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2010-06-25T11:32:00.000-07:00

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11th President of India
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

In office 25 July 2002 – 24 July 2007
Prime Minister	Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Manmohan Singh
Vice President	Bhairon Singh Shekhawat
Preceded by	K. R. Narayanan
Succeeded by	Pratibha Patil

Born	15 October 1931 (1931-10-15) (age 78)^[1] Rameshwaram, Dhanuskodi, Republic of India
Alma mater	Madras Institute of Technology
Profession	Aerospace Engineering
Religion	Muslim

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam

(Tamil: அவுல் பகீர் ஜைனுலாப்தீன் அப்துல் கலாம்) born 15 October 1931 in Rameshwaram, Madras Presidency, British India (now Tamil Nadu, India), usually referred to as Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam , was the 11th President of India, serving from 2002 to 2007,^[2]National Democratic Alliance (India) coalition government, under prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.^[3] During his term as President, he was popularly known as the People's President.^[4]^[5] he was elected during the tenure of the

Before his term as India's president, he worked as an aeronautical engineer with DRDO and ISRO. He is popularly known as the Missile Man of India for his work on development of ballistic missile and space rocket technology.^[6] In India he is highly respected as a scientist and as an engineer.

Kalam played a pivotal organisational, technical and political role in India's Pokhran-II nuclear test in 1998, the first since the original nuclear test by India in 1974.^[7] He is chancellor of Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology(Thiruvanthapuram), a professor at Anna University (Chennai) and adjunct/visiting faculty at many other academic and research institutions across India.

Political views

In his book India 2020 APJ Abdul Kalam strongly advocates an action plan to develop India into a knowledge superpower and into a developed nation by the year 2020. He regards his work on India's nuclear weapons program as a way to assert India's place as a future superpower.

It has been reported that there is considerable demand in South Korea for translated versions of books authored by him ^[8].

Kalam continues to take an active interest in other developments in the field of science and technology. He has proposed a research programme for developing bio-implants. He is a supporter of Open source software over proprietary solutions and believes that the use of open source software on a large scale will bring the benefits of information technology to more people ^[9].

As an aerospace engineer

After graduating in Physics from St. Joseph's College in Tiruchirapalli, Abdul Kalam graduated with a diploma in the mid-1950s from Madras Institute of Technology specializing in Aeronautical Engineering ^[10]. As the Project Director, he was heavily involved in the development of India's first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III). As Chief Executive of Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP), he also played a major part in developing many missiles of India including Agni and Prithvi. Although the entire project has been criticised for being overrun and mismanaged^[11]. He was the Chief Scientific Adviser to Prime Minister and Secretary, Department of Defence Research & Development from July 1992 to December 1999. Pokhran-II nuclear tests were conducted during this period, and have been associated with Kalam although he was not directly involved with the nuclear programme at the time.

Honours

On April 29, 2009, he became the first Asian to be bestowed the Hoover Medal, America's top engineering prize, for his outstanding contribution to public service. The citation said that he is being recognised for making state-of-the-art healthcare available to the common man at affordable prices, bringing quality medical care to rural areas by establishing a link between doctors and technocrats, using spin-offs of defence technology to create state-of-the-art medical equipment and launching tele-medicine projects connecting remote rural-based hospitals to the super-specialty hospital. A pre-eminent scientist, a gifted engineer, and a true visionary, he is also a humble humanitarian in every sense of the word, it added.^[12]

On 13 September 2009, he was a recipient of the International von Kármán Wings Award ^[13].

The Government of India has honoured him with the nation's highest civilian honours: the Padma Bhushan in 1981; Padma Vibhushan in 1990; and the Bharat Ratna in 1997 for his work with ISRO and DRDO and his role as a scientific advisor to the Indian government..

Kalam is the third President of India to have been honoured with a Bharat Ratna before being elected to the highest office, the other two being Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Zakir Hussain. He is also the first scientist and first bachelor to occupy Rashtrapati Bhavan

After his tenure as the president he is now a visiting guest professor at JSS university, Mysore. He has agreed to deliver a minimum of four lectures every year.

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Dr Khalid Hameed

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Khalid Hameed, Baron Hameed, CBE DL, is currently the Chairman of Alpha Hospital Group, as well as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the London International Hospital. Prior to this, he was the Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer of the Cromwell Hospital in London. He hails from Lucknow, India.

He chairs the Commonwealth Youth Exchange Council. He is a Board member of the British Muslim Research Centre, and also the Ethnic Minorities Foundation. He is an Executive member of the Maimonides Foundation and a Trustee of The Little Foundation. Dr Hameed supports various charities and was awarded the Sternberg Award for 2005 for his contribution to further Christian - Muslim - Jewish Relations. He has received several national and international honours from various countries including the United Kingdom. He is a Governor of International Students House; President of The Little Foundation; Chairman of The Woolf Institute of Abrahamic Faiths, and is Chairman of the Friends of the British Library.

He is involved with interreligious matters and lectures on this subject.

He was appointed by Her Majesty the Queen as the first Asian High Sheriff of Greater London for the year 2006-2007. This office is 1,000 years old and is the second oldest office in the country after the monarchy.

In February 2007, it was announced by the House of Lords Appointments Commission that he will be made a life peer and will sit as a Crossbencher. The peerage was gazetted on 27 March 2007 as Baron Hameed, of Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden. He was also named British Asian of the year 2007.

He was awarded Padma Bhushan, "third in hierarchy of civilian awards" by the Government of India in 2009. He was the chief guest at Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas 2010 held in New Delh
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Dr.M.MOHAMED ALI
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M.A.,(International Relations)., M.A.,(Police Admn.).

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உமர் தம்பி

கட்டற்ற கலைக்களஞ்சியமான விக்கிபீடியாவில் இருந்து.

தாவிச் செல்லவும்: வழிசெலுத்தல், தேடல்

உமர் தம்பி

உமர் தம்பி (ஜூன் 15, 1953 - ஜூலை 12, 2006) தமிழ் கணிமைக்கு சிறந்த பங்களிப்புக்களை வழங்கிய ஆளுமைகளுள் ஒருவராவார்.

இவர் கணினியிலும் இணையத்திலும் தமிழை பயன்படுத்துவதற்கு உதவக்கூடிய பல செயலிகளையும் கருவிகளையும், எழுத்துருக்களையும் ஆக்கியளித்துள்ளார்.

பொருளடக்கம்

[மறை]

வாழ்க்கைக் குறிப்பு

பிறப்பிடம் - அதிராம்பட்டினம், தஞ்சாவூர் மாவட்டம், தமிழ்நாடு
பெற்றோர் - அ..அப்துல் அமீது - ரொக்கையா

தனது துவக்கக் கல்வி மற்றும் மேல்நிலைக் கல்வியையும் அதிராம்பட்டிணத்திலும், தனது Bsc (விலங்கியல்) பட்ட படிப்பினை அதிராம்பட்டிணத்தில் உள்ள காதர் மொஹைதீன் கல்லூரியில் படித்தார்கள்.

அதன் பின் இலத்திரனியலில் டிப்ளோமா படிப்பினையும் முடித்த உமர் தனது ஊரிலேயே 1983 ஆம் ஆண்டு வானொலி, தொலைக்காட்சி பழுது நீக்கும் பணிமனை அமைத்து நிர்வகித்து வந்துள்ளார்.

மாணவப் பருவத்திலிருந்தே வானொலிப் பெட்டி, ஒலிபரப்பு இவற்றில் ஆர்வம் மிக்கவராக இருந்திருக்கிறார். அந்த ஆர்வத்தால், மாணவப் பருவக் குறும்பாக, ஒருமுறை தான் பயின்ற காதர் முகைதீன் உயர்நிலைப்பள்ளியிலிருந்து அலைவரிசையொன்றை உருவாக்கி அதிராம்பட்டினத்திலிருப்போர்கள் கேட்கும்படியாக உரையாடல்களை ஒலிபரப்பியிருக்கிறார்.

இப்படியான ஆர்வத்தால் அவரது தொழிலும் தொலைக்காட்சிப் பெட்டிகளைப் பழுதுபார்க்கும் பணியாகவே அமைந்து, 1984 ஆம் ஆண்டு துபாயில் உள்ள Alfuttaim Group of Companies ல் இலத்திரனியல் உபகரணங்களுக்கான National Panasonic பழுது நீக்கும் பொறியாளராக பணியில் சேர்ந்தார்.

கல்வி பயிலும் காலகட்டத்திலேயே 1977 ம் ஆண்டு ஏப்ரல் மாதத்தில் திருமணம் நடைபெற்றது அவரது மனைவியின் பெயர் பெளஷியா (Fouzia). இவர்களுக்கு மூன்று மகன்கள் உள்ளனர்.

முறையாக எந்த கல்லூரியிலும் கணினி தொழில் நுட்பத்தை பயிலாத உமர் அவர்கள், துபாயில் பணிபுரிந்த காலங்களில் தனக்கு கிடைத்த ஓய்வு நேரங்களைப் பயன்படுத்தி தானாகவே தனக்கிருந்த ஆர்வத்தினாலும், முயற்சியாலுமே கணினி தொழில்நுட்பங்களை கற்றுவந்துள்ளார்.

துபாயில் தான் பணிபுரிந்துவந்த நிறுவனத்தில் சில நாட்களிலேயே கணினி நுட்பவல்லுனரானார். Network administrator, SAP implementation team Head, Kiosk programmer எனக் கணினித் துறையில் திறம்பட பணியாற்றியிருக்கிறார்.

ஒரு குழுவை முன்னின்று நடத்துவது வரையில் அவரது பதவி உயர்வு நிகழ்ந்திருக்கிறது. பதினேழு ஆண்டுகளாக துபாயில் இந்தப் பணியைச் செய்த அவர், அவர் 2001 மாவது ஆண்டு செப்டம்பர் மாதம் தனது பணியிலிருந்து விருப்ப ஓய்வுபெற்று தாயகம் திரும்பினார்.

தாயகம் திரும்பிய அவர் தனது ஊரிலிருந்து கொண்டே தனது மூத்த மகன் மொய்னுதீனுடன் இணைந்து சென்னை போன்ற பெருநகரங்களில் இயங்கிவரும் மோட்டார் வாகனங்கள் மற்றும் உதிரிப்பாகங்கள் விற்கும் (மாருதி கார்) நிறுவனங்களுக்கு, பொருள் இருப்பு மற்றும் விற்பனைக்கான மென்பொருட்களை வடிவமைத்து கொடுத்து பராமரித்து வந்துள்ளார்கள்.

தமிழ் கணிமைக்கு செய்த பங்களிப்புகள்

தேனீ இயங்கு எழுத்துரு

மைக்ரோசொஃப்ட் நிறுவனத்தயாரிப்பு உலாவிகளில் மட்டும் தொழிற்படக்கூடிய வெஃப்ட் என்ற தொழிநுட்பத்தை பயன்படுத்தி, தமிழ் எழுத்துரு கணினியில் நிறுவப்படாத நிலையிலும் கூட தமிழ் ஒருங்குறி எழுத்துக்களாலமைந்த இணையத்தளங்களை மைக்ரோசொஃப்ட் உலாவிகளில் படிக்கும் வசதியை இவ்வெழுத்துரு வழங்குகிறது. தேனீ எனப்படும் இவரது தயாரிப்பான எழுத்துருவை இவ்வாறு இயங்கு எழுத்துருவாக பல்வேறு இணைய முகவரிகளில் பயன்படுமாறு மாற்றி வெளியிட்டார். இன்று தமிழ் வலைப்பதிவு உலகில் பெரும்பாலானவர்கள் இந்த வசதியை தமது வலைப்பதிவுகளில் கொண்டிருக்கிறார்கள்.

தமிழ் இணைய அகராதி

கணினி, அறிவியல், பொருளாதாரம், கல்வி, வணிகம் போன்ற துறைகளில், இன்று வழக்கத்தில் உள்ள ஆங்கில சொற்களுக்கு இணையான தமிழ் சொற்களை மிக எளிமையான முறையில் தொகுத்து வழங்க முடிவெடுத்த சகோதரர் உமர் அவர்கள் தமிழ் இணைய அகராதியைக் கொண்டுவந்தார். இந்த அகராதியை தமிழ் உலக உறுப்பினரும் talktamil.4t.com என்ற இணையத் தள நிர்வாகியான மஞ்சு அவர்களும் இணைந்து உருவாக்கினார்கள்.

பங்கு பற்றிய இணையத்தளங்கள்/சேவைகள்

சமுதாயப் பணிகள்/கட்டுரைகள்

சமூக சிந்தனையும், சமூக அக்கறையும் கொண்ட சகோதரர் உமர் அவர்கள் அதிரை பைத்துல்மால் எனும் சமுதாய சேவை செய்யும் அறக்கட்டளையில முக்கிய நிர்வாகியாக இருந்து சேவை செய்து வந்துள்ளார்கள்.

வெளி இணைப்புக்கள்

உமர் தம்பி உருவாக்கிய செயலிகளும் கருவிகளும்

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க்னூ பொதுமக்கள் உரிம அடிப்படையில் வெளியிடப்பட்ட எழுத்துருக்கள் [7][8]

தேனீ ஒருங்குறி எழுத்துரு[9][10][11]

வலைப்பதிவுகள், வலைத்தளங்களுக்கான இயங்கு எழுத்துரு தொடுப்பு[12][13]

வைகை இயங்கு எழுத்துரு
தமிழ் மின்னஞ்சல்
தமிழ் ஒருங்குறி Toolbar for உலாவி
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உமர் தம்பி அவர்களுடன் தொடர்புடைய வலைத்தளங்கள்

உமர் தம்பி அவர்களின் வலைப்பதிவு

தென்றல்

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உமர் தம்பி பற்றிய பிறரது எழுத்துக்கள்

உமர்தம்பி பற்றிய வலைப்பதிவு
யுனிகோடு உமர் அவர்களின் மறைவு - அதிரைக்காரன்
'யூனிகோட்' உமர்தம்பி மரணமடைந்தார்கள் -adirai.com
உமர் தம்பி - தமிழ்க் கணிமைக் கொடையாளர் -காசி
'தேனி' உமர் - நிலா முற்றம்
ஒருங்குறி (Unicode) எழுத்துரு முன்னோடி உமர்தம்பி மறைந்தார் - சத்தியமார்க்கம்.காம்
வாசனின் வலைப்பதிவு
யுனிகோடு உமர் அவர்களின் மறைவு -முஃப்தி
உமர் தம்பி மறைவு -முகுந்த்
உமர் தம்பி -வாசன்
உமர் தம்பி காக்கா(அண்ணன்) - என் நினைவுகள் -மாஹிர்
தேனீ உமருக்கு அஞ்சலி -மதிகந்தசாமி
'THEENE.eot' உமர் மறைவு -தேசிகன்
திரு. உமர் மரணம் -க்ருபா
யுனிகோட் உமர் தம்பி மரணம் -அபூ முஹை
நண்பர் உமர் மறைவு -வெங்கட்
அஞ்சலி தேனீ உமர் -பரி
அஞ்சலி தேனீ உமர் -டுபுக்கு
Deep Condolences -பிரகாஷ்
'தேனீ' உமர் மறைவு - கேட்டவற்றைப் பகிர்ந்துகொள்கிறேன்.-ஆசாத்
உமர் -சுரேஷ்
e-வீதியில்: யுனிகோடு உமர் அவர்களின் மறைவு -மா.சிவகுமார்
உமருக்கு அஞ்சலி -மணியன்
தமிழ் வலையுலகின் இழப்பு 'தேனீ உமர் தம்பி' -இறை நேசன்
Tiru. Umarthambi - sad news -ஒருங்குறி வலைக்குழுமம்
Tiru. Umarthambi - sad news -தமிழ்மணம் வலைக்குழுமம்
அஞ்சலி - யூனிகோடு உமர் - சுரதா யாழ்வாணன்
கண்ணீர் அஞ்சலி - எழில்நிலா.காம்
உமர் பன்மொழி மாற்றி
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List of Padma Awardees
List of Padma Awardees
Submitted by kashif on Thu, 01/26/2006 - 18:29.
Padma Awards are generally given to Indian citizens to recognize their distinguished contribution in any sphere of activity including Arts, Education, Industry, Literature, Science, Games, Sports etc.

The recommendations for Padma Awards are received from the State Governments/Union Territory Administrations, Central Ministries/Departments, Institutions of Excellence, etc. which are considered by an Awards Committee. On the basis of the recommendations of the Awards Committee, and after approval of the Home Minister, Prime Minister and President, the Padma Awards are announced on the eve of the Republic Day.

Padma Vibhushan

2010: Ebrahim Alkazi [Art]: Delhi
2010: Zohra Sehgal [Art]: Delhi
2006: Prof. Obaid Siddiqui [Science and Engineering]: Karnataka.
2001: Ustad Amjad Ali Khan [Arts]: Delhi
2000: Sikander Bakht [Public Affairs]: Delhi
2000: Ustad Vilayat Khan [Arts]: Refused
1991: Maqbool Fida Hussain [Arts]: Maharashtra
1990: Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam [Science & Engineering]: Delhi
1989: Ustad Ali Akbar Khan [Arts]: West Bengal
1988: Justice Mirza Hameedullah Beg [Public Affairs]: Delhi
1980: Ustad Bismillah Khan [Arts]: Uttar Pradesh
1977: Ali Yavar Jung Bahadur [Public Affairs]: Andhra Pradesh
1976: Col. Bashir Hussain Zaidi [Literature & Education]: Delhi
1976: Salim Moizuddin Ali Abdul [Science & Engineering]: Uttar Pradesh
1972: Ghulam Mohd. Sadiq [Public Affairs]: Jammu and Kashmir
1971: Ustad Allauddin Khan [Arts]: West Bengal
1967: Hafiz Mohammed Ibrahim [Civil Service]: Andhra Pradesh
1965: Mehdi Nawaz Jung [Public Affairs]: Andhra Pradesh
1955: Fazal Ali [Public Affairs] : Bihar
1954: Dr. Zakir Hussain [Public Affairs] : Andhra Pradesh

Padma Bhushan

2010:
Aamir Khan [Art]: Maharashtra
Allah Rakha Rahman [Art]: Tamil Nadu
Ustad Sultan Khan [Art]: Maharashtra
Moosa Raza [Civil Service]: Delhi
Fareed Zakaria [Journalism]: USA
Prof. Mohammad Amin [Literature and Education]: Delhi

2009:
Shamshad Begum [Art]: Maharashtra
Dr. Khalid Hameed [Medicine]: NRI/ PIO

2008:
Ustad Asad Ali Khan [Art]: Delhi
Ustad Rahim Fahimuddin Dagar [Art]: Delhi
Mian Bashir Ahmed [Public Affairs]: Jammu & Kashmir

2007:
Javed Jan Nisaar Akhtar [Literature and Education]: Maharashtra
Syed Haider Raza [Art]: France
Hakim Syed Mohammad Sharfuddin Quadri [Medicine]: West Bengal
Tyeb Mehta [Art]: Maharashtra

2006:
Ustad Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan [Arts]: Maharashtra
Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan [Arts]: Maharashtra
Ustad Sabri Khan [Arts] : Delhi

2005:
Azim Premji [Trade and Industry]: Karnataka
Prof. Irfan Habib [Literature and Education] : Uttar Pradesh
Prof. Qurattulain Hyder [Literature and Education]: Noida, Uttar Pradesh
Dr. Sardar Anjum [Literature and Education]: Panchkula, Haryana
Syed Mir Qasim [Public Affairs]: Delhi
Dr. Yusuf Khwaja Hamied [Trade & Industry] : Maharashtra

2004: No Muslim.

2003:
Naseeruddin Shah [Arts]: Maharashtra

2002:
Habib Ahmed Khan Tanvir [Arts]: Delhi
Ismail Merchant [Arts]: Maharashtra
Zakir Hussain [Arts]: Maharashtra

2001:
Maulana Abdul Karim Parekh [Social Work]: Maharashtra

2000:
Begam Kudsia Aizaz Rasul [Social Work]: Uttar Pradesh
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan [Public Affairs]: Delhi

1998-99: No Muslim.

1993-97: No award given.

1992:
Hakim Abdul Hameed [Medicine]: Delhi
Naushad Ali Wahid Ali [Arts]: Maharashtra

1991:
Prof. Ali Ahmad Surror [Science & Engineering]: Uttar Pradesh
Amjad Ali Khan [Arts]: Delhi
Ebrahim Alkazi [Arts]: Delhi
Mohammad Yusuf Khan [Arts]: Maharashtra; screen name Dileep Kumar.
Syed Abdul Malik [Literature & Education]: Assam
Talat Manzoor Mahmood [Arts]: Maharashtra

1990:
Dr. Mohammad Khalilullah [Medicine]: Delhi

1989: No Muslim.

1988:
Shri Abid Hussain [Civil Service]: Delhi

1987:
Mohammed Yunus [Civil Service]: Delhi

1986:
Ustad Nasir Aminuddin Daggar [Arts]: West Bengal

1985:
Prof. Rais Ahmed [Literature & Education]: Delhi
Justice Sadat Abul Masud [Public Affairs]: West Bengal

1984:
Prof. Obaid Siddiqui [Science & Engineering]: Maharashtra

1983:
Prem Nazir [Arts]: Kerala

1982:
Ustad Khadim Hussain Khan [Arts]: Maharashtra
Dr. Syed Zahoor Qasim [Civil Service]: Delhi

1981: No Muslim.

1978-1980: No award given.

1977:
Dr. Yusuf Husain Khan [Literature & Education]: Delhi

1976:
Begum Zahra Ali Yavar Jung [Social Work]: Andhra Pradesh

1975:
Begum Akhtar [Arts]: Uttar Pradesh

1974:
Habibur Rahman [Science & Engineering]: Delhi

1973:
Maqbool Fida Hussain [Arts]: Delhi

1972:
Mohd. Hayath [Civil Service]: Karnataka
Dr. Syad Hussain Zaheer [Trade & Industry]: Andhra Pradesh

1971:
Ustad Amir Khan [Arts]: Maharashtra
Nisar Hussain Khan [Arts]: Uttar Pradesh

1970:
Ahmed Jan Thirkwa Khan [Arts]: Uttar Pradesh
Dr. Syed Abdul Latif [Literature & Education]: Andhra Pradesh

1969:
Prof. Haroon Khan Shervani [Literature & Education]: Andhra Pradesh
Rahim-ud-in Khan Dagar [Arts]: Delhi
Samad Yar Khan Nizami Sagar [Literature & Education]: Uttar Pradesh

1968:
Ustad Bismillah Khan [Arts]: Uttar Pradesh
Ustad Vilayat Khan [Arts]: Refused to accept

1967:
Ustad Ali Akbar Khan [Arts]: West Bengal
Khwaja Ghulam Saiyidain [Literature & Education]: Uttar Pradesh

1966: No Muslim.

1965:
Shri Akbar Ali Khan [Public Affairs]: Andhra Pradesh
Prof. Mohammad Mujeeb [Literature & Education]: Delhi

1964:
Prof. Mohd. Abdul Hai [Medicine]: Bihar
Nuruddin Ahmed [Public Affairs]: Delhi
Dr. Rafiuddin Ahmed [Medicine]: West Bengal
Dr. Sheikh Abdullah [Literature & Education]: Uttar Pradesh

1963: No Muslim.

1962:
Asaf Ali Asghar Fyzee [Literature & Education]: Jammu and Kashmir
Bade Ghulam Ali Khan [Arts]: Maharashtra
Zafar Ali Khan [Literature & Education]: Uttar Pradesh
Niaz Mohd. Fatehpuri [Literature & Education]: Uttar Pradesh

1961: No Muslim

1960:
Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan [Arts]: Madhya Pradesh
Kazi Nazrul Islam [Literature & Education]: West Bengal

1959:
Ali Yavar Jung [Civil Service] : Maharashtra
Dr. Ghulam Yazdani [Science & Engineering]: Andhra Pradesh

1958:
Ustad Allauddin Khan [Arts]: Uttar Pradesh
Salim-Mozuddin Abdul Ali [Science & Engineering]: Maharashtra

1957:
Dr. Abid Hussain [Literature & Education] : Uttar Pradesh
Ustad Mushtaq Hussain Khan [Arts] : Madhya Pradesh

1955:
Nawab Zain Yar Jung [Public Affairs] : Andhra Pradesh

1954:
Josh Malihabadi[Literature & Education]: Delhi
Maulana Hussain Ahmed Madni [Literature & Education] : Punjab

Padma Shri

2010:
Gulam Mohammed Mir [Public Service]: Jammu & Kashmir
Ustad F. Wasifuddin Dagar [Art]: Delhi
Resul Pokutty [Art]: Kerala
Saif Ali Khan [Art]: Maharashtra
Prof. Hamidi Kashmiri [Literature and Education]: Jammu & Kashmir
Prof. Sadiq - Ur – Rahman Kidwai [Literature and Education]: Delhi
Irshad Mirza [Trade and Industry]: Uttar Pradesh

2009:
Dr. (Ms.) Ameena Ahmed Ahuja [Art]: Delhi
Hashmat Ullah Khan [Art]: Jammu & Kashmir
Shri Tafazzul Ali [Art]: Assam
Ameen Sayani [Commentary & Broadcasting]: Maharashtra
Prof. Jalees Ahmed Khan Tareen [Literature & Education]: Puducherry
Shamsur Rahman Faruqi [Literature & Education]: Uttar Pradesh
Dr. Shaik Khader Noordeen [Medicine]: Tamil Nadu
Prof. Syed Iqbal Hasnain [Research on Himalayan Glaciers]: Delhi
Begum Bilkees I. Latif [Social Work]: Andhra Pradesh

2008:
Prof.(Dr.)K.S. Nisar Ahmed [Literature and Education]: Karnataka
Mohammad Yousuf Taing [Literature and Education]: Jammu & Kashmir
Haji Kaleem Ullah Khan [Mango Plantation and Grafting]: Uttar Pradesh

2007:
Khalid Zaheer [Social Work]: Uttarakhand
Dr. Mohsin Wali [Medicine]: Delhi
Mujtaba Hussain [Literature and Education]: Andhra Pradesh
Prof. Mushirul Hassan [Literature and Education]: Delhi
Dr.(Ms.) Syeda Saiyidain Hameed [Public Affairs]: Delhi
Dr. Yusufkhan Mohamadkhan Pathan [Literature and Education]: Maharashtra

2006:
Fatma Rafiq Zakaria [Literature and Education] : Maharashtra
Prof. Hakim Syed Zillur Rehman [Medicine] : Uttar Pradesh
Mehmood Dhaulpuri [Arts]: Delhi
Dr. Mehmooda Ali Shah [Literature and Education]: Jammu & Kashmir
Ustad Rashid Khan [Arts]: West Bengal
Sania Mirza [Sports]: Andhra Pradesh
Dr. Seyed Ehtesham Hasnain [Science and Engineering]:Andhra Pradesh
Shahnaz Husain [Trade and Industry]: Delhi

2005:
Amin Kamil [Literature & Education]: Jammu & Kashmir
Ustad Ghulam Sadiq Khan [Arts]: Delhi
Mehrunnisa Parvez [Literature & Education]: Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
Muzaffar Ali [Arts]: Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
Shah Rukh Khan [Arts]: Maharashtra
Shameem Dev Azad [Arts]: Delhi

2004:
Prof. Asifa Zamani [Literature & Education]: Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
Dr. Syed Shah Mohammed Hussaini [Social work]: Gulberga, Karnataka

2003:
Aamir Khan [Arts]: Maharashtra; Cinema.
Manzoor Ehtesham [Literature & Education]: Madhya Pradesh
Ustaad Shafaat Ahmed Khan [Arts]: Delhi

2002:
Ustad Abdul Lateef Khan [Arts]: Madhya Pradesh
Fazal Mohammad [Arts]: Uttar Pradesh
Muzaffer Hussain [Literature & Education]: Maharashtra
Raj Begum [Arts]: Jammu & Kashmir

2001:
Amir Raza Hussain [Arts]: Delhi; Cinema.
Dr. Chittoor Mohammed Habibullah [Medicine]: Andhra Pradesh
Jeelani Bano [Literature and Education]: Andhra Pradesh
Khalid Abdul Hamid Ansari [Literature and Education]: Maharashtra,Journalism.
Prof. Mohammad Shafi [Science & Engineering]: Uttar Pradesh; Geography.
Lt. Gen.(Retd.) Mohammad Ahmad Zaki [Civil Service]: Andhra Pradesh
Mohammed Tayab Khan [Arts]: Jodhpur; craftsmanship.

2000:
Abdur Rahman Rahi [Literature & Education]: Jammu and Kashmir
Allah Rakka Rahman [Arts]: Tamil Nadu

1999:
Dr. Bashir Badr [Literature & Education]: Madhya Pradesh
Javed Jan Nisaar Akhtar [Arts]: Maharashtra
Dr. Rehmath Beegum Sailaniyoda [Medicine]: Andaman and Nicobar Island

1998:
Naushad Ismail Padamsee [Trade & Industry]: Maharashtra
P.I. Mohammed Kutty (Mammootty) [Arts]: Tamil Nadu

1993-97: No award given.

1992:
Dr. Khalid Hameed [Medicine]: United Kingdom
Mir Mushtaq Ahmed [Literature & Education]: Delhi
Ustad Sabri Khan [Arts]: Delhi
Prof. Saiyid Amir Hasan Abidi [Literature & Education]: Delhi

1991:
Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan [Arts]: Maharashtra
Ustad Hafeez Ahmed Khan [Arts]: Delhi
Mehmood-ur Rahman [Civil Service]: Jammu and Kashmir
Dr. Sardar Anjum [Literature & Education]: Punjab
Dr. (Ms.) Shareefunnisa Begum Ansari [Literature & Education]: Andhra Pradesh
Dr. Syed Hasan [Literature & Education]: Bihar

1990:
Asghari Bai [Arts]: Madhya Pradesh
Shri Mohammad Swaleh Ansari [Trade & Industry]: Uttar Pradesh

1989:
Dr. Kalim Ahmed Ajiz [Literature & Education]: Bihar
Shamsuddin Sheikh [Arts]: Uttar Pradesh

1988:
Ali Jawad Zaidi [Literature & Education]: Uttar Pradesh
Mohammed Azharuddin [Sports]: Andhra Pradesh
Shabana Azmi [Arts]: Maharashtra
Zakir Hussain [Arts]: United States

1987:
Abdus Sattar [Literature & Education]: Assam
Mohd. Izhar Alam [Civil Service]: Bihar
Prof. Nazir Ahmed [Literature & Education]: Uttar Pradesh
Begam Zaffar Ali [Social Work]: Jammu and Kashmir

1986:
Dr. Abdur Rahman [Literature & Education]: Delhi
Mohmmad Shahid [Sports]: Uttar Pradesh; Hockey.
Sheik Nazar [Arts]: Andhra Pradesh

1985:
Naseeruddin Shah [Arts]: Maharashtra
Prof. Syed Hasan Askari [Literature & Education]: Bihar

1984:
Mohammad Hamid Ansari [Civil Service]: Delhi
Dr. Mohmmed Khalilullah [Medicine]: Delhi
Quarratulain Hyder [Literature & Education]: Uttar Pradesh
Roshan Kumari Fakir Mohammad [Arts]: Maharashtra
Sayed Abdul Malik [Literature & Education]: Assam
Dr. Syed Nasaar Ahmed Shah [Medicine]: Jammu and Kashmir
Zeinulabudin Gulam Hussain Rangoonwala [Social Work]: Maharashtra

1983:
Gulam Mohammed Sheikh [Arts]: Gujarat
Gulam Rusull Khan [Civil Service]: Jammu and Kashmir
Habib Tanvir [Arts]: Delhi
Dr Hassan Naseem Siddiquie [Science & Engineering]: Goa; lead Scientific

expedition to Antartica
Saliha Abid Hussain [Literature & Education]: Delhi
Ustad Sharafat Hussain Khan [Arts]: Uttar Pradesh

1982:
Hajjan Allah Jilai Bai [Arts]: Rajasthan
Dr. Jabbar Razak Patel [Arts]: Maharashtra
Kalimuddin Ahmed [Literature & Education]: Bihar
Syed M.H. Kirmani [Sports]: Karnataka
Vaikom Muhammad Basheer [Literature & Education]: Kerala

1981:
Abid Ali Khan [Literature & Education]: Andhra Pradesh
Capt. Fakir Mohhmed Jainuddin Juvale [Civil Service]: Maharashtra
Syed Haider Raza [Arts]: France

1978-1980: No award given.

1977:
Allarakha Khan Qureshi [Arts]: Jammu and Kashmir
Sheik Chinna Moulana [Arts]: Tamil Nadu
Gulam Rasul Santosh [Arts]: Delhi
Ismail Ahmed Cachalia [Social Work]: Gujarat
Sheikh Mohd. Rafique [Social Work]: Uttar Pradesh
Shri Mohd. Fayazuddin Nizami [Science & Engineering]: Andhra Pradesh
Dr. Sibte Hasan Zaidi [Science & Engineering]: Uttar Pradesh

1976:
Ustad Faiyyaz Ahmed Khan [Arts]: Maharashtra
Ismat Chugtai [Literature & Education]: Maharashtra
Mohd. Shafi Khan Bekal Utsahi [Literature & Education]: Uttar Pradesh
Begum Mumtaz Jehan Mirza [Literature & Education]: Delhi
Parween Sultana : [Arts]: Maharashtra
Hakim Saifuddin Ahmed Hakim Saif [Medicine]: Uttar Pradesh
Prof. Syed Bashiruddin [Literature & Education]: Uttar Pradesh

1975:
Dr. Ali Mohammad [Medicine]: Jammu and Kashmir
Amjad Ali Khan [Arts]: Delhi
Arjumand Wahabuddin Ahmed [Social Work]: Andhra Pradesh
Ivy Khan [Social Work]: Delhi
Syed Hussain Ali Jaffri [Social Work]: Delhi
Dr. Syed Zahoor Qasim [Civil Service]: Delhi

1974:
Abdul Sattar [Literature & Education]: Uttar Pradesh
Ali Hasan Kallo Hafiz [Civil Service]: Uttar Pradesh
Gulam Qadir Lala [Trade & Industry]: Jammu and Kashmir
Ishrat Ali Siddiqui [Literature & Education]: Uttar Pradesh
Kaifi Azmi [Literature & Education]: Uttar Pradesh
Maryam Begum [Civil Service]: Jammu and Kashmir
Masuma Begum [Social Work]: Andhra Pradesh
Dr. Syed Zahoor Qasim [Civil Service]: Delhi

1973:
Dr. M.K. Malik Mohammad [Literature & Education]: Kerala

1972:
Sheikh Gulab [Civil Service]: Madhya Pradesh

1972:
Waheeda Rahman [Arts]: Maharashtra

1971:
Abdul Hayi alias Sahir Ludhianvi [Literature & Education]: Punjab
Ghouse Mohd Khan [Sports]: Andhra Pradesh
Gulam Rabbani Taban [Literature & Education]: Delhi
Maqbool Ahmed Lari [Literature & Education]: Uttar Pradesh
Qadri Ragi Aziz Ahmed Khan Warai [Arts]: Andhra Pradesh
Syed Mohd. Mirza Mohazzab [Literature & Education]: Uttar Pradesh
Zafar Rashid Futehally [Science & Engineering]: Maharashtra

1970:
Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan [Arts]: Maharashtra
Dr. Ghulam Ahmad Bandey [Science & Engineering]: Jammu and Kashmir
Masud Hassan Rizvi [Literature & Education]: Uttar Pradesh
Sikander Ali Wajd [Literature & Education]: Maharashtra
Syed Mohd. Moinul Haq [Sports]: Bihar

1969:
Khwaja Ahmed Abbas [Arts]: Maharashtra
Indrani Rahman [Arts]: Delhi; represnted India in international beauty

competition.
K.S.A. Khader Ghulam Mohideen [Trade & Industry]: Tamil Nadu

1968:
Shri Akhtar Mohiuddin [Literature & Education]: Jammu and Kashmir
Begum Akhtar [Arts]: Uttar Pradesh

1967:
Syed Abdul Quadir [Social Work]: Uttar Pradesh
Ali Sardar Jafri [Literature & Education]: Maharashtra
Mohammed Rafi [Arts]: Punjab
Nawab Mohd. Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi [Sports]: Delhi
Syed Fareeduddin [Science & Engineering]: Andhra Pradesh

1966:
Ebrahim Alkazi [Trade & Industry]: Delhi
Maqbool Fida Hussain [Arts]: Delhi
Mohammed Din Jagir [Social Work]: Jammu and Kashmir
Sayyid Ahmadullah Qadri [Literature & Education]: Andhra Pradesh

1965:
Hakim Abdul Hameed [Medicine]: Delhi

1964:
Ustad Vilayat Khan [Arts]: Refused to accept

1963:
Mahboob Khan [Arts]: Maharashtra
Prof. Rashid Ahmed Siddiqi [Literature & Education]: Delhi
Syed Mustaq Ali [Sports]: Madhya Pradesh

1962: No Muslim.

1961:
Ustad Bismillah Khan [Arts]: Uttar Pradesh

1959 & 1960: No Muslim.

1958:
Fatima Ismail [Social Work]: Maharashtra
Nargis [Arts]: Maharashtra

1956 & 1957: No Muslim.

1955:
Habibur Rahman [Science & Engineering] : Delhi
Humayun Mirza [Civil Service] : Karnataka
Zarina Currimbhoy [Social Work] : Maharashtra

SHARIA ABOUT ISLAMIC LAW

2009-07-03T01:46:00.000-07:00

Sharia (Arabic: 'شريعة Šarīʿah) is the body of Islamic religious law. The term means "way" or "path to the water source". It is the legal framework within which the public and private aspects of life are regulated for those living in a legal system based on Islamic principles of jurisprudence and for Muslims living outside the domain. Sharia deals with many aspects of day-to-day life, including politics, economics, banking, business, contracts, family, sexuality, hygiene, and social issues.‎

Islamic law is now the most widely used religious law, and one of the three most common legal systems of the world alongside common law and civil law.^[1] During the Islamic Golden Age, classical Islamic law may have influenced the development of common law,^[2] and also influenced the development of several civil law institutions.^[3]

Etymology

The term sharia itself derives from the verb "shara'a" (Arabic: شرع‎), which according to Abdul Mannan Omar's "Dictionary of the Holy Qur'an" connects to the idea of "system of divine law; way of belief and practice".^{[Qur'an 45:18]}

The definition of Shari’a could be traced from the verbal Arabic noun “Shari’a” that appears in the Qur’an only once at 45:18. Moreover, its derivative form appears three times at 42:13, 42:21, and 5:51 verses. According to the modern definition, Shari’a is the comprehensive body of Islamic laws that should regulate the public and private aspects of the lives of the Muslims. Shari’a is not a single code of laws; rather, it consists of four sources that legal experts refer to. The first two sources are the Qur’an and the Sunna, and the other two complementary sources are consensus (Ijma) and analogy (qiyas). Moreover, some schools of thought accept other additional sources as secondary sources where the first four primary sources allow. ^[4]

Legal scholar L. Ali Khan claims that "the concept of sharia has been thoroughly confused in legal and common literature. For some Muslims, sharia consists of the Qur'an and Sunnah. For others, it also includes classical fiqh. Most encyclopedias define sharia as law based upon the Qur'an, the Sunnah, and classical fiqh derived from consensus (ijma) and analogy (qiyas).This definition of sharia inappropriately lumps together the revealed with the unrevealed. This blending of sources has created a muddled assumption that scholarly interpretations are as sacred and beyond revision as are the Qur'an and the Sunnah. The Qur'an and the Sunnah constitute the immutable Basic Code, which should be kept separate from ever-evolving interpretive law (fiqh). This analytical separation between the Basic Code and fiqh is necessary to" dissipate confusion around the term Sharia.^[5]

Definitions and descriptions

This section requires expansion.

Sharia has been defined as

"Muslim or Islamic law, both civil and criminal justice as well as regulating individual conduct both personal and moral. The custom-based body of law based on the Koran and the religion of Islam. Because, by definition, Muslim states are theocracies, religious texts are law, the latter distinguished by Islam and Muslims in their application, as Sharia or Sharia law."^[6]
"a discussion on the duties of Muslims," —Hamilton Alexander Rosskeen Gibb^[7]
"a long, diverse, complicated intellectual tradition," rather than a "well-defined set of specific rules and regulations that can be easily applied to life situations," —Hunt Janin and Andre Kahlmeyer^[8]
"a shared opinion of the [Islamic] community, based on a literature that is extensive, but not necessarily coherent or authorized by any single body," —Knut S. Vikor^[9]

Mainstream Islam distinguishes between fiqh (deep understanding, discernment), which refers to the inferences drawn by scholars, and sharia, which refers to the principles that lie behind the fiqh. Scholars hope that fiqhsharia (law) are in harmony in any given case, but they cannot be sure. (jurisprudence) and

The primary sources of Islamic law are the Qur'an and Sunnah. Sharia has certain laws which are regarded as divinely ordained, concrete and timeless for all relevant situations. It also has certain laws which derived from principles established over time by Islamic lawyers.

Traditional Sunni Muslims also add the consensus (ijma) of Muhammad's companions (sahaba) and Islamic jurists (ulema) on certain issues, and drawing analogy from the essence of divine principles and preceding rulings (qiyas). In situations where no concrete rules exist under the sources, law scholars use qiyas^{[citation needed]} — various forms of reasoning, including by analogy. The consensus of the community or people, public interest, and others are also accepted as secondary sources where the first four primary sources allow.

Shi'a Muslims reject this approach. They strongly reject analogy (qiyas) as an easy way to innovations (bid'ah), and also reject consensus (ijma) as having any particular value in its own. During the period that the Sunni scholars developed those two tools, the Shi'a Imams were alive, and Shi'a view them as an extension of the Sunnah, so they view themselves as only deriving their laws (fiqh) from the Qur'an and Sunnah. A recurring theme in Shi'a jurisprudence is logicmantiq),^[10] something most Shi'a believe they mention, employ and value to a higher degree than most Sunnis do. They do not view logic as a third source for laws, rather a way to see if the derived work is compatible with the Qur'an and Sunnah. (

In Imami-Shi'i law, the sources of law (usul al-fiqh) are the Qur'an, anecdotes of Muhammad's practices and those of The Twelve Imams, and the intellect ('aql). The practices called Sharia today, however, also have roots in local customs (urf).^{[citation needed]}

Classic Islamic law

The formative period of fiqh stretches back to the time of the early Muslim communities. In this period, jurists were more concerned with pragmatic issues of authority and teaching than with theory.^[11] Progress in theory happened with the coming of the early Muslim jurist Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafi`i (767-820), who laid down the basic principles of Islamic jurisprudence in his book Al-Risala. The book details the four roots of law (Qur'an, Sunnah, ijma, and qiyas) while specifying that the primary Islamic texts (the Qur'an and the hadith) be understood according to objective rules of interpretation derived from careful study of the Arabic language.^[12]

A number of important legal concepts and institutions were developed by Islamic jurists during the classical period of Islam, known as the Islamic Golden Age, dated from the 7th to 13th centuries.^[2]^[3]^[13]^[14]

Origins

Sharia Law is founded on the teachings of Allah and the acts and sayings of Muhammad as found in the Qur'an and the Sunnah. ^[15] However, sharia was not fully developed at the time of Muhammad's death, but rather it evolved around the Muslim community or Ummah through which it would serve.^{[citation needed]}

When sharia began its formation in the deserts of Arabia about 1,400 years ago, the time Islam was born,^[16] a sense of community did not exist. Life in the desert was nomadic and tribal, thus the only factor that tied people together into various tribes was through common ancestry.^[15] However, the nature of Islam challenged that ideology and brought all those who professed their submission to Islam into the Ummah. Additionally, Islam was not just a religion but a way of life. Laws had to be instilled so the doctrines of sharia took root. All who are Muslim are judged by sharia^[17] – regardless of the location or the culture.

Sharia was guided through its development by lifestyles of the tribes in which was initially absorbed into Islam. Thus, through the understandings of the tribe, Islamic law would be a law of the community – for the community by the community – even if initially proposed by an individual "for they could not form part of the tribal law unless and until they were generally accepted as such."^[15]University of London, states that "to the tribe as a whole belonged the power to determine the standards by which its members should live. But here the tribe is conceived not merely as the group of its present representatives but as a historical entity embracing past, present, and future generations."^[15] So, while "each and every law must be rooted in either the Qur'an or the Sunnah,"^[18] without contradiction, tribal life brought about a sense of participation. Such participation is further reinforced by Muhammad who stated, "My community will never agree in error". ^[18] Additionally, Noel James Coulson, Lecturer in Islamic law of the

After the death of Muhammad, sharia continued to undergo fundamental changes, beginning with the reigns of caliphs Abu Bakr (632–34) and Umar^[16] In AD 662, during the reign of Muawiya b. Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, life ceased to be nomadic and undertook an urban transformation which in turn created matters not originally covered by Islamic law.^[16] Every change of Islamic society has played an active role in developing sharia which branches out into Fiqh and Qanun respectively. (634–44) in which many decision making matters were brought to the attention of Muhammad's closest comrades for consultation.

Before the 19th century, legal theory was considered the domain of the traditional legal schools of thought. The legal schools followed by most Sunni Muslims were Hanafi, Hanbali, Maliki or Shafi`i. Most Shia Muslims followed the Ja'fari school of thought.^[19]

Comparisons with common law

The methodology of legal precedent and reasoning by analogy (qiyas) used in Islamic law was similar to that of the common law legal system.^[13] According to Justice Gamal Moursi Badr, Islamic law is like common law in that it "is not a written law" and the "provisions of Islamic law are to be sought first and foremost in the teachings of the authoritative jurists" (ulema), hence Islamic law may "be called a lawyer's law if common law is a judge's law."^[3]

English common law

Since the publication of legal scholar John Makdisi's The Islamic Origins of the Common Law in the North Carolina Law Review in 1999,^[2] there has been controversy over whether English common law was inspired by Islamic law.^[20]^[21]^[22] that several fundamental English common law institutions may have been derived or adapted from similar legal institutions in Islamic law and jurisprudence, and introduced to England after the Norman conquest of England by the Normans, who conquered and inherited the Islamic legal administration of the Emirate of Sicily (see Arab-Norman culture), and "through the close connection between the Norman kingdoms of Roger II in Sicily Henry II in England",^[22] as well as by Crusaders during the Crusades. The connection with Norman law in Normandy may be real, but it should be remembered that common law owes a great deal to Anglo-Saxon traditions and forms, and in its current form represents an interplay between the two systems. It has been suggested by several scholars such as Professor John Makdisi, Jamila Hussain and Lawrence Rosen — ruling over a conquered Islamic administration — and

According to Makdisi, the "royal English contract protected by the action of debtAqd, the English assize of novel disseisin is identified with the Islamic Istihqaq, and the English jury is identified with the Islamic Lafif" in classical Maliki jurisprudence.^[2] The Islamic Hawalaagency institution in English common law.^[3] Other English legal institutions such as "the scholastic method, the license to teach," the "law schools known as Inns of Court in England and Madrasas in Islam" may have also originated from Islamic law. These influences have led Makdisi to suggest that Islamic law may have laid the foundations for "the common law as an integrated whole".^[2] is identified with the Islamic institution also influenced the development of the

The Waqf in Islamic law, which developed during the 7th-9th centuries, bears a notable resemblance to the trusts in the English trust law.^[23] For example, every Waqf was required to have a waqif (founder), mutawillis (trustee), qadi (judge) and beneficiaries.^[24] Under both a Waqf and a trust, "property is reserved, and its usufruct appropriated, for the benefit of specific individuals, or for a general charitable purpose; the corpus becomes inalienable; estates for life in favor of successive beneficiaries cannot be created" and "without regard to the law of inheritance or the rights of the heirs; and continuity is secured by the successive appointment of trustees or mutawillis."^[25] The trust law developed in England at the time of the Crusades, during the 12th and 13th centuries, was introduced by Crusaders who may have been influenced by the Waqf institutions they came across in the Middle East.^[26]^[27] Dr. Paul Brand also notes parallels between the Waqf and the trusts used to establish Merton College by Walter de Merton, who had connections with the Knights Templar. Brand also points out, however, that the Knights Templar were primarily concerned with fighting the Muslims rather than learning from them, making it less likely that they had knowledge of Muslim legal institutions.^[20] The introduction of the trust, or "use" was primarily motivated by the need to avoid medieval inheritance taxes. By transferring legal title to a third party, there was no need to pay feudal dues on the death of the father. In those times, it was common for an underage child to lose many of his rights to his feudal overlord if he succeeded before he came of age.

The precursor to the English jury trial was the Lafif trial in classical Maliki jurisprudence, which was developed between the 8th and 11th centuries in North Africa and Islamic Sicily, and shares a number of similarities with the later jury trials in English common law. Like the English jury, the Islamic Lafif was a body of twelve members drawn from the neighbourhood and sworn to tell the truth, who were bound to give a unanimous verdict, about matters "which they had personally seen or heard, binding on the judge, to settle the truth concerning facts in a case, between ordinary people, and obtained as of right by the plaintiff." The only characteristic of the English jury which the Islamic Lafif lacked was the "judicial writ directing the jury to be summoned and directing the bailiff to hear its recognition." According to Professor John Makdisi, "no other institution in any legal institution studied to date shares all of these characteristics with the English jury." It is thus likely that the concept of the Lafif may have been introduced to England by the Normans and then evolved into the modern English jury.^[2] However, the hearing of trials before a body of citizens may have existed in courts before the Norman conquest.

The precursor to the English assize of novel disseisin was the Islamic Istihqaq, an action "for the recovery of usurped land", in contrast to the previous Roman law possession in resolving such disputes." The "assize of novel disseisin broke with this tradition and emphasized ownership, as is found in the Islamic law of Istihqaq."^[28] Islamic law also introduced the notion of allowing an accused suspect or defendant to have an agent or lawyer, known as a wakil, handle his/her defense. This was in contrast to early English common law, which "used lawyers to prosecute but the accused were left to handle their defense themselves." The English Parliament did not allow those accused of treason the right to retain lawyers until 1695, and for those accused of other felonies until 1836.^[29] which "emphasized

Islamic jurists formulated early contract laws which introduced the application of formal rationality, legal rationality, legal logic (see Logic in Islamic philosophy) and legal reasoning in the use of contracts.^[30] Islamic jurists also introduced the concepts of recession (Iqalah), frustration of purpose (istihalah al-tanfidh or "impossibility of performance"), Act of God (Afat Samawiyah or "Misfortune from Heaven") and force majeure in the law of contracts.^[31]Victorian period. Early case law indicates that it was impossible to rescind a contract for frustration even where performance became impossible. However, recission, frustration and other core concepts in the law of contract are relatively recent introductions into the Law of England, dating back to the

Other possible influences of Islamic law on English common law include the concepts of a passive judge, impartial judge, res iudicata, the judge as a blank slate, individual self-definition, justice rather than morality, the law above the state, individualism, freedom of contract, privilege against self-incrimination, fairness over truth, individual autonomy, untrained and transitory decision making, overlap in testimonial and adjudicative tasks, appeal, dissent, day in court, prosecution for perjury, oral testimony, and the judge as a moderator, supervisor, announcer and enforcer rather than an adjudicator.^[32]

Law of the United States

Similarities between Islamic law and the common law of the United States have also been noted, particularly in regards to Constitutional law. According to Asifa Quraishi, the methods used in the judicial interpretation of the Constitution are similar to that of the Qur'an, including the methods of "plain meaning literalism, historical understanding "originalism," and reference to underlying purpose and spirit."^[33] Sameer S. Vohra says the United States Constitution is similar to the Qur'an in that the Constitution is "the supreme law of the land and the basis from which the laws of the legislature originate."^[34] Vohra further notes that the legislature is similar to the Sunnah in that the "legislature takes the framework of the Constitution and makes directives that involve the specific day-to-day situations of its citizens."^[34] He also writes that the judicial decision-making process is similar to the qiyas and ijma methods in that judicial decision-making is "a means by which the law is applied to individual disputes", that "words of the Constitution or of statutes do not specifically address all the possible situations to which they may apply" and that "at times, it requires the judiciary to either use the consensus of previous decisions or reason by analogy to find the correct principle to resolve the dispute."^[35]

Azizah Y. al-Hibri argues that American constitutional law may have possibly borrowed certain concepts from Islamic constitutional law.^[36] He compares the American constitution to the Qur'an, Sunnah and Constitution of Medina, such as the establishment of a federal government, the declaration of freedom of religion, the abolishment of guilt by association, the right to privacy, and matters such as common defense and peacemaking.^[37] He notes that while it is uncertain whether or not the American Founding Fathers had access to the Constitution of Medina, it is certain that they had access to the Qur'an (which protects some of the rights mentioned in the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution),^[38] that Thomas Jefferson was familiar with Orientalist writings on Islam (including those of Volney) in addition to owning a copy of the Qur'an, that Jefferson spoke of avoiding the mistakes of previous civilizations, and that there were African American Muslim slaves from an Islamic legal background.^[39]

The earliest known lawsuits may also date back to Islamic law. There was a hadith tradition which reported that the Caliph Uthman ibn Affan (580-656) attempted to sue a Jewish subject for recovery of a suit of armour, but his case was unsuccessful due to a lack of competent witnesses.^[40] The concept of a lawsuit was also described in the Ethics of the Physician by Ishaq bin Ali al-Rahwi (854–931) of al-Raha, Syria, as part of an early medical peer review process, where the notes of a practicing Islamic physician were reviewed by peers and he/she could be sued by a maltreated patient if the reviews were negative.^[41]

The earliest known prohibition of illegal drugs occurred under Islamic law, which prohibited the use of Hashish, a preparation of cannabis, as a recreational drug. Classical jurists in medieval Islamic jurisprudence, however, accepted the use of the Hashish drug for medicinal and therapeutic purposes, and agreed that its "medical use, even if it leads to mental derangement, remains exempt" from punishment. In the 14th century, the Islamic jurist Az-Zarkashi spoke of "the permissibility of its use for medical purposes if it is established that it is beneficial."^[42] According to Mary Lynn Mathre, with "this legal distinction between the intoxicant and the medical uses of cannabis, medieval Muslim theologians were far ahead of present-day American law."^[43]

Other comparisons

Other parallels to common law concepts in property law were found in classical Islamic property law, including the concepts of leasehold (including duty to take and keep in possession and holdover tenancy), joint ownership (including partition, pledge, bailment, lost property, license and trespass), acquisition (including intestate succession), duress (Ikrah), transfer by sale (including contract formation, meeting of the minds, declaratiion, and risk of loss), transfer by gift, rights and restrictions on transfers (including restraint on alienation, appurtenance, fixture, preemption, mortgage and water rights), will (including entitlement to shares, revocation, ademption, lapse, abatement and ambiguity), attacks on ownership (including concepts of theft, robbery, usurpation, nuisance, and defense of necessity), and causation (including remote consequences, intervening human cause, concurrent cause and uncertain cause). Many of these concepts were summarized in Islamic juristic texts, including the Hidayah by the Hanafi jurist Qazi Halb Burhan-ud-din, the Minhaj al-Talibin by the Shafi`i jurist Yahya ibn Sharaf al-Nawawi, the Mukhtasar by the Maliki jurist Khalil ibn Ishaq al-Jundi, the Fatawa-e-Alamgiri by Hanafi jurists, and the Kasani.^[14]

While some see the Islamic concept of Istihsan as being equivalent to the concept of equity in English law, others see it as being equivalent to the "reasoned distinction of precedent" in American law, in which case Istihsan may be referred to as the "reasoned distinction of qiyas (reasoning by analogy)".^[44]

Other parallels to common law concepts are found in classical Islamic law and jurisprudence, including advocacy,^[45] ratio decidendi (illah),^[46] arbitrary legal opinion, discretion,^[47] public policy (Istislah and Maslaha),^[14]^[47] freedom of religion, equal protection, reasoning by analogy and distinction, and consensus and precedent.^[14] decision-making,

Comparisons with civil law

One of the institutions developed by classical Islamic jurists which influenced civil law was the Hawala, an early informal value transfer system, which is mentioned in texts of Islamic jurisprudence as early as the 8th century. HawalaAval in French civil law and the Avallo in Italian law.^[3] The "European commenda" limited partnershipsQirad) used in civil law as well as the civil law conception of res judicata^[2] itself later influenced the development of the (Islamic may also have origins in Islamic law.

The transfer of debt, which was not permissible under Roman law but is practiced in modern civil law, may also have origins in Islamic law.^[48] The concept of an agency was also an "institution unknown to Roman law", where it was not possible for an individual to "conclude a binding contract on behalf of another as his agent." The concept of an agency was introduced by Islamic jurists, and thus the civil law conception of agency may also have origins in Islamic law.^[49]

International law

The first treatise on international law (Siyar in Arabic) was the Introduction to the Law of Nations written at the end of the 8th century by Muhammad al-Shaybani^[50] (d. 804), an Islamic jurist of the Hanafi school,^[51] eight centuries before Hugo Grotius wrote the first European treatise on the subject. Al-Shaybani wrote a second more advanced treatise on the subject, and other jurists soon followed with a number of other multi-volume treatises written on international law during the Islamic Golden Age.^[50] They dealt with both public international law as well as private international law.^[52]

These early Islamic legal treatises covered the application of Islamic ethics, Islamic economic jurisprudence and Islamic military jurisprudence to international law,^[51] and were concerned with a number of modern international law topics, including the law of treaties; the treatment of diplomats, hostages, refugees and prisoners of war; the right of asylum; conduct on the battlefield; protection of women, children and non-combatant civilians; contracts across the lines of battle; the use of poisonous weapons; and devastation of enemy territory.^[50] The Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphs were also in continuous diplomatic negotiations with the Byzantine Empire on matters such as peace treaties, the exchange of prisoners of war, and payment of ransoms and tributes.^[53]

After Sultan al-Kamil defeated the Franks during the Crusades, Oliverus Scholasticus praised the Islamic laws of war, commenting on how al-Kamil supplied the defeated Frankish army with food:^[50]

"Who could doubt that such goodness, friendship and charity come from God? Men whose parents, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, had died in agony at our hands, whose lands we took, whom we drove naked from their homes, revived us with their own food when we were dying of hunger and showered us with kindness even when we were in their power."^[54]

The Islamic legal principles of international law were largely based on Qur'an and the Sunnah of Muhammad, who gave various injunctions to his forces and adopted practices toward the conduct of war. The most important of these were summarized by Muhammad's successor and close companion, Abu Bakr, in the form of ten rules for the Muslim army:^[55]

Stop, O people, that I may give you ten rules for your guidance in the battlefield. Do not commit treachery or deviate from the right path. You must not mutilate dead bodies. Neither kill a child, nor a woman, nor an aged man. Bring no harm to the trees, nor burn them with fire, especially those which are fruitful. Slay not any of the enemy's flock, save for your food. You are likely to pass by people who have devoted their lives to monastic services; leave them alone.^[55]

Islamic private international law arose as a result of the vast Muslim conquests maritime explorations, giving rise to various conflicts of laws. A will, for example, was "not enforced even if its provisions accorded with Islamic law if it violated the law of the testator." Islamic jurists also developed elaborate rules for private international law regarding issues such as contracts and property, family relations and child custody, legal procedure and jurisdiction, religious conversion, and the return of aliens to an enemy country from the Islamic world. Democratic religious pluralism also existed in classical Islamic law, as the religious laws and courts of other religions, including Christianity, Judaism and Hinduism, were usually accommodated within the Islamic legal framework, as seen in the early Caliphate, al-Andalus, Indian subcontinent, and the Ottoman Millet system.^[53]^[56] and

Islamic law also introduced "two fundamental principles to the West, on which were to later stand the future structure of law: equity and good faith", which was a precursor to the concept of pacta sunt servanda in civil law and international law. Islamic law also "introduced it to international relations, making possible the systematic development of conventional law, which became a partial substitute for custom."^[57]

Islamic law also made "major contributions" to international admiralty law, departing from the previous Roman and Byzantine maritime laws in several ways.^[58]^[59] These included Muslim sailors being "paid a fixed wage "in advance" with an understanding that they would owe money in the event of desertion or malfeasance, in keeping with Islamic conventions" in which contracts should specify "a known fee for a known duration", in contrast to Roman and Byzantine sailors who were "stakeholders in a maritime venture, in as much as captain and crew, with few exceptions, were paid proportional divisions of a sea venture's profit, with shares allotted by rank, only after a voyage's successful conclusion." Muslim jurists also distinguished between "coastal navigation, or cabotage," and voyages on the "high seas", and they also made shippers "liable for freight in most cases except the seizure of both a ship and its cargo." Islamic law also "departed from Justinian's Digest and the Nomos Rhodion Nautikos in condemning slave jettison", and the Islamic Qirad was also a precursor to the European commendalimited partnership. The "Islamic influence on the development of an international law of the sea" can thus be discerned alongside that of the Roman influence.^[58]

There is evidence that early Islamic international law influenced the development of Western international law, through various routes such as the Crusades, Norman conquest of the Emirate of Sicily, and Reconquista of al-Andalus.^[57] In particular, the Spanish jurist Francisco de Vitoria, and his successor Hugo Grotius, may have been influenced by Islamic international law through earlier Islamic-influenced writings such as the 1263 work Siete PartidasAlfonso X, which was regarded as a "monument of legal science" in Europe at the time and was influenced by the Islamic legal treatise Villiyet written in Islamic Spain.^[52]^[57] of

Legal education

Main article: Madrasah

Madrasahs were the first law schools, and it is likely that the "law schools known as Inns of Court in England" may have been derived from the Madrasahs which taught Islamic law and jurisprudence.^[2]^[60]

The origins of the doctorate dates back to the ijazat attadris wa 'l-ifttd ("license to teach and issue legal opinions") in the medieval Islamic legal education Doctor of Laws qualification and was developed during the 9th century after the formation of the Madh'hab legal schools. To obtain a doctorate, a student "had to study in a guild school of law, usually four years for the basic undergraduate course" and ten or more years for a post-graduate course. The "doctorate was obtained after an oral examination to determine the originality of the candidate's theses," and to test the student's "ability to defend them against all objections, in disputations set up for the purpose" which were scholarly exercises practiced throughout the student's "career as a graduate student of law." After students completed their post-graduate education, they were awarded doctorates giving them the status of faqih (meaning "master of law"), mufti (meaning "professor of legal opinions") and mudarris (meaning "teacher"), which were later translated into Latin as magister, professor and doctor respectively.^[60] system, which was equivalent to the

Democratic participation

Main article: Islam and democracy

Further information: Shura, Ijma, and The election of Uthman

In the early Islamic caliphate, the head of state, the caliph, had a position based on the notion of a successor to Muhammad's political authority, who, according to Sunnis, were ideally elected by the people or their representatives.^[61] After the Rashidun Caliphs, later Caliphates during the Islamic Golden Age had a lesser degree of democratic participation, but since "no one was superior to anyone else except on the basis of piety and virtue" in Islam, and following the example of Muhammad, later Islamic rulers often held public consultations with the people in their affairs.^[56]^[62]

The power of the Caliph (or later, the Sultan) was restricted by the scholarly class, the ulema, a group regarded as the guardians of the law. Since the law came from the legal scholars, this prevented the Caliph from dictating legal results. Laws were decided based on the ijma (consensus) of the Ummah (community), which was most often represented by the legal scholars.^[63] In order to qualify as a legal scholar, it was required that they obtain a doctorate known as the ijazat attadris wa 'l-ifttd ("license to teach and issue legal opinions") from a Madrasah.^[60] In many ways, classical Islamic law functioned like a constitutional law.^[63]

Human rights

Main article: Islamic ethics

In the field of human rights, early Islamic jurists introduced a number of advanced legal concepts before the 12th century which anticipated similar modern concepts in the field.^[64] These included the notions of the charitable trust and the trusteeship of property; the notion of brotherhood and social solidarity; the notions of human dignity and the dignity of labour; the notion of an ideal law; the condemnation of antisocial behavior; the presumption of innocence; the notion of "bidding unto good" (assistance to those in distress); and the notions of sharing, caring, universalism, fair industrial relations, fair contract, commercial integrity, freedom from usury, women's rights, privacy, abuse of rights, juristic personality, individual freedom, equality before the law, legal representation, non-retroactivity, supremacy of the law, judicial independence, judicial impartiality, limited sovereignty, tolerance, and democratic participation. Many of these concepts were adopted in medieval Europe through contacts with Islamic Spain and the Emirate of Sicily, and through the Crusades and the Latin translations of the 12th century.^[65]

In the North Carolina Law Review journal, Professor John Makdisi of the University of North Carolina School of Law writes in The Islamic Origins of the Common Law article:

"[T]he manner in which an act was qualified as morally good or bad in the spiritual domain of Islamic religion was quite different from the manner in which that same act was qualified as legally valid or invalid in the temporal domain of Islamic law. Islamic law was secular, not canonical... Thus, it was a system focused on ensuring that an individual received justice, not that one be a good person."^[66]

Count Leon Ostorog, a French jurist, wrote the following on classical Islamic law in 1927:

"Those Eastern thinkers of the ninth century laid down, on the basis of their theology, the principle of the Rights of Man, in those very terms, comprehending the rights of individual liberty, and of inviolability of person and property; described the supreme power in Islam, or Califate, as based on a contract, implying conditions of capacity and performance, and subject to cancellation if the conditions under the contract were not fulfilled; elaborated a Law of War of which the humane, chivalrous prescriptions would have put to the blush certain belligerents in the Great War; expounded a doctrine of toleration of non-Moslem creeds so liberal that our West had to wait a thousand years before seeing equivalent principles adopted."^[67]

Inalienable rights

The concept of inalienable rights was found in early Islamic law and jurisprudence, which denied a ruler "the right to take away from his subjects certain rights which inhere in his or her person as a human being." Islamic rulers could not take away certain rights from their subjects on the basis that "they become rights by reason of the fact that they are given to a subject by a law and from a source which no ruler can question or alter." Islamic jurists also anticipated the concept of the rule of law, the equal subjection of all classes to the ordinary law of the land, where no person is above the law and where officials and private citizens are under a duty to obey the same law. A qadi (Islamic judge) was also not allowed to discriminate on the grounds of religion, race, colour, kinship or prejudice. There were also a number of cases where caliphs had to appear before judges as they prepared to take their verdict.^[68] There is evidence that John Locke's formulation of inalienable rights and conditional rulership, which were present in Islamic law centuries earlier, may have also been influenced by Islamic law, through his attendance of lectures given by Edward Pococke, a professor of Islamic studies.^[69]

Economic and social rights

Early Islamic law recognized two sets of human rights. In addition to the category of civil rights and political rights (covered in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights), Islamic law also recognized an additional category: social, economic and cultural rights. This latter category was not recognized in the Western legal tradition until the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 1966.^[70] The right of privacy, which was not recognized in Western legal traditions until modern times, was recogonized in Islamic law since the beginning of Islam.^[54]

Women's rights

In terms of women's rights, women generally had more legal rights under Islamic law than they did under Western legal systems until the 19th and 20th centuries.^[71] For example, "French married women, unlike their Muslim sisters, suffered from restrictions on their legal capacity which were removed only in 1965."^[72] Noah Feldman, a Harvard University law professor, notes:

As for sexism, the common law long denied married women any property rights or indeed legal personality apart from their husbands. When the British applied their law to Muslims in place of Shariah, as they did in some colonies, the result was to strip married women of the property that Islamic law had always granted them — hardly progress toward equality of the sexes.^[63]

Women also had the right to challenge or oppose any laws proposed by a Caliph. In the 7th century, when the Caliph Umar proposed a change in Islamic marital jurisprudence at a mosque, he was challenged by an old unknown woman who stated: "You shall not deprive us [women] of what God gave us." The woman cited a passage from the Qur'an as support and thus Umar had no choice but to declare: "The woman is right and the Khalifah is wrong."^[73] At the time of the Prophet Muhammad, he often sought advice from women in regards to political matters, and a delegation of Arab women once "extended the bay'ah to him," thus establishing "the right of Muslim women to participate in the political process."^[74]

Some argue that the cultural argument within Sharia for the rights of women states that Muslim women by virtue of accepting Islam voluntarily submit themselves to God and the veil. The veil is considered a sign of modesty, so that she may be regarded as an intelligent human and not merely an object of desire. Some also argue that according to Sharia's concept of blood money (Diyya) a woman is worth half that of a man.^{[citation needed]}

Welfare and pension

The concepts of welfare and pension were introduced in early Islamic law as forms of Zakat (charity), one of the Five Pillars of Islam, since the time of the Abbasid caliph Al-Mansur in the 8th century. The taxes (including Zakat and Jizya) collected in the treasury of an Islamic government was used to provide income for the needy, including the poor, elderly, orphans, widows, and the disabled. According to the Islamic jurist Al-Ghazali (Algazel, 1058-1111), the government was also expected to store up food supplies in every region in case a disaster or famine occurs. The caliphate was thus one of the earliest welfare states.^[75]

Freedom of speech

Main article: Islamic ethics

During the Islamic Golden Age, there was an early emphasis on freedom of speech Umar in the 7th century.^[57] Later during the Abbasid period, freedom of speech was also declared by al-Hashimi, a cousin of caliph Al-Ma'mun (786–833), in the following letter to a religious opponent:^[76] in the Islamic caliphate. This was first declared by the Caliph

"Bring forward all the arguments you wish and say whatever you please and speak your mind freely. Now that you are safe and free to say whatever you please appoint some arbitrator who will impartially judge between us and lean only towards the truth and be free from the empery of passion, and that arbitrator shall be Reason, whereby God makes us responsible for our own rewards and punishments. Herein I have dealt justly with you and have given you full security and am ready to accept whatever decision Reason may give for me or against me. For "There is no compulsion in religion" (Qur'an 2:256) and I have only invited you to accept our faith willingly and of your own accord and have pointed out the hideousness of your present belief. Peace be with you and the blessings of God!"^[76]

According to George Makdisi and Hugh Goddard, "the idea of academic freedom" in universities was "modelled on Islamic custom" as practiced in the medieval Madrasah system from the 9th century.^[77]

Peace and justice

Main article: Peace in Islamic philosophy

As in other Abrahamic religions, peace is a basic concept of Islam. The Arabic term "Islam" itself (إسلام) is usually translated as "submission"; submission of desires to the will of God. It comes from the term aslama, which means "to surrender" or "resign oneself".^[78] The Arabic word salaam (سلام) ("peace") has the same root as the word Islam^[79]. One Islamic interpretation is that individual personal peace is attained by utterly submitting to Allah. The greeting "As-Salamu Alaykum", favoured by Muslims, has the literal meaning "Peace be with you"^[80]. Muhammad is reported to have said once, "Mankind are the dependents, or family of God, and the most beloved of them to God are those who are the most excellent to His dependents." "Not one of you believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself." Great Muslim scholars of prophetic tradition such as Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani and Yahya ibn Sharaf al-Nawawi have said^[81] that the words 'his brother' mean any person irrespective of faith.

Slavery and emancipation

Main article: Islam and slavery

The major juristic schools of Islam have traditionally accepted the institution of slavery. However, Islam has prescribed five ways to free slaves, has severely chastised those who enslave free people, and regulated the slave trade. The source of slaves was restricted to war in preference to killing whole tribes en masse, as was the tradition at the time. Slaves also had more rights under Islam as an owner could not mistreat them, and slaves were treated as equals. Many slaves were freed after certain period of time, or if they were ransomed.

Sharia and non-Muslims

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Main article: Dhimmi

Sharia attributes different legal rights to different groups. Sharia distinguishes between men and women, as well as between Muslims, "people of the Book" such as Jews and Christians and other non-Muslims.

Under 'Sharia' law non-muslims must pay tax called Jizya if they want to live safely in Muslim states otherwise Muslim states refuse to protect non-muslims even though they protect the rest of their Muslim citizens. Recently a minority community of Sikhs was forced to pay Jijia to live safely^[82] in a Pakistani region controlled by Taliban.

Under Sharia a non-muslim is worth half that of a Muslim (see Diyya) under certain circumstances.

Qanun

After the fall of the Abbasids in 1258, a practice known to the Turks and Mongols Qanun, which gave power to caliphs, governors, and sultans alike to "make their own regulations for activities not addressed by the sharia."^[18] The Qanun began to unfold as early as Umar I (586-644 CE).^[18] Many of the regulations covered by Qanun were based on financial matters or tax systems adapted through the law and regulations of those territories Islam conquered.^[18],Qanun in arabic means law or rules. transformed itself into

Modern Islamic law

During the 19th century, the history of Islamic law took a sharp turn due to new challenges the Muslim world faced: the West had risen to a global power and colonized a large part of the world, including Muslim territories. In the Western world, societies changed from the agricultural to the industrial stage, new social and political ideas emerged, and social models slowly shifted from hierarchical towards egalitarian. The Ottoman Empire and the rest of the Muslim world were in decline, and calls for reform became louder. In Muslim countries, codified state law started replacing the role of scholarly legal opinion. Western countries sometimes inspired, sometimes pressured, and sometimes forced Muslim states to change their laws. Secularist movements pushed for laws deviating from the opinions of the Islamic legal scholars. Islamic legal scholarship remained the sole authority for guidance in matters of rituals, worship, and spirituality, while they lost authority to the state in other areas. The Muslim community became divided into groups reacting differently to the change. This division persists until the present day (Brown 1996, Hallaq 2001, Ramadan 2005, Aslan 2006, Safi 2003, Nenezich 2006).

Secularists believe that the law of the state should be based on secular principles, not on Islamic legal theory.
Traditionalists believe that the law of the state should be based on the traditional legal schools. However, traditional legal views are considered unacceptable by some modern Muslims, especially in areas like women's rights or slavery.^[83]
Reformers believe that new Islamic legal theories can produce modernized Islamic law^[84] and lead to acceptable opinions in areas such as women's rights.^[85] However, traditionalists believe that as any departure from the legal teachings of the Qur'an as explained by the Prophet Muhammad and put into practice by him is an alien concept which cannot properly be attributed to 'Islam'.

Background

According to Noah Feldman, a law professor at Harvard University, the legal scholars and jurists who once upheld the rule of law were replaced by a law governed by the state due to the codification of Sharia by the Ottoman Empire in the early 19th century:^[63]

How the scholars lost their exalted status as keepers of the law is a complex story, but it can be summed up in the adage that partial reforms are sometimes worse than none at all. In the early 19th century, the Ottoman empire responded to military setbacks with an internal reform movement. The most important reform was the attempt to codify Shariah. This Westernizing process, foreign to the Islamic legal tradition, sought to transform Shariah from a body of doctrines and principles to be discovered by the human efforts of the scholars into a set of rules that could be looked up in a book.

Once the law existed in codified form, however, the law itself was able to replace the scholars as the source of authority. Codification took from the scholars their all-important claim to have the final say over the content of the law and transferred that power to the state.

Contemporary practice

There is tremendous variety in the interpretation and implementation of Islamic Law in Muslim societies today. Liberal movements within Islam have questioned the relevance and applicability of sharia from a variety of perspectives; Islamic feminism brings multiple points of view to the discussion. Some of the largest Muslim countries, including Indonesia, Bangladesh and Pakistan, have largely secular constitutions and laws, with only a few Islamic Law provisions in family law. Turkey has a constitution that is officially strongly secular. India and the Philippines are the only countries in the world which have separate Muslim civil laws, wholly based on Sharia. In India, Muslim civil laws are framed by the Muslim Personal Law board while in the Philippines, it is framed by the Code of Muslim Personal Laws. However, the criminal laws in both the countries are uniform.

In September 2008, certain newspapers in the United Kingdom sensationally alleged that the government had "quietly sanctioned" the recognition of Sharia courts. However, this is not really a submission to Sharia law but applies to situations where both sides in a legal dispute freely choose a Sharia court as a binding arbitrator rather than taking a matter before the official courts. The decision does not break new ground. The decisions of similar Jewish beth din^[86] Neither party can be forced into arbitration by a Sharia or a Jewish court. court arbitations have been recognized in England for over 100 years.

Most countries of the Middle East and North Africa maintain a dual system of secular courts and religious courts, in which the religious courts mainly regulate marriage and inheritance. Saudi Arabia and Iran maintain religious courts for all aspects of jurisprudence, and the Mutaween (religious police) assert social compliance. Laws derived from sharia are also applied in Afghanistan, Libya and Sudan. Sharia law is officially recognised by the justice system in Israel in matters of personal status of Muslims (e.g. marriage, divorce, guardianship.) Judges' salaries are paid by the state.^[87] Some states in northern Nigeria have reintroduced Sharia courts.^[88] In practice the new Sharia courts in Nigeria have most often meant the re-introduction of harsh punishments without respecting the much tougher rules of evidence and testimony. The punishments include amputation of one/both hands for theft and stoning for adultery and apostasy.^{[citation needed]}

Many, including the European Court of Human Rights, consider the punishments prescribed by Sharia to be barbaric and cruel. Islamic scholars argue that, if implemented properly, the punishments serve as a deterrent to crime.^[89] In international media, practices by countries applying Islamic law have fallen under considerable criticism at times. This is particularly the case when the sentence carried out is seen to greatly tilt away from established standards of international human rights. This is true for the application of the death penalty for the crimes of adultery, blasphemy, apostasy and homosexuality, amputations for the crime of theft, and flogging for fornication or public intoxication.^[90]

A bill proposed by lawmakers in the Indonesian province of Aceh would impose Sharia law on all non-Muslims, the armed forces and law enforcement officers, a local police official has announced. The news comes two months after the Deutsche Presse-Agentur warned of "Taliban-style Islamic police terrorizing Indonesia's Aceh".^[91]^[92]^[93]

The interpretation of Islamic jurisprudence varies in different modern nations. In the English-speaking world and in Islamic countries with a history of British rule, for example, Islamic finance has been relatively successful due to the common-law nature of Islamic jurisprudence being compatible with English common law. On the other hand, Islamic finance has been relatively unsuccessful in certain regimes such as Iran, Pakistan and Sudan which, according to Lawrence Rosen and Mahmoud A. El-Gamal, have diverged from the common-law nature of Islamic jurisprudence and instead interpret "a common-law variant as if it were a civil law system."^[13] For example, modern Iranian law is based on an "Islamic civil code" influenced by the Napoleonic code and German civil code.^[94]Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, "In some of the ways it has been codified and practised across the world, it has been appalling and applied to women in places like Saudi Arabia, it is grim."^[95] According to the

A prominent Islamic jurist explains the common-law nature of Islamic jurisprudence:

"It must be understood that when we claim that Islam has a satisfactory solution for every problem in any situation in all times to come, we do not mean that the Holy Quran and Sunna of the Holy Prophet or the rulings of Islamic scholars provide a specific answer to each and every minute detail of our socioeconomic life. What we mean is that the Holy Quran and the Holy Sunna of the Prophet have laid down the broad principles in the light of which the scholars of every time have deduced specific answers to the new situations arising in their age. Therefore, in order to reach a definite answer about a new situation the scholars of Shariah have to play a very important role. They have to analyze every question in light of the principles laid down by the Holy Quran and Sunna as well as in the light of the standards set by earlier jurists enumerated in the books of Islamic jurisprudence. This exercise is called Istinbat or Ijtihad. ... [T]he ongoing process of Istinbat keeps injecting new ideas, concepts and rulings into the heritage of Islamic jurisprudence."^[96]

Another significant difference between the classical and modern systems of Islamic law is that classical Islamic law was "independent of any state pluralism that once made the Islamic legal system as innovative and fluid as its United States counterpart."^[34] mechanism", while modern Islamic law is "controlled by the state because the state often controls the legal scholars." According to Sameer S. Vohra, "This control mechanism results in a lack of the sort of

Contemporary issues

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Democracy and human rights

Further information: Islamic ethics, Islam and democracy, Shura, and Ijma

Some democrats and several official institutions in democratic countries (as the European Court of Human Rights) argue that Sharia is incompatible with a democratic state. These incompatibilities have been clarified in several legal disputes.

In 1998 the Constitutional Court of Turkey banned and dissolved Turkey's Refah Party on the grounds that the "rules of sharia", which Refah sought to introduce, "were incompatible with the democratic regime," stating that "Democracy is the antithesis of sharia." On appeal by Refah the European Court of Human Rights determined that "sharia is incompatible with the fundamental principles of democracy".^[97]^[98]^[99] Refah's sharia based notion of a "plurality of legal systems, grounded on religion" was ruled to contravene the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. It was determined that it would "do away with the State's role as the guarantor of individual rights and freedoms" and "infringe the principle of non-discrimination between individuals as regards their enjoyment of public freedoms, which is one of the fundamental principles of democracy". It was further ruled that, according to Christian Moe:

"[T]he Court considers that sharia, which faithfully reflects the dogmas and divine rules laid down by religion, is stable and invariable. Principles such as pluralism in the political sphere or the constant evolution of public freedoms have no place in it. [...] It is difficult to declare one's respect for democracy and human rights while at the same time supporting a regime based on sharia, which clearly diverges from Convention values, particularly with regard to its criminal law and criminal procedure, its rules on the legal status of women and the way it intervenes in all spheres of private and public life in accordance with religious precepts."^[100]

On the other side, legal scholar L. Ali Khan concludes "that constitutional orders founded on the principles of Sharia are fully compatible with democracy, provided that religious minorities are protected and the incumbent Islamic leadership remains committed to the right to recall".^[101]^[102] However, Christian Pippan argues, that this contradicts the political reality in most Islamic states. "While constitutional arrangements to ensure that political authority is exercised within the boundaries of Sharia vary greatly among those nations",^[103] most existing models of political Islam have so far grossly failed to accept any meaningful political competition of the kind that Khan himself has identified as essential for even a limited conception of democracy. Khan, writes Pippan, dismisses verdicts as from the European Court of Human Rights or the Turkish Constitutional Court "as an expression of purely national or regional preferences."^[104]

Several major, predominantly Muslim countries criticized the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) for its perceived failure to take into account the cultural and religious context of non-Western countries. Iran claimed that the UDHR was a "a secular understanding of the Judeo-Christian tradition", which could not be implemented by Muslims without trespassing the Islamic law. Therefore the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, a group representing all Muslim majority nations, adopted the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam, which diverges from the UDHR substantially, affirming Sharia as the sole source of human rights. This declaration was severely criticized by the International Commission of Jurists for allegedly gravely threatening the inter-cultural consensus, introducing intolerable discrimination against non-Muslims and women, restricting fundamental rights and freedoms, and attacking the integrity and dignity of the human being.

Freedom of speech

Qadi 'Iyad ibn Musa al-Yahsubi argues that Sharia does not allow freedom of speech on such matters as criticism of Muhammad and that such criticism is considered blasphemy against Muhammad. He writes:

"The Qur'an says that Allah curses the one who harms the Prophet in this world and He connected harm of Himself to harm of the Prophet. There is no dispute that anyone who curses Allah is killed and that his curse demands that he be categorized as an unbeliever. The Judgment of the unbeliever is that he is killed. [...] There is a difference between ... harming Allah and His Messenger and harming the believers. Injuring the believers, short of murder, incurs beating and exemplary punishment. The judgment against those who harm Allah and His Prophet is more severe – the death penalty."^[105]

Homosexuality

Main article: Homosexuality and Islam

Homosexual activity is illicit under Sharia; however, the prescribed penalties differ from one school of jurisprudence to another. For example, these countries may allow the death penalty for sodomy though not for other homosexual activities: Iran, Mauritania, Nigeria^{[citation needed]}, Saudi Arabia, Somalia^{[citation needed]}, Sudan, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

Women

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Main article: Women in Islam

In terms of religious obligations, such as certain elements of prayer, payment of zakat, observance of the Ramadan fast and pilgrimage, women are treated no differently from men. There are, however, some exceptions made in the case of prayers and fasting. They are also forbidden to perform salah (prayer) during menstruation.

Islam has no clergy, but women do not traditionally become Imams or lead prayer. In practice, it is much more common for men to be scholars than women. Early Muslim scholars such as Abū Ḥanīfa and Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari Aisha, who both took part in politics and was a major authority on hadith. Islam does not prohibit women from working, as it says "Treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers."^[106] Married women may seek employment although it is often thought in patriarchal societies that the woman's role as a wife and mother should have first priority. held that there is nothing wrong with women holding a post as responsible as that of judge. Many interpretations of Islamic law hold that women may not have prominent jobs, and thus are forbidden from working in the government. This has been a mainstream view in many Muslim nations in the last century, despite the example of Muhammad's wife

Islam unequivocally allows both single and married women to own property in their own right. Islam grants to women the right to inherit property, in contrast with some cultures where women themselves are considered chattels that can be inherited. (See widow inheritance.) However, a woman's inheritance is different from a man's, both in quantity and attached obligations. For instance, a daughter's inheritance is half that of her brothers, Sharia law requires family members females or males to support each other as needed; compare female inheritance in Salic law.

In practice Sharia law has sometimes resulted in women living in fear or disadvantage. In instances of rape some authorities of Sharia law require for an allegation to be validated, victims must have four Muslim-Male witnesses to the crime or else the victims risk being charged with fornication or adultery.^[107] In Yemen, Sharia law required compensation to be paid to the husband in the case of a 10 year old child bride who requested a divorce after rape and abuse^[108] (the minimum age of marriage under Sharia law is sexual maturation^[109]).

Islamic jurists have traditionally held that Muslim women may only enter into marriage with Muslim men,^[110] although some contemporary jurists question the basis of this restriction.^[110]^[111]^[112] On the other hand, the Qur'an explicitly allows Muslim men to marry any woman of the People of the Book, a term which includes Jews, Sabians, and Christians.^[110]^[113] However, fiqh law has held that it is mukrah (reprehensible) for a Muslim man to marry a non-Muslim woman in a non-Muslim country.^[110]

Sunni Islamic law allows husbands to divorce their wives by just saying talaq ("I divorce you") three times. In 2003 a Malaysian court ruled that, under Sharia law, a man may divorce his wife via text messaging as long as the message was clear and unequivocal.^[114] The divorced wife always keeps her dowry from when she was married, and is given child support until the age of weaning. The mother is usually granted custody of the child.^[115] The divorced wife also receives spousal support for three months after the divorce until it can be determined whether she is pregnant.

Topics of Islamic law

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Shariah may be divided into five main branches:

ibadah (ritual worship)
mu'amalat (transactions and contracts)
adab (morals and manners)
i'tiqadat (beliefs)
'uqubat (punishments)^[116]

The acts of worship, or al-ibadat includes:
- Ritual Purification (wudu)
- Prayers (salah)
- Fasts (sawm and Ramadan)
- Charities (zakat)
- Pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj)

Human interaction, or al-mu'amalat includes:
- Financial transactions as applied to Sharia-compliant Islamic finance
- Endowments
- Laws of inheritance
- Marriage, divorce, and child care
- Foods and drinks (including ritual slaughtering and hunting)
- Penal punishments
- Warfare and peace
- Judicial matters (including witnesses and forms of evidence)

^[117]

Dietary

Main articles: Halal, Dhabiha, and Difference between Halal and Dhabiha

Islamic law does not present a comprehensive list of pure foods and drinks. However, it prohibits:^[118]

swine, blood, meat of dead animals and animals slaughtered in the name of someone other than God.
slaughtering an animal in any other way except in the prescribed manner of tazkiyah (cleansing) by taking God's name which involves cutting the throat of the animal and draining the blood. Causing the animal needless pain, slaughtering with a blunt blade or physically ripping out the esophagus is strictly forbidden. Modern methods of slaughter like the captive bolt stunning and electrocuting are also prohibited.
intoxicants

The prohibition of dead meat is not applicable to fish and locusts.^[119]^[120]^[121]^[122] Jallalah (animals whose meat carries a stink in it because they feed on filth),^[123] tamed donkeys,^[124] and any piece cut from a living animal.^[118]^[125] Also hadith literature prohibits beasts having sharp canine teeth, birds having claws and talons in their feet,

Sports

Modern-day sports are permitted and encouraged in Islam providing that it doesn't become the main focus of a Muslim's life.

The encouragement and participation of sports among both men and women have been recorded in Hadith. The term 'sport' is used to denote the activities which Muhammad encouraged, such as archery, swimming, horse-riding, wrestling, etc.

Archery

Muhammad strongly encouraged the learning and practice of archery. Uqbah Bin Amir also narrates that he heard Muhammad say: "Whoever gives up archery after having learnt it, is not of us."

On another occasion, Muhammad once passed by a group of his companions who were competing in archery. He encouraged them saying, "Shoot and I am with you."

Uqbah bin Amir reported that the Muhammad said: "Everything with which a man plays is unlawful except his shooting with arrows, and his training his horse, and his sporting with his wife; and verily these are of the truths."

Muhammad is reported to have also said: "There is blessing in the forelocks of horses."

Swimming

`Abd Allah ibn `Umar narrates that Muhammad once said "Teach your sons swimming and archery and riding the horse." This relates to the Talmudic requirement that sons be taught how to swim and may best be understood as a requirement to teach one's children those skills necessary to survive and thrive.

Racing

Muhammad himself used to race with his wife. Aisha said: "I raced with the Prophet and beat him in the race. Later when I had put on some weight, we raced again and he won. Then the Prophet said, 'This cancels that', referring to the previous occasion."

Wrestling

Muhammad once wrestled with a man called Rukanah who was well-known for his strength, throwing him down more than once.

Games of chance/card playing

Muhammad is reported to have said: "He who plays with dice is like the one who handles the flesh and blood of swine."

Abd-Allah ibn Amr reported that Muhammad prohibited all games of chance and card playing. ^[126]

Marriage and divorce

Main articles: Islamic marital jurisprudence, Talaq, and Nikah

There are two types of marriage mentioned in the Qur'an: nikah and nikah mut‘ah. The first is more common; it aims to be permanent, but can be terminated by the husband in the talaq process or by the wife seeking divorce. In nikah the couples inherit from each other. A legal contract is signed when entering the marriage. The husband must pay for the wife's expenses. In Sunni jurisprudence, the contract is void if there is a determined divorce date in the nikah, whereas, in Shia jurisprudence, nikah contracts with determined divorce dates are transformed in nikah mut'ah. For the contract to be valid there must be two witnesses under Sunni jurisprudence. There is no witness requirement for Shia contracts.

Nikah mut'ah is considered haraam (forbidden) by Sunni Muslims. It means "marriage for pleasure". Under Shia jurisprudence a nikah mut'ah is the second form of marriage recognized by the Shia. It is a fixed term marriage, which is a marriage with a preset duration, after which the marriage is automatically dissolved. There is controversy about the Islamic legality of this type of marriage, since Sunnis believe it was abrogated by Muhammad, while Shias believe it was forbidden by Umar and hence that ban may be ignored since Umar had no authority to do so. The Qur'an itself doesn't mention any cancellation of the institution. Nikah mut'ah sometimes has a preset time period to the marriage, traditionally the couple do not inherit from each other, the man usually is not responsible for the economic welfare of the woman, and she usually may leave her home at her own discretion. Nikah mut'ah also does not count towards a maximum of wives (four according to the Qur'an). The woman still is given her mahr, and the woman must still observe the iddah, a period of four months at the end of the marriage where she is not permitted to remarry in the case she may have become pregnant before the divorce took place. This maintains the proper lineage of children.

Requirements for Islamic Marriages:

These are guidelines; Islamic law on divorce is different depending on the school of thought.^[127]
The man who is not currently a fornicator can only marry a woman who is not currently a fornicatress or a chaste woman from the people of the Book.
The woman who is not currently a fornicatress can only marry a man who is not currently a fornicator.
The fornicator can only marry a fornicatress – and vice versa.
The Muslim woman can only marry a Muslim man.
The guardian may choose a suitable partner for a virgin girl, but the girl is free to contest and has the right to say 'no'.
The guardian cannot marry the divorced woman or the widow if she didn't ask to be married.
It is obligatory for a man to give bride wealth (gifts) to the woman he marries – "Do not marry unless you give your wife something that is her right."^[127]
A woman who wishes to be divorced usually needs the consent of her husband. However, most schools allow her to obtain a divorce without her husband's consent if she can show the judge that her husband is impotent. If the husband consents she does not have to pay back the dower.^{[citation needed]}
Men have the right of unilateral divorce. A divorce is effective when the man tells his wife that he is divorcing her. At this point the husband must pay the wife the "delayed" component of the dower.
A divorced woman of reproductive age must wait four months and ten days before marrying again to ensure that she is not pregnant. Her ex-husband should support her financially during this period.^{[citation needed]}
If a man divorces his wife three times, he can no longer marry her again unless she marries another man, and if they got divorced (only in a way that this divorce is not intended for the woman to re-marry her first husband) the woman could re-marry her first husband.^{[citation needed]}

Several hadith urge strongly against beating one's wife, such as: "How does anyone of you beat his wife as he beats the stallion camel and then embrace (sleep with) her? (Muhammad al-Bukhari, English Translation, vol. 8, hadith 68, pp. 42-43), "I went to the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) and asked him: What do you say (command) about our wives? He replied: Give them food what you have for yourself, and clothe them by which you clothe yourself, and do not beat them, and do not revile them. (Sunan Abi Dawood, Book 11, Marriage (Kitab Al-Nikah), Number 2139)". Others hadiths do indicate that husbands have a right to discipline their wives in a civilized manner to a certain extent:

Fear Allah concerning women! Verily you have taken them on the security of Allah, and intercourse with them has been made lawful unto you by words of Allah. You too have right over them, and that they should not allow anyone to sit on your bed whom you do not like. But if they do that, you can chastise them but not severely. Their rights upon you are that you should provide them with food and clothing in a fitting manner. (Narrated in Sahih Muslim, on the authority of Jabir ibn Abd-Allah.)

– ^[128]

According to Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, head of the European Council for Fatwa and Research:

If the husband senses that feelings of disobedience and rebelliousness are rising against him in his wife, he should try his best to rectify her attitude by kind words, gentle persuasion and reasoning with her. If this is not helpful, he should sleep apart from her, trying to awaken her agreeable feminine nature so that serenity may be restored, and she may respond to him in a harmonious fashion. If this approach fails, it is permissible for him to smack her lightly with his hands, avoiding her face and other sensitive parts. In no case should he resort to using a stick or any other instrument that might cause pain and injury.

Penalties

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Main article: Hudud

In accordance with the Qur'an and several hadith, theft is punished by imprisonment or amputation of hands or feet,^[129] depending on the number of times it was committed and depending on the item of theft. However, before the punishment is executed two eyewitnesses under oath must say that they saw the person stealing. If these witnesses cannot be produced then the punishment cannot be executed.^{[citation needed]} Witnesses must be either two men, or, if only one man can be found, one man and two women. Several requirements are in place for the amputation of hands, so the actual instances of this are relatively few^{[citation needed]}; they are:

There must have been criminal intent to take private (not common) property.
The theft must not have been the product of hunger, necessity, or duress.
The goods stolen must: be over a minimum value, not haraam, and not owned by the thief's family.
Goods must have been taken from custody (i.e. not in a public place).
There must be reliable witnesses.
The punishment is imposed even if the thief repents. [said by Muhammad]

All of these must be met under the scrutiny of judicial authority. ^{[Qur'an 5:38]}^[130]

In accordance with hadith, stoning to death is the penalty for married men and women who commit adultery. In addition, there are several conditions related to the person who commits it that must be met. One of the difficult ones is that the punishment cannot be enforced unless there is a confession of the person, or four male eyewitnesses who each saw the act being committed. All of these must be met under the scrutiny of judicial authority^[131] For unmarried men and women, the punishment prescribed in the Qur'an and hadith is 100 lashes.^[132]

The "four witness" standard comes from the Qur'an itself, a revelation Muhammad announced in response to accusations of adultery leveled at his wife, Aisha: "Why did they not produce four witnesses? Since they produce not witnesses, they verily are liars in the sight of Allah."^{[Qur'an 24:13]}

Punishments are authorized by other passages in the Qur'an and hadiths for certain crimes (e.g., extramarital sex, adultery), and are employed by some as rationale for extra-legal punitive action while others disagree:

“The woman and the man guilty of adultery or fornication—flog each of them with hundred stripes: Let no compassion move you in their case, in a matter prescribed by God, if ye believe in God and the last day.”^{[Qur'an 24:2]} “Nor come nigh to adultery: for it is a shameful (deed) and an evil, opening the road (to other evils).”^{[Qur'an 17:32]}

In most interpretations of Sharia, conversion by Muslims to other religions, is strictly forbidden and is termed apostasy. Muslim theology equates apostasy to treason, and in most interpretations of sharia, the penalty for apostasy is death. During the time of Muhammad, treason and apostasy were considered one and the same; nowadays, many scholars differentiate between treason and apostasy, believing that the punishment for apostasy is not death, while the punishment for treason is death.

In many Muslim countries, the accusation of apostasy is even used against non-conventional interpretations of the Qur'an. The severe persecution of the famous expert in Arabic literature, Nasr Abu Zayd, is an example of this.

Insulting Muhammad or blasphemy has also resulted in the death penalty.^[133]

Customs and behaviour

Practitioners of Islam are generally taught to follow some specific customs in their daily lives. Most of these customs can be traced back to Abrahamic Pre-Islamic Arabian society.^[134] Due to Muhammad's sanction or tacit approval of such practices, these customs are considered to be Sunnah (practices of Muhammad as part of the religion) by the Ummah (Muslim nation). It includes customs like: traditions in

Saying Bismillah (in the name of God) before eating and drinking.^[135]
Using the right hand for drinking and eating.^[136]
Saying As-Salamu Alaykum (peace be upon you) when meeting someone and answering with Wa 'alaikumus salam (and peace be upon you).^[137]
Saying Alhamdulillah (all gratitude is for only God) when sneezing and responding with Yarhamukallah (God have mercy on you).^[138]
Saying the Adhan (prayer call) in the right ear of a newborn and the Iqama in its left.
In the sphere of hygiene, it includes:
- Clipping the moustache
- Cutting nails
- Circumcising the male offspring^[139]^[140]
- Cleaning the nostrils, the mouth, and the teeth^[141] and
- Cleaning the body after urination and defecation^[142]
Abstention from sexual relations during the menstrual cycle and the puerperal discharge,^{[Qur'an 2:222]} and ceremonial bath after the menstrual cycle, puerperal discharge, and Janabah (seminal/ovular discharge or sexual intercourse).^{[Qur'an 4:43]}^{[Qur'an 5:6]}
Burial rituals include funeral prayer^[143] of bathed^[144] and enshrouded body in coffin cloth^[145] and burying it in a grave.^[146]

Rituals

Main articles: Eid, Eid ul-Fitr, and Eid al-Adha

There are two festivals that are considered Sunnah.^[146]^[147]

Rituals associated with these festivals are:^[146]

Sadaqah (charity) before Eid ul-Fitr prayer.^[148]
The Prayer and the Sermon on Eid day.
Takbirs (glorifying God) after every prayer in the days of Tashriq (Normally these days are considered to be the ones in which pilgrims stay at Mina once they return from Muzdalifah i.e. 10th, 11th , 12th, and 13th of Dhu al-Hijjah.)
Sacrifice of unflawed, four legged grazing animal of appropriate age after the prayer of Eid al-Adha in the days of Tashriq.^[149]

Dress codes

Main articles: Hijab, List of types of sartorial hijab, and Islam and clothing

The Qur'an also places a dress code upon its followers. The rule for men has been ordained before the women: “say to the believing men to lower their gaze and preserve their modesty, it will make for greater purity for them and Allah is well aware of all that they do.”^{[Qur'an 24:30]} Allah then says in the Qur'an, “And say to the believing women that they cast down their looks and guard their private parts and do not display their ornaments except what appears thereof, and let them wear their khumūr over their bosoms, and not display their ornaments except to their husbands...”^[24:31] All those men in whose presence a woman is not obliged to practise the dress code are known as her mahrams. Men have a more relaxed dress code: the body must be covered from knee to waist. However, under (strict interpretation of) Sharia Law, women are required to cover all of their bodies except hands and face. The rationale given for these rules is that men and women are not to be viewed as sexual objects. Men are required to keep their guard up and women to protect themselves. In theory, should either one fail, the other prevents the society from falling into fitna (temptation or discord).

There are many different opinions, however, as to whether the veil or headscarf is a real Qur'anic obligation. Reputable scholars such as Yusuf al-Qaradawi claim it is, while others, such as Mohammed Arkoun, Soheib Bencheikh, Abdoldjavad Falaturi, Jamal al Banna claim it isn't. However, the first group appears dominant: "Jamal al Banna has been for a number of years one of the few mainstream Muslim scholars to argue that the Muslim headscarf, or hijab, is not an Islamic obligation." ^[150]

ADHAN This article is about the Islamic call to prayer

2009-07-02T22:44:00.000-07:00

Adhan This article is about the Islamic call to prayer

The adhān (also Athaan: IPA: [ʔæˈðæːn], Azan) (أَذَان) is the Islamic call to prayer, recited by the muezzin. The root of the word is ʼḏn "to permit", and another derivative of this word is uḏun, meaning "ear."

Adhan is called out by the muezzin in the mosque, sometimes from a minaret, five times a day summoning Muslims for mandatory (fard) prayers (salah). There is a second call known as iqama (set up) that summons Muslims to line up for the beginning of the prayers. The main purpose behind the loud pronouncement of adhan five times a day in every mosque is to make available to everyone an easily intelligible summary of Islamic belief. It is intended to bring to the mind of every believer and non-believer the substance of Islamic beliefs, or its spiritual ideology. Loudspeakers are sometimes installed on minarets for the purpose.

The adhan sums up the teachings of Islam. In the Qur'an and the sunnah there are four fundamentals on which the entire superstructure of Islam rests: (a) Belief in the oneness of Allah and in the fact that there is no Power greater than Him; (b) he alone is the Creator and the Master of the universe and no one other can claim share in His Godhood of sovereignty; (c) Muhammad is the final dispenser of the Will of Allah and it is his words and deeds that His will find expression; (c) it is not the material utility that determines the value of things or acts in Islam but their spiritual significance - thus salvation in Islam lies in the purification of the soul which can be achieved only by willing and conscious obedience to the Commands of Allah, and prayer is the most important of that obedience; (d) the highest aim of the life of a Muslim is to live a life of a eternal bliss.

Sunni

Recital	Arabic	Transliteration	Translation
4x	الله أكبر	Allahu Akbar	God is the greatest*
2x	أشهد أن لا اله إلا الله	Ash-hadu an la ilaha illallah	I bear witness that there is no deity except God
2x	أشهد أن محمدا رسول الله	Ash-hadu anna Muħammadan rasulullah	I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of God
2x	حي على الصلاة	Hayya 'alal-salah	Make haste towards worship
2x	حي على الفلاح	Hayya 'ala 'l-falah	come to the true success
2x	الصلاة خير من النوم	Al-salatu khayru min an-nawm	Prayer is better than sleep **
2x	الله أكبر	Allāhu akbar	God is the greatest
1x	لا إله إلا الله	La ilaha illallah	There is no deity except God

* Followers of the Maliki madh'hab say this line twice instead of four times.

** The line "Prayer is better than sleep" is used only for the first prayers of the day at dawn (fajr Prayer; Salat al-fajr).

Sunni view

Sunnis state that the adhan was not written or said by the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, but by one of his Sahabah (his companions), a freed Habeshan slave by the name of Bilal ibn Ribah. However, Muhammad did choose adhan as the Islamic call to prayer in place of the bells used in Christianity and horns used by Jews, after one of his prominent sahabah, Umar, saw it in a vision.

During the Friday prayer (Salat Al Jumu'ah), there are two adhans; the first is to call the people to the mosque, the second is said before the Imam begins the khutbah (sermon). Just before the prayers start, someone amongst the praying people recites the iqama as in all prayers. The basis for this is that at the time of the Caliph Umar he ordered 2 adhans to be made, the first of which was to be made in the marketplace to inform the people that the Friday prayer was soon to begin, and the second adhan would be the regular one held in the mosque. Not all Sunnis prefer two adhans as the need for warning the people of the impending time for prayer is no longer essential now that the times for prayers are well known.

Dua during adhan

While listening to the the adhan, Muslims repeat the same words silently, except when the muezzin says ḥayya 'alas-salāh or ḥayya 'alal-falāḥ they silently say lā hawla wa lā quwata illā billāh (there is no strength or power except from God).

Dua following adhan

The following dua (supplication) is optionally read by Muslims after the adhan is recited:

Arabic	Transliteration	Translation
اللهم رب هذه الدعوة التامة والصلاة القائمة	Allahumma rabba hadhi-hid da'wa-tit-tamma wa-salatil qae-ma	O God, Owner of this perfect call and Owner of this prayer to be performed
آت محمداً الوسيلة و الفضيلة	Ati muhammadanil wasilata wal fadeela	Bestow upon Muhammad al waseelah (a station in Paradise Jannah}) and al fadeelah (a rank above the rest of creation) {
وابعثه مقاماً محموداً الذي وعدته	Wab ath-hu maqamam-mahmuda-nil alladhi wa aadtha	And raise him to the rank you have promised him

Bilal ibn Ribah (Muezzin)

Bilal ibn Ribah>>>>>>>
Freed Slave, Muezzin Early Islamic Era
Full name	Bilal ibn Rabah
Birth	c.580 CE
Death	c.640 CE
School/tradition	Islam
Influenced by[show] Muhammad
Influenced[show] Muslims

Bilal ibn Rabah^[1] (Arabic: بلال بن رباح‎) or Bilal al-Habeshi was a Habeshan^[2] born in Mecca in the late 6th century, sometime between 578 and 582.

The Islamic Prophet Muhammad chose Bilal as his muezzin, effectively making him the first official muezzin of the Islamic faith.^[3] He was among the slaves freed by Abu Bakr (see Muhammad and slavery) and was known for his beautiful voice with which he called people to their prayers. His name can also be spelled as, "Bilal ibn Riyah" or "ibn Rabah" and he is sometimes known as "Bilal al-Habashi" or "Bilal the Ethiopian". He died sometime between 638 to 642, dying when he was just over sixty years old.

Bilal Ibn Rabah, was an emancipated slave of key importance in Islam. He is said to have been one of the most trusted and loyal Sahaba (companions of Muhammad) and was one of Ali's earliest and most loyal followers. His respected stature during the birth of Islam is often cited by Muslims as evidence of the importance of pluralism and racial equality in the foundations of the religion.

Living with Muhammad (pbuh)

According to Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Zaid went to Muhammad with his story and Muhammad, approving, told him to ask an Ethiopian named Bilal, who had a marvelous voice, to call the Muslims to prayer (the Adhan). As Ibn Ishaq told the story (in Albert Guillaume's translation):

When the Apostle was told of this he said that it was a true vision if God so willed it, and that he should go to Bilal and communicate it to him so that he might call to prayer thus, for he had a more penetrating voice. When Bilal acted as muezzin, Umar I, who later became the second caliph, heard him in his house and came to the Apostle... saying that he had seen precisely the same vision. The Apostle said 'God be praised for that!'

Though slightly different versions of the story exist, all agree that Islam's first muezzin was Bilal.

One version states that one of the slaves of Umayyah ibn Khalaf, a terrible foe of Islam and Muhammad, was named Bilal. Bilal learned about Muhammad and his teachings and became Muslim, but kept his belief in secret. However, his master Ummaya came to know that he had opted to be a Muslim. So he started punishing him. He ordered his slaves to make him lay on the hot sand and put heavy stones on his body so that he could not move. After such punishments, news of this slave reached some of Muhammad's companions who told Muhammad of the slave. Muhammad then sent Abu Baker to buy Bilal's freedom from Umayyah (Bilal's slave master). Muhammad later learned of Bilal's unique way of praying and unique voice with which he spoke from the soul and as a result of this Bilal became the first muezzin.

Later on, some people suggested that this honor should be given to someone else, because Bilal could not pronounce the Arabic letter 'sheen' properly and instead used the letter 'seen' (the two sounds had merged in "s" in classical Ge'ez). Muhammad said, "The 'seen' of Bilal is 'sheen' in the hearing of God," meaning that God does not see the physical manifestation; he appreciates the purity of heart. Bilal felt deep love for Muhammad, and he is quoted as reciting some lines of poetry in his own language, in praise of Muhammad. One verse translated:

"When noble traits are described in our country, thou art pointed out as a model among us."

Migration

In 622, the year of the Hijra, Bilal migrated to Medina and over the next decade accompanied Muhammad on all his military expeditions, and according to Islamic tradition, serving as the Muhammad's mace-bearer and steward, and as a muezzin revered by Muslims for his majestically sonorous renditions of the adhan. Bilal also carried Muhammad's spear, which was used from 624 onward to point the direction of prayer.

He fought in the Battle of Badr, in the aftermath of which he killed his former master, Umayyah ibn Khalaf, in spite of the protestation of Umayyah's capturer and long-time friend Abdur Rahman bin Awf. Bilal was also present in all of the major events and battles, including the battles of Uhud and Battle of the Trench.

Bilal's finest hour came in January 630, on an occasion regarded as one of the most hallowed moments in Islamic history. After the Muslim forces had captured Mecca, Muhammad's muezzin ascended to the top of the Kaaba to call the believers to prayer, - the first time the call to prayer was heard within Islam's holiest city, however this was never proven and many dispute the fact that it would be against the faith to actually have climbed the Kaaba, no matter how big the conquest.

After Muhammad(pbuh)

There are contradictory reports about what happened to Bilal after the death of Muhammad in 632. What seems clear is that at some point Bilal accompanied the Muslim armies to Syria.

After the death of Muhammed, Usama ibn Zayd continued a military expedition to Syria, as commanded by Muhammad. However, it is very uncertain if that is the army Bilal accompanied.

Sunni view

Other Sunni authors say after Muhammad's death, he called the faithful to prayer only twice more in his life - once in Syria and a second time, in Medina, when he was specifically asked to do so by Muhammad's grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali.

Death

Bilal died there between 638 and 642, though the exact date of death and place of burial are disputed.

The Sunni scholar Imam al-Suyuti in his Tarikh al-khulafa writes:

He (Bilal) died in Damascus in 17 or 18 AH, but some say 20 AH, or even 21 AH when he was just over sixty years old. Some said he died in Madinah, but that is wrong. That is how it is in al-Isabah and other works such as the Tahdhib of an-Nawawi.^[4]

Shi'a state that Bilal was one of Ali's devouted followers after the death of the Muhammad, and that he died in Damascus around 20 AH, and was buried within Bab Saghir cemetery.

Legacy

If there is some disagreement concerning the hard facts of Bilal's life and death, his importance on a number of levels is incontestable. Muezzin guilds, especially those in Turkey and Africa, have traditionally venerated the original practitioner of their noble profession, and African Muslims as a whole feel a special closeness and kinship to him; he was an Ethiopian, after all, who had been exceptionally close to Muhammad, and is a model of steadfastness and devotion to the faith. The story of Bilal, in fact, remains the classic and most frequently cited demonstration that in Muhammad's eyes, the measure of a man was neither nationality nor social status nor race, but piety.

Bilal was devoted to the Ahl al-Bayt and used to publicly show his support for them.

The Shi'a Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq is recorded as having said, "May God bless Bilal! He loved us, the family of Muhammad, and was one of the most pious servants of God."

1001 INVENTIONS & LIST OF 20 ISLAMIC INVENTION

2009-06-30T09:44:00.000-07:00

1001 Inventions - Discover The Muslim Heritage In Our World

1001 Inventions hidden impact
on the modern world.

The discoveries made by men and women in Muslim civilisation have left their mark on the way we live today. 1001 Inventions uncovers a thousand years of science and technology that had a huge but hiddenimpact on the modern world.

http://www.muslimheritage.com/

==========================

20 Islamic Inventions

Introduction

These past few years have seen many inventions falsely claimed and attributed to Islamic inventors, which in fact either existed in pre-Islamic eras, were invented by other cultures, or both. However, this detail has not halted Muslim, and non-Muslim apologists alike, from perpetuating these false claims in order to counter the painfully obvious fact that scientific and literary progress is slow or stagnant in the Islamic world specifically due to the Islamic faith and its restrictions upon adherents, or as a backhanded attempt to belittle the West and its historical heritage. Unbelievably, such claims, which are basically altering the worlds history in order to show Islam in a better light, have even been forced upon the unsuspecting public in a nationwide tour which opened with an exhibition at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester and the University of Manchester, England in 2006. Should not a museum and a university search out and preserve the truth instead of helping sites like MuslimHeritage.com perpetuate lies and robbing other cultures of the recognition they rightfully deserve? To celebrate this 'momentous' series of events, an article titled “How Islamic inventors changed the world” was written by Paul Vallely and published in The Independent on the 11^th of March 2006. This shameless piece of propaganda has received much praise from Muslims and has been widely circulated on Islamic websites, forums, blogs, and is even used as a source (to validate false claims of Islamic inventions) in over twenty^[1] separate articles on Wikipedia. This article boldly opened with the following statement:

From coffee to cheques and the three-course meal, the Muslim world has given us many innovations that we take for granted in daily life. As a new exhibition opens, Paul Vallely nominates 20 of the most influential- and identifies the men of genius behind them.

Paul Vallely - How Islamic inventors changed the world

This article lists and examines all twenty of these “Islamic inventors/inventions that changed the world” and in doing so, it will expose the lengths some will sink to in order to appease the Islamists. Something else that also needs to be addressed before we proceed, is this need to label inventions by the supposed religious beliefs of their inventors. This is a rather peculiar practice. If the same were to be done for inventions created by the followers of Christianity, Hinduism, or Graeco-Roman Paganism, the list would be endless. For example Sir Isaac Newton (listed by Michael H. Hart as the second most influential figure in history) was a Christian, but his discoveries are never referred to as "Christian discoveries."

The Inventions

Coffee

The story goes that an Arab named Khalid was tending his goats in the Kaffa region of southern Ethiopia, when he noticed his animals became livelier after eating a certain berry. He boiled the berries to make the first coffee. Certainly the first record of the drink is of beans exported from Ethiopia to Yemen where Sufis drank it to stay awake all night to pray on special occasions. By the late 15th century it had arrived in Mecca and Turkey from where it made its way to Venice in 1645. It was brought to England in 1650 by a Turk named Pasqua Rosee who opened the first coffee house in Lombard Street in the City of London. The Arabic qahwa became the Turkish kahve then the Italian caffé and then English coffee.

Paul Vallely - How Islamic inventors changed the world

Christian monks at the monastery on the island of Daga Estephanos- Ethiopia, still produce and market coffee today under the "Lake Tana Monastery Island Coffee" brand.

The legend being referred to by Paul Vallely is expounded upon in the Coffee History, found on decentcoffee.com:

"Arabian coffee-drinking began almost 12 centuries ago (850 A.D.) when an Abyssinian goat herder named Khalid noticed that while the afternoon sun made him drowsy, his flock frolicked and skipped about after nibbling at some berries. Khalid either ate the berries whole, or ground and boiled them.

When his wife saw how energetic the normally exhausted Khalid was, she urged him to share this miraculous discovery with the local holy man at the monastery. The chief monk did not share Khalid's enthusiasm. Declaring the berries "the work of the Devil," he flung them into a fire to banish their offending presence. Soon the room filled with the delicious aroma of roasting berries, and other monks hurried in to discover the source of this new delight. "

Notice above, that the passage says the goat herder named Khalid (or Kaldi as he is named in another version of the story) was an Abyssinian. Abyssinians were predominantly Orthodox Christians. In addition, there is no such thing as monasteries or monks in Islam. In fact, it is forbidden (Qur'an 57:027). Therefore, if this legend were to be true, Khalid (or Kaldi) would not have been a Muslim, but a Christian.

Also, the discovery of coffee, according to the maronite monk Antonius Faustus Naironus (1635 - 1707 AD), differs somewhat from the above tale. In "De saluberrima potione Cahue, seu Cafe nuncupata discursus" (1671) he writes, that a herdsman complained to the Prior of a nearby monastery in Abyssinia, that his animals could not sleep. Two monks, together with the herdsman, were sent by their superior to investigate what it was the animals were eating. They discovered coffee plants which they took back to the monastery, where they brewed a beverage from its fruits. They passed the whole night in pleasant conversation, without any fatigue. Undoubtedly, the evidence shows that it were Christian monks who first cultivated the coffee plant and prepared the beverage from its roasted beans.^[2]

Vision

The ancient Greeks thought our eyes emitted rays, like a laser, which enabled us to see. The first person to realise that light enters the eye, rather than leaving it, was the 10th-century Muslim mathematician, astronomer and physicist Ibn al-Haitham. He invented the first pin-hole camera after noticing the way light came through a hole in window shutters. The smaller the hole, the better the picture, he worked out, and set up the first Camera Obscura (from the Arab word qamara for a dark or private room). He is also credited with being the first man to shift physics from a philosophical activity to an experimental one.

Paul Vallely - How Islamic inventors changed the world

The first picture of a pin-hole camera; an illustration from De Radio Astronomica et Geometrica (1545).

The basic optical principles of the pinhole are commented on in Chinese texts from the 5^th^[3] century BC. Ibn al-Haitham might have been the first to realize that light enters the eyes, but the claim that he invented the pin-hole camera is false. Giovanni Battista della Porta (1538 – 1615), a scientist from Naples, was long thought to have been the inventor, due to his description found inside Magia naturalis (1558). However, the first published picture of a pin-hole camera is a drawing in Gemma Frisius' De Radio Astronomica et Geometrica (1545).

While both the Latin and Arabic languages have borrowed from each other, the Latin language actually pre-dates classic Arabic (the precursor to modern Arabic) by at least 1,600 years. The term “camera” was not derived from the Arabic word “qamara”. “Camera” is a Latin word meaning a vaulted or arched space. The Italian word "camera", the French word "chambre", and the English word "chamber" all share the same Latin root. "Camera obscura" literally meaning a “dark room”.^[4]^[5] The term “camera”, as applied today, was first coined by Johannes Kepler (1571–1630). The Arabic word “qamara” has almost certainly been borrowed from the Latin word "camera", and at best the similarity between the two words is a coincidence.^[3]

Chess

A form of chess was played in ancient India but the game was developed into the form we know it today in Persia. From there it spread westward to Europe - where it was introduced by the Moors in Spain in the 10th century - and eastward as far as Japan. The word rook comes from the Persian rukh, which means chariot.

Paul Vallely - How Islamic inventors changed the world

The 6th Century chess piece found in Butrint, Albania.

British archaeologists in July 2002 unearthed an ivory chess piece, at a Byzantine palace in southern Albania proving that Europeans were playing chess a lot earlier than what was previously thought. The recent discoveries, dating back to the 6^th Century (500 years older than any other), seem to have been largely ignored to allow Muslims to claim that they were the real brains that introduced chess to the idiotic West 400 years later, through Spain in the 10^th^[6] Century.

Also ironic is the fact that chess is forbidden in Islam, as it was condemned by Muhammad who compared playing chess with dying ones hand with the flesh and blood of swine.^[7] So in reality, Paul Vallely and Muslims themselves claiming Islam was the cause of the spread of chess to Europe is an offence to the pious, and would no doubt have Muhammad rolling in his grave.

Flying

A thousand years before the Wright brothers a Muslim poet, astronomer, musician and engineer named Abbas ibn Firnas made several attempts to construct a flying machine. In 852 he jumped from the minaret of the Grand Mosque in Cordoba using a loose cloak stiffened with wooden struts. He hoped to glide like a bird. He didn't. But the cloak slowed his fall, creating what is thought to be the first parachute, and leaving him with only minor injuries. In 875, aged 70, having perfected a machine of silk and eagles' feathers he tried again, jumping from a mountain. He flew to a significant height and stayed aloft for ten minutes but crashed on landing - concluding, correctly, that it was because he had not given his device a tail so it would stall on landing. Baghdad international airport and a crater on the Moon are named after him.

Paul Vallely - How Islamic inventors changed the world

To get to the root of the facts concerning who was the first to fly, one must go to the very basics first. As far as flying is concerned, at the beginning were the kites, and these were a Chinese invention. They date back as far as 3,000 years, where they were made from bamboo and silk in China. The earliest written account of kite flying was about 200 BC. In 478 BC a Chinese Philosopher, Mo Zi, spent three years making a hawk from light wood or bamboo which sailed with the wind. It could fly, but after one day’s trial it was wrecked. Kites were also used in Chinese warfare for years. They carried hideously painted faces, pipes and strings that gave noises to frighten the enemy.

Many attempts to use kites to fly men were also made, the earliest recorded success was very brutal. In AD 550 Emperor Kao Yang overcome his powerful enemies the Thopa and Yuan families. He ordered that the surviving Thopas and Yuan to be fitted out with bamboo-mat wings and cast from the top of the Tower of the Golden phoenix. All died. Other captives were attached to kites cut out in the form of owls and launched from the tower. Only one of the captives survived after flying 2.5 Km. Later that survivor, named Yuan Huang-Thou was starved to death. The Chinese also tried to produce flying machines. In the book Pao Phu Tzu, dated AD 320, Ko Hung states: “Some have made flying cars with wood, using ox-leather straps fastened to returning blades to set the machines in motion”. He is clearly describing rotating blades attached to a spinning axle and driven by a (leather) belt that is a rotor top the principal of which underlie the modern-day helicopter. It seems that the system worked because flying cars had been used. The machine, known as “bamboo dragonfly”, is still used today as a child’s toy.^[8]

In the West, the ancient Greek engineer, Hero of Alexandria, worked with air pressure and steam to create sources of power. One experiment that he developed was the aeolipile, which used jets of steam to create rotary motion. The importance of the aeolipile is that it marks the start of engine invention - engine created movement will later prove essential in the history of flight.^[9]

Given all of the above information, how can anyone possibly accredit the invention of flight to a 9^th century Muslim jumping off a mosque in Spain?

Bathing

Washing and bathing are religious requirements for Muslims, which is perhaps why they perfected the recipe for soap which we still use today. The ancient Egyptians had soap of a kind, as did the Romans who used it more as a pomade. But it was the Arabs who combined vegetable oils with sodium hydroxide and aromatics such as thyme oil. One of the Crusaders' most striking characteristics, to Arab nostrils, was that they did not wash. Shampoo was introduced to England by a Muslim who opened Mahomed's Indian Vapour Baths on Brighton seafront in 1759 and was appointed Shampooing Surgeon to Kings George IV and William IV.

Paul Vallely - How Islamic inventors changed the world

Partially restored Trajan (98 - 117 AD) bath house in Rome.

Islam is not the only religion which dictates rules on personal cleanliness. The Jews too have rules governing hygiene.

A soap-like material found in clay cylinders during the excavation of ancient Babylon is evidence that soapmaking was known as early as 2,800 BC. Inscriptions on the cylinders say that fats were boiled with ashes, which is a method of making soap, but do not refer to the purpose of the "soap." Such materials were later used as hair styling aids. Like the ancient Egyptians before them, daily bathing was an important event in the ancient Roman world^[10] and a common custom in Japan during the Middle Ages. And in Iceland, pools warmed with water from hot springs were popular gathering places on Saturday evenings. Soapmaking was an established craft in Europe by the 7^th century. Soapmaker guilds guarded their trade secrets closely. Vegetable and animal oils were used with ashes of plants, along with fragrance. Gradually more varieties of soap became available for shaving and shampooing, as well as bathing and laundering. The English began making soap during the 12^th century. The soap business was so good that in 1622, King James I granted a monopoly to a soapmaker for $100,000 a year. Well into the 19^th century, soap was heavily taxed as a luxury item in several countries. When the high tax was removed, soap became available to ordinary people, and cleanliness standards improved. Commercial soapmaking in the American colonies began in 1608 with the arrival of several soapmakers on the second ship from England to reach Jamestown, VA. The science of modern soapmaking was bom in the 1820's with the discovery by French chemist Michel Eugene Chevreul, of the chemical nature and relationship of fats, glycerine and fatty acids. His studies established the basis for both fat and soap chemistry.^[11] Yet Muslims claim they are responsible for the invention of soap and England was dirty before they graced it with their presence.

Distillation

The means of separating liquids through differences in their boiling points, was invented around the year 800 by Islam's foremost scientist, Jabir ibn Hayyan, who transformed alchemy into chemistry, inventing many of the basic processes and apparatus still in use today - liquefaction, crystallisation, distillation, purification, oxidisation, evaporation and filtration. As well as discovering sulphuric and nitric acid, he invented the alembic still, giving the world intense rosewater and other perfumes and alcoholic spirits (although drinking them is haram, or forbidden, in Islam). Ibn Hayyan emphasised systematic experimentation and was the founder of modern chemistry.

Paul Vallely - How Islamic inventors changed the world

Distillation apparatus from the Chinese Han dynasty, dated around the first century AD.^[12]

Speculation has linked some Egyptian illustrations with distillation, but the earliest evidence for its invention so far is a distillation apparatus and terra-cotta perfume containers recently identified in the Indus Valley (pre-Islamic Pakistan) dating from around 3,000 BC, and Miriam the Prophetess (also known as “Maria the Jewess”) invented the kerotakis, an early still dated around the 1^st century AD.^[13] The first firm documentary evidence for distillation in the West comes from Greek historian Herodotus' record of the method of distilling turpentine dated 425 BC.^[14] Also, the origins of whisky is dated to the 5^th century AD, introduced to Ireland by Saint-Patrick (390 – 461 AD), the patron of the Irish.^[15]So the Arabs may have improved upon the process of distillation some 3,500 years later, but they most definitely did not invent it.

It is also of great interest to note that, due to textual criticism,^[16] the authorship of the most famous of Jabir ibn Hayyan's work "Summa Perfectionis" (along with several others) has been questioned and attributed by many to an unknown European alchemist, and sometimes to the little-known Paul of Taranto, writing shortly after 1300 AD.^[17] It is thought that the well-known pseudonym was used in order to help the diffusion of the works.

The crank-shaft

A device which translates rotary into linear motion and is central to much of the machinery in the modern world, not least the internal combustion engine. One of the most important mechanical inventions in the history of humankind, it was created by an ingenious Muslim engineer called al-Jazari to raise water for irrigation. His 1206 Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices shows he also invented or refined the use of valves and pistons, devised some of the first mechanical clocks driven by water and weights, and was the father of robotics. Among his 50 other inventions was the combination lock.

Paul Vallely - How Islamic inventors changed the world

Unfortunately for our ingenious Muslim engineer al-Jazari, the crank-shaft was known to the Chinese of the Han Dynasty.^[18] The Han Dynasty lasted from 206 BC to 220 AD. By the 1^st^[19] 206 BC to 834 AD is certainly a lot earlier than when Paul Vallely claims a 12^th century Muslim invented 'one of the most important mechanical inventions in the history of humankind'. century AD cranks were used on Roman medical devices, but it was not until 834 AD where we find proof of the crank in Europe. A picture in a graphic codex of a man sharpening a sword on a grindstone turned by a crank.

Piston technology was also used by Hero of Alexandria in the 1^st century AD with the creation of the worlds first steam-powered engine- the aeolipile, more than a thousand years before al-Jazari. (please refer to Invention 4 - Flying for further details.) In his works "Pneumatica" and "Automata" he also described over a hundred machines and automata, including mechanical singing birds, puppets, a fire engine, a wind organ (please refer to Invention 11 - The windmill^[20] yet writing a factually accurate article on Islamic achievements seems to have proved too much for some. for further details), and a coin-operated machine, so if anyone deserves the title given to al-Jazari by Paul Vallely as the "father of robotics" its Hero of Alexandria. It must also be noted that Hero's works "Mechanica" (in three books) survive only in their Arabic translations, so the Muslims had access to all this pre-Islamic genious,

As for the water clock, the ancient Egyptians used a time mechanism run by flowing water. One of the oldest was found in the tomb of an Egyptian pharaoh buried in 1500 BC, and the Chinese began developing mechanized clocks from around 200 BC. The Greeks also measured time with various types of water clocks. The more impressive mechanized water clocks were developed between 100 BC and 500 AD by Greek and Roman horologists and astronomers.^[21] What we now know as the Antikythera mechanism was discovered among a shipwreck in 1900 off the island of Antikythera.

An ancient Chinese letter-combination padlock.

Science historian Derek Price, concluded that it was an ancient computer used to predict the positions of the sun and moon on any given date. Michael Wright, the curator of mechanical engineering at the Science Museum in London, thinks that the original device modelled the entire known solar system. Ancient Greek sources make references to such devices so this is highly plausible. Roman philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 – 43 BC), writes of a device “recently constructed by our friend Poseidonius, which at each revolution reproduces the same motions of the sun, the moon and the five planets.” Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer Archimedes of Syracuse (287 – 212 BC) is also said to have made such a device.^[22] By the 9^th century AD a mechanical timekeeper had been developed that lacked only an escapement mechanism.

And what of the Combination Lock, did al-Jazari invent it? Again, the answer is an emphatic 'no'. The earliest known combination lock was unearthed in a Roman period tomb in Kerameikos, Athens.^[23] The ancient Chinese were also responsible for the creation of some of the earliest key-operated padlocks and beautiful letter-combination padlocks.^[24]^[25]

Quilting

A method of sewing or tying two layers of cloth with a layer of insulating material in between. It is not clear whether it was invented in the Muslim world or whether it was imported there from India or China. But it certainly came to the West via the Crusaders. They saw it used by Saracen warriors, who wore straw-filled quilted canvas shirts instead of armour. As well as a form of protection, it proved an effective guard against the chafing of the Crusaders' metal armour and was an effective form of insulation - so much so that it became a cottage industry back home in colder climates such as Britain and Holland.

Paul Vallely - How Islamic inventors changed the world

It is interesting that the author states himself that it is "not clear whether it was invented in the Muslim world", yet still chose to include quilting as an Islamic invention. However, the evidence against quilting being a Muslim invention is very clear, though it may have come to Europe through the middle East. The actual origins of quilting remains unknown, but its history can so far be traced to ancient China and Egypt as long ago as 3,400 BC^[26] with the discovery of a quilted mantle on a carved ivory figure of a Pharaoh of the Egyptian First Dynasty. Moreover, in 1924 archaeologists discovered a quilted floor covering in Mongolia.^[27] The estimated age somewhere between the 1^st century BC to the 2^nd century AD. There are also numerous references to quilts in literature and inventories of estates,^[27] and more recently in September 2007 an ancient male mummy was discovered in Xinjiang- China, wrapped in a cotton quilt.^[28]

Architecture

The pointed arch so characteristic of Europe's Gothic cathedrals was an invention borrowed from Islamic architecture. It was much stronger than the rounded arch used by the Romans and Normans, thus allowing the building of bigger, higher, more complex and grander buildings. Other borrowings from Muslim genius included ribbed vaulting, rose windows and domebuilding techniques. Europe's castles were also adapted to copy the Islamic world's - with arrow slits, battlements, a barbican and parapets. Square towers and keeps gave way to more easily defended round ones. Henry V's castle architect was a Muslim.

Paul Vallely - How Islamic inventors changed the world

When it comes to revolutionary architectural inventions, nothing is greater than the creation of concrete, a material perfected by the Romans. This enabled them to erect buildings that would have been impossible to construct using the traditional stone post-and-lintel system. This development made possible the construction of the amphitheatres, baths and hillside temples of the Roman world.^[29] With that said and done, although the pointed arch only came into general use in the 13^th century, it was in fact the Assyrians (not the 'Muslims') who first used it as early as 722 BC.^[30]

A view of the impressive dome from inside the Pantheon in Rome, which was built almost 500 years before Islam in 118 - 135 AD.

As for the 'Islamic' techniques of domebuilding; the best example of a “Dome” in the ancient world is the Pantheon in Rome, built almost 500 years before Islam in 118 - 135 AD by Apollodorus of Damascus and again only made possible through the concrete mixture perfected by the Romans. Originally a temple to the Roman deities, it has been a Christian church since the 7^th century. It is an important and impressive feat of design, a building which after almost 2,000 years of continuous use has its original roof intact. The dome has a span of 43.2 metres (142 feet). It remained as the largest dome in the world until the 15th century construction of the Florence Cathedral (1420-36).

The second most impressive pre-Islamic dome is that of the Hagia Sophia (the Church of the Holy Wisdom) in Istanbul, Turkey. Built under the supervision of Byzantine Emperor Justinian during the years 532 - 537 AD, it was converted into a mosque by the invading Muslims who conquered Constantinople in 1453 AD. The dome has a diameter of 31 metres (102 feet) and opposed to the articles claims, we find Muslims borrowing from older Christian architecture. It was in fact this 6^th century Byzantine church which was used over a thousand years later as a model for many of the Ottoman mosques including the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (completed 1616 AD), the Şehzade Mosque (completed 1548 AD), the Süleymaniye Mosque (completed 1557 AD), the Rüstem Pasha Mosque (completed 1563 AD), and the Kılıç Ali Paşa Mosque (completed 1580 AD).^[31]

The Article also mentions that rose windows are an Islamic invention, but its origins may be traced back to the Roman oculus, again found on top of the dome of the Pantheon. Also, the invention of Rose windows depend entirely on glass and craftsmanship. Glass making originated in the Near East around 2,000 BC. The earliest makers pressed glass into crude molds. Around 1500 BC, finer vessels were being made in Egypt. The best glass manufacturers and exporters of this time were the Phoenicians who had a great supply of silica rich sands. Glass blowing developed around the 1^st century BC in Palestine.^[32] The earliest known stained glass is Saxon (7^th century, Jarrow), and the making of it was regarded as a mystery.

And finally, we have ribbed vaulting which was developed from Romanesque architecture by medieval European builders^[33] and which was first used in St. Etienne, France. The earliest surviving example of ribbed vaulting can be found in Durham Cathedral (built from 1093 - 1133 AD) in Durham, England.^[34]

With all these facts considered, I think its safe to assume that architectural development in Europe and the rest of the non-Islamic world would have and indeed did move along fine without the so-called 'Muslim genius'.

Instruments

Many modern surgical instruments are of exactly the same design as those devised in the 10th century by a Muslim surgeon called al-Zahrawi. His scalpels, bone saws, forceps, fine scissors for eye surgery and many of the 200 instruments he devised are recognisable to a modern surgeon. It was he who discovered that catgut used for internal stitches dissolves away naturally (a discovery he made when his monkey ate his lute strings) and that it can be also used to make medicine capsules. In the 13th century, another Muslim medic named Ibn Nafis described the circulation of the blood, 300 years before William Harvey discovered it. Muslims doctors also invented anaesthetics of opium and alcohol mixes and developed hollow needles to suck cataracts from eyes in a technique still used today.

Paul Vallely - How Islamic inventors changed the world

Ancient pre-Islamic scalpels had almost the same form and function as their modern-day counterparts. These are dated to 79 AD, found in Pompeii, Italy.

More than a thousand years before al-Zahrawi, the Greek and Roman physicians in the Classical World had access to a variety of surgical instruments. This is known through several ancient texts which give brief descriptions and also from a 1887 find in the ruins of Pompeii. A house that belonged to a Greek surgeon in 79 AD was identified by its large stores of surgical equipment numbering over a hundred. If you refer to our PDF in the Downloads section you will see numerous images of these medical instruments which are on display in museums around the world. They were all available to the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates (460 – 370 BC) who lived more than a thousand years before Islam, and many of them in a similar form are still being used today. These instruments include a variety of scalpels, Hooks, Uvula Crushing Forceps, Bone Drills, Bone Forceps, Catheters and Bladder Sounds, Vaginal Speculum and even a Portable Medicine Chest to carry them in.^[35] It was also the Greek physician and medical researcher Claudius Galenus (129 – 217 AD) someone who greatly influenced Western medical science, who first used catgut to close wounds, and not al-Zahrawi. In fact Muslim physician Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna) 700 years later (920 AD) used a pig product.^[36] The actions of a pious Muslim, I'm sure.

As for the circulation of the blood, it may have been described by Muslim medic Ibn Nafis 300 years before William Harvey, but the Chinese Book of Medicine describes this 1,600 years before Ibn Nafis.^[37]

The article also alleges that Muslim doctors first developed hollow needles to suck cataracts from the eye, and anaesthetics of opium and alcohol mixes. This in not true. Cataract surgery has been performed for many centuries. The earliest reference to cataract surgery was written by the Hindu surgeon Susruta in manuscripts dating from the 5^th century BC. In Rome, archaeologists found surgical instruments used to treat cataract dating back to the 1^st and 2^nd century AD. Hollow needles were used to break up the cataract and remove it with suction.^[38] Anaesthetics of opium and alcohol mixes were used both by the ancient Chinese and Romans. Greek physician, pharmacologist and botanist Pedanius Dioscorides (40 - 90 AD) in his work Materia Medica (one of the most influential herbal books in history) referred to the taking of an alcoholic extract before an operation. This would suggest that it was typical for the surgeons of ancient Rome to decrease pain of an operation by giving their patients sedative drugs.^[39]

The windmill

Invented in 634 for a Persian caliph and was used to grind corn and draw up water for irrigation. In the vast deserts of Arabia, when the seasonal streams ran dry, the only source of power was the wind which blew steadily from one direction for months. Mills had six or 12 sails covered in fabric or palm leaves. It was 500 years before the first windmill was seen in Europe.

Paul Vallely - How Islamic inventors changed the world

Reconstruction of the windwheel described by Hero of Alexandria in the first century A.D.

The windmill was not invented in the year 634 for a Persian Caliph. Although the Arabs invaded Persia in 634 AD, contrary to the articles claims, there was no Caliph in Persia at that time, he was in Medina, Saudi Arabia. Caliph Abu Bakr died early that year and Umar ibn al-Khattab took over. Fīrūz (Abu-Lu'lu'ah), the Arab-owned non-Muslim slave, who in 644 AD assassinated Caliph Umar in the mosque at Medina, is described by Islamic sources as a Persian builder of windmills.^[40] Therefore, the construction of windmills was an already established craft in Persia, pre-dating the presence of Islam.

If we look to the history behind the development of windmills, the first rotary mills were discovered in Catal Hayuk in Turkey and existed 8,000 years ago, ^[41] while the first windmills were developed much later to automate the tasks of grain-grinding and water-pumping. One of the earliest watermills mentioned can be found in 1^st century BC Greek writings, where a watermill was called a hydraletēs, but because of the heavy use of slave labour we do not find the first archeological evidence of watermills until the 4^th and 5^th century AD. ^[42] The earliest mention of a type of windmill can be found in the book Pneumatica written by a 1^st century AD writer called Hero, in it he describes the creation of a type of windpowered organ. ^[43] The idea was never worked out however and we don't find the earliest-known design of the vertical axis system until developed in Persia about 500 - 900 AD. China, is also often claimed as the birthplace of the windmill. The belief that it was invented in China more than 2,000 years ago is widespread and may be accurate, but the earliest actual documentation of a Chinese windmill was in 1219 AD by the Chinese statesman Yehlu Chhu-Tshai.^[44]

Inoculation

The technique of inoculation was not invented by Jenner and Pasteur but was devised in the Muslim world and brought to Europe from Turkey by the wife of the English ambassador to Istanbul in 1724. Children in Turkey were vaccinated with cowpox to fight the deadly smallpox at least 50 years before the West discovered it.

Paul Vallely - How Islamic inventors changed the world

It was smallpox that was used for inoculation by the Turks, not cowpox. It was in fact Jenner who first used cowpox to vaccinate against the much more lethal smallpox, hence he invented vaccination. And Yes, Jenner and Pasteur were not the inventors of inoculation but neither were the Muslims. What Paul seems to be continually doing is referring to anything that originated from the Eastern hemisphere (regardless of whether or not it was before or after the advent of Islam) as originating from 'the Muslim world' when even the most unenlightent amongst us will realise that China and India are not a part of this so-called Muslim world. It has been said that Inoculation against smallpox began in China during the 10^th century,^[45] but the earliest documented reference to smallpox inoculation in China comes from text written in 1549.^[46] The earliest known attempts to produce artificial immunity involved powdered smallpox scabs being blown into the sinuses, and in the 17^th century, they prepared pills made from the fleas of cows in an effort to prevent the disease. In India, physicians conferred immunity by applying scabs to the scarified skin of the healthy. The technique of inoculation spread west to Turkey and then Europe.^[47]

The fountain pen

Invented for the Sultan of Egypt in 953 after he demanded a pen which would not stain his hands or clothes. It held ink in a reservoir and, as with modern pens, fed ink to the nib by a combination of gravity and capillary action.

Paul Vallely - How Islamic inventors changed the world

The history of the fountain pen cannot begin otherwise than with the quill pen. The quill pen was used for the writings of Egyptian kings 4,000 years ago. They most often used a goose feather carved into a sharp tip and dipped into ink of vegetable origin. Though the first pencil was invented by Conrad Gessner In 1567, ^[48] it remained like this until the end of the 18^th century when the metal pen was invented. The first person who wrote about the idea of creating a fountain pen was Daniel Schwenter who wrote about it in his Delicia Physic-Mathematicae in 1636 ^[49], efforts to manufacture a pen with its own ink supply began in the year 1656. For example, Samuel Pepys had one in the year 1663. It functioned in such a way that a small pipe above the tip of the feather was filled with ink by means of a small piston. But a slightly more practically usable pen came to the world in the 19^th century. A fountain pen which functioned on the same principle (a pen with a piston) was created by the inventor Folsch in 1809.^[50] Later in 1931, László Bíró presented the first ballpoint pen at the Budapest world fair, ^[51] the ballpoint pen was designed to use better ink that would not clog or smear. ^[52]

Those who claim that the fountain pen was invented in AD 953 by a Muslim need to produce both the evidence of a fountain pen, and evidence of the type of ink used.

The system of numbering

The system of numbering in use all round the world is probably Indian in origin but the style of the numerals is Arabic and first appears in print in the work of the Muslim mathematicians al-Khwarizmi and al-Kindi around 825. Algebra was named after al-Khwarizmi's book, Al-Jabr wa-al-Muqabilah, much of whose contents are still in use. The work of Muslim maths scholars was imported into Europe 300 years later by the Italian mathematician Fibonacci. Algorithms and much of the theory of trigonometry came from the Muslim world. And Al-Kindi's discovery of frequency analysis rendered all the codes of the ancient world soluble and created the basis of modern cryptology.

Paul Vallely - How Islamic inventors changed the world

Todays system of numbering evolved from the Indian Brahmi numerals which were developed in the beginning of the first century. Before their introduction, Arabs were still using the Greek numeral system, and even the Arabs themselves refer to what many mistakenly call "Arabic numerals" as "Hindu numerals."

Algebra may have been named after a book by al-Khwarizmi titled "Al-Jabr wa-al-Muqabilah", but the origins of algebra itself can be traced to the ancient Babylonians who were able to do calculations in an algorithmic fashion.^[53] Having something named after what popularised or refined it by no mean makes it the inventor, and by doing so you would have to discount the works of mathematician Diophantus of Alexandria (200 and 214 AD - 284 and 298 AD) who authored a series of books called "Arithmetica" and is commonly referred to as "the father of algebra".

Paul Vallely begrudgingly admits that the system of numbering in use all round the world is 'probably' Indian in origin, yet the title of the supposed Islamic invention still remains "The system of numbering". The first known use of numbers dates back to around 30,000 BC, but it is universally accepted that the system of numbering we use today (the digits 0 to 9) was invented in India.^[54] The reason why they are referred to as "Arabic" numerals in the West is due to them being introduced to the Europeans through the Arabs, who in the same way had earlier received them from the Hindus. Likewise, the Arabs themselves commonly refer to them as "Hindu numerals."^[55]

The use of zero as a number is found in many ancient Indian texts. The concept of negative numbers was recognised between 100 - 50 BC by the Chinese. Greek and Indian mathematicians studied the theory of rational numbers (The best known of these works is Euclid's Elements, dated 300 BC. Euclid is also often referred to as the "Father of Geometry"). The earliest use of irrational numbers is in the Indian Sulba Sutras (800 - 500 BC). The first results concerning transcendental numbers were made by Johann Heinrich Lambert in 1761. The earliest known conception of mathematical infinity appears in the Hindu text Yajur Veda (1,400 and 1,000 BC). The earliest reference to square roots of negative numbers were made by Greek mathematician and inventor Heron of Alexandria (10 – 70 AD). Prime numbers have been studied throughout recorded history.^[56] The mathematical branch of Trigonometry has been studied by the ancient Egyptians and Babylonians, but it was the ancient Greeks who proved theorems that are equivalent to modern trigonometric formulae. And finally, the earliest known algorithms were developed by ancient Babylonians (1,600 BC).

As for al-Kindi; While he is thought to be the earliest to describe frequency analysis, the technique itself may not not have been discovered by al-Kindi as claimed. Nobody knows who actually discovered/invented/realized that the frequencies of letters could be used to break chiphers,^[57] and cryptology itself can be traced back to the time of Julius Caesar.

Three course meal

Ali ibn Nafi, known by his nickname of Ziryab (Blackbird) came from Iraq to Cordoba in the 9th century and brought with him the concept of the three-course meal – soup, followed by fish or meat, then fruit and nuts. He also introduced crystal glasses (which had been invented after experiments with rock crystal by Abbas ibn Firnas - see No 4).

Paul Vallely - How Islamic inventors changed the world

Having to include the 'Three course meal' in any religions top 20 list of inventions is embarrassing. The expression 'scraping the barrel' comes to mind, but did a Muslim actually invent it? Unsurprisingly, the answer is 'no'. The Romans invaded Britain in 43 AD (almost 600 years before the advent of Islam) and with them they brought the concept of the three-course meal^[58] which consisted of a first course, main course, and dessert.^[59] A typical starter/first course would be Haddock, herring, mullet or mackerel. The main course; roasted beef, pork or venison served with a prepared sauce and boiled vegetables. Followed by a dessert of stuffed fried Dates, apples soaked in a cream sauce or Pastries covered in honey and pepper. And to wash it all down, plenty of wine.^[60]

Also the pre-islamic Persans introduced the dessert into Turkey as far as Ephesus (condemming the Greeks for its ommission in meals).

Also, Abbas ibn Firnas did not invent crystal glass. Clear glass appeared during the 15^th century in Venice, and was called cristallo. Crystal was invented 175 years later, after glassmaker George Ravenscroft added lead oxide to glass, creating lead crystal glass.^[61]

Carpets

Carpets were regarded as part of Paradise by medieval Muslims, thanks to their advanced weaving techniques, new tinctures from Islamic chemistry and highly developed sense of pattern and arabesque which were the basis of Islam's non-representational art. In contrast, Europe's floors were distinctly earthly, not to say earthy, until Arabian and Persian carpets were introduced. In England, as Erasmus recorded, floors were "covered in rushes, occasionally renewed, but so imperfectly that the bottom layer is left undisturbed, sometimes for 20 years, harbouring expectoration, vomiting, the leakage of dogs and men, ale droppings, scraps of fish, and other abominations not fit to be mentioned". Carpets, unsurprisingly, caught on quickly.

Paul Vallely - How Islamic inventors changed the world

The Pazyryk rug, dated from the fifth century BC, is the oldest known surviving carpet in the world. Pre-dating Islam by over a millennium.

The earliest known carpet was discovered by Russian Professor Rudenko in 1949 during excavations of burial mounds in the Altai Mountains in Siberia. Called the Pazyryk rug,^[62] it dates from the fifth century B.C.^[63] and is now kept in the Hermitage museum of St. Petersburg. It was preserved from decay, due to water seeping into the burial mound and freezing.^[64] The advanced weaving technique used in the Pazyryk carpet indicates a long history of evolution and experience in this art. Most experts believe that the Pazyryk carpet is a late achievement of at least one thousand years of technique evolution and history. Evidence suggests that some forms of rug-weaving were used in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Middle East and Asia about 4,000 years ago. Therefore, the carpet is a pre-Islamic invention.

What of the West and the flooring being referred to by Paul Vallely? The Colosseum in Rome which was completed in 80 AD had wooden (not earthy) flooring. In fact, the typical Roman home as early as the 2^nd century BC had mosaic flooring, as found in the "House of the Tragic Poet" in Pompeii, Italy.^[65]^[66] The Romans also made use of rugs on the floors and the walls of their palaces. In 47 BC When the Egyptians banished Queen Cleopatra from Egypt, replacing her with her brother, she had herself delivered to the Roman Emperor Julius Caesar, smuggled inside a rolled up carpet. Their love for carpets was so great that many considered them to be more valuable than money and they even used them to pay their taxes.^[67]^[68]

The modern cheque

The modern cheque comes from the Arabic saqq, a written vow to pay for goods when they were delivered, to avoid money having to be transported across dangerous terrain. In the 9th century, a Muslim businessman could cash a cheque in China drawn on his bank in Baghdad.

Paul Vallely - How Islamic inventors changed the world

The ancient Romans are believed to have used an early form of cheque known as praescriptiones in the first century BC,^[69] and the saqq (or 'sakk', which developed into the modern word 'cheques')^[70] system being referred to by Paul Vallely was a 3^rd century pre-Islamic innovation of the Persian Sassanid Empire. Modern cheques need paper to be written, so clues to the invention of cheques can be traced following the lead of the invention of paper. Closely related is also the history of money and banking.

Paper is thought to have been invented in China 1^st century BC. It was kept as a secret for 5 centuries and went to Japan in AD 610. It was not used only for writing and books (The Chinese are also responsible for the invention of printing, possibly between the 4^th and 7^th century AD.) but also for making umbrellas, flags, house holds, toilet paper and even amour so strong as to resist arrows. More to the point of cheques, they used it for the first promissory note, the first paper money. The invention was necessitated by the highway men who became so numerous that the merchants were not able to pay their taxes to the state. The state machinery was vital to the Chinese Empire to survive for so many thousand years. The civil servants brought the idea of notes marked with certain value that can be exchanged to gold at the end of the journey. Thus was developed the first cheques in history.^[71]

A pre-Islamic Byzantine coin Struck 607 - 609 AD. It features the depiction of a crowned emperor Focas holding a globus cruciger (an orb representing the spherical Earth) more than 400 years before the realisation dawned on Ibn Hazm and 532 years before al-Idrisi took a globe to the court of King Roger.

The fact that the Earth is spherical was common knowledge among medieval Europeans as proven by the dominant textbooks of the Early Middle Ages, the orb (globus cruciger; Latin for "cross-bearing orb") a Christian symbol representing Christ's (the cross) dominion over the world (the orb) used in the regalia of many kingdoms and of the Holy Roman Empire from as early as 395 and throughout the the Middle Ages,^[72] and the writings of early Christian scholars including Anicius Boëthius (480 - 524 AD), Bishop Isidore of Seville (560 - 636 AD), Bishop Rabanus Maurus (780 - 856 AD), the monk Bede (672 - 735 AD), Bishop Vergilius of Salzburg (700 - 784 AD) and the most important and widely taught theologian of the Middle Ages; Thomas Aquinas (1225 - 1274 AD). The belief that medieval Christians believed in a flat earth is false, and was listed by the Historical Association of Britain in 1945 as the second of twenty in a pamphlet on common errors in history. ^[73] This should not really come as much of a surprise when you consider that the Ancient Greeks Pythagoras (570 - 495 BC), Aristotle (384 - 322 BC) and Hipparchus (190 - 120 BC) also concluded that the earth is spherical half a millennium earlier.

Eratosthenes (275 - 194 BC) in 240 BC measured the circumference of the earth to a figure very close to what we know of at present He measured the distance between Alexandria and Aswan by pacers and also measured the curvature of the earth between these two points on the surface of the sphere (earth) and came to the figure of the circumference of the earth. Eratosthenes' method was later to be employed by Hermannus Contractus (1013 - 1054 AD) a medieval Christian scholar. The Greek philosopher and mathematician Aristarchus (320 - 230 BC) even knew the Earth revolves around the Sun and not the other way around.^[74]

In the East, the works of the classical Indian astronomer and mathematician, Aryabhata (476 - 550 AD), also deal with the sphericity of the Earth and the motion of the planets. The final two parts of his Sanskrit magnum opus the Aryabhatiya, which were named the Kalakriya ("reckoning of time") and the Gola ("sphere"), state that the earth is spherical and that its circumference is 4,967 yojanas, which in modern units is 39,968 km (24,835 mi), which is close to the current equatorial value of 40,075 km (24,901 mi).^[75] He also stated that the apparent rotation of the celestial objects was due to the actual rotation of the earth, calculating the length of the sidereal day to be 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4.1 seconds.^[76]

In conclusion; everything that has been attributed to Muslim Arabs by Paul Vallely, had already been discovered by not only the pre-Islamic East, but also by the pre-Christian Greeks. As was mentioned in the introduction; the Islamic faith stifles scientific progress and nothing demonstrates this as well as the modern-day belief that the Earth is flat. As recently as 1993 the supreme religious authority of Saudi Arabia Sheik Abdul-Aziz Ibn Baaz declared "The earth is flat. Whoever claims it is round is an atheist deserving of punishment."^[77] and in October 2007 on Al-Fayhaa TV in Iraq, a Muslim scientist also declared that the Earth is flat as evidenced by Qur'anic verses and that the Sun is much smaller than the Earth and revolves around it. ^[78] The article A Qur’anic Understanding of the Universe explains other problems with the Islamic understanding of the universe.

Gunpowder

Though the Chinese invented saltpetre gunpowder, and used it in their fireworks, it was the Arabs who worked out that it could be purified using potassium nitrate for military use. Muslim incendiary devices terrified the Crusaders. By the 15th century they had invented both a rocket, which they called a "self-moving and combusting egg", and a torpedo - a self-propelled pearshaped bomb with a spear at the front which impaled itself in enemy ships and then blew up.

Paul Vallely - How Islamic inventors changed the world

As the article readily admits; the Chinese invented saltpetre (from Medieval Latin sal petrae: "stone salt" or possibly "salt of Petra") gunpowder, and saltpetre is in fact potassium nitrate.^[79]^[80] There is also only one reference from the Crusade of the Muslims launching a missile of some kind, but it did no damage. Were gunpowder in actual military use by the times of the Crusades, the first device to apply it in would have been a cannon, but it was in fact the Chinese who fired the first cannon.

A cave mural from Dunhuang- China, dated 950 AD. It features the earliest known representation of a gun (a fire lance) and a grenade.

Although the date of their introduction is uncertain, writings indicate that in 994 AD the Chinese used fire arrows in battle. Fire arrows were traditional arrows tipped with flammable materials like pitch, bitumen or resin. In 994 AD the Chinese city of Tzu T'ung was attacked by an army of 100,000 men. The commander of the defensive forces, named Chang Yung, ordered a response to the attack using artillery fire made up of catapulted stones and fire arrows launched by bows.

In 1045, a Chinese government official named Tseng Kung-Liang wrote a complete account of the Chinese use of gunpowder, including its adaptation to weaponry. Called "Wu-ching Tsung-yao" (Complete Compendium of Military Classics) the work detailed the use of ballistic fire arrows not launched by bows, but by charges of gunpowder. While the date of their introduction is uncertain, the fire arrows launched by gunpowder are considered to be the first true rockets. These fire arrows were traditional feathered arrows propelled by ignited gunpowder housed in a tube tied to the arrow. The fire arrows carried flammable materials or sometimes poison-coated heads. In a form more closely resembling modern rockets, the gunpowder tube was lengthened to the tip of the arrow and given a pointed nose, eliminating the need for a traditional arrowhead.

In 1258, the Mongols were reported to have used gunpowder propelled fire arrows in their effort to capture the Arab city of Baghdad. The Mongols reportedly launched gunpowder propelled fire arrows from ships during their attacks on Japan in 1274 and 1281. By the end of the 13th century, armies of Japan, Java, Korea and India are believed to have acquired sufficient knowledge of gunpowder propelled fire arrows to begin using them against the Mongols. Use of the weapons quickly spread throughout Asia and Eastern Europe.

At the same time gunpowder propelled fire arrows were blazing in battle, scientific papers on the subject of the preparation of gunpowder and its application in weaponry were being published in Europe. Notable works were prepared by Roger Bacon, Albertus Magnus and Marchus Graecus before the close of the 13^th century. In 1379, an Italian named Muratori used the word "rochetta" when he described types of gunpowder propelled fire arrows used in medieval times. This is believed to be the first use of the word later translated in English as "rocket".^[81]

Gardens

Medieval Europe had kitchen and herb gardens, but it was the Arabs who developed the idea of the garden as a place of beauty and meditation. The first royal pleasure gardens in Europe were opened in 11th-century Muslim Spain. Flowers which originated in Muslim gardens include the carnation and the tulip.

Paul Vallely - How Islamic inventors changed the world

A painting of a garden. Taken from the Egyptian tomb chapel of Nebamun, an accountant at the Temple of Amun at Karnak, who died around 1350 BC- almost two thousand years before Muhammad's first alleged 'revelation'.

Gardens were an Arab tradition long before Islam - so for Islam to claim this as an "invention", ignores thousands of years of pre-Islamic Arab culture, and not to mention the legendary Hanging Gardens of Babylon which were built by the Chaldean king Nebuchadnezzar II around 600 BC to please his sick wife, Amytis of Media.^[82] . It also ignores the Roman tradition of gardens & fountains used for meditation and the beautifully artistic Chinese Suzhou gardens (770 - 476 BC) which were designed specifically for relaxation.^[83] The oldest pictorial records of gardens are from Ancient Egyptian tomb paintings. Much like modern gardens, they came complete with shelters, pools, shady walks, pergolas and plants growing in terracotta pots. In ancient times, temples contained what would be recognised as gardens. When they were closed to the public they became compounds for priests. Planting positions have been located in the Egyptian Temples of Hatshseput and Mentuhotep, and the Greek Temple of Hephaistos.^[84]oeci or (peristyle) garden. Sometimes the center might include a fishpond or swimming pool instead of a garden. Depending on the size of the home, the floorplan could continue indefinitely, with gardens leading to rooms leading to other gardens.^[85] Also one of the centerpieces of a Roman Period home was the

Conclusion

The article is fundamentally misleading. It omits, distorts, and makes blunders over the most basic of historical facts to give the reader a false impression. It leaves you wondering what could have possibly motivated Paul Vallely into writing such a deceptive piece of journalism? This exhibition claimed to have shown 1001 Islamic inventions. If the best twenty are debunked, what of the other 981? If this is the sort of lies Islamists are ready to propagate openly with the approval and endorsement of Authorities, Universities and so many sponsors, then what other lies do they feed to Children at the Muslim Schools, and to young adults at mosques? Why are the Western governments and now the self-loathing Westerners who continue to perpetuate these lies via websites and forums, so eager to appease Muslims and show that their culture produced superior inventions by taking rightful credits from other civilizations such as ancient China, ancient Rome and pre-Islamic Egypt?

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MASJID AROUND THE WORLD

2009-06-05T21:10:00.000-07:00

MASJID AROUND THE WORLD>>>>

ABOUT ISLAMIC WORLD IN,MEDICINE,QURAN TRANSLATION ,ISLAMIC LAW,SUNNAH,SCIENCE,HISTORY,Etc.,

LIST OF ISLAMIC GENIUS

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Dr Khalid Hameed

உமர் தம்பி

கட்டற்ற கலைக்களஞ்சியமான விக்கிபீடியாவில் இருந்து.

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உமர் தம்பி அவர்களின் வலைப்பதிவு

உமர் தம்பியின் ஆக்கங்கள்

உமர் தம்பி பற்றிய பிறரது எழுத்துக்கள்

List of Padma Awardees

List of Padma Awardees

SHARIA ABOUT ISLAMIC LAW

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ADHAN This article is about the Islamic call to prayer

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