Black Standard

The Black Banner or Black Standard (راية السوداء rāyat al-sawdā' , also known as راية العقاب rāyat al-`uqāb "banner of the eagle" or simply as الراية al-rāya "the banner") is one of the flags flown by Muhammad in Islamic tradition. It was historically used by Abu Muslim in his uprising leading to the Abbasid Revolution in 747 and is therefore associated with the Abbasid Caliphate in particular. It is also a symbol in Islamic eschatology (heralding the advent of the Mahdi), and it has been used in contemporary Islamism and jihadism since the late 1990s.

Origin

Before Islam, visible standards were used at least in the Roman army to identify the core of the legion – the Eagles. By the middle 600s AD, the Arabs were using standards for the same purpose. Among the Arabs the rāya was a square banner; not to be confused with the liwā' or `alam, an identifying mark like a red turban.

Islamic tradition states that the Quraysh had a black liwā' and a white-and-black rāya. It further states that Muhammad had an `alam in white, nicknamed "The Young Eagle" (العقاب al-`uqāb); and (relevant here) a rāya in black, said to be made from his wife Aisha's head-cloth. This larger flag was known as the Eagle. The name might have referred to the Byzantine eagle.

Al Raya

Al Raya (in Arabic الراية also known as Arrayah; The Banner in English) is an Arabic daily newspaper published in Doha, Qatar. It is semi-official newspaper of the country and is one of the five leading Qatari dailies. As for Arabic dailies published in the country Al Raya is among the three major newspapers along with Al Sharq and Al Watan.

History and profile

Al Raya was launched by Gulf company for printing and publishing as a weekly newspaper on 10 December 1979. The company which was founded by Ali bin Jaber Al Thani also owns Gulf Times, an English language daily. Based in Doha,Al Raya is the second Arabic newspaper published in Qatar. On 27 January 1980 Al Raya was relaunched as a daily newspaper.

In 1996 a corpus was created which included 187 articles published in Al Raya. On 27 April 2012 the paper launched the mapping mangroves project.

In the early 1990s Al Raya had a circulation of 10,000 copies and was distributed in Saudi Arabia and Egypt in addition to its native Qatar. Until 1995 when the other Arabic daily, Al Watan, was launched the paper enjoyed higher levels of circulation, but then lost its one-third of circulation. In 2000 Al Raya was the second best selling newspaper in Qatar with a circulation of 18,000 copies. The estimated circulation of the paper in 2003 was 8,000 copies.Al Raya's circulation increased to 18,000 copies in 2008. The online version of the paper was the 47th most visited website for 2010 in the MENA region.

Raya

Raya may refer to:

People with the surname

See also

Raya (app)

Raya is an exclusive online dating app launched in March 2015. The app describes itself as "an exclusive dating and networking platform for people in creative industries.” The app decides who can become a member based on the applicant's Instagram influence and how many active Raya members follow them. It also costs $8/month (in US dollars) to be a member of Raya.

Notable alleged members

Celebrities who have reportedly been spotted on the app include Trevor Noah,Kelly Osbourne,Joe Jonas,Amy Schumer, and Moby.

References

Smallville (season 6)

Season six of Smallville, an American television series, began airing on September 28, 2006. The series recounts the early adventures of Kryptonian Clark Kent as he adjusts to life in the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas, during the years before he becomes Superman. The sixth season comprises 22 episodes and concluded its initial airing on May 17, 2007, marking the first season to air on the newly formed The CW television network. Regular cast members during season six include Tom Welling, Kristin Kreuk, Michael Rosenbaum, Allison Mack, Annette O'Toole, John Glover, and Erica Durance.

Season six key story arcs involve Clark (Welling) trying to recapture several escaped criminals from the Phantom Zone, the destinies of Lionel (Glover) and Lex (Rosenbaum) following the aftermath of Lex's possession by Zod and Lionel's adoption as the emissary of Jor-El, and the introductions of DC Comics characters Jimmy Olsen, Oliver Queen and Martian Manhunter, played by Aaron Ashmore, Justin Hartley, and Phil Morris respectively. Other key storylines involve Lana and Lex's marriage, as well as Lex's secret 33.1 projects.