CSS, PCS, ISSB and other Competitive examination preparation

1. How many stages the Quran contains? (a) 8  (b) 7  (c) 9  (d) 12 NOTE:    For the convenience of people who wish to read the  Qur'an  in a week the text may be divided into 7 portions, each portion is known as  Manzil.  he following division to 7 equal portions is by Hamza Al-Zayyat. Al-Fatihah (chapter 1) through An-Nisa' (chapter 4) consisting of 4 surahs. Al-Ma'ida (chapter 5) through At-Tawba (chapter 9) consisting of 5 surahs. Yunus (chapter 10) through An-Nahl (chapter 16) consisting of 7 surahs. Al Isra' (chapter 17) through Al-Furqan (chapter 25) consisting of 9 surahs. Ash-Shuara' (chapter 26) through Ya-Seen (chapter 36) consisting of 11 surahs. As-Saaffat (chapter 37) through Al-Hujarat (chapter 49) consisting of 13 surahs. Qaf (chapter 50) through An-Nass (chapter 114) consisting of 65 surahs.

THE ISLAMIC DEPICTION OF MOSQUE  1.  How much  Surah the Quran contains: a.124  b.109  c. 114  d. 220 Note:  The Quran contains  114 surahs , amoung which   Makki Surahs   86 . and  Madani Surahs 28.  A common myth persists that the number of verses in the Quran is  6,666 . In fact, the total number of verses in all chapters is  6,236 , although this varies depending on how (or if) the Basmala appearing at the start of each chapter are counted. 2. The Nisab of Zakat in gold is: a.18 Tolas  b. 24 Tolas  c. 7 ½ Tolas  d. 35 Tolas NOTE:  Zakat is paid at almost a uniform rate of 2 1/2%. The minimum standard of surplus of wealth over which Zakat is charged is known as Nisab. It differs with different kinds of property. In case of silver it is 52 1/2 Tolas (634 grams), in case of gold it is 7 1/2 Tolas (88 grams). The Nisab for cash is the same as that of gold and silver....

  1. Firstly the difference was constitutional. The Orthodox Caliphate was an elective republican state. The Umayyad Caliphate, on the contrary, became a hereditary monarch. 2. Secondly, the Orthodox Caliphate was a religio-political Commonwealth. But Umayyad Caliphate was a secular state, such as could exist in the ancient times. Many of the Umayyad caliphs were not particularly loyal to the Political implication and private lives. 3. Thirdly, though Arabian in origin and personnel, Orthodox Caliphate was not Arabistic in policy and purpose. The Umayyad Caliphate, on the contrary, was as Wellhausen says an Arab Kingdom, that is, a government of the Arabs by the Arabs and for the Arabs. The Arabs formed its ruling class and monopolised its political power and economic privileges. The non-Arabs, even though they be Muslims were excluded from a Share in its government and its political, economic and social benefits. In other words while the Arabs were its f...

Part - I Side-effect The writer is a poet and author based in Islamabad. There may be nothing new for some informed and insightful readers today. But it is important to reiterate what we have gone through at the hands of Western imperial ambition to control the global economy on the one hand and our own intellectual and political frailties across the Muslim world on the other. Today, the combination of the two makes us, and the rest of the world, suffer from the scourge of extreme forms of terrorism in the name of Islam. Who emerged as popular leaders in the Muslim-majority countries of the world in the 1950s and 1960s – irrespective of their internal strife and inconsistencies – with many succeeding to form political governments? Some of the prominent among them were Sukarno in Indonesia, Mohammad Mossadegh in Iran, Gamal Abdel Nasser in Egypt, Ahmed Ben Bella in Algeria, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in Pakistan, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in Bangladesh and Muammar Al-Gaddafi in Lib...

IQBALISM The Khilafat Movement was started by Ulema groups and pan-Islamists after the defeat of Turkey’s Ottoman regime in the First World War. From this tension emerged a man who would become the second major figure in the evolution of Muslim nationalism in India after Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, and, consequently, that of Pakistani nationalism. In fact, he believed that the fall of the Ottoman caliphate in Turkey could be catalytic to the emergence of a renaissance in Islam. He also applauded the takeover of Turkey by Mustafa Kamal — a secular nationalist who abolished the caliphate and declared Turkey to be a modern republic.

For almost 13 centuries, from the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632 to the overthrow of the last Ottoman caliph in 1924, the Islamic world was ruled by a caliph. Translated from the Arabic ‘Khalifa’, the word ‘caliph’ means successor or deputy. The caliph was considered the successor to the Prophet Muhammad. It is a term that has, at times, been abused. In June 2014, an armed group calling itself the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (known as ISIL or ISIS) declared the establishment of a caliphate and proclaimed its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, a caliph. This proclamation was rejected by the overwhelming majority of the world’s Muslims.

·           The ten Commandments were revealed to (HAZRAT MOOSA (A.S)) ·          The Name of sixth Kalmah….. (RadeKufr). ·          The name of kalimah which is recited at the funeral procession is called (Kalima-e-Shahadat) ·          The meaning of Wazu is (Ablution). ·          There are Thirteen Sunnahs in Wazu. ·          There are 4 farz in wazu. ·          Tayamum was ordered in the 4 th Hijri. ·          Tahleel Literally means Recitation of Kalimahs. ·          Hell Consists of 19 Angels. ·          The Holy Book is the 4 th belief of Iman-e-Mu...

Generally, history remembers the victor and forgets the vanquished. However, in some cases to project the image of the winner, his qualities are highlighted while his opponents are downgraded for being inexperienced, incapable and incompetent. In other cases, the loser is projected as energetic and talented but nevertheless unable to defeat his opponent who might have triumphed solely through his determination. In the third case, the loser is completely ignored or treated ignominiously and fails to achieve a place in history. Contemporary historians present Aurangzeb as a brave, dashing and shrewd politician and diplomat. One who could foresee the advent of the civil war and therefore made sure that he was prepared for it by maintaining good relations with influential Mughal nobles and winning over his younger brother Murad, who was a valiant and dauntless warrior. On the other hand, Dara Shikoh does not get favourably treated in the chronicles of history as he lost the battl...

Q: Review briefly the great change brought about by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S A W) in Pre Islamic Arab society with the new values taught by him? (1981) Q: Write down the Salient features of the Religious, Social, and Political conditions of the Arabs, when the Prophet Muhammad PBUH proclaimed his prophet hood. (1986) Q: Throw light on the place of woman in the Jahiliyah period and her exalted position in the City State Madinah? (1989) Q: who was Abraha and with what expedition is he associated and what was its result? Q: Describe the Socio-religious conditions of Arabia at the Advent of the Holy prophet  (PBUH)? Ans: Historical back ground:  The Arabs were the descendants of the Semitic people. It is said that in ancient time there was a place named “Araba” adjacent to the province of Tayama in Hijaz. In course of time the word “Arab” is derived from that “Araba” but according to other Arab it originated from the word of “Yarab” who was the Son o...

1    COFFEE  BEANS  The story goes that an Arab named Khalid was tending his goats in the Kaffa region of southern Ethiopia, when he noticed his animals became livelier after eating a certain berry. He boiled the berries to make the first coffee. Certainly the first record of the drink is of beans exported from Ethiopia to Yemen where Sufis drank it to stay awake all night to pray on

The  Grand Mosque seizure  occurred during November and December 1979 when extremist insurgents calling for the overthrow of the House of Saud took over Al-Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, during the annual Hajj pilgrimage. The insurgents declared that the Mahdi (the "redeemer of Islam") had arrived in the form of one of their leaders – Mohammed Abdullah al-Qahtani – and called on Muslims to obey him.

Battle of Marj-ud-Deebaj  was fought between the  Byzantine army , survivors from the  conquest of Damascus , and the  Rashidun Caliphate army  in September 634. It was a successful raid after three days of armistice, on the  Byzantine  survivors of the conquest of Damascus. BACKGROUND: After the battle of  Ajnadayn , the Arabs took easily all Palestine and most parts of Syria, including  Damascus , after an one-month siege. The Byzantine commander  Thomas , son-in-law of Emperor  Heraclius , after hearing that Muslim troops had entered Damascus at the Eastern gate, wisely tricked the Muslim commanders at the other gates by suing for peace.