Shi`ites [from Arab shi`a sectary]

Moslems are divided into two main groups: the Sunnites, the most numerous, who accept the orthodox tradition (sunna), basing their beliefs on the words of the Koran); and the Shi`ites who uphold `Ali as the representative of Allah, and reject the pronouncements of the other caliphs. The shi`ites are located principally in Iran, although they are represented throughout the Moslem world. They incline towards interpreting the Koran, rather than holding to the letter of the law as do the Sunnites.

(See also: Shi`ites, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

Allah (Arabic) (from al the + ilah god; cf Hebrew eloah)

The one God of Islam, analogous to the Hebrew Jahweh. The pre-Moslem Arabic patron of Mecca, the god Hobal called Al-lahu (the god), was retained as the supreme god in Moslem theology; the other gods were transformed into demons. The unity and singularity of Allah is one of the primary beliefs of Islam. (SD, BCW)

(See also: Allah, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

What Banaras is to a believing Hindu, Karbala was to my Shia mother. She wanted to be buried there. My mother shed more tears on the tenth of Muharram, the day of Imam Husain's martyrdom than she did on November 19, the day my father died.

"To mourn for a husband is to mourn for oneself. To mourn for Husain is to mourn for mankind," she would say. "You lose a son, a fortune or a kingdom. Its memory fades as does the pain of its loss. But not the pain of Husain's martyrdom. It is a larger pain that goes beyond in dividual pain."

(See also: Karbala, Faith and Belief, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Quran - Koran: Qur'an Revealed During Ramzan

Prophet Muhammad would often sit alone in the cave of Hira, near Mecca, to pray and meditate, asking the Creator of the Heavens and earth for answers to the questions that surged through his mind. What is man's true role in life?

What does the Lord require of us? From where does man come, and where will he go after death? The Prophet would meditate alone, surrounded by nature, seeking answers to all these profound questions.

Read more here: » Quran - Koran: Qur'an Revealed During Ramzan

Over 4,000 years ago God asked Abraham to build the Kabah (house of worship) at Mecca and to call upon all people to make the pilgrimage to the House of God. Thus, it came to be obligatory for every Muslim to go for Haj at least once, provided good health and financial position permitted it.

Over two million believers from all over the world gather every year in Mecca to perform this pious duty. The rites of Haj take about one week to complete, but the devout spend as many days as possible so that they may become spiritually enriched by the sacred atmosphere. All the acts and sites of Haj convey a spiritual message.

(See also: Kabah, Indian Festivals, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Today is the martyrdom day of Imam Husain, grandson of Prophet Mohammed. In 61 Hizrat (680 AD) a battle took place at Karbala, Iraq, on the banks of the river Euphrates.

A large army mobilised by Yazid, descendant of the Umayyad regime, besieged a small group led by Imam Husain, and forced them to pay allegiance to the Caliph and submit to his authority. Husain and his small group put up a brave resistance but were killed in the fierce battle.

(See also: Imam Husain, Indian Festivals, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Id-ul-Azha is the second most important festival of Muslims across the world. Today's celebration comes almost two months after Eid-ul-Fitr, the culmination of the holy month of Ramadan. The spirit of Eid- ul-Azha is incorporated in Hajj, the pilgrimage to Makkah. The underlying flavour is the spirit of sacrifice or qurbani, commemorating Abraham's great act of faith many centuries ago.

Eid-ul-Azha, also known as Eid-e-Qurban, is a time for Muslims to learn the value of self-denial by making a sacrifice of something living to God.

(See also: Id-ul-Azha, Indian Festivals, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Pilgrims are flocking to the shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti at Ajmer on the occasion of the annual Urs. Popularly known as Khwaja Gharib Nawaz, the dargah symbolises a touching synthesis of the hopes and prayers of various faiths and communities.

Both Hindus and Muslims remember Moinuddin Chishti as Khwaja Gharib Nawaz, revering him for his simple teachings and eclectic philosophy. The Khwaja believed that no spiritual exercise, penitence, prayer, or vigil had greater value than bringing succour to distressed hearts and helping the needy. He directed all his efforts towards alleviation of human misery.

(See also: Chishti Shrine, Indian Festivals, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

The moon of Muharram has been sighted. This is the beginning of the New Year of Muslims according to the tenements of Islam and the Shariat. This New Year reminds us of the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussain, the grandson of our Beloved Prophet.

According to Islamic history, there was a noted chieftain in the holy city of Mecca, Abde Munaf. Two twins were born to him, but they were Siamese twins with their backs joined by birth. The chieftain approached the wise men of the city for advice, and they said, "Now they are children, but when they grow up they will face problems."

(See also: Muslim New Year, Indian Festivals, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Ramzan, the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, offers an extensive programme of reform and spiritual elevation to all Muslims to help remould their entire being.

Since human beings tend to frequently lose touch with their inner world, Islam has provided for a substantial provision for an annual "workshop" in the form of siyam or Roza. This trains and equips us to reach out to the inner self, by firmly dealing with any moral laxity and indiscipline.

(See also: Ramzan, Indian Festivals, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Guru Nanak Meets Bahlol In Baghdad

Baghdad was, in Nanak's time, a centre of Muslim culture - it was home to pirs and sufi fakirs. Guru Nanak stayed in Baghdad for four months and interacted with the holy men there, one of whom was Bahlol.

Guru Nanak sang of the infinity of God and His infinite creation. Bahlol said that the Qur'an had mentioned seven earths and seven heavens only. Guru Nanak urged that the universe was not confined to seven earths and seven heavens but had millions and millions of planets and worlds and the Guru greeted all in the name of Sat Kartar.

Read more here: » Guru Nanak: Guru Nanak Meets Bahlol In Baghdad

Every year, I eagerly await the month of Ramzan. Fasting and praying during the month prepares me to move closer to God. Fasting is not restricted to food and drink; it includes distancing oneself from negative attributes like hypocrisy, covetousness, falsity, backbiting and envy, among others.

Surprisingly and fortunately, the after-effects of this regulated and sanitised lifestyle adopted during Ramzan lingers for several months afterward, enabling one to work towards greater control over one's actions.

(See also: Ramzan, Indian Festivals, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Everyday during Ramzan, for one lunar month from sunrise to sunset, Muslims refrain from eating, drinking and smoking.

Why do Muslims undertake to fast during Ramzan? The common answer is that the Qur'an ordains it: ''O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that ye may (learn) self- restraint (2:183). Socially and personally, fasting has great relevance.''

(See also: Ramzan, Indian Festivals, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

I wasn't sure what woke me up - the mellifluous call of the muezzin to prayer or the peacocks' "peeuing", calling out frantically to each other. The dial-light on my watch showed that it was exactly three in the morning. That's the right time to wake up, my guide from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had advised me the previous evening, as we walked around Fatehpur Sikri, Agra. I went to him but he was still fast asleep.

(See also: Ramzan, Indian Festivals, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

The Prophet Muhammad started receiving revelations from Allah in 610 AD through an angel. When he began to propagate the divine message, the people of Mecca turned against him. In those testing times Khadijah, his wife, and Abu Talib, his uncle, were a great help to him, but shortly thereafter they both died.

When the Meccans seemed to be on the verge of crushing Islam, the Prophet Muhammad had an extraordinary experience. This is known as al-Isra and al-Miraj or the Night Journey and the Ascension.

(See also: Namaz, Indian Festivals, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

A Different View Of Islam & Sufism

For Anne-Marie Schimmel, Islam was a lifelong passion, as deep as her own roots in the Lutheran faith. Church rituals were as dear to her as bowing in prayer at Sufi shrines.

Sitting in Bonn she dreamed of Bijapur and Bidar, talked of her friend Allan Fakir in Sindh and brooded over the problem of selecting a site for her burial in Sindh. This gentle woman, renowned scholar of Sufism, passed away in Germany recently. As gently as she had lived.

Read more here: » Islam Sufism: A Different View Of Islam Sufism

Meaning of Dreams in Islam

Dreams are broken into three parts according to the Sunnah:

Ru'yaa - good visions (dreams)

Hulum - bad dreams

Dreams from one's self

Abu Hurayrah narrated Muhammad (S) said, "There are three types of dreams: a righteous dream which is glad tidings from Allah, the dream which causes sadness is from Shaitan, and a dream from the ramblings of the mind." (Sahih Muslim)

Read more here: » Islamic Dream Interpretation: Meaning of Dreams in Islam II

Islam and Hinduism: Symbiotic Mysticism In Devotional Poems

Few have heard of the mystic poems Brahma Prakash or Dasa Avatar by the mediaeval Muslim saint Pir Shams. Both are famous ginans of South Asia's Ismaili community, sometimes also known as Khojas or Aga Khanis in popular parlance.

Ginans are hymn-like poems of spiritual import. They are revered by the faithful in deep veneration as repositories of wisdom and spiritual knowledge, and as transmitting the essential teachings of the Holy Qur'an in the vernacular. Composed in Sindhi, Gujarati, Hindustani and Punjabi among other subcontinental languages, the oldest are ascribed to the pirs or saints who first preached Ismaili Islam in India nearly 1,000 years ago.

Read more here: » Islam and Hinduism: Symbiotic Mysticism In Devotional Poems

The Story of Zamzam

The holy water known as ZamZam, brought from Makkah (Mecca) by Hajjis returning home, is believed to have healing powers.

In a parched desert where there wasn't a trace of water, Allah showered his blessings on Ibrahim's family, by commanding Angel Jibreel to dig the earth with his heel (or his wing), and water started flowing in the desert to quench the thirst of Ibrahim's wife Hajar and her son Ismael.

Read more here: » Zamzam: The Story of Zamzam

The Prophet of Peace Revealed Islam

Mohammed, the prophet and messenger of God who revealed Islam to the world was a descendant of Prophet Ismail. In 610, Mohammed declared that he was Allah's apostle and said: "There is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is his prophet." The Prophet said that righteousness alone was the criterion to distinguish one person from another. The Prophet enjoined upon Muslims to treat the poor kindly and to help them with alms, zakat, and in other ways. He said, "He is not a perfect Muslim who eats his fill and lets his neighbour go hungry." He asked, "Do you love your Creator? Then love your fellow beings first."

Read more here: » Prophet: The Prophet of Peace Revealed Islam