In the Name of God Most Beneficent, Most Merciful
SURAH MARYAM (complete)
QURAN AUDIO By Faraz Khan
Ramadan 1428
To download please right click and save as on your computer and don’t forget your brother in your dua’.
faraz
Archive for October, 2007
Surah Maryam audio
On October - 17 - 2007
humor me!
On October - 16 - 2007
Nasruddin and his donkey
One day , one of Mullah Nasruddin’s friend came over and wanted to borrow his donkey for a day or two. Mullah, knowing his friend, was not kindly inclined to the request, and came up with the excuse that someone had already borrowed his donkey. Just as Mullah uttered these words, his donkey started braying in his backyard. Hearing the sound, his friend gave him an accusing look, to which Mullah replied: “I refuse to have any further dealings with you since you take a donkey’s word over mine.”
Nasruddin and the violin
Once, Mullah Nasruddin bought a violin. And he began to play.
NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE….
Same note, same string, over and over.
NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE….
After a few hours his wife was at her wits’ end. “Nasruddin!” she screamed.
NEEE..
Nasruddin put down the bow. “Yes dear?”
“Why do you play the same note? It’s driving me crazy! All the real violin players move their fingers up and down, play on different strings! Why don’t you play like they do?”
“Well dear, I know why they go up and down and try all different strings.”
“Why is that?”
“They’re looking for *this* note.” And he picked up his bow and resumed his playing.
NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE….
The unshaven man
A man was walking along the street when he passed another man with a lot of stubble on his face standing outside a shop. The first man asked:
“How often do you shave?
Twenty or thirty times a day,” answered the man with the stubble.
“What! You must be a freak!” exclaimed the first man.
“No, I’m only a barber,” replied the man with the stubble.
http://www.themodernreligion.com/humour.htm
William Paterson Univ. Fast-a-thon
On October - 15 - 2007
WPU Holds Fastathon to Celebrate Muslim Heritage
Rumki Chowdhury
Issue date: 10/15/07 Section: News
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Page 1 of 1
For Muslims, fasting during Ramadan is about disciplining one’s self from desires harmful to them spiritually and physically.
Ramadan began on Sept. 12, marking the first of 30 days of fasting, which takes place from sunrise to sunset each day. Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam, which includes faith (Shahadah), prayer (Salah), charity (Zakah), fast (Sawm) and pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj). It is a time for charity, cleansing of the body, family, prayer and discipline. The history behind this holy month is that around 610 A.D., Angel Gabriel revealed the first verses of the Holy Quran to Prophet Mohammed.
The Muslim Students Association hosted a campus-wide Fast-A-Thon where more than 60 attendees were able to participate in the iftar, or breaking of fast for the day. Even non-practitioners got a chance to experience fasting and attained more knowledge about Ramadan and Islam in general.
Guest speaker Faraz Khan enlightened students with his knowledge of Ramadan and Islam in a lecture and open forum. Khan emphasized the concept of humanity as giving up personal motivation to connect with people. He also stated that Islam is not a new religion. As the Prophet Muhammad said, the previous messengers of God, including Jesus, had the same goal as he – to encourage people to serve God by serving each other.
When asked about the essence of Islam, Khan said, “Islam comes from the Arabic term ‘Salaam’ which means peace and to surrender. In order to obtain peace, one must surrender his/her own desires and be obedient to God.”
Although Fast-A-Thon is new to William Paterson University, it’s been a tradition for MSA to host iftar two or three days a week in UC 214. This semester, the dinners were held on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The food ranged from pizza and sandwiches to traditional homemade food brought by students and staff to share with their peers and professors.
During one Monday night meeting, history professor James Pavlin and his wife, Tina, brought maklouba, an Arabic dish consisting of chicken, vegetables and rice for iftar. There were 15 attendees, who were a mix of resident and commuter students of varying cultures and religions.
Abedah Miah, junior, shared how important it is for her to spend time with her family during this time.
“Ramadan is the only time during the year that my family eats together. We cook, debate and pray together. It’s a time I cherish,” said Miah.
Ruby Ahmad, junior, described her South Asian customs. “Usually, I spend iftar with my family and close friends at home. The meal includes samosas (stuffed with potatoes), papri (made of rice), dates, chole (chickpeas) and parate (bread). We also drink sweet lassi (milkshake). After 20 minutes, we all pray together,” said Ahmad.
MSA encourages students, faculty, and staff to attend their meetings on Thursdays during common hour in UC 214. The meetings consist of student discussions on Islam-related topics and guest speakers.
Ahmad said, “I didn’t know there were so many Muslims on-campus and I thought that the club was going to be hardcore, but after I joined, I made a lot of friends.”
interfaith dialogue
On October - 15 - 2007
“If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.” George Bernard Shaw
Muslim scholars and intellectuals are taking an initiative on interfaith dialogue. They have come together to call for peace and unity amongst the great religious traditions. Read the details below.
LATEST DEVELOPMENT on interfaith dialogue:
In A Common Word Between Us and You, 138 Muslim scholars, clerics and intellectuals have unanimously come together for the first time since the days of the Prophet r to declare the common ground between Christianity and Islam. Like the Open Letter, the signatories to this message come from every denomination and school of thought in Islam. Every major Islamic country or region in the world is represented in this message, which is addressed to the leaders of all the world’s churches, and indeed to all Christians everywhere...
Indeed, the most fundamental common ground between Islam and Christianity, and the best basis for future dialogue and understanding, is the love of God and the love of the neighbor.
Never before have Muslims delivered this kind of definitive consensus statement on Christianity. Rather than engage in polemic, the signatories have adopted the traditional and mainstream Islamic position of respecting the Christian scripture and calling Christians to be more, not less, faithful to it.
It is hoped that this document will provide a common constitution for the many worthy organizations and individuals who are carrying out interfaith dialogue all over the world. Often these groups are unaware of each other, and duplicate each other’s efforts. Not only can A Common Word Between Us give them a starting point for cooperation and worldwide co-ordination, but it does so on the most solid theological ground possible: the teachings of the Qu’ran and the Prophet r, and the commandments described by Jesus Christ u in the Bible. Thus despite their differences, Islam and Christianity not only share the same Divine Origin and the same Abrahamic heritage, but the same two greatest commandments.
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful A Common Word between Us and You (Summary and Abridgement) Muslims and Christians together make up well over half of the world’s population. Without peace and justice between these two religious communities, there can be no meaningful peace in the world. The future of the world depends on peace between Muslims and Christians. The basis for this peace and understanding already exists. It is part of the very foundational principles of both faiths: love of the One God, and love of the neighbour. These principles are found over and over again in the sacred texts of Islam and Christianity. The Unity of God, the necessity of love for Him, and the necessity of love of the neighbour is thus the common ground between Islam and Christianity. The following are only a few examples: Of God’s Unity, God says in the Holy Qur’an: Say: He is God, the One! / God, the Self-Sufficient Besought of all! (Al-Ikhlas, 112:1-2). Of the necessity of love for God, God says in the Holy Qur’an: So invoke the Name of thy Lord and devote thyself to Him with a complete devotion (Al-Muzzammil, 73:8). Of the necessity of love for the neighbour, the Prophet Muhammad r said: “None of you has faith until you love for your neighbour what you love for yourself.” In the New Testament, Jesus Christ u said: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. / And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. / And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:29-31) ef In the Holy Qur’an, God Most High enjoins Muslims to issue the following call to Christians (and Jews—the People of the Scripture): Say: O People of the Scripture! Come to a common word between us and you: that we shall worship none but God, and that we shall ascribe no partner unto Him, and that none of us shall take others for lords beside God. And if they turn away, then say: Bear witness that we are they who have surrendered (unto Him). (Aal ‘Imran 3:64) …continue
EID MUBARAK!
On October - 13 - 2007
Photo:
The Empire State Building in NYC was lit green for the very first time to commemorate Eid, a Muslim day of celebration, on October 12, 2007.
EID MUBARAK!
May Allah accept our fasting and good deeds. May He give us the tawfiq to draw near to Him and become His servants. O Allah! send peace and salutations on the Prophet Muhammad (s) and guide his ummah to the right path.
RAMADAN POSTSCRIPT
On October - 12 - 2007
RAMADAN POSTSCRIPT
By Faraz Khan
“Laa ilaha illallah”. The azan echoed inside the dimly lit mosque. It is eight o’ clock in the evening. The vacant parking lot was enshrouded in darkness. However, the beech and the birch trees around the lot and the critters within the herbaceous edge continued their hymns. The clouds and the birds hovered in the usual glorified manner above the mosque. The cool breeze at night spread the heavenly scent from the blossomed lilies as the twinkling stars and crescent glistened the night.
It was only yesterday when the mosque was filled with worshippers and the beautiful recitation of the Qur’an. How passionately faithful were their gatherings. How elegant were their clothes. How beautiful their smiles. How praiseworthy was their talk. How sincere was their devotion in coming to the mosque. Yet today, people have vacated the house of God rather to be occupied by their own cottages. Aforementioned is the description of believers on the first night after Ramadan.
Why do we fail in preserving the blessings of Ramadan?
Do we forget that the Lord of Ramadan is also the Lord of the entire year? Or are we in doubt that He gives and forgives not only in Ramadan but also the rest of the year. Interestingly, He mentioned for the believers:
“O you who believe, fasting has been prescribed to you (in Ramadan) as it was prescribed to those before you so that you may become pious” Quran.
According to the above ayah, attaining taqwa (piety) has an element of time. In other words, one can become pious if he continues his good actions throughout his life. Clearly, there is no month prescribed for the practice of piety.
In essence, the end of Ramadan is not a graduation party for the believers. Instead, it is a completion of God-consciousness training. However, the real test begins once Ramadan is over. One of the scholars was asked about the acceptance of good deeds in the month of Ramadan. The scholar mentioned that the acceptance of one’s actions are indicated in his behavior following Ramadan. If Ramadan leads to a virtuous life then Allah has blessed this endeavor. Similarly, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) mentioned in a rhetorical question, “How many of those who fast gain nothing from their fasting except hunger and thirst?”
Soon it will be eight o’ clock again and the azan will be given. Thereafter, people will be put to their real test – whether to accept the house of God or a house devoid of God.
Let us examine our lives and our Ramadan postscript. Let us follow our lives according to Islam and not contradict it. Let us continue with the blessings of Ramadan in developing a pure relationship with Allah, the Lord of the sacred house. Let us not stop when we are on His path. May He guides us to the straight path.