Shab-e-barat ........... The Night of responsibility

What Shab-e-barat Means to Muslims
The night of Shab-e-barat is the time for begging for forgiveness. It is the day of atonement for Muslims. They pray to Allah, the Almighty to forgive the sins committed by them. They also pray to prepare themselves for the forthcoming month of Ramadan.

Some Muslims see this night as the night of good fortune. A popular legend says that on this night Prophets visits house of sincere Muslims and relieves them from their sufferings and grant good fortune.

The Accountability
Muslims celebrate the night by remaining awake whole night. They reflect deeply into their lives and check whether they are leading life in accordance to Almighty Allah.

According to Muslim teachings, “It is the night of accountability for all believers of Allah. Their performance of last one year in accordance or in the light of the teachings of the Holy Quran and Sunnah is reviewed on this night.”



Celebrations on Shab-e-barat
To mark this night, Muslims all over world illuminate their houses and mosques with lights. They perform special prayers on the holy night. Some Muslims fast on the day. They go mosques and offer “nawafil” at night. The electronic media and print media present various programmes that highlights the history and importance of this night.

A very Happy Shab-e-barat to all readers!

Childhood obesity on rise in US

An increasing number of kids are obese or overweight in America....
The new report named F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future 2010 reveals that American children are turning obese at an alarming rate but many of the guardians turn a blind eye to this fact, worsening the condition.

Revelations of the report
The study conducted by Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation claims that around 84 percent of the polled parents rated their children as fit, healthy or normal, while that fact was that they were obese.

The majority of those who denied the obese condition of their kids were African American parents.

Obese or overweight parents were up to 50 percent more prone to bear obese children as compared to the fit parents.

Further, the parents who underestimated the weight of their kids too were also more likely to have obese children.

Southern states worst offenders
Southern states of America showed a higher rise in childhood obesity with the highest number of overweight kids all over the nation.

Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, and Georgia were the most affected states while Oregon had the least number of such cases, the report reveals.

The study further reported that almost 80 percent Americans believed childhood obesity to be a big challenge for the entire country, with 50 percent of Americans believing that childhood obesity is such an important issue that we need to invest more to prevent it immediately.

"Obesity rates among the current generation of young people are unacceptably high and a very serious problem," said Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., Robert Wood Johnson Foundation president and CEO.

"To reverse this national epidemic, we have to make every community a healthy community. Americans are increasingly ready and willing to make that investment."

The study hints that the physical workout has significantly dipped for the kids. The culture of junk food and a lethargic lifestyle has also marred the physical growth of the children.

Therefore the kids need to be given better diet that includes all the necessary nutrients, the study researchers noted.