Islam >>REVEALED BOOKS

Q 1: What does the revealed book mean?
A. Revealed book means that book which Allah Almighty has sent down for the guidance of mankind so that they may know Allah and His Messengers and carry out their commands.

Q 2: How many books has Allah Almighty sent down?
A. Allah has sent down books and Sahifa pi: Suhuf (little books) to many Prophets, the exact number of which is only known to Allah and His Beloved Prophet. Of all these heavenly books four are very prominent i.e. Torah which was revealed to Prophet Moses, Zabur (the original Psalms) to Prophet David, Bible (new Testament) to Prophet Jesus and the last one which is the highest and best is the Glorious Qur-aan which Allah Almighty has gifted to His Darling Elect Hadrat Muhammad (may Allah's choicest blessings & peace be upon him).

Q 3: Are the revealed books, besides Holy Qur-aan, still available with original texts?
A. No other heavenly books than the Qur-aan are available with the original texts because the mischievous elements in the nations of the past Prophets distorted and interpolated the original Torah, Zabur and Bible at their sweet will to gain their nefarious ends.

Q 4: How should we believe in the present Bibles (old and new testaments)?
A. We should testify only that text or portion of the bibles which conform to the teachings of the Glorious Qur-aan and disapprove of that which is (are) inimical to the Holy Qur-aan believing that this "interpolation" is the work of the mischievous elements who claim to be the followers of the said books.

Q 5: What about that if nothing conforming or unconforming to the Holy Qur-aan is found therein?
A. In such situation we shall neither approve nor disapprove but shall say "Aamantu Bil-Laahi wa Malaaa-ikatehee wa Kutubehee wa Rusulehee" (I believed in Allah, His angels, His books and His Messengers).

Q 6: Can the Holy Qur-aan be interpolated?
A. No, absolutely not. Since Islaam is ever-living and ever-lasting religion, Allah Almighty has taken up the responsibility of its protection Himself. It is free from being interpolated even if all its enemies strive jointly to do mischief to it.

Q 7: What about that man who believes that addition or omission can be made in the Qur-aan?
A. He who says that even a single letter, has been added to or omitted from or replaced in the Holy Qur-aan, remains no more in Islaamic fold and is, ipso facto, disbeliever.

Q 8: What is Sahifa?
A. Sahifa pl:Suhuf are little books or leaves which Allah Almighty sent down, before the Holy Qur-aan, for the guidance of humanity at large. These Suhuf contained good tidings, admonitions and guidelines to regulate life.

Q 9: How many Suhuf were sent down and to which Prophets given?
A. The exact number of Suhuf is known to Allah and His Choicest Prophet only, but what we know is that some Suhuf were revealed to Prophet Adam, some to his son Prophet Shit, some to Prophet Abraham, some to Prophet Idris and some Suhuf were also revealed to Prophet Moses.

Q 10: Is there any book like that of the Holy Qur-aan?
A. No, absolutely not. The Glorious Qur-aan is an unparalleled book which was endowed to the unparalleled Prophet Hadrat Muhammad Mustafa (may Allah's choicest blessings & peace be upon him) whose title was "Ummi" (unlettered). This "truthful" (the Holy Prophet) challenged the Arab nation that was stubbornly proud of their eloquence, magniloquence and rhetorics in poetry and oratory to bring or produce ten chapters and even a single chapter like it, but all proud and arrogant ones were stupefied. If they were capable of producing a thing like it they would have definitely done that and not faced abject disgrace of the proclamation that they and their false gods would be consigned to hell. The Holy Qur-aan is the ever-living and ever-challenging miracle of the Last Prophet of Allah.

Q 11: Is there any revealed book with Hindus?
A. No, Hindus have no heavenly book. "Veid" (Hindu scripture) which they claim to be a revealed book is not "Kalaam Allah" but a collection of poems of the ancient Hindu poets.

No women crew on Saudi Arabian Airlines

The year 2006 remained quite eventful for the Saudi women with women emancipation gaining momentum with the help of the liberal King Abdullah. Lot of talks were going on among the higher authority regarding creating more job opportunities for the Saudi women. The media was abuzz with the Saudi Arabian Airlines decision to recruit more female staff and replace the non-Saudi crew. However, the idea now faces a setback, because according to a statement made by Khaled Al Mulhim, the Saudi director general, no women will be appointed either in the airport or as flight attendants in the airlines. Via: TRADEARABIA

First Saudi women architect gets license to kick start her engineering firm

Women in Saudi Arabia, off late, are creating a niche amidst the watchdogs, and trying their hands in different fields and have largely met with success in their endeavor. In the kingdom of Riyadh, Azah Al-Deghather has revolutionized the Engineering Industry by becoming the first Saudi woman architect, who has obtained her license for opening up an engineering firm on her own. Azah got the approval from the Saudi Engineering Association to launch her private firm and this has paved the way for the rest of her fellow sisters who are qualified as an architect and waiting for their chance. According to Adel Al-Moselli, who is the current head of Professional Affairs at the Association said, there are two women who have applied for the license, and in the coming days, he is expecting more numbers. Saudi women architects are as professional and competent as their male counterpart is and the Business Community of Saudi Arabia has full confidence in the women professionals as well. Via: ZAWYA

Muslim woman locked up for three years for opposing husdand’s second marriage

Men in Islam are allowed to have more than one wife and this is prevalent not only in the Middle East countries but in India too – the land of Democracy. Paradoxically, despite the constitution of India bestowing the citizen to assert their right to freedom, women in the Muslim community still suffers from the biased laws of the Islamic religion. A recent case of a Muslim woman locked up in a room without any ventilation and toilet for long three years, should open up the eyes of the Indian government and it’s so called political leaders who are busy making big-time speech but no action at all. In a suburb area of Hyderabad, a man confined his wife in a room for three years and made her drink her own urine because she refused to grant him permission from getting married to another woman. The criminal in question is Mohammed Shadulla, who works as a foreman construction. He tied his wife Asha Begum in chain, forced her into a dark room, and ultimately carried on his wishes. However, by luck, one day he forgot to close the door and Asha escaped. The police have arrested the culprit. The point here is that the religious leaders instead of preaching should at least for once get into their senses and see what the cultural practices are doing to the Muslim women community. Via: IOL

La Femme Beach: The new sun bathing spot for veiled Egyptian women

There are hardly any recreation centers that the women in Islam can visit, so that they can unwind themselves and let their hair down for a few hours of fun and relaxation. However, to cater to the ever-growing demand of the women customers in Egypt, Walid Moustafa, one of the emerging entrepreneurs took the opportunity to unleash a new source of fun activity for the Egyptian women. In the year 2004, Moustafa launched his first venture by kicking off his much-speculated project of the first exclusive women beach, Yashmak and two others as well. They were an instant hit. La Femme Beach is another beach that he meticulously planned after the first venture. Now, it is La Femme, which is gaining huge popularity. Spread across the northern coast of Egypt, this beach is equipped with everything from bright women staff, stunning belly dancers, DJ’s, chef, and the cautious watchdogs, the women bouncers who stay guarded at the entry gate, so that no men can sneak in. The women get in all dressed in long sleeves and ankle-length designer skirts, but once they are inside the private space, they throw off their Hijab, and puts on sexy two piece dresses, I mean to say the colorful bikinis and dive to the beach. The beach is surrounded with beautiful women who swing their body to the sensuous Arabic beats that rocks the vicinity. With the changing pace of time, the young and wealthy generation of the hip-hop Egyptian women is realizing that it is time for them to indulge in some sports and where else but…LA FEMME BEACH. Via: CSMONITOR

Dr. Kotb candidly talks about the issues related to sex

Dr. Heba Kotb is a conservative Muslim, who has crossed the bounds of the chauvinistic Muslim society in her famous soap opera, Big Talk, where she candidly talks about the issues related to sex. Though its just been two months but the show on the independent Egyptian satellite channel El-Mehwar is really rocking the region. And out of the ordinary part is that she discusses about the matter in society where it has been forbidden by the community. However, she talks about sex in an Islamic light, postulating that the faith is in favor of pleasure for both men and women provided they are connubial. In an interview at Cairo University, Dr. Kotb said, ‘I’m very proud of my religion. My studies revealed to me more and more how Islam was ahead in all sexual matters . . . I discovered that Islam understood sex long before the rest of the world’. Her outspokenness is really hitting the streets of a community where male and female interaction is discouraged and where perpetual myths are allowed to cultivate profusely. Dr. Kotb, 39 and married with 3 daughters, she studied sexology with Maimonides University, a private school in Florida, and combined it with her own knowledge of her religion to produce a thesis on Sexuality in Islam. During her discussions, she lays down the biological facts regarding sexual positions, female orgasm, oral sex even masturbation (frowned upon but at least preferable to unmarried or adulterous sex, which is haram, meaning banned by religion). However, she personifies homosexuality as a disease. Disapproval among people: Some of the people are not in favor of Heba’s chat show. Somia, a housewife, says, ‘So now girls and boys have heard all about Heba’s talk about sex . . . that will let them know more than they should and will get them excited’. Mona Helmi, a feminist writer asserts, ‘After Islamic banks, Islamic fashion, Islamic TV channels, Islamic hairdressers, Islamic swimsuits, Islamic writers — now Islamic sex? This is too much’. Dr. Kotb rebuts the statements by saying that 80% divorce cases in the Arab world is due to sexual problems, which is the outcome of ignorance. Thus, the problem could only be averted by the power of knowledge. Image Read

Fertility rate of Muslim women in Israel going down

According to a recent analysis made by the Central Statistics Bureau data, in the year 2005 the fertility rate in Israel witnessed a significant fall. The data report states that the number of newborn babies was 143,913 in 2005, out of which nearly 70% were born to Jewish women and only a handful of 24% were that of Muslim women. Another important fact is that the overall figure of newborns dropped dramatically and this was due to the fertility ratio of the Muslim women, who were giving birth to fewer babies. Via: YNETNEWS