Ganjshakar, Fariduddin
Farid al-Din Mas'ud Ganj-i-Shaka (b.c. April 4, 1179, Kothewal, Multan, Punjab, Ghurid Sultanate (present day Pakistan) - d. May 7, 1266 [5 Muharram 665 AH], Pakpattan, Punjab, Delhi Sultanate (present day Pakistan)) was a 12th-century Punjabi Sunni Muslim preacher and mystic who went on to become one of the most revered and distinguished Muslim mystics of the Golden Age of Islam. He is known reverentially as Baba Farid or Shaikh Farid by Muslims, Sikhs, and Hindus of the Punjab Region, or simply as Fariduddin Ganjshakar.
Monday, September 2, 2019
A00116 - 'Ali al-Rida
ʿAlī al-Riḍā, in full Abū al-Ḥasan ibn Mūsā ibn Jaʿfar ʿAlī al-Riḍā, (also
'Alī ibn Mūsā ar-Riḍā (Arabic: علي ابن موسى الرّضا); Abu al-Hasan, and Ali al-Reza) (b.c. December 29, 765 [11 Dhu al-Qidah 148AH], Medina, Hijaz, Abbasid Empire (now Saudi Arabia) - d. June 6, 818 [17 Safar 202 AH], Tus, Persia, Abbasid Empire (now Iran)) was the eighth imam of the Twelver Shi'ites. He was noted for his piety and learning. In 817, the caliph al-Ma'mun, in an attempt to heal the division between the majority Sunnis and the Shi'ites, appointed 'Ali al-Rida to be his successor. The appointment aroused varying reactions. Few of the reactions, even among the Shīʿites, were favorable. Already irritated by al-Maʾmūn’s transfer of the capital from Baghdad to Merv and by other offenses, rose up in rebellion. al-Maʾmūn gradually changed his policy. The court party set out from Merv for Baghdad, and on the way, 'Ali al-Rida died, after a brief illness, at Ṭūs. Shīʿite historians attribute his death to poison, possibly administered by the caliph himself. The shrine (the mashhad) of 'Ali al-Rida at Ṭūs became a pilgrimage place and gave its name to the city of Mashhad (in Iran). Many miracles are attributed to ʿAlī al-Riḍā by the Shīʿites.
Tuesday, July 23, 2019
A00115 - Fariduddin Masud, Punjabi Sunni Muslim Mystic
Masud, Fariduddin
Farīd al-Dīn Masʿūd Ganj-i-Shakar (b, c. April 4, 1179, Kothewal, Multan, Punjab, Ghurid Sultanate (present-day Pakistan) – d. May 7, 1266 [5 Muharram, 665 AH], Pakpattan, Punjab, Delhi Sultanate (present-day Pakistan)) was a 12th-century Punjabi Sunni Muslim preacher and mystic.who went on to become "one of the most revered and distinguished ... Muslim mystics" of the medieval period. He is known reverentially as Bābā Farīd or Shaikh Farīd by Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus of the Punjab Region, or simply as Farīduddīn Ganjshakar.
Fariduddin Masud was a great Sufi master who was born in 1179 at a village called Kothewal, 10 km from Multan in the Punjab region of what is now Pakistan, to Jamāl-ud-dīn Suleimān and Maryam Bībī (Qarsum Bībī), daughter of Sheikh Wajīh-ud-dīn Khojendī. He was a Sunni Muslim and was one of the founding fathers of the Chishti Sufi order. Baba Farid received his early education at Multan, which had become a center for Muslim education. It was there that he met his teacher Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki, a noted Sufi saint, who was passing through Multan on his way from Baghdad to Delhi. Upon completing his education, Farīd left for Sistan and Kandahar and went to Makkah (Mecca) for the Hajj pilgrimage with his parents at the age of 16.
Once his education was over, he moved to Delhi, where he learned the Islamic doctrine from his master, Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki. He later moved to Hansi, Haryana. When Quṭbuddīn Bakhtiyār Kākī died in 1235, Farīd left Hansi and became his spiritual successor. He settled in Ajodhan (the present Pakpattan, Pakistan) instead of Delhi. On his way to Ajodhan, while passing through Faridkot, he met the 20-year-old Nizamuddin Auliya, who went on to become his disciple, and later his successor Sufi khalīfah. His nephew and disciple and successor Alauddin Sabir Kaliyari was amongst the greatest Sufi saints and from him the Sabiriya branch under Chisty order started.
Baba Farid had three wives and eight children (five sons and three daughters). One of his wives, Hazabara, was the daughter of Sulṭān Nasīruddīn Maḥmūd.
The great Arab traveller Ibn Battuta once visited this Sufi saint. Ibn Battuta reported that Fariduddin Ganjshakar was the spiritual guide of the Sultan of Delhi Sultanate, and that the Sultan had given him the village of Ajodhan. He also met Baba Farid's two sons.
Baba Farid's descendants, also known as Fareedi, Fareedies or Faridy, mostly carry the name Fārūqī, and can be found in Pakistan, India and the diaspora. Fariduddin Ganjshakar's descendants include the Sufi saint Salim Chishti, whose daughter was the Emperor Jehangir's foster mother. Their descendants settled in Sheikhupur, Badaun and the remains of a fort they built can still be found.
Fariduddin Ganjshakar's shrine darbār is located in Pakpattan, Punjab, Pakistan.
One of Farīd's most important contributions to Punjabi literature was his development of the language for literary purposes. Whereas Sanskrit, Arabic, Turkish and Persian had historically been considered the languages of the learned and the elite, and used in monastic centers, Punjabi was generally considered a less refined folk language. Although earlier poets had written in a primitive Punjabi, before Farīd there was little in Punjabi literature apart from traditional and anonymous ballads. By using Punjabi as the language of poetry, Farīd laid the basis for a vernacular Punjabi literature that would be developed later.
The city of Faridkot bears his name. According to legend, Farīd stopped by the city, then named Mokhalpūr, and sat in seclusion for forty days near the fort of King Mokhal. The king was said to be so impressed by his presence that he named the city after Baba Farid, which today is known as Tilla Baba Farid. The festival Bābā Sheikh Farād Āgman Purb Melā' is celebrated in September each year for 3 days, commemorating Baba Farid's arrival in the city. Ajodhan was also renamed as Farīd's 'Pāk Pattan', meaning 'Holy Ferry'; today it is generally called Pāk Pattan Sharīf.
Faridia Islamic University, a religious madrassa in Sahiwal, Punjab, Pakistan, is named after Baba Farid, and in July 1998, the Punjab Government in India established the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences at Faridkot, the city which itself was named after him.
There are various explanations of why Baba Farid was given the title Shakar Ganj[ ('Treasure of Sugar'). One legend says his mother used to encourage the young Farīd to pray by placing sugar under his prayer mat. Once, when she forgot, the young Farīd found the sugar anyway, an experience that gave him more spiritual fervor and led to his being given the name.
Thursday, February 7, 2019
February 2020 - The Muslim Compendium
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February 1
7 Jumada al-Thani, 1441 AH
Saturday
{yawm al-sabt (the day of rest)}
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Days of the Week
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The Arabic word for “day” is "yawm", and properly the name of each day is "yawm" plus the word from the list below (as, in English, Arabic appends “day” onto other words to create the names of the days: “Sun” + “day” = “Sunday,” etc.). However, you will often see "yawm" omitted and the days simply called by the names listed below:
- Monday = al-ithnayn
- Tuesday = al-thulatha'
- Wednesday = al-arbiʿaʾ
- Thursday = al-khamis
- Friday = al-jum'a
- Saturday = al-sabt
- Sunday = al-ahad
Other than Friday and Saturday, these names are derived from the cardinal numbers. So “Sunday” (al-ahad) is literally “first day,” Monday (al-ithnayn)“second day,” and so on.
“Week” is "usbuʿ", from "sabaʿ" or “seven,” and “days of the week” is "ayam al-usbuʿ".
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February 2
8 Jumada al-Thani, 1441 AH
Sunday
{yawm al-ahad (the first day)}
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Rajab
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Rajab is the seventh month of the Islamic calendar. The definition of "rajaba" is "to respect". "Rajab" is a derivative of "rajaba". The month of Rajab is regarded as one of the four sacred months in Islam in which battles are prohibited. The pre-Islamic Arabs also considered warfare blasphemous during the four sacred months. Muslims believe Rajab is the month in which 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, the first Imam of Shia Islam and the Fourth Caliph of Sunni Islam, was born inside the Kaaba, the most sacred place of worship for Muslims. Rajab is also the month during which Isra' Mi'raj (Muhammad's night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem and then to heaven) takes place. Rajab and Sha'ban are a prelude to the holy month of Ramadan.
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February 3
9 Jumada al-Thani, 1441 AH
Monday
{yawm al-ithnayn (the second day)}
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The Four Sacred Months
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The Four Sacred Months of Islam are Rajab, Ramadan, Dhu al-Qidah, and Dhu al-Hijjah.
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February 4
10 Jumada al-Thani, 1441 AH
Tuesday
{yawm al-thulatha' (the third day)}
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Sha'ban
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Sha'ban is the eighth month of the Islamic calendar. Sha'ban is the month of "separation", separating the sacred months of Rajab and Ramadan. The fifteenth night of this month is known as the "Night of Records" (Laylat al-Bara'at).
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February 5
11 Jumada al-Thani, 1441 AH
Wednesday
{yawm al-arbi‘a’ (the fourth day)}
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Ramadan
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Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, and the month in which the Qur'an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. Fasting during the month of Ramadan is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. The month is spent by Muslims fasting during the daylight hours from dawn to sunset. According to Islam, the Qur'an was sent down to the lowest heaven during this month, thus being prepared for gradual revelation by Jibreel (Gabriel) to Muhammad. Therefore, Muhammad told his followers that the Gates of Heaven would be open for the entire month and the gates of Hell (Jahannam) would be closed.
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February 6
12 Jumada al-Thani, 1441 AH
Thursday
{yawm al-khamis (the fifth day)}
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Shawwal
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Shawwal is the tenth month of the Islamic calendar. Shawwal means to "lift or carry", so named because a female camel normally would be carrying a fetus at this time of year. The first day of Shawwal is Eid al-Fitr. Some Muslims observe six days of fasting during Shawwal beginning the day after Eid al-Fitr since fasting is prohibited on this day. These six days of fasting together with the Ramadan fasts, are equivalent to fasting all year round. The reasoning behind this tradition is that a good deed in Islam is rewarded ten times, hence fasting 30 days during Ramadan and six days during Shawwal is equivalent to fasting the whole year in terms of reward.
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February 7
13 Jumada al-Thani, 1441 AH
Friday
{yawm al-jum‘a (the day of congregation)}
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Tawakel Karman
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Tawakel Karman
2011 Nobel Peace Prize
b. February 7, 1979, Taiz Governorate, Yemen Arab Republic
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Tawakel Karman is a human rights activist based in Yemen. She was a prominent leader in the Arab Spring of 2011.
The 2011 Nobel Peace Prize was jointly given to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, Leymah Gbowee of Liberia, and Tawakel Karman of Yemen "for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work." Tawakel Karman was the first Arab woman and the first Yemeni to receive a Nobel Prize.
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February 8
14 Jumada al-Thani, 1441 AH
Saturday
{yawm al-sabt (the day of rest)}
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Dhu al-Qidah
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Dhu al-Qidah, also known as Dhu'l-Qa'dah or alternatively Zulqida, is the eleventh month in the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months in Islam during which warfare is prohibited.
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February 9
15 Jumada al-Thani, 1441 AH
Sunday
{yawm al-ahad (the first day)}
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Dhu al-Hijjah
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Dhu al-Hijjah, also known as Zulhijja, is the twelfth and final month in the Islamic calendar. It is a very sacred month in the Islamic calendar, one in which the Hajj -- the pilgrimage -- takes place as well as the Festival of Sacrifice. "Dhu al-Hijjah" literally means "Possessor of the Pilgrimage" or "The Month of the Pilgrimage". During this month Muslim pilgrims from all around the world congregate at Mecca to visit the Kaaba. The Hajj -- one of the Five Pillars of Islam -- is performed on the eighth, ninth, and the tenth days of the month of Dhu al-Hijjah.
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February 10
16 Jumada al-Thani, 1441 AH
Monday
{yawm al-ithnayn (the second day)}
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Cardinal Arabic Numbers
Part One
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The following is a list of the cardinal Arabic numbers from zero to ten:
0 = sifr
1 = wahid
2 = ithnan
3= thalatha
4 = arba'a
5 = khamsa
6 = sitta
7 = sa'ba
8 = thamaniya
9= tis'a
10 = 'ashar
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February 11
17 Jumada al-Thani, 1441 AH
Tuesday
{yawm al-thulatha' (the third day)}
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Cardinal Arabic Numbers
Part Two
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The following are the cardinal Arabic numbers from 10 to 20:
10 = 'ashar
11 = 'ahada 'ashar
12 = ithnan 'ashar
13 = thalatha 'ashar
14 = arba'a 'ashar
15 = khamsa 'ashar
16 = sitta 'ashar
17 = sab'a 'ashar
18 = thamaniya 'ashar
19 = tis'a 'ashar
20 = 'ishrun
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Forming numbers in Arabic is quite easy, from 13 to 19 you just place a number before ten for example, in English Arabic, 13 = three ten, instead of thirteen in English, 17 is seven ten in English Arabic. From 21 to 99, one only needs to reverse the numbers and add the term "wa-" between the two numbers. Thus, 36 would six "wa-" thirty (six "and" thirty) instead of thirty-six (36 = sitta wa-thalathun with "wa-" meaning "and").
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February 12
18 Jumada al-Thani, 1441 AH
Wednesday
{yawm al-arbi‘a’ (the fourth day)}
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Cardinal Arabic Numbers
Part Three
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The following are the cardinal Arabic numbers from 20 to 30:
20 = 'ishrun
21 = wahid wa-'ishrun
22 = ithnan wa-'ishrun
23 = thalatha wa-'ishrun
24 = arba'a wa-'ishrun
25 = khamsa wa-'ishrun
26 = sitta wa-'ishrun
27 = sab'a wa-'ishrun
28 = thamaniya wa-'ishrun
29 = tis'a wa-'ishrun
30 = thalathun
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February 13
19 Jumada al-Thani, 1441 AH
Thursday
{yawm al-khamis (the fifth day)}
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Cardinal Arabic Numbers
Part Four
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The following are the cardinal numbers by ten from 10 to 100:
10 = 'ashar
20 = 'ishrun
30 = thalathun
40 = arba'un
50 = khamsun
60 = sittun
70 = sab'un
80 = thamanun
90 = tis'un
100 = mi'a
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February 14
20 Jumada al-Thani, 1441 AH
Friday
{yawm al-jum‘a (the day of congregation)}
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Mother's Day in Iran
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Fatima bint Muhammad (b. 615 CE {5 AH}, Mecca - d. August 18, 632 CE {3 Jumada al-Thani, 11 AH}) was the youngest daughter and, according to Shia Muslims, the only child of the Prophet Muhammad and Khadijah who lived to adulthood and, therefore, the only child of Muhammad and Khadijah to become part of Muhammad's household. Fatima's husband was Ali, the last of the Rightly Guided (Rashidun) Caliphs. Her uncle included Hasan and Husayn, the second and third Shia imams, respectively. Fatima is the object of love and respect of Muslims, as she was the child closest to her father and supported him in his difficulties, was the supporter and loving caretaker of her own husband and children, and was the only child of Muhammad to have male children live beyond childhood, whose descendants are spread throughout the Islamic world and are known as Sayyids. The 11th century dynasty ruling Egypt at the time of the Crusades, the Fatimids claimed descent from her.
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Iranians celebrate Fatima's birth anniversary (20 Jumada al-Thani) as Mother's Day. On this day, banners reading "Ya Fatemeah" ("O! Fatima") are displayed on government buildings, private buildings, public streets and car windows.
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February 15
21 Jumada al-Thani, 1441 AH
Saturday
{yawm al-sabt (the day of rest)}
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Ordinal Arabic Numbers
Part One
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Ordinal numbers in Arabic are almost like the cardinal numbers, with some exceptions in the numbers from 1 to 10, and a slight difference in the numbers from 11 and up. Note that ordinal numbers in Arabic are somehow like adjectives, so they have to take the masculine (m) or feminine (f) form.
First = awwal (m) or ula (f)
Second = thani (m) or thaniyah (f)
Third = thalith (m) or thalithah (f)
Fourth = rabi' (m) or rabi'athtis'a (f)
Fifth = khamis (m) or khamisah (f)
Sixth = sadis (m) or sadisah (f)
Seventh = sabi' (m) or sabi'ah (f)
Eighth = thamin (m) or thaminah (f)
Ninth = tasi' (m) or tasi'ah (f)
Tenth = 'ashir (m) or 'ashirah (f)
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February 16
22 Jumada al-Thani, 1441 AH
Sunday
{yawm al-ahad (the first day)}
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Mahershala Ali
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Mahershala Ali
2018 Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture, Golden Globe Awards
2016 Best Supporting Actor, Academy Awards
2016 Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role, Screen Actors Guild Awards
2016 Best Supporting Actor in a Movie, Critics' Choice Awards
b. February 16, 1974, Oakland, California, United States
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Mahershalalhashbaz Ali, known professionally as Mahershala Ali, is an American actor. Ali began his career as a regular on television series such as Crossing Jordan and Threat Matrix, before his breakthrough role as Richard Tyler in the science fiction series The 4400. For his performance as Juan in the drama film Moonlight (2016), Mahershala Ali received universal acclaim from critics and won the Academy Award, the Screen Actors Guild Award and the Critics' Choice Award for Best Supporting Actor, and also received Golden Globe and British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Award nominations. Mahershala Ali's win at the 89th Academy Awards made him the first Muslim actor to win an Oscar for acting.
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February 17
23 Jumada al-Thani, 1441 AH
Monday
{yawm al-ithnayn (the second day)}
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Ordinal Arabic Numbers
Part Two
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After the tenth ordinal Arabic number, only the first number takes the feminine form. For example, "13th" is "thalith achar" for masculine and "thalitha achar" for feminine. In this example, "achar" stays the same, the first half "thalith" which means "3rd" takes "a" in the feminine, and so does the rest of the ordinal number.
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February 18
24 Jumada al-Thani, 1441 AH
Tuesday
{yawm al-thulatha' (the third day)}
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February 19
25 Jumada al-Thani, 1441 AH
Wednesday
{yawm al-arbi‘a’ (the fourth day)}
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February 20
26 Jumada al-Thani, 1441 AH
Thursday
{yawm al-khamis (the fifth day)}
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February 21
27 Jumada al-Thani, 1441 AH
Friday
{yawm al-jum‘a (the day of congregation)}
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February 22
28 Jumada al-Thani, 1441 AH
Saturday
{yawm al-sabt (the day of rest)}
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February 23
29 Jumada al-Thani, 1441 AH
Sunday
{yawm al-ahad (the first day)}
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February 24
30 Jumada al-Thani, 1441 AH
Monday
{yawm al-ithnayn (the second day)}
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February 25
1 Rajab, 1441 AH
Tuesday
{yawm al-thulatha' (the third day)}
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February 26
2 Rajab, 1441 AH
Wednesday
{yawm al-arbi‘a’ (the fourth day)}
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Ahmed Zewail
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Ahmed Zewail
1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
b. February 26, 1946, Damanhour, Egypt
d. August 2, 2016, Pasadena, California, United States
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Ahmed Zewail was an Egyptian chemist who is known as the "father of femtochemistry." Femtochemistry is the area of physical chemistry that studies chemical reactions on extremely short timescales in order to study the very act of atoms within molecules (reactants) rearranging themselves to form new molecules. The 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Ahmed Zewail "for his studies of the transition states of chemical reactions using femtosecond spectroscopy." Ahmed Zewail was the first Muslim chemist to be awarded the Nobel Prize and the second Muslim scientist. The first Muslim scientist to be awarded the Nobel Prize was Mohammad Abdus Salam of Pakistan in 1979.
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February 27
3 Rajab, 1441 AH
Thursday
{yawm al-khamis (the fifth day)}
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February 28
4 Rajab, 1441 AH
Friday
{yawm al-jum‘a (the day of congregation)}
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February 29
5 Rajab, 1441 AH
Saturday
{yawm al-sabt (the day of rest)}
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