The marvel of Islamic geometric design

Source: theguardian.com

By: Alex Bellos

To paraphrase Monty Python, what has Islam ever done for us? You know, apart from the algebra, the trigonometry, the optics, the astronomy and the many other scientific advances and inventions of the Islamic Golden Age.

Well, if you like art and interiors, there’s always the stunning patterns that grace mosques, madrasas and palaces around the world.

Islamic craftsmen and artists – who were prohibited from making representations of people in holy sites – developed an instantly recognizable aesthetic based on repeated geometrical shapes.

The mathematical elegance of these designs is that no matter how elaborate they are, they are always based on grids constructed using only a ruler and a pair of compasses.

Islamic design is based on Greek geometry, which teaches us that starting with very basic assumptions, we can build up a remarkable number of proofs about shapes. Islamic patterns provide a visual confirmation of the complexity that can be achieved with such simple tools.

Dust off your old geometry set, and let’s see how.

Hatred and Racism from Right Winged Extremists in Europe cannot stop the growth and beauty of Islamic culture and people!

By: Abdullah Hakim Quick

Despite the anti-Islam marches in Dresden, Germany and the attacks on Masjids in France, the positive light of Islam will continue to shine!

Muslims are in key, strategic positions throughout society and cannot be lumped into a small, fanatical cult.
Our challenge is to maintain the “Balance” and convert our emotions into positive energy. Almighty Allah is Witness to all affairs and has power over all things

Look at the classical, beauty and the European Muslim style of the Scwetzingen Castle Mosque built in 1779. Its the oldest standing masjid in Germany and still open for Prayer! Allahu Akbar Forever!

Louie Schwartzberg: Hidden miracles of the natural world (Video)

 We live in a world of unseeable beauty, so subtle and delicate that it is imperceptible to the human eye. To bring this invisible world to light, filmmaker Louie Schwartzberg bends the boundaries of time and space with high-speed cameras, time lapses and microscopes. At TED2014, he shares highlights from his latest project, a 3D film titled “Mysteries of the Unseen World,” which slows down, speeds up, and magnifies the astonishing wonders of nature.

What is beauty?

Source: huffingtonpost.com

By: William C. Chittick

Anyone with the vaguest knowledge of Islamic culture knows that it has produced extraordinary works of art and architecture — Persian miniatures, the Taj Mahal, the Alhambra. Few are aware, however, that this rich artistic heritage is firmly rooted in a worldview that highlights love and beauty.

The link between love and beauty is clear. We love what we find beautiful. Beauty attracts, ugliness repels. Nor are beauty and ugliness simply physical characteristics. We all know people who are outwardly attractive but personally repellent, and vice versa.

Beauty makes a massive appearance in love poetry like that of Ibn al-Farid, Rumi, Yunus Emre, and countless others. Their verses stir up wonder and delight by evoking the beautiful characteristics of the beloved.

Islam stands for justice and not revenge

By: Abdullah Hakim Quick

Even though insults and attacks are being hurled at Muslims by right wing bigots and secular extremists, Islam does not condone the killing of innocents or even random assassination of people who have drawn pictures or made statements against Allah and His Messenger. The killings in Paris today have to be condemned by the whole Muslim world and extremism has to be opposed. Almighty Allah tells us:

“Invite (all) to the way of your Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching, and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious: surely your Lord knows best who have strayed from His Path and who have received guidance.” (16:125)

A true Islamic State should be a place of peace, stability and tolerance; not chaos, hated and wanton killing!!!
Here is the peace and beauty that an Muslim street should give.

Mufti Menk: How Music Was Introduced and Adultery & How Other Sins Developed (Video)

 How Music was Introduced and adultery and how other sins evolved e.g Tabarruj (when a woman start diplaying her beauty and to start dressing up in order to attract).
Full lecture…

9 THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT THE PROPHET’S MOSQUE

By: Muhammad Wajid Akhter

Source: http://muslimmatters.org/

Seeing a scene of impeccable beauty, we often hear the term “Heaven on Earth!” But there is only one place that literally has the right to proclaim itself heaven on Earth. There, deep in the mosque of the Prophet (masjid Nabawi), covered by green carpets and the tears of millions, lies a “garden from the gardens of paradise.” It is a place known to every Muslim who has ever lived, yet there’s still much we don’t know about it. Here are just some of the interesting facts and mysteries of the Prophet’s Mosque:

Street Dawah Nigeria Team (Video)

June 2014

 Street Dawah Nigeria Team is calling on you at home to come and join us in spreading this beautiful message of Islam to non muslims in Nigeria.

Follow the Sunnah and increase your beauty

Source: alahazrat.net

Hadrat Ibn-e-‘Umar Radi ALLAHu Ta’ala Anho reported that the Messenger of Allah has said, “Do the opposite of what the polytheists do; let the beard grow long and clip the mustache.” A version has, “trim the mustache down and leave the beard.” [Sahih Bukhari, Vol 2, Page 875]