MONEY TO HEAVEN

Maulid Prophet Muhammad's Birthday

2010-02-25T00:27:00.002-08:00

Maulid (Mawlid) is the birthday celebration of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (s.a.s.) and is celebrated by Muslims as Eid-e Milad. Prophet Muhammad was born Arabia in the city of Mecca on the 12th day of Rabi-ul-Awwal, which was Monday the 20th day of April, 571 A.C. This falls on Saturday May 25, 2002 and fell on June 4th last year (2001). This is also his death anniversary. The occasion is celebrated by remembering the favors bestowed on the ummah (community), the first is the revelation of the Holy Quran with its instructions, the second, the institution of an Everliving Guide who would advise the mu'mins (believers) according to the needs of the time. This is why Ismailis are called Ibn'ul Waqt (children of the time) as they are guided by the Imam of the time, Noor Mowlana Shah Karim Al Hussayni Hazar Imam (salwaat), His Highness the Aga Khan. He is the 49th Imam descended from the Holy Prophet's daughter, Fatima and Hazrat Ali (a.s.). For Shia Muslims, this occasion is of even more import and full of symbolism as this was also his death anniversary and, therefore, it endorses the Hablillah (Rope of Imamat) wherein Prophet Muhammad had chosen Hazrat Ali as his successor at Ghadhir-u Khumm. What I am trying to say is that, this more than a coincidence. Prophet Muhammad's birthday coincided with his physical passing as was ordained by God. Hazrat Ali took over the spiritual reins from him and this chain has continued to the present. In every jomma (period of Imamat) the previous Imam appoints the following Imam and even though the previous Imam passes away physically, which could be a day of mourning, the ummah rejoices at the installation of the new Imam as the Covenant (promise of the Light of Allah) continues.

Regarding this, Mowlana Sultan Mahomed Shah (a.s.) said in one of his sermons:

We (the Imams) change the physical bodies in the world but our Noor (Divine Light) is eternal and comes from the very beginning. You should therefore take it as one Noor. The Noor (Light of Allah) is ever present, only the names are different. The Throne of the Imamat of Mowlana Murtaza Ali (a.s.) continues on and will remain till the Day of Judgment." (source: Ilm, Vol. 3, No. 2 - November 1977 pg 22)

The Eid-e Milad and Eid-e Gadhir are two very important celebrations for Shia Muslims. On this day every year, believers gather to recite special prayers for thanksgiving to Allah for sending Prophet Muhammad as a mercy to all nations, and speeches and lectures are made about the seerat (life) and instructions of the Holy Prophet. Poetry in the form of naats are recited and after the prayers, sweets are distributed and perfume is sprinkled or applied on everyone. The ladies and children gather for the mehndi (henna) application and everyone wears beautiful clothes for the occasion. Children get money or gifts and in East Africa we used to go to a fete, Eid Mela (fun fair) organized on this occasion by community members and we could ride on the swing merry-go round on which as children we had great fun.

In countries with Muslim concentration, the celebrations go on for the first twelve days of the month called Barah Wafah (twelve days before passing) and there are conferences and mehfils (gatherings) everyday.

Our beloved Prophet offers humanity a perfect example in all facets of life. The Holy Quran declares: "Verily, you have in the messenger of Allah, a most beautiful model (Uswa al-Hassanah)." Laqad kana lakum fee rasooli Allahi oswatun hasanatun Quran 33:21

Prophet Muhammad lived among his people and taught them about the belief in one God, ethics in everyday life and the importance of education in leading an exemplary life. In this regard, some of his famous sayings are "Seek knowledge even unto China", "acquire knowledge, for he who acquires it performs an act of piety; he who speaks of knowledge, praises God: he who seeks it, adores God." He also declared: "The ink of the scholar is more precious than the blood of the martyr."

Mowlana Sultan Mahomed Shah stressed this message of Prophet Muhammad and maintained that Islam by its very nature was dynamic and not rigid and spiritual faith should advance with along with material progress. In his Message to the World of Islam. he said:

"Formalism and verbal interpretation of the teachings of the Prophet are in absolute contradiction with his whole life history. We must accept his Divine Message as the channel of our union with the 'Absolute' and the 'Infinite' and once our spiritual faith is firmly established, fearlessly go forward by self sacrifice, by courage and by application to raise the scientific, the economic, the political and the social position of Muslims to a place of equality with Christian Europe and America.

"Our social customs, our daily work, our constant efforts, must be tuned up, must be brought into line with the highest form of possible civilization. At its greatest period Islam was at the head of science, was at the head of knowledge, was in the advance line of political, philosophical and literary thought."

Addressing the Seerat Conference, our beloved Mowlana Hazar Imam advised the Muslim World to make the Prophet's life the beacon light for achieving a truly modern and dynamic Islamic society. He said:

"The Holy Prophet's life gives us every fundamental guideline that we require to resolve the problem as successfully as our human minds and intellects can visualize. His example of integrity, loyalty, honesty, generosity, both of means and of time his solicitude for the poor, the weak and the sick, his steadfastness in friendship, his humility in success, his magnanimity in victory, his simplicity, his wisdom in conceiving new solutions for problems which could not be solved by traditional methods, without affecting the fundamental concepts of Islam, surely, all these are foundations which correctly understood and sincerely interpreted, must enable us to conceive what should be a truly modern and dynamic Islamic society in the years ahead."

His life and achievements are so wonderful and expansive that I cannot cover them in this short article and for this reason, I urge you to peruse the links at the bottom of this page for more material.

The following excerpts have been provided by my good friend, Courtney Kirshner, who encouraged me to get this article up even though I missed the birthday deadline this year. They are taken from Annemarie Schimmel's Mystical Dimensions of Islam:

"As early as the late eleventh century, and generally from the twelfth century on, the veneration of the Prophet assumed a visible form in the celebration of the maulid, his birthday, on 12 Rabi' ul-awwal, the third month of the Muslim lunar year. This day is still celebrated in the Muslim world. The number of poems written for this festive occasion in all Islamic languages is beyond reckoning. From the easter end of the Muslim world to the west the maulid is a wonderful occasion for the pious to show their warm love of the Prophet in songs, poems, and prayers." Page 216

The next material is from Schimmel's book "And Muhammad is His Messenger" it has a whole chapter devoted to this topic!

"It seems that the tendency to celebrate the memory of Muhammad's birthday on a larger and more festive scale emerged first in Egypt during the Fatimid Era (969-1171). This is logical, for the Fatimids claim to be the Prophet's decendants through his daughter Fatima. The Egyptian historian Maqrizi (d.1442) basing his account on Fatimid sources. It was apparently an occasion in which mainly scholars and the religious establishment participated. They listened to sermons, and sweets, particularly honey, the Prophet's favorite, were distributed; the poor received alms." page 145

The earliest Arabic sources, basing their claims on Koranic epithets like sirajun munir, a 'shining lamp,' tell that a light radiated from Amina's womb with the arrival of the newborn Proghet. Hassan ibn Thabit [poet, contemporary of Muhammad who joined him in Medina and eulogized important events in the Muslim community] sings in his dirge for Muhammad that his mother Amina of blessed memory had born him in a happy hour in which there went forth "a light which illuminated the world"

It is not surprising that this spiritual light was soon given material reality in the accounts of the Prophet's birth, as can be seen first in Ibn Sa'd's historical work in the ninth century. Yunus Emre [turkish sunni poet d.1321] sings like numerous poets in his succession in Turkey, Iran, and India:

"The world was all submersed in light
In the night of Muhammad's birth." page 149-150

"The first comprehensive work about the Prophet's birth, as far as one knows, was composed by the Andalusian author Ibn Dihya, who had participated in the festive maulid in Arbela in 1207. Written in prose with a concluding poetical economium , his work has the characteristic title Kitab at-tanwir fi maulid as-siraj al-munir (The Book of Illumination about the Birth of the Luminous Lamp), in which the light-mysticism associated with Muhammad is evident. Two Hanabilites, Ibn al-Jauzi and, a century and half later, Ibn Kathir, devoted treatises to the maulid. Poetical works about this important event were also composed relatively early." page 152

"Ibn al-Jauzi, without doubt a serious, critical theologian of Hanbalite persuasion and not a mystical poet - wrote in his maulid book, which is the first of this kind:

When Muhammad was born, angels proclaimed with high and low voices. Gabriel came with the good tidings, and the Throne trembled. The houris came out of their castles, and fragrance spread. Ridwan [the keeper of the gates of Paradise] was addressed: "Adorn the highest Paradise, remove the curtain from the Palace, send a flock of birds from the birds of Eden to Amina's dwelling place that they may drip a pearl each form their beaks," And when Muhammad was born, Amina saw a light, which illuminated the palaces of Bostra. The angels surrounded her and spread out their wings. The rows of angels, singing praise, descended and filled hill and dale." page 150

"It is also important to remember that Muhammad was born free from all bodily impurities." page 152

"The conviction that a maulud [song of the Prophet's birth] has a blessing power is not peculiar to Turkish Muslims. Its baraka is acknowledged everywhere in the Muslim world...From the Middle Ages onward it was believed that the recitation of the maulud would grant the listeners not only worldly but also heavenly reward." page 255-256

Muslims Profiles: Abu Bakr al-Siddiq

2010-02-06T01:08:00.002-08:00

Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, Prophet Mohammad's (PBUH) exclusive companion and greatest supporter.

He was the first man who believed in Prophet Mohammad(PBUH) and the first one who did so unhesitatingly, also he is the first of the ten who were promised Paradise, and first of the Prophet's Community to enter Paradise.

Alone among the Prophet Mohammad's Companions, Abu Bakr led the Community in prayer in the lifetime of the Prophet. The latter used to call him "The Most Truthful" (al-Siddiq) and "Allah's Freedman from the Fire" (`Attq Allah min al-nar). When the Koraysh tribe confronted the Prophet(PBUH)after the Night Journey, they turned to Abu Bakr and said: "Do you believe what he said, that he went last night to the Hallowed House and came back before morning?" He replied: "If he said it, then I believe him, yes, and I do believe him regarding what is farther than that. I believe the news of heaven he brings, whether in the space of a morning or in that of an evening journey." And that was the reason Abu Bakr was named al-Siddiq: the Very Truthful, the One Who Never Lies.

`Umar Ibn Al Khattab, another one of Prophet Mohammad's companions, said: "Abu Bakr's faith outweighs the faith of the entire Umma (The Muslim Nation)." This is confirmed by the following Hadith:

The Prophet asked:

"Did any of you see anything in his dream?" A man said to the Prophet (PBUH): "O Messenger of Allah, I saw in my dream as if a balance came down from the heaven in which you were weighed against Abu Bakr and outweighed him, then Abu Bakr was weighed against `Umar and outweighed him, then `Umar was weighed against `Uthman and outweighed him, then the balance was raised up." This displeased the Prophet(PBUH) who said: "Successorship of prophethood! Then Allah shall give kingship to whomever He will."

`Umar also said: "The best of this Community after its Prophet is Abu Bakr." `Ali named him and `Umar, the two Sheikhs of Islam of the Community and said: "The best of this Community after its Prophet(PBUH) are Abu Bakr and `Umar," "The most courageous of people is Abu Bakr," and "The greatest in reward among people for the volumes of the Qur'an is Abu Bakr, for he was the first of those who gathered the Qur'an between two covers." He was also the first to name it Mus'haf.

The Prophet confirmed his high rank in many of his sayings, among them when he (PBUH) said:

"Allah gave one of His servants a choice between this world and what He has with Him, and that servant chose what Allah has with Him." Abu Bakr wept profusely and we wondered why he wept, since the Prophet had told of a servant that was given a choice. The Prophet himself was that servant, as Abu Bakr later told us. The Prophet continued: "Among those most dedicated to me in his companionship and property is Abu Bakr. If I were to take an intimate friend other than my Lord, I would take Abu Bakr. But what binds us is the brotherhood of Islam and its love. Let no door [of the Prophet's mosque] remain open except Abu Bakr's."

Allah praised Abu Bakr above the rest of the Prophet's companions by saying: "Those who spent and fought before the victory are not upon a level (with the rest of you)."

Main sources: Al-Nawawi, Tahdhib al-Asma' wa al-Lughat 2:181-182; Abu Nu`aym, Hilya al-Awliya' 1:62-72 #1; al-Dhahabi, Siyar A`lam al-Nubala' 1-2:467-508 #2.

Source: Al Jazeera.com

Muslims Profiles: Ibn Khaldun

2010-02-06T00:59:00.000-08:00

IBN KHALDUN, Wali al-Din 'Abd al-Rahman b. Mohamed b. Mohamed b. Abi Bakr Mohamed b. al-Hassan (732-84/1332-82), one of the most prominent figures of Arab-Muslim culture.

He is universally recognized as the founder and father of Sociology and Sciences of History. He is best known for his famous 'Muqaddimah,' (Prolegomena).

His life is divided into three parts, the first of which (20 years) was occupied by his childhood and education, the second (23 years) by the continuation of his studies and by political adventures, and the third (31 years) by his life as a scholar, teacher and magistrate. The first two periods were spent in the Muslim West and the third was divided between the Maghrib and Egypt.

Khaldun was born in Tunisia in 1332 C.E., where he received his early education and where, still in his teens, he entered the service of the Egyptian ruler Sultan Barquq. His thirst for advanced knowledge and a better academic setting soon made him leave this service and migrate to Fez. This was followed by a long period of unrest marked by contemporary political rivalries affecting his career.

This phase also included a three year refuge in a small village Qalat Ibn Salama in Algeria, which provided him with the opportunity to write Muqaddimah, the first volume of his world history that gave him an immortal place among historians, sociologists and philosophers.

The uncertainty of his career still continued, with Egypt becoming his final abode where he spent his last 24 years. Here he lived a life of fame and respect, marked by his appointment as the Chief Malakite Judge and lecturing at the Al-Azhar University, but people started to envy which resulted in his removal from his high judicial office.

Ibn Khaldun's chief contribution lies in the fields of philosophy, history and sociology. He sought to write a world history preambled by a first volume aimed at an analysis of historical events. This volume, commonly known as 'Muqaddimah' or 'Prolegomena', was based on Ibn Khaldun's unique approach and original contribution and became a masterpiece in literature on philosophy of history and sociology.

By this work, Ibn Khaldun aimed at identifying psychological, economic, environmental and social facts that contribute to the advancement of human civilization and the currents of history. In this context, he analyzed the dynamics of group relationships and showed how group-feelings, al-'Asabiyya, give rise to the ascent of a new civilisation and political power and how, later on, its diffusion into a more general civilization invites the advent of a still new 'Asabiyya in its pristine form. He identified an almost rhythmic repetition of rise and fall in human civilization, and analyzed factors contributing to it.

Unlike most earlier writers interpreting history largely in a political context, Ibn Khaldun's emphasised environmental, sociological, psychological and economic factors governing the apparent events. This revolutionized the science of history and also laid the foundation of Umraniyat (Sociology).

Apart from the 'Muqaddimah' that became an important independent book even during the lifetime of the author, the other volumes of his world history Kitab al-I'bar deal with the history of Arabs, contemporary Muslim rulers, contemporary European rulers, ancient history of Arabs, Jews, Greeks, Romans, Persians, etc., Islamic History, Egyptian history and North-African history, especially that of Berbers and tribes living in the adjoining areas. The last volume deals largely with the events of his own life and is known as Al-Tasrif. This initiated a new analytical tradition in the art of writing autobiography.

Ibn Khaldun's great contributions in history, philosophy of history, sociology, political science and education have remained dominant and significant ever since his life. His books have been translated into many languages, both in the East and the West, and have inspired other figures to develop these sciences and add to them.

Source: ummah.net

Muslims Profiles: Ibn Batuta

2010-02-06T00:52:00.001-08:00

He is Abu Abdullah Mohamed, known as IBN BATUTA, the greatest of Muslim travelers, was born at Tangier in 1304. He entered on his travels at twenty-one (1325) and closed them in 1355. No other medieval traveler is known to have journeyed so extensively like Ibn Batuta did.

In an attempt to rediscover the contributions of Muslims in fields such as science, medicine, engineering, architecture and astronomy, we will try to shed more light on the life and travellings of Ibn Batuta, the great Muslim traveler. This will encourage contemporary young Muslims to strive in these fields and not think that major success is beyond their reach.

Ibn Batuta, one of the most remarkable travelers of all time, visited China sixty years after Marco Polo and in fact traveled 75,000 miles, much more than Marco Polo. Yet Batuta is never mentioned in geography books used in Muslim countries, let alone those in the West. Ibn Batuta's contribution in geography is unquestionably as great as that of any geographer yet the accounts of his travels are not easily accessible except to the specialist. The omission of reference to Ibn Batuta's contribution in geography books is not an isolated example. All great Muslims whether historians, doctors, astronomers, scientists or chemists suffer the same fate.

The narratives of Ibn Batuta cover various aspects of life in Bengal. He provides a geographical account of some important places he visited, such as Sudkawan, 'a vast city on the coast of the great sea', Habank 'one of the most glorious and beautiful cities', Sunarkawan, 'a very inaccessible city'. He has given accounts of some rivers he traversed, such as the Ganga (Padma), Jun (Jumna) and Nahr ul-azraq (Surma). The traveller was enamored of the picturesque landscape, the greenery and beautiful fields, water-wheels, gardens and villages on both banks of the Surma, and comments that passing through villages and orchards was like going through a mart.

Ibn-Batuta provides some information on the political history beginning from the time of Sultan Nasiruddin Mahmud till the assumption of sovereignty by Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah and Alaauddin Ali shah. His narratives include information on the life of Sheikh Shah Jalal (R), influence of sufi saints on both Muslims and non-Muslims, existence of slavery in Bengal, practice of magic and witchcraft by the people of Kamarupa, abundance of food grains and cheap prices of commodities of daily use. He refers to the brisk internal and external trade of this region.

Ibn Batuta noticed marketplaces on the banks of the rivers and innumerable boats carrying men and merchandise. He has mentioned the practice of beating drums from every boat on the river as a signal for identifying inland merchant boats and for detecting stranger boats as a safeguard against piracy. He also mentions the sea-borne trade-links of Sonargaon with China, Java and Maldives. In view of the abundance of the necessaries of life and its soothing scenery on one hand, and the wet atmosphere and oppressive vapour bath on the other, the traveller justifies the attitude of foreigners who call Bangladesh a dozakh-i-pur az n'imat, which means an inferno full of gifts.

Ibn Batuta began by traversing the coast of the Mediterranean from Tangier to Alexandria, finding time to marry two wives on the road. He stayed in Cairo for a while, and an unsuccessful attempt to reach Mecca from Aidhab on the west coast of the Red Sea, he visited Palestine, Aleppo and Damascus. He then made the pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, traveling thence to Basra, and across the mountains of Khuzestan to Isfahan, thence to Shiraz and back to Kufa and Baghdad. After an excursion to Mosul and Diarbekr, he made the Hajj a second time, and stayed in Mecca for three years.

Afterwards Ibn Batuta sailed down the Red Sea to Aden (then a place of great trade). Then he continued his journey down the African coast, visiting Mombassa and Quiloa (Kilwa) together with other places. Returning north he passed by the chief cities of Oman to New Ormuz (Hurmuz), which had about 15 years, before, c. 1315, been transferred to its famous island-site from the mainland (Old Ormuz). After visiting other parts of the gulf he crossed the breadth of Arabia to Mecca, making the Hajj (Pilgrimage) for the third time. Crossing the Red Sea, he made a journey of great hardship to Syene and thence along the Nile to Cairo. After this, traveling through Syria, he made a circuit among the petty Turkish states into which Asia Minor was divided after the fall of the kingdom of Rum (Iconium).

He now crossed the Black Sea to Kaffa. His next stop was Kipchak (the Mongol khanate of Russia), and joined the camp of the reigning khan Mohamed Uzbeg, from whom the great and heterogeneous Uzbeg race is perhaps named.

Among other places he visited was Boighar, he witnessed the shortness of the summer night, and desired to continue his travels north into the band of Darkness (in the extreme north of Russia).

Returning to the court of Uzbeg, at Sarai on the Volga, he crossed the steppes to Khwarizm and Bukhara; thence through Khurasan and Kabul, and over the Hindu Kush (to which he gives that name, its first occurrence).

Ibn Batuta was the only medieval traveler who is known to have visited the lands of every Muslim ruler of his time. The mere extent of his travels is estimated at no less than 75,000 miles, a figure which is not likely to have been surpassed before the age of steam.

Source: 1911encyclopedia.org

Muslims Profiles: Ibn Sina

2010-02-06T00:47:00.001-08:00

Ibn Sina, known as the 'doctor of doctors', was born in 370/980 in Afshana, his mother's home, near Bukhara.

His native language was Persian. His father, an official of the Samanid administration, had him very carefully educated at Bukhara. Ibn Sina is known in the West as Avicenna. He displayed exceptional intellectual prowess as a child and at the age of ten was already proficient in the Qur'an and the Arabic classics. During the next six years he devoted himself to Muslim Jurisprudence, Philosophy and Natural Science and studied Logic, Euclid, and the Almeagest. His intellectual independence was served by an extraordinary intelligence and memory, which allowed him to surpass his teachers at the age of fourteen.

He then shifted his attention to Medicine at the age of 17 years and found it, as described by him, "not difficult". He did, however, find difficulty in understanding Aristotle's Metaphysics, which he grasped only with the help of al-Farabi's commentary. Having cured the prince of khurasan of a severe illness, he was allowed to make use of the splendid library of the Samanid princes. At the age of eighteen he had mastered all the then known sciences. His subsequent progress was due only to his personal judgment.

He became a reputable physician at the age of 18 and was summoned to attend the Samani ruler Nuh ibn Mansur (reigned 976-997 C.E.), who, in gratitude for Ibn Sina's services, allowed him to use the royal library, and there he found as many rare and unique books as he wanted. His training through contact with life was at least equal to his development in intellectual speculation. At the age of twenty-one he wrote his first philosophical book.

The death of his father forced him to enter the administration in order to earn his living. His judgment was swiftly appreciated. Having consulted him on medical matters, the princes had recourse to him also in matters of politics. He was a minister several times, his advice being always listened to and appreciated; but people started to envy him, and he was sometimes persecuted by his enemies and sometimes coveted by princes opposing those to whom he wished to remain loyal. He took flight and was obliged to hide on several occasions, earning his living by medical consultations.

He then moved to Ray, near modern Teheran and established a busy medical practice. When Ray was besieged, Ibn Sina fled to Hamadan where he cured Prince Shamsud-Dawala of colic and was made Prime Minister. A mutiny of soldiers against him caused his dismissal and imprisonment, but subsequently the Prince, being again attacked by the colic, summoned him back, apologized and reinstated him! His life at this time was very tiring: during the day he was busy with the Prince's services, while a great deal of the night was passed in lecturing and dictating notes for his books. Students would gather in his house and read parts of his two great books.

Following the death of the prince, Ibn Sina fled to Isfahan after a few brushes with the law, including a period in prison. He spent his final years in the services of the ruler of the city, Ala al-Daula whom he advised on scientific and literary matters and accompanied on military campaigns.

His friends advised him to slow down and take life in moderation, but this wasn't his character and so he rejected their advice. "I prefer a short life with width to a narrow one with length", he used to say.

Al-Qifti states that Ibn Sina completed 21 major and 24 minor works on philosophy, medicine, theology, geometry, astronomy and the like. Another source (Brockelmann) attributes 99 books to Ibn Sina comprising 16 on medicine, 68 on theology and metaphysics 11 on astronomy and four on verse. Most of these were in Arabic; but in his native Persian he wrote a large manual on philosophical science entitled Danish-naama-i-Alai and a small treatise on the pulse.

Among Ibn Sina's scientific works, the leading two are the Kitab al-Shifa (Book of Healing), a philosophical encyclopaedia based upon Aristotelian traditions and the al-Qanun al-Tibb which represents the final categorisation of Greco-Arabian thoughts on Medicine.

Of Ibn Sina's 16 medical works, eight are versified treatises on such matter as the 25 signs indicating the fatal termination of illnesses, hygienic precepts, proved remedies, anatomical memoranda etc. Amongst his prose works, after the great Qanun, the treatise on cardiac drugs, of which the British Museum possesses several fine manuscripts, is probably the most important, but it remains unpublished.

The most famous and most important of Ibn Sina's works is the Qanun. It recognizes the contagious nature of phthisis (tuberculosis of the lung) and the spread of disease by water and soil. It gives a scientific diagnosis of ankylostomiasis and attributes the condition to an intestinal worm. The Qanun points out the importance of dietetics and how far the environment can affect the health and the surgical use of oral anaesthetics. Ibn Sina advised surgeons to treat cancer in its earliest stages, ensuring the removal of all the diseased tissue. The Qanun's materia medica considers some 760 drugs, explaining their application and effectiveness. He recommended the testing of a new drug on animals and humans prior to general use.

Ibn Sina stressed the close relationship between emotions and the physical condition and felt that music had a definite physical and psychological effect on patients.

The Arabic text of the Qanun was published in Rome in 1593 and was therefore one of the earliest Arabic books to see print. It was translated into Latin by Gerard of Cremona in the 12th century. This 'Canon', with its encyclopedic content, its systematic arrangement and philosophical plan, soon worked its way into a position of pre-eminence in the medical literature of the age displacing the works of Galen, al-Razi and al-Majusi, and becoming the text book for medical education in the schools of Europe.

In the museum at Bukhara, there are displays showing many of Ibn Sina's writings, surgical instruments from the period and paintings of patients undergoing treatment. An impressive monument to the life and works of the man who became known as the 'doctor of doctors' still stands outside Bukhara museum and his portrait hangs in the Hall of the Faculty of Medicine in the University of Paris.

Ibn Sina got imprisoned, escaped, lived for fourteen years in relative peace at the court of Isfahan and died at Hamadan, during an expedition of the prince 'Ala' al-Dawla, in 428/1037. He was buried there; and a monument was erected to him to celebrate the (hidhri) millenary of his birth.

Source: ummah.net

Muslims Profiles: Aly Ibn Abi Taleb

2010-02-06T00:39:00.000-08:00

Aly Ibn Abi Talib (May Allah be pleased with him) was the cousin of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) as well as his son-in-law, as he was the husband of Al Sayeda Fatima the daughter Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).

He embraced Islam at the age of nine, to be the first boy to accept Islam.

Once Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) told him:

"You [Aly] are my brother in this world and the next."

How Did Aly Embrace Islam?

One night Aly saw the Prophet (PBUH) and his wife Al Sayeda Khadijah bowing and prostrating. He asked Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) about what were they doing. The Prophet told him that they were praying to Allah The Most High and that he also should accept Islam and start praying. Aly said that he would first like to ask his father about it. Aly didn't sleep that night, and in the morning he went to the Prophet (PBUH) and said, "When God created me He did not consult my father, so why should I consult my father in order to serve God?" and he testified that there is no god but Allah, and that Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) is the Messenger of Allah (accepted Islam).

When the Divine command came, "And warn thy nearest relatives" [The Holy Qur'an 26:214], Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) invited his relatives for a meal. After they finished, he addressed them and asked, "Who will join me in the cause of God?" At first nobody answered, and then Aly Ibn Abi Taleb stood up saying "I am the youngest of all present here, "My eyes trouble me because they are sore and my legs are thin and weak, but I shall join you and help you in whatever way I can." The rest started laughing.

During the difficult wars in Mecca, Aly stood by these words and faced all the hardships to which the Muslims were subjected. He slept in the bed of the Prophet (PBUH) when the Quraysh tribe plotted to murder Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). He was the one who Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) trusted, although he was young at that time.

Aly has a special place in Prophet Mohammad's heart, to the extent that he called Aly by many fond names. Once the Prophet knew that Aly and his daughter Fatima had a fight, he went looking for Aly and found him sleeping in the dust. He brushed off Aly's clothes and said fondly, "Wake up, Abu Turab (Father of Dust)."

Ali was known for his bravery. He took participated in most of the battles that were waged against Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and the Islam in general. It is said that in the Battle of Uhud Aly (May Allah be pleased with him) received more than sixteen wounds. The Prophet gave him the title of 'Asadullah' ('Lion of God').

Aly's Knowledge:

Aly's modesty, austerity, piety, deep knowledge of the Qur'an and his wisdom gave him great distinction among the Prophet's Companions. Abu Bakr, Omar and Othman used to consult him frequently during their caliphates. Many times Omar had made him his vice-regent at Madinah when he was away.

Aly was also a great scholar of Arabic literature and pioneered in the field of grammar and rhetoric. His speeches, sermons and letters stood as models of literary expression for generations afterward. Many of his wise and epigrammatic sayings have been preserved. Moreover Aly had a rich and versatile personality. In spite of his talents and achievements, he was a modest and humble man. Once during his caliphate when he was going about the marketplace, a man stood up in respect and followed him. "Do not do it," said Aly. "Such manners are a temptation for a ruler and a disgrace for the ruled." He and his wife Fatima (Daughter of Prophet Mohammad 'PBUH') lived extremely simple and austere life, yet they never asked for help. Aly's plain, austere style of living did not change even when he was ruler over a vast domain.

His Migration:

Ibn Is'haq said:

"And (Aly) was the last of the Muslims to arrive in Madinah because the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) ordered Aly to stay behind and sleep in his bed (in order to deceive the pagan Arabs of the Quraysh and delay their pursuit of the Prophet (PBUH).

The Virtues of Aly:

The companion Sahl ibn Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) said:

"On the day of The Battle of Khaibar, Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said:

"Tomorrow I will give this flag to a man through whose hands Allah will give us victory. He loves Allah and His Messenger, and he is loved by Allah and His Messenger."

People remained that night wondering who is going to take(the flag. In the morning the people went to Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and every one of them was hopeful to receive (the flag).

Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said: "Where is Aly Ibn Abi Talib?" It was said: "O Messenger of Allah he is suffering from eye trouble." He said: "Send for him." Aly was brought and Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) spat in his eye and invoked good upon him and Aly was cured. Then the Prophet (PBUH) gave him the flag. Aly said: "I will fight them until they become like us."

Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said:

"Proceed and do not hurry. When you enter their territory, call them to embrace Islam and inform them of Allah's rights which they should observe, for by Allah, even if a single man is led on the right path (of Islam) by Allah through you, then that will be better for you than the nice red camels."

Aly's Assassination:

A fanatical group called Kharijites claimed that neither Aly, the Caliph, nor Mu'awiya, the ruler of Syria, nor Amr bin al-Aas, the ruler of Egypt, were worthy of rule. In fact, they went so far as to say that the true caliphate came to an end with Omar and that Muslims should live without any ruler over them except God. They vowed to kill all three rulers, and assassins were dispatched in three directions.

The assassins who were deputed to kill Mu'awiya and Amr did not succeed and were captured and executed, but Ibn-e-Muljim, the assassin who was commissioned to kill Aly Ibn Abi Taleb, succeeded in his mission. One morning while Aly was praying in a mosque, Ibn-e-Muljim stabbed him with a poisoned knife. On the 20th of Ramadan, 40 A.H. died the last of the Rightly Guided Caliphs of Islam, Aly Ibn Abi Taleb. May God Most High be pleased with him and grant to him His eternal reward.

Source: Muslim Students Association

Muslims Profiles: Uthman Ibn Affan

2010-02-06T00:36:00.000-08:00

Uthman Ibn Affan was born seven years after Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). He comes from the Umayyad branch of the Quraysh tribe.

He learned to read and write at an early age, and then became a successful well-known merchant.

Uthman had been famous for his honesty and frankness even before embracing Islam. He and Abu Bakr (another companion of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) were close friends, and it was through Abu Bakr's help that Uthman embraced Islam at the age of fourteen. Uthman was the fourth person to enter into Islam.

Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said about Uthman:

"Every Prophet has an assistant, and my assistant will be Othman."

Some years later Uthman married Prophet Mohammad's daughter, Al Sayeda Ruqayya may Allah be pleased with her. In spite of his wealth and position, never stopped plotting against him as a result of embracing Islam and he was forced to immigrate to Ethiopia. Some time later he returned to Mecca but soon migrated to Medina with the other Muslims.

In Medina his business again began to flourish and he regained his former prosperity. Uthman was also well-known for his limitless generosity. On various occasions he spent a great portion of his wealth for the welfare of the Muslims, for charity and for providing the Muslim armies with needed equipments. That is why he came to be known as 'Ghani' meaning 'Generous.'

Just before the Battle of Badr Uthman's wife, Ruqayya, got seriously ill, and he was excused by the Prophet (PBUH) from participating in the battle. The illness of Ruqayya proved fatal and she died, Othman married Al Sayeda Um Kulthoom (May Allah be pleased with her), another daughter of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). Because he had the high privilege of having two daughters of the Prophet as wives Othman was known as 'The One with the Two Lights.' When Um Kulthoom died Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said:

"If I had third daughter I would wed you to her (also)."

Uthman Ibn Affan was an honest, mild, generous and very kindly man, well-known especially for his modesty and his piety. He often spent part of the night in prayer, fasted every second or third day, performed hajj every year, and supported and cared for the needy of the whole Islamic community. In spite of his wealth, he lived a very simple life and slept on bare sand in the courtyard of Prophet Mohammad's mosque. He was one of the ten companions that were given the good tidings of paradise during their lifetimes.

The Virtues of Othman:

The Companion Abu Musa Al-Ash'aree narrated:

"I performed ablution in my house and then went out and said: 'Today I shall stick to the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) all this day of mine (in his service).' I went to the Mosque and asked about the Prophet (PBUH). They said: 'He has gone in this direction.' So I followed his way, asking about him till he entered a place called The Well of Aris. I sat at its gate made of date-palm leaves till the Prophet (PBUH) performed ablution. Then I went up to him and saw him sitting at the well of Aris at the middle of its edge with his legs uncovered, hanging in the well. I greeted him, went back, and sat at the gate. I said: 'Today I will be the gatekeeper of the Prophet (PBUH).'

Abu Bakr came and pushed the gate. I asked: 'Who is it?' He said: 'Abu Bakr.' I told him to wait, and then I went in and said: 'O Messenger of Allah! Abu Bakr asks permission to enter.' He said: 'Admit him and give him the glad tidings that he will be in Paradise.' So I went out and said to Abu Bakr: 'Come in, and the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) gives you the glad tidings that you will be in Paradise.' Abu Bakr entered and sat on the right side of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) on the built edge of the well as the Prophet (PBUH) did and uncovered his legs and he praised Allah.

I returned and sat (at the gate). I had left my brother performing ablution and he intended to follow me. So I said to myself: 'If Allah wants good for (my brother) He will bring him here.'

Suddenly somebody moved the door. I asked: 'Who is it?' He said: ' Umar ibn Al-Khattab.' The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: 'Admit him and give him the glad tidings that he will be in Paradise.' So I did, and he (Umar) entered and sat beside the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) on the built edge of the well on the left side and hung his legs in the well.

I returned (to the gate) and said (to myself): 'If Allah wants good for (my brother), He will bring him here.' Somebody came and moved the door. I asked: 'Who is it?' He replied: ' Uthman Ibn Affan.' I asked him to wait and informed the Prophet (PBUH). He said: 'Admit him and give him the glad tidings of entering Paradise after a calamity that will befall him.' So I went to him and said: 'Come in. The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) gives you the glad tidings of entering Paradise after a calamity that will befall you.' Uthman then came in and found that the built edge of the well was occupied, so he sat opposite to the Prophet (PBUH) on the other side."

The Companion Anas ibn Malik (May Allah be pleased with him) said:

The Prophet (PBUH) Once climbed mount Uhud with Abu Bakr, Omar and Othman. The mountain shook with them. The Prophet (PBUH) said (to the mountain):

"Be firm O Uhud! For on you there are no more than a Prophet and a Siddeeq and two martyrs."

Uthman (May Allah be pleased with him) provided two hundred camels for the impoverished army of the Muslims complete with saddle blankets and reins. Moreover he distributed thousands of dinars (currency at that time) for the welfare of Islam.

Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said:

"O Uthman! Allah has forgiven you your previous sins as well as your future sins, what you have hidden, as well as what you have made public and whatever is until the Day of Judgment."

Uthman bought the land adjacent to Prophet Mohammad's mosque in order to expand the mosque of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH).

The son of Omar (May Allah be pleased with him) said:

"The mosque during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) was built of adobes, its roof of the leaves of date-palms and its pillars of the stems of date-palms. Abu Bakr did not alter it. Umar expanded it on the same pattern as it was in the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) by using adobes leaves of date-palms, and changing the pillars into wooden ones. Uthman changed it by expanding it to a great extent and built its walls with engraved stones and lime and made its pillars of engraved stones and its roof of teak wood."

Aicha (May Allah be pleased with her) said:

"The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) was reclining in his house with his legs uncovered. Abu Bakr asked permission to enter and he permitted him to enter while he was in that state and they began talking. Then Omar asked permission to enter and he permitted him to enter while he was in the same state and they began talking. Then Uthman asked permission to enter and the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) sat up and adjusted his clothes and then he (Uthman) entered and they began talking. When they departed, I (Aicha) said: "(When) Abu Bakr and Umar entered you did not become enlivened and you did not (change your) state, (but) when Uthman entered, you sat up and adjusted your clothing." The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) replied: "Should I not be bashful in front of one who the angels are bashful in front of?"

Uthman's Caliphate:

During Uthman's rule the characteristics of Abu Bakr's and Omar's caliphates - impartial justice for all, mild and humane policies, striving in the path of God, and the expansion of Islam - continued. During Uthman's rule the Muslim kingdom extended in the west to Morocco, in the east to Afghanistan, and in the north to Armenia and Azerbaijan. During his caliphate a navy was organized, administrative divisions of the state were revised, and many public projects were expanded and completed.

Uthman ruled for twelve years. The first six years Muslims enjoyed internal peace and tranquility, but during the second half of his caliphate a rebellion arose. The Jews and the Magians, taking advantage of dissatisfaction among the people, began plotting against Uthman.

It may seem surprising that a ruler of such vast territories, whose armies were matchless, was unable to deal with these rebels. If Othman had wished, the rebellion could have been crushed at the very moment it began. But he was reluctant to be the first to shed the blood of Muslims, however rebellious they might be. He preferred to solve it in a peaceful way and tried to persuade them with kindness and generosity. He well remembered hearing the Prophet (peace be on him) say:

"Once the sword is unsheathed among my followers, it will not be sheathed until the Last Day."

The rebels demanded that he resign and some of the Companions advised him to do so. He would gladly have followed this course of action, but again he was bound by the promise he had given to Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). "Perhaps God will clothe you with a shirt, Uthman" the Prophet (PBUH) had told him once, "and if the people want you to take it off, do not take it off for them." Uthman said to a well-wisher on a day when his house was surrounded by the rebels, "God's Messenger made a covenant with me and I shall show endurance in adhering to it."

Uthman's Assassination:

After a long siege, the rebels broke into Uthman's house and murdered him. When the first assassin's sword struck Othman, he was reciting the verse,

"So if they believe in what you believe, then they would be guided, but if they turn away the are averse to the Truth, and God is sufficient to deal with them, He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing" Qur'an (2:137)

Uthman died on the afternoon of Friday, 17 Zul Hijja, 35 A.H. / June 656 A.C. He was eighty-four years old.

Source: Muslim Students Association

Muslims Profiles: Umar Ibn Al Khattab

2010-02-06T00:13:00.000-08:00

Among his names; Ibn Nufayl Ibn `Abd al-`Uzza Ibn Rayyah, Shaykh Al-Islam, Amir al-Mu'minin, Abu Hafs al-Qurashi al-`Adawi A Farouk.

Umar Ibn Al Khattab was described as fair-skinned with some reddishness, tall with a large build, fast-paced, and a skilled fighter and horseman. He embraced Islam after having fought it, in the year 6 of the Prophethood, at age twenty-seven. This was the result of the Prophet Mohammad's explicit supplication:
"O Allah! Strengthen Islam with `Umar Ibn Al-Khattab."

In his time Islam reached Egypt, Syria, Sijistan, Persia, and other regions. He died a martyr at the age of sixty-six, stabbed in the back while praying, by a Sabean or Zoroastrian slave.

`Umar al-Faruq was second only to Abu Bakr al-Siddiq in closeness to Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).

Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said: "I have two ministers from the inhabitants of the heaven and two ministers from the inhabitants of the earth. The former are Jibreel and Mika'il, and the latter are Abu Bakr and `Umar." He said of the latter: "These two are [my] hearing and eyesight" and instructed his Companions: "Follow those that come after me: Abu Bakr and `Umar."

Umar was given the gift of true inspiration. Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said:

"Allah has engraved truth on the tongue of `Umar and his heart" and "If there were a Prophet after me verily it would be `Umar."

Moreover, Umar Ibn AL Khattab had the unique distinction of having his views confirmed by the revelation in the Holy Qur'an: He said things which were confirmed by subsequent revelations. Examples for that:

"I said to Prophet Mohammad: "O Messenger of Allah! Why do we not pray behind Ibrahim's Station?" Whereupon was revealed the verse: ". . . Take as your place of worship the place where Ibrahim stood (to pray). . ." (2:125); I said: "O Messenger of Allah! You should order your wives to cover because both the chaste and the wicked go in to see them," whereupon was revealed the verse: "... And when you ask of them (the wives of the Prophet) anything, ask it of them from behind a curtain. . ." (33:53) Then the Prophet's wives banded together in their jealousy over him, so I said to them: If he divorced you, God will give him better wives that you whereupon was revealed this verse "It may happen that his Lord, if he divorce you, will give him instead wives better than you, [submissive (to Allah), believing, pious, penitent, inclined to fasting, widows and maids]."(66:5)

He was distinguished in his power of separating truth from falsehood and Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) conferred on him the title of Al Farouk (the separator between what's true and what's false), saying:

"In truth, the devil certainly parts ways with Umar."

Umar memorized Surrha Al-Baqara (1) in twelve years, and when he had learned it completely he slaughtered a camel. Imam Malik stated that on Umar's suggestion the words "I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah" were added to the adh'n (the call for prayer), and likewise the words "Prayer is better than Sleep" to the adh'n for the dawn prayer. However, the more correct report is that it is Belal who first inserted the latter formula in the call to the dawn prayer and Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) retained it.

Umar Ibn Al-Khattab was the first Muslim ruler to establish a Public Treasury; the first Muslim ruler to levy Al Ushr, the Customs or Import Duty. It was levied on the goods of the traders of other countries who chose to trade in the Muslim dominions, at up to 10% of the goods imported and on a reciprocal basis. `Ushr was levied in a way to avoid hardships, and only on merchandise meant for sale, not goods imported for consumption or for personal use.

Also Umar was the first Muslim ruler to organize a census; the first Muslim ruler to strike coins; the first Muslim ruler to organize a system of canals for irrigation; and the first Muslim ruler to formally organize provinces, cities, and districts.

Moreover, Umar established the system of guest-houses and rest-houses on major routes to and from major cities. He established schools throughout the land and allocated liberal salaries for teachers. He was the first to ban temporary marriage (mut`a marriage), according to Prophet Mohammad's earlier prohibition. Also Umar was the first Muslim ruler to place the law of inheritance on a firm basis. He was the first to establish trusts, and the first ruler in history to separate the judiciary from the executive.

He took pains to provide effective and speedy justice for the people. He set up an effective system of judicial administration under which justice was administered according to the principles of Islam. Judges were appointed at all administrative levels for the administration of justice and were chosen for their honesty and knowledge of Islamic law. High salaries were paid to them and they were appointed from among the wealthy and those of high social standing, to prevent being influenced by the social position of any litigants. The judges were not allowed to engage in trade.

From time to time, Umar used to issue edicts laying down the principles for the administration of justice. One of his edicts read:

"Glory to Allah! Verily Justice is an important obligation to Allah and to man. You have been charged with this responsibility. Discharge this responsibility so that you may win the approbation of Allah and the good will of the people. Treat the people equally in your presence, and in your decisions, so that the weak despair not of justice and the high-placed harbor no hope of favoritism. The onus of proof lies on the plaintiff, while the party who denies must do so on oath. Compromise is permissible, provided that it does not turn the unlawful into something lawful, and the lawful into something unlawful. Let nothing prevent you from changing your previous decision if after consideration you feel that the previous decision was incorrect. When you are in doubt about a question and find nothing concerning it in the Qur'an or the Sunnah of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), ponder the question over and over again. Ponder over the precedents and analogous cases, and then decide by analogy. A term should be fixed for the person who wants to produce witnesses. If he proves his case, discharge for him his right. Otherwise the suit should be dismissed. All Muslims are trustworthy, except those who have been punished with flogging, those who have borne false witness, or those of doubtful integrity."

One day Abu Musa Al-Ash`ari, the governor of Basra at the time, sent a letter to Umar Ibn Al Khattab complaining that the ordinances, instructions, and that letters from the Caliph were undated and therefore gave rise to problems linked to the sequence of their implementation.

Because of this and other similar problems of undatedness, Umar convened an assembly of scholars and advisors to consider the question of calendar reforms. The deliberations of this assembly resulted in the combined opinion that Muslims should have a calendar of their own. The point that was next considered was from when should the new Muslim calendar era begin.

Some suggested that the era should begin from the birth of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), while others suggested that it should begin from the time of his death. `Ali suggested that the era should begin from the date the Muslims migrated from Mekkah to Al Madinah, and this was agreed upon.

The next question considered was the month from which the new era should start. Some suggested that it should start from the month of Rabi` al-Awwal, some from Rajab, others from Ramadan, others from Dhu al-Hijja. `Uthman suggested that the new era should start from the month of Muharram because that was the first month in the Arabic calendar at that time. This was agreed upon. Since the Migration had taken place in the month of Rabi` al-Awwal, two months and eight days after the first of Muharram that year, the date was pushed back by two months and eight days, and the new Hijri calendar began with the first day of Muharram in the year of the Migration rather than from the actual date of the Migration.

`Abd Allah Ibn `Isa Ibn Abi Layla related: "There were two dark lines in `Umar's face marked by tears." Al-Hasan al-Basri and Hisham ibn al-Hasan narrated that `Umar sometimes lost consciousness after reciting a verse from the Qur'an, whereupon he would be taken ill and visited for days. Among `Umar's sayings:

"O Allah! Grant me to die a martyr, and make my death be in your Prophet's country."

"Take account of yourselves before your are brought to account."

Jabir narrated that he heard `Umar Ibn Al-Khattab say on the pulpit when he married Umm Kulthum, the daughter of `Ali and Fatima: "Do not disparage me [for marrying a young girl], for I heard the Prophet say: "On the Judgment Day every means will be cut off and every lineage severed except my lineage." He desired to place himself in the Prophet's lineage through this marriage due to the precedence of Ahl al-Bayt in the Prophet's intercession. Umm Kulthum bore him two children, Zayd and Ruqayya.

From `Ubayd Allah ibn `Umar ibn Hafs: `Umar was see carrying a slaughtered animal on his back. He was asked why, and he replied: "I was infatuated with myself and wanted to humble myself."

As `Umar's head lay in Ibn `Umar's lap after being stabbed he said to him: "Lay my cheek on the ground." Then he said: "Woe to me, my mother's woe to me if my Lord does not grant me mercy!" The next morning Al-Miswar woke him for the dawn prayer. `Umar said: "Yes, and there is no part in Islam for whoever leaves prayer." He prayed bleeding from his wounds.

Source: islamfortoday.com

Muslims Profiles: Imam Al Bukhari (194 - 265), Part I

2010-02-06T00:08:00.000-08:00

Imam al-Bukhari is one of the most eminent of those pious people who have gave endless bliss upon the Muslim Nation of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). This is made manifest in the book of Ahadith an-Nabawi that Imam Al Bukhari has compiled, commonly known as Sahih al-Bukhari. It is universally acknowledged as the most authentic book after the Holy Qur'an. So long as there is one Muslim left on the Earth, the blessings of Imam Bukhari will have a place in his or her Iman and Islam. Let us briefly examine below a short survey of his life and works.

His Early Years

Imam al-muhaddithin Hadrat Imam Abu `Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari was born on the 13th of the Islamic month of Shawwal, 194AH, in the famous city of Bukhara, of the land "beyond the canal" - present day Uzbekistan -. The father of Imam Bukhari, Isma`il ibn Ibrahim ibn Mughirah al-Ja`fi, was a great muhaddith and ascetic from whom he inherited his characteristics of literary zeal and excellence. During his childhood his father died and his mother took on the entire responsibility of bringing him up. Imam Bukhari became blind at a young age. He had recourse to many famous and skilled doctors of his time but their treatments made no difference. His mother was a pious worshipper and a righteous woman. She cried out for help in the court of Allah the Almighty, for her child and begged for the restoration of his eyesight. At last, "the river of mercy flowed over her," and Almighty Allah accepted her invocation. One night, she visited Ibrahim `alayhis-salim in a dream and was told, "Allah has restored the sight of your son because of your intense and beautiful invocations." In the morning, as Imam Bukhari got up from his bed, glimmers of light reached out into his eyes.

Primary Education and Interest in Hadith

When Imam Bukhari reached the age of ten and after acquiring his elementary education, Almighty Allah inserted the interest in the science of Ahadith into his heart and he obtained admission in the Hadith class of Bukhara. He obtained his educations after vigorous study. A year later, he had such a good retention of the text and chains of transmission of Ahadith, that sometimes teachers got their corrections from him. Imam Bukhari had been acquiring religious education with competence and swiftness and at the tender age of sixteen, he had completely learnt by heart the books of `Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak, al-Waki` and other learned companions of al-Imam Abu Hanifa (may Allah be pleased with him).

The Visit to the Haramayn and the Commencement of His Ahadith Compilation

At the age of eighteen, He visited Mekkah accompanied by his mother and elder brother, Ahmad ibn Isma`il. After performing the pilgrimage, his brother returned with the company of his mother, but Imam Bukhari stayed there for further education. Meanwhile, he wrote a book called, Qadaya as-Sahabah wat-Tabi`in. After this he went to Madinah al-munawwarah to compile the famous book of Asma` ar-rijal (Names of men of transmission) called, Tarikh al-kabir, while sitting by the tomb of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) during moonlight hours. Immediately after completing this, a series of imitations had begun. Mohammad ibn Yusaf al-Furyabi said that at the time he had copied Tarikh al-kabir, Imam Bukhara did not yet have any facial hair.

Imam Bukhari traveled to cities far and wide for the transmission of Ahadith and had gained immense knowledge while sitting far from his own country for several years. He stated himself, "To seek knowledge, I travelled to Egypt and Syria twice, Basra four times, spent six years at the Hijaz and left for Kufa and Baghdad on so many occasions accompanied by Muhaddithin."

His Remarkable Memory

Imam Bukhari was a man with a very strong memory. When we look at his memory, it is as if his body from head to toe stored it. Seeing his memory, the memory of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased) is rekindled in the hearts of Muslims. Hashid ibn Isma`il states that in his childhood: "Imam Bukhari used to go with us to the Scholars of Basra to listen to Ahadith. All of us used to write Ahadith down, except Imam Bukhari. After sixteen days, we thought about it and we condemned Imam Bukhari saying that, 'you had wasted so many days work by not writing down Ahadith.' Imam Bukhari asked us to bring our notes to him. So we all brought our notes, upon which Imam Bukhari began to read Ahadith one by one from the top of his head until he narrated to us more than fifteen thousand! Hearing these, it seemed that Imam Bukhari was reteaching us all of the Ahadith we had noted."

Muhammad ibn Azhar Sajistani says: "I used to go to Sulayman ibn Harab accompanied by Imam Bukhari for listening to Ahadith. I used to write the Ahadith, but Imam Bukhari wouldn't. Someone said to me, 'Why doesn't Imam Bukhari note the Ahadith down?' I told him, 'if you missed any Hadith in writing, you could obtain it from the memory of Imam Bukhari."

Imam Bukhari's memory could be understood by knowing that if he glanced through a book, it would be committed to memory instantly. In his early period of acquiring knowledge, he memorized seventy thousand Ahadith and later in his life, this figure reached three hundred thousand. Of these, one hundred thousand were sahih (rigorously authenticated) and two hundred thousand were not sahih (hasan, da`if, etc). Once he went to Balkh and the inhabitants asked him to recite one Hadith from each of his sheikhs. Then he orated from one thousand Sheikhs one thousand Ahadith.

Sulayman ibn Mujahid says about Iman Bukhari: "One day I was present in the company of Muhammad ibn Salam Baykandi. Muhammad ibn Salam said, 'If you had come earlier, I would have shown you the child who has seventy thousand Ahadith in his memory.' Sulayman stood up from his company and started looking for Imam Bukhari. Shortly he found him and asked, 'Are you the one who has committed seventy thousand Ahadith to memory?' Imam Bukhari replied, 'I have learnt more Ahadith than this by heart. I even know the place of birth, death and residence of most of those companions from whom the Ahadith are narrated."

His Extraordinary Intellect

Along with his extraordinary memory, he also had an outstanding fascinating intellect. He did not depend on pen and paper as much as he relied on his sharp memory. People examined the extraordinary capabilities of Imam Bukhari in the science of Hadith repeatedly but he always remained successful as a result of Allah's gift of intelligence and superb memory.

Hafiz Ahmad ibn `Adi said about Imam Bukhari: "When the people of Baghdad had learnt that Imam Bukhari was due to arrive there, the Muhaddithin of Baghdad decided to test him by changing the text and chains of transmission of one hundred Ahadith. They joined the chain of one Hadith with the text of another and attached the chain of this Hadith with the text of the prior. Like this, they mixed up the text and chains of transmission of one hundred Ahadith and gave these to people who would test Imam Bukhari with these. "When Imam Bukhari arrived at Baghdad, the people held a gathering in his honour, in which most of the scholars, nobles and public were present. One person stood up according to the plan and asked a question regarding a Hadith with its altered chain of transmission. Upon this, a second person stood up and recited in similar manner. Like this, the people completed the hundred Ahadith and awaited Imam Bukhari's reply. He said that he had not apprehended those Ahadith. When he saw that everyone had asked the questions he need, he stood up and started describing the chain of transmission of the first Hadith that was read and then gave its correct chain. Like this, he traced the faulty chains on the Ahadith of all one hundred set up by the scholars. He had given the correct chains of transmission to every Hadith. When he finished, the entire audience was full of praise and recognition of the superiority and greatness of Imam Bukhari."

How to Convert to Islam

2010-02-01T22:16:00.002-08:00

The word “Muslim” means one who submits to the will of God, regardless of their race, nationality or ethnic background. Becoming a Muslim is a simple and easy process that requires no pre-requisites. One may convert alone in privacy, or he/she may do so in the presence of others.

If anyone has a real desire to be a Muslim and has full conviction and strong belief that Islam is the true religion of God, then, all one needs to do is pronounce the “Shahada”, the testimony of faith, without further delay. The “Shahada” is the first and most important of the five pillars of Islam.

With the pronunciation of this testimony, or “Shahada”, with sincere belief and conviction, one enters the fold of Islam.

Upon entering the fold of Islam purely for the Pleasure of God, all of one’s previous sins are forgiven, and one starts a new life of piety and righteousness. The Prophet said to a person who had placed the condition upon the Prophet in accepting Islam that God would forgive his sins:

“Do you not know that accepting Islam destroys all sins which come before it?” (Saheeh Muslim)

When one accepts Islam, they in essence repent from the ways and beliefs of their previous life. One need not be overburdened by sins committed before their acceptance. The person’s record is clean, and it is as if he was just born from his mother’s womb. One should try as much as possible to keep his records clean and strive to do as many good deeds as possible.

The Holy Quran and Hadeeth (prophetic sayings) both stress the importance of following Islam. God states:

“...The only religion in the sight of God is Islam...” (Quran 3:19)

In another verse of the Holy Quran, God states:

“If anyone desires a religion other than Islam, never will it be accepted of him; and in the Hereafter, he will be in the ranks of those who have lost (their selves in the Hellfire).” (Quran 3:85)

In another saying, Muhammad, the Prophet of God, said:

“Whoever testifies that there in none worthy of being worshipped but God, Who has no partner, and that Muhammad is His slave and Prophet, and that Jesus is the Slave of God, His Prophet, and His word

which He bestowed in Mary and a spirit created from Him; and that Paradise (Heaven) is true, and that the Hellfire is true, God will eventually admit him into Paradise, according to his deeds.” (Saheeh Al-Bukhari)

Michael Jackson has converted to Islam

2010-02-01T21:56:00.000-08:00

In 2005 already reported the possibility that Michael Jackson had decided to convert to Islam. Jermaine Jackson, Michael’s brother, who converted to Islam in 1989 said it is likely that Michael Jackson will convert to Islam. Jermaine said: “I think it is most probable that

Michael will convert to Islam.”

“When I came back from Mecca I got him a lot of books and he asked me lots of things about my religion and I told him that it’s peaceful and beautiful. He read everything and he was proud of me that I found something that would give me inner strength and peace. He could do so much, just like I am trying to do. Michael and I and the word of God, we could do so much.

www. thesun.co.uk Report: Jacko sat on the floor wearing a tiny hat after an Imam was summoned to officiate - days before the singer is due to appear at London's High Court where he is being sued by an Arab sheik.

Ceremony ... pop king Jacko
A source told last night how Jacko, brought up as a Jehovah's Witness, decided to convert as he used a studio at the home of his chum to record a new album.

The star - whose hits include The Way You Make Me Feel - was spotted looking "a bit down" by a producer and a songwriter who had both embraced Islam.

Shahada
The source said: "They began talking to him about their beliefs, and how they thought they had become better people after they converted. Michael soon began warming to the idea.

"An I

mam was summoned from the mosque and Michael went through the shahada, which is the Muslim declaration of belief." Mikaeel is the name of one of Allah's angels.

"Jacko rejected an alternative name, Mustafa - meaning "the chosen one".

Brit singer Yousef Islam, 60 - who was called Cat Stevens until he famously converted - turned up to help Jacko celebrate.

It was his pals David Wharnsby - a Canadian songwriter - and producer Phillip Bubal who counselled Jacko.

The pair's new names are Dawud Wharnsby Ali and Idris Phillips.

Jacko now prays to Mecca after the ceremony at the Hollywood Hills home of Toto keyboard player Steve Porca

ro, 51, who composed music on the singer's Thriller album.

Jacko, who rarely ventures out without a mask, is due to give evidence on Monday in a £4.7million lawsuit brought by Prince Abdulla Al-Khalif of Bahrain.

The sheik claims he bankrolled the singer's lavish lifestyle in exchange for an exclusive recording contract. The billionaire sent songs for him to record but claims he was blanked.

He told the court yesterday: "Many times he confirmed to me he would pay me back."

Muslims Profiles: Bilal Ibn Rabah

2010-01-23T08:16:00.000-08:00

Bilal Ibn Rabah, on of Prophet Mohammad's (PBUH) companions, and one of the greatest figures in the history of Islam.

Bilal originally was a black slave from Ethiopia, belonging to Umayyah ibn Khalaf tribe.

It was said that Bilal was a tall thin man, and slightly hump-backed. He had thick grayish. He moved about silently never speak unless somebody talk to him.

Bilal was restrained by the class system; a slave in the hands of the most harsh tribe of Bani Jumuh and under the scourge of one of the dirtiest polytheistic elements of the Age of Ignorance - Umayyah son of Khalaf.

However, what make his personality most clear and presents him as a model of virtue during the course of history and for all times to come, and lends him greatness, is his true, revolutionary, and unwavering faith. It is a psychological miracle that a person who is an illiterate slave of about twenty years old and has been brought up in the most deplorable system of values and has become habituated to it, should completely reform himself in the shortest possible time and display an exact effect of this reformation in spite of the severest spiritual and corporal torture.

Bilal started to hear people talking about Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), specially in the discussions between his master and guests. Soon he felt drawn and knew that his only resolution is to embrace the religion of justice nad dignity, Islam, and so he did.

He would listen to Abu Bakr, another companion of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) calling to Islam, and gradually he found his heart strongly attached to this religion. He went with Abu Bakr to the Prophet, (PBUH), and declared his submission to Islam. He was the seventh person to embrace Islam. Abu Bakr and others of the same tribal status, were safe from harm by the Quraysh tribe, which was very much against Islam and a great enemy to Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).

However, the anger of the disbelievers fell upon the Muslims who had no tribe to defend them. Umayyah ibn Khalaf used to force Bilal (after embracing Islam) to go outside in the morning of a very hot day wearing a suit of armor where he would then throw him face down in the sand and leave him to bake in the sun. He would not return except to turn him on his back.

At times Bilal became unconscious as a result of being subjected to severe torture when he regained his consciousness he had to face the angry yelling of his master who wanted him to abandon Islam. However, Umayyah, his master, said with a dirty and unkind heart: "You must either die or disown Mohammad's Lord." But the resistant and brave Bilal who had been filled with passion for Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and Islam, was not negligent even for a moment and repeated the eloquent and permanently effective word Allah is On, Allah is One.

In spite of all the hardships, which Bilal had to put up with one after the other, he remained solid and firm like a mountain and was optimistic and sure that Allah will soon save him. And not only that these difficulties and torments did not weaken his faith in Allah but they increased his steadfastness and devotion. Although his body was wounded and his stomach was hungry and he cried on account of weariness his soul was strong and enlightened.

One day Abu Bakr was passing by and saw Bilal being tortured.

He said to Umayyah: "Have you no fear of Allah that you treat this poor man like this?" He replied saying: "You are the one who corrupted him, so you save him from his plight!" Abu Bakr replied: "Then sell him to me, you can state your price." Umayyah who was not to let a good deal pass by, sold Bilal at a good price. However, to humiliate Bilal, he added: "I would have sold him to you even if you had offered me but an ounce of gold." Abu Bakr answered: "I would have bought him even if you had asked a hundred ounces." Abu Bakr and Bilal went to Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) with the good news. There he announced: "I am setting Bilal free, O Messenger of Allah. "Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) was very happy for the news.

When the Muslims settled in Madinah, Islam became firmly established nad its pillars were set- praying, paying zakat and fasting were instituted. At first, Muslims gathered for praying at the appointed times without being summoned. Afterwards Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) thought about using a trumpet to summon to the prayers. But he (PBUH) disliked that idea as the Jews used to use the same method, and so ordered a clapper to be made at prayer times.

Later on Abdullah ibn Zayd came to him and said: "O Messenger of Allah, I had a dream last night: A man wearing two green garments came to me holding a bell, so I offered to buy it. When he asked me what I wanted it for, I told him that it was to summon people to Salah (prayer), whereupon he offered to show me a better way. It was to say four times: 'Allahu Akbar', then to say twice: Ash-hadu allaa ilaaha ilia Allah, then twice: ash-hadu anna Muhammadar rasoolullah, then twice: hayya 'alas-salah, then twice: hayya 'alal-falah, then "Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar laa ilaaha ilia Allah." "It is a true vision insha Allah (with God's will)," said Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), adding, "Go and teach it to Bilal for he has a more beautiful and far reaching voice." For the first time Madinah resonated with the adhan as Bilal was reciting it.

When Umar Ibn Al Khattab, another companion of the Prophet (PBUH), heard the adhan he rushed to the Prophet and said; "By the One Who has sent you with the Truth I had the same dream about it!" "Revelation has already preceded you," replied the Prophet, (PBUH).

Bilal was the muadhin (the caller to prayer) during the time of the Prophet (PBUH). After he would make the adhan, he would stand at the Prophet's door and say : "Hayya alas-salah, hayya 'alal-falaah, the salah O Messenger of Allah.". The sweet days with Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) soon came to an end.

For later on, Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) died in Madinah, and all of the Muslims wept over his death, the dearest man ever on Earth. They asked Bilal to make adhan before the burial of the Prophet (PBUH). He started the call: "Allahu Akbar...", but when he came to the name of the Prophet (PBUH), he was sobbing so heavily, he could not continue. He said: "By Allah I will not say the adhan anymore."

Bilal asked the Khalifah, Abu Bakr, to let him to go to ash-Sham for Jihad. And there he spent the rest of his life. He made adhan only twice since then. The first was when Umar Ibn AL Khattab came to ash-Sham. The second was when he visited the tomb of Prophet (PBUH) in Madinah. Upon hearing his voice, people started to cry for it reminded them of the days of the Prophet (PBUH).

On his death bed, Bilal was saying: "Tomorrow you will meet your loved ones, Muhammad and his companions." He died in Alippo at the age of sixty four.

Source: alinaam.org

Muslims Profiles: Abu Hurayrah

2010-01-23T07:53:00.004-08:00

His name is Abdurrahman bin Sakhr, he is the master of retainers and endurance, and the companion of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).

Abu Hurayrah received a lot of knowledge from the Prophet (PBUH).

Through his great efforts, hundreds of Hadiths or sayings of the Prophet (PBUH) were transmitted to later generations. His is the foremost name in the roll of Hadith transmitters. Next to him comes the names of such companions as Abdullah the son of Umar, Anas the son of Malik, Umm al-Mumininin Aicha, Jabir ibn Abdullah and Abu Said al-Khudri all of whom transmitted over a thousand sayings of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).

Aat-Tufayl ibn Amr the chieftain of the Daws tribe helped Abu Hurayrah tp became a Muslim . The Daws tribe, which Abu Hurayrah belongs to, lived in the region of Tihamah which stretches along the coast of the Red Sea in southern Arabia. When at-Tufayl returned to his village after meeting the Prophet (PBUH) and becoming a Muslim in the early years of his mission, Abu Hurayrah was one of the first to respond to his call and embrace Islam. He was unlike the majority of the Daws people who remained stubborn with their old beliefs for a long time.

When at-Tufayl visited Mekkah again, Abu Hurayrah accompanied him. There he had the honored to meet the noble Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).

The prophet asked him:

"What is your name?"

"Abdu Shams - Servant of a Sun," replied Abu Hurayrah.

"Instead, let it be Abdur-Rahman - the Servant of the Beneficent Lord," said the Prophet (PBUH).

However, he continued to be known as Abu Hurayrah, "the kitten man", literally "the father of a kitten" for he was fond of cats and since his childhood often had a cat to play with.

Abu Hurayrah stayed in Tihamah for a long time and it was only at the beginning of the seventh year of the Hijrah that he arrived in Madinah with others of his tribe. The Prophet (PBUH) had gone on a campaign to Khyber. Being poor, Abu Hurayrah took up h is place in the Masjid. He was single, and had no wife or a son. With him however was his mother who was still an atheist. He longed, and prayed, for her to become a Muslim but she stubbornly refused. One day, he was trying to convince her to have believe in Allah alone and embrace Islam, but she uttered some words about the Prophet (PBUH) which hurt him greatly. With tears in his eyes, he went to the noble Prophet (PBUH) who said to him:

"What makes you cry, O Abu Hurayrah?"

"I have not let up in inviting my mother to Islam but she has always rebuffed me. Today, I invited her again and I heard words from her which I do not like. Do make supplication to Allah Almighty to make the heart of Abu Hurayrah's mother incline to Islam."

Responding to Abu Hurayrah's request, Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) prayed for his mother. Abu Hurayrah said:

"I went home and found the door closed. I heard the splashing of water and when I tried to enter my mother said: "Stay where you are, O Abu Hurayrah." And after putting on her clothes, she said, "Enter!" I entered and she said: "I testify that there is no god but Allah and I testify that Mohammad is His Servant and His Messenger."

"I returned to the Prophet, peace be on him, weeping with joy just as an hour before I had gone weeping from sadness and said: "I have good news, O Messenger of Allah. Allah has responded to your prayer and guided the mother of Abu Hurayrah to Islam."

Abu Hurayrah (May Allah be pleased with him) had great love and respect for Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and found favor with him. He was never tired of looking at the Prophet whose face appeared to him as having all the radiance of the sun and he was never tired of listening to his words. Often he would praise Allah for becoming a Muslim and having the chance of being near the Prophet (PBUH), he used to say:

"Praise be to Allah Who has guided Abu Hurayrah to Islam." Praise be to Allah Who has taught Abu Hurayrah the Qur'an."

"Praise be to Allah who has bestowed on Abu Hurayrah the companionship of Mohammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace."

On reaching Madinah, Abu Hurayrah decided on attaining knowledge. Zayd ibn Thabit the notable companion of the Prophet (PBUH) narrated :

"While Abu Hurayrah and I and another friend of mine were in the mosque praying to Allah Almighty and performing dhikr (mentioning Allah is names) to Him, the Messenger of Allah appeared. He came towards us and sat among us. We became silent and he said: "Carry on with what you were doing."

"So my friend and I made a supplication to Allah before Abu Hurayrah did and the Prophet (PBUH) began to say Ameen to our supplication.

"Then Abu Hurayrah made a supplication saying: "O Lord, I ask You for what my two companions have asked and I ask You for knowledge which will not be forgotten."

"The Prophet, peace be on him, said: 'Ameen.' "We then said: 'And we ask Allah for knowledge which will not be forgotten, and the Prophet replied: 'The Dawsi youth has asked for this before you."

With his startling memory, Abu Hurayrah memorized in the four years that he spent with the Prophet (PBUH), the gems of wisdom that emanated from his lips. He realized that he had a great gift and he set about to use it fully in serving Islam.

Unlike many of the Muhajirun(those who migrated from Mekkah to Madinah) he did not spend his time in the market-places, with buying and selling. Also he had no land to cultivate nor crops to tend. He spared the time to sit with the Prophet (PBUH) in Madinah and went with him on journeys and expeditions.

Many companions were amazed at the number of Hadith he had memorized and often questioned him on when he had heard a certain Hadith and under what circumstances.

Once Marwan ibn al-Hakam wanted to give Abu Hurayrah's a small test to see how strong his memory was. He sat with him in one room and behind a curtain he placed a scribe, unknown to Abu Hurayrah, and ordered him to write down whatever Abu Hurayrah said. A year later, Marwan called Abu Hurayrah again and asked him to recall the same Hadiths which the scribe had recorded. He was amazed when he found out that he had forgotten not a single word.

Abu Hurayrah devoted his life to teaching and transmitting the Hadiths he had memorized and knowledge of Islam in general. It is reported that one day he was passing by some people engrossed in the business of buying and selling.

"How feeble are you, O people of Madinah!" he said.

"What do you see that is feeble in us, Abu Hurayrah?" they asked.

"The inheritance of the Messenger of Allah, peace be on him, is being distributed and you remain here! Won't you go and take your portion?"

"Where is this, O Abu Hurayrah?" they asked.

"In the Masjid," he replied.

Quickly they left. Abu Hurayrah waited until they returned. When they saw him, they said: "O Abu Hurayrah, we went to the Masjid and entered and we did not see anything being distributed."

"Didn't you see anyone in the Masjid?" he asked.

"O yes, we saw some people performing Salah, some people reading the Qur'an and some people discussing about what is halaal and what is haraam."

"Woe unto you," replied Abu Hurayrah," that is the inheritance of Mohammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace."

Abu Hurayrah went through much hardship and difficulties as a result of his dedicated search for knowledge. He was often hungry and destitute. He said about himself:

"When I was afflicted with severe hunger, I would go to a companion' of the Prophet (PBUH) and asked him about an ayah (verse) of the Qur'an and (stay with him) learning it so that he would take me with him to his house and give food. "

Abu Hurayrah spent most of his time in spiritual exercises and devotion to Allah. Staying up for the night in prayer and devotion - was a regular practice of his family including his wife and his daughter, (for he was married and has a daughter at that time). He would spend a third o f the night prayer, his wife for another third and his daughter for a third. In this way, in the house of Abu Hurayrah no hour of the night would pass without worshiping Allah and praying.

During the caliphate of Umar, Umar appointed Abu Hurayrah as governor of Bakrain. Umar was very careful about the type of persons whom he appointed as governors. He was always concerned that his governors should live simply and frugally and not acquire much wealth even though this was through lawful means.

In Bahrain, Abu Hurayrah became quite wealthy. Umar heard of this and recalled him to Madinah. Umar thought he had acquired his wealth through unlawful means and questioned him about where and how he had get such a fortune. Abu Hurayrah replied: "From breeding horses and gifts which I received."

"Hand it over to the treasury of the Muslims," ordered Umar.

Abu Hurayrah did as he was told and prayed: "O Lord, forgive the Amir al-Muminin." Subsequently, Umar asked him to become governor once again but he declined. Asked about the reason behind his refusal, Abu Hurayrah said:

"So that my honor would not be besmirched, my wealth taken and my back beaten."

And he added: "And I fear to judge without knowledge and speak without wisdom."

Throughout his life Abu Hurayrah used to be kind and courteous to his mother. Whenever he wanted to leave home, he would stand at the door of her room and say: As-salaamu alaykum, mom, wa rahrnatullahi wa barakatuhu, peace be on you, mother, and the mercy and blessings of Allah." She would reply: "Wa alayka-s salaam, son, wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu - And on you be peace, my son, and the mercy and blessings of Allah." Often, he would also say: "May Allah have mercy on you as you cared for me when I was small," and she would reply: "May Allah have mercy on you as you delivered me from error when I was old." Abu Hurayrah always advised people to be kind and tender to their parents.

Abu Hurayrah took good care to accompany the Prophet peace be upon him to wherever the Prophet peace be upon him goes; whether to pilgrimage or to war (jihad). Abu Anas Malik bin Abi Aamir says:

Once a man came to Talha bin Ubaydillah and said: "O, father of Mohammad! Do you know this Yamani Abu Hurayrah ? Is he more knowledgeable about the Prophet's hadeeth than you? Because we hear things from him that we do not hear from you. Or does he narrate what the Prophet did not really say?" Ibn Ubaydillah answered: "That Abu Hurayrah heard from the Prophet peace be upon him what we did not hear then there is no doubt about it. Let me tell you about it. We always had to take care of our houses, goats and works. We used to visit the messenger of Allah peace be upon him at the two folds of daylight and Abu Hurayrah was there and poor. He was a guest at the Prophet's house, and had nothing in his hands. Therefore we do not doubt it that he heard from the Prophet what we did not hear, and you would never find a man who has goodness in his self that he would say what the messenger of Allah did not say."

Source: sunnahonline.com

Muslims Profiles: Imam Al Bukhari (194 - 265), Part II

2010-01-23T07:48:00.000-08:00

Imam al-Bukhari is one of the most eminent of those pious people who have gave endless bliss upon the Muslim Nation of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).

Glimpses of his private life

1. Self sufficiency:

Imam Bukhari's father, Muhaddith Isma`il ibn Ibrahim was very rich and Imam Bukhari had inherited a huge share of his wealth. He used to give his wealth on the basis of silent partnership (e.g. if a person is in possession of a shop, the profits are shared equally, but only one partner does all the work). Abu Sa`id Bakr ibn Munir narrated: "Once Abu Hafs sent some goods to Imam Bukhari and when traders learnt of this, they came to him and offered five thousand dirhams. He asked them to come in the evening. A second group of traders came and offered ten thousand dirhams, but he told them, 'I have already made an agreement with someone else. I do not want to change my intention for the sake of ten thousand dirhams."

2. Simplicity and humbleness:

Imam Bukhari was a simple and hard working person. He used to look after his own needs. Despite being a wealthy and honorable man, he always kept a little number of servants and never indulged himself in this matter. Muhammad ibn Hatim Warraq, who was one of his main disciples, narrated: "Imam Bukhari was establishing an inn near the city of Bukhara and as he was placing the bricks with his own hands, I came forward and asked him to leave laying the bricks for this building to me.' But he refused; saying: 'On the day of judgement, this act will be of benefit to me."

Warraq goes on to say: "When we accompanied Imam Bukhari on a journey, he would gather us in one room and stay in another room alone. Once I saw Imam Bukhari get up between fifteen and twenty times during the night and every time, he lit the lamp. He took some Ahadith out, marked them and then placed his head on his pillow and laid on his couch. I said to him, 'Why did you go through all this trouble during the night, you could have woke me up to help you.' He said: 'You are young and in need to get sufficient amount of sleep and I did not want to disturb your sleep."

3. Generosity

Just as he was generous with this wealth, he was also generous with his heart and emotions. Sometimes, he would give three thousand dirhams as a donation in one day. Warraq says that Imam Bukhari's earnings were five hundred dirhams per month and he would spend all of it on his students.

4. His abstention (Zuhd)

Imam Bukhari used to stay away from all worldly desires and temptations. In his quest for knowledge, he used to spend his time eating dried grass (hay). Usually he would eat only two or three almonds in a whole day. Once he became ill and the doctors told him, "Your intestines have become dry because you have been eating dried leaves." It was at that moment that Imam Bukhari told the doctor that he had been eating dried leaves for forty years and during this span of time he never even touched any kind of curry.

5. Fear of Allah

He was blessed with the highest rank of piety and righteousness. He feared Allah in everything he did. He kept himself away from backbiting and suspicion and always respected people�s rights.

Imam Bukhari was so vigilant in his worship, that he would pray Sunnah and keep fasts in abundance. He would read the whole Qur'an on each day in the month of Ramadan and also recited ten chapters of the Holy Qur'an late at the night. He would complete the Holy Qur'an in the Tarawih prayers and always reciting twenty verses in each rak`a. He was very polite, tolerant and gentle. He never got angry when mistreated by others and prayed forgiveness for those who attributed evil to him. If he needed to correct any person, he would never embarrass him in public.

His Arrival in Nishapur and the issue of the creation of the Qur'an

In 250 AH, Imam Bukhari went to Nishapur. After hearing this news, joy and happiness spread among its people. In those times, Muhammad ibn Yahya adh-Dhuhli was the head of the literary kingdom of Nishapur. He advised and led the inhabitants of the city to gather together to welcome Imam Bukhari. A large amount of people went to the outskirts of the city to welsome Imam Bukhari, with extreme magnificence and honour. Imam Muslim ibn Hajjaj says that in all his life, he had never seen such a reception ever given to a scholar or even a ruler.

Imam Bukhari started giving lectures on Hadith in Nishapur. In each session, a huge crowd always packed the area to listen and many included people who had arrived specifically to learn about Hadith. However, some unpleasant people were envious about the reputation and popularity of Imam Bukhari. These people set up Muhammad ibn Yahya adh-Dhuhli to become his opponent. In this incident, Muhammad ibn Yahya considered the *pronunciation* of the Qur'an as eternal..." and "Imam Bukhari said, 'Our actions are created and the pronunciation is one our actions.'".

Once, a man came to Imam Bukhari and asked him whether the Qur'an was created (makhluq) or not created (ghayr makhluq). Imam Bukhari paused for a while. The man insisted on getting a reply, so Imam Bukhari told him: "The Qur'an are the words of Allah and they are not created (ghayr makhluq)." The asked some more questions about the words of the Qur'an, upon which Imam Bukhari said, "Our actions are created and the pronunciation is one our actions."

After this, mass propaganda was stirred against Imam Bukhari, which led to accusations that he beleived the words of the Qur'an to be created. When Dhuhli heard these rumours, he disconnected his ties with Imam Bukhari and became his enemy. He started warning people by announcing that they should not attend the lectures of Imam Bukhari. As a result, people refrained from attending the Imam's lectures, except Muslim ibn Hajjaj. At last, due to his disappointment, Imam Bukhari left the city of Nishapur and returned to Bukhara.

Banishment from his homeland

When the people of Bukhara heard that Imam Bukhari was coming back to his homeland, they were extremely happy and erected tents many miles outside the city to welcome him. They greeted him with splendour for his return. He established a school there where he spent a great deal of time teaching with satisfaction.

Even here, there were envious people who never stopped disturbing him. They met the governor of Bukhara, who was a representative of the Khilafat `Abasiyya, Khalid ibn Ahmad. They told him to call Imam Bukhari to his house and make him as busy as possible with teaching his son. When told Imam Bukhari about this suggestion, he was told, "I do not want to abuse knowledge and carry it to the footstep of the rulers. If anybody wants to learn, they should join my school." The governor said:"If my son was to attend your school, he should not sit with ordinary people. You would have to teach him separately." Imam Bukhari answered: "I cannot stop any person from hearing Ahadith." Upon hearing this, the governer of Bukhara gotmad at him and got a fatwa (verdict) from the time wasting opportunist (ibn al-waqt) `Ulama against Imam Bukhari to banish him from the city.

Imam Bukhari was majorly upset at the thought of being banished from his homeland. Not even a month passed, before the Khalaf of Baghdad dismissed the governor of Bukhara, Khalid ibn Ahmad adh-Dhuhli. The governor was expelled from his palace in extreme disgrace and dishonour, being mounted on a she-ass and then thrown into prison, where he died after few days.

His passing

After returning from Bukhara, Imam Bukhari decided to go to Samarqand. He was still many miles from the city, when he heard that the people there had two veiws about him. So he decided to stay at a village called "Kharteng". There, he made the following invocation one night after the late-night prayer, saying: "O Allah, the Earth despite its grandeur is becoming narrow and is troubling me greatly. So take me back to You." After this invocation, he became ill. Meanwhile, the people of Samarqand sent a messenger to bring him there. Bukhari got up and was ready to travel, but his strength gave way. He began to invoke Allah at length, then he took to his bed and his soul passed away to his Lord - may Allah have mercy on him. An indescribable amount of perspiration came out of him even after he consigned his life to the Creator of life. When this abated, he was shrouded. He died on the night of `Id al-Fitr, the first night of Shawwal in the year 256 AH, at the age of 62 years.

Imam Bukhari devoted his entire life, in the search for the way of life given by Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), in acting upon his sayings and researching into this science. His each and every action was a fragment of the way of the Messenger.

Imam Bukhari was not only a scholar, worshipper, a devotee and a prosperous man, but he always feared Allah and shone with the love of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). The knowledge he gave to the world during his life is still being given today and as the Muslim Nation goes about its daily acts of worship, they realize how important the role played by Imam Bukhari was. He used to spread the Ahadith of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) everywhere he goes and Allah spread his status to every corner of the world.

Source: IslamOnline

Muslims Profiles: Imam Abu Hanifa

2010-01-23T07:42:00.000-08:00

Source: IslamOnline

Muslims Profiles : Imam Al Shafi'i

2010-01-23T03:06:00.000-08:00

The four Imam's - Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Malik, Imam Ahmed bin Hanbal and Imam Shafi - are the main figures who's interpretation of the Hadith and Qur'an are followed by the majority of Sunni Muslims all over the world. They are therefore of great importance to the correct practice of Islam.

He is Abdullah Mohamed Ibn Idris Al Shafi'i, a prominent Imam who was a descendant from the Hashimi family of Quraysh tribe, which Prophet Mohamed (PBIUH) came from.

He is known as the revivalist of the second century, for he was the one who put the fundamental of jurisprudence; science of (usul al Fiqh).

At the age of 10, Al Shafi'i mother sent him to Mekkah, near his tribal ancestry. After entrusting him initially in the care of a relative, she followed him there to keep an eye on his studies.

As he could not afford enough writing material, Al Shaafi'i used to go to the governor's offices in search of paper that had already been used. On the blank side of the paper, he would do his lessons. He memorized the Qur'an at a very young age.

In order to improve his knowledge of Arabic, he went deep into the desert to join the Bedouin tribe of Huthail, who were renowned for the best standard of literary Arabic. He studied poetry and learnt their prose reporting and stories. He accompanied the tribe on nomadic travels, until he mastered all that was there to learn. He also learnt archery and became very skilful; he could hit the target 10 times out of 10.

On his return to Mekkah Al Shafi'i continued studying. At the age of 20 he had completed all that its scholars has to teach, but this thirst for knowledge was not quenched. So, he traveled to Madinah to learn from Imam Malik.

Al Shafi'i wished to have a foretaste of what he would be learning. He borrowed Al-Muwatta to read which even fueled him more made him more eager to study under Imam Malik.

Al-Shafi'i stayed very closed to Malik for nine years, he never left him during those nine years except to visit his mother, or to stay for a short while with some bedouin tribes. The last three years at Malik's study circle were doubly fruitful because the eminent Iraqi scholar. Muhammad ibn Al-Hasan Al-Shaibani (132-189H) who recorded all the Hanafi scholarship had come to study under Malik.

Imam Malik used to care more and give more attention to poor and needy students. Al-Shafi'i was one of them. When Malik died (179H), Al-Shafi'i returned to Mekkah hoping to earn his living. Some people asked the governor of Yemen to help Al-Shafi'i, and so he took him to Yemen where he was appointed justice in the city of Najran. The people there soon realised that they had a judge who was devoted to justice, unwilling to swerve from it for any favor or pressure. They respected him so much and learnt a great deal from him.

In his fifth years at Najran, Al-Shafi'i's mettle was tasted when a strong-fisted governor took over. Al-Shafi'i did not spare him from criticism whenever the occasion arose. In the process of curbing the governor's injustice, Al-Shafi'i earned his enmity.

The governor wrote to Caliph Al-Rasheed in Baghdad, accusing Al-Shafi'i of backing a revolt by people loyal to the Alawis, the descendants of Ali ibn Talib (may Allah be pleased with him). He said:

"I have no authority over this man, and he achieves by his tongue much more than a fighter can achieve with this sword."

Was this accusation false? Indeed it was, for Al-Shafi'i never supported or advocated any revolt or rebellion against the Caliph. On the contrary he used to love the Alawis, as they were the descendants of Ali, (may Allah be pleased with him), and Fatimah, (,ay Allah be pleased with her), the daughter of Prophet Mohammad, (PBUH).

At the age of 34, Imam Al-Shafi'i was brought in 184H before the Caliph in Baghdad, in fetters and chains. Muhammad ibn Al-Hasan Al-Shaibani, the Chief Justice was his the only of his advisers and top officials present at the court. Two factors affected the Caliph's Judgement: a lucid defence by the accused himself; and Chief Justice Muhammad ibn Al-Hasan Al-Shaibani's Testimony. Al-Shafi'i pointed out that his scholarship was known to the Chief Justice, who described Al-Shafi'i as a scholar of eminence who would not be involved in such matters.

Caliph Al-Rasheed, known to be kind and merciful, saw in this testimony his way out to spare Al-Shafi'i. He told Muhammad ibn Al-Hasan Al-Shaibani to take Al-Shafi'i to his home while he thought the matter over. There the case ended. The charge was never revived. The governor who had rid himself of a fearless critic was no longer interested what happened to him.

This episode was a blessing in disguise because it brought Al-Shafi'i back on track in his quest for knowledge. Al-Shafi'i stayed with Muhammad ibn Al-Hasan Al-Shaibani and read under his guidance all the books that he had written, recording the Fiqh of Imam Abu Haneefah ( one of the Four grand Imams) and his disciples. After two years, Al Shaafi'i left Baghdad, he said:

"I carried with me a whole camel load of books, all of which I learnt directly form Muhammad ibn Al-Hasan."

Al-Shafi'i learnt the Fiqh in Baghdad as well as memorized the Ahadith that were known in Iraq, but not in Madinah or Mekkah. He also entered into debate with many scholars, speaking as a student of Imam Malik, but he would only debate with lesser scholars than Muhammad ibn Al-Hasan Al-Shaibani, whom he gave great respect.

Among the most important characteristic of Al-Shafi'i was his native intelligence that gave him an easy and good grasp of even the most difficult of questions. He always studied matters in depth, so as to reach the right solution and the right answer regarding any question put to him. His cleverness was coupled with a superb memory and ready argument.

When discussing any matter, Imam Al-Shafi'i would put it with a wealth of meanings that he always found ready to hand, his explanation was always rich and to the point.

Al-Shafi'i had a unique exquisite literary style, lucidity of expression and command over the language. His very clear use of words made him a influential speaker. One of his students said:

"Every scholar gives more in his books than when you meet him personally, except for Al-Shafi'i whose verbal discussion gives you more than his books."

Imam Al-Shafi'i's books are among the finest in style, eloquence and presentation.

Another quality that positioned Al-Shafi'i at the highest rank of Islamic scholars was his persistent devotion and sincerity in the pursuit of truth, and declaring it even if it was unpopular, or at variance with his teacher, to whom he was most devoted. His gratitude to Muhammad ibn Al-Hasan, who had saved him from the Caliph's wrath, did not prevent him from supporting the Madinan scholars views. No one ever accused him of rejecting true evidence.

Imam Al-Shafi'i used to urge his students to devote both their time and effort in studying the Hadith.

Imam Al-Shafi'i never got furious while debating with anyone, because he was not interested in scoring points or winning people's admiration, but rather in reaching the truth. And if his opponent were right, he would not find any difficulty accepting his view.

He was quoted as saying:

"I wish people would learn what I have to give, without it being attributed to me. In this way, I will receive the reward for it from Allah, without having people's praise."

With such noble qualities and wealth or knowledge, no wonder that scholars placed Imam Muhammad ibn Idris Al-Shafi'i in the highest rank.

Source: traditionalislam.tripod.com

Muslims Profiles: Imam Malik

2010-01-23T02:57:00.000-08:00

Source: Trueislaam.free-online.co.uk

Muslims Profiles: Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal

2010-01-23T02:54:00.000-08:00

The four Imam's - Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Malik, Imam Ahmed bin Hanbal and Imam Shafi - are the main figures who's interpretation of the Hadith and Qur'an are followed by the majority of Sunni Muslims all over the world. They are therefore of great importance to the correct practice of Islam.

Imaam Ahmad ibn Mohamed Ibn Hanbal, Abu `Abd Allah al-Dhuhli Al-Shaybani al-Marwazi al-Baghdadi (d. 241).

Imam Ahmed ibn Hanbal (780 - 855) was among the great Muslim scholars and theologians. He is the founder of the Hanbali school of fiqh. His full name was Ahmed bin Muhammad Hanbal.

Imam Hanbal was born in Central Asia to Arab parents in 780. After his father died, he moved to Iraq and studied extensively in Baghdad, and later used his travels for further education. He was mainly interested in the science of Hadith and traveled extensively through Iraq, Syria, and Arabia studying religion and collecting traditions of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).

His travels lasted several years. Upon returning home, he studied under Imam Shafi on Islamic law. Imam Hambal was very devoted to traditional views and was opposed to innovations in Islamic law.

Imam ibn Hanbal became very well known all, and his teachings spread worldwide. His learning, piety and unswerving faithfulness to traditions gathered a lot if admirers around him.

From the biographical notice on Imam Ahmad in the Reliance of the Traveler:

"Out of piety, Imam Ahmad never gave a formal legal opinion (fatwa) while Imam Shafi`i was in Iraq, and when he later formulated his school of jurisprudence, he mainly drew on clear texts from the holy [Qur'an], Hadith, and scholarly agreement, with relatively little expansion from analogical reasoning (qiy's). He was probably the most learned in the sciences of Hadith of the four great Imams of Sacred Law; Imam Abu Hanifah, Imam Al Shafi`i`, Imam Malik, and him Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal.

His students included many of the foremost scholars of Hadith. Abu Dawud said of him: "Ahmad's gatherings were gatherings of the afterlife: nothing of this world was mentioned. Never once did I hear him mention this-worldly things."

... Imam Ahmad never once missed praying in the night, and used to recite the entire [Qur'an] daily. Imam Ahmad was imprisoned and subjected to various forms of torture for twenty-eight months under the Abbasid caliph al-Mu`tasim in an effort to force him to publicly support the [Mu`tazila] position that the Holy [Qur'an] was created, but the Imam refused to give up the belief that the [Qur'an] is the uncreated word of Allah, after which Allah delivered and vindicated him.

"When Imam Ahmad died in 241/855, he was accompanied to his resting place by a funeral procession of eight hundred thousand men and sixty thousand women, marking the departure of the last of the four great mujtahid Imams of Islam."

Al-Dhahabi describes him saying:

"The true Sheikh of Islam and leader of the Muslims at his time, the Hadith master and proof of the Religion. He took Hadith from Hushaym, Ibrahim ibn Sa`d, Sufyan ibn `Uyayna, `Abbad ibn `Abbad, Yahya Ibn Abi Za'ida, and their layer. From him narrated al-Bukhari [two Hadiths in the Sahih], Muslim [22], Abu Dawud [254], Abu Zur`a, Mutayyan, `Abd Allah ibn Ahmad, Abu al-Qasim al-Baghawi, and a huge array of scholars. His father was a soldier one of those who called to Islam and he died young."- Al-Dhahabi continues.

Ibn al-Jawzi relates in al-Manaaqib (p. 192):

"Imaam Ahmad was the foremost among the Imams in collecting the Sunnah and sticking to it."

`Abd Allah ibn Ahmad said:

"I heard Abu Zur`a [al-Razi] say: '"Your father had memorized a million Hadiths, which I rehearsed with him according to topic.""

Hanbal said:

"I heard Abu `Abd Allah say: "I memorized everything which I heard from Hushaym when he was alive.""

Ibrahim al-Harbi said:

"I held Ahmad as one for whom Allah had gathered up the combined knowledge of the first and the last."

Imam al-Shafi`i said:

"You (addressing Imaam Ahmad ibn Hanbal) are more knowledgeable about Hadith than I, so when a hadith is sahih (correct), inform me of it, whether it is from Kufah, Basrah or Syria, so that I may take the view of the hadith, as long as it is sahih."

Related by Ibn Abi Haatim in Aadaab ash-Shaafi'i (pp. 94-5),

Harmala said:

"I heard Imaam al-Shafi`i say: "I left Baghdad and did not leave behind me anyone more virtuous (afdal), more learned (a`lam), more knowledgeable (afqah) than Ahmad ibn Hanbal.""

`Ali ibn al-Madini said about Imam Ahmed Ibn Hanbal:

"Truly, Allah reinforced this Religion with Abu Bakr al-Siddiq the day of the Great Apostasy (al-Ridda), and He reinforced it with Ahmad ibn Hanbal the day of the Inquisition (al-Mihna)."

Abu `Ubayd said:

"The Science at its peak is in the custody of four men, of whom Ahmad ibn Hanbal is the most knowledgeable."

Ibn Ma`in said, as related by `Abbas [al-Duri]:

"They meant for me to be like Ahmad, but by Allah! I shall never in my life compare to him."

A lot of great scholars who followed the approach (Madhab) of Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal.

Ibn ul-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah says in his book Imam Bukhari, Imaam Muslim and Imaam Abu Dawood were strong followers of Imam Ahmad Ibn Hambal. Among other great Imams who followed the teachings of Imam Ahmad include Shaikh-ul-Islam Taqi ad-Deen Ibn Taymiyyah, Abdul Qadir Jillaani, Ibn ul-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, Al-Haafidh Zaynud-Deen Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali, Imam Muhammed Bin Abdul Wahab and Imam Ibn ul Jawzi.

Ibn al-Jawzi narrates from Bilal al-Khawass that the latter met al-Khidr and asked him: "What do you think of al-Shafi`i?" He said: "One of the Pillar-Saints (Awt'd)." " What about Ahmad Ibn Hanbal?" "He is a Siddiq."

Ibn al-Jawzi also narrates that Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal said:

"Whoever rejects a statement of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) is on the brink of destruction." and was the foremost in sticking to the Sunna and sahih hadith.

Among Imam ibn Hanbal's works is the great encyclopedia of Traditions called Musnad, collected by his son from his lectures and amplified by supplements - containing over twenty eight thousand traditions. Other works include Kitab-us-Salat, on the Discipline of Prayer and Kitab-us-Sunnah, on the Traditions of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).

Main sources:
al-Dhahabi, Siyar A`lam al-Nubala 9:434-547 #1876
and Tadhkira al-Huffaz 2:431 #438.
Source: radioislam.org

Muslims Profiles: Ibn Rushd (1128-1198), Spanish Muslim Philosopher

2010-01-23T02:46:00.000-08:00

Abul Waleed Muhammad Ibn Ahmad Ibn Muhammad Ibn Rushd, stands out as a towering figure in the history of Arab-Islamic thought, as well as that of West-European philosophy and theology.

Ibn Rushd, known as Averroes in the West, was born in 1128 A.D. in Cordova, where his father and grandfather had both been judges. His grandfather was well versed in Fiqh (Maliki School) and was also the Imam of the Cordova Mosque. Ibn Rushd received his education in Cordova and lived a quiet life, devoting most of his time to learned-pursuits. He studied philosophy and law from Abu J'afar Haroon and from Ibn Baja; he also studied medicine.

Al-Hakam, the famous Umayyad Caliph of Spain, had constructed a magnificent library in Cordova, which housed 500,000 books. Al Hakam studied many of these books and made brief marginal comments on them. This rich collection laid the foundation for intellectual study in Spain and provided the background for men like Ibn Rushd, who lived two centuries later. Abu Yaqub, the Caliph of Morocco, called Ibn Rushd to his capital and appointed him as his physician in place of Ibn Tufail.

His son, Yaqub al-Mansur, retained him for some time but soon Ibn Rushd's views on theology and philosophy drew the Caliph's wrath. All his books, barring strictly scientific ones, were burnt and he was banished to Lucena. However, as a result of intervention of several leading scholars he was forgiven after about four years and recalled to Morocco in 1198; but he died towards the end of the same year.

Ibn Rushd made remarkable contributions; in philosophy, logic, medicine, music and jurisprudence. A common theme throughout his writings is that there is no incompatibility between religion and philosophy when both are properly understood. His contributions to philosophy took many forms, ranging from his detailed commentaries on Aristotle, his defense of philosophy against the attacks of those who condemned it as contrary to Islam and his construction of a form of Aristotelianism which cleansed it, as far as was possible at the time, of Neoplatonic influences.

His well known book in medicine Kitab al-Kulyat fi al-Tibb was written before 1162 A.D. Its Latin translation was known as 'Colliget'. In it, Ibn Rushd has thrown light on various aspects of medicine, including the diagnoses, cure and prevention of diseases. The book concentrates on specific areas in comparison to Ibn Sina's wider scope of al-Qanun, but contains several original observations of Ibn Rushd.

In philosophy, his most important work Tuhafut al-Tuhafut was written in response to al-Ghazali's work. Ibn Rushd was criticized by many Muslim scholars for this book, which, nevertheless, had a profound influence on European thought, at least until the beginning of modern philosophy and experimental science. His views on fate were that man is neither in full control of his destiny nor is it fully predetermined for him. He wrote three commentaries on the works of Aristotle, as these were known then through Arabic translations.

The shortest Jami may be considered as a summary of the subject. The intermediate was Talkhis and the longest was the Tafsir. The longest commentary was, in fact, an original contribution as it was largely based on his analysis including interpretation of Qu'ranic concepts.

In the field of music, Ibn Rushd wrote a commentary on Aristotle's book De Anima, which was translated into Latin by Mitchell the Scott. In astronomy he wrote a treatise on the motion of the sphere, Kitab fi-Harakat al-Falak. He also summarized Almagest and divided it into two parts: description of the spheres, and movement of the spheres. This summary of the Almagest was translated from Arabic into Hebrew by Jacob Anatoli in 1231.

According to Ibn al-Abbar, Ibn Rushd's writings spread over 20,000 pages, the most famous of which deal with philosophy, medicine and jurisprudence. He wrote 20 books on medicine alone. Regarding jurisprudence, his book Bidayat al-Mujtahid wa-Nihayat- al-Muqtasid has been held by Ibn Jafar Thahabi as possibly the best book on the Maliki School of Fiqh.

Ibn Rushd's writings were translated into various languages, including Latin, English, German and Hebrew. Most of his commentaries on philosophy are preserved in the Hebrew translations, or in Latin translations from the Hebrew, and a few in the original Arabic, generally in Hebrew script. This reveals his wider acceptance in the West in comparison to the East. His commentary on zoology is entirely lost. Ibn Rushd also wrote commentaries on Plato's Republic, Galen's treatise on fevers, al-Farabi's logic, etc. Eighty-seven of his books are still extant. Ibn Rushd has been held as one of the greatest thinkers and scientists of the 12th century. Ibn Rushd influenced Western thought from the 12th to the 16th centuries. His books were included in the syllabi of Paris and other universities till the advent of modern experimental sciences.

Source: www.trincoll.edu

Muslims Profiles: Salah El Deen El Ayoubi

2010-01-23T02:32:00.000-08:00

Known in the West as Saladin Al Ayoubi, Salah-adeen Yusif ibn Ayoubi ibn Marwan was born in the year 1137 in the region of Iraq. Famous in the Western history books for his challenge against Richard the Lion heart, he is very seldom portrayed in his true light.

He was a man of good build, with a bright face, sharp eyes and a dark thick beard. He was known for his courage, strength of Iman and love of reading the Holy Qur�an. He was also famous for his eloquent speech and the kindness and mercy he had for his people. Although tough with the non believers he respected their creeds and allowed them to worship without facing any harm. Many of them holding good positions during his era.

Salah El Deen died and was, buried in Damascus on the 4th February 1197, leaving behind nothing more than 47 silver pieces and one gold coin.

During Salah El Deen�s lifetime the Muslims suffered being disunited and subject to humiliation from anti-Muslim powers.

In the coming line we will shed light on how Salah El Deen set about liberating Palestine from the Christian crusaders after he had united the Muslim Nation under his leadership.

In 1169 Salah El Deen took rule of Egypt, and started to make a lot of changes to improve its situation and uniting the State. After establishing his army in Egypt he proceeded to unite the various smaller Arab States that had become semi-independent states. In particular he annexed these States surrounding Palestine. Salah El Deen considered it first necessary to unite Muslims before he facing the Christian kingdoms in the Holy lands.

In 1187 the Christian King of Karak, who was called Arnat, launched an attack against a number of pilgrims travelling to make the hajj. The attackers, showing no mercy, plundered, tortured men, humiliated women. Whilst killing the pilgrims Arnat said: �Go tell Mohammad and ask him if he can save you.� This event ended a period of temporary peace that had ensued between Salah El Deen and the Christians who were occupying Palestine. Salah El Deen who was always keen on setting free Al-Quds (Jerusalem) and Al-Aqsa Mosque, was now given the opportunity to face the Christians.

When the news of this event reached Salah El Deen tried to overcome his outrage and sent a polite message to King Arnat. In the letter he asked him to respect the peace agreement, to free all the hostages and to return whatever he had stolen. But the King refused Salah El Deen�s request, leaving him no other choice but to teach him a good lesson.

After preparing his army in Damascus, in March 1187. Salah El Deen proceeded to Karak. After seizing Karak Salah El Deen�s next step was to move north towards Tabarieh to assess the reaction of the Christian armies.

The Christian army collected at Nazarate under the leadership of the King of Jerusalem. The battle commenced in May 1187 and ended in complete defeat for the Christians. The Christian army, now strengthened with reinforcements - including Richard, known as the Lion heart - were bent on seeking revenge. It appeared as if the whole Christian army collected at Safarid.

Salah El Deen, however, was always one step ahead of them. He decided to avoid Safarid and attack Tabarieh first. Salah El Deen�s plan was to push the Christian to leave their positions in Safarid so that they would be tired and exhausted by the difficult journey. In July 1187 Salah El Deen destroyed Tabarieh.

Forced into leaving their positions Salah El Deen�s plan proved its success. The Christians wore bulky armour and heavy weapons, the intense heat and shortage of water combined with the difficult terrain, weakened the Christian soldiers. And what was awaiting them? Courageous Muslim fighters were awaiting them, willing to sacrifice their life for the sake of Allah.

On the 4th July 1187, the Muslim army had surrounded the Christians and when the heat was unbearable and the fighting reached its climax, Salah El Deen ordered his soldiers to set fire to the grass and shrubs surrounding the enemy�s army. Their suffering complete, Salah El Deen inflicted on them a resounding defeat.

After this defeat the Christians amassed a strength of 50,000 fighters to do battle at Hiteen. The Christians lead by the Kings of Jerusalem, Karak and Tripoli were again defeated. Many of their princes and knights were taken as prisoners. It was Allah�s will that Salah El Deen should meet face to face with King Arnat of Karak, the butcher of innocent pilgrims. Before killing him with his own hands Salah El Deen told him he was killing him for defaming the honor and dignity of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and for murdering innocent Muslims.

From Hiteen Salah El Deen opened the Castle at Tabarieh. He then moved on to Akka and on a Friday he opened it peacefully. After performing the first Friday prayer he left the city to his son Al-Abdal. Salah El Deen then went to north to Sida and Beirut. All this occurred in one month.

At the outset Salah El Deen �s aim was setting free Al-Quds, the eradication of the Christian Kingdom and the uniting of the Muslim Ummah. With Jerusalem his target he moved to Askalan. This enabled him to cut off Jerusalem from the Mediterranean sea and by so doing isolating Jerusalem. He accomplished this on the 5th September 1187.

Before moving on Jerusalem he arranged with the well known Egyptian sailor, Hussain Uddeen El Hajeb, to move the Egyptian navy close to Palestine so as to prevent the Christian navy from approaching the coastline.

On the 19th September 1187 Salah-a-deen approached Jerusalem and proceeded to lay siege on the City. He bombarded the City with fire and projectiles until the Christians surrendered. The Muslim army led by Salah El Deen entered the City peacefully on Friday the 2nd October 1187. He put the Islamic flag and took down the large cross from the Dome of the Rock.

Salah El Deen expressed in the most practical way the kindness, and mercy of Islam when, at the peak of his victory and power he gave freedom for all inhabitants of Jerusalem to leave the City unharmed. When the Crusaders defeated Jerusalem in 1099 the streets of the City flowed with the blood of 70,000 slaughtered Muslims.

After Jerusalem, Salah El Deen opened negotiated with the Christians to leave the Islamic lands. The last stronghold of the Christians, Akka, was removed by the hand of Salah El Deen�s successor Zahir Babers.

Indeed Salah El Deen was both a kind merciful man and a great warrior.
Source: www.nasrproductions.i-p.com

Muslims Profiles; Umm Habibah: Ramlah Bin Abi Sufyan

2010-01-23T02:26:00.000-08:00

Umm Habibah is one of the wives of Prophet Mohamed (PBUH), and she is the daughter of Abi Sufyan; he was the leader of the camp of those who rejected faith in Mekkah. And he embraced Islam the day Muslims took control over Mekkah.

She was one of the earliest people to embrace Islam and a very good and sincere believer. She devoted the entire of her life to worshiping Allah.

Umm Habibah was married to Ubaid Allah ibn Jahsh before Prophet Mohamed (PBUH). And because they could not stand in the face of Quraysh�s cruelty they fled to Abyssinia and there she gave birth to her daughter Habibah.

After some time, Ubaid Allah converted to Christianity, which was his religion before embracing Islam. He indulged in drinking wine and then died, not as a Muslim.

Umm Habibah was a lady of dignity, so she decided to live alone after her husband turned back from his faith.

After Ramlah's husband died, Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) who had learned about what had happened to her and was scared she might turn back from her faith like her husband did, decided to propose to her and sent the Negus telling him about his proposal. And soon the Negus sent one of his maids called Abraha to Ramlah with the message seeking her agreement to marry Prophet Mohamed (PBUH). Umm Habibah was extremely happy and pleased to hear the message. She at once took off her silver bangles and rings, and gave them as a gift to Abraha.

The marriage was soon solemnized in Abyssinia. Khalid ibn Sa�id who was chosen by her to act as her legal guardian was present at the ceremony. The Negus read out the Khutba himself, and Khalid ibn Sa'id also made a speech in reply. On behalf of the Prophet, the Negus offered a dowry of four hundred Dinars to Khalid. The Negus also gave a huge wedding feast on behalf of Prophet Mohamed (PBUH). He was generous enough to send musk and ambergris to the bride through Abraha. Later, he made arrangements to send her to Medina by boat. Shurahil ibn Hasana accompanied Umm Habibah in her journey.

She was very charitable, virtuous woman and she was of great courage. She was very attached to the person of Prophet Mohamed (PBUH).

There is no other wife to Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) who is closer than Ramlah Bint Abu Saufyan in relation, and Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) gave no other wife a higher dowry than her.

There is about sixty-five Hadith narrated by her in the book Hadith. The Bukhary and Muslim agreed on two of them, and Muslim took two of them alone.

She died in the year 40 or 44 A.H, during the Caliphate of her brother, Mu'awiyah Abn Abi Saufyan. And was buried in al-Baqi cemetery next to all the wives of Prophet Mohamed (PBUH).
Source: WWW.PROPHETMOHAMED.COM

Muslims Profiles: Omar Al Khayyam

2010-01-23T02:23:00.000-08:00

Ghiyath al-Din Abul Fateh Omar Ibn Ibrahim Al-Khayyam was born at Nishapur, the provincial capital of Khurassan, (now Iran) around year 1044 A.D. He died at the same town when he was 85 years old.

Omar Al Khayyam was a Muslim Persian mathematician, astronomer, philosopher, physician and poet. Al Khayyam means "the tent-maker" in the Arabic language, most probably he was called by this name, because of his father's profession. Omar Al Khayyam wrote about his own name saying; "Khayyam, who stitched the tents of science, Has fallen in grief's furnace and been suddenly burned, The shears of Fate have cut the tent ropes of his life, And the broker of Hope has sold him for nothing! " Although he is considered a Persian, it has also been said that he could have belonged to the Al Khayyami tribe of Arab origin who might have settled in Persia. There are not so much details about his early life, except for the fact that he was educated at Nishapur, where he was born and where he lived. He also spent most of his life in Samarqand.

Omar Al Khayyam devoted all his time to the search for knowledge, he traveled to the great centers of learning, Samarqand, Bukhara, Balkh and Isphahan seeking knowledge and there he exchanged views with other scholars. His major accomplishments were in Algebra, he made early trials to classify most algebraic equations, including the third degree equations and he also offered solutions for a number of them.

His book Maqalat fi al-Jabr wa al-Muqabila is a masterpiece on algebra and has great importance in its development. Omar Al Khayyam is also considered to be the first to find the binomial theorem and determine binomial coefficients. In geometry, he studied generalities of Euclid and contributed to the theory of parallel lines. Omar Al Khayyam was also a renowned astronomer and a physician. He developed primitive astronomic tables, and invented methods for the accurate determination of specific gravity, etc. The Saljuq Sultan, Malikshah Jalal al-Din, invited him to the new observatory at Ray around 1074 and assigned him the task of determining a correct solar calendar.

Al Khayyam introduced a calendar that was remarkably accurate, and was named as Al-Tarikh-al-Jalali. It had an error of one day in 3770 years and was thus even superior to the Georgian calendar (error of 1 day in 3330 years). In metaphysics, he wrote three books Risala Dar Wujud and the recently discovered Nauruznamah.

Besides science and Mathematics, Al Khayyam was also a well-known poet. Although he wrote a number of important mathematical and scientific studies, Al Khayyam's fame as a scientist has been greatly outweighed in the West by the popularity of his Rubaiyat, epigrammatic verse quatrains. He is thought to have written about a thousand and four-line verses. He was best known in the Western world in 1839, when Edward Fitzgerald published an English translation of his Rubaiyat. This book has since become one of the most popular classics in the world of literature. Although the Rubaiyat was translated form its original language into English, it conveyed the complicated mystical and philosophical message of Al Khayyam. This proves the wealth of his rich thought.

Al Khayyam wrote many other books and monographs, out of which, only 10 books and thirty monographs have been identified. Of these, four are about mathematics, three physics, three metaphysics, one about algebra and another about geometry. Al Khayyam, who could be described as a man in despair, was always hiding his sorrows behind a smile. He pursued the truth through his whole life. He made great contributions to science, astronomy, poerty, philosophy, and mathematics. The outcome of his restless search for knowledge, could not be expressed better than in one of his quatrains: Our great wide world - a piece of dust. All human knowledge - words.

Source: www.trincoll.edu

Muslims Profiles: Abu Abdullah Al-Battani

2010-01-09T03:37:00.000-08:00

Abu Abdallah Muhammad Ibn Jabir Ibn Sinan al-Battanial-Harrani is a great Muslim astronomer mathematician and astrologer. He was of Sabian origin. His name in Latin is Albatenius, Albategnus, or Albategni.

He was born around 858 A.D. in Battan, a State of Harran. Battani received his first education through his father Jabir Ibn San'an al-Battani, who was also a well-known scientist. After this he moved to Raqqa, situated on the bank of the Euphrates, where he received advanced education and later on flourished as a scholar.

He migrated to Samarra at the beginning of the 9th century, and over there he worked till the end of his life in929 A.D.

He is one of the most prominent astronomers in the Islamic history. He contributed in a number of important discoveries in astronomy, which was the result of a long career of 42 years of research beginning at Raqqa when he was young.

His greatest discovery is the remarkably accurate determination of the solar year as being 365 days, 5 hours, 46 minutes and 24 seconds, which is very close to the latest estimates. He found that the longitude of the sun's apogee had increased by 16�, 47' since Ptolemy. This implied the important discovery of the motion of the solar upsides and of a slow variation in the equation of time. He did not believe in the trepidation of the equinoxes, although Copernicus held it.

Al-Battani pointed out with unbelievable accuracy the obliquity of the ecliptic, the length of the seasons and the true and mean orbit of the sun.

He rectified several orbits of the moon and the planets and propounded a new and very ingenious theory to determine the conditions of visibility of the new moon. He proved, in sharp contrast to Ptolemy, the variation of the apparent angular diameter of the sun and the possibility of annular eclipses. Dunthorne used his excellent observations of lunar and solar eclipses in 1749 to determine the secular acceleration of motion of the moon. He also provided very clear solutions by means of orthographic projection for some problems of spherical trigonometry.

In the field of mathematics, he was the first to replace the use of Greek chords by singes, with a clear understanding of their superiority. He also developed the concept of cotangent and furnished their table in degrees.

Abu Abdullah Al Battani wrote a number of books on astronomy and trigonometry. His most famous book was his astronomical treatise with tables, which was translated into Latin in the 12th century and flourished as De scienta stellerum � De numeris stellerum et motibus. An old translation of this is available at the Vatican.

What he wrote on astronomy was extremely influential in Europe till the Renaissance, with translations available in several languages. His original discoveries both in astronomy and trigonometry were of great help in the development of these scientific fields.

Source: members.tripod.com

Muslims Profiles: IBN AL-BAITAR

2010-01-09T03:35:00.000-08:00

Abu Muhammad Abdallah Ibn Ahmad Ibn al-Baitar Dhiya al-Din al-Malaqi was one of the best scientists of Muslim Spain and was the greatest botanist and pharmacist of the Middle Ages.

He was born towards the end of the 12th century, in the Spanish city of Malaqa (Malaga), and he died in Damascus in 1248.

He learned botany from Abu al-Abbas al-Nabati who is a well-learned botanist, and with him he started collecting plants from inside and outside Spain.

In 1219 he left Spain on a plant-collecting expedition and traveled along the northern coast of Africa as far as Asia Minor. The exact modes of his travel (whether by land or sea) are not known, but the major stations he visited include Bugia, Qastantunia (Constantinople), Tunis, Tripoli, Barqa and Adalia.

After 1224 he joined the service of al-Kamil, the Egyptian Governor, and was appointed chief herbalist. In 1227 al-Kamil extended his domination to Damascus, and Ibn al-Baitar accompanied him there, which gave him a great opportunity to collect plants.

During his stay in Syria, his researches on plants extended over a vast area, including Arabia and Palestine, where he was able to collect plants from stations located there.

Ibn Baitar's major contribution, Kitab al-Jami fi al-Adwiya al- Mufrada, is one of the greatest botanical compilations dealing with medicinal plants in Arabic. It enjoyed a high status among botanists up to the 16th century and is a systematic work that embodies earlier works, with due criticism, and adds a great part of original contribution. The encyclopedia comprises some 1,400 different items, largely medicinal plants and vegetables, of which about 200 plants were not known earlier. The book refers to the work of some 150 authors mostly Arabic, and it also quotes about 20 early Greek scientists. It was translated into Latin and published in 1758.

His second major work is Kitab al-Mlughni fi al-Adwiya al-Mufrada is an encyclopedia of medicine. The drugs are listed in accordance with their therapeutic value. Thus, its 20 different chapters deal with the plants bearing significance to diseases of various parts of the human body.

On surgical issues he has often quoted the famous Muslim surgeon, Abul Qasim Zahrawi. Besides Arabic, Baitar has given Greek and Latin names of the plants, thus facilitating transfer of knowledge.

Ibn Baitar's contributions are characterized by observation, analysis and classification and have exerted a profound influence on Eastern as well as Western botany and medicine.

Although his book al-Jami was translated and published late in the western languages as mentioned above, yet many scientists had long before that studied various parts of the book and made a lot of references to it.

Source: www.amanna.org

Muslims Profiles: Nasir Al-Din Al-Tusi

2010-01-09T02:43:00.000-08:00

Abu Jafar Muhammad Ibn Muhammad Ibn al-Hasan Nasir al-Din al-Tusi is an Iranian Muslim, and was one of the greatest scientists, philosophers, mathematicians, astronomers, theologians and physicians of the 7th/13th century Islamic lands and he was also a prolific writer. He was born in Tus (Khurasan) in 597/1201 C.E. He learnt sciences and philosophy from Kamal al-Din Ibn Yunus and others. He died in Baghdad in 672/1274.

His father was a jurist in the Twelfth Imam School. The school where al-Tusi was educated was mainly a religious establishment. However, while studying in Tus, he was taught other topics by his uncle, which had an important influence on his intellectual development. These topics included logic, physics and metaphysics. He also studied mathematics with other teachers, in particular algebra and geometry.

His ability and talent in learning enabled him to master a number of disciplines in a relatively short period, and he showed a great interest for mathematics, astronomy and the intellectual sciences at a very young age.

At the age of twenty-two or a while later, Tusi joined the court of Nasir al-Din Muhtashim, the Muslim governor of Quhistan, Northeast Iran, where he was accepted into the Islamic community as a novice (mustajib).

A sign of close personal relationship with Muhtashim�s family is to be seen in the dedication of a number of his scholarly works such as Akhlaq-i Nasiri and Akhlaq-i Muhtashimi to Nasir al-Din himself and Risala-yi Mu�iniyya to his son Mu�in al-Din.

In 1256 when the Mongols conquered Almut, Nasir al-Din joined Hulegu's service. Hulegu being himself interested in science, treated al-Tusi with great respect and he was deeply impressed by his knowledge, including his astrological competency; appointed him as one of his ministers, and, later on, as administrator of Auqaf. He was instrumental in the establishment and progress of the observatory at Maragha.

He made significant contributions in a large number of subjects, and it is indeed difficult to present his work in a few words. He wrote one or several treatises on different sciences and subjects including those on geometry, algebra, arithmetic, trigonometry, medicine, metaphysics, logic, ethics and theology. In addition he wrote poetry in Persian.

Being the chief scientist and the supervisor at the observatory established at Maragha, he made significant contributions to astronomy. The observatory was equipped with the best possible equipments, including those collected by the Mongol armies from Baghdad and other Islamic centers. The instruments included astrolabes, representations of constellations, epicycles, shapes of spheres, etc.

He himself invented an instrument 'turquet' that contained two planes. After the devoted work of 12 years at the observatory and with the assistance of his group, he produced new astronomical tables called Al-Zij-Ilkhani dedicated to Ilkhan (Hulegu Khan). Although Tusi had contemplated completing the tables in 30 years, the time required for the completion of planetary cycles, but he had to complete them in 12 years on orders from Hulegu Khan. The tables were largely based on original observations, but also drew upon the then existing knowledge on the subject. The Zij-Ilkhani became the most popular tables among astronomers and remained so till the 15th century.

Nasir al-Din pointed out several serious shortcomings in Ptolemy's astronomy and foreshadowed the later dissatisfaction with the system that culminated in the Copernican reforms.

In mathematics, his major contribution would seem to be in trigonometry, which was compiled by him as a new subject in its own right for the first time. Also he developed the subject of spherical trigonometry, including six fundamental formulas for the solution of spherical right-angled triangles.

In philosophy, his work on ethics entitled Akhlaq-i-Nasri became the most important book on the subject, and remained popular for centuries. His book Tajrid-al-'Aqaid was a major work on al-Kalam (Islamic Scholastic Philosophy) and enjoyed widespread popularity. Several commentaries were written on this book.

In logic al-Tusi followed the teachings of ibn Sina (Avicenna). He wrote five works on the subject, the most important of which is one on inference.

He wrote a famous work on minerals, which contains an interesting theory of colors based on mixtures of black and white, and included chapters on jewels and perfumes. He also wrote on medicine, but his medical works are among his least important.

The list of his known treatises is exhaustive; Brockelmann lists 56 and Sarton 64. About one-fourth of these concern mathematics, another fourth astronomy, another fourth philosophy and religion, and the remainder other subjects.

The books, though originally written in Arabic and Persian, were translated into Latin and other European languages in the Middle Ages and several of these have been printed.

Tusi's influence has been significant in the development of science, notably in mathematics and astronomy. His books were widely consulted for centuries and he has been held in high repute for his rich contributions. Tusi�s fame in his own lifetime guaranteed the survival of almost all of his scholarly output.

Source: ummah.net

Muslims Profiles: Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith

2010-01-09T02:21:00.000-08:00

Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith was the cousin of Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) and during their childhood and youth they were very close to each other, and they resembled each other a great deal. However, despite their strong relationship, Abu Sufyan completely rejected to embrace Islam for so many years.

Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith was born about the same time as the blessed Prophet Mohamed (PBUH), and he was also a foster-brother of the Prophet.

When Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) made public his call for Islam and warned people about the danger of continuing in their existing state of disbelief, injustice and immorality, the fire of envy and hatred erupted in the heart of Abu Sufyan. What was once a relation of love and brotherhood turned into a relation of resistance and opposition.

At that time Abu Sufyan was one of the most promoted fighters and horsemen of the Quraysh tribe and also one of their best poets.

He used both his sword and tongue in the battle against Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) and his mission. He participated in all the battles the Quraysh fought against Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) and in all the torture and persecution they made to the Muslims. He composed and recited verses attacking and vilifying Prophet Mohamed (PBUH).

Abu Sufyan stayed like that for almost twenty years. His three others brothers - Nawfal, Rabiah and Abdullah, had all embraced Islam except him.

However, in the eighth year after the Hijrah, just before the Islamic liberation of Makkah, Abu Sufyan's position began to shift. He began to reconsider his hostile position against Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) and his family convinced him that he was long in all what he was doing.

Eventually God opened his heart to Islam. He says: �I got up and said to my servant, Madhkur: 'Get ready a camel and a horse for us.� I took my son Jafar with me and we galloped with great speed towards al-Abwa between Makkah and Madinah. I heard that Mohamed camped there. As I approached the place, I covered my face so that no one could recognize and kill me before I could reach Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) and announce my acceptance of Islam directly to him.

I proceeded slowly on foot while advance groups of Muslims headed towards Makkah. I avoided their path out of fear that one of the Prophet's companions would recognize me. I continued in this fashion until I saw Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) on his mount. Coming out into the open, I went straight up to him and uncovered my face. He looked at me and recognized me. But, he turned his face away. I moved to face him once again. He avoided looking at me and again turned away his face. This happened repeatedly.

Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) and his companions completely rejected to talk or even look at Abu Safyan for days. Until Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) reached al-Jahfah (about four days journey from Makkah).

Abu Sufyan sat down at the door of the tent of Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) and his son Jafar stood beside him. But still Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) rejected to look at him.

The situation became too much for Abu sufyan and he said: �By God, either the Prophet, peace be on him, shows he is pleased with me or I shall take my son and go wandering through the land until we die of hunger and thirst.�

When Prophet Mohamed heard this, he relented and on leaving his tent, he looked more gently towards me then before. I so much hoped that he would smile.�

Eventually Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) relented and told Abu Sufyan, "There is now no blame on you."

The Prophet then called Ali ibn Abi Talib who had newly embraced Islam and told him:

"Teach your cousin how to perform wudu and about the Sunnah. Then bring him back to me."

When Ali returned, the Prophet said: "Tell all the people that the Messenger of God is pleased with Abu Sufyan and that they should be pleased with him."

Abu Sufyan continued: "The Prophet then entered Makkah and I too entered in his entourage. He went to the Sacred Mosque and I also went, trying my best to remain in his presence and not separate from him on any account...

In the Battle of Hunayn the Arabs put together an unprecedented force against Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) and they were determined to give a mortal blow to Islam and the Muslims.

Abu Sufyan narrated: The Prophet went out to confront them with a large number of his companions. I went out with him and when I saw the great throngs of mushrikin, I said: �By God. Today, I shall atone for all my past hostility towards the Prophet. Peace be on him, and he shall certainly see on my part what pleases God and what pleases him.�

When the two forces met, the pressure of the mushrikin on the Muslims was severe and the Muslims began to lose heart. Some even began to desert and terrible defeat stared us in the face. However, the Prophet stood firm in the thick of battle astride his mule "Ash-Shahba" like a towering mountain, wielding his sword and fighting for himself and those around him... I jumped from my horse and fought beside him. God knows that I desired martyrdom beside the Messenger of God. My uncle, al-Abbas, took the reins of the Prophet's mule and stood at his side. I took up my position on the other side. With my right hand I fended off attacks against the Prophet and with my left I held on to my mount.

When the Prophet saw my devastating blows on the enemy, he asked my uncle: �Who's this?� 'This is your brother and cousin. Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith. Be pleased with him. O Messenger of God.'

�I have done so and God has granted forgiveness to him for all the hostility he has directed against me.'�

My heart soared with happiness and wept .He turned towards me and said:

�My brother! Upon my life! Advance and strike!�

The words of the Prophet spurred me on and we plunged into the positions of the mushrikin until they were routed and fled in every direction.�

After the battle of Hunayn, Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith stayed in the company of the noble Prophet Mohamed (PBUH). But he was never able to look directly in the Prophet�s eyes out of shame and embarrassment for his past hostility towards him.

Abu Sufyan felt very bad because of what he had done to harm Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) and his mission and he spent so many nights regretting trying to extinguish the light of God and refusing to follow His message.

He spent his days and nights reciting the verses of the Quran. Trying to understand and follow its laws and profit by its admonitions. He shunned the world and its adornments and turned to the worship of Allah.

One day Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) saw him entering the mosque and asked his wife:

"Do you know who is this, Aishah?"

"No, O Messenger of God." she replied.

�This is my cousin. Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith. See, he is the first to enter the masjid and the last to leave. His eyes do not leave his shoelace."

On the death of Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) Abu Sufyan felt intense grief and wept bitterly.

During the caliphate of Umar al-Farouk, Abu Sufyan felt his end drawing near.

One-day people saw him in al-Baqi, the cemetery not far from the Prophet's mosque where many Sahabah are buried. He was digging and fashioning a grave. They were surprised to see him doing that.

After three days Abu Sufyan was lying on his death bed. His family gathered around him weeping but he said: "Do not weep for me. By God, I did not commit any wrong since I accepted Islam." He then died after serving Islam with all he had of power.

Source: famousmuslims.com

Muslims Profiles: Amr Ibn Al-Aas

2010-01-09T02:19:00.000-08:00

Amr Ibn Al-Aas was one of the glorious companions of Prophet Mohamed (PBUH). Before embracing Islam he was one of the Quraish people who resisted Islam. After joining Islam, he became one of the brave leaders and fighters of Islam. He was also known for his great generosity.

His external appearance, his way of walking and conversing, indicated that he was created for commanding to the extent that it has been related that the Commander of the Faithful Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab saw Amr once approaching, so he smiled at the way he was walking and said, "It should not be for Abu Abd Allah to walk on the earth except as a commander."

Amr Ibn Al-Aas was not among the earliest ones to embrace Islam. He embraced Islam just before the Conquest of Makkah.

It is surprising that he became a Muslim at the hands of An-Najaashiy in Abyssinia. An-Nagaashiy knew Amr and respected him because of his several visits to Abyssinia and the abundant gifts which he used to carry to An-Najaashiy.

During Amr�s last visit to Abyssinia people were talking about the Prophet who was calling to monotheism and to the nobility of morals in the Arabian Peninsula. The Abyssinian ruler asked Amr, "How could you not believe in him and follow him, when he is truly a Messenger from Allah?" Amr then asked An-Najaashiy, " Is he thus?" An-Najaashiy answered, "Yes, so obey me, Amr, and follow him, for indeed, by Allah, he is on the path of truth and he will surpass those who stood against him!�

So Amr left and decided to go to Madiinah. On the road leading to Al-Madiinah, he met Khaalid Ibn Al-Waliid coming from Makkah, who was also going to Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) to swear allegiance to Islam.

As soon as Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) saw them coming towards him, his face beamed with joy and he said to his Companions, "Makkah has gifted you with its most noble leaders."

Khaliid approached and swore allegiance. Then Amr approached and said, "Indeed, I swear allegiance to you provided that you ask Allah to forgive me my previous sins."

Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) answered him saying: "O Amr, swear allegiance, for indeed Islam disregards whatever preceded it."

Amr swore allegiance and placed his wits and bravery at the service of Islam.

When Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) died, Amr was appointed ruler over Oman and during the caliphate of Umar he performed his famous deeds in the Syrian wars and then in the liberation of Egypt from the rule of Rome.

Whenever the Muslims were facing danger, Amr would deal with these events in a commanding manner, as one who possesses intelligence, wits, and a capability, which made him self-confident and proud of his excellence.

Amr was honest to the extent that Umar Ibn Al-Khaftaab who was strict in choosing his governor, chose him as governor over Palestine and Jordan, then over Egypt.

He was also very sharp-witted with strong intuitive understanding and deep vision, so much so that whenever Umar saw a person incapable of artifice, he clapped his palms in astonishment and said, "Glory be to Allah! Indeed, the Creator of this and the Creator of Amr Ibn Al-Aas. Is one God!"

Amr was the one who liberated Egypt from the hegemony of two imperial powers, two modes of worship of two countries, and the worst punishment, the imperial power of Persia and the imperial power of Rome.

Amr and his Muslim army did not conquer Egypt but opened the way for Egypt to attach its destiny to the truth, tie its fate to justice, and find itself and its reality in the light of the words of Allah and the principles of Islam.

Amr was very careful in separating the citizens of Egypt and its Copts away from the army and keep the fighting restricted between himself and the Romans who occupied the land and robbed the wealth of its people.

He tried to convince some of the Christian leaders and their high priest to join the path of light by saying: "Indeed Allah sent Muhammad with the truth and ordered him to teach it. The Prophet carried out his mission, and he died after leaving us on that path, the clear straight path. Among the things he ordered us to do was to be responsible to the people, so we call you to Islam. Whoever responds is of us. He has what we have and he has the same rights and obligations as we do. And whoever does not respond to Islam, we enforce on him the payment of jizyah and we offer to him defense and protection. Our Prophet informed us that Egypt would open for us and advised us to be good to its people, saying: 'Egypt will be opened to you after me, so you are advised to treat its Copts well, for indeed, they have a covenant of protection and kinship relations,' so if you answer to what we call you to, you will have protection and security."

As soon as Amr finished speech some of the priests and rabbis shouted, saying: "Indeed the kinship of which your Prophet advised you is a remote kinship relationship, the like of which cannot be reached except by the prophets."

This was a perfect beginning for understanding between Amr and the Copts of Egypt, despite the fact that the Roman leader tried all what he could to destroy this tie.

Amr was very daring and unhesitant. He used to combine his daring with his wits in some instances so that he would be thought to be cowardly or hesitant. However, it was the capacity to trick, which Amr perfected with great skill to get himself out of a destructive crisis.

An evidence of Amr�s wits and his skill of intuitive insight, is seen in his position with respect to the commander of the Citadel of Babylon (near present day Cairo) during his war with Rome in Egypt and, in another historical narration, in the battle we shall mention which took place in Yarmuuk with Artubun of Rome.

When Artubun invited Amr to talk, they gave an order to some of their men to throw a rock at him immediately upon his departure from the Citadel and to prepare everything so that the killing of Amr would be an inevitable matter.

Amr met the commander, not suspecting anything from him, and their meeting ended. While Amr was on his way out of the Citadel, he glimpsed over the walls something suspicious that aroused in him a strong sense of danger, and immediately he behaved in an outstanding manner.

He returned back to the commander of the Citadel, in safe, secure, slow steps, with confident, happy feelings, as if nothing had scared him at all or had aroused his suspicion. He met the commander and said to him, "An idea came across my mind I wanted you to know. I have with me, where my companions are camped, a group from among the first Companions of the Messenger to enter into Islam. The Commander of the Faithful would not decide anything without consulting them and would not send an army unless he put them at the head of its fighters and soldiers. I will bring them to you so that they hear from you that which I heard, so they will become as clear in the matter as I am."

The Roman commander felt that Amr had granted him the opportunity of a lifetime. Therefore, he thought. Let us agree with him, and when he returns with this number of Muslim commanders and the best of their men and their leaders, we will deliver the coup de grace and finish off all of them at once, instead of killing Amr alone.

Secretly he gave his order to put off the plan that was devised to assassinate Amr, and he saw Amr off cordially and shook his hand with enthusiasm and fervor. Amr smiled the most intelligent of Arab smiles as he was leaving the Citadel.

In the morning Amr returned to the Citadel at the head of an army, mounted on his horse.

In A.H. 43, death caught up with Amr Ibn Al-Aas in Egypt, where he was ruling. He recaptured his life in the moments of departure, saying, "In the first part of my life I was a disbeliever, and I was one of the fiercest people against the Messenger of Allah, so if I had died on that day, the fire would have been my fate. Then, I swore allegiance to the Messenger of Allah, and there was no person dearer to me than he and more glorious in my eyes than he. If I wanted to describe him, I could not, because I was not able to fill my eyes with him on account of being in awe of him. If I had died back then, I would have wished to be of the inhabitants of Paradise. Then after that I was tested with command and with material things. I do not know if they were for me or against me.

"Then he raised his sight to the sky in awe, calling upon his Lord, the Merciful, the Magnificent, saying, "Allah, I am not innocent, so forgive me. I am not mighty, so help me. And if Your mercy does not come to me, I will surely be of those destroyed."

And he continued in his yearning and his prayers until his spirit ascended to Allah and his last words were, "There is no god but Allah."

The Mosque of Amr is the first mosque in Egypt.

Source: beautifuIslam.net

Islamic Calendar

2010-01-09T01:22:00.000-08:00

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

In the Holy Quran we read:

"They ask thee about the new moons. Say, These are means for measuring time for people's affairs and for the Pilgrimage" (Holy Quran, Ch. 2 V. 190)

Islam has made use of both the lunar and solar system of measuring times. Where worship is to be performed in different parts of the day the solar system of reckoning time is used as in the five daily Prayers or for the beginning and breaking of the fast, and where worship is to be completed within a particular month or part thereof, the lunar system is used, as in the determination of the month or part thereof, the lunar system is used, as in the determination of the month of fasting or fixing the time of Hajj or other festivals.

To calculate conversions from one calendar year to the other the following formula is used:

G = H - ( (3 * H) / 100 ) + 622

H = G + ( ( G - 622) / 32 ) - 622

Where G = Gregorian year (AD)

H = Hijra year (AH)

Thus 2000 AD is 1421 AH

Islamic calendar consists of twelve lunar months. Each month may be of 29 or 30 days depending on the sighting of the new moon.

An lunar year has, on average, 355 days. This is 10 days less than the solar year. Hence an Islamic year is moved ahead 10 days each year in solar calendar year.

Following are the names of the Islamic months:

1. Muharram ul Haram

2. Safar

3. Rabi-ul-Awwal

4. Rab-ul-Akhir

5. Jamadi-ul-Awwal

6. Jamadi-ul-Akhir

7. Rajab

8. Sha'aban

9. Ramadhan

10. Shawwal

11. Dhul Qadah

12. Dhul Hijja

The Holy Quran states:

"The number of months with Allah has been twelve months by Allah's ordinance since the day He created the heavens and the earth. Of these four are known as sacred" (Holy Quran, ch., v 36)Muharram, Rajab, Dhul Qadah and Dhul Hijja are considered to be sacred months. Fighting during these sacred months is considered to be a sin.

Muslims Profiles: Abu Musa Al-Ashari

2010-01-09T01:19:00.000-08:00

He is Abdullah ibn Qays, one of the companions of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and witnessed some of the battles the Muslims waged against the athiests (Mushrikin).

When he went to Basrah as the governor, he called the inhabitants to a meeting and addressed them:

"The Amir al-Muminin, Umar, has sent me to you to teach you the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet (PBUH) and to clean your streets for you."

People were mesmerized when they heard Abu Musa Al Ashari�s words. They could easily understand that one of the responsibilities of a Muslim ruler was to guide people to the right path and teach them their religion. However, that one of his duties should be to clean streets was something new and surprising to them.

His real name was Abdullah ibn Qays but he was known as Abu Musa al-Ashari. He left his country, Yemen, heading to Makkah right after he heard that a Prophet had appeared there who was a man of rare insight, who called people to the worship One God and who possesses the highest standards of morality.

At Makkah, Abu Musa remained in the company of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and learned all about Islam. He returned to his country to propagate the word of Allah and spread the message of the Prophet (PBUH).

Just after the end of the Khaybar expedition he came to the Prophet in Madinah. His arrival there coincided with that of Jaffar ibn Abi Talib and other Muslims from Abyssinia and the Prophet welcomed them all with extreme joy and happiness.

Abu Musa came with more than fifty people from Yemen all of whom had embraced Islam. Among them were his two brothers, Abu Ruhm and Abu Burdah. The Prophet (PBUH) called those who came with Abu Musa Al Ashari the "Asharis". In fact the Prophet (PBUH) sometimes referred to all Yemenis as Asharis after Abu Musa al-Ashari�s name. He used to praise them for how soft and tender their hearts were. Also he (PBUH) held them up to the rest of his companions as a live model of good behavior.

Once Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said about them:

"If the Asharis go on an expedition or if they only have a little food among them, they would gather all they have on one cloth and divide it equally among themselves. They are thus from me and I am from them."

Soon Abu Musa became a very respectable figure among the Muslim community. He had many great nad noble qualities. He was a faqih gifted with intelligence and sound judgement and was considered as one of the leading judges in the early stages of the Muslim community. People used to say:

"The judges in our Nation are four: Umar, Ali, Abu Musa and Zayd ibn Thabit."

Abu Musa had a natural, uncomplicated character. He was by nature a trustworthy person and expected people to deal with him on the basis of trust and sincerity.

In the field of jihad (fight for the sake of Islam), he was a brave warrior of extraordinary skills.

The Prophet (PBUH) once said of him: "The master of horsemen is Abu Musa."

"Abu Musa's insight and the soundness of his judgment did not allow him to be deceived by an enemy in battle. In battle conditions he saw situations with complete clarity and executed his actions with a firm resolve.

Abu Musa was in charge of the Muslim army crossing the lands of the Sasanian Empire. At Isfahan, the people came to him and asked to pay the jizyah (in return for military protection) as an attempt to avoid fighting and reach peace. However, something was behind their offer; they merely wanted an opportunity to launch a treacherous attack on the Muslims. Abu Musa however knew that there was something fishy, and so he remained on the alert. Thus when the Isfahanis launched their attack, the Muslim leader was ready for them, He engaged them in battle and before midday of the following day, he had won a decisive victory.

In facing powerful Sasanian Empire Abu Musa's role was unprecedented . In the great Battle of Tustar itself, he was indeed a distinguished military commander.

The Persian commander, Hormuzan, withdrew his troops to the strongly fortified city of Tustar. The Caliph Umar did not underestimate the strength of the enemy and he mobilized powerful and numerous force to confront Hormuzan. Among the Muslim forces were dedicated veterans like Ammar ibn Yasir, al-Baraa ibn Malik and his brother Anas, Majra'a al-Bakri and Salamah ibn Rajaa. Umar appointed Abu Musa as commander of the army.

So well fortified was Tustar that it was impossible to take it by storm. Several attempts were made to breach the walls but these proved unsuccessful. There followed a long and difficult siege which became even more testing and agonizing for the Muslims when, as we saw in the story of al-Baraa ibn Malik, the Persians began throwing down iron chains from the walls of the fortress at the ends of which were fastened red-hot iron hooks. Muslims were caught by these hooks and were pulled up either dead or in the agony of death.

Although Abu Musa was a strong and brave warrior, he used to weep after every battle, full of agony at the death of the Muslim fighters. At such times, he would read the Qur�an in a voice that profoundly stirred the people�s emotions. Regarding the way Abu Musa used to recite the Holy Qur�an, Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) once said:

"Abu Musa has indeed been given one of the flutes of the people of David."

Also, Umar Ibn AL Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, often summoned Abu Musa and asked him to recite versed from the Qur�an, saying:

"Create in us a yearning for our Lord, O Abu Musa." As a mark of his dedication to the Qur�an, Abu Musa was one of the few companions who had prepared a mushaf a written collection of the revelations.

Abu Musa only participated in wars that were waged the atheists (Mushrikin), and those who tried to oppose the religion Allah and extinguish the light of faith.

Source: anwary-islam.com

Muslims Profiles: Maimunah bint al-Harith

2010-01-09T01:16:00.000-08:00

Maimunah bint al-Harith was one of the noble wives of Prophet Mohamed (PBUH). Before marring the Prophet she was called Barra, but after they got married, he called her Maimunah, which means, "Blessed". She lived with the Prophet for only three years. She was known for her great generosity and her love and devotion to Allah.

Maimunah's sister, Umm al-Fadl Lubaba, was the mother of Abdullah ibn Abbas, the son of one of the uncles of Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) and the one of the wisest of his companions.

Zainab bint Khuzayma, Umm al Muminin, was also her half-sister.

Her other sisters included Asma bint Umays, the wife of Ja'far ibn Abi Talib, and Salmah bint Umays, the wife of Hamza, the "Lion of Allah".

Her full sisters were Lubaba, Asmah and Izza. Maimunah was thus one of the 'Ahlul- Bayt�, (the people of the House), not only by the virtue of being a wife of Prophet Mohamed (PBUH), but also because she was related to him.

Zayd bin Arqam related that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:

"I implore you by Allah! The People of my House!� three times.

Zayd asked who were the People of the House, and Prophet Mohamed (PBUH), said:

"The family of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the family of Jafar ibn Abi Talib, the family Aqil ibn Abi Talib, and the family of Al Abbas ibn Abdal Muttalib.�

Maimunah wanted to be one of the wives of Prophet Mohamed (PBUH), so she went to her sister, Umm al Fadl to talk to her about that and she, in returm, spoke to her husband, al-Abbas. Al-Abbas immediately went to the Prophet (PBUH) with Maimunah's offer of to marry him and her proposal was accepted.

When she received this great news she was on a camel. She immediately got off the camel and said: "The camel and what is on it is for the Messenger of Allah (PBUH)."

They got married in the month of Shawwal in 7 AH, when the Prophet was sixty years old and she was thirty-six years old, just after the Muslims of Medina were permitted to visit Mecca under the terms of the treaty of Hudaybiyya to perform umra. Allah Almighty sent the following ayat about this:

�Any believing woman who dedicates herself to the Prophet if the Prophet wishes to wed her, that is only for thee and not for the believers�. (Quran 33:50)

She was known for her good nature. She never quarreled or disputed with any of the Prophet's other wives.

A'isha said about her, "Among us, she had the most fear of Allah and did the most to maintain ties of kinship."

It was in her room that Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) first began to feel the effects of what became his final illness and asked the permission of his wives to stay in A'isha's room while it lasted.

She devoted her whole life to the worship of Allah, and whenever she saw anything wrong she used to changed it with her own hands.

After Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) died, Maimunah continued to live in Medina for another forty years. She died at the age of eighty, in 51 AH, (may Allah be pleased with her), being the last of the Prophet's wives to die.

She asked to be buried where she had married the Prophet at Saraf and her request was carried out.

It was related that at the funeral of Maimunah, Ibn Abbas said: "This is the wife of Allah's Messenger, (PBUH) so when you lift her bier, do not shake her or disturb her, but be gentle."

Source: ummah.net

Muslims Profiles : Yaqub Ibn Ishaq al-Kindi

2010-01-09T01:13:00.000-08:00

Abu Yousuf Yaqub Ibn Ishaq al-Kindi was born at Kufa around 800 A.D. He was brilliant in many fields, and on account of his great work he became known as the philosopher of the Arabs. He died in 873 A.D. during the reign of al-M'utamid.

His father was an official of Haroon al-Rashid. Al-Kindi was a contemporary of al-Mamun, al-Mu'tasim and al-Mutawakkil and flourished largely at Baghdad. Mutawakkil employed him formally as a calligrapher. On account of his philosophical views, Mutawakkil got angry with him and confiscated all his books. However, his works were returned later on.

Al-Kindi�s skills cover many fields; he was a philosopher, mathematician, physicist, astronomer, physician, geographer and even an expert in music. It is amazing how he was able to make original contributions to all of these fields.

He wrote four books in mathematics, on the number system and laid the foundation of a large part of modern arithmetic. No doubt the Arabic system of numerals was largely developed by al_Khawarizmi but al-Kindi also made rich contributions to it. He also contributed to spherical geometry to help him in astronomical studies.

In the field of chemistry, he opposed the idea that base metals can be converted to precious metals. In contrast to prevailing alchemical views, he was emphatic that chemical reactions cannot bring about the transformation of elements.

In physics, he made rich contributions to geometrical optics and wrote a book on it. This book later on provided guidance and inspiration to such eminent scientists like Roger Bacon.

In medicine, his major contribution comprises the fact that he was the first one to systematically determine the doses to be administered of all the drugs known at his time. This resolved the conflicting views prevailing among physicians on the dosage that caused difficulties in writing recipes.

Very few information was known about the scientific aspects of music in his time. He pointed out that the various notes that combine to produce harmony have a specific pitch each. Thus, notes with too low or too high pitches are non-pleasant. The degree of harmony depends on the frequency of notes, etc. He also showed that when a sound is produced, it generates waves in the air, which strike the eardrum. His work contains a notation on the determination of pitch.

He was a prolific writer: the total sum of books he wrote was 241, the prominent among which were divided as follows:

Astronomy 16, Arithmetic 11, Geometry 32, Medicine 22, Physics 12, Philosophy 22, Logic 9, Psychology 5, Arts and Music 7.

In addition, various monographs he wrote deal with tides, astronomical instruments, rocks, precious stones, etc.

Also he was an early translator of Greek works into Arabic, but this fact has largely been over-shadowed by his numerous original writings. It is unfortunate that most of his books are no longer extant, but those existing speak very high of his standard of scholarship and contribution.

In Latin he was known as Alkindus, and Gherard of Cremona translated a great number of his books into Latin. His books that were translated into Latin during the Middle Ages comprise Risalah dar Tanjim, Ikhtiyarat al-Ayyam, Ilahyat-e-Aristu, al-Mosiqa, Mad-o-Jazr, and Aduiyah Murakkaba.

Al-Kindi's influence on development of science and philosophy was significant in the revival of sciences in that period. In the Middle Ages, Cardano considered him as one of the twelve greatest minds. His works, in fact, lead to further development of various subjects for centuries, notably physics, mathematics, medicine and music.

Source: muslimphilosophy.com

Rising Islamism and (Bad) Islamic Economics

2009-12-31T10:47:00.000-08:00

Any keen observer of the Islamic world must see this. Islamism is on the rise, first and foremost in terms of identity politics of the Muslim masses. Other forms of identity have failed, and have been abandoned by the masses: Arab nationalism and socialism of Nasser and the Ba`th; ancient nationalism such as Pharonic Egypt, Babylonian Iraq, Phoenecian Lebanon, and Cyrus's Persia, etc.; and globalized westernism. Elements of all three tendencies continue, of course, but they are constantly being pushed to the margins, as a new brand of Islamism is on the rise.

When they think of rising Islamism, people (and governments) in the west tend to think mainly of violent "jihadists", as they like to call them, but that is far from accurate. My own casual observation identifies mainly two groups. The first is a group who adopt the appearance of religiosity, in dress, language, etc., but retain a true identity that is some mixture of the three aforementioned (non-Islamist) tendencies. This includes people who use religion to advance their economic objectives, or simply to fit into an increasingly religious society.

The second group is much more interesting, but it appears to be suffering an identity crisis. They seek to live according to an Islamic ideal, but quickly discover that the Islamic ideal is largely fictional. This group includes well-meaning Muslims who turn to religious studies, only to discover the irrelevance and corruption of what they had considered scholarly circles. It includes MBA-holders who decide to get into "Islamic finance", only to discover that it is a racket for enriching cynical English bankers and lawyers, along with some corrupt, gullible, or greedy Muslims.

Most importantly, the second group includes most of the masses in Egypt, Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey, and elsewhere, who would like to embrace the slogan "Islam is the solution", but fail to see how that solution would work in reality. This is the greatest failure of the school of thought generally known as "Islamic Economics", which sought to develop an understanding of Political Economy from "an Islamic perspective".

Timur Kuran has written a lot about this school of thought and its failures (most of those writings were reproduced in his recent book Islam and Mammon). Timur's conclusion is that the historical and intellectual record of "Islamic economics" illustrates that Islamism has also failed. It is definitely true that the brand of mid-Twentieth Century Islamism, which is still unfortunately marketed by most formal Islamic organizations, including the Islamic Development Bank and others, have indeed failed, and failed miserably, especially in the countries where it was taken most seriously -- Pakistan, Iran and Sudan.

However, if we are interested in real economic development in the Islamic world (beyond just pumping oil and gas, erecting buildings, and selling cell phones), we cannot dismiss the rising wave of Islamism. Indeed, religious inclinations can serve as a greater social bond for a new social contract than any nationalism or western materialism.

The difficulty is this: to find or develop and workable "Islamic solution", one must abandon historical and pietist utopianism. Islamic history, from its earliest days, has never painted a rosy picture. Islamic societies prospered when they were open to learning from others: Sassanid, Byzantine, etc. The famous Prophetic tradition said: "seek knowledge (`ilm), even [if you have to go to] China", and yet our young still seek knowledge (`ilm) only by going to Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, or Egypt, centuries after the Islamic world ceased to be a main depositary of knowledge.

The result is "Islamic finance", "Islamic jeans", and "Islamic Cola", along with satellite channels that broadcast feel good televangelist speeches about Islam, and broadcasting songs about Hijab and the Prophet in between MTV-style videoclips. This pattern cannot satisfy the increasing Islamist sentiment for long. Suspicions about the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, and other political Islamist groups notwithstanding, it seems almost inevitable that the growing wave of Islamism will bring a wave of political Islamists to power throughout the region.

The choice is most likely restricted to one of three scenarios:

(1) If they use the current pietist/historical brands of Islamism, those Islamist groups will fail, just like their predecessors did in Pakistan, Iran, and Sudan. Advocates of western capitalism will point to that failure to advocate abanadoning the Islamist identity. The Islamists will increase in their opposition to western capitalism, arguing that the fault was not with the ideal, but with its implementation. The rift between the two groups grows until every country in the region looks like Turkey.

(2) Some may follow the Erdogan route, but that is really just western capitalism dressed in Islamist garb, and thus unlikely to serve any long-term socioeconomic goals. In the meantime, as we learned from the recent Turkish presidency campaign fallout, the secularists will not allow even some token symbolic victories to Islamists. To survive, the Islamists must make more compromises to prove that they are "moderates", but they will only be tolerated if they become effectively more secularist than the secularists.

(3) A new definition of Islamic-democratic political economy emerges. It is not clear that Muslims have the requisite political and intellectual human capital to develop such a paradigm over the course of few decades. Daunting as the task may be, this seems to be the least painful of the available options, and the one most conducive to bona fide economic and social development in the short to medium term.

By Mahmoud El-Gamal

Rating agencies, shoddy risk analysis, and sukuk

2009-12-31T10:42:00.000-08:00

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal identifies the role played by rating agencies in perpetuating the credit boom that is currently imploding. The primary fault of investors, of course, is that they believed that credit ratings of new and unknown instruments, such as credit derivatives, are meaningful in any way. It is obvious that credit and asset-backed derivatives are signficantly different from the types of bonds that rating-agency experts are qualified to to assess (in terms of default risk).

In the case of sukuk, the silly bonds marketed as "Islamic" by rent-seekers, there are numerous legal risks that are very poorly understood, including by the lawyers and bankers who structure the instruments. The problem in this case is self-inflicted: the lawyers want to structure the instruments, e.g. lease-backed bonds or sukuk al-ijara, in such a way as to assure "Shari`a scholars" that bond-holders have material ownership of the underlying assets and receive "rent" rather than "interest". At the same time, they want to assure markets and rating agencies that the instruments are indistinguishable from conventional bonds, where the only mateiral risk is credit risk of the issuer. The rating agencies read the legalese and conclude that the lawyers are right: the "Islamic" structure is merely a fiction, and there is only credit risk. They give the sukuk the same credit rating they would give any other unsecured bond issued by the same entity (see, e.g. S&P's analysis of Qatar's Global Sukuk, where the rating was based on the soundness of the Qatari economy, without any significance lent to the asset ostensibly being leased back by the issuing SPV).

Unless and until we have a high-visibilty case of bankruptcy, we will not know with any certainty who owns what in the maze of SPVs that lawyers and structured financiers love to use. Until then, many will continue to line their pockets with legal, structuring, and advisory fees, as they congratulate themselves on "innovative Islamic products." What a shame!

By Mahmoud El-Gamal

Zakah and Waqf -- Form & Substance Revisited

2009-12-31T10:39:00.000-08:00

Dr. Fahim Khan recently made an argument on IBFnet that we put the cart before the horse by jumping to Islamic banking and finance, which put the industry in bankers' hands, and therefore turned to satisfying historical forms of Shari`a, without any interest in substance. His prescribed cure is to turn to religious and historical Islamic institutions, Zakah and Waqf, focusing on Islamic economics, rather than merely finance -- which will take care of itself if we define proper economic objectives. I think that there is merit to this argument, but I fear that it is not sufficient.

First, and very briefly, financial considerations have been at the forefront of most economic activities nowadays. If we look at the real estate boom in Saudi Arabia, where Dr. Fahim lives, we will see that it is merely a mortar-and-steel manifestation of a financial bubble (that showed up first in the Saudi and neighboring stock markets, and in commodities, and then ultimately in the ridiculous waste of petrodollars in the building of vacant tall buildings in Dubai, Bahrain, Qatar, etc.). In the U.S., where I live, finance has also taken over much of what we do, with hedge funds and private equity firms buying and selling companies to turn a quick profit, rather than to restructure them and make them more productive.

Second, and more importantly, I fear that focusing on the historical institution of Waqf can be as detrimental to Islamic economics as focusing on sales and leases has been detrimental to Islamic finance. Moreover, the focus on Zakah is also misplaced given the narrow religious frame that real Islamic scholars (most notably, Dr. Al-Qaradawi) have imposed, despite the attempts of economists such as the late Dr. Mahmoud Abou El Saoud. Let me elaborate.

Problems with Awqaf

There is nothing distinctively Islamic about Waqf. At the advent of Islam in Arabia, there were two models of charitable trusts that the Muslims could have borrowed: the Roman and the Persian. The first texts in Sunna tell us that the first waqf in Madina was formed by one of the Medinese wealthy Jews, and then the second was by `Umar ibn Al-Khattab (r). In the second Hadith, the Prophet (p) simply told him "make it a waqf," clearly establishing that this was already a known practice. In fact, the Islamic Waqf, as the rules were later established by scholars, mimicked the Persian system. As historians have shown, this system of waqf then evolved with different rules, as scholars were very liberal in awqaf, since their essence
was charitable. In fact, however, awqaf quickly became means of circumventing inheritance rules -- to avoid division of property -- while ostensibly remaining charitable due to clauses that they became so once the waqif's genetic line ended.

Timur Kuran has written extensively on the inefficiencies of awqaf in Turkey and elsewhere in the Ottoman empire. The Iranian Bonyads continue to be a major source of monopoly power and inefficiency in the economy.

Of course, that does not mean that the trust/waqf model is inherently inferior to corporations, as Timur has argued. Indeed, one of the most powerful monopolies in the previous round of globalization around the turn of the 20th century was Standard Oil, which was a trust -- hence the U.S. has "anti-trust" rather than "anti-monopoly" laws, even when applied to corporations such as Microsoft.

Historians have traced the roots of the Anglo-American trust system to Awqaf, which King Roger II knew during his youth in Sicily. However, that model evolved in different directions, giving us much more effective trusts in the west today than the awqaf that have survived governments' attacks in the Islamic world. The evolution of the trust as an "un-corporation" might have given us a superior institution, as some legal scholars have argued recently, see Robert Sitkoff's papers on the topic. However, the Islamic world has in fact failed to make awqaf even play their own traditional role, let alone to become an engine for economic growth and development.

Thus, I fear that our focus on awqaf as a historical institution will put us in the same trap of looking at it as some kind of sacred institution, ignoring that there are no set rules for awqaf that are written in stone, and adhering again to form rather than substance.

Problems with Contemporary Zakah

Zakah is fundamentally a poverty-alleviation mechanism (the poor and destitute being the first two categories of recipients listed in the Qur'an), and therefore its role is by necessity quite restricted. In a country with limited poverty, it might turn into more general public finance, but even then restricted by scholars' categories of spending "in the way of Allah" (they include education, infrastructure building, etc.).

Those problems of spending Zakah funds notwithstanding, the biggest problem today with Zakah has to do with the collection of funds. The biggest source of Zakah funds if we were to apply the classical rules would be a percentage of oil and gas wealth (zakat al-ma`adin w al-rikaz). However, since those resources are generally nationalized, there is no point in going there!

For private individuals, there are numerous Zakah shelters. The rules of Zakah as a wealth tax was appropriate for the categories of merchants, shepherds, and farmers who possessed wealth during the Prophet's (p) time. Those rules are grossly inadequate today. Dr. Al-Qaradawi himself commented that when he visited Malaysia, he found that small farmers who produced grains and fruits paid the Zakah (zakat al-zuru` w al-thimar), but that the richer landowners who grew trees for the production of rubber paid no Zakah, since the classical rules do not include a tax on trees that did not bear fruit!

Worse, yet, today's capital for the average well-to-do Muslim may be in large part human capital (lawyers, doctors, etc.). Those can earn huge incomes, but then live in equally huge homes (Zakah exempt) and drive equally expensive cars (Zakah exempt), etc. In the end of the day, they have no gold or silver, no merchandise, no livestock, etc., and therefore pay no Zakah. The late Dr. Mohammad Al-Ghazali, and the late Dr. Abou El Saoud, tried to argue for an income Zakah, but Dr. Al-Qaradawi argued that Zakah contains a major ta`abbud (ritual worship) element, as the third pillar of Islam, and therefore did not want to apply analogical reasoning with much liberty. Needless to say, wealthy Muslims were more than happy to adopt this conservative view that allowed them to pay less!

Again, we have a problem with religious substance giving way to pietist adherence to forms. This is the general malaise of Muslims today. It is not restricted to finance.

adapted from http://elgamal.blogspot.com/2007/07/zakah-and-waqf-form-substance-revisited.html

Economic System of Islam: Dogmatist.

2009-12-31T10:26:00.000-08:00

Islam is an entire way of life, and Allah's Guidance extends into all areas of our lives. Islam has given detailed regulations for our economic life, which is balanced and fair. Muslims are to recognize that wealth, earnings, and material goods are the property of God, and we are merely His trustees. The principles of Islam aim at establishing a just society wherein everyone will behave responsibly and honestly. The fundamental principles of the Islamic economic system are as follows:

Muslims are not to deal in interest. "Those who devour usury will not stand....Allah has permitted trade and forbidden usury.... Allah will deprive usury of all blessing, but will give increase for deeds of charity...." (Qur'an 2:275-6) "O you who believe! Devour not usury, doubled and multiplied. But fear Allah, that you may really prosper." (3:130) This prohibition is for all interest-based transactions, whether giving or receiving, whether dealing with Muslims or non-Muslims. It is reported that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) cursed those who pay interest, those who receive it, those who write a contract based on it, and those who witness such a contract.

It is forbidden to gain property or wealth by fraud, deceit, theft, or other falsehoods. "...Give just measure and weight, and do not withhold from people the things that are their due. And do not do mischief on the earth after it has been set in order. That will be best for you, if you have faith." (7:85)

It is particularly hateful for a guardian to take from an orphan's property. "To orphans restore their property (when they reach their age). Do not substitute your worthless things for their good ones, and do not devour their property by mixing it up with your own. For this is indeed a great sin." (4:2)

Forbidden are earnings from gambling, lotteries, and the production, sale, and distribution of alcohol. "O you who believe! Intoxicants and gambling, sacrificing to stones, and divination by arrows are an abomination of Satan's handiwork. Eschew such abomination, that you may prosper." (5:90)

It is unlawful to hoard food and other basic necessities. Everyone should take what they need and no more. "And let those who covetously withhold of the gifts which Allah has given them of His Grace, think that it is good for them. No, it will be the worse for them. Soon it will tied to their necks like a twisted collar, on the Day of Judgment. To Allah belongs the heritage of the heavens and the earth, and Allah is well-acquainted with all that you do." (3:180)

A Muslim should be responsible in spending money. Extravagance and waste are strongly discouraged. "[The Servants of Allah are] Those who, when they spend, are not extravagant and not stingy, but hold a just balance between those extremes." (25:67) "O Children of Adam! Wear your beautiful apparel at every time and place of prayer. Eat and drink, but waste not by excess, for Allah loves not the wasters." (7:31)

Payment of Zakat (alms). "And they have been commanded no more than this: to worship Allah, offering Him sincere devotion, being true in faith. To establish regular prayer, and to give zakat. And that is the religion right and straight." (98:5) Every Muslim who owns wealth, more than a certain amount to meet his or her needs, must pay a fixed rate of Zakat to those in need. Zakat is a means of narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor, and to make sure that everyone's needs are met.

Muslims are encouraged to give constantly in charity. "Your riches and your children may be but a trial. Whereas Allah, with Him is the highest reward. So fear Allah as much as you can, listen and obey, and spend in charity for the benefit of your own souls. And those saved from the selfishness of their own souls, they are the ones that achieve prosperity." (64:15-16) The Prophet Muhammad once said that "nobody's assets are reduced by charity."

Importance Of Economics For Entrepreneurs

2009-12-31T10:21:00.000-08:00

Entrepreneur's job is to combine the factors of production. Knowledge of economic laws and principles enables him to have an ideal combination of the different factors of production. In ideal combination entrepreneurs gets maximum returns from input because the cost per unit is minimum and the consumer gets the goods at a low price as a result the demand for output increases because a number of people who can effort to purchase increases.

Its study helps them in the fixation of the prices of their produced commodities through cost and demand analysis and as a result they can get more profit and sometimes accommodates a large number of buyers.

Study of economics helps them in framing their business, policy and making effective decision related to their enterprises. Its studies also help them to solve their operational and management problems.

Economics guide the entrepreneurs in allocating the resources in different productive cannels in a rational way. This reduces waste and helps in getting maximum return.

Its study helps them in improving the efficiency of workers through different incentives such as increasing wage rates, improving working conditions and providing other facilities.

Economics guide consumers to distribute their income in purchasing of different commodities in such a way that they can satisfy their maximum number of wants within the given resources.

Its study helps them to distinguish b/w the productive and un-productive expenditures. In this way they can control their expenses and disposing off they're saving to d/f productive channels, which create a source of income for them in future.

By the study of economics businessmen learn the procedures and practices followed in trade and commerce. They get information about banking, monetary policy of government which helps them to organize and adjust their business activities and increase the margin of profit and improve the quality of his goods and services.

Economic guides the statesmen in locating the causes of socio-economic social and economic and problems and to take correct measures to solve them for the welfare of the nation for e.g. unemployment is a social as well as an economical problem which creates disturbance in the country and brings up many social evils. Study of economics helps the statesmen in locating its causes and provides suitable measures to solve this problem.

Economics also enables the statesmen to understand the working process of the economic system and analyzing its issues. Its study guides them to make such economic policies through which distribution of national wealth can be distributed equally among all the members of the society.

Statesmen get acquainted through economics with the working mechanism of economic variables such as production, consumption, saving, investment etc. Knowledge of such things helps them a lot in taking steps to ensure a prosperous life of the people.

By: Khalid Aziz

Islamic Economic System

2009-12-31T10:09:00.000-08:00

The followers of Islam are required to lead a material life in such a way that it becomes a source of happiness and prosperity in the existing world. It proves to be source of benevolence for them in the next world. With this point in view we now define Islamic economic system in line with the technical definitions given for other system.

“Islamic economic system consists of institutions, organizations

And the social values by which natural, human and man made

Resources are used to produce, exchange, distribute and consume

Wealth/goods and services under the guiding principles of Islam

To achieve FALAH in this world and also after it”

From the definition it is clear that Muslims are required to follow the principles of Islam in all aspects of an economy. For example production of wealth should take place strictly with in the limits described by Islam to find that ultimate consumption pattern of the people is evolved in line with the injunctions of Islam.

The silent features or the main characteristics of the economic system of Islam are as follows.

Islam gives a unique concept of ownership or right to private property. According to this concept every thing belongs to Allah and the people are trustees of what is being given to them by Allah. Thus, they are allowed to own and use property earned by them in accordance with the guidelines of Islam. This shows that Islam recognizes the individual’s right to private property and it permits ownership of all type of property.

Basic principles laid down in Islam for the consumption and investment of private property are as follows:

One has to distinguish between HALAL and HARAM in the pursuit of his/her earning or in the production and consumption of wealth.

Parading of ones wealth or ostentation is not allowed.

A property cannot be used against public interest.

Extravagance or spending lavishly on consumer goods and also miserliness on the contrary, is forbidden.

Real/money capital cannot be used for gambling.

People are not allowed to lend their money capital to earn interest.

Payment of Zakat and Ushar is compulsory and obligatory and therefore evasion in this regard would be illegal.

In an Islamic society people are not allowed to satisfy their wants by the way they choose, as it is their in other economic systems. According to Islamic principles, people are allowed to consume necessaries and comforts in life and luxuries are not allowed to be used in any way because this is against the concept of TAQWA. Hence Islam shows HALAL and HARAM. Only HALALS are required to be consumed and not the HARAM ones.

Price mechanism plays a key role in carrying out the production process in an Islamic society. To start with, prices of factors of production i.e. land, labour, capital and organizations are determined in the factor market through free competition between the owners of the factors and the entrepreneurs.

In the Islamic society, entrepreneurs are free to initiate, organize and run any business they choose and in any form they like, but only those goods and services will be produced whose production is allowed by Islam. Following types of production of wealth and the business thereof is not allowed by Islam and it cannot operate in an Islamic society.

1. Production of drugs, alcoholic drinks, gambling, prostitution, lottery, music and dance etc.

2. Lending and borrowing on interest.

3. Black marketing, hoarding, smuggling etc.

Islam does not advocate equal distribution of wealth in the sense that all individuals should have the same or equal means from livelihood and that there should be no difference in their economic status in society. It favors fair (not equal) distribution of wealth in the sense that it should not be confined to any particular section of the society. It is therefore required that wealth should spread out in the community and all individuals should have equal opportunities to seek employment or to do a business of their own choice.

Zakat/Ushar is a major source of revenue for the government in an Islamic state. It is a compulsory levy, on cattle, crops, merchandise, gold, silver and cash. It is a levy, not on income but on total wealth, which has been in the possession of an owner for one year. Whether the owner has utilized his wealth in production or not, he is liable to pay Zakat every year in the month of Rajab or after it.

An Islamic economy is always an interest free economy. Therefore, the earning of income an interest is totally forbidden in an Islamic state.

Islam advises its followers to invest their money capital in different forms of business organizations like sole proprietorship, partnership etc. In sole proprietorship entrepreneurs invest their own money capital to earn profit, while partner’s pool up their capital for investment to run the form of business called partnership. The profit earned thereof is distributed according to an agreement signed between the two parties. In the case of loss in business, the whole loss is borne by the person who makes capital investment while the other person loses his labor only.

The amount of capital in an Islamic state depends on the amount of saving. Therefore, to increase the amount of capital for economic growth in the Islamic economy it is absolutely necessary that (i) people should endeavor to increase their income, (ii) they should spend their income very carefully, (iii) there should be a sound security system to enable people to earn wealth freely and easily.

An Islamic government mostly assumes administrative responsibilities to achieve economic growth and stability in the state.

From the silent features of Islamic economic system it becomes evident that the system meets quite naturally the material and spiritual requirements of human beings as opposed to capitalism and communism wherein only the material wants are satisfied. Under this system, basic material needs in life i.e. food, shelter, clothing, health, education etc are provided to the people and the needy in particular. As far as spiritual needs are concerned, they are provided through spiritual values.

By:Khalid Aziz

The Issue of Riba in Islamic Faith and Law

2009-12-31T10:04:00.000-08:00

Perhaps one of the most difficult issues in Islamic concern for fairness in business dealings is its prohibition of business transactions that call for charging riba (usury and interest). Riba, in its Qur`anic meaning, means paying money for the use of money. Muslims have struggled with the problem ever since the Qur`an categorically denounced riba. From the Islamic perspective, with its bias towards fair distribution of wealth and social justice, the Qur`an's strictures against riba have implications for international political economy. The issue also confronts devout Muslim business people as they struggle to make their investments religiously and morally legitimate.

This essay will analyze the controversy around riba as a prime example of how Muslims engage in ethical reasoning about business practice. It will show that ethical judgements in Islam amalgamate cultural elements derived from the particular experience of Muslims living in a specific place and time, as verified by the timeless universal norms derived from the scriptural sources like the Qur`an and the Tradition (Sunna), which themselves possess common elements applicable to all humans as humans.

Although the business world today is moving towards globalization in which small businesses are going to be further marginalized, the paragon of business ethics in the Muslim world as well as the West remains a devout individual who exhibits unusual sense of ethical-religious responsibility towards the higher goals set by his/her religious teachings. To dismiss this dimension from discussions about the business world today is equivalent to saying that the highly technicalized business world is moving at a pace uncontrollable by human beings and that no human conscience is able to direct the moral consequences of wealth-generating enterprises, however exploitative or corruptive they might appear to morally conscious individual or group of individuals. The following case illustrates the ethical dilemma presented by the Qur`anic stricture against paying and charging interest in business dealings.

A Religious Ethical Dilemma for a Muslim Businessman

Mr. Kamaluddin, a highly successful businessman, was faced with an ethical dilemma of a religious kind when he bought his company some twenty-three years ago. At first he did not let the owner of the property know that he had an ethical and religious problem with a transaction that involved him paying interest, because he was concerned that the seller would have factored that interest into his selling price. So after Mr. Kamaluddin had negotiated the price, he told the owner that he make a down payment, and then cover the rest in installments over a period of time. However, he could not pay interest on the unpaid balance because that was not allowed by his religion. The owner suggested that the selling price be increased to cover the interest. Mr. Kamaluddin argued that it would amount to the same thing as paying interest and in good conscience he could not justify that. He also made it clear that if this were not acceptable then he would simply not proceed with the transaction. At this point, the owner agreed not to charge the interest. Mr. Kamaluddin finalized the deal and bought the business.

In this case the amount of the interest was not significant and the owner was not going to lose much money. Nevertheless, it is hard to predict what the owner would have done had the amount of the interest been significant. And because the stakes are often much higher, the prohibition on interest-taking presents serious problems to Muslim business people. While Mr. Kamaluddin had enough resources to make the down payment, those Muslims who don't, face a quandary. Either they would have to apply for a loan to an interest-charging bank or they would simply have to give up an opportunity to start a new business.

Conscience and social responsibility in Islam

Mr. Kamaluddin's case underscores one of the fundamental value differences in business practice between Muslims and their counterparts in the West, namely, the ethical status of interest related transactions. Religious rulings related to the charging, paying and taking of interest in Islamic legal tradition have been at the center of ethical deliberations among Muslims for many centuries. Around the world, mainstream Islamic opinion continues to regard interest as an impediment to social justice. As a result, the question of whether interest is a legitimate financial instrument or not remains an important issue of conscience. In the Islamic tradition, human acts have a direct impact upon the development of conscience, the source of determining the rightness or wrongness of human undertakings. The conscience must be constantly guarded against being corrupted. For when the conscience of individuals becomes corrupted as a result of neglecting ethical matters related to the production of daily sustenance, there remains no moral safeguard to prevent these individuals from engaging into more serious acts that would lead to the destruction of the very fabric of social relations founded upon divinely ingrained sense of justice and fairness.

Islam, as it developed in the regions inhabited by other monotheistic faiths like Judaism, Christianity and Zoroastrianism, shared an ethos of public order founded upon justice. It required the practice of a minimum of moral virtues intended to be a kind of "rule of life," to foster a sense of social responsibility. In the Islamic view, both reflection and intention must precede all human acts which infringe upon the spiritual and temporal well being of others. To guide such reflection and inform such intention, Islam has developed a cohesive body of ethical reflection. Islam, the third and last of the Abrahamic religions to emerge, literally means "submission to God's will". It was proclaimed by Muhammad (born 570 C.E.), the Prophet of Islam and the founder of Islamic public order during the 600s in Mecca, Arabia.

Along with certain rules, which were practical and material, temporary and external, Muslim jurists explicitly decreed various permanent restrictions designed to discipline both the body (rules about lawful foods and earning, about dress and public behavior) and the mind (prohibited subjects of thought and conversation that led to the corruption of conscience). In addition, Islam required certain expiatory works of charity to compensate for the sins of omission and commission. These works were intended primarily to inculcate a sense of social responsibility. Whereas the ritual acts, whether performed publicly in a group or privately, were the homage humankind paid to God and were intended to affect the conscience of the practicing believer, commercial engagements were closely tied to the notions of interpersonal justice and were intended to affect public behavior. In this latter sense, the rites are instruments provided by God for developing the conscience in the direction of greater social responsibility.

Islamic juridical discourse on the market

Islam required a good public order in which spiritual interests were organically related to individual material well-being. Hence the law of the marketplace was given almost equal weight with the regulations connected with acts of worship in the mosque. This emphasis on economic relations in the context of commercial markets was not suprising, given that Mecca was the most important trading center of western and central Arabia. Meccans played a dominant role in the creation of a culture that nurtured the cultivation and development of socioeconomic system based on Islamic justice.

The market mechanism is an integral part of the Islamic economic system because the institution of private property depends on it for its operation. It also provides the consumers to express their desires for the production of goods of their liking by their willingness to pay the price. But the profit motive that is essential for the operation of free enterprise, if not controlled, can also become a tool of greed and violate the Islamic goals of social and economic justice and equitable distribution of income and wealth. The strictures against usury in the Qur`an can be seen in the clear distinction Islam makes between legitimate trade with profit motive and unchecked individual greed to increase one's possessions manifold without engaging in precarious trade in a market economy. According to Muslim jurists:

The law in order for the people to benefit mutually permits buying and selling. There is no doubt that this can also be a cause of injustice, because both buyer and seller desire more profit and the Lawgiver has neither prohibited profit nor has He set limits to it. He has, however, prohibited fraud and cheating and ascribing to a commodity attributes that it does not possess.

The main concern of the Islamic public order was not so much collective interest as individual justice in transactions that had to be protected outside of close friendship and family ties. It was expected that, contrary to the claims of tribal kinship and noble family lineage that determined social relations in pre-Islamic Arabia, most human relations under Islam would take the form of contractual relations rather than be determined in advance by social status. Many provisions in the law attempted to back those who were weak in one way or another against the strong who might take advantage of them. While on the whole, faith in Islam constituted ten parts, only one part was related to the God-human relationship and claimed the status of a common universal obligation. The remaining nine parts were related to human relationships, and determined by contractual responsibilities and specific social and cultural experience.

Muslim juridical writings give detailed rulings related to the acquisition and disposal of private and business property and purchase and sale of merchandise. The underlying principle operative in market law is twofold: the autonomy of individual to own productive resources to further her or his economic interest, and the protection of the consumer from harm. The pursuit of individual economic interest was to be regulated within a communitarian ethic requiring the individual to take the competing interests of the community at large as morally binding. Therefore, any individual business undertaking seen to cause harm to the moral and spiritual fabric of the society was to be condemned and prohibited.

The protection of the consumer was regulated through the principle of non-maleficence (al-darar al-muhtamal). This principle required that resource-owners could not seek to cause harm to the buyers by using false information and other means to raise sales. Hence, deceptive advertising was regarded as morally wrong and legally punishable. The principle of public interest (maslahah) required that free mutual consent of the buyer and the seller be regarded as a necessary condition for any business transaction. The Qur`an provides the grounds for the ruling: "O believers, consume not your goods between you in vanity, except there be trading, by your agreeing together". Individual freedom in negotiating business transactions was recognized in the directive given by the Prophet: "Leave people alone for God provides them sustenance through each other". Thus freedom of enterprise leaves much of the production and distribution of goods and services to individuals or voluntarily constituted groups. However, even this otherwise absolute freedom was regulated by the legal principle of public interest that requires that faithful Muslims produce more good than harm.

The integration of ethics and law was most clearly worked out in Islamic economics. The need to regulate an economic system that would be compatible with Islamic concern for redistribution of wealth and social justice required Muslim jurists to resort to legal doctrines and practical rules where the validity of their rulings against certain forms of usury received judicious legal elaboration. The apparent meaning of those verses of the Qur`an that spoke about the prohibition of usury in a straightforward manner were developed through the legal principles and rules, case by case, to create the framework for a morally accountable financial exchange. The nature of this process of legal and ethical construction is taken up next.

Shari`ah and the Emergence of Principles from Cases

Islamic ethics, mediated through God's will, is an integral part of Islamic law: the Shari`ah. The Shari`ah is the divinely ordained blueprint for human conduct, which was inherently and essentially religious. It enjoys comprehensive scope, for it encompasses judgments of public interest and equity which link the overall prosperity of the community in this life and the next. The end of humanity is happiness, and this is attained fully through the rewards of God on the Day of Judgment for everything that humans do to improve the quality of spiritual and moral and material life of humanity.

Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) was developed to determine normative Islamic conduct as detailed in the Shari`ah. The legal precedents and principles provided by the Qur`an and Sunna were used to develop an elaborate system of rules of jurisprudence. By the middle of the eighth century, Islamic jurists had developed and laid down a legal theory to allow a judge or a mufti to find out in all circumstances what was the legal and moral action. The two sources for deriving authoritative guidance were the Qur`an, the basic scripture of Islam, and the Sunna, the normative directives deduced from the Prophet Muhammad's own actions. Two further resources in Sunni law were provided by the consensus (ijma`) of the scholars of legal tradition, and by a method of analogical deduction (qiyas). Sunni jurists used qiyas to project a new ruling from a known ruling by using data furnished by the Qur`an and the Sunna. Al-Shafi`i (d. 820), a rigorous legal thinker, systematically and comprehensively linked these four sources to extend Shari`ah to cover all possible contingencies. In the Shi`ite jurisrudence, the methodology of their founding scholar and Imam Ja`far al-Sadiq (d. 748) allowed greater use of human reason in deriving the entire system of the Shari`ah. Shi`ite jurists perfected the principle of the correlation between a judgment derived from reason and the one promulgated by the Qur'an and the Sunna, thereby giving human intuitive reason a substantial role in deriving legal decisions at all times. The `rule of correlation' (qa`idat al-mulazama) in Shi`ite law allows the jurists to infer the rulings in the Shari`ah from the sole verdict of reason.

Legal scholars and other administrative officials exercising judicial powers usually issued judgments of public interest, convenience or similar considerations. Duties and right actions that were not mentioned in the Qur`an and Sunna were to be determined by the exercise of independent personal judgment of lawyers. As developed in the classical Islamic legal theory (usul al-fiqh), justifications in religious-moral action consists of a dialectic between judgments (fatawa) in specific cases and the generalizations derived from effective causes (`ilal) in cases in the light of which generalizations themselves are modified. Hence, to derive a specific ethical judgment - for example, that an act of distribution of surplus wealth among the needy is obligatory - is to confirm that it satisfies a certain description of the religious-moral concept of justice according to one's belief in social responsibility. Social responsibility as part of the generalizable command to be just could then be applied to other acts.

The criterion of social responsibility has made it necessary for Islamic jurists to nuance the stringency of moral rules. In contemporary Islamic thinking, human conduct is to be determined in terms of how much legal weight is borne by a particular rule, and whether a rule renders a given practice obligatory or merely recommended. For instance, bribery is ethically and legally forbidden. But if it becomes necessary under an unjust system in order to influence a decision leading to the betterment of the community, then Islamic law excuses it after a careful risk-benefit analysis. The underlying principle in deciding such cases was the proportion of benefit as compared to harm to the well being of the community. Some rules are categorical. For example, cases involving blatant moral-spiritual corruption are excluded from risk-benefit analysis. Another factor in determining the weight of a rule is whether it is to be enforced by penalties in the courts because it occurs in Muslim territory, or whether it is to be left to God's judgment in the hereafter because it occurs outside. Thus, for instance, transactions involving selling or buying of alcohol are regarded as illicit and punishable by the Shari`ah courts when they occur within Muslim communities. However, when a Muslim businessman living in the West sometimes has to entertain his non-Muslim clients with alcohol while abstaining himself, his action, although sinful in itself, is regarded as being beyond the jurisdiction of the Shari`ah court.

Reason and Revelation in Islamic Moral Reasoning

In recent years, attempts have been made to engage Muslim scholars in the ongoing debate in the area of business ethics in the West. At the center of this debate is the role of ethical principles and rules in the moral assessment of an action in Western thinking. Such assessment can be developed from at least four different perspectives: those of the agent, the act itself, the end, and the consequences. They offer different viewpoints about the meaning and nature of moral principles and rules as they are applied to different types of moral dilmmas. In fact, many disputes in applied ethics in the West stem from disputes about the generalizability and applicability of more than one of these normative principles that function as action-guides, categorizing actions as morally required, prohibited, or permitted. Moreover, there exists the great variety of principle-based approaches that focus on general principles as sources of rules, and rules that specify type of prohibited, required, or permitted actions before any particular judgments can be derived in cases dealing with questionable business practices.

While this conceptual apparatus is helpful, it does not enable Westerners to delineate the pattern of Islamic moral reasoning. Without adequate training in the Islamic legal sciences, especially legal theory, one cannot pinpoint the principles and the rules that Muslim jurists utilize to justify and assess moral-legal decisions within their own cultural environment. The process has combined revelation and reason. The convergence between the divine command that human beings must treat each other justly and the rational cognition of justice being good encouraged Islamic jurists to formulate specific moral-legal judgments first and then to search for principles that can be generalized and then applied to new cases. The method, refined over centuries, yields certitude in moral judgment. By working back and forth between legal doctrines and rules, on the one hand, and analogical reasoning based on paradigm cases, on the other, Muslim jurists are able to resolve ethical dilemmas that face the community in dealing with immediate questions about economic issues: banking, taking interest, advertising, and so on. The practical judgments or legal opinions, known as fatawa, reflect the insights of a jurist who has been able to connect cases to an appropriate set of linguistic and rational principles and rules that provide keys to a valid conclusion of a case under consideration.

This pattern of moral reasoning should not be seen as a lock-step deductive model. The Qur`an uses the word al-ma`ruf (the "commonly known" paradigms) for the generalized principles which must be inferred from concrete ethical practice of everyday life. It made no attempt to lay down a comprehensive moral system because it treated morality as "the known," al-ma`ruf. Al-ma`ruf, in the meaning of moral behavior in the Qur`an, signifies "goodness," a "good quality or action," gentleness in any action, or deed, of which goodness is known by reason and by the revelation." Muslim jurists have been working out practical ways of carrying out more efficient proceedings in view of the changed circumstances of commercial life, without setting aside the more idealistic provisions of the law as basic norms. The justification provided by these jurists was to argue that there is a correlation between "known" moral convictions and God's purposes as mentioned in revelation.

Market Ethics and the Charging of Interest

In general, it can be said that in every ethical situation Islamic juridical tradition seeks to address and accommodate the demands of justice and public good. Perhaps one of the most difficult issues to test the Islamic concern for fairness in business dealings was its early prohibition of business transactions that called for charging interest (riba). Often translated by "usury", this term in its Qur`anic meaning, refers to using money to buy the use of money. Muslims have struggled with the problem of interest ever since the Qur`an categorically denounced it, and have not achieved agreement among themselves. Some jurists have interpreted the Qur`anic prohibition to permit exceptions as cases required in different contexts. There have been a number of rulings issued at different times in the history of Islamic jurisprudence making a distinction between `usury' (riba) and `interest' to circumvent the categorical prohibition. Other scholars believe that there is a difference between Muslim and non-Muslim financial institutions, allowing Muslims to receive interest from the latter institutions while prohibiting it from the former.

This lack of unanimity reflects a common but misleading practice among Muslims: sweeping larger questions about the nature of divine revelation under the rug when it comes to addressing interest and usury and other major ethical problems exacerbated by the introduction of laissez faire economics. This uncritical approach to the normative sources has deep roots in the theology of revelation in Islam. Briefly stated, there are two major trends about the meaning and relevance of revelation for Muslims. According to one, Islamic revelation in its present form was `created' in time and space. As such, it reflects historical circumstances of that original divine command. According to the other view, revelation was `uncreated' and hence its current form is not conditioned by place and time. Most devout Muslims reject any hints that the interpretation of revelation reflects cultural or historical variables. In the wake of both quantitative and qualitative change in the modern Muslim economies, the question arises as to how far traditional readings of the revelation are relevant in assessing the negative and positive limits governing the present economic system? It is this critical theological question with drastic ramifications for the overall status of normative tradition that is usually swept under the rug.

Rather than peek further under this rug, I will consider some of this historical and theological issues connected with the institution of riba. At the time that the Prophet emerged in Mecca, transactions with a fixed time limit and payment of interest (riba), as well as speculations of all kinds, formed an essential element in the highly developed regional system of trade in Arabia. A debtor who could not repay the capital (money or goods) with the accumulated interest at the time it became due was given an extension of time in which to pay, but at the same time the sum due was doubled. The practice was prevalent during the early part of the Prophet's mission in Mecca before he migrated to Medina in 622 CE, where he denounced it. Like other social reforms the Prophet introduced into his growing community, the prohibition against interest was introduced in stages in the Qur`an. It began with a caution: "O believers, devour not usury (riba) doubled and redoubled, and fear you God." Later, , the prohibition was proclaimed in no uncertain terms:

Those who devour usury (riba) shall only rise as one whom Satan strikes with his touch; that is because they say: `selling is like usury.' God has permitted selling and forbidden usury…God blots out usury, but freewill offerings He augments with interest. God does not love any guilty unbeliever… O believers, be aware of your duties, and give up usury that is outstanding, if you are believers. But if you do not, then beware that God and His prophet shall war with you. If you repent, you shall have your principal, without doing an injustice or suffering an injustice. If any one is in difficulty let there be a delay till he is able to pay, but it is better for you to give freewill offerings if you are wise.

It is important to note that instructions about usury are connected to the message about "freewill offerings" (sadaqat), encouraging people to "spend in the path of God." The Qur`an compares and contrasts two practices: usury earned without giving anything in return, and charity given without taking anything in return. Measured in risk-benefit terms, the evil effects of usury surpass by far the good effects of charity. The Qur`an indicates that the practice of usury leads to the concentration of wealth in few hands, giving these people power over the less fortunate in society: "And they accepted usury even though they had been forbidden to do so; and they devoured and misappropriated the goods and monies of others in their greed." The practice is seen to lead to social unrest and corruption because the rich become richer as a result of reckless profiteering, whereas the poor remain poor: "That which you entrust to commercial organizations with a view to making profit will not be increased by God; nor will it increase your sustenance…Corruption appears on land and sea because of the evil that human hands have done…". Clearly, the Qur`an regards usury a practice of unbelievers. It requires, as a test of belief, that it be abandoned. The Prophetic traditions which elaborate the Qur`anic passages declare that taking interest on loans is one of the gravest of sins. All who take part in transactions involving interest are cursed, and the guilty are threatened with hell. Various kinds of punishment are described.

The Qur`anic denunciations of usury were occasioned by the needs of a developing community faced with socio-economic imbalances. But such denunciations were not consistently absolute. The Qur`an sometimes softens its position on a matter of interpersonal justice it has fulminated against just before, recognizing the human conditions that prompt such behavior. At other times, the Prophet, as its interpreter, moderated the Qur`anic stance by providing exceptions to the overall prohibition. The case of usury points to this confrontation between revelation and social inertia in the early community. In spite of all the deterrent threats voiced in the Qur`an, some jurists foresaw that transactions involving interest would prevail. In pre-modern judicial decisions, gold and silver were generally regarded as items capable of riba. A number of traditions show that the severe prohibition of usury was moderated by reference to the changed circumstances of a transaction involving specific items and the way they exchanged hands in active trade. In general, Muslim jurists developed cases to permit exceptions to the categorical prohibition in the Qur`an. The cases were reported in the traditions that were open to various interpretations. There were monetary transactions that led to principles that now govern when and where interest may be accepted. For instance, some Muslims practiced money exchange during the Prophet's life time. They asked the Prophet if this was alright. The Prophet said: "If it is from hand to hand (yadan bi-yadin, that is, immediately), there is no harm in it; but if it is delayed (nasa'an) it is not right." Some jurists extrapolated these traditions to maintain the view that riba consists only in the increase of original amount of a loan in a business agreement with a fixed period (dayn); others opined that there is no riba if the transfer of ownership takes place immediately. In other words, interest was to be permitted if transfer of ownership took place at once.

Contemporary attitudes towards interest (riba)

Because the rulings inferred by earlier jurists were not strictly uniform, there now exists a variety of views regarding the permissibility of charging interest in the buying and selling of goods. Outside of precious metals there remain differences of opinion about the items that are liable to usury ordinances. Thus, for instance, should all business dealings in things of the same kind be considered capable of riba? The opinions vary according to the documentation used to deduce juridical decision. Some argue that interest is permitted if the transfer of ownership of goods capable of riba takes place immediately. This is also known as riba al-fadl (`immediate' credit), which occurs in a contract of sales when there is an increase in the terms of exchange themselves. The more strict Muslims limit riba to the exchange of goods of same kind in equal quantities in accordance with a tradition that says: `Gold for gold, silver for silver, wheat for wheat, barley for barley, dates for dates, salt for salt, each kind for each kind, in hand. He who increases or asks for an increase commits riba, alike whether he gives or takes.' In the case of loans, which occasioned the Qur`anic prohibition of interest in the first place, it is forbidden to make a condition that a larger quantity shall be returned without regard to the kind of article. This is known as riba al-nasi`a (`delayed' credit) which entails a fixed increase in the amount of money over a time period. This kind of riba is the main source of contention.

The law regarding interest in lending is formally more strict. Muslims are prohibited either from taking or paying interest. Much of the Islamic law of contract is aimed at enforcing this prohibition of usury and risk (maysir). Riba in a loan exists not only when one insists upon the repayment of larger quantity, but also if any advantage at all is demanded. Therefore, it can even be forbidden to draw up a bill of exchange (suftaja) because the vendor, who is regarded as the creditor, reaps the advantage of avoiding the cost of transport. To be sure, many merchants used bills of exchange in the Muslim middle ages. But they were always conscious that a direct breach of the prohibition of usury was a grave sin.

Remembering such strict interpretations, conscientious Muslims to this day therefore not infrequently refuse to take bank interest. It is accurate to say that riba has operated in a negative manner. The thrust of the debate over riba has centered on the definition of the term, and has included little by way of a positive construction of a viable alternative in the contemporary financial world. The oil boom changed the picture of money flow radically, and one urgent problem facing the Arab and Islamic world was how to utilize effectively the petrodollars without openly flouting the Shari`ah. The question of riba emerged again, but in a different context. For many concerned with its prohibition, the premise was that riba simply meant interest, and loans for interest could consequently not be accepted. Still, the importance of riba-based commerce and its requirement to charge interest have given rise to a number of methods to evade the prohibition. Some Sunni schools and the Shi`ites have recognized such methods of evasion in their discussion about the purpose of divinely ordained restrictions. In applied jurisprudence, these methods are not seen as contrary to the strict enforcement of the prohibition. Legal interpreters argue that two firm principles-"Necessity overrides prohibition" and "No harm and harrassment in Islam"-provide a reason to take into consideration the situational aspects (mawdu`at) of the original prohibition, to the extent that these two principles reflect the effective causes (`ilal) and inner significance (maqasid) of the Qur`anic ordinance. For example, if the categorical prohibition of interest has an adverse impact upon those who are manipulated in society, it may fail the test imposed by "Necessity overrides prohibition"; if one manoeuvers carefully to make interest fall within the acceptable limits , it may meet the test required by the rule "No harm and no harrassment." The case of deferred sales (buyu` al-`ajal) presses this line of interpretation farther. Where the delivery of the item or the payment of its price is deferred to a later date, there is no certainty nor even a strong probability that such a sale would lead to evil. Hence, if A sells his car to B for $10,000 with the price being payable in six months' time, and then A buys the same car for $8,000 from B with the price being payable immediately, this transaction in fact amounts to a loan of $8,000 to B on which he pays an interest of $2,000 after six months. From a legal viewpoint, there is a strong probability that this sale would lead to riba although there remains enough uncertainty that some jurists have regarded this type of transaction to be valid and legally binding. The uncertainty concerns whether the arrangement is actually exploitative. For if two businessmen have agreed, then it might be legitimate for the one who is to profit by the consequences of the present deal to be bound to share his profit in a complementary future deal.

Still, more strict jurists continue to regard any loan contract specifying a fixed return to the lender as immoral and illegal, regardless of the purpose for which a loan is sought, its amount and, or the prevailing institutional framework. The reason is that a distinction made in the loan operation by those who justify this operation, between the money on which the contract is made and the operation of lending itself is actually money rewarding money,which is unacceptable under the Shari`ah. This vocal minority in juridical opinion takes the Qur`anic prohibition as categorical, and hence, not open to any further debate or discussion. There is little doubt that in the case cited for this study, Mr. Kamaluddin's religious tenets were governed by the directives received from the latter group of scholars.

In general, it is safe to assume that majority of the Muslim businesses have come to recognize a fait accompli in dealing with interest-based transactions. Devout Muslims may remain hesitant to invest their money in the international stock market, but continue to avail themselves of modern banking with its religiously questionable practice of charging or paying interest. Most businesspeople simply consent to the western model as long as the financial institution happens to be non-Muslim. And some jurists regard banking with interest permissible, as long as, a person does not negotiate the interest and the bank is non-Muslim. Others seek to justify such excusatory thinking. Some leading Sunni jurists in Egypt defend their positive rulings on bank interest by regarding the modern bank interest as something different than the riba (usury) forbidden in the Qur`an. Their judgment rests on the ordinary lexical meaning of the term riba, which literally and simply means "increase" (ziyadah). They argue that since not every increase or profit is unlawful in the Shari`ah, the Qur`anic text remains open to further extrapolation as to what type of increase God intends to forbid. Another tactic is used by Islamic banking institutions in many countries, including traditionally Muslim countries like Algeria and United Arab Emirates. They maintain their economic viability by describing themselves using the Islamic legal concept of "partnership for profit and loss" (mudaraba). There are basically three parties to the "partnership": the depositor (mudarib), the entrepreneur-investor (mudarab) or agent (`amil) and the bank which is intermediary between the depositer and the entrepreneur, as well as the agent of the owner of capital deposited in its safes. In this form of organization, all the parites to the mudaraba share in the profit and losses of the enterprises.

Conclusion

Despite efforts to evade it, the prohibition of interest remains a key element in the Islamic vision of a socially responsible economy, and an important element in Islamic business practice. In the last few decades of the twentieth century, according to a report by the Institute of Islamic Banking and Insurance, as many as 150 Islamic banking institutions manage $100 billion in the Muslim countries and abroad. There is a huge market demand for religiously guided investing among Muslims. Committees of Muslim jurists are consulted to decide what companies are Qur`an-safe (i.e., for example, do not sell alcohol, pork products, tobacco or charge interest on loans) for investment. Interest in Islamic investment is growing, with international stock markets launching their own Islamic market index to track Qur`an-safe stocks. The influence of Islamic ethics extends further. Besides ruling out certain items as forbidden, the Shari`ah (Muslim religious law) also governs how much debt a company can carry and how much it can earn from interest. From the Islamic perspective, with its bias towards fair distribution of wealth and social justice, the Qur`an's strictures against riba remains at the heart of the Muslim individual as well as national financial institutions in international economic activity.

The prohibition of interest may become an important benchmark of justice in international political economy. As the world economies move closer to integration there is a growing consensus in the international community to move towards a more or less transcultural framework of ethical principles and rules. What is needed is a meta-ethics, a way for the different cultures and religions of the world to interpret their norms and practices to each other. From a normative Islamic point of view, the aim of this dialogical mode should be to engage theologians, scholars and policy makers in the world economic system to search for better ways of redestributing wealth and preserving social justice across nations. This normative focus clearly is evident in Islamic jurisprudence regarding the charging or paying of interest. When the Qur`an banned transactions involving interest, the purpose was to protect financially weak in one way or another against the wealthy who might take advantage of them. The attitude which dominated Islamic jurists was fear of arbitrariness in the decisions of those who held financial and political power. It is an appropriate attitude today.

The Islamic position is an important contribution to international business ethics, for it is supported by a general cross-cultural moral belief that the poor ought to be protected as well as a specific revelation within Islam that regards interest as a form of disregard for the downtrodden in society. All cultures share certain moral principles like beneficence or nonmaleficence. All require rules like truthfulness in advertising as an essential element in regulating morally responsible merchant-consumer relationship. The Islamic prohibition of interest therefore seems to be an extension of the ethical requirement that human beings must treat each other fairly, rather than an obstruction to commerce.

By Dr. Abdulaziz Sachedina,
University of Virginia

Divert some of Income for the Future

2009-05-08T02:19:00.000-07:00

When you save? Usually the average person will say that they will save money if there is more. And strange, they very rarely have more money. And consequently, They rarely save.

So, when in fact the time is right to save money? The answer is the first time you receive money. Should be, you are making plans to set aside a few percent of income to save.

Initially it will be very difficult to do this, but if can be adapted will become easy. Even if we occasionally see the savings we balance, we usually will be more motivated to save more and more.

Moreover, in the next day, if the savings it really useful for us, so will infinite value that happens.

So, start planning your financial future starting now. Tung Desem Waringin been set aside to give advice to 20% for investment income or saving. If you are having difficulties, you can start with 10% of first. After that new added little by little.

If this routine you do every month, then when you are not able to work again, saving your investment may be able to pay your life.

Sisihkan Pendapatan untuk Masa Depan

2009-05-05T21:36:00.000-07:00

Kapankah anda menabung? Biasanya rata-rata orang Indonesia akan mengatakan bahwa mereka akan menabung kalau ada uang lebih. Dan anehnya, sangat jarang sekali mereka memiliki uang lebih. Dan akibatnya, merekapun jarang menabung.

Jadi, kapankah sebenarnya waktu yang tepat untuk menabung? Jawabnya adalah ketika pertama kali anda menerima uang. Seharusnya, anda sudah membuat rencana untuk menyisihkan beberapa persen pendapatan untuk menabung.

Awalnya memang akan sangat sulit melakukan ini, tapi jika dibiasakan tentu akan menjadi mudah. Bahkan jika kita sesekali melihat saldo tabungan kita, biasanya kita akan semakin terpacu untuk menabung lebih banyak dan lebih banyak lagi.

Apalagi jika dikemudian hari tabungan itu benar-benar bermanfaat untuk kita, wah akan jadi nilai yang tak terhingga jadinya.

Maka, mulailah merencanakan dana masa depan anda mulai sekarang. Tung Desem Waringin pernah memberikan saran untuk menyisihkan 20% pendapatan untuk investasi atau ditabung. Jika anda merasa kesulitan, anda bisa memulai dengan 10% pendapatan terlebih dahulu. Setelah itu baru deh ditambah sedikit demi sedikit.

Jika hal ini rutin anda lakukan tiap bulan, maka saat anda sudah tak mampu bekerja lagi, tabungan investasi anda mungkin sudah mampu membiayai kehidupan anda.

Kenapa ikut Asuransi?

2009-05-05T21:28:00.000-07:00

Mungkin saat ini masih belum banyak orang yang sadar asuransi. Ya, ini juga akibat dari para agen asuransi terdahulu yang memberi janji jauh dari kenyataan. Padahal asuransi sekarang benar-benar berbeda.

Apakah anda memiliki impian saat ini? Mungkin menyekolahkan anak hingga tingkat yang paling tinggi, memiliki dana pensiun atau ingin memberi peninggalan terbaik saat meninggal nanti.

Lalu apa yang anda lakukan untuk mewujudkan impian itu? Cara yang biasanya ditempuh adalah dengan menabung. Menyimpan uang agar bisa dipergunakan di hari depan.

Misalnya pak Antasari mulai mengatur keuangan dan menyisihkan 1 juta per bulan untuk tabungan masa depan. Setiap bulan pak Antasari menyisihkan uangnya hingga 10 tahun dan uangnya sudah terkumpul sangat banyak apalagi ditambah bunga atau bagi hasil jika menggunakan system syariah.

Ilustrasi diatas adalah yang terjadi jika pak Antasari menabung di bank. Hal yang sama juga terjadi di asuransi. Kita misalkan pak Azhar ikut asuransi dan membayar premi setiap bulan 1 juta hingga 10 tahun dan di akhir masa menabung, pak Azhar juga akan menikmati hasil yang sama dengan pak Antasari.

Tapi….

Ternyata kenyatan berkata lain. Di tahun ke 3 pak Antasari dan pak Azhar terkena resiko sakit secara bersamaan. Keduanya harus dirawat di RS karena menderita sakit keras.

pak Antasari langsung mengambil seluruh tabungannya, hutang saudara dan menjual beberapa aset untuk menutupi biaya pengobatan.

Berbeda dengan pak Azhar yang hanya perlu masuk ke RS dan melakukan perawatan dengan tenang tanpa beban pikiran. Kenapa? Karena seluruh biaya rumah sakit di tanggung oleh Perusahaan Asuransi.

Setelah keluar dari RS, pak Antasari tak sanggup lagi bekerja, tabungannya pun tak lagi bertambah dan dia hanya pasrah menghadapi hari-hari tuanya.

pak Azhar juga sama, tak mampu lagi bekerja, tapi tabungannya terus bertambah karena diisi langsung oleh Perusahaan Asuransi.

Jika anda boleh memilih, anda ingin menjadi siapa?

Kanz al-Mâl (Menimbun Harta)

2009-05-05T21:13:00.000-07:00

Syariah Investasi. Kanzu adalah mashdar dari kanaza–yaknizu–kanz[an]. Al-Kanzu secara bahasa artinya harta yang dipendam.1 Al-Kanzu juga merupakan sebutan untuk harta yang disimpan di dalam kotak dan sebutan untuk apa saja yang disimpan di dalamnya.2 Dalam pembicaraan orang Arab, al-kanzu artinya adalah apa saja yang dikumpulkan sebagian atas sebagian yang lain, baik di dalam tanah atau di atas tanah.3 Harta yang dikumpulkan itu untuk ditimbun, yaitu dikumpulkan dan disimpan. Dengan demikian, al-kanzu adalah harta yang dikumpulkan dan disimpan, baik di dalam atau di atas tanah.4

Pengumpulan harta, khususnya uang, oleh seseorang itu ada dua bentuk: menabung dan menimbun. Jika seseorang mengumpulkan uang dan menyimpannya dengan tujuan untuk membiayai suatu rencana tertentu (misal: untuk membangun rumah, membeli kendaraan, menikah, naik haji dan sebagainya) maka pengumpulan uang semacam itu disebut menabung. Sebaliknya, jika seseorang mengumpulkan uang dan menyimpannya semata-mata hanya mengumpulkan dan menyimpannya tanpa ada rencana tertentu, pengumpulan seperti itu disebut menimbun.

Penimbunan uang akan berpengaruh terhadap perekonomian secara umum. Penimbunan uang itu akan mempengaruhi sirkulasi dan pertukaran harta di tengah masyarakat, dan akhrinya akan mempengaruhi jalannya roda perekonomian. Hal itu karena pendapatan seseorang atau lembaga, tidak lain, bersumber dari orang atau lembaga lain; alat pertukarannya adalah uang. Jika seseorang menimbun uang, itu artinya uang itu tidak masuk ke pasar. Karena penimbunan itu, sirkulasi harta di masyarakat pun terganggu. Pada taraf tertentu, jika jumlah uang yang ditimbun banyak, roda perekonomian pun akan berjalan sangat lambat dan akibatnya perekonomian akan merosot.

Namun, bahaya itu terjadi dari penimbunan uang bukan, dari menabung uang. Sebab, uang yang ditabung itu pada waktunya akan dibelanjakan sehingga pertukaran harta terjadi sehingga sirkulasi kekayaan tetap terjadi di masyarakat dan roda perekonomian tetap berjalan.

Islam membolehkan seseorang menabung uang untuk membiayai suatu keperluan yang ia rencanakan. Islam hanya mewajibkan pengeluaran zakat dari uang yang ditabung itu jika sudah mencapai batas nishâb dan berlalu haulnya. Sebaliknya, Islam mengharamkan penimbunan emas dan perak. Pada saat diharamkan, emas dan perak menjadi alat tukar dan standar bagi tenaga, jasa atau manfaat suatu harta. Atas dasar itu, larangan penimbunan emas dan perak itu juga terkait dengan fungsinya sebagai alat tukar. Artinya, larangan itu juga mencakup larangan terhadap penimbunan uang secara umum.

Allah Swt. berfirman:

وَالَّذِينَ يَكْنِزُونَ الذَّهَبَ وَالْفِضَّةَ وَلاَ يُنْفِقُونَهَا فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ فَبَشِّرْهُمْ بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ

Orang-orang yang menimbun emas dan perak serta tidak menafkahkannya di jalan Allah, kepada mereka beritahukanlah bahwa mereka akan mendapat siksaan yang sangat pedih. (QS at-Taubah [9]: 34).

Adanya ancaman berupa siksaan yang pedih atas orang yang menimbun emas dan perak merupakan qarînah (indikasi) yang menunjukkan bahwa larangan itu bersifat tegas (jâzim). Dengan demikian, menimbun emas dan perak hukumnya haram. Keharaman itu bersifat pasti dan umum, alasannya:

Pertama: ayat ini bersifat umum berlaku untuk semua penimbunan emas dan perak. Keharaman menimbun emas dan perak dalam ayat ini ditunjukkan dengan penunjukan yang pasti. Penerapan larangan menimbun dalam ayat ini hanya untuk emas dan perak yang tidak dikeluarkan zakatnya, atau dengan kata lain membolehkan penimbunan emas dan perak setelah dikeluarkan zakatnya, memerlukan adanya nash lain yang memalingkan larangan dalam ayat ini atau yang me-nasakh-nya. Padahal tidak terdapat nash yang memalingkannya atau me-nasakh-nya. Adapun riwayat yang menyatakan bahwa emas dan perak yang dikumpulkan baik yang dipendam atau tidak, jika dikeluarkan zakatnya tidak termasuk penimbunan yang dilarang, semuanya bukanlah hadis yang sahih. Sebabnya, riwayat-riwayat itu adalah riwayat mawqûf, yakni sanad-nya berhenti pada Sahabat dan tidak sampai kepada Nabi saw.

Kedua: ath-Thabari meriwayatkan berturut-turut dari: al-Hasan, Abd ar-Razaq, Ma‘mar dari Qatadah, Syahr bin Hawsyab dari Abu Umamah bahwa ia berkata: Seorang laki-laki dari kalangan Ahlush Shuffah meninggal dunia. Di sakunya terdapat uang satu dinar. Rasulullah saw. bersabda, “Kayyah (satu stempel dari api).” Kemudian seorang Ahlush Shuffah yang lain meninggal dunia dan di sakunya terdapat dua dinar. Rasulullah saw bersabda, “Kayyatân (Dua stempel dari api).”

Imam Ahmad meriwayatkannya dari Ali bin Abi Thalib dan Ibn Mas‘ud. Hal itu karena keduanya adalah orang yang hidup dari sedekah, sementara keduanya memiliki emas. Sabda Rasul saw, kayyah dan kayyatân, itu mengisyaratkan pada larangan menimbun emas dan perak di atas. Sabda Rasul itu juga mengisyaratkan bahwa keduanya telah menimbun emas. Hal itu karena keduanya adalah Ahlush Shuffah yang kehidupannya telah dipenuhi dari harta sedekah (zakat). Itu menandakan bahwa keduanya menyimpan emas tersebut bukan dalam rangka menabung karena kehidupannya telah dijamin dari shadaqah. Jumlah satu dan dua dinar jelas belum memenuhi nishâb zakat. Ini menunjukkan bahwa penimbunan emas dan perak yang terkena ancaman ayat di atas bukan hanya dalam jumlah yang sudah mencapai nishâb dan tidak dikeluarkan zakatnya. Setiap penimbunan emas dan perak berapapun terkena ancaman ayat di atas dan hukumnya haram, meski hanya satu atau dua dinar.

Ketiga: ancaman ayat di atas terkait dengan dua macam aktivitas: aktivitas menimbun emas dan perak; dan aktivitas tidak membelan-jakannya di jalan Allah. Artinya, ada orang yang tidak menimbun emas dan perak tetapi tidak membelanjakannya di jalan Allah; orang yang menimbun emas dan perak dan tidak membelanjakannya di jalan Allah; dan orang yang menimbun emas dan perak saja meski ia membelanjakan sebagian hartanya di jalan Allah. Semuanya terkena ancaman ayat di atas. Al-Qurthubi mengatakan di dalam tafsirnya, “Siapa yang tidak menimbun, sementara ia menahan pembelanjaanya di jalan Allah, ia mesti demikian juga (terkena ancaman ayat tersebut)”.5 Frasa di jalan Allah (fî sabîlillâh) di dalam al-Quran, jika dikaitkan dengan infak, maksudnya adalah jihad fî sabîlillâh, bukan yang lain.

Keempat: Imam Bukhari meriwayatkan dari Zaid bin Wahab tentang perbedaan pendapat Muawiyah bin Abi Sufyan dengan Abu Dzar tentang ayat di atas. Muawiyah berkata, “Ayat ini bukan untuk kita, melainkan ayat ini hanya untuk Ahlul Kitab.” Abu Dzar membantah dengan mengatakan, “Sungguh, ayat ini untuk kita dan mereka.”

Muawiyah lalu melaporkan Abu Dazar kepada Khalifah Utsman. Lalu Khalifah memanggil Abu Dazar ke Madinah, dan berlangsunglah peristiwa seperti yang diceritakan dalam riwayat tersebut. Perbedaan pendapat yang terjadi antara Muawiyah dan Abu Dzar adalah untuk siapa ayat tersebut diturunkan. Seandainya saat itu sudah masyhur riwayat dari Nabi saw. bahwa emas dan perak yang telah dikeluarkan zakatnya tidak termasuk al-kanzu, tentu Muawiyah akan ber-hujjah dengannya dan Abu Dzar pun akan diam karenanya. Namun, sampai ketika Abu Dzar menghadap Khalifah Utsman sekalipun, tidak disampaikan riwayat itu meski banyak dari Sahabat yang masih tinggal di Madinah.

Kelima: kanzu adz-dzahab wa al-fidhah secara bahasa maknanya mengumpulkan/menimbun emas dan perak dan menyimpannya baik di dalam tanah maupun di atas tanah. Lafal al-Quran dimaknai dengan makna bahasanya saja, kecuali terdapat makna syariah yang dinyatakan oleh nash; dalam kondisi tersebut makna syariah dikedepankan atas makna bahasa. Lafal al-kanzu tidak terdapat makna syariahnya. Karena itu, lafal ini dalam ayat di atas harus dimaknai menurut makna bahasanya saja.

Dengan demikian, kanzu adz-dzahab wa al-fidhah (menimbun emas dan perak) atau menimbun uang adalah mengumpulkannya dan menyimpannya baik di dalam tanah maupun di atas tanah. Hal itu dilakukan semata untuk mengumpulkan dan menyimpannya saja, bukan untuk menabung dalam rangka membiayai suatu keperluan yang direncanakan. Semua bentuk penimbunan emas dan perak atau penimbunan uang itu hukumnya haram dan pelakunya diancam dengan siksaan yang amat pedih di akhriat kelak.

Wallâh a‘lam bi ash-shawâb.

Catatan Kaki:

Ar-Razi, Mukhtâr ash-Shihâh, I/124, ed. Mahmud Khathir, Maktabah Lubnan Nasyirun, Beirut, thaba’ah jadidah. 1415-1995
Ibn Manzhur, Lisân al-‘Arab, V/401, Dar Shadir,
Beirut, cet. I. tt3 Ibn Jarir ath-Thabari, Tafsîr ath-Thabarî, X/121, Dar al-Fikr, Beirut. 1405 H
Al-Minawi, Faydh al-Qadîr, V/29, Maktabah at-Tijariyah al-Kubra, Mesir, cet. I. 1356 H
Al-Qurthubi, Tafsîr al-Qurthubî, VIII/128, ed. Muhammad Abdul Halim al-Barduni, Dar asy-Sya’b, Kaero, cet. II. 1372

Sumber : Majalah Al Waie edisi Mei 2007

Interest in the Savings Sharia Bank?

2009-04-25T02:54:00.000-07:00

There are fundamental differences between conventional bank interest rate savings with the added value given Sharia bank every month to customers penabungnya. In general it can be said that in conventional banks, interest is the embodiment of time value of money, or time value of money. While the results for the bonus or not the function of the time but the benefits of money in business activities.

....................................................................................

Best time is slightly longer, considering the fact we will see the transaction from the scheme. Let us see the concept of saving money in the sharia bank.

Sharia in the bank, customers can save money in two ways. Namely: to commend Fund Bank (Wadiah scheme) and the funds invested in the business with the bank syariah pattern for the results (scheme Mudharabah)

Scheme Wadiah can be done with two models:

• Wadiah Yad Ad-Dhamanah, where the recipient can utilize goods with the permission of the owners to restore and ensure is in full at any time, when the owner wills. In the case money, the money combined with other funds in the client pool-of-fund that can be used sharia bank financing needs to customers. This scheme is commonly used for the Giro and not savings.

• Wadiah Yad Al-Amanah, is meant titipan where the recipient is not permitted titipan utilize titipan goods and guarantee to return the titipan is in full owner at any time needed. Recipient titipan not responsible for the loss and damage that occur during titipan goods, this is not the result of negligence or carelessness in maintaining titipan recipient titipan it. Applications Wadiah Yad Al-Amanah include Safe Deposit Box.
In connection with the Wadiah Yad Ad-Dhamanah, because Sharia bank to benefit from the use of these goods titipan (money), the Sharia bank is permitted to share the benefits as a bonus / gift to customers who menitipkankan fund the scheme Wadiah Yad Ad-Dhamanah. This is a bonus in addition to a similar interest in the children's savings, Mr. Suyono.
What's the difference between the bonus interest rate savings wadiah with conventional banks?

In the conventional banking system with interest, the bank promises a certain value (usually expressed as a percentage rate per year) to the value of money ditabung. Interest rate determination is made with the basic guidelines should always be profitable for the Bank. This value must be a bank does not matter if the bank or the loss of fortune. Although the amount of profit doubled when economic conditions are good, the bank still will only pay for the promised value. Model of saving such as this may prejudice a party.

Sharia bank not promise a bonus for customers with a savings scheme wadiah. Bonus can be given according to Sharia bank's financial condition after the calculation process and the results between the bank and its customers.

Sharia bank customers more harm? If we see the essence out of money, certainly not the customer's primary motivation bonus, but in order to secure the funds. So there is no problem if the bank does not share the sharia and a bonus if Rejeki Sharia bank share bonus. The problem, often a little Sharia bank 'drag on' to provide bonus benefits to the customer that is equivalent to the conventional savings bank. This makes the customers were not easy to distinguish where the interest rate bonus.

What about the ratio of deposits at the bank syariah promised at the time of contract? Shapes are similar in value to the interest rate banks use as Percentage. What is the difference between the interest rate?

Deposits and bank savings measure in the syariah investment schemes and for the results (mudharabah). This is consistent with the concept of investment is generally a form of long-term placement of funds.

Types of investment funds in the bank syariah mudharabah divided into:

• Mudharabah Al-Mutlaqah, is a collaboration between two parties where shahibul Maal (owner funds) to provide capital and give full authority to mudharib (who run the business - in this case the bank sharia) in determining the type and place of investment. Profits and losses are also divided according to early agreement. This general scheme is used to deposit or savings measure. Customers do not need to specify where the funds will be invested by the bank syariah.

• Mudharabah Al-Muqayyadah, is a collaboration between two parties where shahibul Maal provide capital and to provide limited authority to mudharib in determining the type and place of investment. Profits and losses be divided according to early agreement. This scheme is usually used for mewadahi customer needs (generally the client is as large companies and government) to use as an extension of sharia bank hands to invest in certain business sectors. Funds from the customer with the Al-Mudharabah schemes Muqayyadah not be in the pool-of-fund Sharia bank, but managed separately.

Customer owners of funds (sahibul Maal) and the bank agreed in the contract syariah investment mudharabah to share the benefits (including losses) the results of financing efforts by Sharia bank customers that involve funds. Agreement for the results poured in, for example the proportion of 60% for the customers, 40% for banks. This is known by the name of the family name.

At the end of the month, after the calculation of the income obtained from the financing, bank syariah akan share profits according to the proportion of funds ratio for customers and results. If Sharia bank loss experience, so whether customers still receive the results or not depends of the system for results that apply Sharia bank. If implemented, such as general revenue sharing sharia bank in Indonesia, the results for the customer will still be accepted, but if the profit sharing is used, then the customer will only accept the results if Sharia bank record profits.

After reading the description above we can clearly interesting differences between conventional bank interest for the benefit of the investment bank syariah funds. The Bank does not link the value of conventional interest revenue or profit with it. Interest is the consequences for public banks holding client money, money does not matter if it played in business or not. While the investment of funds in the bank syariah, syariah bank customers entrust to manage their funds. Advantage of the business management of the fund is divided according to the ratio that is promised.

What if the big bank interest for the results of conventional and sharia banks is not much different? Fact does not change anything, interest commercial banks is still not the same as the results for the sharia bank. This is because the interest and for the results obtained with a different way.

No doubt receive a bonus for the results or save the funds if the sharia bank although the value may be a bonus / profit sharing is not much different from the receipt of interest from conventional banks. Bonus and / or for the results of the lawful ruling of sharia, it was found along with the appropriate sharia.