THE SPIRITUAL HIJRAH OF THE FIRST PARAGUAYAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL FROM CHRISTIANITY TO ISLAM

THE SPIRITUAL HIJRAH (JOURNEY) OF THE FIRST PARAGUAYAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL FROM CHRISTIANITY TO ISLAM

by Syarif Hidayat

          The spiritual hijrah (journey) of a Paraguayan ambassador to Southeast Asia region Cesar Esteban Grillon from Catholicism to Islam has made him wanted to become a Muslim role model that would attract and inspire his fellow countrymen to learn more about Islam and finally after understanding the truth about Islam convert to this religion.

          Ambassador of the Republic of Paraguay to Southeast Asia region based in Jakarta, Cesar Esteban Grillon wanted to become a role model as a Muslim for his country, a Christian majority country in South America, that will attract Paraguayans to become Muslims.

WELCOME 1435: ISLAMIC NEW YEAR - A TIME OF CONTEMPLATION AND SPIRITUAL RENEWAL

WELCOME 1435: ISLAMIC NEW YEAR - A TIME OF CONTEMPLATION AND SPIRITUAL RENEWAL

by Syarif Hidayat

         The "Hijra" (Arabic: هِجْرَة‎ hijrah), also Hijrat or Hegira, is the migration or journey of Prophet Muhammad PBUH and his followers from Mecca to Medina between June 21 and July 2 in 622 CE. In June 622 CE, warned of a plot to assassinate him, Muhammad PBUH secretly escaped out of Mecca with Abu Bakr. Muhammad PBUH and his followers immigrated to the city of Yathrib, 320 kilometres (200 mi) north of Mecca, in several steps.  

        Yathrib was soon renamed Madinat un-Nabi, literally "the City of the Prophet", but un-Nabi was soon dropped, so its name in English is Medina, meaning "the city". The Muslim year during which the Hijra occurred was designated the first year of the Islamic calendar by Umar in 638 or 17 AH (anno hegirae = "in the year of the hijra"). In the following chronology the city will be referred to as Medina, and the region surrounding it as Yathrib.

CHILDREN EDUCATION: IT IS EASIER TO TEACH CHILDREN THAN TO BUILD THEIR CHARACTERS

CHILDREN EDUCATION: IT IS EASIER TO TEACH CHILDREN THAN TO BUILD THEIR CHARACTERS
 
by Syarif Hidayat

         It is easy to educate our children to become clever individuals as there are many FINE schools and universities available almost everywhere as long as we have enough money to finance their education. But it is very difficult to build their own characters to become FINE and well-behaved individuals lawfully and religiously!
         Beside the caring parents and the good education, they also need good examples from their parents and the society especially the public figures such as honest and well-behaved bureaucrats, politicians, religious leaders as well as the other public figures.

WHAT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN MARRIAGE?: THE SPIRIT OF MARRIAGE IN ISLAM

The spirit of marriage in Islam

by Irshaad Hussain
Source: IslamiCity.com

The Prophet  was once asked, “What is more important than prayer?” He replied, “The spirit of prayer” – the spirit that animates the prayer. He was asked what is more important than fasting – he replied, the spirit of fasting. For each question concerning an Islamic practice the answer was the same – because the spirit brings the action to life and unfolds its potentials.

Without this animating spirit, the prayer is only movement, and the fasting only hunger. But when spirit enters, when a pure and concentrated intention enters, the action is transformed – the prayer gains the potential to become a miraj (an elevating spiritual journey), and the one fasting approaches towards the potential to witness laylatul qadr (the night of destiny – a night when blessings from the spiritual world descend to this world).

MARRIAGE IN ISLAM IS A VITAL PART OF MUSLIM'S LIFE

Marriage, sin, and society…

by inter-islam.org
Source: inter-islam.org

In light of modernity, what is marriage? What does it mean? The Collins Paperback English Dictionary states under the heading of marriage: ‘The contract made by a man and a woman to live as husband and wife’.

The Hutchinson Encyclopedia states: ‘..legally or culturally sanctioned union..’. So, according to the dictionary and the encyclopedia marriage is supposed to be a relationship that joins a man and a woman together via a contract.

CHILDREN EDUCATION: THE IMPORTANCE OF TALKING WITH YOUR CHILDREN

The importance of talking with children

by Dr. Aisha Hamdan
Source: missionislam.com

Have you had a meaningful conversation together? Do you know what your child accomplished today, how he may be feeling, whether or not he has any concerns? Does your child know that you care about him?

In Islam, the ties of kinship and family are very strong and something that will always be present throughout our lifetime. There are very serious consequences for someone who decides to break these ties. Allah, subhanahu wa ta’ala, says,”Then, is it to be expected of you, if you were put in authority, that you will do mischief in the land, and break your ties of kith and kin?

ISLAMIC SCIENCE REDISCOVERED: SCIENTIFIC RENAISSANCE IN MUSLIM COUNTRIES

Scientific Renaissance in Muslim Countries

by Hasan Zillur Rahim
Source: theamericanmuslim.org


A remarkable interactive exhibition called “Islamic Science Rediscovered” at the Tech Museum in San Jose, California, (http://www.thetech.org/islamic_science_rediscovered/) in the heart of Silicon Valley is drawing large number of visitors. The exhibition celebrates “a Golden Age of Science and Technology” when, from the 8th to the 13th century, Muslims led the world in such fields as architecture, arts , astronomy, engineering, exploration, flight, mathematics, medicine, optics and water management.

A timeline highlighting the significant events in Islamic culture and science during the golden age greets the visitor at the entrance to the exhibit.  Once you grasp the outline, you can begin to focus on the specifics.

A NEW ERA OF SCIENCE DAWNS ON MUSLIM WORLD

A new era of science dawns on the Muslim world

by Anjana Ahuja
Source: Telegraph (UK)


With temperatures that reach 50C (122F) in the summer and the constant, abrasive swirl of sand grains in the air, Qatar feels like little more than a desert. But the mirages are different here. Instead of shimmering pools of water that vanish on closer inspection, huge structures rise from the bone-dry landscape. Some are squat and boxy; others curve elegantly into the sky. The skyline is dotted with skeletons of others yet to be finished.

Education City, on the outskirts of the capital, Doha, is at an embryonic stage. But it represents Qatar’s grand attempt to turn itself from fossil-fuel nation into scientific superpower. Famous universities such as Carnegie Mellon and University College London have opened satellite campuses amid the fake grass. Shell, Total and GE have set up research centres.

Call for Science to empower the new Middle East

by Daniel Hind
Source: Aljazeera


In the New Scientist, the Nobel laureate and US Science Envoy Ahmed Zewali writes about the prospects for research in the Middle East. He identifies three steps that countries in the region can take and sketches the terms on which the West should provide assistance. The three steps are:
Increase participation by promoting literacy and female emancipation.

Institute reforms “to allow freedom of thought, reduce bureaucracy, minimise bureaucracy, reward merit, and create credible – and enforceable – legal codes”.
Create centres of excellence to show that “Muslims can compete in today’s globalised economy and to instill in the youth the desire for learning”.

Is it Islamic science or science that is Islamic?

by AZIZAN BAHARUDDIN
Source: http://thestar.com.my


CURRENTLY an impressive exhibition called “Sultans of Science” is being held at the Petrosains in Kuala Lumpur.

It showcases the achievements of science and technology in Islamic civilization during the 8th to 15th centuries, manifested in the centres of knowledge of the Middle Ages in Cordoba, Baghdad and Samarkand among others.

To those interested in the debate concerning Islamic Science or potentially a science that does not separate knowledge about nature and the ethical values that attend the application of such knowledge, the exhibition beckons us to examine once again the current concerns voiced by leaders and scientists about the crisis of un-sustainability most obvious and immediate in the environmental and economic context.

MUSLIMS CONTRIBUTIONS TO CIVILIZATION

Overcoming historical Amnesia: Muslim contributions to civilization

by Craig Considine
Source: huffingtonpost.com

In his recent article, Sam Harris, a popular critic of Islam, referred to Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani education activist, as “the best thing to come out of the Muslim world in 1,000 years.” Hidden in this comment is the idea that Malala’s fellow Muslims are backward and that her religion, Islam, is not conducive to change or progress.

Conversely to the beliefs of Harris and others like him, Muslims have actually made enormous contributions to civilization, perhaps due to the heavy emphasis that Islam places on knowledge. People who forget or blatantly ignore major trends or events in world history can be said to suffer from “historical amnesia.”

The story of Ashura and Karbala

by Abdurrahmaan Umar
Source: www.eislam.co.za

Although the month of Muharram is a sacred month as a whole, the 10th of Muharram is the most sacred among all its days. The day is named ‘Aashurah’. It is one of the most important and blessed days of Allah Ta’ala in the Islamic calendar. This day has been accepted as having deep significance. Evidence of its significance has been clearly found in authentic traditions.

There are many Prophetic events of great historical importance and also events that happened after the Beloved and Final Messenger of Allah(peace be upon him) had left this world, such as the Battle of Karbala, that have taken place on this day.

The significance of Ashura

by Translated by Ustadh Amin Buxton
Source: abdulkarimyahya.com

The tenth day of the first month of the Islamic lunar calendar marks a significant day in the Muslim calendar.

The tenth of Muharram is the day on which, Allah saved Prophet Moses/Musa (pbuh) from the tyrannical Pharaoh, that prototype of despotic authority. There are many pharaoh-like authorities who have appeared through history and there were those incorrigible standard-bearers of justice who opposed them. In the post-Prophetic period, one such person was Imam Husayn who, took on the corruption of despotic Yazid and laid down his life on tenth Muharram in 61 AH (680 CE); an event that serves as a milestone in the history of the faithful; the martyrdom of the beloved grandson of the Prophet Muhammad at Karbala in Iraq.

More on Ashura and Muharram

by Mufti Taqi Usmani
Source: albalagh.net

Muharram is the month with which the Muslims begin their lunar Hijrah Calendar. It is one of the four sanctified months about which the Holy Quran says, “The number of the months according to Allah is twelve (mentioned) in the Book of Allah on the day He created heavens and the earth. Among these (twelve months) there are four sanctified.”

These four months, according to the authentic traditions, are Dhul-Qa’dah, Dhul-Hijjah, Muharram and Rajab. All the commentators of the Holy Quran are unanimous on this point, because the Holy Prophet, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, in his sermon on the occasion of his last Hajj, declared: “One year consists of twelve months, of which four are sanctified months, three of them are in sequence; Dhul-Qa’dah, Dhul-Hijjah, Muharram, and the fourth is Rajab.”

Islamic new year a time of contemplation and spiritual renewal

by: Sheikh Haisam Farache
Source: MuslimVillage.com


Milestones are markers fundamental to the human psyche.  As we near the end of the calendar year, outside of the controversies surrounding the months of Ramadan and Zul Hijah, have we given any thought to the other months of the Hijri (Islamic) calendar?  In fact, could we even say that we know the Islamic months and could we recall them in order?

It is especially imperative for Muslims living outside of Muslim majority nations to maintain a connection to Allah through the specific Prophetic acts of worship encouraged during each particular month and to understand the significance of the Islamic months as they relate to the life of a Muslim.

Muharram and Ashura

by: Sheikhul Hadith Sh. Ml. Fazlur Rehman
Source: http://jamiat.org.za/blog/muharram-aashura-in-detail/


THE SACRED MONTHS

From among the months of the Islamic year, the “Ashurul Hurum” (Sacred Months) enjoy a greater significance. Hafiz Ibn Katheer (Allah be pleased with him) has quoted the saying of Hadhrat Qatadah (Allah be pleased with him) in his famous tafseer. He writes:

Allah Ta’ala has indeed distinguished some of His Creation from among man and Jinn, He has chosen Messengers. He has granted special virtue to His remembrance (Zikr) over all speech and talk. From the land He has chosen the Masaajid. He distinguished the Day of Jumu’ah (Friday) from amongst the days and Laitatul Qadr (the Night of Power) from amongst the nights. Therefore respect what Allah Ta’aala has honoured for verily to honour things due to the virtue which Allah Ta’aala bestowed upon them is among the traits of the intelligent”. [Tafseer Ibn Khateer, vol 2 pg 369].

WELCOME 1435: MUHARRAM AND A NEW YEAR IN ISLAMIC CALENDAR

Welcome 1435: Muharram and a new year in the Islamic calendar

by Muhammad Taqi Usmani
Source: Islamic City

Muharram is the month with which the Muslims begin their lunar Hijrah Calendar. It is one of the four sanctified months about which the Holy Quran says, “The number of the months according to Allah is twelve months (mentioned) in the Book of Allah on the day in which He created heavens and the earth. Among these (twelve months) there are four sanctified”.

These four months, according to the authentic traditions are the months of Zhul Qa’dah, Zhul Hijjah, Muharram and Rajab. All the commentators of the Holy Quran are unanimous on this point, because the Holy Prophet in his sermon on the occasion of his last Hajj, has declared:
“One year consists of twelve months, of which four are sanctified months, three of them are in sequence; Zhul Qa’dah, Zhul Hijjah, Muharram, and the fourth is Rajab.”