Author: Owen Lewis.

Everyone of us can find himself under the threat of a bad auto loan. It happens when you are not prepared for a buying a car. If you want to save money and get a good loan, start the preparation for it before. There are some steps avoiding which you can become a happy car owner.
1. Don’t control the state of your credit report.
Your credit report can contain some mistakes, correcting which, will help you to get a good loan, as it has an important information about you credit payments.
2. Don’t worry about the getting a preapproved auto loan.
Several auto loan quotes giving by lenders can help you to become preapproved. You can get one of the best offers and the result is you get better interest rate. Also it will give you some negotiating power in front of the dealer.
3. Don’t bother about the price of the car.
if you have a lot of money, you may follow this step, if not, try to know the car price in order to get a good loan.
4. Inform the salesman about the price you can afford.
This step deprive you a possibility to negotiate and lower the cost.
5. Agree with the first proposition of a salesman.
Nobody but you can start the negotiations. If you keep silence, the price won’t be lowered.
6. Don’t look through the contract and additions.
Understanding the conditions of the contract help you to save money and to avoid any misunderstanding.
You can’t get a good auto loan by chance. It takes some time and efforts. The result surely will make you happy

About the Author:
Owen Lewis is a staff writer at a custom writing service. Having accomplished quite a number of annotated bibliography, 1984 essays, scholarship essays, and other types of academic assignments, she is now sharing her experience with you!

Author: Eddy Allen.

How can we get the good deal on a car? There are a lot of ways. You need much information in order to receive the profitable deal. Look at the next 6 steps and follow them if you want to be a happy car owner.
1. Control your credit score.
Begin with this step. Make sure that your credit score is in order, as it influences greatly your credit limits and interest rate. Try to make the copy and look it through. Correct the mistakes if any and wait for 4-6 weeks.
2. Try to find quotes online.
They are necessary for a car loan. You should be aware of how much can you get. Check all the conditions of car loan: interest rates, time limit, lender fees. If you apply for the quotes online during 2 weeks, it will not worsen your credit score. And it will be considered to be the one loan inquiry.
3. Get preapproved.
If you know some lenders with good quotes, you may ask them for a loan. This will make you to become preapproved. You also will have a time to choose the car.
Preapproval levels to having cash and give you more power with the dealer.
4. Choose a car.
When you know your credit limit, you may choose a car according your paying abilities.
5. Research the car.
Get all the information about the car you have chosen.
6. Buy your car after some negotiations.
Negotiate the terms and price concerning your car and drive away in high spirits.

About the Author:
Eddy Allen is a professional writer with years of experience in thesis. He is certainly willing to share his experience and writing tips on how to write academic assignments including custom research papers and persuasive essays with students.

Author: Eddy Allen.

When children start studying at college, they need more things then earlier. The student credit card can help to solve a lot of problems on this matter. These credit cards propose a little bit different package of services than the standard credit cards. The result is the students can use these cards and gather rewards or bonuses.
Certainly there are some differences between student credit cards and standard credit cards.
1. The interest rates are used to be lower.
2. There is no even small income.
3. Annual fees are rare.
4. To get these cards are easy if a student has no problems with credits before.
5. The credit limit is low, but if a student pay in time, it may become higher.
You can easy get your credit card on the college meeting at the end of every semester. Such credit card availability make students to get into trouble. They acquire more than one card and soon appear in dept. It is rather bad to be in dept before graduating from college.
Follow some rules to avoid any dept.
1. Use the card if it is extremely necessary.
2. Pay the bill each month.
3. To wish the freebie is not the reason for getting credit card.
4. Learn to save money.
Now if you are grown-up enough to get the credit card, remember that sometimes it is more preferable to use the standard credit card. The advantages are:
1. Possessing the personal credit card give the students a strong feeling of responsibility.
2. Students can develop smart credit habits for their future business.
3. You may to separate the spends of yours and your child if you need.
Choose the card you need and use it following all the rules.

About the Author:
Eddy Allen is a professional writer with years of experience in dissertation writing. He is certainly willing to share his experience and writing tips on how to write academic assignments including research papers and argumentative essays with students.

Author: Ibrahim Machiwala.

The Aga Khan Education Services (AKES) provides schooling and other educational services in over 300 facilities in the developing world, ranging from day care center to higher secondary schools. With roots in the Ismaili community’s traditions of educational activity, national service companies in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh now manage these schools and centers.

The foundations of the system were laid by Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah during the first half of the twentieth century when over a hundred schools were established, mainly for the Ismaili community, in East Africa and South Asia. Under the leadership of the Present Imam, the schools began to broaden their intake of pupils and extend their academic range in the 1950s.

Today, AKES faces the same constraints as other providers of education in the developing world, whether public or private: population growth outstripping resources, educational costs increasing at a faster rate than income, poorly trained teachers, inappropriate curricula and in some areas, the low health and education to diminish these obstacles to educational access and achievement. To increase access, AKES has continued to create schools; in close collaboration with the Aga Khan Housing Boards and AKF, it has also supported community-based school construction. In the north of Pakistan, AKES has increased the number and range of facilities available to girls.

Programme to improve educational quality have been built into the AKES system since the early 1980s. Field-based teacher training was launched in the Northern Areas in 1983. School improvement experiments began at the same time in Sind province in Pakistan, where AKES introduced child-centered teaching methods, and in Tanzania, where new techniques for secondary school teaching in English, Mathematics and Science were implemented in Dar-es-Salam. AKES, Kenya has been the Network pioneer in the uses of computers in the classroom, while many Network initiatives in pre-school education began in AKES, India.

Supported by the Aga Khan Foundation, some of these experiments have been carried out in government schools as well as AKES institutions, so contributing to the improvement of education in the countries in which AKES operates. And with both the national service companies and the Aga Khan Foundation acting as relays, this body of experience in teacher development and school improvement is having impact throughout the Network. The Institute for Educational Development of the Aga Khan University has been created to provide a permanent institutional base that can sustain these and other initiatives in education.

About the Author:
Mumtaz Ali Tajddin S. Ali is an popular Ismaili Scholar, He has written many books and article on Ismailism, and complete biography of Aga Khan, Development Networks, Education and Health Services of Aga Khan. Read books and articles of Mumtaz Ali at www.ismaili-net.com

Author: Robert.

The first thing to consider about the type of tuition you want is the cost. This is because acting tuition comes in two basic forms, Group (sometimes called workshops) and One to One (often called Face to Face). Roughly, one hour of One to One will cost the same as a whole days Workshop.
If money is no object then the next thing for you to do is to think about yourself and what you like. When you were at school were you the type who thrived in a big group, bouncing ideas off friends and taking inspiration from the large creative environment? Or were you one of those students who preferred and developed quicker in an smaller or individual tuition setting.
These factors, and others we will discuss, are all relevant when thinking about the type of acting tuition that will work best for you.

ONE TO ONE

This is the pricier choice, but most actors prefer this option. It gives you all the benefits of a face to face relationship. One to one tuition is focused on your needs alone, giving you maximum time with your mentor. This type of tuition helps develop a relationship between you and your coach, which hopefully will accelerate your development. This tuition style will also help if you are initially timid some people can be reluctant to totally let go in front of a large group of strangers. One to one acting tuition is a short burst of focused activity it may be easier to fit around other commitments.
There are some disadvantages to One to One tuition, but they can best be highlighted by focusing on the advantages of Group tuition.

GROUP

We know that Group acting tuition is usually the cheaper option, but what are there any other benefits?
Workshops give you the chance to work on your networking skills, very often your fellow students will share knowledge of opportunities and events that you can take advantage off. Best of all though Group tuition provides a creative environment, which allows for the free expression of ideas, and gives students the possibility to contribute their thoughts and bounce different ideas off each other, as well as the tutor. The more people around you the more you may be inspired, giving you a pool of experience to draw from.
Group tuition is also a very good place to make a few good friends.

CHOOSING A SCHOOL

Most small towns will only have a limited number of options when it comes to choosing acting tuition. Large towns and cities should have a much better choice, if you are fortunate enough to have a variety of possibilities then there are a few things that you should consider.
Treat acting tuition the way you would treat any another service. It is always best to get a recommendation, so ask at local drama groups, or ask friends, family and colleagues. If you can’t get a direct recommendation then it can be a bit trickier. You can check on the resume of the tutor or see if they have any testimonials from previous students. There is no harm in asking if you can observe a workshop or even get a free class to see if you have could develop a good working relationship with the tutor.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and remember its all about being comfortable and being with someone, or a group that allows you to fully express yourself and develop.

About the Author:
Top Acting Tips

Nail That Audition

http://www.improveyouracting.com

Author: Arvinder Jeet Singh.

Indeed, E-bay is today’s most sought-after shopping portal in the Internet. It has created in itself a worldwide phenomenon that people get inflicted with. The joy and the thrill of bidding online create a certain diagrammatic representation of life’s drama.

Consequently, due to its underlying nature, the success of E-bay can be well attributed to its wide range of market reach. Hence, a lot of people are going in or out of the arena with a number of diverse products at hand.

Because of its diversity, people all over the world resort to e-bay to sell just about anything, from the basic necessities to computer techies, and even weird stuffs.

The most common case of weird auctions on E-bay was about virginity being on sale. There were about a dozen of auctions that put one’s virginity on the limelight. There was even one auction that sold for $10,000,000 with 17 bidders at the most. Though, there was no clear implication if the report was true enough.

Next, there were cases of auctioned letters from a serial killer being sold at 1500 pounds each.

Then, there was one auction about a man who is selling his “fully functioning” kidneys. The reported bid amount was $5.7 million. There was no way to verify the truth, but reports said that the sale did not push through.

There is much other weird stuff like one night stand with someone’s wife, ghost in a jar, ghost cane, and air guitar, which were all sold, just for the heck of getting a sale on E-bay.

But among all, the report about a 10-year old Virgin Mary grilled cheese sandwich that sold for $28,000 was the most sensationalized and the weirdest stuff ever sold on E-bay. The seller was an old woman from Miami, Florida.

According to MSNBC, (this means it’s for real) E-bay had deliberately post back the auction last November 2004 after it inadvertently pulled the auction out from the list, thinking it was just a hoax.

The GoldenPalace.com, an online casino, had won the auction. Executives of the company said that $28,000 was nothing compared to the privilege of getting to own this 10-year old half-bitten sandwich bearing the face of Virgin Mary.

Consequently, the fact that the Virgin Mary grilled cheese sandwich was already 10 years old and still it did not bear any traces of mold. That made those who read and have seen the auction go “Huh?”

About the Author:
For More Free Resources visit www.greateducationonline.com

Author: Stig Kristoffersen.

You find it anywhere, just go on the internet and try to search for the term - Second Life, and you will find more than 75 million articles written about this topic. Millions of web users visit these pages every day. And best of all is that more than 300 universities and colleges are actively experimenting with accredited courses using “second Life” technology. Linden Lab who operates the Second Life technology, believe only imagination sets limits to what you can do with this technology.
It is not about replicating the classroom in a virtual environment, but to replicate dangerous or not easy accessible areas or environments.
It makes no sense to replicate a classroom with chairs, whiteboards and such things, when you can create an environment where people can jump into a vehicle and perform dangerous tasks or even explore remote dangerous areas without taking any risks at all.
Second Life is not a video game for geeks, but it is a creative technological environment enabling learning and collaboration in a new and more innovative way, and also enable experimenting with new ways of acting in these environments.

BP (British Petroleum) has just recently created an immersive environment for their gas station employees. Trainees can learn in a safe environment at the same time as they have a virtual representation of a gas station with its tanks and pipe systems, just as in a typical BP gas station. This enables BP to train their employees in procedures and see the effect of actions taken in a gas station, by its trainees. All this without endanger their employees or their equipment.

IBM has also found use of this system for their internal between more than 6000 employees around the world and in external communications with partners and clients. They have even made an environment for their retired staff enabling them to keep a dialogue with previous colleagues and exchange experiences.

NASA use this system to prepare for the Mars expedition, a 800 days mission, enabling astronauts to keep in touch with their families and participate at the dinner table and even help their kids with their homework through their avatars.

Joe Miller, the VP of Platform and Technology Development at the Linden Lab says Second Life is a collaborative environment where you really can feel you are physical with other people. You interact through an avatar of your own, with others avatars in a 3D world. You schrink the physical distance almost to zero and it can have dramatic effects in a learning environment.

Pontiac has a second life environment that allows engineers to talk to customers which before was rare to experience for an engineer.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) uses second life to illustrate their hurricane aircraft operation by flying into virtual hurricanes. They have also created a fully immersive experience where the users can learn how tsunamis build up and play its path.

Second Life is driven on a free basis, with user created content all the way. You can visualize products, equipment, physical situations that would be to expensive to build in real life, or to dangerous to have a training situation in real life.

Museums were pioneers using Second Life environments to bring visitors closer to their exhibitions in a more unconventional way. Some have even gone so far that they have created virtual exhibitions were users can create their own exhibition and curate them their self.

http://www.secondlife.com

About the Author:
He has a background as civil engineer and geoscientist. He has worked mainly within the oil and gas industry from the mid 1980s. He has written some few fictional novels as well as author of some professional litterature within oil and gas sector, he is now an editor of some web sites, mainly within the travel business.
www.lulu.com/stig

Author: Dalip Singh Wasan.

Wrongs with the people of India
If we go deep and examine the people of India we shall come to the conclusion that there had been some wrongs with the people of India and that is the reason they could not get good governments and that could also be the reason they could not rise from the status of slavery. When the people of India have an introspection, they themselves come to the conclusion that they are victims of the following weaknesses in them and till they come out of these weaknesses, they shall remain in the same condition where they had been suffering since generations. Therefore, time has come when the people of India must note down their weaknesses and they should try to write off these weaknesses one by one and come and join the main stream in the age of science and technology. They are a rich country because they have got all the blessings of nature such as mountains, rivers, minerals, petroleum, coal, iron, jungles, fertile land, hard working people, different seasons, rains, different corps and all that which are the base for proper development. But we are not progressing at the prescribed speed. Therefore, time has come when we should come out of the following weaknesses in us:-
1. We should make it sure that we shall write off illiteracy from India and this work shall be done within the next five years.
2. We shall make it sure that all the people who are in working age shall be trained in a profession, trade, calling and occupation and none shall be left untrained.
3. We shall make it sure that everyone shall be at work and shall earn money for the house so that the family could stand at its own feet and they should not seek help from the state, from the people as beggars and from social organizations.
4. We shall make it sure that every family shall have money at their disposal to run the family administration and we shall see that they are able to face the rising prices.
5. We shall see that every family has got a living accommodation where they can keep privacy and they have got all the facilities in the house and they do not utilize open space for easing themselves.
6. We shall see that the family is in a position to look after the ailing members of the family and they are getting proper treatment.
7. We shall see that all have got savings or insurances for the rainy days and for their old age.
8. We shall not allow a single person to beg on the roads.
9. We shall not allow any person to wear on rags because we know such people are condemned to inferiority complex.
10. We shall see that not a single child is having free books, free mid-day meal from the state because such a situation turns the students beggars from the very beginning and they are also condemned to inferiority complex in presence of other students who are from the rich families.
11. We shall see that all those who had been looting the people and have amassed wealth more than their recognized sources of income shall be brought to book and all such wealth shall be snatched away from them and shall be deposited with the state exchequer so that the same could be utilized for the welfare of the people who are the real creator of this wealth.
12. We shall not allow any one to indulge in scams, scandals, muddles, bribes, corruption, sale of jobs, sale of licenses, sale of quotas, taking commission on government work.
13. We shall see that honest people are elected and therefore, we shall see that all the parties are forwarding their shadow cabinets before elections and they shall be showing us the bio-data of such people so that the people could have the choice.
14. We shall see that all state level legislative assemblies are abolished and only one Parliament serves the whole country and we shall see that all the states are converted into administrative units under one central government.
15. We shall see that the number of political parties is reduced.
16. We shall see that gap between rich and poor is reduced
17. We shall see that all those who are seeking elections shall have to get character verification from the District Magistrate at least six months before the elections.
18. We shall see that elections are held only one in five years and on that date we shall be conducted elections both for the Parliament and for the State level assemblies.
19. We shall see that there shall be no bye-elections and the work of a constituency shall be given to the member from the adjoining constituency.
20. We shall not allow a family to remain in poverty as God’s gift. We shall catch that family and shall ask them to run with the remaining nation.
21. We shall make it sure that no one is allowed to run a Dera, Math or a Asharam and if there are already such institutions, those shall be brought under Trusts or Societies duly registered and their accounts are audited by the state and all individual properties so collected shall be taken and deposited in these trusts and societies.
22. We shall make it sure that dowry system shall be stopped and instead the daughters shall get share in the properties of their parents.
23. We shall see that there is no family rule, there is no party dictatorship and there is no individual autocracy in India.
24. We shall appoint sub committees to have a look on all the legislatures and on all the officers so that they may not collect money beyond their recognized sources of income.
25. We shall make it sure that very small number of people turn drug addicts, opium eaters, drunkards, smugglers, criminals, terrorists, rioters and the like and this work shall be given to welfare committees for each village, colonies or the like.
26. We shall make it sure that no religion is allowed to establish a political party. We shall make it sure that religions are not allowed to be polluted by the these political parties.
27. We shall not allow a person to take part in election more than two times and if he is loser on both the occasions, he shall not be allowed to come for the third time.
These are the points on which the people of India shall concentrate and they shall see that all these evils are rooted out and a new era is established in this country.
————————

About the Author:
Please give comments on my articles so that I could improve upon my writing.

Author: Ibrahim Machiwala.

It appears in the Northern Area of Pakistan that a white cloth is spread on the ground and a lamp (chiragh) is burned in the middle. No other light is allowed to be kept or used as long as this lamp remains burning. The Koranic verses and other religious formula are recited while preparing the wicks of the lamp and inserting the oil made of the fat of sacrificial animal. With loud chanting of salwat, the qadi stands in front of the khalifa (headman) and places the lamp down again three times. It exhorts the Oneness of Divine Light in the universe, but has three relations: the relation to God, the Prophet and the Imam of the age. When the lamp is kindled, the believers deduce that the Imam is the bearer of the living Light of God on earth. It is also known from the rites of Afghanistan and other regions of Central Asia that a piece of salt is put into the pan of the grained wheat (dalda), in which a knife is kept. Then, a certain amount of cotton is put into a pot. Someone picks up the pan in recitation of the salwat and presents to the khalifa. The participants stand up in reverence and the khalifa raises his hands and invokes a prayer of twenty-seven verses. The proceeding is followed by the sacrifice of a sheep, which is called dawati. It should not be lean or skinny. It should be fatty, so that the lamp may be burned from the oil of its fat, called rogan-e-zard. The sheep is thoroughly washed. Then, the khalifa picks up the piece of salt with his left hand and smashes into small pieces with the knife holding in his right hand. He relieves the knife and takes salts and three pieces from the grained wheat and puts on the palm of his right hand, mixing them and passes on to his assistant, who gets the sheep to eat the mixture. The khalifa utters the takbir and his assistant facing towards the qibla, slaughters the sheep. It follows the rite of cotton-making (kar pakhta). The khalifa picks up the cotton and gets it touched to his forehead and prepares a long wick (fatila) for the lamp amidst the chanting of the verses of Chirag-nama. This long wick is folded and the khalifa holds its circle in his finger, who cuts it into respectable pieces. Then, the ghee (rogan-e-zard) is poured into a bowl (chinni). The khalifa puts some ghee in the lamp (kandil), then he drenches all the wicks in the bowl. His assistant takes out the wicks and squeezes to make them ready for burning. Then, the wick is inserted in the lamp and lightened. It is placed in the lantern, which is usually made of a special stone (sang-i sanglej), looking like a ship. The lamp is gray in colour.

A.E. Bertels writes in Nasir-i- Khosrove-i Ismailizm (Moscow, 1959) that it originated in Badakhshan, whose inhabitants were the fire-worshippers and brought it in the Ismaili fold, which seems absolutely incorrect. The oral tradition attributes its introduction by Nasir Khusrao (d. 481/1088) during operation of his proselytizing mission in Badakhshan, but it also cannot be ascertained. Nasir Khusrao used to arrange the assemblies (majalis) in the villages, known as majalis-i dawat. It is however gleaned from different views that the majalis-i dawat later took the present form of majalis-i chiragh-i rawshan.

The word chiragh, dipak, kandil, fanus, siraj or misbah are common terms for the lamp. In Greek, it is called lampas (torch), in German lampein (to shine), in Roman liex or luc (light) and in French lampe or lampas. The lamp was invented in Stone Age about 70,000 B.C., which was a hollow-out rock filled with fat. It was followed by an invention of a pottery lamp, in which oil was burned in Mediterrean regions. Example from about 2000 B.C. have come from Greek rock tombs in Palestine. Sometimes shaped as bird or fish, and it spread in Iran, Africa, Asia and Rome. No lamp was prevalent in Greece till 7th century B.C. The oldest lamp is a shallow stone basin discovered from French Paleotilic. The Hebrew word lappidh also means lamp, and its description is found in the Old Testament: “God commanded that a lamp filled with the purest oil of olives should always burn in Tabernacle of the Testimony without the veil” (Exod. 27:20). The Arabic word misbah (pl. masabih) means lamp, occurring three times in the Koran, once in singular (24:35) and twice in plural (41:12, 67:5). Another word for the lamp is siraj (pl. surujun), occurring four times in the Koran (25:61, 33:46, 71:16 and 78:13). The light of the Prophet is also compared to a luminous lamp (siraj’i munir) in the Koran (33:46). It infers from the Diwan (Cairo, 1933, 1:44) of Ibn Hani (d. 362/973) that each Fatimid Imam was considered to be an emanation of the Divine Light, and numerous epithets described his brilliance and luminousness: al-agharr, al-azhar, al-mutalliq, al-mutadaffiq, al-mutaballij or al-wadda. As the construction of Cairo continued, new mosques would come to be known by names evoking this special quality associated with the Imam: al-Azhar, al-Anwar or al-Aqmar.

After the migration of the Prophet in Medina, the first thing to be done was to build a cathedral mosque. It was constructed on a plot, measuring 54 yards width and 60 yards in length, known as the Prophet’s Mosque (Masjid-i-Nawi). It is said that the palm-leaves (sa’af al-nakhl) were burnt for lightening the interior of the mosque. Qurtubi (d. 671/1272) writes in al-Ta’rif fil Ansab (Cairo, 1987, p. 252) that a Syrian merchant, called Tamim al-Dhari (d. 40/660) brought a lamp (kandil) with oil and wick from his native Syria to Medina and donated for the mosque. His lightening of a lamp in the mosque was an important social event, which was not only approved but also recommended by the Prophet who, gave him a nickname of Siraj (lamp). Thus, the use of lamps at night in mosque became a universal practice among Muslims. The Prophet is said to have permitted a woman, Maymuna to send oil in Jerusalem sanctuary (bayt al-muqadis) in order to light the lamps (Abu Daud, 1:48).

It was a custom of Ali bin Abu Talib to cause his friends to meet him in his house in Kufa and lit a lamp in their midst. Nasir Khusaro reported in his Safarnama (tr. W.M. Thackston, New York, 1986, pp. 55-58) a widespread use of lamps, made of brass and silver in the holy places of Hebron, Bethlehem and Jerusalem. He further noted that the lamp oil, called zayt harr was derived from turnip seed and radish seed. He also wrote that in the mosque of Cairo, there was a huge silver lampholder or chandelier with sixteen branches, each of which was 1½ cubits long. Its circumference was 24 cubits, and it could hold as many as seven hundred odd lamps on holiday evenings. The weight is said to be 25 kantars of silver, a kantar being 100 rotls, a rotl being 144 silver dhirams. More than a hundred lamps were kindled in the mosque of Cairo every night. On the north side of the mosque was a bazar Suq al-Kandil (lamp market).

When Imam Muhammad al-Bakir died in 114/733, his son Imam Jafar Sadik ordered to lit a lamp in the house (al-Kafi, 3: 25). The tradition also indicates that a lamp was also kindled in the house when Imam Jafar Sadik died in 148/765. It is probable that the adherents would have started the practice in their regions.

It is yet indeterminable point, how and when this obscure rite entered into the Ismaili tradition?

In India, the three centuries of Muslim rule (603-933/1206-1526), generally known as the Sultanate period, witnessed the rise and fall of five dynasties: the Slave (603-690/1206-1290), the Khaljis (690-720/1290-1320), the Tughlaqs (720-816/1320-1413), the Sayeds (816-855/1414-1451) and the Lodis (855-933/1451-1526). Then, the Mughal empire was founded in 933/1526. Qutbuddin Aibak (d. 607/1210) was the first Turkish king of the Slave dynasty in India, whose armies had evolved and developed in Persian lands, and consequently the Pesian stamp was very deep upon them. The armies were modelled on the armies of the Persia with the same arms, equipment and tactics. The slaves of the imperial household maintained the Persian tradition in Delhi. These Turks, in their social life also followed the Persian customs, etiquettes and ceremonials. The old Persian customs of zamindos (ground kissing) was also introduced. India specially provided benign climate to the festival of Shab-i Barat, which was festivated for four days.

Shab-i Barat (night of quittancy) is a popular fete among the general Muslims, which takes place on the 14th of the month of Sha’ban. Its native land is Iran, and the Slave dynasty brought and spread it in Indian soil, where the people very rapidly found it coherence in their own tradition. On this day, the people assemble and make offerings of bread, sweet rice, halwa and flasks of water and offer prayers and intercessions for the departed souls. According to Muslim Festivals in India (Paris, 1831, tr. W. Waseem, New Delhi, 1995, pp. 76-77) that the people kindle lamp (chiragh) and recite the following prayer, known as the Fatiha Chiraghan:

“O God, through the merit of the light of the apostolate, our Lord Muhammad, may the lamp that we burn on this holy night, be for the dead a guarantee of the eternal light which we pray to you for. O God of ours! Deign to admit them in the room of unchanging felicity”

Having expressed the above intention, they recite the first and the 102nd chapters of the Koran. This ceremony lasts for three days. There was a popular custom also to send lamps to the mosque, vide I’jaz-i Khusaro (Lucknow, 1876, 4:324) by Amir Khusaro (d. 820/1325).

The festival of Shab-i Barat fostered and dressed in Iran, and then introduced in Afghanistan and India also under the name of Fatiha Chiraghan during the 12th century, and it is possible that the Ismailis of Afghanistan had certain proctivity towards it. Thanks to an oral tradition in this context shrouded in mist for centuries in Tajikistan, which is a key to solve the complications hitherto remained unsolved. The tradition has it that an Ismaili, called Taj Mughal (d. 725/1325) of Badakhshan was deadly against the festival of Shab-i Barat. Instead, he transformed the local traditional assembly, called majalis-i dawat into a specific rite in the house, where a death took place. In the midst, a lamp was kindled and the Koranic verses and the qasida of Nasir Khusaro were recited. This was an original form of the presently known ceremony of chiragh-i rawshan. The selected qasida were reserved for it, whose collection later became known as the Chirag-nama, which is traditional more and historical less. We should however not ignore that the thought of majalis-i dawat was originally propounded by Nasir Khusaro about two hundred years before the advent of Taj Mughal.

Taj Mughal was an origin of Badakhshan, where he had given shelter to Shah Ra’is Khan of Trakhan dynasty of Gilgit and Hunza. Shah Ra’is Khan embraced Ismailism and married to the daughter of Taj Mughal. After some years he persuaded Taj Mughal to occupy Gilgit. Thus, he mustered a sizable force and conquered Chitral at first, then Yasin, Koh Ghizr and Puniyal were subdued. He entered Gilgit, ruled by Torra Khan (d. 735/1335), who submitted and accepted Ismaili faith. Shah Ra’is Khan became the ruler of Chitral, where he founded the Ra’isia dynasty and promulgated Ismailism. It was at this time that the Ismaili faith penetrated in Gilgit, Hunza and Chitral with the indescribable efforts of Taj Mughal. He is said to have proceeded to Sikiang through Pamir. The historians have described an extensive territory under his domination. On the north greater part of Turkistan, on the west the whole area including the city of Herat, and on the south-east right upto the border of Chitral. It implies that when the rite of chiragh-i rawshan was in its formative stage, Taj Mughal spread it in most parts of the Central Asia. The veracity of this tradition however cannot be substantiated from the extant sources, nevertheless, it cannot be brushed aside as untrue. Whether historically true or not, the above tradition embodies certain grains of truth.

In the course of its evolution, the ceremony was reserved for a long time only for the dead person, and was performed not on the night of 14th Sha’ban. It is also likelihood that the reason for giving it the ceremonial name of chiragh-i rawshan was to distinguish it with the rite of the Shab-i Barat, known as the fatiha chiraghan.

The chiragh-i rawshan was not emanated from Shab-i Barat, but exercised a safeguard against it. Neither the fireworks are conducted, nor the graves are venerated, and also no specific time is fixed for it. Later, it was divided in four different assemblies (majalis), namely dawat-i fana, dawat-i baqa, dawat-i safa and dawat-i raza. The last two majalis are now not prevalent.

Majalis-i dawat-i fana

It almost resembles the practice of the ruhani majalis prevalent in the Indian tradition. When one dies, his family members and relatives assemble in his house for three days, known as the dawat-i fana. His family does not cook food for three days, but only a lamp is kindled. Major J. Biddulph writes in Tribes of the Hindoo Koosh (Karachi, 1977, p. 123) that, “On the evening of the appointed day, a caliph comes to the house, and food is cooked and offered to him. He eats a mouthful and places a piece of bread in the mouth of the dead man’s heir, after which the rest of the family partake. The lamp is then lighted, from which the ceremony is called “Chirag Roshan,” and a six-stringed guitar called gherba being produced, singing is kept up for the whole night.”

The dawat-i fana exhorts that when a believer dies, it is his physical death not spiritual. His soul quits the earthy body and assumes celestial body (jism-i falaki). He was a dark himself on earth, but now he becomes light. The brightness is thus eluded symbolically in the lamp. There is a separation among bodies, but not in the light. There is nothing except union in the light after death. It emanates in another interpretation that the fire denotes ardent love and its light is the knowledge, therefore, unless a believer burns in the fire of love with Imam, the light of knowledge is not sparked in his heart. It will be interesting to note that Missionary Muhammad Murad Ali Juma (1878-1966), known as Bapu died in Bombay on February 4, 1966. In his message of February 14, 1966, the Imam said: “I grieved greatly the loss of one of my most devoted spiritual children. His services were above reproach and he was a Candle of Light and example to my jamats.” Full Article

About the Author:
Mumtaz Ali Tajddin S. Ali is an Ismaili Scholar, He has written many books on history & culture of Islam and Ismailism, Mumtaz Ali recently published book 101 Ismaili Heroes is very much popular because of its material, must read about Encyclopedia of Ismailism.

Author: Ibrahim Machiwala.

“The word ahl al-bayt occurs twice in the Koran: “The mercy of God and His blessing are on you, O people of the house, …” (11:73). This verse refers to the people of the house of Abraham (Kashf al-Asrar wa Uddat al-Abrar, 4:416), and to the house of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him): “God desires only to keep away the uncleanness from you, O people of the House! And to purify you a (thorough) purifying (33:33)”.

The ahl al-bayt are those glowing personalities, endeared and respected by every Muslim alike who loves the Prophet. The Muslims have known this lofty term, the guiding star on the horizon of Islam ever since the Koran pronounced this blessed epithet, to address the family of the Prophet.

The word ahl (pl. ahalil) is derived from the Hebrew, ohel, means those who occupy with one the same tent, the family or inmates, relative, folk, kin, kinfolk, family, people, members, followers, etc. Under these meanings, the word ahl occurs 31 times in the Koran. According to another view, it is derived from ahala, meaning to demonstrate (the family). The term ahl signifies the members of one’s household, including his fellow tribesmen, kin, relatives, wife (or wives), children, and all those who share a family background, religion, housing, city, and country with him. The term Al, meaning nearer or nearest relations by descent from the same father or ancestor or a man’s family or kinsman, is used 26 times in the Koran in connection with the descendants of the prophets or those who succeeded them. The Koran says: “Verily, God has chosen Adam and Noah, the family of Abraham (Al Ibrahim) and the family of Imran (Al Imran) above all people” (3:33). In another verse (4:54), we read: “Or do they envy the people for what God has given them of His grace: But indeed We have given to Abraham’s children (Al Ibrahim) the Book and the Wisdom and gave them a great kingdom”.

Ahl and Al are both the same term with the exception that Al is exclusively used for human beings and should come before the family name, but such a condition is not existent in the case of Ahl. Ahl is used in a broader sense in referring to the people of a town or inhabitation, a group or followers. When used in conjunction with the term bayt (ahl al-bayt), it refers to the immediate descendants of a family or such a family of the same house (bayt).

The word bayt (pl. buyut) is used in the Koran in fifteen instances to denote the house of God, which is described variously as “the first house,” “the ancient house,” “the sacred house,” “the forbidden house,” “the freaquented house” and “My house.” Only once, however is it identified explicitly with the Kaba (5:97) and twice with the “Sacred Mosque” (5:2, 8:34-5). Indeed, the Koran uses the term bayt more frequently to designate a holy place, habitation and dwelling including tents and buildings both. “The Ahl al-Bayt of any person refers to his family members and all those who live in his house” (Mufradat al-Koran by Raghib).

In this compound form, Ahl al-Bayt is used in the Koran especially in reference to the immediate family of the Prophet. The Koran says: “God desires only to keep away the uncleanness from you, O people of the House! And to purify you a (thorough) purifying (33:33)”. The commentators of the Koran are unanimous in their opinion that the term Ahl al-Bayt in this verse refers to the Prophet’s daughter Fatima, his cousin and son-in-law Ali, and his grandsons Hasan and Hussain.

Zayd bin Arqam states that the wives of the Prophet are not regarded as the members of his Household. He was asked: “Aren’t the wives of the Prophet considered as the members of the Household?” He replied: “The wives of the Prophet reside in the Prophet’s house but the Prophet’s ahl al-bayt are those to whom the grant of sadaqa is religiously unlawful.” Another tradition has it that Zayd was asked whether the Prophet’s wives were among his ahl al-bayt. He replied: “No, a wife lives with a husband for a while and then might be divorced and go back to her parents.”

About the Author:
Mumtaz Ali Tajddin S. Ali is an popular Ismaili Scholar, He has written many surveys on religion of islam and ismailism such as Ahl Al-Bayt, 101 Ismaili Heroes, Ismaili Imams biography, life, history and tradition.