If he bought some land then sold it because he needed money, does he have to pay zakaah? ~{Details- http://bit.ly/ LxgK84}

I read a fatwa which says that if a person buys land for the purpose
of buying and selling, he has to pay zakaah on it. But what if someone
bought some land and had no intentionof selling it, but someone
suddenly came along whowanted to buy it, so he sold it because he was
pressured to do so. Does he have to pay zakaah on it? If so, how much
is the zakaah? And is it based onthe price he bought it for or the
price he sold it for? For example, he bought it for two hundred
thousand and sold it for two hundred and fifty thousand. What is the
zakaah on it?
Praise be to Allah.
If a person buys land withthe intention of trading init, then he has
to pay zakaah when one (hijri) year has passed since he acquired the
wealth with which he bought it.
The way in which zakaah is worked out is: the valueof the land should
be worked out at the end of the year, and one quarter of one tenth
(2.5%) should be given as zakaah. What matters is its value at the
time of paying zakaah, not its value at the time of purchase.
But if he bought land and did not intend to trade in it, then he
needed to sell it, or someone offered a good price so he sold it,
inthis case he does not haveto pay the zakaah on trade goods. But if
he sellsit then one year passes since he acquired the money, then he
has to pay zakaah as on the rest of his wealth.
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy onhim) said: If a person
has some properties that he does not want to trade, but if he is given
a good price he will sell them, then they are not regarded as trade
goods, because he did not acquire them with the intention of trading.
If a person is offered a good price for something that he owns, in
most cases hewill sell it, even his house or car, and so on.
And he said: If he has a car that he is using, then he decides to sell
it, it is not regarded as being for trade, because in this casehe is
not selling it for the purpose of trade but because he no longer wants
it. Another exampleis if he has a piece of land that he bought to
build on it, then he decided to sell it and buy another piece of land,
so he offered it for sale, that is not regarded as trade because the
intention behind selling it in this case is not to make a profit;
rather it is because he no longer wants it.
End quote from ash-Sharhal-Mumti', 6/142
If a person has some land and is not sure whether he wants to keep it
or sellit, he does not have to pay zakaah until he definitely intends
to tradein it.

And Allah knows best.

Challenges of Identity in the World of Islam ~{Details- http://bit.ly/ LxgK84}

In 20th century, four main factors have caused the individual and
social crisis in the Islamic societies. The considerable factors are;
1) The first is the system ofgovernments or the famous pattern of
"nation - state", which has divided the unified Islamic communities
into the separate estates.
For instance, Bangladesh has been separated from Pakistan as a new
Islamic nation and also Pakistan has been isolated from Islamic nation
of India.
In Europe during the last years, Islamic country of Bosnia -
Herzegovina has been divided into separateparts of three and Muslimsin
Albania and Kosovo, which have formed a unified Islamic Ummah, are
ruled by two different systems.
Bangladesh has been separated from Pakistan as a new Islamic nation
and also Pakistan has beenisolated from Islamic nation of India.
In Europe during the last years, Islamic country of Bosnia -
Herzegovina has been divided into separateparts of three and Muslimsin
Albania and Kosovo, which have formed a unified Islamic Ummah, are
ruled by two different systems.
2) The second factor, which had resulted from the political system
of"nation - state" or"national government", is the phenomenon of
nationalism among Muslims.
The concept of nationality,which always has been praised by Muslims,
has changed into the concept of European and American nationalism.
By the way, the identity ofindividuals and groups of the Islamic
nation will be transfer to the new national and governmental units.
Nationalism caused the divergence of the Islamic societies.
Islamic brotherhood, equality, freedom and justice have been replaced
by national and ethnic identity.
3) The third factor is the model of development or modernism.
After the establishment of national governments andtendency to
nationalism is the next step to weaken the Islamic identity, the plans
of economic, national, political and cultural development were
thoroughly based onthe pattern of modernity or development in Europe
and America.
So, during the recent century, the development patterns have
thoroughly changed the systems of education, bureaucracy, organizing
and organization, economic growth and expansion of press and media.
Islamic identity lost its value and was replaced bynew identities of
modernity, such as classic identities, Capitalism and Marxist.
4) The growth of the third factor in the Islamic societies, which
caused theweakness of Islamic identity, has not occurred in a natural
environment but has been grown as theWestern powers began their
relations with the Muslim Ummah through colonial interventions and the
policies of cultural and economic invasion.
In other words, unilateral approach to international relations and
diplomacy between Islamic countries and the European and American
powers caused spreading the non-Islamic identity.
At this time the systems ofMedia, universities, military, bureaucracy,
parliamentary and judiciary in Islamic countries, which were built by
the Europeans andAmericans, acted as the load speakers of non-Islamic
and even anti-Islam identity.
A survey on the press dealing with Islamic identity indicates the
outstanding clues for the factors mentioned above.
The national press in Islamic countries has been imported institutions
and ideological organs for national and governmental systems.
Except for some limited periods, the national press and media always
served and promoted modernism,nationalism and non-Islamic identity,
and the national tendency is an undeniable issue in the present media
of many Islamic countries.
Internationally, the press until the Islamic Revolution of Iran sought
to avoid the Islamic world concerns.
Over the past two decadesthat the Islamic movements caused the
extraordinary developments in the regional and international policies,
the main international media ruled by Europe and America intended to
blur the Islamic identity and primarily depicted a negative image for
developments in Islamic countries.
Islamic identity has been often mentioned"fundamentalists","religious
fanatics" and"insurgents and terrorists",in the international media.In
recent decades, cultural institutions and media companies have
launched a cultural aggression against Islamic countries through the
Western industries, which is completely along with their political and
economic plots.

The dying girl who wished to see Pixar's ‘Up' ~{Details- http://bit.ly/ LxgK84}

Colby Curtin got her final wish. The 10-year-old girl
desperatelywanted to see the new Disney-Pixar movie, "Up." But the
cancer-stricken girl was too sick to go to a theater. So a family
friend contacted someone at Pixar to see if they could help. The very
next day, Pixar flew in an employee with a bag of "Up" memorabilia and
a DVD version of the film. Together he and Colby's family all watched
the movie. The movie features a large plume ofballoons released to the
sky. Colby died 7 hours later.

FAQ about Islam (Frequently Asked Questions)

Who is Allah?
Allah means God. It is a personal name, which Allah calls Himself in
the Quran. That is where we get it. It can also be foundin an Aramaic
copy of the Bible, and even Christian Arabs say Allah.
Who is Jesus to us?
Jesus peace be upon Him is a true prophet. Sent by Allah like Moses,
Abraham, Lot, Noah, Jonah, Joseph…etc.
Who were Jesus's parents?
Jesus is the son of Virgin Mary, and he had no father. Allah created Jesus.
Can Jesus, or Mohammed peace be upon them be worshipped?
No, Allah does not accept that a cow, a person, an angel, a prophet, a
stone, or anything be worshipped in place of him, or even along with
Him. Worship must be to Allah the creator of them.
Is Allah the same as what Christians call the father?
Allah is the creator who Jesus worshipped. He is the Creator who spoke
to Moses, and split the sea for Moses, and his followers. That is
Allah. But Allah tells us: "Say Allah is one, He is Perfect, He has
never begotten, nor was He begott, and there is no one equal to Him".
Is there a trinity in Islam?
No. Allah is perfect.
Do we believe that Allah created the heavens and earth in6 days?
Yes, but He did not rest on the seventh day, because He did not get
tired. Allah is perfect He does not get tired, nor does He sleep, eat,
go to the bathroom, feel pain, or die for that matter.
Can we see Allah?
Allah is not like the sun. Anyone can see the Sun. But Allah is the
most beautiful. Nothing is as beautiful as Allah. Actually looking at
Allah is the greatest pleasure of the peoplein Pradise. This pleasure
Allah does not give anyone but the believers. So no one will see Allah
before he dies.
Does Allah see us?
Allah sees us, and knows everything about us. He knows usbetter than
we know ourselves. There is nota leaf on a tree that blows away, or
stays in its place except thatHe knows it. There is not a dry spot,
nor a wet spot, nor a grain in the depths of the earth except that
Allahknows it.
Do we have free will?
Yes, of course. Allah does not punish us forsomething we did notdo on
our own. But at the same time, our will is not inspire of Allah's
will. We cannotdo anything if Allah will not allow it. In other words
nothing goes on in Allah's kingdom without His will.
Did Allah create Evil?
evil is the result disobedience to Allah's religious laws which is the
willful sin of the man and jinn; everybody obeys natural laws whether
they will it or not.
Thus Allah created the creatures who do evil,and knew that they would
do evil, and he allows it to happen in His creation, and in this sense
only He is the creator of evil in the meaning that He creates
everything. Allah is all good and everything he does is good, and even
this evil that exists has some good in it in that from the presence of
evil he brings forth good, andHe will judge all with perfect justice
and reward those that do good and punish those that do evil and do not
repent for that evil.
Do bad things happen to the believers (good people)?
Yes, they do. But they appear bad to the believers cause they are
things people don't like. Who likes breaking a leg? However, when a
bad thing happens to a believer this believer is patient. He praises
Allah in all circumstances. He knows Allah does not decree something
unless it is for his own good.
But how can breaking a leg are good for a beleiver?
Because it is a chance for the believer to think about what he did wrong.
Also because Allah forgives much of what we do, but thosethings we are
not forgiven, they are forgiven due to our patience when we arestruck
by a calamity. Allah gives us better reward when a problem strikes us
on earth if we are patient. This reward can be on earth, and itcan be
in Heaven.
Does Allah hear my prayers?
Yes.
Does Allah answer my prayers?
We know that Allah answers all the prayers of the believers. This can
be in 4 ways:
1- Get what we are asking for!
2- Get something as good or better!
3- We get spared something bad that would have happenedotherwise.
4- We get rewarded on the day of Judgment with a much greater reward
than what we were asking for on earth.
When does Allah not answer our prayers?
* When it is bad for us!
* When we ask, but not from our heart!
* When we say: I asked and asked and He did not answer.
* When we eat, drink, and wear unlawful, food, and clothes, and
property that wa earned either throughinterest from the bank, or that
was stolen, or if the food was pork, or the like.
What can I ask of Allah?
Any thing but don't ask Him to do things like make you a prophet.
Cause He has already said that therewill be no more prophets.
You can ask Allah for guidance. Meaning you can ask Him to show you
the correct religion.