Tuesday 31 January 2012

World's Largest Qur'an.



Kabul: An Afghan calligrapher has created the world’s biggest Qur’an in an effort to show the rich cultural heritage of his war-torn country.

“The cultural center is proud that it provided this opportunity for an Afghan artist to actually show his talent to the world,” calligrapher Mohammad Sabir Khedri told Reuters.

“We have Afghan people who show the positive aspect of Islam.”

Khedri worked for five years with nine students to create the world’s biggest copy of the Noble Qur’an.

The lavish book has pages 2.28 meters (90 inches) by 1.55 meters (61 inches) in size.

The previous claim to the title was for a 2 meter by 1.5 meter copy unveiled last year in Russia’s Tatarstan region.

It also weighs 500 kg (1,100 lb) and its 218 pages of cloth and paper, bound inside an embossed leather cover made from the skins of 21 goats, cost half a million dollars to create.

Though the design was finished in 2009, it was not unveiled by the calligrapher until the room that would house it was completed.

The design of the new copy, which will be housed in the Kabul cultural center, combines gold script with millions of tiny colorful dots, forming highly symbolic decorations around the giant pages.

“I wanted to use as many tasteful colors as possible to make this holy book look beautiful,” he said, standing beside his enormous creation in a room built specially to house it.

Designing the world’s largest Qur’an was always a dream for calligrapher Khedri.

“Writing the Qur’an is one privilege,” he said.

“And…of course if you can make the biggest Qur’an everyone wants to do it, because they want to show the feeling they have, the biggest feeling inside their heart.”

The giant Qur’an will be housed in the Kabul cultural center, which was originally founded in the 1980s, and once home to 50,000 books, a medical center, and schools for Afghan crafts such as carpet weaving.

All of that was destroyed in during the civil war that followed the 1989 withdrawal of Soviet troops, and the Taliban rule from 1996.

But its founder revived the center after the 2001 Taliban ouster by the US invasion and his daughter — member of parliament Farkhunda Zahra Naderi — now also helps support its work and manages a much smaller library.

Though he now has the world’s biggest Qur’an, Khedri does not mind ceding his moment in the spotlight to an even larger Muslim holy book made by someone else.

“I will be happier if someone else makes a bigger Qur’an, it is serving Islam,” he said with a smile.


'Alaykum Salam.
 

Monday 30 January 2012

The Ways To Allah.


Al Salamu 'Alaykum.
Found this beautiful post on ashrafiya.com and thought that it should be spread even further.
Shaikh Mufti Mohammad Rafi Usmani (Allah preserve him) said,
‘A very dangerous misconception that has crept into our thinking these days is that we limit the path to Allah in the following three things,
1. Religious studies at madersa
2. Tabligh
3. Jihad
This is incorrect thinking. Limiting the Deen to these three things is very dangerous and its consequences are devastating.
A Muslim’s whole life is in the path of Allah, if he/she is following the rulings of Shariah in whatever field he/she is working or studying.
Moreover, it is fardh-e-kafayah (obligatory for some individuals to do, otherwise the whole community will be sinful of negligence) for Muslims to be involved and excel in the fields like medicine, engineering, research, education, technology, agriculture, trading, etc. This is so that they stand strong in all aspects of life and decide their own destiny. Abandoning progress in these fields has left us at the mercy of Non-Muslim domination and their manipulations of our affairs in their own best interest. .’
Qari Rafeeq’s residence, Safa distt, Jeddah, bayan after maghrib, 20th January 2012

Friday 27 January 2012

Haji Shakil, Maulwi Muhammad, Hafiz Ismail: A Meeting.


Al Salamu ‘Alaykum

Hadrat Mawlana ‘Abdullah Kapodrawi is known to one and all. Amongst Deobandi ‘Ulama he holds a very high rank and is one of the most respected and senior scholars to come out of Gujarat, India. His son, Mawlana Muhammad who is usually resident in Malawi, Africa is presently in India for some eye treatment. Also Hafiz Ismail Munshi of Zambia who is a mujaz of Hadrat Mawlana Qamaruz-Zaman was also recently in India. Hafiz Ismail runs a large madrasah in Zambia where more than 400 local children study and he has established 35 mosques in villages in Zambia and alhamdulillah is doing great work among the local population. 

By the grace of Allah, I was blessed with the opportunity to attend a meeting between Haji Shakil Sahab(db), Hafiz Ismail(db) and Mawlana Muhammad(db) in Bombay. The three Shuyukh were very happy to see each other and after the usual compliments and salutations, Hafiz Ismail requested Haji Shakil to make dua’. Haji Sb made a very emotional, heart-rending dua’ and then the two scholars from Africa requested for some of his books and Hadrat promised to make arrangements for the same. 

One interesting point raised by Mawlana Muhammad was that a copy of Durr-e-Aabdaar by Haji Shakil had reached his respected father Mawlana Abdullah Sb. After glancing through it, Hadrat Mawlana Abdullah passed it on to his son for reading and then asked him for his opinion regarding the author. Mawlana Muhammad said, “This man is the Haji Imdadullah of this age.”

Wa’laykum Salam.

P.S: Any mistakes in narration are from me.

Tuesday 24 January 2012

First Face Transplant In Turkey.


Al Salamu 'Alaykum.
ANKARA: Turkish surgeons on Saturday successfully performed the country's first-ever face transplant, the Anatolia news agency reported. A team of doctors at Akdeniz University in the southern city of Antalya performed the operation on a 19-year-old boy whose face was burned when he was a 40-day-old baby, said Anatolia.
Tissue from the face of a 45-year-old donor was successfully transplanted, it said.
The operation brings to 20 the number of face transplants carried out worldwide, the report said. The first was a partial face transplant on Frenchwoman Isabelle Dinoire in 2005.
Turkish doctors were performing another operation Saturday from the same donor, on a 34-year old man in what was reported as the world's first double arm and single leg transplant.
Doctors were transplanting limbs to a man who lost both arms and one leg when he was electrocuted at the age of 11, said Anatolia. “Today could be a day of many firsts for the medical world,” the Anadolu Agency quoted Dr. Zafer Aydin as saying.
“We are hoping that the operation is a success and that it is a world first,” said Aydin, who heads the organ transplant unit at the hospital in western Turkey where the donor’s limbs were removed. “Two arms and a leg have never been transplanted on one patient until today.”
The hospital in Antalya said an announcement would be made after the surgery.
Anadolu said Atilla Kavdir, the 34-year-old receiving the limbs, lost his arms and right leg when he was 11 after he hit power lines outside his home with an iron rod to scare away pigeons and received an electric shock.
The world’s first double arm transplant was in Germany in 2008, while the first double leg transplant took place in Spain in July 2011.
Taken from Arab News.

Lankan Charity Bazar In Riyadh Tomorrow.



All set for annual Lankan charity bazaar in Riyadh


By MD RASOOLDEEN | ARAB NEWS
RIYADH: Extensive arrangements are being made by the Sri Lankan Expatriates Society (SLES) in Riyadh to hold its annual charity bazaar from 4.p.m., at the Sri Lankan Embassy premises in Riyadh on Thursday.
This is one of the major fund-raising programs of the SLES held annually in aid of its free medical camps organized for the community members at the Sri Lankan International School in Riyadh on Fridays. All types of consultancy services including ECG are offered free-of-charge to Sri Lankan expatriates in the Kingdom.
SLES Vice President Shameel Hameed, who is in charge of the medical camps, said the first medical camp was organized by the society 18 years ago to provide medical services to those community members who did not get medical treatment from their companies. Currently, he said two doctors, Dr. Mohammed Shaheed and Dr. Quintus Silva, pediatrician and general practitioner respectively, offer medical assistance to both children and adults.
Visitors to the camp can check their blood pressure and glucose level at a special pavilion, put up by the Sun City Polyclinic located in the heart of the Batha shopping center in the capital. Dr. Bakry Mackeen, Sri Lankan medical practitioner working for the clinic told Arab News that clinical tests will be done free-of-charge for the visitors to the exhibition.
“This is a service which will be offered by the clinic to all the visitors as part of its health awareness program,” he said.
Speaking about the forthcoming event, SLES President S. Thangasamy said the fair will be open to all irrespective of nationalities or faiths. A wide range of items will be available for sale at nominal prices. “We are planning to host different exhibitors ranging from Jewelry, clothes, food items, handicraft, books, music (Karaoke Stall), instruments, ornaments, garage sale, games and activities for children, face painting and fast food stalls selling typical Sri Lankan dishes.
“We also request Sri Lankans to donate used, unused or surplus items to the charity fair, where we can re-sell them in our garage sale,” Thangasamy said adding that arrangements can also be made to pick up such items from the doorsteps of the donors.
Taken from Arab News.
Salamun 'Alaykum.

Friday 20 January 2012

Innocent Muslims Will Be Released: Samajwadi Party.

Al Salamu 'Alaykum.
The Samajwadi party in UP is going the distance at wooing Muslims in these elections. The Muslims had formed the backbone of the SP support and had abandoned it in large numbers when Mulayam Singh had courted Kalyan Singh, a former BJP wallah. Now Mulayam has offered a large number of sops to the Muslims if they vote for him and he comes back to power. 

The most attractive offer is of releasing innocent Muslim youth languishing in UP jails and punishing those errant officials who had framed them. In addition, there are some other offers. Twocircles reports here:
'Alaykum Salam.

Sunday 15 January 2012

Arfa Karim Randhawa Passes Away.




LAHORE: The funeral prayers of the world’s youngest Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP), Arfa Karim Randhawa, were offered at Al Khalid Mosque in Cavalry Ground here on Sunday.

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Lahore Corps Commander Lt Gen Rashad Mahmood attended the funeral prayers along with a large number of military officers and civilians’. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif also announced that Lahore Information Technology Tower (IT Tower) would be named after Arfa Karim.

Talking to Arfa’s father, the chief minister said that his daughter won laurels for the nation, which the Pakistani people would never forget. He said that Arfa Karim also impressed those older than her and was a precious asset for the whole country. He said that her death at such a young age was a tragedy. 

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said that he was thankful to Bill Gates for taking interest in the treatment of Arfa Karim Randhawa. He said that now it is duty of every Pakistani youth to excel in the Information Technology sector. The chief minister also announced that the parents of Arfa Karim Randhawa would be chief guests in the function of distribution of free laptops among students by the Punjab government. 

Arfa’s body was sent to her native village of Ram Divali in Faisalabad for burial after funeral prayers. Her parents, relatives and many others accompanied the body to attend the burial ritual. Arfa suffered an epileptic attack 26 days ago and was admitted to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Lahore. She was 16 years old and died on Saturday night. 

She became the youngest MCP in the world when she was just nine years, nine months and 11 days old in 2004. She was then invited by Bill Gates to visit the Microsoft headquarters in the United States.

Pakistani genius Arfa Karim was also the youngest-ever recipient of the President’s Award for Pride of Performance. She also received the Fatimah Jinnah Gold Medal in the field of Science and Technology, which was presented to her by the prime minister in August 2005. President Pervez Musharraf also presented her with the Salaam Pakistan Youth Award in August 2005.

Arfa represented Pakistan on various international forums, and was also invited by the IT professionals of Dubai for a two-week stay. Arfa was presented with various medals and awards during that trip. Later, she also flew a plane in a flying club in Dubai at the age of 10, and received her first flight certificate.

In November 2006, Arfa was invited by Microsoft to attend part of a keynote session in the Tech-Ed Developers Conference held in Barcelona. She was the only Pakistani among over 5,000 developers participating in the conference.



http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012%5C01%5C16%5Cstory_16-1-2012_pg13_2


Inna Lillahi Wa Inna Ilayhi Rajioon.


'Alaykum Salam.

Friday 13 January 2012

Only For Allah.




Al Salamu 'Alaykum.

Nahmadahu wa Nusalli 'Ala Rasulihil Kareem.

Abu Umamah (ra)  narrates that the Prophet (Sall-Allahu alayhi wasallam) said: 

The one whose love and whose enmity is only for the sake of Allah, who spends and withholds 

only for Allah, verily he has perfected his Faith.

Sunan Abu Dawud: 4681. Taken from Muntakhab Ahadith of Hadratji Yusuf (rah).

Tuesday 10 January 2012

Azhar Or Deoband?

Al Salamu 'Alaykum.
A thread on SF was on the question of where to study the Islamic sciences, Azhar in Egypt or Deoband in India.
Many respected brothers and sisters gave cogent reasons for choosing either of the two. I do not wish to comment on al Azhar because of my lack of knowledge and the geographical distance between my country and Misr but I have had the opportunity of visiting Dar al 'Uloom and of having a ta'alluq with Fida-e-Millat Shaykh al Sayyid Hadrat Mawlana Arshad Madani and being in touch with various other Deobandi 'Ulama. The following lines from an Urdu tarana best express what one will get, Inshallah from studying in Deoband:

"......Ruumi ki ghazal,
Raazi ki nazar,
Ghazzaali ki talqeen yahaan,
Raushan hai Jamaal-e-Anwar se Paimaana-e-Fakhruddin yahaan……"
'Alaykum Salam.

Sunday 8 January 2012

Maut Ki Tashkeel.


Al Salamu 'Alaykum.

"Mawt ki tashkeel karo to bukhar par razi ho jayega,
40 din ki tashkeel karo to 3 din par razi ho jayega."

English Translation: 

"Ask a person to die and he will agree to (suffer)a bout of fever,
Motivate him for (going in) 40 days Jamat and he will agree to 3 days."

Sunday Majlis: 8th January '12, Haji Shakil Ahmed (db), Panvel.


Wednesday 4 January 2012

Jethmalani Praises The Prophet.



Jethmalani praises the Prophet .

A conference sponsored by the International Human Rights Protection Council was held in Delhi’s Malvankar Hall on 10th December. Speaking on this occasion, noted Supreme Court lawyer, Ram Jethmalani said that all of us should work together for the protection of rights of all men and fraternities of the world and as long as I am alive I will continue fighting for human rights. 

Praising Islam and its Prophet, he said that a Prophet like Muhammad was not born in any religion. He said that I am a Hindu but I am also a worshiper of Islam and I read the Gita as much as I read the Qur’an. He said that during the Caliphate of Islam, maximum work was done on human rights. He said that putting the blame for terrorism on Muslims was wrong and because of some elements no community or religion as a whole can be branded. 

He said that many people talk about Jihad in a wrong sense because they do not know what Jihad is. He said that taking a life is a great sin in Islam. He also said that whoever believes in the teachings of the Prophet automatically begins to work for the protection of human rights but today we are afraid of calling a thief a thief, which Islam never permits. He said that the status and importance of knowledge in Islam is higher than that of martyrdom.
Milli Gazette, 1-15 January, 2012.
Article by N.A.Ansari. (Shortened and corrected)
'Alaykum Salam.