"Love" has 77 names

1. Hawa means light liking but also transfers an element of error, bias and irrationality. As the old pre-Islamic proverb goes: "Hawa is the downside of reason."
2. Ishq, which comes from entanglement, like two pieces of wood and ivory in a work of arabesque, the two lovers are inseparable yet still independent and distinct.
3. Hayam, which comes from wondering thirsty in the desert.
4. Fitna, which means love, infatuation, passionate desire, but also means civil war and illusion
5. Izaz, which is the kind of love that gives both lovers power and dignity.
6. Sakan, which also means home and tranquility, the Quran uses this word to describe the relation between married couples.
7. Fanaa, which means non-existence. This is the stage where the lovers lose their independent existences and actually become one another. This stage is usually used by Sufis in reference to divine love and the unity of existence.
8. Hubb, Mahabbah, in the Quran when the love stems from mankind, the word hubb was used, but when it stems from Allaah, the word Mahabbah was used.

al-Waleed ibn al-Mugheerah

When the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was first revealed the Qur’an the pagan Makkans at the time were masters of the language and held annual poetry competitions. When he was reciting it, one of the top poets of the time, al-Waleed ibn al-Mugheerah, overheard the recitation, about which he later commented, ‘‘I swear by God, there is none amongst you who knows poetry as well as I do, nor can any compete with me in composition or rhetoric – not even in the poetry of jinns! And yet, I swear by God, Muhammad’s speech (i.e. the Qur’ān) does not bear any similarity to anything I know, and I swear by God, the speech that he says is very sweet, and is adorned with beauty and charm. Its first part is fruitful, and its last part is abundant, and it conquers all other speech, and remains unconquered! It shatters and destroys all that has come before it!’

A must read

Why is there no freedom of speech in US?

• NBC is owned by General Electric
• ABC by Disney
• CBS by Viacom
• CNN by AOL Time Warner
• Fox by News Corporation Rupert Murdoch British Airways, Rothschild Investments
• New York Times: Carlyle Group, Eli Lilly, Ford, Johnson and Johnson, Hallmark, Lehman Brothers, Staples, Pepsi
• Washington Post:Lockheed Martin, Coca-Cola, Dun & Bradstreet, Gillette, G.E. Invenstments, J.P. Morgan, Moody's

How do you rise up against a system that appears to provide you with your home and car, food and clothes, electricity and health care - even when you know that the system also cretes a world where twenty four thousand people starve to death each day.

The US prints currency that is not backed by Gold. In 2003 ,the US National debt exceeded $ 7 trillion - roughly $24000 for each US citizen. As long as the world accepts the dollar as its standard currency this excessive debt does not pose a problem. However if another currency came along eg Euro things will change dramatically.

US overthrows democratically elected government in Guatemala in 1954. 200,000 civilians died.US overthrows democratically elected government in Chile in 1973 killing President Salvador Allende and putting Augusto Pinochet in power.US overthrows democratically elected Hugo Chavez in 2003 but he returns soon.US assassinates president Omar Torrijos of Panama in 1981 for the control of Panama Canal. Later US invades Panama in 1989 kidnaps Manuel Noriega. In 2004 Martín Torrijos becomes President.US overthrows Prime Minister Mohammed Mossaddeq in Iran in 1953 through operation Ajax by Kermit Roosevelt, Jr. the grandson of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. In 2000, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright stated: "In 1953 the United States played a significant role in orchestrating the overthrow of Iran's popular Prime Minister, Mohammed Massadegh. The Eisenhower Administration believed its actions were justified for strategic reasons; but the coup was clearly a setback for Iran's political development. And it is easy to see now why many Iranians continue to resent this intervention by America in their internal affairs."

The rape of Iraq... US gives Bechtel Major Contract in Rebuilding Iraq. Director Gearge P Shultz was secretaty of State under Ronald Reagan. He worked alongside Executive Caspar W Weinberger who was Secretary of Defence under Ronald Reagan... Halliburton Co. wins $7 billion Iraq contract owned by CEO Dick Cheney.

MY SPEED

History of the cross symbol in Christianity

Early depictions on Jesus usually showed Jesus in the form of a shepherd carrying a lamb. The use of the cross as a symbol was condemned by at least one church father of the 3rd century CE because of its Pagan origins. The first appearance of a cross in Christian art is on a Vatican sarcophagus from the mid-5th Century. It was a Greek cross with equal-length arms. Jesus' body was not shown. The first crucifixion scenes didn't appear in Christian art until the 7th century CE. The shape of the original crucifixion device is a matter for speculation. Sometimes, the Romans executed people on a Tau cross, sometimes on a Roman cross and sometimes on a simple stake. The gospels, which were originally written in Greek, use the word "stauros" to refer to the execution structure. (see Mark 15:21, Mark 15:32, Matthew 27:32, Luke 23:26, John 19:17). But in reality, the Greek word usually means a vertical pole without a crossbar.

ICTUS

For sometime I've been noticing a bumper sticker or a casting mounted on the trunk lids of cars. The body of the symbol may be empty, or may contain a name ("Jesus" or "ICTUS"). This is a Christian symbol especially when fish is often mentioned in the gospels eg Mark 1:17: "Come after Me, and I will make you become fishers of men." ,Matthew 12:40: "...Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, ..." , Matthew 14:17: "And they said to Him, 'We have here only five loaves and two fish.'" etc. What is also interesting is the Greek word for fish, ichthus, spelled: Iota Chi Theta Upsilon Sigma has a popular translation Iesous (Jesus) CHristos (Christ) THeou (God) Uiou (Son) Soter (Savior).