| Prayers In The Noble Qur’an And Hadees of the Holy Imams (a.s.) | for everyone |
“And keep up prayer; surely prayer keeps (one) away from indecency and evil. And the remembrance of Allah is the greatest.” Noble Qur’an, Suratul `Ankabut, Verse 45
Imam Muhammad Al-Baqir (peace be upon him) advised: “We command our children to offer prayers when they are five years old, so you too order your children to offer prayers (but only) when they are seven years of age.”
Wasa’ilush Shi`a, Volume 3, Page 12
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his progeny) said: “The first thing that Allah made obligatory upon my Ummah was the five prayers; and the first thing from their acts of worship that shall be taken up will be the five prayers; and the first thing that they will be questioned about will be the five prayers.”
Kanzul `Ummal, Volume 7, Tradition 18859
Kanzul `Ummal, Volume 7, Tradition 18859
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his progeny) has said: “The prayer of a person is (in reality) a light in his heart, so whoever desires, can illuminate his heart (by means of prayers).”
Kanzul `Ummal, Volume7, Tradition 18973
Kanzul `Ummal, Volume7, Tradition 18973
Imam Muhammad Al-Baqir (peace be upon him) advised: “We command our children to offer prayers when they are five years old, so you too order your children to offer prayers (but only) when they are seven years of age.”
Wasa’ilush Shi`a, Volume 3, Page 12
Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: “One obligatory prayer is better than performing Hajj twenty times, and the performance of one Hajj is better than giving away a house full of gold.”
Biharul Anwar, Volume 82, Page 227
Biharul Anwar, Volume 82, Page 227
Imam `Ali (peace be upon him) has said: “Surely, when a person engages in prayers, his body, his clothes and everything around him glorify Allah.”
Biharul Anwar, Volume 82, Page 213
Biharul Anwar, Volume 82, Page 213
The Noble Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny) has said: “The good deeds of one who, without any appropriate excuse does not offer his prayer until its time passes away, are annulled.” He then said: “The divide between a believer and disbelief is the abandonment of prayers.”
Biharul Anwar, Volume 82, Page 202
Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said that Allah, the Exalted has said: “I shall accept the prayers of one who: exhibits humility before My Greatness; restrains himself from his base and carnal desires for My sake; passes his day in My remembrance; does not seek to show his greatness over My creation; feeds the hungry ones; clothes the bare ones; acts with kindness and mercy to those in misery and trouble; provides shelter to those who are strangers (in his city) and away from their homes.”
Wasa`ilush Shi`a, Volume 15, Page 210
Wasa`ilush Shi`a, Volume 15, Page 210
Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) has said: “One who offers his prayers along with Adhan and Iqamah, two rows of angels pray behind him, while one who offers his prayers with only the Iqamah and without the Adhan, one row of angels pray behind him.” The Imam (peace be upon him) was asked: “And how long is each row?” The Imam (peace be upon him) replied: “At the very minimum, its length is the distance between East and West, while at the maximum, its length is the distance between the earth and the heavens.”
Wasa’ilush Shi`a, Volume 4, Page 620
Wasa’ilush Shi`a, Volume 4, Page 620
Imam Al-Baqir (peace be upon him) has said: “The prayer that is offered by a person, sometimes half of it ascends upwards, while at other times it is only one-third, or one-fourth or one-fifth that ascends. Only that portion of the prayer which the person has offered with concentration and mindfulness of the heart is made to ascend. (And so) the people have been ordered to offer the recommended prayers so that they can make up for what has been left incomplete of their obligatory prayers.”
Al-Haqa’iq, Page 219
Al-Haqa’iq, Page 219
| BRIEF ON IMAM MOHAMMAD BAQIR (A.S.) | for everyone |
| Birth and Imamate Imam Muhammad Baqir(a.s) was born in the 57th year of the Hijra, on Friday the first day of the month of Rajab, in the city of Madina. His honoured father is Imam Sajjad(a.s.) and his revered mother, Fatema, daughter of Imam Hasan(a.s.). He was the only Imam who was Alawiite from both the side of the Mother and the Father. Imam Sajjad(a.s.), according to the command of Allah(swt) and the decree of the Prophet(pbuh&hf), appointed his son, Imam Muhammad al-Baqir(a.s.), to Imamate and leadership of the people in the 95 A.H. He remained Imam for the rest of his life until 114 A.H. and the total period of his Imamte is 19 years. Allama Hajr Makki writes in Sawaeq-e-Moharaqa (Page 120) that He was the true copy of his father Imam Sajjad(a.s.) in knowledge, piousness and prayers & supplications. Meaning of Baqir Baqir is a derivate of the word 'Baqara' which means to open up or to expand. Imam Mohammad Baqir(a.s.) was named as such since he introduced and spread the knowledge and teachings of various dimensions and implemented the knowledge streams in a manner which had never been seen earlier. Allama Noor Allah Shostri says in Majalis-al-Momineen (Page 117) that Prophet Mohammad(pbuh&hf) said that Imam Mohammad Baqir(a.s.) will introduce, spread and open up knowledge just like the ground is opened up for cultivation. Imam Muhammad Baqir(a.s.) instructed people in percepts of religion, taught tafseer-e-Quran, taught them the ethics of life, and used to strive very hard to educate, culture and guide the people. During the course of his life, he taught the people thousands of theological and religious principles, as well as scientific subjects, and his teachings have been handled down to us. Imam Muhammad Baqir(a.s.), like the other Imams, in knowledge and science had no equal. Great learned men benefited from his knowledge and science and used to ask him to solve their problems. Presence in Karbala Imam Mohammad Baqir(a.s.) was about two and a half years old when he had to accompany Imam Hussain(a.s.) and the rest of his family members on the journey to Karbala. After the tiring journey from Madina to Karbala, he witnessed the shocking and tragic events of Karbala and then the heart rapturing events in Syria and Iraq. After one year of detention in Damascus he returned in 62 A.H. to Madina whe he was 4 years. Meeting with Jabir ibn-e-Abdullah Ansari(r.a.) It is a proven fact that Prophet Mohammad(pbuh&hf) had informed about the birth of Imam Mohammad Baqir(a.s.) about 64 years before his birth. Sheikh Saduq(a.r.) states in his book Amali (page 353) - Imam Jafer Sadiq(a.s.) narrates that one day Prophet Mohammad(pbuh&hf) said to Hazrat Jabir ibn-e-Abdullah Ansari(r.a.) "you will stay alive untill you meet my son Mohammad bin Ali bin Hussain bin Ali ibn-e-Abi Talib(a.s.) who is mentioned in the Torah as Baqir. Give him my salutation (salam) when you meet him". One day when Jabir visited Imam Zain-ul-Abideen(a.s.), he saw the young boy sitting next to the Imam(a.s.). He addressed the young boy and asked him to come closer and show his back. Then he proclaimed that by God, that young boy had the features and traits of the Prophet Mohammad(pbuh&hf). Then he asked Imam Sajjad(a.s.) who the young boy was and Imam(a.s.) replied that he was his son and the successor to the Imamate and his name was Mohammad Baqir(a.s.). Hearing this, Jabir(r.a.) rose up and kissed the young Imam and said "Son of Rasool Allah(pbuh&hf), may I be taken ransom for you, accept the salutation (salam) of Rasool Allah(pbuh&hf). He asked me to convey it to you". Imam Jafer Sadiq(a.s.) states that his father burst into tears on hearing this and said "Jabir my salutation to my grand father until this sky and earth survives. You conveyed the salam of my grand father to me so I convey my salam to you as well". Imam Mohammad Baqir and Abu Hanifa The founder of the Hanafi School of thougth, Imam Abu Hanifa was a disciple and student of Imam Mohammad Baqir(a.s.) for a long period. He used to study fiqh and ilm-e-hadees and other branches of knowledge from the Imam(a.s.) and both Shia and Sunni Ulema agree that most of his knowledge was derived and obtained from Imam Mohammad Baqir(a.s.). Allama Shabrawi Shafaee writes that on several occassions Imam Mohammad Baqir(a.s.) tested Abu Hanifa on matters of fiqh and Abu Hanifa could not answer them and then Imam Baqir(a.s.) explained the reasoning and logics to him. Abu Hanifa was also an associate of his son Imam Jafer Sadiq(a.s.) and benefitted a lot from his knowledge as well. His Death and burial In 100 A.H. Hashsham bin Abdul Malik became the Caliph. He was a known enemy of the Ahl-e-Bait(a.s.) and he did not waste any opportunity to bring hardship to the Ahl-e-Bait(a.s.). Allam Majlisi writes that during the last days of his caliphate, Hashsham came to Makkah for Hajj. Imam Mohammad Baqir(a.s.) and his son Imam Jafer Sadiq(a.s.) were also present. Hashsham was informed that Imam Jafer Sadiq(a.s.) delivered a sermon among the Hajis that he and his father were the Allah's vicegerent and His command on earth and whoever was their friend and well wisher will go to heaven and whoever is thier enemy will be destined to hell. This infuriated Hashsham and when he reached Damasacus, he ordered the governor of Madina, Ibrahim bin Walid to send the two Imams(a.s.) to his court. Hashsham had planned to malign the Imams in his court but the Imams(a.s.) overturned his plans which further ignited his enmity and he orderd the Imams(a.s.) to be jailed. While in the jail, Imam Mohammad Baqir(a.s.) gave sermons to the other prisoners which created an atmosphere of great enthusiaism and devotion towards the Imam(a.s.) and against Hashsham and sensin the gravity of the situations and the risk of a revolt, Hashsham ordered the release of the Imam(a.s.). He then ordered the governor of Madina that Imam Mohammad Baqir(a.s.) should be poisoned as he is becoming a constant threat (Jala-ul-Ayoon Page 262). The governor of Madina - Ibrahim bin Walid carried out the orders and poisoned the Imam(a.s.) in 114 A.H. Imam Muhammad Baqir(a.s.), lived in this world for a period of 57 years, and in the 114th year of the Hijra, on the seventh day of the month of Zil-Hijjah, in Medina he left this world. His body was buried in Baqi cemetry alongside the graves of Imam Hasan(a.s.) and Imam Sajjad(a.s) in Medina. His last will and instructions Before his martyrdom, Imam Mohammad Baqir(a.s.) instructed his son Imam Jafer Sadiq(a.s.) about several issues and said to him that he is hearing the voice of his father who is calling him(Noor ul Absar Page 131). He gave special instructions for his kafan and burial since only an Imam can say the prayers of an Imam (Shawahi-un-Nabowah page 181). Allama Majlisi states that in his will, he also mentioned that 800 Dirhams should be spent on his azadari and mourning and arrangement should be made that the Hajj pilgrims would commamorate his martyrdon in Mina for the next 10 years. Ulema also mention that in his will, the Imam(a.s.) also mentioned that his kafn should be opened after his burial and his grave should not be higher that 4 fingers. | |||||
| PRAYERS | for everyone |
Pray to Allah on every occassion : happy or sad. Quran says: "And when touches a man (an) affliction, he cries to Us, but when we remove from him his affliction, he passes on as though he had not called to us (on account of the affliction which did touch him)".
Allah brings problems so that we may establish contact with Him, but some people even don't do this, even if they are faced by problems.
Dua with Jama'ah: Dua of a congregation (Jama'ah) is better than an individual's dua. The people should get used to praying together. Dua Komail, Dua Nudbah, Dua Tawassul, etc. should be prayed in congregation. The christians have a good habit of praying together when faced with difficulty.
Imam Sadiq (a.s.) says: "If 40 people gather together and pray, Allah shall certainly accept at least one man's dua". Some people in the congregation may be good and sincere, and because of them, dua of all the rest shall be accepted.
Understand the meaning of what you recite in Dua : Reciting Duas taught to us by our beloved Prophet and Imams (as) without understanding their meaning, makes it loose most of its significance and benefits. Then it is little surprise we hardly feel its effect on us or its benefit in our life.
| THE WEAPON OF THE BELIEVER -DUA | for everyone |
"When my servants asks you about me, then (say to them) verily I am near. I answer the prayer of supplicant when he beseeches me". (2:186)
Many verses in the Quran stress on dua, and explain the value of dua. Also, there are numerous Ahadith (traditions) of the Prophet (saww) and Imams (as), which stress on the importance of dua in the life of a believer. Allah openly invites a man to invocate. "And says your Lord: 'Call to me, I will answer you". (40:60)
The Prophet (saww) says: "The best form of worship is Dua". The most laziest man is that who doesn't remember Allah by his lips or tongue, inspite of being healthy and idle. The Prophet (saww) says: "The most incapable man is the one who neglects dua".
Imam Ali (a.s) says: "The best deed to Allah is Dua".
Imam Muhammad Bakir (a.s) says : "Do not get bored with Dua as it is very highly ranked by Allah".
Imam Jaffer Sadiq (a.s ) says : "Increase Dua because it is the key to all mercy and fulfiller of every need".
| TOP 100 MISSPELT WORDS IN ENGLISH | for everyone |
TOP 100 MISSPELT WORDS IN ENGLISH
Here are the 100 English words which many people have problems spelling!
| acceptableaccidentally accommodate acquire acquit a lot amateur apparent argument atheist believe calendar category cemetery changeable collectible committed conscience conscientious conscious definite(ly) disappear discipline drunkenness embarrass | equipment exhilarate exceed existence experience fiery foreign fourth gauge generally grammar grateful guarantee harass height hierarchy ignorance immediate independent indispensable intelligence its / it's judgement knowledge leisure | librarylightning maintenance manoeuvre memento millennium miniature mischievous noticeable occasion occasionally occur / occurred occurrence official parallel parliament pastime pigeon possession preferable principal / principle privilege questionnaire receive recommend | referredreference relevant religious restaurant ridiculous rhythm sandal schedule scissors sensible separate special success to / too / two tomorrow their / they're / there twelfth tyranny until vacuum vicious weather weird you're / your |
| THE WORST EVIL -HATRED | for everyone |
In the time of a caliph, a rich man bought a slave whom he treated, from the beginning, like a gentleman, giving him the best of food and clothes, and money exactly like his own child or even more lavishly. But the slave noticed that his master always felt uneasy.
Eventually the rich man made up his mind to set him free and provide him with some capital. One night as they were sitting together, the master said: ‘Do you know why I have treated you so well?’ The slave asked the reason. The master said: ‘I have one request to make which if you fulfill, you would enjoy all I have given and will give you! But if you refuse, I will be discontented with you.’ The slave said: ‘I will obey whatever you ask. You are my benefactor who has given me my life.’ The master said: ‘You must promise me in good faith to do it, for I am afraid you may refuse it.’
The slave said: ‘I promise to do what you want.’ The master said: ‘My proposal is that you must behead me at a specific time and place.’ The slave exclaimed: ‘What? How can I do that?’ The master said: ‘That is what I desire.’ The slave said: ‘That is impossible.’ The master said: ‘I have got your promise. You must do it.’
One midnight, he awakened the slave and gave him a sharp knife and a bag full of money and climbed up a neighbor's roof, and told the slave to behead him there and then go wherever he liked. The slave asked the reason for such an act. The rich man answered: ‘I hate this one man and prefer death to seeing his face. We have been rivals but he, my neighbor has gone ahead of me and excels me in everything, and I am burning with hatred. I desire my neighbor to be jailed for this fake murder and this idea is a relief to me. Everyone knows him to be my rival, and so my neighbor will be condemned to death for this act.’ The slave said: You seem to be a foolish man and deserve this death.’
So he beheaded the rich man and ran away, His rival neighbor was consequently arrested and imprisoned, but no one believed that he would have killed his rival on his own roof. It had become a mystery. At last, the slave felt a prick of conscience, went to the authorities and confessed the truth. When they understood the matter, they freed both the slave and the neighbor.
This is a fact that Hate is a disease of the soul. The Noble Quran says in Chapter ‘The Sun’ (Shams 91:9-10):
| Simple things to do during Hajj | for everyone |
[1] Smile at another Muslim (not ghair mahrams )
[2] Say Salaam to strangers (not ghair mahrams )
[3] Shake someone's hand and ask about their health(not
ghair mahrams )
[4] Buy tea for someone
[5] Offer to get someone's groceries
[6] Sit with a Hajj group from another country and ask about Islam in their village
[7] Carry someone's bags for them
[8] Guide someone ill to the sick bay/hospital
[9] Shun vain talk
[10] Recite talbiyah loudly, encouraging others
[11] On the days of Eid , walk through the tents reciting
talbiyah loudly reminding others
[12] Gather stones for people who are unable to do so
[13] Offer to throw on behalf of unable Hajjis
[14] Guide people to the Jamarat
[15] Lower your gaze
[16] Remind people of the lives of our Sahaabah
[17] Read Qur'an with the Tafseer
[18] Recite the authentic
Dhikrs of the morning and evening
[19] Make dua during your Sajdah
[20] Stand to the side of a gate and offer people water/tea as they leave
[21] Give major attention to shy people in your group
[22] Remind people of patience, why they came here, and the example of our Ulamaa ' in Hajj
[23] Explain a Hajj Khutbah you may have heard to those around you
[24] Explain the importance of purifying ones actions for the sake of Allah
[25] Try not to complain over everything
[26] Make dua for forgotten friends (and the author of this list)
[27] Don't allow Muslims to fight during Hajj
[28] Help people find a place to sleep
[29] Remember - during the heat - the unending torment of hellfire
[30] Say 'Laa ilaaha illa Allah, wahdahu laa sharika lah, lahul Mulk wa lahul hamd wa Huwa 'ala kulli shay'in Qadeer ' 100x
[31] Say the dua of entering the market place when you go there
[32] Give charity to those who sell meager things (sandals/eggs)
[33] Attend the Halaqahs that are given in Mina
[34] Try to Stay for the 13th of Dhul Hijjah
[35] Remind people to go home as better Muslims
[36] Forgive people that wrong you
[37] Talk to 10 different people from 10 different countries
[38] Compliment someone sincerely
[39] Visit the hospital and thank Allah for all that he has given you
[40] Take young Muslims and invite them to sit with the elders. Make them the center of attention.
[41] Attend the gatherings or lectures of the pious and
Ulama
[42] Always try and offer good words to others and keep a check on one's anger
[43] Ask about the health of senior people in your group. Make sure they are attended to.
[44] Focus hard on helping those immediately near you
[45] Take people to the slaughter house and help them / Or assist them in purchasing their slaughter coupons
[46] Remember specific blessings Allah has bestowed upon you and say Alhamdulillah
[47] Pray to Allah using his 99 most beautiful names (Al
Asmaa ' al Husna )
[48] Use a Miswak
[49] Fill your pockets with candies/sweets and give to the children that you meet
[50] Always intend reward from Allah for everything you go through during Hajj
| LIVE TV CHANNELS | for everyone |
IN CASE U WISH TO SEE LIVE TV CHANNELS
| Live Channels |
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Hadi Tv Sahar Tv Salam Tv Ahlulbait Tv Al Foorat Tv Press TV Al Manar Tv Al Alam Tv Al Kauthar Tv Salam Tv 2 Labbaik Tv Aqsa Tv Quran Tv Khabar Tv Quds Tv Maaref Tv |
AND LIVE ROZAS TOO
| Ahmadinejad comes “home” to a hero’s welcome | for everyone |
Ahmadinejad comes “home” to a hero’s welcome
cathartic outpouring of emotion and spontaneous eruption of excitement and exuberance all rolled up into a hero’s welcome is not easily offered up for anyone, especially heads of state in a world where the utilitarian, self-serving motivations of the global aristocracy of “leaders” cause it to be wholly repugnant to the masses. During the few days of his visit, Oct. 13–15, the people of Lebanon brought back memories of Imam Khomeini’s triumphant return to Iran in 1979, capping a long struggle to ignite the first contemporary Islamic revolution; and it is no accident that the beneficiaries of the momentum the Imam created are the increasingly free-minded people of Lebanon and the current leadership of the Islamic Republic, which has rekindled fealty to the ideological resolve and the military determination of the Imam’s line. After nearly 30 years of confidence building, problem solving, and alliance building, hardened by confronting, engaging, expelling, and outsmarting the cancerous Zionist tumor in the south of the country, the moved and the shaken of Lebanon finally had a chance to break bread with the movers and shakers.Despite all Western media attempts, still ongoing two weeks after the president’s visit, to misrepresent this as a Hizbullah-only affair or to dilute excitement by diverting attention to Iran’s human-rights violations, in the geopolitical context, it must be viewed as a historic event. For a brief moment, the majority of people in a very troubled country with a divisive history inured in its very culture and exploited by foreign aggressors had something they could agree on.
And so they turned out not because they were paid to throw roses at a hated conqueror, not because they were protesting the ineptness of their own government, and not because they had nothing better to do for a few days due to nonexistent opportunities. No indeed. They turned out to express their love, honor, respect, admiration, and reverence for the representative of an indomitable ally that has followed through on all it said it would do and more. Respect is earned; it comes not by demand, and it is not for sale. But when it is deserved, it cannot be withheld.
According to Franklin Lamb, a writer who has been doing research in Lebanon, “An important reason for the outpouring of popular support was the quarter century of Iranian assistance to Lebanon for social projects, and for rebuilding much of Lebanon following the 1993, 1996 and 2006 Israeli aggressions. Massive aid that was detailed by Hezbollah’s Secretary-General in a recent speech and the cost of which is estimated to be in excess of one billion dollars… Iran’s President is widely believed in the diplomatic community here to have promoted sectarian unity in Lebanon, calmed the current political atmosphere, and delivered on offers of more desperately needed economic projects via 17 bilateral agreements. A particularly appreciated offer throughout Lebanon is Iran’s major pledge of an electrical complex that will deliver 7 times Lebanon’s current power supply, which in 2010 still sees power cuts throughout Lebanon. The current deficiencies range from three hours to 12 hours daily power cuts everywhere in Lebanon plus total blackouts for days at a time in some areas. Iran’s President is widely believed to have achieved a major advancement for Lebanese stability, sovereignty, and independence… What seems quite evident is that Iran’s President and the large delegation of business people comprising his entourage have opened a new era of bilateral relations between the two countries. His positive personal and political connections with virtually all Lebanon’s leaders, including compliments from rightist Christian politicians including Samir Geagea, will likely lead to big joint economic projects, the Iranian arming of the Lebanese Armed Forces, and strategic political cooperation, starting now.”
There is a reality here staring the Zionist/Euro/Americentric “place-your-national-interest-first” world in the face, but it cannot see that because of its ideological and racist blinders. For the better part of 80 years, they could have done something about and with Lebanon, not to mention the rest of the Islamic East, but they chose to make their Middle East a giant gas pump and used Israel as a staging area to convert the entire region into a nuclearized war zone; and in particular they made Lebanon into a closet where they could hide their skeletons.
Now somebody comes in and deals with the Lebanese as real people, makes them a priority and starts advancing all the people on a destiny of peace and prosperity built upon self-respect and dignity borne of saying “no” to any kind of abuse, degradation, humiliation, exploitation, and occupation. Only the pompous and narcissistic world of those who view the “values” of the Enlightenment as universal and who expect the rest of the world to kowtow as servants as they march toward their destiny can view President Ahmadi-nejad’s visit as a provocation or as some kind of chest thumping to tell Washington that the road to any reconciliation in the area goes through Tehran. Only they could say that the President of Iran is there to put pressure on Sa‘ad Hariri to reject the UN investigations into the mysterious death of his father, Rafik Hariri.Why don’t they characterize President Kennedy’s visit to the Berlin Wall in 1963 at the height of the Cold War — the last time a comparable visit by a foreign head of state, viewed as a liberator, to a people divided by ideology and war took place — as a provocation, occurring as it did a few months after the Cuban Missile Crisis, which apparently brought the entire world to the edge of a nuclear winter? Why don’t they say that President Kennedy was there to put pressure on the Germans to reject the findings of UN commissions investigating the murder of East Germans trying to scale the Berlin Wall that were routinely blamed on the Soviets?
We are all used now to this double and foul “standard.” In fact, President Ahmadinejad’s visit to Lebanon went beyond President Kennedy’s largely symbolic speech at the Berlin Wall. The President of Iran was acclaimed by all the varying cultures, religions, and ethnicities along with the majority of political groupings in Lebanon; and this is despite the fact that he hails from a land that has historically had an ethnic antipathy for the Arabs and vice-versa. By contrast, President Kennedy went to a largely homogenous society that shared with the United States a basically common culture, a religious racism, a similar ethnicity (especially as far as the ruling classes are concerned), and an aversion to communism.
Thirty years ago, no one could have predicted that Iran, of all countries, would be the one to liberate the Lebanese from Israeli aggression and American duplicity. But what is happening today in Lebanon is more than just gratitude to an Iranian president, it is the sign of an awakening that is taking place not only in the Islamic East, but throughout the Muslim world from Morocco to Indonesia, and from South Africa to Russia. American imperialism, European exceptionalism, and their Zionist pit bull are neither the center of the world nor are they at the center of man’s attention. The people of the world are discovering they can do much better with their problems if they don’t invite these parasites, contagions, and pesticides into their frank discussions.
And this is exactly what President Ahmadinejad went to Lebanon to say. You do not belong here, not because of who you are but because of your attitude, what you do, what you don’t do, and what you should have done. You are not on the short list or the long list of parties that need to be consulted for solutions to regional and local problems; in fact, you are not even on the map. Your mentality doesn’t belong anywhere in the discourse of sane and rational people committed to justice, peace, and liberty. To say these things requires integrity, courage, character, and conscience. And these are the ingredients of which real leaders are made. Give the Lebanese people credit for this acknowledgement.
| Saudi Arabia’s war of steel and concrete on Islam | for everyone |
Saudi Arabia’s war of steel and concrete on Islam
“Art Rocks in Saudi Arabia”! trumpeted the glossy cover of an issue of Saudi Aramco World, a journal on culture and society in the Kingdom. The accompanying article by Peter Harrigan looked at pre-historic rocks scrawled with drawings of camels and other animals, querying why the international community has ignored study of ancient rock in the Najd. However, Harrigan eagerly forecasts that this unfortunate oversight will soon be addressed. After all, old rock is a resource on par with the black gold that Aramco excavates from beneath the desert.
The laborious preservation of “art rock” in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia contrasts with on-going demolitions of the monumental structures and sacred sites mapping the Hijaz’s Islamic geography. Since the House of Saud’s takeover of Arabia, following its foundational alliances with British imperialists and Wahhabi ideologues, it is an open secret that the princes-cum-businessmen are waging a war of steel and concrete against great sign posts of Islamic history that even neo-Qurayshi dictators like Yazid ibn Mu‘awiyah had dared not disturb.A list is in order here — a mere slice of the nearly 300 Islamic structures that have been dynamited, bulldozed, and paved down in the past 80 years. It is a remarkable testament to Muslims’ gifts of preservation that the homes and other intimate structures of the early Makkan period of Islam have stood secure through the long centuries of dynastic change and political uncertainty. These landmarks of the close associations and fraternal bonds through which a fledging Islam gained a social presence have now disappeared in the region’s necro-commercialization. Abu Bakr As-Siddiq’s house is now the Makkah Hilton Hotel. The Prophet’s (pbuh) mother, Aminah bint Wahb’s grave was paved down and burnt with gasoline. His first wife Khadijah’s house, where the Prophet’s (pbuh) children were born, is now a public lavatory.
The garbage of history is a term used for painfully reconstructing the past through the remnants and remains — but this sheds a neon-colored light on how history itself can be rendered as garbage.
Archaeologists now estimate that less than 20 structures dating from the Prophet’s (pbuh) time are left in the Hijaz. Yes, that means 90% of Islamic sites have now disappeared, a memory of a memory. Even as outrage sparked in the Muslim countries, from Palestine to Pakistan to Turkey, the Wahhabization of the Hijaz’s social landscape has mobilized local zealots in overseeing the demolitions. The alchemy of their logic turns demolitions of Islamic spaces into a sign of piety. Far better to transform these venerated sites into public bathrooms than to allow the shadow of a possibility that non-Wahhabi visitors would lapse into idolatry before them.
Besides the structures materializing memories of the Prophet (pbuh) and his Companions, the very geography of the Sirah has been wiped away. The routes followed by the Muslims to the battlegrounds of Badr and Uhud have been cleared. Hamzah ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib’s grave is gone. The famous seven masjids of Salman al-Farsi, Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, Fatimah, ‘Ali, Bilal and al-Fath (built on the rock where the Prophet (pbuh) stood during the Battle of the Trench, praying for victory) have been razed and replaced by ATM machines. Dar-al-Arqam, the first meeting place of the Muslims and indeed, the first Islamic school where the Prophet (pbuh) tutored the early Muslims, now hosts the escalators of a high-rise. The king’s palace stands on the bones of the Abu-Qubays Masjid.
Graveyards are known to be a magnet for Wahhabi ire. The 1806 razing of the Baqi‘ Cemetery in Madinah is a famous chronicle: the domes and markers of the great Islamic personalities interred there were flattened out into an anonymous field. Other graveyards met the same fate, with no aftertaste of infamy. The graveyard of Maqbarah al-Muala (in Makkah), where Khadijah is buried, has likewise been razed. All this is part of King Abdullah ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz’s quest to “re-envision” the holy cities. Toward this end, he has hired diva architects like Norman Foster, Lord Foster of Thames Bank and Zaha Hadid to blast the area into accommodating another million pilgrims who can afford the deluxe Hajj packages now going for $8,000 and above. “We are witnessing now the last few moments of the history of Makkah,” said Sami Angawi, an expert on Islamic architecture
Local residents of these spaces are not entirely immune to the costs of this demolition derby. Makkans rescued the house where the Prophet (pbuh) was born, pressing to transform it into a library rather than permit its disappearance under a shopping mall. However, post-9/11 oil bonanza and the ensuing development boom have placed these remaining sites under a timer. Profits flowing in from the skyscraper hotels and other commercial venues proved too seductive for the Saudi capitalists — the area around the Haramayn is prime real estate, and why say no to the clown when McDonalds comes knocking? The house where the Prophet (pbuh) was born is now slated to become a parking lot. Presumably the princes’ Mercedes were too inconvenienced by the city’s existing parking facilities.
This conflagration of the visible traces of the men and women who translated the Qur’anic word into social and political reality, has even aghast some Saudi citizens. Irfan al-Allawi channeled his outrage into the Islamic Heritage Foundation, an online website meticulously documenting each site destroyed by the Saudis and the corporate monstrosity erected over it. After provoking Saudi criticism in even US and UK newspapers, the website was yanked by the Saudi government, and Allawi has been placed under house arrest. Clearly, even memories are too dangerous a political capital to be left untampered with — whether present in stone or in digital pixels on the information highway.
There are other sites that are threatened, sites tied to the very presence of the Prophet (pbuh). Wahhabi authorities are planning to destroy Jabal al-Nur, where the Cave of Hira’ is located. Visiting the mountain, one can find a signpost blazened with a fatwa, “The Prophet Mohamed (pbuh) did not permit us to climb on to this hill, not to pray here, not to touch stones, and tie knots on trees…”
In short, keep away — don’t get too close to site of the first Qur’anic revelation, the place that first witnessed the communication between Allah (swt) and the Prophet (pbuh) that was to alter the geography of the world. If there is a location that rivals this in early Islamic history, it would be the Prophet’s (pbuh) grave itself. And yes, that too is slated for destruction.Construction underway has already partitioned the graves of the Prophet (pbuh), Abu Bakr, and ‘Umar from the rest of the Masjid in preparation for razing them into rubble. A pamphlet published in 2007 by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs and endorsed by the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, reads, “The green dome shall be demolished and the three graves flattened in the Prophet’s Mosque.” The removal of the iconic Green Dome from over the graves is a preliminary step to this plan that has already been checked off the to-do list. Even the body of the Prophet (pbuh), the medium of Allah’s (swt) mercy to the worlds, is to disappear under the rubble and dust of Saudi-Wahhabi demolition.
The question of why is always a hazardous one when discussing the House of Saud and their Wahhabi henchmen. But any work of destruction is only a precursor to some project of reconstruction. What are the signs and traces of prophetic history to be replaced with? And while the Wahhabi cadres are hamstrung by the ideology wrapped around their minds like metal bands, the Saudi royal family’s priorities are a bit different. If Islamic history is being systematically dynamited from the surface of the earth, then it is a precursor to the construction of a new history that fully justifies Saudi sovereignty.
At a 1989 New York conference on “cultural preservation” in Saudi Arabia, Saudi diplomats, ambassadors and businessmen met with hired archaeologists and preservationists to trumpet their success in cementing the institutional memory of the House of Saud. The model being followed is Colonial Williamsburg, that charming Virginia town restored to produce a sanitized memory of US colonial times. (Tourists enjoy hooped dresses, handicrafts, and colonial music, without unpleasant reminders of black slavery and Indian genocide). “You in the United States have preserved places uniquely associated with the founding of your nation,” said Saad Nazer, Saudi Arabia's New York consul-general, “we too have now preserved the sites at Riyadh and Dar‘iyyah where Saudis can learn how King ‘Abd al-‘Aziz formed our modern kingdom.æ
In a word — Saudi restoration projects en process are not in Makkah or Madinah, but in Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dar‘iyyah, locations that had been crude desert outposts before the House of Saud’s fortunes struck gold. And unlike past dynasties like the Ottomans, who had integrated their cultural, religious, and political structures into the layout of the two holy cities, the Saudis laid out an alternate geography from day one. A secular geography that preys on the prophetic one, gorging on it to render the love and faith of billions into cash. Dollars only, please.
So, if the Prophet’s (pbuh) geography is too visible a reminder that the House of Saud is an upstart tribal pretender that views Islam’s sedimentation throughout the Hijaz with distaste, then which past is the valid one? Nation-states are a modern invention, dating a mere 400 years on the European heartland. However, each new-born nation state must manufacture its existence back in time, colonizing history as it were. The Saudis, who market themselves as custodians of the Haramayn to justify their fabulous Hajj profits, only want to remember the pre-Islamic annals of beduin tribes and the founding of their political dynasty.
As graves, masjids and mountains fall around Makkah and Madinah, elaborate new structures take form in Riyadh and Jeddah. The National Museum at Riyadh has built an elaborate pre-Islamic wing, featuring multi-media installations intermingling with pre-historic “art rock” helicoptered in from the Najd sands. Various plush museum complexes such as Darat al-Malik ‘Abd al-‘Aziz, dedicated to the founding patriarch, have literally risen from the dunes. In assigning the multi-million dollar contrasts for these memory projects, Riyadh Development Authority opened the competition to celebrity architects from around the world. The goal was to erect “cultural focus for the whole nation” and create “a sense of continuity and dignity for all Saudis”. Apparently, the Saudis didn’t fear that their citizens would fall into idolatrous devotion before the gleaming, high-tech relics commemorating ‘Abd al-‘Aziz Aal Saud and the pre-historic ancestors.
The death of sacred structures is not just the perishing of stone and mortar — it is the destruction of those compasses with which we orient ourselves in landscapes of history and memory. It is the erasure of traces of the personalities that traded blood and treasure so that Islam could survive. It is the fading of the material inscriptions nourishing our memory and indeed, the very consciousness of ourselves as Muslims. What elegy shall we sing to the crumbling bones of the Companions? What words are appropriate to the vanishing presence of our Prophet (pbuh)?
By Zainab Cheema (Crescent Magazine)
| Evaluate Business Performance Through Knowledge and Training Skills | for everyone |
When any business has invested in some training, how we would know if it has been a success? This article explains the way to evaluate any business performance involved in training.
I would summarize the basic questions for this article in the following How’s!
• How to identify training gaps and future training needs?
• How to inform future training plans and strategy?
• How to ensure training continuously improves?
Answering these questions will guide us to the right path to evaluate any business performance involve in training. The main process to deal with efficiency in training is to make sure the business reach three points:
• The efficiency of a particular process
• The number of returning customers
• Staff motivation
Measuring the efficiency of training skills is very simple by evaluating the reaction of the provided training method, by asking: What are the participants’ feedbacks on the training? This is typically measured through a survey and usually covers such items as program methodology, group and individual exercises, quality of materials and media, facilitator capabilities, facilities, etc.
This will drive us to the process of collecting; analyzing and reporting information to assist us understanding how much participants learned and applied what they have learned in the learning environment. Measure these results at the group level by summing monitoring results up to the group level we will be able to better determine if the overall training is the issue versus individual ability.
Unfortunately, so many organizations do not measure training effectiveness. Training evaluation is always a challenging area, especially when training new recruits because it is necessary to have a clear understanding of their baseline before the training starts; otherwise we can not be sure how far they have progressed as a result of their participation in training and these facts face those who deal in training through business side. In my opinion before we go for measuring and monitoring the efficiency, we need to decide which training programs we are going to measure and consider?
It may be that we want to check that a training program is meeting its objectives, or identify how a training program can be further improved. Deciding this should help us consider which information we need to collect and how we will collect it.
For second part in evaluation, we need to make sure that our evaluation methods are appropriate to the training program we are measuring and to our time and budgetary constraints. Organizations typically use such things as observation in the workplace, surveys or questionnaires, focus groups, interviews, performance monitoring and collection of financial data.
Last part in evaluation training program is the timing of evaluation. Timing is also key - best practice suggests that a two-part approach should be taken. In the first place, trainees' reactions and learning during the training program should be considered. Secondly, we should talk
| 8 Differences Between Traditional Businessmen and Entrepreneurs | for everyone |
The difference between traditional businessmen and entrepreneurs is not huge - it could be a thin line yet a defining one. If checked deeply, there is a difference between traditional businessmen and entrepreneurs. In this article, we will discuss these differences point-wise.
1. Entrepreneurs love to innovate while traditional business owners love to stick to tested services and solutions.
2. Entrepreneurs are on a look out to create something new-a product, solution, strategy, application, service or even a whole new concept. Whereas, businessmen stick to traditionally popular products and services and try to recycle it.
3. Entrepreneurs tend to pick up niches that are not over-crowded. In fact, they create new niche and market segments. Traditional businessmen, as the name suggest, like to stick to crowded markets.
4. Entrepreneurs have to brace with initial blockage in terms of finance, support and resources. Traditional businessmen often enjoy support because there is not much of speculation over the feasibility of their venture.
5. Entrepreneurs tend to tread a risky path, though the rewards are also pretty rich.
6. Entrepreneurs could innovate at any scale. At the same time, they may face problems in scaling up.
7. More often than not, entrepreneurs need a team to support their idea and take their venture to the next stage. This is where collaboration and networking comes into play. Entrepreneurs do and need to use social media as a potent networking medium whereby they connect with fellow entrepreneurs, investors, target audience and auxiliary service providers.
8. Entrepreneurs have to face failures at many stages. In fact, due to poor execution of their ideas, entrepreneurs' failure percentage is pretty high. Though there are lot of executive and management course that tend to teach how to be a successful entrepreneur, the percentage has not come down as desired in India or in the entire world.
| Fund Your Business Without Giving Up Equity | for everyone |
Fund Your Business Without Giving Up Equity
How to Fund Your Business Without Giving Up Equity:
Although there are many methods to finance and capitalize a company, the financing transaction is usually structured and secured in one of two ways. Either your put up collateral as security or you give up some ownership of your company (equity). Both methods have their benefits and drawbacks. One of the major benefits of using collateral instead of giving up equity is that you retain ownership and control of the business. This can be very important for business owners who want to retain their independence. When you sell equity, the buyers become your new partners - for better or for worse.
Most small and medium sized companies look for financing because they have cash flow problem. Although you can fix these problems by selling equity and recapitalizing the company - it's not always the easiest solution.
One business financing alternative is to get a business loan. Although business loans are a popular tool to finance a company - they can be hard to get. The current lending environment is very difficult and institutions are only extending loans to very low risk ventures. To qualify, most companies need to have strong financial statements, multi year profits, seasoned management, substantial collateral and good growth potential. Few companies meet these criteria, especially small and midsized companies.
If the cash flow problems are caused by slow paying clients - rather than by low sales - invoice financing may be the right solution. Invoice financing is a simple solution that provides a funds advance on your slow paying invoices. It plugs the cash flow gap, providing the money you need to pay suppliers, employees and other business costs. More importantly, it smooths out cash flow, providing predictability and allowing the business owner to focus on other tasks.
Most invoice financing transactions are structured as two advances. The first payment is given to you as soon as you invoice your client. It's usually 80% of the invoice. The second advance, which is 20% less the financing fee, is given once your client actually pays the invoice.
One of the advantages of invoice financing is that is easier to get than other forms of financing. If your business is free of liens and encumbrances and you invoice credit worthy commercial clients, you have a good chance of qualifying.
| IMAM MOHAMED BAQIR (A.S.) - HADEES | for everyone |
Imam Baqir (pbuh) said:
- "Our followers are of three kinds, one who follows us but depends on others, one who is like a glass involved in his own reflections, but the best are those who are like gold, the more they suffer the more they shine."
- Imam Mohummad Ibn Ali (pbuh) says that Imam Ali (pbuh) once said: "There were two things in this world which softened the Wrath of Allah (SWT) and prevented its descent upon man: One has been taken away from you; hold the other steadfast. The one which has been taken away from men is the Holy Prophet Mohummad (saw) and the one which is still left with them and which they must hold steadfast is repentance and atonement for sins because Allah (SWT) at one place in the Holy Book, Noble Qur'an addressed the Holy Prophet Mohummad (saw) and said Allah (SWT) would not punish them while you were among them nor while they were asking for forgiveness." (Surah Anfal, 8:33)
- 5th Imam, Imam Mohummad Ibn Ali (pbuh) received the title of Baqir (Splitter of knowledge) due to his ample knowledge of Deen and his enthusiasm to teach to other people.
| HADEES ON EARNING LIVELIHOOD | for everyone |
Earning livelihood is a Worship:
- When Sa'd Ansari responded to the Holy Prophet Mohummad (saw) that his hands were calloused because he used to work with a rope and a shovel to earn money to spend for his wife and children, the Holy Prophet Mohummad (saw) kissed his hand (as an honor) and said: "This is a hand which the Fire (of Hell) will never touch."
- The Holy Prophet Mohummad (saw) said: "There are seventy branches of worship, the best of which is earning a living lawfully."
- Imam Ali (pbuh) said: "Never, never will prosperity be reached by remaining idle and lazy."
- Imam Ali (pbuh) said: "One who is always lazy his hope will be scattered (here and there)."
- Imam Baqir (pbuh) said: "Avoid laziness and discontent. These two are the keys to every vice."
- Imam Baqir (pbuh) said: "Refrain (be away) from Laziness and impatience for both of them are surely are the keys of every evil."
- Imam Baqir (pbuh) said: "Laziness harms both religion as well as this world."
- Imam Baqir (pbuh) said: "I hate the person who is jobless and who merely lies on his back and says, O Allah! Give me sustenance! He asks Allah to do him a favor while the small Ant comes out of its Ant colony to seek its livelihood!"
| IMAM MOHAMED BAQIR (A.S.) - HADEES | for everyone |
"No mater how small, acts of worship are not undervalued?" The fact of the matter is that Allah's (SWT) satisfaction lies in our obedience to Him; the value of an act depends upon its acceptance by Allah (SWT), rather than our understanding of an act's importance.
The concept of "an act being accepted by Allah (SWT)" can be seen in prayers of the Prophets (as) and the Imams (as), where despite their well-known piety and faith, they would constantly ask Allah (SWT) to accept their acts of worship.
For example, while Prophet Ibrahim / Abraham (as) was rebuilding the foundations of the Holy Kaaba with the help of his son Prophet Ismail / Ishmael (as) more than 3000 years ago in Makkah, he made the following prayer:
"O Lord! Accept (this service) from us; surely you are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing." Noble Qur'an (2:127)
The same rule applies to sins, in that one should refrain from undervaluing any sin. Regardless the sin, in an act of sin a person is disobeying the commands of the authority of Allah (SWT). For who knows, that same sin can be a start in the path of Allah's (SWT) dissatisfaction, and as a result lead to an unpleasant ending.
The concept of "an act being accepted by Allah (SWT)" can be seen in prayers of the Prophets (as) and the Imams (as), where despite their well-known piety and faith, they would constantly ask Allah (SWT) to accept their acts of worship.
For example, while Prophet Ibrahim / Abraham (as) was rebuilding the foundations of the Holy Kaaba with the help of his son Prophet Ismail / Ishmael (as) more than 3000 years ago in Makkah, he made the following prayer:
"O Lord! Accept (this service) from us; surely you are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing." Noble Qur'an (2:127)
The same rule applies to sins, in that one should refrain from undervaluing any sin. Regardless the sin, in an act of sin a person is disobeying the commands of the authority of Allah (SWT). For who knows, that same sin can be a start in the path of Allah's (SWT) dissatisfaction, and as a result lead to an unpleasant ending.
| DO NOT LOOK AT ANY SIN AS MINUTE...... | for everyone |
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| TRIBUTE ON SHAB-E- SHAHDAT OF OUR FIFTH IMAM (A.S.)7TH ZIL HAJJ | for everyone |
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| ASIAN GAME GLITTERING OPENING - SLIDE SHOW | for everyone |
| BEAUTIFUL THOUGHTS.... | for everyone |
posted by ABBAS ALAM @ 08:16
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