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Thefour-face clock will tower over the holy Kabaa in Mecca, Saudi Arabiaat a height of 1,972 ft.] For over a century, an observatory in asouth-east London park has been used as the reference point to setevery watch on the globe.

But Greenwich Mean Time is facing a challenge to its claims as the starting point for each new day.



Agiant new clock being built in the Islamic holy city of Mecca hopes to usurp the role of Greenwich Observatory, and aims to have the world's1.5 billion Muslims setting their watches by its time.

Thefour-faced clock, which bears a striking resemblance to Big Ben'stower, will top a massive skyscraper that when completed will stand at almost 2,000 feet, making it one of the world's tallest buildings.



Only one of the clock's four faces has so far been completed and is coveredwith 98 million pieces of glass mosaics. Each face will be inscribed with 'God is greatest' in Arabic and fitted with thousands of colouredlights, making it visible from more than 16 miles.

It will run on Arabia Standard Time, which is three hours ahead of GMT, and began testing yesterday.The Saudi clock, will dwarf St Stephen's Tower which houses Big Ben, once the largest four-faced clock in the world, with dials more than five times greater in area.



Islamic scholars hope that when the timepiece is finished, it will eclipse Greenwich Observatory as the world's centre of time.

"Putting Mecca time in the face of Greenwich Mean Time, this is the goal," said Mohammed Al-Arkubi, the manager of one of the hotels in the complex.



At a conference in Doha in 2008, Muslim clerics and scholars presented'scientific' arguments that Mecca time is the true global meridian.They said that Mecca was the centre of the world and that the Greenwich standard was imposed by the West.

Greenwich was chosen as the starting point for the measurement of time at the International Meridian Conference in 1884 and has retained its crown largelyunchallenged during the ensuing 125 years.

The 130 foot diameterclock dials in Mecca will also bigger than the current world recordholder at the Cevahir Mall clock in Istanbul, which has a 36 meter face.



Thecomplex overlooks Mecca's famed Grand Mosque, which Muslims worldwideface during their five daily prayers and is part of Saudi efforts to develop the city visited by millions of pilgrims every year.

Germanand Swiss engineers designed the clock and according to the Ministry of Religious Endowments, the entire project will cost $800 million.

Culled from dailymail.co.ukhttp://www.tribune.com.ng/index.php/eyes-of-islam/9635-saudi-authorities-build-giant-p500-million-clock-in-mecca


hmmn. ok. d above is what i read about it. the justifications IMO are in red.  a measure of the pros versus the cons may tell if it is worthwhile afterall.

deols:
Q48.

a.the first qiblah was in what direction.
b. what position was the ka'abah when the Muslims were facing that direction.
c. where in the Qur'an is the command for them to change their direction.

vedaxcool:
a. Jerusalem,
b.Mecca (didn't really get the question)
c.2:142-143

a. bait al Muqaddas, jerusalem.

b. I realise i didnt state d question well.
while the prophet was in makkah, even though they faced jerusalem, the kaabah was in front of them. But when they got to madinnah, wv the facing of jerusalem, the kaabah was not in front of them.

( a hadith-"He (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) used to pray towards Bait al-Muqaddas [with the Ka'bah in front of him] before the following verse was revealed: "We see the turning of your faces to the heavens;now shall we turn you to a Qiblah that shall please you: turn then your faces in the direction of the Sacred Mosque" (Baqarah 2:144). When it was revealed he faced the Ka'bah. There were people at Qubaa' praying Fajr when someone came to them and said, 'Verily the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) has had some of the Qur'aan revealed to him last night and he has
been ordered to face the Ka'bah, [verily] so face it'. Their faces were towards Shaam, so they turned round [and their Imaam turned round to face the qiblah along with them].

c. 2:144

@ op, u sound like one of those fed drunk by the mainstream media. You probably are not aware of

-chechnya and russia

-India and the kashmirs

-china and the Uyghurs.



of course the above are under reported since, they do not help propagate islamophobia. Nigerian christians, stop acting like puppets. Open your ears, eyes, and allow your brains for in the end,it is each to his own.

@op, Salam alaykum.


IMO, that building a sky scraper is a sign of the end times doesnt automatically make it wrong.

the building or the clock shown in the video , even though costs a huge sum of money may not be termed a competition for I once read something about it , that necessitated it in the first place. Except that there is something I dont know of, I think it is justified.

^^my first time actually

deletion of malicious posts

I havent noticed any changes. abi na my eyes

No.

Bulldog:
If the answers are sincere(no deception intended) muslims prove it Then. stop them and not sit around reciting the quran. You guys know them. Words without action is wasted in favour of whatever the word is against

i donno how many of these one has to respond before it sinks in. Imagine that you are a Muslim living in lagos.Tell me how you would have done it.

^^ I understand your view. Most of the time, people are more interested in discussing posts that are against Islam. Defensive posts, I call them. Whereas the ones meant for us to educate one another are deserted, except in certain cases(like the maulud) when they are controversial. I really cannot blame anyone for what they decide is priority. We probably all have different reasons for being here.

Q48.

a.the first qiblah was in what direction.
b. what position was the ka'abah when the Muslims were facing that direction.
c. where in the Qur'an is the command for them to change their direction.

shouldnt there be dress codes for these pple. the dressing is some embarassment to the presidency IMO

^^^Ibro, go and study!!!!!!!!! we av had enoff of u for tonight

olawalebab:
^^^ just like me, i hate the pressure of exam. I am 'school B' type of student

school 'b"

hmmn! well written. hopefully, everyone will heed.

^^whatever that means madam, be sure not every one is like u

omo alaro:
Innovation in matters of religion to my understanding is adding to or decreasing any aspect of the five pillars of the deen. But choosing a day to remember, talk about, teach and celebrate the holy prophet should not be considered an innovation to religion, otherwise things like propagating the deen using TVs and computers, travelling on hajj using aeroplanes instead of camels and praying in nice looking mosques would be considered Bid'aa as well.

you are getting it very wrong. this is the argument many pple give to support theur bid'ah acts. I did this in the past too(may ALlah forgive me). Hopefully, you'll come to realise your mistake too.

olawalebab:
1. With the avalanche of problems muslims (not islam) are facing in the world today, how will the celebration or not celebrating maulud add value to the muslim ummah?

if u close your eyes for the bad person to pass by, u wont c the good person o. if we decide not to educate each other because of our many other issues, someday, d present issue will become another problem we'll av to combat. Actually, our main problem today is that of ignorance. If not for ignorance, there'll be no oko haram for example.

2.  The commercialization of maulud today should be totally discourage also the issue of hero-worshipping should not be condone by all well meaning muslims.

hmmn! I no fit shout for that o. some go to d graves of some shehu or Imams to say prayers as if the Imams can already stand for their own selves in the sight of Allah. Ignorance at play again

3. There is an hadith where the prophet (SAW) was reported to have said If you are in doubt of any condition or situation, it is better you stay clear of it.

Wa llahu Alam.

gbam x10. this is the wisest thing to do.

^^ at 50, u act ds way smh 4 u!!!!!!

IbroSaunks:
@deols alhamdulillah
I wish I could do that thing u did when u had exams and u were MIA during that period. iv got exams too and I'm still playing on the internet!

try be like me and I'd be proud

I know it isnt easy o jare but Ibeg, let it go. it seems like u study well this way but I assure u u'd study better without.

IbroSaunks:
I'm particularly glad that there may be no more drama on this thread. peeps made mod-ing a section seem like rocket science.
@deols Salam

w.salam. ow u been.

I hope d new mod wld take d bull y d horn right now. matter of factly, mere seeing some threads, all u want to do is get off NL. I hope sanity can be restored ASAP.

Oh God! I miss Abuzola here!

^^ thanks brother!

babs787:
I would try my best to be around.

InshaAllah. looking forward to it.

uplawal:
[b]But wait,,,,,,,,,this should not be this much,the real question is "is the maulud an act of worship?or do some muslims worship the prophet?[/b]if

my dear sister, I had to refer to ur post again. Actually, people who celebrate Mawlud see it as an act of worship. They hope to get reward from it. We are not to look the other way if we have an understanding that it is wrong since, our main objective here, as I assume, is to learn from each other.

Now, people give justifications for it. many of the lectures, events scheduled for the period of maulud can be done at any time(even the maulud period) but having the intention that it is a celebration of Maulud makes it wrong according to the following hadith-


Every newly-invented thing is a bid'ah, every bid'ah is a going astray, and every going astray will end in the Fire of Hell.

donno y ds is such a big deal. I know men who don't care what name she bears.

^^ u give jokes sha. hope u'r back for real.

^^ InshaAllah

^^now is when we really need a moderator!!

Many upset minds these days

^^interesting points there @Uplawal.  your statements are vague though. It would help if you give references to them. I'd be glad to take part in that discussion.

maclatunji:
Who said your response was directed at me? Your response did not address the topic. Knowing and remembering the birthday of the man we all love so much is an innovation that you are trying to put under the Hadith you quoted, abi?

You have a right to stick to your post, just like I have a right to call-you-out on it.

@ bold, really?? my bad. I have a failing of always assuming everyone has a 'seventh' sense. In the real world, am careful in choosing whom I discuss with. For that reason, I dont do much talking. You simply could av asked me to decipher what I said.  in such instance as ds, I lack d patience to repeat myself. I simply move on, like I'd be doing now.

the loud and quiet prayers

the loud prayers refer to subh, the first two rakaah of maghrib, and the first two of Ishai. During these, while observing prayer in congregation, we are to listen to the Imam's recitation but not to recite. We do otherwise during zuhr, asr, the last of maghrib,and the last two of Ishai.

it is okay to recite a surah u love in every salaat

The Necessity of al-Faatihah, and its Excellence

He would vehemently emphasise the importance of this soorah, saying: "There is no prayer for the one who did not recite [in it] the opening chapter [at least]",

and in another saying: That prayer is not sufficient in which a man does not recite the Opening of the Book. He also said: He who performs a prayer in which he does not recite the Opening of the Book, then it (i.e. the prayer) is deficient, it is deficient, it is deficient, incomplete, He also said:

Allaah the Blessed and Exalted has said: "I have divided the prayer between Myself and My servant, into two halves: half of it is for Me and half is for My servant, and My servant shall have what he has asked for." Then the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said: Recite! The
servant says "Praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the Worlds"; Allaah the Exalted says "My servant has praised Me". The servant says, "The Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy"; Allaah says, "My servant has extolled Me". The servant says "Master of the Day of Judgment"; Allaah the Exalted says, "My servant has glorified Me". The servant says, "It is You (alone) we worship and it is You (alone) we ask for help"; [He says:], "This is between Me and My servant, and My servant shall have what he has asked for". The servant says, "Guide us to the Straight Path, the Path of those whom You have favoured, not of those who receive Your anger, nor of those who go astray". [He says:], "All these are
for My servant, and My servant shall have what he has asked for." He also used to say: Allaah did not reveal in the Torah or the Gospel anything like the Mother of the Qur'aan. It is the Seven Oft-Repeated[and the Grand Recitation which have been bestowed upon
me].

He (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) commanded "the one who prayed badly" to recite it in his prayer, but said to one who could not remember it, Say:
(I declare Allaah free from all defects; all Praise be to Allaah; none has the right to be worshipped but Allaah; Allaah is the Greatest; there is no might or power except by Allaah).

He also said to "the one who prayed badly": If you know some of the Qur'aan, then recite it, otherwise praise Allaah, declare His Greatness and declare that none has the right to be worshipped but Allaah;

The Abrogation of Recitation behind the Imaam in the Loud Prayers
He had given permission for those being led by the Imaam to recite Soorah al-Faatihah in the loud prayers, when once:

"he was praying Fajr and the recitation became difficult for him. When he finished, he said: Perhaps you recite behind your imaam. We said: "Yes, quickly, O Messenger of Allaah." He said: Do not do so, except for [each of you reciting] the opening chapter of the Book, for the prayer is not valid of the one who does not recite it.

Later, he forbade them from reciting in the loud prayers at all, when:

"He finished a prayer in which he was reciting loudly (in one narration: it was the dawn prayer) and said: Were any of you reciting with me just now?! A man said: "Yes, I was, O Messenger of Allaah".

He said: I say, why am I contended with? [Abu Hurairah said:] So the people stopped reciting with the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) when he was reciting loudly after hearing that from him [but they recited to themselves quietly when the imaam was not reciting loudly]."
He also made silence during the imaam's recitation part of the completeness of following the imaam, saying: The imaam is there to be followed, so when he says takbeer, say takbeer, and when he recites, be silent, just as he made listening to the imaam's re[/b]citation enough to not have to recite behind him, saying: He who has an imaam, then the recitation of the imaam is recitation for him - this applying in the loud prayers.
[b]
The Obligation to Recite in the Quiet Prayers


As for the quiet prayers, he urged them to recite during them; Jaabir said, "We used to recite behind the imaam in Zuhr and 'Asr: soorah al-Faatihah and another soorah in the first two rak'ahs, and soorah al-Fatihah in the last two." However, he dissuaded them from confusing him with their recitation, when:

"he prayed Zuhr with his Companions and said (afterwards): Which of you recited "Glorify the name of your Lord the Most High" (soorah al-A'laa, 87)? Someone said: It was I [but I was only intending nothing but good by doing so]. So he said: I knew that someone was contending with me by it.

In another hadeeth: "They used to recite behind the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) [loudly], so he said: You have mixed up my (recitation of the) Qur'aan.

He also said: Truly, the person praying is privately consulting his Lord, so he should be careful about what he consults him with, and you should not recite the Qur'aan loudly over each other.

He also used to say: Whoever recited a harf (letter) from the Book of Allaah, it will count for him as one good deed, and a good deed is worth ten times over. I do not mean that "alif laam meem" is a harf, but "alif" is a harf, "laam" is a harf, and "meem" is a harf.
The aameen, and the Imaam's saying it Loudly When he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) finished reciting al- Faatihah, he would say: ("aameen" loudly, prolonging his voice.

He also used to order the congregation to say aameen: When the imaam says, "Not of those who receive (Your) anger, nor of those who go astray", then say "aameen" [for the angels say "aameen" and the imaam says aameen"] (in another narration: when the imaam says
"aameen" say "aameen", so he whose aameen coincides with the aameen of the angels (in another narration: when one of you says "aameen" in prayer and the angels in the sky say "aameen", and they coincide), his past sins are forgiven. In another hadeeth: , then say aameen; Allaah will answer you.

He also used to say: The Jews do not envy you over anything as much as they envy you over the salutation and aameen [behind the imaam].

The Recitation after al-Faatihah
Next, he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) would recite another soorah after al-Faatihah, making it long sometimes, and on other occasions making it short because of travel, cough, illness or the crying of infants.

Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: "He (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) made it [i.e. the recitation] short one day in the dawn prayer." (In another hadeeth: he prayed the morning prayer and recited the two shortest soorahs in the Qur'aan.) So it was said: "O Messenger of Allaah, why did you make it short?" He said: I heard the crying of a child, and I supposed that his mother was praying with us, so I wanted to free his mother for him.

He also used to say: I enter into prayer intending to lengthen it, but I hear the crying of a child so I shorten my prayer because I know how deeply his mother feels about his crying. He used to start from the beginnning of a soorah, completing it most of the time. He used to say: Give every soorah its share of rukoo' and sujood.156 In another narration: Every soorah should have a rak'ah. Sometimes he would divide the soorah into two rak'ahs158 and sometimes he would repeat the whole soorah in the second rak'ah. Sometimes he would combine two or more soorahs in one rak'ah.

One of the Ansaar used to lead them in the mosque of Qubaa', and every time he recited a soorah for them, he would begin with "Say: He is Allaah, the One and Only " (soorah al- Ikhlaas, 112) until its end, and then recite another soorah with it, and he would do this in every rak'ah. Because of this, his people spoke to him, saying: "You begin with this soorah, and then you do not regard it as enough until you recite another one: you should either recite it (only) or leave it and recite another one. He said: "I will not leave it: if you do not mind me leading you with it, I shall carry on, but if you do not like it, I shall leave you." They knew that he was one of their best, and they did not like to be led by anyone else, so when the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) came to them, they told him the story. He said: O so- and-so, what stops you from doing what your people ask you to? What makes you recite this soorah in every rak'ah? He said: "I love this soorah." He said: Your love for itwill enter you into the Garden.

^^thanks a bunch

^^ u thnk my reply was to u? what goal are u talking about. i made a point, if not okay by u, simply move on. I stand on what I said.