Category: Union Territory

سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي أَسْرَىٰ بِعَبْدِهِ لَيْلًا مِّنَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ الْأَقْصَى الَّذِي بَارَكْنَا حَوْلَهُ لِنُرِيَهُ مِنْ آيَاتِنَا ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ (1)

Glory to (Allah) Who did take His servant for a Journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the farthest Mosque, whose precincts We did bless,- in order that We might show him some of Our Signs: for He is the One Who hearth and seeth (all things).

Talha b. ‘Abd Allah, one of the ten men who were promised to enter paradise, said. I asked the prophet about the meaning of Subhana Allah? He said: it is to believe in the ultimate goodness of God.

Al-Qushayri said: When Allah made him [meaning the prophet Muhammad] ascend to the glory of His Presence and raised him over the high stars, gave him the title of servant (‘abd) to stress the importance of humility to the ummah.

The story of ascension has been mentioned in all books of Hadith, and was reported on the authority of the prophet’s companions in all Muslim regions. As a result, it is considered mutawatir, that is, widely reported.

It’s been narrated in the sahih, that Anas b. Malik said: that the prophet said:

The Buraq was brought to me. It is a tall white animal, little bigger than a donkey and smaller than a Mule. It travels in one step as far as the eye can see. He added; I mounted on its back until I arrived at the Baytal–Maqdis. I tied it with a leash in the same place that apostles had previously done so. Then I entered the mosque and prayed two rak‘a. When I exited Jabril may peace be upon him came to me with two vessels; one of wine and one of milk. I chose milk. Jabril said: your choice matches the fitra, the natural state of purity. Then he ascended with us to heaven.

There is no divergence of opinion among Muslim scholars and historians that it was during this night that the prophet was informed that the prayer became obligatory.

In the following morning, the prophet told of his journey and what he saw. The Meccans started talking about the story, mocking the prophet and laughing at the idea. Then some of them challenged the prophet to describe to them the ruins of the old city of Jerusalem since he claims to have gone there and prayed in it. Immediately, Allah placed the image of the city before his eyes and he started describing it in details and with impeccable exactitude.

Both Bukhari and Muslim reported that the prophet peace be upon him said: “When Quraysh accused me of lying. I went to the ka’ba. Then Allah brought before my eyes the image of bayt al-maqdis, I started telling them its signs as I looked at them.”

Abu Bakr may Allah be please with him was informed of the story by some polytheists, hoping he will think it is unbelievable. He said: If the prophet said so, then is true. I will even believe him if he claims to have gone even beyond that. I believed that he receives revelation from heaven in the morning and evening, why would I not believe him in this regard. If he said, what you say he said, then he is right. This is why Abu Bakr was nicknamed al-Siddiq.

Oh dear Muslim:

If we reflect on the prophet’s life and the events that took place in his life, we will realize that Allah has given him many miracles—which cannot be gainsaid—since it has been reported to us by sound chain of narration and through the mutawatir. All of these reports are conclusive.

The Arabic term al-mu‘jiza or miracle means an act that appears to violate the known norms of physics. Miracles are often granted to prophets.

The imam al-Nawawi, may Allah bless his soul, counted up to 1200 miracles in the introduction of his commentary on Sahih Muslim. We should also know that the prophet was given all the miracles given to other prophets. Any miracle that was granted to other prophets was given to the our prophet as well.

The greatest miracle of our prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam is the Holy Quran, God’s revelation in his own words. It contains knowledge and legislation, pertaining to iman, to Allah, His angels, His books, His prophets, and the Day of Judgment.

The miracles that were given to the prophet include: the water springing out of his fingers; increasing the volume of foods [at times of food shortage]; interacting with animals, trees and other objects; defeating his enemies by throwing sands into their faces; the crying of a trunk which he used to lean on when delivering his sermons; the splitting of the moon per the request of the nonbelievers.

He also returned the eye of Qutada b. al-Nu‘man during the battle of ‘Uhud after it had fallen on his cheek. He took it with his honourable hands and placed it back in its place, and said oh Allah make him handsome.

The most evident miracle is your own presence: Al- Haythami reported that Tamim al-Dari said: this religion will reach any place covered by day or night (meaning any place on earth). There will be no house of brick or wool, which this religion won’t enter regardless of the strength or weakness of Muslim leaders. This is something which Allah will make a source of pride for Muslims and a source of humiliation for the disbelievers.

Srinagar, Mar 11: Rain and snow occurred in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday as the meteorological (MET) department forecast light to moderate rain and snow during till Saturday.

“Weather is likely to improve from March 16 onwards. Till then, we are expecting erratic weather conditions in the two union territories,” according to MET department.

“Srinagar recorded 6.8 degrees Celsius, Pahalgam 1.6 and Gulmarg minus 1.5 as the minimum temperature of the day,.” It said.

Leh town of Ladakh had minus 3.6, Kargil minus 4 and Drass minus 10.1 as the night’s lowest temperature.

Jammu city had 16.9, Katra 14.6, Batote 7.4, Banihal 6.2 and Bhaderwah 4.5 as their minimum temperatures.

Div Com says three livestock trucks seized, mutton dealers misusing their monopoly

Srinagar: Stating that the mutton dealers are misusing their monopoly, the divisional administration Kashmir on Wednesday said that strict action will be taken against those who are keeping the general public hostage for their vested interests.

Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, P K Pole told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that three livestock trucks were seized in three districts of Kashmir including Shopian in South Kashmir, Budgam and Srinagar in Central Kashmir.

He added that the livestock truck in Shopian was auctioned while in Budgam and Srinagar, the auction will be done tomorrow.

He added that the rates have already been finalized after looking into the issue properly.

However, he said that the dealers will not be allowed to keep the general public hostage, adding that they are misusing their monopoly, which is not acceptable.

“The government has already taken measures in this regard and strict action shall be taken against the mutton dealers who are found keeping the public hostage,” he added.

Earlier, the butchers were directed to open their shops within two days and that any shops found closed will be seized. However, the butchers after receiving the orders had sent legal notice to the concerned authorities, questioning which law permits them to seize the closed shops.

Meanwhile, Director Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs (FCS&CA), Bashir Ahmad couldn’t be contacted for the comments—(KNO)

Srinagar: Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir Vijay Kumar said that that police have received a tip-off about presence of Lashkar-e-Toiba (TRF) chief Abbas in Chanapora area of Srinagar after which an alert has been sounded.

“We received inputs about Lashkar (TRF) chief Abbas’s presence in Chanapora area of Srinagar. An alert has been sounded and active vigil is being maintained,” IGP Kashmir told a press conference at Srinagar, as per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO).

He said frisking has been intensified and all means of intelligence are in active mode—(KNO)

SRINAGAR: The central government told Lok Sabha that a total of 42 terror outfits like the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammed have been declared banned organisations in India for their involvement in various acts of terrorism, which is largely been sponsored from across the border.

Srinagar: Twenty travellers were among 77 fresh covid-19 cases reported in Jammu and Kashmir even as two persons succumbed to the virus in the last 24 hours, officials said on Tuesday.

Among the fresh cases, 18 were from Jammu Division and 60 from Kashmir Valley, taking the total case tally to 127191, they said.

Giving district wise details, the officials told GNS said, Srinagar reported 36 cases, Baramulla 10, Budgam 9, Pulwama 1, Kupwara 0, Anantnag 4, Bandipora 0, Ganderbal 0, Kulgam 0, Shopian 0, Jammu 13, Udhampur 0, Rajouri 1, Doda 0, Kathua 2, Samba 0, Kishtwar 0, Poonch 0, Ramban 0 and Reasi 0.

One each victims belonged to from Jammu and from Kashmir Valley respectively, they said. The deaths took the total count to 1965—729 in Jammu and 1236 in Kashmir.

Moreover, they said, 87 more COVID-19 patients have recovered and were discharged from various hospitals—18 from Jammu Division and 69 from Kashmir Valley. There are 859 active cases—175 in Jammu and 684 in Kashmir. 124367 persons have recovered, 51226 in Jammu and 73141 in Kashmir. (GNS)

Srinagar, Mar 09: Shopkeepers across Srinagar city markets have unilaterally increased the price of vegetables, fruit and other commodities by their will, raising eyebrows from the public.

Locals told news agency Kashmir Dot Com- (KDC) that shopkeepers in Srinagar markets have increased the rates upon their free will.

A consumer while taking to KDC said, “I usually buy vegetables from the Amirakadal market but vegetable vendors there have increased the rates by 15-20%. He said that the government has no regular checking squads in the markets that is why we are facing hikes in daily essentials most of the time.

Another local said “There are no rate lists available with the vegetable sellers. They have also hiked the prices of locally grown vegetables like, Spinach, Nadru, Onion, Peas, Turnip, Radish etc while the administration is acting as mute spectators.”

Director Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs (FCS&CA) department could not be contacted for his comments, as he did not respond to repeated calls from this agency.

Meanwhile, locals have demanded market checking should be intensified in the city and those vendors selling vegetables at exorbitant rates should be taken to task. (KDC)

Srinagar, Mar 08: A leading private school in Srinagar has asked the parents of the students enrolled in the school to pay the transport charges of the lockdown period when schools were shut due to scare of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Parents of the students of Iqbal Memorial Institute Bemina told news agency Kashmir Dot Com (KDC) that they have been asked by the school administration to pay transport charges else their wards cannot avail the transport facility for this year.

This direction from the school has been issued to the students and parents despite the Jammu and Kashmir administration having asked the schools not to collect transport and other miscellaneous charges for lockdown period from the parents.

The schools, however, were directed to collect only tuition fee for the online classes.

“We have been asked to pay half of the transport charges by the school administration, which amount to Rs 12000. The schools authorities are not abiding by the government directive,” said a group of parents whose children are studying in IMI, Bemina.

The parents didn’t want to be named as they fear reprisal of their children by the school authorities.

“We urge the School Education Department and Divisional Commissioner Kashmir to intervene in the matter and ask the school authorities to abide by the government direction,” the parents said.

However no official from the school was available for comments on the matter. (KDC)

SRINAGAR: Suspecting that ”sticky bombs” may have entered the valley, security forces are redrawing their standard operating procedures and also advising general public not to leave their vehicles unattended, officials said on Sunday.

In the middle of last month, the Jammu and Kashmir police recovered an arms consignment consisting of a Improvised Explosive Device (IED) with an in-built magnet which could be placed on any vehicle and exploded with the help of a timer or a remote.

The magnetic IEDs, known as ”sticky bombs”, have found their maximum use in war-ravaged Afghanistan where Taliban used them against US-led allied forces and in Iraq and Syria where IS terrorists have triggered them against the government forces.

The ”sticky bombs”, dropped by terrorists sitting across the border in Pakistan using drones, were recovered in Samba sector of Jammu region along the International Border on February 14.

Immediately after their recovery, a video originated from across the border on social media which gave step by step instructions about its usage and triggering mechanism, a development which took the security agencies back to the drawing board for redrawing its Standard Operating Procedures (SoP) for their movement.

The video issued in the name of People”s Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF), believed to be a shadow outfit of the banned Lashker-e-Taiba terror group, explained about magnetic bombs and its damage capabilities.

The video, originally used in Afghanistan training modules, has been given a voice over in Kashmiri language explaining how to use this bomb for more and effective damage of the target, the officials said.

The security forces, since the recovery of the ”sticky bombs”, have instructed their formations and general public at large not to leave their vehicle unattended, the officials said.

In India, ”sticky bombs” were used by suspected Iranian terrorists in February 2012 to injure the wife of an Israeli diplomat.

The development comes two years after a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist carried out a sensational attack when he rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a bus carrying security forces that left 40 CRPF personnel dead.

In response, India had carried out an air strike on terror camps located across the border.

Sticky bombs, which were also used by the British forces during World War II, can be put on any vehicle and detonated through a remote control or an in-built timer, the officials said.

This is yet another significant recovery after security forces found three Point Detonating (PD) fuses, used by the Pakistani army in their 82 mm mortar shells, from a terrorist in North Kashmir.

About the PAFF, the officials said that changing names has been an age-old modus operandi of Pakistan”s external snooping agency ISI to divert the attention of the international community and label the unrest in Jammu and Kashmir as indigenous. (PTI)

‘Holy relic to be displayed after every prayer on March 12, 13, also on Friday following Meraj un Nabi (SAW)’

There will be no night-long prayers on the eve of Shab-e-Meraj (March 11) at the revered shrine of Hazratbal, Srinagar, the Shrine Management officials said Sunday.

They said that second round of deliberations took place on Saturday in which it was decided that in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, it won’t be feasible to allow night-long prayers at the shrine on the eve of Shab-e-Meraj (Prophet Muhammad’s Journey towards skies). “There will be no Shab (night long prayers) at Hazratbal shrine on March 11.

However, holy relic of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) will be displayed after every prayer for the devotees on March 12 and 13 (Friday and Saturday). The holy relic will also be displayed to devotees on March 19 after every prayer,” senior administrator of the shrine Muhammad Shafi told news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO)

Officials said that Chief Executive Officer (Hazratbal shrine Management) Mufti Fareedudin had in an interview to a news channel clarified that there will be no night-long prayers at the shrine on Shab-e-Meraj eve but holy relic will be displayed for devotees after every prayer on March 12 and 13 and also on the Friday following Shab-e-Meraj i.e. March 19.

Pertinently, the Hazratbal shrine management body will also meet the district and divisional administration tomorrow and apprise it about the decision of not holding night-long prayers on Shab-e-Meraj eve—(KNO)