Quranic Supplications

1- (رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ) [البقرة/201]

"Our Lord! Give us in this world that which is good and in the Hereafter that which is good, and save us from the torment of the Fire!" (2/201)

2- (رَبَّنَا أَفْرِغْ عَلَيْنَا صَبْرًا وَثَبِّتْ أَقْدَامَنَا وَانصُرْنَا عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَافِرِينَ) [البقرة/250]

"Our Lord! Pour forth on us patience and make us victorious over the disbelieving people." (2/250)

3- (رَبَّنَا لاَ تُؤَاخِذْنَا إِن نَّسِينَا أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَا رَبَّنَا وَلاَ تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْنَا إِصْرًا كَمَا حَمَلْتَهُ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِنَا رَبَّنَا وَلاَ تُحَمِّلْنَا مَا لاَ طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِ وَاعْفُ عَنَّا وَاغْفِرْ لَنَا وَارْحَمْنَا أَنتَ مَوْلاَنَا فَانصُرْنَا عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَافِرِينَ) [البقرة/286]

Allah burdens not a person beyond his scope. He gets reward for that (good) which he has earned, and he is punished for that (evil) which he has earned. "Our Lord! Punish us not if we forget or fall into error, our Lord! Lay not on us a burden like that which You did lay on those before us; our Lord! Put not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear. Pardon us and grant us Forgiveness. Have mercy on us. You are our Maula (Patron, Supporter and Protector, etc.) and give us victory over the disbelieving people. " (2/286)

4- (رَبَّنَا لاَ تُزِغْ قُلُوبَنَا بَعْدَ إِذْ هَدَيْتَنَا وَهَبْ لَنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ رَحْمَةً إِنَّكَ أَنتَ الْوَهَّابُ) [آل عمران/8]

"Our Lord! Let not our hearts deviate (from the truth) after You have guided us, and grant us mercy from You. Truly, You are the Bestower." (3/8)

5- (رَبَّنَا إِنَّنَا آمَنَّا فَاغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ) [آل عمران/16]

"Our Lord! We have indeed believed, so forgive us our sins and save us from the punishment of the Fire." (3/16)

6- (رَبِّ هَبْ لِي مِن لَّدُنْكَ ذُرِّيَّةً طَيِّبَةً إِنَّكَ سَمِيعُ الدُّعَاء) [آل عمران/38]

"O my Lord! Grant me from You, a good offspring. You are indeed the All-Hearer of invocation." (3/38)

7- (رَبَّنَا آمَنَّا بِمَا أَنزَلْتَ وَاتَّبَعْنَا الرَّسُولَ فَاكْتُبْنَا مَعَ الشَّاهِدِينَ) [آل عمران/53]

"Our Lord! We believe in what You have sent down, and we follow the Messenger; so write us down among those who bear witness." (3/53)

8- (ربَّنَا اغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا وَإِسْرَافَنَا فِي أَمْرِنَا وَثَبِّتْ أَقْدَامَنَا وانصُرْنَا عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَافِرِينَِ) [آل عمران/147]

"Our Lord! Forgive us our sins and our transgressions (in keeping our duties to You), establish our feet firmly, and give us victory over the disbelieving folk." (3/147)

9- (رَبَّنَا مَا خَلَقْتَ هَذا بَاطِلاً سُبْحَانَكَ فَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ رَبَّنَا إِنَّكَ مَن تُدْخِلِ النَّارَ فَقَدْ أَخْزَيْتَهُ وَمَا لِلظَّالِمِينَ مِنْ أَنصَارٍ رَّبَّنَا إِنَّنَا سَمِعْنَا مُنَادِيًا يُنَادِي لِلإِيمَانِ أَنْ آمِنُواْ بِرَبِّكُمْ فَآمَنَّا رَبَّنَا فَاغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا وَكَفِّرْ عَنَّا سَيِّئَاتِنَا وَتَوَفَّنَا مَعَ الأبْرَارِ رَبَّنَا وَآتِنَا مَا وَعَدتَّنَا عَلَى رُسُلِكَ وَلاَ تُخْزِنَا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ إِنَّكَ لاَ تُخْلِفُ الْمِيعَاد ِ) [آل عمران/191-194]

 "Our Lord! You have not created (all) this without purpose, glory to You! (Exalted be You above all that they associate with You as partners). Give us salvation from the torment of the Fire. *Our Lord! Verily, whom You admit to the Fire, indeed, You have disgraced him, and never will the Zaalimoon (polytheists and wrong-doers) find any helpers. *Our Lord! Verily, we have heard the call of one (Muhammad p.b.u.h.) calling to Faith: 'Believe in your Lord,' and we have believed. *Our Lord! Forgive us our sins and remit from us our evil deeds, and make us die in the state of righteousness along with Al-Abraar (those who are obedient to Allah and follow strictly His Orders). *Our Lord! Grant us what You promised unto us through Your Messengers and disgrace us not on the Day of Resurrection, for You never break (Your) Promise." (3/191-194)

Taken From Facebook

So You Desire to be an Islamic Writer ! Motivating writeups about some of the best Islamic Writers..

by Nisaar Y. Nadiadwala on Monday, March 12, 2012 at 12:00pm
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How many books did Ibn Taymiya write ?  Scholars say that if you count the number of pages that Ibn Taymiya has written and divide them in the number of days from his age of puberty the average comes to around... 18 pages a  day. ( I take around one hour to write one short note! on face book !! How many hours a day Ibn Taymiyaa gave to writing ?).He lived for around  63 years . So that comes to around  6570 pages a year and  altogether   3,28,00 pages in his life time.  This was not done in free time or spare time..Inspite of huge amount of writing.. Ibn Taymiya r.a. fought in war agaisnt the Mongols, he was  jailed too.  Once while in jail. he heard a christian commenting negatively about the Qur'an. So he immediately started writing a book on distortion of the teaching of Jesus a.s. amd completed the book in one go.

 
Once he was passing by and realised that  people's creed were getitng corrupted by deviated sects. So he sat down and wrote the book, a master piece on Touhid.. Shah'ral aqqedatul wasitiyaa..The explaination of aqeedah of the middle course..The book was written in one sitting only.


    Imam Nauwi died at a very young age..But my Friend  Shaikh abdul Basit Khan from  Madina Univrersity  tells me that the number of books he has written   are so much that it will take my whole age to read all of his work.


  Before he wrote Sahih al Bukhari..Imam Bukahri wrote Tarrekhul Kabeer.. the Biography of the narrators of Hadith.  compilations and selection of  Bukhari took 18 years !! Besides sahih Bukhari, Imam Bukhari wrote no less than 18  other books.


  Imam Tabari has two famous  books to his credit..Tafseer of Tabari  with  12 volumes and History of Tabari...guess !!! 34 volumes.


  Ibn Kathir has written many books including  Tafseer and History. the  Tafseer published in English is of 10 volumes and each volume has  around 500 pages ! "al Bidaya wan Nihaya" consists of  around 12 volumes in Arabic.


 Ibn Hjar 's Fat'hul Baari has  15 volumes and has written no less than 15 more  volumnous books with an excellent seerah of sahabah. Al isaaba fi tameezi Sahaba.. 8 huge volumes !!!


    Ibn ani  Barq is a famous  scholar of Maliki fiqh.he was from Spain  and he is respected as the best islamic scholar of the West. His commentary on Muatta Imam Malik runs upto 30 volumes.
  Tahzibul Kamal fi smael rijal  by Hafiz al Mizzi is an exncyclopedia of the narrators of hadith. How many volumes.. 35 Volumes !


  So do you still want to be a writer ? Why not ? But how many pages are you willing to write every day?  Well  as far as your brother Nisaar is concerned he has written only  350 pages..Now compare it with these huge giants of Islamic literature and  you will discover how dwarf I am !!!!


  AUTHOR : Nisaar Nadiadwala speaksand writes on Islam and Muslims. He can be reached at nisaar_yusuf@yahoo.com

Taken From

When you become a Kafir (disbeliever) in your heart.. what do you do?

My Experiences:

Last year someone asked me a question about an anti-Islamic claim. No-one could answer it, so I looked for answers for it on other sites.

I noticed another brother who was famous for providing answers had also faced this question, but he himself couldn't find an answer for it. So he was confused for a while... - after alot of mental confusion he replied - 'I don't know, it's like now i'm only Muslim by name.''

This really shocked me. I wondered why this person had said this? What made him so confident in saying this when he could have kept this thought quietly in his head until he had improved his emaan and become a stronger Muslim?
Lately, I've seen this trend growing and it's really saddened me. People who I used to look upto have even fallen into this.


This is what I see:

1 - They start off with being really energetic when they newly start practising, then after around 2 years their emaan energy level drops.*

*NOTE: I have seen this trend because people when becoming 'newly practising Muslims'; i - first read the meaning of the Qur'an, ii - then read the Biography of the Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alayhi wasalam), iii - then read the lives of the Salaf. iv - Then they read what happens later on in our history, and forget to continuously read the meaning of the Quran and Biography of the Messenger for Guidance in their lives. This abandoning of the guidance leads the person to go into deeper parts of our history which involves Sects and Wars amongst Muslims. So this person gets confused and gets a harsh attitude - causing them to find religion a burden instead of a source of guidance and right-direction.

2 - Then they cannot reach that high level of emaan (which they had at the beginning), so they start becoming stressed out. They will try doing things to strengthen their emaan, so they will get short bursts of it - but it will go back to the low level again.

3 - They go Absent from the Islamic community (whether it's online or offline). (This slight distance from the Islamic community gets them more attached to the non-Islamic world.)


4 -They come back and either start freshly again, but most of the times they don't. Some even start getting interested into going into other sects (like Sufism) because they believe it is more spiritual. Sadly though, I have seen many people leaving Islam after joining a distorted version of Sufism for some time. (the praiseworthy ascetic Sufis are those who follow the Salaf (righteous earliest Muslims), the dispraised are those who oppose the Salaf's way).

- Alot of people who followed the wrong sect and went astray and left Islam altogether.

- Others leave Islam because they themselves couldn't find answers like the first brother mentioned in the article.

- Some expose their disbelief while others keep it quiet within themselves. But one thing is for sure, they are daring enough to admit their rebellion against Allah.



So we have to wonder, why is this? What is the root problem? And how can any of us fall into it?


Biggest Disease: I know for sure - the biggest problem for each of these people is that they do not have a strong relationship with Allah & they do NOT want to strengthen their relationship with Him. If they were really close to Allah with Islam, they would beg Allah for help in whatever they were confused in. They would cling onto Allah because they loved Him. But they didn't hope for Allah.. so Allah let them go...


Allah tells us that shaytaan said; قَالَ فَبِعِزَّتِكَ لَأُغْوِيَنَّهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ - إِلَّا عِبَادَكَ مِنْهُمُ الْمُخْلَصِينَ [Iblees] said, "By your might, I will surely mislead them all. Except, among them, Your MukhliSeen slaves - (Quran Saad 38: 82-83)


MuKhliS is someone who;

- has IkhlaaS = Sincerety - is KhaaliS = Pure (from sins and shirk.)


So if you have symptoms of low emaan, ask yourself this;

1 - When I do actions, am I doing it for the sake of Allah? If not, you're lacking IkhlaaS (sincerety) - and therefore you are exposed to shaytaan.

2 - Do you do sins which are bad? Then you are not being Pure (KhaaliS) to Allah, therefore you are exposed to shaytaan misguiding you.


Now when you had emaan, you felt strongly close to Allah and always in tranquility/calmness. But when it lowered, you probably started sinning, doing less good actions, or doing your actions less sincerely for Allah.

That caused you to go astray and lose that happiness, and if you never stayed persistent in trying to strengthen yourself in emaan (i.e. By begging Allah), then it would stay low and you would persistently feel miserable.


Allah tells us; 'O mankind! eat from the earth what is halaal (permissible) and pure , and do not follow the footsteps of shaytaan, surely he is for you especially a clear enemy' (Quran al Baqarah 2:68)

Why does Allah tell us to eat the Halaal, and why does He compare it to shaytaan's footsteps?

I have heard stories of knowledgeable Muslims who have left Islam secretly, and they do sins which have gone past all limits. This is a Proof that shaytaan exists, because when people leave Islam, they don't just start living their lives like they did before Islam, but they follow the footsteps of shaytaan in doing the worst of evils.

When emaan continues to drop, you go past ALL limits. If you have left the path of guidance, then the only other path is misguidance. If you are walking the path of misguidance while knowing the right path - how more evil can you get? This is exactly what Iblees (shaytaan) did after abandoning guidance, these are the footsteps of shaytaan.



2 stories: There is a sister who says that she lowered in emaan and due to that, she went to a bad shop where they sell bad things. She said she felt no regret about it at all, except one fear. (which we will discuss soon)

I have also heard of another sister who was an Islamic teacher and she left her teaching job for another public job as a bad woman - sharing her sins recorded publicly.

You know what is meant by this, and this is why Allah tells us to eat the Halaal (permissible) and Pure things, and NOT to follow the footsteps of shaytaan. Because when people start sinning, they even forget to do the permissible and pure (like marriage), and they become fooled into and addicted to the Haraam (forbidden things) and impure things.


Symptoms:

These are the most common symptoms people get when they have this attitude. They are; - being Emotionless - falling into Extreme sin (rebellion) - The path of Kufr (ungratefulness & disbelief).

So in some ways, they are worse than normal people who do not know the Guidance.



The Fear Safety Tool:

When people leave Islam after knowing its truthfulness, they follow their desires. But in its early stages, they feel really bad. One of the biggest things they feel is a constant fear and anxiety.

This fear and anxiety of destruction is your last safety tool and a massive blessing, without it you would have left Islam a long time ago. Yet Allah has given you abit of respite time to return.

If you lose this fear and continue on the wrong path - you will earn the wrath of Allah, and a gradual destruction which will reach you from where you don't expect. And you will never find safety except if you turn back to the guidance.


How do I use this Fear Safety Tool to my Advantage?

1 - You force yourself to beg Allah to help you out of this state. Whether you want to or not, even if Islam seems like an uphill struggle. Because you know that Islam is better than all other uphill struggles of life - it is the truth (even if all things don't make sense to you.)

You need to beg - otherwise you are in danger. This is your last means for safety. So ask Allah for safety, and to make His pleasure easy for you. Especially in sajdah (prostration) - the best position to recieve calmness in.

2 - *EDITED! Reason: encouraging to listen to nasheeds* or lectures which uplift your spirit. You know what increased you in emaan (faith) in the beginning, so revive those feelings through experiencing them again.

3 - Do NEW/refreshing Islamic activities which raise your rank in the sight of Allah: You might be in situation similar to the brother mentioned at the beginning of this article who gave da'wah but his emaan didn't increase.

So what you need to do is pause the activity which is distracting you from Allah. Then do a good deed which freshens your emaan (faith).

I did Da'wah sometimes because i felt I had to benefit others with some knowledge I had. But non muslims reacted harshly and some time later I got exhausted and my emaan dropped too. So I wondered why my eman wasn't increasing if I am doing da'wah (calling to Allah) which is good?

The answer is: You're supposed to sustain your da'wah with good acts of worship (like salaah and du'a which connects you strongly and constantly to Allah.) Allah's Messenger (sal Allahu alayhi wasalam) was commanded with Tahajjud (night prayer when people sleep).

So pause your da'wah if your emaan is dropping and focus on yourself and Allah for a few days. Because your main priority is saving your OWN SELF from the fire. You know which things increase you in Emaan, so do them things.

Some common thoughts: 'I don't get the same emotions' - you know you feel 'alive', 'colorful', happy in a certain way when your emaan is strong. But when your emaan drops, you feel sad and gloomy, and depressed.

Then when you try to strengthen it, you feel you're not getting the same good emotions. So you wonder, what am I doing wrong?

Answer: You are doing something partially wrong which is preventing you from tranquility (sukoon). But you are doing something good to increase yourself in emaan, which is a proof of your sincerety to Allah. Sincerety is the secret to success with Allah.

If you sustain this good - hoping to make Allah happy, He will make you happy. So carry on doing the good, even if you feel you are not getting the same happiness yet, it will come. But to feel the full happiness - you will have to submit to Islam whole-heartedly just like you did when you tasted the full sweetness of emaan at the beginning.


My main point is: Don't judge your emaan on your 'inner feeling' alone, but judge it on how much good you are doing to make Allah happy. If you keep it up, Allah will unveil this happiness to you because you showed your desperation and sincerety to Him.


Do New Fresh Good deeds to sustain your Emaan:

Emaan usually drops when you abandon good deeds, and you waste your time doing wasteful things which will not grow you spiritually. You have to seek closeness to Allah in everything you do, otherwise you will get closer to something else and you will gradually forget Allah. Then you will follow shaytaan and he will distance you even more from Allah and soon lead you to the hellfire.


What often encourages me to refresh my Emaan are the Ahadeeth Qudsi. And to turn to Allah in fear, hope, longing and repentance repeatedly. إِنَّهُ لَا يَيْأَسُ مِن رَّوْحِ اللَّهِ إِلَّا الْقَوْمُ الْكَافِرُونَ Indeed, no one despairs of relief (RawH) from Allah except the disbelieving people (kaafiroon)." - Surah Yusuf 12:87 -

The word RawH comes from the root word RaaHa which means 'Relaxation'. So no-one gives up of the relief and relaxation from Allah except the people who choose to be ungrateful/disbelieve (kufr) to Him.

This is why those who lose Emaan and don't care about getting close to Allah again - they will soon become ungrateful to Allah and soon become disbelievers (kaafiroon.)


Conclusion: Symptoms of Disease:

1 - Lack of Sincerety. 2 - Laziness in doing good deeds. 3 - Lack of Purity (physical and spiritual) 4 - Sinful attitudes.

5 - Lack of personal space/time to increase yourself in Emaan. (maybe you spent too much time in da'wah that you exhausted yourself, and now you just need time to recover?)

6 - Wasting time in worthless activities which distance you from Allah, so they seem more pleasing to you and gradually you don't care even if you say evil about Allah - because you don't seek closeness to Him. (see example of this here; Quran al Maa'idah 5:64 ; Quran Fat-h 48:6)

Cures for the Disease:

1 - the Final Fear which Allah has put in your heart before a soon destruction. You HAVE to take advantage of this fear from Allah, if you ignore it - you will become the worst of criminals who earn Allah's wrath/anger.

2 - Begging Allah to save you from His anger and promising Him you will try your best to stay on this good path.

3 - Learning Qur'an, Arabic and seeing the character of Prophet Muhammad (sal Allahu alayhi wasalam) to gain certainty in the Miraculous Divine nature of the Qur'an (this certain knowledge will encourage you to stay firm on Islam.)

4 - Having good thoughts about Allah and reviving your hope in His Mercy, pleasure and reward of Paradise. Hoping from Allah that you can reach there someday.

5 - Making your own space and time to relax and reconsider which path is better for you.

6 - Listening to Heart softener and du'a (prayer) *EDITED! Reason: Encouraging to listen to nasheeds*. They will relax your heart and reconnect you with Allah.

7 - Work gradually in small good deeds again, and try to earn the pleasure of Allah by showing Him your sincerety.

8 - Try not to fall into the same mistakes you did when you lost your emaan.

9 - Make du'a to Allah, remain thankful to Him. So when you want to talk to Allah, you make du'a. When you want Allah to talk to you, make short term and long term du'as.

Short term duas include small things like asking Allah to give you a happy day. So when you have a happy day - you feel thankful to Him and increase in emaan.

When your short term duas work, you know your long term duas/wishes have also been heard by Allah.


10 - Repeat this process throughout your life and continuously keep yourself busy with new fields of good deeds to keep yourself busy with good works until you face the reality (death), so when you meet your Provider - He will be happy with you and you will have mountains of good deeds which will hopefully be accepted by Him.

O Allah, turner of the hearts - keep my heart firm on your guidance and obedience, ameen!


Further Reading: Ibn al Jawzi, Ibn al Qayyim - they are experts in explaining the sicknesses of the heart and the cures for it. Here's a good book you should download and read slowly;

Purification of the Soul: www.kalamullah.com/Books/PurificationOfTheSoul.pdf

Taken From Facebook

24 Beautiful one liners Islamic Quotes !

1) Give Allah what’s right, not what’s left.

2) Man’s way leads to a hopeless end Allah’s way leads to an endless hope.

3) A lot of kneeling will keep you in good standing.

4) He who kneels before Allah can stand before anyone.

5) In the sentence of life, the devil may be a comma, but never let him be the full stop.

6) Don’t put a question mark where Allah puts a full stop.

7) Are you wrinkled with burden? Come to the mosque for a face lift.

When praying, don’t give Allah instructions, just report for duty.

9) Don’t wait for six strong men to take you to the mosque.(FOR YOUR JANAZAAH)

10) We don’t change Allah’s message His message changes us.

11) The mosque is prayer-conditioned.

12) When Allah ordains, He sustains.

13) Plan ahead It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.

14) Most people want to serve Allah, but only in an advisory position.

15) Suffering from truth decay? Brush up on your Qur’an.

16) Exercise daily Walk with Allah.

17) Never give the devil a ride He will always want to drive.

18) Nothing else ruins the truth like stretching it.

19) Compassion is difficult to give away because it keeps coming back.

20) He, who angers you, controls you.

21) Worry is the darkroom in which negatives are developed.

22) Give Shaytaan an inch and he will be a ruler.

23) Allah doesn’t call the qualified He qualifies the called.

24) Read the Qur’an It will show u how simple life can be.



Taken from Facebook

A Gift After Hardships

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) dispatched towards the sea-shore an expedition of three hundred men, under the command of Abu Ubaidah (ra) in 8 A.H. He gave them a bag full of dates for their rations. They had been hardly out for fifteen days when they ran short of rations. In order to provide the contingent with food, Qais (ra) began buying three camels daily from his own men, to feed the Mujahideen, with a promise to pay on return to Madinah. The Amir seeing that the slaugther of camels would deprive the party of their only means of transport, prohibited him to do so. He collected the dates that had been left with each person and stored them in a bag. He would issue one date to each man as his daily ration. When Jabir (ra) later on narrated this story to the people, one of his audience inquired:

"How did you manage to live upon one date only for the whole day?" He replied: "We longed even for that one date, when the whole stock was exhausted. We were on the verge of starvation. We moistened the dry tree-leaves with water and ate them."

When they reached this stage, Allah had mercy on them for He always brings ease after every hardship, provided it is endured patiently. A big fish known as "Ambar" was thrown out of the sea for them. The fish was so big that they lived on it for eighteen days altogether. They also filled their satchels with the remaining portion, which lasted them right up to Madinah. When the episode was narrated to the Prophet (peace be upon him), he said: "The fish was a provision arranged for you by Allah."

Source: From the book "Stories of the Sahabah" by Shaikh Muhammad Zakariyya Kandhalvi.

We are Muslims today because of such sacrifices by the companions of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). We should remember these events as a source of comfort whenever we too are faced with difficulties regarding practising Islam

Taken From Face book

Secret Bible in which 'Jesus predicts coming of Prophet Muhammad' unearthed in Turkey

Secret £14million Bible in which 'Jesus predicts coming of Prophet Muhammad' unearthed in Turkey

• Vatican 'wants to see' 1,500-year-old ancient script
• Has been hidden by Turkish state for 12 years
• Handwritten in gold-lettered Aramaic

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2105714/Secret-14million-Bible-Jesus-predicts-coming-Prophet-Muhammad-unearthed-Turkey.html#ixzz1nphpZA5D

A secret Bible in which Jesus is believed to predict the coming of the Prophet Muhammad to Earth has sparked serious interest from the Vatican. Pope Benedict XVI is claimed to want to see the 1,500-year-old book, which many say is the Gospel of Barnabas, that has been hidden by the Turkish state for the last 12 years. The £14million handwritten gold lettered tome, penned in Jesus' native Aramaic language, is said to contain his early teachings and a prediction of the Prophet's coming.

The leather-bound text, written on animal hide, was discovered by Turkish police during an anti-smuggling operation in 2000. It was closely guarded until 2010, when it was finally handed over to the Ankara Ethnography Museum, and will soon be put back on public display following a minor restoration. A photocopy of a single page from the handwritten ancient manuscript is thought to be worth £1.5million.

Turkish culture and tourism minister Ertugrul Gunay said the book could be an authentic version of the Gospel, which was suppressed by the Christian Church for its strong parallels with the Islamic view of Jesus. He also said the Vatican had made an official request to see the scripture - a controversial text which Muslims claim is an addition to the original gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke and John.

In line with Islamic belief, the Gospel treats Jesus as a human being and not a God. It rejects the ideas of the Holy Trinity and the Crucifixion and reveals that Jesus predicted the coming of the Prophet Muhammad. In one version of the gospel, he is said to have told a priest: 'How shall the Messiah be called? Muhammad is his blessed name'.

And in another Jesus denied being the Messiah, claiming that he or she would be Ishmaelite, the term used for an Arab. Despite the interest in the newly re-discovered book, some believe it is a fake and only dates back to the 16th century.


The oldest copies of the book date back to that time, and are written in Spanish and Italian. Protestant pastor İhsan Özbek said it was unlikely to be authentic. This is because St Barnabas lived in the first century and was one of the Apostles of Jesus, in contrast to this version which is said to come from the fifth or sixth century. He told the Today Zaman newspaper: 'The copy in Ankara might have been written by one of the followers of St Barnabas.


'Since there is around 500 years in between St Barnabas and the writing of the Bible copy, Muslims may be disappointed to see that this copy does not include things they would like to see.


'It might have no relation with the content of the Gospel of Barnabas.'
Theology professor Ömer Faruk Harman said a scientific scan of the bible may be the only way to reveal how old it really is.

WHO WAS ST BARNABAS?

Born in Cyprus as Joseph, Barnabas was an Early Christian later named an apostle.

His story appears in the Acts of the Apostles, and Paul mentions him in some of his epistles.

The date, place, and circumstances of his death are historically unverifiable.
But Christian tradition states that he was martyred at Salamis, Cyprus.

He is traditionally identified as the founder of the Cypriot Church, with his feast day on June 11.

Rx for Vegetarians: Check Meds for Animal Products

Vegetarians Often Unaware That Animal Products Lurk in Many Prescription Pills
By Denise Mann
WebMD Health News Reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD

Feb. 28, 2012 -- Many vegetarians and vegans strictly avoid animal products because of dietary, medical, cultural, ethical, or religious convictions.

But what they don’t know about their medications may run counter to these beliefs. Many medications use gelatin as part of the manufacturing process. Gelatin is almost universally derived from animals. It does many things for many medications. Gelatin may help form capsule shells, make liquids thicker, and coat drug powder.

Doctors often focus on the medications’ active ingredients when they write prescriptions -- not the coating or other added ingredients. These may include binders/fillers, coating agents, lubricants, and sweeteners.

Researchers polled 500 people who were being treated by a urologist about their dietary preferences, restrictions, and willingness to take medications containing animal products. Previous research has shown that many urology drugs contain gelatin.

Of these, 200 people said they didn’t eat animal products. Most of these people said they would prefer to take medicines containing only vegetable products. Just one in 10 said it didn’t matter.

Among the 176 with a stated preference, more than half said they would take a drug containing an animal product if no other alternative existed, but 43% said they would not knowingly take a medication containing an animal product.

Vegetarian Diet Slideshow: Becoming a Vegetarian
Animal Products in Rx Drugs

Of the study participants, very few said they even thought about asking if their prescription medicines contained animal products.

A first step: Educating doctors and pharmacists to ask people about their dietary preferences may be helpful. “Many health care professionals are unaware that certain patient groups have dietetic preferences, which may mean they may not wish to take gelatin-containing medications, and most patients are unaware of what their oral medication contains,” the study authors conclude.

Urology drugs are likely just the tip of the iceberg. Gelatin is an ingredient in many drugs. The new findings are published in the Postgraduate Medical Journal.

Some solutions may exist, and more are needed, according to the researchers. They include vegetable-based alternatives and clearer labeling, such as the adoption of a vegetarian symbol to be used on medication packaging.

More Animal-Free Alternatives Needed

“As a registered dietitian who works with many vegetarians, I do counsel them to check labels and ask manufacturers for the presence of any animal byproducts,” Connie Diekman, RD, says in an email. “I provide the same guidance to those with food allergies or intolerances.”

Diekman is the director of university nutrition at Washington University in St. Louis. “The study is a good reminder that everything we consume by mouth needs to be assessed by those who have limitations on their eating patterns,” she says.

Elizabeth Kavaler, MD, says the new findings are somewhat eye-opening. She is a urologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. She often discusses with her patients the way a drug is delivered because it can cause potential side effects in some people.

Kavaler never discusses animal byproducts though. The new findings may change that. “The onus is on the doctor to bring this up if we make a recommendation,” she says. “Some medications may have gelatin-free alternatives, but they may be less effective and/or more costly, due to reimbursement issues.”

Unless and until more options become available, “it is a matter of priorities.” Going forward, Kavaler tells WebMD, “I will say, ‘If it is not a life-and-death issue, you can take this one that doesn’t have an animal product.'”

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