Archive for September, 2009
And among His signs…
The following video is from the 2008 launch of the Scottish-Islamic Foundation, of which I was a director at the time. After the introduction by the chair is a recitation from the Qur’an delivered by yours truly, of a passage I selected due to the universal significance of its meanings.
Here is the A. Yusuf Ali translation of the verses recited:
{ So (give) glory to God, when ye reach eventide and when ye rise in the morning;
Yea, to Him be praise, in the heavens and on earth; and in the late afternoon and when the day begins to decline.
It is He Who brings out the living from the dead, and brings out the dead from the living, and Who gives life to the earth after it is dead: and thus shall ye be brought out (from the dead).
Among His Signs in this, that He created you from dust; and then,- behold, ye are men scattered (far and wide)!
And among His Signs is this, that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that ye may dwell in tranquillity with them, and He has put love and mercy between your (hearts): verily in that are Signs for those who reflect.
And among His Signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the variations in your languages and your colours: verily in that are Signs for those who know.
And among His Signs is the sleep that ye take by night and by day, and the quest that ye (make for livelihood) out of His Bounty: verily in that are signs for those who hearken. }
[Ar-Rum 30:17-23]
Declining Christian worship? A sad thing
I gave a quote for a piece on former church buildings being used for Muslim worship, which appeared in UAE-based paper The National:
As Christian church attendances continue to fall, more church property may transfer to Muslim ownership. “There is sometimes opposition,” said Sohaib Saeed, a young volunteer imam and scholar at Cairo’s renowned Al Azhar University. “But others appreciate that the buildings are still put to religious use. I remember passing a church that had become a nightclub, seeing people outside with glasses of beer and feeling regretful, not because I thought it should be a mosque but because I wished it had still been a place of worship.”
Read the whole thing here: Empty churches, full mosques
A Muslim Christmas?
I wish all my readers a joyful ‘Eid al-Fitr and pray that Allah accepts the efforts of all who fasted and prayed in the blessed month that just left us.
Do check out this informative and entertaining article by Mr Moo (Musab Bora), which originally appeared in the Guardian: Is Eid the Muslim Christmas?
Speaking of Muslims and Christmas, below I’ve reproduced an article by yours truly, published (in reduced form) last Christmas in the Edinburgh Evening News…
Fridays at the Synagogue
See this video about a “super-unusual” arrangement between the Jewish and Muslim communities in Northern Virginia.
I’m not certain of the juristic positions of the respective faiths on this matter, but I do recall a rabbi mentioning in an inter-faith discussion I attended that he would have no discomfort in performing his prayers in a mosque if welcomed, whereas he would not do the same in a church.
