Vatican Official: Muslims Outnumber Catholics

Intresting how they don't mention anything about the many people converting from Catholicism (or other religions) into Islam.....

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23885015/?GT1=43001

VATICAN CITY - Islam has surpassed Roman Catholicism as the world's largest religion, the Vatican newspaper said Sunday."For the first time in history, we are no longer at the top: Muslims have overtaken us," Monsignor Vittorio Formenti said in an interview with the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano. Formenti compiles the Vatican's yearbook.

He said that Catholics accounted for 17.4 percent of the world population — a stable percentage — while Muslims were at 19.2 percent."It is true that while Muslim families, as is well known, continue to make a lot of children, Christian ones on the contrary tend to have fewer and fewer," the monsignor said.

Formenti said that the data refer to 2006. The figures on Muslims were put together by Muslim countries and then provided to the United Nations, he said, adding that the Vatican could only vouch for its own data.

When considering all Christians and not just Catholics, Christians make up 33 percent of the world population, Formenti said.

Spokesmen for the Vatican and the United Nations did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment Sunday.

In my memory....

It was very hard to write about my Tayta's death. I spent several hours writing this. Truthfully, words cannot describe it.


One week ago on Sunday February 10, 2007 at 4:45pm my beloved grandmother departed from this life.

She had been ill with cancer for approximately 2 months before she died at age 76. My Tayta lived a long, hard, but very happy life. She always loved to be around her people and always went with a smile on her face. She was everyone's friend, mother, sister and grandmother. She never spoke a mean word and kept her dislikes to herself. She was beautiful.

For three days before her passing, she was very ill. We were by her bedside nonstop, because her energy level was dropping. She had no more physical strength and only used it when she sat up from her bed to do her Namaz, as-salaat.

The night before her death, I showed her the picture of the my newborn cousin, Noor. She cried out, "MashAllah! MashAllah!" It was the last true smile and the last voiced out words I heard from my Tayta. We also told her that my uncle was coming the next day from Missouri. With a smile, she nodded.

Sunday started as a beautiful day. And my Tayta got steadily worse. We gave her painkillers and drops of water to avoid her mouth from drying. We continually checked her blood pressure but, we couldn't get a reading because it was very low. We continually checked her feet to see if it was cold to the touch. Her left foot was cold.

Her eyes started to linger on people or objects. We hardly understood what she was trying to say. We think she started to see beyond. She would look in my direction, but not at me. Several times, she said, "kahwa". Coffee. She might have been telling me get coffee for my mothers friends, or she might have been telling someone else kahwa. She prayed her last salaat, the Dhur at around 2:00.

I cleaned her face and hands with a moist Wet One. She gave me a look of thanks and I kissed her cheeks.At 3:00pm, I told my grandmother that my uncle is coming in a half hour. She looked out the window. And told my mom she wanted my uncle, her youngest son, to read Surat Yasin. We said he would. He arrived at 3:35.

The weather turned blustery cold and snow was swirling in all directions. She asks my uncle how is his family, his wife, son and newborn daughter. He answers that they are all fine. As my uncle was making wudu my Tayta informed us at 3:45 that she had one hour left. She either told us she had one hour or told whoever she saw to give her one hour.

She reads Yasin with my uncle. At this point she is ripping the oxygen tubes away from her face. She kisses my mom's hand. Though she often said that she kisses her mothers hands before she goes to sleep. We gather around her bed and I'm on the phone with the nurse. We know her time is coming, but desperately I ask for help. She starts saying "La-illah-il Allah.." And my mother, father, uncle, my brothers, and 3 of my mother's friends start to say it with her, "La-illah-il Allah, La-illah-il Allah, La-illah-il Allah." Desperately we say it loud, but she motions for us to say it slowly and in normal tones. My uncle holds her eyes shut while my mother holds her mouth/jaw.

She dies peacefully with Allah's name on her lips. It's 4:45 and the wintry blustery wind dies down. It was quick and quite beautiful.

She wasn't afraid. Her faith carried her beautifully from this life. She waited for the new baby and for the arrival of my uncle. It was the most remarkable(?) moment of my life. She was absolutely loved by all. The kindness she bestowed to everyone is reflected by the kindness we receive from everyone. Kind words, messages, phone calls, and tons of food make the sorrow in our hearts lessen. On behalf of my family- an eternity of thanks.

We know she is in a better more beautiful place. Already, some relatives see my Tayta, Allah yirhamha, in their dreams. She is comfortable, al7amdulilah.

The toughest days for me were the day before she died, the day of her death and the 2 days that followed. I only functioned on pure adrenaline and the need to do something. I have since returned to classes and work. Going back to routine and normal life helps keep the grief off my mind. My job now is to take care of my mother, my family and myself. She is my example of strength, goodness, faith and hope.

If I can be a quarter of the woman she is, I'll be very happy. May God give me strength to move on with my life with the excellent example of my grandmother, my Tayta, Allah yirhamha.

Eid Al Adha Mubarak...

Salam....

Wishing you, your family and friends a very enjoyable Eid Al Adha!

May you all be filled with good health, joy and peace....

and, May all our sacrifices and prayers be accepted and all our sins be forgiven, InshAllah.

Astronomy Truths

This is one of my most favorite astronomy photo. It is known in the scientific world as The Cat's Eye Nebula. This photo was taken in 1999 by the Hubble Space Telescope. It is one of the most complex planetary nebulae. The mechanism that gave rise to its complex shape is not well understood.

It is also the rose that was first made famous 1,400 years ago in Surat Ar- Rahman of the Holy Quraan.

Bismillah Ar Rahman Ar Raheem

Quraan (55) Surat Ar Rahman:
37. When the sky is torn apart, so it was (like) a red rose, like ointment

38. Than which of the favours of your Lord will you deny?

With the truth of Islam right in front of people, why can't people see the light, or follow the right path? Why is ignorance or disbelief the chosen mindset of these people? Al7amdulilah, the miracles of Allah are all around us. We just have to open up our minds to the living miracle of the Quraan and give our hearts to Allah, (SWT).

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I just realized that I posted something similar to this before. Whatever, I'm still learning all this blogging stuff. Does me repeating something mean that I'm really passionate about it? Anyway, this post is more specific. Hope you enjoy.

Astronomically speaking...

As-tron-o-my (n): the study of objects and matter beyond the earth's atmosphere.

It is one of my most favorites subjects. Compared to the sheer vastness of the universe, man is but a tiny cell in a ginormous ocean. For as long as man existed, nothing has ever consistently and wholly captured the hearts and imaginations of people.

There is something so humbling about looking up at the universe. There is so much that is left to be explained. When science is close to answering 1 question, 50 more questions arise! Have you ever looked up and tried to count all the stars? Have you ever seen something as beautiful as a shooting star, or something as majestic as a comet streaking across the sky? Have you ever wondered why there is 24 hours in the day or, why the planets move in orbits around the sun, yet never crash with each other.



It's hard to be a disbeliever of God when all you have to do look up at the sky. There is a reason that the moon doesn't fall on top of us, and there is a reason that the sun doesn't stop giving light. There is a reason that the there is order in the universe, and there is a reason that there are things called comets and asteroids. Allah (SWT) is the Grand Master of all things in the universe, and only He holds all the powers and secrets of the universe. The universe that is constantly changing and expanding.

Man, even with all the science and technology, is not the ultimate being. Man is not the all powerful, or the all knowing. There is reason for everything being the way it is, and Allah is the only being that knows.

This link below is one of favorites websites. Since June 1995, there has been a new daily picture that features some part of the majestic cosmos. No picture is repeated, and no amount of science can capture the awe of these photos. It truly is the work of Al- Alim (العليم)... Allah (SWT).

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Ramadan Kareem

I wish you a very happy and sacred Ramadan.
May Allah give you and your family strength & many blessings during this glorious month.
May Allah accept our fast and our humble prayers,
And may Allah show us the path of righteousness and help us continue along it throughout the year.

The Day of Judgement: Major & Minor Signs

Although we don't know when the Day of Judgement, Yawm Al Qayimah, is... these are some signs that tell us that the end is nearer than we think.

The Minor Signs: (in no particular order):
-The coming of the last Prophet, Mohammad (SAW). This has already happened of course.
-The slave will become the master.
-The disappearance of knowledge and the appearance of ignorance. The leaders of the Muslims will be chosen from ignorant people, and they will rule according to their whims. (Bukhari & Muslim) Today, studying Islam is formally considered to be an inferior career in most of the Muslim world. The leaders of the Muslim world are more known for their political or military prowess rather than knowledge of Islam.
-Adultery and fornication will be prevalent. (The Prophet, peace be upon him, said that this has never happened without new diseases befalling the people, which their ancestors had not known.) (Bukhari & Muslim)
-Adultery and fornication will be performed in the open.
-The consumption of intoxicants will be widespread. (Bukhari & Muslim) This is referring to the drinking of alcohol and spirits, which is indeed widespread in today's world.
-Women will outnumber men... eventually 50 women to 1 man. (Bukhari & Muslim)
-Killing, killing, killing. (Bukhari & Muslim) Killing will increase.
-The children will be filled with rage. (at-Tabarani, al-Hakim)
-Rain will be acidic or burning. (at-Tabarani, al-Hakim) The increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere will inevitably result in the increase of acid rain.
-Children of fornication will become widespread or prevalent. (at-Tabarani, al-Hakim)
-When a trust becomes a means of making a profit.
-Gains will be shared out only among the rich, with no benefit to the poor.
-Paying zakat (alms) becomes a burden and miserliness becomes widespread.
-When a man obeys his wife and disobeys his mother; and treats his friend kindly while shunning his father. This is evident especially in the western world where wives and friends are treated better than parents.
-When voices are raised in the mosques.
-People will walk in the marketplace with their thighs exposed.
-Great distances will be traversed in short spans of time. Plains, trains and automobiles.
-The people of Iraq will receive no food and no money due to oppression by the Romans. (Europeans) (Muslim)
-People will hop between the clouds and the earth. Is this referring to the idea of airline travel?
-The leader of a people will be the worst of them.
-People will treat a man with respect out of fear for some evil he might do.
-Men will begin to wear silk. Inevitable in the fashion of the western worlds.
-Female singers and musical instruments will become popular. Today, there are many female singers and music is very popular.
-People will dance late into the night.
-When the last ones of the Ummah begin to curse the first ones.
-People will believe in the stars.
-People will reject al-Qadr. (the Divine Decree of Destiny)
-Time will pass rapidly. (Bukhari) This is very apparent especially in First World countries.
-Good deeds will decrease. (Bukhari)
-Miserliness will be thrown into the hearts of people. (Bukhari)
-Smog will appear over cities because of the evil that they are doing.
-People will be carrying on with their trade, but there will only be a few trustworthy persons.
-A man will pass by a grave and wish that he were in their place.
-Earthquakes will increase. California, Mexico, Japan...
-The appearance of false messengers (30 dajjals).
-Women will be naked in spite of being dressed. In the fashion of the Western world, women are beginning to wear very revealing clothes.
-The conquest of Constantinople by the Muslims. This has happened and has been renamed Istanbul.
-When the shepherds of black camels start boasting and begin to compete with others in the construction of taller buildings. (Bukhari) The modern ex-nomads of Saudi Arabia are an excellent example of this.
-Wild animals will be able to talk to humans. Some scientists are able to speak in sign language with wild monkeys. -A man will leave his home and his thigh or hip will tell him what is happening back at his home. Mobile phone in his pocket?
-The truthful person will not be believed and the liar will be believed.
-When men lie with men and women lie with women. Referring to homosexuality which is verily accepted in today's society.
-Trade will become so widespread that a woman will be forced to help her husband in business.
-A woman will enter the workforce out of love for this world.
-Books will be widespread and knowledge will be low.
-Arrogance will increase in the earth. (at-Tabarani, al-Hakim)
-Family ties will be cut.
-Men will begin to look like women and women will begin to look like men. Referring to transsexuals and transvestites.
The Major Signs: (in rough chronological order):
-Although they appear here in no particular order, it is important to point out that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said that these last, major signs will follow each other like pearls falling off of a necklace...
-Al-Dajjal. (The Anti-Christ) He will come claiming to God holding Heaven and Hell. His purpose is to deceive, and unbelievers will follow him. He is short, red-faced, blind in the right eye, and has hair that sticks up. He will go around the world but will be unable to enter Madinah or Makkah.-Al-Mahdi. He will come at the time of the Dajjal. He will call to the true Islam, and will be a military leader. His name will be exactly like that of the Prophet Mohammad (SAW), and his father's name will match the Prophet's father's name also. He will be a descendant of Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet.
-The appearance of Masih al-'Isa (Jesus Christ), the son of Mary. (peace be upon him). He will come at the time of the Dajjal and the Mahdi also. He will descend at the time of Fajr prayer on a masjid in Damascus, the capital of Syria. He is of medium height, red-faced, and his hair is as if he just took a shower. He will call people back to Islam, but he will also be a military leader. The people of the Book will revert to Islam, and wealth will be super-abundant. Isa will break the cross, kill the swine, and personally slay the Dajjal. He will stay on Earth for a long time thereafter, and then die.
-Ya'juj and Ma'juj. (Gog and Magog) Two hidden tribes of people will break free of the dam that hold them back, and ravage the Earth. They will drink all the water, and kill people until Allah sends against them a worm which will wipe them out.
-The destruction of the Ka'bah and the recovery of its treasure.
-Emergence of The Beast. This Beast will call people back to Islam and he will place the word mu'meen (believer) on the foreheads of the believers, and will plot the word kufar (disbeliever) on the foreheads of the disbelievers.
-Three major landslides (one in the East, one in the West, and one on the Arabian peninsula).
-The rising of the sun from the west.
-The smoke. The smoke will appear all over the Earth which will cause all believers to catch something similar to a slight cold, whereas the unbelievers will be hit harder by it.
-The wind will take the souls of the believers.
-The fire will drive the people to their final gathering place. Three blasts of the trumpet (fear & terror, death, resurrection).