Salāt al-Hājah: the prayer of need

Source: ilmgate.org

By: Mawlana Zameelur Rahman

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Salāt al-Hājah (“Salāh of Need”) refers to performing two or more rak‘ats of optional salāh with the purpose of fulfilling one’s needs, whether followed by a du‘ā’ or not. This basic notion of Salāt al-Hājah is established in the sources of Sharī‘ah.

10 REASONS MUHAMMAD ﷺ COULD NOT HAVE AUTHORED THE QUR’AN

Source: manyprophetsonemessage.com

A problem facing many Scriptures is multiple authorship over many generations. The Old Testament consists of 39 books authored by numerous individuals over a period of many centuries. The New Testament contains 27 books written by multiple authors spanning a period of nearly half a century. The questions and uncertainties that surround the chronology and authorship of the Bible, for example many of the books were written anonymously, only serve to hinder one from accepting, at least wholesale, that it is the pure word of God.

This is not a problem that affects the Qur’an. There is no doubt that Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was the person responsible for transmitting the Qur’an. There are mass historical reports that support this claim, and the Qur’an itself confirms that it was revealed to him. Although Muhammad ﷺ was responsible for transmitting the Qur’an, was he its author? The following are just 10 of many reasons which prove that it is impossible for Muhammad ﷺ to have authored the Qur’an:

18 sources of Barakah!

Source: productivemuslim.com

By: Abu Productive

If we were to look for an Islamic definition of Productivity, it can probably be summarised in the word “barakah” or Blessing. Being able to achieve more with few resources, doing much in little time, and generating a lot with little effort is surely a blessing from Allah (Subahanahu Wa Ta’ala). Yet Barakah has somehow become a lost treasure these days; everyone’s looking for it, but no one seems to find it! You always hear people complaining that there’s no barakah in their time, no barakah in their sleep, no barakah in their money and the rest of it.

In this article, we’ll solve this mystery inshaAllah: we’ll find out what Barakah is and where you can find it!
What is Barakah?

A Well-known daee explains it as follows:
والبركة: هي ثبوت الخير الإلهي في الشيء؛ فإنها إذا حلت في قليل كثرته، وإذا حلت في كثير نفع، ومن أعظم ثمار البركة في الأمور كلها إستعمالها في طاعة الله عز وجل.

“Barakah is the attachment of Divine goodness to a thing, so if it occurs in something little, it increases it. And if it occurs in something much it benefits. And the greatest fruits of Barakah in all things is to use that barakah in the obedience of Allah (Subahanahu Wa Ta’ala)”

THE BREAKING NEWS CONSUMER’S HANDBOOK

Source: onthemedia.org

By: Alex Goldman

This week’s shooting at the DC Navy Yard was the latest in a long string of breaking news reporting to get many of the essential facts wrong.

In fact, the rampant misreporting that follows shootings like this is so predictable that OTM has unintentionally developed a formula for covering them. We look at how all the bad information came out. We suggest ways that the news media could better report breaking news. This time, we’re doing something different.

This is our Breaking News Consumer’s Handbook.  Rather than counting on news outlets to get it right, we’re looking at the other end. Below are some tips for how, in the wake of a big, tragic story, you can sort good information from bad. We’ve even made a handy, printable PDF that you can tape to your wall the next time you encounter a big news event.

Interesting Quotes from the Hadith on Jesus

Source: carm.org

By: Matt Slick

1. Muhammad said Jesus was of red complexion.
   1. The Prophet said, “I saw Moses, Jesus and Abraham (on the night of my Ascension to the heavens). Jesus was of red complexion, curly hair and a broad chest. Moses was of brown complexion, straight hair and tall stature as if he was from the people of Az-Zutt.”  Volume 4, Book 55, Number 648, Narrated Ibn Umar.
2. Muhammad said Jesus said he can’t intercede for people.
   1. The Prophet said, “Allah will gather the believers on the Day of Resurrection in the same way (as they are gathered in this life), and they will say, ‘Let us ask someone to intercede for us with our Lord that He may relieve us from this place of ours.’ …They will go to Abraham who will reply, ‘I am not fit for this undertaking,’ and mention to them the mistakes he made, and add, ‘But you’d better go to Moses, a slave whom Allah gave the Torah and to whom He spoke directly’ They will go to Moses who will reply, ‘I am not fit for this undertaking,’ and mention to them the mistakes he made, and add, ‘You’d better go to Jesus, Allah’s slave and His Apostle and His Word (Be: And it was) and a soul created by Him.’ They will go to Jesus who will say, ‘I am not fit for this undertaking, but you’d better go to Muhammad whose sins of the past and the future had been forgiven (by Allah).’ So they will come to me and I will ask the permission of my Lord, and I will be permitted (to present myself) before Him.”Volume 9, Book 93, Number 507. Narrated Anas. Also, Volume 6, Book 60, Number 236.
      1. This is contrary to the Bible which states that Jesus is our mediator (1 Tim. 2:5) and always lives to intercede for us:  Heb. 7:25, says, “Hence, also, He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
3. Muhammad implies that the Christian doctrine of Jesus as the son of God means God had a wife, demonstrating his lack of understanding of the issue.
   1. On the Day of Resurrection, a call-maker will announce, “Let every nation follow that which they used to worship.” Then none of those who used to worship anything other than Allah like idols and other deities but will fall in Hell (Fire), till there will remain none but those who used to worship Allah, both those who were obedient (i.e. good) and those who were disobedient (i.e. bad) and the remaining party of the people of the Scripture. . . Afterwards the Christians will be called upon and it will be said to them, ‘Who do you use to worship?’ They will say, ‘We used to worship Jesus, the son of Allah.’ It will be said to them, ‘You are liars, for Allah has never taken anyone as a wife or a son,’ . . .  Allah will say, ‘I am your Lord.’ They will say twice or thrice, ‘We do not worship any besides Allah.’ ”  Volume 6, Book 60, Number 105. Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri,
      1. Christian theology has never taught that Jesus was literally the offspring of God the Father.  Neither has Christianity ever taught that God has a wife.  (The cult ofMormonism has stated such erring doctrines, but it is not considered Christian.)  The term Son of God signified Jesus’ special and unique relationship with the Father as the Father’s representative (Heb. 1:1-3).
4. Muhammad said that Jesus worshiped Allah.
   1. Regarding the explanation of the Verse: ‘Those whom they call upon (worship) (like Jesus the Son of Mary, angels etc.) desire (for themselves) means of access to their Lord (Allah) as to which of them should be the nearer and they hope for His Mercy and fear His torment.’ (17.57) They themselves (e.g. Angels, saints, Apostles, Jesus, etc.,) worshipped Allah, Those Jinns who were worshipped by some Arabs became Muslims (embraced Islam), but those human beings stuck to their (old) religion. Al-Amash said extra: ‘Say, (O Muhammad): Call unto those besides Him whom you assume (to be gods).’ (17.56)   Volume 6, Book 60, Number 238. Narrated Abdullah.
      1. Such a statement is only a conjecture.  Jesus worshiped YHWH (Yahweh).  See John 17.
5. Ibn ‘Umar says that to say “Jesus is Lord,” is a great sin.
   1. Whenever Ibn ‘Umar was asked about marrying a Christian lady or a Jewess, he would say: “Allah has made it unlawful for the believers to marry ladies who ascribe partners in worship to Allah, and I do not know of a greater thing, as regards to ascribing partners in worship, etc. to Allah, than that a lady should say that Jesus is her Lord although he is just one of Allah’s slaves.” Volume 7, Book 63, Number 209.  Narrated Nafi’.
      1. It is not a great sin and it is taught in the Bible that such a confession is necessary, a sign of salvation (Rom. 10:9-10).
6. Muhammad said Jesus spoke while in the cradle
   1. The Prophet said, “None spoke in cradle but three: (The first was) Jesus, (the second was), there a man from Bani Israel called Juraij. Volume 4, Book 55, Number 645,  Narrated Abu Huraira.

The preceding Hadith are transmitted by Sahih Bukhari and are quoted from and online source found athttp://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/.

“Day” occurs 365 times, and “month” occurs 12 times in the Glorious Quran!

Source: answering-christianity.com

1-  Allah Almighty’s Divine Claims:

The Noble Quran and Islam are filled with scientific statements and notions.  These are statements of Allah Almighty describing how He created things on earth and in the Universe.  What’s most amazing is that all of these scientific statements and notions had been proven to be in perfect agreement with science and our modern-day scientific discoveries.  Allah Almighty made the Noble Quran be Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) Everlasting Divine Miracle and proof for Prophethood.  The Holy Book certainly stood the test of time 1,500 years ago with Its Claims, Prophecies and Miraculous language eloquence, and it does again and again in our day today with Its overwhelming agreement with science and discoveries that were not known to man 1,500 years ago.

Documentary: Crude harvest – Selling Mexico’s oil (Video)

 Mexico may be hitting the perfect storm when it opens its energy resources to foreign investors.
More documentaries…

IS WIKIPEDIA RELIABLE? ART OF CONNECTION WITH BELAL KHAN

Some people feel that Wikipedia isn’t trustworthy because it’s a platform on which you can go in and change information.

That’s true, but only to a degree.

Source: muslimmatters.org

The reality is that if you change information on Wikipedia and you don’t have any kind of history or you’re new to the game, understand that majority of these pages have gatekeepers.

These are people who are dedicated to the page and the content that’s on the page so if you make any changes they’ll be alerted of it and revert back the changes and flag you if you didn’t follow any one of the guidelines.

The real issue with Wikipedia is that it’s a reference index.

Coca-Cola’s investment in Gaza

Source: middleeastmonitor.com

By: Yvonne Ridley

Coca-Cola is building a factory in Gaza, but before you applaud such an investment in an area where the economy is shattered and unemployment ranks among the highest in the world, let’s examine the deal more closely. Who will actually benefit from this? It’s a rhetorical question really, because the Palestinians living there will be the long-term losers while the neighbouring State of Israel will count the shekels rolling in.

The first of the materials to build the factory came via Israel with a convoy of 10 trucks carrying assembly line machines through the Yitzhak Rabin border terminal; from there the lorries were processed by the Israeli military into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom border crossing last week. This, in itself, is amazing, since only 130,000 tons of construction materials have been allowed into Gaza since the latest Israeli blitz; five million tons are needed to try to rebuild the factories bombed to destruction by Israel in its last two wars against the civilians of Gaza.

Thousands of families are still without homes in the depths of a Gaza winter and some of the dead are still buried under the tons of rubble where tower blocks stood before the Israeli military destroyed them. Despite international promises of humanitarian aid and a massive rebuilding programme nothing of any substance has happened because of the ongoing siege of the territory led by Israel and Egypt.