The way the cloth of the Ka3ba use to be woven in the past
One of the pillars of the Holy ka3ba with its wooden base and crown dating back to the construction of Abdullah ibn az Zubair in 65 H. A rocky base was holding the pillar in the holy Ka3ba dating back to the construction of Abdullah ibn Az Zubair in 65 H
A copy of the original othmani musshaf which was written in the era of othman bin affan
Door in Medina- Prophets Mosque
A mouth piece of the well of zamzam with its ring and lid.
A pulley for lifting zam zam water dating back to the end of the 14th century of Hijrah.
A brass bucket which use to be in the well of zam zam dating back to 1299 H
A diagram explaining how zamzam water flows. The water flows from below hajre aswad on one side and two sides from safa. If any one of the openings is closed, the water will not flow. It pumps water at exactly the same level and depth over and over....
A marble midday timer used to determine prayer times before the printing of the Hijri Calendar.
Unable to bear the famine and malnutrition in other poor impoverished countries around the world, one Saudi restaurant owner has decided to take matters into his own hands by enforcing levies on all patrons of his restaurant that do not finish all the food that they have ordered. He has signs posted in his restaurant stating that if any customer does not finish their meal, leaving food on their plate, they will be charged an additional fee. The additional monies collected are placed in a box and when sufficient funds are collected it is then distributed to various charity organizations. The restaurant owner hopes that all other restaurants in Saudi Arabia would follow suit.
I personally believe that this is an excellent initiative. I have noticed lots of food wastage here in the Middle East especially during the fasting month. Hotels and restaurants prepare elaborate five course meals and after dinner most of the left over foods are simply thrown away into a garbage bag.Mind you I guess this is also bound to happen simply because the food portions per person are quite large in most Saudi restaurants. Usually when I go to a restaurant I tell the waiter to pack the remainder of the food as a take away and I usually eat it the next day of give it to my domestic worker. It pains me to see food thrown away into the garbage bin when there are people out there who have no idea where their next plate of food is coming from. However, in many countries around the world restaurants as well as citizens of the country are not allowed to distribute left over foods to the poor by law due to health and safety hazards.So what do you think, should all restaurants across the globe follow this Saudi gentleman's example by charging an additional fee to customers who do not finish their meal? Do you think that this will decrease the problem of food wastage in restaurants? Would this initiative curb the 'eyes are bigger than the stomach' syndrome?
I am writing to you and hoping everything is going well with you.
Since I am now in the USA continuing my studies and this is for me the first real experience to live outside my home country and culture that I am so use to facing every day, I thus have so many thoughts about this experience and stories o...f different people “Saudis and Americans”.
About myself, I did not need America or the “American System” to teach me the mannerism, good behavior, or communication skills with other people, Alhamdulillah “thanks to Allah” I got those from my childhood since I have good parents. But, unfortunately, for some reasons many Saudis are lacking those behaviors and I am sure you know what I am talking about. It is really difficult for me to live the unorganized inconsiderate Saudi style in my country. So, when I and many of my good friends came to USA, we just found the “way of living and common respect” fits in with our lives. We started to hear new words were simply missed in our culture back in Saudi Arabia like “Thank You”, “Excuse me”, “Please”, or “Sorry”. Guess what, I saw people standing in a queue everywhere “banks, shops, and even in front of a hot dog carts on the sidewalks”. I have seen people holding the door for me to keep it open, which I hardly recall ever happening in Saudi Arabia….. Oh wait I am sorry, it does happen for certain people only who are ranked highly in society and the doors figuratively and literally are kept open for their pleasure, even though this may affect other people. A common mistake in our society is that if anyone thinks that you disagree with some people from within your community that means you are against the country or you are a rebelling person. I am one proud Muslim, but I prefer a Christian guy who treats me with respect over a Muslim who happens to be unfair with others. Many close minded people will take my speech as being liberal or me being influenced by secular thoughts.
But for sure America is not that perfect place with no one single flaw. “I believe that heaven is the only perfect place”. They have their horrible history from the Indians and Native Americans, slavery, and racism and discrimination. I am sure you are a good reader and follow the news. Almost 35 years ago during the blackout that stroked New York City , the city was lacking the power for only two days, but people went mad and started to break shops and commit crimes for no reason at all. I am, as a resident there, always keeping in my mind that Mr. Johnny who happens to be a nice, smiley friendly neighbor, when he loses his job and thus has no money in his hands, he might take the advantage of the blackout and rob me. Unfortunately, this behavior of stealing from others in times of crisis occurred during the last big explosion of the gas lorry in Riyadh and it was videoed as well.
As a general observation, we have the same crimes as they do. But they are taking it seriously and try their best to catch the criminals and, in contrary, we do not.
Needless to say that freedom in the USA has the greatest impact on their culture. But as Muslim, there are things that cannot be accepted under freedom of choice “like homosexuality, parents abandoned by their kids, sexual relationships before marriage, abortion, and etc…”. and for some unknown reason, you cannot say it in public that you are against these kind of behaviors.
I remember when I was having a discussion about culture differences with an American, he asked me: “are you a religious person?” and I answered: “your question has a different meaning in our religion in comparison to yours. For us as Muslims, you have to pray all the prayers no matter what happened, with a small exception in the arrangement for certain times, etc… So we have to be religious otherwise we will not be called Muslims. For your religion, if you asked someone are you a religious, that means do you go to a church every Sunday, and if he does not go to a church, he will still be called a Christian”
Then he made me laugh when I asked him:” Do you go to a church?”
He said:” NO, and God has to understand that”
In general, if there is one thing I can bring back home from the USA, it is how to deal with other people with respect and how to understand other peoples point of view. We are labeled as Muslims, but we don’t practice this great faith.
Saudi Arabia is reported to be a country that has one the highest divorce rates in the world. Almost one fifth of all marriages do not last and this figure seems to be increasing annually. According to Arab news some time back, Saudi women are to blame for most of the divorces as they enter into marriage type relationships without being adequately trained domestically.Whilst there is some truth in this, I personally believe that there is always two sides to a story.After all, it takes 'two to tango'. Whilst researching this subject though, I came across some really hilarious articles in which Saudi men have divorced their wives in pretty unconventional and innovative ways.
According to Emirates 24/7 news, a Saudi husband used a loudspeaker to divorce his wife at a busy shopping mall after seeing her take a note from another man bearing his phone number.This, according to the Saudi Arabic language quotidian, Kabar.
The husband was with his wife and three children at the mall when he went his own way into a men’s clothing shop.
“When he left that shop, he saw a man giving his wife a note bearing his phone number…she accepted the paper and put it inside her bag,” The newspaper did not mention where the mall is located.“He then used the mall’s loudspeaker to shout divorce words against his wife although she was with her three children.
Earlier this year, a Saudi man broke up with his wife because she disobeyed him by going on a business trip without his consent.
The man phoned a radio program dealing with marital problems to complain about his wife to host Sheikh Ghazi al-Shammari, a prominent Islamic scholar. The unnamed man said his wife “offended his manhood” by traveling from the Saudi port city of Jeddah to the capital Riyadh for a business conference, alone and without his approval.
Al-Shammari concluded that the man had to divorce his wife.
“Such a wife is suspicious because she insisted to travel alone to Riyadh and without ample reason,” Al-Shammari later said, as quoted by Al-Arabiya. “I did not rush with the advice because I saw that the issue was dangerous and that we should not remain silent more about it.” The caller decided to heed the advice, and divorced his wife of ten years – during the live broadcast. Al-Shammari said the man should consider remarrying her if she repents for her actions.
Two years ago, a Saudi man divorced his wife by sending her a text message.A court in the city of Jeddah finalized the divorce, which under Saudi Arabia's Islamic Shariah law only requires a man who wants a divorce to tell his spouse "I divorce you" three times, The Daily Telegraph reported. The Telegraph said the divorce is believed to be the first in Saudi Arabia to be initiated by a text message.
The man, who was in Iraq at the time the message was sent, called on two relatives to confirm his intentions in court.
The Arab News reported the man was in Iraq for "what he described as 'jihad.'"
Just a few days ago, a Saudi man in his 30's divorced his wife for having an account on Twitter without his knowledge according to Arab news. The husband asked her to cancel her account after he found out that his wife had many male and female followers.
"He took the decision to divorce when she refused, after which she went to her father’s house in Jeddah.
The husband tried to call her back and according to their relatives, reconciliation efforts resulted in a suggested agreement under which the husband will have to pay an amount of money to his wife, who will in turn delete her account.
However, the wife insists on keeping the account, saying the husband’s action was unjustifiable and that she is not convinced that simply being on Twitter could cause a family dispute of this scale. Members of the family said efforts are ongoing to bring the couple back together, and that the reconciliation money could be doubled."
Early last year,Guinness World record judges confirmed that Abdulaziz Goldstein became the first man to divorce his wife via twitter.The 38-year-old Saudi sent the termination tweet of ‘I divorce you, I divorce you, I divorce you’ to his former wife, who wishes to remain unnamed, while away on business in Bahrain in February of this year. It was only when friends suggested that Goldstein might be the first to use the platform to make such an annulment did he contact Guinness.
“I’m amazed,” he told The Pan-Arabia Enquirer from his hometown of Riyadh last night. “When I sent the tweet, I never thought in a million years that I would be the first to do so. It just seemed like the obvious way to do it at the time, as I had run out of credit so couldn’t send an SMS.” Using the remaining 96 characters of his tweet, Goldstein is believed to have asked his then wife to remember to take the trash out and pick up his mother from bridge club.
I find the last article to be dubious though. For a start I have not come across original Najdi Saudis with the surname of Goldstein and neither have I come across a bridge club within the Riyadh area. It is articles like these that create a mockery towards Islamic values and towards an Islamic lifestyle in totality. Divorce in Islam is a very serious issue and usually when a couple is heading for a divorce both sides of the family will make tremendous efforts to provide the couple with advice and also encourage reconciliation especially if there are kids involved. In an authentic hadith narrated by Abdullah ibn Umar, the Prophet Muhammed (saw) said," Of all the lawful acts the most detestable to Allah is divorce." Usually, the husband will give one talaaq either written or verbally. In other words he will say "I divorce you" once. The husband and wife will then stay under one roof for a period of three months without having any sexual relationship."The waiting period helps to prevent hasty terminations due to anger and allows both parties time to reconsider as well as to see if the wife is pregnant. If the wife is pregnant, the waiting period is lengthened until she delivers. At any point during this time, the husband and wife are free to resume their conjugal relationship, thereby ending the divorce process. During this waiting period, the husband remains financially responsible for the support of his wife." There are various other laws and regulations pertaining to the divorce issue and in general it is not as simple as saying "I divorce you" three times. Whilst many people from other parts of the world may find it shocking and presumably frown upon the fact that women in this region can be merely divorced via sms, twitter,on live national radio or through a mall loudspeaker (quite bizarre in my opinion), this is unfortunately divorce Saudi style!!
Luv Israni, an ace photographer personifies an eccentric and inspiring spirit; untamed yet sophisticated; spontaneous yet focused; zest for life; enthusiastic and tremendously visual.
At a very young age, Luv started his journey & flourished as a kid model. He was exposed to the camera at a very early age and gathered all the confidence, strength and ability on screen. His keen eye in direction was a big plus factor when he directed two short documentary films in Mumbai ‘bomb blast’ and another ‘Mumbai 4 A.M to 4 A.M’ in the year 2005. That’s when he realized, his desire was not to be in front of the camera but his aspirations changed to be behind the camera. From that point onward he chose to be a photographer without looking back.
In 2005, Luv entered the trade and did various shoots and that’s when he started developing his career path. Luv is one of the finest and the youngest advertising, fashion and celebrity photographer in India today, shooting a number of Advertising campaigns, Film & Television Publicity shoots, Product shoots, Magazine covers, Fashion Features, Model Portfolio, Catalogues as well as Hotel & Property shoots.
Today he is a much sought after personality within the fashion, fame and glamour industry. Respected by clients and colleagues alike, Luv's masterful talent speaks volumes for itself. Luv's creativity extends far beyond the studio walls. Most importantly he has earned the respect of his peers and the public for his creativity, customer satisfaction, tireless devotion and work ethic. All one needs to do is glance through his work to see the heart and soul of a gifted artist in the prime of his life and career.Read on to find out more in his own words.
Nationality: Indian.
Education/background: Graduate from MMK College of Commerce from Bandra.
Favorite reading material: Don't really read
1. Firstly, thank you for agreeing to be interviewed despite your very hectic lifestyle.So tell me who is Luv Israni? Tell me a little bit about your background. Where were you born? Basically a brief synopsis of your life from a child up until adulthood.
Luv Israni earlier known as Mohit was born and brought up in Mumbai. At a very young age I had joined my family business where I was a Casting Director handling all sorts of castings for films, television serials, print ads, as this has been my family business for over 2 decades now (www.modelspoint.com).
I always wanted to be a film director, I had taken admission in the London school of film making but at the last minute I decided to drop the idea. My career took off again with my family support when my dad started a magazine known as Tele Prime Time where I got opportunities to start clicking away.
2. How do you find and get clients?
Initially it was a little easier for me as I had a model in my house, my younger sister Megha..So I used to experiment with her..But yeah, I started off with shooting kids portfolios.. My mom became my business manager & started showing all her models my work & started getting me shoots.
3. Is this your full-time job or do you have other businesses as well? Please elaborate
I am lucky as I have made my passion my profession & yes this is my full time job. Along with this I also have my family business which takes up a bit of my time and is varied.My dad runs a Celeb Management Company known as Celeb 9 that handles television celebrities; their complete business. He has recently also opened an acting school known as MUMBAI ACTING ACADEMY which is a one stop shop for anyone who wants to act where acting is not taught but actors are made.
My mom handles this website www.modelspoint.com which is a portal for fresh talent & a casting agency known as Israni Communications. I have started a Wedding division which is run by my sister. She's the first wedding director in the country who covers videography & photography of weddings.
Though all of us have our own domains I focus on my photography but I do have to sometimes over look all the other departments too.
4. What are the hardest challenges you face in running your own business?
Dividing Time - my major draw back which I am quite aware of and trying to work on is..Time Management..I wish the day had 48 hours so that I would be able to do everything as per plan...
5. Do you feel like you’re balancing your work and personal life pretty well?
No not at all.. My sister has been complaining about this for many years now, friends too, and recently my girl friend also broke up with me because of this. I do wish to create a balance but the more I try to do the balancing act, the more it gets out of balance.
6. If you were not a fashion photographer, what would you be doing?
As a child I always use to think of studying Hotel management and would always want to be a Chef.. But today when I think about this question I have come to realize that I am happy in my current profession and can't imagine doing anything else.
7. What topics and subjects are you the most passionate about?
Pictures & People.
8. What makes you the most happy? (Work or personal)
Clicking clicking.. I can go on and on non stop without a break. all day all night
9. Where do you and your friends like to hang out or do in your spare time?
I am a complete Bollywood Buff - Movies is something I use to earlier try to watch once a week. Nowadays its one in a month or sometimes one in 3 months because of work pressure. But I like chilling out with friends, calling them over for a drink. I often invite them home and drink with friends and family together.
10. If someone could grant you a wish and you could choose to have any skill or talent in the world, what would it be?
Grant me a wand to travel all across the world..
11. What are your favorite websites?
I have a few minutes to spare for Facebook only
12. Who or what inspires you?
My father. He is 58 yet has so much of energy..His Dreams inspire me to work harder and achieve them all..
13. Do you consider yourself to be a spiritual person?
I believe in God. Love visiting temples. I often go to shirdi. Pray every morning before beginning my day
14. Have you had any formal training in photography or graphic arts?
Not at all.. It's my father who has trained me and he is not a photographer himself. I have not assisted any photographer or gone to any photography school.
15. What are some of your most memorable shoots?
The last shoot I did recently in Goa. One of the most special shoots ever.
16. How would you describe your photography style?
I have always tried not to have a particular style when I shoot people. I try not repeating the same thing, my style is finding new locations, new garments, new feel so that none of my images look like the ones I have done earlier.
17. Your picture gallery on facebook shows your passion and well developed eye for fashion.What is it about fashion that attracts you as a photographer?
I love when my pictures speak. I make all my models and actors perform. A video is quite easy as u have 25 frames a second to perform. But in a still its much more difficult to have it all perfect. I direct all my talent to perform & get the image right & that's my forte.
I always believe that I should perform better than yesterday. Each day when I shoot I tell myself I have to click better than yesterday & that's how I keep growing.
18. What advise would you give to students out there who aspire to be a part of the fashion photography industry?
Think different, work hard and keep clicking.
19. Are there any additional comments you’d like to add for the blog readers?
It has been 7 years now that I have been clicking away and finally I present to the world a glimpse of my work over the years. It has been a great experience capturing various Actors,Models and Brands..With great Pride and Gratitude I thank my team,my fans my faces who inspire me to do better work and God up there who makes my click better than the last..
Once again,thank you Luv (Mohit) for taking the time to answer these questions. Desert Moon wishes you all the best in your future endeavours!!!
If you wish to see more of Luv Israni's fantastic photography then visit his website or facebook page
The reason I posted this letter from the Director of the Al- Falah Charitable Trust in Malawi is not to boast or off show, for certainly what the right hand gives, the left hand should not know about. Boasting, showing off and being proud is not a part of my character for I was not brought up in that way. My sole intention in posting this letter is to simply create an awareness that the projects that my family and I are involved with are legitimate projects. I know of many people out there who wish to contribute funds to the poor but are afraid of the legitimacy of the organization. Many of my Saudi friends have given donations to organizations outside of Saudi Arabia and they have been duped by these bogus organizations. A family friend of ours had given a huge sum of money for a masjid to be built in India. When he visited India himself he went to the village to enquire about the masjid that he had supposedly funded only to realize that no masjid was built. In other words he was cheated and robbed of his money by shady, unscrupulous characters.Be very careful to whom you donate money to. Make sure that the money is given to trustworthy, honest individuals. I would now like to take this opportunity in encouraging all my blog readers to join in our yearly Eid ul Adha Qurbaani program in Malawi by contributing funds to purchase sacrificial animals. If you wish to be a part of this project along with the well building project to provide clean drinking water to the poor impoverished villages in Malawi then kindly drop me an email or contact the institute directly. My email address is desertmoonsdiary@gmail.com. As God Almighty mentions in the Holy Quraan, " Those who (in charity) spend of their goods by night and by day, in secret and in public, have their reward with their Lord: on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve."
The Prophet Muhammed (SAW) said: " “Charity extinguishes the heat of the graves for the charitable people. And the believer will stand in the shade of his charity on the day of resurrection.”. Always pray that God Almighty blesses each and everyone of us in this world with hands that give and not hands that receive. Ameen!!
( Click on the JPEG pictures below if you desire to read it in bigger print)
