The Prophet Muhammad is introduced in the Qur’an in these words:

"And We have not sent you forth but as a mercy to mankind." (Al-Anbiyaa’: 107)

This shows that his distinctive quality was that he was a blessing incarnate in word and deed.

You may be an atheist or an agnostic or you may belong to any of the religious denominations that exist in the world today. You may have been a Communist or a believer in democracy and freedom.

No matter what you are, and no matter what your religious and political beliefs, personal and social habits happen to be - You Still Must Know This Man!

He was by far the most remarkable man that ever set foot on this earth. He preached a religion, founded a state, built a nation, laid down a moral code, initiated numberless social and political reforms, established a dynamic and powerful society to practice and represent his teachings, and he revolutionized the worlds of human thought and human action for all time.

A major part of the Prophet (saw)’s mission was to bring peace to the world.

One of the ways in which he strove towards this end was to attempt to convince people that all men and women, albeit inhabiting very different regions of the world, and different from one another in color, culture and language, et cetera, were in fact blood brothers and sisters.

His message was crucial, for a proper relationship of love and respect can be established only if that is how human beings regard one another. To inculcate such feelings, the Prophet would preach to his followers, "You are all Adam’s offspring and Adam was made of clay." And in his prayers to his Creator, he said, "O Lord, all Your servants are brothers."

The fact that consumption of pork is prohibited in Islam is well known. The following points explain various aspects of this prohibition:

Pork prohibited in Qur’an

The Qur’an prohibits the consumption of pork in no less than 4 different places. It is prohibited in 2:173, 5:3, 6:145 and 16:115.

"Forbidden to you (for food) are: dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which hath been invoked the name of other than Allah." [Al-Qur’an 5:3]

The above verses of the Holy Qur’an are sufficient to satisfy a Muslim as to why pork is forbidden.

Pork prohibited in the Bible

The Christian is likely to be convinced by his religious scriptures. The Bible prohibits the consumption of pork, in the book of Leviticus

France faces difficult days ahead, but let’s not hand the extremists a victory they could not achieve for themselves

The attack on Charlie Hebdo compels us to be clear and to be consistent. We have to condemn what happened in Paris absolutely. I said the same after 7/7 and after 9/11. And after Jordan and Bali and Mali.

As a non-Muslim living in Western society, the idea of modesty was not exactly foremost in my mind. Like all other women of my generation and mind-set, I thought such ideas were antiquated and excessive. I felt pity for the poor Muslim woman who had to "wear all that junk," or "walk around in bed - sheets" as I used to call it.

A set of basic questions and answers on Hajj

1. What are the two major religious celebrations in Islam, and what important events do they correlate with?

Eid ul-Fitr correlates with Ramadan, Eid ul-Adha correlates with the Hajj

2.What is the Hajj, and how many Muslims participate every year?

Hajj is the annual pilgrimage to Makkah and around two million Muslims participate every year.

3.Overall, what do the ceremonies of the Hajj symbolize?

Answer:They symbolize the essential concepts of the Islamic faith, such as monotheism, and commemorate the trials of Prophet Abraham and his family.