Q. What is the ruling on reading Jummah when you're at work because depending on your job/employer it’s not always possible to read Jummah Salah in this country? So what should one do?

A. In the name of Allah the Most Beneficent and Merciful.

Jummah prayer is only an obligation if it fits the following six qualifiers:

1. An Islamic State or ruler (sultan) has allowed the Jummah to be prayed.
2. It has to be a city or town where the Jummah is to be prayed (i.e. not a village).
3. It must be prayed during Dhuhr time on a Friday.
4. It must be prayed in congregation with a minimum of 1 Imam and 3 followers. (According to the Shafi'i Madhab it must be 40 followers as a minimum.)

Articles in Issue 15 of The Revival:

What's He Chattin' About?

Editorial: Thank God I'm A British Muslim!
By Sajid Iqbal

Jet2.com Competition: Win 2 Tickets to Tunisia!

Adam & Eve In The Qur'an
By Imaani Aslam

Life Of An Outlaw - Exclusive Interview With Former Rapper Napoleon
By Ya'qub Bell & Imaani Aslam

The Revival Sky Dive!

Q & A
By Shaykh Salim Ghisa

Ali & Jamal
By Irfan Khan & Sajid Iqbal

The Revival Guide To The World Cup 2010
By Shmoun Maqsood

World Cup 2010: Fantasy Football - Muslim Style!
By Shmoun Maqsood

The whole issue of singing is controversial, whether it is with musical accompaniment or not. Some issues succeeded to gain the Muslim scholars’ agreement, while others failed.

All scholars have unanimous view on the prohibition of all forms of singing and music that incites debauchery, indecency, or sin.

As for musical instruments, given the weakness of the evidence indicating that they are forbidden, the rule to be applied here is the one states that all things are originally deemed permissible as long as there is no Shari`ah text that prohibits them.

Desires... what comes to mind when you hear this word, would it go along the lines of “wow that girl/guy is fit”, “a wild night of clubbing with mates”, “smoking and getting high on drugs”, “driving a beamer to impress the ladies” or is it “being with my boyfriend/girlfriend” ... you get the point right?

When you do any of the above it is out of enjoyment, it’s great being “loved” by someone who says he/she will do anything for you (ever tried asking them to jump off a cliff for you?), it’s great dancing to the music in the club and at the same time checking out fit gals/guys and pulling and how wonderful is it when you’re joy riding, all this dangerous excitement, how cool does it feel?!

My journey to Egypt was the first time I had ever set foot in an Islamic country, and because I had recently become a Muslim, I went there with a mixture of excitement and trepidation.

Would it live up to my expectations or was I in for a horrible let-down? Arabs are famous for their generosity and hospitality, but I’d also been told scare-stories of tourists who’d been duped into being parted with their money. I travelled with two brothers: one Malaysian and one Filipino.

The Revival's Humayra Sadiq had the opportunity to talk exclusively to Sami Yusuf about his latest single: ‘You Came to Me.’ Here he tells us about his albums, his charity work and his plans for the future.

Br Sami, Jazakallah for agreeing to take the time out to do the interview with the Revival Magazine.

My pleasure, no problem at all!

You have had a lot of success in the past few years. What inspired you to go down the line of music? Was it something you’ve always wanted to do?

Well, yes I mean everyone – at some point - kind of searches deep inside their souls to find out they have one, or perhaps few, multiple talents that they think they can use and utilise to contribute in their field. For me that ‘one’ talent was music.

By Irfan Jalil

This is an online exclusive article added to the website for Issue 14.

From the death of Jesus and World War I to the death of Tupac and 9/11, Jews get the blame for anything that goes wrong and everything that is bad. It's as if they control the world and whatever they say goes. All perfectly plausible you might think. But this idea that a group of people secretly plot major events and manipulate political happenings from behind the scenes is called a conspiracy theory.

There are many words we read and hear but aren’t too sure what they mean. So The Revival attempts to define some Islamic terms used in this issue...

Alim/Alimah – a man/woman of knowledge, a scholar, especially in the sciences of Islam.

Fiqh – the science of the application of the Sharia. A practitioner or expert in Fiqh is called a Faqih.

Fard al-'ayn - an individual obligation.

Fard al-kifaya - a collective obligation, something which is obligatory for the community as a whole and is satisfied if one adult performs it.

Ghiba – backbiting, slander, mentioning anything about a person that they would dislike to hear, even if it is true.