(or Read!

(or Read!) in the name of they Lord and Cherisher, Who created; created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood: Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful, He who taught (the use of) the pen, taught man that which he knew not." Q1 7: IS 'BISMILLAH' WORD OF ALLAH? The whole of the holy Qur'an is true word of Allah. The verse "Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir- Raheem" is at hundreds of places in this holy book. Is this also the word of Allah? A. Yes.

Just as a teacher trains the students in writing an application addressed to himself, Allah teaches His creatures the necessary ways to show their submission to Him. And, by the way, it is mentioned 114 times, not "hundreds". Q18: LIGHT OF ALLAH? It is said that Allah produced from His own Sublime Light the Light of Muhammad and from the splendour of that Light created the world 14,000 years before the creation of Adam. Now, the question is: (a) Is Allah constituted of Light?

(b) What does it actually mean by the word "Light" here? (c) Does it mean that Adam was created after 14,000 years o the creation of the earth? A. Allah is not a light; the phrase "Light of Allah" means a "Light" having special honour before Allah, just as the "soul" of Adam (a.s.) was termed by Allah as "My Soul". 'Nur' (Light) is also used in the meaning of "One which is self-evident and illuminates (shows) other things".

It is in this sense that Allah is called 'Light', for example, the Ayat, "Allah is the light of the heavens and earth" (Qur'an, 24:35). It means that Allah is self- existent and has created the heavens and earth. The number, 14,000 years, could have been used in literal sense; but usually such phrases mean a long period. Q19: THE MOTHER OF THE HOLY PROPHET Did the Holy 's mother have any relationship with Madina? Was she born there? A.No.

She was a Quraishite, and her father was "Wahab s/o Abd Manaf, s/o Zuhra s/o Kilab". Her genealogy meets that of Abdullah in Kilab; Abdullah's genealogy is: Abdullah s/o Abdul-Muttalib s/o Hashim s/o Abd Manaf s/o Qusai s/o Kilab. But the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) was related to the clan of Bani Najjar of Madina, because his great-grandmother was from that tribe and city.Hashim had married Salmah d/o Amr of Bani Najjar in Yathrib (Madina) who was the mother of Abdul-Muttalib.

Q20: MOON IS CLEFT ASUNDER "The hour drew nigh and the moon was rent in twain" (54:1) what does this verse mean? A. The correct translation is, "and the moon is cleft (or rent) asunder".