Tuesday, November 03, 2015

Jabal Al-Noor, The Mountain of Light in Makkah

 Jabal al-Noor is also called “Mountain of Light”, or “Hill of Illumination”, “Hill of Enlightenment” is a mountain near Makkah in Saudi Arabia Hejaz region. Jabel Al-Noor is popular place in Makkah due to famous Ghar-e-Hira situated on it. It is a small cave only four arm’s length long by 1.75 arm’s length wide and 640m tall. Almost five persons can sit in it.  Well, a physical fit man can take two hours to make it to cave. It is extremely strenuous on the individual; the mount and cave hold holiest significance for Muslims around the world. Well, one physical feature that differentiates Jabal al-Noor from other hills & mountains, that its strange-looking summit, which makes it look more like two mountains on top of each other The Cave (Ghar-e-Hira) is situated on mount Al-Noor on way to Mina near Makkah and its peak is visible from a great distance. Even one can see Kaa’ba straight and clear from this cave. The legendry Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (صلى الله عليه Ùˆ سلم) spent great deal of time in this cave. This is the place, a lot can write on this, if someone wants to write the imperativeness of Jabal Al-Nour. The top Jabal Al-Noor in the mountainous desert is one of the loneliest of places. However, the cave within, which faces the direction of the Kaaba, is even more isolated.

This is the site, choose by Allah for worshipping of his messenger in solitude to commence a new era of life on earth when ignorance eclipsed the human society for several centuries bid farewell to the light of knowledge and wisdom. Allah’s Messenger Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (صلى الله عليه Ùˆ سلم) used to spend their time for many months praying to Allah in loneliness away from all interventions of this world. It was the day the earth and skies and all in them were waiting anxiously for a long time. It was the day when Prophet Muhammed (صلى الله عليه Ùˆ سلم) was assigned the duty of preaching Allah’s orders to the entire Mankind and Jinn. This “Cave of Hira”, the sanctum of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) a place of his great devotions and meditations, a sacred cave where the Holy Qur’an began to be revealed. Allah’s last Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) had just stepped into the 40 years of his life, when during a night in the month of Ramadan the first 5 verses of the Surah Al-Alaq (96) were Revealed to him and mountain was given the title of “Jabal Al-Noor”. The precise date of the first revelation can be seen through investigation to fix the time to Monday the 21st of Ramadan at night, i.e. August, 10, 610 C.E. or exactly 40 lunar years, 6 months and 12 days of age i.e., 39 Gregorian years, 3 months and 22 days.

Which is this place? No question, almost all Muslims know it. Jabal Al-Noor with steep slope 200m tall and all Muslims devotees visiting Jabal al Noor from various part of the world walk a few steps in the plane and feel exhausted.  Every year countless people force their way up neglecting harsh desert climate conditions to see the place where their beloved Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (صلى الله عليه Ùˆ سلم) got his first heavenly revelation by Hazrat Gabriel (A.S) “The Angel of Revelation”. Therefore, one would wonder how Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه Ùˆ سلم) climbed this mountain countless times and stayed atop of the mountain for many days in succession with these unfavorable conditions. One would really feel and shed some tears on the sacrifice shown by Hazrat Khadeeja-tul-Kubra (رضي الله عنها) at the age of 55 who climbed up taking provisions to her husband Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه Ùˆ سلم) at least once in a day.

The Noble Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) was living among extremely backward people who were devoid of any traces of civilization and humanity. He observed nothing in that society but the darkness of ignorance. He would go to the Ka'abah, but instead of witnessing the worship of God, he witnessed. He was pained by the ugly customs and false thoughts of his people. The pitiable condition of the poor and the destitute caused him great anguish. The disgraceful situation of women, who were treated worse than animals, as well as the prevalence of gambling, wine drinking and murder strenuous his blessed heart. These extremely tough conditions severely tormented his pure soul. Because when he dealt with people as a merchant, their depraved behavior gave so severe an emotional tremor to him that he had to go to a lonely place where he would not be tormented by people's inhuman behavior. For these reasons and to find peace of mind, he would go to Mount Hira and there think deeply about the amazing phenomena of nature and the vestiges of God's All-Embracing Compassion. Ghar-e-Hira is both without water or vegetation other than a few thorns and higher than Thabir. Source: Charismatic Planet






Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Most Beautiful Mosques in the World

Islamic culture and values are one of oldest in the world. They’ve strong belief of one “GOD”, and they’ve offered five time prayer in their holy mosques. The belief “emaan” of one GOD/ & on last Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) creating discipline, motivation, everlasting life after death, in Muslims culture. All Muslims countries are very rich in mosques (Masjid’s) and they’ve mosques everywhere, where a caller “Mozaan” call “Azaan” five times a day, to remind prayer time.

Therefore, the first mosque (masjid) appeared in the 7th century, with several regarding the Grand Mosque, Masjid al-Haram in Saudia Arabia dating back to 638AD, to be the oldest one. Since then, thousand s of mosques have been built across the world with some breathtaking architecture. The Grand Mosque Masjid al-Haram is considered the most spectacular covering an area of 3.8million square feet and can hold four million worshippers. Every year more than 2.5 million Muslims worshippers perform obligatory Hajj (once in lifetime). Moreover, the modern Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi is a piece of dazzling architecture built in 2007. The building features four 350-ft tall minarets which cast dramatic silhouettes across the emirates skyline. Meanwhile in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey mosques feature bold turquoise mosaics which entice tourists to marvel at their architectural detail. Here is the chance to see some of most wondrous mosques in the world.Source: Charismatic Planet
Grand Jamia Mosque is a mosque located in Bahria Town, Lahore, Pakistan. It is the third largest mosque in Pakistan. It was inaugurated on Eid-ul-Adha on 6 October 2014.
With golden domes surrounded by lush green trees, The Ubudiah Mosque in Kuala Kangsar is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful mosques in Malaysia
With fairy tale-like high towers, large windows and blue roofs, the Kul Sharif Mosque looks impressive.The building includes manuscripts that tell the story of Islam
The Wazir Khan Mosque in Pakistan took seven years to construct and features fresco paintings and tile decoration on its walls and minarets
The unique Hassan II Mosque in Morocco stands tall on the horizon and record books, taking the title for the world's tallest mosque at an incredible 689ft
The Umayyad Mosque, (Great Mosque of Damascus) located in the old city of Damascus, is considered one of the largest and oldest mosques in the world.
The stunning Al-Masjid an-Nabawi with its large pillars and canopies in Medina, Saudi Arabia
The pink and white domed Putra Mosque in Malaysia has space for 15,000 worshippers, with its design influenced by Safavid architecture from Iran
The multi-domed Nur-Astana Mosque in Astana, Kazakhstan has a magnificent gold dome and a fountain at the front of the building
The Mosque of Ahmad Ibn is located in Cairo, Egypt is arguably the oldest mosque in the city surviving in its original form, and is the largest mosque in Cairo in terms of land area.
The historic Blue Mosque in Istanbul may have been built during 1609 and 1616 but it still a tourism attraction, with its vast array of coloured domes and archways bringing the inside to life
The Faisal Mosque is the largest mosque in Pakistan, located in the national capital city of Islamabad. Completed in 1986.
The Dome of the Rock mosque in Jerusalem has vibrant turquoise mosaic tiles and a gigantic golden dome. It is said to be the third holiest in Islam after Makkah and Medina
The breathtaking Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates took 10 years to complete and is an architectural marvel
The Blue Mosque is located in the heart of Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan and is adorned with a multitude of brightly coloured patterned tiles
The Badshahi Mosque was built in 1673 by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in Lahore, Pakistan. The large orange-coloured building is capable of accommodating over 55,000 worshippers
The Assyakirin Mosque in the centre of Kuala Lumpur, with the city's iconic Petronas towers soaring in the background
Siddiqua Fatima Zahra Mosque is located in the city of Dahiya Abdullah Mubarak in Kuwait and can hold around 3500 males with a separate area for 500 females
Over two million pilgrims gather for sunset prayers in the lit up Great Mosque in Mecca just before the start of the Islamic pilgrimage, Hajj
One of the most striking features of the Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Mosque in Malaysia is its large dome, considered to be the largest religious arched roof in the world
Muslims praying facing the Holy Kaa'bah at the golden Masjid al Haram in Saudi Arabia
As the name would suggest, Malaysia's Crystal Mosque, or Masjid Kristal, is made of steel, glass - and crystal, which causes it to shine dazzlingly against the evening sky.

Built between 1954 to 1958, Masjid Omar Ali Saifuddien in Brunei is surrounded by an artificial lagoon