The virtue of Friday

* Friday Prayers - - - Which day of the week do you consider most
holy and your sabboth?
Praise be to Allaah.
It should be noted that the entire life of a Muslim is worship of
Allaah; there is no special day for worship, for the Muslim is
worshipping Allaah all the time. But there is a day which Allaah has
made special for this ummah (nation), the nation of Muhammad (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him), andwhich Allaah has favoured
above all the other days of the week. That day is Friday. There are a
number of hadeeths which speak ofthe virtue of this day, including the
following:
It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "We (Muslims) are the last
(of the nations) but (we will be) the foremost on the Day of
Resurrection, although the former nations were given their scriptures
before us and we were given our after them. And this (Friday) is the
day concerning which they disputed. So Allaah guided us (to it),
tomorrow (i.e., Saturday) is for the Jews and the day after (i.e.,
Sunday) is for the Christians." (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, al-Jumu'ah,
847).
It was also narrated (by al-Bukhaari) that the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "The best day on
which the sun rises is Friday. On this day Adam was created, on this
day he entered Paradise and on this day he was expelled from it."
(Narrated by Muslim, al-Jumu'ah, 1410)
It was narrated that Taariq ibn Shihaab said: "A Jewish man said to
'Umar, 'O Commander of the faithful, if this aayah – 'This day, I have
perfected your religion for you, completed My Favour upon you, and
have chosen for you Islam as your religion' [al-Maa'idah 5:3 –
interpretation of the meaning] – had been revealed to us, we would
have taken that day as an 'Eid (festival)." 'Umar said, "I know on
which day this aayah was revealed; it was revealed on the Day of
'Arafaah, which was a Friday." (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, Al-I'tisaam
bi'l-Kitaab wa'l-Sunnah, 6726).
Among the hadeeth which explain the reward for this day is that which
was narratedby Abu Hurayrah, which says that the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Each of the five
daily prayers and from one Jumu'ah prayer to the next is an expiation
for the time in between, so long as one does not commit any major
sin." (al-Tahaarah, 342).
It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: "The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: 'When Friday comes,
at each door of the mosque there are angels who write down the first
ones to come to the mosque. Then when the imaam sits down they close
their books and come to listen to thesermon. The one who comes early
(for Friday prayer) is like who sacrificed a camel, then those who
come after him (in order of their coming) are like one who sacrificed
a cow, then one who sacrificed a horned ram, then one who sacrificed a
chicken, then like one who offered an egg." (narrated by al-Bukhaari,
al-Jumu'ah, 1416).
It was also narrated in a hadeeth that the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "One of the best of your days
is Friday. On it Adam was created and on it he died. On it the Trumpet
will be blown and on it all creatures will perish (prior to the
Resurrection on the Last Day). So send many blessings upon me on that
day, for your blessings will be shown to me." They said, "How will our
blessings be shown to you when yourbody will have become dust?" He
said, "Allaah has forbidden the earth to consume our [Prophets']
bodies." (Narrated by Abu Dawood and al-Nasaa'i; classed as saheeh by
al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Targheeb wa'l-Tarheeb, no. 695).
It was narrated in a hadeeth that the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever makes his wife do ghusl and does
ghusl himself [i.e., has intercourse] on Friday and goes out early,
walking not riding, and comes close to the imaam and listens [to the
sermon] without interrupting, will have for each step he takes a
reward equal to that of fasting and praying at night for one year."
(Narrated by Ahmad and al-Tirmidhi; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in
Saheeh al-Targheeb wa'l-Tarheeb, no. 687)
It was narrated from AbuHurayrah that the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) mentioned Friday and said: "On
this day there is an hour when no Muslim slave stands and prays and
asks Allaah forsomething, but Allaah will give it to him," and he
gestured with his hand to indicate that whatever he asks fo , is as
nothing to Allaah. (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, al-Jumu'ah, 883)
It was narrated from Anas ibn Maalik that the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Seek the hour in which there
is hope that prayers will be answered, on Friday after 'Asr
(mid-afternoon) prayer, until the sun goes down." (Narrated by
al-Tirmidhi; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Targheeb
wa'l-Tarheeb, no. 700).
And Allaah knows best.

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Statistics About Domestic Abuse

DID YOU KNOW THAT:
Approximately 95% of the victims of domestic violence are women.
(Department of Justice figures)
Every 9 seconds in the United States a woman is assaulted and beaten.
4,000,000 women a year are assaulted by their partners.
In the United States, a woman is more likely to be assaulted, injured,
raped, or killed by a malepartner than by any other type of assailant.
Every day, 4 women are murdered by boyfriends or husbands.
Prison terms for killing husbands are twice as long as for killing wives.
93% of women who killed their mates had been battered by them. 67%
killed them to protect themselves and their children at the moment of
murder.
25% of all crime is wife assault.
70% of men who batter their partners either sexually or physically
abuse their children.
Domestic violence is the number one cause of emergency room visits bywomen.
73% of the battered women seeking emergency medical services have
already separated from the abuser.
Women are most likely tobe killed when attempting to leave the abuser.
In fact, they're at a 75% higher risk than those who stay.
The number-one cause ofwomen's injuries is abuseat home. This abuse
happens more often thancar accidents, mugging, and rape combined .
Up to 37% of all women experience battering. This is an estimated
566,000 women in Minnesota alone.
Battering often occurs during pregnancy. One study found that 37% of
pregnant women, across all class, race, and educational lines, were
physically abused during pregnancy.
60% of all battered women are beaten while they are pregnant.
34% of the female homicide victims over age 15 are killed by their
husbands, ex-husbands, or boyfriends.
2/3 of all marriages will experience domestic violence at least once.
Weapons are used in 30%of domestic violence incidents.
Approximately 1,155,600 adult American women have been victims of one
or more forcible rapes bytheir husbands.
Over 90% of murder-suicides involving couples are perpetrated by the
man. 19-26% of male spouse-murderers committed suicide.
When only spouse abuse was considered, divorcedor separated men
committed 79% of the assaults and husbands committed 21%.
Abusive husbands and lovers harass 74% of employed battered women at
work, either inperson or over the telephone, causing 20% to lose their
jobs.
Physical violence in dating relationships ranges from 20-35%.
It is estimated that between 20% to 52% of high school and college age
dating couples have engaged in physical abuse.
More than 50% of child abductions result from domestic violence.
Injuries that battered women receive are at least as serious as
injuriessuffered in 90% of violentfelony crimes.
In 1991, only 17 states kept data on reported domestic violence
offenses. These reports were limited to murder, rape, robbery, and
serious bodily injury.
More than half of battered women stay with their batterer because they
do not feel that they can support themselves and their children alone.
In homes where domesticviolence occurs, children are abused at a rate
1,500% higher than the national average.
Up to 64% of hospitalizedfemale psychiatric patients have histories
ofbeing physically abused as adults.
50% of the homeless women and children in the U.S. are fleeing abuse.
The amount spent to shelter animals is three times the amount spent to
provide emergency shelter to women from domestic abuse situations.
Family violence kills as many women every 5 years as the total
numberof Americans who died inthe Vietnam War.

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The creation characteristics of zebra stripes

Every being, animate or inanimate, has a color. Moreover, there are
the same colors of the same species all over the world. No matter
where you go, the color of kiwis are green, the seasare blue or tints
of blue and the snow is white. The color of elephants is the same
everywhere in the world; the colors of trees is also the same. This
situation does not change for artificially produced colors. No matter
where you go in the world, if you mix yellow with red, and black and
white, you getorange and gray respectively. This also never changes.
The blackand white stripes of zebras are like this. The common
specialty of zebras living in different parts of the world is their
black and white stripes. These stripes, which have different wonders,
provide great benefits for zebras.
· Have you ever thought why zebras have black and white stripes?
· What could be the wonder of the stripes these beings possess?
Most zebras live in open places where there is not much place to hide.
Therefore, they need to be able to move very quickly in order to
survive.All the bodily structures of zebras are created in a way as to
provide for these needs.
Zebra, which remind people of horses at first glance, have long hairs
called a mane; their physical structure is also created quite similar
to horses and they run at least as fast as them. Zebras have very long
legs, strong muscles and lungs with broad surfaces which help these
beings torun long distances withoutgetting exhausted and being forced
to slow down. Even though zebras' bones are light, they are strong and
created specially for running fast. However, one of the most
interesting characteristics of zebras is their fur, which is made up
of black and white stripes.
Zebras' stripes help them camouflage:
One of the most importantdefense tactics in animals is, no doubt,
camouflage. Beings with camouflage ability are under special
protection because of theirbody structure having been created in a
compatible way to their living environment. The bodies of these beings
are very compatible with theirliving environment. The striped patterns
on zebras have an inherent camouflage ability and help them hide
against their enemies in nature. Asit is known, zebras live in
tall-grass pastures called savannas. It is very difficult to
distinguish zebras inside these tall-grass pastures; the stripes
appear as shadows of pastures and prevent the bulk of the animal's
body from beingseen clearly.
Claiming that this amazingcamouflage system of zebras has come into
existence by coincidences is, of course, an unscientific and
irrational claim. If there is an order, it naturally has a regulator.
The flawless order on Earth belongs to Almighty Allah, the Merciful.
What rational people need to do is to think about Allah's creation in
detail. Almighty Allah reveals thistruth in Surat an-Nahl as such:
" And also the things of varying colours He has created for you in
the earth. There is certainly a Sign in that for people who pay heed.
" (Surat an-Nahl, 13)
Zebras' stripes are an important tool of defense:
Zebras' colors are one of their most important defense mechanisms.
When they stand together,the predatory animals thattypically hunt
them see the complete herd as a whole due to these stripes. In this
case, the hunter finds it difficult to choose the individual zebra it
will hunt, and this is a protection for zebras. At the same time, when
they stroll around as a herd, when their patterns are next to one
another, they appear as a block. The predators that want to hunt these
beings cannot focus on them.

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Free Muslim Women

If the media and its ensuing stereotypes are to be believed then Islam
does not have very much to offer women, except for a life of misery,
oppression and slavery. However, if one bothers to look closely at
Islam then it has an abundance to offer men and women alike.
There is little doubt that many Muslim women are subject to abuse and
subjugation - without making sweeping generalizations, many women in
some so called Muslim lands are denied the rights given to them
byIslam - rights to which theyare entitled as human beings and as
women. However we must separateMuslims from Islam; we must separate
theory from practice. In Islam this separation is possible - Islamic
legislation has given women unprecedented status, evenif Muslims did
not always live up to these amazing standards.
Let us take a quick look at some of the rights of women in Islam,
comparing them with some of the legislation relating to women in
Britain:
Education
Considered by many these days as a basic human right, in Islam both
men and women are duty bound to seek education for the Prophet
Muhammad said: "The search for knowledge is a duty on every Muslim."
(Bukhari) So, while there were no places at British Universities until
the late 1870s (Ox. Ill. His. Brit. p493), there have been records of
Islamic Universities with women students throughout the history of
Islam: Nafisah was an early 8th century hadith scholar and the great
jurist Shafi participated in her circle at Al-Fustat. Shaika Shuhuda
another 8th century scholar was a lecturer at Baghdad University - the
Oxford and Cambridge of its time. Nazhun was a 12th century scholar
and ofcourse we cannot forget Ayesha, the wife of the Prophet who in
the 7th century was one of the greatest relaters of hadith.
So, whilst Muslim women were attending universitiesand were lecturers
and scholars in the 8th century, 80% of London Women and 100% of East
Anglican women were illiterate in 1640 - figures taken from A. Fraser
page 129 and D. Cressy page 178.
Political Participation
Women in the UK managedto gain the right to vote in 1918, but that was
only forwomen over thirty. They did not manage to gain fullvoting
rights equal with men until 1928. These gains were not achieved easily
though - to gain the vote the Suffragettes marched, rallied, chained
themselves to railings, went on hunger strike and eventually one of
them jumped in front of the Royal Horse on Derby Day. Muslims women
however each had the right to give or not to give their allegiance
from the beginning - and this right was given them without them having
to march, rally, not eat or jump in front of a horse.
Property
Up until 1801 British women did not have the right to own anything -
noteven themselves. For up until this time a husband had the right to
sell his wife. In Sweden in 1984 a man was entitled to half his wife's
earnings. Islam though has allowed women to own their own property
from the outset. Everything a woman earns belongs to her. She is not a
chattel to be bought and sold, but rather an individual human being,
responsible to no one for her income except for God. A married woman
may remind her husband:"What's his is theirs, what'shers is her own!"
It would be easy to go on with a list of the rights of women in Islam
- but how does Islam really benefit women?
Islam has given women the right to be themselves!They are equal before
God - on the Day of Judgment they will be answerable as individuals
and cannot say"my husband told me to doit", "my, father, brother,
uncle - led me astray". Nor will they be treated unfairly because they
are women - women have souls in Islam - and there has never been any
debate about that in Islamic history unlike in Christianity!
Islam offers to women, as it does to men, a belief in God, and this
upholds everything. Belief in the Creator gives life a wholeness, and
a balance, for it means that we do notlook at everything in the short
term - the intrinsic whole is this world and theHereafter. This belief
in God, this taqwa - God consciousness - thus shapes everything in
Islam.

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