title: 2010 FIFA World Cup squads

text: Although Russia, Turkey, and Scotland failed to qualify for the finals, their domestic leagues were represented by 14, 14, and 10 players respectively. Altogether, there were 52 national leagues that had players in the tournament.


title: Michael Nyqvist

text: Rolf Åke Mikael Nyqvist (; 8 November 1960 – 27 June 2017) was a Swedish actor. Educated at the School of Drama in Malmö, he became well known for playing police officer Banck in the 1997–1998 Martin Beck TV series and for his leading role in the 2002 film "Grabben i graven bredvid". He was internationally recognized for his role as Mikael Blomkvist in the acclaimed "Millennium" series and as the lead villains in "" (as Kurt Hendricks) and "John Wick" (as Viggo Tarasov). In 2004, he played the leading role in "As It Is in Heaven" which was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 77th Academy Awards.


title: Michael Nyqvist

text: Rolf Åke Mikael Nyqvist was born on 8 November 1960 in Stockholm, the son of a Swedish mother and an Italian father (from Florence). As a young child, he was adopted from an orphanage. At age 17, Nyqvist spent his senior year of high school as an exchange student in Omaha, Nebraska. There, he took his first acting class and played a small part in the school's production of "Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller. He returned to Sweden and was accepted at ballet school, but gave it up after one year. An ex-girlfriend suggested he try theatre and, at age 24, was accepted to the Malmö Theatre Academy.


title: Michael Nyqvist

text: Nyqvist's first major role was as police officer John Banck in the first set of "Beck" TV series in 1997. His first big breakthrough came in 2000 with the film "Together" directed by Lukas Moodysson. The movie achieved great international success and earned Nyqvist his first Guldbagge Award nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his portrayal of a misguided husband with anger issues. He later played the leading man in the Swedish romantic comedy "Grabben i graven bredvid" for which he won a Guldbagge Award for Best Actor in Leading Role.


title: Michael Nyqvist

text: In 2004, he played the lead role in "As It Is in Heaven" as Daniel Daréus, a conductor and musician. "As It Is in Heaven" was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. In 2006, he starred in "Suddenly" where Nyqvist plays Lasse – a man who must come to terms with the sudden loss of his wife and son. In the 2007 film "The Black Pimpernel", Nyqvist portrays Swedish ambassador to Chile, Harald Edelstam, who helped many people flee execution by dictator Augusto Pinochet during and after the 1973 Chilean coup d'état.


title: Michael Nyqvist

text: Nyqvist garnered international attention starring as Mikael Blomkvist in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (Swedish title: ), "The Girl Who Played with Fire" (Swedish title: ), and "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest" (Swedish title: ). These films were adapted from the "Millennium" series of novels by Stieg Larsson.


title: Michael Nyqvist

text: He starred as a terrorist in the 2011 film, "Abduction", directed by John Singleton. He was also part of the permanent ensemble at the Swedish Royal Dramatic Theatre. Nyqvist appeared in the 2011 action thriller "", the fourth film of the series. In the film, Nyqvist portrays a madman code-named 'Cobalt', who wants to instigate a global war between Russia and the United States because he believes a war will restore ecological balance to the planet. In 2014, he appeared in "John Wick" as a New York Russian mob boss who is forced to protect his son from a legendary hit man played by Keanu Reeves. In one of Nyqvist's final roles, he starred as Russian captain Sergei Andropov, one of only three survivors of a sabotaged submarine in "Hunter Killer". The movie was released posthumously on 26 October 2018. He is interviewed on the DVD and Blu-ray releases; in the section on the production of the movie.


title: Michael Nyqvist

text: Nyqvist described his childhood, and his quest as an adult to find his biological parents, in his autobiographical novel, "Just After Dreaming" (Swedish title: ).


title: Michael Nyqvist

text: In 1990, he married the Finnish scenographer Catharina Ehrnrooth. They had two children—Ellen, born in 1991, and Arthur, who was born in 1996.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: Matthew Allen Hughes (born October 13, 1973) is an American retired mixed martial artist with a background in wrestling. Widely considered among the greatest fighters in the history of MMA, he is a former two-time UFC Welterweight Champion, UFC Hall of Fame inductee, and NJCAA Hall of Fame inductee. During his tenures in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Hughes put together two separate six-fight winning streaks, defeated all the available opposition in the welterweight division, and defended the belt a then-record seven times. In May 2010, Hughes became the eighth inductee into the UFC Hall of Fame.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: During his reign, Hughes was considered the #1 pound-for-pound mixed martial artist in the world. He was also regarded by many analysts and several media outlets as one of the greatest welterweight fighters of all time, as well as one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters in the sport's history.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: A long-time member of Miletich Fighting Systems, Hughes left the Miletich camp in late 2007 to start Team Hughes. In 2008, Hughes published his autobiography, "Made in America", which made the "New York Times" bestseller list. In 2011, Hughes became host of Outdoor Channel's "Trophy Hunters TV". Hughes has no nickname, although because of his successes against Gracie Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) practitioners such as Royce Gracie, Renzo Gracie, Ricardo Almeida, and Matt Serra, people often refer to him as "the Gracie Killer" (the same as Sakuraba's nickname). His mastery of submissions, and having submission wins over various black belt holders, are the reasons why Joe Rogan thinks he deserved to get a black belt for BJJ. Hughes never liked the idea, however, and considers himself primarily an amateur and submission wrestler.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: Matthew Allen Hughes was born on October 13, 1973, in Hillsboro, Illinois. Hughes has two siblings, a sister and his twin brother, Mark. During high school they both participated in football and wrestling. Hughes went to Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville, Illinois, before transferring to Lincoln College, in Lincoln, Illinois and then on to Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: Hughes was a two-time 145 lb IHSA Class A state wrestling champion. He won in 1991 and 1992 while attending Hillsboro High School. During his junior and senior years, Matt went undefeated and won back-to-back state championships in the 145 lb class. Over the final three years of high school, he totaled 131 wins against only 2 losses, both during his sophomore year (sophomore 43–2; junior 43–0; senior 45-0).


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: His college career started at Southwestern Illinois College. Hughes placed fifth in the nation at 158 lb. After Southwestern dropped their wrestling program, Hughes transferred to Lincoln College, where he placed third in the nation, notching a 33–3 record for the Lynx.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: After graduation Hughes continued wrestling at Eastern Illinois University, where he was a two-time NCAA Division I All-American placing eighth in 1996 and fifth in 1997 at 158 lb. He finished with an 80–15 record for Eastern Illinois.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: Hughes competed in the prestigious ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship, in which he held a record of 2–2, beating Ricardo Almeida and Jeremy Horn, and losing to Jeff Monson and Tito Ortiz.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: Hughes made his mixed martial arts debut on January 1, 1998 at Joe Goytia's JKD Challenge. He slammed his opponent to the ground in just fifteen seconds, winning via KO. The slam became his signature move. He won his next fight via submission due to strikes. Hughes fought three times at Extreme Challenge 21, on October 17, 1998 defeating Victor Hunsaker via TKO and future UFC Middleweight Champion Dave Menne via unanimous decision. In the third fight of that night he lost to then-undefeated Dennis Hallman by technical submission (guillotine choke) at 0:17 of the first round. The result was announced as a KO. In the process, Hallman handed Hughes his first professional defeat.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: Hughes made his promotional debut at "UFC 22: There Can Be Only One Champion", on September 24, 1999, defeating Bulgarian Valeri Ignatov via unanimous decision after three rounds.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: He returned to the promotion at "UFC 26: Ultimate Field of Dreams", where he defeated Marcelo Aguiar via TKO, throwing some elbows which cut Aguiar and forced the doctor to end the match. The stoppage came at 4:34 of the first round.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: Hughes faced Dennis Hallman in a rematch at "UFC 29: Defense of the Belts". At this point in their careers, Hallman was the only man to have defeated Hughes in MMA competition. Hughes lost the fight via armbar in only twenty seconds. When the bout started, Hughes lifted and brutally slammed Hallman to the mat, but was caught in the submission after landing in side-control.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: Hughes won his first UFC World Welterweight title at "UFC 34: High Voltage" on November 2, 2001. In a come-from-behind fight, Hughes was caught in a triangle choke by then-champion Carlos Newton, but he lifted Newton in the air and slammed him to the mat, causing Newton to hit his head and lose consciousness just as Hughes was himself on the verge of blacking out from the choke. After the match Newton stated that he felt the reason Hughes fell to the mat was because he was rendered unconscious from the triangle choke. This was confirmed by Hughes himself upon reviewing the tape of the match Hughes can be heard telling his corner after the fight "I was out".


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: The result was officially announced as a KO at 1:27 of the second round. The slam is considered to be one of the greatest in MMA history.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: He successfully defended his championship belt at "UFC 36: Worlds Collide", defeating former Shooto Middleweight Champion Hayato Sakurai via TKO due to strikes at 3:01 of the fourth round. In the first round of the fight, Hughes spent all the time either clinching Sakurai up against the fence, or ripping his feet out from under him. In round 2, Sakurai landed a right hand that sent Hughes to the mat; despite this, Matt won the round by spending three minutes hitting Sakurai with elbows from the top position. At the start of the third round, Hughes quickly slammed Sakurai to the ground, again staying three minutes on top. He looked too strong for Sakurai. Hughes finished the bout in the 4th round, by taking down Sakurai and transitioning to full mount. After one minute of ground-and-pound onslaught, the contest was over as Sakurai had no answer for the champion.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: Hughes faced Carlos Newton in their subsequent rematch at the main event of "UFC 38: Brawl at the Hall", in the promotion's debut in the United Kingdom. He won the fight by technical knockout when he successfully trapped Newton in a modified crucifix position, which allowed him to rain unanswered blows on Newton's face until the referee stopped the contest at 3:27 of round 4.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: In his next title defense, Hughes fought Gil Castillo at "UFC 40: Vendetta", defeating the former Middleweight contender via TKO. Hughes started the match with a big slam and then began to attack from Castillo's guard with elbows and punches. Hughes easily avoided any submission attempts and looked far stronger than Castillo. As he passed to half guard, Castillo was bleeding above his left eye. The challenger's only offense was a weak triangle choke that went nowhere. The round ended with Hughes on top, ground-and-pounding his opponent. Between rounds doctors ruled that the resulting cut was too severe to continue, and Hughes was declared the winner due to stoppage.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: At "UFC 42: Sudden Impact", Hughes faced future UFC Lightweight Champion Sean Sherk, winning via unanimous decision. Hughes started the action by taking Sherk down immediately, passing to half guard. Sherk was able to stand for a few seconds before Hughes took him down again. In round two, they started to trade punches, but eventually Hughes took Sherk down. Like the first round, they stood up for a moment. At the beginning of the third round, Sherk took Hughes down, while Hughes attempted a kimura from the bottom. A late stand up led to a second takedown by Sherk. Round 4 saw Hughes using his strength to control the challenger on the ground. Sherk took Hughes down again in the fifth round, but the champion controlled the rest of the time sprawl-and-brawling as he finished on top. With the victory, he became the first man to defeat Sherk.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: Hughes faced former WFA Welterweight Champion Frank Trigg at the main event of "UFC 45: Revolution". This event marked the UFC's 10th anniversary. After a tactical grappling match-up early on, Trigg fell victim to a standing rear naked choke at 3:45 of the first round. The choke earned Hughes the "Tapout of the Night Submission Award".


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: Hughes kept the title until "UFC 46: Supernatural", when he was submitted by Hawaiian Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist B.J. Penn via rear naked choke at 4:39 of the first round, in a fight he was heavily favored to win. The title was vacated following a contract dispute between Penn and the UFC, which promptly stripped him of the welterweight title, claiming Penn had breached his contract and that the signing constituted him refusing to defend his title. Penn filed suit against UFC and publicized his side of the conflict, claiming his contract had expired. Penn filed a motion to stop UFC from awarding a new welterweight title, but that motion was denied.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: Hughes faced Penn's training partner Renato Verissimo at "UFC 48: Payback", winning via unanimous decision (30-27; 30–27; 29-28). He was caught in a very tight triangle choke in the first round, but after winning the second and third rounds, was awarded with the victory.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: Hughes regained the vacant welterweight title by submitting Canadian contender Georges St-Pierre via armbar in the final second of the first round at "UFC 50: The War of '04". The fight was competitive. Hughes took GSP down twice and landed a huge slam. Hughes was in trouble at the beginning of the bout as St-Pierre unloaded a spinning back kick into his ribs. The submission earned Hughes his second "Tapout of the Night". Obviously disappointed at the time, St. Pierre admitted afterward that he had lost before he ever stepped into the Octagon. He had regarded Hughes as his idol, not as someone he could beat.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: Hughes successfully retained his title against Trigg in their historic rematch at "UFC 52: Couture vs. Liddell 2". Accidentally hit in the groin early in the first round, Hughes looked to the referee for assistance; however, the referee had not seen the strike and Trigg capitalized on Hughes's distraction by staggering him with a barrage of punches. The fight quickly went to the ground, with Trigg ground-and-pounding Hughes, then attempting a rear naked choke. After nearly two minutes of struggling, Hughes broke free, picked Trigg up, carried him across the Octagon and slammed him to the ground. Hughes then ground-and-pounded Trigg before securing the victory with a rear naked choke of his own, in what is considered one of the UFC's greatest fights. and comebacks in MMA history This fight is UFC President Dana White's favorite match in combat sport history. He was awarded the "Tapout of the Night" for the third time in his career.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: Hughes's next fight took place at "UFC 56: Full Force", where he was scheduled to fight Judo practitioner Karo Parisyan. After Parisyan suffered a hamstring injury and could not fight, Joe Riggs took his place. The match was originally scheduled as a title bout, but since Riggs could not meet the 170-pound weight limit, it became a non-title fight. It marked the first time for the UFC that a title fight had to be called off for this reason.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: Hughes defeated Riggs in the first round by submission via kimura from the half-guard at 3:28. The armlock earned Hughes his last "Tapout of the Night" award.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: At "UFC 60: Hughes vs. Gracie", on May 27, 2006, Hughes defeated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legend and UFC Hall of Famer Royce Gracie in a non-title, catch-weight bout by TKO (strikes) at 4:39 of the first round. Before the stoppage, Gracie was caught in an armlock from the side mount position; although Hughes appeared to have the submission in place, Gracie would not tap out. Hughes stated that he felt his arm pop and realized he would never tap, so instead of breaking his arm, opted to seek a different position . The event drew 620,000 buys, becoming the best-selling pay-per-view in UFC history, and was the first to break the $20 million mark in gross PPV sales.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: Hughes was scheduled to fight Georges St-Pierre in a rematch at "UFC 63", but after St-Pierre sustained a severe groin injury, the UFC announced that B.J. Penn would replace him in the title fight. At this point in their careers, Penn was the only mixed martial artist to beat Hughes after March 2001. In fact, it was Hughes's only loss in his last 19 fights. In the bout, Penn controlled the first two rounds, but sustained a rib injury during the scramble to take Hughes's back in round two. He was visibly different in the third round, appearing exhausted and missing punches he was landing earlier. Hughes was able to take Penn to the mat, and in side-control crucifix position rained punches on Penn's head until referee "Big" John McCarthy stopped the fight at 3:53 of the third round. In the process, Hughes became the first man to stop Penn in a fight. Both fighters were awarded the "Fight of the Night" bonus. In an interview on Penn's personal website, Penn stated that by round three he could hardly breathe and had no "mobility in his core". Despite the injury, Penn congratulated Hughes, calling him a great fighter and saying he deserved the victory.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: St-Pierre stepped into the ring to promote his upcoming title fight against Hughes, stating that he was glad that Hughes won his fight, but that he was "not impressed" by Hughes's performance. According to both commentator Joe Rogan and Hughes's own autobiography, Hughes was unhappy with St-Pierre's statement. Hughes said that they "had words" off-camera shortly thereafter. St-Pierre apologized, saying he had misunderstood something Hughes had said on the microphone and did not mean to offend him.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: On November 18, 2006, at "UFC 65: Bad Intentions", Georges St-Pierre defeated Hughes by TKO via strikes at 1:25 of round two, ending Hughes's title reign. In the first round, Hughes sustained two unintentional kicks near the groin; after Hughes went down from the second kick, St-Pierre was given a warning by referee "Big" John McCarthy. However, Hughes stated in the post-fight interview that the second kick mainly affected his legs, rather than his groin. Nearing the end of the first round, St-Pierre landed a Superman punch, which floored Hughes. St-Pierre then followed up with strikes on his stunned opponent. When it appeared that the fight would be stopped, the bell rang signaling the end of the first round. In the second round St-Pierre ended the fight with a head kick which stunned Hughes and knocked him to the mat. He followed up with a flurry of punches and elbows that forced McCarthy to stop the contest with 3:35 left in the round.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: On March 3, 2007, Hughes returned to the Octagon for "UFC 68: Uprising", defeating Chris Lytle by unanimous decision, winning 30–27 on all three judges' scorecards. Hughes secured an armbar at the end of round one, but Lytle was saved by the bell. Hughes opened the second round with a quick takedown, moving up to side-control and then landed an elbow that cut Lytle. Finally, Hughes mounted his opponent, but Lytle swept and was able to reverse that position. In the third round, Hughes unsuccessfully tried an armbar again before the horn sounded.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: In late mid-2007, Hughes left the Miletich camp with Miletich stablemate Robbie Lawler, longtime boxing coach Matt Pena, and wrestling/conditioning teacher Marc Fiore to form The H.I.T. (Hughes Intensive Training) Squad in Granite City, Illinois.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: In 2005, Hughes participated as a coach opposite Rich Franklin in the second season of the Spike TV reality television series, "The Ultimate Fighter". This was the first season where the coaches did not fight each other after the conclusion of the show, because Franklin and Hughes were champions in different weight divisions. In 2007, Hughes participated as a guest coach for long-time friend and training partner, Jens Pulver during "The Ultimate Fighter 5" season.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: Hughes agreed to head coach again for "The Ultimate Fighter 6", alongside then-UFC Welterweight Champion, Matt Serra. Despite the fact that after the preliminary round, Team Hughes's record was 2–6, both Mac Danzig and Tommy Speer of Team Hughes made it to the finals. In 2011, Hughes appeared as guest coach during "The Ultimate Fighter 13" season for friend and former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: Following a championship win by Matt Serra over Georges St-Pierre at "UFC 69", UFC President Dana White announced that Hughes would fight for the World Welterweight title in November 2007 against Serra. This fight was later changed to December 29, 2007, in Las Vegas, at "UFC 79: Nemesis". On November 23, however, Serra sustained a herniated disc in his lower back and informed UFC that he would not be able to compete for an indeterminate time. As a replacement for the title match, the UFC quickly signed a rubber match between Hughes and St-Pierre that would also be for the Interim UFC Welterweight Championship. Despite his best efforts, Hughes was unable to mount a serious offense on St-Pierre, who easily avoided Hughes's takedown attempts, while taking Hughes down at will and using Hughes's own ground-and-pound style against him. Near the end of the second round, St-Pierre attempted a kimura on Hughes's right arm that he escaped, but in a reversal of their first fight, St-Pierre was able to twist it into a straight armbar with fifteen seconds remaining in the round. Hughes fought the extension, but with his left hand trapped between the mat and St-Pierre's legs, was forced to submit verbally at 4:54 of the second round. In the post-fight interview, Hughes praised St-Pierre as the better fighter:


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: Hughes fought Thiago Alves at "UFC 85: Bedlam" on June 7, 2008. Hughes lost to Alves by TKO at 1:02 of the second round. After receiving a powerful flying knee, he dropped to the ground with his own left knee pinned behind his hips, ultimately leaving him with a torn MCL and partially torn PCL. Hughes took the fight on short notice as a favor to UFC. Alves failed to make weight for the match, but Hughes elected to fight him at a catch weight anyway. He stated in his blog:


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: Immediately after the Alves fight, Hughes stated that he had "one more fight" left in him, and that he wanted to fight Matt Serra. Their rivalry stemmed from the time when Serra was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter and Hughes was guest coach. Serra did not like the way Hughes criticized other contestants on the show and was disgusted when Hughes constantly picked on Georges St-Pierre during a lunch break and bragged about his submission victory. On January 9, 2009, Hughes confirmed on his blog that UFC 98 would likely be the day he and Serra met in the Octagon. UFC confirmed the fight.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: Hughes won the grudge match against Serra at UFC 98 via unanimous decision. In the first round, both fighters collided heads, and Hughes got the worst of it. Despite this, Serra could not finish the fight and Hughes recovered rapidly. In the second round, Hughes controlled his opponent on the ground with his wrestling skills. The final round saw the former champions taking each other down and exchanging punches. The back and forth action rewarded both competitors with "Fight of the Night" honors. After the fight Hughes and Serra embraced each other and ended their feud. Hughes posted on his blog: "When the fight was over, I was pretty confident I was going to get my hand raised. Some people have asked why I raised his hand at the end. Actually I didn't, he raised mine. He also told me that, no matter what the decision was, he was done with the rivalry". After the fight Hughes said, "I think I have a few more fights left in me."


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: Hughes then signed a multi-fight deal with the UFC. Hughes defeated Renzo Gracie, the 1st cousin once removed of his opponent at UFC 60, via third round TKO at "UFC 112: Invincible", setting the record for most UFC wins with 17. Both of them seemed very comfortable fighting on their feet in the early going, with Gracie landing the cleaner and more effective punches and also landing a couple of kicks. Hughes started the second round with powerful leg kicks, but after that Gracie returned to his in-and-out punching style. Hughes got double underhooks and managed to take Gracie down briefly. In the final round Hughes connected with a right hook to Gracie's chin, then connected with a leg kick and another punch. With two minutes to go he knocked Gracie down with a leg kick. Gracie took all the time he could before Hughes helped him up and then dropped him with a second leg kick. Gracie stalled again, but when he finally stood up Hughes floored him with a punch, let him get up and then attacked again. Hughes knocked Gracie down again with a fourth punch, when referee Herb Dean ended it.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: Fighting Renzo Gracie student and 3rd degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Ricardo Almeida, Hughes rendered him unconscious with a Dave Schultz front headlock at 3:15 of round 1, on August 7, 2010 at "UFC 117: Silva vs. Sonnen". Hughes landed a huge left hook that knocked Almeida down, sinking in the very deep choke which earned him the "Submission of the Night" honors. Almeida requested the fight after watching his mentor lose to Hughes at "UFC 112" back in April. Hughes now had four wins over mixed martial artists with ties to the Gracies, including UFC pioneer Royce Gracie, the prior mentioned Renzo Gracie and former champ Serra.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: Hughes faced BJ Penn on November 20, 2010, in a rubber match at "UFC 123: Rampage vs. Machida", after their previous two fights at "UFC 46" and "UFC 63". Penn came out strong in the first few seconds of the opening round, catching one of Hughes's kicks and knocking him off balance with a counter hook. Penn then connected with an overhand right that dropped Hughes, following up with three clean shots to the jaw. The bout was ended at 21 seconds into the first round, with Hughes trilogy against Penn ending at 1–2. The fight marked the first time Hughes had been knocked out (he had previously lost via technical knockout). Post-fight Hughes hinted that the loss moved him one step closer to retirement.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: Hughes was expected to face Diego Sanchez on September 24, 2011 at "UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage". However, Sanchez missed the bout with an injury and was replaced by Josh Koscheck. Hughes suffered a KO loss to Koscheck at 4:59 of the first round. Hughes showed improved striking, but ultimately succumbed to Koscheck's power punches.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: The UFC announced on January 24, 2013 that Matt Hughes retired from fighting and was named a Vice President of Athlete Development and Government Relations.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: In the UFC, Hughes frequently used the song "A Country Boy Can Survive" by Hank Williams, Jr. as he made his entrance towards the Octagon. At the "UFC 56" live broadcast, Joe Rogan said: "My favorite walk-out song in all the UFC, ′A country boy can survive.′"


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: Hughes released his autobiography, "Made in America: The Most Dominant Champion in UFC History", co-written with Michael Malice, on January 1, 2008. The book debuted at No. 21 on the New York Times bestseller list.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: Since January 2011, Hughes is the host of hunting program Trophy Hunters TV, which airs in Outdoor Channel three times a week. The show is closely related to the Texas Trophy Hunters Association.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: On July 4, 2013, Hughes became the host of "Uncaged with Matt Hughes", which airs Saturdays on the Sportsman Channel.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: On October 7, 2014, Hughes parented with Producer Joe David Garza and became the host of a new series entitled "The Takedown with Matt Hughes", which aired on Sundays on the Sportsman Channel. The series was nominated for "Best New Series" in 2015 at the Sportsman's Choice Awards.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: Hughes has been criticized by animal advocates, including former UFC fighter and commentator Dan Hardy, for his trophy hunting. In response to outrage over trophy hunting pictures posted on his Twitter account in 2012, Hughes called some of the commenters "PETA idiots" and told them to stop following his page.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: Hughes is a born again Christian and regularly posts Bible verses on his website. Hughes and his wife have two daughters together. She also has a son from a previous relationship. The couple's second daughter was born on January 2, 2010. Matt and his twin brother were born on their father's birthday.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: On June 16, 2017, Hughes was hospitalized with a serious head injury after a train struck the passenger side of his truck at a rail crossing near his home in Montgomery County, Illinois. On June 18, Hughes's family released a statement that he had no broken bones or internal injuries but was unconscious and unresponsive. They were working with the Triumph Over Tragedy Foundation to determine next steps for care. The Foundation, of which Hughes was a board member for five years, provides care for families with brain and spinal cord injuries. On September 23, 2017 he returned to the hospital to honor the hospital staff who took care of him while he was there. On January 14, 2018, Hughes returned ringside as a guest of honor during in St. Louis. On September 19, 2019, news surfaced that Hughes sued Norfolk Southern Railway and several of its employees for the 2017 train crash.


title: Matt Hughes (fighter)

text: In May 2019 Hughes's wife filed a restraining order against him after she accused him of several incidents of domestic violence. His brother Mark Hughes also filed a restraining order against him claiming that Matt choked his son and tried to destroy his tractor. Hughes filed to divorce his wife on May 27, 2019. In September 2019, Hughes's attorneys revealed that the brothers had settled the case.


title: Freddie Freeman

text: Frederick Charles Freeman (born September 12, 1989) is an American professional baseball first baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Previously, Freeman played for the Atlanta Braves for 12 seasons. He made his MLB debut in 2010 and is a six-time MLB All-Star. Freeman won a Gold Glove Award in 2018, the Silver Slugger Award in 2019, 2020 and 2021, and the National League's Most Valuable Player Award in 2020. Freeman won the 2021 World Series over the Houston Astros as a member of the Braves. After 12 seasons with the Braves, he entered free agency and then signed a six-year, $162 million contract with the Dodgers.


title: Freddie Freeman

text: Freeman was born in Fountain Valley, California. Both of Freeman's parents are from Ontario, Canada. His mother was from Peterborough, while his father is from Windsor. Because Freeman's parents were both born in Canada, Freeman holds Canadian citizenship in addition to American citizenship.


title: Freddie Freeman

text: He grew up a fan of the Los Angeles Angels. At age six, Freeman practiced with Little League ballplayers from Orange, California, who were older. Aged seven, he was placed on a team of nine-year-olds. When Freeman himself turned nine, he was assigned to play with 12-year-olds. Freeman attended El Modena High School, where he was a third baseman and a pitcher. As a senior in 2007, Freeman hit for a .417 batting average and had a 6–1 win–loss record as a pitcher. The "Orange County Register" named him its 2007 player of the year. He signed a letter of intent with California State University, Fullerton to play college baseball for the Cal State Fullerton Titans.


title: Freddie Freeman

text: The Atlanta Braves selected Freeman in the second round, with the 78th overall selection, of the 2007 MLB draft. Freeman signed with the team for $409,500, forgoing his college scholarship. He made his professional debut with the Gulf Coast Braves in 2007 and played for the Rome Braves of the Class A South Atlantic League in 2008. He was named the Braves' fifth-best prospect according to "Baseball America" before the 2009 season.


title: Freddie Freeman

text: Freeman started the 2009 season with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League and was promoted to the Mississippi Braves of the Class AA Southern League during the season. "Baseball America" ranked Freeman the 11th-best prospect overall in their 2009 mid-season top 25. In August 2009, he suffered a wrist injury. After the 2009 season ended, Freeman joined the Peoria Saguaros of the Arizona Fall League. He began the 2010 season with the Gwinnett Braves of the Class AAA International League.


title: Freddie Freeman

text: Freeman was called up to the Braves on September 1, 2010, as part of the team's September call-ups, and made his MLB debut that same day. On September 5, 2010, he got his first career MLB hit off Florida Marlins pitcher Clay Hensley, and on September 21, 2010, he hit his first MLB home run off Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay. He played 20 games with the Braves and batted .167. Freeman was not a part of the Braves' playoff roster. He returned to the Arizona Fall League, this time to play for the Phoenix Desert Dogs.


title: Freddie Freeman

text: Freeman began the 2011 season as the starting first baseman for the Braves. After a slow start, his performance improved and he had been mentioned as a strong candidate for rookie of the year. On July 4, 2011, Freeman hit two home runs against the Colorado Rockies, for his first multi-home run game. Freeman was the first Braves rookie to reach 50 RBIs by July 18 since Hank Aaron accomplished this feat in 1954. He was named NL rookie of the month for July; during that month, Freeman led all Major League rookies with 38 hits, a .362 batting average, and a.433 on-base percentage in 27 games. He also led all NL rookies with six homers and 17 runs. His 18 RBIs tied for the most in the NL among rookies.


title: Freddie Freeman

text: In August, Freeman and Dan Uggla became the first members of the Braves to have concurrent twenty game hitting streaks in the modern era. Freeman's streak ended at 20 games on August 7. Freeman finished the 2011 year batting .282 with 32 doubles, 21 home runs, and 76 RBI in 157 games played.


title: Freddie Freeman

text: Freeman finished second to teammate Craig Kimbrel in the NL Rookie of the Year balloting. Kimbrel and Freeman were the first teammates to finish first and second since 1989, when the Chicago Cubs' Jerome Walton and Dwight Smith came in first and second. The only other time two Braves finished in the top five, the organization was still located in Milwaukee—Gene Conley was voted third-best rookie of the 1954 season; Hank Aaron came in fourth.


title: Freddie Freeman

text: In 2012, Freeman had an NL-leading nine sacrifice flies along with batting .259 with 33 doubles, 23 home runs, and 94 RBI in 147 games played.


title: Freddie Freeman

text: In 2013, Freeman was selected as a finalist for the 2013 Major League Baseball All-Star Game Final Vote, where he won with a record-setting total of 19.7 million fan votes, but was unable to play because of a thumb injury suffered three days prior to the game. Freeman finished the 2013 season with a .319 batting average, along with 23 homers and 109 RBI in 147 games played. He finished fifth on the National League Most Valuable Player award voting.


title: Freddie Freeman

text: On February 4, 2014, Freeman agreed to an eight-year, $135 million extension. Freeman was named an All-Star for the second time in 2014, and played the last three innings of the game. He led the team in batting average and on base plus slugging percentage in 2014. Freeman also set a franchise record for innings played. During a game against the Philadelphia Phillies on June 27, 2014, Freeman hit a three-run homer off Kyle Kendrick to left center field caught by broadcaster Tom McCarthy. Freeman finished the 2014 year by appearing in all 162 games batting .288 with 90 walks, 43 doubles, 18 home runs, and 78 RBI.


title: Freddie Freeman

text: On June 17, 2015, Freeman was listed as day-to-day with an injury to his right wrist originally sustained during a June 13 game against the New York Mets. He missed the June 18 game against the Boston Red Sox, ending a streak of 234 consecutive games played, which led the majors at the time. Freeman was officially placed on the 15-day disabled list on June 23, and received a platelet-rich plasma injection soon afterward. He was eligible for activation on July 3, but did not return to action until July 28, three days after he was removed from the disabled list. For the season, Freeman hit for a .276 batting average with 18 home runs and 66 RBIs in 118 games, his shortest season since 2011.


title: Freddie Freeman

text: General manager John Coppolella had assumed responsibility for the team's transactions since the 2014–15 off-season, and played a large role in the Braves' rebuild, having traded away many players. However, during the 2015–16 off-season, Coppolella repeatedly stated he would not trade Freeman. At the beginning of the 2016 season, Freeman was expected to lead the team on the field, despite the wrist injury last year adversely affecting his off-season preparations. Freeman had a difficult start to the season, although began hitting well in June. On June 15, Freeman hit his first career cycle in a 9–8 victory against the Cincinnati Reds. He was named National League Player of the Week soon after that performance. Freeman recorded his first 30-home run season in 2016, on September 13, shortly after claiming his second Player of the Week award in the 2016 season. That day he also drove in the 500th run of his career. On September 29, Freeman's 30-game hitting streak, which had begun on August 24, was halted with an 0–4 night against the Philadelphia Phillies. It had been a part of a larger 46-game run of getting on base, which also ended. During the penultimate week of the regular season, Freeman again was recognized as Player of the Week, and named the September National League Player of the Month at the end of the year. Overall in 2016, Freeman played 158 games with a .302 batting average, 43 doubles, 34 home runs, and 91 RBI. For the season, he led all major league hitters in line drive percentage (29.1%). He finished sixth on the National League Most Valuable Player award voting.


title: Freddie Freeman

text: Freeman represented Canada at the 2017 World Baseball Classic, something he had always wanted to do. He was the starting first baseman on Opening Day against the New York Mets, going 3–4, including a triple. In the first game at SunTrust Park, Freeman doubled in a couple runs. He continued to tear up Padres pitching, hitting three homers in the series. On April 19 against the Washington Nationals, he set a franchise record for most consecutive plate appearances to get on base with a solo homer.


title: Freddie Freeman

text: On May 17, Freeman was hit by a pitch from Aaron Loup of Toronto, resulting in him leaving the game. An MRI and CT scan later revealed a non-displaced wrist fracture in his left hand, ruling him out for up to 10 weeks. At the time, Freeman was an early candidate for the MVP award, leading the league in home runs with 14, and ranking second in both on-base and slugging percentage.


title: Freddie Freeman

text: While rehabilitating his hand injury, Freeman stated in June 2017 that he offered to play third base upon his return, because his replacement at first base, Matt Adams, was hitting well. On July 1, Freeman appeared with the Triple-A Gwinnett Braves on a rehab assignment in which he played third base. Three days later, he returned to Atlanta, and started at third base against the Houston Astros. Freeman recorded his 1,000th career hit in a game against the Washington Nationals on July 6. Braves manager Brian Snitker stated in August that Freeman would no longer play third base regularly, as injuries to other players necessitated late-season promotions and allowed Freeman to return to first base.


title: Freddie Freeman

text: Freeman finished the season batting .307 with 28 home runs and 71 RBIs despite only playing in 117 games, his lowest total since 2010. He led the Braves in home runs, batting average, and was second in RBIs.


title: Freddie Freeman

text: Freeman underwent LASIK surgery in October 2017, to correct vision problems that had manifested since 2012.


title: Freddie Freeman

text: He was selected to his third All Star game as the National League's starting first baseman. He also accepted an invitation to participate in the 2018 Home Run Derby.


title: Freddie Freeman

text: Freeman finished the regular season as the National League leader in base hits with 191. Only Whit Merrifield had more in Major League Baseball. He also finished as the Braves' team leader in batting average (.309), on base percentage (.388), slugging percentage (.505), doubles (44), walks (76), and RBIs (98). For the season, he led all major league hitters in line drive percentage (32.3%).


title: Freddie Freeman

text: Freeman, along with Anthony Rizzo of the Chicago Cubs, won the 2018 Gold Glove for first base in the National League. Freeman's teammates Ender Inciarte and Nick Markakis won the same award for center field and right field, respectively, marking the first time that three Atlanta Braves had won the honor in the same season. Additionally, Freeman received the 2018 Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award and finished fourth on the National League Most Valuable Player award voting.


title: Freddie Freeman

text: At midseason, Freeman was selected the National League starter at first base in the 2019 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. The appearance was his second consecutive start in the game and his fourth All-Star Game selection overall.


title: Freddie Freeman

text: In 2019 Freeman batted .295/.389/.549 with 38 home runs and 121 RBIs, and led NL hitters in line drive percentage (27.5%). Freeman and teammates Ronald Acuña Jr. and Ozzie Albies won the 2019 National League Silver Slugger Awards for first base, outfield, and second base, respectively. Freeman won the Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award for the second consecutive season.


title: Freddie Freeman

text: On October 18, it was revealed that Freeman underwent right elbow surgery to remove a bone spur. Freeman confessed that the spur had bothered him within recent years, and the injury was first discovered on September 13.


title: Freddie Freeman

text: Freeman tested positive for COVID-19 in July 2020, before the season began. He was one of the few symptomatic MLB patients with a high fever and loss of smell. He recovered in time to participate in some training camp activities, held before the shortened season's Opening Day. Freeman hit his first career grand slam on September 4, in the second game of a doubleheader against the Washington Nationals off pitcher Tanner Rainey. Two days later, he hit another grand slam, against Nationals pitcher Kyle Finnegan. On September 9, Freeman reached 1,500 career hits with a home run. During that same game against the Miami Marlins, he set a career high by driving in six runs.


title: Freddie Freeman

text: Freeman finished the shortened 60-game regular season hitting .341/.462/.640 with 13 home runs and 53 RBIs. He led the major leagues with 23 doubles and 51 runs scored. Freeman's offensive performance won him a second Silver Slugger Award. He was named the NL MVP, becoming the first Braves player to win the award since Chipper Jones in 1999. Freeman was also voted the "Baseball Digest" MLB Player of the Year, Baseball America Player of the Year, MLBPA Player's Choice Player of the Year, and MLBPA Player's Choice NL Outstanding Player. Freeman was awarded the 2020 National League Hank Aaron Award, becoming the second player in franchise history to win the award, following Andruw Jones in 2005.


title: Freddie Freeman

text: On August 18, 2021, Freeman hit for the cycle against the Miami Marlins. This was the fourth time an Atlanta Braves player had ever done so, the second time Freeman has done it, and only the ninth time in Braves' history. Freeman owned a season-low .195 batting average on May 7. His second career cycle improved his batting average to .301. Freeman finished the 2021 season with a .300 batting average, a .896 OPS, and 31 home runs. The 2021 Braves became the second team in Major League Baseball history to have each starting infielder hit at least 25 home runs in a season. On October 12, 2021, Freeman hit an eventual game winning solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning in a tied National League Division Series game four against the Milwaukee Brewers. This home run in what was previously a 4–4 ballgame allowed the Braves to advance to the National League Championship Series for the second consecutive year.


title: Freddie Freeman

text: The Braves faced the Houston Astros in the 2021 World Series. In game five, Freeman hit a home run that traveled 460 feet. The Braves defeated the Astros in six games, making Freeman a World Series champion. Freeman recorded the final putout of the Series. At the end of the season, Freeman received his third consecutive Silver Slugger Award and his first Babe Ruth Award. Freeman joined Hank Aaron and Johnny Evers as the only Braves to win a World Series and an MVP award.


title: Freddie Freeman

text: 2021 was the last year of Freeman's contract with the Braves, and he was widely expected to remain with the Braves. Freeman himself had stated a desire to remain with the Braves for his whole career. Freeman and the Braves had exchanged offers for a new contract during the 2021 season, including a five-year, $125 million offer the Braves made before the trade deadline. Freeman declined the Braves' qualifying offer following the 2021 season and became a free agent for the first time in his career. During the offseason, the Braves reportedly increased their longstanding offer to five-years and $140 million, but Freeman and his agent insisted on a sixth year. Freeman's agent gave the Braves an ultimatum, offering them two proposals and giving them one hour to accept one of the offers. The Braves declined the two proposals and pulled their longstanding offer off the table. The following day, the Braves acquired first baseman Matt Olson from the Oakland Athletics, and then signed Olson to an eight-year deal, effectively closing the door on Freeman's tenure as a Brave.


title: Freddie Freeman

text: Other teams had been pursuing Freeman during the offseason, including the Dodgers, and with no future in Atlanta, Freeman opted to return to his home in Southern California. On March 18, 2022, Freeman signed a six-year, $162 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.


title: Freddie Freeman

text: Freeman made his Dodgers debut on April 8, 2022, batting second in the lineup and going 1–3 with a walk against the Colorado Rockies. On April 18, 2022, before a game between the Dodgers and the Atlanta Braves at Dodger Stadium, Freeman was presented his 2021 Silver Slugger Award, with Braves manager Brian Snitker and hitting coach Kevin Seitzer attending the ceremony. In the ensuing game, Freeman hit his first home run as a Dodger in what was also his first career at-bat against his former team. Freeman was presented his World Series ring before the Dodgers played the Braves at Truist Park on June 24. Several days later, Freeman fired his agent and management team, which some analysts viewed as related to the contract negotiations that led to his departing Atlanta, though it was later reported that Freeman had retained the same agency's services. He was named an All-Star on July 17, replacing Starling Marte on the National League roster.


title: Freddie Freeman

text: In 159 games in 2022, Freeman led the MLB with 199 hits and 47 doubles, and led the majors in line drive percentage (27.5%). His batting average was second in the National League at .325 and he had 21 home runs and 100 RBI.


title: Freddie Freeman

text: Freeman's powerful swing, in which he moves his shoulders slightly before lowering his hands, has been described as "unorthodox" and compared to a tennis forehand. His hand-eye coordination and ability to adjust to pitchers from one plate appearance to the next have also drawn praise.


title: Freddie Freeman

text: He has had press coverage as a result of needing to wear glasses while competing professionally, until switching these for contact lenses, and repaired vision with Lasik surgery.


title: Freddie Freeman

text: Freeman's propensity to strike up conversations with opposing baserunners has been noted by several rival players. Freeman was described by Braves manager Brian Snitker as "my rock" and "everything that the Braves stand for."


title: Freddie Freeman

text: Freeman is the son of Fredrick and Rosemary Freeman, both Canadian. Rosemary died of melanoma when Freeman was 10. Freeman has two older brothers, Andrew and Phillip, and is a sixth generation Salvationist. His cousin Carson Branstine is a tennis player.


title: Freddie Freeman

text: Freeman married Chelsea Goff in 2014. Goff appeared in season 8, episode 15 of "". The couple have three sons. While he played for the Braves, Freeman and his family lived in Atlanta during baseball season and in California during the off-season. Shortly after signing with the Dodgers, he commuted to Dodger Stadium from Corona del Mar and planned to maintain his Atlanta residence. Later, he began renting a home in Studio City.


title: Freddie Freeman

text: During a 2014 winter storm, Freeman was stuck in a traffic jam that was not moving. Freeman stayed stuck for hours until former teammate Chipper Jones arrived on his ATV and rescued Freeman. In January 2016, the Atlanta Braves announced a "Chipper Rescues Freddie" bobblehead night for the following season. This was used as a promotional night for the franchise.


title: Vocal range

text: Vocal range is the range of pitches that a human voice can phonate. A common application is within the context of singing, where it is used as a defining characteristic for classifying singing voices into voice types. It is also a topic of study within linguistics, phonetics, and speech-language pathology, particularly in relation to the study of tonal languages and certain types of vocal disorders, although it has little practical application in terms of speech.


title: Vocal range

text: While the broadest definition of "vocal range" is simply the span from the lowest to the highest note a particular voice can produce, this broad definition is often not what is meant when "vocal range" is discussed in the context of singing. Vocal pedagogists tend to define the vocal range as the total span of "musically useful" pitches that a singer can produce. This is because some of the notes a voice can produce may not be considered usable by the singer within performance for various reasons. For example, within opera all singers must project over an orchestra without the aid of a microphone. An opera singer would therefore only be able to include the notes that they are able to adequately project over an orchestra within their vocal range. In contrast, a pop artist could include notes that could be heard with the aid of a microphone.


title: Vocal range

text: Another factor to consider is the use of different forms of vocal production. The human voice is capable of producing sounds using different physiological processes within the larynx. These different forms of voice production are known as vocal registers. While the exact number and definition of vocal registers is a controversial topic within the field of singing, the sciences identify only four registers: the whistle register, the falsetto register, the modal register, and the vocal fry register. Typically only the usable pitches within the modal register—the register used in normal speech and most singing—are included when determining singers' vocal ranges. There are exceptions, as in opera, where countertenors employ falsetto and coloratura sopranos use the whistle register; notes from these registers would therefore be included in the vocal ranges of these voices.


title: Vocal range

text: The upper pitch range of the human voice is, on average, about half as high in males as in females. Even after controlling for body height and volume, the male voice remains lower. Charles Darwin suggested that the human voice evolved through intersexual sexual selection, via female male choices. Puts (2005) showed that preference for male voice pitch changed according to the stage of the menstrual cycle while Puts (2006) found women preferred lower male voices mainly for short-term, sexual relationships. Intrasexual selection, via male competition, also causes a selection in voice pitch. Pitch is related to interpersonal power and males tend to adjust their pitch according to their perceived dominance when speaking to a competitor.


title: Vocal range

text: Vocal range plays such an important role in classifying singing voices into voice types that sometimes the two terms are confused with one another. A voice type is a particular kind of human singing voice perceived as having certain identifying qualities or characteristics; vocal range being only one of those characteristics. Other factors are vocal weight, vocal tessitura, vocal timbre, vocal transition points, physical characteristics, speech level, scientific testing, and vocal registration. All of these factors combined are used to categorize a singer's voice into a particular kind of singing voice or voice type.


title: Vocal range

text: The discipline of voice classification developed within European classical music and is not generally applicable to other forms of singing. Voice classification is often used within opera to associate possible roles with potential voices. There are several systems in use including the German Fach system, the Italian opera tradition, and French opera tradition. There are other systems of classification as well, most commonly the choral music system.


title: Vocal range

text: No system is universally applied or accepted. Most of the voice types identified by such systems, however, are sub-types that fall under seven different major voice categories that are for the most part acknowledged across all of the major voice classification systems. Women are typically divided into three main groups: soprano, mezzo-soprano, and contralto. Men are usually divided into four main groups: countertenor, tenor, baritone, and bass. When considering the pre-pubescent voices of children an eighth term, treble, can be applied. Within each of these major categories there are several sub-categories that identify specific vocal qualities like coloratura facility and vocal weight to differentiate between voices.


title: Vocal range

text: Vocal range itself does not determine a singer's voice type. While each voice type does have a general vocal range associated with it, human singing voices may possess vocal ranges that encompass more than one voice type or are in between the typical ranges of two voice types. Therefore, voice teachers use vocal range as only one factor among many in classifying a singer's voice. More important than range in voice classification is tessitura, or where the voice is most comfortable singing, and vocal timbre, or the characteristic sound of the singing voice. For example, a female singer may have a vocal range that encompasses the high notes of a mezzo-soprano and the low notes of a soprano. A voice teacher would therefore look to see whether the singer was more comfortable singing higher, or lower. If she were more comfortable singing higher, then the teacher would probably classify her as a soprano. The teacher would also consider the sound of the voice; sopranos tend to have a lighter and less rich vocal sound than a mezzo-soprano. A voice teacher, however, would never classify a singer in more than one voice type, regardless of the size of the vocal range of the singer.


title: Vocal range

text: Within the operatic systems of classification, there are six basic voice types. The ranges given below are approximations and are not meant to be too rigidly applied.


title: Vocal range

text: Some men, in falsetto voice or as a result of certain rare physiological conditions, can sing in the same range as women. These do not fall into the female categories, instead called "countertenors" within classical music. Within contemporary music, however, the use of the term "tenor" for these male voices would be more appropriate.


title: Vocal range

text: Within choral music there are only four categories for adult singers. First, for women: soprano and alto, and for men: tenor and bass.


title: Vocal range

text: In the UK, the term "male alto" refers to a man who uses falsetto vocal production to sing in the alto section of a chorus. This practice is much less common outside the UK where the term countertenor is more often applied. Countertenors are also widely employed within opera as solo vocalists, though the term "male alto" is never used to refer to a solo vocalist.


title: Vocal range

text: Children's voices, both male and female, are described as "trebles", although boy soprano is widely used as well.


title: Vocal range

text: Male adolescent voices whose voices are changing are described as "cambiatas" or "cambiati"; it is considered nearly an adolescent equivalent of the tenor voice.


title: American Nazi Party

text: The American Nazi Party (ANP) is an American far-right and neo-Nazi political party founded by George Lincoln Rockwell and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. The organization was originally named the World Union of Free Enterprise National Socialists (WUFENS), a name to denote opposition to state ownership of property, the same year - it was renamed the American Nazi Party in order to attract 'maximum media attention'. Since the late 1960s, a number of small groups have used the name "American Nazi Party" with most being independent of each other and disbanding before the 21st century. The party is based largely upon the ideals and policies of Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party in Germany during the Nazi era, and embraced its uniforms and iconography.


title: American Nazi Party

text: Shortly after Rockwell's murder in 1967, the organization appointed Rockwell's second in command, Deputy Commander Matt Koehl as the new leader. The American Nazi Party, now under Koehl's command, was subject to ideological disagreements between members in the 1970s and 1980s. "In 1982, Martin Kerr, a leader at the Franklin Road headquarters, announced that the organization was changing its name to the New Order and moving to the Midwest," effective January 1, 1983. Due to recruitment issues along with financial and legal trouble, Koehl was forced to relocate the group's headquarters from the DC area, eventually finding his way to scattered locations in Wisconsin and Michigan. After Koehl's death in 2014, a long-time member and officer of the New Order, Martin Kerr assumed leadership and maintains the New Order website and organization.


title: American Nazi Party

text: A former member of the original American Nazi Party, Rocky Suhayda, founded his own organization using the American Nazi Party name and has been active since at least 2008. Suhayda claims Rockwell as its founder despite no direct legal or financial link between it and Rockwell's legacy organization. The one connection between the original American Nazi Party and Rocky Suhayda's group besides ideology is that they sell reprints of Rockwell's 1960s-era magazine "The Stormtrooper" on their website"."


title: American Nazi Party

text: The WUFENS headquarters was located in a residence on Williamsburg Boulevard in Arlington, but was moved as the ANP headquarters to a house at 928 North Randolph Street (now a hotel and office building site). Rockwell and some party members also established a "Stormtrooper Barracks" in an old mansion owned by the widow of Willis Kern in the Dominion Hills section of Arlington at what is now the Upton Hill Regional Park. After Rockwell's murder, the headquarters was moved again to one side of a duplex brick and concrete storefront at 2507 North Franklin Road which featured a swastika prominently mounted above the front door. This site was visible from busy Wilson Boulevard. Today, the Franklin Road address is often misidentified as Rockwell's headquarters when in fact it was the successor organization's last physical address in Arlington (now a coffeehouse).


title: American Nazi Party

text: After several years of living in impoverished conditions, Rockwell began to experience some financial success with paid speaking engagements at universities where he was invited to express his controversial views as exercises in free speech. This prompted him to end the rancorous "Phase One" party tactics and begin "Phase Two", a plan to recast the group as a legitimate political party by toning down the verbal and written attacks against non-whites, replacing the party rallying cry of "Sieg Heil!" with "White Power!", limiting public display of the swastika, and entering candidates in local elections.


title: American Nazi Party

text: The years 1965 and 1967 were possibly the height of Rockwell's profile. He was interviewed by "Playboy" magazine, an event that stirred controversy within the ranks. At the time Rockwell had about 500 followers. In 1966 or 1967, Rockwell renamed the ANP the National Socialist White People's Party (NSWPP), a move that alienated some hard-line members. The new name was a "conscious imitation" of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Rockwell wanted a more "ecumenical" approach and felt that the swastika banner was impeding organizational growth. Rockwell was killed on August 25, 1967, before he could implement party reforms. Matt Koehl, a purist Neo-Nazi, succeeded Rockwell as the new leader and this ended the American Nazi Party. Thereafter, the members engaged in internecine disputes, and they were either expelled by Koehl or they resigned. After the murder of Rockwell, the party dissipated and ad hoc organizations usurped the American Nazi Party logo. Those included James Burford in Chicago and John Bishop in Iowa.


title: American Nazi Party

text: An assassination attempt was made on Rockwell on June 28, 1967. As Rockwell returned from shopping, he drove into the long driveway of the "Stormtrooper Barracks" located in Arlington's Dominion Hills subdivision and found it blocked by a felled tree and brush. Rockwell assumed that it was another prank by local teens. As a party member cleared the obstruction, two shots were fired at Rockwell from behind one of the swastika-embossed brick driveway pillars. One of the shots ricocheted off the car, right next to his head. Leaping from the car, Rockwell pursued the gunman. On June 30, Rockwell petitioned the Arlington County Circuit Court for a gun permit; no action was ever taken on his request.


title: American Nazi Party

text: On August 25, 1967, as Rockwell left the Econowash laundromat at the Dominion Hills Shopping Center, a former follower named John Patler shot Rockwell from the roof of the building. Patler fired two bullets into Rockwell's car through the windshield. One missed, the other hit his chest and ruptured his heart. His car rolled backward to a stop and Rockwell staggered out of the front passenger side door of the car, stood briefly while pointing upward at the strip mall's rooftop where the shots had come from and then collapsed on the pavement. He was pronounced dead at the scene.<ref name="http://news.bbc.co.uk"></ref>


title: American Nazi Party

text: Rockwell's second in command, Deputy Commander Matt Koehl, a staunch Hitlerist, assumed the leadership role after a council agreed that he should retain command. Koehl continued some of Rockwell's restructuring of the group by dropping the use of negative verbal and written attacks against racial minorities. Koehl also began emphasizing the positive aspects of Nazism and the glories of a future all-white society. Koehl retained the swastika-festooned party literature and the pseudo-Nazi uniforms of the party's "Storm Troopers" which were modeled on those worn by the Nazi Party's Sturmabteilung. In 1968, Koehl moved the party to a new headquarters on 2507 North Franklin Road, clearly visible from Arlington's main thoroughfare, Wilson Boulevard. He also established a printing press, a "George Lincoln Rockwell Memorial Book Store", and member living quarters on property nearby.


title: American Nazi Party

text: The party began to experience ideological divisions among its followers as it entered the 1970s. In 1970, member Frank Collin, who was himself secretly the son of a Jewish father, broke away from the group and founded the National Socialist Party of America in Chicago, which became famous for its attempt to march through Skokie, Illinois, which was home to many Holocaust survivors. This led to the United States Supreme Court case, National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie. Other dissatisfied members of the NSWPP chose to support William Luther Pierce, and formed the National Alliance in 1974.


title: American Nazi Party

text: Further membership erosion occurred as Koehl, drawing heavily upon the teachings of Hitlerian mystic Savitri Devi, began to suggest that Nazism was more akin to a religious movement than a political one. He espoused the belief that Adolf Hitler was the gift of an inscrutable divine providence who had been sent to rescue the white race from decadence and gradual extinction which had been caused by a declining birth rate and miscegenation. Hitler's death in 1945 was viewed as a type of martyrdom; a voluntary, Christ-like self-sacrifice, that looked forward to a spiritual resurrection of Nazism at a later date when the Aryan race would need it the most. These esoteric beliefs led to disputes with the World Union of National Socialists, which Rockwell had founded and whose leader, Danish neo-Nazi Povl Riis-Knudsen, had been appointed by Koehl. Undaunted, Koehl continued to recast the party as a new religion in formation. Public rallies were gradually phased out in favor of low-key gatherings which were held in private venues. On Labor Day 1979, in a highly unpopular move for some members, Koehl disbanded the party's paramilitary "Storm Troopers."


title: American Nazi Party

text: On November 3, 1979, some members of the NSWPP and a Ku Klux Klan group attacked a Communist Workers' Party protest march in Greensboro, North Carolina. The group of neo-Nazis and Klansmen shot and killed five marchers. Forty Klansmen and neo-Nazis were involved in the shootings with sixteen Klansmen and neo-Nazis being arrested. The six strongest cases were brought to trial first, but the two criminal trials resulted in the acquittal of the defendants by all-white juries. However, in a 1985 civil lawsuit, the survivors won a $350,000 judgment against the city, the Klansmen, and the neo-Nazis after they were all found guilty of violating the civil rights of the demonstrators. The shootings became known as the "Greensboro Massacre."


title: American Nazi Party

text: In 1982 the Internal Revenue Service took action to foreclose on the group's headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. Koehl ceased printing the organization's White Power newspaper, sold its Arlington, Virginia, real estate holdings, and dispersed the group's various operations to scattered locations in Wisconsin and Michigan. A secluded rural property called "Nordland" was purchased in New Berlin, Wisconsin, to serve as living quarters and to host annual meetings and ceremonial events.


title: American Nazi Party

text: The Koehl organization changed its name to New Order on January 1, 1983 on the grounds that the people in the area "are not people looking to join revolutionary organizations", saying that it was moving to an area in the Midwest which it would not reveal for security reasons. The name change reflected the group's Nazi mysticism and it was still known by that name in 2010.


title: American Nazi Party

text: The organization briefly attracted the media's attention in October 1983, when it held a private meeting at Yorktown High School in Arlington, Virginia. A non-uniformed gathering of members was held indoors while the police kept a crowd of counter-protesters at bay outside. This event marked the last publicized appearance of Koehl and the New Order in Arlington. From that point forward the only outward sign that the group was still operational was the annual appearance of the swastika and Betsy Ross American Revolutionary War flags flying from the party's nondescript headquarters building on North Franklin Road every April 20 (Hitler's birthday).


title: American Nazi Party

text: Today the New Order operates quietly far from the public spotlight, eschewing the confrontational public rallies that were once a hallmark of its previous incarnations. It maintains a web page and a Milwaukee, Wisconsin, post office box providing information and template material promoting Nazism. It has no members but rather "registered supporters" who pledge to mail in donations on a monthly basis. Financing is also obtained through sales of books and other merchandise under an affiliate business, NS Publications of Wyandotte, Michigan. The "NS Bulletin", a newsletter, is sent to supporters on a quarterly basis. The group holds occasional ceremonial gatherings at undisclosed private locations such as an annual observance of Hitler's birthday each April 20.


title: American Nazi Party

text: New Order's Chief of Staff, Martin Kerr, claims that the group is no longer a white supremacist group and focuses on advocating "in favor of [white] people, not against other races or ethnicities...we consider the white people of the world to be a gigantic family of racial brothers and sisters, united by ties of common ancestry and common heritage. Being for our own family does not mean that we hate other families." The SPLC still classifies them as neo-Nazis and as a "hate group."


title: American Nazi Party

text: In May 2021 two versions of leaflets promoting the white race were scattered in plastic bags containing business cards in a number of Greene County, Virginia neighborhoods.


title: American Nazi Party

text: Since the late 1960s, there have been a number of small groups that have used the name "American Nazi Party."


title: God in Islam

text: God in Islam (, contraction of "al-’Ilāh", lit. "the God") is seen as the eternal creator and sustainer of the universe, who will eventually resurrect all humans. In Islam, God is conceived as a perfect, singular, immortal, omnipotent, and omniscient god, completely infinite in all of his attributes. Islam further emphasizes that God is most-merciful.


title: God in Islam

text: According to Islamic theology, God has no physical body or gender, although he is always referred to with masculine grammatical articles, and there is nothing else like him in any way whatsoever. Therefore, Islam rejects the doctrine of the incarnation and the notion of a personal god as anthropomorphic, because it is seen as demeaning to the transcendence of God. The Quran prescribes the fundamental transcendental criterion in the following verse: "[He is] the Creator of the heavens and the earth. He has made for you from yourselves, mates, and among the cattle, mates; He multiplies you thereby. There is nothing whatever like unto Him, and He is the One that hears and sees [all things]" (). Therefore, Islam strictly and categorically rejects all forms of anthropomorphism and anthropopathism of the concept of God.


title: God in Islam

text: The Islamic concept of God emphasizes that he is absolutely pure and free from association with other beings, which means attributing the powers and qualities of God to his creation, and vice versa. In Islam, God is never portrayed in any image. The Quran specifically forbade ascribing partners to share his singular sovereignty, as he is considered to be the absolute one without a second, indivisible, and incomparable being, who is similar to nothing, and nothing is comparable to him. Thus, God is absolutely transcendent, unique and utterly other than anything in or of the world as to be beyond all forms of human thought and expression. The briefest and the most comprehensive description of God in Islam is found in Surat al-Ikhlas.


title: God in Islam

text: According to mainstream Muslim theologians, God is described as "" (Eternal, timeless, and infinite, which literally means: "ancient"), having no first, without beginning or end; absolute, not limited by time or place or circumstance, nor is subject to any decree so as to be determined by any precise limits or set times, but is the First and the Last. He is not a formed body, nor a substance circumscribed with limits or determined by measure; neither does he resemble bodies as they are capable of being measured or divided. Neither do substances exist in him; neither is he an accident, nor do accidents exist in him. Neither is he like to anything that exists, nor is anything like to him; nor is he determinate in quantity, nor comprehended by bounds, nor circumscribed by differences of situation, nor contained in the heavens, and transcends spatial and temporal bounds, and remains beyond the bounds of human comprehension and perceptions.


title: God in Islam

text: In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The Arabic word "Allāh" is thought to be derived by contraction from "al-ʾilāh", which means "the God", (i.e., the "only" God) and is related to "El" and "Elah", the Hebrew and Aramaic words for God. It is distinguished from "" (), the Arabic word meaning "deity", which could refer to any of the gods worshipped in pre-Islamic Arabia or to any other deity. Allah is God’s most unique Name, grandly referred to as "Lafẓ al-Jalālah" (The Word of Majesty). It occurs in the Qur’an 2,697 times in 85 of its 114 suras.


title: God in Islam

text: God is described and referred to in the Quran and "hadith" by 99 names that reflect his attributes. The Quran refers to the attributes of God as "most beautiful names". According to Gerhard Böwering,


title: God in Islam

text: Some Muslims may use different names as much as Allah, for instance "God" in English. Whether or not "Allah" can be considered as the personal name of God became disputed in contemporary scholarship. In earlier times, Jahm bin Safwan claimed that "Allah" is a name God created for himself and that names belong to the things God created.


title: God in Islam

text: Islam's most fundamental concept is a strict monotheism called "tawhid", affirming that God is one and Tanzih ("wāḥid"). The basic creed of Islam, the Shahada (recited under oath to enter the religion), involves "()", or "I testify there is no deity other than God."


title: God in Islam

text: Muslims reject the Christian doctrine of the Trinity and divinity of Jesus, comparing it to polytheism. Jesus is instead believed to be a prophet.


title: God in Islam

text: Tawhid constitutes the foremost article of the Muslim profession. The deification or worship of anyone or anything other than God (shirk) is the greatest sin in Islam. The entirety of the Islamic teaching rests on the principle of Tawhid.


title: God in Islam

text: According to Vincent J. Cornell, the Quran also provides a monist image of God by describing the reality as a unified whole, with God being a single concept that would describe or ascribe all existing things: "He is the First and the Last, the Evident and the Immanent: and He has full knowledge of all things."


title: God in Islam

text: Islam emphasises the absolute uniqueness and singularity of God in his essence, attributes, qualities, and acts. As stated in Surat al-Ikhlas: God is Ahad (the unique one of absolute oneness, who is indivisible in nature, and there can be no other like him); God is Ash-Shamad (the ultimate source of all existence, the uncaused cause who created all things out of nothing, who is eternal, absolute, immutable, perfect, complete, essential, independent, and self-sufficient; who needs nothing while all of creation is in absolute need of him; the one eternally and constantly required and sought, depended upon by all existence and to whom all matters will ultimately return); he begets not, nor is he begotten (He is Unborn and Uncreated, has no parents, wife or offspring); and comparable/equal to him, there is none.


title: God in Islam

text: God's absolute transcendence over his creation, as well as his unlimited individuality were asserted and emphasized with support from appropriate quotations from the Qur'an as follows:


title: God in Islam

text: The Qur'anic verse (19:65), "Do you know of any that can be named with His Name?" emphasizes that as Allah is Unique, His name is shared by none other.


title: God in Islam

text: Such as that described in the previous three verses (). For the disbelievers in the Hereafter, there is an evil description, or in other words, the most evil attribute (i.e., the most vile), which is their ignorance and ingratitude, and their burying alive of newborn girls, despite the fact that they are needed for the purposes of marriage and not allowing women to even inherit property, and their ascribing female gender to angels and claiming that the angels are the daughters of God while so preferring sons for themselves (this is also mentioned in the verses ); whereas to God belong the highest attribute, namely, that there is no deity except him, immensely exalted beyond and above all comparison and likeness.


title: God in Islam

text: The Qur'anic verse (42:11) emphasizes that there is no similarity whatsoever between the creator and his creation in essence, in attributes or in actions, and therefore, God is beyond all human concepts of him. So he has no mates and nothing is like him, nor does he beget, nor is he begotten. Nothing – neither matter, nor space, nor time – can restrict or contain him. And this is why his Attributes – his hearing, seeing, knowledge, will, power, creating, and so on – are also beyond anything we can conceive.


title: God in Islam

text: The same sentiment is expressed in the Qur'anic verse (6:103) which states: "Vision perceives/comprehends Him not, and He perceives/comprehends (evaluates) all vision." In some interpretations, this verse also asserts that the senses and intellects cannot fully comprehend God. Likewise, the Qur'an also says:


title: God in Islam

text: The Hanafi jurist and theologian, al-Tahawi (d. 321/933), wrote in his treatise on theology, commonly known as "al-'Aqida al-Tahawiyya":


title: God in Islam

text: The six directions are: above, below, right, left, front and back. The above statement of al-Tahawi refutes the anthropomorphist's dogmas that imagine Allah has a physical body and human form, and being occupied in a place, direction or trajectory.


title: God in Islam

text: According to the teachings of Islam, God is the creator of the worlds and all the creatures therein. He has created everything in the worlds in accordance with a definite plan and for a particular purpose. There is no shortcoming or defect of any sort in any of his creations. The Qur'an confirms this in the following verses:


title: God in Islam

text: The Qur'an also says in verse (25:2): "and He has created everything and designed it in a perfect measure (and ordained its destiny in a precise manner)." And in another verse (25:59) it is emphasized: "It is He who created the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them."


title: God in Islam

text: The Qur'an states that God is the "Rabb al-'Alamin". When referring to God, the Arabic term "Rabb" is usually translated as "Lord" and can include all of the following meanings: "owner, master, ruler, controller, creator, upbringer, trainer, sustainer, nourisher, cherisher, provider, protector, guardian and caretaker." The same term, "Rabb", is used in a limited sense for humans as in the "head" of the family, "master" of the house, or "owner" of the land or cattle. The Arabic word "al-'Alamin" can be translated as the "Worlds" or "Universes". There are many worlds, astronomical and physical worlds, worlds of thought, spiritual worlds, everything in existence including angels, jinn, devils, humans, animals, plants, and so on. The "Worlds" may also be taken to refer to different domains or kingdoms within this earthly world, or other worlds beyond this earth. Thus, the Qur'anic expression "Rabb al-'Alamin" really means the "Creator of the Worlds", the "Ruler of the Universes", the "Creator and Sustainer of all the peoples and Universes".


title: God in Islam

text: The most commonly used names in the primary sources are "Al-Rahman", meaning "Most Compassionate" and "Al-Rahim", meaning "Most Merciful". The former compasses the whole creation, therefore applying to God's mercy in that it gives every necessary condition to make life possible. The latter applies to God's mercy in that it gives favor for good deeds. Thus "Al-Rahman" includes both the believers and the unbelievers, but "Al-Rahim" only the believers. God is said to love forgiving, with a hadith stating God would replace a sinless people with one who sinned but still asked repentance.


title: God in Islam

text: God's omniscience is the knowledge of all things, whether they are actual or possible or whether they are past, present, or future. It also includes his knowledge of people, places, events, circumstances, etc. God has full knowledge of everything, everywhere, always and from eternity past, and he is fully aware of whatever one thinks, intends, and does, and the reins of all things and events are in his power. He knows whatever happens in the universe, down to the fall of a leaf, and he knows all the deeds, thought, and intentions of humankind. His appointed angels record these, and people will be called to account for these acts in the other world. His knowledge is eternal in the sense of being timeless, i.e., atemporal. So, since God's knowledge is eternal and unchanging, it is likewise self‐existent and infinite. It is self‐existent in that it is not dependent on anything, not even time. According to the Qur'an, God (Allah) is omniscient; he eternally knows whatever comes into being, be it universal or particular in character. He has known all things from before the creation of the world. His knowledge of things before their coming into existence and afterwards is exactly the same. Hence, there is no discovery or surprise with God. Muslim theologians therefore considered that “omniscience” is a necessary and “ignorance” is an impossible property for God. Various Qur'anic verses designate this basic intuition, such as: 3:5, 6:59, 65:12, and 24:35.


title: God in Islam

text: Muslims believe that God is the only true reality and sole source of all creation, everything including its creatures are just a derivative reality created out of love and mercy by God's command, "..."Be," and it is." and that the purpose of existence is to worship or to "know" God. It is believed that God created everything for a divine purpose; the universe governed by fixed laws that ensure the harmonious working of all things. Everything within the universe, including inanimate objects, praises God, and is in this sense understood as a "Muslim". An exception are humans, who are endowed with free-will and must live voluntarily in accordance with these laws to live to find peace and reproduce God's benevolence in their own society to live in accordance with the nature of all things, known as "surrender" to God in the Islamic sense.


title: God in Islam

text: As in the other Abrahamic religions, God is believed to communicate with his creation via revelations given to prophets to remind people of God. The Qur'an in particular is believed by Muslims to be the verbatim word of God as revealed to Muhammad. Hadith are the records of Muhammad's sayings and example, and Hadith Qudsi is a sub-category of hadith, which Muslims regard as the words of God repeated by Muhammad. According to al-Sharif al-Jurjani (d. 816/1413), the Hadith Qudsi differ from the Qur'an in that the former are "expressed in Muhammad's words", whereas the latter are the "direct words of God".


title: God in Islam

text: In Islam, there are no intermediaries between God and people, so Muslims address/contact God directly in their prayers, supplications and dhikr, and also seek forgiveness and repentance from sins directly from God, as the Qur'an states: Therefore, according to this verse, God answers all the prayers done sincerely. However, he answers sometimes by giving whatever is asked for, sometimes by giving what is better, sometimes by postponing giving to the afterlife, and sometimes by not giving at all, since it will not turn out in favor of the one who prays. The way that God answers a prayer depends on his wisdom.


title: God in Islam

text: Al-Bukhari, in his "", narrates a hadith qudsi that God says, "I am as My servant thinks (expects) I am." When Sufis claim union with God, it is not that they become one in essence, rather the will of the Sufi is fully congruent to God. The Sufis are in fact careful to say, no matter what degree of union is realized, "the slave remains the slave, and the Lord remains the Lord".


title: God in Islam

text: The Qur'an affirms that God does not stand in need of anything outside him, and nothing external to him can affect or influence him in any way. All his creatures are responsible to him and dependent on him. There is no other being to whom he can be responsible or on whom he can be dependent. He has the right to do whatever he wants with his possessions/creatures – it is under God's own total sovereignty. Accordingly, he is not answerable for his actions, due to his wisdom and justice, greatness and uniqueness of Divinity, while all others (jinn, humans, or false deities) are accountable for what they do (and don't do), as God says in the Qur'an:


title: God in Islam

text: While the existence of the creation is dependent, contingent, temporal, and received from beyond itself, the existence or reality of God is eternal, independent, self-sufficient, and self-existent being who needs no other being for his existence, and consequently exists by and through himself alone. The divine name al-Samad (the supremely independent, self-sufficient being endowed with all the attributes of perfection to which all else turns in need for existence, life, guidance, help, forgiveness, etc.) implies that there is a blessed linkage between the creator and his creation where the one creator will sustain the creation by looking after it. This relationship also signifies that since God is the sustainer, he is in need of nothing, and even as he gives, nothing is diminished from his treasury.


title: God in Islam

text: For Atharis the names and attributes of God are to be understood with the formula of bila kayfa (lit. “without how”, i.e., “without modality”, “without further enquiry” or “without further specifying their manner or modality”), which is to unquestioningly accept the Divine attributes of God without ta'wil (allegorical interpretation), or ta'til (lit. “suspension”, i.e., “divesting God of His attributes”), or tashbih (anthropomorphism, immanence or comparison, which is to believe that God resembles his creations, or attributing the attributes of human beings to God). Any anthropomorphic expressions of these names and attributes is negated using the admission that their meanings can never be known. The meaning is left to the knowledge of God himself, and they simply say that the meaning is as befits his majesty and perfection. This method of tafwid is that of Ahmad ibn Hanbal (eponymous founder of Atharism), al-Ash'ari, Ibn Qudama, and Ibn Kathir.


title: God in Islam

text: Usually Atharis are vehemently opposed to engaging in ta'wil (allegorical interpretations) and reject batin (inner meaning) or hidden/esoteric (Sufi) interpretations of the Qur'an and God's divine attributes. In maintaining that one is not permitted to interpret the meaning of the Qur'anic verses or the Prophetic traditions that mention various attributes of God, Ibn Qudama (d. 620/1223) in his work "" (“The Luminance of Creed”) is endorsing the principle of bila kayfa ('without [asking or knowing] how') in Islamic theology. According to this principle, one has to accept the sacred text as it is, indissolubly linked with tanzih (God's incomparability and transcendence), without trying to interpret its meaning. In other words, one must accept the sacred texts that refer to God without positively ascribing corporeal features to him.


title: God in Islam

text: Ibn al-Jawzi (d. 597/1201) took the question of people associating anthropomorphism with Hanbalism so seriously that he wrote a book, "Daf' Shubah al-Tashbih bi-Akaff al-Tanzih" (“Rebuttal of the Insinuations of Anthropomorphism at the Hands of Divine Transcendence”), refuting this heresy and exonerating Ahmad ibn Hanbal of any association with it. According to him, such words whose meanings could give the impression that God resembles his creations shouldn't be understood literally, such as God's face, hands, eyes, and the like.


title: God in Islam

text: Another book was written by the Shafi'i scholar, (d. 829/1426), titled "" (“Rebuttal of the Insinuations of him who makes Anthropomorphisms and Rebels, and Ascribes that to the Noble Master Imam Ahmad”), defending Ahmad ibn Hanbal against the innovated beliefs later ascribed to him by Ibn Taymiyya and those who claimed to follow his school.


title: God in Islam

text: Ibn Kathir (d. 774/1373) appears to offer a definition similar to that of al-Ash'ari (d. 324/936) when he discusses tafwid in his exegesis of the Qur'anic verse (7:54) pertaining to God's istiwa'. He states:


title: God in Islam

text: Here Ibn Kathir is diverting the meaning of the text from its apparent meaning, and implicitly affirming that one valid definition of the term zahir is its literal linguistic meaning, which is anthropomorphic. However, some modern followers of Ibn Taymiyya claim that "bi lā takyīf" would only mean tafwid of modality not of meaning (ma'na), but according to the Ash'ari/Maturidi position, modality (kayfiyya) is a part of meaning and without detailing which aspect of meaning remains after de-anthropomorphizing a term, one ends up with tafwid. In addition to that the imams of the salaf (the righteous early generations of Muslims) used to say bila kayf (without how or modality at all). On the other hand, both Ibn Taymiyya (d. 728/1328) and his student Ibn al-Qayyim (d. 751/1350) argued that the anthropomorphic references to God, such as God's hands or face, are to be understood literally and affirmatively according to their apparent meanings. In their footsteps and following them come the Salafi groups of modern times such as the followers of Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab (d. 1201/1787) who closely follow Ibn Taymiyya's approach regarding the Divine names and attributes.


title: God in Islam

text: The doctrine of the Salaf that Ibn Taymiyya derives from his traditionalist sources consists in describing God as he describes himself and as his messenger describes him, neither stripping the attributes away (ta'til) in the fashion of kalam (rational or speculative theology), nor likening (tamthil) them to the attributes of creatures because there is nothing like God [Q. 42:11]. For Ibn Taymiyya, this means that the Salaf knew the meanings of the Divine attributes, and they do not merely delegate them to God. However, certain formulaic statements attributed to them do not appear to support his position unequivocally. Ibn Taymiyya notes that al-Awza'i (d. 157/774), Sufyan al-Thawri (d. 161/778), and others said concerning the attributes, "Let them pass by as they came", and "Let them pass by as they came, without how". He explains that letting the attributes pass by (imrār) means leaving them intact and not stripping away their meanings, while affirming the attributes "without how" or "without modality" (bi-lā kayf) means not assimilating them to the attributes of creatures. With this, Ibn Taymiyya holds affirmation of the meanings of God's attributes together with denial of their likeness to creatures in a double perspective by drawing a distinction between the known meanings of the attributes and their inscrutable modalities.


title: God in Islam

text: Ibn Taymiyya does not clarify how modality (kayfiyya) and meaning (ma'na) relate to each other semantically. Rather, he deploys the two terms in tandem to maintain the seemingly paradoxical conviction that God is completely different and beyond human experience on the one hand while God's attributes do signify something real and meaningful in human language on the other. In denying knowledge of the modality and affirming knowledge of the meaning, Ibn Taymiyya does not resolve the paradox, nor even acknowledge it, but simply holds its two sides together in the conviction that this is the most faithful and rational set of beliefs.


title: God in Islam

text: It is often assumed that the question of God's nature has occupied the minds of early Muslims, and as such Muhammad forbade them from thinking about it, as he said: "Think about God's bounties, but do not think about God's essence (dhat). Otherwise, you will vanish/perish." Accordingly, Muslims should not think about what God is, but about his attributes and his blessings granted to humanity, because God's essence (dhat) cannot be understood by the limited human capacity. In this regard it has been mentioned in some narrations that are ascribed to Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 241/855), it has been reported that he said: "Whatever comes to your mind (i.e., regarding God and His nature), God is different than that." Or in the words: "God is completely different from whatever comes to your mind concerning Him."


title: God in Islam

text: According to al-Shahrastani (d. 548/1154) in his al-Milal wa al-Nihal (“Religious Sects and Divisions”), Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Dawud al-Zahiri (d. 270/884) and a group of imams of the Salaf, they followed the way of the early traditionalists (ashab al-hadith), such as Malik ibn Anas (d. 179/795). They took a safe path, saying "We believe in whatever is reported from the Book and the Sunna, and we do not try to interpret it, knowing for certain that God does not resemble any created things, and that all the images we form of Him are created by Him and formed by Him". They avoided anthropomorphism (tashbih) to such an extent that they said that if a man moved his hand while reading the Qur'anic verse that speaks of God's creating Adam using his own “hands” [Q. 38:75]; or if he pointed with his two fingers while reporting the hadith: "The heart of the believer is between the two fingers of al-Rahman (the Most Compassionate)", his hand must be cut off and the two fingers torn out.


title: God in Islam

text: These early scholars were often called the People of Tradition (Ahl al-Hadith), or Salaf such as Abu Hanifa, Malik, al-Shafi'i and Ahmad ibn Hanbal. They left the verses of the Qur'an in question as well as the related hadiths simply as they were, accepting the poetical statements just as they occurred, without applying much reason either to criticize or expand upon them. Their position was that these ambiguous verses must be understood in light of the Qur'anic dictum that, “There is nothing whatever like Him” [Q. 42:11] hence negating all possibilities of anthropomorphism. At the same time, they used and maintained the same phrases or terminology implied by the Qur'an with regards to God such as God's face without looking further into their meaning or exegesis. And this is what is being referred to by use of their phrase "bila kayfa wa la tashbih", meaning without inquiring how and without anthropomorphism or comparison.


title: God in Islam

text: However, according to some scholars, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, like the other early Muslims, also gave some figurative interpretations (ta'wil) to scriptural expressions that might otherwise have been misinterpreted anthropomorphically, which is what neo-Salafis condemn the Ash'ari and Maturidi schools for doing. For example, Ibn Kathir reports that al-Bayhaqi (d. 458/1066) related from al-Hakim (d. 405/1014), from Abu 'Amr ibn al-Sammak (d. 344/955), from Hanbal [ibn Ishaq al-Shaybani] (d. 273/886), the son of the brother of Ahmad ibn Hanbal's father, that "Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 241/855) figuratively interpreted the word of Allah Most High, ‘And your Lord comes...’ [Q. 89:22], as meaning ‘His recompense (thawab) shall come’." Al-Bayhaqi then said, "This chain of narrators has absolutely nothing wrong in it". Ibn Hazm (d. 456/1064) in his book "" (“The Distinction Concerning Religions, Heresies, and Sects”) said also that Ahmad ibn Hanbal figuratively interpreted ‘And your Lord comes...’ [Q. 89:22], but as meaning "And your Lord's command/decree has come."