Islamic Culture & Photo Blog – Muslim Blog

Quranic Names for boys and girls

December 29th, 2012
by Sufia

So I’ve been reading (and there is always room for improvement of course) in an Arabic & English Quran since I last posted.

Lately what has interested me is the Arabic words from the Quran that can be used as names for Muslim babies. My name can be considered a “Quranic Name” and it’s mentioned in more than one surah. :]
I’ve compiled a list of some of the ones I noticed and liked while reading. I tried to narrow their location down as best as I could (but I don’t have the Quran in front of me now).
Cute muslim baby Quranic Names for boys and girls
  • Abrar: Obedient believers. (Last Juz, maybe surah Inshiqaq)
  • Tasneem : Water in Paradise that falls from heights. (Last Juz)
  • LuLu: Pearl. For girls. (Surah Ar Rahman)
  • Marjaan: Coral. For girls. (Surah Ar Rahman. The ayah goes “lu’lu’ wal marjaan’ so these could be the name of twin girls maybe)
  • Bayaan:  Eloquent demonstration. For both boys and girls, but it is more popular for girls. (Surah Ar Rahman.)
  • Bayyinah: Truth that is demonstrated eloquently, Allah uses this adjective to describe the Quran. It is derived from the same root as the previous name. For girls only. (Last Juz)
  • Illiyeen: The noble book that contains the deeds of righteous people on the Day of Judgement. For females. You could call her Lily for short (Last Juz.)
  • Shams: The Sun. For boys. Can be made feminine name by saying Shamsah.(All over the Quran)
  • Nur: Light. For girls. (as in sunlight). (Many places in the Quran)
  • Kareem: Generous. (Many places in the Quran)
  • Naeem: Bountiful. For boys. (Last juz, Mutafifeen)
  • Majeed : One who has greatness and valor. For boys only, its feminine form is Majeedah. (Last juz, Buruj)
  • Salsabil:  It’s the name of fountain in Paradise. For girls. (Insaan.)
  • Raadiyah: Someone who is content. For girls only. (Last juz, Gaashiya.)
  • Raadhi: Someone who is content, for boys.
In conclusion, most of the Quranic names can be found in the last Juz. Probably because the last juz talks about heaven a lot (and punishment a lot too). The most unique names come from this part of the Quran, in my opinion. It would be cool to name your daughter after a fountain in jannah — How awesome!– and most others will not have that name since it’s rare.

I’d love it if others could add to the list. I’d like to compile a long list of names some day and pass them out to friends that are pregnant.

Source: quranclub.net

France: Qur’an art exhibit pulled after Muslim riot

October 6th, 2012
by Sufia

DSCN5040 France: Quran art exhibit pulled after Muslim riot

“One young woman was slapped for putting her foot on a verse.” Maybe a new exhibit needs to be organized, in which Infidels of all races, creeds and colors put their feet on Qur’an verses like 2:63-66 (Jews turned into apes and pigs); 2:191 (kill the Infidels wherever you find them); 4:34 (beat disobedient women); 4:89 (kill the apostates wherever you find them); 5:59-60 (Jews as apes and pigs again); 7:166 (Jews as apes and pigs yet again); 8:39 (fight until the whole world submits to Islamic law); 9:5 (kill the Infidels wherever you find them again); 9:29 (fight the Jews and Christians until they submit and pay jizya); 47:4 (behead the Infidels); etc.

The contortions of Islamic supremacists as they attempt to explain that my characterizations of the verses above are inaccurate are often imaginative and entertaining, but the plain unavoidable fact remains: Muslims worldwide prove on a daily basis that I have not misrepresented those verses. They prove it by acting on their plain meaning.

“Koran art exhibit pulled in France after near riot,” from AFP, October 4 (thanks to Twostellas):

A Moroccan artist on Wednesday suspended his exhibit in a French arts festival after his projection of Koranic verses onto a bridge almost sparked a riot when people trod on them.Mounir Fatmi said he was putting his work on hold until the exhibit could be shown properly — without the chance of people walking on the verses — at the “Printemps de Septembre” art festival in the southwestern city of Toulouse.

The exhibit was only meant to be shown at the weekend, with measures taken to ensure no one could set their feet on the ground as the verses from the Muslim holy book and other images were projected there.

But on Tuesday evening, with no preventative measures in place, the video was projected onto the busy bridge and quickly attracted the attention of locals who gathered to try and stop people walking over the verses.

Tensions rose when the demonstrators called in young people from the city’s housing projects to help them, and erected barriers to keep pedestrians away.

One young woman was slapped for putting her foot on a verse.

Police sent in a riot squad but the situation was peacefully resolved — and the demonstrators dispersed — after an imam appeared on the scene and called for calm.

Relations between the French state and a Muslim community that has its roots in former colonies Algeria and Morocco have been strained in recent years by a string of controversies pitting their faith against France’s secular tradition.

Tensions were heightened last month after a French satirical weekly published cartoons of a naked Prophet Muhammad.

Artist Fatmi denied he had sought to provoke with the art work and said Tuesday’s incident was the result of a misunderstanding.

“(As) the right conditions for displaying my work were not in place, and this damages… its ability to be understood, I prefer to suspend it,” he said.

Controlling anger and staying away from sins in Ramadan

August 26th, 2012
by Sufia

Muslim community terms Ramadan as the month of blessings. Ramadan is the month in which the Holy Quran was revealed on the final messenger of Allah. Quran too is the final revelation of the Almighty God. Allah declares “learning self-restraint “to be the main purpose of this month in following verse:

“Fasting has been prescribed upon you as it was prescribed upon nations before you so that you may learn self-restraint“.

Beautiful Quran Controlling anger and staying away from sins in Ramadan

In the month of Ramadan Allah alters the rewards of our deeds. He rewards a Nafl prayer with the reward of an obligatory Farz prayer and increases the reward of a good deed seventy times. A person seeking forgiveness is granted forgiveness and Muslim community is rewarded with the day of Eid for keeping fasts throughout this month. However, abstaining from sins is just as important as committing good deeds.

Allah dislike sins and committing sins in the holy month of Ramadan is even more disliked. Committing a single sin in this month is equivalent to committing seventy sins in any other month. In this way Allah discourages believers from sins and at the same time Allah encourages them to seek forgiveness from their past sins. A hadith says “Whoever prayed at night in it (the month of Ramadan) out of sincere Faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven.”

Furthermore, in this month Muslims are obliged to observe fasts. Fasting in Islam is not merely abstaining from food and drink; it is also abstaining from any wrongdoing, in general. If a Muslim does not anything from dawn till dusk but takes or any other haram activity Allah does not accepts his fast so when a believer keeps a fast he gets bound to keep himself away from sins. Not only, he has to avoid all haram activities but also control his temperament.

If a Muslim keeps a fast he cannot abusive or insulting language against anyone, also he cannot harm anyone by his hands if he does he violates the basic rules and regulations of the fast. Generally, any individual uses his hands against others when he is in angry so when Muslims keep a fast, they ought to control their anger. In this way fasting teaches Muslims to control their diet and anger thereby learning self-restraint.

In a nut shell, all sources of Islam clarify the fast that fasting makes all believers control their anger and remain away from sins. Allah has used fasting as a tool so that all believers learn self-restraint i.e. they learn to control themselves from evils and Allah gives Muslims several incentives so that they may start following the right path. The following hadith further clarifies the point; it says “One day of fasting keeps a person away from hell 80 years”.

Lail-at-ul-Qadr and Its Importance

August 14th, 2012
by tehzib

The holy month of Ramadan is so blessed with Allah’s mercy and forgiveness that every moment of this month carries huge significance. However, even in this entirely blessed month, there are a few nights which take the lead. One such night is the Lail-at-ul-Qadr. The Lail-at-ul-Qadr is arguable the most important and blessed night of the year in Islam.

lailatul qadr 590x393 480x393 Lail at ul Qadr and Its Importance

It occurs in the third decade or Ramadan. The importance of this night can be understood from the fact that in the Holy Quran, a whole chapter (Surah 97, Al-Qadr) is dedicated to this night. In this chapter, Allah tells the Muslims that the importance of this night alone is greater than that of a thousand months. The verses of this chapter are stated below:

“We have indeed revealed this (Message) in the Night of Power: And what will explain to thee what the night of power is? The Night of Power is better than a thousand months. Therein come down the angels and the Spirit by Allah’s permission, on every errand: Peace!…This until the rise of dawn!”

The exact night on which Lail-at-ul-Qadr occurs cannot be given definitively. There are different views regarding the dates of the nights among which this night has to be found. The Sunni Muslims believe that Lail-at-ul-Qadr lies in the odd nights of the last decade of Ramadan. This means that according to them, Lail-at-ul-Qadr is either the 21st or the 23rd or the 25th or the 27th or the 29th night of this holy month. The general belief is that this night lies on the 27th night of Ramadan.

The Shia Muslims believe that this night lies in the last ten odd nights of Ramadan, but the general belief is regarding the 19th or the 21st or the 23rd night, because the relation of these nights with the martyrdom of Hazrat Ali (R.A).

What makes Lail-at-ul-Qadr so special among all the nights? Lail-at-ul-Qadr is also the night in which the Quran was revealed. Muslims unanimously believe that the revelation of Holy Quran concluded in two different stages, the first of which was the revelation of the whole Quran from Allah to angel Jibrail. This first stage was completed in this night. Muslims also believe that the first verses of the Holy Quran were revealed to Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) on this night.

Lail-at-ul-Qadr is known by various different names among Muslims. These names include the Night of Power, the Night of Measures, the Night of Value and the Night of Destiny. These names themselves suggest the significance associated with this night in Islam.

In view of the incredible importance of this night, Muslims engage themselves in worships and prayers all night. These prayers often seek Allah’s mercy and forgiveness, and ask Allah to grant the wishes of the believer.

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