Two incidents occurred in which two different interpretations of Aqeedah came up and aqeedah got two dimensions; the first incident occurred in the Holy Quran and the second occurred during the life of the Holy Prophet (Salaal Laahu Alaihi Wa Salaam).

FIRST INCIDENT

The first incident took place in the very beginning of the history of mankind:

The Holy Quran, in numerous places, states that "I will create a physical being/ a bashar, from dust, clay, and water."

The second part of the verse states "When the physical being is perfect and complete, I will send my divine light into it. When I do this you (the angels) must start prostrating." (please note that these are translations of the verse.)

By Sheikh Mohammad Hisham Kabbani

al-Nur: The Light.

There are three verses in the Qur'an which mention the Prophet as a light.

Allah said: "From Allah has come to you a Light and a Book manifest." (5:15)

Qadi `Iyad said: "He [the Prophet] was named a Light because of the clarity of his case and the fact that his Prophecy was made manifest, and also because of the illumination of the hearts of the believers and the knowers of Allah with what he brought."

May the Mercy of Allah be upon him

His Life and Sayings about him

After the Sahabah, Imam al-Bukhari ranks as the most eminent of those pious people who have conferred endless bliss upon the Ummah of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam.

The greatest evidence of this is the book of Ahadith an-Nabawî he compiled, commonly known as Sahîh al-Bukhari. It is universally acknowledged as the most authentic book after the Holy Qur'ân. So long as their is one Muslim left on the Earth, the blessings of Imam Bukhari will have a place in his or her Îmân and Islâm. Let us briefly examine below a short survey of his life and works.

His Early Years

Four Muslim men have been arrested by anti-terrorist officers after raids on homes in north and west London.The men, who are from Algeria and Jordan, are being held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 1989. A fifth man was also arrested and detained in connection with immigration offences.

The dawn raids were a joint operation between the Metropolitan Anti-Terrorist branch, Special Branch and the security services. The men are being questioned at a police station in central London.

A police spokesman says: "Armed officers were not used in the operation and it is not linked to Irish terrorism and any unsolved terrorism acts. " Three of the men arrested under the Terrorism Act are Algerian and the fourth is Jordanian. They are aged 31, 33, 38 and 40.

The United States and United Kingdom stood almost isolated as they were roundly condemned by the international community for their unprovoked attack on Baghdad on Friday which killed two Iraqi civilians and injured twenty others. The British and American governments said the attacks were "self-defense."

Loud criticism of the attack came from governments and media all over the world, and thousands of Palestinians marched in Tulkarm and Hebron in the occupied West Bank to oppose the attack on Iraq, even as at least two more Palestinians were shot dead for protesting continuing Israeli occupation.

By Thomas E. Ricks, Washington Post Staff Writer

Thursday, February 22, 2001; Page A01

Most of the bombs dropped by U.S. warplanes on Iraqi radar stations during last week's airstrikes missed their mark, Pentagon officials disclosed , with most of the misses blamed on a new and expensive Navy guided bomb.

About 25 of the guided bombs, which were first used in combat two years ago, were dropped in the attack, and the majority fell "tens of yards" from their "aim points," a Navy official said. Another official said he had been told the bombs missed by an average of more than 100 yards, an unsatisfactory performance for a modern precision-guided weapon.

Are the recent warnings about the threat of terrorism a reasonable precaution by the government to a real and present danger, or are the media and government once again promoting anti-Muslim and anti-Arab hysteria under the guise of vigilance against terrorism?

What ever the case, the arrest of an Algerian man last week, allegedly for trying to enter the United States from Canada with bomb-making materials, has set off yet another free for all of media speculation about vicious Muslim plots to blow up the United States on the eve of the millennium.

Taliban news sources have been reporting that a joint American and Russian attack on Afghanistan involving chemical weapons is expected any time.

The Times, a British newspaper, has also acknowledged this fact in. Elite US Navy Seal Units arrived in the region in the middle of October and entered Afghanistan 'secretly'. This was also reported by the World Tribune (29 October 2000).

In Islam there is no difference between men and women in regards to their relationship to Allah; they are both promised the same reward for good, or punishment for evil conduct.

"And their Lord has answered their prayer: I waste not the work of any worker amongst you, male or female." (Al-Qur'an, Al-i Imran, 3:195)

Modesty is a vertue that Islam demands not only from women, but also from men.

"Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty... And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty." (Al-Qur'an, al-Nur, 24:30 and 31)

1. Question: I have questions about Zuhr and Maghrib times. (a)Does Zuhr time begin at noon? (b)Is Maghrib time defined by the astronomical calculation of sunset, which is when the sun's disk just goes below horizon. I see that there is enough light on the horizon at calculated sunset time? (Sep 21,1997)

Answer: (a)According to Shari'ah, Zuhr time does not begin at noon. Noon is Zawaal time. Zawaal is when the sun is at its highest altitude during its journey from sunrise to sunset. At this time, any prayer should not be performed. 5 to 10 minutes after Zawaal should be allowed for the beginning of Zuhr.