Mangaluru, Apr 12: The blessed month of Ramadan has begun in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi, as the crescent moon was spotted on the outskirts of the twin districts this evening.
Like previous year, the holy month has begun in many Middles East countries and coastal belt of Karnataka and Kerala on the same day.
Prominent NRI community leader SM Syed Khalilur Rehman, fondly known as CA Khalil, passed away in Dubai on Thursday at the age of 86 after a brief illness.
Khalil had been admitted to Aster Hospital in Mankhool on Tuesday after experiencing severe leg weakness. Despite the best efforts of the medical team, he succumbed to a double heart attack that worsened his condition, his son Rais Ahmed confirmed.
The news of his passing has sent waves of grief across communities, particularly in his hometown of Bhatkal, Karnataka, where he was a celebrated figure. Tributes have been pouring in on social media, highlighting his significant contributions to international trade, social service, and education.
A Legacy of Leadership and Service
A chartered accountant by profession, Khalil was a founding member of the Dubai chapter of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), where he served as chairman from 1987 to 1994. His illustrious career included key leadership roles, such as general manager of Khaleej Times, group executive director of the Ilyas and Mustafa Galadari Group, and vice-chairman of the Jashanmal Group of Companies.
He also chaired Maadhyama Communications and Sahil Online, a web-based news platform, and was a director and trustee of several media companies and charitable organisations in Dubai and India.
A Champion for Education and Philanthropy
Khalil’s impact extended far beyond his professional achievements. As president and general secretary of Anjuman Hami-e-Muslimeen, he played a pivotal role in the development of educational institutions, including schools and colleges in Bhatkal and surrounding areas. His dedication to social upliftment earned him recognition from the Government of Karnataka, which honoured him with a prestigious award for his philanthropic contributions.
A Life Celebrated
The Bhatkal Muslim Khaleej Council (BMKC) recently released a documentary celebrating Khalil’s remarkable life and service to the community—a testament to his enduring legacy.
CA Khalil is survived by his family and countless admirers across the globe. His passing marks the end of an era for Indian expatriates in the UAE and beyond, leaving behind a legacy of leadership, generosity, and commitment to community service.
Beirut: The Israeli army on Tuesday continued to launch attacks against civilians in Lebanon, targeting them in several areas without prior evacuation warnings.
However, 13 airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs in the space of only three hours were preceded by evacuation warnings.
The attacks caused no injuries but resulted in widespread destruction of residential buildings and commercial, medical and educational centers.
The airstrikes in southern Lebanon and Bekaa region, reaching Akkar in Lebanon’s far north, erased any hope of a near-term ceasefire settlement.
The strikes were accompanied by an announcement on Israel’s Channel 14 that “the Israeli army has expanded its operations in southern Lebanon to areas it had not reached since the beginning of the ground operation.”
About 50 days have passed since Israel intensified its hostile operations in Lebanon targeting Hezbollah. The death toll from these confrontations and attacks has passed 3,200, with more than 14,000 wounded.
For the first time, an airstrike targeted a mountainous area between Baalchmay and Aabadiyeh on the road leading to Aley, destroying a building housing displaced people.
The mayor of Baalchmay, Adham Al-Danaf, confirmed that “the airstrike targeted a residential building in the Dhour Aabadiyeh area.”
The initial toll from the Ministry of Health showed “five people killed and two injured.”
The raids that targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs for the first time in the morning, unlike nightly raids before, caused huge destruction. Those who evacuated their homes after Israeli warnings, used their phones to record the collapse of empty buildings in Sfeir, Haret Hreik, Bir Al-Abed, Mrayjeh, Laylaki and Hadath.
Israeli warplanes also targeted Tyre, where a strike on a building killed three people and injured many others, while a raid on Tefahta killed a man identified as Kifah Khalil and his family.
Attacks were widespread, with Yater and Zebqine subject to artillery shelling, a civilian being killed in Hermel, and further attacks on Bouday and an area between the towns of Srifa and Arsoun.
A raid on the town of Siddiqin killed two people and injured several others, while an attack on the Mechref farm led to one fatality and multiple injuries.
The search for those missing after an Israeli raid on the town of Ain Yaacoub in Akkar, in the northernmost part of Lebanon, continued until dawn.
During the operation, 14 bodies were retrieved, identified as those of residents displaced from the town of Arabsalim in the Iqlim Al-Tuffah area of the south, along with members of a Syrian family, a mother and three of her children. Additionally, there were 10 people in critical condition.
The targeted residence belongs to a Lebanese citizen, Hussein Hashim, who is reported to be a member of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party.
An airstrike on the town of Saksakiyeh in the Sidon region on Monday night resulted in yet another tragedy.
It appeared that the intended target was the Shoumer family, who just days before lost Hussein Amin Shoumer and his two sisters in a drone strike near Al-Awali River.
Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee issued additional evacuation warnings for towns in the southern region along the Litani River, which, according to estimates from the mayors, are currently 90 percent uninhabited.
In the meantime, Hezbollah announced its continued efforts to “combat the intrusions of Israeli forces and to strike military installations and towns in the north.”
Hezbollah said in a statement that it confronted “an Israeli Hermes 450 drone in the airspace of Nabatieh and forced it to leave Lebanese airspace.”
The party also announced that it targeted “Kfar Blum settlement with a rocket salvo.”
On the Israeli side, air raid sirens sounded in areas of Upper and Western Galilee and in the town of Kiryat Shmona and its surroundings.
The Israeli army confirmed that “a drone exploded in Nesher, east of Haifa, without activating the air raid sirens,” and that “a drone launched from Lebanon crashed into a school in Gesher HaZiv, north of Nahariya.”
Israel’s Channel 13 reported the Israeli military’s assessment regarding Hezbollah’s military strength, claiming that the group currently possesses approximately 100 precision missiles, thousands of artillery shells, and hundreds of rockets. Additionally, it was highlighted that “there are around 200 Lebanese towns that remain unvisited.”
The UN humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon has warned that the “picture of life in Lebanon remains grim,” highlighting an "alarming" level of human suffering and significant humanitarian consequences due to the ongoing Israeli carnage.
Imran Riza, the UN Deputy Special Coordinator and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL), provided a stark overview of the Arab country's dire circumstances in a statement released on Monday.
“The current picture of life in Lebanon remains grim. Yesterday, airstrikes reportedly killed 23 people, including seven children, in the village of Aalmat in Mount Lebanon,” Riza said on X.
An airstrike in the city of Tyre on the same day resulted in the tragic deaths of five siblings from a single family, all of whom had special needs, according to his statement.
He added that in the last week, Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 241 individuals and left 642 others injured in Lebanon, as reported by the Ministry of Health.
“In the past month, more than 185,000 people have fled their homes in their search for safety within the country, bringing the total to over 870,000 people internally displaced,” Riza said
The UN official highlighted that numerous individuals, including the elderly and those with health issues, are staying behind while witnessing the ruins of their ancestral homes.
He urged for the swift safeguarding of civilian people and infrastructure, emphasizing the necessity to uphold international humanitarian law and end the ongoing violence.
Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that Israeli forces bombed a house in the town of Maydoun in Bekaa on Monday night, killing three people and destroying the house.
Earlier, Israel bombed the northern town of Ain Yaaqoub, killing at least 14 people.
The killings came as Israeli military continued to pound Lebanon, bombing shops selling electrical appliances in the southern city of Tyre and carrying out air raids on the towns of Shamshtar in eastern Baalbek and Roumine in southern Nabatieh.
Lebanon’s Ministry of Health said Israeli attacks killed at least 54 people across the country on Monday.
Israel’s merciless attacks continue despite calls from the UN Security Council for an immediate ceasefire and directives from the International Court of Justice urging measures to prevent genocide and alleviate the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and Lebanon.
In Lebanon, at least 3,243 people have been killed and 14,134 others wounded in Israeli attacks since the war on Gaza began on October 7, 2023.
The Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah opened a support front for Palestinians in Gaza only a day after the Israeli regime unleashed its genocidal war on the besieged territory.
Comments
We Muslims believe in One God, perhaps the only community on Earth now having this monotheistic belief. Islam means submitting to the will of One God. Actually, Allah means Al ilah, which means The One God. From day one, when human kept the foot on Earth, Islam was there. From time to time people go away from the will of God to the will of their desires or the will of Satan which later created so many deviated paths. These deviated people once were on the true path, the path of God. From time to time, God "sends" Prophets and Messengers (peace be upon them all) to take back human from wrong paths to the right path. These Prophets are righteous people that God chooses among the tribe/nation from time to time in order to guide the deviated tribe or nation. They are given holy books too. We Muslims believe that there were many Prophets sent to humanity from time to time before the last and final Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Since he is the final prophet, his arrival has been mentioned in previous holy books even in Vedas and also in the bible. He is sometimes referred as Anthim Rishi. I request our non-Muslim brothers to research on the Anthim Rishi, Kalki Avathar. Ramadan Mubarak to all.
@pram .... bro plz read vedas.... once you read clearly. you will accept islam soon.... may allah guide you to stright path..
@pram .... bro plz read vedas.... once you read clearly. you will accept islam soon.... may allah guide you to stright path..
Many of our relatives/ known people who were with us last year are not with us this ramadan due to corona. Let us make maximum prayers for them. Lets not waste time in petty political and sunni salafi talks. Let us preach simple living
@#14 Mohammed Saleem, Sharjah,
You have a block in your mind blocked the of evil. Once made a shahadah the evil enters your heart and mind to go to Madrassa.The Madrassas are teaching against Hindus, Christians, and Jews. Are you kidding, Islam
After many messengers were sent... and conveyed the message of ONENESS of God... ALLAH sent MUHAMMED pbuh as the last and final MESSENGER to the people to convey the same one MSG of WORSHIP the creator not his CREATION .. WE should not worship EVEN prophet Muhammd pbuh...
ALLAH Revealed QURAN to Muhammad pbuh as BIBLE for JESUS and TORAH for MoSES...
Mohammed was not the first but he was the last messenger of ALLAH... Hope this might help dear PREM PRASAD unless YOUR HEART is not HONEST to know about the CREATOR who created all that exists.....
BE sincere and honest, ALLAH guides those who truly look for him.
Prem Prasad
If you don't understand something it doesn't mean it not exist.
Islam means Peace aquired by submitting your will to God. .
It exists right from beginning
Prem Prasad.
Islam means Peace aquired by submitting our wills to God.
And it exists from beginning of mankind.
If you don't understand something. It doesn't mean it don't exist
Islam is not just Arabic word. It means submission to God and obey his commands. Adam, Moses, Jesus and Mohammed peace be upon all submitted their will to God. Islam exist from beginning. Don't make God so cheap. He is lord for all from beginning till end. No other like him. Don't make image of God and compare to anything
@#11 Mohammed Saleem, Sharjah
You have to argue without logic in a circular manner. World was unknown to the word Islam Prior to 1400 or prior to 1st century. Why did you threw out the 10 commandments of God from O.T. Where was the Term Allah prior t
The only religion is accepted in front of God is Islam.
Islam means total submission to God.
To live according to commandments of God, which he sent time to time in each area through his messengers.
Islam started from first person in earth prophet Adam PBUH.
What was the name of your God prior to 1st century. The word Islam was not prevalent prior to 1400 years. Name Islam prevailed after Arabic was invented in the 1st century. III caliph Uthman is the editor of Quran. He destroyed all the manuscripts given by so-called Gabriel. To which place you were facing and praying prior to 1400 and had you been fasting prior to 1400 years where there was no month called Ramadan. The last prophet to humanity was Joseph Smith of the Mormons religion. 124000 prophets are illusions including false prophets. Don't tell me to read Quran. No need to read any book if a person is living a righteous life.
@Prem Prasad. Islam was not created 1400 years ago. It is a big mis-conception among many non-Muslims. 1400 years ago it was the final installment of the series of prophets (peace be upon them all) and revelations sent to human being by Almighty God. We b
Dear Brother Ahmadi / Asi...
Please make following Dua, U will understand everything...
O ALLAH, make what you teach me beneficial, teach me what is beneficial, and increase me in knowledge...
Allaahumma-nfanee, bimaa allamtanee, wa allimnee maa yanfaunee, wa zidnee ilmaa (Attirmidi # 3599)
Ramadan is the month in which MUSLIMS all around the WORLD fast for 29/30 days from dawn to dusk.
Fasting is the fourth pillar of ISLAMIC FAITH
The fast is an act of deep personal WORSHIP to get closer to ALLAH (God Almighty)
It is the month in which the QURAN was revealed to Prophet Muhammad pbuh.
QURAN chapter 2 Verse 183 says : O believers! The fast has been prescribed upon YOU just as it was prescribed for the followers of the Prophets BEFORE YOU, So that YOU may attain TAQWA (Piety)
Prophet Muhammad pbuh said, ALLAH said \All the deeds of man are for himself except for FASTING, which is for ME and I shall reward it Myself...
May ALLAH accept our Fasting and reward as he promised... ALLAHU AKBAR...All praise is to ALLAH, the Lord of all that exists.."
ASI DUBAI sawal acha hi but unfortunately till date no one answered for this question from last 10-15 years.
Where the Moon is sighted ???
Arabic was invented in the 1st century. Prior to 1st century to wich place you were facing and praying. Prior to 1400 which book you were reading and what was the name of your God before the 1st century.
Happy Ramadan and may Allah (SU) Bless us all in this Holy Ramadan....
\Allahumma ballighna ramadhaan\"
O allah makes this ramadhan easy for us\"
Join us to say aameen...."
Add new comment