Islamic Finances

If you’re Muslim and are concerned about financial products that comply with Sharia Law, there are more and more options available to you today. The first Islamic bank in the UK, the Islamic Bank of Britain, opened its headquarters in Birmingham in 2004, offering a range of products and services such as pensions, mortgages and loans.

The main requirement for financial products and services under Sharia Law is that they neither charge interest nor pay it out, as making money from money is considered usury, and that they do not invest in companies that are deemed unethical, such as those connected with alcohol, tobacco, pornography or gambling.

What often happens when providing loans is that the bank will purchase an item for the customer at a set price and rent it or sell it to them, with repayments made in instalments. The bank makes its money by levying a charge on the customer’s payments.

With investments, Islamic finance works on the basis of sharing the risk as well as the reward. Both the customer and the bank agree on terms for sharing the risk of any investment and split any profits equally between them.

The four main modes of Islamic banking are known as murabaha, where a purchase is made by the bank and re-sold to the customer without any interest payments; musharaka, a partnership in which the rewards and risks – i.e. the profits and losses – are shared by both the bank and the customer in an investment; mudaraba, where someone places their investment in the hands of an expert who invests for them and shares the profit but doesn’t bear the risk of any losses; and ijarah, a rental agreement made in order for the customer to obtain goods, in which rental payments are made over a specified period and the bank reclaims the goods at the end of it.

Many of the high street banks offer Islamic products, and there are some Middle Eastern banks with branches in the UK that provide financial products and services suitable for muslims.

Trust funds

The government introduced child trust funds in 2005 to help new parents to start saving for their child’s future. Upon the birth of a child, they are given £250 in vouchers to invest on their behalf, and an additional £250 on the child’s seventh birthday. Additional contributions of up to £1,200 can be made annually, and the money can be invested in savings accounts or in stocks and shares, or a combination of both (a stakeholder account).

A Sharia-compliant child trust fund is also available for the children of Muslim families, and is provided by the Children’s Mutual. It’s a stakeholder account, which invests in the stock market until the child turns 13 and then transfers the funds into a savings account or lower risk investments such as government bonds. This aims to reduce the impact of any stock market slumps in the run-up to their 18th birthday. All investments are made in funds that don’t compromise Islamic principles, and no interest is paid on the savings.

Mortgages

As mortgages are interest-charging loans, they are not considered acceptable to the Islamic faith. However, as most people can’t afford to pay cash to buy a property outright, there is a demand for Sharia-compliant mortgages among the Muslim community. Many high street banks now offer such products, as does the Islamic Bank of Britain. An Islamic mortgage normally works by means of ijara, a leasing agreement in which the bank purchases the property on behalf of the customer and charges rent to them (including a handling fee) until the purchase price is repaid, at which point the customer owns the property outright. As with other mortgages, the bank retains the rights to the property until this point.

Bank accounts

To comply with the Islamic faith, bank accounts should neither charge nor pay interest. This normally means that there will be no overdraft or credit card facilities on current accounts, and that savings accounts invest money to make a profit rather than receive interest on it.

Pension schemes

A few financial organisations now offer Islamic pension schemes, allowing Muslims to invest for their retirement without having to compromise their beliefs. Such schemes invest only in funds considered to be ethical under Sharia Law – i.e. no investment in companies involved in alcohol, tobacco, betting or pornography, or any companies such as banks that profit from charging interest. If any dividends arise as a result of business involvement in any of these areas, the money is ‘purified’ by giving it to charity rather than awarding it to those investing in the scheme.

Islamic Society

The social part of the Divine Revelation provides us with laws intended to guide the course of social evolution. Islam has developed a political Organization based on eternal principles of the Quran. Since these principles have their source not from any human intellect but delivered by Divine Wisdom, where men when obey them are obeying God but not any individual or system. In the Islamic society all men are equal in the eyes of the law. It is a community of free and equal persons, owing commitment to God and obeying His laws. But when analyze the scenario it comes up with another angle. We have seen that human being has two identities, the self and the body. The relationship between the two selves is close and intimate. But while the body is incessantly changing the self is getting stability. The ultimate spiritual basis of all life, as conceived by Islam is eternal and reveals itself in variety and change. A society based on such a conception of reality must reconcile in its life, the categories of permanence and change. It must possess eternal principles to regulate its collective life as a foothold in the world of perpetual change. But eternal principles, when they are understood to exclude all possibilities of change which according to the Quran is one of the greatest signs of God which tend to immobilize what is essentially mobile in its nature. The law laid down in the Quran is absolute and dynamic in nature to cater both permanence and change; None has the authority to make any change in these laws (6: 116)

What these permanent and eternal Laws do? It demarcates the boundary line of what is lawful "limits" in the terminology of the Quran which no one has the right to transgress. Within the boundary line, however we are free to frame such supplementary laws as the needs of the time require. These supplementary laws are of course subject to change and are to be enacted and revised by the representatives of the people "decide their affairs through mutual consultations and according to Divine Laws" (42: 38). While following the limits set by the Quranic laws, Islam upholds free and tolerant democratic activity. The Quran even leaves man free to devise his own consultative machinery. The form which consultations are to take will depend on the convenience of the people.

As regards the eternal and unalterable Law which sets a limit to the legislative activity of the Islamic democracy, the Muslim community (Ummah) is fully committed to it. It cannot break from its moorings. No one can claim the right to deviate from the laws laid down in the Quran for personal gains. We also cannot rule out the possibility that majority and unanimous decisions could be wrong. Such wrong decisions may not do much harm if they are not against the ethics of human respects. Social stability will be assured only if the legislature exercises its powers within the framework of permanent fundamental principles laid down by Quran. If this framework is rejected, it will cease to be an Islamic society. Within this permanent framework, change is not only permissible but advisable. The conditions of life are always changing and the constitution of the state and machinery of the government should also be revised and brought up to date. It is obvious that in such a system permanence and change are reconciled. The Islamic society is both stable and progressive. It rests on the firm foundation of eternal principles but men are free to create whatever superstructure they like on that foundation. To do good to others is an unalterable moral principle, but the way in which we can do well to others will depend on the particular circumstances of the time. The first cannot be left to the people but the second should be decided by them. We must bear in mind that progress is a change that brings the system nearer to perfection. It is change which is preserving the values achieved, includes them and raises them to a higher level.

Workplace Spirituality in Pakistan

We must understand the reason why we are here in this world. There is a reason, a purpose of us being here because without a purpose we will not exist. There is a purpose for which we were created and connected with each other. This purpose connects us, pulls, guides, thrives us and it is the purpose that binds us together. What is that purpose? A purpose that is strong enough to keep us alive even in the toughest time of our lives. A purpose that gives us hope and strength to keep going when we are about to get disappointed.

We have seen a number of physicians and doctors who did their medical science degrees from the most reputed medical and health universities. Who are specialized in their field of medicines, have written a number of research papers and books but they are not very well known for curing a disease. They are very well educated and have very sound knowledge of human body. They are good teachers and professors but they are not gifted with the art of healing people.

Forex Trading In Pakistan

When it comes to Forex trading in Pakistan, among the biggest obstacles for trading was language. English may not be the main language of Pakistan, but there is an increasing use of the language around the country. Thus, more and more Pakistanis are starting to get comfortable with the Forex trading world. Only a basic comprehension of English is sufficient to be a Forex trader. What you have to understand most importantly are the charts and figures. If you have no trouble with this part of the deal, then you may go on to the next step, which is finding the best online Foreign exchange broker in Pakistan.
Forex trading in Pakistan has been developing at a fast rate, and regular people are now producing more profit through currency pair trading. Even though a lot of people in the trade industry are around Lahore and Karachi, there are still several more people joining from the other areas. The foreign exchange trade, or more commonly known as Forex, is a large market and only financial firms and big banks was to be involved until recently. Today, almost any individual with an Internet connection can be involved in Forex trading because of its fast development and the introduction of broker spot trade.

There are a lot of factors to mull over when selecting the best Forex broker for you. Some of these include: the withdrawing and depositing alternatives they support; the minimum quantity you require depositing in order to begin trading; whether they provide a demonstration profile with play cash to practice your techniques or not; the performance of the support staff; how much they are obtaining as spread; whether their interface is user and beginner friendly, and up to standards; as well as plenty of other factors. Considering all these factors, you may come up with the conclusion that the best Forex trading in Pakistan is E-Toro. E-Toro is generally deemed on of the finest beginner-friendly Forex interfaces offered all over the world, and was deemed the most ground-breaking trading interface in 2010. With its existing features such as the Forex marathon, live chat with other Forex traders, and Forex chart, E-Toro is a terrific place for a novice to learn the strategies of the trading system.

If you have finally chosen the ideal Forex broker in Pakistan for you, you may then start learning the fundamentals of Forex trading. You must try new techniques in your demonstration profile and enhance your skills. It is recommended to make use of your demo profile for at least one month prior to involving yourself with the real trade.

An important thing to take not of is that even though you may begin investing your profile with as small as $25, you may want to invest larger amount as you may benefit from excellent offers such as first-time deposit bonuses. For instance, E-Toro offers a first-time deposit bonus of 50 percent for deposits of $1,000 at most. This means that if you invest $200, you will get an additional $100.

Celebration of Birthday in Pakistan

While finding the trend of birthday celebration in Pakistan, must say that it depends on the age of the person, but for the wish of Birthday you don’t need to consider the age, you could wish by just call the person, send the greeting card and you could also send the gift for being in more elegant manner.

In general the first birthday of a baby celebrated in most professional manner, it is due to the memories, changes and milestones included in the year. The first year of a baby is remembering for lots of reasons, the change in the behavior of the baby, when starts smiling to laughing, starts sitting to standing then walking, starts eating rather drinking milk only.

The gathering took place in a home or marriage halls, the lots of balloons ribbons and shining laces used for the decoration of the birthday party. The cake is the most important part of the birthday celebration. A big designed cake is ordered for the party and it must be written with the happy birthday wishes for the baby.

The dinner is also the part of the birthday celebration.
Lots of families invited in the first birthday, it include the closed relatives to friends specially the children, who actually fill the color in birthday party. In general all the families bring gifts wrapped in cool gift boxes, normally consist of Johnson's Baby Gift Set, Inflatable Pool, clothes etc for the baby. Gifts are obviously the most important part of the birthday because the gifts reminds the first birthday in years to come. Some families give the money as a gift too.

Before cutting the cake ceremony all the children were given the traditional hat and the balloons. All get together and cut the cake, the all voices of happy birthday arrives, and the noise of splitting of balloon by children appears. The cake will then distribute in children as well as elders. Children were also given the small gift box which includes candies, chocolates, balloons and different sweets.

Birthday, a small or large family gathering that provide the lots of entertainment to children and for younger people chance to meet family & friends at least in year.

SendgiftPakistan.com has variety of birthday gifts for all age group you can send birthday gifts to Pakistan and give the recipient a real smile.

In general the first birthday of a baby celebrated in most professional manner, it is due to the memories, changes and milestones included in the year. The first year of a baby is remembering for lots of reasons, the change in the behavior of the baby, when starts smiling to laughing, starts sitting to standing then walking, starts eating rather drinking milk only.

The gathering took place in a home or marriage halls, the lots of balloons ribbons and shining laces used for the decoration of the birthday party. The cake is the most important part of the birthday celebration. A big designed cake is ordered for the party and it must be written with the happy birthday wishes for the baby. The dinner is also the part of the birthday celebration.

Lots of families invited in the first birthday, it include the closed relatives to friends specially the children, who actually fill the color in birthday party. In general all the families bring gifts wrapped in cool gift boxes, normally consist of Johnson's Baby Gift Set, Inflatable Pool, clothes etc for the baby. Gifts are obviously the most important part of the birthday because the gifts reminds the first birthday in years to come. Some families give the money as a gift too.

Before cutting the cake ceremony all the children were given the traditional hat and the balloons. All get together and cut the cake, the all voices of happy birthday arrives, and the noise of splitting of balloon by children appears. The cake will then distribute in children as well as elders. Children were also given the small gift box which includes candies, chocolates, balloons and different sweets.

Birthday, a small or large family gathering that provide the lots of entertainment to children and for younger people chance to meet family & friends at least in year.

Ten Wonderful Things To See And Do In Pakistan

Who says nobody can have fun in Pakistan? With so many beautiful places and virtually unlimited possibilities for hiking, trekking, mountaineering, and other sports, a trip to Pakistan can be your ultimate Pakistani escape. Here’s where you can go when your plane stops on this side of the globe.

1.) Moenjodaro
Located 350 kilometers off Karachi, Moenjodaro was considered one of the most spectacular cities of the ancient times. The ruins of this ancient city in the Indus Valley never fail to give travelers knowledge of the ancient life and the marvel of early systems of town planning. Walk along the remains of this olden city and witness the way of life, the culture and the traditions early Pakistani lived by.

 

2.) Ansoo Lake
See the famous teardrop-shaped lake of Pakistan. Located some 14,000 feet above sea level, Ansoo Lake is can be found in Kaghan Valley in the Himalayan Range. Be ready for some serious hiking though because there are no forms of transportation available except for some mules and horses which may not be able to carry you all the way up.

 3.) Karachi
Who said that the urban life will spoil Karachi’s beauty? Karachi hosts a number of museums, shops, islands, clubs, beachfronts, colonial buildings, amusement parks, and more. So strap on that sturdy shoes and head out and find your own adventure in the busy streets of Karachi.

 4.) Abbottabad
Abbottabad is a popular summer resort that can be found at the end of Murree-Abbottabad hill tract. Find your place to rest in its pine-covered hills, lush parks and gardens, and superb golf courses. Travel here and discover the gateway leading you to your next adventure rally point.

Nokia Unveils Lumia 520 Cheapest lumia phone in pakistan

Nokia know that cheap Windows Phone most people want. In the past few months, they have been trying to do in the end is what to do LUMIA620 A cheaper smartphone operating system almost no lag is a killer combination.
The good news is that Nokia, or even higher (or lower) level LUMIA520. The latest version running on the new Windows Phone, compared with a larger 4-inch display screen of 3.8 inches LUMIA620.



Here are the specifications of the phone:
Microsoft Windows Phone8 OS
4-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 480 × 800 pixels
Anti-wear and allergic display
9.9mm thick
Weight: 124g
1GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor
512MB RAM
5-megapixel rear camera, 720p video recording (not vice camera)
Wireless Internet access, GPS, Bluetooth 3.0, microUSB Data 2.0
1430 mA battery
White / black, cyan, red and yellow
What is great about this phone is that it has got a lot of features, from high-end Lumia phone Lumia920, such as super-sensitive display it is available gloves or nails too Cinemagraph Nokia, Nokia Music and more. It will be released in the second quarter of 2013 is higher or lower than about 183 rupees. 22K in Pakistan.