dragonfly

^ oh I see! But my question is more like: if I buy a carnelian ring from any old non islamic store, does it still have the spiritual benefits of aqeeq ring? It sounds like a really stupid question but oh well I still want an answer!

I have a question: is there a difference between an 'aqeeq' ring and any agate/moonstone/emerald etc ring I can buy from any old store?

Golden advice, thank you sister.

Oh Allah, how did I aquire such a reputation, and why does it follow me everywhere? Why can't I be free from this. :'(

^ lol that is cracking me up :D

^ it's offensive if you use the word as a synonym for stupid, instead of in a proper context (someone who is mentally retarded). In that cartoon it is offensive.

Is there such thing as brown kohl/kajal? If not, do you girls know of any water soluble (for wudhu) eyeliner pencils that come in brown color? I have tested some other eyeliner pencils by coloring with it on a piece of paper and putting a drop of water on it... and the water does not go through, hence I would have to take it off to make wudhu. But when I tested it with kohl, the water went through which is why I like it, but the black color is too harsh for me.

Yes but I can't imagine that the heart or lungs of a partially developed baby could be used by a fully grown adult... How does that work?

Why do they want body parts? What do they do with them??

Chapter 14: The Divine Obligation to Fear Allah 1) Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq(as) said: 'One of the preserved portions from the sermons of the Prophet (S) is as follows. He said: "O people, verily you posses certain characteristics, so be aware of these characteristics and act upon them, verily you have a destined end, so be aware of it and act accordingly. Indeed, the believer in one who acts between two fears: between the time that has passed, not knowing what Allah has done with it, and the appointed time that is to come, not knowing what Allah has decreed therein. The believing servant should take the best from his inner self, for himself, and form this world for the next, and in his youth before his old age, and in his lifetime before his death. By the One in whose Hand is the soul of Muhammad, there is no turning back after this world, and no abode after it except Paradise or Hell." [al-Kafi, v.2, p.57, no.9] 2) Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq(as) said: 'Verily, the believer should always be between two states of fear: fear of what Allah might do with respect to a past sin, and fear of what losses he will incur in what is left of his life. Every morning he awakens fearful, and nothing can settle him apart from fear.' [al-Kafi, v.2, p.57, no.12] 3) Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq(as), with regard to Allah's statement in the Qur'an, "And for him who fears to stand before his Lord are two gardens", said: 'Whoever knows that Allah hears and sees everything that he says, and knows every single good or bad deed he performs, this should prevent him from evil deeds, and that is the one who fears to stand before his Lord, and prohibits the soul from desires.' [al-Kafi, v.2, p.65, no.1] [Qur'an 55:46] 4) Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq(as) said: 'Whoever fears Allah, Allah makes him feared by everything else, and whoever does not fear Allah, Allah makes him fearful of everything else.' [al-Kafi, v.2, p.55, no.3; al-Faqih, v.4, p.258, no.824] 5) Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq(as), when narrating about the Prophet (S)'s advice to Imam Ali Úáíå ÇáÓáÇã also added: 'O Ali, there are three things that will deliver a person: fear of Allah both publicly and privately, aspiration to Him in times of both wealth and poverty, and just and fair speech in both happiness and anger.' [al-Faqih, v.4, p.260, p. 824] 6) Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq(as), addressing one of his companions, said: 'O Ishaq, fear Allah as if you see Him even if you do not see Him, for certainly He sees you, for if you behave as if He does not see you, then indeed you have disbelieved. And if you do not know that He sees you and yet you flagrantly disobey Him, then you have rendered Him the most insignificant of all those who see you.' [al-Kafi, v.2, p.55, no.2] 7) Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq(as) said: 'Whoever know Allah fears Him, and whoever fears Him curbs himself from this world.' [al-Kafi, v.2, p.55, no. 4] 8) Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq(as) said: 'Intense fear of Allah, Mighty and Exalted, is a part of worship, for Allah says in the Qur'an: "Those of His servants who possess knowledge truly fear Allah"; and "therefore, fear not the people, and fear Me"; and "And for those who fear Allah, He prepares a way out". The love of honor and reputation [in the eyes of people] is not present in the heart of a person who fears and is in awe of Allah.' [al-Kafi, v.2, p.56, no.7; Qur'an 35:28; 5:44; 65:2] 9) Imam Muhammad al-Baqir(as) said: 'One of the Prophet (S)'s sayings is: "The peak of wisdom is fear of Allah, Mighty and Exalted."' [al-Faqih, v.4, p.271, no.828] Chapter 15: The Divine Recommendation to Cry Much from Fear of Allah 1) The Holy Prophet (S), in a tradition listing forbidden acts, said: 'Anyone whose eyes shed tears on account of his fear of Allah, he shall have a palace in Paradise adorned with pearls and jewels for each tear that he sheds, the like of which no eye will have ever seen, no ear will have ever heard, and no human mind will ever have conceived.' [al-Faqih, v.4, p.10, no.1; 'Iqab al-A'mal, p.344.] 2) Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq(as) said: 'One of the exhortations with which Allah addressed the Prophet 'Isa(as), was: "O 'Isa, I am your Lord and the Lord of your forefathers!... O 'Isa, son of the pure virgin, cry for yourself with the weeping of one who has bidden farewell to his family, who loathes this world, leaving it to those worthy of it, and whose sole desire is that which is with Allah."' [Amali al-Saduq, p. 416, no.1] 3) Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq(as) said: 'Prophet Nuh's name used to be 'Abd al-Ghaffar, but he was called Nuh because he used to lament over himself.' ['Ilal al-Shara'i, p.28, no.1] 4) Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq(as) said: 'Prophet Nuh's name used to be 'Abd al-Malik, but he was called Nuh because he wept for five hundred years.' ['Ilal al-Shara'i, p.28, no.2] 5) Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq(as) said: 'Prophet Nuh's name used to be 'Abd al-A'la, but he was called Nuh because he wept for five hundred years.' ['Ilal al-Shara'i, p.28, no.3] [shayk al-Sadduq, the author of 'Ilal al-Shara'i', said that these three traditions are all congruous for they all ascribe to him 'servanthood' ('Abd) of Allah, in "Abd al-Ghaffar, 'Abd al-Malik and 'Abd al-A'la.] 6) Imam Muhammad al-Baqir(as) narrated that the Prophet (S) said: 'Every thing can be equated to something else, except Allah, for nothing can be equivalent to Him, and the phrase "There is no God but Allah" for nothing can be equivalent to that , and a tear on account of fear of Allah, which is immeasurable, and if it flows on to the fearful servant's face, neither miserliness nor humiliation will ever overcome him thereafter.' [Thawab al-'Amal, p.17, no.6] 7) Imam Muhammad al-Baqir(as) narrated that the Prophet (S) has said: 'Blessings be on the person whom Allah sees crying on account of his awe of Allah, for a sin that nobody saw him commit.' [Thawab al-'Amal, p.200, no.2 and p.211, no.2] 8) Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (s) narrated that the Prophet (S) has said: 'Every eye will be weeping on the Day of Judgement apart from three: the eye that used to cry on account of fear of Allah, the eye that closed so as not to look at what Allah has forbidden, and the eye that used to remain awake for the sake of Allah.' [Thawab al-'Amal, p.211, no.1] 9) Imam 'Ali al-Rida(as) said: 'One of the things that Allah told Prophet Musa(as) was: "The best thing that servants can do who wish to get closer to Me is to cry in awe of Me; the best deed that the worshipers can do as worship is to keep away from that which I have forbidden; the best thing the servants can do who wish to adorn themselves for Me is to abstain from those things that will make them self-sufficient in this world." At this, Musa(as) asked: "O Most Kind of all kind beings, what will their rewards for this be?" He replied: "O Musa, as for those wishing to get closer to me by crying in awe of me, they will be on the highest level, not shared by anyone else. As for the worshipers who worship Me by keeping away from what I have forbidden, I will inspect the deeds of others, but not their deeds, as a result of shyness from them. The ones who adorn themselves for me through asceticism on this world, I will give them full control of the whole Paradise, to settle wherever they may please."' [Thawab al-'Amal, p.211, no.1] 10) Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq(as) said: 'Verily the distance between the average man and Paradise is as much as the distance between the ground and the Throne [of Allah], as a result of the abundance of his sins. The only thing he can do is to cry on account of his fear of Allah, Mighty and Exalted, regretting having committed them so that the distance between himself and Paradise may be reduced to the distance between his eyelid and eyeball.' [uyun Akhbar al Rida (as), v.2, p.3, no.4] 11) Imam Ja-far al-Sadiq(as) said: 'Every single thing has a weight and a worth, except for tears, for one drop can put out seas of fire. Therefore, if one's eye wells up with tears, he will never be afflicted with miserliness or humiliation, and if the tears actually fall on to the face, Allah forbids the Fire from touching such a face, and if such a sincere weeper were to cry for a whole nation, they would be dealt with mercifully.' [al-Kafi, v.2, p.349, no.1; al-Kafi, v.2, p.350, no.5; al-Faqih, v.1, p.208, no.942; Thawab al-A'mal, p.200, no.1.] 12) There is another tradition on the authority of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq(as) that narrates similarly, with the following addition preceding it: 'There is no eye that will not be crying on the Day of Judgement, except for the eye that cried from fear of Allah, and every single eye that wells up with tears on account of awe of Allah, Allah will forbid the Fire from touching the rest of that person't body.' [al-Kafi, v.2, p.349, no.2] 13) Imam Muhammad al-Baqir(as) said: 'There is no drop more loved by Allah than a teardrop that falls in the dark of the night from fear of Allah, meant solely for Him and no one else.' [al-Kafi, v.2, p.349, no.3; al-Zuhd, p.72, no.203] 14) Imam Ja-far al-Sadiq(as) said: 'Every eye will be crying on the Day of Judgement, except three: the eye that closed when faced with that which Allah has forbidden, the eye that remained awake in obedience to Allah, and the eye that used to cry in the middle of the night from fear of Allah.' [al-Kafi, v.2, p.350, no.4; al-Zuhd, p.77, no.206] 15) Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq(as) said that Allah revealed to Prophet Musa(as) that: 'There are three things that I love most through which My servants can attain proximity to Me.' Musa asked: 'O my Lord, and what are they?' He replied: 'O Musa, they are: asceticism in this world, keeping away from acts that lead to My displeasure, and crying in are of Me.' Musa then asked: 'O my Lord, and what is their reward for doing thus?' Allah revealed: 'O Musa, those who practiced asceticism in this world will get Paradise, those who cried in awe of Me will be on the highest level, not shared by anyone else, and as for those who kept away from that which I have forbidden, I will inspect people's deeds but will not inspect theirs.' [al-Kafi, v.2, p.350, no.6; al-Zuhd, p.77, no.207]

(salam) I wanted to compile a list of all the 'romantic' verses of the Qur'an in the sense of marriage and couples. Most of these translations are Sahih International with a few exceptions. If you know of any more, please contribute. "It has been made permissible for you the night preceding fasting to go to your wives. They are clothing for you and you are clothing for them..." [2:187] "O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah , through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed Allah is ever, over you, an Observer." [4:1] "It is He who created you from one soul and created from it its mate that he might dwell in security with her. And when he covers her, she carries a light burden and continues therein. And when it becomes heavy, they both invoke Allah , their Lord, "If You should give us a good [child], we will surely be among the grateful.'" [7:189] "And Allah has made for you from yourselves mates and has made for you from your mates sons and grandchildren and has provided for you from the good things. Then in falsehood do they believe and in the favor of Allah they disbelieve?" [16:72] "...and women of purity are for men of purity, and men of purity are for women of purity: these are not affected by what people say: for them there is forgiveness, and a provision honourable." [24:26] "And those who say, "Our Lord, grant us from among our wives and offspring comfort to our eyes and make us an example for the righteous.'" [25:74] "And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquillity in them; and He placed between you affection and mercy. Indeed in that are signs for a people who give thought." [30:21] "And Allah created you from dust, then from a sperm-drop; then He made you mates. And no female conceives nor does she give birth except with His knowledge. And no aged person is granted [additional] life nor is his lifespan lessened but that it is in a register. Indeed, that for Allah is easy." [35:11] "Exalted is He who created all pairs - from what the earth grows and from themselves and from that which they do not know." [36:36] "He created you from one soul. Then He made from it its mate, and He produced for you from the grazing livestock eight mates. He creates you in the wombs of your mothers, creation after creation, within three darknesses. That is Allah , your Lord; to Him belongs dominion. There is no deity except Him, so how are you averted?" [39:6] "[He is] Creator of the heavens and the earth. He has made for you from yourselves, mates, and among the cattle, mates; He multiplies you thereby. There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing." [42:11] "Enter Paradise, you and your wives, in happiness." [43:70] "And We created you in pairs" [78:8] And lastly, the verse of love: "Say, [O Muhammad], "If you should love Allah , then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.'" [3:31] <3

This is her own account. The air hostess did open the man's can of beer. Is it possible this is being blown out of proportion? Only one man yelled at her which is terrible, and the other passengers should have had her back. It was a humiliating and unfortunate event but I don't think this is worth boycotting an airline about. :donno:

I thought this was a parody and you changed the lyrics. Wow I never knew that's what his song said.

(bismillah) This was in the introduction to the book Polarization Around the Character of Ali Ibn Abi Talib. I found it interesting, made me think about what category I fit in and why, and thought I would share. ______________________________________________ In terms of attraction and repulsion in relation to other individuals, not all people are the same; indeed they can be divided up into various classes: 1. Individuals who do not attract and do not repel No one likes them, nor is anyone their enemy; they incite no one's love, affection or attachment, nor anyone's hostility, envy, hatred or odium; they go among men indifferently, just as if a slab of rock were to be among them. Such a creature is as nothing, produces no effect, a person in whom no positive thing exists either in terms of goodness or in terms of evil (the meaning of "positive" has to do not only with virtue - it has to do with wickedness too). He is an animal, he eats, he sleeps and walks among men. He is like a sheep which is no-one's friend and no-one's enemy, and if he is looked after, if he is given his water and grass, it is because his meat will be consumed after a while. He neither starts any wave of approval, nor any wave of disapproval. Such people form a group of worthless creatures, hollow and vacuous human beings, for man needs to love and to be loved, and we can also say that he needs to hate and to be hated. 2. People who attract but do not repel They get on well with everybody, they establish cordial relations with all people, they make people of all classes their admirers. In life, everyone likes them, and no-one disowns them, and when they die, the Muslims wash them with water from the spring of Zamzam in Mecca and bury them, while the Hindus cremate them. So accustom yourself to good and bad, So that after your death Muslims will wash you in the water of Zamzam, And the Hindus cremate you. According to the advice of this poet, in a society where half are Muslims and respect the corpse of a dead man, giving it ghusl (ablution for the dead), and maybe giving it ghusl in sacred water from Zamzam as a result of greater respect, and half are Hindus who cremate the dead and caste their ashes to the wind, one should live in such a way that Muslims accept you as one of theirs and want to wash you after death in water from Zamzam, and Hindus also accept you as one of theirs and want to cremate you after death. It is often imagined that excellence of character, civility in social intercourse, or, in the language of today "being sociable", consists of just this, making all men one's friends. However, this is not feasible for the man who has an aim, who follows a path, who, among men, pursues a particular way of thinking or ideal, and does not consider his own advantage; such a man, like it or not, has only one face, he is decisive and explicit in his behaviour, unless, of course, he is a hypocrite and double-faced. For not all men think in the same way, or feel in the same way, and not everyone's preferences are of one kind; among men there are those who are just and those who are unjust, there is good and there is bad. Society has its equitable members, and its despotic members; there are just people, there are iniquitous people. These people cannot all love one person, one human being, who seriously pursues one goal and thus collides with some of their interests. The only person who will succeed in attracting the friendship of all the various classes and the various idealisms is one who dissimulates and lies, and says and shows to each person what conforms to that person's liking. But if the person is sincere and follows a path, one group will automatically be his friend and another will similarly be his enemy. Any group which follows the same way as him will be pulled towards him, and any group which follows some different way will exclude him and will quarrel with him. Some Christians, who present themselves and their religion as messengers of peace, believe that the perfect man possesses nothing but love, thus he has nothing but the power of attraction, and perhaps some Hindus also believe the same thing. One of the things that are very striking in Hindu and Christian philosophy is love. They say that one must cultivate affection for all things and make one's love manifest, and when we come to love everyone what can possible prevent everyone from loving us - the bad will also love us, since they will have seen our love. But these gentlemen should understand that it is not enough merely to be a man of love, one must also be a man with a path, just as Gandhi said: "This is my religion." Love must coincide with reality and, if it coincides with reality it will have some path which it follows, and following a way creates enemies, whether we wish it or not. In fact, it is the power of repulsion which incites one group to struggle and excludes another group. Islam is also the law of love. The Qur'an presents the Holy Prophet as a mercy for all Being: (rahmatan li'l alamin ) وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِلْعَالَمِينَ We have not sent thee, save as a mercy unto all beings (Anbiya', 21:107). This means that you (i.e., the Prophet) should be a mercy even for the most dangerous enemy, and should love even them. However the love which the Qur'an command does not mean that we should act towards everyone in conformity with what he likes and what is pleasing to him, that we should behave towards him in such a way that makes him happy and necessarily attracted towards us. Love does not mean that we leave everyone free to follow their inclinations, or still more that we should approve of their inclinations; this is not love, rather it is hypocrisy and double-dealing. Love is that which coincides with reality, it causes one to reach good, and sometimes those things which bring us to the good take a form that does not attract the love and affection of the other person. How many individuals there are to whom someone loves in this way and who, when they observe that this love is at odds with their own inclinations, become hostile instead of appreciative. Besides, rational and intelligent love is that in which is the good and interest of the whole of mankind, not the good of one individual or one special group. There are many things which can be done to bring good to individuals and to show love for them which are the very same things which bring evil to society as a whole and may be its enemy. We can find many great reformers in history who endeavoured to ameliorate the situation of society and smooth its sufferings, but who, in exchange, received no acknowledgement but animosity and persecution from people. So it is not the case that everywhere love attracts; indeed love sometimes manifests itself as a great repulsion which brings together whole societies against a man. `Abdu 'r-Rahman ibn Muljam was one of the most adamant enemies of 'Ali, and `Ali understood well that this man was a very dangerous opponent. Sometimes, even, others would say to him that he was a dangerous man, and that he should get rid of him. But `Ali asked in reply, "Should I punish before the crime? If he is my murderer, I cannot kill my own murderer: he is to murder me, not I him." It was about this person that 'Ali said: اُرِيد حياتهُ وَيَرِيدُ قَتليِ I want him to live; he wants to kill me.' (i.e., "I have love for him, but he is my enemy and has malevolent designs against me.") Secondly, love is not the only healing drug for mankind; roughness is also necessary for certain tastes and temperaments, and conflict, repelling and driving away are also necessary. Islam is both the religion of attraction and love and the religion of repelling and retribution (niqmah). 3. People who repel but do not attract They make enemies but they make no friends. These are also deficient people, and it shows that they are deficient in positive human qualities, for if they partook of human qualities they would have groups, even if they were small in number, who were their supporters and who were attached to them. There are always good people among humanity, however small their number may be. Even if all men were worthless and unjust, their hostility would be a proof of truth and justice, but it is never the case that all men are bad, just as they are never all good. Naturally, the bad in someone who has an enemy in everyone is to be found within himself, for otherwise how could it be possible for there to be good in the human spirit and then for this man to have no friends. There are no positive sides to the personalities of such individuals; even in their villainous aspects their persons are sour throughout, and they are sour for everyone. There is nothing in them which is sweet even if it be only to a few. 'Ali (as) said: أَعجَز النَّاسِ مَن عَجَزَ عَنِ اكتِسَابِ الإِخوَانِ, وَ أَعجَزُ مِنهُ مَن ضَيَّعَ ظَفِرَ بِهِ مِنْهُم. The most powerless person is he who is unable to find any friends, and more powerless than these is the one who loses his friends and remains alone.' 4. People who both attract and repel They are people travelling a path, who act in the way of their beliefs and principles; they draw groups of people towards themselves, they take a place in people's hearts as someone loved and wanted. But they also repel certain groups from themselves and drive them away. They make friends as well as enemies; they encourage agreement as well as disagreement. Such people are also of several kinds, for sometimes both their power of attraction and their power of repelling are strong, sometimes they are both weak, and sometimes there is a difference between them. There are some people with such a personality that their powers of attracting and repelling are both strong, and this is related to how strong the positive and negative degrees in their spirits are. Of course, strength also has degrees, up to the point where the friends that have been attracted will ransom their souls and give themselves up entirely for the cause; and the enemies will also become so head-strong that they will give their lives in their own cause. And it may become so intense that centuries after the death of that person their attraction and repelling will still be effective in people's minds and will exercise a wide influence. This three-dimensional attraction and repelling are among the particular characteristics of the awliya', (the "friends" of Allah), just as the three-dimensional invitations to the way of Allah are peculiar to the chain of the prophets. In this respect, it must be seen what kinds of people are attracted and what kinds repelled. For example, sometimes those with knowledge are attracted, and those who are ignorant are repelled, and sometimes vice versa. Sometimes noble and civilized people are attracted and the evil and the wicked are repelled, and sometimes vice versa. Thus, friends and enemies, the attracted and the repelled, each one is a clear proof of the essence of such a person. It is not sufficient merely to have the powers of attracting and repelling, or even that they should be strong, in order that a person's character should become lauded, rather the cause of this is the character itself, and no-one's character is a proof of goodness. All the world's leaders, even criminals such as Changiz Khan, Hajjaj and Mu'awiyah, were people who had both the power to attract and the power to repel. Not unless there are positive points in someone's spirit he can never make thousands of soldiers obedient to him, and subdue their wills; not unless someone has the power of leadership can he gather people around himself to such a degree. The Iranian king Nadir Shah (b. 1100/ 1688, reigned 1148/ 1736, d.1160/ 1747) was such a person. He cut off so many heads and had so many eyes gouged out of their sockets, but his personality was extraordinarily strong. From a defeated and plundered Iran at the end of the Safavid period he created an army at great cost, and, just like a magnet that attracts iron-fillings, fighting men collected round him who not only saved Iran from foreign powers, but went to the furthermost parts of India and brought new territories under the rule of Iran. Thus every person attracts his own kind, and drives away those unlike him. A just and noble person attracts towards himself benevolent people who strive for righteousness, and drives away from himself sensual, money-loving, hypocritical people. A criminal person attracts criminals around him, and repels those who are good. And, as we pointed out, there is another difference in the strength of the power of attraction. Just as is said about Newton's gravity, that the degree of pull and attraction becomes greater in proportion to the size of the mass of the body and in inverse proportion to the size of the intervening distance, so also among men there is variation in the power of attraction and pull which derives from the individual who has that attraction. 'Ali, one man with two powers 'Ali is one of those persons who have both the power to attract and the power to repel, and his attraction and repelling are extremely strong. Perhaps no attraction and repelling as strong as `Ali's can be found anywhere in any century or epoch. He has had remarkable friends, truly historical persons, ready to sacrifice themselves, forbearing, burning with love for him like flames from a bonfire, and full of light. They deemed giving up their lives in his way to be their aim and their glory, and they became oblivious of everything in their friendship for him. Years, even centuries, have passed since the death of `Ali, but this attraction still sends out the same rays of light, and people are still dazzled when they turn to it. http://www.al-islam.org/polarization-around-character-ali-ibn-abi-talib-ayatullah-murtadha-mutahhari

Oh my gosh, that's appalling. What does that say about the way society is headed. Personal pleasure is becoming god, it always has been for individuals which is why we have jihad al nafs, but now it's becoming god on a societal scale. Scary.