islam

Hazrat Abu Hasan Siraaj R.A. says: I was performing tawaaf once while on Haj; when I saw a very pretty woman, shining in her beauty. I looked at her and said: "By Allah, this beauty and fine complexion must surely be because she never experienced any grief or sorrow."

When I said this she overheard me and said: "Sir, it is that what you think? By Allah, I am bent down under all the sorrows and grief that have come my way. My heart and mind is filled with so much grief and all along there has been no one can who share these with me."

I asked: "And how is that, lady?"

The Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Saray) is a subterranean wonder and one of the greatest - and certainly the biggest - of Istanbul’s surviving Byzantine sites. With its imposing columns, grand scale and mysterious ambience, this subterranean site seems like a flooded palace, but it is in fact a former water storage chamber.

Built by Byzantine Emperor Justinian in around 532AD, the Basilica Cistern measures approximately 453 feet by 212 feet and would have stored around 80,000 cubic metres of water at a time to supply the palace as well as the city of Byzantium. At the time, it was located underneath the square known as the Stoa Basilica, hence its name.

Beware of weight gain after Ramadan
The holy month of Ramadan is about to start within a fortnight and it is the right time to start preparing your body for the month-long fast.

Before starting your fast, it is advisable to make a medical assessment of your fitness, according to Ishi Khosla, Nutritionist, Weightmonitor UAE. You could opt for a comprehensive health check-up.

"It would help to know if you are heading for some disorders such as diabetes, high uric acid or kidney related diseases, any deficiencies or abnormal blood pressure etc. and if you are, then understand the medical risk factors and precautions that can be taken before you embark on your fast," Khosla adds.

Before starting the fast, it is best to research the nutritious value of the food you eat as feasting while breaking the fast is not the best way to observe a fast.

These are the major calligraphers of the “six scripts” (Muhakkak, Reyhani, Sulus, Nesih, Tevki, and Rika):

NAME DATE OF DEATH (A.D.)
Ibnu Muqla 940
Ibnul-Bawwab 1022
Yakut el-Mustasimi 1298
Muhammed Ibnul-Wahid 1311
Ergun Kamili 1343
Abdullah Sayrafi after 1322
Ahmed Suhraverdi after 1328
Muhammed Et-Tayyibi after 1503
Seyh Hamdullah Efendi 1520
Ahmed Karahisari 1556
Hafiz Osman Efendi 1698
Mustafa Rakim Efendi 1826
Mahmud Celalleddin Efendi 1829
Esma Ibret Hanim Efendi ?
Kadiasker Mustafa Izzet Efendi 1876
Abdullah Zuhdi Efendi 1878
Mehmed Sefik Bey 1879
Kayiszade Osman Nuri Efendi 1894
Abdulahad Vahdeti Efendi 1895
Abdulfettah Efendi 1896
Circirli Ali Efendi 1906
Yahya Hilmi Efendi 1907
Bakkal Arif Efendi 1909
Sami Efendi 1912
Nazif Bey 1913
Hasan Riza Efendi 1920
Deli Omer Vasfi Efendi 1928
Aziz Efendi 1934
Kamil Akdik 1941
Neyzen Emin Yazici 1945
Tugrakes Ismail Hakki 1946
Mustafa Halim Ozyazici 1964
Mahmud Yazir 1952
Hamid Aytac 1982

Perhaps the most famous and widely respected Islamic authority on medicine in the medieval period, al-Razi also aspired to a comparable achievement in philosophy and the other sciences such as alchemy. His success in these other subjects, however, was seldom recognized either in his own time or later; in philosophy, for example, more writers cite him for purposes of rejection and refutation than for admiration and emulation. However, his ideas were and are important. Chief among his positive contributions is his advocacy of a doctrine of equal aptitude in all humans, which grants no special role for unique and divinely favoured prophets and which recognizes the possibility of future progress in the advancement of knowledge. Philosophically, al-Razi was by his own admission a disciple of Socrates and Plato, much of whose teaching he knew on the basis of the latter's Timaeus.

Food in dreams represents the type and qualities of experience or energy you take in your life. How certain situations are effecting you. Each food has a unique experience or energy associated with it based of your opinions, feelings, or memories of the specific food.

Certain food symbols tend to be more universal (e.g. apples or oatmeal), while others (e.g. processed food or junk food) take on a much more personal meaning based on your personal feelings about those foods. You need to ask yourself what stands out the most about a certain type of food and see how those qualities apply to your current life situation.

Apples

To dream of red apple represents a healthy influence or a need for positive change. It reflects an awareness of bad judgments or willingness to change a negative situation. Something isn't right and you want to correct it.
An apple may be a sign that you are willing to admit that you were wrong or that you wish to improve yourself.

It is a special cleaning performed by washing the face, arms, and feet, and by wiping the head.

Wudu has several material and spiritual benefits. A Muslim who makes wudu at least 5 times a day forms a habit of cleaning, which protects him from causes of illnesses and purifies him of microbes. They are material benefits of wudu. Wudu has several spiritual benefits, too.

The Prophet (pbuh) addressed Anas bin Malik as follows: "Make your wudu properly and fully so that the guardian (hafaza) angels will love you and your life will be lengthened."

Wudu gives light to the face and joy to the heart. It is a means of forgiveness for minor sins. The Messenger of Allah expresses it as follows:

"If a person makes wudu as it is ordered and performs prayers as they are ordered, his minor sins are forgiven."

Pergamum, which is also spelt Pergamon, is a famous archaeological site in Turkey which developed under the Attalid dynasty following the death of Alexander the Great.

When Alexander died, one of his generals, Lysimachus, took control of the region. When Lysimachus died in 281BC, Pergamum and the surrounding area fell into the hands of the man he had charged with protecting it, Philetarus.

Through a series of successions, Pergamum fell under the rule of Attalus I and then his son Eumenes II. Both of these kings were part of the Hellenistic Attalid dynasty and it was during this time that the majority of Pergamum’s most celebrated buildings and monuments were constructed, especially under Eumenes II (197-159 BC). Pergamum thrived, becoming the centre of the Pergamese kingdom.

Miletus was an important ancient Greek then Roman city, which still boasts an impressive ancient theatre among its ruins.

With a history thought to date back as far as the 16th, perhaps even the 17th, century BC, Miletus eventually became a thriving hub from the 8th to 7th centuries BC until suffering significant destruction during its capture by the Persians in the 5th century BC. It was rebuilt on a new site after this and once again became an important centre.

During Alexander the Great’s campaign against the Persian Empire, in 334 BC, the Macedonian conqueror undertook a short siege of the city before its capture. Another great leader, Julius Caesar, also visited this city when, upon his release after being kidnapped by pirates in 75 BC, he headed to Miletus to raise a fleet to pursue his former captors, whom he swiftly defeated and executed.

Nestled amongst undisturbed white beaches and plush, tropical forest terrain, the trek to discover the ruins of ancient Olympos is an adventure in itself. Vibrant with wildlife and greenery the site, originally attracting exclusively backpackers, is now popular with couples and families alike.

Dating back far into antiquity, Olympos had risen to prominence by at least the second century BC, when it formed part of the important Lycian league. Later used as a base by powerful groups of pirates, Rome was forced to take the city in order to counter this threat. Olympos remained an active settlement throughout the Roman period but gradually declined thereafter and was abandoned entirely by the 15th century AD.

The Canakkale Martyrs Memorial, also known as Şehitler Abidesi, is a Turkish monument to the 253,000 Turkish soldiers who died in the Gallipoli Campaign.

This campaign, known in Turkey as the Canakkale Wars, took place in Turkey’s Gallipoli Peninsula. It was launched on 25 April 1915 by the Commonwealth and the French in order to remove the Ottoman Empire from the First World War and clear a supply route to Russia. It was also hoped that it would end the stalemate on the Western Front.

The campaign failed and Allied troops were evacuated from Gallipoli. The Canakkale Martyrs Memorial is a large four columned structured, each rising up 41.7 metres and with a Turkish flag on the underside of its square roof.

Abjad Calculator is a tool for calculating the numerical value of letters derived from the Arabic alphabet through the use of the Abjad writing system. Abjad Calculator was conceived to address the needs of those engaged in Babi and Baha'i studies. However, others are welcome to use this free application.
Make sure to consult the legend when entering a term and bear in mind that the letters ARE case-sensitive! For example, "A" will equal the Arabic letter "alef," the value of which is 1. On the other hand, "a" will equal "ayn", which has a value of 70.

To make proper use of this tool, users are expected to have prior knowledge of Arabic words and the Arabic alphabet. For example, they must know that "Báb" is spelled باب and not بب. Otherwise, they may incorrectly calculate the numerical value of a term.

Sagalassos is an active archaeological site in southwest Turkey which contains mostly Hellenistic and Ancient Roman historic ruins, some of them very well preserved.

In particular, the Fountain of Antoninler at Sagalassos still has its pretty facade. There are also the remains of a 9,000 seat theatre, a council hall (bouleuterion), a library, rock carved tombs, temples and baths.

Part of the Phrygian kingdom from the ninth century BC and then part of the Lydian kingdom, Sagalassos became more urbanized under the Persian Empire from 546BC, becoming a focal point in the region of Pisidia over the course of two centuries.

In 334BC, Alexander the Great arrived in the region and attacked Sagalassos, eventually succeeding in destroying it, although its citizens did put up a good fight. Over the coming centuries, the Pisidia region - including Sagalassos - changed hands several times, finally coming under Roman rule in 129BC.

Arabic letters are not only beautiful; when arranged into words, they communicate meaning. If you are able to read the Arabic script, you should be able to read calligraphy. All it takes is a little time and practice.
Letters in a calligraphy composition are often interwoven, making them more challenging to read than printed Arabic. The Arabic fonts used for printing are often based on the Naskh script. Arabic script calligraphy, on the other hand, employs a number of different scripts. The best way to begin reading calligraphy is by familiarizing yourself with how the letter shapes appear in each of the different scripts.
Here are a few other tips:
1. Arabic is read from right to left.

Fiqh is a science of religious jurispudence