Did the Arabs know about Allaah before the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was sent?

We know that Holy Prophet's()father name was Abdullah & he had passed away before Prophet's birth.With this background please tell that what was the concept in arabs about"ALLAH"before prophet.Were they familiar to this word before prophet's birth?How did they differentiate Allah from idols,if at all they did?
You should note that Arabian societies before Islam were not atheistic societies that denied the existence of Allaah, or societies that were unaware that there is a Lord, Creator and Provider. They knew that, and they still retained some traces of the religion of Ibraaheem, and they had contact withJews and Christians. But their problem was that they did not worship Allaah Alone in exclusion to others; they had other gods whom they associated in worship with Him, and which they worshipped not on the basis that they were the Lord, the Creator the Provider, but because they claimed that these were intermediaries who would intercede between them and Allaah and bring them closer to Allaah. Hence Allaah said concerning them (interpretation of the meaning):
“And if you (O Muhammad) ask them: ‘Who has created the heavens and the earth,’ they will certainly say: ‘Allaah’” [Luqmaan 31:25]
This indicates that they acknowledged that Allaahis the Creator. Another aayah says (interpretationof the meaning):
“And verily, if you ask them: ‘Who created the heavens and the earth?’ Surely, they will say: ‘Allaah (has created them)’”
[al-Zumar 39:38]
Many aayaat indicated that they believed in the Unity of Lordship (Tawheed al-Ruboobiyyah); their shirk was with regard to divinity (uloohiyyah), as Allaah says concerning them (interpretation of the meaning):
“And those who take Awliyaa’ (protectors, helpers, lords, gods) besides Him (say): ‘We worship them only that they may bring us near toAllaah’” [al-Zumar 39:3]
i.e., they said, we only worship them so that they may bring us closer to Allaah.
Shaykh Sa’d al-Humayd/ - - - :-> Transtors: 1.http://free-translation.imtranslator.net/lowres.asp 2.http://translate.google.com/m?twu=1&hl=en&vi=m&sl=auto&tl=en

Does the dove hold any significance in Islam?

In the Christian religion, a dove is a symbol not only for peace but also for the Holy Spirit.In the Islamic religion, does the dove hold any significance ?
Praise be to Allaah.
We put this question to Shaykh ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Jibreen, may Allaah preserve him, who answered as follows.
The dove does not have any particular meaning in Islam. It is simply one of the birds that Allaah has permitted us to eat, just like any other permissible bird.
In Islam, the dove does not stand for peace or for anything else. It is sufficient for us Muslims for us to follow the commands of Allaah to establish justice on earth.
Shaykh ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Jibreen/ - - - :-> Transtors: 1.http://free-translation.imtranslator.net/lowres.asp 2.http://translate.google.com/m?twu=1&hl=en&vi=m&sl=auto&tl=en

Should he pay zakaah on shares that were given to him by the company and over which he has no control?

I live in UK. My husband works for a company, which provides raw materials to other companies for making soaps, shampoos, cosmetics etc. For 3 years, he buys some company shares every month. The number of shares is doubled by the company for its employees.
Few days ago, when I wasbrowsing your website, I came to know that we’ve to pay zakaah on shares. We didn’t know that before.
Now I’ve some questions:
1. My husband can sell only the shares he boughtwith his money. The company shares can be sold only after the completion of 5 years (maturity period). Even then only the shares of first month will be mature. More shares will get matured each month. If he sells his shares now, the company shares givenwith those shares will be taken back from him. So, he doesn’t want to sell them now. My question is,Does he still has to give zakaah on these shares?
2. Second question is, What is the nisaab of shares?
3. Third, he also has to pay tax and national insurance on these shares when he sells them. Does he have to pay zakaah only on profit?
4. If we don’t have moneynow, can we pay it next year?
5. Do we’ve to pay for all 3 years?
6. The shares are in our joint name but only my husband deals with them,Who has the responsibility to pay zakaah?
I’ll be really grateful, if you can answer me in detail, I am really concerned about the issue. I don’t want any haraam money in my home
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
It is obligatory to pay zakaah on shares if the owner intends to sell them and they reached the nisaab (minimum threshold). He should work out their value each year, i.e., find out their market value, and pay one quarter of one tenth (2.5%) of their value.
The nisaab is the equivalent of 595 grams of silver or 85 grams of gold. As silver is of lesser value, the nisaab should be worked out on the basis of silver, so as to give the poor their fair share.
So if a person owns sharesthe value of which is equal to the value of 595 grams of silver, then he owns the minimum amount.
Secondly:
If a person acquires shareswith the intention of benefiting from their dividends and profits, andhe does not intend to sell them, then he does not have to pay zakaah on the share itself; rather he has to pay zakaah on the dividends, if he has taken possession of them and one zakaah year has passed; he should pay onequarter of one tenth, or 2.5%, (of the dividend).
Thirdly:
If the person does not have complete ownershipof the shares, or he is not allowed to dispose of them, like the shares which the company has given to your husband, then he should pay zakaah once when selling them or taking back their value, or when obtaining full possession of them bycompleting five years of work in that company.
Fourthly:
Zakaah is obligatory uponthe owner; if you have shares then you must pay zakaah on them, and you are responsible for that, but the husband may voluntarily pay zakaah onbehalf of his wife.
Fifthly:
The basic principle is that taxes cannot take the place of zakaah; every time one full hijri year passes, you should work out the value of the shares and pay zakaah of one quarter of one tenth.
With regard to the doubleshares, if your husband will take possession of them after five years and we said that your husband should pay zakaah for one year whenselling them, then he should pay zakaah on what remains of their price after paying taxes and National Insurance, because in fact he does not possess anything other than that.
Sixthly:
If a person owns shares and works out their value at the end of the year, buthe does not have cash with which to pay, it is permissible for him to delay zakaah until he acquires cash or sells the shares, but he has to keepa record of that and write down what he owes of zakaah for the first year, the second year and so on. But it is better to hasten to pay zakaah and to be quick in doing good,and to make it easy for oneself, because if the amount of zakaah accumulates, he may feel reluctant to pay it.
We ask Allah to bless you and to protect you from all harm.
And Allah knows best./ - - - :-> Transtors: 1.http://free-translation.imtranslator.net/lowres.asp 2.http://translate.google.com/m?twu=1&hl=en&vi=m&sl=auto&tl=en

Can she make use of frozen embryos?

My husband and I have frozen embryos left over from a treatment which resulted in my little boy who is nearly 2. I found out that it is not permissible to keep the frozen embryos I was wondering whether we will be able to use the leftover embryos to do a treatment which we are looking to do as soon as possible or will we have to destroy the embryos? Please advise me
Praise be to Allah.
Artificial insemination, or what is known as test-tube babies, takes many forms, some of which are permissible andsome are haraam. The permissible forms include cases in which the sperm is taken from the man and the egg is taken from his wife, and fertilisation takes place externally, then the embryo is implanted in the wife’s uterus.
In this case it is essential to take precautions and look for trustworthy doctors, for fear of tampering, because some doctors may use sperm that does not come from the husband when they already know that the husband’s sperm is not suitable for fertilisation; and there are other problems and evil consequences that may occur. See the answer to question no. 98604
It is not permissible to keep eggs or embryos, and the fertilization of eggs must be limited to the required number so asto avoid having an excess of fertilized eggs. If there is an excess of fertilized eggs, they should be left without any care to die naturally.
That is because keeping embryos or eggs may lead to them being mixedwith others as time goes by, either by mistake or deliberately, as has happened in many cases. Some of them may be taken and placed in the uterus of another woman,which leads to confusion of lineages, which is a serious evil which outweighs the interests which the couple may think are served by keeping embryos to save money and use for fertilization later on.
The Islamic Fiqh Council belonging to the Organization of the Islamic Conference has issued a statement on thismatter. The text follows:
1- In the light of what has happened of the possibility of keeping unfertilized eggs to be used later on, when fertilizing eggs it must be limited to the required number for implantation each time, to avoid an excess of fertilized eggs.
2- If there are any extra fertilized eggs – for any reason – they should be left without medical care until they die naturally.
3- It is haraam to use fertilized eggs in another woman, and sufficient precautions must be taken to prevent using fertilized eggs for an illegitimate pregnancy.
End quote from Majallat Majma’ al-Fiqh al-Islami, issue no. 7, vol. 3, p. 563.
Based on that, what you have to do is dispose of the frozen embryos; it is permissible for you to undergo further artificial insemination even if that is costly or difficult, because that harm cannotbe compared to the possibility of embryos being mixed up, especiallysince this length of time has passed.
And Allah knows best./ - - - :-> Transtors: 1.http://free-translation.imtranslator.net/lowres.asp 2.http://translate.google.com/m?twu=1&hl=en&vi=m&sl=auto&tl=en