Are they not mentioned in the Qur'an? :S

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8nRX9v3Oz4]

i find myself reading the most uplifting and beautiful prophecies of the greatest men that have walked earth. The chosen messengers of allah (swt) from prophet adam alayhi wasalamm to the last messenger and prophet of allah (swt) Muhammad ﷺ peace be upon him. It is so incredibly fascinating to learn such phenonmenal stories that have been passed on from generations to generations in its orignal form. Some of the stories i knew of breifly which had remained with me since childhood. i can still remember vaguely of those special days when we would all gather for my grandmother to tell such prophecies and oh yeh i remember as a child i use to love watching the cartoon of noah and the ark. Today i found myself reading upon the story of prophet noah and was enlightened to read that my recollection of the cartoon of prophet noah is almost identical to what i read today. Amazing huh...... islam is sooo deep that it would take me a thousand years before i would hold the capacity to comprehend every singular moment of islam;from the day man was created till the last day of resurrection. However each new information, story testament is so phenonmenal that the more you read the more captivated you become because every word is so pure and significant and islam is the state of entirety fufilled with wisdom and logic hence making islam so easy to understand and leaving no traces of doubt.

​Apparently there's a new law as of two weeks ago that you have to be 21 years of age or older to go to Saudi Arabia for Umrah.

My brother was just refused his Visa because of this and he can't go Umrah.

Does anyone know more about this law or know about it all?

Sounds like b******t to me.

^ That's what the research paper is called. Turns out that when we aim our biggest telescopes at the middle of the Milky Way, for our sins, we see a twisted infinity sign, or Moebius Strip.

(Source: Wired via LGF)

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Hajj is becoming more and more expensive each year and I just thought it's cuz of inflation. But I've across a view that it might be cuz Saudi wants to commercialise the cities and use the money to just improve the place. Also that it will soon become a monopoly for the richest!

That's a scary thought! How true do you think it is?

I don't really buy it cuz it means people won't be able to perform their duty as a Muslim (would Allah allow that?) also if less people go then the Saudis will stop getting money.

As a Muslim ummah, what do we have to be proud of in this day and age?

What are we actually doing right? (cuz there seems to be a lot wrong!)

Islam Worries an Authoritarian Government

Islam is blossoming in Tajikistan. Beards are in style. Headscarves, too. Bazaars are doing a booming trade in prayer rugs, religious audio recordings and gaudy clocks featuring Muslim holy sites.
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After decades of enforced secularism, the people of this impoverished former Soviet republic have been flocking to their traditional religion with all the zeal of born-again movements anywhere in the world.

Bearded men have been detained at random, and women barred from religious services. This year, the government demanded that students studying religion at universities in places like Egypt, Syria and Iran return home. The police have shuttered private mosques and Islamic Web sites, and government censors now monitor Friday sermons, stepping in when muftis stray from the government line.

Last month, lawmakers took what many here said was a drastic step further: they passed a law that would, among other things, bar children younger than 18 from attending religious services at mosques.

It is called the law “on parental responsibility for educating and raising children,” and the measure, according to officials, is meant to prevent children from skipping school to attend prayer services, and it would hold parents responsible if they do.

“We have secular extremism here,” said Khodzhi Akbar Turadzhonzoda , a prominent Islamic leader and a former member of Tajikistan’s Parliament. Talk of Islamic radicalism in Tajikistan, he said, “is a lie.”

“This is only to deceive the people, strengthen dictatorships, and spend more money on weapons and the secret services.”

From the New York Times

mash'Allah and subhan'Allah in equal measure.

Find me scholarly opinion on this matter.

Waht is the opinion - allowed or not? are there conditions?