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Learn to Read and Recite Noble Qur'an - a Free online Course
 LEARN  TO   READ,  RECITE  AND  UNDERSTAND  THE  NOBEL  QUR'AN  
1. Learn  to  Read  and  Recite  the  Nobel  Quran  (mushāf  Ajmi- Indo-Pak)
2. Learn  to  Read  and  Recite  the  Nobel  Quran  (mushāf  amīrī - Madina)
3.  English   translation  of   Nobel   Quran  with  tooltips  Footnotes
4.  Brief  History  of   Recitation   and  written  text   of  Nobel   Quran
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Brief History of Recitation and Written Text of Noble Quran
I am writing this article for my own curiosity which I would like to share. I restricted my research and only rely on available English written material which I consider is more trustworthy.

PURPOSE:
Every Muslim believes that Allah Almighty has sent mankind into this world as a matter of test - what is the test? Allah declared in Nobel Qur’an which is divine knowledge “.....Who has created death and life that He may test you who is best in deed..... (67:2)” Generally, the knowledge is received through man's all senses including reasoning. But the knowledge about unseen such as the existence of a creator, life hereafter etc.. which can only be received from the divine revelation (wahy).

The Nobel Qur’an is uncreated speech (message) of Allah سبحانه و تعالى vocally revealed through Archangel Jibrail (Gabriel) عليه السلام, gradually nearly 23 years 610-632 CE to the Prophet Muhammed صلى الله عليه و سلم in the Arabic language, more specifically dialect of Quraysh tribe. It is the primary and central source of the final divine guidance to the mankind. “The month of Ramadân in which was revealed the Qur'ân, a guidance for mankind and clear proofs for the guidance and the criterion” (2:185)

All Muslims in every era regardless of any sect believe that Qur'an is the final revelation to mankind and fully believe in its authenticity and also all believe that the Prophet Muhammed صلى الله عليه و سلم was the last prophet among the series of Nobel prophets.

One of the goals of the Nobel Qur'an is its proper recitation, understanding of its message and wisdom, practicing its teaching and conveying to others.

The Nobel Qur'an through the messenger صلى الله عليه و سلم conveys glad tiding as well as the warning . It makes people aware of Allah's plan; why Allah has created this world?; what His purpose is of settling man on earth?; what is required from man in this earth? and what man is going to confront after death?.

According to the Qur’an, every human is created forever. When Allah created human as such, He divided his life span into two periods, the pre-death period, which is a time of trial in this earth, and the post-death period, which is the time for receiving the rewards or punishment merited by one’s actions during one’s lifetime. The purpose of the Qur’an is to make man aware of this reality. This is the theme of this divine Book, which serves to guide man through his entire journey through life into the after-life.

It would be correct to say that man is a seeker by birth. These questions lurk in everyone’s mind: Who am I? What is the purpose of my life? What is the reality of life and death? What are the secret of man’s success and failure? According to the Qur’an, the answer to these questions is that the present world is the testing ground and whatever man has been endowed with in his pre-death period is all a part of the test. The Hereafter is the place where the result of the test will be taken into account by the Almighty and whatever man receives in the life after death, by way of reward or punishment, will be commensurate with his deeds in this world. The secret of man’s success in this life is to understand Allah’s plan and map out his life accordingly.

LANGUAGE
The Nobel Qur'an is a divine scripture that was reveal in the Arabic language over fourteen centuries ago. "We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur'an, in order that you may understand (learn wisdom). (12:2)" Its language is still alive and an living form of communication and remained intact in the original form as when the Nobel Qur’an was revealed, millions of people still speak, write and communicate today the same way as it was employed in Arabian. After completion of the final revelation, the Arabic language did not remain the monopoly of one nation but It became the language of all those who entered the faith. It is said that one cannot call oneself as Arab until one knows the language of Qur’an

The beauty of Qur’an lies with its eloquence and purity of its impressive style of language . The diction and style of the Qur'an are magnificent and appropriate to its Divine quality. Its recitation moves the spirit even for those who only listen to it without understanding it. The words of Qur’an are clear and balance. It explains important concepts in a precious but simple manner. The speech of the Qur’an is harmonious balance and consistent and every word is irreplaceable. In spite of claims about other books , Qur'an is the most read and the only completely memorized book throughout its history. It is also the most studied book in the world. It has stimulated development of entire disciplines of knowledge dealing with its reading, writing, and interpretation. Hundreds of Millions of copies have been printed or handwritten in nearly every age and every corner of the world without any variant in the text.

We will assuredly guard it (from corruption 15:9) this verse is a challenge to mankind and everyone is obligated to believe in the miracles of this Qur'an. It is clear fact that more than 1400 years have elapsed and not a single message of this Qur'an has been changed, although the enemies of the Islam tried their utmost to change it in every way, but they failed miserably in their efforts. As it is declared in the Nobel verse “By Allah He has guarded it every possible way”. On the other hand, for other Divine Holy Books such as the Taurat (Torah) the Injeel (Gospel) no such guarantee was declared and one can see that these scriptures were corrupted in a form of additions deletion or alteration in their original text. Even the languages in which they revealed have been completely lost At present such scriptures are exist in its corrupted form merely in translation and in many versions.

The early Muslims have observed that many important words in the Nobel Qur’an have been repeated the exact number of times which is relevant to the natural occurrence. For example, the phrase the "seven heavens" is repeated 7 times The word "day" is repeated 365 times while the word "moon" is repeated 12 times many cases the certain important concepts have been repeated equal number to its opposite idea. For example, the words, "world " and "hereafter" are each repeated 115 times. The word "faith" (iman) (without genitive) is repeated 25 times throughout the Qur’an, as is also the word "infidelity" or the phrase "covering over the truth." (kufr). When we count the word "say", we come up with the result of 332. We arrive at the same figure when we count the number of times the phrase: "they said" is used. The word "shaytan" is used 88 times. The word "angel" is also repeated 88 times. As explain there are many miracles attribute to the Nobel Qur’an, the numerical system may be one of them but describing the numerical system or codes of Nobel Qur'an as the main and important miracle of the Qur'an is not correct.

The Modes of Descent and Preservation
Since the final divine message (Qur’an) was not revealed all at once, therefore, it was not possible to preserve the message in a written book at that time. During the initial stage of Islam as well until today, major emphasis is laid on its correct recitation and through memorization as a means of preserving and transmitting the message. The prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم and his companions (رضي الله عنهمه) used to memorize the message (wahy) as soon as they revealed.

Since the beginning, it remains Islamic tradition in every era and every place to recite and memorize the Noble Qur'an because of its enormous spiritually benefits.

Hafiz or Hafiza term used by Muslims for someone who has completely memorized the Qur'an. Their numbers must have been in millions living today across ethnic, socio-economic and geographical throughout the world including in the West.

Generally, Muslim children memorize the entire Qur'an or part at the age between 9 to 15 although the tender age of 3 to 7 years also has been reported. The Qur’an contains 114 Surahs and its written text has about 600 pages and about 6246 ayahs (verses) and it normally takes about 30 to 40 hours if it is recited continuously. Generally, a hafiz is expected to demonstrate his proficiency of recitation from memory at least 1/27 or some part of Qur’an daily during the special night prayer also known as Taraweeh during the month of Ramadhan to lead a local congregation

Traditionally the recitation and memorization of Noble Qur’an are made in the presence of an authorized teacher who obtained his permission from his teacher whose chain of transmission goes back to the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم. This tradition still continues with this remarkable feature that most teachers would indicate in detail in the certificate given conformity with that which this teacher had learned from his own teacher and so on until the chain leading back to the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم

It is worth mentioning that the style of the Nobel Qur’an is so unique that if someone makes a mistake while reciting it, it is usually possible for the person listening to the recitation to recognize the mistake even if the listener does not memorize the entire Nobel Qur’an

One of the live miracles of the Nobel Qur’an is that Allah has made its memorization easy. Allah says: “And We have indeed made the Qur’an easy to understand and remember: then is there any that will receive admonition?” (Nobel Qur’an: 54: 32). The vast majority of the children and adult who memorize by the non-Arabs in most case do not understand or speak the Arabic language.

Modern day Preservation and Learning
Muslims always took a great care in reciting, memorizing and writing pf the Nobel Qur'an which still continue in this modern time. Recently they have been taking advantage of latest technology as well with little or no opposition in order to facilitate for those could not access the help of qualify teachers or perhaps to enhance their learning and listening experience . Some excellent reciters have recorded the complete Qur’an, adding to the Islamic audio library hundreds of different beautiful voices reciting the Nobel Qur’an. Despite advancement in audio recording technology during last one hundred year, more and more Muslims are taking the painstaking task to improve recitation and memorize the Nobel Qur'an with pleasure. Thus, Allah has inspired Muslims to take care the Nobel Qur’an since it was first revealed to the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم until now, and this will continue to be true till the end of time.

Prior to 1877 preservation of sound or manner recitation was not possible using any other means other than oral tradition. In the acoustic era between 1877 to 1925 in which phonograph devices were developed. After that the magnetic era between 1945 to 1975 in which tapes technology using the magnetic tape was invented in 1928; audio cassette was invented in 1962. Since 1975 digital era began to that present day in which CDs,mp3 players were in use.

Recently reading assistant Quran Learning Pens which use both written copies of a Qur’an (mushāf amīrī only) and digital scanning to improve recitation, understanding and memorizing of Nobel Qur’an.

An intelligent personal assistant (IPA) or the Knowledge Navigator using natural language user interfaces (LUI or NLUI) or speech recognition (ASR) systems such as Braina , a natural language interface for Windows OS and Siri for Apple OS and Cortana for android and other similar technology could possibility be utilized in the future to enhance the Qur’an learning experience.

Seven Ahruf (dialects) and Readings
According to the prophetic saying the Qur'an was revealed in seven ahruf (dialects) which may allude to the seven Arab tribes namely Quraysh, Hudhayl, Thaqîf, Hawâzin, Kinânah, Tamîm and Yemen which made the recitation and memorization much easier for them. For example, the word 'alayhim (on them) was read by some 'alayhumoo and the word siraat (path, bridge) was read as ziraat and mu'min (believer) as moomin and so on.

The Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم used to recite during the month of Ramadhan to and in the presence of Archangel Jibrail (Gabriel) عليه السلام the Qur’an what was revealed then. However the year he left this world, he read the entire Qur’an twice also known as ‘daur or meticulous re-reading or last review, on this occasion, all ahruf apparently were abrogated except Quraysh ahruf was retained is the ones which continue to stay preserved to this day with uninterrupted succession.

A Qiraat is, for the most part, a method of pronunciation and style of the recitations of the Qur'an which may not be directly related to ahruf (dialects). During first two centuries of Islam, there were approximately 25 different Qiraats, but they were not documented. It was only in the third century that Imaam ibn Salaam compiled the first book on Qiraat, ‘Kitaab al-Qiraat’. Thereafter, in the fourth century, Imaam ibn Mujaahid compiled a book, ‘Kitaab as-Sab’ah’ in which he gathered seven Qiraats which were common in his era and commonly known as Qiraat as-Sab’ah. Some other experts in this science added three additional reading also known as Qiraat al-Thalaathah – Asharah.

The seven sets of readings accepted by ibn Mujaahid represent the systems prevailing in different districts. There was one each from Medina, Mecca, Damascus and Basra, and three from Kufa.

Nowadays the most prominent reading throughout the world is Qiraat ‘Asim Hafs Sh’uba originating from Kufa; follow by Nafîi, Warsh,Qâlûn originating from Medina, mostly recited around North Africa; and Abu ‘Amr, ad-Dûrî, al-Sûsî originating from Basra. Apparently only three Qiraat Hafs, Warsh and Al-Duri are still in print today.

Hafs and Warsh
Here are some examples of the differences between two widely used readings Hafs and Warsh. The variances whether vocal or orthography between the transmission has made no difference in the meaning or message.

Hafs and warsh
The Nobel Qur’an is not only the most read book in the world but it is the only book which has been completely memorized by millions of Muslims in every era since its revelation. In addition, it is the only enormous book that is recited in a beautiful manner with its unique rhythm which goes back to the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم with authentic and uninterrupted chain of transmission

History of written Qur’an
Besides having the Qur’an committed to memory, the Nobel Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم made special arrangements to have the Qur’an committed into writing through his literate companions (رضي الله عنهمه) between 43 to 60 scribes have assisted in this task at one time or another who after writing the text used to read the verses to the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم ( as the Prophet was himself worldly illiterate) to ensure there were no shortcoming in its reciting. Zayd ibn Thaabit رضي الله عنه was a prominent companion who may have assisted this task at the most.

During those days paper was not readily available in Arabia; therefore, initially these Qur’anic ayahs (verses) were mostly written on Palmwood, tree leaves, on tablets of white stone or piece of cloth and sometimes on silk or shoulder blade of sheep or camel and on parchment.

During those days of the manuscripts were collected on various surfaces material, for instance, a verse would appear on parchment, another on tree leaf and yet another on a bone yet they were not entire Qur'an . One Companion would have only a single Surah in his possession while someone else would have five or ten Surahs and some others will have only a few verses.

During the battle of Yamamah,( 632 CE) a large number of Hufaz (memorizers) meet their martyrdom, Sayyidna Abu Bakr and Umar have agreed to and appointed Zayd ibn Thabit رضي الله عنهمه to search and to collect the written manuscripts as a matter of urgency. There is another narration in which the prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم at his dead-bed instructed his son in law Ali ibn Talib رضي الله عنه (his third successor) to search and collect the written Qur'an as the highest priority.

Until recently in 2015, two leaves (4 pages) of an early Qur’anic manuscripts which were It was found, along with many other Quranic and non-Quranic fragments, in Yemen in 1972 during restoration of the Great Mosque of Sana'a, in possession with University of Birmingham England, were radiocarbon dated between 568 CE and 645 CE, suggesting that it may be among the oldest Qur’an manuscripts to date and might be identified with the text known to have been assembled during the first Caliph Abu Bakr, between 632 CE and 634 CE.

These manuscripts were written with ink on parchment, using a monumental Arabic Hijazi writing and is still clearly legible. The leaves contain parts of Surahs 18 to 20.

Here is one page containing part of Surah Maryam (19) and part of Surah Ta-ha (20) with corresponding two current Qur’anic writing

Birmingham
early Qur’anic manuscripts of Great Mosque of Sana'a between 568 CE and 645 CE

birmingham  Great Mosque of Sana'a
The divine revelation stopped few months before the passing of the prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم (632 CE) at that moment, the Qu'ran was completed and its order and arrangement and manner of reciting were approved by Almighty Allah through his messenger before his death.

During Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه period ( 632-634 CE), the entire written Qur’an was first time collected and compiled in a codex (mushāf) on sheets of animal skin in which each Surah was written separately without ayah numbers and placed in their proper sequence in a folder.

Up to then the only full official written copy which was collected under Abū Bakr (d.13/634) had remained unpublished which was kept first with Abū Bakr, then with `Umar, ( 632-644CE) and after his death with his daughter Hafsa,رضي الله عنهمه a widow of the Prophet.

On returning from the conquest of Azerbaijan (25/645). Hudhayfa رضي الله عنه was disturbed to see that Muslim soldiers from different parts of Syria and Iraq meeting together and differing in their readings of the Qur'ān each considering his reading to be the correct one. Uthmān رضي الله عنه ( third successor 644-656 CE) requested Hafsa, widow of the prophet, asking for the copy in her possession to a number of duplicate master copies to be made to deal with an undesirable situation and it is to be followed as the only authorized Qur'ān in the different parts of the Muslim world. this will prevent the possibility of different versions evolving in time.

About 20 years (652 CE), after the passing of the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم Sayyidna 'Uthman رضي الله عنه, arranged several master copies (between 4 or 7) to be made as first authoritative certified written copies of Nobel Qur’an (Mushāf) to be sent to various major Muslims regions along with reciters.

The certified master copies which numbered in 4 or 7 were produced in which not more than 18 out of 29 Arabic letters were distinguishable due to absent of dots ⟨إِعْجَام⟩ (i‘jām, consonant pointing nor the vowel signs (tashkeel diacritical) were employed. for example, letter Ba ب Ta ت and Thaa ث looked that same, this is due to the fact that the practice of placing dots nor the diacritical marks over or under letters was not customary then. At that time, those who could read were so used to this style that they had practically no difficulty in reading dot-less writing mainly because they knew the correct recitation, in a case of doubt they would easily recognize the text by its the context.

Here is an example of initial 18 rasm letters without dots, 10 additional letters were developed by using the dots plus letter Hamza which represents consonant and letter Alif as long vowel.

Development of Rasm-e-Uthmani
Rasm-e-Uthmani
manuscript of the Qur'an

samrkand samrkand Kufic_Quran 9th_century Quranic_Manuscript shoulder_blade_of_a_camel
Rasm-e-Uthmani also knows as rasm al-mushāf - rasm means 'drawing', outline, or pattern in Qur’anic writing and mainly deals with its orthography (spelling) and forming of Qur’anic words.

From earlier on the Muslims reached a consensus on a rule that it is not permissible to write the text of the Noble Qur’an using any method other than the rasm-e-Uthmani convention or rules.

In of authoritative Qur’anic text (rasm) several shapes of the letters share more than one sound, for example, sound bā , tā, thā , it has given rise to great confusion in reading for Muslims beyond Arabia, certain steps were taken gradually ( with some opposition) to improve the orthography, lettering, as well to vowel prolongation sounds.

It is to be noted that all Mushāf printed today do meet the rasm-e-uthmani rules. There are many ignorant who suggest that the Qur'an they read is rasm-e-uthmani but not other.

When speaking of the rasm, it stands for the basic text made of the 18 letters with its unique orthography without dots i'jam vowel and other diacritics signs. The term script deals with a particular language such Arabic script, roman script etc. The type or style which in computer terminology is called fonts, which deals with the type of calligraphy such as Hijaji, Kufic, Naskh, Nastaʿlīq.

There are no differences whatsoever in the Qur’an that Muslims read and recite in Africa, Asia, Europe, America or Australia, and no one ever heard that someone has disagreed ever about the precision of the Qur’an, for all of them have agreed that the Nobel Qur’an that they have today is the same Qur’an that was revealed to prophet Mohammad by Allah. Moreover, Allah has promised to preserve the Qur’an. He says: “We have, without a doubt, sent down the Message; And We will assuredly guard it (from corruption)” (Nobel Qur’an: 15: 9).

In the Islamic tradition, the writing remained a secondary aid; any apparent differences are noted in writing and recitation due to various type of authentic recitation and diacritical system

The written Qur'ān was written in Arabic script and Muslims expected to treat it with great respect. It is prescribed for anyone with a minor ritual impurity is not allowed to touch the Nobel Qur’an or any part, but may recite and anyone with a major ritual impurity is not allowed to touch nor to recite it. Muslims are also expected to respect and attentively listen to Nobel Qur’an the with great care when it is recited.

Steps Taken to Facilitate Recitation
With the spread of Islam beyond the Arabian Peninsula and the increasing number of non-Arab Muslims, there was a greater need for facilitating reading and learning of Arabic. Since several letters of the Arabic alphabet shared the same shapes and vowels signs that were not clearly indicated, some improvement was needed. As a consequence, a system of letter-pointing Nuaqt or I’jam, diacritical marks I'rab and vowel indication tashkeel including sukoon, Nunation tanween, double consonant tashdid prolongation maddah and glottal stop hamzah signs were introduced and perfected well before the first century of Islam without compromising its oral recitation, this system serves as pronunciation keys to as facilitate proper reading.

Printing and Digital writing
printedQuran1694
Quran printed Venice 1537 Movable Type Technology

Before the advent of computers, master copies of Qur’ans were and are still hand written (calligraphy) either for personal collection or for copy/reproduction purpose. The woodblock printing of the Qur’an was first attempted as early as the 10th century. The first complete Qur’an printed with movable type was produced in Venice in 1537/1538 for the Ottoman empire. Printed copies of the Qur’an during this period met with strong opposition from Muslim legal scholars: printing anything in Arabic was prohibited in the Ottoman empire from 1483 and 1726 and ban was lifted for non-religious texts only. The printing of Qur’an remained prohibited until 1849 by Scholars of Al-Azhar.

IBM has developed in electric Arabic including Farsi and Urdu typewriter in the middle of 1970. An algorithm for joining Arabic letters languages that require contextual shaping was apparently developed by a Pakistani engineer from McGill University which served a foundation for the personal computer in word processing. In early 2000 Microsoft has begun to support the Arabic script which is written from right-to-left and has support enhance Unicode encoding system. Now it is possible for Quranic writing and supports almost all the diacritical signs and fonts style of writing such as Nastaʿlīq and Naksh style

It is my understanding that prior to 1950 the copies of Qur’an are generally handwritten and any printing technology prior to the phototypesetting which was developed in the late 1940s, was not suitable for the Noble Qur’an for wide circulation. In phototypesetting process, Qur’an pages are hand by a calligrapher then using a camera a negative is made which is used to create a plate then to a printing surface.

The present day a widespread circulation than any other edition. This is the Egyptian/Cairo edition, printed , most likely using typesetting technique, originally in 1337/ 1918. and latter by Institution Shaykh al-maqāri al-misriyya in 1342/ 1923 (a committee of four of set up by King Fu'ad and later his son King Farooq under supervision of the Supreme Council of Islamic Research and Culture in Al-Azhar and was printed at the Official Būlāq Press) This edition known as the amīrī mushāf has been adopted and model to be followed in the most important centres of Qur’an publishing house in the Middle East: Egypt, Saudi Arabia (especially the King Fahd Complex for printing the Qur'ān in Madina) Beirut and Turkey.

The committee checked (in later editions given as lajnat murāja`at al-masāhif) the copies of the Qur'ān for the specific way of vocalization - tarīqat al-dabt in writing the mushāfs were the same as specified by scholars of dabt citing the traditional authoritative texts.

For several centuries, several different dabt (diacritical) systems have been in used. At least two for Hafs and two for Warsh recitation. For Hafs reciatation, one use in primarily in Arab land ( incorrectly labeled as Uthmanic script) and another use in Central Asia and the subcontinent mainly Non-Arabs lands also incorrectly labeled as Indo-Pak script. Although both use the Hafs recitation but slightly different in diacritical method (debt) and printing style. Apparently, the Non-Arabs method (we shall call it Mushāf-e-Ajmi instead of Indo-Pak script) has been intended to simplify certain difficult rules for non-Arab dealing with silent letters and voice assimilation (Idgham); conversion (Iqlab) etc.

I learned from a reliable source that the Al-Azhar committee had also reviewed and approved the dabt system used by the Non-Arabs

Around 1985 Saudi Arabia has established a massive plant outside city of Medina, King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Noble Qur'an named as Mushāf- al-Madinah an-Nabawiyyah( Hafs recitation adopted from mushāf-e-amīrī 1930s Cairo edition) which was handwritten by a famous Syrian calligrapher Uthman Taha, apparently it took him more than 3 years in writing and proof-reading and reviewing.

The Mushāf-e-Ajmi which mostly used in non-Arab Muslims countries such as central Asia sub-continent Indo-Pak etc. has been simplified so that learners do not need to know essential Arabic grammar rules such as having to differentiate between letter Alif or hamza, mute letters, simplify method for writing alif/hamza, long vowel letters Huroofe-maddah, alif maqsurah or khara-zaber, madd-e-asli maddah ya or khari-zer and maddah waw or ulta-pesh and some other minor variations.

Here is summary of difference between Mushāf-e-Ajmi and amīrī
Basic Rule
Silent letters 
In Ajmi method where it is assumed that any letter having no short vowels or Sukoon/jazm sign remained silent and reader must pretend that these letters are not there, this generally occurs with letter Alif and Lam (al)

However, if a reader starts a sound (word) with letter Alif without any sign on it, then Alif should be clearly pronounced - amīrī method addresses this with putting hamzatul wasal and alif with a tiny dot sign over it,

Silent letters 

and often with letter alif,waw and ya at end of a word.

Letter Hamza Allif

When a vowel or sukun sign is indicated on or under letter Alif it is understood to be letter hamza and not Alif. Ajmi method does not write letter hamza and simply writes short vowel signs.

Generally, letter Alif without any signs is used as a long vowel for the sound prolongation -

Rule of Long vowel letter Waw (Mad Asli)
When indicating long vowels for prolongation( letter waw and ya) , Ajmi method add Sukoon/jazm on letter waw and ya to prolong a the letter – where in amīrī method shkun is not placed and remained empty but the letter must be prolonged – it would be confusion for the Ajmi’s user where it has established rule that no sound would be utter if letter has no vowel or Sukoon/jazm signs on it.

Rule of Long Vowel Letters (Huroofe-Maddah) shorthand version
When indicating shorthand version of long vowels (Huroofe-Maddah) prolongation of letter alif,waw or ya - Ajmi method slightly addresses different way and does not repeat the short vowels Fat’hah, Kasrah and Dammah as upright and downright alif, and inverted dammah

Rules of Idgham (assimilation)
adgham
Idgham means an assimilation of sound from one letter with another. There are six letters of al-Idgham: Ya', Ra', Mim, Lam, Waw and Nun (all six letters in one word are known as Yarmalun) when first five letters come in contact with letter nun.

Both methods handle the sound assimilation differently - common indicator is these five letters having tashdid sign – amīrī method uses two difference type of tanween signs as an additional hint. Nowadays the mushaf are printed in color coded which provide further assistance to deal with Idgham

There are many exceptions to this rule namely, such as nun saakin and letters having Tashdid - Idgham (assimilation);Iqlab (conversion); Izhar (sharp pronunciation) and Ikhfa (suppressed pronunciation)

Learn to Read and Recite Nobel Qur'an Free Online Course

References:
The Hisotry of Quranic Text from Revelation to Compilation by Muhammad Mustafa Al-A'zami
Ma'ariful Qur'an, a comprehensive Urdu commentroy of the Nobel Quran by Mufti Muhammad Shafi, and revised in English by Justice Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani
Qur'ānic Orthography: The Written Representation Of The Recited Text Of The Qur'ān M A S Abdel Haleem www.islamic-awareness.org
The history of the Quran - Allamah Abu 'Abd Allah al-Zanjani
Purpose of the Quran by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
Siddique Katiya
June 2016 

Articles and information published
AS-SIDQ(THE TRUTH)
EXPLANATION OF MUSLIMS PRAYER TIMING
Every Muslim above the age of puberty is commanded to perform prescribed fives times daily prayers (salaat) within the prescribed time, (waqt) Al-Isrâ 17:78; Hûd 11:114; Tâ­Hâ 20:130, which are determined using the position of the sun.

The time of the first Dawn-prayer Fajr begins when the morning light appears and lasts just before the sunrise. The second Mid-day prayer Dhuhr begins when sun appears the highest in the sky and begins to decline Zawal , this is the approximate halfway between sunrise and sunset, the Dhuhr lasts when the beginning of the third Afternoon-prayer 'Asr begins when the shadow of an object reaches certain length-ratio in the afternoon. The 'Asr lasts prior to local sunset time which the beginning of the fourth After-sunset prayer Magrib which begins when the sun is fully set and lasts until the beginning of the fifth and final Night-prayer 'Isha when the western sky begins to darken. The 'Isha lasts until beginning of first Dawn-prayer Fajr.

Nowadays hardly any Muslim observes the sky or sun to determine the prayers timing, entirely all urbanised as well Muslims living in rural areas rely on pre-determine prayer tables prepared with the help of computer programs simply requiring the coordination (latitude and longitude) of a location. The times computed by these programs are considered accurate to ±2 minutes in most cases, relative to various acceptable criteria.

The two important prayers, dawn Fajr and night ‘Isha, require the measuring of certain amount (illumination) twilight (Shafaqe) in the sky. The twilight is caused by the scattering of sunlight by the upper layers of the Earth's atmosphere when the Sun’s angle is below the horizon. Nowadays, according to many experience observers, this phenomena (i.e. nautical twilight) is difficult to identify, quantify, and may fluctuates through the seasons, latitudes and atmospheric conditions, furthermore, lately the environmental and artificial light pollution is a major problem. According to U.S. Naval Observatory when the centre of the Sun is geometrically approximately 18° (astronomical twilight -, at sea level), at this point, the sun does not contribute any illumination to the sky, and twilight is so weak that it hardly noticeable. Under clear sky, at 18° or higher generally the sky is completely dark conversely the 18° or less, (i.e. 15°) there is some amount of light in the sky. This is why the leading Islamic organizations endorse the beginning and end of night (‘Isha) prayer at 18° or higher.

In summer, at latitudes higher than 48.5° (extreme northern regions), the sun does not go 18° below the horizon and at the latitudes higher than 51.5°, the sun does not go 15° below horizon, for example Manchester England and Edmonton Canada, in summer, the sun hardly goes beyond 13.5° below the horizon thus full darkness does not occur, in such cases several alternative methods are suggested by the leading scholars such as start of ‘Isha time 90 minute after the sunset and beginning of Fajr 90 minutes before the sunrise or other acceptable methods.

1. Fajr Dawn-Prayer
Fajr begins at subh saadiq - true dawn or morning twilight when the morning light appears across the full width of the sky. All Islamic scholars agree on this point.

Signs: At pre-dawn, some whiteness appears at the edge of the eastern horizon like a column, this is called (subh kaadhib -false dawn). This whiteness fades after some time and then comes another whiteness (lateral whiteness; second dawn) spreads towards the right and left (full width) through the edge of the eastern sky. This is called subh saadiq (also known as true or second or morning twilight) at this very time the Fajr begins. 

Globally the beginning time of Fajr is pre-determine by the leading Islamic organizations such as Egyptian General Authority of Survey 19.5°, Umm Al-Qura of Saudi Arabia 19°, University Of Islamic Sciences, Karachi and Muslim World League 18° and several Islamic organizations in the west uses 15°. The higher number (19.5°) correspondences early Fajr and the lower number correspondences to late Fajr (15°). It seems that 19.5°- 18° fixed by the reputable Islamic organizations are more concern with importance of end of ‘Isha time where such time is also coincides with ending of the dawn-to-sunset Islamic fasting period (Sahur – sehri – imsak) especially during month of Ramdhan. The fasting commences at Subah Sadiq (true dawn) this is also the commencing time for Fajr Salat.

The experts differ as far as pre-determination of subh saadiq - true dawn. The majority opinion is about 18° but there is a minority opinion that calls for 15°. Also several recent studies worth noting, reveal that the phenomenon of subh-Sadiq could vary in degrees at different latitudes and different seasons throughout the year, the new study suggest that, it is incorrect to calculate Fajr assuming any fixed degree (whether 18° or 15°) or any fixed minutes (like 90 minutes or 75 minutes). A possible explanation is given that because the sun apparently travels along specific latitude on a specific date between tropic of cancer and tropic of Capricorn, Muslims in various locations around the globe have made observations about Subh-Sadiq and the results are anywhere between 9° to 18°. A prayer table, for city of Montreal, prepared by Dr. Khalid Shaukat of moonsighting.com revealed that the time for subh-sadiq fluctuate slightly throughout the year, occurring as low as 14.54° in summer and as high as 17.20° in winter.

Based on conflicting estimation, It is our view that, fixing late Fajr time such as 15° could be problematic for those who intended to fast during the day and conversely saying Fajr salaat too early (e.g. 19.5° or 18°) could be equally unsafe. Therefore 18° is good approximate for sahur (imsak) – extreme limit of pre-dawn meal if one is fasting during the day and 15° is good approximate for start of Fajr. Those prayer tables use 18° for Fajr, it is recommend to wait 10 to 20 minutes before starting Fajr salaat. Equally, complete sahur (imsak) (pre-dawn meal) 10 to 20 minutes Fajr time when using 15° table. The delay between end of ‘Isha (imsak or sahur) and beginning of Fajr ( approximately 10 minute) is also supported by a hadith by Zayd ibn Thabit (3) . This delay is only recommendation as a precaution if one is sure of the time of Subah sadiq occurs, one can stop eating and perform Fajr salat thereafter. The prayer table published by ‘Aisha Charity , for city of Montreal Canada, uses 17.5° for Imsak of end of Sahur and uses 15° for beginning of Fajr. Fajr ends when sun begins to rise. (1 + 2)
2. Dhuhr (Zhur - Mid-Day Prayer)
Dhuhr begins at Zawal, when sun crosses the meridan (when sun reaches its highest point - nearest zenith) and begins to decline. As performing prayer is not desirable according to most leading jurists (1) when sun is at its highest. We recommend that stop performing salaat just prior to ten minutes from the time shown in this table, which adds 6 minutes to the local midpoint as margin of safety. Dhuhr ends when ‘Asr salaat begins

3. ‘Asr (Afternoon-Prayer)
The beginning time of ‘Asr having two acceptable juristic opinions 
(1) When the shadow of an object becomes its length (plus the length of its shadow at the mid-point, shadow ratio: 1 
(2) When the shadow of an object becomes twice its length plus the addition to the shadow at the mid-point, shadow ratio: 2
‘Asr ends as the sun begins to set, but to say the ‘Asr prayer is undesirable (makrooh) when sun has gone down much and the sunlight has become weak and pale. (2)

4. Maghrib (After-sunset Prayer)
Maghrib begins when sun completely set beneath the horizon, delaying Maghrib 3 to 5 minute from the local sunset time is preferred for safety margin - This prayer calendar adds 5 minute to the local sunset time. Maghrib lasts until 'Isha (till fading of twilight or complete darkness).

5. ‘Isha (Night-Prayer)
The beginning of ‘Isha time begins when Shafaq (twilight) is set in. All Islamic scholars agree on this point. Two different interpretations are expressed in describing the word shafaq in the books of hadith. These are commonly referred to as Shafaqe Ahmar and Shafaqe Abyadh. Both these phenomena occur one after the other and represent two distinct levels of illumination in the western sky. Shafaqe Ahmar occurs before Shafaqe Abyadh.

1. Shafaqe Ahmar: under clear-sky, when disappearance (sun’s red afterglow) of redness in the western sky. (Shafaqe Ahmar – roughly correspondence to Nautical twilight) 

It is believed that this method was accepted by Syedna Ibn Abbas, Umar bin khatab, Ali Talib, Ibadah Bin Thamit, Moosa Ashari and Ibn Umar (Radiallahu Anhum) including Imam Malik, Imam Shafi‘i, and Imam Ahmad and Sahibayn -Imam Mohammed and Imam Abu Yusuf (Rahmatullah Alaihi) well respected students of Imam Abu Hanifah. This phenomena (i.e. disappearance of redness roughly correspondence to nautical twilight between 12°and 15°) is difficult to identify, quantify, and may fluctuates through the seasons, latitudes and atmospheric conditions, furthermore, lately the artificial light pollution is a major problem.

2. Shafaqe Abyadh: under clear sky, when western sky begins to darkens into one colour and when almost darkness occurs or there is no trace of light left in the sky (Shafaqe Abyad - roughly correspondence to Astronomical twilight).

It is believed that this method was accepted by Syedna Abu Bakr, Muadh Bin Jabal, Ubay Ibn Kab, Abdullah Bin Zubair, Anas, Abu Hurairah, and Aisha (Radiallahu Anhum) also leading jurist Imam Abu Hanifah (Rahmatullah Alaihi).
It is generally estimated when sun approaches 17.5° to 18° below the horizon.

Generally there are no significant time differences between two phenomena (10 to 15 minutes) in most cases. As a matter of convenience most Islamic prayer tables use ‘Isha timing when complete darkness (shafaqe Abyadh) occurs. The difference in time could be significant in summer and could be as much as 45 to 120 minutes in northern regions.

It is worth noting that the the Islamic scholars of Hanfi school of jurisprudence strictly fix ‘Isha after Shafaqe Abyadh , but in certain circumstances, it is permitted, (based on rulings of the Sahibayn) to offer ‘Isha after Shafaqe Ahmar where the circumstances in which the ‘Isha is so late e.g. in some northern regions especially in summer months and if Muslims likely to encounter considerable hardship. No Hanafi scholar however is likely to permit ‘Isha any earlier than Shafaqe Ahmar except in extreme northern regions.
Globally the beginning of Isha time (based on Shafaqe Abyadh complete darkness) is fixed by leading Islamic organizations, such as, Umm Al-Qura of Saudi Arabia - 90 minutes after sunset which approximate 20° throughout the year, University of Islamic Sciences, Karachi 18°, Egyptian General Authority of Survey 17.5°, and Muslim World League 17° and several Islamic groups in the west 15°. The higher degree correspondences (i.e. 18°) to slightly late ‘Isha and lower number (i.e. 14°) correspondences to slightly early Isha. The prayer tables published by ‘Aisha Charity uses 17.5° for ‘Isha Shafaqe Abyadh and Shafaqe ahmar 15º

The experts also differ as far as pre-determination of Shafaqe Abyadh when western sky begins to darkens into one color. The majority opinion is around 18° but there is a minority opinion that calls for 15°. Also several recent studies worth noting, reveal that the phenomenon of Shafaqe Abyadh could vary in degrees at different latitudes and different seasons throughout the year, the new study suggest that, it is incorrect to calculate ‘Isha assuming any fixed degree (whether 18° or 15°) or any fixed minutes (like 90 minutes or 75 minutes). Some Muslims in various locations around the globe have made observations of Shafaqe Abyadh and the results vary anywhere between 9° to 18°. A prayer table, for city of Montreal, prepared by Dr. Khalid Shaukat of moonsighting.com revealed that the time for Shafaqe Abyadh fluctuate considerably throughout the year, occurring as low as 10.92° in summer and as high as 16.08° in winter. 

We have compared the table prepared by Dr. Khalid Shaukat of moonsighting.com to our limited study (less than 30 observations) throughout summer at least for 2 years for City of Montreal, we conclude that there is considerable differences about 4° to 7° representing 50 to 60 minutes time difference in summer. It is our view that further study may be needed to accept such conclusion. 
The prayers tables published by ‘Aisah Charity also shows early ‘Isha timing (Shafaqe Ahmar) using 14° in summer only from May 15 to August 15 based on our limited study conducted ( only in summer – outside the city of Montreal Canada under clear sky and minimum artificial light), It was observed that the disappearance of redness (Shafaqe Ahmar) varies from 12.5° to 13.8°. Our well respected elder and an experienced observer Hakimullah Gauri – Canada - views that 15° is a safe estimate for Shafaqe Ahmar but for Shafaqe Abyadh can not be less than 17.5°.

‘Isha prayer lasts till (Fajr) just before subh saadiq -true dawn as long as the dawn has not yet risen – (evening twilight).

Important notes: Hadith references:
(1) It is forbidden to perform salaat or funeral prayer when sun begins to rise until it is fully up; when sun is at its height until it passes the meridian (zawal); and when sun begins to set until it is completely set. [Muslim-1040]
(2) 'There is no prayer after performing Fajr until sun (sufficiently) rises; and there is no prayer after performing ‘Asr until sun completely sets.' [Muslim-1041, agreed upon]
some exceptions are possible - it is permissible to offer qadâ (makeup for missed prayers) or sajdah tilâwah.
(3) hadith of Zayd ibn Thabit Bukhari and Muslim (the extent of reciting 50 verses), [Nawawi, Majmu` 6.406; Ibn Qudama, Mughni 3.2127; Ibn al-Humam, Fath al-Qadir 2.374-375; Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar; Buhuti, Kashshaf al-Qina` 2.331]
References:
Fajar and Isha By Yaqub Ahmed Miftahi Ramadan 1426/ October 2005 Hizbul Ulama U.K., 74 Upton Lane, London, E7 9LW, England,
Dr. Monzur Ahmed MoonCalc 6 © October 2001 Beginning of Isha time in Summer - Fatwa (Islamic ruling) from Darul Uloom Karachi Pakistan 1999
Please report any inaccuracy or comments
Published by: ‘Aisha Charitable Support Services Montreal Canada www.as-sidq.org
Researcher Siddique Katiya Montreal Canada ©
15 September 2007 3rd Ramdhan 1428
'Aisha Charity Support Services Montreal Quebec Canada

How to start a Nonprofit Organization in Canada and Province of Quebec
First, choose your organization appropriate name. A non-profit organization ("NFO") may be incorporated in Quebec under Quebec Companies Act or a NFO may be created by written or unwritten contract as an unincorporated NFO association. An association has no juridical personality and is not required to register with Registraire des enterprises (REQ). In most cases, an association may not able to open bank account or register for payroll etc. or enter into a lease agreement as an unincorporated association unless it registers with the REQ 

Incorporate a Non-Profit Legal Person or Organization in Quebec 

Registering your Enterprise in Quebec 

For a start-up NFO that has no immediate plan to acquire immovable properties (building or land) it may register the organization as an (unincorporated) association because it is quicker,cheaper with fewer filing requirements. 

Also a NFO may be incorporated Federally under new "The Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act" (NFP Act)

Create / Maintain a Not-for-profit Corporation Federally 

All about incorporation - What, Who, Why and How 

If you decide to incorporate, next you carefully outline the purpose or objectives of your organization and file with incorporation's application. If you are establishing a place of worship (Musallah or Mosque), the objectives must be focused to the organization principle activities which you intent to do, such as administer and manage a place of worship, teach Islam, or Arabic to children under 15 after school. Avoid using superficial objectives or activities which the organization will not do, such as social and cultural activities, sport or helping immigrant,refugees, poor or needy. Adding such statements will unnecssary delay or jeopardize your chance to register as a Canadian Registered Charity. Please consult an expert when you are drafting your organization objectives.

The administrators or directors must review and approve all advertising material, flyers, web pages and social media/networking posting before publishing to ensure the no statements are made which contradict the stated objectives of the organization. 

After the registration either as an incorportion or an association, the organization must develop its by-laws on a priority basis and it must contain at least the following 
Constitutions or by-laws
The organization's name and its legal statue
The organization's purposes (also referred to as objects);
A provision stating that the organization will be operated without purpose of gain for its members, and that any profits or other assets of the organization will be used solely to promote its objectives;
The structure of the organization's governing body example board of directors, administrators members – conditions to became member
Rights and responsibilities of the board of directors, officers and members
A provision that explains how the organization will replace its directors (for example, annual election by members, appointment by existing directors, etc.);
A provision to transfer remaining assets in case of dissolution
The effective date of the constitution; and
The signatures of member of authorized body
Others, restriction on the signing of employment contract, borrowing authority etc.
Under Federal NFP Act, where the corporation’s by-laws are silent, it provides mandatory and default Rules, a minimum, a Federally incorporated must have the following two by-laws provisions (1) Conditions of membership and (2) Notice of meeting to members entitled to vote at the meeting. The corporation has the option of overriding many of these rules by setting out its own rules in the by-laws or, if it so chooses, in the articles. 
Model By-Laws
Siddique Katiya
Sunday, January 6, 2013 

'Aisha Charity Support Services Montreal Quebec Canada
Non-profit Organization and Registered Charity in Canada
Non-profit organization generally refers to an organization that uses its accumulated surplus or excess funds for its self-preservation, expansion, or plans to achieve its stated objectives rather than to distribute them as profit or dividends to its members 

Generally, Non-profit organizations are exempted from income taxes but are not necessarily exempted from other taxes such as consumption (GST/PST), payroll, and properties taxes 

In Canada or elsewhere, Non-profit organization are two kinds Charitable or Non-Charitable.

A charitable organization centers on generous giving (philanthropic) to help poor and needy, educational, religious, or other activities serving the public interest or common good. Examples churches, mosques, soup kitchen, food banks, some university and schools
A non-charitable organization may be municipalities, Federal and provincial crown corporations, professional associations, trade unions etc.
A Charitable NFO in Canada may apply for a Registred Charity status with the Charities Directorate of the Canada Revenue Agency. There are three types of registered charities
Charitable Organization
Public Foundation
Private Foundation
Types of registered charities (designations) 
Some Advantages of being a Registered Charity in Canada are :
Registered charity are allowed to issue official donation receipts for gifts it receives, and donor can use it to reduce their income tax payable
In most situations, registered charities can claim a partial rebate (50%) for the GST/PST/HST they paid.
Registered charities are eligible to receive or give gifts to other registered charities
In Canada a Non-profit organization generally cannot register especially a Registred Charity for the consumption taxes GST/PST/HS and cannot claim input tax credits, However, a registered charity can apply for GST/PST/HST rebate usually 50% of the amount paid. 

In Canada, a registered charity must be resident in Canada and there are four separate categories of charity:
1.	Relief of poverty
Examples: operating a food bank, providing non-profit residential accommodation for persons of low income; providing clothing, and other basic amenities to persons of low income; providing the necessities of life to victims of disasters or sudden catastrophes.

2.	Advancement of education
Examples: establishing and operating schools; providing scholarships, bursaries, and prizes for scholastic achievement; childbirth education classes that focus on preparation for parenting and nutrition; increasing the public's appreciation of Aboriginal culture; and doing research in a recognized field of knowledge and making the results available to the public.

3.	Advancement of religion
Examples: establishing and maintaining buildings for religious worship and other religious use; organizing and providing religious instruction; carrying out pastoral and missionary work.

4.	Certain Other Purposes that benefit the community in a way the courts have said is charitable.
Examples: 
relieving a condition or disability associated with old age; 
providing facilities for the care and rehabilitation of the elderly; 
preventing and relieving sickness and disability;
providing certain public amenities to benefit the community;
providing counseling services for people in distress; 
operating a shelter ;
operating a volunteer fire department.
In addition to the Canadian residency test a charity must meet the public benefit test
it demonstrates that it provides a measurable benefit to the public; as a whole or a significant section of it.
The beneficiaries cannot be a restricted group or one where members share a private connection.
An organization that wants to limit its beneficiaries unreasonably, or offer an unreasonable benefit to a group or individual, will not qualify for registration.
Application Process 
To qualify for a charity status, an organization must fill out Form T2050 and show in its application that it devotes all of its resources (funds, personnel, and property) to charitable activities that directly further its charitable purposes. It should explain, in detail, the specific activities it will undertake to achieve each of the purposes stated in its governing document (letter of patent, constitution or bylaws, trust document, or other establishing documents).
Application reviews process
Charities Registration (Security Information) Act, under Part 6 of The Anti-terrorism Act, re-defined the role and importance of protecting the integrity of Canada's registration system for charities in terms of Canada's anti-terrorism objectives to prevent terrorist financing through front organizations that have, or claim to have charitable goals.

The legislation has been specifically designed to protect the use of very sensitive information that may reveal an organization's ties to terrorist groups. This allows the Charities Directorate to make proper use of all information relevant to deciding whether an organization should be registered as a charity under the Income Tax Act.

If there are a reasonable grounds to believe, based on criminal and security intelligence reports, either that an organization makes its resources available, directly or indirectly to a terrorist group that is a listed entity under the Criminal Code, or to any other organization engaged in terrorist activities or in activities that support terrorist activities.

Charities Registration (Security Information) Act 

A charity's stated objectives must be set out clearly in its governing documents such as a letter of patent or bylaws. Any stated objectives described which are not recognize by the common law as charitable may not be eligible for registration.

When stating the formal objective(s) or purpose(s), an organization must keep in mind a number of important factors:

The stated objectives must be precise and clear and it must relate to the organization's current goals that must be achievable. Avoid using stated objectives which are a wishful list of somewhere the organization has presently no resources or experience to achieve such objectives. 

Model objects 

What is a governing document? 

A registered charity need not be incorporated, however, if a charity intent to borrow money or will acquire an immovable property (ensuring the continuity of the organization while the membership changes) or wish to limit any liabilities of its membership, it is advantages in most cases and would be mandatory to incorporate the organization 

Incorporation documents 

Other related articles : 

How to start a Nonprofit Organization in Province of Quebec 

Siddique Katiya
Sunday, January 6, 2013 

Friday, September 9, 2011
Zakāh (Zakāt) poor dues
Zakāh Zakāt or poor dues "alms giving", one of the Five Pillars of Islam, is the giving of a small percentage of one's possessions (surplus wealth) to charity generally to poor and needy Muslims individual. It is often compared to the system of tithing and alms, but it serves principally as the welfare contribution to poor and needy Muslims, although others may have a rightful share.  It is the duty of an Islamic community not just to pay and collect zakat but to distribute it fairly as well.


Zakat is sometimes refers as sadaqah - plural, sadaqat.  Generally the Sharing of wealth is called zakat whereas the sadqat could be sharing of wealth as well sharing of happiness among God's creation such as saying kind words or smile at someone or take care of animals or environments etc.

Zakat or sadqah is worship in Islam a means of spiritual purification. It is not a burden nor it replace the any taxation system but serves as socio-financial system of Islam by re-distributing the wealth among poor and needy.

There is no disagreement among Muslims about the obligatory nature of zakat throughout the Islamic history, denying Zakat equals denying the Islamic faith. The Muslim jurists differ on many minor details of zakat, each has his own opinion and arguments.  These difference of opinion may include rate, the exemptions, the kinds of wealth that are zakatable  for example, some scholars consider the wealth of children and insane individuals zakatable, others don't. Some scholars consider all agricultural products zakatable, others restrict zakat to specific kinds only.  Some consider debts  zakatable others don't. Similar differences exist for business assets and women's jewellery.  Some require certain minimum nisab (threshold) for zakatability, some don't. etc.  The  minor differences also exist about the disbursement of zakat.

There is an total agreement among Muslim jurists that zakat is obligatory on the Muslim who has reached puberty, who is sane, who is free, and who owns the minimum assigned amount , nisab.   But disagree on whether it is compulsory on the funds (liquid possessions) of the child and the insane individual.  Muslims jurists have agreed that zakat is obligatory on Muslims only and is not obliged from non-Muslims.

The Qur'an does not provide the definition of zakatable wealth nor does it provide the required percentages in zakat.  It is left to Sunnah to give, by example or by directives. It must be realized, however, that the Qur'an mentions a few kinds of zakatable possessions (assets), such as gold and silver, crops and fruits, earnings of trade and other business enterprises and what is drawn from beneath the earth (natural resources).

Muslims fulfill this religious obligation by giving a fixed percentage of their surplus wealth.  Zakat has been paired with such a high sense of righteousness that it is often placed on the same level of importance as offering Salat.  Muslims see this process also as a way of purifying themselves from their greed and selfishness and also safeguarding future loss.  In addition, Zakat purifies the person who receives it because it saves him from the humiliation of begging and prevents him from envying the rich.  Because it holds such a high level of importance the "punishment" for not paying when able is very severe declared by the Al-Quran.

There are two categories of charities in Islam - obligatory and voluntary

Obligatory

Almsgiving on possessions - Zakah
Almsgiving on self Sadaqatul fitr (fast-breaking zakah)
Almsginvg on produce on land 'Ushr land tax
Almsgiving on animal

Voluntary

Donation to build Mosques and Schools
Helping Non-Muslim etc

Possessions (assets) that are zakatable

Zakat on gold, silver currency and jewellery
Zakat on cash or its equivalent such as bonds, shares of joint companies etc.
Zakah on rented buildings, plants (factory), and fixed capital
Zakah on commercial assets such as inventories, work in process etc.
Zakah on livestock
Zakah on agriculture
Zakah on honey and animal products
Zakah on mining and fishing
Minimums and amounts

Most Muslims pay 2.5% of their zaktable possession held  for a full lunar year, 5% or 10% of certain type of harvests depending on irrigation. Exempt from Zakat are a person's house and personal transportation.

Zakat is not mandatory on harvest if the total did not reach the minimum limit (nisāb) of about 653 kilograms of crops, nor on gold amounts if the owner has less than 85 grams of gold or less than 595 grams of silver.

Who is entitled to receive Zakat

Eight catergory of individual may received the zakat, Noble Quran (9:60)

1. A needy - Fuqara'
2. Extreme poor Muslim - Al-Masakin
3. Those employed to collect - Aamileen
4. Those whose hearts are to be won - Muallafatul Quloob
5. To free the captives - Ar-Riqaab
6. Those in debt - Al Ghaarimeen
7. In the way of Allah - Fi Sabeelillah
8. Wayfarer - Ibnus-Sabeel

As a general rule, the recipient must be a Muslim living individual who does not possess wealth equal or an excess of a prescribed threshold amount Nisaab
Friday, September 9, 2011
Islamic Calendar
by Siddique Katiya  Montreal Canada  11 Shawwal 1432

The Islamic calendar, also know as Hijri calendar (A.H.) based on moon cycle and has 12 lunar months either 29 or 30  days without any leap year, total of 354 or 355 days annually.   Being a purely lunar calendar, with an annual drift of 11 or 12 days, each Islamic month appears in every season once in about every 33 years .
 The First year of Muslim calendar was, when the Prophet Muhammad migrated from Makkah to Medina about (637 also known as Hijra AH, the current (2011-2012 AD)  Islamic year is 1432    

Until few decades ago, the Muslims used the Islamic calendar for both the religious and commercial purposes, but now it is only use for determining the important religious dates, months and festivals.  Except for Saudi Arabia most Muslims now use the Gregorian calendar for their commercial and administrative purpose.

Traditionally, the Muslims mark their 1st day of each Islamic month upon first sighting of  Crescent (new moon)  with naked eye shortly after a sunset on the 29th of each month, if the new moon is not sighted Muslims suppose to complete the 30th days.   

The first sighting has to be made by one/two or more trustworthy Muslims testifying before a Moon sighting committee (Ruet-e-Hilal) generally established for this purpose. Such committees could be formed anywhere such as  a city, town, country or region depending of governance and consensus among community.  The Islamic laws do not give any preference to sighting to any specific location such as holy city of Makkah nor forbids starting of a month on two different dates.

In the first two days after conjunction (New Moon), the young crescent (moon) appears very low in the western sky after sunset. The sighting of the lunar crescent within first 24 hours of conjunction is usually difficult as the crescent at this time is quite thin and has a low surface brightness, and can easily be lost in the twilight.  Generally the crescent appearance occurs in westerly southern hemisphere first when with good sky conditions, high elongation and altitude of the moon  become visible to experienced observers about one day after the conjunction.   However, the time that the crescent actually becomes visible varies quite a bit from one month to another. The record for an early sighting of a lunar crescent with a telescope is 12.1 hours after conjunction,  for naked-eye sightings, the record is 15.5 hours which is extremely rare.

The decision to declare beginning of new month on the 29th day or to complete the 30th days has been challenging tasks for Muslims since the earlier period of Islam. In the past, small area such cities and town or territories were responsible for such announcements unconcern of the decisions of others.  For example the city of Makkah and Madina two sacred cities for the Muslims, about 330 km apart, did not harmonize their dates until the advancement of modern day’s telecommunication. 

Moon sighting controversy further complicated in later part of 20th century as decisions of different countries was readily available through rapid communication.  From early 70’s onward, It is common and unexpected occurrence that the Saudi Arabia was the first country to declare, early start, the beginning of the new month where neighboring countries such as Pakistan and countries west of  Saudi Arabia  such as Morocco or America did not sight  the crescent until next day of some cases two days later.

Next -  About Saudi’s Umm al-Qura Islamic Calende
As-Sidq ( the Truth), an Islamic website was created around 1995 

ARTICLES PUBLISHED BY SIDDIQUE KATIYA
Explanation of Muslims Prayer Timing

Brief History of Noble Qur’an Recitation and Written Text

How to start a Non-profit Organization in Canada and Province of Quebec

Non-profit organization and Registered Charity in Canada

Zakāh (Zakāt) poor dues

Introduction to Islamic Calendar

List of Montreal Mosques and Prayer Facilities

Perpetual Prayer Calendar for Metropolitan Montreal Quebec

Estimated Date of beginning of Islamic months from 2012-2022 AD 1434-1443 AH