Islam

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

There is no Islamic text that forbids the sucking of a wife's breasts. Therefore, it is up to the husband and wife to decide to do it or not.

The well-known Muslim scholar, Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, states:

"During the life-time of the Prophet's Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all) it happened that one of the Companions was making love with his wife, and in the course of love-making he (the Companion) sucked her breasts to the extent that some of the milk reached his stomach. Following that, the Companion went to Abu Musa Al-Ash`ari (may Allah be pleased with him) and asked him about the ruling. Replying the man, Abu-Musa Al-Ash`ari said that the man's wife had become forbidden for him. (i.e., like his mother)

After that, the man went to ask `Abdullah Ibn Mas`ud (may Allah be pleased with him) about the same ruling and Ibn Mas`ud stated that there was nothing wrong with what happened. Ibn Mas`ud backed his argument by citing the Prophetic hadith, which clearly states that suckling is confined only to the two earlier years of a child. Ibn Mas`ud cited this Qur'anic verse: 'Mothers shall suckle their children for two whole years; (that is) for those who wish to complete the suckling…' (Al-Baqarah: 233)

The apparent meaning of the aforementioned verse is that the suckling, which may act as a cause of prohibition, is confined to the suckling during the first two years. After the elapse of the first two years, suckling is no longer a cause of prohibition.

Hearing the above argument, Abu-Musa Al-Ash`ari (may Allah be pleased with him) said: 'Do not ask me while this erudite scholar is there to guide you.

In conclusion, sucking the wife's breast, as far as Islam is concerned, does not render her unlawful for the husband."

Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and an Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, adds:

"The wife's breast milk is intended for the baby, and not for the husband to consume. Although the husband is allowed to suck on it gently, he is not allowed to draw the milk in. According to some scholars, if he were to do so it would endanger the marriage relationship - if done five times. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, 'Avoid that which is doubtful', for, 'thereby one keeps his honor and religion intact.'

It is, therefore, important for the husband to refrain from such actions for we should do what is most pious and therefore safest." (Source: www.muslims.ca). May Allah guide you to the straight path and direct you to that which pleases Him, Amen. Allah Almighty knows best.

Refer to related question below for more information.

The usual thing was to permit Christians and Jews, as well as some other minor Middle Eastern sects also regarded as "people of the Book (Bible)" to keep their faith if they wished to do so, but to impose swingeing taxes on them, so that they would be encouraged to convert for economic reasons.

At first, pagans were forcibly converted or killed, since they were not considered "people of the Book". However, Muslims soon realised that this was not practical in Iran and neighbouring districts, where the Zoroastrians held firm to their faith. This policy was also soon abandoned in India, where most Hindus refused to convert.

When Christians could not pay the poll taxes imposed on them, they were required to give up a son, who would be brought up as a Muslim.

So, although people were usually not forced to convert, they were given a good deal of motivation to do so.

Answer 2

- First of all,I would like to say that Muslims had always had their fair justifiable reasons for the battles they had, it wasn't a desire to fight for the sake of fighting itself but each battle had its fair reasons. Just one example, the first battle between Muslims & Christian Romans (Muata) was because of killing the messenger of the prophet Muhammad PBUH to the king of Bosra (in Syria) by their allies.

- There wasn't a discrimination between the non-Muslims due to their belief to decide if they were worth being fought against or not. At all cases, fighting is a way not a purpose. Examples:

1. Muslims conquered the city of Makkah under the leadership of the prophet Muhammad PBUH & the whole city converted to Islam after an act of grace, a historical remission from the greatest prophet to its people, the pagans who assaulted the Muslims a lot! It's worth mentioning that Muslims were much more stronger than them at that time & they were able to kill all of them but they did not.

2. The city of Jerusalem was conquered by Muslims in the time of Omar Ben Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him & no single drop of blood was shed. History can tell about how Muslims tolerantly treated Christians at that time.

- Non-Muslims have always been treated very well in the Islamic tolerant community. They enjoyed all their civil rights along with their religious freedom. It has been strictly prohibited to harm any non-Muslim in the Islamic society & there are several teachings of the prophet Muhammad PBUH to assure that.

Non-Muslims (mostly Jews & Christians) are called people of covenant, which means the covenant of protection & care.

They could prospered in the Islamic community & they could reach very high rank positions especially in the Abbasi age & the examples are many. None was forced to convert to Islam, the converts to Islam did willingly convert to it due to the greatness of it in all aspects.

- Aljizia is the tax that was paid by certain non-Muslims who meet certain criteria.

Aljizia was of a value much lesser than al-zakat (Alums) so it had never been a reason behind the conversion of non-Muslims to Islam. Simply because if someone converted to Islam to be exempted from paying Al-jizia then he would face another obligatory payments imposed on Muslims which are much heavier than al-jiziah, payments like al-zakat & those obligatory charities..etc. Moreover,he would be obliged to attend fighting as a Muslim & may die instead of being exempted from that.

(Refer to the related question for more details).

- There were famous recommendations for peace even at the war taught by the prophet Muhammad PBUH to the Muslims when conquering any place, examples:

"Never to cut a tree, never to kill a child, never to kill a woman , never to kill an old man, never to kill any man who doesn't fight,never to kill an injured, never to mistreat a captive, never to betray, never to cause harm to priests in their temple, never to kill an animal except for a necessity like for eating it or to be safe from it if it's dangerous......etc".

- Dr. Gustav LeBon in his book "Civilisation of the Arabs" says:

"The reader will find, in my treatment of the Arabs' conquests and the reason of their victories, that force was never a factor in the spread of the Koranic teachings, and that the Arabs left those they had subdued free to exercise their religious beliefs. If it happened that some Christian peoples embraced Islam and adopted Arabic as their language, it was mainly due to the various kinds of justice on the part of the Arab victors, with the like of which the non-Moslems were not acquainted. It was also due to the tolerance and leniency of Islam, which was unknown to the other religions".

Lastly, he also said this famous saying:

" The world had never known a conqueror that is more just & merciful than Arabs".

Muslims are commanded by God to deal with people kindly, peacefully, and friendly. They are commanded to be forgiving. See related question below for more information.

La Ilaha IllALLAHU

There is no Deity worthy of worship except ALLAH
If you mean "diets": Look up halal on the interent.

If you mean "deities": The monotheistic God of Abraham [peace and blessings be upon him] is the God of Islam. In Arabic, god=ilah but God (with a capital "g") means Allah. Allah created everything and is perfect and knows everything and sees everything and is always there and is better than everyone and can't be compared to anything and He is the best and He guides us upon the right path and He kills us and He gives us life and He is, well, THE GREATEST AND ETERNAL AND SO MANY OTHER PERFECT THINGS! In Islam, Jesus [peace and blessings be upon him] is the Messiah and was not born to Allah. Instead, Allah just said "Be!" and Jesus [pbuh] was. Jesus [pbuh] did all the miracles and preached monotheism and in Aramaic, the language Jesus [pbuh] spoke, God=Aolah (pronounced Al-lah like in Arabic). The trinity in Islam is not true and was just a corrupted thing that a guy by the name of Paul made up to corrupt Christianity for his own sake. He never even met Jesus [pbuh] but he took the great religion of God and made it a religion of worshipping the Messiah.

In Islam, Jesus [pbuh] was risen up to heaven by Allah before crucification. A follower [may he go to heaven] of Jesus [pbuh] wanted to be sacrificed for the sake of Allah in Jesus' [pbuh] place. Crucification back then was a process used to kill people in a cruel way so that they would be cursed in the Hereafter and their family would be cursed on earth and in the Hereafter. According to Christians, that means God is cursed and dead. According to Islam, that follower [may he go to heaven] was forgiven by the mercy of Allah and Jesus [pbuh] is in Heaven right now looking at how bad we are screwing up the world. He will come, according to Islam, with the Mahdi [pbuh] to save the religion of God.

Logic points to four things: Atheism, Judaism, a sect of Unitarian Christianity, or Islam. If you believe in God, atheism is out. Since the sect of Unitarian Christianity preaches from the Bible, which has been proven to be corrupted due to mistakes scribers did, it has to be wrong. Now it's Judaism or Islam. Jesus [pbuh] has to be the Messiah and because Judaism's theology is weak and the religion is not completed, Islam is the truth.

Islam wins.

In addition, it is not difficult to pray for five times a day as each prayer could take less than five minutes.

The Islamic definition of a prophet is someone who has been chosen and favoured by Allah (God) to convey his message to the people on earth and to bring them to believe in and worship him alone. In Islam there are two types of prophets, one is the Nabi who are regular prophets sent to do as mentioned. The second type is the Rasool who are high prophets or messengers as they were sent a revelation in the form of a holy book, they are obviously higher in status.

Islam has 124000 prophets. It is mentioned in Quran explicitly 25 prophets of them (Refer to question below). The Prophet Muhammad was the final and greatest of them. Though mostly it's the Semitic prophets of the Middle East that are mentioned in the Islamic faith. This isn't to say the Europeans, Native Americans, Africans, central Asians, Aborigines, South Pacificers, Indians, Far easterners etc weren't sent prophets as Muslims believe that Allah sent prophets to every people.

As well as the Prophet Muhammad - Other renowned prophets of Islam include Adam, Nuh (Noah), Musa (Moses), Harun (Aaron), Ibrahim (Abraham), Lut (Lot), Ismail (Ishmael), Is'haq (Isaac), Yacoob (Jacob), Yousef (Joseph), Daud (David), Sulaiman (Soloman), Yahya (John the baptist - though this isn't his role in Islam) & Isa (Jesus).

Others who are less known include Idris (Enoch*), Salih (Shaloh*), Hud (Eber*), Ayoub (Job), Zakariah, Shoaib (Jethro*), Dhulkifl (Eziekiel), Alias (Elijah), Alyasa (Elisha) & Yunus (Jonah)

The following are mentioned in hadith or known from Oral tradition; Ishaia (Isaiah), Sheeth (Seth), Uzair (Ezra), Danyal (Daniel), Armya (Jeremiah) & Samuel.

Dhul-Karnain, Joshua (Assistant to Moses), Imran (Father of Mary), Khidr & Luqman are all mentioned as great men but their prophethood hasn't been specified, so they may have just been great pious individuals favoured by Allah.

Note: First; Islamic/Arabic name (Brackets; Biblical eqivalent - in some cases it isn't 100% certain if they are the same person but it is the most likely candidate; marked with asterisk*)

There are 5 not 3 mosques mentioned in the Qur'an; Masjid-ul-Haram ( Mecca, Saudi Arabia), Masjid-ul- Dirar (Medina, Saudi Arabia), Masjid-ul-Nabawi (Medina, Saudi Arabia), Masjid-ul-Aqsa (Jerusalem) and Masjid Quba (Medina, Saudi Arabia) Peace.

There are 3 not 5 mosques mentioned in the Holy Quran:

1. Masjid-ul-Haram ( Mecca, Saudi Arabia),

2. Masjid-ul-Aqsa (Jerusalem),

3. Masjid-ul- Dirar (Medina, Saudi Arabia),

Praise be to Allaah.

Hajj is one of the best acts of worship. It is one of the pillars of Islam with which Allaah sent Muhammad and without which a person's religious commitment is incomplete.

Worship cannot bring a person closer to Allaah and cannot be accepted unless it meets two conditions:

1 - Sincerity towards Allaah alone, i.e., it is done to seek the Countenance of Allaah and the Hereafter, and is not done to show off, to enhance one's reputation or for worldly gain.

2 - Following the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaahbe upon him) in word and deed.

Following the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) can only be achieving by knowing his Sunnah.

Hence the one who wants to worship Allaah by doing any act of worship - Hajj or anything else - has to learn the teachings of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) concerning it, so that his actions will be in accordance with the Sunnah.

We will sum up in these few lines the description of Hajjas narrated in the Sunnah.

Types of Hajj

There are three types of Hajj: Tamattu', Ifraad and Qiraan.

Tamattu' means entering ihraam for 'Umrahonly during the months of Hajj (the months of Hajjare Shawwaal, Dhu'l-Qi'dah and Dhu'l-Hijjah; see al-Sharh al-Mumti', 7/62). When the pilgrim reaches Makkah he performs tawaaf and saa'i for 'Umrah, and shaves his head or cuts his hair, and exits ihraam. Then when the day of al-Tarwiyah, which is the 8th of Dhu'l-Hijjah, comes, he enters ihraam for Hajj only, and does all the actions of Hajj. So Tamattu' involves a complete 'Umrah and a complete Hajj. Ifraad means entering ihraam for Hajj only. When the pilgrim reaches Makkah he performs tawaaf al qudoom (tawaaf of arrival) and saa'i for Hajj, but he does not shave or cut his hair and does not exit ihraam, rather he remains in ihraamuntil he exits ihraam after stoning Jamarat al-'Aqabah on the day of Eid. If he delays the saa'i of Hajj until after the tawaaf of Hajj, there is nothing wrong with that.

Qiraan means entering ihraam for 'Umrah and Hajj both together. Or entering ihraam for 'Umrah first then including Hajj in that before starting the tawaaf of Hajj. That is done by intending that his tawaaf and saa'i will be for both Hajj and 'Umrah.

The actions done in Qiraan are the same as those done in Ifraad, except that the pilgrim doing Qiraan has to offer a hadiy (sacrifice) whereas the pilgrim doing Ifraad does not.

The best of these three types of Hajj is Tamattu'. This is what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) enjoined upon his companions and urged them to do. Even if a person enters ihraam for Qiraan or Ifraad, then it is strongly recommended for him to change his intention to 'Umrah, then complete 'Umrah and exit ihraam, so that he will then be doing Tamattu'. He may do that after doing tawaaf al-qudoom and saa'i - because when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did tawaaf and saa'iduring his Farewell Pilgrimage, and his companions were with him, he told everyone who did not have a sacrificial animal (hadiy) to change his intention and make his ihraamfor 'Umrah and to cut his hair and exit ihraam, and he said, "Were it not that I have brought the hadiy with me, I would do what I have commanded you to do."

Ihraam

The pilgrim should observe the Sunnahs of ihraam, namely doing ghusl, applying perfume and praying. Then he should enter ihraam after he finishes the prayer or after boarding his means of transportation.

Then if he is doing Tamattu', he should say, "Labbayk Allaahumma bi 'Umrah (Here I am, O Allaah, for 'Umrah)."

If he is doing Qiraan, he should say, "Labbayk Allaahumma bi Hijjah WA 'Umrah (Here I am, O Allaah, for Hajj and 'Umrah)." If he is doing Ifraad, he should say, "Labbayk Allaahumma Hajjan (Here I am, O Allaah, for Hajj)."

Then he should say, "Allaahumma haadhihi hijjah laa riyaa'a fiha WA la sum'ah (O Allaah, this is a pilgrimage in which there is no showing off or seeking reputation)."

Then he should recite the Talbiyah as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did: "Labbayka Allaahumma labbayk, labbayka laa shareeka laka labbayk. Inna al-hamd WA'l-ni'mata laka WA'l-mulk, laa shareeka lak (Here I am, O Allaah, here I am. Here I am, You have no partner, here I am. Verily all praise and blessings are Yours, and all sovereignty, You have no partner)."

The Talbiyah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) also included the words, "Labbayka ilaah al-haqq (Here I am, O God of Truth)." Ibn 'Umar used to add to the Talbiyah the words, "Labbaayk WA sa'dayka, WA'l-khayr bi yadayka, WA'l-raghba' ilayka WA'l-'aml (Here I am and blessed by You, and all good is in Your hands, and desire and action are directed towards You)."

Men should raise their voices when saying this, but a woman should recite in such a manner that those who are beside her can hear it, unless there is a man beside her who is not one of her mahrams, in which case she should recite it silently.

If the person who is entering ihraam fears some obstacle that may prevent him from completing his pilgrimage (such as sickness, an enemy, being stopped from proceeding any further, etc), then he should stipulate a condition when entering ihraam by saying, "If I am prevented then my exiting ihraam is where I am prevented" - i.e., if something prevents me from completing my pilgrimage such as sickness or delay etc, then I will exit my ihraam.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) commanded Dubaa'ah bint al-Zubayr, when she wanted to enter ihraam but she was sick, to stipulate such a condition, and he said, "Your condition is valid with your Lord." Narrated by al-Bukhaari (5089) and Muslim (1207).

If he stipulates this condition and something happens to prevent him from completing his pilgrimage, then he exits his ihraamand does not have to do anything (i.e., offer a sacrifice in compensation). But the one who does not fear that some obstacle may prevent him from completing his pilgrimage does not have to stipulate any conditions, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not stipulate conditions nor did he command everyone to do so. Rather he told Dubaa'ah bint al-Zubayr to do that because she was sick. The muhrim(person who has entered ihraam) should recite the Talbiyah a great deal, especially when circumstances and times change, such as when going up to a high place or going down to a low place, or when night or day begin. After that he should ask Allaah for His good pleasure and for Paradise, and seek refuge in His Mercy from the Fire.

The Talbiyah is prescribed in 'Umrah from the moment one enters ihraam until one starts Tawaaf. In Hajj it is prescribed from the moment one enters ihraam until one stones Jamarat al-'Aqabah on the day of Eid.

Ghusl when entering Makkah

When the pilgrim approaches Makkah, he should do ghuslbefore entering, if possible, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did ghusl before entering Makkah. Narrated by Muslim, 1259.

Then when he enters al-Masjid al-Haraam he should do so with his right foot first, and say, "Bismillaah WA'l-salaatu WA'l-salaam 'ala Rasool-Allaah. Allaahumma ighfir li dhunoobi waftah li abwaab rahmatika. A'oodhu Billaah il-'Azeem WA bi wajhih il-kareem WA bi sultaanih il-'qadeem min al-Shaytaan il-rajeem (In the name of Allaah, and blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of Allaah. O Allaah, forgive me my sins and open to me the gates of Your mercy. I seek refuge with Allaah the Almighty and in His noble Countenance and His eternal power from the accursed Satan)." Then he should go to the Black Stone in order to start tawaaf.

Then after he has done tawaaf and prayed two rak'ahs, he should go to the Mas'a (place for doing saa'i) and perform saa'i between al-Safa and al-Marwah. The description of saa'i is given in question no. 31819.

The pilgrim who is doing Tamattu' should do saa'ifor 'Umrah; those who are doing Ifraad and Qiraan should do saa'i for Hajj, and they may delay it until after Tawaaf al-Ifaadah. Shaving the head or cutting the hair When the pilgrim who is doing Tamattu' has completed seven circuits of saa'i, he should shave his head if he is a man, or cut his hair. If he shaves his head he must shave his entire head, and if he cuts his hair he must cut from all over his head. Shaving is better than cutting because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) made du'AA' three times for those who shaved their heads and once for those who cut their hair. Narrated by Muslim, 1303.

But if the time of Hajj is so close that there will be no time for the hair to grow back, then it is better to cut one's hair at this point, so that there will be some hair left to shave during Hajj. The evidence for that is the fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) commanded his companions, during the Farewell Pilgrimage, to cut their hair during 'Umrah, because they arrived on the morning of the 4th of Dhu'l-Hijjah.

Women should cut the length of a fingertip from their hair. With these actions, the 'Umrah of the one who is doing Tamattu' is concluded, after which he should exit ihraam completely and do everything that those who are not in ihraam do, such as wearing regular clothes, wearing perfume, having intercourse with their wives, etc.

Those who are doing Ifraad or Qiraan should not shave their heads or cut their hair, or exit ihraam, rather they should remain in ihraam until they exit ihraam on the day of Eid, after stoning Jamarat al-'Aqabah and shaving their heads or cutting their hair.

Then when the day of al-Tarwiyah comes, which is the 8th day of Dhu'l-Hijjah, the one who is doing Tamattu'should enter ihraam for Hajj in the morning from the place where he is in Makkah. It is mustahabb for him to do the same when entering ihraam for Hajj as he did when entering ihraam for 'Umrah, namely doing ghusl, putting on perfume and praying. He should form the intention of entering ihraam for Hajj and recite the Talbiyah, and say, "Labbayk Allaahumma Hajjan (Here I am, O Allaah, for Hajj)."

If he fears some obstacle that may prevent him from completing his Hajj, he should stipulate a condition by saying, "If I am prevented then my exiting ihraam is where I am prevented." If he does not fear any such obstacle then he should not make any such condition. It is mustahabb to recite the Talbiyah out loud until he starts to stone Jamarat al-'Aqabah on the day of Eid.

Going to Mina

Then the pilgrim should go out to Mina and pray Zuhr, 'Asr, Maghrib, 'Isha' and Fajr there, shortening the prayers but not joining them, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to shorten his prayers in Mina but he did not join them. Shortening the prayers means making the four-rak'ahprayers two raka'ahs. The people of Makkah and others should shorten their prayers in Mina, 'Arafah and Muzdalifah because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to lead the people in prayer during the Farewell Pilgrimage and there were people from Makkah with him, but he did not tell them to offer their prayers in full. If it had been obligatory for them to do so, he would have told them to do so as he did on the day of the Conquest of Makkah. But since the city has spread and incorporated Mina so that it is like one of the quarters of Makkah, then the people of Makkah should not shorten their prayers there.

Going to 'Arafah

When the sun rises on the day of 'Arafah, the pilgrim travels from Mina to 'Arafah and stops in Namirah until the time of Zuhr (Namirah is a place just before 'Arafah), if he can do so. If he cannot do it, it does not matter because staying in Namirah is Sunnahbut it is not obligatory. When the sun passes its zenith (i.e., when the time for Zuhr prayer begins), he should pray Zuhr and 'Asr, two rak'ahs each, and join them together at the time of Zuhr, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did, so as to leave a lot of time for standing and making du'AA'.

Then after the prayer he should devote his time to making dhikr and du'AA' and beseeching Allaah, and praying as he likes, raising his hands and facing the qiblaheven if the mountain of 'Arafah is behind him, because the Sunnah is to face the qiblah, not the mountain.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) stood by the mountain and said, "I am standing here, but all of 'Arafah is the place of standing." Most of the Prophet's du'AA' in that great place of standing was: "Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah wahdahu laa shareeka lah, lahu'l-mulk, WA lahu'l-hamd, WA huwa 'ala kulli shay'in qadeer"

(There is no god but Allaah alone, with no partner or associate; His is the Dominion, all praise is due to Him, and He is able to do all things)."

If the pilgrim gets tired and wants to have a break by talking to his companions about useful things or by reading from some useful books, especially things that have to do with the generosity and great bounty of Allaah, in order to increase his hopes on that day, this is good. Then he can go back to beseeching Allaah and praying to Him. He should strive to make the most of the end of the day by making du'AA'. The best of du'AA' is du'AA' made on the day of 'Arafah.

Going to Muzdalifah

When the sun sets, the pilgrim should go to Muzdalifah. When he reaches there, he should pray Maghrib and 'Isha' with one adhaan and two iqaamahs. If he fears that he will not reach Muzdalifah before midnight, he should pray on the way, because it is not permissible to delay 'Isha' prayer until after midnight.

He should stay overnight in Muzdalifah, then when dawn comes he should pray Fajr early, with the adhaan and iqaamah, and then head for al-Mash'ar al-Haraam(which is the site of the mosque in Muzdalifah) and proclaim the oneness and greatness of Allaah (by saying Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah and Allaahu akbar), and making du'AA' as he likes, until it has become very light (i.e., when the light of day appears before the sun has actually risen). If it is not easy for him to go to al-Mash'ar al-Haraam, he should make du'AA' where he is, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) stood there and all of Muzdalifah is the place of standing. When he is reciting dhikr and making du'AA' he should face the qiblah and raise his hands.

Going to Mina

When it has become very light, before the sun rises, he should go to Mina and hasten through Wadi Mahsar (which is a valley between Muzdalifah and Mina). When he reaches Mina he should stone Jamarat al-'Aqabah, which is the last one that is closest to Makkah, throwing seven pebbles one after another, each of which should be approximately the size of a fava bean, saying "Allaahu akbar" with each throw. (The Sunnah when stoning Jamarat al-'Aqabah is to face the Jamarah with Makkah to one's left and Mina to one one's right). When he has finished this stoning, he should slaughter his sacrificial animal, then shave his head or cut his hair if he is male; women should cut the length of a fingertip from their hair. This is the first stage of exiting ihraam, in which it becomes permissible to do everything except have intercourse with one's wife. Then the pilgrim should go back to Makkah and do tawaaf and saa'i for Hajj. Then comes the second stage of exiting ihraam, after which everything becomes permissible which was forbidden whilst in ihraam.

The Sunnah is to put on perfume when one wants to go to Makkah to do tawaaf after stoning the Jamarat and shaving one's head, because 'Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: "I used to apply perfume to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) before he entered ihraam and when he exited ihraam, before he circumambulated the House."

Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1539; Muslim, 1189.

Then after tawaaf and saa'i, he should go back to Mina and stay there for two night, the 11th and 12th of Dhu'l-Hijjah, and stone the three Jamarats during those two days, when the sun has passed its zenith. It is better for him to go to the Jamarats walking, but if he rides that is acceptable. He should stone the first jamarah, which is the one that is furthest away from Makkah and next to Masjid al-Kheef, with seven pebbles, one after another, and say "Allaahu akbar" after each throw. Then he should go forward a little and say a lengthy du'AA', saying whatever he likes. If it is too difficult for him to stand for a long time and make du'AA', he should say whatever is easy for him, even if it is only a little, so that he will have done the Sunnah.

Then he should stone the middle jamarah with seven pebbles, one after another, saying "Allaahu akbar" with every throw. Then he should move to his left and stand facing the qiblah, raising his hands, and offer a lengthy du'AA'if he can. Otherwise he should stand for as long as he can. He should not omit to stand and make du'AA' because it is Sunnah. Many people neglect that because of ignorance or because they take the matter lightly. The more the Sunnah is neglected the more important it becomes to do it and spread it among the people, lest it be abandoned and die out.

Then he should stone Jamarat al-'Aqabah with seven pebbles, one after another, saying "Allaahu akbar" with each throw, then he should go away and not offer a du'AA' after that. When he has completed the stoning of the Jamaraat on the 12th day of Dhu'l-Hijjah, if he wants he may hasten and leave Mina, and if he wants he may delay his departure and stay there for another night, the night of the 13th, and stone the three Jamaraat after noon as he did before. It is better to delay, but it is not obligatory unless the sun has set on the 12th and he is still in Mina, in which case it is obligatory to stay until one has stoned the three Jamaraat after noon on the following day. But if the sun sets on the 12th and he is still in Mina but not by choice, such as if he had already started out and boarded his means of transportation, but got delayed because of crowded conditions and traffic jams etc., then he is not obliged to stay there, because the delay until sunset was not by his choice.

When the pilgrim wants to leave Makkah and go back to his country, he should not leave until he has performed the farewell tawaaf (tawaaf al-wadaa'), because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "No one should leave until the last thing that he does is (tawaaf) around the House." Narrated by Muslim, 1327). According to another version, he told the people that the last thing they should do was (tawaaf) around the house, but he made an exception for women who were menstruating. Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1755; Muslim, 1328.

Women who are menstruating or bleeding following childbirth do not have to do the farewell tawaaf; neither should they stand by the door of al-Masjid al-Haraam to bid farewell, because that was not narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). The last thing the pilgrim should do when he wants to leave is to circumambulate the House. If after the farewell tawaaf he stays and waits for his companions or to load his luggage or to buy something he needs on the way, there is nothing wrong with that, and he does not have to repeat the tawaaf, unless he intends to delay his journey, such as if he intended to travel at the beginning of the day and he did the farewell tawaaf, then he delays his travelling until the end of the day, for example; in this case he has to repeat the tawaaf so that it will be the last thing he does in Makkah.

Note:

The pilgrim who enters ihraam for Hajj or 'Umrah has to do the following:

1- He has to adhere to that which Allaah has enjoined of religious laws, such as praying on time in congregation.

2- He has to avoid all that Allaah has forbidden of obscene and immoral speech and sin, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

"So whosoever intends to perform Hajj therein (by assuming Ihraam), then he should not have sexual relations (with his wife), nor commit sin, nor dispute unjustly during the Hajj"

[al-Baqarah 2:197]

3- He should avoid annoying the Muslims with his words or actions, at the holy sites and elsewhere.

4- He should avoid all things that are forbidden when in ihraam:

a. So he should not cut anything from his hair or nails, but removing thorns and the like is fine, even if that results in some bleeding.

b. He should not apply perfume after entering ihraam, either to his body, his clothes, his food or his drink. He should not wash with perfumed soap either. But if any traces of perfume remain from that which he put on before entering ihraam, that does not matter.

c. He should not hunt.

d. He should not have intercourse with his wife.

e. He should not touch her with desire or kiss her etc.

f. He should not enter into a marriage contract for himself or arrange a marriage for anyone else, or propose marriage to a woman for himself or on behalf of another.

g. He should not wear gloves, but wrapping one's hands with a piece of cloth does not matter.

These seven prohibitions apply equally to men and women.

The following apply only to men:

- Men should not cover their heads with something that stays on the head. Shading their heads with umbrellas, car roofs and tents, and carrying mats etc. (on one's head, when moving them from one place to another), is acceptable.

- They should not wear shirts, turbans, burnouses, pants or leather slippers, unless someone cannot find an izar (waist wrapper), in which case he may wear pants; and if he cannot find sandals he may wear shoes.

- They should not wear anything that is akin to the above, such as abayas, cloaks, hats, t-shirts and the like.

- It is permissible for men to wear sandals, rings, eyeglasses and hearing aids, and to wear wristwatches, or to put watches on strings around their necks, and to wear money belts.

- It is permissible for them to wash with un-perfumed soaps, and to scratch their heads and bodies, and if any hairs fall unintentionally as a result, there is no sin on them.

Women should not wear niqaab, which is what they use to cover their faces, with holes cut for the eyes. They should not wear the burqa' either.

The Sunnah is for them to uncover their faces unless non-mahram men can see them, in which case they should cover their faces whilst in ihraam and at other times.

See Manaasik al-Hajj WA'l-'Umrah by al-Albaani [available in English as The Rites of Hajjand 'Umrah, published by International Islamic Publishing House, Riyadh]; Sifat al-Hajj WA'l-'Umrah and al-Manhaj li Mureed al-'Umrah WA'l-Hajj by Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on them all).

Source: Islam Q&A http://www.Islam-qa.com/en/ref/31822/hajj

Although the Quran states that a Muslim could only have four wives at one time, Muhammad had nine wives. According the th Quran, Muhammad received a licence to have additional wives, not permitted to others in the Islamic faith.

Sura 033.050 says: "O Prophet! Lo! We have made lawful unto thee thy wives unto whom thou hast paid their dowries, and those whom thy right hand possesseth of those whom Allah hath given thee as spoils of war, and the daughters of thine uncle on the father's side and the daughters of thine aunts on the father's side, and the daughters of thine uncle on the mother's side and the daughters of thine aunts on the mother's side who emigrated with thee, and a believing woman if she give herself unto the Prophet and the Prophet desire to ask her in marriage - a privilege for thee only, not for the (rest of) believers ..."

Just to note beforehand, this question is not a referendum on whether Islam is evil or not and that can be debated strongly elsewhere. This is a question asking why people believe or think that Islam is evil, i.e. what arguments do they put forward to defend the belief or thought that Islam is evil.

Answer 1

Some people think Islam is evil because they look at the actions of Islamic terrorists, restrictive governments in Islamic countries, and oppression of women in Islamic cultures, and they attribute these evils to the religion of Islam. Some people think Islam is evil because it is different, just as they might believe that an unfamiliar kind of music is evil. Some people think Islam is evil because they believe it is not true, and that believing untrue things about God, or about the afterlife, is dangerous because it leads you to live your life the wrong way.

Answer 2

Islam is not evil, it's what the media is portraying as an attack on Muslims. If every Muslim practices their Islam as been told, there won't be any problems what we have today. It's only some people Muslim and non-Muslim who do the wrong things but there is always a difference in the judgments. If it is a Muslim, he/she is a terrorist, but if he/she is a non-Muslim, there are just criminals or robbers or whatever their actions were. I don't need to prove this; it's all over the media. Pick up a newspaper and you'll know what I m talking about. And regarding the question about people thinking Islam is evil is because they don't know the religion itself, I recommend going to study the religion and THEN ask any questions. I would like to advise not to judge a person's religion by the person's actions. This applies to all religion; go to the source.

I also recommend the websites linked to below are they are the reliable ones. (reliable because some people have even created anti-Islamic websites which give totally wrong info about the religion).

Answer 3

It's not the media's fault that people think Islam is evil. it's the actions of a large number of Muslims who think it's "OK" to kill innocent people just because they don't like the way they live. Islam isn't an evil religion, however the extremists who claim to be Muslims and then go out and bomb subways don't give the religion a very good reputation. The media tell people the way that it is (for once) on this subject. The only way that the bad image of this religion can be changed is if the nutters blowing us up take a look around and realize that its the year 2009 and things are different now, especially in the west and that they can either deal with it or stay indoors.

Answer 4

-Mistranslations: Arabic words have many meaning's[a single word can have more than 30 meanings] which can lead people to misunderstanding the real meaning.

-Terrorists: Just so you know, Islam prohibits killing the innocent, the women, the elderly and the children. Even the trees get mercy.

The terrorists are wrong. Horribly wrong. And if you think Islam supports them you are misled. I am a Muslim and I say that they are wrong.

-Qur'anic Verse or Hadith: When many Qur'anic Verses or Hadiths (Sayings of Mohammed) such as those referenced in the discussion section are read in there plain, uninterpreted form, they may sound violent or controversial. In fact, some Islamic Scholars read them that way, but the majority view is to read the lines with much interpretation and deliberation that tends to remove the more negative aspects of these verses.

These are some of the reasons why some people falsely believe Islam is evil.