Muslim Marriage Contract in American Courts

Muslim Marriage Contract in American Courts
Lecture by Professor Azizah Y. al-Hibri of T. C. Williams School of Law, University of Richmond, followed by transcript of Q&A session.

Minaret of Freedom Banquet, May 20, 2000
Let me first thank Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad and the Minaret of Freedom for their kind invitation to address this distinguished audience. My remarks tonight are not just about Virginia courts. Other courts in other states face similar issues. But an order from a Virginia court led me to take a good look at the problems facing Muslim women in American courts and address them in a serious and professional way.

Last spring a court order came across my desk, by chance, in which a judge said that Islamic law of marriage is contrary to public policy in Virginia. That is a very serious statement to make, because anything that is contrary to public policy in any state is struck down. The question becomes what is the status of Muslim marriage contracts in Virginia? Several cases have come to my attention since that time.

"When you divorce women and they fulfill the term of their “iddah”, the Qur'an said, "either take them back on equitable terms or set them free on equitable terms; but do not take them back to injure them or to take undue advantage; if anyone does that He wrongs his own soul" (2:231).It also said: "…[T]he parties should either live together in kindness or leave each other charitably …" (2:229).But there are very few Muslim marriages at the divorce stage where the parties separate charitably. It's very unfortunate and it is against what the Qur'an says. Often the husband does not want to pay the last part of the mahr. The result is that expert witnesses are called to testify about what should happen under the Islamic marriage contract.

In the Virginia case, the transcript revealed that the court reached this conclusion based on the testimony of an expert witness. That witness was a Muslim professor of religion in a prestigious Virginia university. My search could not uncover, however, the content of that testimony because the parties decided to keep it un-transcribed, and hence unavailable to the public.

This result is disappointing especially in light of an e-mail I received a few months ago from an advocate of the High Court in the jurisdiction where the marriage contract in this Virginia case was entered into. Though now living in the U.S., this Muslim couple was married outside the U.S. To avoid personalizing this case, let us call their country of origin “Country X.” When I was traveling two summers ago to Country X, I mentioned that an Islamic marriage contract executed in that country was found unenforceable in an American court. I addressed the bar association and the judges of Country X. They were very concerned about the situation and wondered what they needed to do to make their marriage contracts enforceable in Virginia and other American jurisdictions. Having no idea why the American judge made his decision, I could offer no definite answer. The discussion made its way to the newspapers in that country, because there are many Muslims in the U.S. who married there before immigrating.

The court decision is alarming because Virginia has a large Muslim population whose marital relations are based on Islamic marriage contracts. There are at least seven million Muslims in the US, and a large concentration of Muslims in North Virginia alone. Richmond has several mosques. All of them are likely to have been involved in the preparation and execution of Muslim marriage contracts. Are we to conclude that all these marriage contracts (I'm sure many in this room are parties to one of their own) are all null and void in Virginia?

The most disturbing aspect of the order is that it was based on testimony by an expert Muslim. The judge reached this opinion not because he had a certain image of or bias against Islam. He listened to an expert Muslim witness and based on that testimony he reached his conclusion. The problem that this fact reveals is very basic. Many Muslim men, whether imams of mosques or professors of religion, are not sufficiently familiar with Islamic law. Often, they confuse their cultural beliefs and practices with Islam itself. An American judge has no way of discerning the difference in the absence of more reliable sources of information. If I am a non-Muslim American judge and a Muslim expert witness, a Muslim professor of Islam (how more reliable can an expert witness be?) or the imam of a masjid walks into my court, then I am inclined to believe that I am going to get the real story.But that is not always the case.There are some important issues about who can, with authority, interpret Islamic laws, and the judges are not aware of this.

Now consider the fact that the Islamic marriage contract used in this country is usually a one-page document. Fill in your name and the name of your spouse, the names of two witnesses, the name of the imam, the amount of the mahr, and underneath in fine print it says “governed by Islamic law." That's it. What is a judge to do with that, given the separation of church and state? The judge can't tell the clerk, "Go back to the Qur'an and tell me what the Qur'an says" or “what does Islamic jurisprudence say?" We have not told the judges what the parties contracted upon; we just told the judges to go back to Islamic law. You can immediately see that we have inadequate marriage contracts.

Suppose the judge looks at the document, and it either uses the word mahr or sadâq, and says here is the amount of money the prospective husband agrees to pay to the prospective wife. What is “mahr”? That is a basic term of the contract and the judge has no idea what it means. While a statement about Qur'an or Shari`ah may clarify many issues for a Muslim judge, it does very little to enlighten an American non-Muslim judge. Consequently, she has to rely on an expert witness who may provide, as I've seen often happen, incorrect information.

In one case an imam was willing to testify that the husband owed nothing to his wife because she left him. Sometimes we get so attached to this world that we're willing to sell away the other world to save a few dollars.

In Islam if a woman wants out, she gives back the dowry money. That's called khul`. There is an exception to the rule; a woman can seek judicial divorce for harm (dharar) without losing her delayed mahr. The husband need not physically torture her; under Jordanian law, under Kuwaiti law, just verbal abuse is sufficient. The imam did not go into the exceptions. It may not have been intentional. Perhaps he didn't know. In this case the husband transmitted venereal disease to the woman, and therefore the harm was clearly established. It was not a question of fact, but the imam did not mention the exceptions.

In one case a man ordered his wife to leave the house, and sent her to live with her brother, her only relative in the US. He simply did not want her around anymore. He then waited a year and sued her for divorce on the grounds of abandonment. Other Muslim women told me that they know of several Muslim men who tired of their wives and forced them to go back to their country of origin. Then they sued them for abandonment.

I went to the imam and council of the mosque and I explained to them the importance of the case because it was taking place in a jurisdiction neighboring that where the judge stated that Islamic law was against public policy in Virginia. I said, "It is your Islamic duty to see that Islamic law is properly observed in this case. Otherwise we will have one precedent of ignoring Islamic law piled on top of another. I need your help." I didn't get that help. The leadership just listened and stared. And argued. After two weeks I found out it was very hard for them to support Islamic law in this because it meant the husband would have to pay. But the husband was the son of a major donor to the mosque.

On one occasion a well-known Islamic scholar said to me, "Mahr is the bride price." This is abhorrent. It is my suspicion that it is such testimony that the judge heard in his court that led him to say "slavery is over in the U.S., if Islamic marriage law says women are sold into marriage, then we will not enforce it in this country."

The interpretation of mahr as bride price is clearly contradicted by the Qur'an, which states that sadâq is a gift (nihlah) from the husband to the wife. Yet, if a witness were to testify in an American court that sadâq is bride price, then we should not be surprised if the judge was offended and refused to enforce the terms of the marriage contract. Is this what happened in the Virginia case? We do not know because the public record is not complete.

It's not just the expert witnesses. It's also the lawyers. In Islam there is a form of marriage in which the woman retains for herself, in the marriage contract, the right to divorce her husband. It's called "keeping the ’ismah in her hand." This language, “keeping the ’ismah,” has two different meanings in the Muslim world. In some countries (Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, etc.) it means the woman may divorce at will. In other countries it could mean that the husband loses the right to divorce and only the woman can divorce, which is an extreme result. And there are certain jurisdictions which will allow the woman to keep the ’ismah in her hand, but she could lose it very easily, so you have to learn all these jurisdictional distinctions.

In one case, a woman had written in her marriage contract that the ’ismah was in her own hand (malaktu amri biyadi), so that she could divorce at will. This meant that, when she wanted to divorce, she would simply tell her husband "I divorce you" and then goes to an imam to record the divorce, and she would be done. The husband’s input/consent is not required for this process. This form of divorce is very different from khul`, which does not involve ’ismah, but involves giving up the woman’s mahr and, some argue, obtaining the consent of the husband.

In the khul` form of divorce, the wife tells the husband "I want to leave you; take your mahr and go." Traditionally this has been interpreted to mean that the wife must first get the husband's consent to khul`, which is not really in the prophetic tradition. In that tradition, the Prophet said to a woman who had received a garden as her mahr, "Are you willing to return the garden?" She said: “yes,” and they were pronounced divorced. Yet many Muslim countries require the consent of the husband, and that has led to husbands blackmailing their rich wives. In some cases, the husband demanded not only the return of his mahr, but also an additional bonus of hundreds of thousands of dollars. For this reason, women who cannot obtain khul` for lack of spousal consent, end up asking for judicial divorce. So, what kind of a right is this khul`? It is almost useless!

That is why in the 1960s a court in Pakistan revisited the issue and concluded from the Qur’an and the prophetic tradition that the consent of the husband is necessary in the case of khul`. Under this view, you have a khul` when the woman says "Here's your mahr and goodbye. "Nobody picked up on this Pakistani opinion although it was excellent jurisprudentially. But, in January of this year, al-Azhar in cooperation with the Egyptian government changed the law of khul` so that the consent of the husband was no longer required. Some journalists protested that the change spelled the end of Islamic law in Egypt; but the change in the law was passed and now Egypt follows the prophetic tradition of granting khul` without the consent of the husband. Although it is too early to say, there are other countries getting ready to follow suite.

Let me go back to the case where the woman had kept her ’ismah.Her lawyer was a Jewish woman familiar with the Jewish law of divorce. Encouraged by the general similarities between Jewish law and Muslim law, she extended that analogy to the law of khul`. But Jewish law does not have a counterpart (as far as I know) to khul`, as understood by the Pakistani and Egyptian jurisdictions. So, to divorce, the Jewish woman must obtain the consent of her husband, which consent can be unreasonably withheld (this is the get process). Further the judge or rabbi is unable to grant the woman judicial divorce.

In the case at hand, although the consent of the Muslim husband was not required, the wife asked him to sign her declaration of divorce to document the fact that he was on notice. The lawyer, believing that the signature of the husband was necessary, examined it very carefully and was troubled by it. She noted that it was quite different from his signature on the other documents. She said, "I'm afraid that we might not have his consent to the divorce."

I said, "Your client is not relying on her husband’s consent for divorce, she's using the ’ismah form of divorce; the signature is not necessary and is not part of the evidence." The lawyer said she did not know that about Islam. The same is the case with Christian lawyers. They analogize to their own religion and some of these analogies just don't work. So you have to educate your lawyers who are from other faiths about how Islamic law works so that they can then give the right presentation to the courts.

Many women do not even know their rights under the marriage contract in Islam. I'll start with sadâq. It is a gift from the husband to the wife. The amount of the sadâq is to be agreed upon by the two parties while negotiating the marriage contract. They may agree that the full amount would be due at the time of the marriage, or that part of it would be postponed to a later date, which is more common since the young husband may not have the cash up front. Often, the largest portion of the sadâq is postponed to the earlier of the divorce or death of one of the spouses. In either event, the postponed amount of the sadâq becomes due immediately without any court action. You don't have to go to court to get your muta`akhir (the delayed part). In the case of death of the husband, the sadâq becomes a senior debt against his estate, separate from the wife's inheritance rights. Thus even if the estate would become exhausted by debt repayment, the wife would still get her sadâq first and without delay.

The sadâq is a pure right of the woman herself. She is free to spend it any way she pleases. No one may touch it, not even her father or her husband. In some countries I visited they told me that women were being pressured by to show their love for their husbands by saying "I forgive you the muta`akhir, you don't have to pay me the latter part of the mahr.” Then, when they get divorced they realize they weren't very smart to do that. Another mode of customary pressure on the woman is to say "You get more barakat, more blessings, if you ask for a man to give you two or three dollars." Then when the woman gets divorced at fifty she is in trouble because that is all that she gets on her way out of the house.

What I have said about the mahr is true about all the money of the woman. Islam gave the woman full financial independence. No one has the right of guardianship over her money. This is the reason that Abu Hanifah says that the woman has the right to enter and execute her own marriage contract without a wali, because if she is free and independent with regard to money, marriage is much more important and we should give her self-sufficiency in marriage.

This situation follows from two basic Islamic legal concepts. First, a married Muslim woman is legally entitled to her financial independence. Her husband may not touch any of her assets. Second, the husband is obligated to support his wife, even if she is wealthier than he is. She has no obligation to support her husband. Any money she gives him is regarded as charity or gift or a loan.

These legal facts are part of a larger framework of Muslim women's rights. In this larger framework, a Muslim woman retains her maiden name upon marriage and is not obligated to perform housework If she chooses not to cook, her husband is obligated to bring her prepared food. Understand that all of the major imams take this position. This is not a "women's lib" position. These facts rest on the recognition by Muslim jurists that the marriage contract is not a service contract. The recognition is based on the Qur'anic view of the marriage contract: it is not for service, but for muwaddah wa rahmha, for sakînah, for human companionship. It is not entered into so that the husband can find somebody to cook and iron his clothes. Where the sadâq is large, it is usually viewed by the woman as an important security net for later years. That is why women say, "I don't want your money now, but on death or divorce, I want a million dollars. "That was not uncommon in my circle in Lebanon. Of course, when the lira dropped in value there was a wave of divorces. Then, the shari’ah courts intervened and adjusted the amount of the mahr to inflation; and then things stabilized.

Because of these large sadâq demands, the government in the United Arab Emirates placed a cap on the amount of sadâq. This action by the government of the Emirates is questionable because the Qur'an gave the women the right to any amount they please and let the market forces determine whether they could get it or not.When the khalifah Umar ibn al-Khattab said "I want to cap the mahr" an old woman stood up in the mosque to argue with the khalîfah of all the Muslims.

We do not know this woman's name; she didn't belong to an influential tribe. All we know is that she was an old woman in the back of the mosque and said, "You cannot take away from us what God gave us."

He said, "What is that?"

She cited the Qur'anic verses that "even if ye had given the latter a whole treasure for dower take not the least bit of it back: would ye take it by slander and a manifest wrong?" (4:20) and Umar said, "The woman is right and the khalîfah is wrong," and he took back his idea. Yet now we see government again putting a cap on these.

In many Muslim countries, the tendency, usually introduced by the parents, is to minimize the amount of the sadâq, as a way to of showing upper class stature, or piety. In these cases, women suffer upon divorce, especially if they had moved to the US, lost their families, and have no ability to support themselves. Consider the similar story of Shah Bano in India. A rich husband divorced a 70-year-old woman and gave her a very minimal settlement–­like a hundred dollars­. (That was also the case in Virginia, where the judge said that the Islamic law of marriage was against public policy. Had he said otherwise, and enforced the contract, this older woman who was in her late forties, would have been given about $300 and sent into the streets of India with no means of support.) In the Shah Bano case, the woman went to court and asked the husband, "Is this all you're going to give me? After all my life with you? At aged 70, you're rich and I'm going to get pennies?" The non-Muslim Indian court intervened and tried to interpret Islamic law so as to give her maintenance. The act of a non-Muslim court trying to interpret Islamic law was unforgivable. There were riots in the streets. Finally, Shah Bano dropped her case under pressure from the Muslims community who did not want to give the Indian government further opportunity to interfere.

Faced with Muslim marriage contracts, some American judges may treat them as prenuptial agreements. If they do, then our usual American laws about property distribution and other financial matters upon divorce would not apply. Instead, the marriage contract provisions will take over. The first consequence of this view has usually been that the sadâq provision will represent the full financial settlement between the parties. Where the amount of the sadâq is high and the length of marriage short, in one case I saw, even the lawyer for the woman refused to go after the husband for the full amount of the sadâq. He said, "She lived with him for only three months. Why should he should give her $50,000?"

I said, "That's her sadâq. If he spent only one minute with her and consummated the marriage, she gets $50,000."The lawyer had real difficulty understanding that. These are the sorts of things we need to explain to the women, to the lawyers, and to the judges.

The policy of not enforcing the terms of the Islamic marriage contract causes problems for the majority of Muslim women in America, many of whom use the sadâq as a security package. It may also create constitutional issues relating to the free exercise clause, because Muslims would be restricted then from exercising fully their religion. But then what is a judge to do?

One thing we can do for the judge when we execute a Muslim marriage contract is to define the terms, define all the rules, make it clear which madhhabwe are following, which point of view this couple is committed to. This means that a marriage contract would be much thicker than this presentation, something like a book. That's exactly what I'm hoping to work on at the National Humanities Center next year. I'm hoping my book will include: What are the definitions of the various concepts in the Islamic marriage contract? What are the rules of the various madhhabs? And how do they work in the case of divorce? Then the marriage contract could be a page or two with an appendix, which is the whole book, that explains to the judge so that the judge does not have to go and ask an "expert" witness who does not know what the rules are. So we can safeguard the position of Muslim people from here on if they use the Muslim marriage contract. However, I don’t know what to do about those women who have gotten married already in other jurisdictions and did not safeguard their rights.

Even with this book, the question remains: Is the Muslim marriage contract a pre-nuptial agreement that cuts off the rights of Muslim women under American law or not? Is the Muslim marriage contract a representation of all the woman’s financial rights at divorce? If the answer is yes, it means that her sadâq is all that she is going to get upon divorce whether she is 50 or 20, or 80.But there are other notions in the Qur'an beyond the concept of mahr that have been ignored for a long time that actually specify a more equitable distribution of marital property among the spouses. It is time for us in America to develop this jurisprudence and hope that other jurisdictions around the world will find it interesting enough to for them to adopt.

[Questions and Answers]

Q.: Please clarify the concept of ’ismah.

Al-Hibri: The concept of ’ismah, or the wife’s right to it, in a marriage, is a right that a woman negotiates with her groom at the time of the marriage. It is a condition of the marriage contract, which he may accept or reject. If the groom is not willing to accept it, then the woman may not wish to proceed with that marriage. If the groom accepts the condition, then it should be recorded in the contract as a condition of the marriage. Once the condition becomes part of the contract, then the woman does not need the permission of the husband to exercise it. Permission of the husband is no longer relevant.

Q.: In the marriage contract you can pretty much negotiate everything including the fact that you do not want him to get married to other women.

Al-Hibri: You can put a variety of conditions in the marriage contract, not just the ’ismah condition. One such condition is to require the groom not to move his prospective wife from her city or country. If he does, she is divorced from him at her option. Some major jurists have accepted that condition as valid. Others have accepted, for example, the condition that if the husband marries another woman (polygamy) the first wife is entitled to divorce at her option. However, some jurisdictions do not accept certain conditions. For example, this last condition about not allowing a husband to marry a second wife is rejected by some jurisdictions as against sharî`ah and therefore null and void. Any condition viewed as contrary to sharî`ah or contrary to the intent of the marriage contract–for example if you make a condition that you will not have sexual relations–is considered null and void, but the contract remains valid. So, it is a complex situation.

Q.: What is being done in terns of abusive marriage in this country through the legal system and particularly with regard to Islamic marriages?

Al-Hibri: I got a call from a Muslim convert, a woman who said "I really want to be a good Muslim, but I'm so black and blue that I can't do it anymore."

I said, "What do you mean?"

She said, "Well, I'm trying as hard as I can to be a good wife, but my husband's beatings have gotten so much worse that I just cannot bear it."

I said, "Why do you have to bear it?"

She said, "I talked to the imam and he said it's my fault, that I provoked my husband and that I have to be obedient and he will stop beating me up."

I said, "Did you talk to anyone in your community?"

She said, "Yes. The women told me, 'You better not be such a bad wife that you bad-mouth your husband in public and now people know that he beats you up; that's not a very nice thing for a wife to do.' I'm at my wit's end. I've tried being obedient; I've tried being nice; I've tried being a good Muslim and I'm black and blue."

I said, "That's not what being a good Muslim is about."

I sat on a task force of religious leaders that the Virginia legislature had put in place to study violence against women. There were various religions represented around the table. According to one Christian voice at the table, there are some Christians–not many–who believe that it is okay for the husband to beat the wife to discipline her. People have local customs or cultural beliefs that they then say are religious. There are others who do not know enough about their religion. This poor woman was a convert; she thought this was part of Islam. My feeling is that the first thing we need to do is to educate the community about what Islam says about abusing women. That's why in my lecture I managed to throw in a few words about the fact that verbal abuse alone is sufficient for a grant of divorce in Kuwait, Jordan, and maybe a couple of other places. Islam does not condone the mistreatment of any human beings, not even a cat, according to the Prophetic hadith. We need to do something about that. It is a serious problem.

Q.: I don't think we necessarily have to follow other countries whether Saudi Arabia or Jordan or whatever. We need Muslim scholars in North America to study the teachings of the religion and engage in ijtihâd. Whatever was in the past should not limit us except what is in the Qur'an and sunnah, and other schools of thought are just there to learn from and not necessarily to limit. My interpretation of sadâq is that it is part of the initiation of the contract of marriage but if there is a divorce a woman should certainly have other rights and in accepting sadâq she isn't giving away her other rights. Maybe you could clarify that.

Al-Hibri: Any time you hear about a problem in Islam and a ruling about that problem, the main question to ask is this: Is the result just? Because the hallmark of Islam is justice. If the result is not just, then something is very wrong. Somebody misapplied the law; some issue got messed up. So in a general fashion, I would say, "Yes, you're right." But if you are going to be a legal scholar, a jurist, the next question is: "What are you hanging your hat on? Or, what are you hanging your turban on?" What is the jurisprudential argument, the Qur'anic verse, the hadith that you're relying on. That is the question. That's what I need to write about because no one has done it. Why haven't they done it? There's a very easy answer. Why is it that for over fourteen hundred years no one cared about the fact that all a Muslim woman gets upon her divorce is her sadâq, which may be pennies? Some husbands may give her also a dress or two, a pair of shoes, something to make her happy, because the Qur'an recommends a mat`a for a divorced woman, and that has been interpreted to mean something minor that would make her happy. It could be a handbag; you can buy it from Paris if you want to be nice. That's it. I'm not exaggerating; that's what happens. You are welcome to say otherwise, but where's the jurisprudence for it? What I have discovered is that the Qur'an does give a basis for additional financial rights for the woman but no one bothered to develop those sufficiently because everyone was living in a Muslim country. In a Muslim country you have the notion of al-takâful al-ijtimâ`i. If a woman gets divorced it's not a big deal. Now it's a big deal, but historically, "It's only a husband." She goes back to her family, brothers, father, and sisters. That's her family. Husbands come and go. In our families the real basic relationship is the blood relationship. You can divorce a husband; you cannot divorce a brother or a father. So under Islamic law when she gets divorced, guess who has to maintain her? Her father. She doesn't need money. Even if has her independent fund of money, and she never has to pay a penny. If her father is poor, her brother pays, if her brother is poor, her uncle pays, and so on. And if she has no one, the head of her state pays. She is never left with no one to maintain her. Plus, why does a man want to give the woman too much money? She's more controllable if you say sit in my home and I'll maintain you. So, it's patriarchy and it's old family arrangements that are different from today. Today, she does not have the family arrangement in the U.S. Today, if she gets divorced, she's out on the street. She might not have children. Her parents are God knows where–if they're still alive. She has nobody. It is not a luxury for her to look back to the Qur'an and ask what more financial value can she have in her marriage.

You speak about ijtihâd. What you're talking about is something that is very popular these days. "Let's do Islamic ijtihâd for America. What does that mean? First of all, Islamic ijtihâd for America is not going to be that different from ijtihâd in any other part of the Muslim world because there are certain things that are fixed in Islam. Monotheism is one of them.`ibidât, items of worship usually do not change, but mu`amalât, human dealings, are subject to variety from society to society. What does that mean? A free-for-all? You can do whatever ijtihâd you want? No. We have guidelines. The way we have worked those guidelines is first you study the Qur'an. If you want me to take you seriously, first you better know the Qur'an in Arabic. I don't want to work with you from a translation. I give an example. I have a Ph.D. in philosophy. I'm not only a law professor. I taught philosophy. I was an admirer of Hegel. I studied Hegel quite a bit, but I never called myself a Hegelian, an expert on Hegel. Do you want to know why? I could never read German. That's just a standard professional requirement in this country. Why would we have a lesser requirement for Islam? You read the Qur'an in Arabic and understand it; you read the hadith; you read the jurisprudence of the major imams and then come talk to me. If you read, for example, the jurisprudence of Imam Abu Hanifah, you will find out that he himself specifies in his reasoning his cultural assumptions. All right. I'm no longer living in the culture of Imam Abu Hanifa, but I'm bound by the Qur'an. His reasoning is good. You throw out his assumption; what happens to the remainder of the fiqh? That's how you rejuvenate fiqh. There are rules and regulations. It's not like I'm making something out of nothing. I'm still relying heavily, first of all on the Qur'an, then on the hadith, and then on the jurisprudence of those before me because I respect their work. People must understand that it is not that easy to do ijtihâd for America because you still have to know what happened before America.

Q.: What is the difference between a pre-nuptial agreement and the Islamic marriage contract?

Al-Hibri: It could be a nuptial agreement rather than a pre-nuptial agreement, because you sign it at the same time as the marriage. Then you have to study under the laws of the various jurisdictions, what is the difference in counting an agreement as nuptial rather than pre-nuptial. By the way, it could also be post-nuptial, because many have a civil marriage followed by an Islamic marriage. I don't recommend it, by the way. What does that mean for their rights? You have to study specific jurisdictions to see what is the impact in each case. For those of you who say, "I wish I'd heard this lecture earlier, I would have negotiated a better marriage contract," if your husband is enlightened, please remind him that it is not too late, you can always amend.

Q.: Suppose I pass away and my wife inherits my social security and my pension, would that offset the sadâq mutta'akhir?

Al-Hibri: It’s a very good question. The first time I came across the question of pensions and such things was in connection with illegal polygamous marriages in this country, although it happens in other countries as well. Someone would be officially married to one wife and he goes and marries another Islamically, but she is not his wife under American law, because he already has another wife. The question is: Is he treating the two equally? The answer is no. As hard as he tries only the legally recognized wife will get the pensions, etc. Suppose you are 40 or 50 years old–it doesn't matter–and you divorce your wife today. Under Islamic law, she is entitled right now to the delayed part of the mahr if there is any (you might have paid her up front). But you want to give it to her later. As corporate finance professor, I'm going to ask you, what happened to the time-value of money? What she's entitled to is her mahr now, in one installment at the value of the dollar today. What about the payments she's going to get later which you didn't factor in? That's under civil law. The question is whether she's entitled to them at all. Maybe, maybe not, depending on the ijtihâd you develop. But let's assume she's not entitled to the money. You paid her the mahr and now she's getting extra money from you. Then it’s between her and God if she's going to take money she is not entitled to. But that doesn't waive your right to pay her sadâq when it's due. That's your duty. The other payment, if she believes she's not entitled to it, it is her duty to give it back to you. Let me give you an example. I know of a case where the court awarded a woman a large amount of money and the women had conscience pangs. It was inheritance money, not sadâq. She had a disagreement with others who would have inherited more under Islamic law. She said: “what should I do? Shall I not go under American law?" I said: “no,” because if she didn't go under American law she would have gotten nothing, as the others weren't going to give her her share. I said, "Get it under American law, then give back the part you think they're entitled to. It's okay. If you're in a society where you cannot establish Islamic justice, use the American system, get the payments and then give back whatever you think is beyond what you deserve.

Q.: Would you elaborate on why you do not recommend a civil ceremony be combined with an Islamic contract?

Al-Hibri: That's not what I said. I said you should have the religious ceremony first and then the civil one. If you have the civil one first, then you are married in the eyes of the law but not in the eyes of God and there are complications resulting from that. You either do them at the same time or you do the Islamic one first. Perhaps the best approach, in my view, is to do them at the same time if you can. I have to study that from the legal point of view of the various jurisdictions before I write about it. When I write about it, I don't know how I will come out, so please don't listen to me now, wait a little bit longer.

Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad: I don’t know if there may be a simpler question buried beneath that seemingly complex one. A number of Muslims I know are not aware that if you have a marriage license and you have a marriage ceremony performed by a recognized imam, that ceremony is recognized by the state. In other words, you have performed the ceremony you are licensed to perform. You are married in the eyes of the law provided the imam registers that marriage with the county in which it is performed. This is separate from the more complex questions of what are the terms of the marriage, not whether you're married.

Al-Hibri: In that case you have a nuptial contract. But you do not always have a recognized imam doing the marriage ceremony, then it would not be recognized in the eyes of the state. These things could get complicated. I know a case where a woman had two husbands. How? One under Islamic law, one under American law. She couldn't divorce the other one. She wanted to divorce the one under Muslim law; she couldn't. She wanted to divorce the one under civil law, but she didn't have the money to divorce him. So she was stuck with two and actually had none. This could get sticky.

Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad: One should make sure that the county would accept the imam's filing.

Q.: Beyond educating the courts, lawyers, and Muslim scholars, do you see in America, where so many of us are converts and don't know Arabic, and are struggling to understand the subtleties of Islam, is there any movement towards pre-marital counseling so that a couple, before getting married, can gain an understanding of these various options? Do we have enough imams capable of carrying out pre-marital counseling without making things worse. Even before that do we even have a beginning of preparation for education for adulthood? Do you see any movement in that direction? Will you put out your book in paperback?

Al-Hibri: I'm trying to think who I will have publish my book. If it's a university press, it's not going to be as accessible to Muslims who need it as a marriage document. We'll resolve these issues once the book is written. But you're asking some very important questions. Let me first comment about my condition that somebody who does jurisprudence ought to have read the Qur'an in Arabic. I want to point out to you that some of the major jurists in the early history of Islam were not Arabs. They just studied Arabic and learned the language of the Qur'an and did excellent jurisprudence. Being an Arab is not a requirement, just knowing Arabic. Unfortunately, these days not even Arabs know Arabic; so its' not enough to be an Arab either. A major example of this is what colonialism did in Algeria. When the French closed down all the religious schools and then they opened limited French schools for the elite in Algeria and created different strata of Algerians who could not communicate with each other because some are thinking and educated in French and some are thinking and educated in Arabic, although they don't necessarily read Arabic very well. I think that's part of what we're seeing in Algeria now, a lack of communication. Arabs in the Muslim world, as a result of colonialism, no longer have a handle on the Arabic language. But, if you're going to write about the Qur'an whether you're an Arab or a non-Arab, then the first thing you should do is to learn Arabic. Or, if you don't know Arabic, at least in that case show humility, for heaven's sake. We have people writing like they are the successors of Malik and Abu Hanifah and they are explaining the Qur'an in ways that are ridiculous.And when criticized they take offense and are aggressive about it rather than showing humility. You can't do this. This is not a political party. This is not about who's going to win the argument. The argument is won in the afterlife. Look at what the Muslims jurists did throughout the centuries. Every one who ever wrote something and was worth anything ended his chapter with Allahu a`lam. God knows best. And Malik himself said, "Don't emulate me; take from where I took. "In other words, every one of you should think for him/ herself. Malik himself forbade the khalifah from imposing the Maliki madhhab on the people of that country, which was the Abbassid Empire. Today, we are less knowledgeable scholars than those big ones I'm talking about, but we have no humility. We all think we have the answers. Step number one: let's be humble. Sometimes we're more wrong than right. As Abu Hanifah said, "I'm a human being. I say right things and I say wrong things. Just take what accords with the sunnah and the Qur'an and leave out the rest. "I tell you the same. What can someone like you do? You're a good Muslim, but you don't know Arabic. What should you do? Give Up? No. You befriend someone like me. [Laughter] No, it's true; we team up. When you have a verse you don't understand you speak to someone who knows Arabic. You team up. As far as the social services, we definitely need that.

Q.: You mentioned that Islamic law exempts a woman from cooking and she could ask for prepared food, like calling for pizza, or something like that.

Al-Hibri: Hopefully better. [Laughter]

Q.: I was struck by listening to a distinguished imam who went much farther than that and said that strictly speaking a woman is not required to do house chores at all and that housework has never been part of the marital duties and that in fact a woman could ask to be paid for doing housework.

Al-Hibri: I said the marriage contract is not a service contract. In fact she doesn't even have to nurse the baby unless the baby will take no other nurturing except the mother's. Then it becomes a humanitarian thing. She is then required to nurse the baby. If she's divorced and nurses the baby, the father must pay her to nurse the baby.

Q.: If that is indeed the case, then isn't it ironic that the Muslim woman is proclaimed as a persecuted woman when she's in fact a spoiled woman.

Al-Hibri: She's not, unfortunately. We'd love to say that, but she's not. Because while I've told you about all this jurisprudence, I've also studied the personal status codes or family laws of the various Muslim countries and in the various codes they say that part of her duties is to oversee the house. That is, if she has maids she has to oversee them and if there are no maids she oversees herself; she does the cooking and cleaning herself. Where did this come from? Why is it in the family status codes of several Muslim countries? Partly culture. Abu Zahrah, the well-known Egyptian jurist says you go according to custom in many ways. Custom has entered many of our laws. This is supposed to be a positive thing. Remember, in the Qur'an it says, "…I made you into nations and tribes so that you get to know each other." God did not want to straightjacket all Muslims to be alike. God wanted the customary and cultural variations. But what happened was that the customary laws that were introduced into the Islamic laws of Muslim countries, became obsolete and oppressive in time; but thanks to the new Jahiliyyah, Muslims forgot the non-sacred origins of these laws and preserved them.

Source: http://www.minaret.org

Qu'ran

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When You Meet a Muslim

When You Meet a Muslim
Assalamu Alaikum (Peace Be Upon You)
When a Muslim Greets You First
Walaikum Assalam (and Peace Be Upon You)
When Starting To Do Something
Bismillah (In the Name of Allah)
When Intending To Do Something
Insha-Allah (If Allah Wills)
When Taking An Oath
Wallah Billah (Swearing to Allah)
When Something Is Being Praised
Subhana-Allah (Glory Be To Allah)
When In Pain and Distress
Ya-Allah (O' Allah)
When Expressing Appreciation
Masha-Allah (That Which Allah Wills)
When Thanking Someone
Jazak Allah Khair (May Allah Reward)
When Awakening From Sleep

When You Meet a Muslim
Assalamu Alaikum (Peace Be Upon You)
When a Muslim Greets You First
Walaikum Assalam (and Peace Be Upon You)
When Starting To Do Something
Bismillah (In the Name of Allah)
When Intending To Do Something
Insha-Allah (If Allah Wills)
When Taking An Oath
Wallah Billah (Swearing to Allah)
When Something Is Being Praised
Subhana-Allah (Glory Be To Allah)
When In Pain and Distress
Ya-Allah (O' Allah)
When Expressing Appreciation
Masha-Allah (That Which Allah Wills)
When Thanking Someone
Jazak Allah Khair (May Allah Reward)
When Awakening From Sleep
La-Ilaha-Ill Allah (There is None Worthy of Worship Except Allah Alone)
When Sneezing
Alhamdu-Lillah (All Praise Be To Allah)
When Someone Else Sneezes
Yar-Hamuk-Allah (May Allah Bestow His Mercy On You)
When Repenting Of A Sin
Astagh-Ferrullah (May Allah Forgive)
When Giving To Charity
Fi-Sabi-Lillah
When Having Love For Someone
Lihub-Billah
When Getting Married
Aman-To-Billah
When A Problem Appears
Tawak-Kalto Al-Allah (I Trust In Allah)
When Unpleasantness Occurs
Audhu-Billah (I Seek Refuge With Allah)
When Pleasantness Appears
Fata-Barak-Allah
When Participating In Prayer
AMEEN (May Allah Answer)
When Parting From Someone
Fi-Aman-Allah (May Allah Protect)
When Death Message Is Received
Inna-Lillahi-Wa-Inna-Ilaihi Rajiun (To Allah We Belong And To Him We Shall Return) (There is None Worthy of Worship Except Allah Alone)
When Sneezing
Alhamdu-Lillah (All Praise Be To Allah)
When Someone Else Sneezes
Yar-Hamuk-Allah (May Allah Bestow His Mercy On You)
When Repenting Of A Sin
Astagh-Ferrullah (May Allah Forgive)
When Giving To Charity
Fi-Sabi-Lillah
When Having Love For Someone
Lihub-Billah
When Getting Married
Aman-To-Billah
When A Problem Appears
Tawak-Kalto Al-Allah (I Trust In Allah)
When Unpleasantness Occurs
Audhu-Billah (I Seek Refuge With Allah)
When Pleasantness Appears
Fata-Barak-Allah
When Participating In Prayer
AMEEN (May Allah Answer)
When Parting From Someone
Fi-Aman-Allah (May Allah Protect)
When Death Message Is Received
Inna-Lillahi-Wa-Inna-Ilaihi Rajiun (To Allah We Belong And To Him We Shall Return)

Revertion

1. What is Islam?
The word "Islam" means peace and submission. Peace means to be at peace with yourself and your surroundings and submission means submission to the will of God. A broader meaning of the word "Islam" is to achieve peace by submitting to the will of God.This is a unique religion with a name which signifies a moral attitude and a way of life. Judaism takes its name from the tribe of Juda, Christianity from Jesus Christ, Buddhism from Goutam Buddha and Hinduism from Indus River. However, Muslims derive their identity from the message of Islam, rather than the person of Muhammed (P), thus should not be called "Muhammadans".
2. Who is Allah?
Allah is the Arabic word for "one God". Allah is not God of Muslims only. He is God of all creations, because He is their Creator and Sustainer.
3. Who is a Muslim?
The word "Muslim" means one who submits to the will of God. This is done by declaring that "there is no god except one God and Muhammad is the messenger of God." In a broader sense, anyone who willingly submits to the will of God is a Muslim. Thus, all the prophets preceding the prophet Muhammad are considered Muslims. The Quran specifically mentions Abraham who lived long before Moses and Christ that, "he was not a Jew or a Christian but a Muslim," because, he had submitted to the will of God. Thus there are Muslims who are not submitting at all to the will of God and there are Muslims who are doing their best to live an Islamic life. One cannot judge Islam by looking at those individuals who have a Muslim name but in their actions, they are not living or behaving as Muslims. The extent of being a Muslim can be according to the degree to which one is submitting to the will of God, in his beliefs and his actions.
4. Who was Muhammad? (P)
In brief, Muhammad (Peace be upon him) was born in a noble tribe of Mecca in Arabia in the year 570 AD. His ancestry goes back to Prophet Ishmael (P), son of Prophet Abraham (P). His father died before his birth and his mother died when he was six. He did not attend a formal school since he was raised first by a nurse as it was the custom those days, and then by his grandfather and uncle. As a young man, he was known as a righteous person who used to meditate in a cave. At age 40, he was given the prophethood when the angel, Gabriel, appeared in the cave. Subsequently, the revelations came over 23 years and were compiled in the form of a book called the Quran which Muslims consider as the final and the last word of God. The Quran has been preserved, unchanged, in its original form and confirms the truth in the Torah, the psalms and the Gospel.
5. Do Muslims worship Muhammad? (P)
No. Muslims do not worship Muhammad (P) or any other prophets. Muslims believe in all prophets including Adam, Noah, Abraham, David, Solomon, Moses and Jesus. Muslims believe that Muhammad (P) was the last of the prophets. They believe that God alone is to be worshiped, not any human being.
6. What do Muslims think of Jesus? (P)
Muslims think highly of Jesus (P) and his worthy mother, Mary. The Quran tells us that Jesus was born of a miraculous birth without a father. "Lo! The likeness of Jesus with Allah is the likeness of Adam. He created him of dust, and then He said unto him: Be and he is" (Quran 3.59). He was given many miracles as a prophet. These include speaking soon after his birth in defense of his mother's piety. God's other gifts to him included healing the blind and the sick, reviving the dead, making a bird out of clay and most importantly, the message he was carrying. These miracles were given to him by God to establish him as a prophet. According to the Quran, he was not crucified but was raised into Heaven. (Quran, Chapter Maryam)
7. Do Muslims have many sects?
Muslims have no sects. In Islam, there are two major schools of thought, the Shia and the Sunni. Both have many things in common. They follow the same book - Quran. They follow the same prophet Muhammad (P). Both offer their prayers five time a day. Both fast in the month of Ramadan. They both go for hajj, pilgrimage to Mecca. Those who follow Prophet Muhammad (P), in accordance with his sayings and actions, are called Sunni and those who in addition follow the sayings and views of Ali (Muhammad's son-in- law), as the rightful successor to Prophet Muhammad (P), are called Shia. Shia means a partisan (party of Ali) and it started more as a political party to help Ali in his conflict with his political adversaries. Most Shias live in Iran and Iraq while the rest of the Muslim world is mostly Sunni. Shias comprise about 16-percent of the Muslim population.
8. What are the pillars of Islam?
There are five major pillars of Islam which are the articles of faith. These pillars are 1) the belief (Iman) in one God and that Muhammad (P) is His messenger, 2) prayer (Salat) which are prescribed five times a day, 3) fasting (Siyam) which is required in the month of Ramadan, 4) charity (Zakat) which is the poor-due on the wealth of the rich and 5) hajj which is the pilgrimage to Mecca once in a lifetime if one can afford it physically and financially. All the pillars should be of equal height and strength in a building in order to give the building its due shape and proportions. It is not possible that one would do hajj without observing fasting or without practicing regular prayers. Now think of a building which has pillars only. It would not be called a building. In order to make it a building, it has to have a roof, it has to have walls, it has to have doors and windows. These things in Islam are the moral codes of Islam such as honesty, truthfulness, steadfastness and many other human moral qualities. Thus in order to be a Muslim, one should not only be practicing the pillars of Islam but should also have the highest possible attribute for being a good human being. Only then the building is completed and looks beautiful.
9. What is the purpose of worship in Islam?
The purpose of worship in Islam is to be God conscious. Thus the worship, whether it is prayer, fasting, or charity, is a means to achieve God consciousness so that when one becomes conscious of God, in thought and in action, he is in a better position to receive His bounties both in this world and the hereafter.
10. Do Muslims believe in the hereafter?
God is Just and manifest His justice, He established the system of accountability. Those who do good will be rewarded and those who do wrong will be punished accordingly. Thus, He created Heaven and Hell and there are admission criteria for both. Muslims believe that the present life is a temporary one. It is a test and if we pass the test, we will be given a life of permanent pleasure in the company of good people in Heaven.
11. Will the good actions of the non-believers be wasted?
No. The Quran clearly says that, "anyone who has an atom's worth of goodness will see it and anyone who has done an atom's worth of evil will also see it" (Quran 99:7-8). By that it is meant that those who are non- believers but have done good will be rewarded in this world for their good deed. On the other hand, those who do good if they are Muslims, they will be rewarded not only in this world but also in the world hereafter. However, the final Judgment is up to God himself. (Quran 2:62)
12. What is the dress code for Muslims?
Islam emphasizes modesty. No person should be perceived as a sex object. There are certain guidelines both for men and women that their dress should neither be too thin nor too tight to reveal body forms. For men, they must at least cover the area from the knee to navel and for women, their dress should cover all areas except the hands and face. The veil is not essential.
13. What are the dietary prohibitions in Islam?
Muslims are told in the Quran not to eat pork or pork products, meat of the animals who died before being slaughtered or the carnivorous animals (as they eat dead animals), nor drink blood or intoxicants such as wine or use any illicit drugs.
14. What is Jihad?
The word "Jihad" means struggle, or to be specific, striving in the cause of God. Any struggle done in day-to-day life to please God can be considered Jihad. One of the highest levels of Jihad is to stand up to a tyrant and speak a word of truth. Control of the self from wrong doings is also a great Jihad. One of the forms of Jihad is to take up arms in defense of Islam or a Muslim country when Islam is attacked. This kind of Jihad has to be declared by the religious leadership or by a Muslim head of state who is following the Quran and Sunnah.
15. What is the Islamic Year?
The Islamic year started from the migration (Hijra) of Prophet Muhammad (P) from Mecca to Medina in 622 AD. It is a lunar year of 354 days. The first month is called Muharram. 1996 AD is in Islamic year 1416 AH.
16. What are the major Islamic festivals?
Idul Fitre, marks the end of fasting in the month of Ramadan and is celebrated with public prayers, feasts and exchange of gifts. Idul Adha marks the end of the Hajj or the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. After the public prayers, those who can afford, sacrifice a lamb or a goat to signify Prophet Abraham's obedience to God, shown by his readiness to sacrifice his son Ishmael.
17. What is Sharia?
Sharia is the comprehensive Muslim law derived form two sources, a) the Quran b) the Sunnah or traditions of Prophet Muhammad (P). It covers every aspect of daily individual and collective living. The purpose of Islamic laws are protection of individuals' basic human rights to include right to life, property, political and religious freedom and safeguarding the rights of women and minorities. The low crime rate in Muslim societies is due to the application of the Islamic laws.
18. Was Islam spread by the sword?
According to the Quran, "There is no compulsion in religion" (2:256), thus, no one can be forced to become a Muslim. While it is true that in many places where Muslim armies went to liberate people or the land, they did carry the sword as that was the weapon used at that time. However, Islam did not spread by the sword because in many places where there are Muslims now, in the Far East like Indonesia, in China, and many parts of Africa, there are no records of any Muslim armies going there. To say that Islam was spread by the sword would be to say that Christianity was spread by guns, F-16's and atomic bombs, etc., which is not true. Christianity spread by the missionary works of Christians. Ten-percent of all Arabs are Christians. The "Sword of Islam" could not convert all the non-Muslim minorities in Muslim countries. In India, where Muslims ruled for 700 years, they are still a minority. In the U.S.A., Islam is the fastest growing religion and has 6 million followers without any sword around.
19. Does Islam promote violence and terrorism?
No. Islam is religion of peace and submission and stresses on the sanctity of human life. A verse in the Quran says, [Chapter 5, verse 32], that "anyone who saves one life, it is as if he has saved the whole of mankind and anyone who has killed another person (except in lieu of murder or mischief on earth) it is as if he has killed the whole of mankind." Islam condemns all the violence which happened in the Crusades, in Spain, in WW II, or by acts of people like the Rev. Jim Jones, David Koresh, Dr. Baruch Goldstein, or the atrocities committed in Bosniaby the Christian Serbs. Anyone who is doing violence is not practicing his religion at that time. However, sometimes violence is a human response of oppressed people as it happens in Palestine. Although this is wrong, they think of this as a way to get attention. There is a lot of terrorism and violence in areas where there is no Muslim presence. For example, in Ireland, South Africa, Latin America, and Sri Lanka. Sometimes the violence is due to a struggle between those who have with those who do not have, or between those who are oppressed with those who are oppressors. We need to find out why people become terrorists. Unfortunately, the Palestinians who are doing violence are called terrorists, but not the armed Israeli settlers when they do the same sometimes even against their own people. As it turned out to be in the Oklahoma City bombing, sometime Muslims are prematurely blamed even if the terrorism is committed by non-Muslims. Sometimes those who want Peace and those who oppose Peace can be of the same religion.
20. What is "Islamic Fundamentalism"?
There is no concept of "Fundamentalism" in Islam. The western media has coined this term to brand those Muslims who wish to return to the basic fundamental principles of Islam and mould their lives accordingly. Islam is a religion of moderation and a practicing God fearing Muslim can neither be a fanatic nor an extremist.
21. Does Islam promote polygamy?
No, polygamy in Islam is a permission not an injunction. Historically, all the prophets except Jesus, who was not married, had more than one wife. For Muslim men to have more than one wife is a permission which is given to them in the Quran, not to satisfy lust, but for the welfare of the widows and the orphans of the wars. In the pre-Islamic period, men used to have many wives. One person had 11 wives and when he became Muslim, he asked the Prophet Muhammad (P), "What should I do with so many wives?" and he said, "Divorce all except the four." The Quran says, "you can marry 2 or 3 and up to 4 women if you can be equally just with each of them" (4:3). Since it is very difficult to be equally just with all wives, in practice, most of the Muslim men do not have more than one wife. Prophet Muhammad (P) himself from age 24 to 50 was married to only one woman, Khadija. In the western society, some men who have one wife have many extramarital affairs. Thus, a survey was published in "U.S.A. Today" (April 4, 1988 Section D) which asked 4,700 mistresses what they would like their status to be. They said that "they preferred being a second wife rather than the 'other woman' because they did not have the legal rights, nor did they have the financial equality of the legally married wives, and it appeared that they were being used by these men."
22. Does Islam oppress women?
No. On the contrary, Islam elevated the status of women 1,400 years ago by giving them the right to divorce, the right to have financial independence and support and the right to be identified as dignified women (Hijab) when in the rest of the world, including Europe, women had no such rights. Women are equal to men in all acts of piety (Quran 33:32). Islam allows women to keep their maiden name after marriage, their earned money and spend it as they wish, and ask men to be their protector as women on the street can be molested. Prophet Muhammad (P) told Muslim men, "the best among you is the one who is best to his family." Not Islam, but some Muslim men, do oppress women today. This is because of their cultural habits or their ignorance about their religion. Female Genital Mutilations has nothing to do with Islam. It is a pre Islamic African Custom, practiced by non Muslims including coptic Christians as well.
23. Is Islam intolerant of other religious minorities?
Islam recognizes the rights of the minority. To ensure their welfare and safety, Muslim rulers initiated a tax (Jazia) on them. Prophet Muhammad (P) forbade Muslim armies to destroy churches and synagogues. Caliph Umer did not even allow them to pray inside a church. Jews were welcomed and flourished in Muslim Spain even when they were persecuted in the rest of Europe. They consider that part of their history as the Golden Era. In Muslim countries, Christians live in prosperity, hold government positions and attend their church. Christian missionaries are allowed to establish and operate their schools and hospitals. However, the same religious tolerance is not always available to Muslim minorities as seen in the past during Spanish inquisition and the crusades, or as seen now by the events in Bosnia, Israel and India. Muslims do recognize that sometimes the actions of a ruler does not reflect the teachings of his religion.
24. How should Muslims treat Jews and Christians?
The Quran calls them "People of the Book", i.e., those who received Divine scriptures before Muhammad (P). Muslims are told to treat them with respect and justice and do not fight with them unless they initiate hostilities or ridicule their faith. The Muslims ultimate hope is that they all will join them in worshipping one God and submit to His will."Say (O Muhammad): O people of the Book (Jews and Christians) come to an agreement between us and you, that we shall worship none but Allah, and that we shall take no partners with Him, and none of us shall take others for Lords beside Allah. And if they turn away, then say: Bear witness that we are those who have surrendered (unto Him)." (Quran 3:64)What about Hindus, Bahai, Buddhists and members of other religions?They should also be treated with love, respect, and understanding to make them recipients of Invitations to Islam.

Salat Times Start End

Salat Times

Start
End
Fajr
When whitishness begins to appear on the horizon (dawn)
At beginning of sunrise
Zuhr
After sun's trailing limb crosses meridian
Start of Asr
Asr
When length of shadow =2x length of object + noon shadow (Hanafi) or When length of shadow = length of object + noon shadow (Shafi)
Before sunset
Maghrib
Sunset
Reddishness in the sky
Isha
After reddishness in sky (dusk) ends
Midnight (afzal), next fajr (makruhFajr When whitishness begins to appear on the horizon (dawn) At beginning of sunrise

Zuhr After sun's trailing limb crosses meridian Start of Asr

Asr When length of shadow =2x length of object + noon shadow (Hanafi) or
When length of shadow = length of object + noon shadow (Shafi) Before sunset

Maghrib Sunset Reddishness in the sky
Isha After reddishness in sky (dusk) ends Midnight (afzal), next fajr (makruh

Definition

Definition of prayer times
FAJR starts with the dawn or morning twilight. Fajr ends just before sunrise.
ZUHR begins after midday when the trailing limb of the sun has passed the meridian. For convenience, many published prayer timetables add five minutes to mid-day (zawal) to obtain the start of Zuhr. Zuhr ends at the start of Asr time.
The timing of ASR depends on the length of the shadow cast by an object. According to the Shafi school of jurisprudence, Asr begins when the length of the shadow of an object exceeds the length of the object. According to the Hanafi school of jurisprudence, Asr begins when the length of the shadow exceeds TWICE the length of the object. In both cases, the minimum length of shadow (which occurs when the sun passes the meridian) is subtracted from the length of the shadow before comparing it with the length of the object.
MAGHRIB begins at sunset and ends at the start of isha.
ISHA starts after dusk when the evening twilight disappears.

Qibla

http://www.islamicfinder.org/qiblapic/q-31-45-60.j

Q1. Is Qiblah Direction toward the Geographical North or Magnetic North? Ans. IslamicFinder provides Qiblah direction with respect to Geographical north, whereas the compass gives magnetic north, the magnetic north varies from city to city and varies with time as well, and therefore magnetic north can not be used to fix Qiblah directions for Mosques. Q2. What is the difference between Geographical North and Magnetic North? Ans. True North Pole is marked on the Globe as a top hinge of the stand. Magnetic North is the direction where a magnetic needle would point if it is pivoted freely, because it aligns with magnetic field inside the earth. Earth’s rotation and iron core creates a magnetic field much like giant magnet. However the ends or poles of the magnet do not match the Earth’s geographic poles. To make things worse, the magnetic pole tends to wander or drift, so its location can change over time. Fortunately the drift is minor, and not significant for wilderness navigation. Q3. What is correct Qiblah direction from North America, North-East or South-East? Ans. One group of people favors the direction of South-East, and another group favors North-East. Now the question is whether South-East is correct or North-East is correct. Those who favor South-East are misleading by looking at the flat map with an argument that Makkah is south and East of North America. The fallacy is that the earth is not a flat plane; it is more like a sphere floating in space of three dimensions. North Pole is a point from where every direction is south; there is no East or West from there. If you take a globe and stretch a thread from Alaska to Makkah, you will see that the thread passes through or close by North Pole. So, the Qiblah from Alaska will be towards North. For more detail check out http://moonsighting.com/qibla.html

Masjids

Masjids, Islamic Centers and Muslim Owned Businesses
Masjid An-Nour, Miami, FLPhone: 305-408-0400
Masjid Miami/ Flagler Masjid, Miami, FLURL: www.miamimuslim.org Phone: 305-261-7622
Miami Gardens Masjid, Miami, FLPhone: (305) 624-5555
Shamsuddin Masjid & Library, Miami, FLPhone: 786-428-0005
Islamic School of Miami, Miami, FLURL: http://www.fiu.edu/~msafiu Phone: 305-264-0884
Muslim Students of University of Miami (MSUM), Miami, FLURL: http://MSofUM.blogspot.com Phone:
AMANA, Miami, FLURL: www.al-amana.org Phone: (305) 945-0414
MeccaCentric Da'wah Group, Miami, FLURL: www.meccacentric.com Phone: (305) 385-2776
Universal Heritage Institute, Miami, FLPhone: 305 666 9550

Description of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH)

The following is an excerpt from the book entitled "The Message of Mohammad", by Athar Husain. Among other things, it talks about some of the personal characteristics of the prophet Mohammed (Peace Be Upon Him), the final messenger of Allah (God). It has been edited slightly in order to reduce it's length. Care has been taken not to change the content inshallah. The topics include:
Appearance
Dress
Mode of living
His manners and disposition
Children
Daily routine
Trust in Allah
Justice
Equality
Kindness to animals
Love for the poor

Prayer Cards

Prayer Card Tasbi Index
Prayer Card No. 01: Allâhumâ salli alâ Muhammadin wa âle Muhammad and Pir-Shâh
Prayer Card No. 02: Yâ Ali Madad and Pir-Shâh
Prayer Card No. 03: Yâ Hayyul, Yâ Qayyum, and Pir-Shâh
Prayer Card No. 04: Yâ Allâh, Yâ Wahâb, Yâ Ali, Allâhu Samad and Pir-Shâh
Prayer Card No. 05: 'Innaa lillaahi wa- 'innaaa 'ilayhi raaji-'uunn and Pir-Shâh
Prayer Card No. 06: Yâ Sabuur and Pir-Shâh
Prayer Card No. 07: Astaghafirullahi Rabbi Wa Atubu Ilayhi and Pir-Shâh
Prayer Card No. 08: Yâ Ghafuur, Yâ Ghaffâr, Yâ Tawwâb, Yâ Afuw and Pir-Shâh
Prayer Card No. 09: Allâhu Akbar, Subhan Allâh, Al-hamdu Lillâh and Pir-Shâh
Prayer Card No. 10: Allâhu Akbar, Subhan Allâh, Al-hamdu Lillâh, Lâ ilâhâ illa-llâh and Pir-Shâh
Prayer Card No. 11: Shukran Lillâh Wal Hamdu Lillâh and Pir-Shâh
Prayer Card No. 12: Yâ Rabbil Âlameen and Pir-Shâh
Prayer Card No. 13: Yâ Rahemân, Yâ Rahim and Pir-Shâh
Prayer Card No. 14: Yâ Mâlik, Yâ Quddus, Yâ Salâm, Yâ Mu'min and Pir-Shâh
Prayer Card No. 15: Yâ Muhaymin, Yâ Aziz, Yâ Jabbâr, Yâ Mutakabbir and Pir-Shâh
Prayer Card No. 16: Ihdinas-Siratal Mustaqeem and Pir-Shâh
Prayer Card No. 17: Yâ Wali, Yâ Karim, and Pir-Shâh
Prayer Card No. 18: Yâ Awwal, Yâ Akhir, Yâ Zâhir, Yâ Bâtin and Pir-Shâh
Prayer Card No. 19: Wa Kulla Shaii'in Ahsanahu Fee Imamim Mubeen and Pir-Shâh
Prayer Card No. 20: Yâ Salâm and Pir-Shâh
Prayer Card No. 21: Yâ Dhul-Jalâli-wal-Ikrâm and Pir-Shâh
Prayer Card No. 22: Yâ Ali Bi-Lutfiaka Adrikni and Pir-Shâh
Prayer Card No. 23: Yâ Fattâh and Pir-Shâh
Prayer Card No. 24: Lâ fatâ illâ Aliyyun wa lâ sayfâ illâ Dhu'l-faqâr and Pir-Shâh
Prayer Card No. 25: Yâ Razzâq, Yâ Mughni, and Pir-Shâh
Prayer Card No. 26: Yâ Ali, Yâ Muhammad, Yâ Muhammad, Yâ Ali and Pir-Shâh
Prayer Card No. 27: Yâ Imâmaz-Zamân, Ya Mowlânâ, Anta Quwwati and Pir-Shâh
Prayer Card No. 28: Lâ hawlâ wa lâ quwwat illâ bi'llahi'l-aliyyi'l-azim and Pir-Shâh
Prayer Card No. 29: Yâ Ali, Yâ Qadir, and Pir-Shâh
Prayer Card No. 30: Yâ Nur, Yâ Hâdi, and Pir-Shâh
Prayer Card No. 31: Yâ Khâliq, Yâ Bâri, Yâ Musawwir and Pir-Shâh
Prayer Card No. 32: Allâh Hû and Pir-Shâh
Prayer Card No. 33: Haqq, Haqq, Hû, Haqq and Pir-Shâh
Prayer Card No. 34: Yâ Tawwâb and Pir-Shâh
Prayer Card No. 35: Surah Falaq (The Daybreak) & Surah Naas (Mankind) and Pir-Shâh
Prayer Card No. 36: Lâ ilâha illâ anta subhânaka inni kuntu mina'z-zâlimin and Pir-Shâh
Prayer Card No. 37: Hasbuna'llâhu Wa Nima'l-Wakil and Pir-Shâh
Prayer Card No. 38: Tabâraka'smu Rabbika Dhi'l-Jalâli Wa'l-Ikram and Pir-Shâh
Prayer Card No. 39: Yâ Ali, Yâ Allâh, Yâ Muhammad, Yâ Muhammad, Yâ Ali and Pir-Shâh
Prayer Card No. 40: Comprehensive Du'a and Pir-Shâh

Holy Quran Translations: List of Chapters

Qur'anic Treasures Index
1.
Surah Faatihah (Holy Qur'an 1:1-7)
2.
Surah Ikhlas (Holy Qur'an 112:1-4)
3.
Salwat: Prayer for blessings on the Holy Prophet and his Descendants (Holy Qur'an 33:56)
4.
Raaji-'uunn (returning) (Holy Qur'an 2:156)
5.
Ayatul Kursi (Holy Qur'an 2:255)
6.
Supplication (Holy Qur'an 2:286)
7.
Allah's Beautiful Names (Holy Qur'an 59:22-24)
8.
Surah 'A-laa (Holy Qur'an 87:1-19)
9.
Surah Falaq (Holy Qur'an 113:1-5) &Surah Naas (Holy Qur'an 114:1-6)



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Tasbih

Tasbih (تسبيح) is a form of dhikr that involves the repetitive utterances of short sentences glorifying God. The term can also be used loosely to refer to any kind of dhikr.[citation needed] To keep track of counting either the phalanges of the right hand or a misbaha is used.

Subhan'allah (سبحان الله) (Glory be to Allah) – repeated 33 times.
Alhamdulillah (الحمد لله) (Gratitude be to Allah) – repeated 33 times.
Allahu akbar (الله أكبر) (God is the greatest) – repeated 33 times.


The most cited Hadiths in support of the practice are the following:

من سبح لله في دبر كل صلاة ، ثلاثاً و ثلاثين وحمد الله ثلاثاً وثلاثين وكبر ثلاثاً وثلاثين تكبيرة ، وقال تمام المئة ، لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له ، له الملك وله الحمد وهو على كل شيء قدير ، غفرت له خطاياه وإن كانت مثل زبد البحر ) – He who said Subhan'allah (Glory be to Allah) at the rear of each prayer thirty three times and thanked God thirty three times and performed takbir (Said Allahu Akbar: Greatest is Allah) thirty three times, and said there is no god but Allah nor he has a partner, his is the Mulk (All that is) and to him is Gratitude and he capable of everything, his transgressions would be forgiven even if they were as much as sea froth). Transmited by Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj
معقبات لا يخيب قائلهن أو فاعلهن دبر كل صلاة مكتوبة ، ثلاثاً وثلاثين تسبيحة وثلاثاً وثلاثين تحميدة وأربعاً وثلاثين تكبيرة *ndash; Endings whose sayer or doer at the rear of every prayer may never be abortive: thirty three tasbihas (Glorification of Allah), thirty three tahmida (The expression of gratitude to Allah) and thirty four takbira [the saying of Allahu Akbar]). Transmited by Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj

Titles

ALLAHU ..( SWT)....SUBHANAHU WA THAALA...

MUHAMMAD...(SAW)..SWALLALLAHU ALAIHI WA SALLAM...

NAME OF COMPANIANS..EG:ABUBAKR OR KHADIJA..-------(RTA)..RALIYALLAHU THAALA ANHU..(for gents)...RALIYALLAHU THAALA ANHA ( for ladies)

ALL ANGELS..AND ALL PROPHETS..EXCEPT OUR PROPHET..:EG..JESUS..or jibril.. ALAIHISSALAM

If you ask me ....

Khadijah

This noble lady, known to us as Mother of the Believers and the first wife of our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him), was the first person ever to accept Islam after it had been revealed to him by Jibreel(Angel Gabriel).

This noble woman, too, would love and support the Prophet for the rest of her life, no matter what difficulties he faced and no matter what people said about him or about her. Her acceptance of Islam was total.

There is a truly beautiful story told by Yahyaibn`Afeef about an occasion when he visited Makkah to stay with Al-`Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib, one of the uncles of the Prophet.

When the sun started rising, he said, "I saw a man who came out of a place not far from us, faced the Ka`bah, and started performing his prayers. He hardly started before being joined by a young boy who stood on his right side, then by a woman who stood behind them. When he bowed down, the young boy and the woman bowed, and when he stood up straight, they, too, did likewise. When he prostrated himself, they, too, prostrated themselves."

Then he expressed his amazement at that, saying to Al-`Abbas, "This is quite strange, `Abbas!"

"Is it really?" retorted Al-`Abbas, who asked his guest if he knew who this man was and went on to tell him, "He is Muhammad ibn `Abdullah, my nephew. Do you know who the young boy is?"

When Yahyha said that he didn't know, he was told, "He is `Ali ibn Abi Talib. Do you know who the woman is?" The answer came again in the negative, to which Al-`Abbas said, "She is Khadijah bint Khuaylid, my nephew's wife" (Ahmad and At-Tirmidhi).
Her story is important to us not just because she was one of the four most noble ladies ever to have lived (the others being her daughter Fatimah; Maryam, the mother of Jesus; andAsiyah,the wife of Pharaoh, who saved the baby Moses), but because we can learn from her about how to accept Islam in our own lives, too.

Khadijah bint Khuwaylid was born in 565 CE, and she belonged to the distinguished Makkah tribe of Banu Hashim. Both her parents were very wealthy and she inherited their wealth when they died. It does not concern us here to detail every moment of her life, but rather to describe her life in terms of her journey to Islam and her life as a Muslim, helping us to be better Muslims as a result.

Most unusually, in a society given over to idol worship, she never believed in idols or prayed to them. She was so upstanding a person and so respected among her people that she was one of the most distinguished ladies of Quraish. Khadijah was known as At-Tahirah (the Pure One).

She had twice been married, having lost both of her husbands in battle, and did not seek to marry a third time, lest she should lose this husband, too. At the time, Makkah was a great trading center and Khadijah was one of the wealthiest traders in the city. It is said, for example, that when the trading caravans used to gather to set off for Syria or Yemen, Khadijah's caravan would equal those of all the rest of the Quraish put together.

So it was that the noble lady Khadijah asked her very distant younger cousin, Muhammad, to lead one of her caravans to Syria, on account of the trustworthiness of his character. The trading expedition was a great success, even though Muhammad knew nothing of trade. He impressed Khadijah by his character. Of all the men she could have chosen, Muhammad was the one she offered marriage to. Muhammad, 25 years old at the time, accepted, even though Khadijah was 15 years his senior.
The marriage was to last until Khadijah died. The couple were devoted to each other. She bore his children and she accompanied him in every endeavor. When the Qur'an was first revealed to Muhammad by Jibreel,
Muhammad did not know what this new message could mean and he rushed back to his wife to find an answer. Was it that something terrible had happened to him, he thought. Khadijah's answer was clear: "Never," she told him. "I swear by Allah, Allah would never disgrace you. You keep good relations with your family, help the feeble and destitute, serve your guests generously, and assist those who deserve help."



She took Muhammad to see her cousin, Waraqah ibn Nawfal, an old and devout Christian man, who had left paganism for Christianity. The rest of the story is familiar to us. Waraqah confirmed that the messenger who had spoken to Muhammad was none other than Jibreel, who had spoken to Moses, and that Muhammad was Allah's Prophet.

Of all people in the world, it was Khadijah who was the first to accept Islam. Without question, and trusting totally in the honesty and the sincerity of Muhammad, she declared her belief in the Oneness of Allah and that Muhammad was His Messenger.

It is beyond the scope of these few brief lines to say more about the noble Khadijah. Muhammad took no other wife while she was alive. At her death, she was buried outside Makkah in a grave dug by the Prophet himself. The Prophet was later to remark of his beloved Khadijah that "she believed in me when all others disbelieved; she held me truthful when others called me a liar; she sheltered me when others abandoned me; she comforted me when others shunned me; and Allah granted me children by her while depriving me of children by other women."

Apart from the beauty of her character and her devout and pious life as a Muslim, Khadijah teaches us to submit totally to Allah. Her life asks us to accept without question the promptings of Allah in our own lives. She teaches us to love our Prophet as much as she did, and to be with him in all that we do. She touches our hearts with her tender love for the Prophet and by the way she sheltered him throughout life. Instead of mouthing words that cost nothing, she dedicated her life to Allah and to His Prophet.

As At-Tahirah, Khadijah invites us, too, to live lives that are pure and to become better Muslims, for Allah's sake. In sha' Allah, her life and example will inspire us to draw others to Islam.

about Islam

Who is Allah?
Allah means God. It is a personal name, which Allah calls Himself in the Koran. That is where we get it. It can also be found in an Aramaic copy of the Bible, and even Christian Arabs say Allah.

Who is Jesus to us?
Jesus peace be upon Him is a true prophet. Sent by Allah like Moses, Abraham, Lot, Noah, Jonah, Joseph …etc.

Who were Jesus's parents?
Jesus is the son of Virgin Mary, and he had no father. Allah created Jesus.

Can Jesus, or Mohammed peace be upon them be worshipped?
No, Allah does not accept that a cow, a person, an angel, a prophet, a stone, or anything be worshipped in place of him, or even along with Him. Worship must be to Allah the creator of them.

Is Allah the same as what Christians call the father?
Allah is the creator who Jesus worshipped. He is the Creator who spoke to Moses, and split the sea for Moses, and his followers. That is Allah. But Allah tells us: "Say Allah is one, He is Perfect, He has never begotten, nor was He begott, and there is no one equal to Him".

Is there a trinity in Islam?
No. Allah is perfect.

Do we believe that Allah created the heavens and earth in 6 days?
Yes, but He did not rest on the seventh day, because He did not get tired. Allah is perfect He does not get tired, nor does He sleep, eat, go to the bathroom, feel pain, or die for that matter.

Can we see Allah?
Allah is not like the sun. Anyone can see the Sun. But Allah is the most beautiful. Nothing is as beautiful as Allah. Actually looking at Allah is the greatest pleasure of the people in Pradise. This pleasure Allah does not give anyone but the believers. So no one will see Allah before he dies.

Does Allah see us?
Allah sees us, and knows everything about us. He knows us better than we know ourselves. There is not a leaf on a tree that blows away, or stays in its place except that He knows it. There is not a dry spot, nor a wet spot, nor a grain in the depths of the earth except that Allah knows it.

Do we have free will?
Yes, of course. Allah does not punish us for something we did not do on our own. But at the same time, our will is not inspire of Allah's will. We cannot do anything if Allah will not allow it. In other words nothing goes on in Allah's kingdom without His will.

Did Allah create Evil?
Yes, Allah created the good, and the bad. Whatever bad happens to us is due to our sins. We sin and Allah pardons much of what we do; however, when something bad happens to us it is our fault, and we are to blame. Bad things that happen to a person are a chance for that person to reflect, and ask: ”Why is this happening to me?” A chance for a person to return from his sin, and obey, and worship Allah.

Do bad things happen to the believers (good people)?
Yes, they do. But they appear bad to the believers cause they are things people don't like. Who likes breaking a leg? However, when a bad thing happens to a believer this believer is patient. He praises Allah in all circumstances. He knows Allah does not decree something unless it is for his own good.

But how can breaking a leg are good for a beleiver?
Because it is a chance for the believer to think about what he did wrong.

Also because Allah forgives much of what we do, but those things we are not forgiven, they are forgiven due to our patience when we are struck by a calamity. Allah gives us better reward when a problem strikes us on earth if we are patient. This reward can be on earth, and it can be in Heaven.

Does Allah hear my prayers?
Yes.

Does Allah answer my prayers?
We know that Allah answers all the prayers of the believers. This can be in 4 ways:

1- Get what we are asking for!

2- Get something as good or better!

3- We get spared something bad that would have happened otherwise.

4- We get rewarded on the day of Judgment with a much greater reward than what we were asking for on earth.

When does Allah not answer our prayers?
* When it is bad for us!

* When we ask, but not from our heart!

* When we say: I asked and asked and He did not answer.

* When we eat, drink, and wear unlawful, food, and clothes, and property that wa earned either through interest from the bank, or that was stolen, or if the food was pork, or the like.

What can I ask of Allah?
Any thing but don't ask Him to do things like make you a prophet. Cause He has already said that there will be no more prophets.

You can ask Allah for guidance. Meaning you can ask Him to show you the correct religion.

Who are my best friends?
Your best friends are the ones that care where you go after you are dead. This is like the prophets. They cared that we go to heaven, even if it meant some hardship on earth.

Who is my worst enemy?
That would be the devils, whether they are human devils (evil people), or Jinn devils (like Iblis) The Arabic word for a devil is Shaytan (similar to Satan). Satan wants us all to go to hell. He wants us to be bad on earth, even if we get rich, or do lots of wrong things that we appear to enjoy, he does not mind that. But he wants to make sure we don't go to heaven.

What is it that keeps us from entering Heaven?
Worship of anyone other than Allah is the greatest sin. It is called shirk, and this is not forgiven except through repentance.

Where is Allah?
Allah is the highest. He is high above ALL of His creation. He is ascended upon a Throne, which is greater than the heavens, and the Earth. Much much much greater than the heavens and the earth. So much greater that the heavens and the earth could fit in the footstool of the throne, and they would be like a ring thrown into an open desert. Allah is certainly the greatest.

Does Allah look like us?
No Allah is perfect. He is not like any of His creation. He has told us that He has Hands, Eyes, a Face, and Foot. But all of these attributes are befitting to His might and Glory.

A Muslim does not say a single thing about Allah other than what Allah says about Himself. We don't say He is like a clover, He got tired, He is Jealous!

Allah is Perfect, and Unique.

What does it mean to believe in Allah?
It means to believe in Allah in total perfection, and uniqueness.

It means to believe in His prophets cause they are His, and He sent them. We cannot pick and choose. A Muslim must believe in all the prophets of Allah.

It means to believe in the Angles! We must love them all, we cannot hate an Angel say, for example, to hate Michael who is charged with rain, and the vegetation of the Earth, or Gabriel who is charged with revelation (brings down the scriptures to the prophets).

It means to believe in Allah's predestination of good, and bad (relative to us, but to Allah everything Allah does is good).

It means to believe in the last day: The day of Judgment.

When is the Day of Judgment?
Only Allah knows.

Are there signs for the day of Judgment?
Plenty, plenty, plenty. Many have already occurred.

To name a few,

Objects will begin to talk.

There will be much killing. The killer won't know why he killed, and the guy that was killed won't know why he was killed.

The Antichrist will come.

Prophet Jesus son of Mary will return.

Gog and Magog will be set free.

The sun will rise from the west (after this one there can be no more repentance)

What about non-Muslims do they go to heaven?
Allah only accepts Islam. He says in the Koran: "Whoever seeks a religion other than Islam it won't be accepted of him, and he will be one of the loosers in the hereafter". I would rather loose anywhere, but not loose in the hereafter. This is because Hellfire is eternal. It never ends, and we never die when we go there, if we go there.

What about someone who never heard of Islam?
Allah is the most just. Don't even think that we can be nicer than Allah. Allah is the Most Just, and He said in the Koran "We were not to punish till having sent a warner". The "We" here is the majestic we used in Arabic. So if a person never heard about Islam, and was never warned clearly Allah would have a special test for that person that He knows is equal to the chance that person would have had on earth.

How do we know Islam is the truth?
It is the only religion that:

1- Hold Allah as One, Unique, and Perfect.

2- A lonly worship of Allah, not Jesus, not an idol, and not an angel only Allah.

3- The Koran does not contain contradictions.

4- The Koran contains scientific facts, which are 1300 years ahead of their time. The Koran while revealed 1400 years ago contains scientific facts, which are only now being discovered. It is not in contradiction to science.

5- Allah challenges the world to produce the like of the Koran. And He says they won't be able to.

6- Prophet Mohammed was the most influential man in History. Even a non-Muslim wrote a book called the 100 most influential men in History, and Prophet Mohammed was #1. Prophet Jesus was #3. Note even Prophet Jesus was a prophet sent by Allah. Would Allah allow a false prophet to be so successful? No. Even the Bible says this in Deuteronomy 18:19. A false prophet would die!!! Yet Prophet Mohammed did not die till he completely conveyed, and taught Allah's religion.

7- He had many prophecies, and all of his prophecies have come true, or are still coming true.



Most importantly is this:
Allah created us, and we know that we should only worship Him. This is an instinct Allah has created us with. He did not just leave us, rather He sent prophets for us. These prophets had miracles as proof. The miracle for us today is the Koran. There is no other religion that worships only Allah, and believes in Him as totally perfect, and believes in all of His prophets, and scriptures.

Can anyone become a Muslim?
Yes anyone can. There are two declarations, which are necessary:

1- To bear witness that no one deserves to be worship except Allah

2- To bear witness that Prophet Mohammed is the Messenger of Allah.

This makes a person Muslim. But it should be said in Arabic. Next a person takes a shower, and He/She is a Muslim.

Then What?
After a person becomes Muslim he/she is taught about Prayers, Fasting, the Poor due, Pilgrimage. These are pillars of Islam.

Then What?
Muslims are brothers. A Muslim should love for his brother what he loves for himself. Allah's wealth does not run out, and Allah can provide for us all. We pray for each other, and love each other, and love for our brothers and sisters

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