Spirituality
A light on your heart…Archive for Woman
What Non-Muslims Say About Islam???!!!
Those who listen to the word and follow the best of it; those are the ones whom God has guided, and those are the ones endowed with understanding (Qur’an 39:18)
THE FASTEST GROWING RELIGION IN THE WORLD
This is a collection of short quotations from a wide variety of Non-Muslim notables, including academics, writers, philosophers, poets, politicians, and activists belonging to the East and the West. To our knowledge none of them ever became Muslim. These words, therefore, reflect their personal views on various aspects of the religion of Islam.
Sarojini Naidu
(1879-1949) A writer, poetess and one of the most visible leaders of pre-Independent India. President of the Indian National Congress and the first woman governor of free India.
“Sense of justice is one of the most wonderful ideals of Islam, because as I read in the Qur’an I find those dynamic principles of life, not mystic but practical ethics for the daily conduct of life suited to the whole world.”
“It was the first religion that preached and practiced democracy for, in the mosque when the call for prayer is sounded and worshippers are gathered together, the democracy of Islam is embodied five times a day when the peasant and king kneel side by side and proclaim: “God Alone is Great.” I have been struck over and over again by this indivisible unity of Islam that makes man instinctively a brother.”
[Lectures on "The Ideals of Islam;" see Speeches And Writings Of Sarojini Naidu, Madras, 1918, pp. 167-9]
Arnold J. Toynbee
(1889-1975) British historian, Lecturer at Oxford University.
“The extinction of race consciousness as between Muslims is one of the outstanding achievements of Islam, and in the contemporary world there is, as it happens, a crying need for the propagation of this Islamic virtue.”
[Civilization On Trial, New York, 1948, p. 205]
William Montgomery Watt
(1909) Professor (Emeritus) of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Edinburgh.
“I am not a Muslim in the usual sense, though I hope I am a “Muslim” as “one surrendered to God,” but I believe that embedded in the Qur’an and other expressions of the Islamic vision are vast stores of divine truth from which I and other occidentals have still much to learn, and Islam is certainly a strong contender for the supplying of the basic framework of the one religion of the future.’”
[Islam And Christianity Today, London, 1983, p. ix]
Bertrand Russell
(1872-1970) British philosopher, mathematician, and Nobel laureate, whose emphasis on logical analysis greatly influenced the course of 20th-century philosophy.
“Our use of the phrase ‘the Dark Ages’ to cover the period from 699 to 1,000 marks our undue concentration on Western Europe… From India to Spain, the brilliant civilization of Islam flourished. What was lost to Christendom at this time was not lost to civilization, but quite the contrary… To us it seems that West-European civilization is civilization; but this is a narrow view.”
[History of Western Philosophy, London, 1948, p. 419]
Hamilton Alexander Roskeen Gibb
(1895-1971) A leading orientalist scholar of his time
“But Islam has a still further service to render to the cause of humanity. It stands after all nearer to the real East than Europe does, and it possesses a magnificent tradition of inter-racial understanding and cooperation. No other society has such a record of success uniting in an equality of status, of opportunity, and of endeavours so many and so various races of mankind … Islam has still the power to reconcile apparently irreconcilable elements of race and tradition. If ever the opposition of the great societies of East and West is to be replaced by cooperation, the mediation of Islam is an indispensable condition. In its hands lies very largely the solution of the problem with which Europe is faced in its relation with East.”
[Whither Islam, London, 1932, p. 379.]
“That his (Muhammad’s) reforms enhanced the status of women in general is universally admitted.”
[Mohammedanism, London, 1953, p. 33]
James A. Michener
(1907-1997) Leading American writer; recipient of honorary doctorates in five fields from thirty leading universities and decorated with the Presidential Medal of freedom, America’s highest civilian award.
“No other religion in history spread so rapidly as Islam . . . The West has widely believed that this surge of religion was made possible by the sword. But no modern scholar accepts that idea, and the Qur’an is explicit in support of the freedom of conscience.”
[Islam - The Misunderstood Religion, Readers' Digest (American Edition) May 1955]
Edward Gibbon
(1737-1794) Considered the greatest British historian of his time.
“‘I believe in One God and Mohammed the Apostle of God,’ is the simple and invariable profession of Islam. The intellectual image of the Deity has never been degraded by any visible idol; the honours of the prophet have never transgressed the measure of human virtue, and his living precepts have restrained the gratitude of his disciples within the bounds of reason and religion.”
[History Of The Saracen Empire, London, 1870, p. 54]
“More pure than the system of Zoroaster, more liberal than the law of Moses, the religion of Mohammad might seem less inconsistent with reason than the creed of mystery and superstition which, in the seventh century, disgraced the simplicity of the gospels.”
[The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 5. p. 487]
Jared Diamond
Professor of Physiology at the UCLA School of Medicine; recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1998.
“Medieval Islam was technologically advanced and open to innovation. It achieved far higher literacy rates than in contemporary Europe; it assimilated the legacy of classical Greek civilization to such a degree that many classical books are now known to us only through Arabic copies. It invented windmills, trigonometry, lateen sails and made major advances in metallurgy, mechanical and chemical engineering and irrigation methods. In the middle-ages the flow of technology was overwhelmingly from Islam to Europe rather from Europe to Islam. Only after the 1500’s did the net direction of flow begin to reverse.”
[Guns, Germs, and Steel - The Fates of Human Societies, 1997, p. 253]
Annie Besant
(1847-1933) British theosophist and nationalist leader in India. President of the Indian National Congress in 1917.
“I often think that woman is more free in Islam than in Christianity. Woman is more protected by Islam than by the faith which preaches Monogamy. In Al-Quran the law about woman is more just and liberal. It is only in the last twenty years that Christian England, has recognized the right of woman to property, while Islam has allowed this right from all times.”
[The Life and Teachings of Muhammad, Madras, 1932, pp. 25, 26]
THE HUMAN STATUS OF WOMAN IN THE QURAN
As what kind of entity does Islam envisage Woman? Does it consider her the equal of man in terms of dignity and the respect accorded to her, or is she thought of as belonging to an inferior species? This is the question which we now wish to answer.
The particular philosophy of Islam concerning family rights:
Islam has a particular philosophy concerning the family rights of men and women which is contrary to what has been going on in the last fourteen centuries and with what is actually happening now. Islam does not believe in one kind of right, one kind of duty and one kind of punishment for both men and women in every instance. It considers one set of rights and duties and punishments more appropriate for men, and one set more appropriate for women. As a result on some occasions Islam has taken a similar position as regards both women and men, and on other occasions different positions.
Why is that so and what is its basis? Is. that why Islam, also, like many other religions, has derogatory views concerning women and has considered woman to be of an inferior species, or does it have some other reasons and another philosophy?
You may have heard repeatedly in the speeches, lectures and writings of the followers of western ideas that they consider Islamic laws concerning dowry, maintenance, divorce and polygyny, and other laws like them, as being contemptuous of, and insulting to, the female sex. In this way they try to create the impression that those provisions only prove that man alone has been favoured.
They say that all the rules and laws in the world before the twentieth century were based upon the notion that man, due to his sex, is a nobler being than woman, and that woman was created simply for the benefit and use of man. Islamic rights also revolve in this same orbit of man’s interest and benefit.
An Introduction To Islam
INTRODUCTION
Islam is one of the major world religions. Every fifth person on the face of this earth is a Muslim. Muslims are found in the Middle East, in north, west and east Africa, in Asia and Eastern Europe. In modern times, Muslims are found in large numbers in Western Europe, the Americas and Australia through immigration as well as conversion. Recent statistics show that Islam is the fastest growing religion in the USA. With the vast world turning into a “global village,” such a wide-spread religion followed by over a billion people indeed deserves a careful study.
WHAT IS ISLAM?
Islam is not just a religion in the conventional sense of the word; it is a way of life—it guides it followers in every aspect of their lives.
The name “Islãm” is an Arab name. (“Islaam” is pronounced with “s” sound and not with “z” as in “Izlaam”.) It comes from the root word “as-silm” which means “peace”. “Islãm” itself means “submission to the will of God”. It means that real peace comes only after a person submits himself to the will of God.
Although Islam started fourteen centuries ago in Arabia, for Muslims it is not a new beginning—Islam, for Muslims, is the culmination of the message of God for human society. Muslims believe that God from day one of human creation sent prophets and messengers to guide the human society. Many prophets were sent to various regions of the world. Muslims are required to have faith in the prophethood of all of them. The most famous of the past prophets were: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus.
The essential message of all the prophets was the same:
belief in One God;
belief in the prophets of God and in their teachings;
belief in the eternal life in hereafter.
MUHAMMAD, THE LAST MESSENGER
After Prophet Jesus, God sent Muhammad as the Final Prophet and Messenger of God. With his prophethood, the process of guidance reached its peak and perfection.
Prophet Muhammad was born in the city of Mecca in Arabia in the family which traced its lineage to Prophet Abraham through his son Ishmael. At the age of forty, Prophet Muhammad recieved the first revelation from God through the Arch-Angel Gabriel.
He called the people of Mecca who were mostly idol-worshippers to the worship of One God, and to a life based on laws of God which would guarantee peace and harmony in inter human relationship. Majority of the people of Mecca refused to accept his message. The small number of his followers did not deter the Prophet from continuing his mission. Muhammad was fully supported in his mission by close family members, in particular his wife, Khadīja, and cousin, ‘Ali.
The leaders of idol-worshippers of Mecca, who did not want any change in the status-quo, started a campaign against Prophet Muhammad and the religion of Islam:
first they started propaganda against Prophet Muhammad;
then they started social and economic embargo against Muslims;
finally they planned to assassinate the Prophet himself.
In the meanwhile, the Prophet’s message found a very receptive audience among the people of Medina, a city in northern Arabia. So after thirteen years of hard work in Mecca, the Prophet Muhammad migrated to Medina where he lived for the last eleven years of his life.
It was in Medina that the Prophet founded the first Islamic community on the principles of monotheism of the Almighty and brotherhood of the Muslims.
THE QUR’ÃN
The revelation which Prophet Muhammad received from God during almost twenty three years of his mission was compiled in a book form and is considered by all Muslims as the Holy Scripture of Islam. This revelation is known as “The Qur’ãn”.
The Qur’ãn has been preserved by the Muslims in its original form. Muslims have preserved it in writing as well in memory in each generation for the last fourteen centuries. Even those Muslims who are not familiar with the Arabic words learn how to recite the holy Book in Arabic.
BELIEF IN ONE GOD
Islam is a monotheistic religion. It teaches that there is only One God who is the origin and creator of the universe. The concept of belief in One God is known as “Tawhid”. This is the foundation stone of Islam, and is reflected in the famous creed which a Muslim child learns at a very early age. The creed says: lã ilaha il-lal Lãh — there is no god but Allãh.
“Allãh” is the Arabic name of God. Since the Qur’ãn is in Arabic, Muslims like to use the Arabic name for God. Even Christians in the Arab world use the name “Allãh” in their prayers.
By teaching that there is only One God for all humans, Islam promotes the sense of brotherhood and equality in human society—all are equally related to God in the same way. The Qur’ãn has very beautifully presented the concept of monotheism in a short chapter. It says: Say: He, Allãh, is One. Allãh is Eternal. He neither begets nor is He begotten. And there is no one equal to Him. (The Qur’ãn, chapter # 112)
PURPOSE OF LIFE
Our life on this earth has a specific purpose; it is not the result of nature’s accident, nor is it a punishment for eating the fruit of the forbidden tree. We are here according to God’s plan: to attain a blissful eternal life in the hereafter. Prophet Muhammad said, “You have not been created to perish; on the contrary, you have been created for eternal life.”
However, in order to attain the bliss and grace in the eternal life, we have to go through test and trial in this world. The test is to see how much willingly we do submit ourselves to the commands of God. Everything that we do is a test and trial for us. If we follow God’s commandment, then we succeed; otherwise, we will get the eternal life but without any bliss or grace in it.
STATUS OF HUMAN BEINGS IN ISLAM
PRIME CREATION: Human being is the prime creation of God. He says, “We have indeed honoured the children of Adam; spread them in the land and the sea, provided them with good things; and preferred them in esteem over many things that We have created.” (17:70)
BORN SINLESS: Islam teaches that every human being is born sinless; no child carries the burden of his or her ancestor’s sins. God says, “No carrier shall carry the burden of others.” (35:18) Each human being is born with a pure conscience which can absorb and accept the true message of God. It is only the social and familial influences which take a person away from God’s message.
ACCOUNTABILITY: Islam also emphasizes on the issue of responsibility and accountability of human beings—each person is responsible for his or her own actions. Although Islam teaches that God has predetermined the span of our life and the time of our death, but this does not mean that even our actions are predetermined by Him. We surely are free in our actions and are, therefore, accountable for them. God only provides guidance for us to know what is good and what is bad. He says, “We created man of a water-drop…Surely We guided them to the right way—now whether he (follows it and) be grateful or (goes astray and) be ungrateful is up to him.” (76:3)
RACE: Islam very categorically rejects racial discrimination. It promotes the feeling of brotherhood and equality among its followers. God clearly says, “O Mankind! We have created you from one male and one female, and then We made you into different races and tribes so that you may know (and easily recognize) each other.” Therefore, no one can claim any superiority over others based on racial or tribal differences. A person is to be judged by his character, not by his colour or race. God continues, “Surely the most honourable of you in God’s sight is the person who is most upright in character among you.” (49:13)
GENDER: Even gender does not count as a criterion of superiority. In Islam, women are as human as men. They are not evaluated on basis of their gender, but on basis of their faith and character. Fourteen hundred years ago, the Qur’ãn recorded God’s clear statements on this issue. Out of four verses, I will just quote one: “Whoever, be it a male or a female, does good deeds and he or she is a believer, then they will enter the Paradise.” (4:124) So there is no difference in the degree or level of woman’s humanity or honour in Islam.
The only difference there exists is concerning the role which Islam has envisioned for man and woman. This has nothing to do with superiority or inferiority.
In Islam, man and woman are equal in rights; but equality is not synonymous to similarity.
Islam believes that man and woman are equal but dissimilar. Islam looks at their different roles in society not as superior or inferior but as complementary to each other.
ISLAM: THE RELIGION OF PEACE
As reflected in its name, Islam is a religion of peace. Muslims are taught to greet each other by saying “salãmun ‘alaykum — peace be upon you”. The daily prayers also end with the same sentence. In Islam, one of the names by which God is known is “As-Salãm” which means peace.
However, one must realize that peace, on a social level, is inter-twined with justice. Peace can only exists if justice is maintained in society.
Unfortunately, because of the Middle Eastern events of last fifty years, Islam has been branded by the western media as a religion of violence. In recent years, the word “Islamic” has become one of the adjectives of “terrorism”.
In this backdrop, firstly, one must realize that the events of the Middle East can be fairly and fully understood only in the light of the post-World War One history of that region, in particular the unfulfilled promises given by the British to the Arabs in order to incite them to rebel against their own Muslim rulers.
Secondly, no fair-minded person would allow himself to blame the religion of Islam for the wrong-doings of those who call themselves as Muslims. It is just like saying that the Catholic Church promotes violence and terrorism because of the Irish Republican Army’s activities!
* * *
These were the teachings of Islam, the religion sent by God to Prophet Muhammad. It has been preserved in its originality by the leaders who came from the family of the Prophet. On this note, I would like to end with one of the last important messages of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) where he says:
“I am leaving behind two important things among you: one is the Book of Allãh (the Qur’ãn) and the other is my family, the Ahlul Bayt. As long as you hold on fast to both of them, you will not go astray.”
* * *
source
Converting To Islam?!
A Real Story: How I became a ?
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Name: Sara Nevarez
From: Los Angeles, California
Salam Aleikom (Hi)
My name is Sara Nevarez and I am Muslim (alhamdullilah). I was born in to a strong catholic family who came from Mexico to America, my family was very traditional, my grandmothers would take me to church on Sundays and they showed me how to pray, my mother would teach me to show respect for the prophet Issa (as), and father would read the bible
As I grew older I had many questions, I asked my father the prophet Issa (as), needed to sleep, eat, and drink, if he was the son of Allah (swt), and my father had no answer for me. I asked my grandmothers why Catholics prayed to saints if they were not perfect in their lives and both of them had no answer. When I grew older I stopped going to church because I felt nothing in my heart for the catholic beliefs, my family was sad for me
In 1998 I decided to go back to church, all the questions I had were still there and so I asked the priest because I was sure he would know everything. I told him I had doubts about prophet issa (as) being the son of Allah (swt) and he said to me “you have to accept this and not ask questions”…, on that day my heart felt empty and heavy. I knew my life was lost without religion, but it was better to be lost than to not be 100% convinced of your faith. And I wan not convinced at all.
In 2000 I saw the story of Yusuf Islam on American television, he told of all the riches he had when he was a famous singer yet he still felt loneliness and not fulfilled… after an accident someone gave him the noble Koran and he went on to describe the immediate feeling of relief upon reading the first pages. He said this life was meaningless without Islam. He also said he would never go back… I remember thinking to myself that man had everything but felt like he had nothing without spiritual guidance OH,OH
I wanted to know more about this religion called Islam I bought books many books, I bought the movie (the message) and I went to internet to learn everything I could. I knew Islam was for me the noble and holy Koran made perfect sense it is completely logical… the Koran showed me how to live to accept to respect, strive towards Allah (swt), I studied for two years. I wanted to be sure of the differences between Shia and Sunnah, for me I accept both but I wanted to know how both were in their Islam, I went to Sunnah Masjid “Mosque” no one wanted to discuss this subject, in my mind I had to find out
One day I met a woman from south Lebanon, she went to my office and I could not keep my eyes from her, we became friends…, she took me to Shia Masjid (Mosque) and I read two books, TEARS & TRIBUTES and THE IZ INFALLIBLES. My eyes were filled with hot tears and my heart was happy and sad, I knew immediately I was ready for my life to change I wanted Allah (swt) to love me
On may 05- 2002,at 4:44 in the afternoon I declared Al_shahadah (Ashhado an la ilaha ella Allah, Mohamed Rasul Allah) and submitted to Allah (swt) I became muhajabeh (I wore the Veil) that day, I prayed in the direction of the kaabbah (Kiblah) for the first time on that day and I cried on that day I was crying because of sadness, why I didn’t find this religion of Islam sooner ?, I was lost for a long time “subhanallah I found Islam like Yusuf Islam ” and I too would never go back never…, my son Hassan was 12 years old in 2002 and he too became Muslim. My family was happy that I had religion and they accepted Islam in the family.
In 2006 performed hajj and I feel stronger than ever. my life and the life of my son have changed forever, Islam showed me that without submission to the one god life is a meaningless day to day existence Allah(swt),in all of his mercy, has put forth the Koran through his Rasul Mohamed (sas) so that we humanity, may inshallah be guided, I hope in all sincerity that this humble story of a woman’s conversion to Shia Islam will inspire all those who read it, may Allah(swt) blessings be bestowed upon all of my brother and sisters
Some Veil (Hijab) References
Hi every one:
I put some useful links for you to research about Islamic Veil (Hijab).
I hope it will help you. also you can leave your comment to me.
- Disorted image of Muslim Women
- International and Minority Law in Regard to Muslim Minority Groups / Seyyed Mustafa Mir Muhammadi
- Woman In Bible & Quran
- Aurora of Love
- Canadian Muslim Women: Balance between Life and Work / Fazil Larijani
- Hijab, a Modern Day Necessity / Unknown
- Hijab (Veil) and Muslim Women / Ms. Naheed Mustafa
- Hijab (Islamic Cover for Women) / Ahmad Luqmani
- Hijab: How It Protects and Benefits Women and Society / Unknown
- Chastity Is a Human Virtue
- Two Concepts Regarding the Hijab of a Woman
- Niqab, Deviation In The Issue Of Hijab / Mahnaz Badoran/Nahid Rampanahi
- Woman In Islam / B. Aisha Lemu/Fatima Heeren
- Exposé of the Year: ‘The Marketing of Evil’
- Tips for Beginning to Wear Hijab
- The Veil
- The Islamic Dress Code / Khalid Baig
- Hijab, Immunity Not Limitation
- Hijab In The Qur’an / Syed Burhan Mehdi
- The Tragedy Of Western Women /
- Top Ten Excuses of Muslim Women Who Don’t Wear Hijab / Dr. Huwayda Ismaeel
- Do Muslim Women Have Rights?
- The Science Behind the Veil (Hijab)
- Muslim Women and the Islamic Family Structure
- Criteria of Spouse Selection / Ali Akbar Mazaheri
- THE REAL VISAGE OF THE HIJAB / MURTAZA MUTAHHARI
- THE WORD ‘HIJAB’ / MURTAZA MUTAHHARI
- The Participation of Women in Meetings and Gatherings / MURTAZA MUTAHHARI
- The Islamic Hijab – Part V / Murtaza Mutahhari
- The Islamic Hijab – Part IV / MURTAZA MUTAHHARI
- The Islamic Hijab – Part III / MURTAZA MUTAHHARI
- The Islamic Hijab – Part II / MURTAZA MUTAHHARI
- The Islamic Hijab – Part I / MURTAZA MUTAHHARI
- Reasons Given for the Development of the Hijab – Part II / MURTAZA MUTAHHARI
- Reasons Given for the Development of the Hijab – Part I / MURTAZA MUTAHHARI
- THE DUTIES OF WOMEN / Ayatullah Ibrahim Amini
- The Modest Covering and Woman’s Chasteness / Husayn Ansarian
- Daughters of Another Path: women Becoming Muslim in America / Carol L. Anway
- FATIMA (SA) THE JASMINE OF MEDINA / Hoda Lezgee
- Unwelcome Sisters? An Analysis of findings from a Study of How Muslim Women (and Muslim Men)Experience University / Christine Asmar ,Elizabeth Proude ,Lici Inge
- US Muslim Firewoman Allowed to Observe Hijab
- Hijab of Freedom / Kubra Saiyeda Jafri
- Status Of Women In Islam / Dr. Ahmed Abdul Magid Hammoud
- “STATUS OF WOMEN” AS SEEN FROM THE QUR’AN / Kashif Ahmed Shehzada
- Question of Hijab: Suppression or Liberation? / Mary C. Ali
- Muslim Women Should Be Both Pure and Educated / Farizah Shaheedah from Malaysia
- Marriage and Education – Where Should Our Priorities Be? (part 1) / By: Munir Daya, Dar-es-Salaam
- LIBERATION BY THE VEIL / Sehmina Jaffer Chopra
- Does Equality Lie In Hijab, Or In Uncovered? / Raziya Menon
- LOVE, SEXUAL DISCIPLINE AND CHASTITY (Democratic Morality, Love in Personality Growth)Part One / By Martyr Morteza Mutahhari
- A Guiding Light for All Women
- A Japanese Woman’s Experience of Hijaab / Nakata Khaula
- The Beauty of ISLAM THE VEIL:Beauty in the eyes of the beholder / Sarah Hussein Shah, Ali Rahim
- WEARING HIJAB: VEIL OF VALOR / EMILIA ASKARI
- Hijab – symbol of muslim women’s rejection of western corruption / Muneera Afifa
- The culture of nakedness and the nakedness of culture / Gholam Ali Haddad Adel
- Message of Hejab from A Muslim Woman
- Women on Display / Abdullah Osman
