Major Signs before the Day of Judgement

by Shaykh Ahmad Ali

All praises is due to Allah. We praise Him, ask him, and seek his forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from evils of ourselves and mischiefs of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, cannot be misguided. Peace and blessings be upon the Final Messenger Muhammed, on his family and his noble companions , Ameen

Belief in Doomsday is one of the fundamentals and pillars of faith. It is the day when everyone is to get recompense and punishment for one's work and has to go to heaven or hell according to one's deeds. This is the reason each and every Prophet warned his people of the Day of Judgement.

As for the knowledge of the time of Qiyamah (End of the World) , it has not been given to any angel or Prophet. Nobody besides Allah knows when the final hour is.
The Quran states, O Prophet the infidels ask you about the time of Qiyamah. So tell them that it's knowledge is with Allah only. (Surah Luqman)

However certain events are going to take place prior to the coming of the final hour. These events are known as the Signs of Qiyamah. All the Prophets informed their people of the signs of the final hour. Our Prophet Muhammed being the last and the seal of Prophets, knowing that Doomsday is to come upon this very ummah, explained clearly and in considerable detail the signs of the final hour to the extent that sometimes he would lecture his companions all day on this subject.
Abu Zaid (R.A.) says, 'The Holy Prophet sat down on the pulpit after Fajar Prayer and began a deliver a long sermon until the time for Zohr prayer came. After saying the Zohr prayer he again sat on the pulpit and began the sermon, which continued till Asr prayer. After the Asr prayer he resumed the sermon so much so that the sun set. he related whatever happened in the past and also related in detail whatever is to happen in the future. Those amongst us who had good memories retained many things.' (Muslim)

The signs of the final hour can be divided into two groups.
1) Minor signs
Minor signs are events of normal nature prophesised by our Prophet Muhammed to take place before Qiyamah like the consumption of alcohol, lifting of knowledge and prevalence of ignorance and immorality and signs of this nature. The majority of the minor signs have appeared while some are occurring and some will appear with major signs.
2) Major signs
Major signs ae events of extraordinary nature prophesied by our Prophet to take place before Qiyamah like all the events mentioned in the following hadith narrated by Hudhaifa ibn Usayd that the Prophet said, 'The last hour will not arrive till you have seen ten signs. He then mentioned the Smoke, Dajjal, Beast, Rising of the Sun from the place of it's setting, the Descent of Isa, Ya'juj Ma'juj, Three Landslides, one in the East , one in the West and one in the Arabian Peninsula after that a Fire would spread from Yemen and drive the people to their place of gathering.' (Muslim)

This book written by the Ulama of the Institute is a concise summary of only the major events leading up to the Day of Judgement. Each of the following signs: Mahdi, Dajjal, Descension of Isa, Ya'juj Ma'juj, Landslides, Smoke, Rising of the Sun from the east, Beast and the Fire are explained in detail. The supporting evidences are written at the end of every section and have been taken from various authentic Hadith collections.
All Praises belong to Allah, Lord of all the world.

(More information refer to http://www.inter-islam.org/faith/Majorsigns.html#intro)

Books on Success & Meaningful Achievement

Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill

This is one of the first books written on personal achievement and is still one of the best. It is based on two decades of research conducted on over 500 successful people including Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell and John D. Rockefeller. If there is something you want to achieve in life this book will definitely help you succeed.

Maximum Achievement by Brian Tracy

This all encompassing personal development book is one of Brian Tracy's best selling books. You will find insights into the mind as well as success principals for every area of your life; career, income, relationships, family and spirituality. Although this book is quite long at 350 pages, if you commit and discipline yourself to apply the principals shared will be guaranteed great results.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey
This book has been a fantastic success selling over a million copies each year since its release. It is a compelling self-help book as well as an excellent management leadership manual. Covey studied success literature going back 200 years for his doctoral dissertation and believes that outward success is not success at all. He also puts effectiveness at a higher level than achievement and outlines that real effectiveness comes from having clarity about your principals, values and vision. This is not a book of tips and tricks that you can browse through, it is a comprehensive guide about personal and professional effectiveness.

Feel the Fear . . . and Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers

This easy to read book will help you understand more about your fears so that you can go beyond them. The beauty of this book is its simplicity and even the title itself is a great mantra – feel the fear and do it anyway.

Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell

Malcolm Gladwell examines the background of people who achieve over and above what is normally expected of them and reveals what they have in common in this really engaging book. You will find interesting facts and well told stories that explain why some achieve outstanding results in life. A great read for parents and educators.

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robert Sharma

This is an easy to read story of a high profile lawyer who after a near fatal heart attack decides to 'leave it all behind' in search of the real meaning of life. He travels to the Himalayas where he meets a group of sages who impart their wisdom. The success principals shared are a blend of eastern wisdom and western guidance. In many ways this book is like an old wine in a new bottle, you may have heard many of the principals before, nonetheless good advice is always worth repeating!

See You at the Top: 25th Anniversary Edition by Zig Ziglar

As you read this book, you will feel like the author is sitting beside you giving you no nonsense guidance on the topics of self-image, goal setting, teamwork as well as the importance of having good habits and attitudes. While some find that the language is old fashioned and that there is too much reference to religion, this is certainly an upbeat optimistic motivational book.

The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz
The key message in this book is that success is determined by the size of your belief, so why not think big. Unconsciously, you have decided what you can and cannot be, have and do in life. This book will help you enlarge your thinking and act on it. As you read, you will find the language of the book conversational and the techniques simple and practical. The stories sprinkled throughout are fun and will really hold your attention. What is great about this book is that you can pick it up anywhere and begin reading.

Unlimited Power : The New Science Of Personal Achievement by Anthony Robbins

Although this book is quite long, it is easy to read and filled with clear and inspiring ideas. As with all of Anthony Robbins books he is very clear about the importance of taking action in your own life and requires you to develop your own strategies rather than following a set of recommended tips.

As a Man Thinketh by James Allen

Although it has been 100 years since this book was first published, readers continue to rave about it. It is a slender little book that has been described as a masterpiece and the work of a genius. The central message of self help literature i.e. “we are what we think” is explored in a way that will re-ignite your thinking. in a priceless, timeless and lasting way.

Video conferencing bandwidth management and planning guide

by Dan Devine

Video conferencing enables members of an enterprise's distributed workforce to connect face-to-face no matter where they are, increasing flexibility and improving communication provided, of course, that your network can stand up to all that video conferencing bandwidth strain.

An individual video conferencing call requires a substantial amount of bandwidth; a high volume of calls can cause nightmares for network managers who haven't properly prepared for the flood. How can you ensure that your network is ready for business video conferencing bandwidth demands?

The news articles, columns and expert advice from the SearchUnifiedCommunications.com archives that are compiled in this video conferencing bandwidth learning guide will help you cover all your networking bases when implementing video conferencing solutions. From fundamental issues like calculating how much video conferencing bandwidth your setup will require to more nettlesome specifics like handling a desktop video conferencing deluge and delivering high-quality video conferencing to branch offices, we've got the expertise you need to keep your users connected and your network strong.

In this video conferencing bandwidth learning guide, learn about the importance of making sure your network can handle the bandwidth demands of an enterprise video conferencing implementation. Get tips on calculating video conferencing bandwidth, find out how to manage bandwidth without forsaking video conferencing quality and learn about the role that a Quality of Service (QoS) deployment can play in the process.

Check out the following articles, tips and videos for an in-depth look on these topics and more:

• Calculating video conferencing bandwidth requirements for enterprise deployments : The first step to a successful video conferencing setup? Determining just how much bandwidth you'll have to devote to supporting multiple high-quality video conferencing calls. We'll help you do the math.

• Understanding and controlling video conferencing bandwidth demand: After you've calculated how much video conferencing bandwidth your implementation will require, you've got to make sure supporting it won't adversely affect mission-critical applications. Leveraging QoS, network design and call admission control can give you the best of both worlds.

• Balancing video conferencing bandwidth demands with video quality needs: It's a simple rule of video conferencing: The higher the quality of experience you want to deliver, the more network bandwidth you'll need to support it. How good does the video need to be for your users? How much bandwidth will that demand? You've got questions; we've got answers.

• Video: How does video conferencing deployment affect the network as a whole?: After it's been deployed, video conferencing can quickly account for as much as half of total network bandwidth consumption. How can you manage that kind of load? In this video interview, NetForecast Principal John Bartlett and TechTarget's Sue Fogarty discuss the challenges network managers and architects face.

• Video conferencing over the WAN: A network design checklist: Proper configuration of the enterprise wide area network (WAN)—including making sure the enterprise WAN has enough bandwidth available to cover demand—is critical to ensuring high-quality video conferencing service delivery. This list of WAN video conferencing requirements will simplify your network design process.

• Keep desktop video conferencing from overloading the WAN with smart network planning: When you bring video conferencing to your users' desktops, you open the door to the prospect of many new video sessions being initiated at the same time, which could overload already-taxed WAN links. Learn how careful desktop video conferencing network planning and provisioning can spare your WAN an untimely demise.

• Video conferencing in branch offices over iVPNs: Bandwidth strategies: WAN optimizers and link aggregation could be valuable tools for enterprises looking to ensure bandwidth availability and performance stability when providing quality video conferencing to branch offices over an Internet VPN (iVPN) linked to the enterprise WAN.

• UC and video integration: Alleviating video conferencing bandwidth concerns: Concerns about bandwidth—namely, the need for a lot of it and the cost of procuring it—rank among the major factors limiting widespread deployment of video conferencing and other video technologies within UC setups. With our help, though, you can address those concerns and launch a successful UC/video integration project.

(Sources - http://searchunifiedcommunications.techtarget.com)