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Drive sales, build networks and learn by visiting Exhibitions and Trade shows

2012-02-05T10:53:00.001+04:00

Visitors attend our exhibitions for three key reasons; to source new products and drive sales, to meet new contacts and build networks, and to learn.

There are many ways of sourcing product and supplier information, but only exhibitions allow you to put a suppliers’ claims comprehensively to the test – by examining the products for yourself, questioning the manufacturers, and comparing and contrasting their performance.

But why do people attend Trade shows and exhibitions:

See what’s new
Exhibitions are a recognized launch-pad for new products, and an extremely time-efficient way to keep up to date with the latest innovations.

Evaluate products and suppliers
You can compile a wide range of competitive information on products and suppliers in a concentrated period of time.

Keep abreast of industry and market developments
Exhibitions are a rich source of new ideas and applications and, as such, play an important role in strategic planning and business generation for companies.

To network/develop business contacts
Exhibitions are a focal point for industry, attracting a broad cross-section of representatives, from buyers and sellers, to trade associations and the media. A good platform for networking with potential suppliers and clients.

At the Trade show:

Don't leave your meetings to chance.
Before the Trade show, it's worth making contact with the key people you want to see, such as customers, prospects and suppliers.
Make arrangements to meet and ensure you have their mobile telephone number.
Do your own research before an event so you are well prepared for your meetings.
Take plenty of business cards and any literature you want to give out.

Source: Internet

Tips Compilation: (Biztips Team) : Anjuman e Najmi Tanzimiyah-2 - Div- Jameat Al Tujjar UAE
Pls email us at tujjaruae@gmail.com for any queries.

The fragrance always remains on the hand that gives the rose

2012-02-04T18:21:00.001+04:00

A person who is going through bereavement may simply be shattered by the array of disturbing feelings of intense sadness; denial, withdrawal, and guilt. These intense feelings play havoc inside them. Helping those who have just gone through the loss of someone close to them will call for your patience and sensitivity. One suggestion is to learn about grief and grieving. The more you know about it, the more you will be able to help them help themselves. Allowing others the freedom to discover their own grief path is a gift one can give - to oneself and to others. Remember: it takes a lot of energy - emotional, spiritual, mental and physical - to grieve. Keep that in mind when you visit or call.

Here are some suggestions to help someone who has lost a loved one:
"Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us every day."

Make a personal commitment to help the one grieving get through this journey. After a death, many friendships change or disintegrate. People don't know how to relate to the one who is grieving, or they get tired of being around someone who is sad. There is always a huge wave of support at the time of loss and for several days after but they will still be at this process six months from now and a year from now. Vow to see your friend or loved one through this, to be their anchor in their darkest hour. . It may be a good idea to get together with their other close friends and share some of the responsibility. So use your imagination. Anything you can do to help your friend will let them put more energy into healing, which is what they really need to do. You will need simply to be there with them as they experience what is probably the fiercest sadness and pain of their entire lives. Don't search for profound words or try to think of saying something meaningful. Your presence and doing the simplest tasks is the most helpful gesture of compassion. They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel . Be comfortable with tears – yours and other's - they can be a bond, an encouragement. If you don't know what to say, simply say 'I'm sorry.' The words are not important, but they convey a sense that you know and care.

Your willingness to listen can be a profound expression of friendship.If you are concerned with what not to say, consider relevant circumstances and avoid giving advice on either how the family should grieve or on why such tragedies occur. The family will want to know what you FEEL, NOT what you THINK. Please be sensitive to the experience of the person who has lost a loved one. They might be tender in age and may not have the experience in dealing with life's setbacks. Please support them through this period without being judgmental.

Just as despair can come to one only from other human beings, hope, too, can be given to one only by other human beings....

Be available and accepting . Avoid telling them what they feel or what they should do.
Express genuine sorrow
Silence is ok
Call or visit your friend frequently. Call and say "I called to see if you wanted to just chat for a while or talk. If you're not up for talking, I can call back later or in a day or two." Leave it up to your friend as to what they want to talk about, or if they want to talk at all.
LISTEN.
Call them just to check up and offer to visit, if they are not up to it at the time you call, don't take it personally, try again.
Don't expect the person to reach out to you. Many people say, "Call me if there is anything I can do." At this stage, the person who is grieving will be overwhelmed at the simple thought of picking up a phone. If you are close to this person, simply stop over and begin to help. Those who are grieving need this but don't think to ask. There are many people in the good times—but few that are there in life's darkest hour.Make suggestions and initiate contact with the bereaved.Don't let discomfort, fear, or uncertainty stand in the way of making contact and being a friend. Decide on a task you can help with and make the offer.
Please do not say "if there is anything I can do just let me know"
Please do say "I am available Day- Date- time for (the task). Use me.
Run errands to the grocery store, drug store, post office, dry cleaners – any trip that interrupts the daily schedule. Make a list of everything that needs to be done with the bereaved. This could include everything from financial matters to picking up laundry. Prioritize these by importance. Help the bereaved complete as many tasks as possible. If there are many responsibilities, find one or more additional friends to support you.
There's always work to do around the house . A little dusting, a load of laundry, making meals and cleaning up not only relieves your friend of the chores, but gives them company while they attend to some things.It is important for them to have their space and they do need time alone, but they also lack the emotional energy to structure their lives during the grieving process. Having someone in the house who takes over the details of running the home is so helpful as they sometimes can't even think of the things they need.
Determine when close support system will begin ending and plan to intervene for continued support.
Offer your car with the driver for one day if only for ziyarat.
Offer to do business/tax preparations, legal services, etc.
Offer to drive the one who is grieving to appointments. When emotions are compromised, being alone in public places can be frightening. The presence of someone is reassuring.
Help them do the hard things. The mountain of paperwork that erupts following a tragedy is overwhelming. Legal documents, policies, certificates, what have you, must all be accounted for and in order. Help as you are able and seek resources when they can't. It's this aspect that undermines the grief process and compromises time and energy.They may need to handle some legal issues that are difficult, or things related to the incidence of death may be too hard for them.
Your offer to walk through it with them is invaluable. There are a lot of things to do that come with the loss of a loved one.Prepare help sheets with appropriate information eg legal, financial, useful helplines, etc.

These are some suggestions from the lessons learned from the bereaved. Hope this will make the burden of grief easier to carry for those who are on this journey.

If something comes to life in others because of you, then you have made an approach to immortality.....

"Along the Road"
I walked a mile with Pleasure;
She chattered all the way.
But left me none the wiser
For all she had to say.
I walked a mile with Sorrow
And ne'er a word said she;
But oh, the things
I learned from her
When Sorro
walked with me!
-Robert Browning, Poet

Amte Syedna TUS
Alifyah Saifuddin

GANDHISM

2012-02-04T18:21:00.000+04:00

Dr. Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and founder of the M.K.Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence, in his June 9 lecture at the University of Puerto Rico, shared the following story:

I was 16 years old and living with my parents at the institute my grandfather had founded 18 miles outside of Durban, South Africa, in the middle of the sugar plantations.

One day, my father asked me to drive him to town for an all-day conference, and I jumped at the chance. Since I was going to town, my mother gave me a list of groceries she needed and, since I had all day in town, my father asked me to take care of several pending chores, such as getting the car serviced.

When I dropped my father off that morning, he said, "I will meet you here at 5:00 p.m., and we will go home together.".

After hurriedly completing my chores, I went straight to the nearest movie theatre. I got so engrossed in a John Wayne double-feature that I forgot the time. It was 5:30 before I remembered. By the time I ran to the garage and got the car and hurried to where my father was waiting for me, it was almost 6:00.

He anxiously asked me, "Why were you late?"

I was so ashamed of telling him I was watching a John Wayne western movie that I said, "The car wasn't ready, so I had to wait," not realizing that he had already called the garage.

When he caught me in the lie, he said: "There's something wrong in the way I brought you up that didn't give you the confidence to tell me the truth. In order to figure out where I went wrong with you, I'm going to walk home 18 miles and think about it."

So, dressed in his suit and dress shoes, he began to walk home in the dark on mostly unpaved, unlit roads.

I couldn't leave him, so for five-and-a-half hours I drove behind him, watching my father go through this agony for a stupid lie that I uttered. I decided then and there that I was never going to lie again. I often think about that episode and wonder, if he had punished me the way we punish our children, whether I would have learned a lesson at all.

I don't think so. I would have suffered the punishment and gone on doing the same thing. But this single non-violent action was so powerful that it is still as if it happened yesterday. That is the power of non-violence.

Silence is Golden

2012-02-04T16:07:00.003+04:00

There once was a farmer who discovered that he had lost his watch in the barn. It was no ordinary watch because it had sentimental value for him. After searching high and low among the hay for a long while, he gave up and enlisted the help of a group of children playing outside the barn.

He promised them that the person who found it would be rewarded. Hearing this, the children hurried inside the barn, went through and around the entire stack of hay but still could not find the watch.

Just when the farmer was about to give up looking for his watch, a little boy went up to him and asked to be given another chance.

The farmer looked at him and thought, "Why not? After all, this kid looks
sincere enough."

So the farmer sent the little boy back in the barn. After a while the little boy came out with the watch in his hand! The farmer was both happy and surprised and so he asked the boy how he succeeded where the rest had failed.

The boy replied, "I did nothing but sit on the ground and listen. In the silence, I heard the ticking of the watch and just looked for it in that direction."

Moral: A peaceful mind can think better than a worked up mind.
Allow a few minutes of silence to your mind every day, and see, how sharply it helps you to set your life the way you expect it to be...!

True silence brings answers to so many unanswered questions in life; Silence is golden.

Food Wastage Vs Hunger

2012-01-17T13:36:00.000+04:00

Forget the government, forget what others can and should do. Lets all do something on our own each of us. Today I went to Pizza Hut and waited on the side of a table as the waitress was cleaning it. Believe me there was enough left over to feed a 2 adults and a child the above count. Seriously, how can human beings be so cruel and waste food while it is the scarcest thing in the world today. A large number of human population is dying daily due to hunger.

I personally can't help myself feeling sad for this family, when I try to imagine some people suffering financially, so badly that they cannot even feed their child on a daily basis. People just give up when they start dying everyday due to the financial load.

Just think, the amount of leftover food that could be wasted and thrown away (by individuals and restaurants alike) in the a single city could feed hundreds of mouths, the same is there for every other city in the world.

Lets all pledge ourselves to help our fellow human beings with whatever we can.

Personally I have ever dreamed of starting some sort of a mission to collect all this food and start distributing it to the needy. Will indeed do it someday.

The Ghosts Book

2012-01-14T19:14:00.000+04:00

The Ghosts Book

A review of the Book called "Ghost Hunters: A guide to investigating the paranormal written by Yvette Fielding and Ciaran O'Keefe, the presenters of the "Most Haunted" show. The book was sent to Juzar Noorani, the Hikmah Blog author by thebookshelter.ae, a wonderful initiative by two Emarati Women.

Update: This blog has been shifted to hikmah.ekhwan.com

Youth is the gift of nature, but age is a work of art

2011-11-10T08:47:00.000+04:00

Youth is the gift of nature, but age is a work of art

This blog has moved

2010-07-07T23:04:00.000+04:00

This blog is now located at http://hikmah.ekhwan.com

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Online Marketing

2010-06-05T19:45:00.000+04:00

There is tons of information out there about online marketing. Although all this being available the average business does not know how to use and tap into its unlimited potential. I have been thinking to use my vast and years of experience to help Mumineen businesses grow and thrive.

Today everything that shows up on either google, yahoo or the newest face bing is what bags the most customers. All you need to know is the right way. Thats what people who have walked the road are.

The road not taken is bitter and bites to the last extent therefore if you do not have the dare to walk that road follow those who have taken the initiative to pave the road for you.

Those who are really interested in getting valuable inputs can pay the price of getting such valuable information that comes with several falls and stand-ups.

Keys to Financial Success

2010-06-03T06:52:00.000+04:00

Althoughmaking resolutions to improve your financial situation is a good thingto do at any time of year, many people find it easier at the beginningof a new year. Regardless of when you begin, the basics remain thesame. Here are my top ten keys to getting ahead financially.

1. Get Paid What You're Worth and Spend Less Than You Earn

Itsounds simplistic, but many people struggle with this first basic rule.Make sure you know what your job is worth in the marketplace, byconducting an evaluation of your skills, productivity, job tasks,contribution to the company, and the going rate, both inside andoutside the company, for what you do. Being underpaid even a thousanddollars a year can have a significant cumulative effect over the courseof your working life.

No matter how much or how little you'repaid, you'll never get ahead if you spend more than you earn. Oftenit's easier to spend less than it is to earn more, and a littlecost-cutting effort in a number of areas can result in big savings. Itdoesn't always have to involve making big sacrifices.

2. Stick to a Budget

Oneof my favorite subjects: budgeting. It's not a four-letter word. Howcan you know where your money is going if you don't budget? How can youset spending and saving goals if you don't know where your money isgoing? You need a budget whether you make thousands or hundreds ofthousands of dollars a year.

3. Pay Off Credit Card Debt

Creditcard debt is the number one obstacle to getting ahead financially.Those little pieces of plastic are so easy to use, and it's so easy toforget that it's real money we're dealing with when we whip them out topay for a purchase, large or small. Despite our good resolves to paythe balance off quickly, the reality is that we often don't, and end uppaying far more for things than we would have paid if we had used cash.

4. Contribute to a Retirement Plan

Ifyour employer has a 401(k) plan and you don't contribute to it, you'rewalking away from one of the best deals out there. Ask your employer ifthey have a 401(k) plan (or similar plan), and sign up today. If you'realready contributing, try to increase your contribution. If youremployer doesn't offer a retirement plan, consider an IRA.

5. Have a Savings Plan

You'veheard it before: Pay yourself first! If you wait until you've met allyour other financial obligations before seeing what's left over forsaving, chances are you'll never have a healthy savings account orinvestments. Resolve to set aside a minimum of 5% to 10% of your salaryfor savings BEFORE you start paying your bills. Better yet, have moneyautomatically deducted from your paycheck and deposited into a separateaccount.

6. Invest!

Ifyou're contributing to a retirement plan and a savings account and youcan still manage to put some money into other investments, all thebetter.

7. Maximize Your Employment Benefits

Employmentbenefits like a 401(k) plan, flexible spending accounts, medical anddental insurance, etc., are worth big bucks. Make sure you'remaximizing yours and taking advantage of the ones that can save youmoney by reducing taxes or out-of-pocket expenses.

8. Review Your Insurance Coverages

Toomany people are talked into paying too much for life and disabilityinsurance, whether it's by adding these coverages to car loans, buyingwhole-life insurance policies when term-life makes more sense, orbuying life insurance when you have no dependents. On the other hand,it's important that you have enough insurance to protect yourdependents and your income in the case of death or disability.

9. Update Your Will

70%of Americans don't have a will. If you have dependents, no matter howlittle or how much you own, you need a will. If your situation isn'ttoo complicated you can even do your own with software like WillMakerfrom Nolo Press. Protect your loved ones. Write a will.

10. Keep Good Records

Ifyou don't keep good records, you're probably not claiming all yourallowable income tax deductions and credits. Set up a system now anduse it all year. It's much easier than scrambling to find everything attax time, only to miss items that might have saved you money.

Reality Check

Howare you doing on the top ten list? If you're not doing at least six ofthe ten, resolve to make improvements. Choose one area at a time andset a goal for incorporating all ten into your lifestyle.

Festival of Generators? - Khaleej Times

2010-05-31T21:23:00.001+04:00

After its successful launch last year, the ‘Sharjah generator festival’ is back. The industry is booming, thanks to SEWA.

Jokes apart, as a resident of the UAE since the past 15 years, I have never heard of electricity cuts here. But it has happened and there seems to be no respite.

Electricity cuts have become the norm in the emirate. The disruption goes on for hours together, day and night, without warning.

The UAE is considered a developed country and is often compared to countries like UK, USA and France. The country helps other countries in need. Top sports clubs and buildings the world over are being bought by people from the UAE.

Can somebody be generous enough to sponsor/buy SEWA? - Mohamad, Sharjah

Financial Goals

2010-05-30T21:10:00.000+04:00

Itis perhaps more important to ignore the stock market experts of todaythan what Aristotle did several thousand years ago refuting the 'worldis flat' experts.

I don't think it matters whether the earth isflat or round but what matters individually for most of us is theability to go to work every morning, meet deadlines, educate our kids,grow in our careers and contribute our bit to the society.

And somewhere in our busy schedule and life is the task of making smart and informed choices about one's money.

Andit does seem tough to make informed choices with a plethora of options,products, tax laws, market volatility and no time to study orunderstand the personal finance space.

And on top of that there is the information overload from product companies, newspapers, magazines and the internet.

Theinformation overload can be extremely overwhelming at times. It cantake away your focus from the critical but important decisions aboutyour financial goals.

That's why it's important to focus a little on key principles of financial planning.

Thesuccess of any activity including investment strategy depends on howyou focus on the right things and ignore things that do not matter.

Thefact of the matter is no one has seen the future and analysts andexperts can at best give you educated opinion or pure guesses. Themedia presenting these answers like facts further compounds theconfusion of investors.

Why don't these technical analysts or market gurus don't eat their own pudding?

When they give their mandatory disclosures at the end of the show they say, "Well, I have no exposure in the stock".

(Anyanalyst expressing her/his views on any stock/s on television orwriting for newspapers has to inform the viewers/readers if s/he orher/his company owns the stock or has advised their clients to buy orsell the stock/s discussed; this is called as a disclosure and has beenmade mandatory by the market regulator the Securities and ExchangeBoard of India, SEBI).

If the stocks were so lucrative, why arepeople busy giving stock tips rather than buying it. If you knew forsure that the share of company A is going to double in the next fewmonths, what would you do?

I am sure majority would beg,borrow or steal to get a piece of it. But what does the person inquestion do here "goes on television and tells everyone how to do itbut himself stays out of it".

What should one then focus on?One should focus on trying to find answers to the questions mentionedbelow. It is only these answers that will help you achieve yourfinancial goals.

Here are the 8 Key Questions you must ask yourself

*How much should I save to achieve my financial goals?

*What returns do I need to earn on my investments?

*How much should I allocate to equity, debt, real estate, cash, gold and art?

*How often should I change my allocation to stocks, bonds and cash?

*How much insurance should I have?

*What are the risks that my family and me are exposed to?

*How should I maximise my post tax returns rather than investing for the sake of minimizing taxes?

*How would my wealth be transferred to my wife, children, parents or any of my nominee should something happen to me?

Gettingthe answers to the above is the key solution to your financial needs. Iam sure each one of you will have a different answer to the questionsposed above.

The decision of identifying the vehicles (stocks, insurance, mutual fund, real estate, gold etc) comes next.

F.Scott Fitzgerald once said "Genius is the ability to put into effectwhat is in your mind" and this principle is as true today as it wasages ago.

Success

2010-05-30T21:09:00.000+04:00

A young man asked Socrates the secret of Success. Socrates told the young man to meet him near the river the next morning. They met.

Socrates asked the young man to walk with him towards the river.

When the water got up to their neck, Socrates took the young man by surprise and ducked him into the water. The man struggled to get out but Socrates was strong and kept him there until he started turning blue.

The young man struggled hard and finally managed to get out and the first thing he did was to gasp and take deep breath. Socrates asked 'What you wanted the most when you were there?' The man replied 'Air'.

Socrates said 'that's the secret to success. When you want success as badly as you wanted air, you will get it. There is no other secret.

Money, Money and Money

2010-05-28T19:04:00.001+04:00

Money is just a commodity for some and for some it is oxygen. People all over the world crave for what only a very minute percentage of the entire world population owns.

Who says money cannot buy happiness. It can, if you know where to shop for it. Should we then start for desiring money, I guess not. We should desire the purchasing power that money has, that's what we should look for. At times the purchasing power is also bestowed in other neglected things. So look for the power that comes with money.

How to identify and deal with backstabbers at work

2010-05-18T20:00:00.000+04:00

Backstabbing at workplace certainly devastates individuals, especially when a person doesn't know ho to deal with it. Now, career guru Kepcher has offered some advice on how to identify and cope with backstabbers at workplace.

Credit Stealer

Seemingly helpful team player who will enthusiastically support your suggestions and work to make the project a big success - particularly because she intends to take credit.

This will include magnifying her own role, using personal pronouns such as 'I' and 'me' as substitutes for "we" whenever possible.

The Chameleon

He, too, will appear to be a helpful team player, offering encouragement and support in private.

However, the chameleon will launch into his command performance whenever bosses are present and criticize ideas he supported some time back, including subtly accusing his peers of failing to notice the problems.

His every move is an effort to make himself look good - by making others look bad.

Backstabber In Chief

Occasionally, the Backstabber will also be the boss. Sigourney Weaver nailed this role in the movie "Working Girl."

The most encouraging boss imaginable will steal the assistant's potentially career-making idea.

How to handle all kinds of backstabbers at your office, by Kepcher, reports the New York Daily News:

Stay calm. Do not let them make you emotional and defensive.

Don't wander through the jungle alone. Beware of private conversations that can be misquoted later. Use e-mail and group meetings to document your contributions.

Be polite, but persistent. Learn to say no.

Use direct phrases such as, "I'm perplexed you have so many negative comments about our idea since you were so supportive when we spoke privately yesterday. Is there a reason you didn't bring up your concerns until now?"

By being direct and careful, you can help push the Backstabber species in your workplace to extinction as quickly as possible.

The Common Sense Appoach To Debt Management

2010-05-13T23:08:00.000+04:00

The first thoughts of most people who find themselves deep in debt, include those of how to begin getting out of it.

Whatmay be a natural urge, is stopped short by the failure on the part ofmany to go into deeper detail on their plans. When this sort of plan isused you could end up making this same mistake again and again. When itis not your intent to make this a life pattern for you, your plans fordebt consolidation have to encompass a great number of items.

Anyway to pay the bills they can come up with, that will help keep thecollectors away is what many people gravitate toward. This is what isnecessary, but you have to wonder if these people took the time to findout which course of action would work out the best for them.

Intoo many cases, there is fast run to the bank or to an online lendingwebsite to obtain a loan which may only be a quick fix for a biggerproblem. The lender tells them exactly how much they can borrow andthey take that amount without question, whether the loan is a paydayloan, a home equity loan or a personal loan.

Many people havelearned by misfortunate circumstances that loans do come with a pricetag attached and the lender's advice on borrowing more to get a biggerhouse is backfiring on them. Not anyone could have been able to foreseehow things would turn out to be now, but it is always best to applycommon sense. It is more risky for the borrower than the lender whenyou borrow more than you can afford in the hope of being able to affordit later.

Education should always be a part of a solid debtconsolidation program. Time must be spent in finding what really worksbest for you, not just anything that works. It also must involvecorrection of bad spending habits, or that individual will beestablishing for himself or herself a bad pattern for life.

Youmust make some changes in the way you are spending your money eachmonth, when you continue to purchase on credit . It becomes all tooeasy to look at how much more money can be charged, rather than askingyourself if you have spent your budgeted amount for the month yet.

Alife pattern can be a good pattern, however these good patterns alsomust have a beginning step. It may be a good idea to get educated onwiser money management and ways to help you save more money, as you arepreparing to consolidate your debt.

We most likely can takethe same amount of time and energy to establish good spending habitsand patterns for life as it takes to establish those bad ones. Yourfuture can begin to look a little brighter for you and those you loveafter you have done this.

15 Common Financial Problems

2010-05-13T22:50:00.003+04:00

When it comes to psychology and financial behaviour, India does nothave too much of research papers. Hence we are forced to turn to the USor UK for such research work.

US studies have summarised financial problems and have found the following to be the most common of financial problems:

~ Not planning: Thesingle biggest problem for most people is that they just do not plantheir finances. It just keeps coming and going. Even if they are nothappy about the results of what they have done so far, they do notchange the way things are done.

~ Overspending:Many people with not very high incomes have very high ambitions. Thisis likely to get them to grief. Most of this problem is because thesalesmen in most shops do not tell you the price of a product, theyonly tell you the EMI -- so anything from a plasma TV to a luxury homeon the outskirts of the city are made to look cheap! After all at Rs2,899 a month does a plasma TV not look cheap?

~ Not talking finance at home:Children are kept away from the finance topics at the dining table.Finance is perhaps the second most taboo topic at home! So manychildren grow up without knowing how much of sacrifice their parentshave gone through to educate them.

~ Parents spending on education and marriage:There are just too many kids out there who believe that they need toworry about savings, investment and life insurance only at the age of32 plus. This means your father, father in-law or a loan has funded your education and marriage. Kids should take onfinancial responsibility at a much younger age than what is happeningcurrently.

~ Marriage between financially incompatible people: Mostmarriages under stress are actually under financial stress. Either thehusband or the wife is from a rich background and the other partnercannot understand or cope with the spending pattern. It is necessary tomatch people financially before marriage.

~ Delaying saving for retirement:"I am only 27 years old why should I think of retirement" seems to be avery valid refrain for many 32 year olds! Every year that you delay ininvesting the greater the amount that you will have to save later inyour life. Till the age of32 it might be feasible for you to catch up, but after some time theamount that you need to save for retirement just flies away.

~ Not prepared for medical emergencies:Normally big emergencies -- financially speaking -- are medicalemergencies. Being unprepared for them -- by not having an emergencyfund is quite common. Emergency fund has now come to mean the creditcard -- which is good news for the bank, not for the borrower.

~ Lack of asset allocation:Risk is not a new concept. However, it is a difficult concept tounderstand. For example when the Sensex was 3k there was much less riskin the equity markets than there is today. However at 3k index peoplewere afraid of the market. Now everybody and his aunt wants to be inthe equity market -- and there are enough advisors who keep saying,"Equity returns are superior to debt returns." This is true with arider -- in the long run. It is convenient for the relationship managerto forget the rider. So there could be a much larger allocation toequity at higher prices -- to make for the time missed out earlier.

~ Falling prey to financial pitches:The quality of pitches has improved! Aggressive young kids arerecruited by brokerage houses, banks, mutual funds, life insurancecompanies, etc. and all these kids are selling mutual funds, lifeinsurance, portfolio management schemes, structured products, et al.Selling to their kith and kin helps these kids keep their jobs, andthere is happiness all around! These kids, themselves prey to financialpitches, have now made it an art when they are selling to their ownnatural 'circle of friends' and relatives.

~ Buying financial products from 'obligated persons':This is perhaps one of the worst things you can do in your financiallife. A friend, relative, neighbor, colleague who has been doingsomething else suddenly becomes a financial guru because they havebecome an agent! They, in great enthusiasm, sell you a financialproduct and promptly in 2 years time give up this 'business' because itis too difficult. You are saddled with a dud product for life! What apity. Charity begins at home, not financial planning.

~ Financial illiteracy: Mostpeople do not wish to know or learn about financial products. Theysimply ask, "Where do I have to sign" -- so buying a mutual fund iseasier than buying life insurance! Selecting products based on the easeand simplicity of buying is a shocking but true real life experience inthe financial behaviour of the rational human being!

~ Ignoring small numbers for too long:What difference will it make if I save Rs 1,000 a month? Well over along period it could make you a millionaire! So start early and investwisely. It will make you rich. That is the power of compounding.

~ Urgent vs important:Most expenses, which look urgent, are perhaps not so important -- theshirt or shoe at a sale. That luxury item which was being offered at 30per cent discount is such an example. These small leakages are allreducing the amount of money you will have for the bigger things likeeducation or retirement.

~ Focusing too much on money: Money is no longer a commodity to buy things. It is a scorecard of one's life. Thatwill cause stress, and yoga might help. However if you will seek abranded yoga teacher -- so that your friends think you have arrived,yoga it self could cause financial stress! (Sounds wierd but verytrue.)

7 Common Investor Mistakes

2010-05-13T22:41:00.000+04:00

There are seven common mistakes made repeatedly by investors.Unfortunately, investors have been making these same mistakes since thedawn of modern markets and will likely be repeating them for years tocome.

You can significantly boost your chances of investmentsuccess by becoming aware of these typical errors and taking steps toavoid them. In this article, we'll show you these seven mistakes andhow to avoid them.

No plan

As the old saying goes, if you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there. Solution?

Have a personal investment plan or policy that addresses the following:

Goals and objectives- Find out what you're trying to accomplish. Accumulating $100,000 fora child's college education or $2 million for retirement at age 60 areappropriate goals. Beating the market is not a goal.

Risks - Whatrisks are relevant to you or your portfolio? If you are a 30-year-oldsaving for retirement, volatility isn't (or shouldn't be) a meaningfulrisk.

On the other hand, inflation - which erodes any long-term portfolio - is a significant risk.

Appropriate benchmarks - How will you measure the success of your portfolio, its asset classes and individual funds or managers?

Asset allocation- What percentage of your total portfolio will you allocate to USequities, international stocks, US bonds, high-yield bonds, etc. Yourasset allocation should accomplish your goals while addressing relevantrisks.

Diversification- Allocating to different asset classes is the initial layer ofdiversification. You then need to diversify within each asset class. InU.S. stocks, for example, this means exposure to large-, mid- andsmall-cap stocks.

Your written plan's guidelines will help youadhere to a sound long-term policy even when current market conditionsare unsettling. Having a good plan and sticking to it is not nearly asexciting or as much fun as trying to time the markets, but it willlikely be more profitable in the long term.

Too short of a time horizon

Ifyou are saving for retirement 30 years hence, what the stock marketdoes this year or next shouldn't be the biggest concern. Even if youare just entering retirement at age 70, your life expectancy is likely15 to 20 years! If you expect to leave some assets to your heirs, thenyour time horizon is even longer.

Of course, if you are savingfor your daughter's college education and she's a junior in highschool, then your time horizon is appropriately short and your assetallocation should reflect that fact. Most investors are too focused onthe short term.

Too much attention given to financial media

Thereis almost nothing on financial news shows that can help you achieveyour goals. Turn them off. There are few newsletters that can provideyou with anything of value. Even if there were, how do you identifythem in advance?

Think about it - if anyone really hadprofitable stock tips, trading advice or a secret formula to make bigbucks, would they blab it on TV or sell it to you for $49 per month? No- they'd keep their mouth shut, make their millions and not have tosell a newsletter to make a living.

Solution? Spend less timewatching financial shows on TV and reading newsletters. Spend more timecreating - and sticking to - your investment plan.

Not rebalancing

Rebalancingis the process of returning your portfolio to its target assetallocation as outlined in your investment plan. Rebalancing isdifficult because it forces you to sell the asset class that isperforming well and buy more of your worst performing asset classes.This contrarian action is very difficult for many investors.

Inaddition, rebalancing is unprofitable right up to that point where itpays off spectacularly (think US equities in the late 1990s), and theunderperforming assets start to take off.

However, a portfolioallowed to drift with market returns guarantees that asset classes willbe overweighted at market peaks and underweighted at market lows - aformula for poor performance.

Solution? Rebalance religiously and reap the long-term rewards.

Overconfidence in the ability of managers

Fromnumerous studies, including Burton Malkiel's 1995 study entitled,"Returns From Investing In Equity Mutual Funds", we know that mostmanagers will underperform their benchmarks. We also know that there'sno consistent way to select - in advance - those managers that willoutperform. We also know that very, very few individuals can profitablytime the market over the long term. So why are so many investorsconfident of their abilities to time the market and selectoutperforming managers?

Fidelity guru Peter Lynch once observed,"There are no market timers in the 'Forbes' 400'." Investors' misplacedoverconfidence in their ability to market-time and select outperformingmanagers leads directly to our next common investment mistake.

Not enough indexing

Thereis not enough time to recite many of the studies that prove that mostmanagers and mutual funds underperform their benchmarks. Over thelong-term, low-cost index funds are typically upper second-quartileperformers, or better than 65-75% of actively managed funds.

Despiteall the evidence in favor of indexing, the desire to invest with activemanagers remains strong. John Bogle, the founder of Vanguard, says it'sbecause, "Hope springs eternal. Indexing is sort of dull. It flies inthe face of the American way [that] 'I can do better.'" Solution?

Indexall or a large portion (70-80%) of all your traditional asset classes.If you can't resist the excitement of pursuing the next greatperformer, set aside a portion (20-30%) of each asset class to allocateto active managers. This may satisfy your desire to pursueoutperformance without devastating your portfolio.

Chasing performance

Manyinvestors select asset classes, strategies, managers and funds based onrecent strong performance. The feeling that "I'm missing out on greatreturns" has probably led to more bad investment decisions than anyother single factor.

If a particular asset class, strategy orfund has done extremely well for three or four years, we know one thingwith certainty: we should have invested three or four years ago. Now,however, the particular cycle that led to this great performance may benearing its end.

The smart money is moving out and the dumbmoney is pouring in. Solution? Don't be dumb. Stick with yourinvestment plan and rebalance, which is the polar opposite of chasingperformance.

Conclusion

Investors who recognise and avoidthese seven common mistakes give themselves a great advantage inmeeting their investment goals. Most of the solutions above are notexciting and they don't make great cocktail party conversation.However, they are likely to be profitable. And isn't that why we reallyinvest?

An important message......!

2010-05-12T23:26:00.001+04:00

Mohammed (SAW)

2010-05-12T16:21:00.001+04:00

Mohammed, The Prophet of Islam

Tax Free Economy

2010-05-12T09:48:00.000+04:00

With a population of around 7 Million the Emirates ID is another compulsion on every resident of the UAE be it a Citizen or an expat. The Emirates ID card is a great means for collecting data that can help the authorities tackle issues related to crime, identity and much more though it would also incur a risk of privacy breaching but it can be acceptable if its used wisely and securely for the betterment of the society.

However, the Emirates ID comes with an Yearly fee of 100 AED which would accumulate to approximately 700 Million AED that would equal around 200 Million USD and they say that the country is Tax free.

Attitude

2010-05-10T00:49:00.000+04:00

This is attitude

IF AN EGG IS BROKEN BY AN OUTSIDE FORCE..A LIFE ENDS.
IF AN EGG BREAKS FROM WITHIN...... .LIFE BEGINS.
GREAT THINGS ALWAYS BEGIN FROM WITHIN.

This is attitude

IT'S BETTER TO LOSE YOUR
EGO TO THE ONE YOU LOVE.
THAN TO LOSE THE ONE YOU
LOVE ....... BECAUSE OF EGO

This is attitude

WHY WE HAVE SO MANY TEMPLES, IF GOD IS EVERYWHERE?
A WISE MAN SAID: AIR IS EVERYWHERE, BUT WE STILL NEED.
A FAN TO FEEL IT.

This is attitude

WHEN YOU TRUST SOMEONE TRUST HIM COMPLETELY
WITHOUT
ANY DOUBT....... AT THE END YOU WOULD GET ONE OF THE TWO:
EITHER A LESSON FOR YOUR LIFE OR A VERY GOOD PERSON.

This is attitude

LIFE IS NOT ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO ACT TRUE TO YOUR FACE ........
IT'S ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO REMAIN TRUE BEHIND YOUR BACK

This is attitude

SOLDIER: SIR WE ARE SURROUNDED FROM ALL SIDES BY ENEMIES,
MAJOR: EXCELLENT! WE CAN ATTACK IN ANY DIRECTION.

This is attitude

THE WORST IN LIFE IS "ATTACHMENT " IT HURTS
WHEN YOU LOSE IT. THE BEST THING IN LIFE IS "LONELINESS"
BECAUSE IT TEACHES YOU EVERYTHING AND, WHEN
YOU LOSE IT, YOU GET EVERYTHING.

This is attitude

"You never conquer a mountain. You stand on the summit a few moments;
Then the wind blows your footprints away."
-Arlene Blum

This is attitude

The greatest waste in the world is the difference
Between what we are and what we could become.
-Ben Herbste

NOBODY'S FRIEND

2010-05-06T14:03:00.000+04:00

My name is Gossip. I have no respect for justice
I maim without killing. I break hearts and ruin lives.
I am cunning and malicious and gather strength with age.
The more I am quoted the more I am believed.

My victims are helpless.
They cannot protect themselves against me because I have no name and no face.
To trap me down is impossible.
The harder you try, the more elusive I become.

I am nobody’s friend.
Once I tarnish a reputation, it is never the same.
I topple governments and wreck marriages.
I ruin careers and cause sleepless nights, heartaches and indigestion.

I make innocent people cry in their pillows.
Even my name hisses. I am called Gossip.
I make headlines and headaches.
Before you repeat a story, ask yourself:

Is it true? Is it harmless? Is it necessary?

Would I Lie to You (Gossip Girl, No. 10)

Lets all attain Aqa Maula(TUS) Khushi Mubarak by avoiding Geebat (Gossip) and building Geebat Free Zones in our homes, our workplace, our community.

Hussain Noman
Kuwait

Avatar - The Human Being

2010-04-28T09:19:00.001+04:00

Time and time wait for no one, not even those who have the power of pen which has been always thought to be superior over the sword. I wonder most of the time that does the saying have any sense in it, if it were so then humanity would have been saved from war throughout the history of mankind.

Thoughts are vague and hasty feelings that wave the human mind all the time but just as the waves disappear on shore most of these airy creatures vanish in the blues. Its easy for everyone to say that if you have a nice thought or idea just scribble it on your log book or notepad but then this is again as writing on the beach over the sand which gets washed away with another wave.

Did the writer of the Pandora Language in Avatar ever think her book would be of interest to humans. I wonder if people ever read your penned thoughts and get the full out of it any ways since the words penned are often thoughts reduced to writing.

If you have seen the movie and its a great one, which I think is not for the Pandora but its really for the Mother Earth. Nature nurtures every human soul apart from the gifts it gives to the body but does the human race understand its value. Just as the humans on Pandora wanted the immediate profits and materialistic gains that the planet had to offer so do we from the mother earth.

The movie's script writer must be thinking of conveying the message about our savage nature towards mother nature in destroying every bit of it. If we are not to preserve the earth, the generations to come will hear the cry and witness the tears of a mother who has given birth to its very destroyer. It is not that the Pandora was living and every soul on it was tied to it, it is the mother earth that has the strength of integrity and the sense to understand and full fill the needs of its dwellers, but not their greed, and it has each soul attached to it like a closely knit blanket.

Lets not waste ourselves and understand the story beyond the Pandora Island and take on the Avatar of true humans and bring humanity to life. Lets all recycle and return what we use in decency to mother nature. Lets remember that waste is not a waste until its wasted.

Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin TUS has established the Burhani Foundation for the preservation of nature and service towards the mother earth. It helps in planting trees and promoting greenery especially within communities. May Allah Subhanahu grant him a long life. Ameen

Ziyafat Sharaf in Mandvi

2010-03-31T18:59:00.002+04:00

واما بنعمة ربك فحدث

Huzurala (TUS) granted sharaf of Ziyafat to Sh Yusuf bhai Noorani and Family on the 10th of March at Mandvi. Huzurala (TUS) inquired about the itr and then asked for it, my father received the sharaf of giving the Rose itr to Huzurala (TUS).

Dr. Tahir Sh Yusuf bhai's Nikah with daughter of Sh Qurban Husain.

Huzurala TUS inquired "Aa kon che?", then again, "Kon che aa?" Taha bs replied dikra che and Shareqah ma Madresa ma parhawe che ane bawaji saathe vepaar kare che.

Maula aapni Khidmat hamesha karto rahu...."Khuda barakat aape" was the reply.
Qadambosi kidi, bija qadam chuma to qadam matha per muki qadmo ma wasawi leedo. al Hamdolillahe was shukru le waliyehi.

Mohammed Noorani

Aliasger Noorani and Fatema Aliasger

National Security

2010-03-02T20:35:00.002+04:00

Every country is concerned about its national security and it is not only what holds its integrity but its very existence. In times of adversities and threats from fanatics, who hold no existence in themselves, in fact are like children creating their tantrums just to pursue world attention, should a nation look at every citizen with an eye of doubt and question their patriotism? The fanatics who are not humans in any kind are not only a threat to any nation in particular but to the entire mankind as they prey on humans for quenching their savage thirst of highly craved popularity and egoism. We cannot justify any nation undermining the basic rights and their stance of patriotism in light of national security threats posed by animals like these.
In fact any nation is in high need of securing the trust of its countrymen to ensure that these lunatics are kept a watch on.
No one can read the human mind but there are always ways to people's hearts and also learn their authenticity.
The indo-pak issue is can be solved by the citizens of both countries and not by talks of politicians who have always projected their concerns to each other on a different platform.
The Government of Pakistan should ask itself and understand that it is a target to the savages that pose a threat to mankind and its people are in need of security just as the human beings of India.
Having always look at the Indo-Pak issue as an onlooker I have always thought that do the majority of people in both countries really care about the Kashmir issue or not. I think a common man care nothing but about his stomach and his family. Why so people call mother land, because it feeds you and cares for you, and that care results to love and patriotism.
Ask any person on Earth in his senses and he will curse the people who are making this world an insecure place and instead of peace of mind, soul and body; creating threats and panic. No one likes a life of this kind.
May Allah bless the Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin (TUS) the "Ambassador of Peace" a long life whose duas have created secured nations for Mumineen worldwide and whose wishes are for all beings to live in harmony in this world. Ameen

Making a difference

2010-02-22T00:20:00.006+04:00

History has known the people who have spent their lives behind ideas that have become realities of today and it has taken years to bring those thoughts to shape. It was their initiative, but the world seldom remembers those who have influenced the lives of others by thinking differently.
Years of dedication and thinking have brought to life an idea that I had envisioned and though poeple are happy with it I have rarely felt that joy. Any how I do feel very lucky and grateful to my Maula (TUS) whose duas have materialized my virtual dreams into reality and there is much more to do. I feel his eyes looking at me as I write this log. May Allah bless our beloved Maula (TUS) with the pink of health.

Raigarh Ashara 1431

2010-01-01T22:56:00.002+04:00

It was almost 3 hours before the Pehli Raat that I got the Taqleed Mubarak and it was very far off. RAIGARH in Chhattisgarh is 2 hours by train from Bilaspur. The nearest International Airport is Nagpur. Immediately after booking the ticket which had a 60+ waiting list I lost hope for a confirm ticket but I had to make it and travel was of 26 hours from Mumbai. I did manage to get through to RAC and the journey was quite easy. 15 families and a total of 72 Mumineen including children it was a very small place in terms of a moze but I had to do what I had to. A lot of things did need a close look and I think it must have been my fate to be there to resolve certain issues and matters.
Looking back at the last day of my visit I feel satisfied of the number of things that were accomplished in such a sort trip. Issues of Madrasa, afternoon niyaz which will be done by a family for now on for 3 years, Iftar during Shehrullah will be done by a Mumin for 3 years. I feel satisfied if all goes well. The rest is all just not to be remembered.
The sharaf of praying on the takht of Daiz Zaman on the day of Ashura by his raza is so enormous that one cannot account for it, may Allah fullfil our wishes to serve His Dai and grant him a long life. Ameen

Photography and Cameras

2009-12-03T00:05:00.005+04:00

Photography is an art just like any other. A paint brush in the hands of a child does not create marvels and neither does a novice understand the true depth of a painting that might get sold for a 100K and might think it as a waste of money. Photography used to be a pretty expensive hobby and I remember my first camera at the age of 12 used to cost somewhere around a 4 MP digicam nowadays and the cost of its photo processing was far more then todays so called children in the field would afford.

With cameras growing cheaper nowadays and the pixel rate of the digicam rising upto 15 Mp and even more it is not surprising that every other person today acts like a photographer. With the DSLR in fashion today and the ease at which any other person would afford it, the amateurs just pretend to be Pros.

Point to shoot and DSLRs, there are several places where you could easily find the differences of both and their pros and cons, google is your best friend I would say. The DSLR is not for fashion or for show biz its a real pro's game tool and ammo. Some one said that most of the cat walkers on the ramp don't even know what DSLR stands for!!!

I have seen people just shoot and keep shooting without focus or without any meaning. When one acts like a pro photographer one should choose before releasing the shutter. If for example one is trying to capture a majlis scene you should take care of the proper poses and postures of all those who will be seen in the picture, not that someone is touching the bread or standing for raza or so on. Its the timing that matters and the entire pictures that matters not just the focus point of the picture. Also if you are not aware with handling the DSLR then you are sure to land into a bad situation.

Here are a few links for all those who have bought a huge canon to shoot wit:

1) DSLR Tips

2) Photography Guide

3) 20 DSLR Photography Skills

4) 10 DSLR Tips

5) Top Ten DSLR Cam Review

6) Camera Buying Guide

7) A nice Digital SLR guide

Out on the Next day of Eid al-Adha

2009-11-29T19:32:00.006+04:00

Photos by Mohammed (First Digital Shoots him with a FujiFilm Digicam)

Family Pics on the Mamzar Beach

Memoir of the KUN Safar

2009-11-15T23:46:00.004+04:00

Where thousands of eyes starred, just watching the way to karbala that their naseeb lead them to the land which prides itself on the heavens, only a few hundred were blessed with the opportunity to be present on the hill of heaven with the Dai of Imam Husain (AS) although no Mumin was left from availing the barakaat of observing the moments that filled the eyes with tears, the heart with joy of dua being heard and wishes being fulfilled as Mumineen worldwide watched the live relay of the ziyarat of Amirul Mumineen (AS) and his beloved son Imam Husain (AS) done by Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin Aqa (TUS).

تضع الاملاك طرا حيث يمشون الجباها

Mala’ekat lay their foreheads on the land on which these pious souls of Aimmat Tahireen AS and Duat Kram AS walk. Why not then Mumineen lay their eyes on this pathway.

The word Kun is taken from the Quran which denotes Allah's command to His creation, "Kun Fayakoon", Be and it happens. Here the word was derived from the alphabets Kaaf of Karbala and Noon of Najaf, making the word KUN. Indeed the safar was a KUN for many who were waiting for their number to be called for the pious trip and once they got the raza it was a KUN. Things started happening and soon they were in Hazrat Aliyah, wondering if it was the Hazarat of Amirul Mumineen (AS) or of Imam Husain (AS) or was it Molana Ali Zainul Abideen (AS) narrating the incident of Karbala or if it was Molatena Zainab describing what she had witnessed with her own eyes.

It may be too much if I were to write my personal experiences but to mention the nemat is a part of shukr. I was at the last wajebaat bethak held in Mumbai and that too on a short notice of a few hours. Huzurala (TUS) was to depart to Karbala in 2 days and here I was wishing to be there in Khidmat throughout the safar. All seemed to be a dream as I was sure I could not even be there in a round of Mumineen who were supposed to be there. Right from the time Huzurala (TUS) arrived in the bethak I was just doing dua and nothing more wishing to be in Karbala but then asking from within that Maula (TUS) please remember us in Ziyarat. Following the Qadambosi which I have no memory except that some Bhai Saheb was trying to ask me something which I could not reply to. I did araz in khidmat of Shz Saheb that I had this ummeed of going to Karbala. At that time I thought it would never happen and I tried to calm myself down. In a few hours from then, suddenly, I got a call from the Jamaat office that you have to register immediately and make the payment. It was a KUN.

The day arrived, it was the 1st of Zil Qad and a feeling of sadness was there within that we would miss the Qadambosi bethak. It is still a dream that we were at Najaf Airport at maghrib time and no sooner we found ourselves in the last queue of qadambosi. Shz Sahebs DM were told by the guards that these Mumineen have just arrived directly from the Airport, all of us were reciting salawat and niyat of Nazrul Maqam (AS). It all happened so quickly that suddenly I found myself in front of Maula (TUS) speechless. In fact after doing qadambosi I sat down right in front of the chair, don’t know why and it still remains a mystery. The fact that Huzurala (TUS) blessed all of us with this azeem nemat that day was for us all “KUN”. Doing deedar, qadambosi before even seeing the roza of Imam Husain (AS) was a sign of Imam Husain (AS) blessing us all that day.

The above is just a short memory merely in shukr of the nemat Huzurala (TUS) has bestowed on all Mumineen during this safar in some way or another. In the wada bayan Huzurala (TUS) said to Mumineen that your duas will be heard by Imam Husain (AS) and he will ask his Dai to plan for the fulfillment of their ummeed. These words of Huzurala (TUS) are the justification of the fact that “Karbala is a place where sins are forgiven and wishes are brought closer”.

The Dai of Imam Husain (AS) walking towards the Zarih Mubarak, a view in which one can look at the way Amirul Mumineen (AS) used to walk. One could visualize Imam Husain (AS) kissing the forehead of his Dai with pride as Maula (TUS) lay his head of the Zarih Mubarak. One could see Jabir bin Abdullah al-Ansari walk in humbleness towards the Zarih Mubarak in a pious manner. One could witness the cry of Molatena Zainab (AS) as Maula (TUS) wept and did matam at the very place where hundreds of years ago the incident of karbala occurred.

In olden times distances between places was measured in the time it took to travel. The distance of time is almost of 14 centuries yet Mumineen witnessed it. Mumineen all over the world heard the echoes of the Khutbas of Amirul Mumineen (AS) in Masjid al-Aazam bil Kufa when they listened to the waaz mubarak. Mumineen witnessed the ibadat and tadarro of Amirul Mumineen (AS) as they heard Huzurala (TUS) pray to Allah in the mehrab of Kufa. We witnessed the sultanate of Amirul Mumineen (AS) and his eminence in providing tosha of aakherat to all Mumineen (AS). The voice of Amirul Mumineen (AS) during the last azan was heard in every household and it was witnessed by Mumineen when we listened to the takbirah of his Dai in his mehrab. Amirul Mumineen (AS) saw that two stones were struck together by Jibraeel which was interpreted as being his matam done in every home. The distant fact had now become a reality for Mumineen as they did matam of Amirul Mumineen (AS) with Huzurala (TUS) in Kufa and Najaf. Mumineen witnessed the sajdah of the Husaini Dai (TUS) both in Kufa and Najaf which is the bisharat of Fauze Azeem for all of us.

It would be worth to quote a few abayat of Syednal Moayyad al-Shirazi (RA) to describe the longing of Mumineen towards the land where the Dai of Imam Husain (AS) is present. The land is no lesser then Karabala but what if he is in Karbala and Najaf.

ولي عزمـة ان تمم الله خطبها كفاني تمام العزم للصدر شافيا
حلول بباب القصر يشفي لبانة لنفسي والفي نائي الانس دانيا
فاونس منع نجم سعدي طالعا كما منه الفي ناجم النحس هاويا

Syednal Moayyad says that I have a longing of being at the doorsteps of my beloved Maula (TUS), which will fulfill my wishes, bring me peace and cure my heart, when I see the good omens rising upon me.

Each Mumin was during these days with Maula (TUS) as he held the zarih mubarak of Amirul Mumineen (AS) and Imam Husain (AS) in his hands. Each Mumin was in Maula’s dua when he offered sajdah right at the place which Imam Husain (AS) blessed with his last breath while in sajdah. May Allah subhanahu bless our beloved Maula (TUS) with a long life in the best of health and happiness for which every Mumin’s tears on Imam Husain (AS) pray. Ameen

Musabaqat Hifz al-Quran

2009-09-21T02:19:00.003+04:00

Mohammed participated in the Musabaqat and recited Surat al-Bayyenah and Surat al-Falaq. He was happy to receive the Quran Hadiyah after the musabaqat.

Barakaat of Syednal Moayyad al-Shirazi (RA)

2009-09-18T03:26:00.003+04:00

Huzurala (TUS) in the Zikra waaz connoted the nasihat of Amirul Mumimeen (AS) to Kumail bin Ziyad in a very unique way by comparing it to the istetar (seclusion) of Imam al-Tayyib (AS) and the Qiyam of Duat Mutlaqeen al-Kiram (AS). Amirul Mumineen (AS) compares ilm with wealth and thus the situation of satr is described in the narration. Duat were handed over the wirasat of ilm which is eternal compared to the worldly estate of the Fatemiyeen Aimmat (AS) which was lost by the person who claimed Imamat for himself, ie Abdul Majid. While the Duat have always shown their servitude to the Aimmmat (AS) even after a thousand years and the wirasat of ilm remains alive. Syednal Moayyad al-Shirazi who barakaat has passed on to the Duat Kiram (AS) has several times noted the hardships faced by the mohabbat and walayat of Aimmat Tahereen (AS). As a tutor of the Duat Kiram (AS) we see that they have adopted his seerat and have never looked upon the worldly treasure with an eye of greed nor even interest in it.
Syednal Moayyad's Qasaid are full of emotions and deep love for the Aimmat (AS) enclosed and wrapped in the patience over hardships. One qasida which has fascinated me and I think all khidmat guzaar should make it his/her principle in life is, the Qasida:

رضيت من العيش المرير المنكدا وصيرت جسم الحرص مني مصفدا

The first stanza itself suggests what the whole qasida is about. He says that I am happy with a bitter and tough life, and have subjugated the greed in me. Later he continues to say that he has parted with status and governance for those who fall on their knees in front of the mass. How true are these words today for those who call themselves the leaders of the world. be it the politicians or the diplomats. Its not that Syedna has parted with the throne but he continues to point out that he is glad enough to serve Allah and his Wali, and he need not serve any human servant. He has never buttered any hand to just for the sake of availing the opportunity of worldly gain.
The lofty thinking of Syedna further states that if his own virtues does not help him gain the status of a qualified leader then he does not accept leadership by any other means or any recommendations, for he has ever sought forgiveness of Allah and never raised his hands in asking any favours from anyone else. Never has his respect ever been dirtied by false accusations nor has he fed on bribery.
The above is a narration of his life in the Khidmat of Imamuz Zaman (AS) and his love for ilm and hikmat that he has passed on to the Duat Kiram (AS) in wirasat.
Today the waris of Syednal Moayyad (RA) is indeed ilm impersonified and our heads always bow in sajda for the dua of his long life. Ameen

Amirul Mumineen (AS) and his description of the materialistic world

2009-09-08T03:46:00.004+04:00

Amirul Mumineen (AS), who had been privileged of being brought up by Rasulallah (SA). He had be in the company of the prophet ever since he was born and the impact of that company and its barakat was so laid on the his life, especially with the barakaat of wahye that Amirul Mumineen (AS) was called the prominent jurist by Rasulallah (AS). Jurisprudence does encompass many fields of knowledge as a judge is needed to finally decide on any subject brought forth to him. Since a very young age Amirul Mumineen (AS) had seen Rasulallah (SA) strive for Islam and its cause. He had seen Rasulallah (SA) differ with Molana Abu Talib when he was told to keep away from preaching Islam by Quresh, that if he would be given the sun in his right and moon in the left he would not bother to bend towards materialistic wealth. Ali (AS) had seen how Abu Talib (AS) supported Rasulallah (SA) in the Sha'b of Abu Talib during the days of Quresh's boycott. Ali (AS) had seen the Nabi's beloved and wealthy wife Khadija drain her wealth for the cause of Allah. From an age when a person does not even come to his senses, Ali (AS) had seen the facts of life and felt the world closely. Such a person of high stature in knowledge, upbringing, amal, closeness to the Nabi (AS), akhlaq and many vritues has described the worldly pleasures and it materialistic nature in a few but deep words that need to be quoted here for his love and remembrance.

Amirul Mumineen (AS) says:
1. Trust the Creator rather than his creation, trust the Truthful rather than the lier.
2. Seek Rizq from al-Rahman (Allah), as there is no one else who can feed you except Him.
3. He who thinks that his rizq or earnings is in his own hands does not trust Allah.
4. He who thinks that a mere human can feed him or provide a living to him has gone on a slippery way and is sure to fall.
Amirul Mumineen (AS) further says:
1. I am happy with whatever Allah has parted for me and have submitted by will to by Creator.
2. Just as Allah has done my betterment in the past so will He in the future.
These words are said to to those of Amirul Mumineen (AS):
1. I anticipate that the world will soon be over and has prepared for its journey.
2. Never has the world been forever for anyone, nor has anyone stayed in the world forever.

Smart Saving Tips

2009-05-09T19:49:00.004+04:00

Save 10% every day!

It’s a basic idea. If you remember to reduce ten percent on the quantity of things you use everyday, you’ll find you are spending less every day. And this will show in your bills, your grocery bills, and overall in how much you spend every month.

The small quantities add up to save you money.

Imagine, 10% less oil while cooking (good for your heart, anyway), less soaps and detergents, less electricity (turn off the AC, switch off lights, switch on the water heater just for a few hours before shower time)

Simple actions like doing laundry at home when possible may save you money every week as opposed to taking all your clothes into a dry cleaner.

Make less trips using your car, by planning trips ahead of time – and you’ll see major savings at the petrol station. If you have two cars, and one is a big SUV and the other a small run around, use the smaller car that consumes less fuel when possible.

Saving as a habit

You need to make savings a regular habit. Instead of saving whatever is left over at the end of the month, plan on saving – which is paying yourself – first. Set aside the amount you plan to save first before you start spending on everything for the month. Plan on this with your family, and this can be an exciting way to get everyone involved, once you have explained the benefits of saving money.

Making a budget

In order for you to make a regular savings plan and make a habit out of it, it’s best to sit down and prepare a budget – so you know exactly how much you want to spend, on what, and how much you want to save. A pre-planned budget will help you in allocating your spending and controlling on sudden bursts of unintentional spending.

Have a Savings Goal and meet it

"Don't save what is left after spending; Spend what is left after saving" - Warren Buffet

The best way to figure out how much you want to save is to set specific monetary goals. If there is a specific thing that you are saving up for, start by calculating how much you will need to save in order to pay for it. Next, figure out how much money you will have to set aside each month in order to reach that goal in a reasonable amount of time. If you are saving for something with a less specific monetary value (such as money for an emergency fund, your retirement, or just a healthy nest egg), then you should try and come up with a figure to shoot for (i.e. Financial experts often recommend having enough money in an emergency fund to cover at least 3 to 6 months worth of household expenses).

Take advantage of the downturn?

Yes, you can. There are a lot of retail outlets and shops that have reacted to the downturn in the economy by offering special sales incentives. You can get discounts on many every day items and as well on some electronics and white goods (washer/dryers, fridges, ovens etc). If you have an immediate need for any of these items, this would be a good time to purchase them – while they are on discounted sale.

Simple economics: every day, every week, every month.

Eating out and treating yourself is fun, and once in a while, it’s a good idea. But a quick and easy way to curb your spending – and start saving – is eating out less. Try eating in more often and packing yourself a lunch for eating at work. Besides saving money, making your own food can often be healthier too. You can save a lot by eliminating that expensive coffee latte habit. You can save on unnecessary and unused magazine subscriptions, tv channels you pay for but don’t watch, phone related expenses. These are every day things you can either curb or totally cut down on. And yes, they add up to your savings.

Interesting Videos: Money Spent is Money Earned http://www.fakhriprofessionals.com/new/debate1/debate1.html

Surah al-Insherah

2009-04-22T08:38:00.004+04:00

On the results day Mohammed had the opportunity of reciting Surah al-Insherah, alhamdolillah my son has learned till Surah al-Balad and now he is aiming for more. Khuda Taala Maula Mohammed Burhanuddin (TUS) ni khushi, nazar ma, qadmo ma Mohammed ne wasawe. Ameen

Madeh by Shk Mohammedul Baqir

2009-04-14T15:20:00.001+04:00

Journalistic Ignorance

2009-04-08T05:46:00.002+04:00

Sometime back I had written about an Arab Times article that wrongly projected the Bohra community. Similar cases popped up in India with the recent Mumbai Mirror article that raised the concerns of the Bohra Community. There headline was so vague that it drew abrupt comments from people who know less about the religious practices of Islam and the community. Then an appology came from the editor and the writer that all this was unintentional. The lord knows better. As far as my personal views are concerned I think that it was a attention drawing media stunt in hunger of popularity.
Recently, another incident occurred. IndiaTV in its exclusive news telecast of the marraige ceremony of a known terrorist, Baitullah, in Afganistan, the News channel showed a digitally manupilated photograph of His Holiness Dr. Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin (TUS) who is a respected religious leader of the community, an Ambasador of Peace. World Leaders have met him and bowed their heads in respect of his spiritual charisma. Much is known about him to the EDUCATED that all written would be less. The news channel broadcasted an image of him annoucing the Nikah (marriage ceremony) of Baitullah. A very ignorant act which IndiaTV editor claim to be a mistake.
News sestionalisation cannot be a mistake. Manupilating and digitally playing with a photograph on a news channel, mind well its not a movie, its a truth revealing news channel, cannot be taken as a mistake or unintentional act as claimed by India TV. This is an act of Journalistic misconduct and is totally unethical. Manupilating or digitally playing with an image can never be marked unintentional or a mistake.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcast should have a look into this matter and punish the news channel for misconduct so that people are not mislead, misguided by such publicity stunts which could not only flare violence against the entire community and its respected leader but also distort the image of truth in the eye of the common man. A stringent action must be taken by the authorities should it be proven a lesson for all and help promote better journalistic practices in the country. The pen has the power to over throw kings from their thrones and rise another to the skies, lets stop it from being used for injustice, crime and selfish deeds.

Arab Times Ignorance

2009-01-30T22:41:00.004+04:00

I am amazed by the ignorance of the editor of the Arab Times of Kuwait and also that of the writer of this Article Row over Bohra worship place - Court acquits 13 scribes in defamation suit Moamen. He should really shrug his prejudice and write the facts. The word "Temple" in the article has amazed me much. Has the writer really studied the text of the application for land and is it stated in it that it is for a temple.

The Dawoodi Bohra Muslim community is a peace loving and shariah abiding group of educated men and women who boast almost 100% literacy and are loyal citizens of the world. Assuming that the writer, Moamen, is an educated person he should understand that Muslims never use temples and therefore it does not make any sense that the Bohra Muslim community ever plan to build a temple.

As far as my knowledge goes the Bohra Leadership His Holiness Dr. Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin (TUS) has built more then 300 mosques (masjids) in the past 40 years, including the 4th largest masjid in the world al-Jamea al-Anwar in Qahera and one of the biggest, historical and oldest mosque, al-Masjid al-Azam in Kufa.

A Masjid in Israeli territory in Ashqelon, who has built it?

I believe that it is merely some kind of a prejudice that is prevailing in such kind of people, the author being one of them, wanting to spread rumors rather then the truth and hide the facts from the common man. Such an act is against the principles of journalism.

The Bohra Muslims, ask the Kuwaitis who have seen the adverse days of Saddam's invasion, have been loyal to the nation during the adverse of times. During those days the Bohra Leadership had specifically instructed them to stay in Kuwait and support the country.

We forget the bounties of Allah when we have it in abundance and do not try to understand the truth and grasp the facts, rather we tend to hide it in fright of being found wrong, that is what's happening to the media that print such kind of matter.

I have read several books that show an in depth hatred towards this sect of Islam and there is a just and logical answer to each lie in those books for those who want to open their eyes and look.

Its sad that in a Muslim country there is a controversy over a Masjid place and they blame hypocritically the west, whereas the Mulsim Ummah needs to come to its senses and abort it internal differences, keeping them aside and welcoming the commonness. I have much to say and write especially after my visit to the Holy Lands of Mecca and Madina for Hajj this year as I ponder in this. Inshallah.

Akhlaq - A bounty of Allah Subhanahu

2008-09-05T16:13:00.005+04:00

Raulallah (SA) has said that good character is a bounty of Allah Subhanahu. While there is a huge difference between character and etiquette, most people tend to mix it up. I am most font of the dua of Imam Ali Zainul Abideen, "allahumma inni auzobeba an tahsona fi rayil aine alaniyati...." and I think it is the most profound of all duas when it comes to seeking purity of heart and soul while teaching us that our amal should be purely for the sake of our lord.

Long time back I had complied an eBook on Akhlaq in Lisan al-Dawat (Akhlaq.pdf) on the occasion of being blessed the sharaf of Ziyafat al-Shukr of my Maula Syedna Mohammed Buhanuddin Aqa (TUS) with my classmates in Hadi Ashara in the year 1422. It is one of the most cherished memories which have been embedded in my soul among the many that Jamea Saifiyah has granted me. Huzurala (TUS) had since after then time and again blessed me with the sharaf of inquiring about what I do and may I be blessed with his khidmat till the last breath, whatever it maybe. With all my heart I have never sought the happiness of anyone accept my Maula (TUS) and will keep doing that no matter what begets.

Akhlaq My niyat then and now with the compilation and sharing of this eBook is to be blessed with the nazaraat of Aqa Maula (TUS) which would bring out the best in me for his khidmat and deteriorate the barriers of weaknesses in me and turn them into strengths for the sake of the love of Aqa Maula (TUS) that I have inborn.

May Allah Subhanahu bless Aqa Maula Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin (TUS) with a long life. Ameen.

Namaaz

2008-08-25T19:07:00.000+04:00

Zindagi bewafa kyu hoti hai?
Wafa karnay ki saza kyu hoti hai?

Choti si baat pe baha deti hain KHOON
Insan mein itni ANA kyu hoti hai?

Karte hain hum jis se baar baar TAUBA,
Elahi hum se wohi KHATA kyu hoti hai,

Banate to hain hum apne hathon se MASJID,
NAMAZ apni hi phir QAZA kyu hoti hai..

Fatwa against "Murtad" Asgar Engineer

2008-06-13T00:55:00.002+04:00

Shiites in Ashkelon?!

2008-05-25T22:47:00.004+04:00

The city of Ashkelon has been in the headlines lately, and not for its pretty beaches. The city of 110,000 has sadly joined Israel's southern front line as rockets fired from the Gaza Strip improve in range and technology.

Last week, a rocket hit a shopping mall in city; the dozens of injured treated at the Barzilai Medical Center.

It turns out the hospital grounds contain a remarkably interesting bit of history: a site holy to certain Shiite Muslims, thousands of whom have come to pray there over the years. Ashkelon itself has 5,000 years of recorded history, but when the hospital was first built in 1961, nothing indicated that the hill out back was anything special.

The consecration of the site dates back to the early days of Islam. The decades that followed the death of the prophet Muhammad in 632 were marked by a bitter and bloody dispute over succession, a conflict that ultimately marked the split between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.

In a nutshell, Ali, Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, was repeatedly passed over for the position of caliph -- leader of the young Muslim nation. Ali's followers (the word Shiite means "partisans") eventually rebelled, touching off years of conflict.

After Ali was assassinated in 661, his sons Hasan and Hussein carried on his struggle. Hussein and his small rebel army were slaughtered in 680 in what is now the Iraqi holy city of Karbala. His head was delivered as a trophy to Yazid, the victorious caliph, in Damascus, while his body remained in Karbala. Shiites commemorate Hussein's death annually in the intense day of mourning known as Ashura.

Both Karbala and Damascus became sites of Shiite pilgrimages. Sunni rulers, displeased with the phenomenon, decided to relocate Hussein's head to the far edge of the kingdom -- Ashkelon. It remained there for several centuries, when when legendary Muslim leader Saladin sent the head to Egypt for safekeeping from the invading Crusaders.

What was once the far end of an ancient Muslim kingdom is now a grassy mound behind the delivery rooms of an Israeli hospital.

A millennium after Hussein's head was removed from Ashkelon, the site is still revered by an offshoot of Shiites mostly from India and Pakistan. The pilgrims who have come to visit include some from countries with no diplomatic relations with Israel, hospital officials say.

About a decade ago, a Shiite spiritual leader arrived at the hospital with an unusual request: to be allowed to erect a prayer area for the pilgrims.

"How do you know this is the site?" asked Dr. Ron Lobel, deputy director of the medical center.

"I walked out to the mound with him," Lobel said. "He took out a shovel and started digging. To my astonishment, a meter or so deep, he exposed the cornerstone of the ancient mosque that had been built where the head had been buried, and was later destroyed by the Crusaders."

With the hospital’s blessing, the worshipers imported the most valued marble in India, the kind used to build the Taj Mahal. The prayer area, built seven or eight years ago, is open to the pilgrims. They arrive in buses, coordinate with the center's security, park in the lot and walk to the mound to pray.

"They are quiet, peaceful people. They come in silence, sometimes barely uttering a sound," said Lobel, who has become the resident expert on the subject over the years. "An island of Shiite Muslim prayer in an Israeli hospital in a Jewish state," said Lobel of his unusual charge, satisfaction in his voice. "It really is unique."

—Batsheva Sobelman in Jerusalem.

Photo: The marble prayer area on the hospital grounds. Credit: David Avioz/Barzilai Medical Center

-----

Notes: Asqalaan has been a sacred ground for the fatimids since a very long time. During the era of Imam Mustansir (AS), the Commander in Cheif of the Fatemi Empire Molana Badrul Jamali has built a masjid in the area that has been mentioned in the above article. The entire incident of Rasul Husain (AS) being revealed during this era in the presence of the mentioned commander has been inscribed on a pulpit that is now present in the masjid of Baytul laham (Bethlelem) where the shrine of Nabiullah Ibrahim is. The inscription is in Fatemi Kufic and it is said that Syedna Taher Saifuddin (RA) was the first to decipher the entire scripture that is written on the said pulpit during his visit to al-Quds. The text of which is present in one of his Rasail Sharifa. Later Syedna Taher Saifuddin (RA) visited the location in Asqalan and pin pointed the exact location where the masjid was built nearby which was the burial shrine of Rasul Imam al-Husain (AS), that was later shifted to Qahera. The entire incident of its being shifted to Qahera was narrated by the person who brought the wooden box containing the Raas Mubarak from the gates of Qahera into the Fatemi Palace, carried on his head. The said boxes are currently placed on display in one of the Museums of Cairo.

The open to air masjid, shown above, was built by Mumineen upon special permission given to them by the authorities.

Shz Kalimuddin Saheb at our Residence in Ajman

2008-05-16T21:00:00.000+04:00

Shz Aliwaqar Aliasger Bs Kalimuddin DM graced our home with qadam mubarak today. Syedi Saheb also enquired about our business and did alamat on our brochure as he guided us further for the planned expansion and increase production in the coming months. Shz Saheb advised us on crucial points while he granted raza for procurement of new machinery and further expansion. May Allah Subhanahu bless Shz Saheb with good health by the Wasila of Aqa Maula (TUS).

Shz Saheb did nazar at the brochure and our products as well as the Brand granted to us by Aqa Maula (TUS).

Jamila Mulla Aliasger Noorani

2008-05-16T20:34:00.000+04:00

She was born on Saturday at 2:30 PM at the Khalifa Hospital in Ajman. She is cute and everyone says that she looks like her Uncle. Well at least the first alphabets of our names are same. Her chhatti (Naming Ceremony) is on Laylatal Jumoa and Kaki Maria called her Jamila, the name off course had been given by Aqa Maula (TUS).

Maria (Her Kaki), Aliasger and Fatemi (Her sister)

Aqiqa on Yaumal Jumoa.

40 Tips for a Better Life

2008-05-10T13:08:00.002+04:00

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.

3. Buy a DVR and tape your late night shows and get more sleep.

4. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to __________ today.'

5. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.

6. Play more games and read more books than you did during the past year.

7. Make time to practice meditation, and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.

8. Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.

9. Dream more while you are awake.

10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

11. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.

12. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

13. Clear clutter from your house, your car, your desk and let new and flowing energy into your life.

14. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, OR issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

15. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.

16. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.

17. Smile and laugh more. It will keep the NEGATIVE BLUES away.

18. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

20. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

21. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

22. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

23. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

24. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'

26. Forgive everyone for everything.

27. What other people think of you is none of your business.

28. REMEMBER GOD heals everything.

29. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

30. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

31. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

32. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

33. The best is yet to come.

34. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

35. Do the right thing!

36. Call your family often. (Or email them to death!!!)

37. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for __________. Today I accomplished _________.

38. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

39. Enjoy the ride. Remember this is not Disney World and you certainly don't want a fast pass. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy the ride.

40. Please Forward this to everyone you care about. I just did. May your troubles be less, May your blessings be more, May nothing but happiness come through your door!

Why Learn Tae Kwon Do

2008-05-09T00:58:00.001+04:00

For Self-defense: One never knows when he or she may be attacked. Since we normally do not carry side arms, a most effective way to defend ourselves and our loved ones is "empty hand fighting" and Tae Kwon Do reveals the ancient secrets. Knowledge of these secrets can be life savings in times of danger.

For Health: Tae Kwon Do is far more than just defensive methods. It is a superb means of mental and physical development. Tae Kwon Do practitioners are noted for their excellent health gained from the discipline and patience required by the art.

For Self Confidence and Poise: Tae Kwon Do first and foremost requires that all students be polite and respectful and never use their knowledge for frivolous purposes or wanton harm. Yet a true student is able to dispel fear.

What can be achieved through Tae Kwon Do training? The student of Tae Kwon Do develops an unbeatable self-defense through rigid training and professional supervised instruction. In addition Tae Kwon Do builds dynamic tension and makes balanced use of a large number of body muscles. It provides excellent all around exercise and develops coordination and agility. Tae Kwon Do trains students in character, sincerity, effort, etiquette and self-control.

Who may learn Tae Kwon Do? Classes are open to men, women and children as Tae Kwon Do is one of the only true family sports. All can learn and participate together. The degree of progress for any student is based on the individual coordination and attentiveness. Physical fitness is essential for a happy, productive life, and invariably, people who are capable of defending themselves are less troublesome and better citizens.

Taher Tambawala (email: tahertambawala(at)yahoo.com

Sports Martial Arts Teacher (MSB – Kolkata)

Bayan of Aqa Maula (TUS) on Topi and Deeni Shear

2008-04-17T03:09:00.000+04:00

Father Like Son

2008-04-16T14:36:00.004+04:00

Mohammed has been showing oratory skills since long, even before he joined School and that what makes us proud of him. His first year at Madrasa and not exactly a debut on stage, but a first time event for him at our community hall.

As the Madrasa program went on with a good pace yesterday, the enactment on the 3 core topics of Salat, Lisan al-Dawat and Deeni Shi'ar (Islamic Culture) were just freshening, every bit of it. The Hall was jam packed with the audience as the little flexed their acting skills. Mohammed narrated the Bayan of Huzurala (TUS) on Topi, Rida and Libas al-Anwar during the interlude.

The caption from the bayan stressed on the pride that on should have in wearing a topi and being a Dawoodi Bohra.

Alhamdolillah, his brain is more faster then his tongue and his thoughts quicker then word. Bravo to Mohammed, and all i can say is that "Dad is proud of you my son". May Allah bless him with the khidmat of Aqamaula (TUS) till his last breath.

Winners Vs. Losers

2008-03-08T16:31:00.001+04:00

The Winner is always part of the answer;
The Loser is always part of the problem.

The Winner always has a program;
The Loser always has an excuse.

The Winner says, "Let me do it for you";
The Loser says, "That is not my job."

The Winner sees an answer for every problem;
The Loser sees a problem for every answer.

The Winner says, "It may be difficult but it is possible";
The Loser says, "It may be possible but i t is too difficult."

When a Winner makes a mistake, he says, "I was wrong";
When a Loser makes a mistake, he says, "It wasn't my fault."

A Winner makes commitments;
A Loser makes promises.

Winners have dreams;
Losers have schemes.

Winners say, "I must do something";
Losers say, "Something must be done."

Winners are a part of the team;
Losers are apart from the team.

Winners see the gain;
Losers see the pain.

Winners see possibilities;
Losers see problems.

Winners believe in win-win;
Losers believe for them to win someone has to lose.

Winners see the potential;
Losers see the past.

Winners are like a thermostat;
Losers are like thermometers.

Winners choose what they say;
Losers say what they choose.

Winners use hard arguments but soft words;
Losers use soft arguments but hard words.

Winners stand firm on values but compromise on petty things;
Losers stand firm on petty things but compromise on values.

Winners follow the philosophy of empathy: "Don't do to others what you would not want them to do to you";
Losers follow the philosophy, "Do it to others before they do it to U"

Winners make it happen;
Losers let it happen.

Winners plan and prepare to win.
The key word is preparation

Ashara 1429

2008-01-03T14:51:00.003+04:00

Huzurala (TUS) did fasl that Ashara Mubarakah of 1429 will be held in Colombo for the second consecutive year. Truely when HJ told me about the fasl I said "You must be joking", She said that it was done. Well my heart had started pounding as I had to go for khidmat husainiyah, but wished would be there, knee bent before Maula (TUS). There are times when we are much further away yet closer.

Amibikapur in Chhattisgarh state of India. I had never heard of this place before in my life. I had a booking of Ahmedabad but then it was more then a 24 hour train ride to Ambikapur. I was told it was somewhere near Nagpur and thus my contact came in handy. Abbas bhai started working on his part to help me find the routes while I managed to re-route my flight directly to Nagpur, a day earlier then I was to travel. Within a few hour my itinerary was finalized and I was at my moze even before 48 hours of getting the farman. The coolest thing was that I had known the exact routes, complete bookings and also had the contact numbers at hand. I had called up Ambikapur and informed them of my arrival time a day after.

Sometimes we just don't know how things happen but they do. In a rush I packed whatever I had my hands on, as I was to fly in a few hours, a route I had never traveled. As I journeyed towards India my mind and soul flocked to Colombo and I knew I would miss it.

At the moze there were around 58 peole in all including Mumineen who came from the nearby towns Vishrampur and Surajpur. Ambikapur was a town surrounded by forests and was quite peaceful.

As for the daily routine waaz, two times of niyaaz and majlis. It was almost daily that we heard the Kalemaat fo Aqa Maula (TUS) especially the clips from al-Vazarat. We a had direct satellite relay from Colombo and the Mumineen watched Aqamaula (TUS) on the big screen using a DLP projector for the first time.

There was no madrasa there and the children were far from deeni talm, I had already prepared myself to have 3 children recite the shahadat of Maulana Aliasger, Maulana Abbas and Maulana Husain (AS) at the night majlis and it worked like a charm for everyone. The happiness of the children reflected that our Maula (TUS) would be happy.

It had been many years since I had done waaz but the essence of it all was the Dua and Nazaraat of Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin (TUS). The marasiya reciters were good, the attendance was timely and good. Everything was just too good and the most important part was that I could feel the presence of Maula's duas as days passed by.

The day of Ashura, we were most fortunate to listen to the duas of Maula (TUS) and what else could be better.

From the many things that I got from Ambikapur one is the most precious that will live with me for ever. The Wali's family who had been my wonderful hosts were originally from Shajapur and they had the "juti mubarak" of Syedna Abdul Qadir Najmuddin along with his alamat sharifah and mohar. I was fortunate to have the barakat of these.

Mumineen are the same where ever we go, the children of the same dawat. The love and caring among us is remarkable and its all because of our love for Aqamaula (TUS).

May Allah Subhanahu bless our beloved Maula (TUS) with a long and healthy life. Ameen

Raudat Tahera

2007-12-05T00:32:00.000+04:00

Here are some interesting facts about Raudat Tahera.
(Syedna Tahir Saifuddin Maula's mausoleum)

1. The construction of the Mausoleum began on 10th of December,1968 and it was inaugurate in 1975. Prominent personalities, political leader including the then present the president of India Mr Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, religious scholars from around the muslim world, qaris of al-Quran al-Majid were invited on the grand occasion.

2. The marble for the construction of the Roza was quarried from exactly where the marble for the Taj Mahal was obtained - Makrana in Rajhastan, India.

3. The Mausoleum rests on 92 piles. The number 92 is significant in that it represents the numerical calculation of the name of the Holy Prophet "محمد" (SA) by the rules of Abjad in Arabic.

4. Around the burial place is 28 square feet grave. The number 28 indicates Syedna's (RA) young age at which he became a Dai-al-Mutlaq.

5. The inner height of the mausoleum rises to 80 feet, depicting the age of Syedna (RA) when he left this world for Mala-e Ala.

6. The inner dimensions of the Roza (mausoleum) are 51 x 51 feet, symbolizing that Syedna Tahir Saifuddin was the 51st Dai al-Mutlaq in the office of Immam-u-Zaman.

7. What gives the Roza a unique place of honour is the inscription of the entire Holy Quran within the walls of the Roza. The writings were choosen by Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin TUS from the golden handwritten Holy Quran from which His Holiness used to recite. It contained 772 pages and accordingly the complete Quran is inscribed in gold on 772 marble slabs 3x2 feet each and pasted in the inner walls of the Raudat. The entire Quran is engraved on the walls and adorned with gold and jewels.

8. All the Bismillah's before the start of Surahs have been engraved and adorned with rubies, emaralds, Diamonds and Pearls.

9. The structural shell consists of a dome 40 feet in diametre and has an height of 52 feet. The dome is a replica of al-Jame al-Juyushi a prominent masjid of the Fatimi era and has the same mudawwar design in the interior as that of the masjid, with the names Mohammed and Ali, and a Quranic ayat.

10. The complete structure of Raudat Tahera weighs 5000 tons.

11. The 4 entrance doors to the Roza have been specially designed to match the entrance gate of al-Jamea al-Aqmar in Cairo built by Imam Al-Amir (1101-1130 A.D), the 20th Imam (AS). The entrances are adorned with four silver doors of Fatemi style and lead to the inner sanctuary of the Roza.

12. The Holy Quran inscription has been done in such a way that all the entrance doors to the Roza have a Bismillah coming.

13. All the 113 Bismillah in the Holy Quran inscribed on the walls are studded with precious stones, such as rubies and emeralds. The Surat al-Fatiha and Surat al-Ekhlas are studded with rubies.

14. Below the scripture of the Holy Quran the walls are the stanzas and verses quoted from the 49 Risalah sharifah and hundreds of qasidas and munajaat written by Syedna Taher Saifuddin (RA) which reflect the barakaat of wahye from the Quran and the ilm of Ale Mohammed (SA).

15. The outer walls of the Raudat Tahera a decorated with the names of Aimmat Tahereen and Duat Mutlaqeen in the Kufi script.

16. The chandeliers are especially made on order and each pendetive is engraved with the verse "لا يمسه الا المطهرون".

Accupressure

2007-10-23T21:34:00.000+04:00

Many of us have heard about acupressure and acupuncture and have seen the Chinese practice this very ancient art of healing. I have not read much and do not know much about acupressure or acupuncture and nor anything I write here is authentic.

Its just out of curiosity and the craving to learn something new led me into this topic and its been since many years that i have know it to be useful. As always google is your best friend to find the zillions of pages written on any topic since ages, though most might just be rubbish. Here is a good site that explains a lot on this subject: http://www.mothernature.com/library/bookshelf/books/46/3.cfm

Al-Dai al-Fatimi, Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin donates to "Dubai Cares"

2007-10-18T18:20:00.000+04:00

DUBAI — Sultan Al Bohra Mohammed Burhanudeen, spiritual leader of the Bohra Muslim community, has donated Dh2.1 million to Dubai Cares. The cheque was presented to Shaikh Ahmad bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum by his Dubai representative Kinana M. Jamaluddin here yesterday.

Commenting on Dubai s tradition of philanthropy and its role in the current campaign, Jamaluddin said Dubai illustrates the true essence of Islam, underlining its teachings about helping those in need. “His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has made the Muslim and Arab nations proud through his initiative which demonstrates the values and principles of Islam and proves to the world the noble nature of our faith,” he said.

Convert Powerpoint Presentations to Flash with GMail PPT Viewer

2007-09-02T15:44:00.000+04:00

GMail now has an inbuilt PPT viewer that lets you view Powerpoint attachment as a Flash picture slideshow in the web browser itself without requiring Microsoft PowerPoint application.

This slideshow feature of GMail will be useful since you no longer have to download the full PPT attachment in order to view that 16th slide of the presentation.

Here are two additional situations where it may help:

1. If you have to view a presentation on some computer that has no copy of PowerPoint, gmail yourself the PPT file and watch the slides inside the web browser. [similar to converting PDF to text using GMail]

2. GMail converts every slide of your Powerpoint presentation to a Flash (swf) file - if you manually advance the entire PPT slideshow using the arrows, all the slides will become available as Flash files in your browser's temp folder.

Just a quick way of transforming Powerpoint slides into SWF documents without using any desktop conversion software. The swf files may then be embedded in your blog for sharing with readers. Nothing great since Scribd can also convert your PPT to Flash paper.

Do you know GMail Powerpoint viewer can read PPS (Powerpoint Show) formats as well.

Written by Amit Agarwal

Creating an Effective PowerPoint Presentation

2007-08-30T20:49:00.000+04:00

Hints for a successful presentation:

Plan carefully
Do your research
Know your audience
Time your presentation
Practice your presentation
Speak comfortably and clearly

Effective PowerPoint Slides

Use design templates
Standardize position, colors and styles
Include only necessary information
Limit the information to essentials
Content should be self-evident
Use colors that contrast
Be consistent with effects, transitions and animation
Too many slides can lose your audience

Text guidelines

Generally no more than 6 words a line
Generally no more than 6 lines a slide
Avoid long sentences
Larger font indicates more important information
Font size generally ranges from 18 to 48 point
Be sure text contrasts with background
Fancy fonts can be hard to read

Words in all capital letters are hard to read
Avoid abbreviations and acronyms
Limit punctuation marks

Clip Art and Graphics

Should balance the slide
Should enhance and complement the text, not overwhelm
No more than two graphics per slide

* PowerPoint presentations can also saved in HTML format and inserted in a Web page.

GMail Drive shell extension

2007-08-22T22:47:00.000+04:00

GMail Drive is a Shell Namespace Extension that creates a virtual filesystem around your Google GMail account, allowing you to use GMail as a storage medium.

Requirement:

1. Gmail Account

2. Gmail Drive Software

Process:

1) Download Gmail Drive from (takes seconds to download)

http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/GMail-Drive-shell-extension-Download-15944.html

http://www.softpedia.com/get/Internet/E-mail/Mail-Utilities/GMail-Drive-shell-extension.shtml

2) Install the software.

3) After installing, a drive named Gmail drive will be created in My Computer (just like C: D:).

4) Double click on this drive, login to Gmail Act. You will get a space of 2.61 GB.

4) Whatever content you copy to this drive will be sent to your mail Act to which you have logged in.

The copy is pretty fast. HATS OFF GOOGLE .

Reinstall Windows without losing important data

2007-08-22T00:58:00.000+04:00

Once in a while, you might want to reinstall Windows, especially if your system starts to get bogged down, or if you’d had a catastrophic loss from a virus attack. The problem is that reinstalling Windows will delete personal files and data, so what do you do? Check out this article over at InformationWeek which offers a step by step on the process complete with videos of each step.

You could always do constant backups of your system (NOTE: if you have never performed a backup, start now!), and even if you are, this article is a fairly valuable resource in order to keep your data safe and secure.

GoogleTalk Gadget in Firefox Sidebar

2007-08-22T00:06:00.000+04:00

The Google Talk Gadget is clearly more usable than the stand-alone GTalk desktop client or the floating AJAX version in GMail.

Here, each chat session opens up as a tab (like Firefox browser tabs), it can show previews of images or video and the chat client can easily be embedded inside webpages.

There's however a small problem - while we have browser windows in front of us all the time, the same may not hold true for the webpage (like the Google personalized page) where we have embedded the GTalk gadget.

So here's an alternate option - put the Google Talk client in the Firefox sidebar so it always stays in the foreground no matter what website you are on currently.

To add Google Talk to your Firefox sidebar, bookmark the following URL (right-click and choose Bookmark this link)

talkgadget.google.com/talkgadget/client

Now goto Bookmarks menu, navigate to the above bookmark, right click and choose Properties. Tick the checkbox that says Load this bookmark in the sidebar.

Update: An employee of an investment bank writes that their organization has banned Google talk in office but using the above method, he was able to circumvent the GTalk ban and could chat with friend out the firewalls of his office.

Google Talk gadget will always open in the Firefox Sidebar. Thanks

Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows XP

2007-07-27T17:02:00.000+04:00

To	Press
Set focus on a notification.	Windows Key+B
View properties for the selected item.	ALT+ENTER
Displays the properties of the selected object.	ALT+Enter
Cycle through items in the order they were opened.	ALT+ESC
"Close the active item, or quit the active program.	ALT+F4
Opens the shortcut menu for the active window.	ALT+SPACEBAR
Display the System menu for the active window.	ALT+SPACEBAR
Switch between open items.	ALT+TAB
Carry out the corresponding command or select the corresponding option in a dialog box.	ALT+Underlined letter
Display the corresponding menu.	ALT+Underlined letter in a menu name
Select a button if the active option is a group of option buttons in a dialog box.	Arrow keys
View the folder one level up in My Computer or Windows Explorer.	BACKSPACE
Open a folder one level up if a folder is selected in the Save As or Open dialog box in a dialog box.	BACKSPACE
Copy selected item.	CTRL while dragging an item
Select all.	CTRL+A
Copy.	CTRL+C
Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next paragraph.	CTRL+DOWN ARROW
Display the Start menu.	CTRL+ESC
Close the active document in programs that allow you to have multiple documents open simultaneously.	CTRL+F4
Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous word.	CTRL+LEFT ARROW
Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next word.	CTRL+RIGHT ARROW
Create shortcut to selected item.	CTRL+SHIFT while dragging an item
Highlight a block of text.	CTRL+SHIFT with any of the arrow keys
Move backward through tabs in a dialog box.	CTRL+SHIFT+TAB
Move forward through tabs in a dialog box.	CTRL+TAB
Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous paragraph.	CTRL+UP ARROW
Paste.	CTRL+V
Search for computers.	CTRL+Windows Key+F
Cut.	CTRL+X
Undo.	CTRL+Z
Delete.	DELETE
Display the bottom of the active window.	END
Carry out the command for the active option or button in a dialog box.	ENTER
Cancel the current task.	ESC
Display Help in a dialog box.	F1
Activate the menu bar in the active program.	F10
Rename selected item.	F2
Search for a file or folder.	F3
Display the Address bar list in My Computer or Windows Explorer.	F4
Display the items in the active list in a dialog box.	F4
Refresh the active window.	F5
Cycle through screen elements in a window or on the desktop.	F6
Display the top of the active window.	HOME
Switch MouseKeys on and off.	Left ALT +left SHIFT +NUM LOCK
Switch High Contrast on and off.	Left ALT +left SHIFT +PRINT SCREEN
Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu.	LEFT ARROW
Collapse current selection if it's expanded, or select parent folder.	LEFT ARROW
Display the items in the active list in a dialog box.	F4
Refresh the active window.	F5
Cycle through screen elements in a window or on the desktop.	F6
Display the top of the active window.	HOME
Switch MouseKeys on and off.	Left ALT +left SHIFT +NUM LOCK
Switch High Contrast on and off.	Left ALT +left SHIFT +PRINT SCREEN
Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu.	LEFT ARROW
Collapse current selection if it's expanded, or select parent folder.	LEFT ARROW
Display the items in the active list in a dialog box.	F4
Refresh the active window.	F5
Cycle through screen elements in a window or on the desktop.	F6
Display the top of the active window.	HOME
Switch MouseKeys on and off.	Left ALT +left SHIFT +NUM LOCK
Switch High Contrast on and off.	Left ALT +left SHIFT +PRINT SCREEN
Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu.	LEFT ARROW
Collapse current selection if it's expanded, or select parent folder.	LEFT ARROW
Display the shortcut menu for the selected item.	Menu key
Switch ToggleKeys on and off.	NUM LOCK for five seconds
Display all subfolders under the selected folder.	*NUM LOCK+ASTERISK on numeric keypad ()**
Collapse the selected folder.	NUM LOCK+MINUS SIGN on numeric keypad (-)
Display the contents of the selected folder.	NUM LOCK+PLUS SIGN on numeric keypad (+)
Open the next menu to the right, or open a submenu.	RIGHT ARROW
Display current selection if it's collapsed, or select first subfolder.	RIGHT ARROW
Switch FilterKeys on and off.	Right SHIFT for eight seconds
Display the items in the active list in a dialog box.	F4
Refresh the active window.	F5
Cycle through screen elements in a window or on the desktop.	F6
Display the top of the active window.	HOME
Switch MouseKeys on and off.	Left ALT +left SHIFT +NUM LOCK
Switch High Contrast on and off.	Left ALT +left SHIFT +PRINT SCREEN
Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu.	LEFT ARROW
Collapse current selection if it's expanded, or select parent folder.	LEFT ARROW
Display the shortcut menu for the selected item.	Menu key
Switch ToggleKeys on and off.	NUM LOCK for five seconds
Display all subfolders under the selected folder.	*NUM LOCK+ASTERISK on numeric keypad ()**
Collapse the selected folder.	NUM LOCK+MINUS SIGN on numeric keypad (-)
Display the contents of the selected folder.	NUM LOCK+PLUS SIGN on numeric keypad (+)
Open the next menu to the right, or open a submenu.	RIGHT ARROW
Display current selection if it's collapsed, or select first subfolder.	RIGHT ARROW
Switch FilterKeys on and off.	Right SHIFT for eight seconds
Switch StickyKeys on and off.	SHIFT five times
Prevent the CD from automatically playing.	SHIFT when you insert a CD into the CD-ROM drive
Select more than one item in a window or on the desktop, or select text within a document.	SHIFT with any of the arrow keys
Delete selected item permanently without placing the item in the Recycle Bin.	SHIFT+DELETE
Display the shortcut menu for the selected item.	SHIFT+F10
Move backward through options in a dialog box.	SHIFT+TAB
Select or clear the check box if the active option is a check box in a dialog box.	SPACEBAR
Move forward through options in a dialog box.	TAB
Carry out the corresponding command.	Underlined letter in a command name on an open menu
Display or hide the Start menu.	Windows Key
Lock your computer if you are connected to a network domain, or switch users if you are not connected to a network domain.	Windows Key+ L
Display the System Properties dialog box.	Windows Key+BREAK
Show the desktop.	Windows Key+D
Open My Computer.	Windows Key+E
Search for a file or folder.	Windows Key+F
Display Windows Help.	Windows Key+F1
Minimize all windows.	Windows Key+M
Open the Run dialog box.	Windows Key+R
Restores minimized windows.	Windows Key+Shift+M
Opens Utility Manager.	Windows Key+U

The beauty of being a dawoodi bohra

2007-07-16T09:02:00.000+04:00

We crossed into the Israeli border, bound for Jerusalem , from the Jordanian side. It was a particularly tense day as there had been a recent firing incident. All five of us had different nationality passports. 1 Kenyan, 1 British, 1 Yemeni, 1 Indian passport issued in Egypt & another Indian passport issued in Nairobi . The Jordanian Immigration officer did not have to be explained why such a mixed group. He knew & he smilingly made a statement, that was actually a stunner. He jokingly said, "Why don't you have a Bohra Passport? It will make things so much more easier for you, & us too."

The Israeli side, the officer (suspicious by default) could not understand how such a group could get together. All dressed alike & identical mannerisms, and yet different passports. He called up his superiors, and what conversation transpired, we did not learn, but he stamped our paper visas & let us through. We have had similar experiences at many airports & checkpoints in the world. The followers of Sultan-al-Bohra can avail a special status at Cairo, or Karachi (if Maula is in Pakistan) or Damascus, Yemen , or East Africa, or UAE, the list goes on. Those who had their US Visa stamped during Ashara with a mention "Attending Ashara"! on the visa, can vouch for the response at the Houston airport immigration. The recent grant of visa-on-arrival exclusively for Bohras, at the Dubai airport was as unbelievable as, so many other episodes in our past travel experiences. We are a people who do not have a nation but are treated like a single nationality, do not have a kingdom, but are treated royally. From Japan in the East to he West Coast of USA, & from New Zealand in the south to Norway in the north, whether we reside in the snowy Alps in Switzerland, or on the golden Coast of Kenya, we have a common bond, a unique culture, a common language, a standard calendar, a uniform code of conduct that absolutely defines the rights & the wrongs, one goal, one platform & one base of knowledge. Our geographic existence might be checkered, but the entire mosaic of our community is a beautiful picture of harmony, painted by a divine hand. Our Tryst with destiny begins & ends in the same spiritual allegiance. We are taught to be absolutely loyal to the country we reside in contributing to the socio-economic progress and prosperity of the country, we are a peace loving community, that gives us a rare edge over all others, and yet in spite of all diversities, we are one. What really makes us tick? What gives us a place of great pride & what makes us so special? We have a Maula, who over the years, has given us an identity, that no other government in the world can provide.

That explains the one-voice "Ameen", whenever we pray that May Allah grant our beloved Maula, Syedna Burhanuddin Aqa a long long life. Ameen

Author: Unknown

Appearance Vs. Reality

2007-07-06T14:06:00.000+04:00

To appear wise, one must talk;
To be wise, one must listen.

To appear to do good, one must be busy;
To do good, one must know when to stand aside.

To appear to lead, one must put oneself first;
To lead, one must put oneself last.

To appear caring, one must give advice;
To be caring, one must give space.

To appear to love, one must know how to give;
To love, one must know also how to receive.

To appear happy, one must smile;
To be happy, one must be free of fears.

Six Rules for Seeking Knowledge (al-ilm)

2007-06-26T00:35:00.000+04:00

اخي لن تنال العلم الا بستة * سأنبيك عن تفصيلها ببيان
ذكاء وحرص واجتهاد وبلغة * وصحبة استاذ وطول زمان

1-ذكاء
الذكاء قسمان قسم منحه الله لعبده وقسم مكتسب وكلاهما من الله ولكن بإمكان الانسان تنمية الجزء الاخر فيصبح اكثر ذكاء
2-حرص
ينبغي على كل طالب علم ان يكون ذا حرص ودافعية في طلبه للعلم ليرفع من رصيده العلمي فبقدر ما يتحصل من علم لديه بقدر ما يعظم قدره وينجح في حياته والحرص على طلب العلم ينبع من ادراك قيمته وعظم اهميته فإذا ادرك ذلك كان حريصا عليه فعليك ان تعرف فضل ما تطلب قبل ان تبدأ بالطلب
3-اجتهاد
يقصد به الهمة العالية والمتابعه اليومية وكثرة المراجعه والاستذكار فذلك يحمي العلم من النسيان فلكل شئ آفة وآفة العلم النسيان
لا يورث العلم من الاعمام ولا يرى بالليل في المنام
لكنه يحصل بالتكرار والدرس في الليل والنهار
4-بلغة
هي المادة التي تباغك الى بغيتك من تحصيل العلم وهي الزاد الذي تتقوى به على اكتسابه فعلى الطالب ان يتحرى البلغة الحلال والمأكل الطيب
5-صحبة استاذ
الصحبه دوام الملازمه والمواظبة على الحضور بين يدي الاستاذ حتى تتمرس معه على على حسن الفهم
6-طول زمان
ان العلم لا يدرك بين عشية وضحاها ولا يوى في رؤيا النائم
تمنيت ان تمسي فقيها مناظرا بغير عناء والجنون فنون
فتحصيل العلم لا يكون بحضور درسين او ثلاثة او قراءة فصل او فصلين انما يحتاج الى زمن في مطاعة الكتب ومجالسة العلماء.

Top ten ways to protect your online privacy

2007-06-19T02:20:00.001+04:00

Here are 10 ways to keep personal information secure when online:

Favour common sense over technological solutions. Keep personal documents safe, preferably in a locked drawer. Shred bank statements, credit card slips and bills before throwing them away.
If it’s too good to be true, it is. Never open unsolicited “spam” messages. Delete e-mails offering cash, free gifts or stock tips. Millions of unsolicited “spam” messages are sent every day in an attempt to defraud computer users.
Basic prevention helps. Protect your computer against identity theft. Install security software to combat viruses, spyware and spam and keep it updated.
Know enough about your firewall, the barrier between the public Internet and a personal computer, to know when it is working and when it isn’t. Don’t worry about the geeky complexity of it all, just know it’s operating.
Beware of “phishing”, where criminals trick people into revealing personal or financial details, often by sending e-mails purporting to be from a bank. Never casually reply to requests for your personal financial details.
Keep your private e-mail address secure. Consider using different e-mail accounts for shopping, banking, friends and work. There are many free account providers.
Do not use the same password for different sites. Choose passwords with a mix of letters, numbers and symbols. Don’t use obvious passwords, such as your first name or “123456” and don’t write them down. For memory’s sake, choosing a basic root word, then rotating numbers, is safer.
Make online payments safely. Never enter a card number unless there is a padlock in the Web browser’s frame, rather than the Web page. The Web address should begin with “https” — the extra “S” stands for “secure”. Consider reserving one credit card for Web use or signing up for a separate online payment service like PayPal.
Secure your wireless network at home and be wary when using public access points. Encrypt the connection to scramble communications over the network. Turn off the wireless network when you’re not using it.
Treat your laptop computer like cash — never leave it in a locked car or turn your back while using it in a public place. The same holds true with your mobile phone: Lock your phone (and any passwords you keep on it) when not using it.

Dreams Shattered, Life Battered

2007-06-07T12:04:00.000+04:00

Many in the world live in the world of dreams, striving and toiling all day and night to see those dreams they see come true. Day dreamers even though they run after life they never seem to catch it and finally they realize they forgot to live.

People with vision conquer the world but many die without crossing a mile of their lives. We motivate ourselves with stories of great men who turned the world upside down but forget to learn from the many who motivated by these people die in vain.

Friends turning foe and relatives throwing curses can shatter almost every mans dream. However, our life is nothing but a dream and one fine day all will wake up to realize what was correct and what was wrong. Is it wrong to trust a friend or is it wrong to save the trust instead of a personal gain.

Once the Times of India wrote that it is said that more then 90% of the Indian Population in major cities suffers from some kind of a mental disease. Why is that so? Shakespeare has well said that when troubles come they come not on single spies but in battalions. An average man lives upto 60 and in todays world when a person reaches half this age and looks back at life he could clearly say that he forgot to live. There is no one who cares enough to hold you in your hands in a calamity. No one in this world can feel a person's pain. No one can ever read a persons mind and thoughts. No one can ever step in another persons shoes. Still there are those who sit at height to counsel and have personal gains.

There is one godly figure my heart pounds and beats as we remember him. He is no God but so divine that he can never be separated from the creator. Rasuallah (SA) whom Allah sent as Rehmat and mercy on this land. And the rehmat still exists in his progeny and their Dai Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin (TUS). The Dawoodi Bohras seek his blessings and have overcome the greatest fo all troubles.

There comes a time when a troubled mind is led to submit to destruction and the more powerful the mind is the larger the destruction is caused. The power of an atomic bomb can be harnessed for peaceful causes but its destructive capacity is massive. The human mind is no different. A peaceful generator of energy can turn destructive when the circumstances are out of control. It does depend on how you deal with it.

The Quran has said that killing a single soul is equal to killing all people. What a brilliant statement and the worlds top so called mentors should know it. The society turns men into criminals by first killing their spirit and their soul. He who kills a soul kills the entire population. The consequences are so wide spread like an atom bomb that is rarely controllable. The destruction is so wide that all Friends and Family feel its heat.

Next time if you see a crime try to know its cause. Did you deprive someone of love and respect. If so each one of us is guilty. Today terror has become the height of discussion everywhere. The breading ground of terror is discrimination and nothing else. The rich discriminate the poor. The powerful discriminate the week. The rights of every person are being stampeded by the rights activists.

Dreaming is never bad but has been labeled unwise and the world following the labeled instructions shatters them to bits and pieces. Self centric persons are those who call others selfish in greed of having their share of respect and right to live. We never know which one of these are we.

Prayers are a Mumin's weapon but what if the weapon has been lost in the wilds of Azkaban. Its upto those who are besides him to help selflessly. It never happens in this world of dreams but only in the dreams of men who dare. A friend in need is a friend indeed.

May Allah bless our beloved Maula (TUS) a long life. Ameen

Spybot - Search & Destroy

2007-06-04T12:51:00.000+04:00

Any Internet surfer who has a little sense of security and privacy should have this inevitable ware. It is one of my personal favorites and I make it a point that its installed on any system that I use. The best thing about this anti-adware / anti-spyware is that its free.

Spybot has other wonderful tools as well. such as RegAlyzer, FileAlyzer and other products. People in the Web Hosting and Internet industry would love its NetAlyzer tool to gather network info, trace routes, and gather and manage whois queries, for advanced users.

You can fall inlove with spybot once you try its wares for windows palm as well as its symbian edition. I really wonder why Nokia didn't consider adding it in its default tool set.

Spybot - Search & Destroy detects and removes spyware, a relatively new kind of threat not yet covered by common anti-virus applications. Spyware silently tracks your surfing behaviour to create a marketing profile for you that is transmitted without your knowledge to the compilers and sold to advertising companies. If you see new toolbars in your Internet Explorer that you haven't intentionally installed, if your browser crashes inexplicably, or if your home page has been "hijacked" (or changed without your knowledge), your computer is most probably infected with spyware. Even if you don't see the symptoms, your computer may be infected, because more and more spyware is emerging. Spybot-S&D is free, so there's no harm giving it a try to see if something has invaded your computer.

To see a list of threats Spybot-S&D can remove, in the navigation bar at the left click on Support --> Threats. For an introduction to Spybot-S&D, please read the tutorial. If you fear incompatibility with other software you are now using, although we can assure you that there is no danger you can review our compatibility overview which lists some software whose compatibility has been analyzed.

Spybot-S&D can also clean usage tracks, an interesting function if you share your computer with other users and don't want them to see what you have been working on. And for professional users, Spybot-S&D allows you to fix some registry inconsistencies and extended reports. A list of all the apllication's features is also available.

Portable Application Safety

2007-06-04T09:46:00.000+04:00

Some suggestions for staying safe from PortableApps.com...

An important thing to keep in mind when using portable applications is that they can be used to spread viruses between machines. While this isn't as much of an issue when you own or are responsible for the machines you are using it on (say work and home), it can be a very big issue when you use a portable app on an untrusted or unknown machine (school, internet cafe, etc). For this reason, it is important that you practice Safe Portable App-ing!

The Checklist

Use a solid antivirus program on your primary PC and keep its virus definitions up to date.
Use a solid antivirus program on your portable device, like ClamWin Portable, and keep its virus definitions up to date.
Scan your PC and portable drive for viruses on a regular basis.
Whenever you plug your portable drive into an unknown computer, you should assume that it may now be infected with a virus. If the PC has a virus that is currently in memory, it may attempt to infect your portable applications as soon as you plug it in.
When you then plug your portable drive into another computer (after an unknown), you should first scan it for viruses before running any of your applications. (Most antivirus software will make this available to you by right-clicking on your drive in Explorer or My Computer.) That way, if it is infected, you'll know before you run your applications and the new computer will not be infected.
Always wait until the drive access light has stopped blinking and then click the icon in your system tray to 'Safely Remove' your device. Don't just remove it. Just because the application's window is closed doesn't mean the app has fully closed and finished writing to the disk.
Back up on a regular basis, both your applications and your files. PortableApps Backup makes this a snap and it's built right into the PortableApps Suite.

If you follow these simple rules, you'll be able to enjoy your portable applications without getting stuck with a virus or losing your data. As always, there is still the risk of getting a new virus that your antivirus program can't yet detect, but the probability would be relatively low, and you run the same risk whenever you download a file from the internet.

Microsoft Excel

2007-05-25T19:20:00.000+04:00

MS Excel is a fascinating tool that most people use in their daily day-to-day activities from accounting to data management. Its simple to use and can do just anything provided you have the instinct for it. Did I say anything? Well yes anything. Look at this village.

Personally speaking I am no big fan of MS tools but I do use them to ease my day and it helps. I am no guru either and there are hundreds of resources out there that the true fans of Billy boy might have in store for you. I enjoy sharing and thats what I am going to do here. Share the excel tip files that a few generous and kind people have created to help people like us. Thanks to their efforts.

EXCEL SHORTCUTS

EXCEL TIPS

Note: If you have a smaller budget and cannot use MS products then you should not bother and use Open Office. Its neat and compatible with some MS file extensions as well. I have tried it and you should too, infact teach your children to use the community, and help it grow as well.

Selfless Care is Seldom Acknowledged

2007-05-21T12:11:00.000+04:00

CrossLoop - Simple Secure Screen Sharing

2007-05-18T13:23:00.000+04:00

What is Crossloop?

CrossLoop is a FREE secure screen sharing utility designed for people of all technical skill levels. CrossLoop extends the boundaries of VNC’s traditional screen sharing by enabling non-technical users to get connected from anywhere on the Internet in seconds without changing any firewall or router settings. It only takes a few minutes to setup and no signup is required.

CrossLoop's underlying technology was created to simplify the process of securely working with others located in different physical locations across diverse network environments. CrossLoop enables you to see the screen and control the mouse and keyboard on a remote computer. It is as if you are working side by side at the same PC. CrossLoop is a powerful productivity tool that enables you to quickly collaborate in with anyone in the world.

CrossLoop is powered by the proprietary CrossLoop VIP Tunnel, a secure peer-to-peer data transmission system. CrossLoop encrypts all files and messages exchanged on our network to ensure user privacy. Only you and your invited friends or family can view or share control of your computer. A CrossLoop session can only begin on your computer by explicitly inviting them to begin a session. All data sent over the CrossLoop network is encrypted at the endpoints using a 128-bit Blowfish encryption. For more detailed information on CrossLoop security, visit our security page.

We have gone to great lengths to ensure that CrossLoop is secure and have designed the application from the ground up with security in mind. If you have any questions regarding CrossLoop security please contact us at info@CrossLoop.com.

The Windows version of CrossLoop uses the TightVNC software plug-in for screen sharing. We have included a binary distribution of the TightVNC program in the installation software of the Windows version of CrossLoop to save you the trouble of separately downloading and installing TightVNC. If you have any questions about your rights related to TightVNC (which is licensed under GPL), please see our detailed description of how we use VNC.

Starting a Session

After installing CrossLoop, you will see a welcome screen with two tabs. Select the Join tab if you would like to connect and control a friend's PC. Select the Host tab if you would like to temporarily share access to your PC.

If you have not already done so, download CrossLoop.

Run Google Talk in Firefox Sidebar

2007-05-16T12:07:00.000+04:00

Firefox is the coolest browser I have known. The best think I link about it is that it has a wonderful tab browsing system along with security that can be said to match no other. Its faster then other browsers and its add-ons are just superb.

Greasemonkey is something you will love while browsing the worldwide web. It can practically change the looks and feel of the sites you browse to what you like to see. I mean customization of sites. What a great thing, userscripts.org has tons of scripts that can help you browse the web the way you like it. You can practically change the looks of your favorite Gmail Inbox and have it display the attachment that a message carries without opening it. You can write your own scripts, too. Mark Pilgrim's definitive Greasemonkey guide, diveintogreasemonkey.org will show you how.

One of my favorites is the GTalk add-on in Firefox. You can run the neat messenger in the sidebar of Firefox, without having to install it. Give it a try, download the gTalk Sidebar

Access any site while sitting behind firewalls, office systems etc

2007-05-15T22:06:00.000+04:00

Many people have problems accessing sites like orkut, myspace, rapidshare, etc. cause they are blocked by their offices, schools or firewalls.

There are many methods described here but the best would be using proxies

to get daily proxies follow these steps

1. Go to http://www.google.com/reader/
2. Login in with your google account
3. Click on manage subscriptions
4. Click on Import/export
5. Download this file
6. Unzip, note the location
7. Browse to the location from google reader's import/export
8. Upload the OPML file
9. Get daily updates of proxy lists via rss
10. There is no 10th step

Then chose a proxy and apply it in the following way

in firefox >>
Tools > Options > Advanced > Connection Settings > Manual Proxy configuration
Here enter the proxy ip and port
Presto visit almost all sites anonymously

For the people whose port 6969 is blocked (like mine) use SOCKS4/SOCKS5 Proxies

The soul would have no rainbow, had the eyes no tears......

2007-05-15T11:46:00.001+04:00

Grief is a natural and normal reaction to a loss of any kind. It s a journey of experiences and feelings in response to that loss, and an adjustment because of that loss . Grief is not a option but a necessity. It is a necessity not only because of the loss but because of the love that is the basis of the relationship /experiences before that loss.

You feel grief all over. It is physical, emotional, spiritual, psychological and social. It is a very personal journey or experience (there are roadmaps but no guidelines or specifics) and it demands a lot of hard work! The deeper the feelings toward the person or object lost the deeper the need to grieve. Grief hurts because of the love behind it.

Grief is a process or journey that is not completed. You do not "get over" grief. You do recover enough for some movement in life. It is an experience based on many things (your lifestyle, history, past experiences, faith, and family network), involves many feelings (like anger, love, bitterness, despair, doubt and guilt) and often can include depression, physical and behavioral changes and changes in interests and lifestyles.

Grief is a process or series of actions, reactions and the making of new pathways to travel. It affects our attitudes and feelings about ourselves, our situation, those around us and the one who is lost. The process of grieving is not a straight line but s series of steps forward, sideways, upside down and backward until something called recovery is reached . There is not timetable.

Be gentle with those who are in grief and with yourselves if you are a caregiver.

May Allah grant Maula TUS a long, healthy life ta qayamat. Ameen

Amte Syedna TUS
Alifyah Saifuddin

Posted on:
Dawoodi Bohra Net
http://www.mumineen.org

Convert Audio Cassette Tapes to MP3 files or CD

2007-05-14T21:59:00.000+04:00

Audio cassette tapes, once the primary audio storage medium, are now disappearing quickly from the music store shelves to be replaced with Audio CDs. If you still own a pile of audio cassettes, now is the perfect time to convert them to MP3 files or Windows Media Audio before they're gone forever.

Digitizing analog tapes essentially involves playing the tape on the taperecorder deck, capturing the audio on your computer and finally converting the .wav files to mp3 or wma formats using software like LAMP MP3 encoder or Adobe Audition. The audio cable is connected to the line-in jack on your PC's sound card.

Now there are various options to transfer your audio tapes to CD depending on your OS platform and budget. Let's look at expert opinion on the web:

Using MusicMatch - Connect the to your sound card's line-in terminal with a 1/8" mini-jack and record the contents of your tape as a WAV file. Just set MusicMatch to record the line-in channel, press play on your tape deck, and then press the record button on the MusicMatch Jukebox.

Tips for better recordings - If your tape of a favorite live concert begins with a few minutes of audience murmuring, delete it. If you’ve recorded multiple songs, split your single recording into separate files. That way, you can make each song or section a separate track on an audio CD or on your iPod. Some software can detect silence between songs and divide them for you.

Using Audacity on Mac - Audio I/O: Recording should be set for 2 channels (stereo) and both the playback and recording devices set at Built in audio controller. Audio CDs sample sound 44,100 times per second. The standard sample format (number of digits in the digital representation of each sample) is 16-bit. Audacity’s defaults are a 44 KHz sample rate, but 32-bit sample format.

Using External Audio Capture Device - Consider using an external audio-capture device such as the plug-and-play USB M-Audio Transit instead of your sound card; it will record a much cleaner signal.

Remember to set your audio software’s volume controls according to the loudness of your tape or record. Proper volume is vital to getting good sound. Set the levels too low, and your audio will be too soft and prone to noise. Set levels too high, and loud portions of the recording will sound horribly distorted.

Sweet Dreams: 13 Tips for a Great Night Sleep

2007-05-13T21:45:00.000+04:00

Seeking sound sleep ? Try these tips for good night sleep:

» Throw your TV set and the computer out of the bedroom.

» Take a cool shower before jumping into the bed.

» Wear loose cotton clothes (preferable white) - no denims or trousers please.

» Fix a sleeping schedule and stick to the routine honestly.

» Is the pillow good enough ? In a lot of cases, pillows and incomforable mattress may lead to sleep disorders.

» Reduce intake of spices, chocolates and caffeine, especially after lunchtime.

» The old granny's trick - take a glass of warm milk just before going to bed.

» If you are worried about something that preventing your from sleeping, try to think of ways to resolve it. Opening a discussion with the partner may help.

» Do some physical work or Yoga exercises some 3-4 hours before the sleeping time.

» There should be a healthy gap between your dinner and sleeping time.

» Sex with your partner before bedtime will also aid in getting a good sleep.

» If your mind is flooded with ideas and tasks for the next day, jot them down on a piece of paper so that you get relaxed.

» When nothing helps, tune in to some Worldspace Radio station for soft, slow, relaxing music like jazz, folk or orchestral pieces.

I hope these sleeping tricks will help you sleep, stay asleep, and wake up refreshed next day. Sweet Dreams.

How to take Screenshots of Movies in Windows Media Player

2007-05-13T21:36:00.000+04:00

Quest: How do I capture still images from a movie playing in Microsoft Windows Media Player, Real Player, WinAmp or Apple QuickTime?

Some users try to grab the current video frame by pressing the standard Windows "Print Screen" key (next to F12 key on the QWERTY keyboard). But when the image screenshot from clipboard is pasted into an image editor, the capture is a black blank screen instead of the actual video.

Reason: When the video plays, it is actually displayed on a different surface/layer called overlay that is produced by hardware acceleration. When you take a normal screen capture, you're taking it of the normal surface where the video isn't displayed. That's why it comes out black as it is invisible to the screen capture software.

Here are some common solutions to capture pictures from DVD movies currently playing with Windows Media Player Classic or other video players. It should also work for movies (wmv, mov, avi) embedded in a webpage.

1. Use another media player such as Power DVD, WinDVD or BSPlayer - it takes screenshots of the movie and stores them as jpegs images. Or you could try a video editor like VirtualDub.

2. Invest in a commercial screen capture software like Camtasia Studio or SnagIt (allows DirectX capture).

3. In WMP, at least since version 9, you can use Ctrl-I (EYE) to capture a frame, either when playing or when paused for greater accuracy. It brings up a Save Captured Image dialog which handily defaults to a jpeg. This works only if the video you are watching is using a Microsoft supported movie file.

4. Don't use Overlay

1. Open your Window Media Player and click Options on the Tools menu.
2. On the Performance tab, click on the Advanced... button.
3. Uncheck Use overlays from DVD video, click OK and restart the player.

Now you can capture images from any movies played in Windows Media Player using Print Screen (PrintScrn) key (or ALT + PrintScrn key). Once copied, the image can be pasted into Microsoft Paint (Start > All Programs > Accessories > Paint) or other image editor. If you have problems taking screenshots from a playing movie try to pause it first, then "print" the image.

5. Fix blank captures by turning off hardware acceleration. You can either disable hardware acceleration in the application that is playing the video, or disable hardware acceleration system wide.

To disable graphics hardware acceleration globally for all applications in Windows XP or Windows 2000, Select
Control Panel - Display - Properties - Settings - Advanced - Troubleshooting and slide the Hardware Acceleration slider from Full to None.

For Windows 98 or NT systems, the path is slightly different
Control Panel - System - Performance - Graphics - Advanced settings.
Now hit the OK button at the bottom of the window. This disables all accelerations. You may need to restart the machine for the change to take effect.

To turn Off Hardware Acceleration in Your Video Player Only:

In Windows Media Player:
1. In Media Player 7 or later, select Tools > Options > Performance tab. In Media Player v.6.4 and earlier, select View > Options > Playback.
2. Click and drag the Hardware Acceleration slider to the left, changing the setting from Full to None.

In RealOne Player:
1. Select Tools > Preferences > Hardware in the navigation pane
2 Click and drag the Playback Performance slider to the left, changing the setting from Best quality to Lowest CPU usage.

In Apple QuickTime (Standard and Pro):
1. Select Edit > Preferences > Streaming Transport. The QuickTime Settings dialog box displays.
2. From the drop-down list, select Video Settings. Click the Safe Mode (GDI Only) radio button.

In WinAmp
1. Click Options - Preferences - General Preferences, select Video.
2. Uncheck Allow hardware video overlay.

Don't forget to move the Video acceleration slider back to Full when you are done

For Windows Media Player 9, you can either turn off hardware acceleration, or use a slightly different solution that will allow you to leave hardware acceleration enabled during video capture. However, in order to capture RealPlayer or QuickTime videos, you must turn off your computer's hardware acceleration.

Capturing Still Images from a DVD Player using SnagIt - You can use SnagIt to capture still images directly from a DVD player if you are using a software DVD decoder, such as Intervideo's WinDVD or CyberLink's Power DVD. However, you may need to make the configuration changes mentioned above to your DVD player software in order to do take this type of capture. Windows Media Player cannot be used for this purpose because it does not use a standard DirectX layer to display DVD video.

TECHNOLOGY - A MUMIN'S PERSPECTIVE

2007-05-13T00:45:00.001+04:00

Wherever we turn, we are able to see the effects of the advances of technology – from medicine to education, and more. Advances in medical technology have allowed doctors to treat patients in the first few critical moments after a health trauma. As a teacher and a parent, I see technology used in the classroom – whether it is to enhance students' fine motor skills or to teach them how to read. In our everyday home or work lives, going a few days without the internet, telephone, or even a cell phone would seem impossible.

Yesterday, while watching the video of Aqa Maula (tus) performing the Iftetah of the Qubbah Mubarakah of Syedna Hatim (R.A.) in Yemen, it became evident that a Mumin's life in the era of our Maula (tus) would be impossible without the technology that allows us to be so close to our Maula, without physically being there.

Watching the video of the Iftetah, I was able to see every unique amal of Aqa Maula (tus), from entering the Qubbah Mubarkah, to performing Tasleem at the Qabr and holding the Gilaf and performing Ziyarat. Seeing all these unique and momentous Aamaal being performed, my Mohabbat and Tafadi for my Maula grew even more stronger. All the Bayans that I had heard during Ayyam e Tabudaa't helped me realize how much my Maula cares for me and all Mumineen. A single Amal of holding the Gilaaf and instantaneously recollecting the Kalemaat Nooraniyah of Syedna Taher Saifuddin (R.A) Aqa Maula (tus) remembered us Mumineen in his Dua Mubarak. This Amal alone of Aqa Maula (tus), made me realize that our Maula (tus) puts us Mumineen above anyone and anything. That Amal of Aqa Maula (tus) was the Khulaso of Tafaadi and Mohabbat.

Even when we are not fortunate enough to be physically present in the Hazarat of our Maula (tus), we have become so used to the many opportunities of Deedar via video relay, that it is difficult to imagine a Mumin's life without technology. Every Moharram, those who are less fortunate and are not able to attend Ashara with Aqa Maula (tus), wait and pray daily for news of a video relay. It is hard to imagine an Ashara, no matter where we are in Bilad Imaniyah, without doing Deedar of our Bawa Shafiq (tus). It may be difficult to live our day to day lives without the advances of current technology, but it would be impossible for a Mumin to live their life without the technology that brings them closer to their Maula (tus). Yesterday, while watching the video relay it became clear to me that while we may all be bounded by technology in our everyday lives, it is the same technology that has the sharaf of being in the Khidmat of Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin Saheb (tus), bringing Mumineen closer to their Maula (tus). May Allah Subhanahu enhance the Umer Sharif of Aqa Maula (tus) till Qayamat. Ameen

Amate Syedna (tus)
Rashida M. Aliasger Rasheed
Columbus, OH
www.eduscribe.com

Corporate Lessons

2007-05-12T15:24:00.001+04:00

Lesson Number One

A crow was sitting on a tree, doing nothing all day. A small rabbit saw the crow, and asked him, "Can I also sit like you and do nothing all day long?"The crow answered: "Sure, why not." So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the crow, and rested. All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Moral of the story is: To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.

Lesson Number Two

A turkey was chatting with a bull. "I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree," sighed the turkey, "but I haven't got the energy."

"Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?" replied the bull. "They're packed with nutrients." The turkey pecked at a lump of dung and found that it actually gave him enough strength to reach the first branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a fortnight, there he was proudly perched at the top of the tree. Soon he was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot the turkey out of the tree.

Moral of the story: Bullshit might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there.

Lesson Number Three

A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold, the bird froze and fell to the ground in a large field. While it was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on it. As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, it began to realize how warm it was. The dung was actually thawing him out!

He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy. A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him!

The morals of this story are 1) Not everyone who drops shit on you is your enemy. 2) Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend. 3) And when you're in deep shit, keep your mouth shut.

Lesson Number Four

A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower, when the doorbell rings. The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs. When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next-door neighbor.

Before she says a word, Bob says, 'I'll give you $800 to drop that towel'. After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob After a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 and leaves.

The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs. When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks, 'Who was that?' 'It was Bob the next door neighbor,' she replies. 'Great,' the husband says, 'did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?'

Moral of the story: If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.

Lesson Number Five

A priest offered a Nun a lift. She got in and crossed her legs, forcing her gown to reveal a leg. The priest nearly had an accident. After controlling the car, he stealthily slid his hand up her leg. The nun said, 'Father, remember Psalm 129?' The priest removed his hand. But, changing gears, he let his hand slide up her leg again.

The nun once again said, 'Father, remember Psalm 129?' The priest apologized, 'Sorry sister but the flesh is weak.'

Arriving at the convent, the nun sighed heavily and went on her way. On his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to look up Psalm 129, it said, 'Go forth and seek, further up, you will find glory.'

Moral of the story: If you are not well informed in your job, you might miss a great opportunity.

Religion and Modern Doubts

2007-05-10T00:29:00.000+04:00

Religion and Modern Doubts

Science extends and enriches our lives, expands our imagination and liberates us from the bonds of ignorance and superstition. The endorsing societies wish to affirm the precepts of modern science that are responsible for its success.

Science is the systematic enterprise of gathering knowledge about the universe and organizing and condensing that knowledge into testable laws and theories.

The success and credibility of science is anchored in the willingness of scientists to:

1. Expose their ideas and results to independent testing and replication by other scientists. This requires the complete and open exchange of data, procedures and materials, And

2. Abandon or modify previously accepted conclusions when confronted with more complete or reliable experimental or observational evidence.

Adherence to these principles provides a mechanism for self-correction that is the foundation of the credibility of science.

In short, Science can be termed a result of vast experiences and experiments by all that can be perceived by the five senses that are gifted to man by the Creator.

This knowledge which is a result of human analysis in accordance to the capacity of the human mind has progressed to such an extent in the past that man can boast to create his exact clone. Does that mean that he is the only superior being on the face of Earth or let’s says the entire universe? Or is there a superior being that has endowed upon man such brilliance to think. Syedna Taher Saifuddin (RA) has stated in one of his Rasail Sharifah that the human spirit has such vast capacities that it can subjugate the universe. Where did such extraordinary powers come from?

None can deny that there is a creator who is behind such magnificent creation, the human intellect. Syedna Hamiduddin al-Kirmani (RA) has written that a simple table and chair need a carpenter to built it, then why not the universe. If things came into existence by it own means why did the sun choose to shine by its own light while the moon is illuminated by the suns rays? Questions such as these are never meant to be answered by the human mind or intellect, which is in need of an external and eternal noor to ignite it, just as the moon is in need of the sun’s rays. These questions can only be answered by the Divine Creator, the Master.

Religion carries the message of Allah which engulfs within it the secrets of life. Religion is only thing that can form a base for the human intellect and faith is the noor that ignites it. Every religion teaches but one thing, faith in the Almighty. The soul that brings life to the human body is there to stay even when the bones are decayed. The soul, the life, is but Allah’s creation.

The Soul has in itself the capacity for affection, it loves as it perceives, understands and remembers. Religion brings to life this quality while shedding light on good and evil. It is only when man abides by the divine laws that separate good from evil that a better society comes into existence. Science when becomes a backbone of religion develops better effects. The Rasail of Ikhwan al-Safa are a fine example. The divine township that the Imam (AS) has mentioned in these rasail is nothing but a fine blend of knowledge perceived by the senses and that which is spiritual. People call it meta-physics in today’s world. In fact the senses are the tools for spiritual development and the glow of the intellect. This is the philosophy of Ikhwan al-Safa, the brethren of purity.

On the other hand science has created doubts in religion and faith in today’s world. The misuse of the senses has begun to question the light of intellect, faith. Science has no time to discover the truths which still lay hidden to the human senses but instead has started questioning the faith in human existence. The reason behind such arrogance is the nature of the human race to keep itself alive. People seek the extension of an organic life which is bound to transform itself however slowly. These people lack the insight to look at their inner souls and thus question the divine laws that govern life. There are certain questions that the human intellect can never calculate it answers and conclude its results unless an external and divine noor of faith illuminates it. A blind and a person with sight are the same in a darkened room with no light. So, is the blind of faith and the insane.

“Let the soul be assured that somewhere in the universe it should rejoin its friend, and it would be content and cheerful alone for a thousand years”.

May Allah Subhanahu bless our beloved Maula (TUS), the divine noor embodied, a long life in sehat and afiyat. It is through his light that Mumineen clearly see the facts of life and its reality. Ameen

Google's Adsense

2007-05-08T13:23:00.000+04:00

Web Publishing and Internet started as a passion in my past and now its a part time income provider. I like to read and write both, to be precise and thats what led me to the business of web hosting.

Today the hosting and publishing passion has turned into a part time income source. Adsense, I say is one of the best online income providers then any other ad sourcing companies I have ever run into over the many years of web hosting and publishing. It does not come in the way of your content nor design with bogus banners and stuff. It provides genuine ads that are relevant to your content which pulls the interest of the readership resulting in a genuine click through. Well off course a larger part of my web presence income is derived from the Web Hosting and development business which happens to run smoothly even though there are bad debts but hopefully it is profitable. I would recommend publishers to take advantage of the wonderful program of Google Adsense.

Advertising on the web has never been easy and more precise. The stats that you get are also wonderful and can help you in many ways. One way the stats have helped me is that I have created an educational blog which has content related to teaching and education. I created this blog in intention to donate the income derived from this blog to educational purposes. The adsense stats help me know the exact income derived from this blog so that I can use it for the good intent.

Mermaid

2007-05-04T18:28:00.000+04:00

Some Interesting Pictures http://www.thefeejeemermaid.com

Family

2007-05-04T18:12:00.000+04:00

I ran into a stranger as he passed by,
"Oh excuse me please" was my reply.
He said, "Please excuse me, too;
I wasn't really watching for you."
We were very polite, this stranger and I.
We went on our way and we said good-bye.

But at home a different story is told,
How we treat our loved ones, young and old.
Later that day, cooking the evening meal,
My son stood beside me very still.
When I turned, I nearly knocked him down.
"Move out of the way," I said with a frown.
He walked away, his little heart broken.
I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.

While I lay awake that night in bed,
God's still small voice came to me and said,
"While dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you use,
But the children you love, you seem to abuse.
Go and look on the kitchen floor,
You'll find some flowers there by the door.
Those are the flowers he brought for you.
He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue.
He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise,
You never saw the tears that filled his little eyes."
By this time, I was feeling very small,
And then my tears began to fall.
I quietly went and knelt by his bed;
"Wake up, little one, wake up," I said.
"Are these the flowers you picked for me?"
He smiled, "I found 'em, out by the tree.
I picked 'em because they're pretty like you.
I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue."
I said, "Son, I'm very sorry for the way I acted today;
I shouldn't have yelled at you that way."
He said, "Oh, Mom, that's okay.
I love you anyway."
I said, "Son, I love you too, and I do like the flowers,
sespecially the blue."

Are you aware that if we died tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family we left behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives. And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than into our own family ----
an unwise investment indeed, don't you think? So what is behind this story? Do you know what the word FAMILY means?
FAMILY=(F)ATHER (A)ND (M)OTHER, (I) (L)OVE (Y)OU!

International Dawoodi Bohras Scout Band Competition

2007-04-16T07:39:00.000+04:00

MUMBAI; April 16, 2007. The world-wide Dawoodi Bohra community is celebrating the 96th birthday of its spiritual leader His Holiness Dr. Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin.

As part of the celebrations, the first International Dawoodi Bohra Scout Band Competition was today organized under the management of Anjuman-e-Shiate- Ali, the Dawoodi Bohra Jamaat of Mumbai.

92 Dawoodi Bohra Scout Bands had arrived from all over India as well as from Pakistan, Dubai and Kuwait. They participated in the competition that was held at the Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) at Mahalaxmi Racecourse .

The participant Scout Bands were divided into 4 groups. Each group was supervised and judged by a panel of 3 judges from the Mumbai Police Band. The qualifying 12 Scout Bands performed for 3 minutes each in front of His Holiness in the evening.

Over 20,000 Dawoodi Bohras attended the grand event and conveyed their humble greetings to their beloved spiritual leader. His Holiness in an address praised the efforts of the community members in organizing such an event and bestowed benediction for their happiness and prosperity. On the occasion Syedna also prayed for peace, progress and prosperity to prevail in the nation and for the wellbeing of humanity at large.

Apart from this grand event, numerous social, economic, educational, medical and cultural programmes are being undertaken by the Dawoodi Bohras across the world starting from the birthday celebrations of Prophet Mohammed (SAW) and culminate on the birthday of His Holiness on 7th May, 2007.

Map of Important Places of Ziyarat in India

2007-04-02T14:00:00.000+04:00

Asbaq of Himmah and Tanbih

2007-03-22T00:52:00.000+04:00

I had started the kitaabs with much enthusiasm for the IT Committee as the Kitaabs have the precise etiquettes needed for a Khidmat guzaar and not a mumin only.

Himmah sketches the behavior and character that a Mumin should possess or rather devolop in his/her dealings with Awliya'ullah in all matters of life. While Tanbih alGaffileen sheds light on the conduct of Mumineen among themselves.

The group was of about 12 people initially and ended with 6. Majority of the men either did not like the subject or were simply not interested in attending the sabaq because it was me who was preaching. Was it me I really think.

I tried to be precise in the zikr I did to the extent that the sabaqs were more bookish and within the text itself rather then other sources except at places where I had to portray the lines that were between the ink. Himmah is a difficult kitaab in language and as a Kitaab of hikmat I had a feeling it would be hard to digest for those who are not prepared even though some have attended asbaq of Shz Sahebs.

On the other hand Tanbih was a more fascinating kitaab for its simplicity of language and richness of knowledge. What was comprehended in im mind was far more loftier then that which I could say. Its a masterpiece in itself, as it covers the secrets while pointing towards them in an obvious way. The coded language in a simple text is something that astonishes me about this Kitaab. Syedna Hatim (RA) had indeed put in its fold the vast realities, the keys to which were with his predecessors.
Today after a year both the kitaabs ended with a presence of only four. Those who wish to quench their thirst from the sweet streams of ilme Aale mohammed can't be kept away for those who have no respect for it. It is my job to continue with this Khidmat with another Kitaab even if a single soul is left. What I believe is that the fayz will reach those who are destined to receive it and those who loose their share are at loss.

May Allah bless our Hudaat Kiraam with afzal al-Jaza for their selfless efforts in imparting this knowledge and transferring these barakaat to reach our souls. May Allah grant Aqamoula (TUS) a long life. Ameen

الصفات المقومة للتعليم الجامعي في الفلسفة الفاطمية

2007-03-20T19:07:00.000+04:00

به وبوليه استعين في جميع الامور . الحمد لله والسلام على عباده الذين اصطفى.
ان العلم علم ال محمد_نالاطهار مصب لجميع العلوم والفنون وقد جاء عن الامام المستور احمد بن عبدالله^{ص ع}في رسائل اخوان الصفاء ان ال محمد^{ص ع}واتباعهم لا يتعصبون على مذهب من المذاهب ولا يهجرون كتابا من كتب الحكماء لان علمهم يستغرق العلم جميعه وقد صنف الامام ^{ع م} على هذا القانون رسائلا جامعة للعلوم والفنون التي هي موسوعة للمبادي والاصول وذكر فيها شبه المدخل والمقدمات من جميعها وهذا هو الاساس المبني عليه بناء التعليم الجامعي.

ان التعليم الجامعي عند الائمة الفاطمين الذين اقاموا اول جامعة عالمية بالمعزية القاهرة ان الطالب يضبط ما اكتسب من المعارف العلمية سابقا كما في الجامعة السيفية يكتسب في المرحلة السابقة مرحلة الثقافة العامة ثم يكرر ذلك عليه لكي يحصل وسعة فيما حصل قبل ويستوعب ما يدرس من العلوم والفنون ثم يجمع اليها ما يؤيده ويشيده. وهي كما يقال في اللغة الانجليزية University Education ولكن يختص ويميز هذه الفلسفة عند الائمة ببعض صفاتها المميزة.

وذلك ان الائمة الاطهار ع م يرون ان الجمع بين ما يتعلم المستفيد وحفظها بالعمل اهم جزء في هذا التعليم مع رياضة النفس على الخلق الحسن وجميل السيرة التي يفيد بها الطالب المجتمع في حياته وينفع البيئة الايمانية خاصة مع جميع عباد الله بعلمه وعمله وفنه الذي يختص بها لان المجتمع محتاج الى فنون شتى. وان هذا التعليم مع كون تكرار دراسة بعض الكتب في الدراسات الجامعية بعد مرحلة الثقافة العامة يلقح اذهان المستفدين منها الى محاسبة انفسهم فيما رقت اليها بعد ما قتحت عليها من اصول علم التأويل المسمى بتربية المؤمنين ويلزم عليهم مسؤلية نشر ما علموا من علم الظواهر اذا اذن لهم.

وان التعليم الجامعي عند الائمة الفاطمين يذهب ضيق الفكر ويؤدي الطالب الى وسعته حيث انه جامع للعلوم ويرجى منه الاتقان والضبط في الدراسة ويفتح له باب المسائل والاجوبة. وقد قال الامام المعز^{ع م} في بعض مجالس يحض من حضره على السؤال فيما يفيد من العلم :- ان العلم والحكمة لا يثبتان في القلوب الا بعد المعارضة والحجة. فبسؤال يستقر العلم في القلوب ويذهب الشبهات ويصفو الفكر وبه يجلو وقد قال بعض الحكماء ان تعرف الرجال بسؤالهم فضلا عن جوابهم لانه يدل على ذكاء صاحبه وحسن قبوله وحينما يستقر ما يدرس الطالب يرفع الى ما هو اعلى منها.

ثم ان الطالب لما يشتغل بدراسة ضابطة ويروض عليها نفسه تكون له عادة خير ويزيده بركة في علمه طول حياته حيث ان هذا التعليم يشتمل على جميع جوانب الحياة الجامعية والانفرادية والاجتماعية.

ثم ان اهمية هذا التعليم انه يستخدم من جميع من طلبها صلاح الامور البيئة الايمانية التي اقاموها الدعاة المطلقون بجدهم وجهدهم حيث انه يورث آدابه واخلاقه هذا المجتمع العظيم فعليه ان يراقب نفسه في دقيق عمله وجليله بالنظر في سير الهداة الفضلاء ويقتدي من وارث فضلهم وفضائلهم سيدنا محمد برهان الدين ^{ط ع} الذي هو ضامن نجاته وان العلم الذي حصل والحكمة التي اقترف ملحقة له الى زمر الملائكة الكرام من وحل ورطة هيولى هبط ومنطقة له بعقل سليم ونطق حقيقي من عنده دل. وان خدمته هو اساس هذا العلم ومرجعه.

وقد جمع في هذا التعليم الخاصة التهذيب والتأديب للطلب الذي يوجد استاذه في سائر الجوانب من حياته لكي يعوده على رياضة نفسه بالعمل الذي علم حتى يكون هو طبيعته ويكمل بذلك صورة نفسه ويتمكن هو في افكاره واراءه مصيبا فيها ناظر بصير بعين بصيرة يتفرق بين الصحيح والسقيم يثبت على حيث يجعل قدمها بالعزم والحزم معا. ولذلك يجب عليه ان يضبط اللغة الانجليزية مع العربية التي يؤيده في حياته الاجتماعية ويتمكن فيه حتى يعبر فيها ويحرر وبذلك يحصل التوسع في علم المحسوسات وبها يرتقي الى المعقولات وقد ذكر الداعي الاجل العلامة النحرير سيدنا طاهر سيف الدين ^رض اصول هذا العلم وطريق اقتناءه حيث قال :-

يا صاحبي تعلما وتفهما وتدبرا وتفكرا وتبصرا
وتادبا وتهذبـا وتنشطا وتيقظا وتنبها وتشمرا
وتدينا وتوارعا وتحرزا وتوقيا وتنظفا وتطهرا
وايضا ذكر اصول التعليم الجامعي مولانا امير المؤمنين ع م :-

ذكاء وحرص وافتقار وغربة وتلقين استاذ وطول زمان
فبهذا العلم حين اتقنه الطالب بدراسته كاملة واستكرار وحفظه في صورة نفسه بالعمل الصالح والخلق الحسن الجميل يكون من المتقين الذين ذكرهم امير المؤمنين^{ع م} ، بتحصيل رضاء مولاه واصابة ظنه فيه ، حيث قال:- ان المتقين ذهبوا بعاجل الدنيا واجل الاخرة شاركوا اهل الدنيا في دنياهم ولم يشاركهم في اخراهم سكنوا في الدنيا بافضل ما سكنت واكلوا بافضل ما اكلت.

فندعوالله تع ان يوفقنا لحصول رضاه وان يطول عمر مولاه سيدنا محمد برهان الدين ط ع الى ابد الابدين. آمين. والحمد لله رب العالمين والصلوة على رسوله واله الطاهرين ودعاتهم الاكرمين.

Fatema Abdul Husain Abadani passes away

2007-03-15T12:45:00.000+04:00

It was Thursday, 26th Safar al-Muzaffar 12:50 PM, I was returning from the sabaq from Qusais when Munira called up to say that Daadi had passed away. She told me to come home immediately with Maria and the Kids.

On my way home I called Maria and told her to get ready we were leaving for Ajman and stop at the Masjid to as for the procedures of raza. We contacted Ismail bhai Tambawala for his help and I called Shk Dr. Shakir for raza purposes as the namaaz and tajheez were to be done in Sharjah. I tried to reach Daddy but he would not pick the phone he was still in the sabaq hall.

When I reached Ajman at Husaini Kaka's place the police had arrived and had called the ambulance. I had to call up in khidmat of Shz Saheb (DM) to ask raza on Ajman Amil Saheb for tajheez tawalli in Sharjah. We went to the hospital and everything was quite clear, we would be getting the permission within a few hours with all the complete paper work and that the dafan would be done at night itself.

The doctor wrote the report which was faxed by the on-duty police to the central officers but we did not get a reply till 5 PM. Fida ali Uncle and Shk Ali Nasir went there to find out that the signatory officer concerned was not on duty. He was called in, the papers prepared and just before signing, he found out a loop hole in the doctor's report, it was mentioned "refer to postmortem". The officer said that this doc is nuts, an 85 year old lady who has been sick since the past month. What a crap. But he had to call public prosecution for clearance , it was part of his duty. The Prosecutor called the postmortem doc to write his report. Waiting at the hospital the doc finally arrived at 9:30 PM just to give a green signal. Finally we got the papers ready by 10:30 PM and announced for the namaaz time 7:30 AM Friday morning. Looking back at all this and pondering I understand that all is well that Allah wishes for us. Zaki kaka was stuck at the Oman border and could not have reached in time for the dafan if it were at night and so would Sakina faiji, she was boarding the flight to Dubai at that moment. She was not told of the death of Daadi. She had missed her flight yesterday due to ECR stamp on her passport. Finally she arrived at 2 AM in the morning and asked for Daadi, when she was informed about the incident and it took her with less burden after all.

Another fact of daadi's life ending was that all her children were with her, even her great grand children. Husaini kaka was to leave for Karbala the next day and would not have been present if any thing happened after that.

Some notable facts of the 22 day happenings are so surprising that one can only call it a coincidence but I would call it the dua and barakat of Maula (TUS) whom she has served her entire life. Sweeping the masjid in Mandvi, reciting the Quran with niyat of Maula (TUS). It was Thursday 22 days back when she had an attack on her brain during Fajr namaaz. She was taken to Khalifa Hospital in Ajman in a ambulance. The Doctor after examinations said that her brain has failed to respond due to some infections and it will result in total paralysis. At this stage her left body and tongue was not responding. The eyes too were not responding. An araz was done in Hazarat Aliyah and firman to do sadaqa for 21 days. Her condition deteriorated as days passed and except for her hearing and perception all was down. The Doctor said that recovery was impossible.

After that araz was done 4 times in Hazrat Aliyah for dua. We used to give her zamzam and water of Karbala as well. On the last Thursday, as per Shz Qasim bs Hakimuddin's instructions Ahdul Ehsan was taken. After the ahad she started to get better. The sores on her body started to decrease. On Sunday after Chehlum and araz was done for the 4th time in Hazrat Aliyah. Shifa water was given and her health became better. The food pipe that was not passing her mouth due to sore now passed easily. The sores in her mouth decreased. The doctor told to start giving Milk and stop medication. On Tuesday, the doctor suggested to take her home. We denied fearing infection for her. The doctor said that her health would not improve further then what was seen and that she could live a day or even a year. Finally she returned to Husaini Kaka's place.

Today, 21 days of Sadaqa were over and Husaini kaka was planning to return to karbala with a heavy heart but in Khidmat of Imam Husain (AS). He sat besides her while Munira was serving her water through the pipe. Husaini Kaka took the water from her and gave it to his mother in sigh and sat there. It was during this time about half an hour and Allah's rehmat grasped our beloved mother into its folds. The time of Zawal and the Dua's of Waliullah. The day of Imam Hasan's Shahadat her suyum and our prayers with her always.

May Allah bless our Maula (TUS) our parent a long life and grant our mother his shafa'at. Ameen

6th March - Birthday of His Holiness Dr. Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin (TUS)

2007-03-06T13:43:00.000+04:00

Why hide your name......? Is it "Information provider about me....."?

2007-03-06T13:39:00.000+04:00

I had posted a comment long time back on the blunders of Malumaat. And an anonymous comment on my blog which i do not intend to hide from publishing. Maybe the writer knows that I know the so called owners of Malumaat. Then he knows me well for which he comments my jealousy for them.

Should he give one blessed reason to why I am Jealous. Maybe because they are very famous. Na, thats not my type. Maybe they have a lot of money. Well its all about luck. Maybe because of their khidmat, well then I should be, and as a result strive to do better in khidmat rather then this rant. You could call that a fair competence.

What I have written in my post about malumaat and its telling photographers to be exclusive is not about jealousy its about bringing the facts forward to my readers. Well I have proof of the emails exchanged but I do not want to publish those for my inner self prevents me from.

My reader, is this the reason why I am thought to be jealous. And if there is any other, let the blog readers know your very good name also. Please do not take this personally, I respect the khidmat of the people who run malumaat (not own it. Is it a commercial industry or what?).

If my reader reads my blog with interest, as per his words, then he should understand that I have a readership who take interest in my views; which, as a result makes me more and more safer and far above from being jealous.

The statement just seems superficial and needs a better job. If he can't comment properly with proper debating lines then better not pass a statement. Statements need supported by proper sanity and reason.

I have clearly written why I consider malumaat to be a wrong doer if they portray themselves as in khidmat, if otherwise, in commercial terms their way of doing what they do is purely fair.

There is a famous saying if you can't beat them join them, which I could have done before I started bringing forward my opinions about the portal but I did not like their policies. Ah! Did they have one? Well that is what I have been told my the Chief Editor.

Let me point this out with precision. I respect the family and its khidmat, but that does not alter the facts that malumaat is not about serving, but about being the one stop shop, on the other hand there are people who are serving Dawoodi Bohras worldwide and are being stopped from doing so by malumaat's (I use this word with caution and precision so that the individuals whom I do respect, are not hurt) insisting reporters and amateur photographers not to provide content to other community portals.

The Lady: Fatema bai Mulla Karim bhai Abadani

2007-03-03T22:41:00.000+04:00

The lady who has lived her life. My grand mother, a lady who recited the Holy Quran most of the time during her old age days and was particular about it during her youth. She is the lady I have known to be most particular about taharat and namaaz. Once she told my wife that she never took her children in the morning before reciting at least 1/4th of a Sipara from the Quran. I have known her to complete the Quran 52 times more then I can remember.

Her will power, I cannot imagine how-to describe it accept that we have inherited a little part of it from her. It would not be a boast if she were to be describe as the iron-lady, the daughter of Gulam Husain Abadani, brother of my great grand father Mulla Abdul Husain Abadani. People of Mandvi, Kutch would indeed know the Abadanis well. She is the mother of 4 Children and an angel for us all.

What more could be said about her. The lady has 10 Grand children out of whom 4 are married and 5 great grand children all of whom have had the luck to get her duas and the warmth of her motherly lap. She is now in the most painful stage of her life. Being hospitalized since 10 days, as of today, her health is degrading day by day. Her body parts including the tongue has stopped responding but she hears and understands all that is said to her. Her brain has stopped working partly and we all cannot see the pain she is in. She has prayed for our prosperity and health throughout her life and now we pray for her peace and comfort.

May Allah bless her with the dua of Aqmoula (TUS) and ease her pain and suffering which we feel in our hearts.

Maturity

2007-03-03T13:22:00.000+04:00

Maturity is the ability to control anger and settle the difference without violence or destruction. maturity is the patience, ability to complete a project in spite of opposition and setbacks. Maturity is the capacity to tale unpleasantness, frustration and discomfort without complaint. Maturity is humility, being big enough to say "I was wrong" and knowing when not to say "I told you so". Maturity is dependability keeping one's head high in times of crisis. Maturity is the art of living with oneself with what we cannot change and the courage to change that we which should be changed and the wisdom to know the difference.

Sight Seeing in Srilanka

2007-02-04T23:16:00.000+04:00

Sigiriya - Ancient City, 1600 years old rock fortress, 210 mtr above sea.
Dambulla - Golden Temple.
Matale - Spice Garden.
kandy - Night stay at Thilanka Hotel.
Peradeniya - Botanical Garden.
Ramboda Falls.
Lambookellie - Mackwoods Tea. Center, 1700 mtr above sea level, 12 km from Nuwara Eliya, lunch in Kikiliyamana.
Nuwara Eliya - night stay at a nice and cosy hotel.
Hatton - waterfall, Devon Falls 97 mtr, St. Clair Tea Center.
Kithulgala - White Water's Edge (water rafting) Kwai river.

Colombo Ashara

2007-02-04T22:57:00.000+04:00

My instinct was telling me long that Colombo would be the one this time, though I neglected that feeling knowing that all logical aspects were against my thinking and one fine day father called me up to let me know that the venue of Ashara was Colombo. I could not belive it nor could anyone else. Soon we came to know that a lot of infrastructure and management had not been in proper place for the event. Waliullah and the Dai of Imam Husain knowing the best arrived in Sarendeeb announcing in the arrival address that it was necessary for him to come to Colombo. Soon the hurdles seem to pass away and when I reached the venue it seemed that everything was a mess. That night was Gurratus Shehr. Huzurala (TUS) was jalwanuma in the majlis till 9:35 PM, 2 hours and thousands of Mumineen blessed with qadambosi sharaf.

The next day I came to know that I was no longer involved in Reflections after 4 years. Whatever that was, I know, that the wrong doers will pay. On the other hand I went on to the Hawaij dept. to serve my days and it was a relaxing job after all had happened. The experience was enhancing for all my longings for offering khidmat of Imam Husain (AS) and Aqamaula (TUS). As usual Moula (tus) knows the best how I got the sharaf qadambosi on Ashura night. I stood there in front of Moula for a couple of minutes while refreshment was served and then did qadambosi as if I were in a ziyafat. Salaam, qadambosi and a sharaf to do khidmat of Huzurala's qadam mubarak. It was all but a tashreef of the little things I did not worthy of any counting.

After Ashara, we all, father, mother, Nuruddin, Jamila, Mustafa, Moiz, Munira and kaki went to a little sight seeing. Sigriya was our first stop and then a night's stay at Kandy, for whihc I have a dreadful experience. The next day we headed to Perediniya (Botanical Garden), Ramboda Falls, a tea estate and nights stay at Nuwara Eliya. Next day we returned to Colombo having the fun to rafting on the way, in the Kwai river.

I returned on Saturday the 3rd of Feb after a 18 day journey. A long life awaits as I return.

Barakaat and saadat is what will remain forever. May Allah bless Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin a long life. Ameen

The rain made our day.

2006-12-02T23:59:00.000+04:00

It has been sometime since I have been blogging. There have been many events during the past few months which has kept me busy and busy. I have been observing a lot during these days and studying different prospects which I think will change my lifestyle in the comming days.

Well, here is the latest. It was 2nd of December the National Day of UAE and we had arranged a picnic for the IT Committee. We folks have been knowing each other since sometime and have been offering our khidmat to the community, that's what had brought all of us together, apart for the love for microchips.

Well the picnic was arranged but just a few attended and it was a family picnic on the whole. We had prepared ourselves for the Mushrif Park in Dubai and we were in for a surprise when I woke in the morning. It was pouring cats and dogs and it was certain that the streets had been flooded. Finally, it was courtious of Yusuf bhai Sandalwala to take the lead and call the gathering at his place. Most of us were lucky enough to reach till noon as a result of the flooding streets.

We had lunch and just gossiped the whole day. We kept talking on various topics and the hotest of all was traffic and rents. Well, atleast thats the most discussed topic anywhere in the UAE.

Did I forget something, malida, well Mohammed bhai Sherawala was in for a big surprise and I am sure he wont forget it and make a point of coming on time.

The climate was cool and rain kept pouring but in the evening when it calmed a bit we took the opportunity and started the fire. It was time for coal and smoke for filling the not so hungry stomach. But the Kababs were excellent and so was the chicken. That was a great day after all.

Are we the Chosen ones? - By Ali Al-Baghli

2006-11-14T10:26:00.000+04:00

Dr. Ali Al-Baghli, Former Minister of Oil, Kuwait, and supporter of the Dawoodi Bohras, once again comes to the rescue of Bohras by expressing his opinion in the column in ARAB TIMES, Kuwait's leading newspaper.

Please click on the URL below to know more...
http://www.arabtimesonline.com/arabtimes/opinion/view.asp?msgID=1330

By Mr. Ali Al-Baghli, Former Minister of Oil, Kuwait.

ONE can only be ashamed of the noise created by some religious extremists in the country over the last few days. The entire hullabaloo was about a building under construction in an ideal housing area — South Surrah (Haiteen). Residents of the area thought that a Husseiniya was being built for the Bohra community in Kuwait. So, where did these citizens go? The answer is well-known — they went to one of the members of the 2006 Parliament who is known for his non-progressive ideas. MP Waleed Al-Tabtabaei, who represents Kaifan, took it upon himself to voice the opinion of the residents of Haiteen because his future electoral constituency will include this area. He started issuing some extremist statements and criticized the construction of a “temple” for Bohras. (Al-Tabtabaei used the word ‘temple,’ which is a place of worship for non-Muslims like Buddhists and Hindus).

Bohras are a peaceful community who came to Kuwait decades ago. They supported Kuwait during the Iraqi invasion in 1990. The spiritual leader of Bohras Sultan Mohammed Burhanuddin was a close friend of HH the late Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and is also close to the current Amir HH Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. Bohras are Muslims who believe in God and follow the teachings of Islam. Reality dawned when people came to know the building under construction was not a Husseiniya for Bohras but a house. Someone had purchased the building to live with his brothers and their families as he wanted to be close to his family.

I want to ask those who created the racket to put themselves in the place of Bohras and imagine they are living in a foreign country … and if they wanted to construct a house of worship and if people of the neighborhood objected to the construction of their praying place what would they do?

e-mail: albaghlilaw@hotmail.com

Barakaat of Wajebaat in Shehrullah

2006-10-07T07:25:00.000+04:00

As Shehrullah approached daddy told me that they were going for wajebat araz to Hasanfeer and Aliasger was to join them. I thought of asking Qusai bs about myself as well. The amount was too small to be counted but karam is the word I would utter as I was told that I could go alone and not join my family. We had prepared to leave on the 1st night itself and the farman arrived that no one come to Hasanfir if their rozas are missed due to hadd al-qasr.

It was on the 9th that Qusai bs called me and said that you should leave immediately. He said that Qutbuddin bhai Virpurwala (Daruwala) was arranging for the tickets. Soon I was told that we were to leave the next day itself in an Indian Airlines flight directly to Ahmedabad.

We reached Ahmedabad on the 11th of Shehruallah, Tuesday. A group of 6 including myslef, Qutub bhai, Abdul Husain bhai, Juzer bhai Kagalwala and his daughter and Idris bhai Janoowala. A car was arranged by Juzer bhai to pick us from the airport. We went to the roza, did ziyarat and left immediately for Hasanfir.

As and when we reached we were in a dilemma weather to return to Ahmedabad or stay at Hasanfir or go somewhere else for the night, Sidhpur perhaps. When we were told that Saylawi was close-by. After completing the wajebat formalities and getting our cards, offering the gongas, as Idris bhai terms it, we all were pretty calm except for him. He was in a fix, as he did not get the cards for he had come without informing Yunus Bs. After offering our first namaz of Shehrullah with Huzurala (TUS) we left for Selavi, we freshened up and dumped our luggage and returned to Hasanfir for Maghrib Isha Namaaz. Idris bhi was in Hasanfir as we made the trip. After namaaz we returned to Selavi. The gonga talk was all over and the name came into existence.

Wednesday, 12th of Shehrullah was the big day. We started early at 7 to reach Hasanfir from Selavi (Mazar of Mowlai Noor Bhai Saheb). We were early and the nizaam was very nice. Within an hour of Maula's arrival we were finished with Qadambodi. Huzurala (TUS) blessed me with nazar and dua as I did Qadambosi and araz was done by Yunus BS that I was a moallim. A Shawl was given in Tashreef by Maula (TUS) and we were all relaxed and calm that our wishes had been fulfilled. After Zohr/Asr Namaaz we returned to Selavi, did ziyarat in Dhinoj en-route to Ahmedabad. On the way we had quails for dinner.

It was scorching in Ahmedabad as we reached late at night. We had to go to a hotel which was not a luxury at all, except for the A/C. The next day we took the domestic flight to Mumbai and we decided to leave for Pune with Qutub bhai. We reached Pune quite late. Had dinner in a restaurant and slept the night at Qutub bhai's inlaws. He was quite a host. We enjoyed every bit of the trip thanks to him.

We returned from Mumbai to Sharjah Int'l Airport on the 6th of October 15th of Shehre Ramadan with barakaat of Qadambosi, dua mubarak of Aqamawla (TUS), namaaz, ziyarat Duat Kiram in Ahmedabad, Mumbai, and Hudud Fozola in Selavi, Dinoj and Pune.

May Allah bless our beloved Mawla (TUS) with a long life in sehat and afiyat. Ameen

Shehrullah - The days of piety have arrived

2006-09-23T06:22:00.000+04:00

The Month of Ramadan is known as Shehrullahil Moazzam meaning the glorified month of Allah. These days Muslims around the world observe fasts day long and engross themselves in Ibadat. The hearts and eyes weep in repentence of past sins and the body parts tire themselves in seeking the mercy of Allah by offering namaaz, alms, observing fasts, reciting the Quran-e-Majid and Duas. Mumineen Mukhliseen are blessed by the bounty of the presence of waliullah amongst them and thus are sure of acceptence of the joh'dal muqil.

Myself a humble slave of Allah and a servant of his wali, have been long waiting for these days of grace and mercy should I get a moment of Allah's grace and the happiness and joy of my Moula (TUS).

Here I quote "The man who is swimming against the stream knows the strength of it." Woodrow Wilson

Certain things have been a habit to me which are too hard to break and some of the built in nature needs to be altered. It is a huge tidal wave that needs to be crossed and I am sure my Moula (TUS) is always with me. Just a small support of loved ones is what would make the journey easy, for I am swimming against the stream of my own unconscience self.

May Allah bless our beloved Moula (TUS) a long and healthy life. Ameen

Another blunder in Malumaat (Information)

2006-09-05T23:19:00.000+04:00

The one stop Information portal has again made a bid into securing itself as the top news agency of our times. The Chief editor of the Information Channel had strictly ordered the so called official reporter of malumaat to deny photographs for the sake of exclusive coverage and look what the exclusive information portal does:

http://malumaat.com/pics/darussalam/1427/shaban/wadah_from_nairobi06.jpg

Wadah from Nairobi?? or was it Dares Salaam. I guess its the same place who cares any ways.

The more stubborn thing to do was place a long distance call to the genuine photographer who loves to share his moments with Moula (captured in photos) with Mumineen worldwide and in an enthusiasm to do so sends the pics to all major portals of the community. This photographer was told that the information portal LOOSES interest in publishing them when they are sent to everyone, because they are not exclusive. Now its clear that its truely a one stop shop after all.

Anyone here who watches the indian soap Kittu might see this as the BNS boss attitude.

Aqiqa of Khadija on Day 7

2006-09-01T20:59:00.000+04:00

Khadija - Birth to Chatti (al-Hamdolillah)

2006-08-31T23:47:00.000+04:00

Name: Khadija
Birth Place: Central Pvt. Hospital - Sharjah (UAE)
Born at: 3:55 PM
Weight at Birth: 3.1 KG
Attendin Doctor: Dr. Meenu Mathur