Islam Great (Islam Online)

Before you read this : Yusuf Islam ( formely Cat Stevens ) used to be one of the most famous POP singers in England in the 70th till he decided to be a Muslim and Alhamdulillah he found the light of Allah !

All I have to say is all what you know already, to confirm what you already know, the message of the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) as given by God - the Religion of Truth. As human beings we are given a consciousness and a duty that has placed us at the top of creation. Man is created to be God’s deputy on earth, and it is important to realize the obligation to rid ourselves of all illusions and to make our lives a preparation for the next life. Anybody who misses this chance is not likely to be given another, to be brought back again and again, because it says in Qur’an Majeed that when man is brought to account, he will say, “O Lord, send us back and give us another chance.” The Lord will say, “If I send you back you will do the same.”

• MY EARLY RELIGIOUS UPBRINGING

I was brought up in the modern world of all the luxury and the high life of show business. I was born in a Christian home, but we know that every child is born in his original nature - it is only his parents that turn him to this or that religion. I was given this religion (Christianity) and thought this way. I was taught that God exists, but there was no direct contact with God, so we had to make contact with Him through Jesus - he was in fact the door to God. This was more or less accepted by me, but I did not swallow it all.

I looked at some of the statues of Jesus; they were just stones with no life. And when they said that God is three, I was puzzled even more but could not argue. I more or less believed it, because I had to have respect for the faith of my parents.

• POP STAR

Gradually I became alienated from this religious upbringing. I started making music. I wanted to be a big star. All those things I saw in the films and on the media took hold of me, and perhaps I thought this was my God, the goal of making money. I had an uncle who had a beautiful car. “Well,” I said, “he has it made. He has a lot of money.” The people around me influenced me to think that this was it; this world was their God.

I decided then that this was the life for me; to make a lot of money, have a ‘great life.’ Now my examples were the pop stars. I started making songs, but deep down I had a feeling for humanity, a feeling that if I became rich I would help the needy. (It says in the Qur’an, we make a promise, but when we make something, we want to hold onto it and become greedy.)

So what happened was that I became very famous. I was still a teenager, my name and photo were splashed in all the media. They made me larger than life, so I wanted to live larger than life and the only way to do that was to be intoxicated (with liquor and drugs).

• IN HOSPITAL

After a year of financial success and ‘high’ living, I became very ill, contracted TB and had to be hospitalized. It was then that I started to think: What was to happen to me? Was I just a body, and my goal in life was merely to satisfy this body? I realized now that this calamity was a blessing given to me by Allah, a chance to open my eyes - “Why am I here? Why am I in bed?” - and I started looking for some of the answers. At that time there was great interest in the Eastern mysticism. I began reading, and the first thing I began to become aware of was death, and that the soul moves on; it does not stop. I felt I was taking the road to bliss and high accomplishment. I started meditating and even became a vegetarian. I now believed in ‘peace and flower power,’ and this was the general trend. But what I did believe in particular was that I was not just a body. This awareness came to me at the hospital.

One day when I was walking and I was caught in the rain, I began running to the shelter and then I realized, ‘Wait a minute, my body is getting wet, my body is telling me I am getting wet.’ This made me think of a saying that the body is like a donkey, and it has to be trained where it has to go. Otherwise, the donkey will lead you where it wants to go.

Then I realized I had a will, a God-given gift: follow the will of God. I was fascinated by the new terminology I was learning in the Eastern religion. By now I was fed up with Christianity. I started making music again and this time I started reflecting my own thoughts. I remember the lyric of one of my songs. It goes like this: “I wish I knew, I wish I knew what makes the Heaven, what makes the Hell. Do I get to know You in my bed or some dusty cell while others reach the big hotel?” and I knew I was on the Path.

I also wrote another song, “The Way to Find God Out.” I became even more famous in the world of music. I really had a difficult time because I was getting rich and famous, and at the same time, I was sincerely searching for the Truth. Then I came to a stage where I decided that Buddhism is all right and noble, but I was not ready to leave the world. I was too attached to the world and was not prepared to become a monk and to isolate myself from society.

I tried Zen and Ching, numerology, tarot cards and astrology. I tried to look back into the Bible and could not find anything. At this time I did not know anything about Islam, and then, what I regarded as a miracle occurred. My brother had visited the mosque in Jerusalem and was greatly impressed that while on the one hand it throbbed with life (unlike the churches and synagogues which were empty), on the other hand, an atmosphere of peace and tranquillity prevailed.

• THE QUR’AN

When he came to London he brought back a translation of the Qur’an, which he gave to me. He did not become a Muslim, but he felt something in this religion, and thought I might find something in it also.

And when I received the book, a guidance that would explain everything to me - who I was; what was the purpose of life; what was the reality and what would be the reality; and where I came from - I realized that this was the true religion; religion not in the sense the West understands it, not the type for only your old age. In the West, whoever wishes to embrace a religion and make it his only way of life is deemed a fanatic. I was not a fanatic, I was at first confused between the body and the soul. Then I realized that the body and soul are not apart and you don’t have to go to the mountain to be religious. We must follow the will of God. Then we can rise higher than the angels. The first thing I wanted to do now was to be a Muslim.

I realized that everything belongs to God, that slumber does not overtake Him. He created everything. At this point I began to lose the pride in me, because hereto I had thought the reason I was here was because of my own greatness. But I realized that I did not create myself, and the whole purpose of my being here was to submit to the teaching that has been perfected by the religion we know as Al-Islam. At this point I started discovering my faith. I felt I was a Muslim. On reading the Qur’an, I now realized that all the Prophets sent by God brought the same message. Why then were the Jews and Christians different? I know now how the Jews did not accept Jesus as the Messiah and that they had changed His Word. Even the Christians misunderstand God’s Word and called Jesus the son of God. Everything made so much sense. This is the beauty of the Qur’an; it asks you to reflect and reason, and not to worship the sun or moon but the One Who has created everything. The Qur’an asks man to reflect upon the sun and moon and God’s creation in general. Do you realize how different the sun is from the moon? They are at varying distances from the earth, yet appear the same size to us; at times one seems to overlap the other.

Even when many of the astronauts go to space, they see the insignificant size of the earth and vastness of space. They become very religious, because they have seen the Signs of Allah.

When I read the Qur’an further, it talked about prayer, kindness and charity. I was not a Muslim yet, but I felt that the only answer for me was the Qur’an, and God had sent it to me, and I kept it a secret. But the Qur’an also speaks on different levels. I began to understand it on another level, where the Qur’an says, “Those who believe do not take disbelievers for friends and the believers are brothers.” Thus at this point I wished to meet my Muslim brothers.

• CONVERSION

Then I decided to journey to Jerusalem (as my brother had done). At Jerusalem, I went to the mosque and sat down. A man asked me what I wanted. I told him I was a Muslim. He asked what was my name. I told him, “Stevens.” He was confused. I then joined the prayer, though not so successfully. Back in London, I met a sister called Nafisa. I told her I wanted to embrace Islam and she directed me to the New Regent Mosque. This was in 1977, about one and a half years after I received the Qur’an. Now I realized that I must get rid of my pride, get rid of Iblis, and face one direction. So on a Friday, after Jumma’ I went to the Imam and declared my faith (the Kalima) at this hands. You have before you someone who had achieved fame and fortune. But guidance was something that eluded me, no matter how hard I tried, until I was shown the Qur’an. Now I realize I can get in direct contact with God, unlike Christianity or any other religion. As one Hindu lady told me, “You don’t understand the Hindus. We believe in one God; we use these objects (idols) to merely concentrate.” What she was saying was that in order to reach God, one has to create associates, that are idols for the purpose. But Islam removes all these barriers. The only thing that moves the believers from the disbelievers is the salat. This is the process of purification.

Finally I wish to say that everything I do is for the pleasure of Allah and pray that you gain some inspirations from my experiences. Furthermore, I would like to stress that I did not come into contact with any Muslim before I embraced Islam. I read the Qur’an first and realized that no person is perfect. Islam is perfect, and if we imitate the conduct of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) we will be successful. May Allah give us guidance to follow the path of the ummah of Muhammad (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam). Ameen!

Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens)

t rid of Iblis, and face one direction. So on a Friday, after Jumma’ I went to the Imam and declared my faith (the Kalima) at this hands. You have before you someone who had achieved fame and fortune. But guidance was something that eluded me, no matter how hard I tried, until I was shown the Qur’an. Now I realize I can get in direct contact with God, unlike Christianity or any other religion. As one Hindu lady told me, “You don’t understand the Hindus. We believe in one God; we use these objects (idols) to merely concentrate.” What she was saying was that in order to reach God, one has to create associates, that are idols for the purpose. But Islam removes all these barriers. The only thing that moves the believers from the disbelievers is the salat. This is the process of purification.Finally I wish to say that everything I do is for the pleasure of Allah and pray that you gain some inspirations from my experiences. Furthermore, I would like to stress that I did not come into contact with any Muslim before I embraced Islam. I read the Qur’an first and realized that no person is perfect. Islam is perfect, and if we imitate the conduct of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) we will be successful. May Allah give us guidance to follow the path of the ummah of Muhammad (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam). Ameen!

Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens)

The happiness of that guy was tremendous when a well-known company accepted him to work for it. He was over the moon as he was the only accepted candidate.

He signed the contract that implies that he should agree on respecting the company working hours, delivering weekly reports about his work and activities, and accepting to be punished for any delinquency ….. read more

Soon later, the guy met his manager and said to him, “From tomorrow onwards, I will not come in time. And I will not deliver my weekly reports in time either; instead they will be delayed for a while. In spite of all that, I will not allow you to punish me, and you don’t have the right to kick me out from work.”

If we imagine such a situation, we will laugh at the behaviour of that guy. No-one will see him but an insane and a fool person. How come can someone want to take his rights whereas he is not committed to his own obligations?!

So, why most of us do the same strange action or even worse?
(As we commit a worse sin against the Law of Allah the Almighty.) How can a sane person allow himself to enjoy all Allah’s graces: such as food, drink, clothes and life pleasures; whereas he doesn’t offer Allah the simplest obligatory He obligates him to do, viz. Praying?!
And even if he prays, then he doesn’t pray in time or he prays like a rooster (i.e. he prays too hastily and carelessly). He neither complies with his praying nor apprehends what he says.

According to our web site visitors survey in the arabic section of IslamWay.com that included more than 4000 persons:
14% of them never pray Fajr in its time
16% of them rarely pray Fajr in its time
33% of them often pray Fajr in its time
35% of them always pray Fajr in its time

Subhan Allah!! (*) We are not talking about jurisprudence about which scholars disagreed or even a Sunnah that one has a choice to do or not. We are talking about ABC Islam. We are talking about praying that Allah Almighty obligates on all Muslims - whatever their conditions are.

When Allah the Almighty ordered Muslims to pray He warned those who delay the prayer after its designated time, saying:
“So woe to the worshippers Who are neglectful Of their prayers” [Surat Al-ma’oon 107:4-5]

The interpreters said that what is meant by this verse is delaying prayer after its designated time.They also said : “woe” is a very deep sheer black valley in Hell. Don’t we believe in Allah’s Words?

A lot of Muslims nowadays neglect Fajr prayer as if they it was not there. That’s why they pray it much later than its time. In addition, some of them pray it immediately before the Noon prayer. Others may never pray it even for compensation (Qaddaa). So why all this laziness against what Allah the Almighty deserves? Don’t we proclaim that we love Allah the Almighty more than any thing else? Once one of us loves someone a true love, he will be willing to meet him. He may keep thinking of him most of the time. Once he has a date with him, he canNOT sleep until he meets the one he loves. So, do those lazy prayers who do not pray Fajr prayer really love Allah? Do they really respect His Orders? Are they willing to meet Him?.

Let’s imagine that a multi-millionaire offered one of his employees $1000 every day, just on one condition, viz. the employee must call daily at his employer’s house in the morning as to wake him up then leave. Such a simple task may take the employee 10 minutes only. This marvellously generous offer will be valid as long as the employee keeps awaking his employer regularly. On the other hand, this offer will be cancelled permanently, and the employee will be asked to return all the money he received, if he neglects to awake his employer once without an excuse.

So, if you, my Muslim brother, were that employee , will you neglect to call at your employer’s house? Won’t you carefully intend to wake up daily to get the one thousand dollar? Won’t you - once you failed one morning - try with all means to prove that you were truly unable to wake up?.

Allah has the higher example, so what about you my dear brother towards your Lord, Allah the Almighty? He is the ONLY ONE who gives you your means of living and who bestowed you with every thing, whose blessings on you are utterly much more than millions of dollars daily. It is Him Who says:
“…if you try to count the blessings of Allah , you will fail….” [Surat Ibrahim: 14 : 34]

Doesn’t this Lord, the The Most Merciful, the Most Generous deserve that you wake up for Him every morning at about 5.30 a.m. so as to thank Him just in 5 or 10 minutes for His great blessings and his generous favours?

The judgement against those who neglect praying Fajr Prayer in time:
Allah the Almighty says:
“…for such prayers are enjoined on Believers at stated times.” [Surat Annesaa: 4 : 103]

* Islam is a comprehensive way of life… It is like an agreement between The Great Lord and His humble servant. According to this agreement, the servant commits to certain obligations before Allah. With respect to these obligations, Allah would grant the servant rights and privileges. It is insensible that you agree to this contract, then, soon afterwards, you do whatever you like and neglect whatever you do not like. Allah Almighty says in the Quran:
” O ye who believe! Enter into Islam whole-heartedly; and follow not the footsteps of the Evil One; for he is to you an avowed enemy.” [Surat Al-baqara: 2 : 208]
The interpreters said: this means to accept Islam with all its legislation and rules. Allah got exasperated with the people of Israel when they performed what they liked from His religion and neglected the rest. That’s why He addresses them saying:
“…Then is it only a part of the Book that ye believe in, and do ye reject the rest? But what is the reward for those among you who behave like this but disgrace in this life? And on the Day of Judgment they shall be consigned to the most grievous penalty. For Allah is not unmindful of what ye do.” [Surat Al-baqara: 2 : 85]
As far as one’s punctuality on attending prayers is considered, The Prophet (peace be upon him) sees those who do not punctually attend Fajr (dawn) and Ishaa (night) Salat in congregation as being sheer hypocrites “Munafeqeen”. So what do you think of those who do not pray Fajr at all, neither in congregation nor alone (at home)?

* The Prophet (pbuh) said: “There is no prayer more difficult to attend for hypocrites than Fajr and Ishaa. And if they knew what’s in them (i.e. the good reward - thawab) they would attend them even if they had to come crawling.” (Narrated by Bukhari)

* Allah Almighty mentions that He disavows whosoever neglects the obligatory Salat. Besides, The Prophet (pbuh) said: “Do not ever leave Salat on purpose because whoever does so then he is disavowed by Allah and His Messenger.” (Narrated by Imam Ahmad)

So do you like, Oh Muslim brother and sister, for the closest one to you to disavow you? So how do you neglect the Salat and cause Allah to be disavow you?

Well….now what have I to do?

* Every one us should set an alarm clock to wake him for Fajr Salat daily.

* We should give Salat its status in our lives, and we should discipline our jobs according to the Salat regular times. (Unfortunately, we simply do the opposite!)

* We should sleep early and wake up for Fajr and then leave for work. Soon after Fajr, Allah distributes people’s sustenance (Arzaq).

* Each one of us should seek a good companionship that would call to wake him at Fajr Salat. Moreover, they would help one another to adhere to such a good deed.

* We should keep on saying our nightly Duaa (that we say just after before going to sleep) asking Allah to help us do our Salat.

* To feel guilty if we missed a single obligatory Salat. Furthermore, we should vow never to repeat this big sin.

May Allah make us all be among those who truly love Him. May He give us sincerity in both words and deeds. (Amen) Finally, whatever is right in this article then it is a gift from Allah. And whatever mistakes or shortcomings then they are due to myself or Shytan (Satan).

ISLAM AND MUSLIMS:

The name of this religion is Islam, the root of which is Silm and Salam which means peace. Salam may also mean greeting one another with peace. One of the beautiful names of God is that He is the Peace. It means more than that: submission to the One God, and to live in peace with the Creator, within one’s self, with other people and with the environment. Thus, Islam is a total system of living. A Muslim is supposed to live in peace and harmony with all these segments; hence, a Muslim is any person anywhere in the world whose obedience, allegiance, and loyalty are to God, the Lord of the Universe.

MUSLIMS AND ARABS:

The followers of Islam are called Muslims. Muslims are not to be confused with Arabs. Muslims may be Arabs, Turks, Persians, Indians, Pakistanis, Malaysians, Indonesians, Europeans, Africans, Americans, Chinese, or other nationalities.

An Arab could be a Muslim, a Christian, a Jew or an atheist. Any person who adopts the Arabic language is called an Arab. However, the language of the Qur’an (the Holy Book of Islam) is Arabic. Muslims all over the world try to learn Arabic so that they may be able to read the Qur’an and understand its meaning. They pray in the language of the Qur’an, namely Arabic. Supplications to God could be in any language.

While there are one billion Muslims in the world there are about 200 million Arabs. Among them, approximately ten percent are not Muslims. Thus Arab Muslims constitute only about twenty percent of the Muslim population of the world.

ALLAH THE ONE AND THE ONLY GOD:

Allah is the name of the One and Only God. Allah has ninety-nine beautiful names, such as: The Gracious, The Merciful, The Beneficent, The Creator, The All-Knowing, The All-Wise, The Lord of the Universe, The First, The Last, and others.

Allah is the Creator of all human beings. Allah is the God for the Christians, the Jews, the Muslims, the Buddhists, the Hindus, the atheists, and others. Muslims worship God whose name is Allah. They put their trust in Allah and they seek help from Allah. read more…

PROPHET MUHAMMAD (P.B.U.H) :

Muhammad (P.B.U.H) was chosen by God to deliver His Message of Peace, namely Islam. He was born in 570 C.E. (Common Era) in Makkah, Arabia. He was entrusted with the Message of Islam when he was at the age of forty years. The revelation that he received is called the Qur’an, while the message is called Islam.

Muhammad is the very last Prophet of God to mankind. He is the final Messenger of God. His message was and is still to the Christians, the Jews and the rest of mankind. He was sent to those religious people to inform them about the true mission of Jesus, Moses, Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham.

Muhammad is considered to be the summation and the culmination of all the prophets and messengers that came before him. He purified the previous messages from adulteration and completed the Message of God for all humanity. He was entrusted with the power of explaining, interpreting and living the teaching of the Qur’an. read more…

SOURCE OF ISLAM:

The legal sources of Islam are the Qur’an and the Hadith. The Qur’an is the exact word of God; its authenticity, originality and totality are intact. The Hadith is the report of the sayings, deeds and approvals of the Prophet Muhammad. The Prophet’s sayings and deeds are called Sunnah. The Seerah is the writings of followers of Muhammad about the life of the Prophet. Hence, it is the life history of the Prophet Muhammad which provides examples of daily living for Muslims.

SOME ISLAMIC PRINCIPLES:

1. Oneness of God: Allah is One and the Only One. Allah is not two in one or three in one. This means that Islam rejects the idea of trinity or such a unity of God which implies more than one God in one.
2. Oneness of mankind: People are created equal in front of the Law of God. There is no superiority for one race over another. God made us of different colors, nationalities, languages and beliefs so as to test who is going to be better than others. No one can claim that he is better than others. It is only God Who knows who is better. It depends on piety and righteousness.
3. Oneness of Messengers and the Message: Muslims believe that God sent different messengers throughout the history of mankind. All came with the same message and the same teachings. It was the people who misunderstood and misinterpreted them.
   Muslims believe in Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Ismail, Jacob, Moses, David, Jesus, and Muhammad. The Prophets of Christianity and Judaism are indeed the Prophets of Islam.
4. Angels and the Day of Judgment: Muslims believe that there are unseen creatures such as angels created by God in the universe for special missions.
   Muslims believe that there is a Day of Judgment when all people of the world throughout the history of mankind till the last day of life on earth, are to be brought for accounting, reward and punishment.
5. Innocence of Man at Birth: Muslim believe that people are born free of sin. It is only after they reach the age of puberty and it is only after they commit sins that they are to be charged for their mistakes. No one is responsible for or can take the responsibility for the sins of others. However, the door of forgiveness through true repentance is always open.
6. State and Religion: Muslims believe that Islam is a total and a complete way of life. It encompasses all aspects of life. As such, the teachings of Islam do not separate religion from politics. As a matter of fact, state and religion are under the obedience of Allah through the teachings of Islam. Hence, economic and social transactions, as well as educational and political systems are also part of the teachings of Islam.

OTHER RELATED ASPECTS:

1. Calendar: Islamic practices are based on the lunar calendar. However, Muslims also use the Gregorian calendar in their daily religious lives. Hence, the Islamic calendar includes both the common era and the migration (Higra) year of the Prophet of Islam from Makkah to Madinah in the year of 623 C.E.
2. Celebrations (Eid): Muslims have two celebrations (Eid); namely, Eid of Sacrifice and Eid of Fast-Breaking. The Eid of Sacrifice is in remembrance of the sacrifice to be by Prophet Abraham of his son. The Eid of Fast-Breaking comes at the end of the month of fasting, Ramadan.
3. Diets: Islam allows Muslims to eat everything which is good for the health. It restricts certain items such as pork and its by-products, alcohol and any narcotic or addictive drugs.
4. Place of Worship: The place of worship is called Mosque or Masjid. There are three holy places of worship for the Muslims in the world. These are: Mosque of Kaaba in Makkah, Mosque of the Prophet Muhammad in Madinah, and Masjid Aqsa, adjacent to the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.
   A Muslim may pray any where in the world whether in a Mosque, a house, an office, or outside. The whole world is a place of worship. It is preferable that Muslims pray in a congregation, however, he/she may pray individually anywhere.
5. Holidays: The holy day of the Muslims is Friday. It is considered to be sacred and the Day of Judgment will take place on Friday. Muslims join together shortly after noon on Friday for the Friday congregational prayer in a Mosque. A leader (Imam) gives a sermon (Khutba) and leads the congregational prayer.
6. Distribution of Muslims in North America: There are approximately five million Muslims in North America and are distributed in its major cities such as New York, Detroit, Boston, Toledo, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Cedar Rapids (Iowa), Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Edmonton, Vancouver, Windsor, Winnipeg, Calgary, and others.
7. Contributions in North America: Muslims are not established in North America. Sears Tower and the John Hancock buildings in Chicago were designed by a Muslim chief architect, originally from Bangladesh. Muslims have established academic institutions, community centers and organizations, schools and places of worship. They live in peace and harmony among themselves and among other groups of people in the society. The rate of crime among Muslims is very minimal. Muslims in North America are highly educated and they have added to the success of American scientific and technological fields.
   The Muslims of the early period of the Islamic era were pioneers in medicine, chemistry, physics, geography, navigation, arts, poetry, mathematics, algebra, logarithms, calculus, etc. They contributed to the Renaissance of Europe and world civilization.

The top 100 baby names for 2005 & 2004 show the trend toward a variety spellings increasing steadily. The top baby boy names still starts there top ten with biblical names, but farther down the list you see names such as Aidan with two different spellings on the rise. There are also several boy baby names with similar endings such as Jayden, Hayden, Aiden, & Brayden. Top girl baby names also include names with several different spellings such as Haley, Kaitlyn & Gabrielle. The girl names Ava, Chloe, and Sophia have moved up the list five to ten places in one year.
Looking ahead to 2006 we predict that names such as Aiden and Ava will be topping the list and changing the top 100 baby names.

 http://blog.islamgreat.com/2004-top-baby-names/

http://blog.islamgreat.com/2005-top-baby-names/