peace all,

Nafisa, I prefer to stick with what the sign says P

that was the only way i could explain it! lol. i would also say what the others had mentioned, time and money.

You will not reach righteousness/piety until you spend from what you love; and whatever you spend, God is aware of it.

Thus, what do you love?
And more importantly, do you spend/give from it?

Just something we should all think about.

What does it mean? I read it as though it means giving up something you love thats not right? like you might like drinking or something and you give it up?

Peace all,

I have received the following request from brother Saleem who is now affiliated with the 'new' Signs Magazine.

SIGNS INTERNATIONAL

Signs magazine was established in 1993 by the Siganture organization to disseminate information about Islam. However, it was unique in the respect that it was the only magazine in English, which covered all aspects of Islam from a Quranic perspective. People who have read the Quran will understand the significance of this. During its publication it became to represent a progressive viewpoint covering stimulating and often controversial topics. In whatever way people perceived it, it was without doubt thought provoking and stoked much debate amongst its readers.

It was then banned in many countries but it never deterred it readers from obtaining copies by various means. Then 12 mullahs from 12 mosques met and made a fatwa against it and its printers. They must have danced (or wished they could) in delight when the publication ceased in 2001, thinking it was their action, which forced Signs magazine to close. Little did they know that it was circumstances, though coincidental but entirely unconnected, that were the real cause.

Now, Signs is now to be re-launched in June 2005. It will have a new look, the design will reflect it maturity into a new era. The focus will be on current affairs, comment and views of what is happening in the world today. Instead of just observing and reporting, Signs will actively promote pristine Quranic values while exposing the embellishments that have accumulated around Islam.

Its readers will still include prominent and influential politicians and business people as well as people from all walks of life. In fact all people who think and question will want to read Signs. It will continue to reach parts of the world where the thirst for the Din of Islam is unquenched.

As mentioned, Signs Magazine is to launched in June 2005 and we are inviting writers to submit articles for possible publication.

If you would like to write for Signs magazine please contact us by email in the first instance for details.

Contact Saleem [email protected]

Salaam

Does anyone know if Signs was ever relaunched? Is it possible to order back copies?

Peace Nafisa,

I despise moustaches! ;D Though I find that a bit strange. The men's uniform is not green and hasn't been green as far as I can recall, maybe it was sometime and I missed it. The emirates one is okay but those skirts are a bit problematic. The reason being, and this happened the last time I flew to Dubai via emirates, the air hostess was sitting in one of those seats right in the start of the aisles during the take-off and the skirt tends to hike up a lot when they do sit (love dave matthews). So there was this guy who came with us from Kuwait with his wife in full gear (hijab, the jilbab and what not) who was constantly, um, staring there. His wife looked pretty pissed from what I could gather. Then he started making small talk with her and they kinda started flirting but that's neither here nor there. I can't imagine those skirts on PIA flights, especially the ones from Peshawar or Lahore.

Salaam

Never been on PIA or Emirates as i've never travelled to those parts but I saw the man with the woman on cardboard cut out thing in a travel agents window. All green and cheesy grins.... it weren't a good advert wouldn't make me fly with them if i could afford to choose.

I can't believe he made it that obvious!! ;D I just love the headdress that they have on Emirates. It looks so stylish.

The last time I flew was on British Airways.... there skirts were longish from what I remember and they didnt look stylish at the end of the flight just ver flustered!

You know which one is more recent without even looking at it.

Don't you just! Oh for the good old days That green uniform is quite odd. Would you believe it, they had some french designer design the ones back in the day too.

Salaam sis

I could believe that... though I quite like the Emirates one. They sorta like East meets West.

Oh I forgot to mention along with woman in green there was a man in green too.... lol would you believe he had a moustache!!!! ;D

I agree with you in some ways. The institutionalised religiousity that is currently prevalent is nothing if not destructive, for the sole reason, that it's corrupted to a great degree. Pakistan was a whole lot different before Zia came on the scene, because that's when it really erupted. Check out the advert for PIA in the 60's or 70's. Man, that woman is awesome and whoever made that poster should be lauded with um, garlands and such.

http//img223.imageshack.us/img223/5997/606629a476c65fe1miv9.jpg

That is a fantastic advert... it's better than the PIA advert I used to walk past in the morning. Woman with cheesy smile wearing an even cheesier shalwaar kameez that is green of course....

You know which one is more recent without even looking at it.

Peace be upon you,

We have got to come out of this box. Nasara means helper, not christian. We have to dig deeper to understand what these terms mean.

Here is a question I want you all to ponder, can we be friends/allies with Buddists, Taoists, Hindus, Yorubas, Akan, Scientologists, satan worshippers, 5%ers, Santerians, etc?

We have to stop fllowing this WESTERN minded/racist translation.

Salaam

Wouldn't it depend on circumstances? For example in a place of work you might find yourself friends with any of the above because that's who's around but on a political level (allies) it may be different. People depending on what they believe may go against you then

I have to say my own closest friends are open minded ones with a live and let live attitude whatever there backgrounds. As I've got older I find I can't discuss everything with those who are not.

Salaam all

This is an interesting article how patriarchy can be so damaging for women.

http//commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/zenab_eve_ahmed_/2006/10/is_britain_too_promiscuous_for.html

Just a quick question. What is an adulterer/adulteress. is it someone having an affair but doesn't sleep with them or someone who actually has sex with the other person? or both?

Salaam All

Pickthall
2403 The adulterer shall not marry save an adulteress or an idolatress, and the adulteress none shall marry save an adulterer or an idolater. All that is forbidden unto believers.

Yusuf Ali
2403 Let no man guilty of adultery or fornication marry and but a woman similarly guilty, or an Unbeliever nor let any but such a man or an Unbeliever marry such a woman to the Believers such a thing is forbidden.

Khalifa
2403 The adulterer will end up marrying an adulteress or an idol worshiper, and the adulteress will end up marrying an adulterer or an idol worshiper. This is prohibited for the believers.

What do you think about this ayat (marrying adulters)? If it's prohibited how can women ever know whether their bridegrooms have had an affair or not? Maybe in shariah laws it would be possible with public lashing (except no witnessed affairs) but what about now? As for men, are we supposed to ask our girlfriends this before marriage? Like "have you ever commited adultery" or "are you a virgin" This would be rude.

Any ideas appreciated.

Peace...

"Love" is not preached in the Quran. Why? Because that term is too broad. Love can be an intense feeling/ emotion or it can be a charitable act. Christians say of the Quran "The Quran does not teach us to love." Christians look at the mushy side of it.

Since the Quran is the best hadith, it goes straight to the point. It teaches us charity, justice, honesty, commitment, defense of the weak, etc..That is what "True Love" is all about.

Isn't there a verse in the Qu'ran which says "...God put love in your hearts..." I could be wrong.

it is a unique feeling that cannot be described by words.

That's what I think love is.

http//www.islam.tc/ask-imam/view.php?q=14617

i go to this website quite a lot, just out of curiosity and because many of the questions asked are often questions i wonder about myself. but i think the answers the imam gives are ridiculous and way too extreme. i came across this one today and that just topped off the rest of them lol maybe its just me, but i think its really funny!

if as a non-muslim you go through the questions on the site, you would be competely put off by islam and see it as one huge joke. it makes it out that we basically cant do anything really, if thats what being a muslim is then i dont think i am one, not in the eyes of that imam anyway.

Salaam

I've often wondered if some people are being serious in the questions that they ask.... I've seen one on there that says "is it sunnah to peel a banana from the bottom?".... surely not????

salaam alaykum IamSearchingForGod

the forum normally goes through this one at this time of year - its a kind of tradition all of its own wink

so let me start the ball rolling by saying that I will be celebrating christmas this year - will be giving my children presents which I tell them were delivered by a fat man who has elves working for him, will eat mince pies which I dont at any other time of the year and will bring a tree into the house which I will cover with electic lights. I may well sing some christmas carols which will claim things like Jesus is the King of Heaven and Santa has a reindeer with a particularly shiny nose - I don't beleive either statement to be true but Allah is aware of that fact.

I do this because I used to celebrate xmas as a non-relgious festival in the old days when I was an atheist and still celebrate it in the same way now I am a muslim.

peace all,

asdfjk

Salaam

There are things i like about this time of year and things i don't. I don't like the commercialism, but coming from a sunni family obviously there's no pressure to take part so no worry about that. but I listen to all the cheesy songs (Band aid 20 included!!) and I love the lights in the town centre, brings cheer to otherwise grim winter nights. They should keep them up until the end of January! This is how I "celebrate"

Eid Mubarak to everyone celebrating! jus don't eat too much!! D

True but there is a difference between a Jew and the Israeli government and its supporters.

Peace,

Well, you must also remember the Israeli Gov, and it's supporters are primarily Jews, hence the difficulty in separating supporters from Non-supporters.

Peace

Salaam

Do people hate the Saudi government and its supporters (an example) as much as they hate the Jews? Probably not and even if they did they don't go on about it half as much do they?

Why are children seen as a distraction?

Why is having children seen with such contempt these days?

---

The Sunday Times - Britain

March 07, 2004

Focus Welcome to the new divide
Senay Boztas
Is a baby
a) A cute, cuddly asset to society, or
b) An irritating excuse for its parents to grab the best employment perks, holidays and tax breaks?

Sarah Morgan was angry. It was not her hectic job at a health club chain that was making her blood boil, but a ?breeder? ? a colleague with children ? delayed on the school run for the umpteenth time. This left Morgan dashing about to cover for her colleague, feeling fed up and exhausted.
?All of the benefits were for people with children,? recalled Morgan. ?Most of the staff had families and were well catered for with a cr?che, discounts for childcare and a lot of flexibility about the time they came in to work.

?I was simply told what shifts I would do, couldn?t get the holiday I wanted and was then expected to put in extra hours whenever someone?s kid caught a cold. I saw paternity leave coming and decided I had had enough.?

Morgan is not alone. She is one of a growing number of people who have decided not to have children. Describing themselves as ?child-free? rather than ?childless?, they see no reason why a brood should attract any extra benefits, at work or in society.

Across America and now Britain, these babyless boomers are becoming increasingly frustrated with what they say is family-friendly discrimination at the office and beyond.

It is not just irritation with the obligatory screaming baby on a long-haul flight, or the blockade of mothers congesting the roads on their way to and from school that is causing the boomers to organise, but what they see as ?institutional discrimination?.

Last year in Britain new legislation gave parents with young families the right to ask their employers for flexible working patterns ? while the childless received no such benefit. It is another example, say the child-free, of how they are increasingly being treated as second-class citizens.

Some say we may be witnessing the start of a new schism in society. ?There are many who, in a previous era, would have had children but now put them off until their forties, or do not have them,? said Peter York, the social commentator.

?It?s a group that is growing ever more rich and selfish and will increasingly object to public policies that they believe discriminate against them.?

Among the most extreme of the new crusaders is Julie Bindel, the feminist writer and campaigner who believes the social emphasis on families is simply unjust.

?You are massively rewarded for having children, financially and socially. Parents might pretend they are performing a social function by producing children to support me in my old age, but their smugness and self-indulgence are unbearable,? she said.

?You only have children for selfish reasons and it is a hole you choose to dig; as a result, my flights cost a fortune in August, I share the burden of filling in (at work) when you are off, and then I?m told it?s only fair that I cover in the office over Christmas.?

SOCIOLOGISTS point to growing prosperity, the emancipation of women and the cult of the individual to explain the trend.

Certainly fewer people are deciding to have children. According to the Office for National Statistics, British women on average have 1.7 children, compared with 2.4 three decades ago. In the 1940s, one in 10 women did not have a child; now the figure is about one in four.

Overall the birthrate has declined from 13.8 live births per 1,000 people in 1991 to about 11.3 today. Although this trend is most marked in Scotland, two-thirds of households in England and Wales now have no dependent children. Indeed, 30% are occupied by singles.

Professor David Coleman, a demographer at Oxford University, points out that women also tend to have children much later. ?The average age of first births is getting later, and the more births are postponed the more likely they are to be cancelled,? he said.

?Women are less economically dependent on men and more likely to delay marriage, cohabitation and giving birth in order to start a career. It is remarkable that given the attractions of this young, independent adult life, they still want children, with their ?250,000 price tag and 20 years of partial house arrest.?

Elinor Burkett, a campaigning American author, has written a book arguing that a new civil war is brewing. The Baby Boon How Family-Friendly America Cheats the Childless describes the ?new-found fury? of the child-free.

?There is a pro-family revolution among governments,? she said. ?Employees with children get thousands of pounds a year in benefits ? extra insurance and unpaid leave, scholarship aid and tax credits ? denied to non-parents. Those who remain childless save untold sums for our employers, yet these sums are not repaid in other benefits, such as extra holiday time or greater pension contributions.

?People are being punished for their lifestyle choice while others are given every break going for theirs. That?s a simple reality which creates, perforce, polarisation.?

If you think that?s radical, try logging on to the internet. Here dozens of sites have been set up by the ?child-free? to allow supporters to moan about ?breeders?.

One such site, childfree.net, lays out its philosophy ?Benefits of the child-free lifestyle are numerous. You have a greater degree of freedom and outlet for spontaneity in your daily life, not having to consider the logistics of taking children and their accessories everywhere you go.

?You generally have more money. You often will have more energy and better opportunities for calm and quiet in your home. Child-free couples may even have better, happier, more stable relationships.?

Other groups such as No Rugrats! and Zero Population Growth boast articles with headings such as ?the case against babies?. One recommends the Onion, the spoof news website, which dedicated a recent article to the ?stupidity? of children. ?Despite their relatively large cranial capacities, babies are so unintelligent that they are unable to distinguish colourful plastic toys from food sources,? it noted.

The embryonic child-free movement in Britain appears to have been sparked by Labour?s decision last April to introduce legislation giving fathers the right to two weeks? paternity leave and giving all those with children under six the right to ask for flexible working hours.

This was welcomed by family campaigners but the largest survey of 58,000 workers across Britain ? published in The 100 Best Companies To Work For, a supplement in today?s Sunday Times ? shows that people without children are significantly less happy with their employers than childbearing colleagues.

Least happy of all were childless employees with adult dependants. It is into this category that Bindel falls. ?I care for an adult with a serious mental illness and get no state support,? she said.

?While I pick up the slack from colleagues? children, I have to take annual leave to get time off for this care ? and I see no reason to think that people who have children are doing more for society than I am. You can climb that mountain of having children but why should I pay for the walking boots??

In America a barrage of criticism from the child-free has lead to demands for new laws banning discrimination and the setting up of support groups with names such as No Kidding.

Pete Bradon, a research psychologist at the University of Plymouth and research manager for the Best Companies study, says that many firms are being forced to change the way in which they treat child-free people.

?Year on year, these childless workers are getting more dissatisfied and more vocal,? he said. ?They are significantly more likely to think they are not getting a fair deal at work ? hardly surprising when they can?t take maternity leave or use cr?che facilities ? and are less engaged with their firms as a whole.

?I would not be surprised if there was not a legal challenge to issues such as the right for the childless to ask for flexible working.?

However, others say that legislators have only just caught up with the needs of families ? and are unlikely to promote childless living. ?If anything, governments are more likely to address the problems of declining populations in western Europe by actively encouraging people to have children, however much this new childless group votes with their cash and at the ballot box,? said York.

Recent research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation found that the government is spending more than ever on parents. The study by Mike Brewer, at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, shows that between 10% and 25% of parents receive more support than the cost of their children, with tax and benefit breaks having doubled in the past 30 years.

?The government does now spend ?22 billion a year on families with children, compared with ?10 billion a year in the 1970s. We are paying parents directly more money than in the past for having children,? he said.

?The majority of people do still have children, so you could see this as distributing the cost through lifelong taxes ? and as a group, those without children are richer. But there is a social agenda to raise law-abiding, socially included people and return from the child poverty of the 1980s and 1990s.?

Morgan, in the end, decided that she could not stand working 10-day shifts while her colleagues with children had the flexibility that they wanted.

Two years ago she left the health club to become a customer service adviser at First Direct in Leeds ? a firm that offers a flexible benefits package for everyone.

?Here it is 5050 for us all,? she said. ?You can spend your benefits points on childcare at the on-site creche, or choose vouchers I spend my ?80 of Boots vouchers not on nappies but on treats like perfume.?

THE DINKIES' MANIFESTO

Do you have sticky finger marks on your sofa? No!

Do you trip over toys at the top of your stairs? No! Do you ever worry about how difficult it is to get a decent nanny? Absolutely not! And if that?s the way you want to keep it, join our crusade for the child-free.

We hold the following truths to be self-evident

That we have for too long struggled under the yoke of the child cult.

That we are fed up with holding dinner parties at which all our old friends leave early to get home for the babysitter.

That these same friends ? who once talked of nothing but sex, alcohol and Big Brother ? now know the name of every character in Bob the Builder and worry about school league tables.
Through our own choice we have taken great pains to remain child-free. We are martyrs to the contraceptive sheath, the coil, the pill, the snip and the headache.

Of course, we did wonder about children early on but we didn?t seem to have the time. And what with the cats to look after, the BMW to keep clean, the trips abroad . . . well, pregnancy-wise we just couldn?t find a window.

So if we?re not prepared to put up with children of our own, we?re certainly not going to be inconvenienced by anybody else?s.

These are our demands

AT THE OFFICE

1 That the breeders do their fair share of work at Easter and Christmas, and don?t hog all the bank holidays.

2 That they don?t bring their whining toddlers into work.

3 That they don?t phone their children from the office to ask, in a silly voice, whether the little darlings have eaten up all their Alphabetti Spaghetti like a good little boy/girl.

AT HOME

1 We demand the absolute right to have white covers on our sofas without some toddler coming along and smearing it with chocolate.

2 We further demand the absolute right to put our hands underneath those sofas without finding a load of old Smarties.

3 We demand the right to lay down fashionable wooden flooring without

our pregnant sisters saying in loud voices that our home isn?t very child-friendly.

OUR MONEY

1 It is unacceptable for the taxes of the child-free to be squandered on nursery places, where children do nothing but cut up bits of coloured paper and drop glitter paint on the floor.

2 It is also unfair to expect us to pay for schools, youth clubs, Gordon Brown?s trust fund for babies, and the cost of burying disposable nappies in landfill sites.

3 Maternity units. We?re not paying for them either.

Comfy child-free couples of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your bank holidays (and perhaps care in old age).

Down the post today came a leaflet with on a backdrop of a beautiful rose titled "In Love with the Beloved" I thought it was about God but got a total shock as it turns out there is a whole event about remembering "Allah's finest creation (Sallahu-alaihi-wassalam)" I think the whole thing is quite distasteful (check http//www.al-salik.com ) esp the way they have chosen Valentine's Day to host the event. And not to mention Mecca Cola sponosoring the whole thing! It's all very bizaare....

www.asktheimam.com

shock shock shock shock

This story got me thinking. I'm sure it's someone's idea of a joke....

http//news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3336299.stm