Friday Prayer (Salat Al Jumu'ah)

Hello,

Since it is Friday today, I thought of telling you a little bit about Muslims Friday Prayer (Salat Al Jumu'ah) as we name it in Arabic. (1)



Jumu'ah, also known as jum'ah, Friday prayer, is a congregational prayer (salat) that we Muslims hold every Friday, just after noon in lieu of noon time (dhuhr).

When the call is made for prayer on Friday, then people should leave off business; everything, and go to pray. That's why, on Fridays, Shops, Supermarkets, Shopping Malls, Restaurants and everything else opens after the Friday Prayer (Around 3:00 p.m).

The jumu'ah prayer is half the dhuhr prayer, for convenience, preceded by a khutba (a sermon as a technical replacement of the two reduced raka'ahs (2) of the ordinary dhuhr prayer), and followed by a communal prayer, led by the imam (3).

In most cases the khatib (4) also serves as the imam. Attendance is strictly incumbent upon all adult males who are legal residents of the locality, females are also permitted to go to the Mosque to perform the Friday prayers, and have a section that is separated from men in which they pray with fellow Muslim women, though it is only obligatory on all Muslim males.

The muezzin (5) makes the call to prayer, called the adhan (the call for prayer), usually 15-20 minutes prior to the start of Jum'ah. When the khatib takes his place on the minbar (6), a second adhan is made. The khatib is supposed to deliver two speeches, stopping and sitting briefly between them. In practice, the first speech is longer and contains most of the content. The second speech is very brief and concludes with a du'a (7), after which the muezzin calls the iqama (8). This signals the start of the main two rak'at prayer of Jumu'ah.

The prayers mainly have high attendance of worshipers, as compared to the ritual prayers.

Abu Hurayrah reported that Prophet Muhammad said: "When it is Friday, the angels stand at every door of the mosque and record the people in order of arrival, and when the Imam sits on the pulpit for delivering the sermon, qutba, they fold up their sheets and listen to the mention of Allah, the speech."

A person who goes to Friday prayer is said to have his sins between that Friday and last forgiven.

(1)-- What is Salah or Salat?



Salat is the name given to the formal prayer of Islam. Its supreme importance for Muslims is indicated by its status as one of the paradigmatic Five Pillars of Islam, which are:

1- Shahadah (profession of faith)
2- Salat (prayers)
3- Zakat (giving of alms, specifically during Ramadan)
4- Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca, the place were the most famous islamic temple is located)
5- Sawm (fasting)

and These five practices are essential to all Muslims.

Salah is a ritual prayer, having prescribed conditions, a prescribed procedure, and prescribed times.

Performing salah is obligatory on all adult Muslims, with a few dispensations for those for whom it would be difficult.

To perform valid salah, Muslims must be in a state of ritual purity, which is mainly achieved by ritual ablution according to prescribed procedures.

The place of prayer should be clean. In a few cases where blood is leaving the body, salah is forbidden until a later time.

(2)-- What is rak'ah?



Salah consists of the repetition of two or more units of a prescribed sequence of actions and words. One complete sequence is known as a rak'ah (pl. rak'at).

The number of obligatory (fard) rak'at varies according to the time of day or other circumstances requiring salah (such as Friday congregational prayers). Additions to the fard rak'at can be made, again in different multiples according to the circumstances.

These are not required, but are considered meritorious. There are also dispensations from some or all of the prescribed actions for those who are physically unable to complete them. The prescribed words of the prayer remain obligatory.

Salah is prescribed at five periods of the day, which are measured according to the movement of the sun. These are:

1- near dawn (fajr)
2- after the sun's noon (dhuhr)
3- in the afternoon (asr)
4- just after sunset (maghrib)
5- and around nightfall (isha'a).

The Islamic day begins at sundown. Under some circumstances prayers can be shortened or combined (according to prescribed procedures). Prayers can be missed in serious cases, but they should be made up later.

(3)-- Who is the Imam?



An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the leader of a mosque and the community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads the prayer during Islamic gatherings.

More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have an Islamic question. In smaller communities an imam could be the community leader based on the community setting.

(4)-- Who is the Khatib?



Khatib or khateeb (khatib) is an Arabic term used to describe a person who delivers the sermon (khuṭbah), during the Friday prayer or Eid prayers.

The khatib is usually the Imam (prayer leader), but sometimes the two roles can be played by different people. There are no requirements of eligibility to become a khatib, although the person must be a male who has attained the age of puberty. It is also required that the khatib be in a state of physical purity.

(5)-- Who is the Muezzin?



A muezzin is a chosen person at the mosque who leads the call (adhan) to Friday service and the five daily prayers (salat) from one of the mosque's minarets. In most modern mosques, electronic amplification aids the muezzins.

(6)-- What is a minbar?



A minbar (also spelt mimbar) is a pulpit in the mosque where the Imam (leader of prayer) stands to deliver sermons (khutbah).

(7)-- What is Du'a?



In the terminology of Islam, Du'a is the act of supplication. The term is derived from an Arabic word meaning to 'call out' or to 'summon', and Muslims regard this as a profound act of worship. Our Islamic Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said "Dua is the very essence of worship," while one of Allah's commands expressed to Muslims through the Qur'an is for them to call out to Him:

"And your Lord says: "Call on Me; I will answer your (Prayer)!"

(8)-- What is Iqama?

The word iqama refers to the second call to Islamic Prayer, given immediately before the prayer begins. Generally speaking, the iqama is given more quickly and in a more monotone fashion, as compared to the adhan. It differs from the first call to prayer, the adhan.

In order to know hoe to perfom a complete correct Salat, pls visit:

http://muslim-canada.org/salaat.html

Arab / German meeting in PSUAD

Good evening ladies and gentlemen,

Last Monday I had one of the great experiences of my life. I was invited by Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) to attend a meeting at Paris-Sorbonne University in Abu Dhabi "PSUAD".

*** For more information, please visit www.sorbonne.ae



Attendant were:

*(In the Middle): Dr.Johannes Beermann, Minister of State, Chief of the State Chancellery of Saxony (who is a veeeeeeerrrry nice person)
*(On the right side): Mr. Philipp Mißfelder, Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs of CDU/CSU (ruling party in Germany), the YOUNGEST deplomat I've ever seen, who is also a very nice person
*(on the left side): Mr. Thomas Birringer, Regional Representative of KAS to the Gulf-States, a number of students and officials and of course myself.



At first we were welcomed by the director of PSUAD, introduced our selves, then the usual meeting took its time. After that, Dr. Johannes, an Emirati female student, an Emirati male student, a Mexican female student, a Palestinian male student (all studying at PSUAD), a German staff member at KAS, Pr. Ronald Perlwitz, Head of Business and Languages Studies and Professor of the German Literature at PSUAD and myself sat together and had a very interresting "Chatting time".

We were from different nationalities, different cultures, different religions but still we made a good example of how civilizations could meet together and get along without any complications. Indeed am not going to compare the eight of us to the whole world, but I am just giving an example.

We discussed a number of issues, such as, Values Vs. Politics, Liberal societies between advantages and disadvantages, Freedom and Responsibilities, Muslims Difficulties in the German Society, etc. We ended up by agreeing that "The more you respect your culture, the more people respect you", which is 100% true.

I hope to have a similar "gathering" and "discussion" with young German people when I fly to Germany next October (Insha'Allah) to implement the second step of my project, and I hope to meet Dr. Johannes there as well for he promised to show me the Arab / Muslim small communities in Germany ^_^

More Info:

Paris-Sorbonne university Abu Dhabi is now present at its permanent campus, in Al Reem island (1) with the completion of the first phase of the project. With a capacity that takes up to 2,000 students, as well as related faculty and support staff, the new campus makes the ideal university environment.

A project handled by Mubadala (2) , and financed by a syndicate of international and regional banks, PSUAD new campus features approximately 93,000m2 of newly built, state-of-the-art teaching and recreational facilities, including accommodation for students, a library that accommodates 200,000 books, a 700-seated guest- auditorium, etc.

It is worth mentioning that the DH 1.6bn campus comes to translate the shared vision of General Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and the government of France. In that regard, a special ground breaking ceremony was held on January 15th, 2008 at Al Reem Island, joined by Nicholas Sarkozy, President of France.

Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi symbolizes a commitment to education between France and the UAE.

For more information, please visit: www.sorbonne.ae
__ __ __

(1) Al Reem Island is a residential, commercial and business project on Al Reem Isle, a natural island 600 meters off the coast of Abu Dhabi island.



It is currently being developed by developers who quote the overall dimensions of the project as 6.5 million square meters and investment costs as exceeding $30 billion.



The project has gained international interest as one of the first free zones in Abu Dhabi, where foreign nationalities can buy property as leasehold. In total, at least 22,000 residential units are planned (figures do vary significantly between different sources) with the first buildings that were completed in 2009, in Marina Square.

(2) Mubadala Development Company (Mubadala) is a catalyst for the economic diversification of Abu Dhabi. Established and owned by the Government of Abu Dhabi, Mubadala’s strategy is built on the management of long-term, capital-intensive investments that deliver strong financial returns and tangible social benefits for the Emirate.



Mubadala brings together and manages a multi-billion dollar portfolio of local, regional, and international investments. It partners with leading global organizations to operate businesses across a wide range of industry sectors including aerospace, energy and industry, healthcare, information communications and technology, infrastructure and real estate. By doing so, Mubadala accomplishes its mission to expand the economic base of the Emirate and contribute to the growth and diversification of its economy.

For more information, please visit: www.mubadala.ae

Weddings in the UAE

Hello everybody,

I have published a post recently about a multi cultural wedding that I've attended with my family in Dubai. So, I thought of giving you an idea about weddings in the UAE.




Facts:

• Arranged marriages have been slowly declining in the UAE. Individuals now have a greater chance to choose whom they want to marry.
• An Emirati man receives $ 19.000 from the MARRIAGE FUND if he marries a national.
• Many Emiratis are trending towards single family homes instead of with an extended family, which is still encouraged by many traditional families. But, when a young man gets married, he usually spends the first years of his marriage life at his parent’s house.


Marriage Fund:

In 1992, under the directives of Late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, a Marriage Fund has been set up in order to limit over-spending on weddings and celebrations.

The fund aims to encourage UAE men to marry UAE women, assisting in covering the expenses of both the wedding and the setting-up of a family, increasing the birth rate, and discouraging men from marrying foreigners.

The Fund provides around Dhs 70,000 (around $ 19,000 or 14,000 EUR) depending on certain criteria to young UAE nationals. In tandem with this, the government has launched a campaign aimed at persuading UAE fathers to accept lower dowries (the money paid by a groom to his bride). It has also built special wedding halls where receptions can take place without incurring the expenses associated with expensive hotel receptions.

In order to curb soaring wedding expenses which burden the youth, the UAE’s Cabinet, on the 29th of September, 1997 approved a letter from the Justice and Islamic Affairs Minister outlining a draft law defining dowries, under Islamic Law, at Dhs 20,000 (around $ 5000 or EUR 4000) and divorce compensation at Dhs 30,000 (around $ 8000 or EUR 6000) and wedding parties should not exceed one day.

As a tradition in the UAE, the setting of the wedding date marks the beginning of the bride’s preparation for her wedding.

Although the groom is also put through a series of preparations, the bride’s preparations are naturally more elaborate and time consuming.

Before the Wedding:

In preparation for her wedding, the bride is anointed with all sorts of traditional oils and perfumes from head to toe. Her body is rubbed with cleansing and conditioning oils and creams, the hands and feet are decorated with henna and the hair is washed with extracts of amber and jasmine. Of course nowadays saloons do everything for women to be so beautiful and glamorous.

Traditionally, the bride is not seen for forty days except for family members as she rests at home in preparation for her wedding day.

Fine pieces of jewelry, perfumes, silk materials, and other necessary items are presented to her by the groom and his family, from which she creates her elaborate trousseau called “Zehba”.



Wedding Festivities:


The festivities usually take about one week or at least three days before the wedding night.

During that week, traditional music, continuous singing, and dancing take place reflecting the joy shared by families of both bride and groom.

Henna night:



A few days before the wedding night is the henna night. On this night, the bride’s hands and feet are decorated with henna, which is a dark brown paste made from the henna plant. When left on the skin for some time, the henna leaves a dark red stain.



The henna night is a time for all the bride’s sisters, female family members, and girlfriends to get together, sing and dance. All female family members and guests also decorate their hands with henna. The henna is not used for decorative purposes only but it serves also as a hair and skin conditioner as well as a medicament for some wounds, when mixed with special ingredients.

The back-to-back feasts and celebrations involve both men and women who usually celebrate separately.

Despite of differences in the living standards with progress of time, the social culture is preserved and treated as a heritage that should not be ignored.


Wedding night:

This is the night when the bride and the groom are OFFICIALY announced husband and wife and they go back home together after the party is over. The girl must preserve her virginity until this night or else she will dishonor her family and might even get divorced.


After the Wedding:

The next morning, family of the bride visit her (Usually the mother and the aunts). Later, the newly wed couple spend their honeymoon together in a place that they choose together.



Honeymoons can be spent inside the country or anywhere across the big world.



** A Bride from the past ** :



** A Bride Nowadays ** :






** The Groom ** :

Multi Cultural Wedding ^_^

Good morning everybody ^_^ ... I hope you are all doing fine.

I would like to share a very romantic and funny story with you today. Last Friday, I attended a wedding with my family members in Dubai.



It was like a very tiny international community...I felt like sitting in one of the "United Colors of Benetton" shooting studios, but with models wearing gowns and toxidos :)It was amazing and all of the guests were celebrating and enjoying their time in peace and harmony.




The Bride was GERMAN, the Groom was EGYPTIAN, the guests were from all over the world, knowing that each couple were not from the same country!!!

The most amazing married couple were a man from the USA (Afro-American) and his Indonesian beautiful wife. Another were a Jordanian husband and his Phillipina wife, an Indian Lady and her British Husband, and of course my Emirati Father and his wonderful Egyptian wife, my mother.



This wedding was a very tiny example of how people of different nationalities live in the UAE as one big family, despite their languages, skin colors, religion, beliefs, etc.

May God bless the UAE and the whole world.

Amen.

Yemen Women oppose raising marriage age to 17

Good afternoon,

Last night I was watching the 9:00 pm news in mbc TV. channel and I saw how women in Yemen were demonstrating due to raising marriage age to 17 years old.

Personally, I do not believe in very young marriages, for "getting married" is not only about romance and having kids, it is much much more than that and it requires both husband and wife to be completely mature and responsible.

Bellow, is the news as it was published:

Yemen Women oppose raising marriage age to 17

Yemen Women oppose raising marriage age to 17


SANAA - Thousands of Yemeni women, their faces covered in religious veils, demonstrated outside the parliament on Sunday to oppose proposed legislation banning the marriage of girls under 17.

The protesters held up banners proclaiming "don't ban what Allah made permissible," or "stop violating Islamic sharia law in the name of rights and freedoms," an AFP correspondent said.

Answering calls by Muslim clerics who oppose the proposal on grounds it goes against Islamic sharia law, the protesters arrived in organised buses.

Proposed amendments to the civil status law stalled in parliament last August after severe opposition to a government proposal that would ban girls females 17 and males under 18 from marrying.

Child marriages are common in impoverished Yemen, especially in rural areas, where girls as young as eight are known to have been married off by desperately poor parents.

Last year a child marriage case in Yemen made international headlines after a 12-year-old girl died in childbirth, together with the baby.

"Where will this... new law take us?" asked Umm Abdulaziz, a protester clad in black from head-to-toe.

"Most rights groups have women who are over 40 and still not married," she added in an apparent taunt at unmarried activists in Yemen, whose largely traditional tribal society looks down on single women past a certain age.

"There is a significant spinstership among female students in Yemen universities," she added.

A handful of women's rights activists outside the parliament were seen leaving after being outnumbered by the demonstrators.

"It is unreasonable to marry our daughters at the age of eight or nine. This is a serious problem," said Houriya Mashhour, deputy director of Yemen's Women National Committee.

A delegation from the protesters met MP Sheikh Humaid al-Ahmar, the deputy speaker of the parliament, along with several Islamist MPs from Al-Islah, a powerful opposition party leading the campaign against the proposed amendments.

"We consider those who call for limiting marriage age by law as enemies of Allah, his prophet and us," said one of the women delegates.

Rights activist Ahmed al-Qorashi warned last September that a huge proportion of girls in rural Yemen are married off under age 15, mainly due to financial reasons.

He was speaking after Fawziya Abdullah Youssef, a 12-year-old Yemeni girl who was forced into marriage, died during a difficult delivery together with the baby.

In 2008, a Yemeni court granted a divorce to an eight-year-old girl whose unemployed father forced her into an arranged marriage with a man 20 years her senior.



I would like to point out that most young marriages in rural Yemen happens due to financial reasons. Also, many people think that it is possible to marry a very young girl, or let's say a CHILD because our Prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon him)married his wife Sayida Aisha when she was around 9 years old.

The truth is most people do not know the difference and do not know the reasons behind our Prophet's marriages. We should not take Prophet Mohammed's marriage to Sayida Aisha as an excuse to let our children get married at a very very very young age.

Aisha (which means "she who lives") converted to Islam when she was six years old. Our Prophet mohammed (pbuh)got ingaged to her when she was in Mecca(which is now in Saudi Arabia)and married her in Medina (also a city in Saudi Arabia now)when she was about nine years old. She was the only virgin wife among the wives of Prophet Mohammed (Pbuh) and she was the daughter of Abu Bakr Al Siddiq or Abdullah bin Abi Quhafah, one of the closest companions and adviser to Prophet mohammed (Pbuh).

Aisha stayed in her parents' home for several years until she joined Muhammad and the marriage was consummated. Most of the sources indicate that she was nine years old at the time. The marriage was delayed until after the Hijra (which means "migration") to Medina, in 622; Aisha and her older sister Asma bint Abi Bakr only moved to Medina after Muhammad had already migrated there. After this, the wedding was celebrated very simply. The sources do not offer much more information about Aisha's childhood years, but mention that after the wedding, she continued to play with her toys, and that Muhammad entered into the spirit of these games.

The issue of Aisha's age at the time she was married to Muhammad has been of interest since the earliest days of Islam.[citation needed] Early Muslims regarded Aisha's youth as demonstrating her virginity and therefore her suitability as a bride of the Prophet. During modern times, however, critics of Islam have taken up the issue, regarding it as reflecting poorly on Muhammad's character.

References to Aisha's age by early historians are frequent. According to Spellberg, historians who supported the Abbasid Caliphate against Shi'a claims considered Aisha's youth, and therefore her purity, to be of paramount importance. They thus specifically emphasized it, implying that as Muhammad's only virgin wife, Aisha was divinely intended for him, and therefore the most credible regarding the debate over the succession to Muhammad.

Child marriages such as this were relatively common in Bedouin societies at the time, and remain common in some modern societies worldwide. American scholar Colin Turner suggests that such marriages were not seen as improper in historical context, and that individuals in such societies matured at an earlier age than in the modern West. In modern times, however, the issue of Muhammad marrying and having sexual relations with a girl so young has been used to criticize him, particularly in the West, where there is heightened concern about child sexual abuse and related issues. In response some modern Muslims have argued that adding up other dates given in the traditional sources may indicate that Aisha was older.

There is a religious reason behind Aisha's marriage in an early age. We say "Getting education while being young is like engraving on stone". What I want to say is that the young age of Aisha when she got married to Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) helped her support Islam's journey and build the Islamic community. She quoted as source for many hadith, sacred traditions about Muhammad's life, with Muhammad's personal life being the topic of most narrations. She narrated 2210 hadiths out of which 316 hadiths are mentioned in both Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.

To read more about Aisha, here is the link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aisha


To read more about Abu Bakr Al Siddiq, here is the link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Bakr

Meeting with H.E. Christian Wulff

Good morning all ^_^ How are you doing? hope everything is fine.

Last Sunday (14th of February), I had the chance to meet a German Politician, who was visiting the UAE with the delegation accompanying him. He was Mr. Christian Wulff, Minister-President of Lower Saxony, Germany.



The meeting was held in Konrad Adenauer Stiftung office in Abu Dhabi, and was attended by a number of UAE students and officials.

Actually it was a good opportunity for both sides to talk about their cultures, ask questions and get answers about many things in their minds.

One thing really caught my attention, and I have noticed it in this meeting (From Mr. Wulff's replies to our questions) and during the last workshop I have attended in Dubai, when Emirati and German young journalists worked together side by side to produce a magazine in Arabic and German (I have mentioned it before). The thing is, and I don't know if I got it right, but Germans are not very proud of their history, and as a matter of fact, one of the German young journalist (While we were at the house of the German Ambassador to the UAE in Abu Dhabi said "We have been ashamed of ourselves since world war II".

The start of the war is generally held to be September 1, 1939, with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany and subsequent declarations of war on Germany by most of the countries in the British Empire and Commonwealth, and by France.

I really would like to know more about this, maybe during my trip to Germany next June "Insha'Allah", where I will get to meet more young people who are willing to exchange information about our cultures, history and more.

Can't wait ^_^

P.S: I will let you all know my trip plan to Germany as soon as it is ready and confirmed.

Al Fujairah...the seventh emirate

The only emirate without a coastline on the Arabian Gulf is Fujairah, which is ruled by the Al Sharqi family. Situated along the coast of the Gulf of Oman, Fujairah covers about 1,300 square kilometres.



Unlike other emirates, where the desert forms a large part of the terrain, mountains and plains are its predominant features. Fujairah's economy is based on fishing and agriculture. Like Ras Al Khaimah, the land in Fujairah is irrigated by rainwater from the Hajar Mountains, making it ideal for farming. Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi is the present ruler.