Friday, January 11, 2008

Hijrah: Migration for Peace and Justice

After Muhammad (SAW) had preached publicly for more than a decade, the opposition to him reached such a high pitch that, fearful for their safety, he sent some of his adherents to Ethiopia, where the Christian ruler extended protection to them, the memory of which has been cherished by Muslims ever since. But in Mecca the persecution worsened. Muhammad's (SAW) followers were harassed, abused, and even tortured. At last, therefore, Muhammad (SAW) sent seventy of his followers off to the northern town of Yathrab, which was later renamed Medina ("The City"). Later, in the early fall of 622, he learned of a plot to murder him and, with his closest friend, Abubakr Siddiq (RAU), set off to join the emigrants.

In Mecca the plotters arrived at Muhammad's (SAW) home to find that his cousin, Ali (RAU), had taken his place in bed. Enraged, the Meccans set a price on Muhammad's (SAW) head and set off in pursuit. Muhammad (SAW) and Abubakr (RAU), however, had taken refuge in a cave where, as they hid from their pursuers, a spider spun its web across the cave's mouth. When they saw that the web was unbroken, the Meccans passed by and Muhammad (SAW) and Abubakr (RAU) went on to Medina, where they were joyously welcomed by a throng of Medinans as well as the Meccans who had gone ahead to prepare the way.

This was the Hijrah - from which the Muslim era is dated. In fact, the Hijrah was a carefully planned migration which marks not only a break in history - the beginning of the Islamic era- but also, for Muhammad (SAW) and the Muslims, a new way of life. Henceforth, the organizational principle of the community was not to be mere blood kinship, but the greater brotherhood of all Muslims. The men who accompanied Muhammad (SAW) on the Hijrah were called the Muhajirun - "those that made the Hijrah" or the "Emigrants" - while those in Medina who became Muslims were called the Ansar or "Helpers."

Muhammad (SAW) was well acquainted with the situation in Medina. Earlier, before the Hijrah, the city had sent envoys to Mecca asking Muhammad (SAW) to mediate a dispute between two powerful tribes. What the envoys saw and heard had impressed them and they had invited Muhammad (SAW) to settle in Medina. After the Hijrah, Muhammad's (SAW) exceptional qualities so impressed the Medinans that the rival tribes and their allies temporarily closed ranks as, on March 15, 624, Muhammad (SAW) and his supporters moved against the pagans of Mecca.

The first battle, which took place near Badr, now a small town southwest of Medina, had several important effects. In the first place, the Muslim forces, outnumbered three to one, routed the Meccans. Secondly, the discipline displayed by the Muslims brought home to the Meccans, perhaps for the first time, the abilities of the man they had driven from their
city. Thirdly, one of the allied tribes which had pledged support to the Muslims in the Battle of Badr, but had then proved lukewarm when the fighting started, was expelled from Medina one month after the battle. Those who claimed to be allies of the Muslims, but tacitly opposed them, were thus served warning: membership in the community imposed the obligation of total support.

A year later the Meccans struck back. Assembling an army of three thousand men, they met the Muslims at Uhud, a ridge outside Medina. After an initial success the Muslims were driven back and the Prophet himself was wounded. As the Muslims were not completely defeated, the Meccans, with an army of ten thousand, attacked Medina again two years later but with quite different results. At the Battle of the Trench, also known as the Battle of the Confederates, the Muslims scored a signal victory by introducing a new defense. On the side of Medina from which attack was expected they dug a trench too deep for the Meccan cavalry to clear without exposing itself to the archers posted behind earthworks on the Medina side. After an inconclusive siege, the Meccans were forced to retire. Thereafter Medina was entirely in the hands of the Muslims.

The Constitution of Medina - under which the clans accepting Muhammad (SAW) as the Prophet of God formed an alliance, or federation - dates from this period. It showed that the political consciousness of the Muslim community had reached an important point; its members defined themselves as a community separate from all others. The Constitution also defined the role of non-Muslims in the community. Jews, for example, were part of the community; they were dhimmis, that is, protected people, as long as they conformed to its laws. This established a precedent for the treatment of subject peoples during the later conquests. Christians and Jews, upon payment of a yearly tax, were allowed religious freedom and, while maintaining their status as non-Muslims, were associate members of the Muslim state. This status did not apply to polytheists, who could not be tolerated within a community that worshipped the One God.

Ibn-e-Ishaq, one of the earliest biographers of the Prophet, says it was at about this time that Muhammad (SAW) sent letters to the rulers of the earth - the King of Persia, the Emperor of Byzantium, the Negus of Abyssinia, and the Governor of Egypt among others - inviting them to submit to Islam. Nothing more fully illustrates the confidence of the small community, as its military power, despite the battle of the Trench, was still negligible. But its confidence was not misplaced. Muhammad (SAW) so effectively built up a series of alliances among the tribes his early years with the Bedouins must have stood him in good stead here- that by 628 he and fifteen hundred followers were able to demand access to the Ka'bah during negotiations with the Meccans. This was a milestone in the history of the Muslims. Just a short time before, Muhammad (SAW) had to leave the city of his birth in fear of his life. Now he was being treated by his former enemies as a leader in his own right. A year later, in 629, he reentered and, in effect, conquered Mecca without bloodshed and in a spirit of tolerance which established an ideal for future conquests. He also destroyed the idols in the Ka'bah, to put an end forever to pagan practices there. At the same time Muhammad (SAW) won the allegiance of 'Amr ibn al-'As (RAU), the future conqueror of Egypt, and Khalid ibn al-Walid (RAU), the future "Sword of God," both of whom embraced Islam and joined Muhammad (SAW). Their conversion was especially noteworthy because these men had been among Muhammad's (SAW) bitterest opponents only a short time before. In one sense Muhammad's (SAW) return to Mecca was the climax of his mission. In 632, just three years later, he was suddenly taken ill and on June 8 of that year, with his third wife 'Aishah (RAU) in attendance, the Messenger of God "died with the heat of noon."

The death of Muhammad (SAW) was a profound loss. To his followers this simple man from Mecca was far more than a beloved friend, far more than a gifted administrator, far more than the revered leader who had forged a new state from clusters of warring tribes. Muhammad (SAW) was also the exemplar of the teachings he had brought them from God: the teachings of the Quran, which, for centuries, have guided the thought and action, the faith and conduct, of innumerable men and women, and which ushered in a distinctive era in the history of mankind. His death, nevertheless, had little effect on the dynamic society he had created in Arabia, and no effect at all on his central mission: to transmit the Quran to the world. As Abubakr (RAU) put it: "Whoever worshipped Muhammad (SAW), let him know that Muhammad (SAW) is dead, but whoever worshipped God, let him know that God lives and dies not."

Monday, January 7, 2008

Quotes of the Day


Seven Wonders of the World

Complete List of the 7 Wonders

The Seven Wonders of the World has historically been a listing of seven sites known to the Ancient Greeks as the most notable locales in their known world.

Since then, many have developed lists of the "modern" Seven Wonders of the World. The only list that really stands out and has stood the test of time for more than a decade is the Seven Wonders of the Modern World, developed by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

The Original Seven Wonders of the World

1. The Colossus of Rhodes
2. The Great Pyramid of Giza
3. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
4. The Lighthouse of Alexandria
5. The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
6. The Statue of Zeus at Olympia
7. The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus

The Seven Wonders of the Modern World

1. Channel Tunnel
2. CN Tower
3. Empire State Building
4. Golden Gate Bridge
5. Itaipu Dam
6. Netherlands North Sea Protection Works
7. Panama Canal

Natural Wonders of the World

In 1997, CNN announced a listing of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World...

1. Grand Canyon
2. The Great Barrier Reef
3. The Harbor at Rio de Janeiro
4. Mt. Everest
5. Northern Lights
6. Paricutin Volcano
7. Victoria Falls

The "New" Seven Wonders of the World

On July 7, 2007 (7-7-07) an organization announced a "new" set of the Seven Wonders of the World based on online voting from around the world...

1. Chichen Itza, Mexico - Mayan City
2. Christ Redeemer, Brazil - Large Statue
3. The Great Wall, China
4. Machu Picchu, Peru
5. Petra, Jordan - Ancient City
6. The Roman Colosseum, Italy
7. The Taj Mahal, India

Sunday, January 6, 2008

Timeline: Pakistan

(From Birth of Muslim League To Death of Benazir Bhutto)

1906 - Muslim League founded as forum for Indian Muslim separatism.

Muhammad Ali Jinnah - founding father of Pakistan
Born in Karachi, 1876
Pakistan's first head of state until his death in 1948

1940 - Muslim League endorses idea of separate nation for India's Muslims.
1947 - Muslim state of East and West Pakistan created out of partition of India at the end of British rule. Hundreds of thousands die in widespread communal violence and millions are made homeless.
1948 - Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the first governor general of Pakistan, dies.
1948 - First war with India over disputed territory of Kashmir.
1951 - Jinnah's successor Liaquat Ali Khan is assassinated.
1956 - Constitution proclaims Pakistan an Islamic republic.

Military rule

1958 - Martial law declared and General Ayyub Khan takes over.
1960 - General Ayyub Khan becomes president.

War and secession

1965 - Second war with India over Kashmir.
1969 - General Ayyub Khan resigns and General Yahya Khan takes over.
1970 - Victory in general elections in East Pakistan for breakaway Awami League, leading to rising tension with West Pakistan.
1971 - East Pakistan attempts to secede, leading to civil war. India intervenes in support of East Pakistan which eventually breaks away to become Bangladesh.
1972 - Shimla peace agreement with India sets new frontline in Kashmir.
1973 - Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto becomes prime minister.

Zia takes charge
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was ousted and executed

1977 - Riots erupt over allegations of vote-rigging by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's
Pakistan People's Party (PPP). General Zia ul-Haq stages military coup.
1978 - General Zia becomes president.
1979 - Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto hanged.
1980 - US pledges military assistance to Pakistan following Soviet intervention in Afghanistan.
1985 - Martial law and political parties ban lifted.
1986 - Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's daughter Benazir returns from exile to lead PPP in campaign for fresh elections.
1988 August - General Zia, the US ambassador and top Pakistan army officials die in mysterious air crash.
Ghulam Ishaq Khan takes over as acting president, and is later elected to the post. Bhutto comeback
General Zia's death in 1988 ended 11-year military rule
1988 November - Benazir Bhutto's PPP wins general election.
1990 - Benazir Bhutto dismissed as prime minister on charges of incompetence and corruption.
1991 - Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif begins economic liberalisation programme. Islamic Shariah law formally incorporated into legal code.
1992 - Government launches campaign to stamp out violence by Urdu- speaking supporters of the Mohajir Quami Movement.
1993 - President Khan and Prime Minister Sharif both resign under pressure from military. General election brings Benazir Bhutto back to power.

Politics and corruption
Benazir Bhutto was twice dismissed over alleged corruption

1996 - President Leghari dismisses Bhutto government amid corruption
allegations.
1997 - Nawaz Sharif returns as prime minister after his Pakistan Muslim League party wins elections.
1998 - Pakistan conducts its own nuclear tests after India explodes several
devices.
1999 April - Benazir Bhutto and her husband convicted of corruption and given jail sentences. Benazir stays out of the country.
1999 May - Kargil conflict: Pakistan-backed forces clash with the Indian
military in the icy heights around Kargil in Indian-held Kashmir. More than 1,000 people are killed on both sides.
1999 October - Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif overthrown in military coup led by General Pervez Musharraf. Coup is widely condemned, Pakistan is suspended from Commonwealth.
2000 April - Nawaz Sharif sentenced to life imprisonment on hijacking and
terrorism charges.
2000 December - Nawaz Sharif goes into exile in Saudi Arabia after being
pardoned by military authorities.
Nawaz Sharif, ousted in 1999 coup, lives in exile
2001 20 June - Gen Pervez Musharraf names himself president while remaining head of the army. He replaced the figurehead president, Rafiq Tarar, who vacated his position earlier in the day after the parliament that elected him was dissolved.
2001 July - Musharraf meets Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in the first summit between the two neighbours in more than two years. The meeting ends without a breakthrough or even a joint statement because of differences over Kashmir.
2001 September - Musharraf swings in behind the US in its fight against
terrorism and supports attacks on Afghanistan. US lifts some sanctions imposed after Pakistan's nuclear tests in 1998, but retains others put in place after

Kashmir tensions

2001 October - India fires on Pakistani military posts in the heaviest firing
along the dividing line of control in Kashmir for almost a year.
2001 December - India imposes sanctions against Pakistan, to force it to take action against two Kashmir militant groups blamed for a suicide attack on parliament in New Dehli. Pakistan retaliates with similar sanctions.
2001 December - India, Pakistan mass troops along common border amid mounting fears of a looming war.

Tensions with India over Kashmir go back decades

2002 January - President Musharraf bans two militant groups - Lashkar-e- Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad - and takes steps to curb religious extremism.
2002 January - Musharraf announces that elections will be held in October 2002 to end three years of military rule.
2002 April - Musharraf wins another five years in office in a referendum
criticised as unconstitutional and fraught with irregularities.
2002 May - 14 people, including 11 French technicians, are killed in a suicide attack on a bus in Karachi. The following month 12 people are killed in a suicide attack outside the US consulate in the city.

Missile tests

2002 May - Pakistan test fires three medium-range surface-to-surface Ghauri missiles, which are capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Musharraf tells nation that Pakistan doesn't want war but is ready to respond with full force if attacked.
2002 June - Britain and US maintain diplomatic offensive to avert war, urge
their citizens to leave India and Pakistan.

President Musharraf - a key player in the US "war on terror"

2002 August - President Musharraf grants himself sweeping new powers, including the right to dismiss an elected parliament. Opposition forces accuse Musharraf of perpetuating dictatorship.
2002 October - First general election since the 1999 military coup results in a hung parliament. Parties haggle over the make-up of a coalition. Religious parties fare better than expected.
2002 November - Mir Zafarullah Jamali selected as prime minister by the National Assembly. He is the first civilian premier since the 1999 military coup and a member of a party close to General Musharraf.
2003 February - Senate elections: Ruling party wins most seats in voting to the upper house. Elections said to be final stage of what President Musharraf calls transition to democracy.
2003 June - North-West Frontier Province votes to introduce Sharia law.

Kashmir ceasefire

2003 November - Pakistan declares a Kashmir ceasefire, which is swiftly matched by India.
2003 December - Pakistan and India agree to resume direct air links and to allow over flights of each other's planes from beginning of 2004 after two-year ban.
President Musharraf survives an attempt on his life; bombs explode under a bridge seconds after his car passes over it.
2004 February - Leading nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan admits to having leaked nuclear weapons secrets. Technology is said to have been transferred to Libya, North Korea and Iran.
2004 April - Parliament approves creation of military-led National Security
Council. Move institutionalises role of armed forces in civilian affairs.
2004 May - Pakistan readmitted to Commonwealth.
Factional violence in Karachi: Senior Sunni cleric shot dead; bomb attack on Shia mosque kills 16, injures 40.
2004 June - Military offensive near Afghan border against suspected al- Qaeda militants and their supporters after attacks on checkpoints. Earlier offensive, in March, left more than 120 dead.
2004 August - Shaukat Aziz is sworn in as prime minister. In July he escaped unhurt from an apparent assassination attempt.
2004 December - President Musharraf says he will stay on as head of the army having previously promised to relinquish the role.
2005 January - Tribal militants in Balochistan attack facilities at Pakistan's
largest natural gas field, forcing closure of main plant.
2005 quake killed thousands, left millions without shelter
2005 7 April - Bus services, the first in 60 years, operate between Muzaffarabad in Pakistani-administered Kashmir and Srinagar in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
More than 200 suspected Islamic extremists are detained at premises which include religious schools and mosques. The move comes after deadly attacks in the British capital; three of the bombers visited Pakistan in 2004.
2005 August - Pakistan tests its first, nuclear-capable cruise missile.

Kashmir quake

2005 8 October - An earthquake, with its epicentre in Pakistani-administered
Kashmir, kills tens of thousands of people. The city of Muzaffarabad is among the worst-hit areas.
2006 January - Up to 18 people are killed in a US missile strike, apparently
targeting senior al-Qaeda figures, on a border village in the north.
2006 February - More than 30 people are killed in a suspected suicide bomb
attack and ensuing violence at a Shia Muslim procession in the north- west.
2006 April - A suspected double suicide bombing kills at least 57 people at a
Sunni Muslim ceremony in Karachi.
2006 August - Security forces kill prominent Balochistan tribal leader, Nawab
Akbar Bugti. Protests over his death turn violent.
2006 October - Raid on an Islamic seminary in the tribal area of Bajaur
bordering Afghanistan kills up to 80 people, sparking anti-government protests. The army says the madrassa was a training camp for militants.
2006 December - Pakistan says it has successfully test-fired a short-range
missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.
2007 January - Islamabad rejects an assertion by the head of US National
Intelligence that al-Qaeda leaders are hiding out in Pakistan.
2007 January-June - Tension mounts between the government and the radical Red Mosque in Islamabad.
2007 February - Bombings in different parts of the country, including at
Islamabad's Marriott Hotel and the international airport, kill a number of people. 68 passengers, most of them Pakistanis, are killed by bomb blasts and a blaze on a train travelling between the Indian capital New Delhi and the Pakistani city of Lahore.
Pakistan and India sign an agreement aimed at reducing the risk of accidental nuclear war.
2007 March - President Musharraf suspends the Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, triggering a wave of anger across the country.
First joint protests held by the parties of exiled former prime ministers
Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif.
Chief Justice Chaudhry's suspension prompted a wave of protests. He was later reinstated.
2007 March-April - Officials say around 250 people have been killed in fighting between South Waziristan tribesmen and foreign militants said to be linked to al-Qaeda.
2007 May - Several killed in Karachi during rival demonstrations over dismissal of Chief Justice Chaudhry. Subsequent strikes paralyse much of the country.
2007 May - A bomb blast in a hotel in Peshawar kills 24.
2007 June - President Musharraf extends media controls to include the internet and mobile phones amid a growing challenge to his rule.
2007 July - Security forces storm the Red Mosque complex in Islamabad following a week-long siege.

Supreme Court reinstates Chief Justice Chaudhry.

2007 July - Ms Bhutto, President Musharraf hold a secret meeting in Abu Dhabi on a possible power-sharing deal.
2007 August - Supreme Court rules Nawaz Sharif can return from exile.
2007 September - Mr. Sharif returns but is sent back to exile within hours.
2007 October - Musharraf wins most votes in presidential election. The Supreme Court says no winner can be formally announced until it rules if the general was eligible to stand for election while still army chief. Nearly 200 people die in fighting with Islamic militants in North Waziristan, stronghold of pro-Taliban and al-Qaida groups.
Ex-prime minister Benazir Bhutto returns from exile. Dozens of people die in a suicide bomb targeting her homecoming parade in Karachi.
2007 November - Gen Musharraf declares emergency rule while still awaiting Supreme Court ruling on whether he was eligible to run for re-election. Chief Justice Chaudhry is dismissed. Ms Bhutto is briefly placed under house arrest.
Caretaker government sworn in.
New Supreme Court - now staffed with compliant judges - dismisses challenges to Musharraf's re-election. Pakistan's Chief Election Commissioner announces that general elections to be held on 8 January 2008.
Nawaz Sharif returns from exile again.
Musharraf resigns from army post and is sworn in for second term as president.
2007 15 December - State of emergency lifted.
27 December - Benazir Bhutto assassinated at election campaign rally in
Rawalpindi.

The Saying of Al-Quran


The Saying of Al-Quran, originally uploaded by Ilyasansri.

Our Creator’s Voice through Holy Quran