1.
Jamek Mosque
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Jamek Mosque is one of the oldest mosques in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is located at the confluence of the Klang and Gombak River, the mosque was designed by Arthur Benison Hubback, and built in 1909. The name Jamek is Arabic in origin meaning a place where people congregate to worship and it is also referred to as Friday Mosque by the locals. The mosque was built on the location of an old Malay burial place at the confluence of Klang and Gombak River. A couple of previously existed in the Java Street and Malay Street area serving the Malay communities. The foundation stone of the mosque was laid by the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sir Alaeddin Sulaiman Shah on 23 March 1908, the construction of the mosque cost $32,625, funded in part by the Malay community with contribution from the British colonial government. Masjid Jamek served as Kuala Lumpurs main mosque until the national mosque, the architect was Arthur Benison Hubback who designed the mosque in the Indian Muslim Mughal architectural style. The mosque has since been enlarged with extensions built, and the originally open-air forecourt roofed over, one of the domes of the mosque collapsed in 1993 due to heavy rain, but has since been repaired. The design of the mosque has been described as a Moorish, B Hubback also designed a number of building in similar style, such as the Kuala Lumpur railway station and the Ubudiah Mosque in Kuala Kangsar. The mosque has 2 main minarets among other ones, the pattern of pink and white banding of the minarets, formed of brick and plaster, has been described as blood. The mosque has 3 domes, the largest of which reached 21.3 metres in height, the prayer hall is located beneath the domes. Nearby is the SP7 KJ13 Masjid Jamek LRT station that is served by the Kelana Jaya Line, Sri Petaling Line, the station is located between Chinatown and Little India, Dataran Merdeka is also nearby
2.
Malaysia
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Malaysia is a federal constitutional monarchy located in Southeast Asia. Peninsular Malaysia shares a land and maritime border with Thailand and maritime borders with Singapore, Vietnam, East Malaysia shares land and maritime borders with Brunei and Indonesia and a maritime border with the Philippines and Vietnam. The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government, with a population of over 30 million, Malaysia is the 44th most populous country. The southernmost point of continental Eurasia, Tanjung Piai, is in Malaysia, located in the tropics, Malaysia is one of 17 megadiverse countries on earth, with large numbers of endemic species. Malaysia has its origins in the Malay kingdoms present in the area which, from the 18th century, the first British territories were known as the Straits Settlements, whose establishment was followed by the Malay kingdoms becoming British protectorates. The territories on Peninsular Malaysia were first unified as the Malayan Union in 1946, Malaya was restructured as the Federation of Malaya in 1948, and achieved independence on 31 August 1957. Malaya united with North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore on 16 September 1963 to become Malaysia, less than two years later in 1965, Singapore was expelled from the federation. The country is multi-ethnic and multi-cultural, which plays a role in politics. About half the population is ethnically Malay, with minorities of Malaysian Chinese, Malaysian Indians. The constitution declares Islam the state religion while allowing freedom of religion for non-Muslims, the government system is closely modelled on the Westminster parliamentary system and the legal system is based on common law. The head of state is the king, known as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and he is an elected monarch chosen from the hereditary rulers of the nine Malay states every five years. The head of government is the prime minister, since its independence, Malaysia has had one of the best economic records in Asia, with its GDP growing at an average of 6. 5% per annum for almost 50 years. The economy has traditionally been fuelled by its resources, but is expanding in the sectors of science, tourism, commerce. Today, Malaysia has a newly industrialised market economy, ranked third largest in Southeast Asia, the name Malaysia is a combination of the word Malay and the Latin-Greek suffix -sia/-σία. The word melayu in Malay may derive from the Tamil words malai and ur meaning mountain and city, land, malayadvipa was the word used by ancient Indian traders when referring to the Malay Peninsula. Whether or not it originated from these roots, the word melayu or mlayu may have used in early Malay/Javanese to mean to steadily accelerate or run. This term was applied to describe the current of the river Melayu in Sumatra. The name was adopted by the Melayu Kingdom that existed in the seventh century on Sumatra
3.
Shahada
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The Shahada, is an Islamic creed declaring belief in the oneness of God and the acceptance of Muhammad as Gods prophet. The declaration, in its shortest form, reads, لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله lā ʾilāha ʾillā-llāh, muḥammadur-rasūlu-llāh There is no god but God, Muhammad is the messenger of God. Audio audio The noun šahāda, from the verbal root šahida meaning to observe, witness, testify, the Islamic creed is also called, in the dual form, šahādatān. The expression al-šahāda is used in Quran as one of the titles of God, in Sunni Islam, the shahada has two parts, la ilaha illallah, and Muhammadun rasul Allah, which are sometimes referred to as the first shahada and the second shahada. The first statement of the shahada is also known as the tahlīl, in the Quran, the first shahadah takes the form la ilaha illallah twice, and allahu la ilaha illa hu much more often. It appears in the form la ilaha illa Hu in many places. It appears in these forms about 30 times in the Quran, islams monotheistic nature is reflected in the first shahada, which declares belief in the oneness of God and that he is the only entity truly worthy of worship. The second shahada indicates the means by which God has offered guidance to human beings, the verse reminds Muslims that they accept not only the prophecy of Muhammad but also the long line of prophets who preceded him. While the first part is seen as a truth, the second is specific to Islam. Shahada is a statement of both ritual and worship, recitation of the shahādah is the most common statement of faith for Muslims. In Sunni Islam, it is counted as the first of the Five Pillars of Islam, while the Shii Twelvers and it is whispered by the father into the ear of a newborn child, and it is whispered into the ear of a dying person. The five canonical daily prayers include a recitation of the shahada. Recitation of the shahada in front of witnesses is also the first and this occasion often attracts more than the two required witnesses and sometimes includes a party-like celebration to welcome the convert into their new faith. In accordance with the importance played by the notion of intention in Islamic doctrine. Intention is what acts of devotion from mundane acts and a simple reading of the shahada from invoking it as a ritual activity. Though the two phrases of the shahada are both present in the Quran, they are not found there side by side as in the shahada formula. An inscription in the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem reads There is no god but God alone, He has no partner with him, Muhammad is the messenger of God. Another variant appears in coins minted after the reign of Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, although it is not clear when the shahada first came into common use among Muslims, it is clear that the sentiments it expresses were part of the Quran and Islamic doctrine from the earliest period
4.
Salah
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Salah, called namāz in some languages, is one of the Five Pillars in the faith of Islam and an obligatory religious duty for every Muslim. It is a physical, mental, and spiritual act of worship that is observed five times every day at prescribed times, in this ritual, the worshiper starts standing, bows, prostrates themself, and concludes while sitting on the ground. During each posture, the worshiper recites or reads certain verses, phrases, the word salah is commonly translated as prayer but this definition might be confusing. Muslims use the words dua or supplication when referring to the definition of prayers which is reverent petitions made to God. Salah is preceded by ritual ablution, Salah consists of the repetition of a unit called a rakʿah consisting of prescribed actions and words. The number of obligatory rakaʿāt varies from two to four according to the time of day or other circumstances, prayer is obligatory for all Muslims except those who are prepubescent, are menstruating, or are experiencing bleeding in the 40 days after childbirth. Every movement in the salat is accompanied by the takbir except the standing between the ruku and sujud, and the ending which has a derivation of the Muslim greeting As-salamu alaykum, Salah is an Arabic word whose basic meaning is bowing, homage, worship, prayer. In its English usage, the reference of the word is almost always confined to the Muslim formal, Muslims themselves use several terms to refer to salah depending on their language or culture. In many parts of the world, including many non-Arab countries such as Indonesia, the other major term is the Persian word namāz, used by speakers of the Indo-Iranian languages, as well as Turkish, Russian, Chinese, Bosnian and Albanian. In North Caucasian languages, the term is lamaz in Chechen and this is a book, there is no doubt in it, a guidance for righteous. Those who believe in unseen and offer Salah and spend from what we have given to them, and those who believe in what We have revealed to thee and what We revealed before thee, and on hereafter they believe. They are on guidance from their lord and they are successful, and offer Salah and pay Zakah and bow along those who bow. Guard your Salah and middle Salah, and stand before God devoutly obedient, then if you fear on foot or riding, then when you become secure remember God as he has taught you that which you did not know previously. And offer Salah at the two ends of day and at the approach of night, indeed good deeds remove bad deeds, offer Salah at the decline of the day until the darkness of night, and Quran at dawn, indeed Quran at dawn ever is a witness. And at night pray Tahajjud an extra for thee, it is expected that your lord raise you to praised station. ) Say call God or call Merciful, by whomever you call, He has good names, and offer Salah and pay Zakah and obey Messenger so that you may receive mercy. And recite that is revealed to you as a book and offer Salah, indeed Salah prohibits immorality and wrongdoing, and remembrance of God is great, ) The chief purpose of salah is to act as a persons communication with and remembrance of God. By reciting The Opening, the first sura of the Quran, as required in daily worship, the worshiper can stand before God, thank and praise Him, under the Hanbali School of thought, a person who doesnt pray five times a day is an unbeliever
5.
Qibla
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The Qibla, also transliterated as Qiblah, Qibleh, Kiblah, Kıble or Kibla, is the direction that should be faced when a Muslim prays during salah prayers. It is fixed as the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca, most mosques contain a wall niche, known as mihrab, that indicates the Qiblah. Most multifaith prayer rooms will also contain a Qibla, although usually less standardized in appearance than one would find within a mosque, Muslims all praying towards the same point is traditionally considered to symbolize the unity of the Ummah, or all Muslims worldwide, under Sharia. The Qiblah has importance beyond salaat and plays a part in various ceremonies, the head of an animal that is slaughtered using halal methods is usually aligned with the Qiblah. After death, Muslims are usually buried with the body at angles to the Qibla. Thus, archaeology can indicate an Islamic necropolis if no signs are present. According to the traditional Muslim view, the Qiblah originally faced the Noble Sanctuary in Jerusalem and this Qiblah was used for over 13 years, from 610 CE until 623 CE. Seventeen months after the Islamic prophet Muhammads 622 CE arrival in Medina – the date is given as 11 February 624 – the Qiblah became oriented towards the Kaaba in Mecca. According to traditional accounts from Muhammads companions, the change happened very suddenly during the prayer in Medina. Muhammad was leading the prayer when he received revelations from God instructing him to take the Kaaba as the Qiblah, there is also disagreement as to when the practice started and for how long it lasted. Some sources say the Jerusalem Qiblah was used for a period of sixteen and eighteen months. The Jewish custom of facing Jerusalem for prayer may have influenced the Muslim Qiblah, others surmise that the use of Jerusalem as the direction of prayer was to either induce the Jews of Medina to convert to Islam or to win over their hearts. When relations with the Jews soured, Muhammad changed the Qiblah towards Mecca, another reason given why the Qiblah was changed is that Jews viewed the use of Jerusalem as signalling the Muslims intention of joining their religion. It was changed to discredit this assumption, others state that it was changed because Muhammad was angered by that city or its people, and not because of his conflict with the Jews. In Medieval times, Muslims travelling abroad used an astrolabe to find the Qiblah, cheraman Juma Masjid is a mosque in the south Indian state of Kerala. Believed to be built in 7th century CE by Malik Bin Deenar, it is thought to be the oldest mosque in India, and it was constructed during the lifetime of Muhammad, and the bodies of some of his original followers are said to be buried there. Unlike other mosques in Kerala state, which face westwards, this mosque faces eastwards, from whencesoever Thou startest forth, turn Thy face in the direction of the sacred Mosque, that is indeed the truth from the Lord. And Allah is not unmindful of what ye do, such are the people of truth, the Allah-fearing
6.
Hajj
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It is one of the five pillars of Islam, alongside Shahadah, Salat, Zakat, and Sawm. The Hajj is the largest annual gathering of people in the world, the state of being physically and financially capable of performing the Hajj is called istitaah, and a Muslim who fulfills this condition is called a mustati. The Hajj is a demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people, the word Hajj means to intend a journey, which connotes both the outward act of a journey and the inward act of intentions. The pilgrimage occurs from the 8th to 12th of Dhu al-Hijjah, because the Islamic calendar is lunar and the Islamic year is about eleven days shorter than the Gregorian year, the Gregorian date of Hajj changes from year to year. Ihram is the given to the special spiritual state in which pilgrims wear two white sheets of seamless cloth and abstain from certain actions. The pilgrims then shave their heads, perform a ritual of animal sacrifice, Pilgrims can also go to Mecca to perform the rituals at other times of the year. This is sometimes called the lesser pilgrimage, or Umrah, the present pattern of Hajj was established by Muhammad. However, according to the Quran, elements of Hajj trace back to the time of Abraham, according to Islamic tradition, Abraham was ordered by God to leave his wife Hagar and his son Ishmael alone in the desert of ancient Mecca. In search of water, Hagar desperately ran seven times between the two hills of Safa and Marwah but found none, returning in despair to Ishmael, she saw the baby scratching the ground with his leg and a water fountain sprang forth underneath his foot. Later, Abraham was commanded to build the Kaaba and to people to perform pilgrimage there. The Quran refers to incidents in verses 2, 124-127 and 22. It is said that the archangel Gabriel brought the Black Stone from Heaven to be attached to the Kaaba, in pre-Islamic Arabia, a time known as jahiliyyah, the Kaaba became surrounded by pagan idols. In 630 CE, Muhammad led his followers from Medina to Mecca, cleansed the Kaaba by destroying all the pagan idols, in 632 CE, Muhammad performed his only and last pilgrimage with a large number of followers, and instructed them on the rites of Hajj. It was from this point that Hajj became one of the five pillars of Islam. During the medieval times, pilgrims would gather in big cities of Syria, Egypt and this was done in order to protect the caravan from Bedouin robbers or natural hazards, and to ensure that the pilgrims were supplied with the necessary provisions. Muslim travelers like Ibn Jubayr and Ibn Battuta have recorded detailed accounts of Hajj-travels of medieval time, the caravans followed well-established routes called in Arabic darb al-hajj, lit. Pilgrimage road, which usually followed ancient routes such as the Kings Highway, the date of Hajj is determined by the Islamic calendar, which is based on the lunar year. Every year, the events of Hajj take place in a period, starting on 8 and ending on 12 Dhu al-Hijjah
7.
Intimate parts in Islam
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The intimate parts of the human body must, according to Islam, be covered by clothing. Exposing the intimate parts of the body is unlawful in Islam as the Quran instructs the covering of genitals, exposing them is regarded as sin. Precisely which body parts must be covered varies between different schools of Islamic thought, the Quran admonishes Muslim women to dress modestly and cover their breasts and genitals. The Quran explicitly states that O wives of the Prophet, you are not like anyone among women, currently Awrah may be exposed for emergencies such as surgery. There is no reference where this is permitted, the word Erva first appears in the Hebrew bible in Leviticus 18,6. The verse reads as follows, with the word erva being translated to nakedness, none of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness. The term continues to be used in other sources of Jewish law and is still used in modern Hebrew today to mean either prohibited sexual acts or sexual organs. In Arabic, the term awrah or awrat derives from the root ‘a-w-r which means defectiveness, imperfection, however, the most common English translation is nakedness. In Persian and Kurdish as well as Hindi and Urdu, the word derived from the Arabic awrah, had been used widely to mean woman. Consulting Mohammad Moins dictionary of Persian, awrah leads to two significations, Nakedness Young woman Other derivatives range in meaning from blind in one eye, false or artificial, among others. Traditionally the word awrat, alongside the word zaifeh has been associated with femininity, in modern-day Iran, using the two words to refer to women is uncommon and is considered sexist language. Instead, the words zan and xânom are used, in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, the word zaif is still used in the Tajik dialect of Persian and its subdialects. In Turkish, avrat is one of the ways to say woman, the term awrah as it is used in the Quran is confined neither to women nor to the body. The Quranic text reveals the use of the term in various passages Surah An-Nur, the below verse is about privacy as the Quranic text states. Three times are of privacy for you, other than these times there is no sin on you or on them to move about, another passage in the Quran that uses the term awrah, is in Surah Al-Ahzab where it concerns fleeing from battle. It states, A group of them ask the Prophet for leave, saying, Our houses are awrah and their intent is to flee the battle. In this case, the term awrah means vulnerable, There is another context that relates the story of creation of Adam and Eve in the Garden. In these two instances, the term saw’ah is used as an equivalent to awrah, the text states, O ye children of Adam
8.
Islam and blasphemy
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Blasphemy in Islam is impious utterance or action concerning God, Muhammad or anything considered sacred in Islam. The Quran admonishes blasphemy, but does not specify any worldly punishment for blasphemy, the hadiths, which are another source of Sharia, suggest various punishments for blasphemy, which may include death. However, it has argued that the death penalty applies only to cases where there is treason involved that may seriously harm the Muslim community. Various fiqhs of Islam have different punishment for blasphemy, depending on whether blasphemer is Muslim or non-Muslim, the punishment can be fines, imprisonment, flogging, amputation, hanging, or beheading. Muslim clerics may call for the punishment of an alleged blasphemer by issuing a fatwā. There are a number of surah in Quran relating to blasphemy, from which Quranic verses 5,33 and 33, 57-61 have been most commonly used in Islamic history to justify and punish blasphemers. For example, According to several hadiths, Muhammad ordered a number of enemies executed in the hours after Meccas fall, one of those who was killed was Kab ibn al-Ashraf, because he had insulted Muhammad. Some jurists believe that blasphemy automatically implies a Muslim has left the fold of Islam, a Muslim may find himself accused of being a blasphemer, and thus an apostate on the basis of one action or utterance. Some modern Muslim scholars contest that Islam supports blasphemy law, stating that Muslim jurists made the part of Sharia. The first executions for blaspheme were in the hours after Meccas fall to the Muslims in 629, Muhammad ordered a number of enemies executed and based on this early jurists postulated that sabb al-Nabi was a crime so heinous that repentance was disallowed and summary execution was required. According to Islamic sources Nadr ibn al-Harith, who was an Arab Pagan doctor from Taif, used to stories of Rustam and Isfandiyar to the Arabs. After the battle of Badr, al-Harith was captured and, in retaliation, legal historian Sadakat Kadri claims that the actual prosecutions for blasphemy in the Muslim historical record are vanishingly infrequent. One of the few cases was that of a Christian accused of insulting the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. It ended in an acquittal in 1293, though it was followed by a protest against a decision led by the famed, in recent decades Islamic revivalists have called for its enforcement on the grounds that criminalizing hostility toward Islam will safeguard communal cohesion. In one country where strict laws on blaspheme were introduced in the 1980s, Pakistan, over 1300 people have been accused of blasphemy from 1987 to 2014, mostly for allegedly desecrating the Quran. Over 50 people accused of blasphemy have been murdered before their trials were over. Individuals have been accused of blasphemy or of insulting Islam for, salafi scholar Muhammad Al-Munajjid indicates that the Islamic concept of Gheerah requires that Muslims protect the Prophet Mohammed from blasphemy. Slighting a prophet who is mentioned in the Quran, or slighting a member of Muhammads family, claiming to be a prophet or a messenger
9.
Kuala Lumpur
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Kuala Lumpur, officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, or more commonly called KL is the national capital of Malaysia as well as its largest city. Being rated as an Alpha world city, Kuala Lumpur is the global city in Malaysia which covers an area of 243 km2 and has an estimated population of 1.73 million as of 2016. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an agglomeration of 7.25 million people as of 2017. It is among the fastest growing regions in South-East Asia, in terms of population. Kuala Lumpur is the seat of the Parliament of Malaysia, the city was once home to the executive and judicial branches of the federal government, but they were moved to Putrajaya in early 1999. Some sections of the judiciary still remain in the city of Kuala Lumpur. The official residence of the Malaysian King, the Istana Negara, is situated in Kuala Lumpur. Kuala Lumpur is the cultural, financial and economic centre of Malaysia due to its position as the capital as well as being a key city. Kuala Lumpur is one of three Federal Territories of Malaysia, enclaved within the state of Selangor, on the central west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Since the 1990s, the city has played host to international sporting, political and cultural events including the 1998 Commonwealth Games. Kuala Lumpur has undergone rapid development in recent decades and it is home to the tallest twin buildings in the world, the Petronas Twin Towers, which have become an iconic symbol of Malaysias futuristic development. Kuala Lumpur means muddy confluence, kuala is the point where two rivers join together or an estuary, and lumpur means mud. One suggestion is that it was named after Sungai Lumpur, it was recorded in 1824 that Sungei Lumpoor was the most important tin-producing settlement up the Klang River. It has also proposed that Kuala Lumpur was originally named Pengkalan Lumpur in the same way that Klang was once called Pengkalan Batu. Another suggestion is that it was initially a Cantonese word lam-pa meaning flooded jungle or decayed jungle, there is however no firm contemporary evidence for these suggestions other than anecdotes. It is also possible that the name is a form of an earlier. It is unknown who founded or named the settlement called Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur was originally a small hamlet of just a few houses and shops at the confluence of Sungai Gombak and Sungai Klang before it grew into a town. The miners landed at Kuala Lumpur and continued their journey on foot to Ampang where the first mine was opened
