Virtual Online Quran : QuranFlash

An interactive virtual Arabic Quran for Arabic learners and native-speakers.

Quranflash provides the Holy Quran for reading in a very unique and easy way, with an interface giving the impression that you really are holding the Quran.

Arabic/Islamic Greetings - Eid Mubarak عيد مبارك

Eid mubarak ( عيد مبارك) is a traditional Muslim greeting reserved for use on the festivals of Eid ul-Adha and Eid ul-Fitr.

The phrase translates into English as “blessed festival“, and can be paraphrased as “may you enjoy a blessed festival”.

Muslims wish each other Eid Mubarak after performing the Eid prayer.

This celebration continues till the end of the day. It is notable that saying these exact words is a cultural tradition influenced by deep roots of religion in it; however, it is not part of any religious obligations.

Eid refers to the occasion itself, and Mubarak is roughly ‘may it become good for you’, but the phrase is used in the same context that “Merry Christmas” would be.

Throughout the Muslim world there are numerous other ways of greeting for Eid ul-Adha and Eid ul-Fitr.

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“This (butcher) is trying to kill me!”

Eid al-Adha (Arabic: عيد الأضحى ‘Īd ul-’Aḍḥā) is a religious festival celebrated by Muslims and Druze worldwide as a commemoration of Ibrahim’s (Abraham’s) willingness to sacrifice his son, as commanded by Allah. (Muslim tradition names Ishmael as the son who was to be sacrificed, whereas the Judeo-Christian tradition names Isaac.)

It is one of two Eid festivals celebrated by Muslims, whose basis comes from the Quran.[1] (Muslims in Iran celebrate a third, non-denominational Eid.)

Like Eid el-Fitr, Eid ul-Adha begins with a shortprayer followed by a sermon (khuṭba).

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Eid ul-Fitr ( عيد الفطر ), often abbreviated to Eid, is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. Eid is an Arabic word meaning “festivity”, while Fiṭr means “to break the fast” (and can also mean “nature”, from the word “fitrah”) and so symbolizes the breaking of the fasting period.

Eid ul-Fitr starts the day after Ramadan ends, and is verified by the sighting of the new moon. Muslims give money to the poor and wear their best clothes.

Eid ul-Fitr lasts three days and is called “The Lesser Eid” ( العيد الصغير al-‘īdu ṣ-ṣaghīr) compared with the Eid ul-Adha that lasts four days and is called “The Greater Eid” ( العيد الكبير al-‘īdu l-kabīr).

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Calligraphic signs of Eid Greetings

Best greetings and wishes for the blessed (happy) Eid

More greetings signs

Arabic-speaking parrots!

This is an interesting video containing footage of Lulu - an Arab-speaking parrot with a native-like accent!

It was trained by a Arab person from Abu-Dhabi, in UAE over a period of four years.

His trainer taught the parrot to greet visitors to his home with “Assalamu Alaikum السلام عليكم ” and to bid them farewell with “Massalamah السلامة”

Lulu knows some Ayahs (verses) from the Qur’an namely “Surah Ikhlas” and how to make dua (i.e. prayer) for Muslim men and women - specifically asking for them to have forgiveness from God.

He also knows how to say “In the name of Allah, the most gracious the most beneficial بسم الله الرحمان الرحيم ” and “God is Great الله أكبر “

What other words/expressions can you recognise?

How does he greet and bid farewell to his trainer’s guests?

What is the Arabic for “guests”?

When does LuLu usually offer his prayers?

How did LuLu pray for the deceased?

This second video clip shows another parrot who speaks Arabic with an asian accent. His owner, who is from Pakistan, trained the parrot to recite the Qur’an, especially Sura Al-Fatiha ( الفاتحة ) and Al-Ikhlas ( الإخلاص )

What other words/expressions can you recognise?

Cultural/Religious Virtual Arabic Realia: Basmala - بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Basmala (Arabic بسملة) is an Arabic language noun which is used as the collective name of the whole of the recurring Islamic phrase bismi-llāhi ar-raḥmāni ar-raḥīmi .

This phrase constitutes the first verse of every “sura” (or chapter) of the Qur’an, and is used in a number of contexts by Muslims.

It is recited several times as part of Muslim daily prayers, and it is usually the first phrase in the preamble of the constitutions of Islamic countries.

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

bismi-llāhi ar-raḥmāni ar-raḥīmi

“In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful”

Arabic-speaking Christians sometimes use the Basmala to refer to the Christian liturgical formula :

“In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit”

(باسم الآب والابن والروح القدس,

bismi-l-’abi wa-ll-ibniwa-rr-rūḥi lqudusii)

Calligraphic Signs of Al-Basmala

In Arabic calligraphy, Al-Basmala is the most prevalent motif for calligraphy artists - Have a look at these amazing calligraphic writings:

Can you decipher the letters /words?

Calligraphy created by Sudanese artist Hassan Musa

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Islamic/Arabic Calligraphic Signs of Al-Basmala from China

Haji Noor Deen MiGuangjiangg is a master Arabic calligrapher and Chinese Muslim. He is normally invited to the Edinburgh Islam Festival every year. The following are samples of his work :

Another calligraphic sign of Al-Basmala inside a mosque in China

Ajmerikhawaja.com

Flickr.com

Muiz.co.uk

Find out more

Basmala (Wikipedia)

Saying Bismillah - Virtues and Occasions- Collection of Sayings from Authentic Hadiths

Haji noor deen

Key religious expressions/sayings (Digital flashcards/PDF)

Cultural/Religious Virtual Realia: The Islamic Call to Prayer (Adhan) - الآذان

Adhan (Azaan) (آذان ) is the Islamic call to prayer, recited by the muezzin (المؤذن).

The root of the word is ( أذن - adhana) i.e. “to permit”, and another derivative of this word is أذن (uḏun), meaning “ear.”

Adhan is called out by the muezzin from a minaret of a mosque five times a day summoning Muslims for fard (mandatory) salah (prayers).

There is a second call known as إقامة iqama that summons Muslims to line up for the beginning of the prayers.

Text of the Adhan

Arabic

أَذَان

Transliteration

aḏān, azaan, adhaan

Translation

call to prayer

Recital	Arabic	Transliteration	Translation
4x	الله اكبر	Allah u Akbar	God is The Greatest*
2x	اشهد ان لا اله الا الله	Ash-hadu allā ilāha illallāh	I bear witness that there is no lord except God
2x	اشهد ان محمدا رسول الله	Ash-hadu anna Muhammadan rasūlullāh	I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of God
2x	حي على الصلاة	Hayya ‘alas-salāt	Make haste towards prayer
2x	حي على الفلاح	Hayya ‘alal-falāh	Make haste towards welfare [success]
2x	الله اكبر	Allah u akbar	God is greatest
1x	لا اله الا الله	Lā ilāha illallāh	There is no lord except God

Video clip of the Adhan

Watch this video clip of the Adhan from Makkah (this is one of the most-known Adhan among Muslims in the Muslim world)

Adhan from Tureky

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This video clip shows the transliteration and meaning of the Adhan

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Amzing facts about the Adhan

• Wherever there are Muslims around the world, the Adhan is recited 5 times a day in the following times :
  • ِdawn الفجر
  • noon, الظهر
  • mid-afternoon, العصر
  • sunset, المغرب
  • night العشاء
• So, if you happen to travel to the Arab world, you will defenitely hear the Adhan throughout the day.
• One of the amazing facts that has been establised is that there is not even a single moment when hundreds of thousands of Muazzins (callers to prayer) around the world are not calling the Adhan on the surface of this earth. Even as you read this material right now, you can be sure there are at least thousands of people who are hearing and reciting the Adhan! Read more

This video illustrates the continuity of the Adhan around the earth

Poster of the Adhan & Iqama transcript

The Adhan at the Dawn prayer is slightly different from the other Adhan.

What line is added to the Adhan at dawn time? (Look at the red arrow above)

What happens when the Adhan is announced?

• What do you understand from this TV advert?

Screenshot of an electronic Adhan software

The software allows you to hear automatic Athan at the right time five times a day. The most popular religious software according to download.com

Many Muslims (Arabs and non-Arabs) who live outside the Muslim world rely on electronic tools to remind them of the exact prayer times.

As a language learning exercise, compare the following screenshots:

Notice the prayer times, different types of Adhan, volume controls etc…

What new words did you learn?

Source of screenshot: IslamicFinder.org

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Where is the Adhan called out from?

Minarets (manara (lighthouse) منارة, but more usually مئذنة) are distinctive architectural features of Islamic mosques. Minarets are generally tall spires with onion-shaped crowns, usually either free standing or much taller than any surrounding support structure.

As well as providing a visual cue demarcating a Muslim community center and territory, the call to prayer is traditionally given from the top of the minaret.

In some of the oldest mosques, such as the Great Mosque of Damascus, minarets originally served as watchtowers illuminated by torches (hence the derivation of the word from the Arabic nur, meaning “light”).

In more recent times, the main function of the minaret was to provide a vantage point from which the muezzin can call out the adhan, calling the faithful to prayer.

In most modern Mosques, the adhan is called not in the minaret, but in the musallah, or prayer hall, via a microphone and speaker system.

In a practical sense, these are also used for natural air conditioning.

As the sun heats the dome, air is drawn in through open windows and up and out of the shaft, thereby causing a natural ventilation.

Minarets have been described as the “gate from heaven and earth”, and as the Arabic language letter alif (which is a straight vertical line).

The world’s tallest minaret (at 210 meters) is located at the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, Morocco.

The world’s tallest brick minaret is Qutub Minar located in Delhi, India.

There are two 230 meter tall minarets under construction in Tehran, Iran.

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Find out more

Adhan - Wikipedia

Virtual Video Film Realia: “The Message” film - فيلم الرسالة

The Message (Wikipedia)

Mohammad, Messenger of God (retitled The Message for U.S. release) is a 1976 film directed by Moustapha Akkad, chronicling the life and times of the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad. Released in both the Arabic language and the English language (Arabic name is الرسالة–English: Ar Risalah), Mohammad, Messenger of God serves as an introduction to early Islamic history.

The film was nominated for an Oscar in 1977 for Best Music, Original Score for the music by Maurice Jarre

فيلم الرسالة

من ويكيبيديا، الموسوعة الحرة

فيلم الرسالة أنتج للعرض السينمائي أخرجه المخرج السوري الأمريكي الراحل مصطفى العقاد. يحكي الفيلم قصة الرسالة النبوية التي بشرت بمجيء الاسلام.

أنتج الفيلم من نسختين واحدة بالعربية وأخرى بالإنجليزية وكانت العربية من بطولة عبدالله غيث في دور حمزة بن عبد المطلب أما الإنجليزية فمن بطولة أنطوني كوين بنفس الدور. وأدت البطولة النسائية الممثلة السورية منى واصف في دور هند بنت عتبة وأدت الممثلة العالمية أيرين باباس الدور نفسه في النسخة العالمية. وبلغت تكلفة إنتاج الفيلم للنسختين العربية والأجنبية حوالي 17 مليون دولار، وحققت النسخة الأجنبية وحدها أرباحاً تقدر بأكثر من 10 أضعاف هذا المبلغ.

Thanks to YouTube, now you can watch the full English version of the movie from start to finish - Enjoy!

The Message 1976 (2hrs 55mins)