The Big Shield (Jawshan Kabir) The Big Shield or Jawshan Kabir (Jawshan Kabeer , Al-Jawshan al Kabir, جَوْشَن ٱلْكَبِير) is a Islamic prayer that contains 1001 names and attributes of God. Jawshan means “steel plate” or “mail” and thus the name of the prayer refers to Muhammad’s heavy armor in battle. According...
Prayers For The Environment The environment the sum total of all surroundings of a living organism, including natural forces and other living things, which provide conditions for development and growth as well as of danger and damage. The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally, meaning in this case not artificial....
Salah In Polar Regions This article covers how to perform salah in Polar Regions. Five prayers a day are compulsory in Islam. However, in the extreme Polar Regions, a day or a night lasts six months each, in the sense that the sun is always visible or always invisible. So,...
Belief Enables Man To Attain True Humanity Belief enables man to attain true humanity and to acquire a position above all other creatures. Thus, belief and worship are the most fundamental and important duties of man. Unbelief, by contrast, reduces him to the state of a brutal but extremely impotent beast....
Wudu: A Prescription for Good Health Here is a grand prescription from among the many marvels of the Qur’an. The day will come when even non-Muslims will imitate the Muslim wudu or washing before prayer, a privilege and favour Muslims have enjoyed for more than fourteen hundred years. And they...
Imam Imam (إمام imām; plural: أئمة aʼimmah: “leader,” “model”) in a general sense, one who leads Muslim worshippers in prayer. In a global sense, imam is used to refer to the head of the Muslim community (ummah). The title is found in the Qurʾān several times to refer to leaders and to Abraham. The origin and basis...
Contemplation Quotes We have collected and put the best contemplation quotes. Enjoy reading these insights and feel free to share this page on your social media to inspire others. Whilst in the life of the intellect ‘contemplation‘ refers to thinking profoundly about something, in the religious life contemplation is a kind of...
Amen Amen is used in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic worship, as a concluding word, or as a response to a prayer. Amen is a declaration of affirmation first found in the Hebrew Bible, and subsequently in the New Testament. Common English translations of the word amen include “verily”, “truly”, and “so...
Book Of Common Prayer Book of Common Prayer (BCP) is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English Reformation following the break...
Pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life....
What Is A Hymn? A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word hymn derives from Greek ὕμνος (hymnos), which means “a song of praise“. A writer of hymns is known...
What Is A Chant? A chant (“to sing”) is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes to highly complex musical structures, often including a great deal of repetition of musical...
Recitation A recitation in a general sense is the act of reciting from memory, or a formal reading of verse or other writing before an audience. Academic recitation In academia, recitation is a presentation made by a student to demonstrate knowledge of a subject or to provide instruction to others. In some academic institutions the term is used...
Christian Child’s Prayer A Christian child’s prayer is Christian prayer recited primarily by children that is typically short, rhyming, or has a memorable tune. It is usually said before bedtime, to give thanks for a meal, or as a nursery rhyme. Many of these prayers are either quotes from the Bible, or set traditional texts. While...
Petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some official and signed by numerous individuals. A petition may be oral rather than written, or...
Invocation An invocation (from the Latin verb invocare “to call on, invoke, to give”) may take the form of: Supplication, prayer or spell. A form of possession. Command or conjuration. Self-identification with certain spirits. These forms are described below, but are not mutually exclusive. See also Theurgy. Supplication or prayer As a supplication or prayer it implies to call upon God, a god, goddess, or...
Curse Tablet A curse tablet (tabella defixionis, defixio; κατάδεσμος katadesmos) is a small tablet with a curse written on it from the Greco-Roman world. The tablets were used to ask the gods, place spirits, or the deceased to perform an action on a person or object, or otherwise compel the subject of the curse....
Curse A curse (also called an imprecation, malediction, execration, malison, anathema, or commination) is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to one or more persons, a place, or an object. In particular, “curse” may refer to such a wish or pronouncement made effective by a supernatural or spiritual power,...
Ardas The Ardas (ਅਰਦਾਸ) is a set prayer in Sikhism. It is a part of worship service in a Gurdwara (Sikh temple), daily rituals such as the opening the Guru Granth Sahib for prakash (morning light) or closing it for sukhasan (night bedroom) in larger Gurdwaras, closing of congregational worship in smaller Gurdwaras, rites-of-passages such as with the naming of child...
Worshipping And Praying Within Sight Of Our Children There should be a place and time for performing our prayers at home. We should either perform our prayers at home in congregation, if possible, or we should take our children to the mosque, holding their hands on the way. The latter...