Islam

Dhikr is Islamic for the Remembrance/Invocation of God...

Taken from Wiki:

The word dhikr is commonly translated as "remembrance" or "invocation". In reality, it has taken a wide range and various layers of meaning.[1] For instance, while dhikr is commonly understood as the practice of remembering God, it has also been used in the Islamic sources to indicate God as the subject and the servant as the object of dhikr,[2] and also been directly applied to the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, as embodiment of dhikr of God.[3]

Essentially, the practice of dhikr is a form of prayer in which the Muslim will express his or her remembrance of God either within or overtly; this may come in the form of recitation, lyrical chanting, or simply always remembering God in one's heart. In tasawwuf (Islamic mysticism or Sufism) dhikr is most likely the most frequent form of prayer. Among the orders of Muslims that practice dhikr, there are some who advocate silent, individual prayer, while others join together in an outward, group expression of their love for God

There are two Islamic feasts: Eid al-Adha, the Feast of the Sacrifice, which commemorates the occasion when God ordered Prophet Adam to kill his son, Prophet but then, at the last minute, allowed the substitution of a sheep, instead. Eid al-Fitr, the Feast of Breaking the Fast, at the end of the month-long Islamic fast in Ramadan. Muslims also take note of Ashura, the anniversary of the days when Prophet Moses and his people left Egypt, by fasting. (God bless all of his prophets and grant them peace.)
There are two major holy days in Islam: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.

Eid al-Fitr occurs during the first day of the 10th month of the Islamic calendar (Shawwal) after the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.

Eid al-Adha occurs on the 10th day of the 12th month of the Islamic calendar (Dhul Hijjah). This is also the eid of sacrifice, where the sacrifice of Abraham (PBUH) is celebrated.
All days are the blessings of Almighty Allah. Islam teaches to be honest through out one's life. Anyhow, Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Azha have been declared holidays in Islam. Each Friday is a holiday of the week. The month of Ramazan is the holy month in a year.
Ramadan is the Holliest of the holy months, Eid-al-firtr, Eid, Muharram, Hajj, that's all o can remember.
Ramadan is the Holy Month

Eid Ul Fitr and Eid Ul Adha are the Holy Days.

Divorce is allowed but there are Quranic verses which says that divorce is not advisable.

Divorce is not allowed for Women, unless it was was part of the conditions of their contractual marriage certificate 'Aqd el zawaj or through judicial means.

Some Muslim men marry women contractually for one night as a part of Islamic society custom. In the western world, this is known as prostitution.

Answer

It is not part of Islamic society custom and it defeats the purpose of marriage in Islam thus it is forbidden. only a minority of people do it and they concider it a loophole in the system. Marriage should not be legitimized under Islamic law unless it has the purpose of creating a family and providing stability for children to grow up in a healthy environment.

If on the other hand unsolvable problems appear between the couple then divorce is an option but it is not to be used unless it was the last resort for it creates division in the community and instability for everyone involved. divorce could be issued from both sides (husband or wife) if there were legitimate reasons such as abuse by either of the couple and it is to be done in a court of law with evidence provided. THat is the right way to do it. If in certain "Muslim" countries divorce can only be issued from one side (husband) or is used as a form of "legitimized" prostitution then that country is not following the real Islam and thus weird and obscure practices such as those ones immerge.

Answer :-

Divorce as a last option:

Although divorce being allowed in Islam is a sign of the lenience and practical nature of the Islamic legal system, keeping the unity of the family is considered a priority for the sake of the children. For this reason, divorce is always a last choice, after exhausting all possible means of reconciliation. For example, Allah addresses men asking them to try hard to keep the marriage, even if they dislike their wives: ... live with them on a footing of kindness and equity. If ye take a dislike to them it may be that ye dislike a thing, and God brings about through it a great deal of good.

Surah 4 Verse 19

Also the following verse is addressed to women asking them the same thing: If a wife fears cruelty or desertion on her husband's part, there is no blame on them if they arrange an amicable settlement between themselves; ...

Surah 4 Verse 128

Again, the following verse is addressed to the family or the society for the same purpose of rescuing this bond, which God did not make easy to break: If ye fear a breach between them twain, appoint (two) arbiters, one from his family, and the other from hers; if they wish for peace, God will cause their reconciliation: For God hath full knowledge, and is acquainted with all things.

Surah 4 Verse 35

But, if after exhausting all methods of reconciliation, the hatred between the husband and wife is still greater than tolerance, then divorce becomes inevitable. Here comes the genius of the Islamic law, which holds practical, rather than unrealistic approaches, towards real situations. The ultimate aims of marriage, as well as any other aspect of human life, are to achieve happiness and virtue. So, when people are denied their right to end an unhappy marriage, these two aims are seriously violated. This is, as the couple will live in suffering, which may lead them to marital infidelity. Thus divorce in this case - if weighed up to the disaster of family disintegration - will be less disastrous.

Methods of divorce:

Men have the right to divorce. If a man dislikes keeping his marriage for any reason, he divorces his wife and compensates her financially by paying her what is termed mut'a payment. This is in addition to the regular financial sustenance for her living, in case she has the custody of their children.

Divorce becomes in effect once the husband utters or writes down any of the legal formulae of divorce such as: 'I divorce you' or 'you are divorced'…etc. The husband can do these either by himself or through a messenger.

In case it is the woman's desire to end the marriage, the situation becomes different. Her reasons might be that she has received ill treatment, the husband is unable to sustain her financially or he is sexually impotent. She can prove these defects in front of the judge, then the judge grants her divorce with a full access to all her financial rights.

Also, if the husband was good to her but she does not want to keep on for an emotional reason, then she asks for what is termed khul'. This means to be granted divorce but without any access for financial rights, plus paying back the husband the dowry that he already paid on marrying her.

Categories of divorce:

Divorce is of three categories: raj'i (returnable), baynounah soghra (minor separation) or baynouna kobra(major separation).

In case divorce happens through the husband, he can take his wife back within three months. This is without any legal procedures, if they decide it - like they regret their rushing in divorce. In this case, the divorce is termed as raj'i or returnable divorce.

But in case of khul', which is the second category, the husband can't remarry his divorcée till all the legal procedures are done, all over again, and the husband pays new dowry for her.

Divorce happens three times in the couple's lifetime. The third divorce falls in the third category, because they cannot go back to one another, till after the wife 'happens' to marry someone else, then 'happens' to get divorced by him. In this case, she can go back to her first husband. Such a tough rule was made as a punishment and a way of preventing people from misusing this tolerant ruling of permitting divorce. The word 'happens' is parenthesized because the woman's new marriage and divorce should come naturally without planning, as many people might do to legalize her return to the first husband!

When does divorce become invalid?

In some cases, uttering the words of divorce become invalid. Among these cases is when the husband is:

1. drunk
2. forced to utter them by someone else
3. in a complete loss of temper to the extent that he is unaware of what he is saying
4. in an abnormal state of mind, such as temporary madness, epilepsy or in a coma,

In such cases, divorce is null and void.

Post divorce procedures:

After divorce, it is obligatory for the woman not to get married to another man, except after three complete mentruation cycles, if she is not pregnant. If she is, then she has to wait till she gives birth, so that the paternity of the child is not confused. This period of time is termed as 'iddah. However, even if the woman no longer has menstruations (e.g. after menopause), she should still wait for three months. So there is more to the 'iddah than just the issue of paternity.

Islam strongly discourages divorce. Divorce always has negative effects on the affected couples, on their children, on their families and on the community at large, however,Islam allows divorce if circumstances warrant or necessitate it. Islam has permitted divorce reluctantly neither liking nor recommending it.

Talaq is a pronouncement of "I divorce you." Divorce and Talaq are strongly condemned within Islam. In case of difficulties within a marriage that the husband and wife cannot solve by themselves, each shall appoint an arbitrator or conciliator to resolve the matter. Taraq has been banned any many nations, such as Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Tunisia. Instead, authorities encourage the use of arbitration councils and judicial intervention to promote reconciliation.

Divorce is basically use in order to void any marriage.Women has right of KHULA in Islam.But it is very true that Islam does not like Divorced.You can give this on very extreme situation.

http://www.teachingquran.com/Resource-Center/Download-Quran.aspx

They motivate Muslims to be:

• closer to God
• observing Islam teachings in all their doings
• tending to help the needy people and the elders
• more tolerant and paying respect to other people irrelevant to their faiths, social positions or ranks, or color, and
• tending to offer charities