A Gift for Muslim Women

The major sins are those acts which have been forbidden by Allah in the Quran and by His Messenger (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) in the Sunnah (practice of the Prophet), and which have been made clear by the actions of the first righteous generation of Muslims, the Companions of the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) There is some difference of opinion among scholars in this regard. Some say these major sins are seven, and in support of their position they quote the tradition: 'Avoid the seven noxious things'- and after having said this, the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) mentioned them: 'associating anything with Allah; magic; killing one whom Allah has declared inviolate without a just case, consuming the property of an orphan, devouring usury, turning back when the army advances, and slandering chaste women who are believers but indiscreet.' (Bukhari and Muslim) 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas said: 'Seventy is closer to their number than seven,' and in this book, Imam ad-Dhahabi goes through the 70 Major Sins Supported by the Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam). The Author Muhammad bin Ahmad bin `Uthman bin Qaymaz at Turkamani, Shams al-Din al-Dimashqi al-Dhahabi al-Shafi`i (673-748 AH), the imam, Shaykh al-Islam, head of hadith masters, critic and expert examiner of the hadith, encyclopedic historian and biographer, and foremost authority in the canonical readings of the Qur'an. Born in Damascus where his family lived from the time of his grandfather `Uthman, he sometimes identified himself as Ibn al-Dhahabi - son of the goldsmith - in reference to his father's profession.

Khalid bin Al-Waleed (Raz) was the hero of Islam. He led several battles and was always victorious. He conquered the apostates, especially Musailamah Al-Kadhab (the Liar) and restored order and peace to the Arabian Peninsula. He devised military tactics, which, by the help of Allah, made him defeat the huge Roman army. He was very tough with his enemies but at the same time very lenient with his brother Muslims. When he- died, 'Umar bin Al-Khattab (R) cried and said: "Women would never give birth to one-like you." The Sword of Allah: Khalid bin Al-Waleed (Raz), is written by the late Lieutenant-General A.I. Akram. The author learnt Arabic in order to draw on the earliest historical sources and he visited every one of Khalid's battlefields in order to draw analyses from the viewpoint of military strategy, including reconciling conflicting historians' accounts. Muslim history is replete with great military achievements and glorious Feats of arms. In the annals of war there are no battles that surpass, in brilliance and decisiveness, the battles of Islam; no commanders who surpass, in courage and skill, the gifted generals of Islam. The sword has always held a place of honour in Muslim culture. And yet very little is known in the world today about the military history of lslam.