their own personal agendas. All that can be done is to reiterate that extremists, who use violence, do not represent Islam.

What was your reaction to the attacks in Egypt? What can the Muslim communities around the world do? Are Muslims as a collective responsible for the actions of a few? Please share your thoughts below.

 

 

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to Inside Islam using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

 

 

Saudis Missing Opportunity

 

 

Sent to you by top blog via Google Reader:

 

 

Saudis Missing Opportunity

via Inside Islam by Colin on 1/4/11

King Abdullah Economic City

A recent New York Times story, "Laying Out Cities, Saudis See Window to Modernity," is unsettling on a number of levels, including the Times' implication that Saudis are not modern, among other ethnocentric commentary. However, what is most disturbing is the Saudi Government's trajectory to, in many ways, integrate American suburban designs in its King Abdullah Economic City, a new 65 square-mile development at the edge of the Red Sea projected to be completed by 2012.

More than 20 years ago, China began the "suburban perversion" (a term coined to represent American over-consumption), creating new cities from scratch, and building "special economic zones" where tourists, international business interests, and wealthy Chinese can mingle in casinos, beaches, and fine dining establishments to finish off big business deals. India has recently begun to follow suit. The Saudi Government is largely doing the same with King Abdullah Economic City (save for casinos, as gambling is prohibited in Islam), and is seemingly challenging the economic prowess of Dubai as the international center of the Middle East.

But there's more to this story than big buildings and beaches. Fair or unfair, Saudi Arabia–an oil giant and one of the wealthiest Muslim majority countries–controls the two holiest places in Islam–Mecca and Medina–and thus is seen by many as one of the world's most important representatives of Islam. And that is a tragedy in itself, given its gross human rights abuses among other governmental failures. The Saudi Government's obligation to develop responsibly is real. While they have shown some good will, the latest plan unveiled leaves one underwhelmed, at best.

Its cul-de-sacs, parking garages, and sprawling highways do not reflect the modesty, equity, and eco-consciousness of the Prophet Muhammad. Instead, the proposed King Abdullah Economic City and Saudi development as a whole is aligned with some of the most environmentally damaging and socio-economically divisive development plans perfected by American suburbia, a model where pedestrians are an afterthought and space is dominated by motor vehicles and concrete.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (its official name) is a dynastic monarchy governed under shariah, or more accurately, the Saudi Arabian interpretation of shariah. In many respects, it is looked up to as an example of proper Islamic behavior by Muslims around the world, and its latest development strategy is sending the wrong message to other developing countries with significant Muslim populations. While it may not be completely fair to compare Saudi infrastructure and design to more established economic giants around the world (Korea, Germany), given that the Saudi peninsula was merely sand a few decades ago, we should still expect and demand more.

What do you think of Saudi development? Is it fair to criticize the Saudis more than other Gulf states for example, simply because Mecca and Medina lie inside the country?

 

 

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to Inside Islam using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

 

 

Muslim Like Me

 

 

Sent to you by top blog via Google Reader:

 

 

Muslim Like Me

via Inside Islam by Guest Contributor on 1/5/11

Kim Joseph is the founder of Muslim Like Me and is a contributor to the Huffington Post and Amaany. A native of Ohio and a practicing Muslim since 2004, Joseph currently resides in New York City where she is working on her memoir and an interfaith book series.

Photo by Alex Ben Othman

My heater was so loud I could hardly hear my own thoughts, yet I heard that familiar beep from across the room. I walked a few steps to grab my phone, pulled the email icon down my touch screen and opened the message. My breath caught in my throat. Tears streamed down my face. I sat down. Humility, thankfulness, hope, love, surprise and relief was just a bit of what I was feeling. I had been humbled, yet again. In that message I received notice of my very first financial donation for my creative writing workshop, Muslim Like Me. "Do you doubt your dream now?" I asked myself, as I reached for my prayer carpet, unfolded it and placed it on the hard wood floor facing east, raised my hands in takbeer and entered into prayer to give thanks and praise to The Most High.

Muslim like who? Muslim like me! I am Kim Joseph, the founder and instructor for Muslim Like Me, a community-based organization that aims to create social change by bringing Muslims together in community and creativity. My spiritual path guided me to Islam six years ago, Alhumdulillah. Muslim Like Me is my response to the increasing anti-Islam rhetoric in America and abroad. The unified voice of mainstream media is overflowing with ignorance and fear. I would like to challenge that voice with intimate individual truths in the form of stories, memoirs, and poems. These truths will take form in my forthcoming literary anthology, called "Submissions." With increased funding I would like to build cooperative partnerships with photographers, filmmakers, musicians, and artists, incorporating their expertise into the curriculum. With unlimited funding my target audience would expand nationally and internationally, to anyone who is interested in sponsoring Muslim Like Me in their community.

In the 1960s Sam Cooke sang about the Civil Rights Movement in his song "A Change is Going to Come." Indeed, change has already begun in my modest classroom at The Islamic Cultural Center of New York on the Upper East Side. Jaime, Malikah, Lateisha, Laneisha, Queensheba, Ayesha, Zara, Giovanni, Bushra, Saba, and Fatih have begun to write their stories. Would you like to write yours? Join us at ICCNY on Saturdays from 2-4 pm. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon you.

For more information visit www.muslimlikeme.com

Follow Muslim Like Me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/muslimlikeme

To support Muslim Like Me donate here http://supportmuslimlikeme.eventbrite.com

 

 

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to Inside Islam using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

 

 

Increasing Number of Muslim Converts in UK

 

 

Sent to you by top blog via Google Reader:

 

 

Increasing Number of Muslim Converts in UK

via Inside Islam by Reem on 1/12/11

The most difficult Muslim to understand  in Western countries, I argue, is the convert. Whether in the American context or the European context, there is an underlying assumption that Islam is something foreign and that someone who is American or British would never choose to join the faith. However, a new study called "A Minority Within a Minority" conducted by Faith Matters, an interfaith think-tank in the UK, found that in the last 10 years the number of British converts to Islam nearly doubled, leading some to say that the country is undergoing a process of "Islamification."

Since 2001, the number of converts in the UK has jumped to around 100,000, with approximately 5,000 new converts every year. The study found that the average convert is a 27-year-old white woman and that very few converts exhibited extremists views in their understanding of Islam.

What this study reveals is that  converts to Islam are normal people who feel that there is no conflict between their Muslim identity and British identity–just like many who are born Muslim in Britain. The most recent example of a British convert that has gained a lot of attention is Lauren Booth, Tony Blair's sister-in-law. Moreover, the study emphasizes the diversity of the Muslim community in the UK.

According to Fiyaz Mughal, the director of Faith Matters, the increase in the number of converts could result from the increased attention that Islam receives in the media. Even though the image of Islam is primarily negative,  many want to learn about the faith. Mughal argues that some who study the faith end up converting.

From personal experience, I have noticed that in the years after 9/11 the number of converts has increased in my local mosque. While there are many converts who came to know about the faith through interactions with Muslims, many more actually wanted to understand Islam and through their exploration found that they wanted to convert.  Moreover, from my discussions with converts, they see that their American and Muslim identities are compatible.

Thus, not only is Islam not a "foreign" religion, but many have been drawn to the faith and choose to join despite the negative representations.

Do you think that there has been an increase in conversion to Islam post-9/11? If so, what do you think are the reasons? Do converts demonstrate that you can be both a Muslim and American or European? Please share your thoughts below.

 

 

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to Inside Islam using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

 

 

The Final Book

 

 

Sent to you by top blog via Google Reader:

 

 

The Final Book

via Discover Islam by discover.islam@yahoo.com (Discover Islam) on 9/2/10

Some people reject God because they can find no evidence for Him which satisfies both their hearts and minds simultaneously. Then there are others who accept God on the basis of emotional or irrational reasons which satisfy their hearts, but leave their minds unsure. These two groups of people have never found a satisfying answer to the question of their relationship with God. Then there are yet others who have found the correct path which God intended for us: to accept Him and His message to us using our minds first and foremost, and the heart follows easily and naturally as a consequence.

Read more...

 

 

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to Discover Islam using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

 

 

Authenticity of the Holy Quran

 

 

Sent to you by top blog via Google Reader:

 

 

Authenticity of the Holy Quran

via Discover Islam by discover.islam@yahoo.com (Discover Islam) on 9/2/10

By Maurice Bucaille

Thanks to its undisputed authenticity, the text of the Quran holds a unique place among the books of Revelation, shared neither by the Old nor the New Testament. In the first two sections of this work, a review was made of the alterations undergone by the Old Testament and the Gospels before they were handed down to us in the form we know today. The same is not true for the Quran for the simple reason that it was written down at the time of the Prophet; we shall see how it came to be written, i.e. the process involved.

Read more...

 

 

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to Discover Islam using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

 

 

The Fast: The Nature of Acts of Worship

 

 

Sent to you by top blog via Google Reader:

 

 

The Fast: The Nature of Acts of Worship

via Discover Islam by discover.islam@yahoo.com (Discover Islam) on 8/10/10

God created us so we may worship Him. To help us achieve this purpose, He instilled the worship of Him in our very nature and made it the essence of our humanity, so much so that we can be really human only if we worship Him; otherwise, we live an alienated life. He then taught us, through the medium of human messengers, how best to serve Him.

Worship is essentially a state of the heart, but the relationship between our bodies and our minds is so strong that the state of the one is bound to have an effect on the state of the other.

Read more...

 

 

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to Discover Islam using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites