Recently I've been trying to be more healthy but previously there's been two times in the year when I have *really* thought about the fact that my body has a right over me; exam period and Ramadan. During exams because I believe any sin I commit and anything wrong I do will affect my memory, my performance and my results. Therefore I have to do the right thing by my body as well as avoiding other wrong things. If only I lived like this every day of my life...I'm trying inshaAllah.

When Lesley Hazleton was writing a biography of Muhammad, she was struck by something: The night he received the revelation of the Koran, according to early accounts, his first reaction was doubt, awe, even fear. And yet this experience became the bedrock of his belief. Hazleton calls for a new appreciation of doubt and questioning as the foundation of faith -- and an end to fundamentalism of all kinds.

Watch the following video:

http://www.ted.com/talks/lesley_hazleton_the_doubt_essential_to_faith.html

Continuing from Part 1

After two more nights of going to the countryside (this time, to the Saddleworth Moors), a few things have become certain:

">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3BnazhRz5E]

What am I going to do without tea in Ramadan?

In the summer months in the UK there is a debate over when Fajr time starts.

The main cause of this is that the sun doesn't go far enough below the horizon for pitch black conditions to occur.

This causes a problem because Fajr time is supposed to be when the "true dawn" starts from pitch black conditions.

Based on the unique conditions of being at such a high latitude, different groups of scholars have come up with different solutions, the most conservative of which is to start Fajr in the middle of the night.

The main solutions are to either use a different point to decide when Fajr starts (hint: the "true dawn" was not the true test of fajr, but a test that worked where tested with the real requirements that were laid out in the Qur'an).

[Just read the bits in bold if it helps]

When democracy doesn't deliver the western friendly face that the people should have voted for, ofcourse he should be appointed after a coup.

Mohammed ElBaradei was the darling face for the western media who would have loved for him to win last years presidential elections to complete a fairytale story. The only problem was that he was little known inside egypt and his bid to become president failed spectacularly.

Now, that is not a problem as he doesn't need to win any popular vote to be appointed Prime Minister. All he has to do is utter a few spineless words. Words supporting the army, condemning the Muslim Brotherhood for "plotting" before the coup. (Plotting what? support for legitimacy).

I wanted to make a collection on the blessings of making wudhu, being in wudhu and sleeping in the state of wudhu, so I'll start off and the rest of you can add what you like here too.

The Egyptian president has fallen, forced out through a combination of mass protest and the military.

I wonder if the people on the street even realise that they have been played by the old guard.

Morsi, from the Muslim Brotherhood, had a tough reign in power, elected only a year ago.

Powerless President

When before the elections it looked like there was a possibility that a Muslim Brotherhood candidate might win, the military had made a decree removing the powers of the president, in essense making him a puppet. Even then they were forced to allow him to be president by the people who at the time did not want a member of the old regime to already subvert the revolution.