"O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you in order that you might learn piety . . . . The month of Ramadan is that wherein was revealed the Qur'an, as a guidance to mankind, and clear proofs of the guidance, and the Criterion. So, whoever among you witnesses the month should fast." [Al-Qur'an 2:183, 185]

"Every deed of the Son of Adam is for himself, except fasting - it is for Me, and I shall reward it." [Muslim, Abu Dawud, Nasa'i, Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah]

"There is not any believer who remains hungry, and abstains from the forbidden things, and does not wrongfully consume the wealth of Muslims, except that Allah will feed him from the fruits of Heaven." [Musnad Abu Hanifah]

"Whoever fasts Ramadan with faith and expectation [of reward], his previous sins are forgiven him." [Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, Nasa'i]

Rewards of fasting in general

"Fasting is a shield." [Ahmad]

"There is not any servant who fasts a day in the path of Allah, except that Allah will distance him from the Fire by a distance of seventy years." [Bukhari, Muslim]

"Fasting the month of patience and three days of each month remove rancor of the heart." [Ahmad, Bazzar]

Warning against abandoning fasting in Ramadan

"Whoever breaks his fast in Ramadan without a [valid] concession or illness, he cannot repay it, even if he were to fast the rest of his life." [Tirmidhi, Nasa'i, Ibn Majah]

Rules Related to Fasting

THE OBLIGATION OF FASTING

a) The time for fasting is from the rising of the second dawn until the setting of the sun.

b) Fasting is: abstention from eating, drinking and sexual intercourse by day with the intention.

THE INTENTION

The fasting is valid with an intention from the night, but if one did not intend until the morning, the intention suffices him between [dawn] and {the middle of the day}.

1. Things which invalidates fasting and requires full recompense

1.1 If someone intentionally does one of the following without any valid excuse(see 6 below)

a) Does not fast at all

b) Breaks fast by eating, drinking and sexual activities

c) Assuming that cupping has broken ones fast thus quit fasting for the day.

1.2 Expiation for the above is to

a) Fast unceasingly for two months (60 days), if one breaks fats during this one has to start anew.

b) If unable to do so, it is to feed 60 needy persons two full meal

c) If unable to do so, it is to free one slave.

1.3 Things that break fast and requires one to fast similar numbers of days in recompense

a) If something is entered into the body during the hours when one is supposed to fast, irrelevant of how it entered into the body.(see 5)

To eat something which is not food such as stone particle or smoking anything.
When water enters stomach while gargling
When one is fed by force even when one is sleeping or unconscious
Inject medicine, place them on wounds which eventually gets in.
Eating by mistake thinking it is still night or iftar time is due while it is not.
Involuntary full mouth vomiting and subsequent swallowing of it or part of it.
When one is force into sexual intercourse or when one is sleeping or unconscious

b) Fasting without intention
c) Breaking (iftar) fast without the intention of doing so.
d) Lustful kissing of ones spouse
e) Emission of semen due to touching, kissing, masturbation.
f) Intentional vomiting.

2. Offensive acts during fasting

a) Backbiting, slander
b) To lie or deceive
c) To use abusive language
d) Not having iftar
e) Taste a food without swallowing it, using toothpaste.
f) Gargling water due to thirsts or hot weather.
g) Wrapping oneself with wet clothes.
h) Throwing up intentionally
i) Weakening the body (e.g. strenuous sport)
j) Gathering saliva and swallowing it;

3. Days when fasting is forbidden

a) Day of Eid al Fitr (Eid of Ramadan)
b) During Eid al ADHa 10, 11, 12 and 13 of month of Dhul Hijjah

4. Events when it is allowed to break the fast and fast later the similar number of days

a) If fasting aggravates health-condition
b) Snake biting
c) Thirsts due to newly developed disease
d) Genuine danger for a pregnant mother, or for her fetus.
e) Genuine fear for the life of a suckling infant
f) Reason to fear death
g) Menstruation
h) If one is a traveller

5. Things that do not break fast

a) Those things which would otherwise break fast does not do so when one is unaware of the fact that one is fasting(complete forgetfulness of fasting).

b) Entrance of insects (i.e mosquitos), smoke and dust from natural environment does not break fast.

c) Wet dream, swallowing ones own saliva when still in the mouth, brushing teeth, smearing oil, ointment on unwounded body do not break fast. or used antimony [in his eyes],

d) If one is overcome by vomiting, his fast is not broken.

6. Etiquettes and desirable practices

Preparing for the month.
Bringing to mind the bounty of Allah.
Purifying one's intention
Pre-dawn meal (suhur) as late as safely possible.
Not unnecessarily delaying the breakingof the fast.
Performing salat al-Maghrib soon after breakign the fast, then returning to eat.
Making du`a at the time of breaking the fast.
Enabling others to break their fasts.
Abstaining from all forbidden deeds.
Maintaining a pleasant disposition.
Abundant reciting of the Qur'an.
Abundant charity.
Performing tarawih prayers.

7. Miscellaneous

a) The intention of fasting can be made as late as just before noon, if one forgets to do so during the previous night. If one passes noon without making the intention ones fasting is invalid.(1.3b)

b) One should eat before the day breaks even when one is not hungry.

c) For a woman whenever during the day menstruation stops she should be observing fasting even though it is not a fast for her. She should fast if it happens just before morning and did not have enough time to take shower and eat.

d) If a woman menstruates, she stops fasting and makes up [fasting for the days of menstruation].

e) Someone who lost consciousness in Ramadan does not make up the day on which the loss of consciousness occurred, but he makes up that which came after it.

f) If a traveller arrives, or a [menstruating] woman attains purity with part of the day [remaining], they abstain [from those things which invaliate fasting] for the rest of that day.

May Allah keep us on the Straight Path. Aameen

♥ "When you stand up to pray, pray as if it is your last prayer" ♥

MODERN SCIENCE AND ISLAM

ARABS WERE ILLITERATE

The Holy Prophet (salla' llaahu'alaihi wa sallam) did not go to any school. Arabia did not even have a Primary school run by Arabs. The Arabs were proud to be illiterate. They claimed they were born to wield swords and to wield the pen was the job of the merchant class. His uncle and grandfather, who were both uneducated, brought up the Prophet (Salla ‘llahu’ alaihi wa sallam. There was no contact with scholars of the time. Yet, the message that he delivered i.e. the Holy Quraan remains relevant and scientifically correct for all ages. The question is where did he get all the wisdom. Was he a genius?

COSMIC STUDY

When he was born, the Greco-Roman civilisation had its influence in the Arabian Peninsula. The cosmogony of Greco-Romans is that the earth is flat and the sky is in the form of a canopy, studded with lamps. This is a myth. On the other side of Arabia, there is Iran and India, the two great seats of culture and civilisation. Both held the same view. China had the same view. The Holy Prophet (salla' llaahu'alaihi wa sallam) did not come to teach Physical Science or Astronomy. But you will find in the Qur’aan, references to different Natural Phenomena to different Scientific problems. In these references you will find the Qur’aan absolutely modern, anti classical and hostile to the ancient thoughts of Mankind in that age. In connection with Cosmogony, the Qur’aan says:

THE SUN MOVES

In modern history of Astronomy, unto Kepler, nobody knew that the sun moves. Until recently students of science were thought that, "the earth moves and the sun is stationary." Then science found, very recently, out the sun is moving constantly in a Horizontal line.

The Qur’aan says this:Yasin Sura 36 Verse 38

PRINCIPLE OF PARITY

Modern physics also, has the "Principle of Parity"

The Atom is the Fundamental particle of all matter. In 1925 modern physics said that an atom is composed of a pair, male and female i.e. electron and proton. The Neutron is known as the "Marriage Officer", as a joke in scientific circles.

Another fact was that electrical current was unknown in those days. Today we know that the male is positive and the female is negative in electricity.

EMBRYOLOGY

Dr. Keith L. Moore is a Professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. He is a world-renowned scientist and a distinguished researcher in the fields of anatomy and embryology; he has published more than 150 research articles, chapters and books in this field. A Muslim scholar, Abdul-Majeed Azzindani contacted Dr. Moore. He was asked to participate in a three-year study of around twenty-five verses of the Qur’aan and the Sunnah (sayings of Muhammad (Salla’llahu’alaihi wa sallam) which speak about embryology, and to determine the their correspondence to modern scientific discoveries.

The Qur’aan and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (Salla’llahu’alaihi wa sallam) provide a very detailed description of the microscopic development of the human embryo from a mere sperm drop up to the stage of a completely formed human being. It is well known that microscopes were not developed until the sixteenth century AD, and even at that were very crude in design.

Zacharias Janssen is credited with having invented the compound microscope in about 1590. With it, remarkable scientific discoveries were made in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Dutch naturalist Anthony van Leeuwenhoek produced lenses powerful enough to prove that many tiny creatures are not spontaneously generated but come from eggs.

Before this period, theories on human reproduction ran rampant. Some scientist believed that the menstrual blood developed into the foetus.

Later on, a new theory was developed wherein the sperm drop was popularly believed to contain a completely developed miniature human (homunculus) which later grew to the size of a baby. The science of embryology as we know it today did not discover many of the detailed aspects of human development which are taken for granted today until only about thirty years ago, or 1973 to be precise.

Now we must ask the question: where did Muhammad (Salla’llahu’alaihi wa sallam) get such detailed knowledge of the microscopic development of the human embryo in the 6th century AD without a microscope, technical training, a laboratory of any kind, or even the ability to write his own name? The only logical conclusion is that it came from exactly where he claimed it did. From the one who created mankind, God Almighty! Prof. Moore has since given numerous lectures on the topic of embryology in the Qur’aan. He is quoted in one of these lectures as saying:

“It is clear to me that these statements must have come to Muhammad from God, or Allah, because most of this knowledge was not discovered until many centuries later. This proves to me that Muhammad must have been a messenger of God, or Allah.”

Hashim Amla does not wear a Castle logo (A beer company) on his cricket shirt. He did not pocket a cent from his match fee beacuse of that. Amla said, "Promoting beer & liquor is against the teachings of Islam." and so he became the first player to be the exception. Later he was granted permission by South African Breweries and Cricket South Africa not to wear the Castle logos on his clothing. ALLAHU AKBAR!

Small Part of INTERVIEW WITH HASHIM AMLA
--------------------------------------------------------

You religion is clearly important to you but just how much?

The importance of my religion has increased as I have got older. I couldn’t put a time frame on it but I have found that following the Islamic way of life has a lot of beauty to it. Although I was born into a Muslim family I wasn’t always practicing. The more I have understood the differences in the various faiths I have adopted as much of Islam as possible. I’m certainly no saint but the discipline of the Islamic way of life has helped my cricket without a doubt. I don’t drink and I pray five times a day, which gives stability to my daily routine.

ALHAMDULILLAH! We all should learn from this. IN SHA ALLAH!

Always remember Allah
"And the men and the women who
remember Allah much with their hearts
and tongues, Allah has prepared for
them Forgiveness and a Great reward [i.e. Paradise]."

10. Mukesh Ambani- Net Worth: $27.0 Billion.
9. Eike Batista- Net Worth: $30.0 Billion.
8. Amancio Ortega- Net Worth: $31.0 Billion.
7. Lakhsmi Mittal- Net Worth: $31.1 Billion.
6. Lawrence Ellison- Net Worth: $39.5 Billion.
5. Bernard Arnault- Net Worth: $41.0 Billion.
4. Warren Buffett- Net Worth: $50.0 Billion.
3. Bill Gates- Net Worth: $56.0 Billion.
2. Carlos Slim Helu- Net Worth: $74.0 Billion.

1. The ONE who prays two Rak'ah, before Fajr:

The Prophet peace be upon him) said: "The two Rak'ah before the Dawn (Fajr) Prayer are Better than this World and ALL it contains.'' [Sahih Muslim]

AllahuAkbar! A MUSLIMS WORTH IS INVALUABLE! Know that ALLAH loves YOU and has much more riches in store for YOU. Know that YOU are No.1 [in sha Allah].

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
"Save yourself from hellfire by giving even half a date-fruit in charity."

[Bukhari Volume 2, Hadith 498]

✔HIJAB protects from Fitnah.
✔HIJAB makes you look Beautiful.
✔HIJAB saves from Bad Eyes.
✔HIJAB helps to get Haya (SHYNESS). :"> ♥:)

Mother .... is .... The ... Most .... Precious .... Gift ..... Given .... By .... ALLAH

To Allah we belong and to Allah we return. Our reality is what is in this picture. Nothing will help us down there except our deeds. Certainly a wake up call. Strange but true, we ignore the most certain thing which is definitely coming for every person - Death! May Allah have mercy on us and lighten our graves with the light of Jannah!

ZamZam water level is around 10.6 feet below the surface. It is the miracle of Allah that when Zam Zam was pumped continuously for more than 24 hours with a pumping rate of 8,000 liters per second, water level dropped to almost 44 feet below the surface,
BUT WHEN THE PUMPING WAS STOPPED, the level immediately elevated again to 13 feet after 11 minutes. 8,000 liters per second means that 8,000 x 60 = 480,000 liters per minute 480,000 liters per minutes means that 480,000 x 60 = 28.8 Million liters per hour And 28.8 Million liters per hour means that 28,800,000 x 24 = 691.2 Million liters per day So they pumped 690 Millions liters of ZamZam in 24 hours, but it was re-supplied in 11 minutes only.
There are 2 miracles here, the first that ZamZam was re- filled immediately, & the second is that Allah Holds the extra-ordinaril y powerful Aquifer for not throwing extra ZamZam out of the well, otherwise the world will SINK.
It is the translation of the word ZamZam, which means Stop !!!!!!!!!!!! Stop !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! said by Hajirah Alaih As Salaam.
Zimam is an Arabic word, it is the rope / REIN attached to bridle or noseband & it is used / pulled to stop the running animal.
Zamzam water ♥ has no colour or smell, but it has a distinct taste.
JazakALLAH♥

Growing Population in India and Islam: Some Facts

Differential population growth rates and fertility can be major political issue in India. There is a widespread feeling that the main cause of population explosion in India is due to the higher fertility among Muslims as compared to other religious groups, especially Hindus. Even some argued that the growing demographic imbalances in India should indeed be matter of serious concern as they seem to have serious repercussions on the very survival of the “Indian civilization”[1]. This post discusses the issue and provides facts/information for rational analysis and conclusions.

India is home to many religions and cultures in the world. Various religions like Hinduism apart from Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism started in India. With 80% of India's population, Hinduism is the most dominant religion in India. Islam is the second most dominant religion in the country with 13% Muslim population. Jain, Sikhs and Christians are also present in the country but in a very small proportions and their share is declining. The Hindu religion is present in almost every nook and corner of the country. On the other hand, the Muslims are mainly concentrated in the States of Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Maharashtra, Kerala, Assam, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

India has the third highest concentration of Muslims worldwide after Indonesia and Pakistan. The Muslim population was 138 million out of a total population of 1028 million in 2001. Percentage wise, Muslims were about 13.4% of the total population, as compared to 80.5% Hindus (including Scheduled Castes and Tribes) and 6.1% other minorities (Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jains, etc.). Currently, the Muslim population is around 170 million, as per the estimated figure for the year 2011. The annual growth rate among Muslims has averaged 2.7% between 1961-2001, which is well above the national average population growth of 2.1% and the Hindu growth rate of slightly less than 2%.

A large body of available research has argued that cultural and religious factors caused high fertility among Muslims[2]. But how far it is a valid assumption needs further research. No doubt, Muslims have higher fertility rates than those in other religious groups. Based on the National Family Health Surveys (NFHS) data, it can be said that rate of Muslim fertility is the highest among all the religious groups in India, as shown in Table 1. The total fertility rate (TFR) is almost half a child higher for Muslims than for Hindus in 2005-06. However, as compared to NFHS-1 (1998-93), the Hindu-Muslim fertility differential declined significantly from 1.11 children per woman in 1992-93 to less than 0.5. It is interesting to note that the Muslims recorded the highest decline in fertility among major religious groups in India, as shown in column 5 of Table 1. It appears that TFR, or average number of lifetime births per woman, has fallen among Muslims in India since the mid-1990s, following the same trend as many countries with large Muslim populations, with the exception of western Africa (see footnote 2).

Table 1 India: Trends in total fertility rate by religion, 1992-2005

Religious group	Total fertility rate (Number of children per woman)
Religious group	NFHS-1 (1992-93)	NFHS-3 (2005-06)	% change
1	2	4	5
Hindu	3.30	2.65	19.7
Muslim	4.41	3.09	29.9
Christian	2.87	2.35	18.1
Sikh	2.43	1.96	19.3
Jain	2.77	2.02	27.1
Total	3.39	2.68	20.9
Source: National Family Health Survey 1 and 3

Is India going Muslim? Projections for future population growth in India show that by the end of the 21st century India’s total population will stabilize in which the Muslim population would be less than 20% of total, as noted by the Sachar Committee[3]. Thus the propaganda that the unchecked growth in the Muslim population will result in their overtaking the Hindu population is totally false. I projected the Muslim and Hindu population for the next five decades based on their actual growth rates during 1971-2001 and came to the same conclusion, as shown in Table 2. Further, if the rates of decline of fertility we saw from 1992 to 2005 continued for another 13 years then in 2018 the total fertility rate of Muslims and the Hindus would be about the same. As the Muslim population is much younger it would continue to grow more rapidly than the non-Muslim for some time, but eventually the growth rate of both populations would be the same and the Muslim portion of the India’s population would tend to stabilize.

Table 2 India: Trends in population by major religions, 2011-61

Year	Per cent of total population
	Hindu	Muslim	Others	All religions
1951	85.0	9.9	5.1	100.0
2001	80.5	13.4	6.1	100.0
2011*	79.8	14.2	6.0	100.0
2021*	79.1	15.1	5.8	100.0
2031*	78.4	16.0	5.6	100.0
2041*	77.7	17.0	5.3	100.0
2051*	77.0	18.0	5.0	100.0
2061*	76.3	19.3	4.4	100.0
*Source: Estimated figures are based on actual trends observed during 1971-2001.**

Of course, we do not know that the rapidly declining fertility of Muslim women will continue. It would not be surprising if Muslim fertility stabilized at a higher level than non-Muslim fertility in India. As a result, Muslims may maintain a population growth rate somewhat higher than other groups and their percentage of India’s population might slowly grow. It is because the use of modern methods of contraceptive is very low among Muslims as compared to others. Religious differences in the use of modern contraception, based on the latest NFHS-3 (2005-06) data, clearly indicate the prevalence rate of modern contraception is the highest among Jains (69%) and lowest among Muslims (36%). Around 50% of Hindus are protected by any modern method like sterilization, pill, IUD and Condom (Table 3, column 2), which are available in the official program. The prevalence of sterilization does not differ much among most religious groups, except for the fact that it is very low among Muslims (column 3). The proportion of women and men who have been sterilized is twice as high for Hindus as for Muslims.

Table 3 India: Current use of contraception and unmet need for contraception by religion, 2005-06

Religious group	% of couples (15-49 yrs) protected by any modern method	% of couples (15-49 yrs) protected by sterilization	% of couples (15-49 yrs) having unmet need for any modern method
1	2	3	4
Hindu	50	41	12
Muslim	36	21	19
Christian	49	41	12
Sikh	58	54	06
Jain	69	41	07
Total	48	37	13
Source: National Family Health Survey-3 (2005-06), OOPS, Mumbai, 2007.

Unmet need for family planning[4] is an important indicator of assessing the potential demand for family planning services. In spite of poverty and illiteracy, the prevailing unmet need for modern family planning services is surprising, especially among Muslims. Table 3 (column 4) indicates that among the religious groups, unmet need is highest among Muslims, who are least likely to have their total demand satisfied in the present situation.

Now question arises as how to forge ahead? The socioeconomic development played a key role in North Africa and Central Asia including Turkey, where fertility started declining even without a very aggressive family planning program. On the other hand, in Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia, followed by Bangladesh and then Iran, it was family planning programs that affected fertility (see footnote 2). It appears that the Sachar Committee (see footnote 3) did not give importance to this model in its recommendations to improve the conditions of Muslims in India.

In Bangladesh total fertility rate has gone down to less than 2.5 children (Table 4). In Pakistan, it is four. Pakistan is behind mainly because the contraceptive use rate among eligible couples is around half as it is in Bangladesh, even though living conditions are better in Pakistan - there's a higher level of literacy in Pakistan, women get married later, which result in lower fertility rate or high use of contraceptives - it has not happened mainly because family planning programs have not been effectively implemented.

Table 4 Selected countries: Total fertility rate, 2010

Countries	Average number of children per woman (TFR) 2010
Afghanistan	5.7
Sudan	4.5
Pakistan	4.2
Saudi Arabia	3.8
Egypt	3.0
Bangladesh	2.4
Indonesia	2.4
India	2.6
Turkey	2.1
Iran	1.8
Source: 2010 Population Reference Bureau, Washington DC

Well, the only major religion left out of the demographic transition in India is Islam. And this group could be helped by providing family planning services looking to the needs of clients as happened in Bangladesh. The second issue - that is very important - is that the Indian family planning program has predominately promoted female sterilization. Many Muslim scholars believe that the permanent method of contraception is not permitted in Islam. So India has to diversify its approach to include other modern methods of contraception including injectables with quality in its program.

The next blog discusses the importance of injectable contraceptives in the Indian family planning program.

[1] For details, see: “A note on the growing demographic imbalances in the Indian subcontinent” by Dr. M.D. Srinivas, Centre for Policy Studies, Chennai, 1999.

[2] “Yet, it is simplistic to argue that there is a specifically Islamic pattern of fertility due solely to religious influence”, says Mehtab Karim, a senior research adviser and senior fellow at the Pew Forum on Religion and World Affairs. For details, see: article by Eric Zuehlke, Editor at the Population Reference Bureau, Washington DC, 2011. Also see, the report, entitled: “The Future of the Global Muslim Population”, was part of a Pew Forum program analyzing religious change and its impact on societies around the world.

[3] In March 2005, the Government of India appointed a high level committee to prepare a report on the social, economic and educational status of Indian Muslims. The 7-member committee, headed by Justice Rajinder Sachar (retired) submitted its report to the Prime Minister in November 2006. The Sachar Committee’s report is an extremely valuable document on the social, economic and educational status of Indian Muslims.

[4] The standard definition of unmet need depends upon the apparent inconsistency between a woman’s contraceptive behavior and her stated reproductive preferences. The concept of unmet need was highlighted first time in India in a study conducted by the author in Rajasthan in 1988 on behalf of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. Based on the field data, the study revealed that there was sizable number of eligible couples that were not using contraceptive methods but did not want another child. For details, see Devendra Kothari, Family Planning Programme in Rajasthan: Beyond the Existing Approach, Indian Institute of Health Management Research, Jaipur, 1989.

Islam

Allah is one

Allah is the greatest

Ma'sha'Allah ♥ ! Dua is the best Weapon...♥:)

Allahu Akbar

Eid Mubarak

How will you Raise your Daughter or Sister ?

Ameen

Oh Allah,, Make all muslims united.
Oh Allah,, Make this years Ramadan the best of all for us.

Ameen.

Roza / Fasting

Pray as if it is your last Prayer

MODERN SCIENCE AND ISLAM

SUBHANALLAH! THATS LIKE A TRUE MUSLIM! MUST READ PLEASE

Always remember Allah

THE TOP 10 RICHEST PEOPLE ON EARTH

The Prophet Muhammad Saying's

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
"Save yourself from hellfire by giving even half a date-fruit in charity."

[Bukhari Volume 2, Hadith 498]

I am Proud to be Muslim

Hijab is Neccesery

Mother is Most Precious Gift

Im a Muslim & Im Proud

Dua Just Do It

Do u know the miracles of zamzam ??

Growing Population in India and Islam: Some Facts

Popular Posts

Oh Allah,, Make all muslims united. Oh Allah,, Make this years Ramadan the best of all for us. Ameen.

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Save yourself from hellfire by giving even half a date-fruit in charity." [Bukhari Volume 2, Hadith 498]

Popular Posts

Oh Allah,, Make all muslims united.
Oh Allah,, Make this years Ramadan the best of all for us.

Ameen.

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
"Save yourself from hellfire by giving even half a date-fruit in charity."

[Bukhari Volume 2, Hadith 498]