Arabic Words Written in English Characters

Thank you for your comment tatortots71. Here is the "quick reference" guide to Arabic letters that do not have English counterparts and, therefore, are represented by numbers.

2 = eh' (sounds a bit like a cute/light hiccup)

3 = ein (hard, deep, guttural)

5 = kh (hard, back of the throat)

7 = ha (hard, deep, guttural "h")

' = used as a verbal "pause" within a word

I, truly, have NO idea where this system came from or who or how it was invented, but it is fairly common when writing Arabic words with English characters.

Just to give you a little background on the Arabic language. We have 28 letters (not much more than the 26 in English). However, like most languages that originate from sanskrit, the "vowels" are represented by characters above and below the consonants. These are in addition to the 28.

Arabic has a few that do not exist in English and there are a few in English that do not exist in Arabic. For example, there is no "P" in Arabic. So, when you visit the Middle East, you'll probably hear people say "Bebsi" for Pepsi and "Bizza" for pizza. My personal favorite is "beoble" for "people." You guys get the idea. =)

If you'd like additional information on the language of Arabic (in the "SEMITIC" language family ... btw), I found Wikipedia to be a decent source on this particular topic and you can read more here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_language

I hope that helps. Please keep the questions coming.

Amazing Community

Thanks for your question/comment anonymous.  It was a great community, and a great experience overall, but given that I am trying to keep some anonymity myself ... I'd rather not say where I was on this blog.  If you'd like more information, please feel free to e-mail me at askamuslimnow@gmail.com and I would be happy to give you that masjid's information personally.  

I hope you understand.  

Please keep the questions coming!

Prophet vs. Messenger

Anonymous, thank you for your question and your compliment. They are both sincerely appreciated.

It is said, "Every messenger is a prophet, but not all prophets are messengers."

As I stated in a previous post, there were thousands of prophets.  The word for prophet in Arabic is "nabi."  We do not know all of them by name, obviously.  But, paraphrased, there is a verse in the Qur'an that states "God sent a prophet to every people (widely accepted to mean every "tribe") on Earth."

Of these thousands, there were over 300 messengers.  The word for messenger in Arabic is "rasoul."  Again, we do not know all of them by name.  What we do know is that these men came down with "books" or "messages" that added to the previous messenger's.  These men changed the course of humanity.

The Qur'an eludes to prophets and their books ("kitabs" in Arabic).

As I mentioned before, there are five "super prophets" or "super messengers."  These messengers changed more in their time on Earth than all the others.  They are Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Mohamed (pbut).

If you think about it - regardless of your own religious beliefs, or lack of religious beliefs, you've probably heard of these men.  Most people are aware, regardless of their own backgrounds, of at least a portion of their stories.  Even if you find them to merely be men of history or if their stories are merely fables to you - you have still heard of them.

Noah (pbuh) had a boat and there was a great flood.  He boarded the human believers and animals onto the ark, two by two.  It rained for 40 days and 40 nights until it stopped.  Once it stopped, humanity started over - a clean slate.

Abraham (pbuh) is known as the "father" of the religion - which is true whether you are Jewish, Christian, or Muslim.  The story of his two wives.  The story of God testing him to sacrifice his only son and then, in God's mercy, sending down a lamb in place of Ishmael.  The man who built the corner stone of the faith (figuratively and literally in Jerusalem and in Mecca).

Moses (pbuh) talked to God.  He actually HEARD God's voice.  From the house of Pharaoh, where he was a prince of Egypt to being treated like a slave.  The ten commandments and leading the chosen people out of Egypt and into Canaan.  He was the messenger of the Torah or Old Testament.

Jesus (pbuh) was born of the Virgin Mary.  He cured the sick and brought back the dead.  He healed all wounds - physical and spiritual.  He is the promised one and the Messiah.  He shall return.  He was the messenger of the New Testament.

Mohamed (pbuh) was the seal of all prophets.  He is the final messenger and served to remind humanity of Jesus' words and all the words of God from the mouths of all the prophets who came before him.  He is the spirit of truth.  He was the messenger of the Qur'an, which was the book to combine all books.  The "final version" and the only one where God promises that the words will be protected.

These men changed mankind and the history of mankind on Earth forever.

Prophets, like Adam (pbuh), were God's chosen men to guide the people.  Adam (pbuh) is a bit of a hard example, I'll admit.  He was the first man.  A creation of God almighty.  He wasn't a messenger, but he and Eve (may God be pleased with her) served as the guides for the first human beings on Earth.  How to live life.  How to love God.  How to worship Him.  They laid the foundation of morality.

This is the difference between a prophet and a messenger.  So again, every messenger is a prophet (since they too reaffirm the words of those before them) but not every prophet is a messenger.  Does that make sense?

I should also say, after every blog really, that if there are any mistakes here, they are my own and they do not reflect on God and his prophets nor on Islam.  I do my best to disseminate information in the hopes of educating, but I am only human, therefore fallible.  Please read and accept my words, knowing that I write them with the best of intentions.  Should I be wrong, please forgive my transgressions.

I hope you found this helpful.  Please keep the questions coming.

Jum3ah

Today is Friday, the "holy day" for Muslims. I am in a new city, helping a friend of mine, and while they were at work I decided to find a masjid (proper Arabic for "mosque") and go to Jum3ah (when writing an Arabic word in English - numbers are used to represent letters that do not exist in the English language: 3 = "ein") or Friday Prayer. Fortunately, there was one within WALKING distance of their house - which in America has NEVER happened to me. I was so happy! 

I took a walk and ended up there very early because it was closer than I thought. The masjid was still locked up! I saw a brother walking in, he was African-American and his name was Ali.

"Assalamu alaikum, sister," he said. "Come, come. You can enter through this door. Where are you from?"

I answered.

"I used to be on the police force there!" he said.

"What do you do now?" I asked.

"I am a US Marshall," he said with this bright grin on his face. "Ironic, isn't it? A Muslim, US Marshall."

I had to laugh. He led me through the masallah (where prayers are conducted) to the area where men and women can make wudu'.

Wudu' is a ritual that Muslims perform to wash up before prayer. Cleanliness is of the utmost importance in Islam. Especially given that Muslims believe that when they stand together to pray, they are literally, standing in the presence of God. I made my wudu' and came back to the masallah.

"Assalamu alaikum," said a gentlemen dressed like an imam. (An "imam" is the Muslim title for our religious leader - much like "priest" or "rabbi" or "father"). It turns out he was. He was an older gentlemen, probably right around his 50s. He looked like such a kind soul.

"This sister is visiting us," said brother Ali.

"Welcome, sister," said the imam.

I thanked them both for their assistance and making me feel welcome and went to take advantage of being there so early by reading the Qur'an.

Masjids have a male and female prayer section. I was in the woman's section and then I hear a polite knock on the door. I look up and its the imam. "Assalamu alaikum, sister. Then in Arabic, he says, "Do you speak Arabic?"

"Yes," I answered in Arabic.

"Where are you from?" he asked.

I told him and then I asked "and you?"

"Syria," he said. "Would you like some tea?"

"Please." I answered.

In my head, I was smiling and thinking, "Where are all those critics now? The ignorant ones that say Arab men treat women badly or say that Islam doesn't respect women or treats women as second class citizens ... where are they? Why can't they witness an ARAB IMAM make me tea!"

He left and timidly re-appeared a few moments later with a light knocking on the sister's entrance with the hot tea.

"Please, come and drink," he said.

I closed the Qur'an I was reading, got up and sat with him outside. We sat and talked about where we were from, about our lives, our families as Muslims started to file in for Friday prayer.

"Assalamu alaikum," they would stop in and say.

"Wa alaikum assalam," we would answer and then go back to our conversation.

He was a very kind, gentle spoken man. The congregation was not huge, but large enough given where I was in America. It was nice because no nationality was dominant. Indians, Malaysians, Indonesians, Pakistanis, all types of Arabs, white American converts, African American converts, Latino converts. It was amazing!

They were a tight knit community as well. Everyone calling out the other and giving salaams by name and they made me feel most welcome.

It was a great day! A day that broke through the stereotypes I attempt to break through every day I walk out of my front door and here, in this little community, you could see the "truth" with you own two eyes. It was refreshing.

I hope that, should I visit my friend again, I will have the opportunity to visit this masjid again. I truly felt the presence of God there - in the purest form. Several people looking past their own cultures to come together as one "ummah" (Arabic for community) to worship and praise the one God in unison. Not as black or white, Arab or non-Arab, man or woman ... but as one voice - the central theme of Islam.

Thanks for your comments!

Islam does not "designate" someone with the phrase, "Prophet." God gives them that "title." So, I suppose, to answer your question this is not a man-made process and therefore is nothing like Catholics and canonizing saints and nothing like Mormons either.

It is said, and widely accepted in Islam, that there were THOUSANDS of prophets. Given that there is a verse in the Qur'an that states that "God sent a prophet for every tribe on Earth."

There are only 28 listed, by name, in the Qur'an.

Of those 28, there are 5 who are "heavy hitters" as they were also "messengers" in addition to their prophethood. These 5 are Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Mohamed (pbut). These men came down with "books" that made the most changes to the world and added to the message that preceded their own.

Notice I say "ADDED." Each message (text) was revealed to correct the people or remind them of the message of those past. None of the prophets came up with a "new" message. Mohamed reiterated the message of Jesus. Jesus reiterated the message of Moses. Moses reiterated David and David reiterated Noah (pbut).

Does that answer your question tatortots71?

Note: (pbut) = peace be upon them - said after prophet's names as a sign of respect in Islam

As for "Hadith," it is another source important in Islam. The Qur'an is believed, by Muslims to actually BE THE words of God. God revealed these verses to the Angel Gabriel (may God be pleased with him) and the Angel Gabriel took those words to the Prophet Mohamed (pbuh) to deliver to the people. There is a verse in the Qur'an that states that for everything not found in this text or for any clarification for that which the people didn't understand, they should look to their prophet (Mohamed (pbuh) in this case) for answers.

Those answers to questions and a living document of how the prophet Mohamed (pbuh) lived his life, so we could emulate him - as he is our teacher, were recorded. Those records are called "Hadith."

After the prophet Mohamed (pbuh) died, unfortunately people tried to take advantage to restore "tribal traditions" that Islam had eradicated by stating "I heard the prophet say ..." Obviously, those sayings were untrue. To me, this seems to repeat the history of what I believe "Saint" Paul did to the message of the prophet Jesus (pbuh).

For hadith, the person who reported it (meaning the source) is just as important as the words itself. In the sunni tradition, "Al-Bukhari" and "Muslim" are the two strongest sources and therefore held in high regards as true "hadiths" or sayings or actions of the prophet Mohamed (pbuh). Shi'ite tradition have their own sources as well. Other hadith reported by obscure people are considered "weak" or not well supported and therefore, might be false.

So, as Islam teaches, one must ask questions and conduct research before just following blindly.

Becca, I hope that answers your question.

Please, anyone out there, PLEASE keep asking questions! Together we will all learn something new and hopefully have a better understanding of one another.

How about we start from the beginning?

Since the hope is that I will help educate people on Islam, I have been thinking where does one start? Given that my hope and is to show people that we have much more in common than we have in differences, how about we start with the very first man, and first prophet of Islam - Adam (pbuh)?

Just a note - as a Muslim - we hold all prophets with the utmost respect. This is shown by saying "Peace Be Upon Him" after we state their names, which is notated in writing with "(pbuh)."

I am sure I'll need to take this in parts, given that this story is the beginning of several things. It is the beginning of:

1) Mankind (first man, first woman)
2) Life on this Earth
3) The "fight" of good vs. evil

For the most part, the "story" is the same between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. God created Adam (pbuh) from dust/clay. He breathed life (the soul) into Adam (pbuh). Adam (pbuh) had something that no other creation of God's had - the ability to reason, which equals free will.

(Hadith - Sahih Al-Bukhari)
"God created Adam from a handful of dust taken from different lands, so the children of Adam have been created according to the composition of the land. Therefore, from mankind we have white, red, black, and yellow ones; we have good and evil, ease and sorrow, and what comes in between them."

(Qur'an - 38: 71-72)
"Truly, I am going to create man from clay. So, when I have fashioned him and breathed into him his soul created by Me, then you (angels) fall down to prostrate to him."

So far, all three monotheistic faiths are on the same path.

Help a Brother Out!

Today's entry is more of a reminder that God works in mysterious ways than a "lesson."

I had a horrible day yesterday! I got some bad news on a personal note and then as I was reeling from that, trying to process the information, I got a phone call. It was United Airlines, telling me my flight home for the weekend, my father's birthday, has been canceled!

I was on the phone, trying everything in my power to get on another flight. I finally got one, but from an airport far, far away. Instead of being thankful that I was going to be able to go home, I got upset about the money it would cost me to take a cab there. Sadly, we find ourselves caught up in the material things too easily.

The cabbie came and picked me up. We exchanged plesentries, but my head was in my hands. I was upset and my mind was going a mile a minute. I called my mother and left her a message to inform her of my flight changes. He must have heard me say "Assalamu alaikum ..." or perhaps he assumed, because I was speaking Arabic, but he said "Are you OK, sister?"

I raised my head from my hands and looked up at him, a bit surprised. He said, "You are Muslim, right?"

"Yes," I answered.

"Can I tell you something, sister?"

"Sure," I answered.

"I can say this to you because, as a Muslim, you will understand what I mean. I was just talking to my brother and telling him that I was worried about my business. Today has been very slow. A few dollars here, a few dollars there. He reminded me that I should be thankful, so I said 'alhamdulilah' (Arabic for Thanks be to God or Thank God). I hung up with him. A few minutes later, I got the call to go pick you up and here you are, going a far distance." He grinned and then his face lit up as he continued, "And your a sister giving to your brother."

I felt foolish. I smiled back at him and whole-heartedly replied, "Alhamdulilah."

"I am sorry that you had a rough day sister, but there is always a reason. Today, it seems that I am your reason. You had to go down your rough path today in order for you to be in the position to help me now. And who knows? Maybe there is something bad that is going to happen and God averted your course, so you would not meet with whatever bad thing. Now insha'Allah, everything will be fine for the both of us."

I couldn't stop smiling, sheepishly, but smiling none-the-less. "You are right, brother, thank you for reminding me of what is important and of God's mercy."

As I got to the airport, finally, I was no longer upset about the money. In fact, I decided to exercise another one of Islam's lessons - giving to those in need. I handed him more than enough and like a true brother, he thanked me and didn't bother counting it. He just said "alhamdulilah" and put the cash in his pocket.

He helped me with my bags and wished me a safe journey. "Remember sister, this life is merely a test for the true believers. God tests you because he loves you."

I wanted to cry. I felt a huge, emotional release, and suddenly things didn't feel so heavy. "Thank you brother, for reminding me of what's important. God sent you to me today, as the sign I needed."

He seemed happy with this statement of mine. "He sent us to each other. Assalamu alaikum."

"Wa alaikum assalam."

And with a kind wave of his hand, he was gone. The feeling in my heart, however, is still with me, and I hope it never leaves.