Muhammad second most popular boy name in Britian

Muhammad is now second only to Jack as the most popular name for baby boys in Britain and is likely to rise to No 1 by next year, a study by The Times has found. The name, if all 14 different spellings are included, was shared by 5,991 newborn boys last year, beating Thomas into third place, followed by Joshua and Oliver.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1890354.ece

Islam Respects Women

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1jazp_islam-respects-women_events

99 names of Allah in Quran

Do You Know about Quran?

Since then, more than fourteen hundred years have passed, and nobody has been able to meet the challenge, and nobody will, because the Qur’an is the only existing book containing the word of Allah which no man can match or imitate. The most eloquent people in the Arabic language spent years going over and searching the Qur’an, trying to find any weak or inadequate word or sentence, but they could not. They even went further, trying to find a way to substitute a word or a sentence in the Qur’an, hoping to convey a similar meaning as the original one, but they failed to do so.

As a result of this, many people, especially linguists, throughout the last fourteen hundred years believed in the Qur’an as a revelation beyond any human capacity.

http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/dyktb.html

From curse to blessing: How Islam elevated women’s status

Women in Mosque

CONTRARY to what Western media and academics would have us believe, it was Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and Islamic teachings that transformed the status of women from being a non-entity and ‘property’ to someone who plays a central role in grooming and holding a family together.

The pre-Islamic Arab world saw girl child as a burden and a curse which was to be eliminated as early as possible. Islam and its Messenger (peace be upon him) changed all this by restoring her respect and her rights. Commenting on the pre-Islamic conditions of women in Arab society,

Holy Quran says:

‘And when the news of (the birth of) a female (child) is brought to any of them, his face becomes dark, and he is filled with inward grief! He hides himself from the people because of the evil of that whereof he has been informed. Shall he keep her with dishonour or bury her in the earth? Certainly, evil is their decision.’ (Quran, 16:58-59)

Read full article

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/opinion/2007/April/opinion_April21.xml&section=opinion&col=

Women in Quran

“O ye who believe! Ye are forbidden to inherit women against their will.

Nor should ye treat them with harshness, that ye may take away part of the dower [money given by the husband to the wife for the marriage contract] ye have given them, except where they have been guilty of open lewdness; on the contrary live with them on a footing of kindness and equity.

If ye take a dislike to them it may be that ye dislike a thing, and God brings about through it a great deal of good. (The Noble Quran, 4:19)”

New Magazines Reflect Muslims’ Diversity

Holding an American flag and wearing a grin beneath her head scarf, Wardaw Chaudhary, a 16-year-old from Tulsa, radiated confidence and optimism, the perfect cover girl to grace the first issue of Muslim Girl magazine.

Launched in January with the tag line “Enlighten Celebrate Inspire,” the bimonthly magazine targets what Editor in Chief Ausma Khan says are 400,000 Muslim teenage girls in North America, who, like other teenagers, want a magazine that reflects their lifestyles and aspirations.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/23/AR2007032301438.html

Muslim exchange opens eyes, hearts

Last year, Melissa and John Cummings lost their oldest son, Ryan, in Iraq.

This year, they found new appreciation for life in Waleed Nasir, a Muslim exchange student from Pakistan.

Waleed moved in with the Crystal Lake family in August, a little more than two months after Ryan was killed.

“We were in such a state of shock and mourning,” said Melissa Cummings, Waleed’s host parent. “I just didn’t think we were the best place for him.”

But the family’s worries subsided when she and her husband saw 16-year-old Waleed’s smiling face at the airport.

He was so excited about everything, Melissa Cummings said, that it made them all value how lucky they were.

“Especially after what happened last year to our son Ryan, it has been a blessing,” she said.

Waleed has become best friends with his host brother Jason, 14

http://www.nwherald.com/articles/2007/03/11/news/local/doc45f392315af56884525374.txt

Former Christian Priests and Missionaries who have Embraced Islam

[Qur'an 5:82-83]

And thou wilt find the nearest of them in affection to those who believe (to be) those who say: Lo! We are Christians. That is because there are among them priests and monks, and because they are not proud. When they listen to that which hath been revealed unto the messengers, thou seest their eyes overflow with tears because of their recognition of the Truth.
They say: Our Lord, we believe. Inscribe us as among the witnesses

You can find many converts from Christianity to Islam there, as well as Christians who are learning more about Islam.

* Dr. Jerald F. Dirks – Former minister (deacon) of the United Methodist Church. He holds a Master’s degree in Divinity from Harvard University and a Doctorate in Psychology from the University of Denver. Author of The Cross and the Crescent: An Interfaith Dialogue between Christianity and Islam (ISBN 1-59008-002-5 – Amana Publications, 2001).

* Abdullah al-Faruq – Formerly Kenneth L. Jenkins, minister and elder of the Pentecostal Church

* Viacheslav Polosin – Former Archpriest of the Russian Orthodox Church

* Anselm Tormeeda – 14th century CE scholar and priest

* Khadijah ‘Sue’ Watson – Former pastor, missionary, professor. Master’s degree in Divinity

* Ibrahim Khalil – Former Egyptian Coptic priest

* Anonymous Female Missionary – Former Catholic missionary

* Martin John Mwaipopo – Former Lutheran Archbishop

* Raphael – Former Jehovah’s Witness minister

* George Anthony – Former Catholic priest

* Dr. Gary Miller (Abdul-Ahad Omar) – Former missionary

Join the discussion board and share your views
http://www.missionislam.com/comprel/former.htm

Islam Got It First

The tiling in medieval Islamic architecture turns out to embody a mathematical insight that Westerners thought they had discovered only 30 years ago.

March 19, 2007 issue – Ancient, closely held religious secrets; messages encoded on the walls of Middle Eastern shrines; the divine golden ratio—readers of a recent issue of the journal Science must have wondered if they’d mistakenly picked up “The Da Vinci Code” instead. In stretches of intricate tiling on several 500-year-old Islamic buildings, Peter Lu and Paul Steinhardt wrote, they’d spotted a large fragment of a mathematical pattern that was unknown to Western science until the 1970s. Islam gave the world algebra, from the Arabic al-jabr, a term referring to a basic equation. But this pattern is far from basic; it comes from much higher math. “The ridiculous thing is, this pattern has been staring Westerners in the face all this time,” says Keith Critchlow, author of the book “Islamic Patterns.” “We simply haven’t been able to read it.” Now that we can, though, it is serving as a startling indication of how accomplished medieval-era Muslims may have been.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17553752/site/newsweek/

Quran Quotes forbidding War

Quran ( 60:8)
In Surah (Chapter) Al-Mumtahina, Allah says: “Allah forbiddeth you not those who warred not against you on account of religion and drove you not out from your homes, that ye should show them kindness and deal justly with them. Lo! Allah loveth the just dealers. “(60:8)

Quran ( 4:90)
Therefore if they withdraw from you but fight you not, and (instead) send you (Guarantees of) peace, then Allah Hath opened no way for you (to war against them).”(4:90)

Most misunderstood quote used by Non-Muslims to spread disinformation about Islam

Quran:
Chapter 9 verse 5

But when the forbidden months are past, then fight the pagans wherever you find them, and seize them and beleaguer them and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war). But if they repent and establish regular prayers and practice regular charity, then open the way for them, for Allah is oft-forgiving, most merciful.”

Some people – especially some contemporary non-Muslim critics of Islam – have tried to claim that this verse abrogates the verse “Let there be no compulsion in religion.” They argue that the generality of this statement implies that every unbeliever who refuses to accept Islam must be fought. They support their allegation by pointing out that this verse is one of the last verses to be revealed about fighting.

However, this verse in no way abrogates the principle in Islamic Law that there is no compulsion in religion. It may be general in wording, but its meaning is quite specific on account of other verses of the Quran that are connected with it as well as on account of a number of pertinent hadîth. We will be discussing these texts shortly.

The people being referred to by this verse are the pagan Arabs who had been waging war against the Prophet (peace be upon him) and who had broken their covenant and treaties with him. This verse is not speaking about the other pagan Arabs who did not break their treaties and take up arms against the Muslims. It is also most definitely not speaking about the Jews or Christians, or, for that matter, the pagans who were living outside of Arabia.

If we look at the verses in Surah al-Tawbah( Chap 9) immediately before and after the one under discussion, the context of the verse becomes clear.

A few verses before the one we are discussing, Allah says: “There is a declaration of immunity from Allah and His Messenger to those of the pagans with whom you have contracted mutual alliances. Go then, for four months, to and fro throughout the land. But know that you cannot frustrate Allah that Allah will cover with shame those who reject Him.” [Surah al-Tawbah: 1-2]

In these verses we see that the pagans were granted a four month amnesty with an indication that when the four months were over, fighting would resume. However, a following verse exempts some of them from the resumption of hostilities. It reads: “Except for those pagans with whom you have entered into a covenant and who then do not break their covenant at all nor aided anyone against you. So fulfill your engagements with them until the end of their term, for Allah loves the righteous.” [Surah al-Tawbah: 9:4]

So when Allah says: “But when the forbidden months are past, then fight the pagans wherever you find them, and seize them and beleaguer them and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war)”, we must know that it is not general, since the verse above has qualified it to refer to the pagan Arabs who were actually at war with the Prophet (peace be upon him) and those who broke their covenants of peace.

This is further emphasized by a few verses later where Allah says: “Will you not fight people who broke their covenants and plotted to expel the Messenger and attacked you first?” [Surah al-Tawbah: 9:13]

Ibn al-Arabi, in his commentary on the Quran, writes: “It is clear from this that the meaning of this verse is to kill the pagans who are waging war against you.” [Ahkam al-Quran: (2/456)]

Allah also say right after the verse under discussion: “How can there be a covenant before Allah and His Messenger with the pagans except those with whom you have made a treaty near the Sacred Mosque? As long as they stand true to you, stand true to them, for Allah does love the righteous.” [Surah al-Tawbah: 9:7]

http://islamtomorrow.com/kill.asp

What Does Islam Say About “Forcing People in Religion?”

Allah says in His Quran: “Let there be no compulsion in religion. Truth has been made clear from error. Whoever rejects false worship and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that never breaks. And Allah hears and knows all things.” [Surah al-Baqarah: 256]

http://islamtomorrow.com/kill.asp

What Does Islam Say About “Forcing People in Religion?”

Allah says in His Quran: “Let there be no compulsion in religion. Truth has been made clear from error. Whoever rejects false worship and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that never breaks. And Allah hears and knows all things.” [Surah al-Baqarah: 256]

http://islamtomorrow.com/kill.asp

Do not slander chaste women

Quran :
(24:23) Those who charge with slander those Believing women, who are chaste but simple souls, are accursed in this world and in the Hereafter: there is a great punishment for them.

Hadith :
The Holy Prophet has said: “To slander chaste women is one of the seven ‘deadly’ sins.” According to another Tradition cited by Tabarani from Hadrat Huzaifah, the Holy Prophet said: “To slander a pious woman suffiices to ruin the good deeds of a hundred years. “

The Immunity to Men and Women

QURAN :

[9.71] And (as for) the believing men and the believing women, they are guardians of each other; they enjoin good and forbid evil and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate, and obey Allah and His Apostle; (as for) these, Allah will show mercy to them; surely Allah is Mighty, Wise.

Russian Islam goes its own way

One in five Russians may be Muslim by 2020

The country’s Muslim community is extremely diverse – from Volga Tatars and Bashkirs to the ethnic mishmash of the North Caucasus. But unlike Muslim minorities in Western Europe, most Russian Muslims represent native people of what is now Russia, who inhabited their land for over a millennium.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4341648.stm

Strong rise in number of Germans converting to Islam: study

There has been a surge in the number of Germans converting to Islam, the weekly Der Spiegel on Saturday cited an Interior Ministry-sponsored study.

Around 4,000 Germans converted to Islam between July 2004 and June 2005 which is four times as many as in the prior space of time, said the study which was conducted by the Islam-Archive Central Institute, based in the western town of Soest.

The head of the German Islam think-tank, Salim Abdullah pointed out that that most of those who converted to Islam, have been women and well-educated.

http://english.webislam.com/?idn=950

Justice among Wives

Because the woman is the weaker partner in the family relationship, Islam places strong emphasis on the importance of being fair to women, and not to abuse them in any way. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) describes those who are kind and good to their wives as the best of people. He (peace and blessings be upon him) is reported to have said: “The best among you are those who are best to your households; I am the best among you to my house-hold.”

On his deathbed, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) continued to remind the followers of three areas as needing continuous attention. The first concerns man’s relationship with Allah while the other two are concerned with human relations, concentrating on the need to protect the rights of two vulnerable groups in society, namely, women and slaves. He said repeatedly: “Attend to your prayers. Do not ask those whom your right hands possess to accomplish for you what they cannot do. Fear Allah in your treatment of women.”"

Polygamy in Islam

Quran :

[4.3] And if you fear that you cannot act equitably towards orphans, then marry such women as seem good to you, two and three and four; but if you fear that you will not do justice (between them), then (marry) only one or what your right hands possess; this is more proper, that you may not deviate from the right course.

Why Polygamy Is Allowed in Islam
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaE&cid=1140333531684

Justice among Wives
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?cid=1119503544806&pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar%2FFatwaE%2FFatwaEAskTheScholar

The myth of Muslim support for terror

WASHINGTON – Those who think that Muslim countries and pro-terrorist attitudes go hand-in-hand might be shocked by new polling research: Americans are more approving of terrorist attacks against civilians than any major Muslim country except for Nigeria.

The survey, conducted in December 2006 by the University of Maryland’s prestigious Program on International Public Attitudes, shows that only 46 percent of Americans think that “bombing and other attacks intentionally aimed at civilians” are “never justified,” while 24 percent believe these attacks are “often or sometimes justified.”

Contrast those numbers with 2006 polling results from the world’s most-populous Muslim countries – Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nigeria. Terror Free Tomorrow, the organization I lead, found that 74 percent of respondents in Indonesia agreed that terrorist attacks are “never justified”; in Pakistan, that figure was 86 percent; in Bangladesh, 81 percent.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20070223/cm_csm/yballen

Deutsche Bank reveals attempts to ‘unlock’ Sharia investment market

A new white paper detailing a model investment structure for Sharia-compliant securities has been unveiled by a leading global investment bank.

Deutsche Bank hopes its white paper will be adopted by other financial institutions to help “alleviate” supply shortages in the Sharia-compliant investment market, allowing it grow and meet the needs of consumer demand.

http://www.londonstockexchange.com/en-gb/pricesnews/investnews/article.htm?ArticleID=18046841

Post 9/11, Islam flourishes among U.S. blacks

ATLANTA (Reuters) – Islam is growing fast among African Americans, who are undeterred by increased scrutiny of Muslims in the United States since the September 11 attacks, according to imams and experts.

Converts within the black community say they are attracted to the disciplines of prayer, the emphasis within Islam on submission to God and the religion’s affinity with people who are oppressed.

http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=300602007

US mayor converts to Islam

Macon Mayor Jack Ellis has converted to Islam and is now working to legally change his name to Hakim Mansour Ellis.

Ellis, who was raised Christian, said Thursday that he became a Sunni Muslim during a December ceremony in the west African nation of Senegal.

“You do it because it feels right,” said Ellis. “To me it’s no big deal. But people like to know what you believe in. And this is what I believe in.”

If anybody wants to know about Islam, I can hold an intelligent conversation,” Ellis said. “What I’ve found is how little we know about the religion.”

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/02/02/america/NA-GEN-US-Mayor-Islam.php

More Hispanic Americans are Converting to Islam

The number of Hispanic Americans converting to Islam is growing rapidly — particularly in New York, California, Texas and Florida, which have the greatest concentration of Hispanic residents. Muslim leaders say interest in Islam has increased in the past few years, and they also note that Muslims and Hispanics, many of whom are immigrants, share a number of common concerns. Steve Mort reports from a mosque in Florida that has seen a steady increase in Latino worshippers.

http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-02-09-voa33.cfm

Dubai tours offer positive view of Islam

Leader funds mosque tours for Western visitors to clear up misconceptions

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15400715

Many blame Islamic-Western tensions on “intolerant minorities,” poll finds

Most Canadians reject the notion the Islamic and western worlds are engaged in a clash of civilizations based on culture and religion, according to a new international poll.

The GlobeScan survey found a majority, 56 per cent, of Canadians regard the conflict between Islam and the West to be primarily about “political power and interests.”

Only 29 per cent said religious and cultural differences are to blame.

Many Canadians, 55 per cent, also cited “intolerant minorities” on both sides of the divide as an important contributing factor to the tension. Canadians were much more likely to assess shared blame than to specifically cite Muslim, 12 per cent, or western, seven per cent, minorities.

Story Link

Advanced geometry of Islamic art

A study of medieval Islamic art has shown some of its geometric patterns use principles established centuries later by modern mathematicians

Story Link

Meaning of the word Islam

‘Islam’ is an Arabic word and connotes submission, surrender, and obedience As a religion, Islam stands for complete submission and obedience to Allah and that is why it is called ‘ISLAM’. Everyone can see that the universe we live in is an orderly universe. There is law and order among all the units that comprise this universe. Everything is assigned a place in a grand scheme, which is working in a magnificent and superb way. The sun, the moon, the stars and in fact all the heavenly bodies are knit together in a splendid system. They follow an unalterable law and do not make even the slightest deviation from their ordained course. The earth rotates on its own axis and in its revolution round the sun scrupulously follows the path laid down for it. Similarly, everything in the world, from the little whirling electron to the mighty nebulae, invariably follows its own laws. Matter energy, and life-all obey their laws and grow and change and live and die in accordance with those laws. EVEN in the human world the laws of nature are quite manifest. Man’s birth, growth, and life are all regulated by a set of biological laws. He derives sustenance from nature in

Accordance with an unalterable law. All the organs of his body from the small tissues to the heart and the brain are governed by the laws prescribed for them. In Short, ours is a law-governed universe and everything in it is following the course that has been ordained for it. This powerful, all-pervasive law, which governs all that comprises the universe, from the tiniest specks of dust to the magnificent galaxies in high heavens, is the law of God, the creator and ruler of the universe. As the entire creation obeys the law of God, the whole universe, therefore, literally follows the religion of Islam-for Islam signifies nothing but obedience and submission to Allah, the Lord of the universe. The sun, the moon, the earth, and all other heavenly bodies are thus ‘Muslim’. So is the case with air, water, and heat, stones, trees, and animals. Everything in the universe is ‘Muslim’ for it obeys God by submission to his laws. Even a man who refuses to believe in God, or offers his worship to someone other than Allah has perforce to be a ‘Muslim’ as far as his bodily existence is concerned. For his entire life, from the embryonic stage to the body’s dissolution info dust after death, and every tissue of his muscles and every limb of his body follow the course prescribed for each by God’s law. His very tongue which, on account of his ignorance, advocates the denial of God or professes multiple deities, is in its very nature a ‘Muslim’. His head which he wantonly bows to other besides Allah is a born Muslim. His heart wherein, through his lack of true knowledge, he cherishes love and reverence for others, is ‘Muslim’ by intuition. These are all obedient to the divine Law, and their functions and movements are governed by the injunctions of that law alone. This, in short, is the real position of man and the universe. Let us now examine the problem in a different light. Man is so constituted that there are two aspects of his life: two distinct spheres of his activity. One is the sphere in which he finds himself totally regulated by the Divine Law. He cannot budge an inch or move a step away from it. Nor can he evade it in any way or from. In fact, like other creatures, he is completely caught in the grip of the law of nature and is bound to follow it. But there is another sphere of his activity as well. He has been endowed with reason and intellect. He has the power to think and form judgments, to choose and reject, and to adopt and spurn. He is free to adopt whatever course of life chooses. He can embrace any faith, adopt any way of life and formulate his living according to whatever ideologies he likes. He may prepare his own code of conduct or accept one formulated by others. He has been bestowed with free will and can chalk out his own course of behaviour. In this latter aspect, he, unlike the other creatures, has been given freedom of thought, choice, and action.

Both these aspects distinctly co-exist in man’s life.

In the first he, like all other creatures, is a born Muslim, invariably obeys the injunctions of God, and is bound to remain so. As far as the second aspect is concerned, he is free to become or not to become a Muslim. Here he has been given the freedom of choice-and it is the way a person exercises this freedom, which divides mankind into two groups: believers and non-believers. An individual who chooses to acknowledge his creator, accepts Him as his real Master, honestly and scrupulously submits to His laws and injunctions and follows the code He has revealed unto man for his individual and social life, thereby becomes a perfect Muslim. He has, so to say, achieved completeness in his Islam by consciously deciding to obey God in the domain in which he was endowed with freedom and choice. Now his entire life has become one of submission to God and there is no conflict in his personality. He is a perfect Muslim and his Islam is complete-for this submission of his entire self to the will of Allah is Islam and nothing but Islam. He has now consciously submitted to Him whom he had already been unconsciously obeying. He has now willingly offered obedience to the Master whom he already owed obedience unintentionally. His knowledge is now real for he has acknowledged the Being who endowed him with the power to learn and to know. Now his reason and judgment are set on an even keel-for he has rightly decided to obey the Being who bestowed upon him the faculty of thinking and judging. His tongue also is truthful for it expresses with conviction its confession of the Lord who gave it the faculty speech. New the whole of this existence is an embodiment of, in all spheres of life, he voluntarily as well as involuntarily obeys the laws of the same One God with the whole universe for he worships Him whom the whole world is for him and he is for God.

The challenge provided by the Qur’an

The Islamic viewpoint is that the Qur’an is not only unique in the way in which it presents its subject matter, but it is also unique in that it is a miracle in itself (“miracle”, meaning the performance of a supernatural or extraordinary event which cannot be duplicated by humans). It has been documented that the Prophet Muhammad challenged the Arabs to produce a literary work of a similar caliber as the Qur’an. The Arabs were unable to do so in spite of their well-known eloquence and literary abilities. The challenge to reproduce the Qur’an was presented to the Arabs and mankind in three stages:

The First Stage

A challenge is made to all of mankind to create a book of the stature of the Qur’an,

“Say: ‘If all mankind and the jinn would come together to produce the like of this Qur’an, they could not produce it’s like even though they exerted all and their strength in aiding one another.’” (Qur’an 17:88)

The Second Stage

Next, a challenge is made, asking those who denied the divine origin of the Qur’an to imitate ten surahs of the Qur’an:

“Or do they say that he has invented it? Say (to them), ‘Bring ten invented surahs like it, and call (for help) on whomever you can besides Allah, if you are truthful.” (Qur’an 11:13)

The Third Stage

This final challenge was to produce a single surah to match what is in the Qur’an:

“And if you all are in doubt about what I have revealed to My servant, bring a single surah like it, and call your witnesses besides Allah if you are truthful.” (Qur’an 2:23)

The shortest chapter of the Qur’an is Surah al-Kawthar (Chapter 108) which consists of three verses.

A number of Qurayshee orators and poets tried to imitate the Qur’an, but failed (see Banu Quraish). Attempts to forge chapters of the Qur’an have been made throughout the ages, yet none have withstood close scrutiny.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qur’an

Verse (3:20)

(3:20) And if they remonstrate with you, tell them: ‘I have submitted my whole being to Allah, and so have those who follow me.’ And ask the People of the Book as well as those who follow no heavenly Scripture: ‘Have you also submitted (to Allah)?’ *18 If they have submitted to Him, they are indeed on the right way but if they deviate from submitting to Allah, then your duty is merely to deliver the message. Allah observes the affairs of His servants.

Commentary

*18. The Prophet (peace be on him) is asked to tell them in effect: I and my followers have embraced the original, unadulterated Islam which is the true religion enjoined by God. Tell us, now, if you are prepared to give up the accretions introduced by your forefathers, and embrace this original, true religion?’

(3:11) (To them shall happen) the like of what happened to the people of Pharaoh, and those before them. They rejected Our signs, so Allah seized them for their sins. Allah indeed is severe in punishment.

(3:7) It is He Who has revealed the Book to you. Some of its verses are absolutely clear and lucid, and these are the core of the Book. *5 Others are ambiguous.

(3:7) It is He Who has revealed the Book to you. Some of its verses are absolutely clear and lucid, and these are the core of the Book. *5 Others are ambiguous. *6 Those in whose hearts there is perversity, always go about the part which is ambiguous, seeking mischief and seeking to arrive at its meaning arbitrarily, although none knows their true meaning except Allah. On the contrary, those firmly rooted in knowledge say: ‘We believe in it; it is all from our Lord alone.’ *7 No one derives true admonition from anything except the men of understanding

Commentary
*5. Muhkam means that which has been made firmly and perfectly. The muhkam verses mentioned here are those Qur’anic verses which are embodied in clear and lucid language and whose meaning is not liable to any ambiguity and equivocation. The words of these verses are clear pointers to their true meaning and, therefore, it is difficult to subject them to arbitrary interpretation. Such verses form the core of the Holy Book; they are the verses which fulfil the true purpose for which the Qur’an was revealed, and they invite the whole world to Islam. They embody admonition and instruction as well as the refutation of erroneous doctrines and the elucidation of the Right Way. They also contain the fundamentals of the true faith; teachings relating to belief, worship and morality, and mandatory duties and prohibitions. These are the verses which will guide the genuine seeker after Truth who turns to the Qur’an in order to find out what he ought and ought not to do.
*6. ‘Ambiguous’ verses are those whose meaning may have some degree of equivocation. It is obvious that no way of life can be prescribed for man unless a certain amount of knowledge explaining the truth about the universe, about its origin and end, about man’s position in it and other matters of similar importance, is intimated to him. It is also evident that the truths which lie beyond the range of human perception have always eluded and will continue to elude man; no words exist in the human vocabulary which either express or portray them. In speaking about such things, we necessarily resort to words and expressions generally employed in connection with tangible objects. In the Qur’an, too, this kind of language is employed in relation to supernatural matters; the verses which have been characterized as ‘ambiguous’ refer to such matters.
At best, such expressions may serve to either bring man close to or enable him to formulate some view of reality, even if it is a faint one. The more one tries to determine the precise meaning of such verses, the more their ambiguities proliferate, and the more one is confronted with choosing between several plausible interpretations. All this is likely to alienate one progressively further away’ from the Truth instead of bringing one closer to it. Those who seek the Truth and do not hanker after the satisfaction of their egocentric quest for exotic superfluities, will be satisfied with the dim vision of reality derived from these verses. They will concentrate their attention instead on the clear and lucid ‘core’ verses of the Qur’an. It will be left to those who are either out to make mischief and mislead people or who have an abnormal passion for superfluities to devote their attention to hair-splitting discussions about the contents of the ‘ambiguous” verses.
*7. This might give rise to an unnecessary problem: How can people believe in ‘ambiguous’ verses when the contents of these cannot be grasped?
The fact is that a reasonable person will believe that the Qur’an is the Book of God through his reading of its clear and lucid verses, rather than by learning fanciful interpretations of the ambiguous verses. Once so convinced, he is not likely to be worried by doubts and anxieties caused by the ambiguities of the verses concerned. One who seeks the Truth is satisfied with the obvious meaning of these verses, and wherever he encounters complications and ambiguities he abstains from pursuing their solution too far. Instead of wasting his time splitting hairs, he is content to believe in the things laid down in the Book of God, without seeking to know them precisely and in detail. He turns his attention, in the main, to questions of a practical nature.

Answering misconceptions and false claims about some Hadith regarding Women

http://www.answering-christianity.com/karim/mistranslations_of_hadiths.htm

Ten Misconceptions About Islam

http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/notislam/misconceptions.html

Women Equality in Quran and Hadith

The Qur’an and Sunnah repeat over and over again that Allah only favors one person over another based on that person’s awareness, consciousness, fear, love, and hope of Allah (the Arabic word is difficult to translate: Taqwa). All other criteria are excluded: gender, ethnic group, country, ancestry, etc.

Given that Allah does not favor one gender over the other in His attention to us (and it helps to remember that Allah is neither male nor female), we can now address the differences between the genders in Islam. First, men and women are not the same as we know. The Creator states in the Qur’an (translation),

[3:36]…and the male is not like the female…

Men and women are different in their composition, and in their responsibilities under Islam. However, both are bound by obligations to one another, especially the following important one which must be understood in any discussion on men and women. From the Qur’an (translation),

[24:32] And marry those among you who are single and those who are fit among your male slaves and your female slaves; if they are needy, Allah will make them free from want out of His grace; and Allah is Ample-giving, Knowing.

In this verse, the Creator emphasizes that marriage is to be vigorously pursued by the Muslims: the state of being single is not to be maintained. With this in mind, we can begin to understand the four reasons cited above for the nonetheless erroneous conclusion.

Men and women are different in their responsibilities towards the families that they are strongly encouraged to set up. Women are not obligated to work, whereas men are obligated. The man must provide for the family, but the woman does not have to spend out of her money for it, though she gets a reward for doing so.
http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/notislam/misconceptions.html

Quranic Quotes regarding Women

[4:124] If any do deeds of righteousness – be they male or female – and have faith, they will enter Paradise, and not the least injustice will be done to them.

[33:35] For Muslim men and women, for believing men and women, for devout men and women, for truthful men and women, for men and women who are patient and constant, for men and women who humble themselves, for men and women who give in charity, for men and women who fast, for men and women who guard their chastity, and for men and women who engage much in Allah’s praise, for them has Allah prepared forgiveness and great reward.

Hadith Links

http://www.al-islam.com/eng/

http://www.lib.utah.edu/middleeast/virtuallibraries.html

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