al-firaushah

“The Whole of It is from Our Lord”

The following question was asked about how much one could believe that the Qur’an was not written by Allah (swt) and still remain a Muslim:

And if some of it [the Qur’an] was “written by man,” or a person believes that some of it was “written by man,” how much of it must fall in that category before that person is, in your view “not a Muslim.”

My answer:

The answer is quite simple:  belief that any part of the Qur’an was “written by man” will cause one to fall out of Islam (i.e., become “not a Muslim”).

“And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: ‘We believe in the Book; the whole of it is from our Lord:’ and none will grasp the Message except men of understanding.’” (3:7)

Islam is not a “cafeteria religion” where one can pick and choose which parts to believe in.

On Da’wah in the West

The following is a comment I wrote to Emmanuel, a Catholic Malaysian blogger, who was responding to a post written by MENJ regarding South Korean missionaries who are being expelled from Afghanistan.  After posting this comment, I thought I would cross-post it onto this blog and some others.

Emmanuel: Da’wah, as practiced by Muslims in the West, is almost invisible. I do not say this negatively, merely as a statement of fact. In the US (at least), da’wah to non-Muslims is rarely done face-to-face, unlike, say, the Mormons or JWs. We don’t ride around the neighborhood on bicycles in white shirts and dark ties, asking people to convert. We also don’t pass out cartoon tracts like Jack Chick’s or booklets like the JW’s, leaving them lying around for people to read (although I will say I don’t think badly of the JW booklets). In fact, the only Muslim da’wah group I’ve ever met members of face-to-face were only interested in meeting other Muslims, trying to get lax brothers and sisters to become more devout. Certainly no one ever came up to me and asked me to become Muslim, which is more than the Christians (including some members of my family) can say.

But far too many Christian missionaries use underhanded tactics in trying to convert people. Unlike MENJ, I do think it is constructive, both in the long- and short-term, to ban missionaries. Read the famous article, The Stealth Crusade, published in Mother Jones magazine four years ago, and you’ll begin to understand some of our concerns.

French Convert on Becoming a Muslim

Click on the link to a short video excerpt (1:17) of a French woman being interviewed about her becoming a Muslim.
French Woman Talks About Becoming Muslim

Why Muslims Don’t Pronounce “Takfir”

George Carty asked: “Would it not be a good idea to refer to extremist terrorists like al-Zarqawi and the GIA as ‘takfiris’?”

Good question, George; however, the answer is no.

Both the Qur’an and the sahih ahadith collections are strong in their condemnations of this practice. We are not to judge who is a kafir unless there is extremely stringent evidence against them. Unfortunately, there are some groups, such as Takfir wal-Hijra and the GIA, who take a too-liberal approach toward pronouncing people as kafirs when perhaps they shouldn’t be; however, these same groups may suffer for their pronunciations of takfir in the hereafter.

According to the Qur’an: “O ye who believe! When ye go abroad in the cause of Allah, investigate carefully, and say not to any one who offers you a salutation: “Thou art none of a believer!” Coveting the perishable goods of this life: with Allah are profits and spoils abundant. Even thus were ye yourselves before, till Allah conferred on you His favours: Therefore carefully investigate. For Allah is well aware of all that ye do.” (4:94)

The punishment for those Muslims who kill other Muslims is severe: “If a man kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell, to abide therein (For ever): And the wrath and the curse of Allah are upon him, and a dreadful penalty is prepared for him.” (4:93)

In the sahih collections are the following ahadith:

“Whenever a man accuses another of being a kafir or wrong-doer, this accusation will rebound on him if the one accused is not in reality a kafir or wrong-doer.” (Bukhari)

“The man who calls another kafir or enemy of God, and the latter was not such, this charge will indeed turn back upon the accused.” (Muslim)

“He who curses a believer, it is as if he has killed him. And he who accuses a believer of kufr, it is as if he has killed him.” (Bukhari)

There is a belief in Islam that we humans are not really in a position to judge who is a Muslim and who isn’t. One never knows who will be accepted into Jannah (heaven), even at the last moment:

“Abu Sa’id al-Khudri reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: There was a person before you who had killed ninety-nine persons and then made an inquiry about the learned persons of the world (who could show him the way to salvation). He was directed to a monk. He came to him and told him that he had killed ninety-nine persons and asked him whether there was any scope for his repentance to be accepted. He said: No. He killed him also and thus completed one hundred. He then asked about the learned persons of the earth and he was directed to a scholar, and he told him that he had killed one hundred persons and asked him whether there was any scope for his repentance to be accepted. He said: Yes; what stands between you and the repentance? You better go to such and such land; there are people devoted to prayer and worship and you also worship along with them and do not come to the land of yours since it was an evil land (for you). So he went away and he had hardly covered half the distance when death came to him and there was a dispute between the angels of mercy and the angels of punishment. The angels of mercy said: This man has come as a penitant and remorseful to Allah and the angels of punishment said: He has done no good at all. Then there came another angel in the form of a human being in order to decide between them. He said: You measure the land to which he has drawn near. They measured it and found him nearer to the land where he intended to go (the land of piety), and so the angels of mercy took possession of it. Qatada said that Hasan told him that it was said to them that as death approached him, he crawled upon his chest (and managed) to slip in the land of mercy.
Muslim, Book 037, Number 6662

(There are slight variations to the story in hadith numbers 6663 and 6664; however, the basic story remains the same.)

Also, from Maulana Maudoodi (May 1935):

It is in Hadith that once during a military expedition a man, when he saw the Muslims, said: “Assalamu Alaikum, there is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.” But a Muslim killed him, thinking that the man had proclaimed the Kalima just to save his own life. When the Holy Prophet heard of this, he was very angry, and he reprimanded that Muslim. But he replied:

“O Messenger of Allah, that man read the Kalima merely to protect himself from our sword.”

The Holy Prophet said:

“Did you open his heart and look inside it?”

A companion of the Holy Prophet asked:

“If a man (in battle) attacks me and cuts off my hand, but when I attack him he recites the Kalima, can I kill him in these circumstances?”

The Holy Prophet said: “No.” The companion said:

“O Messenger of Allah, he cut off my hand.”

The Holy Prophet said:

“Despite that, you cannot kill him. If you do kill him then he will have the rank which you had before you killed him, and you will have the rank which he had before he recited the Kalima.”

In another hadith it says that the Holy Prophet said:

“If a man (in a battle) is attacking a kafir with a spear, and it has reached his throat, and at that moment he says ‘There is no god but Allah,’ the Muslim must immediately withdraw his spear.”

Another hadith records that

“to abuse a Muslim is an act of wrong-doing, and to fight a Muslim is an act of kufr.”

All these instructions were given because the strength and unity of the Muslims are based on the bond of faith and nothing else. If Muslims do not honour this bond, and they keep on cutting it on small things, the community will become disintegrated, and it will have no collective strength left to proclaim the word of God to the followers of falsehood and to invite them to good.

For more information about takfir, you might also look at:
Fitna-i Takfir (‘The mischief of calling Muslims as kafir’)
Wiki: Takfir

Separate Entrances

A non-Muslim visitor to Safiyyah’s blog (SAFspace) questioned why mosques had separate entrances for men and women. The answer is simple, really. The women’s entrance leads to the women’s bathroom. Everyone, male and female, must wash themselves prior to prayer. (These are ritual ablutions, known as wudu.) The separate entrances not only allow both sexes the privacy they need; they also allow men and women not to come into contact with each other prior to prayer. In one Islamic school of thought, the Shafi’i, any man and woman who touch each other, even accidentally, after doing wudu but prior to prayer, must both do wudu again. So the separate entrances minimize any potential contact. Finally, having separate entrances to the prayer hall allows men and women to begin focusing on the activity at hand - prayer (salat) - instead of focusing on each other. For Muslims, salat is something Muslims take seriously. One’s concentration must be on Allah (swt), not the opposite sex.

Overcoming the Islamic Fear Factor

The following article comes from the Wichita Eagle. I had originally thought about posting it to my regular blog, Dunner’s, but I decided instead to post it here because I think it makes for a good Learn About Islam-type piece.

There is one paragraph that I have personally modified. The author made the suggestion that to contact a certain person at the Islamic Society of Wichita for more information on classes about Islam. However, in the interest of a wider audience, I have rewritten that paragraph. It begins with “Contact your local mosque…” and is in italics, so you shouldn’t be able to miss it.

All it the fear factor: Muslims and terrorists. The two go together in many people’s minds, and little if any distinction is made between fanaticism and faith.

Before you give in to fear, ask yourself: How much do I know about the religion of Islam? When I hear the word Muslim, do I immediately think only of terrorists?

Regardless of your preconceptions — or misconceptions — are you willing to learn more about the religion of more than 1 billion people?

First, take this six-question quiz to give yourself a baseline for learning:

1. True or false: Most Muslims are Arabs.

2. True or false: The ultimate meaning of worship for Muslims is observing the five pillars of Islam: profession of faith in Allah, performance of prayers five times a day, fasting, giving to charity and pilgrimage to Mecca.

3. Jihad means:
A. Struggle to live a perfect life
B. Struggle to defend Islam
C. Struggle to convey the message of Islam
D. All of the above

4. Only a government, through its Islamic leaders (caliph or imam), can call for a holy war. Which of the following rules for waging such a war does NOT apply:
A. Do not kill children or women.
B. If a fighter turns his back, do not kill him.
C. Take action against an enemy before he attacks.
D. Fight on behalf of religious freedom.

5. True or false: Marriage in Islam is a social contract that requires the consent of both parties.

6. True or false: Islam, Judaism and Christianity all believe in the coming of a Messiah.

Here are the answers, according to several authoritative sources:

1. Most Muslims are Arabs. False. Of the 1.2 billion Muslims in the world, about 20 percent are Arabs.

2. False. Worship is everything that a person does to submit to Allah. The five pillars are part of that broader and all-inclusive understanding of worship.

3. Jihad means: D. All of the meanings of struggle, including to live a perfect life, to defend Islam and to convey the message of Islam.

4. The following rule for waging a holy war does NOT apply: C. Take action against an enemy before he attacks. The Quran enjoins Muslims: “Fight for the sake of Allah those that fight against you, but do not attack them first. Allah does not love aggressors” (2:190).

5. True. Neither bride nor groom can be forced into a marriage.

6. True. Beliefs differ, but all three religions teach about a Messiah (or Mahdi in Islam).

If you got all six correct, you’ve made a good start in learning about Islam. But there’s more to do.

Centuries of fear and suspicion — between Jews, Christians and Muslims — make the task daunting. And a post-9/11 world has only intensified those fears.

Moreover, it doesn’t help that our interlocking histories (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) have spawned intolerance and suspicion of one another. No religion is guiltless.

Fueling the greater angst among non-Muslims today is a belief that Islam is only a religion of violence. That’s why it’s important to learn about the religion. Here are some ways to begin:

• Read such books as What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam by John Esposito (Oxford University Press); Silent No More: Confronting America’s False Images of Islam by Paul Findley (Amana Books); Terror and Suicide Attacks: An Islamic Perspective edited by Ergun Capan (Light Inc.).

• Attend classes that provide an overview of Islam. Contact your local mosque for more information. Many mosques frequently have classes about Islam for new converts and non-Muslims who are interested in the religion and the Muslim way of life. Look in your local Yellow Pages for the telephone number of the mosque nearest you.

• Raise the hard questions you have about Islam with Muslim leaders. All of us are challenged to explain, as best we can, the seeming inconsistencies, contradictions and mysteries of our faith. Don’t be afraid to ask.

“Truth and love are one and the same,” wrote then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. “This affirmation — if we grasp its full import — is the greatest guarantee of tolerance, of a relationship with the truth, whose only weapon is itself and thus is love.”

Although differences will always remain among people who don’t share the same faith, learning from one another can break down walls that separate.

And in the end, that can go a long way in reducing the fear factor and increasing mutual understanding and respect.

Reach Tom Schaefer at 268-6586 or by e-mail at tschaefer@wichitaeagle.com

Arabian Dialects

Chris Turner wrote: “If it was necessary for ALLAH - GOD to reveal it in the different dialects, then there must be a significant difference between these dialects - yes or no

“but how different ?

“e.g. is it

“(A) just pronunciation e.g. in the S of England we say “Baaarth & Graaass in the North they say “Bath & Grass” with a short a - but if that is all it was why did Allah have to reveal the Koran in the different dialect, Mohamed could have just pronounced the words differently?

“(B) different words for the same thing e.g. blackberry in the south - bramble in the North? Sidewalk (US) - Pavement (UK),

“(C) different words and grammar, e.g. Standard English, “I am going he is….”, old fashioned country English “I be going, he be …”,

“(d) very different words and grammar, UK v West Indian English

“which was it ?”

In my research, the answer is at least both (a) and (b). (It could also be (c) or (d), but I haven’t read anything to suggest that yet.)

“In some cases, each tribe used different words to describe the same object. For example, some tribes called the lion an ‘asad,’ while other tribes called it a ‘layth,’ ‘hamzah,’ ‘hafs,’ or a ‘ghadanfar.’ In other cases, differences occurred in the way certain letters were pronounced due to vowelling differences.”
– Dr. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips, “Usool at-Tafseer: The Methodology of Qur’aanic Explanation,” p. 175

“In order to take into account the various differences which existed among the Arabian dialects, Allaah revealed the Qur’aan in seven different forms. The forms matched the dialects of the following seven tribes: Quraysh, Huthayl, Thaqeef, Hawaazin, Kinaanah, Tameem, and Yemen. These various forms did not represent different Qur’aans, as Jibreel only conveyed verses from a single Qur’aan written on a protected tablet (al-Lawh al-Mahfooth) in the heavens. However, Jibreel was instructed to recite the verses that he brought in seven forms corresponding to the dialects of the major tribes. The various forms represented the various ways in which the same word might be said according to the various dialects. However, the meanings were all stated the same.”
– ibid, pp. 176-7

“This Qur’aan has been revealed in seven forms, so recite whichever is easiest for you.”
– ibid, pp. 178 (Sahih Al-Bukhari, vol. 6, p. 482, no. 514 and Sahih Muslim, vol. 2, pp. 389-90, no. 1782)

Qur’an Supports Flat-Earth Theory? Irrelevant!

Sabiqun wrote: “I must confess that from here onwards, I don’t know how I can address the particular verses in mention without addressing the ‘arabic issue’.”

Perhaps I can help.

I’ve only looked at the past few posts in this thread, but what strikes me about this conversation (especially from Rex’s side) is how it misses the forest for the trees. There’s all this yada, yada, yada about how verses x, y and z somehow “prove” that the Qur’an supports a flat-earth theory.

IRRELEVANT!

The purpose of the Qur’an is to provide arguments in favor of a belief in one God, Allah (swt), a moral lifestyle, and so on. In the case of verses 88:17-20 (one example), the argument is the former, how by considering different aspects of nature (in this case, the camel, the sky, the mountains and the earth) one may come (insha’allah) to an understanding as to who the Creator really is.

“Allah commands His servants to look at His creations that prove His power and greatness. He says,

“(Do they not look at the camels, how they are created) Indeed it is an amazing creation, and the way it has been fashioned is strange. For it is extremely powerful and strong, yet gentle, carrying heavy loads. It allows itself to be guided by a weak rider. It is eaten, benefit is derived from its hair, and its milk is drunk. They are reminded of this because the most common domestic animal of the Arabs was the camel. Shurayh Al-Qadi used to say, ‘Come out with us so that we may look at the camels and how they were created, and at the sky and how it has been raised.’ Meaning, how Allah raised it in such magnificence above the ground. This is as Allah says,

“(Have they not looked at the heaven above them, how we have made it and adorned it and there are no rifts on it) (50:6) Then Allah says,

“(And at the mountains, how they are rooted) meaning, how they have been erected. For indeed they are firmly affixed so that the earth does not sway with its dwellers. And He made them with the benefits and minerals they contain.

“(And at the earth, how it is outspread) meaning, how it has been spread out, extended and made smooth. Thus, He directs the bedouin to consider what he himself witnesses. His camel that he rides upon, the sky that is above his head, the mountain that faces him, and the earth that is under him, all of this is proof of the power of the Creator and Maker of these things. These things should lead him to see that He is the Lord, the Most Great, the Creator, the Owner, and the Controller of everything. Therefore, He is the God other than Whom none deserves to be worshipped.” (My emphasis.)
– Source

Arguments like Rex’s is merely barking up the wrong tree.

Understanding the Qur’an is a lot easier when you leave your preconceived notions behind.

More about the Sun’s Orbit, mentioned in the Qur’an

idbc wrote: “Nice try dunner, but the Sura implies that the moon and the sun have the same orbit. (#42)”

No, the sura makes no such implication. The sura states, “They float each in an orbit.” (My emphasis.) Not, “they float each in the same orbit.” I’ve tried to think about why you might have made such an erroneous original statement (”Why does the Quran say that the sun has an orbit, when we know it doesn’t ?” (#38)). Even the ancients, as far back as Ptolemy (Claudius Ptolemaeus; 85-165 CE), knew that the heavenly bodies all travelled in separate orbits. My conclusion was that you must be taking the perspective of an observer who watches the sun, moon and planets as they traverse the zodiacal band, wherein most of those bodies (with the notable exception of Pluto, the comets and some asteroids) all appear to be moving within the same area of the sky. Even if we take this perspective, the earlier sentence in the sura remains true: “It is not for the sun to overtake the moon…” The sun, of course, can never “overtake” the moon in the sky. The moon moves too quickly in its apparent motion. When there’s a solar eclipse, it is the moon that overtakes and then passes the sun, not the other way around.

“It should also be pointed out that is is NOT the ‘SUN’ that revolves around the a ‘galactic center’ but the entire solar system. (#43)”

Irrelevant. It is the sun’s gravity that holds the solar system together. The sun orbits around the galactic center; the rest of the solar system is merely along for the ride.

“Also as I pointed out the sun does not ‘orbit’ the center of our galaxy. (#45)”

Never taken an astronomy class, huh? Well, here’s some information for you:

“The sun is one of hundreds of billion of stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way. The galaxy is composed of gaseous interstellar medium, neutral or ionized, sometimes concentrated into dense gas clouds made up of atoms molecules, and dust. All of the matter — gas, dust, and stars — rotate around a central axis perpendicular to the galactic plane. The centrifugal force caused by the rotation balances out the gravitational force, which draw all the matter toward the center.

“The mass is located within the circle of the Sun’s orbit through the galaxy is about 100 billion times the mass of the Sun. Because the Sun is about average in mass, astronomers have concluded that the galaxy contains about 100 billion stars within its disk.

“All stars in the galaxy rotate around a galactic center but not with the same period. Stars at the center have a shorter period than those farther out. The Sun is located in the outer part of the galaxy. The speed of the solar system due to the galactic rotation is about 220 km/s. The disk of stars in the Milky Way is about 100,000 light years across and the sun is located about 30,000 light years from the star’s center. Based on a distance of 30,000 light years and a speed of 220 km/s, the Sun’s orbit around the center of the Milky Way once every 225 million years. The period of time is called a cosmic year. The Sun has orbited the galaxy, more than 20 times during its 5 billion year lifetime. The motions of the period are studied by measuring the positions of lines in the galaxy spectra.”

Source: Period of the Sun’s Orbit around the Galaxy (Cosmic Year) (All italics mine.)

Understanding the Qur’an is a lot easier when you leave your preconceived notions behind.

Sun’s Orbit in the Qur’an

idbc wrote: “Why does the Quran say that the sun has an orbit, when we know it doesn’t?”

I suspect idbc is referring to either of the following verses:

“And He it is Who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. They float, each in an orbit.” (21:33)

“It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor doth the night outstrip the day. They float each in an orbit.” (36:40)

We all know that the moon has its own orbit, revolving around the earth; however, the sun has its own orbit as well…around the galactic center, which is estimated to take about 225-250 million years for one “cosmic year.”

The Qur’an is correct, yet again.