Though I’m not sure that there’s any sort of SYF “mentality” or defining personality characteristic other than literal demographic ones – career minded, young, not married, female. I don’t think its SYF’s specifically you don’t understand so much as girls in general

I’ll wholeheartedly agree with that! I’m probably just associating my lack of understanding with this increasing demographic.

It seems that staying unmarried in some fields is a career benefit, as, for the prime example, what happens when kids come along or the decision is made to start a family? Couples without children are often haggled about it, and it seems “expected” for a married couple to have kids. Great. But… guys don’t have the problems of pregnancy and early infancy, they physically can’t, and aren’t socially or culturally pressured to do anything “more” after the birth but continue to support the family financially.

While I feel that paternal leave should be offered more frequently and with the same options/benefits, and even in conjunction with maternal leave (reduced workloads or one week on, one off between both parents) the greatest burden and hurdle would still – and otherwise always will – fall onto working mothers, if only for the mandatory nine month gestation period. But the expectation for couples to fall into the normal/average family category with 2.6 kids, two dogs and a cat just to get that next promotion is another one of those archaic and outmoded concepts that needs to be dumped for good. A person’s family life shouldn’t affect their business life. They can’t neglect either one, but just because someone has baby Joe and baby Jane with another on the way doesn’t mean they have a healthy or stable family.

Responding to the ONE on-topic comment:
I agree with your frustration with girls in general. I don’t understand them much either, I never really have. Most of my close friends are guys, and the few girls are very much like me in enough ways to relate (read: geeky/nerdy). Though I’m not sure that there’s any sort of SYF “mentality” or defining personality characteristic other than literal demographic ones – career minded, young, not married, female. I don’t think its SYF’s specifically you don’t understand so much as girls in general, as they seem (to me at least) much like their bachelor male counterparts who are more interested in making CEO by 35 than starting a family.

The growing demographic to me simply suggests greater assimilation of females in the higher-level workforce. It seems that staying unmarried in some fields is a career benefit, as, for the prime example, what happens when kids come along or the decision is made to start a family? Couples without children are often haggled about it, and it seems “expected” for a married couple to have kids. Great. But… guys don’t have the problems of pregnancy and early infancy, they physically can’t, and aren’t socially or culturally pressured to do anything “more” after the birth but continue to support the family financially. At a critical stage in the career ladder, a high-face or physical job, etc, an untimely pregnancy could throw years of hard work out the window or create a major setback, and this does happen. Check out some articles on this when you get the chance if you get curious.

CONCLUSION: The forgoing proves beyond any shadow of doubt the life pattern that Prophet Mohammad (S) demonstrated to the world and the system of life that he (S) delivered to mankind are now the only hope of mankind to get justice, peace and security on earth.

And abortion proves that Satan directly influences the living into destroying the lord’s children. Your spiel doesn’t prove shit. I don’t know what’s worse, the fact that you’re disrupting articles which aren’t relevant to the point you are attempting to make, or the fact that you’re trying to do it with embellished truths, lies, and opinions. Please sir, find another box to build your frail little sandcastle in or introduce some sort of relevancy towards the article at hand.

MUHAMMAD (S) – THE ONLY HOPE OF MANKIND

INTRODUCTION: At the end of sixth century AD humanity had lost all the guidance that came from its Creator and Sustainer as how to live, act and behave on earth. There were no human rights any where in the world. Under the domination of both the superpowers of the time, the Roman and the Persian Empires, only the ruling class was enjoying all rights and privileges. The common man has no rights worth its name and was treated as serfdom. Women folk were treated in Christianity something as “untouchables” and under the fold of Hindu paganism, they had no right to live after the death of husband. They were to die with them alive due to age old prevalent custom of “sati”. Europe was grappling under its dark ages and America was not known at all to the civilized world of the time. Humanity was, thus, passing through dark pages of its history; its fate was lying in obscurity and apparently had no hopes in its “destiny”.

The Christian priests, saints and hermits of the time were all in waiting for the coming of a Messenger from a land in the desert covered with date trees as prophesies in Bible foretold. Only the City of Madinah in the heart of Arabian Peninsula fulfilled that criterion. They had established numerous monasteries at the northern arch of Arabian Peninsula . The monastery of Ba’hirah Rahib was one of them. Professor Taha Yaseen of Egypt has given a vivid description of these monasteries in his book of Seerah of Rasulullah (S) and has shown that how eagerly Judeo-Christian world was waiting for the new Messenger of Allah. The detail account given by Prophet’s beloved companion Salman Farsi (RA) of his reaching to Madinah in search of the Messenger as directed by Christian priests confirms the quest and long waiting of Christian world.

Unfortunately, at the end of 20th and the beginning of the 21st century, the humanity is experiencing as a whole more or less the similar situation as that of 6th century but in a different perspective. In 6th century, the causes of concern and waiting were genuine as all the previous guidance from God were either lost, or mutilated through human innovations and manipulations along with the life pattern of the previous Messengers too except with some scanty account that could not lead and deliver to human society a system and a model of their life-pattern to live with. In the context of the present world, both the Guidance from the Creator and Sustainer is available intact in its original form along with the life-pattern of the Messenger, the guide, the model as how to live, act and behave in the world in its minutest details. It is just the self-denial attitude of Judeo-Christian-Pagan world that is blind to its existence in its totality. It is due to age old prejudices, historical animosity and ignorance of an unprecedented nature; it is being ignored one way or the other.

Their blindness is by their free-choice and not by accident or any natural mishap. It can be termed as “day-light-blindness”. They are in disparate need of a system for getting justice, peace, security and an ideal model to lead a balanced and an organized life in their personal, family and society at individual, national and international levels. They are making blind rough shots here and there, grappling in darkness but having no semblance of light either in their vision, approach, programming or projections. They are seeing every thing from the ken of mortal eyes and not as their urgent need for Divine Guidance and the life-pattern that the Messenger sets in its minutest details for human beings to follow. That is why man has failed in all its programming, projections and man-made systems whether it was feudalism, monarchy, capitalism, socialism, communism and secular democracy or military dictatorship. All have multiplied human problems and provided only some band-aid-treatment or some namesake temporary respite only. Problems are gradually heaping and pilling up in Himalayan size.

In sequence, humanity has lost all its hopes. The forthcoming era of Globalization, World Trade and forming of different Group Markets on the pattern of EUC are bound to fail as their objective is to exploit the human needs and meager resources of under-developed and developing countries around the world to add a few degrees to the standard of living of the developed countries at he cost of increasing the poverty level in the poor countries higher and higher. By denying the existing Divine Guidance and the role of the Messenger of time, humanity cannot survive anymore. It has no choice but to turn its face to follow the life-pattern of Rasulullah (S) with all hopes and expectations and it would get it there. Let us see what hopes the life of the Messenger of the time, Prophet Muhammad has in store for the suffering humanity that all the secular isms could not deliver at all.

THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS BUIILDING THE FATE OF HUMANITY: After his appointment as the Messenger of Allah in the cave of Hear in 572 AD, Prophet Muhammad (S) concentrated, on individuals, the epic center of all troubles and corruptions on earth. He (S) rightly concluded that if individuals are corrected, reformed and their character is re-build on the basis of fear of Allah and accountability in Akhirah, society as a whole can be reconstituted afresh on balanced moral grounds. As such:

* He (S) cemented the relations of each individual with his/her Creator and Sustainer;

* Every individual is a trustee of what Allah has given him and not master or owner;

* Every one is accountable to Allah for all his/her actions and deeds one earth in Akhirah;

* He (S) presented his life as ideal for all individuals to follow in every walk of life till

eternity.

Rasulullah (S) made every effort in remodeling their respective individual character on these principles and made them the most trustworthy people of the time. This was his (S) team of workers that he first built and they were the instruments in changing the society altogether on the concept of Tawhid, Amanah, Akhirah and his Prophethood. He (S) purified individual’s character and motivated them to carry out the mission of Islam to the four corners of the world. His (S) Kalimah: La Ilaha Ilallah, Muhammadun Rasulullah was, in fact, the most revolutionary political slogan and a motivating force that kept his (S) followers always active, motivated and involved in the service of mankind: to be good to others, in removing the evil from the society and establishing the Ma’roof all around. This benevolent character that he (S) created amongst his (S) followers was by serving himself as its model in every walk of life. He (S), thus, transformed the Arab society of Jahiliyah [ignorance] in to a benevolent and Allah conscious society all around in his (S) life time within a limited period of 23 years. This is his (S) prescribed, well-practiced and trusted model for mankind to follow till eternity. If humanity wants today to remove corruption, favoritism, nepotism and discrimination in all its forms and shape from its ranks and files, this is the only way now left for mankind to accept and follow, the only hope to get justice, peace and a balanced harmonious growth in the world.

THE MOST INSPIRING CHARACTER OF HISTORY:

* He (S) was very kind and merciful and full of concern for believers in Allah [Q9: 128];

* He (S) was at the highest order of morality [Q.68: 4];

* His (S) morals were the embodiment of the Qur’an [Hadith]

* Rasulullah (S) confirmed, “I have been appointed to perfect the morality”. [Hadith]

* He (S) was the Messenger for entire mankind [Q. 7: 158]

* Arabs acknowledged him (S) unanimously and used to call him Al-Sadiq & Al-Ameen

[the Truthful and the Trustworthy]

* He (S)” never speaks out of his own desire and that [what he coveys to you] is but [a

Divine] inspiration with which he is being inspired” [Q. An-Najm: 3-4]

* He (S) said, “Ana Afsahul Arab” [I am the most eloquent person amongst the Arabs]

* An Extraordinary advocate and promoter of “Ilm” [knowledge] in the society:

“Talabul Ilme farizatun ala kulley Muslim” [Acquiring knowledge is obligatory on

every Muslim [and Muslimah] – Hadith –Ibne Ma’ja]

* He (S) was the most ideal and perfect Da’ee Ilallah for all time to come:

* He (S) declared the first Charter of Human Rights in 631 AD from the Mount of

Arafat when he (S) performed his (S) first and the last Hajj.

* He (S) was the most ardent advocate of human rights, wage-earners rights, very benevolent to slaves, care takers of the way farers and the oppressed, the orphans and the rights of women;

* He (S) established the concept of equality amongst human beings, eradicated all kinds of discrimination on account of color, race, wealth, language and geographical boundaries. He made Bilal bin Ribah (RA), a Negro from Eretria the Moazzin of his Mosque and his personal exchequer;

* He (S) was an affectionate father, a dutiful and loveable husband, an ideal neighbor, a trustworthy and honest trader, an efficient administrator, a foresighted statesman and a brilliant general. In short he (S) was the most accomplished human being. Whoso ever came in contact with him (S) adored him, including his adversaries. He (S) is the most perfect ideal in every walk of life for any individual and society to follow as model, the only hope of mankind to deliver Khair [good] to all who resolve to follow him and his teachings.

BUILDING A MODEL HUMAN SOCIETY – Rasulullah (S) first built his (S) team of workers on the lines stated above. We call them Sahabah out of reverence. He (S) built it through person to person contacts who in turn became the king pins of the Islamic society that he (S) established in Arabian Peninsula based on the principles of equality, justice and complete social security for the poor, needy, destitute, underfed, unemployed, incapacitated and wayfarers – the have-nots, through a well-established social-welfare system of Islam that advocates: “Collect from your affluent and return it back to your poor and needy” [Hadith}

He (S) build a society in which justice was free, education was obligatory and free for all. It was free of corruption and favoritism. Rate of crime was extremely low to the extent that often jails were found empty. Situation of law and order was so perfect that an old lady could travel from Sana’a to Hazarmaut, a distance of about 1,000 miles with gold in her hands and she had no fear except that of Allah. Adi bin Hatim (RA) confirmed it by his own observation.

CONCLUSION: The forgoing proves beyond any shadow of doubt the life pattern that Prophet Mohammad (S) demonstrated to the world and the system of life that he (S) delivered to mankind are now the only hope of mankind to get justice, peace and security on earth. The more its adoption is delayed, the more it is drifting away from its cherished goal to attain perfection in transforming the abode of man into the cradle of peace and free of exploitation; where both the affluent and the poor will feel contented in their respective field and where the opportunity of progress will be available to all and sundry without any prejudice as a right of all human beings. Humanity can attain this goal only when it would accept the leadership of Prophet Muhammad (S) as the only hope of its survival and delivering good to its specie.

However, it would be possible only when the Muslim Ummah establishes Islam as a political entity some where in its midst and sets a model for humanity to follow. If the Ummah does it, the world would rush to it and accept it like a hot cake, Insha Allah. Will the Muslim Community and its leadership accept it as the most important challenge of time and replenish the ‘skeleton” cheeks of humanity with new hopes and blood.

This idea is very dangerous. If you believe that Muslims are worshiping an idol, then there is no basis even to talk to them. They are pagan idolaters like Hindus and Buddhists. It is alleged that although Islam is a monotheistic religion, the Muslims’ only God is simply another idol that Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) chose (or in some versions of the story, he made it up).

To invalidate this foolish theory, one has to take the story from different angles.

The crescent is not a symbol of Islam, but of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans are those tribes that moved to Turkey from east and middle Asia. They converted to Islam and built a huge Muslim Empire that ruled the whole Muslim world for centuries. When they took Islam as a religion they started using the lunar calendar, the calendar that was used by Muslims, Jews and early Christians. Even today, the flag of Turkey has a crescent on it. There was no crescent on any mosque built before the Ottomans era.

Prophet Abraham built the Kaaba for people to worship God. While pagan Arabs admitted this fact and even kept the stone where he used to stand to build the Kaaba (Abraham’s station), they brought idols to the Kaaba and worshiped them to get closer to Abraham’s Lord, Allah, God of gods. Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) came with the monotheistic message of Islam. Arabs defended these idols and refused to give up the religion of their fathers and grandfathers. They offered to Muhammad a deal, that is to worship their gods for one year, and they worship Allah alone for one year. A chapter of the Quran came with the response from God to this evil invitation:

[Say : O ye that reject Faith! I worship not that which ye worship, Nor will ye worship that which I worship. And I will not worship that which ye have been wont to worship, Nor will ye worship that which I worship. To you be your Way, and to me mine. ]109:1-6

Later on, the Quran started calling Allah by other names. One of those holy names was Al-Rahman (the Gracious). Arabs wondered:”is this a new God?” The Quran responded again:

[Say: "Call upon Allah, or call upon Rahman: by whatever name ye call upon Him, (it is well): for to Him belong the Most Beautiful Names. ]17:110

It is not a new god; it is a new name for the same God. Allah has ninety nine names in Islam; all of them are holy and speak about different attributes of the same creator, almighty Allah. As an example, read these verses of the Quran:

[Allah is He, than Whom there is no other god; Who knows (all things) both secret and open; He, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

Allah is He, than Whom there is no other god; the Sovereign, the Holy One, the Source of Peace (and Perfection), the Guardian of Faith, the Preserver of Safety, the Exalted in Might, the Irresistible, the Supreme: Glory to Allah! (High is He) above the partners they attribute to Him.

He is Allah, the Creator, the Evolver, the Bestower of Forms (or Colours). To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names: whatever is in the heavens and on earth, doth declare His Praises and Glory; and He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.]59:22-24

When Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) came back to Mecca, he entered the city peacefully on the top of an army of 10,000 men, exactly as the Bible described him “pre-eminent above ten thousand.” (Solomon 5:10). He did not burn a single home; he did not harm a single person; he just went to the Kaaba and destroyed all the gods Arabs had there. He kept nothing in the Kaaba. Where is this picture of the moon god coming from? I don’t know. Did anyone of the pagan Arabs have a digital camera by then?

There is evidence that the word Allah existed before the birth of Muhammad PBUH for thousands of years. It is probably the oldest name man used to call God. Most likely, Adam used the word Allah to call the Lord. On the other hand, the word “GOD” was born with the English language, less than ten centuries ago. Can we say that all English speaking nations are pagans because they use the word “God”? What about Chinese monotheists? How should they call God?

Prophet Muhammad’s father’s name was Abdullah (The slave of Allah). This name was common among Arab pagans and Jews. Abdullah bin Salam was one of the first Jews to convert to Islam in Medina. When Arabs call Allah in prayer they say: “Ya Allah” or “Allahoma”. Aren’t these words familiar to you? “Alleluia” and “Elohim” are the words used to call Allah in the Bible. In Hebrew, the suffix im means many. So Elohim literally means many Allah(s). This is a known way to express dignity and respect to almighty Allah by calling Him pleural. This phenomenon is known in Hebrew, Arabic, English and other languages. In Quran, the same pattern is seen many times. For example, God says in the holy Quran:

[ We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption). ]15:9.

In the English translation of the Bible, you read, “Let us make man in our image”-Genesis 1:26-KJV.

The word Allah is used in all Arabic translations of the Bible. It was used in some English translations of the Bible like the original “Scofield Reference Bible”-reference: what is his name? by Deedat. In the New Testament, Jesus is believed to cry before his death “ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?” Eloi is the exact Arabic word “Elahi” which comes from the same root as Allah.

I have no doubt that the word “Allah” is the oldest known name man called God with. For those who choose to ignore this fact and transgress, Muslims have nothing to offer. Allah says in the holy Quran:

[If any, after this, invent a lie and attribute it to Allah, they are indeed unjust wrong-doers.] 3:94

For Muslims, Allah is perfect. He has no partners. We worship Him and Him alone. Our faith is summarized in the holy Quran:

[Say: He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him.]112:1-4

I’m more than marginally confused by the whole thing, and I doubt that I’ll ever truly understand the SYF, but this was an interesting article Anath. Thank you.

ERS said:
Actually, dishonor killings are believed to have their origins in misinterpretations of pre-Islamic Arab tribal codes. They pre-date Islam by centuries, are un-Islamic, and also occur in other communities (e.g., Druze, Hindu, Sikh).

Frankly I don’t know if this really matters. The people who are doing these things willing, openly, and by preference, show through their own actions how disturbed their mindset truly is. If they didn’t want to do these things then one would think that they might call for reform, or join another religion, but more than a few of the people committing honor killings and circumcising women do in fact wish to do it. Now perhaps they only wish to do it because they feel it pleases allah, and perhaps they won’t ever speak out against it because if the word of mohammed is law, nay, perfection, and they have even the slightest inclination that these acts are implied or suggested in any way that they will act upon them, even if only out of fear. The rest (including those who misinterpreted said tribal codes, intentionally or otherwise) are doing these things because they want to, or see some benefit in it, and if they can justify their actions all the better. I really, truly, honestly doubt whether hardcore muslims could ever really be “reasoned” with. I think what needs to happen is that islam needs to split. There needs to be a revolution of sorts, separating the moderate and the extreme, as just saying the term Muslim, or even Shi’a or Sunni doesn’t really capture the scope of personal thoughts and beliefs which must exist yet are suppressed by the mainstream. I know that there are underlying schools of thought as well, but muslims seem to unite under one banner far more willingly and immediately than christians or hindu, or nearly any other religion, and it’s a bit disturbing. Of course this is assuming that these sorts of philosophical deviants even exist. I hope they do, and they seemingly must, yet I haven’t the foggiest. But this is all a little off topic for this article….

I agree with you, though, that they are despicable.

Ellen R. Sheeley, Author
“Reclaiming Honor in Jordan”
http://www.redroom.com/author/ellen-r-sheeley