The month of Muharram is the first month of the Arabic year, and it is one of the four sacred months of Allah. Allah says in the Quran:   “Verily, the number of months with Allah is twelve months (in a year), so was it ordained by Allah on the Day when He created the heavens and the earth; of them four are Sacred (i.e. the 1st, the 7th, the 11th and the 12th months of the Islamic calendar)….” [Quran, Surah Al-Tawbah 9:36] The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be

Imagine. A half asleep six-year-old on an international flight shaken awake as the aircraft plunges several feet, half-eaten food trays hitting the ceiling and crashing around, a service trolley trundling down the aisle. No, it’s not a scene from a Hollywood thriller. It’s my first flying experience. I remember opening my eyes to this as my mother struggled to put the seat belt on me. I don’t recollect when and how the pilot managed to steady the aircraft, I had fallen asleep in a

Sadly, many Muslims do not pray or fulfil the conditions of the prayer, despite its importance. The purpose of prayer is to strengthen your relationship with God; to be grateful for all His blessings; and to remind yourself of His Greatness. Just as the body requires physical needs, such as food and water, the soul requires spiritual needs, nourished by acts of worship, the most important of which is prayer. It could be that the body of a person is healthy but the person is spiritually dead.

There is no match to a crisp cob of sweet corn which is one of summer's simplest pleasures. But, few myths keep many people away from this delight and that's a shame! We've busted some of the biggest misconceptions that surround sweet corn. Corn is unhealthy - Nope! Corn is a vegetable that contains a lot of nutrients. The idea that corn is unhealthy likely came about because corn is high in starch. Your body cannot digest corn - While it's true that corn has high amounts of insoluble fibe

The Day of Eid ul Adha (Festival of Sacrifice) is an important occasion celebrated by Muslims globally on the 10th of Dhul Hijjah to honour the willingness of ʾIbrāhīm (Abraham)(peace be upon him)  to sacrifice his son Ismā'īl (Ishmael)(pbuh) as an act of obedience to Allah Ta’ala, before Allah Ta’ala intervened to provide him with a sheep to sacrifice instead. It reminds us how obedience to our Lord Allah Ta’ala is the answer to everything. This means surrendering your life, your whole being

Photo Courtesy: QSEP.com Author: Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid Praise be to Allaah. 1.          It is the day on which the religion was perfected and Allaah’s Favour was completed. In Al-Saheehayn it was reported from ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with him) that a Jewish man said to him, “O Ameer al-Mu’mineen, there is an aayah in your Book which you recite; if it had come to us Jews, we would have taken that day as an ‘Eid (festival).” ‘Umar said, “Which aayah?” H

Praise be to Allaah. There are six conditions for the udhiyah: -1- It should be one of the an’aam class of animals, which are: camels, cattle, sheep and goats, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And for every nation We have appointed religious ceremonies, that they may mention the Name of Allaah over the beast of cattle that He has given them for food” [al-Hajj 22:34] Baheemat al-an’aam (translated here as “beast of cattle”) includes camels, cattle and sheep. Th

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the Worlds. May peace and blessings be upon the Chief of the Messengers, Muhammad. Indeed it is a great favour and blessing from Allah that He has made for His righteous servants periods of time within which they can increase in good deeds to attain great rewards and one of these opportunistic periods is the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah (the final month of the Islamic Calendar, in which the Hajj is performed). SUPERIORITY OF THE FIRST TEN DAYS OF DHUL-HIJ

  I have been on the pilgrimage to Mecca three times in my life: once during the annual hajj season and twice during the off-season. This has left me savvy as I try to negotiate the physical hurdles, including massive crowds and the heat, while performing the pilgrimage rituals. With the pilgrimage I hope to refill my always empty spiritual cup by praying and reflecting in peace. The best time to visit the Kaaba and do this, I have come to realize, is after midnight. The Kaaba is t

Unity is vividly observed in the great pillar of Hajj, which is repeated every year and for which millions of Muslims gather from all over the world. They represent the Muslim ummah with all its different races, countries, colors, and languages. They gather in one place, at the same time, wearing the same garment and performing the same rites. They make one stand in the same monument. They proclaim the oneness of the Lord of the worlds, submit themselves to His law, and show their unity under Hi

Hajj literally means 'to set out for a place'. Islamically however it refers to the annual pilgrimage that Muslims make to Makkah with the intention of performing certain religious rites in accordance with the method prescribed by the Prophet Muhammad . Hajj and its rites were first ordained by Allah in the time of the Prophet lbrahim [Abraham] and he was the one who was entrusted by Allah to build the Kaba - the House of Allah - along with his son Ismail [Ishmael] at Makkah. Allah described th

by Shaikh Muhammad As-Salih Al-Uthaimeen  In The Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful   Preface Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Universe. May peace and blessings be upon Muhammad, the last of the prophets and messengers, and upon his family and esteemed companions. Hajj is one of the best forms of worship and is one of the most sublime deeds because it is one of the pillars of Islam that Allah sent Muhammad(may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)with. A serva

Plants give us life, but how do they reproduce has long been a mystery. Now, biologists from the University of Leicester have undressed the genetic hierarchy in plant sperm cell formation. The researchers have discovered a pair of proteins made by flowering plants that are vital for the production of the sperm present within each pollen grain. “We often take for granted sexual reproduction in plants and its role in our lives. It is a complex process and it is only recently that we are begi

Allaah has made patience like a horse that never gets tired, an army that can never be defeated and a strong fortress that can never be breached. Patience and victory are twin brothers, for victory comes with patience, relief comes with distress and ease comes with hardship. Patience is of more help to the one who has it than men, as it helps without any need for equipment or numbers and its relationship to victory is like that of the head to the body. In the Qur’aan, Allaah has guaranteed th

The flag of India -- called the Tiranga, meaning tricolor -- has three horizontal bars of saffron, white and green, and is embossed in the middle with a blue wheel. It was adopted on July 24, 1947, in the wake of India’s independence from the British, and it is made only from khadi, domestically spun Indian cotton, as a symbol of nationalism and freedom. Symbols The circular symbol in the center of the flag, the Ashoka chakra, is the wheel of the dharma, the cosmic law that upholds the ord

Washington: The United States’ top disease detective calls Ebola a “painful, dreadful, merciless virus.” The World Health Organisation has declared the outbreak in West Africa an international emergency, killing more than 900 people and spreading. That’s scary and serious. But it also cries out for context. Aids alone takes more than a million lives per year in Africa — a thousand times the toll of this Ebola outbreak so far. Lung infections such as pneumonia are cl

Do you keep away from white bread thinking it might be unhealthy? Previous studies have shown how white bread can harm your health but this latest research proves otherwise. According to a recent study, the much maligned white bread can actually encourage the growth of beneficial gut bacteria. The good bacteria or microbiome present in the stomach are vital for healthy living. They keep our immune system strong. A drop in the count of these microbiome may cause your immunity to weaken and mak

NEW DELHI: The national capital witnesses an average of one death every month in incidents of auto fires. Deaths in car fires in the national capital have prompted the government to prepare a roadmap for time-bound investigation of these accidents and to ensure that automobile manufacturers rectify any faults that show up in these probes. With the number of car fires increasing on a daily basis, it has become very important to know how to survive in case of an unfortunate scene of crisis.