Ismaili.NET - Heritage F.I.E.L.D.

The word eid is derived from aud meaning to return. In Islam, it means a recurring happiness. The word adha, the plural of adhat means a sacrifice. On this occasion, all the Muslims who can afford, sacrifice an animal. In the case of a goat or a sheep, one animal is suffices for one household. In the case of a cow or a camel, seven men may be partners. It may be sacrificed on the day of Eid or during the two or three days that follows, called the tashriq days.

The word fitr means to begin, from which is also derived fitra meaning nature. The word iftar means the breaking of the fast, as if the faster had returned to a natural course or fulfilled the demand of nature, and it is from this that the name Eid al-Fitr seems to have been taken. "The feast that marks the end of Ramzan is a day when no fasting is allowed at all" (al-Muslim, 2:553), and it is customary for families to dress well in that day and visit each other and offer greetings.

According to the Shi'ite belief, at the spring (khum) of al-Ghadir, the Prophet as his successor declared Ali bin Abu Talib and the festival commemorated this occasion. The fusion of religion which was characteristic of all religious festivals in Fatimid Egypt, is best exemplified by the festival of Eid al-Ghadir.

The month of Rabi I has an immortal significance in the whole of human history. In this month that Blessed Being made his auspicious appearance from the person of Amina who diverted totally the very stream of the human history; who uplifted humanity from the lowest pit of degradation and rose it to the zenith of glory and grandeur; who heralded a new message of peace and prosperity for the suffering mankind. He emancipated the human race from those fetters in which it had been lying shackled for centuries. He relieved humanity of those heavy burdens under which it had been groaning for ages.

According to the Arabic lexicons, the word din is one of the most controversial words in the whole Koranic vocabulary. Its etymology is also uncertain. Outwardly we have one simple monosyllabic word. The word din has two important meanings distinguishable in the Koran: religion and judgment.

The word dinar is derived from Greek denarius. It is a gold coin of the early Islamic period, weighing until the 10th century 4.25 grams. It was divided into 10 dhirams and later into twelve.

The enemies of the Muslims created a united front after the battle of Badr and Uhud. This culminated in a solemn pact of alliance among the five principal tribes. When the news of this tremendous mobilization reached the Muslims in Medina, it struck them all with panic. It was Monday, the 1st Shawal, 5/February 24, 627 when a gigantic army under the command of Abu Sufian besieged Medina. The number of this invading force is variously estimated at something between ten and twenty-four thousands, the largest single army ever mustered on Arabian soil.

The English word donation is borrowed from the Latin, donaire means present. It is an action or faculty of giving or presenting. It includes presentation, grant, bestowal or gift. The tradition of donation goes back to the Islamic period. The Koranic message specifies to participate in the cause of God by giving money.

The word for dower generally used in the Koran is ajr (pl. ujur), meaning reward or the gift that is given to the bride. The word saduqat (pl. of saduqa) is also once used in the Koran to denote the nuptial gift (4:4), and the other words from the same root, signifying dower are sudaq and sidaq. The verbal root word sadaqa means he was truthful. Another word sometimes used in the Koran to indicate the nuptial gift is fariza means what has been made obligatory or an appointed portion.

"In 407/1016, an Iranian da'i, named Muhammad bin Ismail Nashtakin ad-Darazi came in Egypt, who professed the transmigration of souls. He also preached the divinity of Imam al-Hakim. He came from Bukhara to Cairo in 408/1017. Finding no response, he moved to Wadi al-Taymun, at the foot of Mount Hermon in Lebanon and Jabal as-Summaq in Syria. He was first in the public eyes being the founder of the Druze sect. In 410/1019, the Turks soldiers of the Fatimids gathered and moved towards the houses of ad-Darazi and his followers and surrounded them.

The word du'a is derived from da'wa or ad'iya means call, occurring 159 times in the Koran. It refers to the offering of supplication in general or in particular a single supplication, vide 2:186, 3:38,39 and 4:60. Another word su'al (asking) is also employed in this context (14:34, 11:47, 55:29).

The word dunya is derived from dhunuww, meaning the lower or the nearest world. This world as man actually experiences it and lives in it as a whole, called al-dunya. The Koran uses the phrase al-hayah al-dunya (the lower life) in place of the simple word al-dunya, occurring 115 times in the Koran.

"Her Excellency Madame Suzanne Mubarak inaugurated the 30-hectare (74-acre) al Azhar Park in the presence of the Present Imam in Cairo on March 25, 2005. The al-Azhar Park Project is a catalyst for social, economic and cultural renewal and improvement and will have far reaching consequences for the 200,000 residents of the neighbouring Darb al-Ahmar district.

The word bid'a is derived from bada'a, means to invent something new, the like of which has not existed. In technical sense, it means newness or invention in reference to the religion. It refers to an innovation, which cannot be vindicated by authoritative precedent, or pernicious innovation (hawa wa-bid'ah), which is far removed from normal and established practice. It signifies a new or original action that has no precedent, one by which a degree of excellence or perfection in the performed of the action is demonstrated.

It almost resembles the practice of the ruhani majalis prevalent in the Indian tradition. When one dies, his family members and relatives assemble in his house for three days, known as the dawat-i fana. His family does not cook food for three days, but only a lamp is kindled. Major J. Biddulph writes in Tribes of the Hindoo Koosh (Karachi, 1977, p. 123) that, "On the evening of the appointed day, a caliph comes to the house, and food is cooked and offered to him.

It is a poll-tax charged on non-Muslims in place of ushr.