1.
Day of Arafah
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The Day of Arafah is the holiest day in Islam that falls on the 9th day of Dhul Hijja of the lunar Islamic Calendar. This happens to be approximately 70 days after the end of the month of Ramadan and it is the second day of the Hajj pilgrimage and the day after is the first day of the major Islamic Holiday of Eid ul-Adha. At dawn of day, Muslim pilgrims will make their way from Mina to a nearby hillside and plain called Mount Arafat. It was from this site that Muhammad in gave one of his last famous sermons in the year of his life. Muslims hold that part of the Quranic verse announcing that the religion of Islam had been perfected was revealed on this day, There are numerous virtues claimed for the 9th of Dhu ’l-Hijjah which is known as yawm al-‘Arafah. This is the day where the pilgrims assemble on the plain of ‘Arafah to complete one of the rituals of the Hajj. The completion of Allah’s blessing refers to forgiveness for ones sins by Allah and this brings to light the importance of being forgiven by Allah. Those not performing pilgrimage are recommended to fast on Arafah day and it is expected that Allah will expiate the small sins committed In two years the year before and the year to come. Prophet s Prayers Dua to be read at Arafat Recite, لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٍ, O Allah, make Nur in my heart, in my ears Nur and in my eyes Nur. O Allah open my chest, make my tasks easy and I seek refuge in You from the whispers of the chest, from disorganisation in working, O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the evils that come with the wind. Abu Qatada al-Ansari reported that Muhammad was asked about his fasting and he was asked about perpetual fasting, whereupon he said, He neither fasted nor did he break it, or he did not fast and he did not break it. He was then asked about fasting for two days and breaking one day and he (Muhammad said, And who is strong enough to do it. He was asked about fasting for a day and breaking for two days, whereupon he said, May Allah bestow upon us strength to do it. He was then asked about fasting for a day and breaking on the other, whereupon he said and he was asked about fasting on the day of Arafah, whereupon he said, It expiates the sins of the preceding year and the coming year. He was asked about fasting on the day of Ashura, whereupon he said, It expiates the sins of the preceding year. The Book of Fasting Muslim, Book 6, Hadith 2603 In Sahih Muslim it was narrated from Āishah that Muhammad said and he comes close and expresses His fulfillment to the angels, saying, What do these people want. Each year, the Day of Arafah falls on one of two different Gregorian dates in different parts of the world because the boundary of crescent visibility is different from the International date line. Furthermore, some follow the date in Saudi Arabia rather than the astronomically determined local calendar
2.
Arabic
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Arabic is a Central Semitic language that was first spoken in Iron Age northwestern Arabia and is now the lingua franca of the Arab world. Arabic is also the language of 1.7 billion Muslims. It is one of six languages of the United Nations. The modern written language is derived from the language of the Quran and it is widely taught in schools and universities, and is used to varying degrees in workplaces, government, and the media. The two formal varieties are grouped together as Literary Arabic, which is the language of 26 states. Modern Standard Arabic largely follows the standards of Quranic Arabic. Much of the new vocabulary is used to denote concepts that have arisen in the post-Quranic era, Arabic has influenced many languages around the globe throughout its history. During the Middle Ages, Literary Arabic was a vehicle of culture in Europe, especially in science, mathematics. As a result, many European languages have borrowed many words from it. Many words of Arabic origin are found in ancient languages like Latin. Balkan languages, including Greek, have acquired a significant number of Arabic words through contact with Ottoman Turkish. Arabic has also borrowed words from languages including Greek and Persian in medieval times. Arabic is a Central Semitic language, closely related to the Northwest Semitic languages, the Ancient South Arabian languages, the Semitic languages changed a great deal between Proto-Semitic and the establishment of the Central Semitic languages, particularly in grammar. Innovations of the Central Semitic languages—all maintained in Arabic—include, The conversion of the suffix-conjugated stative formation into a past tense, the conversion of the prefix-conjugated preterite-tense formation into a present tense. The elimination of other prefix-conjugated mood/aspect forms in favor of new moods formed by endings attached to the prefix-conjugation forms, the development of an internal passive. These features are evidence of descent from a hypothetical ancestor. In the southwest, various Central Semitic languages both belonging to and outside of the Ancient South Arabian family were spoken and it is also believed that the ancestors of the Modern South Arabian languages were also spoken in southern Arabia at this time. To the north, in the oases of northern Hijaz, Dadanitic and Taymanitic held some prestige as inscriptional languages, in Najd and parts of western Arabia, a language known to scholars as Thamudic C is attested
3.
Granite
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Granite is a common type of felsic intrusive igneous rock that is granular and phaneritic in texture. Granites can be white, pink, or gray in color. The word granite comes from the Latin granum, a grain, in reference to the structure of such a holocrystalline rock. By definition, granite is a rock with at least 20% quartz. The term granitic means granite-like and is applied to granite and a group of igneous rocks with similar textures and slight variations in composition. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a texture is known as a granite porphyry. Granitoid is a general, descriptive field term for lighter-colored, coarse-grained igneous rocks, petrographic examination is required for identification of specific types of granitoids. The extrusive igneous rock equivalent of granite is rhyolite, Granite is nearly always massive, hard and tough, and therefore it has gained widespread use throughout human history, and more recently as a construction stone. The average density of granite is between 2.65 and 2.75 g/cm3, its compressive strength usually lies above 200 MPa, and its viscosity near STP is 3–6 •1019 Pa·s. The melting temperature of dry granite at ambient pressure is 1215–1260 °C, it is reduced in the presence of water. Granite has poor primary permeability, but strong secondary permeability, true granite according to modern petrologic convention contains both plagioclase and alkali feldspars. When a granitoid is devoid or nearly devoid of plagioclase, the rock is referred to as alkali feldspar granite, when a granitoid contains less than 10% orthoclase, it is called tonalite, pyroxene and amphibole are common in tonalite. A granite containing both muscovite and biotite micas is called a binary or two-mica granite, two-mica granites are typically high in potassium and low in plagioclase, and are usually S-type granites or A-type granites. A worldwide average of the composition of granite, by weight percent, based on 2485 analyses. Much of it was intruded during the Precambrian age, it is the most abundant basement rock that underlies the relatively thin veneer of the continents. Outcrops of granite tend to form tors and rounded massifs, granites sometimes occur in circular depressions surrounded by a range of hills, formed by the metamorphic aureole or hornfels. Granite often occurs as small, less than 100 km² stock masses
4.
Hill
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A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a summit, although in areas with scarp/dip topography a hill may refer to a particular section of flat terrain without a massive summit. The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is considered to be less tall. The Great Soviet Encyclopedia defines hill as an upland with a height up to 200 m. Today, a mountain is usually defined in the UK and Ireland as any summit at least 2,000 feet high, some definitions include a topographical prominence requirement, typically 100 feet or 500 feet. In practice, mountains in Scotland are frequently referred to as no matter what their height, as reflected in names such as the Cuillin Hills. In Wales, the distinction is more a term of land use, for a while, the U. S. defined a mountain as being 1,000 feet or more tall. Any similar landform lower than this height was considered a hill, the United States Geological Survey, however, has concluded that these terms do not in fact have technical definitions in the U. S. A hillock is a small hill, other words include knoll and its variant, knowe. Artificial hills may be referred to by a variety of names, including mound. Various names used to describe types of hill, based on appearance and these include, Drumlin – an elongated whale-shaped hill formed by glacial action. Butte – an isolated hill with steep sides and a flat top. Kuppe – a rounded hill or low mountain, typical of central Europe Tor – a rock found on a hilltop, also used to refer to the hill. Puy – used especially in the Auvergne, France, to describe a conical volcanic hill, pingo – a mound of earth-covered ice found in the Arctic and Antarctica. For example, Ancient Rome was built on seven hills, protecting it from invaders, in northern Europe, many ancient monuments are sited in heaps. Some of these are structures, but others appear to have hardly any significance. In Britain, many churches at the tops of hills are thought to have built on the sites of earlier pagan holy places. The National Cathedral in Washington, DC has followed this tradition and was built on the highest hill in that city, Hills provide a major advantage to an army, giving them an elevated firing position and forcing an opposing army to charge uphill to attack them
5.
Mecca
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Mecca or Makkah is a city in the Hejaz region of Saudi Arabia that is also capital of the Makkah Region. The city is located 70 km inland from Jeddah in a valley at a height of 277 m above sea level. Its resident population in 2012 was roughly 2 million, although more than triple this number every year during the hajj period held in the twelfth Muslim lunar month of Dhu al-Hijjah. Mecca is home to the Kaaba, by majority description Islams holiest site, Mecca was long ruled by Muhammads descendants, the sharifs, acting either as independent rulers or as vassals to larger polities. It was conquered by Ibn Saud in 1925, during this expansion, Mecca has lost some historical structures and archaeological sites, such as the Ajyad Fortress. Today, more than 15 million Muslims visit Mecca annually, including several million during the few days of the Hajj, as a result, Mecca has become one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the Muslim world, despite the fact that non-Muslims are prohibited from entering the city. The Saudi government adopted Makkah as the spelling in the 1980s. The full official name is Makkah al-Mukarramah or Makkatu l-Mukarramah, which means Mecca the Honored, the ancient or early name for the site of Mecca is Bakkah. An Arabic language word, its etymology, like that of Mecca, is obscure, the form Bakkah is used for the name Mecca in the Quran in 3,96, while the form Mecca is used in 48,24. In South Arabic, the language in use in the portion of the Arabian Peninsula at the time of Muhammad. Other references to Mecca in the Quran call it Umm al-Qurā, another name of Mecca is Tihamah. Arab and Islamic tradition holds that the wilderness of Paran, broadly speaking, is the Tihamah, yaqut al-Hamawi, the 12th century Syrian geographer, wrote that Fārān was an arabized Hebrew word. One of the names of Mecca mentioned in the Torah, Mecca is governed by the Municipality of Mecca, a municipal council of fourteen locally elected members headed by a mayor appointed by the Saudi government. As of May 2015, the mayor of the city was Dr. Osama bin Fadhel Al-Bar, Mecca is the capital of the Makkah Region, which includes neighboring Jeddah. The provincial governor was prince Abdul Majeed bin Abdulaziz Al Saud from 2000 until his death in 2007, on 16 May 2007, prince Khalid bin Faisal Al Saud was appointed as the new governor. The early history of Mecca is still disputed, as there are no unambiguous references to it in ancient literature prior to the rise of Islam. The Roman Empire took control of part of the Hejaz in 106 AD, ruling cities such as Hegra, even though detailed descriptions were established of Western Arabia by Rome, such as by Procopius, there are no references of a pilgrimage and trading outpost such as Mecca. The first direct mention of Mecca in external literature occurs in 741 AD in the Byzantine-Arab Chronicle, claims have been made this could be a reference to the Kaaba in Mecca
6.
Islam
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Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion which professes that there is only one and incomparable God and that Muhammad is the last messenger of God. It is the worlds second-largest religion and the major religion in the world, with over 1.7 billion followers or 23% of the global population. Islam teaches that God is merciful, all-powerful, and unique, and He has guided mankind through revealed scriptures, natural signs, and a line of prophets sealed by Muhammad. The primary scriptures of Islam are the Quran, viewed by Muslims as the word of God. Muslims believe that Islam is the original, complete and universal version of a faith that was revealed many times before through prophets including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses. As for the Quran, Muslims consider it to be the unaltered, certain religious rites and customs are observed by the Muslims in their family and social life, while social responsibilities to parents, relatives, and neighbors have also been defined. Besides, the Quran and the sunnah of Muhammad prescribe a comprehensive body of moral guidelines for Muslims to be followed in their personal, social, political, Islam began in the early 7th century. Originating in Mecca, it spread in the Arabian Peninsula. The expansion of the Muslim world involved various caliphates and empires, traders, most Muslims are of one of two denominations, Sunni or Shia. Islam is the dominant religion in the Middle East, North Africa, sizable Muslim communities are also found in Horn of Africa, Europe, China, Russia, Mainland Southeast Asia, Philippines, Northern Borneo, Caucasus and the Americas. Converts and immigrant communities are found in almost every part of the world, Islam is a verbal noun originating from the triliteral root s-l-m which forms a large class of words mostly relating to concepts of wholeness, submission, safeness and peace. In a religious context it means voluntary submission to God, Islām is the verbal noun of Form IV of the root, and means submission or surrender. Muslim, the word for an adherent of Islam, is the active participle of the verb form. The word sometimes has connotations in its various occurrences in the Quran. In some verses, there is stress on the quality of Islam as a state, Whomsoever God desires to guide. Other verses connect Islām and dīn, Today, I have perfected your religion for you, I have completed My blessing upon you, still others describe Islam as an action of returning to God—more than just a verbal affirmation of faith. In the Hadith of Gabriel, islām is presented as one part of a triad that also includes imān, Islam was historically called Muhammadanism in Anglophone societies. This term has fallen out of use and is said to be offensive because it suggests that a human being rather than God is central to Muslims religion
7.
Muhammad
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Muhammad is the prophet of Islam. From a secular historical perspective he was a religious, political, from an Islamic perspective, he was Gods Messenger sent to confirm the essential teachings of monotheism preached previously by Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets. He is viewed as the prophet of God in all branches of Islam. Muhammad united Arabia into a single Muslim polity and ensured that his teachings, practices, born approximately 570 CE in the Arabian city of Mecca, Muhammad was orphaned at an early age, he was raised under the care of his paternal uncle Abu Talib. Muhammad gained few early followers, and met hostility from some Meccan tribes, to escape persecution, Muhammad sent some followers to Abyssinia before he and his followers migrated from Mecca to Medina in the year 622. This event, the Hijra, marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar, in Medina, Muhammad united the tribes under the Constitution of Medina. In December 629, after eight years of intermittent conflict with Meccan tribes, Muhammad gathered an army of 10,000 Muslim converts, the attack went largely uncontested and Muhammad seized the city with little bloodshed. In 632, a few months after returning from the Farewell Pilgrimage, he fell ill, before his death, most of the Arabian Peninsula had converted to Islam. The revelations, which Muhammad reported receiving until his death, form the verses of the Quran, regarded by Muslims as the Word of God and around which the religion is based. Besides the Quran, Muhammads teachings and practices, found in the Hadith and sira literature, are upheld by Muslims. The name Muhammad means praiseworthy and appears four times in the Quran, Muhammad is sometimes addressed by designations deriving from his state at the time of the address, thus he is referred to as the enwrapped in Quran 73,1 and the shrouded in Quran 74,1. In Sura Al-Ahzab 33,40 God singles out Muhammad as the Seal of the Prophets, the Quran also refers to Muhammad as Aḥmad more praiseworthy. The name Abū al-Qāsim Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib ibn Hāshim, begins with the kunya Abū, the Quran is the central religious text of Islam. Muslims believe it represents the words of God revealed by the archangel Gabriel to Muhammad, the Quran, however, provides minimal assistance for Muhammads chronological biography, most Quranic verses do not provide significant historical context. An important source may be found in the works by writers of the 2nd. These include the traditional Muslim biographies of Muhammad, which additional information about Muhammads life. The earliest surviving written sira is Ibn Ishaqs Life of Gods Messenger written c.767 CE, although the work was lost, this sira was used verbatim at great length by Ibn Hisham and Al-Tabari. Another early history source is the history of Muhammads campaigns by al-Waqidi, many scholars accept the earliest biographies as accurate, though their accuracy is unascertainable
8.
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
9.
Mina, Saudi Arabia
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Mina is a neighborhood of Mecca in Makkah Province, in western Saudi Arabia. It is situated 5 kilometres to the east of the Holy city of Mecca and it covers an area of approximately 20 km². Mina is best known for the role it plays during the annual Hajj pilgrimage, more than 100,000 air-conditioned tents that can house more than 3 million people provide temporary accommodation to visiting pilgrims. In the valley of Mina is the Jamarat Bridge, the location of the ritual of the Stoning of the Devil, performed between sunrise and sunset on the last day of the Hajj. Mina is the place where pilgrims throw stones, commemorating the occasion that the Prophet Ibrâhîm stoned the Devil that came between him and the command Allah had set him, many pilgrims at hajj walk around the Kabah seven times, then visit the Well of Zamzam. Usually, they spend their first night in the Valley of Mina and this ritual occurs from the eighth to the twelfth day of the Ḥajj. At Mina, men and women are not allowed to sleep together, during the Syrian Civil War, the international community pressured Saudi Arabia to use its unoccupied tent city to house war refugees. On 24 September 2015, a situation caused more than 2,000 people to suffocate and be crushed to death while injuring 934 others during the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mina. The incident happened at the intersection of streets 204 and 223 leading up to Jamaraat bridge and it is the deadliest accident to occur in the Hajj since the 1990 disaster that killed 1,426 people. It is the deadliest stampede of the 21st century and this crowd collapse caused the deaths of at least 2,236. Estimates of the number of dead vary, the Associated Press reported 2,411 dead
10.
Khutbah
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Khutbah serves as the primary formal occasion for public preaching in the Islamic tradition. Such sermons occur regularly, as prescribed by the teachings of all legal schools, the Islamic tradition can be formally at the dhuhr congregation prayer on Friday. In addition, similar sermons are called for on the two festival days, religious narration may be pronounced in a variety of settings and at various times. The khutbah, however, refers to khutbat al-juma, usually meaning the address delivered in the mosque at weekly, other religious oratory and occasions of preaching are described as dars or waz, and their formats differ accordingly. Though khutba isnt mentioned directly in the Quran, one uses the word khutubah when referring to Qitaal. After the conquest of Mecca, Muhammad presented himself as a khatib to the city in AD630, the first four caliphs, and the Ummayads caliphs and provincial governors all delivered sermons. There were not necessarily exhortatory, but addressed practical questions of government, under the Abbasids, the caliph himself no longer preached, but assigned the task to the religious judges. The Abbasids insisted they were clearing Islam of the secularism of the Umayads, at the beginning of the service the adhan is given, during which the khatib remains sitting. The iqama is given when the khatib descends, the sermon is delivered in two parts. Both parts are delivered while khatib is standing and punctuated by a pause in between them when the khatib sits down, the khatib must be in a state of ritual purity, his dress must be in accord with the prescriptions. Finally the khatib should make the sermon short, in medieval Islam, sermons were generally delivered in classical Arabic. This linguistic requirement that required substantial training on the part of the khatib, and this expectation contributed to the growth of a literary genre consisting of model sermons, such as those by the renowned ibn Nubata. Later on, however, preaching in colloquial languages, while retaining certain Arabic expressions, has become increasingly common. Talking Offering Sunnat and Nafl salaat Eating and drinking Reciting the Quran Shareef One of the conditions for the validity of the Friday service is that it must be preceded by two sermons, the sermons are delivered when the number of auditors required for a valid j̲umu‘a are present. Such a mosque is referred to as a masjid jami‘, that is, in contemporary times, Friday congregational prayers with sermons are common in mosques of all sizes and conditions, and not just restricted to a few central locations. Sermons are also dispensed through newspapers and broadcast on radio and television, Sermons on special occasions generally contain features that are relevant to the celebrations or the natural phenomena for which they are delivered. For instance, on Eid al-Fitr, the preacher has a duty to instruct the faithful congregation concerning the zakat, on Eid al-Adha the preacher includes remarks specifying the rules for the sacrifice. There is a difference in the sermon delivered on Eid ul-Fitr
11.
Zuhr prayer
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Performed daily by practicing Muslims, it is the second of the five daily prayers The Islamic day begins at Fajr which is the first prayer. The five daily prayers collectively are one of the Five Pillars of Islam in Sunni Islam, the Holy Quran has reiterated its importance, Attend constantly to prayers and to the middle prayer and stand up truly obedient to Allah. It is reduced to two rakaʿāt when traveling, in both of the sects, four rakaʿāt are mandatory and are prayed silently. However, in Sunni Islam, four rakaʿāt prior to the Fard rakaah, women, however, are recommended but not obligated to pray in a congregation on Friday prayer. The following quotations are from books of Sunni hadith and these books relate accounts taken from the life of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, his family, and his companions. They were compiled by Islamic scholars after Muhammads death and these quotations include information about those who related the accounts, as well as the accounts themselves. Narrated Aisha, The Prophet never missed four Rakat before the Zuhr prayer and two Rakat before the Fajr prayer. Narrated Abu Huraira and Abdullah bin Umar, Allahs Apostle said, If it is hot, then pray the Zuhr prayer when it becomes cooler. The waqt of the Zuhr salat is determined differently by the different branches of Islam, in each case, however, it is best to perform the prayer as soon as the waqt is in, and inadvisable to unnecessarily delay it. The time frame of the daily prayer is as follows, Time begins, once the sun has crossed the celestial meridian. This is when the sun is at the highest point in the sky, Time ends, before the time of the daily Asr prayer. Also, according to the Maliki school, the time for zuhr lasts all the way until a little before sunset. Wudu Fajr Asr Maghrib Isha Jumuah Salat al Eid
12.
Asr prayer
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The Asr prayer is the afternoon daily prayer recited by practising Muslims. It is the third of the five daily prayers, when travelling, according to some madhhabs, it may be reduced to two rakaʿāt. The Asr daily prayer may be mentioned as the prayer in the Quran at sura 2, ayat 238. This raises the middle daily prayer to a higher rank for practicing Muslims in particular when it falls on Fridays. According to the Jafari and Zaydi schools of thought the time period within which the Asr prayer must be recited is the following, Time begins, Time ends, at the beginning of the setting of the Sun. However, it is important to recite the prayer as soon as the time begins. The time period within which the Asr prayer must be recited is the following, Time begins, The Sunni schools differ on when the time begins. The Maliki, Shafii, and Hanbali schools say it is at the time when the length of any objects shadow equals the length of the object plus the length of that objects shadow at noon. The dominant opinion in the Hanafi school says it begins when the length of any objects shadow is twice the length of the object plus the length of that objects shadow at noon, Time ends, Once the sun has completely set below the horizon. The Islamic prophet Muhammad said, He who observes Al-Bardan will enter Jannah. Sahih Bukhari and Muslim, Narrated by Abu Musa. In another hadith, Muhammad said He who misses his Asr Salat is as if he had lost his wife, children and all his wealth. ’ Salat Wudhu Fajr Sunrise Dhuhr Asr Maghrib Isha Dhikr Tasbih
13.
Allah
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Allah is the Arabic word for God in Abrahamic religions. In the English language, the word refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from al-ilāh, which means the god, and is related to El and Elohim, the word Allah has been used by Arabic people of different religions since pre-Islamic times. More specifically, it has used as a term for God by Muslims. It is now used by Muslims and Arab Christians to refer to God. It is also often, albeit not exclusively, used in this way by Bábists, Baháís, Indonesian and Maltese Christians, similar usage by Christians and Sikhs in West Malaysia has recently led to political and legal controversies. The etymology of the word Allāh has been discussed extensively by classical Arab philologists, grammarians of the Basra school regarded is as either formed spontaneously or as the definite form of lāh. The majority of modern scholars subscribe to the theory. Cognates of the name Allāh exist in other Semitic languages, including Hebrew, the corresponding Aramaic form is Elah, but its emphatic state is Elaha. It is written as ܐܠܗܐ in Biblical Aramaic and ܐܲܠܵܗܵܐ in Syriac as used by the Assyrian Church, Biblical Hebrew mostly uses the plural form Elohim, but more rarely it also uses the singular form Eloah. Regional variants of the word Allah occur in both pagan and Christian pre-Islamic inscriptions, different theories have been proposed regarding the role of Allah in pre-Islamic polytheistic cults. Some authors have suggested that polytheistic Arabs used the name as a reference to a god or a supreme deity of their pantheon. The term may have been vague in the Meccan religion, according to one hypothesis, which goes back to Julius Wellhausen, Allah was a designation that consecrated the superiority of Hubal over the other gods. However, there is evidence that Allah and Hubal were two distinct deities. Some inscriptions seem to indicate the use of Allah as a name of a polytheist deity centuries earlier, some scholars have suggested that Allah may have represented a remote creator god who was gradually eclipsed by more particularized local deities. There is disagreement on whether Allah played a role in the Meccan religious cult. No iconic representation of Allah is known to have existed, muhammads fathers name was ʿAbd-Allāh meaning the slave of Allāh. The Aramaic word for God in the language of Assyrian Christians is ʼĔlāhā, arabic-speakers of all Abrahamic faiths, including Christians and Jews, use the word Allah to mean God
14.
Supplication
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Supplication is a form of prayer, wherein one party humbly or earnestly asks another party to provide something, either for the party who is doing the supplicating or on behalf of someone else. Supplication is a theme of earliest antiquity, embodied in the Iliad as the prayers of Chryses for the return of his daughter, richard Martin notes repeated references to suppliants throughout the poem, including warriors begging to be spared by the Greeks on the battlefield. In Christianity, the prayer of supplication for health by and on behalf of the sick is referenced in early Christian writings in the New Testament, especially James 5, 13-16. One example of supplication is the Catholic ritual of novena wherein one repeatedly asks for the same favor over a period of nine days. This ritual began in Spain during the Middle Ages when a period of hymns and prayers led up to a Christmas feast. A contemporary Christian example of supplication is the practice of the Daily Prayer for Peace by the Community of Christ where a member prays for each day at a specified time. Philippians 4,6 says, Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, in Islam, the Arabic word duʻā is used to refer to supplications. Adʻiya may be made in any language, although there are many traditional Islamic supplications in Arabic, Persian, in Islam, duʻā tends to mean personal prayer. The supplications of Prophets are given in the Holy Quran, the word Ardâs is derived from the Persian word Arazdashat, meaning a request, a supplication, a prayer, a petition or an address to a superior authority. In Sikhism, these prayers are said before and after eating. The prayer is a plea to God to support and help the devotee with whatever he or she is about to undertake or has done, an explanation of supplication in the Sikh tradition
15.
Muzdalifah
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Muzdalifah is an open, level area near Mecca in Saudi Arabia associated with the Hajj. It lies just southeast of Mina on the route between Mina and Arafat, the stay at Muzdalifah is preceded by a day at Arafat, consisting of glorifying Allah, repeating the Supplication, and repentance to Allah and asking Him for forgiveness. In Arafat, one must perform the Zuhr and Asr prayers in a combined and abbreviated form during the time of Zuhr, after sunset on the ninth day of the Islamic month of Dhu al-Hijjah, pilgrims travel to Muzdalifah, sometimes arriving at night because of over-crowding. After arriving at Muzdalifah, pilgrims pray the Maghrib and Isha prayer jointly where as the Isha prayer is shortened to 2 rakhs, at Muzdalifah, pilgrims collect pebbles which will be thrown in the Stoning of the Devil ritual in Mina during the next 3 or 4 days. Pilgrims then spend the night at Muzdalifah, often sleeping in the open air, the open-roofed mosque at Muzdalifah is known as Al-Mashar al-Haram
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Maghrib prayer
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The Maghrib prayer, prayed just after sunset, is the fourth of five formal daily prayers performed by practicing Muslims. The formal daily prayers of Islam comprise different numbers of units, the Maghrib prayer has three obligatory rakat and two recommended sunnah and two non-obligatory nafls. The first two rakats are prayed aloud by the Imam in congregation, and the third is prayed silently. To be considered valid salat, the daily prayers must each be performed within their own prescribed time period. People with a legitimate reason have a period during which their prayers will be valid. Time begins When the sun has completely set beneath the horizon, time ends According to the predominant opinions of the Maliki and Shafii schools of law, the prescribed prayer time ends as soon as enough time for a person to purify him/herself and pray has passed. After that, according to the Maliki school, the Period of Necessity lasts until a little before dawn, most other scholarly opinions hold that the time for Maghrib prayer ends when the time for Ishaa salat begins. There is disagreement amongst Sunni scholars as to when that occurs, According to the Hanafi school, Ishaa begins when complete darkness has arrived and the yellow twilight in the sky has disappeared. According to a minority opinion in the Maliki school, the time for Maghrib prayer ends when the red thread has disappeared from the sky. In another opinion of the Shafii school, the disappearance of the red thread marks the end of the Period of Necessity and these times can be approximated by using the sun as a measure. When the sun has descended 12 degrees below the horizon, it is equivalent to the disappearance of the red from the sky. The end of its time is after approximately eleven-and-a-quarter hours have passed from the legal noontime and this is for when one is under normal circumstances. Despite the relatively long period in which valid prayers can be recited, shia doctrine permits the midday and afternoon and evening and night prayers to be prayed in succession, i. e. Dhikr Tasbih
17.
Isha prayer
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The Isha prayer is the night-time daily prayer recited by practising Muslims. It is the fifth of the five daily prayers–, the five daily prayers collectively are one pillar of the Five Pillars of Islam, in Sunni Islam, and one of the ten Practices of the Religion according to Shia Islam. It is a four rakah prayer and the first two rakah are prayed aloud, when travelling, according to some madhhabs, it may be reduced to two rakahs. In Islam, the Isha daily prayer has four required rakah, however, in Sunni Islam, the two Sunnah rakah following the Isha are highly recommended and so is the third rakat Wajib Witr. There are a few optional prayers that can be recited after the Isha prayer, including the Nafilat ul-Layl prayers, according to the Maliki and Shafii schools, the time begins when the red thread has disappeared from the sky. These times can be approximated by using the sun as a measure, when the sun has descended 12 degrees below the horizon, it is approximately equivalent to the disappearance of the red from the sky. For approximating when complete darkness begins, some argue that it occurs when the sun has descended 15 degrees below the horizon while others use the safer measure of 18 degrees. Time ends, At the beginning of dawn when the time for Fajr prayer begins, according to an opinion in the Maliki school, the prohibition is from delaying the prayer beyond the first half of the night, rather than just the first third. The time period within which the Isha prayer must be recited is the following, Time begins, Time ends, at midnight, the midpoint between shafak and dawn. However, it is important to recite the prayer as soon as the time begins. Often Maghrib and Isha are offered together with a gap in between Salat Wudhu Fajr Dhuhr Asr Maghrib Isha Dhikr Tasbih
18.
Dhul Hijjah
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Dhul-Hijjah or alternatively Zulhijja is the twelfth and final month in the Islamic calendar. It is a sacred month in the Islamic calendar, one in which the Hajj takes place as well as the Festival of the Sacrifice. Dhu al-Hijjah literally means Possessor of the Pilgrimage or The Month of the Pilgrimage, during this month Muslim pilgrims from all around the world congregate at Mecca to visit the Kaaba. The Hajj is performed on the eighth, ninth and the tenth of this month, Day of Arafah takes place on the ninth of the month. Eid al-Adha, the Festival of the Sacrifice, begins on the tenth day, then some companions of the Prophet said, Not even Jihad. He replied, Not even Jihad, except that of a man who does it by putting himself and his property in danger, the man they seek will flee and will be found between the Rukn and the Maqam of Prophet Abraham. He will be forced to accept peoples Bayah, the number of those offering Bayah will be the same as the number of the people of Badr. Then, the dweller of Heaven and the dweller of the Earth will be pleased with him, abu Hurairah said that the Prophet said, There will be an Aya in Ramadan. Then, there will isabah in Shawwal, then, there will be fighting in Dhu al-Qidah. Then, the pilgrim will be robbed in Dhu al-Hijjah, then, the prohibitions will be violated in al-Muharram. Then, there will be sound in Safar, then the tribes will conflict with other in the two months of Rabi al-awwal & Rabi al-thani. Then, the most amazing thing will happen between Jumada and Rajab, then, a well-fed she-camel will be better than a fortress sheltering a thousand. The Islamic calendar is a calendar, and months begin when new moon is sighted. Since the Islamic lunar calendar year is 11 to 12 days shorter than the solar year, 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th Dhu al-Hijjah, the greatest action is the spilling of blood of a sacrificial animal. The reason for the 10 days being distinguished is due to the combination of worship in this period of Salaah, fasting, charity, Takbir, in no other time do these great deeds combine. He said, as for the fasting on the Day of Arafah, I anticipate that Allah will forgive the year after it, once sacrifice has been completed, may one attend to these matters. The Prophet has said, whoever sees the crescent of Dhu al-Hijjah and wants to slaughter a sacrifice, he should not take from his hair, a persons sacrifice is deemed complete even if this injunction was not fulfilled. A Muslim is legislated by the Sunnah to remove arm hair and pubic hair on a weekly basis
19.
Mecca Metro
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The Mecca Metro or Makkah Metro is a planned four-line metro system for the city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, constructed by a Chinese construction company. Now, this metro is run by Makkah Mass Rail Transit Company, the metro forms part of the 62bn riyal Makkah Public Transport Programme, which will include integrated bus services. In August 2012 it was announced that the Saudi government had approved US$16.5 billion to build the four lines of the system. The announcement of government financing said that the expansion would take 10 years, invitation for tenders were due to be issued in January 2013. Four new lines are to be built, work had been expected to commence construction in 2015, Line A, will connect Makkah to large multilevel parking facilities from the west to the south. Line B, is a link between Mina and Makkah. Line C, will connect Mina to the west side of Makkah through a big loop to the north, Line D, circles Makkah with a straight extension to the north. Work on the 188-kilometer long metro network is now expected to commence in 2016, MMRTC has appointed Prasarana Malaysia to provide consultancy services during Phase 1, which covers the construction of two metro lines totalling 45·1 km and 22 stations by 2019. However, as of February 2017, construction contracts has not yet been awarded. Jeddah Metro Madinah Metro Riyadh Metro Haramain High Speed Rail Project Makkah at UrbanRail. net
20.
James Joyce
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James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist, short story writer, and poet. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde and is regarded as one of the most influential, other well-known works are the short-story collection Dubliners, and the novels A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Finnegans Wake. His other writings include three books of poetry, a play, occasional journalism and his published letters, Joyce was born in 41 Brighton Square, Rathgar, Dublin—about half a mile from his mothers birthplace in Terenure—into a middle-class family on the way down. He went on to attend University College Dublin, in 1904, in his early twenties, Joyce emigrated permanently to continental Europe with his partner Nora Barnacle. They lived in Trieste, Paris and Zurich, Ulysses in particular is set with precision in the streets and alleyways of the city. In the particular is contained the universal, James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was born on 2 February 1882 to John Stanislaus Joyce and Mary Jane May Murray, in the Dublin suburb of Rathgar. He was baptised according to the Rites of the Catholic Church in the nearby St Josephs Church in Terenure on 5 February by Rev. John OMulloy and his godparents were Philip and Ellen McCann. He was the eldest of ten surviving children, two of his siblings died of typhoid and his fathers family, originally from Fermoy in County Cork, had once owned a small salt and lime works. Joyces father and paternal grandfather both married into families, though the familys purported ancestor, Seán Mór Seoighe was a stonemason from Connemara. In 1887, his father was appointed rate collector by Dublin Corporation, around this time Joyce was attacked by a dog, which engendered in him a lifelong cynophobia. He also suffered from astraphobia, as an aunt had described thunderstorms to him as a sign of Gods wrath. In 1891 Joyce wrote a poem on the death of Charles Stewart Parnell, the Irish Party had dropped Parnell from leadership. But the Vaticans role in allying with the British Conservative Party to prevent Home Rule left an impression on the young Joyce. The elder Joyce had the printed and even sent a part to the Vatican Library. In November of that year, John Joyce was entered in Stubbs Gazette. In 1893, John Joyce was dismissed with a pension, beginning the familys slide into poverty caused mainly by his drinking and general financial mismanagement. Joyce had begun his education at Clongowes Wood College, a Jesuit boarding school near Clane, County Kildare and this came about because of a chance meeting his father had with a Jesuit priest who knew the family and Joyce was given a reduction in fees to attend Belvedere. In 1895, Joyce, now aged 13, was elected to join the Sodality of Our Lady by his peers at Belvedere, the philosophy of Thomas Aquinas continued to have a strong influence on him for most of his life
21.
Finnegans Wake
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Finnegans Wake is a work of avant-garde comic fiction by Irish writer James Joyce. It is significant for its style and reputation as one of the most difficult works of fiction in the English language. Written in Paris over a period of seventeen years and published in 1939, the entire book is written in a largely idiosyncratic language, which blends standard English lexical items and neologistic multilingual puns and portmanteau words to unique effect. Many critics believe the technique was Joyces attempt to recreate the experience of sleep, despite the obstacles, readers and commentators have reached a broad consensus about the books central cast of characters and, to a lesser degree, its plot, but key details remain elusive. The book discusses, in a fashion, the Earwicker family, comprising the father HCE, the mother ALP. The opening line of the book is a fragment which continues from the books unfinished closing line. Joyce began working on Finnegans Wake shortly after the 1922 publication of Ulysses, the actual title of the work remained a secret until the book was published in its entirety, on 4 May 1939. The work has come to assume a preeminent place in English literature. Anthony Burgess has lauded Finnegans Wake as a great comic vision, in 1998, the Modern Library ranked Finnegans Wake 77th on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. The now commonplace term quark - the subatomic particle - originates from Finnegans Wake, having completed work on Ulysses, Joyce was so exhausted that he did not write a line of prose for a year. On 10 March 1923 he wrote a letter to his patron, Harriet Weaver, having found a pen, with some difficulty I copied them out in a large handwriting on a double sheet of foolscap so that I could read them. This is the earliest reference to what would become Finnegans Wake, the two pages in question consisted of the short sketch Roderick OConor, concerning the historic last king of Ireland cleaning up after guests by drinking the dregs of their dirty glasses. Joyce completed another four short sketches in July and August 1923, the sketches, which dealt with different aspects of Irish history, are commonly known as Tristan and Isolde, Saint Patrick and the Druid, Kevins Orisons and Mamalujo. The first signs of what would eventually become Finnegans Wake came in August 1923 when Joyce wrote the sketch Here Comes Everybody, which dealt for the first time with the books protagonist HCE. Over the next few years, Joyces method became one of increasingly obsessional concern with note-taking, as Joyce continued to incorporate these notes into his work, the text became increasingly dense and obscure. By 1926 Joyce had largely completed both Parts I and III, geert Lernout asserts that Part I had, at this early stage, a real focus that had developed out of the HCE sketch, the story of HCE, of his wife and children. For the next few years Joyce worked rapidly on the book, adding what would become chapters I.1 and I.6, and revising the already written segments to make them more lexically complex. By this time some supporters of Joyces work, such as Ezra Pound
22.
Du'a Arafah
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Dua Arafah is a Shia Muslim prayer first recorded by Husayn ibn Ali, the third Imam of Shia. It is read and chanted by Shia Muslims every year on the day of the Hajj, day of Arafah. Abbas Qumi mentioned the prayer in his book entitled Mafatih al-Janan, kafami narrated the Arafah prayer in his al-Balad al-Amin, but in these works the last folio is missing. One Sunni scholar, Shadhili Sufi master Ibn Ata Allah, studied this prayer, there has been discussion over how many people created this prayer. The sudden change of style in the last three or four pages of the prayer is evidence of an inconsistency, allamah Majlesi also argued that the second part was more probably added after the version by Ibn Tawus. In spite of this reservation by Majlesi, the prayer is included in standard prayer books and is recited regularly on different occasions due to it being consistent with Shia sprituality. During the supplication, Shia Imam Husayn ibn Ali praises Allah and he bears witness that there is no God but Allah, and describes the return of all people to Allah after death. The steps of creation until his death and the wonders of nature are described by explaining important issues in various branches of science. He suggests the weakness of human beings and the need for them to offer thanks to Allah who does not need their thanks, some parts end with peace be upon the prophet. In one part of the prayer, Husayn ibn Ali asks Allah to show him how to come closer to him and he describes his neediness and asks Allah to help him to be patient in the face of adversity in the world and the hereafter. The Shia Imam believes that the blessings of Allah are infinite, Muslims, especially during the Hajj pilgrimage, recite the Arafah prayer in the Arafat desert from Zuhr prayer to sunset. Imam Hussein recited the prayer during the Hajj, the Arafah prayer plays an important role in Shia views. Several Shia theologians and scholars of the hadiths have referred to this prayer in their works, including Mulla Sadra, Mohsen Fayz Kashani, goodarzi, an ideologist and writer, wrote about the prayer in a book entitled the The Imam Husseins good sermon. Also, The light of Nahjul-Balaghe by Sadeq Dawoodi explains this prayer, dua-e Ahad Dua al-Baha The supplication of opening Supplication of Abu Hamza al-Thumali Jawshan Kabir Mujeer Dua Whole text of Arafah prayer
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Hejaz
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The Hejaz, also Al-Hijaz, is a region in the west of present-day Saudi Arabia. The region is so called as it separates the land of the Najd in the east from the land of Tihamah in the west and it is also known as the Western Province. It is bordered on the west by the Red Sea, on the north by Jordan, on the east by the Najd and its main city is Jeddah, but it is probably better known for the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina. As the site of Islams holiest places, the Hejaz has significance in the Arab, historically, the Hejaz has always seen itself as separate from the rest of Saudi Arabia. The Hejaz is the most populated region in Saudi Arabia,35 % of all Saudis live in Hejaz, hejazi Arabic is the most widely spoken dialect in the region. Saudi Hejazis are of diverse origins. The Hejaz is the most cosmopolitan region in the Arabian Peninsula, people of Hejaz have the most strongly articulated identity of any regional grouping in Saudi Arabia. Their place of origin alienates them from the Saudi state, which invokes different narratives of the history of the Arabian Peninsula, thus, Hejazis experienced tensions with people of Najd. One or possibly two megalithic dolmen have been found in Al-Hijaz, the Hejaz includes both the Mahd adh-Dhahab and a water source, now dried out, that used to flow 600 miles north east to the Persian Gulf via the Wadi Al-Rummah and Wadi Al-Batin system. Archaeological research led by of Boston University and the University of Qassim indicates that the system was active in 8000 BCE. The northern part of the Hejaz was part of the Roman province of Arabia Petraea, Saudi Arabias first World Heritage Site that was recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is that of Al-Hjir. The name Al-Hijr occurs in the Qur’an, and the site is known for having structures carved into rocks, construction of the structures is credited to the people of Thamud. Despite their rather Polytheistic nature, a member of folk was a Monotheistic preacher called Salih. After the disappearance of Thamud from Mada’in Saleh, it came under the influence of people, such as the Nabataeans. Later, it would lie in a used by Muslim Pilgrims going to Mecca. According to Islamic sources, the civilization of Mecca started after Ibrahim brought his son Isma‘il and wife Hajar here and it was during such an occasion that Muhammad met some Medinans who would allow him to migrate to Medina, to escape persecution by his opponents in Mecca. Given that he had followers and enemies here, a number of battles or expeditions were carried out in this area. They involved both Meccan companions, such as Hamzah ibn ‘Abdul-Muttalib, Ubaydah ibn al-Harith and Sad ibn Abi Waqqas, the Hijaz fell under Muhammads influence as he emerged victorious over his opponents, and was thus a part of his empire
24.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
25.
God in Islam
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In Islamic theology, God is the all-powerful and all-knowing creator, sustainer, ordainer and judge of everything in existence. Islam emphasizes that God is strictly singular, unique, inherently One, also all-merciful, the Surat 112 Al-Ikhlāş says, He is God, One. He neither begets nor is born, Nor is there to Him any equivalent, in Islam, there are 99 known names of God, each of which evoke a distinct attribute of God. All these names refer to Allah, the supreme and all-comprehensive god, among the 99 names of God, the most familiar and frequent of these names are the Compassionate and the Merciful. Creation and ordering of the universe is seen as an act of mercy for which all creatures sing Gods attributes. Allah is the Arabic word referring to God in Abrahamic religions and it is distinguished from ilāh, the Arabic word meaning deity, which could refer to any of the gods worshipped in pre-Islamic Arabia. God is described and referred to in the Quran and hadith by certain names or attributes, the Quran refers to the attributes of God as most beautiful names. According to Gerhard Böwering, They are traditionally enumerated as 99 in number to which is added as the highest Name, there are numerous conventional phrases and expressions invoking God. Islams most fundamental concept is a strict monotheism called tawhid, affirming that God is one, the basic creed of Islam, the Shahada, involves لا إله إلا الله, or, I testify there is no god other than God. Muslims reject the Christian doctrine of the Trinity and divinity of Jesus, according to Vincent J. Tawhid constitutes the foremost article of the Muslim profession. The deification or worship of anyone or anything other than God is the biggest sin in Islam, the entirety of the Islamic teaching rests on the principle of Tawhid. God is the creator of the universe and all the creatures in it, praise is to Allah, Creator of the heavens and the earth, made the angels messengers having wings, two or three or four. He increases in creation what He wills, indeed, Allah is over all things competent. And it is We Who have constructed the heavens with might and verily and we created man from an extract of clay. Then We made him as a drop in a place of settlement, so blessed be Allah, the Best of creators. Be dutiful to your Lord, Who created you from a person and from Him He created his wife. And verily Allah is my Lord and your Lord, the most commonly used names in the primary sources are Al-Rahman, meaning Most Compassionate and Al-Rahim, meaning Most Merciful. God is said to love forgiving, with a hadith stating God would replace a sinless people with one who sinned but still asked repentance
26.
Names of God in Islam
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According to tradition there are 99 names of God in Islam, known as the ʾasmāʾu- llāhi l-ḥusnā Beautiful Names of God. Most names in these lists are divine epithets taken from the text of the Quran, the lists of names vary because there are more than 99 such epithets to choose from. Different sources give different lists of the 99 names, in the hadith, Muhammad is said to have invoked God by a number of names. According to Sahih Muslim,35,6475, Abu Hurairah reported Allahs Messenger as saying, There are ninety-nine names of Allah, verily, Allah is Odd and He loves odd numbers. And in the narration of Ibn Umar, He who enumerated them, the Quran refers to Gods most beautiful Names. Gerhard Böwering refers to Sura 17,110 as the locus classicus to which lists of 99 names used to be attached in Quranic commentary. A cluster of more than a dozen Divine epithets which are included in such lists is found in Sura 22, mystic philosopher Ibn Arabi surmised that the 99 names are outward signs of the universes inner mysteries. Most, though not all, of the traditionally listed 99 names are found somewhere in the Quran itself, the others are taken from the hadith. There is no agreement among Muslims as to what exactly counts as a name of Allah. Additionally, while some names are only in the Quran, and others are only in the hadith, different sources give different lists of the 99 names. Furthermore, in record, there are more than 1001 names given in one text, the following list is based on the one found in the Jamiʿ at-Tirmidhi. Other hadith, such as those of al-Bukhari, Muslim, Ibn Majah, all attribute the original compilation of the list of names to Abu Hurairah. Various early Muslim exegetes, including Jaʿfar al-Sadiq, Sufyan ibn Uyaynah, Ibn Hazm, al-Qurtubi, ٱ = The waṣla denoting of ٱلْ is ʾal/ ʾul/ ʾil depending on the last vowel of the previous word/sentence structure, e. g. سُوْرَةُ ٱلْرَّحْمَـٰنُ Suratu ʾr-Raḥmaān. There is a tradition in tasawwuf to the effect the 99 names of God point to a mystical Greatest Name and this Greatest Name of Allah is said to be the one which if He is called by it, He will answer. According to a hadith narrated by Abdullah ibn Masud, some of the names of God have also been hidden from mankind, more than 1000 names are listed in the Jawshan Kabir invocations. A Muslim may not be any of the 99 names of God in exactly the same form. For example, nobody may be named al-Malik the King, and this is because of the belief that God is almighty, and no human being is the equivalent of God, and no human being will ever be the equivalent of God. Muslims are allowed to use the 99 names of God for themselves, however the names of God can be combined with the word ‘Abd-, which means slave and are commonly used as Arabic name among Muslims, such as Abd al-Rahman. g
27.
Ghilman
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Ghilman were slave-soldiers and/or mercenaries in the armies of the Abbasid, Ottoman, and Persian Safavid, Afsharid and Qajar empires. Ghilman were introduced to the Abbasid Caliphate during the reign of al-Mutasim, the ghilman were slave-soldiers taken as prisoners of war from conquered regions or frontier zones, especially from among the Turkic people of Central Asia and the Caucasian peoples. They fought in bands, and demanded high pay for their services and they were opposed by the native Arab population, and riots against the ghilman in Baghdad in 836 forced Mutasim to relocate his capital to Samarra. A Ghulam was trained and educated at his masters expense and could earn his freedom through his dedicated service, ghilman were required to marry Turkic slave-women, who were chosen for them by their masters. Some ghilman seem to have lived celibate lives, the absence of family life and offspring was possibly one of the reasons why ghilman, even when attaining power, generally failed to start dynasties or proclaim their independence. The only exception to this was the Ghaznavid dynasty of Afghanistan, the Ottomans and various Iranian dynasties drew its peoples generally from the Balkans and the Caucasus. Mamluk Janissaries Ghulam Saqaliba Muslim Slave System in Medieval India, Ghilmans and Eunuchs
28.
Houri
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In the Quran the houris are called companions, described as being restraining in their glances, with modest gazes, wide and beautiful/lovely eyes, eyes like pearls, splendid and physically prominent. Details of the houris that have pointed out by Sunni scholars include that the houris would not urinate, defecate or menstruate. It has also said that all houris are transparent to the marrow of their bones, eternally young, hairless except the eyebrows. Islamic scholars such as Ibn Majah and Al-Suyuti have also described them as having libidinous vaginas, some also propose that the most literal translation of the noun into English would be pure companions, most beautiful of the eyes. In Hebrew the corresponding adjective חיוור hiwer has the same root h-w-r, meaning pale, the corresponding word for eye is עין Ayin. The word houri has entered several European languages with the meaning of a voluptuous, beautiful, the English word whore is thought to stem from the Proto-Indo-European verb root *keh₂- to love and is not etymologically related to the Arabic word houri. The houris are mentioned in several passages of the Quran, always in plural form, no specifics are even given, though, as to the number of houris that should be available to each believer. This in turn leads to the assumptions that houris can be male or female. Furthermore, all used in the Quran to refer to the houris can be applied to both females and males (i. e. splendid, pure, companions, modest, wide-eyed. Alternatively translated as, And there will go round boy-servants of theirs, to serve them, Quran 56,17, They will be served by immortal eternal young boys. As fair as virgin pearls alternatively translated as, Round about them will boys of perpetual freshness. Or And round about them will boys of perpetual freshness, if thou seest them, thou wouldst think them scattered pearls. or yet. Will not urinate, relieve nature, spit, or have any nasal secretions and their combs will be of gold, and their sweat will smell like musk. The aloes-wood will be used in their censers, all of them will look alike and will resemble their father Adam, sixty cubits tall. Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj Nishapuri, Muhammad reported that some stated with a sense of pride, abdullah reported, I was shown Paradise and I saw the wife of Abu Talha and I heard the noise of steps before me and, lo, it was that of Bilal. The messenger of Allah replied, O’ Mother, an old woman cannot enter Jannah and that woman started crying and began to leave. The messenger of Allah said, Say to the woman that one will not enter in a state of old age and we have created them a creation and made them virgins, lovers, equal in age. A houri is a most beautiful woman with a transparent body
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Al-Baqara
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The Cow or Sūrat al-Baqarah is the second and longest chapter of the Quran. It is a Medinan sura, with the exception of verse 281 which Muslims believe was revealed during The Farewell Pilgrimage and it is also considered to be one of the first chapters revealed after the Hijra from Mecca to Medina. The chapter comprises 286 verses according to the division of Ali, the most widely accepted count among all Muslim denominations, the surahs name references verses 66–72 which recall the story of a heifer sacrificed by the Israelites. Surah al-Baqarah enjoins fasting on the believer during the month of Ramadan, al-Baqarah is the longest surah of the Quran, having 286 verses. According to Muslim belief, this Medinan Surah was not revealed at once to Muhammad, Verse 281 is believed by Muslims to have been revealed during The Farewell Pilgrimage in Mecca. It is also considered to be one of the first chapters revealed after the Hijra from Mecca to Medina, the surah addresses a wide variety of topics, including substantial amounts of law, and retells stories of Adam, Abraham and Moses. A major theme is guidance, urging the pagans and the Jews of Medina to embrace Islam, and warning them, the stories in this chapter are told to help the reader understand the theological conception of truth in Islam. Al-Baqarah contains several verses dealing with the subject of warfare, Verses 2, 190-194 are quoted on the nature of battle in Islam. The chapter also consists of five stories regarding God giving life to the dead, one story of God giving life to a dead animal, Verse 255 is The Throne Verse. It is the most famous verse of the Quran and is widely memorized and displayed in the Islamic world due to its description of Gods omnipotence in Islam. Verse 256 is one of the most quoted verses in the Quran and it famously notes that there is no compulsion in religion. Two other verses,285 and 286, are considered part of The Throne Verse. Verse 216 is noted for ordaining Jihad, ayatul Kursi The Cow, a manuscript, dating from the 13th-century, of the al-Baqarah via the World Digital Library Quranic Verses, a manuscript for al-Baqarah from the 13th-century
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Joseph in Islam
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It is one of the common names in the Middle East and among Muslim nations. Of all of Jacobs children, Joseph was the one given the gift of prophecy, although the narratives of other prophets are mentioned in various Surahs, the complete narrative of Joseph is given only in one Surah, Yusuf, making it unique. It is said to be the most detailed narrative in the Qur’an, Yusuf is believed to have been the eleventh son of Yaʿqūb, and, according to many scholars, his favorite. According to Ibn Kathir, Jacob had twelve sons who were the ancestors of the tribes of the Israelites. The noblest, the most exalted, the greatest of them was Joseph, the story begins with Joseph revealing a ru’ya to his father, which Jacob recognizes. In addition to the role of God in his life, the story of Yusuf and Zulaikha became a subject in Persian literature. The story of Joseph in the Qurʾān, a narrative, is considered one of the most beautifully written suras. The Qurʾān itself relates to the importance in the third verse. Most scholars believe this is referring to Josephs story, while others, including Ṭabari and it documents the execution of Gods rulings despite the challenge of human intervention. This is what the story of Yūsuf confirms categorically, for it ends with comfort and marvels, along with the story there is also some commentary from some leading scholars of Islam. Muhammad at-Ṭabari provides exquisite detail and commentary of this narrative in his chapter on Joseph relaying the opinions of well-known scholars. In Ṭabaris chapter, the beauty of Joseph and his mother Rachel is introduced. His father, Jacob, had him to his oldest sister to be raised. Ṭabari comments that there was no greater love than what Joseph’s aunt felt for him as she had raised him as her own, and she was very reluctant to give him back to Jacob and kept him until her death. The reason, according to Ṭabari, that she was able to do this was because of a belt that had passed to her from her father. Ṭabari notes if someone else acquired it by guile from the person who was supposed to have it and this is important because Josephs aunt puts the belt on Joseph when Jacob is absent and then accuses Joseph of stealing it and he thus stays with her until her death. Jacob was very reluctant to give up Joseph and thus favors him when they are together, the story begins with a dream and ends with its interpretation. As the sun appeared over the horizon, bathing the earth in its glory, Joseph, son of Jacob awoke from his sleep
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Solomon in Islam
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Sulaiman ibn Dawud was, according to the Quran, a Malik and Nabi of ancient Israel. Islamic tradition generally holds that he was the third King of Israel, Islam views Solomon as one of the elect of Allah, who was bestowed upon with many God-given gifts, including the ability to speak to animals and control jinn. Solomon remains one of the most commemorated and popular figures in Islam. Islamic tradition further maintains that, along with Dāwūd and Dhul-Qarnayn, in the earliest narrative involving Solomon, the Qur’an says that Solomon was in the company of his father, when two men came to ask David to judge between them regarding a harth. The first of the two men said that he owned a vineyard of which he took care the whole year through. But one day, when he was absent, the other mans sheep had strayed into the vineyard and he asked to be compensated for this damage. At the same time, the owner of the vineyard would care for the sheep and benefit from their wool and milk until his land was returned to him, at which point he would return the sheep to their owner. Solomons level of judgment, which the Qur’an says in this particular incident surpassed that of David, hikmah, according to Muslim tradition, would always be associated with Solomon, who would later even be referred to as Sulaiman al-Hakim. When David died, Solomon inherited his position as the Prophetic King of the Israelites and he prayed to God to grant him a Kingdom which would be greater than that of any after him and before him. God accepted Solomons prayer and gave him what he pleased and it was at this stage that Solomon began to acquire the many gifts that God would bestow upon him throughout his life. The Qur’an narrates that the wind was made subservient to Solomon, and he could control it of his own will, and that the jinn also came under Solomons control. The jinn helped strengthen Solomons reign, and the unbelievers among them were forced building for him monuments, houses of worship, artwork, reservoirs, God also caused a miraculous ‘ayn of molten qitr to flow for Solomon, to be used by the jinn in their construction. Solomon was even taught the languages of animals, such as ants. The Qur’an recounts that, one day, Solomon and his army entered a wadin-naml, on seeing Solomon and his army, a namlah warned all the others to. Get into your habitations, lest Solomon and his hosts crush you without knowing it, immediately understanding what the ant said, Solomon, as always, prayed to God, thanking Him for bestowing upon him such gifts and further avoided trampling over the ant colonies. Solomons wisdom, however, was yet another of the gifts he received from God, and Muslims maintain that Solomon never forgot his daily prayer, another important aspect of Solomons kingship was the size of his army, which consisted of both men and jinn. Solomon would frequently assess his troops and warriors as well as the jinn, one day, when inspecting his troops, Solomon found the Hud-hud missing from the assembly. Shortly later, however, the Hud-hud arrived to Solomons court, saying I have compassed which thou hast not compassed, the Hud-hud further told Solomon that the people of Sheba’ worshiped the Sun, but that the woman who ruled the Kingdom was highly intelligent and powerful
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Hoopoe
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The hoopoe /ˈhuːpuː/ is a colourful bird found across Afro-Eurasia, notable for its distinctive crown of feathers. It is the extant species in the family Upupidae. One insular species, the Saint Helena hoopoe, is extinct, Upupa and epops are respectively the Latin and Ancient Greek names for the hoopoe, both, like the English name, are onomatopoeic forms which imitate the cry of the bird. In Ancient Egypt the species was known under two names, the earliest most probably having been *db3. w and/or *db3. t) the one who blocks up <its nesthole>. Therefore also the early Eg. word db<3>. t meaning sundried brick was often written with the hoopoe-hieroglyph, here used as a phonogram. The youngest name -dating from New Kingdom to late demotic texts- was kkp. t, this name akin to Biblical Hebrew douchiphat, the hoopoe was classified in the clade Coraciiformes, which also includes kingfishers, bee-eaters, and rollers. A close relationship between the hoopoe and the woodhoopoes is also supported by the shared and unique nature of their stapes, in the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, the hoopoe is separated from the Coraciiformes as a separate order, the Upupiformes. Some authorities place the woodhoopoes in the Upupiformes as well, now the consensus is that both hoopoe and the wood hoopoes belowng with the hornbills in the Bucerotiformes. The fossil record of the hoopoes is very incomplete, with the earliest fossil coming from the Quaternary, the fossil record of their relatives is older, with fossil woodhoopoes dating back to the Miocene and those of an extinct related family, the Messelirrisoridae, dating from the Eocene. It is the only extant member of its family, although some consider some of the subspecies as separate species. Several authors have separated the Madagascan subspecies as a separate species, the morphological differences between the most commonly split subspecies, U. e. marginata, and the other subspecies are minor, and only U. e. marginata has distinctly different vocalisations. One accepted separate species, the Saint Helena hoopoe, U. antaios, lived on the island of St Helena but became extinct in the 16th century, the genus Upupa was created by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae in 1758. Nine subspecies of hoopoe are recognised by Kristin and they vary mostly in size and the depth of colour in the plumage. Two further subspecies have been proposed, U. e. minor in South Africa, the hoopoe is a medium-sized bird, 25–32 cm long, with a 44–48 cm wingspan. The species is distinctive, with a long, thin tapering bill that is black with a fawn base. The strengthened musculature of the head allows the bill to be opened when probing inside the soil, the hoopoe has broad and rounded wings capable of strong flight, these are larger in the northern migratory subspecies. The hoopoe has an undulating flight, which is like that of a giant butterfly. Adults may begin their moult after the season and continue after they have migrated for the winter
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Seven Sleepers
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The earliest version of this story comes from the Syrian bishop Jacob of Sarug, which is itself derived from an earlier Greek source, now lost. An outline of this appears in Gregory of Tours. The best-known Western version of the story appears in Jacobus de Voragines Golden Legend, the Roman Martyrology mentions the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus under the date of 27 July. The Byzantine Calendar commemorates them with feasts on 4 August and 22 October, the story appears in the Quran as thus is important to Islam. The Quranic story does not state the number of sleepers Surah 18 and it also gives the number of years that they slept as 300 solar years. The Islamic version includes mention of a dog who accompanied the youths into the cave, in Islam, these youths are referred to as The People of the Cave. The story says that during the persecutions by the Roman emperor Decius, around 250 AD and they were given some time to recant their faith, but chose instead to give their worldly goods to the poor and retire to a mountain cave to pray, where they fell asleep. The emperor, seeing that their attitude towards paganism had not improved, ordered the mouth of the cave to be sealed, Decius died in 251, and many years passed during which Christianity went from being persecuted to being the state religion of the Roman Empire. At some later time—usually given as during the reign of Theodosius II —the landowner decided to open up the mouth of the cave. He opened it and found the sleepers inside and they awoke, imagining that they had slept but one day, and sent one of their number to Ephesus to buy food, with instructions to be careful lest the pagans recognize and seize him. The bishop was summoned to interview the sleepers, they told him their miracle story, the various lives of the Seven Sleepers in Greek are listed at BHG 1593-1599, and in other non-Latin languages at BHO 1013-1022. As the earliest versions of the spread from Ephesus, an early Christian catacomb came to be associated with it. On the slopes of Mount Pion near Ephesus, the grotto of the Seven Sleepers with ruins of the church built over it was excavated in 1927–28, the excavation brought to light several hundred graves dated to the 5th and 6th centuries. Inscriptions dedicated to the Seven Sleepers were found on the walls of the church and this grotto is still shown to tourists. The story appeared in several Syriac sources before Gregorys lifetime and it was retold by Symeon Metaphrastes. The Seven Sleepers form the subject of a homily in verse by the Edessan poet Jacob of Saruq, another 6th-century version, in a Syrian manuscript in the British Museum, gives eight sleepers. There are considerable variations as to their names, the story rapidly attained a wide diffusion throughout Christendom, popularized in the West by Gregory of Tours, in his late 6th-century collection of miracles, De gloria martyrum. Gregory says that he had the legend from a certain Syrian and their dress identified them as Romans, according to Paul, and none of the local barbarians dared to touch them
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Jonah
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Jonah or Jonas is the name given in the Hebrew Bible to a prophet of the northern kingdom of Israel in about the 8th century BCE. He is the central figure in the Book of Jonah. The biblical narrative of Jonah is repeated, with a few notable differences, Jonah is the son of Amittai, and he appears in 2 Kings as a prophet from Gath-Hepher, a few miles north of Nazareth. He is therein described as being active during the reign of the second King Jeroboam, Jonah is the central character in the Book of Jonah. A huge storm arises and the sailors, realizing that it is no storm, cast lots. Jonah admits this and states if he is thrown overboard. The sailors try to dump as much cargo as possible before giving up, the sailors then offer sacrifices to God. Jonah is miraculously saved by being swallowed by a fish in whose belly he spends three days and three nights. While in the fish, Jonah prays to God in his affliction and commits to thanksgiving. God commands the fish to spew Jonah out, God again commands Jonah to visit Nineveh and prophesy to its inhabitants. This time he goes and enters the city, crying, In forty days Nineveh shall be overthrown, after Jonah has walked across Nineveh, the people of Nineveh begin to believe his word and proclaim a fast. The king of Nineveh puts on sackcloth and sits in ashes, making a proclamation which decrees fasting, sackcloth, prayer, God sees their repentant hearts and spares the city at that time. The entire city is humbled and broken with the people in sackcloth, even the king comes off his throne to repent. Displeased by this, Jonah refers to his flight to Tarshish while asserting that, since God is merciful. He then leaves the city and makes himself a shelter, waiting to see whether or not the city will be destroyed, God causes a plant to grow over Jonahs shelter to give him some shade from the sun. Later, God causes a worm to bite the plants root, Jonah, now being exposed to the full force of the sun, becomes faint and desires that God take him out of the world. And God said to Jonah, Art thou greatly angry for the Kikayon, and he said, I am greatly angry, even unto death. In the New Testament, Jonah is mentioned in Matthew 12, 38–41 and 16,4 and in Luke 11, in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus makes a reference to Jonah when he is asked for a sign by some of the scribes and the Pharisees
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Al-Fil
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Sūrat al-Fīl is the 105th chapter of the Quran. It is a Meccan sura consisting of 5 verses, the surah is written in the interrogative form. Asbab al-nuzul is a genre of Quranic exegesis directed at establishing the context in which specific verses of the Quran were revealed. Taking its name from the mention of the Army of the Elephant in the first verse, this surah alludes to the Abyssinian campaign against Mecca in the year 570 of the Christian era. Abrahah, the Christian viceroy of the Yemen, erected a cathedral at Sanaa, hoping thus to divert the annual Arabian pilgrimage from the Meccan sanctuary. The Arabs describe the year in which this event took place as the Year of the Elephant, the traditionists and historians almost unanimously state that the event of the people of the elephant had occurred in Muharram and Muhammad was born in Rabi al-awwal. A majority of states that he took birth 50 days after the event of the elephant. Surahs in the Quran are not arranged in the order of revelation because order of wahy or chronological order of revelation is not a part of Quran. Prophet Muhammad told his followers sahaba the placement in Quranic order of every Wahy revealed along with the text of Quran. For this reason, no attempt, apparently, was made to edit the numerous revelations, organize them into thematic units. Surat Al-Qalam is a Meccan sura and meccan suras are chronologically earlier suras that were revealed to Muhammad at Mecca before the hijrah to Medina in 622 CE and they are typically shorter, with relatively short ayat, and mostly come near the end of the Qurans 114 surahs. Most of the surahs containing muqattaat are Meccan, henceforth apart from traditions, this surah qualifies to be Meccan typically. The principal subject of the surah is a historic event. The year of Muhammads birth is identified as the Year of the Elephant, Quranic exegetes interpreted that God saved the Meccans from this force by sending a swarm of birds that pelted the invaders with clay stones and destroyed them. The army of Abraha destroyed for attacking the Kaabah is a reminder, the origin of the word sijjīl in verse 4 has the etymology proposed as Persian sang and gil, or Aramaic sgyl. In the Quran sijjīl occurs in two verses,11,82 and 15,74. There are almost 7 divisions in the entire Quran according to Themes, the final of these 7 sections starts from surah Al-Mulk to surah Al-Nas. Thats why the Arabs believed that the Kabah was protected in this invasion, not by any god or goddess, but by Allah Almighty Himself
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War elephant
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A war elephant is an elephant that is trained and guided by humans for combat. The war elephants main use was to charge the enemy, breaking their ranks, elephantry are military units with elephant-mounted troops. They were first employed in India, the spreading out across south-east Asia. Their most famous use in the West was by the Greek King Pyrrhus of Epirus and in significant numbers by the armies of Carthage, in the Mediterranean, improved tactics reduced the value of the elephant in battle, while their availability in the wild also decreased. The first elephant species to be tamed was the Asian elephant, Elephant taming - not full domestication, as they are still captured in the wild, rather than being bred in captivity - may have begun in any of three different places. The oldest evidence comes from the Indus Valley Civilization, around roughly 4500 BC, archaeological evidence for the presence of wild elephants in the Yellow River valley during the Shang Dynasty of China may suggest that they also used elephants in warfare. There is uncertainty as to when elephant warfare first began, the later stories of the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, dating from around the 4th century BC, do however mention elephant warfare, suggesting its introduction during the intervening period. The first confrontation between Europeans and the Persian war elephants occurred at Alexanders Battle of Gaugamela, where the Persians deployed fifteen elephants, by the time Alexander reached the borders of India five years later, he had a substantial number of elephants under his own command. The elephants caused many losses with their tusks fitted with spikes or by lifting the enemies with their trunks. Arrian described the subsequent fight. whenever the beasts could wheel around, they rushed forth against the ranks of infantry and demolished the phalanx of the Macedonians, dense as it was. The panicked and wounded elephants turned on the Indians themselves, the mahouts were armed with poisoned rods to kill the beasts but were slain by javelins and archers. Looking further east again, however, Alexander could see that the kings of the Nanda Empire, such a force was many times larger than the number of elephants employed by the Persians and Greeks, which probably discouraged Alexanders army and effectively halted their advance into India. On his return, Alexander established a force of elephants to guard his palace at Babylon, the successful military use of elephants spread further. Later in its history, the Seleucid Empire used elephants in its efforts to crush the Maccabean Revolt in Judea. The first use of war elephants in Europe was made in 318 BC by Polyperchon, one of Alexanders generals and he used 60 elephants brought from Asia with their mahouts. A veteran of Alexanders army, named Damis, helped the besieged Megalopolitians to defend themselves against the elephants and those elephants were subsequently taken by Cassander and transported, partly by sea, to other battle-fields in Greece. It is assumed that Cassander constructed the first elephant-transport sea-vessels, some of the elephants died of starvation in 316 BC in the besieged city of Pydna. Others of Polyperchons elephants were used in parts of Greece by Cassander
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Onager
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The onager, also known as hemione or Asiatic wild ass, is a species of the family Equidae native to Asia. A member of the subgenus Asinus, the onager was described, five subspecies have been recognized, one of which is extinct. The Asiatic wild ass is larger than African wild ass at about 290 kg and 2.1 m and they are reddish-brown or yellowish-brown in color and have broad dorsal stripe on the middle of the back. Unlike most horses and donkeys, onagers have never been domesticated and they are among the fastest mammals, as they can run as fast as 64 km/h to 70 km/h. The onager is closely related to the African wild ass, as both shared the same ancestor. The kiang, formerly considered a subspecies of Equus hemionus, diverged from the Asiatic wild ass and has acknowledged as a distinct species. The onager formerly had a range from southwest and central to northern Asian countries, such as Israel, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Russia. During early 20th century, the species lost most of its ranges in the Middle East and Eastern Asia. Today, onagers live in deserts and other regions of Iran, Pakistan, India, and Mongolia, including in Central Asian hot and cold deserts of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan. Other than deserts, it lives in grasslands, plains, steppes, like many other large grazing animals, the onagers range has contracted greatly under the pressures of poaching and habitat loss. Previously listed as Endangered, onagers have been classified as Near Threatened by IUCN in 2015, of the five subspecies, one is extinct, two are endangered, and two are near threatened. Persian onagers are currently being reintroduced in the Middle East as replacement for the extinct Syrian wild ass in the Arabian Peninsula, Israel, the specific name is Ancient Greek ἡμίονος, from ἡμι-, half, and ὄνος, donkey, thus, half-donkey or mule. In Persian the archaic word gur preserves the second syllable of the common Indo-European term that includes ona/ono and ger/gur. The species was known as Asian wild ass, in which case the term onager was reserved for the E. h. onager subspecies. Until this day, the share the same name, onager. The onager is a member of the Subgenus Asinus, belonging to the genus Equus and is classified under the family Equidae, the species was described and given its binomial name Equus hemionus by German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas in 1775. The Asiatic wild ass, among Old World equids, existed for more than 4 million years, the oldest divergence of Equus was the onager followed by the zebras and onwards. Widely five recognized subspecies of the include, A sixth possible subspecies, the Gobi khulan has been proposed
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Islamic view of angels
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Belief in Angels is one of the six Articles of Faith in Islam. They are considered heavenly beings without their own will unlike humans who perform tasks of God, the imagination of angels in Islam developed from the Quran and was influenced by other religions like Judaism and expanded by tafsir and the hadith literature. Angels take the role of performing different tasks of God. They are said to be created out of light, unlike humans or jinn, they have no biological needs and therefore no lower desires predicted by the natural world. They may be described as creatures of pure emotion and this is narrated in Sahih Bukhari Volume 4, book 56. Besides the personificated interpretation of angels, they are thought of carrying the laws of nature. Angels are not equal in status and consequently, they are delegated different tasks to perform, jibrail is the archangel responsible for revealing the Quran to Muhammad, verse by verse. Jibrail is the angel who communicates with the prophets and also for coming down with the blessings of Allah during the night of Laylat al-Qadr, mikail, who provides nourishments for bodies and souls. Mikail is often depicted as the archangel of mercy who is responsible for bringing rain, Israfil or Israafiyl, is an archangel in Islam who will blow the trumpet at the end of time. According to the hadith, Israfil is the responsible for signaling the coming of Qiyamah by blowing a horn. Azrael/Azraaiyl/Azrail also known as Malak al-maut, is the angel of death and he is responsible for parting the soul from the body of the deads. The angels of the Seven Heavens, hafaza, Kiraman Katibin, two of whom are charged to every human being, one writes down good deeds and another one writes down evil deeds. They are both described as Raqeebun Ateed in the Quran, muaqqibat who keep people from death until its decreed time and who bring down blessings. Jundullah, those who helped Muhammad in the battlefield Those who draw out the souls of the blessed and those angels who drive the clouds. The Angel of the Mountains Munkar and Nakir, who question the dead in their graves, dardail, who travel in the earth searching out assemblies where people remember Gods name. The angels charged with each existent thing, maintaining order and warding off corruption and their number is known only to God. Ridwan, the keeper of the Paradise, azazil is sometimes considered as an angel, who was the keeper of paradise and leader of an angelic army. He is also the instrument of divine anger, otherwise he is held for a Jinni raised to the angelic realm
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Raphael (archangel)
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Raphael is an archangel of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam who in the Christian tradition performs all manners of healing. In Islam, Raphael is the fourth angel, in the Muslim tradition. Raphael is generally associated with the mentioned in the Gospel of John as stirring the water at the healing pool of Bethesda. Raphael is also an angel in Mormonism, as he is mentioned in the Doctrine. The angels mentioned in the Torah, the books of the Hebrew Bible, are without names. Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish of Tiberias, asserted that all the names for the angels were brought back by the Jews from Babylon. Raphael is named in several Jewish apocryphal books, and place upon him rough and jagged rocks, and cover him with darkness, and let him abide there for ever, and cover his face that he may not see light. And on the day of the judgment he shall be cast into the fire. Of archangels in the angelology of post-Exilic Judaism, only Michael, mentioned as archangel, the name of the angel Raphael appears only in the Biblical Book of Tobit. The Book of Tobit is considered deuterocanonical by Catholics, Orthodox, Raphael first appears disguised in human form as the travelling companion of Tobits son, Tobiah, calling himself Azarias the son of the great Ananias. During the course of the journey the archangels protective influence is shown in many including the binding of a demon in the desert of upper Egypt. After returning and healing the blind Tobit, Azarias makes himself known as the angel Raphael, one of the seven and he is venerated as Saint Raphael the Archangel. In the New Testament, only the archangels Gabriel and Michael are mentioned by name, and he that went down first into the pond after the motion of the water was made whole of whatsoever infirmity he lay under. Because of the role assigned to Raphael, this particular angel is generally associated with the archangel. On July 8,1497, when Vasco Da Gama set forth from Lisbon with his four ship fleet to sail to India, when the flotilla reached the Cape of Good Hope on October 22, the sailors disembarked and erected a column in the archangels honor. The little statue of St. Raphael that accompanied Da Gama on the voyage is now in the Naval Museum in Lisbon, Raphael is said to guard pilgrims on their journeys, and is often depicted holding a staff. He is also depicted holding or standing on a fish. The feast day of Raphael was included for the first time in the General Roman Calendar in 1921, with the 1969 revision of the General Roman Calendar, the feast was transferred to September 29 for celebration together with archangels Saints Michael and Gabriel
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Gabriel
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Gabriel, in the Abrahamic religions, is an angel who typically serves as Gods messenger. Gabriel is mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, in the Old Testament, he appears to the prophet Daniel, explaining Daniels visions. In the Gospel of Luke, Gabriel appeared to Zechariah and the Virgin Mary, foretelling the births of John the Baptist and Jesus, respectively. In the Book of Daniel, he is referred to as the man Gabriel, while in the Gospel of Luke, Gabriel is not called an archangel in the Bible, but is so called in Intertestamental period sources like the Book of Enoch. In the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Anglican churches, the archangels Michael, Raphael, in Islam, Gabriel is considered an archangel whom God is believed to have sent with revelation to various prophets, including Muhammad. The 96th chapter of the Quran, The Clot, is believed by Muslims to have been the first chapter revealed by Gabriel to Muhammad, in the LDS Faith, The Angel Gabriel was The Prophet Noah, and Michael the Archangel was the Prophet Adam in their Mortal Ministries. Jewish rabbis interpreted the man in linen as Gabriel in the Book of Daniel, in the Book of Daniel, Gabriel is responsible for interpreting Daniels visions. Gabriels main function in Daniel is that of revealer, a role he continues in later literature, in the Book of Ezekiel, Gabriel is understood to be the angel that was sent to destroy Jerusalem. According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, Gabriel takes the form of a man, shimon ben Lakish concluded that the angelic names of Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel came out of the Babylonian exile. In Kabbalah, Gabriel is identified with the sephirot of Yesod, Gabriel also has a prominent role as one of Gods archangels in the Kabbalah literature. There, Gabriel is portrayed as working in concert with Michael as part of Gods court, Gabriel is not to be prayed to because only God can answer prayers and sends Gabriel as his agent. According to Jewish mythology, in the Garden of Eden there is a tree of life or the tree of souls that blossoms and produces new souls, which fall into the Guf, Gabriel reaches into the treasury and takes out the first soul that comes into his hand. Then Lailah, the Angel of Conception, watches over the embryo until it is born, the intertestamental period produced a wealth of literature, much of it having an apocalyptic orientation. The names and ranks of angels and devils were greatly expanded, and each had particular duties and status before God. In 1 Enoch 9, 1–3, Gabriel, along with Michael, Uriel and Suriel, saw much blood being shed upon the earth and heard the souls of men cry, Bring our cause before the Most High. —1 Enoch 10,9 Gabriel is the fifth of the five angels who watch, Gabriel, one of the holy angels, who is over Paradise and the serpents. And these are the four angels of the Lord of Spirits, the angel Gabriel is mentioned in Daniel 8, 16-26 and 9, 20-27. Gabriel, one who looked like a man, interprets Daniels visions, Gabriel speaks to Daniel while he is in a deep sleep, and Daniel is tired and sick for days after being with Gabriel
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Michael (archangel)
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Michael is an archangel in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran traditions, he is called Saint Michael the Archangel, in the Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox traditions, he is called Taxiarch Archangel Michael or simply Archangel Michael. Michael is mentioned three times in the Book of Daniel, in the New Testament Michael leads Gods armies against Satans forces in the Book of Revelation, where during the war in heaven he defeats Satan. In the Epistle of Jude Michael is specifically referred to as the archangel Michael, by the 6th century, devotions to Archangel Michael were widespread both in the Eastern and Western Churches. Over time, teachings on Michael began to vary among Christian denominations, Michael is mentioned three times in the Hebrew Scriptures, all in the book of Daniel. The prophet Daniel experiences a vision after having undergone a period of fasting, Daniel 10, 13-21 describes Daniels vision of an angel who identifies Michael as the protector of Israel. At Daniel 12,1, Daniel is informed that Michael will arise during the time of the end, the Book of Revelation describes a war in heaven in which Michael, being stronger, defeats Satan. After the conflict, Satan is thrown to earth along with the fallen angels, in the Epistle of Jude 1,9, Michael is referred to as an archangel when he again confronts Satan. A reference to an archangel also appears in the First Epistle to the Thessalonians 4,16 and this archangel who heralds the second coming of Christ is not named, but is often associated with Michael. Michael, is one of the two mentioned in the Quran, alongside Jibreel. In the Quran, Michael is mentioned only, in Sura 2,98, Whoever is an enemy to God, and His angels and His messengers. Then, God is an enemy to the disbelievers, some Muslims believe that the reference in Sura 11,69 is Michael, one of the three angels who visited Abraham. Michaels enmity with Samael dates from the time when the latter was thrown down from heaven, Samael took hold of the wings of Michael, whom he wished to bring down with him in his fall, but Michael was saved by God. But appeal to Michael seems to have more common in ancient times. Thus Jeremiah is said to have addressed a prayer to him, the rabbis declare that Michael entered upon his role of defender at the time of the biblical patriarchs. Thus, according to Rabbi Eliezer ben Jacob, it was Michael who rescued Abraham from the furnace into which he had been thrown by Nimrod. It was Michael, the one that had escaped, who told Abraham that Lot had been taken captive, and he announced to Sarah that she would bear a son and he rescued Lot at the destruction of Sodom. It is said that Michael prevented Isaac from being sacrificed by his father by substituting a ram in his place, later Michael prevented Laban from harming Jacob
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Azrael
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Azrael is often identified with the Angel of Death of the Hebrew Bible. The Hebrew name translates to Help of God, Help from God, Azrael is the spelling of the Chambers Dictionary. The Quran refers to a مَلَكُ المَوْتِ which corresponds with Hebrew term Malach ha-Mawet in Rabbinic Literature, islamic-Arabic tradition adopts the name, in the ِArabic alphabet as a ʿIzrāīl. Depending on the outlook and precepts of various religions in which he is a figure, in one description, he has four faces and four thousand wings, and his whole body consists of eyes and tongues whose number corresponds to the number of people inhabiting the Earth. He will be the last to die, recording and erasing, constantly in a book the names of men at birth and death. In Jewish mysticism, he is referred to as Azriel. The Zohar, a book of the Jewish mystical tradition of Kabbalah. He is associated with the South and is considered to be a commander of Gods angels. There is no reference to Azrael in the Bible, and he is not considered a canonical nor a figure within Christianity. However, a story in 2 Esdras which is part of the Apocrypha, has the story of a scribe and judge named Ezra, also sometimes written Azra in different languages. Azra was visited by the Archangel Uriel and given a list of laws and punishments he was to adhere to, Azra was later recorded in the Apocrypha as having entered Heaven without tasting deaths taint. Depending on various religious views, it could be taken as Ezra ascending to angelic status and this would add the suffix el to his name, which denotes a heavenly being. Later books also state a scribe named Salathiel, who was quoted as saying, I, Salathiel, along with Jibrail, Mīkhāīl and Isrāfīl, the Angel of Death, called Azrail is believed by Muslims to be one of the archangels. He is responsible to take the soul of the deceased away from the body, Azrail does not act independently from God and just takes those, who were commanded to be taken. Rather than merely representing an independend personified death, the Angel of Death is described in Islamic sources as subordinate to the will of God with the most profound reverence. Several Muslim traditions recount meetings between the Angel of Death and the prophets, the most famous being a conversation between the Angel of Death and Moses, in an islamic narration, Idris befriended the angel of death. Idris offered him food, thereupon he revealed him his non-human essence, because as an angel, later the angel of death showed him the heavens. Even it is not allowed for a muslim to wish for death, death itself will, additionally the angel of death will take the souls of the believers caring with the words, O pure soul come fourth to Gods pardon and pleasure
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