Originally, mosques were simple places of prayer for the early Muslims, and may have been open spaces rather than elaborate buildings. In the first stage of Islamic architecture (650–750 CE), early mosques comprised open and closed covered spaces enclosed by walls, often with minarets, from which the Islamic call to prayer was issued on a daily basis. It is typical of mosque buildings to have a special ornamental niche (a mihrab) set into the wall in the direction of the city of Mecca (the qibla), which Muslims must face during prayer, as well as a facility for ritual cleansing (wudu). The pulpit (minbar), from which public sermons (khutbah) are delivered on the event of Friday prayer, was, in earlier times, characteristic of the central city mosque, but has since become common in smaller mosques. To varying degrees, mosque buildings are designed so that there are segregated spaces for men and women. This basic pattern of organization has assumed different forms depending on the region, period, and Islamic denomination. (Full article...)
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15th century depiction of an Ouroboros from the alchemical treatise Aurora consurgens (Zurich, Rheinau 172).
Alchemists attempted to purify, mature, and perfect certain materials. Common aims were chrysopoeia, the transmutation of "base metals" (e.g., lead) into "noble metals" (particularly gold); the creation of an elixir of immortality; and the creation of panaceas able to cure any disease. The perfection of the human body and soul was thought to result from the alchemical magnum opus ("Great Work"). The concept of creating the philosopher's stone was variously connected with all of these projects. (Full article...)
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The Oran fatwa was a responsumfatwa, or an Islamic legal opinion, issued in 1502 to address the crisis that occurred when Muslims in the Crown of Castile, in present-day Spain, were forced to convert to Christianity in 1500–1502. It was authored by a malikimuftiAhmad ibn Abi Jum'ah, an Algerian scholar of Islamic law of the Maliki school; the term "Oran fatwa" was applied by modern scholars, due to the word "Al-Wahrani" ("of Oran") that appears in the text as part of the author's name.
The fatwa sets out detailed relaxations of sharia (Islamic law) requirements, allowing Muslims to conform outwardly to Christianity and perform acts that are ordinarily forbidden in Islamic law, when necessary to survive. It includes pliable instructions for fulfilling the ritual prayers, the ritual charity, and the ritual ablution, and recommendations when obliged to violate Islamic law, such as worshipping as Christians, committing blasphemy, and consuming pork and wine. (Full article...)
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Noah's Ark (1846), by the American folk painter Edward Hicks
The story in Genesis is based on earlier Mesopotamianflood myths. The myth of the global flood that destroys all life begins to appear in the Old Babylonian Empire period (20th–16th centuries BCE). The version closest to the biblical story of Noah, as well as its most likely source, is that of Utnapishtim in the Epic of Gilgamesh. Scholars note shared themes, dimensions, and language but different causes for the flood. Scholars also link its structure to the Jewish Temple. (Full article...)
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Official portrait, 1956
Fakih Usman (alternatively spelled as Faqih Usman; Indonesian pronunciation:[ˌfakɪhˈʊsman]; 2 March 1904– 3 October 1968) was an Indonesian Islamic leader and politician of the Masyumi Party. He twice served as the Minister of Religious Affairs under the cabinets of Abdul Halim and Wilopo from January until September 1950, and again from 1952 until 1953. In his early years, Fakih was criticized by conservative Muslims for his involvement with the modernist Islamic Muhammadiyah organization, though he is remembered fondly by the group. Born to a merchant and his wife in Gresik, Dutch East Indies, Fakih studied with his father and at a series of pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) until the 1920s.
In 1925 he became involved with the Muhammadiyah, rising quickly through the leadership until he became the head of the Surabaya branch in 1938. He was also active in local politics, in 1937, he became the treasurer of the Indonesian Islamic Assembly. He continued to be involved in politics and Islamic groups during the Japanese occupation and the ensuing national revolution. Following the end of the war, he was appointed Minister of Religious Affairs. As a minister, he oversaw educational and institutional reform, growing in prominence within the Muhammadiyah. He also served as deputy chairman of the organization under several different leaders before being chosen as its chairman in late 1968. He died several days later. (Full article...)
In the 1980s he started a bottom-up community development initiative of Orangi Pilot Project, based in the outskirts of Karachi, which became a model of participatory development initiatives. He also directed many programmes, from microcredit to self-finance and from housing provision to family planning, for rural communities and urban slums. It earned him international recognition and high honours in Pakistan. Khan was fluent in at least seven languages and dialects. Apart from many scholarly books and articles, he also published a collection of poems and travelogues in Urdu. (Full article...)
The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, which were initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the Middle Ages. Their aim was to return the Holy Land—which had been conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate in the 7th century—to Christian rule. By the 11th century, although Jerusalem had then been ruled by Muslims for hundreds of years, the practices of the Seljuk rulers in the region began to threaten local Christian populations, pilgrimages from the West and the Byzantine Empire itself. The earliest impetus for the First Crusade came in 1095 when Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos sent ambassadors to the Council of Piacenza to request military support in the empire's conflict with the Seljuk-led Turks. This was followed later in the year by the Council of Clermont, at which Pope Urban II gave a speech supporting the Byzantine request and urging faithful Christians to undertake an armed pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
This call was met with an enthusiastic popular response across all social classes in western Europe. Thousands of predominantly poor Christians, led by the French priest Peter the Hermit, were the first to respond. What has become known as the People's Crusade passed through Germany and indulged in wide-ranging anti-Jewish activities, including the Rhineland massacres. On leaving Byzantine-controlled territory in Anatolia, they were annihilated in a Turkish ambush led by the Seljuk Kilij Arslan I at the Battle of Civetot in October 1096. (Full article...)
Image 6A young woman from Ramallah, c. 1898-1914. Until the 1940s, women of Palestine wore elaborate handcrafted garments. The creation and maintenance of these items played a significant role in their lives. A knowledgeable observer could determine a woman's village of origin and social status from her clothing. The circular band near this woman's forehead is a ring of coins made from a portion of her dowry money, and indicates that she is unmarried.
Image 7The Sixty Dome Mosque is a medieval mosque located in Bagerhat, Bangladesh, built by Muslim saint Khan Jahan Ali in mid 15th century. This unique masonry mosque with 81 domes (including 4 corner domes) is a UNESCO world heritage site.
Credit:American Colony Jerusalem (edited by Durova)
Image 10The Tughra (طغراء) of Mahmud II. A tughra is a Turkish paisley-like calligraphicseal or signature used at the beginning of sultans' decrees. These colorful emblems incorporated the ruler's name and title in intricate vegetal inscriptions designed by neshanis, or court calligraphers. Parallel to the Europeansignet, tughras often appeared on coins and stamps of the Ottoman Empire.
Image 13The Faisal Mosque (Urdu: فیصل مسجد) is a mosque located in Islamabad, Pakistan. It is Located on the foothills of Margalla Hills in Islamabad, the mosque features a contemporary design consisting of eight sides of concrete shell and is inspired by a Bedouin tent, and is considered to be the city's main Landmark.
Image 14A Bedouin woman in Jerusalem, sometime between 1898 and 1914, dressed in Palestinian costume, the traditional clothing worn by Palestinians. Many of the handcrafted garments were richly embroidered and the creation and maintenance of these items played a significant role in the lives of the region's women. Until the 1940s, traditional Palestinian costumes reflected a woman's economic status, whether married or single, and the town or district of origin, and a knowledgeable observer could glean such information from the fabric, colors, cut, and embroidery motifs (or lack thereof) in a given woman's apparel.
Uzair is a figure who is mentioned in the Quran, Surah At-Tawba, verse 9:30, which states that he was revered by the Jews as "the son of God". Uzair is most often identified with the biblical Ezra. Modern historians have described the reference as "enigmatic", since such views have not been found in Jewish sources. Islamic scholars have interpreted the Quranic reference in different ways, with some explaining that it alluded to a specific group of Jews. According to Ibn Kathir, Uzair lived between the times of King Solomon and the time of Zachariah, father of John the Baptist. Some Quranic commentators viewed Uzayr as a learned scholar who sought to teach the people the forgotten laws of God. The modern Quranic exegesis of Abul Ala Maududi states,"Uzair (Ezra) lived during the period around 450 B.C. The Jews regarded him with great reverence as the revivalist of their Scriptures which had been lost during their captivity in Babylon after the death of Prophet Solomon. So much so that they had lost all the knowledge of their Law, their traditions and of Hebrew, their national language. Then it was Ezra who re-wrote the Old Testament and revived the Law. That is why they used very exaggerated language in his reverence which misled some of the Jewish sects to make him 'the son of God'. The Qur'an, however, does not assert that all the Jews were unanimous in declaring Ezra as 'the son of God'. What it intends to say is that the perversion in the articles of faith of the Jews concerning Allah had degenerated to such an extent that there were some amongst them who considered Ezra as the son of God".
I wonder at those who think about their body's food, but do not think about their soul's food. They keep away disturbing food from their belly, but fill up their hearts with destructive subjects.
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