Islam

It goes 2, 4, 4, 3, 4

Prayer number 1 of the day, the one before sunrise, is 2 raka

Afternoon prayer is 4 raka

evening prayer is also 4 raka

just after sunset prayer is 3 raka

and finally night time is 4 raka again.

All these are mandatory prayers

Plus Sunna prayers are optional prayers

There is a very good article at http://www.journeytojannah.com/salah.asp

That contains the following information:

Salah is the name given to the formal prayer in Islam. Salah is one of the obligatory rights of the religion, to be performed five times a day by Muslims. The importance of the salah can be understood by the following hadith.

On the authority of Abu 'Abd al-Rahman 'Abdullah bin 'Umar bin al-Khattab, radiyallahu 'anhuma, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, say: "Islam has been built upon five things - on testifying that there is no god save Allah, and that Muhammad is His Messenger; on performing salah; on giving the zakah; on Hajj to the House; and on fasting during Ramadhan."

[Al-Bukhari & Muslim]

Salah is performed five times a day: at dawn (fajr), noon (dhuhr), in the afternoon (asr), at sunset (maghrib) and nightfall (isha'a)

Rakahs of Salah Chart Fajr Dhuhr Asr Maghrib Isha 2 Sunnah 4 Sunnah 4 Sunnah ---- 4 Sunnah 2 Fard 4 Fard 4 Fard 3 Fard 4 Fard 2 Sunnah 2 Sunnah 2 Sunnah 2 Nafl 2 Nafl 2 Nafl 3 Witr 2 Nafl

" God does not forbid you from showing kindness and dealing justly with those who have not fought you about religion and have not driven you out of your homes. God loves just dealers."(Quran, chapter 60/ verse 8)

Prophet Muhammad (peace upon him) used, in any military conflict, to prohibit soldiers from killing women, children, old people, or any civilian. He would advise them: {...Do not betray, do not be excessive, do not kill a newborn child.} And he also said: {Whoever has killed a person having a treaty with the Muslims shall not smell the fragrance of Paradise, though its fragrance is found for a span of forty years.}

Also, the Prophet Muhammad (peace upon him) has forbidden punishment with fire.

He once listed murder as the second of the major sins (the first major sin is denying the oneness of God), and he even warned that on the Day of Judgment, {The first cases to be adjudicated between people on the Day of Judgment will be those of bloodshed.}

Muslims are even encouraged to be kind to animals and are forbidden to hurt them. Once the Prophet Muhammad (peace upon him) said: {A woman was punished because she imprisoned a cat until it died. On account of this, she was doomed to Hell. While she imprisoned it, she did not give the cat food or drink, nor did she free it to eat the insects of the earth.}

He also said that a man gave a very thirsty dog a drink, so God forgave his sins for this action. The Prophet was asked, "Messenger of God, are we rewarded for kindness towards animals?" He said: {There is a reward for kindness to every living animal or human.}

Additionally, while taking the life of an animal for food, Muslims are commanded to do so in a manner that causes the least amount of fright and suffering possible. The Prophet Muhammad (peace upon him) said: {When you slaughter an animal, do so in the best way. One should sharpen his knife to reduce the suffering of the animal.}

In light of these and other Islamic texts, the act of inciting terror in the hearts of defenseless civilians, the wholesale destruction of buildings and properties, the bombing and maiming of innocent men, women, and children are all forbidden and detestable acts according to Islam and the Muslims. Muslims follow a religion of peace, mercy, and forgiveness, and the vast majority have nothing to do with the violent events some have associated with Muslims. If an individual Muslim were to commit an act of terrorism, this person would be guilty of violating the laws of Islam.

Islam calls for peace love and living in harmony with all people irrelevant to their cultures, faiths, gender, or color.

Islamic terrorism is a new term falsified by media and politicians to go ahead with their plans of getting control of Muslim countries and to limit the growth of number of people converting to Islam.

Islamic Terrorism does not exist in Islam. It is a phrase invented by the media to name those terrorist who claim to be Muslims. Why such emphasis on their religion when they are not even practicing it? why not call them by their name like AlQadia or something? Because of this name, the have spread Islamophobia! Now if I pray in public, people think I'm going to blow up something. I get refused service because of my Hijab (the scarf on my head). I even get verbally abused in streets for no good reason. Such a life I'm living in a land of democracy because of the media.

In Islam, killing is forbidden in any sort (Muslims are advised not to kill animals and plants and rewarded greatly if they show kindness towards them!). The Prophet says "One who kills a single life, is killing all people". It doesn't matter what race/religion is the victim. Even in self-defense, it is advised against killing your attacker. The punishment of killing is death, no question about it, except for accidental killing (like in a car accident, not accidental "I didn't mean to kill him"). In accidental death -an accident caused by you resulted in someone's death- you pay a great deal of money to the deceased family.

And now the media is telling people that the religion of peace that tells me not to kill an animal is asking its followers to kill PEOPLE???? I saw the movie "Religionless" and Bill Maher is convinced that Muslims don't reveal their killing rules to non-Muslims. Its because of those maniacs that the media is calling Muslims... They killed all hope of us defending ourselves and revealing our true peaceful religion.

i really do wish i could improve this, but there is nothign ot improve every word you say is true.. i too am Muslim and i believe that Muslims like me and you are true Muslims, but extremest are plaguing the media and causing Islam to have a bad reputation.. T~TT

Ameen!

The terrorists believe that they are helping Islam but they are only causing lies to go around in the world about this wonderful religion. No religion advocates violence. Only extremists do.

According to the Islamic"Hijri Calender" which is a lunar calender, dates of the Muslim Holidays vary from year to year in comparison to the "Gregorian Calender, and among many Muslim holy days the most important are the following:

1) Every Friday of each week (mass prayer at noon)

2) Ramadan: Ramadan is the Muslim month of fasting.

3) Eid El-Fitr: The end of Ramadan when Muslims celebrate the end of fasting and thank Allah for His help with their month-long act of self-control. This is a three day holiday.

4) Eid EL-Adha: Festival of Sacrifice marking the day after Arafat. The Day of Arafat is the most important day in the Hajj ritual. This is a four day holiday

5) Al-Hijra: Islamic New Year. Marks the migration of the Prophet Mohammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina

6) Ashura: Islamic holy day observed on the 10th of the Islamic month of Muharram celebrated and fasted by both Sunni and Shi'ite Muslim; thought to be the day Allah saved his Messenger Moses (PBUH) and the children of Israel across the sea from Pharaoh, although Shi'ite Muslims regard it as a major festival marking the martyrdom of the Prophet's grandson, Hussein...

Muslims believe that one of their roles in this life is to do good for mankind and to explore their planet. That is why they were encouraging science and research. Of these contributions in medicine are:

• Development of psychotherapy and other therapeutic methods.
• Research work on smallpox and measles.
• Production of medical treatment and medical drugs.
• Extensive research on properties of scores of drugs.
• Distinguished mediastinitis from pleurisy.
• Recognized the contagious nature of disease and ability of disease to spread to water and soil.
• Discover the existence of blood capillaries.
• Use and discussion of animal Psychology and physiology.
• Constructed magnificent, well organized, and well equipped hospitals that, at that time, were unrivaled in the world and whose doors were open for all the public.
• Provided the first detailed study of the human eye.
• Discovered the use of chemistry for medical purposes.
• Establishment of the first apothecary shop.
• Production of the first pharmacopeadia.
• The first to discover and identify three chief acids : nitric, sulfuric, and hydrochloric.
• Discovered the arts of distillation, crystallization, and oxidation.
• Classified substances into mineral, vegetable, and animal origin.

Answer 1

All of them because if the caliphs killed all of them or forced them to convert there would be more Muslims than Christians and Jews.

Answer 2

Islamic Law permits Jews and Christians to live in Islamic Empires in a lower position according to Surah 9:29 of the Qur'an:

"Fight those who do not believe in Allah or in the Last Day and who do not consider unlawful what Allah and His Messenger have made unlawful and who do not adopt the religion of truth from those who were given the Scripture - [fight] until they give the jizyah willingly while they are humbled."

Muslims allowed Jews and Christians to live in Islamic Empires according to the provisions of 9:29. They were forced to pay the Jizyah Tax to Muslims and found themselves in a "humbled" position. However, they were allowed to continue their non-Muslim belief and were "protected", leading to them being called the Dhimmi.

In addition to the Jizyah tax, the taxes included the kharaj, which was a tax on non-Muslim land-holdings in the Muslim World. The kharaj was so untenable that most Dhimmi were forced to live in the cities where the tax would not be applicable. On paper, a Christian or Jew could testify against a Muslim, but in reality, such testimony was not acceptable and the attempt to defame a Muslim would receive retribution. Christians and Jews were not allowed to build new houses of worship, restore old houses of worship, proselytize in any way (this included religious debate or dialogue), or allow wine or pigs to be shown in public.

This humiliated class would serve to show that Muslims were better and superior people. They were not "humbled" like the Jews and Christians. Additionally, it created a tax base that allowed Muslims to be mostly tax-free except for the Zakat. It also provided incentives to conversion towards Islam, so that the Caliphs would not have to expend military efforts to forcibly convert people in anger, but allow them to make a rational choice to improve their citizenship status.

As for Answer 1, his logic is nonsensical. There are significantly fewer Jews than Muslims (14 million vs. 1,660 million) and the majority of Christians were never under Islamic Caliphs, which is one of the reasons that they exist in such large numbers. Jewish and Christian communities under the Islamic Caliphates shrank as we would expect. It is also interesting to note that in Muslim-majority countries, it is often the case that 90+% of the people identify as Muslim, whereas almost no Christian-majority country are the numbers so skewed.

While the two words are often used interchangeably there is a distinct difference.

Sects can mean two things:

1. A subset or breakaway group of/from a larger religious body (the theological definition) or a social community with distinct custom and identity within that group.

2. A non-religious group (e.g. a political or lifestyle group)

The problem with the word 'sect' is that it is subjective, for example, some Roman Catholics may refer to the Protestant confessions as being sects, while they in turn may be referred to as such by the Orthodox church.

Some may say that Christianity is a Jewish sect, or that the Shi'ite and Sunni confessions within Islam are sects. The problem in attempting to define a 'sect' by asking whether the institution as such is recognised by the state or receive benefits also leads one into subjectivity, in that a mainstream institution in one country may not be across the world. The Baptists, for example, are mainstream in the US, but are considered to be a sect in Russia as they have not been registered there for fifteen years. One man's religion is another man's sect.

The word 'sect' doesn't tend to be neutral. It tends to be a term of abuse by those who belong to the 'mainstream' institution, a government wary of small/new groupings, and a sensationalist press.

Cults can also mean two things:

1. A movement of devotion,rituals,customs to elements not sanctioned in a community or religion to which the group in the community belongs to. Examples include Pagan worship,sacrifices or a distinct ritual,laws,customs,code of conduct,loyalty to the leader of the cult group.

2. A movement which is often built around a personality,mysticism,magic,symbolism,prophesy etc .It may pick up elements from other religions, but tends to have very unique beliefs, often centered around the unique character of the founder who started the cult. Eg. David Koresh , Jim Jones, Osho cult etc

As with the word 'sect', the term 'cult' also tends to be used as a term of abuse. There are stringent rules for assessing whether a movement is a cult or not:

• Three ideas seem essential to the concept of a cult. One is thinking in terms of us versus them with total alienation from "them." The second is the intense, though often subtle, indoctrination techniques used to recruit and hold members. The third is the charismatic cult leader. Cultism usually involves some sort of belief that outside the cult all is evil and threatening; inside the cult is the special path to salvation through the cult leader and his teachings.

  The indoctrination techniques include:

  Subjection to stress and fatigue;

  Social disruption, isolation and pressure;

  Self criticism and humiliation;

  Fear, anxiety, and paranoia;

  Control of information;

  Escalating commitment;

  Use of auto-hypnosis to induce "peak" experiences.

Cults are absent of the betterment of the individual person but rather than leader only. Cults try to subvert the human will with total and complete obedience to the leader of a group or sect

Conclusion

While the term 'sect' is quite subjective, there are clear guidelines for defining what a cult is. A body considered to be a sect can turn into a cult when the above named criteria for measuring whether the group is a cult or not are met. This can also be the case with 'mainstream' religions, for example, the 'Nine o'clock service' group in Sheffield within the Anglican church was a cult, led by its leader Chris Brain.

Hello, Here is a link of the writing of the Quran:

http://www.islambasics.com/view.php?bkID=120&chapter=1

You can order your authentic copy of the Quran from here: just copy the link and paste it on your internet explorer address page.

http://www.amazon.com/Meaning-Holy-Quran-Abdullah-Yusuf/dp/1590080254/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1265893877&sr=8-4

The Quran contains commandments, stories, parables, warnings, and good news, and teaches you the purpose of life, the Creator & How to lead a happy and fruitful life amnong other important things.

What is the Quran?

Al-Quran is the eternal miracle. It is the last Book of Allah sent for the guidance of humanity through the last Prophet, Muhammad, peace be upon him (PBUH).

Revelation of the Quran

The Quran was revealed piecemeal throughout a period of about 23 years. The Prophet received the first revelation in 610CE, in the Cave of Hira in the Mountain of Light (Jabale-Noor), two and a half miles away from the House of Allah in the city of Makkah in Arabia.

The first revelation was the first five verses of Surah (chapter) Al-Alaq: "Iqra bismi rabbikalla dhi khalaq. Khalaqal insana min alaq. Iqra WA rabbukal akram. Alladhi 'allama bil qalam. 'Allamal insana malam ya'lam, " which means "Read in the name of your Lord who created, created man from a clot. Read, for your Lord is most Generous, Who teaches by means of the pen, teaches man what he does not know." (96: 1-5)

The last revelation was the third verse of Surah Al-Maidah, which was sent down to the Prophet in 632 C.E. : "Al yawma akmaltu lakum dinakam WA atmamtu alaikam ni'mati WA raditu' lakumul islama dinan''," which means "Today I perfected your religion for you and completed my favor to you and have chosen for you Al-Islam as your religion." (5:3)

Surah Al-Fatiha (The Opening Chapter) was the first complete chapter to be revealed and Surah An-Nasr was the last.

7 Reasons to Read the Glorious Quran

(1) Intimate:

It dares you to disprove it. How? It says that humans can not write a book like this even if they pooled all their resources together and got help also from the spirits. The Quran said this fourteen hundreds years ago and yet no one has been able to disprove it. Billions of books have been written - but not another one like the Quran.

(2) Incorruptible:

It is the only religious sacred writing which has been in circulation for such a long time and yet remains as pure as it was in the beginning. The Quran was kept intact. Nothing was added to it; nothing was changed in it; and nothing was taken away from it ever since it was completely revealed 1400 years ago.

(3) Unsurpassable:

The Quran is God's final revelation to humankind. God revealed the Torah to Moses, the Psalms to David, the Gospel to Jesus, and finally the Quran to Muhammad. Peace be upon all of them. No other book will come from God to surpass his final revelation.

(4) Indisputable:

The Quran withstands the test of time and scrutiny. No one can dispute the truth of this book. It speaks about past history and turns out right. It speaks about the future in prophecies and it turns out right. It mentions details of physical phenomena which were not known to people at the time; yet later scientific discoveries confirm that the Quran was right all along. Every other book needs to be revised to accord with modern knowledge. The Quran alone is never contradicted by a modern discovery.

(5) Your Roadmap for Life and Afterlife:

The Quran is the best guidebook on how to structure your life. No other book presents such a comprehensive system involving all aspects of human life and endeavor. The Quran also points out the way to secure everlasting happiness in the afterlife. It is your roadmap showing how to get to paradise.

(6) God's Gift of Guidance:

God has not left you alone. You were made for a reason. God tells you why he made you, what he demands from you, and what he has in store for you. If you operate a machine contrary to it's manufacture specification you will ruin that machine. What about you? Do you have an owner's manual for you? The Quran is from your function for success lest you fail to function. It is a healing mercy from God. It satisfies the soul, and cleans the heart. It removes doubts and brings peace.

(7) Your Calling Card to Communicate with God:

Humans are social creatures. We love to communicate with other intelligent life. The Quran tells us how to communicate with the source of all intelligence and the source of all life- the One God. The Quran tells us who God is, by what name we should address God, and the way in which to communicate with God. Are these not seven sufficient reasons for reading the Quran?

I hope the above is a gate to your happiness, for more information about the Quran you may go ahead and start here using the links below:

http://www.islam101.com/science/GaryMiller.HTML

http://www.thisistruth.org

http://www.science4islam.com/

http://www.sultan.org/articles/QScience.HTML