
 Islam. Part 1 of 15.
bit.listserv.muslims:83


Archive-name: islam-faq/part1



 Copyright 1993,1994,1995 Asim Mughal (mughal@caltech.edu) 

 Redistribution for profit, or in altered 
content/format
 prohibited without explicit written permission of the 
author.
 Any other redistribution must include this copyright notice 
and
 attribution. 



 Frequently Asked Questions: Part 1
 __________________________________
 

 This message is automatically posted to 'Islam'
 every month and when updated. This lists answers to 
most
 commonly asked questions on the forum. Contributions & 
changes
 are requested and should be directed to: mughal@caltech.edu 



 OVERVIEW: The Frequently Asked Questions document 
for
 Islam has been divided in parts. Below is the index. 

 
 Part 1 - Welcome & Index
 Part 2 - Info on Islamic News Groups 
 Part 3 - Introduction to Islam
 Part 4 - God & Worship
 Part 5 - Islam, Quran & Muhammad (PBUH)
 Part 6 - Marriage Laws in Islam
 Part 7 - Women In Islam
 Part 8 - Life after Death, Moral System & Human rights in 
Islam
 Part 9 - Islam: Prophethood, Jesus & Trinity
 Part 10 - Islam: Farrakhism & Malcom X
 Part 11 - Islamic Internet Guide: Islamic Resources on 
Internet
 Part 12 - Other Islamic Resource Guides on Internet
 Part 13 - Islamic Literature: Books & Video
 Part 14 - Islamic Calendar & Prayer Time Table for 1994
 Part 15 - Misc: List of Halal Foods


 ________________________________________________________ 

 PART 1: Welcome & Index 




 Contents 

 --Articles--
 1. Welcome
................................................................... 
 2. 1-800-662-ISLAM
........................................................... 
 3. Islam on Phone
............................................................
 4. Archive Info
.............................................................. 
 5. Credits
................................................................... 
 6. History of FAQ
............................................................ 



 Articles
.....................................................................


 1. Welcome
................................................................... 


 This series of FAQ provides basic introductory information on 
Islam.
 This information has been collected in response to the questions 
asked
 on the USENET forum, Islam. 

 It is hoped, by providing this basic information, a lot of 
common
 misconceptions are answered. In addition, those who wish to read 
beyond
 the basic introduction, information is provided on how to find 
Islamic
 literature on internet and in bookstores. 

 In this part of the series, the information specific to this 
FAQ is
 provided. This includes the credits to the sources & the 
information on
 where this FAQ is archived. 




 2. 1-800-662-ISLAM
........................................................... 


 Non-Muslims interested to learn about Islam can now dial toll-free 

 1-800-662-ISLAM 

 The phone number has been set up by the Islamic Circle of North 
America
 (ICNA) exclusively for non-Muslims. The number became 
operational on
 August 30, 1994. 

 Note: The last letter 'M' in the telephone number is optional. 


 3. Islam on Phone 
........................................................... 

 (312) 777-0767

 Ask for a list of questions and codes. Provided by III&E.


 4. Archive Info
.............................................................. 



 This FAQ is archived at several sites and is available for 
public
 retrieval thru anonymous FTP, E-MAIL, Gopher & World Wide Web. 


 -- Anonymous FTP --
 

 Login: anonymous 
 Password: Your e-mail address 


 Site: rtfm.mit.edu 

 Site: ftp.uu.net
 
 Site: ftp.cco.caltech.edu
 Dir: /pub/calmsa/islam-faq/



 -- E-MAIL --
 

 Send E-mail to: mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu 

 Text of E-mail Message: 

 quit


 -- GOPHER --


 Site: gopher.caltech.edu 70
 CCO anonymous ftp archive/
 pub/
 calmsa/
 islam-faq/


 Site: latif.com 70
 Soc.Religion.Islam




 -- World-Wide-Web (WWW) --
 

 One recommended interface is 'mosaic,' below are mosaic 'home 
pages.' 



URL at USENET Archive site:
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/islam-faq/faq.html


URL at Caltech MSA site:
http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~calmsa/links.html






 5. Credits
................................................................... 



 The author wishes to thank all those who contributed in any 
capacity for
 the original one part FAQ or this multi-part FAQ. 


 -- SOURCES --
 

 The basic introduction and literature presented in the FAQ 
is from
 brochures on Islam distributed by Institute of Islamic 
Information &
 Education (III&E). These brochures were typed in electronic 
form by
 Ms.M.Ahmed. 


 What is III&E? 

 III&E is an acronym for the Institute of Islamic Information & 
Education
 which was established in Chicago, Illinois in 1985. The 
III&E is
 registered in the State of Illinois and recognized by the 
Internal
 Revenue Service (IRS) as a not-for-profit religious organization. 

 More information can be obtained by contacting Dr. M. Amir, 
III&E, P.O.
 Box 41129, Chicago, IL 60641-0129, U.S.A.; Fax: (312) 777-
7199; or
 contact Sr. Margaret Ahmed. 



 -- FORMAT --
 

 The format of the FAQ series has been done by utilizing 
resources of
 Islamic Information & News Network (IINN). A custom program, 
Nebula,
 written by editors of IINN for generating newsletters has been 
used. 


 What is IINN? 

 Islamic Information & News Network is a forum dedicated to 
educate the
 network community on issues relating to Islam and Muslims in an 
academic
 & non-political environment. Weekly digest is available on 
internet by
 subscribing to MUSLIMS@ASUACAD.BITnet (A Bitnet listserv list) 
and on
 USENET: bit.listserv.muslims. 


 -- Multi-part FAQ V3.1 --

 Contributions by: Margaret Ahmed, Zafar Hasan, Altaf Bhimji, 
Sharaaz
 Khan & Masood Cajee. 



 -- Original FAQ --
 

 The following people contributed towards the original one part 
FAQ. 

 Ishaq Zahid, Suhail Farooqi, Masud Khan, Salman Shaikh, 
Basalat Ali
 Raja, Iraj Mughal, Kent Landfield, Ahmad Hashem & 
Asadullah K.
 Japanwala, ,Daniel Faigin, Abdullah Haydar, Ahmed Abd-Allah, 
Nabil
 Rehman. 


 -- Permissions -- 

 Permission to post this multi-part FAQ has been obtained 
by the
 following: 

 o Institute of Islamic Information & Education (III&E)
 o Islamic Information & News Network (Muslims@PSUVM.bitnet) 
 o Moderator(s) of News.Answers (Thomas Khoenig & P.Huang)



 6. History of FAQ
............................................................ 



 The following is history of this FAQ in ascending order: 

V 3.2 Released Feb 01, 1995 Changed to 'Islam FAQ' 
V 3.1 Released Jan 10, 1995 Split into 15 parts, internet guides & 
III&E 
 articles added.
V 3.0 Released Aug 14-28,1994, FAQ Split into 10 parts, III&E articles 
 included
V 2.9 Released July 04,1994, updated #2 #5 #9 #12
V 2.8 Released May 01, 1994, New item # 20
V 2.7 Released Apr 04, 1994, New Item # 3, update #8, #9.
V 2.6 Released Feb 26, 1994, New items # 11, # 17, # 18. Updated: 
#4,#7,#8
V 2.5 Released Jan 31, 1994, New item # 15. Item # 5 updated.
V 2.4 Released Jan 25, 1994, New item # 14
V 2.3 Released Jan 20, 1994, SRI mods updated.
V 2.2 Released Jan 19, 1994, Item 4 expanded, Trimmed Item 5
V 2.1 Released Jan 07, 1994, Minor touchup
V 2.0 Released Jan 05, 1994, Items 8-14 added
V 1.5 Released Jan 02, 1994. Item 1 expanded
V 1.0 Released Dec 25, 1993. 7 Items.


 HISTORY & CREDITS FOR MERGED 'alt-newsgroup' FAQ:

HISTORY:
 
V 1.0 April 25, 1994 Total Items # 13
V 1.2 June 08, 1994 Items #3, #13,#14 are new. #15 Edited
V 1.3 June 26, 1994 New Item #15
V 1.4 Sept 05, 1994 New Item # 16, #1,#13,# 15 updated
 
CREDITS: Ahmed Helmy, Muhammad Ridha, Hussain Helmy, Salahuddin 
Ahmad,
 Abdulrahman Al-Ali, Blake Ross, Pat St Jean, I Hussain



# End of Islam FAQ Part 1 #

 

du
References: <islam-faq/part1_792592921@rtfm.mit.edu>
 Islam. Part 2 of 15.
bit.listserv.muslims:84


Archive-name: islam-faq/part2



 Copyright 1993,1994,1995 Asim Mughal (mughal@caltech.edu) 

 Redistribution for profit, or in altered 
content/format
 prohibited without explicit written permission of the 
author.
 Any other redistribution must include this copyright notice 
and
 attribution. 



 Frequently Asked Questions: Part 2
 __________________________________
 


 This message is automatically posted to 
 every month and when updated. This lists answers to 
most
 commonly asked questions on the forum. Contributions & 
changes
 are requested and should be directed to: mughal@caltech.edu 



 OVERVIEW: The Frequently Asked Questions document 
for
 Islam has been divided in parts. Below is the index. 

 
 Part 1 - Welcome & Index
 Part 2 - Info on Islamic News Groups
 Part 3 - Introduction to Islam
 Part 4 - God & Worship
 Part 5 - Islam, Quran & Muhammad (PBUH)
 Part 6 - Marriage Laws in Islam
 Part 7 - Women In Islam
 Part 8 - Life after Death, Moral System & Human rights in 
Islam
 Part 9 - Islam: Prophethood, Jesus & Trinity
 Part 10 - Islam: Farrakhism & Malcom X
 Part 11 - Islamic Internet Guide: Islamic Resources on 
Internet
 Part 12 - Other Islamic Resource Guides on Internet
 Part 13 - Islamic Literature: Books & Video
 Part 14 - Islamic Calendar & Prayer Time Table for 1994
 Part 15 - Misc: List of Halal Foods
 


 ________________________________________________________ 

 PART 2: Info on Islamic News Groups

 This part lists the detailed info on Islamic News Groups
 on USENET. 

 PART A: Info on bit.listserv.muslims
 - Will be added in the next revision - 

 - Will be added in the next revision - 



 Contents 

 --Articles--
 1. Guidelines for Posting
.................................................... 
 2. Email Addresses for S.R.I.
................................................ 
 3. List of Moderators & History
.............................................. 
 4. Moderator Selection Procedure
............................................. 
 5. Guidelines & Rules for Moderators
......................................... 
 6. Direct Submissions, Resubmissions & Format
................................ 
 7. Acknowledgment Process
.................................................... 
 8. Grievance Process
......................................................... 
 9. E-mail Submissions
........................................................ 
10. Proper USENET format
...................................................... 
11. Test Messages
............................................................. 
12. Anonymous Submissions
..................................................... 
 --Announcements--
13. Archive Info
.............................................................. 
14. Credits
................................................................... 



 Articles
.....................................................................


 1. Guidelines for Posting
.................................................... 



 This forum is for discussions on Islam as a religion. The 
submissions to
 this forum must: 

 1. Discuss Islam: directly related. 

 Includes theology, comparative studies with other 
religions,
 announcements of Islamic conferences & sources of 
information for
 muslims, Ramadan,Eid etc. 

 2. Academic language must be used. 

 No verbal abuse, personal attacks, flames, profanity or insults. 


 Rejected items will be returned back to the sender with a note 
from the
 reviewing moderator. 




 2. Email Addresses for S.R.I.
................................................ 



 Although one may post to Soc.Religion.Islam Forum using News 
Software,
 it is possible to send submissions as an email message. Please 
use any
 of the following email addresses: 

 1. sri@gnu.ai.mit.edu
 2. religion-islam@ncar.ucar.edu
 4. soc-religion-islam@cs.utexas.edu
 






 3. List of Moderators & History
.............................................. 

 

 ACTIVE MODERATORS: 

 mysorenk@gnu.ai.mit.edu Nauman Mysorewala 

 csulaima@gnu.ai.mit.edu Cynthia Sulaiman 




 HISTORY: 



1989 : Soc.Religion.Islam established.


FOUNDER:
gwydion@gnu.ai.mit.edu Basalat Ali Raja

Moderators voted in Fall 1989:
------------------------------
bes@cco.caltech.edu Behnam Sadeghi Fall '89 - 11.15.91
naim@eecs.nwu.edu Naim Abdullah Fall '89 - 11.15.91
shari@wpi.WPI.EDU Shari Deiana VanderSpeck
 Fall '89 - 11.15.91

Moderators Selected in 1991:
---------------------------
mughal@iago.caltech.edu Asim Mughal 11.15.91 - 
csulaima@copper.Denver.Colorado.EDU Cynthia Sulaiman 11.15.91 - 
4.02.92 
hanan@mcs213k.cs.umr.edu Hanan Lutfiyya 11.15.91 - 
11.19.92
azhar@duke.cs.duke.edu Salman Azhar 11.15.91 - 
9.15.93
jodar%girtab.usc.edu@usc.edu Nick Jodar 11.15.91 - 2.12.92


Moderators Selected in 1992:
---------------------------
gwydion@gnu.ai.mit.edu Basalat Ali Raja 4.02.92 - 
2.20.94
majeed@math.utexas.edu Zartaj Majeed 4.02.92 - 6.05.92

sadeka@binkley.cs.mcgill.ca Sadeka Hedaraly 12.04.92 - 2.14.93
zeeshan@occs.cs.oberlin.edu Zeeshan Hasan 12.04.92 - 
9.08.93


Moderators Selected in 1993:
---------------------------
dina@mentor.cc.purdue.edu Dina Wooten 5.04.93 - 
6.08.93
ahmad@cs.umb.edu Ahmad Hashem 5.04.93 - 
2.05.94

iraj@gnu.ai.mit.edu Iraj Mughal 12.25.93 - 
csulaima@student.umass.edu Cynthia Sulaiman 12.25.93 - 1.20.94


Moderators Selected in 1994:
---------------------------
mysorenk@ucunix.san.uc.edu Nauman Mysorewala 3.01.94 - Current
cynthia@gnu.ai.mit.edu Cynthia Sulaiman 3.01.94 - Current


Coordinator Selected on MAY 22, 1992:
------------------------------------
mughal@alumni.caltech.edu Asim Mughal 






 4. Moderator Selection Procedure
............................................. 




 The current moderators post an announcement for new moderators on 
S.R.I.
 All interested applicants are sent a copy of guidelines and a 
list of
 questions. References from others are appreciated. Each new 
moderator
 has unanimous vote of current moderators. The new moderators must: 



 1. Have some understanding of Islam (not necessarily a Muslim).
 2. Agree with guidelines of Soc.Religion.Islam.
 3. Be able to recognize flames/insults.
 4. Have experience with USENET, preferrably a reader of SRI and 
have
 taken
 some participation in discussions.
 5. Be willing to volunteer at least 2-4 hrs of time for S.R.I. per 
week.
 6. Secure unanimous vote from all current moderators.
 


 As an additional step, the incoming moderators will be requested 
to sign
 an affidavit, declaring their intent to abide by the 
guidelines of
 Soc.Religion.Islam, Guidelines & Rules for the SRI 
moderators &
 acceptance to a unanimous no-confidence motion. 




 5. Guidelines & Rules for Moderators
......................................... 

 

 IMPORTANT NOTE: 

 The following guidelines are the lastest ones available. 

 At the time of selection,the current moderators pledged to 
uphold &
 consider the following guidelines binding on them. Appended is 
also the
 'affidavit-b' which the current moderators signed. 

 Any changes in the guidelines will be done at the request 
of the
 moderators. 


 -------------------------------------------------------------------
-----
 
 By: Asim Mughal
 Dated: 1/11/94
 
 SRI MODERATOR RULES: 

 This does not cover all the established rules for moderators of 
SRI but
 gives a clear picture of need for such rules. These rules have 
developed
 over time & voted by the moderators. 

 A. CONFIDENTIALITY: 1. Internal discussion among the moderators 
must not
 be revealed to a third party. All votings will be confidential as 
well. 

 B. BEHAVIOR: Professional language & behavior is expected 
when
 addressing the readers & moderator colleagues. 

 C. SUBMISSIONS: 

 i. To: religion-Islam-request: 
 Any articles sent to religion-islam-request@ncar.ucar.edu 
reaches 
all
 moderators. Such articles will be reviewed by the 
coordinator only,
to
 avoid duplications. 
 It will not be regarded as an official submission to SRI. 

 D. COORDINATOR: 

 One of the moderators will be fully dedicated for for this 
positions.
 The responsibilities include: 
 i. Take care of duplications
 ii. Review cases of 'lost articles'
 iii. Handle grievances from readers
 iv. Write, update & maintain FAQ.
 v. Represent SRI moderator panel
 vi. Log activities of SRI, moderators, violations etc
 vii. Communicate with third parties, e.g USENET, NCAR
 viii. Call for votes on the issues at request of moderators.
 ix. Conduct survey/poll of readers
 x. Conduct interviews for new moderators.
 

 E. SUBMISSIONS: 

 i. Review of submissions be held within 48 hrs (weekdays) and 72 
hrs for
 holidays or weekends. 
 ii. Acknowledgment must be made at the time of receipt and at 
the time
 of posting of an article. 
 iii. Not sure: If not sure on making a decision, get a 
vote/opinion from
 other colleagues. 
 iv. Common Questions: can be resolved consulting 'reference 
guide.' 
 v. Rejection Notices: All rejection notices will be Bcc' or CC'd 
to the
 rest of the moderators, along with a rational of rejection. 
 vi. Approval Notices: All approved articles when posted will be 
sent to
 the author with a cc the coordinator. 


 F. GUIDELINES: 
 i. Submitted articles must be: 
 - Directly or indirectly related to Islam 
 - No flames/personal attacks or insults 
 ii. Assumptions: 
 - Proper USENET format (79 column in width,less quoted 
text) 
 - Not a 'test message' or a blank message 

 G.PROBLEMS: 
 i. Lost Articles: or 'Second Attempts' will be forwarded 
to the
 coordinator. 
 ii. Administrative: queries on SRI, asking for status on the 
article
 submitted will be forwarded to the coordinator. 
 iii. Rejections: If a reader differs with a moderator. The 
moderator
 must give it a second review. If the differences 
persist,forward 
 the case to the coordinator to a peer review. 

 H.VOTING: 
 i. Issues:For status of an article and for SRI related 
issues, a
 majority voting decides the outcome. 
 ii. Change of Status: of a moderator. For a no-confidence vote, 
or for
 new moderators, unanimous vote is a must. 
 iii.Voting will be initiated by the coordinator. All votes will 
be send
 to him within 48 hrs (72 hrs weekends/holidays) or 
'Abstain' will 
 be recorded. Votes will be tallied and results will be announced 
 by the coordinator. 
 iv. Binding: All majority voting decisions are binding on 
the 
 moderators strictly. 

 I.NEW MODERATORS: 
 i. Initiate: Coordinator may initiate the selection procedure by 
making
 a solicitation on SRI or as a result of a request for a reader. 
 ii. Criteria: Some knowledge of Islam, fairness, honest, willing 
to work
 with a team, spare time, working knowledge of USENET,willing 
to work 
 in accordance to the parameters of the forum. 
 iii.Questionnaire:A questionnaire is sent to all the applicants 
with some
 basic questions based upon above criteria 
 iv. Affidavit: An affidavit is obtained to ensure in 
writing the
 intentions to abide by the guidelines and agree to be 
accept a 
 unanimous vote against him/her. 
 v. Final voting: is conducted among the moderators. Unanimous 
voting is
 required in favor of the applicant. 


 

(Continued from last message)
 vi.There will be probationary period of upto 3 months, during 
which a
 majority voting can remove the new moderator. 

 J:EMERGENCIES: 
 i. If coordinator can not be on-line for more than 48 hrs due 
to an
 emergency situation. One of the predesignated moderator,will 
temporarily
 assume the role of the coordinator. If predesignated moderator is 
also
 not available, any other moderator may take up the role 
of a
 coordinator. 

 K:LEAVE RULES: 
 i. After a leave of 3 months, a moderator must be reconfirmed 
for the
 position. 
 ii. One may take upto three weeks (cumulative) of leave 
every six
 months. 
 iii. Other moderators must be notified in advance. 

 * AFFIDAVIT *

AFFIDAVIT which all moderators of SRI agree to sign.

___ Affidavit -B 
_________________________________________________________


I agree that I will abide by the guidelines of the SRI newsgroup
while I am a moderator for the newsgroup. These guidelines can be
voted upon further by the moderators and after they have passed
these will also be obeyed by all current moderators.

Repeated violations of the guidelines may result is removal from the
moderator position if voted so uanimously by the moderators of SRI.

If a no-confidence vote is passed against me, at any time, it shall
be final, acceptable & binding for me. I agree to step down from the
position of moderator SRI if requested after such a no-confidence
vote.

I hereby, give up the right to contest such a decision in front of
any third party, in public or private.


Signed,

Dated:
===========================================================






 6. Direct Submissions, Resubmissions & Format
................................ 



 Please be reminded, in order to make this group efficient and to 
fairly
 distribute the load on the moderators your cooperation is 
needed. We
 would like to request the following. 

 1. Please do NOT send direct submissions to the moderators' 
accounts.
 [Routing software distributes more or less equal number of 
articles to
 each of the moderator.Sending direct upsets this balance unfairly] 

 2. Please do not re-submit articles again and again. Just 
ONCE is
 sufficient. [This leads to duplication and waste of time & energy] 

 3. Please keep your column length less than 80. 

 4. Please 'Spell-check' your articles. [Moderators are for 
reviewing the
 contents of the submission, NOT to format it or spell check it] 

 5. Please Keep them within the guidelines 1) Relevance to 
Islam 2)
 Academic/prof. language 





 7. Acknowledgment Process
.................................................... 




 It has always been our best effort to make this newsgroup run 
smoothly &
 efficiently. In spite of it, there have been cases where 
readers feel
 their articles were lost or never posted. 

 Effective *immediately* we have decided to send acknowledgment to 
each &
 every message we receive in our mailboxes. 

 We ask for your cooperation in implementing the logistics. 

 Once your message is received by the moderator of SRI, you will 
be sent
 a copy of your message back with the statement. 

 "Your posting for Soc.Religion.Islam appended below has been 
received in
 the mailbox of moderator ____ ______" 

 o This will let you know 1. Your posting has been received. 2. 
Which
 moderator is reviewing it. 

 o If you don't get an acknowledgment back within 48 hrs. Please 
send it
 again with a header "Second Attempt." Acknowledgment of "Second 
Attempt"
 will be circulated to co-moderators as well. 

 o In an unfortunate case of "Third Attempt." It should be sent 
directly
 to the email address of Coordinator SRI* 

 o Your article will be posted on Soc.Religion.Islam from 
anywhere
 between 1 hrs to 48 hrs. 

 o If you don't see your posting on Soc.Religion.Islam within 72 
hrs of
 receiving a return receipt - send a copy of your article 
with time
 stamped headers to the Coordinator SRI. 


 WE REQUEST YOU TO COOPERATE BY: 

 o Not posting to Soc.Religion.Islam's email address unless 
you have
 absolutely no way of posting thru USENET. 

 o Not posting your same article again & again. Just ONCE is 
enough. 

 o Not inquiring every day about your articles or your friends'. 

 Lets try to make this new system a success. 

 P.S. The present guidelines do not require the moderators of SRI 
to send
 acknowledgments or handle the cases of lost articles. 





 8. Grievance Process
......................................................... 



 This is an effort to establish a procedure for handling 
grievances. The
 purpose is to make sure due attention is paid to concerns, 
objections &
 criticism from the readers while at the same time it prevents 
unncessary
 hassling of moderator(s). The final decision rests on majority 
voting
 among the moderators. 

 SUMMARY 

 o If your article is rejected, you may ask the same moderator 
for a
 review. 

 o If still unsatisfied, request a peer review. 

 o The moderator in question must decide whether to hold a peer 
review. 

 o Majority voting among moderators decides the outcome. 




 9. E-mail Submissions
........................................................ 




 The address : religion-islam-request@ncar.ucar.edu is only to be 
used in
 extreme case. Any email sent to this address goes to ALL 
moderators.
 This may lead to: 

 1. No moderator posting the article (thinking others may be doing 
so) 

 2. All moderators posting the article. 

 The usual case is (2) which causes duplication and waste of 
time
 translating into one less article from other readers posted on 
S.R.I.
 Hence, we discourge sending articles to this address. 




10. Proper USENET format
...................................................... 



 C O L U M N W I D T H: 

 The submissions must be trimmed to 79 characters in width. 
Without it,
 the posting software does NOT post the article. 


<------------- This makes 79 characters in width
----------------------------->
1234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890
12345678
9



 Additional time it takes to format postings translates into 
unfair
 advantage against other readers, whose article face delays. 



 Q U O T E D T E X T: 

 The current NetNews software will not post an article if the 
quoted text
 is more than the response. Please trim the quoted text 
from your
 submissions for Soc.Religion.Islam. 

 Again, please submit your articles in proper USENET format. 
Thanks. 





11. Test Messages
............................................................. 



 o "Test Message" will be acknowledged but not posted. 

 This will ensure the sender knows his/her article made it 
to the
 moderators. It is assumed their article or submission will follow. 

 o Repeated Test Messages: Will be acknowledged only once. 

 - Please don't abuse the system - 




12. Anonymous Submissions
..................................................... 



 o Submission from anonymous servers and personal requests from 
readers
 to remain anonymous are acceptable. 

 o The guidelines apply to anonymous submissions, with 
regards, to
 submission & contents. 

 o Anonymous postings may not be acknowledged. 




 Announcements
................................................................


13. Archive Info
.............................................................. 



 This FAQ is archived at several sites and is available for 
public
 retrieval thru anonymous FTP, E-MAIL, Gopher & World Wide Web. 


 -- Anonymous FTP --
 

 Login: anonymous 
 Password: Your e-mail address 


 Site: rtfm.mit.edu 

 Site: ftp.uu.net
 
 Site: ftp.cco.caltech.edu
 Dir: /pub/calmsa/islam-faq/



 -- E-MAIL --
 

 Send E-mail to: mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu 

 Text of E-mail Message: 


 quit



 -- GOPHER --

 Site: gopher.caltech.edu 70
 CCO anonymous ftp archive/
 pub/
 calmsa/
 islam-faq/


 Site: latif.com 70
 Soc.Religion.Islam




 -- World-Wide-Web (WWW) --
 

 One recommended interface is 'mosaic,' below are mosaic 'home 
pages.' 



URL at USENET Archive site:
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/islam-faq/faq.html


URL at Caltech MSA site:
http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~calmsa/links.html





14. Credits
................................................................... 



 The author wishes to thank all those who contributed in any 
capacity for
 the original one part FAQ or this multi-part FAQ. 

 -- SOURCES -- 

 The basic introduction and literature presented in the FAQ 
is from
 brochures on Islam distributed by Institute of Islamic 
Information &
 Education (III&E). These brochures were typed in electronic 
form by
 Ms.M.Ahmed. 

has been
 compiled from USENET archives and administrative logs of
 Soc.Religion.Islam moderator panel. 

 What is III&E? 

 III&E is an acronym for the Institute of Islamic Information & 
Education
 which was established in Chicago, Illinois in 1985. The 
III&E is
 registered in the State of Illinois and recognized by the 
Internal
 Revenue Service (IRS) as a not-for-profit religious organization. 

 More information can be obtained by contacting Dr. M. Amir, 
III&E, P.O.
 Box 41129, Chicago, IL 60641-0129, U.S.A.; Fax: (312) 777-
7199; or
 Tel: (312) 777-7443 or contact Sr. Margaret Ahmed. 



 -- FORMAT --
 

 The format of the FAQ series has been done by utilizing 
resources of
 Islamic Information & News Network (IINN). A custom program, 
Nebula,
 written by editors of IINN for generating newsletters has been 
used. 


 What is IINN? 

 Islamic Information & News Network is a forum dedicated to 
educate the
 network community on issues relating to Islam and Muslims in an 
academic
 & non-political environment. Weekly digest is available on 
internet by
 subscribing to MUSLIMS@ASUACAD.BITnet (A Bitnet listserv list) 
and on
 USENET: bit.listserv.muslims. 



 -- Permissions --
 

 Permission to post this multi-part FAQ has been obtained 
by the
 following: 

 o Institute of Islamic Information & Education (III&E)
 o Islamic Information & News Network (Muslims@PSUVM.bitnet) 
 o Moderator(s) of Soc.Religion.Islam (Br.Nauman Mysorewala) 
 o Moderator(s) of News.Answers (Thomas Khoenig & P.Huang)
 o Moderator(s) of Soc.Answers (Thomas Khoenig & P.Huang)



# End of Islam FAQ Part 2 #

 

bedfellow.mit.edu
faqserv
References: <islam-faq/part2_792592921@rtfm.mit.edu>
 Islam. Part 3 of 15.
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 Copyright 1993,1994,1995 Asim Mughal (mughal@caltech.edu) 

 Redistribution for profit, or in altered 
content/format
 prohibited without explicit written permission of the 
author.
 Any other redistribution must include this copyright notice 
and
 attribution. 



 Frequently Asked Questions: Part 3
 __________________________________
 

 This message is automatically posted to 
 every month and when updated. This lists answers to 
most
 commonly asked questions on the forum. Contributions & 
changes
 are requested and should be directed to: mughal@caltech.edu 



 OVERVIEW: The Frequently Asked Questions document 
for
 Islam has been divided in parts. Below is the index. 


 Part 1 - Welcome & Index
 Part 2 - Info on Islamic News Groups
 Part 3 - Introduction to Islam
 Part 4 - God & Worship
 Part 5 - Islam, Quran & Muhammad (PBUH)
 Part 6 - Marriage Laws in Islam
 Part 7 - Women In Islam
 Part 8 - Life after Death, Moral System & Human rights in 
Islam
 Part 9 - Islam: Prophethood, Jesus & Trinity
 Part 10 - Islam: Farrakhism & Malcom X
 Part 11 - Islamic Internet Guide: Islamic Resources on 
Internet
 Part 12 - Other Islamic Resource Guides on Internet
 Part 13 - Islamic Literature: Books & Video
 Part 14 - Islamic Calendar & Prayer Time Table for 1994
 Part 15 - Misc: List of Halal Foods

 

 ________________________________________________________ 

 PART 3: Introduction to Islam
 


 III&E Brochure Series; No. 1 (published by The Institute 
of
 Islamic Information and Education (III&E) and reproduced 
with
 permission) 




 Contents 

 --Articles--
 1. Islam & Muslims ................................................ 
from
III&E 
 2. Muslims & Arabs ................................................ 
from
III&E 
 3. Allah The One & The Only God ................................... 
from
III&E 
 4. Muhammad (PBUH) ................................................ 
from
III&E 
 5. Source of Islam ................................................ 
from
III&E 
 6. Some Islamic Principles ........................................ 
from
III&E 
 7. Practices of Islam ............................................. 
from
III&E 
 8. Other Related Aspects .......................................... 
from
III&E 
 9. Non-Muslims .................................................... 
from
III&E 
 --Announcements--
10. Archive Info
.............................................................. 
11. Credits
................................................................... 



 Articles
.....................................................................


 1. Islam & Muslims ................................................ 
from
III&E 



 The name of this religion is Islam, the root of which is Silm and 
Salam
 which means peace. Salam may also mean greeting one another with 
peace.
 One of the beautiful names of God is that He is the Peace. It 
means more
 than that: submission to the One God, and to live in peace 
with the
 Creator, within one's self, with other people and with the 
environment.
 Thus, Islam is a total system of living. A Muslim is supposed to 
live in
 peace and harmony with all these segments; hence, a Muslim is any 
person
 anywhere in the world whose obedience, allegiance, and loyalty 
are to
 God, the Lord of the Universe. 




 2. Muslims & Arabs ................................................ 
from
III&E 


 The followers of Islam are called Muslims. Muslims are not 
to be
 confused with Arabs. Muslims may be Arabs, Turks, Persians, 
Indians,
 Pakistanis, Malaysians, Indonesians, Europeans, Africans, 
Americans,
 Chinese, or other nationalities. 

 An Arab could be a Muslim, a Christian, a Jew or an atheist. Any 
person
 who adopts the Arabic language is called an Arab. However, the 
language
 of the Qur'an (the Holy Book of Islam) is Arabic. Muslims all 
over the
 world try to learn Arabic so that they may be able to read the 
Qur'an
 and understand its meaning. They pray in the language of the 
Qur'an,
 namely Arabic. Supplications to God could be in any language. 

 While there are one billion Muslims in the world there are 
about 200
 million Arabs. Among them, approximately ten percent are not 
Muslims.
 Thus Arab Muslims constitute only about twenty percent of the 
Muslim
 population of the world. 




 3. Allah The One & The Only God ................................... 
from
III&E 


 Allah is the name of the One and Only God. Allah has 
ninety-nine
 beautiful names, such as: The Gracious, The Merciful, The 
Beneficent,
 The Creator, The All-Knowing, The All-Wise, The Lord of the 
Universe,
 The First, The Last, and others. 

 He is the Creator of all human beings. He is the God for the 
Christians,
 the Jews, the Muslims, the Buddhists, the Hindus, the 
atheists, and
 others. Muslims worship God whose name is Allah. They put their 
trust in
 Him and they seek His help and His guidance. 




 4. Muhammad (PBUH) ................................................ 
from
III&E 


 Muhammad was chosen by God to deliver His Message of Peace, 
namely
 Islam. He was born in 570 C.E. (Common Era) in Makkah, Arabia. 
He was
 entrusted with the Message of Islam when he was at the age of 
forty
 years. The revelation that he received is called the Qur'an, 
while the
 message is called Islam. 

 Muhammad is the very last Prophet of God to mankind. He is the 
final
 Messenger of God. His message was and is still to the 
Christians, the
 Jews and the rest of mankind. He was sent to those religious 
people to
 inform them about the true mission of Jesus, Moses, Jacob, 
Isaac, and
 Abraham. 

 Muhammad is considered to be the summation and the culmination 
of all
 the prophets and messengers that came before him. He 
purified the
 previous messages from adulteration and completed the Message of 
God for
 all humanity. He was entrusted with the power of 
explaining,
 interpreting and living the teaching of the Qur'an. 




 5. Source of Islam ................................................ 
from
III&E 


 The legal sources of Islam are the Qur'an and the Hadith. The 
Qur'an is
 the exact word of God; its authenticity, originality and 
totality are
 intact. The Hadith is the report of the sayings, deeds and 
approvals of
 the Prophet Muhammad. The Prophet's sayings and deeds are called 
Sunnah.
 The Seerah is the writings of followers of Muhammad about the 
life of
 the Prophet. Hence, it is the life history of the Prophet Muhammad 
which
 provides examples of daily living for Muslims. 




 6. Some Islamic Principles ........................................ 
from
III&E 


 A. Oneness of God: 

 He is One and the Only One. He is not two in one or three in 
one. This
 means that Islam rejects the idea of trinity or such a unity 
of God
 which implies more than one God in one. 


 B. Oneness of mankind: 

 People are created equal in front of the Law of God. There 
is no
 superiority for one race over another. God made us of different 
colors,
 nationalities, languages and beliefs so as to test who is going 
to be
 better than others. No one can claim that he is better than 
others. It
 is only God Who knows who is better. It depends on 
piety and
 righteousness. 


 C. Oneness of Messengers and the Message: 

 Muslims believe that God sent different messengers 
throughout the
 history of mankind. All came with the same message and the 
same
 teachings. It was the people who misunderstood and misinterpreted 
them. 

 Muslims believe in Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Ismail, Jacob, Moses, 
David,
 Jesus, and Muhammad. The Prophets of Christianity and Judaism are 
indeed
 the Prophets of Islam. 


 D. Angels and the Day of Judgment: 

 Muslims believe that there are unseen creatures such as angels 
created
 by God in the universe for special missions. 

 Muslims believe that there is a Day of Judgment when all people 
of the
 world throughout the history of mankind till the last day of 
life on
 earth, are to be brought for accounting, reward and punishment. 


 E. Innocence of Man at Birth: 

 Muslim believe that people are born free of sin. It is only 
after they
 reach the age of puberty and it is only after they commit sins 
that they
 are to be charged for their mistakes. No one is responsible for 
or can
 take the responsibility for the sins of others. However, the 
door of
 forgiveness through true repentance is always open. 


 F. State and Religion: 

 Muslims believe that Islam is a total and a complete way of 
life. It
 encompasses all aspects of life. As such, the teachings of Islam 
do not
 separate religion from politics. As a matter of fact, state and 
religion
 are under the obedience of Allah through the teachings of Islam. 
Hence,
 economic and social transactions, as well as educational and 
political
 systems are also part of the teachings of Islam. 




 7. Practices of Islam ............................................. 
from
III&E 


 God instructed the Muslims to practice what they believe in. In 
Islam
 there are five pillars, namely: 


 A. Creed (Shahada): 

 The verbal commitment and pledge that there is only One God 
and that
 Muhammad is the Messenger of God, is considered to be the 
Creed of
 Islam. 


 B. Prayers (Salat): 

 The performance of the five daily prayers is required of Muslims. 


 C. Fasting (Saum): 

 Fasting is total abstinence from food, liquids and intimate 
intercourse
 (between married couples) from dawn to sunset during the entire 
month of
 Ramadan. 


 D. Purifying Tax (Zakat): 

 This is an annual payment of a certain percentage of a Muslim's 
property
 which is distributed among the poor or other rightful 
beneficiaries. 


 E. Pilgrimage (Hajj): 

 The performance of pilgrimage to Makkah is required once in a 
life time
 if means are available. Hajj is in part in memory of the 
trials and
 tribulations of Prophet Abraham, his wife Hagar and his 
eldest son
 Prophet Ishmael. 




 8. Other Related Aspects .......................................... 
from
III&E 


 A. Calendar: 

 Islamic practices are based on the lunar calendar. However, 
Muslims also
 use the Gregorian calendar in their daily religious lives. 
Hence, the
 Islamic calendar includes both the common era and the migration 
(Higra)
 year of the Prophet of Islam from Makkah to Madinah in the year 
of 623
 C.E. 


 B. Celebrations (Eid): 

 Muslims have two celebrations (Eid); namely, Eid of Sacrifice and 
Eid of
 =46ast-Breaking. The Eid of Sacrifice is in remembrance of the 
sacrifice
 to be by Prophet Abraham of his son. The Eid of Fast-Breaking 
comes at
 the end of the month of fasting, Ramadan. 


 C. Diets: 

 Islam allows Muslims to eat everything which is good for the 
health. It
 restricts certain items such as pork and its by-products, 
alcohol and
 any narcotic or addictive drugs. 


 D. Place of Worship: 

 The place of worship is called Mosque or Masjid. There are 
three holy
 places of worship for the Muslims in the world. These are: 
Mosque of
 Kaaba in Makkah, Mosque of the Prophet Muhammad in Madinah, and 
Masjid
 Aqsa, adjacent to the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. 

 A Muslim may pray any where in the world whether in a Mosque, a 
house,
 an office, or outside. The whole world is a place of worship. 
It is
 preferable that Muslims pray in a congregation, however, he/she 
may pray
 individually anywhere. 


 E. Holidays: 

 The holy day of the Muslims is Friday. It is considered to be 
sacred and
 the Day of Judgment will take place on Friday. Muslims join 
together
 shortly after noon on Friday for the Friday congregational 
prayer in a
 Mosque. A leader (Imam) gives a sermon (Khutba) and 
leads the
 congregational prayer. 


 F. Distribution of Muslims in North America: 

 There are approximately five million Muslims in North America 
and are
 distributed in its major cities such as New York, Detroit, 
Boston,
 Toledo, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Cedar 
Rapids
 (Iowa), Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Edmonton, Vancouver, 
Windsor,
 Winnipeg, Calgary, and others. 


 G. Contributions in North America: 

 Muslims are not established in North America. Sears Tower and 
the John
 Hancock buildings in Chicago were designed by a Muslim chief 
architect,
 originally from Bangladesh. Muslims have established 
academic
 institutions, community centers and organizations, schools and 
places of
 worship. They live in peace and harmony among themselves and among 
other
 groups of people in the society. The rate of crime among Muslims 
is very
 minimal. Muslims in North America are highly educated and 
they have
 added to the success of American scientific and technological 
fields. 

 The Muslims of the early period of the Islamic era were 
pioneers in
 medicine, chemistry, physics, geography, navigation, arts, 
poetry,
 mathematics, algebra, logarithms, calculus, etc. They contributed 
to the
 Renaissance of Europe and world civilization. 


 

(Continued from last message)




 9. Non-Muslims .................................................... 
from
III&E 


 Muslims are required to respect all those who are faithful 
and God
 conscious people, namely those who received messages. 
Christians and
 Jews are called People of the Book. Muslims are asked to call 
upon the
 People of the Book for common terms, namely, to worship One God, 
and to
 work together for the solutions of the many problems in the 
society. 

 Christians and Jews lived peacefully with Muslims throughout 
centuries
 in the Middle East and other Asian and African countries. The 
second
 Caliph Umar, did not pray in the church in Jerusalem so as not 
to give
 the Muslims an excuse to take it over. Christians entrusted the 
Muslims,
 and as such the key of the Church in Jerusalem is still in the 
hands of
 the Muslims. 

 Jews fled from Spain during the Inquisition, and they were 
welcomed by
 the Muslims. They settled in the heart of the Islamic 
Caliphate. They
 enjoyed positions of power and authority. 

 Throughout the Muslim world, churches, synagogues and missionary 
schools
 were built within the Muslim neighborhoods. These places were 
protected
 by Muslims even during the contemporary crises in the Middle East. 




 Announcements
................................................................


10. Archive Info
.............................................................. 


 This FAQ is archived at several sites and is available for 
public
 retrieval thru anonymous FTP, E-MAIL, Gopher & World Wide Web. 


 -- Anonymous FTP --
 


 Login: anonymous
 Password: Your e-mail address



 Site: rtfm.mit.edu 

 Site: ftp.uu.net
 
 Site: ftp.cco.caltech.edu
 Dir: /pub/calmsa/islam-faq/



 -- E-MAIL --
 

 Send E-mail to: mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu 

 Text of E-mail Message: 


 quit



 -- GOPHER --


 Site: gopher.caltech.edu 70
 CCO anonymous ftp archive/
 pub/
 calmsa/
 islam-faq/


 Site: latif.com 70
 Soc.Religion.Islam




 -- World-Wide-Web (WWW) --
 

 One recommended interface is 'mosaic,' below are mosaic 'home 
pages.' 



URL at USENET Archive site:
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/islam-faq/faq.html


URL at Caltech MSA site:
http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~calmsa/links.html






11. Credits
................................................................... 


 The author wishes to thank all those who contributed in any 
capacity for
 the original one part FAQ or this multi-part FAQ. 


 -- SOURCES --
 

 The basic introduction and literature presented in the FAQ 
is from
 brochures on Islam distributed by Institute of Islamic 
Information &
 Education (III&E). These brochures were typed in electronic 
form by
 Ms.M.Ahmed. 

has been
 compiled from USENET archives and administrative logs of
 Soc.Religion.Islam moderator panel. 

 What is III&E? 

 III&E is an acronym for the Institute of Islamic Information & 
Education
 which was established in Chicago, Illinois in 1985. The 
III&E is
 registered in the State of Illinois and recognized by the 
Internal
 Revenue Service (IRS) as a not-for-profit religious organization. 

 More information can be obtained by contacting Dr. M. Amir, 
III&E, P.O.
 Box 41129, Chicago, IL 60641-0129, U.S.A.; Fax: (312) 777-
7199; or
 Tel: (312) 777-7443 or contact Sr. Margaret Ahmed. 



 -- FORMAT --
 

 The format of the FAQ series has been done by utilizing 
resources of
 Islamic Information & News Network (IINN). A custom program, 
Nebula,
 written by editors of IINN for generating newsletters has been 
used. 


 What is IINN? 

 Islamic Information & News Network is a forum dedicated to 
educate the
 network community on issues relating to Islam and Muslims in an 
academic
 & non-political environment. Weekly digest is available on 
internet by
 subscribing to MUSLIMS@ASUACAD.BITnet (A Bitnet listserv list) 
and on
 USENET: bit.listserv.muslims. 



 -- Permissions --
 

 Permission to post this multi-part FAQ has been obtained 
by the
 following: 

 o Institute of Islamic Information & Education (III&E)
 o Islamic Information & News Network (Muslims@PSUVM.bitnet) 
 o Moderator(s) of Soc.Religion.Islam (Br.Nauman Mysorewala) 
 o Moderator(s) of News.Answers (Thomas Khoenig & P.Huang)
 o Moderator(s) of Soc.Answers (Thomas Khoenig & P.Huang)



# End of Islam FAQ Part 3 #

 

bedfellow.mit.edu
faqserv
References: <islam-faq/part3_792592921@rtfm.mit.edu>
 Islam. Part 4 of 15.
bit.listserv.muslims:86


Archive-name: islam-faq/part4



 Copyright 1993,1994,1995 Asim Mughal (mughal@caltech.edu) 

 Redistribution for profit, or in altered 
content/format
 prohibited without explicit written permission of the 
author.
 Any other redistribution must include this copyright notice 
and
 attribution. 



 Frequently Asked Questions: Part 4
 __________________________________
 

 This message is automatically posted to 
 every month and when updated. This lists answers to 
most
 commonly asked questions on the forum. Contributions & 
changes
 are requested and should be directed to: mughal@caltech.edu 



 OVERVIEW: The Frequently Asked Questions document 
for
 Islam has been divided in parts. Below is the index. 

 
 Part 1 - Welcome & Index
 Part 2 - Info on Islamic News Groups
 Part 3 - Introduction to Islam
 Part 4 - God & Worship
 Part 5 - Islam, Quran & Muhammad (PBUH)
 Part 6 - Marriage Laws in Islam
 Part 7 - Women In Islam
 Part 8 - Life after Death, Moral System & Human rights in 
Islam
 Part 9 - Islam: Prophethood, Jesus & Trinity
 Part 10 - Islam: Farrakhism & Malcom X
 Part 11 - Islamic Internet Guide: Islamic Resources on 
Internet
 Part 12 - Other Islamic Resource Guides on Internet
 Part 13 - Islamic Literature: Books & Video
 Part 14 - Islamic Calendar & Prayer Time Table for 1994
 Part 15 - Misc: List of Halal Foods


 ________________________________________________________

 PART 4: God & Worship
 

 Contents 

 --Articles--
 1. CONCEPT OF GOD IN ISLAM ........................................ 
from
III&E 
 2. God's Attributes ............................................... 
from
III&E 
 3. The Oneness of God ............................................. 
from
III&E 
 4. The Believer's Attitude ........................................ 
from
III&E 
 5. CONCEPT OF WORSHIP IN ISLAM .................................... 
from
III&E 
 --Announcements--
 6. Archive Info
.............................................................. 
 7. Credits
................................................................... 



 Articles
.....................................................................


 1. CONCEPT OF GOD IN ISLAM ........................................ 
from
III&E 


 It is a known fact that every language has one or more terms 
that are
 used in reference to God and sometimes to lesser deities. This 
is not
 the case with Allah. Allah is the personal name of the One 
true God.
 Nothing else can be called Allah. The term has no plural or 
gender. This
 shows its uniqueness when compared with the word god which can 
be made
 plural, gods, or feminine, goddess. It is interesting to 
notice that
 Allah is the personal name of God in Aramaic, the language of 
Jesus and
 a sister language of Arabic. 

 The One true God is a reflection of the unique concept that 
Islam
 associates with God. To a Muslim, Allah is the Almighty, 
Creator and
 Sustainer of the universe, Who is similar to nothing and 
nothing is
 comparable to Him. The Prophet Muhammad was asked by his 
contemporaries
 about Allah; the answer came directly from God Himself in the 
form of a
 short chapter of the Quran, which is considered the essence of the 
unity
 or the motto of monotheism. This is chapter 112 which reads: 

 "In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. Say (O 
Muhammad)
 He is God the One God, the Everlasting Refuge, who has not 
begotten, nor
 has been begotten, and equal to Him is not anyone." 

 Some non-Muslims allege that God in Islam is a stern and cruel 
God who
 demands to be obeyed fully. He is not loving and kind. Nothing 
can be
 farther from truth than this allegation. It is enough to know 
that, with
 the exception of one, each of the 114 chapters of the Quran 
begins with
 the verse: "In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate." 
In one
 of the sayings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) we are told that "God 
is more
 loving and kinder than a mother to her dear child." 

 But God is also Just. Hence evildoers and sinners must have their 
share
 of punishment and the virtuous, His bounties and favors. Actually 
God's
 attribute of Mercy has full manifestation in His attribute of 
Justice.
 People suffering throughout their lives for His sake and 
people
 oppressing and exploiting other people all their lives 
should not
 receive similar treatment from their Lord. Expecting similar 
treatment
 for them will amount to negating the very belief in the 
accountability
 of man in the Hereafter and thereby negating all the incentives 
for a
 moral and virtuous life in this world. The following Quranic 
verses are
 very clear and straightforward in this respect: 

 "Verily, for the Righteous are gardens of Delight, in the 
Presence of
 their Lord. Shall We then treat the people of Faith like the 
people of
 Sin? What is the matter with you? How judge you?" (68:34-36) 

 Islam rejects characterizing God in any human form or depicting 
Him as
 favoring certain individuals or nations on the basis of wealth, 
power or
 race. He created the human-beings as equals. They may 
distinguish
 themselves and get His favor through virtue and piety only. 

 The concept that God rested in the seventh day of creation, 
that God
 wrestled with one of His soldiers, that God is an envious 
plotter
 against mankind, or that God is incarnate in any human 
being are
 considered blasphemy from the Islamic point of view. 

 The unique usage of Allah as a personal name of God is a 
reflection of
 Islam's emphasis on the purity of the belief in God which is the 
essence
 of the message of all God's messengers. Because of this, Islam 
considers
 associating any deity or personality with God as a deadly sin 
which God
 will never forgive, despite the fact He may forgive all other 
sins. 

 The Creator must be of a different nature from the things 
created
 because if he is of the same nature as they are, he will be 
temporal and
 will therefore need a maker. It follows that nothing is like Him. 
If the
 maker is not temporal, then he must be eternal. But if he is 
eternal, he
 cannot be caused, and if nothing outside him causes him to 
continue to
 exist, which means that he must be self-sufficient. And if the 
does not
 depend on anything for the continuance of his own existence, 
then this
 existence can have no end. The Creator is therefore 
eternal and
 everlasting: 'He is the =46irst and the Last.' 

 He is Self-Sufficient or Self-Subsistent or, to use a Quranic 
term,
 Al-Qayyum. The Creator does not create only in the sense of 
bringing
 things into being, He also preserves them and takes them 
out of
 existence and is the ultimate cause of whatever happens to them. 

 "God is the Creator of everything. He is the guardian over 
everything.
 Unto Him belong the keys of the heavens and the earth." (39:62, 
63) "No
 creature is there crawling on the earth, but its provision rests 
on God.
 He knows its lodging place and it repository." (11:6) 





 2. God's Attributes ............................................... 
from
III&E 

 

 If the Creator is Eternal and Everlasting, then His attributes 
must also
 be eternal and everlasting. He should not lose any of His 
attributes nor
 acquire new ones. If this is so, then His attributes are 
absolute. Can
 there be more than one Creator with such absolute attributes? Can 
there
 be for example, two absolutely powerful Creators? A moment's 
thought
 shows that this is not feasible. 

 The Quran summarizes this argument in the following verses: "God 
has not
 taken to Himself any son, nor is there any god with Him: For 
then each
 god would have taken of that which he created and some of them 
would
 have risen up over others." (23:91) And Why, were there gods in 
earth
 and heaven other than God, they (heaven and earth) would surely 
go to
 ruin." (21:22) 




 3. The Oneness of God ............................................. 
from
III&E 


 The Quran reminds us of the falsity of all alleged gods. 

 To the worshippers of man-made objects, it asks: "Do you 
worship what
 you have carved yourself?" (37:95) "Or have you taken unto you 
others
 beside Him to be your protectors, even such as have no power 
either for
 good or for harm to themselves?" (13:16) 

 To the worshippers of heavenly bodies it cites the story of 
Abraham:
 "When night outspread over him he say a star and said, 'This 
is my
 Lord.' But when it set he said, 'I love not the setters.' When 
he saw
 the moon rising, he said, 'This is my Lord.' But when it set he 
said,
 'If my Lord does not guide me I shall surely be of the 
people gone
 astray.' When he say the sun rising, he said, 'This is my Lord; 
this is
 greater.' But when it set he said, 'O my people, surely I 
quit that
 which you associate, I have turned my face to Him Who 
originated the
 heavens and the earth; a man of pure faith, I am not of the 
idolaters.'"
 (6:76-79) 




 4. The Believer's Attitude ........................................ 
from
III&E 


 In order to be a Muslim, i.e., to surrender oneself to God, 
it is
 necessary to believe in the oneness of God, in the sense of His 
being
 the only Creator, Preserver, Nourisher, etc. But this belief - 
later on
 called "Tawhid Ar-Rububiyyah is not enough." Many of the 
idolaters knew
 and believed that only the Supreme God could do all this. but 
that was
 not enough to make them Muslims. To tawhid ar-rububiyyah one 
must add
 tawhid al'uluhiyyah, i.e., one acknowledges the fact that is God 
alone
 Who deserves to be worshipped, and thus abstains from 
worshipping any
 other thing or being. 

 Having achieved this knowledge of the one true God, man 
should
 constantly have faith in Him, and should allow nothing to induce 
him to
 deny truth. 

 When faith enters a person's heart, it causes certain mental 
states
 which result in certain actions. Taken together these mental 
states and
 actions are the proof for the true faith. The Prophet said, 
"Faith is
 that which resides firmly in the heart and which is proved by 
deeds." 

 Foremost among those mental states is the feeling of gratitude 
towards
 God, which could be said to be the essence of 'ibada' (worship). 

 The feeling of gratitude is so important that a non-believer is 
called
 'kafir,' which means 'one who denies a truth' and also 'one 
who is
 ungrateful.' 

 A believer loves, and is grateful to God for the bounties He 
bestowed
 upon him, but being aware of the fact that his good deeds, 
whether
 mental or physical, are far from being commensurate with Divine 
favors,
 he is always anxious lest God should punish him, here or 
in the
 Hereafter. He, therefore, fears Him, surrenders himself to 
Him and
 serves Him with great humility. One cannot be in such a mental 
state
 without being almost all the time mindful of God. Remembering 
God is
 thus the life force of faith, without which it fades and withers 
away. 

 The Quran tries to promote this feeling of gratitude by 
repeating the
 attributes of God very frequently. We find most of these 
attributes
 mentioned together in the following verses of the Quran: 

 "He is God; there is no god but He, He is the Knower of the 
unseen and
 the visible; He is the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate. He 
is God,
 there is no God but He. He is the King, the All-Holy, the All-
Peace, the
 Guardian of Faith, the All-Preserver, the All-Mighty, the All-
Compeller,
 the All-Sublime. Glory be to God, above that they associate! He 
is God
 the Creator, the Maker, the Shaper. To Him belong the 
Names Most
 Beautiful. All that is in the heavens and the earth magnifies Him; 
He is
 the All-Mighty, the All-Wise." (59:22-24) 

 "There is no god but He, the Living, the Everlasting. Slumber 
seizes Him
 not, neither sleep; to Him belongs all that is in the heavens 
and the
 earth. Who is there that shall intercede with Him save by His 
leave? He
 knows what lies before them and what is after them, and they 
comprehend
 not anything of His knowledge save such as He wills. His 
throne
 comprises the heavens and earth; the preserving of them 
oppresses Him
 not; He is the All-High, the All-Glorious." (2:255) 

 "People of the Book, go not beyond the bounds in your religion, 
and say
 not as to God but the truth. The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, 
was only
 the Messenger of God, and His Word that He committed to Mary, 
and a
 Spirit from Him. So believe in God and His Messengers, and 
say not,
 'Three.' Refrain; better is it for you. God is only one God. Glory 
be to
 Him - (He is) above having a son." (4:171) 





 5. CONCEPT OF WORSHIP IN ISLAM .................................... 
from
III&E 



 The concept of worship in Islam is misunderstood by many 
people
 including some Muslims. Worship is commonly taken to mean 
performing
 ritualistic acts such as prayers, fasting, charity, etc. This 
limited
 understanding of worship is only one part of the meaning of 
worship in
 Islam. That is why the traditional definition of worship in 
Islam is a
 comprehensive definition that includes almost everything 
in any
 individual's activities. The definition goes something like 
this:
 "Worship is an all inclusive term for all that God loves of 
external and
 internal sayings and actions of a person." In other words, 
worship is
 everything one says or does for the pleasure of Allah. This, of 
course,
 includes rituals as well as beliefs, social activities, and 
personal
 contributions to the welfare of one's fellow human-beings. 

 Islam looks at the individual as a whole. He is required to 
submit
 himself completely to Allah, as the Quran instructed the 
Prophet
 Muhammad to do: "Say (O Muhammad) my prayer, my sacrifice, my 
life and
 my death belong to Allah; He has no partner and I am ordered to be 
among
 those who submit, i.e.; Muslims." (6:162, 163) The natural 
result of
 this submission is that all one's activities should conform 
to the
 instructions of the one to whom the person is submitting. Islam, 
being a
 way of life, requires that its followers model their life 
according to
 its teachings in every aspect, religious or other wise. This might 
sound
 strange to some people who think of religion as a personal 
relation
 between the individual and God, having no impact on one's 
activities
 outside rituals. 

 As a matter of fact Islam does not think much of mere rituals 
when they
 are performed mechanically and have no influence on one's inner 
life.
 The Quran addresses the believers and their neighbors from 
among the
 People of the Book who were arguing with them about the change 
of the
 direction of Qibla in the following verse: 

 "It is not righteousness that you turn your faces toward the East 
or the
 West, but righteous is he who believes in Allah and the Last Day 
and the
 Angels and the Book and the Prophets, and gives his beloved 
money to
 this relatives and the orphans and the needy and for the 
ransoming of
 captives and who observes prayer and pays the poor-due; and 
those who
 fulfill their promises when they have made one, and the 
patient in
 poverty and affliction and the steadfast in time of war; it is 
those who
 have proved truthful and it is those who are the God-fearing." 
(2:177) 

 The deeds in the above verse are the deeds of righteousness and 
they are
 only a part of worship. The Prophet told us about faith, which 
is the
 basis of worship, that it "is made up of sixty and some 
branches; the
 highest of which is the belief in the Oneness of Allah, i.e., 
there is
 no God but Allah and the lowest in the scale of worship is 
removing
 obstacles and dirt from people's way." 

 Decent work is considered in Islam a type of worship. The Prophet 
said:
 "Whoever finds himself at the nightfall tired of his work, 
God will
 forgive his sins." Seeking knowledge is one of the highest 
types of
 worship. The Prophet told his companions that "seeking 
knowledge is a
 (religious) duty on every Muslim." In another saying he said: 
"Seeking
 knowledge for one hour is better than praying for seventy years." 
Social
 courtesy and cooperation are part of worship when done for the 
sake of
 Allah as the Prophet told us: "Receiving your friend with a 
smile is a
 type of charity, helping a person to load his animal is a 
charity and
 putting some water in your neighbor's bucket is a charity." 

 It is worth noting that even performing one's duties is 
considered a
 sort of worship. The Prophet told us that whatever one spends 
for his
 family is a type of charity; he will be rewarded for it if he 
acquires
 it through legal means. Kindness to members of one's family is an 
act of
 worship as when one puts a piece of food in his spouse's mouth. 
Not only
 this but even the acts we enjoy doing very much, when they are 
performed
 according to the instructions of the Prophet, are considered as 
acts of
 worship. The Prophet told his companions that they will be 
rewarded even
 for having sexual intercourse with their wives. The 
companions were
 astonished and asked: "How are we going to be rewarded for 
doing
 something we enjoy very much?" The Prophet asked them: 
"Suppose you
 satisfy your desires illegally; don't you think that you 
will be
 punished for that?" They replied, "Yes." "So," he said, "by 
satisfying
 it legally with your wives you are rewarded for it." This means 
they are
 acts of worship. 

 Thus Islam does not consider sex a dirty thing that one should 
avoid. It
 is dirty and sinful only when it is satisfied outside marital 
life. 

 It is clear, from the previous discussion that the concept of 
worship in


 

(Continued from last message)
 Islam is a comprehensive concept that includes all the 
positive
 activities of the individual. This of course is in agreement 
with the
 all inclusive nature of Islam as a way of life. It regulates 
human life
 on all levels: individual, social, economic, political and 
spiritual.
 That is why Islam provides guidance to the smallest details of 
one's
 life on all these levels. Thus following these details is 
following
 Islamic instructions in that specific area. It is a very 
encouraging
 element when one realizes that all his activities are considered 
by God
 as acts of worship. This should lead the individual to seek 
Allah's
 pleasure in his actions and always try to do them in the best 
possible
 manner whether he is watched by his superiors or he is alone. 
There is
 always the permanent supervisor, who knows everything, namely, 
Allah. 

 Discussing the non-ritual worship in Islam first does not 
mean
 undervaluing the importance of the ritual ones. Actually ritual 
worship,
 if performed in true spirit, elevates man morally and 
spiritually and
 enables him to carry on his activities in all walks of life 
according to
 the Guidance of God. Among ritual worships, Salah (ritual 
prayer)
 occupies the key position for two reasons. Firstly, it is 
the
 distinctive mark of a believer. Secondly, it prevents an 
individual from
 all sorts of abominations and vices by providing him chances of 
direct
 communion with his Creator five times a day, wherein he 
renews his
 covenant with God and seeks His guidance again and again: "You 
alone we
 worship and to You alone we turn for help. Guide us to the 
straight
 path." (1:5,6) Actually Salah is the first practical 
manifestation of
 Faith and also the foremost of the basis conditions for the 
success of
 the believers: 

 "Successful indeed are the believers who are humble in their 
prayers."
 (23:1-2) 

 The same fact has been emphasized by the Prophet (PBUH) in a 
different
 way. He says: 

 "Those who offer their Salah with great care and punctuality, 
will find
 it a light, a proof of their Faith and cause of their salvation 
on the
 Day of Judgment." 

 After Salah, Zakah (poor-due) is an important pillar of Islam. 
In the
 Quran, Salah and Zakah mostly have been mentioned together many 
times.
 Like Salah, Zakah is a manifestation of faith that affirms that 
God is
 the sole owner of everything in the universe, and what men 
hold is a
 trust in their hand over which God made them trustees to discharge 
it as
 He has laid down: 

 "Believe in Allah and His messenger and spend of that over which 
He made
 you trustees." (57:7) 

 In this respect Zakah is an act of devotion which, like prayer, 
brings
 the believer nearer to his Lord. 

 Apart from this, Zakah is a means of redistribution of wealth in 
a way
 that reduces differences between classes and groups. It makes 
a fair
 contribution to social stability. By purging the soul of the 
rich from
 selfishness and the soul of the poor from envy and resentment 
against
 society, it stops up the channels leading to class hatred and 
makes it
 possible for the springs of brotherhood and solidarity to gush 
forth.
 Such stability is not merely based on the personal feelings of the 
rich;
 it stands on a firmly established right which, if the rich 
denied it,
 would be exacted by force, if necessary. 

 Siyam (fasting during the day time of the month of Ramadan) is 
another
 pillar of Islam. The main function of fasting is to make the 
Muslim pure
 from "within" as other aspects of Shariah make him pure from 
"without."
 By such purity he responds to what is true and good and shuns 
what is
 false and evil. This is what we can perceive in the Quranic 
verse: "O
 you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was 
prescribed for
 those before you, that you may gain piety." (2:183) In an 
authentic
 tradition, the Prophet reported Allah as saying: "He suspends 
eating,
 drinking, and gratification of his sexual passion for My sake." 
Thus his
 reward is going to be according to God's great bounty. 

 Fasting, then, awakens the conscience of the individual and 
gives it
 scope for exercise in a joint experience for all society at 
the same
 time, thus adding further strength to each individual. Moreover, 
fasting
 offers a compulsory rest to the over-worked human machine 
for the
 duration of one full month. Similarly fasting reminds an 
individual of
 those who are deprived of life's necessities throughout the 
year or
 throughout life. It makes him realize the suffering of others, 
the less
 fortunate brothers in Islam, and thus promotes in him a 
sense of
 sympathy and kindness to them. 

 Lastly, we come to Al-Hajj (pilgrimage to the House of God in 
Makkah).
 This very important pillar of Islam manifests a unique unity, 
dispelling
 all kinds of differences. Muslims from all corners of the world 
wearing
 the same dress, respond to the call of Hajj in one voice and 
language;
 LABBAIK ALLAHUMMA LABBAIK (Here I am at your service O Lord!). 
In Hajj
 there is an exercise of strict self-discipline and control 
where not
 only sacred things are revered, but even the life of plants and 
birds is
 made inviolable so that everything lives in safety: "And 
he that
 venerates the sacred things of God, it shall be better for him 
with his
 Lord." (22:30) "And he that venerates the waymarks of God, it 
surely is
 from devotion of the heart." (22:32) 

 Pilgrimage gives an opportunity to all Muslims from all groups, 
classes,
 organizations, and governments from all over the Muslim world 
to meet
 annually in a great congress. The time and venue of this 
congress has
 been set by their One God. Invitation to attend is open to every 
Muslim.
 No one has the power to bar anyone. Every Muslim who 
attends is
 guaranteed full safety and freedom as long as he himself 
does not
 violate its safety. 

 Thus, worship in Islam, whether ritual or non-ritual, 
trains the
 individual in such a way that he loves his Creator most and 
thereby
 gains an unyielding will and spirit to wipe out all evil and 
oppression
 from the human society and make the word of God dominant in the 
world. 





 Announcements
................................................................


 6. Archive Info
.............................................................. 


 This FAQ is archived at several sites and is available for 
public
 retrieval thru anonymous FTP, E-MAIL, Gopher & World Wide Web. 


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 -- World-Wide-Web (WWW) --
 

 One recommended interface is 'mosaic,' below are mosaic 'home 
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URL at USENET Archive site:
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URL at Caltech MSA site:
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 7. Credits
................................................................... 


 The author wishes to thank all those who contributed in any 
capacity for
 the original one part FAQ or this multi-part FAQ. 


 -- SOURCES --
 

 The basic introduction and literature presented in the FAQ 
is from
 brochures on Islam distributed by Institute of Islamic 
Information &
 Education (III&E). These brochures were typed in electronic 
form by
 Ms.M.Ahmed. 

has been
 compiled from USENET archives and administrative logs of
 Soc.Religion.Islam moderator panel. 

 What is III&E? 

 III&E is an acronym for the Institute of Islamic Information & 
Education
 which was established in Chicago, Illinois in 1985. The 
III&E is
 registered in the State of Illinois and recognized by the 
Internal
 Revenue Service (IRS) as a not-for-profit religious organization. 

 More information can be obtained by contacting Dr. M. Amir, 
III&E, P.O.
 Box 41129, Chicago, IL 60641-0129, U.S.A.; Fax: (312) 777-
7199; or
 or Tel: (312) 777-7443 or contact Sr. Margaret Ahmed. 



 -- FORMAT --
 

 The format of the FAQ series has been done by utilizing 
resources of
 Islamic Information & News Network (IINN). A custom program, 
Nebula,
 written by editors of IINN for generating newsletters has been 
used. 


 What is IINN? 

 Islamic Information & News Network is a forum dedicated to 
educate the
 network community on issues relating to Islam and Muslims in an 
academic
 & non-political environment. Weekly digest is available on 
internet by
 subscribing to MUSLIMS@ASUACAD.BITnet (A Bitnet listserv list) 
and on
 USENET: bit.listserv.muslims. 



 -- Permissions --
 

 Permission to post this multi-part FAQ has been obtained 
by the
 following: 

 o Institute of Islamic Information & Education (III&E)
 o Islamic Information & News Network (Muslims@PSUVM.bitnet) 
 o Moderator(s) of News.Answers (Thomas Khoenig & P.Huang)


# End of Islam FAQ Part 4 #


 

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 Copyright 1993,1994,1995 Asim Mughal (mughal@caltech.edu) 

 Redistribution for profit, or in altered 
content/format
 prohibited without explicit written permission of the 
author.
 Any other redistribution must include this copyright notice 
and
 attribution. 



 Frequently Asked Questions: Part 5
 __________________________________
 


 This message is automatically posted to 
 every month and when updated. This lists answers to 
most
 commonly asked questions on the forum. Contributions & 
changes
 are requested and should be directed to: mughal@caltech.edu 



 OVERVIEW: The Frequently Asked Questions document 
for
 Islam has been divided in parts. Below is the index. 


 Part 1 - Welcome & Index
 Part 2 - Info on Islamic News Groups
 Part 3 - Introduction to Islam
 Part 4 - God & Worship
 Part 5 - Islam, Quran & Muhammad (PBUH)
 Part 6 - Marriage Laws in Islam
 Part 7 - Women In Islam
 Part 8 - Life after Death, Moral System & Human rights in 
Islam
 Part 9 - Islam: Prophethood, Jesus & Trinity
 Part 10 - Islam: Farrakhism & Malcom X
 Part 11 - Islamic Internet Guide: Islamic Resources on 
Internet
 Part 12 - Other Islamic Resource Guides on Internet
 Part 13 - Islamic Literature: Books & Video
 Part 14 - Islamic Calendar & Prayer Time Table for 1994
 Part 15 - Misc: List of Halal Foods
 
 

 ________________________________________________________

 PART 5: Islam, Quran & Muhammad (PBUH)
 


 Contents 

 --Articles--
 1. WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT ISLAM ...................................... 
from
III&E 
 2. WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT THE QUR'AN ................................. 
from
III&E 
 3. QUR'AN ON QUR'AN ............................................... 
from
III&E 
 4. WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT MUHAMMAD (PBUH) ............................ 
from
III&E 
 5. THE SWORD OF ISLAM ............................................. 
from
III&E 
 6. Has the sword gone Blunt? No, far from it. ..................... 
from
III&E 
 7. CHOOSING ISLAM: ONE MAN'S TALE ................................. 
from
III&E 
 8. Who can I ask questions on Islam?
......................................... 
 9. Indroductory Publications ...................................... 
from
III&E 
 --Announcements--
10. Archive Info
.............................................................. 
11. Credits
................................................................... 



 Articles
.....................................................................


 1. WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT ISLAM ...................................... 
from
III&E 


 The Islam that was revealed to Muhammad (PBUH), is the 
continuation and
 culmination of all the preceding revealed religions and hence it 
is for
 all times and all peoples. This status of Islam is sustained by 
glaring
 facts. Firstly, there is no other revealed book extant in the 
same form
 and content as it was revealed. Secondly, no other revealed 
religion has
 any convincing claim to provide guidance in all walks of human 
life for
 all times. But Islam addresses humanity at large and offers 
basic
 guidance regarding all human problems. Moreover, it has 
withstood the
 test of fourteen hundred years and has all the 
potentialities of
 establishing an ideal society as it did under the leadership of 
the last
 Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). 

 It was a miracle that Prophet Muhammad could bring even his 
toughest
 enemies to the fold of Islam without adequate material 
resources.
 Worshippers of idols, blind followers of the ways of 
forefathers,
 promoters of tribal feuds, abusers of human dignity and blood, 
became
 the most disciplined nation under the guidance of Islam and its 
Prophet.
 Islam opened before them vistas of spiritual heights and human 
dignity
 by declaring righteousness as the sole criterion of merit and 
honor.
 Islam shaped their social, cultural, moral and commercial 
life with
 basic laws and principles which are in conformity with human 
nature and
 hence applicable in all times as human nature does not change. 

 It is so unfortunate that the Christian West, instead of 
sincerely
 trying to understand the phenomenal success of Islam during its 
earlier
 time, considered it as a rival religion. During the centuries 
of the
 Crusades this trend gained much force and impetus and a huge 
amount of
 literature was produced to tarnish the image of Islam. But 
Islam has
 begun to unfold its genuineness to the modern scholars whose 
bold and
 objective observations on Islam belie all the charges leveled 
against it
 by the so-called unbiased orientalists. 

 Here we furnish some observations on Islam by great and 
acknowledged
 non-Muslim scholars of modern time. Truth needs no advocates to 
plead on
 its behalf, but the prolonged malicious propaganda against 
Islam has
 created great confusion even in the minds of free and 
objective
 thinkers. 

 We hope that the following observations would contribute to 
initiating
 an objective evaluation of Islam: 

 "It (Islam) replaced monkishness by manliness. It gives hope 
to the
 slave, brotherhood to mankind, and recognition of the fundamental 
facts
 of human nature." --Canon Taylor, Paper read before the Church 
Congress
 at Walverhamton, Oct. 7, 1887; Quoted by Arnoud in THE 
PREACHING OF
 ISLAM, pp. 71-72. 

 "Sense of justice is one of the most wonderful ideals of Islam, 
because
 as I read in the Qur'an I find those dynamic principles of 
life, not
 mystic but practical ethics for the daily conduct of life suited 
to the
 whole world." --Lectures on "The Ideals of Islam;" see 
SPEECHES AND
 WRITINGS OF SAROJINI NAIDU, Madras, 1918, p. 167. 

 "History makes it clear however, that the legend of fanatical 
Muslims
 sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point of the 
sword
 upon conquered races is one of the most fantastically absurd 
myths that
 historians have ever repeated." --De Lacy O'Leary, ISLAM 
AT THE
 CROSSROADS, London, 1923, p. 8. 

 "But Islam has a still further service to render to the 
cause of
 humanity. It stands after all nearer to the real East than Europe 
does,
 and it possesses a magnificent tradition of inter-racial 
understanding
 and cooperation. No other society has such a record of success 
uniting
 in an equality of status, of opportunity, and of endeavours so 
many and
 so various races of mankind . . . Islam has still the power to 
reconcile
 apparently irreconcilable elements of race and tradition. If 
ever the
 opposition of the great societies of East and West is to be 
replaced by
 cooperation, the mediation of Islam is an indispensable 
condition. In
 its hands lies very largely the solution of the problem with 
which
 Europe is faced in its relation with East. If they unite, the 
hope of a
 peaceful issue is immeasurably enhanced. But if Europe, by 
rejecting the
 cooperation of Islam, throws it into the arms of its rivals, the 
issue
 can only be disastrous for both." --H.A.R. Gibb, WHITHER ISLAM, 
London,
 1932, p. 379. 

 "I have always held the religion of Muhammad in high estimation 
because
 of its wonderful vitality. It is the only religion which appears 
to me
 to possess that assimilating capacity to the changing phase of 
existence
 which can make itself appeal to every age. I have studied him 
- the
 wonderful man and in my opinion for from being an anti-Christ, 
he must
 be called the Saviour of Humanity. I believe that if a man like 
him were
 to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he would 
succeed in
 solving its problems in a way that would bring it the much needed 
peace
 and happiness: I have prophesied about the faith of Muhammad 
that it
 would be acceptable to the Europe of tomorrow as it is beginning 
to be
 acceptable to the Europe of today." --G.B. Shaw, THE GENUINE 
ISLAM, Vol.
 1, No. 81936. 

 "The extinction of race consciousness as between Muslims is one 
of the
 outstanding achievements of Islam, and in the contemporary world 
there
 is, as it happens, a crying need for the propagation of this 
Islamic
 virtue." --A.J. Toynbee, CIVILIZATION ON TRIAL, New York, 1948, p. 
205. 

 "The rise of Islam is perhaps the most amazing event in human 
history.
 Springing from a land and a people like previously negligible, 
Islam
 spread within a century over half the earth, shattering great 
empires,
 overthrowing long established religions, remoulding the souls of 
races,
 and building up a whole new world - world of Islam. 

 "The closer we examine this development the more extraordinary 
does it
 appear. The other great religions won their way slowly, by 
painful
 struggle and finally triumphed with the aid of powerful 
monarchs
 converted to the new faith. Christianity had its Constantine, 
Buddhism
 its Asoka, and Zoroastrianism its Cyrus, each lending to his 
chosen cult
 the mighty force of secular authority. Not so Islam. Arising in a 
desert
 land sparsely inhabited by a nomad race previously 
undistinguished in
 human annals, Islam sallied forth on its great adventure 
with the
 slenderest human backing and against the heaviest material 
odds. Yet
 Islam triumphed with seemingly miraculous ease, and a 
couple of
 generations saw the Fiery Crescent borne victorious from the 
Pyrenees to
 the Himalayas and from the desert of Central Asia to the 
deserts of
 Central Africa." --A.M.L. Stoddard, quoted in ISLAM - THE 
RELIGION OF
 ALL PROPHETS, Begum Bawani Waqf, Karachi, Pakistan, p. 56. 

 "Islam is a religion that is essentially rationalistic in the 
widest
 sense of this term considered etymologically and 
historically. The
 definition of rationalism as a system that bases religious 
beliefs on
 principles furnished by the reason applies to it exactly . . . It 
cannot
 be denied that many doctrines and systems of theology and 
also many
 superstitions, from the worship of saints to the use of 
rosaries and
 amulets, have become grafted on the main trunk of Muslim creed. 
But in
 spite of the rich developments, in every sense of the term, 
of the
 teachings of the Prophet, the Quran has invariable kept its place 
as the
 fundamental starting point, and the dogma of unity of God has 
always
 been proclaimed therein with a grandeur, a majesty, an invariable 
purity
 and with a note of sure conviction, which it is hard to find 
surpassed
 outside the pale of Islam. This fidelity to the fundamental dogma 
of the
 religion, the elemental simplicity of the formula in which 
it is
 enunciated, the proof that it gains from the fervid conviction 
of the
 missionaries who propagate it, are so many causes to explain the 
success
 of Muhammadan missionary efforts. A creed so precise, so stripped 
of all
 theological complexities and consequently so accessible to the 
ordinary
 understanding might be expected to possess and does indeed 
possess a
 marvelous power of winning its way into the consciences of 
men."
 --Edward Montet, "La Propagande Chretienne et ses 
Adversaries
 Musulmans," Paris, 1890; Quoted by T.W. Arnold in THE 
PREACHING OF
 ISLAM, London, 1913, pp. 413-414. 

 "I am not a Muslim in the usual sense, though I hope I am a 
"Muslim" as
 "one surrendered to God," but I believe that embedded in the 
Quran and
 other expressions of the Islamic vision are vast stores of divine 
truth
 from which I and other occidentals have still much to learn, and 
'Islam
 is certainly a strong contender for the supplying of the basic 
framework
 of the one religion of the future.'" --W. Montgomery Watt, 
ISLAM AND
 CHRISTIANITY TODAY, London, 1983, p. ix. 




 2. WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT THE QUR'AN ................................. 
from
III&E 


 Humanity has received the Divine guidance through two channels: 
firstly
 the word of Allah, secondly the Prophets who were chosen by 
Allah to
 communicate His will to human beings. These two things have 
always been
 going together and attempts to know the will of Allah by 
neglecting
 either of these two have always been misleading. The Hindus 
neglected
 their prophets and paid all attention to their books that 
proved only
 word puzzles which they ultimately lost. Similarly, the 
Christians, in
 total disregard to the Book of Allah, attached all importance to 
Christ
 and thus not only elevated him to Divinity, but also lost 
the very
 essence of TAWHEED (monotheism) contained in the Bible. 

 As a matter of fact the main scriptures revealed before the 
Qur'an,
 i.e., the Old Testament and the Gospel, came into book-form long 
after
 the days of the Prophets and that too in translation. This was 
because
 the followers of Moses and Jesus made no considerable effort to 
preserve
 these Revelations during the life of their Prophets. Rather 
they were
 written long after their death. Thus what we now have in the form 
of the
 Bible (The Old as well as the New Testament) is 
translations of
 individuals' accounts of the original revelations which 
contain
 additions and deletions made by the followers of the said 
Prophets. On
 the contrary, the last revealed Book, the Qur'an, is extant 
in its
 original form. Allah Himself guaranteed its preservation and that 
is why
 the whole of the Qur'an was written during the lifetime of the 
Prophet
 Muhammad (PBUH) himself though on separate pieces of palm 
leaves,
 parchments, bones, etc... Moreover, there were tens of 
thousands of
 companions of the Prophet who memorized the whole Qur'an and the 
Prophet
 himself used to recite to the Angel Gabriel once a year and twice 
in the
 year he died. The first Caliph Abu Bakr entrusted the collection 
of the
 whole Qur'an in one volume to the Prophet's scribe, Zaid Ibn 
Thabit.
 This volume was with Abu Bakr till his death. Then it was 
with the
 second Caliph Umar and after him it came to Hafsa, the Prophet's 
wife.
 It was from this original copy that the third Caliph Uthman 
prepared
 several other copies and sent them to different Muslim 
territories. 

 The Qur'an was so meticulously preserved because it was to be 
the Book
 of guidance for humanity for all times to come. That is why it 
does not
 address the Arabs alone in whose language it was revealed. It 
speaks to
 man as a human being: 

 "O Man! What has seduced you from your Lord." 

 The practicability of the Qur'anic teachings is established 
by the
 examples of Muhammad (PBUH) and the good Muslims throughout the 
ages.
 The distinctive approach of the Qur'an is that its 
instructions are
 aimed at the general welfare of man and are based on the 
possibilities
 within his reach. In all its dimensions the Qur'anic 
wisdom is
 conclusive. It neither condemns nor tortures the flesh nor 
does it
 neglect the soul. It does not humanize God nor does it 
deify man.
 Everything is carefully placed where it belongs in the total 
scheme of
 creation. 

 Actually the scholars who allege that Muhammad (PBUH) was the 
author of
 the Qur'an claim something which is humanly impossible. Could any 
person
 of the sixth century C.E. utter such scientific truths as the 
Qur'an
 contains? Could he describe the evolution of the embryo 
inside the
 uterus so accurately as we find it in modern science? 

 Secondly, is it logical to believe that Muhammad (PBUH), who up 
to the
 age of forty was marked only for his honesty and integrity, began 
all of
 a sudden the authorship of a book matchless in literary merit 
and the
 equivalent of which the whole legion of the Arab poets and 
orators of
 highest calibre could not produce? And lastly, is it justified 
to say
 that Muhammad (PBUH) who was known as AL-AMEEN (The Trustworthy) 
in his
 society and who is still admired by the non-Muslim scholars 
for his
 honesty and integrity, came forth with a false claim and 
on that
 falsehood could train thousands of men of character, 
integrity and
 honesty, who were able to establish the best human society 
on the
 surface of the earth? 

 Surely, any sincere and unbiased searcher of truth will come to 
believe
 that the Qur'an is the revealed Book of Allah. 

 Without necessarily agreeing with all that they said, we 
furnish here
 some opinions of important non-Muslim scholars about the Qur'an. 
Readers
 can easily see how the modern world is coming closer to 
reality
 regarding the Qur'an. We appeal to all open-minded scholars to 
study the
 Qur'an in the light of the aforementioned points. We are sure 
that any
 such attempt will convince the reader that the Qur'an could 
never be
 written by any human being. 

 "However often we turn to it [the Qur'an] at first disgusting 
us each
 time afresh, it soon attracts, astounds, and in the end 
enforces our
 reverence... Its style, in accordance with its contents and 
aim is
 stern, grand, terrible - ever and anon truly sublime -- Thus 
this book
 will go on exercising through all ages a most potent 
influence."
 --Goethe, quoted in T.P. Hughes' DICTIONARY OF ISLAM, p. 526. 

 "The Koran admittedly occupies an important position among the 
great
 religious books of the world. Though the youngest of the epoch-
making
 works belonging to this class of literature, it yields to hardly 
any in
 the wonderful effect which it has produced on large masses of 
men. It
 has created an all but new phase of human thought and a fresh 
type of
 character. It first transformed a number of heterogeneous desert 
tribes
 of the Arabian peninsula into a nation of heroes, and then 
proceeded to
 create the vast politico-religious organizations of the Muhammadan 
world
 which are one of the great forces with which Europe and the East 
have to


 

(Continued from last message)
 reckon today." --G. Margoliouth, Introduction to J.M. 
Rodwell's, THE
 KORAN, New York: Everyman's Library, 1977, p. vii. 

 "A work, then, which calls forth so powerful and seemingly 
incompatible
 emotions even in the distant reader - distant as to time, and 
still more
 so as a mental development - a work which not only 
conquers the
 repugnance which he may begin its perusal, but changes this 
adverse
 feeling into astonishment and admiration, such a work must 
be a
 wonderful production of the human mind indeed and a problem 
of the
 highest interest to every thoughtful observer of the 
destinies of
 mankind." --Dr. Steingass, quoted in T.P. Hughes' DICTIONARY OF 
ISLAM,
 pp. 526-527. 

 "The above observation makes the hypothesis advanced by those 
who see
 Muhammad as the author of the Qur'an untenable. How could a 
man, from
 being illiterate, become the most important author, in terms of 
literary
 merits, in the whole of Arabic literature? How could he then 
pronounce
 truths of a scientific nature that no other human being could 
possibly
 have developed at that time, and all this without once 
making the
 slightest error in his pronouncement on the subject?" --
Maurice
 Bucaille, THE BIBLE, THE QUR'AN AND SCIENCE, 1978, p. 125. 

 "Here, therefore, its merits as a literary production should 
perhaps not
 be measured by some preconceived maxims of subjective and 
aesthetic
 taste, but by the effects which it produced in Muhammad's 
contemporaries
 and fellow countrymen. If it spoke so powerfully and convincingly 
to the
 hearts of his hearers as to weld hitherto centrifugal and 
antagonistic
 elements into one compact and well-organized body, animated by 
ideas far
 beyond those which had until now ruled the Arabian mind, 
then its
 eloquence was perfect, simply because it created a civilized 
nation out
 of savage tribes, and shot a fresh woof into the old warp of 
history."
 --Dr. Steingass, quoted in T.P. Hughes' DICTIONARY OF ISLAM, p. 
528. 

 "In making the present attempt to improve on the performance 
of my
 predecessors, and to produce something which might be 
accepted as
 echoing however faintly the sublime rhetoric of the Arabic Koran, 
I have
 been at pains to study the intricate and richly varied rhythms 
which -
 apart from the message itself - constitute the Koran's undeniable 
claim
 to rank amongst the greatest literary masterpieces of 
mankind... This
 very characteristic feature - 'that inimitable symphony,' 
as the
 believing Pickthall described his Holy Book, 'the very sounds of 
which
 move men to tears and ecstasy' - has been almost totally 
ignored by
 previous translators; it is therefore not surprising that what 
they have
 wrought sounds dull and flat indeed in comparison with the 
splendidly
 decorated original." --Arthur J. Arberry, THE KORAN INTERPRETED, 
London:
 Oxford University Press, 1964, p. x. 

 "A totally objective examination of it [the Qur'an] in the 
light of
 modern knowledge, leads us to recognize the agreement between 
the two,
 as has been already noted on repeated occasions. It makes us 
deem it
 quite unthinkable for a man of Muhammad's time to have been the 
author
 of such statements on account of the state of knowledge in his 
day. Such
 considerations are part of what gives the Qur'anic Revelation its 
unique
 place, and forces the impartial scientist to admit his 
inability to
 provide an explanation which calls solely upon materialistic 
reasoning."
 --Maurice Bucaille, THE QUR'AN AND MODERN SCIENCE, 1981, p. 18. 




 3. QUR'AN ON QUR'AN ............................................... 
from
III&E 


 "Hence, indeed, We made this Qur'an easy to bear in mind: who, 
then is
 willing to take it to heart?" --Chapter 54: Verses 17, 22, 
32, 40
 (self-repeating) 

 "Will they then not meditate on the Qur'an, or are there locks on 
their
 hearts?" --Chapter 47: Verse 24 

 "Surely this Qur'an guides to that which is most upright and 
gives good
 news to the believers who do good works that they shall have a 
great
 reward." --Chapter 17: Verse 9 

 "Surely We have revealed the reminder (Qur'an) and We will 
most
 certainly guard it (from corruption)." --Chapter 15: Verse 9 

 "Praise be to Allah Who has revealed the Book (Qur'an) to His 
slave
 (Muhammad) and has not placed therein any crookedness." --
Chapter 18:
 Verse 1 

 "Will they not then ponder on the Qur'an? If it had been from 
other than
 Allah they would have found therein much discrepancy." Chapter 4: 
Verse
 82 

 "And certainly We have explained in this Qur'an every kind of 
example;
 and man is most of all given to contention. And nothing 
prevents men
 from believing when the guidance comes to them, and asking 
forgiveness
 of their Lord, except that what happened to the ancients should 
overtake
 them, or that the chastisement should come face to face with 
them."
 --Chapter 18: Verses 54-55 

 "And We reveal (stage by stage) of the Qur'an that which is a 
healing
 and a mercy for believers, and to the unjust it causes nothing 
but loss
 after loss." --Chapter 17: Verse 82 

 "And if you are in doubt concerning that which We reveal unto Our 
slave
 (Muhammad) then produce a surah (chapter) of the like thereof, 
and call
 your witnesses besides Allah if you are truthful." --Chapter 2: 
Verse 23 

 "And this Qur'an is not such as could be forged by those besides 
Allah,
 but it is a verification (of revelations) that went before it 
and a
 fuller explanation of the Book - there is no doubt - from the 
Lord of
 the Worlds." --Chapter 10: Verse 37 

 "So when you recite the Qur'an, seek refuge in Allah from 
Satan the
 outcast." --Chapter 16: Verse 98. 




 4. WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT MUHAMMAD (PBUH) ............................ 
from
III&E 


 During the centuries of the crusades, all sorts of 
slanders were
 invented against Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). But with the birth 
of the
 modern age, marked with religious tolerance and freedom of 
thought,
 there has been a great change in the approach of Western 
authors in
 their delineation of his life and character. The views of 
some
 non-Muslim scholars regarding Prophet Muhammad, given at 
the end,
 justify this opinion. 

 But the West has still to go a step forward to discover the 
greatest
 reality about Muhammad and that is his being the true and 
the last
 Prophet of God for the whole humanity. In spite of all its 
objectivity
 and enlightenment there has been no sincere and objective attempt 
by the
 West to understand the Prophethood of Muhammad (pbuh). It is so 
strange
 that very glowing tributes are paid to him for his 
integrity and
 achievement but his claim of being the Prophet of God has been 
rejected
 explicitly or implicitly. It is here that a searching of the 
heart is
 required, and a review of the so-called objectivity is 
needed. The
 following glaring facts from the life of Muhammad (pbuh) 
have been
 furnished to facilitate an unbiased, logical and objective 
decision
 regarding his Prophethood. 

 Up to the age of forty, Muhammad was not known as a 
statesman, a
 preacher or an orator. He was never seen discussing the 
principles of
 metaphysics, ethics, law, politics, economics or sociology. No 
doubt he
 possessed an excellent character, charming manners and was 
highly
 cultured. Yet there was nothing so deeply striking and so 
radically
 extraordinary in him that would make men expect something 
great and
 revolutionary from him in the future. But when he came out of 
the Cave
 (HIRA) with a new message, he was completely transformed. Is it 
possible
 for such a person of the above qualities to turn all of a 
sudden into
 'an impostor' and claim to be the Prophet of Allah and invite 
all the
 rage of his people? One might ask: for what reason did he 
suffer all
 those hardships? His people offered to accept him as their King 
and he
 would leave the preaching of his religion. But he chose to refuse 
their
 tempting offers and go on preaching his religion single-handedly 
in face
 of all kinds of insults, social boycott and even physical assault 
by his
 own people. Was it not only God's support and his firm 
will to
 disseminate the message of Allah and his deep-rooted belief 
that
 ultimately Islam would emerge as the only way of life for 
humanity, that
 he stood like a mountain in the face of all opposition and 
conspiracies
 to eliminate him? Furthermore, had he come with a design of 
rivalry with
 the Christians and the Jews, why should he have made belief in 
Jesus
 Christ and Moses and other Prophets of God (peace be upon them), a 
basic
 requirement of faith without which no one could be a Muslim? 

 Is it not an incontrovertible proof of his Prophethood that in 
spite of
 being unlettered and having led a very normal and quiet life for 
forty
 years, when he began preaching his message, all of Arabia stood 
in awe
 and wonder and was bewitched by his wonderful eloquence and 
oratory? It
 was so matchless that the whole legion of Arab poets, 
preachers and
 orators of the highest calibre failed to bring forth its 
equivalent. And
 above all, how could he then pronounce truths of a scientific 
nature
 contained in the Qur'an that no other human being could 
possible have
 developed at that time? 

 Last but not least, why did he lead a hard life even after gaining 
power
 and authority? Just ponder over the words he uttered while 
dying: "We
 the community of the Prophets are not inherited. Whatever we 
leave is
 for charity." 

 As a matter of fact, Muhammad (pbuh) is the last link of the 
chain of
 Prophets sent in different lands and times since the very 
beginning of
 the human life on this planet. Read the following writings 
of the
 Western authors: 

 "If greatness of purpose, smallness of means, and astounding 
results are
 the three criteria of human genius, who could dare to compare any 
great
 man in modern history with Muhammad? The most famous men created 
arms,
 laws and empires only. They founded, if anything at all, no 
more than
 material powers which often crumbled away before their eyes. 
This man
 moved not only armies, legislations, empires, peoples and 
dynasties, but
 millions of men in one-third of the then inhabited world; and 
more than
 that, he moved the altars, the gods, the religions, the 
ideas, the
 beliefs and souls. . . his forbearance in victory, his ambition, 
which
 was entirely devoted to one idea and in no manner striving 
for an
 empire; his endless prayers, his mystic conversations with 
God, his
 death and his triumph after death; all these attest not to an 
imposture
 but to a firm conviction which gave him the power to restore a 
dogma.
 This dogma was twofold, the unity of God and the immateriality 
of God;
 the former telling what God is, the latter telling what God is 
not; the
 one overthrowing false gods with the sword, the other starting 
an idea
 with words. 

 "Philosopher, orator, apostle, legislator, warrior, conqueror of 
ideas,
 restorer of rational dogmas, of a cult without images; the 
founder of
 twenty terrestrial empires and of one spiritual empire, 
that is
 Muhammad. As regards all standards by which human greatness 
may be
 measured, we may well ask, is there any man greater than 
he?"
 --Lamartine, HISTOIRE DE LA TURQUIE, Paris, 1854, Vol. II, pp. 276-
277. 

 "It is not the propagation but the permanency of his 
religion that
 deserves our wonder, the same pure and perfect impression 
which he
 engraved at Mecca and Medina is preserved, after the 
revolutions of
 twelve centuries by the Indian, the African and the Turkish 
proselytes
 of the Koran. . . The Mahometans have uniformly withstood the 
temptation
 of reducing the object of their faith an devotion to a level 
with the
 senses and imagination of man. 'I believe in One God and 
Mahomet the
 Apostle of God,' is the simple and invariable profession of 
Islam. The
 intellectual image of the Deity has never been degraded by any 
visible
 idol; the honours of the prophet have never transgressed the 
measure of
 human virtue, and his living precepts have restrained the 
gratitude of
 his disciples within the bounds of reason and religion." --Edward 
Gibbon
 and Simon Ocklay, HISTORY OF THE SARACEN EMPIRE, London, 1870, p. 
54. 

 "He was Caesar and Pope in one; but he was Pope without 
Pope's
 pretensions, Caesar without the legions of Caesar: without a 
standing
 army, without a bodyguard, without a palace, without a fixed 
revenue; if
 ever any man had the right to say that he ruled by the right 
divine, it
 was Mohammed, for he had all the power without its 
instruments and
 without its supports." --Bosworth Smith, MOHAMMAD AND 
MOHAMMADANISM,
 London, 1874, p. 92. 

 "It is impossible for anyone who studies the life and character 
of the
 great Prophet of Arabia, who knows how he taught and how he 
lived, to
 feel anything but reverence for that mighty Prophet, one of the 
great
 messengers of the Supreme. And although in what I put to you I 
shall say
 many things which may be familiar to many, yet I myself feel 
whenever I
 re-read them, a new way of admiration, a new sense of reverence 
for that
 mighty Arabian teacher." --Annie Besant, THE LIFE AND 
TEACHINGS OF
 MUHAMMAD, Madras, 1932, p. 4. 

 "His readiness to undergo persecutions for his beliefs, the high 
moral
 character of the men who believed in him and looked up to him as 
leader,
 and the greatness of his ultimate achievement - all 
argue his
 fundamental integrity. To suppose Muhammad an impostor 
raises more
 problems than it solves. Moreover, none of the great figures of 
history
 is so poorly appreciated in the West as Muhammad." --W. Montgomery 
Watt,
 MOHAMMAD AT MECCA, Oxford, 1953, p. 52. 

 "Muhammad, the inspired man who founded Islam, was born about 
A.D. 570
 into an Arabian tribe that worshipped idols. Orphaned at birth, 
he was
 always particularly solicitous of the poor and needy, the widow 
and the
 orphan, the slave and the downtrodden. At twenty, he was 
already a
 successful businessman, and soon became director of camel caravans 
for a
 wealthy widow. When he reached twenty-five, his employer, 
recognizing
 his merit, proposed marriage. Even though she was fifteen years 
older,
 he married her, and as long as she lived, remained a devoted 
husband. 

 "Like almost every major prophet before him, Muhammad fought 
shy of
 serving as the transmitter of God's word, sensing his own 
inadequacy.
 But the angel commanded 'Read.' So far as we know, Muhammad was 
unable
 to read or write, but he began to dictate those inspired words 
which
 would soon revolutionize a large segment of the earth: 'There 
is one
 God.' 

 "In all things Muhammad was profoundly practical. When his 
beloved son
 Ibrahim died, an eclipse occurred, and rumours of God's 
personal
 condolence quickly arose. Whereupon Muhammad is said to have 
announced,
 'An eclipse is a phenomenon of nature. It is foolish to 
attribute such
 things to the death or birth of a human being. 

 "At Muhammad's own death an attempt was made to deify him, but 
the man
 who was to become his administrative successor killed the 
hysteria with
 one of the noblest speeches in religious history: 'If there 
are any
 among you who worshipped Muhammad, he is dead. But if it is 
God you
 worshipped, He lives forever." --James A. Michener, 
"Islam: The
 Misunderstood Religion," in READER'S DIGEST (American 
edition), May
 1955, pp. 68-70. 

 "My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world's most 
influential
 persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by 
others, but
 he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on 
both the
 religious and secular level." --Michael H. Hart, THE 100: A 
RANKING OF
 THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PERSONS IN HISTORY, New York: Hart 
Publishing
 Company, Inc., 1978, p. 33. 




 5. THE SWORD OF ISLAM ............................................. 
from
III&E 


 The first few who embraced the "new" religion in Makkah in the 
Arabian
 Peninsula at the hands of the Prophet, were his wife 
Khadijah, his
 servant Zaid and his eleven-year-old cousin Ali. Among the 
ones who
 later joined this faith were the honest merchant, Abu Bakr; the 
iron man
 of Arabia, Umar the Great; the shy businessman, Uthman; the 
Prophet's
 brave uncle Hamza and a slave of a pagan, Bilal. They simply 
couldn't
 resist the MAGIC SWORD of a humble and lonely Prophet! The 
negligible
 minority of the believers in this new Faith was soon exiled from 
Makkah
 and they arrived in the city called Yathrab which later became 
known as
 MADINAH. The Muslim emigrants to Madinah brought their SWORD with 
them.
 The SWORD continued to "pull" people towards it until the 
whole of
 Arabia joined the Faith. Compared to the population of the rest 
of the
 world at that time, the Arabs constituted a tiny minority. A 
fraction of
 this minority decided to take the SWORD beyond the boundaries 
of the
 Arabian desert to the mighty empires of Rome and Persia, the 
shores of
 the Mediterranean, the coast of Malabar and the far away East 
Indies
 Islands. People after people continued surrendering to this 
SWORD and
 joining the Faith. 

 So sharp was the edge of the SWORD! It simply conquered the 
hearts;
 bodies yielded automatically. It is the SWORD OF TRUTH, whose mere 
shine
 eliminates falsehood just like light wipes away darkness. 




 6. Has the sword gone Blunt? No, far from it. ..................... 
from
III&E 



 It continues to pierce the hearts of countless men and women even 
today
 - in spite of the relentless efforts by persons with vested 
interests
 who like darkness to prevail, so that they may rob people of 
their good
 things. 

 Read below the impressions of some who were recently conquered 
by the
 same SWORD. They are from different countries, speak different 
languages
 and have different backgrounds. Their present addresses are also 
given.
 Perhaps you may like to ask them how it feels to be struck by the 
SWORD
 OF TRUTH. 

 1. LEOPOLD WEISS (now Mohammad Asad): Austrian statesman, 
journalist,
 former foreign correspondent for the Frankfuerter Zeitung; 
author of
 ISLAM AT THE CROSSROADS and ROAD TO MECCA and translator of the 
Qur'an.
 He embraced Islam in 1926. (1) 

 "Islam appears to me like a perfect work of Architecture. All its 
parts
 are harmoniously conceived to complement and support each other. 
Nothing
 is superfluous and nothing lacking, with the result of an 
absolute
 balance and solid composure." 

 2. AHMED HOLT: British Civil Contractor, traveler in search 
of the
 Divine truth, spent much of his time in research and comparative 
study
 of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. He embraced Islam in 1975. (2) 


 

(Continued from last message)

 "The SWORD OF ISLAM is not the sword of steel. I know 
this by
 experience, because the sword of Islam struck deep into my own 
heart. It
 didn't bring death, but it brought a new life; it brought an 
awareness
 and it brought an awakening as to who am I and what am I and for 
what am
 I here?" 

 3. BOGDAN DOPANSKI (now Bogdan Ataullah Kopanski): Originally 
Polish,
 now American; Ph.D. in history and politics, had a very 
interesting
 journey to Islam and faced severe hardships; was imprisoned twice 
by the
 Polish communist regime (1968, 1981-82). He embraced Islam in 
1974. (3) 

 "When I was 12 years old I rejected illogical and contradictory 
faith of
 the Church. Two years later in 1962 - I was fascinated by 
victorious
 struggle of the Algerian Muslim mujahideen against French 
colonialism.
 It was the first ARROW of Islam.... The high school and earliest 
days of
 my education in the University, I was a typical example of 
'rebel
 generation' of Reds.... My way to the truth of Al-Qur'an was 
slow and
 unpaved.... In 1974 I visited Turkey, I wrote my M.A. dissertation 
about
 Sultan and Caliph Suleiman Kanuni's policy towards the Polish 
Kingdom.
 There, I was hit by the most beautiful voice of mankind, the 
ADHAN, the
 call to prayer. My hair stood up. An unknown powerful force led 
me to
 old masjid in Istanbul. There, old smiling Turkish, bearded men 
taught
 me WUZU, ablution. I confessed to tears SHAHADAH and I prayed my 
first
 SALAH Maghrib.... I swept out the rubbish ideologies.... The 
first time
 in my life, my mind was relaxed and I felt pleasure of Allah's 
love in
 my heart. I was a Muslim...." 

 4. VENGATACHALAM ADIYAR (now Abdullah Adiyar): Indian, noted 
Tamil
 writer and journalist; worked as a news editor in Dr. M. 
Karunanidhi's
 daily MURASOLI for 17 years; assisted 3 former Chief Ministers of 
Tamil
 Nadu. Received Kalaimamani Award (Big Gem of Arts) from 
Tamil Nadu
 Government in 1982. He embraced Islam in 1987. (4) 

 "In Islam I found suitable replies to nagging queries arising in 
my mind
 with regard to the theory of creation, status of woman, creation 
of the
 universe, etc. The life history of the Holy Prophet attracted 
me very
 much and made it easy for me to compare with other world 
leaders and
 their philosophies." 

 5. HERBERT HOBOHM (now Aman Hobohm): German diplomat, 
missionary and
 social worker. An intellectual who has been serving the 
German
 diplomatic missions in various parts of the world. Presently 
working as
 Cultural Attache in German Embassy in Riyadh. He embraced Islam in 
1941.
 (5) 

 "I have lived under different systems of life and have 
had the
 opportunity of studying various ideologies, but have come 
to the
 conclusion that none is perfect as Islam. None of the systems has 
got a
 complete code of a noble life. Only Islam has it; and that is 
why good
 men embrace it. Islam is not theoretical; it is practical. It 
means
 complete submission to the will of God." 

 6. CAT STEVENS (now Yousuf Islam): British; formerly a Christian 
and a
 world famous pop singer. He embraced Islam in 1973. (6) 

 "It will be wrong to judge Islam in the light of the behavior 
of some
 bad Muslims who are always shown on the media. It is like judging 
a car
 as a bad one if the driver of the car is drunk and he bangs it 
into the
 wall. Islam guides all human beings in the daily life - 
in its
 spiritual, mental and physical dimensions. But we must find the 
sources
 of these instructions, the Qur'an and the example of the 
Prophet. Then
 we can see the ideal of Islam." 

 7. MS. MARGARET MARCUS (now Maryam Jamilah): American, 
formerly a
 Jewess, essayist and an author of many books. She embraced 
Islam in
 1962. (7) 

 "The authority of Islamic Morals and Laws proceeds from 
Almighty God.
 Pleasure and happiness in Islam are but the natural 
byproducts of
 emotional satisfaction in one's duties conscientiously performed 
for the
 pleasure of God to achieve salvation. In Islam duties are 
always
 stressed above rights. Only in Islam was my quest for absolute 
values
 satisfied. Only in Islam did I at last find all that was true, 
good,
 beautiful and which gives meaning and direction to human 
life and
 death." 

 8. WILFRIED HOFMAN (now Murad Hofman): Ph.D. in law (Harvard); 
German
 social scientist and diplomat; presently German Ambassador in 
Algeria.
 He embraced Islam in 1980. (8) 

 "For some time now, striving for more and more precision and 
brevity, I
 have tried to put on paper, in a systematic way, all 
philosophical
 truths, which in my view, can be ascertained beyond reasonable 
doubt. In
 the course of this effort it dawned on me that the typical 
attitude of
 an agnostic is not an intelligent one; that man simply cannot 
escape a
 decision to believe; that the createdness of what exists around 
us is
 obvious; that Islam undoubtedly finds itself in the greatest 
harmony
 with overall reality. Thus I realize, not without shock, that 
step by
 step, in spite of myself and almost unconsciously, in 
feeling and
 thinking I have grown into a Muslim. Only one last step remained 
to be
 taken: to formalize my conversion. As of today I am a Muslim. 
I have
 arrived." 

 9. CASSIUS CLAY (now Muhammad Ali): American; three times 
World
 Heavyweight Champion, formerly a Christian. He embraced Islam in 
1965.
 (9) 

 "I have had many nice moments in my life. But the feelings I had 
while
 standing on Mount Arafat on the day of HAJJ (Muslims' 
pilgrimage), was
 the most unique. I felt exalted by the indescribable 
spiritual
 atmosphere there as over a million and a half pilgrims invoked 
God to
 forgive them of their sins and bestow on them His choicest 
blessings. It
 was an exhilarating experience to see people belonging to 
different
 colors, races and nationalities, kings, heads of states and 
ordinary men
 from very poor countries all clad in two simple white sheets 
praying to
 God without any sense of either pride or inferiority. It was a 
practical
 manifestation of the concept of equality in Islam." 

 (Speaking to the daily "Al-Madinah," Jeddah, 15 July, 1989.) 

 These were the impressions of a few persons who had 
themselves been
 struck by the SWORD OF TRUTH, that is, the Message of Islam. 

 AS FOR THE PROPAGANDA THAT IT WAS THE SWORD OF STEEL, THAT IS, 
FORCE,
 WHICH WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN THE UNIVERSAL EXPANSION OF ISLAM, 
WE GIVE
 BELOW QUOTATIONS FROM THE WRITINGS OF SOME OF THE PROMINENT NON-
MUSLIM
 SCHOLARS AND LEADERS REFUTING THIS BASELESS ACCUSATION. 

 1. M.K. GANDHI: "....I became more than ever convinced that it 
was not
 the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the 
scheme of
 life. It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement 
of the
 prophet, the scrupulous regard for his pledges, his intense 
devotion to
 his friends and followers, his intrepidity, his 
fearlessness, his
 absolute trust in God and in his own mission. These, and not the 
sword
 carried everything before them and surmounted every trouble." 
YOUNG
 INDIA, 1924. (10) 

 2. EDWARD GIBBON: "The greatest success of Mohammad's life was 
effected
 by sheer moral force without the stroke of a sword." HISTORY 
OF THE
 SARACEN EMPIRE, London, 1870. 

 3. A.S. TRITTON: "The picture of the Muslim soldier advancing 
with a
 sword in one hand and the Qur'an in the other is quite false." 
ISLAM,
 London, 1951, page 21. (12) 

 4. DE LACY O'LEARY: "History makes it clear, however, that the 
legend of
 fanatical Muslims, sweeping through the world and forcing Islam 
at the
 point of sword upon conquered races is one of the most 
fantastically
 absurd myths that historians have ever repeated." ISLAM AT 
CROSSROADS,
 London, 1923, page 8. 

 5. K.S. RAMAKRISHNA RAO: "My problem to write this monograph is 
easier
 because we are not generally fed now on that (distorted) kind of 
history
 and much time need not be spent on pointing out our 
misrepresentations
 of Islam. The theory of Islam and sword, for instance, is not 
heard now
 in any quarter worth the name. The principle of Islam, there 
is no
 compulsion in religion, is well known." MOHAMMED THE PROPHET OF 
ISLAM,
 Riyadh, 1989, page 4. 

 6. JAMES A MICHENER: "No other religion in history spread so 
rapidly as
 Islam... The West has widely believed that this surge of 
religion was
 made possible by the sword. But no modern scholar accepts that 
idea, and
 the Qur'an is explicit in support of the freedom conscience." 
ISLAM -
 THE MISUNDERSTOOD RELIGION, READERS' DIGEST (American Edition) May 
1955. 

 7. LAWRENCE E. BROWNE: "Incidentally these well-established 
facts
 dispose of the idea so widely fostered in Christian writings 
that the
 Muslims, wherever they went, forced people to accept Islam at the 
point
 of the sword." THE PROSPECTS OF ISLAM, London 1944. 

 IF YOU TOO POSSESS A SOFT, TENDER HEART AND AN OPEN MIND, DO WRITE 
TO US
 FOR SOME BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT THE WAY OF LIFE CALLED "ISLAM." 
DO NOT
 BELIEVE IN HEARSAY AND LEARN FROM THE DIRECT SOURCES. WE ARE 
READY TO
 HELP. 




 7. CHOOSING ISLAM: ONE MAN'S TALE ................................. 
from
III&E 


 I became a Muslim when it seemed I had already accepted Islam 
in my
 bones, as if beyond choice, and I only had to make a leap to 
embrace it
 formally. Outwardly I was content; inwardly I was 
coasting. My
 three-year-old theatre company was disbanded after a hilariously 
chaotic
 production for a Tim Leary Benefit at the Family Dog in San 
Francisco,
 circa '68 -- naturally the orange juice everyone had passed 
around was
 spiked, so that chorus members were doing the final scene in the 
first
 ten minutes -- and for six months I had been methodically 
typing out
 poetry manuscripts in my attic in Berkeley preparatory to 
a big
 publishing peak. 

 I considered myself a Zen Buddhist. But I was other things as 
well. My
 normal routine was to get up, sit zazen, smoke a joint, do half 
an hour
 of yoga, then read the "Mathnawi" of Rumi, the long mystical 
poem of
 that great Persian Sufi of the thirteenth century. 

 Then I met the man who was to be my guide to our teacher in 
Morocco,
 Shaykh Muhammad ibn al-Habib, may Allah be pleased with him. At 
first
 the meeting was simply remarkable, and my guide simply a 
remarkable man.
 But soon our encounter was to become extraordinary, leading 
to a
 revolution in my life from which I have never recovered and 
never hope
 to. 

 The man looked like an eccentric Englishman. He too had only 
recently
 come out of the English version of the Hippie Wave. He was 
older,
 refined in his manners, spectacularly witty and intellectual, 
but of
 that kind prevalent then who had hobnobbed with the Beatles and 
knew the
 Tantric Art collection of Brian Jones firsthand. He had been on 
all the
 classic drug quests -- peyote in the Yucatan, mescaline with 
Laura
 Huxley -- but with the kif quest in Morocco he had stumbled on 
Islam and
 then the Sufis, and the game was up. A profound change had taken 
place
 in his life that went far beyond the psychedelic experience. 

 =46or the three days following our meeting, two other Americans 
and I
 listened in awe as this magnificent storyteller unfolded the 
picture of
 Islam, of the perfection of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon 
him, of
 the Sufis of Morocco, and of the 100-year-old plus Shaykh, sitting 
under
 a great fig tree in a garden with his disciples singing 
praises of
 Allah. It was everything I'd always dreamed of. It was 
poetry come
 alive. It was the visionary experience made part of daily life, 
with the
 Prophet a perfectly balanced master of wisdom and 
simplicity, an
 historically accessible Buddha, with a mixture of the 
earthiness of
 Moses, the otherworldliness of Jesus, and a light all his own. 

 The prophetic knowledge our guide talked about was a kind of 
spiritual
 existentialism. It was a matter of how you enter a room, which 
foot you
 entered with, that you sipped water but gulped milk, that you 
said,
 "Bismillah" (In the Name of Allah) before eating or 
drinking, and
 "Al-hamdulillah" (Praise be to Allah) afterwards, and so on. But 
rather
 than seeing this as a burden of hundreds of "how-to's," it was 
more like
 what the LSD experience taught us, that there is a "right" way 
to do
 things that has, if you will, a cosmic resonance. It is a 
constant
 awareness of courtesy to the Creator and His creation that 
itself
 ensures and almost visionary intensity. 

 It is hard to put forward any kind of explanation of Islam, to 
try to
 suggest the beauty of its totality, through the medium of 
words. The
 light of Islam, since it is transformational and alchemical in 
nature,
 almost always comes via a human messenger who is a transmitter 
of the
 picture by his very being. 

 Face to face with our guide, what struck us most was his 
impeccable,
 noble behavior. He seemed to be living what he was saying. 
Finally the
 moment came, as a surprise, when he confronted me with my life. 
"Well,"
 he said one morning after three full days of rapturous 
agreement that
 what he was bringing to us was the best thing we'd ever heard, 
"What do
 you think? Do you want to become a Muslim?" 

 I hedged. "It's the most beautiful thing I've heard about so far. 
After
 all my Zen Buddhism, all my yoga, Tibetan Buddhism and Hindu 
gurus, this
 is certainly it! But I think I would like to travel a little, 
see the
 world, go to Afghanistan (then unoccupied), maybe meet my 
Shaykh in a
 mountain village far off somewhere." 

 "That's not good enough. You have to decide now. Yes or no. If 
it's yes,
 then we start on a great adventure. If it's no, then no blame, 
I've done
 my duty. I'll just say goodbye and go on my way. But you have to 
decide
 now. I'll go downstairs and read a magazine and wait. Take your 
time." 

 When he had left the room I saw there was no choice. My whole 
being had
 already acquiesced. All my years up to that moment simply rolled 
away. I
 was face-to-face with worship of Allah, wholly and purely, with 
the Path
 before me well-trodden, heavily signposted, with a guide to a 
Master
 plunk in front of me. Or I could reject all of this for a 
totally
 self-invented and uncertain future. 

 It was the day of my birthday, just to make it that much more 
dramatic.
 I chose Islam. 

 -- Abd al-Hayy Moore 

 Mr. Abd al-Hayy Moore has two books of poetry published by City 
Lights
 under the name Daniel Moore. He's traveled extensively, 
living in
 England, Morocco, Algeria, Nigeria and Spain. Mr. Moore is a 
talented
 writer and poet, and has turned his talents in writing for Islam. 
He is
 a contributor to "The Minaret" and other publications. His more 
recent
 publications are "The Chronicles of Akhira," "Halley's 
Comet" and
 Holograms. His writings and publications may be obtained from 
Zilzal
 Press, 126 North Milpas Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93103, U.S.A. 


 Published with the permission of:
 1) Whole Earth Review
 27 Gate Five Road
 Sausilito, CA 94965
 

 2) Abd al-Hayy Moore
 The III&E is grateful for his kind permission.
 

 Reprinted from Whole Earth Review No. 49, Winter 1985





 8. Who can I ask questions on Islam?
......................................... 


 A- The Institute of Islamic Information and Education
 P.O. Box 41129
 Chicago, IL 60641-0129 U.S.A.
 Fax: (312) 777-7199 
 Tel: (312) 777-7443

 

 B- The Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA)

 Non-Muslims interested to learn about Islam can now dial toll-
free

 1-800-662-ISLAM

 The phone number has been set up by the Islamic Circle of North 
America
 (ICNA) exclusively for non-Muslims. The number became 
operational on
 August 30, 1994. 

 Note: The last letter 'M' in the telephone number is optional.


 C- Islam on Phone 

 Islam-on-the-Phone (312) 777-0767
 Ask for a list of questions and codes. Provided by III&E.





 WRITE TO ANY OF THE FOLLOWING: 

 1. (deceased) 

 2. Ahmad Holt, 23 Welland Garden Perivale, Middlesex UB6 8SZ, U.K. 

 3. Bogdan Ataullah Kopanski, 3013 Harrel Drive, Grand Prairie, TX 
75051. 

 4. Abdullah Adiyar, 1 Ashok Avenue, Rangarajapuram, 
Kodambakkam,
 Madras,India. 

 5. Aman Hobohm, Cultural Attache, P.O. Box 8974, Riyadh 11492, 
Saudi
 Arabia. 

 6. Yousuf Islam, Chairman, Muslim Aid, 3 Furlong Road, London, N7, 
U.K. 

 7. Maryam Jamilah, c/o Mohammad Yusuf Khan, Sant Nagar, 
Lahore,
 Pakistan. 

 8. Murad Hofman, Ambassador, Embassy of Federal Republic of 
Germany, BP
 664, Alger-gare, Algeria. 

 9. Muhammad Ali, c/o Masjid Al-Faatir, 1200 East 49th Street, 
Chicago,
 IL 60615. 

 NOTE: 10. Twentieth century champion of non-violence who lead the 
Indian
 movement of freedom from British colonization. 




 9. Indroductory Publications ...................................... 
from
III&E 



 RECOMMENDED: 

 1. III&E Brochure Series may be obtained from the address given 
below. 

 2. WHAT EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT ISLAM AND MUSLIMS by Suzanne 
Haneef,
 Kazi Publications, Chicago, IL. 

 3. ISLAM IN FOCUS by H. Abdulati, American Trust 
Publications,
 Indianapolis, IN. 

 4. THE BIBLE, THE QUR'AN AND SCIENCE by Maurice Bucaille, American 
Trust
 Publications, Indianapolis, IN. 

 5. QUR'AN, AN INTRODUCTION by A.R. Doi, Kazi Publications, 
Chicago, IL. 

 6. HADITH, AN INTRODUCTION by A.R. Doi, Kazi Publications, 
Chicago, IL. 

 7. MUHAMMAD, HIS LIFE BASED ON THE EARLIEST SOURCES by Martin 
Lings,
 Inner Traditions International, Rochester, VT. 

 8. LIFE OF MUHAMMAD by A.H. Siddiqi, Kazi Publications, Chicago, 
IL. 

 9. HISTORY OF ISLAM by Masud-ul-Hasan, Islamic Publications, 
Lahore,
 Pakist= an. 

 10. THE CULTURAL ATLAS OF ISLAM by I.R. al-Faruqi and Lois L. al-
Faruqi,
 Macmillan Publishing Company, New York, NY. 




 Announcements
................................................................


10. Archive Info
.............................................................. 


 This FAQ is archived at several sites and is available for 
public
 retrieval thru anonymous FTP, E-MAIL, Gopher & World Wide Web. 


 

(Continued from last message)


 -- Anonymous FTP --
 


 Login: anonymous
 Password: Your e-mail address



 Site: rtfm.mit.edu 

 Site: ftp.uu.net
 
 Site: ftp.cco.caltech.edu
 Dir: /pub/calmsa/islam-faq/



 -- E-MAIL --
 

 Send E-mail to: mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu 

 Text of E-mail Message: 


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 Site: gopher.caltech.edu 70
 CCO anonymous ftp archive/
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 calmsa/
 islam-faq/


 Site: latif.com 70
 Soc.Religion.Islam




 -- World-Wide-Web (WWW) --
 

 One recommended interface is 'mosaic,' below are mosaic 'home 
pages.' 



URL at USENET Archive site:
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/islam-faq/faq.html


URL at Caltech MSA site:
http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~calmsa/links.html



11. Credits
................................................................... 


 The author wishes to thank all those who contributed in any 
capacity for
 the original one part FAQ or this multi-part FAQ. 


 -- SOURCES --
 

 The basic introduction and literature presented in the FAQ 
is from
 brochures on Islam distributed by Institute of Islamic 
Information &
 Education (III&E). These brochures were typed in electronic 
form by
 Ms.M.Ahmed. 

has been
 compiled from USENET archives and administrative logs of
 Soc.Religion.Islam moderator panel. 

 What is III&E? 

 III&E is an acronym for the Institute of Islamic Information & 
Education
 which was established in Chicago, Illinois in 1985. The 
III&E is
 registered in the State of Illinois and recognized by the 
Internal
 Revenue Service (IRS) as a not-for-profit religious organization. 

 More information can be obtained by contacting Dr. M. Amir, 
III&E, P.O.
 Box 41129, Chicago, IL 60641-0129, U.S.A.; Fax: (312) 777-
7199; or
 or Tel: (312) 777-7443 or contact Sr. Margaret Ahmed. 



 -- FORMAT --
 

 The format of the FAQ series has been done by utilizing 
resources of
 Islamic Information & News Network (IINN). A custom program, 
Nebula,
 written by editors of IINN for generating newsletters has been 
used. 


 What is IINN? 

 Islamic Information & News Network is a forum dedicated to 
educate the
 network community on issues relating to Islam and Muslims in an 
academic
 & non-political environment. Weekly digest is available on 
internet by
 subscribing to MUSLIMS@ASUACAD.BITnet (A Bitnet listserv list) 
and on
 USENET: bit.listserv.muslims. 



 -- Permissions --
 

 Permission to post this multi-part FAQ has been obtained 
by the
 following: 

 o Institute of Islamic Information & Education (III&E)
 o Islamic Information & News Network (Muslims@PSUVM.bitnet) 
 o Moderator(s) of News.Answers (Thomas Khoenig & P.Huang)


# End of Islam FAQ Part 5 #

 

bedfellow.mit.edu
faqserv
References: <islam-faq/part5_792592921@rtfm.mit.edu>
 Islam. Part 6 of 15.
bit.listserv.muslims:88


Archive-name: islam-faq/part6



 Copyright 1993,1994,1995 Asim Mughal (mughal@caltech.edu) 

 Redistribution for profit, or in altered 
content/format
 prohibited without explicit written permission of the 
author.
 Any other redistribution must include this copyright notice 
and
 attribution. 



 Frequently Asked Questions: Part 6
 __________________________________
 

 This message is automatically posted to 
 every month and when updated. This lists answers to 
most
 commonly asked questions on the forum. Contributions & 
changes
 are requested and should be directed to: mughal@caltech.edu 



 OVERVIEW: The Frequently Asked Questions document 
for
 Islam has been divided in parts. Below is the index. 


 Part 1 - Welcome & Index
 Part 2 - Info on Islamic News Groups
 Part 3 - Introduction to Islam
 Part 4 - God & Worship
 Part 5 - Islam, Quran & Muhammad (PBUH)
 Part 6 - Marriage Laws in Islam
 Part 7 - Women In Islam
 Part 8 - Life after Death, Moral System & Human rights in 
Islam
 Part 9 - Islam: Prophethood, Jesus & Trinity
 Part 10 - Islam: Farrakhism & Malcom X
 Part 11 - Islamic Internet Guide: Islamic Resources on 
Internet
 Part 12 - Other Islamic Resource Guides on Internet
 Part 13 - Islamic Literature: Books & Video
 Part 14 - Islamic Calendar & Prayer Time Table for 1994
 Part 15 - Misc: List of Halal Foods


 ________________________________________________________
 

 PART 7: Marriage Laws In Islam



 Contents 

 --Articles--
 1. Marriage ........................................................ 
from
IINN 
 2. Whom to Marry ................................................... 
from
IINN 
 3. Mahr ............................................................ 
from
IINN 
 4. Intimacy ........................................................ 
from
IINN 
 5. Walima .......................................................... 
from
IINN 
 6. Duties & Rights After Marriage .................................. 
from
IINN 
 7. Advices to Husbands ............................................. 
from
IINN 
 8. Advices to Wives ................................................ 
from
IINN 
 --Announcements--
 9. Archive Info
.............................................................. 
10. Credits
................................................................... 



 Articles
.....................................................................


 1. Marriage ........................................................ 
from
IINN 


 Spouses: 

 Allah, most Gracious says about spouses in Quran: 


 Among His signs is [the fact] that He has created spouses for you 
among
 yourselves so that you may dwell in tranquillity with them, and 
He has
 planted love and mercy between you; In that are signs for 
people who
 reflect. Qur'an [30 : 21] 

 He has planted affection and mercy between you. Qur'an [30: 
12] and
 says: 

 They are a garment for you and you are a garment to them. 
Qur'an [2 :
 187] 

 Consider this in conjunction with the following verse: 

 The best garment is the garment of God-consciousness Qur'an [7 : 
26] 

 It requires that a husband and wife should be as garments 
for each
 other. Just as garments are for protection, comfort, show 
and
 concealment for human beings, Allah expects husbands and wives to 
be for
 one another. 


 And the believers, men and women, are protecting friends of one 
another;
 they enjoin the right and forbid the wrong, and they establish 
worship
 and they pay the poor-due, and they obey Allah and His messenger; 
as for
 those, Allah will have mercy on them; Lo! Allah is Mighty, Wise. 
Allah
 hath promised to believers - men and women - gardens underwhich 
rivers
 flow, to dwell therein, and beautiful mansions in gardens of 
everlasting
 bliss; but the greatest bliss is the good pleasure of Allah: This 
is the
 supreme felicity. 

 Qur'an [9 : 71 - 72] 


 2. Whom to Marry ................................................... 
from
IINN 



 Allah also gives us freedom and urges us to: 

 ...Marry the women of your choice... Qur'an [4 : 3] Similarly, 
for the
 women: 

 "A girl came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and informed 
him that
 her father had married her to her cousin against her wishes, 
whereupon
 the Prophet allowed her to exercise her choice. She then said, 
'I am
 reconciled to what my father did but I wanted to make it known to 
women
 that fathers have no say in this matter'". - Hadith narrated 
by Ibn
 Majah 

 Narrated Abdullah: "We were with the Prophet, peace be upon him, 
while
 we were young and had no wealth whatever. So Allah's Apostle, 
peace be
 upon him, said, `O young people! Whoever among you can marry, 
should
 marry, because it helps him lower his gaze and guard his 
modesty, and
 whoever is not able to marry, should fast, as fasting 
diminishes his
 sexual power.'" 

 Narrated Abu Huraira: "The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, `A 
woman is
 married for four things, i.e., her wealth, her family 
status, her
 beauty, and her religion. So you should marry the religious 
woman
 [otherwise] you will be a loser.'" 




 3. Mahr ............................................................ 
from
IINN 

 

 Mahr is the gift that is given by the husband to his wife at 
wedding. It
 can be anything in any amount, as agreed by the bride and bride-
groom. 

 Allah says about Mahr in the Chapter `Woman' in Quran: 

 And give the women (on marriage) their Mahr as a free gift. 
Qur'an [4 :
 4] 

 If you had given the latter a cantar (of gold i.e. a great 
amount) for
 dower (Mahr) take not the least bit of it back ... Qur'an [4 : 20] 

 Narrated Sahl bin Sa`d: "The Prophet, peace be upon him, said to 
a man,
 `Marry, even with (a Mahr equal to) an iron ring.'" 




 4. Intimacy ........................................................ 
from
IINN 

 

 Intimacy is seen as an act of procreation. An eye for the what is 
about
 to come is kept open in this respect as well. The following 
prayer
 reminds us of God, results of our actions and reminds us 
of our
 commitment to train our offspring. 

 Narrated Ibn Abbas: "The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, `If 
anyone of
 you, when having a sexual intercourse with his wife says: 

 In the name of Allah! O Allah! Protect me from Satan and 
protect what
 you bestow upon us (i.e. an offspring) from Satan. and if it is 
destined
 that they should have a child, then Satan will never be able 
to harm
 him.'" 




 5. Walima .......................................................... 
from
IINN 

 

 Walima is the wedding reception given to friends and family 
after the
 consummation of marriage. It is given by the husband on this 
auspicious
 occassion, showing his happiness and sharing it with the 
friends and
 family. 

 Abdur Rahman bin Auf said, "The Prophet, peace be upon him, said 
to me,
 `Give a wedding banquet, even with one sheep.'" 

 Narrated Abu Musa: "The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, 
`Set the
 captives free, accept the invitation (including to a wedding 
banquet),
 and pay a visit to the patients.'" 

 By this saying of the Prophet, peace be upon him, it is also 
enjoined
 upon us to join in the happiness of our brothers. 




 6. Duties & Rights After Marriage .................................. 
from
IINN 

 

 Duties and Rights of Husband and Wife after marriage: 

 Allah informs us about the just rights of each other on us: 

 But, in accordance with justice, the wife's rights (with regard to 
their
 husbands) are equal to the (husband's) rights with regard to 
them,
 although men are a degree above them; and Allah is Almighty, 
Wise.
 Qur'an [2 : 228] 

 The statement that men are a degree above women means that 
authority
 within the household has been give to the husband in preference 
to the
 wife because a heavier burden has been placed on his 
shoulders by
 another verse of the Quran which says: 


 Men shall take full care of women, because Allah has given the 
one more
 strength than the other, and because they support them from their 
means.
 Qur'an [4 : 34] 




 7. Advices to Husbands ............................................. 
from
IINN 


 Jabir Narrated that the Prophet, peace be upon him, gave 
these
 instructions in his sermon during Farewell Pilgrimage: 
"Fear God
 regarding women; for you have taken them [in marriage] with the 
trust of
 God." [Mishkat] 

 Narrated Aisha, God's messenger said: "Among the believers who 
show most
 perfect faith are those who have the best disposition, and are 
kindest
 to their families." [Tirmidhi] 

 Narrated Abu Huraira, God's messenger said: "The believers who 
show the
 most perfect faith are those who have the best disposition and 
the best
 of you are those who are best to their wives." [Tirmidhi] 

 Aisha has related that the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him, would 
enter
 the house with a pleasing disposition and a smile on his 
lips.
 [Uswa-i-Hasana] 



 Narrated Al-Aswad: "I asked Aisha, `What did the Prophet, peace 
be upon
 him, do at home?' She said, `He used to work for his family and 
when he
 heard the call for the prayer, he would go out.'" [Bukhari] 

 Narrated Abu Huraira: "Allah's Apostle, peace be upon him, 
said, `The
 woman is like a rib; if you try to straighten her, she will break. 
So if
 you want to get benefit from her, do so while she still has some 
bent.'"
 [Bukhari] 

 Narrated Abu Huraira: "The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, 
`Whoever
 believes in Allah and the Last Day should not hurt 
(trouble) his
 neighbor. And I advise you to take care of women, for they are 
created
 from a rib and the most crooked portion of the rib is its upper 
part; if
 you try to straighten it, it will break, and if you leave it, 
it will
 reamin crooked, so I urge you to take care of women. [Bukhari] 

 Narrated Abdullah bin Amr bin Al-As: "Allah's Apostle, peace 
be upon
 him, said, `O Abdullah! Have I not been informed that you fast 
all the
 day and stand in prayer all night?' I said, `Yes, O Allah's 
Apostle!' He
 said, `Do not do that! Observe the fast sometimes and also leave 
them at
 other times; stand up for the prayer at night and also sleep at 
night.
 Your body has a right over you and your wife has a right over 
you.'"
 [Bukhari] 

 Narrated Ibn Umar: "The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, `All 
of you
 are guardians and are responsible for your wards. The 
ruler is a
 guardian and the man is a guardian of his family; the lady is a 
guardian
 who is responsible for her husband's house and his offspring; and 
so all
 of you are guardians and are responsible for your wards.'" 

 Men should forbear any shortcomings of women in view of the 
following
 verse of Quran: 

 Live with them in kindness; even if you dislike them, 
perhaps you
 dislike something in which God has place much good. Qur'an [4 : 
19] 




 8. Advices to Wives ................................................ 
from
IINN 


 Anas reported God's messenger as saying, "When a woman observes 
the five
 times of prayer, fasts during Ramadan, preserves her chastity and 
obeys
 her husband, she may enter by any of the gates of paradise she 
wishes
 (in other words nothing will prevent her from entering 
paradise)."
 [Mishkat] 

 Um Salma reported God's messenger as saying, "Any woman who 
dies when
 her husband is pleased with her will enter Paradise." [Tirmidhi] 

 Abu Huraira told that when God's messenger was asked which 
woman was
 best, he replied, "The one who fills [her husband] with joy when 
he sees
 her, obeys him when he directs and does not oppose him by 
displeasing
 him regarding her person or property." [Mishkat] 


 Providing for wife and family: 

 Quran teaches us to be reasonable and fair to our wives and 
family. 


 House women wherever you reside, accoding to your circumstances, 
and do
 not harass them in order to make life difficult for them. Qur'an 
[65 :
 6] 

 The statement of Allah in the chapter `Woman': 

 `Men are protectors and maintainers of women.' Qur'an [4 : 34] 

 Bukhari quotes the following verse under the heading: .. the 
superiority
 of providing for one's family: 

 (O Mohammed!) They ask you what they ought to spend. Say: That 
which is
 beyond your needs. Thus Allah make clear to you His Signs in 
order that
 you may give thought (to it) in this worldly life and the 
Hereafter.
 Qur'an [2 : 219-220] 

 Narrated Abu Masud Al-Ansari: "The Prophet, peace be upon him, 
said,
 `When a Muslim spends something on his family intending to 
receive
 Allah's reward, it is regarded as Sadqa (spending in the name 
of God)
 for him.'" 

 We should always remember that Allah is the one who gives us, 
we are
 mere trustees of the funds. 

 Narrated Abu Huraira: "Allah's Apostle, peace be upon him, said, 
`Allah
 said, O the son of Adam! Spend, and I shall spend on you.'" 

 Narrated Abu Huraira: "Allah's Apostle, peace be upon him, 
said, `The
 best alms is that which you give when you are rich, and you 
should
 support your dependants first.'" [Bukhari] 

 Abu Huraira reported God's messenger, peace be upon him, as 
saying: "Of
 the dinar (unit of currency) that you spend as a contribution in 
God's
 path, or to set free a slave, or as charity given to a needy, 
or to
 support your family, the one yielding the greatest reward is that 
which
 you spent on your family. [Muslim] 


 

(Continued from last message)




 Announcements
................................................................


 9. Archive Info
.............................................................. 



 This FAQ is archived at several sites and is available for 
public
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10. Credits
................................................................... 



 The author wishes to thank all those who contributed in any 
capacity for
 the original one part FAQ or this multi-part FAQ. 


 -- SOURCES --
 

 The basic introduction and literature presented in the FAQ 
is from
 brochures on Islam distributed by Institute of Islamic 
Information &
 Education (III&E). These brochures were typed in electronic 
form by
 Ms.M.Ahmed. 

has been
 compiled from USENET archives and administrative logs of
 Soc.Religion.Islam moderator panel. 

 What is III&E? 

 III&E is an acronym for the Institute of Islamic Information & 
Education
 which was established in Chicago, Illinois in 1985. The 
III&E is
 registered in the State of Illinois and recognized by the 
Internal
 Revenue Service (IRS) as a not-for-profit religious organization. 

 More information can be obtained by contacting Dr. M. Amir, 
III&E, P.O.
 Box 41129, Chicago, IL 60641-0129, U.S.A.; Fax: (312) 777-
7199; or
 or Tel: (312) 777-7443 or contact Sr. Margaret Ahmed. 



 -- FORMAT --
 

 The format of the FAQ series has been done by utilizing 
resources of
 Islamic Information & News Network (IINN). A custom program, 
Nebula,
 written by editors of IINN for generating newsletters has been 
used. 


 What is IINN? 

 Islamic Information & News Network is a forum dedicated to 
educate the
 network community on issues relating to Islam and Muslims in an 
academic
 & non-political environment. Weekly digest is available on 
internet by
 subscribing to MUSLIMS@ASUACAD.BITnet (A Bitnet listserv list) 
and on
 USENET: bit.listserv.muslims. 



 -- Permissions --
 

 Permission to post this multi-part FAQ has been obtained 
by the
 following: 

 o Institute of Islamic Information & Education (III&E)
 o Islamic Information & News Network (Muslims@PSUVM.bitnet) 
 o Moderator(s) of News.Answers (Thomas Khoenig & P.Huang)


# End of Islam FAQ Part 6 #

 

References: <islam-faq/part6_792592921@rtfm.mit.edu>
 Islam. Part 7 of 15.
bit.listserv.muslims:89


Archive-name: islam-faq/part7



 Copyright 1993,1994,1995 Asim Mughal (mughal@caltech.edu) 

 Redistribution for profit, or in altered 
content/format
 prohibited without explicit written permission of the 
author.
 Any other redistribution must include this copyright notice 
and
 attribution. 



 Frequently Asked Questions: Part 7
 __________________________________
 

 This message is automatically posted to 
 every month and when updated. This lists answers to 
most
 commonly asked questions on the forum. Contributions & 
changes
 are requested and should be directed to: mughal@caltech.edu 



 OVERVIEW: The Frequently Asked Questions document 
for
 Islam has been divided in parts. Below is the index. 


 Part 1 - Welcome & Index
 Part 2 - Info on Islamic News Groups
 Part 3 - Introduction to Islam
 Part 4 - God & Worship
 Part 5 - Islam, Quran & Muhammad (PBUH)
 Part 6 - Marriage Laws in Islam
 Part 7 - Women In Islam
 Part 8 - Life after Death, Moral System & Human rights in 
Islam
 Part 9 - Islam: Prophethood, Jesus & Trinity
 Part 10 - Islam: Farrakhism & Malcom X
 Part 11 - Islamic Internet Guide: Islamic Resources on 
Internet
 Part 12 - Other Islamic Resource Guides on Internet
 Part 13 - Islamic Literature: Books & Video
 Part 14 - Islamic Calendar & Prayer Time Table for 1994
 Part 15 - Misc: List of Halal Foods


 ________________________________________________________

 PART 7: Women In Islam
 

 Contents 

 --Articles--
 1. Hijab (Veil) and Muslim Women ...................... from 
Ms.Naheed
Mustafa 
 2. Women In Islam .................................................. 
from
IINN 
 3. Women's Liberation through Islam ............................... 
from
III&E 
 4. Human Rights - Equality ........................................ 
from
III&E 
 5. Civil Rights - Freedom of Choice & ............................. 
from
III&E 
 6. Social Rights .................................................. 
from
III&E 
 7. Political Rights ............................................... 
from
III&E 
 8. Economic Rightrs ............................................... 
from
III&E 
 9. Rights of a Wife ............................................... 
from
III&E 
10. Duties of a Wife ............................................... 
from
III&E 
11. Conclusion - Rights of Women ................................... 
from
III&E 
12. Who Practices Polygamy? ........................................ 
from
III&E 
 --Announcements--
13. Archive Info
.............................................................. 
14. Credits
................................................................... 



 Articles
.....................................................................


 1. Hijab (Veil) and Muslim Women ...................... from 
Ms.Naheed
Mustafa 


 "My body is my own business" by Naheed in The Globe 

 >Dated: 25 Sep 1993 16:35:02 -0500 


 MULTICULTURAL VOICES: A Canadian-born Muslim woman has taken to 
wearing
 the traditional hijab scarf. It tends to make people see her as 
either a
 terrorist or a symbol of oppressed womanhood, but she 
finds the
 experience LIBERATING. 


 I OFTEN wonder whether people see me as a radical, fundamentalist 
Muslim
 terrorist packing an AK-47 assault rifle inside my jean jacket. 
Or may
 be they see me as the poster girl for oppressed womanhood 
everywhere.
 I'm not sure which it is. 

 I get the whole gamut of strange looks, stares, and covert 
glances. You
 see, I wear the hijab, a scarf that covers my head, neck, and 
throat. I
 do this because I am a Muslim woman who believes her body is 
her own
 private concern. 

 Young Muslim women are reclaiming the hijab, reinterpreting it in 
light
 of its original purpose -- to give back to women ultimate 
control of
 their own bodies. 

 The Qur'an teaches us that men and women are equal, that 
individuals
 should not be judged according to gender, beauty, wealth, or 
privilege.
 The only thing that makes one person better than another is her 
or his
 character. 

 Nonetheless, people have a difficult time relating to me. After 
all, I'm
 young, Canadian born and raised, university-educated -- why 
would I do
 this to myself, they ask. 

 Strangers speak to me in loud, slow English and often appear 
to be
 playing charades. They politely inquire how I like living in 
Canada and
 whether or not the cold bothers me. If I'm in the right mood, it 
can be
 very amusing. 

 But, why would I, a woman with all the advantages of a North 
American
 upbringing, suddenly, at 21, want to cover myself so that with the 
hijab
 and the other clothes I choose to wear, only my face and hands 
show? 


 Because it gives me freedom. 

 -o-o-o- 

 WOMEN are taught from early childhood that their worth is 
proportional
 to their attractiveness. We feel compelled to pursue abstract 
notions of
 beauty, half realizing that such a pursuit is futile. 

 When women reject this form of oppression, they face 
ridicule and
 contempt. Whether it's women who refuse to wear makeup or to shave 
their
 legs, or to expose their bodies, society, both men and 
women, have
 trouble dealing with them. 

 In the Western world, the hijab has come to symbolize either 
forced
 silence or radical, unconscionable militancy. Actually, it's 
neither. It
 is simply a woman's assertion that judgment of her physical person 
is to
 play no role whatsoever in social interaction. 

 Wearing the hijab has given me freedom from constant attention 
to my
 physical self. Because my appearance is not subjected to 
public
 scrutiny, my beauty, or perhaps lack of it, has been removed 
from the
 realm of what can legitimately be discussed. 

 No one knows whether my hair looks as if I just stepped out of a 
salon,
 whether or not I can pinch an inch, or even if I have unsightly 
stretch
 marks. And because no one knows, no one cares. 

 Feeling that one has to meet the impossible male standards of 
beauty is
 tiring and often humiliating. I should know, I spent my entire 
teen-age
 years trying to do it. It was a borderline bulimic and spent a 
lot of
 money I didn't have on potions and lotions in hopes of becoming 
the next
 Cindy Crawford. 

 The definition of beauty is ever-changing; waifish is good, 
waifish is
 bad, athletic is good -- sorry, athletic is bad. Narrow hips? 
Great.
 Narrow hips? Too bad. 

 Women are not going to achieve equality with the right to bear 
their
 breasts in public, as some people would like to have you 
believe. That
 would only make us party to our own objectification. True 
equality will
 be had only when women don't need to display themselves to get 
attention
 and won't need to defend their decision to keep their 
bodies to
 themselves. 

 Naheed Mustafa graduated from the University of Toronto last 
year with
 an honours degree in political and history. She is currently 
studying
 journalism at Ryerson Polytechnic University 

 NOTE: 

 This article appeared in IINN (Islamic Information & News 
Network)
 publications. The Permission of Reprinting granted by 
"Islamic
 Information & News Network" (Muslims @ Asuacad.Bitnet). 




 2. Women In Islam .................................................. 
from
IINN 

 

 Source: Islamic Center of Southern California 

 Typed in by: Ms.Iraj Ali 

 SEPARATING FACTS FROM FICTION 


 o Islam gave woman the right to reject a marriage proposal 
free from
 pressure and by mutual agreement to specify in the marriage 
contract
 that she has the right to divorce. If she deems the marriage 
to have
 failed beyond repair. 

 o Islam does not require woman to change her name at marriage. 

 o Islam protects the family and condemns the betrayal of 
marital
 fidelity. It recognize only one type of family, husband and wife 
united
 by authentic marriage contract. 

 o "Heaven is at the feet of mothers" is a basic Islamic teachings. 


 This article appeared in IINN (Islamic Information & News 
Network)
 publications. The Permission of Reprinting granted by 
"Islamic
 Information & News Network" (Muslims @ Asuacad.Bitnet). 




 3. Women's Liberation through Islam ............................... 
from
III&E 


 Today people think that women are liberated in the West and 
that the
 women's liberation movement began in the 20th century. 
Actually, the
 women's liberation movement was not begun by women but was 
revealed by
 God to a man in the seventh century by the name of Muhammad 
(peace be
 upon him), who is known as the last Prophet of Islam. The Qur'an 
and the
 Traditions of the Prophet (Hadith or Sunnah) are the sources from 
which
 every Muslim woman derives her rights and duties. 




 4. Human Rights - Equality ........................................ 
from
III&E 


 Islam, fourteen centuries ago, made women equally accountable to 
God in
 glorifying and worshipping Him - setting no limits on her 
moral
 progress. Also, Islam established a woman's equality in her 
humanity
 with men. 

 In the Qur'an, in the first verse of the chapter entitled 
"Women," God
 says, "O mankind! Be careful of your duty to your Lord Who 
created you
 from a single soul and from it its mate and from them both have 
spread
 abroad a multitude of men and women. Be careful of your duty 
toward
 Allah in Whom you claim (your rights) of one another, and 
towards the
 wombs (that bore you). Lo! Allah has been a Watcher over you." 
(4:1) 

 Since men and women both came from the same essence, they are 
equal in
 their humanity. Women cannot be by nature evil (as some 
religious
 believe) or then men would be evil also. Similarly, neither 
gender can
 be superior because it would be a contradiction of equality. 




 5. Civil Rights - Freedom of Choice & ............................. 
from
III&E 


 In Islam, a woman has the basic freedom of choice and expression 
based
 on recognition of her individual personality. First, she is 
free to
 choose her religion. The Qur'an states: "There is no 
compulsion in
 religion. Right has been made distinct from error." (2:256) 

 Women are encouraged in Islam to contribute their opinions and 
ideas.
 There are many traditions of the Prophet (pbuh) which indicate 
women
 would pose questions directly to him and offer their opinions 
concerning
 religion, economics and social matters. 

 A Muslim woman chooses her husband and keeps her name after 
marriage. A
 Muslim woman's testimony is valid in legal disputes. In fact, in 
areas
 in which women are more familiar, their evidence is conclusive. 




 6. Social Rights .................................................. 
from
III&E 


 The Prophet (pbuh) said: "Seeking knowledge is a mandate for 
every
 Muslim (male and female)." This includes knowledge of the Qur'an 
and the
 Hadith as well as other knowledge. Men and women both have the 
capacity
 for learning and understanding. Since it is also their 
obligation to
 promote good behavior and condemn bad behavior in all spheres of 
life,
 Muslim women must acquire the appropriate education to perform 
this duty
 in accordance with their own natural talents and interests. 

 While maintenance of a home, providing support to her 
husband, and
 bearing, raising and teaching of children are among the first 
and very
 highly regarded roles for a woman, if she has the skills to work 
outside
 the home for the good of the community, she may do so as long 
as her
 family obligations are met. 

 Islam recognizes and fosters the natural differences between 
men and
 women despite their equality. Some types of work are more 
suitable for
 men and other types for women. This in no way diminishes either's 
effort
 nor its benefit. God will reward both sexes equally for the 
value of
 their work, though it may not necessarily be the same activity. 

 Concerning motherhood, the Prophet (pbuh) said: "Heaven lies 
under the
 feet of mothers." This implies that the success of a society 
can be
 traced to the mothers that raised it. The first and greatest 
influence
 on a person comes from the sense of security, affection, and 
training
 received from the mother. Therefore, a woman having children 
must be
 educated and conscientious in order to be a skillful parent. 




 7. Political Rights ............................................... 
from
III&E 


 A right given to Muslim women by God 1400 years ago is the 
right to
 vote. On any public matter, a woman may voice her 
opinion and
 participate in politics. One example, narrated in the Qur'an 
(60:12), is
 that Muhammad (pbuh) is told that when the believing women come 
to him
 and swear their allegiance to Islam, he must accept their 
oath. This
 established the right of women to select their leader and 
publicly
 declare so. Finally, Islam does not forbid a woman from 
holding
 important positions in government. Abdur-Rahman Ibn Auf 
consulted many
 women before he recommended Uthman Ibn Affan to be the Caliph. 




 8. Economic Rights ................................................ 
from
III&E 


 The Qur'an states: "By the creation of the male and female; 
Verily, (the
 ends) ye strive for are diverse." (92:3-4) 

 In these verses, God declares that He created men and women 
to be
 different, with unique roles, functions and skills. As in society, 
where
 there is a division of labor, so too in a family; each 
member has
 different responsibilities. Generally, Islam upholds that 
women are
 entrusted with the nurturing role, and men, with the guardian 
role.
 Therefore, women are given the right of financial support. 

 The Qur'an states: "Men are the maintainers of women because 
Allah has
 made some of them to excel others and because they spend of their 
wealth
 (for the support of women)." (4:34) 

 This guardianship and greater financial responsibility is given 
to men,
 requires that they provide women with not only monetary support 
but also
 physical protection and kind and respectful treatment. 

 The Muslim woman has the privilege to earn money, the right 
to own
 property, to enter into legal contracts and to manage all of her 
assets
 in any way she pleases. She can run her own business and no one 
has any
 claim on her earnings including her husband. The Qur'an states: 

 "And in no wise covet those things in which Allah hath 
bestowed His
 gifts more freely on some of you than on others; to men is 
allotted what
 they earn, and to women, what they earn; but ask Allah of His 
bounty,
 for Allah hath full knowledge of all things." (4:32) 

 A woman inherits from her relatives. The Qur'an states: "For men 
there
 is a share in what parents and relatives leave, and for women 
there is a
 share of what parents and relatives leave, whether it be little 
or much


 

(Continued from last message)
 - an ordained share." (4:7) 




 9. Rights of a Wife ............................................... 
from
III&E 


 The Qur'an states: "And among His signs is that He created for you 
mates
 from among yourselves that you may live in tranquillity with 
them, and
 He has put love and mercy between you; Verily, in that are 
signs for
 people who reflect." (30:21) 

 Marriage is therefore not just a physical or emotional necessity, 
but in
 fact, a sign from God! It is a relationship of mutual 
rights and
 obligations based on divine guidance. God created men and 
women with
 complimentary natures, and in the Qur'an, He laid out a system 
of laws
 to support harmonious interaction between the sexes. 

 "...They are your garments and you are their garments." (2:187) 

 Clothing provides physical protection and covers the beauty and 
faults
 of the body. Likewise, a spouse is viewed this way. Each 
protects the
 other and hides the faults and compliments the characteristics 
of the
 spouse. 

 To foster the love and security that comes with marriage, Muslim 
wives
 have various rights. The first of the wife's rights is to receive 
mahr,
 a gift from the husband which is part of the marriage 
contract and
 required for the legality of the marriage. 

 The second right of a wife is maintenance. Despite any wealth 
she may
 have, her husband is obligated to provide her with food, 
shelter and
 clothing. He is not forced, however, to spend beyond his 
capability and
 his wife is not entitled to make unreasonable demands. The 
Qur'an
 states: "Let the man of means spend according to his means, and 
the man
 whose resources are restricted, let him spend according to what 
Allah
 has given him. Allah puts no burden on any person beyond what 
He has
 given him." (65:7) 

 God tells us men are guardians over women and are 
afforded the
 leadership in the family. His responsibility for obeying God 
extends to
 guiding his family to obey God at all times. 

 A wife's rights also extend beyond material needs. She has the 
right to
 kind treatment. The Prophet (pbuh) said: "The most perfect 
believers are
 the best in conduct. And the best of you are those who are best to 
their
 wives." God tells us He created mates and put love, 
mercy, and
 tranquillity between them. 

 Both men and women have a need for companionship and sexual 
needs, and
 marriage is designed to fulfill those needs. For one spouse to 
deny this
 satisfaction to the other, temptation exists to seek it elsewhere. 




10. Duties of a Wife ............................................... 
from
III&E 


 With rights come responsibilities. Therefore, wives have 
certain
 obligations to their husbands. The Qur'an states: "The good women 
in the
 absence of their husbands guard their rights as Allah has 
enjoined upon
 them to be guarded." (4:34) 

 A wife is to keep her husband's secrets and protect their 
marital
 privacy. Issues of intimacy or faults of his that would 
dishonor him,
 are not to be shared by the wife, just as he is expected to 
guard her
 honor. 

 A wife must also guard her husband's property. She must 
safeguard his
 home and possessions, to the best of her ability, from theft or 
damage.
 She should manage the household affairs wisely so as to prevent 
loss or
 waste. She should not allow anyone to enter the house whom her 
husband
 dislikes nor incur any expenses of which her husband disapproves. 

 A Muslim woman must cooperate and coordinate with her husband. 
There
 cannot, however, be cooperation with a man who is disobedient 
to God.
 She should not fulfill his requests if he wants her to do 
something
 unlawful. A husband also should not take advantage of his wife, 
but be
 considerate of her needs and happiness. 




11. Conclusion - Rights of Women ................................... 
from
III&E 


 The Qur'an states: "And it becomes not a believing man or a 
believing
 women, when Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad) have decided on an 
affair
 (for them), that they should (after that) claim any say in their 
affair;
 and whoso is rebellious to Allah and His Messenger, he 
verily goes
 astray in error manifest." (33:36) 

 The Muslim woman was given a role, duties and rights 1400 years 
ago that
 most women do not enjoy today, even in the West. These are from 
God and
 are designed to keep balance in society; what may seem unjust or 
missing
 in one place is compensated for or explained in another place. 
Islam is
 a complete way of life. 

 -- Mary Ali and Anjum Ali 




12. Who Practices Polygamy? ........................................ 
from
III&E 


 Polygamy has been practiced by mankind for thousands of years. 
Many of
 the ancient Israelites were polygamous, some having hundreds of 
wives.
 King Solomon (peace be upon him) is said to have had seven hundred 
wives
 and three hundred concubines. David (Dawood) had ninety-nine and 
Jacob
 (Yacub, peace be upon them both) had four. Advice given by some 
Jewish
 wise men state that no man should marry more than four wives. No 
early
 society put any restrictions on the number of wives or 
put any
 conditions about how they were to be treated. Jesus was not 
known to
 have spoken against polygamy. As recently as the seventeenth 
century,
 polygamy was practiced and accepted by the Christian Church. The 
Mormons
 (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) has allowed and 
practiced
 polygamy in the United States. 

 Monogamy was introduced into Christianity at the time of Paul 
when many
 revisions took place in Christianity. This was done in order 
for the
 church to conform to the Greco-Roman culture where men were 
monogamous
 but owned many slaves who were free for them to use: in other 
words,
 unrestricted polygamy. 

 Early Christians invented ideas that women were "full of sin" 
and man
 was better off to "never marry." Since this would be the end of 
mankind
 these same people compromised and said "marry only one." 

 In the American society many times when relations are 
strained, the
 husband simply deserts his wife. The he cohabits with a 
prostitute or
 other immoral woman without marriage. Actually there are three 
kinds of
 polygamy practiced in Western societies: (1) serial polygamy, 
that is,
 marriage, divorce, marriage, divorce, and so on any number of 
times; (2)
 a man married to one woman but having and supporting one 
or more
 mistresses; (3) an unmarried man having a number of mistresses. 
Islam
 condones but discourages the first and forbids the other two. 

 Wars cause the number of women to greatly exceed the number of 
men. In a
 monogamous society these women, left without husbands or support, 
resort
 to prostitution, illicit relationships with married men 
resulting in
 illegitimate children with no responsibility on the part of the 
father,
 or lonely spinsterhood or widowhood. 

 Some Western men take the position that monogamy protects the 
rights of
 women. But are these men really concerned about the rights of 
women? The
 society has so many practices which exploit and suppress women, 
leading
 to women's liberation movements from the suffragettes of the 
early
 twentieth century to the feminists of today. 

 The truth of the matter is that monogamy protects men, allowing 
them to
 "play around" without responsibility. Easy birth control and easy 
legal
 abortion has opened the door of illicit sex to woman and she 
has been
 lured into the so-called sexual revolution. But she is still the 
one who
 suffers the trauma of abortion and the side effects of the birth 
control
 methods. Taking aside the plagues of venereal disease, herpes and 
AIDS,
 the male continues to enjoy himself free of worry. Men are 
the ones
 protected by monogamy while women continue to be victims of 
men's
 desires. Polygamy is very much opposed by the male dominated 
society
 because it would force men to face up to responsibility and 
fidelity. It
 would force them to take responsibility for their 
polygamous
 inclinations and would protect and provide for women and children. 

 Among all the polygamous societies in history there were none 
which
 limited the number of wives. All of the relationships were 
unrestricted.
 In Islam, the regulations concerning polygamy limit the number of 
wives
 a man can have while making him responsible for all of the 
women
 involved. 

 "Marry women of your choice, two or three or four; but if you 
fear that
 you shall not be able to deal justly with them, then only one 
or one
 that your right hands possess. That will be more suitable, to 
prevent
 you from doing injustice." (Qur'an 4:3) 

 This verse from the Qur'an allows a man to marry more than one 
woman but
 only if he can deal justly with them. Another verse says that a 
person
 is unable to deal justly between wives, thus giving 
permission but
 discouraging. 

 "You will never be able to deal justly between wives however 
much you
 desire (to do so). But (if you have more than one wife) do 
not turn
 altogether away (from one), leaving her in suspense..." (Qur'an 
4:129) 

 While the provision for polygamy makes the social system flexible 
enough
 to deal with all kinds of conditions, it is not necessarily 
recommended
 or preferred by Islam. Taking the example of the Prophet Muhammad 
(peace
 be upon him) is instructive. He was married to one woman, 
Khadijah, for
 twenty-five years. It was only after her death when he had 
reached the
 age of fifty that he entered into other marriages to 
promote
 friendships, create alliances or to be an example of some lesson 
to the
 community; also to show the Muslims how to treat their spouses 
under
 different conditions of life. 

 The Prophet (peace be upon him) was given inspiration from Allah 
about
 how to deal with multiple marriages and the difficulties 
encountered
 therein. It is not an easy matter for a man to handle two 
wives, two
 families, and two households and still be just between the two. 
No man
 of reasonable intelligence would enter into this situation 
without a
 great deal of thought and very compelling reasons (other than 
sexual). 

 Some people have said that the first wife must agree to the 
second
 marriage. Others have said that the couple can put it into the 
marriage
 contract that the man will not marry a second wife. First 
of all,
 neither the Qur'an nor Hadith state that the first wife 
need be
 consulted at all concerning a second marriage let alone 
gain her
 approval. Consideration and compassion on the part of the man 
for his
 first wife should prompt him to discuss the matter with her but 
he is
 not required to do so or to gain her approval. Secondly, the 
Qur'an has
 explicitly given permission for a man to marry "two or three or 
four."
 No one has the authority to make a contract forbidding 
something that
 has been granted by Allah. 

 The bottom line in the marriage relationship is good 
morality and
 happiness, creating a just and cohesive society where the needs 
of men
 and women are well taken care of. The present Western society, 
which
 permits free sex between consenting adults, has given rise 
to an
 abundance of irresponsible sexual relationships, an 
abundance of
 "fatherless" children, many unmarried teenage mothers; all 
becoming a
 burden on the country's welfare system. In part, such an 
undesirable
 welfare burden has given rise to bloated budget deficits which 
even an
 economically powerful country like the United States cannot 
accommodate.
 Bloated budget deficits have become a political football 
which is
 affecting the political system of the United States. 

 In short, we find that artificially created monogamy has become a 
factor
 in ruining the family structure, and the social, economic and 
political
 systems of the country. 

 It must be a prophet, and indeed it was Prophet Muhammad (peace 
be upon
 him) who directed Muslims to get married or observe patience 
until one
 gets married. 'Abdullah b. Mas'ud reported Allah's messenger as 
saying,
 "Young man, those of you who can support a wife should marry, 
for it
 keeps you from looking at strange women and preserves you 
from
 immorality; but those who cannot should devote themselves to 
fasting,
 for it is a means of suppressing sexual desire." (Bukhari and 
Muslim) 

 Islam wants people to be married and to develop a good family 
structure.
 Also Islam realizes the requirements of the society and the 
individual
 in special circumstances where polygamy can be the solution to 
problems.
 Therefore, Islam has allowed polygamy, limiting the number of 
wives to
 four, but does not require or even recommend polygamy. 

 In the Muslim societies of our times, polygamy is not 
frequently
 practiced despite legal permission in many countries. It 
appears that
 the American male is very polygamous, getting away with not 
taking
 responsibility for the families he should be responsible for. 

 --Mary Ali 

 (NOTE: In this article polygamy has been used to mean polygyny 
meaning
 having two or more wives. Islam forbids polyandry meaning having 
two or
 more husbands.) 




 Announcements
................................................................


13. Archive Info
.............................................................. 


 This FAQ is archived at several sites and is available for 
public
 retrieval thru anonymous FTP, E-MAIL, Gopher & World Wide Web. 


 -- Anonymous FTP --
 


 Login: anonymous
 Password: Your e-mail address



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 Text of E-mail Message: 


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 Site: latif.com 70
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 -- World-Wide-Web (WWW) --
 

 One recommended interface is 'mosaic,' below are mosaic 'home 
pages.' 



URL at USENET Archive site:
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/islam-faq/faq.html


URL at Caltech MSA site:
http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~calmsa/links.html






14. Credits
................................................................... 


 The author wishes to thank all those who contributed in any 
capacity for
 the original one part FAQ or this multi-part FAQ. 


 -- SOURCES --
 

 The basic introduction and literature presented in the FAQ 
is from
 brochures on Islam distributed by Institute of Islamic 
Information &
 Education (III&E). These brochures were typed in electronic 
form by
 Ms.M.Ahmed. 

has been
 compiled from USENET archives and administrative logs of
 Soc.Religion.Islam moderator panel. 

 What is III&E? 

 III&E is an acronym for the Institute of Islamic Information & 
Education
 which was established in Chicago, Illinois in 1985. The 
III&E is
 registered in the State of Illinois and recognized by the 
Internal
 Revenue Service (IRS) as a not-for-profit religious organization. 

 More information can be obtained by contacting Dr. M. Amir, 
III&E, P.O.
 Box 41129, Chicago, IL 60641-0129, U.S.A.; Tel: (312) 777-
7443 Fax:
 (312) 777-7199; or contact Sr. Margaret Ahmed. 



 -- FORMAT --
 

 The format of the FAQ series has been done by utilizing 
resources of
 Islamic Information & News Network (IINN). A custom program, 
Nebula,
 written by editors of IINN for generating newsletters has been 
used. 


 What is IINN? 

 Islamic Information & News Network is a forum dedicated to 
educate the
 network community on issues relating to Islam and Muslims in an 
academic
 & non-political environment. Weekly digest is available on 
internet by
 subscribing to MUSLIMS@ASUACAD.BITnet (A Bitnet listserv list) 
and on
 USENET: bit.listserv.muslims. 



 -- Permissions --
 

 Permission to post this multi-part FAQ has been obtained 
by the
 following: 



 

(Continued from last message)
 o Institute of Islamic Information & Education (III&E)
 o Islamic Information & News Network (Muslims@PSUVM.bitnet) 
 o Moderator(s) of News.Answers (Thomas Khoenig & P.Huang)


# End of Islam FAQ Part 7 #

 

bedfellow.mit.edu
faqserv
rights
in Islam
References: <islam-faq/part7_792592921@rtfm.mit.edu>
 Islam. Part 8 of 15.
bit.listserv.muslims:90


Archive-name: islam-faq/part8



 Copyright 1993,1994,1995 Asim Mughal (mughal@caltech.edu) 

 Redistribution for profit, or in altered 
content/format
 prohibited without explicit written permission of the 
author.
 Any other redistribution must include this copyright notice 
and
 attribution. 



 Frequently Asked Questions: Part 8
 __________________________________
 

 This message is automatically posted to 
 every month and when updated. This lists answers to 
most
 commonly asked questions on the forum. Contributions & 
changes
 are requested and should be directed to: mughal@caltech.edu 



 OVERVIEW: The Frequently Asked Questions document 
for
 Islam has been divided in parts. Below is the index. 


 Part 1 - Welcome & Index
 Part 2 - Info on Islamic News Groups
 Part 3 - Introduction to Islam
 Part 4 - God & Worship
 Part 5 - Islam, Quran & Muhammad (PBUH)
 Part 6 - Marriage Laws in Islam
 Part 7 - Women In Islam
 Part 8 - Life after Death, Moral System & Human rights in 
Islam
 Part 9 - Islam: Prophethood, Jesus & Trinity
 Part 10 - Islam: Farrakhism & Malcom X
 Part 11 - Islamic Internet Guide: Islamic Resources on 
Internet
 Part 12 - Other Islamic Resource Guides on Internet
 Part 13 - Islamic Literature: Books & Video
 Part 14 - Islamic Calendar & Prayer Time Table for 1994
 Part 15 - Misc: List of Halal Foods

 ________________________________________________________

 PART 8: Life after Death,Moral System & Human Rights in Islam
 


 Contents 

 --Articles--
 1. Life After Death ............................................... 
from
III&E 
 2. Moral System In Islam .......................................... 
from
III&E 
 3. God Consciousness .............................................. 
from
III&E 
 4. Social Responsibilities ........................................ 
from
III&E 
 5. Parents & others ............................................... 
from
III&E 
 6. Human Rights In Islam .......................................... 
from
III&E 
 7. Human Rights in an Islamic State ............................... 
from
III&E 
 --Announcements--
 8. Archive Info
.............................................................. 
 9. Credits
................................................................... 



 Articles
.....................................................................


 1. Life After Death ............................................... 
from
III&E 



 The question whether there is a life after death does not fall 
under the
 jurisdiction of science, as science is concerned only 
with
 classification and analysis of data. Moreover, man has been 
busy with
 scientific inquiries and research, in the modern sense of the 
term, only
 for the last few centuries, while he has been familiar with the 
concept
 of life after death since times immemorial. All the prophets 
of God
 called their people to worship God and to believe in life after 
death.
 They laid so much emphasis on the belief in life after death that 
even a
 slight doubt in it meant denying God and made all other 
beliefs
 meaningless. The very fact that all the prophets of God have 
dealt with
 this metaphysical question of life after death so confidently 
and so
 uniformly - the gap between their ages being thousands of years - 
goes
 to prove that the source of their knowledge of life after 
death as
 proclaimed by them all, was the same, i.e., Divine revelation. 
We also
 know that these prophets of God were greatly opposed by their 
people,
 mainly on the issue of life after death, as their people 
thought it
 impossible. But in spite of opposition, the prophets won many 
sincere
 followers. 

 The question arises: what made those followers forsake the 
established
 beliefs, traditions and customs of their forefathers, 
notwithstanding
 the risk of being totally alienated from their own community? The 
simple
 answer is: they made use of their faculties of mind and 
heart and
 realized the truth. Did they realize the truth through 
perceptual
 consciousness? Not so, as perceptual experience of life after 
death is
 impossible. 

 Actually, God has given man, besides perceptual consciousness, 
rational,
 aesthetic and moral consciousness too. It is this 
consciousness that
 guides man regarding realities that cannot be verified through 
sensory
 data. That is why all the prophets of God while calling 
people to
 believe in God and life after death, appeal to the aesthetic, 
moral and
 rational consciousness of man. For example, when the idolaters of 
Makkah
 denied even the possibility of life after death, the Quran 
exposed the
 weakness of their stand by advancing very logical and rational 
arguments
 in support of it: 

 "And he has coined for us a similitude, and has forgotten the 
fact of
 his creation, saying: who will revive these bones when they have 
rotted
 away? Say: He will revive them Who produced them at first, for He 
is the
 Knower of every creation, Who has appointed for you fire from the 
green
 tree, and behold! you kindle from it. Is not He Who created the 
heavens
 and the earth, able to create the like of them? Yes, and He is 
indeed
 the Supreme Creator, the All-Knowing." (36:78-81) 

 At another occasion, the Quran very clearly says that the 
disbelievers
 have no sound basis for their denial of life after death. It is 
based on
 pure conjecture: 

 "They say, 'There is nothing but our present life; we die, and we 
live,
 and nothing but Time destroys us.' Of that they have no 
knowledge; they
 merely conjecture. And when our revelations are recited to them, 
their
 only argument is that they say, 'Bring us our fathers, if you 
speak
 truly.' (45:24-25) 

 Surely God will raise all the dead. But God has His own plan of 
things.
 A day will come when the whole universe will be destroyed and then 
again
 the dead will be resurrected to stand before God. That day will 
be the
 beginning of the life that will never end, and that Day every 
person
 will be rewarded by God according to his or her good or evil deed. 

 The explanation that the Quran gives about the necessity of life 
after
 death is what the moral consciousness of man demands. Actually, if 
there
 is no life after death, the very belief in God becomes 
irrelevant, or
 even if one believes in God, that would be an unjust and 
indifferent
 God: having once created man and not concerned with his fate. 
Surely,
 God is just. He will punish the tyrants whose crimes are beyond 
count:
 having killed hundreds of innocent persons, created great 
corruptions in
 the society, enslaved numerous persons to serve their whims, etc. 
Man's
 having a very short span of life in this world, and this 
physical
 world's too being not eternal, punishments or rewards equal to 
the evil
 or noble deeds of persons are not possible here. The Quran 
very
 emphatically states that the Day of Judgment must come and 
God will
 decide about the fate of each soul according to his or her 
record of
 deeds: 

 "Those who disbelieve say: The Hour will never come unto us. 
Say: Nay,
 by my Lord, but it is coming unto you surely. (He is) the Knower 
of the
 Unseen. Not an atom's weight, or less than that or greater, 
escapes Him
 in the heavens or in the earth, but it is in a clear Record. That 
He may
 reward those who believe and do good words. For them is pardon 
and a
 rich provision. But those who strive against our 
revelations,
 challenging (Us), theirs will be a painful doom of wrath." (34:3-
5) 

 The Day of Resurrection will be the Day when God's attributes of 
Justice
 and Mercy will be in full manifestation. God will shower His 
Mercy on
 those who suffered for His sake in the worldly life, believing 
that an
 eternal bliss was awaiting them. But those who abused the 
bounties of
 God, caring nothing for the life to come, will be in the most 
miserable
 state. Drawing a comparison between them, the Quran says: 

 "Is he, then, to whom We have promised a goodly promise the 
fulfillment
 of which he will meet, like the one whom We have provided with 
the good
 things of this life, and then on the Day of Resurrection he will 
be of
 those who will be brought arraigned before God?" (28:61) 

 The Quran also states that this worldly life is a preparation 
for the
 eternal life after death. But those who deny it become slaves of 
their
 passions and desires, make fun of virtuous and God-conscious 
persons.
 Such persons realize their folly only at the time of their 
death and
 wish to be given a further chance in the world but in vain. 
Their
 miserable state at the time of death, and the horror of the 
Day of
 Judgment, and the eternal bliss guaranteed to the sincere 
believers are
 very beautifully mentioned in the following verses of the Holy 
Quran: 

 "Until, when death comes unto one of them, he says, 'My Lord 
send me
 back, that I may do right in that which I have left behind! But 
nay! It
 is but a word that he speaks; and behind them is a barrier until 
the day
 when they are raised. And when the Trumpet is blown there will 
be no
 kinship among them that day, nor will they ask of one 
another. Then
 those whose scales are heavy, they are successful. And those 
whose
 scales are light are those who lose their souls, in hell 
abiding, the
 fire burns their faces and they are glum therein." (23:99-104) 

 The belief in life after death not only guarantees success 
in the
 Hereafter but also makes this world full of peace and 
happiness by
 making individuals most responsible and dutiful in their 
activities. 

 Think of the people of Arabia. Gambling, wine, tribal feuds, 
plundering
 and murdering were their main traits when they had no belief 
in life
 after death. But as soon as they accepted the belief in One God 
and life
 after death they became the most disciplined nation of the 
world. They
 gave up their vices, helped each other in hours of need, and 
settled all
 their disputes on the basis of justice and equality. 
Similarly the
 denial of life after death has its consequences not only 
in the
 Hereafter but also in this world. When a nation as a whole 
denies it,
 all kinds of evils and corruptions become rampant in that 
society and
 ultimately it is destroyed. The Quran mentions the terrible end of 
'Aad,
 Thamud and the Pharaoh in some detail: 

 "(The tribes of) Thamud and 'Aad disbelieved in the judgment to 
come. As
 for Thamud, they were destroyed by the lightning, and as for 
'Aad, they
 were destroyed by a fierce roaring wind, which He imposed on 
them for
 seven long nights and eight long days so that you might see the 
people
 laid prostrate in it as if they were the stumps of fallen 
down palm
 trees. 

 "Now do you see remnant of them? Pharaoh likewise and those 
before him
 and the subverted cities. They committed errors and those 
before him,
 and they rebelled against the Messenger of their Lord, and He 
seized
 them with a surpassing grip. Lo, when the waters rose, We bore 
you in
 the running ship that We might make it a reminder for you 
and for
 heeding ears to hold. So when the Trumpet is blown with a single 
blast
 and the earth and the mountains are lifted up and crushed with a 
single
 blow, then on that day, the Terror shall come to pass, and the 
heaven
 shall be split for upon that day it will be very frail. Then as 
for him
 who is given his book in his right hand, he shall say, 'Here 
take and
 read my book! Certainly I thought I should encounter my 
reckoning.' So
 he shall be in a pleasing life in a lofty garden, its clusters 
nigh to
 gather. 

 "'Eat and drink with wholesome appetite for that you did long 
ago, in
 the days gone by.' 

 "But as for him who is given his book in his left hand, he 
shall say:
 'Would that I had not been given my book and not known my 
reckoning!
 Would that it had been the end! My wealth has not availed 
me, my
 authority is gone from me.'" (69:4-29) 

 Thus, there are very convincing reasons to believe in life after 
death. 

 First, all the prophets of God have called their people to 
believe in
 it. 

 Secondly, whenever a human society is built on the basis of this 
belief,
 it has been the most ideal and peaceful society, free of 
social and
 moral evils. 

 Thirdly, history bears witness that whenever this belief is 
rejected
 collectively by a group of people in spite of the repeated 
warning of
 the Prophet, the group as a whole has been punished by God even 
in this
 world. 

 Fourthly, moral, aesthetic and rational faculties of man 
endorse the
 possibility of life after death. 

 Fifthly, God's attributes of Justice and Mercy have no meaning if 
there
 is no life after death. 




 2. Moral System In Islam .......................................... 
from
III&E 


 Islam has laid down some universal fundamental rights for 
humanity as a
 whole, which are to be observed and respected under all 
circumstances.
 To achieve these rights Islam provides not only legal 
safeguards but
 also a very effective moral system. Thus whatever leads to the 
welfare
 of the individual or the society is morally good in Islam and 
whatever
 is injurious is morally bad. Islam attaches so much importance 
to the
 love of God and love of man that it warns against too much of 
formalism.
 We read in the Quran: 

 "It is not righteousness that you turn your faces towards East or 
West;
 but it is righteousness to believe in God and the Last Day 
and the
 Angels, and the Book, and the Messengers; to spend of your 
substance,
 out of love for Him, for your kin, for orphans for the needy, 
for the
 wayfarer, for those who ask; and for the freeing of captives; 
to be
 steadfast in prayers, and practice regular charity; to 
fulfill the
 contracts which you made; and to be firm and patient in 
pain (or
 suffering) and adversity and throughout all periods of panic. 
Such are
 the people of truth, the God-conscious." (2:177) 

 We are given a beautiful description of the righteous and God-
conscious
 man in these verses. He should obey salutary regulations, but he 
should
 fix his gaze on the love of God and the love of his fellow men. 

 We are given four heads: 

 a) Our faith should be true and sincere, 

 b) We must be prepared to show it in deeds of charity to our 
fellow-men, 

 c) We must be good citizens, supporting social organizations, and 

 d) Our own individual soul must be firm and unshaken in 
all
 circumstances. 


 This is the standard by which a particular mode of conduct is 
judged and
 classified as good or bad. This standard of judgment 
provides the
 nucleus around which the whole moral conduct should revolve. 
Before
 laying down any moral injunctions Islam seeks to firmly implant in 
man's
 heart the conviction that his dealings are with God who sees him 
at all
 times and in all places; that he may hide himself from the whole 
world
 but not from Him; that he may deceive everyone but cannot 
deceive God;
 that he can flee from the clutches of anyone else but not from 
God. 

 Thus, by setting God's pleasure as the objective of man's life, 
Islam
 has furnished the highest possible standard of morality. This is 
bound
 to provide limitless avenues for the moral evolution of 
humanity. By
 making Divine revelations as the primary source of knowledge it 
gives
 permanence and stability to the moral standards which afford 
reasonable
 scope for genuine adjustments, adaptations and innovations, 
though not
 for perversions, wild variation, atomistic relativism or moral 
fluidity.
 It provides a sanction to morality in the love and fear of God, 
which
 will impel man to obey the moral law even without any external 
pressure.
 Through belief in God and the Day of Judgment it furnishes a force 
which
 enables a person to adopt the moral conduct with 
earnestness and
 sincerity, with all the devotion of heart and soul. 

 It does not, through a false sense of originality and 
innovation,
 provide any novel moral virtues nor does it seek to 
minimize the
 importance of the well-known moral norms, nor does it give 
exaggerated
 importance to some and neglect others without cause. It takes up 
all the
 commonly known moral virtues and with a sense of balance and 
proportion
 it assigns a suitable place and function to each one of them 
in the
 total scheme of life. It widens the scope of man's 
individual and
 collective life - his domestic associations, his civic conduct, 
and his
 activities in the political, economic, legal, educational, and 
social
 realms. It covers his life from home to society, from the dining-
table
 to the battlefield and peace conferences, literally from the 
cradle to
 the grave. In short, no sphere of life is exempt from the 
universal and
 comprehensive application of the moral principles of Islam. It 
makes
 morality reign supreme and ensures that the affairs of life, 
instead of
 dominated by selfish desires and petty interests, should be 
regulated by
 norms of morality. 

 It stipulates for man a system of life which is based on all good 
and is
 free from all evil. It invokes the people, not only to practice 
virtue,
 but also to establish virtue and eradicate vice, to bid good 
and to
 forbid wrong. It wants that the verdict of conscience should 
prevail and
 virtue must not be subdued to play second fiddle to evil. 
Those who
 respond to this call are gathered together into a community and 
given
 the name "Muslim". And the singular object underlying the 
formation of
 this community ("Ummah") is that it should make an organized 
effort to


 

(Continued from last message)
 establish and enforce goodness and suppress and eradicate evil. 

 Here we furnish some basic moral teachings of Islam for various 
aspects
 of a Muslim's life. They cover the broad spectrum of personal 
moral
 conduct of a Muslim as well as his social responsibilities. 




 3. God Consciousness .............................................. 
from
III&E 


 The Quran mentions it as the highest quality of a Muslim: 

 "The most honorable among you in the sight of God is the one who 
is most
 God-conscious." (49:13) 

 Humility, modesty, control of passions and desires, 
truthfulness,
 integrity, patience, steadfastness, and fulfilling one's 
promises are
 moral values which are emphasized again and again in the Quran. 
We read
 in the Quran: 

 "And God loves those who are firm and steadfast." (3:146) 

 "And vie with one another to attain to your Sustainer's 
forgiveness and
 to a Paradise as vast as the heavens and the earth, which 
awaits the
 God-conscious, who spend for charity in time of plenty and in 
time of
 hardship, and restrain their anger, and pardon their fellow men, 
for God
 loves those who do good." (3:133-134) 

 "Establish regular prayer, enjoin what is just, and forbid 
what is
 wrong; and bear patiently whatever may befall you; for this 
is true
 constancy. And do not swell your cheek (with pride) at men, nor 
walk in
 insolence on the earth, for God does not love any man 
proud and
 boastful. And be moderate in your pace and lower your voice; 
for the
 harshest of sounds, indeed, is the braying of the ass." (31:18-19) 

 In a way which summarizes the moral behavior of a Muslim, the 
Prophet
 (PBUH) said: 

 "My Sustainer has given me nine commands: to remain conscious 
of God,
 whether in private or in public; to speak justly, whether 
angry or
 pleased; to show moderation both when poor and when rich, to 
reunite
 friendship with those who have broken off with me; to give to 
him who
 refuses me; that my silence should be occupied with thought; 
that my
 looking should be an admonition; and that I should command 
what is
 right." 




 4. Social Responsibilities ........................................ 
from
III&E 


 The teachings of Islam concerning social responsibilities are 
based on
 kindness and consideration of others. Since a broad injunction 
to be
 kind is likely to be ignored in specific situations, Islam lays 
emphasis
 on specific acts of kindness and defines the responsibilities and 
rights
 of various relationships. In a widening circle of relationship, 
then,
 our first obligation is to our immediate family - parents, 
husband or
 wife and children, then to other relatives, neighbors, 
friends and
 acquaintances, orphans and widows, the needy of the 
community, our
 fellow Muslims, all our fellow human beings and animals. 




 5. Parents & others ............................................... 
from
III&E 


 Respect and care for parents is very much stressed in the 
Islamic
 teaching and is a very important part of a Muslim's expression of 
faith. 

 "Your Sustainer has decreed that you worship none but Him, and 
that you
 be kind to parents. Whether one or both of them attain old age 
in your
 lifetime, do not say to them a word of contempt nor repel 
them, but
 address them in terms of honor. And, out of kindness, lower to 
them the
 wing of humility and say: My Sustainer! Bestow on them Your 
mercy, even
 as they cherished me in childhood." (17:23-24) 

 OTHER RELATIVES 

 "And render to the relatives their due rights, as (also) to 
those in
 need, and to the traveler; and do not squander your wealth in the 
manner
 of a spendthrift." (17:26) 


 NEIGHBORS 

 The Prophet (PBUH) has said: 

 "He is not a believer who eats his fill when his neighbor beside 
him is
 hungry"; and: "He does not believe whose neighbors are not safe 
from his
 injurious conduct." 

 Actually, according to the Quran and Sunnah, a Muslim has to 
discharge
 his moral responsibility not only to his parents, 
relatives and
 neighbors but to the entire mankind, animals and trees and 
plants. For
 example, hunting of birds and animals for the sake of game 
is not
 permitted. Similarly, cutting trees and plants which yield 
fruit is
 forbidden unless there is a very pressing need for it. 

 Thus, on the basic moral characteristics, Islam builds a higher 
system
 of morality by virtue of which mankind can realize its 
greatest
 potential. Islam purifies the soul from self-seeking egotism, 
tyranny,
 wantonness and indiscipline. It creates God-conscious men, 
devoted to
 their ideals, possessed of piety, abstinence and 
discipline and
 uncompromising with falsehood, It induces feelings of 
moral
 responsibility and fosters the capacity for self control. 
Islam
 generates kindness, generosity, mercy, sympathy, peace, 
disinterested
 goodwill, scrupulous fairness and truthfulness towards all 
creation in
 all situations. It nourishes noble qualities from which only good 
may be
 expected. 




 6. Human Rights In Islam .......................................... 
from
III&E 


 Since God is the absolute and the sole master of men and the 
universe,
 He is the sovereign Lord, the Sustainer and Nourisher, the 
Merciful,
 Whose mercy enshrines all beings; and since He has given each man 
human
 dignity and honor, and breathed into him of His own spirit, it 
follows
 that, united in Him and through Him, and apart from their other 
human
 attributes, men are substantially the same and no tangible and 
actual
 distinction can be made among them, on account of their 
accidental
 differences such as nationality, color or race. Every human 
being is
 thereby related to all others and all become one 
community of
 brotherhood in their honorable and pleasant servitude to the 
most
 compassionate Lord of the Universe. In such a heavenly 
atmosphere the
 Islamic confession of the oneness of God stands dominant and 
central,
 and necessarily entails the concept of the oneness of humanity 
and the
 brotherhood of mankind. 

 Although an Islamic state may be set up in any part of the earth, 
Islam
 does not seek to restrict human rights or privileges to the 
geographical
 limits of its own state. Islam has laid down some universal 
fundamental
 rights for humanity as a whole, which are to be observed and 
respected
 under all circumstances whether such a person is resident 
within the
 territory of the Islamic state or outside it, whether he is at 
peace or
 at war. The Quran very clearly states: 

 "O believers, be you securers of justice, witness for God. 
Let not
 detestation for a people move you not to be equitable; be 
equitable -
 that is nearer to God-fearing." (5:8) 

 Human blood is sacred in any case and cannot be spilled 
without
 justification. And if anyone violates this sanctity of human 
blood by
 killing a soul without justification, the Quran equates it 
to the
 killing of entire mankind. 

 "...Whoso slays a soul not to retaliate for a soul slain, 
nor for
 corruption done in the land, should be as if he had slain 
mankind
 altogether." (5:32) 

 It is not permissible to oppress women, children, old people, 
the sick
 or the wounded. Women's honor and chastity are to be respected 
under all
 circumstances. The hungry person must be fed, the naked clothed 
and the
 wounded or diseased treated medically irrespective of 
whether they
 belong to the Islamic community or are from among its enemies. 

 When we speak of human rights in Islam we really mean that these 
rights
 have been granted by God; they have not been granted by any king 
or by
 any legislative assembly. The rights granted by the kings 
or the
 legislative assemblies, can also be withdrawn in the same 
manner in
 which they are conferred. The same is the case with the rights 
accepted
 and recognized by the dictators. They can confer them when they 
please
 and withdraw them when they wish; and they can openly violate 
them when
 they like. But since in Islam human rights have been conferred 
by God,
 no legislative assembly in the world or any government on earth 
has the
 right or authority to make any amendment or change in the 
rights
 conferred by God. No one has the right to abrogate them or 
withdraw
 them. Nor are they basic human rights which are conferred on 
paper for
 the sake of show and exhibition and denied in actual life when 
the show
 is over. Nor are they like philosophical concepts which 
have no
 sanctions behind them. 

 The charter and the proclamations and the resolutions of the 
United
 Nations cannot be compared with the rights sanctioned by God; 
because
 the former are not applicable on anybody while the latter are 
applicable
 on every believer. They are a part and parcel of the Islamic 
Faith.
 Every Muslim or administrator who claims himself to be Muslim, 
will have
 to accept, recognize and enforce them. If they fail to enforce 
them, and
 start denying the rights that have been guaranteed by God 
or make
 amendments and changes in them, or practically violate them while 
paying
 lip service to them, the verdict of the Holy Quran for such 
government
 is clear and unequivocal: 

 "Those who do not judge by what God has sent down are the 
disbelievers."
 (5:44) 




 7. Human Rights in an Islamic State ............................... 
from
III&E 


 1. THE SECURITY OF LIFE AND PROPERTY: 

 In the address which the Prophet delivered on the occasion 
of the
 Farewell Hajj, he said: "Your lives and properties are forbidden 
to one
 another till you meet your Lord on the Day of Resurrection." The 
Prophet
 has also said about the dhimmis (the non-Muslim citizens of the 
Muslim
 state): "One who kills a man under covenant (i.e., dhimmi) will 
not even
 smell the fragrance of Paradise." 


 2. THE PROTECTION OF HONOR: 

 The Holy Quran lays down: 

 i) "You who believe, do not let one (set of) people make fun of 
another
 s= et." 

 ii) "Do not defame one another." 

 iii) "Do not insult by using nicknames." 

 iv) "Do not backbite or speak ill of one another." (49:11-12) 



 3. SANCTITY AND SECURITY OF PRIVATE LIFE: 

 The Quran has laid down the injunction: 

 i) "Do not spy on one another." (49:12) 

 ii) "Do not enter any houses unless you are sure of their 
occupant's
 consent." (24:27) 


 4. THE SECURITY OF PERSONAL FREEDOM: 

 Islam has laid down the principle that no citizen can be 
imprisoned
 unless his guilt has been proven in an open court. To arrest a 
man only
 on the basis of suspicion and to throw him into a prison without 
proper
 court proceedings and without providing him a reasonable 
opportunity to
 produce his defense is not permissible in Islam. 


 5. THE RIGHT TO PROTEST AGAINST TYRANNY: 

 Among the rights that Islam has conferred on human beings is the 
right
 to protest against government's tyranny. Referring to it the Quran 
says:
 "God does not love evil talk in public unless it is by someone 
who has
 been injured thereby." (4:148) 

 In Islam, as has been argued earlier, all power and authority 
belong to
 God, and with man there is only delegated power which becomes a 
trust;
 everyone who becomes a recipient of such a power has to stand in 
awful
 reverence before his people toward whom and for whose sake he 
will be
 called upon to use these powers. This was acknowledged by 
Hazrat Abu
 Bakr who said in his very first address: "Cooperate with me 
when I am
 right but correct me when I commit error; obey me so long as I 
follow
 the commandments of Allah and His Prophet; but turn away from me 
when I
 deviate." 


 6. FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION: 

 Islam gives the right of freedom of thought and expression 
to all
 citizens of the Islamic state on the condition that it should 
be used
 for the propagation of virtue and truth and not for spreading 
evil and
 wickedness. The Islamic concept of freedom of expression is 
much
 superior to the concept prevalent in the West. Under no 
circumstances
 would Islam allow evil and wickedness to be propagated. It also 
does not
 give anybody the right to use abusive or offensive language in 
the name
 of criticism. It was the practice of the Muslims to enquire 
from the
 Holy Prophet whether on a certain matter a divine injunction 
had been
 revealed to him. If he said that he had received no divine 
injunction,
 the Muslims freely expressed their opinion on the matter. 


 7. FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION: 

 Islam has also given people the right to freedom of 
association and
 formation of parties or organizations. This right is also 
subject to
 certain general rules. 


 8. FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE AND CONVICTION: 

 Islam has laid down the injunction: "There should be no coercion 
in the
 matter of faith." (2:256) 

 On the contrary, totalitarian societies totally deprive the 
individuals
 of their freedom. Indeed, this undue exaltation of the state 
authority
 curiously enough postulates a sort of servitude, of slavishness 
on the
 part of man. At one time slavery meant total control of man over 
man -
 now that type of slavery has been legally abolished but in its 
place
 totalitarian societies impose a similar sort of control 
over
 individuals. 


 9. PROTECTION OF RELIGIOUS SENTIMENTS: 

 Along with the freedom of conviction and freedom of conscience, 
Islam
 has given the right to the individual that his religious 
sentiments will
 be given due respect and nothing will be said or done which may 
encroach
 upon his right. 


 10. PROTECTION FROM ARBITRARY IMPRISONMENT: 

 Islam also recognizes the right of the individual not to be 
arrested or
 imprisoned for the offenses of others. The Holy Quran has laid 
down this
 principle clearly: "No bearer of burdens shall be made to 
bear the
 burden of another." (35:18) 


 11. THE RIGHT TO BASIC NECESSITIES OF LIFE: 

 Islam has recognized the right of the needy people for 
help and
 assistance to be provided to them: "And in their wealth 
there is
 acknowledged right for the needy and the destitute." (51:19) 


 12. EQUALITY BEFORE LAW: 

 Islam gives its citizens the right to absolute and complete 
equality in
 the eyes of the law. 


 13. RULERS NOT ABOVE THE LAW: 

 A woman belonging to a high and noble family was arrested in 
connection
 with theft. The case was brought to the Prophet, and it was 
recommended
 that she might be spared the punishment of theft. The Prophet 
replied:
 "The nations that lived before you were destroyed by God 
because they
 punished the common man for their offenses and let their 
dignitaries go
 unpunished for their crimes; I swear by Him Who holds my life 
in His
 hand that even if Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad, had 
committed this
 crime, I would have amputated her hand." 


 14. THE RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE AFFAIRS OF STATE: 

 "And their business is (conducted) through consultation 
among
 themselves." (42:38) The "Shura" or the legislative assembly 
has no
 other meaning except that the executive head of the government 
and the
 members of the assembly should be elected by free and independent 
choice
 of the people. 

 Lastly, it is to be made clear that Islam tries to achieve the 
above
 mentioned human rights and many others not only by providing 
certain
 legal safeguards but mainly by inviting mankind to transcend the 
lower
 level of animal life to be able to go beyond the mere ties 
fostered by
 the kinship of blood, racial superiority, linguistic 
arrogance, and
 economic privileges. It invites mankind to move on to a 
plane of
 existence where, by reason of his inner excellence, man can 
realize the
 ideal of the Brotherhood of man. 




 Announcements
................................................................


 8. Archive Info
.............................................................. 


 This FAQ is archived at several sites and is available for 
public
 retrieval thru anonymous FTP, E-MAIL, Gopher & World Wide Web. 


 -- Anonymous FTP --
 


 Login: anonymous
 Password: Your e-mail address



 Site: rtfm.mit.edu 

 Site: ftp.uu.net
 
 Site: ftp.cco.caltech.edu
 Dir: /pub/calmsa/islam-faq/



 -- E-MAIL --
 

 Send E-mail to: mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu 

 Text of E-mail Message: 



 

(Continued from last message)

 quit



 -- GOPHER --


 Site: gopher.caltech.edu 70
 CCO anonymous ftp archive/
 pub/
 calmsa/
 islam-faq/


 Site: latif.com 70
 Soc.Religion.Islam




 -- World-Wide-Web (WWW) --
 

 One recommended interface is 'mosaic,' below are mosaic 'home 
pages.' 



URL at USENET Archive site:
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/islam-faq/faq.html


URL at Caltech MSA site:
http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~calmsa/links.html






 9. Credits
................................................................... 


 The author wishes to thank all those who contributed in any 
capacity for
 the original one part FAQ or this multi-part FAQ. 


 -- SOURCES --
 

 The basic introduction and literature presented in the FAQ 
is from
 brochures on Islam distributed by Institute of Islamic 
Information &
 Education (III&E). These brochures were typed in electronic 
form by
 Ms.M.Ahmed. 

has been
 compiled from USENET archives and administrative logs of
 Soc.Religion.Islam moderator panel. 

 What is III&E? 

 III&E is an acronym for the Institute of Islamic Information & 
Education
 which was established in Chicago, Illinois in 1985. The 
III&E is
 registered in the State of Illinois and recognized by the 
Internal
 Revenue Service (IRS) as a not-for-profit religious organization. 

 More information can be obtained by contacting Dr. M. Amir, 
III&E, P.O.
 Box 41129, Chicago, IL 60641-0129, U.S.A.; Tel: (312) 777-
7443 Fax:
 (312) 777-7199; or contact Sr. Margaret Ahmed. 



 -- FORMAT --
 

 The format of the FAQ series has been done by utilizing 
resources of
 Islamic Information & News Network (IINN). A custom program, 
Nebula,
 written by editors of IINN for generating newsletters has been 
used. 


 What is IINN? 

 Islamic Information & News Network is a forum dedicated to 
educate the
 network community on issues relating to Islam and Muslims in an 
academic
 & non-political environment. Weekly digest is available on 
internet by
 subscribing to MUSLIMS@ASUACAD.BITnet (A Bitnet listserv list) 
and on
 USENET: bit.listserv.muslims. 



 -- Permissions --
 

 Permission to post this multi-part FAQ has been obtained 
by the
 following: 

 o Institute of Islamic Information & Education (III&E)
 o Islamic Information & News Network (Muslims@PSUVM.bitnet) 
 o Moderator(s) of News.Answers (Thomas Khoenig & P.Huang)


# End of Islam FAQ Part 8 #

 

References: <islam-faq/part8_792592921@rtfm.mit.edu>
 Islam. Part 9 of 15.
bit.listserv.muslims:91


Archive-name: islam-faq/part9



 Copyright 1993,1994,1995 Asim Mughal (mughal@caltech.edu) 

 Redistribution for profit, or in altered 
content/format
 prohibited without explicit written permission of the 
author.
 Any other redistribution must include this copyright notice 
and
 attribution. 



 Frequently Asked Questions: Part 9
 __________________________________
 

 This message is automatically posted to 
 every month and when updated. This lists answers to 
most
 commonly asked questions on the forum. Contributions & 
changes
 are requested and should be directed to: mughal@caltech.edu 



 OVERVIEW: The Frequently Asked Questions document 
for
 Islam has been divided in parts. Below is the index. 


 Part 1 - Welcome & Index
 Part 2 - Info on Islamic News Groups
 Part 3 - Introduction to Islam
 Part 4 - God & Worship
 Part 5 - Islam, Quran & Muhammad (PBUH)
 Part 6 - Marriage Laws in Islam
 Part 7 - Women In Islam
 Part 8 - Life after Death, Moral System & Human rights in 
Islam
 Part 9 - Islam: Prophethood, Jesus & Trinity
 Part 10 - Islam: Farrakhism & Malcom X
 Part 11 - Islamic Internet Guide: Islamic Resources on 
Internet
 Part 12 - Other Islamic Resource Guides on Internet
 Part 13 - Islamic Literature: Books & Video
 Part 14 - Islamic Calendar & Prayer Time Table for 1994
 Part 15 - Misc: List of Halal Foods


 ________________________________________________________

 PART 9: Islam: Prophethood, Jesus & Trinity



 Contents 

 --Articles--
 1. Prophethood In Islam ........................................... 
from
III&E 
 2. Is Jesus Really God? ........................................... 
from
III&E 
 3. God is All Knowing... Jesus was not ............................ 
from
III&E 
 4. God is All-Powerful... Jesus was not ........................... 
from
III&E 
 5. God does not have a God ........................................ 
from
III&E 
 6. God is Invisible ............................................... 
from
III&E 
 7. No one is Greater than GOD ..................................... 
from
III&E 
 8. Conclusion on Jesus ............................................ 
from
III&E 
 9. Word of God about Jesus ........................................ 
from
III&E 
10. Who Invented Trinity? .......................................... 
from
III&E 
11. Trinity in the Bible ........................................... 
from
III&E 
12. Doctrine Takes Shape ........................................... 
from
III&E 
13. Formal Doctrine is Drawnup ..................................... 
from
III&E 
14. Church Puts its Foot down ...................................... 
from
III&E 
15. Debate Continues ............................................... 
from
III&E 
16. Islam and the Matter of The Trinity ............................ 
from
III&E 
 --Announcements--
17. Archive Info
.............................................................. 
18. Credits
................................................................... 



 Articles
.....................................................................


 1. Prophethood In Islam ........................................... 
from
III&E 


 Prophethood is not unknown to heavenly revealed religions, 
such as
 Judaism and Christianity. In Islam, however, it has a special 
status and
 significance. 

 According to Islam, Allah created man for a noble purpose: to 
worship
 Him and lead a virtuous life based on His teachings and 
guidance. How
 would man know his role and purpose of his existence unless he 
received
 clear and practical instructions of what Allah wants him to 
do? Here
 comes the need for prophethood. Thus Allah had chosen from every 
nation
 a prophet or more to covey His Message to people. 

 One might ask: How were the prophets chosen and who were 
entitled to
 this great honor? 

 Prophethood is Allah's blessing and favor that He may bestow on 
whom He
 wills. However, from surveying the various messengers 
throughout
 history, three features of a prophet may be recognized: 

 1. He is the best in his community morally and intellectually. 
This is
 necessary because a prophet's life serves as a model for his 
followers.
 His personality should attract people to accept his message 
rather than
 drive them away by his imperfect character. After receiving the 
message
 he is infallible. That is, he would not commit any sin. He 
might make
 some minor mistakes which are usually corrected by revelation. 

 2. He is supported by miracles to prove that he is not an 
impostor.
 Those miracles are granted by the power and permission of God 
and are
 usually in the field in which his people excel and are 
recognized as
 superiors. We might illustrate this by quoting the major miracles 
of the
 three prophets of the major world religions: Judaism, 
Christianity and
 Islam. Moses' contemporaries were excellent in magic. So his 
major
 miracle was to defeat the best magicians of Egypt of his days. 
Jesus'
 contemporaries were recognized as skillful physicians. 
Therefore, his
 miracles were to raise the dead and cure the incurable 
diseases. The
 Arabs, the contemporaries of the Prophet Mohammed, were known for 
their
 eloquence and magnificent poetry. So Prophet Muhammad's major 
miracle
 was the Quran, the equivalent of which the whole legion of 
the Arab
 poets and orators could not produce despite the repeated 
challenge from
 the Quran itself. Again Muhammad's miracle has something special 
about
 it. All previous miracles were limited by time and place, 
i.e., they
 were shown to specific people at a specific time. Not so the 
miracle of
 Muhammad, the Quran. It is a universal and everlasting miracle. 
Previous
 generations witnessed it and future generations will 
witness its
 miraculous nature in terms of its style, content and 
spiritual
 uplifting. These still can be tested and will thereby prove the 
divine
 origin of the Quran. 

 3. Every prophet states clearly that what he receives is not of 
his own
 but from God for the well-being of mankind. He also confirms 
what was
 revealed before him and what may be revealed after him. A 
prophet does
 this to show that he is simply conveying the message which is 
entrusted
 to him by the One True God of all people in all ages. So the 
message is
 one in essence and for the same purpose. Therefore, it 
should not
 deviate from what was revealed before him or what might come after 
him. 


 Prophets are necessary for conveying God's instructions and 
guidance to
 mankind. We have no way of knowing why we were created. What will 
happen
 to us after death? Is there any life after death? Are we 
accountable for
 our actions? In other words, is there any reward or punishment 
for our
 deeds in this life? These and so many other questions about God, 
angels,
 paradise, hell, etc. can not be answered without revelation 
from the
 Creator and Knower of the unseen. Those answers must be 
authentic and
 must be brought by individuals whom we trust and respect. That 
is why,
 messengers are the select of their societies in terms of moral 
conduct
 and intellectual ability. 


 Hence, the slanderous Biblical stories about some of the great 
prophets
 are not accepted by Muslims. For example, Lot is reported 
to have
 committed fornication while drunk, with his daughters; or David 
sent one
 his leaders to death to marry his wife. Prophets to Muslims are 
greater
 than what these stories indicate. These stories can not be true 
from the
 Islamic point of view. 

 The prophets are also miraculously supported by God and 
instructed by
 Him to affirm the continuity of the message. 

 The content of the prophets' message to mankind can be 
summarized as
 follows: 

 a) Clear concept about God: His attributes, His creation, what 
should
 and should not be ascribed to Him. 

 b) Clear idea about the unseen world, the angels, jinn 
(spirits),
 Paradise and Hell. 

 c) Why has God created us? What does He want from us and what 
is the
 reward or punishment for obeying or disobeying Him? 

 d) How to run our societies according to His will? That is, 
clear
 instructions and laws that, when applied correctly and 
honestly, will
 result in a happy and ideal society. 

 It is clear from the above discussion that there is no 
substitute for
 prophets. Even today with the advancement of science, the only 
authentic
 source of information about the supernatural world is 
revelation.
 Guidance can be obtained neither from science nor from 
mystic
 experience. The first is too materialistic and too limited; the 
second
 is too subjective and frequently too misleading. 


 Now one might ask: 

 How many prophets has God sent to humanity? We do not know for 
sure.
 Some Muslim scholars have suggested 240 thousand prophets. We 
are only
 sure of what is clearly mentioned in the Quran, that is, God has 
sent a
 messenger (or more) to every nation. That is because it is one of 
God's
 principles that He will never call a people to account unless 
He has
 made clear to them what to do and what not to do. The Quran 
mentions the
 names of 25 prophets and indicates that there have been others 
who were
 not mentioned to the Prophet Mohammed. These 25 include Noah, the 
man of
 the Ark, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad. These five 
are the
 greatest among God's messengers. They are called 'the 
resolute'
 prophets. 

 An outstanding aspect of the Islamic belief in prophethood 
is that
 Muslims believe in and respect all the messengers of God 
with no
 exceptions. Since all the prophets came from the same One God, 
for the
 same purpose - to lead mankind to God - belief in them all is 
essential
 and logical; accepting some and rejecting others has to be 
based on
 misconceptions of the prophets' role or racial bias. The Muslims 
are the
 only people in the world who consider the belief in all the 
prophets of
 God an article of faith. Thus the Jews reject Jesus Christ and 
Muhammad;
 the Christians reject Muhammad and in reality reject Moses 
because they
 do not abide by his laws. The Muslims accept them all as 
messengers of
 God who brought guidance to mankind. However, the revelation which 
those
 prophets brought from God has been tampered with in one way 
or the
 other. The belief in all the messengers of God is enjoined 
on the
 Muslims by the Quran. 

 "Say (O Muslims): we believe in Allah and that which is revealed 
to us
 and that which was revealed to Abraham and Ishmael, and Isaac and 
Jacob,
 and their children, and that which Moses and Jesus received and 
that the
 prophets received from their Lord. We make no distinction between 
any of
 them and unto Him we have surrendered." (2:136) 

 The Quran continues in the following verses to instruct the 
Muslims that
 this is the true and impartial belief. If other nations believe 
in the
 same, they are following their own whims and biases and God 
will take
 care of them. Thus we read: 

 "And if they believe in what you believe, then they are rightly 
guided.
 But if they turn away, then they are in disunity, and Allah will 
suffice
 you against them. He is the Hearer, the Knower. This is God's 
religion
 and Who is better than God in religion?" (2:137-38) 

 There are, at least, two important points related to 
prophethood that
 need to be clarified. These points concern the roles of 
Jesus and
 Muhammad as prophets who are usually misunderstood. 

 The Quranic account of Jesus emphatically rejects the concept 
of his
 'Divinity' and 'Divine Sonship' and presents him as one of the 
great
 prophets of God. The Quran makes it clear that the birth of 
Jesus
 without a father does not make him son of God and mentions 
in this
 respect Adam who was created by God without a father and mother: 

 "Truly the likeness of Jesus, in God's sight, is as Adam's 
likeness; He
 created him of dust, then said He unto him, 'Be', and he was." 
(3:59) 

 Like other prophets Jesus also performed miracles. For 
example, he
 raised the dead and cured the blind and lepers, but while showing 
these
 miracles he always made it clear that it was all from God. 
Actually the
 misconceptions about the personality and mission of Jesus found 
a way
 among his followers because the Divine message that he preached 
was not
 recorded during his presence in the world, rather it was recorded 
after
 a lapse of about hundred years. According to the Quran he was 
sent to
 the children of Israel; he confirmed the validity of the Torah 
which was
 revealed to Moses and he also brought the glad tidings of a 
final
 messenger after him. 

 "And when Jesus son of Mary said, 'Children of Israel, I am 
indeed the
 Messenger to you, confirming the Torah that is before me, and 
giving
 good tidings of a Messenger who shall come after me, whose name 
shall be
 the PRAISED ONE." (61:6) (The capitalized portion is the 
translation of
 Ahmad which is Prophet Muhammed's name.) 

 However, the majority of the Jews rejected his ministry. They 
plotted
 against his life and in their opinion crucified him. But the 
Quran
 refutes this opinion and says that they neither killed him nor 
crucified
 him, rather he was raised up to God. There is a verse in the 
Quran,
 which implies that Jesus will come back and all the Christians 
and Jews
 believe in him before he dies. This is also supported by 
authentic
 sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) 

 The last prophet of God, Muhammad, was born in Arabia in the 
sixth
 century C.E. Up to the age of forty, people of Makkah knew him 
only as a
 man of excellent character and cultured manners and called him AL-
AMEEN
 (the trustworthy). He also did not know that he was soon to 
made a
 prophet and receiver of revelation from God. He called the 
idolaters of
 Makkah to worship the only one God and accept him as His 
prophet. The
 revelation that he received was preserved in his life-time in the 
memory
 of his companions and was also recorded in pieces of palm 
leaves,
 leather etc... 

 Thus the Quran that is found today is the same that was revealed 
to him;
 not a syllable of it has been altered as God Himself has 
guaranteed its
 preservation. This Quran claims to be the book of guidance for the 
whole
 humanity for all times, and mentions Muhammad as the last 
Prophet of
 God. 




 2. Is Jesus Really God? ........................................... 
from
III&E 


 Without a doubt, you have often heard the claim that Jesus is 
God, the
 second person in the "Holy Trinity." However, the very Bible 
which is
 used as a basis for knowledge about Jesus and as the basis for 
doctrine
 within Christianity clearly believes this claim. We urge you to 
consult
 your own Bible and verify that the following conclusions are not 
drawn
 out of context: 




 3. God is All Knowing... Jesus was not ............................ 
from
III&E 


 When speaking of the Day of Judgment, Jesus clearly gave 
evidence of a
 limitation on his knowledge when he said, "But of that day 
and hour
 knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in Heaven, neither 
the son,
 but the father." (Mark 13:32, and Matt. 24:36) But God knows 
all. His
 knowledge is without any limitations. That Jesus, of his own 
admission,
 did not know when the day of judgment would be, is clear 
proof that
 Jesus is not all-knowing, and that Jesus is therefore not God. 




 4. God is All-Powerful... Jesus was not ........................... 
from
III&E 


 While Jesus performed many miracles, he himself admitted that the 
power
 he had was not his own but was derived from God when he said, 
"Verily,
 verily I say unto you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but 
what he
 seeth the father do..." (John 5:19) Again he said, "I can of 
mine own
 self do nothing: As I hear I judge, and my judgment is just 
because I
 seek not mine own will but the will of the Father which has 
sent me."
 (John 5:30) But God is not only All-Powerful, He is also the 
source of
 all power and authority. That Jesus, of his own admission, 
could do
 nothing on his own is clear proof that Jesus is not all-
powerful, and
 that therefore Jesus is not God. 




 5. God does not have a God ........................................ 
from
III&E 


 GOD DOES NOT HAVE A GOD.....BUT JESUS DID HAVE A GOD 

 God is the ultimate judge and refuge for all, and He does not 
call upon
 nor pray to any others. But Jesus acknowledged that there was 
One whom
 he worshipped and to Whom he prayed when he said, "I ascend 
unto my
 Father and your Father, and to my God and your God." (John 20:17) 
He is
 also reported to have cried out while on the cross, "My God, my 
God, why
 hast thou forsaken me?" (Matt. 27:46) If Jesus were God, then 
couldn't
 this be read, "Myself, myself, why hast thou forsaken me?" 
Would that
 not be pure nonsense? When Jesus prayed the Lord's Prayer (Luke 
11:2-4),
 was he praying to himself? When in the garden of Gethsemane he 
prayed,
 "O my father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from 
me:
 Nevertheless, not as I will but as thou wilt." (Matt. 26:36-
39) Was
 Jesus praying to himself? That Jesus, of his own admission and 
by his
 own actions, acknowledged, worshipped, and prayed to another 
being as
 God is clear proof that Jesus himself is not God. 


 

(Continued from last message)




 6. God is Invisible ............................................... 
from
III&E 


 ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE GOD IS AN INVISIBLE SPIRIT.... BUT 
JESUS WAS
 FLESH AND BLOOD 

 While thousands saw Jesus and heard his voice, Jesus himself 
said that
 this could not be done with God when he said: "No man hath seen 
God at
 any time." (John 1:18) "Ye have neither heard His voice at any 
time nor
 seen His shape." (John 5:37) He also said in John 4:24: "God is a 
spirit
 and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in 
truth." That
 Jesus would say that no one had seen or heard God at any time, 
while his
 followers both saw and heard him, is clear proof that Jesus was 
not God. 




 7. No one is Greater than GOD ..................................... 
from
III&E 


 NO ONE IS GREATER THAN GOD AND NO ONE CAN DIRECT HIM.... BUT 
JESUS
 ACKNOWLEDGED SOMEONE GREATER THAN HIMSELF WHOSE WILL WAS 
DISTINCT FROM
 HIS OWN 

 Perhaps the clearest indication we have that Jesus and God 
are not
 equal, and therefore not one and the same, come again from the 
mouth of
 Jesus himself who said in John 14:28: "My Father is greater 
than I."
 When someone referred to him as good master in Luke 18:19, 
Jesus
 responded: "Why callest thou me good? There is none good but 
one, that
 is God..." furthermore, Jesus drew clear distinctions between 
himself
 and God when he said, "I proceeded forth and came from God, 
neither came
 I of myself but He sent me." (John 8:42) Jesus gave clear 
evidence of
 his subordination to God, rather than his equality with God, 
when he
 said in Luke 22:42, "not my will but Thine be done" and in John 
5:30, "I
 seek not mine own will but the will of the Father which has 
sent me."
 That Jesus would admit that he did not come into the world on 
his own
 initiative but was directed to do so, that he would acknowledge 
another
 being as greater than himself, and that he would negate his own 
will in
 deference to affirming the will of another, give clear proof that 
Jesus
 is not the Supreme One and therefore Jesus is not God. 


 8. Conclusion on Jesus ............................................ 
from
III&E 


 The Church recognizes the Bible as the primary source of knowledge 
about
 God and Jesus. But since the Bible makes it clear that Jesus is 
not the
 Supreme Being and the Supreme Being is not Jesus, upon what 
basis have
 you come to believe otherwise? 

 My brother or sister, the belief that the Supreme Being is a 
Trinity is
 false and completely inconsistent with the words of Jesus as 
presented
 in the Bible. God is one, not three. He is a perfect unity. 

 If you are interested in the truth about God and your 
relationship to
 Him, we invite you to investigate the religion of Islam. 




 9. Word of God about Jesus ........................................ 
from
III&E 



 REGARDING THE SONSHIP OF JESUS: 

 "That is Jesus, son of Mary, in word of truth, concerning which 
they are
 doubting. It is not for God to take a son unto Him. Glory be 
to Him!
 When He decrees a thing, He but says to it 'Be', and it is." 
(Qur'an
 19:34, 35) 

 "And they say, 'the All-Merciful has taken unto Himself a son.' 
You have
 indeed advanced something hideous. The heavens are well nigh rent 
of it
 and the earth split asunder, and the mountains well nigh 
fall down
 crashing for that they have attributed to the All-Merciful a son; 
and it
 behooves not the All-Merciful to take a son. None is there 
in the
 heavens and earth but he comes to the All-Merciful as a 
servant."
 (Qur'an 19:88-93) 

 "Truly the likeness of Jesus, in God's sight, is as Adam's 
likeness; He
 created him of dust, then said He unto him, 'Be', and he was." 
(Qur'an
 3:59) 

 "People of the Book, go not beyond the bounds in your religion, 
and say
 not as to God but the Truth. The Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, 
was only
 the Messenger of God, and His Word that He committed to Mary, 
and a
 spirit from Him. So believe in God and His Messengers, and 
say not,
 'Three.' Refrain; better is it for you. God is only One God. Glory 
be to
 Him - that He should have a son! To Him belongs all that is 
in the
 heavens and in the earth; God suffices for a guardian." (Qur'an 
4:171) 


 B. REGARDING JESUS BEING GOD: 

 "And when God said, 'O Jesus, son of Mary, did you say unto men, 
"Take
 me and my mother as gods, apart from God?"' He said, 'To You be 
glory!
 It is not mine to say what I have no right to. If I indeed said 
it, You
 knew it, knowing what is within my soul, and I do not know 
what is
 within Your soul; You know the things unseen. I only said to 
them what
 You did command me: "Serve God, my Lord and your Lord." And I 
was a
 witness over them, while I remained among them; but when You did 
take me
 to Yourself the Watcher over them; You are the witness of 
everything.'"
 (Qur'an 5:116, 117) 


 C. REGARDING CRUCIFIXION OF JESUS 

 "And for their unbelief, and their uttering against Mary a 
mighty
 calumny, and for their saying, 'We slew the Messiah, Jesus, son of 
Mary,
 the Messenger of God'...yet they did not slay him, neither 
crucified
 him, only a likeness of that was shown to them. Those who 
are at
 variance concerning him surely are in doubt regarding him, they 
have no
 knowledge of him, except the following of surmise; and they did 
not slay
 him of certainty...no indeed; God raised him up to Him; God is 
Almighty,
 All-Wise. There is not one of the People of the Book but will 
assuredly
 believe in him before his death, and on the Resurrection Day, he 
will be
 a witness against them." (Qur'an 4:156-159) 




10. Who Invented Trinity? .......................................... 
from
III&E 


 The three monotheistic religions - Judaism, Christianity, and 
Islam -
 all purport to share one fundamental concept: belief in God 
as the
 Supreme Being, the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe. 
Known as
 "tawhid" in Islam, this concept of the Oneness of God was 
stressed by
 Moses in a Biblical passage known as the "Shema," or the Jewish 
creed of
 faith: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord." 
(Deuteronomy 6:4) 

 It was repeated word-for-word approximately 1500 years later by 
Jesus
 when he said: "...The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O 
Israel;
 the Lord our God is one Lord." (Mark 12:29) 

 Muhammad came along approximately 600 years later, bringing 
the same
 message again: "And your God is One God: There is no God but 
He, ..."
 (The Qur'an 2:163) 

 Christianity has digressed from the concept of the Oneness 
of God,
 however, into a vague and mysterious doctrine that was formulated 
during
 the fourth century. This doctrine, which continues to be a 
source of
 controversy both within and without the Christian religion, is 
known as
 the Doctrine of the Trinity. Simply put, the Christian doctrine 
of the
 Trinity states that God is the union of three divine persons 
- the
 Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit - in one divine being. 

 If that concept, put in basic terms, sounds confusing, the 
flowery
 language in the actual text of the doctrine lends even more 
mystery to
 the matter: 

 "...we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity... for 
there is
 one Person of the Father, another of the Son, another of the Holy 
Ghost
 is all one... they are not three gods, but one God... the whole 
three
 persons are co-eternal and co-equal... he therefore that will 
be save
 must thus think of the Trinity..." (excerpts from the Athanasian 
Creed) 

 Let's put this together in a different form: one person, God the 
Father
 + one person, God the Son + one person, God the Holy Ghost = one 
person,
 God the What? Is this English or is this gibberish? 

 It is said that Athanasius, the bishop who formulated this 
doctrine,
 confessed that the more he wrote on the matter, the less capable 
he was
 of clearly expressing his thoughts regarding it. 

 How did such a confusing doctrine get its start? 




11. Trinity in the Bible ........................................... 
from
III&E 


 References in the Bible to a Trinity of divine beings are 
vague, at
 best. 

 In Matthew 28:19, we find Jesus telling his disciples to go 
out and
 preach to all nations. While the "Great Commission" does make 
mention of
 the three persons who later become components of the Trinity, the 
phrase
 "...baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and 
of the
 Holy Ghost" is quite clearly an addition to Biblical text - that 
is, not
 the actual words of Jesus - as can be seen by two factors: 

 1) Baptism in the early Church, as discussed by Paul in his 
letters, was
 done only in the name of Jesus; and 

 2) The "Great Commission" was found in the first gospel written, 
that of
 Mark, bears no mention of Father, Son and/or Holy Ghost - 
see Mark
 16:15. 

 The only other reference in the Bible to a Trinity can be found 
in the
 Epistle of I John 5:7, Biblical scholars of today, however, 
have
 admitted that the phrase "...there are three that bear record in 
heaven,
 the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are 
one" is
 definitely a "later addition" to Biblical test, and it is not 
found in
 any of today's versions of the Bible. 

 It can, therefore, be seen that the concept of a Trinity of 
divine
 beings was not an idea put forth by Jesus or any other prophet 
of God.
 This doctrine, now subscribed to by Christians all over the 
world, is
 entirely man-made in origin. 




12. Doctrine Takes Shape ........................................... 
from
III&E 


 While Paul of Tarsus, the man who could rightfully be 
considered the
 true founder of Christianity, did formulate many of its 
doctrines, that
 of the Trinity was not among them. He did, however, lay the 
groundwork
 for such when he put forth the idea of Jesus being a "divine Son." 
After
 all, a Son does need a Father, and what about a vehicle for 
God's
 revelations to man? In essence, Paul named the principal players, 
but it
 was the later Church people who put the matter together. 

 Tertullian, a lawyer and presbyter of the third century 
Church in
 Carthage, was the first to use the word "Trinity" when he put 
forth the
 theory that the Son and the Spirit participate in the being of 
God, but
 all are of one being of substance with the Father. 




13. Formal Doctrine is Drawnup ..................................... 
from
III&E 


 When controversy over the matter of the Trinity blew up in 318 
between
 two church men from Alexandria - Arius, the deacon, and 
Alexander, his
 bishop - Emperor Constantine stepped into the fray. 

 Although Christian dogma was a complete mystery to him, he did 
realize
 that a unified church was necessary for a strong kingdom. 
When
 negotiation failed to settle the dispute, Constantine called 
for the
 first ecumenical council in Church history in order to settle the 
matter
 once and for all. 

 Six weeks after the 300 bishops first gathered at Nicea in 
325, the
 doctrine of the Trinity was hammered out. The God of the 
Christians was
 now seen as having three essences, or natures, in the form 
of the
 Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 




14. Church Puts its Foot down ...................................... 
from
III&E 


 The matter was far from settled, however, despite high hopes for 
such on
 the part of Constantine. Arius and the new bishop of Alexandria, 
a man
 named Athanasius, began arguing over the matter even as the Nicene 
Creed
 was being signed; "Arianism" became a catch-word from that time 
onward
 for anyone who did not hold to the doctrine of the Trinity. 

 It wasn't until 451, at the Council of Chalcedon that, with the 
approval
 of the Pope, the Nicene/Constantinople Creed was set as 
authoritative.
 Debate on the matter was no longer tolerated; to speak out 
against the
 Trinity was now considered blasphemy, and such earned stiff 
sentences
 that ranged from mutilation to death. Christians now 
turned on
 Christians, maiming and slaughtering thousands because of a 
difference
 of opinion. 




15. Debate Continues ............................................... 
from
III&E 


 Brutal punishments and even death did not stop the controversy 
over the
 doctrine of the Trinity, however, and the said controversy 
continues
 even today. 

 The majority of Christians, when asked to explain this 
fundamental
 doctrine of their faith, can offer nothing more than "I 
believe it
 because I was told to do so." It is explained away as "mystery" 
- yet
 the Bible says in I Corinthians 14:33 that "... God is not the 
author of
 confusion..." 

 The Unitarian denomination of Christianity has kept alive the 
teachings
 of Arius in saying that God is one; they do not believe in the 
Trinity.
 As a result, mainstream Christians abhor them, and the National 
Council
 of Churches has refused their admittance. In Unitarianism, the 
hope is
 kept alive that Christians will someday return to the 
preachings of
 Jesus: "...Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only 
shalt thou
 serve." (Luke 4:8) 




16. Islam and the Matter of The Trinity ............................ 
from
III&E 


 While Christianity may have a problem defining the essence of 
God, such
 is not the case in Islam. 

 "They do blaspheme who say: Allah is one of three in a 
Trinity, for
 there is no god except One God." (Qur'an 5:73) It is worth 
noting that
 the Arabic language Bible uses the name "Allah" as the name of 
God. 

 Suzanne Haneef, in her book WHAT EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT 
ISLAM AND
 MUSLIMS (Library of Islam, 1985), puts the matter quite 
succinctly when
 she says, "But God is not like a pie or an apple which can be 
divided
 into three thirds which form one whole; if God is three 
persons or
 possesses three parts, He is assuredly not the Single, 
Unique,
 Indivisible Being which God is and which Christianity 
professes to
 believe in." (pp. 183-184) 

 Looking at it from another angle, the Trinity designates God as 
being
 three separate entities - the Father, the Son and the Holy 
Spirit. If
 God is the Father and also the Son, He would then be the 
Father of
 Himself because He is His own Son. This is not exactly logical. 

 Christianity claims to be a monotheistic religion. Monotheism, 
however,
 has as its fundamental belief that God is One; the Christian 
doctrine of
 the Trinity - God being Three-in-One - is seen by Islam as a 
form of
 polytheism. Christians don't revere just One God, they revere 
three. 

 This is a charge not taken lightly by Christians, however. 
They, in
 turn, accuse the Muslims of not even knowing what the 
Trinity is,
 pointing out that the Qur'an sets it up as Allah the Father, 
Jesus the
 Son, and Mary his mother. While veneration of Mary has been a 
figment of
 the Catholic Church since 431 when she was given the title 
"Mother of
 God" by the Council of Ephesus, a closer examination of the verse 
in the
 Qur'an most often cited by Christians in support of their 
accusation,
 shows that the designation of Mary by the Qur'an as a "member" 
of the
 Trinity, is simply not true. 

 While the Qur'an does condemn both trinitarianism (the Qur'an 
4:17) and
 the worship of Jesus and his mother Mary (the Qur'an 5:116), 
nowhere
 does it identify the actual three components of the Christian 
Trinity.
 The position of the Qur'an is that WHO or WHAT comprises this 
doctrine
 is not important; what is important is that the very notion of a 
Trinity
 is an affront against the concept of One God. 

 In conclusion, we see that the doctrine of the Trinity is a 
concept
 conceived entirely by man; there is no sanction whatsoever from 
God to
 be found regarding the matter simply because the whole idea of a 
Trinity
 of divine beings has no place in monotheism. In the Qur'an, God's 
Final
 Revelations to mankind, we find His stand quite clearly 
stated in a
 number of eloquent passages: 

 "...your God is One God: whoever expects to meet his Lord, let 
him work
 righteousness, and, in the worship of his Lord, admit no 
one as
 partner." (Qur'an 18:110) 

 "...take not, with God, another object of worship, lest you 
should be
 thrown into Hell, blameworthy and rejected." (Qur'an 17:39) 

 "...Because, as God tells us over and over again in a Message 
that is
 echoed throughout All His Revealed Scriptures: 

 "...I am your Lord and Cherisher: therefore, serve Me (and no 
other)..."
 (Qur'an 21:92) 

 -- Aisha Brown 




 Announcements
................................................................


17. Archive Info
.............................................................. 


 This FAQ is archived at several sites and is available for 
public
 retrieval thru anonymous FTP, E-MAIL, Gopher & World Wide Web. 


 -- Anonymous FTP --
 


 Login: anonymous
 Password: Your e-mail address



 Site: rtfm.mit.edu 

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 -- World-Wide-Web (WWW) --
 

 One recommended interface is 'mosaic,' below are mosaic 'home 
pages.' 



URL at USENET Archive site:
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/islam-faq/faq.html


URL at Caltech MSA site:
http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~calmsa/links.html






18. Credits
................................................................... 


 The author wishes to thank all those who contributed in any 
capacity for
 the original one part FAQ or this multi-part FAQ. 


 -- SOURCES --
 

 The basic introduction and literature presented in the FAQ 
is from
 brochures on Islam distributed by Institute of Islamic 
Information &
 Education (III&E). These brochures were typed in electronic 
form by
 Ms.M.Ahmed. 

has been
 compiled from USENET archives and administrative logs of
 Soc.Religion.Islam moderator panel. 

 What is III&E? 

 III&E is an acronym for the Institute of Islamic Information & 
Education
 which was established in Chicago, Illinois in 1985. The 
III&E is
 registered in the State of Illinois and recognized by the 
Internal
 Revenue Service (IRS) as a not-for-profit religious organization. 

 More information can be obtained by contacting Dr. M. Amir, 
III&E, P.O.
 Box 41129, Chicago, IL 60641-0129, U.S.A.; Tel: (312) 777-
7443 Fax:
 (312) 777-7199; or contact Sr. Margaret Ahmed. 



 -- FORMAT --
 

 The format of the FAQ series has been done by utilizing 
resources of
 Islamic Information & News Network (IINN). A custom program, 
Nebula,
 written by editors of IINN for generating newsletters has been 
used. 


 What is IINN? 

 Islamic Information & News Network is a forum dedicated to 
educate the
 network community on issues relating to Islam and Muslims in an 
academic
 & non-political environment. Weekly digest is available on 
internet by
 subscribing to MUSLIMS@ASUACAD.BITnet (A Bitnet listserv list) 
and on
 USENET: bit.listserv.muslims. 



 -- Permissions --
 

 Permission to post this multi-part FAQ has been obtained 
by the
 following: 

 o Institute of Islamic Information & Education (III&E)
 o Islamic Information & News Network (Muslims@PSUVM.bitnet) 
 o Moderator(s) of News.Answers (Thomas Khoenig & P.Huang)


# End of Islam FAQ Part 9 #

 

References: <islam-faq/part9_792592921@rtfm.mit.edu>
 Islam. Part 10 of 15.
bit.listserv.muslims:92


Archive-name: islam-faq/part10



 Copyright 1993,1994,1995 Asim Mughal (mughal@caltech.edu) 

 Redistribution for profit, or in altered 
content/format
 prohibited without explicit written permission of the 
author.
 Any other redistribution must include this copyright notice 
and
 attribution. 



 Frequently Asked Questions: Part 10
 ___________________________________
 

 This message is automatically posted to 
 every month and when updated. This lists answers to 
most
 commonly asked questions on the forum. Contributions & 
changes
 are requested and should be directed to: mughal@caltech.edu 



 OVERVIEW: The Frequently Asked Questions document 
for
 Islam has been divided in parts. Below is the index. 


 Part 1 - Welcome & Index
 Part 2 - Info on Islamic News Groups
 Part 3 - Introduction to Islam
 Part 4 - God & Worship
 Part 5 - Islam, Quran & Muhammad (PBUH)
 Part 6 - Marriage Laws in Islam
 Part 7 - Women In Islam
 Part 8 - Life after Death, Moral System & Human rights in 
Islam
 Part 9 - Islam: Prophethood, Jesus & Trinity
 Part 10 - Islam: Farrakhism & Malcom X
 Part 11 - Islamic Internet Guide: Islamic Resources on 
Internet
 Part 12 - Other Islamic Resource Guides on Internet
 Part 13 - Islamic Literature: Books & Video
 Part 14 - Islamic Calendar & Prayer Time Table for 1994
 Part 15 - Misc: List of Halal Foods



 ________________________________________________________

 PART 10: Islam: Farrakhism & Malcom X


 Contents 

 --Articles--
 1. COMPARISON: Islam & Farrakhanism ............................... 
from
III&E 
 2. - God/Allah Alone .............................................. 
from
III&E 
 3. - Prophet/Messenger ............................................ 
from
III&E 
 4. - Last Day/Life Hereafter ...................................... 
from
III&E 
 5. - The Qur'an ................................................... 
from
III&E 
 6. - The Bible .................................................... 
from
III&E 
 7. - Shahadah ..................................................... 
from
III&E 
 8. - Salah ........................................................ 
from
III&E 
 9. - Zakah ........................................................ 
from
III&E 
10. - Sawm ......................................................... 
from
III&E 
11. - Hajj ......................................................... 
from
III&E 
12. - Lawful (halal); Unlawful (haram) ............................. 
from
III&E 
13. - Authentic Hadith ............................................. 
from
III&E 
14. Knowing the True Islam ......................................... 
from
III&E 
15. AL-HAJJ MALIK EL-SHABAZZ: MALCOM X ............................. 
from
III&E 
16. His Pilgrimage to Makkah ....................................... 
from
III&E 
17. Islamic Brotherhood ............................................ 
from
III&E 
18. Legacy of Malcolm X ............................................ 
from
III&E 
 --Announcements--
19. Archive Info
.............................................................. 
20. Credits
................................................................... 



 Articles
.....................................................................


 1. COMPARISON: Islam & Farrakhanism ............................... 
from
III&E 



 ISLAM, and so-called "NATION OF ISLAM," are two different 
religions. The
 only thing common between them is the jargon, the language used 
by the
 both. "The Nation of Islam" is a misnomer; this religion 
should be
 called Farrakhanism, after the name of its propagator. The 
religion of
 Elijah Muhammad and W.D. Fard died with their death because 
their
 officially and popularly elected successor, W.D. Muhammad, 
integrated
 the community with the Muslim community at-large, following the 
Qur'an
 and Hadith of Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. 
Louis
 Farrakhan joined W.D. Muhammad and gave his pledge of allegiance 
to him
 after Elijah Muhammad's death; he later rebelled and broke his 
oath with
 impunity, or without paying any expiation, and restarted "The 
Nation of
 Islam." 

 Examine the following comparisons between Islam and 
Farrakhanism with
 regard to the belief or practice in each: 




 Belief/Practice
 




 2. - God/Allah Alone .............................................. 
from
III&E 


 ISLAM: One Unique, never appeared in any physical form; 
hence, no
 physical representation is possible. He is recognized through 
his 99
 names. 

 FARRAKHANISM: "...Allah (God) appeared in the Person of Master 
W. Fard
 Muhammad, July 1930; the long awaited 'Messiah' of the 
Christians and
 the 'Mahdi' of the Muslims." 




 3. - Prophet/Messenger ............................................ 
from
III&E 


 ISLAM: Muhammad (S) is the last Prophet and the last 
Messenger. No
 messenger or prophet will come after Muhammad (S). 

 FARRAKHANISM: Elijah Muhammad was a "Messenger of Allah." Are 
there any
 more messengers or prophets to come? Not clear. 




 4. - Last Day/Life Hereafter ...................................... 
from
III&E 


 ISLAM: The life on earth as we know it will come to an end; it 
will be
 followed by the life hereafter which includes physical 
resurrection of
 the entire humankind, judgement and the life of paradise or hell. 

 FARRAKHANISM: "...BELIEVE in the resurrection of the dead - 
not in
 physical resurrection, but in mental resurrection." "No 
already
 physically dead person will be in the Hereafter; that is slavery 
belief,
 taught to slaves to keep them under control." "When you are 
dead, you
 are DEAD." 




 5. - The Qur'an ................................................... 
from
III&E 


 ISLAM: It was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (S) between 610 and 
632 C.E.
 It is the last revelation of Allah to mankind. 

 FARRAKHANISM: Contradictory beliefs. On one side, "...BELIEVE 
in the
 Holy Qur'an and in the scriptures of all the Prophets of God," 
and on
 the other side, "We, the original nation of the earth ... 
are the
 writers of the Bible and Qur'an. We make such history once every 
25,000
 years ... it is done by twenty-four of our scientists." 
"Both the
 present Bible and the Holy Qur'an must soon give way to 
the Holy
 Book..." 


 6. - The Bible .................................................... 
from
III&E 


 ISLAM: It was revealed to prophets and messengers from Moses 
(alaihis
 salam) to Jesus (A) but was corrupted. Authenticity of statements 
in the
 Bible are judged by the Qur'an. 

 FARRAKHANISM: (See their beliefs above regarding the Qur'an) 


 7. - Shahadah ..................................................... 
from
III&E 


 ISLAM: It means what it says, that is, Allah is Unseen, He 
is the
 Creator, the Sustainer. Mankind is accountable to Him Alone, and 
Prophet
 Muhammad (S) of Arabia is the final and ultimate ROLE MODEL; no 
one can
 substitute for him. 

 FARRAKHANISM: A cover up to deceive gullible Muslims. "Allah 
(God)
 appeared in the person of Master W. Fard Muhammad," and 
Muhammad of
 Arabia (S) was one of the prophets, not a role model for our 
times. The
 real role model and lawgiver for our times is Elijah Muhammad. 


 8. - Salah ........................................................ 
from
III&E 


 ISLAM: Five times a day is required; SALAH (prayer) includes 
QIYAM
 (standing), RUKU' (bowing), SAJDA (prostration), JALSA (sitting 
on the
 floor) and recitations. 

 FARRAKHANISM: No five times daily SALAH (prayer); prayer, when 
done has
 no RUKU' or SAJDA. Friday is a major congregational prayer day, 
not for
 SALAH, but to say DU'A and to listen to a Minister. 


 9. - Zakah ........................................................ 
from
III&E 


 ISLAM: Required on accumulated wealth after having in possession 
for one
 year above the NISAB (certain limits), as defined in SHARI'A 
(Islamic
 law). 

 FARRAKHANISM: It is a tax as "poor due" on income, similar to 
income
 tax. Who benefits? 




10. - Sawm ......................................................... 
from
III&E 


 ISLAM: Fasting is required in the month of Ramadan, ninth 
month of
 Islamic calendar. 

 FARRAKHANISM: Fasting is required in December only. Fasting in the 
month
 of Ramadan is optional. 


11. - Hajj ......................................................... 
from
III&E 


 ISLAM: Required once in a lifetime if conditions of finances, 
health,
 and safety of travel are met. 

 FARRAKHANISM: No Hajj requirement. Farrakhan and his cronies take 
trips
 to Saudi Arabia, and by the way, to Makkah for the main purpose of 
image
 building and to raise funds from gullible rich Arabs. 


12. - Lawful (halal); Unlawful (haram) ............................. 
from
III&E 


 ISLAM: Determined by Allah, the God Alone, announced in the Qur'an 
or by
 the Prophet Muhammad (S), recorded in the authentic Hadith 
sources. 

 FARRAKHANISM: Determined by W.D. Fard and announced by Elijah 
Muhammad.
 The Qur'an and Prophet Muhammad (S) have no relevance nor 
authority with
 regard to lawful and unlawful. 


13. - Authentic Hadith ............................................. 
from
III&E 


 ISLAM: An indispensable source of Islamic beliefs and 
practices, the
 only source after the Qur'an. Indispensable for the understanding 
of the
 Qur'an itself. 

 FARRAKHANISM: Ignored, if not totally rejected by Farrakhanis. 
However,
 the leadership, including Farrakhan himself, may invoke Hadith 
if it
 suits their purpose to fool gullible Muslims. 

 [ -- M. Amir Ali, Ph.D. References for Farrakhanism quotes are 
given in
 the author's article: ISLAM OR FARRAKHANISM. ] 


14. Knowing the True Islam ......................................... 
from
III&E 


 There are many groups in America who claim to represent Islam 
and call
 their adherents Muslims. Any serious student of Islam has a 
duty to
 investigate and find the true Islam. The only two authentic 
sources
 which bind every Muslim are, (1) the Qur'an and (2) authentic or 
sound
 Hadith. Sometimes, Fiqh is quoted as a source. However, only 
that part
 of fiqh is a true source and binding which quotes directly 
Qur'an and
 authentic Hadith. All other parts of fiqh are opinions of 
learned
 scholars. Since scholars are not prophets or messengers of 
Allah, they
 are fallible people. Hence their opinions may be correct or may 
not be
 correct; they do not become binding. 

 Any teachings under the label of "Islam" which contradict or 
are at
 variance with the direct understanding of fundamental 
beliefs and
 practices of Islam from the Qur'an and authentic Hadith 
should be
 rejected, and such a religion should be considered a PSEUDO-
ISLAMIC
 CULT. In America there are many pseudo-Islamic cults, Farrakhanism 
being
 one of them. An honest attitude on the part of such cults should 
be not
 to call themselves Muslims and their religion Islam. Such an 
example of
 honesty is Bahaism which is an off-shoot of Islam, but Bahais 
do not
 call themselves Muslims nor their religion, Islam. In fact, 
Bahaism is
 not Islam just as Farrakhanism is not Islam. 

 The foundation of Islam consists of TAWHEED, RISALAH, and 
AAKHIRAH. And
 "five pillars" of Islam are SHAHADAH, SALAH, ZAKAH, SAWM and 
HAJJ. The
 rest of the building of Islam consists of SHARI'A which includes 
HARAM
 and HALAL, RIGHTS and DUTIES, MORAL CODE, CONVEYING THE 
MESSAGE,
 IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RULE OF ALLAH and EXCELLENCE in everything 
Muslims
 do. Any claims of Islam should be judged on the criteria given 
in this
 paragraph. If the foundation and pillars of a building are 
demolished
 there is no building left. Such is the case with pseudo-Islamic 
cults,
 including Farrakhanism. For details request the booklet, HOW TO 
PRESENT
 ISLAM, A RATIONAL APPROACH by the author of this brochure. 




15. AL-HAJJ MALIK EL-SHABAZZ: MALCOM X ............................. 
from
III&E 


 Twenty-five years after his death, Malcolm X, Al-Hajj Malik El-
Shabazz,
 still towers above the statue of liberty. He refuses to die. 
Wherever
 injustice and oppression takes place, his smiling face 
and
 uncompromising message fill the atmosphere. 

 Yes, they killed the body but not the spirit. When he was alive, 
Brother
 Shabazz was the most feared man in America. And, the most 
loved. The
 situation hasn't changed. 

 For the deprived and the oppressed African-Americans, Brother 
Shabazz
 continues to be the hero, the inspiration that makes it 
possible for
 them to maintain their sanity and dignity in a vile society which 
can't
 stop despising them. 

 We, as Muslims, are often angered to see Br. Shabazz 
identified as a
 Black Nationalist rather than a Muslim. While the anger is 
justified, we
 must understand that people generally emphasize the aspect of a 
leader's
 life which is in harmony with their own aspirations. While 
some
 African-Americans will continue to invoke the nationalist side 
of Br.
 Shabazz, it is for us to see that his Islamic personality is 
projected
 to the world! 




16. His Pilgrimage to Makkah ....................................... 
from
III&E 


 When he was in Makkah, Al-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz wrote a letter 
to his
 loyal assistants in Harlem... from his heart: 



 

(Continued from last message)
 "Never have I witnessed such sincere hospitality and overwhelming 
spirit
 of true brotherhood as is practiced by people of all colors and 
races
 here in this ancient Holy Land, the home of Abraham, Muhammad 
and all
 the other Prophets of the Holy Scriptures. For the past week, 
I have
 been utterly speechless and spellbound by the graciousness 
I see
 displayed all around me by people of all colors. 

 "I have been blessed to visit the Holy City of Mecca, I have 
made my
 seven circuits around the Ka'ba, led by a young Mutawaf named 
Muhammad,
 I drank water from the well of the Zam Zam. I ran seven times 
back and
 forth between the hills of Mt. Al-Safa and Al Marwah. I have 
prayed in
 the ancient city of Mina, and I have prayed on Mt. Arafat. 

 "There were tens of thousands of pilgrims, from all over the 
world. They
 were of all colors, from blue-eyed blondes to black-skinned 
Africans.
 But we were all participating in the same ritual, displaying a 
spirit of
 unity and brotherhood that my experiences in America had led 
me to
 believe never could exist between the white and non-white. 

 "America needs to understand Islam, because this is the one 
religion
 that erases from its society the race problem. Throughout my 
travels in
 the Muslim world, I have met, talked to, and even eaten with 
people who
 in America would have been considered white - but the white 
attitude was
 removed from their minds by the religion of Islam. I have never 
before
 seen sincere and true brotherhood practiced by all colors 
together,
 irrespective of their color. 

 "You may be shocked by these words coming from me. But on 
this
 pilgrimage, what I have seen, and experienced, has forced 
me to
 rearrange much of my thought-patterns previously held, and to toss 
aside
 some of my previous conclusions. This was not too difficult 
for me.
 Despite my firm convictions, I have always been a man who tries 
to face
 facts, and to accept the reality of life as new experience 
and new
 knowledge unfolds it. I have always kept an open mind, 
which is
 necessary to the flexibility that must go hand in hand with 
every form
 of intelligent search for truth. 

 "During the past eleven days here in the Muslim world, I have 
eaten from
 the same plate, drunk from the same glass, and slept on the same 
rug -
 while praying to the same God - with fellow Muslims, whose eyes 
were the
 bluest of blue, whose hair was the blondest of blond, and whose 
skin was
 the whitest of white. And in the words and in the deeds of the 
white
 Muslims, I felt the same sincerity that I felt among the black 
African
 Muslims of Nigeria, Sudan and Ghana. 

 "We were truly all the same (brothers) - because their belief in 
one God
 had removed the white from their minds, the white from their 
behavior,
 and the white from their attitude. 

 "I could see from this, that perhaps if white Americans could 
accept the
 Oneness of God, then perhaps, too, they could accept in 
reality the
 Oneness of Man - and cease to measure, and hinder, and harm 
others in
 terms of their 'differences' in color. 

 "With racism plaguing America like an incurable cancer, the so-
called
 'Christian' white American heart should be more receptive to a 
proven
 solution to such a destructive problem. Perhaps it could be in 
time to
 save America from imminent disaster - the same destruction 
brought upon
 Germany by racism that eventually destroyed the Germans 
themselves. 

 "Each hour here in the Holy Land enables me to have greater 
spiritual
 insights into what is happening in America between black and 
white. The
 American Negro never can be blamed for his racial animosities - 
he is
 only reacting to four hundred years of the conscious racism 
of the
 American whites. But as racism leads America up the suicide 
path, I do
 believe, from the experiences that I have had with them, that the 
whites
 of the younger generation, in the colleges and universities, 
will see
 the handwriting on the walls and many of them will turn to the 
spiritual
 path of truth - the only way left to America to ward off the 
disaster
 that racism inevitably must lead to. 

 "Never have I been so highly honored. Never have I been made 
to feel
 more humble and unworthy. Who would believe the blessings that 
have been
 heaped upon an American Negro? A few nights ago, a man who 
would be
 called in America a white man, a United Nations diplomat, an 
ambassador,
 a companion of kings, gave me his hotel suite, his bed. Never 
would I
 have even thought of dreaming that I would ever be a recipient 
of such
 honors - honors that in America would be bestowed upon a King - 
not a
 Negro. 

 "All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all the Worlds. 

 "Sincerely, 

 "Al-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz" (Malcolm X) (From the 
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
 MALCOLM X with assistance from Alex Haley, the author of ROOTS) 

 Malcolm X saw and experienced many positive things. 
Generosity and
 openheartedness were qualities which were impressed on him 
by the
 welcome which he received in many places. He saw brotherhood 
and the
 brotherhood of different races and this led him to disclaim 
racism and
 to say: "I am not a racist... In the past I permitted myself 
to be
 used... to make sweeping indictments of all white people, the 
entire
 white race, and these generalizations have caused injuries 
to some
 whites who perhaps did not deserve to be hurt. Because of the 
spiritual
 enlightenment which I was blessed to receive as the result of my 
recent
 pilgrimage to the Holy City of Mecca, I no longer subscribe to 
sweeping
 indictments of any one race. I am now striving to live the 
life of a
 true Sunni Muslim. I must repeat that I am not a racist 
nor do I
 subscribe to the tenets of racism. I can state in all sincerity 
that I
 wish nothing but freedom, justice and equality, life, liberty 
and the
 pursuit of happiness for all people." 

 Malcolm X was vehemently anti-White. That's the way he was 
taught as a
 'Black Muslim.' But his trip for Hajj changed all of that. He 
came to
 see that all men are equal, regardless of their color. True anti-
racism
 is color blindness. That is what he preached on his return to the 
United
 States. And that is why he was assassinated. While he 
preached
 separatism, keeping people aware of color differences, that 
was OK.
 Blacks vs. Whites is an acceptable dialect. But when Al-Hajj 
Malik
 El-Shabazz started to preach the Oneness of God and the 
equality of
 races, and was prepared to act in any lawful (halal) means 
necessary, he
 had to go: Truth vs. Falsehood is an unacceptable dialect. 

 Islam believes in the unity of the human race. Islam says 
that all
 mankind are the creatures of One God, they are all equal. 
Division of
 color, class, race or territory are sheer illusions; and 
ideologies
 which are based on such distinctions are the greatest menace on 
earth.
 Humanity is one single family of God, there can be no sanction for 
these
 barriers. Men are one and not White or Black, Aryan of Non-
Aryan,
 Occidental or Oriental. 

 Islam is based on the universal brotherhood of man and 
practices
 universal brotherhood of man. But the importance of this concept 
is of
 great value as it is the only solution to national and 
international
 problems. This is said to be the age of freedom and restoring unto 
every
 man his dignity, and despite all the phenomenal changes in the 
political
 stage of the world, our age is still unable to think in terms of 
human
 dignity, and this is the dark specter of social concern of our 
time.
 For, despite man's conquest of space and mastery over the 
forces of
 nature, man has not been able to rid himself of the primeval 
prejudice
 of race and color. The stark reality of our time has brought 
in its
 trail a great desolation and frustration as we find ourselves 
face to
 face with chaos, wars, the miserable conditions of living of the 
masses
 of mankind and the exploitation of one nation by another, and this 
leads
 to selfishness, fear, hatred; class, tribe and race 
discrimination; and
 subsequently the division of man against man is the order of 
the day,
 even in the so-called Socialist countries. 

 Islam's greatest contribution to mankind was the 
abolition and
 extinction of distinction based on race and color. The Holy 
Qur'an
 declared: 

 "Mankind were one community, then they differed among themselves, 
so God
 raised Prophets as bearers of good tidings and as warners..." (Al-
Qur'an
 2:213) 

 "O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female; and 
made you
 into nations and tribes, that you might get to know one 
another. The
 noblest of you, in the sight of God, is he who is the most 
righteous.
 God is All-Knowing and Wise." (Al-Qur'an 49:13) 

 >From the above verses, it is clear that the whole of humanity 
from its
 diverse races, was originally one, deriving its existence 
from One
 Creator and that all barriers that separate humanity by race and 
color
 must vanish and the superiority of a person be judged by his 
conduct
 only. A good Muslim considers himself a fusion of all races. 
Anyone who
 enters into the fold of Islam becomes part and parcel of 
this
 fraternity, forgetting all pride and prejudice. On the basis 
of this
 principle, Islam seeks to build an intellectual, moral, 
ideological and
 international society, as against the existing tribal, 
racial,
 linguistic and national societies, which have turned the world 
into a
 racio-color holocaust. 




17. Islamic Brotherhood ............................................ 
from
III&E 


 "No other society has such a record of success in uniting in an 
equality
 of status, of opportunity and endeavour so many and so varied 
races of
 mankind. The great Muslim communities of Africa, India and 
Indonesia,
 perhaps also the small community in Japan, show that Islam has 
still the
 power to reconcile apparently irreconcilable elements of 
race and
 tradition. If ever the opposition of the great societies of the 
East and
 west is to be replaced by cooperation, the mediation of Islam 
is an
 indispensable condition." (H.A.R. Gibb, WHITHER ISLAM, p. 379) 

 "The extinction of race consciousness as between Muslims is one 
of the
 outstanding achievements of Islam and in the contemporary world 
there
 is, as it happens, a crying need for the propagation of this 
Islamic
 virtue..." (A.J. Toynbee, CIVILIZATION ON TRIAL, New York, p. 205) 

 "How, for instance, can any other appeal stand against that 
of the
 Moslem who, in approaching the pagan, says to him, however 
obscure or
 degraded he may be 'Embrace the faith, and you are at once equal 
and a
 brother.' Islam knows no color line." (S. S. Leeder, VEILED 
MYSTERIES OF
 EGYPT) 


18. Legacy of Malcolm X ............................................ 
from
III&E 


 Malcolm X was born into Christianity as Malcolm Little and died in 
Islam
 as Malik Shabazz. This is something to think about and is an 
expression
 of his legacy. Malcolm X went through the transition period 
of the
 religion of the "Nation of Islam," a religion of American 
origin
 borrowing some terms from the Muslim culture of the 
East. For
 information about differences between Islam and the so-called 
"Nation of
 Islam" request the brochure "Islam and Farrakhanism Compared" 
and the
 booklet "Islam or Farrakhanism" (for a donation ) from III&E, 
P.O. Box
 41129, Chicago, IL 60641-0129. 

 It appears that Malik Shabazz went through five stages in his 
short
 life. The first stage was his childhood under the shadows 
of his
 religious parents. The second stage was his adolescence to youth 
until
 his moving out to Harlem, NY. This was a rowdy and irresponsible 
stage
 of his life which eventually landed him in prison. The fourth 
stage of
 his life was in the "Nation of Islam" which was not real Islam. 
In the
 "Nation of Islam," on one side, Malcolm was a very disciplined 
man; on
 the other side he became a black racist, a separatist and a 
demagogue.
 In the fifth and final stage of his youthful life, Malik Shabazz 
reached
 the apex which he could only achieve in real Islam, not in the 
cultist
 "Nation of Islam." Malik Shabazz entered the real Islam as a 
result of
 his journey to Makkah (Mecca is a misspelling). In Islam he 
became
 moderate and conciliatory. He shed his racism. 

 The legacy of Malcolm X is the real Islam taught to us by the 
Prophet
 Muhammad of Arabia, not the racist cult of the "Nation of 
Islam,"
 presently lead by Louis Farrakhan and others who branched out of 
the old
 following of Elijah Muhammad. However, Elijah's son, 
Wallace D.
 Muhammad, now known as Imam Warith Deen Muhammad, moved away 
from his
 father's religion. He is coming to the real Islam adopted by 
Malik
 Shabazz for which Malcolm was assassinated. Malik Shabazz 
shall be
 remembered by all Muslims as a martyr for the cause of Allah. 

 If you want to know more about the real Islam followed by Malik 
Shabazz
 in his last days, call or write to III&E. P.O. Box 41129 
Chicago, IL
 60641-0129 Fax. (312) 777-7199 




 Announcements
................................................................


19. Archive Info
.............................................................. 


 This FAQ is archived at several sites and is available for 
public
 retrieval thru anonymous FTP, E-MAIL, Gopher & World Wide Web. 


 -- Anonymous FTP --
 


 Login: anonymous
 Password: Your e-mail address



 Site: rtfm.mit.edu 

 Site: ftp.uu.net
 
 Site: ftp.cco.caltech.edu
 Dir: /pub/calmsa/islam-faq/



 -- E-MAIL --
 

 Send E-mail to: mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu 

 Text of E-mail Message: 


 quit



 -- GOPHER --


 Site: gopher.caltech.edu 70
 CCO anonymous ftp archive/
 pub/
 calmsa/
 islam-faq/


 Site: latif.com 70
 Soc.Religion.Islam




 -- World-Wide-Web (WWW) --
 

 One recommended interface is 'mosaic,' below are mosaic 'home 
pages.' 



URL at USENET Archive site:
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/islam-faq/faq.html


URL at Caltech MSA site:
http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~calmsa/links.html






20. Credits
................................................................... 


 The author wishes to thank all those who contributed in any 
capacity for
 the original one part FAQ or this multi-part FAQ. 


 -- SOURCES --
 

 The basic introduction and literature presented in the FAQ 
is from
 brochures on Islam distributed by Institute of Islamic 
Information &
 Education (III&E). These brochures were typed in electronic 
form by
 Ms.M.Ahmed. 

has been
 compiled from USENET archives and administrative logs of
 Soc.Religion.Islam moderator panel. 

 What is III&E? 

 III&E is an acronym for the Institute of Islamic Information & 
Education
 which was established in Chicago, Illinois in 1985. The 
III&E is
 registered in the State of Illinois and recognized by the 
Internal
 Revenue Service (IRS) as a not-for-profit religious organization. 

 More information can be obtained by contacting Dr. M. Amir, 
III&E, P.O.
 Box 41129, Chicago, IL 60641-0129, U.S.A.; Tel: (312) 777-
7443 Fax:
 (312) 777-7199; or contact Sr. Margaret Ahmed. 



 -- FORMAT --
 

 The format of the FAQ series has been done by utilizing 
resources of
 Islamic Information & News Network (IINN). A custom program, 
Nebula,
 written by editors of IINN for generating newsletters has been 
used. 


 What is IINN? 

 Islamic Information & News Network is a forum dedicated to 
educate the
 network community on issues relating to Islam and Muslims in an 
academic
 & non-political environment. Weekly digest is available on 
internet by
 subscribing to MUSLIMS@ASUACAD.BITnet (A Bitnet listserv list) 
and on
 USENET: bit.listserv.muslims. 



 -- Permissions --
 

 Permission to post this multi-part FAQ has been obtained 
by the
 following: 

 o Institute of Islamic Information & Education (III&E)
 o Islamic Information & News Network (Muslims@PSUVM.bitnet) 
 o Moderator(s) of News.Answers (Thomas Khoenig & P.Huang)


# End of Islam FAQ Part 10 #

 

Resources on
Internet
References: <islam-faq/part10_792592921@rtfm.mit.edu>
 Islam. Part 11 of 15.
bit.listserv.muslims:93


Archive-name: islam-faq/part11



 Copyright 1993,1994,1995 Asim Mughal (mughal@caltech.edu) 

 Redistribution for profit, or in altered 
content/format
 prohibited without explicit written permission of the 
author.
 Any other redistribution must include this copyright notice 
and
 attribution. 


 Frequently Asked Questions: Part 11
 ___________________________________
 
 This message is automatically posted to 
 every month and when updated. This lists answers to 
most
 commonly asked questions on the forum. Contributions & 
changes
 are requested and should be directed to: mughal@caltech.edu 



 OVERVIEW: The Frequently Asked Questions document 
for
 Islam has been divided in parts. Below is the index. 


 Part 1 - Welcome & Index
 Part 2 - Info on Islamic News Groups
 Part 3 - Introduction to Islam
 Part 4 - God & Worship
 Part 5 - Islam, Quran & Muhammad (PBUH)
 Part 6 - Marriage Laws in Islam
 Part 7 - Women In Islam
 Part 8 - Life after Death, Moral System & Human rights in 
Islam
 Part 9 - Islam: Prophethood, Jesus & Trinity
 Part 10 - Islam: Farrakhism & Malcom X
 Part 11 - Islamic Internet Guide: Islamic Resources on 
Internet
 Part 12 - Other Islamic Resource Guides on Internet
 Part 13 - Islamic Literature: Books & Video
 Part 14 - Islamic Calendar & Prayer Time Table for 1994
 Part 15 - Misc: List of Halal Foods


 _____________________________________________________________

 PART 11: Islamic Internet Guide: Islamic Resources on 
Internet



 Contents 

 --Articles--
 1. Introduction
.............................................................. 
 2. Retrieving files using FTP
................................................ 
 3. Major FTP Sites for Islamic Material on Internet
.......................... 
 4. FTP Sites for Holy Quran
.................................................. 
 5. FTP Sites for Hadith
...................................................... 
 6. FTP Sites for Islamic Literature
.......................................... 
 7. Using Gopher
.............................................................. 
 8. Gopher Sites with Islamic Literature
...................................... 
 9. Holy Quran & Hadith Available Thru Gopher
................................. 
10. About World-Wide-Web
...................................................... 
11. Web Servers with Islamic Material
......................................... 
12. LISTSERV Lists on Islam
................................................... 
13. Islamic Newsgroups on USENET
.............................................. 
14. Software: Islamic Prayer Timers
........................................... 
 --Announcements--
15. Archive Info
.............................................................. 
16. Credits
................................................................... 



 Articles
.....................................................................


 1. Introduction
.............................................................. 


 The Islamic resources available on the network have increased many 
folds
 and continue to increase. This document attempts to cover almost 
all the
 know resources. 

 The listing is sorted by protocols. An information site 
may be
 accessible by several protocols and provide pointers to other 
sites.
 Hence, there may be some duplication. 

 In addition, all resources listed were verified as of August 25, 
1994.
 and Jan 10, 1995. 

 Holy Quran & Hadith: Please use the translations on your own 
risk. No
 claim on authencity of the text is guaranteed. Caltech 
MSA has
 undertaken the task verifying the text of Holy Quran 
translations
 against the published & authenticated translations. This 
task is
 expected to take several months, starting August 1994. 

 Any additions/changes to the resources cited are welcome. 




 2. Retrieving files using FTP
................................................ 


 Anonymous File Transfer Protocol: 

 This is a standard setup on internet. It allows a user to use 
'ftp'
 command to connect to a site and download files. The following 
may be
 help to the new users. 

 How to down load files using FTP:
 ________________________________

 % ftp _name_of_the_site

 Login: anonymous
 Password: _your_email_address_
 
 Dir: From the listing provided. 


 File Extensions: .Z or .zip or .tar
 ____________________________________

 The files may be in different formats. A file maybe an 
executable
 program or just a text file. Most files are compressed to save 
the disk
 storage space. Here is a list to identify the files. 

 .zip DOS compression 
 .Z UNIX compression 
 .tar UNIX file bundle 
 .gz GNU zip 

 File Transfer Mode: 
 __________________ 

 it is a good idea to use 'binary' transfer, especially for .tar 
files.
 To set the 'binary' mode at 'ftp' prompt type: "binary" 

 ftp> binary 


 To Retrieve a File: ftp> get _file_name_ 
 To Change Directory: ftp> cd _directory_path_ 


 3. Major FTP Sites for Islamic Material on Internet
.......................... 


 This index is by site name, index by subject follows later. 


 A- Name: Caltech MSA Site -1-
 Site: ftp.cco.caltech.edu
 Directory: /pub/calmsa

 B- Name: Caltech MSA Site -2-
 Site: ftp.ugcs.caltech.edu 
 Directory: /pub/calmsa

 C- Name: Boston University
 Site: cs-ftp.bu.edu 
 Directory: /amass/Islam/Quran/

 D- Name: Islam Net (on Rahut.net)
 Site: ftp.rahul.net
 Direcotry: /pub/islamnet 




 4. FTP Sites for Holy Quran
.................................................. 


 MAJOR SITES: Hosting Several Translations of Holy Quran.


 ___________________________________________________________

 Boston University FTP Site
 ___________________________________________________________
SITE:cs-ftp.bu.edu DIRECTORY: /amass/Islam/Quran/

README arabic-by-eyler.hqx trans-
pickthal.text.gz
and-translations.text.Z arabic-by-eyler.text trans-
yousufali.text.gz


 ___________________________________________________________

 Caltech UGCS FTP Site (Caltech MSA/IINN FTP Site-2-)
 ___________________________________________________________
SITE:ftp.ugcs.caltech.edu DIRECTORY: /pub/cms/Quran/

Quran-Picthall.Z System-7.01-&-Arabic.sea.#1.hqx
Quran-Shakir.tar.Z System-7.01-&-Arabic.sea.#2.hqx
Quran-and-trans.sea.#1.hqx pickthal.txt.sea.hqx
Quran-and-trans.sea.#2.hqx yusufali.txt.sea.hqx
Quran.sea.hqx


 ___________________________________________________________

 Caltech CCO FTP Site (Caltech MSA/IINN FTP Site-1-)
 ___________________________________________________________
SITE:ftp.cco.caltech.edu DIRECTORY: /pub/cms/Quran/

Quran-Picthall.Z Quran-Shakir.tar.Z Quran.readme


 ___________________________________________________________

 FILE: Quran.tar.Z 


etlport.etl.go.jp /pub/NeXT/Literature/working/Quran.tar.Z
nova.cc.purdue.edu /pub/next/Literature/working/Quran.tar.Z
roxette.mty.itesm.mx /pub/next/Literature/working/Quran.tar.Z
sonata.cc.purdue.edu /pub/next/Literature/working/Quran.tar.Z
ftp.uu.net /doc/literary/obi/Religion/Quran.tar.Z
unix.hensa.ac.uk 
/pub/uunet/doc/literary/obi/Religion/Quran.tar.Z
ftp.princeton.edu /pub/Quran.tar.Z



 OTHER FORMAT: 

gatekeeper.dec.com /.8/misc/scripture/quran/
phoenix.oulu.fi /pub/quran/quran.tar
slopoke.mlb.semi.harris.com /pub/doc/quran.tar.Z
ftp.rahul.net /pub/islamnet/quran/trans-pickthal.text.Z



 Courtesy: Islamic Information & News Network (IINN) 
Muslims @
 Asuacad.BITnet 


 5. FTP Sites for Hadith
...................................................... 


 ___________________________________________________________

 Caltech UGCS FTP Site (Caltech MSA/IINN FTP Site-2-)
 ___________________________________________________________
SITE:ftp.ugcs.caltech.edu DIRECTORY: /pub/cms/Hadith/

Bukhari.Z hadith.2.Z hadith.qudsi.2.Z
hadith.1.Z hadith.Z hadith.qudsi.Z

 ___________________________________________________________

 Caltech CCO FTP Site (Caltech MSA/IINN FTP Site-1-)
 ___________________________________________________________
SITE:ftp.cco.caltech.edu DIRECTORY: /pub/cms/Quran/

Bukhari hadith.1.Z hadith.qudsi.2.Z
Hadith.2.cr.Z hadith.2.Z hadith.qudsi.Z


 ___________________________________________________________

 IslamNet FTP Site
 ___________________________________________________________
SITE: ftp.rahul.net DIRECTORY: /pub/islamnet/hadith

hadith.1.Z hadith.qudsi.2.Z
Bukhari.Z hadith.2.Z hadith.qudsi.Z




 Courtesy: Islamic Information & News Network (IINN) 
Muslims @
 Asuacad.BITnet 


 6. FTP Sites for Islamic Literature
.......................................... 


 ___________________________________________________________

 Boston University FTP Site
 ___________________________________________________________
SITE: cs-ftp.bu.edu DIRECTORY: /amass/Islam

Contact Person(s): Mohammad Jamil Sawar (sawar@cbl.leeds.ac.uk)

Images/ crescent-93.text ramadan-boston94.ps
Prayer-scheds/ crescent-sighting.text ramadan-boston94.tex
Praytimer/ fatiha-stack.doc takbyr.dvi
Quran/ fatiha-stack.hqx takbyr.ps
Sounds/ praytimer.tar.Z
crescent-92.text ramadan-boston94.dvi



 ___________________________________________________________

 Caltech CCO FTP Site (Caltech MSA/IINN FTP Site-1-)
 ___________________________________________________________
SITE: ftp.cco.caltech.edu DIRECTORY: /pub/calmsa

Contact Person(s): Asim Mughal & Asif Khaliq (calmsa@cco.caltech.edu)

33windows.creator emaan islamic.centers
DSS_ascii.1QH.txt environment istiqamat
Hadith/ faq.ari kashmir.pns94
ITimer21.README faq.bit.muslims knowledge
ITimer21.exe faq.iinn last.sermon
ITimer21.shar faq.iinn.muslims mercy.ayat
IslamicTimer-2.0.shar faq.sri.2.3 miracles
Muhammad.prophet finality.1 mosque.why
Quran/ finality.2 muhammed.bible
README.FIRST finality.3 perseverance.job
README.OLD finality.4 political.order
README.OLD.2 fundamentals prayer.f
README.calmsa hijab.protect praytime.zip
README.cms humanrights quotron/
README.instruct iiie/ ramadan.meaning
arafat.day iinn.survey94 resurrection
belief.unbelief ijtihad revelation
books index.quran ritual.prayers
booksellers.list index.surah sahaba
bosnia/ info.amana status.women
bosnia.aid.info introtoislam tawhid
cfv.bosnia islam-faq/ treatise.nature
cfv.scm islam-rc.92 treatise.quran
cfv.tri islam-rc.old way.to.quran
christ.islam islam.focus wedding.in.islam
consequences islam.glance worldly.gain
cybermuslim.v2.0 islam.is.future
educators islam.west



 ___________________________________________________________

 Caltech UGCS FTP Site (Caltech MSA/IINN FTP Site-2-)
 ___________________________________________________________
SITE:ftp.ugcs.caltech.edu DIRECTORY: /pub/cms

Contact Person(s): Asim Mughal (calmsa@cco.caltech.edu)

CMS.README README.calmsa emaan.Z
CMS.README.OLD README.cms forums.Z
Hadith/ Shakir-suras/ ijtihad.Z
ITimer21.README bonsia.Z islam-rc.1.1.Z
ITimer21.exe books.Z islam-rc.1.1a.Z
ITimer21.shar books.list.2.Z marriage.Z
Islam.introduction.Z bosnia.Z prayer.f.Z
IslamicTimer-2.0.shar.Z bosnia.video.Z think.Z


 

(Continued from last message)
Quran/ cms.readme.Z treatise.Z
README.FILES educators.Z



 ___________________________________________________________

 IslamNet FTP site
 ___________________________________________________________
SITE:ftp.rahul.net DIRECTORY: /pub/islamnet/articles

christ.islam.Z islamic.centers.txt.Z ritual.prayers.Z
cybermuslim.guide.Z last.sermon.Z sahaba.Z
emaan.Z marriage.Z science.Z
food.halal.Z muhammed.bible.Z status.women.Z
fundamen.txt.Z praytime.zip tawhid.Z
humanrig.txt.Z ramadan.meaning.Z way.to.quran.Z


 Courtesy: Islamic Information & News Network (IINN) 
Muslims @
 Asuacad.BITnet 


 7. Using Gopher
.............................................................. 


 The "Gopher" is a client/server based information delivery setup. 
Gopher
 clients connect to a Gopher Server loaded with information. A 
Gopher
 Server may be connected to hundreds of other Gopher 
servers. This
 connection is transparent to the user. 

 To use the gopher system, you should have 'Gopher client' on your 
local
 system. 

 TO Access Gopher with Gopher Client: 

 Type: % gopher server_name 70 

 To Access Gopher without Gopher Client: You may wish to use a 
public
 telnet gopher site. You may use any of the following: 



 Hostname Login Area
 ------------------------- -------------
 consultant.micro.umn.edu gopher North America
 ux1.cso.uiuc.edu gopher North America
 gopher.msu.edu gopher North America
 gopher.ebone.net gopher Europe




 8. Gopher Sites with Islamic Literature
...................................... 


A- GOPHER LATIF.COM 70

 As of December 01, '93 Islamic material is available thru 
 gopher services as well. To access:

 % gopher latif.com 70

 Contact Name: Br. Yaakob Abdullah (yaakob@latif.com)


B- GOPHER GOPHER.CALTECH.EDU 70 

 The ftp site maintained by Caltech MSA carrying files archived
 by Islamic Information & News Network (muslims@asuacad.bitnet)
 is now accessible thru gopher. 

 The gopher server is: gopher.caltech.edu

 \Computing Information
 \CCO anonymous FTP site
 \pub
 \calmsa

 For Quick Access: % gopher gopher.caltech.edu 70

 gopher.caltech.edu is linked to world-wide network of gophers.

 Contact Name: (Asim Mughal) calmsa@cco.caltech.edu [MSA Acct]
 mughal@alumni.caltech.edu 

C- GOPHER WINGS.BUFFALO.EDU 70

 The gopher server is: wings.buffalo.edu

 and choose #10 from the first menu (Student Life and Services/)
 #12 from the second (Undergraduate Student 
Association/)
 #2 from the third (The Muslim Student Association/)

 Contact Name: hkhalak@ren.hwi.buffalo.edu (Hanif Khalak)

COURTESY: Islamic Information & News Network (MUSLIMS@PSUVM.BITnet)




 9. Holy Quran & Hadith Available Thru Gopher
................................. 


 HADITH AVAILABLE THRU GOPHER: 

 TO ACCESS: % gopher 

 This will connect to your root gopher. If gopher is NOT setup 
on your
 site, go to the end of the document for 'Public Telnet 
Sites for
 Gopher.' 


SITE-1- % gopher cwis.usc.edu

 Please select the following in sequence:

 --> 4. Campus Life/
 --> 5. Student Organizations/
 --> 3. Muslim Students Association/


SITE-2- % gopher umicc.umich.edu 

 --> 2. UMCC FTP archives and user's gopher entries/
 --> 6. users/
 --> 4. Abdullah Haydar's Stuff/ or --> 7. Omar Haydar, MSA/


SITE-3- % gopher gopher.caltech.edu

 --> 4. Computing Information/
 --> 1. CCO anonymous ftp archive/
 --> 6. pub/
 --> 12. calmsa/

SITE-4- % gopher wings.buffalo.edu

--> 10. Student Life and Services/
--> 12. Undergraduate Student Association/
--> 2. The Muslim Student Association/





10. About World-Wide-Web
...................................................... 


 World-Wide-Web (WWW) makes it possible to browse thru 
resources and
 fetch documents using hypertext. Hypertext is a text with 
pointers to
 other text. Selecting hypertext opens up the text listed in the 
pointer. 

 With a WWW browser, one may browse thru information in 
several
 protocols, e.g. FTP, gopher, telnet. etc. This is achieved by 
calling up
 information using 'Unified Resource Locators' (URL). 

 Breakdown of URL: 

 protocol://machinename:port:/path/filename 

 e.g. http://info.cern.ch:80/default.html
 ftp://wuarchive.wustl.edu/mirrors

 WWW provides 'integrated services.' Common WWW interface is 
'Mosaic.' A
 new WWW interface is 'Netscape.' 


11. Web Servers with Islamic Material
......................................... 


 SITE-1: http://latif.com/welcome.html
 Maintainer: yakkob@latif.com
 

 SITE-2: http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~calmsa
 Maintainer: calmsa@cco.caltech.edu
 

 SITE-3: http://www.clark.net/pub/murple/home.html
 

 SITE-4: gopher://wings.buffalo.edu/hh/student-life/sa/muslim
 Maintainer: MSA Buffalo,NY




12. LISTSERV Lists on Islam
................................................... 


 LIST-1: MUSLIMS@ASUACAD & MUSLIMS@PSUVM
 
 Name: Islamic Information & News Network (IINN)
 Info: Weekly or Bi-weekly Digest containing news, info and 
articles on
 Islam.
 Subscription: 800+
 OWNER: pakowner@asuacad.bitnet (Nauman Mysorewala).
 


 LIST-2: ISLAM-L@ULKYVM
 
 Name: History of Islam
 Info: A discussion list.
 Subscription: 380+
 OWNER: jacock01@ulkyvm (Jim Cocks)
 


 LIST-3: ISLAMIAT@SAKAAU03

 Name: Islamic Information and Issues Discussion Group.
 Info: A discussion list.
 Subscription: unknown
 OWNERS: ENF3006@SAKAAU03 (Abu baker Essahak & Muhammad Moula)
 


 LIST-4: NAHIA-L@MSU.EDU

 Name: North American Historians of Islamic Art
 Info: A discussion list.
 Subscription: 101
 OWNERS: alan@ah2.cal.msu.edu (Alan Fisher)
 


13. Islamic Newsgroups on USENET
.............................................. 


 NEWSGROUP-1: Soc.Religion.Islam (moderated)

 Contact Addresses: religion-islam-request@ncar.ncar.edu
 sri@gnu.ai.mit.edu
 

 NEWGROUP-2: Bit.Listserv.Muslims (moderated)
 

 Islamic Information & News Network gatewayed from 
MUSLIMS@PSUVM.BITnet
 Contact Address: Muslims@Psuvm.Bitnet
 


 NEWSGROUP-3: Alt.Religion.Islam (un-moderated)
 

 -No contact address-


 Courtesy: Islamic Information & News Network 
(MUSLIMS@PSUVM.BITNET) 




14. Software: Islamic Prayer Timers
........................................... 


 A number of software programs have been written by Muslims to 
make it
 easier for others to calculate the prayer timings in their 
areas. This
 is a brief listing of prayer software availale thru Caltech 
MSA/IINN
 anonymous FTP sites: 



 _____________________________________________

 Islamic Timer 2.1 (Released August 1994)
 _____________________________________________

 Location: ftp.cco.caltech.edu
 Dir: /home/pub/calmsa

 ITimer21.shar, ITimer21.exe, ITimer.README 
 Runs on DOS and UNIX Machines. 
 
 Provided by: <wmuhanna@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>



 _____________________________________________

 Prayer Timer (Released August 1994)
 _____________________________________________

 Location: ftp.cco.caltech.edu
 Dir: /home/pub/calmsa

 praytime.zip 
 Prayer Timer for DOS machines



 _____________________________________________

 Prayer Time Table (Released 1991)
 _____________________________________________

 Location: ftp.cco.caltech.edu
 Dir: /home/pub/calmsa

 prayer.f Runs on UNIX machines


 Provided by: t. djamaluddin



 _____________________________________________

 Prayer Time Table (Released 1991)
 _____________________________________________

 Location: ftp.ugcs.caltech.edu
 Dir: /home/pub/cms

 prayer.c Runs on UNIX machines 

 Provide by: Waqar Malik (Caltech MSA)
 calmsa@cco.caltech.edu

 Courtesy: Islamic Information & News Network 
(Muslims@Asuacad.BItnet) 


 Announcements
................................................................


15. Archive Info
.............................................................. 


 This FAQ is archived at several sites and is available for 
public
 retrieval thru anonymous FTP, E-MAIL, Gopher & World Wide Web. 


 -- Anonymous FTP --
 


 Login: anonymous
 Password: Your e-mail address


 Site: rtfm.mit.edu 

 Site: ftp.uu.net
 
 Site: ftp.cco.caltech.edu
 Dir: /pub/calmsa/islam-faq/


 -- E-MAIL --
 

 Send E-mail to: mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu 

 Text of E-mail Message: 


 quit


 -- GOPHER --


 Site: gopher.caltech.edu 70
 CCO anonymous ftp archive/
 pub/
 calmsa/
 islam-faq/


 Site: latif.com 70
 Soc.Religion.Islam



 -- World-Wide-Web (WWW) --
 
 One recommended interface is 'mosaic,' below are mosaic 'home 
pages.' 


URL at USENET Archive site:
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/islam-faq/faq.html



 

(Continued from last message)

URL at Caltech MSA site:
http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~calmsa/links.html



16. Credits
................................................................... 


 The author wishes to thank all those who contributed in any 
capacity for
 the original one part FAQ or this multi-part FAQ. 



 -- FORMAT --
 

 The format of the FAQ series has been done by utilizing 
resources of
 Islamic Information & News Network (IINN). A custom program, 
Nebula,
 written by editors of IINN for generating newsletters has been 
used. 

 What is IINN? 

 Islamic Information & News Network is a forum dedicated to 
educate the
 network community on issues relating to Islam and Muslims in an 
academic
 & non-political environment. Weekly digest is available on 
internet by
 subscribing to MUSLIMS@ASUACAD.BITnet (A Bitnet listserv list) 
and on
 USENET: bit.listserv.muslims. 



 -- Permissions --
 

 Permission to post this multi-part FAQ has been obtained 
by the
 following: 

 o Institute of Islamic Information & Education (III&E)
 o Islamic Information & News Network (Muslims@PSUVM.bitnet) 
 o Moderator(s) of News.Answers (Thomas Khoenig & P.Huang)


# End of Islam FAQ Part 11 #


 

Internet
References: <islam-faq/part11_792592921@rtfm.mit.edu>
 Islam. Part 12 of 15.
bit.listserv.muslims:94


Archive-name: islam-faq/part12



 Copyright 1993,1994,1995 Asim Mughal (mughal@caltech.edu) 

 Redistribution for profit, or in altered 
content/format
 prohibited without explicit written permission of the 
author.
 Any other redistribution must include this copyright notice 
and
 attribution. 


 Frequently Asked Questions: Part 12
 ___________________________________
 
 This message is automatically posted to 
 every month and when updated. This lists answers to 
most
 commonly asked questions on the forum. Contributions & 
changes
 are requested and should be directed to: mughal@caltech.edu 



 OVERVIEW: The Frequently Asked Questions document 
for
 Islam has been divided in parts. Below is the index. 


 Part 1 - Welcome & Index
 Part 2 - Info on Islamic News Groups
 Part 3 - Introduction to Islam
 Part 4 - God & Worship
 Part 5 - Islam, Quran & Muhammad (PBUH)
 Part 6 - Marriage Laws in Islam
 Part 7 - Women In Islam
 Part 8 - Life after Death, Moral System & Human rights in 
Islam
 Part 9 - Islam: Prophethood, Jesus & Trinity
 Part 10 - Islam: Farrakhism & Malcom X
 Part 11 - Islamic Internet Guide: Islamic Resources on 
Internet
 Part 12 - Other Islamic Resource Guides on Internet
 Part 13 - Islamic Literature: Books & Video
 Part 14 - Islamic Calendar & Prayer Time Table for 1994
 Part 15 - Misc: List of Halal Foods


 ________________________________________________________

 PART 12: Other Islamic Resource Guides on Internet


 Contents 

 --Articles--
 1. Introduction
.............................................................. 
 2. Cyber Muslim 2.0
.......................................................... 
 3. Islamic Resource Guide
.................................................... 
 --Announcements--
 4. Archive Info
.............................................................. 
 5. Credits
................................................................... 



 Articles
.....................................................................


 1. Introduction
.............................................................. 


 AssalaamOalaikum, 

 It is a pleasure to note that there are other brothers who 
have also
 done an excellent job of making information pertaining to 
Islam &
 Muslims available on voluntary basis. 

 Each internet guide compiled has its own unique flavor. 
Specifically,
 CyberMuslim informs us of Muslim forums and organizations on 
internet
 while Islamic Resource guide emphasizes on the quran, hadith, 
prayer and
 miscellaneous software packages available. 

 In this section of FAQ, both CyberMuslim & Islamic Resource 
Guide have
 been included verbatim with permission from the authors. Both 
guides are
 also available independently on Caltech MSA FTP 
Site-1-
 (ftp.cco.caltech.edu dir:/pub/calmsa). 

 Jazakallah Khairun. 




 2. Cyber Muslim 2.0
.......................................................... 


#*-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
=*
#* (* 
*
#* Mas'ood Cajee's 
*
#* CYBERMUSLIM 2.0 
*
#* >>>The Guide to Islamic Resources on the Internet<<< 
*
#* *
#* AS LISTED IN ED KROL'S "WHOLE INTERNET CATALOG" 
*
#* AND OTHER FINE RESOURCE GUIDES TO THE INTERNET! 
*
#*-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
=* 
Compiled by Mas'ood Cajee [mcajee@aardvark.ucs.uoknor.edu], 7 April 
94. 
Additions/comments welcome. Copyleft (c) Mas'ood Cajee 1994. 
Permission 
to reprint & distribute granted only if this heading included, and 
maintainer notified. This list is available via: 
gopher://latif.com:70/
>ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/mcgee/african/islam/cybermuslim.guide
>mail://mcajee@aardvark.ucs.uoknor.edu
>http://www.uoknor.edu/www/ou_info/mc_info.html
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
- 

PURPOSE: to list resources available on the Internet that contain a 
 significant amount of information related to Islam & Muslims.
AUDIENCE: this file is useful for educators, scholars, and students
 of the Muslim World. 
ASSUMPTIONS: to access the information sources listed here you must
 have access to and know how to use anonymous ftp,telnet, 
 e-mail, gopher, usenet, and www. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
-
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<TABLE OF 
CONTENTS>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
-

Section =1= INTERNET/BITNET MAILING LISTS 
 Listservs, Publications, and Discussion Groups

Section =2= ANONYMOUS FTP SITES 
 Quran Sites 
 Sites for Software, Graphics, etc. 

Section =3= TELNET/GOPHER/WWW SITES 

Section =4= USENET GROUPS 

Section =5= ORGANIZATIONS ON-LINE

Section =6= INTERNATIONAL CONNECTIVITY
 Internet Links in CyberMuslimLand

Section =7= BIBLIOGRAPHY

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
-
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Section 1: INTERNET/BITNET MAILING 
LISTS>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
-
(The Internet has revolutionised the way people can communicate 
and discuss Muslim, Arab, and Third World issues. Using e-mail, anyone 
can tap into the wealth of information that exists. This section 
includes lists or services that require only e-mail.)
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//

Name of Service: AFRICAN NEWS & INFO SERVICE 

Content: Daily News about and from Africa.

Maintainer: Faraz Rabbani (frabbani@epas.utoronto.edu)

How to Subscribe:
send this one line message to LISTSERV@UTORONTO.BITNET
 SUBSCRIBE AFRICA-N Your_Full_Name

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//

Name of Service: ALGERIA-NET

Content: News and discussion of Algeria.

How to Subscribe:
send this one line message to algeria-net-request@monte.svec.uh.edu
 SUBSCRIBE ALGERIA-N Your_Full_Name

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//

Name of Service: ALGERIA NEWS LIST

Content: News about Algeria in French and some English.

How to Subscribe:
send this one line message to listserv@gwuvm.gwu.edu 
 SUBSCRIBE ALGNEWS Your_Full_Name

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//

Name of service: ALJAZIRAH-LIST@CS.WASHINGTON.EDU

Content: Discuss issues of interest to students from Saudi Arabia, 
and 
Arab Gulf countries in general, studying in the US and Europe. The 
issues to be discussed include (but are not limited to) problems 
pertaining to one's studies and one's life in a different society, 
student and community activities, etc.

Maintainer: badr@cs.washington.edu 

How to Subscribe:
send a message to Aljazirah-list-request@cs.washington.edu


//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//

Name of Service: ARABIC LINGUISTICS AND LANGUAGE TEACHING 

Content: Discussion and resources for linguists and teachers of 
Arabic. 

How to Subscribe: 
send e-mail to MAILSERV@vtvm2.cc.vt.edu with the message
 subscribe ARABIC-L your_full_name


//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//

Name of Service: AR-RASSED 

Content: A news and analysis weekly with biting commentary from a 
Muslim perspective. 

How to subscribe: 
send e-mail to EABDELR@UOFT02.UTOLEDO.EDU 

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//

Name of Service: AWAIR Educator's Network 
 

Content: Quarterly on-line newsletter MIDDLE EAST RESOURCES, as 
well as other informational mailings for pre-collegiate educators 
from AWAIR, 
or Arab World and Islamic Resources, Berkeley, California. 

How to subscribe: 
send e-mail to awair@igc.apc.org

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//

Name of Service: AZERBAIJAN NEWS SERVICE

Content: News from Turan News Agency in Baku, Azerbaijan. This list 
is run by the Azerbaijan Aydinlig Association, Berkeley, California.
 
Maintainer: F. H. Miandoab (farid@mem.odu.edu)

How to Subscribe:
send e-mail to farid@mem.odu.edu 

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//

Name of Service: BERITA (MALAYSIAN ISLAMIC LISTSERV)

Content: Malay/Islamic issues and topics discussed in Malay & English.

Queries: berita-l@vmd.cso.uiuc.edu

How to subscribe:
send e-mail to LISTSERV@vmd.cso.uiuc.edu with the message:
 subscribe berita-l your_full_name
to receive only islamic topics include the following line:
 set berita-l topics=IS

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//

Name of Service: BOSNET (BOSNIA NETWORK)

Content: Bosnet provides an opportunity to exchange ideas & connect 
members of the Bosnian and Hercegovinian community, as well as all
others interested in the current events in RB&H. Features daily news,
exchange of relevant information, and calls for action. 
Back issues and documents are available via FTP at (math.mcgill.ca).

Moderators: Nermin Zukic (zukicn@wu2.ul.aecd.ca)
 Adnan Dzinic (adzinic@sun14.ulsi.uwaterloo.ca)

How to Subscribe: 
send e-mail to zukicn@wu2.ul.aecd.ca

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//

Name of Service: EGYPT-NET 

Content: Lively discussion and news about and from Egypt.

How to Subscribe: 
send a message either to 
egypt-net-request@das.harvard.edu or 
egypt-net-request@das.harvard.bitnet
with the following subject: EGYPT-NET-REQUEST(ADD)
and a message body of 
 >>> (LastName, FirstName) your_e-mail_address 

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//

Name of Service: HAFTALIK GUNCEL YORUM DERGISI 

Content: A weekly Net Zine in Turkish.

How to Subscribe: 
send e-mail to LISTSERV@TREARN.BITNET with the message
 subscribe SENFONI your_full_name


//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//

Name of Service: HELWA 

Content: HELWA-L is a list for Malaysian women in the
U.S. and Canada.

How to Subscribe: 
send e-mail to LISTSERV@PSUVM.BITNET with the message
 subscribe HELWA-L your_full_name

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//

Name of Service: HISTORY OF ISLAM LISTSERV

Content: A mailing list that discusses Islamic history.

Queries: ISLAM-L@ULKYVM.BITNET

How to Subscribe: 
send e-mail to LISTSERV@ULKYVM.BITNET with the message
 subscribe ISLAM-L your_full_name

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//

Name of Service: ISLAM BBS

Content: A bulletin board accessible by modem only in Chicago area. 
Archive of Islamic software with mail link to Internet.

Sysop: Mohammad Khan (mkhan@nyx.cs.du.edu) 
 (system@islam.chi.il.us)

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//

Name of Service: ISLAMIC INFORMATION & NEWS NETWORK

Content: A weekly Muslim news service featuring news, essays, 
and opinion.

Owners: Asim Mughal (mughal@iago.caltech.edu)
 Nauman Mysorewala

How to Subscribe:
send e-mail to listserv@asuvm.inre.asu.edu, listserv@psuvm.psu.edu,
or listserv@asuacad.bitnet with a blank subject and the message
 subscribe MUSLIMS your_full_name

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//

Name of Service: ISLAM-NEWS

Content: News related to Islam. Ames, Iowa. 

Submissions: islam-news@iastate.edu 

How to subscribe: 
send e-mail to spectre@iastate.edu 

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//

Name of Service: ISLAMIC WORLD NEWS

Content: World News Updates, Analysis, Book Reviews, Essays, and 
Readers' Opinions. Issued twice-a-week. A publication of the 
International Muslim Students Union, Seattle, Washington, USA. 

Editor: Ahmed E. Souaiaia

How to subscribe: 


 

(Continued from last message)
send e-mail to imnet2@max.u.washington.edu 

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//

Name of Service: ITISLAT

Content: "It is Arabic Language and Technology".

How to Subscribe: 
send e-mail to LISTSERV@GUVM.BITNET with the message
 subscribe ITISLAT your_full_name

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//

Name of Service: KITAPLAR UZERINE TARTISMA LISTESI

Content: Discussion on books in Turkish.

How to Subscribe: 
send e-mail to LISTSERV@GUVM.BITNET with the message
 subscribe KITAP-L your_full_name

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//

Name of Service: LEBANON-NET

Content: Discussion and news related to Lebanon.

Maintainer: boudi@cumesa.mech.columbia.edu

How to Subscribe: 
send e-mail to leb-net-request@cumesa.mech.columbia.edu

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//

Name of Service: MACEDONIAN INFO LIAISON SERVICE

Content: News and information about Macedonia.

How to Subscribe: 
send e-mail to mils@gnu.ai.mit.edu

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//

Name of Service: MAGHREBIAN SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTE

Content: Discussion on science and technology in the Arab World.

How to Subscribe: 
send e-mail to LISTSERV@UIUCVMD.BITNET with the message
 subscribe MIAST your_full_name

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//

Name of service : MSM-NET

Content : Majlis Syura Muslimun is a forum for discussion to enhance 
our knowledge about Islam, to increase our awareness on the current 
issues that affect our lives, and to share news on Malaysia, its 
region, 
and the world. 

Maintainer and queries: Ainul Lotfi (Abu Umayr)
 es2047@eng.warwick.ac.uk

How to subscribe : 
send e-mail to msm-net-request@warwick.ac.uk
(include your name, institution, and level of study)

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//

Name of Service: MALAYSIAN ISLAMIC STUDY GROUP LISTSERV

Content: A Malay language mailing list discussing Islamic research.

Queries: MISG-L@PSUVM.BITNET

How to Subscribe: 
send e-mail to LISTSERV@PSUVM.BITNET with the message
 SUBSCRIBE MISG-L your_full_name

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//

Name of Service: MIDDLE EAST LIBRARIANS LIST 

Content: Discussion and forum for Middle East librarians.

How to Subscribe: 
send e-mail to LISTSERV@CORNELL.EDU with the message
 SUBSCRIBE MELANET your_full_name

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//

Name of Service: MIDDLE EAST MUSIC LIST

Content: Discussion and information about all aspects of Mideast 
music.

How to subscribe:
send e-mail to middle-eastern-music-request@nic.funet.fi

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//

Name of Service: MIDDLE EAST WATER LIST 

Content: Discussion and forum for information and research related 
to Middle East water resource issues emanating from Israel.

How to Subscribe: 
send e-mail to LISTSERV@TAUNIVM.TAU.AC.IL with the message
 SUBSCRIBE MEH2O your_full_name

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//

Name of Service: MSA LISTSERV 

Content: Muslim Students Association.

How to Subscribe:
send e-mail to LISTSERV@psuvm.psu.edu with the message
 subscribe MSA-L your_full_name

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//

Name of Service: MSA NET

Content: A moderated list providing a means for MSA chapters to 
organize at a national level, exchange ideas and information about 
activities, publicize events, seek help, and advise.

Queries: (msa-request@htm3.ee.queensu.ca)

How to subscribe:
send e-mail to msa-request@htm3.ee.queensu.ca

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//

Name of Service: MSA-NEWS

Content: News about Islam, Muslims, and the Muslim World. This is 
a very good list to be on. You will automatically receive many of the 
other services listed plus more.

Maintainer: Rached Zantout (rzantout@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu)

How to Subscribe:
send e-mail to msanews-request@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//

Name of Service: MUSLIM BAY NET

Content: A list for Muslims in the San Francisco Bay Area to exchange
information about activities, events, and other issues.

Maintainer: Munes Tomeh (tomeh@ocf.berkeley.edu)

How to Subscribe:
send e-mail to muslimbaynet-request@ocf.berkeley.edu

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//

Name of Service: NEW LIBERATION NEWS SERVICE (NLNS)

Content: A grass-roots news service based in Cambridge, Mass. that 
collects articles from the radical press, and distributes them to more 
than 100 subscribing papers and also individuals who just like to 
read the best of the grassroots press every three to four weeks. 
Some form of financial contribution is urged.

Maintainer: (nlns@igc.apc.org)

How to Subscribe: 
send e-mail to nlns@igc.apc.org

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//

Name of Service: PAKISTAN NEWS SERVICE

Content: News Updates about Pakistan.

Queries: Pakistan@asuvm.inre.asu.edu

How to Subscribe:
send this one line message to listserv@asuvm.inre.asu.edu or
listserv@asuacad.BITNET 
 SUB PAKISTAN Your_Full_Name

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//

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-----------------------------------------------------------------------
-
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<SECTION 2: ANONYMOUS FTP 
SITES>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
-
[The Holy QUR'AAN can be downloaded from numerous sites via FTP. Be 
aware, however, of the translation you are getting. While a majority 
of sites carry the M.H. Shakir translation, the more accepted Yusuf 
Ali 
and M.M. Pickthall translations can be had at <ftp.mcs.kent.edu> and 
at <cs.bu.edu>. Islamic and Arabic SOFTWARE, along with sounds, 
graphics, and documents, are also available via FTP. The above-
mentioned 
sites for the Qur'aan are also the best sites for software. An 
excellent 
for Islamic and Arab GIFS is <liasun3.epfl.ch>. Resources are listed 
by 
Uniform Resource Locater: (protocol://site_name:port/directory/file).

THE QUR'AN: UNIFORM RESOURCE LOCATERS (URLs) 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ftp://ariel.unm.edu/pub/misc
ftp://cs.bu.edu/amass/quran 
ftp://cs.ubc.ca/mirror1/next/Literature/working/
ftp://etlport.etl.go.jp/pub/NeXT/Literature/working/
ftp://ftp.mcs.kent.edu/pub/islam/
ftp://ftp.uu.net/doc/literary/obi/Religion
ftp://gatekeeper.dec.com/.8/misc/scripture/quran 
ftp://nova.cc.purdue.edu/pub/next/Literature/working/
ftp://ocf.berkeley.edu/pub/religion/quran
ftp://phoenix.oulu.fi/pub/quran 
ftp://pinus.slu.se/pub/etext/misc/
ftp://princeton.edu/pub/quran.tar.Z
ftp://roxette.mty.itesm.mx/pub/next/Literature/working/
ftp://slopoke.mlb.semi.harris.com/pub/doc/quran
ftp://sonata.cc.purdue.edu/pub/next/Literature/working/
ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/docs/books/religious/
ftp://unix.hensa.ac.uk/pub/uunet/doc/literary/obi/Religion/
ftp://uxc.cso.uiuc.edu/pub/quran.tar.Z 


ISLAMIC & ARABIC SOFTWARE URLs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ftp://cs.arizona.edu/pub/icon/
QuranRef

ftp://cs.bu.edu/amass/ 
Mac software, sounds, Amer-Arab Scientific Society newsletter 

ftp://cs.dal.ca/comp.archives/ 
USENET docs: 

ftp://cs.ubc.ca/pub/local/arabtex 
ArabTeX 2.07: 

ftp://csd4.csd.uwm.edu/pub/bashar/
Arabic&Islamic software,GIFs:

ftp://ftp.cse.psu.edu/pub/jamoussi/TSS
Tunisian Scientific Society info and documents 
 
ftp://ftp.mcs.kent.edu 
ArabTeX,Kateb,music,GIFs,poetry,software




 3. Islamic Resource Guide
.................................................... 


**********************************************************************
**
 The Islamic Computing
 
 Resource Guide
 
 Release 2.0
 December 1992
 
 A Software and Network Resources Directory
**********************************************************************
**
 by
 Basil Hashem
 <hashem@netcom.com>
 
 
 R E L E A S E N O T E S
 
 
 
2.0 12/10/92 Developed the new format, updated Internet
 information, added QuranBase Mac, Al-Munad, Alim 
1.5,
 IslamicTimer and re-ordered the sections.
 
1.1c 7/16/92 Fixed some information regarding the Islamic 
School.
 
1.1b 7/12/92 Spell-checked, corrected some miscellaneous
 information, found a home.
 
1.1a 6/24/92 Made a couple of corrections on network services, 
no
 new entries.
 
1.1 6/2/92 Added several new software packages and some 
Internet
 resources.
 
1.0a 5/22/92 Fixed a few typographical mistakes.
 
1.0 5/15/92 Initial release.
 
 
 
 
 P R E F A C E
 
 
 
After attending the Second International Conference on Computer
Technology in Service of Islam in San Jose, CA (April 1992), I decided
that there was a need to compile a list of various computing resources
available to the Muslim community.
 
This resource guide will serve as a listing for software and major
network resources such as electronic mailing lists, forums and 
newsgroups
related to discussion of Islamic topics.
 
I have limited the scope of the guide to software published in the
English language in order to maintain a focus and keep the guide at a
manageable size. I realize that there are many Arabic language 
software
packages available. I have consciously omitted them. Perhaps someone 
else
will pick up the slack in this area.
 
This guide is provided as a free service to the Muslim community, I 
did
my best to secure its accuracy but in no way do I guarantee its
authenticity. Please do not hold me liable for anything. I would also
like to thank the many individuals that provided me with much of the
information listed here, may Allah reward their efforts. You may
distribute this guide electronically as you wish, but if you wish to
publish it in any print media, e.g. newsletters or magazines, please
contact me first. I will most certainly grant you permission; I simply
would like to keep track of how and where this guide is used. Please 
send 
any additions, corrections or comments to me via e-mail at
hashem@netcom.com.
 
The latest copy of this guide is available via file transfer (FTP) 
from
the AMASS Software Library at Boston University. Thanks go to 
Abdelsalam
Heddaya.
 
Inshallah, you will find this guide useful.
 
 
 
 S O F T W A R E
 
 
 
A. ON-LINE DATABASES - QURAN
 
 
Al-Quran Database
-----------------
A program which displays side-by-side text of the Quran in Arabic and
English. Yusuf Ali and M. Pickthall translations. Searchable English 
text
by keyword and subject with Boolean operators. Includes background
information about the suras. Complements Al-Hadith Database.
 
Requires: IBM PC or compatible with 512K RAM and 10MB free on a hard 
disk
 
Price: $99
 
Islamic Computing Centre Islamic Book Service
73, St. Thomas's Road 10900 W. Washington Street
London N4 2QJ U.K Indianapolis, IN 46231-
2080
A.K. Barkatulla (317)839-8150/7669
<barkatulla@lampeter.ac.uk>
 
 
The Alim 1.5
------------
An Islamic study toolkit which includes: the Quran in Arabic, Yusuf 
Ali
and M. Pickthall Translations and Concordances, Yusuf Ali Commentary, 
a
Transliteration, Sahih Bukhari Hadith, Hadith Qudsi database, Islamic
Subjects database, Maududi Sura Information, Chronological History of
Islam, Biographies of the Companions of the Prophet, and Islamic Terms
Dictionary. Every database is searchable via keywords (with Boolean
operators) or by subject, regular expressions, and word series.
Background searching and "save search" features. Multiple window
operations and GUI menus and dialog boxes. Some of the enhancements in
Version 1.5 include support for faster searches and searching in 
Arabic,
sound support (English only) via speech synthesis (with a sound 
board), a
new Sahih Bukhari subjects database, and miscellaneous bug fixes.
 
Requires: IBM PC or compatible with 512K RAM, 1.5MB to 15MB free on a
hard disk and EGA or better display for Arabic
 
Price: $99 (less for upgrades from Version 1.0)
Speech Synthesis Module - $24.95
 
ISL Software Corp. IQRA Bookcenter
(800)397-5561/(512)690-5973 (800)521-4272
 
 
Holy Quran (English)
--------------------
A program to display the Yusuf Ali translation of the Quran. Keyword
search capability with Boolean operators. Thesaurus and theme index.
Ability to display Arabic script as well. This is one of a series of
programs (mostly Arabic) which run under the Sakhr DOS system. 
Databases
of the Quran, Al-Bukhary hadith, and Al-Mawarith (inheritance) expert
system also available. The system requires a DOS Arabization package.
 
Price: Holy Quran (English) - Unknown
DOS Arabization - $40
 
Requires: IBM PC or compatible with Sakhr DOS Arabization, VGA display
and 20MB free on a hard disk
 
Available: June 1992
 
Al Alamiah Electronics Company
Heliopolis, Cairo
P.O. Box: 5189 H. West
Code 11771 EGYPT
 
 
IslamicWare: The Holy Koran & Explanation v7.0
----------------------------------------------
"Koran: Contemporary Text" displays searchable text of a new English
translation of the Quran by Ahmad Darwish. Subject index and 
concordance
(word index) also available. "Explanation Koran: Contemporary Text", a
commentary on the above translation. Also available "Koran: Academic
Text", "Quran: Yusuf Ali text translation", "Koran: Yusuf Ali revised
text", and "Koran: Muhammad Pickthall text revised", each available 
with
index and concordance. Koran CD and the first electronic Islamic 
encyclopedia are due in December 1992.
 
Requires: IBM PC or compatible, 10MB free on a hard disk (for text), 
4MB
free on a hard disk (for concordance)
 
Price: Suras 1 & 2 available for free
"Koran: Contemporary Text" - $80, with Index - $180, with Concord - 
$280
"Explanation Koran: Contemporary Text" - $80, with Index - $180,
with Concord-$280. Other programs follow the same pricing structure.
 
Ahmad Darwish & M. K.
P.O. Box 8279
Fremont, CA 94537-8279
(510)794-9363
 
 
QuranBase
---------
A database program of the Yusuf Ali translation of the Quran. Fully
searchable by keyword, chapter, verse and subject.
 
Requires: IBM PC or compatible with 256K RAM, mono, CGA, EGA or VGA 
display and 1.5MB free on a hard disk
 
Price: $179
 
Sound Vision
843 W. Van Buren, Suite 411
Chicago, IL 60607
(800)432-4262
 
 
QuranBase Mac
-------------
A database program of the Yusuf Ali translation of the Quran. Fully
searchable by keyword, chapter, verse, and subject.
 
Requires: Macintosh SE or higher (min. 2 MB RAM), 2.5MB free on a hard
disk and Hypercard software
 
Price: $179
 
Sound Vision
843 W. Van Buren, Suite 411
Chicago, IL 60607
(800)432-4262
 
 
Quranic Text
------------
Text of the M. H. Shakir English translation of the Quran as published 
by
Tahrike Tarsile Quran, Inc.
 
Price: Free
 
Requires: Any text editor or word processor
 
Access: The filename is "Quran.tar.Z" and is available via file 
transfer
(FTP) from the following locations on the Internet.
 
Host Directory
 
ariel.unm.edu /pub/misc
cs.ubc.ca /mirror1/next/Literature/working
etlport.etl.go.jp /pub/NeXT/Literature/working
ftp.uu.net /doc/literary/obi/Religion
gatekeeper.dec.com /.0/data
hp5.mcs.kent.edu /pub
nova.cc.purdue.edu /pub/next/Literature/working
pinus.slu.se /pub/etext/misc
princeton.edu /pub
roxette.mty.itesm.mx /pub/next/Literature/working
slopoke.mlb.semi.harris.com /pub/doc
snake.mcs.kent.edu /pub and /pub/quran
sonata.cc.purdue.edu /pub/next/Literature/working
sunsite.unc.edu /pub/docs/books/religious
unix.hensa.ac.uk /pub/uunet/doc/literary/obi/Religion
 
 
 
B. ON-LINE DATABASES - HADITH
 
 
Al-Hadith Database
------------------
A program to search the Sahih al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, Al-
Muwatta,
Tirmidhy and Nasa'i hadith sources in English. Cross-referencing 
between
the Al-Quran Database & Islamic LawBase.
 
Requires: IBM PC or compatible with 512K RAM and 20MB free on a hard 
disk
 
Price: $199
 
Islamic Computing Centre Islamic Book Service
73, St. Thomas's Road 10900 W. Washington Street
London N4 2QJ U.K Indianapolis, IN 46231-
2080
A.K. Barkatulla (317)839-8150/7669
<barkatulla@lampeter.ac.uk>
 
 
Hadith on CD
------------
Collections of hadith databases on CD ROM. Over 15 languages 
supported.
 
Requires: IBM PC or compatible with CD-ROM drive
 
Price: Unknown
 
M.M. Al-Azami & Aqil M. Azmi
Center for Hadith Analysis
805 29th Street, #552-N
Boulder, Colorado 80303
(303)938-1211
 
 
HadithBase
----------
A database program of Sahih al-Bukhari hadiths. Fully searchable by
keyword and subject with Boolean operators.
 
Requires: IBM PC or compatible with 512K RAM, mono, CGA, EGA or VGA
display and 3 MB free on a hard disk
 
Price: $195
 
Sound Vision
843 W. Van Buren, Suite 411
Chicago, IL 60607
(800)432-4262
 
 
 
C. ON-LINE DATABASES - OTHER
 
 
Islamic LawBase
---------------
A program to search the following legal literature: Fiqh al-Sunnah,
Majellah al-ahkam, Hedaya al-Marghinani, Fatawa-e-Qazi Khan, Al Halal 
Wal
Haram, Muwatta of Imam Malik, al Risala al-Qairawaniya, Criminal Law 
of
Islam, and Kitab-ul-Kharaj in English.
 
Requires: IBM PC or compatible with 512K RAM and 20MB free on a hard 
disk
 
Price: $199
 
Islamic Computing Centre Islamic Book Service
73, St. Thomas's Road 10900 W. Washington Street
London N4 2QJ U.K Indianapolis, IN 46231-
2080
A.K. Barkatulla (317)839-8150/7669
<barkatulla@lampeter.ac.uk>
 
 


 

(Continued from last message)
Nahjul Balaagha Version 2.0
---------------------------
A database program of the sayings and letters of Imaam Ali. Provides 
the
ability to search, display and print sayings by keyword.
 
Requires: IBM PC or compatible
 
Price: Unknown
 
Al-Mahdi Islamic Software Centre (MISC)
P.O. Box 45844
Nairobi, Kenya
 
 
 
D. EDUCATIONAL/GAMES
 
 
Al-Qari
-------
A program designed to teach children and adults to recite the Quran in
Arabic. Uses sounds and text in Arabic and English.
 
Requires: Macintosh
 
Price: Unknown
 
Sound Vision
843 W. Van Buren, Suite 411
Chicago, IL 60607
(800)432-4262
 
 
Hijrah
------
Small game written in BASIC which quizzes the player regarding the 
flight
of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) from Mecca to Medina.
 
Requires: IBM PC or compatible with BASIC interpreter (such as BASICA)
 
Price: $5 (Shareware)
 
Available: AmNet BBS (see entry)
 
 
 
 
Islamic Scholar I
-----------------
Written in an artificial intelligence language, this menu-driven
educational program covers more than 60 topics in fiqh and aqeedah;
basics of Islam; and "how to"s - the basic duties of Muslims. The 
English
meaning and transliteration of small chapters from the Quran is also
included.
 
Requires: IBM PC or compatible
 
Price: $39
 
Sound Vision
843 W. Van Buren, Suite 411
Chicago, IL 60607
(800)432-4262
 
 
pcIQ
----
A "trivia type" quiz game on topics such as the Qur'an, seerah, the
ummah, events and fiqh. Multiple choice answers. Also includes a 
facility
to learn to read the last hizb of the Quran in Arabic and display 
color
Islamic art.
 
Requires: IBM PC or compatible with 512K RAM, EGA or VGA display
 
Price: $69
 
Islamic Computing Centre Islamic Book Service
73, St. Thomas's Road 10900 W. Washington Street
London N4 2QJ U.K Indianapolis, IN 46231-
2080
A.K. Barkatulla (317)839-8150/7669
<barkatulla@lampeter.ac.uk>
 
 
 
E. PRAYER TIME CALCULATION
 
 
An-Nida' 2.1
------------
Calculates prayer time schedules for any month of any year (up to 
2050);
for any location in the world. Comes preset for more than 550 
locations
world wide. Other locations may be used as well. Options include 
printing
in Arabic or English, calculation using Hijrah or Christian calendars,
Shafi'i or Hanafi prayer times, Qibla direction and more.
 
Requires: Macintosh and Hypercard software
 
Price: $39
 
Sound Vision
843 W. Van Buren, Suite 411
Chicago, IL 60607
(800)432-4262
 
 
calendrical.l
-------------
A Common Lisp program to calculate the Hijri, Gregorian and Julian
calendars. Includes definitions of some important events.
 
Requires: LISP interpreter
 
Price: Free
 
Author(s): Nachum Dershowitz and Edward Reingold 
<reingold@cs.uiuc.edu>
 
Available: On the Internet, via file transfer (FTP) from the AMASS
Software Library (see entry)
 
 
IslamicTimer
------------
A software package for calculating Islamic (Hijri) Calendar, prayer 
time
schedules and the direction of the Qiblah.
 
Requires: UNIX C Compiler
 
Price: Free with suggested donation to a worthy cause
 
Author: Waleed Muhanna <wmuhanna@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>
 
Available: On the Internet.
 
 
Minaret 1.3
-----------
A menu-driven program to calculate prayer times for many cities in the
world. New cities can be added by providing location and timing data.
Shows the direction of the Qibla, and various data related to the 
Hijri
calendar (date conversion). Produces text and TeX output of prayer
schedules.
 
Requires: Macintosh
 
Price: $10 (Shareware)
 
Kamal Abdali <abdali@udel.edu>
P.O. Box 65207 
Washington, DC 20035 
 
Available: On the Internet, via file transfer (FTP) from the AMASS
Software Library (see entry) and sumex-aim.stanford.edu
 
 
Praytimer
---------
A C language computer program to calculate prayer schedules given
selected parameters. A program based on Minaret 1.3 but can operate in
batch mode.
 
Requires: C compiler
 
Price: Free
 
Kamal Abdali <abdali@udel.edu>
P.O. Box 65207 
Washington, DC 20035 
 
Available: On the Internet, via file transfer (FTP) from the AMASS
Software Library (see entry)
 
 
Prayer Time Table
-----------------
FORTRAN-language computer routines to calculate prayer times and moon
sighting data given selected parameters.
 
Requires: FORTRAN compiler
 
Price: Free
 
T. Djamaluddin
Department of Astronomy, Kyoto University
Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606, Japan
 
Available: On the Internet
 
 
Prayer Time Table (1988)
------------------------
FORTRAN-language computer routines to calculate prayer times and moon
sighting data given selected parameters.
 
Requires: FORTRAN compiler
 
Price: Free
 
Moustafa Baraka
 
Available: On the Internet
 
 
Prayer Timing Ver 1.1
---------------------
FORTRAN-language computer routines to calculate prayer times and moon
sighting data given selected parameters.
 
Requires: FORTRAN compiler
 
Price: "Free" with a request for donation to MSA-UMR
 
MSA-UMR
202 Rolla Building
Rolla, MO 65401
 
Available: On the Internet
 
 
Taqwim 3.0
----------
A program which converts dates from the Gregorian calendar to the 
Islamic
calendar.
 
Requires: IBM PC or compatible
 
Price: $20
 
Mark Woodworth & John Woods
University of Chicago
Department of Middle Eastern Studies
 
 
 
F. MISCELLANEOUS
 
 
Al-Munad
--------
Calculates prayer times for any day of any year (up to 2050); or any
location in the world. Comes preset for more than 800 locations world
wide. Other locations may be used as well. System Extension reminds 
you
when prayer times are due. Also allows you to tell it to remind you 
after
some time has passed. Calculation using Shafi'i or Hanafi prayer 
times,
astronomical times, Qibla direction, and more.
 
Requires: Macintosh
 
Price: $39
 
Sound Vision
843 W. Van Buren, Suite 411
Chicago, IL 60607
(800)432-4262
 
 
Clip Art Collection #1: Calligraphic Designs
--------------------------------------------
Thirty calligraphic images in Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) format.
 
Requires: Macintosh with an application to read EPS formatted files 
and a
Postscript printer or imagesetter
 
Price: $54.95
 
Sakkal Design
1523 175th Place SE
Bothell, WA 98012
(206)484-8830
 
 
Daily Ayat
----------
A program to automatically display an ayat of the Quran each time you
start your computer.
 
Requires: IBM PC or compatible
 
Price: $19.95
 
ISL Software Corp.
San Antonio, TX
(800)397-5561/(512)690-5973
 
Daily Hadith
------------
A program to automatically display a short hadith each time you start
your computer.
 
Requires: IBM PC or compatible
 
Price: $19.95
 
ISL Software Corp.
San Antonio, TX
(800)397-5561/(512)690-5973
 
Miscellaneous Sounds
--------------------
Macintosh sound samples of the Athan (call to prayer) and the first 
sura
of the Quran.
 
Requires: Macintosh and a sound utility (e.g. SoundEdit or 
SoundMaster)
or System 7
 
Price: Free
 
Available: Via file transfer (FTP) from the AMASS Software Library 
(see
entry)
 
PrayerMinder
------------
Allows for the creation and saving of prayer time tables. A memory-
resident program with a five-alarm clock which reminds you of the 
times
to pray.
 
Requires: IBM PC or compatible
 
Price: $29.95
 
ISL Software Corp.
San Antonio, TX
(800)397-5561/(512)690-5973
 
 
Quranref
--------
A word/reference/pattern lookup program based on the Icon programming
language (probably only runs on UNIX systems). It uses the Quranic 
text
of the M. H. Shakir English translation of the Quran (see entry).
 
Requires: Icon version 8 (A programming language), Icon Program 
Library,
and a C compiler
 
Price: Free
 
Available: On the Internet. Icon available via file transfer (FTP) 
from
cs.arizona.edu
 
 
 N E T W O R K R E S O U R C E S
 
 
 
A. NEWSGROUPS AND MAILING LISTS
 
 
History of Islam Mailing List
-----------------------------
A mailing list to discuss the history of Islam.
 
Requires: A connection to the Internet and an e-mail package
 
Price: Free
 
Subscriptions: Send a message to LISTSERV@ULKYVM.BITNET with the line
SUBSCRIBE ISLAM-L
 
Submissions: ISLAM-L@ULKYVM.BITNET
 
 
Malaysian Islamic Study Group Mailing List
------------------------------------------
A mailing list to discuss Islamic research in the Malay language
 
Requires: A connection to the Internet and an e-mail package
 
Price: Free
 
Subscriptions: Send a message to LISTSERV@PSUVM.BITNET with the line
SUBSCRIBE MISG-L
 
Submissions: MISG-L@PSUVM.BITNET
 
 
MSA-NET Mailing List
--------------------
A mailing list to discuss Muslim Student Association (MSA) issues.
 
Requires: A connection to the Internet and an e-mail package
 
Price: Free
 
Subscriptions: msa-request@eleceng.ee.queensu.ca
 
Submissions: msa@eleceng.ee.queensu.ca
 
 
Muslim News Network Mailing List
--------------------------------
MNN is a moderated forum dedicated to educate the network communities 
on
issues relating to the Muslims in an academic & non-political
environment. Submissions are compiled in the form of a newsletter and
mailed to the subscribers.
 
Requires: A connection to the Internet and an e-mail package
 
Price: Free
 
Subscriptions: Send a message to LISTSERV@ASUACAD.BITNET with the
line SUB MUSLIMS
 


 

(Continued from last message)
Submissions: MUSLIMS@ASUACAD.BITNET
 
 
Muslim Student Association Mailing List
---------------------------------------
A mailing list to discuss Muslim Student Association (MSA) issues.
 
Requires: A connection to the Internet and an e-mail package
 
Price: Free
 
Subscriptions: Send a message to LISTSERV@PSUVM.BITNET with the line
SUBSCRIBE MSA-L
 
Submissions: MSA-L@PSUVM.BITNET
 
 
---------------------------
A moderated newsgroup discussing Islamic topics.
 
Price: Free
 
Requires: A connection to the Internet and a Usenet newsreader such as 
rn
or nn
 
 
Other Usenet news groups which may discuss Islam peripherally are the
following:
 
talk.politics.mideast
 
B. ARCHIVES AND REMOTE SITES
 
American Arab Scientific Society (AMASS) Software Library
---------------------------------------------------------
An archive site with a collection of software including this resource
guide, Minaret 1.3, calendrical.l, praytimer, and other items.
 
Host: cs.bu.edu (128.197.2.1)
Username: ftp
Password: <your e-mail address>
 
Requires: A connection to the Internet and file transfer (FTP) 
software
 
Price: Free
 
Questions: Abdelsalam Heddaya <heddaya@cs.bu.edu>
 
 
AMnet Bulletin Board System
---------------------------
A bulletin board system setup by the American Muslim Council (AMC), a
lobby group for American Muslims. News reports, electronic mail, and
miscellaneous files are available.
 
Access Number: (202)789-2527
Parameters: 2400 Baud, No Parity, 8 Bit, 1 Stop
Location: Bethesda, Maryland
 
Requires: Macintosh or IBM PC or compatible and terminal emulation
software
 
Price: Free
 
Contact: Ammad-Ad-Dean Ahmed
Phone: (301)951-0539 (voice)
 
 
CalTech Muslims Group Archive
-----------------------------
The on-line text of the Quran was made available but is temporarily 
being
corrected. Miscellaneous documents, FORTRAN and C programs for prayer
time calculations and this guide.
 
Host: ftp.ugcs.caltech.edu (131.215.128.6)
Username: ftp
Password: <your e-mail address>
Directory: /pub/cms
 
Requires: A connection to the Internet and file transfer (FTP) 
software
 
Price: Free
Questions: Waqar Malik <waqar@cco.caltech.edu>
 Asim Mughal <mughal@iago.caltech.edu>
 
CompuServe - Religion forum - Islam subject area
------------------------------------------------
On CompuServe, there is a subject area within the Religion forum which
discusses Islamic topics It has a file archive area as well.
 
Access: "Islam" Subject Area in the Religion Forum (GO RELIGION).
 
Requires: A subscription to CompuServe and CompuServe Information 
Manager
or terminal emulation software
 
Price: CompuServe on-line charges
 
 
The Islamic School
------------------
An Islamic subject area at the Cleveland Free-Net Community Computer
System. Introductory information on Islam, many of the areas are under
development including frequently asked questions and information about
the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
 
Hosts: free-net-a.cwru.edu (29.22.8.82)
 free-net-b.cwru.edu (129.22.8.75)
 free-net-c.cwru.edu (129.22.8.76)
 
Requires: A connection to the Internet and virtual terminal software 
such
as telnet
 
Price: Free
 
Questions: Eusat Mercan (Sysop) (aa755)
 Sukru Gultop (Co-sysop) (sxg12)
 Mesut Sahin (Co-sysop) (mxs44)
All addresses are on Cleveland Free-net.
 
Access: Upon connecting you will be asked whether you are a registered
user or a visitor. Select 2 to indicate a visitor. Then, select 2 to
"Explore the system". Upon being presented with the main menu, type 
"go
islam" to access the Islamic School.
 
<=========================== CUT HERE ==============================>





 Announcements
................................................................


 4. Archive Info
.............................................................. 


 This FAQ is archived at several sites and is available for 
public
 retrieval thru anonymous FTP, E-MAIL, Gopher & World Wide Web. 


 -- Anonymous FTP --


 Login: anonymous
 Password: Your e-mail address


 Site: rtfm.mit.edu 

 Site: ftp.uu.net
 
 Site: ftp.cco.caltech.edu
 Dir: /pub/calmsa/islam-faq/



 -- E-MAIL --
 

 Send E-mail to: mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu 

 Text of E-mail Message: 

 quit

 -- GOPHER --


 Site: gopher.caltech.edu 70
 CCO anonymous ftp archive/
 pub/
 calmsa/
 islam-faq/


 Site: latif.com 70
 Soc.Religion.Islam



 -- World-Wide-Web (WWW) --
 

 One recommended interface is 'mosaic,' below are mosaic 'home 
pages.' 



URL at USENET Archive site:
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/islam-faq/faq.html


URL at Caltech MSA site:
http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~calmsa/links.html



 5. Credits
................................................................... 


 The author wishes to thank all those who contributed in any 
capacity for
 the original one part FAQ or this multi-part FAQ. 



 -- FORMAT --
 

 The format of the FAQ series has been done by utilizing 
resources of
 Islamic Information & News Network (IINN). A custom program, 
Nebula,
 written by editors of IINN for generating newsletters has been 
used. 


 What is IINN? 

 Islamic Information & News Network is a forum dedicated to 
educate the
 network community on issues relating to Islam and Muslims in an 
academic
 & non-political environment. Weekly digest is available on 
internet by
 subscribing to MUSLIMS@ASUACAD.BITnet (A Bitnet listserv list) 
and on
 USENET: bit.listserv.muslims. 


 -- Permissions --
 

 Permission to post this multi-part FAQ has been obtained 
by the
 following: 

 o Institute of Islamic Information & Education (III&E)
 o Islamic Information & News Network (Muslims@PSUVM.bitnet) 
 o Moderator(s) of News.Answers (Thomas Khoenig & P.Huang)

 Permission to include CyberMuslim V2.0 was obtained from its 
 author Br.Mas'ood Cajee. 

 Permission to include Islamic Resource Guide was obtained from
 its author Br.Basil Hashem.

# End of Islam FAQ Part 12 #


 

References: <islam-faq/part12_792592921@rtfm.mit.edu>
 Islam. Part 13 of 15.
bit.listserv.muslims:95


Archive-name: islam-faq/part13



 Copyright 1993,1994,1995 Asim Mughal (mughal@caltech.edu) 

 Redistribution for profit, or in altered 
content/format
 prohibited without explicit written permission of the 
author.
 Any other redistribution must include this copyright notice 
and
 attribution. 



 Frequently Asked Questions: Part 13
 ___________________________________
 
 This message is automatically posted to 
 every month and when updated. This lists answers to 
most
 commonly asked questions on the forum. Contributions & 
changes
 are requested and should be directed to: mughal@caltech.edu 



 OVERVIEW: The Frequently Asked Questions document 
for
 Islam has been divided in parts. Below is the
 index. 


 Part 1 - Welcome & Index
 Part 2 - Info on Islamic News Groups
 Part 3 - Introduction to Islam
 Part 4 - God & Worship
 Part 5 - Islam, Quran & Muhammad (PBUH)
 Part 6 - Marriage Laws in Islam
 Part 7 - Women In Islam
 Part 8 - Life after Death, Moral System & Human rights in 
Islam
 Part 9 - Islam: Prophethood, Jesus & Trinity
 Part 10 - Islam: Farrakhism & Malcom X
 Part 11 - Islamic Internet Guide: Islamic Resources on 
Internet
 Part 12 - Other Islamic Resource Guides on Internet
 Part 13 - Islamic Literature: Books & Video
 Part 14 - Islamic Calendar & Prayer Time Table for 1994
 Part 15 - Misc: List of Halal Foods



 ________________________________________________________

 PART 13: Islamic Literature: Books & Video



 Contents 

 --Articles--
 1. Introduction
.............................................................. 
 2. Introductory Material on Islam
............................................ 
 3. Free Books on Islam
....................................................... 
 4. List of Islamic Book Sellers
.............................................. 
 --Announcements--
 5. Archive Info
.............................................................. 
 6. Credits
................................................................... 



 Articles
.....................................................................


 1. Introduction
.............................................................. 


 This covers some books recommended by Islamic Centers for those 
seeking
 more insight or further reading of Islam. Books & videos from 
Islamic
 Centers are available at a subsidized cost. A number of places 
offer
 free Islamic books as documented. 

 Should you like to talk to someone about the questions on 
Islam, the
 Institute of Islamic Information & Education has offered to 
help. They
 can be contacted at: 

 Dr. M. Amir, III&E, P.O. Box 41129, Chicago, IL 60641-0129, 
U.S.A.; Fax:
 (312) 777-7199; 

 Email queries to the author of this FAQ (mughal@caltech.edu) 
will be
 forwarded to III&E for a response. 





 2. Introductory Material on Islam
............................................ 



Introductory Book on Islam:

 ISLAM IN FOCUS by Hammudah Adbalati
 Available from:

 Islamic Center of Southern California
 434 S. Vermont Ave.
 Los Angeles, CA 90020
 (213) 384-5783

English Translation of Holy Quran:

 By Yusuf Ali, also available from Islamic Center 
(above).


Video: Story of Islam:

 "The Message" Parts 1 & 2
 
 Available from Islamic Center (above).




 3. Free Books on Islam
....................................................... 



 SOURCE-1:
 The Islamic Propagation Center
 45/47/49 Madressa Arcade
 Durban 4001
 Repuplic of South Africa
 Tel : (031) 32-9518
 

 List of Free books :
 

 |) What the Bible says about Mohammed.
 2) What was the sign of Jonah?
 3) Who moved the stone?
 4) Resurrection or resuscitation?
 5) Is the Bible God's word?
 6) What is His name?
 7) The god that never was.
 8) Islam's answer to the racial problem.
 9) Christ in Islam.
 10) Crucifixion or crucifiction?
 11) The Muslim at prayer.
 12) Mohammed-The Prophet of Islam.
 


 SOURCE-2: Institute of Islamic Information & Education (III&E)
 

 Dr. M. Amir, III&E, P.O. Box 41129,
 Chicago, IL 60641-0129, U.S.A.;

 Brochures on Islam are available.
 


 SOURCE-3: World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY)

 WAMY
 P.O. Box. 8096
 Falls Church, VA 22041

 They give out most of the books for free.

 (Courtesy: IINN) 


 4. List of Islamic Book Sellers
.............................................. 


 By: John E Hinton (jhinton@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu) 

 The following is a list of publishers, organizations and 
booksellers
 that deal in books on Islam or the Middle East or sell 
Arabic and
 Persian books. I invite additions to this list, which I will 
update
 periodically. 

 Adab Books 47 Newnham Road Cambridge CB39E4, England 

 Aman Books 58 Elliot Street Brattleboro, VT 05301 

 Americans for Middle East Understanding Room 771, 475 Riverside 
Drive
 New York, NY 10115 tel. 212-870-2149 

 Anthony C. Hall Antiquarian Bookseller 30, Staines Road 
Twickenham,
 Middlesex, England 

 Antiquariea Bookseller 152 Queens Road Buckhurst Hill Essex, 
England 

 Al-Arab Bookshop 28, Faggalah Street Cairo, Egypt tel. 908025 

 Al Saqi Books 26 Westbourne Grove London W2 5RH, England 

 Al-Hawadeth 529 14th Street Suite 1070 Washington, DC 20045 

 A.M.S. Press, Inc. 56 East 13th Street New York, NY 10003 

 Arabic World and Islamic Resources and School Services 2095 
Rose St.,
 Suite 4 Berkeley, CA 94709 Tel. 510-704-0517 

 Arthur Probsthaim Oriental Bookseller 41 Ct Russel Street 
London,
 England WCL 

 Bibliotheca Islamica, Inc. Box 1536 Chicago, Illinois 60690 

 Bisan Press and Publication PO Box 3396 San Mateo, CA 94403 

 Blackwell's Broad Street Oxford, England tel. 49111 

 Books International Imports, Inc. PO Box 6096 Mclean, VA 
22106 Tel.
 703-821-8900 

 Books on Islam, Ltd. 240 West 72nd Street New York, NY 10023 

 The Center for Policy Analysis on Palestine 2435 Virginia 
Avenue, NW
 Washington, DC 20037 Tel. 202-338-1290 

 Curyon Press Grays Inn Road London, England WC1 

 Cyclamen Books PO Box 69 Leicester LE1 9EW England 

 Dar Majhar PO Box 56 Cambridge, MA 02238 

 Danesh Ltd. 21 Rostam Road Azadi Avenue Tehran, Iran 

 Database Project on Palestinian Human Rights 220 S. State Street 
#1308 1
 Quincy Court Chicago, IL 60604 312-987-1830 

 David D. Bundy, Secretary Bulletin d'Arabe Chretien 
Schepererstraat, 2
 3000 Louvain Belgium 

 David Loman Ltd. 12 Suffolk Road London SW13 9NB England 

 D.K. Agencies (P) Ltd. International Booksellers, 
Publsihers and
 Subscription Agents H-12, Bali Nagar New Delhi - 110015 India 

 E.J. Brill Oriental Booksellers 41 Museum Street London WC1A 1LX 
England 

 Foundation for Iranian Studies 4801 Massachusetts Avenue, NW 
Washington,
 DC 200016 

 Frank Cass and Company Ltd. International Scholarly Book 
Services Inc.
 PO Box 555 Forest Grove, Oregon 97116 

 Ferozoono Ltd. 60 Shahrah-e-Quaid-e-Ayam Lahore, Pakistan 

 Free Islamic Literatures, Inc. PO Box 35844 Houston, TX 77235 

 George's Bookshop PO Box 220 Cairo, Egypt 

 Green Street Book Shop 5 Green Street Cambridge, CB2 3JU England 

 The Gulf Printing Press House Kuwait 

 Haydarabad Historical Society PO Box 1771 Cambridge, MA 02238 

 Hosains Books 25 Connaught Street London W2 England (Mrs. Yasmin 
Hosain) 

 I.A.P. Information office P.O. Box 741805 Dallas, TX 75374-1805, 
U.S.A.
 For books on Palestinian issues. 

 International Book Centre PO Box 295 Troy, MI 48099 tel. 313-879-
8436 

 International Book Exchange 35-16 Ditmars Blvd. Sutie 111 
Astoria, NY
 11105 1-800-7432 FAX 718-278-8026 

 International Institute of Islamic Thought PO Box 669 Herndon, VA 
22070 

 Institute for Research and Islamic Studies PO Box 35844 
Houston, TX
 77235 713-721-1980 

 Ishk Book Service PO Box 176 Los Altos, CA 94022 

 Islamic Book Service 10900 W. Washington Street Indianapolis, IN 
46231
 317-839-8150 

 Islamic Books A.R. Bullock 62 Kelburne Road Oxford, England OX4 
3SH 

 Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia & Africa 
Tokyo
 University of Foreign Studies 4-chome Ni shi gahara Kita-ku, 
Tokyo 114
 Japan 

 Institute for Women's Studies in Beirut University College 475 
Riverside
 Dr. Room 1846 New York, 10115 

 Inter Documentation Company Poststrasse 14 6300 Zug, Switzerland 

 International Centre for Research in Islamic Economics PO Box 
16711
 Jeddah 21474 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 

 The Islamic Foundation Markfield Dawah Centre Ratby Lane 
Markfield
 Leicester LE6 0RN England 

 The Islamic Progatation Organization International Relations 
Department
 PO Box 2782 Tehran, Iran 

 Islamic Texts Society 5 Green Street Cambridge CB2 3TU England, UK 

 Jahan Book Co. 116 Greenbank Avenue Piedmont, CA 94611 

 Joppa Books Ltd. 29 Milner Drive Cobham, Surrey KT11 2EZ England 

 Knightsbridge Books Ltd. 32 Store Street London WC1E 7BS England 

 Al-Majid Co. Ltd. 18-24 Westbourne Grove London W2 5RH England 

 Markaz al-Malik Faysal lil-Buhuth wa-al-Dirasat al-Islamiyah 
PO Box
 51049 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 

 Mazda Publishers PO Box 2603 Costa Mesa, CA 92626 

 M.G. Noura 88o6 Parkview Ave. St. Paul, MN 55117 800-438-5048 

 Microform Review PO Box 1297 Weston, CT 06880 

 Middle East Bibliographic Services 12077 Wilshire Boulevard, 
Suite 605
 Los Angeles, CA 90025 

 MEBSI PO Box 7823 Austin, Texas 78713 

 The Middle East Institute 1761 N Street, NW Washington, DC 20036 

 Mizan Press PO Box 4065 Berkeley, CA 94705 

 Navrang Publishers & Booksellers RB-7 Inderpluri, New Delhi, 11012 
India 

 New Pen Bond Publishers 3050 K Street NW, Suite #210 
Washington, DC
 20007 202-944-4444 800-959-BOND FAX 202-944-4443 

 New Rhine Publishers Nieuwe Rijn 83 2301 DA Leiden, PO Box 
3023 The
 Nederalnds 

 Nour E-Sham Book Centre PO Box 249 Damascus, Syria 

 Orient Press 26 Central Square Topkapi Cambridge, MA 02139 

 Otto Harrassowitz Internationale Buchhandlung Asien-Abteilung 
6200
 Wiesbaden, Germany 

 Oxford University Press Ely House 37 Dover Street London W1X 4AH 

 Palestine Human Rights Campaign 6902 North Clark Street 
Suite 2-A
 Chicago, IL 60626 312-274-8686 

 Persian Book Mart PO Box 241574 Memphis, TN 38124 

 PHRIC-International 4753 North Broadway, Suite 930 Chicago, IL 
60640
 312-271-4492 FAX 312-271-3377 

 Press Office American University in Cairo 113 Kasr El Aini Street 
Cairo,
 Egypt 

 Prints India Booksellers and Publishers 11, Darya Ganj New Delhi, 
110002
 India 

 Rashid Sales Co. 191 Atlantic Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11201 212-
852-3295
 Records and Cassettes. 

 Research Center for Islamic History, Art and Culture PO 
Box 16,
 Gayrettepe Istanbul, Turkey 


 

(Continued from last message)

 Secretary Islam & the Modern Age Society Jamia Nagar, New Delhi, 
110025
 India 

 Sheba Press 4085 Chain Bridge Road Suite 100 Fairfax, VA 
22030
 703-385-5454 

 Smyrna Press PO Box 841 Suyvesant Station NY, New York 10009 

 SOLIPSIST PRESS PO Box 544 Sebastopol, CA 95473 707-874-1501 
Specializes
 in books on Islamic art and archaeology, and the historical 
Islamic
 world. 

 Sorayya Publishers, Inc. 
 317 14th Ave., SE 
 Minneapolis, MN 55414
 
 South Asia Books 
 PO Box 502 
 Columbia, MO 65205 
 314-474-0116
 
 South Asia Press 
 Box 1771 
 Cambridge, MA 02238 
 617-924-0809
 
 Tehran Book Processing Centre 
 PO Box 11-1126 
 Tehran, Iran
 
 United Arab Bureau 
 PO Box 471438 
 Forestville, MD 20747
 
 Variokum 21a Pembridge London W11 3EQ, England
 
 Vedams Books (P) Ltd. 
 12A/11 W.E. Area 
 New Delhi, 110005 India
 
 W.B. O'Neill Old and Rare Books 
 11609 Hunters Green Court 
 Reston, VA 22091
 
 William H. Allen, Bookseller 
 2031 Walnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19103
 215-563-3398
 
 William Schneider Books 
 212 Seventeenth Street 
 Pacific Grove, California 93950




 Announcements
................................................................


 5. Archive Info
.............................................................. 


 This FAQ is archived at several sites and is available for 
public
 retrieval thru anonymous FTP, E-MAIL, Gopher & World Wide Web. 


 -- Anonymous FTP --
 

 Login: anonymous
 Password: Your e-mail address


 Site: rtfm.mit.edu 

 Site: ftp.uu.net
 
 Site: ftp.cco.caltech.edu
 Dir: /pub/calmsa/islam-faq/



 -- E-MAIL --
 

 Send E-mail to: mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu 

 Text of E-mail Message: 


 quit



 -- GOPHER --


 Site: gopher.caltech.edu 70
 CCO anonymous ftp archive/
 pub/
 calmsa/
 islam-faq/


 Site: latif.com 70
 Soc.Religion.Islam




 -- World-Wide-Web (WWW) --
 

 One recommended interface is 'mosaic,' below are mosaic 'home 
pages.' 



URL at USENET Archive site:
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/islam-faq/faq.html


URL at Caltech MSA site:
http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~calmsa/links.html




 6. Credits
................................................................... 


 The author wishes to thank all those who contributed in any 
capacity for
 the original one part FAQ or this multi-part FAQ. 


 -- FORMAT --
 

 The format of the FAQ series has been done by utilizing 
resources of
 Islamic Information & News Network (IINN). A custom program, 
Nebula,
 written by editors of IINN for generating newsletters has been 
used. 


 What is IINN? 

 Islamic Information & News Network is a forum dedicated to 
educate the
 network community on issues relating to Islam and Muslims in an 
academic
 & non-political environment. Weekly digest is available on 
internet by
 subscribing to MUSLIMS@ASUACAD.BITnet (A Bitnet listserv list) 
and on
 USENET: bit.listserv.muslims. 



 -- Permissions --
 

 Permission to post this multi-part FAQ has been obtained 
by the
 following: 

 o Institute of Islamic Information & Education (III&E)
 o Islamic Information & News Network (Muslims@PSUVM.bitnet) 
 o Moderator(s) of News.Answers (Thomas Khoenig & P.Huang)


# End of Islam FAQ Part 13 #

 

for 1994
References: <islam-faq/part13_792592921@rtfm.mit.edu>
 Islam. Part 14 of 15.
bit.listserv.muslims:96


Archive-name: islam-faq/part14



 Copyright 1993,1994,1995 Asim Mughal (mughal@caltech.edu) 

 Redistribution for profit, or in altered 
content/format
 prohibited without explicit written permission of the 
author.
 Any other redistribution must include this copyright notice 
and
 attribution. 



 Frequently Asked Questions: Part 14
 ___________________________________
 
 This message is automatically posted to 
 every month and when updated. This lists answers to 
most
 commonly asked questions on the forum. Contributions & 
changes
 are requested and should be directed to: mughal@caltech.edu 



 OVERVIEW: The Frequently Asked Questions document 
for
 Islam has been divided in parts. Below is the index. 


 Part 1 - Welcome & Index
 Part 2 - Info on Islamic News Groups
 Part 3 - Introduction to Islam
 Part 4 - God & Worship
 Part 5 - Islam, Quran & Muhammad (PBUH)
 Part 6 - Marriage Laws in Islam
 Part 7 - Women In Islam
 Part 8 - Life after Death, Moral System & Human rights in 
Islam
 Part 9 - Islam: Prophethood, Jesus & Trinity
 Part 10 - Islam: Farrakhism & Malcom X
 Part 11 - Islamic Internet Guide: Islamic Resources on 
Internet
 Part 12 - Other Islamic Resource Guides on Internet
 Part 13 - Islamic Literature: Books & Video
 Part 14 - Islamic Calendar & Prayer Time Table for 1994
 Part 15 - Misc: List of Halal Foods



 ________________________________________________________

 PART 14: Islamic Calendar & Prayer Time Table for 1994 


 Contents 

 --Articles--
 1. Introduction
.............................................................. 
 2. Islamic Calendar for 1994
................................................. 
 3. Prayer Schedule for 1994
.................................................. 
 --Announcements--
 4. Archive Info
.............................................................. 
 5. Credits
................................................................... 



 Articles
.....................................................................


 1. Introduction
.............................................................. 


 The Islamic Calendar is for 1994. Please make adjustments for 
1995. This
 year's calendar will be included soon. 

 The Prayer Time Table is for Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. 
You may
 wish to use the prayer softwares mentioned in Part 11 of this 
FAQ to
 determine Prayer Timing in your city. 



 2. Islamic Calendar for 1994
................................................. 


 This Calendar is applicable to North America and provided 
as a
 reference. Please consult your local Islamic Center or Mosque for 
proper
 Islamic date. 

 SOURCE: gopher cwis.usc.edu 



January 1994 C.E. / Rajab - SHa`baan 1414 A.H.
 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
 1/18
 2/19 3/20 4/21 5/22 6/23 7/24 8/25
 9/26 10/27 11/28 12/29 13/ 1 14/ 2 15/ 3
16/ 4 17/ 5 18/ 6 19/ 7 20/ 8 21/ 9 22/10
23/11 24/12 25/13 26/14 27/15 28/16 29/17
30/18 31/19 

February 1994 C.E. / SHa`baan - RamaDHaan 1414 A.H.
 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
 1/20 2/21 3/22 4/23 5/24
 6/25 7/26 8/27 9/28 10/29 11/30 12/ 1
13/ 2 14/ 3 15/ 4 16/ 5 17/ 6 18/ 7 19/ 8
20/ 9 21/10 22/11 23/12 24/13 25/14 26/15
27/16 28/17 

March 1994 C.E. / RamaDHaan - SHawwal 1414 A.H.
 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
 1/18 2/19 3/20 4/21 5/22
 6/23 7/24 8/25 9/26 10/27 11/28 12/29
13/30 14/ 1 15/ 2 16/ 3 17/ 4 18/ 5 19/ 6
20/ 7 21/ 8 22/ 9 23/10 24/11 25/12 26/13
27/14 28/15 29/16 30/17 31/18 

April 1994 C.E. / SHawwal - Thw al-Qi`dah 1414 A.H.
 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
 1/19 2/20
 3/21 4/22 5/23 6/24 7/25 8/26 9/27
10/28 11/29 12/ 1 13/ 2 14/ 3 15/ 4 16/ 5
17/ 6 18/ 7 19/ 8 20/ 9 21/10 22/11 23/12
24/13 25/14 26/15 27/16 28/17 29/18 30/19

May 1994 C.E. / Thw al-Qi`dah - Thw al-Hijjah 1414 A.H.
 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
 1/20 2/21 3/22 4/23 5/24 6/25 7/26
 8/27 9/28 10/29 11/30 12/ 1 13/ 2 14/ 3
15/ 4 16/ 5 17/ 6 18/ 7 19/ 8 20/ 9 21/10
22/11 23/12 24/13 25/14 26/15 27/16 28/17
29/18 30/19 31/20 

June 1994 C.E. / Thw al-Hijjah 1414 - MuHarram 1415 A.H.
 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
 1/21 2/22 3/23 4/24
 5/25 6/26 7/27 8/28 9/29 10/30 11/ 1
12/ 2 13/ 3 14/ 4 15/ 5 16/ 6 17/ 7 18/ 8
19/ 9 20/10 21/11 22/12 23/13 24/14 25/15
26/16 27/17 28/18 29/19 30/20 

July 1994 C.E. / MuHarram - Safar 1415 A.H.
 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
 1/21 2/22
 3/23 4/24 5/25 6/26 7/27 8/28 9/29
10/ 1 11/ 2 12/ 3 13/ 4 14/ 5 15/ 6 16/ 7
17/ 8 18/ 9 19/10 20/11 21/12 22/13 23/14
24/15 25/16 26/17 27/18 28/19 29/20 30/21
31/22 

August 1994 C.E. / Safar - Raby` al-awal 1415 A.H.
 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
 1/23 2/24 3/25 4/26 5/27 6/28
 7/29 8/30 9/ 1 10/ 2 11/ 3 12/ 4 13/ 5
14/ 6 15/ 7 16/ 8 17/ 9 18/10 19/11 20/12
21/13 22/14 23/15 24/16 25/17 26/18 27/19
28/20 29/21 30/22 31/23 

September 1994 C.E. / Raby` al-awal - Raby` al-THaany 1415 A.H.
 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
 1/24 2/25 3/26
 4/27 5/28 6/29 7/ 1 8/ 2 9/ 3 10/ 4
11/ 5 12/ 6 13/ 7 14/ 8 15/ 9 16/10 17/11
18/12 19/13 20/14 21/15 22/16 23/17 24/18
25/19 26/20 27/21 28/22 29/23 30/24 

October 1994 C.E. / Raby` al-THaany - Jumaada al-awal 1415 A.H.
 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
 1/25
 2/26 3/27 4/28 5/29 6/30 7/ 1 8/ 2
 9/ 3 10/ 4 11/ 5 12/ 6 13/ 7 14/ 8 15/ 9
16/10 17/11 18/12 19/13 20/14 21/15 22/16
23/17 24/18 25/19 26/20 27/21 28/22 29/23
30/24 31/25 

November 1994 C.E. / Jumaada al-awal - Jumaada al-THaany 1415 A.H.
 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
 1/26 2/27 3/28 4/29 5/ 1
 6/ 2 7/ 3 8/ 4 9/ 5 10/ 6 11/ 7 12/ 8
13/ 9 14/10 15/11 16/12 17/13 18/14 19/15
20/16 21/17 22/18 23/19 24/20 25/21 26/22
27/23 28/24 29/25 30/26 

December 1994 C.E. / Jumaada al-THaany - Rajab 1415 A.H.
 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
 1/27 2/28 3/29
 4/ 1 5/ 2 6/ 3 7/ 4 8/ 5 9/ 6 10/ 7
11/ 8 12/ 9 13/10 14/11 15/12 16/13 17/14
18/15 19/16 20/17 21/18 22/19 23/20 24/21
25/22 26/23 27/24 28/25 29/26 30/27 31/28




 3. Prayer Schedule for 1994
.................................................. 


 SOURCE: gopher cwis.usc.edu 



1994 C.E. Prayer Schedule for Los Angeles, CA

 Latitude = 34 03' N Longitude = 118 15' W Zone Time = GMT - 8h
 Qiblah = 23 52' E (From N)


 January

 Fajr SHurwwQ DHuhr `ASir MaGHrib `ISHaa'
Date Dawn Sunrise Noon Afternoon Sunset Evening
 1 5:29 6:59 11:57 2:37 4:55 6:24
 2 5:30 6:59 11:57 2:37 4:56 6:25
 3 5:30 6:59 11:58 2:38 4:56 6:26
 4 5:30 6:59 11:58 2:39 4:57 6:26
 5 5:30 6:59 11:59 2:40 4:58 6:27
 6 5:30 6:59 11:59 2:40 4:59 6:28
 7 5:30 6:59 11:59 2:41 5:00 6:28
 8 5:31 6:59 12:00 2:42 5:00 6:29
 9 5:31 6:59 12:00 2:43 5:01 6:30
10 5:31 6:59 12:01 2:44 5:02 6:31
11 5:31 6:59 12:01 2:44 5:03 6:32
12 5:31 6:59 12:01 2:45 5:04 6:32
13 5:31 6:59 12:02 2:46 5:05 6:33
14 5:31 6:59 12:02 2:47 5:06 6:34
15 5:30 6:58 12:03 2:48 5:07 6:35
16 5:30 6:58 12:03 2:49 5:08 6:36
17 5:30 6:58 12:03 2:49 5:09 6:36
18 5:30 6:58 12:04 2:50 5:10 6:37
19 5:30 6:57 12:04 2:51 5:11 6:38
20 5:30 6:57 12:04 2:52 5:12 6:39
21 5:29 6:56 12:04 2:53 5:13 6:40
22 5:29 6:56 12:05 2:54 5:14 6:41
23 5:29 6:56 12:05 2:55 5:15 6:42
24 5:28 6:55 12:05 2:55 5:16 6:42
25 5:28 6:55 12:05 2:56 5:17 6:43
26 5:28 6:54 12:06 2:57 5:18 6:44
27 5:27 6:53 12:06 2:58 5:19 6:45
28 5:27 6:53 12:06 2:59 5:20 6:46
29 5:26 6:52 12:06 3:00 5:20 6:47
30 5:26 6:52 12:06 3:00 5:21 6:47
31 5:25 6:51 12:06 3:01 5:22 6:48


 February

 Fajr SHurwwQ DHuhr `ASir MaGHrib `ISHaa'
Date Dawn Sunrise Noon Afternoon Sunset Evening
 1 5:24 6:50 12:07 3:02 5:23 6:49
 2 5:24 6:49 12:07 3:03 5:24 6:50
 3 5:23 6:49 12:07 3:04 5:25 6:51
 4 5:23 6:48 12:07 3:04 5:26 6:52
 5 5:22 6:47 12:07 3:05 5:27 6:53
 6 5:21 6:46 12:07 3:06 5:28 6:53
 7 5:21 6:45 12:07 3:07 5:29 6:54
 8 5:20 6:45 12:07 3:08 5:30 6:55
 9 5:19 6:44 12:07 3:08 5:31 6:56
10 5:18 6:43 12:07 3:09 5:32 6:57
11 5:17 6:42 12:07 3:10 5:33 6:58
12 5:16 6:41 12:07 3:10 5:34 6:58
13 5:16 6:40 12:07 3:11 5:35 6:59
14 5:15 6:39 12:07 3:12 5:36 7:00
15 5:14 6:38 12:07 3:13 5:37 7:01
16 5:13 6:37 12:07 3:13 5:38 7:02
17 5:12 6:36 12:07 3:14 5:39 7:03
18 5:11 6:35 12:07 3:14 5:40 7:03
19 5:10 6:34 12:07 3:15 5:41 7:04
20 5:09 6:32 12:07 3:16 5:41 7:05
21 5:08 6:31 12:07 3:16 5:42 7:06
22 5:07 6:30 12:06 3:17 5:43 7:07
23 5:06 6:29 12:06 3:17 5:44 7:08
24 5:05 6:28 12:06 3:18 5:45 7:08
25 5:03 6:27 12:06 3:19 5:46 7:09
26 5:02 6:25 12:06 3:19 5:47 7:10
27 5:01 6:24 12:06 3:20 5:48 7:11
28 5:00 6:23 12:06 3:20 5:48 7:12


 March

 Fajr SHurwwQ DHuhr `ASir MaGHrib `ISHaa'
Date Dawn Sunrise Noon Afternoon Sunset Evening
 1 4:59 6:22 12:05 3:21 5:49 7:12
 2 4:58 6:21 12:05 3:21 5:50 7:13
 3 4:56 6:19 12:05 3:22 5:51 7:14
 4 4:55 6:18 12:05 3:22 5:52 7:15
 5 4:54 6:17 12:04 3:23 5:53 7:16
 6 4:53 6:15 12:04 3:23 5:53 7:17
 7 4:51 6:14 12:04 3:23 5:54 7:17
 8 4:50 6:13 12:04 3:24 5:55 7:18
 9 4:49 6:12 12:04 3:24 5:56 7:19
10 4:47 6:10 12:03 3:25 5:57 7:20
11 4:46 6:09 12:03 3:25 5:58 7:21
12 4:45 6:08 12:03 3:25 5:58 7:22
13 4:43 6:06 12:02 3:26 5:59 7:22
14 4:42 6:05 12:02 3:26 6:00 7:23
15 4:40 6:04 12:02 3:26 6:01 7:24
16 4:39 6:02 12:02 3:27 6:02 7:25
17 4:38 6:01 12:01 3:27 6:02 7:26
18 4:36 6:00 12:01 3:27 6:03 7:27
19 4:35 5:58 12:01 3:27 6:04 7:27
20 4:33 5:57 12:00 3:28 6:05 7:28
21 4:32 5:55 12:00 3:28 6:05 7:29
22 4:30 5:54 12:00 3:28 6:06 7:30
23 4:29 5:53 12:00 3:29 6:07 7:31
24 4:27 5:51 11:59 3:29 6:08 7:32
25 4:26 5:50 11:59 3:29 6:08 7:33
26 4:25 5:49 11:59 3:29 6:09 7:33
27 4:23 5:47 11:58 3:29 6:10 7:34
28 4:22 5:46 11:58 3:30 6:11 7:35
29 4:20 5:45 11:58 3:30 6:11 7:36
30 4:19 5:43 11:57 3:30 6:12 7:37
31 4:17 5:42 11:57 3:30 6:13 7:38


 April

 Fajr SHurwwQ DHuhr `ASir MaGHrib `ISHaa'
Date Dawn Sunrise Noon Afternoon Sunset Evening
 1 4:16 5:40 11:57 3:30 6:14 7:39
 2 4:14 5:39 11:57 3:30 6:15 7:40
 3 5:13 6:38 12:56 4:31 7:15 8:41
 4 5:11 6:36 12:56 4:31 7:16 8:42
 5 5:09 6:35 12:56 4:31 7:17 8:43
 6 5:08 6:34 12:55 4:31 7:18 8:44
 7 5:06 6:32 12:55 4:31 7:18 8:45
 8 5:05 6:31 12:55 4:31 7:19 8:45
 9 5:03 6:30 12:55 4:31 7:20 8:46
10 5:02 6:28 12:54 4:31 7:21 8:47
11 5:00 6:27 12:54 4:31 7:21 8:48
12 4:59 6:26 12:54 4:32 7:22 8:49
13 4:57 6:25 12:53 4:32 7:23 8:50
14 4:56 6:23 12:53 4:32 7:24 8:51
15 4:54 6:22 12:53 4:32 7:24 8:52
16 4:53 6:21 12:53 4:32 7:25 8:53
17 4:51 6:20 12:53 4:32 7:26 8:54
18 4:50 6:18 12:52 4:32 7:27 8:55
19 4:48 6:17 12:52 4:32 7:27 8:57
20 4:47 6:16 12:52 4:32 7:28 8:58
21 4:46 6:15 12:52 4:32 7:29 8:59
22 4:44 6:14 12:51 4:32 7:30 9:00
23 4:43 6:13 12:51 4:32 7:31 9:01
24 4:41 6:11 12:51 4:32 7:31 9:02
25 4:40 6:10 12:51 4:32 7:32 9:03
26 4:38 6:09 12:51 4:33 7:33 9:04
27 4:37 6:08 12:51 4:33 7:34 9:05
28 4:36 6:07 12:50 4:33 7:34 9:06
29 4:34 6:06 12:50 4:33 7:35 9:07
30 4:33 6:05 12:50 4:33 7:36 9:08


 May

 Fajr SHurwwQ DHuhr `ASir MaGHrib `ISHaa'
Date Dawn Sunrise Noon Afternoon Sunset Evening
 1 4:32 6:04 12:50 4:33 7:37 9:09
 2 4:30 6:03 12:50 4:33 7:38 9:11
 3 4:29 6:02 12:50 4:33 7:38 9:12
 4 4:28 6:01 12:50 4:33 7:39 9:13
 5 4:26 6:00 12:50 4:33 7:40 9:14
 6 4:25 5:59 12:50 4:33 7:41 9:15
 7 4:24 5:58 12:49 4:33 7:41 9:16
 8 4:23 5:57 12:49 4:33 7:42 9:17
 9 4:21 5:56 12:49 4:33 7:43 9:18
10 4:20 5:55 12:49 4:33 7:44 9:19
11 4:19 5:55 12:49 4:34 7:45 9:20
12 4:18 5:54 12:49 4:34 7:45 9:22
13 4:17 5:53 12:49 4:34 7:46 9:23


 

(Continued from last message)
14 4:16 5:52 12:49 4:34 7:47 9:24
15 4:15 5:51 12:49 4:34 7:48 9:25
16 4:13 5:51 12:49 4:34 7:48 9:26
17 4:12 5:50 12:49 4:34 7:49 9:27
18 4:11 5:49 12:49 4:34 7:50 9:28
19 4:10 5:49 12:49 4:34 7:51 9:29
20 4:10 5:48 12:49 4:34 7:51 9:30
21 4:09 5:48 12:50 4:34 7:52 9:31
22 4:08 5:47 12:50 4:35 7:53 9:32
23 4:07 5:46 12:50 4:35 7:53 9:33
24 4:06 5:46 12:50 4:35 7:54 9:34
25 4:05 5:45 12:50 4:35 7:55 9:35
26 4:04 5:45 12:50 4:35 7:55 9:36
27 4:04 5:44 12:50 4:35 7:56 9:37
28 4:03 5:44 12:50 4:35 7:57 9:38
29 4:02 5:44 12:50 4:36 7:57 9:39
30 4:02 5:43 12:50 4:36 7:58 9:40
31 4:01 5:43 12:51 4:36 7:59 9:41


 June

 Fajr SHurwwQ DHuhr `ASir MaGHrib `ISHaa'
Date Dawn Sunrise Noon Afternoon Sunset Evening
 1 4:01 5:43 12:51 4:36 7:59 9:42
 2 4:00 5:42 12:51 4:36 8:00 9:42
 3 4:00 5:42 12:51 4:36 8:00 9:43
 4 3:59 5:42 12:51 4:37 8:01 9:44
 5 3:59 5:42 12:51 4:37 8:01 9:45
 6 3:58 5:41 12:52 4:37 8:02 9:45
 7 3:58 5:41 12:52 4:37 8:02 9:46
 8 3:58 5:41 12:52 4:37 8:03 9:47
 9 3:57 5:41 12:52 4:38 8:03 9:47
10 3:57 5:41 12:52 4:38 8:04 9:48
11 3:57 5:41 12:53 4:38 8:04 9:49
12 3:57 5:41 12:53 4:38 8:05 9:49
13 3:57 5:41 12:53 4:38 8:05 9:50
14 3:57 5:41 12:53 4:39 8:06 9:50
15 3:57 5:41 12:53 4:39 8:06 9:51
16 3:57 5:41 12:54 4:39 8:06 9:51
17 3:57 5:41 12:54 4:39 8:07 9:51
18 3:57 5:41 12:54 4:39 8:07 9:52
19 3:57 5:42 12:54 4:40 8:07 9:52
20 3:57 5:42 12:55 4:40 8:07 9:52
21 3:57 5:42 12:55 4:40 8:08 9:52
22 3:57 5:42 12:55 4:40 8:08 9:53
23 3:58 5:42 12:55 4:41 8:08 9:53
24 3:58 5:43 12:55 4:41 8:08 9:53
25 3:58 5:43 12:56 4:41 8:08 9:53
26 3:59 5:43 12:56 4:41 8:08 9:53
27 3:59 5:44 12:56 4:41 8:08 9:53
28 3:59 5:44 12:56 4:42 8:08 9:53
29 4:00 5:44 12:56 4:42 8:08 9:53
30 4:00 5:45 12:57 4:42 8:08 9:53


 July

 Fajr SHurwwQ DHuhr `ASir MaGHrib `ISHaa'
Date Dawn Sunrise Noon Afternoon Sunset Evening
 1 4:01 5:45 12:57 4:42 8:08 9:52
 2 4:02 5:46 12:57 4:42 8:08 9:52
 3 4:02 5:46 12:57 4:42 8:08 9:52
 4 4:03 5:47 12:57 4:43 8:08 9:52
 5 4:03 5:47 12:58 4:43 8:08 9:51
 6 4:04 5:47 12:58 4:43 8:08 9:51
 7 4:05 5:48 12:58 4:43 8:08 9:50
 8 4:06 5:49 12:58 4:43 8:07 9:50
 9 4:06 5:49 12:58 4:43 8:07 9:50
10 4:07 5:50 12:58 4:44 8:07 9:49
11 4:08 5:50 12:58 4:44 8:06 9:48
12 4:09 5:51 12:59 4:44 8:06 9:48
13 4:10 5:51 12:59 4:44 8:06 9:47
14 4:10 5:52 12:59 4:44 8:05 9:47
15 4:11 5:53 12:59 4:44 8:05 9:46
16 4:12 5:53 12:59 4:44 8:04 9:45
17 4:13 5:54 12:59 4:44 8:04 9:44
18 4:14 5:55 12:59 4:44 8:03 9:44
19 4:15 5:55 12:59 4:44 8:03 9:43
20 4:16 5:56 12:59 4:44 8:02 9:42
21 4:17 5:56 12:59 4:44 8:02 9:41
22 4:18 5:57 12:59 4:44 8:01 9:40
23 4:19 5:58 12:59 4:44 8:01 9:39
24 4:20 5:59 12:59 4:44 8:00 9:38
25 4:21 5:59 12:59 4:44 7:59 9:37
26 4:22 6:00 12:59 4:44 7:59 9:36
27 4:23 6:01 12:59 4:44 7:58 9:35
28 4:24 6:01 12:59 4:44 7:57 9:34
29 4:25 6:02 12:59 4:44 7:56 9:33
30 4:26 6:03 12:59 4:44 7:55 9:32
31 4:27 6:03 12:59 4:43 7:55 9:31


 August

 Fajr SHurwwQ DHuhr `ASir MaGHrib `ISHaa'
Date Dawn Sunrise Noon Afternoon Sunset Evening
 1 4:28 6:04 12:59 4:43 7:54 9:29
 2 4:29 6:05 12:59 4:43 7:53 9:28
 3 4:30 6:06 12:59 4:43 7:52 9:27
 4 4:32 6:06 12:59 4:43 7:51 9:26
 5 4:33 6:07 12:59 4:42 7:50 9:24
 6 4:34 6:08 12:59 4:42 7:49 9:23
 7 4:35 6:09 12:59 4:42 7:48 9:22
 8 4:36 6:09 12:59 4:42 7:47 9:21
 9 4:37 6:10 12:58 4:41 7:46 9:19
10 4:38 6:11 12:58 4:41 7:45 9:18
11 4:39 6:11 12:58 4:41 7:44 9:16
12 4:40 6:12 12:58 4:40 7:43 9:15
13 4:41 6:13 12:58 4:40 7:42 9:14
14 4:42 6:14 12:58 4:40 7:41 9:12
15 4:43 6:14 12:57 4:39 7:40 9:11
16 4:44 6:15 12:57 4:39 7:39 9:09
17 4:45 6:16 12:57 4:38 7:38 9:08
18 4:46 6:17 12:57 4:38 7:36 9:07
19 4:47 6:17 12:57 4:37 7:35 9:05
20 4:48 6:18 12:56 4:37 7:34 9:04
21 4:49 6:19 12:56 4:36 7:33 9:02
22 4:50 6:19 12:56 4:36 7:32 9:01
23 4:51 6:20 12:56 4:35 7:30 8:59
24 4:52 6:21 12:55 4:35 7:29 8:58
25 4:53 6:22 12:55 4:34 7:28 8:56
26 4:54 6:22 12:55 4:34 7:27 8:55
27 4:55 6:23 12:54 4:33 7:25 8:53
28 4:56 6:24 12:54 4:32 7:24 8:52
29 4:57 6:24 12:54 4:32 7:23 8:50
30 4:58 6:25 12:54 4:31 7:21 8:49
31 4:59 6:26 12:53 4:30 7:20 8:47


 September

 Fajr SHurwwQ DHuhr `ASir MaGHrib `ISHaa'
Date Dawn Sunrise Noon Afternoon Sunset Evening
 1 5:00 6:26 12:53 4:30 7:19 8:45
 2 5:00 6:27 12:53 4:29 7:17 8:44
 3 5:01 6:28 12:52 4:28 7:16 8:42
 4 5:02 6:29 12:52 4:28 7:15 8:41
 5 5:03 6:29 12:52 4:27 7:13 8:39
 6 5:04 6:30 12:51 4:26 7:12 8:38
 7 5:05 6:31 12:51 4:25 7:11 8:36
 8 5:06 6:31 12:51 4:25 7:09 8:35
 9 5:07 6:32 12:50 4:24 7:08 8:33
10 5:07 6:33 12:50 4:23 7:07 8:32
11 5:08 6:33 12:50 4:22 7:05 8:30
12 5:09 6:34 12:49 4:21 7:04 8:28
13 5:10 6:35 12:49 4:21 7:02 8:27
14 5:11 6:35 12:48 4:20 7:01 8:25
15 5:12 6:36 12:48 4:19 7:00 8:24
16 5:12 6:37 12:48 4:18 6:58 8:22
17 5:13 6:37 12:47 4:17 6:57 8:21
18 5:14 6:38 12:47 4:16 6:55 8:19
19 5:15 6:39 12:47 4:15 6:54 8:18
20 5:16 6:40 12:46 4:15 6:53 8:16
21 5:16 6:40 12:46 4:14 6:51 8:15
22 5:17 6:41 12:46 4:13 6:50 8:13
23 5:18 6:42 12:45 4:12 6:48 8:12
24 5:19 6:42 12:45 4:11 6:47 8:10
25 5:20 6:43 12:45 4:10 6:46 8:09
26 5:20 6:44 12:44 4:09 6:44 8:07
27 5:21 6:44 12:44 4:08 6:43 8:06
28 5:22 6:45 12:44 4:07 6:41 8:05
29 5:23 6:46 12:43 4:06 6:40 8:03
30 5:23 6:47 12:43 4:05 6:39 8:02


 October

 Fajr SHurwwQ DHuhr `ASir MaGHrib `ISHaa'
Date Dawn Sunrise Noon Afternoon Sunset Evening
 1 5:24 6:47 12:43 4:04 6:37 8:00
 2 5:25 6:48 12:42 4:04 6:36 7:59
 3 5:26 6:49 12:42 4:03 6:35 7:58
 4 5:26 6:50 12:42 4:02 6:33 7:56
 5 5:27 6:50 12:41 4:01 6:32 7:55
 6 5:28 6:51 12:41 4:00 6:30 7:53
 7 5:29 6:52 12:41 3:59 6:29 7:52
 8 5:29 6:53 12:40 3:58 6:28 7:51
 9 5:30 6:53 12:40 3:57 6:27 7:50
10 5:31 6:54 12:40 3:56 6:25 7:48
11 5:32 6:55 12:40 3:55 6:24 7:47
12 5:32 6:56 12:39 3:54 6:23 7:46
13 5:33 6:56 12:39 3:53 6:21 7:44
14 5:34 6:57 12:39 3:52 6:20 7:43
15 5:35 6:58 12:39 3:51 6:19 7:42
16 5:36 6:59 12:38 3:51 6:18 7:41
17 5:36 7:00 12:38 3:50 6:16 7:40
18 5:37 7:00 12:38 3:49 6:15 7:39
19 5:38 7:01 12:38 3:48 6:14 7:37
20 5:39 7:02 12:38 3:47 6:13 7:36
21 5:39 7:03 12:38 3:46 6:12 7:35
22 5:40 7:04 12:37 3:45 6:11 7:34
23 5:41 7:05 12:37 3:44 6:09 7:33
24 5:42 7:05 12:37 3:44 6:08 7:32
25 5:42 7:06 12:37 3:43 6:07 7:31
26 5:43 7:07 12:37 3:42 6:06 7:30
27 5:44 7:08 12:37 3:41 6:05 7:29
28 5:45 7:09 12:37 3:40 6:04 7:28
29 5:45 7:10 12:37 3:39 6:03 7:27
30 4:46 6:11 11:37 2:39 5:02 6:27
31 4:47 6:12 11:37 2:38 5:01 6:26


 November

 Fajr SHurwwQ DHuhr `ASir MaGHrib `ISHaa'
Date Dawn Sunrise Noon Afternoon Sunset Evening
 1 4:48 6:13 11:37 2:37 5:00 6:25
 2 4:49 6:13 11:37 2:37 4:59 6:24
 3 4:49 6:14 11:37 2:36 4:58 6:23
 4 4:50 6:15 11:37 2:35 4:57 6:22
 5 4:51 6:16 11:37 2:34 4:57 6:22
 6 4:52 6:17 11:37 2:34 4:56 6:21
 7 4:53 6:18 11:37 2:33 4:55 6:20
 8 4:53 6:19 11:37 2:33 4:54 6:20
 9 4:54 6:20 11:37 2:32 4:53 6:19
10 4:55 6:21 11:37 2:31 4:53 6:18
11 4:56 6:22 11:37 2:31 4:52 6:18
12 4:57 6:23 11:37 2:30 4:51 6:17
13 4:57 6:24 11:37 2:30 4:51 6:17
14 4:58 6:25 11:37 2:29 4:50 6:16
15 4:59 6:26 11:38 2:29 4:49 6:16
16 5:00 6:26 11:38 2:28 4:49 6:15
17 5:01 6:27 11:38 2:28 4:48 6:15
18 5:01 6:28 11:38 2:28 4:48 6:15
19 5:02 6:29 11:38 2:27 4:47 6:14
20 5:03 6:30 11:39 2:27 4:47 6:14
21 5:04 6:31 11:39 2:27 4:46 6:14
22 5:05 6:32 11:39 2:26 4:46 6:13
23 5:05 6:33 11:39 2:26 4:45 6:13
24 5:06 6:34 11:40 2:26 4:45 6:13
25 5:07 6:35 11:40 2:26 4:45 6:13
26 5:08 6:36 11:40 2:25 4:45 6:12
27 5:09 6:37 11:41 2:25 4:44 6:12
28 5:09 6:38 11:41 2:25 4:44 6:12
29 5:10 6:39 11:41 2:25 4:44 6:12
30 5:11 6:39 11:42 2:25 4:44 6:12


 December

 Fajr SHurwwQ DHuhr `ASir MaGHrib `ISHaa'
Date Dawn Sunrise Noon Afternoon Sunset Evening
 1 5:12 6:40 11:42 2:25 4:44 6:12
 2 5:13 6:41 11:42 2:25 4:43 6:12
 3 5:13 6:42 11:43 2:25 4:43 6:12
 4 5:14 6:43 11:43 2:25 4:43 6:12
 5 5:15 6:44 11:44 2:25 4:43 6:12
 6 5:15 6:44 11:44 2:25 4:43 6:12
 7 5:16 6:45 11:44 2:25 4:43 6:13
 8 5:17 6:46 11:45 2:25 4:44 6:13
 9 5:18 6:47 11:45 2:26 4:44 6:13
10 5:18 6:48 11:46 2:26 4:44 6:13
11 5:19 6:48 11:46 2:26 4:44 6:13
12 5:20 6:49 11:47 2:26 4:44 6:14
13 5:20 6:50 11:47 2:26 4:45 6:14
14 5:21 6:50 11:48 2:27 4:45 6:14
15 5:22 6:51 11:48 2:27 4:45 6:15
16 5:22 6:52 11:49 2:27 4:45 6:15
17 5:23 6:52 11:49 2:28 4:46 6:15
18 5:23 6:53 11:50 2:28 4:46 6:16
19 5:24 6:54 11:50 2:29 4:47 6:16
20 5:24 6:54 11:51 2:29 4:47 6:17
21 5:25 6:55 11:51 2:30 4:48 6:17
22 5:25 6:55 11:52 2:30 4:48 6:18
23 5:26 6:56 11:52 2:31 4:49 6:18
24 5:26 6:56 11:53 2:31 4:49 6:19
25 5:27 6:56 11:53 2:32 4:50 6:19
26 5:27 6:57 11:54 2:32 4:50 6:20
27 5:28 6:57 11:54 2:33 4:51 6:21
28 5:28 6:58 11:55 2:34 4:52 6:21
29 5:28 6:58 11:55 2:34 4:52 6:22
30 5:29 6:58 11:56 2:35 4:53 6:23
31 5:29 6:58 11:56 2:36 4:54 6:23





 Announcements
................................................................


 4. Archive Info
.............................................................. 


 This FAQ is archived at several sites and is available for 
public
 retrieval thru anonymous FTP, E-MAIL, Gopher & World Wide Web. 


 -- Anonymous FTP --
 


 Login: anonymous
 Password: Your e-mail address



 Site: rtfm.mit.edu 

 Site: ftp.uu.net
 
 Site: ftp.cco.caltech.edu
 Dir: /pub/calmsa/islam-faq/



 -- E-MAIL --
 

 Send E-mail to: mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu 

 Text of E-mail Message: 


 quit



 -- GOPHER --


 Site: gopher.caltech.edu 70
 CCO anonymous ftp archive/
 pub/
 calmsa/
 islam-faq/


 Site: latif.com 70
 Soc.Religion.Islam



 -- World-Wide-Web (WWW) --
 

 One recommended interface is 'mosaic,' below are mosaic 'home 
pages.' 


URL at USENET Archive site:
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/islam-faq/faq.html


URL at Caltech MSA site:
http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~calmsa/links.html




 5. Credits
................................................................... 


 The author wishes to thank all those who contributed in any 
capacity for
 the original one part FAQ or this multi-part FAQ. 


 -- SOURCES --
 

 Courtesy: Islamic Information & News Network (IINN) 



 -- FORMAT --
 

 The format of the FAQ series has been done by utilizing 
resources of
 Islamic Information & News Network (IINN). A custom program, 
Nebula,
 written by editors of IINN for generating newsletters has been 
used. 


 What is IINN? 

 Islamic Information & News Network is a forum dedicated to 
educate the
 network community on issues relating to Islam and Muslims in an 
academic
 & non-political environment. Weekly digest is available on 
internet by
 subscribing to MUSLIMS@ASUACAD.BITnet (A Bitnet listserv list) 
and on
 USENET: bit.listserv.muslims. 



 -- Permissions --
 

 Permission to post this multi-part FAQ has been obtained 
by the
 following: 

 o Institute of Islamic Information & Education (III&E)
 o Islamic Information & News Network (Muslims@PSUVM.bitnet) 
 o Moderator(s) of News.Answers (Thomas Khoenig & P.Huang)




 

(Continued from last message)
# End of Islam FAQ Part 14 #

 

References: <islam-faq/part14_792592921@rtfm.mit.edu>
 Islam. Part 15 of 15.
bit.listserv.muslims:97


Archive-name: islam-faq/part15



 Copyright 1993,1994,1995 Asim Mughal (mughal@caltech.edu) 

 Redistribution for profit, or in altered 
content/format
 prohibited without explicit written permission of the 
author.
 Any other redistribution must include this copyright notice 
and
 attribution. 



 Frequently Asked Questions: Part 15
 ___________________________________
 
 This message is automatically posted to 
 every month and when updated. This lists answers to 
most
 commonly asked questions on the forum. Contributions & 
changes
 are requested and should be directed to: mughal@caltech.edu 



 OVERVIEW: The Frequently Asked Questions document 
for
 Islam has been divided in parts. Below is the index. 


 Part 1 - Welcome & Index
 Part 2 - Info on Islamic News Groups
 Part 3 - Introduction to Islam
 Part 4 - God & Worship
 Part 5 - Islam, Quran & Muhammad (PBUH)
 Part 6 - Marriage Laws in Islam
 Part 7 - Women In Islam
 Part 8 - Life after Death, Moral System & Human rights in 
Islam
 Part 9 - Islam: Prophethood, Jesus & Trinity
 Part 10 - Islam: Farrakhism & Malcom X
 Part 11 - Islamic Internet Guide: Islamic Resources on 
Internet
 Part 12 - Other Islamic Resource Guides on Internet
 Part 13 - Islamic Literature: Books & Video
 Part 14 - Islamic Calendar & Prayer Time Table for 1994
 Part 15 - Misc: List of Halal Foods



 ________________________________________________________

 PART 15: Misc: List of Halal Foods



 Contents 

 --Articles--
 1. Introduction
.............................................................. 
 2. List of Halal Foods
....................................................... 
 --Announcements--
 3. Archive Info
.............................................................. 
 4. Credits
................................................................... 



 Articles
.....................................................................


 1. Introduction
.............................................................. 


 This part of FAQ is for miscellaneous topics of interest to 
Muslims.
 Currently, it has only the list of halal foods. This list is a 
quick
 reference guide for Muslims and enables them to follow their 
dietary
 laws. 




 2. List of Halal Foods
....................................................... 




=============================================================
 
 
 
 INFORMATION ABOUT INGREDIENTS ON FOODS,
 TOOTHPASTE, SOAP ETC.
 =======================================
 


 *** INTRODUCTION *** 

 The following information was extracted from the Muslim Consumer 
Guide
 (which was published in the newsletter of MSA Ann Arbor, Jan-
Feb. 90),
 then was posted by Muhammad B. Setiawan (Dept. of Eng. Physics 
McMaster
 University), and finally collected, edited and distributed by MSA 
of the
 University of Manitoba, Winnipeg. 

 We hope that it be of great use to you and that you will 
read the
 ingredient on every product before you make your purchase. If in 
doubt,
 you may write to the company, they have been very helpful in 
provinding
 the requested information. 



 *** CONSULTATION OF COMPANIES *** 

 Here are the results of consultations done by MSA with 
various food
 companies. No particular questions were asked on products 
that may
 contain alcohol. 


 1. L.D.Schrieber Cheese Company:
 No shortening, lard, gelatin or lecithin used.
 Cow products are used = Good
 

 2. Burger King Corp.:
 Shortening used is from swine = BAD. Lard is used in buns and 
apple
 pie = BAD. Lecithin is used in buns = BAD/GOOD because you are not
 sure. Shakes = GOOD
 

 3. General Foods :
 Lard is used on SWAN DOWN cake mixes. Gelatin (from collagen-
bearing
 tissues on any animal) is used in many products including Jell-O 
Brand
 Gelatin Desert = BAD
 

 4. Knox Gelatin Inc. :
 "Knox Gelatin is prepared from the protein collagen, which is 
extracted
 from either beef (bones and skin) or PORK (skins)" = BAD
 

 5. American Lecithin Company :
 "Our Lecithin is derived from Soybeans and is sold under the trade 
name
 Alcoles" = GOOD
 

 6. Nestle :
 A list was sent to MSA confirming that their products do not 
contain
 any animal by-product. Lechithin used in their products is derived
 from Soybeans = GOOD
 

 7. General Mills Inc.:
 Shortening similar to lard is used, also Soya lechithin is used = 
BAD
 (because it does not say Soya or lard and you don't know so it is
 better to avoid).
 

 8. Quaker Oats :
 Soyabeans Lecithin is used. Shortening used is from Swine. Some of
 the products are MAsa Trigo, Flako pie crust and cup cake mix.

 
______________________________________________________________________
___






 *** SEVERAL TERMS *** 

 A. Derived from pork or other animals:
 1. bacon
 2. ham
 3. sausage
 4. lard
 5. fat
 6. gelatin
 7. shortening (animal).
 

 B. Avoid - doubtful (may be derived from animal or vegetable):
 1. lechitin
 2. emulsifier
 3. dough conditioners
 4. mono and diglyceriders
 5. enzymes or rennet in cheese
 

 C. You can use - Good:
 1. soyolecithin
 2. soybean lecithin
 3. vegetable lecithin
 4. vegetable shortening
 5. vegetable mono and diglyceriders
 6. vegetable enzimes or rennetless cheese.
 7. fish
 

 D. Avoid - may contain alcohol
 1. Artificial and imitation extracts and flavorings
 

 E. When you see these letters :
 "U" or "K" they may mean that the produce does not contain
 anything from an animal.
 





 
*** MISCELLANEOUS FOOD ITEMS ***

======================================================================
===
Manufacturer Brand Coagulant Use
======================================================================
===
Kellog Co. Frosted Pop-tarts Type-B gelatin
 (from veal/beef) Good
 Unfrosted Pop-tarts No gelatin Good
______________________________________________________________________
___
Frank Foods QT Frosting Mix Vegetable fat Good
______________________________________________________________________
___
General Mills Inc. Ready-to-spread Vegetable fat
 Frosting and/or Lard BAD 
 
______________________________________________________________________
___
Proctor & Gamble Duncan Hines ake Mix Vegetable fat Good
______________________________________________________________________
___
Great Atlantic & A & P Creamer Coconut & Palm
Pacific Co. Oil Good
______________________________________________________________________
___
 Creamer Vegetable fat Good
______________________________________________________________________
___
Penn Maid Food Inc. Natural Yogurt No gelatin Good
 Swiss Yogurt Gelatin from
 calf skin Good
______________________________________________________________________
___
Jolly Rancher Candies Palm & Coconut
 Oil Good
______________________________________________________________________
___
M & M Co. Starburst Fruit Gelatin from
 Chews Lard BAD
______________________________________________________________________
___
American Home Foods Crunch 'n Munch Vegetable fat Good
______________________________________________________________________
___ 
 
 
 
 
*** BREAD AND PASTRY ***
======================================================================
===
 Vendor Product Ingredients Use
======================================================================
===
Drake Bakeries Div.
 of Borden Foods Inc. Honey bun Lard BAD
______________________________________________________________________
___
Entenmans All Products Vegetable Shortening Good
______________________________________________________________________
___
Giants Goods Bread Vegetable Shortening Good
______________________________________________________________________
___
Huber Baking Co. Bakers
 of sunshine Bread Roman Meal Bread Soybean Salad Oil Good
______________________________________________________________________
___
Keebler All Products Vegetable Shortening,
 Oleo and Lard BAD
______________________________________________________________________
___
Nabisco All products Lard BAD 
 
______________________________________________________________________
___
Pepperidge Farm Rolls, Bread,
 Butter or Cakes Vegetable Shortening Good
 
_________________________________________________
 Layer Cakes NOTE: even though this cake
 is made with good sortening the
 GELATIN USED is made from PIGSKIN BAD
______________________________________________________________________
___
Pillsbury Co. 1896 Brand Butter
 milk Biscuit Vegetable shortening Good
______________________________________________________________________
___
Stroehmann Brothers Co Hilibilly Bread;
 White Bread Lard BAD
______________________________________________________________________
__
Sunshine Biscuit Co. All Products Vegetable shortening Good
______________________________________________________________________
__
 
 
*** ICE CREAM ***
======================================================================
=== 
 
MANUFACTURER PRODUCT USE
======================================================================
===
Baskin Robbins Ice Cream Good
 Sherberts Good
 Water ice Good
Baskin Robbins Ice cream and those flavors
 containing miget marshmallow BAD
______________________________________________________________________
___
Pensupreme Ice Cream BAD
Pensupreme Schraff Ice Cream (available at Safeway) Good
______________________________________________________________________
___
Meadow Gold Ice Cream Good
Meadow Gold Louis Sherry Ice Cream (all Natural) Good
______________________________________________________________________
___
Abbotts Ice Cream Good
 erts Good
 Water Ice Good
______________________________________________________________________
__
Pantry Price Ice Cream Good
Breyers Ice Cream Good
______________________________________________________________________
___ 
 
 
 
 
*** CHEWING GUM ***
======================================================================
===
Manufacturer Products Ingredients Use
======================================================================
========
==================================
GM Co. Rescue 11 Soap pads Good
______________________________________________________________________
___
Purex Corporation Brillo Soap pads Lard BAD
 
___________________________________________
 Supreme Steel
 pink & green
 bars per carton) Beef Tallow Good
 
___________________________________________
 Dobie Pads Beef Tallow Good 
 
______________________________________________________________________
___
Miles Laboratory S.O.S Soap Pads Lard __ 
Tf
 Plastic Mesh
 Balls Lard BAD
______________________________________________________________________
___
 
-- compiled by
 Sysops of The Islamic School
 aa755 sxg12 mxs44
======================================================================
=====





 Announcements
................................................................


 3. Archive Info
.............................................................. 


 This FAQ is archived at several sites and is available for 
public
 retrieval thru anonymous FTP, E-MAIL, Gopher & World Wide Web. 


 -- Anonymous FTP --
 


 Login: anonymous
 Password: Your e-mail address


 

(Continued from last message)



 Site: rtfm.mit.edu 

 Site: ftp.uu.net
 
 Site: ftp.cco.caltech.edu
 Dir: /pub/calmsa/islam-faq/



 -- E-MAIL --
 

 Send E-mail to: mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu 

 Text of E-mail Message: 


 quit



 -- GOPHER --


 Site: gopher.caltech.edu 70
 CCO anonymous ftp archive/
 pub/
 calmsa/
 islam-faq/


 Site: latif.com 70
 Soc.Religion.Islam




 -- World-Wide-Web (WWW) --
 

 One recommended interface is 'mosaic,' below are mosaic 'home 
pages.' 



URL at USENET Archive site:
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/islam-faq/faq.html


URL at Caltech MSA site:
http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~calmsa/links.html




 4. Credits
................................................................... 



 The author wishes to thank all those who contributed in any 
capacity for
 the original one part FAQ or this multi-part FAQ. 


 -- SOURCES --
 

 The basic introduction and literature presented in the FAQ 
is from
 brochures on Islam distributed by Institute of Islamic 
Information &
 Education (III&E). These brochures were typed in electronic 
form by
 Ms.M.Ahmed. 

has been
 compiled from USENET archives and administrative logs of
 Soc.Religion.Islam moderator panel. 

 What is III&E? 

 III&E is an acronym for the Institute of Islamic Information & 
Education
 which was established in Chicago, Illinois in 1985. The 
III&E is
 registered in the State of Illinois and recognized by the 
Internal
 Revenue Service (IRS) as a not-for-profit religious organization. 

 More information can be obtained by contacting Dr. M. Amir, 
III&E, P.O.
 Box 41129, Chicago, IL 60641-0129, U.S.A.; Tel: (312) 777-
7443 Fax:
 (312) 777-7199; or contact Sr. Margaret Ahmed. 



 -- FORMAT --
 

 The format of the FAQ series has been done by utilizing 
resources of
 Islamic Information & News Network (IINN). A custom program, 
Nebula,
 written by editors of IINN for generating newsletters has been 
used. 


 What is IINN? 

 Islamic Information & News Network is a forum dedicated to 
educate the
 network community on issues relating to Islam and Muslims in an 
academic
 & non-political environment. Weekly digest is available on 
internet by
 subscribing to MUSLIMS@ASUACAD.BITnet (A Bitnet listserv list) 
and on
 USENET: bit.listserv.muslims. 



 -- Permissions --
 

 Permission to post this multi-part FAQ has been obtained 
by the
 following: 

 o Institute of Islamic Information & Education (III&E)
 o Islamic Information & News Network (Muslims@PSUVM.bitnet) 
 o Moderator(s) of News.Answers (Thomas Khoenig & P.Huang)


# End of Islam FAQ Part 15 #


 
